text:
Bama LOL
I said this exact line before reaching the bullets, made me laugh even harder. Okay, back to reading...
Interesting research on this one. I'm depressed, again.
[Editor's note: holy hell, man. This is like a PhD thesis.]
I'm searching for a metaphor.
Amidst the phantom flags and the Angry Michigan Hating Bounces and the dropping of babies on 3rd down on Saturday you could not possibly have missed a notable lack of competency in the 11 guys tasked with making sure the other guys score less than we do, otherwise referred to as "Michigan's Defense."
This is Part II of the afore-bumped diary "The Decimated Defense," a look at what has happened to turn Michigan's once vaunted defense into..
I don't have a metaphor...
Something that has a lot of really shiny beautiful parts, that ostensibly looks like something grand and wonderful, but like with some major defect or hole in it, from which pours in death and destruction...
In the wake of, well, that, I'm sure that you, as I, need to understand what happened to Michigan's defense, how we got here, will it get better, and can it be avoided again?
In the first of this series, I went through Michigan's last five classes to see if we could find where and what went wrong in defensive recruiting to lead us to a day when Jordan Kovacs was all that stood between the program and the bottom of the sea. We looked at the cheap rivets, the lack of safety training, and missing life boats, while Brian UFR'ed a really big iceburg.
It was long, and mostly stuff you already knew, and at one point you had to fix yourself a sandwich, but at the end we identified two factors that were very likely contributors:
Today we put that in context. I compared the current rosters to the recruited rosters of Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan State and Alabama, to see how each of these teams were built, and what was lost along the way, in order to understand why should so many other luxury liners and loveable tugboats and whatnot stay dry as we face a watery grave?
(Excel spreadsheet lives here.)
Rose: The fall alone would kill you.
Jack: It would hurt. I'm not saying it wouldn't. Tell you the truth, I'm a lot more concerned about that water being so cold.
Here's how Michigan stacked up in pure defensive recruiting from 2005 through 2009 (Rivals ratings used):
|Notre Dame
|Ohio State
|Penn State
This counts every recruit that came in ready to play defense, except athletes who played their entire careers on offense. It also includes offensive recruits later moved to defense. It excludes walk-ons.
Many nuggets here. Let us bullet:
Michigan's closest recruiting analogue here is Penn State, with the high-end (4-5 star) recruiting separated by one more 5-star guy for us. You can call Notre Dame basically a Michigan-light. If anything, the Fighting Irish have been even pickier about talent than U-M, OSU and PSU, except they haven't been as successful at reeling in the big fish as any of the major schools profiled.
For these schools, the distribution seems weighted slightly toward the top, but their bell curves are only slightly ahead of OSU and Bama. However, when placed beside each other, it's easy to see how large amounts of recruits can generate a much more sizeable talent pool from which to draw starters.
So recruiting tells a story, but certainly not the story. Certainly, Alabama and Ohio State recruited the most 4- and 5-star players, and subsequently have great defenses.
Michigan and Penn State should, just going by recruiting, have about the same level of defense, with maybe one more NFL-bound player in Ann Arbor, and maybe a bunch of 2-star guys backing up at Penn State instead of Michigan's walk-ons. Or it would be, if attrition was constant. We will see in the next section that it isn't. But you knew the problem wasn't just recruiting, anyway, since you know that Penn State's defense is legitimately good, and Michigan went into this season steering a pre-WWI luxury liner.
First, though, while we're on pure recruiting, let's look real quick and see if it's actually the age of the recruits that matter. Since they should be theoretically the heart of a great defense, and since the distribution among all schools except Michigan State was fairly equal when it came to 4- versus 5- stars, let's just look at those two groups, and when they came in for each school (MSU left out to spare them the indignation of looking like Antarctica):
|Notre Dame
|Ohio State
|Penn State
[At this point I would ask everyone else to pause for a moment while we give Irish, who has been waiting patiently all this time, an opportunity to assign righteous blame on Ty Willingham. HE did this, precious!]
Okay, so other than an '05-'06 "Domer LOL," did we get anything out of this?
Penn State's great defense has a lot of high-rated juniors and seniors on it -- more than any other school. Michigan was kind of even, but actually should have had more upperclassmen than Bama or Notre Dame. Ohio State has been strong all the way through. Alabama is going to be really really good in a few years.
There's nothing here to suggest Michigan should be really bad. Not yet.
Moving on.
Rose : Don't you understand? The water is freezing and there aren't enough boats. Not enough by half. Half the people on this ship are going to die.
Cal: Not the better half.
Cal, if you make it off that ship, and if that whole heir-to-a-robber-baron thing doesn't work out for you, you might make a fine SEC recruiting coordinator.
What I'm talking about is Alabama's over-signing strategy, which has been covered many times on this blog. In short, the Crimson Tide under Saban have recruited more guys than they have scholarships for, expecting enough will find reason to get themselves expelled or booted off the team before the count becomes official. The ultimate effect is that Saban has a strong incentive not to keep troubled players, particularly less talented troubled players, in school.
I bring it up now because:
|Def. Recruits
|On Roster
|On Roster %
|Michigan State
|Penn State
|Ohio State
|Notre Dame
Attrition is going to normally be between 60 and 80 percent, for any team.
The 2005 class isn't expected to leave very much for 2009 -- those are the current 5th year seniors. Guys play early because of their great talent, or because of [Position] Armageddon, or because you're Michigan State and know that 4-star prospects come along so rarely that when you get one you can't wait to rip open the cover and see if you won a Golden Ticket!
For the bigger programs, NFL Early Entry takes its toll from the junior (2006) ranks. Sophomore classes are generally mostly transfers. Freshman attrition has a lot to do with the tough transition from The Hottest Shot in Home Town High to collegiate freshman (class breakdowns will be in another section).
Let's break this down, too, by talent. Because it's not just numbers, right? If you have 28 guys on the roster, but they're all highly recruited athletes who have shown they belong on an NCAA roster, you're still afloat.
|4*+ Recruits
|4*+ Retained
|4*+ Ret %
|Michigan State
|Penn State
|Ohio State
|Notre Dame
And so.
Among primo athletes, Michigan was slightly above Michigan State, which is our small sample outlier (MSU lost three 4-star player to injury or transfer from its 2006 class, and one 2005 guy graduated). Penn State, at a respectable 72 percent, was a victim of graduation and the NFL. Notre Dame still has all 20 of its blue and light-blue chippers, thanks to packing them into later classes. Alabama is about where Penn State is, but remember, the Tide packed their high-level guys in from 2007 on.
Still, for our purposes, the important thing to note is that we still have 16 4-star defensive athletes on the roster, which is just two less than Penn State (but 11, i.e. a whole 'nother defensive unit, behind Ohio State).
While we're at it, let's see the 3-stars:
|3*- Recruits
|3*+ Retained
|3*+ Ret %
|Michigan State
|Penn State
|Ohio State
|Notre Dame
Now we see the difference.
Retention rates are down across the board here, as this group is more likely to be hit harder by the transfer-due-to-playing-time bug.
Michigan State, you can see, built their city on 3-stars, with retention rates similar to that of 4-stars for the big schools.
Bama dropped almost half of their 3-stars (evidence of the Saban Stratagem working harder on the less-pedigreed?), ending with the same amount of 3-star guys as Penn State, but of course from a march larger pool.
Of course, our 3-star retention rate sucked too, except ours came out of the more meager Penn State/Ohio State/Notre Dame budget. All told, we lost 10 guys: Quintin Patilla, Johnny Sears, Brandon Logan, Quintin Woods, Artis Chambers, Chris Richards, Carson Butler, Chris McLaurin, Adrian Witty (who may make it onto the 2010 haul) and Marrell Evans. Most, but not all, of those guys transferred when they saw playing time disappearing. All but Witty (who may end up not counting) were pre-Rich Rod guys.
To help put Michigan's attrition in perspective, let's look at it by class:
|Notre Dame
|Ohio State
|Penn State
Here's what the attrition looks like next to two of our three annual rivals:
I postulated in the opening diary that not having any old guys around was hurting us. It seems our competition did much better. Ohio State still has over half of its 2005 on the roster as 5th year seniors. We have none. Other than us outliers, everyone else has about a third of their oldest class around.
Of the seniors, we are blessed with 63 percent, which looks good against Bama's mass exodus (under 54 percent), but is sub-par nonetheless. Notre Dame still has 90 percent of its 2006 class.
The one place where Michigan is up against the average is in true freshmen, the one spot it hurts the least to lose guys. Our 2008 class stands out for premature desolation -- that is something that could likely hurt us down the road.
So before we start ripping into Michigan recruiting and retention, and assigning blame (yes, I will do this before we're done), let's get an important thing out of the way:
There is still talent here, and will still be talent here.
Brandon Graham and Donovan Warren are about as great of players as you could ever ask for, and Mike Martin and Craig Roh are on that same path. Ryan Van Bergen has been everything expected. Steve Brown has come a long way to be effective at a position nobody may have ever imagined for him. 4-star recruits Jonas Mouton and Mike Williams have shown themselves to be prone to mistakes, but are effective players (usually) when protected from having to play defensive quarterback.
The point is, most teams, as we shall see, don't get Grahams and Warrens and Martins and Rohs and Van Bergens. They have to pray their precious few blue chips end up more like Warren and less like Jonas Mouton, while waiting for their legacy 3-stars (Woolfolk) and athlete fliers (Ezeh) and a cascade of JT Floyds to get competent.
Michigan isn't "most teams." We can recruit with the big dogs. When times are good, we can reasonably expect most of the defensive positions to be filled with upperclassman 4-star talent or better, with young 4-stars and maybe a few diamonds in the rough pushing them for playing time.
However, as we shall see, you cannot reasonably expect your 4-stars to all pan out. You need backup plans. You need the dudes.
A horrible confluence of events:
This all resulted in a generally young defense with a good but well-short-of-the-competition retention of high-end talent, and pretty much zero in the way of backup talent.
When the attrition is cut out, we are visibly deficient next to our competition. Of the guys we've kept on, every one that is a true freshman, or didn't work out, cuts further into our ability to field a team. In fact, let's run that same thing again with just upperclassmen (classes 2005 to 2007):
|Ohio State
|Penn State
|Notre Dame
And there you have it: the guys that Michigan has left are good, but there are only 13 recruited upperclassmen left on the roster, spread out evenly between middling 3-star and blue chip. Note that every other comparative school has a great big chunk between 5.7 and 6.0 -- that's high 3-star to just-below-a-blue chip. Everyone but Notre Dame has another hump of 3-star guys as backups. The next closest rival is Notre Dame, which is considered an incredibly young team. Everyone else has over 22, i.e., enough scholarship athletes left on the roster in the junior years or above to fill the two-deep.
The one thing we have on everyone else: two 5-stars. That's Graham and Warren. Indeed, we spared no expense in a luxurious 1st class cabin, but our ship is visibly lacking in the hull department.
If you want a short way of saying it, we had Alabama-level attrition from Penn State-sized classes. We lost the bulk of our upper classmen to injuries and Clearing House snafus and sad lack of talent, and couldn't recruit or hold onto anybody for depth. We missed opportunities to find diamonds in the rough while looking for new coaches. We didn't recruit a safety for a decade.
No one solitary factor caused this. A small recruiting class is fine if you still get highly rated players who stick around and pan out (Notre Dame, Penn State), or if you have a lot of 3-stars behind them from which you can draw le creme (Michigan State, Alabama).
And (except for musing along the way) I failed to even touch on several other very important factors, such as the fact that Michigan had four different defensive coordinators over this period, or that it seems an inordinate of our recruits ended up overrated.
But that doesn't mean everyone's absolved. There were a number of points along the way when, without hindsight, a better job probably should have been done:
On Lloyd, and his staff:
On Rich Rodriguez, and his staff:
Not for this year, no.
And not for next year either.
That is to say that there's no hope in this study for Michigan's current defense to suddenly turn into a Top 15 defense that Michigan has traditionally thrived on. There isn't even an endless cupboard of 3-star guys from whom one or two could emerge to fill holes (a la MSU). We're basically down to walk-ons who can tackle, and praying nobody runs by them at this point.
Basically what this exercise shows is that we got triple-whammied by relying on too few highly rated guys not to bust, relying on a normal number of recruits to stick around to graduation, and having some upperclassmen around who could surprise late in their careers as contributors. You can't plug iceburg-sized holes and fix years of mistakes and bad luck with one slick move.
Based on what's left on the roster, in 2011 we may end up being better (but not deeper) than Penn State and Michigan State, but not by much, and almost certainly not better than Ohio State, Notre Dame, or Alabama. However, if our attrition rates come down from their ludicrous highs (which can be expected), and we get ourselves some nice classes, there is great hope for 2012. Also, I expect Notre Dame's silly-high retention rate to drop once people give up on Weiss, or players next year decide they don't fit into Tenuta's schemes, though I can't deny they have the basis for a pretty solid team.
For the rest of this year, I recommend, no matter who the opponent may be, the strategy we take into every game starts with a burned ship and ends with Tate Forcier throwing jump balls deep down-field. The offense has shown it is quite capable of awesome. No more Lloyd ball -- not in 2009, not in 2010.
We are a team that can get torched by Illinois and Indiana and Eastern Michigan, thus our strategy must be to always torch more.
As for the future, well, another class full of defensive backs and linebackers can't hurt. This kind of bad is the kind that seeps deep into next year, but at least in 2010 we should have what's left of the 2008 class and some of the 2009 class ready to contribute, and also that rare second year under the same coordinator. Roh and Martin and Van Bergen are a defensive line we can bank on. The defense will lag behind the offense by a year, but the situation isn't actually as desperate as it was there. On the other hand, there's no Rich Rodriguez/Calvin Magee schematic/coaching advantage for the defense to coax greater early returns, or promise future greatness.
In the long term, defense is solved by lots of recruiting. I suggest going for lots and lots of fast guys, using the carrot of early playing time.
Screw the look of the deck. Screw the extra 3rd class cabins. I want bulkheads that go all the way up, and close up tight, and reinforced steel second hulls, and lifeboats, lots of lifeboats.
We need the dudes.
As Delta Tau Chi men Lawrence Kroger, John Blutarsky and Kent Dorfman illustrate above, there are two ways of making sure your House always has enough good brothers to stay strong:
In Michigan terms, this means if you find yourself with only a few quality guys and not much else, the entropy of the recruiting-to-player process will kill you. You don't just need enough 4-stars to fill the roster spots, but enough also to cover injuries to good players, and the inevitability that some guys won't pan out, or will get injured, or will transfer.
I said there would be hope. So here it is: Rich Rod seems to be way ahead of me on this. We are in on a lot of defensive back prospects, including 4-stars aplenty. Not only this, but starting last summer, RR packed a cannon with scholarship offers and has been shooting them into every high school defensive unit in America. The result has been an odd recruiting year, with guys jumping onto the board with high interest at crazy times through the year. If it's dudes we need, it seems RR and GERG are already on it.
I posted a copy of the Excel spreadsheet above. I would love it if someone would add more teams to the study, or qualify the recruits by creating a new category for later-career ranking. In that, I mean find some way to reassess each player based on his performance thus far against what we should expect from a player of any given Rivals Rating. I'd like to see how Michigan stacked up in picking up guys who would come above versus below expectations.
Bama LOL
I said this exact line before reaching the bullets, made me laugh even harder. Okay, back to reading...
Interesting research on this one. I'm depressed, again.
I agree on the depression. It is hard to remember that each year brings new guys stepping up and that next year may be better just because of having the same D-Coordinator.
The scariest part to me is that Kovacs is starting over Vlad. They are both freshmen I think, and Vlad is yet another highly rated recruit that may not pan out.
Michigan is at least 3-4 years from another top 20 defense IME. Some upgrades at position coach might help a lot (ahem, Hobson) but we really need GERG to work out. He is in a bad spot too. If next year's defense is as bad as it looks to be, fans are going to be calling for GERG's head. If we have to go to another new defensive system after next year our defense may not be good again for a decade.
I am begging the Angry Michigan **** Hating Gods to lay off next week. A win and a bowl bid will put this team's development back on track at least.
Nice analysis, but recognize that it's coaching neutral. Is it possible that we'd have fared a little bit better -- either in terms of panning out or in terms of retention -- if our positional coaches were better?
Related to that: the signature defensive flaw of the past 2 (and maybe 4) years are safeties and LBs who either read the play poorly or overcommit even if they've read it right. Thus the vulnerability to big plays the last two years, although I think I first noticed this with none other than Brandon Harrison himself back in his Freshman year, and remember thinking to myself -- he'll get better with that sort of stuff, but he's just young now. He didn't.
So, same problem, multiple years -- cutting across multiple DCs. Has position coaching been any more stable?
that's a whole lotta meaningful information. well done sir.
And that we shouldn't fire him? Is that what you're saying?
That or Rich Rod is Celine Dion.
Damn, that was one hell of a research job. So here's an interesting question: should we oversign and heavily reduce the number of 5th year scholarships given out in order to boost our defensive numbers? I don't like Saban's way of doing things (hope kids will fuck up or at first sign of trouble boot them), but I'm not totally against not giving 5th year scholarships to players who won't be making on field contributions. What do people think about these guys?
1) Greg Banks - Really hasn't contributed much. Guess I could see us keeping him for depth purposes, but that's about it. Looks like Roh, Van Bergen, and Martin will have the DL positions locked down.
2) Patterson - see Banks
3) Dorrestein - the right side of the line has been a seive all year long, and Dorrestein hasn't impressed when he's played. With all the big OL recruits hopefully ready to play (Omameh, Mealer, Lewan, Washington), would it better to get another defensive recruit in at his expense?
4) Ferrera - From DT to OL, I don't recall seeing him on the field this year. With the big OL recruits ready, I rather build for the long term instead of playing a 5th year senior who isn't that good.
5) Ezeh - This is prolly a very debatable one. I have never been sold on Ezeh. Ever since his first action in '07, I've not been impressed. He's an old school Big Ten LB in an era of spread offenses which require LBs with alot of speed. Ezeh makes poor decisions, is slow, and doesn't look like he's improved at all in 3 years. With Leach replacing him for all of the Illinois game, I wouldn't be surprised to see Leach start for rest of the year. Hope that JB Fitzgerald or an incoming LB recruit grabs the ILB position next year.
I'm guessing they'll be back mainly from a depth issue. They rotate in the second stringers a good amount so I'm guessing they will want to make sure they have enough bodies in case the injury bug would hit the dline.
Also, I don't think UM is using all 85 of their scholarships and don't think they'll be there next either. If UM was using all 85 scholarships, then Banks and Patterson might not be back. But as things stand now, I'm guessing they will be.
First off, great job on these two pieces!!!
What gets me though is the lack of fundmentals that our defense shows (and has shown for years now) - bad pursuit angles/not staying in lane on pursuit, poor tackling, etc. Even with the setbacks on defense with recruiting and attrition, if the defense had 11 guys who were solid fundamentally we probably wouldn't be having this discussion, or least to the extent/depth that we are.
When I watch some of the teams that have really solid defenses, I see players who are fundamentally solid. They aren't missing to many tackles, they aren't taking bad pursuit angles. Are there some mistakes in these areas by the really good defenses - yeah, but not often. You don't need a defense of 11 studs to be good. You need 11 guys who are fundamentally solid. If you've got a group of guys out there who are solid fundamentally, you're probably going to have a good defense. If you've got a defense that is fundamentally solid and happen to have a few studs and guys that are real athletic (quick and fast), you're probably going to have a really good to great defense.
Do you have any data on the number of recruits who made it to the NFL or are most likely bound for the NFL (either as Juniors or Seniors)?
Also, did NFL-bound players add to your attrition numbers?
Again, Thanks for an incredible diary.
Yeah, NFL-bound players added to the attrition.
I had a whole deleted section about different kinds of attrition, but it would have taken a lot more research. I Google stalked a lot of the " NOT ON ROSTER " contingent, but not all of them.
Basically, I figure that attrition is going to hit teams regardless, and not all of it is the fault of somebody. So instead I compare them against each other.
The only team hit inordinately by this kind of attrition seemed to be Penn State -- and that only because they had some great classes in 2005 and 2006 that sent guys like Justin King away.
In an earlier Michigan, by the way, I think Lloyd gets Justin King. We used to dominate Penn State in our head-to-heads: Henne, Marlin, Breaston, McClintock, et al. Now they pull great linebackers out of Birmingham, MI.
There are deleted scenes? Oh man, I can't wait to take home the DVD.
Absolutely brilliantly organized article. You're great at telling a story. Thank you.
This diary makes me feel better about Rich Rodriguez, but dear God, it does not make me feel good about the immediate future. Ohio State has eleven more four star guys on defense than we do. An entire defense worth. That is a sobering statistic
Every player on OSU's starting D is eligible to go pro after this year. That's right- they are all juniors and seniors.
Wow! Thank you for this diary. Excellent job!
from which to pick 11 starters. Depth and rotation notwithstanding, let's say it takes 4 recruits to provide one starter for such competition. If Michigan was recruited with a similar expectation for starters (that is, you recruit 4 to get 1), they'd have 7 starters available based on the 28 currently on roster. Somewhat coincidentally, I think that you could probably form a consensus around the problems on defense being mostly the fault of Mouton, Ezeh/Leach, Williams, and Kovacs. If that ratio is useful, then the implication is that any position that doesn't go 4 deep with scholarship players runs serious risk of being MAC level but with less experience.
Also, I'd expect in general far less attrition from teams with lower caliber recruits. Experience and age are far more valuable when you're choosing among basically similar athletes (if the difference between an 18 and 22 year old football players is anything like baseball, then it can mean a world of difference in terms of performance). Teams at a talent disadvantage need to rely on cultivating veterans to make up for the fact (presumably) that it takes more recruits to gain a Big Ten starter. This also means that Michigan is potentially handicapped when it comes to facing lesser talent because of the sheer numbers problem; the lesser talented but well coached will have a significant well of older players. In sum, it seems like our best talent on the field is as good as anyone's...but so too are our worst on as bad as any.
...I'd still want to see the rest of the Big Ten done, though.
Thanks, colin
That's a pretty good summary.
Except it's not really 4 to 1. Alabama is throwing of your numbers. I think it's more like 3 to get 1. I really want to see someone go through and do that further analysis. Then we could see things like "80 percent of senior 4-stars work out" etc.
What I'm saying is that if we knew how to change expectation (rivals rating) into a progression of contribution expectation, and used the averages above for typical attrition, we could start guessing how good future defensive units would be!
"if we knew how to change expectation (rivals rating) into a progression of contribution expectation"
like, say, knowing how many nth-year players start in a given season?
I got the starter info from the bentley library site. It does not include special teams starters or recruits. g-doc:
In any given game in any given year from '02-'08, Michigan started on average:
True Frosh - 1
RS Fr/Tr So - 3
RS So/Tr JR - 6
RS Jr/Tr Sr - 7
RS Sr - 5
The '08 numbers don't really skew Lloyd's averages significantly, so you can extrapolate that as what Lloyd did without missing anything. By contrast, the starters by recruiting class according to the depth chart for Purdue:
'09 - 2 (Tate, Roh)
'08 - 3 (Koger, Odoms, Martin)
'07 - 5 (Warren, Woolfolk, Van Bergen, Williams, Hemingway, Huyge)
'06 - 9 (Minor/CBrown, Mathews, Graham, SBrown, Ezeh, Mouton, Schilling, Dorrestein)
'05 - 2 (Ortmann, Moosman)
this number seems familiar to me but I can't seem to place it...
I don't think that it would be this terrible but I also don't think that it would be good either.
and that would be our safeties, zing
"would anyone like to do the same analysis for the offensive side of the ball"?
Have at it. THey're on the same spreadsheet (scroll down -- some may be hidden -- you may have to rebuild Michigan's)
....we need the prior 4 years at Michigan. To see if it's an intrinsic problem at Michigan, or a downward trend. Did we lose 58% then too?
Asks the lazy guy who has produced no charts or content anywhere near as shiny as this...
Come back! COME BACK!
In a gestalt sort of way, I had the general feeling that the defense was playing better than last year's, but with the sudden deflating of the offense over the last two games to 2008 levels of production, I was wondering if the added strain of having to now try to carry the team is also a factor? I believe we are starting to see too many 3-and-outs on the offensive side of things now. Last year thru the first 7 games UM was averaging 18.6 points/game, and thru the first 7 this year 37.3; Suddenly over the past two games we are barely into double digits, and scoring only one (1) touchdown/game. The defense doesn't fail as much when they have more cushion and less time on the field.
During this 4 game losing streak in big ten play the offense is average 17 pts/game. Even if you throw in the IU game, UM is only averaging 22 pts/game in big ten play.
I feel like a cheap tipper trying to slip out the door at a fine restaurant, for all I can offer you for this great compilation is a humble +1. Please accept it, for it is all that I have to give.
GREAT job...am i the only one who is dying to see MSU as Antarctica in that graph?
There's nothing I like better than late-night statisticating. And you, sir, offer the finest.
Thank you!
This is pure gold...or Maize. Thank you, sir.
Fantastic work.
And the prettiest graph award goes to....
Great research, thanks for that.
Also, thanks for the shout out to Mormon QB's.
Outstanding work. Excellent synopsis of how we got where we are, with some hope.
Thank you.
That the MMB now needs to do the "Titanic" halftime show again?
Seriously, great work. Once again we now know:
1) As much as we make fun of JoePa, there is something to be said for continuity and consistant coaching. I think that is a HUGE factor in the number of 3-stars sticking around for 5 years and providing quality depth.
2) Saban is EVIL. Not just run of the mill Ravishing Rick Rude or 'The Natural' Butch Reed evil, but no-holds-barred Undertaker sacrificing no-name jobbers EVIL. And he's really good at it.
3) Our DefCoor rotating wheel of death has KILLED us. And it won't get better for 2-3 years. Notice this started when we let go Jim Herrman- no I'm not saying Hermann ("OMG A QB that can run! How do you defend that? Paul McGuire says that's the hardest thing to defend against!") should have stayed, but before that Hermann was there since 95/96 I think. We are now in the position of hoping/praying a walk-on D player blows up all Stuart Schweigert on us (sorry I was having a hard time coming up with walk-on defenders who turned into good college level defenders who sniff the NFL with the 'hard work makes me a good player' mantra. I don't even know if Schweigert was a walk-on)
Actually, Schweigert wasn't a walk-on, he was pretty well recruited just like Charles Rogers was. They were high school rivals and some recruiting analysts were intrigued to see if they would go to the same school or to different ones to continue facing off against each other. Sorry, no link.
I just wish you weren't so damn convincing.
I love the graphics.
I'd also like to see some others profiled, namely:
But then again, all it did was show how we got here, not the actual here. As always sir, I tip my cap to you and beg that you keep up the good work.
I re-read it this morning and realized a big section of the "So...What Happened" section (the most important part of the whole study!!!) somehow got cut out.
It's back in now. Weird.
The colorful charts have the 3rd grader in me happy whereas the adult realizes that, while colorful, these same cool charts are telling me my favorite team sucks on defense. One more win please.
Great work.
It appears the grim reality is this is not a problem that is going to be fixed overnight. Likewise, it is something that will likely linger on a few seasons. Hopefully the pieces are being put in place to have a championship defense again. But our recent defensive recruiting has not been very stellar so far. If we finish strong though, we could be in place for a tremendous defense in a few years.
If all goes well, the ninja wielding spread n shred should start putting up tons of points starting next year. Hopefully this means that we have a lot of early leads and teams have to become one-dimensional and pass pass pass against us. The t-shirt gun of offer letters to defensive back needs more ammo I think...
Amazing job on the diary btw! Great stuff and really puts into perspective where we are as a program on the defensive side of the ball.
Part 1 & 2 - both were great posts. Hopefully it helps a lot of fans see some light.


text:
The Chiefs had a good showing despite all of their injuries. The secondary is still a major work in progress as we have learned over the last few weeks. The pass rush stepped up and forced Hasselbeck into a lot of mistakes. Overall, it was a great effort.
Pass rush
Jamaal Charles
Dwayne Bowe
Playcalling(I can't believe I just said that).
Succop's kickoffs(is he hurt?)
Punt blocked for a TD
Mistakes in the secondary.
It looks like we have some good young talent in the secondary, they just are making rookie mistakes. The play where Kendrick Lewis got caught flat footed as Brandon Carr got roasted for a 80 TD pass was ridiculous.
I think this team needs at least 10 wins to make the playoffs. The Chargers are playing well and could easily finish with 10 wins.

subset: commoncrawl


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WBUR News
Support the news
Union Membership Continues To Drop In U.S.04:43Play
The share of the American work force that belongs to a labor union has hit a 97 year low. Today only 11.3 percent of workers hold a union membership. Labor expert Tony Carnevale of Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce says the federal government has replaced the labor union for many American workers, in pushing for health and safety regulations, minimum wage legislation and equal pay.
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The CD2000 player piano system is our easy-to-use, entry level player piano system for customers that want to enjoy the benefits of Pianomation, but don't care about all the bells and whistles of a more advanced player piano system. The CD2000 is available through authorized Story & Clark and Pianomation dealers and can be installed on pianos other than Story & Clark.
Player Piano Control Unit:
• CD driven (reads QRS CDs). [Q]
• Push button navigation 2-digit LED display for navigating without a remote control.
• Pianomation player piano system's exclusive modular design provides the option of easy and affordable component upgrades. [Q]
Standard Equipment:
CD2000 player piano system new owner's pack includes: Pianomation player piano control unit, wireless remote control, user's manual, three CDs with 58 selections.
[Q] indicates QRS player piano system exclusive or exclusive among comparably priced competitive player piano products.


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Submission + - FSF announces hardware endorsement criteria (fsf.org)
sveinungkv writes: The Free Software Foundation have announced criteria for the hardware endorsement program "Respects Your Freedom". From the announcement: "The desire to own a computer or device and have full control over it, to know that you are not being spied on or tracked, to run any software you wish without asking permission, and to share with friends without worrying about Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) these are the desires of millions of people who care about the future of technology and our society. (...) With our endorsement mark and the strong criteria that back it, we plan to bridge that gap and demonstrate to manufacturers that they stand to gain plenty by making hardware that respects people's freedom instead of curtailing it." While it currently contains some requirements that many may find broader than what they personally need the remaining criteria would make the FSF endorsement a useful tool when looking for devices that give the owner control over the device they have bought and payed for. The criteria are still open for feed back


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Not Within Top #500
Whip My Hair (Mr. Heat Ringtone)
Willow Smith
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Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
SECTION 1. There shall be a pilot program in the city of Worcester for the enforcement against illegal dumping within the city limits and to determine the effectiveness of establishing its own fines and other penalties for illegal dumping and to collect those fines and penalties.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, it shall be unlawful for any person in the city of Worcester, directly or indirectly, to dump, place, throw, deposit or discharge any refuse, rubbish, garbage, household goods, appliances or furniture, construction debris, landscaping debris, scrap, trash or other material of any kind on any way, public or private, appearing on the official map of the city of Worcester, or within 20 yards thereof or on any land owned or controlled by the city.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, it shall be unlawful for any person owning, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, any real property, including ownership of any right to pass and repass on a private way in the city of Worcester upon which any refuse, rubbish, garbage, household goods, appliances or furniture, construction debris, landscaping debris, scrap, trash or other material of any kind has been dumped, placed, thrown, deposited or discharged to fail to remove such material within 7 calendar days of receipt of a written notice from a police officer, code inspector or other officer or employee of the city of Worcester duly authorized by ordinance or order of the city manager to remove and lawfully dispose of such material.
SECTION 4. The city of Worcester may enforce section 2 by prosecuting criminal or civil actions in the housing court, superior court or the central district court of Worcester county and may enforce section 3 by prosecuting civil actions in those courts. No action commenced as a criminal action shall be converted to a civil enforcement action except with the consent of the city.
SECTION 5. A person convicted of a violation of section 2 shall be punished by a fine of not less than $5,000 nor more than $10,000 or by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 7 days or by both such fine and imprisonment.
SECTION 6. A person found responsible in a civil action for a violation of section 2 or 3 shall be required to pay a civil penalty of 3 times the amount, up to a maximum of $5,000, estimated or actually paid by the city to remove the dumped material from the property. The court may also issue other orders and injunctions to remedy the circumstances of each case.
SECTION 7. All fines and penalties collected for violations of this act shall be paid to the city of Worcester. Notwithstanding section 53 of chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the city shall establish and maintain a Disposal Enforcement Fund into which all such payments shall be deposited. The city treasurer may invest funds in the fund in the manner authorized by sections 55 and 55B of said chapter 44 and any interest earned on the fund shall be credited to and become part of the account. The city shall appropriate and expend amounts from the account to finance the enforcement of this act, removing improperly deposited material from the property subject to this act and financing programs and personnel involved in the collection and lawful disposal of unwanted household goods generated by residents of the city.
SECTION 8. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, September 9, 2010.


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Is privacy dead? If so, someone forgot to tell the Supreme Court. In a ringing unanimous decision Wednesday, the justices said that when police arrest a suspect, they don't have the right to access the data in his cellphone without a search warrant. It's a critical victory for the right of citizens to shield their most private information from government scrutiny.
The verdict was not a foregone conclusion. In recent years, the court has carved out various exceptions to the customary Fourth Amendment requirement that police obtain a warrant before conducting a search. During oral arguments in April, Justice Antonin Scalia suggested that cellphones taken from arrested suspects deserve no special protection. "Our rule has been that if you carry it on your person, you ought to know it is subject to seizure and examination," he said.
But he and his colleagues ultimately rejected the argument that cellphones are indistinguishable from other personal items the cops might examine. "That is like saying a ride on horseback is materially indistinguishable from a flight to the moon," wrote Chief Justice John Roberts. "Modern cellphones, as a category, implicate privacy concerns far beyond those implicated by the search of a cigarette pack, a wallet or a purse."
His point is beyond dispute. Smartphones may carry a digital record not just of calls made but of medical concerns, political preferences, romantic involvements, music tastes, sexual predilections, financial resources, travels and more. They could also provide evidence of crimes committed.
Once an arrest occurs, the suspect certainly has lesser privacy rights than before. Police routinely relieve arrestees of personal effects to make sure they have no contraband or weapons. This type of search is a minimal intrusion for an unassailable purpose.
But even after being taken in, a suspect retains some rights. Cops normally may not ransack a suspect's house without a warrant. And as the court noted, "a cellphone search would typically expose to the government far more than the most exhaustive search of a house."
In recent years, the court has been consistently sympathetic to the purported needs of law enforcement agencies. In this instance, though, it felt it had no choice but to impose a limit.
"We cannot deny that our decision today will have an impact on the ability of law enforcement to combat crime," wrote the chief justice. "Privacy comes at a cost."
In fact, the cost is low. The burden on cops is one they handle on a regular basis without much trouble. Said the court: "Our answer to the question of what police must do before searching a cellphone seized incident to arrest is accordingly simple — get a warrant." If they have good reasons to think they'll find evidence of a crime, a judge should be willing to grant it promptly.
A court blind or indifferent to the ways in which technological change can erode traditional freedoms would have ruled differently. This decision does a lot to ensure that privacy can coexist with progress.
Join in the discussion on the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board's Facebook page or on Twitter by following @Trib_Ed_Board.


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The Charles M. Schulz Museum: A Tribute to Sparky and Snoopy
In the heart of Sonoma County's wine country, just one hour from San Francisco, visitors flock to the Charles M. Schulz Museum, or "Snoopy's Home," as it has been affectionately dubbed since its opening in August 2002. The 27,000 square-foot building, housing more than 6,000 square feet of gallery space, a re-creation of Schulz's studio, a theatre, education room, and research center with library and archives, was unveiled after four years of planning. Schulz himself was involved with each design stage during the first two years. After he passed away in 2000, at the age of 77, his widow, friends and family worked with museum and design professionals to see the project through to completion.
The resulting space is a meaningful tribute to "Sparky," as the artist was called by those close to him. Given Schulz's international recognition, the museum could have been built anywhere, but its eventual location was chosen for the special significance it held for Schulz during the last 30 years of his life. The corner of Hardies Lane in Santa Rosa, CA, was at the center of Schulz's neighborhood and near his art studio, allowing today's visitors to truly enter the artist's world. Exhibitions change 3 to 4 times a year, carrying out the museum's mission to celebrate the life of the artist and the Peanuts characters, and, in a broader sense, to build an understanding of cartoonists and cartoon art. Past exhibitions have included "The Language of Lines: How Cartoonists Communicate," "Schulz's Beethoven: Schroeder's Muse," "Top Dogs: Comic Canines Before and After Snoopy," and "From Elzie C. Segar to Frank Wing: A Legacy Continued," an exhibition showcasing the work of the cartoonists who inspired Schulz throughout his childhood and career.
As of December 2008, budding and established cartoonists can sketch throughout the museum's galleries in a custom Moleskine sketchbook, on sale at the museum store. The cover is debossed with the name of the museum and a drawing of Snoopy, whose mischievous smile and playful expression are also reproduced on the paper band. On January 3, 2000, a few weeks before Charles M. Schulz's death, the final daily Peanuts newspaper strip was published with a farewell note. "Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy...how can I ever forget them," Schulz wrote.
More than anything, the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center works to ensure we won't forget Snoopy, either.


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Liverpool manager has questioned Alan Shearer's tactical knowledge after the Newcastle United legend criticised Joe Allen.
Shearer used his position as a pundit on BBC's Match of the Day to claim that that 22-year-old does not attempt enough penetrating passes when in possession in the Reds' midfield.
Rodgers' response to this was frank and the Liverpool manager made it quite clear he thought the former Newcastle United captain did not have the tactical awareness to know what kind of job Allen was charged with doing for the Anfield club.
"I saw someone recently criticising Joe Allen for not playing risk passes. Unbelievable. So-called pundits who don't know the dynamics of a team and how it functions," said the Northern Irishman.
Rodgers' words risk angering Newcastle United fans, as Shearer is adored by the Toon faithful and is the Premier League's all-time top scorer, as well as being the Magpies top scorer with 206 strikes during his ten years at St James' Park.
The Liverpool boss also used criticising the former England captain as an opportunity to praise the player he bought from previous club Swansea City in a £15million deal, claiming the Welsh midfielder's ability to maintain possession was something special for someone born in this country.
"Joe's role is to keep the ball and that, in Britain, is a special talent," he added.
"It is why Paul Scholes is still playing at his age. It is such a rare talent for a midfielder to rarely give the ball away."
Rodgers has ten days to work out how to get Liverpool back to winning ways and get them their first victory at Anfield in six matches when Premier League new boys Reading travel to Merseyside.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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Agnes Nixon (ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE creator) - Consultant
Foz McDermott (coordinating producer HEROES) - TOLN Head of Production
Alison Goodman - Casting Director
Carole Shure - Production Executive for TOLN
Chris Savage - Unit Production Manager/Line Producer for ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE
Jennifer Pepperman (Executive Producer)
Susan Bedsow Horgan (Co-Head Writer)
Thom Racina (Co-Head Writer)
Jessica Klein (Writer)
Alex Douglas (Writer)
Jeff Wilber (Writer)
Robin Strasser (Dorian Lord)
Jerry VerDorn (Clint Buchanan)
Robert S. Woods (Bo Buchanan)
Erika Slezak (Viki Buchanan)
Tuc Watkins (David Vickers)
Kassie DePaiva (Blair Cramer)
Jerry verDorn (Clint Buchanan)
Florencia Lozano (Tea Delgado)
Melissa Archer (Natalie Buchanan Banks)
Hillary B. Smith (Nora Buchanan)
Kelley Missal (Danielle Manning)
Josh Kelly (Cutter Wentworth)
Andrew Trischitta (Jack Manning)
Ginger Smith (Executive Producer)
Darnell Williams (Jesse Hubbard)
Debbi Morgan (Angie Hubband)
Vincent Irizarry (David Hayward)
Lindsay Hartley (Cara Castillo)
Jordi Vilasuso (Griffin Castillo)
Jill Larson (Opal Cortlandt)
Thorsten Kaye (Zach Slater)
This post will continue to be updated as cast and crew are announced. You can also follow all The Online Network updates here.
"I know it's been a long journey, but the timing is actually fortuitous as TV viewing is evolving rapidly in our direction," Prospect Park's Jeff Kwatinetz said in a recent interview. "The adoption of online TV in the last year has begun to move exponentially as viewers start to realize the immense advantages digital distribution affords. But all of that is unmatched compared to the relentless fan support. Since they didn't give up, either did we."


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Whilst Neymar's twisted ankle claimed most of the headlines on Friday following Barcelona's clash with Getafe, another eye-watering injury occurred at the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez.
Defender Alexis Ruano endured a moment his is unlikely to ever forget, being forced off after just 36 minutes with broken veins in one of his testicles.
And, his manager was certainly a little shocked at what he saw in the changing room, with Luis Garcia admitting the injury wasn't pretty.
"Alexis has a testicle like this," he told reporters, gesturing the size of a handball with his hands.
"Some veins were broken. When I entered the changing room, I was scared, but it's not serious. I've never seen anything like it."
Former Blackburn Rovers defender Scott Dann suffered a similar injury back in 2011, and was out of action for six weeks following the freak incident - which happened during a defeat to West Bromwich Albion.
"It's more painful than it sounds," he said of the incident the following year.
For the record, Lionel Messi scored twice for Barcelona following Alexis' exit, opening the scoring on 44 minutes and then doubling the visitors' advantage on 63 minutes.
The result secured a 6-0 aggregate victory for the Blaugrana, and saw Gerardo Martino's side cruise into the next round of the competition.
It wasn't all great news though, with Neymar set to miss three to four weeks of Barca action with the ankle injury he picked up.
Do YOU want to write for GiveMeSport? Get started today by signing-up and submitting an article HERE: https://www.givemesport.com/writeforgms


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JamDeck lets you sit down and jam just like you would with a real instrument. With nearly zero setup and an easy-to-use live looper, JamDeck is always ready to capture and help you build on those moments of musical inspiration.
Conversion of pgs subtitles in mkv videos.
A pure Python implementation of the Sane API and abstraction layer.


text:
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Finding the right painting contractor can make all the difference. The color, even the specific shade, will affect how people see both your home and you. As you might imagine, it is very important to make sure that the paint looks good. If you have a project in mind, let us at Ericks Painting Company Inc help you! Painting a huge space poses all kinds of challenges. It can be time consuming, and a simple slip of the hand can prove to be costly. Additionally, there may be other tasks that need to be done beforehand, such as power washing, skim coating and wallpaper removal. Exterior painting requires sanding and scraping off loose paint beforehand. From start to finish, let us handle all of your residential painting and commercial painting. With several years of experience, Ericks Painting Company Inc works hard to bring each customer the best possible painting services and quality available. We look forward to working with you soon on your next project and we welcome your questions. We look forward to earning your trust and your business. A finished quality job is very important. Call (404) 553-3064 today for a free estimate. If you are looking for a high quality painting company, do not hesitate to give us at Ericks Painting Company Inc a call. We proudly provide our exterior and interior painting services to clients in the Atlanta, GA area. You can email us at email@example.com MoreSee Full Profile
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text:
Canon's Got the Touch. Canon's iconic ELPH has always been a show-off, with the looks and smarts that make you want to carry it out in the open for everyone to see. The PowerShot SD980 IS takes the concept even further with Canon's first-ever touch panel interface. The camera that invented sleek and slim is equipped with a huge 3-inch PureColor System LCD screen that responds to your touch, delivering operation that's as natural and intuitive as cutting-edge technology should be. Four opulent color options are the icing on the cake.
Movie: HD 1,280 x 720 (30 fps) available up to 10 min. or 4GB per clip/640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) available up to 60 minutes per clip or 4GB
Note: 26 display languages provided (English, German, French, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Italian, Norwegian, Swedish, Spanish, Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Greek, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Thai, Arabic, Romanian, Ukrainian, Farsi)
All data are based on Canon's Standard Test Method. Subject to change without notice.
Canon, DIGIC, ELPH, PIXMA, and PowerShot and SELPHY are registered trademarks of Canon Inc. in the United States and may also be registered trademarks or trademarks in other countries. Microsoft, Windows and Windows Vista are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Mac is a trademark of Apple, Inc., registered in the United States and other countries. All other products and brand names are registered trademarks, trademarks or service marks of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries.
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text:
He'll rent out movie theatres and arenas and Winnipeg museums. He's a "gentleman" who'll make you fondue, and he's about as threatening as a sleepy puppy. If there were any doubt Justin Bieber was total tween-dream boyfriend material, the pop star wants you to know he loves his mother very much.
All together now: SWOON.
Bieber's latest song, "Turn To You," arrived in the wee hours this morning. It's dedicated to his mom, Pattie Mallette, and as the 18-year-old revealed last week in a chat with MTV, the tune is all "about the struggles" his mom faced as a single parent.
"She had me at, like, the age I am now," Bieber told MTV. "[It's about] just the struggles she went through and how brave she was, and I think the world needed to know that."
A mid-tempo guitar-pop song, Bieber sings his mom's story on the track. "It was '94, the year that everything started to change/ from before," he croons on the second verse, going on to recount how she turned to her faith for strength, while working two jobs to support them.
"Everything that you are is who I am, who I am today/ So when you're lost and you're tired/ when you're broken in two/ let my love take you higher/ 'cause I still turn to you," he sings on the chorus.
Beliebers everywhere, Mallette included, are getting misty. "It it made me cry," she Tweeted about the song leading up to its official debut.
Earlier this week, Bieber Tweeted that money earned off of "Turn to You" sales "will go to help other single moms," and MTV News reports the funds raised will benefit the Salvation Army's Bethesda Centre in London, Ont. (Mallette turned to them for assistance when Bieber was much younger, and according to their website, the centre is struggling to remain open, and is currently leading a charity drive to raise $1.5 million by May 31. "If it weren't for Bethesda, I'm not sure where Justin or I would be," Mallette writes in a message posted to their site.)
Mallette has a memoir on the way, Nowhere But Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom. Even though Biebz has gone and shared her story with the world already, it seems "Turn to You" will not affect the book's Sept. 18 release date.
Listen to "Turn to You" below:


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Top marks for artist's winning works
31 January 2013
Works by Jenny Ihn, a postgraduate student at the Sydney College of the Arts, are now on display in a coveted exhibition space at one of Sydney's leading galleries after she took out a prestigious prize at the SCA's end-of-year degree show.
The annual Dominik Mersch Gallery Award is a collaboration with the Sydney College of the Arts and is now in its fifth year. As part of the award the gallery provides exhibition space to show one or more artists from Sydney College of the Arts, the visual arts faculty of the University of Sydney.
Jenny, the award's 2013 recipient, was selected from the SCA's annual end-of-year Postgraduate Degree Show. Past recipients include Lucas Davidson, Tom Jefferson, Locust Jones, Andrew Newman and Kevin Platt.
"Offering an exhibition space to show their works is the best way to support young and promising artists. According to best practice in Europe and the USA, such awards are very important to give young artists a head start," said Dominik Mersch.
The Dean and Director of SCA, Professor Colin Rhodes, said: "This is a great collaboration between one of Sydney's top contemporary art galleries and the country's top art school. It gives an opportunity for one of our best to reach a wide and appreciative audience."
Jenny Ihn is an emerging artist based in Sydney and completing her Master of Fine Arts degree at Sydney College of the Arts. Her series titled Dust, a collection of works on paper made between 2011 and 2012, will be on display at the Dominik Mersch Gallery until Wednesday 6 March 2013.
Dust explores human marks representing life in the material world. Faint traces of water combined with the gestural play of pigments reflect poignant moments in time which are only experienced fleetingly, but captured by Ihn through a mark left on the surface of the paper.
Ihn said winning the Dominik Mersch Gallery Award was an unexpected gift. "It was a strong affirmation of what I had researched and explored in my own practice through the Masters of Fine Arts degree at Sydney College of the Arts. On a personal level, to know that my works spoke to someone in this way is a priceless affirmation of where I am at as an artist."
Event details
What: Dust, works on paper by Jenny Ihn
When: Until Wednesday 6 March
Where: Dominik Mersch Gallery, 2 Danks Street Waterloo, Sydney
|Follow University of Sydney Media on Twitter
Media enquiries: Kath Kenny, 0478 303 173, 02 9351 1584, firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
New London mayor to run for re-election
Editor's Note: This corrects an earlier version.
New London — Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio took the opportunity Thursday during a press conference on personnel changes in City Hall to confirm he will seek re-election in 2015.
"I filed papers last year and have been actively fundraising," the mayor said after his administrative assistant, Zak Leavy, who is leaving city employment, said he looks forward to working on Finizio's re-election campaign as a private citizen.
Finizio called a press conference outside his office in City Hall Thursday afternoon to announce Leavy's departure Jan. 31 to become communications coordinator for the Connecticut Employees Union Independent, which represents more than 7,000 public employees. Leavy has worked for the mayor since his election in 2011.
David Pressler, who was appointed last October as the city's newly created veterans' liaison, will take over Leavy's $52,000-a-year position. The liaison job was a volunteer position. Pressler also will become the city's director of emergency management, Finizio said.
Last April, Finizio announced that the deputy police chief was taking over the emergency management duties from Reid Burdick, who held the $10,000-a-year position for 26 years. On Thursday, Finizio thanked Deputy Police Chief Peter Reichard for his service, calling him the interim director.
The emergency management job will not carry additional compensation for Pressler, but a portion of his salary will be paid for with emergency management grants, Finizio said.
Pressler, who lives in New London, served in the Marine Corps from 1989 to 2002 and was deployed to Iraq in 1991 and 2002. In addition to English, he speaks Spanish and Arabic.
Finizio took office in December 2011 as the city's first elected mayor in 90 years. He registered as a candidate for re-election in the city clerk's office on May 21, 2013, and has formed a re-election committee. To date, the campaign has a balance of $2,114, according to quarterly financial reports filed in the city clerk's office.
The election for mayor, a four-year position, is scheduled for Nov. 4, 2015.
Full game: Stonington 12, East Lyme 10 in ECC girls' lacrosse final
Three decades later, Desiree Michaud's friends and family still seek closure


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While city lights at night serve as a good proxy for population density, North Korea provides a dark exception.
Scooped by
Seth Dixon
onto Geography Education
We should try to alleviate the great difference of the North and South Korea. It's time to cooperate.
The contrast between North and South Korea in this Earth at Night image shows just how different these countries are. South Korea, with aid from the United States, is becoming a highly developed and prosperous power, with a impressive economy compared to what it was just decades ago. On the other hand, North Korea is dark, both literally and figuratively. North Korea's economy remains highly undeveloped, and the few utilities that the country provides are unreliable and not far stretching. The only visible bright light in North Korea is the city of Pyongyang, and even that is nothing compared to Seoul.
Devastated by the war that secured its independence, South Korea entered the 1960's as a third world country. Today, it is one of the strongest economies in the world, with a vibrant culture and strong allies in the US and Japan. The economic growth it experienced in the final decades of the 20th century is nothing short of remarkable, thoroughly earning its title as an "Asian Tiger" economy. The quality of life enjoyed by its citizens, and the nation continues to prosper in the face of aggression shown by its northern neighbor. The leaps and bounds made in the South Korean economy and its infrastructure is highlighted by this map, showing the intense amounts of development that have occurred all over the country- there isn't a dark spot in the entire southern half of the Korean peninsula. Contrasted to North Korea, its particular striking- the two nations have really taken opposite paths since the end to hostilities between the two in 1953. Should they be able to avoid another conflict, South Korea will only continue to prosper as we push forward into the 21st century.


text:
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with the MUSIC STORE Newsletters!
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The Shure N44G is a replacement needle for M 44G.
Not much to say about the stylus itself but combined with the M44G cartridge, this is the way to go if you like to play vinyl in clubs. Loud, spreads over a large frequency interval, and light on vinyl. This combination actually makes baddly produced vinyl sound better - in a club surrounding that is (compared to lets say Ortofon PRO-S)
Every month we are giving away a shopping voucher among all submitted reviewers worth 500 EURO!
Congratulations to the winner of December: Michael Rauser, Heilbronn (DE)
The winner from the previous month (November): Martin Reinert, Siegburg (DE)
You can rate this product if you like. By rating this product you will be automatically entered into our monthly shopping voucher giveaway!


text:
Philadelphia based MC/Producer Raj Haldar AKA Lushlife, creatively demonstrates how to drop hot bars while using the Theremin he received here at the Moog factory. Here, Lushlife performs his song Meridian Sounds part III, from his 2009 album Cassette City, and talks about the joy of receiving his Etherwave Theremin after his visit to Moog.

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Many people look to America and sigh with envy at "the American Dream" . However, that dream cannot last long, while America is guzzling up precious resources left on a rapidly crowding planet. These figures speak for themselves about the evident greed of America:
Coal > Production
531,822,000 ton
Coal consumption
Commercial energy use
Electric power consumption > kWh
3,920,613,000,000 kWh
Electricity > Consumption
3,892,000,000,000 kWh
Gasoline prices
Geothermal power use
Natural gas > Consumption
652,900,000,000 cu m
Natural Gasoline > Production
12,275,000 ton
Nuclear electricity generation
780.1 terawatt-hours
Nuclear energy consumption
821.1 terawatt-hours
Nuclear reactors operable
Oil > Consumption
20,680,000 bbl/day
Oil > Exports
1,165,000 bbl/day
Oil > Production
8,457,000 bbl/day
Oil imports > Net
10,400,000 barrels per day
Oil reserves
22,450,000,000 barrels
Usage per person
8.35 TOE per person
Wall plugs > Voltage
Wind energy installation
These crimes are forgivable, as other nations are guilty of many similar crimes, such as Brazilians chopping down the Amazon. But global warming is not the most important aspect that we can hold against America. America has extorted countries beyond the point of recovery. Equador, for example, was reduced to a poor scrabbling wreck once America dealt out loans to them. Now Equador only has 5% of its national budget to spend on public services, whilst the rest of the money goes into paying off foreign aid, almost all of which goes to America. Is this right? Is it fair that Americans can bully nations? Furthermore. America threatens, assasinates, and then goes to war with the presidents of countries who refused to run their countries as they like. The war with Iraq is a simple example. America wanted oil. Iran refused to give for no good reason. Why should we just let them do this to us? Us as a world?
Oh yes, because they have guns!
The U.S.A government is a trigger-happy collection of murderous power figures, They do so much to the world, and yet they have nuclear arms and their military to point at other nations, and say "give me your money!" They succeeded for so long due to pure fear, but now other countries have the chance to strike back. America doesn't have all the power anymore. A single grain of rice can tip a scale. Somehow, America has set in a system which everybody likes. A system where people don't think. Where they impulsively buy items that will break very soon. In America, only 10% of items bought for a house are kept for more than a month, and only 5% of those remain for 6 months. America designs products to be made so they break as soon as possible, but will still leave the client with faith in the product, enough so to buy themselves more.
But who benefits from this system?
The aristocrats do. Right up in their trees, lording over us. There are bankers who awarded themselves millions of dollars in bonuses whilst creating a recession that would cripple thousands of struggling individuals around the world. This doesn't cause stress for people living on government benefits, but for the people who are just above the poverty line. America makes those people struggle and work every day. It does so by enforcing a system where the elite (namely money-posessing) people take hold. Can nothing be done to create a fair and happy world?
Well, there is something you can do. You can be fair. You can be smart, and you can think before reaching for your credit card while watching an auction channel. You can PAUSE and WAIT before buying that "wonderful new shave". We have to know our limitations, and stretch them. Whoever is reading this, YOU are the workforce. You are the people economically enslaved. There is hope. You can work together towards goals such as Project Venus, Save The Forests, Oil Conservation, and Fairtrade. These small lifestyle changes will help you sleep at night. How can we sleep after reading this, knowing that we are only here through the turmoil and suffering of potentially hundreds of other men, women and children.
When a child reaches to the future, who will have the heart to say, "we've used it up, son."


text:
Take the steps to begin your journey:
Core Categories
I. Communication (9 hrs)
The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) holds that the objective of a communication component of a core curriculum is to enable the student to communicate effectively in clear and correct prose in a style appropriate to the subject, occasion, and audience.
The nine-hour "communication" component of Tarleton's core curriculum is composed of two courses from the Department of English And Languages
along with a choice of one course from three offerings of the Department of Communication Studies
- Fundamentals of Speech Communication (COMM 1311)
- Public Speaking (COMM 1312)
- Business and Professional Speaking (COMM 2302).
II. Mathematics (3 hrs)
According to the THECB, the objective of the mathematics component of the core curriculum is to develop a quantitatively literate college graduate. Every college graduate should be able to apply basic mathematical tools in the solution of real-world problems.
The three-hour "mathematics" component of Tarleton's core curriculum may be satisfied by any of the courses listed below offered by the Department of Mathematics
- MATH 1314 College Algebra (MATH 1314)
- MATH 1332 Contemporary Mathematics (MATH 1332)
- MATH 1324 Math for Business and Social Sciences (MATH 1324)
- MATH 1342 Elementary Statistical Methods (MATH 1342)
- MATH 2412 Precalculus (MATH 2412)
- MATH 2413 Calculus I (MATH 2413)
III. Life and Natural Sciences (8 hrs)
The THECB recommends that the objective of the core curriculum's natural sciences component is to enable the student to understand, construct, and evaluate relationships in the natural sciences, and to enable the student to understand the basis for building and testing theories.
The eight-hour "natural sciences" component of Tarleton's core curriculum is composed of selected courses from two academic departments. Students can choose from the following course:
- Biology for Science Majors I (BIOL 1406)
- Biology for Science Majors II (BIOL 1407)
- Anatomy and Physiology I (BIOL 2401)
- Anatomy and Physiology II (BIOL 2402)
- Essential Elements of Chemistry (CHEM 1302) (a 3 hr course for Education majors)
- Introductory Chemistry II (CHEM 1407)
- General Chemistry I (CHEM 1411)
- General Chemistry II (CHEM 1412)
- Earth Systems Science (EASC 2310) (a 3 hr course for Education majors)
- GPS, VGI, & Cartography (GEOG 1451)
- Physical Geology (GEOL 1403)
- Natural Disasters (GEOL 1408)
- Historical Geology (GEOL 1404)
- Environmental Science (GEOL 1407)
- Great Ideas of Physics (PHYS 1410)
- Essential Elements of Physics (PHYS 1302) (a 3 hr course for Education majors)
- Introductory Astronomy I (PHYS 1411)
- College Physics I (PHYS 1401)
- College Physics II (PHYS 1402)
- Stars and Galaxies (PHYS 1403)
- University Physics I (PHYS 2425)
- University Physics II (PHYS 2426)
IV. Language, Philosophy and Culture (3 hrs)
Courses in this category focus on how ideas, values, beliefs, and other aspects of culture express and affect human experience. Courses involve the exploration of ideas that foster aesthetic and intellectual creation in order to understand the human condition across cultures.
The three-hour component of Tarleton's core curriculum is composed of selected courses from three academic departments.
- The Short Story (ENGL 2310)
- Introduction to Literature (ENGL 2320)
- Literature and Film (ENGL 2340)
- Backgrounds of Western Literature (ENGL 2350)
- Introduction to Philosophy (PHIL 1301)
- World Civilizations I (HIST 2321)
- World Civilizations II (HIST 2322)
V. Creative Arts (3 hrs)
Courses in this category focus on the appreciation and analysis of creative artifacts and works of the human imagination. Courses involve the synthesis and interpretation of artistic expression and enable critical, creative, and innovative communication about works of art. For this three-hour requirement, students can choose from courses offered by the Department of Fine Arts
- Art Appreciation (ARTS 1301)
- Art History I (ARTS 1303)
- Art History II (ARTS 1304)
- Art History of America (ARTS 3331)
- Fine Arts Appreciation (HUMA 1315)
- Visual and Theatre Arts (FINA 1335)
- The Art of Film (FINA 1360)
- Fundamentals of Music (MUSI 1303)
- Music Appreciation (MUSI 1306)
- American Music (MUSI 1310)
- Music Theory I (MUSI 1311)
- Jazz History (MUSI 3325)
- Introduction to the Theatre (DRAM 1310)
- History of Theatre I (DRAM 2361)
- Theatre and Criticism (THEA 4304)
VI. Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 hrs)
Courses in this category focus on the application of empirical and scientific methods that contribute to the understanding of what makes us human. Courses involve the exploration of behavior and interactions among individuals, groups, institutions, and events, examining their impact on the individual, society, and culture.
The three-hour "social and behavioral sciences" component of Tarleton's core curriculum is composed of courses from many departments.
- Introduction to Agricultural Economics (AGEC 2317)
- Introduction to Economics (ECON 1301)
- Principles of Economics: Macroeconomics (ECON 2301)
- Engineering Economy (ENGR 2303)
- World Regional Geography (GEOG 1303)
- Introduction to Human Geography (GEOG 1320)
- The Geography of Texas (GEOG 2301)
- Introduction to Logic (PHIL 2303)
- Ethics in the Professions (PHIL 3301)
- General Psychology (PSYC 2301)
- Introduction To Sociology (SOCI 1301)
- Race and Ethnic Relations (SOCI 2303)
- Archeology (ANTH 2302)
- Cultural Anthropology (ANTH 2351)
VII. Government and Political Science (6 hrs)
Courses in this category focus on consideration of the Constitution of the United States and the constitutions of the states, with special emphasis on that of Texas. Courses involve the analysis of governmental institutions, political behavior, civic engagement, and their political and philosophical foundations. The two require courses are:
VIII. American History (6 hrs)
Courses in this category focus on the consideration of past events and ideas relative to the United States, with the option of including Texas History for a portion of this component area. Courses involve the interaction among individuals, communities, states, the nation, and the world, considering how these interactions have contributed to the development of the United States and its global role. The two require courses are:
IX. Freshman Experience (1 hr)
This course is designed to prepare the student for university life, aid in the development of skills for academic success, promote personal growth and responsibility, and encourage active involvement in the learning process from an individual college perspective.
All departments. Most offer it as [First Year Seminar Course Code] 1100 although other numbers are used as well.


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Full disclosure: I'm good friends with the authors of this book, as well as a few of the people covered in it. However, for the past year, whenever I've invited the Knipples to come over for dinner or to help me empty some wine, they were out of town tracking down people and recipes for this book. Doing serious writerly legwork on the road instead of helping me drain some Chilean wine while we swap tips about where to find hibiscus flowers in syrup and weird organ meats in the Mid-South. So while I'm glad that the book is a reality and not just a polite excuse after I served them haggis tamales, I'm going to call this even on the journalistic ethics front.
I first met Paul and Angela when they reached out to me in 2007 to have a little gathering of Memphis food and wine bloggers at a Mexican restaurant downtown. I knew we'd hit it off when they bypassed the gringo fare and went straight for the cactus appetizer. At the time they wrote about local food and related topics on a blog called Squirrel Squad Squeaks, though over the years they rebranded with the more essay-driven From the Southern Table. And of course, the book has its own website, which features a calendar of book signings and other events throughout the Southeast in the next few months.
The World in a Skillet: A Food Lover's Tour of the New American South
By Paul & Angela Knipple
Foreword by John T. Edge
The University of North Carolina Press
$35, 296 pp.
While you can pre-order the book at Amazon using the above link, fellow Memphians might want to attend the official launch party at the local independent Booksellers at Laurelwood, formerly Davis-Kidd.
Don't let the cover mislead you: this is not a collection of Southern classics like cornbread and collard greens, though those dishes make appearances. Rather, it's a look at the increasing cultural and culinary diversity of the South and how such cooking traditions have settled and adapted in towns small and large in this corner of the United States.
The new South is a different place. Within walking distance of my abode in a fairly vanilla suburb of Memphis, I have two Thai restaurants, a Vietnamese place, two Indian restaurants and a third grocery store, two Japanese sushi bars, and more. I now encounter old Russian ladies working at local supermarkets, and whenever I say "Спасибо", I get an involuntary response of "Пожалуйста" followed by a chuckle at the short Irish guy spouting bad Russian. Less than 20 years ago, this was still farmland, and even 10 years ago it was just a sea of fast food joints and chain restaurants.
Each chapter focuses on a chef or a restaurant, telling the story of how that person or family came to the United States, and concluding with a couple of choice recipes. (Memphians include Pepe Magallenes of Las Tortugas and Wally Joe of Acre.) In places, anecdotes and cooking tips are included as sidebars. It's a fascinating oral history project that has the added benefit of making you very hungry.
It reminds me a lot of one of my favorite formative cookbooks, Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet on Our Immigrant Ancestors (Recipes You Should Have Gotten From Your Grandmother). He was writing from experience in the relatively cosmopolitan cities of Chicago and Seattle as well as lots of world travel. I was excited to have one book that had dozens of chapters focused on specific world cuisines, each with an introductory story/history lesson, quotes from friends, and four or five recipes. For someone that would go on to get excited about wines from Colorado, Moldova, and India, it was a book that combined Gourmet with National Geographic. (And come to think of it, the Hawaii chapter had a drawing of a topless native...)
For me, the best part of The World in a Skillet was reading about Haitian food. I've never been exposed to it and have never thought to seek it out, despite a love of Cuban, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and other styles of cooking that are collectively Caribbean but so individually unique. I can't wait to try out the recipe for queue de boeuf, which combines two of my favorite things that never made Julie Andrews' list: habaneros and oxtails.
The book is a great read for either short or long stretches and builds upon a unique strength possessed by the authors. They both have distinct and interesting personalities but are able to collaboratively write in a third and separate voice. I've known them for years but when reading their essays or this book I can't pick out which parts are Paul's or Angela's. I can edit or be edited, but I can't write with a partner to save my life, and I admire that talent. Think about that love and friendship when you're reading the book, and it will let you know how they were able to get so many people from so many different backgrounds to contribute to this effort. Best of luck to them both, and I can't wait to read the next one.
Note: This book was received as a sample.
03 February 2012
Book Review: The World in a Skillet: A Food Lover's Tour of the New American South
3 comments:
- Joe said...
awesome! I know you were talking about it... glad it's out.
And I'm intrigued by Haitian food... French + Creole + Caribbean = probably pretty good.
- 02 February, 2012 21:42
- Benito said...
There are a few Georgia chapters in this book, but you seriously need to meet these folks. They're awesome. Shoot 'em an e-mail, tell 'em I sent you, and I'm sure they'll be in the ATL area soon to promote this book.
- 02 February, 2012 21:44
- Chocolate Wine said...
Great review the books actually worth of it You have got awesome detail. Thanks for sharing.
- 03 February, 2012 15:30
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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas
The Southern Center for International Studies (SCIS), founded in 1962, is a nonprofit educational institution based in Atlanta, Georgia and dedicated to increasing the public's awareness and understanding of other countries, international issues and the global environment. Its primary mission is to internationalize the thinking of Americans. Each year the Center convenes more than 50 conferences, seminars, and briefings with world leaders and experts in international affairs. The Center also develops and distributes timely educational materials for use in schools, colleges, and the military. The Center seeks to inform. It does not take political positions or attempt to influence policy.


text:
How many languages are spoken in the United States?
You might think that number is 25 or 100—but it is actually 420 different languages!
According to a handy new infographic from FreePeopleSearch.org (see link below), 214 of those languages are indigenous to the U.S.—like Navajo and Cherokee—and 206 are immigrant languages—like French and German.
GenealogyBank reflects that linguistic diversity and has hundreds of newspapers that were published in German, French, Spanish and even one in Japanese.
For one example of our foreign language newspapers, see this article on German American Newspapers for Genealogy at GenealogyBank.
And here is an article about GenealogyBank's Hispanic newspapers: Periódicos en Español—Hispanic American Newspapers Online. GenealogyBank has the largest collection of Spanish-language newspapers published in the U.S.
GenealogyBank's deep newspaper archive is your best source for foreign language newspapers in the U.S.
Infographic: Many Languages One America
Please include attribution to FreePeopleSearch.org with this graphic.
, an infographic from FreePeopleSearch.org


text:
Ice Trolls
The Ice Trolls are blue-skinned Humanoids, who live within the frozen regions of Eternia, in tribes. They speak in their own language, but some know Basic. The Ice Trolls, lead by Hogart, were given the task to make sure nobody gains entrance to the bridge leading to Darksmoke.
MOTU Filmation Cartoon Appearances:
LUOGO DI ORIGINE : Ice Mountains


text:
A Clinton Township man said he is "really stressed" in the aftermath of what happened nearly a week ago when his girlfriend died while he drove from Arizona to Macomb County.
Ray Tomlinson, 62, told The Macomb Daily Saturday that he's been doubly effected by the suspected drug-overdose death of Christine Gilbert as well as state Adult Protective Services taking custody over his 92-year-old mother who was riding in the van.
"I'm really stressed," he said over the telephone. "I'm getting over my girlfriend passing away, and I can't see my mother. I want my mother back home."
The incident gained national attention, with some people making light of the situation, comparing it to the infamous movie, "Weekend at Bernie's," in part because she wore sunglasses and slumped over in her seat.
"This was nothing like 'Weekend at Bernie's,'" Tomlinson said, adding that Gilbert "always wore sunglasses" and was sleeping.
"I haven't paid much attention to it (the publicity)," he said.
He said he is "distraught" about the death of Gilbert, 31, who he has known for about a year. He said Gilbert had "severe" mental and prescription-drug problems but was "a smart, intelligent" person.
"I'm so distraught," he said. "I can't think straight. I loved her and she died.
"She was a very kind and caring individual. She always had a smile on her face and always had a good thing to say and had compassion for homeless people. She was easy to fall in love with."
Tomlinson discovered Gilbert was deceased in his 2004 Ford Econoline van about 5 a.m. Monday. Police learned about it after a mental heatlh facility called Gilbert's telephone to check on her, and Tomlinson informed them she had died. He didn't stop despite police requests to do so in Illinois and at Interstate 94 around Eight Mile Road. He continued driving to his son's home in Warren, arriving late Monday.
Warren police decided not to seek charges against Tomlinson. Police Commissioner Jere Green said what he did may have been "stupid" but wasn't illegal.
Tomlinson, a retired real estate broker and appraiser, said he isn't happy with Green's comments.
"I'm not stupid," he said. "I had friends checking on it. I verified the laws. I did nothing illegal. I may have done something out of the ordinary but really not so out of the ordinary."
Green said Saturday he believes his officers treated him well.
"I think we've been considerate, understanding," he said. "I could have easily presented a warrant request to the prosecutor's office. But what purpose would that serve? He just made bad decisions. He didn't try to hide the body or anything."
Tomlinson said he kept driving mainly because wanted to get his mother, who has "some dementia" and is incontinent, to the comfortable environment of her Clinton Township home, where she resides with him. He said he worried that if he stopped at a hospital, morgue or police station in another state he would have been detained and his mother taken by authorities.
He said driving long distances isn't unique for him as he has worked in Arizona as a charter bus driver and previously operated a business in Macomb County in which he transported people to doctor appointments.
Michigan APS took custody of his mother Tuesday, Tomlinson said, while he was being interviewed at the Warren police station because Tomlinson didn't allow her to use the restroom after Gilbert died, and her diapers and a pad were wet.
Tomlinson said he has been dealing with her incontinence for some time. She had a dry pad on another seat in the back of the van for her to sit on, he said.
He said he will try to get her back home.
"The only thing I can do is hire an attorney and battle through it," he said. He said he has been her caregiver since 2001.
Police suspect that Gilbert died from an overdose. An empty 30-dose OxyContin prescription container was found in the vehicle. Tomlinson said he believes she must have taken pills when he stopped for gas in Flagstaff, Ariz.
Tomlinson said Gilbert was taking multiple medications and has been taking them for years.
"I think it was a mixture," he said. "Your heart and your body can only take so much.
"The person's fault for her death was her own. She perpetrated her own death."
She was in and out of a mental health facility in Aurora, Ariz., nine times during their several-month stay in nearby Sun City, Ariz., he said.
"She has recurring bouts with depression, anger, self-mutilation, attempts at suicide," he said. "She was a very challenged person."
He added, however, "Sometimes she did well."
Tomlinson, who has three adult children, said he believes some of her problems can be traced to her relationship, or lack thereof, with her family in New Jersey. He took her to her hometown to try to reunite them, but it didn't work.
She had moved with a boyfriend to Macomb County from Florida, he said. Tomlinson said he met her while her boyfriend was in the county Jail and she didn't have a place to live. She resided with him in a platonic relationship until her boyfriend was released, he said.
The boyfriend also didn't have a place to live, and they were staying in a field near 23 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue in Chesterfield Township, so Tomlinson said he bought them a tent and sleeping bags. Gilbert after a few days returned to live with Tomlinson, and the relationship turned romantic, he said.
He said he helped Gilbert obtain a driver's license and ensure she received her Social Security Disability checks.
"I was trying to help get her back in mainstream society," he said.


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A badly decomposed body was discovered on the banks of the Neponset River in Boston Monday night, according to Jake Wark, spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley.
The body, which appears to be that of an adult, was found on the river bank off Truman Highway.
The state medical examiner's office will try to determine the person's identity and the cause of death, both of which may take some time to complete given the state of the remains, said Conley spokesman Jake Wark.
"We are in the information gathering stage," Wark said. He said missing persons reports will be one area that investigators search for information that may lead them to the person's identity.
The body was discovered around 7:20 p.m. Monday and State Police are investigating because the body was found on the grounds of a state agency, the Department of Conservation and Recreation.Jasper can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com or on Twitter @Jasper_Craven


text:
— This image struck me because just yesterday on the wires I saw a mug shot of an Air Force staff sergeant who had been suspended of her duties for posing in Playboy. So it's alright for a woman to be a sex object at a military event, but not in a magazine? Interesting. In any case, I'm glad these soldiers are able to find time for some fun over there.
Discuss as:


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MOSCOW, Russia - With a current Columbian and two incoming first-years on its squad, the U.S. Women's Foil Team advanced to the finals of the Junior World Championships for the second straight year on Friday and walked away with the tenth medal of the event for Team USA.
Sophomore Nzingha Prescod and incoming first-years Margaret Lu and Jackie Dubrovich built a 40-14 lead in their opening bout against the Ukraine before Lee Kiefer, a 2011 Senior World medalist, was substituted in to close out the match, 45-16.
In the quarter-finals, the foursome competed against Germany and held their opponents to single digits for the first seven bouts of the match. Kiefer anchored again and Team USA won the match, 45-13.
The semifinal bout proved to be Team USA's first challenge of the day as Russia took a 25-21 lead after the fifth bout, but Prescod outscored Leyla Pirieva, 9-1, to pull Team USA ahead, 30-26.
Lu held onto the lead with a 5-4 win over Adelina Zagidullina to bring the score to 35-30 and both Prescod and Kiefer won their next two bouts to end the match, 45-34.
In the gold medal match, Team USA was matched with Italy - a team that went 1-2-3 in the individual event and was determined to defend last year's title and did, with a 45-34 victory.
Despite the loss in the finals, the Junior Women's Foil team had a Columbia Blue feel to it and a silver-medal finish.
Reporting courtesy of USFencing.org