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When we first learned of Meatrea, billed as Japan's first meat theme park, we were intrigued. Not just a collection of meat restaurants, they also boast a Meat Musuem (or "Museo de Carne" as they mysteriously call it) with an educational component. And when we heard out about their tonkatsu parfait, a dessert featuring ice cream and pork, we knew we'd have to hop on the train to inspect the place for ourselves.
Located in Minami-Osawa, a Tokyo suburb 40 minutes from Shinjuku station, Meatrea is a collection of seven restaurants representing various meat cuisines - grilled chicken, Korean-style yakiniku, pork cutlets, pork steaks, barbecued ribs - occupying the top floor of a shopping mall. It's run by Namco, the game-center company behind other food-themed complexes such as Gyoza Stadium, Dessert Forest and Ice Cream City.
Famous regional meat products are featured in most of the restaurants, so the yakiniku is made with Ohmi beef, the grilled chicken with cochin (an especially tasty breed of bird from Nagoya), and so on. We also noticed at least three regional microbrew beers to accompany the meat dishes (Dogo from Ehime, Hide from Miyazaki, and Kinshachi red miso-flavored lager from Nagoya if you're keeping track).
Running at cross-purposes to the Japanese regional theme is a Spanish village design motif, with rustic faux-stonework on the walls, pictures of bullfighters, signs announcing a Carne Fiesta, and bathrooms for Senoras and Senores.
Besides sampling various meaty snacks and regional beers you can also digest a few tidbits of educational content at the aforementioned Museo de Carne. In this library-themed section of the complex where you can learn about premium branded meats like Tokyo X pork and Maezawa beef. One display case is devoted to the history of various sausages, and another one proudly shows off a 45-rpm record of the hit single "Sukiyaki."
Each of the restaurants offers inexpensive take-out items in addition to sit-down service, although several were sold out by late afternoon on the day of our visit. Below are some details of the individual shops.
Kiyomaru (Ehime Prefecture) - tonkatsu pork cutlet
Tonkatsu parfait is perhaps their most famous dish (the main shop's website URL refers to it), but Kiyomaru sells other "abnormal tonkatsu" items like pork cutlet pockets stuffed with fried rice, cheese and other ingredients. The parfait (Y580) comes in a huge ice-cream cone that holds a good-sized dollop of green-tea ice cream and bits of kiwi, pineapple, cherries, mikan and apple, with whipped cream and two strips of tasty deep-fried pork.
We hate to criticize such a bold experiment, but if you're going to take the plunge and eat an ice-cream and pork parfait you really want the pork to play a bigger role in the total taste experience, and we thought the two strips of tonkatsu were overwhelmed by the desserty elements. Perhaps the large-size parfait (Y2000 and available only in limited numbers) has a better pork to ice-cream balance, but unfortunately it was sold out.
Honpo (Miyazaki Prefecture) - nikumaki (rice ball)
This take-out shop sells nikumaki (Y300-330 each) - onigiri rice balls wrapped in roast pork and lettuce instead of seaweed, with a nice soy-sauce-flavored tare (sauce). Cheese fans though we are, we prefered the plain nikumaki to the cheese version.
Torikai (Aichi Prefecture) - chicken
The Nagoya cochin breed of chicken is the star of the menu here, with deep-fried chicken wings, oyako-donburi (chicken and egg over rice) and cochin egg custard on offer.
We enjoyed the excellent "special oyako-donburi" (Y1800), a big bowl of rice with a bright-yellow raw egg on top along with big chunks of chicken with a distinctive smoky flavor from the charcoal-grilling. It came with a spoon as well as chopsticks, as the egg creates an increasingly soupy mixture towards the bottom of the bowl. Accompanying the donburi were delicious miso-marinated takuan pickles and red-miso soup.
Hot Stuff (Aichi Prefecture) - barbecue ribs
Barbecued baby back ribs are Y3600 for a large portion served with corn and fried potatoes, or Y1200 for a small portion to go. Our take-home ribs were meaty and tender, but the sauce was fairly unexciting.
Geki (Hyogo Prefecture) - yakiniku
Korean yakiniku (beef barbecue) made with Ohmi beef is the specialty here. For take-out they sell Chinese-style nikuman buns made with Ohmi beef (Y290), although these seem to go quickly.
Tokyo Tonki (Tokyo) - pork steaks
Inexpensive pork steaks (Y800), pork burgers and garlic rice are among the dishes at this Tokyo-based shop.
Gold Rush (Tokyo) - hamburg steaks
A staple of yoshoku cuisine, hamburg steaks (Y900) here come with on an iron platter with gravy, baked potatoes, and lunchroom-style mixed vegetables - peas, diced carrots and corn. They also sell minced beef croquettes to go (Y150 each), at least until they sell out.
Tokyo Meatrea sits atop the Frente shopping mall just across from Minami-Osawa station on the Keioh Line. Shops are open daily 11am-10pm. We didn't see any English menus.
If you're making the trip you may also want to check out the nearby Mitsui Outlet Park, a sprawling mall with outlet shops for Adidas, Levi's, Lacoste, Zoff, Franc Franc and dozens of other brands.
by Robb Satterwhite
Tokyo Meatrea
Minami-Osawa 2-1-6, Hachioji, Tokyo
Frente Minami-Osawa 5F
Open 11am-10pm daily.


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Status Instruments Ltd. - PRODUCT NEWS
Compact yet powerful display has ATEX certification
Status Instruments are introducing their DM700 family of LED loop powered indicators. These compact, yet powerful, 4-digit indicators are available with a choice of 4-20 mA, RTD or thermocouple inputs and ATEX certification allows them to be used in hazardous areas.
The DM700 has been designed to fit inside a clear polycarbonate cap, which in turn fits to a standard SCH4 enclosure. Alternative mountings are also available to fit other standard connecting heads. For use in harsh environments, the display can be fitted to a selection of enclosures to achieve IP67 sealing.
As with all Status instrumentation, the design emphasis is on flexibility, ease of use and reliability. The microprocessor-based DM700 uses surface mount components and is easily configured via three push button switches on the underside of the module. An important feature of the RTD version is the ability to enter actual sensor calibration data to achieve optimum precision in the measurement results.
The 4-20 mA version can have a number of standard linearisation corrections applied, including square root, 3/2 power, 5/2 power and customer specific, where up to 19 segment straight line interpolation can be set. A unique feature of the RTD and thermocouple versions is the built-in two wire current sink 4-20 mA transmitter. The transmission range can be set from the push buttons.
For more information, please contact :-
Status Instruments Ltd
Green Lane, Tewkesbury, Glos GL20 8DE
Tel: +44(0) 1684 296818
Fax: +44(0) 1684 293746
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web: www.status.co.uk
May 2007
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Jan 232013
Barack Hussein Obama walks into a restaurant in Washington DC with his wife Michelle. The waiter approaches the table and asks for his order.
"I'll have your biggest, juiciest London Broil," answers the President.
"But sir, what about the mad cow?!!" asks the waiter.
"Oh," answers Barack , "She'll order for herself."
One Response to "Joke Of The Day: Barack Hussein Obama Walks Into A Restaurant"
Michelle Obama Rolls Her Eyes at John Boehner While Shoveling Food Into Her Mouth
Meaning that you can put a wig on a pig but it's still a pig.


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Suspects enter, damage vehicle
- Written by THE BELLEFONTAINE EXAMINER STAFF
Alicia Vasquez reported about 11:40 a.m. April 13 that unknown suspects entered her unlocked vehicle in front of 506 S. Detroit St.. and trashed her vehicle and soiled a rear seat.
The center console had been flipped upside down and several compact discs had been thrown about, according to a police report. Additionally, someone urinated in the back seat.
No property was taken, however.


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Liveblogging Social South – Day Two
Written by Alison Groves and published
I wake up at 7am on Saturday mornings for very few reasons, but I did it today for you, Social South. Day two of #soso is just presentations in the morning, and then roundtables in the afternoon. I've really enjoyed my time here, and would like the population of Social South to know that I do own more than just Raven tshirts, although not by much (I counted 6 in my drawer last week). Here we go!
WordPress Case Study with Mitch Canter and Tammy Hart
Mitch is a Nashville web designer, specializing in WordPress rollouts, and an all around good dude. We're big fans of WordPress at Raven, even going so far as to building the ability to pull in your WordPress blog to our content manager (never have to remember users and passwords ever again!). Mitch suggests using the plugin Twitter Tools if you want to utilize your Twitter feed on your blog, which more and more people are doing everyday. Tammy recommends using Flutter to enable WordPress in a more robust CMS way, especially for folks who may not understand CSS or HTML markup. Great tips from both of them.
Navigating the Maze and Defeating the Ghosts of Old Corporate Culture: How Pac-Man Can Sell Social Media by Ike Pigott
I briefly met Ike yesterday where he enthusiastically encouraged me to stick around the conference so I could see a Alabama Power has on loan. I wasn't able to, but I knew I needed to stick around and see this dude's presentation today, especially given I have a soft spot for awesomely named presentations (See Jon's Barcamp '08 presentation called Make Google Your Bitch). Ike wants to know how you can be a social media advocate in a conservative corporate culture. He compares the four ghosts in Pac Man to executives in your company: they are programmed to do the same, specific things and will only stay in their comfort zones. They all have their own level of excuse too, like it's a waste of time or my team won't actually use it. Ike's slide tells me to "Use that 'big dot moment' to convert the ghost". Love it.
Keeping social sexy: Marketing that cuts through the clutter by David Griner
When did "social media" become a bad word? Old school agency folks love to talk down about social media, and I personally think it's because not only do they not understand it, but it threatens everything they know to be true about marketing. But outside of Twitter, Facebook, and maybe a corporate blog, there are a lot of folks doing social who are just keeping it inside that box. Dave highlights other campaign ideas such as Augmented Reality, social giveaways (think #squarespace!), and building a microsite in Tumblr. Interesting ideas all around.


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Days Of Our Lives Fan Fiction: The Origins Of RoboRafe.
Things can get pretty confusing around town. That's probably why people sometimes write in and ask me to explain things that don't make sense. And while that doesn't actually make much sense to me, I do my best to answer people's queries. While the show has been on hiatus, one viewer was so overwhelmed with boredom that they wrote in asking what happened with Rafe's bar. Mrs. Delia Q. Knob asked: "Hey, do you or Marvin know what happened to that bar that Rafe bought? I only recently discovered that he owned one and no one ever mentions it." I had no idea he had one either, so she pointed out that Wikipedia claims he does so it must be true.
Marvin and I did some digging in the usual channels and managed to pull a few things up from the muck. I'm not entirely sure they'll clarify the situation for dear Delia, but it's the best we could do. If they have not blocked it from their memories, viewers will recall that while Rafe was incommunicado and being held in the DiMera basement, his doppelganger, Arnold Finnegar, was wreaking havoc on his life. At the orders of EJ and Stefano, he was ruffling Samanther's beef curtains like the winds of a tornado. However, they still weren't getting along. She was too used to dealing with a doormat instead of a douche-bag. After one of their many fights, he walked out on her with the infamous statement, "It was nice to come, but it's really good to go."
As usual, RoboRafe/Arnold, went down to a bar to pick up floozies and have a few drinks. On that particular night, he stopped by The Beat Bar. It was formerly owned by Calliope but had gone severely downhill since Salem's obsession with poetry slams faded. Now it was known for a kind of beating very different from Beat poetry. The owner was in that night and complaining to Arnie about how much he hated the place. Sensing opportunity and having money in his bank account for once, he decided to purchase the place in Rafe's name.
Why anyone would open a business in Salem requires some explanation. It was Arnie's dream to transform the club into the new Beefcakes. For those who don't recall, Beefcakes was the male strip club where Peter Jennings used to dance back in the eighties. Arnie just happened to be one of the bastards created in a backroom there. As usual for things in Salem, this did not follow the normal channels. Dr. Rolf had been living in one of the rooms above the establishment and using the dancers there as experimental subjects for a protein and muscle enhancement formula he was trying to develop. One dark and stormy night, Stefano showed up and ordered the not-so-good doctor to produce some more pawns for him. After handing him the requisite DNA material that he'd stored in the cutting edge ziplock bag technology of the time, he ordered it done immediately. Rolf pointed out that it required a woman so his boss reminded him that there were plenty of excited women out in the club.
With help from Linda, aka Madame X, Rolf managed to find a particularly intoxicated and excited woman wearing two inch thick glasses and a beehive so high that she kept a scale model of the Salem shipyard on top of it. Her name was B.B. Cupps Finnegar. Well, we can't tell you all of the details about what happened that night because it could get us into trouble, but eventually, little Arnie came out. The man delivering him, a Dr. Dick Baker, proclaimed, "This is why I became a doctor! To bring so much joy into the world."
However, it was not a joyful life for young Arnie. The fact that his mother had wallpapered their shack with posters of "Conan the Barbarian" and "The Terminator" left him confused and with a distorted view of the outside world. B.B. always refused to talk about his father and forced him to take part in bodybuilding competitions as soon as he began walking. Her crummy part time jobs at Ballistix and Barney's Burger Barn barely managed to pay her bills. Always a soft touch, Rolf anonymously sent her boxes of the protein formula he'd developed but never patented. This led to little Arnie becoming a bit too big. After his mom had a run of luck with scratch-and-win cards, she sent him to fat camp and went on the run. Little did she know that the camp was really a front for an underground gambling circuit. Since their fowl kept escaping, they'd packed in the cock fighting and decided to stage competitive eating bouts. It was in the shady underworld of pie and wiener scarfing that he'd come back in contact with Stefano. The entire operation was one of DiMera Enterprises more nefarious business ventures. Although Stefano was not exactly impressed by the dull-witted Arnie, he did sense a strange bond with him and decided to keep tabs on him throughout the rest of his life.
The circuit soon went south, literally, to Mexico, where Arnie lived for a number of years. He kept trying to fall in with the wrong crowd but he could never keep up to them. Eventually, he was arrested in a crackdown at the border and sent to live in an orphanage in Salem. Every night, he would try to walk off his excess weight by walking down by the harbor where he assumed his mom would be waiting for the ships to come in. Although he never found her, he did find Beefcakes and felt an instant connection to the place. And when he caught glimpses on the chiseled men inside and the crazed women screaming at them, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. Although he purchased the dive, he never set foot in it again. Sadly, Arnold was the victim of Salem PD incompetence and was killed right under their noses while in custody. Meanwhile, Rafe, like most business people in town, has never shown much interest in his business and it seems to magically run itself.
We hope that answers your question Delia.
Please be sure to read Days Of Our Lives daily summaries, DOOL news, DOOL actor appearances, Days video spoilers, Days polls, and comings and goings on DOOL! Join us on Twitter @soapoperafan and Facebook for more scoops on "Days Of Our Lives," all the other soap operas, "Dallas," "Glee," "Grey's Anatomy," "Vampire Diaries," and "Venice the Series!"
Photo Credit: Soap Opera Fan Blog
Fun fact! Matthew Purvis wrote this story just for you on August 10th, 2012 |


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Patricia Ann Sobkowicz, 74, of Maple Avenue, Hagaman, NY; passed away Sunday afternoon November 10, 2013 at St. Mary's Healthcare in Amsterdam, NY, with her loving family by her side.
Born in Amsterdam, NY; on January 27, 1939, she was the daughter of the late Richard and Mildred Johnson Louer.
Patty received her education in the Amsterdam school system and was a 1956 graduate of Wilbur H. Lynch Senior High School.
Patty was employed as a clerical worker for many years at Amsterdam Printing & Litho Company and also at Fulmont News, both in Amsterdam.
She was a former member and treasurer of the John J. Wyszomirski American Legion Post 701 in Amsterdam.
Patty loved working with arts and crafts; she loved nature and enjoyed all kinds of wildlife and animals. She also enjoyed snowshoeing, cross country skiing and golf.
Her husband, Robert L. Sobkowicz to whom she was married on May 5, 1957 survives Patty at home. She is also survived by one daughter, Susan Van Alstine (Ken) of Broadalbin, NY; three sons, Robert T. Sobkowicz (Fran) of Johnstown, NY; William Sobkowicz (Kristy) of Amsterdam, NY, and Wayne Sobkowicz (Chris) of Rotterdam, NY; eight grandchildren, Braden and Janse Van Alstine, Ele, Libby and Rachel Sobkowicz, Josh Stewart, (Shannon), George and Jamie Haridimos, two great grandchildren, Rylee Van Alstine and Liam Stewart, one brother, Richard Louer (Joyce) of Amsterdam and a nephew, Brian Louer (Suzanna) also of Amsterdam.
Funeral services will be private and at the convenience of the family.
Interment will take place at Fairview Cemetery in Amsterdam.
There are no calling hours.
Memorial gifts in Patty's name may be made to Montgomery County SPCA, P.O. Box 484 Amsterdam, NY 12010 or to a charity of one's choice.
Arrangements are by the Riley Mortuary, Inc 110 Division Street, Amsterdam, NY. 12010.
To send online condolences to the family, go to www.rileymortuaryinc.com.


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Main Forums > I Just Tested Poz
recently found out
(1/7) > >>
I only found out a week ago and this week has been hell for me. I wasn't so worried in the beginning cuz i always knew it's only a kind of disease. but it's getting worse right now as i am concerned how many years that i might be able to live on :( i am glad to see there are many long-term survivors on this site, can you guys provide more realistic information on how many years people usually live on? i am just 21 y/o :( i'll try to start doing some exercise and keeping my body healthy, but..i don't know if the future is really that bright as the doctor said. :( hope someone would help me out :-[
Jeff G:
Hi Elkan , Im one of those LTS and was just a little older than you when I tested positive . I will be 51 in a few days and going strong , as a matter of fact I feel stronger in some ways even after all this time . Long term survivor or not we all have many things in common and we all had to go through that I just found out hell ... but I can promise it does get better in time . Welcome to the forum and look forward to hearing more from you .
Thank you, but my qn is still not answered :(I am new to this community and I barely know people who are infected. My nurse told me it's quite common to live with meds for 20 plus years but I just don't know if that's true. :( anyways, thank you for your reply.also hoping to talk to you guys too! it just feels home when talking to someone in the same situation.
Jeff G:
Um ... I have lived 30 years with the virus and many others have too , thought I made that clear . You are going to be ok and have an excellent shot at living a normal life span if you don't get hit by a bus . ;) .
Hi Elk, I'm only 5 or so years into this, but your doctor is correct, your life span will be near normal provided you stay adherent to your meds once you are on them. There are plenty of LTS walking around living a happy life, like Jeff. You need to not worry too much (easier said than done I know) but plan on being around for a long long time.-Will
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Spring: A time for planning and growth
It is hard to believe that winter has ended and the Vernal Equinox is now behind us. Spring is the time of year when the whole world seems to be growing. From the cold and bleak days of winter into warm sunshine, flowers, blossoms and nature is at its best. Spring is also a time for personal growth and for you to grow takes planning. This spring, plan time to be with family and friends, and plan time to attend the many wonderful spring events being held in our area.
Review your plans for the summer and set some short term goals such as learning something new each day. My grandfather encouraged me at an early age to read and each day to learn one new word. It was amazing what this one suggestion from my grandfather did for me; it helped increase my vocabulary and love of reading to this day.
Goal setting is important for all of us, no matter what the season, and goals begin with dreaming. If you can't dream it and imagine "what if I" and you fill in the "what if part," you will not achieve it. This spring, grow your dreams and let your mind imagine all the wonderful things you can achieve. What the mind conceives and believes, you will achieve. This is how it works. First, you need a plan, then faith in yourself and your abilities, and then work each day and you will achieve your dreams.
Spring is a time to plan your personal growth. If you do your personal planning well, you will have greater potential for success. For this success to happen, your attitude must be one that reflects positive thinking, a deep and boundless curiosity, a willingness to take a chance on learning and trying new things and a genuine desire for personal growth.
Personal growth is not easy and there will be obstacles in your path, however, every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve your personal growth.
The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear. But none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up burden, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity.
It's human nature to moan and complain when something goes wrong and we all face obstacles in our path every day. Successful and happy people learn early in life to not waste time and energy moaning and whining, but to look at obstacles and problems as opportunities to learn and grow.
As a parent, help your child to face problems and encourage them not give in to complaining and whining about the problem. These are teachable moments for parents and will help their child to grow when they ask the child how they might fix the problem or move the obstacle. Let your child know they should do what they can to fix the problem; they should take the imitative to move the obstacle in their path, and explore the problem or obstacle for opportunities to grow and learn. And if the problem can't be fixed or the obstacle moved, then let them know it's ok to walk around it, to get over it, to grow from the experience and move on with life.
– Doug Hovatter is a WVU Associate Professor and 4-H Agent in Berkeley County. He can be reached at 304-264-1936, email@example.com or Berkeley.ext.wvu.edu.


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Inerrancy and Worldview
May 24, 2012
Answering Modern Challenges to the Bible
Rev. Dr. Vern Poythress, professor of New Testament interpretation, has recently published a new book on inerrancy.
To see Westminster's Affirmations and Denials concerning the doctrine of inerrancy as adopted by the board of trustees in 2008, click here.
Order your copy from the Westminster Bookstore today!
Publisher's Description: Though the Bible presents a personal and relational God, popular modern worldviews portray an impersonal divine force in a purely material world. Readers influenced by this competing worldview hold assumptions about fundamental issues--like the nature of humanity, evil, and the purpose of life--that present profound obstacles to understanding the Bible.
In Inerrancy and Worldview, Dr. Vern Poythress offers the first worldview-based defense of scriptural inerrancy, showing how worldview differences create or aggravate most perceived difficulties with the Bible. His positive case for biblical inerrancy implicitly critiques the worldview of theologians like Enns, Sparks, Allert, and McGowan. Poythress, who has researched and published in a variety of fields-- including science, linguistics, and sociology--deals skillfully with the challenges presented in each of these disciplines. By directly addressing key examples in each field, Poythress shows that many difficulties can be resolved simply by exposing the influence of modern materialism.
Inerrancy and Worldview's positive response to current attempts to abandon or redefine inerrancy will enable Christians to respond well to modern challenges by employing a worldview that allows the Bible to speak on its own terms.
"I can think of no one in the world better qualified to write a defense of biblical inerrancy than my lifelong friend Vern Poythress. This book is no ordinary defense of inerrancy that merely focuses on proposed solutions to several difficult verses (though it does examine some of them). Rather, it is a wide-ranging analysis that exposes the faulty intellectual assumptions that underlie challenges to the Bible from every major academic discipline in the modern university world. I think every Christian student at every secular university should read and absorb the arguments in this book. It is profoundly wise, insightful, and clearly written, and it will surely strengthen every reader's confidence in the trustworthiness of the Bible as the very words of God."
"Vern Poythress has written what I consider to be definitive books on many subjects, including biblical interpretation, language, science, and sociology. In Inerrancy and Worldview, he brings his insights from these disciplines and more together to address the relation of biblical inerrancy to worldview. He shows quite convincingly that the issue of inerrancy is not just a matter of asking whether this or that biblical passage is factual. Rather, our attitude toward the claim of biblical inerrancy depends on our general view of how God is related to the cosmos and to us as individuals and societies. And that general view, in turn, depends on our relationship to Jesus Christ. The book gets deeper into the question of inerrancy than any other book I know."
Order your copy from the Westminster Bookstore today!


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The UFC's ongoing play for the hearts and eyeballs of mainstream America means changing how the promotion and its fighters present and comport themselves. On a practical level, that has manifested itself in part in changes to the policy governing fighter sponsors.
Over the years, offbeat sponsors on T-shirts, hats and banners became a bit of a side attraction. Who can forget the once-ubiquitous Condom Depot ads? Even X-rated websites have slipped past the goalie once or twice.
But what was once quirky or strange becomes A Problem under the brighter lights. As a result, the UFC (probably with the, eh, encouragement of FOX Sports) recently banned gun and ammo sponsorships. Regardless of your thoughts on the matter, these kinds of issues go with the terrain. It wasn't the first time it happened. And it might not be the last.
But as they say, a door slams shut and a window opens. Suddenly there's some empty real estate on those T-shirts and banners.
So why not take advantage by rushing in to fill that vacuum? Or, better yet, speculating wildly and possibly not entirely seriously about the most likely candidates to do such a thing?
There are all kinds of crazy companies out there that would leap at the chance to see their name and logo on the seat of a fighter's shorts. What are those companies, and who would they sponsor? WHY DON'T WE TAKE A LOOK.
(h/t: MMAWeekly)


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A Visit to the Athens Fish Market – Part 2 — Επισκεψη στην Βαρβακειο Αγορα – Ιχθυαγορα – Μερος 2ο
Δευτέρα, 8 Σεπτεμβρίου, 2008
Savridia from Karistos, South Evia.
Soupies (cuttlefish). An all time favourite!
Marida. A Greek classic, it used to be one of the cheapest fish in the market.
Not any more!
Sargoi from Paros. A rather rare sight, catch from Paros, that is now paying the price of careless fishing without any regard for the seabed and the sea world.
Kokali, a shiny fish from Chalkis, the capital of Evia, near Athens.
Gofaria from Kavala, in the North of Greece.
Lakerda from Mytilini, Lesvos. It is usually cured in salt. I will publish a recipe in the near future.
Tsipoures from Monemvasia, a medieval town in the south Peloponese.
Melanouria, meaning negrittos.
Kolios, a cousin of mackerel.
Govioi, unknown to me, looks like a river fish.
All in all, a satisfying visit.
To be continued.
A Visit to the Athens Fish Market – Part 1 – – Επισκεψη στην Βαρβακειο Αγορα – Ιχθυαγορα – Μερος 1ο
Κυριακή, 7 Σεπτεμβρίου, 2008
I decided as a rule to keep the Greek names of the fish and seafood, as I find it hard to translate. The ones who know, will recognize it.
These are the «poor man's» squid in Greece and I am ashamed to admit I have never tasted them.
Apparently it is legal to fish the small ones.
Sfyrida. One of the best fishes of the Aegean!
Scorpina. This rockfish makes a delicious soup.
Galeos. This is a relative of the shark.
Bakaliaros. In Greek the name of this fish is «cod». And it is caught in the Aegean.
Bakaliaros – detail
Barbouni. The all time classics, – red mullets – they are fried, as they are very small for the grill.
Loutsos. A very tasty white fish.
This is a picture from a previous visit, but I like it and the hall hasn't changed since it was taken.
Visit to «La Brecha» Fishmarket, Donostia, San Sebastian
Πέμπτη, 28 Αυγούστου, 2008
One of the signs of freshness in the squid is the light grey – brown colour of its skin. When it starts turning rosy the freshness is gone.
A visit to Venice's Fish Market – Part 2
Σάββατο, 23 Αυγούστου, 2008
I have never tasted this soft crab, but it looked so delicious that I was ready to buy it, eventhough I had no place to go and cook it. I tried to find it in the restaurants or trattorias without success.
I would not like to attempt to trranslate «moscardino» into english, lets just say it is a small octopus like polipus.
The buyers in Venice know their stuff and they cannot be fooled. This in my view is one of the basic reasons that the quality of the products on offer is so high.
The building that houses the market has beautiful arches that are fully «clothed» and create a more fresh atmosphere inside.
I cought this sellet at a moment of rest, while she was munching some fruit.
A visit to Venice's Fish Market
Κυριακή, 17 Αυγούστου, 2008
It was a hot day in August when I decided to visit the fish market in Venice, to start the day the right way: with the flavours of the sea and the voices of the buyers and sellers in this beautiful city. One of the best things in a market in the Mediterranean is that people make a show of it. It is true street theater. And every day it is played with variations.
And being in Venice, names have artistic meaning. Like our Bronzino, who painted the beautiful Allegory with Venus and Cupid (National Gallery, London) and is not only a tasty fish!
I absolutely love octopus! And always check its price. Here we have the freshest octopus for a price that is almost half of I would have paid in my home town, Athens, for an almost definitely an inferior product.
The little octopi are unbelievably tasty! And they need no cleaning aprt from removing the sacket with the ink! They must be boiled intact and served with olive oil, coarse sea salt and a bit of lemon. This is a ticket to heaven.
I lke fresh prawn and shrimp raw, without any cooking! And the best test before you buy them is have one for test.


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Articles tagged with: events in Rogers
Events, News »
When most of us think of "hospitality," we think of hosting frequent gatherings in our home…which of course is always spotless.
A seminar coming June 11 will dispel the idea that hospitality always has to involve large groups, tea and picture perfect homes. "Practicing Hospitality: Creating Welcoming Spaces for God, for Others and for Yourself" will be 9:30 a.m. Saturday, June 11, at the Global Outreach Center Immanuel Baptist Church in Rogers. The event is by Strings Attached Ministries.
"Hospitality is not dead. It's been stifled, shoved into corners, reserved for holidays and …


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A Long Overdue (Excuse)
In addition to writing at Scouting The Sally, I've been fortunate enough to be picked up by the great guys over at Bullpen Banter to write, as well as starting my own podcast with a few friends. In light of these recent events, my writing here has waned considerably.
OK. I lied. It's totally stopped. All of my off season energies are being poured into those two projects, and for that I apologize. Once Spring Training and the season comes around, I'll be doing live game casts as well as quick writeups. In the mean time, if you can't get enough of me via twitter (and that couldn't possibly be true) then feel free to reach me at my other sites.
Much love,
David Lee Wiers
A Yunel Escobar Trade Retrospective
For some reason, Frank Wren catches a lot of crap from the sabermetric community. I've never completely figured this out as Atlanta is middle of the pack in payroll, yet since he took over and the organization moved on from the core of the division title run has been quite competitive. The move that gets the most scrutiny is the trade of Yunel Escobar to the Blue Jays. Usually when Braves fans cite this trade they talk about the reported standing ovation in the clubhouse when the deal was announced. I'm going to completely ignore that in this piece and purely look at the trade from a baseball perspective and see if the scrutiny holds up.
First the actual terms of the deal. The Blue Jays received Yunel Escobar and Jo-Jo Reyes for Alex Gonzalez, Tim Collins, and Tyler Pastornicky.
Toronto got the best player without a real question. Yunel Escobar had 3 and a half years of control left and had shown an ability to post wRC+'s in the one-teens. Atlanta received players 2,3,4 and the Blue Jays got Jo-Jo Reyes. Jo-Jo Reyes is a failed prospect who has a career FIP of 5.33. I'm going to just ignore him. It was a lottery ticket for the Blue Jays that didn't work or hurt Atlanta's pitching depth.
As for Atlanta's haul, they received a starting SS of their own, Alex Gonzalez. Per FanGraphs WAR, Alex was worth 7.9 million dollars in his year plus in Atlanta while making about 3 million in that time. He was valuable for Atlanta. He was a net loss from Escobar long term but Atlanta was in a playoff push that season. This is why Atlanta received other peices.
Tim Collins is 5'7″. Due to this, he has been undervalued his entire career even though his minor league FIP's were in the low 2's. He is a situational reliever with limited upside but productive relievers at league minimum are quite valuable. Seeing this, Atlanta flipped Collins, Gregor Blanco, and Jesse Chavez for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth. Cue the snickers from the sabermetric crowd. Fun Fact: in the last 2 months of 2010, after this trade, Farnsworth and Ankiel netted Atlanta .9 WAR. Not earth shattering by any stetch but enough to offset the loss in value from Escobar to Gonzalez and help Atlanta sneak into October with the Wild Card.
This brings us to our final peice, Tyler Pastornicky. When Atlanta made this trade, it took both a short term and a long term view. Gonzalez replaced Escobar in 2010 and 2011 and it appears that job will pass to Pastornicky in 2012. I won't try to guess his line next year or put a value on him. I'll just say he doesn't have to light the world on fire to be a productive major league shortstop these days. If he winds up a utility player, as some have prognosticated, Atlanta loses this trade. If he becomes even a second division regular who can post 1-2 WAR for a few years, Atlanta could very well be the winner.
The conclusion is this. Whenever I see this trade mentioned it is often derided as Atlanta getting slaughtered. What this usually fails to realize it the trade was not just Escobar for Gonzalez. The other pieces helped Atlanta both short term and long term. Frank Wren isn't perfect, but neither is Alex Anthopoulos. Don't let reputations cloud analysis.
CBA: Quick Hits
I'm holding off on the draft because the details are still rolling out. I need a bunch of questions to be answered yet before I make statements on how it will affect the market in the upcoming years. There are other aspects of the CBA that I can analyze now.
1. Houston changing leagues. Fortunately Wiers and I already tackled this. Here are our thoughts.
2. The second change was the added Wild Card. The instinct for the sabermetrically inclined is to say "This diminishes the playoffs even further." Your right. But here is my counter – Is that really important? The best team rarely wins the World Series. I'm ok with this because I no longer have the expectation that the best team will win. I enjoy the playoffs because they are exciting. I enjoy them because they tend to be very good baseball. We see great pitchers, incredible hits, defensive plays and comebacks. We get drama that hopefully captivates average fans and increases the cultural pull of the game. A one game playoff only enhances this. As a Braves fan, I didn't exactly enjoy the last day of the season but I can't deny its appeal. We had 3 incredible games that directly influenced the playoffs. I remember the one game playoff where Matt Holliday didn't touch home plate and the one where Alexi Casilla and Carlos Gomez broke the Tigers backs in the 12th inning. This is what 1 game playoffs do. They make for incredible drama and as a baseball fan I love it. Also, it only lessens the fact that the better wild card team advances. The wild cars play one another, not affecting the chances the division winners win the World Series.
3. Baseball added a 26th roster spot for double headers. Win for the MLBPA as it increases the number of players getting service time and Major League Salaries. The effect this will have on the game is basically zero.
4. The elimination of Type A/B Free Agents is a good thing. The valuation of players is always a gray area no matter how accurate we think our stats become. Getting rid of lines of demarkation between free agents just simplifies the process. Players are either worth compensation or not. I'm supportive of the new system, although I would rather see it jsut go away all together.
5. The super 2 deadline was also pushed back. It was done by increasing the percentage of players eligible from 17% to 22%. I like this as the extra month in the minors will make more teams say the hell with it and put their best players in the majors when they deserve it, not when their service time dictates it. Another good move by the MLBPA.
6. The tobacco thing is useless regulation. These are grown men, let them do what they please. This just reeks of a political statement for the purpose of making a political statement.
7. Baseball is going to mandate players wearing the Mr. Magoo helmet David Wright wore a few years ago. Obviously from a player safety standpoint I support this but I would support it even more if baseball had not written the helmet had become "less bulky." I loved that helmet from a aesthetic standpoint. Everyone who wore it looked ridiculous.
8. I hate the LoMo twitter policy. More useless regulation. These guys are adults, let them do what they want outside of the stadium.
9. My most controversial statement is coming up, be warned. I hate the HGH testing. I firmly believe steroids do not help baseball players. Go here and just read for a few hours, you'll agree. So all HGH testing does in my opinion is invade players privacy while not solving a problem. There is also a too little too late sentiment towards HGH. If players are serious about trying to gain an advantage there are always other performance enhancing drugs they can turn to if that do not show up on Major League testing. I just think this is unnecessary. Baseball and the MSM need to give up this steroid crusade and focus on things that matter, like DUI's.
CBA: International Market
The new CBA has been released and with it came many questions about how baseball treated the acquisition of talent from the amateur ranks. To me, it was the only part of the CBA I really had strong feelings about and so it's the one I'm going to write about.
Let's begin by getting one thing clear. The CBA is agreed upon by two groups: MLB owners and the MLBPA. Nobody else's opinion ultimately matters. With that being said let's get into it.
I'm going to start with the cap on international signing bonuses. People seem to think this limits teams ability to sign amateur talent in Latin America. I disagree. What this means for kids in Latin America is smaller signing bonuses. The truth of it is, the opportunity for these kids to come to the U.S. and play professional baseball is still an opportunity of a lifetime. Depressing bonuses by 25% or 50% or whatever the fallout winds up being will not change that. So Miguel Sano only gets 2 mil, the $100,000 guys only get $40,000. Does that really matter from a baseball perspective? I say no. The biggest argument is that this is unfair to the players. Of course it is. That is why I wrote the second paragraph. Latin American signees are not in the players union, so it is ultimately not the players unions responsibility to get them more money. Also, if these bonuses are reduced that extra money previously being spent on these bonuses could likely go towards major league salaries. A chance of increasing MLBPA member's salaries is exactly what the MLBPA is for, they win here. For our other negotiating party, the owners, they win too. As I said a limit on spending internationally will not affect the amount of money pulled in by major league clubs. Same revenue + less spending = profit. Some owners can choose to pocket this money; others will reinvest it in the club. Either way, another win.
An argument I've heard against this is that it creates a market where potential contracts these players receive will all look very similar, resulting in players choosing teams for reasons besides contract size. I disagree with this. Even in an open market, teams create player evaluations and base offers off of those evaluations. Evaluations for players are bound to have differences for each team. What teams must decide is how much of their budget they can allot to a one player. Finally, each team may spend the same amount this offseason, but in future offseasons the available amount of money for Latin American bonuses changes by major league team record the year previous. This also will change the amount of money a player is offered because with different caps, 1 million to one team is different than 1 million to another team. Different evaluations, different spending caps, as well as organizational philosophy on balancing elite talent/money with signing multiple players creates enough variables that players will still receive different dollar amounts from different teams.
I do have two issues with the spending cap. First, I feel teams should be free to spend however much money in whatever part of the game they so choose (as evident in my Right of First Refusal post). This budget does not allow for Texas to spend 17 million dollars in one year like they did in 2011. Second I dislike using major league record as the basis for a team's spending budget. The current major league roster does not properly reflect organizational health. Teams can go all in on the major league roster and compete but be hurt long-term. Two current examples of this are the White Sox and the Phillies. Chicago went all in with veterans since their 2005 run and now the organization is in rough shape. The team has been competitive in recent years though and this cap would have kept them from spending money in Latin America and building a talent base with which to replace these veterans. That they don't have these prospects now is of their own doing, the Phillies will not even have the option. Philadelphia is headed downward. They have a below average farm system due to trades for Hunter Pence, Roy Oswalt, and Roy Halladay. They have an aging core and an awful contract for Ryan Howard that will limit the team financially in the future. The way Philly could avoid that slide is by bringing in young talent to replace their veterans. Because of their on field success in 2011 and probably in 2012 it will be hard for them to pick up the high impact talent they need. In the end it all comes down to money. Despite my complaints the bottom line is this new arrangement in Latin America benefits the owners and major league players equally.
Finally, I'll end the international signing section with answers to questions I have seen many places and you may have read answer to many places.
- This does not affect Japanese players or the posting system at all. MLB has had an understanding with the NPB about player moves for almost 20 years and it would require NPB cooperation to change the posting system
- It does not affect Yoenis Cespedes. The rules do not apply to Cuban players who are either older than 23 (Cespedes is 26) or have played professionally for 3 years (in Cuba).
As for our CBA coverage, I will be writing at least one more article on the draft but after that there hasn't been much talk going forward between Wiers and I about how we are going to handle it. Stay tuned for more articles.
Two (Relatively) Quick Thoughts
It all started with an off the cuff tweet by yours truly, which kicked my brain into over-drive over two subjects that shouldn't ever be talked about by anyone. The sad truth is that the topics are all too readily at hand to discuss. What I mean is DUI's and player safety.
With the recent kidnapping of Wilson Ramos (thankfully he was rescued safe and unharmed) and now the even more recent tragic news of Greg Halman's death is breaking. All too often our society retroactively acts to protect. Look at AMBER alert system. It helps saves lives and find lost children. Such a shame that it is named for Amber Hagerman, a 9 year old girl who was kidnapped and murdered. Something more should have been in place at the time of her kidnapping. Instead, we enacted a system after the fact.
For all the right reasons, the MLB casts great lights upon its players. Both on the field and off the field at charity events, team sponsored events, on the red carpet, etc. MLB is a brand, and the players are what sells the brand. Unfortunately, fame is a double-edged sword. With affluence and recognition comes a price. The price is of course the higher likelihood of assault, kidnapping, and ransoming.
Out of recent memory I can name these events:
-A breaking and entering + robbery of the house where Tampa Bay stars Evan Longoria and David Price live
-Wilson Ramos' kidnapping
–Yorvit Torrealba's son being kidnapped
–Dernell Stenson's robbery and ensuing murder
-Greg Halman being murdered
I really have no idea what the MLB could do to ensure the safety of its players. I don't want teams to start carrying massive security teams with them. I don't want players to to stop coming to public events for fear of the safety of themselves and loved ones. I don't want players, International or not,to be fearful of going back home. I often times like to be snarky about Bud Selig for being behind the times (instant replay anyone?). This is time where jokes are not appropriate. Make no mistake: the lives and well being of Bud's players are in jeopardy here.
Another quick tangent I'd like to get up on my soap box for is the new CBA. It hasn't been announced yet, but trickles of details have already leaked out. What I would really like to see is a stricter punishment for DUI offenders. In addition to the legal punishments I would like to see the MLB go beyond what they currently have now.Off the top of my head Derek Lowe, Shin-Soo Choo, Adam Kennedy, Austin Kearns, CoCo Crisp and perhaps most famously Miguel Cabrera have all been charged on DUI's.
If the MLB was truly setting an example to the younger generation then they would enact a much stricter policy on these crimes. Have we all forgotten about Nick Adenhart?
I want to see a minimum of 25 games missed for a DUI. It's not only breaking the law, its potentially murder. MLB would be wise to make this a priority.
Don't Trade Martin Prado
I was 7 years old living in suburban Atlanta the year Hideo Nomo robbed Chipper Jones of the NL Rookie of the Year award in 1995. Chipper is my favorite athlete of all time and I am completely irrational about him. He is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer and worth every penny of his 13 million dollar contract next year. All this being said, what Chipper can't do is play every day. At this point, projecting him for 120 games is reasonable. Projecting him for much more is not.
What this means for an Atlanta team with playoff aspirations is there has to be a viable back-up. Atlanta can't just roll with Diory Hernandez for potentially 200 or 300 PA in 2012 and expect to compete. The back up the Braves should use also happens to be the starting left fielder and the subject of this post, Martin Prado.
Martin Prado got luck-dragoned in 2011. He had a BABIP 50 points lower than his career and 65 points lower than his previous full seasons in 2010 and 2009. He is most likely a true talent 110-115 wRC+ hitter and a roughly 3 WAR player. His real value to me, besides being an above average hitter, lies in his ability to play LF, RF, 3B, and 2B.
Take a look at those positions and think about the makeup of Atlanta's roster. Prado himself is the current starter in LF, but I would like to see Atlanta sign a LF and use Prado as a super utility type. As I mentioned earlier, Chipper will miss 45 games. Jason Heyward should be given every opportunity to succeed but if his 2012 begins to resemble 2011 Prado could be used in a platoon against LHP given the 25 advantage in wOBA Prado has over Heyward. At 2B, Dan Uggla has never had health problems but Prado could be used to spell him too occasionally or long term if an injury occurs. I remember how effectively the Angels used Chone Figgins in 2005 and believe Atlanta has the perfect player to replicate that kind of season.
If Atlanta signs a LF it then has the versatility to cover one obvious roster issue with an average starter, while also having a good pinch hitter, defensive replacement, and long term injury replacement at 4 different positions. So I agree with Frank Wren that Martin Prado should not be the starting LF for the Atlanta Braves next year. What I can't get behind is the thought that he should be traded.
A Visual Look At Jonathon Sanchez
I've decided to throw my hat into the ring of bloggers writing about Jonthan Sanchez. With his recent trade to Kansas City in exchange for The Melk Man�many people are taking sides as to which team "won" the trade�. As usual, I shall be the contrarian. I'm going to look at the curious case of Sanchez's release point. Er, I should say points because over the years, he has been everywhere with his arm.
�For the record, I would rather have Melky Cabrera than Sanchez.
Not too surprising, the inconsistency of Sanchez's mechanics have lead to high walk rates. And "high" in an understatement. Despite those warts, Sanchez does in fact have elite strike out rates, but sometimes not even a gorgeous K-rate�can hide that ugly FIP. Let's play a little spin control. I want to see how good and how bad we can make Sanchez look by viewing some of his different career stats.
The Good
|� .287
|� 10.3%
The Bad and the Ugly
Well now. That kind of says it all. So what we have here is a starter with reliever like swing-and-miss stuff, with an ability to suppress BABIP�over a long period of time (In this case, over 700 IP) and a terrible walk rate and someone is basically a league average pitcher. Sanchez's career FIP-�of 100 clearly attests to him being dead on average. His ERA- of 103 corroborates his proven averageness. Clearly the is a fundamental lack of control. Take a look at his progressively different release points from 2008 to 2011.
Wow. There is obviously a large�shift in his release point from year to year. From 2009 to 2010 and again from 2010 to 2011 it appears as though Sanchez is drifting higher and higher on his release. As�noted in�my previous post on Wuertz's�release point, I'm no scout. It is very possible (and I think probable) that this lack of consistency in his release point have lead�to his perennially high walk rates. Then again, this could all very well be me trying to do the classic "correlation equates causation" fallacy.
Despite my lack of formal scouting education, on an intuitive level it does make a tremendous amount of sense as to why Sanchez has routinely struggled with his control, let along command. He clearly has first-rate "stuff" but his inability to consistently find the strike zone has cost him his starting job in the past. With a new pitching coach and the classic change-of-scenery maybe Sanchez can get some consistency with his release point, and thus, probably find that long elusive strike zone.
Pitch f/x data courtesy of TexasLeagers.com
Josh Collmenter, Eskimo Brothers, and FIP
I received a text from one of my buddies in early summer this year asking me about Josh Collmenter. It led to one of the funniest exchanges I have had via text of all time. He was asking my opinion on Josh Collmenter, I assumed for fantasy baseball reasons. I was wrong. My response was that I pretty much knew nothing, and had only recently heard of Collmenter. This, I told him, was a bad sign. I know most top level prospects for each team. Off the top of my head right now I could name you 5 or 6 D'Backs prospects. I told him Collmenter was a flash in the pan. My friends response – "Good. He and I are eskimo brothers, so I like to root against him."
That is just magical. Being at the age where I have relationships with people who have stories about professional athletes is hilarious. I graduated high school in Michigan in 2006 and had many friends who went to U of M that fall. Needless to say when Ryan Mallett's character concerns popped up heading into the draft, no one I knew was surprised.
Now that I have covered 2/3 of my title, I can get to how analytical side works in. Since I didn't know much about Josh Collmenter I did what every halfway decent baseball mind does to get a picture of a player. Fangraphs.
This story took place in May, so Collmenter's FIP was sitting in the low 3's. I was floored. Usually guys like him do some BABIP magic to look like a viable major league starter before their ERA's correct and they become the pitching version of Chris Shelton. Collmenter actually looked like he had viable talent.
Then I went to the FIP components. Collmenter had a completely absurd BB/9 rate of slightly below 1 at this point. The other two numbers looked like I expected. His K/9 was around 6 and his GB% was in the 40% range. It became clear this early season success was purely built on Collmenter's ability to not give up walks.
I'm using Collmenter as an example of why looking into components is an important step in analysis. The wheels didn't fall off in 2011 for Collmenter. He posted a 3.80 FIP and had a largely successful rookie season. He did however post the lowest BB/9 of his career and finished 10th in baseball in BB/9 among starters with at least 140 IP in 2011. Collmenter's success going forward depends on maintaining that very low walk rate. Were I a betting man, I think my buddy is going to get his wish.
Cue The End of The World
After watching 2 Divisional Series games I swore that I would only watch MLB post season games on mute. I really tried for for the rest of the Divisional Series games. As much as I like to rip on the (terrible, awful, nonsensical) announcing of Buck, McCarver et al, I couldn't do it.
I missed the crowd. I missed the absurd chants. I missed hearing the crack of the bat, the on field banter, and the occasional F-bomb, usually courtesy of Nyjer Morgan. However, after listening to the sounds of The Wonder Years, The Dangerous Summer, The Startling Line and many others bands, I had to go back to the sound of the game. Call me weak if you want, I couldn't stay away. Maybe on some level I even missed the absurd banter between McCarver and Buck.
Maybe I'm just a sucker for the drama. That would explain all of my previous women!
Any who, long story short (too late, I know), I listened to every World Series game¹. And maybe it was lowered expectations, but I actually found McCarver insightful on two points:
–Ian Kinsler is a pull hitter
–David Freese is an opposite field hitter
Of course I'm not naive enough to take anything that McCarver says at face value, so I had to look up the numbers for myself. And honestly, I love any reason to look up players splits on FanGraphs.
¹Well, ok, I took an hour or two off to watch Community and Parks & Rec, because come on, they're amazing. In fact, if you don't like those shows, then I have serious doubts to whether or not you know anything about anything. In other words, you'd be another Buck or McCarver to me.
Observe the table below. It's the career splits for Balls In Play for Kinsler and Freese, broken down by where the ball went and the result of the BIP.
Wow. Kinsler rakes when he pulls the ball. I didn't think he'd become 1956 Ted Williams (also a .471 wOBA). Crazy. Now remember, this is ONLY Balls In Play data. Kinsler's career is at .364 wOBA and Freese holds a .346 wOBA, in a much smaller sample size of course.
The two most shocking things here are is that Freese turns into 2003 Barry Bonds (.506 wOBA) when he goes oppo. Let that sink in for a moment… Maybe we'll see pitchers begin to pound him inside, where he has a much worse ability to pull the ball. Either way, I would not pitch Freese on the outer half much. You're playing with fire at that point.
Even with the realization of how great Freese is when he goes oppo, hands down the single craziest thing is that McCarver was right.
For Better, For Wuertz
Today my A's declined to pick up Michael Wuetz's 2012 option. Rather than pay him 3.25 over the course of next year, Oakland decided to cut ties and pay the 250,000 buy-out. I can't even say I'm surprised by this news. As good as Wuertz was back in 2009, his 2010 and 2011 campaigns have been a thunderstorm of sadness, with few sunny moments in between. Some amateurs may cite his rising BABIP* and write it off as bad luck. Jokes on them, as that is about the weakest type of "sabermetrics" thing you can do. Too often BABIP gets used as a magic wand explanation and an "End-all Be-all" to hitters and pitchers alike.
I prefer to dive a little deeper than that. But you already knew this. At least I hope you did. After being traded from the Cubs in the offseason of 2008-9 in the infamous Richie Robnett and Justin Sellers for Wuertz deal that made headlines all across America**, Wuertz had the best season of his career with this new club.
*Wuertz's BABIP: .266 in 2009, .279 in 2010 and an awful .327 this season.
**I swear this happened. Maybe I dreamt about the coverage. Yeah, that's it. I have to dream about my A's getting media coverage. Sigh.
Observe the following.
|K Rate
|BB Rate
If that doesn't shock and appal you then what are you doing reading this blog in the first place? Basically what we're seeing here is that Wuertz was BELOW replacement value for his past 2 years of pitching for Oakland. When you combine an ugly FIP in less than 40 IP for two straight years, you can't be shocked that your option isn't exercised. According to Susan Slusser, he wasn't. I will always fondly remember Wuertz in 2009 for having the grossest slider this side of Randy Johnson. His next two years are a bit more forgettable. As in, I'd really like to forget that we paid him so much for them.
This isn't a post to rip on Wuertz, but to find an issue. After having a series of bouts with shoulder tendonitis, either by choice or by accident, Wuertz has changed his release. It's possible that I'm just looking for something that isn't there, and I never heard this or read it, but rather take a look at the these Pitch f/x release points from 2009, 2010 and 2011. They get progressively lower.
There is only a small drop in arm angle from 2009 to 2010, but the 2010 to 2011 change is shocking. It appears as though Wuertz has dropped around 6 inches of height on his pitches. As one can imagine, even a slight arm angle change can create dramatic differences. After re-classifying Wuertz's listed 09 and 10 FA and FT we have the following table.
Important notes when reading the tables:
SL = Slider, FF = 4 Seam Fastball, CH = Changeup.
This movement is relative to the catcher.
H-move is Horizontal movement. A negative number represents the ball moved IN towards a right handed batter. The higher the positive number moves AWAY from righties. Relatively simple stuff right? Right.
V-move is Vertical movement. The Higher the v-move, the more the pitch RESISTED gravity. Any negative number (usually only curveballs) means that the ball fell faster than we should expect gravity alone to make it. An example: a Curveball may be -6 V-move. That means the curveball fell an additional 6 inches than gravity alone would force. The slower the pitch, the lower the V-move, as there is more time for gravity to effect it. Thus, fastballs tend have the least V-move (read: the highest positive number). Unless you're Jamie Moyer.
With those notes in mind, review the tables again. In 2009, Wuertz has his fastest slider and the best movement away from righties. That would his explain his totally absurd Whiff rate on the pitch. As soon as the pitch started breaking away less, it began to get hammered. Clearly. Given that he relies on his Slider for over half of his career pitches, as soon as he lost it, things went downhill. Fast. He had to use his fading fastball more and more, and that got hammered even harder.
In addition to his new delivery over the past 2 years, his fastball has lost almost 3 miles per hour. Batters aren't swinging at it anymore, and if they do, they whiff on it less than 1 time in 20 swings. Only his changeup seems relatively fine. If given the chance, I'd ask him to incorporate it more.
Assuming that every MLB team has this data plus data that would require me to hose myself down from excitement, I can't see Wuertz signing a major league deal anywhere. Maybe the Rays or Twins take a flier on him with a minor league deal, but until he refines his release spot and rediscovers his fastball, he's nothing more than an injury risk. I'm not one for correlation equates causation, but it seems a little more than pure coincidence that his fastball dropped as soon as his arm did. I hope he finds himself because I really did like the guy. Here's hoping for the best, but sometimes you just gotta plan for the Wuertz.
All Pitch F/X info courtesy of Texas Leaguer's.
Tables via Tableizer!


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Comic Con: 14 New Cast Members Introduced For 'Game Of Thrones' Season 3 - But Where's Mance Rayder?
Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke was all smiles on Friday at San Diego's annual Comic Con, eager to sign autographs for fans. The actress, who plays mother of dragons Daenerys Targaryen, was accompanied by Rose Leslie, who plays the wildling woman Ygritte.
The panel for the show - easily this year's biggest ticket and was held in the San Diego Convention Center's largest hall - began with a short film of season-two highlights; the end of which went into an introduction short with the 14 new cast additions for season three.
George R.R. Martin, author of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series - which the show is based on, introduced the clip to fans attending the panel.
"Clearly, I have to start killing some of these characters quickly to make room for the others," he joked with the crowd.
Joining the season three cast are British actress Diana Rigg, who played Emma Peel in the 60s British series The Avengers. She'll portray Lady Olenna Tyrell, aka the Queen of Thorns; Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and Loras Tyrell's (Finn Jones) sharp-tongued grandmother.
Scottish actor Clive Russell, who played Captain Tanner in the two recent Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr., will take on the role of Bryndon "The Blackfish" Tully, a knight of Riverrun and Catelyn Stark's (Michelle Fairley) uncle. The Blackfish actually made his appearance in the first book, "A Game Of Thrones," as did Catelyn's hometown of Riverrun; but the story arc was not important enough to be in the TV storyline. In Season three we'll be introduced to Riverrun and more of Catelyn Stark's family, including her brother, Edmure Tully. He'll be played by actor Tobias Menzies. If you've read the books you know how significant Edmure is, but we fear that since book three, A Storm of Swords, will be split in two seasons, his biggest moments won't come until season four.
Moving over to Dragonstone, we'll see more of Stannis Baratheon's (Stephen Dillane) family after his defeat during the Battle of the Blackwater near the end of season two. His queen, Selyse will be played by British TV star Tara Fitzgerald; while their daughter Shireen will be portrayed by Kerry Ingram, who can also be seen in the upcoming remake of Les Miserables.
Diana Rigg, Clive Russell, Tobias Menzies and Tara Fitzgerald
Beric Dondarrion, who was sent by Ned Stark (Sean Bean) to hunt down Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane (Ian Whyte), and bring him to justice, will be played by Richard Dormer (no relation to Natalie). Paul Kaye will play the red priest of R'hllor, Thoros of Myr, who joins Lord Beric's party on their quest. If you recognize the name R'hllor, then you know there's probably going to be some interesting magic going on in their story arc. The two will be joined by the archer Anguy, played by Philip McGinley.
A puzzling omission from season two are the characters of Jojen and Meera Reed. The two came to Winterfell to pledge their family's support to Robb Stark before he left. The Reeds stayed in Winterfell, where Jojen began helping Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) learn about that mysterious three-eyed crow that haunts his dreams. The two then escape with Bran and Rickon Stark (Art Parkinson) after Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) takes Winterfell.
Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who played the boy Simon in Nanny McPhee and is the voice of Ferb Fletcher on Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb, will play Jojen; while Ellie Kendrick, who portrayed the title character in 2009's TV miniseries The Diary of Anne Frank, will play the role of Meera.
Anton Lesser will play the role of Qyburn, a one-time Maester who was stripped of his title. He'll play a key role in season three, but that's about all we can say without spoiling anything.
Nathalie Emmanuel joins the ever-growing cast as the slave girl Missandei, who becomes Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke) servant and a translator.
Paul Kaye, Philip McGinley, Thomas Brodie-Sangster and Ellie Kendric
Finally, new wildling characters north of The Wall will be introduced, including Orell, who has some interesting powers and is played by Mackenzie Crook. Tormund Giantsbane, played by Kristofer Hivju, is the right-hand man of Mance Rayder - a former brother of the Night's Watch and now leader of the amassing wildling army in the north
Nathalie Emmanuel, Mackenzie Crook and Kristofer Hivju
At the end of Game of Thrones Season 2, we last left Jon Snow (Kit Harington)as he was heading to meet with this mysterious "King Beyond The Wall," who will be a major player in season 3 and season 4. So who's playing him? Unfortunately that casting decision has yet to be announced.
Many of these new characters who will be introduced in season 3 made their first appearances in book one or two; but showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss purposely delayed their introductions because they didn't want to confuse viewers or leave actors hanging around until they became relevant to the story. Nearly 30 characters were already introduced in some capacity in season two, and another 15 showing up in a 10 episode season probably would've hurt the show. Unless you read the books, of course.
Season 3 of Game of Thrones was also given an official premiere date: Sunday, March 31, 2013. If you haven't read the books this gives you about nine months to do so, and we highly recommend it.
Because if you think the series is good, the books blow it away.
(Not pictured: Kerry Ingram, Richard Dormer, Anton Lesser)
Meet the new cast members and get a refresher on Season 2 in the introduction video below...


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I've been told that I have an off-beat mind; I think of weird, perhaps funny things depending on either how serious you are or how you look at them.
Example: I just thought of that time I didn't write and illustrate a short graphic novel about koalas in marine basic training called "Eucalyptus Wow!".
For those of you playing the home edition of our game, yes that was a Kubrick/Apocalypse Now pun.
Furthermore scratch the story book idea, maybe it'll be a video game instead.
Also apparently sending unrequited messages on okcupid.com
I just started really getting into vaporwave though.
Do you know what simpsonswave is?
Here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL4br6HfgfY&list=PLwXZJ72PzThfKWr3oajYaHId3GjF2XSh1
The Bugle
Biggest problem in the universe
Wait, Wait Don't tell me
Judge John Hodgman
The Daily Show
Last Week Tonight
The Walking Dead
The Expanse
Mr. Robot
Upright Citizen's Brigade
Game of Thrones
Kids in the Hall
Battlestar Galactica
Mad Men
The IT Crowd
Family Guy
Cleveland Show
Sifl & Olly
Shin Chan
Trailer Park Boys
Arrested Development
Xavier: Renegade Angel
South Park
Breaking Bad
The Wrestler, Shawshank Redemption, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, The Matrix, Dark City, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Cube, Primer, Rubber, Forrest Gump, Lost in Translation, Life Aquatic, Royal Tennenbaums, The Darjeeling Limited, Ghostbusters, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Labrynth, Kick-Ass, Trainspotting, Memento, Iron Man, Avengers, Spiderman, Gremlins, BTTF, Spaceballs, Blazing Saddles, Tombstone, History of the World Part 1, LIfe of Brian, Monty Python's Holy Grail and SO much more.
I'll eat or try just about anything. I enjoy Korean, Japanese, Indian, Chinese, Mexican, Italian, but I also need a burger and/or a burrito at least once a week.


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State of the Art Woodson High School Building Fosters Hope
Tracey Gold Bennett | 8/16/2011, 1:46 p.m.
In the Ward 7 section of Washington, D.C., a new high-tech, green H.D. Woodson Senior High School stands as a symbol of hope and promise invested in city's most important asset -- its children. To that end, on Aug. 17, officials cut the ribbon on the 230,000 square-foot state of the art facility at 5500 Eads Street in Northeast.
"We're telling the students we care about you and to do your very best," said Principal Thomas Whittle. "The city is providing the best to help you achieve your goals. When they come here we expect them to learn and to perform."
When classes resume on Aug. 22, more than 800 students will be ushered into the pristine $102 million school, like dignitaries arriving at the sleek United Nations headquarters in New York City. And, they'll have nearly as many amenities as the U.N. Amenities include two gymnasiums, natatorium, auditorium, open designed floor to ceiling glass administrative and classroom spaces, dining room, wireless computer networks, and a track and field area boasting a football stadium that could rival a division one university. That's a big departure from the former school building, an eight-story concrete tower that was first opened in 1972 and touted as the "Tower of Power," but lacked a track and sufficiently operable swimming pool for its athletes.
"I have a track now that I didn't have for three years," said boy's track coach Talib Reid. "We've been in exile for several years but now we're back."
DeMal Brown agrees. Brown ran track at Woodson and graduated from the school last year.
"I'm mad," Brown said laughing. "I still wish I was at this school. The other school had no football field, no track, this school is way better."
The new building, which was a project of Cox Graae + Spack Architects and SHW Group, incorporates an environmental and energy efficient design, and will seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification. LEED Gold is the highest certification level by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC).
Buildings or communities that are LEED certified meet green standards including energy savings, water efficiency, carbon emissions reduction, and improved indoor environmental quality. Rain water harvesting for reuse in plumbing, and roof gardens among the green features of the three-story structure.
"This is the only green building in the school district," said Whittle.
Just as the building seeks to secure the highest standard in environmental certification, the rigorous Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) project based curriculum is also designed to garner the highest academic performance from students. Whittle described the learning process as the hands on.
"Project based learning is not just to have teachers talk but to develop projects around learning," Whittle said. "When students produce projects the skill set they learn helps them perform at a higher level. We want curriculum that is rich, innovative and creative."
Classroom and lab spaces feature cutting edge technologies such as smart board and students will have access to laptop computer.
Throughout history there have been several studies which link environment and surroundings with behavior. Jean Piaget, a renowned philosopher from Switzerland for example, suggested children's growth stems from their surroundings and the people and things they interact with in that environment. Whittle said the students are expected to perform well in this environment.


text:
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text:
Health food stores sell not-necessarily-so-healthy foods such as kombucha tea which may be associated with life-threatening lactic acidosis, placing people into a coma. Blue-green algae which may contain toxins that damage the brain (although chlorella most likely does not).
We may also want to be wary of health food store employee advice. Studies have shown that health food store employee advice may not only be inaccurate, but also potentially harmful to a person's well-being (especially in regards to supplements).
Topic summary contributed by Randy.


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Who has the answer for out of control children? What causes a child to "Go Bad"?
1) Violent mass media materials?
2) Victims of bullying and neglect?
3) Violent video games?
4) Divorced Families?
5) Self esteem issues?
6) Peer pressure?
7) Parent pressure?
8) Physical appearance?
These are just eight points that I feel can attribute to a child "Going Bad".
With the shootings in Florida, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Arizona, Tennessee, California and every other state I think this is a topic that needs to be discussed. The problem lies With taking God out of everything remember the Bible says," If you spare the rod, you spoil the Child". Keep Structure and Consistency in the child's life but that is much easier said then done. So what do you do? Love, Hope and Peace


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Despite skill deficiencies and playing for a Georgia Tech team that finished with two ACC wins, the sophomore forward was expected to be drafted as a middle- to late-first-rounder.
But as the NBA draft combine concluded its basketball portion Friday afternoon at the Attack Athletics Training Center in Chicago (all that's left are interviews with teams Friday night and medical testing Saturday), Lawal sounded like a player who might head back to school, since there are no guarantees that he will be a lock for the top 20 in the first round.
"There is a good chance," said Lawal, who averaged 15.1 ppg and 9.5 rpg, of going back to for his junior season. "I wanted to go through the process, and when June 15 comes [the deadline to withdraw], if I feel there is any doubt that I could go in the second round, then I'll go back to school."
In previous drafts, a player like Lawal might be able to secure a guarantee. But this draft has so many role players, and depending on whom you talk to, it might be hard for a team to promise it will take a player who could be interchangeable with someone else.
Lawal said he hasn't had an individual workout with a team yet. His first destination is Minnesota on June 1.
"I may go after my junior or senior year," Lawal said. "I'm not in a rush. I know that sounds hypocritical after my sophomore year, but the NBA isn't going anywhere. I want to test the process. I thought I was talented enough, and that's what the process is for."
Lawal said if he's told he could land in the 25-35 range, which could easily put him in the second round, then he would "have to do my homework, because that's cutting it close. That would be a crapshoot."
Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt has been watching Lawal. He, like most coaches in this predicament, is in a tough position. He has to make sure he doesn't try to pressure Lawal into going back to school.
"They're going to be really good whether or not I go," Lawal said. But if he returns to school, he said the Yellow Jackets have a chance to be "phenomenal."
"It would be good to go back and play alongside [freshman] Derrick Favors, [Iman] Shumpert, Mo Miller, Lance [Storrs] and Zach Peacock," Lawal said. "I'm keeping all of that in the back of my mind."
The Yellow Jackets were a major disappointment with a 12-19 record last season. They were considered by most of the ACC coaches as one of the league's more talented teams.
However, they struggled to close out games, losing in overtime to NC State and Boston College. They also dropped a buzzer-beater at BC and suffered a one-point loss to Maryland.
Georgia Tech finished with a 10-point win over Miami (which might have tossed the Canes out of the NCAA tournament chase), a five-point win over Clemson in the ACC tournament and a gritty two-point loss to Florida State.
• Whichever team drafts Pitt senior Sam Young is going to get one of the toughest -- and most improved over the past four seasons -- players in the draft.
Young participated in Friday's skill work for the first time without a wrap on his left biceps. He was involved in one of the most bizarre incidents ever in predraft workouts.
A week ago in Toronto, Young was impaled by a metal piece off a vertical testing pole. "It was one millimeter away from hitting my nerve; three millimeters away from a blood vessel," Young said.
He described the incident as follows, and the account was corroborated by at least one Raptors official: Young jumped up to slap the pole, turned in the air and the piece of metal popped into his skin. But the piece had two sides, and it went in two different directions, making it impossible for him to just pull it out. Young was suspended in the air on the pole before Raptors personnel gently took him down with the pole still attached to him.
"It didn't break off, so I hung on it," Young said. "They turned the vertical pole sideways. But I couldn't take the whole thing with me. So the guys in the gym weren't sure what to do. I waited 15 minutes for paramedics. They came, put a towel over my face and with a chain saw separated me from it. There were sparks flying everywhere."
The worst part was when Young was in the ambulance. "I'm holding part of the pole that's still in me, and the ambulance had to go over speed bumps to get out of the arena," Young said. "I'm trying to keep it steady, but it's pulling on my skin. It was crazy. I wanted to yank the whole thing out, but I wasn't sure about the effect. I finally got to the hospital, they drugged me up, they fiddled with it and yanked it out. I would have been in trouble had I pulled it out. It was the craziest hour of my life."
There were no stitches and almost no blood from the puncture wound. Young said he was told not to do the weightlifting portion of the testing in Chicago, and he isn't supposed to do any lifting for two weeks as a precaution.
He said doctors told him to rest for a few weeks, but that wasn't going to happen. Young went and worked out for Chicago and Indiana after the incident. He's heading to Golden State for a group workout next week. "I was determined to not let it affect me," Young said.
• Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge was not a fan of the new format for the combine (drills and agility testing with no games being played). But a number of other executives, including Denver's Mark Warkentin, liked the interview portion of the week.
Teams such as Denver and Detroit were able to interview lottery picks in Chicago, something that didn't happen in past years. Those players wouldn't go to their teams for individual workouts because they were picking too low.
Some agents who in the past might have been preventing players from going to teams with picks later in the first round or in the second don't realize that these teams can trade up to get players, and they now at least have interviewed them before they make the move.
• Noel Johnson, a former USC recruit, is wide open, according to his father Lynbert "Cheese" Johnson.
Johnson, who is from Atlanta, has heard from a host of schools. He said he had 85 messages on his phone after Noel got his release from USC. The list of schools is numerous, and according to Cheese, included Georgia Tech, UNLV, Miami, LSU, Seton Hall, Florida, Florida State, UConn, Pitt and Georgia, among others.
Cheese said USC athletic director Mike Garrett and coach Tim Floyd understood and didn't fight the request for Noel to get out of his national letter of intent because of the controversy related to O.J. Mayo's recruitment and his one year at USC (which included an allegation that Floyd paid a Mayo handler $1,000).
"There was a cloud over the situation," Cheese Johnson said. "And we don't see it getting better. It's a tough decision, but as parents, we have to put our son in the best situation possible, and if we're not, shame on us."
Since a player can't sign two NLIs and the signing period is over (May 20), Johnson wouldn't technically be bound to any school that committed to him for next season.


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Amazon Named Top Online Retailer in Satisfaction Survey
Amazon took the top spot in ForeSee Results' annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index, edging out Apple.
Amazon scored an 88 out of 100, while Apple and several other retailers posted an 83 to tie for second place. Newegg.com had 82.
The survey's biggest loser was Netflix, which dropped from an 86 last year to 79.
"Amazon may have started as an online bookstore, but it now competes in almost every significant retail category and it is setting the bar very high for any company selling online," ForeSee CEO Larry Freed said as part of the annoucnement. "E-retailers have consistently upped their game since we first started measuring holiday satisfaction in 2005, but Amazon is still the 800-pound gorilla of retail, and it just keeps getting better. "


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Don't underestimate how pivotal bad advice has been in the demise of Luka Modrić and Nuri Şahin at Real Madrid.
You're right, Şahin didn't get a fair run at Los Blancos, hence why he's back on loan with Borussia Dortmund.
But, it wasn't just José Mourinho's stubbornness and the Turk's injuries, Nuri got himself into that unfortunate predicament by listening to bad advice.
Modrić's unwavering belief that the grass is greener on the other side has put a halt to his career. Unless, he turns it around ASAP, he won't be playing in a Los Merengues shirt next season.
This article will argue how Luka and Nuri precipitated their downfall by taking bad advice.


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text:
September 11, 2013 —
The owner of 55 dogs that were removed from a house on Belmont Turnpike in Waymart will likely face charges for animal cruelty. Ten of the dogs in his care were dead or dying when officials entered the home; the owner, who was not named in news reports, could also be facing a charge of operating a kennel without a license.
A neighbor called officials on September 8, after hearing barking inside the home.
Debbie Moore, the manager at Dessin Animal Shelter in Honesdale, said the situation got out of control for the owner, and there were dogs that had recently given birth to litters and a couple that looked pregnant.
She said the dogs had quite a few medical problems, including skin issues and eye conditions, and most of them were quite thin.
She said some of the nursing mothers have been fostered out, but most of the dogs are not now in a position to be adopted by would-be pet owners. She said, "They don't walk on a leash, they're not house broken and they never left the inside of the house or garage where they were located, so right now they are shy and scared."
She said, however, if there are people out there who think they would like to eventually adopt one of the dogs, they should contact the shelter at 570/253-4037, or visit the website at www.dessinshelter.com [2].
Additionally, the shelter is seeking donations to help purchase the necessary supplies to help deal with the large number of dogs and their health needs.


text:
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Williams, Setareh A. PhD; Kasl, Stanislav V. PhD; Heiat, Asefeh MD; Abramson, Jerome L. PhD; Krumholz, Harlan M. MD, and; Vaccarino, Viola MD, PhD
Objective: Although the association between depression and the incidence of coronary heart disease has been established in many studies, the impact of depression on the incidence of heart failure has not been previously investigated.
Methods: We examined the effect of depression (assessed by means of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) with a cutoff point of ≥21) on the incidence of heart failure in a community sample of persons aged ≥65 years who were participants in the New Haven cohort of the Established Populations for Epidemiological Studies in the Elderly.
Results: At baseline 2501 individuals were free of heart failure. Of these, 188 (132 women and 56 men) scored as depressed. Depressed participants were significantly more likely to have hypertension, diabetes, and mobility-related functional limitations and were less likely to be male or married. During the 14-year follow-up period, 313 participants (146 men and 167 women) developed heart failure, defined as hospital admission for heart failure or mortality with heart failure as the underlying cause of death. After adjusting for baseline differences in demographic and comorbidity factors and functional status using Cox regression, depression tended to be associated with a greater risk of heart failure (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.52, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.94–2.43, p = .09). This effect was significant in women (HR = 1.96, 95% CI = 1.11–3.46, p = .02) but not in men (HR = 0.62, 95% CI = 0.23–1.71, p = .05 for the interaction term between sex and depression).
Conclusions: Depression is an independent risk factor for heart failure among elderly women but not elderly men.
Copyright © 2002 by American Psychosomatic Society
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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/218048
- Title
- The Carpe Diem journey: designing for learning transformation
- Author(s)
- Armellini, Alejandro; Salmon, Gilly; Hawkridge, David
- Abstract
- Anyone who has been in touch with the University of Leicester over the last few years will know that its teaching and learning profile has been on a rising curve. Most relevantly to this chapter the University has recently been awarded the UNIQUe (European University Quality in eLearning) certificate, the first and only one in UK to date. While it may be difficult to trace this success back to specific actions, it is a fact that the University decided in 2005 to launch a strategic initiative to transform its e-learning and distance learning and the first pedagogical innovation strategy was accepted by Senate in July 2005. It set up the Beyond Distance Research Alliance (BDRA) to provide evidence and leadership for the changes. The pedagogical innovations introduced and researched by BDRA and its partners under this initiative have built up institutional capacity for evidence based change, both at Leicester and elsewhere. In particular, they have transformed course design through low-cost, high-value-for-learning approaches. We are deeply involved in this initiative and would like to tell you in this chapter about the journey so far and what we have learned.
- Publication type
- Book chapter
- Source
- Transforming higher education through technology-enhanced learning / Terry Mayes, Derek Morrison, Harvey Mellar, Peter Bullen and Martin Oliver (eds.), Chapter 10, pp. 135-148
- Publication year
- 2009
- Keyword(s)
- Course design; Distance learning; Evidence-based change; E-learning; Flexible delivery modes; Higher education; Pedagogical innovation
- Publisher
- Higher Education Academy
- 9781907207112, 1907207112
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Higher Education Academy December 2009. All rights reserved.
- Peer reviewed


text:
The hilarious and high-profile stunt orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen and Eminem at the 2009 MTV Movie Awards was indeed staged, but it's still... More.
Edgar Bronfman moving to London
June 3, 2009 | 5:05 pm
Why are U.S. billionaires absconding for London? The tax rate there is substantially higher for the wealthy than in the U.S., clocking in at 50%. But who... More.