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Not entirely the same, but what I did when my MIL insisted on buying the non-birhtday child a gift was to swoop in before she gave the gift and say "Thanks so much! I'll just put this away until tomorrow"You could probably do that with the cake "Thanks so much! I'll just put this in the fridge for next week!" said super nicely and cheerfully, and then continue on using the cake that YOU provided. same with food "Oh thanks! we will enjoy this for dinner tomorrow!" and put it away. Uninvited guests are harder, but you could politely state there was some kind of mix up and send them on their way.
If I were Orisha, I'd need help kicking out the uninvited guests.
Quote from: Sophia on August 20, 2010, 09:46:03 AMIf I were Orisha, I'd need help kicking out the uninvited guests. Her husband could help, right?
You could always use her cake as the 'smash' cake!
Quote from: KitKat on August 21, 2010, 11:46:37 AMYou could always use her cake as the 'smash' cake! The one you give to the baby to rub into her hair and all over her clothes? And serve the parents' cake to the guests?
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The location of this hotel couldn't be better. Definitely the place to stay in KK.Hotels.com に掲載されている 377 件の口コミをすべて見る
Great for those pretentious business & convention travelers- who wish to be as far removed from the local culture as possible. In general; a real snob...Hotels.com に掲載されている 310 件の口コミをすべて見る
very expensive not worthy,disappointedHotels.com に掲載されている 418 件の口コミをすべて見る
The rooms are so poorly insulated- that I could hear the man cough & sneeze next door. Everything from the halls was also audible. Hotel built for the...Hotels.com に掲載されている 252 件の口コミをすべて見る
The view is great, room is nice and clean. My kid loves this hotel, will come again!Hotels.com に掲載されている 208 件の口コミをすべて見る
Just an outstanding get away from it all place. This place is very isolated from the rest of the world. It has beautiful scenery and provides a great ...Hotels.com に掲載されている 114 件の口コミをすべて見る
While we enjoyed the beautiful setting of the hotel and the nice Spa Suite room, the poor quality of services an management made our stay not that enj...Hotels.com に掲載されている 201 件の口コミをすべて見る
it's near by the KK with 15 mins ferry time. hotel is quiet, comfortable, with free breakfast, which is delicious. but the service is not always as go...Hotels.com に掲載されている 81 件の口コミをすべて見る
Beds were VERY comfortable, we didn't want to leave. Staff are all very friendly and smiling. Breakfast was mediocre, average hotel buffet breakfast, ...Hotels.com に掲載されている 180 件の口コミをすべて見る
Good Hotel. Clean, close enough to all the sights (although KK is not very big so almost anything in town is close), staff was helpful and the breakfa...Hotels.com に掲載されている 181 件の口コミをすべて見る
Not much space to move for 2 person stay in a standard roomHotels.com に掲載されている 297 件の口コミをすべて見る

subset: commoncrawl


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On the software front Microsoft's Xbox 360 made a strong statement of its position relative to the PS3 on multiplatform titles. Their strong marketing tie to Modern Warfare 2 paid off with sales falling more than 2:1 to the 360 (4.2M to 1.87M). For Assassin's Creed 2, which featured PS3 predominantly in its marketing program, the needle did move back toward Sony and wasn't quite 2:1 but the advantage remained sizable at 795K to 449K. Yes, some of this directly relates to the larger installed base of the Microsoft platform but particularly in the case of Assassin's Creed 2 there was potential for a closer margin. Rounding out the strong 360 software sales were Left 4 Dead 2 and Dragon Age: Origins.
November Software Sales:
- Modern Warfare 2 (360) -- 4.20M
- Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) -- 1.87M
- New Super Mario Brothers (Wii) -- 1.39M
- Assassin's Creed 2 (360) -- 794.7K
- Left 4 Dead 2 (360) -- 744.0K
- Wii Sports Resort (Wii) -- 720.2K
- Wii Fit Plus (Wii) -- 679.0K
- Assassin's Creed 2 (PS3) -- 448.4K
- Dragon Age: Origins (360) -- 362.1K
- Mario Kart w/Wheel (Wii) -- 315.0K
Overall Nintendo continues its dominance across the board. Four of the top ten games are theirs, including a strong third place showing by New Super Mario Bros Wii. In hardware both the Wii and Ds moved well in excess of a million sold.
As for the rest of the pack, PS3 enjoyed its third best hardware sales month since launch selling just over 710K units. The Xbox 360, almost certainly buoyed by the strength of Modern Warfare, still managed to edge it out, though; posting nearly 820K sold. Meanwhile, despite the new Go model, PSP only managed 294K sold. And PS2 continues merrily along prompting Frazer to say, "I was impressed by the performance of the PS2, which after 109 months in market is still experiencing strong sales (Nov'09 unit sales of over 200K -- only a small decline from last November)."
November Hardware Sales:
- Nintendo DS -- 1.70M
- Nintendo Wii -- 1.26M
- Microsoft Xbox 360 -- 819.5K
- Sony PS3 -- 710.4K
- Sony PSP -- 293.9K
- Sony PS2 -- 203.1K


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The Demoulas Super Markets Inc. board of directors voted Thursday to hire an executive search firm, which may be a sign it is moving ahead with a plan to replace President and CEO Arthur T. Demoulas, a source told The Sun Friday.
The board also approved a one-time payment of "excess cash" to shareholders, all of whom are members of the founding Demoulas family, according to the source, which requested anonymity to discuss votes made behind closed doors. Another vote was made to establish a credit facility, an indicator that Market Basket may be looking to use debt to expand -- something it has avoided while growing to 72 stores in three states.
A fourth vote was made to replace two of the three trustees who oversee the company's employee profit-sharing plan, the source told The Sun. The plan has more than $550 million to be paid out to employees upon their retirement, according to the company.
The employee profit-sharing program, in place since 1963, has provided 15 percent to 20 percent of an employee's pay annually, with funds kept in an account and paid to the employee upon retirement.
Only Arthur T. Demoulas was kept as one of the plan's three trustees.
All four votes are likely to be unpopular with many of Market Basket's employees and other supporters who have rallied to save the job of Demoulas and the culture he has set at the company, one that has prioritized employees and low prices over profit margins and fast growth.
Demoulas, the president since 2008, was first put at risk of being fired when the make-up of the seven-member board of directors changed earlier this summer, tilting for the first time in favor of Arthur S. Demoulas, Arthur T.'s cousin. The two sides of the family have battled in and out of court for years.
A July 18 meeting agenda listed a vote to fire Arthur T., but after meeting for more than 12 hours, the board did not make such a vote. Demoulas was kept on the job by default.
Thursday's vote to hire Boston executive search firm Spencer Stuart is being aimed at finding candidates not only for CEO but also for other top executives, according to the source.
The board meeting Thursday was moved last-minute from the Harvard Club in Boston's Back Bay to the nearby Prudential Tower. Because of the change, the few dozen Market Basket supporters who lined the sidewalk outside the Harvard Club in the morning later dispersed.
The board's next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 19, but a location is not yet set.
Follow Grant Welker on Twitter and Tout @SunGrantWelker.


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Submission + - Start-Up's 'Stone-Like' Optical Disc Lasts Forever (computerworld.com)
CWmike writes: "Start-up Millenniata and LG plan to soon release a new optical disc and read/write player that will store movies, photos or any other data forever. The data can be accessed using on any current DVD or Blu-ray player. The M-Disc can be dipped in liquid nitrogen and then boiling water without harming it. It also has a Defense Department study backing up the resiliency of its product (PDF document) compared with other leading optical disc competitors. The company would not disclose what material is used to produce the optical discs, referring to it only as a 'natural' substance that is 'stone-like.' Like DVDs and Blu-ray discs, the M-Disc platters are made up of multiple layers of material. But there is no reflective, or die, layer. Instead, during the recording process a laser 'etches' pits onto the substrate material."


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Restaurant Openings, Closings, Kitchen Changes, and Food Events in Westchester County, NY: June 2012
Photo by John Vecchiolla
Grace's Table's beet salad with blue cheese
The family behind Grace's Trattoria and Grace's Marketplace in Manhattan has opened Grace's Table (324 Central Ave, White Plains 914-684-8855; graces-table.com) in the space that previously housed Crave Bar & Grill. Joseph Trama, formerly at Grace's Trattoria, is executive chef. The menu, featuring New American cuisine, includes selections such as pancetta-wrapped shrimp and scallops, pan-seared halibut, Colorado lamb shank, and a 14-ounce, Niman Ranch, double-cut barbecue pork chop (most entrées cost between $23 and $27). A 70-bottle wine list, with most selections between $30 and $90, as well as specialty cocktails, are offered. Grace's Table is open Sunday to Friday for lunch and dinner and on Saturday for dinner-only
Set to open soon is J-Hotel and eleven14 Kitchen (1114 E Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT), a bi-level, 86-room boutique hotel plus New American restaurant. The executive chef is Francois Kwaku Dongo, formerly at Wolfgang Puck's Spago in West Hollywood and Chicago, and most recently executive chef at Greenwich's L'Escale. The menu incorporates locally sourced, seasonal ingredients whenever possible and features dishes such as seasonal roasted vegetables, fish, and free-range poultry and grass-fed beef cooked in a wood-burning open hearth clad in copper panels. Salads, pasta dishes, and artisan foods, such as cheese plates, round out the offerings. Main dishes cost $22 to $42. Also in the hotel: Chocolate Lab, a sweets shop and café, where handmade truffles as well as pastries and sandwiches are sold. J-Hotel and eleven14 Kitchen is another restaurant by Greenwich, Connecticut-based cb5 Restaurant Group, which also launched China White in Purchase and in Greenwich and Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar in Greenwich
Creme caramel ice cream from Longford's
Savona (2 Chase Rd, Scarsdale 914-798-0550; savonarestaurant.com) is a new Italian restaurant headed by Executive Chef Andrew Masciangelo. On the menu: spaghetti alla chitarra with veal and ricotta meatballs; salmon with escarole, pancetta, and white beans; and braised beef short ribs. Mains range from $15 to $24. Master Sommelier Fred Dexheimer (one of just 106 master sommeliers in the world) has fashioned the 200-bottle wine list. Lunch is served Monday to Saturday, dinner every day, and brunch on Sunday. The restaurant is a sibling of Savona and Bar Savona located in Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania
The second location of Manhattan cupcake and layer cake specialist Buttercup Bake Shop is opening in White Plains (168 Martine Ave 914-949-5700; butter cupbakeshop.com) sometime this month. The bakery offers old-fashioned American desserts, including Devil Dog cupcakes ($2.50), peanut butter cup or caramel-pecan mini-cheesecakes ($4.50), orange marble bundt cake ($28), and chocolate trifle ($24 for 64 oz).
Harbor-side French restaurant L'Escale (Delamar Hotel, 500 Steamboat Rd, Greenwich, CT 203-661-4600; lescalerestaurant.com) has two new chefs: Paris native Frederic Kieffer, who served as the opening chef for L'Escale, is the new executive chef, and Henri Donneux, most recently chef/owner at Café Lola in Fairfield, Connecticut, is the new chef de cuisine. On the menu: grilled double lamb chops, fennel-scented dorado filets, crispy skin duck breast, and chicken paillard (entrées cost from $22 to $46). Wendy Young Laurent continues as pastry chef. A raw bar also has been installed onto the 2,500-square-foot terrace for the spring and summer seasons
Tarrytown native Alexandra Sampaio is the new executive chef at the Westchester Broadway Theatre (1 Broadway Plz, Elmsford 914-592-2222; broadwaytheatre.com). Sampaio is an Art Institute of New York alum, caterer, event planner, and former head district chef for the Bedford Central School District. Her specialties include pan-seared tofu with ratatouille, boneless trout amandine, monkfish with red pepper-basil sauce, lemon-garlic lamb kabobs, and Portuguese pork and clams
Nolan and Patricia West are celebrating 20 years of their all-natural ice cream company, Longford's Own-Made Ice Cream (longfords icecream.com). Longford's ice cream, sorbet, frozen yogurt, and gelato ice cream are made at a 3,500-square-foot production facility at 151 Wilkins Avenue in Port Chester, and sold at scoop shops in Rye, Larchmont, and Old Greenwich, Connecticut, as well as area country clubs, restaurants, and hotels // Miyabi Asian Bistro & Sushi Bar (25 Wheeler Ave, Pleasantville, no phone as of press time) is scheduled to have opened by publication date in the space that once housed Jackson & Wheeler.


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The lights are on
Anyway, it was spotted at CES. Not much else to say other than the controller looks smaller than I thought it was.
Yeah, I never expected the controller to be huge. A large controller would probably not be a smart way to market a console. I'm happy with the size of the controller that I see in these two pictures. It's a good size.
I have one small critique and I'll probably catch some flak for it. The console itself looks very bland in terms of design. It looks like an external harddrive.
I personally am not complaining about the design of the Wii U. Nintendo game consoles have never been very flashy as far as design is concerned with maybe the exception of the GameCube. I personally like the design even though it isn't very flashy.
Yeah, I don't know. This'll sound weird but to me, the Wii looked sleek and very well designed. I think I read a few editorials from other game sites and magazines that made mention of how the Wii almost looked like an Apple product. It had clean, simple, and attractive design. I personally loved the Gamecube and it remains my favorite Nintendo console to date.
The Wii U doesn't look bad, but it's just not very distinctive. But then again, what looks more plain than the PS3?
The PS3s design (Thick and Thin) was sleak and original. I always prefer "feeding" the console the disk as opposed to placing the disk in a case or the PSone, Dreamcast, and GameCube becuase doing it other than feeding increases the risk of scratches. No previous console curved the way the PS3 does. There's a lot more to design than just the outward appearance.
I agree. The GameCube was a great console in design, features, and performance. I loved the GameCube and PS2. Both designs were well done in my opinion.
Destructoid has a small hands-on about the controller. Notably, the controller is pretty lightweight even with the internal battery. He also says that the placement of the analog sticks actually works quite well with the other buttons.
As for the look of the console, I'm not entirely sure that will be the final design. I don't mind a plain, simple design but at least differ it from your previous one more. Right now it looks too much like the Wii and not a whole new console.
Truth is, when the system is re-unveiled, a lot of this is subject to change. I just hope they reconsider the name honestly. And make sure the system is powerful. Sony and micro's next consoles will be stronger, but as long as they match a certain water mark they won't get fleased on the third party stuff.
Suda51 Group
Oh wow, I never realized how small the controller and the console itself were going to be. They both look very nice, and I'm liking the sleekness of the console itself. I really can't wait to get the controller in my hands to see if it really "feels" as good as everyone has been saying.
Looking good nintendo, looking very good. (raises glass) Here's to you and the promises your making, I look forward to calling myself a proud nintendo fan again.
@ theLizardman
And here's a thought, unlike Microsoft, Nintendo never puts out a console with a 60% failure rate.
Cool your jets there buddy, while I'm not sure what you mean by 60% failure rate, I do know that the Wii was a huge disappointment as far as a game console for me and a couple thousand other gamers. In fact, if there wasn't three other options as far as consoles go, I probably wouldn't have stayed a gamer save for a couple Wii games.
Marco Polo:
@ theLizardman
And here's a thought, unlike Microsoft, Nintendo never puts out a console with a 60% failure rate.
I don't think the failure rate got that high. Last I heard it was around 40%, and a lot of that is likely poor use from users--putting it in places where air circulation was poor or non-existent.
My Xbox 360 has run quite well consistently for three years, barring the occasional crash in a Bethesda game--and that one weird one I had in Arkham City. My roommate and I successfully repaired his RROD Xbox 360 and it runs just fine again.
Plus, it's a hallmark to how great the Xbox 360 is on it's own that it successfully weathered those dark RRoD days. I think it's the best system of the generation--tied with the regular old DS (DS Lite). It does online better, the online shops are cleaner and faster, it has the best player profiles in the industry, and is simply a great system. Hell, it even does couch co-op better since I recently discovered the PS3 won't allow multiple profiles to be signed in at one time--so where Trophies and game progress are concerned, everyone other than player 1 are outta luck.
I can play Borderlands, Dungeon Siege III, Halo, Gears of War, Left 4 Dead, etc with my girlfriend on one of our Xbox 360's and we can both save our individual progress and earn our own Achievements. The way it should be.
What do you want to bet that Resident Evil 6 will be ported to the Wii U?
@Marco Polo
I have the original arcade and it's chugging along great


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Did you read today's front page stories & breaking news?
From the Wires
Virgin Produced Channel Extends Reach with New "CATCH" App from ACTV8.ME
By: Business Wire
Feb. 6, 2013 06:00 AM
ACTV8.me, the leading mobile technology company, announced today that it has partnered with Virgin Produced, the entertainment arm of Virgin Group, to create the company's first mobile application.
On February 6, 2013, Virgin Produced launches their mobile application to supplement their short form entertainment content platform, the Virgin Produced Channel, which is available in seatbacks aboard Virgin airline flights globally. The app, entitled "Virgin Produced Channel Catch," will first be introduced on all Virgin America flights via RED™, the airline's state-of-the-art in flight entertainment system, with a profile on the Virgin Produced Channel. This innovative app will incorporate ACTV8.me's patent pending "CATCH" technology that allows users to seamlessly receive entertainment content and play for a chance to win a variety of prizes, travel tips, travel information and entertainment based trivia content. The mobile app also offers a free City Guide tailored to the destination city for every flight. The app allows the user to access the city guide and all other features even after landing.
ACTV8.me has created the most robust interactive "second screen" platform in the world. This platform spans across major verticals, including television, retail stores, airlines, airports, and ATM machines. Its objective: the creation of valuable offers at critical moments of influence, stimulating customer interaction and mobile transactions. Wherever there are digital screens, ACTV8.me and its global partners will be there.
"We are essentially taking our second screen technology out of the home and expanding its function and capabilities to align with Virgin Produced's exceptional entertainment offerings," says Brian Shuster, CEO/Founder of ACTV8.me. In addition, Shuster stated, "We believe that we are the first company in the space to develop proprietary technologies that don't rely on audio triggers to engage second screen functionality. This opens up new verticals that just can't be deployed by others in the second screen world".
Virgin Produced CEO Jason Felts shared his enthusiasm of pioneering the company's first entertainment app, by adding, "At Virgin Produced, we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve. It's not just a statement it's in our DNA to put quality and innovation first. Given that, I am extremely excited to introduce this first-of-its-kind interactive entertainment platform in conjunction with our growing production and distribution business. This app is not only a first-of-a-kind for a production company but will provide our viewers and brand fans a new way to interact with us 24 hours a day globally."
Virgin Produced serves as the film and television development, packaging and production arm of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group. Led by co-founders CEO Jason Felts and Chief Creative Officer Justin Berfield, Virgin Produced is breaking the corrosive models of Old Hollywood by providing a collaborative environment that embraces talent so they can best create and inspire. Putting quality and innovation first, with an equal focus on television and film, Virgin Produced has produced feature films Limitless and Immortals. In April 2012, Virgin Produced launched its own television network, the Virgin Produced Channel, which programs high quality lifestyle, music, travel, technology and comedy content to Virgin operating companies in the transportation, mobile, broadband, radio, health club, hotel and retail industries estimated to reach 60+ million loyal Virgin brand fans globally on a daily basis. On March 1st, the Virgin Produced/ Mandeville film, 21 & Over, will be released by Relativity Media.
ACTV8.ME empowers hit TV shows with its technology. Working alongside major TV networks and production partners, ACTV8.ME delivers a "complete global media integration platform," which brings amazing new user experiences to life in next-generation TV connectivity. ACTV8.ME leads the way in developing and designing new second-screen interactive TV interfaces and mobile applications that facilitate discovery of content and users' relationships with it. With its proprietary technologies, ACTV8.ME marries broadcast and cable television to the two largest social media platforms on the planet, and then makes it all interactive, thus creating the ultimate über platform.
ACTV8.ME's second-screen platform was built over three years with a vision and focus to empower subscribers to interact with TV content, while integrating social channel engagements, such as Facebook and Twitter, and a new digital ad model that creates a first-of-its-kind, one-to-one relationship with the consumer. Their deployments enhance the TV viewing experience by providing interactivity, social game mechanics, community sharing and exclusive offers in the form of real-time digital coupons.
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The Very End Of X
series: Sesame Street
air date: 3/06/13 7:00 AM
Big Bird and Snuffy are the hosts of "The Letter of the Day Show" on Sesame Street! The only problem is that the letter they were supposed to introduce and sing about is broken into two straight pieces. Big Bird and Snuffy need help determining which letter it is, so they use the guests on the show as clues. Their first guest is a box, which begins with the letter "B", so they think the letter must be "B". When they try to put the broken pieces of the letter together, however, it does not form a "B". Big Bird and Snuffy realize the letter must have two straight lines. The next guest is wax, so Big Bird and Snuffy think the letter must be "W", but that letter has four straight lines. The next guest is Leela dressed up as a Tyrannosaurs Rex. Big Bird thinks that this has all become too hard because all of the guests start with a different letter - box, wax, and Tyrannosaurs Rex. After he says the words out loud, Snuffy realizes that all of the letters end with the same sound. They figure out that these words don't start with the same letter, but end with the same letter-"X"! Leela helps them cross the two straight lines of the broken letter together and they form the letter "X"! Other guests that end with the letter "X" appear on the show and they all sing a song together!
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701 Economy Style Pillow Top Continuous Spring MattressLike
Sandy Ho
Contact Manufacturer
Sandy Ho
Foshan Baijian Furniture Industrial Co.,Ltd
Product Range Main products
Mattress,Spring mattress,Foam mattress,Bed,Leather bed, Fabric bed,Bedroom set,Hotel mattress,Hotel bed,FurnitureTarget Market(s)
Oceania; Eastern Europe; Africa(except Middle East); Hong Kong/ Macao/ Taiwan; Latin America; Japan & Korea; Mainland China; Western & Southern Europe; Northern Europe; Central & Southern Asia; Middle East
- Product Details
- Company Profile
Basic Specification
Detail Description
Additional Information
|Payment Terms
|Minimum Order
|Lead Time Delivery Time
|20 days
|Delivery Details
|FOB Shenzhen or Guangzhou
|FOB Port
|Loading Info
|by sea
|Packing Info
|Standard packing:inside plastic bag,outside kraft paper. Vacuum packing:inside plastic bag,ourtside kraft paper,30-45pieces pack in one wooden pallet.
|Target Market(s)
|Africa(except Middle East), Central & Southern Asia, Eastern Europe, Hong Kong/ Macao/ Taiwan, Japan & Korea, Latin America, Mainland China, Middle East, North America, Northern Europe, Oceania, Southeast Asia, Western & Southern Europe
About Us
Foshan Baijian Furniture Industrial Co.,Ltd
Established in 2002,Baijian furniture factory is a professional manufacturer and exporter that is concerned with the design, development and production of mattresses and beds. We are located in Shunde,Foshan City, with convenient transportation access. All of our products comply with international quality standards and are greatly appreciated in a variety of different markets throughout the world.Covering an area of 32000 square meters, we now have over 150 employees, boast an annual sales figure that exceeds USD1 million and currently export 20% of our production worldwide. Our well-equipped facilities and excellent quality control throughout all stages of production enable us to guarantee total customer satisfaction. Besides, we have received ISO9001 certificates.As a result of our high quality products and outstanding customer service, we have gained a global sales network reaching USA,Morocco,Russia,Korea ect.If you are interested in any of our products or would like to discuss a custom order, please feel free to contact us. We are looking forward to forming successful business relationships with new clients around the world in the near future.
General Information
|Year of Establishment
|Below US$100 Thousand
|Sales Volume
|Below US$1 Million
|Brand Name
Export Information
|Export Year
|Export Percentage
|21% - 30%
|Delivery Time
|20 days
|Minimum Order Quantity
|Mattress 50pieces
|Payment Terms
|L/C T/T Others
Productivity Information
|Production Lines
|4 lines
|Factory Size
|32,000 square meters
|Monthly Capacity
|Investment on Manufacturing Equipments
|US$101 Thousand - US$500 Thousand
|No. of Staffs
|101 - 500 People
|No. of R/D Staffs
|Less than 5 People
|No. of Engineers
|Less than 5 People
|No. of QC Staffs
|5 - 10 People
Factory Info: Baijian Furniture Factory
|Foshan, Guangdong, China
|Baochong Industrial District, Xiantang, Longjiang Town, Shunde District
|Factory Introduction
|Our company was established in 1983, with over 20 years' professional experience in furniture manufacturing. At present, we have a 12,800 square meters modern office building and a 32,000 square meters standard modern factory, with 100 workers and senior managers. Our company has established several primary departments, such as International Trade Dept., Domestic Trade Dept., Engineering Dept., After-service Dept., and etc. Our domestic marketing network has covered Northern-east China, South China, East China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. On the other hand, our products are exported to over 40 countries, such as U.S., Canada, Germany, and etc.


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Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Posted by Rot at 9:13 AM
Labels: costumes, flickr.com, ghoul, masks, photography, skull, skulls, willy garvin
2 comments:
- The Gill-Man said...
I really like the lighting in this one. Gives the shot a creepy feel, rather than just a pic of someone in a costume.
- March 9, 2010 at 9:32 AM
- bean said...
WOW. i love this one. spectacular.
- March 9, 2010 at 12:11 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Dear Doctor,
I had a venography in June 2010, here in Israel, showing numerous collaterals in both my JV.
In November 2010 I had an MRV and a venography in Katowich, Poland in which they saw a collateral in the RJV which they opened with a balloon with mild results.
My questions:
1. Are you willing to have a look at my my Israeli venography and Polish MRV photos and how can I send them to you?
2. How can I convince my Israeli IR that he is wrong and my veins are not normal?
Thank you from burning Israel (the fire is 10 minutes away from here, but, hey, I have MS, so no time to deal with that).


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The Tunnel
Tooley entices through nuanced characterizations, intricate plotting, and detail-laden prose. Although a dark tunnel is central to the seventh installment of S. D. Tooley's... Read More
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Tooley entices through nuanced characterizations, intricate plotting, and detail-laden prose. Although a dark tunnel is central to the seventh installment of S. D. Tooley's... Read More
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BOSTON — As has been his choice more often then not during the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs, Bruins forward Mark Recchi did not take the morning skate with his teammates tonight in preparation for Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final against Tampa Bay.
With zero points and a minus-5 rating through the first six games of the series, some would say Recchi has taken most of the Bruins' games off as well. He explained his situation this morning after the skate.
"I think the first game I wasn't good. I think after that I've been OK," said the future Hall-of-Fame forward. "I haven't been good, I haven't been bad. You know what? That's all washed away in one game now tonight. You lay it out on the line and go out and have fun with this and get back to the Stanley Cup Final. We've been together all year. And obviously you like to have an impact. But at the same time, teammates, that's why we're here for each other.
"I think earlier in the playoffs our line was terrific and carried a lot of the burden of the team. Other guys have stepped up and been terrific now. Now it's one game and let's all do it together. That's the important thing is we all have one opportunity to get to the Stanley Cup Final and we'll do it together."
For the 17 playoff games this season, Recchi has put up 2-5-7 totals and a plus-4 rating.
Should the Bruins lose, this could be Recchi's last game in the NHL. So you better believe that even if he's been non-existent through the first six games, Recchi will make his presence felt in the grand finale.


text: Actors Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner — both of whom have filmed movies around Boston (she was in "The Fighter" and he was in "The Town") — were spotted this week near the old Herald building. The two are back in Massachusetts with Bradley Cooper to film the new David O. Russell movie, which also stars Jennifer Lawrence. Pool scenes for the yet-to-be titled movie, set in the '70s, are expected to be shot on Friday.


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"SMALLVILLE" � (8:00-9:00 p.m. ET)
"Bride" (TV-PG, DV) (HDTV)
IT'S CHLOE AND JIMMY'S DREAM WEDDING DAY BUT TWO UNEXPECTED GUESTS CRASH THE PARTY � It's Chloe (Allison Mack) and Jimmy's (Aaron Ashmore) wedding day and the two prepare to walk down the aisle at the Kent farm. Meanwhile, Oliver (Justin Hartley) tells Clark (Tom Welling) he thinks he's discovered where Lex is hiding and takes off to Cuba to confront him. However, when he arrives, Oliver is shocked to find Lana (Kristin Kreuk) instead. Clark and Lois (Erica Durance) grow closer but chaos ensues when Doomsday crashes the wedding and tries to kidnap Chloe. Jeannot Szwarc directed the episode written by Al Septian & Turi Meyer (#3T7460).


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OSKALOOSA, Kan. (AP) _ A northeast Kansas man will go to prison for more than three years for a head-on crash that killed two people.
KAIR-AM reports (http://bit.ly/XLzV7A ) Brian Keefe, of Nortonville, was sentenced Friday in Jefferson County District Court.
Keefe pleaded guilty in December to two counts of involuntary manslaughter and two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence.
The Kansas Highway Patrol said a car driven by Keefe crossed the center line of a road north of Oskaloosa and struck another vehicle on March 29, 2011. The crash killed 38-year-old Shawn Fraker, of Winchester, and 27-year-old Daniel Walker, of Oskaloosa.
Keefe was sentenced to three years and seven months on each of the manslaughter counts, to run concurrently. He'll also spend three years on post-release supervision.


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The Orange Box Xbox 360 Cheats
- Game: The Orange Box
- Game Description: The Orange Box is a collection of the best five innovative games from Valve, creators of the blockbuster Half-Life franchise, in one action-packed box. The Orange Box includes Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2 in addition to full versions of the award-winning Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One for an engrossing first-person action experience. The Xbox 360 version of Orange Box utilizes high dynamic range lighting that gives you more realistic-looking effects.
Portal: Upgrade Portalgun cheat for The Orange Box on Xbox 360
X, B, Left Bumper, Right Bumper, Left, Right, Left Bumper, Right Bumper, Left Trigger, Right Trigger
Game Name: The Orange Box
Cheat Name: Portal: Upgrade Portalgun
Submited by: Joe Yac on Fri, 14th March 2008 11:28 PM


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My Content
Membership has its privileges! Sign up or sign in to gain full access to both All About Jazz and Jazz Near You. Learn more.
Pearl Jam
Web Site
Epic Records
The Greek Theater
Los Angeles, CA
October 24, 2000
By Rob Evanoff
Only two weeks ago the announcement came over the airwaves again and again, Pearl Jam would be playing at the legendary and beautifully majestic Greek Theater, which has a capacity of about 4000. The theater is located up in the lush hills of Griffith Park, which borders the hills of Hollywood and is located amidst a forest of nature's finest trees. The Greek has been the bed for a host of live releases including Jimmy Page & The Black Crowes Live at the Greek and Neil Diamond's Hot August Night. Pearl Jam Live at the Greek would now join this esteemed list since it was also announced that the band would be recording the performance for a live video release.
Tickets were not easy to come by, ticket brokers had a limited supply that were snapped up for $250 a pop, and the show practically sold out before the tickets went on sale as local radio gave free pairs away for an entire week. The onslaught of these freebies were magnified with the enormous number of comp tickets for VIPs and I was warned to have a messenger pick up my tickets the day of the show to avoid long lines at will call, as EVERYONE would be on the guest list.
So the 24th arrived and off we went to the BIG show. We jumped in a cab and told the driver, "The Greek". He popped in Bad Company's first album on cassette and asked "Who's Playing?" "Pearl Jam!" "Who?" he retorted. Were we in time devolution? He wasn't impressed when we explained that they were arguably the biggest rock band in the world during the 90's. After rattling off titles of saturated radio hits, he finally claimed to have heard "Daughter" before. All of this came after he had proudly stated that he was an American cab driver and a New York cabbie transplant to boot. Yes, a head scratcher.
We arrived and The Greek was bustling with scensters and a hodgepodge of post modern socio-political music evangelist wannabees who seemed intrigued to peruse info on Nader and The Green Party, which Pearl Jam supports. The show soon began at 8:45 PM and in typical PJ fashion, the band sauntered on to the stage with little fanfare and launched into their set. They blasted through a half dozen songs before the first acknowledgement of the night, Eddie quipped "It feels as if we're playing in a backyard, except that it's the devil's backyard". Huh?
And with that, the band solidly flexed their classic rock muscles for the next two hours covering their career by breaking out favorites from yesteryear including "Rear View Mirror," "Daughter" and "Animal" from VS, igniting the audience with "Even Flow" and "Black" from the seminal Ten and "Not For You" and "Better Man" from Vitalogy. And as with most shows in Los Angeles where it's perceived to be unhip to actually be a fan or to enjoy yourself, surprisingly the girl seated next to us seemed to be lost in her own drama as she modified the chorus and boisterously sang "Butty Man" instead. A precious moment to witness as if her whole world revolved around the meaning of the lyrics to this song. Apparently, this "Man" had left her at the altar with nothing more than a memory in her hands. "She now dreams in color, she dreams in Red!"
Though the repertoire changes from night to night as is evidenced by the recent release of 25 CDs from Pearl Jam's European Summer Tour, the set list definitely favors their latest release Binaural . The band drew favorable response to songs such as "Breakerfall", "God's Dice," "Light Years," "Evacuation," "Nothing As it Seems" and a burning version of "Insignificance" that recalled the best of Crazy Horse.


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OK so far on our tour of Collections Online we've covered Objects and Topics. These wouldn't exist without people.
People and organisations
Artists and makers, collectors, historical figures; basically people and organisations that are related to the objects or topics in the collection.
- Take a look at the record for Leslie Adkin;
- Or maybe you're interested in the naturalist, Daniel Solander?
- Or maybe the artist Frances Hodgkins.
At these pages you can see basic biographical information, and all the topics and Collection Objects that relate to the person in question. You can filter objects by relationship such as see those that depict the person, or the objects the person made, or once owned, and so on. You'll also see other instiutions or organisations content that relates to that person via the DigitalNZ results at the right of the page.
We've also got a few plans on how better to link to sources of info on artists and historical figures.
More interesting people to try out:
Next entry in this Collections Online introduction series: Places and Categories


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Geno Smith Not Attending Mark Sanchez's "Jets West" Passing Camp
Geno Smith chose not attend Mark Sanchez's Jets West Passing Camp, and may have fired a salvo at Sanchez by making such a decision.
USA Today is reporting that Smith chose not to attend Sanchez's team bonding get together, and will instead workout on his own in Florida.
Geno Smith won't attend Mark Sanchez's Jets camp: http://t.co/vl4RCQefwa
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) July 12, 2013
Smith previously tried to sidestep the issue of Jets West when asked by reporters during a previous minicamp.
"We haven't talked about it, but from my understanding it's something that's done annually and all the guys go out there and it's been a great experience," Smith previously had said. "Mark hasn't officially extended the hand to me, but I'm pretty sure there's no problem there. I'm more than willing to go there."
The question will now be asked, is this Smith letting Sanchez know where he stands in regards to their quarterback competition, or did Smith, simply want to work and refine his game and mechanics all by his lonesome?


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MASON COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - What happened in Newtown, Conn. close to two months ago has had many Americans second guessing the safety of schools. And while the Fayette County Public Schools system has had its own police force in place for decades, other districts are now starting to consider similar steps.
Mason County Sheriff's Deputy Terry Fryman tries to make it to lunch at one of the district's schools each day. WKYT caught up with him at Mason County Middle School.
"Not a day goes by teacher says man we're so glad to see y'all here. Thank you. Keep up the good work," Deputy Fryman explained.
Sheriff Patrick Boggs set up this year's budget in reaction to what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn. He's now paying overtime to deputies, asking them to spend the extra hours on the job in the classroom.
"We want to bring back a good guy mentality for all the children. We're there to help," noted the sheriff, "we're doing a generic security audit. Checking doors that should be locked. Coming up with hopefully inexpensive ideas for the school systems to put in place to beef up the security."
Mason County Middle School Principal Justin Moore told WKYT he appreciates the extra law enforcement stopping by. "It really has been a little bit calmer the last couple weeks because after the tragedy occurred everybody was very skittish, very nervous, very difficult, it was very tense."
The district already has plans in place to bring in a full time school resource officer next year. The Maysville Police Department has had a similar program in place throughout the Mason County School District for more than ten years.
In other parts of the state, Laurel County Schools have increased the amount of officers patrolling their campuses. District leaders in Madison County are training principals to handle various scenarios involving students' safety.


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Extreme Urban Skiing is Awesome [VIDEO]
There are some pretty cool extreme skiers out there, and they usually take to huge mountains in beautiful locales covered in white powder. Apparently you don't need to be up helicoptered in to hard to reach spots anymore, because now, there's extreme urban skiing. You will however, need at least some snow. Check it out!


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WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — So-called "aggressive" panhandling is now illegal in Worcester.
The city council took a final vote Tuesday to outlaw certain types of panhandling, ending nearly nine years of effort by the council to put curbs on the practice.
The Telegram & Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/WFei7H) that the new restrictions include prohibitions against soliciting money from motorists while standing in the street, on a traffic island or while walking in and out of traffic.
Some councilors opposed the law, saying its enforcement would add new duties to an already stretched police force. Other opponents said the law violated free speech rights. But advocates said the law was about public safety and the measure passed the council overwhelmingly.
The council also outlawed "tag days," at which charitable groups solicit donations from motorists at intersections.
"Aggressive" panhandling now illegal in Mass. city
WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — So-called "aggressive" panhandling is now illegal in Worcester.


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Hello Pinot,
how wonderful to see you today as our COTD. I didn't know all of your story but it looks as if you put that paw on your meowmie's shoulder to tell her you needed help! She definitely saved your life and makes sure you will live happily ever after :)
Kisses to you, sweet girl.
Filou and Tigris send purrs.


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PRINCETON — Adjustments are being made with the dental clinic operated through the Bureau/Putnam County Health Department.
At Tuesday's meeting of the Bureau County Board, board member Loretta Volker gave an update on the county's dental clinic, saying the Bureau County Board of Health has studied the funding and adult utilization of the county's dental clinic for the past 18 months. That study shows adult utilization of the clinic continues to dwindle, Volker said.
Since Medicaid no longer covers adult dental care, the Board of Health has made the decision to offer adult dental services on a sliding scale based on the income of the adult, Volker said. Decisions reached by the health department were not made lightly, she said.
Also, with the continuing decrease in the adult utilization of the clinic, the full-time services of the current dentist is no longer needed, Volker said. The current dentist has been released from his contract with the health department, as well as with LaSalle and Henry counties who subcontract dental services through the Bureau/Putnam County Health Department, she said.
Dental services will now be provided by several area dentists who have served the clinic in the past and are now willing to volunteer their time at the clinic, Volker said. As before, there will still be appointments set for certain days of each week, she said.
"The health department's services for children and adults are not going to be affected with the changes that were determined by the Board of Health," Volker said. "Oral health is very important for Bureau and Putnam counties' residents. The dental clinic is surviving and we expect to thrive under the new model."
Volker said the Board of Health will continue to monitor the utilization patterns at the dental clinic and determine how to best provide services while remaining fiscally responsible to the county board, as well as to the citizens of Bureau and Putnam counties.
In other business at Tuesday's meeting, the board heard from Bureau County Emergency Services and Disaster Agency (ESDA) coordinator Kris Donarski on the progress being made on getting federal disaster designation for Bureau County due to the April 17-18 heavy rains and flooding that hit the area.
Bureau County is one of 49 counties in Illinois to already have received state disaster area designation.
Donarski said she and other local government officials are now working on getting the county declared a federal disaster area. She and local officials have met with members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration and shown them some of the worst-hit homes and areas in the county.
There are two parts to the federal declaration process, Donarski said. Individual assistance covers home and business repairs, while public assistance covers things like road and bridge repair as well as government buildings.
Though Bureau County was not among the initial 11 counties declared to be federal disaster areas on May 10 by President Barack Obama, that does not mean Bureau County will not get the designation, Donarski said.
"They've approved those first 11 counties and will move on to the other counties to see if they will be added on," she added. "I don't know how long that will take."
Comment on this story at www.bcrnews.com.


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As Wednesday drew nearer earlier this week, my wife, Lois, began to express trepidation.
"It's going to be too cold," she pronounced. "The windchill is going to be near zero."
Ordinarily, that would not be enough to deter her from skiing. She's been skiing since high school, and that was in the 1970s (we won't say early or late here), but this wasn't going to be an ordinary day skiing.


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Natural skills and talent took Julian Savea into the All Blacks.
Now he is starting to work extra hard to stay there.
It has been a massive year for the 22-year-old who earned his test elevation with a series of stunning matches in Super rugby and is now understanding what being a top rugby player is all about.
Teammate Piri Weepu spoke about trusting his skills and playing his natural game against Scotland. That has been Savea's motto for most of his young career but he is now adding extra layers.
"I try and stay relaxed right through until the warm-up," he said.
"I think I am a bit like Piri as well - just go out and play. I know the game plan, I know what I need to do and then just express myself after that."
Savea has topped up that instinctive sting with a great deal of homework this season.
"I know it is a cliche but talent will only get you so far and if you don't work hard then you will be in the same spot the whole time," he said.
"So I have been working real hard and have this new level of training and doing the extra homework - it doesn't hurt doing an extra 10 minutes. It does help."
Savea has conquered the high ball troubles he had earlier in the season but works hard each week to maintain that improvement.
Now he is looking to get more involved, get more touches in a game, without overplaying his enthusiasm. Tackling, clean-outs, workrate - those are the areas Savea has looked to increase his impact.
Those skills will complement the sort of devastating attack he showed with two tries in the opening tour test against Scotland.
"It is about performing consistently every week and that will come down to my preparation," he said.
Sometimes play did not come his way but when it did he made it count. Patience was a huge weapon for a test player.
"You have got to find other ways, whether it is chasing kicks, tackling and just getting involved where you can."
Savea felt much more at ease now than in June when he was a rookie All Black against Ireland. There was still an edge about every week with his battles with Hosea Gear for selection. Both are likely to play this week against Italy because of injuries to several backs.
The start of the training week in Rome had been about understanding what moves they wanted to use against Italy and reworking some of the mistakes they made against Scotland.
The training field in Rome was a little heavy too so staff concentrated on attention to detail rather than thrashing the players. That would come.


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When WorldWide Telescope came out earlier this year, it blew a lot of people away — including me. It's a phenomenal program!
However, it didn't support the excellent SpaceNavigator device, making it much more difficult to use. I thought it was a bug at first, but it was simply not a supported device.
Today 3Dconnexion announced support for the software, and it works wonderfully. I've spent a good deal of time just browsing around this evening, because the SpaceNavigator makes it so easy. If you already have a SpaceNavigator, so download the latest version of WWTS and have some fun!


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Brady Hoke's older brother Jon has been position coach in the secondary for the Chicago Bears. His corps is responsible for 11 of the Bear's NFL leading 13 interceptions. There is a long article highlighting Jon Hoke in the Chicago Tribune. LINK: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/ct-spt-1012-bears-chicago--20121012,0,6380945.story
A few snippets from the article:
The Bears don't have a more animated position coach on staff. Hoke is firm and firmer when with players on the field in training camp. . . . It's not always an approach that works in the NFL.
"That is the way I was raised in coaching," said Hoke. . . "I had a guy tell me one time, and I do believe it: 'Encourage, correct, encourage.' ... When they come off and I am in their ear, sometimes it's correction and sometimes it's encouragement. It's always in that vein, though.
"Sometimes it's tough love. And people don't like to hear it. It's just human nature. We don't want to hear those things. But we have a wonderful group of players to coach, and we're extremely pleased with what they are doing so far."
And again,
"He does it because he cares about us and he treats everyone the same. I don't get any preferential treatment over a practice squad guy. He's hard on everybody. He's consistent all the way around."
This is only tangentially related to Brady Hoke, but you can certainly see some similarities in their coaching style.


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People eager to ride the new Boardwalk roller coaster are going to have to wait at least until Thursday.
DAYTONA BEACH — People eager to ride the new Boardwalk roller coaster are going to have to wait at least until this afternoon to hop on board.
The state inspectors who were originally scheduled to give the Sand Blaster a thorough round of checks Monday made it to the ride lot near the Daytona Beach Pier Wednesday morning, but they'll be back again this morning to wrap up the examination that has to be completed before they decide if the 85-foot-tall coaster is ready for passengers.
The four inspectors from the state Bureau of Fair Rides Inspection gave the ride the once-over from about 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, and they were slated to return again around 9 p.m. Wednesday, said ride co-owner Ed Kennedy. The nighttime appointment was to check whether there's enough light around the coaster since the ride itself doesn't have lights, Kennedy said.
The inspectors are expected to be back on site about 8:30 a.m. this morning to check over the brake system, Kennedy said. A good share of time Wednesday was dedicated to ensuring the brakes were set in a good middle ground that could handle both heavy and light loads of riders, Kennedy said.
"Everything else is fine," Kennedy said.
If all goes well with the light and brake checks, Kennedy said he hopes he can open around noon today. When the new coaster with 2,710 feet of track does open, it will mark the end of an 18-month journey for Kennedy and his business partner, Stan Manousos.
The pair bought the 40-year-old coaster from a closed amusement park in Delaware at the beginning of 2012 and have since invested more than $1 million in the ride.


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The Monday announcement of Obama's new global warming rule has the Republican establishment scrambling for some scathing monikers to describe the EPA regulations. With their creative juices drying up, they've settled on "Obamacare for the air." But what does this mean for the rest of the United States? Obviously: breath panels.
Plus: Edward Snowden's life is getting turned into a movie, the president might move to New York City after his stint at the White House, and cliches abound in the discussion of the newly freed Bowe Bergdahl.


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|Warrenton, Va.
|High School:
|Highland School
2011-12: Two-year
letterwinner ... has registered a 26-7 singles record and a 23-13
doubles record over her first two seasons.
2010-11: Earned First
Team All-ODAC honors at No. 5 singles ... concluded her sophomore
season with overall records of 17-4 in singles and 13-10 in doubles
... went 5-1 in singles and 5-2 in doubles action during the fall
season ... claimed the Flight C singles championship at the
University of Mary Washinon Fall Kickoff Classic (9/19).
2009-10: Finished her rookie campaign with a 9-3 singles and 10-3 doubles ledger … claimed the Flight C Singles Championship and paired with classmate Christina Douglas to take the Flight B Doubles Title at the ODAC Fall Tournament.
High School: Four-year letterwinner in tennis and soccer at the Highland School … tennis squad claimed three conference championships … three-time team and conference MVP … also named first team all-conference three times … soccer squad claimed three conference and two state championships … twice earned all-state honors in soccer.
Personal: Psychology major.


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You are here
How to Dust Off Your Marketing Hat with Strategies that Work
How to Dust Off Your Marketing Hat with Strategies that Work
When did you last take a marketing 101 course? Don't have enough time or perhaps you leave marketing up to others? Whatever the stage of your small business, a marketing plan can help ensure you are putting your customers at the front and center of your business. Likewise, an effective approach for its execution will ensure you satisfy your customers' needs while generating profits for your business.
So if marketing concepts are new to your or you just want to dust off your marketing hat, check out SBA's free online course – Marketing 101. Designed with the small business owner in mind, the course can help you understand the importance of marketing research, help you build a marketing plan and suggest strategies to help you go after your target market.
In a nutshell, here's what you need to know. (I've also included links to some articles that provide a deeper dive into some of the areas covered by the course):
Think You Know What Marketing Is?
You might think that the first exercise in this course is redundant – "What is Marketing?" However, it's worth explaining, because marketing is so often confused with advertising or promotion, and it's much more than that.
The American Marketing Association defines marketing as, "the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives."
A lot of words, but the key word is "satisfy." Your products and/or services should provide a solution to an unfulfilled need in the market place. Once you've established that need (with the help of market research) you then go on to establish prices, develop an awareness or promotion strategy and set up distribution processes.
Don't Do Anything Without Doing Market Research
To be successful selling into a market, you have to first understand it. The thing is, it needn't be costly or complex; it can be as simple as surveying a cross-section of your prospects or customers. You can also draw on demographic information, market trends, and so on. Check out SBA's SizeUp tool, a free service that helps you manage and grow your business by benchmarking it against competitors, mapping your customers, competitors and suppliers, and locating the best places to advertise. Check out this blog for more resources: Free Sources of Market Data and How to use that Data for Business Planning.
Your research should focus on getting answers to the following questions:
- Who are your existing customers and potential customers?
- How would you describe or profile your customers?
- Where are they located?
- And, most importantly, are you offering the kinds of products and services customers want—at the best place, at the right price and in the right amounts?
Writing Your Marketing Plan (i.e. how are you going to reach your customers?)
OK… you've done your research, so how do you pull it all together to reach and influence your customers? The answer is preparing a meaningful marketing plan.
The marketing plan is the heart of any business. It is a blueprint of strategies designed to help you win customers. Your marketing plan – which is generally included within the overall business plan, should consist of several key components: identify your target market; define your products and services; outline your pricing strategy; describe how your products will be distributed; develop a promotion strategy; review your competition; prepare a marketing budget and have a plan in place for measuring performance.
Check out my earlier blog – 5 Tips for Writing a Simple (and Un-Daunting) Marketing Plan – or check out the Section 3 of the training course for a deeper dive into planning around these strategic areas. The following blogs can also help:
- How to Price Your Small Business' Products and Services
- How to Set a Marketing Budget that Fits your Business Goals and Provides a High Return on Investment
Now, what approaches and tactics work best for executing your plan? Below are a few to consider.
10 High Impact Marketing Strategies to Consider
Part of the planning process includes coming up with strategies to reach new customers and to grow existing ones. The training course includes suggestions for ten high impact, low-cost, and easy-to-implement strategies that you may want to consider as part of your plan including surveying your customers, content development, blogging, seminars and demonstrations, signage, effective sales follow-up, and staying alert and learning from others.
For a deeper dive, check out the full Marketing 101 course online. It's self-paced and only takes 30 minutes to complete!
Additional Resources
For additional marketing tips, check out SBA's extensive archive of marketing-related blogs.
About the Author:
Caron Beesley


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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Joshua Waiganjo wore the full uniform of an assistant commissioner of police. To the public he appeared like he was carrying out the duties that come with the job: arresting suspects, even disciplining errant officers.
The only problem, police now say, is that he was only pretending to be a police officer in order to extort money from civilians who prefer paying bribes to facing court action. The discovery is an indictment not only on Waiganjo's actions but on a Kenyan police force that is seen as incompetent and corrupt.
The National Police Service Commission on Tuesday suspended three senior police officers from the Rift Valley province where Waiganjo, 34, operated. Commission Chairman Johnston Kavuludi said Waiganjo's case has prompted a detailed audit of all police to weed out "ghost" officers.
Waiganjo was charged in court last week with robbery with violence, impersonation of a police officer and being in possession of police uniform. His cover was blown when he started attending meetings of a team of senior police who gathered in Rift Valley province to investigate the killing of at least 34 police officers by bandits in Kenya's northwestern region in November, according to a police official who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak with the press.
Pictures produced by Waiganjo's family to prove that he was a police officer show him in police uniform with senior police officers. One photo shows Waiganjo in a police helicopter, apparently with the team of sent to investigate the murdered police.
Kavuludi said he has formed a committee to investigate and report back within three weeks to learn who gave Waiganjo orders and whether the case is an isolated incident.
Last week, The Daily Nation Newspaper reported that in 2010 Waiganjo was charged with impersonating a senior superintendent of the police's elite General Service Unit, and with obtaining money from parents after claiming he could assist their children with recruitment into the police force. An arrest warrant issued in August 2010 remains in force after Waiganjo jumped bail, the newspaper said.
Anti-corruption crusader Mwalimu Mati said the incident shows a breakdown of the professional standards in the police service because of years of political interference. Until recently Kenya's president had the power to appoint and fire the police commissioner. The police force was often used by those in power to silence critics.
"People become afraid when certain names are mentioned and do not ask questions, such as where is the letter of appointment," Mati said. "Our systems do not have internal integrity."
Mati said the incident serious exposes security lapses. If the president were to visit the area, because of the rank he was allegedly pretending to hold Waiganjo would be one of the people making security arrangements, Mati said.
Kenya is reforming the police to stop political interference and corruption. Last month David Kimaiyo was appointed to the newly created position of Inspector General of police. Kenya's police spokesman Eric Kiraithe, who was among those who applied for the job, admitted during his interview for the job that corruption is a big problem in the force. He said some police officers collude with criminals to defeat justice.
The changes in the police force are a result of the country adopting a new constitution in 2010 that was part of reform package the government agreed to undertake partially to prevent a repeat of Kenya's postelection violence in 2007-08. More than 1,000 people died and 600,000 were displaced from their homes in violence that followed the last presidential election.


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This afternoon, Bruce Springsteeen has a lot on his mind. There is the matter of band rehearsals and the thirty-seven-date world tour that he will soon start. There is the new album he has made, Magic, his third release in the past eighteen months. There is also the subject matter of that album, weighty stuff like the direction of our democracy and party stuff that recalls the days when sparks first flew on E Street more than three decades ago. And there is something else as well: His oldest son's soccer game starts at 4:30.
Springsteen's life at fifty-eight revolves around family and music. It was not always tin is way. For a long time, there was only the music. And then, for a while, only the family. The balance he's achieved – and the creative roll he's been on, four albums in the past five years – is relatively, recent. "I spent about ten years where I had no destination, exactly," he says, referring to the time during which he moved to Los Angeles, settled into his second marriage and began a family. He and wife Patti Scialfa have three children, Evan, 17, Jessica, 16, and Sam, 13.
The ten years Springsteen mentions roughly line up with the period during which the E Street Band was idle, from 1988 to 1999. During that time, Springsteen redefined his career and his music more radically than any major artist save Bob Dylan, the eternal trickster. Having reached the level of mass success that his music and ambition always demanded, Springsteen pulled back. His subject matter went first inward and then outward. The most personal albums he ever made – Lucky Town and Human Touch – were, as he's pointed out, his happiest and least successful. In 1995, The Ghost of Tom Joad, a literary album with a political bent – Raymond Carver meets Woody Guthrie – followed the birth of his youngest child. He had gone, in seven years, from stadiums to arenas to theaters, a man alone with an acoustic guitar.
In 1999, a few months shy of his fiftieth birthday, Springsteen went on tour with the E Street Band for the first time in more than a decade. As it always had, the band put flesh and muscle behind the words, reconnecting Springsteen to the rock and soul that had first been the wellspring of his music. This is clear when I watch the band rehearse for its current tour at Convention Hall in Asbury Park, New Jersey – an arena band gathering in a room the size of a high school gymnasium to stretch out before a long run. In that familiar voice full of gravel, Springsteen traces Sam Cooke-style melodic runs in the air.
Magic returns to the spirit of Asbury Park with a big sound Springsteen hasn't pursued since Born to Run. "Lately, I've had a little romance with my oldest stuff," he says. "There was a lot of freeness in it. When you start and when you finish – that's when the pressure is off. In the beginning, you're too unknown, you're not really competing with people. And at this point, I'm not competing with 50 Cent or trying to get on MTV. I'm playing for myself and my band and my audience."
As he explains when we sit down to talk backstage at Convention Hall, Magic uses the boardwalk sounds of the past to put across the feeling of the present: "the uneasiness of these very uneasy times." Often when he speaks, Springsteen laughs midsentence, as if he's embarrassed to be taking himself this seriously. But not when he talks about the course the country has taken under George W. Bush or the war in Iraq. Then the laughter stops.
The record starts with "Radio Nowhere," a song about a guy out on the road looking for a connection.
It's an end-of-the-world scenario – he's seeing the apocalypse. All communications are down: "Trying to find my way home/All I heard was a drone bouncing – trying to connect to you. It comes down to trying to make people happy, feel less lonely, but also being a conduit for a dialogue about the events of the day, the issues that impact people's lives, personal and social and political and religious. That's how I always saw the job of our band. That was my service. At this point, I'm in the middle of a very long conversation with my audience.
And what are you hearing from their side of the conversation?
A lot of different things. "I like the old Bruce better.…" [Laughs] It's an ongoing dialogue about what living means. It's not like a one-on-one dialogue. It's more what you feel back from them. You create a space together. You are involved in an act of the imagination together, imagining the life you want to live, the kind of country you want to live in, the kind of place you want to leave to your children. What are the things that bring you ecstasy and bliss, what are the things that bring on the darkness, and what can we do together to combat those things? That's the dialogue I have in my imagination when I'm writing. I have it in front of me when I'm performing.
It's an organic, living thing. There's something subtly different being said on a nightly basis. But you're attempting to define and have impact upon the world and the life you're living. I can't do it by myself. I need my audience. It'll be a lifelong journey by the time that I'm done.
This kind of dialogue requires a heavy commitment. What do you get out of it?
I enjoy it, but more than that, I need it. It's the fundamental thing that moves me out on the stage, that keeps me writing throughout my entire career. I've felt the absence of that dialogue in the past in my life, and it was a terrible emptiness. When I latched onto it, I latched onto it like a life raft. You're in that room together, that dark room together. The lights go down, and you are free to imagine the person, the place, that you want to be. I suppose you take some of that with you when you go. It stays with you.
I remember the birth of my children. It was so overwhelming, one of the few moments where I've experienced total love without fear. I was afraid of losing it afterward, except you never lose it. The memory of that moment and the possibilities inherent in that moment are everlasting. So on a good night, when the band's playing real well, there's a moment when you've been a part of a collective event of imagination, and when you leave, you take some of it with you. And you put it in action however befits your needs.
That collective act of the imagination comes up on "Magic." What kind of country we want to live in is a recurring theme.
The song "Magic" is about living in a time when anything that is true can be made to seem like a lie, and anything that is a lie can be made to seem true. There are people that have taken that as their credo. The classic quote was from one of the Bushies in The New York Times: "We make our own reality. You guys report it, we make it." I may loathe that statement – the unbelievable stupidity and arrogance of it – more than I loathe "Bring it on" and "Mission accomplished."
That song, it's all about illusion: "Trust none of what you hear/And less of what you'll see/This is what will be" – we make it. Until you get to the last verse: "There's a fire down below/It's coming up here.… There's bodies hanging in the trees/This is what will be." That's the heart of my record right there.
There's a line at the end of that song about carrying "only what you fear." You're addressing the politics of fear, aren't you?
Yeah. You can't kill your way to security, and you can't lead through scaring people. Maybe you can get people to vote for you sometimes, but it's not a tactic that's going to provide the kind of moral authority and leadership that it's going to take to communicate in the world. It's the coward's way out.
So you're saying you can win elections that way, but you can't govern that way.
That's right. That's the only card that they've played, pretty much from Day One. If the 2004 election had been held six months later, they would have lost. People were still under the spell of 9/11 and the magic [laughs] and the Swift Boating. One of the most satisfying moments of the election was Ted Koppel ripping the Swift Boaters a new asshole on Nightline about a week or so before the election, when they went to the village in Vietnam where the incident occurred and talked to the Vietnamese witnesses. It was right there, but it wasn't enough, and it was too late.
The bottom line is if you're a member of the press and you believe that part of your responsibility is to give people the information they need to protect their freedoms, there's an editorial responsibility. But that ball's been dropped terribly. When somebody's saying you're going to lead with Anna Nicole Smith, you've got to be wondering if you're in the right job. It's become a business, and on what's supposed to be the most credible channels, there's an endless parade of nonsense on a daily basis.
Right. Because during the election to get the truth behind the Swift Boat ads, you had to skip the mainstream media and go straight to The Daily Show.
Jon Stewart is such an important and lonely force on television. He's in the business of assisting people to interpret the modern media world. There's so much sheer noise. Every night he comes on and pulls the veil down, and you get a shot at what things really look like. That's why people have gravitated to him and have faith in him.
There's a line from "Long Walk Home" on the new album that has tremendous power. A father tells his son that the flag flying above the courthouse means "certain things are set in stone . . . what we'll do and what we won't." But we live in a moment where those things aren't set in stone.
No, because those things have been chipped away at horrendously. Who would have ever thought we'd live in a country with no right to habeas corpus? That's Orwellian. That's what political hysteria is about and how effective it is. I felt it in myself. You get frightened for your family, for your home. And you realize how countries can move way off course, very far from democratic ideals. Add another terrorist attack or two, and the country can turn into a pretty scary place. Philip Roth caught it in The Plot Against America: It happens in a very American way – the flag is flying over civil liberties as they crumble. It was a fascinating insight.
You mentioned Philip Roth. Are there other things you were reading that had an impact on the record?
Not really. I'd been influenced a lot in the past through books and films, but I would say on this record I got re-infatuated with pop music. Pete Seeger says, "I want to know, 'What's the song for? What's the job it's supposed to do?' " I carry a little bit of that with me, but I'm a pop kid. I grew up on Top Forty. Sometimes what the song is for is just the way it makes you feel. On this record, I wanted a lot of that. There's some classic Sixties pop forms. California-rock influences – Pet Sounds and a lot of Byrds. I wanted to take the productions that create the perfect pop universes and then subvert them with the lyrics – fill them with the hollowness and the fear, the uneasiness of these very uneasy times.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is a crooning Sixties ballad, but it creates an ideal picture that stands in juxtaposition to what's running through the inside of this record. There's a diner on two songs, and they're very different. There's the one in "Girls in Their Summer Clothes" – Frankie's Diner, on the edge of town, with neon signs – and then there's the diner with the sign that just says gone [on "Long Walk Home"]. I believe in them both. Those are the parameters of what I'm talking about, right there.
"Girls in Their Summer Clothes" is one of several songs that seem to call back to your earlier work.
It's straight-out big. I don't think I've written as romantically as I allowed myself to do on that song maybe since Born to Run. This record, I felt free to go back to the romanticism of my earliest records. I doubled my voice, I sang in a bigger voice. I'm actually looking forward to writing a little bit more in that style, to picking up some of those elements that I discarded because I wanted to make sure that the music was tough enough for the subjects I was interested in dealing with. That's what I did with Darkness on the Edge of Town and Nebraska and parts of The River. But now, I feel free enough to go back and reclaim those lovely elements of pop simplicity and the well-crafted three-and-a-half-minute song, which I love to do.
Did working on the thirtieth-anniversary edition of "Born to Run" open that up?
I forgot how good that record was. I hadn't listened to it in many, many years. Born to Run was criticized as being too romantic. I was in that part of my career where I was reacting. Once you gain some attention, you're reacting to . . . maybe it's success, or something you overheard passing down the street. And so I moved toward darkness. But part of the things I was frightened of were the reasons why it lasted: because it was romantic.
But even then, I filled the romanticism with darkness. It was a post-Vietnam record, and you can hear, once again, the uneasiness and the fear and the concern about the future. The classic line of "Thunder Road," which I wrote at twenty-four, was "We're not that young anymore." That came right out of the last years of the war. Nobody felt that young anymore. All that's in there. It has some of my greatest songs on it. I set out the parameters of the world I was going to be investigating.
It's interesting – I didn't think about that, but I really wanted that. All the little different effects we had. I always loved those little pop symphonies, so on this record, I had a chance to play around with some of that. "Your Own Worst Enemy" was one of my big pop productions. The lyrics are "we're always teetering on the edge," and it's all about self-subversion. You can take it personally or politically. That's what gives the record its tension, those two things - the perfect pop universe and then what's at its center. "Living in the Future" has a very boardwalk sound, but it's about how terribly fucked up things have gotten. It's a song about apathy, and how what you never thought could happen has happened already. I tried to combine personal and political, so you can read into the songs either way. You can read the record as a comment on what's been going on, or you can read it just as relationship songs.
It's effective. It has an allegorical power.
Yeah. Despite the interview here, I didn't want a big Bush-bashing record. It's been done, and that's not really what people needed, or maybe it's just not what I needed right now. Your writing has to be multidimensional to remain interesting, to have life. You're not headline-writing. I've found ways to express my political concerns and personal concerns, and I always found them best combined, because that's how people live.
I want to go back for a moment to "Radio Nowhere." There's an invocation of Elvis when the narrator is "searching for a mystery train." What's he looking for?
What everybody's looking for. The ever-unattainable but absolutely there part of life that's slightly out of your fingertips, slightly shaded in the dark somewhere. But within, it contains all the essences and raw physical vitality and blood and bone and sweat of living. It's the thing that makes it all worth it at the end of the day, even if you just get the tip of your tongue on it. It's our history. It's that train that's been running since they friggin' landed over here on the boat, and it's roaring with all of us right now, that thing. That's what I like to look for.
Your sense of American identity and American possibility - where does that come from?
The people I liked did that. They were searchers – Hank Williams, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, James Brown. The people I loved – Woody Guthrie, Dylan – they were out on the frontier of the American imagination, and they were changing the course of history and our own ideas about who we were. And you can throw in Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
It was a part of what I was imagining from the very beginning, just because I got tremendous inspiration and a sense of place from the performers who had imagined it before me. It was something I wanted to take a swing at, what thrilled and excited me. For me, I started with what I had. I walked down to the boardwalk about a hundred yards from here, and I looked into a little knickknack shop. There was a rack of postcards, and I pulled one out that said GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK. I said, "That's my album cover. This is my place."
My songs, they're all about the American identity and your own identity and the masks behind the masks behind the masks, both for the country and for yourself. And trying to hold onto what's worthwhile, what makes it a place that's special, because I still believe that it is.
The American idea still has enormous power in its best manifestation. And ten George Bushes cannot bring that idea down – a hundred cannot bring that idea down. What we're going through now, we're going to be out the other side at some point. But that idea remains, and it's something that has compelled me my whole life. Part of it was to make sense of who I was – where I came from and what I saw and what I saw happen to some people around me.
What does that mean?
My family was troubled in a lot of ways. I came from . . . it was an interesting family. My mother is only second generation Italian. My grandmother lived to be 102 and never spoke any English. When I went into her room, I went to Italy. Everything: the Madonnas, the shawls. She lived in the country since she was in her twenties and never learned any English. So there was Italian culture, and then the Irish folks were just very old-school people.
I had to sort some of that out. So identity became a big part of the music I was writing. And then because of the times when I grew up, the Sixties, our national identity was in tremendous flux. I got interested in "what's the social side of that equation?" That's really what all my stuff is ultimately about: "Is there anybody alive out there?" asked over and over again. "Long Walk Home" could have come off Darkness on the Edge of Town.
You performed "Long Walk Home" during the Seeger Sessions tour. What's the difference between playing it with the Sessions band and the E Street Band?
It was our opening night in London. You're very conscious of your American-ness when you're in Europe, particularly during these horrible times. I had the song, and we worked up a loose arrangement. That band was very easy to improvise with. Work something out at soundcheck and play it that night – we did that a lot. They were a great, great band. I felt like I've got two of the best bands in the world.
I wrote most of this album on tour with the Sessions band. I wrote some of it the minute I came off The Rising. My idea was to pick up with the political and social results of what came out of the tragedy of 9/11. "Livin' in the Future" I've had since then, and I might have had "Radio Nowhere." I had a few things, but I didn't have enough. So I set it aside.
When I toured with the Sessions band – you play and go home, you sit in a hotel room, and I'd pick up my guitar. That's where I do a lot of writing now. And then I write in my spare time when I'm at home. It doesn't take much time now. It's a very fluid process compared to what it used to be when I was young, when I insisted on beating the hell out of myself for as long and as hard as I could because I didn't have anything else better to do. Now that I've got three teenagers, my time is all called upon, so I write pretty much in my spare time.
When you say you beat yourself up when you were younger, in what way?
You think there's a right way, which is a fallacy when it comes to creating something. So you're in trouble there. And also, you have no life. So rather than going through the unpleasantness of your actual daily experience, you'd rather live in the unpleasantness of your creative experience. The hours I spent on . . . It was the only way I knew how to work. It was fun, but it was exhausting. I think intentionally exhausting. I made a lot of good music, but it all came out on Tracks. There's probably another Tracks sitting in the vault that I'll get to at some point.
The creative roll you're on now is relatively recent, given the scope of your career. There was a period eight to ten years ago where you were still making records and putting them away.
Yeah, I made one for "Streets of Philadelphia" that I didn't put out, which I'd like to. It was interesting, it had a lot of little loops and things. A good record, written pretty well. It wasn't a complete record in the end, which is why I would sit down and feel great for four or five songs and in the end get up with some sense of dissatisfaction.
What were those songs about?
Mostly personal relationships. I'd come off Tunnel of Love, and it would have been my fourth record about those things, and I thought that was one too many. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I had to break the narrative that I was in, break the context and move to L.A. for three or four years, get away from all things connected to myself.
We went to Los Angeles, and the change of scenery was good. I love that city, actually. I love the mountains and the desert, and up there I can have my cars and my motorcycles. I tried to live in New York for a while, but I couldn't deal with a place where you had to catch a car. It's too late for me for that.
So I moved out West, where I had a little house in the Hollywood Hills from the middle of the Eighties, and I felt real comfortable there. My sister lives there, my younger sister, my parents lived up north in San Francisco, and it was a fascinating time to be there, because it's what the East Coast looks like now. If you go to my hometown, in Freehold, there's tremendous Hispanic influence, and that was California fifteen years ago. So when I wrote The Ghost of Tom Joad and wrote a lot about what was going on, it felt like "This is what the country's going to look like in another ten or fifteen years." All those immigration issues that people are trying to ride right now to wherever they think they're going were all in the news and in your face in the early Nineties in California.
I wrote things that I wouldn't have if I stayed back East. Two or three albums of Western songs. Ghost of Tom Joad, Devils & Dust and another record of Western songs that I've been working on. So it was really a great geographical change, a place to find new stories.
But I also took ten years and I learned how to live, which I didn't know how to do. Thirty-five years old, and I didn't have a clue about it. I learned how to live, and I found the joy in those things.
What did you learn?
I guess life outside of work. This is a very satisfying work life, but it's a part of your overall life. How do you have relationships? How do you commit to things that are forever? How do you break all your old habits, or some of them?
If you can share some secrets, you can save me a lot of money in therapy.
I spent a lot of money there myself, and I learned a lot. I had to work on it the way that I had to work on playing the guitar when I first started – many, many hours and a lot of intense devotion. I realized that some people may come to that naturally, but I was somebody that was going to have to learn it, because all my instincts were wrong. All my instincts drove me away from things.
Sometimes you're running in a different direction because you don't know how to do things differently than what you've seen growing up.
Yeah, that's it. So you realize you've got to make your own map, and in so doing, you honor your parents by taking the good things they gave you and carrying them forth, and taking burdens and weights and putting them down so your children don't have to run with them.
But that break was really extreme for me, and Patti was, and has been, patient beyond patient. I couldn't get up in the morning, I couldn't go to bed at night. The basic things that set the clock. The kids were young – it was "It's six-thirty now." That took about four or five years to figure out.
Was that from having to unlearn the rhythm on the road?
It goes back to my childhood. I had a weird upbringing where I was up for all hours at night when I was, like, six years old. We had a very eccentric household. My clock got thrown off when I was really young. Five and six, I was up until 3 A.M. I'm sure it's no coincidence I ended up a musician, so I could be up to 3 A.M., just like I was.
When your own kids come along, I said, "Good, you've got to change that." So many basic things. So I spent a lot of that time learning how to live. I suppose Patti would say I've reached a tolerable level of competency.
What brought you back to New Jersey?
I grew up around a very big extended family. I think Patti and I have maybe seventy family members, just in this area, and there's a lot of Italians and also an Irish side. At some point, when the children got to school age, we decided we wanted that for the kids. We were always here half the year anyway, even then. So when we came back, my kids grew up around my uncle that hunts, the one that owns the dry-cleaning business – people who do all different kinds of work and bring all kinds of things to them. It took away the weirdness of my job, and it allowed them to look other places for all different kinds of role models. That was important.
Then we came back, and I re-found the freedom in some of my early narrative, and that includes here in this building and this town and in my band. I feel the freest I've ever felt in my life creatively. I feel like I've picked up a thread that I never let go of but just let sit for a while.
And I feel like we're very on it right now. This is going to be the best E Street Band somebody's ever seen. You may have a favorite part of my work, you may have a favorite show, but if you're a young kid and your brother or your dad saw us, and you come and see us now, you can say, "I saw them when they were at their best." I like that. I like the fact that all my guys are out there and that they're all alive. I like that a lot. It could have gone many other ways. There were struggles, the same type of troubles that many other bands have, but people took care of one another, and everybody's there. I can't tell you the joy of standing next to those same people.
Some of whom have been with you for more than three decades.
I met Steve [Van Zandt] when I was sixteen. Now I'm fifty-eight. So that's more than forty years. It's an amazing thing to be up there with your best friends and your wife. Your whole world's up there. I think for a lot of our fans, part of the thing is when the world's falling apart, we're not. That's why people come to us. There was always a sense of stability and continuity and connection.
It sounds like something you've been able to provide for both your families – your family onstage and your kids.
You've got to have the whole picture at this point. You need the fullness of life. Without that, it's an exercise. You don't want the things that you're writing and singing about to remain an abstraction to yourself. I always liked the scene at the end of The Searchers: John Wayne brings the girl back home, but he can't enter the house himself. Very tragic. That was always really resonant for me. I grew up with a lot of that, people not being able to get in, and that was always my natural state.
I think that because I had a bit of a chaotic heart myself, I always was in search of that stability. It's in "Leah," on Devils & Dust: "I walk this road with a hammer and a fiery lantern/With this hand I've built, and with this I've burned." I think everybody feels those two things. It's just how you balance them. There's a lot of fire in the burning, but it don't do you any good if you ain't got the hammer for the building.
This story is from the November 1st, 2007 issue of Rolling Stone.


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Smart thing would be to leave him there till Sept. Right now the bullpen is humming and no reason to demote those who are doing the job.
Smart thing would be to leave him there till Sept. Right now the bullpen is humming and no reason to demote those who are doing the job.
I'm so glad the Reds didn't trade prospects for a reliever. Looking forward to seeing him toss some of that 100mph heat.
Seems like there might be some roster trickery that gets Chapman here without losing Bray until we get to Sept.
Could demote Janish (since he's not being used anyway) and keep him on a short leash (i.e. only if the Bats are staying in Lou for awhile and the Reds are home so he can be at the ballpark in a couple hours). Maybe that buys a week.
Or demote Leake or Wood after they pitch and go with an 8 man pen and bring them back when it's their turn again. That buys 4 days for Wood and maybe 3 or 4 more for Leake or vice versa. Or you could even stretch that another 2 or 3 days if you demote Smith or Ondrusek or Bray when they would need rest anyway if they've pitched a few days in a row.
I don't know who will be sent down when/if Chapman is called up, but it sure is nice to have talented options available now, after years of being so shorthanded. It's exciting to be a Reds fan again! Now sweep the Bucs!
I don't see how Chapman comes up here before September. I'm not convinced that he's done with his control problems. Hitters are more patient in the big leagues.
I like Bray as much as the next guy but Chapman's talent and his numbers over the last month are going to necessitate that he gets a look before the playoff rosters have to be set. We have to get some idea what he can do in the majors over the course of 5-10 appearances before August 31st. If Chapman comes up in September and absolutely dominates, or even just proves he's better than Bray, people will be livid that he would be ineligible for the playoffs.
"He looked like a surfer kid from SoCal," manager Dusty Baker says. "He didn't say much, but you could tell he was cool."
Mike Lincoln busted his butt to get back to the big leagues too. Sometimes that's just not good enough.
"He looked like a surfer kid from SoCal," manager Dusty Baker says. "He didn't say much, but you could tell he was cool."
it feels really good to know that the Reds organization right now is extremely deep!!!
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text: Alright, make lemonade first to satisfy your inner optimist, if you must. But before you toss that squeezed lemon into the compost, dip it in some baking soda and scrub your sink! It's the greenest way to get a really good sparkle, and if you put it down the garbage disposal, it'll freshen that, too!


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Stephanie O'Dea's Slow Cooked Sweet Potatoes
Give Your Summer Dinner a Kick With This Barbeque Menu
Sweet potatoes are perfect any time of year, but they're especially good with barbeque. Try these the next time your fire up the grill or the slow cooker.
Cooking Directions
Scrub the skin of the sweet potatoes and be sure to remove any loose dirt. Pat dry potatoes, and prick the skin with a fork 4-6 times. In a small bowl, combine the dry spices: cumin, chili powder, kosher salt. Spread out a length of foil and place the potatoes inside. Rub the spice mixture all over the outside of the potatoes, and then wrap the foil around to fully seal each potato. Plop into the pot, on top of the ribs.
Stephanie O'Dea is the New York Times best-selling author of the Make it Fast, Cook it Slow cookbooks.
Recipe Summary
Main Ingredients: sweet potatoes, cumin, chili powder
Course: Side Dish
More Info: Kids Friendly


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Disko is a user interface application framework for the fast and simple development of flexible applications on embedded Linux systems, with a particular focus on interactive user interfaces. It is high-performance and easy to learn, and due to its architecture is well suited to creating complex applications.
Enterprise-class network backup for heterogeneous networks.
A utility to edit text tags in an ICC profile.