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I needed a break from the regular series recaps, because there is only so much you can say every 3 games and still be moderately interesting. So, I pulled some interesting statistical numbers for the Phillies from ESPN, FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus and actually found some real good stuff.
Today I'm doing the hitters, and later in the week I will look at the pitchers. Since a lot of this stuff will be new to people, it is necessary to start off with a glossary:
P/PA – Pitches per plate appearance
BABIP – Batting average on balls hit in play. Higher infers good luck, lower infers bad luck
Clutch – A metric by FanGraphs that measures how a player performs in "high leverage" situations (i.e. situations with a large affect on the outcome of the game) vs. their performance in normal situations
FB%, SL%, CT%, CB%, CH%, SF%- The percentage of total pitches thrown to a batter that are fastballs (FB), sliders (SL), cutters (CT), curve balls (CB), change-ups (CH) or split-fingers (SF)
wFB/C, wSL/C, wCT/C, wCB/C, wCH/C, wSF/C – This is the runs above average a hitter generates off each pitch. The MLB average for FB is 0.65, for SL it's 0.00, for CT, CB and CH it's 0.20 and for SF it's -1.00.
O-Swing % – The % of balls thrown outside the strike-zone that a player swings at
Z-Swing % – The % of balls thrown inside the strike zone that a player swings at
Swing % – The overall % of pitches a hitter swings at
O-Contact % - The % of balls thrown outside the strike-zone that a player swings at and makes contact with
Z-Contact % – The % of balls thrown inside the strike zone that a player swings at and makes contact with
Contact % - The overall % of pitches a hitter swings at and makes contact with
Zone % – % of pitches a hitter sees inside the strike zone
EqBRR – This is a baserunning stat we've discussed before. It measures the number of runs a player gains on the basepaths against the expected rate.
VORP – Value Over Replacement Player. Arguably the most complete metric used today, VORP measures how much a player contributes to his team compared to how an average replacement player would perform.
RC/27 – Runs Created per 27 outs. Another all-encompassing metric, this measures everything a hitter does to help the team win. I believe the resulting metric is how many runs a team would expect to score per game if their line-up was made up of the player, and 8 clones of that player.
Got it?
Good. I really hope you enjoy this stuff as much as I do…here are the raw numbers:
Lots and lots of interesting things here. This is what I saw:
- It surprised me that Jayson Werth leads the team in P/PA with 4.54. Even more surprising is the fact that he leads the entire National League.
- The NL median for P/PA is 3.90 meaning that half our line-up is above average (Werth, Utley, Howard, Ruiz) and the other half (Rollins, Victorino, Ibanez, Feliz) is below average.
- Not good to have such low P/PA for our 1-2 guys in the line-up, but I don't see that changing anytime soon.
- Rollins .226 BABIP is a huge indicator that part of his struggles this season have simply been due to bad luck. Only 4 players in baseball (Jay Bruce, Brian Giles, Garrett Atkins and Ken Griffey Jr.) have had worse luck.
- On the other end, Feliz' .356 BABIP infers what we already knew: that he's not really a .320 hitter and has benefitted from some good luck so far.
- One good non-Phillies note: David Wright leads the MLB in BABIP (with a ridiculous .484 BABIP) which infers he's due for some bad luck. This would also explain why he's leading for the batting title right now.
- With the clutch stat, I would first like to say that I love that they made this stat, as so many baseball stat nuts argued "clutch" didn't exist and couldn't be proven. Second, I would say Ryan Howard's high number proves this stat is useful and accurate. According to the stat, Howard has been the 2nd most clutch player in the majors this year, behind Pablo Sandoval of the Giants. Ibanez is 13th. Victorino is 20th.
- As a team, the Phillies are the 3rd most "clutch" behind the Tigers and Giants.
- One of the most telling stats was the FB% for Ryan Howard. He's sees about 15% less fastballs than the rest of the team, and only Alfonso Soriano sees less fastballs in the MLB. In Howard's previous seasons, he saw about 51% fastball, so it's even less this year. Pedro Feliz, another notorious fastball hitter, also has a low percentage. Matt Stairs, not shown, gets a fastball only 48.8% of the time.
- Only Ivan Rodriguez sees more sliders than Ryan Howard.
- Looks like pitchers are trying to get Rollins out with curves and change-ups rather than Sliders.
- Victorino also has a very high change-up %, 5th highest in baseball.
- All of our hitters except Rollins, are above average against the fastball. Utley and Victorino have been the best.
- Reason #2 for Rollins numbers: He can't hit a fastball. Only Bengie Molina and Brian Giles have been worse against the fastball this year.
- Surprisingly, Howard has been fairly average against the fastball, which as we just discussed, is never thrown to him.
- Ibanez gaudy numbers have been in large part to him crushing off-speed pitches. He's been good against the fastball, but fantastic against the slider (1st in MLB), and change-up (4th best).
- As a team, we can't hit curve balls. In fact, we are the worst team in baseball against the curve. Could this be the secret as to why some so-so pitchers can dominate us?
- As a team, we are 1st in baseball against the sliders, 2nd against change-ups and 4th against fastballs.
- Victorino is the worst on the team against curve balls and change-ups. He is the 4th worst in baseball against the curve.
- Not surprisingly, Howard swings at more balls out of the strike zone than anyone on the team. Surprisingly, Ruiz swings at the least.
- Ruiz doesn't have enough ABs to qualify, but if he did, he would be 5th in the MLB in O-Swing%.
- If it's a strike – Ryan Howard will swing 80% of the time, 2nd highest mark in baseball. Probably not a terrible idea since he's sees fewer strikes than anyone else on the team (see: Zone %).
- Let's just get Howard's swinging stuff out of the way. Obviously with his K's, there are lots of swings and misses. He is 6th worst in O-Contact % and Z-Contact % and is 5th worst in overall Contact%.
- Ibanez doesn't make much contact when he chases pitches.
- Victorino and Rollins are our best contact hitters, hitting the ball nearly 90% of the time they take a swing.
- As a team, we are right in the middle of the pack in Contact%.
- Utley, Ruiz and Werth swing the least out of any of our players, with Utley swinging at only 1 of every 3 pitches he sees.
- On the baserunning front, the big shock is that Rollins has been a below average baserunner this year. He has been top-10 in all of baseball the last couple years. Really, really surprising.
- Howard is the 9th worst baserunner in baseball and despite how much harder and faster Ibanez seems to be running that Burrell, the numbers say otherwise.
For VORP and RC/27, I wanted to put up another chart showing the MLB rank (out of 162 players with 200+ PA) for each players. Carlos Ruiz has about 135 PA, so his rank is where he would be if he had 200 PA.
The thing to keep in mind with these types of metrics is they are all about efficiency. Ryan Howard always ranks low because of his strikeouts and lower OBP. RBI's are not factored in here at all. A couple takeaways from this:
- Carlos Ruiz has been FANTASTIC so far this year. As you could see from the numbers above, he is very disciplined at the plate and clearly very efficient in his production.
- Ibanez and Utley are both top-10 players in the MLB this season.
- Rollins has been one of the 10 worst players in the MLB this season. I didn't realize he was that bad so far.
- Werth was lower than I thought he would be, showing very average scores. I continue to think he will be shopped in the off-season so we can bring Michael Taylor up.
- Feliz ranked ahead of Howard in both metrics.
- As I think Utley is the best player on the team, I tend to favor the RC/27 rankings.
OK, well that was a lot of information and babbling on. Please feel free to comment and make up your own theories, there is plenty to work with here!


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From Green Right Now Reports
The Coalition of Legislators for Energy Action Now (CLEAN), a national bipartisan group of state legislators working with the White House to pass federal clean energy jobs legislation, sent a letter to members of the United States Senate today pressing for urgent action on pending clean energy jobs and climate change legislation.
The letter, signed by 1,198 state lawmakers from both parties and 49 states, seeks energy reform legislation that would meet three goals:
- Strengthen America's national security by cutting dependence on foreign oil
- Grow jobs and economic opportunity to every state in the nation
- Protect the environment by major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions
"Until now, states have been carrying the torch on clean energy reform," state Rep. Jeremy Kalin (D –Minnesota), the chair of CLEAN, said in a statement. "State legislators have led the way on growing clean energy jobs and addressing climate change. Our 'Made-in-America' clean energy solutions are the key to our economic prosperity and national security. It's time for Congress to pick up the torch and lead America into the 21st-century clean energy economy."
The Pew Center on the States found that clean energy job growth has outpaced the rest of the economy by almost 250 percent, with benefits in every state. In December 2009, the Environment America Research and Policy Center showed that by 2020 state policies already adopted will reduce global warming pollution approximately 7 percent below 2007 levels.
The organization of state legislators believes that comprehensive federal legislation can build on the clean energy progress made in states.
"The actions America takes, or does not take, to transform its energy infrastructure will have an impact on American life that cannot be overstated," state Rep. Cynthia Thielen (R – Hawaii), assistant minority leader in the Hawaii House of Representatives, said in a statement. "As has so often been the case throughout our nation's great history, those actions will have profound effects across the global landscape as well. Not since the era of industrialization has technological change held such importance in our planet's fate, and the fate of its people."
Federal clean energy jobs legislation is pending in the U.S. Senate, led by Sen. John Kerry (D – Massachusetts) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – South Carolina).
You can read a draft of the letter online, as well as see a list of state legislators who signed it.


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What's New
-Added a simple Tutorial for new users!-Fixed lag issue with Ads at the end of the run
-Improved Everyplay video sharing
App Description
GLACIER RUSH! Swim, dodge, and dive your hungry narwhal around the tumbling ice blocks and eat as many fish as you can! Find and eat the elusive red-bellied fish to trigger the FISH RUSH bonus, flooding the screen with more fish than you can eat! Or can you? And just try to catch the ever-so-rare gold fish to trigger the ICE CRUSH bonus, giving your whale the power to smash right through the ice blocks for big points! How many fish can you eat before the ice blocks get you? Let's find out!Did you pull off a crazy move or hit a new high score? Watch and share video replays with the touch of a button at the end of any game!
· One-touch controls!
· Simple and addictive arcade-style gameplay! FUN!
· Exclusive animated narwhal physics technology (OK, not really)!
· One-touch video replays and social sharing!
· Game Center Leaderboards and Achievements!
App Changes
June 18, 2014 New version 1.1
November 30, -0001 Initial Release


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- Award-winning customer service
- Free shipping on orders over $50
- 30-day no-hassle returns
- Authorized distributor
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GMC R3500 Bed Mat
We have 3 Items In-stock. Select a year to continue.- APW Bestseller
- Free Ground Shipping
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For professionals who own working trucks and spend a lot of time climbing in and out of the bed on their knees, bed rugs are a must. BedRug's cutting-edge bed mats can take the abuse of any type of cargo and work well with existing bed liners. BedRug, known for its environmentally-conscious manufacturing practices, is a leading aftermarket manufacturer of superior quality track mats, bed liners bed rugs.
- No drilling required
- Durable polypropylene fiber outer with plush foam backing
- Made of 100% recyclable materials
- Limited lifetime warranty
- Designed and manufactured in the USA
- Can use in conjunction with drop-in or spray-in bedliners
- Stands up to daily abuse and protects your knees
- Fits most trucks in the marketplace
- Hook and loop style fastening
- Brand: Bedrug
- Fit Note: 96.0 in. Bed, Fleetside, Dually Bed, 96.0 in. Bed, Stepside, Dually Bed
- Color/Finish: Gray
- Product Fit: Trim to fit
- Quantity Sold: Sold Individually
- Anticipated Ship Out Time: 1-2 Business Days
- Notes: 66 in. x 98 in.
- 1990-1991 | All Engines | SLE
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Worried about your cargos shifting and damaging your truck bed? Dee Zee bed mats' patented Nyracord compound provides excellent traction to prevent those unwanted bumps and dings.
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- Can be trimmed to fit 6.5 ft. bed
- Brand: Dee Zee
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- 1990-1991 | All Engines | SLE
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- GMC R3500 Tie Down
- GMC R3500 Truck Bed Rack
- GMC R3500 Truck Bed Rack Mount Kit
- GMC R3500 Truck Box Bracket


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Skysports.com understands Morecambe are set to win the race to sign midfielder Izak Reid from League Two rivals Macclesfield.
The 23-year-old, a youth product at Moss Rose, has been offered a new deal by the Silkmen.
But Reid is expected to snub that offer in favour of a switch to the Globe Arena.
The midfielder, who became a regular first-team member at Macclesfield in the 2007-08 season, notched up 37 League Two appearances last term.


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Blog Entries by Adam Polaski
Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe supports the freedom to marry
on Jun 29, 2012 at 11:15 amChris Kluwe, a punter for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, has started speaking out in opposition of a proposed anti-gay constitutional amendment that will go before Minnesota's voters in November. His advocacy shines out in the world of sports, where few players have publicly expressed their support for the freedom to marry.
SLIDESHOW: Top pop culture freedom to marry moments in June
on Jun 29, 2012 at 09:00 amIt's already been a huge summer for the freedom to marry, with President Obama's comments about marriage for same-sex couples and movement in states facing ballot initiatives. But in the entertainment and pop culture world, the freedom to marry has also been gaining significant visibility. Here, we look at nine marriage moments and applaud their positive media representation.
Staff Spotlight: Jo Deutsch, Federal Director
on Jun 29, 2012 at 08:00 amFreedom to Marry has a dedicated and diverse staff working each day to secure the freedom to marry nationwide, and we want to help you get to know each of us a little bit better. This week, we hear from Jo Deutsch, Freedom to Marry's Federal Director.
Freedom to Marry's federal team continues progress on Respect for Marriage Act
on Jun 28, 2012 at 01:00 pmFreedom to Marry's federal program continues making progress on overturning the Defense of Marriage Act through the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act. We have seen immense support for the bill, with 151 House co-sponsors, 32 Senate co-sponsors, and 74 organizations signing on as Respect for Marriage Coalition members.
Two days left for Freedom to Marry's $100,000 Minnesota matching grant!
on Jun 28, 2012 at 11:45 amThere's just over four months left until the November election, when Minnesotans will be asked to vote on an anti-gay constitutional amendment that would ban marriage for same-sex couples. Freedom to Marry is sponsoring a $100,00 matching grant challenge this week, so you can double the impact of your contribution today!
House introduces bill to protect married gay and lesbian service members
on Jun 28, 2012 at 09:00 amThis afternoon, U.S. Representative Adam Smith, who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would explicitly clarify the definition of "spouse" to include same-sex couples.
Commit a conversation to support same-sex couples in Minnesota!
on Jun 27, 2012 at 10:15 amMinnesotans United for All Families has launched "Vote NO MN," a targeted campaign that asks supporters of the freedom to marry to spread the word about a proposed anti-gay amendment that's on the ballot in November.
Illinois governor rallies behind marriage at Chicago Pride
on Jun 26, 2012 at 03:30 pmOn Sunday, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn spoke out about the freedom to marry, saying, "I think we're closer every day."
Minnesotans United launches flash mob dance to urge Pride-goers to vote "no"
on Jun 26, 2012 at 11:00 amAt Twin Cities Pride on Sunday, Minnesotans United for All Families was on top of their game, blanketing the parade and making sure that supporters of the freedom to marry know they should vote "no" to the anti-gay constitutional amendment on the ballot this November.
National Council of La Raza passes freedom to marry resolution
on Jun 25, 2012 at 12:50 pmEarlier this month, the board of the National Council of La Raza unanimously approved a resolution supporting the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. NCLR is the largest Latino civil rights group in the country.


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CSS play - popBox
6th September 2011
For IE8, IE9, Firefox, Opera, Safari and Chrome
Now working on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch
Photographs copyright ©2011 stu nicholls - taken at Slimbridge - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT)
copyright © stu nicholls - CSS play
A standard thumbnail image which when clicked will produce a popup panel showing a larger version of the image. But this time the large image will animate into view when using Firefox 4+, Safari, Chrome and Opera. The popup panel can also have a title and descriptive text with links if required, and a CLOSE X which when cicked will close the popup panel with the animation reversed.
For IE8, IE9 and Firefox 3 or earlier, the popup panel will have no animation.
I believe that the final release of IE10 will have support for transitions, so will see if it can animate this in the same way as all the other major browsers.
The popBox will also work in IE7, but the descriptive text will need adjusting to fit the width of the popup panel by adding <br /> tags to force line feeds.
The popup panel will adjust iteself to the size of the large image and the amount of descriptive text. The position of the popup panel can also be adjusted for each image using just three extra stylesheet lines.
Because of all the time and effort spent in producing this demonstration
I would ask that you respect my copyright.
- If you are using this on a personal web site then please retain the copyright comment in the stylesheet.
A donation to the 'Support CSSplay' fund is now required for this demonstration. - If you are using this on a commercial web site, or as a paying job for a client, then please email me asking for permission - stu{at}cssplay.co.uk and again a donation to the 'Support CSSplay' fund is required.
- If you are having problems integrating any of my demonstrations into your website then I now offer a service to fault find and correct any errors that you may have introduced. Please email me for more information.
Terms and Conditions
This demonstration can be used subject to the following terms and conditions.
- If you wish to use this demonstration in your website(s) please email me stu{at}cssplay.co.uk seeking permission.
- You may NOT place this demonstration on another site for others to download.
- You may NOT redistrubute or resell this demonstration.
- Users agree not to remove or edit the credit notice within the stylesheet, or claim that this demonstration is their own.
- Please see the Copyright statement above regarding the requirement for a support donation.


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Highlights from the exhibit halls of the fairgrounds at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan.
Happenings at Fuori Salone, the segment of the International Furniture Fair that turns Milan's Zona Tortona into a playland for the design-minded.
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust will host a weekend full of Wright-centered tours, lectures, and gatherings May 13 - 16, 2010.


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Technical director Pietro Speronello explained: "The car suffered from extensive damage at the back. We have to check how much the roll cage and shells have been twisted. But of course we will try to repair it in time for tomorrow's races."
Commenting his incident, O'Young said: "I was pushing on that lap and had just taken fifth gear. I had a little oversteer and got onto the grass; there was nothing I could do to catch the car and I was into the wall at about 160 kph."
Following the medical checks at the track, the doctors cleared O'Young for the races.


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The country of Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. Located off the east coast of Africa, it has a population of 22 million people. The Seventh-day Adventist membership is nearly 140,000 or about one Adventist for every 157 people.
It's within this context that the Church leaders decided to launch the Global Mission Pioneer program in order to reduce the big gap of those who need to know Jesus.
The pioneer work started in 2003 on this island. Skilled lay members were recruited and trained and then deployed in areas of Madagascar where there was no Seventh-day Adventist presence.
The task has not been easy. Global Mission pioneers have encountered many challenges related to traditional and ancestral worshipers. In various places they have been chased away by other religious leaders with the intention of avoiding foreign religions. But the pioneers were very strong and took courage because God was with them.
Sometimes the centers of worship themselves become a challenge. In the minds of many people the building structure determines the true religion. For them a beautiful church equates a good religion while an "ugly" church equates a bad religion.
The Global Mission pioneers in Madagascar have been supported by the Mission office, private donors, and by donations to Global Mission. As a result many unentered areas have been reached, including minority groups. Temporary churches have been built and many people have either been baptized or are currently attending baptismal classes.
The Global Mission Pioneer initiative has been a golden opportunity for new graduates of Madagascar's Adventist University Zurcher. Having earned a theology degree, some are recruited to the Global Mission ranks to gain more practical experience before they are called into the ministry.
One of the dreams of most Global Mission pioneers in Madagascar is to build a primary school close to their chapels in order to enable children in the area to receive an Adventist education and come to know Jesus.
Thanks to your prayers and financial support of Global Mission, things are really happening for the glory of God in Madagascar. Please continue to remember the work of Global Mission and the pioneers who have committed their lives to reaching people here with the love of God.
One day while Rajah was holding a Bible study, a mob approached his house, brandishing sticks and swords.


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- Gear that lasts and lasts (giggle): Heather tells us which items in her aresnal of baby products have had the longest lives.
- Is it okay to announce a birth on Facebook? (babycenter): Whoever checks Facebook the most frequently will be the first to hear about your new baby, right?
- Organizing the kitchen for kids (closet factory): This post seriously needs comments and suggestions. If you have a big kid, please join the conversation!
- Forcing motherhood to be more fun (babycenter): Heather describes how following her own advice is tougher than it looks.
- 5 tips for dating, new parent-style (giggle): Just in time for Valentine's Day
- Great idea: Eventbrite for school events (510families): If you are an organizer of groups and gatherings, you should know about this tool for selling tickets — even if they are free.
- Please! No more gadgets! (babycenter): Whitney worries that the next generation will never make eye contact again.
- A good idea: Earth Baby compostable diapers (510families): Heather has gone greener with her third baby.
- 4 easy tips to hosting another family (babycenter): What should you know before you agree to have Heather's family come stay with you? She shares her wish list.
- My life as a blog (blogstar): Heather confesses that her youngest child may have been conceived as blog fodder. MAY have been.
- Sh*t urban moms say (babycenter): This one is pretty funny, yo.
- Teaching our kids about money: Whitney sums up what she learned at a parenting lecture for those who are concerned about raising a responsible citizen.
The following two tabs change content below.
RookieMoms.com co-founder Whitney lives with her husband, son, and daughter in the San Francisco Bay Area where she writes about parenting, crafts, and activities that moms can do with babies in tow. She and Heather also publish 510Families.com, a site for East Bay parents and are the authors of The Rookie Mom's Handbook and Stuff Every Mom Should Know.
Latest posts by Whitney Moss (see all)
- Second birthday party ideas - March 3, 2015
- Start training your toddler for Easter 2015 - February 26, 2015
- Activity #418: Document Examples of Bad Parenting - February 24, 2015


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We survived Christmas and the end of the world... time to celebrate, right? Hopefully you've got a long weekend or are still on winter vacation, so you can loosen up with a few cold ones (or... Read more »
This past week was a busy one in the world of music. From inspired remixes, to imaginative covers, to unexpected collaborations, new tracks came fast and frequently. Sometimes, there's so much new shit that it's near... Read more »
Enjoy some new music from the beautiful Ms. Ellie Goulding. "Hanging On" is a cover of an Active Child song by the same name and features fellow UK artist Tinie Tempah. Goulding shared the new record... Read more »
Tinie Tempah teamed up with DJ Booth to premiere his latest mixtape titled Happy Birthday. Check below for the download link and stream link for the project. Back cover art/track listing below as well. Tinie Tempah... Read more »
Tinie recently released the second single off of his upcoming Happy Birthday EP via his website. This track is called "Lucky Cunt" & features GOOD Music's own, Big Sean. Shit definitely knocks!! Check it out below.... Read more »
British rapper Tinie Tempah has made explicit his ambition to conquer the US, and has already collaborated with Wiz Khalifa, but what better way to get those hip-hop heads turning than to collaborate with Roc Nation's... Read more »
London born rapper Tinie Tempah (real name: Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu) has been a big deal across the pond for a while now, but he's making some major efforts to match that success in America. He's been making... Read more »
Superstar producers Chase & Status teamed up with UK rapper Tinie Tempah for the track "Hitz" on their recent No More Idols album, and now it has got a NYC based visual treatment in preparation for... Read more »
Tinie Tempah is doing everything he can to make sure we've all heard his name before officially introducing himself to the American public on May 17th with the release of his stateside album, Disc-Overy. Earlier this week... Read more »
Wiz Khalifa and some Taylor Gang affiliates hop on the "John" beat for the Chuck (Taylor) remix. What do you guys think about Wiz now that he's officially blown up (it is official, yeah?)? There's always... Read more »
A couple of days ago Tinie Tempah made his first US television appearance. On Tuesday, February 8th, he will be performing in NYC for the first time, and you can win a pair of tickets right... Read more »
The Tinie Tempah American push has officially started. Tinie made his American TV debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night (2/2). I've heard mixed reviews from Brits, so I'm not sure how Americans are going to... Read more »
Here's the US premiere of Tinie Tempah's "Written in the Stars" featuring Eric Turner. What do you guys think? Is Tinie Tempah going to blow up in the US in 2011? Some TT facts: - Tinie... Read more »
Hey look, all the rappers in the UK got together and made a song. It's called "Game Over" and it's from Tinchy Stryder's new album Third Strike. Shout out to the guest in the Shoutbox (that... Read more »
Here's the video for Tinie Tempah's "Pass Out". This track was already a #1 hit in the UK and word on the 'net is that it's going to be big in the US too. Snoop will... Read more »


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Buying Eyeglasses Online: A Close Look at Eyewear Websites
By Christofer Malloy
Special Offers
The growing number of websites that specialize in eyeglasses has skyrocketed and the appeal is clear: they can save you time (no running to the optician) and money (many sites offer dozens of styles at affordable prices).
But are eyeglasses sold online up to par with those sold at a storefront optician? And how do these online sites compare in quality of merchandise, range of selection, price, shopping guidance, and shipping and return policies? Experts at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) set out to answer these questions.
How We Tested Eyewear Sites
We scoured the Web and found 19 sites that sell prescription glasses or just reading glasses. We looked at how many eyeglass styles each site sold, the attractiveness of the styles sold, their return policy and narrowed our list to nine that looked most promising. We then asked consumer testers to go online, order glasses and assess their shopping experience and the eyewear bought. We also consulted Ethan Brown, ABO, FNAO, an optician and fellow of the National Academy of Opticianry in New York City, to evaluate the lenses to ensure the accuracy of prescription strength and pupillary distance. Here are our eye-opening findings:
Budget Buy Eyewear Sites
We evaluated three websites that offer glasses at extremely affordable prices: Glassesshop.com, Eyebuydirect.com, and Globaleyeglasses.com. The eyewear from these sites cost our testers, on average, $68 per pair of single vision frames and $143 per pair of progressives.
Best Option: GlassesShop.com Testers found that being able to upload photos of their faces in order to see how different pairs of glasses look on them was very helpful. In fact, in general, this website outstripped its budget-minded competitors across the board. None of the eyeglasses bought from this site had prescription errors and all testers thought the actual frames closely resembled what they had seen in the pictures. Good Housekeepings Fashion Director Jasmine Chang rated GlassesShops eyewear the most stylish offered in the Budget Buy category. With more than 500 styles available on the site, just about anyone should be able to find a pair they like. On average, our testers spent $47 per pair of spectacles, again ranking best in the category. Orders arrived the fastest in eight days. Glasses, moreover, can be refunded for 50% of the purchase price if they prove defective within 90 days. The website also offers a slender money-back guarantee window, open for five days from the time you receive your glasses.
EyeBuyDirect.com Half of the glasses purchased from this site had prescription problems. One pair had an uncalled for prism, a correction for double vision that the consumer tester did not need; another had an unwanted retroscopic tilt, with the lenses angling away from the face. Testers who received glasses with the correct prescription were very satisfied with their purchases. And users found the website a breeze to navigate, minus an occasional snag at checkout. True to the websites promise of delivery within 14 days, glasses arrived in two weeks. They can be returned within 30 days for any reason and are protected by a generous one-year warranty.
GlobalEyeglasses.com Spectacles ordered from this site tended to fit poorly. One tester ordered glasses with a cylinder correction that counteracts astigmatism, and Brown noted that it was missing from the lenses. Glasses came in flimsy cases. More so than any other site in this category, GlobalEyeglasses.com dispensed glasses that looked like they did online. They were slow to arrive, taking on average nearly 16 days. Unhappy customers must replace their frames within 30 days, for there is no warranty after the initial money back period.
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true north
True North: Travels in Arctic Europe
- Auhtor Gavin Francis
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PublisherPolygonPublish Year2010Pages / Duration300LanguageEnglishPosted bysupersonicFile TypeEPUBUpload DateNovember 6, 2012CategoriesOthersThe stark, vast beauty of the remote Arctic Europe landscape has been the focus of human exploration for thousands of years. In this striking blend of travel writing, history and mythology, Gavin Francis offers a unique portrait of the northern fringes of Europe. His journey begins in the Shetland Isles, takes him to the Faroes, Iceland, Greenland, Svalbard and on to Lapland. Following in the footsteps of the region's early pioneers, Francis observes how the region has adapted to the 21st century, giving an observed insight into the lives of people he encounters along the way. As with all the best travel writing, "True North" is an engaging, compassionate tale of self-discovery, whilst blending historical and contemporary narratives in the tradition of Bruce Chatwin and Robert Macfarlane.
DownloadTrue Summers – Poppy (epub)
- Auhtor True Summers
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PublisherAvon BooksPublish Year1978Pages / DurationN/ALanguageN/APosted byelf.stormyFile TypeN/AUpload DateNovember 8, 2012CategoriesOthers
DownloadBuilding Inspection Report Prepared for Scott & Lisa Young 322 E Maple Avenue, Hayden, Idaho January 23, 2006 _____ Prepared By: True North Inspection Services, LLC
DownloadSummary of Findings and Recommendations Application to Establish the True North Genesee Preparatory Charter School May 3, 2010
DownloadGood morning, true north Chocolate donut from the place down the street Makes you feel like you didn't eat At ten o'clock right on the dot, I smell the grilling meat From the tavern just one floor below And my words are ringing from the radio
Download˜e Mutt 6.99 Served plain…add your ketchup, mustard and relish at the table. ˜e Whistle Dog 7.99 Served with grated cheddar cheese and bacon. Chili Dog 7.99
DownloadTrue North Forklift Sales Monitoring Specific Gravity of a forklift used at grocery shop in Auburn, WA Test date: June 2005 Place: Grocery Shop in Auburn, WA
DownloadBuilding Inspection Report Prepared for Don Reynolds 1405 S Harmony Drive, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho January 23, 2006 _____ Prepared By: True North Inspection Services, LLC
DownloadAddress: 19 Main St North Creek, 12853 Multi Use? No Multi Use Type Price $99,500. MLS Number 106973 Listing Status Active District 75 Johnsburg/North Creek
DownloadThe True North Ice Lodge can be lowered to the ground with the touch of a few switches. The 8X20SV includes 8 fishing holes and provides ample
Download2003/020144/08 First Floor, Minter House, Otto Close, Westlake Business Park, Tokai, 7945 Tel: +27 (0)21 702 2302 Fax: +27 (0)21 702 2306 Directors: Werner Stadler; Stephen Stiekema; Vicky Kumm
DownloadCustomer Requirements Are Your True North Compass Jeff Bracken Bracken & Associates www.brackenandassociates.com It's Easy to Lose Touch Most organizations agree that it is important to be customer-focused, and stay in touch with changing


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Current Time
see + do
Concierge.com's insider take:
Despite its frigid waters, Argentine Patagonia offers unlimited opportunities for most water sports, offering both thrilling white-water descents in inflatable rafts and placid sea-kayak paddles across still lakes. If the Atlantic swell is up, breakers can be surfed at the resort of Las Grutas in northern Chubut province, while there are plenty of dive sites and shipwrecks along the Atlantic coast, particularly around Peninsula Valdés, where the rich marine life adds an extra dimension. Dives can also be made in inland waters such as Lake Nahuel Huapi or Lake Traful, near Villa La Angostura, where a submerged forest, 100 feet down, draws both the curious and the expert (contact diving outfit Buceo de los Andes; 54-2972-425522; www.buceodelosandes.com.ar). White-water adrenaline junkies should head for the hills: While Argentina cannot compete with Chile's Río Futaleufú, whose adrenaline-pumping Class V rapids have become the embodiment of Patagonia's extreme outdoor challenges, fast-flowing meltwater rivers such as the Aluminé and Manso that run off Andean peaks come close. Bariloche-based Patagonia Rafting has a good list of options (54-2944-522438; www.patagoniarafting.com). For a more relaxed alternative, consider kayaking or canoeing the lakes and rivers around El Bolsón or Bariloche, the Beagle Channel, or along Patagonia's 1,900 miles of Atlantic coastline.
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The discussion among the panel's participants lasted for two and a half hours. The group featured David Kelsey, president of the South Beach Hotel and Restaurant Association; Rudolf Piper, co-owner of Nerve nightclub; Carmel Ophir, promoter and owner of Creations Production and Management Group; Brian Jordan, co-owner of Automatic Slim's; DJ Shannon, resident rock and soul DJ for Ophir's Back Door Bamby party; Ani Phearce, creative mastermind behind the Phearce Musica production company; Tommy Pooch, promoter and owner of Tommy Pooch Productions; and Justin "Buster" Altshuler, promotions director for WPYM-FM (Party 93.1) and co-owner of the dance music channel Alternative TV-3. In addition several onlookers joined in the discussion. Everyone was clearly committed to a vibrant and successful club scene that emphasizes hospitality and fun.
New Times: How much does it cost for a couple to go out to dance and have two drinks in South Beach?
Jordan: If you're not in the industry, or don't know people in the industry, obviously it would be extremely expensive. I know there are times that I have chosen not to come to the Beach because I'm going to have to deal with the parking situation. Being co-owner of Automatic Slim's, I am still hesitant to come to the Beach when I know the Beach is busy on holiday weekends, because you're going to drive around for a half hour trying to find parking. It just gets ridiculous. The valets, when you tip the valet, is $20; to get into the nightclub can be $20 apiece; and drinks range from $8 to $12. So for a couple to come to the Beach, you're looking at, easily, over $100.
Pooch: Unfortunately the rents on Washington Avenue are only less for the new guys. The guys that signed their leases way back when are still paying top dollar, and the only way that we can make the numbers work is to charge top dollar for drinks and admission. I'm just talking about a Cheeseburger Baby, for instance. It's very hard to keep that store open. There's no way the landlords are going to pitch in. They were the first ones to kill the goose that laid the golden egg by getting out of hand with these rents for beat-up storefronts and, unfortunately, there is an ass for every seat. And the public suffers and the landlords keep getting fatter. That's the vicious cycle that we're in on Washington Avenue at least.
Phearce: If you're really smart you just get drunk at home, turn on the radio where they're playing Space music and flash the lights on and off and that way you've got a party.
Piper: That way you don't get laid.
Phearce: That's what I do.
It seems to be a given that big-name DJs draw a crowd. Do local DJs have a chance? Is there a SoBe house sound in the way that New York house or Ibiza [Balearic house] has developed? Is there a place in the SoBe club scene for new, experimental music? Electronic bands like Infusion and experimental DJs with laptops and keyboards, like the Audio Electric artists, have played on the Beach. Will clubs embrace these new sounds?
Piper: The Miami Beach sound is hip-hop at this point. [laughter]
Phearce: I think that locals have a chance. I think a testament to that are George Acosta, Oscar G, and Roland. I mean these guys are locals that have managed to establish a following, both locally and abroad. In terms of the sound that Miami has, from the house music [standpoint] I don't think that there is one. Hip-hop is just dominating the scene right now. It's pop, it's the culture. It's no longer rock and roll, it's hip-hop.
Piper: Let me address the up-and-coming local DJ that tries to break into the scene. I think that DJs are artists, like painters or sculptors, and to my view, an artist has to not only be talented but also know how to promote himself. Salvador Dalí was not only a great painter but a feverish self-promoter. And I think that DJs must do the same. The DJ must create a following before he even starts playing. He has to create mailing lists; he has to be able to attract people to his event. The DJ is a promoter. The DJ has to draw. If I see a DJ that comes into my office and says, "Well, I have never played in a club before but I can bring you 150 guests for whatever night I'm playing," you know what? I'm listening to this guy; I'm giving him an hour or two to play in the club. And I think that that's the way to go.


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About the Bourbon Rickey Cocktail
Though its cousin the Gin Rickey is more common today, this classic cocktail recipe can also be made with bourbon.
Ingredients in the Bourbon Rickey Cocktail
- Half a lime
- 1.5 oz Bourbon
- Club soda
Glass: Highball
How to make the Bourbon Rickey Cocktail
Fill a highball glass with cracked ice. Squeeze the lime half into the glass and drop it in. Add the bourbon and fill with club soda. Stir briefly to combine.
Watch top San Francisco bartender Dominic Venegas mix up a traditional Bourbon Rickey and his tasty twist, the Autumn Rickey, in our video below.


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Man arrested after Centralia fire
by WILY/WRXX News Staff • January 18, 2013 • News
A 56-year-old Centralia man who escaped a fire at his South Elm Street home Wednesday night is in custody of the Marion County Jail, charged with possession of methamphetamine and aggravated participation in the manufacture of meth.
Timothy J. McCombs was home Wednesday when a fire started in the kitchen of the home owned by Ruth Reeder of Irvington.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and remains under investigation by local police and the State Fire Marshal.


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A watermelon contains about 6% sugar and 92% water by weight. As with many other fruits, it is a source of vitamin C. Notable is the inner rind of the watermelon, which is usually a light green or white color. This area is edible and contains many hidden nutrients that most people avoid eating due to its unappealing flavor.
There are more than 1200 varieties of watermelon ranging in size from less than a pound, to more than two hundred pounds, with flesh that is red, orange, yellow or white. Several notable varieties are included here.
Carolina Cross: This variety of watermelon produced the current world record watermelon weighing 262 pounds (119 kg). It has green skin, red flesh and commonly produces fruit between 65 and 150 pounds (29 and 68 kg). It takes about 90 days from planting to harvest.
Yellow Crimson Watermelon: variety of watermelon that has a yellow colored flesh. This particular type of watermelon has been described as "sweeter" and more "honey" flavored than the more popular red flesh watermelon.
Orangeglo: This variety has a very sweet orange pulp, and is a large oblong fruit weighing 9–14 kg (20–30 pounds). It has a light green rind with jagged dark green stripes. It takes about 90–100 days from planting to harvest.
The Moon and Stars variety of watermelon has been around since 1926. The rind is purple/black and has many small yellow circles (stars) and one or two large yellow circles (moon). The melon weighs 9–23 kg (20–50 pounds). The flesh is pink or red and has brown seeds. The foliage is also spotted. The time from planting to harvest is about 90 days.
Cream of Saskatchewan: This variety consists of small round fruits, around 25 cm (10 inches) in diameter. It has a quite thin, light green with dark green striped rind, with sweet white flesh and black seeds. It can grow well in cool climates. It was originally brought to Saskatchewan, Canada by Russian immigrants. These melons take 80–85 days from planting to harvest.
Watermelon output in 2005Melitopolski: This variety has small round fruits roughly 28–30 cm (11–12 inches) in diameter. It is an early ripening variety that originated from the Volga River region of Russia, an area known for cultivation of watermelons. The Melitopolski watermelons are seen piled high by vendors in Moscow in summer. This variety takes around 95 days from planting to harvest.
Densuke Watermelon: This variety has round fruit up to 25 lb. (11 kg). The rind is black with no stripes or spots. It is only grown on the island of Hokkaido, Japan; where up to 10 000 watermelons are produced every year. In June 2008, one of the first harvested watermelons was sold at an auction for 650 000 yen (6300 USD), making the most expensive watermelon ever sold. The average selling price is generally around 25 000 yen (250 USD).
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watermelon


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Thor: The Dark World Zavvi Exclusive SteelBook Pre-Order
Thor: The Dark World is getting the SteelBook treatment thanks to online retailer Zavvi. The release date is TBD but should be sometime in early 2014. The SteelBook will ship with 3D and 2D discs, which is a nice change from Zavvi's usual 2D-only offerings.
As is the case with most Marvel SteelBooks, this one should sell out quickly, so pre-order your copy sonner rather than later.
Release Date: February 24th, 2014
Pre-order Link: Zavvi


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Liverpool FC Youth crash out of FA Youth Cup against Watford at Anfield
Liverpool Youth pay the penalty as they crash out of the Youth Cup against Watford at Anfield A DEBATABLE penalty and a disappointing first-half display cost Liverpool dear as they went out of the FA Youth Cup last night. Piero Mingoia's spot-kick was enough to help Watford score a 1-0 fifth-round victory at Anfield and land them a home quarter-final clash with Chelsea. Liverpool coach Rodolfo Borrell was disappointed with his side in the first half, but refused to use the harsh penalty decision for his side's exit. Referee Matthew Bristow felt Reds' centre-back Stephan Sama had fouled Watford skipper Eddie Oshodi in a collision in the box for the penalty. But that came in the 18th minute and despite an improvement after the break Liverpool's youngsters failed to grab an equaliser. Substitute Kristjan Emilsson headed agonisingly wide from Tom Ince's cross. And fellow sub Krisztian Adorjan found the back of the net in injury time from another Ince centre but the goal was disallowed for a marginal offside. That was a near as Liverpool came and coach Borrell said: 'It was very disappointing. The first-half display was unacceptable.
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The project Tapaswini Residency is located annex to the Bhubaneswar-Puri (NH-203) main road. The area is peaceful & adjacent to the hub of the Bhubaneswar city.
It is very near to institutions like CIFA, KEC & BRM Colleges, Hospital, Airport, Railway station & Lord Lingaraj Temple.
Taking care of your budget with excellent quality standards Tapaswini Residency offers you, a golden opportunity to make your dream come true at affordable budget.
Tapaswini Residency is a gateway for comfortable living, a vision for legendary housing truly a lifetime achievement.


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Wednesday, July 10, 2013 - 9:30am
GRAND ISLE, LA (NBC33) — The Coast Guard is searching the water near Grand Isle for a swimmer who went missing yesterday afternoon.
Officials say the swimmer was last seen roughly 300 yards off the Cajun Tide Resort in Grand Isle at roughly 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9. A witness saw the person go under the water, and did not see anyone resurface.
The Coast Guard continued the search through the night. So far there have been no updates.
We will update this link with new information as soon as it becomes available.
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Expert Reports
These reports are unique, authoritative expert evaluations. Each report is produced by a committee of experts selected by the Academy to address a particular statement of task and is subject to a rigorous, independent peer review.
Read more about National Academies reports >>Enhancing the Value and Sustainability of Field Stations and Marine Laboratories in the 21st Century (2014)
Amid rapid environmental change, a strong understanding of the natural world is more important than ever. Field stations and marine laboratories place scientists on the front lines of our changing Earth, helping them gather the data needed to better understand shifting climate and ecosystems and make robust projections of future conditions. Field stations are a critical component of our scientific infrastructure that bring the basic tools o... More >>
Report in BriefScience Needs for Microbial Forensics: Developing Initial International Research Priorities (2014)
Microbial forensics has been defined as "a scientific discipline dedicated to analyzing evidence from a bioterrorism act, biocrime, or inadvertent microorganism or toxin release for attribution purposes," -- where attribution means determining "who did it." This emerging discipline seeks to offer investigators the tools and techniques to support efforts for attribution in the event of a suspicious release of a biological agent. But microbia... More >>
Report in BriefConvergence: Facilitating Transdisciplinary Integration of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Beyond (2014)
New biofuels, 3-D printing of human tissues, and more precise drug delivery systems are just a few examples of innovations that combine insights and approaches from the life and health sciences with those from the physical, mathematical, and computational sciences and engineering. This report focuses on the need for "convergence"—an approach to problem solving that integrates the knowledge, tools, and ways of thinking from multiple disciplines... More >>
Report in BriefEmerging and Readily Available Technologies and National Security: A Framework for Addressing Ethical, Legal, and Societal Issues (2014)
This report is a study on the ethical, legal, and societal issues relating to the research on, development of, and use of rapidly changing technologies with low barriers of entry that have potential military application, such as information technologies, synthetic biology, and nanotechnology. The report also considers the ethical issues associated with robotics and autonomous systems, prosthetics and human enhancement, and cyber weapons. Thes... More >>
Developing Capacities for Teaching Responsible Science in the MENA Region: Refashioning Scientific Dialogue (2013)
Spurred on by new discoveries and rapid technological advances, the capacity for life science research is expanding across the globe—and with it comes concerns about the unintended impacts of research on the physical and biological environment, human well-being, or the deliberate misuse of knowledge, tools, and techniques to cause harm. This report describes efforts to address dual use issues by developing institutes around the world that wil... More >>


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When Death Comes Fear Quotes
How we cite our quotes: (line)
Quote #1
When death comes (line 1)
The approach of death is, well, frightening. We bet that for every movie you can name that doesn't have the threat of death as the main source of tension and fear, we can name ten that do. What we're trying to say is that fear of death is pretty universal. Living things tend to have an aversion to death right? That's part of how we stay alive. Still, it's worth noting that this line does not try and crank up our fear to the boiling point. It's a fairly calm and contemplative entrance to the idea of the moment of death. But it definitely undoes the latch and lets fear into the room.
Quote #2
like the hungry bear in autumn (line 2)
OK, we don't want any kind of bear to come at us, much less a hungry bear trying to stock up before winter. More than anything else this image suggests the implacability of death. Bears are big. There's not much you can do to stop a bear that's coming at you. It's a way for our speaker to say: death is coming, and it's not going to be stopped.
Quote #3
like the measle-pox (line 6)
If we thought things couldn't get any scarier, now we have all the suffering of a long drawn out disease to consider. Our speaker is giving us a variety of images and comparisons. Death is a complicated thing, it seems, capable of coming in many ways.


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Industry leaders work together to ensure software interoperability and help educate and support managed service providers (MSPs)
BELLEVUE, Neb., MARCH 19, 2007 — Tigerpaw Software, Inc., a leading developer of IT business management software, and N-able Technologies®, a leading provider of managed services software and business transformation services for resellers, with both companies servicing small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), announced today a formal alliance designed to provide MSPs with the technology integration, as well as the education and support, necessary to successfully sell and deploy managed services.
The strategic alliance follows an interoperability effort completed in Fall 2006 which linked Tigerpaw CRM+, an end-to-end IT operations management solution, and N-able's N-central® platform. Tigerpaw CRM+ features Managed Services Integrator, which provides MSPs with a configurable tool to monitor and route incoming emails and auto-generate service orders, which is designed to accept and respond to transmissions generated by N-able's N-central. According to executives at both companies, this alliance will enable MSPs to reap greater benefits from their products' integration by providing joint education and marketing materials including webinars and whitepapers.
These additional resources will provide MSPs with the right tools and information to maximize the return on their investment, and gain greater traction in the managed services arena - a rapidly expanding sector of the IT service industry. "We are pleased to see our alliance with N-able come full circle," Tigerpaw CEO Dave Foxall said. "Our companies share a common philosophy, which is based on providing cutting-edge, affordable solutions that allow our MSP partners to operate more efficiently and profitably. Now we can help our partners take the interoperability between CRM+ and N-central to the next level with expert resources and instruction designed to help them grow their business." "N-able understands the importance of establishing and maintaining strategic alliances with today's leading and emerging IT manufacturers," says Gavin Garbutt, N-able's President & CEO. "That is why we engineered our N-central platform to interoperate with complementary technologies such as Tigerpaw's proven CRM+. This added flexibility helps our MSP partners avoid commoditization by enhancing and differentiating the services they provide."
About N-able Technologies.N-able Technologies is the leading provider of Managed Service Automation™ platforms that transform IT service organizations into managed service providers (MSPs). N-able's combination of products, people and processes help service providers develop, sell and deliver highly profitable managed services to the small- and medium-sized business (SMB) market. N-able provides complete solutions to monitor, manage and optimize information technology and security from a business perspective, deliver business-value reports and drive effective and efficient service delivery. ###


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The Somers-Harris Family
Your one stop Somers-Harris update-
Our New Toy
Posted on December 5th, 2014 1 commentYes! We now finally have our brand new second hand car. It is a Toyota Noah with about 55,000 Kilometers on it. We received it on Saturday just in time for us to get the car seats in and prepare for Sunday church.
We are so grateful to all that went into our getting this vehicle. Last Sunday our pastor preached on seeing any problems or difficulties we may experience becoming opportunities of evangelism. We have definitely seen that happen during this time of finding a replacement vehicle. What looked like one step forward and two backward led to us the dealer who on our first visit was quickly talking with us about his experience with visiting churches in both UK and here in Japan. He has accepted our invitation to visit our church for the coming Christmas Jazz concert and will be coming with his wife!
Our Van Up-Date
Posted on October 30th, 2014 No commentsI will try very hard to keep this one short. As I mentioned earlier our car was not worth as much as the damage done to it. It seems the other driver's insurance is only liable for the value of the van so it does not look like we will be able to get the van repaired. We have begun looking on the web for a replacement van but we just found out today that we are also liable for the cost of disposing of our damaged vehicle. We were eligible through our insurance for a free tow but that has already been used getting the van to the repair shop for a quote. I hope we can share some good news a little later.
Here is one of the many links we have researched in the last couple of days. http://www.accessj.com/2012/08/car-recycling-in-japan.html Fortunately we are able to access much information like this in English from time to time.
Our Van
Posted on October 15th, 2014 No commentsThis is a photo of our van taken the end of March in 2011 when we were preparing for our very first trip right after the Tsunami wreaked such damage on the coast of Tohoku. The second picture is of the team that went with us; it was the first of many trips that our van took and included people from YWAM, TBC and Hi-BA. As you can see we took along as much stuff as we possibly could. IT was our small part in bringing relief to those affected by the tragedy.
We had bought this van in 2009 shortly after our last van had to be retired, mainly due to old age. We actually experimented for a month using the public trains and busses. It turned out that we paid over ¥30,000 ($279) in public transportation for this period, so we visited the local Toyota used car lot and were able to purchase this van for just ¥10,000 ($93) a month.
A couple of months ago we finally paid the last installment so the van was totally owned by us. We completed the biannual government required check up including replacing two tyres and were all set for a new season in our lives of enjoying our van with no continuing payments at all.
Then last week we were rear-ended. Now our van looks like this. Everyone had to go to the hospital to be checked but were found to be okay. The van cannot be driven because the exhaust pipe hangs from the vehicle and the fender is pushed back so that the license cannot be seen. It was towed to the repair shop which estimated the repair bill to be ¥716,852 ($6,685) This, however, caused a problem as we heard today from the insurance company that they would only pay to the current value of the van – ¥250,000 ($2,331). TBC……..
Sports Ministries
Posted on June 6th, 2014 No commentsI am sure that most of you are aware by now that Tokyo will be hosting the 2020 Olympics. However, what you may not know is that interest has been increasing in "Sports Ministries" in Japan over the last few years. It is not always easy though for Japanese pastors to see how their churches can be involved in sports ministry. Last month at a meeting of a growing network of Sports Ministries I learned why there has not been a strong interest and resulting movement among the local churches. If someone suggested to a local pastor that the church needed a sports ministry, the Pastor's first reaction would be, "Sports?" The matches are always held on Sundays. Why would I need a sports ministry?"
This meeting then was very encouraging as it was hosted in a large Japanese church (Hongo Dai Church) and was attended by several Pastors from Kanto and one even from Osaka. Churches from this group are already targeting Brazil for the World Cup Soccer Games on now and also an Expo Unity World cup being held in India in December. It was very encouraging to hear all that they were already doing and planning to do.
It seems that I will have something valuable to share with this group from my planned trip to UK to talk with the leader who organized the London Olympics for YWAM.
The meeting went over lunch and continued into the afternoon. There was a lot of good sharing and interaction over the meal as well as in the more formal times of sharing. In the dining room I was surprised to meet an old friend from TBC who is now on staff at Hongo Dai Church. I am looking forward to meeting him and others again at our next meeting after I return from Europe.
Posted on March 1st, 2014 No commentsJEMA, Japan Evangelical Missions Association, has been in existence for around 50 years now, seeking to link together and serve the Evangelical Missions movement here in Japan. YWAM has been a member for several many years now. I served on the communications committee for several seasons in my younger years. This committee is responsible to produce the quarterly JEMA Harvest Magazine that has useful information for the missionary community. If you would be interested in receiving theses magazines, please let me know and I will give you the needed information to subscribe.
Every year JEMA has its annual meeting where we all get together to hear reports from the year's activities and vote on budgets, committee members, and other related annual business. This year I attended the annual Plenary meeting along with Sandy Gibbard from our national office who was our official voting member. I want to share with you some of the information that was reported this year..
One group we get to hear from is JEA. (Japan Evangelical Association) This is an association of Evangelical Churches here in Japan. Their representative informed us of the continuing work in the Tohoku area where the tsunami caused such damage three years ago. This report was especially about the work in the area of Fukushima which had the problems with the nuclear reactor. It seems that the farms are now growing their crops again but there is some reluctance on the part of mothers with young children to eat these products. The older folks do not seem to handle well that their children or especially their grandchildren are not eating their produce and this is forming deep division among the families. This is an aspect of the recovery they are now working with.
A different picture came from the group CAN (Christian Artist Network) When I was on the publishing committee the CAN group was just forming and they wanted to link together musicians and artists who were working here in Japan. I still remember the meeting where Paul Nethercott came and shared his heart and vision with us.
Ken has faithfully pursued his vision over the years and at this year's plenary was able to introduce the new film he is working on: "2 Criminals". One of the characters that the film is about attended the session and gave his testimony. I always appreciate an opportunity to hear testimony of what God is doing in the nation of Japan. This film is a work in progress and is scheduled to be released next year 2015.
As you can see from the flyer there is much prayer work and even finances needed to see this project completed. If you would like to help in any way please either contact CAN with the information on the flyer or let me know and I will help you to connect. There is a web page for the film: 2criminalsmovie.com
Finally, we had reports from CPI (Church Planting Institute) and CIS (Church Information Services) These two groups are always communicating the latest information about churches, members and relevant information concerning the state of the church here in Japan. Unfortunately, the information they had to present still shows a GREAT need for more workers, more evangelism and more church planting in Japan.
I don't know if you can see the details in this picture from the CPI presentation but it shows the latest information available for the churches of Japan. The first point is that the population of Japan is 127,000,000. The second point tell us that that less than 280,000 people are in church on a given Sunday, which means that less than 0.22% are in church every Sunday.
The CIS presenter gave us a printout of their statistics which show both good and bad news for the nation. First the good news. In a twenty year period the number of churches has grown by 927. The membership has increased in the same period by 33,143. The sad thing in comparing the CPI report with the CIS report is that, while there are 546,052 members listed, only 280,00 actually attend church each Sunday. Finally, while there are 7,928 churches listed there were only 7,546 baptisms reported for the same year. That is less that one baptism per church!
Obviously there is a GREAT need for more to be done. I wish there was much more good news to share but this is the reality we live with here in the nation of Japan. Every missionary I know here longs for a great movement among the Japanese to see millions come to know and experience the God who loves them so much.
Toilet Talk
Posted on November 20th, 2013 No commentsIt was over twenty five years ago that my fiancee and I were sent to Noda City to participate in a church outreach. We were going to be staying at the same house and were given a tour of the facilities shortly after arrival. This tour of the facilities included a demonstration of their recently acquired paperless toilet. This wonder of modern technology came with two jets that sprayed various parts of your anatomy with warm water followed by an air dryer to complete the operation. The demonstration ended up spraying water right out of the bowl which had Rhonda as I remember in fits of laughter.
I mentioned that this was over twenty five years ago and this was a country town not the centre of Tokyo. Much progress has taken place since then, now it is possible when entering the closet for the light to come on immediately, the seat to lift up before you get there, then nice soft music with the sound of a stream trickling in the background playing all the time you are seated on the throne. Finally when the air has fully dried the bits that need to be dried and you rise up to dress the toilet flushes, the music fades and as you leave the room the lid closes and the light turns off. All without touching any buttons at all.
Wow! Just as I was marvelling at how far we have come and how wonderful this piece of household equipment was, knowing exactly when I came in, when I sat down and when I got up; I was reminded of the following words from a book I once read. "You have searched me Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise………"Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain" Yikes! God has been way ahead of the game, we are just scratching the surface of who He is and what He can do.
Hokkaido – The Centre 富良野市
Posted on October 18th, 2013 1 commentAfter visiting the eastern Cape we returned to the Lee household and shared all about our adventure of the day. As we talked we learned that that there was also a "Central Point" of Hokkaido. A large stone erected in the grounds of an elementary school. As this was practically on the way back to the airport for us we decided to make the effort and go there as well! The trip there was very smooth and we were able to just walk into the school ground and pray. Having prayed the four points open to the presence and power of God we invited the blessing and presence from all four points to flow into the centre. Both Greg and I felt a sense of completeness when we had finished praying and we went to the nearest sushi store to celebrate followed by a relaxing hot bath at the onsen.
Our time in Hokkaido has been very fulfilling and gave us a great sense of hope for the future. Even though we will head back to Tokyo and "get on with life" we both know that this is the beginning of something significant for YWAM Japan, Hokkaido, the nation of Japan and the rest of the world as God unfolds the answers to the prayers we were led to pray of this amazing island.
We will continue to pray for this island and its people and for the Lee family as they continue to sow seeds and reap a harvest in Tokachi. The day we left we helped them move many futons from their house to the facility where they would be holding a youth camp. We learned that about 60 people attended and they witnessed some conversions during that time.
Please take time after you have read this blog to pray for Abraham, Ayumi and Samuel as they keep pressing forward to see the victory of the cross established in Tokachi.
納沙布岬 Hokkaido – the Eastern Cape
Posted on October 16th, 2013 4 commentsFor this trip Greg felt we should be at the eastern cape in time for the sunrise. The bad news was this meant getting up at 01:00 and driving for over three hours to make it in time. The good news was that Samuel was able to come with us to worship and pray. The trip there proved fairly exciting as we actually saw about eight to ten foxes and maybe about twenty deer. Fortunately Greg has a lot of experience of driving in deer country and spotted a group of them about to jump into the road and warned me in time to be able to avoid hitting them! So thanks to Greg we made it safe and sound and just in time to set up before the sunrise.
There were a handful of other folks also at the cape to catch the sunrise but they did not seem too bothered by the three of us praying our hearts out just below them. The sunrise was perfect and enabled us to take many awesome pictures. Our heart today was especially for the indigenous Ainu people. It was seeing all those deer and foxes that caught our attention and focused us on the original inhabitants.
Right after we arrived at the cape the sun began to peek above the horizon. We cried our that just as we witnessed everything around us transformed by the light and warmth of the sun that we would see Hokkaido and Japan transformed by the power of love. I encouraged Samuel to speak out blessing over the island in Japanese and I stood beside him to encourage him and agree with everything he prayed. As our custom was at the end of the prayer we said "In Jesus name. YES!!!" and timed the YES with a high five. Greg caught that moment with the sun right behind us and our high five right in the middle of the sun.
I can't explain what happened in my heart as I saw what had started out as a fun way to involve a fourteen year old boy in prayer those many years ago, turned into the nineteen year old young man with a passionate heart crying out to God for blessing on his island and crying out for the destiny of his people in the nation of Japan.
We left the cape and went just a little over to this impressive arch where Sam led us in singing in Japanese and we prayed a lot more too. We didn't see any more deer on the return journey but were ale to stop at McDonalds in time for their breakfast.
Hokkaido – The Lee Family
Posted on October 14th, 2013 2 commentsI have know the Lee family for about six years now, so it was with great joy that we now headed to their house in Urahoro to prepare for our trip to the eastern cape. Abraham and Ayumi, along with their son Samuel have been an integral part of my of my pursuing the vision of seeing YWAM established in Hokkaido from the very beginning. Samuel and I bonded from our first meeting, He is a special friend to me and we always enjoy praying together. There are too many pictures of Samuel and me so I started a separate album on my Facebook homepage just called Samuel Lee.
On the road to their house we saw a family wrapping up bales of hay for the winter. Greg was so stuck by the image of the young boy sitting on the hay that he had us turn round and go back to take some pictures. It was a blessing to see this family working together to complete this task and seeing how much more trust and experience was given to this young lad just because he was working with his family. We also saw several different signs warning of deer but were rather disappointed not to see a single one ever since we had left Chitose.
Abraham is Korean and his wife Ayumi is from Hokkaido. If I have the story right they met in YWAM in Kona. They are currently reaching out in an area called Tokachi. Which Abraham explains means the victory of the cross. 十勝 They are involved at many levels of society and right after our visit they had a youth camp where several people committed their lives to Jesus. In our conversations Abraham explained how they had been building relationships for a long time now but felt that now was the time to share the gospel.
We were blessed to share at their open meeting on Sunday and were able to pray over the mother and son who attended. Samuel had been reaching out to this young man and in one of our Skype conversations we had prayed for him. So it was with great joy that Greg and I could pray over this young man and his mother.
宗谷岬 Hokkaido – Northern Cape
Posted on October 13th, 2013 1 commentThe next day was the only day it rained just about all day. It took us most of that day just to drive to the northern cape and then on to our resintg place at Saru futtsu. I had previously made a reservation to stay in a cabin but as they closed at 17:00 and we did not arrive until 17:15 they had already closed shop and gone home, so we were left with no option but to find a room at the hotel next door. This turned out for the best though as the hotel came with a nice bed and the cabin only had a bunk bed without a mattress and the fee for the hotel included admission to their Onsen where the log cabin required an extra fee for the hot bath.
On the trip to the northern point and all around that part of the island we saw a huge investment in wind farms. However it was not uncommon to see only a partial use of the wind turbines. In a set of five only one or two were actually being used. Greg had a passage calling the north wind to blow and believes that the wind is a symbol of the prophetic ministry. Just like there were many fully equipped wind turbines in that area but they were somehow not connecting and doing what they were designed to do. We both felt thee were many in Hokkaido and Japan that needed to be all that they were designed to be. We had a powerful time of calling out what God could see in the hearts and lives of the people of Hokkaido.
We also saw a lot of Hawks Gliding in the wind. There were so many analogies and word pictures from the wind which incidentally was blowing quite strongly as we prayed at Soya Misaki. I wish Greg were here now to remind me me of some of the many things I am sure that I missed. On that day however, we prayed not only down at the cape but also up on the hill looking over the monument.
Another interesting addition to the adventure was visiting the most northern post office in Hokkaido. Greg actually needed to withdraw some money while I played tourist and took pictures.