text:
Job Offers
How will a job in a foreign country affect my prospects for getting a job at home?
How do I negotiate the terms of a job offer?
Candidates may be excited to hear over the telephone that they have won a job, but they should politely insist on receiving the offer in writing before accepting or declining it. In this process, candidates should regard the department chair as an honest broker who nevertheless must negotiate with the institution's interests in mind. Therefore, candidates may wish to discuss the terms of the job offers with graduate school mentors and to speak with recently hired assistant professors at offering schools to confirm that the terms proposed are comparable to theirs. If candidates then negotiate enhancements, they should receive, sign, and return a revised offer letter reflecting any agreed-on changes. During this process, candidates should be patient. Most chairs must discuss with their deans all revisions to offers before writing to candidates. This process can take days, even weeks: for example, a dean may be slow to approve changes or a chair may have to redraft a letter, send it to a dean for approval, and then incorporate the dean's editorial changes. At some schools, the modified offer letter may have to be scrutinized and approved by the legal department.
A candidate who is ready to negotiate should ask the chair about any or all of the terms, working conditions, fringe benefits, and perquisites I list below. At some institutions, many of the items that follow will already be included, though a candidate may wish to improve some terms; at other institutions, a candidate may have to negotiate the inclusion of these items in a contract.
Equity adjustments
Merit adjustments (Does the institution have a policy? What has its record been in past years?)
Salary advance (to be paid before appointment begins)
Course buyouts (trading money for time to work on research)
Summer salary (after appointment begins)
Postdoctoral research (What happens if a new hire wins a postdoctoral grant? Does the institution have a postdoctoral grant program?)
Moving expenses
Research expenses and leave
Computer and software or peripherals
Research leave during tenure probation
Supplementation for outside grants (How often and for how long can winning a grant stop the tenure clock?)
Conference or travel expenses, including expenses for overseas conferences and research
Special materials purchase or rental (e.g., video or film, software)
Teaching support and working conditions
Teaching load and class scheduling (Are there choices?)
Course reductions (for research, public service, or other reasons)
Time off for course development
Photocopying and office supplies
Graders for large classes
Faculty development and training
Fringe Benefits
(What is the standard package? Can special medical, insurance, or other needs be accommodated?)
Other conditions
Spousal or partner hiring or job placement
Fringe benefits for spouse or partner
Spousal or partner tuition
Child care arrangements
Pregnancy or parental leave
Candidates involved in negotiations should bear in mind that they are not only creating favorable terms of employment for themselves but also dealing with immediate supervisors and colleagues whose trust, confidence, and goodwill will be essential during tenure probation. Therefore, candidates should not be shy, should deal firmly but courteously, should ask for what they justifiably need, and should not play games. The best terms are those that both the candidate and his or her new department can agree will enhance the candidate's work and his or her value to the institution as a teacher, researcher, and colleague.
"Negotiating a Job Offer"
Philip E. Smith
Department of English
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
How do I decide whether to accept an offer?
Should you find yourself in the enviable position of weighing two or more offers, you should seriously consider several factors before you make even a preliminary choice. The prestige of the institution and the level of remuneration will undoubtedly affect your decision. Yet other factors may be more important. Location should be one of your first considerations. If you possibly can, you should be prepared to move—others will be—but not to someplace where you'll be miserable or where there is no adequate affordable housing. The size of the institution is another crucial factor, as are the size and makeup of the department. A large department with strong enrollments will rarely require much versatility. A smaller department may well expect you to show great versatility and, because enrollments are usually low, to attract new students to the program. Since enrollments mean jobs, this responsibility is serious business.
Will you be satisfied teaching undergraduate courses, or will you need the challenge of participating in a graduate program? Do you like teaching both language and literature? What about methodology? Candidly assess your teaching ability and your long-term commitment to research. A small department may need a star in the classroom. It will also make heavier service demands, but if reason prevails, there will be less emphasis on research productivity.
Other important questions revolve around the institution's status as public, private, or religiously affiliated. What is its financial situation? How diverse are its faculty and student body? Is the institution unionized? Do faculty members get raises? Promotions? Tenure? The tenure situation should of course be explored in depth. A lot of issues are involved here. Try to discover when tenure was last granted in the department and what the recipient's credentials were. Ask how much research is expected and how research is supported. What relative weight is given to teaching, research, and service? Inquire about the teaching load, library facilities, and the availability of grants, leaves, and conference money. What kind of contract will you be issued? In a word, try to determine whether junior faculty members are generally nurtured or exploited in the institution you are considering. I certainly do not recommend that you barrage your interviewers with all these questions, some of which you can answer by consulting a catalog, but you should have replies to all of them before you accept a job.
"The MLA Job Interview: What Candidates Should Know"
Ann Bugliani
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Loyola University Chicago
How will a job in a foreign country affect my prospects for getting a job at home?
If you are in a field where your international experience is directly relevant to the position you want to seek, working abroad will be an advantage. Unfortunately, such experience is relevant only occasionally—in ESL, for instance. For most candidates looking at positions in literature, there is no obvious gain. While living and working overseas is intrinsically enriching and will almost certainly give you intangible benefits valuable to your long-term life and career, at the entry level you may be disadvantaged by not entering the market when your graduate research is freshest. Leaving the United States will also take you away from opportunities to publish, present, and network. Similarly, running a search from abroad is difficult and costly. Different academic calendars, differences in time zones, and sheer distance may all pose barriers to easy participation in the United States hiring cycle. While getting back for the MLA Annual Convention may be feasible, arranging multiple campus interviews is much more problematic. The bottom line: international work experience can be deeply enriching, but, if you are considering it, you need to be aware of the complications it may create, and you must plan a reentry strategy to the United States (the late-year hires into temporary positions may be a good option).
Iain Crawford
Dean, School of Liberal Arts
University of Southern Indiana
What should I do if I don't get an offer?
Receiving few or no invitations to interview may be no reflection on your accomplishments and qualifications but simply the result of a terrible job market. "What am I doing wrong" is a question haunting people who have done nothing wrong at all.
Margaret Schramm
Department of English and Theater Arts
Hartwick College


text:
The Appalachian State Mountaineers are in talks to join Conference USA, ASU Director of Athletics Charlie Cobb has confirmed.
Appalachian State has been a member of the Southern Conference in the Football Championship Subdivision since 1971. There they have won three national championships (2005-07) and won or shared the Southern Conference championship 11 times.
In a release dated May 8, 2012, Cobb wrote:
"Potential membership in Conference USA is one of the scenarios that Appalachian has been pursuing since the athletics feasibility committee made their recommendation last August. As you recall, the committee recommended that Appalachian seek membership in a conference that sponsors FBS football and the Board of Trustees approved that recommendation this past September. The committee's mandate was that a new conference must create geographic rivalries and make financial sense for us."
"Feedback that we have received throughout this process has been overwhelmingly positive with regards to our University's and athletics department's infrastructure. Our academic programs are top-notch, our financial base is strong, the data put forth by the athletics feasibility committee is solid and our facilities, fan support and success on the playing fields and courts are unparalleled among our peers."
One of the hurdles for ASU to overcome is their location. They are located in Boone, North Carolina, a town with a population of 14,138 according to the U.S. Census Bureau (2009).
But Cobb accentuates the positives in his letter, stating that Appalachian State is "…in the coverage areas of four top-100 markets that serve over 3 million homes combined" and that they have "…103,000 living alumni and 76,000 of them live in the major population centers of North Carolina."
In addition, Cobb points out that based on last years attendance, the Mountaineers would have finished 5th in Conference USA and second in the Sun Belt Conference.
Earlier this week, it was rumored that App State and New Mexico State would get invitations to join the Sun Belt Conference. That rumor was shot down by SBC commissioner Karl Benson, as least in regards to NM State.
The letter released by Appalachian State's Charlie Cobb shows that the Mountaineers are more interested in joining Conference USA than the Sun Belt.
It would be awesome to see Appalachian State to join C-USA! I couldn't wait to see Marshall play them again.
Replacing Dallas, TX with Boone, NC doesn't seem to quite fit the bill.
Very true… I hope that UTSA can replace them and I guess replace one of our 2 Houston schools with North Texas…
SMU does not give you the Dallas, Texas market at all. North Texas has to have close to three times the DFW market that SMU has. If you ranked college team by how many fans they have in Dallas SMU would be doing good to be #8.
1) Texas
2) Texas A&M
3-4) Oklahoma and Texas Tech (no order)
5-10) Ok State, Arkansas, TCU, SMU, North Texas, Baylor (no order)
Also ran) Tulsa, K-State, Kansas, LSU, La Tech, Houston, Rice, Texas St, Sam Houston St, UTSA, UTEP.
How many times was UNT on regional or national television last year?
four times
Why wouldn't The Big East take UNT instead if they command such a large DFW TV market share?
I think that Miami University of Ohio or Toledo should join Conference USA. I believe that would be a great rivalry for Marshall to have!
Doesn't the team from Boone, NC have a better fan following than the team from Dallas.
Sounds like the Big East made a mistake by bringing in SMU instead of Appalachian State.
That team also beat Michigan in their own big house! They will do just fine and yes they have a following just like BSU did before moving up.
I just heard that Liberty also wants to move up to FBS.
Really? where did you hear that.
I think Liberty is going to have a hard time fitting into a conference. Because of their fundamentalist nature, and their extremely conservative politics****see disclaimer) along with the fact that they refuse to play any sport on Sunday's doesn't make them the kind of school other conferences will want. And under the current rules, you can not upgrade to FBS without a conference invite.
Also they are in a small TV market that is dominated by UVa fans.
disclaimer****let's not turn this thread into whether you agree or disagree with their positions; but I think you will all agree that many university administrations will find them quite controversial/
I thought BYU also does not play on Sunday.
Then theyll fit in just fine in the Sun Belt Conference.
They don't, and that is what kept them out of the Pac-10. And as far as programs go BYU has far more to offer a conference than Liberty does.
Under current NCAA rules, Liberty does not have the option to join the FBS as an independent, and unless a conference has absolutely no other option for a 12th team, I doubt they will look at Liberty.
As it stands now, C-USA has its 13 (If App State joins they will make 14), the MAC will have 13 the Sun Belt will be at 10 for football (counting the new teams) in 2013. So IMHO, Libery is going to be unwanted.
Perhaps they can talk to Idaho and NMSU to salvage something in the WAC.
Kinda surprised C-USA didn't look at Troy and Ark. State – two pretty good programs.
Troy is on the fringe of the Montgomery TX market (#119) and Ark State is in Jonesboro (#182),
And even in those markets I would guess those teams are less popular than the Tide, War Eagle and the Hogs.
bc, troy, alabama is no where near montgomery, texas
Obviously a typo – he meant Montgomery, AL.
you don't know that for sure Mike
yeah mike
I think that Appalachian State should join the C-USA. I mean, Why not? You have the opportunity to be in a division 1 conferance, and you get to play against good temas, like Houstan. I THINK THAT Appalachian-State should join C-USA!!!!!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Didn't found Colonial Club. I will try find some dsquared2 to test, but I didn't found a place that had it yet :(
Type: Posts; User: swib; Keyword(s):
Didn't found Colonial Club. I will try find some dsquared2 to test, but I didn't found a place that had it yet :(
I want suggestions based in the first half hour of CH Men from Carolina Herrera, I felt that half hour absolutely perfect in my skin, I really would like this perfection lasted longer.
Until now I would say Guerlain Vetiver and Dior Fahrenheit.
Curiously, both are top-rated fragrances in basenoets, I can't understad why, but whatever, everyone have their own tastes.
For me, a...
Blind bought Kenzo Tokyo in Strawberry, was $39,50 I think was a good value. Hope I like it
I just tested a lot of fragrances lately, I began about less than one month ago.
So many high-rated...
Rocky Silver Mountain is a "better" blind buy?
Its in on my list to try, but I cant find many vials/sample that I want.
I prefer something to wear in very hot weather, morning probably 30+...
Very impressed with the reveiws of Encre Noire in basenotes so far, I think i never read so many (awesome) positives in a fragrance.
Maybe it is a safe blind buy? Although, even with mine minor...
Hi guys,
Pretty hard question I guess, since this wasnt reviewed here so much.
But I just loved this fragrance (http://www.basenotes.net/ID26132185.html), I would like to know more alike.
Hi Daniel, I will check out thoses!
Originally Posted by swib
Eg.: 1 Million - 100ml costs R$300,00, equivalent to $468 in EUA.
I think youre overpricing our Real, cause 1 dollar = 1,6...
Hi people, thanks for the advices.
I went to a store yesterday and I felt A LOT of fragances, really a lot. The seller said its not a good idea to do that but whatever, I just did, I needed with...
My cousin will come to Brazil 01/08/2011, so she will bring imported to me. That will reduces cost a lot.
My lineup without try until now for her is this:
Chanel - Anteaus
Chanel - Allure...
I spent a lot in reviews here.
I saw some pattern, that old fragances receive awesome reviews, and rarely 2000+ releases receive good ones.
There is a good reason for that?
Seems like...
That's right, I will try find some store where I can smell the fragances, but I think that will be very hard :(
Everyone talk about davidoff cool water, it's all that good?
Nice job Hob Dobson,...
Hi people.
I want to buy some fragances, however I haven't tried anyone yet.
Did some research on the web, I will put the list in the end, maybe have something good in there. But finally, I...


text:
"Certainly children in any household arrangement need to be protected — need full support and love," said Mary Ellen Russell, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Maryland. But she said such protections should be provided without redefining the traditional concept of marriage as between a man and woman.
Many of the obstacles and inequities outlined in the new report would be addressed if same-sex marriage — now legal in six states and Washington, D.C. — were legalized nationwide and recognized by the federal government. However, the report includes numerous recommendations for less sweeping changes that would benefit children with gay parents, such as:
—Broadening the definition of "family" to allow LGBT families to benefit fully from government safety-net programs, and revise the tax code to provide equitable treatment for these families. At present, even legally married same-sex couples who can file joint state tax returns must file separate federal returns.
—Enacting state-level parental recognition laws that would allow joint adoption by LGBT parents. Even with about 110,000 children in foster care who are eligible for adoption, some states and agencies refuse to place children with same-sex couples.
—Ensuring that LGBT families have access to health insurance on equal terms with heterosexual families, and eliminate inequitable taxation of these benefits.
—Ensuring that hospital visitation and medical decision-making policies are inclusive of LGBT families.
—Expanding education and training about LGBT families for social workers, health care providers and other professionals.
Jeff Krehely, director of the Center for American Progress's LGBT research and communications project, said the report is part of an effort to counter arguments that same-sex marriage is a threat to children.
"People who oppose marriage equality have used and exploited children in a very scare-mongering way," said Krehely, who hopes the report will increase public understanding and empathy.
The report, titled "All Children Matter: How Legal and Social Inequalities Hurt LGBT Families," is being presented Tuesday at event in Washington drawing some high-level government officials.
Bryan Samuels, commissioner of the federal Administration on Children, Youth and Families, is scheduled to be part of a panel discussion, and the opening speech will be given by Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler, a staunch gay-rights supporter in a state where lawmakers will be considering a bill to legalize same-sex marriage next year.
"Same-sex marriage is a pro-family measure," Gansler said in a telephone interview.
Lisa Polyak, chair of the statewide gay-rights group Equality Maryland, says there will be a concerted effort during the legislative debate to highlight the challenges facing children of gays and lesbians.
"If you care about children, you should care that the parents don't have the legal tools to take the best care of them," she said.
Polyak and her partner of 30 years, Gita Deane, were married earlier this year in Washington. They have two daughters, Devi, 12, and Maya, 15, who testified before lawmakers last year in support of same-sex marriage in Maryland.
"The root of my activism is denial of equal treatment of my children," said Polyak, citing instances where her daughters had been hurt by other people's comments.
"One child told my daughter she was not allowed to come over to our house because we weren't really a family," Polyak said. "For them, it's a constant source of sadness and hurtfulness."
The "All Children Matter" report: http://www.children-matter.org
Family Equality Council: http://www.familyequality.org/
Center for American Progress: http://www.americanprogress.org/
David Crary can be reached at http://twitter.com/CraryAP
- Live at the GOP convention: Donald Trump...
- Rupert Murdoch vows Fox News without Ailes is...
- NBA moving All-Star Game out of Charlotte,...
- Kaine emerges as a favorite in Clinton's VP...
- Hundreds of demonstrators gather on...
- Fox needs to find a successor to man who...
- Brazil nabs 10 IS backers in Olympics...
- Daughter Ivanka Trump raises issues father...
- Utah delegates finally stand and cheer... 94
- Sarah Silverman: Bernie-or-bust Dems... 45
- Obama rejects Trump depiction of US in... 41
- The day after: Lee defends Cruz at GOP... 33
- Police give all-clear in Munich... 32
- After turmoil, Sanders, Michelle Obama,... 29
- Dems' division, emails roil party on... 28
- In wake of email hack, Democratic chair... 23


text:
Hello, Hello. Sign In
Please enter a valid city, state or zip code
35 reviews | 3.9 out of 5
After purchasing 3 machines from the store and which all worked @3-4 times, I returned them and decided to order online. Once again, after ordering 3 (all from different companies) I had to return the first 2 (worked several times and quit) and so far......the 3rd one has worked like a charm!!!
It is the Rival Deluxe Ice Shaver and to date, I have had no issues or problems and am very,very pleased with my "working" Ice Machine!!!! I have a rare Lung Disease and stay extremely thirsty at all times and was drinking 8-10 bottles of water a day. Needless to say my fluid intake made me look like a "blowfish" and also made me was very uncomfortable. The Ice Shaver delivers the exact amount of fluid I need, and is wonderful to crunch on as it does not break your teeth!!! Love it, love it!!!
This is a great machine for the price! I have purchased ice machines in the past, and was not happy with them. They either didn't work well or broke down after a few months. This machine works excellent and produces the ice just the way I like it. My sister also has this Rival brand ice machine and she purchased hers 10 years ago. Just to show you how durable they are.
seems to be a good product. like the fact that it is quiet .
Unless you unload jets for a living, the little plastic Rival ice grinder is unbelievably LOUD. Could accept the noise, but it is also SLOW. Expect 3-5 minutes to make a single snow cone. If you have kids waiting, then you know that is a deal breaker! Also expect hard ice chips the size of a grain of rice, not the melt in your mouth fluffy commercial shave ice quality. Worse yet, it would just spin noisily on ice from an automatic ice maker (typical half-moon shaped wedges) with no output. Had to pound the ice into tiny little chips first with a wooden mallet before machine would work slowly. Note that most reviewers had purchased as gift and never actually used it. I returned it to WalMart.
I wanted something to make an icee but it doesn't make the ice small enough.
Will keep looking.
We don't do snowcones, but we both like iced coffee and this shaver works great.
Bought for grand kids they were happy for the snow cones
I was frustrated at first because the ice wouldn't shave no matter how I fed it into the shaver. Finally, we realized if we put the ice in the cup and let it sit for about 5 minutes, it worked. Better anyway. This is not a very fast method but eventually it got the job done. Once it works, the ice is nice. I have only used the snow cone setting because of the time element.
Bought this to make a Filipino desert dish called Halo Halo. Makes great shaved ice and the halo halo is like a taste of home according to family. next attempt is to try to make some frappes like McDonald's
My ice shaver broke 2 weeks after receiving it. Made in China. I wish WalMart would sell more American made products.
Great product, Great price, Very durable.
I use it 2-3 times a day, but after couple weeks or so, it breaks. neat little machine, but can't take the pressure.
We have had other snow come makers and smoothie makers ! This is an excellent combo. Works in seconds!!!
Good for small jobs but takes a while to shave had to refill ice 3x to make large slushie
My wife and grandchildren love the snow cones. It is worth the money.
Easy to use, powerful, holds a lot of ice! Buy with confidence!
it does the job, but be warned....it is VERY loud!!!!!
my husband loves this. He makes a snow glass every night
Love it works great
Picked it up, went home and took it out of the box, hardly worked. The ice it shaved (1/2 cup in 10 min) melted quicker than it could shave it. Don't waste your money, I returned it the next day


text:
James and Taffe demoted - 12-13-08
The Penguins demoted forwards Connor James (above) and Jeff Taffe to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton immediately after today's 6-3 loss in Philadelphia.
Taffe has one assist and is a minus-2 in four games this season with the NHL Penguins. He has 29 points in 24 games with the AHL Penguins this season.
James' appearance today has been his only game with the NHL Penguins this season. He had 8:15 of ice time. James has 17 points in 26 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season.
EN Says: If these guys are being demoted, it must mean the great Mike Zigomanis and/or Maxime Talbot are healthy. And it says quite a bit about management's opinion of Tim Wallace.
(Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)


text:
Tiler of NYCB has a web site: Tiler Talks.com
This site uses cookies. By using this site, you agree to accept cookies, unless you've opted out. (US government web page with instructions to opt out: http://www.usa.gov/optout-instructions.shtml)
tiler pecktiler peck
Started by jimmattimore , Jun 23 2013 11:48 PM
No replies to this topic
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
Help support Ballet Alert! and Ballet Talk for Dancers year round by using this search box for your amazon.com purchases. (If it doesn't appear below, your computer's or browser's adblockers may have blocked display):


text:
|Created by
|Santhosh George Kulangara
|Presented by
|Santhosh George Kulangara
|Narrated by
|Aneesh Punnen Peter
|Country of origin
|Original language(s)
|No. of episodes
|About 1000
|Labour India
|Running time
|30 minutes
|Original network
|Asianet (formerly)
Safari TV (since 2013)
|Original release
|External links
Sancharam (Malayalam: സഞ്ചാരം, English: travel), is the first telecast of a visual travelogue in Malayalam language television. The program has been shot, edited and directed by Santhosh George Kulangara. It is being aired on prime time 09. 30 p. prime time 10 p.m. (IST) every weekday in Safari TV channel and re-telecasted the next day (weekdays only) two times. The program has completed over 1000 episodes and has been shot in more than 75 countries during the last 15 years. Originally aired on Asianet on Sundays, it has been then started airing on Safari TV, which is owned by Santhosh George Kulangara.
An internet edition of Sancharam is also available free of cost. In the website, viewers may choose the countries they wish to watch by using drop-down list with audio by commentator currently available in Malayalam. It claimed to be the first Internet television in Kerala.[1]
Sancharam is about to be shot in space by Santhosh George Kulangara who has been selected for the Virgin Galactic's next space tourism programme, SpaceShipTwo. With this space journey, he is slated to be India's first space tourist.[2][3]
The editing of Sancharam is done by Labour India Publications Ltd..
The episodes which are being telecasted presently were shot at places in Georgia
Sancharam has won many awards by this time. Some of the awards includes:[4][5]
- Best TV serial award [6]
- Vivekananda Awards [7]
- Limca Book of Records, added in its 2007 edition [8]
- Kerala's Film Critics Award: for the best Television program telecasted in 2005.
- Souparnikatheeram State Award: Television Award for the best director of a non-fictional program.
- All India RAPA Award-2004: award of 'best non-fiction television program' given away by Radio and TV Advertising Practitioners Association (RAPA)
- National Film Academy Award: program has been declared eligible for the award instituted by National Film Academy for the section 'Other than Fiction'
- Kerala Film Critics Association Award-2003
- All India Akshaya National Award-2003
- National Award: This is one of the awards given at National level in the Radio-Mini screen field. This program selected for the award from the TV programs of about 20 different languages.
- ^ "Internet Television Channel Sancharam inaugurated". Mathrubhumi. page 7, 2 January 2007. Check date values in:
- ^ Tuning "Sancharm to be in space" Check
|url=value (help). Fine Tuning the World.
- ^ "Santosh George to become first Indian space tourist". Chennai, India: The Hindu Online. 16 March 2007.
- ^ "TV megaserial Awards". Chennai, India: The Hindu Online. 17 February 2004.
- ^ "Sancharam video, awards". sancharam.com.
- ^ "TV megaserial Awards announced". Music India Online.
- ^ "Vivekananda Awards for Santhosh George Kulangara". New Indian Express.
- ^ "First telecast of a visual travelogue in Malayalam". Limca Book of Records. Retrieved 2006-08-08.
External links[edit]
This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia. A portion of the proceeds from advertising on Digplanet goes to supporting Wikipedia.


text:
The "Thunder Chickens" and the first combat-ready V-22 squadron face their first combat test in September when the new warbirds and their pilots head to war-torn Iraq.
But behind the scenes, Osprey pilots, maintenance crews and experts from Bell Boeing have been laying the groundwork for a seven-month deployment.
"Everyone who has worked on the Osprey program over the years on the company side and on the government side has been sort of building toward this moment," said James Darcy, a spokesman for the V-22 Joint Program Office.
Gen. James Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, announced in April that Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron VMM-263 and 10 MV-22 Ospreys would deploy to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq.
The Marine Corps recently declared the Osprey combat-ready after completing numerous tests and evaluations. But Iraq is where the Osprey will cut its teeth in combat operations later this month. The aircraft will be transported to Iraq on the USS Wasp, an amphibious assault ship.
During their duty tour, Marine Osprey crews will conduct assault support operations such as evacuating the wounded, transporting troops and resupplying them.
The MV-22 aircraft can fly twice as fast, more than twice as high and up to five times farther than the aging CH-46E helicopters it will replace.
The 10 MV-22s destined for Iraq also are undergoing some specific modifications to thwart potential problems during the deployment..
One is installing a special system to drain any possible leaking hydraulic fluids away from a hot infrared suppression system that thwarts heat-seeking missiles. The change was prompted by an Osprey fire caused by leaking hydraulic fluid.
If a hydraulic line is shot out by enemy fire, the MV-22's triple-redundant hydraulic system would kick in and the craft would continue flying, Darcy said. Leaking fluids would be drained away by a new drainage system that keeps potentially flammable fluids away from possible ignition sources in engine compartments.
Another change is a fix for the Osprey's nose landing gear doors.
"We had a couple of incidents where the nose landing gear had hung up: The doors had failed to open properly and had been damaged when the nose landing gear came down or alternatively that the nose landing gear couldn't deploy properly," Darcy said. "We worked with Bell Boeing on a redesign of certain components to make it more robust."
The gritty sands of Iraq even factor into planning for the deployment. Ever-present sand and dust tend to cause rotors and other equipment to wear out prematurely, Darcy said, so the military has worked to ensure that much-needed spare parts will be waiting for maintenance crews.
"That first deployment is the first chapter on a decades-long story for the Osprey," he said. "The work that VMM-263 will do on this first deployment - above and beyond being extremely significant to the Marines that they will be flying around - is also going to have a huge impact on the future of this aircraft and in proving its capabilities and its reliability."
Bob Kenney, vice president and director of the Bell-Boeing V-22 program, said improvements planned for the Osprey include upgraded weather radar, a moving map display, defensive countermeasures, emergency standby instruments and engine modifications.
Kenney, a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, said the company has been busy preparing for the deployment.
"The whole V-22 team has a laser focus on Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 263's deployment to Iraq," he said. "We've been working pretty much nonstop since September and the pace keeps picking up.
"We will probably not have guessed everything that might break in that harsh environment. There are always a couple surprises when an aircraft deploys for the first time, particularly in an environment like Iraq," he added. "What will be developed and proven here, once the Marines take it into combat, are the tactics. The young pilots in the tactical squadron will match new tactics to the combat situation."
Kenney said another challenge is answering critics who have questioned the craft's maintainability, survivability and ability to maneuver. Two fatal crashes in 2000 claimed the lives of 23 Marines. Other accidents in the early 1990s killed seven people.
"The biggest challenge is the lingering reputation of the V-22 as being unsafe," Kenney said. "Our critics, surprisingly, haven't really kept up with all the flight tests and all the improvements that have been incorporated.
"Deploying the aircraft into combat will prove one way or another who was right. I think the 'pros' that support the V-22 happen to be right, but we'll see. It's ready to go."
Amarillo Globe-News © 2016. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Policy / About Our Ads


text:
V-Band Solid State Power Amplifier
Award Information
Small Business Information
Nuvotronics LLC
7586 Old Peppers Ferry Loop, Radford, VA, -
Principal Investigator:
Jean-Marc Rollin
Senior RF Engineer
(800) 341-2333
Senior RF Engineer
(800) 341-2333
Business Contact:
Scott Meller
Vice President
(800) 341-2333
Vice President
(800) 341-2333
Research Institution:
AbstractNuvotronics has created a unique metal micromachining process, PolyStrataTM, used to create suspended recta-coax lines, high performance MMIC sockets, and millimeter-wave (MMW) interconnection circuits with low loss, small size/high density, and durability. Nuvotronics and their collaborators are proposing to develop high power, high efficiency V-band Solid State Amplifiers for future Military Satellite Communication Systems. The significance of the innovation primarily lies in two areas: state of the art GaN MMICs amplifiers combined with extremely low loss / high efficiency corporate power combiners and spatial combiners realized using Polystrata technology. BENEFIT: The SSPA developed on this program will provide advanced SSPA components for next generation satellite communication systems in both military and commercial applications.
* information listed above is at the time of submission.
An Official Website of the United States Government


text:
Located on 12 wooded acres nestled at the base of the Swan Mountains, BruMar Estate is a naturally photogenic setting that represents the essence of Montana.
Scenic mountain views surround our distinctive "link style" golf course completing a picture of perfection in which to host your special event.
Windows and an open lodge style dining room provide an incredible view of the flowing Columbia River.The River Lodge and Grill is uniquely qualified to host your wedding or special event.
Let us host your next special occasion in our unique indoor/outdoor venue offering spectacular views of Okanagan Lake, a romantic gazebo and catering. We are happy to work with you to exceed your expectations and make your special event all that you hoped it would be.
Invite friends and family to join you for an unforgettable weekend in a mountain paradise! Celebrate your wedding in the pristine alpine setting of Island Lake Lodge, located 12km from the town of Fernie BC on 7,000 acres of private land.
Because of the attractive nature of the Museum grounds and buildings, special events of both public and private nature are frequently scheduled.
NRHC offers large and small, indoor and outdoor venues for a broad range of personal and public events including weddings.
Apple Tree Resort is the perfect location for your special day. And better yet, we'll help you through all the planning to make your day just what you imagined it to be! Once you've chosen the location, Apple Tree catering can provide you with a variety of menus that complement every taste.
Our beautiful outdoor courtyard is a perfect setting for Spring, Summer and Fall weddings. The staff of The Broadway has experience hosting special events.
A lush and rustic winery venue, 20 minutes from downtown Yakima. Featuring a lawn-style Amphitheater, a wine Cave, and a barn-style Quonset Hut. Enjoy our handcrafted wines and spend a magical evening among the vines.
Nestled within the heart of the Cascade Mountains, Swiftwater Cellars offers a breathtaking destination for your perfect day!
Victorian Mansion with gardens, cobblestone patio, and gazebo makes for the a elegant and romantic atmosphere to celebrate your big day.
A Wedding on the Conrad Mansion grounds is an event to remember for any fortunate bride. Many beautiful and moving ceremonies have been performed here, as well as lovely receptions.
The Teller Wildlife Refuge is the Bitterroot Valley's premier venue for country weddings and receptions. With the ability to accommodate up to 200 guests and both an indoor and outdoor option, the Slack Barn is perfect for your summer wedding.
Envision the wedding of your dreams at the Daly Mansion. The gorgeous, sloping lawns & leafy canopies above will enchant your guests & set the scene for perfect photography & video. The wedding reception includes use of the 40 x 100 tent, tables and chairs are available if needed. Ceremony..Reception..Or Both..Your Choice!
Flying Horse MT is the Bitterroot Valley's newest location for your special occasions. Indoors and out, casual or formal events. We cater to your needs and most importantly your desires. Situated on a 30 acre estate just east of Corvallis, Montana.
Exclusive, upscale, destination resort for small weddings 10-100 all inclusive package; incredible location on an island surrounded by mountains; great food, service and comfortable log mansion.
Make your perfect day even more perfect by having a beautiful outdoor wedding ceremony on the shores of Seeley Lake.
The entire ranch must be reserved for events such as a wedding that will have live music or other activities that would affect other guests. Our surroundings create the perfect backdrop.
Brundage Mountain Resort is tucked away high in the beautiful central mountains of Idaho.
Plan your dream wedding with 50 – 300 guests at Crystal Mountain Resort, neighboring the majestic Mt. Rainier. Ceremony and reception venues are available from June-Sept along with on-site lodging and in-house catering. The mountain's wild flowers are abundant in the middle of summer!
Custom built Country Log Lodge, set on 10 view acres. Lodge has 10 bedrms all attached baths, accommodations for family of 25. Acres of lawns, woods, use in planning your own event setting. Free parking, event tent, tables, chairs. choice of vendors. Year round facility, rent for private functions
Historic O'Keefe Ranch offers several wedding and reception venues with a very unique heritage ambiance. All weddings are individually designed to ensure a perfect memory. Your guests are our guests.
The facilities at the Pilgrim Cove Camp have been greatly upgraded since 2000 to accommodate everyone who may come to visit us.
A lakeside setting, floor-to-ceiling windows, traditional European design and spacious seating make the Edwards Ballroom an ideal reception.


text:
This product is no longer available. Continue shopping at
Faux Shagreen Pillow Cover
Embossed leather in a pale, delicate shade of green mimics the pebbled texture and exotic beauty of stingray skin. Backed in natural linen, our pillow cover is finished with a knife-edge and hidden zipper. Shagreen pattern embossed on supple cowhide. Backed in natural linen. Knife-edge finish. Hidden zipper. Insert sold separately.
Customer Reviews for
Faux Shagreen Pillow Cover
This product has not been reviewed.


text:
Culture and Food Festival
Turquoise Harmony Institute hosted the first Turkish Culture and Food festival on 21 March 2010 in Johannesburg. The first of its kind in South Africa, the festival proved to be a successful event and enjoyed
by thousands attended.The event is also publicized in the media.
The program included music, cultural and traditional item displays and exhibitions and great variety of examples of Turkish cuisine. The kebabs and especially the Doner Kebab were the most popular.
The Ottoman Army Band performed at the event and was enjoyed by all. In addition Kemal Kutlu, a Turkish rock singer entertained the guests while Nasreddin Hodja added smiles to the program.
One of the most popular was, by no doubt, the EBRU art show. Ebru is the art of writing on water! The artist who travelled from Turkey to participate in the event demonstrated the art by drawing amazing figures on water and the copying it onto paper.
Young talents displaying their talents in Turkish language and singing competition added more color to the experience. The competition was the local selection leg of the international Turkish language Olympiad held in Turkey.
During the festival some of the institutions established by Turkish people introduced themselves as well as sponsors introducing their products.
The festival introduced certain aspects of Turkish culture to South Africans and also helped Turkish people in South Africa to feel in homeland for a day! Everyone agreed that the event has been long overdue and it was indeed a significant step in introducing cultures and initiate exchange of cultural experiences. We all look forward to next year's festival which will definitely be bigger and better! Keep watching this space for news on this.


text:
719. MiamiHurricanes09
Quoting ElConando:*Larry the cableguy voice*: Looks like itsa time to put da plywood up! Ok all jokes aside, we really have to watch this for the possibility of a stronger system than what is currently anticipated. In truth, the NHC only thought that 03L was going to reach 45 knots before the Florida landfall, unfortunately, it achieved that way too early according to the vortex.
Member Since: September 2, 2009 Posts: 130 Comments: 21388


text:
Brentford 2-2 Hartlepool
- From the section Football
Brentford striker Paul Hayes scored his first two goals for the club but two own goals handed managerless Hartlepool a point.
The home side took the lead early on when Hayes fired home from close range.
Pools were level when defender Harlee Dean deflected a cross into his own net, but Hayes headed the Bees back in front just before the hour mark.
Tony Craig looped a header past keeper Simon Moore in the dying moments to hand the visitors a draw.
Brentford manager Uwe Rosler told BBC London 94.9:
"It was not one of our best performances. We were the better team in the first half with clear-cut chances.
"Leon Legge was very good. They didn't have too many chances in the second half.
"We got control and we got the second goal, but with two minutes to go we have to play into the corners.
"Instead we tried to play the football when we're chasing a result, not when we're defending a result."
Lineup, Bookings (5) & Substitutions (5)
- 21 Moore
- 05 Craig
- 06 Dean (Legge - 46' )
- 14 Logan
- 24 Bidwell
- 04 Forshaw Booked (Adeyemi - 84' )
- 08 Douglas Booked
- 20 Diagouraga Booked
- 09 Donaldson
- 19 Forrester
- 23 Hayes (Spencer - 82' )
- 01 Lee
- 03 Barron
- 32 Legge
- 02 O'Connor
- 12 Adeyemi
- 15 Dallas
- 11 Spencer
- 01 Flinders
- 02 Austin
- 06 Horwood
- 18 Baldwin
- 29 Hartley
- 03 Humphreys (Poole - 59' )
- 08 Walton
- 15 Sweeney
- 20 Murray Booked (Luscombe - 77' )
- 35 Noble Booked
- 39 Howard
- 31 McHugh
- 05 Collins
- 22 Holden
- 07 Franks
- 14 Luscombe
- 19 Richards
- 10 Poole
Match Stats
On target
Live Text Commentary
Full Time The final whistle is blown by the referee.90:00 +4:09
Ryan Noble is ruled offside. Indirect free kick taken by Simon Moore.90:00 +2:06
Simon Moore takes the free kick.90:00 +2:06 Booking
Booking Ryan Noble booked.90:00 +1:52
Foul by Nathan Luscombe on Tom Adeyemi, free kick awarded.90:00 +1:28
Jack Baldwin takes the direct free kick.90:00 +1:28 Booking
Booking Toumani Diagouraga is cautioned by the ref for unsporting behaviour.90:00 +1:18
Free kick awarded for a foul by Toumani Diagouraga on Nathan Luscombe.89:31
Assist on the goal came from Evan Horwood. Free kick awarded for a foul by Harry Forrester on Jack Baldwin. Free kick taken by Scott Flinders.89:31 Goal scored
Goal! - Tony Craig - Brentford 2 - 2 Hartlepool Headed own goal by Tony Craig. Brentford 2-2 Hartlepool.88:56
Inswinging corner taken by Evan Horwood.86:42
Jack Baldwin takes the free kick.86:42 Booking
Booking Jonathan Douglas is cautioned by the ref for unsporting behaviour.86:35
Jonathan Douglas challenges James Poole unfairly and gives away a free kick.84:46
The referee blows for offside. Neil Austin restarts play with the free kick.84:15
Steve Howard handles the ball and concedes a free kick. Free kick taken by Simon Moore.83:12 Substitution
Substitution Tom Adeyemi replaces Adam Forshaw.81:57 Substitution
Substitution Paul Hayes leaves the field to be replaced by James Spencer.80:42
Close range shot by Clayton Donaldson clears the bar.77:53
Jonathan Douglas concedes a free kick for a foul on James Poole. Evan Horwood fires a strike on goal direct from the free kick.
Substitution Nathan Luscombe is brought on as a substitute for Paul Murray.75:04
Jack Baldwin challenges Clayton Donaldson unfairly and gives away a free kick. The free kick is delivered right-footed by Jake Bidwell from left wing, clearance by Antony Sweeney.74:19
Shot by Clayton Donaldson from just outside the area goes over the net.73:21
Foul by Jack Baldwin on Clayton Donaldson, free kick awarded. Jonathan Douglas takes the direct free kick.72:02
Toumani Diagouraga gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Paul Murray. Paul Murray restarts play with the free kick.71:06
Free kick awarded for a foul by Leon Legge on Evan Horwood. Direct free kick taken by Scott Flinders.69:48
Free kick awarded for a foul by Clayton Donaldson on Neil Austin. Simon Walton takes the free kick.69:18 Booking
Booking The referee shows Adam Forshaw a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.68:24
Inswinging corner taken left-footed by Evan Horwood from the right by-line, Jonathan Douglas makes a clearance.68:02
Ryan Noble takes a shot. Simon Moore makes a save.66:20
The official flags Paul Hayes offside. Neil Austin takes the free kick.65:39
Foul by Toumani Diagouraga on Simon Walton, free kick awarded. Scott Flinders takes the direct free kick.63:55
Strike on goal comes in from Harry Forrester from the free kick, Scott Flinders makes a save. Corner taken right-footed by Harry Forrester, Steve Howard manages to make a clearance.63:55 Booking
Booking Paul Murray receives a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.63:41
Paul Murray concedes a free kick for a foul on Toumani Diagouraga.59:23
The official flags Paul Hayes offside. Scott Flinders takes the indirect free kick. Foul by Toumani Diagouraga on Paul Murray, free kick awarded. Paul Murray restarts play with the free kick.58:04 Substitution
Substitution Ritchie Humphreys goes off and James Poole comes on.57:11
Shaleum Logan provided the assist for the goal.57:11 Goal scored
Goal! - Paul Hayes - Brentford 2 - 1 Hartlepool Paul Hayes finds the back of the net with a headed goal from deep inside the penalty box. Brentford 2-1 Hartlepool.53:36
Adam Forshaw fouled by Paul Murray, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Toumani Diagouraga.47:38
The official flags Adam Forshaw offside. Scott Flinders takes the free kick.45:40
Free kick awarded for a foul by Neil Austin on Harry Forrester. The free kick is swung in right-footed by Harry Forrester, save by Scott Flinders.45:01
The referee blows his whistle to start the second half.45:01 Substitution
Substitution Leon Legge is brought on as a substitute for Harlee Dean.45:00 +1:05 Half time
Half Time It is the end of the first-half.45:00 +0:35
Jack Baldwin takes a inswinging corner.44:44
Clayton Donaldson produces a header from inside the six-yard box that clears the bar.43:01
Corner taken short by Adam Forshaw.37:54
Ryan Noble takes a shot. Save made by Simon Moore.36:27
Harry Forrester concedes a free kick for a foul on Peter Hartley. Scott Flinders restarts play with the free kick.34:54
Antony Sweeney sends in a cross, Ryan Noble has a header from close range and clears the crossbar.33:37
Ritchie Humphreys is caught offside. Jake Bidwell takes the direct free kick.32:06
Harlee Dean has a headed effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the right of the goal.31:19
Unfair challenge on Harry Forrester by Paul Murray results in a free kick. Jake Bidwell takes the free kick.27:05
Outswinging corner taken by Harry Forrester from the right by-line, clearance by Antony Sweeney.25:51
The assistant referee signals for offside against Antony Sweeney. Free kick taken by Simon Moore.24:44
Assist on the goal came from Antony Sweeney.24:44 Goal scored
Goal! - Harlee Dean - Brentford 1 - 1 Hartlepool Harlee Dean puts the ball into his own goal. Brentford 1-1 Hartlepool.24:19
Antony Sweeney delivers the ball, Harlee Dean gets a block in.21:02
Clayton Donaldson takes a shot. Blocked by Peter Hartley. Harry Forrester takes a outswinging corner to the near post, Simon Walton manages to make a clearance.20:14
Ritchie Humphreys produces a left-footed shot from deep inside the penalty area which goes wide of the left-hand post.18:55
Ryan Noble takes a shot. Save by Simon Moore.18:29
Clayton Donaldson produces a right-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right of the target.16:36
Corner from the right by-line taken by Harry Forrester, Harlee Dean takes a shot. Clearance by Evan Horwood. Corner taken by Harry Forrester from the right by-line, clearance by Jack Baldwin.16:06
Paul Murray gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Tony Craig. Free kick taken by Tony Craig.14:49
Foul by Harry Forrester on Jack Baldwin, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Scott Flinders.13:24
The offside flag is raised against Ritchie Humphreys. Tony Craig takes the free kick.13:01
Adam Forshaw takes a shot. Save made by Scott Flinders.10:22 Goal scored
Goal! - Paul Hayes - Brentford 1 - 0 Hartlepool Paul Hayes fires in a goal from inside the area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Brentford 1-0 Hartlepool.8:34
Evan Horwood gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Harry Forrester. Jake Bidwell produces a strike on goal direct from the free kick.5:53
Inswinging corner taken by Simon Walton from the left by-line.5:05
Corner taken by Evan Horwood, Harlee Dean makes a clearance.2:46
Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Ryan Noble by Adam Forshaw. Evan Horwood restarts play with the free kick.0:51
Paul Hayes has an effort at goal from outside the box which goes wide right of the goal.0:00
The referee starts the match.
Live data and text provided by our data suppliers


text:
written by Nik Bønaddio on Nov 11th, 2012
Follow them at @nikbonaddio
5 Fantasy Football Stars to Start or Sit on Sunday, Week 10
We've already been through a number of names to start or sit on your fantasy team this week, including Steven Jackson, Stevan Ridley, and Tony Romo. But if you're still struggling on Sunday morning, we're here to help. Here's five more names we're looking at this week that are right on that line between Stardom and Bench City.
Fantasy Football Best Starts/Must Sits Week 10
Joe Flacco - Baltimore Ravens
Stay In Touch
In This Article
BenJarvus Green-Ellis
RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Danny Amendola
WR, New England Patriots
Joe Flacco
QB, Baltimore Ravens
Malcom Floyd
WR, San Diego Chargers
Reggie Bush
RB, San Francisco 49ers


text:
Sometimes a company needs to collectively take a break and give its hard-working employees the chance to unwind. Once people get to know each other on a personal level, rather than through the veneer of professionalism and office politics, it can often become easier to work with one another on a day to day basis. And a shared experience can do wonders in terms of bringing people together.
But what sort of day will everyone appreciate? In most companies, theres such a variety of individuals that it can be hard to cater to everyones tastes. It may be the case that some of the typical team building activities you would assume everyone would enjoy may be unsuitable, or perhaps make some members of staff feel uncomfortable. Nothing is worse than putting the effort into a special day for everyone to enjoy, only to find that no one seems to be having a particularly good time.
Thats why it is important to assess all the options available to the company. Decide on a rough budget and shop around to see whats available. Failing to do this could lead to an embarrassing moment at a later stage, when you realise youve missed out on a truly memorable team-building opportunity.


text:
Video Industry News Video Company News Technology Industry News Technology Company News Novelty Industry News Novelty Company News Gay Industry News Gay Company News Legal Industry News All Company News
Released: Jun 01st, 2006
Running Time: 117
Director: Seymore Butts
Company: Seymore Butts' Home Movies
Distribution Companies: Pure Play Media
Cast: Luscious Lopez, Herschel Savage, Nat Turnher, Mark Davis, Olivia O?Lovely, Mari Possa, Sasha Knox, Lola Luxx, Flower Tucci, Texas Presley
Critical Rating: AAAA
Genre: Gonzo
Seymore has a housewarming party for his new home. Herschel is fucking Olivia and her great ass while the party's going on. Flower finds them and has to join the fun.
Seymore awakes late the next day to find the party still happening, with Mari shooting, then joining the anal action of Sasha Knox, Luscious Lopez, Hersh and Mark Davis. Luscious is especially energetic.
In another room, Flower, partying with Lola Luxx and Nate Turnher, squirts all over the dude as he fucks her ass. Two days later, at a sextoy demo, Texas and Olivia try out new mechanized dildos.
Pre-nom: Best Gonzo Release. Best Threeway Sex Scene: Flower Tucci, Lola Luxx, Nat Turnher.
Retail: A must-have for Seymore fans.


text:
`Prosperity Plus' offered at Unity
Published: Sunday, November 9, 2003 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, November 9, 2003 at 12:00 a.m.
FLETCHER -- The Rev. Edwene Gaines will present a "Prosperity Plus!" workshop from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Unity Center, 2041 Old Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher.
The Rev. Gaines is an ordained Unity Minister. She has committed her life to "the transformation of the abundance consciousness of Planet Earth."
The points covered in the workshop will be tithing, goal setting, forgiveness and finding and achieving your divine purpose.
The Rev. Gaines, owner and director of Rock Ridge Retreat Center in Valley Head, Ala., has been an ordained minister for 24 years and is the president of the Master's School.
A love offering will be taken.
For more information, call 684-3798 or 891-8700 or visit www.unitync.net on the Web.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Comments are currently unavailable on this article


text:
"Sam Wilson" & US Agent Clash as Spencer's "Captain America" Saga Escalates
Comic Books
The Dark Horse folks used their Facebook yesterday to explain why they are bringing Star Wars: Legacy to a close. Actually, "explain" is kind of a strong term, as they never say exactly why the series is ending, other than that for some reason they didn't think they could keep producing it at their usual high standards, but it sounds like they just might have run out of stories to tell:
Unlike other publishers, Dark Horse has never been one for prolonging a series simply to do so. Our comics come from a place of creativity and artistic expression, and this applies to all of our titles, whether creator owned or licensed property.
One of our promises to ourselves, our fans, and George Lucas himself was that we would treat our line of Star Wars books with the highest level of respect. We hope that you'll agree that we've achieved this goal, and trust you'll take our word when we say that we'll continue to strive for such high standards.
Their other Star Wars comics will continue, and they are launching a new series, Star Wars: Knight Errant, due out in the fall.
(Via the Sci-Fi Block, where Robert Ring adds some commentary.)
I noticed in the solicits for July that the series was ending with issue #50. I really enjoy this series and hope they find a way to wrap it up nice and clean. Whatever the ending it will be a doozy and things have been building to a head in the book for a while now.
I wonder if Ostrander's health issues have anything to do with the book ending. He and Jan are the driving forces behind this book and I honestly can't imagine anyone continuing it with the same consistency as these two.
This was the only Star Wars comic I was reading, so color me disappointed.
Run out of stories to tell?
On her facebook page, I asked series penciller Jan Duurscema why Legacy was being cancelled. She responded to my question thusly, "$". At last year's Wiz World Chicago John Ostrander told me that he had lots in store for Legacy so I doubt they've run out of stories as this was one of the best comics I've been reading in recent years with lots of plot threads that could easily run for another year or two.
RETHINK THIS MOVE DARK HORSE, PLEASE!!! Having a regular series go longer than 50 issues doesn't mean you're doing something wrong.
I take "$" to mean it's not selling enough?
Lots of comics don't sell well enough, so yes. Legacy has a strong following, but a small one. Unfortunately, Star Wars junkies will spend lots of $$$ on the toys and novels, but not the comics.
Bring back Star Wars Tales!
Seriously, the Star Wars comics have lost the sense of fun and comedy and occasional outright silly delight that was so wonderful about the first films.
This book was too dark, and too 'edgy'. I first started to waver on the book when they revealed "Skywalker's" mom was some assassin woman drawn to look the same age as him, but then they won me back with the cool military strategy story that was removed from like everything else and was about two old ship captains out-thinking each other, but then the Yuzhon-Vong showed up and I quit.
I HATE the Yuzhon-Vong. I thought we all agree to just pretend they never existed. I hate when writers try to make Star Wars into Star Trek.
I've tried to read every Star Wars title DH has launched in recent years, and honestly, the Ostrander written titles are the only ones I can keep reading after five issues or so. I'm at the point now where I am not even going to try to read new SW titles, because none of them have the quality that the Ostrander books do. So, #50 will be the last DH Star Wars title I buy.
Oh well, I am sure Marvel or DC or Image will be happy to take my $2.99.
Very disappointed. Legacy was a great hit for casual fans in our library. Though a completed story does appeal to me more than continuing the series into infinity.
Star Wars Legacy was the only comic series that I read. Don't see how any new Star Wars series can make up for the cancellation. The 50th issue must have a definite resolution to the conflict or the series be continued. Until then, I won't buy another issue.


text:
Tidy-Ups Boat Fender Adjuster Only, White - Taylor Made
This item is found in the following Product Families
Tidy-Ups Fender Adjuster
Quick and simple. These fender adjusters simply snap over your lifelines or railing and are ready to use. Holds lines up to 5/8" in diameter. #1015 - …
Do these come in pairs?
No, this comes as a single part, not a pair.
This product ships in 1 business day.
Add to Cart and enter your Postal Code to determine the shipping charges and estimated delivery date.
Most products and orders leave our warehouse in 1 business day. However, select items may take more processing time. Alaska and Hawaii orders please add 1 additional warehouse processing day.
Standard Shipping Policies


text:
tweaked tone settings on my ampeg b2r. borrowed a compressor and learned how to use it. am impressed how nice it sounds to be compressed (lightly).
sadly had to cut down old oak that had died. silver lining = lots of firewood for the fireplace and chimenea and to share with friends !!!
you know spring is soon to be in pensacola when you see a bunch of robins feeding in the yard.
working up the courage to take a perfectly functional bass and rout to drop the bridge lower into the body and rout out a new cavity to replace a jazz single-coil pickup with a humbucker. will post before and after pics if all goes well.
yeah . . . chickens. a whole herd of them in my yard in the middle of pensacola. was tempted to shoot one for dinner but the local constabulary would probably take a dim view of that. now keep thinking of arroz con pollo.
dryer went out tuesday - drum not turning. checked circuit diagram and made an educated guess. (aka gamble) got part in yesterday. installed this morning. dryer's rockin again. wife happy. i'm happy. life is good !!!
got another 5-string bass to use as backup during gigs and while i mod the other one. got a new pickup and feel the need to burn my fingers !!!
well . . . i didn't win the lottery and none of my songs went platinum so it's off to the day job !!!
here's wishing everyone a merry christmas and a happy new year. hope you get to spend it in peace with your loved ones.
wrote a new christmas-theme song. a slow number in a minor key. trying to tape it before next week so i can share it with you.


text:
well that's just, like, your opinion, man
Postseason Blogpoll
Avast, here it be:
|Alabama (57)
|Boise State (1)
|Ohio State
|Penn State
Or, at least, there's the top 10, with the rest of it, as usual, at CBS Sports. For the record, your final CK Award record: 10-5 against the spread and 9-6 straight up. I'm also claiming CK victory for Nebraska's soul-crippling Big 12 championship game loss and their delayed action eight-turnover spectacular against Iowa State. Fear it.
I'd like to thank everyone who participated this year for their effort and their thought. This was a strange year in which three teams went almost totally unchallenged until a pair of not-so-titanic year-end matchups. The BlogPoll acquitted itself well by being the only poll out there willing to consider a team other than Florida at #1. Alabama moved into the spot a few weeks into the season, and though they traded the spot back and forth with the Gators all year, that flexibility speaks of a group of people paying closer attention than the folk actually charged with picking the two anointed teams.
Update:After the jump: Tim's even MORE updated final ballot.
Bork To The Future
1/8/2010 – Michigan 4, Western Michigan 3 – 11-10, 6-7 CCHA
1/9/2010 – Michigan 6, Western Michigan 1 – 12-10, 7-7 CCHA
So. For the first time since November—when they swept the Showcase—and the second since October—when they swept Lake Superior—Michigan has come out of a weekend of hockey having inched closer to an NCAA tournament bid.
The emphasis should be on "inch." Western Michigan is one of two terrible teams in the CCHA, currently tied with Bowling Green with ten points, eight behind a great messy pack of basically .500 teams stretching from 10th place Northern Michigan to 4th place Alaska. Michigan doesn't need to win 82 percent of its remaining games to have a good shot at an at-large bid… they need to win 80. There is still a very long way to go. But this is a Michigan team that's handed Bowling Green one of their three wins on the year. Any fully deserved 6-1 win is a step in the right direction.
Yes, Michigan had their a requisite terrible breakdown when Steve Kampfer stepped up to check one of the Broncos and came up with air. Yes, this lead to the usual good scoring chance on which you can't exactly blame Hogan for the goal even if you'd like to try. And yes, there was the usual array of dumb penalties. This time the feature was deserved five-and-a-game for boarding to Lee Moffie.
If those were the only problems the team had, though, this would be just another year of questionable defensive decisions and frustrating penalties that melt from your memory in the aftermath of territorial superiority, crazy goals and Hobey Baker candidates. Red Berenson's teams have taken lots of bad penalties and made lots of bad decisions on defense for as long as I've been watching Michigan play, and no one's cared much because the other end of the ice looks like those nuts in Texas having Christmas.
Michigan is lacking in Trans-Siberian Orchestra-worthy flash this year and currently idle 23rd—barely better than average in a 58-team D-I—in scoring offense. That, and maybe some terrible luck, have been the problem. Would you believe that Michigan is 9th in scoring defense? You probably don't. Scroll down. They are.
I think Red coaches his charges to assume their superiority and play like the hockey equivalent of last year's Oklahoma Sooner's squad: fast and lethal, with lots of opportunities each way. The assumption is that increasing the number of opportunities for each team to show their quality will benefit Michigan. Too many times this year the plan has worked just fine except for the part where the shots on goal become shots in the goal. The aggression has led to a lot of B-grade chances either way. Michigan doesn't have the skill to finish those, or the goalie to stop them.
On Saturday, Michigan looked like you'd expect a Michigan hockey team to look against Western Michigan. Sometimes if you squint your eyes and Carl Hagelin is on the ice—all over the ice—it's possible to see the hazy outline of the team that earned a #1 seed in the tournament last year instead of the one that peppered the Air Force goalie to zero effect while kicking off kick off the most random tournament ever played.
If they can do that the next two weekends against steadily increasing competition from Alaska and Ferris State, then it might be time to dust off the hopes everyone stuffed in the basement and told to shut up after that Bowling Green game.
- Tristin Llewellyn continues his vacation on the bench, which is probably for the best. I'd have to start assuming I just knew zero about hockey if he kept seeing time. Moffie might get a rest for next weekend after his major, though.
- Also: Brandon Burlon (I think) had one of the outright dumbest penalties I've seen at Yost when he was coming off the ice and checked the hell out of a Western player on the way. He was killing the Moffie major and was a fifth guy on the ice: hello too many men. Hello 5-on-3 for two minutes. Western didn't score, but that was pretty nervy. (For the record, I still think Mike Komisarek grabbing a puck and throwing out of the defensive zone is worse. One: that was an NCAA tournament game at Yost. Two: the opponent (SCSU, I think) scored on their 5-on-3. Three: Komisarek could have dropped it and used that stick thing they give the players.
- Moffie was livid after said major, angrily jawing with any official who came within 10 feet of him. He would have gotten a misconduct if he wasn't already being shown the gate. Bonus points to the off-ice official who kept the door to the Michigan locker room open long enough for Moffie to turn around and scream several more indeterminate things before finally disappearing.
- A friend of mine thinks AJ Treais has a huge tell: he lifts his left leg before he starts doing fancy stuff. That makes his stuff less fancy.
- About halfway through the last game, Berenson put his lines in a blender, looking for any combinations that seemed to work. It's clear at this point that the #1 line is whichever one Hagelin is on, and his partnership with Rust puts a ton of pressure on opponents trying to break out of the zone.
- Caporusso's tendency to shoot through four opposing players was actually fairly effective against Western, but for the bulk of the year it's just resulted in lost possession. Against better opponents I fear we'll see a return to form.
- No offense to Ben Winnett, but the fact that Red has put him at the point on the power play is symptomatic of the lack of star power on this year's team. Previous forwards on the point have been guys like Hensick or Cammalleri, real hockey ninja types. SAT analogy time: Winnett : Michigan PP point :: Chauncey Billups : NBA finals MVP.
- Sparks is the winner of the fourth-line-walk-on-be-Danny-Fardig battle; he and Glendening are getting serious amounts of time now. Sparks has been playing on the power play—another symptom—and Glendening was Red's second choice on the Moffie major after Hagelin.
Final Blogpoll Ballot: v2.0
|Boise State
|Ohio State
|Penn State
|Brigham Young
|Georgia Tech
|Virginia Tech
|Southern Cal
|Central Michigan
|Last week's ballot
I corrected some of the more obvious errors and oversights. This is more like what your standard draft ballot would look like. Comment away, the final is due tomorrow by 10.
Preview: Northwestern
The Essentials
|Michigan v. Northwestern
|Ann Arbor, MI
January 10th, 2010
|Big Ten Network
*Line provided by online sports betting site Sportsbetting.com.
Michigan is coming off yet another interesting game in terms of predictive power: a big win might make them overconfident, and the game itself was a tale of two halves, with Michigan getting dominated in the first frame, and bouncing back in the second for the win. So which Michigan team will we see against the 'Cats? It remains to be seen.
The Wolverines should continue to feed DeShawn Sims if the threes aren't falling, instead of continuing to jack up marginal looks. If the open look is available, you can't fault a guy for taking it, even if he misses. The shooting woes have come and gone, but hopefully they won't be a factor in Crisler Arena.
Coming into the season, Northwestern was planning to have a big year, and potentially land their first-ever(!) NCAA tournament bid. Those dreams seemed to be dashed when two of their biggest stars, Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan, were injured at the beginning of the season. A team effort has kept NU in the hunt, and their only losses have been to Butler, Illinois, and Michigan State.
John Shurna, Drew Crawford, and Michael Thompson have seriously picked up the slack, keeping the NCAA dream alive. The 5-10 Thompson leads in shooting, assists, minutes played, and offensive rating. Shurna, however, gets the most usage on the team, taking the most shots.
Tempo-Free Breakdown
If you need an explanation of the stats, check out Ken Pomeroy.
|Michigan v. Northwestern: National Ranks
|Michigan Rank
|Northwestern Rank
|Mich eFG% v. NU Def eFG%
|Mich Def eFG% v. NU eFG%
|Mich TO% v. NU Def TO%
|Mich Def TO% v. NU TO%
|Mich OReb% v. NU DReb%
|Mich DReb% v. NU OReb%
|Mich FTR v. NU Opp FTR
|Mich Opp FTR v. NU FTR
|Mich AdjO v. NU AdjD
|Mich AdjD v. NU AdjO
Difference of more than 10 places in the national rankings get a 1-letter advantage, more than 100 gets a 2-letter advantage, more than 200 gets a 3-letter advantage, etc.
This is a pretty even statistical matchup, with neither team having more than a 2-letter advantage in a particular category. Northwestern does lead in more categories, but Michigan has advantages in overall efficiency on either side of the ball (however slight it may be when Michigan has the rock). There is something to be said for strength of schedule as well, with the Wildcats coming in ranked #249 overall, and Michigan #37. The Wolverines' numbers came against tougher units.
Michigan should be able to hold onto the ball, and keep Northwestern off the free throw line (especially since the 'Cats are a perimeter-oriented team). Michigan might have trouble coming down with rebounds, like usual, but Northwestern doesn't have great size outside of 6-11 center Luka Mirkovic, so the competition factor may play a role here.
Overall, this feels like a game that Michigan should win, especially at home. Kenpom thinks so, giving the Wolverines a 2/3 chance of coming out with a win. Northwestern has only beaten 3 opponents in the top 100 teams in the nation, with only Iowa state currently ranked ahead of Michigan by Pomeroy. I think this is a game that see-saws back and forth in the first half, but Michigan manages to maintain a lead throughout the second half, though never running away with the game.
UMHoops previews the game.
Blogpoll Rough Draft Ballot: Final
|Boise State
|Ohio State
|Penn State
|Brigham Young
|Virginia Tech
|Georgia Tech
|Southern Cal
|Miami (Florida)
|Central Michigan
|Last week's ballot
This ballot is very rough, because I don't have a bunch of time today to come up with something, but I wanted to get a draft out there for people to critique. I didn't take a look at any of my past ballots, and I ranked teams based on what I think their resume probably looks like, because I don't have the time right now to do otherwise.
With that said, I'm sure there is a ton of stuff wrong with this ballot (BYU up 10 strike me immediately), so I'm bound to get a lot of... spirited comments. Try to keep them constructive. I'll post another, more polished draft ballot for additional commenting tomorrow morning, then the final ballot will come out Monday.
Northwestern hoops preview this afternoon.
Answering Joe Posnanski On Playoffs
College football has either concluded its regular season or concluded its bowl season or announced matchups or failed to exist for eight months out of the year so it's time for another go-around about whether a playoff is a good idea or not. There are a thousand arguments too dumb to warrant a response—see the head of the BCS's post defending the system he's paid to defend. "Every game counts," he says, which is true as long as you're not Boise State or Cincinnati or TCU or Auburn in 2004 or LSU a couple years ago or… you get the idea.
Those advanced by Joe Posnanski are not among them, however. one playoff proponent's answers to a third party's skepticism follow.
Many of these answers are rehashes of the my previous thoughts on the matter, but that post is aged and I've learned that most of the people reading are relatively new. Forgive me, old-timers.
The Primary Challenge
So, I'll open up this forum to you, the brilliant readers. But this is no place for screeching. This is your challenge: Tell me WHY there should be a playoff. I don't want to hear why the current system fails. I don't want to see your brackets — we have become a bracket nation, everyone can do brackets.
Let's go back to first principles. What is the point of a playoff? Most soccer leagues across the globe play a balanced schedule and eschew the playoffs entirely. The season determines the champion. To them, the American way of doing things is stupid. And when you've set up your league such that everyone plays everyone else home and away, it is. Around here, however, there are very big leagues where balanced schedules are impossible and at the end of the regular season you're not quite sure who the best team is. So it makes sense to have the teams that you think might be the best team play each other.
And then there is "off."
Playoffs are assets when both of the following criteria are met:
- The regular season is insufficient to determine a best team.
- The winner of the playoff can reasonably claim to be the best team.
If you don't have #1, then the only thing you can do with a playoff is hand the trophy to the wrong team. If you don't have #2, your playoff is too large and can be counterproductive.
The problem is that how well your league meets these criteria changes every year. Sometimes the top 12 teams in the NFL are all relatively even. Sometimes you could skip right to a conference championship game or a Super Bowl. You can either have your championship structure oscillate wildly on a year-to-year basis or live with some years where your structure is a little broken.
Sometimes playoffs are lame, like when the Cardinals on the World Series or any number of years when one particular NBA team was obviously dominant. Other times—almost every NFL season, literally every college basketball season—a playoff is the only reasonable way to distinguish between a set of nearly identical teams. Every playoff will have hits and misses. The important thing is to maximize the hits and minmize the misses.
Baseball misses a lot. It's a statistical fact borne out by (relatively) recent history that throwing eight baseball teams in a playoff blender is tantamount to playing plinko with your championship trophy. Elsewhere, an under .500 MLS team won it all* this year. On the other hand, March Madness almost never misses. Might not ever, actually. That's why there was outcry when baseball added teams. It was a dumb money-grab that compromised #2. And that's why there was an outcry when the NCAA floated expanding the basketball tournament.
Here's the thing about college football: #1 above is almost always true. There has been one season in the history of the BCS in which it was not (2005). It is more true than it is for any other American sport. Teams play twelve games, eight or nine of which are against an tiny interlocked subsection of of available teams. Two or three are against I-AA teams or total tomato cans. Maybe one or two are games between conferences. By the end of the year you have a variety of teams with virtually no common opponents, wildly varying (and largely unknown) strengths of schedule, and identical, or close to identical, records.
You have a good idea who the best teams in each conference are, but you have almost no idea how the conferences are relative to each other. Before the bowl games, the Big Ten played this many games against the SEC: zero. They played one against the ACC (Virginia housed Indiana). They played four against the Big East, three of which were against Syracuse, two against the Big 12, and four against the Pac-10. Intersectional information hardly exists. As a result, half the time you pick a BCS title game it's an ugly, uncompetitive blowout. This is because college football is the sport with the least information and smallest playoff field.
As far as #2 goes, the short season, large number of available teams, and numerous cupcakes work in favor of a playoff. It would be impossible for a 9-7 Arizona Cardinals team to get to a championship game. The equivalent of Real Salt Lake—this year's sub-.500 MLS champs—or your 80-some-win world champion St. Louis Cardinals would be in a December bowl game. No matter how you construct a playoff field for college football, the winner of that playoff will be coming off of three (or possibly four) consecutive wins against elite competition. The rest of that elite competition will have lost. In college football, the winner of the playoff has the best resume by default.
College football meets criteria #1 over 90% of the time and criteria 2 100% of the time. That's why a playoff is a good idea.
*(Sort of. MLS does award a regular-season trophy that may be more important to soccer fans than the President's Trophy—more of a laughable curse than something to achieve—is to hockey fans.)
Questions du Posnanski
Joe has a lot of logistical issues to be worked out. Let's do so:
1. Are you willing to tell unpaid college football players they now have to play an extra three or four games for free and for our amusement? Are you willing to tell NFL prospects that for the same price of education they have to put their knees and brains and shoulders at greater risk so that we can feel better about our champion? Or will some of the money go to the players? And are you willing to get into that mess?
Yes, I am willing to get into the mess of paying players, whether it's directly or (far more likely) by providing post-eligibility scholarships so more of them can actually get useful degrees once the dream of playing pro ball has passed.
For what it's worth, when ESPN surveyed 85 players in August, 75% of them wanted a playoff. Most of them look at it as an opportunity, not a burden, I'm guessing.
2. Would a playoff more definitively give us the best team in the country? Has the wildcard given us more legitimate World Series and Super Bowl champions?
This was discussed above, and the answer is yes. College football's structure means that every champion of a hypothetical playoff is satisfying. Especially if it has home games and byes, as my pet plan does.
3. Montana is one of the true powers in Division I-AA (I guess they call it the Football Subdivision now or something). Missoula has one of the great football experiences — the Grizzlies sold out every game during the season. Every one. OK, so Montana went to the Division I-AA championship game — which meant Montana had three home playoff games.
Not one of those playoff games sold out. Not one.
But even that doesn't tell the whole story. Montana was the only school to draw more than 13,000 people to a playoff game. The Villanova-William & Mary semifinal drew 4,171 people (in a 12,500 seat stadium). So, you tell me: Why do you believe that a college football playoff would draw big crowds? I mean, it might the first year, and the second, and for a while after that. But after the novelty wears off, what makes you think that people at Alabama and Florida and Texas and USC and Ohio State and Penn State and all these places have the money and time and interest in going to two or three more games every year.
And those people who think these games should be played at neutral sites — how many people do you think are going to travel to THOSE games?
No offense, but that's like trying to argue against the NBA playoffs because the D-league doesn't sell out. A home playoff game in college football would be an incredibly tough ticket. I'm with him that multiple neutral site matchups are a bad idea, but just because bad playoff systems exist does not mean they have to be adopted.
(I'm pretty sure on review that Joe will find this objection silly, right?)
4. Who would a playoff be for? The college presidents absolutely do not want it. You might disagree with them, but they don't have any interest in making the seasons even longer and more demanding and more disruptive for their students. The athletic directors and coaches are split — some probably want it for more money or potential glory, but I would bet that most are against it because it just adds strain and pressure to the must-win atmosphere. How about the players? You think they want to make their seasons longer and more demanding? Plus, from what I can tell, those guys LIKE the bowls. They get to spend a week in place, get treated like kings. Why not?
So it would be for the fans. But what fans? Most school-specific fans in college football probably like it just the way it is. Iowa State fans seem to enjoy going to their bowl game every year. A playoff would not affect them … unless the playoff eliminated bowls like it could. That's how it would be almost every year for 80 or 90 of the 120 or so schools. So it seems to me it would be more for the GENERAL college football fan who likes to watch games on TV. Is that who this is all for?
As noted above, the players want a playoff. And a playoff would no more end the bowl system than the NCAA tournament ended the NIT. Iowa State fans could enjoy their Insight Bowl all the same.
Take it from a guy who spends much of his life reading and reacting to hard-core school specific (how many college football fans aren't school specific? 5%?) college football fans: almost all of them hate the BCS. Pick a number, any number: 90% "disapprove" of the thing, or 63 percent hate and 26 percent support it. Literally every survey that's ever asked about the BCS has come back with huge negative numbers no matter the questioned population.
5. College football is more popular now than it has ever been. There are big games throughout the season — huge, playoff-atmosphere type games. People point to March Madness as a reason for football to go to a playoff, and March Madness is special. But it is also true that the college basketball season is pretty close to meaningless. Texas played North Carolina earlier this year in what seemed like a BIG GAME. But it meant nothing, and nobody cared, and Texas and North Carolina will both be in the tournament with high seeds so … big deal.
I'm not suggesting, as some do, that a playoff would make Ohio State coaches rest players against Michigan like they do in the NFL. But it certainly could make Ohio State-Michigan mean a lot less … and also Georgia-Auburn, Alabama-Tennessee, Penn State-Iowa, USC-Notre Dame, Texas-Oklahoma, Kansas-Missouri, Mississippi-Mississippi State, Washington-UCLA, Kansas State-Nebraska and on and on and on and on and on. Is that worth the price of a playoff?
First: football is more popular now than it's ever been. The NFL grows every year as fast or faster than college football. Playoff or no, it's football that's surging.
Second: This is a completely subjective argument that's hard to refute because of that. But let me just say that the idea that a college football playoff would have any impact on the Egg Bowl or most of the other games on that list is preposterous. Meanwhile, saying Texas and North Carolina "meant nothing and nobody cared" is over the top. It drew 3 million viewers.
The primary thing that makes college football so intense is its scarcity. College basketball teams play three times as many games. Every other sport except the NFL more than doubles those numbers, and even NFL teams get two cracks a year at their division rivals. In college football you play once per year, or less frequently than that, even, and as a result serious college football fans can tell you all about the high and low points of any particular series off the top of their heads. I can say "Mario Manningham" and cause hundreds of Penn State fans to spontaneously throw up. That scarcity is the thing that drives the feelings of horror and joy in the big rivalry games, not some crazy aspiration to make the BCS title game. Exactly two of the games above had any impact on that game. In fact, wouldn't the Michigan-Ohio State game meant more if Ohio State was still battling for a shot in a playoff game?
It's inescapable that a playoff would reduce the intensity of certain games, like this year's SEC championship game. But what it takes away it also provides by giving a dozen more teams aspirations at the end of the season. And a properly constructed playoff with byes and home games could inject much of the lost drama back into the games between teams assured of making the tournament. If Alabama and Florida were playing to avoid a first-round game in Columbus, that would be a prize (other than, you know, the conference championship) worth fighting for.
6. How many teams would a playoff need to be "fair." I know it's easy to say that if you take 16 teams, who cares about the 17th? But does anyone really believe that the 16th best team in the country — this year, that would be 8-5 Oregon State — deserves to play for the national title?
OK, so you make it eight teams. Well, there are 11 conferences and Notre Dame so now you are leaving out conference champs which I thought was the point, to give everyone a chance.
So, you make it four teams — a little three game tournament at the end of the year. That's OK — like a plus-one game — but there were five undefeated teams this year, and a Florida team that we now know was about about 12 touchdowns better than one of those undefeated teams. How do you fairly choose? And, larger point, how does this add more legitimacy to the system than just taking the two who seem to have had the best season?
The perfect is the enemy of the good. As discussed above, unless you want to change your playoff system every year it cannot be utterly fair. The real question is "can we construct a system that is more fair than the current one?" Since a tougher question is "can you manage to construct a more ridiculous system?" I submit that a playoff is probably a good idea.
I don't think the #16 team in the country deserves to be in a playoff but I also don't think that managing to construct a playoff that is a bad idea means that all playoffs are bad ideas. The point is not to "give everyone a chance." It's to construct a fairer, more satisfying system. I'm fine leaving Troy and Central Michigan and Oregon and Ohio State out.
You fairly choose by picking the teams that have assembled the most impressive resumes to date—the ones who "seem to have had the best season," as suggested. This adds more legitimacy to the season by making the winner of the playoff play a selection of elite competition that includes, say, a 13-0 team that shut out the Pac-10 champ and a 12-0 team that had more wins over top 20 teams than Texas.
No system can be perfectly fair. But even generic eight-team playoffs are self-evidently more fair and satisfying than the current mess.
Here is where the recap of my ideal system goes:
A six team playoff with no automatic bids chosen by a committee similar to the March Madness committee. Byes for the top two. Home games in the first two rounds, with the first round a week after the conference championship games and the second on or slightly after January 1st. The final is at the Rose Bowl a week later.
The byes and home games simultaneously make the regular season more important—finishing 1 or 2 is a major leg up—and give the teams at the back end more legitimate should they win since they slogged through extra opponents and road games. The number of teams includes all legitimate claimaints to #1 without allowing mediocrities like this year's Oregon State in. Leaving out autobids sidesteps uncomfortable questions about Notre Dame and the Sun Belt.
If anyone can give a single reason that would be worse than what we've got now, I'm listening.


text:
First off Bill, thanks for the handy plugin... it has worked great for me on many genesis websites.
That said, I recently ran into an issue where this plugin conflicts with another great plugin... in this case, the Types plugin.
The problem appears when I try to add a new custom field (with a date-picker) via the Types plugin... the Types date-picker becomes non-functional. After disabling all my plugins, I was isolate the problem to the Genesis Title Toggle (GTT) plugin, and more specifically the problem lies within this file: /lib/metabox/jquery.cmbScripts.js included with the GTT plugin. It appears as though the both plugins are trying to load similar/conflicting datepicker scripts, thus preventing the Types datepicker from working.
To test my theory, I commented out this piece of code (line 381) in the init.php file of the GTT plugin to prevent the troublesome javascript file from loading:
wp_register_script( 'cmb-scripts', CMB_META_BOX_URL.'jquery.cmbScripts.js', array( 'jquery','media-upload','thickbox' ) );
Afterwards, both plugins seem to work properly... but I'm sure there's a better method. Obviously I could leave this commented out, but it would be great to find a solution that won't re-appear when I upgrade the GTT plugin.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!


text:
Advanced Microgravity Compatible, Integrated Laundry System
Award Information
Small Business Information
UMPQUA Research Company
OR, Myrtle Creek, OR, 97457-0102
Principal Investigator:
William Michalek
Principal Investigator
(541) 863-2654
Principal Investigator
(541) 863-2654
Business Contact:
John Aker
Business Official
(541) 863-2655
Business Official
(541) 863-2655
Research Institution:
AbstractThe Advanced Microgravity Compatible, Integrated Laundry (AMCIL) is a microgravity compatible liquid / liquid vapor, two-phase laundry system with water jet agitation and vacuum assisted drying. Umpqua Research Company previously developed a complete microgravity compatible Single Phase Laundry System (SPLS). Single-phase operation during the wash cycle facilitated microgravity compatible fluidics and eliminated problems associated with foams. Pulsed water jets were utilized to agitate the clothing. Drying was achieved with microwave assisted vacuum drying followed by a tumble cycle that greatly enhanced softness in the previously vacuum pressed clothing. Tumbling was achieved by an array of three air jets, two to generate a cyclonic effect and a third to induce tumbling by blowing perpendicular to the plane of rotation. This concept was successfully demonstrated during a KC-135 microgravity simulation flight. The proposed AMCIL concept will build on the SPLS technology and incorporate key design improvements to reduced water requirements and lower power consumption. Specific advancements include a redesigned wash cycle that consumes less water and reduces power demand. The Phase I effort will demonstrate the feasibility of the microgravity compatible liquid / liquid vapor, two-phase washing concept in a laboratory scale system. A complete, automated prototype unit that incorporates the system parameters established during the Phase I tests will be designed, fabricated, and tested during the Phase II program.
* information listed above is at the time of submission.
An Official Website of the United States Government


text:
Atlus to release Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time in US this summer
Atlus has confirmed it's to release Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time in the US for this summer. The title will come to PSP following the release of Growlanser: Heritage of War for PS2 in 2007, and takes place in "a land—once rich with culture and technology—long ago nearly obliterated by evanescent divine entities. Two millennia later, the mysterious entities appear again, threatening to bring about an end to all things unless a fabled warrior of destiny can rise against them," according to the company on the US PS Blog. More details can be found at the link.
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.


text:
Kellan Lutz in Talks to Star in 'Masters of the Universe'
The "Twilight" star announced he's met with director McG about Sony's long-brewing live-action reboot.
The "Twilight" star announced he's met with director McG about Sony's long-brewing live-action reboot.
The "Charlie's Angels" director could end up kicking off a He-Man franchise for Sony Pictures.
The 'Supernatural' executive producer will direct the pilot for the series, based on popular "Mortal Instruments" novels.
Kevin Costner, Amber Heard and Hailee Steinfeld get in on the action with the first trailer for McG's February-debuting 3 Days to Kill.
Dwayne Johnson is in talks to team up with Terminator Salvation director McG to adapt the 1980s TV series The Fall Guy for the big screen.
J.J. Abrams discusses details of his script for Superman: Flyby, the planned Warner Bros. franchise reboot that was abandoned in 2004 when Bryan Singer replaced McG as director, resulting in Superman Returns.
Charlie's Angel director McG has signed on to Fox's film based on the Magic Castle, the famed Hollywood private club for magicians and magic enthusiasts
Chad Hodge (Playboy Club) and McG (Supernatural) are developing a contemporary reimagining of Alice in Wonderland called Wunderland for The CW.
While promoting his new film This Means War, director McG revealed he had locked in Robert Downey Jr. to play Lex Luthor in the abandoned Superman: Flyby.
This Means War, the new romantic action-comedy from director McG, is an unimaginative, poorly edited film with characters so painfully one-dimensional and unlikeable that they can't be redeemed by the on-screen chemistry displayed by stars Chris Pine and Tom Hardy.
McG signs with 20th Century Fox to produce and possibly direct an untitled science fiction adventure.
McG, director of Termination Salvation and the two Charlie's Angels movies, is reportedly the odds-on favorite to helm the pilot of David E. Kelley's Wonder Woman revival at NBC.