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Energizer, Tuperware Down on Weak Earnings
Corporate earnings took a back seat today to the Fed's latest policy decision. Still, quarterly financial results, and other news sent shares of McCormick & Co. (MKC) and Tupperware (TUP), falling during regular market hours Here's a rundown of several of today's moves:
Marathon Petroleum (MPC) rose 4% to $86.46 after the company reported a smaller-than-expected drop in earnings. Excluding items, earnings fell to $2.10 a share from $2.26 a share, a year ago but still came in above analysts' average estimate of $1.15 a share.
Cliffs Natural Resources (CLF) rose 1.16% to $20.04 after Casablanca Capital LP disclosed it owns a 5.2% stake in the mining company and urged management to take steps to boost shareholder value, including raising dividends and reducing costs. Casablanca believes such measures could help to double Cliffs's share price to $53.
Ezcorp (EZPW) surged 20% to $11.26 /after the operator of pawn shops said Tuesday its same-store sales jumped 8% in the fiscal first quarter, on the back of a 29% surge in same-store jewelry sales.
McCormick dropped 6.3% to $65.23 after the spice maker said on Wednesday its fourth-quarter earnings dropped to $129.9 million, or 98 cents a share, from $148.5 million, or $1.11 a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges and a loss on a voluntary pension settlement, the company said earnings rose to $1.20 a share. Revenue increased 2.1% to $1.17 billion.
Tupperware Brands fell 5.9% to $78.81. The company said Wednesday it expects full-year earnings of $5.51 a share to $5.66 a share on sales that could range from flat to an increase of 2%. Both forecasts missed expectations.
Energizer Holdings (ENR) shed 5.9% to $96.15. The company on Wednesday said its fiscal first-quarter profit slumped to $1.71 a share from $129.8 million in the year-earlier period. Excluding charges, earnings fell to $2.10 a share from $2.20 a share. The company best known for batteries also cut its full-year profit target to $7 a share to $7.25 a share, The Wall Street Journal said.


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Alvarez shows improvement at third base
PITTSBURGH -- Pedro Alvarez may hear the chatter, but he's "confident in his glove," anyway.
Alvarez's play in the field has been criticized in the past, but Wednesday night, he made three great stops on hard hit groundballs to his left. And while the Pirates did make two errors in their 1-0 win, manager Clint Hurdle said they probably saved five hits with stellar defense, several by their third baseman.
"Pedro wants to play third base. And he hears the noise," Hurdle said. "As long as Pedro continues to show me the effort, attitude and desire, to play third base, that's where he's going to play. Because he showed last night he can be more than an adequate defender. He can be a defender above average in the field."
In Thursday's 4-2 win over the Cubs, Alvarez continued his strong play in the field with a catch in foul ground over the tarp in the first and a nice diving stop and throw in the fourth.
Alvarez said it's taken repetition to improve his defensive game, and he hasn't noticed any drastic differences as of late. It's been a gradual progression.
And as he continues to log more experience, he's learning more about the position.
"It takes some time to learn how to play guys with positioning," he said. "And seeing the ball off the bat."
Steven Petrella is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


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General Information
The Student Involvement Office provides advising and administrative support for student organizations on campus. The staff works closely with campus student groups to sponsor a variety of campus programs, provide leadership training, offer resource assistance, develop programming procedures, and provide advising to the ASCI Executive Council, Senate, Program Council, and Greek Council.
The mission of the Department of Student Involvement at The College of Idaho is to enrich the value or education through engaging, supporting and inspiring all stuidents to become active members of our community. By integrating in-class and out-of-class learning we provide positive experiences which promote personal growrh.
All agreements between a student organization and an outside individual or company must be made in writing via a contract.
Students are not legal signatories of the college, and may not sign contracts or agreements, or enter into any verbal agreements on behalf of their organization.
The Chief Financial Officer, via the Dean of Students and/or Student Involvement Director, signs all contracts on behalf of student organizations.
Fiscal Policies and Spending Guidelines
- To be eligible for a student fee allocation, an organization must have membership open to all students and be officially recognized by the College.
- Student organizations must conduct all of their financial transactions through their account in the Business Office.
- Student fee funds, as defined under "Frequently-Asked Questions" is for the general use of the entire student body and may not be used for:
- direct donations to charities;
- direct benefit of political candidates or lobbyist groups;
- supporting the candidacy of individual students/slates seeking student government office;
- publications that do not conform to the The College of Idaho Advertising Policy (see Advertising Policy);
- the purchase of alcohol; or
- any illegal activity.
- Student Fee funds, if not used during the semester in which they are received, will become the possession of the Associated Students of The College of Idaho (ASCI) and transferred into its account.
- Money received through fund raisers, raffles, and donations is not bound by the same spending guidelines as student fee money. However, spending is subject to approval by the Student Involvement Director and/or Chief Financial Officer.
- The treasurer and president of an organization are the only students who may sign paperwork authorizing financial transactions on behalf of the organization. Checks, purchase orders, cash advances and other Business Office materials may only be picked up by an executive officer of the organization or an officially designated member.
- The Student Involvement Director must sign all expenditure requests.
- Expenditure requests exceeding $250 must also be signed by the organization's advisor.
- Cash advances, with permission from the Student Involvement Director, may be obtained from the Business Office for up to $50.
- Back-up documentation, e.g. invoices and receipts, is required for all expenditure requests and reimbursements.
- The ASCI treasurer will, at least once per year, audit all student organizations that receive a direct allocation from student funds.
- An organization with limited membership may request an allocation to fund any event that is open to all students.
- Any student group who wants to host a raffle must register the raffle with the Business Office.
Vehicle Reservations and Rental Procedures
In order for anyone to drive a College vehicle, or rent a vehicle through the College, they must attend a vehicle safety course and pass a driving test in addition to having their driver's license cleared through Campus Safety. This means that everyone must plan ahead to allow enough time to complete these necessary steps before using a College vehicle. In order for student organizations to use a College vehicle, the following must be done:
- Driving tests are offered monthly through Campus Safety and the Office of Student Involvement.
- Fill out an Event Registration Form.
- The Director of Student Involvement will evaluate the needs of the organization and decide if it is appropriate for the group to drive themselves or whether the group should use commercial transportation (bus or airline).
- Once the drivers have been cleared to drive by Campus Safety and the Director of Student Involvement, the student organization needs to reserve the vehicle by contacting Campus Safety and providing them with the names of the people who will be driving the vehicle(s).
- If the drivers are cleared, Facilities will contact the Director of Student Involvement for final authorization.
- College vehicles are reserved on a first-come first-served basis. Student organizations must show that they have the funding before a vehicle will be reserved.
- Upon receiving the keys to any campus vehicle, a list of students to be transported in the vehicle must be left with Campus Safety and the Student Involvement Office.
- Cancellations: a reservation for a vehicle must be cancelled at least 72 hours before the date of pickup. Groups that do not cancel a reservation, but do not use the vehicle, will be subject to a fee.
- If a vehicle is damaged, the group is responsible to pay for repair and rental costs.
Advertising Policy
A student organization may not publicize any program in any way before the program has been officially approved and confirmed through the Student Involvement Office. Recognized student organizations may post flyers in campus buildings on designated bulletin boards with permission of staff in that building. To post in residence halls, permission must be granted by an appropriate staff member.
Posters may not be placed on directional signs or outdoor campus maps.
Posters must be in good taste and can neither discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, color, national origin, age, disability or marital status, nor promote inappropriate behavior. Alcohol may only be advertised on posters or any other form of advertisement for officially recognized College events when approved by the Dean of Students or designee. Posters that violate these guidelines will be removed at the organization's expense. Chalk may be used, but must be limited to sidewalks around the McCain Student Center. For more information, contact the Student Involvement Office.
Recommended information to be prominently displayed on all forms of publicity:
- The full name of the organization and "C of I" or "The College of Idaho";
- The title and nature of the program
- Date, time, and place of the program
- Admission criteria, such as ticket price, college ID required, etc.
- Rain dates and refund policy, if applicable
- Number to contact to request special services/accommodations when possible.


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- Departments
- Religious diversity
Department of religious diversity
Directed by Peter van der Veer, the Department of Religious Diversity has been built up since 2009 to include currently 18 social scientists, 7 Ph.D. students and two non-scientific staff. Having had positions in the institute, four social scientists have moved on to other positions in universities and research organizations in Germany, USA, and Thailand. Disciplines represented among the staff include anthropology, sociology, and urban planning (while collaborative projects include urban geography).
Religious diversity is a regular feature of modern, complex society. A problematic developed in this department is how religious diversity is accommodated and governed within secular arrangements. Since these arrangements, which are primarily those of the nation-state and concern the location of religion in national culture, are increasingly globalized – like religion itself – the question is how globalization (today and in the recent past) has affected both secular governance and religious movements and networks. Globalization has to be understood in economic terms (flows of capital and labor), political terms (regional and global integration), as well as cultural terms (media flows, fashion and consumption patterns, youth culture). This problematic is addressed in a comparative manner between societies and cities (primarily Asian) as well as religions (primarily Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism).
The research program of the department is developed within the ideographic tradition of anthropology and religious studies and thus allows for quite a variety of individual projects that try to answer questions that are not predetermined by theoretical models but developed in ethnographic or micro-sociological fieldwork. To contain this variety, a regional focus on South, South-East and East Asia has been chosen because of the importance of this region in terms of its share in the world's population and with the assumption that comparisons can be fruitfully made across this region. This is because common civilizational histories as well as common histories of imperialism and cold war politics have transformed the religious traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, Islam, and Christianity into 'modern religions' in the Western sense. From the start, concerted efforts have been made to create collaborations with research institutions and researchers in the societies in which fieldwork projects are carried out.


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New York City -- Microsoft Corp. announced that Bill Gonzalez, general manager of its worldwide distribution and services sector, has been elected to the associate member advisory council for the board of directors of the National Retail Federation. The announcement was made at the NRF Annual Convention & EXPO in New York.
"I'm honored to have been elected to the NRF board of directors advisory council on its 100th anniversary and look forward to supporting this organization in its continuing efforts to pioneer solutions and services for the global retail industry," Gonzalez said. "Microsoft is deeply involved in supporting and advancing the state of the art in technology to fundamentally transform people's lives and society as a whole. Our increasing involvement with NRF and our commitment to the retail industry help us to achieve this goal."
As the general manager for the worldwide distribution and services sector at Microsoft, Gonzalez is responsible for all aspects of strategy and execution plans for the retail, hospitality and consumer goods industries. He has more than 20 years of experience in the distribution and services industries including retail and hospitality. His experience spans software development and business process, as well as all aspects of IT and sales. Before joining Microsoft in August 2007, Gonzalez held executive positions in the IT organization at Wal-Mart Stores for 11 years. Before joining Wal-Mart, he held executive sales and marketing positions at NCR Corp. for 10 years.


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By Michelle Marasch Ouellette
November 2013
Students dressed in black slipped through the shadows on campus, carrying duct tape and large rolls of paper.
Their mission: guerrilla art, the secret posting of larger-than-life-sized portraits in the outdoor corridor between Angell College Center and Feinberg Library.
Sue Lezon's Photo III class had been studying portraiture, looking at the works of Brandon Stanton and his "Humans of New York" project. This totally intentional act of beauty – staged after dark on a cool October evening – was their finale.
Through their photography, Sue Lezon's students tried to be open to moments of connection.
"My instructions were to look and really see the people of SUNY Plattsburgh," said Lezon, associate professor of art. "Then, they had to ask their chosen subjects if they could photograph them."
The posting wound up not being so clandestine after all, said photography minor Visa Gowrishankar. "At 8 p.m., there are quite a lot of students on campus."
But, she added, the response from those students was immediate and positive.
The kind of the photography the students were doing is very difficult to teach, according to Lezon.
Portraiture requires more than good technique. To be successful, photographers must form relationships with their subjects.
"Even if that relationship lasts just for the amount of time it takes for the shutter to open and close, it is imperative that a connection exist," Lezon says.
What's more, their timing has to be correct.
"The photographer has to be open to the moment of that connection. And the subject has to be willing to give the gift of being open to the photographer. Those moments are not always easy to recognize. And therein lies the challenge. However, when everything falls into place, it's pure joy."
According to Gowrishanker, this project was a pure joy.
"The whole class was inspired," she said.
Next story: Paying It Forward: Scholarship Helps Aspiring Journalist in Quest to Help Others.
For more information about the SUNY Plattsburgh alumni newsletter, please contact:
Michelle Marasch Ouellette
Director of Public Relations and Publications
Phone: (518) 564-3095
Email: email@example.com
Alumni can subscribe to Calling Card by joining the Plattsburgh Alumni Community (PAC).


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SWINDON skipper Troy Batchelor has insisted all the pressure is stacked on the shoulders of leader Jason Doyle going into round two of the Australian Championship tomorrow morning.
Reigning champion Batchelor was bumped wide by his former Robins teammate as he had to settle for fourth place in round one at Kurri Kurri on Saturday, as Doyle went on to win the meeting, but the battle resumes at Victorian track Undera tomorrow in the penultimate meeting of the series.
Batchelor claimed his first national crown with a clean sweep of all three rounds last season and, having also experienced the lows of leading the series only to lose out in the final meeting, knows Doyle has it all to do despite leading Chris Holder by two points and sitting four clear of the Robins captain.
"I was in second and then found myself back in last after the bump with Doyley, so round one could definitely have been a bit better for me," he said. "Those finals are all cut throat and if you ran the race again you would get a different result so that's what makes it exciting.
"I'm still in the hunt and fourth isn't too bad but I need to come up with the goods for the next one.
"Sometimes it's easier to chase than it is to lead and it's Doyley who has all the pressure on him now to try and keep his place. If he's second and Holder's first they're level on points but if he slides down a bit he could lost that place to me.
"This next track's a really tough one and it's the place he (Doyle) crashed last year and wiped himself out so it will be big for him and big for all of us. I just need to concentrate on myself because I've been here and done it before.
"I've led this Championship on more than one occasion and lost it. I led all the way to the last round one year ahead of Holder and then messed it up and it cost me everything so I know what can happen. Last year I did a clean sweep and this year I'm chasing so it's all to play for."
The Robins skipper also insisted former world champion Holder should be happy with his progress after returning to competitive action for the first time since his 2013 season was ended by a horrific crash at Coventry.
"He took a few points in the heat races then won the B final to get him through to the A so that was good for him," Batchelor said. "While me, Doyley and Cam (Woodward) were messing around on the inside he went round the outside and got second so he has to be pretty happy."
While Robins asset Doyle's place in British speedway next season remains in doubt after he saw his work permit application rejected, Batchelor faces no such troubles.
The Swindon skipper remained in Britain up until Christmas day to ensure his permit was renewed, avoiding any possibility of facing a 12 month cooling-off period outside the country which comes with lapsed or expired documents.


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Fieldbus in biopharma applications, Part 1
This article highlights issues associated with the installation of a multiple-fieldbus control system at a pharma processing facility and talks about its implications for handling an entire manufacturing suite.
Genzyme Corp. recently installed a multiple-fieldbus control system platform at its pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Allston, Mass. This plant produces enzyme-replacement therapies for rare lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs), which are classified as orphan diseases. The Allston site was built approximately 12 years ago with a conventional distributed control system (DCS) that's used for manufacturing two enzyme replacement therapies. These drugs include Cerezyme for Gaucher's disease and Fabryzyme for Fabry's disease.
The new multi-bus control system is exclusively for manufacturing Myozyme, which is a drug therapy for Pompe's disease. We renovated an existing manufacturing suite to facilitate the new process equipment and multi-bus control system.
Process areas included in the multi-bus control system include mammalian cell culture, purification, clean-in-place (CIP) and steam-in-place (SIP). Bus technology has been deployed on skid equipment, which includes bioreactor skids, chromatography skids, ultra-filtration skids, and CIP skids. Also, bus technology has been deployed on stick-built fixed vessels, associated piping, and transfer panels. Fieldbus protocols included in the facility are Foundation fieldbus, Profibus-DP, AS-interface (AS-i), and DeviceNet.
This was our first introduction to bus technology at Genzyme, and our subsequent selection of fieldbus technologies was based on the process equipment needs in a cell culture and protein purification manufacturing environment. We use fielbuses in process areas, which are electrically-rated as general purpose and Class 1, Division 2. We'll highlight issues associated with using bus technology in each of these areas. We'll also talk about fieldbus implications for facility constructability, software design, commissioning, metrology and calibration, validation, and maintenance.
Which Fieldbus Where?
During the preliminary design phase for building the new Myozyme manufacturing suite, we asked our design team, which included Genzyme personnel, a systems integrator, and our construction/engineering firm, to evaluate fieldbus as a viable technology. We felt fieldbuses might offer our project value that we couldn't get from a conventionally instrumented system. We knew our process space was limited, and that we'd need to minimize the space that controller cabinets would consume to maximize space for process equipment. We also looked at fieldbuses as a way to reduce controller cabinet size, cable count, and conduit sizes and quantity. This all seemed quite appealing initially, and now I'd say bus technology did achieve our space-saving goal. Other attributes of fieldbuses, such as their capability to help with predictive maintenance, weren't as tangible at the outset, but could be explored and exploited after startup and commissioning. The main task at the outset was to have all this equipment fit in the space available, and fieldbus technology was a means to this end.
We selected DeltaV from Emerson Process Management as the host controller, primarily for its batch capabilities. DeltaV is fieldbus-ready for the following fieldbuses: Foundation fieldbus, Profibus-DP, AS-i, and DeviceNet. The project's total I/O count was approximately 4,000 points.
Our collective assessment revealed that fieldbus instrumentation availability was adequate when our project began in early 2003. Pressure, temperature, flow, pH, conductivity, level, and modulating control valve applications were well-represented fieldbus options. However, there were some instruments, which measure dissolved oxygen (in-situ measurement for bioreactors), vessel weight (strain gauge type), and UV analyzers (for liquid chromatography), that weren't available in fieldbus versions. This obstacle could be overcome with 4-20 mA current-to-fieldbus converters. Also, mass flow controllers, which are used extensively with bioreactor equipment, weren't found to be Foundation fieldbus ready, but were available with a Profibus-DP interface. Since it appeared that two fieldbuses would be required to address the traditional analog-type signaling, we selected Foundation fieldbus and Profibus-DP.
Open/close valves and discrete input devices deployed in a general-purpose, electrical environment were easily addressed with the simple AS-i bit-bus. There were many opportunities for actuating rising-stem or quarter-turn valves, which are used primarily for sanitary diaphragm valves and quarter-turn ball valves. Also, AS-i was used for discrete input devices, such as valve limit switches and proximity switches found on process transfer panels. Though simple in its implementation, we recognized early that AS-i would require a close eye to make sure we didn't exceed its segment-length criteria. Typically, this is 100 meters, and then it's time to add a repeater and power supply, and then extend another 100 meters. This could be repeated one more time for a total of 300 meters per segment. We didn't recognize the length limit as a non-starter because most of the valves are clustered in close proximity to one another, especially on skid equipment, and so we embraced this bus for most of the discrete I/O requirements.
However, AS-i bus isn't suitable for use in electrically classified process spaces due its high power requirements. Open/close valving and discrete input devices in electrically classified environments were addressed with intrinsically-safe remote I/O using Profibus-DP.
Either Profibus-DP or DeviceNet could address single-speed and variable-speed motors, and there are many of these in biopharmaceutical processes. We chose DeviceNet primarily on the merits of the host system having a rather nice graphical interface that allowed configuration of any node device at the host location. Examples of drive configuration at Genzyme include the need to configure full-load amps for overload protection, acceleration and deceleration ramp rates, stop modes of coast or ramp, etc. Troubleshooting drive issues was also available with the host DeviceNet interface.
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MINNEAPOLIS Target reported that its net retail sales for the four weeks ended Aug. 28 were $5.023 billion, an increase of 3.4% from $4.856 billion for the four weeks ended Aug. 29, 2009. On this same basis, August comparable-store sales increased 1.8%.
"August sales were in line with expectations," said Gregg Steinhafel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Target. "We're pleased with our strong performance in back-to-school and back-to-college categories, as well as our performance in apparel and food. Guest traffic trends remained healthy throughout the month. These results demonstrate the resilience of our strategy and our ability to deliver on both sides of our 'Expect More. Pay Less.' brand promise."


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Late for Work: It's a Rough Life Season 2, Episode 7
It's a Rough Life, a reality series about Johnny Roughneck.
Johnny meets back up with BART Tour at Karl Watson Day/ Hood Games at Town Park in Oakland. Then it's back to the city for the last session at Potrero Park and the after party at Hotel Utah.
It's a Rough Life Season 2 7/31/12
The new season of It's a Rough Life is launching this Tuesday, July 31st, 2012. Be there on It's a Rough Life dot com, Vimeo, and Youtube. Check Twitter and Facebook for more updates. In the meantime you can watch all of last season in this one blog post! For real!
Rough Life gearing up
So, we're a little more than halfway through January. For the JADED team that means that we've wrapped up our annual corporate gig early in the month. Now we're planning the way we want our year to go. January is traditionally slow while our clients plan their own strategies for the year. Luckily this year is heating up and we're already busier in January than we've been in previous years. However, we are still trying to carve out some time for our own projects. That brings us to It's a Rough Life. If you remember, we closed out the year with end of the Phoenix Arc.
Johnny's wife Paola got RNCK ink, and there was a banging teaser for the next season, which will be centered around the epic BART 2011.
Our plan for Rough Life is to kick it up a notch and go for the TV pilot. TV has always been the plan, so we need to carve out our pitch strategy. What the means for the web show is that it will be more developed and focused on the company. We plan to take all that footage we have from BART Tour and build out the episodes in such a way that gives the viewer a real taste of Johnny's struggle to keep Roughneck afloat, and also to illustrate what that means to his family. Wish us luck, and stay tuned for more. In the meantime enjoy another look at two of our favorite episodes. The one posted above, and this episode from the SLC arc when Johnny learns that his sale's rep doesn't necessarily have his back.
Now we've got some planning to do.
Ride the lightening means…
After the van debacle, the Roughnecks finally make it to the last day of PHX AM just in time for Johnny to "donate" all their swag (including his wife Paola's favorite shirt) to a mob of little kids. Paola is completely bummed out by this and the only thing that can make her feel better is getting inked…
This is the season finale of It's a Rough Life! Don't worry, we'll be back with lot's more antics from the Roughneck squad after the holidays. In the meantime enjoy the closing chapter of Phoenix Am 2010.
Become a Facebook fan to get updated every Thursday with a new episode.
It's a Rough Life Episode 8: Get in the Van
Thursday means a new Rough Life. This week we continues the Phoenix Saga with the crew stuck in a Motel 6 parking lot with a broken down rental van… just in time to miss best trick.
It's a Rough Life, a reality series about Johnny Roughneck.
In this episode of It's a Rough Life, it's the third day of Phoenix Am and Ratface is ready for best trick. Unfortunately the crew is having a little trouble getting to the contest.
This was a great morning for Jeremey who woke up ready to get to the contest to film for ESPN what was promising to be a pretty epic best trick. Then the van broke down. During Johnny's raging about the broken down van, he suggested that someone call Lowcard who was in town, and then at least some of the crew could get to the contest. Nevermind that also meant some of the crew would not get to the contest. So Jeremey called Lowcard Rob who politely declined to dig any of the Roughneck Squad out of their debacle. He laughed and said, "y'all will figure it out".
Pretty funny, even at the time. Did they figure it out? Watch the episode.
Become a Facebook fan to get updated every Thursday with a new episode.
It's a Rough Life Episode 7: Get That Roughneck
It's Thursday, and that means a new It's a Rough Life. This episode begins the second half of the Phoenix Arc. In our opinion, it's where you really start to see Johnny's personality come through. By this point in the trip, the Roughneck crew was more comfortable with having a camera around and were finally letting their guards down. The interaction with Matty P is priceless, and we even get some bites from Paola. Watch it and see.
In this episode of It's a Rough Life, Josh's qualifying run is done, Ratface's run is coming up, and Johnny is still missing. Cue the hype man Matty P to "get that Roughneck". Can he get Johnny out of bed?
If you haven't seen Episode 6, you should check it out. It will give you the background on Josh's run.
Become a Facebook fan to get updated every Thursday with a new episode.
It's a Rough Life Episode 6: MIA
It's a Rough Life, a reality series about Johnny Roughneck.
In this episode of It's a Rough Life, Cowtown Phoenix Am gets started. Josh Bozzuto, one of Johnny's riders has a 10am slot and Johnny is missing in action.
It's a Rough Life Episode 5: The Road to Cowtown
It's a Rough Life, a reality series about Johnny Roughneck.
In this episode of It's a Rough Life, the Roughneck crew hits the road for Phoenix, Arizona for Cowtown Phoenix Am. It's an all night drive with a pit stop at the local "hater nation" coffee shop to skate some rocks, and then a session at one of Arizona's gorgeous rest stops. All they have to do after that is make it the contest and set-up the tent…
It's a Rough Life Episode 4: The Phoenix Saga Begins
It's a Rough Life, a reality series about Johnny Roughneck.
Let the Phoenix Saga begin! In 2010, Roughneck Hardware was a junior sponsor at the infamous Cowtown Phoenix Amateur skateboard contest. Phoenix Am, as it is known, is a proving ground for up and coming rippers. It's also just the type of place a struggling company like Roughneck could claim real legitimacy. So after a little bit of scheming Johnny got a van, a photographer, and two of his riders in the contest. He also brought his wife and a personal hype man.
See how Johnny gets prepared to hit the road in this episode.
It's a Rough Life Episode 3: Roughside of Utah Finale
It's a Rough Life, a reality series about Johnny Roughneck.
In Part 3 of Johnny's adventure to Salt Lake City, the "Rough side of the Traxx" heads to the Wave, but the Roughneck crew has a little trouble on the way. Eventually the skating goes off at the Wave, and then the contest rolls to the U where the Salt Lake City skaters take turns throwing tricks down a big set of stairs. After the last spot it's off to the afterparty behind the Fice Boutique for the winners ceremony.


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Model Type
29 Combined MPG (25 city / 36 hwy)
EPA estimated
A full list of available features and filters for the used 2017 Hyundai Sonata inventory include but are not limited to: Edmunds Special Offers: Purchase Offers, Gas Card (19), Used Offers (6), Lease Offers. Model Type: Sedan (238).
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When the Sonata was redesigned two years ago Edmunds gave the midsize sedan an "A" rating. In the years since, it has only become more versatile and refined.
There are no big changes to the Sonata for 2017, but some options have been shifted around and some features that were optional are now standard. What's best about the Sonata are all the talents it already carried: The cabin is among the roomiest and cushiest in its class, and the Sonata comes with a particularly generous portion of rear seat legroom. And that room doesn't come at the expense of a precisely controlled suspension, responsive steering and some genuine driving fun. Even when the Sonata is filled with passengers, it keeps its composure. And it's a good bet that those passengers will appreciate being able to stretch out.
Another advantage of the Sonata is value. Even the base Sonata comes comfortably equipped so that it feels like a real car and not a stark penalty box. Move up to the top-of-the-line Limited powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and the Sonata becomes a genuine midsize luxury car. It features leather upholstery, a big sunroof, upgraded wheels, and a full load of technology including blind-spot monitoring and an automatic braking system to keep an emergency from turning into a disaster. A brilliantly bright touchscreen for controlling the navigation and entertainment systems is a bonus.
A 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty on the powertrain comes standard.
Three powertrains are offered in the Sonata, not counting the gas-electric hybrid versions that are covered separately on Edmunds. Base Sonata SE and Sport models are powered by a non-turbocharged 2.4-liter four rated at 185 horsepower. Latched to the standard six-speed automatic transmission, that combination is EPA-rated at 29 mpg combined (25 city/36 highway).
A turbocharged 1.6-liter four cylinder with 178 horsepower accompanied by a seven-speed automatic transmission is now offered in the Eco model with a rating of 31 mpg combined (28 city/36 highway).
The most powerful engine is a turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder that boasts 245 horsepower. This comes paired to a six-speed automatic in Sport and Limited versions. That combination is rated at 26 mpg combined (22 city/31 highway).
The market is filled with attractive midsize sedans, and the Sonata is certainly a bright spot in this segment. Edmunds is here to help you pick the perfect car and get a great deal.
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text:
Valentine Four Digits - TIME UP!
Posted on January 13, 2012 at 23:27
Deadline is February 14th, 00:00 PST, 08:00 GMT
Alright you guys, so I've decided to host the compo after Kilin's Frosty Four Digits (which I originally said I was gonna host, but you know how shit happens). This compo, however, will be about Valentine's Day. Which means that this compo will be about...
The goal of this compo will be to make the most emotional game, centered around the theme of love. And by "love", I don't just mean "romantic", it can be about love in general. Love between friends and family, pets, acquaintances, etc. There is no bias in the compo if you choose to do something romantic: heterosexual, homosexual, asexual, bisexual, trisexual, quadrisexual, pansexual, transexual, omnisexual or that thing where the chick ties the belt around your neck and tinkles on a balloon, IT DOESN'T MATTER! (Please follow the site rules, however. I'll discuss this in a bit).
I'm expecting the games to put more emphasis on storytelling rather than superior gameplay, but if you can find a balance between the two, that's great! So if your creative writing skills are better than your programming skills, this compo would be appropriate for you. But a storyline is not exactly mandatory, so you should be fine as long as you think you are adhering to the themes of love and emotion.
Your game can be a simple linear RPG/adventure game, visual novel/dating sim, cinematic platformer, etc. Personally, I don't see the point in putting more effort into coding a game with superior and complex game play if the game cannot draw any emotions from the player whatsoever. For reference, look at the numerous artsy pixel indie games that are out there, with these two being very good examples in my opinion (made by the same creator, lol):
Copied from Toast's blog and modified to my liking:
1. The aim of the competition is to develop entirely your own game within the time limit (14th Jan- 14th Feb). You will have to keep up to date with my blog posts to find out how and when to submit your final game.
2. You MUST have stated you are going to enter before the 21st of January 2012 (read further down for details).
3. You MUST submit your final game before THE GAME SUBMISSION DEADLINE (further details to come).
4. You MUST NOT include anything in the game that you don\'t have full permission to use.
5. You must not include anything in the game which has been in a game you have already released on the Internet - within reason and common sense. This rule is only valid until THE GAME SUBMISSION DEADLINE - you can then share your final game entry elsewhere and do whatever you want with it.
N.B. You shouldn\'t release your final game before the 14th of February because of this rule.
N.B. You can still post screenshots and videos anywhere you like - just not the game. If you want to send demos to each other, do it privately!
6. Your final game MUST somehow pertain to the main themes of love and emotion. Romantic, family, friends, whatever. Surprise us.
7. There are no programming language/game engine restrictions except that the game MUST run on Windows 7.
8. Don\'t be a cheater.
9. ONE entry per person.
10. You MUST be at least 13 years old to take part... the competition entries are likely to involve mature content.
11. Content-wise, your game cannot violate the site's official rules (including, but not limited to: excessive swearing, hateful speech that attacks a particular person, ethnic, cultural group, etc., pornography/graphic nudity and extreme sexual themes, and excessive violence). If you need some clarification that your game ideas and content do NOT break the rules, please talk to a site moderator before you begin working on your game.
12. I reserve the right to update or otherwise change the rules and to disqualify any entrant who breaks the rules.
I'm planning to have the compo finished by February 18th, and the deadline will be Valentine's Day, February 14th, 00:00 PST (February 14th, 08:00 GMT). NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO DEADLINE EXTENSIONS, SO YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO HAUL ASS IF YOU WANT TO SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY.
Q: What is your stance on adult content and themes within our entries?
A: If you choose to implement adult themes within your game, please keep it to a reasonable level. As in, no unnecessary/explicit/prolonged nudity, such as what you would see in a sex scene in an R-rated movie. So let's try to keep things around here high-end PG-13.
A good perspective is to put yourselves in a moderator's shoes and ask yourself if you'd accept your game to 64digits. So don't expect us to accept a full-on eroge or something. But I guess you could get away with nudity if you keep things classy, but this is subject to moderator discretion. Just because one moderator is fine with it does not mean that others will be as well. So in the end it's really up to them.
- [user=JID]
- [user=MMORPGguy]?
- [user=Unaligned]
- [user=Gordy] and [user=pounce4evur]
- [user=Kilin] and [user=Purianite]
- [user=Mega]?
- [user=Iasper]
- [user=Gift of Death]?
- [user=SpectreNectar]
- [user=JuurianChi]
- [user=DaggerHog]?
- [user=Taizen Chisou]?
- [user=Panzermancer]?
- [user=Qwilderwibben]
- [user=Stevenup7002]
- [user=colseed]
- [user=svf] and [user=XSGBrettB]
- [user=dswscorpion]
- [user=thernz]
- [user=Rolf_Soldaat]
- [user=Rez]
- [user=SMP]?
- [user=LoserHands]
- [user=sir Xemic]
- [user=Zac1790]
- [user=Toast]
- [user=Acid]
- [user=Mairu]
- [user=2DEmotion]
Jesus Christ, 64D.
- [user=anthonyloprimo], music, sound effect, basic sprites?
- [user=Toast], coding and such
- [user=LAR Games], graphics
- USD $25.00 from me (all at once not guaranteed)
- USD $20.00 from svf
- USD $20.00 from SpectreNectar
- random Steam game from Kilin
- a Steam copy of either Terraria/Dungeon Defenders/Nation Red for one of the winners to choose from, from Unaligned
- Donations from the community? I dunno.
More marshmallows (and info) to come.
Oh, and in unrelated news, I made myself a mod in the Minecraft server for the purpose of using MCEdit and setting warp points. Feel free to demod me if you want, but I just want to make it easier for myself to make large projects.
EDIT: The V4D Avocado Plant (updated Feb. 7th, 2012):
Updated once a week until it sprouts, then it will be updated every day for the next three weeks until the deadline. Perhaps if the plant grows big enough, we should offer it as a grand prize for a compo (or at least a shoot of the plant people can use to graft onto something).
Dev - Er, any ideas how to make this work?
Related Posts
I almost want to do this now
and have it involve whales and knights who quest after marshmallows and marshmallows and bunny marshmallows and zombies who eat marshmallows and and and
i put the kizuna stage 1 song on repeat and suddenly these ideas start comin' out of mah head...dangit Purianite look what you've done
i thought about having Isaac Clarke come through and stomp everything...then realized that might violate a competition rule :<
naw, son, ah'm brainstormin' heah.
you tryina one-up Cyrus o' something? yeah thass right. ah see you competin' thar.
no one be tryin' ta compete with me for most nombre o' likes given out tho. >:3
Quote: translation to *proper* English
naw, son, ah'm brainstormin' heah.
you tryina one-up Cyrus o' something? yeah thass right. ah see you competin' thar.
no one be tryin' ta compete with me for most nombre o' likes given out tho. >:3
Not at all, good sir; I am simply brainstorming.
Are you attempting to compete with Cyrus for most number of likes on comments? I can see on the like stats page that you are less than 10 likes ahead of him in this respect. Yes, that's right. I really bookmarked the like stats page so I could reference it at times like this.
However, I do notice that it seems no one is attempting to compete with me at lurking. I have +1'd almost 800 things, while most of ye 64D


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Absurd Arithmetic
Step 1. Start with five, which is five.
Step 2. Add one, giving six.
Step 3. Add one, giving eight.
Step 4. Subtract one, giving nine.
Step 5. Subtract one, giving three.
Step 6. Subtract two, giving seven.
What is going on here? In what situation does this make sense?
HintThe things being added and subtracted are not the same as the things they are resulting in.
AnswerThe things being added and subtracted are the segments comprising the display digits of a digital clock, as follows:
Step 1. You start with the five segments which comprise the digit five.
Step 2. One segment is added giving the digit six.
Step 3. Then another segment is added to the digit six, resulting in the digit eight, and so on, for the remaining steps.
What Next?
See another brain teaser just like this one...
Or, just get a random brain teaser
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of
which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
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text:
NCAR plays a critical national role in the development and provision of effective, end-to-end cyberinfrastructure (CI) for the atmospheric and Earth sciences community. NCAR's robust, innovative, and accessible supercomputing and data services have made customized high-end resources available to thousands of scientists and students, supported the creation and ongoing improvement of world-class atmospheric models, and enabled numerous cutting-edge simulations.
This track record of leadership, service, and success will continue. We will marshal the necessary facilities, equipment, software, and numerical and intellectual capabilities to meet the ever-expanding scientific goals of the geosciences community. In particular, we anticipate a 20-fold increase in the atmospheric community's demand for cyber-resources by 2012-requiring a capability comparable to the NSF "Track-2" or "petascale" centers. To be effective, this Track-2 -scale supercomputer must also be connected to a balanced and customized set of data systems, including petabyte-scale high-performance file systems shared with advanced data analysis and visualization resources, all backed up by a hundred-petabyte mass storage system. The entire facility must be connected, via high-performance networking, to the nation's other leading CI facilities, particularly those centers operated by NSF and the Department of Energy. The power, space, and cooling requirements of this facility will certainly exceed the capabilities of the NCAR Mesa Laboratory. Constructing and beginning operation by 2012 of a new supercomputing facility capable of housing Track-2-scale systems is, therefore, NCAR's top priority. Over the next three to five years, NCAR will
- With our Wyoming partners, construct the NCAR/University of Wyoming Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Acquire and begin operating a suite of Track-2-scale supercomputers, networks, and data storage systems that are customized to support the requirements of the atmospheric and related sciences community
- Develop and support the software infrastructure specific to the simulation, analysis, and forecasting needs of the atmospheric and related sciences community
- Curate and develop research data sets, enable information extraction, and make the data and information openly and easily available to users
- Develop, maintain, and provide numerical analysis, visualization, archive, and access tools
- Develop, maintain, and provide robust and portable observational cyberinfrastructure to support field campaign operations, acquisition of data from instruments and observing platforms, and near-real-time analysis
Looking further ahead, higher wide-area-network bandwidth, more powerful computers, and specialized software are creating a grid that promises to provide simplified access to distributed high-performance computing resources. A grid strategy offers several potential benefits. By working together, geographically dispersed partners can scale up processing cycles to meet increasingly large scientific challenges. In addition, complementary expertise and resources can be combined across centers to tackle the complex and interdisciplinary challenges in computational science that are difficult or impossible for one center to address in isolation. These challenges include many computational problems in the geosciences, such as climate and earthquake modeling. Furthermore, the grid is part of a cluster of technologies forming a trend in high-end computing toward "cloud computing": system virtualization, center automation, service-oriented architectures, and distributed workflows. Keeping up with and even leading the evolution of these ideas is essential to the long-term health of the laboratory.


text:
The Police Department is identifying and photographing the city's homeless population, estimated to be about 200, to establish a catalog to help them.
The information, which will include details such as next-of-kin and mental-health issues, will make up a database placed at officers' fingertips, said Capt. Dan Hughes, the acting police chief.
"If an officer comes across that person, he (or she) might be able to better help them in terms (of) their needs being met," Hughes said. "This is a segment of the community that we don't have a lot of information on."
Corporals John DeCaprio and Dan Solorio, the department's homeless liaison officers, began the yearlong project five months ago. A county mental-health clinician goes on patrols with the officers.
A 27-year veteran of the force, including the past 10 years as a homeless liaison officer, DeCaprio said the transients come from a variety of backgrounds and range in age from 17 to 78.
"Honestly, everyone's got somewhat of a different story," DeCaprio said.
There are trends, however.
Nearly 40 percent have some form of mental illness, DeCaprio said.
"If I'm ever going to be able to help an individual, I've got to know who they are and where they are coming from," he said. "It just makes sense to find out who they are, and if they have any known mental-health issues."
Another common scenario, DeCaprio said, is that of part-time transients – those who receive some form of monthly financial subsidy that may only cover a motel room for a couple of weeks. The rest of the month is spent on the streets.
In many cases, family members long ago lost touch or want nothing to do with the relative on the streets, he said. Other transients are plagued with substance-abuse issues and not willing to get help.
"Some might not be ready today but maybe six months from now," DeCaprio said.
Police might be able to refer those who want help to programs.
Popular congregating spots for transients include the Fullerton Transportation Center, the Downtown Plaza and Richman Park.
The proliferation of groups providing meals and clothing to the needy in Fullerton make the town a popular habitat for transients, DeCaprio said, and the lack of a year-round shelter results in homeless living on the streets.
The National Guard Armory on Brookhurst Road provides shelter for the homeless but only during winter months.
A task force – formed in the wake of the July 2011 confrontation between police and mentally ill transient Kelly Thomas that led to Thomas' death and criminal charges against three officers – has recommended establishing year-round shelters in town.
Plans to provide year-round shelter are in the works, City Manager Joe Felz said.
If that happens, the number of homeless on the streets will likely decrease, DeCaprio said.


text:
Federal (USV)
Emmet J. Johnson(? - 1862)
Home State: Wisconsin
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 3rd Wisconsin Infantry
Before the Antietam Campaign:
He was in Company K.
In the Antietam Campaign:
He was killed in action at Antietam on 17 September 1862.
The remainder of the War:
He was reinterred from his original burial on the Antietam battlefield to the National Cemetery during or before 1867.
References, Sources, and other notes:
Basic information from the Antietam Cemetery History1.
Death Date: 09/17/1862 Death Place: Sharpsburg, MD Burial Place: Antietam National Cemetery, Sharpsburg, MD
1 Antietam National Cemetery, Board of Trustees, History of Antietam National Cemetery, Baltimore: John W. Woods, Steam Printer, 1869 [AotW citation 3685]
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text:
1997 Aries Boats Values, Specs and Prices
Select a 1997 Aries Boats Model
Aries Boats Note
No longer in production.
(2012 - 1980)
Specializing in the production of high-performance fishing boats, Aries Boats has been manufacturing vessels for consumers since 1981. Aries Boats feature available equipment catering to any anglers including hydraulic steering, all-composite construction and interior lighting. Since 2007, the company has been operating as New Generation Aries Boats in Fairfax, Tennessee. All boats are protected by a limited lifetime warranty.


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BP Comment Quick Links
|Strength of Schedule Report
December 20, 2011
Overthinking It
Keeping Up with the Friedmans
Congratulations! For less than the Dodgers are paying Juan Rivera, your favorite team just signed a saber-savvy GM. He walks, he talks, he balks at bad contracts. He considers all perspectives and says all the right things, and he wears well-tailored suits while he's at it. He cares when a player's peak years are, and he's aware that wins are more costly when they come from free agents. He knows how most players' minor-league statistics translate to the majors, and he has scouts who can tell him what that standard model is missing. Instead of dismissing internet analysts as uninformed outsiders, he quotes Bill James in conversation (if he hasn't already hired him). Basically, he's the best possible person for the job—except, maybe, for the guy that other team in your division just signed.
Admire what Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman have done? Want a GM just like them? I don't blame you. But I also have some bad news: it's not 2002 anymore. Epstein and Friedman still have jobs, so your new GM will have to pit his wits against them. Even worse, they aren't the only competition. A decade ago, if a team had combined its scouting and player development programs with publicly available research of the kind you find on websites like this one, it might have been ahead of the curve. Now, that's not the case, which explains why no teams hire stat guys and pay them solely to read Baseball Prospectus (much as I've tried to convince them to). Plenty of successful front-office types will tell you that the same qualifications that got them their current jobs might not get them hired today. Baseball is big business, and GMs can make or lose millions for their bosses, so this kind of correction makes sense.
In a 1986 essay in Discover Magazine (subsequently reprinted in his book Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville: A Lifelong Passion for Baseball) entitled "Why No One Hits .400 Any More," Stephen Jay Gould developed a theory (later backed up by Dan Fox) to explain why .400 hitters had died out decades earlier. Counterintuitively, Gould concluded that .400 hitters had disappeared not because players were getting worse, but because they were getting better. I'll let Fox summarize his argument:
As usual, there's more to it than that—for one thing, league batting averages have decreased across the board, which drags down the players on the high end—but Gould's theory largely stands, and it might not apply only to batters. Maybe improved education, information, and competition are producing a similar decrease in variation among major-league GMs.
As a GM, Branch Rickey might have been a .400 batter (or better)—but look how he did it. Rickey gained an enormous edge by developing a strong farm system when no one else was; before long, other teams followed suit, and that advantage was lost. Similarly, he vaulted ahead of the pack by integrating the Dodgers and briefly seizing the potential of a vast talent pool for himself; when the rest of baseball gradually fell into line, he lost that advantage as well. If the Mahatma were around today, he'd find that Allan Roth was out of his statistical depth; approaching player evaluation analytically is another Rickey innovation that has since been widely co-opted. Today's GMs might still find ways to steal marches on their rivals, but it's unlikely that low-hanging fruit as juicy as Rickey's remains unplucked.
Five of the seven GMs who've been hired this winter—Jed Hoyer in Chicago, Ben Cherington in Boston, Josh Byrnes in San Diego, Jerry Dipoto in Anaheim, and Jeff Luhnow in Houston—fit the mold of the young, progressive GM who marries an affinity for scouting with an appreciation for statistical analysis. The two over-50 hires are unusual cases: the Orioles seemingly settled for Dan Duquette because they couldn't find a younger GM who was willing to accept the job (or interview for it), and Terry Ryan got his old job back* on an interim basis because the Twins value continuity above all else (with the possible exception of contact-prone pitchers–and, yes, division titles, of which Ryan won a few).
*Terry Ryan graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in physical education. GM educational backgrounds have changed.
Each of these hirings has met with favorable reactions, ranging from muted optimism from fans of teams that seemed to be working well before to the kinds of celebrations normally reserved for lotto jackpots and stays of execution among fans of teams that haven't won a World Series in living memory or, well, ever. (I almost wrote "reserved for the death of a dictator" but decided against it.)
Consider a few of the reactions to Luhnow's hiring on Crawfish Boxes, a popular Astros blog:
So that's it—Houston hired Jeff Luhnow, putting all the Astros' struggles in the standings and player development behind them, and the rest of the NL Central capitulated. Right? Hold on—the Cubs just hired three smart guys with six World Series rings between them? The Cardinals won the World Series last year behind 2011 GIBBY Award winner and handsome man-with-BP-on-his-bookshelf John Mozeliak? The Pirates have a GM so enamored of sabermetrics that he once produced a laundry list of all the advanced stats the Pirates looked at in response to an unsuspecting fan's question about OBP?* And that's just in the NL Central?
*Seriously, he actually did that.
Okay, so maybe the Astros have a little more work to do.
Let's talk about Pittsburgh's resident saber-savvy GM, Neal Huntington. If the list of stats linked above didn't sell you on his solid saber credentials, maybe his hiring record will. Huntington enlisted both BP's Dan Fox and the since-departed Joe P. Sheehan, one of the first public PITCHf/x analysts, and he's currently looking for a data architect and a quantitative analyst with more statistical chops than you can wave a Woolner at. He also served as Assistant Director of Player Development with the Expos and both Assistant Director and Director of Minor League Operations for the Indians before becoming an AGM and later Special Assistant to the GM in Cleveland. In other words, Huntington doesn't always drink beer, but when he does, he also orders tacos.
There's nothing a saber-savvy GM likes more than a good process (even when that process leads to Rod Barajas), and for good reason—for a while, at least, a process can be a better indicator of future results than results themselves. Over a sufficiently long period, though, a good process should yield success, assuming success is possible. Maybe Huntington hasn't yet reached the point at which Pirates fans should expect results, given his market and the talent he had to work with, but in his fourth full season at the helm, the Pirates won four more games than they did the year before he took over. If the Astros win 60 games in 2014, a four-game improvement over their 2011 showing, Houston fans probably won't be pleased with Luhnow.
A GM who approaches player evaluation from multiple perspectives and searches for consensus might be less likely to make a Really Bad Move, which would set him apart from Huntington's precedessors, Cam Bonifay and Dave Littlefield; the Pirates haven't taken a Great Leap Forward under Huntington, but they also haven't traded for Matt Morris. Still, Huntington's trades mostly haven't panned out, and he got skunked in his best chance to rebuild, the 2008 Jason Bay trade. The Pirates' drafting has improved dramatically, but only because Pittsburgh has handed out the biggest bonuses in baseball during his tenure. You can credit Huntington for persuading Bob Nutting to spend on amateurs, but Nutting deserves at least some of the credit himself.
For all that draft spending and veteran unloading, though, the Pirates haven't built a player development powerhouse. According to Kevin Goldstein, the organization is stronger than it was when he ranked it 17th before the 2008 season, but it's not elite, and most of its talent is still in the lower levels. Huntington has been around long enough that most of the big club bears his stamp, but that's not necessarily something he should brag about. As Steven Goldman observed last week, youngsters and high-ceiling arms are extremely scarce on the Pirates' pitching staff, almost all of which is composed of Huntington imports.
It's probably not fair to call Huntington a cautionary tale. If he were to quit today, he'd leave the Pirates in better shape than he found them. Still, as Steve wrote last week, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that "the Pirates are no longer building but are simply conducting another holding action," and Huntington will have to hustle if he wants to change that before his current contract expires after 2014. If I could dig up a blog post from when he was hired, I might find traces of happy commenters like the pro-Luhnow crowd above, but by now they probably would've changed their tune. Maybe Huntington would've been the magic bullet in an earlier era, but as it is, his presence hasn't done much more than arrest the Pirates' decline.
If you hire the best scouts, put them in a position to see the player at the right time and get good solid accurate scouting reports, you see the player through a strong traditional scouting lens. If you hire the best analysts, get the most accurate data, make the best adjustments, do the most thorough analysis and you come out with the best available statistical information, that's another lens to which to view the player. The way to see the player most accurately, to get the truest picture of the player, is to put both those lenses together and look through them simultaneously and you get a pretty darn accurate picture of the player. That's the approach we used with the Red Sox and I'd like to do that same here with the Cubs.—Theo Epstein
I don't want to set up a straw man here; even optimistic anonymous internet commenters generally understand that hiring an executive isn't a reason to start spraying champagne. Nor do I want to rain on anyone's parade—Astros and Cubs fans have earned a little excitement, even if it comes off the field. Still, it's best to keep a few things in mind when your team trots out a shiny new GM to turn around its flagging fortunes:
Some strategies that once worked wonders lose their effectiveness over time. If Cortés landed in Mexico with 500 men and a few horses today, he (probably) couldn't conquer the country. Hitting someone on the head with a piece of bone is no longer the best way to win a fight—not because getting hit with a bone hurts any less than it used to, but because the guy you're hitting is liable to have a knife, a gun, or a nuclear bomb. Similarly, you can't walk into a general manager's office, announce, "I like OBP!", and watch your divisional foes fall before you. It's not that OBP has become less important—getting on base is as vital as it's ever been. The difference is that everyone knows that now. That doesn't mean that teams can't exploit inefficiencies. It just means that they're smaller and harder to find. It also means that Billy Beane's team has appeared in more major motion pictures than playoff series since 2006.
*In the process of announcing that the Angels wouldn't be big spenders this winter (psyyyyche!), Dipoto sounded almost embarrassed about the idea of spending money on an established free agent instead of spiriting one out of the sabermetric ether. He's probably really embarrassed now:
Other GMs: Hey, Jerry, last time I checked, Albert Pujols wasn't an inefficiency.
Hiring smarter GMs doesn't mint more playoff spots (though Bud Selig can be relied upon to do that every 15 years or so), so the same number of teams survive till October regardless of who's in charge. It also doesn't change the fact that the "average" team will always 81 games—every win gained by one team comes at the expense of another. If the best GM in baseball could be replicated, every team might want one a clone of their own, but the marginal utility of signing him the 27th time wouldn't be what it was the first.
Small-market teams reeling from the new CBA's draft and international spending restrictions won't be happy to hear this, but the less variation there is among GMs, the stronger the correlation between spending and winning will become, since the effects of market and payroll size will account for an even greater percentage of the difference between teams. We can already see this happening—the Yankees were always rich, but they weren't always smart. Now they're rich and smart, which is very bad news for the Rays, the Jays, and the rest of the American League.
Does any of that mean that the Astros shouldn't have hired Jeff Luhnow? That a team shouldn't bother signing someone smart because another team will just hire someone smarter? No, of course not—as nice as it is to get ahead, there's plenty of value in not falling behind. But as the information at teams' disposal becomes more complete and hiring practices become more competitive, the days of GMs standing out from the pack enough to be played by Brad Pitt might seem as remote as those of the last .400 hitter.
Ben Lindbergh is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @benlindbergh
15 comments have been left for this article.
BP Comment Quick Links
This is great. I love your point comparing the great GM to hitting .400. Fascinating and well thought out.
Dec 20, 2011 06:00 AM
Keepin' up with the Joneses.
Dec 20, 2011 06:22 AM
It is funny that by the time Hollywood releases a movie about new and innovative ideas, those ideas have already become obsolete...
Dec 20, 2011 09:19 AM
...And then there is Frank Wren. Frank Wren laughs at your "sabermetrics."
Dec 20, 2011 10:30 AM
Matt Kory
Very enjoyable read and quite well thought out. Great work, Ben.
Dec 21, 2011 01:10 AM
Yes, nice article!
Dec 21, 2011 04:45 AM
Well done article. Long and comprehensive without being rambling. One of the better executed pieces of writing I have read on this fine site.
Dec 21, 2011 05:29 AM
This is just tremendous writing, and exactly why this site is worth every penny.
Dec 21, 2011 16:25 PM
Excellent, incisive read. A stark reminder for leadership in any competitive industry. My only regret is that this piece cannot be added to the "Best of" compendium. Thanks, Ben.
Dec 21, 2011 16:56 PM
Ben, great article.
Dec 24, 2011 06:09 AM
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"Never trust a skinny chef," the old adage goes, but in the case of Marc DeGiovanni, an exception should be made. As the head of local catering company Delunchous, DeGiovanni has one mission: to "tantalize the palate" of Santa Fe's children via nutritious and mindful school lunches made from scratch.
"Oh God," the New Hampshire native says, recalling his own school lunch experience. "The cookie-cutter rib sandwiches, the frozen corn on the cob and other things that I can't even remember because I choose not to."
Formally taking over Delunchous in late 2013 and turning it into the only local company of its kind, DeGiovanni chose to break the chain.
"I saw the opportunity to do things better and a little different," DeGiovanni says, standing in his 1,600-square-foot production kitchen located just off the Cerrillos Corridor, surrounded by speed racks, industrial convection ovens and an endless array of cooking gadgets.
The business' current incarnation came after DeGiovanni was "bouncing around from resort to resort" across the country. "It was just a tremendous amount of gluttony," he says. "It was all about having the most expensive ingredients or bragging rights, and there was nothing really holistic about it."
His goal now is to "incorporate a tremendous amount of organics," he says, producing a dozen wrappers of various organic foods he's used in the last week. His chicken and milk hails from Shamrock Farms, and his beef is microbiologically tested.
That's an undertaking, given Delunchous' $6.50 price per meal. "The quality of most public school lunches is pretty dismal, because they're capped at $3.06," he says. "That's gotta pay for the labor, electricity, refrigeration—so you can't be spending a whole lot on food." His approach, he points out, is against industry standards.
"I spend about $3.50 on food, which is, in most people's minds, ridiculous. It's steering towards bankruptcy very quickly," he says. "Most restaurants don't spend more than 30 percent on food."
DeGiovanni estimates that he needs to be serving a minimum of 150 meals a day in order to start receiving a salary. He's currently at 110. Delunchous' client roster includes Rio Grande School, New Mexico School for the Arts and Desert Montessori.
Leave your sloppy Joe expectations at the door.
The day's menu consists of chicken Caesar salad with housemade, black pepper-infused dressing, Mediterranean couscous, a generous serving of fruit, and a yogurt parfait topped with fresh berries. There's also a vegetarian option.
"It is sophisticated, but more times than not, they will eat it. Especially if they're hungry," DeGiovanni jokes.
The previous day's menu was slightly more down-home— burgers and fries.
"We balance it up; we have to give and take." Mixing up the menu, he says, is key when it comes to training future foodies and feeding persnickety preschoolers.
"I've had parents of first graders tell me that their kids would never eat vegetables," he says, "and now at least they pick at them, so it's a lifelong learning process."
"With the tremendous amount of money we're spending on health care, this is a holistic approach to it," he explains. "Start eating healthy now, and you'll spend less later on in life and you're gonna feel better."
Another saying, "You are what you eat," rings true for DeGiovanni. "Eating is probably 50 percent, if not more, of where our health comes from—it's just common sense," he says. "It's been one of the White House's main focuses, so this is not just a trend but a reality."
In December 2010, President Obama signed into law the child nutrition bill, which had bipartisan support and included a $4.5 billion expansion of the school lunch program that currently feeds some 31 million children annually. With recent conflicting reports on its efficacy, the jury is still out on the law's long-term effects.
Last week during his Conservative Political Action Conference speech, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., went as far as saying that the revamped lunch program gives kids "a full stomach—and an empty soul."
Around 11 am, four hours into his daily shift, DeGiovanni and his assistant place meals inside insulation boxes before they're personally handed over to their hungry recipients. Loading the boxes onto a repurposed U-Haul truck, the chef says the effects of healthy eating at a young age are quantifiable. "The United States spends more money than any other nation on education—even more than Switzerland," he says.
He brings up the less than stellar ranking of the US among 65 countries tallied in the Program for International Student Assessment tests. "There is one correlation—and it's not money—that equals education output, and that's health."
Inside Rio Grande's Gilbert Hall, DeGiovanni hustles to get trays ready for his hungry patrons.
Sue Steinman, a teacher there for over 20 years, is quick to sing the chef's praises. "I know the value of MyPlate and Marc does it," she says. "Kids are eager to get their lunch…they're loving it."


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Art & Art History
Victoria Star Varner
Victoria Star Varner is an artist whose work ranges from classically inspired, full scale figurative paintings to lyrical abstractions. Her works have been exhibited in museums, universities and galleries worldwide.
Her most recent work, a free-standing, open-ended chamber with megalographic painting, addresses the presumed "mysteries" of contemporary life. Her paintings, drawings, and prints have been exhibited at Santa Reparata, Italy, and eleven universities and museums in New Zealand and Australia.
Other exhibitions include: Mid-Four Exhibition, the Nelson Gallery–Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri; 31st North Dakota Print and Drawing Annual, North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks; Figurative Drawing: Three Approaches, Coe College, Iowa; 22nd Prints, Drawings and Photographs Exhibition, The Arkansas Art Center; The Human Figure: Five Views, Western Oregon University; National Invitational Book Arts Exhibition, McNeese State University; and Mark Making, Arlington Museum of Art.
Varner's students are active as artists, museum professionals and educators.
- BSEd, MA, University of Missouri
- MFA, Indiana University


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A man found unconscious on his doorstep with severe head injuries on Christmas Day has been described this afternoon as "a good Samaritan without a bad bone in his body" by a neighbour.
A passer-by found Sidney Bond, 64, lying outside his flat on Spring Row in Keighley following a suspected attack on Christmas afternoon. He was rushed to hospital with severe head injuries.
He is currently being treated at Leeds General Infirmary where he remains in a stable condition.
Five people have been arrested since the alleged attack, and two of them appeared at Bradford Crown Court today charged with section 18 wounding. The other three have been released without charge.
Janet Parker, who lives in the same apartment complex as Mr Bond, said she was shocked when she heard of the incident, and has been praying for Mr Bond's recovery ever since.
She described him as a perfect neighbour, adding: "He was like a good Samaritan. He would do anything for you - lend you sugar, lend you milk. He has lent me money before. He always knocked on my window when he walked past to say hi.
"I've been praying hard for him. He is a beautiful person - he didn't have a bad bone in his body. It is a real shame what happened. I hope he recovers because he is not a young man. I'm hoping and praying he comes through this OK."
She said Mr Bond had no children, and had never been married.
The two people charged with section 18 wounding - Ashley Whyte, 22, of North Dean Road, Keighley, and Lee Snowden, 23, of Laburnum Road, Shipley - have been remanded in custody until March 18, when they will be asked to enter pleas.
Police say they will take no further action against the three other people arrested shortly after the attack, two men aged 51 and 46 and a 38-year-old woman, all from the Keighley area.


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TV in Texas Has Never Looked So Good
Time Warner Cable TV has your back when you want to watch sports, movies, or you know, everything else too. Watch what you want with over 200 channels and 18,000 On Demand and Pay-Per-View options with Time Warner Cable Texas. TWC TV™ even allows you to watch TV on your computer, phone or tablet, as well as manage and schedule your DVR.
Are you among the 6% of Americans, or 1,476,530 Texans who regularly watch TV from their computer, phone or tablet? The average American watches TV for 35 hours a week, make sure you get your share.


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Skip to Content
Release Date: December 9, 2004
Release dates | Coded tables | Historical data
Current release | Screen reader | PDF (450 KB)
F.127 Issuers of Asset-Backed Securities ABSs
Billions of dollars; quarterly figures are seasonally adjusted annual rates
1. Agency- and GSE-backed mortgage pool securities backing privately issued CMOs. Return to text
2. Mortgages backing privately issued pool securities and privately issued CMOs. Return to text
3. Receivables from operating leases, such as consumer automobile leases, are booked as current income when payments are received and are not included in financial assets (or household liabilities).
The leased automobile is a tangible asset; depreciation flows are included in line 1, and fixed investment flows are included in line 2. Return to text
Release dates |
Coded tables |
Historical data


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Synexis – One wireless system, different applications
Synexis is a wireless system designed for guided tours, assistive listening, interpretation applications and can also be used as command system. The system is very versatile and suitable for many applications.
When transmitting information, the spoken word is essential whether in a small or large group of people. With Synexis you can be sure that it will perform perfectly. The system features properties such as an optimum speech intelligibility and easy handling for a variety of applications. The extensive product range and many product features meet any requirement. This includes the practical transport and charging case or an individual charging and storage cabinet. Synexis can be used at any time.


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Date: August 13, 2013
PIO Number: 13-8-19
Keeping in touch with the Broward Sheriff's Office through your phone and e-mail is getting a new look, a new name and giving you a lot more access!
Through Sheriff Israel's e-Alerts, Broward residents can find out about happenings in their communities, crime alerts, traffic advisories, security issues, safety tips, BSO news and events and hear directly from the sheriff through his monthly message.
Sheriff Israel's e-Alerts replace the CyberVisor program, which means residents already signed up will continue to receive the valuable information. If you're not registered and wish to sign up for Sheriff Israel's e-Alerts, visit www.sheriff.org and click on the e-Alert icon on the right side of the screen or go to www.sheriff.org/e-alerts.
Also, download BSO's mobile app for one-touch access to search arrests, civil cases, news, report a crime, view and map our community events, contact the agency and connect to our social media sites, Facebook and Twitter. The BSO app can be downloaded by visiting www.sheriff.org/mobile/ or by clicking on the mobile app button located in the top right hand corner of our website.
Keyla Concepción/PIO
Posted At: 08/13/2013 01:52 PM
- PIO 13-8-19 BSO SAYS, "GET US ON YOUR PHONE!" - Sheriff Israel's e-alert
- PIO 13-8-19 BSO SAYS, "GET US ON YOUR PHONE!" - e-alerts
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The cosy Restaurant Charly, with its own inimitable charm, is the perfect place to enjoy an excellent meal and a pleasant chat. There are so many corners, niches and rooms that you could almost be in your own private world. Enjoy the peace and privacy as well as the courteous service.
Hotel Krone, Kronenplatz, 5600 Lenzburg, E-mail, Phone ++41 (0)62 886 65 65, Fax ++41(0)62 886 65 00


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The Game
Each team will consist of 7 players, a minimum of 5 is needed to avoid a forfeit. Playing time shall be 40 minutes, 2 halves of 20 minutes. Half time shall be 5 minutes. Each team shall be allowed two, 30 second time outs. In the event of a tie, a coin flip will determine choice of ends or getting the ball first. Both teams will have 4 downs to score from the 18 yd. line. If they do score, they will have an opportunity for an extra point attempt (1 or 2 points). If the score is still tied after the first series of downs, the process will be repeated a second time. If still tied, the game will officially be declared a tie except in playoffs!
The Field
The field will be 72 yds. x 35 yds. with an additional 7 yd. end zone on each end. The zone lines shall be located 18 yds. apart. A hash mark will be located 3 yds. from each endline, and a second hash mark located 10 yds. from each endline.
Each player must wear a belt of their designated color. Shirts must be tucked in. No metal cleats may be worn, but rubber cleats are permissible. One team must properly wear identifying vests.
General Rules of Play
There must be three down offensive linemen. The two linemen on either side of the center are ineligible to receive a forward pass or run with the ball. Only 1 player may be in motion in the backfield. If you are playing with less than seven players there must be a minimum of two down lineman.
Contact blocking is permitted only on or behind the line of scrimmage. To legally contact block, you must be on your feet before, during, and after contact is made with an opponent. Under no conditions shall a high-low block, cross body block, or rolling block be permitted. The blocker is allowed to contact only that portion of the opponent's body between the waist and shoulders. An open hand, straight arm block, within the framework of the blocker's body is the ideal block to avoid unnecessary roughness. You may not grab the jersey of an opponent when attempting to block. The blocker's hands may not be locked together. The blocker may not swing, throw, or flip the elbow or forearm. There may be no contact of any kind to the head and/or shoulders in an attempt to block.
Screen blocking only is permitted beyond the line of scrimmage. Screen blocking shall take place without contact. The blocker shall have their hands and arms at their side or behind their backs. Any use of arms, elbows, or legs to initiate contact is illegal.
Coin Toss
The referee will flip a coin in the presence of the two captains before the beginning of the game. The captain winning the toss shall choose one of the following options:
The loser of the toss shall choose the remaining option. Before the second half, the choice of options will be reversed.
There will be no kickoffs. After a score, the other team will begin possession on their own 10 yd. line.
A team in possession of the ball shall have 4 consecutive downs to advance to the next zone.
Quick punts are illegal. On fourth down, the offensive team must declare their intent to punt. If they do punt, it is a protected scrimmage punt. Both teams must have at least 3 players within 1 yd. of the line of scrimmage and remain motionless until the punt is made. Punts downed in the end zone will come out to the 10 yd. hash mark.
The Flag Belt
All shirts must be tucked in and not permitted to hang over the flag belt. Should a player lose their flag inadvertently during a play, and should that player have possession of a live ball, that player will be considered down when a legal tag (one hand between the shoulders and knees including the hand and arm) is made. Players must have possession of the ball before they can be deflagged. It is illegal for a defensive player to intentionally pull a flag from an offensive player who is not in possession of the ball. In cases when a flag is removed illegally, play should continue with the option of the penalty of the play.
No offensive players may illegally secure their flag to their belt .
Runners shall not flag guard by using their hands, arms, or the ball to deny the opportunity for an opponent to pull or remove the flag belt. Flag guarding includes:
Forward Passes and Interceptions
If a player is in the air attempting to catch a ball, the player must contact the ground with at least one foot in-bounds with the ball in their possession prior to going out of bounds, unless contact by an opponent causes the player to first touch out of bounds. If possession of the ball is lost simultaneously with contact of the ground, it is not a catch. If a forward pass is caught simultaneously by members of opposing teams, the ball is dead at the spot and belongs to the team that snapped the ball.
Pass Interference
It is pass interference if an eligible receiver is deflagged or touched prior to touching the ball on a pass thrown beyond the offense's line of scrimmage.
Once the ball touches the ground, it is considered dead. This applies to fumbles only. Punts that hit the ground may be picked up and run back. If a snap from center hits the ground it can be picked up by the quarterback and play continues. If a bad snap is touched by the defense it is dead immediately on the spot. If a ball is fumbled and the fumble hits the ground, the ball is dead on the spot and belongs to the team last in possession. If the ball is fumbled forward, it will be spotted where the ball carrier was at the time of the fumble, not where the ball touched the ground.
If a fumble is recovered in the air before it hits the ground, it is a live ball and may be advanced by the recovering team.
Following are penalties, all of which are penalized 7 yds. from the line of scrimmage.
* Penalties are all 7 yds. from the line of scrimmage or ½ the distance to the goal line if inside 7 yds. The only exception to that is if a penalty (such as pass interference or holding) occurs more than 15 yds. beyond the line of scrimmage, the penalty is doubled (i.e. - 14 yds.)
Maps & Directions
Academic Affairs
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Business Office
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… everything checks out with this idea I've had. Lots of synchronicity happening too.
For those researching, note that the good people at ISSSEEM have just opened up their complete archives for free:
… a ton of interesting stuff there.
Another very important and freely-available document is the late Ingo Swann's history:
Remote Viewing — The Real Story
As the title suggests it's about ESP, but incredibly perspicacious as well as great fun.


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Taxes » Investment Taxes » Kiddie Tax Rules For Child's Investment IncomeBecause of changes to the kiddie tax, the name of the rules governing the tax rates applied to younger investors' incomes probably should be changed. The age at which a child's usually lower rates kick in now is much higher, meaning the tax bills on such accounts are also higher.The kiddie tax was created in 1986 to keep parents from sheltering income by putting accounts in the names of their lower-taxed kids. In its original form, a portion of investment earnings held by a child were tax-free.Another portion of earnings were taxed at the youngster's tax rate.
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Tax brackets
IRS Publication 929, Tax rules for dependents
Form 8615, children's investment income
Instructions for Form 8615
Form 8814, Children's interest
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Taxes » Investment Taxes » Kiddie Tax Rules For Child's Investment Income
Because of changes to the kiddie tax, the name of the rules governing the tax rates applied to younger investors' incomes probably should be changed. The age at which a child's usually lower rates kick in now is much higher, meaning the tax bills on such accounts are also higher.
The kiddie tax was created in 1986 to keep parents from sheltering income by putting accounts in the names of their lower-taxed kids. In its original form, a portion of investment earnings held by a child were tax-free.
Another portion of earnings were taxed at the youngster's tax rate.
Any amounts over that second earnings threshold were taxed at the parent's highest marginal tax rate, which could be as high as 39.6 percent.
Relief arrived once the child turned 14 and the excess earnings were again taxed at the child's lower rate.
On May 17, 2006, however, the kiddie tax effectively grew up. On that day, the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act took effect with a provision to keep the parents' tax rates in effect until the youngster turns 18.
But the readjusting of the age limit didn't end there. Thanks to the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007, the kiddie tax age limit was increased once again. Now, a young investor must be 19 to take advantage of his or her potentially lower tax rates. Even after the youth turns 19, the kiddie tax still applies to his or her investments if he or she is between ages 19 and 23 and a full-time student.
All of this kiddie tax tweaking means that by the time a young investment account holder can take advantage of his or her lower tax bracket, he or she will likely be out of high school or even college and possibly earning enough at a part-time or full-time job to no longer be in the lowest tax bracket.
The age changed, but the basic dual-tax structure for children's investment accounts remained the same.
Children can still receive a portion of unearned income tax-free. For 2013 returns, the limit is $1,000, meaning that a child doesn't have to pay taxes on any interest, dividends or capital gains up to this amount.
The child does have to pay taxes on the next $1,000, but at his or her usually lower tax rate.
Once the child's earnings exceed $2,000, however, the preferential treatment ends. The earnings on those excess earnings are taxed at the parent's top marginal tax rate, rather than at the usually lower (15 percent or 20 percent depending on the taxpayer's income) capital gains rate.
For 2014 tax-planning purposes, a child's allowable investment income amount remains the same.
To figure a child's tax in this case, you'll have to fill out Form 8615 and attach it to the youngster's federal income tax return. If you and your spouse file jointly, the Internal Revenue Service wants the name and Social Security number of the parent who is listed first on the return so that it can ensure your child's tax is figured at the rate applicable to your joint income.
If you are married but file separately, the name and tax ID number of the parent with the higher taxable income must be entered on Form 8615. It gets more complicated for parents who are separated, unmarried, treated as unmarried for tax-filing purposes or remarried. Check the Form 8615 instructions for details if one of these situations applies to your family.
Some parents save their child from tax-filing duties by reporting the youngster's investment income on the adults' return. This is an option if a child's earnings are only from interest and dividends, including capital gain distributions, and are less than $9,500. In these cases, the child's investment income is detailed on Form 8814, Parents' Election to Report Child's Interest and Dividends, and included with the parents' tax return. This way, the child doesn't have to file a return or Form 8615.
Keep in mind, however, that when a parent adds a child's income to the adult's return, that extra money could mean the loss (or at least a reduced benefit) of some tax deductions and credits that are phased out as income grows.
You should run the numbers on Form 8615 and Form 8814 to guarantee that you, and your child, pay the least possible tax on the youngster's investment earnings. If you have more than one child with unearned income, you must repeat this process for each child.
Also, be sure to know the IRS instructions on determining your child's age. The IRS tax year is slightly different from the calendar year when it comes to the kiddie tax.
The IRS-designated ages of your children are important because they determine whether the child is subject to the kiddie tax, as well as whether Form 8615 must be filed by the child or whether Form 8814 can be filed by his or her parents.
And remember that for kiddie tax age purposes, only investment earnings are taken into account. Wages and other earned income received by a child of any age are taxed at the child's normal rate.
More details on filing requirements for children can be found in IRS Publication 929, Tax Rules for Children and Dependents.
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First-rounder Conforto hits Big Apple for first time
NEW YORK -- Michael Conforto is visiting New York for the first time this week, and between seeing the sights, preparing for life as a professional ballplayer with Class A Brooklyn this summer and meeting some of the Major Leaguers he grew up watching, Conforto learned something pretty important about the Big Apple: The food is good.
"We've been eating a whole lot since we got here," Conforto said Friday afternoon during his introductory news conference at Citi Field, flanked by general manager Sandy Alderson, scouting director Tomy Tanous and agent Scott Boras. "We're Italian, and we've had some really good Italian food. Really good. Usually you can only get that from family back home."
Conforto made the trip to New York to take a physical and finalize his contract after the Mets made him the 10th overall selection in the First-Year Player Draft. MLB.com reported last month Conforto would receive a $2.97 million signing bonus.
The 21-year-old outfielder joined the Major League team for its pregame routine, complete with uniform -- he wore No. 88 -- and a round of batting practice.
As a junior at Oregon State this spring, Conforto his .345 with seven home runs and 56 RBIs in 59 games. He was named one of the five finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, given annually to the top college player in the country. Conforto was also named the PAC-12 Player of the Year for the second season in a row, and he was the first three-time All-American in school history.
Aside from the accolades, though, Conforto gives the Mets' farm system something it has lacked in recent years: a left-handed hitter with power potential.
"Besides the fact that Michael is an all-around outstanding player from our point of view," said Alderson, "his outstanding on-base approach as well as his left-handed swing and the power potential that he brings [is] sort of a natural fit for our organization in this ballpark as a gap-to-gap-type of hitter. We're extraordinarily pleased to have him."
The sides reportedly initially came to an agreement weeks ago, but it took a while to finalize the deal. Alderson made sure to address that quickly.
"You only need to look at me at this end of the table and Scott Boras at the other end of the table to know that we're probably two of the more stubborn people in the game," Alderson said. "Whatever delay occurred had absolutely nothing to do with Michael."
Conforto will join the Cyclones in Brooklyn for his first taste of pro ball.
Tim Healey is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.