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Throughout the course of her nine years on All My Children, Eden Riegel was impressive as Bianca. She won an Emmy for the role in 2005. After a recent disagreement with AMC, she joined The Young and the Restless, as a recast for the role of Heather Stevens.
At first, I thought I was having trouble disassociating Riegel from Bianca and that's why she wasn't working for me as Heather. It helps fans accept a recast if the actor physically resembles their predecessor, and barring that, then they should at least have some similar mannerisms so the character doesn't undergo apersonality transplant. The statuesque and brunette Riegel looks nothing like the previous Heather, petite blonde, Vail Bloom.
The more time passed however, I stopped seeing Riegel as Bianca and instead saw her as an unlikable new character. Bloom played Heather as tough and in charge on the outside, with a touch of vulnerability underneath. Her Heather wasn't afraid to go toe-to-toe with the powerful Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) and put him behind bars in her capacity as Assistant DA.
When her fiancée, Adam, cheated on her with a man, Bloom's Heather didn't cower in the corner and cry. She got mad and then got even by looking the other way while Adam's family tried him for his crimes in a "kangaroo court."
Riegel's Heather is timid, scared of her own shadow, and trying to steal someone else's man by parlaying her damsel in distress act into sympathy. Bloom's Heather was too confident to resort to such tricks, even after Adam's betrayal. The writers have done a 180 with the character and Riegel is the unfortunate recipient.
While Bloom had chemistry with Michael Muhney (Adam; himself a recast, albeit it a successful one), Riegel has none. She also lacks any connection with John Driscoll (Chance), the object of Heather's affection. She's stiff and out of place in all of her scenes, like she's trying too hard to fit in.
Y&R should save the big bucks they're paying Riegel and hire a no name who resembles the previous Heather, if not in appearance, than certainly in attitude. Or skip a step and bring back Bloom.
The other Y&R recast, Marcy Rylan, as Abby Newman, is fine in the role of Abby - if the writers hadn't so drastically altered the character overnight. In the span of a few weeks, Abby morphed from a sweet, shy, fifteen-year-old still mourning the recent deaths of her cousin and her step-dad, into an out of control twenty-something brat.
This new Abby is inexplicably obsessed with appearing naked in public on a misguided quest to land her own reality show. Huh?
Instead of bringing Rylan's Abby on like gangbusters, the writers should have taken their time easing her into the role. Abby could still have angst, but because of her grief, not because she wants her inheritance to finance her "career." This new Abby is completely out of left field, and Rylan's performance is borderline over the top and annoying.
When Rylan played Lizzie on Guiding Light, she was full of charm and sass as Lizzie schemed her way through life with a smile. She was adorable, not obnoxious. If Rylan can dial down Abby's sudden exuberant need for attention, and replace it with real emotions, she could start to sway fans to her side.
I'm not ready to pull the plug on Rylan yet, like I am with Riegel.
Days of our Lives was like old home week for me the last three weeks. The show rolled out the red carpet for some of its beloved former stars so they could pay tribute to matriarch Alice Horton and her portrayer, Frances Reid. Reid passed away in February at age 95 after playing Alice for 42 years.
Instead of rushing a shoddy tribute on air in a timely manner, where many characters' absences would have to be explained, Executive Producer Ken Corday took his time to plan the perfect farewell to the character and the actress.
It was an ingenuous idea to have an off-screen Alice take a turn for the worst, so her loved ones could realize the end was near. It played out much like a real family's goodbye, with friends and relatives returning from far away to pay their respects and say their goodbyes as she lay on her deathbed.
Corday brought back fan favorites Jamie Lyn Bauer (Laura), Maree Cheatham (Marie), Christie Clark (Carrie), Roark Critchlow (Mike), Bryan Dattilo (Lucas), Mary Beth Evans (Kayla), Patsy Pease (Kimberly), Melissa Reeves (Jennifer), Charles Shaughnessy (Shane), and Lisa Trusel (Melissa), in addition to recasting Bill Horton with John Martin. Recurring cast members John Aniston (Victor), Judi Evans (Adrienne), Bill Hayes (Doug), Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie), and Wally Kurth (Justin) also put in appearances.
The 80's and 90's reunions wouldn't have been complete without screen time given to current cast members Kristian Alfonso (Hope), Crystal Chappell (Carly), Lauren Koslow (Kate), Joseph Mascolo (Stefano), Peggy McCay (Caroline), Peter Reckell (Bo), Suzanne Rogers (Maggie), Louise Sorel (Vivian), and Alison Sweeney (Sami).
I felt like I was watching the Days I grew up with seeing all of the familiar faces grace my screen every day. For the first time in years, I was excited to turn on Days. Tuning in during this period was like reuniting with a long lost friend.
It was wonderful to see Missy Reeves return as Alice's granddaughter, Jennifer. Any tribute to Alice wouldn't have been complete without Reeves' comforting presence. Jennifer's memories of her beloved Gran were especially poignant and lent the shows an intimate feeling of eavesdropping on someone's actual grief.
The apology between long estranged sisters Carrie and Sami was noteworthy, as well as the reunion between exes Mike and Carrie and Bill and Kate. I also enjoyed the brief scenes between sisters-in-law Kayla and Adrienne and old friends Carly and Jennifer, and Jennifer's run-in with nemesis Vivian.
For me, the highlight of the entire three weeks was seeing the reunion of Kim (Patsy Pease) and Shane (Charles Shaughnessy) after 18 years. I started watching Days when I was nine years old because of this couple. Each actor returned a couple of times through the years, but always individually. They hadn't been onscreen together since 1992 and it was as if they never missed a day. They were pure magic together and I held my breath in anticipation for each of their scenes. Pease and Shaughnessy managed to wring anger, heartbreak, humor, warmth, tenderness, and passion out of every one of their all too brief shared scenes.
I was sorry there weren't flashbacks from their glory days so new viewers could understand what they were about, and wished a snippet of their infamous theme song "Friends and Lovers" could have been included as well.
Even though I would have liked Kim and Shane to share a kiss, it was appropriate to the characters' relationship they leave Salem together as friends to start over. It's too bad they couldn't stay longer, because I would like to see them rebuild their relationship on screen.
Corday skillfully managed to navigate these nods to characters' histories and incorporate their own shared moments in between tributes to Alice. Almost every character had a flashback memory of Alice and during her funeral was given an opportunity to say what she had meant to them.
Many members of the cast cried during their goodbyes, and I would like to think they were real tears in honor of Reid. I didn't have a dry eye over the entire three weeks of Alice themed shows.
If Days could be this good all of the time - and hire back a few of these much missed actors - it would be the ultimate tribute to Reid.
Lesleyann Coker is a reporter and monthly opinion columnist for Soapdom.com and a blogger for The Huffington Post. She is also the co-author of Boob Tube, a novel that goes behind the scenes of the soap opera industry. The book is available in ebook form at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/3 . She was previously a reporter for Soap Opera Weekly Magazine.
kimdonovan said:
Bring back Shane and Kim
Please sign this petition!
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Results 1 to 5 of 11
Thread: Yearbook Name Inspo Game
Hybrid View
June 8th, 2014 09:44 PM #1
Yearbook Name Inspo Game
Sooooo for those of you who didn't know, I'm still in high school. Ninth grade, to be exact. And as I was going through my 2013-2014 yearbook, it occurred to me how many of my classmates had truly unusual names.
That's where I got the neat idea to go through all the kids in my grade and pick out some of the oddball names I could find. I listed them all below (first names only, obviously), along with the gender each name was used on.
Steffi - girl
Crispin - boy
Aldrich - boy
Desa - girl
Kamaluonalaniualawe (yes, I'm serious) - boy
Josten - girl
Olinda - girl
Jerone - boy
Kaloyan - boy
Saeed - boy
Anupama - girl
Allyrose (not really all that unusual, but I've still never encountered it before) - girl
Indi - girl
Zen - boy
Merhan - girl
Abbra - girl
Leif - boy
Lorenzen - boy
If you happen to also be in high school, I would love to hear what oddball names you can spot in your yearbook. (Or, if you're not still in school, why not dig some of your old yearbooks out of the attic and see what weird names you can find in them?) I'm always looking for new ideas.
I would also love your opinions on the names above. Which do you like? Which do you dislike? Are there any you would use on your own kids? I want your thoughts!
Last edited by cocowhite; June 8th, 2014 at 10:09 PM.Julia. Teenberry. No kids for a while (obvi) but I want lots in the future.
Girls: Diana, Dorothy, Millicent, Mildred, Matilda, Teagan, Leonora, Henrietta, Afternoon, Prairie. . .
Boys: Leo, Leonardo, Michelangelo, John, Isaac, Isaiah, Samson, Abraham, Gus, Amadeus, Orion. . .
June 9th, 2014 05:08 AM #3
I'm not in school and don't have year books as i'm not from the US, so I used my Facebook friends instead. I know they're not all outlandish, but they all have an element of oddness.
Samer (M)
Lynley (F)
Stevie (F)
Hester (F)
Natalka (F)
Tahnee (F)
Laith (M)
Tobias (M)
Aynur (F)
Isha (F)
Dorcas (F)
Zeb (M)
Dorrie (F)
Lyndon (M)
Dacil (F)
Jaxon (M)
Cherryann (F)
Ganella (F)
Tino (M)
Cleopatra (F)
Garren (M)
Cindy (F)
Shalan (F)
Nikita (F)
Falon (F)
Zakir (M)
Jarno (M)
Gruff (M)
Zenith (F)
Suki (F)
Cacia (F)
Maresa (F)
Rohan (M)
Shaney (F)
Imelda (F)
Roisin (F)
Kennedy (F)
Dionne (F)
Sonny (M)
Connie (F)
Shontel (F)
Simone (F)
Kerrin (F)
Ailsa (F)
Monique (F)
Poman (F)
Nia (F)
Asa (M)
Zannita (F)
Lou (M)
Mathias (M)
Limara (F)
Coral (F)
Taryn (F)Girls: Ella, Imogen, Freya, Amelia, Chloe, Isabella, Hannah, Charlotte, Eleanor, Sophia, Jessica, Eden, Madeline, Abigail, Beth, Ava, Erika, Zara, Matilda, Milena, Tilly & Molly.
Boys: Oscar, Isaac, Jacob, Edward, Noah, Harry, Theodore, Zachary, Zane, Nathaniel, Daniel, Lucas, Mason, Benjamin, Milo, Adam, Reuben, Jensen, Micah, Archie, Ezra, Joshua, Riley, Samuel & Maddox
June 9th, 2014 02:24 PM #5Senior Member
Ansel Paladin, Augustus Oak, Christian Laszlo, Elliot Nile, Etienne Rhodes, Ford Remington, Julian Denali, Otto River, Ronan Jeffrey, Theodore Rune
- Join Date
- Sep 2011
- Posts
- 7,188
Esmae Sakura, Evangeline Coral, Hazel Amity, Heidi Snow, Hermione Mabel, Linnea Valkyrie, Oona Bliss, Phoebe Calla, Scarlet Peace, Thisbe Margaret
June 9th, 2014 02:53 PM #7Julia Catherine
history + Russian language student, lifelong name nerd, future mother
Mary|Catherine {Cat/Catlin}|Eulalia {Lou/Loula or Leia}|Rose
Anna, Louise, Aoife, Kira, Charlotte, Caroline, Margaret, Nadia
Luke|Alexander {Sasha or Sander}| James {Jamie} | Nathan
Joseph, David, Quentin, August, Ira, Francis, Eliot, Leo, Erik, Truitt
long | lists
June 9th, 2014 04:05 PM #9
I found:
Zaina (g)
Hugo (b)
Chiara (g)
Deidra (g)
Sabine (g)
Irving (b)
Xiomara (g)
Denis (b)
Reo (b)
Mario (b)
Alia (g)
Neidyn (g)
Darien (g)
Mojdeh (g)
Kyla (g)
Belinda (g)
Cullen (b)
Fatma (g)
Kaiki (b)
Rahul (b)
Maheen (g)
Milica (g)
Quentin (b)
Chanah (g)
Glendita (g)
Reilee (g)
Michayla (g)
Athena (g)
Jarret (b)
Alic (b)
Tustin (b)
Wynn (b)
Ljubinka (g
Thamara (g)
Leyzman (b)
Maylin (g)
Alisha (g)
Kaito (b)
Avi (g)
Hunter (g)
Emerson (b)
Josyana (g)
Maisie (g)
Jogirdas (b)
Bowen (b)
Hayden (b)
Victoire (g)
Daraly (g)
Courtlyn (g)
Ilona (g)
Mickaella (g)
Surin (g)
Mick (g)
Moni (b)Tatum Alyssa Conway ♥ Harrison Michael Graff
| Delphina | Asia | Etta | Ella | Piper | Cooper | Connor | Wyatt | Colt | Tannen | Flynn |
Please Vote

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Your search returned 19 cottages.
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" Brand: Maclaren / "
I've been using Johnson's Top to Toe Body wash on my twin boys since they were born. When in hospital after their birth this was used on them and it was recommended by the nurses on the post natal ward that we use this when we got home. As my boys grew older they developed eczema and when I took them to the doctors the doctor suggested I only use the mild "All in one" body washes that we had been using as babies rather than other baby bath products which could have irritated their skin. I never really thought about changing brands until one day whilst shopping in Asda I went to stock up on my usual baby body wash and noticed the shelf was empty of the Johnson's product. Because we literally had no baby body wash left in the house I begrudgingly bought the Asda Little Angels Head to Toe Body Wash which was just an Asda own brand version of the Johnson's product.
***Asda Little Angels Head to Toe Body wash***
The body wash is described on the packaging as "Caring for baby little angels head to toe wash has been specially formulated with all your baby's needs in mind. This mild and gentle formulation can be used on baby's delicate hair and body to more cleanse and refresh. Caring for all the family this gentle formulation can be used by all the family as a hair and body wash."
The body wash is suitable for use from birth. My hospital actually recommended that I use this type of all-over body wash to use on my boys when they were brought out of hospital.
The body wash is dermatologically tested. It is suitable for use on hair and also on skin.
The Little Angels Head to Toe Body wash is part of the Asda Little Angels branded baby range. Therefore this product is only available from Asda stores and online from www.asda.com .
The Asda Little Angels Head to Toe Body wash is excellent value it is £1.47 for 750ml or you can buy two 750ml bottles for £2.50. If you compare this to the Johnson's Top to Toe wash this is a quite a big saving as the Johnson's product is £2.55 for a smaller 500ml bottle.
***Our Experience***
I first used this on my sons when they were 18 months old. I had been using the comparable branded Johnson's product since birth where I had been using on their hair and bodies to bath them daily.
The body wash comes in a 750ml plastic bottle which is bell shaped (wider at the bottle than the top). The bottle has a flip top lid which reveals a small hole for you to tip the bottle up and squeeze to dispense the product out of. I personally think the bottle is the main disadvantage of this bottle as it is not practical. The 750ml bottle is large and heavy when full of body wash. Therefore when you are bathing children and have wet hands the bottle quite easily slips out of your hand and there was nearly an occasion when I squashed one of my sons with the bottle. It also means a little too much product squirts out of the bottle as you do not have much control when you tip the bottle over which meant there is quite a lot of wastage. Thankfully we still had the empty Johnson's body wash bottle in our indoor recycling stash which has a pump dispenser lid so I poured this body wash into this bottle. This makes the product easier to use as a parent bathing two toddlers and less of a falling hazard!!
When in the bottle the liquid is clear with a slightly light blue tint. However when dispensed it has a completely clear appearance. The scent of the body wash is gorgeous and smells very much like you imagine a baby to smell. This is a soft, sweet slightly powdering floral scent. The scent is very mild although I do feel that the product is a little more scented than the comparable Johnson's product. This concerned me initially because of my boys' sensitive skin however it has not proved to be an issue.
When dispensed the product is quite runny therefore you need to ensure you apply it to your child's skin immediately as it tends to run out of your hands. When applied to skin it has a very soft silky and slimy feel to it but it does require quite a lot of effort for it to lather on skin. The product is very easy to rinse off a child's skin and I find after use my boys have very soft silky feeling wet skin.
When applied to hair it lathers a lot easier but this does make it a little more difficult to rinse and you need to rinse hair thoroughly to ensure you get all of the product out. This is a very gentle and mild wash that does not seem to sting eyes during hair washing. I use my hand to shield my boys' eyes as I rinse their hair but there have been occasions when water has got into their eyes. They never cry or have red irritated looking eyes when this has happened using this product.
Once bathed and dried my boys skin has a very delicate sweet scent very much like a powdery talc type smell. When I sniffed their hair I found this scent was more noticeable however it was not overly strong. Immediately after bathing my boy's skin had a very soft smooth feel to it however I was concerned that because we had changed body wash product it might affect their eczema. One of my boys seems to suffer more with eczema and the flare ups can are totally random and I usually notice a build-up of skin feeling dry and then redness and blotchy lumps appear which my boys scratch at. Since using over the last 4 months I have found the flare ups are occurring less and both boys skin feels a lot more silky and moisturised. My mum has even noticed this and commented that my son who suffers worse actually feels "less scaly" which is how his skin feels when the eczema is flaring up.
For use on hair I do feel this is great to use when children have sensitive skin or do not have much hair but personally I feel that because my sons' hair is becoming thicker we are finding it is becoming a little fly away when we are just using the Little Angels Head to Toe Body wash on it. When I used on their hair daily for a week, their white blonde hair which is thick but fine did look very fuzzy and there were a number of bad hair days when they had been wearing a hat or sitting in their car seat for long periods. As a result I have started using a baby shampoo every other day to help control their hair a little more which seems to work well alongside the Head to Toe wash.
The 750ml size bottle contains a lot of body wash and because the product lathers reasonably well it is very economical. I have switched the product into a more convenient container for dispensing however I still have only used only three quarters of my bottle which I started using over 4 months ago. This is extremely economical considering the bottle only cost me £1.47 and I have been using this daily on two children. I probably use a 50p piece per child on their body and around a 20p piece size on hair and still have such a large amount left.
I would definitely recommend this product to other parents especially those who have concerns about using certain products because their child has skin problems or sensitive skin. The Asda Little Angels Head to Toe wash is almost identical to the Johnson's Top to Toe wash (which our hospital recommended to bath the boys in from birth) only has slightly more of a fragrance. The body wash is suitable to use on body and hair and leaves your baby or toddlers skin soft smooth and clean.
Not only is the Johnson's Top to Toe Body wash almost 3 times as expensive The Asda Little Angels product seems to be more sensitive and kinder to my son's skin. In fact since using this product I have noticed his skin seems to be more moisturised and the eczema flare up's occur a lot less meaning he is not scratching at his skin.
A great product for even the most sensitive of skin!
When I received an Asda Little Angels Changing bag to sample a small version of this product was inside and I liked it so much I have now switched over to his brand for my son's essential bath time product.
The packaging has recently all been changed by Asda and rebranded and the "Little Angels" range is based around soft pastels and images of butterflies and flowers making in appealing to mummies! The head to toe wash is contained in a large 500ml translucent bottle with a flip top lid.
The product is a clear liquid and only a small amount is required to create a fragrant bubbly bath for your little one.
Having only used Johnsons Top to Toe to be able to compare with this product I do find that the Little Angels version is much better and much more fragrant. When I bath my son I like him to come out smelling sweet and clean as I spend so much of the day getting used to the smell of poo and baby sick it is a welcome change.
The product is often on offer with 2 for £2 across the Little Angels toiletry range and this really does represent excellent value for money.
I tend to use this for my son's morning or daytime baths and find that the smell does linger for most of the day which is a key benefit for me, what is more is that only a small amount is required to make a lovely bubbly bath. The product is soft and gentle on even a newborns skin and is hypoallergenic.
I am converted to a real Little Angels mum now and after using a number of Asda own products I am happy to switch over from the leading brands.
I do not have a baby but I bought this Asda Little Angels 'Head To Toe Wash' because I was looking for a mild bubble bath/shower gel for myself and I wondered if this would suffice. I noticed it in the baby section at Asda and was impressed that the product was very cheap for a 750ml sized bottle. I also noticed the product was branded with an award stamp - specifically the Mother & Baby Awards 2009 as Retailer of the Year. This prompted me to purchase the product.
The 'Head To Toe Wash' comes in a clear, recyclable bottle shaped like the torso of a small baby. It even has a cute little bum! It is a large 750ml sized bottle with front and back labels. The front label tells me that the product has a "no tears formula" and is also "hypoallergenic". It also claims to "gently cleanse". Further information is printed on the reverse of the bottle including more about the product, full directions, ingredients, consumer rights and contact information.
There are a few impressive things about the 'Head To Toe Wash' as described in the product information. This inlcudes the fact that the liquid has a gentle formulation which has been dermatologically tested, which means it's fantastic for sensitive skins and shouldn't cause any irritation. It is also paediatrition approved, for those using the product for what it's actually designed for!
The wash is transparent and it is quite thick and sticky in consistency and slow to move around when you tip the bottle. I initially begain using this as a bubble bath as I wanted somthing that wouldn't dry out my skin too much. If you squeeze it into running water it kind of glugs out in big dollops. As a bubble bath it's ultra mild, creating very slight and thin bubbles that don't last long. However, I then started using the wash as a replacement shower gel and found that in more concentrated amounts it gets very foamy and feels smooth and luxurious over the skin. I think it's entirely appropriate for an adult to use this wash in this way and my skin is always left feeling renewed, totally clean and refreshed. The product is definitely good enough to provide and adult with a decent and thorough clean yet it is so mild that my skin really ends up feeling as soft as a newborn baby's.
The gel has a very faint but pleasant fragrance. It's like a talcum powder aroma with essences of meadow flowers and summer air. It is a clean and clear scent that reminds me a little of the way the Simple range of products smell. The fragrance is neither manly nor girly so I'd totally suggest this as an ideal product for males with sensitive skin issues.
After finding this so effective in my bath I started squeezing it into my hands whenever I was washing up in the bathroom. This way the 'Head To Toe Wash' is doubling as my regular handwash. Again, it's so mild that although my hands are left clean and fresh the skin is left feeling bouncy and not dried out. It's entirely effective used in this way and it's very economically friendly! You only need a tiny drop of the gel to wash the whole of your hands.
Furthermore I have started to use this as a facial wash because it's so mild and leaves my skin with a youthful fluffiness that I am loving. As it's made for babies it doesn't sting the eyes. It removes all my make-up minus heavy mascara. It leaves my facial skin feeling cool and clean. It doesn't cause any redness or stir up any acne. It's a brilliant find in this sense as it is way cheaper than any facial washes on the market!
You can also use it on babys' hair and I'm tempted to try it as a shampoo as it's so impressive in every other department!
I can not reccomend this product enough and would have to say it's my find of the year! I absolutely love it and buy it regularly along with it's sister product, the Bedtime Bath gel. The product is currently £1.47 or you can buy as part of a 2 for £2 deal. This deal includes products in the Little Angels range.
Buy online or in store:
After trying another supermarket head to toe wash, which I found a fabulous product, I decided to give the Asda Little Angels head to toe wash a go with my son, before I have even finished the Tesco bottle! Asda sell this in a 750ml bottle for £1.45 but I bought mine on a 2 for £2 multibuy offer. The Tesco equivalent is £1.04 for a 500ml bottle or 2 for £2 when on offer, so the Asda version seemed better value.
The frosted white coloured, teardrop shaped plastic bottle is widely recyclable. The aqua coloured flip top cap may not be - so best to check!
I use 2 to 3 squirts under warm running water to create an adequate amount of bubbles giving of a delicate, fresh clean baby product aroma. It is a pleasant smell. I clean my baby's delicate skin with a natural sponge with a small squirt of this wash, which more than lathers well over his tiny body! I then wash his hair with the same product which lathers well and rinses out easily.
The end results are fine. A clean, refreshed and fresh smelling little boy, with squeaky clean shiny locks.
The beauty of this product is that it cleans both body and hair, so only requiring one bottle in the bathroom. I do feel that the bottle would benefit from a pump action dispenser like the Tesco version has as this would make for easier one handed dispensing and also a more measured amount so that the bottle would last longer.
I do think that it is great value for the price and would buy it again on a similar multibuy offer but I definitely prefer the convenience of the Tesco bottle and the fragrance of the Tesco version.
Asda / baby bodycare


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How to lace shoes: lattice
Learning to tie shoelaces is an important developmental milestone for kids, but what about lacing up your shoes? Did you know there are more than 30 different ways of lacing shoes? Try teaching your kids this fancy lattice style of shoe lacing.
Number of players:
What you need:
- 1 x pair of lace up shoes with at least four pairs of eyelets
Watch the how-to video below to find out how to do the lattice shoe lacing method.
Lattice lacing
Start with the lace running straight along the bottom pair of eyelets, inside to outside.
Cross the ends over each other and run then diagonally up to the fourth set of eyelets up. (Skip two sets.)
Now run each end straight up, on the inside, to the next eyelet up.
Cross the ends over and go diagonally down, feeding the laces from outside in, through the third lower set (skip two).
Run both ends straight up, on the inside to emerge through the next set of eyelets.
Cross over and go diagonally up to feed the laces through the top eyelets, from inside to outside.
Find more how to videos on Kidspot:
- How to make kids cubbies
- How to turn trash to treasure
- Kids string games
- How to make paper planes
- How to make great ocean crafts
- How to halloween
- How to garden with the kids
- How to have fairy fun
- How to - everything with babies
- How to make great art projects
- Active play for kids
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From OpenWetWare
(→Kai Gene sizes)
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[[IGEM:Harvard/2006/Cyanobacteria/Notebook/2006-8-1#Plan_for_the_next_few_days | Click here for our current agenda]]
[[IGEM:Harvard/2006/Cyanobacteria/Notebook/2006-8-1#Plan_for_the_next_few_days | Click here for our current agenda]]
==BioBricks Used==
==BioBricks Used==
Revision as of 15:40, 27 October 2006
Welcome to the lab notebook for the Cyanobacteria project! The goal of our team, composed of four members, is to reconstruct the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator system into E. coli. Three proteins, KaiA, B, and C, have been shown to have an in-vitro phosphorylation state oscillation (Nakajima et al. 2005) by transcriptional-translational independent methods. If this system can be reconstituted in E. coli, there are two important applications:
- Synthetic Biology: Creating a functional, oscillating set of proteins is the next logical step from the synthetic "repressilator" system engineered by Elowitz et al. (2000). Although a good proof of concept, the "repressilator" lacks the stability needed from a robust oscillator such as the naturally evolved cyanobacterial oscillator. This robust oscillator could prove useful in an eventual biocircuit.
- Circadian Biology: Cyanobacteria are the simplest model organisms for the study of circadian oscillation. Although circadian oscillation has been fairly well characterized, less is understood at the molecular level. By porting the oscillation system into E. coli, one can begin to understand more precisely the pathways involved in the genomic oscillation of cyanobacteria.
For more background information on the ciracadian system, please check out our "Literature" section. Otherwise, day-to-day work can be found under the "Lab Notebook" tab; we will post major results of our work and links to the days as they become available. If you have questions or comments, feel free to contact us: information is located at the main Harvard iGEM 2006 page. Thanks!
Zhipeng, Hetmann, Dave, and Jeff
Update 10/27/06: We believe we can express the three proteins into e. coli, and that there is interaction between A+C and possible interaction between B+C. See the Lab Notebook for more information.
Outline of Findings and Signifigant Dates
- 07/05/06: The incubator for growing up our cyanobacteria is complete; we have cultures growing! Link
- 07/10/06: Some computer modeling has been done to see the effect of multiple unsyncronized clocks on phosphorylation state output. Link
- 07/21/06: Upon having trouble with site-specific mutagenesis on the KaiA and KaiBC operons from the cyanobacterial genome, we have decided to pursue synthesis of the constructs in parallel with continued extraction attempts. Link
- 08/01/06: Preliminary success with site-specific mutagenesis. Link
- 08/05/06: Promoter leakness tests come out negative. May have to use low-copy plasmids if we want good control of protein expression in Top10F. Link
- 08/11/06: We are moving to the synthetic KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC for future work. Link
- 08/30/06: We successfully made the first construct, Lac+RBS+KaiC. Link
- 09/01/06: Using the newly developed ligation protocol, we have successfully repeated Lac+RBS+KaiC from 08/30/06 and made Lac+RBS+KaiA. Link
- 10/21/06: Successfully made Lac+RBS+KaiB and Lac+RBS+KaiA+Lac+RBS+KaiC. Link
- 10/24/06: Successfully made Lac+RBS+KaiA+Lac+RBS+KaiC. Link
- 10/25/06: Constructs for Stage I have been completed; ready to move to Stage I of Western Blotting, to verify expression of KaiC and interaction of KaiA and KaiB with KaiC. Link
- 10/27/06: Preliminary data indicates that the Kai proteins are being expressed in e. coli and that there is interaction between the three proteins! Link
Construct Planning
From VF2 to VR (BioBrick primers):
- KaiA + J04500: 1406 bp
- KaiB + J04500: 859 bp
- KaiC + J04500: 2110 bp
See image at right for our long-term project outline.
Click here for our current agenda
BioBricks Used
- <bbpart>BBa_J04450</bbpart>
- RFP device
- Insert size: 1069bp
- [pSB1A2]
- High-copy, AmpR
- Size: 2079bp
- <bbpart>BBa_J04500</bbpart>
- Lac promoter + RBS
- Insert size: 220bp
- [pSB1AK3]
- High-copy, AmpR, KanR
- Insert size: 3189bp
- [pSB4A3]
- Low-copy, AmpR
- Insert size: 3339 bp
- <bbpart>BBa_R0010</bbpart> + <bbpart>BBa_E0241</bbpart>
- GFP device
- Insert size: 995 bp
- <bbpart>BBa_J04450</bbpart>
- Project proposal (week 2)
- Week 3 progress update
- Built incubator and obtained WH8102, PCC7942, and PCC6803 strains
- Week 4 progress update
- Week 5 progress update, upd. 10:10 7/17
- Week 6 progress update, upd. 10:02 7/24 HH
- Week 7 progress update
- Week 8 progress update
- Week 9 progress update
- Week 10 progress update, 50% complete
- Final Presentation (incomplete) --old
- Final Presentation (complete) --old
- Jamboree presentation (in progress)
Team Members
- Hetmann Hsieh (talk, edits)
- Jeffrey Lau (talk, edits)
- Zhipeng Sun (talk, edits)
- David Ramos (talk, edits)


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We usually adore Sarah Jessica Parker's quirky sense of style. However, we are a little confused by her outfit at the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Awards Gala last night. The tulip-printed coat reminded some here of a shower curtain, while others appreciated its nipped-in waist. But, we all agree that the Giambattista Valli crimson frock (worn under the coat) was a flop — a voluminous peasant-dress seems more suited for a day on the beach than an awards gala. Even her Christian Louboutins look a little clunky with the outfit, and we never doubt the beauty of his shoes. Is this just a rare mis-step for the normally stylish star? Tell us: What do you think of SJP's look? Do you like the coat and the dress?
Click here to read more about Red Carpet Style in Off the Rack.
Photo: Dave Allocca/startraks;Humberto Carreno/startraks


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Frank Delicious wrote:Has anyone besides me worn the flashing off of their Ion yet? I was talking to dgdave about this last night and was wondering what others experience with it was.
I removed the flashing from one of mine, and it made a difference in stability even on short putts. Dead nuts straight, and almost no blow throughs or spit outs, even on a Discatcher Sport. Amazing putter. I like it for touch upshots too. Having a flashed one and an unflashed one in the bag is kinda handy. Should get some rounds in with them this weekend. The flight plate is grippy beyond what I expected, even in below freezing weather. For comparisons sake, an unflashed 166 Ion is similar to a seasoned Omega SS at about 172 or so. The flashed one is more like a SS at 175, again, seasoned not new.


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CHINO - Two of the four Inland Empire men arrested on terrorism-related charges this week may have trained at a paintball park featuring a simulation of the Pakistani town where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed.
According to FBI documents released this week, Ralph Deleon, 23, of Ontario, and Miguel Alejandro Santana Vidriales, 21, of Upland, went to an as-yet-unidentified Corona-area paintball/airsoft facility with a confidential informant on Sept. 23.
There, the pair reportedly "selected and rented paintball guns that resembled assault rifles. Santana told the (informant) that he chose that type of weapon so that he could get used to the weight," the FBI criminal complaint reads in part.
The closest paintball and airsoft (replica guns that fire non-metallic pellets) course is SC Village Paintball Park, which has a Corona mailing address despite being located in southern Chino, and is owned by Hollywood Sports in Bellflower.
The park has a strong U.S. military flavor, with surplus Army trucks, camouflage netting and replica Army checkpoints decorating the park.
In May 2011, SC Village Paintball Park briefly made headlines when, after bin Laden was killed by Navy SEALs, the company spent $250,000 adding SC Viper Field. The airsoft gaming field is designed to look like Abbottabad, the city in Pakistan where bin Laden's compound was located.
"Our philosophy for the last 30 years, when there's a conflict around the world, we make a playing map that simulates that just like (video game) `Call of Duty'," Hollywood Sports co-owner Giovanni D'Egidio said Friday. "We wanted a video game come to life."
The town features replica buildings, Arabic language signage (including an ad for McDonald's), and other details intended to allow players to re-create the raid on bin Laden's compound.
The paintball park also features courses built to resemble Baghdad, Beirut, Bosnia, Kosovo, Kuwait and other warzones, according its website.
"Right now, the Middle East is popular, so we do the Middle East ones," D'Egidio said.
Army combat trainer Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Addams decried Hollywood Sports' simulation of real-world battlefields.
"We train as we fight, and if our war was with Hitler's army then we would train in German scenarios," he said. "Places like this are a breeding ground for hatred, which is something we don't believe in."
Such simulation is not universal at paintball and airsoft courses.
"Our whole purpose is to have a safe place for kids to paintball," said Wayne Woodruff, who owns Action Star Games in Colton. His maps don't resemble real-world battlegrounds. "We want to show kids that war is the stupidest thing in the world and that when you're done paintballing you can still hang out with your friends. In real war you may not be able to."
As of Friday afternoon, FBI officials had not yet confirmed the name of the paintball park visited by Deleon and Santana. But Hollywood Sports owns many of the paintball and airsoft parks in the region, according to D'Egidio, making it likely that Deleon, Santana and the FBI informant they played with, were at one of his company's parks.
"We've been doing this for 30 years. If they looked out of the ordinary, we'd report it" to the police, he said.
Contact Doug via email, by phone at 909-386-3925 or on Twitter @crimeshutterbug.
Contact Beau via email, by phone at 909-483-9376 or on Twitter @InlandEd.


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Napa Cabbage Slaw Recipe with Carrots and Fennel Seed Dressing
(Makes about 6 servings, recipe adapted slightly from The Summertime Anytime Cookbook.)
1/2 large head napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 4 cups sliced cabbage)
2 medium carrots, coarsely grated (about 1 cup grated carrot)
1/2 cup sliced green onion
Dressing Ingredients:
1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed in mortar and pestle or with a heavy rolling pin
1/2 cup mayo or light mayo (can use half plain yogurt and half mayo)
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T sugar, Splenda, or agave nectar (use Splenda or agave nectar for South Beach diet)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Vege-Sal (vegetable seasoned salt) or salt
1 tsp. celery seed (optional)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
Use chef's knife, mandoline, or food processor to slice napa cabbage into thin slices. Grate carrots and slice green onions. Mix all veggies together in large plastic bowl. Mix dressing into cabbage/carrot mixture (you may not need all the dressing.) Season to taste with fresh ground black pepper. Salad can be served immediately or refrigerated for a few hours before serving.
(The cookbook says this can be store up to three days in the refrigerator, but when I made it, there were no leftovers, so I haven't tried that myself.)
South Beach Suggestions:
More Tasty Cabbage Salads for Your Summer Cravings:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients.)
Asian Cabbage Salad with Sesame Seeds and Peanuts
Crunchy Cruciferous Chopped Salad
Red Cabbage and Chicken Asian Salad with Tangy Cilantro Dressing
Cabbage and Blue Cheese Salad with Sunflower Seeds
Spicy Mexican Slaw with Lime and Cilantro
Napa Cabbage Picnic Salad from Simply Recipes
Asian Cabbage Salad from Andrea's Recipes
Mixed Greens, Cilantro, and Purple Cabbage Salad from Gluten-Free Mommy
Asian Inspired Napa Cabbage Salad from Diet, Dessert, and Dogs
Spinach and Red Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette from More Than Burnt Toast
Want even more recipes?
I find these recipes from other blogs using Food Blog Search.


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Those who care more about military readiness than political correctness are right to be concerned, however, because history is littered with cases of how performance standards have been sacrificed on the altar of inclusiveness.
As the Associated Press reported this week, the Marine Corps opened its infantry course to women last year – and the only two women to volunteer washed out. Perhaps that's why, in Army boot camp, men are required to do 35 pushups, 47 situps and run two miles in 16 minutes and 36 seconds – while women must do only 13 pushups, 43 situps and two miles in 19 minutes and 42 seconds.
So the woman who gushed on TV the other night that women will now be able to prove that they "are as strong as men" was wrong: Although there will be exceptions, women in general are and will remain the "weaker sex" — a reality that will inevitably create pressure to lower physical standards for combat service in exchange for the desired level of diversity.
In 2011, for example, a federal lawsuit challenged the physical test for admission to the Chicago Fire Department, alleging that it was unfair because women failed more often then men. The test placed too much emphasis on strength and not enough on firefighting ability, the suit alleged. And you don't have to look very far to find other examples of how standards have been adjusted to promote diversity in everything from college admissions to police departments.
The military is different, or should be, because the very fate of the nation hangs in the balance. Contrary to the integration of races in the 1950s or the recent open acceptance of gays – ending practices that had been justified not by the limitations of one group but by the perceived reaction of another - the ban on female combat troops was based on the understanding that, as a group, women were not as well-suited to combat as men.
In a sense, that is an un-American notion in that it judges individuals as members of a group. If an individual woman can meet the same rigorous standards as a man, why should gender alone keep her out of combat?
But even then, it's not quite that simple.
As the military itself recommends, for example, women who are menstruating should "have daily access to bathing" to prevent a host of problems. That is not always possible – with or without consideration for gender-based modesty — in a combat setting.
And as the Reuters news service reported just this month, a recent study found that more than 10 percent of women in the military experienced an unintended pregnancy in the previous year – a rate 50 percent higher than in the general population. That can, and has, affected units' readiness. Nor is birth control always readily available on the front lines.
According to some studies, between 20 percent and 40 percent of military women have experienced rape or attempted rape. That's not their fault, certainly, and not in itself a reason to exclude women from combat. But it is another potential problem, nevertheless.
Real life is not like the movies, where women regularly hold their own or even defeat much larger men in hand-to-hand combat – the kind of combat that still exists even in an increasingly push-button age.
Remember Bobby Riggs? He was a 55-year-old former professional tennis player who in 1973 spouted off about how he could beat even the best female players. And he did handily beat 30-year-old Margaret Court before losing just as handily to 29-year-old Billie Jean King in the nationally televised "Battle of the Sexes."
It's almost forgotten now, but two top professional tennis pros of similar age met in 1992, when Jimmy Connors defeated Martina Navratilova despite rules that allowed Connors only one serve to Navratilova's two, and allowed her to use the larger doubles' court.
War, on the other hand, is no game. Neither chauvinism nor old-fashioned chivalry justifies keeping qualified women out of combat, but the safety of the nation and its servicemen and women would. Shouldn't preserving security – not pursuing "fairness" – be our main concern moving forward?
Women who consider themselves fit for combat should demand no less.


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Jim RileyAffiliation:
Rascal Flatts
Artist's BiographyJim Riley
Jim was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and from an early age, showed real interest in music. He began his formal studies of percussion at age 12, the same year he began singing with the Youth Pro Musica choir. In High school, Jim began his studies with Boston Symphony percussionist, Arthur Press. In addition to Participating in the Natick High band program, Jim was also performing with the Greater Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble. He was also elected to 'All State' his final three years in school.
Upon graduation, he attended the University of North Texas, where the studied drums with Ed Soph and Timpani with The Dallas Symphony's Kal Cherry. During his Tenure at NT, Jim was heavily involved with their nationally acclaimed Jazz program, as well as being a member of the top orchestra, wind ensemble, and percussion ensemble at the university. In the area of marching percussion, Jim performed with the NT drumline, where they won 5 national championships. He also played in the Drum Corps International Finals as a member of the Velvet Knights Drum and Bugle Corps.
After receiving his degree in Music Education, Jim accepted a position as the Head of Percussion Studies for the Coppell Independent School District in Coppell, TX. In 1995, Jim moved to Kansas City in pursuit of his dreams to be a professional musician. While recording with local guitarist Jeff Scheetz, he took a job with Kansas City Drumworks building and selling custom drums. It was at this time that Jim began his long relationship with The VPR Creative Group as a writer and performer with the Sticks of Thunder percussion ensemble.
In 1997, Jim made the move to Nashville looking to further his career as a performer. Less than a year later, he was playing with Country artist Mark Chesnutt and outlaw rocker Hank Williams III. The real turning point in Jim's career came in 2000, when he took the job as drummer and band leader for Rascal Flatts. Jim is currently on Rascal Flatts' 'Me and My Gang' tour, which is expected to play to well over a million people. Rascal Flatts has sold over 10 million records and is the most successful country group of the new millennium. In addition to his work with Rascal Flatts, Jim keeps busy playing sessions in Nashville, where he and his wife, Jaime, reside.


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Just busted out a 100. Tell us more gumbee....
~Sara It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great. ~ Jimmy Dugan
Yes. Tell us how far you think you actually ran. And whether you saw a badger. And if you, at any point, thought you might be in a wholly different state than where you were supposed to be.
Demon of Bad Decisions
Oh, yeah. I was hoping for a race report. Spill the beans, gumbee...
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart
I'm not much of a writer but I'll give it a go:
Badger Mountain Challenge.In short: ow, ow, ow, ow……The web site lists elevation change as +17,565 / -17,565 but RD said at pre-race dinner that with course re-directs, it would be more like +19,000 / -19,000. Okay, then.Because of the wind on most of the course, it was marked with landscape flagging which I guess worked a little better than last year (ribbons tied to sagebrush) but the wind still managed to shred the flagging in spots or rip out of the ground outrightI guess I was one of the lucky ones. I have a good sense of direction, and since a large part of the course is an out and back, I would slow / stop periodically to look back at the trail to get a sense of what to look for on my way back. This really helped, especially at night. I was on a 9 mile section, that included a monster down/up bushwhack with a couple of other runners and was able to keep us going in the right direction. Sections of the course consisted of jeep roads and jeep trails, and they are NOT the same things. Jeep roads are the means of access to the tops of the hills / mountains in Eastern Washington and the surface is comprised of 4"-6" sharp edged rocks that are almost impossible to run comfortably on. Jeep trails are areas where jeeps drive for fun, and they go straight up, and straight down and meander all over the place. Both suck.I was able to hold things relatively together until mile 81 when I had been in the jeep trails for about 4 miles. I had misjudged the distance and my pace so ran out of water and food, with about 3 miles to go to next a/s. Had a mini-meltdown, screamed fuck at the top of my lungs, buckled down and slogged to the next aid station. From this a/s (Dallas Rd.) there is a 5 mile loop and then you head back towards the finish. As I started the loop, I saw off in the distance what looked like Ayers rock (or the Eastern Washington equivalent) As soon as I saw this, I knew that the course was going to go over it. Sure enough, a couple of miles down the trail, the course starts bending towards the rock. Shit. Ok, power up, slog across the top, and then back down. After fueling up at the a/s, I start heading back towards the finish. By all accounts and information from volunteers, I have a 3-mile section to next aid, then over Badger Mountain to finish. Unfortunately, this was a 6-mile section with a climb up and over Badgers twin to the next aid station. I was not happy when I came into last aid station. Fortunately for me, another runners crew member (Jess) told me I was looking good (a lie) and gave me a hug. That was just what I needed. She also told me what to expect over the last four miles, which was a very good thing. She warned me that the last four miles tended to meander around the mountain rather than a more direct route and to not get frustrated. I would eventually come to the finish line. Which I did.
"Famous last words" ~Bhearn
Woohoo Fred!
Jess came back all fevery. Luckily, you got info from her before the fever took over. And the hug didn't give it to you (apparently).
19,000! That part I didn't know. I agree about jeep things.
You earned that medal. Did you get one? I heard Mr Hagen did not.
You earned that medal. Did you get one? I heard Mr Hagen did not.
RD was originally going to be at finish line to hand out buckles to those that couldn't hang around for the 3pm awards ceremony.
I could not hang around and he was still on course so I split without my buckle. I exchanged e-mails with RD and it showed up in mail yessterday. It is awesome.
Matt was not having good luck. He was not in results when first posted, although he is now.
ETA: man, when I think of jeep roads, I think of graveled, Western Washington "double track" These do not suck.
Eastern Washington jeep roads? They suck
Well done Mark, I completed my first 100 miler last month and that was along the River Thames in England and got hypothermia at the end due to the dramatic drop in temperature. To do what you did with the climb as well.....well all I can say is fantastic stuff, I am proud of you.
Jerry A runners blog-updated daily
Nice - Not the jeep roads/trail but your effort and resolve to finish.
I still think 50 miles is the nicest race distance ... I am 0/1 at 100s.
7/20/17 #247 Comeback #19 ... 10/8 - Glacial Trail 50M
Nice work Mark, well-earned!! Thank you for sharing. That race seems to be brutal in unexpected ways (i.e. new race, poor marking, bad wind, wrong distances).
Taking notes.... when all else fails... scream fuck at the top of your lungs.
The buckle is quite sexy though.
.... when all else fails... scream fuck at the top of your lungs.
.... when all else fails... scream fuck at the top of your lungs.
That would make an awesome t-shirt
I thought it was cool that Shawna T. won race.
Nice Gumbee! That is damn impressive!
Way to go, gumbee!
Nice job Gumbee!!
I know all about those freaken pointy rocks. My 100 this summer is probably made up of 75% trail that has nothing but those type of rocks.
Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson
Bacon Party!
I HATE those rocks. Didn't even knew such things existed, let alone gathered in abundance enough all in one place to cover a jeep "road" ... boy was I surprised and pissed - ow, ow, ow. And confused enough that I didn't even know I was on the expected jeep road and so thought I must be elsewhere ... which left me even more surprised when I reached the next section of the course.
Nicely done, gumbee!!
pace sera, sera
Thanks guys!
Jerry, running along the Thames sounds like an adventure."G'day guvner"," Allo mate", "I say, chap"
I've watched a ton of Benny Hill and read all of John LeCarre's books.
Will this have prepared me for interacting with folks from England?


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GRAND HAVEN (AP) -- A massive, slow-moving storm that hit the nation's midsection dropped at least 6 inches of snow on parts of Michigan and created slippery driving conditions.
The National Weather Service says as of Wednesday morning 6 inches fell in the Grand Haven and Muskegon areas, while 5 inches fell between Lansing and Jackson. Four to 5 inches fell in Grand Rapids. Four inches fell in some Detroit suburbs and Saginaw.
The highest accumulations, totaling 5 to 8 inches, were forecast for Michigan's rural Thumb region, surrounded on three sides by Lake Huron.
Snow turned to rain in Detroit, leaving roads covered in slush. Many highways and main roads were reportedly cleared early Wednesday.
Roughly an inch more of snow is forecast in parts of southern Michigan on Wednesday.


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The Best Portable Weaving Looms
Mirrix Tapestry and Bead Looms is a loom manufacturer, wholesaler and retailer. Whether you are a beginning weaver purchasing your first loom or a seasoned artist ending the search for the perfect portable loom, you will be thrilled with their precision and ease of use. At Mirrix Looms we don't just make looms, we weave on them too. We ensure that every piece of equipment we design and manufacture is engineered to accomplish its single task: to allow its user to easily create a professional piece of artwork.
Purchasing a Mirrix Loom is not simply buying a product, it's buying an experience and joining a community.
Why a Mirrix?
Why a Mirrix? Because it's the best loom out there. Whether you're a beginner or a professional tapestry or bead weaver, we have a Mirrix that's right for you.
Here are just a few of the many advantages of a Mirrix Loom:
Mirrix Looms are tapestry looms and bead looms, but they're also much more. We have customers who weave wire, paper and found objects and many who use their looms for inkle weaving, Saori Weaving, lace making and more.
Even the largest Mirrix Looms are portable and have fold-out legs for easy storage under a bed or in a closet. The smaller looms are perfect to throw in a bag and take to a workshop or on vacation.
Mirrix Looms are made primarily of copper and aluminum. This makes them the strongest looms on the market. Once, Mirrix's President Claudia Chase ran over a loom with her car. It was fine.
Mirrix Looms work. They are precision engineered for functionality and designed to last a lifetime.
Made in America
Mirrix Looms and accessories are lovingly handcrafted in our Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin manufacturing facility.
The Mirrix Community
When you buy a Mirrix Loom you are entering a community of artists and craftspeople who not only care about their work, but about their fellow weavers. Please join our Facebook group and see how much fun we have!
Freebies At Mirrix we believe in sharing information. From instructions to projects, tutorials and weave-alongs, we offer tons of free stuff to get you started weaving.


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Office Depot and OfficeMax announced the completion of their merger late Tuesday and from the looks of third quarter results released the same day the deal should prove beneficial to both companies.
Office Depot said its third quarter same store sales declined 2%, while OfficeMax said its comps dropped 2.8% in the U.S. and 2.2% in Mexico.
The combined company will use the name Office Depot, Inc. and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP.
The new Office Depot, which would have had combined revenue for the 12 months ended Sept. 28, of approximately $17 billion, now employs about 66,000 people worldwide. The company serves consumers and businesses in 59 countries with more than 2,200 retail stores, e-commerce sites, and a dedicated business-to-business sales. The company's portfolio of brands includes Office Depot, OfficeMax, OfficeMax Grand & Toy, Viking, Ativa, TUL, Foray and DiVOGA.
Customers can interact with each brand as they always have, including shopping at Office Depot and OfficeMax stores and online at www.officedepot.com and www.officemax.com. Each company will maintain its respective loyalty programs and expects to announce a combined loyalty program sometime in 2014.
According to the CEO selection committee, the uncertainty surrounding the timing and any potential conditions of the Federal Trade Commission approval made it challenging for the search to be finalized in time to coincide with the closing of the merger. The committee said it is hopeful of completing the process in the near future, now that unconditional FTC clearance has been obtained.
In the interim, as stated in the merger agreement, Neil Austrian, chairman and CEO of Office Depot, and Ravi Saligram, president and CEO of OfficeMax, will serve together as co-CEOs, executing the integration plans they and their teams have built to combine the two businesses.
The company will continue to operate in both Boca Raton, Fla., and Naperville, Ill., until the new CEO is on board and a decision on a headquarters location is finalized.
Office Depot also announced the members of its new board of directors. Aside from Saligram and Austrian, the 12-person board includes five independent directors from each of the Office Depot and OfficeMax boards. Additional directors are Warren Bryant, Rakesh Gangwal, Cynthia Jamison, Jim Marino, Michael Massey, Francesca Ruiz de Luzuriaga, Jeff Smith, David Szymanski, Nigel Travis and Joseph Vassalluzzo. Travis and Gangwal will serve as co-chairmen/co-lead directors.
Departing the Office Depot board are Kathleen Mason, who joined in 2006; Justin Bateman and Raymond Svider, who were appointed in 2009; Tom Colligan, who served since 2010; and Eugene Fife, who was elected in 2012.
"Each of these board members was instrumental in guiding the company through a period of difficult economic conditions as well as executing two of the company's largest value creation opportunities — the sale of our stake in the Mexican joint venture and our historic merger with OfficeMax. On behalf of the company, I thank each of them for their leadership and wish them much success in their future endeavors," said Austrian.


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Mathematical war
Everyone loves a bit of friendly competition. Mathematical war gives us just that with more fast-paced fun than you can muster. Kids love the challenge of beating their peers in this great card game created just for them!
Number of players:
What you need:
- deck of cards
Take out all jokers, jacks and queens from the deck.
Cards are face value with the kings given a value of 11 and the aces given 12.
Shuffle and separate the deck into two even piles.
Each player flips over the top card in their pile, at the same time.
The numbers turned become an addition sum. For example, if one player turns over a four and the other a 10, the answer would be 14.
The first player to answer the sum correctly gets that pair of cards.
If both players call out the answer simultaneously, the pair go into a separate pile and that pair is discounted.
The person with the most cards at the end of the deck wins the war.
Notes: This game can be played with multiplication sums for a more challenging game.
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BP Comment Quick Links
|Strength of Schedule Report
October 26, 2010
World Series Prospectus
World Series Preview
In baseball as in literature, archetypes tend to be formulaic, proof that fiction falls short of reality when it comes to the power to describe any one thing in shorthand. The need, indeed one of the great benefits of the human mind is to identify patterns, and to peg things that fall within those patterns, or to re-evaluate the pattern as a whole to create some new rubric, some new way of explaining things. Take our current post-season slate: instead of a much-anticipated rematch between the Evil Empire and the Phillies' a-bornin' senior-circuit dynasty, last week we got the pleasure of witnessing imperial ambitions utterly overthrown in both leagues.
So let's chuck the artifice, and stick with the literal instead of the literary. What we have is two teams that created their own definitions of need and risk, before and during the season, and who proved equally adaptive in their plans for 2010. Both teams were operating from strong, established strengths before the season. The Rangers had their defense (fifth in PADE in 2009, first in 2010), providing much more staying power than the much-lauded Rays of '08 did in this regard, and also a top-10 bullpen, this year as in last. The Giants had a tremendous rotation that is a testament to their player development chops, and an underrated bullpen that was even better than the Rangers' unit in both campaigns.
Starting from those strengths, both teams edited their rosters and exploited the opportunities that arose as their competitors faltered. The Giants did so with their constant tinkering in the lineup and by reinforcing that bullpen instead of merely relying on past success stories, the Rangers by fiddling at first base and tweaking a deep pitching staff already populated with magnificent risks in the rotation, but most importantly by breaking out the big-game gun and landing the winning gambit in July by adding Cliff Lee from a fallen foe.
Instead of broadly drawn cartoons and lazily composed morality tales, what we get instead are two ballclubs that are here because they never settled, here because they relentlessly pursued improvement, and clubs who wound up, each in its own way, to becoming testaments to the virtue of human agency. If you go off our adjusted standings report, the Rangers were tied with the Twins for the fifth-best team in their league, while the Giants would fare no better, being couch-bound in October by rating fifth as well. But if you want it, make it so. To the credit of every person in both organizations, from Jon Daniels and Brian Sabean down, both did, giving us a series that should renew hope and faith not just in two markets and for two sets of fans, but in every market, and for all fans.
Almost by definition, these are a pair of merely adequate offenses. The Giants finished tied for eighth in the NL in True Average at .259, while the Rangers were seventh in the AL, at .263. Subtract the DH from the equation, and there isn't a lot of reason to prefer either unit. Neither offense significantly out- or underperformed its offensive expectations: the Rangers were 10 runs up, the Giants two runs down. Set that against the Rays scoring 49 more runs than expected, or the Royals 41 runs less, and that's nothing.
As far as other broad-stroke contrasts, the striking similarity both teams share is that they both don't walk much, as they finished 20th and 21st in walk rate among major-league teams. The Giants were more dependent on homers as a function of their scoring, with a Guillen Number—how many of their runs they scored on homers—of 35.7 percent, good for ranking 11th in the majors, against the Rangers' 32.7 percent, which ranked 18th. Against that, the Rangers enjoyed a two-win advantage in the cumulative value of their baserunning this season, ranking third in the majors and among one of just 10 teams in the black, against the Giants' 23rd-place finish. It probably dovetails rather neatly into those facts that the Giants were the worst team at baseball when it came to killing themselves by hitting into the deuce, while the Rangers were happily mediocre on this score. What you can ferret out of that info is that the Giants are much more of a big-inning ballclub, while not exactly being very good at it, while the Rangers are the scrappers whose efforts get masked a bit by a ballpark that creates its share of happy accidents on offense.
What does this add up to? Something very much like what we've gotten to see in the two previous rounds of post-season play. Whether or not playing without the DH inspires Ron Washington to become even more small ball-oriented, the likelihood that he'll be facing Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain in three of those kinds of games should provide added encouragement. Bruce Bochy ought to be similarly run-hungry against Lee. But how matters unfold from there will prove interesting, which we'll return to in the Managers segment below.
Thanks to the All-Star Game's outcome, the DH is only going to be present in three of the seven potential ballgames, which bites into what would otherwise be an obvious Rangers advantage, in that they'd get the benefit of both Vladi Guerrero and David Murphy (or Jeff Francoeur) in the lineup, while the Giants' choices for who to give the at-bats to tend to be less pleasant. On the Giants' side of that dilemma while they're on the road, I could certainly understand if Bochy elects to spot Travis Ishikawa at first for defensive purposes in Texas—especially if Colby Lewis and Tommy Hunter are the starters in Games Three and Four, respectively, because that would mean safely depositing Aubrey Huff in the DH slot, keeping in mind that Huff's career numbers aren't spectacularly affected when he's DHing. Against that, there's the likelihood you'd want to hook Ishikawa in-game if he's threatened with a situational lefty, which might put Pablo Sandoval on the spot at first base.
In contrast, Murphy might end up almost unused in the series if the Giants really do queue up Jonathan Sanchez and Madison Bumgarner for the third and fourth games in Texas, because that ought to put the lamentable Frenchy in the field while Vladi safely scuttles back to his hitter-only sinecure. It's possible that Washington could pull Vladi, his cleanup hitter, in San Francisco and start Murphy in the second of the initial pair of games against Lincecum and Cain, but I suspect he's going to use this as an opportunity to start his best both times out, not unlike his decision to simply sit Julio Borbon and just put Josh Hamilton in center for the duration. The other nuisance about the Rangers' lineup is Washington's decision to bat Bengie Molina ahead of Mitch Moreland, a choice he might elect to perpetuate at his peril in the more run-scarce DH-less contests. Hell, after watching Moreland battle in at-bat after at-bat, I'd love to see him batting sixth, with Ian Kinsler and Molina both moving down a peg, simultaneously creating matchup problems for Bochy's bullpen, but that's me.
But the truly key decision that Washington has to make is whether or not to start Guerrero in the field in the first two games, as opposed to sitting him against either of the Giants' tough right-handed aces. With a full series' worth of Hamilton drawing nothing but IBBs potentially riding on the decision, even in the face of this lineup's already obvious heavy right-ward lean, my expectation is that he's going to have to risk Vladi both times out. That's even if it also creates the scenario of moving the pitcher's slot up to fourth late in the game if a double-switch possibility suggests it. It's best to try and take your best shot initially, see where that gets you the first two or three passes through the lineup, and then adapt as needed.
In the big picture, there's an obvious mismatch here, in that the Rangers have players they might reasonably like using, where the Giants have a Panda they're down on and a clutter of defensive replacements and warm bodies. That might make for a major advantage if Washington elects to be aggressive with double-switching in San Francisco, getting Vladi off the field and swapping in Murphy. Having Borbon around also gives him a quality pinch-runner if he elects to employ one, while Jorge Cantu and Frenchy give him a pair of disposably useful pinch-hitters in a lineup where nobody's likely to get pulled against a lefty reliever. Andres Blanco makes for a premium defensive replacement, but the situations that would encourage Washington to pull Kinsler are few. Matt Treanor should show up in C.J. Wilson's starts, especially after his homering in Game Five of the ALCS, but like Molina there's nothing about him that suggests he shouldn't be swapped out in a double-switch or pinch-hit or pinch-run for. If Washington uses his catcher slot in the lineup as NL skippers already use the pitcher's slot, as a way to employ additional offensive weapons, he'll be helping his club exploit its superiority in this area.
We'll see how much faith, if any, exists for Sandoval and Mike Fontenot as far as starting at third base against anybody, because Edgar Renteria at least has the argument that he's an ex-famous post-season performer. It may well be that, after watching Fontenot struggle to reward the initial desperate faith placed in him, Bochy has finally come around to platooning Sandoval and Renteria, which still adds up to more starts for Renteria if Lee and Wilson provide four of a potential seven starts. Ishikawa and Nate Schierholtz reliably show up in boxes as defensive replacements and pinch-hitters, while depositing Fontenot back on the bench puts him back into the early-use pinch-hitter pile. Aaron Rowand shows up a little less frequently, a status he earned the hard way, but with five extra-base hits and a .560 batting average in 29 PAs against Lee, he might be the man to spot start in Game Five, with Pat Burrell moving to DH. As for Eli Whiteside, you can count on him to be present and accounted for; we'll see if Bochy remembers to give him any time at all, so that he has the bragging right to the grandkids.
As fans and observers, we've been spoiled this October. We've already gotten the spectacle of Lincecum versus Roy Halladay, and even Lee versus Andy Pettitte, so kicking off the Series with this latest epic confrontation figures to be an automatic ratings-booster. As we go to press, the Rangers haven't officially committed to starting Wilson in Game Two, or even Hunter for Game Four, but the Giants already have their ducks in a row, preferring to set up Cain to get the pair of home starts in the Series. Not that it'll help determine the outcome, but it's worth noting that Lewis had a two-hit game in his interleague action this year, and also hit five homers in his two seasons in Japan, so putting him on tap behind Lee for the second turn could provide a minor tactical boost.
Looking at these in terms of the initial geography, the Giants have a lot of things going their way in the initial matchups. Lincecum has been death on right-handers, holding them to .229/.293/.316 on the year, striking out 26.5 percent of them. Subtract Murphy from the Rangers' lineup, and Lincecum will be getting six right-handers and a pitcher in the initial contest. While the Rangers are sure to exploit his inattention to baserunners (27-for-30 success rate on steals against him this season), they shouldn't have a ton of baserunners to begin with. Starting Cain at home provides the club's other ace with the opportunity to pitch in a park that indulges the fly-baller that particular vice. Against that, the Rangers will be counting on Lee's ability to keep shutting everyone down, but he'll be running up against a Giants lineup with a lot of success against lefties: Burrell and Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez and Cody Ross, and even hitters like Renteria and Juan Uribe who have had success against Lee over the years. I'm not arguing that they're going to rough him up, but this is a tougher Game One matchup than might meet the eye at first glance. As for Wilson, I worry a little about how he'll fare the third time through the Giants' order, but he should utterly negate Huff with his stuff.
Switching over to the action in Dallas, the Giants' initial choices for who starts when also means that they'll be tossing both of their lefties in a park that helps the hometown nine, but it's also important to keep in mind that both lineups lost plenty to matchups against southpaws: the Giants' attack drops from a 734 OPS to 716 (although not having Posey, Ross, and Burrell for full seasons contributes to that), while the Rangers dropped from 772 vs. RHPs to 717. Perhaps obviously, this will cut into the chances of any Hamilton heroics in front of the folks at home, but he doesn't become a pushover against lefties, and he's surrounded by hitters who mash in this venue. Bochy can hope that Jonathan Sanchez comes out firing strikes, but he and Bumgarner both generate a lot of flies, and Sanchez's problems in the second inning might create another panic the Giants can ill afford in a Game Three in the World Series as opposed to Game Six in the NLCS. On the season, it's worth noting that Sanchez produced a jarring TTO percentage of 54 in second frame, with more walks but also more Ks in that inning than in any other, suggesting he could again be KO'd early, especially if he doesn't have pitcher slot-driven machinations and flailures to help bail him out of any trouble.
Against that, the Giants will draw Lewis at home, and then what some might expect will be another Hunter-plus-Holland chuck-and-duck combo in the fourth game. On that latter score, I'm not so sure, because Hunter will get to pitch against a team almost tailored for him to face: slow, right-leaning, deuce-happy, and impatient lineup, as well as one with next to no direct experience against him. If anything, I'd peg Hunter to be a minor surprise, with Game Four turning into a surprise pitcher's duel through the first five or six innings. I also very much like the chances of what Lewis will do to a Giants lineup that can be overpowered by a hard-throwing right-hander.
For all the attention going to the headliners in the rotation, this is just about the best bullpen matchup imaginable, because only the Padres boasted a clearly better bullpen than these two teams. The Giants were second in the majors in relief FRA and ARP, and third in WXRL, while the Rangers were third in relief FRA and ARP, and fourth in WXRL. Both clubs were also among the best with inherited baserunners. (For a full list of pitching and defense-related goodies, you might want to check this out.)
Both clubs have excellent closers in Brian Wilson and Neftali Feliz, but the distinction between them is between how they're used: Washington's downright timorous when it comes to putting the former starter into a game any earlier than the ninth, while Bochy is a skipperin' throwback, tossing his fireman into eighth-inning conflndrugrations before stamping out the last flickering hopes of the opposition in the ninth. Both clubs also lack a no-doubt quality set-up man, instead encouraging both skippers to play matchup games up to that instant when they at long last reach for their closers. I'd argue the Giants have less need of one if they're willing to use Wilson in situations other teams turn to their designated set-up hero, where the Rangers have a problem where they might be caught flat-footed if Darren Oliver is going through another spotty patch. Happily, as right-wards as the Giants lean in the lineup, the Darren-on-the-spot most often should be O'Day, in what might be the Series that really puts ROOGYs on the map in terms of popular acceptance.
If there's one area of obvious distinction, however, it has been in the two teams' performances in what I refer to as "transition innings," of the defensive frames that a starting pitcher enters but has to hand off the game to his bullpen. The Rangers ranked 20th overall and 12th in the American League, giving up just over two runs per transition inning while producing 15 scoreless handoffs in 61 opportunities, but allowing three or more runs in those situations in 23, while the Giants were fourth in the NL and ninth overall by allowing 1.7 runs overall, with 14 escapes undamaged in 54 games, and 12 with three or more runs allowed. Which is a dull way of illustrating something we saw something of in the postseason's previous rounds: the Rangers are the more likely team to have an inning like this blow up in their face, which Bochy's Giants are a little better at stanching the bleeding.
Finally, I've italicized the Giants' likely options for the last slot in their pen, as well as three of the Rangers' most likely picks for their last two slots; there has also been mention of Scott Feldman as a late potential addition. For the Giants, the fact that no reason to ever use Guillermo Mota arose in the NLCS suggests a reason to go with a better long-relief alternative in case they ever do get into extra innings, which is exactly what Barry Zito would provide. As is, we'll have to see how Bochy addresses the problem with pitching to Hamilton late in games: use Javier Lopez or Jeremy Affeldt, or just issue an automatic free pass. For Texas, it's highly unlikely it'll repeat the decision to carry four lefty relievers given the paucity of dangerous lefty bats on the Giants' roster, but the question is whether they'll dispatch one or both of Michael Kirkman and Clay Rapada to add Dustin Nippert and Feldman. Whichever way that goes, it's the front five that Washington will be concentrating on employing.
As noted before, the Rangers have become a radically better ballclub afield, rating first in PADE this year after their 2009 fifth-place finish. Keying that improvement from their woeful 29th-place ranking in 2008 was plugging in near-RotY Elvis Andrus in at short last season, and then the later addition of Borbon to the outfield mix, but there's also cause to credit Washington for his work with Kinsler at the keystone. As far as tactical deterrents, they're a more mixed bag: Michael Young and recent first-base convert Moreland aren't very good on covering for bunt plays, and while both Hamilton and Nelson Cruz have great arms, Hamilton's throws seem offline as often as not. While Molina and Treanor aren't opportunity-crushing gunners behind the plate, the Giants only have Andres Torres to play baserunning games with, limiting the chances that much damage will be done to the Rangers with the running game.
Relative to the Rangers' success, what's less well known is that the Giants ranked second, just barely behind the Rangers in PADE, and leading their league in simple Defensive Efficiency as well. That's without a star defender in the middle infield, but they get a major benefit with Uribe at the hot corner, and Sanchez, Uribe, and Renteria are different shades of adequate at second and short. Torres has been excellent at covering ground in center, and with Rowand and Schierholtz around as good-throwing defensive replacements, this is at least one area where the Giants have depth.
One particularly key area will be whether or not Posey's ability to control the running game helps deter the Rangers, because his 37 percent kill rate will be particularly critical working with the non-Lincecums on the staff. In a series already replete with difficult matchups, Posey versus Andrus figures to be one of those inside baseball showdowns that might warm even John McGraw's flinty heart. While Andrus might run wild against Lincecum, I expect Posey to neutralize him almost everywhere else in the Series, especially considering that the Giants' pen is fairly effective at shutting down the running game.
I've already confessed considerable fandom for Bochy's work as far as his demonstrated flexibility with his lineups and his rosters, and I may as well confess to how that regard contributed to some measure of agony when it came to my voting for this year's NL Manager of the Year. (You can rest assured, when the vote's results are published, my thoughts on my ballot will be as well, because I will continue to be fully transparent on every one I cast.) Using Wilson early is a needed, overdue response to a world that got too hung up on what it interpreted as the lesson of Tony La Russa's Eck-centered pen of 20 years ago, and the former Dick Williams player is as aggressive as the old man was in his use of defensive replacements, as well as a demonstrated willingness to take on a few defensive risks. He also doesn't get especially cute on offense, and while the Giants' proclivity for hitting into double plays is one symptom of that, he's not blowing through his outs on one-run strategies this roster isn't really set up for.
Set against that, he's made some strange choices for the back end of his bullpen, and if it hasn't bit him yet, if he gets caught in an extra-inning situation or one too many early exits from a starter, a bullpen overladen with specialists could end up costing him a ballgame. That reliance on one-trick ponies in the pen contributes to his willingness to order up intentional passes, but he's also not shy about having even his best contribute to their baserunner count, as he's ordered Lincecum to issue as many as seven this season, for example.
As much banging on Wash as I've been given to, the man has his virtues, which far transcend in-game tactics, and he gets credit for being a teacher as well as a manager. Put that together with some tactical aggression, and he won't put you to sleep. On the ticky-tack stuff, it's to his credit that he has an unwillingness to issue the free pass. You can complain that he's bunt-happy after leading the AL in sacrifices, but it wasn't like he was indolently letting Daric Barton drop an out on the opposition at will the way one rival would: Wash bunts with the guys you'd expect him to, having Andrus deposit 17, his catchers 13, and Borbon eight.
The Call
The pity about this matchup is that it's zero sum: two teams enter, one team leaves, leaving one set of dreams and desperately nurtured ambitions thwarted and without consolation. So, the first game's a toss-up, but here's the thought that enough little things add up so that the Giants achieve the modest upset by jumping out to a 1-0 lead in a game with fewer than six runs scored between the two teams. The second game's outcome is similarly narrow, but let's say Wilson narrowly beats Cain in the game that gives us one of Hamilton's feats of strength while evening out the Series. Switching over to Texas, the Rangers handily win Game Three behind Lewis, but lose Game Four because Hunter's nice contribution gets wasted with some repeated relief shenanigans in the seventh and/or eighth innings. Then the Rangers take a 3-2 Series lead when Lee avenges his first-game loss while the Rangers open up a little on Lincecum, scoring at least four runs on the night. Which puts affairs back in San Francisco, and Cain evens things up with a masterpiece that puts us into a seventh game, which Lewis wins decisively as the Rangers win their first championship in seven games, while Lewis wins Series MVP hardware.
Which is ridiculously elaborate and unlikely, but better to go for the whole cloth, and however ridiculous all that is, the real point is that this should be a Series worth watching from beginning to end, the perfect conclusion to an exceptional postseason, and one so narrowly matched as to defy easy expectation. It's the payoff for fans of baseball, as well as fans of these two teams.
Christina Kahrl is an author of Baseball Prospectus.
19 comments have been left for this article.
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The Rangers don't play in Dallas.
Oct 26, 2010 06:27 AM
Neither do the Cowboys, but since they're both happy in their suburban orbit around the hub, and neither identify themselves as being from Arlington or even "Yonder, beyond Six Flags on 30," in referring to geography I elected for a certain imprecision, preferring to stick with the name of the center of gravity on a subject that lacks it.
Oct 26, 2010 10:03 AM
Oct 26, 2010 09:11 AM
Oct 26, 2010 09:20 AM
The beauty of this Series is that I don't think we have to freight it with expectations of any sort. I've argued that the Rangers will win in seven, but that was after spending a lot of time thinking about how the Giants could win. In the end, I kept running up against "if you can't count on Sanchez," which goes a long way towards explaining my pick, but also suggests that if he's on his A-game, this could go a different way very easily.
Oct 26, 2010 10:09 AM
If we are into predictions, then Giants in 5 games.
Oct 26, 2010 11:16 AM
Which, what, makes the Mariners the horsehide equivalent of Francium fluoride?
Oct 26, 2010 11:17 AM
Ray Whatley
Though I am a Yankee fan I am not really that upset about the Yanks not being in the WS (they absolutely did not deserve to win the ALCS). I am a bigger baseball fan than a Yankee fan and am absolutely thrilled to see both the Giants & Rangers in the WS (one benefit of me living in the SF Bay Area is that I get to be that much closer to the action--I'm headin' down to AT&T Park tomorrow to revel in the excitement).
Oct 26, 2010 11:31 AM
Football, isn't that the sport where a 'roided-up Raiders team won the AFC a few years back (only to be beaten for their muscle-minded stubborn inability to remember that their former coach was on the other sideline)? Wait, wait... it was the sport where its collection of part-time officials made sure the Seahawks lost to the Steelers in the Super Bowl? Oh, no wait, it's the one where the Patriots were caught cheating, and...
Oct 26, 2010 14:07 PM
Oct 26, 2010 11:38 AM
No prob, laughingman, happy to get people thinking about this WS, because it's probably as excited and interested about a Series that didn't involve my own team back in my days as a fan as I've ever been. Viva baseball!
Oct 26, 2010 14:09 PM
Another lovely, gracefully written piece. I think for each team, the manager is a good fit for the personnel. Would you make a different pick if Washington were managing the Giants and Bochy the Rangers? I think this Series could go either way, and, since I grew up in Washington and still think evil thoughts about Bob Short, I'm pulling for the Giants.
Oct 26, 2010 13:48 PM
Hrm, at first glance, I'm not really sure... Bochy might enjoy having the broader menu of tactical options Washington's club possesses, where Wash's head would probably explode in frustration working with a station-to-station lineup. And we don't know how Bochy would handle Feliz, or if Washington would be putting Wilson into eighth-inning situations.
Oct 26, 2010 14:12 PM
A Giants fan for 53 seasons? Why yes I am, from my first game at Seals Stadium in '58 until now. And I've got to say that Cliff Lee just scares the bejeesus out of me (not to mention Mr. Hamiliton). I admire your courage in picking Timmy over Cliffy in Game 1.
Oct 27, 2010 08:03 AM
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