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Saturday, February 18, 2012
It's time
The bags are packed. The household chores have been (mostly) taken care of. Mrs. Z and Baby Z have been assured all will be fine in my absence.
It's time to head down to Viera. It's time for baseball.
This will be my eighth spring covering the Nationals -- how did that happen? -- and it promises to be the most anticipated and intriguing camp since the franchise arrived in town. As always, I'll do my best to bring it all to you via a multitude of platforms: Nats Insider, CSNwashington.com, Comcast SportsNet, Twitter, ESPN-980.
My itinerary for the spring, as assigned by CSN: Flying to Orlando this afternoon, then making the short drive east to Viera. I'll be on-site at Space Coast Stadium tomorrow morning as pitchers and catchers officially report (though nearly all of them, plus several position players, have already arrived early). I'll have complete coverage of the daily workouts and then the first wave of Grapefruit League games through March 6, then I'll return March 20 for the final two weeks of camp.
I'll be out of the loop the rest of the day while en route, but in the meantime here's another video segment from CSN where Kelli Johnson and I discuss the Nationals' rotation from Stephen Strasburg at the top to the logjam at the bottom.
Talk to you tomorrow morning from Viera...
95 comments:
WOOO HOOO!!! Mark is on his way!
- February 18, 2012 1:33 PM
Safe travels, Mr. Z. Looking forward to your posts.
- February 18, 2012 1:35 PM
- Jim Kurtzke said...
Year 8 of the Nats. I'm getting old.
- February 18, 2012 2:03 PM
I'm already old.
- February 18, 2012 2:13 PM
Happy trails and safe travels, Mark.
- February 18, 2012 2:17 PM
I'll see you and Amanda Friday.
- February 18, 2012 2:21 PM
My sense is that Johnson picks Detwiler for that final spot. It only makes sense at this point. Wang and Lannan left hanging ... if he can convince Rizzo that Detwiler gives him the best chance to win games early and often.
- February 18, 2012 2:35 PM
When I saw the heading I got goose bumps. Yes, it is time. Hallelujah!
- February 18, 2012 2:37 PM
Oh and Natsjack, I saw Morse in AAA Syracuse after the trade, and after he had already torn up the PCL. I'm the one who compared his stats ini AAA to Jason Heyward's almost exclusively in AA. I got summarily trounced for even considering comparing the two, you included dude ... who turned out to be right?
In any case I surprisingly enough find myself agreeing with the sentiments relative to JMax. But I'm not sure he would want to try again with the Nats? I can see it because Johnson is the manager not Riggleman. If Johnson is as smart as many say and he thinks when it comes to developing prospects maybe he could fix JMax. Perhaps undo another snafu Bowden created.
- February 18, 2012 2:47 PM
- NatsNut said...
- February 18, 2012 3:10 PM
- LoveDaNats said...
Longest. Winter. Ever.
- February 18, 2012 3:17 PM
- Positively Half St. said...
I didn't see the conversation about Justin Maxwell, but my thought is definitely that that ship has sailed. I'd rather take my chance with other prospects on their way up, with a stopgap like Cameron until then. I take that back- I would so much rather a trade to obtain someone to fill CF for years, but I don't seee it happening.
As for Detwiler, I simply don't see him taking Wang's place if Wang is healthy. He will almost certainly be in the bullpen.
- February 18, 2012 3:34 PM
I didn't see the conversation about Justin Maxwell, but my thought is definitely that that ship has sailed. I'd rather take my chance with other prospects on their way up, with a stopgap like Cameron until then. I take that back- I would so much rather a trade to obtain someone to fill CF for years, but I don't seee it happening.
There is no reason for the Nats to deal for a CF given that Upton will be a free agent next year. UNLESS they are offered attractive additional prospect[s] to go with him. Something to watch as the season moves toward July. By then the LaRoche issue will likely have been resolved, Morse would be ensconced at first base.
They will also be analyzing Brian Goodwin to see how far away he is and whether he is a corner outfielder or a CF. That is still TBD in the minds of many. But, then there's also Eury Perez and the surprising Michael Taylor. Perez could be in Harrisburg while Taylor in Potomac. Close enough for consideration.
So, I'm not too worried about CF as many here are. I think its something Rizzo has a good handle on ... things have been moving very fast just not fast enough to make more impatient long-time season ticket holders happy.
What concerns me is the offense which statistically dwells close to bottom feeders like Pittsburgh and Baltimore. It needs to improve and adding a CF won't do that by any measure or means. Harper might be a big part of the answer which is why I believe his chances to end up in the starting line up this year are very high. Beyond Harper, and short of a trade, there really isn't any cavalry on the way unless Tyler Moore hits .300 with 50 home runs and 100 BB's and 150 RBI in AAA Syracuse. That's smoking some heavy duty opiate though ...
- February 18, 2012 3:46 PM
As a Beast Mode fan, the only time I remember using "AAAA" and Michael Morse in the same comment had to be when the trade for Langerhans went down and I said SEATTLE said he was a "AAAA" defensive guy.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
- February 18, 2012 3:50 PM
- realdealnats said...
In terms of yesterday's suggestion of signing Harper up early to an even longer term deal: think Ovie. Trying to control the future in smaller segments is smart; trying to control the future forever usually backfires. Keep'm hungry. Stay at least somewhat flexible. Keep him wanting to show off for the Yankees, then who knows what happens?
In terms of Starting Rotation, NatsLady says Wang, and I usually agree with her. But I've still got that sneaking suspicion we'll see Lannan. Virtually no one agrees, I know. But he's steady, and quietly good, on average. Wang's shoulder is still an unexpolred world looking for a northwest passage. Too many of us are taking his recovery for granted. I hope I'm wrong.
I say Lannan as our 2nd lefty for #5. Wang opens on DL whether this hurts his chances for a June trade or not. Detwiler in the pen. I've got a good feel about Detwiler this year and we'll need him down the line. Keep all 7 for September unless a deal for a #1 CF arises we don't want to decline. Having tested lefties on hand and in the pipeline is a good thing. Don't dump anyone to save 5 mil.
- February 18, 2012 3:55 PM
Thanks for the heads up on fans not allowed in till Tuesday. I will just have to go fishing to kill a couple more days. I will plan to see you Friday.
- February 18, 2012 3:59 PM
I say Lannan as our 2nd lefty for #5. Wang opens on DL whether this hurts his chances for a June trade or not. Detwiler in the pen.
And people forget that the only lefty out of the bullpen besides Sean Burnett is Attie Severino. That means Gorzelanny is front and center. Certainly, Detwiler could help with that but Johnson made it very clear that he sees Ross as a starting pitcher. He wasn't as effusive in his praise for either Wang or Lannan. In 2011 Burnett's year was almost as bad as Slaten's. He was not effective. Whereas Gorzelanny WAS.
So, perhaps0 Rizzo manages to trade for a young and experienced left-handed reliever, but meanwhile, Lannan is on his way to AAA to be veteran backup for the starting rotation along with Maya, perhaps Stammen (he may win the right handed long relief job), Bradley Meyers, Erik Arneson, perhaps Purke and Solis ... unless they are in AA then the fillers signed would be added to that rotation.
Can left Hyde make an impression? I expect he'll get a late invite to ST?
- February 18, 2012 4:14 PM
- JayB said...
Ok.....I have waited until Late Feb and Spring training opened.
No Lead Off hitter....No CF.....No bats for the bench......Can you tell me now why I should not point out these huge holes in a Team that could have been much better if they had spend the money and addressed the holes back in Nov and December.
Can you tell my why Rizzo should be given a pass on his failure to make the moves he himself judged as most important for his team to progress this off season?
Doing 1/3 of the job this off season is not a success for the Team. They could win 90-95 games with CF, Leadoff and Pinch hitting/Bench improvements.
As it stands.........They could still make this kind of improvement but only if absolutely everything plays out perfectly.....and that is not a good plan in baseball or life folks.
- February 18, 2012 4:18 PM
Because it will totally harsh our ST start mellow?
- February 18, 2012 4:23 PM
Play ball.
- February 18, 2012 4:24 PM
- alexva said...
OK JayB,,,,,, I have waited until 4:22 to respond.
Virtually every team has holes, everybody is searching for a solid bench, not every player will wan tot come to a team just because they put the most money on the table.
Enjoy the progress, and I know you'll admit that there has been progress.
- February 18, 2012 4:25 PM
- JayB said...
Yes great progress but still under .500 after seven years in DC. Lerner's skimmed millions of dollars of profit out of these years. Yes they will say they did that to pay down debt.....reality is they mismanaged the tea. They let Mark Lerner protect Jimbo because he he was super cool and let Mark play in the OF before games. They hired the cheapest manager they could find for 4 year. They did not spend on scouting and front office and player development as promised.
They missed multiply opportunities over 5 years to build a winning team.....they still have not done that.
Show me 95 wins and playoffs and I will see the progress they should have made by now.
- February 18, 2012 4:40 PM
How about 91 wins and a division title? I'll be at camp Friday and Saturday.
- February 18, 2012 4:49 PM
@ NatsJack--could you remind me what your Twitter address is? Then all I'll need to do is figure out how to do Twitter. ;-) Natsfan1a, I ordered the Zinsser book on spring training from Amazon--thanks for the recommendation. Mark, have a good trip--I hope Mrs. Z and Baby Z. will be coming down for a visit!
- February 18, 2012 5:33 PM
I second that!
LoveDaNats said...
Longest. Winter. Ever.
February 18, 2012 3:17 PM
- February 18, 2012 5:46 PM
And since it is nearly 60 degrees (snow tomorrow? what the... ?) and I am watching the college baseball on MLB.. I am starting early folks on this years food and beverage....
Grilling steaks and opening a nice bottle of Cab... Enjoy your evening!
- February 18, 2012 5:48 PM
MicheleS- Enjoy the steaks and wine!
Another Mac and Cheese and beer night for me :-)
Oh yeah, I've completely flip flopped and now think Lannan should be the number 5 starter.
Detwiler has "bullpen stuff", and Wang...I have no idea what they should do with him.
Hope you all are enjoying your weekend.
Go Nats!
- February 18, 2012 6:02 PM
Chicken wraps and fries for us (I had coupons), but I think I may make butternut squash soup tomorrow.
I think you'll enjoy the book, sec109. I don't have a Twitter account, but I've bookmarked the home pages for the feeds (or whatever you call them) of some beat writers and I go there to read them from time to time. Now I've bookmarked NatsJack's as well.
- February 18, 2012 6:09 PM
bon voyage, vaya con dios, froehliche fahren, hasta la vista, etc. i'm sure you'll make this site the second best seat in the house.
- February 18, 2012 6:12 PM
Just for fun I was trying to compile my own list of the best starting pitchers in baseball, complete with various stats.
Who do you guys and gals think should be in the top 10?
I have 21 so far, in absolutely no order:
Felix Hernandez
I. Kennedy
Josh Johnson
CJ Wilson
Thoughts would be appreciated. Am I missing anyone? I love making my own lists and top 10s, so any feedback would be great :-)
Go Nats!!
- February 18, 2012 6:38 PM
JayB nailed it. We're so close to having a winner and Rizzo hasn't met his stated goals. Let's give him till April to see if he improves the offense and bench. If not, I could see another 81-81 year with a lot of 2-1 and 3-2 wins and losses.
Senators/Nats fan in SC
- February 18, 2012 6:44 PM
Natsfan1a, thanks so much for NatsJack's page. I didn't even know such pages existed, which shows you how much I understand Twitter. This is a very exciting time of year!
- February 18, 2012 6:59 PM
- Sec 3, My Sofa said...
I agree, let's give them until April. If they don't win 81 games by then, we should ... ummm ... write a strongly worded post on the Internet someplace. Yeah, that'll show 'em.
- February 18, 2012 7:13 PM
God, I love you guys.
- February 18, 2012 7:19 PM
No team in the NL East wins 95; not playing so many against the Phils, Braves, Fish and Nats. 90 wins the division and hard to see a wild card as the other divisions beat up on the lesser teams.
- February 18, 2012 7:54 PM
Ugh, the armchair GM thing is getting old.
Unfortunately, even stat sites analyze contracts to death.
Impossible to get player analysis without reference to how much $$$ they make.
Frustrating for me as a fan who doesn't care about salaries, just potential and results.
- February 18, 2012 7:59 PM
Cwj, you are tough. How can you do a Top 21 without JZim and Gio. Both rated within the Top 20 in both ERA, K, and JZim also on WHIP.
Sure, Gio may push to Top 25 to 30 moving away from Oakland but JZim definitely is in there.
- February 18, 2012 8:05 PM
Did anyone see that awesome leadoff hitting CF fee agent that Rizzo and the Learners missed out on this winter because they're so incompetent and cheap?
Yeah, me neither.
- February 18, 2012 8:08 PM
- SonnyG10 said...
Hope you have a safe journey, Mark. It'll be great to have your coverage on site. Looking forward to reports from NatsJack and any other NI folks who go to Viera.
- February 18, 2012 8:15 PM
- SonnyG10 said...
Heck with the deals, real or imaginary, that didn't get made. Its time to play baseball. GYFNG!!!
- February 18, 2012 8:24 PM
- SonnyG10 said...
Wow, no captchas required.
- February 18, 2012 8:24 PM
Oh yeah, safe journey Mark.
One! I remember when it was over 100.
- February 18, 2012 8:36 PM
- ehay2k said...
So much progress that I really am over the moon about this season's possibilities.
I agree that we do not *yet* know if we have a leadoff hitter or CF. Guess what? Until ST breaks and the season starts, NO team knows who they will bring up because of injuries, "geez he got old fast", and whatever else happens before the team is assembled. Remember in 2011 when we had our leadoff/CF issue "solved" with Nyjer? Then ST happened. I bet last year the Chi Sox thought their DH issues were handled. Nope.
If Desi leads off at same the clip that he ended on last year, then we are set. If Cameron/Ankiel can just play good defense, and see a lot of pitches to hit because of the rest of the lineup, then maybe CF is covered. Or one of the young guys (Brown, etc.) rakes in ST and we can't *not* take him to Nats park (avoiding use of the word North here), then we are set.
If Harper plays well and comes up in May (he will NOT come up before then even if he bats .500), and Werth slides into CF and plays up to his ample ability, then the offense gets a huge boost.
So, there is no reason to panic. There is no reason to try to trade our "extra" pitchers to get something we are not yet sure that we even need. (And you sure don't trade an SP for some bench bats in any case.)
This is the wrong time of year to do deals mainly because you have something you don't want. Trade from Weakness with no plan, and you get Cutter Dykstra. Trade from Strength with a plan, and you get Ramos.
Enjoy for the next few weeks. Just think, now Mark Z. can put up a countdown timer to opening day. And also one for the home opener. Just sayin'
- February 18, 2012 9:21 PM
No Lead Off hitter....No CF.....No bats for the bench......Can you tell me now why I should not point out these huge holes in a Team that could have been much better if they had spend the money and addressed the holes back in Nov and December.
On MLB Network last night, they pointed out that half the teams in MLB have question marks in the leadoff spot. No doubt just as many teams have question marks in CF or on the bench. No team in MLB is perfect. All teams have weaknesses somewhere. And for those that don't, like the 2011 Red Sox, 2010/2011 Phillies etc, they often find a way to blow it. And even teams that win it all, like the 2011 Cards, often have glaring weaknesses somewhere.
No team, no one is perfect. Except for JayB. He's perfectly wrong. Every single time.
- February 18, 2012 9:25 PM
I think they do have a lead off hitter and he even has a gold glove. They just don't know where to put him as yet. And that would be Stephen Lombardozzi. Heard of him?
As for CF oh JayB you know its Werth so that Harper can fit into the lineup? At least until they move Morse to first base.
Anthony Rendon is the likely best candidate to hit 2nd. Where are they going to play him? Its not like they didn't spend any money signing him?
Johnson is right when he said they have what they need inside the organization. The problem is they are different stages of readiness.
- February 18, 2012 9:36 PM
But even with Harper the offense could still be dismal ... until Espinosa, Rendon, Harper, Ramos, et al come into their own. And they still do need an impact left-handed bat in addition to Harper's.
- February 18, 2012 9:38 PM
It was pointed out that the Phillies last year went into the season without filling Werth's spot.
What did they do, they got Hunter Pence on July 31st.
Personally, I felt as the Nats approached the off season that you get your pitcher through Free Agency and trade for your CF with the wealth of depth the Nats had. Rizzo didn't get that done after he lost Buehrle. Stuff happens.
This is still a better team than the 2011 squad so the hope is the team is in the hunt at the All Star break and find their CF or else a kid name Bryce Harper may be the answer.
JayB----TAKE A CHILL PILL
- February 18, 2012 9:51 PM
Gonat- yeah that's why I was asking for help :)
The pitchers I listed weren't really in any order, and I do think Zimmermann should be in the top 20-25.
Anyone you would add/subtract from my list?
I was going mainly on "track record" + 2011 Stats.
- February 18, 2012 10:00 PM
- sjm308 said...
I don't mind JayB complaining and I appreciate that even though we will probably never meet, I have a name on this blog to respond to. What I do mind is the constant referal to what is "In The Past". There is nothing to be gained by rehashing what can't be changed. Let it go. As AlexVa correctly pointed out, look at the positives and progress and stop grosing about what went on in years past.
Sec.3, I did not get a chance to join your section or your couch last year but I will try and join up this year when we craft that nasty note on Rizzo's failures along with the multiple anon's. That will surely show the Lerners who is running the team. I am inclined to give them the first two weeks of the season and then I am really going to shout from the rooftops about our impending doom and failure.
OK, enough sarcasm - as always, I am going to enjoy 1. Baseball 2. Baseball played by our Washington Nationals 3. A nice cold beer
or two and 4. More Baseball, and if we win more than we lose it will be the first time since 1969 and I will be a happy fan. I am not that hard to please.
Go Nats!!
- February 18, 2012 10:01 PM
Its great that the Nationals season has begun, finally we get to talk about the different team in DC, Wizards struggling, "expected" by the way, Capitals, struggling "unexpected", Redskins "need qb", Nationals "hope" have a chance to grab dc attention. We need to be exicted for this time. I guarantee playoffs.
- February 18, 2012 10:08 PM
- sjm308 said...
NatsfanA1A and others:
So, I went to the primer on links that one of you nice people provided. this is really not a huge thing but it would be nice to know how to do it. It appears that it is set up for a pc and I have a mac. I hate to ask this group but is there any help for an old fool who can barely turn his computer on in the morning.?
- February 18, 2012 10:09 PM
Cwj, Greinke fell out of the Top 20 in 2011 to Top 25 to 30.
I like Tim Hudson, Ryan Vogelsong, and I think Latos is on the cusp as well as Brandon McCarthy.
- February 18, 2012 10:29 PM
I find myself wondering - who will be this year's Michael Morse? Who will just stun us and break out with a career year? Can't wait to find out!!!!!!!!And - JZINN definitely belongs in a list of top pitchers. So I'm a homer - big deal.
- February 18, 2012 11:27 PM
- Scooter said...
sjm, I don't know exactly what primer 1a provided, but I presume it was dealing with HTML, which is the same whether on PC or Mac.
- February 19, 2012 12:14 AM
- Scooter said...
Here are the basics. I'll use parentheses instead of angle brackets. So where you see ( you should use a < instead; any ) should be changed to a >
Mark Zuckerman's (a href="http://www.natsinsider.com")blog(/a)
That last example is a link. It would show up in the browser as "Mark Zuckerman's blog" and the word blog would be a link to www.natsinsider.com
I hope that helps.
- February 19, 2012 12:19 AM
- Sec 3, My Sofa said...
The software for this blog only allows very, very, *very* limited use of HTML coding, so don't worry about hurting anything. You are pretty much limited to bold AKA strong text, italics AKA em(phasis), and hyperlinks without attributes. It would be nice if we could get a link to open in a new window, for instance, but that is one of many, many things that ain't gonna happen this season.
And for the record, the browsers will interpret any pair of < brackets as an HTML tag, even it there's nothing in them, and they won't show here.
- February 19, 2012 1:36 AM
- Sec 3, My Sofa said...
FWIW: Marlon Byrd has lost about 20 pounds, and has a new Teddy Roosevelt tattoo. Coincidence??
- February 19, 2012 2:08 AM
Very nice. Now we have the Opening Day ticker!
- February 19, 2012 6:45 AM
A grouper sandwich and beer followed by watching the Capitals lose in Tampa last night; but I'm headed back home to Satellite Beach this morning, so I'll see you at Space Coast Stadium (or Charlie and Jake's, MZ?)
- February 19, 2012 7:02 AM
Sec3.. I saw that article about Marlon and the Teddy tattoo.. that is just bizarre. He has to explain why he got it!! Is going to a running mate in the Bull Moose Party with Werth?
An Opening DAY TICKER! That means the BSox exhibition is only 45 days!!!
- February 19, 2012 7:08 AM
- JayB said...
The thing is.....yes they are much better...tons better....but to become winners they have to change how they do business. They have to stop hoping to fill key roles and go out and FILL KEY ROLES...
Yes half the league needs a lead off hitter and the other half needs a CF......THE NATS NEED BOTH.....and a bench (worst in all of baseball last year...by a lot)....
SO have things changed...not really...that is how this team has always done business....we will wait until it is too late and pick up whatever is left or try to trade for something in spring training....that is how we got last years bench problem....that is how we got the worst BP in all of baseball in 2009-2010.
My point is that the same approach that killed the team for years is still here and will kill the team yet again....THE DIFFERENCE THIS YEAR.....Killed is defined as underachieving by 7 - 10 wins...and that will keep this team out of any meaningful games in Sept.
- February 19, 2012 7:28 AM
I think they have completely changed how they do business the last few years (ever since Rizzo was put in charge) The PLAN was to rebuild the farm system (check), bring in some free agents (okay, the jury is still out on this one), develop your young core stars (check), use the farm system and other pieces for trades (check - Ramos/Capps, Gio for 4). This is how the Rays did it.
We all hate losing, you are just more vocal about it. But that is okay and good. We need people to scream "I am mad as hell and I can't take it anymore" Sometimes that is what drives the change. Look at all of the fans grumbling about Philly invasion? At least we got the front offices attention on that one.
Now if we could just do something about the lines at the consession stands.... ;-)
- February 19, 2012 7:40 AM
Zero! er, 46! Happy P&C day, everybody!
Scooter, great idea to replace brackets with parens in the example. Wish I'd thought of that. The link that sec222 provided had such an example as well as an example that used a software "button." I'm thinking that the latter example may have been the confounding factor.
sec3, thanks for the Marlon update. Maybe he and Werth went on a bender and got matching tats? Of course, Jayson's Teddy portrait would be enclosed within the "no" symbol.
- February 19, 2012 7:46 AM
- JayB said...
Even that has improved since 2008-2010.....the Miller Scoreboard food is great....
Your point about the plan....that was always the plan....they just got someone (rizzo) who had a clue what he was doing.....The wait till spring and pick up what is left and sign a bunch of old cheap bench guys.....that is not new and is still going to cost the team big this year.....like our first chance to play meaningful games in Sept.....a very high cost indeed and one that could have been solved with a a focused approach and a relative small amount of money (5-8 Million) back in Nov and December. Rizzo seems to allow himself to get side tracked on one negotiation and is unable to multitask....or so it seems to me.
- February 19, 2012 7:49 AM
Oh, it's a tattoo of a Roosevelt speech, not of the man. Pretty deep stuff there, Marlon. I kinda like it. Now go get 'em out there! (Wonder whether Rizzo has a similar tat. hmmm...)
- February 19, 2012 7:50 AM
- sjm308 said...
Scooter and Sec 3 - thank you for trying
I read and reread your hints and its like looking at Calculus for me. I just sort of freeze up - I will just be happy to continue to click on links others provide, type in mostly lower case letters and enjoy the comments here. But I do appreciate the effort. I have another retired friend, not so much into baseball but into computers and maybe I will invite him over to school me.
JayB - I too appreciate your wanting us to break out of the patterns of the last 6 years. I just prefer to look at all the positives. Once again, no sense complaining about what Rizzo did or did not do back in Nov. or Dec. You can't change it unless you want to write a new movie Back to the Future 1V or something. This is the hand we have been dealt, there are probably still moves to be made. The Hunter Pence trade is a good example.
Love the new countdown and again thanks to those who really did try and help me.
Go Nats!!
- February 19, 2012 9:19 AM
LOL at Mark's Twitter update, as posted on the top right side of this page. (That's okay, neither am I. :-))
"Good news: I've reported to spring training. Bad news: I'm nowhere close to being in the best shape of my life."
- February 19, 2012 9:27 AM
- ehay2k said...
Since people mentioned concessions at Nats Park, does anyone else miss Five Guys? I like their burgers better than the Shake Shack, mainly because they had so many topping options, but also because you got a bigger burger for your eight bucks. Add to that their ability to move product fast, and that they never ran out of food in my experience.
If there was any way to bring Five Guys back, I'd be all for it.
Sunday AM, have tomato juice, horseradish, celery...
Bring the best 25 North!
- February 19, 2012 9:32 AM
Hat tip to Nats Enquirer (see link at left of page) for the heads up on this piece regarding Philly tours and the Take Back the Park initiative. That's what I'm talking about!
- February 19, 2012 9:37 AM
A few thoughts on perspective (now that Spring Training has finally arrived, which occurs a few hours later out here on the west coast):
-- Three words: Boston Red Sox. At this time last year, virtually everyone who follows baseball assumed that Theo Epstein and company had put together some version of 'the best team ever' (or close to it). Recall the final night of last season, when we all watched the O's beat them and deny them even a wild card slot. There are no guarantees in baseball.
-- Three more words: St. Louis Cardinals. As someone above pointed out, a team that had significant holes (even with their big names) and that was counted out in mid-season (even by its GM, publicly), yet made the playoffs by a whisker and eventually won the World Series. Magic happens in baseball.
-- Several dates to focus on: Opening Day; Memorial Day, July 4th, the trade deadline (July 31), Labor Day, the last day of the regular season. Opening Day will tell us what the 'final' (not that anything is truly final) roster is; until then there will be a lot of speculation and angst, but I anticipate a significant move or two before then. Memorial Day and the 4th of July are good times to look at the standings; the first, a couple of months into a long season, the second about a month before the trade deadline. Lots of teams have overachieved in the first few months (recall last year's Pirates and Indians); others have overachieved and come back (again, last year's Cardinals). Don't get too excited, too soon, but don't despair too soon either. The trade deadline this year could be quite telling. If the Nats are in contention for a playoff spot (as I expect -- or at least hope), you could easily see significant moves (e.g., trading LaRoche to make room for Morse at first to make room for that elusive CF/lead-off hitter in the form of a player like an Upton or a Bourne -- assuming, of course, that Harper is playing and playing well). I won't go in the other direction, but that could happen too. Labor Day standings are significant, if only to gin up the excitement factor. And, finally, in a 162 game season, playoff spots seem to come down to the last regularly scheduled games more than you'd expect. With the new two-team wild card (if actually implemented), this may change. But, in any case, it's the final standings that count. Yes, you have to play all games, but with 162 of them to get through, no one should be jumping off any bridges over a two or three game losing streak. I'm as guilty as anyone of a daily peek at the NL East standings, but I'm only going to get really excited if the Nats are in the mix consistently, i.e., on Memorial Day, again on the 4th, and still again on Labor Day. Let's hope they are and let's all enjoy the ride.
Play ball!
- February 19, 2012 9:49 AM
natsfan1a (and Mark) re Mark's tweet: As Jim Bouton wrote in Ball Four: Get a tan, quickly, at Spring Training. It makes you look 10 pounds lighter and 10 years younger.
(But updated 2012 advice would include use of appropriate sunscreen, as well.)
- February 19, 2012 9:52 AM
That second 'overachieved' should have read 'underachieved'; sorry.
- February 19, 2012 9:54 AM
Another Florida Today piece regarding the potential for a Nats ST site move.
- February 19, 2012 9:59 AM
SO have things changed...not really...
The only thing that hasn't changed is JayB's cluelessness and hatred. It knows no bounds.
- February 19, 2012 10:00 AM
I was looking forward to seeing a zero up top... but now I have a new ticket to stare at.
- February 19, 2012 10:01 AM
Just sayin, yeah, until one's face begins to resemble a well-worn catcher's mitt due to many years of sun exposure. I never did tan well, though I certainly tried as a younger gal. I was always more of a burner, actually. On the plus side, I did find Ball Four to be a fun read. :-)
- February 19, 2012 10:03 AM
Since people mentioned concessions at Nats Park, does anyone else miss Five Guys?
There's a Five Guys a couple of blocks away outside the stadium. Just go there before the game, pay less than stadium prices, and carry it in with you.
Five Guys is good, but the Shake Shack et al is a major upgrade.
- February 19, 2012 10:04 AM
Just read the Cefardo column in the Boston Globe (link from MLBTR). Two Nat-like stats to mention. (1) Just like the Nats have had a merry-go-round in center field, the Red Sox have had 25 different players play shortstop since they trade Nomar G. in mid-2004. And, last year's collapse notwithstanding, they've done pretty well. (2) Like the Nats of old, the Twins have invited 33 -- that's not a typo -- pitchers to major league camp this spring.
- February 19, 2012 10:13 AM
Four greatest words in the English language:
"Pitchers and Catchers. Today."
NatsJack, I second your 91 wins. That will mean postseason baseball in Washington for the first time since 1933. And as Casey used to say, "You can look it up."
Mark, travel safely. Enjoy the CSN expense account. Michelle, I hope the Cab went down smoothly. And to all those planning the ST trek to Viera, travel safely. I've got a trip planned to St. Pete Beach in mid-March with an eye on the Friday, March 16 game at Steinbrenner Field in vs. the Yankees. NatsJack, thanks for the coverage and the Twitter feeds.
And to all, GYFNG!!
- February 19, 2012 10:35 AM
- NatsNut said...
Sofa, there's always the option to right click any link. It gives you the option to open the link in a new window or tab.
- February 19, 2012 10:49 AM
- JayB said...
Great Plan in CF Rizzo....Mike Cameron is not going to show up to camp....announced retirement.....just great Rizzo....really good plan on CF.
- February 19, 2012 11:22 AM
- JayB said...
Roger B and Rick A....that is the plan to make a push at Playoffs......more of the same from Nats.
- February 19, 2012 11:23 AM
1A. Thanks for that piece on the ST sites. I DO NOT want to share a site with the Mets. I would prefer gulf coast site. My Mom is near Clearwater/Dunedin, so I would rather be on that side of the state.
And NOOOO to Arizona. I saw what Clint Hurdle said about it taking 2 hours to go 12 miles. (plus unless California drops into the ocean, there is no beach in Arizona)!
Happy P&C Day to everyone!!!
GYNNG! Best 25 North!!
- February 19, 2012 11:26 AM
JayB - Most likely Cameron called it quits because he saw the writing on the wall. At best, very little playing time with the Nats.
So this is good, right?
It shows progress that a borderline MLB'er sees little hope of playing time with the Nats.
So congrats to Rizzo. Right?
- February 19, 2012 11:27 AM
- JayB said...
Matt Stairs, Mike Cameron, Cora, these are the types Mike Rizzo thinks can bring winning to DC?
- February 19, 2012 11:28 AM
- JayB said...
No....that is not good news...who on this roster is going to provide MLB average or better innings in CF?
- February 19, 2012 11:29 AM
- JayB said...
Roger B, Brown, Rick A....that is the good news?
- February 19, 2012 11:29 AM
You thought it was Cameron?
If so, then yes, this is bad news to you.
If not, then so what?
- February 19, 2012 11:32 AM
JayB said...
Matt Stairs, Mike Cameron, Cora, these are the types Mike Rizzo thinks can bring winning to DC?
February 19, 2012 11:28 AM
I am with Jayb on Stairs and Cameron. The fact Rizzo stuck with Stairs as long as he did was a joke.
Now Cameron retires! As Bryce Harper would say Hah!
I didn't have Cameron on my 25 man. I had DeRosa going to RF and Werth going to CF against LH pitching. I don't see this as a big deal-----just some egg on Mike Rizzo's face.
- February 19, 2012 11:33 AM
That will also free up a 40 man spot!
- February 19, 2012 11:33 AM
Cameron did not have a roster spot.
We have 38 on the roster, and 2 of those are 60 Day DL candidates, so we have plenty of roster flexibility.
- February 19, 2012 11:35 AM
- JaneB said...
I got on this site early today, but I haven't been able to post from my iPad since the no capcha era commenced.
I am so hoping that this year we can -- as in WE, on this site -- can just let go of the past and quit complaining about moves Jim Bowden made or didn't make and that the Lerners paid or failed to pay for. We cannot change history. This is where we are. It's three years "too late" for some. It's here NOW. And since there is no time machine in Viera, and no do-overs. lets make a pact to stick with the present and the future. Let's look at things through the lens of what we have and what we can do in the future ---kvteching and I-told-you-soing about the past nets us nothing.
We have a team guys! And Mark is down there! And some Insiders are there with him, and others will be headed there soon.
I am really hoping that Davey (about whom I've complained, I know) is gonna do with these guys what he did with the '86 Mets. It was fun to watch then. I, for one, am completely willing to spend hours a day reading every word and watching every video about these guys -- the 25 who go North, the ones who follow, the babies in other cities, the ones we give up to other cities -- and from YOU guys, on the Nats march to the playoffs. Whatever the year that happens to happen.
- February 19, 2012 11:35 AM
- JayB said...
I may have mentioned i was not happy with any of the cf_bench or leadoff moves rizzo made
- February 19, 2012 11:37 AM
New post.. Cameron retired.
- February 19, 2012 11:40 AM
Right, and now you are complaining that a guy you think Rizzo should not have signed has decided to not come to camp to try and make the team.
Seriously. Given how you feel about CF and bench, Cameron's decision has no down side for you. It's either a nothing or a maginally good thing.
You should be pleased.
Besides, doesn't it seem like "the plan" has a decent chance of dropping Werth in CF for a good chunk of 2012?
- February 19, 2012 11:46 AM


text:
|2012-05-10, 00:08
|Link #481
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Right there
|2012-05-10, 06:17
|Link #482
ばか =)
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Age: 32
|2012-05-10, 10:25
|Link #483
Join Date: Jan 2008
Age: 29
the actor who plays joffrey is great. there's that "game of thrones facts" thing running around on 9gag, and apparently he's a nice kid outside of his character. so he does an immensely good job at changing himself completely.
|2012-05-10, 10:46
|Link #484
Takao Tsundere Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Classified
|2012-05-11, 15:34
|Link #485
ばか =)
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Age: 32
|2012-05-13, 11:25
|Link #488
Just catching up to and currently watching episode 4 and I have to say there's something that's been bothering me a little. Does anyone find the women in this show to be kind of annoying? It's starting to feel like all they're doing is bitching and whining about everything the kings are trying to do and each principal character now seems to have some overbearing woman hanging around that does nothing other than bitch and whine at them while they're trying to do their job. The only interesting one so far IMO has been the priestess of the Lord of Light religion there. In fact just this latest episode Robb found one that was IMO incredibly disrespectful towards him and his efforts and didn't even try to understand what he's about and what he's fighting for in their first encounter. It's just like, "you're fighting and killing, therefore you're bad".
It's just starting to feel a little cliche Hollywood, like they feel the need to have all these "strong" female characters and yet they just come across as I said as annoying, bitchy and holier than though. I kind of hope this trend stops and we get back to focusing more on the men of honor (and treachery) and their Game of Thrones.
That's about the only thing I can say is bothering me with this season so far. It's just very hard not to notice when as I say it's literally like every principal character that has this going on right now. That said on the upside I'm actually starting to finally sympathize with Sansa's character. In the first season she was annoying and naive, but now seeing her have to constantly suffer at the hand of the Lannisters makes me feel she's more than paid the price for it already. Thank god Tyrion was there to put a stop to Joffrey's little horror show in the throne room before they did any serious damage.
|2012-05-13, 15:21
|Link #489
Twilight Impersonator
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: a zoo
Are you kidding me?
The women are half the reason why I find the show so enjoyable.
In fact, my only regret is that I wish women were given MORE industry in this show.
Aside from Daenerys and the Tannis' red witch who seem bent on carving their own path, all other women seem to react to the events around them instead of trying to create those event themselves.
I want more women taking charge and changing the landscape around them, not less.
|2012-05-13, 21:30
|Link #492
There's a reason why as I said I find the Priestess to be interesting, and I've always been interested by Cersei and Daenerys because they actually do things and make power grabs instead of just being bitchy to their potential love interests. Sorry but I don't like the portrayal of the other female characters in the show so far where it's like they are trying to make it look like they are one upping the big players like Robb, Tyrion, Renley etc. in conversations when it's so imminently clear that the latter are by far the stronger characters in both their conviction and actions such that I have a hard time believing they are being bested verbally in this manner by these minor players. As I said it feels a little too cliche Hollywood and like they are trying to manufacture strong female roles instead of having them emerge through action and industry like the likes of Cersei and Daenerys.
Anyway from the looks if it we hopefully won't be getting any more of these scenes as the show moves towards the important parts of the second book. Can only be a good thing since it's not to it's strength at all IMO.
edit: Apparently the field nurse was an original character on the part of the show, which frankly does not surprise me to learn since she just feels so far removed from what the rest of the show is like. Seriously what was that scene between her and Robb? It was easily the worst and most out of place so far in this show and was actually the one that compelled me to post about the women issue. Please never ever do this again GoT, just stick to the script and characters from the book.
Last edited by Kaioshin Sama; 2012-05-13 at 21:41.
|2012-05-13, 21:52
|Link #493
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
Age: 32
|2012-05-14, 00:08
|Link #494
Winter is coming
Join Date: Aug 2008
To be fair, Robb is the one who started the war, and because of his personal reasons.
If he just agreed to make a (pseudo) oath to Joffrey, then everyone and everything would be fine (except Ned, of course).
The Lannisters couldn't care less about the North. If the Northern men didn't rebel, they would leave them alone.
The girl didn't criticize Robb because he's fighting and killing, but because he started a war without knowing how to end it.
Let's assume he win and kill Joffrey, so what? The realm is in a mess, how will he fix that?
|2012-05-14, 02:59
|Link #496
Senior Guest
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Athens (GMT+2)
Age: 29
She is indeed an original character. That makes the third people will have read about it :P
As for the women just whining around their men, I don't think that's true. Tywin does whatever he wants, Cersei is trying to rule her land without giving anything to Tyrion, Daenerys is pretty much an adventurer in her own right, Sansa is holding her role as eternal victim to Joffrey going Arthas on her, Lysa Tully had just a six year-old to look up to, Osha is Bran's guide of sorts and Asha/Yara is Theon's obstacle that he must surpass to gain his father's favour.
|2012-05-14, 04:23
|Link #497
Takao Tsundere Cruiser
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Classified
The only reason some females in this series get to fight is because they were lucky or were in special circumstances. (eg.Arya due to having an understanding father, Yara as her father wanted a real Ironborn leader after his two older sons death)
Anyway, very interesting episode.
Spoiler for ep A Man Without Honor:
|2012-05-14, 15:19
|Link #500
Socially Inept
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Retracing my steps.....
I specifically liked the scene this week with Jaime and Caetlyn about oaths and the knights who swear them. The actor who's name escapes me really does a good job at portraying Jaime's exasperation at the idea of knights being sworn to honor. A man like him would only have such anger towards the concept if he too had once believed in such things. Could there be more to our dear snarky, sister-fucking, child crippler than we are first led to assume?
|game of thrones, hbo
|Thread Tools

subset: commoncrawl


text:
My mailbox is moaning. It's already overstuffed, and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. The heavy-burdened postal carrier is moaning even louder.
My mailbox is moaning. It's already overstuffed, and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. The heavy-burdened postal carrier is moaning even louder.
Catalogs, magazines, letters from the likes of Save the Trees, Boys' Town, Ducks Unlimited and Soldiers for Freedom all beckon me to buy, send donations, subscribe, give gifts, join the membership, renew my youthful vigor and enlarge my upper torso. No, I'm not about to tell you what they want my husband to enlarge, not in a family newspaper.
But this time of the year one wonders why the U.S. Postal Service is belly-aching about business, with all of the pieces of mail it handles daily.
Worst, or maybe best, of all the mail this time of the year are the food magazines and catalogs. Just the other day I received Taste of Home, Bon Appetit, Food Digest, my Lobstergram, catalogs from Harry and David, Kansas City Steak and Wolferman's of yummy English muffin fame, all at the same time.
There goes my diet; I can gain weight just looking at the pictures, especially the beautiful red Maine lobsters lusciously displayed with lemon and melted butter and a backdrop of corn, clams and New England chowder. Sometimes I toy with the idea of being on death row in the state penitentiary, just so I can request such a meal as my last supper.
A portrait of a roast turkey, juicy-looking and crisply browned, graces the covers of many of the food magazines that come my way this time of the year. Inside are a plethora of Thanksgiving recipes, each one tempting and delicious looking.
There's pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust, for example, and homemade cranberry-orange relish made simple. There are corn bread and oyster dressing, rutabaga delight, acorn squash stuffed with sausage and chestnuts, smashed red potatoes with garlic and cheese, yams a la praline.
There's one recipe after another for brussels sprouts, which seems to be the side dish of choice this holiday season. Brussels sprouts are good for you, to be sure, just like broccoli and kale, but not exactly number one on everybody's list of favs. Hmm, here's a tasty version: Brussels' sprouts with feta, toasted walnuts, bacon and scallions. With all that good stuff, you'd probably not even notice the sprouts lurking around in it.
Everything looks delicious and enticing in the illustrations, but that's what food photography is about, isn't it? Don't let it fool you; I read that very little of the food pictured is actually even cooked. It's painted to look fresh out of the oven, injected with this and that to give it a perfect shape, sprayed with oil to make it look succulent and juicy.
Darn. I bet my lobsters aren't even real, just plastic models or something.
But it's fun and definitely an appetite stimulant to look at the pictures.
The Thanksgiving illustration we are most familiar with is Norman Rockwell's "Freedom from Want." It shows a granny presenting a perfectly roasted turkey for the feast, Gramps beaming next to her. The family, parents, aunts, uncles and children sit happily around the table set with sides of celery, pickles, cranberry sauce and the like. They are sipping ice water; folks didn't imbibe on wine in Rockwell's world.
Rockwell was a Thanksgiving kind of a guy. In 1919, he painted "Woman Holding a Turkey Platter," depicting a neat motherly type in a crisp white apron smiling over a steaming bird surrounded with roasted potatoes and carrots. It was "Make a Wish" in 1921, showing a boy and girl pulling on a turkey wishbone. An unhappy Pilgrim graced the cover of the "Saturday Evening Post" in 1923, his hands tethered in stocks posted with a note saying, "Ye Glutton."
In 1942, a pooped-out cook in white apron and toque sits wearily sipping coffee, in front of a multi-item checklist in "Thanksgiving Day Blues." The first Turkey Day after World War II, he painted "A Thankful Mother," showing mom and her soldier-boy, newly returned from the front and still in uniform, peeling potatoes in preparation for the feast.
I look at the pictures and read the recipes, my mouth watering and vowing that this year will be the best Thanksgiving dinner yet, with or without the brussels sprouts. The postman will receive a day off, and we'll all be thankful, not only for the food but for the football games unfettered with political messages.
Wonder if I could get by with lobster instead of turkey?
Page H. Onorato is a retired teacher.


text: As the above mentioned, I'm looking for an enclosure design for 2 8" subs. Sundown SA-8s to be more specific. Its going on the top of my seat so dimensions arent an issue for room. 1cuft and under though tuned around 36 hz or whaterver is best for a musical SQ enclosure as I listen to RAP-Country-Metal, and everything else. Paypal ready.:D t= THANKS A LOT!! On a side note, looking to see a lot of porting. Kind of T-Line style. Will be powering with a BRZ1700.1D (Gains down of course) I know how T-Lines dont need a lot of power.


text:
Matson Logistics, a leading provider of logistics services throughout North America, has leased new distribution center space in West Chatham County.
The company has contracted for 65,000 square feet on Norwest Court in West Savannah, with the ability to increase to 125,000 square feet.
"Our new operation expands on our ability to move retail goods in through the Port of Savannah," said Mark Ferzacca, assistant vice president of sales for Matson Logistics Warehousing. "More companies are using East Coast distribution centers to have their product closer to a rapidly growing regional market."
The new Matson acquisition follows a September expansion of its Bryan County operation, which added 237,600 square feet to its previous 135,000-square-foot facility, and is in addition to two buildings in Pooler with more than 1.1 million square feet.
The latest development is located within the building designated as Savannah D. The distribution center is less than two miles from Interstate 95, 10 miles from Interstate 16 and within eight miles of the Port of Savannah.
The property features a total of 125,000 square feet of space, a clearance of 32 feet and 65 truck bays.
"Matson's decision to expand its East Coast distribution center space in Savannah will provide its customers cost-effective and reliable access to 44 percent of the U.S. population," said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Curtis Foltz.
The Port of Savannah forms a distribution center hub, with more than 4 million square feet of local warehouse space available, with an occupancy rate greater than 88 percent. There are 102 distribution centers across Georgia that are 500,000 square feet or larger, he said, adding that using Georgia's deepwater ports to deliver goods much closer to Eastern U.S. markets cuts the cost of ground transportation.
Ferzacca agreed.
"Our new Savannah distribution center, with its strategic location and room for expansion, directly aligns with the demands of a growing regional population," he said.
When companies decide to distribute goods from Georgia, it supports jobs in the logistics industry and beyond and makes good business sense for the company, said GPA Board Chairman Robert Jepson.
"The Port of Savannah's location as the most westerly of the Atlantic Coast ports makes it the gateway of choice for markets such as Atlanta, Birmingham, Memphis, Louisville, Charlotte and beyond," Jepson said.
Matson Logistics is a leading provider of multimodal transportation, warehousing and distribution services throughout North America. For more information, go to www.matson.com.


text:
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Quit catering to her and giving optionsAlways drive and park where you prefer. Drop her off at the door if you want.Call and ask if she would like to go to X for dinner at 7. If she says she doesn't like X say ok, you'll get with her next week as you and DH really want to go to X.For personal issues like shoe preference, just sit patiently while she shops. Don't make suggestions. Don't walk around collecting shoes for her to try on. If she says she can't find anything say " Darn, I don't have a suggestion for a different store. Why don't you think about other places and we'll go back out in a few weeks."
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The 2012 Congress was a milestone for business as it was the first Congress where there has been a significant focus on the role of business in developing and implementing Nature + solutions. Business as usual is not an option; this was made clear at congress.
Things need to change and business needs to continue to re-align their roles and practices to become solution providers and demonstrate their biodiversity values through their operation and supply chains.
The outputs from various workshops and dialogues as well as the Members' Assembly have signalled clear areas where change has happened, areas where progress has already been made and areas where there is need for action. Particularly, there is need for greater focus defining the role of government in Nature + solutions, adopting and adapting to a changing economic model, continued collaboration between government, business and civil society and scaling-up of solutions.
The feedback received in Jeju about the current role of business was overall positive. However, there are areas that still need to be strengthened. It is clear that the innovative way forward is collaborative and will push the private sector in their biodiversity conservation performance and to continue to scale-up the outcomes and knowledge gained from their successful projects. We know the why, what to do and when but the question is how we do it. What is the implementation plan?
"We need to radically revolutionalize almost everything we do. (…) I'm a capitalist (I apologize), but let me explain what a capitalist is: a capitalist is somebody who optimizes returns from capital (…) the mistake we have made in our economic model is that capitalists have only been optimizing returns on financial capital (…) we need two more elements of capital: natural capital and social capital, and tell the capitalists to go and optimize that."
Peter Bakker, President of WBCSD during the World Leaders Dialogue on Green Economy
From the IUCN-WBCSD Think Tank held at Congress which focused on Changing pace, the way forward proposes four steps: start-up, speed-up, scale-up and smart-up.
This is the first step in making changing in business is to change business thinking. Dialogues must be opened-up to encourage capacity building and collaboration on solutions. There is always something business can do towards conserving biodiversity. In order to build long lasting capacity, it is key to share experience and expertise not simply within a single business but between businesses and between members of the conservation community and business.
Speeding up action requires solidified connections and commitments by business. There is demand for urgent implementation of nature-based solutions in business projects that requires a shift from passive to active learning. This step is where most action over the next few years will take place.
Scaling-up is spreading solutions and changing policy across and between sectors. Sector-wide changes will be brought on by peer-to-peer exchanges of knowledge products and tools, drafting better standards in public policy that can be scaled-up as a standard for all, for example improving biodiversity indicators, and advocating for public policies that scale up these responses.
Better information will lead to better business decisions. At this point, business is changing the economic model in which they are operating. Businesses need better scientific information to properly value natural capital. Good information informs good policy and therefore good business decisions.


text:
Based in Santa Clara, Tensilica has been around the semiconductor industry for around 15 years, providing customers with what it calls configurable dataplane processors (DPUs). The company has more than 200 licensees worldwide and is approaching 2.5 billion cores in the market but in March 2013, the company entered into an agreement with EDA provider Cadence to be purchased for US$380 million.
Just after the purchase, Digitimes had the opportunity to sit down with Chris Rowen, chief technology officer and founder of Tensilica to talk about the acquisition and what Tensilica brings to the table with its technology.
Q: Very briefly, what is Tensilica's role in the market?
A: What we are able to do is complement standard control CPUs and add significant opportunities for customers to differentiate their products, be more flexible and add value in terms of new algorithms, and we can do that in minutes rather than in months. Our focus is handling computation on the most critical data, whether it is images in a camera, audio in a multimedia device, or wireless communications. If you look at semiconductor companies, a majority of those focusing on smartphones and a great majority of those focusing on digital TVs are likely to be using our technology. As a company we have become one of the major suppliers of processor technology.
Q: How did the interest from Cadence develop?
I think it is the combination of two things that has made Tensilica so attractive to Cadence.
First of all, we have been able to develop a very unique processor technology as I previously mentioned. The second area is our deep architectural and market knowledge in key domains, especially around baseband, audio and imaging. When it comes to system architects and the software ecosystem, we are able to get into the dialog and discussion at a very high and very early level to help customers figure out where they are going with their product lines and what kinds of fundamental technologies they are going to use.
That ability to engage with customers high and early changes the nature of the relationship between vendor and supplier and when Cadence looks at that, it recognizes that it really wants to change the way it engages with customers as well. It is not just about better tools but being able to have a seat at the table for key decision making or to be invited to discuss what is going on. So while Tensilica is far smaller than Cadence, a much larger proportion of our activities fit into that strategic discussion about architectures and applications.
Q: Can you talk about technology synergies?
A: Let me explain by giving an example. If you look at an SoC, there are a lot of different things going on. There is a host CPU that runs some high-level applications like the operating system and user interface. But it is not terribly efficient, so it is increasingly common for chip designers to implement other kinds of processing or computation to handle things like voice processing, audio, video, vision, baseband and for other customized applications. Then there is a need to interface the device to the outside world, whether it is for flash, DDR, analog front ends for different kinds wireless interfaces, network interfaces, PCI and USB.
What Tensilica brings is a mastery of processor hardware and software and engagement in key applications, Cadence brings a rich portfolio of complementary IP, particularly in interfaces - the analog and digital interfaces that connect with radios, USB, PCI, flash and DRAM. Those strengths represent all the things that form the boundary of the device, while we are providing more of the guts of the SoC.
And our combined focus has most notably not been on the CPU. We've steered clear of the general purpose CPU market because that is much more about legacy. ARM (in RISC) and Intel (in x86) have taken a strong position in those respective markets and remain the dominant general purpose CPU architectures. However, the key takeaway here is that it is in most of the other areas I mentioned where differentiation takes place.
And it's not just a niche that we've carved, but a broad territory of what you might call blue collar processing - all of the heavy lifting that is at the heart of applications such as imaging, vision, communications, networking, storage, audio and voice and we are a leading supplier in those areas.
Q: Can you talk about your processor compared with a general processor? Is there a lot of overlap in what they do?
A: MIPS and ARM overlap a lot, but with Tensilica there is much less overlap. I guess if you look at it one way, our underlying technology has a strong element of RISC processor in it so theoretically you can use Tensilica processors configured as general processors. But that really underplays our capabilities so we've never particularly emphasized that aspect of our technology. We think it is much more important that our dramatic extensibility and parallelism allow us to do so many things ARM cannot do. It is routine for our high-end processors to do the equivalent of 100, 200 or 300 RISC equivalent operations per cycle whereas for ARM it is typically a discussion about whether to do 1, 2, 3 or 4 general purpose RISC operations per cycles.
Now there are some caveats that go with that. While it's true our processors can do more things at a time and more things at less power - because it does them in parallel - many applications don't require hundreds of operations to be done. But in tasks like imaging, where you can work on all the pixels in the image at the same time, it is possible.
So you always need two ingredients - a processor that is capable of doing things in parallel and a problem that naturally exposes, and has a high degree of parallelism in the nature of the task itself. We're masters at finding those applications and then coming up with processors that can exploit the available parallelism in the application. That is why I referred to what we do as blue collar, because the focus is on applications where heavy lifting in involved (multiple operations at the same time), such as in imaging, audio, storage, security and network protocol processing.
That kind of parallelism doesn't really apply when running the sort of general purpose code which ARM focuses on. The applications I just mentioned are much different from what you find inside the code of Angry Birds or for the Android operating system (OS) and one neither expects nor needs an ARM processor to run at that level.
Q: Can you walk us through an example of how a customer would decide that it should implement Tensilica technology, say for an imaging application?
A: Let's take a case for a hypothetical customer - a chipset maker targeting smartphones. Whether it is making chips for its own smartphones or one for the general public, the same challenges are there - different types of functionality need to be integrated while making sure the product stands out to differentiate it in terms of the features, because it is the features that the end customer is going to be most passionate about.
For example, these days camera functions are critically important for smartphones. Many smartphone makers today recognize that having superior imaging in quality, resolution and richness of features - whether it is face detection and tracking, high dynamic range (HDR) photos or handling specialized low-light conditions - are things that will help sell the phone.
Moreover these features are increasingly migrating from a focus on still image functions to continuous video. This is really the key divide, because if it is just a still image function, the application may be run on the main CPU, but to do video requires that the processor run at high rates continuously. Now, while there is a fair amount of computing power coming from a lot of ARM processors on the market, the issue is more of an energy problem. As one leading smartphone company described it to me, a little known fact in the market is that if you took a quad-core 1.5GHz ARM processor and actually ran the cores all together for any period of time the phone would overheat in about 20 seconds, maximum. There is a lot of peak computing power, but it can only be used for a sprint.
But image processing, particularly as it moves to video, is not a sprint. It becomes a marathon. So the question is how long and how fast you can go. The gap between the performance you can afford to power when running on a general purpose processor, and the performance that you really want to have to do these video functions differs by a factor of 10x or 20x. You can do a little bit better with a GPU because it is a little bit more efficient than a general purpose CPU for image processing, but it is still probably 3-5x less efficient in terms of fewer ops per watt than an optimized imaging platform.
What you would really like to do is turn off the CPU and GPU and turn on the image processor during those key periods in order to get that high throughput, but you still want to make sure you have the same programming model and the same ease of bringing the applications onboard.
Q: What about hard coding as an alternative?
A: One of the other potential alternatives to do imaging is to have it completely hard wired, meaning each function has a different block of IP and a different bucket of gates on your chip addressing it. That has worked reasonably well for applications like the simple standard imaging signal processing pipeline, which takes a pixel value off of an image sensor and sort of massages it and improves it in order to get sort of an OK image from the crude image that came raw off the device. However, that model works because image sensors are fairly similar and what you want to do with the images is fairly similar.
However, with video there has been so much innovation taking place using more sophisticated processing. For example, using temporal information and spatial information when catching a sequence of frames and using that information from frame to frame to make each frame look better than it would have when viewed in isolation. Another application is one where you want to start extracting and processing image content information, whether it is facial features or gestures. Those examples are not at all suitable for putting into hard wired logic.
Q: The reason being?
A: Even if it can be expressed in hard wiring you probably don' want to go that way. Doing so would typically have you freezing the definition of the algorithm one to two years before you want that product in the marketplace. So your ability to anticipate and know what is the best possible algorithm, and what is the best and right set of features deployed in the phone is extremely limited.
There are some functions that are governed by standards where you can do that. The H.264 standard has been around for about ten years and it is going to be around for another ten years, It is not a moving target and people doing completely or partially hard wired implementations have done a pretty good job with H.264.
But when it comes to other functions in gesture, image improvement, and other vision applications, these areas are not governed by standards but by competition in the marketplace. Dozens of independent software houses as well as in-house imaging teams at the smartphone companies are constantly competing and coming up with the next new version of the application, so they need a platform that is good for imaging but is flexible enough to accommodate all of these different kinds of algorithms.
Chris Rowen, chief technology officer and founder of Tensilica


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@MMehtaNYDN: Free agent RB Ahmad Bradshaw expressed his interest in Jets this morning on @NFLNetwork.... #NYJ position on Bradshaw: Thanks, but no thanks
Brian Costello @BrianCoz
A source told me the Jets would not rule out Ahmad Bradshaw but he would have to come very cheap for them to seriously consider it. #nyj
The guy has exactly one season where he actually carried anything resembling a full workload (i.e. over 250 carries) and in that season he fumbled 7 times. He is incredibly overrated.
ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk
Report: Jets not interested in Ahmad Bradshaw http://wp.me/p14QSB-7hhX
it baffles me why they wouldn't even consider Bradshaw. i guess it's good football to go into a season with a 3rd year RB that didn't prove much last season in Powell and the always unreliable McKnight as your RBs. why not bring in a good veteran RB in Bradshaw.
The guys who rush to judgement because 1st yr players and UDFA don't turn into probowlers after their 1st yr in the league.
When he finds out what want to pay him he will change his mind.
Let him keep his stupid fumbles and bs attitude in general.
The Jets aren't good enough when you're a Giant, but now that you have no team it's all good... I get it.
No thanks, and please GFY.
1 yr deal at around $1 mil otherwise no. Jets do need a 3rd down back who can catch out of the backfield and chip block. We lost Tomlinson 2012 and Tanny didn't bother to replace him.
I'm not sure what the market looks like for Bradshaw. I would think he'd be a cheaper and better option than Greene. Greene is an overpaid slug.
If nothing else were to happen during the offseason, I would love to see the Jets bring in established veterans along with a young buck and create a great RB competition. Greene should be cut.


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Im in...
im in the oztips comp
Last edited by shaka; 26-04-2006 at 05:44 AM.
winner of formula 1 prediction thread 2005 competition and look forward to next year
I am in the tipping..
Member of the AAAS
Member of CW Green | Stedingham Jets Grade Cricket Team | Northside Power
Manager of South Australia (WCC)
Winner of AFL Tipping 2006 | Winner of Wimbeldon Prediction 2006
I'm in.
Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson = Greatest Ever Manager
"One from ten leaves zero." - Eric Williams, former T&T PM
Member of Cricket Web Green
Member of Northside Power
R.I.P Fardin Qayyumi
if there is still anyone who wants to sign up, now is the time to do it, only 20 days to go until kickoff
here is the information again
Competition Name: Cricket Web World Cup Tipping
Password: cricketweb
we have 17 people already.....hopefully we can get some more
Leeds United will make it back to the Premier League
"You tried and you failed miserably. Lesson here is never try"
gone for the oztips thing, shame you cant guess the score.
"All are lunatics, but he who can analyze his delusions is called a philosopher." - Ambrose Bierce
Langeveldt: I of course blame their parents.. and unchecked immigration!
GingerFurball: He's Austrian, they tend to produce the odd ****ed up individual
Burgey: Be careful dealing with neighbours whose cars don't have wheels but whose houses do.
Uppercut: Maybe I just need better strippers
Ok guyz we officially have just over 7 days to go.. and only 22 ppl in the tipping...
everyone make sure u put yur tips in guyz.. goodluck
dunno if i can be bothered tbh
im in
Career cricket
311 wickets @16.54 and 3021 runs @ 34.56 from 176 games over 11 years H.S 178*
Member of the CW GreenCricket Web Career:(end of season 11) FC: 7404 runs @ 30.85 H.S 253* : One Day: 7331 runs @ 48.55 H.S 155*
Off season: FC 1209 @ 52.51 & One Day: 921 @ 92.10COD4: djs clanWorld Of Warcraft: just sensational
Joining now.
Stedders' Supported XI
Tamim Iqbal, DA Warner, UT Khawaja, CA Lynn, Shakib Al Hasan, SE Marsh, +LD Chandimal, AC Agar, PJ Cummins, Mustafizur Rahman, JP Behrendorff.
RIP Fardin. RIP Craigos. RIP Prince.
Just joined now.
And God came down from the heavens, and he said unto the chicken, "Thou shalt cross the road."And the chicken crossed the road. And the people rejoiced, all across the land.
Australia's Only FairDinkum News Site - www.xenoxnews.com
This is too easy....
Cricketweb Colts Captain
I'm a member of Club KerryOriginally Posted by Richard
I'm Green
The color of immortality, nature and envy - you are truly a unique person. While clearly the color of nature, you also symbolize rebirth, fertility and hope in the world. On the other side of the spectrum, a natural aptitude to money with green coming to signify money and possibly even *********!
Here is the Final Standing from the Tipping Comp at Oztips.. Well done BoyBrumby
Code:Tipster Total 1. BoyBrumby 99 2. Tipping God 97 3. FaaipDeOiad 94 4. Hunterbhai 93 4. marc71178 93 6. mehrts 92 7. foxtrotters 88 8. oz_fan 87 9. ashchaulk 82 10. pasag 79 11. -Matteh- 76 11. Mr.Threes 76 13. Jamee999 74 14. roseboy64 72 15. davestubbs 68 15.superkingdav 68 17. Cometer2006 67 18. Habibul_fan 59 19. Blewy 58 20. vic_orthdox 56 21.Samuel_Vimes 50 22.AlexCrampton 49 22. Bugsssy 49 24. blazeblaze 48 24.ChrisRaftery 48 26. Cameeel 46 27. Funky_Munky 44 28. Cloete 43 28. Team Tubby 43
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March 16, 2012: Touch30: Touch33 - Side B
Between 1982 and 1989, Touch released a series of cassettes [as well as vinyl, and from 1987, compact discs] which are highlighted in this section. The cassette magazines, Feature Mist [Touch T1, 1982], Meridians One and Meridians Two [Touch T2 and T3, 1983], Touch Travel [Touch T4, 1984] and Ritual: Magnetic North [Touch T5, 1986]; a series in the style of what became known as "World Music" [Touch # T33 to T33.9]; and the beginnings of solo or group ventures [TO:1, TO:2, TO:4 and TO:7, and TOC:1 and TOC:2].
|Touch30: Touch33
|Side B
RSS feeds for Radio Boredcast: Playlists feed | MP3 archives feed| E-mail People Like Us | Other WFMU Playlists | All artists played by Radio Boredcast |


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Train Bank - Personalized Ceramic Choo Choo Train Piggy BankAll aboard the Choo Choo Train Bank! This adorable Train Ceramic Piggy Bank is a timeless classic gift that lasts a lifetime. Teach your little conductor how to start saving his pennies early when you give this fun Train Personalized Bank. Perfect for newborns, birthdays or just because.
Your Personalized Baby Piggy Bank is a ceramic piggy bank and measures 4" h x 3 1/4" w x 6" L. Each Piggy Bank features a rubber stopper underneath. Includes FREE Personalization. Personalize your Ceramic Train Piggy Bank with any name. (ie. Lucas)
Choo! Choo! goes the engine and Cha-Ching! goes the money right inside this adorable, Personalized Train Bank. Our unique Choo Choo Train Ceramic Bank makes a wonderful gift idea for kids of all ages and for any occasion. Browse through our complete collection of Personalized Choo Choo Train designed gifts to also see our Personalized Choo Coo Baby Bib, Choo Choo Train Personalized Nightlight and our Personalized Choo Choo Train Picture Frame. Our Choo Choo Train Gifts makes an excellent Personalized Children Gift Idea for your son, grandson or nephew.


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2005 Softball
Case Western Reserve at Bluffton (DH)
By Ben Risinger, sports information director
March 28, 2005
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University softball team (8-4) won both games against Case Western Reserve University (3-11) on March 28. The Beavers won game one in extra innings 2-1 and easily took the nightcap 10-1.
The first game was deadlocked as there was no score heading into the top of the eighth inning. Case Western scored a lone run to go up 1-0 as the Beavers came up to bat in the bottom half of the eighth. Sophomore Carrie Weisbecker (Okeana/Ross) then scored the tying run off of a passed ball to make the game one all. The Beavers then worked the CWRU pitcher to load the bases with senior Mandy Snider (Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) up to bat. Snider bolted a long single to the outfield to score senior Jackie Wells (Napoleon/Patrick Henry) and give the Beavers the 2-1 victory.
Freshman Tonya Dean (Kettering/Fairmount) picked up her second win of the year as she came in to close the contest in the seventh. Junior Sarah Betts (Bryan/Bryan) started the game and posted nine strikeouts.
Bluffton started out game two in good fashion as they went up 3-1 after the first inning. The Beavers then knocked out seven more runs in the bottom of the second for the final score of 10-1. Junior Michelle Metzger (Lakeview/Indian Lake) led Bluffton in the game as she went 2-for-2 with two RBI's and two runs scored. Junior Lindsay Miller (Grover Hill/Wayne Trace) went 2-for-3 with two RBI's and two runs scored. Dean threw the one hitter to pick up the win on the mound to take her record to 3-0 for the season.
The Beavers will be on the road this upcoming Wednesday, March 30, when they travel to Wittenberg College. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.


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By Tiernan Ray
Barclays Capital's Raimo Lenschow this afternoon cut his rating on shares of SAP AG (SAP) to Equal Weight from Overweight, after the stock hit his $70 price target in the last month, rising as high as $73.86. The stock was off 83 cents today, or 1.2%, at $69.05.
Lenschow writes that he's not making any kind of negative comment about Q3 ended last month, but with a 15 times P/E "and limited near-term upgrade potential, we see risk/reward as neutral."
Lenschow's "checks" suggest to him Q3 met revenue expectations but there is "modest nervousness ahead of Q4″ and "some challenging comps for FY13."
According to VARA Research, consensus is anticipating 10% licence growth in 2013, which seems a high number to start off with (we are at 7.2%) and points to limited organic upside surprise, in our view. However, we should point out (and we discuss this later in the note) that there has been a sharp rise in quota-carrying sales and this might mean that low same-sales growth will still result in decent reported growth.
As far as products, SAP should see continued rise in sales of mobile products, and its cloud computing initiative may be bolstered by the acquisition of SuccessFactors:
We also think Cloud was strong during the quarter as it starts being sold into the installed base and competition from Taleo eased following the acquisition by Oracle.
His take on the "Hana" database program that SAP is selling against IBM's (IBM) DB2 and Oracle's (ORCL) database is a bit more mixed:
In Q2 HANA delivered in line numbers, against expectations which were reduced into the quarter and Q3 could be similar. There has been a near-term delay in mass volume shipments of commercial HANA solutions as customers have demanded further proof-ofconcepts
before choosing to deploy HANA as a full blown in-memory data warehouse. This was confirmed during our attendance at last month's German User Conference (c4k participants). We think as the proof of concepts come to an end, the pipeline for Q4 and onwards should
start to look healthy. We have also heard of some ongoing large bespoke solutions in the US that would be helpful. Bill McDermott indicated a HANA pipeline of €1.5bn at Q2 results and we forecast this to have grown to around €2bn in Q3.


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I need to buy a copy of MS Windows 7 Pro 64 bit for one of our laptops. The laptop was donated and has an invalid copy of the same OS so I really just need to acquire a valid product key. TechSoup offers me two license versions of Windows 7, Get Genuine or an upgrade version. The Get Genuine sounds like it would work in our situation, simply replacing an invalid copy of the OS but includes the restriction that if you ever buy a Get Genuine Microsoft product, you may never again purchase that same family of products, operating systems, for the entire life of your organization. The upgrade version specifically excludes upgrading from the same version of the OS. In other words, I can upgrade from Vista or 2000 to 7 but not from Windows 7 to Windows 7. So I'm wondering which is the correct product to request. The donation fee is a bit more for the upgrade but that's not the issue. I need to fix the license on one machine but don't want to close the door on any requesting any future donations. Any advice on what to do would be appreciated. I got all the way through verifying our eligibility to request the software but stopped when I saw the "never again" restriction. Thanks. Michael
Hi Catherwalsh!
As you noticed, the Get Genuine program has special rules because it is a special program within TechSoup's catalog. The license included with the Get Genuine program is a full operating system license, not an upgrade. The full license is necessary for computers with counterfeit, pirated, or otherwise illegal, unlicensed, or improperly licensed Windows operating systems. The full license is also needed if your current operating system is Home Premium, Home Basic, or Starter editions of Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP. Windows 7 Professional Upgrade is the professional edition of the previous Microsoft operating system. The upgrade must be installed on a computer with a pre-existing Professional, Business, or Enterprise Windows operating system.
You mentioned the computer you would like to request software for contains an invalid Windows 7 license. In this instance, you would need to request the Get Genuine Windows 7 full license. Although this program allows eligible organizations to place only one request ever for Get Genuine products, we advise organizations to purchase any additional licenses they may need in the future. Keep in mind, since Get Genuine products are part of the Windows Desktop Operating Systems title group, requests for them will reduce the number of operating system upgrade products you may request in your current two-year donation cycle. For more information, and to view all the special rules regarding the Get Genuine program, visit the Get Genuine product description.
Nicole Heze Account Management SpecialistClient ServicesTechSoup: The Technology Place for Nonprofits and Librarieshttp://www.techsoup.org/
I'm still completely flummoxed by all of this. Why would they ever restrict it to a 'one time only' donation, and then still hit us on our annual line items.
So, what is the workaround to use the upgrade versions? Pirate XP? Terrible.
Will TechSoup be getting the 'system builder' edition of Win8?
Hello Stephen!
The Get Genuine program can be confusing but it's great for getting your operating systems up to date.
While it is true that you may only place a request of a Windows Get Genuine full operating System one time, you can request up to 50 licenses if you are not restricted by previous requests for operating systems in the past (i.e. if you have 1 request for the Windows 7 Professional Upgrade within your current allotment cycle then you only have 49 Windows 7 Professional Get Genuine licenses left that you may request).
The products in our catalog are the only ones we offer for donation requests, when new products get added to our catalog a new product alert is sent out. To subscribe to new product alerts go to the top left corner of TechSoup.org and click 'Subscribe to the Newsletters' then click the second box that says 'New Product Donation Alert' and sign up.
For more information on the Get Genuine program take a look at the description on the product page www.techsoup.org/.../windows-7-professional-32-bit-%E2%80%93-get-genuine--LS-46416--.
Account Management Specialist
Client Services
TechSoup: The Technology Place for Nonprofits and Libraries
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About Us
In 1956 Olivia and Julio Garcia gathered the very best of the family's traditional recipes and opened the first Garcia's Mexican Restaurant in Phoenix, Arizona. Garcia's proudly uses only the freshest... ingredients to create the finest Mexican dishes.
This tradition continues today, as we prepare those authentic, original recipes as well as new favorites.
All of our sauces, salsas, guacamole, chips, beans, rice, and meat dishes are prepared fresh every day in our kitchen. We use only the finest meats, tortillas, garden-fresh produce, natural cheeses, and quality dairy products. We cook with no lard, only cholesterol-free vegetable oil, and we use no MSG. Upon request we substitute low-fat salad dressing, cheese, and sour cream at no extra charge.
Read more


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A New Class of Inflatable Robots By OtherLab 44
HizookRobotics writes "Inflatable robots have the potential to be low-cost, lightweight, extremely powerful, and yet 'human safe' — in other words, perfect for many robotics applications. Here are two new examples: a 15-foot-long walking robot (a Pneubot named Ant-Roach) and a complete, inflatable robot arm (plus hand). Both of these robots were developed by Otherlab as part of their 'pneubotics' project (in collaboration with Meka Robotics and Manu Prakash at Stanford University), with some funding from DARPA's Maximum Mobility and Manipulation program. These robots use textile-based, inflatable actuators that contract upon inflation into specially-designed shapes to effect motion. Since these robots are built out of lightweight fabric-and-air structural members and powered via pneumatics or hydraulics, they exhibit large strength-to-weight ratios. For example, Ant-Roach is less than 70 lbs and can probably support up to 1000 lbs; the inflatable robot arm is less than 2 lbs and can lift a few hundred pounds at 50-60 psi."


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Corrections Degrees and Programs Offered in Michigan (MI)
Showing schools in your area
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- View Associates, Bachelors or Graduate Degree Programs in Criminal Justice and Law Near YOU!
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- Accredited, Flexible Criminal Justice and Law Degree Programs to Fit Your Time and Budget. Use our Matching Service - It's Easy and FREE!


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Follow @CCU_CAF Follow @goccusports Follow @chaunceyccu
Jessica Dennison
Coastal Student-Athletes Excel Academically in the Spring; 41 Graduate
32 Post 4.0; 104 Make Dean's List; 242 Had at least 3.0 for the Semester
Eight Chants in Action at Duke Twilight
Keitt Sets Season-best in the 1500
School Record and Personal Bests Highlight Sunday's Track & Field Action
School Record and Personal Bests Highlight Sunday's Track & Field Action
W. T&F Moves 20 to Event Finals on Day 2 of Big South
Twenty Chants qualified for Saturday's finals in seven different events.
2011 Outdoor Track & Field: Began the season at the CCU/Shamrock Invitational finishing the 1,500m with a time of 4:51.37...Completed the 3,000m in 10:24.53 at the Tiger Track Classic...Turned in a season best time of 11:11.40 in the 3,000m Steeplechase at the Duke Invitational...Ran an 18:41.97 in the 5,000m at the Big South Championships...Finished the season with the fifth best 3,000m steeplechase time in the Big South.
2011 Indoor Track & Field: Member of the Chanticleer distance medley relay team that finished fourth at the Big South Championship with a time of 12:37.20... Turned in season best times of 5:18.71 in the mile and 2:25.56 in the 800m at the Tiger Paw Invitational... Completed the 3,000m in 11:39.82 clip at the Virginia Tech Invitational to place 19th.
2010 Cross Country: Began the season at the Gamecock Open finishing in a time of 21:33.2... Placed 17th at the Coastal Carolina Invitational in 19:55.6... Was Coastal's top performer, finishing sixth with a time of 19:37.38 at the Will Wilson Citadel Invitational... Finished 23rd in a time of 18:43 at the Walt Disney World Classic... Competed at the Blue Ridge Mountain Open, finishing in 19:11.4... Placed 39th in the Big South Championships, crossing the line in 19:56.76... Rounded out the season at the 6K NCAA Southeast Regional in a time of 23:29.
2010 Outdoor Track & Field: Ran 1500m and 3000m steeplechase for the lady Chanticleers... Ran personal-best time of 4:59.21 at Duke Twilight in the 1500m... Finished second in the steeplechase with a time of 12:15.32 at Liberty Twilight... Scored points for the team in steeplechase at Big South Outdoor Championships... Competed in the 1500m at Duke Invite and Weems Baskin... Ran a time of 20:17.81 in the 5000m at Hokie Invite.
2009 Cross Country: Finished in 12th at the Coastal Carolina Invitational with the time of 20:29.84... Finished 44th overall at the Big South Championships.
High School: Member of the All-Area Track and Cross Country Team her freshman, sophomore and junior years.... Earned All-Conference in cross country after qualifying for States her sophomore and junior years... Named to the All-Conference team and the All-Area News Sun Team for track and cross country... Qualified at the regional and state level for both track and cross country.
Personal: Full Name: Jessica Christin-Sue Dennison... Daughter of Chris Dennison and Sue Petre... Majoring in exercise science.
More Headlines


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For the Brush Area Museum and Cultural Center's June edition of the monthly sack lunch program, Board Chairman Steve Rohde will present a series that comes as a continuation of a project begun in 2011 that has had volunteers delve into the history behind 27 Brush Civil War veterans currently buried in the Brush Memorial Cemetery.
Brush Area Museum Board member Steve Rohde will present the third in a series begun in 2011 that delves into the history behind Civil War veterans buried at the Brush Memorial Cemetery, during the Museum's free sack lunch program, slated for Friday, June 7 at Noon at the Brush Museum. (Courtesy photo/Wayne Carlson)
Although 10 of these veterans have been discussed in previous sack lunch programs, the June program, slated for Friday, June 7 at the Brush Museum, will delve into the past of an additional five Civil War veterans.
Individuals being presented for discussion include M.L. Stevens, Joseph H. Williams, Henry G. Allen, Joseph S. Jackson and John H. McGinnis.
These individuals served in the Western theatre of the Civil War and may have been in such engagements as Shiloh, Vicksburg, Nashville, Fort Donelson, the Siege of Atlanta and Sherman's March to the Sea among others.
The program also will include an update on the installation of the Brush Civil War Veterans Auxiliary Gravestones project started in 2011, as well as the status of the Civil War that took place 150 years ago and discussion of artifacts.
Anyone interested in Brush history and the American Civil War should find the program, which is free and open to the public, of interest.
The program begins at 12 Noon, on Friday, June 7 at the Brush Museum and all are invited to bring a sack lunch.


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A juvenile charged with brining a gun to El Dorado High School appeared before Judge Charles Hart in district court Friday afternoon.
A juvenile charged with brining a gun to El Dorado High School appeared before Judge Charles Hart in district court Friday afternoon.
The juvenile, whose initials are T.J., has been charged with Defacing Identification Marks of a Firearm, a Level 10 nonperson felony, and Criminal Use of a Weapon, a Class A nonperson misdemeanor.
The gun T.J. brought to school was a .25 caliber Raven, along with a clip that did not contain any bullets.
Friday's hearing was to determine whether T.J. would be placed under home arrest or continue to spend time in a detention facility until a later hearing.
Prior to beginning the hearing, Hart spoke with T.J.'s lawyer, Pat Mitchell, and T.J.'s probation officer Vicki Lawrence.
Hart noted that T.J. has been involved in other incidents and Lawrence told him she has been working with T.J. since July 2012.
"She says you're very capable as far as doing work in school," Hart told T.J. "In regards to the other three cases, you come into her office as required, but you haven't gotten involved in completing community service. She says you know right from wrong."
Last month, T.J. brought a knife to school and received a detention as a result.
On Jan. 23, an expulsion hearing will be held by the school district.
Assistant Butler County Attorney Brett Sweeney said the state has found probable cause to ask the court to keep T.J. in a detention facility.
"The state would be arguing for continued detention," said Sweeney. "The allegations here are a handgun in the school. Inherently those facts are dangerous."
Sweeney also noted brining the gun to school was a violation of T.J.'s probation.
"This is a serious offense," continued Sweeney.
Following Sweeney's remarks, Mitchell addressed the court. He acknowledged T.J.'s family members who were at the hearing and said they were prepared to monitor T.J. if house arrest was chosen by the court.
Mitchell noted T.J. was on house arrest for two days this week and no incidents were reported.
Mitchell also argued that if T.J. was placed in a detention facility, T.J. might not get a mental health evaluation.
"Why not start the treatment now instead of essentially just delaying it?" asked Mitchell.
Mitchell also noted T.J. did not threaten anyone with the gun.
"That's not someone who's necessarily a threat," he said.
After listening to Sweeney and Mitchell, Hart decided to place T.J. in a detention facility.
Hart also advised that contact be made with South Central Mental Health in order to get an evaluation for T.J.
T.J. will remain in detention while awaiting a hearing scheduled for Jan. 31 at 1 p.m.


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STAWELL - Olympic and British fever spread throughout Eventide Homes during August, with residents enjoying some special activities organised by lifestyle staff to coincide with the Olympic Games in London.
A wonderful London extravaganza was enhanced by Cashin Hall being decorated with typical London icons such as Big Ben, the famous double decker red bus (including pictures of various staff as passengers!), our London Tavern and Tower Bridge.
Of course, no London extravaganza would be complete without the royal family making an appearance. The Queen's coach was on display and the door decorated with the Queen's guards, making a spectacular entrance way into the hall.
Residents enjoyed a visit from staff performers Bobby Baltimore and Gardewine Grenadier who created much laughter in their efforts to locate the Queen's corgis and crown jewels, with resident participation being enjoyed by all.
A mini Olympics was also held over the two weeks with many residents participating in the true spirit of the games - sporting events that were held were basketball, hockey and the triathlon.
Just like the Olympics in London, residents received medals for their efforts and opening and closing ceremonies took place with guest artists performing.
Eventide Homes was also honoured to have Olympian John Hudson, who competed at the 1960 Rome Olympics in the rowing, pay a visit.
Mr Hudson and his wife travelled from Melbourne to speak to the residents, sharing his wonderful memories of his own Olympic experience.
Residents also enjoyed guest speaker Kerrie Wilson, who showed slides of her trip to London.
A high tea afternoon completed the British celebrations at Eventide, with special guest, Mayor Dorothy Patton attending.
Tables were beautifully set with the finest china, menus of fine foods and a wide variety of teas, equal to 'High Tea at the Windsor Hotel'.
Guest artists, Kaleidoscope provided entertainment for the residents to enjoy, which was a wonderful way to complete the Olympic and British celebrations at Eventide Homes.


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Portland's embarrassing lack of arts and music education in our public schools puts our kids' future at risk. Along with an amazing coalition of educators, parents, local business people, community leaders and citizens from throughout Portland, I believe Measure 26-146 is a powerful and creative solution that will help keep students engaged in school and on track to graduate.
Some have questioned if this proposal is really good for our schools ["Portrait of an Arts Tax," WW, Oct. 3, 2012]. As a teacher, a PPS parent and the president of the Portland Association of Teachers, my answer is absolutely yes.
Measure 26-146 will fully fund elementary arts teachers for all six Portland school districts, ensuring that every Portland elementary school student gets arts education every week. It will make arts supplies, arts programs and arts field trips freely available to K-12 students citywide with approximately $1.6 million in grant funds to schools and nonprofits. And it will fund teachers on special assignment to coordinate arts education opportunities for every K-12 student.
Measure 26-146 provides critical new funding and resources that are desperately needed by our schools. It won't require school districts to spend additional money on arts education at the expense of other vital programs or force schools to hire new teachers if they already offer weekly arts education.
Some have suggested 26-146 does not make a significant enough investment in arts education because nearly half of the funds will be administered by the Regional Arts and Culture Council. I believe this package is made stronger with RACC's inclusion.
RACC's funding of teachers on special assignment, art supplies, K-12 arts programs and arts field trips are essential components of this arts education package. The remaining 31 percent of the fund that RACC will invest in arts access is a vitally important investment for our city. It will further support arts education by funding organizations such as Children's Healing Art Project, Oregon Children's Theatre, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Young Audiences, Ethos Music Center, Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Northwest Children's Theater, and Tears of Joy Theatre.
Some have suggested this measure would be hurtful to the low-income residents of our city. I couldn't disagree more. And I am not alone.
I stand with Street Roots, perhaps the strongest voice for lower-income and marginalized people in our community, which has endorsed Measure 26-146: "For $35 per person we can fund not only public school programs but also programs generating community involvement among people who are social and economically marginalized."
Every tax has its problems. But I believe one of the most important problems we face is the lack of arts and music education in our public schools—a hole in basic curriculum that limits educational opportunities for our children. Measure 26-146 is good for schools, good for kids, good for citizens and good for the city. And our kids are counting on it and us to come through.
Please join me in voting yes for Measure 26-146.
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