text:
Killorn has scored five goals in the last three games (photo courtesy Steve Babineau). Scroll down for video highlights and interviews
ITHACA, N.Y.—Alex Killorn scored twice and Danny Biega netted the tie-breaking goal with 7:21 left in the game as the Harvard men's hockey team defeated rival Cornell, 4-3, Friday night at Lynah Rink.
Danny and Michael Biega each logged a goal and two assists as Harvard (6-18-1, 4-13-1 ECAC Hockey, 1-7-1 Ivy League) went 3 for 4 on the power play to send the fish-throwing, sellout crowd of 4,267 home unhappy. Chris Huxley notched a pair of assists and helped the Crimson limit the Big Red (12-11-3, 10-7-2, 2-4-1) to one total shot on three power plays.
The winning tally came just 21 seconds after a hooking call against the Big Red. Michael Biega sent a pass from the right side of the zone to his younger brother on the left, and Danny put home a one-timer. The Crimson held off the Big Red the rest of the way, as Ryan Carroll made 10 of his 27 saves in the final period.
Cornell's Mike Garman stopped 24 Harvard shots as the Big Red held a 30-28 shots advantage. Killorn notched a team-high seven shots, and Luke Greiner went 7-3 on faceoffs.
The Big Red took the lead on the game's first shot, just 31 seconds after the opening faceoff, when Nick D'Agostino snuck a shot inside the near post from the left faceoff circle.
Harvard countered with offensive pressure of its own, but Garman stopped Killorn on the Crimson's best early chance. On the other end, Carroll made consecutive sprawling saves on Sean Collins shortly before Dan Nicholls was whistled for slew-footing Danny Fick. The Crimson capitalized on the tripping call at 7:28 of the period, when, from in front of the right post, Killorn redirected in Chris Huxley's point shot after Michael Biega passed the puck out of the right corner.
During four-on-four play, a neutral-zone give-and-go with Michael Del Mauro left Michael Biega open from a wrist shot from the right circle. He found the top left corner for a 2-1 lead at 15:09. The Crimson killed a three-minute Big Red power play and took the one-goal lead to the intermission. Each team had 13 first-period shots.
Joe Devin tied the score at 2-2 at 8:55 of the second period, scoring on a low wrist shot following a Tyler Roeszler pass. About four minutes went by before Killorn gave the lead back to the Crimson. Daniel Moriarty passed from the corner to Danny Biega between the tops of the circles. Garman stopped Biega's shot through a Killorn screen, but the junior center hopped on the puck and roofed a backhand shot. Harvard outshot Cornell, 8-6, in the middle stanza.
The Big Red again got the first goal in the third period, at the 8:32 mark. Nicholls wrapped the puck around the Harvard net and got it to John Esposito on the right side for the finish. Cornell was called for delay of game after fans threw fish on the ice to celebrate. Harvard was held scoreless on that power play but scored the game-winner on its next man-advantage chance.


text:
Mad Cow Disease
Mad Cow Disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is an illness that attacks the brain and spinal cord in adult cattle. The name "Mad Cow Disease" comes from the strange behavior and symptoms seen in cattle that have the disease. Scientists have hypothesized that humans could contract BSE by consuming parts of the nervous system from infected cattle.
Author(s): Sonia Rahmati Clayton, PhD, James Denk, MA, and Nancy Moreno, PhD
Hot Topics in BiologyMad Cow Disease
Mad Cow Disease: An Introduction
Mad Cow Disease: Human Infection
Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)
Mad Cow Disease: Transmission
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
Passing along CU summer football camp info from the school
Football Camp Registration Now Open For Summer 2012
BOULDER – Registration for 2012 University of Colorado Football Camps are now open, as CU head coach Jon Embree will host the camps for the second time and this year marks the 30th year the camps will happen.
The majority of the camp schedule is spent on the field teaching actual game situations and the teaching and drilling of fundamentals and techniques for each position.
The youth camps, for kids entering first to eighth grades after June 1, 2012, will be in two separate camps. The first one will be June 1-3 and held at CU while the second one will be June 8-10 and will be held in Denver at a location still to be determined.
They are both Friday through Sunday sessions and will take place from 8 a.m. to noon both each day.
CU's High School Big Man Camp for offensive and defensive linemen and High School Skills Camp for receivers, running backs, quarterbacks, tight ends, linebackers and defensive backs will both take place July 21 at CU. The Big Man camp will be from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. and the Skills camp from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Finally, CU's Kicking Camp for kickers, punters and long snappers will take place the following day, July 22, from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Check out CU's Football Camp page (CUBuffs.com) for more information on each camp and for the link to register!


text:
Functions Terms & Conditions
1.1 For parties of less than 25, a non refundable and non transferable deposit of £500.00 against the cost of your event ("the Event") is payable upon confirmation. For parties of 26+, a non refundable, non transferable deposit of £750.00 is required. A further 50% of the cost of the Event is payable 3 months prior to its date with the balance due 1 month before.
1.2 Should you have arranged credit facilities with us, the balance is due for payment within 30 days of the date of our invoice.
1.3 You will also pay, within 30 days of the date of our invoice, for all foods, beverages and other services requested by you, your employees, guests, customers, clients or invitees during the Event, and which are not included within the agreed rate per room - per guest, except in so far as you have instructed us in writing to obtain cash settlement from persons requesting such food, beverage or other services.
1.4 If you cancel your booking with us in its entirety, we will levy the following cancellation charges:
1.4.1 Cancellation 12-6 weeks prior to the Event: 25% of total booking value.
1.4.2 Cancellation 6-4 weeks prior to the Event: 50% of total booking value
1.4.3 Cancellation 4-2 weeks prior to the Event: 75% of total booking value.
1.4.4 Cancellation less than 2 weeks prior to the Event: 100 % of total booking value.
1.5. If you cancel your booking with us in part, for example by reducing the number of rooms, number of guests attending, we will levy the following cancellation charges:
1.5.1. Cancellation 12-6 weeks prior to the Event: 25% of cost of room or per guest.
1.5.2. Cancellation 6-4 weeks prior to the Event: 50% of cost per room or per guest.
1.5.3. Cancellation 4-2 weeks prior to the Event: 75% of cost per room or per guest.
1.5.4. Cancellation less than 2 weeks prior to the Event: 100% of the cost per room or per guest.
1.6 All prices are inclusive of service and VAT. However should the rate of VAT change between the time of booking and the Event, we reserve the right to adjust the prices in line with such change.
1.7 We reserve the right in our discretion to charge interest on any account outstanding entirely or in part at the rate of 4% above the base rate for the time being of The Royal Bank of Scotland.
2.1 You will notify us no less than 5 working days prior to the Event of the anticipated number of guests attending, always without prejudice to our rights in respect of cancellation under paragraph 1. The final number attending must be notified to us no less than 48 hours prior to the Event.
2.2 In the event that the number attending the Event exceeds the number advised at the time of the booking, we shall use our reasonable endeavours to provide service and accommodation if required, for the increased numbers. We shall levy additional charges at the agreed rate per guest, or per room, for such increased numbers.
2.3 In the event that the number attending the Event is less than advised at the time of the booking, we reserve the right, in addition to our rights in respect of cancellation under paragraph 1, to move the Event from any accommodation agreed at the time of booking to accommodation which is suitable for the numbers attending.
3.1 In respect of confirmed accommodation, check in time is 15.00 hours and check out time 11.00 hours. Failure to comply with these times without our consent may result in you incurring additional charges.
3.2 If guests with confirmed accommodation do not arrive, you will be charged for the accommodation at the agreed rate per room.
3.3 We reserve the right to change accommodation offered for the Event but will use our reasonable endeavours to provide the accommodation selected and to give you as much notice as reasonably possible of any proposed variation to the accommodation arrangements.
4.1 You agree to begin and end the Event at the times agreed with us. Should you overrun the "end time" of the Event with or without agreement, you will reimburse us for any expenses incurred as a result of the overrun, including, but not limited to, additional wage costs for staff allocated to the Event.
4.2 The hotel and the events which take place within it are subject to many statutory controls, in particular, but without limitation, those relating to food and health and hygiene, fire protection, liquor licensing, and entertainment. You, your employees, guests, customers, clients, and invitees must comply with reasonable requests, directions and instructions of hotel personnel in relation to any such matters.
4.3 If, in relation to the Event, you wish to have, provide or install:
4.3.1 any outside entertainment or services;
4.3.2 any outside food or beverage; or any outside equipment (including without limitation, electrical equipment and display stands), you must discuss this with us no less than 2 weeks prior to the Event. We reserve the right to refuse permission for any of the items specified above and in any event it is our policy to charge corkage on our client's own wines at our current published rates and not to permit the introduction or provision of your own spirits and beers.
4.4 Notwithstanding any permission which may be given by us under the above paragraph we reserve the right, at the time of the Event, not to admit outside entertainment or services to the premises, not to permit outside food or beverages to be brought to the premises and not to have outside equipment installed on the premises if, in our reasonable opinion to do so would risk:
4.4.1 causing danger to the health and safety of hotel guests and/or employees;
4.4.2 causing offence to hotel guests and/or employees; or
4.4.3 committing an offence or breaching any legislation applicable to the hotel.
5.1. Please be aware that, in line with the Licensing Act 2003, we are unable to allow any of your guests who are under the age of 18, to consume any alcohol. We reserve the right to remove any alcohol from guests who are unable to prove that they are over 18, regardless of how they obtained the alcohol in the first instance.
5.2. Unless a prior arrangement is made, only drinks and foods purchased from The
Grange Hotel may be consumed during your function with us. Your guests are
not permitted to consume any alcohol that has not been purchased from us
during your function. Unfortunately, in line with licensing laws, we will be
required to confiscate any alcohol from your guests.
5.3. We accept no liability for loss of, or damage to, property brought onto the hotel premises and which is owned by or in custody of you, your employees, guests, customers, clients, or invitees.
5.4. You shall be responsible for any damage caused by you, your employees, guests, customer, clients or invitees to the hotel premises, furnishing, utensils or equipment during the Event or as a result of the Event, and shall indemnify us against the cost of repair or replacement thereof.
5.5. Notwithstanding any permission which may be given by us under paragraph 4 we accept no liability for loss, damage, or breakout of disease caused to you, your employees, guests, customers, clients or invitees as a result of your provision of any of the items referred to in paragraph 4.3.1 to 4.3.3.
5.6. We accept no liability for any breach of these terms and conditions caused by events beyond our control, which shall include, but not to be limited to, industrial action (whether on the part of our employees or otherwise), accidents, fire, riot, civil commotion and war. If any such event should occur, we shall use our reasonable endeavours to make suitable alternative arrangements, failing which we shall terminate the contract and refund your deposit.
5.7. We are unable to guarantee exclusive use of the hotel for any event and reserve the right to take additional bookings in our function rooms and restaurants at any time.
5.8. We do welcome children of all ages. However, for their own safety, we do insist they are supervised at all times.
If this contract is signed by an agent for the client then the agent thereby asserts that he has the full authority of the client to make this agreement and in the event of any breach by the client or agent of any of the terms of this agreement then the agent and the client shall be jointly and severally liable to us therefor.
You are advised to secure your own insurance policy against any cancellation charges for which you could be liable under this agreement.
This Agreement contains the entire and only agreement between us and supersedes all previous agreements made between us in relation to the Event. Both parties acknowledge that in entering this agreement neither has relied on any representation oral or written that is not set out expressly in this agreement and the attached quotation. We shall not be liable to you or any of your guests or invitees by reason of any representation (unless fraudulent) for any indirect, special or consequential loss or damage, costs, expenses or other claim whatsoever caused by our negligence arising from the organisation and management of the Event and our entire liability under or in connection with this agreement shall not exceed the quoted cost of the Event. No other Terms & Conditions do or will relate to this contract
The law of this agreement is that of England and Wales and the Courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising.
10. By signing this agreement you expressly declare that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms set out herein.


text:
Let's face it, low interest rates are GREAT! – when you have loans. But, what about those who don't have any loans? If you're CD investor, then low interest rates are not what you want to hear. So, why do you invest in CD's? Well, they're secure, you won't lose your investment, you can use the interest to supplement your income and you can get your hands on your money if you need it (although penalties can apply). So with all those positives, let's work on earning you more without jeopardizing your investment. One way to increase what you earn, is to use a CD ladder.
A CD ladder is an investment strategy where you buy several CDs that mature over different maturity times. By using a CD ladder, you make sure that money is available periodically, and increase the yield on your overall CD's. You've always heard the saying, "don't put all your eggs in one basket", so why treat your CD's the same way?
For example, if you invest $100,000 in a 12 month CD earning 0.85%, your yield is just that, 0.85%. If you ladder your CD's and split your money into 5 chunks and invest $20,000 for 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years and 5 years you can take advantage of the higher yields that the longer term CD's offer, yet still have money available each year that you can reinvest or use the cash as you need.
In our example, let's say the 1 year CD earns 0.85%; 2 year CD earns 1.25%; 3 year CD earns 1.50%; 4 year CD earns 1.75% and 5 year CD earns 2.00%. The average yield on your $100,000 investment jumps to 1.47%. That's a 73% increase in the yield
versus investing everything in the 1 year CD at 0.85%. Then, when money comes due, invest it back in the 5 year CD and the process will continue to earn you higher yields.
Set up your CD ladder with your CD's spread out by 1 year or maybe try a 6 month gap between them. In either way, you'll increase what you earn on your CD's. Now, this strategy only works if you stay committed over time and as interest rates rise, you'll get to reinvest in those higher rates each year. It's a proven strategy that will make those low rates not seem quite so low.
Rates in this article are for illustrative purposes only. For actual rates available today, please contact a Personal Banker. Actual results may vary. If you would like us to watch rates for you, please sign up for our Rate Watch program!
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text: Warning: preg_replace(): The /e modifier is deprecated, use preg_replace_callback instead in ..../includes/class_bbcode.php on line 2958 View Profile: tony2k - Pen & Paper Games Register Help Remember Me? Home Forum FAQ Calendar Community Groups Albums Member List Forum Actions Mark Forums Read Quick Links View Site Leaders Contribution Actions Contribute What's New? Blogs Find Players Groups Contribute Downloads Chat Advanced Search Recent Chat Activity (Main Lobby)Join Chat Loading Chat Log... Player Registry tony2k Prefer not to see ads? Become a Community Supporter. Welcome to Pen & Paper Games, an online community dedicated to bringing roleplayers together!You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will automatically be added to our player registry (unless you opt not to) and will be able to privately find and communicate with other players in your area. You will also be able to post and reply to topics, vote in polls, and many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today! If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. Site News: Pen & Paper Games Gets New Leadership! [Read More] tony2k Community Supporter Find latest posts Find latest started threads View Articles View Blog Entries Mini Statistics Join Date 12-30-2009 Last Activity 03-07-2010 09:42 PM Blog Entries 0 More 6 Friends ElijahSnow pointingandlaughing MrHyde hoverX Pikaia ¶¶¶¶¶ Join Groups 1 Groups Southern Ontario D&D 4E Join Groups 0 Permission Groups tony2k is not a member of any public groups Recent Visitors The last 20 visitor(s) to this page were: Aethyron, BrokenCompany, Cindaer, ElijahSnow, Farcaster, FastJack2013, Game Puppy, hoverX, Ian Wilcox, Jelly Bear, lotusphilosophy, MrHyde, Pikaia, pointingandlaughing, Prince, Quarrion, Scott Youdale, treialle, Turk, ¶¶¶¶¶ This page has had 6,391 visits Badges and Icons My Icon: Player Tab Content tony2k's Activity Visitor Messages About Me Friends Tab Content All tony2k Friends Photos New Activity () Please reload this page to view the 200+ new activity items that have been created. Older Activity More Activity No More Results No Recent Activity 1 Visitor Messages Farcaster - 12-31-2009 07:42 PM View Conversation You're quite welcome, Tony! I'm glad you enjoy the site. Showing Visitor Messages 1 to 1 of 1 About tony2k Basic Information Date of Birth October 26, 1983 (36) Badges and Icons My Icon: Player Location City: Toronto State: Ontario Zipcode: M6J1C5 Country: Canada Willing to Travel: 15 miles Availability LFG/LFP: LFG Availability (Days): Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday Availability (Times): Evenings Desired Gaming Frequency: Weekly - 2 games per week Gaming Preferences Player/GM: Either Preferred Genres: Fantasy Favorite RPGs: Dungeons & Dragons 4E Preferred Playing Style: 50% Roleplaying / 50% Combat Ideal Group Size: Medium Groups (Between 4 and 6 players) Online RPGs?: No What are you looking for?: I usually like to 'tank' (take all the aggro, damage and do damage) and be in the front lines of battles. I also like to use other characters to stay back and do damage as well. I like to roleplay as well, so that I can use my imagination and expand the mind. About Me Real Name: Philip Biography: My name is Philip, and I'm from downtown Toronto. I'm looking for a group to play DnD 4e, I have A LOT of books, materials and minis to host or to help host an adventure or campaign. I really love to help out in any way. I'm a pretty novice DM, so I'd prefer to play, but I'm not shy to DM. So far I have Players Handbook Deluxe Players Handbook 2 Dungeon Master Guide Deluxe Dungeon Master Guide 2 Monster Manual Deluxe Monster Manual 2 Primal Powers Arcane Powers Martial Powers Divine Powers Adventurers Vault Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide Forgotten Realms Player's Guide Dungeon Delve I have some adventure packages. Please let me know, I would love to meet up and have fun! Signature Statistics Total Posts Total Posts 8 Posts Per Day 0.00 Visitor Messages Total Messages 1 Most Recent Message 12-31-2009 07:42 PM Visitor Messages for tony2k Downloads Downloads 0 Uploads 0 General Information Last Activity 03-07-2010 09:42 PM Join Date 12-30-2009 Referrals 1 6 Friends ElijahSnow Lurker hoverX Lurker MrHyde Lurker Pikaia Lurker pointingandlaughing Lurker ¶¶¶¶¶ Lurker Showing Friends 1 to 6 of 6 -- P&PG v4 -- Default Mobile Style Contact Us Pen and Paper Games Archive Privacy Statement Top All times are GMT -5. The time now is 02:12 PM. Powered by vBulletinCopyright ©2000 - 2020, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd. Donation System provided by vBDonate (Lite) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2020 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.Copyright ©2006-2014 - All Additional Rights Reserved - Robert A. Howard


text:
January 23, 2012, 1:00 pm
Mountain Sun previews its Stout Month lineup
[media-credit name="Courtesy of Mountain Sun Pub and Brewery" align="alignright" width="186″][/media-credit]
For 19 years Mountain Sun's local chain of brewpubs has hosted a month-long homage to the darker side of craft beer with it's annual Stout Month starting in February.
This year also marks the sixth anniversary of the pub empire's homebrew stout competition, which pits more than 50 contestants against each other for the right to brew a batch on the Sun's six-barrel system.
(FYI – The contest has birthed some of the brewpubs' regular offerings like the Coconut Cream Stout and the Stoked Oak Stout, which will be on offer during February.)


text:
PRINCETON, N.J. - Harvard was unable to break through in key situations on Sunday as the Crimson dropped a pair of Ivy League baseball games at Princeton by scores of 4-1 and 12-6.
In the opener, Princeton got the victory despite collecting just three hits. Crimson starter Andrew Ferreira, continuing to work his way back from an arm injury, was unhittable as he struck out five batters in 3.2 innings. Unfortunately he struggled with his control, also walking six batters, hitting another and throwing one wild pitch that led helped the Tigers claim a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning.
Harvard stranded six base runners and did not break through until a two-out opposite field single from Jon Smart (two hits) in the seventh inning.
In the nightcap, freshman Mike Martin hit his first career homer, a three-run shot to left, and Jeff Reynolds hit his second homer in as many days but Princeton had the better offense, out-hitting the Crimson, 16-12.
With Princeton leading 5-3 in the sixth inning, Steve Harrington had a two-run triple as part of a five-run inning to break the game open.
Martin and Jack Colton both had three-hit games for the Crimson while Carlton Bailey added a pair of hits from the leadoff position. Zach Boden paced the running game with a pair of stolen bases.
Harvard makes its home debut this week as the Crimson hosts nearby rival Boston College to O'Donnell Field on Wednesday.


text:
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Current affairs
I made 20K more gold but mostly by getting rid of my stock of mats. I'm trying to sell all my Frozen Orbs because I have no need of them anymore and I don't anticipate they'll have much value in Cataclysm. Same thing goes for blue and epic gems.
One thing that sells like hotcakes is Eternal Belt Buckles. I buy eternals when I find them cheap on the AH and since I already have tons of saronite I can turn a handsome profit. I estimate a profit of 10-20 gold apiece and I've sold dozens of them.
I've been running the daily Argent Tournament dailies so I can get as many Champion's Seals as possible. I decided that I need them so I can buy heirlooms for my future alts. I also ran at least one daily heroic for Emblems which I would once again use to buy heirlooms.
One thing that's weird is that my DPS in groups seems to vary wildly. Depending on the instance, it ranges from 3K to almost 5K.
I also completed Halls of Reflection which is the hardest heroic I've ever done so far. It's true that we wiped once because we didn't have enough firepower to burn down the zombies while Jaina was melting the ice but after the wipe the weakest dps decided to leave and was replaced by someone more powerful and we pulled through. In all, this dungeon has some interesting mechanics, although I loathe the unending waves during the first phase.
I have an orc shaman on another server and he's level 67. I decided to use the Dungeon Finder to see how a shaman plays in an instance so I ran a few Burning Crusade dungeons as Enhancement. The impressions are good but melee DPS isn't as easy as ranged. On one particular run we wiped repeatedly due to the tank pulling too many mobs at a time.
I did some more healing on my 67 priest who reached 69 in the process, all in Burning Crusade dungeons. At 68 I took him to Northrend and quested there a little, obtaining some new items which are more powerful than the ones I got in BC dungeons. I'm a bit loathe to heal before 70 due such instances as Mechanar which I assume is pretty tough.
I enjoy healing but it depends on the group. If they know what they're doing, it's a pleasure. Still, healing is stressful and I would like to expand on that in a future post.
An interesting new spell at level 80 is Prayer of Mending but it's a bit tricky to use. I apply it to the tank but then it jumps randomly to another member who might not even take damage until it expires. I've also been using Binding Heal more since I consider it a good mana conservation tool whenever I need to heal both myself and someone else. Circle of Healing continues to rock but it seems to me its range is a bit limiting and I need to talent it in order to increase the radius. For this reason I'm always standing between the tank and the rest of the group so that everyone can benefit from it.
Ah, where to start? I haven't played as Retribution ever since they "nerfed" Exorcism and gave it a cast time. I leveled from 77 to 80 as Protection but I never dared set foot in an instance. Yeah, I'm a woos sometimes. Since I'd never run a dungeon with my paladin since vanilla WoW, I decided to give it a try as Ret and in the process get myself some new gear from heroics.
After the required interminable queues, I managed to run a few dungeons and rather enjoyed playing as Ret, except for the fact that my DPS was pretty much at the lowest rung. I also got a few upgrades but nothing outstanding.
The it hit me: instead of running dailies with my hunter and suffering those very long waits, why not start tanking heroics and thus earn emblems which I could use to buy more heirlooms? So I decided to run a non-heroic dungeon with the Dungeon Finder tool just to see if I have it in me.
I had accumulated some average tanking gear made up of mostly blues but also a few epics a long time ago. I adjusted my spec, re-arranged the skills on my bar and queued up. Needless to say, the queue was instant. Advantages of being a tank, doh! As luck would have it, I landed the "worst" dungeon possible for a rookie, namely Forge of Souls.
To cut a long story short, the rest of the group seemed to have been made up of well-geared 80's so we finished the run quickly, in about 15 minutes or so. I even did a speed run, go figure! The last boss (Devourer of Souls) gave me a bit of trouble and I almost died even though the healer was good. Paladins have another trick up their sleeve though, and it's called Lay on Hands. I had to use it to save myself and the group but afterwards the boss dropped quickly.
The next night I decided I was gonna give this tanking thing a try so I spent almost 20K gold gearing myself up with the best BoE gear gold can buy. I enchanted and gemmed it. I ended up with a passable prot paladin. Now the next step is to actually run a heroic or ten but I'm still running the regular dungeons to get my tanking technique in order.
So that's about it for the time being. Things have been hectic but now the main focus is on learning to tank on my paladin and running as many heroics as I can. I would also like to continue leveling my priest because I plan to make him my alchemist. Alchemy is the only profession I'm missing. Even with running dungeons, it's still slow going though.
5 comments:
- Redbeard said...
Welcome back, Darth!
- July 23, 2010 at 9:00 AM
- Darth Solo said...
Thanks Red!
- July 23, 2010 at 6:55 PM
- Bloodshrike said...
Hey Darth, glad to see you posting again!
Before you spend any of those hard-earned Champion Seals on heirlooms for your alts, you might want to check one of my previous posts.
If you want to get some more mounts/pets and achievements out of the way, you'll be kicking yourself if you spend those seals.
For any of the heirlooms, the Champion Seal cost is higher than the Triumph cost, and you can only get 10-13 seals per day, versus the unlimited amount of Triumph badges you could grind out.
For your paladin, try keeping him in Prot spec while doing dailies, and gather as many mobs as you can, while using the skills you'd use in a dungeon. It'll build your muscle memory easily, without the pressure of worrying about a group depending on you.
Devourer of Souls - Do you use Deadly Boss Mods? "Devourer of Souls begins to cast Mirrored Soul!": Occasionally the Devourer of Souls debuffs a player, mirroring damage taken to him. Players must stop DPSing as long as the (de)buff on the boss is active.
That messed me up the first time I ran FoS.
I personally don't mind the 15 minute queue time for my Frost badge daily on my hunter, since I use the time to race through as many Argent Tournament quests as I can.
- July 24, 2010 at 6:40 AM
- Darth Solo said...
@Bloodshrike hey there!
Screw the mounts and pets. I've collected all the Argent Tournament pets and I don't need any mounts. I guess I'll never be a mount collector. As a matter of fact I'm quite done with my hunter. Now I'm trying to tank regular dungeons on my paladin with a few heroics thrown in. I'm not doing any dailies on my paladin though but if I think about it maybe I should, and queue up as ret while I'm doing them.
I'll have to give that mod a look. Last night I ran Pit of Saron on normal and we wiped twice, once being my fault. I felt very bad but I gotta learn somewhere, right?
- July 24, 2010 at 1:10 PM
- Bloodshrike said...
Yup, we all learn when we try something new. My Unholy DK which I recently dual specced to Frost has started tanking heroics, and we wiped last night on Loken in the Halls of Lightning.
Apparently, the tank is supposed to stand in the circle in front of Loken, and everyone huddles around him, since there's a aura that he puts out that deals more damage the further you stand away from him.
As a hunter, I never knew that. I guess I've always been grouped with overgeared healers, who just healed through the damage.
- July 24, 2010 at 4:00 PM


text:
And more importantly, speed and
acceleration that translate to better performance in sports!
Wednesday, 2:29 pm
RE: Increasing Your "Game Speed"
From: Kurt Howard
Dear Fellow Athlete,
you are here reading this letter I know that you are a serious
athlete. Also, I am almost certain that you have
probably tried numerous "speed training" programs
in the past. Chances are they did nothing to help you
become a better athlete.
You see, most so-called speed training workouts are
geared towards helping you to run faster from point A to point B in a straight line...or
as I call it "tack speed".
Unfortunately, "track
speed" does not translate to better performance on the field
or court. What you really need to be focused on is
creating lightning quick "Game Speed".
There is a big difference between the two.
I am sure you know at least a couple athletes who are
incredibly fast on the track. Yet their speed doesn't
seem to help them on the football field, basketball court or
soccer field.
It's because they have "track speed"...not
"game speed".
The Formula For Creating Explosive "Game Speed" That Can Take Your Performance To The Next Level
Imagine getting the hand off,
hitting the hole like lightning and taking it 75 yards to the
Or quickly reacting to a pass
to your defender, stealing it and exploding down the
court for an easy layup...
Or hitting a ball in the gap,
blazing around second base and turning a
normal double into a triple!
That's "Game Speed"
And the way you create this
type of game speed is by not only focusing on your speed but
also focusing on your quickness and acceleration.
When you mix explosive speed,
lightning fast acceleration and quickness...You Get True "Game Speed".
The type of speed that gives
you an advantage in your sport and can take your performance
to the next level.
The type of speed that can
turn you from a bench warmer to the go-to guy.
The type of speed that you
just can not develop by following the normal speed training
workouts that everyone else is using.
How To Develop Explosive "Game Speed"...
Here is the problem: Most speed training programs out there are training you incorrectly. Their main goal is to make you run as fast as possible in a straight line.
However, rarely in sports (other than track) is running fast in a straight line helpful.
Instead, you need to be able to go from standing still to lightning fast, in any direction, as quickly as possible. You need to be able to react, accelerate, and reach full speed faster than your opponent.
This is why many "stand-out" track athletes do not have success in other sports. They are used to running in a straight line with nothing getting in their way or having to quickly change direction.
So why would you train for speed the same way a track athlete does?
You Shouldn't!
What you need to do is train with the purpose of increasing your speed, acceleration and change of direction quickness. These types of skills will help make you a better athlete in your sport. Period!
But how to you go about designing a training program that gives you these type of benefits?
Well, you have 3 choices:
1. You can keep doing what you are currently doing and keep getting the same old results.
2. You can try to put together a training program yourself and hope and pray that it works or else you will have just wasted more time and hard work while your teammates and competitors get farther ahead of you.
3. You can follow a training program that was built from the ground up with the sole purpose of increasing your speed, acceleration and change of direction quickness that relates to enhanced performance in your sport.
Now I am pretty sure that you choose option 3! Not too hard of a choice was it:)
Well, then I would like to introduce to you the...
The Explosive Speed Training Program
The Explosive Speed Training Program is a training program that will finally put you on the right path to becoming a faster athlete with explosive speed and acceleration that will translate to increased performance in game situations.
This training program targets the most important areas of speed training for athletes of all kinds.
This is NOT a track speed program! But we already discussed why that is NOT what you need.
Instead, this training program will help you react, accelerate, and get to top speed as fast as possible.
A Proven Record Of Results
My name is Kurt Howard and I am also the creator of the extremely popular Vertical Explosion Training Program which has been used by thousands of athletes across the world to increase their vertical jump with fantastic results.
Up until now, I have only made the Explosive Speed Training Program available to my current athletes. However, after having over 100 of my athletes gain access to this speed training program I am finally ready to release it to the public!
So now you can finally gain access to this incredible training course.
Here Is What Is Included In The Explosive Speed Training Program
Explosive Speed Training Guide
The guide will walk you through the entire
Explosive Speed Training Workout.
We give you a step-by-step workout to follow,
making it as easy as possible for you to get the best
results .
We show you what exercises to do each day and the
amount of sets and reps to do of each exercise as
Inside the Explosive Speed Training Guide
you will discover:
to develop and improve your Sprinting Mechanics
most effective Plyometric Exercises to perform to
increase your speed and quickness
most critical Speed Acceleration drills you should be doing to help you
develop lightning quick speed
complete Strength Program that target the most
important muscles involved in creating dynamic "Game
simple "5 Minute Core Workout" that will make you a
more complete athlete
Explosive Speed Training Program Videos
The training videos will walk you through each
workout so you can see exactly how each exercise and
drill is done and the proper form to use.
These videos are critical for your success because
many athletes unknowingly perform their training
exercises incorrectly and it hinders their results and
can lead to injury.
These training videos will ensure that you are
completing your training correctly and lead to better
You will be able to watch each workout performed by
a trained specialist which you can then follow along with to perform
your training correctly.
Explosive Speed Program
Training Logs
It is very important with any training program to
be keeping track of your performance.
To make sure you have an easy way to track your
sets, reps and weight used we have also included
Training Logs.
Simply take these training logs to the gym with you
and you will be able to easily track your workouts and
be able to chart your progression.
It Doesn't Matter If You Are The Slowest Person On Your Team...Our Program WILL Help Turn You Into A New Athlete!
The Explosive Speed Training Program approaches speed training like few other programs do.
The program consists of 3 workouts per week with each taking around 45-60 minutes. Each workout builds on the previous one and they change every 3 weeks.
Our workouts take a comprehensive approach to speed training and include:
The easiest and quickest way to increase your acceleration is to correct your form. With this in mind we start out the training by showing you the proper postural alignment to quickly correct your mistakes and instantly increase your acceleration speed.
This quick fix is often ignored in other speed training programs and is costing you speed!
Just as your acceleration profile is very important, so is your sprinting mechanics. This is another way to quickly increase your speed by correcting any improper mechanics. We provide a list of easy to follow drills to help improve your sprinting mechanics so you can reach your full speed potential.
Each workout includes our top speed drills for you to complete. These drills will focus on increasing your acceleration in a way that will translate to your sport.
They will help you become faster, accelerate quicker and react more explosively.
Proper plyometric exercises are one of the best types of training for athletes looking to increase their "game speed" and explosiveness and you must be doing them.
Our workout includes the most effective plyometric exercises for increasing speed, acceleration, and reaction.
Explosive speed and acceleration requires a lot of muscle power. In order to increase that muscle power you MUST be doing strength training. There is no way around it.
Our workouts include strength training exercises that focus on the most important muscles when it comes to speed and acceleration.
As you can see, our Explosive Speed
Training Program leaves no stone unturned.
We provide you with
everything you need to be successful with our training
We show you what to do, how to do it, and when to do it! No "guess work", no "trial and error".
Simple As That!
But don't just take my word for it...
See What Other Athletes Have To Say About
Our Training Programs!
"My 40 Time Should Be In The Mid 4.5s"
Hey Kurt..
I can honestly say today was nearly one of the most intense workouts I have ever experienced.. I attend Northwestern College in Orange City Iowa and am playing college football here. I know quite a bit about fitness and your program covers all areas of what I was looking for. I have done plios for hours and many other things to try to lower my 40 time.
I can already tell after how intense the workout I had today was that after 55 days are complete my 40 time
should be in the mid 4.5s. I play safety here and currently am a freshman trying to compete for the starting spot. I appreciate your program and support.
God Bless Kurt...if you have any other secrets I'd love to hear them and learn from you
Orange City, Iowa
I Want YOU To Finally Get The Results YOU Deserve
At this point I am sure you can see that this training program is exactly what you have been looking for and is what you need to become the athlete you have always wanted to be!
But how much is it going to cost?
Well, when you add up the value of the Explosive Speed Training Program, the Training Videos, and the Training Logs...
I could easily charge $97 for this type of training.
But, I am NOT going to do that!
The reason why I develop these kinds of training programs is to help athletes just like yourself become the BEST PLAYER they can be.
I am sick and tired of seeing athletes waste their time and all their hard work using ineffective and improperly designed training programs!
So I am going to make sure that everyone can afford the Explosive Speed training Program and offer it to you for ONLY $47!
I am sure you can see what an incredible deal this is! For about the same price as a video game you can get the entire Explosive Speed Training Program and finally take your "Game Speed" to the next level!
And if that wasn't already the most incredible deal you have seen, I am going to take out all the risk and let you...
Try Out The Explosive Speed Training Program For A Full 60 Days At No Risk To You!
I am so confident that the Explosive Speed Training Program will increase your speed and acceleration like nothing you have ever tried before that I am going to offer you a...
60 Day Money Back Guarantee
We stand behind every training product we sell because we know how effective they are and the great results you will see.
Therefore, we give you a full 60 days to try out the training program with no risk to you.
At anytime during the first 60 days if you feel like you are not getting the results you were hoping for you can return the training program for a Full Refund.
It's Time To Finally Take Your Speed and Acceleration To New Levels!
The opportunity to finally become a faster, more explosive athlete is looking you right in the face!
If you are like most athletes out there you have wasted tons of money on speed training courses that left you with little or no results.
Chances are you have wasted hours and hours of hard work, time at the gym and the opportunity to increase your speed.
Well, that ends TODAY!
The Explosive Speed Training Program will put you on the right path to finally becoming a faster, more explosive athlete. Stop wasting your training and hard work and get on a training program that will show you how to train to become faster the right way!
Let's Get Started!
Kurt! I am ready...
I want to start increasing my speed, acceleration and quickness starting today.
I am going to get the Explosive Speed Training Guide, Training Videos and Training Logs.
I understand that this is a digital product that will be available online. I will get instant access to all the training materials and can get started with the training program today!
Order Today For...$97
Only $47!
Add To Cart
Best of success,
Kurt Howard
P.S. If you are sick and tired of struggling to increase your speed, acceleration and quickness then today is the day you turn it around. Imagine the look on your teammates and coaches faces when you show up with your new found blazing speed and quickness!
P.P.S. With our 60 day money back guarantee you have nothing to lose! Try the program for 60 days and if you do not get the results you were looking for we will give you a full 100% refund of your purchase!
P.P.P.S. I can not guarantee how long the Explosive Speed Training Program will be available at this price. The only way to make sure you get the introductory price is to order right now!
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text:
At a recent workshop that I was teaching, a question was asked about how the grounded conductor was to be installed and used when routed from the outside utility transformer to service equipment located inside the facility. Would the grounded conductor have to be isolated at the service equipment and an additional equipment-grounding conductor have to be pulled and bonded at the utility transformer and service enclosure? The person asking the question said that the utility representative told him that the National Electrical Safety Code (NESC) required this type of installation. So, I've decided to discuss the use of the grounded conductor on the supply side of the service.
Grounded conductor
Section 250.142(A)(1) in the 2011 National Electrical Code (NEC) permits the grounded conductor to be used to bond and ground the utility transformer and the service equipment as well as other components. I told the questioner that he might have misunderstood what the utility person really asked him to do. In more than 40 years of designing, installing and inspecting electrical systems, I have never had a utility person tell me to isolate the grounded conductor in the service-disconnecting means. In fact, the utilities that I have worked with would not allow an equipment-grounding conductor to be pulled with the ungrounded conductors and a grounded conductor be used as the bonding means and return path for fault current to travel over, should one develop. Additionally, the grounded conductor can be used as a neutral and provide a bonding scheme and an effective ground-fault path. Naturally, the neutral must be calculated as required in Sections 220.61, 230.42(A)(1) Ex., and 310.15(B)(5). An industrial calculation example is outlined in Annex D3(a) on page 806 of the NEC.
Calculating the size of the neutral
Section 220.61 calculates the neutral load in amperes, and Section 310.15(B)(5)(c) is used to determine if the neutral is considered a current-carrying conductor. Section 220.61 requires the neutral to be sized based on the greater load from any one ungrounded-phase conductor. Section 230.41(A)(1) Ex. is applied if the designer seeks to size the neutral at 100 percent of the load instead of 125 percent of the maximum neutral load based on any one phase. Annex D explains that the neutral is not connected to an overcurrent-protective device, so in normal operation, it is not trying to trip a circuit breaker or open a fuse due to an overload, short circuit or ground-fault condition. The 125 percent rule per 230.42(A)(1) does not have to be applied because the overcurrent-protective device is not required to be reduced to 80 percent of its rating. On a 4-wire, three-phase wye system, the nonlinear load on the neutral must not contain more than the major portion of such load. Most designers consider this value to be more than 50 percent of the neutral loading. See Section 400.5(A) for an example.
Grounding transformer and service
The transformer is grounded outside per Section 250.24(A)(2) and Section 90 of the NESC. The service equipment must be grounded in accordance with Section 250.24(A). Section 250.24(C) requires that the grounded conductor be run to each disconnecting means that is classified as service equipment. This grounded conductor must be terminated in the service equipment at the same point as the grounding-electrode conductor used to ground all the neutrals and -equipment-grounding conductors related to the load-side circuits.
Grounded conductor routing
The grounded conductor per Section 250.24(C) requires the grounded conductor to be routed with the phase conductors from the transformer to the service equipment. The general rule of routing circuits is outlined in NEC Sections 300.3(B), 300.5(I), 250.134(B), 250.102(E), and 300.20.
Sizing grounded conductors
Section 250.24(C)(1) outlines the requirements for sizing the grounded conductor when it is used for bonding purposes, ground fault path and for neutral loads. First, size the neutral to carry the neutral load as required in Section 220.61. Second, size the grounded conductor based on the largest ungrounded conductor for any one phase. Then apply Table 250.66. For example, 4/0 AWG THWN service conductors per Table 250.66 requires a 2 AWG conductor to be selected. If the neutral is calculated to be a 4 AWG THWN copper, the larger of the two sizes must be used. So a 2 AWG copper conductor must be selected. This conductor bonds (bonds together), grounds (fault-current return path) and serves as a neutral conductor as permitted in Section 250.142(A)(1).
Sections outlined in this article permit the grounded conductor to be used to perform three functions on the supply side of the service-disconnecting means without the use of an equipment-grounding conductor.
In the next issue, I will discuss the grounding of separately derived systems using the grounded conductor for bonding and grounding on the supply side.
STALLCUP is the CEO of Grayboy Inc., which develops and authors publications for the electrical industry and specializes in classroom training on the National Electrical Code and other standards, including those from OSHA. Contact him at 817.581.2206.


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Opentaps Icebird ERP
The name of the company and people in this case study has been changed at the company's request to preserve its anonymity.
Icebird Corp. is a family-owned manufacturing company based in the United States. Originally founded in the 1950's, it has grown to three business units with nearly 200 employees at multiple facilities, thanks to its ability to control costs, launch new products quickly, and capture highly profitable market niches before its competitors. Today, the company processes over 100,000 orders per year for its customers, many of them for complex and customized products.
As Icebird grew, it found itself weighed down by an outdated ERP system. The company's ERP system was originally written in RPG for the IBM System/36 mainframe and then converted to run on an IBM AS/400 about ten years ago. Most of the programs still ran in a virtualized System/36 environment with all data stored in flat files, while new code was been written in the AS/400 environment for the IBM DB2 database. New modules were also written in LANSA, .NET, and PHP were added, causing Icebird's data to be spread over multiple applications and several databases, including DB2, MySQL, and pre-SQL flat file databases. In addition, each of the nearly 100 users of the system needed a client side mainframe terminal application installed to access the ERP system. The maintenance of the AS/400 plus all the applications, databases, and client access software eventually took four full time people.
This complicated quilt of software and hardware was increasingly unable to meet key business needs. As the business grew and acquired other companies, their information was kept and run as separate companies. Commonly used data, such as customer information, were duplicated in various modules. Other key information, such as several hundred customers' pricing contracts, simply could not be maintained in the system at all and had to be kept in paper binders. When customer service representatives entered orders, they had to look up the pricing manually. Finally and most importantly, the system simply could not adapt quickly enough to meet Icebird's needs as business conditions changed.
As a result, Icebird's general manager, Stanley, decided in 2007 it was time to look for a better solution. His key goal was to find an ERP system which would work for Icebird over the long haul: "The main issue was we wanted something that would last a long time and we could use to continually improve our business." Stanley and Icebird had learned about open source from Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP, and they felt that open source was the right answer for an ERP solution. Again, according to Stanley: "I believed the open source is the best choice for many types of enterprise software. Google can build a great email application because people are willing to agree on what an email application should look like. It's hard for one vendor to build a great ERP system because it's harder to agree on how an ERP should function, what features it should have, and how it should look. The only way to build a great ERP is to make it easily customizable so that the business using it can adapt it to their specific needs. Clearly, a good way to achieve that is to make it open source."
In contrast, commercial or proprietary software didn't appeal to Stanley, even with all the fancy marketing, because he couldn't really know what was going on: "I hated the idea of buying software I couldn't touch without a consultant standing over my shoulder. Most proprietary vendors don't even show screen shots. When they do demos their always driven by a sales person that only highlights the positives and doesn't really let you dig into the functionality behind the application. I did not want to build my business on an application where I couldn't assess the development effort supporting the project. Proprietary applications can be abandoned by their company and you can't really assess that before you buy. With an open source project it's easy to tell if there is enthusiasm behind the project and you can decide if it's heading in the right direction by reviewing how it's developed over time. Beyond that, because an ERP is open source your developers may evaluate how complicated it will be to customize and there will likely be extensive public documentation on the application. "
After evaluating several open-source ERP solutions, Icebird selected opentaps Open Source ERP + CRM. Important considerations were opentaps's ease of use and customizability. The ease-of-use turned out to be a key contributor to opentaps's success at Icebird, because the company's internal IT team was able to learn much of opentaps's functionality without formal training and in turn help business users transition to the new system. In addition, Icebird also liked the fact that opentaps is a web-based ERP system, because with opentaps it would be able to eliminate expensive client-side software.
Working with its internal team of programmers, Open Source Strategies, Inc., the project manager for opentaps, and a second consulting company, Icebird implemented opentaps during 2008 and went live in the final quarter of 2008. After its first year with opentaps, Icebird found the following improvements:
Consolidated IT Infrastructure
Icebird was able to replace all its old ERP applications with opentaps and do away with all its legacy databases and programming languages. Along with this change, Icebird consolidated its IT infrastructure, reducing the total number of servers from 12 to 7. The IBM Mainframe and four Windows servers were eliminated altogether. In addition, because opentaps is web-based, Icebird was able to eliminate the costly client-side software which it used before with its old AS/400 ERP system, and employees are now able to access its opentaps-based ERP system through the web using a VPN. As an additional benefit, employees could now work from home through the VPN and the web. Finally, Icebird went a step further and replaced its Windows infrastructure with Mac and Linux desktops. The combination of eliminating the AS/400 system, Windows desktops, and client-side access software has helped Icebird save $100,000 per year.
Helped Cut $1.5 Million in Operating Expenses
In the midst of the severe economic recession in 2009, opentaps has helped Icebird trim $1.5 million in operating expenses. "We automated specific tasks in finance, marketing, customer service and order entry because of opentaps," explains Stanley, the general manager of Icebird. For example, Icebird's internal team of programmers was able to consolidate its customer data in opentaps, eliminating duplicate data, reducing the number of steps required to process orders, and reduce the cost of errors associated with them. They were also able to customize existing features in opentaps to support Icebird's contract pricing, again eliminating expensive paper-based processes.
Taking Icebird Global
With opentaps, Icebird was able to integrate several new offshore partners with its US-based operations. Orders could now be taken in the US and immediately become available to partners for value-added processing. Employees at Icebird headquarters, including customer service representatives, could view status of orders in real time as they are processed offshore. When the offshore partners' work is finished, the orders could then be routed back to Icebird's US-based facilities for completion. As a result, even though they are located half the world apart, Icebird and its partners could work together as part of one team. opentaps's easy web based user interface and multi-lingual translations helped make this integration possible. According to Stanley, "One of our business partners told us opentaps is significantly easier to use than any SAP or Oracle installation they ever touched... [The business partner] learned opentaps so fast that we were able to purely focus on the key issues instead of wasting energy trying to train offshore people how to use our ERP."


text:
I am Hoping For Good Lueke
You want to toss it into the barrel that in our own youth some of us have our own incidents or times that things went terribly wrong. That some situation in our own personal lives had gone so sideways you felt you might fall off the face of the Earth. For new Tampa Bay Rays RHP Josh Luekes, I am hoping wisdom definitely was garnered with his past ugliness.
Episodes like this either defines a person or changes them in such a way that similar behaviors never darken their door again. Then there are other who denote that behaviors like this induce a pattern, a way of thinking outside the game, and that they might be damaged good forever. I am hoping the gray area in Lueke's past is now set in primal black and white with no shades of darkness.
When I heard the Tampa Bay Rays traded their former lead-off catcher, double-J, John Jaso, I hoped it was for a player of caliber. Heck, when Lueke was included in the Texas Rangers tally sheet in their 2009 mid-season acquisition of Cliff Lee, I thought maybe there was hidden pitching pedigree or dominance not seen on the scouting report, but back then in mid 2009 neither I, or the M's knew the full extent of the horrendous incident.
To paraphrase TV serial killer Dexter Morgan, Lueke has his own dark passenger, a past incident that will haunt and proceed him where ever he ventures for the rest of his life. This past transgression of Lueke is not as simple as a minor traffic accident or can be tossed under the carpet. This horrific incident happened, and Lueke was brought to justice and judged.
Back in May 2008. Lueke was charged with rape and sodomy after an incident at his Bakersfield, California apartment. After his arrest and several weeks in jail, Lueke plead no contest to the charge of unlawful imprisonment with violence and was sentenced to 40 days in prison. Lueke was released with time served since he had already served more than that time period awaiting his fate on the more severe charges. The woman passed out in an apartment shared by Lueke and another Texas minor league prospect, and DNA was discovered on the woman after she awoke and found a few pieces of her clothing removed.
What bothers me most here is that the Rays as an organization are now in that vicarious spot of bringing in a player of questionable past exploits, and who's past could/could not have that focus attached to him for his entire Rays tenure effecting him both on and off the field. This incident is not like former Ray OF Elijah Dukes and his Baby's Mama drama, this was a crime of violence against a woman who entered Lueke's Bakersfield, California apartment back in May 2008 and left battered and emotionally scarred.
Lueke has possibly stayed the right course of actions, including the counseling route since the incident. Walked the right path since that episode, but this kind of action follows you even on the field. This kind of man-handling tends to make some of us nervous (myself included) and cautious even if Lueke could throw a devastating 98+ heater. It makes me overly protective of any young fan or female who might venture Lueke's way before, during or after a game.
I want to be open-minded and think with the rationale of religious forgiveness, but being the father of 2 girls Lueke's past actions have me skeptical right now. Sure there was talk of the woman in question in this incident possibly making the matter moot by partying and cavorting with Lueke and other players at a local watering hole that fateful night, but that thinking died in my mind the moment things turned ugly. Lest we forget, pleading no contest in a court of law is just another verbage of pleading guilty, only in this manner you do not have to admit guilt. Some say this reduction in the charge was made to offset a possible civil matter which would have ballooned had Lueke been found guilty by a jury of his peers.
I am perplexed to say the least with this move. This is a 180 degree twist of the usual Rays logic of propriety and responsible behavior. It goes against all of the usual risk management nuances of this franchise by taking on a player who has a high degree of risk with high potential for backlash and criticism. The Rays in their past dealings have set a high-caliber example with regards to character and chemistry with players entering the sacred Rays fold. In that manner this trade has me feeling a bit odd, possibly wondering if Lueke's upside outweighed the flexing controversy. Maybe it is my veiled belief that sometimes people do not change, they just find better hiding places for their transgressions.
I want to believe in Lueke as a ballplayer, but for some reason his dark blemish within his life inhibits that total hue of optimism for me right now. Lueke said during a recent conference call he hopes "that eventually ( the incident) just goes away and people quit judging on what their hearing and actually get to know him and they can make their own opinion".
I want to believe he might recite the Serenity Prayer daily, open doors for every women in Tampa Bay and has embraced a total vow of renewed respect for the fairer sex. Hopefully Lueke has figured out the Rays are banking their reputation on him, and he doesn't let them or us down ever again…..on or off the field.
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Merry Christmas


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It is not the pain from exercise that is good for you- that's just your muscles complaining that they've been worked out. Now it may be a good sign for your health, but the pain is *not* what is good for you, the exercise is. BDSM fetishizes pain itself, says pain is good, can be good. Pain is not good for you, even if it is a sign of having exercised well, it in itself does you no good. It is the body's warning. And it goes without saying (or should!) that exercise pain is itself a different feeling to pain from injury.My only answer is something very personal. I don't pretend this is science, or even that I or my opinions on this are all that usual.
I know BDSMers use the term 'pain play'. That doesn't mean I accept the phrase as valid. I don't. Pain is not play.
I've been through hell and back. Chronic pain is a daily occurrence in my life. I'm scarred and torn and put back together.
And what happened when all that occurred? Dissociation. Psychic death to spare myself the agony. Numbness. Pulling away from everything, and incapacity to feel.
Nerves are working or they aren't. What do they do when they work? Signal pain or signal pleasure.
Pain and pleasure are a package deal. Pain and pleasure are what you get when you choose to live.
Some people seem to think the choice in life is between pleasure and pain. It's some great battle, demons arrayed on one side, howling and charred, and angels rising sun-kissed on the other, wings glistening.
And when Patriarchy falls or when trauma releases its hold, Pain will die and life will be soft and pure for always.
I don't see it that way. I know how to kill pain, and the same off switch that kills pain kills pleasure.
When I chose the long process of healing rather than staying numb or suicide, I chose it all. I chose pain and pleasure as a package deal.
I chose to live, and choosing to live meant choosing to feel.
There is no magic land where life is free of suffering. Refusing to allow it to ever have positive significance is fine if it helps you, but that doesn't make it go away.
Pain and pleasure together have a name.
It's not a difficult name. It's not a strange name. It's not even a multisyllabic name. It's a nice and short little name that feels good in the mouth and on the lips and tongue.
That name is life.