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By Geir
From: Tucson, AZ
Dec 18, 2011
|This is a nice, warm crag with good moderate climbs. The mixed climbs are well protected and offer interesting climbing, and the two sport climbs add more fun to the area. The approach is easy on the well-marked trail. Nice work!
By Marcy
From: Tempe/Tuscon, AZ
Dec 18, 2011
|Nice area with an easy approach. Fun driving into the Refuge after the recent rains! Thanks for the routes Arjun, David, et al.
By arjunmh
From: Phoenix & Prescott, AZ
Mar 5, 2012
|Found a blue jacket at the base of "Isis in Crisis" yesterday. Let me know if you lost one.


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Hi..my daughter has a nasty head cold...if i give her something w/ pseudoephedrine, it helps her cold but raises her sugar,,,if i give her something homeopathic, her sugar is fine but her cold is awful..any advice?,,marnie
Hi Marnie,
Since taking Vit D3, I never get colds. Perhaps D3 (oil caps) would help your daughter's cold. Zinc supplements also help. Would she use a neti pot?
How much D3 do you take? Tried the netti pot...she hated it...thx, marnie
My husband hates the neti pot also. My D3 measured super low & it took months of 10,000 units daily to get it up to healthy levels. I still take that dose. According to Dr. Cannell of the Vit D Council http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-vitamin-d/, the amount of sunlight needed to convert would be the equivalent of 20,000 units daily.
Thx, I will look into it...She hasn't been outside much lately...exercising with the Wii since Christmas!

subset: commoncrawl


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As Xbox 360 enters its fifth year on the market in times past we would typically be bracing ourselves for the arrival of its successor – but Microsoft reckons that its popular console may not have even reached middle age.
"I think in many ways we're still on the upside of the console lifecycle," the president of Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division Robbie Bach told CBC.
"Historically, the content cycle has been driven by graphic technology. There's still plenty of power available in the Xbox 360, there's still plenty of power available in the PS3. Nintendo probably can't say that.
"But the console world has changed fundamentally in a very important way – innovation doesn't require new hardware. The fact that we can deliver a new Xbox Live service every year is a very powerful thing and completely changes the experience without changing the console, without requiring the industry to reboot every five years.
"The fact that we can introduce something like Project Natal and have it work on every Xbox 360 and create an entirely new way to interact with the system speaks to all of that. For the industry, I think this is a tremendously positive thing. For consumers I think it's tremendously positive."


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I have seen no documentation that this John Frazier is the son of Joseph Frazier. The Estep narrative did not name the father, although he did name the Frazier brothers and the relationship to the Scott family in early Augusta Co, Va.
I have seen Ewing history which says John, 1735, is either a brother or son of Joseph Frazier, son of Joseph Frazier who married Eleanor Ewing.
Where is the documentation that John Frazier, born about 1717, is the son of Joseph Frazier?
I see no documentation that John Frazier died in Augusta Co Va. Family lore is he left VA, and the Chalkey's Ledgerwood entry does seem to establish that. It says he left the state, and died in an accident.
From Revolutionary War Pension Records, there was a John Frazier, born 1755 at Calf Pasture and Christian Creek area of Augusta Co, lived in Rockbridge Co in 1832, served in the Revolutionary War under Lieutenant Campbell and others. You do not show him in any of your work, thus it is in error. He is a documented John Frazier, and likely the son of the John Frazier who you (erronously, I believe) state died in Augusta Co, and was first married to Isabella Moody. Isabella was listed as a widow in the late 1750's, but that title was conferred on women who husbands had left them, in additon to those whose husbands were deceased.


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Buffet concert to be broadcast live at Long Prairie drive-in on June 19
Jimmy Buffett & The Coral Reefer Band have announced "Live At The Drive-In," a live performance at the Coyote Drive-In on Panther Island in Fort Worth, Texas on Thursday, June 19.
For the first time ever, a performance will be simultaneously broadcast to drive-ins across the country, including the Long Drive-In in Long Prairie, Minn.
There are currently only 75 other participating drive-ins from coast to coast.
The drive-in community is rallying behind this concert — just as it has with the digital conversion efforts of recent years — emerging stronger and more unified.
The drive-ins, fans and communities are proving once again that these nostalgic venues can hold their own in the 21st century.
To purchase tickets, visit Margaritaville.com/LiveAtTheDrive-In or visit your local drive-in box office.
For participating drive-ins, and for drive-in sign up, visit Liveatthedrive-in.com.


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Jeff Hoffman has quickly transformed from high school thrower into one of the top pitchers in college baseball.
A sophomore at East Carolina University, the Shaker High grad was named to the Golden Spikes Watch List on Thursday, one of only 60 players in the country and one of just 10 underclassmen.
A potential All-America candidate Hoffman, who picked up his fifth victory last Friday, was named the ace of the Pirates staff before the start of the season.
"I think it's huge for my confidence because I know all of those people (supporters of ECU baseball) are behind me and they want me to do well," he said. "I think it gives me the extra energy to go out and do what I do best."
In his most recent outing, Hoffman leveled his record to 5-5, with a win over Southern Miss, where he pitched seven strong innings and struck out five. The righty has a 3.06 ERA and compiled 69 strikeouts in 88 1/3 innings pitched.
During his freshman season, Hoffman posted a 3-2 record, with a 3.67 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 73 innings, as he quickly proved that he could play at the collegiate level.
Now, Hoffman is making waves nationally, as he pitched in the prestigious Cape Cod League following his freshman season and was selected to the All-Star game, finishing with a 2-1 record for Hyannis.�
Hoffman was The Record's Baseball Player of the Year his senior season at Shaker, in 2011, as he helped lead the Blue Bison to the New York State Class AA championship game.
Still, he said he had a lot to learn. Hoffman knew he could overpower high school hitters with his fastball and mixed in other pitches, but wasn't really sure why he was throwing certain pitches in certain situations.
In less than two years and with loads of hard work, Hoffman has gone from a solid starter to elite status.
"I really learned how to pitch once I got here," he said of his arrival to East Carolina.
Hoffman gives a lot of credit to Associate Head Coach Dan Roszel, while also mentioning trainer Zac Womack and Strength & Conditioning coach Blaine Kinsley, who have helped him put on some much needed muscle.
In high school, Hoffman was tall and lanky, but he's added nearly 30 pounds to his 6-foot-4 frame and is now close to 190 pounds.�
That's helped him stay fresh and have more muscle behind his pitches.
Last season, Hoffman's right arm grew fatigued through the long college season, which he wasn't used to coming from Upstate New York.
Now, he's working deep into almost every game. Hoffman has worked into the seventh inning in 10 of his 12 starts and even pitched 9 2/3 innings, in an extra-innings victory over Tulane.
"I'm giving my team a chance to win every time I go out," he said. "I think that's huge for the team."
Hoffman has had some great outings, like a complete game, one-hitter against North Carolina Central, but the game he points to, was one that East Carolina actually lost.
Facing No. 21 Rice, Hoffman struck out nine hitters as he locked into a pitcher's duel that was scoreless into the ninth inning. The Owls ended up scoring three unearned runs in the ninth, prevailing 3-0, but it was quite the start for Hoffman.��
"That game, I was dealing," he said. "I was in the zone. Every pitch I threw was competitive. Against a team like Rice, that's a great thing to do for your team."
Last summer Hoffman was sent to the Cape and he made the most playing against some of the top talent in the country.
"I learned pretty quickly that I can compete with pretty much anybody," he said. "As a freshman seeing that stuff, it was an unbelievable experience and a great opportunity to show what you've got."
Hoffman still has at least one more college season ahead of him, but he plans to take his game to the next level one day soon. The way he's progressing, there may be no limit to his potential.
"I feel like I've given myself a great shot to play pro baseball someday and to make some money doing it," he said. "That's always been the goal, to do what I love for a living and I'm not going to stop anytime soon."


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Research Topics
Shelley Smith
Affiliation: University of Nebraska Medical Center
Country: USA
Detail Information
- Genes, language development, and language disordersShelley D Smith
Department of Pediatrics, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198 5456, USA
Ment Retard Dev Disabil Res Rev 13:96-105. 2007..Understanding these processes can form the basis for refined procedures for diagnosis and treatment...
- Tietz syndrome (hypopigmentation/deafness) caused by mutation of MITFS D Smith
Center for Hereditary Communication Disorders, Boys Town National Research Hospital, 555 North 30th Street, Omaha, NE 68131, USA
J Med Genet 37:446-8. 2000....
- Etiologies and molecular mechanisms of communication disordersShelley D Smith
Department of Pediatrics and Munroe Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198 5960, USA
J Dev Behav Pediatr 31:555-63. 2010..When combined with careful phenotypic studies, molecular genetic studies have the potential to refine the clinical definitions of communication disorders and influence their remediation...
- Approach to epigenetic analysis in language disordersShelley D Smith
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
J Neurodev Disord 3:356-64. 2011....
- TDT-association analysis of EKN1 and dyslexia in a Colorado twin cohortHaiying Meng
Department of Pediatrics, Yale Child Health Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, 464 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06520 8081, USA
Hum Genet 118:87-90. 2005..Alternatively, the published findings of association with markers in EKN1 may reflect linkage disequilibrium with variation in another gene(s) in the region...
- Gene x Environment interactions in speech sound disorder predict language and preliteracy outcomesLauren M McGrath
University of Denver, Department of Psychology, Frontier Hall, 2155 S Race Street, Denver, CO 80209, USA
Dev Psychopathol 19:1047-72. 2007..The direction of these interactions and possible interpretations are explored in the discussion...
- Refinement of the 6p21.3 quantitative trait locus influencing dyslexia: linkage and association analysesKaren E Deffenbacher
Center for Human Molecular Genetics, Munroe Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center, NE Medical Center MMI Rm 3085, Omaha, NE 68198 5455, USA
Hum Genet 115:128-38. 2004..The results of the association study have thereby allowed us to significantly reduce the number of possible candidate genes and to prioritize genes for further mutation screening...
- A 77-kilobase region of chromosome 6p22.2 is associated with dyslexia in families from the United Kingdom and from the United StatesClyde Francks
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Am J Hum Genet 75:1046-58. 2004..In addition, the QTL effect may be largely limited to the severe range of reading disability...
- DCDC2 is associated with reading disability and modulates neuronal development in the brainHaiying Meng
Department of Pediatrics, Yale Child Health Research Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 102:17053-8. 2005..The statistical and functional studies are complementary and are consistent with the latest clinical imaging data for RD. Thus, we propose that DCDC2 is a candidate gene for RD...
- Independent genome-wide scans identify a chromosome 18 quantitative-trait locus influencing dyslexiaSimon E Fisher
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Oxford, OX3 7BN, UK
Nat Genet 30:86-91. 2002..This is the first report of QTL-based genome-wide scanning for a human cognitive trait...
- Neuropsychology and genetics of speech, language, and literacy disordersRobin L Peterson
Department of Psychology, University of Denver, 2155 South Race Street, Denver, CO 80208, USA
Pediatr Clin North Am 54:543-61, vii. 2007..Research across levels of analysis is progressing rapidly to promote understanding not only of each disorder by itself but also of the relationships of the three disorders to each other...
- Fine mapping of the chromosome 2p12-16 dyslexia susceptibility locus: quantitative association analysis and positional candidate genes SEMA4F and OTX1Clyde Francks
Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, UK
Psychiatr Genet 12:35-41. 2002..Our study outlines the approach necessary for the identification of genetic variants causing dyslexia susceptibility in an epidemiological population of dyslexics...
- Breakthroughs in the search for dyslexia candidate genesLauren M McGrath
University of Denver, Department of Psychology, Frontier Hall, 2155 S Race St, Denver, CO 80208, USA
Trends Mol Med 12:333-41. 2006..When causal variants are identified, they will need to be considered within a multifactorial framework, which is likely to involve gene-gene and gene-environment interactions, to make accurate predictions of diagnostic status...
- Collaborative analysis of DRD4 and DAT genotypes in population-defined ADHD subtypesRichard D Todd
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
J Child Psychol Psychiatry 46:1067-73. 2005..The goal of the current study is to test whether population-based ADHD subtypes defined by latent class analysis help resolve issues of variable findings across individual gene association studies...
- Linkage of speech sound disorder to reading disability lociShelley D Smith
University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA
J Child Psychol Psychiatry 46:1057-66. 2005..The present study tested whether SSD is linked to replicated risk loci for RD...
- Quantitative trait locus for reading disability on chromosome 6p is pleiotropic for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderErik G Willcutt
Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309, USA
Am J Med Genet 114:260-8. 2002....
- Joint analysis of the DRD5 marker concludes association with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder confined to the predominantly inattentive and combined subtypesNaomi Lowe
Department of Genetics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
Am J Hum Genet 74:348-56. 2004..The joint analysis showed association with the DRD5 locus (P=.00005; odds ratio 1.24; 95% confidence interval 1.12-1.38). This association appears to be confined to the predominantly inattentive and combined clinical subtypes...
- DFNA2/KCNQ4 and its manifestationsEls M R De Leenheer
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Centre Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Adv Otorhinolaryngol 61:41-6. 2002
- Differential genetic etiology of reading component processes as a function of IQValerie S Knopik
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri 63108, USA
Behav Genet 32:181-98. 2002....


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A teenage girl's mind is a strange place. Not that I have any factual evidence to prove this, of course, as I've never experienced life inside of one on account of my penis, but from an outsider's perspective at least, a teenage girl's mind is a strange place. Whereas male teenagers tend to go through adolescence with bottoms, nipples and vaginas flashing through their brain at random, frequent intervals, female teenagers instead focus on one member of the opposite sex at a time (or, in this case, five members of the opposite sex who have morphed into one) and, rather than simply wanting to touch their genitalia, they seem to express an inordinate amount of affection for them that is far more complex than that which inspires a pubescent erection.
Back in 2007, The Jonas Brothers captured many a 13-year-old heart with their "we're so sexy we don't even have sex" shtick. After that there was Bieber, with his big floppy fringe, hi-tops, "swag" and precociousness. Now there's One Direction: young, British and of varying degrees of handsomeness.
Let's make snap judgements of them based upon their appearance. From left to right we have Louis Tomlinson, the "kooky" one on account of him sometimes wearing suspenders; Zayn Malik, who isn't smiling in the above photograph and has a tattoo so I can only assume will be the first to exit the group due to excessive drug use; Niall Horan, who is Irish and therefore a closeted alcoholic; Harry Styles, the "fuckable" one with hair that looks like Davy Crockett's hat; and Liam Payne, who is about as forgettable as a particularly unenthusiastic sneeze.
These five 18-20 year-old lads, who were X Factor runners-up no less than two years ago, are making young girls the world over cross their legs uncomfortably as they swoosh their hair and frolick around like a bunch of wealthy, sexually potent puppies. These girls, who refer to themselves as "One Directioners", each seem to favour one member of the band, publicising their admiration via Twitter.
But it's not just @ForeverPeazer's tweets that venture into Misery-esque territory. A quick search of each of the boys' names reveals the seedy underbelly of Twitter, where usernames are nothing more than a proclamation of love for "1D" (the shorthand name for the band so that fans can make best use of the 140 characters they are given), and profile pictures that range from homoerotic photoshopped images of the boys engaging in romantic clinches, to .gifs of Niall Horan blinking.
If I was a social psychologist, which I'm not but for the benefit of this article let's just pretend that I am, I would say that One Direction fans have a collective consciousness. As previously displayed in their treatment of The Jonas Brothers, they will fall out of love with their idols almost as quickly as they fall in love with them. This leads me to believe that the subjects of their admiration are inconsequential and, rather than these young girls actually falling in love with people whom they know they are unlikely to ever meet, they are instead adopting a form of swarm intelligence more commonly associated with ants and bees; in other words, they are communicating and acting in unison in order to achieve a common goal. But what is this common goal?
If you watch the above video you could be forgiven for thinking that the common goal is to break the sound barrier, but look closely; each one of those girls is probably shy and insecure like most teenagers, desperately trying to be noticed by their peers.This is where One Direction come in. Rather than Sarah being an average 14-year-old with acne and a negative body image, she can now become Sarah, a 14-year-old with 10,000 Twitter followers and a Harry Styles collage on her bedroom ceiling. Likewise, Tracey can transform from a 13-year-old with a debilitating lack of self-esteem into Tracey, that girl who has an aerial view of Zayn Malik's house as her Facebook profile picture.
I can relate to their desperate need for attention, as when I was younger I utilised my love of Batman for superficial gain. I collected hundreds of the toys, I watched the TV shows, I bought the comic books; my love for Batman was so clear that, when it came to Christmas Day, even distant relatives would send me action figures. I enjoyed the direct link between me and my hobby as it made me feel like I had a "thing" which people would remember me by. It gave me a pre-adolescent sense of importance.
But there is one thing that separates my hobby from that of the One Directioners, and that is this:
Header: Getty Images


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foster had more value imo as an expiring contract
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foster had more value imo as an expiring contract
But none for Granger?
This space for rent.
Of the proven players on the team, he is probably behind only Granger, Ford and Dunleavy in terms of value. JMHO...
i just see his value as a GREAT trade asset. foster is useless on a losing team imo. i actually feel bad for the guy and what he's had to put up with since 2001.
Yup... pretty much:
Veteran center Jeff Foster signed a two-year extension worth $12.7 million, ESPN.com has learned.
I guess the ECF trips sucks.
not sure if you're referring to my comment or not but how can you not feel bad for foster and what he's been put through since 2001?
Unless your idea of a good offseason is to become a 24 win team (bright side) and to give away your most talented player in the process.
The Pacers Offseason > Horrific
When did we get rid of Danny Granger?
In other news, did you know that Foster is #1 among active players in Offensive Rebounding Percentage? I have no idea exactly what that is, but it sounds important and Jeff's the best at it.
Also, I just found out (hopefully I'm not the last, though I probably am) that Foster was originally drafted by Golden State and traded here for Vonteego Cummings and a future first rounder that the Warriors then used to draft Troy Murphy.
this was something that had to be done! Shawne out and Foster staying longer. Good job Bird.
Man Bird has done so much this offseason. I cant remember another GM moving all these kinds of players. We see a lot of new faces this year. Ford, Rush, Hibbert, Jack, McBob, Rasho, Baston (who has been here before), Jones, and Croshere (who has been a long time Pacers before)
"So, which one of you guys is going to come in second?" - Larry Bird before the 3 point contest. He won.
Again, I know it's a little too much.....but I'm okay with that. IMHO.....he's worth it...especially since it's a 2 year deal.
Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.
It's basically right at MLE, and I think basically at market value. Even if it's slight above, I refer you back to Jay Redd's earlier post on overpaying.
Wait. So shouldn't we extend Jack too? Wouldn't that be less than his cap hold?
Ash from Army of Darkness: Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the gun.
47.9 plus 7.0 plus 2.0 puts us at about 56.9mm. I'd expect the cap to be between 61 & 62mm next year, so that leaves us only $5-6mm of space.
Effectively, we've already locked ourselves out of the above MLE market by extending Jeff.
Caveat: If we can make the Denver Deal (Atkins/Hunter for Tinsley), then that would clear an additional $2.7mm of cap space, which could make us a player above the MLE.
However, if we do anything with Jack other than renouncing his rights, then we're basically out of cap space.
Unless we unload one of the big contracts for an expiring (Murph, Junior, Tinsley), we will not be big players in Free Agency next year. Any major acquisitions will come through the Draft, trades, or the MLE.
EDIT: I should note that all of the figures above are prior to looking at JJ's cap hold or re-signing him. The same is true with Rasho, McBob, Graham, and Baston
Last edited by count55; 10-11-2008 at 02:08 PM.
And by "moves" I mean "salary additions."
This space for rent.
However, I think Larry Bird is more committed to returning to the playoffs and winning back the fans. Jeff helps him do that...
For what you said, I don't mind the team rewarding him for his hard work over the years. This particular contract is unlikely to be a major disruption the rebuilding of the front court that needs to take place whether he is shipped away to acquire new pieces or just takes a seat on the bench. Its basically an MLE-type of contract, and those are still easily tradeable.
I think this is a financial favor from the Pacers to Jeff, and it is unlikely to change any of the potential trade scenarios for Jeff as the season progresses. In fact, if the ultimate goal is to trade him for a first-round draft pick, this extension probably helps increase the number of teams that would consider trading for him. I still think he'll finish the season on the Spurs roster.
Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you
Right, but he's not valuable to them in the first place. He's valuable to the Spurs, Celtics, maybe the Lakers, the Rockets if they haven't already turned into a bandaged, looney joke by the trade deadline - teams that are looking to win a title in the next two seasons. Not teams looking to get into the 2010 sweepstakes.
Why do the things that we treasure most, slip away in time
Till to the music we grow deaf, to God's beauty blind
Why do the things that connect us slowly pull us apart?
Till we fall away in our own darkness, a stranger to our own hearts
And life itself, rushing over me
Life itself, the wind in black elms,
Life itself in your heart and in your eyes, I can't make it without you
I know you're not a huge fan of Jeff Foster, but I think he's a good guy to have as a contributor to your team. I think the teams that you mention above would be pleased to have him, even 15-20 minutes a game.


text:
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When we last left human life preserver Peter King, he was being double teamed by a pair of urologists and bitching out the inventor of the Blackberry Storm. Well now, Peter has taken his act out on the road. Yes, it's training camp time. What new places will Peter visit? What hotel shampoos will be too perfumey for his delicate olfactory senses? Will his colon be irrigated? I have the answers below. But first, an email from Harlan Coben!
You might remember last week that King got a tweet from the best-selling author Harlan Coben which said…
"Why not start (the draft) right after Super Bowl and have two picks every day till start of season?"
I then made fun of this idea. But then the REAL Harlan Coben then emailed me to make sure I came fucking correct:
Drew —
My nephew — a huge fan of yours — forwarded me your post.
This is typical of the kind of emails I get from anyone important, by the way. "Hey Drew, a twelve year old child I know who can barely read thinks you're great."
I figured that it was pretty obvious, but I was being sarcastic in that tweet. The Twitter world, I guess. The question was about expanding TV coverage on the NFL draft. I think there's too much coverage as it is and would rather watch a television test pattern or even Shawow (sic) infomercial than the NFL draft. That was my point.
Rock on. Oh and I'm friends with Sue Grafton. I bet she'd agree.
This is the problem I have writing about Peter King on occasion. I naturally assume everyone who writes in to King is sincere. Alas, I was gravely mistaken in this instance. Then it occurred to me that Peter King's whole oeuvre could be a giant exercise in sarcasm. All the bitching about coffees and hotels. No one could actually write that with a straight face, right? Right, Mr. Coben, who I did not know was a best-selling author until last week when I had to look up his name on Google in order to properly make fun of him? Could Peter King actually be putting one over on all of us? Could it be?
Tuesday, 10:50 p.m. (Bills camp, Pittsford, N.Y.) Strange day. Sad day.
Nahhhhhhhh. By the way Coben, you can cram it for not liking the NFL Draft.
Brett Favre surprises the football world by saying he's not playing for the Vikings, and in the same hour, word comes down that one of the great defensive minds in football history, former Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, has died from melanoma.
Guess which piece of news made Peter more upset.
The day is a mess of phone-calling, dictating from the side of practice fields and then, when I was settling in to watch some practice tape after 10 with old acquaintance John Guy…
I'm not your acquaintance, Guy! I'm not your Guy, acquaintance!
, the director of pro personnel, up in his dorm suite, my cell rang. It was Favre…
OMIGOD OMIGOD OMIGOD! It's really him calling! Okay, King. Be cool. Just slowly unbuckle your belt and hit the record button.
saying he just didn't trust his body to make it through 16 games, not given the way it felt after he worked it hard the past few weeks, getting it ready for the Vikings' grind. And he was pretty sure this was the end, but come midseason, if some team calls, who knows?
Favre was down. He just sounded beat, like he had nothing left to give, and a little depressed. "I'm sure I'll regret it down the road," he said.
I asked him about the toll this had taken on his reputation. "Two years ago you were 'Sportsman of the Year' and an American folk hero," I said. "Now there are kids and adults who are sick of you, who don't love you anymore. How does it feel?"
Quick, newspaper people! Reserve Page 1 for his answer!
"Well, then they really didn't love me in the first place," he said. "Whatever. Nothing I can do about it. This whole situation, if I had it to do all over again, there're a few things I'd do different. But wouldn't we all? I don't expect everyone to like what I've done the last two years. That's life.
"For people who'd question why I did this, I didn't do it for any other reason than to try to play football for a team [Minnesota] I really wanted to play for. It had nothing to do with revenge against the Packers. Nothing. It wasn't about getting back at [Green Bay GM] Ted Thompson. How much more clear can I make it?"
Favre to King King in February:
"Part of me coming back last year, I have to admit now, was sticking it to Ted," he said in a rather startling admission.
How much more clear can he make it, people?
Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. (Bills camp) For the second straight practice, the fans respond to everything Terrell Owens does. When he glances up at the bleachers at St. John Fisher College, the crowd cheers. Two teenage boys are bare-chested, one with a T painted on his chest, the other with an O. And I think: This is what it's like in the left-field stands at Dodger Stadium. Mannywood. I christen thee: T-O-town.
As with Manny Ramirez, the past is forgotten; what can you do for me today? The bitter voices from Boston don't matter to L.A. people, and in Buffalo, Dallas' loss is western New York's gain. Okay. Fair enough. But if Owens stays longer than a year, you'll see. The volcano will erupt, and there will be collateral damage. Lots of it.
I talk to quarterback Trent Edwards about the risk involved (though T.O.'s track record is that year one is always the honeymoon year), and he says: "Are you saying it was a desperation move?"
"If the desperate shoe fits, wear it," I said.
And I know exactly what kind of desperate shoe that is: an Ugg boot.
Ed Reed walks the autograph line.
He's as brave as Derrick Mason!
One reason I'm always so adamant about teams having training away from home is because I've seen how players can impact so many lives with the simple act of human kindness through an autograph or a handshake to a kid. I want to show you this, and the best way I know how is to walk with Reed and let you hear and feel what he hears and feels as he spends 37 minutes signing autographs and interacting with kids who, one after one, looked at him like kids used to look at The Beatles.
Or like soldiers in Iraq look at me!
The play-by-play of Reed on the autograph line…
"Ed! Ed! Mr. Reed!"
"I'll get there. Don't worry. I'll get there."
"Thank you. Thank you."
"You're my favorite player on the team."
"Thank you."
"Ed, how's it feel to be a great player?"
"Awesome! I get free nutmeg in my lasagna now!"
"Can I have one of your gloves?"
"No. I need them for the afternoon practice."
Can you feel the difference being made here? Keep reading, and you'll see an interesting theme develop.
"How about your shirt? Can I have your shirt?"
"If I gave you my shirt what would I practice in?"
That's just the kind of sage wisdom that will help keep that young Ravens fan from dealing crack.
"Can I have one of your gloves? Please! Please!"
"No, I need 'em."
You cheap bastard, Reed! Those kids need those gloves to stay warm in the alleyway at night!
"Can I have anything?"
"You can have an autograph."
"Please keep signing, please please."
"Don't worry, I will. Just don't push."
"Can I have one of your gloves?"
"Don't ask him that! It's my question!"
"Eighty people have asked me for my gloves. I can't."
I think these people want Ed's gloves.
"Take one to the house this year."
"I'll try."
"Sure kid, I'll pick off a pass and return it for a touchdown this year all because you asked. Never would have done it otherwise. Jesus fucking Christ. STEP UP FOR AN INDELIBLE LIFE EXPERIENCE, YOU LITTLE SHITS."
"Do you need your glove? Could I have a glove please?"
This is what the NFL is all about here, gang. It's not about the game. It's about community. It's about having kids pester you for your fucking gloves when you don't have an extra pair handy.
As this is happening, I'm looking over Reed's shoulder at the quasi-legible scribble that looks like "E Reed 20."
"I try to make it legible. I learned that from Arnold Palmer," Reed said. "I was watching the Golf Channel once and Arnold Palmer came on and was talking about autographs. He said, 'Make sure people can read it so they remember you.' So that's what I try to do, even on a long line like this. I want people to look back at that and know it was me and remember me."
"And I want them to remember that they cannot have my goddamn gloves."
"Hey, can I have one of your gloves?"
"I can't give you my gloves. I need 'em today."
"Best safety ever! Better than Lott!"
"I guess I'll take that."
"Fuck that nine-fingered freak. I'm better than Ronnie goddamn Lott. Now you can't have my gloves."
"Ed! Ed! Ed! Mr. Reed!"
"Don't worry, I'll get to you. Don't push."
"How'd you get so good?"
"By keeping my gloves."
"You're never going to leave us are you?"
"If you keep asking me for my fucking gloves, I will."
"I like those gloves. Can I have one of your gloves?"
So if you're traveling to Baltimore, people, remember: keep your gloves locked in the car. Or else roving hordes of children will try and tear them away from your body. They want your gloves so very desperately. Yours are desperate gloves.
"Mr. Reed! Mr. Reed! Can I touch your beard?"
"No. How do I know where your hands have been?"
So there you have it. Ed Reed: Difference Maker. Bringer of light. Keeper of gloves.
A small postscript to that story. Later in the day, Ed threw his gloves to the side of the field. Peter decided, "I would like those gloves," and had a security officer open the gate so he could retrieve them. Just then a small child, WHO WAS NOT CREDENTIALED, tried to get the gloves as well. But Peter tripped him, stuffed a pair of Footjoys in the kid's pocket, and kept the True Gloves for himself. Peter King: Glove Baron.
Tucker rides shotgun and fires up Twitter, profootballtalk.com and whatever other news ports he has on his BlackBerry. For a former player, he's a real sports junkie.
Who know a pro athlete would show an interest in athletics?
It's a weird media world we're in right now. My allegiance, obviously, is to SI.com, but I know if I take 10 minutes right now to dictate the item to someone on the news desk, the story will get up in 20 minutes, and we'll probably be too late. So I decide to throw a couple of Tweets up, the first at 4:59 saying Vick wasn't in Foxboro, and the second that the Pats don't want Vick and like O'Connell. Sure enough, at 5:01 p.m., Adam Schefter Tweeted that Vick wasn't in New England either. It's a crazy media world. Forgive me, Time Warner.
And forgive me, "The Hurt Locker." I've yet to experience your unique blend of heart-stopping action and gripping human drama.
Tweets of the Week
"Here we go with the meetings again … the first week highlights fundamentals. So boring but essentail [sic]."
–vshiancoe, Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, time-stamped at 11 a.m. Thursday, when the team was in team meetings. That was followed by Shiancoe's next Tweet 46 minutes later:
"Zzzzzz zzzz zzzz zzz (in meetings) lol … Introducing the staff."
"bettr tak out mah bigazz cok"
Sure hope we do better tonight in upstate New York than we did three weeks ago in Los Angeles, when a grand total of four people — and a few crickets — flocked to our Tweetup.
And all night, all those four people did was ask me for my gloves.
Tonight at 6 at Joseph Bruno Stadium in Troy, N.Y., adjacent to Albany, we'll have a star-studded group of Tweeters to answer any and all of your questions. Go here for tickets.
Tickets? You have to pay to meet Peter King? Do the proceeds go to help Dr. Z try and learn to walk again only to ultimately fail? Do I at least get to meet John Guy?
Quote of the Week III
"Hey T.O.! T.O.! T.O.! Way to stretch!"
-A fan at the Buffalo training camp in Pittsford, N.Y., to Terrell Owens before a practice last week. Fans have been cheering Owens for the oddest things.
Careful what you wish for, fan! You don't want him stretching too aggressively!
Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me I
The five current and former NFL coaches who spent a week in Iraq on a USO trip rallying the troops this summer — Jeff Fisher, Tom Coughlin, Bill Cowher, Jon Gruden and Harbaugh — stayed in the same large room, sleeping in bunk beds, for the week. Harbaugh said (as if this is a surprise) that Coughlin every night carefully peeled the edge of his blanket and sheet back, but only enough so he could slip in, and then pulled the cover over him, so it looked like the bed was made, with the form of a thin man the only lump in a perfect military-style bunk.
And when Coughlin masturbated in the middle of the night, he made sure to only jerk it at right angles.
"Even when he turned over, he barely moved the covers," Harbaugh said. "In the morning, when he made the bed, there was not a wrinkle in it. But isn't that what you'd expect from a Tom Coughlin bed?"
I have no expectations of any kind for a Tom Coughlin bed. It is not an object I think about, much like an Andy Reid toilet, or a Jon Gruden armoire.
One morning, when it was still dark out, Harbaugh couldn't sleep. He quietly slipped outside for a run, not leaving a note, and he got discombobulated, and he was out of the room longer than he'd planned. When Harbaugh returned, Coughlin was up, pacing, and said to him: "Where the hell have you been?! I was worried sick about you!"
"What a guy," Harbaugh said. "I think he kind of felt like my father over there."
"Which is odd, because he isn't my Dad. He's just some asshole."
Enjoyable/Aggravating Travel Note of the Week
Miles I've put on the rental car as of this morning after the Boston-to-Pittsford-to-Ashburn-to-Westminster-to-Bethlehem-to-Latrobe-to-Cortland magical mystery tour: 1,243.
Don't tell your feet!
(Ross) Tucker's a comfortable old shoe
But is he desperate?
Tucker, who is a BlackBerry bandito,
Unlike Peter, who is now a Palm pendejo.
discovered Pedro Martinez was pitching in a rehab start in Allentown, and his Lehigh Valley IronPigs announcer buddy Steve Degler could get us into the sold-out ballpark. Well, of course we were going to the game. You kidding?
Miss an IronPigs game? NOT FOR THE FUCKING WORLD!
Three other notes about the evening. One: In the top of the second, Tucker and I were standing down the right-field line, drinking cups of Shock Top Belgian White beer, when a woman walking to her seat with two cups of ice cream approached. "Excuse me," said Tucker, who is pleasant and absolutely not shy. "What kind of ice cream is that?"
"Moose tracks," she said.
"It looks fantastic!" he said. "Can I have a bite?"
"No," she said. "You'll have to get your own."
What the fuck? Ross Tucker walks up to strangers and demands a bite of their ice cream? That is fucking bizarre. I'm sorry. Did he also ask this bitch for her gloves?
When it was time to eat, Tucker found the Aw Shuck's Roasted Corn out in right field. Now, I've been to many ballparks in my 52 years, and I've never seen a roasted corn concession at a ballpark. But this corn was … well, I'll just say if I had my choice between a Kansas City Porterhouse or an Aw Shucks ear, I'd take the corn.
Not in the mouth, of course.
The ears come out, roasted, and they're shucked, dipped in butter and sprinkled liberally with Parmesan cheese and a blend of spices (I'm told the recipe is a secret) that give the corn a Cajun/Southwest flavor.
It's the spicy shrimp of corn!
We had two ears apiece, and Saturday morning, the first words Tucker spoke to me as we went out the door of our hotel to Eagles camp were: "Was that the most unbelievable corn you've ever had in your life last night?"
Oh, I bet Ross says that to all the boys. I bet he asked four fans for a bite before actually purchasing the first ear.
That's a pretty good Friday night in Allentown, Pa.
Leafy, leafy Allentown.
Now that Tony Dungy is out of football, Dick Jauron takes the mantel as the nicest man in football.
Feel how nice those innards are!
I think there is no team that is as good to its fans in training camp as the Ravens. When their two future immortals, Ed Reed and Ray Lewis, sign for fans for more than 30 minutes apiece at the same practice, that's class.
That defines clutch. Don't ask Ray Lewis for his gloves, though. He wears gloves so that he can stab.
I agree with Bill Simmons. This is just a star-crossed year, a year that just doesn't feel right, for the Sox.
Coffeenerdness: Can't believe I'm praising Sheetz Coffee, but the dark roast there would give the Starbucks Sumatra a good run. It fueled me on two of these long jaunts last week.
One sip, and it's like you're in Allentown.


text: deer management Harsh Winter Likely Means High Deer Kill By Ken Krall • Mar 9, 2014 commons.wikimedia.org It seems like almost everyone has been complaining about our long, cold winter. A DNR wildlife biologist says this one likely will take a toll on the animals in the wild. Jeremy Holtz says they calculate how hard the combination of snow depth and chill will be on animals like deer and come up with a severity index.... Seeing the Forest for the Deer By Natalie Jablonski • Nov 5, 2013 Ken Thomas This month, the informal conversation series Science on Tap takes on the controversial subject of deer management. Don Waller and Tim Van Deelen will talk about deer from the perspective of forest health. WXPR's Natalie Jablonski spoke to Don Waller on the phone. He's a researcher at the University of Wisconsin Madison's Department of Botany. Waller will be joined by wildlife ecologist Tim Van Deelen at Science on Tap…Wednesday night at the Minocqua Brewing Company.


text:
Engineers testing upstate ride that killed 6-year-old
Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:50:58 GMT —
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) -- A children's train ride in Spartanburg has returned to the tracks for the first time since a crash last month that injured dozens and killed a six-year-old boy.
The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg reports that the red and gray train known as "Sparkles" was back on the tracks at Cleveland Park Thursday as part of testing to try to find out what caused the crash. Engineers started the train and drove it on several sections of the track.
Coroner Rusty Clevenger is heading up the investigation into the crash. Clevenger says he has hired a team of consultants to analyze the train rails.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is also helping with forensic mapping and speed calculations.Related Stories... Hundreds Gather For Train Victim's Funeral Injured family suing over Upstate train ride wreck Upstate ride operator says train was going too fast before fatal crash
Twenty-seven people were injured and Benji Easler died in the March 19 crash.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


text:
BP Comment Quick Links
|Strength of Schedule Report
June 2, 2014
The Buyer's Guide
Homer Bailey
In an effort to carve out a niche on the stellar fantasy team here at Baseball Prospectus, I wanted a weekly column that would allow me to do three things: (1) to dive in-depth into individual player performance, (2) to offer BP readers advice on who to target in trades, who to hold onto, and who to sell without resorting to superficial analysis, and (3) to develop an interactive column with the readers.
This column will focus on an individual player each week, breaking down past performance and attempting to determine what fantasy owners can reasonably expect to transpire in the future. We'll certainly focus on statistics—and primarily so—but it's my hope that this space will also eventually allow us room to explore mechanical changes, new pitches, etc. with the help of other Baseball Prospectus writers who are much smarter than myself.
The goal of each column will be to determine whether an individual player is worth targeting in trades for fantasy owners, or if the player should be placed on the trading block and moved before his performance can drop off. However, the process of breaking down trends and doing our best to project future performance will inevitably be more useful than the ultimate "buy" or "sell" or "hold" label.
Most weeks, it should be simple enough for me to identify a particular player on whom to focus, but in other weeks, it may be a struggle. I'd like to invite you to offer your suggestions in the comments and on Twitter (you can drop suggestions for me at @JP_Breen). After all, the column is only successful if y'all are finding it useful and I'm featuring players y'all find worthwhile.
With that said, welcome to The Buyer's Guide. Let's do this.
Homer Bailey appeared to be on the precipice of becoming a top-tier fantasy starter. He was the 21st-ranked starting pitcher in ESPN fantasy leagues last year, and everything was trending properly. The velocity had increased in back-to-back seasons, the swinging-strike rate was up significantly, the ground-ball rate had improved every year since 2011, and his FIP dropped yet again to 3.31. Understandably, fantasy owners highly valued the 28-year-old hurler, drafting him as the 25th-highest starter—ahead of guys like Masahiro Tanaka, Gerrit Cole, Julio Teheran, and Michael Wacha.
Thus, it's understandable that many owners are disheartened and perhaps even inconsolable with regard to Bailey's start to the season. He owns a 5.04 ERA with a gag-inducing 1.51 WHIP, and opposing teams are hitting a cool .292 against him. Coming into Sunday, Bailey was the 125th-ranked starter in ESPN leagues. He's been an unmitigated dumpster fire for fantasy owners.
Five of his six starts in the month of May, however, have quietly been quality starts, which has led some fantasy owners to believe he could perhaps be shaking the monkey off his back and once again be poised to become a solid no. 3 fantasy starter.
The recent string of quality starts is certainly reassuring, but I'm much more interested in the underlying skill set. Bailey is one of the handful of starting pitchers who have compiled a better-than-average strikeout rate, walk rate, and ground-ball percentage. He owns a 19.9 percent strikeout rate, a 7.4 percent walk rate, and a 54.9 percent ground-ball rate. Around these parts, I hear we call that The Holy Trinity. And speaking as someone who's currently trudging through graduate school studying religious history, I can dig it.
To put those numbers in perspective, check out the year-to-date rankings (in ESPN leagues) of the other starters who came into the weekend with The Holy Trinity:
Everyone who qualifies for The Holy Trinity is essentially a top-50 starter with the exception of Brandon McCarthy and Homer Bailey, who both appear to be outliers and are well outside the top 100. Such a difference naturally leads one to believe that their performance and subsequent fantasy ranking should improve and become closer to their counterparts throughout the remainder of the season.
Fantasy owners should be encouraged that his sudden velocity spike from 2013 has carried over into the 2014 season. His fastball averaged 95.34 mph a year ago and his sinker averaged 94.49 mph. This year, his fastball is at 95.26 mph and his sinker is at 94.81 mph. Velocity spikes can be fickle and some argue they can lead to injury, but it appears Bailey is showing some consistency in that realm.
It's also important to note his 4.25 FIP suggests he's pitched better than his earned run average would otherwise indicate. While that's still not overwhelming, his 3.60 SIERA is even more encouraging. Again, not otherworldly, but the fielding-independent numbers hint his performance should continue to turn around.
This isn't, however, an effort to simply look at his .340 BABIP and his 17.5 percent HR:FB to simply argue he's been unlucky and that things will change. It's more than that. Bailey has been genuinely terrible against left-handed batters this season, and that must be addressed. They've hit .373/.457/.574 against the right-hander. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is a putrid 1.14 K:BB versus lefties, but is a sparkling 5.71 K:BB versus righties. That's taking a platoon split to the extreme, which is a massive problem that's not explainable by pointing at BABIP and crossing one's fingers in hopes of the problem disappearing.
Bailey's ineptitude against lefties starts with his breaking balls. Earlier this season, Doug Thorburn argued that the right-hander has been quite predictable, foregoing his offspeed pitches unless he's ahead in the count, but against lefties, his offspeed offerings have been wholly ineffective.
Before breaking down the breaking ball itself, though, it should be noted that the overall whiff percentage against lefties is substantially lower than a year ago. The fact that he's still posting an above-average strikeout rate is thus respectable in itself, but it would even be better if his performance against lefties jumped to what he did a year ago.
It's not difficult to ascertain the problem. The numbers jump off the page. The swinging-strike rates for his slider, curveball, and splitter against righties are 14.92 percent, 19.57 percent, and 33.33 percent, respectively. Against lefties, those numbers decrease to 4.55 percent, 3.77 percent, and 21.15 percent. Even Bartolo Colon is a little embarrassed at those numbers, as even he gets a swinging-strike rate over 6.00 percent on his slider. Just for comprehensiveness, Bailey's fastball and sinker have been roughly the same in terms of generating swings-and-misses between righties and lefties.
Thus, it seems his inability to consistently get whiffs with his off-speed stuff against lefties has played a significant role in his struggles. His location has been bad, though, as well. Here is the heat map of the location of his pitches against lefties:
Notice the red square down the center of the plate. That's obviously undesirable and suggests he's essentially setting pitches on a tee for lefties too often. It becomes even more interesting once we look at his heat map from a year ago against lefties, where we can see a noticeable difference.
The center zone remains slightly red, but Bailey pounded the quadrants just to the left (which would be on the outer edge of the plate, or just off it, for lefties) much more frequently. It seems the right-hander is having a difficult time finding the outside corner against lefties and he's been either missing the zone—hence his high walk rate—or finding the middle of the zone. That's obviously not a recipe for success.
Therefore, I'm not willing to suggest that Homer Bailey is a pitcher without flaws or will somehow dominate lefties throughout the remainder of the season. Rather, I'm arguing Bailey has offered strikeouts, a palatable walk rate, and ground balls despite his horrendous performance against lefties. If that platoon split returns to his career split of .267/.339/.426, he'll start performing much more like fantasy owners got used to a year ago. Not to mention the combination that comprises The Holy Trinity is also too attractive to just ignore.
Buyer's Advice: BUY
Don't be afraid to pull the trigger and acquire Bailey, as long as the price isn't too high. The right-hander has surreptitiously cobbled together five quality starts in his last six outings. Hopefully, the overall 5.04 ERA has still left a foul-enough taste in his fantasy owner's mouth that he'll be willing to sell low. Bailey isn't without his warts, to be sure, but he represents a solid value play that has a chance to work beautifully if he can iron out his issues against left-handed hitters. He's done it in the past, and the body of work is too extensive to believe he cannot do it again.
J.P. Breen is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @jp_breen
13 comments have been left for this article.
BP Comment Quick Links
Thanks for making me feel better about Bailey this Monday morning.
Jun 02, 2014 07:05 AM
Bailey's K% (19.9%) is actually below league average (20.3%).
Jun 02, 2014 07:09 AM
I limited the league-average number to starting pitchers, where the league average is 19.5%. If you include relievers, which I didn't feel was appropriate when analyzing solely starter performance, it jumps to 20.3% and Bailey wouldn't qualify.
Jun 02, 2014 07:13 AM
Really like the new series. May I suggest Justin Verlander for a future article?
Jun 02, 2014 07:11 AM
Jun 02, 2014 07:49 AM
Thanks for reading, Steve. If the price is right, McCarthy is absolutely a nice buy-low option. The injury concern is always there for the right-hander, though, so don't go crazy. In my opinion, he's the most risky guy on The Holy Trinity list.
Jun 02, 2014 07:58 AM
Great piece. What depth leagues is this information targeted to?
Jun 02, 2014 08:50 AM
Good article. Just acquired Bailey yesterday in a roto dynasty league (previous owner covered 10 of the 15 million he was owed). So I have him for 5 years at 5 million total. Definitely was able to buy low. This article certainly makes me feel like the deal is even better now.
Jun 02, 2014 11:03 AM
Very thorough article JP. Welcome to BP and keep up the great work!
Jun 02, 2014 15:03 PM
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text: Beginners bird walk scheduled SaturdayGreater Mohican Audubon Society will lead a beginners bird walk Saturday at Byers Woods. Saturdays walk is 9-11 a.m. and will use the Pine Loop Trail. Binoculars will be available for participants.GMAS beginners bird walks are free and open to the public. Birders of all skill levels are welcome. The monthly bird walks are the fourth Saturday of the month at Byers Woods, using either the Pine Loop Trail or the Woods Trail. Upcoming walk dates are scheduled Nov. 25 and Jan. 27.Septembers GMAS bird walk recorded either hearing or seeing the following birds: great blue heron, turkey vulture, Canada goose, coopers hawk, red-tailed hawk, American kestrel, killdeer, mourning dove, chimney swift, eastern phoebe, blue jay, American crow, eastern bluebird, American robin, gray catbird, European starling, song sparrow, northern cardinal, eastern meadowlark, American goldfinch and house sparrow.If your class, group or organization is interested in scheduling a bird walk, call Tim Leslie at 419-289-2626 or write to GMAS, P.O. Box 907, Ashland, Ohio 44805.Byers Woods is an Ashland County Park and is open to the public. It is on County Road 1754, just east of Ohio 60, 4 miles south of Ashland or 3 miles north of Hayesville.AU holds Breakfast with Curious GeorgeAshland University Bookstore and the Youth and Literacy Team of AUs Community Care are holding Breakfast with Curious George Nov. 18. Seatings will be 9 and 10 a.m. in the Heritage Room of AUs Myers Convocation Center.Tickets are $5 per person and are on sale in AU Bookstore. Seating is limited.The breakfast buffet menu includes eggs, sausage, cereal, fruit, muffins, juice, coffee and tea.A special Curious George story time will follow in the bookstore with give-a-ways and goodies.For more information, contact the AU Bookstore at 419-289-5336.Hillsdale High School yearbooks availableHillsdale High School announces the 2005-06 yearbooks are available in the high school office between 7:30 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. For more information, call 419-368-6841.Ashland Universityholds Service WeekAshland Universitys Center for Community Service is celebrating Service Week. The theme is A Season of Service.The week culminates Saturday with Make-A-Difference Day. Students are assisting with a variety of projects throughout the community.The Clothesline Project moved into the Hawkins-Conard Student Center lobby on Tuesday. Students will decorate T-shirts and hang them on clotheslines to raise awareness about hate crimes and teach tolerance.Tuesday also was adopt-a-grandparent day, with students painting pumpkins and delivering them to residents of the Good Shepherd Home.Today, members of the Youth and Literacy Team of AUs Community Care will travel to Taft Elementary School for a storytelling time at 2 p.m.At 9 p.m., students will meet in Redwood Hall to help to make fleece blankets for children. All blankets will be donated to Project Linus, an organization that gives blankets to children who have been traumatized in various ways.Thursday, students will help at Pump House Ministries Halloween Party.AU students will be volunteering at the Ashland County Animal Shelter Friday. Friday will also conclude the Reuse-a-Shoe drive to collect used sports shoes for international missions trips. For more information, contact Daniea Berry at 419-289-5729.


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The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Review by Joe the Destroyer
"Link: Eternally cursed to search dungeons that seem to be all over the damned world."
Sure, I wanted one at first. As time went by, though, I slowly lost interest. I'm referring, of course, to Gameboy Color. Sure, it had its share of good games, but it seemed for the longest time that most of its array of games were nothing more than TV and movie licenses. Close to the end of its life, GBC looked like nothing more than a dumping ground. Because of this, I never bought one. However, one light glimmered above all other GBC titles: A pair of Legend of Zelda games that would blow away the entire GBC library with one punishing shot! Two games that were linked together like conjoined twins; a collaboration between Nintendo and Capcom! The games were titled Oracle of Season and Oracle of Ages. There was so much hype behind these games, and hype usually translates to something that can ultimately be the downfall of a game. Such was not true here. Even with all the hype, I expected just another Zelda game. However, there was one thing about these games that I found very alluring: linking! Your quest doesn't end when you've completed one game. It continues on into the next. Nintendo has cleverly snatched a little over $50 from my pocket. Sure, this could very well seem like the usual marketing ploy that has been played out with other games since Pokemon (different versions of the same game). But it definitely is very much more than that. With solid gameplay, a building story, and innovative linking capabilities, the Oracle games pack one hell of a punch into the final breath of Gameboy Color.
Hyrule has once again returned to peace. Ganon is sealed away, Zelda and Link both finally find time to rest. However, something is amiss... Link, who has recently arrived in Holodrum, witnesses the kidnapping of a young dancer named Din by the hand of a mysterious villain named Onox. All over Holodrum, the seasons have all gone haywire. Some areas are treated to a perpetual state of summer, while others are given the cold nights of winter. It seems that the kidnapping of Din has caused major dysfunction to worm its way through the shifting of seasons, and now it's up to Link to rescue Din and destroy Onox, thereby restoring the seasons.
Familiar sounding premise? Yes. Even though you are not in Hyrule through this tame, you still have to save a maiden. Meh... Capcom and Nintendo did land some saving rolls when creating this story, though. If you started with this game, you will see some allusions to an even bigger plot that will unravel in Oracle of Ages. The opposite is true if you started with Oracle of Ages; you will continue the plot from before and all the loose ends will eventually be tied together. The larger plot, as you may find out, is also nothing incredibly special, but at least saves a little grace from the unoriginal plot that this game (and even Oracle of Ages) brings to the table.
Yes, the game is pretty much like other Zeldas in the gameplay department, with some new goodies added in. You have the classic overhead view, of course. You can move in all directions on a plane-based environment. Enemies are scattered about the land that can be killed with your trusty sword. As usual, you have a collection of different items that you can use to help guide you through the various traps and dangers of Holodrum and the dungeons. For instance, we are given the magnetic glove, which you can use to attract or repel other objects, or even attract or repel yourself toward/away from other objects. You even get a bag for carrying different seeds which serve different purposes in the game such as starting fires, teleporting to anywhere on the world map that you've been, or even gaining the ability to run fast. Of course, classic items like the boomerang and bow and arrows also make an appearance. Such an item line-up is pretty much par for a Zelda game. Not too much unnecessary garbage added, but at the same time, nothing really left out.
As with many other Zeldas, dungeons are hidden throughout the land. Entering a dungeon means you have to solve all the puzzles of the place, obtain the necessary equipment to advance, and engage in two fearsome battles against the mini-boss and the main boss of the dungeon. Defeating the mini-boss unlocks a portal that you can use to go from the beginning of the dungeon to the room you fought the mini-boss in, and vice versa. Defeating the main boss means you get a piece of the Essence of Seasons, which is needed later in the game. Yes, it's a familiar formula, but it just it is one that is tried and true. What is a Zelda game without dungeons? The dungeons in this game are engaging and challenging, but not overdone on either aspect. This gracious fusion is what makes Oracle of Seasons that much better than Oracle of Ages.
Without a doubt, the best feature of this game (the game itself) is the changing of seasons. Different areas in this game, as stated before, exhibit different qualities of different seasons. In order to advance after a certain point in this game, you need the ability to change the seasons. Changing the seasons will definitely change the weather and thus change the environment. The winter season, for instance, can add piles of snow to the ground, which can either hinder you by creating an impediment or work to your advantage by giving you an extra walkway in certain circumstances. Spring can open certain flowers, summer calls up vines, and fall can soften up certain hardened mushrooms, as well as clog holes up with leaves to give you the ability to walk over holes. Since you cannot just change seasons just anywhere, but in designated areas, you really have to think as to which season you want to change to in which area. This adds a bit more to the challenge, giving a much more thought-provoking feel to the game.
If you want to talk best features in both games, the definitive answer has to be linking. When you finish one of the Oracle games, you are given a password at the end that you can use in the next one to continue the storyline where you left off. You can even go through both games finding tons of passwords and using in different areas to unlock new items or events. This is what definitely separates this investment from other Zelda games. You are not just playing a gimmick to access new areas. You are actually given a very unique system that makes this possibly the most innovative of the dual game releases.
The graphics in this game are definitely great work! Each season is given its own distinct look. Nintendo very well utilized colors and tones to capture the feeling of different seasons. You can see it in the plants, leaves, and water especially. Monster designs haven't changed too much from this game to Link's Awakening (the previous Zelda portable), which isn't necessarily a bad thing. We did get to see some new faces to the circle of evil, even new bosses that were very well designed. Graphically, I'm impressed with Nintendo's work here. They took the GBC's graphical capabilities and made the best out of them.
The sounds are, for the most part, just what you would expect from a Zelda portable game. Again, that's not bad. Most of the soundtrack is that which we've already heard in Link's Awakening, but there are some new cuts that were thrown into the mix such as new boss music. The sound effects worked just as well with their events here as they did before. I guess you could say, ''If it isn't broke, don't fix it.'' With that in mind, I really have no qualms about the sound played in Oracle of Seasons.
Here's probably the biggest complaint, and it really isn't even that big of a complaint. There have been times in this game where it seems the controls didn't respond soon enough. A good example would be times where I've tried to jump over pits, hit the button way before even getting to the pit, and still fell. There have been other instances of late response that I've noticed, but none of them seem to weigh heavy enough against this game to make me really hate it. Other than that, the controls are just fine. As usual, you have the great response in the D-pad that isn't too stiff and definitely not too over-responsive.
To say the least, I am incredibly impressed with Nintendo and Capcom's efforts at a pair of Zelda titles that link together. This is not only a shining addition to an already solid series, but a highly innovative idea that adds enough dimension to keep Zelda fans busy for some time. There's so much to the games beyond just your regular hack-through-dungeon-after-dungeon what with the unlockables that equate a great replay value. Only by playing and linking, though, can you discover the whole story behind the games. Great graphics, nice sounds, incredible gameplay, innovations galore also highlight this spectacle! The only downside has to be the occasional late control response, which weights against this game like a dime against a whale.
Graphics: GBC's visuals have been put to good use 9/10
Sounds: Nothing much new to the sounds, but that isn't so bad 8/10
Controls: Save for the late response that comes in every now and then on the action buttons (A and B), not bad 7/10
Story: It may sound like your typical Save-the-Maiden, but there's a bit more to it than that. 7/10
Gameplay: Absolutely solid! 10/10
All Together: 10/10
*Absolute masterpiece!
*Great gameplay
*Replay value!
*Side quests
*Good graphics and sound
*Late action button response every so often
Zelda fans, of course. If you're looking for that good game on GBC, here it is! Adventure fans should also be delighted by this. If you're thinking this is just another Zelda title or that it's just like Link's Awakening, think again. Linking adds a lot to this game, so I'd suggest getting this with Oracle of Ages if you can.
Reviewer's Rating: 5.0 - Flawless
Originally Posted: 08/20/02, Updated 09/28/03
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G'day all ... With the growing # of subscribers to the lists, as well as growing list activity, ppl are reporting a slowdown in the speed that mail is being processed through from sender to recipient ... The major slowdown tends to arrive when the mail queue on the serving machine gets very large, so over the past few months, we've been working on distributing that load around to various servers provided to the community. In order to improve things further, we'd like to increase the number even further ... Right now, we have the following TLDs covered: /\.(jp)$/ /\.(fr|uk|de|pl|ad|se|gr|be|ch|dk|es|fi|gi|ie|it|lu|nl|no|pt|tr|at)$/ /\.(com|net|org|ca|edu|biz|us|mil|ws|info)$/ Both of the first two lists are being covered right now by one server, so if anyone in those locals would like to take some of the load, please let us know. The third one right now is being covered by 6 relay servers right now, but we'd like to double that if we can ... If there are any TLDs that aren't covered in the above, that you would be willing to handle, please let us know as well. On average, the heaviest 'zone' (and the reason we'd like to get a few more going) is the third above (.com, etc) ... we're finding the relays are handling ~100mb/day of traffic through them ... the more we can spread it out, the lower the per server traffic, of course. If you are able to offer a relay, but you can only do a small part (ie. a Canadian site only willing ot handle .ca domains), that is great as well, as it takes some load off of the other servers, which is our desire ... If you are able to help, please email me directly and we'll get you setup. Thanks ... ---- Marc G. Fournier Hub.Org Networking Services (http://www.hub.org) Email: scrappy(at)hub(dot)org Yahoo!: yscrappy ICQ: 7615664
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CLAREMONT – The Claremont High School class of 2015 will hold a Holiday Bazaar on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Taylor Hall 1775 N. Indian Hill Blvd.
There will be gifts and crafts to purchase from local vendors and artisans, as we;; as food and raffle items.
Vendors interesting in participating should call Julie Pedroza, 909-964-6947.
Information: 909-730-1563.


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Posts Tagged 'cats as sushi'
Cats Dressed As Sushi
There are moments in the day when I just need a break and have to search for something that makes me laugh. Today, I found a photo set by Tange and Nakimushi Peanuts that showcases some adorable cats dressed up as sushi rolls. Now, not every roll was a real one… there is a cat [...]
© 2017 petswelcome.com, Inc. Conditions of Use. Please read before using this site.


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I finished this book and immediately started searching out the author's backlist. I am shocked–shocked, I say!–to find that this is a debut author. It had a few bumps in the beginning, but the overall quality to the writing had a richness of emotion and smoothness to it that I do not often find with a new author. So bravo to her. I was quite impressed.
Enemy (or opponent) romances are always iffy for me. It's too easy for the characters to take things too far. I don't want them to fold like a wet noodle, easily switching sides, but I can't have them going so far in their opposition that it's impossible for me to believe that they can ever recover from the harshness that has passed between them. LaValle found a perfect balance. Trent and Mazie were at odds for much of the book, but they didn't spend a lot of time trying to twist the knife. Trent was determined to find out the truth, but he was too honorable and humane to use cruelty to make her talk. Mazie was determined to keep her secrets, but she didn't hate Trent for doing what he had to do. She may not have enjoyed being locked up and may have wanted to escape, but who wouldn't in her situation?
I thought the attraction between the characters in the beginning was forced, but once we got passed the awkward start it all flowed beautifully. I so enjoyed watching them fall in love, even though they both knew it was wrong. The tone of the book is serious and emotional, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it angsty. It just had a lovely weight to it that kept me turning the pages quickly, dying to see more of the delicious tension between the leads. I loved the pace that the author set for their relationship. It wasn't too fast or too slow, it was just right. I had serious reservations about how their HEA would be achieved, but that was due to the positions the plot put them in, not the emotion, or lack thereof, between them.
It felt like a very tangled web by the time we got around to the end. Trent's reputation and his future position in politics were dependent upon him capturing the highwayman, so it couldn't just be brushed aside. Having the hero ruin his life and being made a laughing stock of just so things could go the heroine's way in the end wouldn't be a fitting HEA for him. But having the heroine choose the hero over her strong loyalty to the highwayman, leaving him at the mercy of the legal system, wouldn't have been right either. I just couldn't figure out how the author could twist things to satisfy everyone. Well, twist things she did. I liked that things weren't wrapped up nicely and tied with a bow at the end. It made it seem more realistic that way.
Initially I didn't like Trent as much as I did Mazie. Surprisingly, that flip-flopped by the end of the book. It's not that I grew to dislike Mazie, I just felt her character wasn't portrayed quite as well as Trent's was. Her misdirection plots were weak and the fact that her connection to the highwayman was so easy to see had me grimacing. Did they not even bother to plan for the day one of them might be caught? Those sections made her seem like a little girl playing at an adult game, which I didn't like. I don't think I was supposed to see her that way, but that's how it came across. At other times, though, she was completely wonderful. I loved how she took her freedom in life and refused to feel bad about it.
"I only mean to say that I felt like nobody, and it was terrible. And then, over time, I felt stronger, and I realized I could be anybody. I was no longer bound to a family or a society. I was alone in the best sort of way. I could do anything.
There were no rules anymore."
Trent, on the other hand, started out feeling rigid. The more I got to know him, the more I sympathized with his honest desire to follow the law at all times. His upbringing and his high regard of his exacting father led him to see things in the extremes of black and white as an adult. I loved watching his growth over the course of the book. He slowly came to see that the law does not protect everyone and that sometimes unlawful acts are caused by an abuse of those in power. His responsibilities weighed heavily on him, so he struggle more than most to reconcile his belief in the absolute justice of the law with the reality of the world.
Power was not freedom, but responsibility. And responsibility was a heavy weight he could never be free of. He was bound in his liberty, chained in his authority.
The beginning was a bit slow and there were a few spots where the story dragged, but I feel that the good heavily outweighs the bad here. The focus stayed almost exclusively on Mazie and Trent throughout the story, but we were pulled into the town enough to get a very nice sense of the community and to meet some interesting side characters. I've got to say again, I'm impressed that this is a debut book. I'm very interested in seeing what comes next for this author.
Rating: A-
The Runaway Countess by Leigh LaValle
March 6th 2012 by Samhain
GoodReads || Amazon || Barnes & Noble || Samhain


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Paris exhibition honours the Smurfs' creator
The self-taught Belgian cartoonist behind the Smurfs is getting some long-awaited recognition with a first-ever retrospective of his work that opened in Paris on Thursday.
"Everybody knows the Smurfs, a real international success, but no one knows their creator Pierre Culliford," alias Payo, said Eric Leroy, curator of the show at the Arcurial gallery just off the Champs Elysees.
"We wanted to pay hommage to the man, a real storyteller, full of humour."
The show -- running until August 30 -- features more than 200 original panels retained by Payo's family after his death in 1992 at the age of 64, as well as photographs, albums and some personal objects.
Fans of the sock-topped blue critters -- animated stars of a Hollywood family comedy that's due out in 3D at the end of July -- will discover how much Payo enjoyed dreaming up stories but doubted his artistic talent.
"I draw badly, and that enables me to make a simple drawing," he once said.


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Contact InformationCambridge Community Properties Inc
Hri 280 Franklin St
Cambridge, MA 02139
Other InformationEntity Status: Active
Type of Entity: Domestic Profit Corporation
Entity Creation Date: Apr 30, 1993
Days in Business: 8913 days
Company Description
Cambridge Community Properties Inc is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is listed as an active Domestic Profit Corporation. Cambridge Community Properties Inc was started on Apr 30, 1993 which was 8913 days ago.
EmployeesHarry Johnson: President
David Salomon: Treasurer
Deb Favreau: Secretary
Marina Kaufman: Director
John Miller: Director
Registered AgentPeter Daly
C/o Homeowner's Rehab, Inc.280 Franklin Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
Edit ProfileEdited: 12/1/2011
To edit this profile, please click here. You will be able to add a custom description, social networks, website, phone number, and many more features to your ISHCC.org profile.
Reviews0 Reviews
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Public Spending And Social Progress
Policy Reports | Federal Spending | Social
No. 232
Thursday, June 01, 2000
by Gerald W. Scully
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Over the past century, government spending grew to an average of 45 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) among developed countries. These expenditures often are defended on the ground that they make countries more productive and achieve such other social objectives as improving the health and literacy of the population.
In a previous study, the author showed that government spending on such things as roads, education and criminal justice positively affects per capita GDP. But beyond some level - 21 percent of GDP in the United States, for instance - the tax burden necessary to finance this spending slows economic growth and thus reduces per capita GDP below what it otherwise would be. Today, total government spending in the United States and other developed countries far exceeds the level at which it increases national income.
This study examines the effects of government spending on certain noneconomic measures of social progress. It employs a narrow measure of social progress obtained by constructing an index based on literacy, infant mortality and life expectancy plus a broader index that uses 16 social indicators. It includes data on 112 countries collected for 1995.
The central finding is that although government spending has a positive impact on social progress up to a certain level, spending by most developed countries has gone well beyond that point. As a result, there is little difference in social outcomes among these countries, regardless of the amount they spend. Social progress in developed countries that spend less than 40 percent of GDP - the United States, Switzerland, Japan, Australia and New Zealand - is approximately the same as in those with public spending above 50 percent of GDP. Specifically:
- Advanced countries realize no benefit in terms of social progress from government consumption spending beyond $3,650 per person or 18.6 percent of GDP.
- Beyond $1,105 or 5.6 percent of GDP - the optimal level of per capita government consumption spending - each dollar spent buys progressively less additional improvement in social progress.
- Yet some advanced countries are spending as much as $5,308 per capita on government consumption aimed at advancing social progress.
- With the exception of Singapore (and Hong Kong, if the data were available), the world's most developed countries are receiving no gains in social progress at the margin from government spending.
Clearly, there is considerable scope for shrinking the size of the fiscal state without doing harm to social progress. So far, among developed countries only Ireland and New Zealand have made observable progress in shrinking the fiscal state.
- Ireland reduced public spending as a share of GDP from 47.2 percent in 1988 to 40.6 percent in 1989 and has more or less held the line since then.
- New Zealand shrank central government public spending from 40.4 percent of GDP in 1992 to 34.9 percent in 1995.
Other developed countries will face increasing pressure to follow suit as the pool of workers available to support their aging populations shrinks.


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- Home
- Craft Basics
- Hobby Supplies
- Fascinations Metal Earth® 3D Metal Model Kit - Batman Classic Bat-Signal Model
Craft Basics
Hobby Supplies
Call for Batman with your own Metal Earth® 3D metal model kit that makes a Batman classic bat-signal model. This set requires you to insert the tabs, fold along the lines, and twist and turn parts to build your very own metal model. In addition, this model making set features 2 sheets of assembly parts.
- 1.75 in x 2.4 in x 1.75 in (assembled model)
- Carefully discard the metal sheets after removing the parts to avoid possible injury from sharp edges


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Hi devs
Baselayout-1.6.6 was just released. Along with some bugfixes,
updates to scripts, etc, it adds a new dependancy, 'use'.
It basically works the same as the 'need' dependancy, except
that it will only start services that is in the current, and
'boot' runlevels (or only 'boot' if 'boot' is current).
This is primarily for use with rc-scripts that have optional
dependancies, that should only be started when the deps are
actually installed and scheduled to start, for example:
the netmount script, that should actually have portmap
as a dependancy, but do not since it will never start
if the user do not have the nfs tools installed.
Also, it can be used for cases where the dependancy can be
one out of a few, for example:
postfix have sysklogd as dependancy, but people who uses
metalog or syslog-ng will have to edit the postfix
rc-script, or it will fail to start.
Another place where latter can be used, is with the 'modules'
rc-script (already updated for this). If you use sysklogd,
and add it to the 'boot' runlevel, and not the 'default' like
in the install guide, bootup will be much cleaner, as sysklogd
sets the console loglevel to 3 (only display errors and up).
Metalog and syslog-ng will have to be updated by developers
who use these two.
Enouth smalltalk. How it works is as follows (out of postfix):
depend() {
need net sysklogd
depend() {
need net
use sysklogd metalog syslog-ng
Anyhow, please test, comment and enjoy :)
Martin Schlemmer
Gentoo Linux Developer, Desktop Team Developer
Cape Town, South Africa


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Ponoko Product Of The Week
When it comes to vehicles, you can't get much tougher than a tank.
For the hobbyist who likes to do it tough, Ponoko user Wopwop (aka Dom) has provided plans to build a tank chassis that is a perfect fit for SparkFun's Tamiya tank treads.
Combined with a 70168 under-slung double gearbox, this little beauty will be ready to tackle the roughest terrain.
We all know that a tank won't go anywhere without a driver – and Dom has this covered too by including mounting holes for an Arduino Uno board as well as sparkfun's li-poly charger.
The chassis can be reconfigured in a number of ways, to fit other gearboxes and different engine mounts. Add in some 3mm screws and you'll soon be starting your own miniature invasion force.
Files for the Taphill Tank Chassis are only $5 from Wopwop's showroom.


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(IraqiNews.com) Israeli media sources stressed falling missiles on different Israeli cities.
The sources mentioned on Saturday that missiles targeted Harf Achkun, Sderot and Ashkelon cities.
It is worth mentioning that the mutual bombarding between the Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups continued for four days respectively where the missiles continued falling on Gaza Strip and Tel Aviv, killing more people from Palestine while the Israeli army continues mobilizing its forces to prepare for imminent invasion for Gaza Strip.


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Wasn't Jones on a one year contract? This sue isn't going to do him much good for getting paid and signed for next year.
700WLW Cincinnati @700wlw 28m28 minutes ago
#BREAKING Bengals Cornerback Adam Jones arrested and facing multiple charges including assault.
2 replies 10 retweets 3 likes
Reply 2 Retweet 10
Like 3


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Where's Materazzi?
It was strange last week to leave behind the flag-smothered pubs and cars of England and arrive in Italy, where you could almost be forgiven for forgetting the World Cup was on at all. One of the local bars has a big(ish) screen outside, but there are no feverish announcements about when Italy is playing. Gaetano, the caretaker at the nearby five-a-side pitch, was raking up the cut grass on Saturday morning in a Brazil shirt. 'No one likes the Italians this year,' he said. Because they're unlikely to retain the trophy? 'It's like watching dead men play.' He made some polite murmurs about England's chances (this was before the dismal draw with the USA), but said he thought Germany would probably win (this before their 4-0 crushing of Australia).
The front page of today's Gazzetta dello Sport carries the stern pronouncement 'Azzurri ricordate: i Campioni siamo noi' – a reminder to the players that we are the champions, and so they'd better not screw up. The problem – beyond the fear of a humiliating first-round exit – is that 14 members of the Italian squad didn't play in Germany four years ago, and so there really isn't any sense in which the players in South Africa are the defending champions. It's true that a team's identity has little to do with the individuals on the pitch, but in this case it doesn't seem to have much to do with the fans, either, if only because Italy at the moment has no fans. There certainly aren't any in South Africa, or none that La Repubblica's correspondent could find in advance of tonight's game against Paraguay (though he also talks about Wayne Rooney's 'cockney accent' so perhaps he's not entirely to be trusted). And all anyone's interested in talking to him about is Marco Materazzi, the 'hero' of the 2006 final. Materazzi, as it happens, is as ostentatiously uninterested as the next man: he's currently on holiday, touring America in a camper van.


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Are you considering moving to Switzerland? It could be a wise and logical decision to take. The country is situated in the west central region of continental Europe. There are reasons why the country is often described as the heart of the continent. The strong economy is a typical come-on for immigrants who want to take the opportunities in banking and finance there. Other than that, the location is strategic so that accessing other countries and European cities would be a breeze. The country is surrounded by Austria in the east, Germany in north, Franc in west, and Italy in south.
When moving to Switzerland, it would be advantageous if you know how to speak any of these four languages: French, German, Romansh, or Italian. These are the usual languages spoken by people living in the country. Only a few locals speak English. Thus, before moving to Switzerland, it would be better if you would take crash courses about learning to speak, write, or understand any of those languages.
Be prepared about the climate changes you may encounter. Typically, Switzerland is a country with varying climate because of its topography. It is elevated higher so that it gets more exposure to sun. Winds could also blow strongly. During winter, the temperature could drop to below freezing. January and February are the coldest months and are ideal for numerous winter sports, which are great attractions for tourists in the season. The cities or towns in mountains could still be mildly cold during summer.
The transport system in the country is very much developed. It is another plus factor if you are deciding about moving to Switzerland. The dense road network is complemented by efficient and comfortable trains. Now, you could easily travel to and from any point in the country, even the areas along the Alps, which were previously barred due to lack of transportation modes. There are special tunnels, bridges, and engineered roads that make moving around any place in the country a breeze. Check out the longest automobile tunnel in the world: St. Gotthard Tunnel, which is a main artery of transalpine traffic in the continent.
Punctuality is a big factor that is held and exemplified by national trains. Thus, when in Switzerland, you would not have to worry about delayed trains. Accessing any rail system is also easier especially for tourists and immigrants. This makes roaming within the country easy and comfortable.
When moving to Switzerland, you may consider bringing your things along with you. This could be ideal but may not be very practical especially if you are coming from a country within another continent. But if you are moving from another European country, it could be practical. You have to find and hire a good and reliable removal or moving company so you could get the good and ideal service you deserve. You could choose the best company from among a roster of many especially if you want to get only the best and most practical services.
Area's & Services We cover for Switzerland with our european road and shipping service.
Type Of MoveJust Boxes1 Bed House2 Bed House3 Bed House4+ Bed HouseOffice MoveCommercial ShippingOther


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Research Topics
Genomes and Genes
Srinivasa Subramaniam
Affiliation: University of Heidelberg
Country: Germany
Detail Information
- Extracellular signal-regulated kinase as an inducer of non-apoptotic neuronal deathS Subramaniam
Neuroanatomy and Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
Neuroscience 138:1055-65. 2006..Further, we discuss the mechanisms and the putative molecular inter-players associated with ERK-mediated neuronal death...
- ERK activation promotes neuronal degeneration predominantly through plasma membrane damage and independently of caspase-3Srinivasa Subramaniam
Neuroanatomy and Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, 2 OG, D 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
J Cell Biol 165:357-69. 2004..Antioxidants that reduced ERK activation and PM damage showed no effect on caspase-3 activation or DNA damage. These data identify ERK as an important executor of neuronal damage involving a caspase-3-independent mechanism...
- Insulin-like growth factor 1 inhibits extracellular signal-regulated kinase to promote neuronal survival via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase A/c-Raf pathwaySrinivasa Subramaniam
Neuroanatomy and Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences, University of Heidelberg, D 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
J Neurosci 25:2838-52. 2005..Together, these data demonstrate that IGF-1 can positively and negatively regulate the ERK pathway in the same neuronal cell, and provide new insights into the PI3K/Akt/PKA signaling pathways in IGF-1-mediated neuronal survival...
- Growth differentiation factor-15 prevents low potassium-induced cell death of cerebellar granule neurons by differential regulation of Akt and ERK pathwaysSrinivasa Subramaniam
Neuroanatomy and Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences IZN, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
J Biol Chem 278:8904-12. 2003..Furthermore, we show that GDF-15 prevented generation of reactive oxygen species, a known activator of ERK. Together, our data suggest that GDF-15 prevents apoptosis in CGN by activating Akt and inhibiting endogenously active ERK...
- Evidence that TRPC1 is involved in hippocampal glutamate-induced cell deathK Lakshmi Narayanan
Interdisciplinary Centerfor Neurosciences IZN, Department of Neuroanatomy, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, D 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Neurosci Lett 446:117-22. 2008..Thus, TRPC1 may represent a promising target for pharmacological interventions to prevent or reduce glutamate-induced neuronal damage...
- Glutamate activates NF-kappaB through calpain in neuronsMarion N Scholzke
Department of Neurology, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
Eur J Neurosci 18:3305-10. 2003..NF-kappaB activation by calpain may mediate the long-term effects of glutamate on neuron survival or memory formation...
- GDNF prevents TGF-beta-induced damage of the plasma membrane in cerebellar granule neurons by suppressing activation of p38-MAPK via the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathwaySrinivasa Subramaniam
Neuroanatomy and Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences IZN, University of Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 307, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany
Cell Tissue Res 331:373-83. 2008..GDNF inhibits caspase-3-dependent DNA fragmentation but does not affect ERK-dependent PM damage. However, GDNF can attenuate TGF-beta-induced p38-MAPK-dependent PM damage via the PI3K pathway...
- Elevated P75NTR expression causes death of engrailed-deficient midbrain dopaminergic neurons by Erk1/2 suppressionKambiz N Alavian
Interdisciplinary Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Neuroanatomy, Ruprecht Karls Universitat, Heidelberg, Germany
Neural Dev 4:11. 2009....
- TGF-beta induces cell death in the oligodendroglial cell line OLI-neuNorbert Schuster
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Medical Faculty, University of Saarland, Homburg Saar, Germany
Glia 40:95-108. 2002....
- Tau aggregation and progressive neuronal degeneration in the absence of changes in spine density and morphology after targeted expression of Alzheimer's disease-relevant tau constructs in organotypic hippocampal slicesNeelam Shahani
Department of Neurobiology, University of Osnabruck, 49076 Osnabruck, Germany
J Neurosci 26:6103-14. 2006..Furthermore, they demonstrate that targeted expression of tau in hippocampal slices provides a novel model to analyze tau modification and spatiotemporal dynamics of tau-dependent neurodegeneration in an authentic CNS environment...


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Vote for the Best Single of 2012
Posted in EOTY Awards
It's time for the 2012 edition of the TuneLab end of the year awards, where we let the fans vote on the winners for the best music of the past year, taken from your nominees in each category. Choose your favorite below. Don't forget to comment as to why you made your choice, and share along! You can come back and vote again up to every 5 hours if you'd like.
[highlight bg="#ff0″ color="#000″]Click here to see all the other voting categories![/highlight][note color="#1d1d1d"]Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.[/note]


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Don't miss a story. Like us on Facebook. Like Dallas News' Facebook Page
One of the fastest growing sources of real estate investment funds isn't coming from pension funds or real estate investment trusts.
Instead, foreign investors are using immigration laws to pump billions of dollars into U.S. properties. In exchange for their equity investments, the foreign nationals get legal immigration status.
To qualify for the so called EB-5 visas, individual investors must spend between $500,000 and $1 million on real estate deals. And the investment must create at least 10 jobs.
The plan allows the investor's provisional green card to become permanent after two years.
The largest number of participants in the program come from Asia and Latin America.
Organizations that funnel these funds into real estate investments have popped up in major all over the country.
One of the groups - Texas Urban Triangle Regional Center – said Friday that it has formed a partnership with an Irving apartment developer to provide $200 million a year in financial for new deals.
Developer TDI is doing apartment projects in markets across the country – including several in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The developer was formed by officers of the old JPI apartment building operation.
"Development projects can come from virtually any use sector because the necessary EB-5 jobs are created from the expenditure of construction costs," Bobby Page, Managing Partner of TDI, said in a statement "This gives the company tremendous flexibility in offering EB-5 capital to developers."
TDI is now building 1,200 apartment in Texas, California and Arizona. And the company plans to start 2,300 units over the next 12 months.