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My People by Robert Baylis; published Gospel Folio Press; price £16.99. Gathering to his Name by Tim Grass; published Paternoster; price £29.99. Both volumes available from John Ritchie Ltd.
Gathering to his Name and My People are two recently published histories of Christians whom Baylis in his sub-title calls "those Christians sometimes called Plymouth Brethren"1 . In his sub-title Grass calls them "Open brethren". The history Baylis presents begins in Dublin and moves initially to Britain in the east before crossing the Atlantic to North America. Grass concentrates his study in Great Britain and Ireland but does include a chapter dealing with overseas missionary works. The two interesting histories differ in one other important respect - that of perspective. Baylis includes an appendix he entitles "As Others See Us", but the brethren whose origins he traces are, he admits, his own people. Grass is one of those "others" who write from a different perspective. His work is based on scholarly research, but evidently informed by his own experience formerly as a Strict Baptist pastor and as a lecturer in Spurgeons College and other academic activities. The two contrasting perspectives are of interest to the reviewer.
In dealing with the period from the first quarter of the 19th century to the early 20th century both appear to draw from sources familiar to many readers of this Magazine - E H Broadbent, Roy F Coad, Andrew Miller, William B Neatby, Harold H Rowdon and W Trotter. Grass assembles an impressive evidence base from which he probes the nature of the work of God, particularly in the 19th century, and offers perceptive comment on doctrinal, ecclesiastical and relational matters. Baylis in his analysis points unusually to Darby and Groves as "the two great originators" whose lasting contributions have shaped the subsequent histories of the brethren about whom they write. Some of Groves letters may show some prescience about future schismatic tendencies, but his long periods overseas must have limited greatly the degree of leadership he might have exercised.
To a readership outside North America, the account of "the pioneering period", which Baylis sees as 1871-1920, is fascinating. My People presents a vivid record of how the gospel spread and assemblies were established. He writes warmly of the features of those early assemblies; features, he notes, that are still present in what he sees as "traditional" assemblies. He adds that the role of the elder was not recognised among them, although in Britain and Ireland no such reservations were commonplace. In Gathering to his Name, Grass is able to devote 162 pages of his 589-page treatise, whereas Baylis uses 44 pages of his 426-page history, to deal with approximately the same period. Both deal with the same range of issues, but again Grass is able to examine more fully matters related to doctrine, church order, relationships with society in general, and "the wider religious world". Some of his observations on periodicals and hymnbooks will interest the Publishers of this Magazine. More important is his review of the "doctrinal distinctives" of that period. The reviewer is not convinced that annihilationist beliefs and other erroneous teaching were as current as Grass implies. However, careful consideration of this section does offer an insight into how others see "Christians sometimes called Plymouth Brethren".
The least convincing sections in both books are, not surprisingly, those dealing with the period of the reviewers experience. Clearly, for the historians it is more difficult to evaluate the effects of more recent events, although there is access to individuals and acquaintances of those prominent in events being considered. Robert Baylis has chosen to comment on legal action that must have pained a number of individuals. Yet he has not chronicled the progress of those assemblies he sees as "traditional" and the teachers and evangelists who move among them. Equally Grasss account of the final period also remains incomplete. It is certainly underpinned by a detailed consideration of periodicals such as Believers Magazine, Assembly Testimony, Precious Seed and publications of "para-church agencies". However, Grass presents little evidence of interviews geographically widespread enough to establish how accurately those periodicals reflect the reality of assemblies today. Both writers could have reminded readers that "it is a very small thing to be judged of you or of mans judgment he that judgeth me is the Lord" (1 Cor 4.3-4).


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It has become the matter of past when boys were keen to find a suitable girl to become their date or a true love partner, because women are going to cross men in this field as well. Love finding is not limited to boys as a recent research proved in England. The research result proved that women are most prolific daters in United Kingdom. They are the keenest then men in their quest for love today.
The stats of recently held survey in England showed that men send around 45 percent less flirty text messages to women. It means women have become more flirty then men in UK. The survey report also concluded that the laziest daters of England are the residents of Salisbury and Harrow, while the most prolific daters live in Derby and Gloucester areas.
This trend is definitely the result of a rise in Internet technology as well as in social media across the nation in the past decade. Now the quest of love has entered into a totally different level and women are now well on dating driving seat, leaving men behind. Well, this won't be the story of UK only but it would be a fact in almost every developed country where women have access to Internet and social media websites.
Total around 85 flirty messages are sent by every woman in living in Gloucester area to find her Mr. Right on the social media websites in a month. It proves their interest to get involved in any love relationship.

subset: commoncrawl


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Cheesemaker Celebration
September 15, 2018 - 6-9pm
Social Hall SF - 1270 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Join us for the 4th Annual SF Cheese Fest to celebrate the delicious local bounty of California cheesemakers throughout the state. Mingle with 20+ cheesemakers from around the state, sample dozens of cheeses, cured meats, jams, pickles, bites and more. Wash it all down with local wine, beer, and cider, while swaying to live music from SF's renowned gypsy-jazz quartet Gaucho. All proceeds benefit the California Artisan Cheese Guild.
Sunday Seminars
september 16, 2018
The Cheese School of San Francisco - 900 North Point Street, San Francisco CA 94109
Coffee, Cola and Cheese, Oh My! - 11am-1pm
You've learned the art of pairing a Pinot Noir with the perfect cheese. You've played around with which cheeses make the hoppiest of beers sing. Maybe you've even tested the bounds of whiskey and its cheesy counterparts. Well, meet the next in your pairing odyssey: cheese and non-alcoholic beverages! In this course you'll join Vanessa Chang, a veteran of unconventional cheese pairings, to find the perfect foil to hot coffee, tea and even coca cola all while celebrating some of California's finest cheese offerings. Happy sipping!
California Dreamin': Exploring California Cheese - 3-5pm
Many cheese eaters don't realize just how lush our cheese landscape is in the Golden state. While Mt. Tam and Humboldt Fog may be cheese board mainstays (and for good reason!) there is a whole world of cheese yet untapped by the even the most sophisticated cheese connoisseur. Join Liz Rubin, Cheese Buyer for Bi-Rite Market, to discover the best cheeses you've never had and learn why happy cows really DO come from California.
Corks + Curds: Cheeses and Wines of California - 7-9pm
Californians are spoiled by our stellar weather, our great produce and of course, our wine and cheese! The old adage of "what grows together, goes together" gets put to the test in this class showcasing the best of California cheeses and wines. Kirstin Jackson, author of It's Not You, It's Brie and a seasoned pairing maven, will introduce you to some great vintages and her favorite cheeses to pair them with. You'll learn some fundamentals of getting a knock-out every time, all while enjoying the fruits (and curds) of our California bounty. Cheers!


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Alloy Digital Acquires Leading Gaming Lifestyle Site The Escapist
Leading Media Company adds Award-Winning Site to Top-Ranked Properties Focused on the 12-34 Audience; Immediate Synergies with Fast- Rising SMOSH Games
Alloy Digital, a leading next generation media company for the 12-34 demographic and Top-10 video network, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the Webby award-winning gaming lifestyle website The Escapist (www.escapistmagazine.com) from Themis Media. The Escapist delivers daily gaming-focused content produced by leading video game authorities, along with cutting-edge video, engaging forums and robust social media elements.
The acquisition of The Escapist immediately boosts Alloy Digital's rapidly growing presence in the gaming lifestyle space: SMOSH Games, the recently launched SMOSH spin-off channel, skyrocketed to No. 1 in subscriber gains, according to VidStatsX, boasting more than 740,000 subscribers and surpassing 40MM views in just seven weeks since its debut. The integration of The Escapist's channels into the Alloy Digital Network offers immediate content and social media synergies with SMOSH Games and Alloy Digital's other leading entertainment-focused platforms and social media profiles.
Alloy Digital CEO Matt Diamond stated, "We are thrilled to have The Escapist join the Alloy Digital Network of properties centering on the core passions of the 12-34 audience, including our most recent success SMOSH Games. Themis Media has tapped into a massive market of entertainment and gaming enthusiasts with quality content that both complements our own gaming platforms and immediately expands our connection with this desirable audience."
"This latest acquisition underscores our commitment to building 'best of' properties," continued Diamond, "providing deep reach into a key demographic, as well as measurable gains and consistent returns for our partners and advertisers."
The Escapist attracts a significant and passionate community of 12-34 consumers, measuring more than 3.3 million monthly unique visitors, according to comScore, with its complementary YouTube channel garnering in excess of 30 million lifetime views.
Tom Kurz, Co-Founder and Chairman of Themis Media and The Escapist, commented, "Joining forces with Alloy Digital allows The Escapist tremendous opportunities to bring our premium content to an even wider audience and offers significant promotional synergies that will further build upon a brand that has uniquely captured a passionate and dedicated community."
"The Escapist also brings longstanding relationships with advertisers that have valued the quality of our content aimed at this core audience," added Kurz, "and we look forward to leveraging Alloy Digital's deep ties to the advertising community in order to expand our offerings."
The Escapist joins Alloy Digital's top- ranking network of owned-and-operated web properties that attract more than 90 million consumers each month and reach over 53% of P12-34 internet users. Alloy Digital's combined YouTube footprint of its owned-and- operated channels rank No. 1 in total YouTube subscribers with over 10 million; in the top three of all YouTube channels, with more than 4.5 billion combined measured views; and operates five of YouTube's top-100 premium channel offerings, including top-ranked SMOSH spin-off Shut Up! Cartoons. Alloy Digital's ClevverTV and SMOSH are each ranked among a select group of YouTube channels achieving in excess of one billion views. Alloy Digital counts more than 26 million followers across its multiple social media profiles.
The acquisition of The Escapist is just Alloy Digital's latest move in a streak of aggressive growth, marking expansion of digital media platforms focused on the passions of influential 12-34 consumers; the company's acquisitions in 2012 alone include Generate, a leading multi-platform studio and talent management firm, in January; B5Media, the fastest-growing women's lifestyle digital publishing and media network, in April; and Clevver Media, the No. 1 entertainment news provider on YouTube, in June.
Alexander Macris, The Escapist's Co-Founder and SVP/GM, stated, "We saw that games were clearly becoming the cornerstone of the 12-34 demographic's lifestyle and built The Escapist to create premium content that engaged the extreme passion we saw among game and entertainment enthusiasts. Alloy Digital brings that same focus to building brands and communities around these consumers' core interests and, with this move, we are energized to take The Escapist's award-winning content to the next level."
Themis Media was advised on the sale by Redwood Capital and A. Buchholtz & Company, LLC.
About Alloy Digital
Under one roof, Alloy Digital boasts the critical assets for a multi-platform, next generation media company targeting the highly-coveted, early-adopter 12-34 year-old demographic–Generate's cost-effective development, production and talent management, premium original programming from creators such as Smosh and Clevver, distribution across Alloy Digital's top-ranked network of media platforms and monetization through sponsorship, ad sales, social media and promotion. Alloy Digital's proprietary digital media network has ranked top in its category for more than three consecutive years, according to comScore, and attracts more than 90MM consumers each month with reach to over 53% of P12-34 internet users. Alloy Digital holds its position as offering a top-10 video network which delivers several hundred million monthly streams and includes award-winning Smosh, the #3 YouTube channel, as well as Shut UP! Cartoons, one of the fastest-growing YouTube premium channels. The network has attracted over 14MM followers combined across its dedicated social media profiles. Alloy Digital delivers digital campaigns for FORTUNE 500 advertisers and has received multiple industry accolades, including the prestigious ADVERTISING AGE Media Vanguard, an OMMA Award and a DIGIDAY Video Award.
About The Escapist
The Escapist offers a daily escape from the everyday for its worldwide audience of over 4.8 million gamers and entertainment enthusiasts. A multiple Webby Award-winning Internet media publication, The Escapist delivers varied and comprehensive content that attracts the attention of core gamers, developers, and industry insiders alike. With exclusive web video series, cutting edge feature articles, and custom social media events, The Escapist has built a vibrant and dedicated audience and community that is highly influential and deeply engaged, spending an average of 6.3 minutes on site during every visit.
Founded in 2005, The Escapist has grown to become a leading voice in video game culture and the modern day interests and lifestyle of the internet generation, delivering proprietary offerings to the coveted 12-34 male demographic with over 10 million video streams and 40 million page views a month. Its newly-launched consumer games show, Escapist Expo, brought in 5,600 attendees in its first year.


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Tagged: American League
April's All-Stars: American League
Now that April is in the books, and with All-Star voting already underway, it's a good time to look at the American League's best, by position, so far.
Catcher- Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles
The toughest position to choose from in either league, because of the excellent quality of play to date from Joe Mauer, who leads AL catchers in batting average and steals, AJ Pierzynski, who is hitting .309 with 4 homers, and Mike Napoli, who has crushed 7 homers already. I decided to go with Wieters, who plays behind the plate every game, unlike Mauer and Napoli, and who excels defensively, unlike Pierzynski. Wieters is hitting .279 with 6 homers and 15 RBI, helping Baltimore get off to a surprising start.
1st base- Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox
Konerko has been mashing the ball on the South Side, crushing for a .383/.444/.679 slash that puts him in the early MVP discussion. The slugging 1st baseman has also hit 5 homers, which put him over 400 for his career, and has driven in 15. He is the White Sox leader in the clubhouse, and has helped propel the team to a 2nd place start after the 1st month. This is one of the deepest positions in baseball, so we will see how long Paulie can hold on to the top spot.
2nd base- Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
Kinsler has been the spark at the top of the Rangers finely tuned machine of an offense, leading baseball in runs scored with 24. He's also hitting a robust .298 while blasting 5 homers out of the leadoff spot.
Shortstop- Derek Jeter, New York Yankees
This one isn't even close, as Jeter is the only AL shortstop hitting above .300. He is currently off to one of the best starts to a season in his career, hitting .389 with 4 homers and 13 RBI out of the leadoff spot. He has also scored 16 runs and leads all of baseball in hits. He is also driving the ball to the outfield again, something he struggled with early last season.
3rd Base- Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
Longoria injured his knee last night, attempting to steal 2nd, which has really put a damper on what was shaping up to be his finest professional season. Longoria has hit .349/.433/.561, spraying the ball to all fields and showing good power, with 4 homers to go with 19 ribbies. Hopefully he won't have to miss more that a week or two, because he has some competition at 3rd with Miguel Cabrera and Adrian Beltre.
UPDATE: Longoria has a partially torn hamstring and will miss anywhere from 4-8 weeks. This is a massive blow to Tampa Bay and will undoubtedly hurt their offense. The Rays have plenty of depth, but losing your best player is tough for any team to overcome and will probably cost the Rays a couple wins.
Outfield- Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
Hamilton, along with Matt Kemp, has been playing in his own stratosphere early in 2012. He is hitting .395/.438/.744 and has compiled a major league leading 64 total bases in a scant 22 games. He also leads the American League in homeruns and RBI and may have a legitimate shot at the Triple Crown, if he can stay healthy.
Outfield- Josh Willingham, Minnesota Twins
Josh Willingham has arguably been the most valuable free agent pickup to date. He's driving the ball to all fields, posting an outstanding .347/.447/.681 with 5 taters. He may not stay in Minnesota for long, because if the Twins don't get their pitching sorted out, Willingham would bring back a big return from an outfield or slap hitting team around the deadline.
Outfield- Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
Adam Jones has been the other driving force behind the Orioles offense so far, hitting .333 and driving in 12. He has shown an All-Star level mix of power and speed, slugging 6 homers and stealing 4 bases, while scoring 18 runs. Other candidates for this last spot include: Yoenis Cespedes, Curtis Granderson, Nolan Reimold, and Nick Swisher, who is having a career-best start to his season.
Designated Hitter- David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
Ortiz is having quite the season so far in Boston leading baseball in batting average, at .405 and OPS at 1.184. He has buoyed the Red Sox with his steady demeanor and production, leading the team in RBI and homers.
Right-handed pitcher- Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox
What a comeback so far for Jake Peavy, who is currently 3-1 with a 1.67 ERA for the Sox. He's already thrown 37 innings and has struck out a robust 33 while only walking 5 so far, for an excellent 6.6 K/BB. His WHIP of .690 leads baseball, as does his ERA+, which accounts for park factors and sits at an absurd 252. He will have some regression to the mean, but this is an excellent start for the righty.
Left-handed pitcher- Drew Smyly, Detroit Tigers
The young 22-year-old was a blip on the radar before the season started, and a month later he leads all qualifying pitchers in ERA, at 1.23. He has only pitched 22 innings so far, but has struck out 22 while only allowing 1.182 base runners to reach per 9. He isn't afraid to throw any pitch in any count and looks to be the real deal.
Relief pitcher- Jim Johnson, Baltimore Orioles
Johnson probably won't occupy this spot for long, but right now he has a league leading 7 saves without allowing a run in any of his 8.2 innings pitched. Fernando Rodney has also been excellent, and apart from blowing an Opening Day save, Mariano Rivera has not allowed a run.
Playoff Predictions, Really Just Guesses
Here's my best guess for how the 2012 season will turn out:
Division Previews:
AL MVP: Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
NL MVP: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks
AL CY Young: CC Sabathia, New York Yankees
NL Cy Young: Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
ALCS: New York over Los Angeles
NLCS: Arizona over Atlanta
World Series: New York over Arizona
I think that have the Yankees pitching depth and offense that will carry them to the title. New York will score somewhere between 850-900 runs. They also have 7 major league caliber starters, and that should allow them to win 95 games. Arizona is my best guess out of the National League. I don't think there is a favorite and there are a bunch of teams that could win 85-90 games. The playoffs in the Wild Card Era have been a crapshoot, and with the addition of another Wild Card expect more of the same. I think that the National League has 8-9 teams that could get to the playoffs and I think that there are 8 in the American League. There is a massive amount of talent flowing throughout baseball today, and its reflected in the overall depth of the Major League Baseball.
Division Previews: American League Central
The 2012 American League Central should be a one-horse race, won by the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers enter 2012 as the heaviest division favorite in all of baseball. The middle of the division should be better than in 2011, with every team having a chance to improve upon last year's record as well. Let's take a look beginning with the defending Central champion Tigers.
Detroit Tigers
The 2012 Tigers will be the owners of one of the most star-studded rosters in all of baseball. With Justin Verlander, Miguel Cabrera, and the newly-acquired Prince Fielder, the Motor City has no shortage of MVP candidates. Detroit has all of the pieces needed to make a World Series run and should be considered one of the favorites. Their offense is elite, finishing 4th in baseball in runs scored a year ago, and should have even more firepower in 2012. They have plenty of pitching, with both starters and relievers to spare. Defense is the only major liability however, because Detroit will be below average at 3rd, short, and 1st.
The offense will have plenty of power, provided by middle-of-the-order combo Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera. Each player has power, a good batting eye, and hits for a solid average. Fielder has bombed 30+ homers each of the last 5 seasons, and has posted an elite OPS+ as well. With a career .929 OPS he is a great on-base/power combination from the left side of the plate. Miguel Cabrera has been a model of consistency as well, hitting at least .300 in every season but one since 2005. The past two years Cabrera has turned into a monster, leading the American League in OBP. Planting these two sluggers will allow Detroit to challenge Boston and New York for the title of league's best offense.
The rest of the lineup provides plenty of power as well. Delmon Young, Alex Avila, and Brennan Boesch are all power threats who could hit 20+ dingers. Avila had a career year in 2011, winning the Silver Slugger award while hitting .295/.389/.506. He provided excellent pop, going for 56 extra-base hits. His catching skills were on par as well, throwing out 32% of all base stealers.
If Detroit has any vulnerability it will be defense, where they dot the field with subpar defenders at five positions. Cabrera and Fielder in particular will be a troublesome duo, who could be particularly easy to bunt on. Both of the sluggers rated as bottom-5 1st basemen a year ago, and Cabrera will find 3rd base even less forgiving. The Tigers would be well served to use Brandon Inge's above average glove and arm at 3rd despite his mediocre bat, if only to save some runs. Cabrera could easily be moved to DH, which could add a few wins in the standings.
Detroit had a surprisingly mediocre pitching staff in 2011, ranking 18th in baseball despite the heroics of Justin Verlander. His Cy Young/MVP double has been well documented for good reason. Verlander was just plain filthy in 2011, leading the league in wins, ERA, ERA+, innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP. These numbers will be tough to duplicate, but the dominant righty can be penciled in for 20 wins easily.
The 2012 Tigers will get the added benefit of a full season of Doug Fister as well. Fister destroyed hitters after he was traded to Detroit, posting a 1.79 ERA in 70 innings, while walking less than a batter per 9 and striking out over 7. While last year's walk rate is unsustainable he should still post a solid ERA between 3 and 4. The rest of the rotation will be manned by high strikeout pitcher Max Scherzer and the very average Rick Porcello.
The bullpen has plenty of solid arms as well, led by 49/49 man Jose Valverde. Joaquin Benoit is an above average setup man and Al Albuquerque, despite his poor performance down the stretch, still posted a 1.87 ERA in 43 big league innings.
This team is spending big bucks, especially in the notoriously penny-pinching AL Central. Detroit should win the division and have its sights set on bigger goals after losing to Texas in the ALCS.
Cleveland Indians
The Indians have been hyped plenty this preseason by the likes of Jonah Keri as a potential sleeper in the American League. That may be a slight over-evaluation of the team's talent level however, because the Tribe only ranked 16th in offense and 24th in pitching a year ago. This team outplayed their pythagorean, or expected record, by 5 wins a year ago, and may not do the same again.
The roster does have a few bright spots however, in the forms of Asdrubal Cabrera and Ubaldo Jimenez. Cabrera had his coming out party in 2011, hitting .273/.332/.460 with 25 hrs while playing excellent defense. He is a bit strikeout prone but provides more pop than any shortstop this side of Tulowitzski. His middle infield partner will be youngster Jason Kipnis, who showed considerable promise hitting for an .841 OPS in 150 at-bats.
Each other lineup spot is manned by a player who can provide some offensive value, led by left-fielder Shin-Soo Choo. Choo struggled in 2011 after hitting at least .300 in each of the previous 3 seasons. He also is an above average fielder, possessing good instincts, quick reactions of the bat, and a very strong arm, worthy of the position. Travis Hafner is also back to reprise his free-swingning power act.
The rotation has to improve in 2012 if the Indians want to emerge as contenders, because no teams ranking as low as 24th make the playoffs. Hope is provided in 2011 trade deadline acquisition Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez relies on an arsenal of power pitches including a fastball that mysteriously lost velocity last season. It was the leagues fastest average pitching in 2010, but was down a couple miles an hour last year, which could be cause for concern. When Jimenez is on he is one of the true 10-12 aces in baseball as evidenced by his fantastic 2010, when he posted an elite 161 ERA+.
Justin Masterson, the potential #2 starter, has the ability and could be in for a strong season. He upped his K rate while also dropping his walk rate, leading to a mid-3.00 ERA. Derek Lowe, the sinkerballer, has been brought in from Atlanta to provide a steady mid-rotation presence. Josh Tomlin and Kevin Slowey are a pair of pitchers who's ceilings are league average at best. They will probably start in the rotation to begin the season.
The bullpen will be a grab-bag and the expected closer is the mediocre Chris Perez. He has a poor 5.9 K's/9 and walks nearly 4 batters per 9 innings as well. The rest of the 'pen has its strengths and weaknesses, an if managed properly, it can be an asset.
This team has the potential to surprise for the 2nd year in a row, or they could bust and win 70-75 games. If Ubaldo and Masterson pitch up to their potential, Cleveland will have a 1-2 punch to compete in the American League.
Chicago White Sox
2012 will be a chance for a fresh start for the boys on the South Side of Chicago. A very green Robin Ventura will be replacing the temperamental Ozzie Guillen as manager. Departing with Guillen to South Florida is rotation mainstay and fan favorite Mark Buehrle. the 2012 Sox will be relying on plenty of players to bounce back from disappointing or injury-plagued seasons as well. The offense was a meager 19th in baseball and the starting pitching was only slightly better, ranking 17th.
The offense's biggest problem in 2011 was an inability to get on base and a complete lack of baserunning prowess. Only Paul Konerko got on base at a rate above average and the lineup was riddled with black holes in 2011. Adam Dunn was probably the worst player ever to get 496 at-bats in baseball history a year ago. He hit .159/.292/.277 and failed to crack 35 homers for the 1st time since 2004, hitting a measly 11. If Dunn can't get straightened out this season he could find himself released with $44 million remaining on his contract.
Alex Rios and Gordon Beckham all had down years for the White Sox as well. Rios was the worst of the 2, hitting for a 65 OPS+, ranking just above Adam Dunn as the worst hitter in baseball. Rios is on the wrong side of 30 now, and has seen his power and speed numbers decline steadily. This is not a good sign for the White Sox. Beckham is now going into his 4th major league season and has regressed each year since his first. He now has nearly 1500 career at-bats with a .249/.318/.386 slash, poor speed, and a big of a strikeout problem. If he doesn't improve the White Sox would be wise to try someone else.
Even roster mainstays Paul Konerko and AJ Pierzynski will probably see some decline in their production this season. Both players are on the wrong side of 35, although each defied age a season ago to put up solid numbers. Konerko in particular had an impressive 2011, hitting .300/.388/.517 with 31 homers.
The pitching rotation offers a little more hope for improvement for Chicago. The Sox just named John Danks the Opening Day starter, but Danks was only mediocre a year ago seeing his hits per 9 inn. jump to nearly 10. He's a good candidate to improve however, seeing as he cut his walks and raised his strikeouts, which is always a good indicator of improvement. He is also 26 and entering his prime so look for a borderline All-Star season from Danks.
Jake Peavy will also be tempting to resurrect his career after a truly gruesome arm injury in 2009. He has pitched just over 200 innings in the past 2 seasons, with middling results. His fastball is missing velocity, his curveball bite, and it has led to a career low K's/9 rate. A healthy, strong Jake Peavy is a Cy Young candidate, but one wonders if injury has robbed Peavy and the White Sox of a truly great career. As recently as 2 weeks ago Peavy discussed the possibility of a future as a closer. This may give credence to the idea that is arm may not be able to handle 200 innings in a season, and bullpen duty may not be far away.
The rest of the rotation is composed of Gavin Floyd, Chris Sale, and Phil Humber. Sale was a strikeout machine as a reliever in 2011 and is now being moved to the rotation. The bullpen looks somewhat shallow, and with closer Matt Thorton it will probably rank in the middle of the league.
This White Sox team seems destined to struggle, with an unproven manager, an aging roster, and very little pitching depth. Expect the loses to pile up in 2012.
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals enter 2012 with higher expectations than at any point in the past 5 years. The offense was the 10th best in baseball last year and should be dynamic again this season. If the abysmal pitching staff can make a sizable improvement on last year's 26th ranking, this team could be a dark horse for the 2nd Wild Card. For a more in depth look at the Royals' offense click here.
The offense is led by young standout Eric Hosmer. The 22 year-old, former 1st round pick, showed major promise with his bat in 2011, posting similar numbers to other slugging lefties like Joey Votto and Adrian Gonzalez. If Hosmer avoids the dreaded sophomore slump, he could easily hit around .300 with 25+ homeruns. Combined with a productive Alex Gordon, who hit .303/.376/.502 with 45 doubles in 2011, and Billy Butler, Kansas City has the makings of a frightening lineup.
The Royals also have the makings of a solid defense, having above average glovesman across the outfield and at shortstop. This team will probably have one of the 10 best defenses in baseball. The corner outfielders, Jeff Francouer and Alex Gordon, led baseball in outfield assists a year ago and could do it again in 2012. This will be an interesting trend to keep an eye on, because many runner may not attempt to take the extra base as often.
If Kansas City really wants to morph into a contender, it will take a massive improvement out of the rotation. Jonathan Sanchez was acquired for Melky Cabrera in the offseason, but he probably won't be the answer the Royals are looking for. In the poor-hitting NL West, Sanchez routinely sported excellent K rates but struggled mightily with his command, posing 5.9 walks per 9. Faced with better AL offenses, Sanchez may struggle to post an ERA under 4.50. So if he isn't the answer, than who is?
Aaron Crow, a former 2009 1st round pick out of the University of Missouri, could be. Crow was an All-Star in 2011 out of the bullpen, posting a 2.76 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 62 innings. The Royals will be looking to get about 150 innings out of Crow, and if he can post a sub-4.00 ERA, he will be the de facto ace. His fastball averages 90-93, with the ability to hit the upper 90s and he has a slider and curveball as well. Crow was a fastball-slider pitcher out of the 'pen and will have to mix it up more as a starter.
The rest of the rotation will be Opening Day starter Luke Hochevar, Bruce Chen, and Danny Duffy. Duffy is a hard-throwing lefty, hitting the upper 90s on the radar with his fastball, but his secondary pitches, particularly his curve, need work. He posted a 5.64 ERA, so he's raw, but he has a lot of potential.
The Royals are probably a year or two away, but 2012 could be a big step forward for the franchise, while providing more seasoning for the youngsters.
Minnesota Twins
No team had a more disappointing 2011 season than the Twins did. They were abysmal at all aspects of baseball, finishing 25th in runs scored (2nd to last in the AL, where runs are more prevalent) and 29th in runs allowed. They were on par with Houston and Baltimore in the race for the worst team in the league. There is some cause for optimism in the Twin Cities however, and it comes in the forms of Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau.
The Twins offense is difficult to predict going into the 2012 season, because of the injury histories of their two biggest contributors. If the M&M Boys are healthy Minnesota score 700-750 runs and be a contender. If both players struggle with injury again, Minnesota will have a bottom-5 offense and will struggle to top 70 wins. Mauer is one of the true threats in baseball to bat .400. He is the only catcher in history to win the American League batting title, and he's done it twice! I hope he can keep his legs healthy this season, because he is one of the 5 most entertaining at-bats in baseball, provided he's healthy.
The rest of the lineup includes 38 year-old Jamey Carroll, who was imported from the Dodgers to play shortstop. In Carroll's long career as a utility player, he has played only 200 games at short, and this is where he rates lowest defensively. He is an adequate 3rd baseman and a good 2nd baseman, so the Twins should look to play him at either of those positions instead. Provided health is good, the Twins have plus defenders at 1st, center, and catcher, where Mauer is one of the best in baseball. Denard Span, the centerfielder, has oodles of range to track down any flies in Minnesota's spacious 3 year-old confines.
The Twins pitching staff has plenty of feast-or-famine players who could have All-Star campaigns just as easily as 5.00 ERA seasons. Carl Pavano is a league average pitcher (98 ERA+ over his career), and will probably finish with an ERA north of 4.00. Scott BAker and Nick Blackburn are soft tossers, who get by with guile, keeping hitters off balance. Each will probably give up more than the league average in hits.
The potential standout on the pitching staff is Francisco Liriano, who's performance tends to differ based on his control. He has one of the hardest-bitting sliders in baseball, so much so that Liriano struggles to keep it in the strike zone. In his best seasons his walk rate has fallen under 3, and when he struggles he tends to finish with a rate above 5, like he did in 2011. He strikes out plenty of hitters and he has no-hit potential, so keep an eye on his walks. If they are down he will be an ace, if not he will struggle and be run out of games early, due to a high pitch count.
Ron Gardenhire, AL manager of the year in 2010, finds himself on the hot seat entering 2012. If the Twins struggle out of the gate, he could find himself looking for a job. This team has the talent to finish around .500, although it doesn't have the depth to do much more than that.
*Detroit Tigers
Minnesota Twins
Kansas City Royals
Cleveland Indians
Chicago White Sox
AL Central MVP: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
AL Central Cy Young: Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
There is a massive gap between the talent of the Detroit Tigers and the talent of the rest of the division. I don't believe much of the hype surrounding the Indians, and if Ubaldo Jimenez struggles, that team will be sunk. I think the Twins will bounce back nicely this season, seeing strong seasons from both Mauer and Morneau. If those 2 are productive 2nd place isn't out of the question. Kansas City continues its steady improvement to 3rd and will truly look to compete in 2013 and beyond. The White Sox will be a tough team to watch this year, with little depth, and lots of high strikeout players.


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We don't just offer great stoves, we have a complete end to end service for your satisfaction
Here are some of the beautiful stoves we can supply and install
Here is just a small selection of some of our completed stove and flue installations
Below are some comments from just a few of our very satisfied customers
Please could you say a big thank you to the guys, they all did a great job and were extremely polite and professional.
Rich and his team were great from start to finish, from helping me decide which burner would look best in my fireplace to cleaning up after themselves when they had finished the installation
For more information. Give us a call, pop in, send us an email or fill out the form below!
Unit 5c, The Old Silk Works
Beech Avenue
Tel: 01985 218596
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Fill out the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible


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Most of my family lives in San Diego. My sister and mom are coming up in August for a few days and I have already been planning what I want us to do. One project I have in the works is making stepping stones with them. I want them to each make one so I can put them in the garden and be reminded of our time spent together. I swear I'm getting more sentimental as time goes on. I decided to do a trial run and was surprised at how easy it was.
First you need supplies. I bought all of this stuff at Michaels. The stones were on sale for $2 a bag and the cement was $6, the mold another 2 bucks.
That's a glass of cold brew and it's my second glass today :)
I like how it turned out. Now it has to sit for 48 hours. Please don't crack. What do you like to do when the weather gets warm?
My new Nike gladiators testing out my stepping stone. These shoes were meant for me!
I also made a cute flower for my hair.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Stepping stones
3 comments:
- Helga! said...
Woohoo funky miss!!! Love the stepping stone(we call them pavers) idea! I was thinking ages ago about doing something similar with my neice & nephew but forgot about it!Maybe when the weathers warmer..
You look so CUTE in your colourful get up.I adore it!
- June 27, 2011 at 5:13 PM
- Vix said...
You are just gorgeous! I must have a paver like that, it's so beautiful. I love your gladiators sooooo much, they suit your pretty feet a treat! x
- June 28, 2011 at 7:13 AM
- Danielleorama said...
That stone came out awesome!
Whoa those shoes are crazy, are the super comfortable?
and I see your lalaloopsyyyyyys!
- June 28, 2011 at 4:14 PM
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Employer of Choice: Business Improvement and Growth Specialists
Information and Business Improvement Library
EMPLOYER OF CHOICE: Effective Leadership at Every Level: (aka: Effective Supervisory Practices)
EMPLOYER OF CHOICE: Increasing Revenues to Close the Wage Gap (Effective Selling Processes)
EMPLOYER OF CHOICE: Strategic Small Business Owner
ID Theft Monitoring & Restoration, Legal Plans, Employee Benefits
Client Guarantee, National and International Services
Join Our Team Contact
Employer of Choice: Increasing Revenues to Close the Wage Gap
Some regions offer compensation packages that are lower than surrounding areas. This encourages many members of the local labor pool to commute to surrounding areas for employement opportunities. Offering lower compensation packages also makes the area less attractive to job seekers from other parts or the state, region or nation. These conditions make it harder for local businesses to attract and retain employees, which reduces their efficiencies, increases costs, and reduces profitability. In other words, offering less competitve compensation packages is contrary to becoming an employer of choice.
Increasing compensation packages is a long-term committment. Asking businesses to increase compensation packages that cut into bottom line profits is likely to meet strong resistance. For businesses to increase their compensation packages, they must first increase revenues, and then sustain those increased revenues over time.
Research shows that between 40% to 60% of sales are lost because of ineffective or outdates sales processes. If those lost opportunities were cut in half, revenues would increase from 20% to 30% and without increasing the number of sales prospects or increasing the work load. The means to achieving these results is to have an effective sales training process, with follow-up and accountability processes, that maintain the increased revenues over time.
The Importance of Effective Selling
The ONLY business process that produces PROFIT is the SALES PROCESS. Everything else the company does is an expense. How important is it then, that your sales people perform at the top of their ability? How important is it that they take their ability to a higher level?
Sales Improvement Worksheet
One finacial opportunity for your business lies in getting people that are buying from your competition to buy from your business instead. Other ways are to get existing customers to buy more from you and to buy more often.
These outcomes are best accomplished through more effective marketing and selling processes rather than price discounting.
The basic question business people want answered is,
"How much will my company benefit by improving the attitudes, skills, and behaviors involved in the sales process?"
Using your own numbers, the worksheet below will help you to answer that question.
The Sample Company (see below) determined that its sales representatives had an average closing rate of 15% and $300,000 average annual revenue per person. By improving the average closing rate by only five percentage points to 20%, Sample Company increased revenues by 33% to $400,000 each. {Notice that, after the improvement process, the 5 sales reps are now bringing in the equivalent of what 2 additional reps would have been required to accomplish this growth before the improvement process, and without the added overhead for the 2 additional sales reps.!}
On a separate sheet of paper or spreadsheet, complete the right side of the worksheet using the percentages and dollar figures that you feel would be appropriate for your situation.
Sample Company Your Company
Closing Rates
Closing Rates
Current Averages 15% $300,000 _________% $__________________
Per Person
Improve By 5% points $100,000 _______% Pts $__________________
Improved To 20% $400,000 _________% $__________________
% Improvement 33% 33% _________% _____________%
- -
$ Improvement $100,000 Improvement $__________________________Improvement
# of Sales Reps. x 5 Sales Reps. x # _______________ Sales Reps.
Sales Team
Per Year $_________________________
Per Year
with the same number
of reps. and no additional
effort - just better
Ave Num. of Yrs
x 8 Years x #_____________________Years
Sales Rep. Stays
$4,000,000 $_____________________________________
Sales Development
Than Before
Than Before
- -
Using your own numbers and estimates, you have just answered your own question. You probably found that improving the attitudes, methods, skills, and behaviors of your sales team by even a small percentage, can produce profound increases in sales and profits! It should be noted again that the first year's increase in sales would be more than enough to cover the cost of the development process, and that the positive effects will continue for many years to come.
Contact me for more information.
Effective Selling
is a multi-session coaching process. Spacing between sessions provides focused practice time for each key behavior and to avoid information overload. Workshops are offered in 'private group' or 'mixed group' settings. Customized processes are available.
The Strategic Selling Process
Getting the 1st–Time Appointment
The READ Sales Process
The SPIN Discovery Process
Good Selling Habits
Bad Selling Habits
Preventing Objections
Selling to Multiple Buying Influencers and Committees
Preparing Your Prospect to Sell for You in Your Absence
Avoiding the "I have to think about it" Stalling Tactic
Leveraging the "I have to talk to so-and-so" Stalling Tactic
Deep Relationship Selling
Becoming the Client's Business Development Partner
DISC Personality Style Assessment with Selling Applications
Communication Style Assessment with Selling Applications
Selling to Introverts and Extroverts
Strategic Marketing & Prospecting
Establishing Strategic Relationships
Establishing and Leveraging Strategic Alliances
Establishing and Leveraging Referral Sources
110 Marketing Ideas
Simple but Effective Marketing Plan


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Russian reserves increase by $2.1bn in a week
The international reserves consist of foreign exchange, special drawing rights (SDR) holdings, the reserve position in the IMF and monetary gold.
Unlike Saudi Arabia and China that are spending their reserves to buoy up their currencies, the Russian Central Bank is spending nothing to stem ruble volatility after using $67 billion in a failed attempt to curb a ruble collapse at the end of 2014. The Russian currency fell to 80 against the dollar and 100 against the euro on December 16, 2014.
The strategy has paid dividends in recent weeks as the ruble has rebounded without the central bank intervention. The Russian currency has strengthened on the back of rising oil prices to this year's high of just under 68 rubles against the greenback. Another reason for ruble going up is Friday's decision by the Central Bank to keep the key rate unaltered at 11 percent.
"Vladimir Putin recognized the power of reserves in 2008-2009, when thanks to them he survived the crisis without significant losses. To be left with a small amount of reserves now would be difficult, even just psychologically," Russia's former finance minister Aleksey Kudrin told Bloomberg. He left the post in 2011 during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, but continues to meet Putin to discuss the economy.
Since coming to power in 2000, Putin has boosted Russia's reserves from $13 billion and paid off the country's debt, now one of the lowest among the major economies.


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As the Archdiocese of New York prepares for the arrival of Pope Francis on September 24, 2015, the Archives is taking a look back at the previous papal visits. Pope Francis will be the fourth...Read more
Category Archives: St. Joseph's Seminary
Blessed Pope Paul VI Plants a Tree at St. Joseph's Seminary
As the Archives of the Archdiocese of New York commemorates the 50th anniversary of Blessed Pope Paul VI's 1965 trip to the United States, we also recall his previous United States visits. Monsignor Giovanni Battista...Read more
St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie Collection
The Archives of the Archdiocese of New York has recently made available to researchers the St. Joseph's Seminary, Dunwoodie Collection. This collection documents the history of the Seminary in Dunwoodie, Yonkers, NY. Today the seminary...Read more


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Home > SCAS > Vol. 66 (1967) > Iss. 1
Volume 66, Issue 1 (1967)
Southern California Academy of Sciences can be found at SCAS.
Additional Notes on Snakes Taken in and Near Joshua Tree National Monument, California
Richard B. Loomis and Robert C. Stephens
Studies of the Blood of Ascidia nigra (Savigny) I. Total Blood Cell Counts, Differential Blood Cell Counts, and Hematocrit Values
James A. Vallee Jr.
An Endocranial Cast of the Miocene Dog, Tomarctus, from the Fossil Beds of Barstow, California
George E. Jakway and Jerry T. Clement
Notes on Paracimbocera robusta Vandyke (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)
Elbert L. Sleeper and Sandra L. Jenkins
Elasipod Holothurians of Antarctica I. Genus Amperima Pawson 1965
Candido P. Agatep
Underwater Sounds Associated with Aggressive Behavior in Defense of Territory by the Pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides
David K. Caldwell and Melba C. Cladwell


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Tuesday, July 20, 2010
I found this photo of Willow while looking for another photo and I had to share it. I could have put it up tomorrow and it would have been a Wordless Wednesday. Screw you bloggerverse-I won't be bossed around by your schedule, I'm an unschooler ;)
Labels: wordless wednesday
2 comments:
- Garden Pheenix said...
omg squeeeee! Stop making my womb crave a baby making hobby damn you! lol <3
- July 21, 2010 at 2:57 AM
- Kestrel said...
Oh that is delicious!!!
- July 21, 2010 at 2:37 PM
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Sunday, 16 October 2016
That which is not dead - can still feel pretty bloody awful
15 comments:
Good Lord man, hospitalisation! That's a fairly hefty strain of man flu you have up there, but glad to hear that things are on the up. Not long to half term!ReplyDeleteReplies
I'm counting down the minutes!Delete
Such wonderful nostalgia. A remedy for any ailment.ReplyDeleteReplies
It's certainly helped!Delete
Lovely finds within the garage. I've also been delving within the crawlspace to discover all those long stored RPG's. I've even gotten to the stage to sell many of the old D&D items. However like you, when reminiscing I couldn't add the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay & my Rolemaster/Middle Earth Roleplay to the mix. Get well soon! Those flu's can be horrid these days.ReplyDeleteReplies
I've been seriously tempted by the new Middle Earth supplement for D&D to get that old MERP hit.Delete
- Anonymous16 October 2016 at 17:54
Bugger. Bit of a bad patch you've had of late. Hopefully the rest of the year will pick up and be plain sailing.ReplyDelete
Overcome with nostalgia. My `not Humphrey Bogart' figure may be somewhere.ReplyDeleteReplies
I still have him and the Not Cagney in the packet.Delete
And how about KULT?ReplyDeleteReplies
Yup. Serious mindf*** of a game.Delete
Hope you are feeling better, Call of Cthulhu 4th edition is a great book... got it to :)ReplyDeleteReplies
I've got 4 5 and 6; love em all. Not sure about 7, though.Delete
What wonderful finds! Hope you get the time to use them in a game sometime. I for one have recently got back into Call of Cthulhu, and would love to pick up WFRP again too!ReplyDelete


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Guest Expert: Phyllis Zimbler Miller
You're written a book – or two or three – and you've probably put blood, sweat and tears into making this as good a book as you possibly can.
Now you want people to read this book, don't you?
Then you must be willing to put blood, sweat and tears into learning as much as possible about the tremendous online opportunities to market your book with little or no money spent on advertising and promotion.
(And, of course, once you learn these opportunities you need to implement them – although not all at once.)
How do you start doing this?
First, you commit to understanding that this is not an overnight miracle worker. Effectively using online book marketing (unless you are a mega book author) starts with these steps:
• Identifying places that fans of your book might hang out online
• Joining in those places
• Engaging in online conversations without selling
• Building trust by sharing information helpful to others
As people begin to interact with you online and learn more about you, you can expect many of them to naturally become interested in what you write about. This, then, is the appropriate time to share links to your blog or your book website or a podcast interview someone did with you.
BookBuzzr offers an opportunity for people to get a feel for what your book is about and your writing style. You can put up on BookBuzzr a first chapter or a pivotal chapter or whatever you believe will most entice people to read your entire book. (Or, as I have done with my novel MRS. LIEUTENANT, you can put the entire book on BookBuzzr to be read for free.)
As part of this sharing about your book, the sharing of information about book writing, book editing, book publishing, and book promotion experiences can be very helpful for other writers and can be informative for fans.
Now this is where a blog can be particularly helpful. And writers by definition have an advantage – they can write. (You could also do a video blog)
While it often seems that nonfiction book authors have more to blog about, check out the article written by author Carolyn Howard-Johnson and myself at www.fictionmarketing.com for numerous ideas about how and what to blog on if you're a fiction writer.
But, again, if you decide to blog, you need to commit to blogging over the long haul if you want to see results. And getting people to your blog requires you participating on social media sites to connect with people likely to be interested in your blog posts.
This, in turn, requires researching what's out there. For example, there are book marketing groups on LinkedIn.com in which authors share information with each other.
Join LinkedIn for free, go to groups and search on the words book marketing. The results are returned with the group with the largest number of members at the top and the group with the least number of members at the bottom of the list.
Facebook has groups and Pages (formerly called fan pages) dedicated to all kinds of book writing, publishing and marketing topics.
On Twitter there are lots of writers and editors. For example, do a search on #kidlit or #yalit to get a feel for Twitter participants active in these arenas. And Twitter makes it very easy to start interacting with these people by following them and then tweeting content of interest.
Here's the bottom line:
If you are not willing to put in the time and effort (and frustration sometimes) to make connections that can help your online book marketing, you best not start.
This is because a half-hearted effort over a short period of time won't do it (unless you are incredibly lucky – and even then?).
Say yes!
You've written your book and it's been birthed. Now it's your turn to say yes to giving your book all the care and nurturing that you possibly can in order to share this new entity with your potential fans.
Get started now!
Phyllis Zimbler Miller (@ZimblerMiller on Twitter) and her social media marketing company co-founder Yael K. Miller (@MillerMosaicLLC) work with clients to help them harness the power of social media to promote their book, brand, cause or business. Visit the company's new Facebook Page www.facebook.com/MillerMosaicSocialMedia to get access to a free report and learn more social media marketing tips.
Phyllis is also the author of the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finalist MRS. LIEUTENANT, the co-author of the Jewish holiday book SEASONS FOR CELEBRATION, and the co-author of the book FOUR COMEDY SCREENPLAYS – all available on Amazon.


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Written by Katie A. Charbonneau, AmeriCorps Member proudly serving at Celerity Lanier Charter School.
When you're a City Year AmeriCorps Member, training doesn't end when the academic year begins. Throughout the year, every City Year site has trainings during Learning and Development Days (LDDs). These trainings can be on any topic, from education pathways to determining what your LACY (Leadership After City Year) plan will be. This past Wednesday, we had an LDD that focused on the research of Dr. Gil Noam, founder and director of the Program in Education, Afterschool, and Resiliency (PEAR), and associate professcor at Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Noam was invited to Baton Rouge to teach us about his research in trauma and the resilience of youth. Since the flood this summer, many City Year AmeriCorps Members in Baton Rouge have wondered how to best support our students. In response, Dr. Noam introduced us to The Clover Model, a developmental framework he created. The Clover Model states there are four elements children need to learn and thrive: Active Engagement, Assertiveness, Belonging, and Reflection. These four leaves of the clover represent body, voice, external support, and insight, in that order. When children suffer from trauma, each clover leaf is negatively affected in some capacity. This causes the way children interact with the world to change. Children might become withdrawn and hypervigilant, for example.
As a City Year AmeriCorps Member, I am not a licensed therapist. I am, however, a mentor. I cheer on students as they take their math tests. I take them into the hallway and talk to them when they act out. Your mentoring style must be different with each child. For example, I have one student that is extremely shy. She does not talk and does not ask for help frequently. During the last few months, we have let her whisper answers to us and have even communicated with her through writing. This past week, we made a breakthrough when she read a sentence out loud (though very quietly) in front of the class! Through using The Clover Model, we will be able to better assess what she needs to thrive.
I am so grateful to City Year and Dr. Noam for teaching us about his research. As soon as the LDD ended, I couldn't wait to go back to school and use The Clover Model in class. I know my students are already benefitting from my newfound knowledge.


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First of all, here are two facts about me that prove I'm in position to begin talking about this awesome new Sincerely, Grizzly song. Firstly, I haven't seen an episode of 'Boardwalk Empire', an allegedly amazing HBO show featuring the sad, milky eyes of Steve Buscemi. Secondly, I've never been to Atlantic City…apparently, it's like the classy version of Las Vegas, or some shit?
However, I do listen to a lot of good guitar bands, and Sincerely, Grizzly, one of the finer providers of said genre outta Radelaide, have encapsulated all there is to love about having a headbang to some sad music. SG have perfected the art of a wordy onslaught, and ensured that things don't get boring by inserting more whirlwind passages of flurrying guitar than a duel between Glassjaw and At the Drive-In.


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Puppies Greeting Mom
Code: D-01087
Price: $0.00
Quantity in Basket: None
Photographed on August 28, 2004, and featured on Wolf Park's Photo of the Day, Ayla & Renki greeting their mother, Erin, the alpha female wolf of Wolf Park's "Happy Pack"
The four puppies born in 2004 to Wolf Park's "Happy Pack" were hand raised and reintroduced to their parents pack on August 28th. It was a great reunion. It was also a great photo opportunity for some fantastic photographs of wolves!
Location : Wolf Park
082904 wolf pup pups wolves interaction social behavior greeting rally active submission


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Sci-Fi Revoltech Series No. 010 Woody ("Revoltech Woody") was released for sale in Japan in July of 2010 as part of a series of Revoltech figures modeled after Pixar characters. Of course, Pixar's Woody is a computer animated representation of a cloth doll, which is itself a representation of a wooden puppet from the fictional TV show Woody's Roundup. Therefore, when we talk about Revoltech Woody, we are talking about a plastic representation of a computer simulation of a cloth doll version of a fictional wooden puppet - which is itself constructed to recall the cultural ideal of the Wild West Cowboy. Strictly speaking, Revoltech Woody is an imitation of an imitation of an imitation of a fictional imitation of an inaccurate portrayal of a semi-historical group of human beings.
Kaiyodo has taken great care in making Revoltech Woody an accurate representation of Pixar's movie character. As the blurb on the back of the box states, "Pixar's CG toy becomes a real toy!" Care has been taken to tie the toy to the movie character by attention to the smallest details - Andy's name written on the right boot in a childish scrawl, an empty gun holster. Perhaps the only major departures from the toy depicted in the movie is a difference of materials (a plastic toy instead of a cloth doll), size, and the lack of a pull-string voice box (although a non-functional string is included).
|"I'm a real toy!"
|Inside the flap
A flap on the front opens, revealing the toy itself (behind a plastic window). The other side of the flap has an essay on Woody's role in the Toy Story movies by manga artist and essayist Yamamoto Naoki. Beneath the essay is a series of images from the movies, with explanatory footnotes. The essay begins with a nostalgia-inducing speech about the plastic models and toy robots of youth. Yamamoto uses the bulk of the text to outline Woody's personality and important events in the Toy Story trilogy. Beneath the text are images from the movies, with further explanatory text. Revoltech Woody is placed side by side with Pixar's Woody, showcasing the iconic scenes which the consumer can reproduce with the Revoltech toy.
Additional notes detail the movies' release dates, director, production company, and other details of a distinctly historical nature. This reflects Kaiyodo's concern with models as a tool for transmitting "cultural heritage." The box serves both to appeal to potential consumers, but also as a vehicle for preserving and conveying cultural information. So then, contrary to what we might expect from a toy aimed at supposedly postmodern, animalistic otaku, the box text takes care to record Woody's historical context.
The packaging does not just put Woody (the character) into a historical context, it also takes pains to establish the historic position of value of Sci-Fi Revoltech Series No.10 Woody. While Azuma's Third-Generation otaku supposedly place no special attachment to the position of author, artist, or creator, Woody's packaging proclaims the toy to be "sculpted by Matsumoto Eichiro" no less than six times (four times in English, twice in Japanese). Describing Woody as "sculpted" frames it less as a toy and more as a work of art, echoing Miyawaki Osamu's "art plastic."
The concern with historicity also manifests in information which assures the consumer of Revoltech Woody's exact technical specifications. The box lists the toy's size, scale in relation to the original character, and number of movable, posable joints. These posable joints are a particular point of interest, since the box boats that Revoltech Woody is a "realistic model with the ability to be put into any pose imaginable." This posability (along with the accessories) fulfills a historical function, in that it allows the consumer to reproduce Pixar's Woody with the highest possible accuracy.
|The Revolver Join system
As opposed to traditional sculptures (or plastic models and garage kits), which reproduce a figure in a single point of time in a static pose, Revoltech Woody has the ability to be constantly recast as an almost infinite number of "Woodys." It attempts not just to reproduce an accurate physical likeness of Woody, but rather a dynamic emotional likeness of Woody, mimicking the original Pixar character's full range of expressivity.
However, the packaging does not simply present Revoltech Woody as an accurate representation of Pixar's Woody. It also takes pains to establish it as part of the Revoltech brand. This second appeal is, if anything, more strongly made than the first. The word "Woody" appears 17 times on the entire box (5 times in English, 12 in katakana), including Yamamoto's essay and the captions for the accompanying pictures.
In contrast, the word "Revoltech" appears 28 times on the box (18 in English, 10 times in katakana), not including the usage of similar words such as "Revolver Joint." The entire bottom and right sides of the box are given over to advertisements/explanations of the Revoltech brand, with no reference to Woody. In fact, the only surface on the box which does not prominently display the Revoltech name is the inside flap with Yamamoto's essay. The Revoltech brand name is even more important than the Kaiyodo company name, which appears only 10 times total.
This emphasis, this repetition of the Revoltech name is not simple advertisement of a brand name, but an attempt to emphasize the unique functionality of Revoltech toys. The bottom of the box has a series of four diagrams and explanatory text on "How to make poses like the ones on the package." The right side of the box is dedicated to a full explanation of the Revolver Joint system, specifically mentioning that parts from one Revoltech figure can be swapped out for those of another.
The back of the box details all of the different parts and accessories included with the figure - different hands, faces, articles of clothing and so on which can be swapped out to create the consumer's preferred version of Woody. This is the essence of the appeal to Revoltech; it is not a simple appeal to brand loyalty, but a promise of flexibility, customizability, and adaptability. To say that a figure is "Revoltech" assures the consumer of a certain level of control over the consumption experience, the ability to easily create and recreate infinite versions of a character through the Revolver Joint system.
|Options and accessories
The toy itself provides any number of examples of this. Revoltech Woody has fourteen primary Revolver Joints (neck, right shoulder, left shoulder, right elbow, left elbow, right hand, left hand, waist, right hip, left hip, right knee, left knee, right ankle, left ankle). The hands can be removed and replaced. Revoltech Woody comes with seven different hands, one of which "belongs" to Buzz Lightyear.
Revoltech Woody also comes with two faces, one with a normal expression and one described as the "evil plan" face. The faces can be removed and the positioning of the eyes can be adjusted to "look" in any direction. Finally, Revoltech Woody comes with a detachable cowboy hat, a microphone, and "Lenny," another Toy Story character that Woody uses as a pair of binoculars.
What we have in Revoltech Woody is a figure custom-made for the Third-Generation consumer. Whereas garage kits come as a set of dissected pieces meant to be assembled into a pre-determined whole, Revoltech Woody comes as a pre-assembled whole intended to be dissected. The arms of a garage kit model must be carefully cut from a plastic frame, painted, and glued into place. Revoltech Woody can be disassembled and reassembled in seventeen different places with the absolute minimum of effort. While the packaging presents Revoltech Woody as a vehicle for cultural information, the figure itself resembles nothing so much as Dejiko - a simulacra made up of database elements which can be switched around at will to cater to the particular tastes of consumers.
In Millennial Monsters, Anne Allison defines the "polymorphous perversity" as consisting of "continual change and stretching of desire across ever new zones/bodies/products" (277). While Allison points out examples of this in diverse Japanese media products from Power Rangers to Pokémon, this quality of polymorphous perversity is perhaps most clearly seen in the Revoltech line. Whereas a Tamagochi may be gender-queer and Pokémon may take place in a deconstructed, ultra-fluid postmodern environment, the Revoltech system has the capacity to break down media properties that started with social narratives (such as the morality of play in Toy Story) and convert them into polymorphous perverse collections of database elements.
The Revoltech line is not simply a brand to which consumers are meant to form an affective alliance with. It is a physical database of moe elements, the Tinami search engine rendered in plastic. While First and Second Generation consumers may be attracted to the cultural and historical information provided by the packaging, the toys themselves consist of continual change, of an infinite variety of possible bodies which can be easily assembled and disassembled.
Whereas a garage kit consists of a limited number of parts intended to be assembled into a single "correct" finished product, a Revoltech figure comes with too many parts. No matter how a consumer puts together Revoltech Woody, he or she will still have "left overs," extra hands and faces. Revoltech Woody is not designed to be completed, he is designed to be eternally "incomplete." Like a split atom, his power consists not in wholeness, but in the released energy of separation.
One of the main features of Azuma's Database Model is that it has a "double-layer structure of information and appearance" (33). The underlying information forms the database, which is "read up" by consumers into individual small narratives. Kaiyodo Woody has the exact same structure. First, Pixar's Woody was converted into the underlying structure, the "accumulation of encoded information" comprised of the individual Revolver Joint pieces (32). From these pieces, any number of small narratives can be constructed, of which the "historical" one presented in the essay or Toy Story are only one option among many.
Whereas Toy Story presented physical disassembly as an act of horror which destroys a toy's ability to speak, the Revoltech system presents physical disassembly as a means of creating any number of Woodys suited to the consumer's particular tastes. Instead of destroying a toy's ability to communicate, the Revolver Joint system, with its excess of hands and faces, allows for the toy to "communicate" a much wider array of potential emotions than a traditional, static toy.
Unlike Sid, who dissects his toys from a position of egocentric non-recognition, postmodern animalistic consumers engage in recombinative play because they feel an emotional attachment to characters and to the moe elements from which they are constructed. Like the gamers Azuma describes, who "break" the code of their favorite visual novels so that they can create new scenarios and engage in further play, animalistic consumers of Revoltech Woody are able to pull him apart and reconstruct him in order to engage in an almost infinite array of emotionally engaging play scenarios.
Like the toys in Toy Story, Revoltech Woody comes with a pre-constructed corporate narrative. In Toy Story, Buzz Lightyear internalizes the marketing blurb that appears on his package, a short description of his role as a Space Ranger. Kaiyodo's marketing blurb far outstrips this message both in length and in detail. However, while Buzz Lightyear struggled to create a new identity distinct from his built-in blurb, Revoltech Woody has had no such trouble.
In a sense, Revoltech Woody is a microcosm of Kaiyodo and of Azuma's three Eras. He addresses Grand Narrative concerns of historicity and technical accuracy while also functioning as a Database-driven simulacrum. Here we see Miyawaki Osamu's concern for plastic models as art and as vehicles for cultural heritage, Miyawaki Shūichi's concern for accurate representation of fictional characters, and Third Generation concern for polymorphous perversity in a single product. Consumers can relate to Revoltech Woody in their own manner of choosing.
While Pixar's Woody was clearly from the Era of Fiction, the international response to Revoltech Woody leans more toward the Era of Animalization. By breaking down Pixar's Woody into a series of Database elements, Kaiyodo transformed an Era of Fiction character into an Era of Animalization toy. It should not surprise us that Third Generation consumers were able to easily repurpose a toy with parts that can be interchanged with hundreds of other Revoltech figures away from its original corporate narrative to an original one. It may surprise us just what form this new, consumer-driven narrative took.
Next: [DC012] Creepy Woody: Polymorphous Perversity
Next: [DC012] Creepy Woody: Polymorphous Perversity


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A new study has found that a large percentage of melanomas and certain other types of cancer - including some leukemias and thyroid cancers - are spurred by a mutation in the BRAF gene that relies on a supply of copper. The researchers suggest these cancers might respond to drugs that are already used to block copper absorption in a rare genetic condition.
Christopher M. Counter, professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke University School of Medicine, in Durham, NC, and colleagues write about their findings in Nature.
Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute, it kills around 10,000 Americans a year.
At least half of melanomas are caused by mutations in the BRAF gene, which normally helps to regulate cell division and differentiation. When mutated, it causes cells to grow out of control.
In their background information, the researchers explain how they already knew that a typical mutation of the BRAF gene activates a chain of events that triggers a cancer-causing pathway called MAPK (short for mitogen-activated protein kinase).
Targeting some of the enzymes that trigger this pathway, together with a drug that inhibits the BRAF mutation, is already showing promise as a treatment for advanced melanoma, they note.
In previous work, the team had already found that copper boosts the effectiveness of one of the enzymes that trigger the pathway that causes BRAF-positive cancers.
Prof. Counter says that "BRAF-positive cancers like melanoma almost hunger for copper."
Starving the pathway of copper reduced tumor growth in mice and human cells
The researchers found if they starved the pathway of copper, it decreased BRAF mutation signals and reduced tumor growth in mice and human cells.
In this new study, the reearchers found if they starved the pathway of copper, it decreased the signals sent out by the BRAF mutation and reduced tumor growth in mice and human cells.
They found the same result with drugs used to treat people with Wilson disease - a rare genetic condition where copper builds up in tissues of the brain, liver, and other parts of the body and causes damage.
They suggest the drugs - which are taken orally - could be redesigned to treat BRAF-positive cancers like melanoma, and perhaps even lung and thyroid cancers.
Duke has already got the go-ahead to proceed with a clinical trial to test copper-reducing drugs in patients with melanoma.
Prof. Counter says, "This is a great example of how basic research moves from the laboratory to the clinic."
Funds from the National Institutes of Health, the Lymphoma Foundation and donations made in the name of Linda Woolfenden, plus other sources, helped to finance the study.
In October 2013, Medical News Today learned how researchers found a new biomarker for melanoma that could help predict whether patients with melanoma harboring mutations in the BRAF gene are likely to respond to treatments that target them.


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May 20, 2019 - Latest: What has happened to markets this year? by Darius McDermott
7th July 2014
Consumers have little trust in the pensions industry, which they associate with scandals, incompetence and wrong doing finds a new report.
The research from the government's workplace pension scheme body, the National Employment Savings Trust, or NEST as it is better known, found that consumers feel "disconnected" from pension schemes.
However it also concluded that savers still want to be reassured that the people responsible for growing their retirement savings are doing so responsibly and with an understanding of their concerns.
Consumers associate poor investment performance with embezzlement, and market downturns are blamed on bad fund management.
The organisation is calling on the pensions industry to start taking consumer's fears into account.
The report says: "The financial crisis has been particularly damaging for the image of investment. 'Investment' is considered to be the main culprit in the crisis. Given a lack of knowledge about what the investment industry is and what it does, members struggle to differentiate it from betting. Reports of 'casino banking' have underlined the perception that the investment industry is characterised by gamblers."
The research also found that pensions tend to be in the news for the wrong reasons. As a result, the public has a generally sceptical view of the industry. Stories of people losing all their money endure in the collective public memory.
It seems that for many consumers 'Maxwell' is the biggest brand in pensions, as NEST's survey found that people still referred to Robert Maxwell and his role in the collapse of the Mirror Group pension scheme.
Worryingly, the report also found that in consumers' minds pensions are already guaranteed and discovering this is not the case is 'shocking' to many. However, those who are prepared to pay higher charges for greater certainty of outcome are very much the minority and they're not happy about having to do so.
It concluded that the top three questions savers want answers to are:
Tim Jones, chief executive of NEST, says: "As an industry we need to find innovative ways of providing greater certainty for savers, but without high charges and without foregoing inflation-beating growth. We also need to find ways to help consumers feel they are at the heart of a debate that is about helping them achieve their retirement goals."


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MONTICELLO — On a winter afternoon, Greg Merton wheels his pacer and bike onto the track. Together, they will go through their usual paces.
MONTICELLO — On a winter afternoon, Greg Merton wheels his pacer and bike onto the track. Together, they will go through their usual paces.
The pacer, a thousand pound, 3-year-old horse, is a little excited and antsy in the brisk air. Merton gently pulls back on the reins and brings the animal under control. This is one of several times today Merton will be on the track. For him, this is just another day at the races.
Merton, 35, is a harness racer at Monticello Raceway. Born and raised in Monticello, he's been around horses all his life. And harness racing is in his blood. He told the Times Herald-Record what is life on the track is all about.
My father raced here, and I always knew I would do the same. I must have been 6 or 7 when I sat behind my first horse. By the way, the little carts we sit in are called bikes because of the two large bicycle wheels. And the bike is attached to the horse by the harness. Makes sense, right?
While I was growing up, I worked at odd jobs at the track. I did a lot of barn work, too. I grew up on a farm so I was used to hard work and always knew how to handle horses.
I started racing full-time when I was 16. I'm 35 now, and I must have raced 15,000 times. There's a lot to this game that doesn't meet the eye. A horse may be a great trotter or pacer, but without a driver who knows what to do, that horse may never win. There's strategy involved.
First of all, there are two types of harness racing that involves two kinds of horses. Trotters move their legs forward in diagonal pairs, right front and left hind, then left front and right hind striking the ground at the same time. Pacers move their legs laterally, right front and right hind together, then left front and left hind. Pacing races constitute about 80 percent of the racing here at Monticello. That's what I do.
We all race on a one-mile track. When the horses come out of the starting gate, some drivers try to grab the lead right away, but we all have to avoid getting boxed in as the horses form two lines — one along the rail and the other on the outside.
The best place I like to be is along the rail behind the lead horse. This is known as "the pocket," because there's no wind resistance to contend with. My horse can ride the lead's drag and have an easier time of it.
By the time we near the three-quarter mile mark, I'll try to advance in front of the lead horse because it's tired now. My horse, after riding in the lead's drag, is a bit fresher. Things get a bit clustery for us as we reach the finish line. Visually, a close race is always exciting for the spectators.
I race six to eight times a day with different horses. I've won around 2,700 races and made over $10 million in winnings.
Racing is what I think I was born to do. And I'll keep on doing it until I can't do it anymore. There aren't any age restrictions in this business. There's a doctor from Pine Bush who races competitively, and he's 87 years old. So if I'm healthy enough, why not?
I've been lucky — no major mishaps or serious injuries. The worse thing that has happened was a sprained ankle I suffered in a spill. It happened during a race when the horse ahead of me fell and there wasn't time for me to avoid hitting it. My horse jumped over the downed horse, but my bike flipped up when I hit the animal. Since none of us are seat-belted down, I was catapulted through the air. It could have been worse. People are working on getting safety vests for us and better helmets.
When I'm not racing, I like to spend my time with the family. My wife, Barb, owns and grooms horses. And we have a 2-year-old son named Joseph. I don't think I would like to see him be a driver in this game; too dangerous. Yeah, I know I'm using a double standard, but what's the point of being a dad if I can't?
Sheldon Scruggs profiles people in unique professions and odd jobs. He can be reached at email@example.com. In Their Words appears Sundays.


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* Products used to create design are also listed.
Yellow Bowl Or Mug With Smiley Face
Wet Floral Foam
Foliage: Variegated Pittosporum, Eucalyptus, Curly Willow
Yellow Asiatic Lilies
Red Carnations
Yellow Button Poms
* Prices shown in US Dollars, do not include delivery charge and may vary during holidays. The color or variety of some flowers, plants and containers may be substituted due to regional or seasonal availability.


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Grants for Bundoran and Ballyshannon water sports facilities
Two water sports facilities in Ballyshannon and Bundoran have been grant aided by Minister of State for Sports, Michael Ring, T.D.
Announcing the grants, Deputy Dinny McGinley, said an additional grant of E196,920 has been approved for Waterworld, Bundoran to bring totalgrants to this particular facility since last November to a total of E400,000.
Ballyshannon Swimming Pool has been approved a further E264,390, bringing a total allocation to that Swimming Pool to E338,040.
Minister McGinley welcomed both recent allocations commenting that almost E750,000 has now been approved to enhance these recreational facilities in Ballyshannon and Bundoran.
"Not alone will it be of tremendous assistance to the local people, it will add to the attractions of Ballyshannon and Bundoran for tourists and others," he said.


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Jazz Semiconductor, part of the TowerJazz group, is an ITAR registered on-shore supplier participating in numerous U.S. government programs and partnerships through its Newport Beach, CA facility.
To further meet aerospace and defense customers' needs, in July 2013, Jazz Semiconductor Trusted Foundry (JSTF) a wholly owned subsidiary of Jazz Semiconductor was created and accredited as a Category 1A Trusted Supplier by the United States Department of Defense's (DoD's) Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) as a manufacturer of semiconductors that may be used in trusted applications. In addition, as of October 2014, JSTF has been accredited with Category 1B.


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This is a relatively easy way to motivate students without having to give something to each person, and I'm always amazed at how much interest and enthusiasm it generates. The only item not purchased locally is the box of Bonne Maman Tartelettes Citron below. Those were a gift from French friends who were visiting us this summer, but I will share them with my students!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Prizes for your students
Make your classroom a place of surprises by rewarding your students often. I like to use French products as rewards so that students can learn about them. Most of these items were purchased at local grocery stores (Busch's and Heartland Marketplace). The favorite prize seems to be the limonade.
I try to give away several prizes in each class at the beginning of the year in order to set a positive tone. Sometimes I give prizes at random ( for example, I might hide a sticker under a random desk before class starts and give the prize to whoever chooses that desk). Sometimes I ask a difficult question that I know not everyone will be able to answer, and award the prize to the student who answers correctly.
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When is good news not as good as it seems? Well, the foreclosure numbers from the first quarter of 2011 offer a good example.
The news seems positive at first blush, as headlines declare declining foreclosure activity: Foreclosure filings hit three-year low. But behind the numbers, the story is more complex, says Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, the firm that monitors foreclosures.
Looked at through Patchwork Nation's 12 county types, the wealthy Monied Burbs are home to a large number of the most severely affected communities.
With roughly four foreclosures for every 1,000 homes in the first quarter, the Burbs rank second in our analysis — just behind the big city Industrial Metropolis counties, where properties like expensive condos drive much of the problem. This represents the first time since Patchwork Nation began examining the foreclosure problem that the Burbs scored so high compared to the other county types.
That's worrisome because those counties drive much of America's consumer economy, as we have noted in more in-depth reporting. And even as the unemployment rate drops in those places, as we wrote earlier this week, these numbers serve as a reminder that all is not well in middle-class and upper-middle-class America.
Real Declines?
Still, there appears to be some good news in these numbers.
The foreclosure numbers seem to be settling down somewhat in the Boom Town counties that grew in the early half of the last decade and were hammered early in the foreclosure mess. The numbers aren't "low" there, but at 3.41 foreclosures per 1,000 homes in this quarter, things have improved.
And, yes, there are some other declines in these numbers, like the drop since 2008.
But the troubled spots are still troubled, and there some signs of things worsening elsewhere, spreading into the Burbs and more distant rural areas.
And a more important a question is, how real are the numbers being reported? The robo-signing scandal, in which many homes were pushed into foreclosure improperly and prematurely, has led banks to hold back on pursuing action on troubled properties. No one knows for certain how many properties this affects.
And there is simply the way the RealtyTrac numbers are structured, Sharga says. The RealtyTrac system looks for new foreclosure activity, but not "refilings," where banks re-initiate proceedings on properties where they had ceased action. That's what happens after a bank has gone back over the record and determines that it wants to go forward with a foreclosure.
So, the current reported figures that show 681,153 properties in some state of foreclosure in the first quarter miss a big piece of the equation.
"We've had about 60,000-70,000 refilings a month," Sharga said. "If we included refilings, we would have seen about 900,000 in the first quarter."
Because the robo-signing mess is taking a long time to sort out, banks are going slow — and they may for some time.
And the net result is we may never get a big rush for foreclosures, Sharga says, but a slow drip, drip, drip where the housing market really doesn't get worse, but also doesn't get better. The thought used to be that 2011 would be the high-water mark for foreclosures, but now, he says, it may end up being 2010, with the rest dribbling out slowly over time, dragging out the poor market.
He now says he expects the market to get back to some semblance of normal in late 2014, probably 2015.
Where Will the Problems Fall?
When everything is sorted out, it may be that the drops in the Boom Towns are a function of re-filings or of foreclosures being held back. And then there is the question of what relatively higher foreclosure numbers in the Monied Burbs mean.
Are they relatively higher because a large number of the foreclosure robo-signings occurred somewhere else and they just aren't showing up in these filings? That's a very real possibility. Those places were full of bad loans and lenders may have thought they could simply slide paperwork through without considering it fully.
Or is much of the robo-signing backlog, and the refiling, still to come in the Burbs? That would probably be a worse outcome for the overall economy because it means consumer spending in those places would slow, possibly dramatically.
And none of this, of course, takes into account the falling homes prices around the country — a phenomenon that is still occuring.
So hold the champagne. The foreclosure mess may look better on paper, for the moment, but the problem is still far from being resolved.


text: On Thu, Dec 01, 2005 at 10:35:56AM +0800, Xu Ryan wrote: > Thank you, but ClientCreator is seems just send message for once?? My > app need connect with auth info, then send a command and request the > return value. Can i use ClientCreator? ClientCreator is simply an easy way to establish a single connection to a server. It has nothing to do with what happens to the connection after that; that's what the Protocol does. I can't really give you any more specific help without more information about your problem. -Andrew.


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I have had the wild fortune of having two mentors in my life. Some people only ever have one, some never experience help like that. Almost everything I know about law can be credited to two people, Brian Keane and David Kaplan. I worked for them both at The Kaplan/Bond Group. And these two guys could literally not be less alike! So it made for a perfect ying yang type of learning. I'm positive I have a whole blog dedicated to Brian for another day, but today I'm going to talk about David. This character goes by various names, Uncle Dave, Davey, the old guy, but I most affectionately call him DB, as do most who consider him family. On the surface he comes across as the tough guy who got a little crotchety over the years but when you get to the core he's a caring, funny funny guy and a great teacher. And he should be, he's been in this business about two and a half times as long as I've been walking the earth! Although some of the "rules" you learn from him are totally made up in DB land! When I was working there, Electra and I used to regularly try to get our bosses to call it an office holiday and throw a few back. Didn't work too often, so we became inordinately good at coming up with cacamamey reasons!
One of my absolute favorite stories is the day we went into DB to talk about a possible St. Patrick's Day "office holiday"….hey, about half the office was Irish seems valid! Anyway, the discussion quickly got to a Kegs & Eggs themed party! DB was soooo confused about this concept. So we quickly explained that you eat green eggs and drink beer for breakfast. I may have never seen him laugh so hard in my 4 years at that firm. He was totally on board……not so much for breakfast, but it was definitely a small battle won! Electra and I congratulated ourselves on a job well done and began to plan the party.
So obviously I was going to have to come up with some kind of green egg concoction that would make it to work and be ok heated up in the toaster oven. That's when I decided to make a quiche with spinach to make it green! So I mixed up eggs, feta and spinach and took it in. DB literally talked about this thing for like a year afterwards he loved it so much! And this comes from a man that I used to sit in front of to make sure he was eating! He'd just get busy and not eat…Imagine, forgetting to eat!?!? I'll NEVER suffer from that particular problem.
So I decided to one night have a throw back to the Kegs & Eggs minus the keg and make a quiche for dinner. But I didn't really want spinach. So I came up with the much more veggie laden version that I had for dinner tonight.
3 whole eggs
1 ½ crowns broccoli
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
½ green pepper, chopped
½ white onion, diced
2 green onions, sliced
6 oz grilled chicken, chopped
¼ cup feta cheese crumbles
2 tsp oregano
olive oil
First off, you can use a pie crust if you're not worried about it or just put it all in a glass pie pan without it. Cut the broccoli into big pieces. Coat broccoli, green pepper pieces and white onion lightly in olive oil and roast at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, beat the whole eggs and egg whites. Put ½ the feta, the eggs, green onions, red pepper, chicken, oregano and s&p into a large bowl. Take the broccoli combo out of the oven. Chop some to break the broccoli pieces down a bit smaller. Mix those in with all the other ingredients. Pour into your pie pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top. Bake for another 10 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before cutting.
This thing was so yummy and even with my big eater husband, we had leftovers! Maybe I'll take them to DB!


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