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ARSC T3E Users' Newsletter 129, November 7, 1997
San Jose Bound
SC97 begins in 10 days! Everyone is invited to stop by ARSC's booth, number R211.
Come by and meet some of the staff: Guy Robinson, our MPP Specialist who hails from England, Sergei Maurits our Visualization Specialist in the Scientific Services area, from Russia, and Roger Edberg our newest Visualization Specialist, moved up from Australia. ARSC truly is a melting pot of fantastic resources, human and hardware alike.
We're changing and we'd love to tell you about our upgraded facility. Improvements include: a new kiosk for our visitor display area, a complete video production lab with 2 SGI supercomputers, and an upgrade to our latest CRAY, the T3E named Yukon. Yukon now has 90 450 MHz processors and 23 GB RAM available to user applications.
We are also working with a new 3D projector. We hope to debut a demo tape with 3D visualizations on it from our Scientific Services area. Sergei Maurits with the help of Art professor Bill Brody and Computer Science professor Chris Hartman are showcasing some of the scientific research and engineering of our users.
VAMPIR has recently been installed on the ARSC T3E and SGI workstation network. VAMPIR was developed by a number of partners and is sold by PALLAS, more information on the background of the tool can be found at
It provides an interactive graphical interface for the investigation of post mortem traces generated by MPI programs.
Users compile their MPI programs with VAMPIR's tracing options enabled and link with routines to process this information. The tracefile generated at runtime is viewed later on a workstation, where the user can interactively investigate the activity of processors and the messages being exchanged.
VAMPIR provides a highly detailed view of the message passing efficiency of an MPI code. It points out exactly those events on which the processor is waiting, and can, for instance, help you determine exactly why your program spends 40% of its time parked at an MPI_BARRIER or MPI_RECV.
For comparison, Apprentice and PAT are more oriented to single processor performance. They give detailed summaries of the activity of individual routines and, for the MPI programmer, can help determine whether or not excessive time is being spent in MPI_RECV or MPI_BARRIER. They don't, however, provide VAMPIR's level detail.
Such detail can help users isolate poorly performing parts of programs or compare the behaviour of different algorithms. Several ARSC users have already investigated code performance and made improvements which have increased code performance on the T3E.
Several steps are required to use VAMPIR. First the user must set up his or her environments:
For VAMPIRtrace generation from MPI programs on the ARSC T3E.
T3E: PAL_LICENSEFILE=/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace/etc/license.dat PAL_ROOT=/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace
To view tracefiles on an ARSC SGI workstation.
SGI: PAL_LICENSEFILE=/usr/local/vampir/etc/license.dat PAL_ROOT=/usr/local/vampir Add to your $PATH: /usr/local/vampir/bin/R4K-OS5
Next, compile programs on the T3E so that the instrumented MPI library is used. This is achieved as follows:
Compile with: "-I/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace/include", for instance: yukon% f90 -c -I/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace/include prog.f
Then, link with the necessary libraries, " -L/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace/lib -lVT -lpmpi -lmpi ", for instance:
yukon% f90 -L/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace/lib -lVT -lpmpi -lmpi -o prog prog.o
Note, I have found it useful to set the following aliases:
vamf90c (f90 -c -I/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace/include) vamf90l (f90 -L/usr/local/pkg/VAMPIRtrace/lib -lVT -lpmpi -lmpi)
The tracefile generating MPI library and the final generation of the file do not add considerably to the program runtime or change the behaviour but as with all tools it is recommended that users do not run in production mode with these options enabled. (Also for a long run tracefiles can be large.)
Next, run as usual using mpprun:
yukon% mpprun -n 4 ./prog
Which results in a file containing the trace information which has the extension .bpv , prog.bpv in this case. This file must now be transfered to the SGI system where it can be viewed with VAMPIR.
sgi% vampir prog.bpv
This brings up VAMPIR's GUI, and puts the user in a position to start examining the performance of the program. VAMPIR first appears as a small command window and the user can select complete history from the file menu to complete processing of the file and to view the entire program's behaviour. The user can then display the following information about the program from the "Global-displays" menu:
- "global node" view shows how much time each node spends in different parts of the program. - "global chart" view displays the same information but in pie chart format. - "global timeline" display a timeline showing each processor's activity as a variously coloured horizontal bar.
As an example, we offer a simple overseer/worker montecarlo code developed as a first solution to a complex problem of ocean acoustics. The early version showed anomalous performance at high processor numbers.
Using VAMPIR it was quickly seen that the workload on each processor was reduced as the number of worker processors was increased and that the time taken to load data onto the overseer became dominant. The VAMPIR global timeline screen for this example is shown here:
and pointed out the problem. In this graph, the user code activity is coloured green (green is good) and waiting time in MPI routines is coloured red (red is bad!). The topmost line shows the overseer processor and the lower lines the worker activity. The graph leads us to conclude that the workers are idle while the overseer is reading in the next data and that the overseer is idle while the workers are processing data.
Armed with this information, the code's performance was improved by making a simple ordering change in the overseer processor so that the next data packet was read in while the workers were computing results from the previous packet. Using VAMPIR, we can visualize this improvement, as shown in this graph:
This example shows how easy it can be to investigate and determine the reasons why programs are not performing as expected. VAMPIR is particularly useful in cases where there are tuning issues such as relative work-packet sizes and control structures.
This article is only intended to give a basic introduction to this powerful and useful tool. More information can be found about the VAMPIRtrace library on yukon in
and about the VAMPIR GUI on the SGI network in
In addition, ARSC is offering VAMPIR training on December 10th (next article).
T3E Tools Class to be Broadcast via the MBone, Dec. 10
VAMPIR, Apprentice, Totalview, and PAT should become familiar to the MPP programmer. By using these tools effectively, we can craft superior algorithms and efficient programs and possibly get more work done in less time.
In light of the importance of these tools, ARSC will broadcast its T3E Tools course, via the MBone, for the benefit of our many remote users and the wider community. For details on the course, please see:
(If you intend to "tune in," please let us know with a quick note to: email@example.com . Thanks!)
For those unfamiliar with the MBone, or the IP-Multicast Backbone, it enables real-time video and audio to be broadcast over the internet. If your site is MBone-capable, you may observe, or join, these broadcasts, at your workstation. If not, you may want to prod your sysadmin. A wide variety of broadcasts have been available recently, for instance, PSC's 3-day T3E course last May, NASA's Mars Pathfinder press conferences, and an ARSC/UA lecture on teraflops computing last August.
For more information on the MBone, see:
Case Study: LES, C++, and Pseudo-Spectral Methods
[ Many thanks to Steve de Bruyn Kops of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Washington for this article. It's great to hear how MPP programmers are using C++, not to mention how they approach various problems and benefit from hardware upgrades. ]
Our project is large eddy simulation (LES) of a turbulent flame in order to develop subgrid-scale chemistry models. The experimental data, however, is none too detailed, and it proved difficult to sort out modeling errors versus simulation initialization errors. With the installation of the 512 PE T3E at PSC, it became possible to do a direct (no modeling) numerical simulation (DNS) of the flow, and thus, a three-way comparison between the lab data, the DNS, and the LES. The DNS also provides data at all spatial locations and all times, which allows for detailed validation of the LES. The problem became one of developing initial fields for the DNS which match the laboratory data.
At about the same time as the T3E at PSC came on line, ARSC changed the YMP-T3D charging ratio from 40:1 to 100:1, which was a help to us, and users started migrating to the ARSC T3E, yukon. Also, we knew that, while the reacting scalar simulation would require a larger domain to resolve the scalar fields, the velocity field could be studied in a 384^3 domain, which just barely fits on the ARSC T3D, denali. Thus, denali became the best machine on which to develop the velocity field.
Lab data is available for the flow at three widely spaced downstream locations in the wind tunnel. To advance a simulation to the third data point requires about 4000 time steps. So just developing the initial fields entails major simulations. After 4 attempts, a field was found which evolved almost exactly the same as the laboratory data.
The code uses pseudo-spectral methods so we can use Cray's PSCFFT3D routine for most of the work. From "man PSCFFT3D" on yukon:
PSCFFT3D, PCSFFT3D - Applies a three-dimensional (3D) real-to-complex or complex-to-real Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to a matrix distributed across a set of processors.
Consequently, we don't have to worry about coding much of the inter-PE communication, which takes place within PSCFFT3D (about 75% of the runtime is spent in the highly optimized library routines). We use shmem for what little communication we do explicitly.
Most of the code is written in C++. We developed a Field class which ' knows ' how to manipulate a 3D field of data, ie, read, write, FFT, take derivatives, sort, compute its statistics, ... . Daughter classes add appropriate functions for velocity fields and scalar fields. The main simulation class binds 3 velocity fields, some number of scalar fields, and the appropriate chemistry functions and tells them to do their thing. The code is great at a few things:
- post-processing routines are often less than 10 lines since the base classes already know how to do most things.
- a code revision automatically propagates to all simulation and post-processing codes upon recompilation. No time wasted fixing the same code twice.
- memory management is efficient. The main arrays in the big simulations are 1GB and various routines need work arrays. In our fortran codes, we have a pool of arrays like tmp1, tmp2, ... . Subroutine A needs 1 tmp and calls B which needs 2. But subroutine C uses 2 tmps and calls B. Efficient use of work arrays in code shared between simulations with different sub-models plus post-processing code is tough. In C++, work arrays are dynamically allocated the first time used and then returned to a pool, which is managed by the constructor and destructor for the Field class. Work arrays are completely transparent and the minimum number needed are automatically allocated by all simulation and post-processing routines. Also, the work Fields always have meaningful names since they are declared locally. One problem with the code:
- it is easy to call several class functions (such as one to multiply and one to add) and thereby cycle data through the CPU twice. The optimization that comes with the comparable F90 array operators is not available. However, most of the run time is consumed by a small fraction of the code, which are easily coded explicitly. The classes allow us to quickly put together a new algorithm which will be bug free. Once it is tested, we optimize as the profiler dictates.
Below are some timing data for:
- -T3E/450MHz/256MB w/ streams
- -T3E/450MHz/256MB w/o streams
- -T3E/300MHz/128MB w/o streams
Some explanatory notes:
- Results for the smallest number of PE's possible (2 on the T3E and 8 on the T3D) are shown, followed by larger domains.
- In a pseudo-spectral code, to compute A x B = C, where A, B, and C are fields in spectral space and x denotes a point-wise multiply, A and B must be transformed to real space to get A' and B', and multiplied to get C'. Then C' must be transformed back to spectral space to get C. Finally, A and B must be recovered. If memory is tight, another set of transforms is done, ie, A' -> A and B'->B. Otherwise, A and B can be cached at the start of the operation and then restored from the saved values. Our code dynamically determines which method to use. This explains the speedup between 2 and 4 PE's on the T3E. The effect is less noticeable on the T3D.
- We have no idea how many flops are executed by PSCFFT3D/PCSFFT3D, so we can't translate the timing data to MFLOPS.
- Speed-up reported below is uses the T3D 8PE run as its basis.
------------------------------------------------------------------ T3E/450MHz/256MB, set_d_stream(3), set_i_stream(3) # PE's Elapsed PE-secs Sys CPU Rmt CPU I/O Wait Speed- Seconds Seconds Seconds Seconds Up ==== =========== ========== ========== ========== ========= ====== 2 1126.43 2216.43 23.51 0.37 11.25 0.8 4 552.86 2174.75 22.45 0.45 11.64 1.7 8 294.91 2318.40 24.24 0.72 12.61 3.3 16 170.26 2670.20 26.92 1.24 15.89 5.6 ------------------------------------------------------------------ T3E/450MHz/256MB, set_d_stream(0), set_i_stream(0) # PE's Elapsed PE-secs Sys CPU Rmt CPU I/O Wait Speed- Seconds Seconds Seconds Seconds Up ==== =========== ========== ========== ========== ========= ======= 2 1434.42 2820.67 33.71 0.32 12.24 0.7 4 707.33 2782.13 32.79 0.46 11.70 1.3 8 373.72 2937.32 34.93 0.75 12.17 2.6 16 209.60 3289.65 38.33 1.27 14.33 4.3 -------------------------------------------------------------------- T3E/300MHz/128MB, set_d_stream(0), set_i_stream(0) #PE's Elapsed PE-secs Sys CPU I/O Wait I/O Wait Speed- Seconds Seconds Sec Lck Sec Unlck Up ==== =========== ========== ========== ======== ========== ======= 4 781.22 3082.03 29.03 0.38 5.34 1.2 8 412.06 3238.79 31.94 0.62 7.69 2.3 16 228.58 3576.43 34.93 1.08 11.27 4.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------- T3D #PE's Elapsed PE-secs Sys CPU I/O Wait I/O Wait Speed- Seconds Seconds Sec Lck Sec Unlck Up ==== =========== ========== ========== ======== ========== ======= 8 959.7239 7677.79 3.8669 14.8242 8.1991 1.0 16 525.5505 8408.81 7.0130 10.2716 4.7618 1.8 32 314.6483 10068.75 29.2128 10.2543 11.5604 3.0 64 221.4970 14175.81 58.3187 5.7765 12.4596 4.3
Quick-Tip Q & A
A: {{ Fortran 90 programmers: what does this do, and why? cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc program junk integer j(10), i do 100 i = 1, 10 j(i) = i 100 continue do 200 i = 1. 10 j(i) = j(i) + i * 100 200 continue print*, j end cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccccc }} # Well, it compiles and runs: # $ f90 junk.f # $ ./a.out # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 # # but the result probably isn't what was intended. # # The typing error didn't produce a syntax error, which is surprising # unless you know that Fortran (yes, even Fortran 90), # 1) ignores spaces, and # 2) unless told otherwise, uses implicit type declaration. # # Trying to compile with IMPLICIT NONE shows us what happened: # $ f90 -eI junk.f # # do 200 i = 1. 10 # ^ # # cf90-1171 f90: ERROR JUNK, File = junk.f, Line = 9, Column = 8 # An explicit type must be specified for object "DO200I", because -eI, # the IMPLICIT NONE command line option is specified. # # cf90: Cray CF90 Version 22.214.171.124 (f18p45m332a39) Mon Nov 3, 1997 11:32:12 # cf90: COMPILE TIME 0.119398 SECONDS # cf90: MAXIMUM FIELD LENGTH 1288864 DECIMAL WORDS # cf90: 15 SOURCE LINES # cf90: 1 ERRORS, 0 WARNINGS, 0 OTHER MESSAGES, 0 ANSI # cf90: CODE: 0 WORDS, DATA: 0 WORDS # # # Without IMPLICIT NONE, the code declares a real variable, "do200i", # defines it, # do200i = 1.10 # and the compiler optimizes it out of existence. # # But what about the next assignment: # j(i) = j(i) + i * 100 # Recompiling with array bounds checking gives a clue: # # $ f90 -Rb junk.f # $ ./a.out # # lib-1961 ./a.out: WARNING # Subscript 11 is out of range for dimension 1 for array # 'J' at line 10 in file 'junk.f' with bounds 1:10. # 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 # # Unfortunately, this array bounds error does not crash the program, and # the array j is not changed. The incorrect results are returned, et # voila... # # The suggestion is clear, always use IMPLICIT NONE and/or -eI. # Q: In this age of high-school hackers and down-loadable password cracking programs, we are rightly asked to invent difficult, uncrackable passwords. They should contain strange characters. They should NOT be the names of our ex-girlfriends, ex-boyfriends, or cars. We should not recycle them, and we should NEVER write them down! How do you invent and remember good passwords!? ** Does this Sound Familiar? ** "In the office where I work, there are two categories of technology cluttering up the place. Category one: very expensive, ultra-high- performance computers. Category two: bicycles. The frighteningly clever people who work there have made clever and rational decisions about appropriate technology, and that's what they've come up with: computers and bicycles." [ Taken from a news article looking at technology... ]
[ Answers, questions, and tips graciously accepted. ]
Current Editors:
E-mail Subscriptions:
Ed Kornkven ARSC HPC Specialist ph: 907-450-8669 Kate Hedstrom ARSC Oceanographic Specialist ph: 907-450-8678 Arctic Region Supercomputing Center University of Alaska Fairbanks PO Box 756020 Fairbanks AK 99775-6020
Subscribe to (or unsubscribe from) the e-mail edition of the
ARSC HPC Users' Newsletter.
Back issues of the ASCII e-mail edition of the ARSC T3D/T3E/HPC Users' Newsletter are available by request. Please contact the editors.


text: Rose Print Ruffle Scarf Style: 570064075 Out of Stock Love it? Everyone else did too. This item sold out! Use our search tool, chat online or call 1.877.948.2525 to find something equally desirable. Ruched in the middle, flounced on the outside. Our rose print scarf in Cardinal Red is the perfect scarf to soften a neckline. 16" x 60". 100% Rayon. Imported. Read More… Share on Facebook Tweet Pin

subset: commoncrawl


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Durley, Hampshire is a quiet village between Winchester and Bishops Waltham, I used to live in Shamblehurst Lane which isn't very far from Durley. The village has had a local history society for some years now and they have now got online a transcript of the parish registers. 1562 – 1899 plus census and Hearth Tax information.
Lovely website with lots to interest genealogists and local historians alike. Well done Durley!!
Technorati Tags: Durley History Society,Hampshire,Parish Registers,Genealogy,Family History


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Family, friends and former co-workers of Tony Scott said Elizabethtown is nursing a gaping void with the death of one its most resilient residents.
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REVIEW: Despicable Me 2
As a father of three little girls, Gru (Steve Carrell) has found his place. Kissing boo-boos and putting on "Princess" parties. His once evil regime toppled by unicorns and pigtails. Even his loyal Minions have changed occupations from scientific helpers to Birthday party entertainment.
In a career slump and needing some adult supervision of his own, Gru finds himself kidnapped by a league of heroes out to thwart Super Villains wherever they might be. He is shocked to discover that instead of handcuffs, they come open hand with a job offer. Find the hidden super villain before the world is once again put into jeopardy.
Built on the success of the first film, Despicable Me 2 delivers everything a child or child-at-heart might want. The laughs work for kids and adults alike with The Minions really coming into their own. In addition, Kristen Wiig as Lucy also brings in a fun facet for Gru and the girls to play with. So if you have an "Evil" smile trying to get out, then maybe Despicable Me 2 is the proper place to let it loose!
As a note: Watching this movie in 3D is the way to go!
Grade: B+
MPAA Rating: PG
Running time: 1hr 38mins.
Movie Trailer - Despicable Me 2


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Can anyone help me remember it? It had to do with some sort of monster mansion. I played it back in elementary school. it was on the MacOS 7 / 8 computers way back then. One of the theme songs was a snippet from "Monster Mash."
Some things I remember from the game:
- It wasn't too progression centric.
- There was a mouse hole that gave you things in return for things.
- There was a vampire lady :V
- Cartoony graphics / etc. No video clips or real live actors.


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Oregon Historical County Records Guide
Clackamas County Scenic Images
Linoleum Mural
buy high resolution copy | next image
A linoleum mural in Timberline Lodge depicting skiers. (Photo No. clacD0165)
About this image
Dimensions: 2325 x 1544 pixels (300 dpi version); Date created: June 2005; Camera: Nikon D70 Digital SLR; Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED; Photographer citation: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives; Keywords/Tags: horizontal, Oregon, Clackamas County, Timberline Lodge, historic building, interior, linoleum mural, skiers, skiing, recreation, New Deal, public art, public works, Mt. Hood, Cascade Mountains, history.
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County guide home | Scenic images home


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Posted by Emily Collins on October 1, 2012
Over the past year-and-a-half, I've seen a surge of loyalty programs in the marketplace. And it's not just existing programs expanding into emerging channels or revamping their reward mix. Industries that typically shied away from loyalty programs, like utilities, media and insurance, are jumping on the bandwagon. But although marketers understand that value of identifying, retaining, and improving relationship with their best customers, their execution usually doesn't lead to lasting loyalty. Loyalty programs largely revolve around financial incentives that drive spikes in short-term behavior but don't necessarily establish deeper or long-term customer relationships.
To add to that challenge, consumers see declining value in the programs that exist in the marketplace, and if marketers want to develop better relationships with their best consumers, their programs need more differentiation. And that's where customer intelligence comes in. Loyalty programs generate a lot of customer data that often goes unused. Customer intelligence helps marketers create customer insights that improve their strategy and programs through targeting and segmentation, and customized offers. To assist marketers in applying customer intelligence and evolving their customer loyalty strategies, I'm excited to introduce Forrester's Customer Loyalty Playbook.
The Customer Loyalty Playbook lays out the path to help you establish the right framework and mature your practices around executing loyalty programs that drive long-term customer engagement and incremental value. It contains twelve reports, focusing on four key phases:


text:
New Movie by Andre Paskowski: MAGIC MOMENTS
"Magic Moments" is a short emotional clip about freestyle-professional Andre Paskowski. Watch here!
Get ready for "Rewarded", the upcoming documentary about five-times Freestyle World Champ Jose "Gollito" Estredo that will be released on October 23.
Andre Paskowski (30) is about to release a new hot windsurfing movie with his newly founded production company FRUITLOOP PRODUCTIONS. Coming out on October 23, 2012 "Rewarded" is a touching documentation about the moving life of five-times Freestyle World Champion Jose "Gollito" Estredo (23), showing the the one-of-a-kind passion and committment of Venezuelan-born pro windsurfer, who started sailing at the age of seven on Margarita Island.


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Some of the highest ranking officials in education and the U.S. Army visited North Middle School to celebrate the launch Friday of a new national program called Project PASS.
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"Sea Lion Splash" is an exciting and one of a kind traveling sea lion exhibit. Squalus Inc. was first established when Marco Peters began adopting and providing a home for sea lions who were unable to survive in the wild because of sickness, age, or injuries. Marco's passion for sea lions led him to educate the public on the need to coexist with these special marine mammals in harmony.
Thus, began the journey of the Sea Lion Splash
With our Educational sea lion facility we custom build an exhibit to fit your zoo or aquarium. We build to your specifications an educational and environmental sea lions exhibit
Facility one display several sea lions in a zoo like environment with one glass and one above ground pool together with waterfall, follges and a rock type setting.
Facility two displays our sea lions in two above ground pools connected with a large stage, several waterfalls and has oceanic theme to it.


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SHS Football Booster Club thanks community
November 20, 2012
The Summit High School Football Booster Club would like to extend our thanks to the many businesses and individuals who have supported our team this season. Many, many thanks to: Burke & Riley's, Grand Timber Lodge, The Breckenridge Building Center, the Breckenridge Restaurant Association, Sanders True Value, Cameez Frozen Yogurt, Safeway, Roman Moore & Krystal 93, Peak Provisions, Soupz On, Noodles & Company, Q4U, Walmart, Amerigas, Buck & Mary Jo Finley, Andy Webster & ALW Construction, Summit Medical Center & St. Anthony's Health Foundation, Avalanche Physical Therapy, Mike Eckenweiler, Wonder Bread, Nancy Secor Photography and the Silverthorne Pavilion. A very special thank you to Lost Cajun who donated the food for our end-of-the-season banquet and also to Q4U for providing additional food for this banquet. We feel fortunate to be a part of a community that supports our young people in such a gracious manner.


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Animeland Wasabi 2014
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:00 PM - Sunday, March 2, 2014 at 5:00 PM (MST)
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Event Details
Animeland Wasabi is the flagship event for Animeland. Come experience a "New way of anime" with access to everything anime, gaming and more. Come learn about how anime plays a part in everything pop culture and more.
Have questions about Animeland Wasabi 2014? Contact Animeland
When & Where
Crowne Plaza Denver International Airport
15500 E 40th Ave
Friday, February 28, 2014 at 12:00 PM - Sunday, March 2, 2014 at 5:00 PM (MST)
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In a 3-1 vote, the SEC voted to pass Rule FD (Fair Disclosure), which will prevent companies from privately passing market-moving information to Wall Street analysts.
Your Turn:
The Fact Sheet distributed at this morning's SEC vote sets the issue up in these words:
"On December 20, 1999, the Commission proposed new Regulation FD -- for 'fair disclosure' -- to combat selective disclosure. Selective disclosure occurs when issuers release material nonpublic information about a company to selected persons, such as securities analysts or institutional investors, before disclosing the information to the general public. This practice undermines the integrity of the securities markets and reduces investor confidence in the fairness of those markets. Selective disclosure also may create conflicts of interest for securities analysts, who may have an incentive to avoid making negative statements about an issuer for fear of losing their access to selectively disclosed information.
"Regulation FD would require that when an issuer intentionally discloses material information, it do so publicly and not selectively. The company may make the required disclosure by filing the information with the Commission, or by another method intended to reach the public on a broad, nonexclusionary basis, such as a press release. When selective disclosure of material information is made unintentionally, the company must publicly disclose the information promptly thereafter."
The Fact Sheet then notes that the proposed rule prompted an "outpouring of public comment -- nearly 6,000 comment letters. The vast majority of the comments were from individual investors who urged -- almost uniformly -- that the Commission adopt Regulation FD. These investors expressed frustration with the practice of selective disclosure, believing that it places them at a severe disadvantage in the market."
The Fact Sheet also noted that the securities industry urged the SEC to continue allowing the practice of selective disclosure.
Democracy prevailed today, and the individual won out over Wall Street. We'll cover this important event with more details in the upcoming weeks, but in the meantime, let the celebrating begin.
More on Fool Audio
Fool associate general counsel Jay Perlman and Bill Barker discussed the implications of the SEC's decision earlier today. You can listen to their conversation here on Fool audio (requires Real Audio Player).
Disclose your thoughts about today's decision on the Eyes on the Wise discussion board.
Related Link:
Help Stop Selective Disclosure
Your Turn:


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Road rage leads to attempted murder charge for man
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) - A Southwest Florida man faces two counts of attempted second-degree murder following a road rage incident.
Lee County Sheriff's deputies say 28-year-old Eric Montez will appear in court Friday morning.
Authorities say Montez was driving his 7-year-old daughter to school on Thursday when a jogger tapped on his car when it passed close to him. Montez got of his car, ran after the man and punched him multiple times.
Deputies say two women stopped and told Montez they were calling police. He returned to his car and hit a 33-year-old woman, vaulting her over the car's hood. He then backed up and drove over a 52-year-old woman who'd been knocked to the ground. Both are in the hospital, one with critical injuries. There was no word on the jogger's condition.


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Specs and Tester's Tester Comments
I started making snowboards in my parents' basement as a high school student in 1987. The centerpiece of that shop was a contractor table saw and a Biesemeyer fence. Today, I manufacture custom snowboards and skis in a 5,000-square-foot facility. A full-sized cabinet saw and a Biesemeyer-style fence are still key components in the production of every board. On a busy day of wood core production, we rip more than 2,000 lineal feet of lumber on our saw to dimension it prior to lamination, but this year I did it all while testing and comparing eight hybrid table saws.
Hybrid saws are a relatively new class of table saw introduced by DeWalt with its DW746 in 1999. Because of the vagueness of the term "hybrid," they are also referred to as light-duty cabinet saws. Basically in between a contractor's open stand saw and a shop-grade cabinet saw with all but the DeWalt using a fully enclosed cabinet. The hybridization is usually assumed to be the smaller contractor motor paired with a cabinet stand and internal motor mount; but more accurately, the true distinction is based on the trunnion design. Hybrid saws use contractor saw trunnion assemblies, which are built lighter and typically hang mounted from the bottom of the table versus the beefier cabinet saw trunnion assemblies, which are supported by the top of the cabinet itself. It's true that all of the motors have moved inboard, but the Craftsman and Steel City designs are the only to use cabinet support with a contractor-style trunnion in this new class of saw, making them the only true candidates to be called light-duty cabinet saws. While interpretations of the class may vary between manufacturers, the price points on the machines we tested ran a tight range from $700 to $1,200 with most between $900 and $1,000. This is a 10-inch-blade saw that might be taken to a jobsite and set up for an extended time or used in a smaller woodworking shop.
Test Criteria
I tested the Craftsman 22124, Delta Machinery 36-717, DeWalt DW746X, General International 50-220CM1, Grizzly G0478, Hitachi C10LA, Jet JWSS-10CSPF, and Steel City Tool Works 35601.
The first things I looked at included how easy it was to put together, the overall fit and finish of the machine, and the features and accessories that came with it. Next I looked at how precisely the machine was put together, and I tested blade and fence parallelism relative to the miter slots and the ease of adjusting the fence into an acceptable calibration parallel with the blade. Finally, I tested the power of each machine in a ripping speed competition while paying close attention to dust collection performance.
Out of the Box
Assembly. Though time consuming, assembling the machines was an excellent way to get a good idea of what I really liked about each one. It took anywhere from one hour and 45 minutes to four hours to put these saws together.
The Craftsman took the longest to put together at about four hours; the relatively light cabinet stand needed to be squared up to get the trunnion into proper adjustment. The Craftsman's basic construction was virtually identical to the Steel City saw, which, along with the Delta, DeWalt, General, and Grizzly saws, took around two and a half hours to assemble. The Jet saw had the second-longest assembly time at just over three hours while the Hitachi went together the fastest in one hour and 45 minutes.
The time it takes to assemble may be important to you if you plan to move the saw to different sites and don't wish to leave the saw in one piece while moving it. The DeWalt was unique because it could be completely assembled and disassembled with three included tools, thus adding to its practical portability.
Fitting all the components together on some machines required extra work that wasn't included in the manuals. The Craftsman had holes in the table that didn't line up accurately with the fence rails. Delta's blade guard and splitter interfered with the throat plate. I had to take a mini grinder to the splitter to get them both on the machine. On the Jet, I had to grind an extension wing in order to fit it over the arbor pulley guard.
Features and Accessories. No saw came with a mobile base, but we outfitted them to make testing easier. Included accessories varied dramatically from machine to machine. The DeWalt saw came with a full-kerf 30-tooth blade. The General and the Jet came with storage hooks for the fence and miter gauge. The Jet also included a handy miter gauge extension fence and a push stick. The Delta included hooks to store the fence and miter gauge. The Steel City came with a full-kerf 40-tooth blade and provided storage for the fence that doubles as storage for the miter gauge.
The Craftsman has an impressive list of included add-ons: a tool-free collapsible outfeed table, storage for both fence and miter gauge, a hold-down clamp for the miter gauge, a miter gauge extension fence, and a thin-kerf 40-tooth blade. The Hitachi came with a 40-tooth thin-kerf blade and has fence and miter gauge storage hooks. The saw has a nice blade-locking mechanism requiring only one wrench for blade mounting and removal. This machine has a unique design placing both the tilt and height adjustment cranks on the front of the machine. Unfortunately, the crank handles are a bit too small, making adjustments jerky and cumbersome. The Hitachi is the only machine sporting a blade tilt indicator/window in the tabletop. This feature eliminates the need to bend down or kneel in the dust when adjusting tilt angle. It also has a fixed outfeed table.
The Grizzly came with no accessories, not even a power cord end, but scored high with the basics: heavy, stable castings for the table, massive handwheels, and a substantial cabinet. The Craftsman and Delta machines came with original Biesemeyer fences while four others had clones. The Steel City and Jet machines' tubular steel T-fences were nearly identical to the Biesemeyer in operation and control while Grizzly's was the smoothest-gliding fence of all, incorporating an adjustable foot that slides along–actually making use of– the back rail, making movement effortless. The General came with a similar fence, but it locks in place by lifting the locking handle rather than pushing it down. While I had no problems with this locking mechanism, it seemed more likely to be accidentally unlocked than the standard push down mechanisms. Also, fence operation is impaired by the round-head screws General uses to mount the fence rail, which cause the fence to bump into the screw heads and jam when slid.
The DeWalt fence rides on a front circular steel tube and the Hitachi uses extruded aluminum for its fence rails. Hitachi's fence is the only one that locks on the front and back rails.
Precision. I was highly impressed with the precision of each machine as it came out of the box. I used a reference plate that goes in place of the saw blade and a dial indicator that runs down the miter slot to measure and calibrate blade and fence parallelism with respect to the tables' miter slots. The Steel City saw had the least amount of blade misalignment at less than .001 inch. All the others measured between .001 inch and .005 inch. The fence on the Hitachi came parallel to its miter slots within .003 inch right out of the box. All the others were very easily brought within .005 inch of parallel over the 27-inch dimension.


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Items in Cart:
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Earlier in the month, I posted a TN on the 1994 vintage of this wine,http://www.wineloverspage.com/forum/village/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=27286
now the 1999.
1999 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas - France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Gigondas (10/18/2009)
Still a quite rich & youthful purple colour.
On the nose ... well this might divide people! Antiseptic, perhaps more TCP than sticking plaster, but one assumes Brettanomyces. No problem for me, but for others it would be clearly too much. There is decent dark-fruited support FWIW.
Nice balance on the palate, with a tight frame and arguably even some elegance. Acidity supports well, the fruit is vibrant and far from baked or flabby. The antiseptic / emerging barnyard elements add to the picture (to my tastes). What tannins remain are soft and unobtrusive, lending as much to a sense of control/balance as having a say themselves.
Whilst this may well hold for a good few years, I really like where it is now and would suggest drinking up soon. It's certainly 'in a good place' now.


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'Enroth feels he's ready, which is why he signed a three-year, $1.9 million deal with the Sabres last month. There was nothing else to learn in Europe, where he led the Swedish league with a 2.13 goals-against average. "It felt like I played well in two good seasons at home," Enroth said. "I feel like I had to make the next step."'
Enroth takes steps forward
June 26, 2008 Submitted by
Via: Buffalo News


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Graduate Research Grant Recipients Fall 2005 - Spring 2010
2009 - 2010
- Lucy Mulroney, Visual and Cultural Studies
Travel to Pittsburgh for research at the Andy Warhol Museum and Archives
- Berin Golonu, Visual and Cultural studies
Funding to travel to Vancouver and New York City to curate her exhibit Recipes for an Encounter." The exhibit featured "historical and contemporary artworks from the 1960s to the present that are characterized by a set of instructions or rules that allow the viewer to be an active participant in the artwork."
- BJ Douglass, Warner School
Presented her work "Getting LGBTQ Courses Added to the Curriculum" at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Women's Studies Conference." She also presented "Homophobic and Gender-Based Bullying: How to Identify, Interrupt and Prevent Bullying against Sexual Minority and Gender Non-Conforming Students" in a different session at the conference. Douglass also received funds to present her work at the Southeastern Women's Studies Associate Conference at the University of South Carolina, which took place March 25th-27th. At the SEWSA Conference, Douglass spoke on "LGBTQ Activism on Campus: The Need for Leadership and Visibility in Starting an LGBTQ Program."
- Jessica Horton, Visual and Cultural Studies
Travel and reproduction costs for her research project "Dorothy Dunn, Georgia O'Keeffe, and Native American Painting in Europe."
- Raquel Bateman, Clinical and Social Psychology
Funding for her project "The Role of Autonomy in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa."
- Genevieve Waller, Visual and Cultural StudiesTraveled to Washington, D.C. to visit the Archive Center at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. She conducted research for her dissertation on the aesthetic of camp.
- Kyoung-Lae Kang, Visual and Cultural Studies
Travelled to Korea to conduct research at various institutions, including the Korea Film Archive and the Korea Film Council for her research project "Lost Father and Hysteric Repulsion for Modern Interpellation: Symptomatic Reading of Korean Male Subjectivity in the Early Modern Era."
- Alexandra Alisauskas, Visual and Cultural Studies
Research on Evaldas Jansas
- Rebecca Burditt, Visual and Cultural Studies
Cultural Symbolism of Cake in the US during WWII
- Kathleen B Casey, History
"Eltinge and Gender Bending," research for Chapter 4 of dissertation, "Crossdressers and Racecrossers: Gender, Sex and Race in American Vaudeville, 1895-1925."
- Michelle Finn, History
Study for a project to address the gap in the historical scholarship from the 1920s to 1970s by examining pop-cultural feminism in this "inter-wave" period.
- Kyoung-Lae Kang, VCS
A project exploring how the last Korean silent film "A Prosecutor and Teacher" embodies this cultural and historical dynamics in its cinematic aesthetics and viewing practices alike.
- Sohl Lee, VCS
Contemporary Art in East Asia conference
- Jennifer Lightweis-Goff, English
Travel to New Orleans to present part of her dissertation "'Blood at the Root': Lynching as American Cultural Nucleus:" representations of sexual and racial violence with a focus on the work of visual artist Kara Walker.
- Jennifer Lightweis-Goff, English
Travel to Port Jervis to determine how post-memory and lingering traumas of racial violence are written on American public space.
- Nicola Mann, VCS
"Home, Homelessness, and the Will to Preserve: The Lived Exchanges between Public Housing and Inhabitants"
- Victoria Pass, VCS
For research at the libraries of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.
- Bo Zheng, VCS
2nd International Conference on Sexualities in China
2007 - 2008
- Jessica Crabill, English
Presented at the Canadian Society of Eighteenth Century Studies conference in Winnipeg in October: "Of Silly Toasters Proud: Women Writing Graffiti in the Eighteenth Century."
- Kelly McNilis, Clinical & Social Sciences in Psychology
Research about what motivates women to exercise and maintain exercise.
- Ellen Volpe, School of Nursing
This study will test a proposed model of the correlations between sexual relationship power and intimate partner violence (IPV) and HIV risk related sexual behaviors in a sample of at-risk adolescent girls.
- Aubrey Anable, Visual & Cultural Studies
Present "Playing at Work: Digital Games and Labor" at the Seminar in Experimental Critical Theory, University of California at Irvine, August 2008
- Rachel Chaffee, Warner School
Summer RA stipend to assist Professor Mary Jane Curry with writing a literature review.
- Sohl Lee, Visual & Cultural Studies
Study women, feminism, and contemporary art in Beijing, Summer 2008
- Jennie Lightweis-Goff, English
Presented "So Willing to Let Anything Be Done: James Dickey's Deliverance in the Feminist Moment" and "The Visible Slave Narrative: Authorship and Authenticity in Kara Walker's Silhouettes" at the Modern Language Association conference in Chicago, December 2007
- Nicola Mann, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "Tripping the Light Fantastic: Representing the Teenage Twilight in Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides and Gregory Crewdson's Twilight" at the "Constructed Light, Constructed Meanings" conference April 18-19, 2008
- Victoria Pass, Visual & Cultural Studies
Archival research for dissertation: "Re-Fashioning Surrealism: Surrealism, Fashion and Shopping Culture" May-June 2008
- Genevieve Waller, Visual & Cultural Studies
Research on the life and work of Astrid Sampe, June 2008
2006 - 2007
- Kathleen Casey, History
Presented research based on copies of archival materials for Dissertation Prospectus titled, "Crossdressers and Racecrossers: Blackness and Gender on the American Popular Stage"
- Lauren Crabtree, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "Making Borders, Making Sense: Identity as Identity of the Other;" at the British Association for Slavic and East European Studies (BASEES) national conference.
- Leanne Gilbertson, Visual & Cultural Studies
Did research at The Warhol Museum for dissertation chapter, "Touching Time: Moving and Being Moved Queerly on Screen and Stage," part of her dissertation, "Out of Place in Time: Women Performing Art in Warhol's Factory and The Judson Memorial Church."
- Mara Gladstone, Visual & Cultural Studies
Did research for expenses for dissertation entitled "Sensing the Museum Gallery: Contests of Experience in Contemporary Painting and Video Art," for Chapter 1, "Static and Haptic Narrations: Painting, Paper Pasting, Video Stories and Digital Patternmaking - Kara Walker, Shahzia Sikander."
- Dinah Holtzman, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "Between Yaars: The Queering of Dosti in Contemporary Bollywood Films"-- at the third international South Asian Popular Culture Conference at the University of Manchester in Manchester, England at the end of June, 2006.
- Gloria Kim, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "'All you Need is Love': Female Fandom, Adolescent bodies and Urban Politics" at the Crossroads Conference for the Association of Cultural Studies in Istanbul, Turkey in July 2006.
- Godfrey Leung, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "Voicing the Unrepresentable: Postwar German Aesthetics and Nico's The End" on the Popular Culture and Literature panel at the Midwestern Modern Languages Association Convention, "High and Low Culture," November 2006 in Chicago
- Jennie Lightweis-Goff, English
Presented "Against Agency: A Polemic," while at Cornell School of Criticism and Theory six week summer session, June 16 - July 27 and organized a panel on 19th century songwriter Stephen Foster and presented "'Long Time I Trabble on De Way': Stephen Foster's Conversion Narrative," at the Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association.
- Nicola Mann, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "The extraordinary ordinary: A consideration of Daniel Roth's "Cabrini Green Forest (Portal)" 2004 as representative of the sub cultural situation of the female public housing resident" at the Association of Art Historians Annual Conference: "Contestations"
- Meghan Morris, English
Will present "Eagles within the Ranks: Constructing Female Authorship in Nineteenth Century British Literature" at the Women Writing and Reading: Past and Present, Local and Global Conference
- Victoria Pass, Visual & Cultural Studies
Did research for "Walking Sticks: 19th Century Walking Sticks Adorned With Ladies' Legs"
- Derek Rushton, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "Myth as Parasite / Image as Virus": (Re)Locating Authorship, Publicity and HIV/AIDS in the Work of General Idea on the AIDS and Cultural Texts: Power and Representation panel at the AIDS in Culture III: Explorations in the Cultural History of AIDS Conference.
2005 - 2006
- Janet Ceja Alcalá
Presented research about Lupe Velez at the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago, Illinois
- Jennifer Ailles, English
Presented "Queen Mab and the Embodiment of Dis/ease in 'Romeo and Juliet'" at the British Shakespeare Association (BSA) Biennial Conference as part of the Subjects and Histories Panel
- Katherine Axtell, Musicology, Eastman School of Music
Presented research about Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. and the portrayal of gender issues in the musical Show Boat (1927)
- Jenny Douglas, English
Presented research for "Tearing Representation: Trauma in Samuel Beckett, Ana Mendieta, and Marina Carr" and "Approaching the Abject Mother in Marina Carr's By the Bog of Cats..." in a seminar on representations of motherhood in contemporary drama, at the American Society for Theatre Research conference in Toronto
- Aviva Dove-Viebahn, Visual & Cultural Studies
Presented "Fashionably Femme: Lesbian Visibility, Style and Feminist Politics in The L-Word" at the 2006 National Women's Studies Association conference as part of the panel "Flirting with the 'F-Word': Chick-Lit and (Post)Feminism" and "The Violent Pleasures of Death: Feminism, Jouissance & Redemption in Xena: Warrior Princess" at the Mid-Atlantic Popular American Culture Association Conference Women's Studies as part of the panel "Feminine Corpses"
- Amy Fenstermaker, English
Presented "The Death of the Political? Photography and the Politics of the Artist in DeLillo's Mao II" at the Popular Culture Association & American Culture Association's National Conference
- Elizabeth Kalbfleisch, Visual and Cultural Studies
Presented "Bordering on Feminism: Space, Solidarity, and Transnationalism in Rebecca Belmore's 'Vigil'" at Indigenous Women and Feminism: Culture, Politics, Activism conference as part of a panel on transnational feminism and collaboration
- April Miller, English
Presented "Beyond the Pale of the Law: Gutter Roses, Gun Molls, and Other Urban Offenders" at the Fourth International Women and the Silent Screen Conference
- LaRon E. Nelson, School of Nursing
Presented research for "A Qualitative Descriptive Exploration into the Condom Use Decisions of Young Black Mothers: Perspectives on the Fathers of their Children"
- Catherine Zuromskis, Visual and Cultural Studies
Organized the panel "Family Viewing: The Politics of Representation and The Domestic Sphere," and presented "Picturing the American Dream: The Hegemony of the Snapshot in One Hour Photo" at the American Studies Association Annual Meeting


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Click for "Microbes After Hours" videos
Michael writes:
I had previously wondered why the technology discussed on episode "Barking Up the Right Tre" (in which an engineered recombinase has been shown to remove HIV from the genome) couldn't be similarly used in HPV. I know that a Cre has been used to integrate HPV into cells. However, when I asked Prof. Silverstein about this technology, he indicated that HPV doesn't integrate predictably and that there is limited clonal expansion. Can you please explain how this virus infects cells so reliably in the transition zone between the endocervix and ectocervix and yet a recombinase cannot be targeted to these (assuming you could get the Cre into the cell, which I realize is maybe the hardest part for both Tre and Cre)???
Additionally, is it fair to think that HPV in cervical cancer is analogous to APC in colon cancer, in that they both set off the steps necessary for tumor growth? Is there any commonality with the other steps (myc? B-raf? K-ras) seen in cervical cancer and/or any order in these changes? Obviously it's a tough question – how would one even go about trying to understand the order of events if he wanted to know?
Finally, are there any interventions to block E6 and E7 after infection and before tumorigenesis?
Thomas writes:
I am a pediatrician in Stoughton, WI and love your show and share your passion for educating "the masses" in whatever corner of the world you are in. Thanks for what you do. I am also passionate about immunizations and would like to clarify some of the points in your recent podcast on HPV (which I thoroughly enjoyed).
1. Pap smears are not routinely recommended at initiation of sexual activity primarily because most adolescent HPV is cleared spontaneously (though we don't know why). Due to this fact, it has recently been stated by several medical governing bodies that Pap smears do not need to start until females are 21 yrs old.
2. HPV typing is not recommended routinely along with Pap smears for most practices. It is quite a bit more costly than a Pap smear, so what some practices do is if the Pap smear is abnormal, they reflex that specimen to HPV typing. Even HPV typing is not specific because it is a panel of HPV types that includes (I think 13 of ) the most common cancer causing types of HPV (it does include 16 and 18). So, if the reflex HPV testing is positive, that person may get more frequent follow up, if reflex HPV testing is negative they may space out the repeat Pap smear testing.
Hope this helps.
Keep up the good work and the bad jokes.
Thomas Murwin, MD, FAAP
Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Dean Clinic Stoughton
Stoughton, WI
Mark writes:
Hello Vincent and other hosts,
Recurring themes on TWiV are public suspicion against vaccination, decline of infant vaccination, and broader societal effects. I recently heard TWiV #132 wherein you (i.e. third person, plural) speculated that lack of direct or familial awareness of common, preventable diseases is a factor leading to decline in vaccination.
As a listener pick of the week, I nominate the site shotbyshot.org -- it has video case studies from people talking about how lack of vaccination hurt family members, friends, or patients who contracted preventable diseases. Take a look. The videos are well done. Be forewarned, many of them are heart breaking.
How did I discover this site? I recently received my decennial booster shot for tetatnus. The administering nurse said that California has an epidemic of pertussis, aka whooping cough. I was given Tdap, a cocktail against tetatus, diptheria, and pertussis. Question about terminology: is it correct to call a vaccination like this, or MMR, trivalent? Or does the term trivalent instead refer to a medicine with three different vaccines in it against a single disease?
I had long thought whooping cough is one of those diseases that scared your parents, and which you never encounter because everyone got vaccinated for it in childhood. I was surprised that it was epidemic here in California -- reported cases have increased 100x in the past few years. This is not a California-only issue, there are epidemics in Michigian, Ohio, Florida among other states. Interested listeners can check the CDC's MMWR report. Here is a link to the PDF for the period ending 5/1/11: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6017md.htm?s_cid=mm6017md_w -- open it and search for pertussis in Table II. You will find regional and state level reporting.
Via Google I found that California's State Legislature added "personal belief" as a reason for exemption from mandatory vaccination. Opinion and myth trump science. The only comment I will make on California's elected officials and their policy is that they mandate a higher level of care my cocker spaniels, via mandatory vaccinations against rabies and other disease, than is required for school age children. Maybe this is why some call California the "epicenter of the anti-vaccine movement."
Keep up the good work with all three of your podcasts. Please, before launching another podcast, invent the 25 hour day to help listeners find time for all your great content.


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IF I can make a change, I'm not sure if he would change the price. But if I can get it done, I would like to know how much of a lip your looking for.
IF I can make a change, I'm not sure if he would change the price. But if I can get it done, I would like to know how much of a lip your looking for.
I stopped by the sheetmetal shop this morning, and IF all went well today they would have all of them cut. So if were lucky I can probably take orders by Friday or sooner! I'll keep everyone posted.
Any update on availability? Just wondering - have you received my PM of the 28th?
Here's who's on the list:
Tax Consel
I didn't want to really post up a list, but at least this way everyone knows they have theirs spoken for. I hope to have the first one in my hands tomorrow evening so I can do a test fit just to make sure everything is O.K. If all goes well we can start the paypal'n or however is easiest for you. If everything checks out O.K. I can start to ship this week. I'll hit the post office in the AM to see what a flat rate is going to be to any where in the U.S., for our Canadian friends I'll get that priced out for you too (as cheap as possible). I don't want to take any paypal or payments until I get the parts in my hands, unfortunately this job is not a high priority at the shop so I get bumped down the line, but I get a good deal in the end for waiting a bit.
Excellent, looking forward to getting it!
PayPal info?
How come I fell off the list, I still want one.
Sounds great! Thanks for the update.
Tax Consel
TCM GLX (made the list, my bad)
I will be picking one up in the morning (3/09/11) for a test fit, they are being cut this afternoon. I really appreciate everyones patience!
Some of your guys have PM in your in box, please reply.
As much as I LOVE(note the sarchasim) the post office, I'll need to quote each shipment individually. Flat rate (If it fits, Its SUCKS) is like $10.90----That's just ridiculous to me, so I am going to clog the post office for a while to get each address priced out Sorry if any of you guys work for the postal service.
Good news is I have the dead pedals, trying to get them packed up to get postage quoted from the Post Office tomorrow. When I have that done keep an eye on your notifications for a PM.
Now for the bad news, they only got me 10 not 20, and I have orders for 11. I will have the next 10 early next week and will be able to ship the 11th one next week. I will be shipping in the order that I received the PM's just to keep it fair. The earlier list I posted is not in order. I do apologize for the delay. When I got the parts quoted I had them quote me a quanity of 10 and 20. I got the better price at a 20 quanity, so I told them to make me 20. Somehow they only made 10 and will bang out the others as soon as possible.
On another note......the grain on all of yours is MUCH nicer than mine, after the next run I may have to retire the prototype!
Again, I do apologize for the screw up.
PM's have been sent!
A few of you guys got an invoice thru paypal and a PM requesting payment, as long as you pay thats all that matters. I was trying to simplify the process by creating an invoice thru paypal but....... not everyone sent me their email address! Thru paypal it would be easy for me to track who paid and who didn't. As soon as I get payment I will ship them out, I hope you all like the dead pedals, this was actually alot more work than expected. The design and manufacturing of the part was easy, it was the PM's and packaging that was the hard part. Each one of these was test fitted on our Routan (with stock mats and monster mats), you may or may not have to tweak your's to fit your van as I am sure there is some difference's in carpeting. I packaged them in brand new boxes ant they are in the bottom of the box hopefull packed well enough. Be careful when unpacking, they may feel oily, it is just stainless steel cleaner. If you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to ask, I want everyone to be satisfied with their purchase.
For installation:
Install the longer lip first while tilting the the short lip away from the carpet, then pull slightly towards the door and lay the pedal flat on the incline. The bottom of the dead pedal should be flush with the floor board where the incline starts. Lay your floor mat back down and your all set. The factory floor mats and the monster mast will cover the point where the pedal meets the floor.
Thanks a bunch guys!
Almost all have shipped out, a few payments are still pending. I should have the second batch of 10 in my hands tomorrow, and available to ship by Wednesday/Thursday.
I received my dead pedal today and I'm thrilled with it. Very nice work, a perfect blend of form and function. Henry Dreyfuss would approve. Thank you for your time and effort. Now if you could make us some SS door sill plates ...
I thrilled that you like it and I hope everyone else does too!
I like to work with stainless and aluminum. I have alot of resources that I can tap into to have things manufactured. VW already makes sill plates that are embossed with "ROUTAN" but they are like a polished stainless and just wouldn't look right next to the grained/brushed stainless steel. Let me kick the idea around a while and see what I can come up with. I'll hit the local bodyshop supply shop I deal with and see what they have in the way of 3M tapes for adhering the sill plates to the door jambs. I could probably even source laser etching too, if you wanted them to say anything. I have been looking around the van to see what else I can deck out in SS.
How about a chrome [or polished stainless] overlay for the tailgate above the license plate. There's a suggestion of one moulded into the tailgate sheetmetal. I think it would look sharp if it was polished metal instead of painted. What say you, Mr. Kafer?
On another note, for all you present and former Bug and 912 Porsche owners and Mechanics - have you seen this youtube video? This is why Beetle Mechanics can only count to nine!
As far as the trim piece, are you thinking an over lay? Seems like a lot of work but..........now looking at it that would like nice having the brushed stainless going between the tail lights. I always like the Ford Flex Limited with that huge stainless looking rear gate. Have I mentioned before how much I like stainless????? Bad thing about that one is I'd need to make a die to press the bump on the trim panel or............just have it notched to go around the bump out?? Let me know what you think.
Got mine installed... Awesome and great idea.
Thanks again!
got it - thanks much!
Installed mine and love it. Going to add some non slip rubber on the surface
Got it and love it!!
Stoked to hear everyone is happy with them. I have been in talks with the sheetmeatl shop about the other projects. My "real" job is busy right now but I do have some stuff in the works for the sill plates and the rear trim piece between the tail lights. Give me some time.
Hey guys, just bringing this back to the top for some of the newer posters or some whom may have missed it before.
Here's the skinny: I've got 6 left, and I might not make anymore, so get em' while I got em'. Not one of the Chrysler/Dodge guys wanted any. If they don't roll here, I'm gonna put them on Ebay but will have to charge more. Price is still $21 plus shipping, as always I rather you guys/gals get a crack at them first. Be one of the 21 who got one!
Last edited by 58kafer; 05-02-2011 at 12:22 PM.


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By Chris Harris
Arsène Wenger believes a strong defensive display can see Arsenal through to the Champions League group stages on Wednesday night.
The Gunners take a precious one-goal lead to northern Italy for the second leg of their Play-Off with Udinese and an away goal will leave the Serie A side needing at least three to win the tie.
Wenger has plenty of attacking options at his disposal with Robin van Persie and Gervinho set to return, but the Frenchman knows his defence was stretched by Udinese in the first leg at Emirates Stadium.
"Udinese showed they are quick on the flanks so we have to keep them quiet, especially Isla on the right side - he is a provider," said Wenger.
"In midfield of course they have some good players and they have Di Natale up front. So overall we need a good solid defensive performance but we have experience in the Champions League and it is a good chance for us to use it tomorrow.
"We want of course to qualify so at the moment we are focused on doing well. We have won the first game without conceding a goal, that is quite a good result, and we will go there to score as we always do."
The hype has been cranked up ahead of Wednesday's second leg as Arsenal look to atone for a slow start to their Premier League campaign with the right result in Europe. But Wenger feels no extra pressure.
"Not more, not less; it is exactly the same pressure," he said.
"I want to win every single game I play for Arsenal Football Club. The rest of the pressure is created by your environment but I have enough experience to take a distance with that. I know what I do to be at my best and that is what I try to do."Copyright 2017 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source


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Having been a life long Boba Fett fan and owning many, many reference books, replicas, etc... I must be blind because I've never noticed the on-screen T-Visor to be "wonky" on the left side.
After looking at Bobamakers helmet and reading the discussions, you guys are adamant about it, yet looking back at the original white Boba that Ben Burt introduces in the video (and other reference photos) I can't seem to see it.
If it did slip through somewhere, surely that is a mold mistake when it was been made? I would have thought - also with Jango's being perfectly straight - that the designers/makers intent was to have it straight?


text: I've got a short barrel Birdshead grip Vaquero that I really love to shoot. It's in .45 Colt and heavy but still a lot of fun. I'd also like one in .357 on a little smaller frame. A Bisley gripped .357 would be great too. Christmas is coming, be good to yourself.


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Josephine E. Cassiere, 89, of New Alexandria, passed away on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013, at Greensburg Care Center, Hempfield Township.
Visitation will be held from 2 to 4 and 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the P. David Newhouse Funeral Home on the corner of Church and Washington Streets in New Alexandria. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Thursday at St. James Catholic Church in New Alexandria with the Very Reverend Larry J. Kulick as celebrant. Interment will follow in St. Matthew Cemetery, Saltsburg.


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Hi guys,
I run an online teaching site called Teacher James (http://www.teacherjames.com). We allow teachers to hook up with private students online through our classroom interface for one on ones or up to ten students at a time...all from their own computers. All the class rates, class times, etc. are agreed upon by the individual teacher and student. Once agreed and scheduled, we take payment from student and give it to the teacher. Everything is taken care of on Teacher James.
On top of that we have search engines to target specific teacher qualifications and our teachers can post 15 second Video Introduction Profiles so students can immediately see their native accent and personalities. Futher, our integrated Classroom Interface has whiteboards, screenshares, and the lessons are recorded that students watch online or download to portable players for review.
Currently, however, one major focus area for us right now is to approach companies and schools in rural areas (maybe one hour or more outside metropolitan cities) where it is harder to find native English speakers. These schools and companies still seek to learn English but because of the difficulty in finding teachers, they may not be able to. Teacher James allows them the opportunity to learn from their company or school online with our teachers. For example, this month we will start teaching a clothing manufacturing company located about 1.5 hours outside of Taipei. They do extensive business in 90 countries around the world, and they need their employees to be able to speak English (ranging from checking into hotels, ordering meals, to being able to tech support one of their products in another country). Right now, they've been paying extra for a teacher out of Taipei to travel to their company. And not only does the teacher have to wake up early, travel all the way out there, but then they have to teach 8 hours a day to Advanced, Intermediate, and Beginning classes. The feedback is that the teacher gets burned out by the time he gets to the end of the day.
We provide another solution for them. We set up a computer and a big screen monitor in their company classroom, and we will teach them online with our Teacher James staff. Their lessons will be fully recorded and our lesson plans will be multi-media and interactive (to include all the resources of the web, such as Youtube clips, CNN translated reports, and online English games like Hang-man, Bingo, etc.) Plus, we will give them a different teacher for their advanced classes, their intermediate classes, and their beginning classes. Our teachers will be fresh (teaching from home) and be specific to each level of class. It is a much better teaching environment overall.
In the future, we will be targeting these companies and then offering them teachers who are not only fresh and properly trained, but then also specialized. Because our teachers are teaching over the web, we will start recruiting "teachers" from the US or other areas who specialize in a specific field. Post graduate students, substitute teachers, etc. who are interested in making an additional $20-$25(US) an hour part-time from their homes. This gives us the ability to go to the small companies and "specialize" the teachers. For example, we could go to small clinics and hospitals in China and if they are interested in teaching their nurses and doctors basic English skills, then we would pair them up with medical students in residency or part-time nurses in the US to teach "English" but with vocabulary words specifically pertaining to medicine. This is much more valuable to the hospital staff than a recently graduated college student who is just teaching "A-a-apple". Plus the US based teacher is much more committed and dependable than a post graduate student teaching abroad for the "experience" and probably will be moving to another country within 6-12 months.
Right now, we're recruiting teachers for our "Teacher James Staff". As a staff member, we'll ask you to go through a quick training process (a couple hours online so we can train you on our interface), give you sample lesson plans, and then try to hook you up with a comparative company in your field (basically give you a job).
If anyone is interested in learning more, please post a response here or send me an email at:


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Robert Rasnick
Pole Vault: 17-3.75/5.28m (2012)
Pole Vault: 17-4.50/5.30m (2012)
2010 Indoor Pole Vault: 6th, 16-10.75/5.15m
2011 Indoor Pole Vault: 7th, 16-11.50/5.17m
2012 Indoor Pole Vault: t4th, 17-0/5.18m
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: Scored in pole vault at 2010, 2011 and 2012 SEC Indoor meets...NCAA Outdoor qualifier in 2010...Four-time member of SEC Academic Honor Roll.
2012: Honors - Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll...Indoors - Captured his best-ever league finish at UT, tying for fourth at the SEC Indoor meet with a clearance of 17-0...Attended the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier in search of an NCAA berth, but his seventh-place mark of 17-2 1/4 was not enough to improve his ranking...Traversed the bar in a career-best 17-3 3/4 to place third in the Gold Division at the Akron Invitational...One of three UT pole vaulters over the bar at 17+ feet for the season, clearing 17-0 3/4 to finish fifth at the Auburn Invitational...Picked up the first victory of his UT career, sailing over 16-6 as the Vols finished 1-2-3 at the Texas A&M Mondo Challenge...Outdoors - Competed at the NCAA East Preliminary Round, finishing with a height of 17-3.50 that tied him for 16th in the field...Finished 12th in the SEC Championships at 16-8 3/4...Carded his first outdoor PR since 2010, clearing 17-4 1/2 to place fourth in the Invitational pole vault at the Sea Ray Relays...Took second at the Vanderbilt Invitational with a mark of 17-2 3/4...Produced a runner-up finish in the pole vault for UT at the UCLA/Washington State Double Dual, clearing 16-7 1/4...Tied for third in the vault at 16-4 3/4 at the Tennessee Challenge.
2011: Honors - Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll...Indoors - Scored at the SEC Indoor meet for the second-straight season, placing seventh with a clearance of 16-11 1/2...Sailed over 16-4 3/4 to tie for 11th in the Championship Division at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational...Fifth at Kentucky Invitational with a mark of 16-0 3/4...Outdoors - Struggled to find his groove during the outdoor campaign and was unable to net a clearance in four meets.
2010: Honors - Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll and earned team's Most Valuable Athlete Indoor Field Award...Indoors - Carded a sixth-place finish in his first career SEC competition, clearing 16-10 3/4 at the indoor meet...Soared over a personal- and UT season-best with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 17-1 1/2 in a sixth-place finish at the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier...That height was good for the third-best indoor mark in the conference in 2010...Also set an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 17-0 3/4 and finished second at the Rod McCravy Memorial...Navigated a height of 15-7 to finish fourth at the Kentucky Invitational...Outdoors - Snared a personal best and tied for UT's finest mark of the season at the NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships...To do so, he cleared a height of 17-2 3/4 that ranked as the sixth-best individual SEC mark during the outdoor slate...Tied for 18th at NCAAs with a mark of 16-4 3/4...Registered a second-place finish at the Tennessee Invitational, sailing over the bar at 16-6 3/4.
2009: Honors - Named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll...Indoors - Redshirted...Outdoors - Redshirted...Competed unattached outdoors on two occasions...Won the pole vault at the Sea Ray Relays with a lifetime-best clearance of 17-1...Posted a clearance of 16-2.75 to finish ninth at the Florida Relays...Competed in three indoor pole vault competitions unattached.
CEDARVILLE UNIVERSITY: Finished second in the pole vault at the NAIA Indoor Nationals in 2008 while competing for Cedarville University...Also placed 10th at the NAIA outdoor meet.
HIGH SCHOOL: Left Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy with the school record in the pole vault at 15-8...Also a junior national qualifier in gymnastics.
PERSONAL: Born Oct. 7, 1988...Majoring in mechanical engineering...Parents are John and Janelle Rasnick...Has an older sister, Elizabeth, and a younger sister, Sarah.


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State Song
The Old North State
by Steven Case, 2007.
NC Government & Heritage Library.
The song known as "The Old North State" was adopted as the official song of the State of North Carolina by the General Assembly of 1927.
The below recording is an instrumental version of the "Old North State" as performed by the North Carolina Symphony as conducted by Ben Swalin. The recording is courtesy of the North Carolina State Archives and has been taken from 78 RPM Archives Records, WPTF-Radio, Raleigh, NC. (Call number NonTextTR.72.1)
(words by William Gaston)
"Carolina! Carolina! Heaven's blessings attend her!
While we live we will cherish, protect and defend her;
Though the scorner may sneer at and witlings defame her,
Our hearts swell with gladness whenever we name her.
Hurrah! Hurrah! The Old North State forever!
Hurrah! Hurrah! The good Old North State!
Though she envies not others their merited glory,
Say, whose name stands the foremost in Liberty's story!
Though too true to herself e'er to crouch to oppression,
Who can yield to just rule more loyal submission?
Plain and artless her sons, but whose doors open faster
At the knock of a stranger, or the tale of disaster?
How like to the rudeness of their dear native mountains,
With rich ore in their bosoms and life in their fountains.
And her daughters, the Queen of the Forest resembling–
So graceful, so constant, yet to gentlest breath trembling;
And true lightwood at heart, let the match be applied them,
How they kindle and flame! Oh! none know but who've tried them.
Then let all who love us, love the land that we live in
(As happy a region on this side of Heaven),
Where Plenty and Freedom, Love and Peace smile before us,
Raise aloud, raise together, the heart-thrilling chorus!"
Additional reference:
North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 149: State Song and Toast
Sheet music for several versions is available online:
North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State. North Carolina Manual. "Chapter 1: State Symbols." https://www.secretary.state.nc.us/pubsweb/manual.aspx
Gaston, W. and R. Culver. 1900. Old North State song and chorus. Raleigh: Alfred Williams & Co. http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll37/id/4153.
Randolph, E. E. 1942. The Old North State: A study lesson on the state song. Includes sheet music. http://digital.ncdcr.gov/cdm/ref/collection/p249901coll37/id/4603.
Image Credits:
Gaston, Wm.; Culver, R. "The Old North State." Sheet music. Library of Congress, American Sheet Music 1820-1860. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=sm1820&fileName=sm2/sm1844/400000/400060/mussm400060.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?mussm:1:./temp/~ammem_7XSg::&linkText=0 (accessed December 9, 2014).
1 June 2007 | Case, Steven


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|© MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Oakland's Green could be fantasy gold05/01/2013 10:44 AM ET
By Ashley Marshall / Special to MLB.com
Fantasy Focus is a regular MiLB.com feature in which we use a Minor League perspective to give you the edge in your fantasy league. Have a fantasy question? Tweet it to @MiLB or @AshMarshallMLB with the hashtag #fantasyfocus.
In this week's Fantasy Focus, we take a look at what value Grant Green could bring to your infield and why Nolan Arenado has the tools to stick around the Majors for the foreseeable future.
There's a roundup on the Minor League rehabs of Hanley Ramirez, Erick Aybar and Francisco Liriano, an update on the dire experiment that is one baseball writer's fantasy team as well as a recap of what MLB.com's top 10 prospects have been doing the past seven days.
Rehabs of Note
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Hanley Ramirez appeared in two California League games for the Dodgers' Class A Advanced affiliate, Rancho Cucamonga, this past weekend. The shortstop went 3-for-6 with three RBIs, a double and a run scored in his first Minor League stint since he played six games for Jupiter in 2011.
Ramirez struck out as a pinch hitter on Monday, but he homered and doubled in his first start of the year on Tuesday. There's no reason to think his right thumb will bother him too much going forward, so feel free to activate him in all formats.
* * *
Shortstop Erick Aybar homered, doubled and drove in two runs Monday night in his first rehab start during Salt Lake's 12-6 loss to Colorado Springs.
He hit a two-run homer from the left side of the box in the third inning and added the two-bagger from the right side in the seventh. Aybar, rehabbing a bruised left heel that has kept him sidelined since April 9, also turned a nifty double play in which he jumped over a charging Hernan Iribarren at second base.
* * *
Recovering from a broken bone in his non-throwing arm, Francisco Liriano has been solid in two rehab starts with Triple-A Indianapolis. He allowed a run on four hits over five innings (79 pitches) at home to Lehigh Valley on Thursday, and he surrendered a run on four hits over six frames (82 pitches) against Gwinnett on Tuesday. He has struck out 17 of the 41 batters he faced, held International League hitters to a .205 average and did not issue any walks.
It has been a much more encouraging week for the 6-foot-2 left-hander, who gave up four runs to Double-A Harrisburg over 2 2/3 innings on April 20.
Manager Clint Hurdle previously said he expected Liriano to make three starts between Altoona and Indianapolis, so expect news of a return to be coming out of the Pirates camp over the next day or two.
Stock Up, Stock Down
Stock Up: Grant Green
The A's No. 4 prospect is batting .366 in his last 10 games for Triple-A Sacramento, buoyed by a 4-for-6 showing Monday in which he homered and tripled against Fresno. On the season, he's batting .321 with an .897 OPS through 24 games for the River Cats, showing slight improvements over his .296/.796 numbers from a year ago, his first full season in the Pacific Coast League.
Oakland should be willing to give him at least a look, since their current everyday second baseman, Eric Sogard, hasn't been blowing anyone away at the Major League level (.616 OPS). Given the relative lack of fantasy depth at second, you should consider doing the same.
Stock Down: Tyler Skaggs
After his first start for Triple-A Reno, Skaggs told MiLB.com, "I'm close, I'm throwing the ball well right now and I'm almost there. I think I'm ready to go out there and perform." Almost one month later, it seems like he's done a full 180. The D-backs' top prospect allowed eight runs -- five earned -- on nine hits in just 4 2/3 innings, dropping his third decision in his last four starts and allowing his Pacific Coast League ERA to balloon to 6.15.
It's early yet and there's still a good chance Skaggs will be back with Arizona before the year is out, but given his recent downturn, that arrival looks like it'll be delayed.
Under the Radar
Last week we mentioned Brewers prospect Scooter Gennett as a second baseman who could possibly help fantasy owners this year. This week, it's another NL option at the keystone with Washington's Jeff Kobernus.
The Nationals are well-manned at second, of course, with Danny Espinosa, but he's already had wrist problems this year and, as fantasy owners should be aware, second base is a position across both leagues where depth is welcome.
Kobernus happens to be one of the best at Triple-A. The Nationals' 16th-ranked prospect is in the midst of a breakout year, hitting .367/.408/.467 with eight stolen bases through just 24 games with Syracuse. Should Espinosa come across any more health scares, Kobernus will be the guy to shore up fantasy lineups at a position that could probably use some solidifying on just about any roster.
Will He Stick?
Nolan Arenado: For the first time in the brief history of this section, the answer to the above question finally seems to be in the affirmative. Arenado was hitting so incredibly well at Triple-A Colorado Springs (.364/.392/.667/1.059, 21 RBIs in 18 games) that the Rockies made room for their No. 2 prospect by designating for assignment their regular third baseman, Chris Nelson, who owned just a .600 OPS in the Majors. Without anyone breathing down his neck at the hot corner, the job is Arenado's to keep for the foreseeable future.
Expect an average in the mid-to-high .200s with an OBP not much higher. He should produce plenty of doubles -- he collected 30 or more each of the last three seasons -- to drive up his slugging percentage.
Transaction of Note
Erick Aybar was activated soon after his successful rehab appearance with Triple-A Salt Lake, which provided a glimpse of what he could do for the American League's ninth-ranked offense by runs scored.
The 29-year-old shortstop isn't flashy, but he hits for a decent average (.283 over his last four seasons) and can swipe a bag or two (86 in that time). AL-only owners looking for a shortstop (where Aybar's career .707 OPS would rank fourth among qualifying shortstops) could definitely do worse than the longtime Angel.
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Finders Keepers
Garin Cecchini: This may be considered a super deep move, but hear us out. With everyone looking out for the next big prospect to shoot up the rankings boards, you may just have one here in Cecchini. The third baseman, ranked by MLB.com at No. 8 in the Red Sox system, has jumped out to a huge start in Class A Advanced Salem. As of Tuesday, he had collected six straight multi-hit games and was batting exactly .500 (18-for-36) in his last 10 contests.
If you're looking for a bigger sample, consider his slash line for the whole of April: .392/.478/.709. His 1.187 OPS ranks fourth among all Minor Leaguers thus far, just behind previous Finders Keepers candidate Byron Buxton (1.194).
If that weren't enough, his 10 steals in that time rank fourth -- most among Class A Advanced baserunners. Given that Will Middlebrooks seems to have a hold at third for the time being and Xander Bogaerts may eventually find himself at the hot corner, Cecchini might have to find a new position within the Boston organization, or he could be trade fodder somewhere else. But keep your eye on him for now. Such a hot start deserves at least that much.
A Wild, Wild Whine
Ed. note: This section is on the lighter side of fantasy baseball, where staff writer Danny Wild bemoans his continued bad fortune as a fantasy owner. Shoot him an email if you can relate, or maybe some fantasy advice would be more appropriate.
The first month of the season is officially over and I can report that my team was in last place every single day.
Some of my draft picks have, to their credit, produced (Mike Napoli .280-4-27, Ryan Howard .285-3-16, Lance Berkman .318-2-15, Lorenzo Cain .315-1-11, CC Sabathia 4-2, 3.34 ERA), while others have just crippled any hope of me digging myself out of this hole (Pedro Alvarez hitting .188 despite the recent power, first-round pick Josh Hamilton at .201-2-9, third-rounder Jay Bruce at .252-1-11, and the rest of my pitchers, etc).
Some recent thoughts:
Top 10 Prospects


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Forge Motorsport would like formally announce that we are now direct distributors for the complete range of Bilstein shock absorbers and suspension systems. Having spent the last few months aligning ourselves with other brands that best compliment our existing hardware lines, at the top of our very short list of suspension companies was Bilstein, and we are pleased that we can finally announce our official partnership with them.
Bilstein is world renowned as one of the leading providers of shock absorbers and suspension systems for countless vehicle makes and models worldwide. With their vast expertise, they work jointly with numerous OE manufacturers on OE suspension system development. Manufacturers such a VW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, Nissan, and even such exotic vehicles as the pinnacle Bugatti Veyron.
They are even closely tied to other well known aftermarket firms such as ABT, Brabus, RUF, Techart, AC Schnitzer, Hartge, and Carlsson.
We are honored to now be able to work with them as well, and offer their premium suspension components to our customers. With their product available to us, we can add it to the other hardware and software products that we carry to offer more complete vehicle tuning packages and solutions than ever before.
Over the last few months, we have been testing some of their suspension products on a few of our vehicles, and we have been nothing short of blown away with the quality and performance of the product they offer.
We have been using their B16 Series PSS10 coilover system on our MK6 Golf R project vehicle so as to develop a firsthand understanding of their product and it's features, and the product itself is a testament to why their brand carries the cache that it does. This suspension system is phenomenal, and offers an amazing level of comfort and performance that can be tailored to the driver's needs very easily.
Bilstein's product line ranges from the very basic B1-B4 lines of universal replacement spare parts for OE suspension systems for numerous vehicles, to their B6-B8 "Yellow" range of high performance replacement shocks, to their premium B10-B16 range of sport suspension kits.
We have spent a lot of time reading through their 2" thick catalog to familiar ourselves with their nearly 5700 different part numbers, not that we are anywhere close to having memorized them yet, but their entire catalog is available to order through us at any time.
All future Forge Motorsport internal project cars, demo vehicles, customer project cars, and our own personal vehicles will feature Bilstein suspension systems.
With any questions or enquiries for Bilstein suspension components, please don't hesitate to contact us.


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I have a total six years of experience teaching English and training for BPO's and multinational companies in India. I am going in for my CELTA certification next month.
My question is how much should I expect to be paid and what is usually the deal for a non-native teacher in countries like China, Japan, Korea and the Middle East.
I mean things like accommodation, travel and other facilities...
Please help me with this.


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Health/Fitness » Health
Risks, Benefits of Melatonin for Children
Getting a child to sleep can sometimes be a monumental task. More and more, parents are turning to a supplement called melatonin. But is it safe? KHOU's Andrew Horansky talks to parents and doctors to find out.
Copyright CBS News. For more articles, visit www.cbsnews.com