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Preview: Twins vs. Mariners
MINNEAPOLIS — Jose Berrios was dazzling in his first action of 2018, going the distance in a 7-0 shutout of Baltimore last weekend.
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Coming off an impressive 14-victory season a year ago, the 23-year-old held the Orioles to three hits and a walk while striking out six. At one point, he retired 17 consecutive batters and finished with his first complete game shutout.
"I want to have more," he said.
Berrios gets his chance Saturday, when the Twins resume their first home series of the season with a matinee against the Mariners at Target Field.
"There were a lot of positives to take from a start like that," manager Paul Molitor said.
The Twins have pitched well to open the season and they've been punishing opposing pitchers from the batter's box as they enter the weekend with 12 home runs, good for second in the American League.
They hit three homers Thursday in a 4-2 victory over Seattle in their home opener. Brian Dozier has four and is tied for the league lead.
"You can guesstimate how many guys have a chance to get 15 [home runs] or more," Molitor said. "It is pretty high."
Power was a specialty last season for Minnesota, which also added Logan Morrison, who hit 38 for Tampa in 2017, during the winter. He's started out slowly, with just one hit in 15 at-bats, but he joins a lineup that had three players hit at least 27 homers a year ago.
"They got some acquisitions to come in and help us out with that," Dozier said. "We are just going out there, having fun and doing our thing. The way we are supposed to."
Mike Leake, who gets the start for Seattle, has been good not just at keeping the ball in the park but from keeping his opponents from scoring in general.
Since the Mariners acquired him from St. Louis last August, Leake has posted a 2.54 ERA in six starts and held Cleveland to two runs on five hits over a seven-inning debut last week.
After playing Thursday with temperatures hovering in the low 30s, Leake and the Mariners will again need to be prepared for the elements Saturday, when the game-time temperature is expected to be around 31 degrees.
While the Mariners have played just 11 games with the first-pitch temperature below 40 degrees since 1988, Leake has plenty of experience, having pitched previously for the Cardinals and Reds.
"You just have to bundle up and stay as warm as you can," Leake said. "If you can keep your hand warm and stay mobile and make sure your blood is flowing, for the most part you can keep your grip. Once you start getting cold and losing that feel, that's when you start losing it. You have to try to ignore it. If you can block out the weather and get the tunnel vision, it distracts you from how cold it is."
The Mariners will still be without catcher Mike Zunino when they return to action. There was hope he'd come off the disabled list this weekend but after taking part in a simulated game earlier this week in Tacoma, Zunino will get a little more time to heal from his strained oblique.
"Just going off what the medical people say, let's just be safe instead of sorry on this one," manager Scott Servais said. "So we're just slowing down a little. Still hopeful to get him back soon. I don't think it's going to be four to six weeks, but based on where the temperatures are here, just tap the brakes a little bit."


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Since a special someone of mine is at home sick, I thought it would be relevant to touch on how the cold can affect your training, and visa versa. The fall is a time of rampant viruses. Change of seasons, less daylight and a number of other things that can throw you out of whack. And while the cozy comfort of pumpkin spice everything may sooth your soul, there are no answers in the swirling foam.
Since I wouldn't be me if I didn't throw some science at you (and would you even believe anything I say), here's a fun little study. Thomas G. Weidner, Ph.D., of Ball State University in Munice Indiana, took 50 moderately fit student volunteers, who were divided randomly into two groups: exercising and non-exercising. Each volunteer was injected with the cold germs (areal nice guy right)? and then tracked each student for a period of ten days. Each subjects was required to keep a daily log of physical activity. The exercise group worked out either by running, biking or using a step machine for 40 minutes every day, at no more than seventy percent of their maximum capacity (measured by heart rate reserve). Now I know, this isn't weight lifting. And I will be quite honest, weight lifting and cardio definitely have different physiological effects. But, in terms of quality, it's some good qualify peer reviewed research.
Anyhow… Upon completion of the study and after analysis of exercise data, symptom severity, and actual mucous weight measurements, there was shown to be no significant difference in symptom severity or duration in the exercise group or in their inactive counterparts. Overall conclusion, exercising at a moderate intensity level does not intensify cold symptoms or compromise the immune system. Ta Da!!
So there you have it my loves! Move your booties, clear up those nasal passages, and shake it off! Unless you have the black lung or consumption, then leave your sick ass home 😉
Your fitbetch,
JP xoxo

subset: commoncrawl


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Academics across Japan are lobbying to block legislation that they believe threatens the autonomy of universities and gives the Education Ministry the authority to allocate government research funds.
Junichiro Koizumi, the Prime Minister, has a two-thirds majority to push the Bill through parliament. But he is unlikely to bring it to the vote before the end of the current session on June 18.
"We have a bit of time now," said Yosuke Yotoriyama, associate professor of education at Niigata University, who is at the forefront of the lobby.
"Over the summer vacation, we'll have to work on raising public awareness of what's about to happen. If we succeed, there is still a chance we might block it. I fear we might end up with an education system that is worse than the one we had before the war."
A number of academics critical of government policies were persecuted when Japan was under military rule. The most celebrated example was Yukitoki Takigawa, professor of criminal law at Kyoto University, who resigned in 1933 under pressure from the Education Minister.
The Fundamental Law of Education was enacted in 1947 to safeguard education from "unjust control", redefining its objective as "the full development of individuality".
The new Bill grants the ministry the power to intervene at all levels of education. It commits universities to "make a contribution to society and to its development" through their research work and sets out concepts such as "love of one's country" and "respect for Japanese tradition" as key objectives for schools.
The legislation gives the ministry power to draw up a "fundamental plan for education promotion" for the country. This in turn gives the ministry a fiscal leverage to award grants for research that accords with the plan.
"The ministry will determine who receives grants and for what purpose,"
Professor Yotoriyama said.
Asaho Mizushima, professor of law at Waseda University, added: "Money is the most effective weapon for corrupting academic freedom." He expressed fears that independent, risk-taking research could be discouraged.
Current government policy is to direct funds to science and technology that has immediate application to Japanese industry, academics say. As a result, grants for basic science, such as the one that made possible chemist Hideki Shirakawa's Nobel-winning discoveries in 2000, have been cut.
Non-scientific research has also faced cutbacks.


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Historically the retail industry has been excellent at innovation; but you might argue that some have lost the knack.
Examples of past technology-driven retail innovations include:
- When booksellers needed to make sense of their stock they created the ISBN code book identifier system.
- When food and catering company J. Lyons & Co. saw what early computers could do, it developed its own - LEO (Lyons Electronic Office). It was the first computer used for commercial business applications.
- The now-ubiquitous bar code, the Uniform Product Code, was invented in the 1940's but did not go into use for scanning items until 1974 after it was embraced, defined and refined by a group of grocers.
- The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), now a de facto method of providing a conversation between two entities, is widely used to help drive down inventory levels. It was inspired by military logistics.
But aside from obvious innovator Amazon, what else are we seeing? If we were to measure innovation by the number of patents a company has then it looks like Amazon is out-innovating everyone. Whereas Amazon has licensed nearly 5000 patents since 1994, its closest innovator is Target with just over 1,100 patents. Walmart, Home Depot, Walgreens, Lowes, Starbucks and CVS Pharmacy together have lodged 756.
But, yet, I see lots of innovative ideas going on in retail – from retailers themselves but also technology providers and system integrators.
There are smart stores using IoT and connecting it to the entire enterprise to improve staff productivity and customer engagement. Some retailers are trying to streamline and automate processes to remove non-value added steps.
There is a lot of innovation around delivery, from wheeled robotic delivery vehicles to location-based services where you can buy online and collect in-store – and the order is ready for you when you get near the collection point.
Yet Amazon remains the top innovator in most areas. So what can other retailers do about it? As I have said before, to truly innovate in retail today you cannot do it alone; you need a coalition of companies working together to make ideas happen. But many retailers seek a single supplier approach - "one throat to choke" so to speak.
Either way they need to have a clear framework to support innovation and this should cover three key elements: people, process and technology. I will discuss this in depth in my next article.


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APT discusses with customers the benefits of early supplier involvement.We offer suggestions to keep costs down while designing precision, high quality components of Teflon ® PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) and other engineered materials. The utilization of APT's manufacturing experience during design has proven valuable for early participants.On-going customer dialogue allows us to service any industry requiring precisely engineered, high quality engineering plastics components in quantities as low as a single unit custom part, to runs of 100 to 250,000 or more parts annually.Mission Statement:To provide our customers with superior products & customer service by utilizing our collective talents to develop innovations and solutions to satisfy customer needs, provide our employees with meaningful work and advancement opportunities, and provide our stakeholders with a superior rate of return.Vision Statement:Our vision to be internationally recognized as the Fluoropolymer specialist.Applied Plastics Technology, Inc. offers automatic PTFE compression molding and machining, PCTFE near net molding & machining, PFA transfer molding, and custom CNC machining services for all of the following industries and applications:Teflon ® PTFE custom components, valve seats and seals, bearings and washers, sleeve bearings, ball bearings, insulators and connectors, PTFE valve bodies, FDA approved food industry products, chemical handling components and pump parts.Modified PTFE parts & fittings for semiconductor processing equipment parts, biotech & pharmaceutical processing & research components, ultra-pure processing parts, and compressor parts, and a variety of other applications that require custom precision CNC machined components.APT processes virgin (electrical grade) and filled grades of PTFE, and modified PTFE including Teflon® NXT. We process and finish machine PCTFE suitable for cyrogenic environments. We machine-to-order a wide range of engineered plastics for applications that demand high purity along with chemical & thermal resistance.
Teflon™ is a trademark of THE CHEMOURS COMPANY FC, LLC used under license by Applied Plastics Technology, Inc.
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Toll Free (USA Only): 800-752-7082TEL: 401-253-0200FAX: 401-253-0474Email: email@example.com
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Ohhh irony.. you're very cruel sometimes.
In one of my recipes posts last week I talked about how far I've come in learning how to photograph food and that I do the best that I can with what I have. Over the past year and a half I've been shooting with a Nikon Coolpix L120. It's not ideal for giving me the shots I need since I can't manually adjust any of the settings, but it's done a great job so far. I was telling my fiancé, Josh, that I would eventually like to upgrade but it's not in our budget right now and I would just wait a little while longer before purchasing a new one. About an hour after that conversation, my camera zoom broke. The camera still works but whenever you go to snap a photo, it bumps the zoom and it won't stop. It just zooms all the way in or all the way out! It took me nearly an hour to photograph pork chops and potatoes the other day!
Much to my surprise, Josh brings home a box on my birthday that contains a large camera bag and inside is a brand new Nikon and lens! It was the perfect gift and the most perfect time to receive it. I've been playing around with it and taking pictures of the beautiful flowers he also came home with and my engagement ring that IRONICALLY (there's that word again) we thought was lost yesterday, which is one year to the day that he proposed! Thankfully the ring has been found and I'm contemplating having it surgically attached to my finger, so I don't experience the panic and guilt of ever losing it again!
I'm going to a get little sappy, so feel free to skip past this if you like. I don't write about my relationship too often because quite frankly, I hate those people! No one ever wants to hear about how happy and in love you are because you sound smug. My life isn't sprinkles and rainbows all the time, but it is a damn good life. I feel very strongly that it's due to the person I share that life with. He's there to experience every high and low with me and is always there to help with whatever I need. I've read tips on how to run a successful blog, but honestly, the key element is having a supportive (and patient) partner. He encourages me to keep going when I'm unsure of myself and truly believes in me. I'm very thankful for him coming into my life when he did and I can't wait to marry him next July, so I can spend a lifetime expressing my gratitude and love for him.
That's it. No more sappy. If you didn't lose your appetite from that then check out today's recipe post.. the aforementioned very-difficult-to-photograph-with-a-broken-camera pork chops! I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday on Monday! I was definitely feeling the love!
Enjoy the rest of your week!


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Maya Hu-Chan
Maya Hu-Chan is an international management consultant, executive coach and author. She is rated Top 8 Global Solutions Thinkers by Thinkers50, World Top 30 Leadership Gurus, and Top 100 Thought Leaders in Management & Leadership.
Maya was born and raised in Taiwan and lives in San Diego, California. She specializes in global leadership, executive coaching and cross-cultural business skills.
Harvard Business School has chosen her book "Global Leadership: The Next Generation" to be one of their Working Knowledge recommended books. She is also the contributing author for ten books on leadership and management.
Since 1988, Maya has trained and coached thousands of leaders in "Global Fortune 500" companies and public sectors throughout The Americas, Asia, and Europe. She has lectured at the Brookings Institution, University of California San Diego, University of Southern California, Pennsylvania State University, and University of Chicago.


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PayneOakland offers a wealth of knowledge in the hospitality sector providing advisory services in concept, project development and management and financial and investment expertise in structuring real estate deals. Its experience in the tourism and leisure sector extends to a rich network of well-known hotel operators, private investors, financial institutions, and distinguished architects.
PayneOakland acts in four capacities: advisor, developer, project manager and financial arranger. Within the tourism and leisure sector, we are primarily focused on luxury hotels and resorts in Europe, the Americas and Asia.
PayneOakland also establishes joint venture relationships with equity partners. Each joint venture is uniquely designed to suit the individual investor's risk profile while maximizing the return on investment potential.
Our twenty-plus years experience in the hospitality sector has enabled us to provide reliable strategic advice to clients in all parts of the world. Our advisory services focus on three important areas:


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Confessions from an Agency Vet
I guess you could call me a traitor.
I spent more than fifteen years living the good life at creative agencies. I spent the last two of those years as Head of Talent, attempting to stem the flow of people who were leaving the agency world to go work for tech platforms, media companies, and content studios.
And then what did I do? I left the agency world to go work for Vox Media - a place that is part tech platform, part media company and part content studio.
As I gear up for an Advertising Week panel (plug!), I've been reflecting on what I've learned since. Here goes...
Throughout my time at agencies, I was lucky to have worked for and with some of the most sophisticated thinkers in the industry. I witnessed them give birth to ideas that gave birth to entire brands. We fought hard for those ideas. Sometimes that required months securing the approvals and the funding and the media required to run a 30 second TV spot. Sometimes it required dozens of meetings with partner agencies, tirelessly aligning our individual specialities into one super-team that could deliver a cohesive campaign.
I loved what I did because what great agencies do is an art form. An art form that will never die. Because demand for great big marketing ideas will never be fully met, no matter how much content "supply" there may be.
But I had a nagging feeling that things could be different. That the world of brands and commerce was moving faster than we were. That consumers were moving through our big ideas at speeds greater than we were able to generate them. I knew that it actually shouldn't require six different agencies and six months to execute an ad campaign that would last six weeks. I knew that "digital" is not just a channel on a plan or an agency on a roster.
But I conformed to that system anyway.
Our problem was not a lack of creativity. Our problem was that our obsession with creativity - and the number of people and entities and stakeholders and focus groups and time involved in that creative process - was becoming a distraction from the emerging imperatives of speed, performance and scale. Repeatability was the enemy of originality. Content volume and content quality were mutually exclusive choices.
"Good, fast, or cheap. Pick any two." I actually said that to my clients. Frequently.
Some would say that model is broken, and agencies have been taking many incremental steps to evolve. Some have made more progress than others. Many of them, and the holding companies above them, are recognising that the convergence of capabilities into smaller teams, fewer agencies, and smaller networks is the surest way to guarantee creativity and performance at scale.
It was all of this contemplation about convergence that indirectly led to me to this brand new world of Vox Creative, where content and audience and technology converge at a speed and scale unlike I've ever known. Where in nine months I've touched more content for more clients than I may have in the past five years.
A few months after I arrived, we partnered with Spotify to create a video in Vox's popular Explainer format.
One person on our team researched the story, wrote the script, supervised the design and performed the VO. He did that in four weeks. He didn't set out to reinvent the wheel. Instead he looked to our many previous Explainers that have generated hundreds of millions of views, and a handful of Emmy nominations, and he replicated their storytelling techniques. He knew those techniques would be successful because he had data to prove it. He accessed that data through a platform we had built, upon which all of the company's content is published. His colleague who sits next to him published that video across multiple brands and platforms with the click of a button. We did it in a handful of weeks and spent a fraction of agency costs to do it all.
And you know what? It's a damn good video.
That's convergence.
Three months later, we are replicating the success of that video for ten other clients. Explainers are so popular that we will soon have a dedicated team that will focus exclusively on the format. We'll distribute them at speed and scale because we built the only publisher-led marketplace for branded content distribution which can reach 99% of every millennial online (don't ask me where the hell the other 1% are hiding).
But for all that convergence has enabled us to achieve on our own, what remain and will always remain indispensable are creative agencies' big ideas. The future will always hold a place for the very best agencies that are shaping the next generation of brands. And right there alongside them will be the Vox Medias of the world - who will fuse data, creativity, audience, and performance in near real time.
So if finding convergence makes me a traitor, then to my agency friends I say: chain your destiny to ours.
Let's betray the old way of doing things. Let's bring your big ideas to life. Let's surround curious people with valuable stories and experiences. Let's just do it smarter, faster, and, ultimately, together.
Armando Turco is General Manager, Vox Creative


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VIPs, otherwise known as high rollers, are considered to be one of the most, if not the most, important players to online casinos. The difference between a VIP player and a regular player is the amount of money that they spend on a regular basis. Along with the VIP status comes VIP bonuses.
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Founded in 1990, with more than 10 years' hard working, our company has already developed into a large-scale professional manufacturer in the field of garment accessory. Our company covers an area of more than 1000 squar ...
Changshu Guomei Garment Accessories Co., Ltd.
Jindang Village
Changshu, JI 215555
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