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Target: Simon Griffiths, founder of the 'Who Gives a Crap' toilet paper company
Goal: Applaud sustainable toilet paper company for donating 50% of profits to building toilets in underprivileged countries
For many years the production of toilet paper has been a process infamous for its wastefulness, its high levels of accompanying pollutants, and its negative impact on human and animal populations alike. One single roll of non-recycled toilet paper per U.S. resident has been calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency to result in the unnecessary waste of 470,000 trees, 1.2 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 169 million gallons of water, while the chemicals used in bleaching toilet paper to whiteness are known carcinogens. Simon Griffiths, founder of the coyly named 'Who Gives a Crap' toilet paper company, is showing the world that there are better ways for toilet paper companies to operate.
'Who Gives a Crap' is, ironically, one of the most environmentally and socially conscious toilet paper companies yet to exist. From the natural resources that the toilet paper comes from to the people who manufacture it to the people who can't afford toilets themselves, 'Who Gives a Crap' is operating with their best interests in mind—while managing to meet with no small degree of success themselves.
Griffiths' company begins by making its toilet paper nature-friendly. The brightly colored, attractively packaged rolls are 100% recycled paper, biodegradable, locally sourced, and not made with chlorine (chlorine-based bleaches are the main source of carcinogenic byproducts in regular toilet paper manufacturing). The facility in which the toilet paper is produced is a Chinese facility in which workers are local residents who are able to go home to their families at night rather than being forced to spend nights in a shared dormitory, are given masks to protect them from inhaling paper fibers, and who may soon be relying on solar powered energy rather than electrical.
As if this weren't enough, the company also donates a whopping 50% of their profits to the cause of building toilets in underprivileged locations around the world. Griffiths notes that 2.5 billion people worldwide today lack access to sanitary toilets, and that contamination of food and water by improperly disposed-of waste contributes significantly to the spread of illness and disease. Take a moment to thank Griffiths for his inspired notion of creating a toilet paper company that does good where other companies cause needless destruction and suffering by signing the petition below.
Dear Simon Griffiths,
Thank you for giving a crap. Your toilet paper company is an inspiration to environmentally conscious and ethically-minded business entrepreneurs worldwide, and a powerful statement about the apathy of so many companies that continue to turn a blind eye to the consequences of their practices.
It is truly upsetting that toilet paper should normally be responsible for so much destruction of the natural world, not to mention sickness and deaths caused by carcinogenic byproducts of standard bleaching processes. It is high time that the world recognizes these practices as unacceptable. I have every hope that your company will be a leader in a new generation of companies who are willing to consider, if not the importance of the world and its people, then at least their customers' unwillingness to purchase anything less than as conscientious a product as the one that you have created.
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Elya via Wikipedia


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Notre Charge Apostolique
"Our Apostolic Mandate"
Our Apostolic Mandate requires from Us that We watch over the purity of the
Faith and the integrity of Catholic discipline. It requires from Us that We
protect the faithful from evil and error; especially so when evil and error are
presented in dynamic language which, concealing vague notions and ambiguous
expressions with emotional and high-sounding words, is likely to set ablaze the
hearts of men in pursuit of ideals which, whilst attractive, are nonetheless
nefarious. Such were not so long ago the doctrines of the so-called philosophers
of the 18th century, the doctrines of the Revolution and Liberalism which have
been so often condemned; such are even today the theories of the Sillon which,
under the glowing appearance of generosity, are all too often wanting in
clarity, logic and truth. These theories do not belong to the Catholic or, for
that matter, to the French Spirit.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Stephen Law
|Stephen Law
Stephen Law in 2014 at the Forschungsinstitut für Philosophie Hannover
|Cambridge, England, United Kingdom
|Alma mater
|City University London
Trinity College, Oxford
The Queen's College, Oxford
|Contemporary philosophy
|Western philosophy
|Analytic philosophy
recorded July 2016
Stephen Law is an English philosopher and Reader in Philosophy at Heythrop College, University of London. He also edits the philosophical journal Think,[1] which is sponsored by the Royal Institute of Philosophy[2] and published by the Cambridge University Press. Law currently lives in Oxford, England, with his wife and two daughters. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts and Commerce, and in 2008 became the Provost of the Centre for Inquiry UK.[3] Law has published both a variety of academic papers and more popular, introductory books (including three children's philosophy books). Law has debated many Christian apologists, theologians and scientists, including William Lane Craig, Alvin Plantinga, Alister McGrath, John Lennox and Denis Alexander.
Academic history[edit]
Stephen Law attended Long Road Sixth Form College, in Cambridge, England. However, having been "asked to leave",[4][5] he began his working life as a postman. At 24 he successfully managed to persuade City University in London to accept him for the BSc in Philosophy, despite his lack of A levels. There he managed to achieve a first class honours, allowing him to move on to Trinity College, Oxford, to read for a B.Phil in Philosophy. He was also for three years a Junior Research Fellow at The Queen's College, Oxford, where he obtained a doctorate in Philosophy.
Law has published academic papers on a variety of topics including Wittgenstein, modality, and philosophy of mind (for example, "Loar's Defence of Physicalism", Ratio 2004). His most recent focus is on philosophy of religion. Recent publications include:
- "The Evil God Challenge", Religious studies, 2010,
- "Plantinga's Belief-Cum-Desire Argument Refuted", Religious studies, 2011,
- "Evidence, Miracles and The Existence of Jesus", Faith and Philosophy, 2011.
- "Naturalism, Evolution and True Belief", Analysis, 2012, 72 (1), pp. 41–48.
The Great Philosophers[edit]
The Great Philosophers: The Lives and Ideas of History's Greatest Thinkers was published in 2008. It covers 50 "great thinkers" but very briefly with only a few pages for each. It is a brief introduction for readers with little previous knowledge of philosophy.
The Philosophy Gym[edit]
Law's book The Philosophy Gym is an introduction to philosophical thinking aimed at adults. It covers twenty-five philosophical questions, chosen for their relevance to today's society. The book aims for accessibility. This is often done, as in "What's wrong with gay sex?", by putting the question into a theatrical script.
The German version of The Philosophy Gym won the first Mindelheim Philosophy Prize in 2009.[6]
Chapter list[edit]
- 1. Where did the universe come from?
- 2. What is wrong with gay sex?
- 3. Brain – snatched (discussion of metaphysical issues of knowledge of the external world, and Déscartes' 'Cogito Ergo Sum' (I think therefore I am))
- 4. Is time travel possible?
- 5. Into the lair of the relativist (a look at and analysis of relativist claims, mainly ethical relativity)
- 6. Could a machine think?
- 7. Does God exist?
- 8. The strange case of the rational dentist (a look at specific knowledge of other minds and the extent to which we may have knowledge of them)
- 9. But is it art?
- 10. Can we have morality without God and religion?
- 11. Is creationism scientific?
- 12. Designer babies... (a look at the case for designer babies)
- 13. The consciousness conundrum (a look at the debated nature of consciousness)
- 14. Why expect the sun to rise tomorrow? (an examination of Hume's problem of induction)
- 15. Do we ever deserve to be punished?
- 16. The meaning mystery (an examination of linguistics and the ways in which language may have meaning)
- 17. Killing Mary to save Jodie (a discussion of utilitarianism and the nature of ethics)
- 18. The strange realm of numbers (discussion of the nature of mathematics)
- 19. What is knowledge?
- 20. Is morality like a pair of spectacles (a look at subjectivism amongst other things)
- 21. Should you be eating that (a look at the case for vegetarianism)
- 22. Brain transplants, teleportation and the puzzle of personal identity
- 23. Miracles and the supernatural
- 24. How to spot eight everyday reasoning errors
- 25. Seven paradoxes
The War for Children's Minds[edit]
|This section contains content that is written like an advertisement. (November 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Law's The War for Children's Minds discusses different approaches to moral and religious education. The book was written as a response to academic and more popular tabloid calls for a less relativist morality in schools, justified by the West's current "moral malaise" and the rise of moral and cultural relativism. Law disagrees with these arguments, concluding that there is, in fact, every reason to be very liberal indeed in our approach to moral and religious education, so long as "liberal" is properly understood. He aims to "nail" certain widespread anti-liberal myths, including the myth that the Enlightenment was responsible for the Holocaust, that liberals are moral relativists, and so on. While not opposing faith schools, Law nevertheless recommends certain basic minimum standards that all schools should be expected to meet, such as encouraging an open, questioning attitude in pupils regarding moral and religious issues. Phillip Pullman said about the book, "should be read by every teacher, every parent, and every politician." The book was widely featured in the media, including on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
- The Philosophy Files 1 (2000) ISBN 1-84255-053-5
- The Philosophy Files 2 (2006) (formerly called The Outer Limits) ISBN 1-84255-525-1
- The Outer Limits: More Mysteries from the Philosophy Files (2003) ISBN 1-84255-062-4
- The Philosophy Gym (2003) ISBN 0-7472-3271-7
- The Xmas Files (2003) ISBN 0-297-84722-8
- The War For Children's Minds (2006) ISBN 0-415-37855-9
- Philosophy (Eyewitness Companion Guides) (2007) ISBN 1-4053-1763-9 translated also into Hungarian (Filozófia, 2008)
- The Great Philosophers (2008) ISBN 1-84724-398-3
- Israel, Palestine and Terror (2008) 0-82649-793-4
- Really, Really Big Questions (2009) 0-75341-781-2
- A Very Short Introduction to Humanism (2011) ISBN 0-19-955364-5
- Believing Bullshit: How Not to Get Sucked into an Intellectual Black Hole (2011) Prometheus Books: New York. ISBN 1-61614-411-4
- ^ Think
- ^ The Royal Institute of Philosophy
- ^ Centre for Inquiry UK
- ^ Underhill, William. "Stephen Law: Philosopher of 'Believing Bullshit'". Newsweek. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ Steel, Mel. "Asking all the right questions". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ Mindelheim Philosophy Prize
External links[edit]
- Official Site
- "What is wrong with gay sex?" – a chapter from 'The Philosophy Gym'
- "Systems of Measurement" – an academic paper on Wittgenstein and Kripke on the standard metre.
- Centre for Inquiry UK Centre for Inquiry UK, of which Stephen Law is Provost.
- Premier Radio Stephen Law debates Denis Alexander on "God & Science" on Premier Christian Radio
- Law in discussion with Alvin Plantinga – Law and Plantinga discuss Plantinga's Evolutionary Argument Against Naturalism
- "A Fair Way to Fight Religious Indoctrination of Children" – blog post relating to Law's children's book "Really, Really Big Questions"
- "Conversations from the Pale Blue Dot" – an interview with Professor Law by Common Sense Atheism blogger Luke Muehlhauser


text:
Back to Back Non-Winning Seasons for the First Time Since Kotite
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text:
Eden Prefers Solar Over Bio-Mass At Asbestos Mine
04/17/12 12:04PM By Kirk Carapezza
After town representatives met with state environmental officials, Eden select board members say solar could make sense at the site of the town's abandoned asbestos mine.
The state asked last month whether Eden's Select Board preferred either a bio-mass or a solar project if an alternative energy study funded by the Environmental Protection Agency proceeds.
The Select Board has decided to support the solar option.
Back on Town Meeting Day, voters in Eden and Lowell voted against declaring the mine a Superfund site - a move environmental officials say could have brought in money to clean it up.


text:
What is the SEVIS Fee?
On September 1, 2004, a United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule went into effect that requires F-1 and J-1 visa applicants to pay a one-time fee to supplement the administration and maintenance costs of the Student and Exchange Information System (SEVIS). The following information specifically addresses this fee for F-1 students.
Who pays the SEVIS fee?
The SEVIS fee is not required when transferring schools, changing to another degree program or level, requesting a program extension, renewing an F-1 visa or using F-1 program benefits such as practical training. If you are in status when you travel internationally and are not physically outside of the U.S. for more than five months, you will not be required to pay the fee.
The fee must be paid at least 3 business days prior to applying for your visa, or applying for admission at a US port-of-entry for those exempt from the visa requirement. The fee must be paid prior to submission of a change of status petition or reinstatement application. But I recommend allowing enough time to deal with any delays you may experience.
For more information on the SEVIS fee visit the US Immigration & Customs Enforcement webpage: http://www.ice.gov/sevis/i901/index.htm


text:
Trash or Treasure Part Three
By Dan Breitwieser, WCJB TV 20 News.
It's the end of the line for the worst of the worst--homes so bad that the only option is demolition.
In neighborhoods all over Gainesville, code enforcement has recognized almost 150 buildings as dangerous buildings--in various stages of needing to be torn down. The Springhill neighborhood is breathing a little easier knowing that just last week, a hotbed for vagrants, drugs and prostitution was demolished.
"It's like heaven again," says Alberta H. Walls who lives in the neighborhood.
It's heaven for her now that the boarded up building has gone bye- bye. The mailbox at 1026 SE 6th Avenue was locked up and hadn't been used in years, but the lot wasn't empty.
Trash and garbage that's built up from vagrants at an astonishing rate. A mattress, shoes, clothes, furniture, a pile of garbage that's about six feet tall--all came from one small room.
It doesn't take long to tear down something took months to build and was lived in for decades: all of about three minutes.
"I was born and raised in this neighborhood and I just love seeing it safe," says Wall. "I feel safe again."
Gainesville Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Look says the city will never run out of properties like this one. "The list grows by about 20 properties a year," says Look. "But our budget only allows us at best to take down 8 or 10 of them."
So the list is growing.
The owner at 1026 SE 6th Avenue was nowhere to be found so the citizens of Gainesville are paying for this. But the city may get their money back eventually as a lien has been put on the property.
As this eyesore is eliminated, other neighbors aren't so lucky. Instead, the city levies a daily fine hoping to force homeowners to clean up their act. Many fines reach into the tens of thousands of dollars and even higher. But for the most part, little of that money will ever enter city coffers. If the problem is dealt with, usually the code enforcement board can vastly reduce or even eliminate the fines completely.
Mae Scott has served with the Springhill Neighborhood Crimewatch for 5 years. She says tearing this house down will make a big difference.
"I'm so happy," says Scott. "I'm so glad it's gone. Thank God for that!"
Demolishing the home has put a little piece of heaven into the Springhill neighborhood for all generations.
"It's like taking back your neighborhood," says Walls. "If you don't stand, nothing will happen."
So what should you do if you have an eyesore near you?
Call a code enforcement officer. But if the owner doesn't want to cooperate, don't expect quick results.
So although one man's trash may be another man's treasure, you may not have to look at it.
Related Stories
- Trash or Treasure? Part Two
- Trash or Treasure Part One
- A Grave Situation - Part Three
- The State of Real Estate Part Three
- Alternative Medicine: Allergies, Part Three
- Dan's Day Trips Part Three
- A Lost Treasure On Fifth Avenue
- Treasure Hunters Roadshow
- Claim Your Treasures
- "Metal Detectives" dig up treasure


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Results tagged "Daisuke Matsuzaka" from Who Made You Mirabelli?
The Red Sox clinched yet another Wild Card playoff berth, but there was no celebrating last night at Fenway, as Clay Buchholz and the Red Sox fell victim to an absolute mortar shelling by the Toronto Blue Jays, losing, 8-7, last night. Thankfully the Angels put the hurting on the Rangers to knock Texas out of contention... not exactly the way the Red Sox wanted to head into October... but beggars can't be choosers now.
After a strong month, Buchholz looked uncharacteristically hittable last night, giving up five home runs to the Jays, three of them to Adam Lind. But even after Big Play Clay's second sub-par start in a row, it's not time to panic just yet. He has shown that he has the stuff and his command is improving weekly. The only issue to worry about is whether or not his nerves will let him stay in command as the Red Sox head to the post-season.
What is cause for concern is Jon Lester. The veritable ace took a laser off the knee cap in this weekend's start against the Yankees. While he walked off the field and later was confirmed to have negative X-Rays, Red Sox Nation let out a collective 'oh crap,' as the hopes of October seemed to momentarily get "contusioned" away. (On a more serious note, the announcers could not have used the word "contusion" any more times than they did without having to declare the show "Medical Programming." Worst part is, they most likely don't even know what the word "contusion" means. WMYM apologizes for not knowing who exactly called the game... it was hard to make out the voices on the national broadcast over the droning sounds of "Margaritaville" on loop at some dive bar in Tampa, FL named Miss Vicky's. Can't make that stuff up.)
As for the playoffs, only time will tell what shape the rotation will be in. With Tim Wakefield's issues, his spine might actually start to resemble a question mark -- where is the school nurse with that scoliosis test when you need her? Buchholz has looked shaky in his last two starts, Beckett isn't his old self, and now Jon Lester has a second knee where his shin used to be. Who ever thought that Dice-K would be our most dependable starter going into the post-season... oh crap.
But as the tension become more and more palpable (mostly because of the unreal amounts of media attention it was getting... but what do you want? -- it was an off-day), it became clear that Red Sox fans weren't even going to get a nugget of anything. The Red Sox are almost as bad as the Patriots in that respect. They have become masters in saying literally nothing. It's almost enough to pray for an Ozzie Guillen-type figure... almost.
But taking a step outside the box, the question is this: does it really matter when Dice-K comes back? We've already seen he's no Beckett in the post-season. And now that our bats have woken up from their beauty rest, the team is winning... without him.
Obviously, you want your ka-trillion dollar man out there earning his salt. But his return isn't going to make-or-break the season. If anything, it's going to give Red Sox fans more heartburn, as pointed out in a brilliant, funny, and awe-inspiring article by a good friend of Who Made You Mirabelli, Michael James Silver, or Pythagorus, as he is known is some circles. He's a talented young writer for FireBrandAL who is really going places. No wonder why his work has gotten picked up by the likes of ESPN.com's Rob Neyer, and was featured on the MLB Outsiders homepage.
Although it is somewhat silly that Dice-K, in all of his virtual irrelevance, is making the homepage of anything these days... slow news day.
In what must have been an homage to the New Yankee stadium, Red Sox pitchers were letting them fly in last night's loss to the Twins. They tied a modern day record for most wild pitches in a single game with a whopping six slips. Four of those humdingers came from the apparently spasm ridden hand of Daisuke Matsuzaka. The other two came from Delcarmen, who laid an egg and a half, and Masterson - who tried to clean up after the cracking of said egg. In related news, catcher George Kottaras had a nervous breakdown after tonight's "display," and the Twin Cities negotiation team has been trying to talk him down from the clock tower.
Masterson and Manny (which it feels surprisingly refreshing to call him) have no excuse - but any Red Sox fan could tell you that if they had to put money on one pitcher throwing four wild pitches in a game, it would be none other than Daisuke Matsuzaka.
"Labor" is a good word to associate with the Dice-man. Everything he does now seems tedious - not boring - but tedious. Never known for his quick style of play (or his endurance for that matter), Dice-K through over a hundred pitches tonight... in only five innings. Sox fans have come to realize that the high priced import is far from a sure thing - apparently a Rolaids sponsorship is somewhere in the wings.
But the interesting thing, the element that keeps us coming back for more after getting slapped around for a few hours every six days, is that the difference between a brilliant Dice-K start is a razor-thin line. Half of the (or maybe the only) fun in watching this guy pitch revolves around seeing him get into these sticky situations just to see what kind of pitch he'll invent to get out of them.
It's long and sometimes painful (as we saw tonight) - but at least it's entertaining. Unless, of course, you're poor George Kottaras.
1) Have Daisuke Matsuzaka throw an efficient outing: Another game like Game 1 on Friday
would set Boston up for a nice, conservative win.
Matsuzaka can be infuriating for his voluminous walks, but he has a knack for working out of the jams he creates. Now would be a very ideal time to tap into the competitiveness Theo Epstein and co. cited when paying out the nose for the right to sign him in November 2006.
2) For God's sake hit someone!: Scott Kazmir would be a good place for the Red Sox to beginhitting again, and there's no time like the present. Sure, Kazmir is the Rays' ace, but he's been hittable by Boston's bats in his last two outings against the Red Sox, both in the regular season and in Game 2. Both of those matchups were in Florida, and Kazmir has fared pretty well at Fenway in his career (4-4, 3.02 ERA in 11 starts). Boston needs to get to Kazmir and get to him early, scoring off him before the Rays have a chance to summon their terrific bullpen.
3) Relieve pressure early: The last two games at Fenway
have sounded like a tomb, with fans staring at Rays routs in silence. If Boston can jump to an early lead, they can remind
their fans that this whole comeback thing is old hat with them.
4) Give the Rays something to think about: Staying alive for another day will force
the series to back to Florida, and then the Red Sox could tap into the
mystique forged by the 2004 and 2007 Sox squads before them. That, needless to say, would be a huge benefit.
Can Boston pull off all four of those goals? Maybe, but things will have to be a lot different than they have been recently if the Sox are going to stay alive. Otherwise the long, cold offseason starts tonight. And with the Patriots where they're at right now, that's not a pretty place to be.
in the 11th last night? Yeah, we don't either.
It gets into a lot of depth but here's the gist: Why start the bottom of the 11th with Mike Timlin when you could use a perfectly ready Paul Byrd?
Byrd is on the Red Sox roster for a reason. He's a crafty and clever pitcher, and while his guile can't get him out of every jam, it was good enough for him to rack up a 4-2 record with Boston since the Red Sox added him for the stretch run. Needless to say, plenty of his eight starts came against top notch competition (though, interestingly, none came against the Rays).
But wait, there's more. Another potential Byrd advantage is that the Rays haven't seen him this season at all! When Byrd was still pitching for the Indians, he missed the teams only two series against Tampa Bay early in the season. For some pitchers that might not be an advantage, but for Byrd it probably is. The 6-foot-1 righty uses a bizarre, double windup that has a tendency to throw off hitters, and might be just the kind of weapon to unnerve the Rays hitters.
Add to that Byrd's stats in his three most recent trip to the postseason -- last year's ALDS and ALCS -- where he was 2-0 while allowing a total of four runs over 14 innings against the Yankees and Red Sox, and one has to wonder why Francona decided against throwing him instead of Timlin.
As you can read, the post goes on to question whether Francona is saving Byrd for a surprise Game 6 start, given Josh Beckett's recent woes. For the record, I don't think that's the case, and I imagine Andy doesn't think that's the case, either (though he can speak for himself).
So what can Tito be thinking? Is he really considering giving Byrd a start in Game 6 and also trying to save his arm in case he has to be used some in Game 4, which will be started by the ever-terrifying dual persona of Tim Wakefield? It's possible, but given Francona's predilection to stick with "his guys", it seems unlikely.
Really, the whole issue is a head-scratcher, and that's what makes it so strange. Francona rarely makes decisions that beg for second guessing. Maybe he'll be right about this one in the long run, too, but it has us awful curious at the moment.
Boston: Matsuzaka-Beckett-Lester-Wakefield-Matsuzaka-Beckett-Lester
Tampa Bay: Shields-Kazmir-Garza-Sonnanstine-Sheilds-Kazmir-Garza
It's hard to make a convincing argument that Tampa Bay has a rotation advantage, particularly with the recent form of Boston's burgeoning ace left hander Jon Lester. With Lester potentially getting the ball in both Games 3 and 7, Boston would seem to have him right in the clutch that he's been excelling at. Josh Beckett had his shakiest postseason outing ever in Boston's ALDS loss, but an extra day of rest -- as opposed to two starts in three weeks -- should have him a lot closer to being on point in this series. Daisuke Matsuzaka continue to be an enigma, wriggling out of jams throughout high pitch counts over just five innings. We still haven't seen him go deep in a postseason game. Could this be the series? And as for Wakefield ... he's Tim Wakefield. While WMYM has a shrine dedicated to him, he's utterly hit or miss at the best of times. He has, however, traditionally been dominant at the Trop, but he'll have to ply his pitches at chilly Fenway in Game 4 of this series.
As for the Rays, Shields has had rough outings against the Sox, Kazmir got drilled the last time Boston faced him in the Trop while Garza continues to seem like the scariest guy they throw out on the hill. Andy Sonnanstine was great closing out the White Sox. Great. Stay tuned. That Game 4 could look like a mismatch in the Rays' favor depending on how the series turns before it.
The bullpen, however, is another story. The Rays have a plethora of setup men without the closer they took and injury-riddled shot on in the offseason: Troy Percival. That hasn't slowed them, and it probably won't now, either. The Sox relievers looked much better in the ALDS than they did in much of the season, but there are still questions. Justin Masterson had one of his shakiest outings as a big leaguer to set the stage for Jed Lowrie's heroic walk-off. Then there's the fact that Mike Timlin earned the extra roster spot. We're longtime backers of Captain Camo, but he was almost a walking white surrender flag during the second half of this year. If he has to come in during clutch situations, watch out. The Rays teed off on him the last time he came in against Tampa. Of course, they did that against Jonathan Papelbon once, too, so you never know.
EDGE: Red Sox. The rotation should help make up for Tampa's bullpen buffer.
Boston: Ellsbury-Pedroia-Ortiz-Youkilis-Drew-Bay-Kotsay-Lowrie-Varitek
Tampa Bay: Iwamura-Upton-Pena-Longoria-Crawford-Floyd-Navarro-Gross-Bartlett
On paper, this is another mismatch. Unfortunately, that's paper that was drawn up over the bulk of the regular season, not a series of clutch matchups between the Red Sox and Rays and the two teams' subsequent ALDS wins. Jacoby Ellsbury seems to be waking up at just the right time for Boston, and if Ortiz can do more than he did in a miserable series against the Angels and if J.D. Drew can stay healthy, the Sox look plenty dangerous. If either of those factors don't come through ... or even don't come through the way Boston needs them to, the Jason Bay will have to be called on to hit at the blistering pace he put up against Anaheim.
Tampa Bay, on the other hand, bats a bunch of guys who many would need scorecards for. That's before you look at monstrous hot streaks for B.J. Upton and Evan Longoria, two hitters sandwiched by Boston area-native and crushing power hitter Carlos Pena. The 'los does strike out plenty, but Longoria has to be considered one of the most terrifying up and coming hitters in the majors. Navarro is another whose contributions can't be minimized. The catcher had a bushel of huge hits against Boston this year, including the ball that cost Jonathan Papelbon in the game that forever turned the AL East tide.
EDGE: Push
PREDICTION: They say great pitching wins championships, and both these teams have the potential to have it. Sure, Tampa Bay's rotation is as young as the rest of its roster, but it's got plenty of heat and talent. That being said, betting against Josh Beckett (despite his ALDS numbers) and what seems like the ghost of Sandy Koufax embodied by Jon Lester is a hard thing to do. That's before you add in hopes for Matsuzaka and the fact that the Red Sox's two most important hitters -- Big Papi and Dustin Pedroia -- almost tossed out in 0-fer in the ALDS, and couldn't possibly be any worse. If Ortiz and Pedroia hit while Beckett improves and Lester keeps cruising, the Sox should win. It says here that will happen.
The chances were there -- a superb performance from Josh Beckett with only one-run of offensive support, a start for Tim Wakefield in a place where he'd traditionally dominated -- but in the end, it just didn't happen. After yet another key Daisuke Matsuzaka win in the opener of a series, not to mention an encouraging bounce-back from his disappointing outing at Fenway last week, the Red Sox offense crumbled in Games 2 and 3, all but handing Tampa Bay the AL East crown in the Rays' final stand at home.
Not that the Red Sox need to be cried over. With a seven-game edge in the Wild Card standings entering the night, Boston is all but assured to walk off with a playoff place, even with a tough run out of the season.
Those games -- at Toronto, at Cleveland and against the Yankees -- are exactly why Boston won't be able to bridge the two game breach at the end of the season. Sure, Tampa Bay has struggled on the road, a factor that comes firmly back into play as they head off to finish the season as vagabonds. But that shouldn't save the Red Sox with a division title on the line. It just won't. Boston had it's chances, twice in a week, for that matter, and it just didn't capitalize on them.
In fact, that's precisely what has to be much more discouraging about a second-straight collapse in a series against the Rays. Sure, the Sox hit impressively against Toronto and fought back to claw out a 3-of-4 series against a team even hotter than they were coming in, but they haven't been able to muster any of that clutch hitting against the team they've been chasing in the division all year. In fact, they haven't been able to muster any clutch hitting against Tampa Bay OR Anaheim, a considerable worry heading into the playoffs, since a Wild Card Boston would get yet another first-round face off with the Angels.
Naturally, conjecture over first round matchups are still a ways off. The AL Central is far too close to call, and even though the Sox shouldn't be able to bridge a two-game gap with 10 games left, much stranger things have happened. One magical run, and Fenway could be hosting Chicago or Minnesota as the playoffs open instead of trekking out to the left coast to kick off another playoffs.
It could happen, but it won't. It probably should happen, but it won't. It should have been teed up, but Boston couldn't capitalize and officially lost the season series to Tampa Bay for the first time ever. Kudos to the Rays. They earned an AL East title scrappy effort by undermanned scrappy effort, and the Red Sox just couldn't execute.
Soon, it'll be time to see who can execute when it really counts.
It would have been hard to draw up a better first win for Boston in the sanitized duality of a split-crowd Tropicana Field. Not only did the Red Sox roll up a rout, they battered the Rays' ace, hit more home runs than anyone could keep count of and got Daisuke Matsuzaka another win without extending him any more than they needed to.
Suddenly, not only is the division in a deadlock, the Red Sox seem to have a pitching edge tomorrow. And now they've proven that they can actually win in Tampa Bay when they need to. Add to that the continued improvement of players like Jed Lowrie and Coco Crisp in clutch situations -- i.e., the guys that weren't there last year are catching on -- and you have the makings of a real opportunity for Boston to steal something here. Not only can they grab the division lead heading down a tough stretch, they can steal momentum from Tampa Bay just days after they had taken it from the Red Sox and claimed it as their own.
Of course a Beckett meltdown and a subsequent Rays retaliation tomorrow could completely undo that shift in the blink of an eye. When you look at the schedule -- Blue Jays, Indians and Yankees for the Sox; Twins, Orioles and Tigers for the Rays -- Tampa clearly has an easier path toward the postseason. If they can scratch out a win over Beckett, that might well be enough to propel them back to the promised land of an AL East title and avoidance of the Angels in the first round. When it all shakes out, that's probably the most significant thing at stake, both tomorrow, Wednesday and in the run-out of the season.
That's why Monday night baseball was so important, and it's why Tuesday night with Beckett under the lights is so important, too. At midnight on Wednesday, everyone may have a more realistic answer when asked whether this Boston team can compete in the postseason the way the 2007 champions did.
It certainly looked like they could Monday.
weekend, but Toronto gets a shot at retaliation soon.
Those games in Canada will be just as important. (AP)
Of course, that kind of retrospective analysis minimizes the significance of the series in the moment. If the tables were turned on these results, with the Blue Jays taking three of four at Fenway instead of the other way around, the Wild Card race would appear very much alive. Instead, the Sox seem to be cruising toward the postseason, whether they earn that ticket via the aforementioned Wild Card or the AL East crown. That the AL East crown is even still in the picture after last weekend's Fenway meltdown to Tampa Bay is an accomplishment.
Now, Boston gets a three-game shot at a reprieve. Take two of three in Tampa Bay -- a tall task considering the fact that the Sox have yet to win there this year -- and Beantown will leave with a tie for the division lead. Lost two of three, or witness another sweep, and the division is all but officially finito.
Winning the division may still be a tall task -- trips to Toronto and Cleveland, not to mention that finale with the Yankees, remain on the schedule -- but making up ground on Tampa Bay may put enough shake into the Rays to let the Sox keep pace and maybe steal away with the division crown.
But none of this is relevant if the Sox can't pick up ground over the next three days. The Thunderdome is calling, it's just a matter of whether Boston can answer, starting with Daisuke Matsuzaka tonight.
All of those factors -- complete with a largely ineffective start from Daisuke Matsuzaka and a rare yet ultra-depressing loss for Jonathan Papelbon -- make the loss to the Rays all too depressing to bear. So we're not going to dwell on it any longer. Instead, WMYM is going to try and think about something more upbeat ... like the Patriots! They always win, right? Nothing could derail the Pats machine! Oh wait ...
Then again, there is this:
So maybe there is hope after all?
Not only was Boston's Monday victory over division-leading Tampa Bay an enormous boon, it kept alive huge trends for both teams: For the Red Sox, it kept alive an enormous win streak that has nearly eclipsed a five-and-a-half game division deficit. For the Rays, it kept a losing streak in tact that has all but eliminated a playoff-bound edge that Tampa Bay spent all summer building up.
Far from running away, the Rays are collapsing upon themselves, weighed down by both expectations and injuries, just as Boston is putting things back together. The mastheads of the two ships are nearing each other every day, closing on the moment when they'll finally pass each other in the night, steering toward directions unknown, with the potential to run aground at the same time in Tampa Bay, or continue on to playoff points in the future.
Generic high brow metaphors aside, Jon Lester's performance -- pitching a shutout into the eighth inning of a key playoff race game -- was nothing less of revelationary. Again. And while that might seem to be a redundant statement, instead it just reveals another facet of Lester's emerging persona as an overpowering ace. First there was the Game 4 victory in the World Series, a game before which some criticized Terry Francona for throwing a still recovery Lester to the playoff wolves. Less than eight months later, there was the no-hitter, a transcendent performance that showed the lefty could zero in on the pinpoint control he flashed in the preseason and the season's opening series in Oakland.
Since then, there's been skid stopping starts throughout the summer, complete with an even more significant start on Monday, a game which not only cut the divisional deficit to a bridgeable number but also provided a decisive blow to the very team Boston is chasing.
year, and if he can keep it going, the Red Sox
will have plenty to celebrate, too. (AP)
In the pantheon of amazing Red Sox developments this season, Lester's metamorphosis from borderline fifth-starter to one of the best left-handed arms in the major leagues is right at the top of the list. When combined with the improved control of Daisuke Matsuzaka, the improving health of Josh Beckett and only slightly surprising perfect fit of Paul Byrd, the Sox have a consistent four-man rotation with the ever present knuckleballing weekly wild card of Tim Wakefield. That might not be perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than just about any other team can provide.
Factor in the budding MVP candidacy of Dustin Pedroia, the resurrection of the ghost of Coco Crisp's bat, the depth brought by Mark Kotsay and rookie Jed Lowrie's imperviousness to pressure, and Boston just might be on to something here. We'll probably have a pretty good idea whether they do by the end of Wednesday night.
thankful for Friday night, all thanks to Dice-K. (AP)
At the outset, Josh Beckett was both the ace of the Red Sox and, based on postseason performance, all of Major League Baseball. After early injury, frustration and -- comparatively speaking -- inconsistency, Beckett was forced to take a back seat with an eye on the later part of the season.
Luckily for Boston, Beckett's backwards evolution coincided with the meteoric rise of Jon Lester. The second-year lefty not only tossed a no-hitter less than a year after returning to the big leagues while recovering from lymphoma, he built on it.
Just as Lester's gradual development was a stark contrast from the slow yet steady mental collapse of Clay Buchholz, it was equally significant in the broader context of the team's shifting reliance. Lester emerged as a dominantly consistent power pitcher while Beckett was ailing and Daisuke Matsuzaka fought with control from start to start, mixing a deft knack for escaping jams with the occasional brilliant pitch.
Lately, Matsuzaka-san's performances have been full of more brilliant pitches and less inconsistency. That's not to say that he's made it. Rather, Dice-K appears to finally be harnessing his immense talent and perfectionalism with a sense of comfort with the major leagues. On Friday, he mixed two hits with 24 outs against a team that's currently penciled in for the playoffs. That's not a perfect start, but it's awfully good.
Considering the fact that Lester hasn't exactly fallen off a cliff -- one loss in Toronto aside -- that leaves Boston with two healthy aces and one on the rebound. Should Beckett return next Friday, and Boston fans have to hope that he can find it in him to get back on the mound if this run toward the playoffs really is going to happen, then the Red Sox suddenly could find themselves with three starters stronger than any other team's heading toward October.
That's an awfully strong place to be, and it comes from out of the necessity for a new ace to emerge earlier this year, proving once again that necessity truly is the greatest mother of invention.
Here's hoping young Michael Bowden finds it in himself to go where Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have gone before him. If he does, he very well could find himself in a bullpen with Justin Masterson and other former teammates during the most exciting time of the year, in the most exciting place to be there.
After all, Fenway Park in October is a long ways from Portland and Pawtucket in July, even if it is just in between the two minor league outposts on the road.
Not only did Lester get knocked around on Saturday, he did so by one Wild Card chaser, allowing the other to close ground. After a convincing win behind newcomer Paul Byrd on Saturday, the Sox seemed to be in good shape for a timely three-game sweep in Canada, a set that would A) prove that Boston had turned the tables on a remarkably disappointing string of Toronto frustration, and B) distance itself from both the Blue Jays and Yankees, who were swept by their Canadian division mates last week.
Now, neither of those outcomes is in the offing, and the pitching shortcoming that led to that finality was one of the least likely this year: Jon Lester didn't come through.
That's right, in a year in which Lester has morphed from a fringe fifth-starter to a borderline ace, the lefty was knocked around from the early moments of the first inning Saturday, providing the pitching ammunition for Rogers Center fireworks that would make the organizers in Beijing blush. His fastball was a bit off, his location missed by inches and, as a result, the Pacific kid went from being unhittable -- literally, as he proved earlier this year -- to eminently drillable.
The result, of course, was the 11-0 whitewash that followed, a game which puts significantly more pressure on Daisuke Matsuzaka entering Sunday afternoon's series finale. If the Dice man can come through again, the Sox will close out an impressive two-of-three set in Canada, where no one has been winning series lately. If he doesn't, Boston will find itself wondering whether it has the ammunition to mount a run on Tampa while simultaneously holding off both the Yankees and Blue Jays. Between the series finale tomorrow and next week's set at Yankee Stadium, the next week will go a long way toward plotting the team's trajectory down the stretch. It's no coincidence that, just as Josh Beckett announces he'll miss a start, Tim Wakefield comes back. And Bartolo Colon throws a dominant outing in AAA.
The way things are going, they'll all need to get back. Fast.
A blown 10-run lead in the first inning? No way. Two straight games with late-inning collapses? Even against a shaky middle relief corp, seems a bit far fetched.
Well, so much for screenwriters. The melodrama from the past two days has hit the roof, and that's before taking into account an abdomen strain and DL stint for Mike Lowell or the acquisition of Paul Byrd and, seemingly, subsequent demotion of Clay Buchholz.
Still, all that truly matters are the numbers on the Green Monster scoreboard at the end of the game. For the second straight night, those were pretty good this evening, despite a disappointing three run homer given up by Mike Timlin in just the latest proof that the veteran is careening down a precipitous downlslope of his career.
Meanwhile, Javier Lopez got the Sox out of trouble, then promptly put them back in it. Only Justin Masterson's performance was reassuring in relief, and that still came with plenty of drama. Sure, Masterson allowed a fluky hit and somewhat disturbing walk. The reassurance comes from how he responded, calmly fielding his position to facilitate a double play, then egging a pop-out from Michael Young to end the game.
Of course, those up and down efforts would have been worthless if not for another sparkling outing from Jon Lester, who looked like he was ticketed for a complete game until a homer and bad bounce got him in eighth inning trouble. Lester continues to be a rock in the rotation, giving the Sox something they thought would be provided by Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka; two legitimate aces who dominate opponents and almost guarantee wins.
That's not to demean Dice-K's season, nor his bulging win total. He's immensely improved over his 2007 debut season, consistently wriggling out of the jams he often couldn't last year. Those three starters are precisely the reason why Boston is so dangerous in the playoffs, but the bullpen's abhorent performance over the past two nights is precisely why it'll need to keep getting runs from David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and the shockingly hot Jed Lowrie if they're going to catch Tampa Bay and gather more momentum heading toward the playoffs.
Given the injuries Tampa's suffered in the past week -- devastating, multiple-week losses of outfielders Carl Crawford and rookie of the year candidate Evan Longoria -- and the fact that the Red Sox can block the Rays from adding personnel via the waiver wire, you have to like the position Boston is sitting in. Meanwhile, the Yankees haven't completely played themselves out of the postseason yet -- years past have certainly proven that -- but they're making yet another trip to the playoffs a pretty tall order entering the final six weeks of the season.
Oh, and in case you forgot, Jason Bay is looking awful good, and comfortable, in a Sox uniform. It just bears mentioning, particularly considering the fact that Manny Ramirez likely wouldn't have been playing half the time whatsoever.
Strike Two: A devastating, televised meltdown by Daisuke Matsuzaka in the sixth inning of Monday night's loss to the Angels.
Strike Three: A bad loss to the Halos only hours after they, not the Red Sox or Yankees, made the move of the trade deadline season. A loss that further undermines significant concern over Clay Buchholz's development and makes one wonder whether he can contribute significantly this season ... at all.
Put them all together, and the Angels are in position to send Boston into a tailspin tonight at Fenway, all with Mark Teixeira pulling on a Halo uniform for the first time. If that, combined with Jon Lackey's official exorcism of the ghosts that have haunted him in Boston across recent years last night, doesn't send a shiver up your spine, we don't know what will.
We've been holding on to these photos for a couple days, waiting for something that could make WMYM break down and re-hash any development that might be slightly positive. Nothing's coming. Thus, these really are the lasting moments of the last two days, disappointing as they are to Boston fans ... and uplifting to those wearing the "A" on their hats.
Last night's Red Sox win, a 44-0 doozie over the Mariners highlighted by Jon Lester's brilliant eight-inning shut out and Jonathan Papelbon's Houdini impersonation in the aformentioned eighth, a two-pitch double play gem that got Lester out of a bases-loaded jam (though he could hardly be blamed for the last of the three runners), was a return to normalcy.
OK, maybe it wasn't a return to normalcy. After all, how many times this year has Jason Varitek come through with the big homer? Still, it showcased more of the offense pressure fans are used to than Boston flexed in Anaheim. The team's four runs came in two different innings, included an impressive homer and clearly benefitted from hitters showing more patience at the plate, eventually getting to Jerrod Washburn despite the pitcher's relatively impressive stuff.
That brings us to tonight, with Daisuke Matsuzaka heading to the hill for his first start of the second half of the season. His personal campaign -- you can practically call it the "Yes, I really am worth all that cash" season -- kept it's positive trajectory going in his final start before the All-Star break, yet another win with big innings and harrowing escapes more typical of a mid-summer Tom Cruise flick than an mid-summer outing on a pitching rubber.
All of those steps forward, for both Matsuzaka and Boston, will get pushed to the side if they can't put together another game like they did on Monday night. Interestingly, the tables will be turned on the Sox, with their hitters facing off against ulner ligament-less knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, whose 2-4 record comes with the asterisk of limited starting experience -- he's only started seven games this season -- and his relative youth as a knuckleballer. Dickey came up as a fireballing fastball hurler, then converted himself into a gimmick pitcher after he had his ulnar ligament completely removed when one elbow surgery turned into the next without any significant productivity in between.
Dice-K, meantime, has had mixed results against the Mariners himself. After the loss in his Fenway Park debut, in which he was famously outdueled by Felix Hernandez, Matsuzaka hasn't lost against Seattle. Unfortunately, he's only won once, with a whopping three no-decisions thrown in for good measure.
One would think he'd need a bit more run support than in his earlier outing against the M's this year, when he lasted only four innings while giving up three runs. But that all depends on whether Dickey's knuckler moves.
Here's hoping Tim Wakefield hasn't been giving any lessons in the past week.
1) We'll start with a biggy right out of the box: Given the recent seven-game tailspin by the Rays, who is a bigger threat to the Red Sox in the American League East: the Yankees or the Rays? Why?
We may not want to admit it, but the Yankees are definitely the bigger concern. Sure, the Rays have had a great first half, but their seven-game losing streak heading into the break exposed them for what they are: A terrific home team that's still learning to win on the road. Come September, rookies, second and third year players the likes of Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton will have to keep swinging hot sticks when it counts. It says here they'll slow down. The Yankees, on the other hand, really can't go down from where they already are. Joba Chamberlain seems to be settling into the rotation, Andy Pettitte is practically guaranteed to come through with three, four, maybe even 10 clutch starts and Mike Mussina is in the middle of an inexplicable renaissance. Put those factors together with a veteran lineup that has yet to truly click, and you get a team that could put together a serious challenge, whether Sox fans like it or not.
2) What do you see as the single biggest thing the Red Sox struggle with in 2008? Is it in the bullpen? Timely hitting? The gaping holes that have appeared at times in the lineup? How do you fix that problem?
Clearly it's the bullpen. Thinking back to 2007, there were plenty of stretches when the lineup was mired in slumps and when the team left ducks on the pond. The difference thus far, aside from having more injuries in 2008, has been the surprisingly vulnerable bullpen. If you check out the numbers, most would probably be surprised to find that Javier Lopez has done a better job of limiting damage off inherited runners than anyone else. Javier Freaking Lopez, the lefty specialist. That's not a great sign. Manny Delcarmen's recent surge has been a bright ray of optimism and Craig Hansen seems to be getting more and more consistent, but neither has reached the status of Hideki Okajima in '07, aka a sure bridge to Jonathan Papelbon (speaking of which, turn away all Sox fans, but Paps has been a touch more hittable this year, too, despite the fact that WMYM, for one would rather have him on the mound than anyone else in the ninth). So there you go, clearly, the bullpen is the issue and Theo Epstein would do awful well to go grab a, say, Scott Linebrink at the trade deadline. Not that he's available, but someone of that ilk would sure go a long ways.
3) I've got a record for being a pretty large Terry Francona supporter and apologist at times. With that said, some of his decisions in the first half of the season have baffled me, like not sending in a pinch-hitter for the badly slumping Jason Varitek with one out and the bases loaded in the ninth inning of a 2-1 loss against the Yankees on
July 5. Where do you stand on Francona's performance and juggling act in the face of numerous injuries this season?
WMYM has always been a pretty huge Francona backer itself, so it's pretty hard for me to weigh in objectively. That being said, WMYM is standing by Francona, blemishes and all, halfway through the season. Sure, it took him far too long to catch on to Hideki Okaijima's inability to retire batters that were already on base when he took the mound, and some of his other moves to the bullpen have created some head scratching, too. That being said, WMYM would have had Varitek hit in that situation, too. If the Sox are going to bounce back, Varitek is going to have to be a big part of it. Boston might as well get him going now, or this whole "Division and World Title Defense" thing just isn't happening.
4) David Ortiz is expected to return after July 25, which is obviously a huge sigh of relief for Red Sox fans. If you were in charge, how would you incorporate him into a lineup that has produced abundantly at times with JD Drew hitting third, ahead of Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell? Also, what do you do about the four starting outfielders the Red Sox have used while Ortiz was out, since Manny got the bulk of the at-bats at designated hitter?
This one's easy: You move everyone back to where they were, recent productivity aside. Ortiz and Ramirez have always been lethal as the three-four combo, and Mike Lowell is born for the five-hole. So All-Star Game MVP J.D. Drew hit's sixth, you ask? That's right, and congratulations for your mastery of math. With the way the guys in front of him tend to hit, that'll still give J.D. plenty of RBI opportunities, and in that situation he's more of an insurance policy, which is what the team really needs him for anyway.
5) Who wins more games this season: Daisuke Matsuzaka or Josh Beckett? What would you put the over-under number at for each pitcher, and why?
This is actually tougher than it looks, but WMYM is going with Beckett. Sure, Matsuzaka's off to a 10-1 start at the break, and he's already missed injury time which should make him a big more fresh coming down the stretch. The problem is the modifying piece of that last sentence: a bit. Anyone who saw Dice-K's late season meltdown last year has to temper expectations. Still, he's been more effective this year, so we're going with a final record of 18-6. Beckett, meanwhile, has missed a little time himself, and is a win behind at the break, entering with a record of 9-5. Yet Beckett looks to be in more command every time out, and if the division race stays close down the stretch, there's little doubt that Beckett will raise his performance again. So we're going with a final record if 19-8 for Beckett, which means we have him with a second-half record of 10-3. Sounds about right, don't it?
6) How do you see the American League playoff picture shaping up? Is this a year where the wild card does not come out of the AL East? Who makes the playoffs?
When you take a gander at the American League in total, it's hard to see another division grabbing the wild card spot. AL Central? Not by the record of it, and that assumes that the Twins can keep pace with the White Sox. Clearly Detroit's just too old. AL West? Not likely. The Angels are already running away with the division and the A's are too busy trading significant pieces to notice. Where does that leave us? Well, as much as WMYM hates to admit it, that gives us a playoff picture like so: AL East: Red Sox/Yankees, AL Central: White Sox, AL West: Angels. Sure, I'd love to see the Rays keep the Yankees out, too, but as previously stated, it's just too much of a leap of faith on youth ... which is a real shame.
But first, a general overview: Things are pretty good, aren't they? Think about it: the Red Sox found a way to enter the All-Star Game in hated Yankee Stadium with the AL East lead. They've done so despite first half DL stints for three primary starters -- Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholz -- and with back-and-forth bullpen shuffling that included jettisoning to members of last year's World Series champions.
Oh, and did we mention that the team is still reigning World Series champion? Yeah, that helps, too, particularly come September, when any pennant race will have to include the experience factor that Boston can rely on, with two world titles and (finally!) an AL East crown won in 2007.
So, without further ado, let's get into the grades:
Rotation: A-
Daisuke Matsuzaka is the only 10 game winner, but you could make a case for all of the Sox starters to get serious accolades. In fact, Matsuzaka hasn't even been the most consistent, an honor which, quite unbelievably, might go to second-year man Jon Lester, he of the World Series clincher and, now, no-hitter. Tim Wakefield has improved as the season has gone on, again, and has looked positively unhittable the last three times out. Josh Beckett was out of shape in camp and then dealt with nagging injuries, but he's begun to pitch like his overpowering self, and Matsuzaka continues to mystify with his ability to wriggle out of trouble, time and time again. Clay Buchholz has been a truly mixed bag, with a pair of unbelievable wins and even more unbelievably frustratingly inconsistent losses. The gem of the first half? That might be Justin Masterson, whose meteoric rise through the minor leagues didn't slow his success in the bigs, where he was absolute quality every single time he took the mound. OK, there was the one five-run game, but outside of that, the sinkerballer was outstanding.
Player-by-player: Beckett A-, Matsuzaka A, Lester B+, Wakefield B+, Buchholz C+, Masterson A-
The Red Sox brass picked the wrong rookie starter.
Red Sox should have sent Justin Masterson, above, to the 'pen rather than Clay Buchholz, below.
Look, we know that Clay Buchholz's stuff is as good as anyone else on the Sox staff. We know he brings an electricity with the potential for a no-hitter every time out, and he could easily hit a second half groove that makes him an invaluable addition to the Boston rotation. As WMYM said right off the bat, we certainly hope he does. But as things stand now, we can't figure out how he's a better bet as a fourth or fifth starter than Justin Masterson, a pitcher who's shown he can maximize each outing on the hill.
Instead, it's Masterson the Sox are sending to the bullpen, arming him with the chore of re-tooling his approach in the minor leagues for a call up at a time TBD. It's precisely the type of plan they cooked up for Buchholz last year before his shoulder soreness got in the way, creating a temporary void in the bullpen that led the then-WMYM to proclaim his absence a major playoff dilemma for Boston.
There were numerous reasons to write that then, but primary among them was this: Masterson could be one of the great confounding relievers of all-time. He can challenge with a fastball, drop his curve off the table and leave batters questioning which pitch is coming on a constant basis.
That's not the case with Masterson, a sinkerballer whose success is based almost entirely on velocity and location. If Masterson is having a good night, whoever he's pitching against is going to be making a lot of contact, hitting into groundouts and pop flys and various other hits for outs. He can pound the ball inside and paint the edge of the corners for strikeouts, but that's not his game. Controlled contact is.
Buchholz, on the other hand, is a strikeout pitcher, a guy whose stuff may come and go inning to inning or, on good nights, game to game. He approaches every batter with the assumption he's going to strike him out, which -- combined with his remarkably frail physique -- is why his occasional dominance is so impressive. In short, you're taking a gamble when you bring him out of the pen, particularly with runners on (as you'd assume they would use him). But that chance comes with the possibility of high reward and a strong potential to bail out whichever arm is currently on the hook.
Obviously, that's not the case with Masterson. Think about it: contact is NOT what you want when the bases are loaded. At that point, any contact brings potential for disaster, particularly with a pitcher in his first major league season who, despite showing an aptitude for working out of jams, remains a relatively untested commodity when put under pressure.
So why are Theo Epstein, Terry Francona and the rest of the Boston brain trust making this move? That's easy: It's all about innings.
Think about it, the Red Sox developmental program is so focused on pitch counts and innings limits that they only half-joked about taking Buchholz out of his no-hitter in the eighth inning last year. As it turns out, they were clearly vindicated in their stringent limits, with Buchholz's shoulder injury coming less than a month later.
This year, Buchholz's pitch and innings limits have been extended, giving the pitcher more of a leash to work with on the mound. Conversely, Masterson finds himself in the binds that constrained Buchholz last summer, limited even in his best outings by a daily pitch count and, eventually, by the number of appearances he was to be allowed in during 2008.
That's why the move does make sense from a strategic position. Unfortunately, strategic positions don't play games on the field, like, say, the one that the Sox are currently trailing to the Orioles at Fenway Park. It's Buchholz's first start back, and his inning-to-inning schizophrenia is in full effect. We're going to go close our eyes while "watching" the rest of the game, hoping that the overpowering and mystical Buchholz gets the best of his alter-ego, waiting for Tim Wakefield and Daisuke Matsuzaka the next couple days. Come to think of it, Wake and Dice-K are just as likely to have WMYM looking for alkaseltzer, aren't they? Hmmmm. Must be time for the weekly CVS trip for TUMS.
That's why it was particularly important that Boston return to Fenway and play a lot more like the team that earned seven All-Star spots without raising an eyebrow than the one that left more ducks on the pond than a conservation specialist in Boston Common.
In the end, after a little more than three hours in the Boston humidity, the Red Sox bats didn't quite reverse the trends of the last seven days. They did, however, do just enough to break a two-game losing streak and help closer Jonathan Papelbon get rid of the truly rotten taste in his mouth left over from a 10th-inning loss, the first time in 20 Papelbon outings that the Sox didn't win.
This one, they did, 1-0 against a surging Twins team that had won 16 of its past 18 games. The fact that one run, driven in by the slumping Manny Ramirez after a terrific Dustin Pedroia double to lead off the top of the eighth inning, was enough to earn a win and break a horrendous slippery slope, a downhill traipse of demoralizing one-run losses that that was quickly mounting to the realm of crippling. Instead, the Sox bounced back behind a dominant performance from Daisuke Matsuzaka, who wriggled out of a first inning jam and then proceeded to put himself on efficient pitch counts until a rough patch in the eighth inning.
The rest, of course, is one-night history. Hideki Okajima gets himself in even more hot water, then gets off without a run. ManRam strokes his RBI single, and Papelbon gets redemption moments later.
It's an auspicious start to a truly essential three game series. With the Twins as hot as any other team in the majors, Boston has an immediate opportunity to prove that it's rough road trip was a fluke. It can also use the tripartite series as an instant edge in any potential wild card chase down the road, not to mention the tiebreaking factor in head-to-head factor.
Naturally, it's too early to be taken those kind of considerations seriously. In 2006 the Sox looked as good as any team in the majors at the All Star break, then faded to a dismal third place. While starting pitching depth would seem to make that a less likely eventuality this time around, nothing is impossible -- copyright Adidas -- particularly with Reebok pitchman Big Papi cheering from the bench instead of relaxing in the batter's box.
So, while Justin Masterson heads down to the minor leagues to learn how to be a reliever, Jon Lester and Josh Beckett get a chance to show they can keep pace with Matsuzaka. If they can, then perhaps Boston can move on and get back to life before the week of July 1-7. Needless to say, that would be a step in the right direction.


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Good Morning, Broncos fans! Ryan Clady (hamstring) and Tony Carter (illness) sat out Friday's practice; all other players were full participants.
John Fox says Clady is day-to-day; Chris Clark would take his place in the starting lineup should he not be ready to go Monday. Chris Kuper will likely see his first action of the year, but it's unknown whether he'll start at right guard and return Manny Ramirez to the bench.
Keith Brooking was a full participant after having passed his post-concussion tests on Tuesday; he admits he's likely past the days where he should be playing 60-70 defensive snaps per game.
Demaryius Thomas continues to tote a football around with him at Dove Valley in order to improve his ball security, and he hopes defenders will become preoccupied with trying to strip the ball instead of tackling him.
Videos: Mike McCoy, Jack Del Rio, and Champ Bailey speak to reporters after practice; Demaryius Thomas tells BTV he won't be fumbling anymore; the NFLN Playbook guys break down the matchup, with Brian Baldinger predicting that Denver's tight ends will tear up San Diego's defense.
Champ says he's grown to respect Philip Rivers, after calling him out on his trash-talking several years ago, and he says the Broncos miss the return skills of Eddie Royal.
After last Sunday's third-and-long debacles, much of the week's focus was on getting the defense off the field in those situations.
Jeff Legwold expects the Broncos to rush Rivers more aggressively than they did Tom Brady, and he thinks the Broncos were unfairly penalized on the too-many-men call that went against them in New England.
We'll agree with Mike Lombardi that Elvis Dumervil had a poor game last week, but strongly disagree with the claim by others that Doom has been bad all season.
Kevin Fishbain hears the Broncos don't think Danny Trevathan and Nate Irving are strong in coverage, that Jim Leonhard's knee still isn't 100%, and he reminds us that Ryan Mathews has thrived against Denver. As for his note on Quinton Carter, the safety already had his microfracture surgery.
Sam DeWitt looks ahead to the 2013 offseason and ponders a free-agent signing of Bengals LB Rey Maualuga; we'll continue to argue that Ronnie Hillman was drafted to be an every-down back, and disagree that Quinton Carter has been a disappointment. After all, he started ten games as a fourth-round pick, and injuries are part of the game.
Naturally, Peyton ranks well in terms of not holding the ball too long and taking long sacks. TYJE.
Video game maker Ubisoft sent a pair of choreographers to Von Miller's house to help mend his ailing sack dance.
Newly elected Colorado Sports HOFer Steve Atwater has three sons currently playing football; two in college, one in high school.
Norv Turner is not confident that LT Jared Gaither (groin) will be ready to go for Monday; that would leave undrafted rookie Mike Harris protecting the blind side of Philip Rivers against Elvis Dumervil and Von Miller. Former friend Eddie Royal (hamstring) and fellow wideout Malcom Floyd (groin) are also banged up, but are expected to play.
Rivers, who has always thrown a lot of passes to his backs, is doing so at an unusually high clip so far this season.
Tom Krasovic goes unit by unit and somehow decides the Chargers field a better defense than does Denver.
To no great surprise, the Chargers held enough of their fans hostage (by forcing them to also buy Chiefs tickets) that the game will not be blacked out in the Whale's Vagina.
All four players suspended in the Saints bounty scandal have appealed, and they have requested that the Ginger Hammer recuse himself from handling the appeals, since he obviously can't be impartial.
The Jets have given up on their dream of having Darrelle Revis make a Super Bowl return (HAHAHA), and have finally placed him on IR.
Brian Cushing's season-ending injury has re-raised the topic of the NFL's offensive/defensive double standard when it comes to protecting defenseless players from injury.
We love to joke about how Raiders players and fans are terrible people, but yikes - former Raiders DE Anthony Smith will stand trial for four murders, and could face the death penalty.
Previews of Week 6 from Clark Judge, Peter King, John Clayton, Bill Simmons and Doug Farrar/Greg Cosell (podcast), plus the most notable reported injuries.
Robert Weintraub offers a remembrance of the late Beano Cook.
WVU QB Geno Smith now sits atop Rob Rang's 2013 Big Board.


text: A series of forums are taking place, seeking public input about the state of the lobster industry and recommendations for the future. The goal is to get ideas from people in the industry about the harvest, prices, the licensing system, and more. Sixteen meetings are planned for this month in coastal towns from York to Machias. The schedule is posted on the department's website maine.gov/dmr/LobsterIndustry.htm


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How about a Clean Eating Healthy Peanut Butter Cup recipe that needs only 4 clean ingredients?
Well, you will never eat another unhealthy, store-bought candy bar after making these.
They are so simple to make and you have complete control over the quality of ingredients that are used.
Let's look at the ingredient list from the famous store-bought brand:
S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate, Nonfat Milk, Milk Fat, Lactose, Soy Lecithin, Emulsifier), Peanuts, Sugar, Dextrose, Salt, TBHQ (Preservative) (source)
Just like all S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) candy bars, they are filled with GMO ingredients, highly refined salt and sugar, preservatives and dairy. They are also filled with empty calories and do not nourish the body. Also, non-organic peanut butter can contain up to 8 different pesticides.
This healthier version uses clean, real food ingredients that the body can use and they're organic, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and contain no refined sugar.
Want more healthy dessert recipes? Check out Raw Vegan Snickers Bars, Clean Eating Chocolate Crunch Bars, Pomegranate and Dried Blueberry Chocolate Bark or my Clean Eating eCookbook with an entire chapter of 20 healthy, clean eating recipes just like this one that you will love!
5 Fast Facts About Coconut Oil:*
- super high in lauric acid
- rich in antioxidants
- contains natural microbial and anti-bacterial agents
- improves metabolism
- can help improve cholesterol
5 Fast Facts About Maple Syrup:*
- contains manganese and zinc
- high levels of antioxidants
- helps with inflammation
- 1/4 cup contains more calcium as the same amount of milk
- 1/4 cup contains more potassium than a banana
5 Fast Facts About Raw Cacao Powder:*
- contains over 300 compounds including protein, copper, calcium, magnesium, zinc and iron
- super high in anti-oxidants
- contains 4 different neuro-transmitters that act as anti-depressants
- contains essential fatty acids
- can help to lower blood pressure
5 Fast Facts About Peanuts (Peanut Butter):*
- excellent source of vitamin E
- high in folate
- contains tryptophan which helps fight depression
- good source of fiber
- excellent source of protein
*These statements have not been evaluated by Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Where to Buy: If you have trouble finding any of the ingredients to make this recipe, you can order online from Amazon and have them delivered straight to your door!
Tip #1: This is important – they will need to be kept in the refrigerator/freezer until you are ready to serve/eat them because they will get soft and lose their shape if left out at room temperature.
Tip #2: If you'd like to have the chocolate indention in the center (as shown in the photo), just add the spoonful of the chocolate topping to the peanut mixture BEFORE putting the cups in the freezer. The peanut butter mixture will be soft and you can push the chocolate mixture down with your spoon, then spread the rest evenly over the top. This way, you will only put them in the freezer one time.
Tip #3: This recipe will make approximately 8 large peanut butter cups in a standard sized muffin cups filling them up about 3/4 full or about 10 – 12 if you only fill them up 1/2 full. The muffin cups I use are easy to clean, easy to remove the treats from and they're reusable. You can also use regular paper muffin cups if you prefer.
Tip #4: Want to make these paleo-friendly or nut-free? Try using almond butter (paleo) or sun butter (nut-free) as a substitution for peanut butter.
Healthy Peanut Butter Cups (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, No Refined Sugar)
|The Healthy Family and Home
For the peanut butter bottoms
- 1 cup organic peanut butter
- 1/4 cup organic maple syrup
- 1/4 cup organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)
For the chocolate topping
- 1/4 cup organic raw cacao powder
- 1/8 - 1/4 cup organic maple syrup
- 1/4 cup organic coconut oil (melted/liquid)
|For the peanut butter bottoms
|Step 1
|Combine the peanut butter, maple syrup and coconut oil (melted/liquid) in a medium size bowl and stir until well combined.
Drop a spoonful at a time into standard sized muffin cups until they are approximately 1/2 - 2/3 full.
Put them into the freezer for at least 15 minutes or until slightly hardened.
|For the chocolate topping
|Step 2
|Combine the raw cacao powder, maple syrup and coconut oil (melted/liquid) in a small size bowl and stir until well combined.
Drop a spoonful at a time on top of the frozen/hardened peanut butter in the muffin cups.
Put them into the freezer for at least 15 - 30 minutes or until hardened.
|Step 3
|Keep in the freezer until ready to serve because they will get soft and lose their shape if left out at room temperature.
This recipe will make approximately (8) peanut butter cups using standard-sized muffin cups.
Recipe inspired by and adapted from: http:/www.freecoconutrecipes.com/index.cfm/2013/1/9/buttercup-bars
The adapted recipe and photographs for "Healthy Peanut Butter Cups" by Karielyn Tillman of The Healthy Family and Home are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License and cannot be used without my written permission.
Affiliate Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you were to make a purchase through one of these links, "The Healthy Family and Home" website would receive a small commission.
Amazon Disclosure: "The Healthy Family and Home" website is a participant in the Amazon Services, LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.


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|Property type
Property details
3-room apartment 40 m2. Practical and modern furnishings: living/sleeping room with 1 double sofabed (1 x 140 cm), TV and air conditioning. 1 double bedroom. 1 room with 1 x 2 bunk beds. Kitchenette (4 hot plates, oven, microwave, freezer). Shower/bidet/WC. Terrace 10 m2. Terrace furniture. Partial view of the sea. Facilities: washing machine, iron, hair dryer. Internet (WiFi, free). Suitable for families.
building and outdoor:
Residence Donnalucata Resort, built in 2014. 11 apartments in the residence. 1 km from the sea. For shared use: garden (fenced) with trees, swimming pool (12 x 6 m, depth 150 - 150 cm, 01.05.-30.09., extra). Table tennis, boccia (extra). In the complex: fitness room, solarium. Parking on the premises. Supermarket 500 m, restaurant 1 km, bar 1 km, sandy beach 1 km. Please note: car recommended. The photograph shows a typical example.
*Plus compulsory or optional charges based on actual occupancy or consumption. The payment has to be made in the currency offered by the property manager, before use of conversion tool. Payments in other currencies have to be negotiated beforehand with the property manager. The currency conversion tool is provided for your convenience only and is non-binding.


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CommunityBank of Texas can provide financing for a variety of your short-term, long-term or ongoing commercial financial needs including:
Commercial Loans
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Fixed Asset Purchases
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Your loan is originated and processed locally. All decisions are made by people you know and you get the fast answers you deserve. Your loan officer is always available to answer any questions and give you a status on your loan request.
We are committed to making the application process as painless, professional and fast as possible. Just call the CommunityBank of Texas branch nearest you.


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Casio's Exilim-phone, a fairly standard EVDO Rev. A phone with a 5 megapixel camera plus 3x optical zoom, comes soon to our shore. Verizon will subsidize it, and this is what it will look like.
[Intomobile via Ubergizmo]
I hope it looks better than these pictures. Is that a Lieca red dot there?
It looks like it has fallen out of someone's pocket and been run over by a car.


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Creative Arts & Digital Industries
This is for you if… you're imaginative, inventive, creative and are looking for a career in media or the arts. Our Art & Design courses are led by a team of specialist lecturers, who are also practising artists and designers. The department has a varied programme of exhibition visits and guest lecturers and actively seeks out live arts-based projects to provide students with real-world, arts-industry experiences.
Media production is an interesting and varied subject that is hugely rewarding for dedicated and enthusiastic people. Media offers students a wide range of career paths and opportunities for further study at university level:
- Graphic artists
- Animator
- Marketers
- Advertising
- Sales
- Researchers
- Writers
- Sound designers
- Photographers
- Content creators
- Specialist lawyers
- Web developers
- Programmers.
If this sounds appealing our Interactive Media Production courses could be ideal for you.
Career prospects
Creative arts degrees open more doors than ever before, according to The Telegraph. Jobs in this field can be highly competitive, and enthusiasm, commitment and strong teamwork are essential for success. The European Commission considers the digital and creative industries the most dynamic emerging sector in Europe to work in and the most important driver of innovation in other sectors. The creative industry employs around two million people with employment in the sector having grown at double the rate of the economy as a whole.
Our Art & Design students have also gone on to work on exciting live artist projects. Students who completed the highest level course have gained places on courses such as BA (Hons) Fine Art, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Animation, Photography, Video Production, 3D Design Crafts, Fashion & Textiles and Illustration at institutions such as Falmouth University College, University of Brighton, Winchester School of Art, University of Salford and UWE. Students also went on to work as freelance artists, fashion designers and production assistants at companies such as Habitat, Next and the BBC.
Working your way through the levels of our Creative Media courses can lead to Higher Education and work in the media industry. Previous students have gained places on courses such as BSC (Hons) Computing, BA (Hons) Television Production and BA (Hons) Design for Games, at institutions such as Southampton Solent University, Bournemouth University and Plymouth College of Art. With media industries and production becoming more convergent it is difficult to imagine any area of media, marketing and entertainment production which does not require an interactive element. Students who complete the Interactive Media Production course can apply to degrees such as FdA Interactive Media, FdA Digital Media Design, FdA Video Production with Multimedia, BA (Hons) Digital Media Production.
Why study with us?
Our highly successful Media courses are designed to inspire with industry award-winning teaching staff and access to state-of-the-art equipment and industry standard software in our media centre, The Hive. Thanks to the inspirational teaching of our dedicated and committed staff, many of our former students are now working in the media industry and elsewhere in the cultural sector. Art and Design students can expect excellent facilities including a print room with silk screen, etching and a 3D workshop for wood, metal and resin processes, photographic studios with wet and dry rooms, an Apple Mac room, ceramics and life drawing studios, and studios for graphics and textiles.
Next steps
Click on the course link in the table for more information, including entry requirements, assessment and course content. You may also want to discuss courses with teaching staff and students at one of our Open Evenings and apply for a place online.


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SRIVASTAVA INDIA – Hundreds of troops have been dispatched to India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh after at least 28 people were killed in a weekend of communal violence, police said Monday.
Authorities declared a high security alert after clashes between Muslims and Hindus in Uttar Pradesh, which has witnessed some of the country's worst religious violence in recent decades.
TV footage showed troops on patrol in riot-hit areas with villagers seeking safety in police stations in the worst-hit Muzaffarnagar district, 105 km northeast of New Delhi.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav called for calm in the state, which has a sizeable Muslim population, as television aired footage of injured victims on hospital gurneys.
"No leniency will be shown toward those disturbing peace. District officers have been given a free hand to control the situation," Yadav warned in televised remarks.
Some 800 troops had been deployed to the state, India's most populous with 200 million people, NDTV network said.


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me? scared? of big hair? I wish I had more volume. I used to wear my hair in a bun because it's very frizzy.Then I noticed my hair was beggining to thin on the top of my head , so I decided to stop wearing it like that every day. It was impossible to handle it because I had no idea what to do.Ponytail is the only wy I can wear it and I am getting really sick of it. The avatar pic is what I call wearing it down because it's just clipped at the top. With nothing to reign it in, it's a 2 foot afro. The avatar pic is after 2 days of the no-poo method and that's actually the best it's looked in YEARS! It would scare you too bad if I posted an "everyday" pic. LOL!
After that, I cut it quite short-layered and it was a lot easier to handle.The good thing is that the hair began to grow back. Now that I have learned some things I want to make it longer, to see if there will be a difference between now and then.
Don't give up, our hair is beautiful. We should not be ashamed of what we have. The bad thing is that it takes a lot of effort to find out what really suit us.


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Did you hear that Steve Jobs had a heart attack? You might have, if you keep up with current events via CNN's iReport.com, a site full of user-generated content (most of which, by the look of things, is made up of opinions about the 2008 U.S. presidential race). Despite the site's tagline -- "Unedited. Unfiltered. News." -- enough people took the report (which, I suppose I should say, is not true) seriously enough to briefly drive down Apple shares 10 percent. Shades of the incident earlier this year when a misdated news item on Google News almost obliterated United Airlines' stock price -- except while most people agree that the United incident was the result of mistakes and misunderstandings, some believe that Steve's fake heart attack might have been a deliberate fraud. The SEC is investigating.
But Apple really ought to contemplate the why of this -- not "Why would anyone want to drive down Apple's stock" or "Why were people so willing to believe an unsubstantiated rumor", but "Why is our stock price so closely tied to perceptions of our CEO's health?" The short answer is that Apple is closely identified with its co-founder, who brought the company back to relevance in the late '90s and has run it as a near personality cult ever since, like no other company of its size. As Don Reisinger cogently puts it, Apple needs to make its succession strategy clear if it wants to avoid these types of panics.


text:
Ice Water Drinker Tumbler
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Success!KEEP EXPLORING or CHECK OUT
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added to your cart
"Lover, thinker, ice water drinker!"
about this tumbler
Sometimes the healthiest things we can do for ourselves are often the most simple. Give yourself a pat on the back for your good hydration choices via this cool tumbler. Hopefully, this crazy water drinking idea will catch on!
• Bright blue lettering on crystal clear
• 16 oz. double wall tumbler with blue lid + clear straw.
• BPA free, handwash recommended
• Artwork & phrase ©Lindsay Sherbondy


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With the departure of former Executive Director Dana Beth Lyddan, the board of directors for the Historic State Theater had the opportunity to go in a new direction. They chose West.
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Glee Star, Becca Tobin's, Boyfriend Found Dead In Hotel
Getty Images
Horrible. Becca Tobin's boyfriend, Matt Bendik, was found dead in a Philadelphia hotel last night.
TMZ is reporting no foul play and no drugs in the room at the time.
More details can be found here, but we will be thinking and praying for Becca and Matt's family during this time.


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Outside linebacker Larry Edwards had a team-high 12 tackles in the Tar Heels' 31-17 victory over Utah and was named the ACC's top defensive back. Kick returner Brandon Tate racked up 149 yards on three kickoff returns to earn the weekly nod for special teams players. He ran back the game's opening kickoff for a 96-yard touchdown, becoming the first Tar Heels player to accomplish that feat since 2003. (Lexington Dispatch)
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Related: Football | Brandon Tate | Larry Edwards
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Best NFL draft picks of the century from UNCWednesday June 28, 2017


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The Hamilton Conservation Authority is advising residents about a possibility of flooding at Spencer Creek in the area of East Street, Dundas Street and Cootes Drive.

In a press release issued at 3 p.m., Monday, the HCA stated frazil ice had formed in the creek near the Thorpe Street bridge. There is a history of this underwater freezing forcing creek flows up and over the creek's banks in this area.

This fact, along with high rainfall forecasts over the next few days and expected temperature increases causing snowpack melting prompted the flooding advisory for this area of Dundas.

"Roadway overtopping is possible in the area bounded by East St. / Dundas St. to the West, King St. E to the North, Cootes Drive to the South and East. Olympic Drive may also be affected. Residents are urged to use caution when traveling in these areas and obey all signage," the HCA press release states.


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which do you prefer? metal dome or fabric dome or other
which do you prefer? metal dome or fabric dome or other
IMO the material of the dome is secondary to overall design and build when it comes to tweeter sound. 600-series B&Ws, for example, have had different metal-dome designs for its 3 iterations, but sound quite mellow, compared to, say, a pair of cloth dome Infinitys I had just prior to my 602s.
That said, it seems to me that manufacturers are using 'titanium' for marketing purposes more than anything else, and they DO sound hader and more 'tinny.' A good example of this is with mid-line Focal car tweeters the past couple of years. The older kevlar-woofer line came with a kevlar dome tweeter. The next model kept the woofer but changed to a titanium dome tweeter, and IMO, it sounded pretty bad in comparison. Ironically, the Vifa aluminum dome I just put in to replace the kevlar dome Focal in my car sounds much fuller and more to my tastes, quite possibly having to do with the fact that it has a pretty low fs for a small tweeter.
do you mean the overall design of the speakers or overall design of just the tweeters? the ti mbq tweeters have sounded too harsh for my taste. my ti tweets from my mirage and energy bookshelfs have not sounded quite as harsh. but then it could be because my wires are cheap. :dunno: i'm deciding on either the lpg w/ either alu or textile. i can't audition either one of them so i'm just seeing if there is a general consensus. i'm also upgrading the caps to the solen metallized polypropylene fast caps. this should improve the sound as well of just the highs. i have no idea what the total effect this will have on the crossover point. :dunno: or whether bmw even cared too much in the design of it. it is the low end sound system that i have. :rolleyes: oh, and a hand full of Lpad non-inductive MO resisters in 1, 2, 3, 4 dB increments in case i need it.
So dod you ultimately decide to just swap the tweeter? If I had the 6-speaker system, I'd probably just do that and put in a sub. These good tweets can go down pretty low so unless midrange lobing isn't a big deal, maybe you might want to highpass these a bit lower and put a matching inductor for the woofer.
So dod you ultimately decide to just swap the tweeter? If I had the 6-speaker system, I'd probably just do that and put in a sub. These good tweets can go down pretty low so unless midrange lobing isn't a big deal, maybe you might want to highpass these a bit lower and put a matching inductor for the woofer.
yep, just swapping the tweeter for now. i haven't ordered them yet but checking my options right now. but is ~1.8K to 1.7K Fs considered low? i have to cut it off much higher than that to keep away from the resonance. the factory cap is 6.8uF which puts it around 3.5K for 8ohms. perhaps move the cutoff to a lower freq you mean? a .56mH inductor doesn't seem to expensive. i could give it a whack. too bad i have no specs for the factory mid/bass
With a low fs like that you could probably do well with a 2.5k cutoff with a 1st order xover, then you just need 1 cap and 1 coil. It'll probably help keep your staging higher up in the car.
i'm thinking now that if i were to use low pass inductor for the midbass that LPG's 8ohms would be too high. :confused: since at high freqs, the low pass inductor would increase in impedence and so the combine impedence will be dominated by the LPG's 8ohms. :confused: :dunno:
perhaps the 6ohm vifa may be a compromise but then 87dB efficiency vs. 92dB. ahhh! :mad: oh well, i guess this is the "fun" part of things. :dunno:
perhaps i'm just thinking about this too much. :(


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From graphic design to web site maintenance, ESR relies on PPC
When looking to host Microsoft Dynamics CRM, there are a few things to consider:
Q: Will you be hosting your Exchange, or just Microsoft Dynamics CRM Version 4.0?A: If you just host Microsoft Dynamics CRM, then connecting to your on-site Exchange server can get expensive.
Q: Does your IT Team have time to manage the Microsoft Dynamics CRM environment?A: If you do not have a dedicated IT Team, or your IT Team is overloaded hosting may be a great option for you.
Microsoft now provides a web-based hosted CRM they brand as CRM Live. CRM Live can be accessed via Outlook or a Web browser and offers rich configuration and customization capabilities. CRM Live is temporarily completely free of charge from Microsoft and signup is only availabe from Microsoft Partners.Once Microsoft ends their free period, CRM Live Professional Edition will be priced at $44/user/month, and includes the online Sales, Service and Marketing business suite as well as point-and-click system and workflow customization.
The CRM Live Enterprise Edition will be priced at $59/user/month, and includes all features available in the Professional Edition, as well as additional system customization and integration, and offline data access and synchronization.A trained partner, such as PPC Professional Services, is required to enroll customers in Microsoft Hosted CRM Live. Enrollment is a 2 minute process that can occur over the phone. It does require a credit card, but Microsoft will not charge the card until the free trial period has ended. Customers can cancel their use of CRM Live prior charges being made on their card.If you have any questions about Microsoft CRM Live or would like to be enrolled, you can contact us at 866-844-5055
We are a managed services provider offering IT Outsourcing, networking and software development. Our firm provides service in Sacramento, the San Francisco Bay Area, Silicon Valley, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orange County, and Seattle. Our infrastructure engineers and software architects provide networking and web application solutions to small businesses as well as enterprise clients. Our Microsoft certified consultants provide technical support onsite, emergency support, and consulting on business continuity and disaster recovery. Our core competencies include Microsoft Exchange consulting, Cisco consulting, virtualization consulting, Outsourced Remote Help Desk, data center consulting, .NET consultants, and Cloud Consultants.


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Hula Girl / Kapaa, HI
A wide array of Sunrise Shell & Niihau Shell Jewelry as well as fresh water pearls, Beach Glass jewelry and fine sterling silver Charms of Aloha for your collectable charm bracelets.
Combine equal doses of vintage aloha print tea-timers from the 1930's, Aloha blouses & upscale contemporary Resort-Wear by Pineapples & Escapada Living. Mix it up with a splash of fun / sexy beachwear Tanks, T's, Caps, Coverups, & more. We have what you're looking for.
The absolute best in fine Resort-Wear & Aloha Shirts. We have the largest selection of Tori Richard & Kahala on the island as well as Vintage Hawaiian shirt reproductions from the 1930's - 1960's.
Copyright © Hula Girl Kauai LLC 2015


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Rising concrete curbs around flower beds
The concrete curbs around my flower beds have sunk. What is the best way to rise them and what is best to put under them after I get them risied? Thanks for any help, Debbie
Not 100% sure, but what if you added some gravel under them?
Might bring them back up and possibly reduce sinkage. Thats what we used for our patio stones and that seems to keep them from dropping. They still drop a little bit in the winter but usually come right back up after a spring thaw.
Hope that helps.
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