text:
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
In Defense of a book about Anti-Heroes
In Defense of a book about Anti-Heroes
or What the bloggers don't want you to know about Red Hood and the Outlaws.
An open response to Michele Lee and Laura Hudson
Let me try to impose a few sober and calm facts to what is rapidly becoming a lynch mob. The title in question, Red Hood and the Outlaws is not Rated for 7 year olds...It is populated by a sex-positive violent alien, a former Heroin Junkie, and a resurrected former Robin that is a psychopath. No where on the cover does it reference or resemble the Titans Cartoon, and I have no idea why the Blog author would have purchased a child this book when Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Batgirl and Batwoman were all available. Since it is clear many of you don't actually read comics let me linger for a second on that last title, Batwoman is Kate Kane, an angry Jewish lesbian that was kicked out of the military under "Don't ask, Don't tell" and now she fights crime....fully covered from head to toe...only her mouth and chin are uncovered. Lt. Dan Choi worked with author Greg Rucka to ensure the accuracy of the story, and JH Williams III's art it breathtaking. If you get a minute to put down your torches and pitchforks I suggest picking up a copy of Elegy to see just how committed DC is to telling amazing stories, even ones about girls (shocking I know).
Now back to Starfire aka Princess Koriand'r of Tameran, a violent warrior race that does not value sentimentality or romance. Oh, also she was sold into slavery by her sister, so you can see how authors have been righting her with "Daddy issues" when it comes to intimacy.
The fact that she has no memory of her past as a Titian is clearly a plot point that will be dealt with if people would give the book more than the first 22 pages to lay out the plot. As far as her sexy purple metal bikini...well, that has changed very little in the last 30 years since her character was created by Perez and Wolfman back in 1980.
In closing I ask only this, Please stop. Stop listing to bloggers that are only looking to generate controversy and get themselves hits, Ms. Hudson of Comics Alliance is a perfect example. Her blog is tripe, it ignores canon and history. It picks and chooses specific panels to forward her agenda and then she "Fox News" her opinion like it is factual. The blog listed above was not written the day after the comic came out, in fact it came out after Comics Alliance had already gotten 200X the normal traffic for her post. So, please stop protesting things based on specious information from bias sources. I am not even asking you to buy the comics, but don't try to denigrate them if you haven't even read them.
Thank you for you time and attention.
not rated for 7 yos
not a titans book
Starfire was always sexy and wore a metal bikini
Girls looking for positive rolemodels can read books like
Supergirl, Wonder Woman, Batwoman, and Batgirl.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Caveat Emptor: a Larp product review
On Amazon, I only found one item billed as a "Full Contact Foam Sword," but it was at a great price compared to the other weapons I had sourced previously. I attempted to find some reviews of the item (labeled Exotath by Kit Rae, who had designed the "wall hanger" 440 steel version). Unfortunately, I was only able to find one Youtube review by a gentleman that was new to the sport of LARP combat. Eventually, I was able to determine that this was the first attempt of Kit Rae to make a foam version and as a result most of the retailers that had this item in stock had merely ordered the catalog of live steel blades as per normal and were not sure how to get rid of this foam thing. This was a good thing for me as I was able to order it at 1/2 the MSRP. I ordered it on Friday, it shipped on Monday and was here for Thursday. So far so good.
It appears that they molded this off the live steel version directly, and design-wise it is breathtaking. The detail is all well formed and distinct, and the coloring and shading are very effective at giving you the impression of metal. It handles very well, although the balance is a bit further forward than boffer weapons due to the large cross guard and foregrip. The seam is done well and only really noticeable on the handle, which is why I figure most companies wrap the handles in suede. The weapon is a bit heavier than a new style boffer but still very light compared to the weapons we used 15 years ago when I started. At 3' 8" this one handed sword is great for fast swings and blocks, the blade is excellent in composition, having the right amount of flex but not excessive whip. The main problem is that as the blade tapers down to the tip it follows the line of the live steel blade and gets very thin; this results in it being very dense and not having a lot of give. Basic physics tells us that if you apply force to a wedge the force at the point would be significantly more than if it was applied evenly, after all. It should be noted that the thrusting tip was very good and had a lot of flex, the core stopping about 2 inches before the blade point. Unfortunately, after taking it to a Realms practice and conferring with other players the consensus was that while it was a safe weapon it was not ideal for LARP combat and would result in more painful hits than necessary in a "lightest touch system". While I would have no problem using the sword safely, I would not relish fighting against it due to the extremely unpleasant sting and bruising that would result.
I guess you get what you pay for. To be fair I gambled on a good intentioned first attempt and with the 100% satisfaction guarantee from United Cutlery, all I should lose is a little time, and some very reasonable shipping costs.
In Summation;
Gorgeous piece, great for Feasts, Ren Faires or Conventions
Well designed in all areas except the striking surface
Seems extremely durable (obviously this is just an impression as I won't be putting it though significant paces)
Not listed on any known LARP Approved weapons list I could find
Not designed for lightest touch LARP combat
If you are buying for a good looking prop, at the $40 price range it is not likely to be beat. If you are buying for a good, safe workhorse of a LARP combat weapon this should be avoided like a Toys R Us Nerf sword.
I enjoyed my time with the Kit Rae Exotath but she is going back in the morning, and after the couple weeks it will take to get my money back I will be looking to order a different Latex LARP weapon, but I will need to do a bit more research to make sure I get a good product and not just a good price.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Squad logo
{courtesy of Ms. E}
There's a wolverine, of course, and black clouds to symbolize the Day of Mourning. (Coincidentally, clouds in heraldry symbolize mystery or obscured truth.) There's also a scaling ladder and tower, which symbolize being fearless in attacking, and being on guard against enemies both spiritual and corporeal. The bend (diagonal line across the shield) symbolizes military victory and honors. The colors - gold, meant to show elevation of the mind, silver for sincerity, red for military strength, and black for constancy - show off the different personalities of our party well, I think. Finally, I found this nifty, steam-punk-y graphic art that I layered in the background in place of the traditional mantle (scroll work).
Ah, and of course, the motto - 'Fragosus Viam Ducent' - which is Latin for 'Crash leads the way.'
Monday, July 26, 2010
Patchwork Wolverines yearbook photos
Brainstorming for the future
Since our game has been on hold, I have been thinking about that I would want to run should I decide to dip a toe back into DMing. It is freeing to know that you don't have a deadline and can really let your imagination stretch a bit.
Setting wise, I really am falling in love with Eberron, but might need to retcon some of the Drow lore. I have no problem with the Eberron Canon of them being more tribal and surface dwelling, but thankfully Pg.197 of the Eberron Campaign Guide discusses a possibility of a split having taken place between the worshipers of the SpiderQueen and the Xen'drik drow worshiping Vulkoor the Scorpion God.
The Underdark version of Drow would be a nice surprise for the party as the character's will have not encountered this breed previously but you know PCs. They can't help but get a goosebump or 2 when their metagame senses start to tingle. I would love to introduce them to their first Drow via roumor and innuendo of townsfolk. Something like this.
Rumors: check results…
dc 10 should tell them that there is a vigilante in the woods
dc 15 should tell them that it is a ranged weapon user, aka bowman in the woods killing bandits
dc 20 the vigilante is thin, wears a dark cloak and has dark skin
dc 25 is accompanied by a dark large cat like creature
Hopefully, they will get the impression that you have some sort of Robin Hood or Drizzt out there, I suppose you could lead them as far down that road as you wanted too...especially if their characters start asking leading questions that would lead them to assume it was everyone's favorite good aligned Drow ranger.
Npc idea: Drow Ranger w/Displacer beast companion
When she decides to confront the party, they must roll to notice her,
Then to notice her pet…seeing only her will show a rustling behind her but not the Displacer beast.
I am not wanting her to be evil per sea but certainly she will not be on the pc's side nor good aligned despite the townsfolk's creative imagining.
Next idea comes with the party being sent out to investigate a haunting that has been plaguing a farming community in the Nightwood between the borders of The Mourning and Karrnath. The Farmers complain of there fields being trampled and hearing the sounds of a great battle during the night. They are too afraid to investigate in the pitch black dark but in the light of day they find discarded weapons, scraps of armor and cloth, footprints, piles of ash and puddles of blood but never any bodies. The party will eventually discover that this area is the subject of a nocturnal turf war between some Vampires from Karrnath and some Drow from the Underdark of Khyber.
next week we start back into our game, and I can't wait.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
On vacation, back on the 30th of July
sorry for the delay, team has been on vacation, bbqing, generally hanging out with old friends, getting a little air and sun. Twitpics posted on twitter on Friday nights from 6ish to 11ish WWW.Twitter.com/MiskatonicRich
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Never Split the Party!
Jumping into the story in the middle, we had just retrieved an artifact for Lady Elaydren d'Cannith from the bowels of the valves below Sharn. In doing so we managed to curry her favor; she informed us that we could check a message drop occasionally to see if she required our services in the future. After researching a map at Morgrave University, we made our weekly check at the message drop only to find that the scribe had been assaulted and a missive intended for us had been intercepted by some as-yet-unknown third party. We made haste to attempt to contact the Lady, only to be dive bombed by a courier owl. The scroll the owl dropped gave us directions to a hurried meeting at our usual inn. Upon arrival she provided us with an adventuring pack containing all the pertinent intel and equipment we would need for our new expedition and begged us to leave directly. Intending to do exactly as we had been instructed, our plans were nevertheless immediately interrupted by yet another Warforged-lead brute squad. Having been harried by Warforged at every turn and given the impression that these were agents of the fabled Lord of Blades, we worked quickly to dispatch them and make good our escape on the Lightning Rail. Our arrival in Sterngate was quick; we set out with a caravan as bodyguards, but the driver who hired us left out few details - namely, what exactly we would be expected to deal with. We took the job because it ostensibly afforded us some safety in numbers and a quick 25GP per member. We figured it would be a standard job, maybe some dangerous wildlife or band of brigands, but we were in for quite a surprise.
Upon entering a rocky mountain pass, we were stunned to see two large carrion crawlers and three masses of crawling hands....dismembered, animated crawling masses of corpse hands. This was unsettling to say the least. From the high banks, a squeaky voice called down "Kill them, kill them all my pets!" We had wandered into a trap set by a crafty necromancer; one that our ranger, Rithik, named j'Den Var (as he sang a version of "Rocky Mountain High"). Our bad luck started very early when we lost much of our initiative to the monstrous horde before us. Swarms are nasty to start with, these especially; if one starts next to you, it gets an attack. On it's turn it attacks everyone adjacent to it. If it hits, it afflicts you with immobilization, no save, until the end of its next turn. basically, if it gets next you and hits you...it will attack you twice a round and keep you locked down next to it. Nasty, to be sure, but you still can beat it down, right? Well...swarms only take half damage from non-area of effect attacks (although they take extra damage if you do hit them with AoE effects). Unfortunately, we had some serious issues with this, as our druid is the only one of us with AoE abilities (apart from my Thunderwave Wand), and she needed to be on top of them to hit them. Couple this with the fact that her powers are not "at will"s but encounter and daily use abilities, and we were in some serious trouble, with the druid as our only hope to handle the three swarms (which had bloodied our ranger on the first round). Hindsight being what it always is, the mistakes made by all of us are obvious - perhaps the biggest being positioning ourselves in two groups, with more then 5 squares between the Artificer, Ranger and Druid combating the swarms and the Fighter and Avenger dealing with the crawlers and the necromancer. The crawlers' poison and the necromancer's debuffs kept 2 of them locked down away from us, and my Artificer was having to use every bit of healing he could scrape up, including running up to the fallen and administering Potions of Healing to keep them in the fight.
We might even have seen the ultimate end of this coming; prior to leaving Sharn, we found ourselves flush with funds and were debating what magic items we might want to procure while in the City of Towers, not knowing when the next time we would have access to so many vendors would be. Someone made a comment that perhaps we should keep some of the funds to the side, in case we need to get someone a resurrection. I commented instantly that you never question the streak and you don't jinx us with bad mojo. It was foretold. It was Prophesy. As soon as we let our tactics slip, step one foot out of line...break one of the cardinal rules for even a second...someone was destined to break our streak.
Might as well be the newbie, right?
The fight was eventually won, but not before most of the party had been up and down like Weeble Wobbles and thankfully j'Den Var was well equipped. When we pulled into Darguun, we bee lined to the nearest temple to get our Druid back among the breathing. I made sure to stay clear of the caravan driver, knowing that if he walked up to me to hand me 25GP after failing to inform us of the situation that caused our Druid friend to meet the bad end of a raw deal, I would punch him square in his nose, John Wayne style...Pilgrim.
For a first character death, it was not overly traumatic, given that she was only level 3 and only was dead for about 15 minutes of play time. It does, however, teach the lesson and remind those of us that should know better:
You Never Split the Party.


text:
Officials overseeing the unwinding of First Leaside Wealth Management Inc. say they have raised $125-million so far in deals to sell substantially all of the failed investment firm's assets.
The monitor overseeing the firm's receivership has filed new documents in court updating the sales of various real estate holdings, and says only five small properties remain unsold while the vast bulk of other properties have been sold or have sales agreements in place awaiting approval.
Most of the money raised to date has been used to pay off mortgage holders of the properties.
First Leaside, based in Uxbridge, Ont., filed for bankruptcy protection in February, leaving 1,200 investors in the lurch. Many had purchased units in limited partnerships that invested in various real estate assets.
The firm managed 2,200 residential rental units in Canada and the United States and at its peak had about $370-million in assets under management. It owned retirement homes, raw land, four small independent accounting firms, a cidery and brewery in Ontario and stakes in high-tech startup companies.
Chief restructuring officer Greg MacLeod, who is overseeing liquidation of the assets, said in a court filing that First Leaside might be wound down under bankruptcy or receivership instead of remaining under court protection known as the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), which is intended to be used to restructure companies.
He said "it is entirely possible" that First Leaside will not seek any further extensions of its CCAA status after the current period expires on Dec. 11.
The Ontario Securities Commission has alleged First Leaside founder David Phillips and senior salesperson John Wilson committed fraud in raising $19-million in new funds from investors last fall without telling them about the company's financial problems.
Canada's brokerage industry regulator, The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, has also launched a case against Mr. Phillips and Mr. Wilson.
The company also filed a lawsuit in August against Mr. Phillips and his wife, alleging they diverted company assets to finance an extravagant personal lifestyle.
Mr. Phillips has strongly denied all the allegations.Report Typo/Error
Follow @JMcFarlandGlobeon Twitter:

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The crowds thronging the Toaster aren't protesting now.
I'm feeling positively Mediterranean this evening. And by that I do not mean that we are leaving our leg and armpit hair to grow long and free so we can sit upon it, that we are smoking as a national pastime or that we are waving our arms around a lot when we are talking. Although some of this is true.
Nor are we beating a live squid on a rock before tossing it in sea salt and frying it up with a squirt of lemon over a fireplace roughly erected on a beach. Although that would be nice.
What I mean is we are in a waterside bar watching the world parade past our table in the manner of a typical late night taking of the air so popular on the Med.
Young and old are dressed up, babies are sleeping in prams, teenagers are flirting with midriffs exposed and old men are stopping here and there to chat.
Elvis does not appreciate me referring to the mood here tonight as Mediterranean. Why, he demands, can't I write that it feels positively Adriatic? The reason for his protest stems from an innocent enough incident on a beach on the tiny Greek island of Paxos.
One minute we were soaking up the rays without a care in the world, the next a group of well-meaning villagers were rushing Elvis, armed with ropes, pulleys, metres of tarpaulins and buckets of water, in an attempt to return him to the sea, mistaking him for a sperm whale that had beached itself.
It has become known ever since among our tittering friends (and the people of Paxos) as the "Mediterranean moment". For Elvis, any mention of that turquoise body of water recalls only unhappy memories.
Not unlike the location of ECQ, where we now sit, sipping and eating and watching the world go by. When the East Circular Quay building was being erected, it attracted fierce criticism and calls for its construction to be halted. Accusations of greased palms were fired at town planners, complaints were lodged that beloved views of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and harbour from the Royal Botanic Gardens would be lost forever and that only the few rich enough to own homes here would get to enjoy this prime waterfront location.
Back then it wasn't considered wise to admit to have fraternised in what became commonly known as "the Toaster". In reality, ECQ and the other bars that followed, were packed every night with the rabble who couldn't afford the apartments and hotel rooms above but who revelled in this first floor open-sided bar, hanging over its glass balconies, admiring the view, knocking back cocktails and enjoying one of Sydney's first waterfront bars.
Before long the protest cries went quiet as people realised that, in fact, this building did a fine job of reuniting the Opera House with the rest of the city. There are waterfront bars and restaurants, shops and the promenade over which we now gaze as we tuck into fish cakes, fries and calamari and sip champers.
The Sydney bar scene has exploded beyond recognition since ECQ opened in 1999, yet it's still drawing the crowds for the same reasons. Good friendly service, great views, cocktails and those views. Not unlike Elvis who, on that beach that day in Paxos, created a scene people still talk about and, for that alone, a drink here remains a Mediterranean moment.
Caption: On the waterfront: sit back and enjoy a Mediterranean moment.
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My published articles are archived at iSteve.com -- Steve Sailer
October 14, 2009
Baseball v. Football
48 comments:
Have you ever heard about Coach Kevin Kelly?
- ironrailsironweights said...
People who've timed games with stopwatches have determined that the ball is in play for an average of about 12 minutes in both baseball and football.
- TGGP said...
Don't forget George Carlin on baseball vs football.
1. To my mind, the biggest difference is that baseball rewards a high IQ fan/observer with deeper and deeper levels of nuance and meaning, the more one pays attention. You can study the game of baseball with a passion for years, and then one day read an article that makes the game fresh to you the next time you watch (and indeed makes game 97 of the 162 game season riveting).
In my experience, with football, what you see is pretty much what you get.
2. Steve wrote "Fifth, baseball is more of a game of nature, of selection, while football is one of nurture, of training."
It is true that football players drill and prepare constantly, and have since they were young.
That said, no one is going to make a college football team, much less the pros, without being a statistical outlier for various genetic physical attributes. If one bumps into a football team in civilian clothes, in the moments before it dawns on one who this collection of massive meat is, it's clear that that they are not a random collection of humanity.
Increasingly, a baseball pitching staff is similarly unusual, in that, in civilian clothes, you might mistake them for an unusually white basketball team (being tall gives one better leverage in pitching, and a release point closer to home plate).
But, among position players, one will still find men who aren't unusually tall, muscular, or fast. I suppose the paradigmic example among current players is Padres second baseman David Eckstein, who is reported to be about 5'6", 155 pounds.
3. I hate it, but the classic : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_yq4L3M_I
Good commentary Mr. Sailer. However, while reading this I couldn't help but think of that maxim(Bill Bryson?), 'football is a game created by gentlemen but played by hooligans while rugby is a game created by hooligans but played by gentlemen.' In a way, social class plays a big part of who plays and watches these sports. For the social elite, baseball, cricket, tennis, and gold are perfectly acceptable to play and watch while the unwashed masses and working class plebians play football, rugby, and hockey.
BTW, why no mention of pointed headed and bespectacled baseball afficianado George F. Will? He's the epitome of the erudite baseball writer and he's conservative no less-well, as far patrician beltway types go. Compare Will to any of the semi-literate personalities in football, rugby, or hockey who can barely form and annunciate a multi-syllabic sentence. Look at football personalities for a glaring contrast; Mike Ditka, Lee Corso, John Madden, Bill Cowher, Bob Stoops. The only person from football I can remember that came close to being erudite was former college football announcer Keith Jackson. Here's a 'Whoa Nellie!!!' for you Mr. Jackson.
Football is just as intellectually deep as baseball. It just isn't as widely adopted by geeks because (as you elucidate) they cannot easily imagine themselves as high-testosterone football players, whereas many baseball players are skinny wimps (especially in the pre-steroid era).
You can study the game of baseball with a passion for years, and then one day read an article that makes the game fresh to you the next time you watch (and indeed makes game 97 of the 162 game season riveting).
The only thing even remotely interesting about the game of baseball is how you can use the stitching on the ball to alter its course aerodynamically - but that takes years [maybe even decades?] of practice for a boy to master*, and in games played in stadiums, there are only maybe four people in the entire stadium [the pitcher, the catcher, the batter, and the umpire] who can really see it happening - you can't even see it on television [although maybe hi-Def television might have changed things - I dunno - I've never seen a baseball pitch in hi-Def and Super-Slo-Mo].
In reality, you go to baseball games to relax, eat some junk food, catch some rays, and talk smack to the tipsy babes who are sitting all around you in their skimpy attire & sipping on their brewskies & getting playfully obnoxious with you - NONE of which carries over to the view-from-home television experience.
*Under the careful tutelage of his father - and most boys nowadays don't even have fathers.
I'm surprised that Steve would argue that football so lags baseball in sabermetric-style research. It's just not publicized by a single breakthrough guy like Bill James. It's proprietary info. Play design is so complex and you can bet it's driven by deep statistical research, not just trendiness.
- albertosaurus said...
Gee, Steve you are a movie critic yet you have failed to point out the obvious. Baseball movies are sweet, sentimental and often supernatural while while football movies are crude and brutal. Baseball movies sell hope. Football movies sell resignation.
Consider the movies of Kevin Costner - Field of Dreams ,Bull Durham, or For the Love of the Game. Or consider Dennis Quaid's The Rookie. Finally there is the Robert Redford classic The Natural.
All of these basball movies are deeply romantic and life affirming.
Now consider some football movies like Al Pacino's Any Given Sunday or Nick Nolte's North Dallas Forty. These are tough, depressive, noisy and even disturbing films.
I can't think of a single football film whose plot turns on divine intervention like Angels in the Outfield, The Natural or Field of Dreams.
- Steve Sailer said...
Right, that's what I was trying to get across in talking about nerdy quality control coaches and the like -- football has long been more open to hiring smart guys to be assistant coaches.
Peter Gent's North Dallas Forty is a classic, though of the Jim Bouton, not the Roger Angell, variety.
Seems like something went out of baseball when middle-class kids stopped routinely fighting with rocks, brickbats, and sticks.
Howard Pyle described these mass combats well, and so do diaries through the 1930s. Then, about the time respectable kids stopped seeing the milk cart horse whipped up icy streets every day, respectable kids stopped mass rock fights.
No, I don't have a point.
I donb't know if you gat UK Channel 4 but if you can you might find these programmes interesting.
Here is a Daily Mail link:
"...baseball is more of a game of nature, of selection, while football is one of nurture, of training."
This may be true from the coaching angle but not from the recruiting angle.
I would argue nature counts for less in baseball. All football players have to incredibly fast, tough, and/or big(with the possible exception of kickers who rarely have to the rough stuff). This explains why NATURE is crucial in football. The great majority of players are black, and the rest are big white guys.
But, baseball, because it is a less physically demanding sport, can rely more on the X factor(some impenetrable talent on the part of the player, which is part of nature to be sure, but elusive and subtle) or on intensive training. It's virtually impossible to imagine any Japanese guy playing in the NFL(with the possible exception as kicker), but there have been excellent Japanese baseball players in the professional baseball, both in Japan and the US. Japan has even beaten US and Cuba in the Olympics on occasion. Such could never happen in football.
Baseball is more a skill sport than a he-man rah-rah sport. So, athletes who train and practice A LOT on how to hit and catch the ball can do pretty well. The lack of physical contact is the great equalizer in baseball--just as the near impossibility of making the goal is the great equalizer in soccer.
Even Asian teams have, on occasion, defeated Latin and European teams in soccer. I can't imagine that happening in rugby or football. Soccer is a very physical sport but not the rough-and-tumble contact sport football is. And the near impossiblity of making-the-goal makes soccer viable for even a sucky team playing against a much better team. If goal size were doubled in soccer, it would cease to be 'the most popular sport in the world' since Germany would beat Japan 20-2than 2-0. And Brazil would probably beat Mexico 30-3.
Finally, baseball still has something in common with hockey(and Nascar). It is still largely white whereas NFL has become much like the NBA--black-dominated.
Though less physical, baseball can be just as nerve-wracking and suspenseful, especially when it's the ninth inning, 2 outs, and 3 men on bases. And, though most of baseball is pretty humdrum, there is nothing in football--not even the hail mary--that can match the excitement of the grand slam in the 9th inning.
And, because there's a greater element of chance and luck in baseball, there is a kind of poker game aspect to it. A grand slam by the team behind-on-points in the bottom of the ninth inning with 2 outs is like beating 4 aces with royal straight-flush. People don't just go crazy but pee in their pants. Indeed, the very look of the field--diamond--and designs of the uniforms make it look like a giant conceptual poker game.
It's also like poker in the passion for stats and in the art of 'reading' and 'psyching' out the other side. The battle between pitcher and hitter is as much psychological as physical. Though football too is about 'reading' and 'feinting' and 'fooling' the other side too, it all comes down to brute strength and speed at the end. In baseball, the mind-battle between pitcher and hitter(and between the opposing coaches)is like bluff in poker.
I wonder if Japanese love baseball because of their samurai tradition and also because the minimalist zen-aspect to the duel between the pitcher and the hitter. The ideal in a samurai duel is to strike the opponent with ONE PERFECT BLOW. European broad sword fighting is about brute strength and quantity--like football--, but the samurai duel--and certain more elegant European dueling--is about psyching oneself(and psyching out the opponent)for that single moment of truth when you fell the opponent with a movement which is at once ruthless and graceful.
One could also say the pitcher/hitter confrontation is like the one between matador and the bull, and that may explain why baseball has caught on in certain Latin countries.
It goes to show each nation imprints its own culture/values onto baseball or any other sport.
- RF Interference said...
Speaking of the East Coast writer's affinity for baseball over football, Thomas Boswell's 1987 list of reasons why baseball is better than football holds up fairly well after more than 20 years. I'd argue the claims about steroids are still partially true, given that no one gives a damn when NFL players are caught using. Alex Rodriguez gets outed by the feds seizing what was supposed to be a confidential survey conducted between the league and the player's union and he gets booed everywhere he goes. Shawne Merriman gets caught by the NFL and he gets a four game suspension while pundits talk about if the missed time will prevent him from winning defensive player of the year again.
"I'm surprised that Steve would argue that football so lags baseball in sabermetric-style research. It's just not publicized by a single breakthrough guy like Bill James. It's proprietary info. Play design is so complex and you can bet it's driven by deep statistical research, not just trendiness."
Baseball also has more rigid play and a greater number of static states from which to measure changes in outcomes and probabilities. Baseball is much more accessible to outsiders and has had a greater number of people crunching its numbers.
They may be out there, but I don't know of anything comperable in the football world to Retrosheet or Baseball Primer (now Baseball Think Factory).
They're both subscriber sites but have some content for free, take a look at Football Outsiders which didn't get started until seven years after Baseball Prospectus was blowing nerds' minds.
Again, maybe it's out there and I'm unaware, but I've never seen anything as cool as Fan Graphs' win probability graphs for football games.
There is proprietary stuff out there the common stats nerd doesn't have access to. Many of the big names from the early days of Baseball Primer and the like now work for clubs and no longer share their work. A couple teams have also begun using cameras to triangulate the flight of batted balls to study their fielders (fielding metrics being perhaps that last remaining frontier for statistical analysis in baseball).
"repetitious drilling was required beforehand to desensitize the infantryman and build esprit de corps."
Almost certainly incorrect. One attribute of phalanx warfare was that it required little training. As Hanson notes in "The Other Greeks," "Outside of Sparta, hoplites spent little time training for war." (p. 305 of my copy)
Desensitization to violence was achieved through the use of alcohol before the battle. Hoplites usually went into battle at least buzzed. Hanson also discusses this in TWWoW.
Espirit de corps was achieved in the way the phalanx was organized: each hoplite fought with members of his own phratry ("brotherhood").
Whatever you can say about hoplite warfare, it's widely accepted that it did NOT require repetitious drilling (again, Sparta being an exception).
- jamlin said...
Semi-Tough by Dan Jenkins is a very funny, even witty book on football. But, basically you are right on target.
"Football embodies the Western conception of the organized, decisive infantry battle that evolved, as Victor Davis Hansonhas documented, in conflicts between city-states during the Greek Dark Ages."
I haven't read Mr. Hanson's book, but I doubt that the Greeks invented that kind of warfare. Or democracy, for that matter. The Greeks just happened to be the first Europeans who left a substantial amount of records about themselves. They were the first Europeans to borrow writing from Middle Easterners. Were the Celts, proto-Germanics and pre-historic Latins fighting the same way at the same time as the classical Greeks? Probably.
While one can try to make the case that Romans learned something about military strategy from the Greeks or from the Aegean-descended Etruscans, one can't say the same of Celts and Germanics. When the Romans first encountered a Germanic enemy around 100 BC, battles ensued instead of skirmishes.
- Whiskey said...
Steve, total misreading of England vs. Italy fortified towns. England's main threats during the Dark Ages were Viking raiders, once the Vikings were repulsed by CONSIDERABLE Norman Castles (also handy for pacifying locals), various games could be played in the relative peace and prosperity of a people not facing invasion.
As Victor Davis Hanson pointed out, recently, the fortifications in the Mediterranean up through the early 1800's shows how Muslim raider threats (the coasts of Spain, Italy, and Southern France were deserted for this reason) kept the area in turmoil.
Peace is found through being strong enough to deter attacks by neighbors, either Western shock battle conquerors (Romans, Napoleon, Germans) or tribal raiders (Muslims, Goths, Vikings).
The better argument is that football is the outgrowth of peace, with guys whose main talent is teamwork not hand-eye coordination using that for athletics not baseball or golf.
[Anon-- Football is luxury boxes and part-time celeb owners like JLo. Baseball is a stadium of box seats. Madden is certainly a great communicator in football concepts. Will is just a snob.]
Football is far more complex (and changing) than Baseball, particularly the interplay between gambling/zone/man defenses and various offensive schemes. There is a reason Madden NFL is so popular. As Steve points out, guys like Bill Walsh, Eric Mangini, Urban Meyer, and Tony Sparano are known for a "brainy" approach to football bucking perceived wisdom.
- ricpic said...
The action in football is so fast and furious and the bodies are so tightly packed that it is awfully hard to see the intricate patterns at play. Baseball, on the other hand, is the premiere positional game, in which each player occupies a distinct space. The spacial and positional nature of baseball - for example, in a 6-4-3 double play - satisfies the deep male affinity for patterns as they unfold across space.
Steve's inclusion of a pic of a small portion of the Bayeux Tapestry in his article made me think of a great spoof of that tapestry done in 1944 by the New Yorker.
- John Seiler said...
One big difference is that the NFL players' union has never had as much clout as the MLB players' union. Fortunately for the NFL, that prevented the folly of the cancellation of the world championship, which baseball suffered in 1994.
On chemical enhancements, which Steve has written about, I was reading Ken Stabler's "Snake: The Candid Autobiography of Football's Most Outrageous Renegade." He writes how, in the 1970s in the Raiders' locker room before and during games, always available was a bowl of uppers, which the players popped like candy.
- John Seiler said...
One area where baseball and football seem to be equal is in ripping off taxpayers to build stadiums that would make the Roman emperors envious. This pushes up player salaries and owners' profits.
Southern California, fortunately, has been largely immune to this sports robbery, which is why we don't have an NFL team. Even though the politics of L.A. (but not Orange County) is high-tax, big-spend liberal, for some reason there's not much interest in blowing tax dollars on getting a team. The politicians want the money for other stuff. And now the state's broke.
All and more of this ground is covered in "The Joy of Sports" by Michael Novak, amazon link: http://bit.ly/26TQEy
Worth a read.
I've long lamented the relative lack of big money college football in New York City and Washington D.C.
College football is blessedly free of the two main reasons I hate baseball -- Yankees and foreigners. Can't you let us poor plebs have something to call our own?
Steve: For statistical analysis of the NFL see footballoutsiders.com.
- DCThrowback said...
@RF Interference:
Check out advancednflstats.com for in game probabilities of teams winning. Makes gambling in game on the live markets at, say, Matchbook.com, quite fun.
I have read/followed/breathed football outsiders's work for years and find it innovative and thought provoking - what correlates to a successful season is very interesting (like %age of third downs made the previous year and number of fumbles recovered). But Steve is basically right - 10 years ago, this stuff never existed for the lay fan. If the NFL teams have done work on it, it has remained "on the inside".
Rush Limbaugh was right about the media being more favorable to black athletes. See article below:
- Truth said...
Favorable? To T.O, and Vick, and Barry Bonds, and Mayweather, and Ochocinco, etc. etc.?
Football is more like big band Jazz, marching band music, or rap music. It's loud and in your face and very competitive.
Baseball is more like classical music, with the pitcher as the conductor. No wonder they played 'take me out to the ballgame' in NIGHT AT THE OPERA.
The funny thing about baseball is the asymmetry. In football, it's about 11 guys vs 11 guys. In a typical inning in baseball, it's one guy from team A at the bat while everyone else on the field(unless there are men on bases)is from team B. Everyone else on team A is in the dugout. I wonder if baseball is the only game as asymmetrical as this. The lone batter faces the numerous enemy. It's almost like he's a cornered animal, especially given the dimensions of the field. One guy has to face the entire field of pitcher, basemen and outfielders. And just behind him is the catcher. Yet, he wields the club or bat. He possesses the mightiest weapon. Though the ball is thrown at the catcher, there is almost a primal sense that the pitcher is out to hit the batter who must fend off the missile with his bat. It's like a swordman deflecting an arrow.
But baseball is essentially a pitcher's game. The quarterback is the most important player in football but he's the captain, not the maestro. The pitcher, perched high on the mound and setting the pace of the game, really is the maestro.
I wonder if the pitcher represents an element of aristocracy. He's the conservative force trying to keep the field free of brutish upstarts at the bat. The batter, in contrast, represents the rebel, the prole, the maverick. He's out to disturb the stability of the field. He's out to challenge and destroy the masterful power of the maestro on the mount. His goal is to hit the ball and send it out of the field and land it among the people in the stands and bleachers--to return the trophy to THE PEOPLE(like Robin Hood).
So, we root for the pitcher as the conservative aristocratic symbol and we root for the batter as the revolutionary proletarian hero. So, maybe baseball appeals to both our conservative and liberal side, to both elitism and proletarianism.
unwashed masses and working class plebians play football, rugby, and hockey.
Not any more. Rugby is a sport for elite prep school kids, and has been in the US for a long time. Hockey is also very popular among the WASP set, especially women's hockey. Harvard and Yale still have competitive men's hockey teams as well. In general lower class whites rarely participate in organized team sports any more - other than football to which they are usually recruited by coaches - they have other ways to stay entertained.
"I wonder if baseball is the only game as asymmetrical as this."
Cricket has been around a lot longer than baseball has. It is also "asymmetrical".
Baseball/rounders in England is where we get our version of baseball from. Baseball's "invention" in the USA is a myth; Google "rounders schmounders" and check out a book called "Baseball before we knew it". Our baseball is not derived from the English game of rounders; it is derived from the English game of baseball (right down to the "three strikes" rule).
There are "baseball-like" games throughout the world: Google British baseball, rounders, Finnish baseball (pesäpallo), brännboll, lapta, oina, etc. These kinds of asymmetrical bat and ball games are very ancient and widespread.
- Dutch Boy said...
My son's youth league days left me with a firm impression: a crowd at a Little League game looks like a PTA meeting, a crowd at a Pop Warner game looks like visitors day at San Quentin.
For anyone with a microgram of testosterone in their veins, there is no more exciting moment in sport than when a running back breaks free from the line, out into the open, for a long touchdown run. There's nothing like it in baseball.
(OK, I lied, a knockout punch is almost as good, as are some dunks ;-)
I find it interesting that the culture around football and baseball are so opposed to the essence of the games.
In football strategy and planning matter for much much more. Watch Peyton Manning pick apart a defense because he can guess correctly on what the defense is going to do. On most teams this role is played by coaches. They guess what the defense will play in a certain circumstance and call in a plan with a primary and back up options to be executed by the local commander.
Baseball, on the other hand, has basically no strategy outside of the duel between pitcher and hitter which is (almost) entirely between the hitter and pitcher. Ichiro on the Mariners has a plan and an approach at the plate but no one else on his team is involved. It's an individual contest.
The culture around the sports almost the exact opposite. Football writers talk about individual players making great plays when the reason for the great play is almost always misdirection that the whole team executed that caused the other side to pick a bad tactic. Baseball writers talk about team character and chemistry when success is almost perfectly predictable from individual performance.
Baseball has the reputation as the more cerebral game while football's reputation is that it's for knuckle-dragging meatheads and screaming proles but football requires much much more planning and intelligence to be successful.
"The English led the world in the development of sports precisely because they were so domestically well-ordered. "
The English also had an obsession with the Greeks and Romans in the 19th century whick culminated, in regards to sports, with the founding of the modern Olympic Games. Back then the Americans did whatever the English did and sports grew in importance from there.
- albertosaurus said...
The ideal in a samurai duel is to strike the opponent with ONE PERFECT BLOW. European broad sword fighting is about brute strength and quantity--like football
Gasp! More Samurai nonsense. Before you draw all sorts of conclusions based on Samurai lessons be sure you are talking about real Samurai not just those seen in movies.
Real Samurai weren't very good swordsman and didn't have very good swords.
The Japanese are a remarkable people. Both Iran and Turkey tried to model their governments on Japan - but it was the Meiji they admired not those silly Samurai.
The cult of the sword was a Tokugawa method of gun control. That need ended with the arrival of the Black Ships. Get over it.
"If goal size were doubled in soccer, it would cease to be 'the most popular sport in the world' since Germany would beat Japan 20-2than 2-0. And Brazil would probably beat Mexico 30-3."
It's not the size of the goal in soccer that makes the game low-scoring, anymore than it's the size of the goal in hockey; it's the impossibility of advancing the ball or puck from one end of the field/rink to the other unmolested. For an example of how easy it is to score in either sport when shooters are unmolested, see penalty kicks/shots, where the odds are awfully against the goalies (particularly in the case of soccer goalies).
- Evil Sandmich said...
My buddy is a baseball nut and I had him over to watch a football game and there was some oddball penalty that takes five minutes to explain and he was basically of the 'wtf?' attitude.
My reply was that football is a highly regulated game for a highly regulated society.
- Truth said...
"Real Samurai weren't very good swordsman and didn't have very good swords."
Well that's the first time I've ever read that, and I've practiced Zen for 15 years.
Speaking of Rush, I wonder what everyone thinks about the the black supremacist Playa's Union preventing him from engaging in a legitimate private transaction. Thoughts? Has something like this ever happened before?
- Cossack in a Kilt said...
Whiskey's Scotch-Irishness is showing again. The Normans, umm, were Vikings, who settled in France. Norman=Norseman/Northman. It was the Sassenach (Saxons, i.e., English of Anglo-Saxon stock) who fought against the Vikings.
By the time William the Bastard showed up (that whole 1066 thing), Harald Hardrede was dead, and the whole kibosh had been put to the Viking era.
But hey. That's not something most Scotch-Irish know, right?
Before you draw all sorts of conclusions based on Samurai lessons be sure you are talking about real Samurai not just those seen in movies.
What does "real" got to do with it? All that matter is the myth.
"There are "baseball-like" games throughout the world: Google British baseball, rounders, Finnish baseball (pesäpallo), brännboll, lapta, oina, etc. These kinds of asymmetrical bat and ball games are very ancient and widespread."
A lot of those are just regional variants on the anglo-american game. "Pesapallo" is very obviously just the English word Finnicized.
"Boys still like it. When my son was between 18 months and four-years-old, he couldn't step five feet out of the house without immediately picking up a stick and then brandishing it menacingly throughout his walk around the block."
Hm. Take a stick, say two and a half to four feet long, two to six pounds or so, and swing it around for a few minutes. Then tell me it's just boys who like doing that. I realized some time ago that my prediliction for swinging a stick around was completely innate and pretty universal among human males; there's just something fun about it.
That's why most men secretly think swords are more excellent than guns, and feel it is an unforunate trick on the part of reality to make guns so much more useful. A lot of people, falsely, think swords and guns appeal to men as phallic symbols, but the gun is much more phallic than a sword in appearance and function...so why was Star Wars, i.e. the triumph of futuristic laser-swords over futuristic laser-guns, such a huge hit? Because swords, clubs, light-sabers or whatever all agree with our instinct for the proper way of killing people. A sword is swung, as God intended. A gun is just...triggered.
"Anthropologists discovered that nomads who make their living hunting big game and attacking their neighbors don't actually work that hard."
I think modern anthropologists were scooped, just a little bit, by a fellow named Tacitus.
- Truth said...
"Speaking of Rush, I wonder what everyone thinks about the the black supremacist Playa's Union preventing him from engaging in a legitimate private transaction. Thoughts."
No black person "prevented" Rush from doing anything. A few players simply said that they would not play for him if he were made an owner. In a democratic society, this is legal. Subsequently, the group assembled to buy the franchise dropped him the ownership group. Again in a democratic society, this is legal.
Now Rush, in his inherent cowardlyness has not said one word of criticism to his "ex" business partners for dropping him. He knows that making enemies with these rich white men would have had consequences down the road; he has instead continued with his own tired diatribes against "the lib-ur-al me-dee-ah" and blacks.
A little off-topic, but if you choose to take up the question of the Rush Limbaugh scandal, then consider the following list of names at the Patterson Belknap Sports Group, which led the efforts to plant the disinformation on Rush's Wikipedia page:
Saul B. Shapiro, Litigation
Daniel S. Ruzumna, Investigations
Daniel C. Glazer, Transactional
Notice any pattern emerging?
In a democratic society, this is legal.
Not if they already signed contracts committing to play for x amount of seasons.
Didn't that Carlin bloke beat you to it? Oh wait TGGP beat me to it... Damn.
"But, among position players, one will still find men who aren't unusually tall, muscular, or fast. I suppose the paradigmic example among current players is Padres second baseman David Eckstein, who is reported to be about 5'6", 155 pounds.
Eleven stone sounds pretty beefy for a athletic (as opposed to fat) man of that height.
" wonder if Japanese love baseball because of their samurai tradition and also because the minimalist zen-aspect to the duel between the pitcher and the hitter. The ideal in a samurai duel is to strike the opponent with ONE PERFECT BLOW. European broad sword fighting is about brute strength and quantity--like football--, but the samurai duel--and certain more elegant European dueling--is about psyching oneself(and psyching out the opponent)for that single moment of truth when you fell the opponent with a movement which is at once ruthless and graceful. "
You have just repeated several samurai worshipping myths that I do not have time to destroy. Suffice to say the sword you think is called a broadsword isn't. Are you are one of those irritating grown men who really likes Japanese cartoons?
"Real Samurai weren't very good swordsman and didn't have very good swords."
If my memory serves me well I believe Bushido can be roughly translated to mean 'way of the bow and the horse' and there true expertise lies in those areas, in addition to lazing about painting and mooching off terrified peasants.


text:
Dehydration and inadequate supply of essential salts & electrolytes can be a major cause of concern during emergency situations like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc; and being suitably prepared for any such eventuality will certainly help. The following pre-packaged fluid and electrolytes will ensure that these needs are well looked after, the situation notwithstanding.
These ready to go packs provide you with a quick and easy solution, although travelling with them can be a concern as they could get damaged or start leaking. So, while stocking up these for your home can be a good idea, if you are looking at buying these for the outdoors or for when things get rough, you might be better off in looking at Powders instead.
The main advantage with these pre-packaged fluid and electrolyte based drinks is that they require no preparation and are ready to drink straight out of the pack.


text:
Is the PC Dead?
- Is the PC Dead?
- Will Smartphones and Tablets Kill the PC?
Will Smartphones and Tablets Kill the PC?
On the other hand, the PC and even a laptop aren't as portable as a tablet or smartphone. The first netbooks tried to make a laptop much more portable but ended up just being a smaller representation of a laptop with a smaller screen and keyboard which just frustrated customers. Smartphones are highly portable and most models today are optimized for Web browsing. They are also becoming more powerful. At CES, we saw the first dual core smartphones that will make these devices great for watching movies and playing HD games. NVIDIA calls these dual core smartphones "super phones."
Interestingly, one of the reasons why the question of whether or not PCs are dead is being bandied about is the fact that smartphones and tablets with dual core processors are starting to become as powerful as some PCs. But even if they get this type of PC power, the practical aspect of usability would keep these smaller mobile devices from ever taking over the heavy lifting role that the PC will have for years to come. In fact, even if the PC form factor is reduced to a smart client, as some have suggested, the overall design of the device with large screen and full keyboard will continue to make these types of products the work horses of our digital lives.
What the smartphones and tablets are good at then is content consumption. They 're optimal for use in what I call the "lean back" mode, where you may be sitting in an easy chair or in bed, using them to watch movies, TV shows, and browse the Web in this more laid back style of content access. Sure, you can do some content creation, like tweets, Facebook posts, and perhaps even longer form letters if you become skilled at typing on tiny screens. A lot of this type of content consumption is really optimized for what some call data snacking. Even if you can read a book on these smaller screens, your task is focused on absorbing the content, not creating it on these smaller devices. It would be pretty hard to actually write that book on even the best smartphone out there.
What it all comes down to is usability cases. The bigger fact is that we will actually have many digital screens in our lives. They could be on a refrigerator, tied to our food needs, or in our cars, tied to navigation and traffic congestion warnings, as well as on PCs, laptops, TVs, tablets, smartphones, or even in our bathrooms. We will have these screens at our disposal for just about any data, entertainment, or communications need we might have. It's how we use them that determine their real value to us at any given time.
Although PCs and laptops don't seem to be sexy any more in light of smartphone and tablet mania, they will remain the workhorse that meets our needs when content creation is our main task. The tablet, smartphone, and other screens that meet our purpose driven tasks will also become important products in our digital life, but will most likely be used for data consumption. So, while PCs may have lost their position as the darling of the computer world, it's my belief that they will continue to be quite important to a lot of people. As Mark Twain once said, and I paraphrase his quote, "The news of the PC's death is premature."
For more from Tim Bajarin, follow him on Twitter @bajarin.
Tim Bajarin is one of the leading analysts working in the technology industry today. He is president of Creative Strategies (www.creativestrategies.com), a research company that produces strategy research reports for 50 to 60 companies annuallya roster that includes semiconductor and PC companies, as well as those in telecommunications, consumer electronics, and media. Customers have included AMD, Apple, Dell, HP, Intel, and Microsoft, among many others. You can e-mail him directly at firstname.lastname@example.com.
More Tim Bajarin:
AI, Machine Learning Are Just Getting Started
Here's Why an OLED iPhone Will Be So Expensive
Why North Korea Should Worry the Tech World
Apple Toys With AR, But iGlasses Still a Few Years Out
The 5 Industries Most Impacted by Apple's iPhone


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Value for Money
Overall Rating
- 1 Kou tea review
- 2 Effects of Koutea
- 3 Where to buy!
- 4 Why Koutea!
- 5 Understanding How Green Tea Helps You Lose Weight Naturally
- 6 Green tea a miracle drug?
- 7 Green tea and weight loss conclusion
Kou tea review
Kou tea is one of the green tea makers (who are behind the well known pill called, phen375), who it claims to help in weight loss. It welcomes all the people who are really in need for the best weight reduction. This is one of the best and trusted ways to deal with the issues of obesity. It is developed from synergy of the weight reduction strength of four different teas that has shown the better results for loosing weight. Keep reading for review below.
Makers claim that it is one of the best teas for fat loss. While there are the risks of side effects through the other similar product, It is free from any kind of side effects. It is produced through the natural ingredients and those have been in use for centuries for various health benefits. So, you finally have the one which you needed at the most and it is capable of giving you the best results in your wish to lose weight.
Effects of Koutea
It is made with the combined better results of four teas for the maximum fad loss in a safer way. Since, it has been specifically developed to lose weight at the maximum so the major work of it to help the human body to reduce weight. It helps in minimising the excess fat that is present in the body in the easiest way. This is really the better and easiest way to lose weight with the better consumption. The anti-oxidants in it are made to work against the excess weight and that result a body to lose maximum weight with no side effects.
There are various other health benefits associated with the product that promises to have a better health in the best way. With the help of the anti-oxidants, it makes the things very easy for the fat inside the body to burn at fast rate. This process really matters a lot as with the better use of the same, it could give you to have your physique all set to look in the right shape. So, no more regret on lose weight failures as the best fat burner is here that really works in more simplistic manner. It can make you to get the right shape in a few weeks depending upon the availability of available fat your body.The 4 teas of which the best weight reduction ingredients have been put in the Koutea to make it more effective to lose weight faster are:
These are having the best ingredients in the form of anti-oxidants that helps in burning the fat at the best. The synergy of these side-effects-free teas has made it more interesting and one can think of enjoying the various benefits associated with it. Some of the claimed benefits by the makers are:
- Increase in the speed of metabolism.
- Reduce fat almost 5 pounds per week.
- Makes you less hungry so you can have better work on your plan.
- Loss in weight without changing food or any exercise habits.
- Decrease in the chances for any heart disease and cancer.
- Makes you to look and feel good.
What users are saying about best teas:
The confidence of Koutea makers have really looks making the best results as the users of it have found the optimal satisfaction with better health. The researchers have said many things about the effectiveness of it and other health benefits but it is the ultimate users who are going to make the real impact on the effects of it. There are various positive feedbacks from customers who are using it at the best. You can see some testimonials.
Some users of it has started finding the results in the use of just a few days and some are enjoying losing more weight for three weeks or so. This has really been taking the better interest of people from all the genre of people.
Many feedbacks have shown more impressive result where one has failed in losing the weight even after trying a lot with different pills and workouts. It looked difficult for her and she suddenly came to know about Koutea, with less hope in her she started using it and when her cloth size started growing bigger then she was amazed to see the result. After the use of three months she is now happy and enjoying the better taste.
Where to buy!
It is easily available on the internet and hence you can sit at your home and place the order online. This is really the easiest way to buy anything in a much secured way. There are various ecommerce websites that are selling this product in a better way. They are working on it and making their reach to you at the best so that you do not miss this exciting product to lose weight. Currently it is available at KouTea.com
How much to pay!
You must have invested a good amount on various programs that may have claim to loose weight and hove find less with more. This is not the case with Koutea as here you pay less and gets more results. It is easily available at the best price that easily comes under your budget and gives you the best result. There are various offers on number of packs so look for the best saving on it as well. The price really looks on lower side if its results are taken into consideration. The price for the different number of packs/boxes is as follows:
The price for a box is $34.95, it could be better for your trial.
The price for 2 boxes is $69.27.
The price for 3 boxes is $104.85 and you get the fourth box free. (saving you mammoth $94.95)
Why Koutea!
It is really an interesting fact that there are many fat burners in the market but why people should go seeking for it? The reason for the same is that it is an effective fat burner which helps truly to burn off the fat from your body. The extracts of it provide users the natural thermogenic impact for having a fast and effective fat burn. Along with the awesome results you may have any of the following in your mind which may help you in selecting Koutea:
- You will not require more to spend more money on any special training to lose weight.
- You will not require looking for the all new healthy food to buy in the supermarket.
- You may not have to spend money on clothes until you lose a better weight.
- You will not require carrying heavy workouts along with long run.
You may find this product easily on the online market where you will have the option for buying different numbers of pack with different money saving options. Also, you may expect a money back gurantee if you find nothing is going as you planned. This is the confidence of the makers on the product. So feel free to place your order at the best.
If you are serious about losing weight and boosting the metabolism overall then this drink is made for you. Many scientific studies have found better results not only in contributing to loss of weight but also in keeping other diseases at bay. Hence, it can be concluded that Koutea is an effective dietary aid for you.
P.S. Kou Tea is not available in stores.
Below are some resources:
Understanding How Green Tea Helps You Lose Weight Naturally
It goes without saying that tea has become an essential part of every nutrition expert. There has been a lot of research lately on this variant of tea and there have been quite a few facts that is has been unearth. Nutrition experts will agree that it does have many advantages when it comes to healthy living. Its fat burning capability is sure a boon for everyone who wishes to lose weight.
Green Tea – Origin
Of the four types of tea available today, green tea happens to be the one that's least processed as it undergoes minimal oxidation. This helps in preserving EGCS or epigallocatechin gallate that is the key ingredient for many of its health properties. Produced from the leaves Camellia sinensis, there are many varieties depending upon the region where it has been grown because the soil and climate also affects its characteristics. It is found in many Asian countries like China, Japan and Korea.
In fact it finds mention in Chinese history dating back to 4000 years. Known as Chia Jing or Tea Classic, it was used not just as a beverage, but also for its medicinal benefits. Its benefits included healing wounds, control bleeding and also regulating body temperature. Another book written in 1191, Kissa Yojoki (Book of Tea), mentions the benefits of tea for the body includes the heart. It prevents fatigue regulates blood sugar and digestion while also improving urinary and brain function.
Even today China happens to be the major producer of the green brew, primarily because it has the optimum climatic conditions required for growing and processing green leaves. Lot of Chinese provinces grow many of the teas available in the market are synonymous with the region they are grown. Junshan Yinzhen is one of the most famous Chinese tea and is grown in Huan Province. Zhenjiang Province also is home to many of the tea variants like Xi Hu Longjing , Longjing, Hui Ming, Long Ding and Gunpowder. Apart from these two, there are other regions and each region do come up with their own blend of green tea. With so much to choose from, it is not surprising that they are the leaders in the tea market.
Another major producer is Japan. It is locally known as Ryokucha in Japanese and commonly called Japanese tea was introduced from China by a Japanese Buddhist Monk. Even Japan has a variety of beverage available.
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Different types of Japanese Teas are:
- Sencha is the most commonly available green brew in Japan and the name is synonymous with its preparation.
- Gyokuro, Matcha, Mecha, Bancha are a few other varieties to name a few.
And other countries include India, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
Green tea is not a herbal tea
Looking at the growing popularity of green brew due to the health benefits it offers, many of the marketing companies have started developing what they term as herbal tea. Apart from the fact they are produced from herbs. In fact in most of the cases, these are not even teas, because
- they are not Camellia sinensis extracts. And since these are not the prescribed extracts, they might not have the same benefit as the green tea. So next time you buy one of these so called herbal teas, beware they might not be beneficial after all.
- These infusions are often called "teas" for marketing purposes but they are technically not teas because they are not from the Camellia sinensis plant.
While these herbal teas aren't green teas hence may not have the same health benefits as the normal one have. Hence be careful and do not rush just because it is claimed to be natural. Whatever be the product, it is always better that one looks at both the pros and cons of it and then make a decision.
Green Tea Vs weight loss
There have been considerable amount of research that has gone towards green tea which has resulted in major finding associated with it. It benefits in regulating sugar levels, body temperature etc. have been known from Chinese texts. Apart from that latest studies have shown that it is also a major contributor towards regulating body weight.
This property has made it a hot selling item among the fad loss enthusiasts. What green tea does is that it increases the body's metabolism thereby increasing body's fat burning capacity.
- Green tea has caffeine as one of its component which help in burning fat though their levels are not as high as one finds in coffee but it burns more energy compared to it.
- Apart from fat loss, it is associated with more health benefits like reducing risks of developing cancer, lowering cholesterol levels, stop growth of cancer cells, reducing heart ailments, reducing rheumatoid arthritis, tooth decay to name a few. Nutrition experts say that drinking 3-5 cups in a day also helps in regulating digestive systems.
Recent research findings have proven that there are numerous health benefits that come from including a green tea extract in our diet or drinking some of it every day.
Green tea diet is quite popular and very effective
First and foremost is the presence of vital oxidants such as EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate) that drastically reduce the amount of toxins in the body and in the process speeds up the oxidation of fats.
Green tea and its extracts have been found to have the capability to reduce fat digestion by inhibiting the required digestive enzymes from absorbing fats from the foods you are consuming; this has proven to be one of the most effective ways of reducing weight gain as even the fatty foods consumed are not digested. Most of it is oxidized instead.
It has also been known to improve the level of insulin sensitivity in the body
This helps the body to regulate blood sugar level effectively. This has the direct effect of reducing those food cravings which most people get while dieting or trying to manage their weight.
Some studies have gone ahead to suggest that it can make a good substitute for most of the sugary drinks people consume. Thus replacing a can of soda with a cup or two of green brew over a period of twelve months has been found to help a person reduce 15 pounds or save over 50,000 calories. That's some weight worth losing!
The interaction between the caffeine in green tea and the catechin polyphenols also present in the tea is thought to give it lots of thermogenic properties. Where Thermogenesis is the process where the body burns its fuel (fat) without producing chemical energy as the calories are released as heat instead. This helps the body get rid of excess fats and enhancing weight loss in the process.
Green tea a miracle drug?
It is also worth noting that green tea is not a miracle drug and for it to be effective, someone in need of losing weight should also adopt some lifestyle changes such as exercising regularly and eating healthy foods as only drinking alone will not provide the required weight changes.
Using green brew in lifestyle will without doubt give you a clear edge or advantage in losing the excess weight. Because of the numerous health benefits emanating from this product, it aids in fad loss and is one of those regimens that can be used by almost anyone; from those suffering from high blood pressure to people with heart conditions.
Looking at all the benefits listed above, one can be tempted to say that it is the wonder cure for everything? In fact many of the so called product makers will say the same thing but think again!
The ingredients that help in regulating weight can be the very reason why it should be avoided by those who are suffering from hypertension, hyperthyroidism, cardiovascular disorders, kidney problems etc. It is also not advisable for pregnant females and breast feeding mothers as well. This implies that before you go all out and buy the beverage, do care to consult your doctor.
Buying, Storing and Brewing Green Tea
Care should be taken while storing tea because by doing so you can preserve the tastes and its benefits for a long time. It should be preserved in an air tight can; this helps in preserving the aroma and freshness. Also store it in a cool dark place keeping it away from sunlight. Also keep it away from other aromas, because it tends to get other aromas far too quickly.
It is advisable to follow manufacturer's advice to get best results with your cuppa. Health experts suggest that you should take on an average 2-4 grams per cup. Brewing in a pot is the optimum way to do so because the leaves float on water; boil for 2 – 3 minutes and thus the taste gets simmered giving you the fresh taste in your cup.
For best results its always advisable to drink with plain water, however for some reason you do not like the taste of it, then you can add lemon, sugar and milk. But remember that the very reason majority of people drink is to lose weight, adding milk and sugar will only add calories and would not be beneficial. Though other health benefits will not be affected, still it's better that one gets used to that fresh aroma and the taste.
Also see Pu-erh Tea for Good Dietary and Health Benefits
Green tea and weight loss conclusion
- So it can be said that though research has proven that it is a good fat burner, it would be wrong to say that it alone will be sufficient.
- The age old adage of exercises and staying fit will go a long way in your quest for weight loss. Having said that, it should be taken as one of the medium and not the main element as many TV commercials and manufacturers may make us believe.
- It is advisable that you do research and consult your doctor before you take the make it as a part of your daily diet. Internet will also be quite helpful in your research though if after usage, you have any symptoms that you feel are not right or should you see any change in your overall balance, better get in touch with your doctor.
So go ahead and grab your cuppa, and see those fats melting away.
The best way to prepare, make and take green tea
It is recommended that you only use warm water to make your cuppa.
The ideal temperature should be 160'F-170'F, boiling water should be avoided as it tends to kill most if not all the helpful catechins in it.
It should be left to steep for anything between 2 to 4 minutes. If possible, you can add a dash of lemon in your tea as the Vitamin C found in lemons makes the drink much easier for the body to absorb.
One should avoid using dairy products such as milk with drink as this makes the absorption of catechins difficult. Even though one can take as much tea without incurring any health risks, it is advisable to take at least 2 – 4 cups of tea every day for maximum benefit.
It is also worth noting that beverage is best taken fresh; if you are using tea bags or loose tea, make a point of drinking up your stock within six months before it loses some of its antioxidant powers.
Check out this infrographic: 6 WAYS GREEN TEA HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT


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The key combinations need to be pressed at the same time.
- [C] [T] [space] - Gives pogostick, all keycards, and full ammo.
- [shift] [tab] - Pass through an unplayed level on world map.
- [G] [O] [D] - Will put your keen in GOD Mode and will give you a jump cheat.


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MOTIV Product: Sigma Tour
Accomplishment: I picked up a Sigma Tour as my first MOTIV ball and shot a 300! This ball is so reliable and reads the lane so well! THis is my go to ball out of the gate and that is why it is the Money Ball!
I punched a QZ2 Backdraft after I shot my first 300 with my Sigma Tour as a 1-2 punch when the Sigma Tour got to be too much. It was a good choice as I shot ANOTHER 300 - my 2nd in 5 months! I couldn't be happier with these balls and, more importantly, this company. They continue to produce great products! Great Job Motiv!
Joe Leingang - WA


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M'sian 'wrongly-barred' from Taiwan
A Malaysian who was stopped from entering Taiwan for allegedly having been convicted of human-trafficking is seeking the government's help to clear her name of a crime she says she has never been convicted of.
For the rest of this story and more, subscribe for only RM150 a year (full news access)
or RM420 a year (full news + full archive access). If you're already a subscriber, please sign in.


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An individual that can irritate you so intensely that you innately form a defensive response in order to deal with their very presence.
Jake: So me an Jay were sitting on the TA trying to see what were gonna do this weekend. Then White comes over talking all this BS and pissin us off!
Tim: Yeah, White's a real Pearl maker.
Tim: Yeah, White's a real Pearl maker.
by Painkiller2-3 September 08, 2008
The Urban Dictionary Mug
One side has the word, one side has the definition. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Lotsa space for your liquids.Buy the mug


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Jewel of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean: Jewel of the Seas Cruise Review by cheychey
Overall Member Rating
Jewel of the Seas - Eastern Caribbean
Destination: Eastern Caribbean
Embarkation: Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades)
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale and were taken to our hotel via Greyhound bus. It was quite a wait for the shuttle to arrive and our driver got lost going to our hotel but we were on our first day high so who cares! We stayed at the Hilton Hotel. It is a nice place but there really is nowhere to eat at the hotel and the choices close are only McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell. We decided to take a cab to the pier instead of waiting for the shuttle because we did not want to wait until 12:30, the cab cost us around $20.00 and we got to the pier around 10:45.
Embarkation was very smooth, our cab driver took us directly to the baggage area, we left our bags and went inside, sat down in the More waiting area for about 1/2 hr until they let us board. We were one of the first people on, so we dropped our bags and toured the ship starting at the top and going floor by floor taking pictures. First impression of the ship is very overwhelming! We can't get to our stateroom until about 1 p.m. so we take in the welcome buffet in the Windjammer.
The Ship: Every aspect of the ship is amazing, the decor is beautiful I loved all the glass and the fact that you could look out at the ocean from so many vantage points. The Centrum is a spectacular sight to see and is quite beautiful at night all lit up. There is lots of artwork to see so take a different set of stairs or walk down a different hallway to take it all in. Plenty of watering holes are available to suit every taste, I loved the Safari Club. The staff was very friendly and helpful and made my trip very enjoyable. David who ran the Karaoke in The Safari Club was funny and entertaining. The Cruise Director's staff was very good and all the activities appeared to be well organized.
Stateroom: I am very surprised by the size. I was expecting it to be much smaller with no storage at all after reading the message boards but for us just the opposite is true. The closet is the same size as the one we have at home, maybe a tad smaller and fit all of our clothing perfectly. The vanity has 6 good sized drawers and 1 smaller one for papers. The mirror has shelves as well, a cupboard with 3 shelves, 1 is for the safe and 6 open shelves on the end. There are also 4 side tables with drawers as well. The bathroom also has storage in the vanity mirror that was also sufficient. Our room overlooked the helicopter pad and was an excellent view and we got some nice pictures out of our window. If we are able to cruise again I would not get a room that was right at the front of the ship, we felt every movement!
Food & Dining: We were at 2nd seating for dinner which has its pros and cons. Pros are when you are in port you don't have to worry about rushing back to dinner and the cons, I found it conflicted with the activities that we were interested in, i.e.: all the games and Karaoke so needles to say we did not eat in the dining room except for the first night and the 2 formal nights. The food in the dining room was excellent and the service was fantastic. The Windjammer was our main dining experience and I enjoyed everything they had to offer. The crepes are amazing in the Solarium and my husband said the pizza was so/so. For the amount of food they serve in a day I was surprised by the quality. We missed the chocolate buffet but the Gala Buffet was amazing!
Dress: Most people did respect the dress of the day for dinner. I saw a good mix of tuxes and nice suits on the men and even some of the kids and very beautiful gowns on the women. I did not notice any jeans or shorts in the main dining room on the couple of nights we ate there but did in The Windjammer.
Activities/Sea Days/Nightlife and Entertainment: We had 2 days at sea, Sunday and Friday and they were full of activities, like horse racing, belly flop and sexy legs contests to name a few. We had no problems taking a dip in the main or Solarium pools or getting deck chairs on either sea day. I was also impressed with the pool staff in how they ensured that the no children rule was followed in the Solarium area. We thoroughly enjoyed the Safari Club and spent most of our evenings there taking in the Karaoke and the various games, The Quest was hilarious. We went to the Vortex for disco night, DJ Johnny is great. The Rosario Trio is worth taking in, they play very frequently in the Centrum and are a nice treat before dinner. I did not care for the Royal Caribbean singers so we did not take in those 2 shows but we did watch the comedians, gizmo guys and a wonderful Motown group called Spectrum. I took in Bingo the last day, it was $35.00 for 5 games -- the jackpot was carried over so they did another game in the evening $15.00 per card for a jackpot of $7900.00 only 1 number away but 2 others won. Rock climbing was fun, I did not get up very far but hubby made it to the top. You will not go bored on this ship!
Expenses: It can be very easy for you to completely blow your budget on all the little extras. The shops are very enticing and they have a lot of $10.00 items that add up very quickly, drinks are around $5-6 ea. I did get the souvenir glasses for the extra $1 as it does make for a cheap take away if you're going to drink anyway. The photographers are in abundance and do take good pictures, they are quite pricey though -- $19.95 for an 8x10. One way to avoid having to choose a picture is to not go and have any done. I have no willpower and bought too many of the pictures as I did not take my own advice. I did buy the shopping passport as I love a good treasure hunt and the Del Sol bags made it worth it. My 5 year old daughter loves all the little gems I got and the color changing rings were a hit with all her friends, I think I got 15 or so of those.
Days at Port
San Juan was a short stop only 6 hours long, we took the Bacardi Distellery tour, this was a complete waste of money! The tour was 4 hours and included driving to Bacardi waiting around for the tour shuttle to come, this took you to the visitors area where you got to watch a movie about Bacardi and walk through a museum (no pictures allowed) and you had to use a handset to listen to little blurbs about each exhibit. You do not get to see the distillery but do get 2 free drinks at the end. We spent about 2 hours or so there which was about 1 1/2 hours to long. After this we went to an old fort and only got 1/2 hour there which was not enough to go through 27 acres. We got to see a little of Old San Juan and take in a little shopping.
Philipsburg St.Maarten was a full day and we did a beach escape with lunch.The first couple of hours on the tour we drove around both the french and dutch side of the island until we got to the outdoor market in St. Martin, we had 1 hour to do some shopping and then onto the beach. The lunch was excellent that they served and the beach was fun and secluded. The waves were coming in at a good pace and we had a lot of fun playing in them.The tour guide was informative and funny but we did not get enough time at the sights.
Antigua was another full day and we took in the Stingray swim and snorkel, this was pricey $87.00 each for as 3 hour excursion, you can probably do this way cheaper on your own. It was a really neat once in a lifetime experience however. The stingrays are kind of like the puppies of the ocean, they swim between your legs or rub up against you it's weird at first but fun. We managed to get some good pictures with our underwater camera.We did a little shopping but headed back to the ship early nad relaxed.
St. Thomas was the prettiest of all of our stops, we did the Coral World/Magens Bay excursion. Coral World is great, we had about an hour to look around (you need about 2) to see the underwater exhibit with the Caribbean Reef Encounter and Predator Tanks,Baby Shark Tank, Touch Pool and many other exhibits.If you have kids this is a good stop for you to make.Magens Bay is beautiful, we had a bit of a rain shower so we did not get to enjoy it as much as I would of liked.The shopping is good here downtown and it is definatley a place i would visit again for longer to take in more of the sites.
Nassau was our last port and another short day, we did the Pirates and Dungeons tour here,this was the shortest of all our tours only 2 hours. We saw a couple of forts and then went to a real cool Pirate Museum. The museum was well laid out with great exhibits and the signs they posted were very informative about what you were looking at.This is another place that is great for children, if you go on your own it is $12.00 for adullts and 2 kids under 12 are free, it is also not very far from the pier. We also went to the straw market that has a lot of local wares and great souveniers to take home.
Ft. Lauderdale we decided to do the airboat ride at sawgrass because we had a late flight and needed to kill some time. This was a lot of fun, we got to see a couple of alligators on the boat ride and even held a baby alligator. The exhibits were neat and it helped to kill 4 hours that we would have had to sit at the airport.
I enjoyed every port we went to because this was our first trip that's why we decided to go with the ship offered excursions instead of on our own, we would not do this again. I felt that we were just playing the "hurry up and wait game" all day and as I love taking pictures there was not enough opportunities to do this.I would go out on my own next time and just walk around and take it all in at my own pace and on my own terms.
Debarkation went smoothly and we were off the boat very quickly as we took the excursion to the Everglades. We found our luggage very quickly as well as a porter to take it to the tour bus. The sea of luggage is an amazing sight with a lot of black luggage, if you need new luggage buy a different colour we had bright blue and this did help us out. I had a fabulous time on this cruise and would do it again in a heartbeat! I can definatley understand why people get hooked on this type of vacation.The ship did not feel crowded and I barely noticed the kids that were on the ship, as I have 3 of my own that I left behind at home this was an important aspect to us not to have a lot of other children around when you don't have to deal with your own. I did not get to the spa as I found it to be very expensive for what you got. the only bad experience we had was at the Ft. Lauderdale airport, the staff was rude at Northwest and at the restaurants behind security.There was no where to eat or sit,except the floor while we had to wait until 1 1/2 hours before our flight to check in. the flight was delayed 45 minutes and then we sat on the tarmac for about 2 hours while they fixed a lighting issue that their tech did not know how to fix so had to do it over the phone and our luggage did not make our connecting flight but we did get it on the next flight 1 hour later. That is the only complaint I have and it really is not that bad when you think of it. I hope this review gives you some insight to the Jewel, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Less
Published 03/11/05
Cabin review: F7002 Large Ocean View StateroomLarge Ocean View Stateroom (F) Reviews >>
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Friday's Washington Post provided quite a juxtaposition of biased headlines, stressing how many dislike the Republican gubernatorial candidate while the Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor is emphasizing positive issues, over two stories about November's Virginia elections which the paper placed on the front page of the "Metro" section. "Kilgore's Record May Polarize Voters in Va." declared the headline about Republican Jerry Kilgore which ran across the top of the "Metro" section in the Virginia edition of the newspaper. At the bottom of the same page, readers saw this headline over a look at liberal Democrat Leslie Byrne: "'Kitchen Table' Issues at Heart of Byrne's Lt. Gov. Campaign." The Post's online posting, which located the article on page B-5, instead of B-1 where it appeared in the hard copy of the Virginia edition, carried this slightly different headline, "'Kitchen Table' Issues Are Byrne's Focus," followed by this unctuous sub-head: "Lt. Governor Candidate's Pitch: Help for Head Start, Small-Business Health Insurance." The lead to that article follows.
Reporter Leslie Rein opened her story (online and printed versions the same) about Byrne with this inspiring anecdote, "Leslie L. Byrne likes to warm up a crowd with a story of a group of Brownies visiting her office in the House of Representatives on a tour of the U.S. Capitol: As Byrne wrapped up her explanation on the basics of federal government, one 7-year-old raised her hand. 'She asked if boys can be in Congress, too!' says Byrne, the first woman elected to Congress from Virginia."
Byrne only served for one term in Congress, replaced by Republican Tom Davis.
Though the headlines delivered a distinct slant, the actual stories were fairly balanced with room for both proponents and detractors.


text: Einstein Noah Restaurant Group (NASDAQ: BAGL), a leader in the quick-casual segment of the restaurant industry operating under the Einstein Bros.® Bagels, Noah's New York Bagels®, and Manhattan Bagel® brands, last week named Edna Morris to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Her appointment follows the Board's decision to increase its composition from six to seven members. Ms. Morris has over 30 years of business leadership within the restaurant industry, with a diverse background that includes public companies, start-ups, not-for-profit organizations and Board positions. Currently, Ms. Morris is one of the Managing Directors for Axum Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on education services and restaurants, where she leads the restaurant strategy practice. Additionally, she is Chief Executive Officer and a Partner in Range Restaurant Group, which owns and operates two CityRange restaurants in Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina. Ms. Morris also serves on the Board of Directors of Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ: TSCO) as Chairman of the Compensation Committee and Member of the Governance Committee. Previously, Ms. Morris served as President of Red Lobster and President of Quincy's Family Steakhouse. She also led the development and opening of a chef driven, casual dining concept, CityRange, while at Advantica, the owner and operator of Quincy's Family Steakhouse. In 2005, Ms. Morris was asked to serve as President of James Beard Foundation, a not-for-profit entity, where she was recognized for leading all aspects of the organization and restoring integrity, transparency, and appropriate governance. The first 15 years of Ms. Morris' career were devoted to Human Resources. Nelson Heumann, Chairman of the Board for Einstein Noah, stated, "We are delighted to have Edna join the Einstein Noah Restaurant Group as our newest Board Member. Edna is a highly respected restaurant executive with proven board expertise and a passion for the restaurant industry. We look forward to benefitting from her contributions as we position Einstein Noah for continued success."


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COMMUNITIES will soon find out if they have been successful in a prestigious competition to find Dorset's best village.
The brushes have been out and flowers have been arranged as proud residents ensure the lanes, bus stops and churchyards are looking spick and span for the Dorset Best Village Awards.
Organising duties are in the capable hands of Dorset Community Action and its band of volunteers and Magna Housing Association has stepped forward again to be the main sponsor.
Other organisations and businesses, including the Dorset Echo, lend their support too by sponsoring different awards, and local authorities get involved too.
While the competition recognises rural communities which are clean and tidy, it has also proved to be a catalyst for the improvement of facilities and village life as it encourages people to take pride and raise standards.
Organiser Rita Burden said: "In spite of an awful summer when heavy rain forced us to extend our period of judging, there has been a very good standard this year.
"It was a pleasure to go round and visit different communities."
Mrs Burden said judges weren't necessarily looking for 'chocolate box' picture villages but instead considered the general care of a place including the upkeep of facilities, and how it builds a community spirit.
Street scenes are marked rather than individual gardens.
There were more than 55 entries this year including for the people's project and the environmental champions award.
The competition is split into different categories with awards for best kept large and small villages, and the top hamlet.
Last year in a ceremony at Frampton village hall it was North Dorset's night with Pimperne scooping best large village and Tarrant Monkton winning best small village. Alton Pancras in the Piddle Valley won best hamlet. A birthday cake was also cut after the ceremony to mark 25 years of Dorset Community Action organising the competition.
East Dorset District Council is hosting the awards presentation this year with a ceremony at Corfe Mullen village hall on Friday, September 21.


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I was just going off about this on twitter and I felt it was worth posting about too. I downloaded the beta for FourSquare on Windows Mobile. However, the application requires .Net Compact Framework 3.5 on the device. At first, I figured that a new HTC HD2 running Windows Mobile 6.5 should already have the 2 year old version of the Compact Framework installed in the ROM. Guess what I found out – No .NetCF 3.5 on the device.
While that's just short sighted and stupid on Microsoft's part, the solution is pretty simple. All I need to do is download the CAB from the web and I'm good to go. Sadly, it's just not that simple. You see, the .NetCF 3.5 installer is a 33MB desktop installer that contains the CAB files inside of it. So you can't simply download it to your device and install. Now I'm really wondering what the hell Microsoft is thinking. Have they lost sight of the end user in all this?
Let's take a look at the steps to install the .Net Framework 3.5 on your Windows Mobile 6.5 device: 1) boot up laptop, 2) goto download page, 3) download huge 33MB installer, 4) install on desktop, 5) find 1 small 2.5MB CAB file left behind from installer, 6) ActiveSync your phone, don't use ActiveSync then you need to copy it to a MicroSD card and insert that into your phone. 7) On your phone, launch File Explore and find the file. 8) Run the file.
And now the steps if a CAB file was available directly from Microsoft's site: 1) goto download page, 2) download file, 3) install file. DONE.
I would really like to see some sort of explanation on A) why it's not already baked into the device ROM, and B) why the end user can't simply download the CAB file directly to their device.