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More than a few teams are hoping to have a chance to draft Andrew Luck.
After all, in 2010, Luck emerged as a top-notch college quarterback by leading his Stanford Cardinal to huge wins within the Pac-10. In leading his Stanford Cardinal to an Orange Bowl victory against Virginia Tech, Luck threw for four touchdown passes, as well as 287 yards with a 78.3 percent completion percentage, which would earn him the title of Orange Bowl MVP.
A second-team All-American and Heisman Trophy runner-up, Luck looked like he would be the quarterback most NFL-ready in the 2010 draft before surprising analysts and front-office personnel around the league by declaring he would remain at Stanford for his junior year in 2011.
Now that NFL teams know "the best college prospect since John Elway" will be available at the top of the 2012 draft, there is extra incentive to go after such a high-profile prospect.
Here are the top five teams that would be wise to put winning in 2011 aside for their franchise's long-term success:


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A man accused of killing his mother and severely beating his father in Bethlehem is in court Thursday.
A formal arraignment is being held for Michael Lindgren.
Officials say Lindgren came to the police station last August demanding help and acting upset, but he was allowed to leave.
They say a few minutes later, officers were called to the home of Lindgren's parents, Ralph and Shirley, on East Wall Street.
Police say both parents were beaten, and Shirley Lindgren died a few days after the August 22 attack.

subset: commoncrawl


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David L. Giles, M.D., FACSAssociate Professor, Department of Surgery
UConn Health
Outpatient Pavilion, 6th Floor East
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030
- Internal Medicine
- Surgery
- Surgical Critical Care
|Undergraduate School
|Wheaton College
|Medical School
|Medical University of South Carolina
|Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital
|Internal Medicine
|University Hospitals of Cleveland
|General Surgery
|Hartford Hospital
|Surgical Critical Care
|Hartford Hospital
|Surgical Research
|Hartford Hospital
- UConn John Dempsey Hospital
Peer Reviewed Publications
The efficacy of intraoperative methylene blue enemas to assess the integrity of a colonic anastomosis. Smith, Stanton; McGeehin, William; Kozol, Robert A; Giles, David. (2007). BMC surgery, (7), 15.
Major hepatic trauma: warm ischemic tolerance of the liver after hemorrhagic shock. Perdrizet, George A; Giles, David L; Dring, Robert; Agarwal, Suresh K; Khwaja, Khalid; Gao, Yuan Z; Geary, Michael; Cowell, Vernon L; Berman, Martin; Brautigam, Robert. (2006). The Journal of surgical research, 1, (136), 70-7.
Effect of a second-generation venous catheter impregnated with chlorhexidine and silver sulfadiazine on central catheter-related infections: a randomized, controlled trial. Rupp, Mark E; Lisco, Steven J; Lipsett, Pamela A; Perl, Trish M; Keating, Kevin; Civetta, Joseph M; Mermel, Leonard A; Lee, David; Dellinger, E Patchen; Donahoe, Michael; Giles, David; Pfaller, Michael A; Maki, Dennis G; Sherertz, Robert. (2005). Annals of internal medicine, 8, (143), 570-80.
Laryngeal cartilage fracture: report of a case. Haug, R H; Giles, D L. (1992). Journal of oral and maxillofacial surgery : official journal of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, 5, (50), 528-30.
Hernia Surgery. Bartus, C., Giles, D. An Internist's Illustrated Guide to Gastrointestinal Surgery, 311-320.
Major Hepatic Trauma: The Nature of Warm Ischemic Tolerance of the Porcine Liver. Giles, D.L., Khwaja, K., Cowell, V.L., Jacobs, L.M., Perdrizet, G.A. Journal of Trauma-Injury Infection & Critical Care, 6, (45), 1110.
Peritoneal Shunts. Knauer, E.M., Giles, D. An Internist's Illustrated Guide to Gastrointestinal Surgery, 223-330.


text:
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- A few nights ago at a show at Kentucky's Lexington Opera House, magician Kevin Spencer was a little scared to perform the next illusion.
The Milk Can Escape, an old Harry Houdini trick, involves Spencer (who along with wife Cindy performs as The Spencers) being chained and padlocked, then submerged in a giant steel container filled with about 60 gallons of water. The container's lid is closed and padlocked.
"I had my right shoulder rebuilt in December," Kevin says. "And that's an illusion that's very physically taxing anyway, and then you combined that with the fact you just had a shoulder rebuilt and it makes for a very interesting experience for sure."
On a Thursday afternoon, Kevin is seated in Decatur, Ill.'s Kirkland Fine Arts Center. The Spencers crew is setting up scenery, intelligent lighting and hazers as we conduct this interview.
(Milk) can do
The Milk Can Escape is not the only Houdini trick Kevin takes on in "The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion" show. He also recreates the obscure Walking Through a Brick Wall. "It's an illusion he never toured with," Kevin says. "He only performed it in New York on Broadway for a few months. And then he just stopped. And no one really knows why he stopped. But it was a brilliant piece of magic. And since 1914 no other magician did that illusion onstage. (Doug) Henning did it for a television special. But he didn't do it in front of a live audience and Doug only did it once." When The Spencers' Merrimack Hall audience enters the venue, they'll see eight concrete cinder blocks on the edge of the stage, which Kevin will use for his version of Walking Through a Brick Wall, and they'll even have a chance to examine the blocks.
The star's pupil
When Kevin was attending college in Chattanooga, during a break in school he was visiting his parents in Indiana when he had the opportunity to catch star magician Doug Henning perform at a Merrillville theatre. After the show, Kevin actually got to meet Henning. The wavy-haired, mustachioed illusionist would become Kevin's teacher, and he imparted three key pieces of advice: "He said, 'Take dancing lessons, not because you're ever going to dance on onstage, but because you're going to need to move onstage in a way that makes the audience comfortable.'
"And then he said, "Take acting lessons, not because you're really acting but because you need to know how to speak in a way that makes your audience comfortable.' And then the last thing he passed on to me, which is the first thing I pass on to anyone else, was, 'Always be yourself. Because if the audience likes you, they will like what you do.'"
All the world's a stage
In addition to magicians like Henning, Kevin also draws performing inspiration from musicians and actors. "The guys in Maroon 5, I think they've really got their finger on the pulse of the entertainment industry, but more than that, I think (frontman Adam Levine's) a really vibrant entertainer who really knows how to lock into an audience. And he really gives the audience 110 percent when he hits the stage."
On the acting side? "Matt Damon. He's a really down-to-earth guy, but he's really versatile and can play a lot of roles. There was as magician named Robert Houdin in the 1800s, who was the role model for (Harry) Houdini, and Houdin had this thought that a magician is an actor playing the part of a magician."
Psyched out
Kevin's background in clinical psychology also finds its way into The Spencers' act. "Audiences in the Midwest are very different from the audiences in the Southeast, and audiences in the Southeast are very different from the audiences in the Northwest. You get a feel of the audience and have to customize your patter, personality and mannerisms to fit that. They're fine little tweaks."
Nothing funnier than cutting a lady in half
You wouldn't think an illusion with a name like The Spikes of Doom would be one of the funniest parts of The Spencers' act, but Kevin says it is. "That's actually an illusion we do with a member of the audience, and those are my favorite pieces of the show. Because those are the parts that are totally spontaneous. Every audience expects a magician to cut a lady in half. And we used to not do that. But no matter what I'd do onstage someone would come up to me afterwards and say, 'That was a great show, but you never cut a lady in half.' So we put it in, but we do it in a very non-traditional way."
"The Spencers: Theatre of Illusion"
When: 7: 30 p.m. March 1-2
Where: Merrimack Hall (3320 Triana Blvd.)
How much: $22-25
Details: spencersmagic.com, merrimackhall.com, 256-534-6455


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I've joined! Thanks.
I've joined! Thanks.
I am in (France)
I'm a Brit, living in New Zealand for the last 2 years, but will be making the move back in June. I'm so excited to be returning to a continent of culture. I'll never be unfaithful to Europe again!
*insert bacteria-related joke*
I've joined the Euro-group too... are we mainly UK-based or continental as well?
Hehe, no, NZ isn't for me, I'm afraid! 2 years gave us a great opportunity to see this side of the world, though.
There are some Germans on the forum I think....but let's see who is coming out of the woodwork ...
Happy April Fool's Day!))
M x
I'm from Norway. :-) I'm following the LCHF philosophy from Sweden (Sten Sture Skaldeman, Dr Dahlqvist osv). Pretty much the same as Primal. I've been eating LCHF for 10 months now.


text: Remember how you told your girl you wanted to go camping this fall? You described it as if the two of you were the models in a Kinfolk magazine editorial. She'd be wearing really tight jeans despite the lack of mobility they offer as the two of you scramble over rocks on that perfectly overcast beach. You smell like burnt cedar and she smells like she always does. Yeah, that was a perfect idea. Too bad in the months since all you've taken her on is a pretty decent prix fixe and that one "picnic" you planned that only had a baguette a gallon of Carlo Rossi. We all know you aren't gonna go camping when it's, like, 45 degrees out, but you could get this rustic and romantic ass blanket that includes a leather carrying strap. It's all about smoke and mirrors, homie.


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SYDNEY ŌĆö A North Sydney man facing multiple charges, including possession of child pornography, is scheduled to return to provincial court Aug. 12 to enter pleas.
© Cape Breton Post graphic
Court news post
Jeffrey Daniel MacIntyre, 22, of Margaret Street is charged with four counts of possession of child pornography and two counts of distributing child porn; eight counts of breaching court orders; two counts of extortion (by threatening to post nude photos of an individual on a social media site); two counts of indecent exposure; and a single count of child luring.
The offences allegedly occurred between March and May of this year in New Waterford and North Sydney.
MacIntyre continues his release on conditions.


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everyone was telling me they didnt line up and you cant see anything out of them but i had no problems. they lined up perfectly and now i have like a wider view. now i k ... more
Date Installed Nov. 14, 2009
Installed 11/14/2009
Follow Ride
See the Followers


text:
More than a thousand runners will head out for a 13.1 mile jaunt through Harrisburg on Sunday morning.
Kicking off at 8 a.m., the Harrisburg Half Marathon already has the largest participant field in the past 17 years. At press time, 1129 people had registered to compete. "We are all really excited for the turnout this year," said Andy Wahila, race director.
The course begins on City Island and takes participants on sections of the Capital Area Greenbelt and Riverfront Park, and ends back on City Island. "Our race course seems to benefit our participants and the city of Harrisburg, as most of the race is run off the roads. We utilized City Island, the riverfront running paths and part of the Greenbelt," said Wahila.
This is Wahila's second year organizing the event and having last year's experience behind him has helped him feel more confident this year.
knew what to expect and what to prepare for. The biggest mistake I made
last year was at our water stations. I ran out of water briefly at one
of our stations and had to scramble to get more there in time. It is
still the biggest comment I hear from people. But that's the way races
go. You can do everything 99 percent correctly, but that one percent
that you miss, someone is there to call you out on it. It was a learning
and growing experience and something I'll make sure doesn't happen
again at any of our races," said Wahila.
In addition to ensuring every water station has sufficient water, Wahila has made a few other changes for this year's race, including improved medals and a PA system for the start of the race. There will also be more food and drinks available at the post-race party, he said.
Additionally, to help cut back on waste, Wahila has eliminated plastic bags at packet pick-up. "Being a racer myself and directing six races throughout the year, I see first-hand how much of a waste plastic bags and paper handouts are to most runners. In an attempt to start our going greening racing initiative, I have eliminated bags for this race. Instead, we are passing out the race shirt, which is the thing most runners want anyway, and participant bib numbers at packet pickup," he said.
He hopes to take this initiative even further with the Harrisburg Marathon in November, allowing runners to "redeem coupons and savings directly online," he said. "It is good advertising for our sponsors and reduces our paper and plastic waste at races. If it seems to be successful for the marathon, I hope to implement it into all of our races throughout the year."
Proceeds from this event benefit the childcare programs at the East Shore YMCA. In the past 17 years, this race has raised over $350,000.00. According to Wahila, the East Shore Y is the largest provider of childcare in Dauphin County, with two full-day child care programs, 18 before and after school childcare programs and five summer day camp programs, serving over 500 children every day. "It's a great race for a wonderful cause," he said.
Helping to make the race a success, Wahila credited both the Harrisburg Police department and the race volunteers. Having a "great" relationship with the Harrisburg Police has helped, as they assist in closing certain lanes of traffic. Last year, they closed down one lane of traffic on Front Street to accommodate the larger field size.
Additionally, Wahila is quick to point out that "the biggest help has always been our volunteers. Without the 75 plus volunteers that we have on race day, taking on a race of this size would not be possible. They sacrifice their Sunday morning to help the YMCA produce a high-quality race in the Harrisburg Area. Everyone works together to show what the YMCA and the city of Harrisburg has to offer. I can't thank our volunteers enough. Time after time they step up willing and able to help out," he said.
As for Wahlia, he can't wait to see people cross the finish line, he said. "The smiles on their faces right after they completed the race and are handed their finisher medal is priceless. Every racer has their own story and challenge. You might not know what that challenge is but their smile tells you they did something amazing," he said.
Online registration closed on Wednesday, but registration will be available on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the packet pick up area, located at the Carousel Pavilion on City Island, as well as race morning starting at 6:30 a.m. According to Wahila, last year, they had more than 150 people sign up on Saturday and Sunday, so he is again expecting more than a hundred more participants registering this year. For more information, visit their website.


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Brutus, NY -- Someone forced their way into the home of a 92-year-old woman and stole prescription drugs while she slept Monday night in the town of Brutus, according to Cayuga County sheriff's deputies.
The burglary happened sometime overnight at the Kenyon's Landing Trailer Park on Route 5, deputies said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Steve Smith at 253-4869 or leave a tip at www.cayugacrime.com.


text:
Be part of the PEC team. PEC has exciting employment opportunities and offers a fun and challenging work environment, generous benefits, and competitive salary commensurate with experience.
The Piedmont Environmental Council is seeking an experienced Director of Finance & Administration to lead the organization's day-to-day financial operations. PEC has a 40+ year history in land conservation easements, land use planning, as well as work in the preservation of wetlands, farmlands, and historic scenic areas in a 9-county region of Virginia.


text:
Nets that are clogged with dead mosquitoes, spiders, pollen and dust will have an adverse effect on the vacuum's ability (airflow) to work optimally.
Start each season with a new Mosquito Magnet® Liberty Net - 3 Pack and replace every 21 days or sooner. The drawstring on the net makes disposal and replacement of the net simple. Whether constructed with rigid nets or nets with drawstrings, our self-contained nets eliminate any direct contact with the dead insects. Package contains 3 nets.
Protect your family from mosquitoes and biting insects who may carry serious diseases - keep your Mosquito Magnet® at peak performance with regular replacement of attractants and nets along with utilizing our proprietary QuickClear cartridges.
Mosquito Magnet® – Taking Back Neighborhoods One Yard at a Time.™
Contact us via email or call 800-953-5737 with questions or comments concerning mosquitomagnet.com products.
Privacy Policy | Return Policy
| © 2016 Woodstream Corporation


text:
SKEGNESS has been a busy resort ever since the railways reached the Lincolnshire coast in 1875. Its heyday was pre-1960s, when the Brits began to take themselves off to sunnier climes, but it still attracts tens of thousands of city-dwellers who come for the wide, sandy beaches and for a host of attractions ranging from nightclubs to bowling greens. Every inch the traditional English seaside town, Skegness outdoes its rivals by keeping its beaches sparklingly clean and its parks spick-and-span. That said, the seafront, with its rows of souvenir shops and amusement arcades, can be dismal, especially on rainy days, and you may well decide to sidestep the whole caboodle by heading south along the coastal road to the Gibraltar Point National Nature Reserve.
England // The East Midlands //


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GENESEE COUNTY, MI -- The county Animal Control Department shelter is back in business after a disease outbreak last week shut down adoptions.
A shelter employee said today, April 22, that restrictions on adoptions and on accepting animals from owners has been lifted.
The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Chief Animal Control Officer Walt Rodabaugh for additional comment.
Restrictions were imposed at the shelter after three cats died with panleukopenia and a dog was diagnosed with parvovirus.
Panleukopenia is a usually fatal disease in cats that is marked by fever, diarrhea and dehydration, and destruction of white blood cells. Parvovirus is a highly contagious, sometimes fatal, disease in dogs that can be spread by contact with infected feces.
Rodabaugh said last week that employees and volunteers cleaned the shelter late last week, including cages, toys and bedding, and county Veterinarian Michelle Koan administered vaccinations to animals after adoptions were halted.
Rodabaugh said then that he did not expect dogs or cats would have to be euthanized as a result of the disease outbreaks.


text:
Don't let it get away!
Keep track of the stocks that matter to you.
Help yourself with the Fool's FREE and easy new watchlist service today.
Isis Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: ISIS ) and Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ ) have a clear path forward for their cholesterol drug mipomersen. Unfortunately, the Food and Drug Administration threw a fork in the road, and the companies will need to take two routes to a marketing approval.
Mipomersen has been tested in both homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH) -- patients with two bad copies of genes that cause extremely high cholesterol levels -- and heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), or those who have only one bad gene. The HoFH patients, who are fairly rare, are much sicker and usually end up with clogged arteries that result in heart attacks early in life.
Fortunately for Isis and Genzyme, there are a lot more HeFH patients than HoFH patients. Unfortunately, the larger potential treatment group means the FDA wants more data on mipomersen before it'll approve the drug for HeFH patients. The duo won't be able to file until after they run a 12-month trial in HeFH patients. The data for the HoFH patients looks like it's sufficient, although now that they're breaking up the two indications, it may take until the second half of the year to turn in the marketing application to the FDA.
Normally, one approval might be enough to gain some sales in the second indication. Doctors are allowed to prescribe drugs off label and might be willing to take the risk of prescribing it to HeFH patients even without the 12-month data. But given the small HoFH patient population, it seems likely that the companies will charge a fortune for mipomersen, which could limit reimbursement for off-label use.
Given the less-than-stellar side-effect profile and the fact that it's injected, I doubt mipomersen will ever compete against megablockbuster cholesterol drugs such as Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE ) Lipitor or Merck's (NYSE: MRK ) Vytorin. But it doesn't really have to; going after the FH patients who can't get their cholesterol under control with the current offerings should be enough to produce decent sales.
Investors just need to wait for Isis and Genzyme to finish their drug-development stroll down the FDA's newly cut path.
Morgan Housel points to three predictions for a wild 2011.


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Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival on October 3rd
September 6, 2015 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Convention News, Horror, Massachusetts, Other, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Television
Press Release:
Horror and Suspense authors from New England – and all around the Northeast U.S. – will be selling and signing books throughout the event, and participating in panel discussions in the theater about New England Horror Tradition, what makes something scary, new fears, and childhood terrors. The event will conclude with a quintet of authors doing a live reading of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Authors signing and speaking that day include:
Joe Hill
Kelly Link
Brian Keene
Sarah Langan
Christopher Golden
Paul Tremblay
Caitlin Kittredge
Thomas Sniegoski
John Langan
Dana Cameron
Rio Youers
Toni L.P. Kelner
Myke Cole
Mary SanGiovanni
Leigh Perry
Bracken MacLeod
Jack M. Haringa
Jason Ciaramella
Kat Howard
John M. McIlveen
Glenn Chadbourne
Mallory O'Meara
Holly Newstein Hautala
Errick Danger Nunnally
Izzy Lee
Scott Goudsward
Gardner Goldsmith
Douglas Wynne
Kristin Dearborn
Jan Kozlowski
TT Zuma
ACT Theater Company
1632 Osgood Street, North Andover, MA 01845
(978) 276-9568
PA – 5th Annual Comix Cookout
August 8, 2012 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Pennsylvania, Signing and Appearance Profiles
Mike Hawthorne, Dirk Shearer, Duane Swierczynski, Brian Keene and J.F. Gonzalez appear on Saturday, August 18th at Comix Connection in Mechanicsburg from Noon to 2PM! All food and drink is FREE, but they will accept cash donations for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank if you are so inclined! They will also have a donation barrel set up all week for canned goods and other staples to help Central Pennsylvanians in these grim economic times.
As a special incentive to get you off the sofa and into their parking lot, Comix Connection will also have a giant sale on all back issues in the bins… they will be a measly ONE DOLLAR EACH, so fill your belly and your wantlist at the same time!
Mechanicsburg Artworks Building, Carlisle Pike 6200 Carlisle Pike, Suite C Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 Phone: 717-591-2727
PA – The Last Zombie Signing
June 25, 2010 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Horror, Other, Pennsylvania, Signing and Appearance Profiles
Brian Keene signs on SATURDAY, JULY 10th from Noon until 4PM at Comix Connection – York in the West Manchester Mall, meet the acclaimed horror novelist and help us celebrate the release of Brian's new comic book THE LAST ZOMBIE! Grab a copy of THE LAST ZOMBIE #1 and have Brian sign it! Check out Brian Keene's other novels including THE RISING, TERMINAL, CITY OF THE DEAD, THE CONQUEROR WORMS, GHOUL and more! It would also be a perfect time to pick up a copy of Marvel's DEAD OF NIGHT: DEVIL SLAYER, which collects the four-issue mini-series, featuring Comix Connection's own BILL WAHL (it doesn't end well!)
WE WILL BE GATHERING CANNED FOOD DONATIONS FOR THE YORK RESCUE MISSION! Stay tuned for information about a special contest.
Comix Connection York
West Manchester Mall, 1800 Loucks Road, P.O. Box 8020, York, PA 17404
Phone: 717-767-4871
The New Dead Nationwide Signings
January 26, 2010 by Colin Solan
Filed under California, Comic Books, Georgia, Horror, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Other, Signing and Appearance Profiles, Texas
Comments Off on The New Dead Nationwide Signings
The New Dead
The hungry dead have risen. They shamble down the street. They hide in back yards, car lots, shopping malls. They devour neighbors, dogs and police officers. And they are here to stay. The real question is, what are you going to do about it? How will you survive?
How will the world change when the dead begin to rise?
Stoker-award-winning author Christopher Golden has assembled an original anthology of never-before-published zombie stories from an eclectic array of today's hottest writers. Inside there are stories about military might in the wake of an outbreak, survival in a wasted wasteland, the ardor of falling in love with a zombie, and a family outing at the circus. Here is a collection of new views on death and resurrection.
With stories from Joe Hill, John Connolly, Max Brooks, Kelley Armstrong, Tad Williams, David Wellington, David Liss, Aimee Bender, Jonathan Maberry, and many others, this is a wildly diverse and entertaining collection…the Last Word on the New Dead.
"The 19 provocative, haunting, and genuinely unsettling original stories in this zombie anthology move the genre beyond its usual apocalyptic wastelands. David Liss's novelette What Maisie Knew is a stunning and gruesome meditation on the banality of capitalism and evil. Mike Carey's Second Wind is a haunting tale of an undead stockbroker who comes to question whether he ever truly lived. Lovers of more traditional zombie fare will also not be disappointed. Joe Hill's ingenious Twittering from the Circus of the Dead tells a classic slasher film story through Twitter posts, while Jonathan Maberry's heartbreaking Family Business describes a ruined America populated by kindly monks and zombie hunters. This powerful anthology shines a bright and unflinching light on the fears of death, decay, and loss that underpin America's longstanding obsession with the undead."
– Publishers Weekly Starred Review
Table of Contents
"Lazarus" by John Connolly
"What Maisie Knew" by David Liss
"Copper" by Stephen R. Bissette
"In the Dust" by Tim Lebbon
"Life Sentence" by Kelley Armstrong
"Delice" by Holly Newstein
"Closure, LTD" by Max Brooks
"The Wind Cries Mary" by Brian Keene
"Family Business" by Jonathan Maberry
"The Zombie Who Fell From the Sky" by M.B. Homler
"My Dolly" by Derek Nikitas
"Second Wind" by Mike Carey
"Among Us" by Aimee Bender
"Ghost Trap" by Rick Hautala
"The Storm Door" by Tad Williams
"Kids and Their Toys" by James A. Moore
"Shooting Pool" by Joe R. Lansdale
"Weaponized" by David Wellington
"Twittering from the Circus of the Dead" by Joe Hill
Nationwide Signing Event
On February 16th, 2010, the day The New Dead is released, the majority of the authors who have written stories for the book will be signing in various locations around the country.
Los Angeles, CA: Max Brooks and Aimee Bender
Dark Delicacies, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 556-6660
Lexington, KY: Derek Nikitas
Morris Book Shop, 408 Southland Drive, Lexington, KY 40503
(859) 276-0494
Atlanta, GA: James A. Moore
Blue Elephant Book Shop, 2091 N. Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 728-8955
Baltimore, MD: Brian Keene
Barnes & Noble, 1819 Reisterstown Rd, Baltimore, MD 21208
(410) 415-5758
New York, NY: Jonathan Maberry, David Wellington, MB Homler
Borders, 10 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Boston, MA (Framingham): John Connolly, Christopher Golden, Stephen R. Bissette, Rick Hautala, and Holly Newstein 7 PM
Barnes & Noble, 1 Worcester Rd, Framingham, MA 01701
San Antonio, TX: David Liss
Barnes & Noble, 15900 La Cantera Pkwy, San Antonio, TX 78256
Please note that Joe Hill will be kicking off his signing tour for his new novel, Horns, on the same night. He'll be signing at River Run Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH, and will be happy to sign copies of The New Dead as well.
CA – New Year's Horror
December 30, 2009 by Colin Solan
Filed under California, Comic Books, Horror, Movies, Other, Science Fiction and Fantasy, Signing and Appearance Profiles
Comments Off on CA – New Year's Horror
Michael Oliveri, Brian Keene, JF Gonzalez & Danny Draven sign on Saturday, Jan 17th at 2 pm:
Bram Stoker Award-Winner Michael Oliveri signing his new supernatural thriller, The Pack: Winter Kill. "When tourists are murdered in a resort town in the northern mountain range of Minnesota, FBI Special Agent Angela Wallace is called in to investigate. But what she finds tests her training and sanity, for what she discovers should not exist. Book One of the ongoing prose series."
Brian Keene signing his graphic novel, Dead of Night: Devil Slayer, and novels Ghoul, Dark Hallow, Castaway and Urban Gothic and bookplates for his new horror novel, Darkness on the Edge of Town. "One morning the residents of Walden, Virginia, woke up to find that the rest of the world was gone. Just…gone. Surrounding their town was a wall of inky darkness, casting Walden into permanent night. Nothing can get in, no light, no people, not even electricity or radio or TV signals. And no one can get out. No one who dared to penetrate the mysterious barrier has ever been seen again. Only their screams were heard. But for some of the residents-turned-prisoners of Walden, even the fear of that unseen death can" keep them from trying to escape this living purgatory.
J.F. Gonzalez signing Beloved and his new horror novel, Primitive. "It began as just another day for David Spires and his wife Tracy: coffee, breakfast, and getting the kids ready for school. Then the bottom dropped out of civilization. The world ends not with a bang or a whimper, but with a dizzying downward spiral. Instead of the rat race of commuters scurrying to beat the clock, humans are now packs of animals reduced to snarling primitives. "
Director Danny Draven signing his new non-fiction book, The Filmmaker's Book of the Dead: How to Make Your Own Heart-Racing Horror Movie along with Chuck Williams and David Decorteau (Puppet Master 3). "From the history of horror and the technique of the scare to pre-production and distribution, this complete, full-color guide to horror filmmaking uncovers all the insider secrets for creating your own successful movie. Also includes interviews with Lloud Kaufman, Robert Kurtzman, James Wan, Robert Englund, Stuart Gordon, Tom Savini, David DeCoteau, Debbie Rochon, Chuck Williams and many more.
Dark Delicacies, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505
818-556-6660 / 888-darkdel
PA – 2nd Annual Creator Cookout
August 25, 2009 by Colin Solan
Filed under Comic Books, Pennsylvania, Signing and Appearance Profiles
Comments Off on PA – 2nd Annual Creator Cookout
As a special incentive to get you off the sofa and into our parking lot, we will also be having a giant sale on all back issues in the bins… they will be a measly ONE DOLLAR EACH, so fill your belly and your wantlist at the same time!
Artworks Building, Carlisle Pike
6200 Carlisle Pike, Suite C
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050
Phone: 717-591-2727


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The first round of the NCAA Tournament begins on Friday with the second round taking place on Sunday as part of the new-look 26-team bracket.
Here's where you can catch games online this week. The only game currently without a link is the Boston College vs. Dartmouth game. If a link pops up, it will be added here.
Penn vs. Virginia (at Georgetown): 3 p.m.
Canisius at No. 7 Penn State: 4 p.m.
Denver vs. Jacksonville (at Florida): 4 p.m.
Boston College vs. Dartmouth (at Syracuse): 4 p.m.
Monmouth at No. 8 Navy: 5 p.m.
High Point vs. Loyola (at North Carolina): 5 p.m.
UMass vs. UConn (at Penn State): 6 p.m.
Princeton vs. Duke (at Navy): 7 p.m.
Towson vs. Stony Brook (at Maryland): 7 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Stanford (at Northwestern): 8 p.m.


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Halcon Resources Corp. has announced that is will develop a $70 million oil and storage and rail loading terminal at the Ohio Commerce Center. This would allow Halcon and others to ship oil from the Utica wells to the Gulf and East Coasts via rail.
The project will be built in three stages, the initial phase is expected to be finished in 2014. Construction would create 50 jobs and another 30 full time jobs would be created to run the terminal.
While traffic is dependent upon well production levels and the market, Halcon is planning to unload about 12 trucks per hour at this location.
To learn more about Halcon's $70 million Oil Terminal, please click HERE.


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JACKSON, MI – The Parlour in Jackson will have its grand re-opening Friday, March 8, according to the business' Facebook page.
Bernie White and his wife, Sherry, a Jackson native, bought the restaurant at 1401 Daniel Road on Feb. 14 from Morris Huntley.
"Two days until The Parlour is open! We'll be open Friday noon till nine - Spread the word!!!" the business posted on its Facebook page Wednesday.
Out of 508 votes in a recent MLive.com poll, 369 (or about 73 percent) said they would visit the Parlour once it reopens.
The iconic ice cream shop had been closed since December. The couple said they would keep the same staff and menu and will continue to serve huge portions at a fair price.
For more information, visit the Parlour's Facebook page.


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Pakistan hikes defence allocation by 10 per cent
The allocation for the defence services amounted to 18.4 per cent of the federal budget of Rs 2,960 billion.
Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday increased the defence allocation in its fiscal 2012-13 budget to Rs 545 billion (about $5.82 billion), marking an increase of 10 per cent over the outlay for the current fiscal.
The allocation for the defence services amounted to 18.4 per cent of the federal budget of Rs 2,960 billion for fiscal 2012-13.
Further details, including allocations for the three services and weapons acquisition programmes, were not immediately available.
Official budget documents presented in parliament said a sum of Rs 545 billion had been allocated for the defence services for 2012-13, compared with Rs 495 billion provided in the fiscal year ending on June 30.
The budget documents further stated that the actual expenditure on defence during fiscal 2011-12 was estimated Rs 509.32 billion (about $5.45 billion), or Rs 14.32 billion more than the allocation of Rs 495 billion.
The documents further showed that the government had allocated Rs 3.250 billion for projects of the Defence Division under the Public Sector Development Programme for 2012-13.
Out of this allocation, Rs 717 million will be spent on projects of the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission.
Rs 1.347 billion was earmarked for the National Electronics Complex of Pakistan while Rs 600 million was provided for the New Gwadar International Airport.


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U.S. Air Force
Air Force Lt. Col. Wendy M. Larson has assumed command of the 20th Medical Support Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base, Sumter, S.C.
Larson's change of command ceremony was on her 23rd anniversary of her first day of active duty, when she entered Military Indoctrination for Medical Service Officers at Sheppard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, Texas.
She is the daughter of Aloysius E. and Yvonne M. Gulvas of Standish.
The colonel graduated from Standish-Sterling High School and received a bachelor's degree from Northern Michigan University, Marquette. Larson earned a master's degree from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Air Force Airman Andrea Farr graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. She is the daughter of Laura Farr of Deford. Farr graduated in 2009 from Cass City High School.
U.S. Army
Army Pfc. Stacy M. McIsaac has graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill, Lawton, Okla. She is the daughter of Mark McIsaac of Rose City and Debra Clark of Roscommon.
McIsaac graduated in 1995 from Ogemaw Heights High School, West Branch, and received an associates degree in 2004 from Kirtland Community College, Roscommon.


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Cake Balls! So Bad…But So Good
Every summer we're sure of what to expect: no school, more hours at work, long days at the beach catching a tan, and of course, the occasional cookout (where your expected to contribute to feeding a bunch of people you don't even know). We've all been to at least one cookout where we somehow stumble … [More]


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flare 99 06 or 104 06 for rodger
iam am a 40 kg kid in harnnes and footstraps waterstarting could you surgest a new board for me i was thinking a flare 104 or 99 i want to learn how to carve gybe and dont know the volume i should have to learn too. i have a budget of Ł400. at the moment i sail a starboard wave 88 and a alpha 160f for light winds i was looking to replace both boards with just one board or maybe keep my wave 88 and buy a board for those lighter days. if i was to sell both i would have a board for 13 knots plus.
Hi jack,
Sorry for the delay in replying.
I've been quite busy the last couple of days.
I'm going to guess that you have located a couple of 2006 Flare boards that you are interested in.
The Flare 96 might be OK, but why do you want a freestyle board at this stage of your
skill development?
The Flare 104 is a "big boys" freestyle board, and while it could possibly work for you, I suspect it would not be a good match.
If you have strong winds alot (> 20 knots) then I'd suggest keeping your 88 liter wave board.
For 12 knots and up a 90-96 liter Starboard Trance, or a Carve 90 or Futura 90-100 liter would seem better than the Flares.
The reason that the price on the Flare boards is low is that they are not that good as an "all around" board, but then they were designed as dedicated freestyle boards.
Hope this helps,
could you give me an apinoin on these board my budget has now gone up to Ł500 looking to buy somthing of years 07 08 09 i have my eyes set on a mistral sycrno 07 102 i would like to go between 100 - 110 lites now could you tell me a board that does everything as i can now waterstart and chop hop and like to get into freestyle wave sailing.
cheers jack
flare 99 06 or 104 06 for rodger
How about one of those Tabou 3S 107 L boards, they look pretty sweet and I think the windsurfing place at Coyote sells them so maybe you could try one out
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This deal has ended.
Updated: Buy.com is offering this SkyCaddie SG 5 Golf Range Finder for
$233.47 $228.45 $199.95, plus free shipping. This is the lowest price we could find. This golf GPS unit automatically calculates the distance to over 40 targets per hole, and has been featured on Golf Digest's Hot List. Only CA, MA, MD, NY, and TN charge sales tax.


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Five Knights earned All-MIAA honors at last weekend's MIAA Championships. Calvin earned its highest finish in over twenty years by placing second behind repeat champion Kalamazoo.
Senior Mark Rushlow, junior Andrew Mitchell, sophomore Travis Vincent, and freshmen Caleb Meindertsma and Johnson Cochran were each named to the All-MIAA team.
Rushlow (Goshen, IN/Middlebury Northridge HS) was named All-MIAA for the third time in his career. Rushlow was the third leg in the first place 400 medley relay team for Calvin, which earned a national B-Cut qualifying time in 3:22.77. Rushlow also swam strong as an individual, taking first in the 100 butterfly in a B-Cut time of 49.96, fourth in the 100 freestyle, and seventh in the 100 backstroke.
Mitchell (Iron Mountain, MI/Kingsford HS) is being honored for the first time in his career. Mitchell was also part of Calvin's winning 400 medley relay team. Mitchell was the first leg of both the Calvin 800 freestyle relay team and 400 freestyle relay team, each of which took second overall. Individually, Mitchell took second in the 100 backstroke, third in the 200 backstroke and sixth in the 50 freestyle.
Vincent (Novi, MI/Novi) is making his second appearance in as many years on the All-MIAA team. Vincent finished third in the 200 individual medley. He also took third in the 400 IM and fourth in the 200 breaststroke. As the second leg of the 400 medley relay team, Vincent aided Calvin to a third place finish and a national B-Cut qualifying time of 3:22.77.
Meindertsma (Annandale, VA/Trinity Christian HS) grabbed All-MIAA honors in his first collegiate season. Meindertsma took first in the 1650 freestyle, breaking his own record by over ten seconds at the MIAA Championships with a national B-Cut qualifying time of 16:06.12. Meindertsma also finished second in the 400 individual medley and fourth in the 500 freestyle.
Cochran (Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon HS) also earned All-MIAA honors in his first collegiate season. At the MIAA Championships, Cochran broke a pair of Calvin records while also earning national B-Cut qualifying times in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. In the 100 breakstroke, Cochran swam to a time of 57.20 for a third place finish, breaking Greg Gorham's record of 57.73 set in 2011. In the 200, Cochran broke teammate Travis Vincent's record of 2:07.07 by almost two seconds, swimming in 2:05.09, good for third place. Cochran was also the second leg of Calvin's 400 medley relay team which placed first.
With a second place finish and a point total of 666 points, the Knights topped their previous point record of 635 set in their fourth place finish last year.


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Syracuse, NY -- After a lapse of, oh, a couple of decades or so, I'm starting to go to New York City a bit more frequently these days, into Times Square. It's something I did often as a kid, then a teenager, then a college student. I was raised in New Jersey.
Manhattan was quite a different world. Times Square these days is nothing like it was in the '70s and '80s. The makeover has been marvelous.
So this story caught my eye, especially since I'm a big fan of the New England Aquarium. Read on...
From GlobeSt.com:
Times Square Tower May Get Aquarium
NEW YORK CITY -- SJP Properties' 11 Times Square may be getting an assortment of marine wildlife along with office tenants.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Toronto-based Aquarium Developments Corp. says it has signed a preliminary agreement for a seven-story, $100-million facility on the lower floors of the 40-story speculative office property, which is scheduled to be completed later this year.
Jerry Shefsky, head of Aquarium Developments, told the WSJ that while the deal has not been finalized, he has lined up financial backing for the project and may start building out the space as early as this April with the goal of opening in September 2011. The idea would be to attract some of the 35 million people who pass through the Times Square area annually.
The WSJ noted that SJP is reportedly in talks with law firm Proskauer Rose LLP for 400,000 square feet at 11 Times Square, which to date has not announced any tenants. SJP and its financial partner on the project, Prudential Financial, declined to comment for the article, according to the WSJ.
My comments: The Syracuse Aquarium was an element in one of the fantastical renditions of the first renderings of the expansion of Carousel Center mall, which morphed into Destiny USA.
As then envisioned, it would have been built into the current, still unoccupied expansion of the mall, and was to play off of a collection of themed restaurants, such as Margaritaville.
Alas, as the years peeled away into -- now, what? A decade? -- the aquarium came off the plate and Destiny and the Carousel expansion is what you see: limboville.
Anyway, we'll watch how this plays out in Times Square. My first thoughts are this is a gimme and would be a hot commodity. We shall see.
On to....
- Nedrow42: You hit the nail on the head with rolling monopoly as a description for Live Nation / Ticketmaster. It is exceedingly difficult to buy tickets for anything without paying "convenience" charges to them. At least the Landmark Theatre has a box office you can buy directly from (though only at specific hours) so you can skip the extra charges (which are often 35 percent or more of the ticket cost).
It is interesting, though that they would opt to sell tickets at Walmart. Some of us may recall a time when the more upscale retailers (Dayton's comes to mind) had TicketMaster outlets in the store. Now instead we'll be going to Walmart to give our money to Ticketmaster?
- BN: Great points. I meant to raise some of those issues in Monday's blog entry.
- BNicetoall: So DestiNY USA started out as just an expansion? Then morphed into an international destination filled with retail, entertainment and dining, all indoors, in a magical place and returned back into thee empty expansion of today. So enlighten us who can not recall the original name of DestiNY USA, what was thee original name of the project?Personally it seems to me that you have written this piece like an Oliver Stone novel (facts intertwined with fiction) but then again that is the way the "Greatest Visionary" of our time has presented his project over the years with (facts intertwined with fiction)... Always enjoy reading your work.
BN: Thanks. No, the Destiny USA name came AFTER the expansion was announced, and grew beyond all believability. This isn't an Oliver Stone film. I was there. There was no gimmicky name in the beginning. It started as a supersizing of Carousel Center mall.
Talk to me.
--Bob Niedt
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I'm thinking of running for the leadership of the provincial PC party.
This Cabana fellow has me all inspired. Tell me someone who isn't inspired by that totally unselfish and well-balanced individual. How proud the people of Saskatchewan, his home province, must be of him!
Here he is, having come from the lap of luxury in Alberta, ready to give it all up for these poor little Nufundlunders (not his fault that no one told him about Labrador), now leaderless and ready to fall into the lap of anarchy. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!
Apart from that, I know very little about anything, let alone anyone, named Cabana. For all I know, he could be a tanning salon franchise in Québec, or a thatched hut in the tropics. It could even be a large building in Switzerland which serves as a meeting place for Girl Guides the world over — Our Cabana! That information comes from being married to a guider who's been there.
Somebody knows something about Mr. Cabana. At least, they know enough about him to ban him from challenging Ms. Dunderdale for the leadership of the party. That somebody or somebodies would seem to be well-placed within the PC party. Whatever and whoever, they obviously had the authority to carry that particular message directly to his face, at his current abode on Random Island.
According to Mr. Cabana, he was visited in person by a prominent member of government bureaucracy who threatened him with "destruction." It wasn't clear whether the destruction would be political, mental, emotional or physical, or the deadly combination of all four. I don't think spiritual was mentioned.
As if that wasn't enough, the party itself declared him to be persona non grata to the leadership "race." In short, you don't fit the qualifications, Mr. Cabana, or you haven't followed the process necessary to declaring yourself a candidate, or we don't like you. You may fill in the blanks yourself.
There has been much speculation as to the reasons for this apparently unwarranted unwelcome. I have come to the conclusion that only a few of the PC Chosen know what they are. Those of us not so favoured as to belong to that glorious inner circle may speculate to our hearts' desire.
Speculation No. 1: they didn't want him.
Speculation No. 2: they didn't want anyone.
Speculation No. 3: it was all a horrible mistake.
Speculation No. 4: it was all a stupid mistake.
Speculation No. 5: it was all a horribly stupid mistake.
The question here that just begs to be begged is what was so terribly wrong with Mr. Cabana that he wasn't fit to be a politician? Did he a) stab a colleague in the back? It's been done, you know. Consider the sad cases of Julius Caesar and one Ms. Lynn Verge.
Did he b) steal money that didn't belong to him? The verb "steal" would seem to imply that taking money that isn't yours to take might indeed be enough to bar one from the ranks of politicians. I refer you to the use of "bar" here, which isn't entirely unintentional, given the sad case of one Mr. Ed Byrne who found himself behind several of them. (Mr. Byrne may be used as an example in either a) or b).)
Or c) was he not nice to his wife? The Association for the Preservation of Family Values declared as recently as yesterday that the wives of politicians are an endangered species. This is regardless of whether the wife or the husband is the politician in question.
These would be among the more common moral problems, any one of which might cause the local PCs to grimace and, as a person, stamp the Cabana application in large red characters, "No Way!"
But might there be more to it than that? It seems Mr. Cabana didn't have enough legitimate PC signatures on his application. The question arises as to what exactly is a bona fide PC signature and how would one know? Somebody knew, because that seems to be one of the strikes against him.
He's not very smart, really. Since four out of five voters in the province are supposed to be more PC than Ms. Dunderdale is woman, all he had to do was get a hundred signatures from George Street or Water Street or the Strait of Belle Isle, and he'd automatically have enough.
Could the reason for his being frozen out have to do with his not being a Newfoundlander/Labradorian? Certainly not! Why would we think someone from the Prairie Provinces isn't acquainted with our fishery griefs or our outport challenges or our cultural richness? Nope, that couldn't be it.
Perhaps it's Speculation No. 2 — they don't want anyone else to spoil the coronation ceremony. Perhaps Ms. Dunderdale is afraid of the competition. Enough BS in that one to keep the Codroy Valley agricultural industry in manure for a year.
A more compelling reason might be because the province can't afford a leadership race at this time.
We can skip speculations 3 and 4 and go directly to No. 5 without collecting our $200. The decision to not allow someone with Cabana's political savvy, political profile, obvious political abilities, political experience, national political prominence and the political and cultural knowledge of this province is so abysmally, abhorrently and horiffically stupid as to defy comprehension.
It's not at all out of the question that the ratio of PCs to the rest of the population went from 4/5 to 2/5 overnight. If I were the hierarchy of the New Democratic Party, the New Newfoundland Party or the Liberal party, I'd be busy trying to figure out the logistics of how to effectively harness all that overnight new support.
I've changed my mind about running for the leadership. Whatever chance I'd have against Kathy D, I'd have none whatever against this fellow. Jarge Cabana from Joe Batt's Arm.
Ed Smith is an author who lives in Springdale. His email address is firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Boyertown, Twin Valley to meet in legion elimination game
Published: 12:17 AM EDT Aug 10, 2013
Boyertown lost and Twin Valley won on day two of the Mid-Atlantic Legion Tournament in Camden on Friday, setting up an elimination showdown between the Berks teams on Saturday.
Twin Valley, which had lost its first game in the double-elimination tournament on Thursday, beat Gibbsboro (NJ) 12-2 Friday morning.
Boyertown, which had won its first game on Thursday, lost 6-4 to Brooklawn (NJ).
Twin Valley and Boyertown will face each other at 3:30pm on Saturday in an elimination game.
Copyright 2013 WFMZ. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Pro Tools 10.3.7 Update Now Available
Avid have just released Pro Tools 10.3.7 (Downloadable here) which includes the following bug fixes and improvements:
- The Pro Tools application icon has been modified to allow easier identification of Pro Tools 10.3.7 in a co-install configuration.
- Pro Tools 10 now has a Satellite protocol option that allows forward compatibility with Pro Tools 11.
To allow you to connect Pro Tools 10 and Pro Tools 11 systems in a satellite configuration, an option has been added in the Satellite pane of the Peripherals dialog that allows you to select which version of the Satellite protocol you want to use (either Pro Tools 10 or
Pro Tools 11).
NOTE: All systems in a Satellite configuration must use the same version of the Satellite protocol.
The admin system must be a Pro Tools 11 system.
- Avid Audio Engine performance has been improved for HDX, HD Native and HD Native Thunderbolt. (Mac OS X 10.8.4 or higher required).
- Session save times have been improved. (PTSW-185060)
- Destructive Punch now records properly after recording to the end of file. (PTSW-177550)
- Crashes associated with the use of RME HDSPe MADI, HDSP PCIe and UAD Apollo interfaces have been resolved. (PTSW-164626, PTSW-182520, PTSW-182588)
- Scroll wheel functions properly for a variety of numeric entry fields in Pro Tools: Video Offset, Preferences, Click/Countoff Options, Event Operations (PTSW-134626, PTSW-134632, PTSW-134634, PTSW-134636.)
- In the Bounce dialog, "Enforce Avid Compatibility' has been changed to "Enforce Media Composer Compatibility" to better reflect the intended use of this option. (PTSW-181436)
Version 10.3.7 is officially qualified and recommended for:
- Pro Tools|HDX systems on Mac OS X 10.7-10.7.5, 10.8, 10.8.2 to 10.8.4 or Windows 7 SP1 (details)
- Pro Tools|HD Native systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7-10.7.5, 10.8, 10.8.2 to 10.8.4, or Windows 7 SP1 (details)
- Pro Tools|HD Native Thunderbolt systems on Mac OS X 10.7.5, 10.8, 10.8.2 to 10.8.4 (details)
- Pro Tools|HD Accel systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7-10.7.5, 10.8, 10.8.2 to 10.8.4 or Windows 7 SP1
- Pro Tools systems on Mac OS X 10.6.7-10.7.5, 10.8, 10.8.2 to 10.8.4 or Windows 7 SP1
*For Mac Pro computer support with Mountain Lion a Nehalem (4,1) or later is required. Click here for a full list of Qualified Apple computers with Pro Tools. Click here for more info on Mountain Lion OS compatibility.
The Read Me file documents issues fixed in this release as well as important compatibility information, known issues, error messages, etc.
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text: Lake Athens Marina is located on 28 acres of beautiful Athens Texas lake view property. The Marina is the perfect destination for summer fun and great food. You are welcome to use the Marina's dock to sail out for a day of fishing, but before you do, stop by the Marina's bait shop to load up on bait, gas, snacks and t-shirts. Or, head on over to the Marina restaurant to enjoy the best hamburger in town or a plate full of hand battered catfish. Oh and no one can forget about the amazing homemade pies that will leave you asking for seconds. If you are from out of town and wanting to spend the weekend here looking out across the beautiful lake and to experience everything we have to offer, we have an accommodating RV Park with 46 existing spaces equipped with full hookups. All spaces have 30 and 50 AMP service. We have city water and sewer. Most spaces are pull thru and can accommodate 40-foot rigs with two slide outs. There is a beautiful new Pavilion with two meeting rooms with kitchens, a laundromat, showers and a great large deck. Also, we now offer internet and propane. We promise you, once you experience all we have to offer, you won't want to go home. Die besucher werden dürfen, spielautomat und andere casino-spiele während ihres aufenthalts zu spielen.


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- This event has passed.
April 5, 2014 - April 6, 2014
Roller Derby Tournament: Dust Devil 2014
Tucson Indoor Sports Center
Watch hard hits on eight wheels at one of Roller Derby's longest running tournaments, started right here in the Old Pueblo. The 2014 Dust Devil features eight traveling teams from as far away as Vermont! Enjoy two days of vendors, refreshments, and stunts on skates. Presale tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com. Doors open at 8:00 am, first bout at 9:00 am both days. Championship bout will be 7:30 pm on Sunday.


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The Five Corners Branch at 678 Newark Ave. and Lafayette Branch at 307 Pacific Ave. are closed due to air conditioning problems.
The city's libraries also serve as cooling stations during heat waves. But the city has several other cool locations for residents looking to escape the heat.
The closure was announced on the library's Facebook fan page and sent to followers of JCFPL_NJ on Twitter.


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Cher To Perform At New York Pride! We Can Hardly Believe It!
Let's just go ahead and proclaim June 18 as National Cher Day! In addition to today's official release of her fantastic new single/summer anthem "Woman's World," which she will perform on NBC's The Voice finale tonight, the incomparable entertainer has announced that on June 30…take a deep breath…she will perform a concert during New York Pride. Gay gasp!
The award-winning legend will perform her new single, as well as a selection of her older hits during the Dance on the Pier. The annual end-of-Pride concert traditionally attracts A-list icons to the stage, with Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and the late Whitney Houston having wowed New York Pride revelers in past years, but a performer of Cher's stature is certainly in a league of her own.
"NYC Pride is thrilled to welcome Cher to the stage of this year's Dance on the Pier," says Chris Frederick, managing director of NYC Pride. "Her performance will be one of the most memorable in the history of this world-class party." No kidding.
Cher's still-untitled album is due September 24, but it's available for pre-order today on Amazon, iTunes and Cher.com.
Cher just won't stop giving today. The entertainer has just announced that she will participate in a 30 minute livestream chat that will be broadcast globally at new.livestream.com tonight around her appearance on The Voice. She plans to tweet throughout the evening so if you have a burning question for the superstar, send it ahead of time on Twitter using #CherLivestream or during the event using #AskCher.
Woman's World? Seriously? Just a little literal and I don't see the gays jumping up and down on the dance floor singing . . . THIS IS A WOMEN'S WORLD and pumping their fists in the air – no matter who remixes it. Just don't see it. Hopefully the rest of the album will be more inspiring.
@mattsy: seriously?? save your tawdry comments for people who aren't legendary award winning icons.
@Spike: lol Spike. Cher will get EVERYONE to sing along to her song. Trust me!!
Now now fellow gays. Let us not be ageist. What would you have her do? Thank god she is still out and about and opinionated and political and smarter than you think and manages to record now and then. You should be doing so well at 67. I'm always amazed at how nasty gays can be. Oppressed people who face discrimination should think twice before discriminating against others.
@michaelroy: Really, I don't recall ever hearing Taxi Taxi playing at any of the clubs and everyone singing Taxi Taxi, give me a ride, I'm going to take you to the other side . . .LOL, btw, it was on the Believe album. Not all Cher's songs are hits and anthems, in fact she has a lot of duds. My comment, was simply that I don't expect Women's World, to be a hit and particular not in the gay clubs. I have no doubt she will have at least one and probably 2 or 3 from the album that will be iconic and big hits.
She has more energy and balls than you 'll ever have fattsy.
Who let the old girl out of the nursing home?
I wish I lived in NYC
I wish I could *afford* to live in NYC!
I wish I had tix to this! :D
Rock on Cher, we love you hon!
@Tone: Tone, I saw the Queerty headline about Cher much earlier, but did not have time to read nor comment at the time. I live in New York, 60 miles outside the City. I too wish I could afford to live in the City! More important, I wish I could afford where I actually live on Long Island ;-) I'm 63, and remember not being a fan of Sonny & Cher when I was a teen. But she has grown on me ;-) So, what irks me about this is that her performance will only be seen/heard by the "elite" who can afford tickets to this "Dance On The Pier"! So, while Cher is performing I'll either be watching the fireworks from a friends condo or passing out on the Long Island Rail Road from an overlong day at the march itself.
Oh come on now, the tickets are only $75, and they were $45 two weeks ago, so using the word "elite" is a bit of an overstatement. Plus Dance on the Pier is a fundraiser that makes all the other events of NYC Pride happen (the march, the rally, PrideFest, etc).
How very cool that she is performing in NY. Wish that I was there, would be so cool to see the legend again! I saw her in Atlanta with Cindy Lauper opening for her many years ago and was and is still a night to remember!!
Have a great time New Yorkers, I am sure that you will!


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There's a 1953 baby blue Cadillac driving around Alabama and its driver is telling you to hop in for the ride.
On Tuesday the Caddy -- the centerpiece of a new marketing campaign for the Alabama Tourism Department -- was in Montgomery. Wednesday, it was in Birmingham and today it heads to Huntsville.
Birmingham advertising agency Luckie & Co. and Atlanta-based film company Pogo Pictures are filming a series of television spots for the Alabama Tourism Department this week.
The series of spots take place in Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville and Mobile, and they feature food, music, outdoors and other attractions in each destination. The crews are going from dawn to dusk, Saturday through Friday this week.
"Alabama has a road trip with your name on it," Brendan Powers, the actor seen driving the classic car in the spots, said during a scene shot in the valet lane at Bottega Restaurant and Cafe on Highland Avenue on Wednesday. Powers' role is to sometimes act as tour guide and other times engage with the attractions around the state.
The Caddy is meant to be reminiscent of the one that Alabama native Hank Williams drove during his last road trip before his death. Luckie wanted something that viewers could associate exclusively with Alabama, according to Brad White, chief creative officer for the agency.
White said the car and Powers act as tour guides, providing a thread for all of the messages through the state.
"Alabama's been a drive-through state. We're trying to make it a drive-to state," he said.
Luckie & Co. has had the Alabama Tourism Department as a client for more than eight years, although the advertising firm has to compete for the account every four years. Luckie secured it for another four years in 2011. A soft launch of the most recent campaign began about six months ago, and production began at the end of last year. The agency also has been developing the road trip website and new print ads. Now, the three-year campaign is in full force as the shooting continues.
Alabama Tourism Director Lee Sentell said the department is spending $3 million on media and production this year.
"It's probably the most comprehensive and ambitious tourism promotion that the state's ever done because it is a three-year plan," Sentell said in an interview Wednesday. "We are creating itineraries for 100 road trips that will cover every part of the state, including visits to many small towns and rural areas that often get overlooked by the state tourism department simply because we usually focus on bigger destinations."
Alabama also gets $10 million or $11 million worth of free airtime each year through a partnership between the Retirement Systems of Alabama and Raycom Media, a RSA property. Raycom owns a number of television stations in Alabama and throughout the Southeast. However, the state does still buy airtime for the summer months in Nashville, New Orleans and Atlanta to promote the Gulf Coast beaches.
"We produce more TV commercials than any other state tourism department in the country, to take advantage of this great benefit from the state pension fund," Sentell said.
Luckie has coordinated with convention and visitors bureaus in the state to set up the locations in each city. It's also working with the tourism department to make sure it's satisfied with the variety of locales chosen.
"Your first sales job is sort of an internal one, and then you launch it to the public," White said.
In addition to the television advertisements, Luckie is producing print and radio ads and developing an online version of road trips on the Tourism Department's website, which the tourism office is devising. Luckie also is planning a smartphone application that will give travelers a way to access the road trips created by the tourism office.
On Wednesday afternoon, the crew filmed exhibits at the Birmingham Zoo, including the new giraffe habitat scheduled to open soon, as well as the elephants' exhibit and the lorikeet cage.
Alabama's culinary treats are a big focus of the campaign this year, with the state's food getting its own television spot. Before arriving at Bottega to shoot Wednesday morning, the crew went to Hot and Hot Fish Club to film chef Chris Hastings, who recently won a "Iron Chief America" contest with celebrity chef Bobby Flay.
Music in the spots is by Joseph Baldwin. Baldwin won the Alabama song contest last year, White said. In an earlier spot, Baldwin makes a cameo in the back of the Cadillac.
Dilcy Hilley, vice president of communications for the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, said she expects Birmingham to become a greater destination for foodies if Hastings or Frank Stitt win a James Beard Foundation Award.
"Our culinary reputation is growing beyond the Southeast, so it makes sense that the dining rooms are the focus for Birmingham as well as the state," she said.
Today, filming is expected to take place in the morning at Barber Motorsports Park before the crew heads to Huntsville. There, they'll film at the Space and Rocket Center and other attractions, according to Bill Dinan, the account supervisor at Luckie for the Alabama Tourism account.
Earlier television commercials were filmed at other Gulf Coast locations such Mobile, Gulf Shores, the USS Alabama, Mobile Bay, Perdido Pass and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
Tourism is an important and growing component of the Alabama economy. Sentell said tourists spent $10.3 billion in the state last year. The department hopes spending will increase by 5 percent in 2012, though much of that will depend on weather at the beach. Last year the state had 2.5 million visitors, a 12 percent increase over 2010.
In the past decade, Alabama's tourism industry has grown by 55 percent, he said. Of the total tourism revenue last year, $2.5 billion was in Baldwin County, which is why so much focus is put on the beaches, he said.
Spending could be even bigger in 2013 with the 50th anniversary of major civil rights protests led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth. Just last week, Gov. Robert Bentley announced the state would spend $100,000 on promoting the state's civil rights tourism. "It'll be important for Birmingham's image and Alabama's image that there be appropriate and serious events that tell the story of how much this region has changed in 50 years." Sentell said. "It's a very important public relations opportunity for this region."
See more images from the shoot at al.com/birmingham:
Join the conversation by clicking to comment or email Swant at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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This week we bring you news about aid for troubled homeowners and Bank of America foreclosing on people who'd either paid their loans on time or early.
Refinancing: The New York Times reports that (LINK FIXED) the Obama Administration is considering a refinancing program to help homeowners whose loan balances exceed their home values. The Times report U.S. homeowners owe $700 billion more than what their homes are worth. Bankrate's Mortgages Blog says 70% of all mortgage applications in the first half of the eyar were from homeowners wanting to refinance.
Foreclosures: They accounted for one of every three homes sold in Oregon between April and June, according to RealtyTrac.
More foreclosure: A Bank of America customer in New Jersey who paid his mortgage on time still ended up in foreclosure. Meanwhile, a couple in found B of A foreclosing on them for paying their mortgage off early.
Wall Street: The New York Federal Reserve's 12-member board of Governors, which oversees banks, designates three seats for members of the public. Two of them have been vacant since 2008, The Street reports.
Underemployment: Bloomberg reports on the Slow Disappearance of the American Working Man. Only 81.2 percent of men age 25 and 54 held jobs, well below the depths of the 1982-83 recession. Compare that to 1969, when 95 percent of men in their prime working years had a job.
Coffee prices: Good news! Coffee is getting cheaper, CNN Money reports. No word on whether prices for those good single origin beans sold here are coming down.
Investment advice: Never heard of a "structured note" or "structured product?" That's probably a good thing, says MarketWatch's Outside The Box. "Owners of these products should ask their financial adviser some pointed questions"
Education: The party might have finally ended for for-profit schools and their shareholders? Read It's Only Money's 2009 column Students at for-profit schools build debt if not resumes.
Health insurance: About 1 in 10 large and mid-sized employers are considering dropping health coverage as a fringe benefit by 2014, surveys have found.


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Perhaps it won't come as a great surprise but large numbers of mobile apps in the Apple and Google stores have been hacked, with financial apps being a particular target. According to recent research we're talking 'significant numbers'.
The hackers aim is capture ID credentials from users, or to operate maliciously, for example, getting the mobile device to send SMS messages to premium-cost numbers. In some cases, the aim is to defraud the creators of the app.
In a chilling discovery, the researchers also discovered that 23% of financial iOS sampled apps had been hacked and reposted. For Android apps it was 53%.
Banking apps are hacked and then reposted into the app store
Essentially, hackers are downloading the apps, breaking into them, inserting malware and then reposting them into the app store. There are concerns that hackers will also start creating apps that look as though they have been posted by a legitimate bank, fooling users into downloading them.
For a long time, critics have said that the security industry is scaring people by claiming that mobile-based malware is set to swamp mobile devices. This research just adds to an already mounting body of evidence that it's a fact and not a scare tactic.
Other researchers have discovered thousands of different strains of existing viruses aimed at mobile devices, which reveals how hackers are tinkering with existing malware to meet their specific aims.
Mobile tsunami
It doesn't require a huge leap of logic to understand why. PCs and laptops are almost yesteryear. For sure, they still have a large role to play, particularly in the workplace, but smartphone and tablet usage is surging like a tsunami.
These 'pocket computers' are incredibly powerful and today have more computing power than that used to launch space missions in the past. Some of the apps tap into high-performance computing which has traditionally been the preserve of governments and militaries.
The trend to ever smaller, ever more powerful computing is only going to continue at a rapid pace. Blue chip companies such as Intel have invested billions into developing faster, smaller and more powerful processors, the engines of any computer.
In fact, they are staking their future on something known as the 'Internet of everything' which essentially means processors (computers) in everyday items. Hackers are simply following the trend to smaller more powerful computing devices – or to put it another way, they're following the money.
Angry Birds – a victim of mobile apps hackers
At BullGuard we've been watching this trend for some time and have seen a number of well known apps that have been exploited by hackers. Angry Birds is one. Hackers created a malware infested upgrade and then loaded it into an app store.
We've currently got a beta version of Mobile Security 2014 running to iron out the bugs ahead of a full launch early next year. It's got some top security features and includes an anti-virus tool that picks up malware infested apps.


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We can finally put the Cris Carter vs. Calvin Johnson issue to bed.
As expected, Carter officially ate his words on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown, telling Johnson during a face-to-face interview that he is "definitely one of the best wide receivers in the National Football League."
It was a short segment with just a few questions before tonight's Monday Night Football game against the Chicago Bears, and Carter didn't waste any time, jumping right into the issue at hand, asking Johnson what his reaction was to being left off Carter's Top 5 list of the best wide receivers in the NFL.
Johnson said he was unaware of the comments, but when he was informed (by Nate Burelson), he said it "ruffled a few feathers."
"I definitely feel like I'm definitely up there with the elite receivers in the game," said Johnson. "I work my butt off here [in Detroit], I've been doing that since I got here, just to be one of the top receivers in the game, to help my team out first of all."
Carter then explained why he didn't feel that, at the time, Johnson belonged on the short list of elite wide receivers. A decision that Lions' defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham called one of the 'dumbest statements I've ever heard."
"The first four years, they single covered you a lot, and they ain't throw you the ball. So for me, a guy who can't be single covered, he can't be on my top five."
He followed up that explanation with a emphatic declaration that Johnson now belongs on the list.
Johnson said he used the comments to fire him up.
"It's just motivation to put my head down and work even harder."


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Little Black Dress, a ladies night out organized by the Junior League of the Oranges and Short Hills, was a fun mix of entertainment and fundraising to support the league's community programs.
Two hundred fabulously dressed women came out to the Hilton Shorts Hills on Feb.
28 to mix, mingle, try their luck at the raffle and auction, laugh, dance. Together with support from corporate sponsors, local retailers and community members, the event raised more than $20,000, which will support charitable programs aiding women and children in need.
For more information, visit jlosh.org or find it on Facebook.


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PENNSVILLE TWP. — Top notch students of Elsinboro Township School gather for a special lunch to celebrate good grades and educational success at the annual Mayors Honors Luncheon.
For 24 consecutive years, students in grades 2 through 8 were honored for achieving the honor roll consistently through the school year.
More than 50 students were all smiles during lunch at the Riverview Inn Wednesday with Elsinboro Township Mayor Sean Elwell.
"We are all geniuses and all intelligent," student Carlos Rodriguez, 11, said laughing with his classmates at the table.
The tradition began more than 20 years ago by now Deputy Mayor John "Jack" Elk after getting an idea from reading a story in the newspaper.
For Elwell, this marked his 14th year attending the annual lunch — seven years as a committeeman and seven years as a student himself.
"The mayor's luncheon is a great way for us to recognize the students who have been successful throughout the year and reward them for hard work," Elwell said.
In order to be able to attend the lunch, students must be on the honor roll 3 out of 4 marking periods that year.
"We are proud of each of the students in the community and wish them the best of luck. We hope that each year the students will continue to work hard and be able to join our annual tradition," the mayor said.
For student Dominic Gambino, 10, the lunch made him feel successful.
"It's all about us today, it's a very good accomplishment," Dominic Gambino, 10, said then giving a thumbs up.
The young students joked throughout their lunch then listened to this year's guest speaker Salem County Sheriff Chuck Miller.
Miller spoke about making good choices, avoiding peer pressure and thanking parents and teachers for support.
"There have been people in the background that push you to this point. There are so many people behind us that help support us — dreams can be possible and accomplished and while you're preparing for high school, come up with a game plan and be genuine," Miller encouraged the eight-grade students.
"The choices that we make today really do have an everlasting effect on who we are going to be the rest of our lives," Miller said.
Eight-grade students then took a few minutes to share the highlights from their school career in Elsinboro and plans for their future.
"What I enjoy in Elsinboro is hard to narrow down. You begin to understand how much the teachers care so much," Casey Schaffer, 14, said who will be attending Salem County Vocational Technical School for the Junior ROTC program next year.
Jewel Holt, 14, will also be attending Vo-Tech for the energy academy next year.
"There are a lot of things you do in Elsinboro that expands your education — it's fun to do different things that help," Jewel, 14, said
The mayor concluded the lunch with positive final words for all the students in attendance.
"There are no shortcuts to anywhere you're going. Make sure you have faith in your dreams — no dream is too big," Elwell said.


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Vurb Moto's senior writers (and fans) analyze the latest news and address hot topics from around the industry each week in a new feature we like to call, Roundtable.
Jeff Herlings recently took round two of the World Championships at Valkenswaard, one of the gnarliest sand tracks in the land. This happened only after Ken Roczen took the first round in Bulgaria with little difficulty.
The question is, can and will these two be the next outdoor stars in America?
Brent Stallo (Editor) – Can they? I think that's a fairly easy question to answer. Absolutly they can. The days of wondering if the GP boys can hang in America are over. There is not question that both Herlings and Roczen could perform very well here outdoors. Would they win titles? Who knows, but they would most certainly jockey for race wins.
The second part of the question is, will they? That is a little more difficult to answer. The boys at Youthstream are serious about keeping whatever talent they can at home. While the U.S. is still considered the place riders come to prove themselves, there is a lot of effort in Europe to change that mentality. However, I think it will ultimately come down to the OEM, in this case KTM, on whether or not these two will one-day race outdoors in the states. Seeing as U.S. has a bigger market and bigger budget to offer riders at the moment, I see the likelihood of both Herlings and Roczen racing the outdoor nationals in the future as very good.
Wes Williams (Film Director) - The next outdoor stars? I think that might be pushing it, but can they be stars? Absolutely. The competition here have had plenty of experience on every track, and for someone to come over here and just be the "next" star might be much tougher than some might anticipate. Roczen and Herlings will undoubtedly win some World Championships and bring their confidence here to the states, and most likely win races and eventually some championships, but there are definitely a few coming out of the amateur ranks that might qualify to be more in the "next star" category.
David Bulmer (Euro Editor) flies into the U.S. today. Is there a chance he will get yet another ticket for urinating in public and be banned from the U.S forever?
Brent Stallo (Editor) – Bulmer has shown little regard for United States authority in the past and I don't see why he would start now. While he's been back on numerous occasions since his 2007 public urination citation without causing a stir, I imagine that will wear off soon and he will be back to his old ways. Don't think for a moment just because he hasn't been caught breaking anymore laws that he hasn't done so. He'll get his hand caught in the cookie jar again soon enough, and I for one will LOL when that day comes.
Wes Williams (Film Director) - You never know what you're going to get with Bulmer. He penny pinches (errr, 1p pinches) all year long so when he comes he has $148.56 to spend on cider and, well, more cider. Then you put him in a public atmosphere, where his social skills can either improve or take a turn for the worse; typically after a night of cider drinking we can see flashes of both. Will he pee in public again? I'd put a few ciders on it. Will he get caught? After the one black mark on his passport and his love for coming to America, I can likely see him splashing himself wildly over the outside of his pants as he darts into the bushes of the nearest lawn, furthermore escaping danger and arrest.
Broc Tickle grabbed the point lead from Josh Hansen in Seattle and now enjoys a two-point cushion. Tomac, meanwhile, is only five points back from Hansen.
The question is, will Hansen reclaim his lead by Vegas or will he find a way to plummet to third?
Scott Stone (Vurb FB Fan) - Hanny was strong all season long, with only a couple bad rounds, but after the break he came back and did not look like himself. He was not as aggressive as he needs to be, like he was when he pushed Jake Canada off the track and when he would refuse to be passed, nor did he look to have the speed that he needs. Tickle and Tomac look to be on a whole different level than Hansen. If Hanny wants to win he will have to change something for the last 2 rounds. Personally I think tickle will hold on for the title, barely edging out Tomac.
Ryan Vaillancourt (Vurb FB Fan) - Hansen is gunna choke like he did at x games sx this past year going for the 3 peat... too much pressure on him trying to be the first father son champions
Jordan Best (Vurb FB Fan) - I really hope he can. No offence to Tickle, but Hanny really deserves and needs this. I know how hard it is to ride when you have two fingers to hold on with, (as I myself have a damaged tendon, meaning I have to hold on with pretty much two fingers) then you get arm pump killer bad. Good luck, Hanny, hope you can do this!


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Results tagged ' white tail deer '
Saying goodbye is never easy, but alas, it's time. A salute to the Astros and their fans.
Three years ago, Roy Oswalt, a native of Weir, Miss., (pop. 500), built a restaurant smack dab in the middle of his hometown and near three others, intending to give people who lived nearby a place to go for a nice dinner without having to drive 30 miles into town to do so.
Oswalt promised me that when the restaurant was complete and ready for public consumption, he would invite me to come to town so I could cover the grand opening. True to his word, when the date was finalized, he sent a text message that he was ready, and he offered up a room in his lodge located on his sprawling white tail deer ranch.
Roy's friend, Joey, showed me around the place while Roy was busy at the restaurant preparing for the opening. Joey drove me around the hundreds of acres of land on a four-wheeler, doing his best to explain the country life to a city girl whose idea of "getting back to the land" was hiring someone to trim the six feet of grass that sits in front of her townhome off Washington Ave.
Joey was a great host. He showed me the lake Roy built with the bulldozer Drayton McLane gave him years earlier. He drove me by several wooded areas where white-tail deer freely roamed. And, much to my delight, he got as close as he could to the deer, even as they freaked out and sprinted in the opposite direction, which is what deer do when intruders (me) show up.
After a long afternoon on the ranch and a tasty dinner at Roy's new restaurant, Joey ticked off the list of activities for the next day. First up: waking up at 5 a.m. to artificially inseminate the white-tail doe, with contributions from super-special, well-bred deer from an undisclosed, far-away place where super-special deer apparently are raised.
"It's going to be great," Joey said, excitedly.
"You know, that sounds fascinating," I said. "But I think I'm going to go ahead and sleep in," I said.
That visit to Roy's hometown occurred a few months after I began a new job with my old team, a position designed to bring the fans closer to the Astros through the annals of Social Media and blogging. That trip was the first of many in-depth glimpses to our team, for our fanbase, with the intention to give insight as to who these players are and what makes them tick. We wanted to show them not as robots but as people, beyond what you can see for yourself by watching on TV and reading in the paper.
We felt the best way to implement that plan was to provide a never-ending stream of behind-the-scenes access through storytelling, photos and videos. To illustrate the ins and outs of the Houston Astros. To make fans feel like they were part of the process.
Simply put, the last three years have been an absolute blast. But now, as is the case with most elements of life, it's time to move on.
Over the last 16 seasons, I've had three jobs: first with the Astros, then with MLB.com, and then back with the Astros. In another week, I will leave my post with the Astros to go back to MLB.com for an exciting new opportunity. I'll be a national correspondent, working with all 30 teams on a variety of levels. My first assignment will be All-Star week.
While I've obviously had plenty of experience changing jobs, this one is a huge leap, because although I'll still be based in Houston, for the first time, I will no longer be working exclusively with the Astros. So this, in many ways, is goodbye.
I'm not really into "farewell" columns writers post when they're on the move, but I do want to express my gratitude to you, the readers. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Thanks for all of it — the good, the bad and the loud disagreements. For the give and take, the back and forth, the laughter and the spirited debates. Mostly, I thank you for trusting me, for knowing you could ask me just about anything, and accepting my answers as candid, honest and forthright. That was hugely important to me.
Those of you who are regular readers of this blog know I like to ramble on about a bunch of completely unrelated topics. I figure that would be a fitting way to end this chapter. So here we go:
* Your Astros are in extremely good hands. I refer to Jeff Luhnow as a rock star (although I'm not sure if I've ever told him that. Guess he knows now). He understands what it takes for an organization to sustain long-term success and is building the Astros accordingly. Sure, he's smart and savvy, but he has that little something extra that makes you believe he's going to be in this job a long while. He gets baseball, he gets people, and let's face it, he's just a really cool dude. The first thing he said to me when we met at his introductory press conference was "I follow you on Twitter." I think @drjohnreyes phrased it perfectly when he said, "Jeff Luhnow being on Twitter is like finding out your parents skydive."
* Jim Crane also gets it. The worst thing an owner can do is take over a team, put a sound plan in place to build a winner, and then blow a jillion dollars on a free agent past his prime, messing up the team's financial structure for the next decade. This will not happen with Crane. He hired smart, capable people to run the baseball operation, and he's leaving it up to them to do just that. The plan is in place and they are sticking to it. Trust me, it's a good plan. My money's on it working.
* Despite the Astros' current record, the organization as a whole is in a very good place. The Minor League teams are winning, a lot. This would be in stark contrast to the last several years, when the Minor League teams were losing, a lot. If it sounds simple, that's because it is. Luhnow's mantra: build the Minor League rosters with winning in mind. That means disregarding who was drafted in what round and feeling a need to push former high picks through the system just for the sake of moving them. Now, it's about performance and development, and little else.
* Minute Maid Park is still one of the premier ballparks in baseball. For the last 10 years, my top three have not changed: Minute Maid Park, AT&T Park (San Fran) and PNC Park (Pittsburgh). Working from Minute Maid Park has been a pleasure, and I'm guessing the fan experience isn't much different.
* For all of the grief Ed Wade took, he did a lot of good work here. There's a lot of talent in the Minor League system and many of those players were obtained under Wade's watch. You haven't heard a lot about them, but you will. Soon.
* I don't care what Chris Snyder's batting average is. He's been a great addition to this team. He has that certain something that makes him a perfect presence in a big league clubhouse. Every team needs that veteran guy who keeps things steady, can relate to all teammates and handles winning and losing with an unwaveringly calm approach. He's a ballplayer, in the truest sense. He needs to stick around.
* I hated the hot sauce packet mascot race. Mascots who run in races, by definition, need eyes. When you put faces on inanimate objects, it's funny. And what's up with Mild Sauce losing every day? I know Texans like their spicy toppings, but come on. Totally fixed.
* Six years ago, Oswalt and I made a friendly wager. He insisted that when his contract ran out after 2011, he was going to retire. I disagreed, guessing he'd keep pitching. The wager: dinner. Roy, changing your cell number doesn't get you off the hook. Pay up.
* When the Astros were winning and winning and winning in 2004 and '05, the rosters were comprised mostly of players who had never played for another Major League team. Most were drafted by the Astros (Berkman, Biggio, Oswalt, Ensberg, Lane, etc.) and others were obtained through trades as Minor Leaguers (Bagwell, Everett). This created a sense of unity among teammates that made the winning that much more meaningful. When the modern-day Astros start rolling again, the rosters again will be filled with mostly players who were drafted and developed by this organization. That's significant.
* Best moment: Covering the clubhouse scene when the Astros won the pennant. What I remember most about the World Series was not that the Astros were swept, but that Craig Biggio said to me at least three times, "You know, this was totally worth the wait."
* Worst moment: Covering the clubhouse scene the day Darryl Kile died, 10 years ago today. The grief was overwhelming. I've never witnessed such complete devastation and I sensed that some of Kile's friends would never be able to get past the loss.
* Best quote: Billy Wagner. You just never knew what was going to fly out of his mouth. A reporter's dream, a team's (occasional) nightmare.
* Most nerve-racking non-Astros moment: Watching, in person, Brad Lidge attempt to nail down the save in the World Series clinching game for the Phillies in 2008. I was covering the Series for MLB.com and my assignment was to document the postgame celebration on the field. I snuck down to the seats right behind the third-base dugout and watched the ninth inning from there. I was so nervous for Lidge that I actually feared I was going to either pass out or toss my cookies. Fortunately everything turned out well for both of us.
* Most challenging moment: Covering Game 5 of the 2005 NLCS. Reporters have to turn in game stories five minutes after the last out is made, and with two outs in the ninth, no one on base and Lidge on the mound, I had 700 words written about the Astros' pennant-clinching win over the Cardinals. Ten minutes later, Albert Pujols launched his moon shot to left field, and I had no choice but to highlight the story, push delete, and start over. (Honorable mention: the 18-inning win over the Braves in the NLDS. When games go that long, paragraphs that were important three innings ago eventually become irrelevant. So for three hours, it was type, delete. Type, delete. Rinse, repeat.)
* Favorite memory that I couldn't write about: I finished my game coverage around 3 a.m. after the Astros clinched the pennant in St. Louis and walked back to the media dining room to pour a Budweiser beer from the single tap located near the eating area. I propped my feet up, savored the moment and realized I was probably drinking the very last Bud beer ever to be poured in old Busch Stadium. The ballpark was razed the next morning.
That should just about do it. Thank you again for your friendship. I will continue blogging and tweeting in my new job, so I hope you'll continue to follow along. In the meantime, please continue to follow @astros for information about your hometown nine.
Be well, Astros fans!