text:
1. Welcome
2. LXF 138 on sale
3. Special subscription offer
4. In the news...
5. This month on the forum
6. Special Newsletter feature
7. Coming up next issue
8. Receiving this Newsletter
9. Contact details
1. Welcome
Thinking of buying a tablet computer? It's pretty clear that this
industry is going to grow considerably in the next few years, and
I'm hoping that Linux can get a decent bite of the pie. We know that
Android and Chrome OS have the potential to be major players in the
tablet market - what I'd like to see, however, is more mainstream
distros being customised for these devices. Bring on Ubuntu Tablet
Edition, or Fedora Tablet Edition, for instance, with the powerful
Linux goodness we love deep inside, carefully overlaid with a
touch-based interface.
Anyway, while we all wait for that to happen, enjoy this month's
newsletter. We have a look at the shiny new issue of Linux Format,
138, plus regular roundups of news stories and forum threads. Then
there's our special feature on that perennial debate: the command
line versus the GUI. Flame-tastic!
Mike Saunders
Newsletter Editor
2. LXF 138 on sale
Ubuntu 10.10 is here. Fedora 14 is just around the corner. But which
distro is really making the big push for Linux on the desktop? In
this month's cover feature we pitch the two distro heavyweights
head-to-head and compare the progress they're making on
installation, boot-up speed, desktop refinements and more. Who's
better? Who's best? You'll have to read the mag to find out!
Meanwhile, we gather together the top 20 reasons to use Linux (good
for converting your friends and family), help you to fix package
manager problems, and get your to-do list into shape with the rather
awesome Getting Things Gnome. We have reviews of Inkscape 0.48 and
Tiny Core Linux 3.1, plus tutorials on Shotwell, Scribus, CakePHP
and more.
And then... get ready for a whopper of a DVD. It's 8GB, featuring 10
operating systems to explore. Sample the latest from Ubuntu, Fedora
and OpenSUSE, and go further into Unix territory with FreeBSD and
Nexenta. There's something for everyone on this double-sided disc.
Here's a taster of LXF138 from the HotPicks section:
# Photorec 6.12 -- www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec
This simple little command-line tool is worth adding to your
virtual toolbox if you ever mess around with digital cameras.
Taking pictures the digital way is great - you can fill up many
gigabytes of space with images, then just transfer them to your
computer and upload them to the web to astound your enemies and
embarrass your friends.
But accidents do happen; it's not surprising given the way that
memory cards get treated - they are, after all, trying to hold 4GB
of data or more in an area smaller than a postage stamp. Of
course, there are also the unintentional accidents, when you think
you've downloaded your images and wipe several days' worth of
shots from your camera. Don't worry, it happens to the best of us.
Photorec combats this by implementing a read-only search for
damaged or deleted files. Working on the principle that there's
practically no fragmentation in flash storage, it scans the
available blocks - largely ignoring the filesystem - and extracts
the image headers from disk.
These let it know how many blocks of data the associated image
should take up; it is subsequently read and written elsewhere in
its original glory. Of course, it isn't going to work all the
time, but you probably have nothing to lose by giving it a go.
Photorec currently recognises all of the major image formats,
including camera-specific ones such as Nikon's NEF. In fact, it
recognises a whole bunch of other file types as well, so you can
use it to recover documents, too. Also, while it works best on
flash storage, there's nothing to stop you using it on other media
types - it can be pretty effective with CD and DVD.
This is a command line tool, but it uses a sensible curses-based
menu system, so it still isn't particularly tricky to use. You'll
need to have mounted the card and be running as root to be able to
access the required devices, though.
Head over to the LXF website and click on the issue cover picture
for more information on Linux Format 138.
3. Special subscription offer
Subscribing to Linux Format not only has the benefit of fantastic
savings. Subscribers will also get exclusive, unlimited access to the
Linux Format subscriber-only area, featuring magazine PDFs, complete
issues and coverdisc downloads! That's access to over 60 issues of Linux
learning, free to subscribers to download! See our latest offers at:
http://www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/c ... nuxformat/
4. In the news
The biggest developments from around the net...
# Ubuntu 10.10 is here
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubunt ... 00139.html
Yes, on the 10th day of the 10th month of 2010, Ubuntu 10.10
arrived. There's more focus on Ubuntu One, cloud computing and the
Ubuntu Software Centre, while the Netbook Edition sports a swanky
new Unity user interface. Hit the link above for an entertainingly
bizarre release announcement.
# OpenOffice.org forked -- say hello to LibreOffice!
You know Oracle? And you know they bought up Sun? Well, some OOo
coders aren't too happy with the situation, and want to free the
office suite from the shackles of a large company. LibreOffice is a
new fork of OOo, based on the Go-OO branch, although the current
version is still marked as beta and therefore not ready for
production use.
# Mandriva forked -- say hello to Mageia!
After many years of financial insecurity, Mandriva has been forked
into another distro: the hard-to-pronounce Mageia. It's early days,
and there's still a lot of work to be done, but the ultimate goal is
that Mageia will continue the strong newbie-friendly spirit of
Mandriva, but be supported by a community that won't be so prone to
financial woes.
5. This month on the forum
If you're anxious about installing a new Linux distro, there are two
things to do to put your mind at ease: read the review in Linux
Format, and see what our regulars are saying on the forums. Rhakios
kicked off a discussion about Ubuntu 10.10, saying it appeared to be
working OK on his HP laptop. Poor old heiowge was still suffering
from screen flickering problems though. If you've installed the
Meerkat, let us know how you've been getting on! [1]
What do you do for a living? And how much do computers play a role
in your life? The ever-inquisitive Bazza started a thread for
forumers to explain how they earn a buck and what programming
languages they use. Kudos to chrishall57 for having the job title
'adhesives engineer' - sounds like a sticky business? OK, sorry for
that. Really. [2]
[1] http://www.linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12837
[2] http://www.linuxformat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12788
6. Special Newsletter feature
It's a debate that has raged since the very first graphical
interfaces were dreamt up: is the GUI really better than the command
line? And this in turn leads to many other arguments as well -
should Linux distros try to avoid the CLI completely? Should all new
users be forced to learn the CLI in order to understand its power?
To get a handle on this, it's important to look at how CLIs are
integrated into the operating system. Unix, right from the
beginning, was a keyboard-driven, command line operating system. The
prompt was Unix in its purest form. Even today, with modern desktops
and window managers, they are still very clear layers (on top of the
X Window System), with the command line just a Ctrl+Alt+Fx keypress
Contrast this with, for example, AmigaOS or older Mac OS versions
(such as 9). There was no initial command line mode. Sure, you could
boot up Amiga OS into a plain Workbench environment and launch the
shell from there, but it wasn't a separate layer, a separate way of
running as in Unix.
This is one of the reasons why the CLI still pervades in Linux. It
is always there as a fallback measure when something doesn't work.
Whatever situation you're in, even if your graphics card isn't
detected properly, you can carry on working at the command line.
The other side, of course, is user experience. Long-time Linuxers
love the CLI, and rightly so - it's incredibly powerful, rich and
can perform tasks in seconds that would take hours in a file
manager. Think of the power of pipes, redirections, wildcards and
the awesome 'xargs' utility. Take away the command line and one of
the biggest plus-points of Linux (and Unix) disappears.
Now, there's an argument that the command line is terrifying for new
users. But really, it can be quite a good way to introduce a newbie
to a certain feature of the OS, or give them instructions. No doubt
you've been on the phone to a friend or relative, trying to fix a
computer problem by saying "Click the blue icon kinda near the top,
then there should be a menu, look at the option second or third from
the bottom" ad infinitum. Trying to describe how to use a GUI from a
distance is not easy.
With the CLI, in contrast, you can very clearly describe exactly
what needs to be done, key by key. If you're lucky, the command will
be clear and logical enough that the user can see it as a distinct
order for the computer to process, rather than a series of ambiguous
movements around menus and icons. A command is a firm, direct
statement of intent for the computer.
This debate will go on for as long as computers exist, but it's
always worth keeping these points in mind. See you in the next great
flamewar on USENET!
7. Coming up next issue
Linux Format 139, on sale Thursday 11 November...
# Beef up your security -- If you're worried about your
computer's safety, follow our hands-on guide
# Evolve your desktop! Moving icons around is one thing, but
some people want to go further... A lot further...
# Use Linux as a router -- Get ultimate control over your
internet access by switching to a Linux distro.
Contents are subject to change - the mysteries of life, eh!
8. Receiving this Newsletter
If you've been forwarded this Newsletter from someone else, and want
to sign up for future issues, just follow the steps below. Each
month you'll receive a sparkling new LXF Newsletter straight in your
Inbox, and the 30-second sign-up process is even easier than writing
Hello World in BASIC:
1. Go to the website forums and log in (or sign up first):
2. At the top of the main forum page, click on 'Usergroups'
3. Join the 'Newsletter' group, and you're done!
If for some reason you no longer wish to receive this newsletter
(which'll make the internet cry) you can opt-out like this:
1. Log into the LXF site and go to the forums
2. Click Usergroups at the top of the page
3. Select Newsletter and then View information
4. Click Unsubscribe next to 'You are a member...'
9. Contact details
If you have any questions or suggestions, please send them to the
Newsletter Editor at the address below:
Newsletter Editor: Mike Saunders -- firstname.lastname@example.com
Letters for the magazine: firstname.lastname@example.com
LXF website: http://www.linuxformat.com
Subscriptions: 0870 837 4722 (overseas +44 1858 438794)
Website subscription page: http://www.linuxformat.com/subscribe/
(C) 2010 Future Publishing Limited


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David Letterman -- who also had a stalker who killed herself -- tells Abdul to sue: "This could be the biggest lawsuit in the history of television. Sue these baboons!"
(Paula looks so tiny sitting next to Dave, and she's so bundled up in layers of clothing, including a military-style jacket with rows of brass buttons. The picture of vulnerability.)
Former AI producer Nigel Lythgoe defends the show -- and it's a difficult defense, because it's not in the show's interest to call Abdul a liar:
"[Goodspeed] had been through an audition process with the producers, an audition process with the executive producers, and we were wheeling her in as a huge fan of Paula Abdul," Lythgoe said. "This is what we knew: She was a great fan, she was a lovely girl. And a great fan of Paula."
Lythgoe said doesn't remember Abdul's request to have Goodspeed removed. "This is three years ago," he said. "I honestly say I can't remember the conversation. If Paula said, that's what she said, I believe her."
Lythgoe added: "We've seen over 700,000 contestants. And one has made a terrible, terrible mistake. If you're an odds man, they are great odds."...
"I'm not angry with Paula," he said. "I think Paula's in a position of: 'It wasn't my fault,' and reaching out from that point of view. For her family's sake, it should really be dropped."
Chances of a lawsuit? I'm going to say very low.

subset: commoncrawl


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Checking out some stats to get my head around the SEC Championship Game, a few things jumped out at me. Alabama has has gaudy defensive numbers this season, including leading the nation in total defense (233.7 ypg), scoring defense (9.3ppg), and opponent red zone conversion (60.87%). They are fundamentally sound in both run and pass defense.
However, they can be scored upon. Texas A&M showed that. The ball can be moved on them. LSU showed that. I don't expect us to be ripping off 7-10 yard runs on these guys. They've only allowed 23 runs of over 10 yards all season. However, in November, Alabama has allowed over 100 yards per game rushing. Much of that comes on Manziel's rushing abilities, but those were caused due to break downs on passing plays. If Murray is given room to run, look for him to do so. That'll open up some options down the field for man on man match-ups.
If we (and by we, I mean Bobo) don't get cute and start trying to convince ourselves we have to add 'wrinkles' to beat Alabama, our offense is good enough to score points on them. Will we score 40? No way. Do we have to? No way. They have done ok at stopping the pass, with two exceptions, Manziel and Mettenberger. I think our QB and receivers are better. I know our receiving options out of the TE and RB/FB options are better.
One final thing. With their red zone conversion rate, we have to think score from anywhere on the field, which we have done very well with. We are very good inside the red zone as well, but we lose the ability to stretch the field inside the 15. Being able to spread out their defense and make them cover Mitchell, Wooten, King, Lynch/Rome, Conley, Gurley/Marshall, and Ogletree, plus the ever present possibility of a play action run from the RBs, is a key to us winning. If we get complacent with a few underneath passes and the straight handoff, we are done for.
He's hoping college fun time in Cancun Bobo shows up Saturday. If we lose because Alabama beats us when we are playing our game, so be it. If they beat us because we decided the game we have isn't good enough so we are going do do things differently, they we'll get run out of the stadium like we did in Columbia.
November 28, 2012
Alabama v. Georgia: A couple of early thoughts
Posted by Tyler Dawgden at Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Labels: Alabama
3 comments:
- heyberto said...
Based on analysis like yours, I could see this being an "ugly" game like the one we had at Florida. I just hope we're on the winning end.
- Tyler Dawgden said...
The funny thing is that everyone wants to focus on the six turnovers by Florida without thinking about how those turnovers happened. McCarron won't make the mistakes Driskell did. If we have Ints, they will be spectacular plays.
Besides, I don't care if it is 6-4, as long as we get the two FGs or three safeties, I'll take it.
- Tim McFadden said...
And if we do some type of gadget/trick play, can we frickin pull it off without a penalty on us. It seems like every one of those this whole season we've shot ourself in the foot, like the on-side kick attempts.


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A pair of teams in search of a fourth straight victory get together in Montreal on Monday night when the Canadiens play host to the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Canadiens have responded with a winning streak after suffering an embarrassing 6-0 loss on home ice to the rival Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 9. That was the third setback in a row for the Habs, but they bounced back with a pair of post-regulation wins on the road before notching a 4-1 home victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday.
Brendan Gallagher and Rene Bourque both had a goal and an assist, while David Desharnais and Tomas Plekanec added goals. Peter Budaj finished with 18 saves in place of a flu-stricken Carey Price.
"I thought we did a better job of protecting the front of our net and around our net," said Montreal defenseman Josh Gorges. "They didn't get too many second or third opportunities, which is really big for us."
While the Canadiens will take the victory, they did limp out of their arena as both Gallagher and Max Pacioretty (upper body) did not finish the game due to injury. Colby Armstrong also took a puck to the face and exited early, while defenseman Alexei Emelin seemed hobbled by a lower body issue but remained in the game.
Gallagher seemed to come out the worst of the bunch as the Canadiens said on Sunday that he suffered a concussion and will not play against the Hurricanes.
"We're going to follow the protocol," said Montreal coach Michel Therrien at Sunday's post-practice press conference. "He felt much better this morning than last night."
Pacioretty, Emelin and Armstrong all practiced on Sunday, but Price and defenseman P.K. Subban did not due to illness. The latter two could still be in uniform tonight, but Price is likely to serve again as the backup.
Montreal will try to shake off the bumps and bruises in a meeting with the Hurricanes, who have gone 5-0-1 in their past six and are coming off a 3-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Thursday.
Blueliner Joe Corvo had a goal and an assist, while Jussi Jokinen and Jordan Staal added scores. Dan Ellis made 22 saves.
"It's tough every night out there," said Staal. "Getting two points is hard in this league and with this short season every point counts even more. We've been playing real well of late and hope to keep it going."
Corvo has logged two goals and five points in four games since being a healthy scratch for three in a row.
Eric Staal, meanwhile, picked up an assist on Corvo's goal to extend his point streak to 11 straight games, the longest in the NHL this season. The elder Staal has notched eight goals and nine assists over the run, which is one game shy of his career-best 12-game burst from Feb. 8-March 6, 2012. That streak is also the longest for the franchise since relocating from Hartford.
Carolina picked up the home victory last week after returning from a six-game road trip. It is 5-2-1 as the guest this season.
Defenseman Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkanen both sat out Thursday's win with lower body injuries and were not expected to travel to Montreal, nor was forward Jeff Skinner due to an upper body injury.
The 20-year-old is second on the club with 14 points, including seven goals.
The Hurricanes and Habs split four meetings last season. Monday is the first of three scheduled encounters this year.


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The Jacksonville Jaguars have re-signed guard Steve Vallos and waived running back Keith Toston.
Vallos signed with Jacksonville last Tuesday but was released Saturday prior to the Jaguars' 31-14 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Jaguars had re-signed Toston last Thursday with injury issues at the running back position leading into last week's game against the Detroit Lions. Maurice Jones-Drew, Montell Owens and Greg Jones were all listed on the injury report.
In addition, the Jaguars added rookie linebacker Brandon Marshall to the practice squad. He had been released from the active roster to make room for Toston last week.


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EA and Valve have announced a retail distribution agreement between the two companies that will bring Portal 2 to retail shelves. The partnership was expected, as EA and Valve have already worked together to bring The Orange Box and both titles in the Left 4 Dead franchise to stores.
Valve will distribute Portal 2 for PC and Mac via its digital platform Steam, while EA will presumably distribute the game to retail channels for all planned platforms: PC, Mac, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
In early November, Valve told Shacknews that Portal 2 would launch on April 20 for all platforms in North America. According to the press release today, Europe will be able to make portals on April 21.


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NEW YORK - Following a two-game road swing, the Columbia women's lacrosse team will return to Robert K. Kraft field on Saturday, March 9 to face Ivy League foe Cornell at 1 p.m. The Lions are 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the Ivy League, but will look to remain unblemished at home as they take on the Big Red.
Columbia will look to make program history Saturday afternoon as the Lions gear to beat Cornell for the first time since the teams met in 1997. The Big Red lead the all-time series at 16-0, including a 19-7 Columbia defeat in last season's meeting.
In a double overtime game, the Lions fell to Brown 11-10 in its first Ivy League matchup of the season on Saturday, March 2. The Lions rallied from four goals down at halftime to send the game into overtime. Kacie Johnson led the Columbia offense with four goals and Kelly Buechel had a solid game with a pair of goals, four ground balls and three draw controls.
Featured Article: Lacrosse Edged By Brown On The Road
With seven points on Saturday in a win over Mount St. Mary's, Johnson surpassed Holly Glynn's ('09CC) mark of 186 points to become the all-time points leader in program history. She has tallied 196 career points to date after tallying a team- leading four points at Brown in her last outing.
Johnson currently stands among the top in the Ivy League in goals per game with an average of 4.33. With a total of 13 goals in three games this season, the senior's goals per game average ranks fifth best in the nation.
Skylar Dabbar holds the second best save percentage at .435 in the Ivy League to represent the Lions' defense. The sophomore has tallied 20 saves on 26 attempts through three games.
Cornell has jumped to a 3-0 start to the season, including a win over Harvard in their only Ivy League game. The Big Red is averaging 16.67 goals per game and stand among the nation's best in that category. The high-scoring offense is led by sophomore Lindsay Toppe who has poured in a total of 14 goals with eight assists for 22 points this season.


text: Rochelle Moose Family Center is holding their annual Valentine Party Saturday, Feb 15th, 311 N main street. Consists of a Steak Fry rib-eye or Tbone serving 5-7 with Music by "1Plus1",(Steve Kerber from Sterling) playing 6-9 pm. Open to all members and quests. Call to sign up 815-562-4286. Who knows you might even win a free meal..


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Assemblyman Sandré Swanson, D-Alameda, asked that the California State Assembly adjourn today in the memory of Oakland's Mary Ann Wright, known to most as Mother Wright. Said Swanson:
"It is with a heavy heart that I adjourn in memory of Mary Ann Wright, known as Mother Wright. For nearly 30 years, whether distributing food at a shelter, or beneath an overpass, Mother Wright always delivered it 'with dignity,' sometimes spreading out a table cloth, or simply wrapping the forks in napkins. Through these small acts of consideration, Mother Wright always acknowledged and respected the fundamental humanity that she shared with those she helped.
"Throughout her work, Mother Wright has been recognized locally and nationally. In 2005, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Caring Americans in Washington, DC. She came into contact with famous individuals, and was invited to numerous presidential inaugurations. And yet, she always remained modest, focusing on all of the work that still lay ahead of her.
"Her passing is a difficult loss for our community and indeed our entire nation. However, her work and her example ensures that she will continue to live on, both through those she has helped, and through those she has inspired to the same noble calling."


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Anything from
Kings of Leon
3 Doors Down
And ofcourse my Robbiekins.
Moderators: bac, cullengirl, una
Yes! Yiruma is INCREDIBLE! beautiful indeed<3Mrs.TeddyBear wrote:Piano music always makes me swoon, specifically "A River Flows in You" by Yiruma *melts* Its just so beautiful!
But I have to add Taylor Swift to the list! The stories her songs tell are amazing, each one of them is so incredible I could cry! & I really really do NOT like country at all, but her lyrics get to me and I cant help but love country when she's singing it!
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Last week, while driving to work, I heard an NPR story that included snippets of an interview with a woman who had just applied for a marriage license. This would not have been newsworthy if not for the fact that she was gay. On Nov. 6, voters in Washington, Maryland and Maine approved marriage equality laws. Last Thursday was the first day that gay and lesbian couples in Washington state could fill out forms and exercise their new right.
It was a very long time coming, so I would have forgiven the woman for screaming with joy or drenching the microphone in tears, but that's not what she did. I didn't catch her name or what town she was from, but give or take a syllable, she said something like this: "It feels good to finally be normal," happily and wearily, as if she had finally set down a very heavy weight.
To hear someone express such relief after obtaining a right I've taken for granted was humbling. I have never wanted to be "normal," but that grateful stranger helped me realize it is largely because I was born above the safety net that comes with being acceptably straight and male that I've felt so comfortable being a weirdo. Traveling abroad, challenging a retired British major general to a water balloon duel, playfully spanking my German host mom on her living room floor — not everyone is so lucky. I have had a strange and privileged life.
One of those privileges is knowing I will never be told that I am wrong to love someone or that our attempts to plan a life together go against the laws of God and man. Yet I do have some experience being set apart against my will. In my Thanksgiving column, I explained how I spent my senior year of high school in Germany as an exchange student with a family outside of Hamburg. This was 1997, just eight years after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I was deliberately placed in what had been West Germany, since the West had more experience with foreigners. My host parents, however, were from the East and sent me to stay with friends all over, including a family near East Berlin.
My tour guide was one of the family's two daughters, Julianne, a beautiful young woman who was exactly my age. During one of my first full days in town, I went with Julianne to school and felt so comfortable around her and her classmates that I accepted their offer to attend an event that night, a costume party with a cross-dressing theme. (When in Berlin, right?)
She went for a 1920s gangster look: suit; pencil mustache; short, slick hair. Not that anything could hide her figure, but I digress. Short on options, I ended up wearing one of her mother's old house dresses atop my Timberland boots.
I was one of the uglier women at the party, but it was all good fun until I noticed that some people were not in costume. A few boys ditched the theme altogether in favor of black boots and black bomber jackets, shaved heads and black jeans. They glanced at me, the only black person in the room. Then they stared. At Julianne's prompting, I hid in a classroom. No one was hurt, but at the end of the night we were escorted to our car by the police. Fearing for my life while dressed in drag, I saw firsthand how hard some people work to create spaces where others don't feel safe. That night, a small piece of the globe was stolen from me, so I empathize with anyone who is told, "Not you. Not here. Not now." And I'm happy to see how the map of states giving same-sex couples full access to their rights is expanding.
Contrary to what some people predicted, it is mostly a calm, peaceful change. Growing up in conservative Christian circles, I heard people argue that "the homosexual agenda" would be the downfall of American society. For decades, they shouted the anti-gay equivalent of "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" I'm glad they were wrong. From where I stand, the view has never been better.
Lionel Foster is a freelance writer from Baltimore. His column appears Fridays. Email: firstname.lastname@example.com. Twitter: @LionelBMD.


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Writes Thomas Sowell about the high-speed rail line between Fresno and Bakersfield, California.
In other words, they are going to start wasting money out in the valley, so that they will be able to waste more money later on, along the coast. This may not make any sense economically, but it can make sense politically for Jerry Brown and Barack Obama.


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DIXON – When she was stationed in Virginia, the CrossFit workout changed how Polo Marine Jennifer VanOosten exercised, so much so that she vowed to open her own facility.
When they returned home, Jennifer, 33, and her husband, Dagan, 32, did just that, opening CrossFit Rock River gym on River Road in Dixon in July.
Now they've moved to a larger facility at 210 W. Boyd St.
CrossFit Rock River's motto is "stronger every day," and those looking for an intense workout will find just that.
CrossFit, a national exercise program started by Greg Glassman, has more than 4,000 gyms nationwide. CrossFit exercise programs are characterized by high intensity, constantly varied and functional movement.
"We do functional fitness – that is our main focus," the couple says on their website. "Functional movements are those movements found in everyday life: squatting to pick up a child, kneeling to tie your shoes, walking up stairs, reaching over your head for a box in the garage, standing up from a chair, pushing a lawn mower …
"Not only will you have fun during our sessions, but after a short time you'll notice a dramatic improvement in how you feel – and what you can accomplish with more efficiency and ease – as you go about your normal daily routines."
The VanOostens, who both grew up in Polo, enlisted with the Marines served for more than a decade, oversee the training at their gym, where they also offer body composition and fitness, massage therapy, health and wellness clinics and babysitting services.
"We wanted to accommodate a fast-growing craze, as well as expand our business to offer several new programs for 2013," VanOosten said of the move.
"We both have professional experience of using the hardcore principals of CrossFit to train Marines and civilians alike, and as prior staff noncomissioned officers, are uniquely qualified to offer the leadership and mentorship necessary to ensure each and every athlete reaches their fitness goals."
The VanOostens live in Grand Detour with their two children, ages 7 and 1.
CrossFit Rock River
CrossFit Rock River, 210 W. Boyd St. in Dixon, is open from 8 to 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday, 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Go to crossfitrockriver.com or call 540-226-3498 for more information.
Go to crossfit.com to learn more about the exercise regimen.


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So always keep myself updated on here and saw the dev alpha has an update with BBM now I also looked and saw you could extract and update a rooted PlayBook with the dev alpha update.
Now what I wanted to know was is it possible to update a PlayBook with os 2.1 to the dev alpha bb10 if some one extracted it? I know how to sideload if needed.


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University News
WIU Budget Hearing & Legislative Reception
April 17, 2013
MACOMB, IL -- Western Illinois University President Jack Thomas, and other University leaders, recently traveled to Springfield to provide testimony to the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee and to host a Western Illinois University Legislative Reception.
Thomas presented the FY2014 budget request and highlighted the many accomplishments over the past fiscal year, along with the challenges facing higher education. The April 11 testimony coincided with the Macomb Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Development's Macomb Legislative Day in which Macomb and WIU officials met with government leaders.
In collaboration with the WIU Alumni Association, Thomas hosted a legislative reception that evening at the Sangamo Club in Springfield. At the event, Sen. Kirk Dillard, Sen. John Sullivan and Rep. Norine Hammond spoke of their support of Western and higher education.
"We were pleased to host numerous senators, representatives and legislative staff members at the reception. This event also allowed our Springfield area alumni the opportunity to share with our legislative guests their positive experiences at Western," Thomas noted. "We have outstanding relationships with our local and statewide legislators, and we appreciate their support and commitment to Western and to higher education. These events further reinforce our presence and make our voices heard in Springfield. We will continue to work with legislators and constituents to ensure continued support for higher education and Western Illinois University."
Posted By: WIU News (email@example.com)
Office of University Relations


text:
Black bear saved from jar on head
NEWPORT, Tenn. -- A black bear is back in the woods in Tennessee after getting help with a problem -- a plastic jar stuck on its head.
State wildlife officers looked for the bear for three weeks after reports he was caught in the jug. The Knoxville News Sentinel said the male bear was roaming around Newport, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.
On July 17, wildlife officer Shelly Hammonds was checking another report of the bear when the animal ran in front of her vehicle. Hammonds fired a tranquilizer dart and the bear collapsed in downtown Newport.
The bear weighed just 115 pounds, about half its expected weight. It was released into the Cherokee National Forest. Wildlife officials believe the bear got into the jar while foraging through garbage.


text:
Evolution Hoax
Do they not see the birds suspended in mid-air up in the sky? Nothing holds them there except Allah. There are certainly Signs in that for people who have belief. (Surat an-Nahl, 79)
How the tiny fliers manage to dart, hover and dive even in gusty winds.
The smallest hummingbirds weigh barely more than a penny, and the largest weigh in at just 0.7 ounces (20 grams). Despite their mini stature, hummingbirds are among the world's largest hovering animals. Hummingbirds don't fly like other birds. Instead of flapping their wings up and down, hummingbirds oscillate their wings in a figure-eight pattern. The oscillation produces lift on both the downstroke and the upstroke. When hovering, hummingbirds generate extra lift by creating a vortex of air on the leading edge of their wings. These wing vortices are very unstable, meaning they should vanish at the teensiest nudge. The hummingbirds have been given a clever way around that problem. Their wings produce the vortex with a high angle of attack on the downstroke. Then they flip their wings around on the upstroke, so as they shed one vortex, they produce another on the other side of the wing, thereby managing to maintain high lift forces. A gust of wind could upset this delicate balance, but it's not so.
Another miracle is about Hummingbirds' energy consumption.
Unlike humans who must fuel up hours before intense exercise, hummingbirds can refuel in mid-flight, as wisdom from Allah. Within several minutes of lapping up sweet nectar, the rufous hummingbird uses the just-ingested sugars to fuel more flying and hovering so it can consume more nectar.
Hummingbirds have the highest energy expenditure of any warm-blooded animal, with a heart rate of up to 500 beat per minute, blindingly fast wing beats and sustained hovering. So this bird is nearly always on the edge of starvation, needing to slurp up more than its body weight in nectar each day.
Scientists fasted hummingbirds before giving them cane nectar, a type of nectar that has a characteristic level of the carbon-13 isotope, a form of carbon having a different number of neutrons. As each bird lapped up the sugary substance, the scientists used a special device on the feeder to measure its oxygen intake—used to calculate energy consumed—and the carbon in its breath.
By comparing the energy requirement with the amount of carbon-13, they showed that within 20 minutes of feeding, the hummingbirds were supporting more than 90 percent of their hovering needs with the cane sugar. This is the first time anybody has shown a vertebrate animal able to support such a high fraction of exercise metabolism with very newly ingested sugar.
Compare that with a human: An elite cyclist at 60 percent of his maximum aerobic rate can only support 15 to 30 percent of his energy needs with consumed sugars. He needs a high carbohydrate meal such as spaghetti the night before an event in order to process and shuttle the sugar energy to his muscles.
When human or other animals consume meal, they can't convert the food to energy immediately as hummingbirds. Hummingbirds are created in this way because they need the mechanism to survive; but a human does not need such mechanism. Allah creates everything in a perfect way what they need.
….. the handiwork of Allah Who gives to everything its solidity….. (Surat an-Naml, 88)


text:
when it's not broken, do not fix it.
Yes, personally I end up disabling these new UIs and putting it back to normal anyway.
The day they don't let me disable it and set it how it always was is the day I stop using it most likely, with each and every new design ever other version I'm concerned one day they'll see classic as too legacy!
The last few releases of Firefox have had the UI driven by graphics designers, rather than programmers, and these have been by far the shittiest Firefox UIs ever. Each one strips away more and more useful features, and hence becomes much more difficult to use.
Can we please have the programmers come up with the UI design? At least with the earlier Firefox releases, they put together something that was usable, even if it wasn't as "pretty" as what the designers might come up with.
Frankly, I don't use Chrome because it has a shitty, stripped-down UI that intentionally hides all of the useful functionality. That's why I used to use Firefox. But if Firefox is going to imitate Chrome, why the fuck would I use Firefox? Even Konqueror is more usable than recent Firefox releases, so I'll stick with it until Firefox's UI isn't a compile cesspool.
Why not? I like the new UI, I just hope full-screen mode is based on Lion's and integrate properly into Mission Control and not done in some different way.
then they should add the new ui as an "add on" or "modification". they shouldn't bump the version number for that. also, if it looks like that on my win7, I'll have to get an add on to make it look like old. I like border decors. they let me resize the window, it's called usability and these mockups seem to miss them. moving address bar to a place where you could configure it before is not "new" thing either, neither is adding different svg's between the tabs.
When media players started fighting over UI design 10 years ago, this meant all functionality was there, from then on they fought for the user who needs new features every N days for no reason. It looks like the browser marked is no in the same state.
I've never seen Chrome, but this looked very much like Opera here.
I like Opera as a browser, I don't like its UI though that much, I actually prefer the simplest possible UI of like Netscape 4 or something of that type, so to me this looks just counterintuitive as a computer program. That's why I am not fully on Opera, but I force myself to use it because it works better.
There's a reason my personal firefox config log is labeled "the hoops I jump through.txt". Every release they give me more of what I don't want, and break the add-ons that give me what I do want. It's getting pretty tedious stripping these things down just to build them back up again.
I think the home tab is a good idea... for people who use a home page and also only have 1 of them and also actually revisit it multiple times in the life of a window. So long as the other 85% of us can hide it, that's fine. But there comes a time when "you can customize it" stops being a feature, and starts being an excuse to ignore user wants and do whatever the hell you want. Really, is the UI something that needs to be continually re-defined? Couldn't we spend the effort on something else? Something other than badly imitating Chrome?
There's a reason my personal firefox config log is labeled "the hoops I jump through.txt". Every release they give me more of what I don't want, and break the add-ons that give me what I do want. It's getting pretty tedious stripping these things down just to build them back up again.
Please post that file. Please!
Honest question: Beyond "that's not the way it always has been", what is the problem with tabs on top?
I'll be the first to admit that I was very hesitant about putting tabs on the title bar, but after letting myself get used to it for a while I see a at least a couple distinct advantages. First the obvious, you gain some vertical screen space, which is always handy on modern widescreen monitors. Less obviously, you make it more clear that the UI elements at the top of the page are affecting the current t
I'll be the first to admit that I was very hesitant about putting tabs on the title bar, but after letting myself get used to it for a while I see a at least a couple distinct advantages. First the obvious, you gain some vertical screen space, which is always handy on modern widescreen monitors.
Tabs above/below the address bar I couldn't care less about, but I do not like tabs in the title bar. That comes at the cost of losing some vertical grabbing range for the mouse and no longer having a place to put th
It's a question of what you get in exchange for the lost space. For the title bar, the number of times that I've needed to see the complete page title (and the title has been too long to fit in the tab header) is pretty small. As for mouse grabbing, I generally run maximized on smaller displays (my at home PC is a laptop) and at work I use Winsplit Revolution to manage my windows via keyboard so I suppose I've never noticed.
Removing the status bar has a much larger impact IMO. Loading status is missing a
Everyone is headed down the minimalist road because the of the netbook and tablet craze. Some people still choose high horsepower machines with dual (or more) screens. Look at Ubuntu's unity desktop. The whole damn OS has chosen that path. Buttons, menus, and options that aren't buried and are ready at hand are a GOOD thing when you have screen real estate to burn. Many people still do.
Honest question: Beyond "that's not the way it always has been", what is the problem with tabs on top?.
For those of us whose browse with many tabs open at once and frequently switch between them, tabs on top means a *lot* more mouse movement to accomplish this, which equals more time. Wasted time.
It may not seem like much, but it is enough to be a noticeable delay, and adds up. Putting the tabs back where they belong solves this annoyance.
This may not be a factor depending on your own personal browsing habits.
Browsers have now reached the maturity of 1950s American cars. They more or less work, still break too much, use too much fuel, and have lots of chrome and tailfins.
Browsers have now reached the maturity of 1950s American cars. They more or less work, still break too much, use too much fuel, and have lots of chrome and tailfins.
Unless you've been living under a rock, it should be obvious that browsers have been trending toward less chrome (i.e., a less distracting UI) by removing a lot of UI clutter. The comparison to 1950s American cars seems completely wrong, at least where the UI is concerned.
It is beginning to look like the Mozilla developers are now at a loss for new things to develop in order to feed the voracious appetite of the rapid release cycle that they pushed upon users.
Meanwhile, there are plenty of things they could do to improve Firefox (e.g. back-end performance) that are neither noticeable nor able to be developed in the timeframe of one release cycle.
The first thing I'd like to see them do is offer (but not impose) the ability to run every tab as a separate process. That should offer a workaround to a significant amount of the unaddressed memory leaks that everybody's experiencing.
Popups generated from click events are generally unblocked since they are, obviously, user generated and presumably a link to something the user wants to see; however, this is not always the case. What I really want is a whitelist for popups. Not a whitelist that says "this site is allowed to create popups" but a whitelist that says "these sites are allowed to be popped up by other sites". I can't tell you how many times I've hit the facebook connect popup despite the fact that I have never once done it
Please stop trying to make your browser fit on a 2" screen. I have 20"+ monitors. I can spare the pixels.
Further, burying the menu bar makes it very hard for me to support people who get confused when I say "Go to Edit and Preferences".
Innovation is not simply following Chrome's lead. Kthnx.
Yeah, the way that the traditional menu bar has been tossed aside is distressing. It was invented to create a consistent user interface between programs (as well as provide a consistent API) in order to eliminate the issue of everything being drastically different.
But now we're seeing most of the major browsers playing follow-the-leader by clumping menu operations into a single button, putting things indifferent places, and then Microsoft's ribbon bullshit that thinks every operation should be presented to you in a big kludgey mess of buttons and symbols. At least the web browsers and Windows Explorer allow you to tap the alt key to get a temporary glimpse of the old menu, but who's to say how long before that is removed?
And as a UNIX user and programmer for decades now I always had to put up with Apple and MS peopel get worked up about the inconsistency between widget sets in X11. Now that Windows finally has a UI that has the sophisticatin to allow the dev to break the mold everyone is wanderign off on their own basically custom widgets.
In the world of Chrome: "Click the 'Wrench', then Options" - also, I have less crap on my UI
Another new UI that makes getting to the thing I use regularly (like, you know, bookmarks) slower and more annoying.
WTF is up with FOSS developers these days?
Who exactly is looking for all these crazy changes to the way browsers work? I am starting to think that browser design has become "art for the sake of art". What happened to function over form?
What happened to function over form?
Well, they've had the function working right for a while. Now they're paying lots of extra attention to the form, they just happen to be getting it wrong!
I'll believe that with Firefox 5 stops leaking memory like a sieve.
Who exactly is looking for all these crazy changes to the way browsers work? I am starting to think that browser design has become "art for the sake of art". What happened to function over form?
Because pretty pictures sell better than ideas when the Mozilla foundation is out doing fund raising.
What happened to function over form?
Though to be fair, it was more their marketing campaign than their actual software. The effect of Apple on tech designers appears to be similar to the effect of LSD on the hippies--in both the positive and negative senses.
So long as plugins are not broken have fun, I will stick with vimperator.
Whatever happen to UI consistency? "Back in the day" UIs used to use the same toolkits, have their menus and toolbars all in the same spot and work consistently across applications. Today all those UI elements are kind of splattered around the application and there is really no consistency where you can find something anymore. There are also things in modern UIs that I really don't get, Firefox4 for example will present you different menus depending on if you click it with a mouse or if you activate it with the keyboard. What's the point in that? Didn't we figure out that changing menus where a really bad idea back when Windows tried it many years ago? Once up-on a time the menu was full of all the stuff the application could do, now its like playing hide and seek with the functions an application might have and hiding them from the user is really not helping.
Whatever happen to UI consistency?
Beats me, but when Apple decided to throw their own interface guidelines out the window and pointlessly rearrange the window icons on iTunes for whatever reason, and then again made the window icons on their App Store app center on the toolbar instead of the top of the window like every other app, it's become clear that the watchword for today is "change for the sake of change."
Incidentally, I notice that at some point after screwing with the iTunes window buttons for absolutely no reason, they've reverted them back to be like every other window that's not the App Store. So apparently Apple is slowly learning their own lessons about interface consistency.
Incidentally, I notice that at some point after screwing with the iTunes window buttons for absolutely no reason, they've reverted them back to be like every other window that's not the App Store. So apparently Apple is slowly learning their own lessons about interface consistency.
Not quite: try pressing the green "make the window as big as it needs to be to display all the content" button.
Apple is one of the worst offenders at breaking its own UI guidelines. iTunes is a fail, the App Store is a fail, Quick Time X is a huge fail. I haven't got it but I gather Aperture is also a fail.
Not quite: try pressing the green "make the window as big as it needs to be to display all the content" button.
Oh, that's awesome. Not only does it not actually "zoom" the application, what it actually does is what the "collapse" button (the little bar on the right of certain windows) is supposed to do.
Although the Zoom button has always effectively meant "do something random" so I've gotten in the habit of never touching it.
I always find it hilarious when Apple shits all over their own guidelines, especially when there's a ton of research and design behind them. Microsoft can get away with crap like making the Office windows not behave like any other window in their OS, because they've never sold themselves as being "the user interface experts," but Apple?
Come on, your HIG is enormous and generally explains why it suggests what it suggests. Why do you then ignore your own guidelines?
Incidentally, it's worth reading the Microsoft HIG for using custom window frames [microsoft.com] for examples of Microsoft applications that ignore their own guidelines. It's nice to know that Microsoft's interface people are aware that the Gadgets window is broken, even if they can't convince anyone on the Windows team to fix it.
Whatever happen to UI consistency? "Back in the day" UIs used to use the same toolkits, have their menus and toolbars all in the same spot and work consistently across applications. Today all those UI elements are kind of splattered around the application and there is really no consistency where you can find something anymore. There are also things in modern UIs that I really don't get, Firefox4 for example will present you different menus depending on if you click it with a mouse or if you activate it with the keyboard. What's the point in that? Didn't we figure out that changing menus where a really bad idea back when Windows tried it many years ago? Once up-on a time the menu was full of all the stuff the application could do, now its like playing hide and seek with the functions an application might have and hiding them from the user is really not helping.
Web browsers are a special case, because they are increasingly being used to run web applications.
If web browsers were to keep all the chrome of a regular application, you end up with a pretty cluttered display: a full blown application (the web app) within a full blown application (the web browser). Yuck.
I, for one, am pleased that web browser UIs are increasingly getting out of the way so that I can concentrate on the web app they are hosting. However, web browser makers might be able to please everyone b
My first reaction on seeing the headline was "oh, this ought to be awful." But, you know, that's just a gut reaction. I should really give them the benefit of the doubt.
OK, first thing I notice is that there's now no forward button. It shows up again later, so I guess the idea is that it vanishes if you don't need it?
These are Mac OS X screenshots, so the menu shouldn't be in the window anyway, but it appears they've moved everything to a small cog. No, wait, later there's a Windows 7 version, and the menu is still the orange Firefox thing, so I guess the cog is Mac OS X only?
They're finally merging the search and URL bars, which I'm sure some Slashdotters will scream bloody murder over, but which I can't help but think it's about time. (Really, not too hard to tell a URL from a search term, and given that the "awesome" bar is already a search feature, they might as well give me more space so that I can see the entire URL.)
Over all it doesn't look too horrible compared to their current interface. May even be an improvement.
Now the only question left is how many extensions will be required to restore the toolbar so I can keep my NoScript and Firebug icons fucking available since I frequently need to use them. You took away my status bar, please don't take away my toolbar too.
Also, I wonder what new bugs they'll introduce to Firefox under Windows Aero. Gotta love Aero Glass freaking out whenever you mouse over a link. (How did you even do that?!)
Examples of why a combined search is terrible:
1) define:
Firefox treats anything with a : as part of a protocol so that search functionality is only available by first going to google.
2) I'm feeling lucky vs full search.
Currently address bar does the former and search does the latter. This allows me to dictate behaviour, use multiple search engines, and such.
3) Further to #2 tab behaviour can be dictated. Address bar with I'm feeling lucky = don't open new tab. Search with full search = open in new tab.
> so I guess the idea is that it vanishes if you don't
> need it?
No, you're just looking at a variety of screenshots of various brainstormed proposals. Stuff along the lines of "we should think about this and see whether it makes sense", as opposed to "the next Firefox UI" like the BS summary says.
I'm probably alone, but I rather like the new UI. Reminds me of Chrome. I switched to Chrome recently because FF5 on OS X was just crashing too much and had gotten too slow, might switch back if this works similarly faster and is stable again.
If UI designers listened to the tech community we'd still be using something that looked like an early Netscape. There was plenty of room for improvement there, and a lot of things just don't make sense anymore and never really did anyway. Permanent status bars are a g
"...I rather like the new UI. Reminds me of Chrome."
That is the problem. Most people that want Chrome are using Chrome. Most people that are using Firefox like it better than Chrome.
I'm probably alone, but I rather like the new UI. Reminds me of Chrome.
And I hate it for the same reason (that is, I hate Chrome-style UI). I have a big monitor, so there is no point in hiding the menu or the status bar to make it fit. FF3 with all toolbars (menu bar, navigation bar, bookmarks bar, tab bar, status bar) enabled still has enough screen space that I do not need to maximize it (my desktop resolution is 1600x1200 btw).
Permanent status bars are a good thing to be rid of, for instance.
Status bar is useful for me:
1.It displays the URL of the link that I am about t
I understand you are designing for the lowest common denominator. It makes sense, and I can see where you are going with this design direction.
However, please be sure to allow configurability at the very least, and even better resist the urge to remove UI elements and hide them behind menus.
I dont want more buttons hidden behind more menus that require more clicks. On my desktop I have a large amount of room and like all my important options in front of me. That's why it's a great computing device for work. On my mobile phone, a sparse UI is much appreciated. But I dont really need it, nor want it, on a desktop. It doesnt make any sense in keeping with the idea of easy "discoverability" in user experience design. It also could easily confuse users even more than you think.
Most users can learn to recognize that a little "house" icon is the home screen. However, many users will not understand that setting the home page is under [alt] > Tools > options > General tab. Non-tech savvy people dont understand all of this multi layered categorization. They may not think the same way the developers and designers do, and may not put the option under the same category if they were doing the organization. They also may understand what they need, but not what the categories mean. Simple UI controls work better for most people. As an example: almost everyone understand lists and scrolling, even if they are very long lists.
It would also be nice if the bugs regarding new versions of FF corrupting profiles be looked into. And I don't know of any users that really feel the new "rapid release" stuff is worth a dime. The people who know what it means think it's silly, and the people who don't wouldn't care anyways.
Don't get me wrong, you guys have done fantastic work over the years. And the world owes you *much* gratitude. But I feel the need to speak up at some of the recent changes in direction Mozilla has been making with FF and TB. A need I have never felt before regarding either product. As a fan I wish you all the best though and hope to keep using FF and TB as I have never been that interested in Chrome or Gmail.
However, many users will not understand that setting the home page is under [alt] > Tools > options > General tab. Non-tech savvy people dont understand all of this multi layered categorization
If you want a flat list of configuration options instead of a nested hierarchy, everything is available under about:config. It's even searchable.
Next you will complain that "non-tech savvy people can't handle being bombarded by a list of hundreds of configuration options".
While certainly no one wants to be bombarded with 100,000 config options, I think you can agree there has been a movement to hide and simplfy UIs over the past few years especially, and that this particular UI looks more sparse than the last which looked more sparse than the previous and so on. I highly doubt we're just going to go to all text lists like in the past (and I wouldn't want that), but it was an example of a consistent UI element people have long learned to understand almost intuitively. There
If its still as modifiable as the previous versions of FF, I won't complain.
I like the extra space for my tiny screen, but I can afford the additional pixels on my large one. Looks familiar though...
Looks exactly like Safari.
How about trying to make the browser faster and more concurrent instead of spending time on unnecessary GUI changes?
I often experience a huge slowdown in Firefox when I have five or so Firefox windows -- of which all but one are minimized.
I often experience that the entire browser locks up to wait for a request
I also get the feeling that the so called "awesome" bar becomes slower and slower with time.
How about fixing these issues instead?
I am seriousl
I keep clicking the "Click on a planet to start" button but nothing happens
Please read the comment appearing at the top of the web page [mozilla.com], and then un-wad your knickers, folks.
We appreciate your interest in our design experiments!
The UI mock-ups shown on these pages were part of a meeting, and were for discussion purposes, and to explore different design directions. Some of them are already out of date.
Mozilla works in the open, and the way to get the latest in UI improvements to Firefox is to download the UX channel build for your OS, which will auto-update every night with various design experiments we're looking at.
No, we are right to be concerned. These days, whenever a large company, open source or not put up something publically or semi-publically on their website, it means that they are going to implement it. It is a cheap way of product testing or to prepare users for the coming apocalypse, I mean, change. I am now starting to look around for other browsers to use. Mozilla has become what it was fighting when it started. I also blame female users for this (no, I'm serious). Look at the UI design of consumer products now days and you realise the over-simplified, over-cutesy, over-dumbed down design is catering for women and girly men who favours looks over function.
For some reason my "disable advertising" button has got turned off, but that means I get to see the huge banner ad and the even huger ad on the right hand side, which both say in huge letters:
Download Google Chrome Now
1) What happened to the forward button? I understand it's not used much, but it doesn't take up that much space, does it? As long as you can do the same functionality by holding down the back button like usual, then I should be fine. Not sure how discoverable that feature is, though...
2) I like the new tab style a lot, even if they don't really look like "tabs" as much as before, it's still an improvement to me. It really makes it look like the tab owns the browser chrome, good for usability purposes. This
"... a few different reasons why we are exploring the concept of a Home Tab, including: Creating an interface that is unique to Firefox"
But why? If I were a group of program developers that is still trying to steal users away from another program, I would make switching as easy as possible. Learning curves brought on by unique interfaces work against that.
Oh well... just make sure there's the option for a more traditional UI and I'll just switch to that when I upgrade- Why yes, my Windows 7 installation loo
Seriously, why move the star/bookmark icon out of the address bar where it's been all this time?
Stop making Firefox to be Chrome. Firefox is not Chrome. It shouldn't be.
It is kind of sobering to see how the concentrated company backed effort of Chrome overtook the 10 years old Firefox in just a few months, with FF running behind ever since. Be it optimizing for speed, new web technologies, UI design or even version numbering, the Mozilla folks look at the tail lights and try to keep up.
BTW: I'm still using FF because of the add-ons and free GUI configurability.
The radius of the rounding on the tabs is hideous and looks nothing like any native control on any platform, I also hate this new fashion of placing the close, minimize and zoom buttons at some random pixel offset.
This design would work just as well with native looking widgets and button placement and wouldn't invoke the "uncanny valley" effect of being almost correctly placed. Why not just put the buttons in the middle of the web page and make the tabs floating round circles that you navigate between by wa
The one great strength Firefox has is its plugin system. Can the browser people please stop fucking with the interface and concentrate on the damn HTML renderer ? If I were to get hit in the head with the douche stick and suddenly wanted my Firefox to look like Chrome, I'd install a Chrome skin. If they're so obsessed with minimalist interfaces, fire the interface guy and let him release the dumb thing as a 3rd party plugin.
On upgrade you could choose between:
"There is no distinctly American criminal class except Congress." -- Mark Twain


text:
Dean, Hoffman and Svenning Add Pivotal Wins in Singles
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Yale men's tennis team wrapped up its spring break trip to North Carolina with a resounding 4-3 victory over No. 55 Old Dominion (11-5, 0-0 CAA) on Sunday. Playing at the home courts of UNC Wilmington, No. 50 Yale (11-3, 0-0 Ivy) lost the doubles point before staging a hard-fought comeback that climaxed with a third-set triumph by senior Marc Powers at No. 2 singles.
The win gets Yale back on track after having dropped its last match against No. 72 UNC Wilmington. The victory also marks the Elis' second 4-3 comeback of the season, with the first having occurred in early February against Alabama-Birmingham. The Bulldogs have also put together a solid 5-1 win-loss mark on neutral turf this season to complement their undefeated 6-0 record at home.
It was readily apparent early on that Yale would have its work cut out for it, as Old Dominion quickly snatched the doubles point with wins at No.'s 1 and 3 doubles. In a clash of ranked doubles teams, the Monarchs' No. 48 duo of Can Centinel and Carlos Lopez-Villa defeated the No. 59 tandem of Powers and senior captain Daniel Hoffman 8-3. At No. 3 doubles, Wesley Barrett and Tim Schweig overcame the Bulldog pairing of senior Zachary Dean and freshman Martin Svenning 8-5.
The Elis were to have the last word, however, as the four Yale players who secured the requisite four points in singles for the overall victory were the same four players who lost their matches in doubles—Dean, Hoffman, Powers and Svenning. At No. 6 singles, Dean eased past Schweig for the loss of only four games. Hoffman similarly cruised in his match at No. 3 singles, besting Dante Terenzio 6-2, 6-3. At the No. 4 spot, Svenning toughed out a second-set tiebreaker to post a crucial 6-2, 7-6 win over Barrett. These three wins gave Powers the chance to clinch, an opportunity which he seized by fending off a comeback by his opponent, Albert Ochagavia, to record a tough 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 triumph. The win is Powers' eighth in his last nine matches.
Old Dominion will try to regroup in its first match of conference play against Delaware in two weeks' time.
With only three more matches until the commencement of the Ivy League stretch in April, the Bulldogs return home this upcoming Saturday and Sunday for matches against Binghamton and St. Bonaventure.
Report by Robert Batista '15, Yale Sports Publicity
|Yale University
|Old Dominion University
|#1 Singles
|John Huang
|#120 Carlos Lopez Villa
|Old Dominion University
|6-2, 6-3
|#2 Singles
|Marc Powers
|Albert Ochagavia
|Yale University
|6-2, 4-6, 6-4
|#3 Singles
|Daniel Hoffman
|Dante Terenzio
|Yale University
|6-2, 6-3
|#4 Singles
|Martin Svenning
|Wesley Barrett
|Yale University
|6-2, 7-6
|#5 Singles
|Zach Krumholz
|Jonas Kuwert
|Old Dominion University
|7-6, 6-3
|#6 Singles
|Zach Dean
|Tim Schweig
|Yale University
|6-2, 6-2
|#1 Doubles
| #59Daniel Hoffman
Marc Powers
| #48 Carlos Lopez Villa
Can Cetinel
|Old Dominion University
|#2 Doubles
| John Huang
Patrick Chase
| Albert Ochagavia
Jonas Kuwert
|#3 Doubles
| Martin Svenning
Zach Dean
| Wesley Barrett
Tim Schweig
|Old Dominion University


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I was looking at my Top 100 baseball players from 2009 and found something pretty amazing. Well, I actually found a few amazing things … one being that it's really not the world's smartest thing to do a Top 100 list in the middle of a baseball season -- you can become way too influenced by recent play. That list didn't turn out too well.
But perhaps even more, I look back and realize that 2009 was only three years ago, but when it comes to baseball performance it might as well have been a lifetime ago. I look at the Top 10 ...
1. Albert Pujols
2. Joe Mauer
3. Hanley Ramirez
4. Zack Greinke
5. Chase Utley
6. Alex Rodriguez
7. Tim Lincecum
8. Dan Haren
9. Johan Santana
10. Roy Halladay
… and realize I wouldn't want ANY of their contracts. None of them. Maybe Greinke's, but he just signed it. Let's look at that list again, this time with a bit of commentary:
1. Albert Pujols. Contract: 9 more years, $228 million. He's coming off back-to-back seasons where he finished 8th in his league in OPS+, after finishing first four out of five years.
2. Joe Mauer. Contract: 6 more years, $138 million. He hasn't ever played 150 games, has hit 22 homers in the last three seasons combined after hitting 28 in 2009.
3. Hanley Ramirez. Contract: 2 more years, $31.5 million. He hit .252/.326/.416 last two years and isn't even playing shortstop anymore.
4. Zack Greinke. Contract: 6 years, $147 million with opt out. More on him in a minute.
5. Chase Utley. Contract: 1 year, $15 million left. He has averaged 100 games the last three seasons, hitting .264/.367/.433 as his body sadly falls apart. One of the great players in the game in his prime.
6. Alex Rodriguez. Contract: 5 more years, $114 million. He has hit 16 and 18 homers the last two years, he's seriously injured, thoroughly despised, his future as and every-day player is in doubt.
7. Tim Lincecum. Contract: 1 more year, $22 million. In 2012, the two-time Cy Young winner led league in losses and posted 5.18 ERA, was used in middle relief in postseason and many see that as his future.
8. Dan Haren. Contract: 1 year, $13 million deal; signed with Nationals, posted career worst 87 ERA+ and failed to throw 200 innings for first time in his career in 2012.
9. Johan Santana. Contract: 1 more year, $25.5 million. He did throw the first Mets no-hitter in 2012 but after missing all of 2011 was 6-9 with 4.85 ERA and Mets reportedly would love to trade him, even if they have to eat some of his contract.
10. Roy Halladay. Contract: 1 more year, $20 million, but he has a $20 million option based on health in 2013. Perhaps the best pitcher of his generation is coming off injury prone season where he had an 89 ERA+ and often looked shockingly close to the end.
I look at that list and marvel … could 2009 really be that long ago? And I would again ask the question that is often asked here: Is it really a winning strategy to give a veteran star a long-term contract?
* * *
There's something else, though, that strikes me about the list. Here are six players and where they ranked in the 2009 Top 100:
(3) Hanley Ramirez
(4) Zack Greinke
(22) Adrian Gonzalez
(24) Josh Beckett
(35) Carl Crawford
(37) Matt Kemp
Yep, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in proud possession of SIX of the 2009 Top 40, and that doesn't even include Clayton Kershaw, who has been the best pitcher in the National League since 2009.
Now, obviously, the Dodgers came across these players in very different ways -- three came over in the Red Sox salary dump -- but it leads to a thought: I wonder if this is what you do when you have money to spend. You try to buy the past. You try to bring back a little bit of what once worked. Hey, if these players could somehow perform like they did in 2009, the Dodgers would be an unbelievably great team:
Ramirez: .342/.410/.543, 42 doubles, 24 homers, 101 runs, 106 RBIs, 7.1 WAR.
Greinke: 16-8, 2.16 ERA, 242 Ks, 51 walks, 205 ERA+, 10.1 WAR
Gonzalez: .277/.407/.551, 40 homers, 90 runs, 99 RBIs, 162 OPS+, 6.6 WAR.
Beckett: 17-6, 3.85 ERA, 199 Ks, 55 walks, 4.7 WAR
Carl Crawford: .305/.364/.452, 28 doubles, 8 triples, 15 homers, 60 SBs, 96 runs, 4.7 WAR
Matt Kemp: .297/.352/.490, 26 homers, 34 SBs, 101 RBIs, 97 runs, 4.6 WAR
Whew, that would be nice -- throw in Kershaw, a few average players, that's a World Series contender.
But can you just recapture 2009 by hoping for it? Can you reel in three years ago because it doesn't SEEM so long ago? The ability to recognize just how quickly skills and production diminishes in baseball has always been a rare one … Branch Rickey, perhaps the shrewdest baseball mind in the history of the game, famously said: "Trade a player a year too early rather than a year too late."
But it's so hard to do. Sometimes, you get burned. Reds GM and Rickey protege Bill DeWitt famously traded Frank Robinson in 1965 based on that year-early-rather-than-year-late strategy -- Robinson won the Triple Crown in 1966, and was a hugely productive player for another six or seven years. The Red Sox, of course, dumped Roger Clemens in the mid-1990s for that very reason, and, well, we know that story.
There are many counterexamples, though, of teams saving themselves a lot of headaches and money by moving on before a player declines into a liability. There isn't a bigger Dale Murphy fan out there, but the Braves clearly did the right thing trading him away in 1990 -- Dale, himself, thought so. They took heat for that move at the time, but Murphy simply (and sadly) was at the end and the Braves went on to bigger things. The Red Sox traded away Nomar Garciaparra in the middle of his age-30 season, another scary move, but Nomar really was done as an every day player. The Red Sox let Pedro go at the end of that year, another painful but shrewd move. Well, there are a lot. Oakland with Zito. Atlanta with Andruw Jones. Seattle with Griffey. And so on.
I guess it still comes down the simple truth that there are no hard rules. There are only general guidelines. In general, players in their early to mid 30s will decline … but every now and again an Edgar Martinez or Gary Sheffield or Chipper Jones will keep playing at a high level after 33. In general, signing a player to a very long contract will hurt the team toward the end but every now and again a long-term Derek Jeter signing will be like hitting the jackpot. Exceptions do happen. And if you hit on one of those exceptions, really good things will usually follow.
* * *
All this brings us to Zack Greinke. I have been following Greinke since he was 18 years old and drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 2002. He has always been a different breed of cat. People are aware of the various social anxiety and depression issues he has battled in his life. He walked away from the game when he was 22 and, for a time anyway, was thoroughly serious about never coming back. He thought about trying to become a pro golfer (something Robin Yount also thought about) and he thought about coming back to the game as a shortstop. He met with a psychologist, began taking medication, and those things helped modulate some of his biggest fears and lowest depths. He returned to the game and reached spectacular heights.
He has always looked at everything a little bit differently. I remember seeing him pitch at the Futures Game, I guess this goes back to 2003, and it was a day when pitchers were just lighting up the radar gun. Why not? They were young, they were healthy, their arms felt magnificent, it's only natural to see if you can post triple digits on the gun. Greinke, though, did exactly the opposite. He was 19 then, and he purposely threw slower. Oh, he could throw high 90s if he wanted, maybe even 100 if he really let go. But he didn't let go. He wanted to see if he could get people out without breaking 90. He was disappointed because he threw 92. It was … well … different. I remember talking about it with his catcher that day, a 20-year-old named Joe Mauer. It was clear that Mauer, like everyone else, wasn't quite sure what to make of Zack Greinke.
Greinke came up to the big leagues at 20 and was immediately fascinating as a pitcher. He just wasn't like anybody else. He wanted to throw a curveball so slow it would not even trigger the radar gun -- he once struck out Jim Thome on a 55-mph variety curve. He tried a quick pitch a couple of times. He fooled around with his windup. He threw his fastball at any number of different speeds … though never the fastest he could throw. He liked talking more about his hitting than his pitching. He would tell us, "Oh, I could throw 95 or 98 if I wanted. But I don't think I could control it." And he would smirk. He always smirked after his best quotes, like he was just having a gag. Maybe he was. Maybe he wasn't really smirking, maybe it was just a nervous tick. He really did not like talking to reporters.
In 2005, he failed for the first time as a pitcher. And failed. And failed. He lost 17 games, the league hit .309 against him, he couldn't miss a bat. And the Royals were a miserable team, worse than usual, a manager quit in the middle of the year, an interim stuck around for a while, Buddy Bell came in just in time to guide the Royals on a 20-game losing streak. The accepted low point for Greinke happened in Arizona: Bell left him out there to give up 15 hits and 11 runs in 4 1/3 inning (though Greinke did hit his first big league homer after saying before the game that he would). This was at a time when the Royals wondered if they hadn't babied Greinke too much.
Anyway, I don't think that was the low point. The 20-game losing streak began about six weeks later. That streak included:
• A blown 5-0 lead
• A blown 4-0 lead
• A blown 4-1 lead
• A 16-1 loss
• An 11-0 loss
• A blown 5-run lead in the ninth by allowing 11 runs, a meltdown highlighted by a dropped fly ball.
• A blown 2-0 lead
• An 11-3 loss
• An 11-5 loss
Greinke made four starts during that astonishing stretch of horror, pitched terribly, and I have to think that was the low point, to pitch poorly when surrounded by a sea of losing. It's hard to imagine it getting much lower in big league baseball. Here he as, 21 years old, widely viewed as baseball's next great pitcher, and he was on a historically awful team in a Midwestern town that had not been a factor in the game for almost two decades. Just about every time he pitched a baseball, it would get crushed into a gap somewhere. The few times someone did hit a ball at a fielder, there was only a moderate chance it would be turned into an out. Add in his anxieties, his inability to handle much of what life threw at him, his competitive streak, his uncertainty about Kansas City baseball and everything else, it's clear why Zack Greinke was a very unhappy, confused and troubled young man. The following spring, he briefly quit.
After he decided to come back to the game, after he determined that he wanted to be a great pitcher and committed himself to that, he became a great pitcher. First he pitched in the bullpen, then he became a starter, then he became a dominant starter. His 2009 season might be the best of the last decade.
Best seasons from 2003-2012 (adding together Fangraphs and Baseball Reference WAR):
1. Zack Greinke, 2009, 19.4
2. Randy Johnson, 2004, 18.0
3. Roy Halladay, 2011, 16.6
4. Johan Santana, 2004, 16.1
5. Roy Halladay, 2003, 15.7
(tie) Pedro Martinez, 2003, 15.7
7. Justin Verlander, 2011, 15.3
8. Tim Lincecum, 2009, 15.1
He has not been nearly as good in the three years since then. He has played for three teams in those three years (Kansas City, Milwaukee and Los Angeles) and will be playing for a fourth team in the Dodgers. And while he's generally pitched OK the last two years -- his 31-11 record looks shiny, and his 4 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio is fabulous -- it's a weird kind of OK. He hasn't thrown a complete game in the last two seasons. In 2009, he had seven starts with a Game Score of 75 of higher; he has had only 10 in three years since. It's hard to break down exactly why he has been good rather than great the last three years, but I would say it comes down to small things. Home run balls and wild pitches are up a bit, walks are up a tick, innings pitched are down (he seems to get in pitch count trouble a lot), it's just a few mosquitoes that seem to be wearing him down.
And, as Greinke himself has said: A year like 2009 doesn't just happen because you want it to happen. A lot of things must come together just right. He's been periodically awesome the last three years. But it hasn't ever come together quite like it did that year.
So the question is: At 29 -- in a pitcher's park, with a life-altering six-year deal, with a team that looks like it can contend -- can Zack Greinke recapture the mastery of 2009?
I would like to bet "yes." In fact, I would bet "yes" because I tend to bet on things I want to happen. I like Zack Greinke. I find him funny and pretty honest. And when he is right, he's about as fun to watch as any pitcher of my lifetime. It's a 96-mph fastball, and it's a 60-mph curve, and it's an 82-mph slider, and it's a 61-mph knuckleball he just learned that morning, and it's a wicked change up that he just thought up on the way to the mound, and suddenly he's throwing left-handed, and then he's playing charades, and it's joyous. So, sure, I'd bet on him. It's so much more fun than betting no.
But, a few years ago, I wrote something about how if you want to be right on a prediction … go negative. Here's the quote:
There's another bit of misdirection that you can use in sports, one that works very well for a lot of people around the country. You can go negative ...it just goes to figure. If a new coach or manager gets hired for some loser organization, you can say: "Oh boy, that's a terrible hire, that won't work." Most of the time, you will be right, it won't work. If a team is picked by lots of people to, say, win the World Series or Super Bowl, you can say: "Oh, I'll bet they won't win the World Series or Super Bowl." Most of the time you will be right -- teams predicted to win it all rarely do. You can say, "I'll bet Chipper doesn't hit .400," or "I'll bet the Patriots don't go undefeated" or "I'll bet Tiger doesn't win the Grand Slam" and you're going to be right almost every time … it's misdirection. The odds are very, very much in your favor, even though it may not look that way.
In other words, the money pick is to say that Zack Greinke will not be worth the money. The money pick is to say he might have one or two good years, maybe, and then will fade into a pattern of pitching OK, assuming of course he stays healthy. The most expensive pitching contracts ever -- Greinke, Sabathia, Cole Hamels, Cliff Lee -- are still in the jury room at the moment, but go back at least four years and look at the most expensive contracts per year:
• Johan Santana in 2008, $23 million per 6 years
(46-34, 3.18 ERA, only once made 30 starts, missed all of 2011)
• Carlos Zambrano in 2008, $18 million per 5 years
(50-36, 4.06 ERA, headaches galore, Cubs happily dumped him on Miami)
• Barry Zito in 2007, $18 million per 7 years
(58-69, 4.47, soap opera after soap opera, relatively happy ending)
• A.J. Burnett in 2009, $16.5 million per 5 years
(50-45, 4.46 ERA, more soap operas, Yankees dumped him on Pittsburgh)
• Jason Schmidt in 2007, $15.7 million per 3 years
(3-6, 6.02 ERA, got hurt and never did recover)
• Mike Hampton in 2001, $15 million per 8 years
(56-52, 4.81 ERA, missed two full seasons with injuries and bulk of two others)
• Roy Oswalt in 2007, $14.6 million per five years
(61-46, 3.42 ERA, pitched well for Astros, but they couldn't afford him and traded him for last 1 1/2 years)
• Mark Buehrle in 2008, $14 million per four years
(54-44, 3.88 ERA, pitched pretty well -- not great but pretty well -- this generally worked out)
• Roy Halladay in 2008, $13.3 million per three years
(58-31, 2.67 ERA, fabulous deal for Blue Jays who traded Halladay for last year because they knew they could not re-sign him)
• Pedro Martinez in 2005, $13.25 million per four years
( 33-23, 3.88 ERA, one full season, two half seasons -- the last a real struggle)
Most of these, you wouldn't want. The Halladay deal you would take, obviously, and the Buehrle and Oswalt deals worked out OK, but this is the point. Right now, with the contract just signed, the Dodgers would hope for two or three Cy Young type seasons from Greinke. And they might get it. They might. But it's a long shot. While 2009 to us old people seems like yesterday, it wasn't yesterday. Miley Cyrus was huge in 2009. Mark Sanchez was drafted in 2009 … Tim Tebow was still in college. The Hangover had no sequel. Manny Pacquiao was unbeatable. Careers in entertainment and politics have crested and fallen since 2009.
Which is not to say the Greinke signing won't work out. I think it will. I hope it will. But the odds are it won't, at least not the way the Dodgers are hoping. You give a guy $24.5 million a year, you expect a huge payoff. But time expects to be paid too.


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The big tire 'cross bike has been making a comeback in the last year. This edition is made for 700x38 tires with room for fenders , a feat only acheived with a 405 mm length fork and some MTB chainstays. All of the tubes in the rear triangle have been tweaked a little for the tire room and to give a more interesting lines to the normally bland single-bend tubes. This frame is for a mechanic at the local shop just up the road from me. It will be primarily a commuting machine .
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tig team s.l. 'cross
Posted by swiggco world at 8:12 AM
3 comments:
- Brent said...
fat tire rump shak-ha
- May 13, 2009 at 3:55 PM
- swiggco world said...
booo shaka
- May 14, 2009 at 8:11 AM
- I LOVE YOU said...
- March 6, 2010 at 1:00 AM
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text:
Mailing lists
From Gerris
Revision as of 08:03, 13 July 2008; view current revision
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Perhaps a better title for this thread would have been:
Only Real HC Jets have had since Walt Michaels was Parcells
And the fact that Rex got to 2 AFC championship games with Sanchez at QB is plenty of evidence that the guy is a very good coach.
Hell, he made it further than Parcells did and Parcells had a better roster.
Mangini's personality cost him his job. Not his coaching ability or his ability to evaluate players. He pissed Woody off and made things hard with the media.
Last edited by kevin45; 12-06-2012 at 10:54 AM.
Parcells was the only non - first time head coach.
Rex is on the job training, as he said " trying to figure it out"
We need a head coach with a proven track record. this is New York.
Give him a QB, tell him to stop talking so much, and get a new GM to handle personnel and the Jets will be more than fine with Rex as coach.
He does not hold anyone accountable players, coaches, noone. Why wasnt Gugs fired immediately after what he said? Why arent JAG players cut on the spot after making bonehead moves as a n example to the rest of the team. Why wasnt Sanchez benched earlier to send a message? Why does he defend players performances when clearly they suck? When you fear about losing your job you play harder. There is no fear on this team because being buddies with the players is more important to Rex. The players know it.
The team plays undisciplined football. After 4 year as Head Coach this has not improved. The team lacks in fundamentals, cant tackle, cant block etc. His young players have not shown the improvement that would be expected outside of Mo WIlkerson.
Rex is considered a defensive genius, yet his Defense has gotten worse every year. Statistically they may be doing well in yards allowed but they give up to many points and are never dependable in clutch situations. They cant stop a nose bleed.
All this is why Rex must go.
Sure Rex has his flaws, but he is an excellent coach on game day. He may be one of the best in the league in successful challenges; we go for it on 4th down when we need to go for it, we fake a punt when we need to fake a punt... he rarely makes a boneheaded move that makes you say "WTF Rex?". He is excellent at assessing a situation in real time and making the correct call. Perhaps you'd prefer a Marvin Lewis burning two challenges in the first quarter of a playoff game?
Are there personnel issues? Absolutely. Is it a circus off the field? No doubt about it. Could they draft better? Yes. But that also begins with not trading away all of our draft picks. We chastise him over the most mundane, everyday occurrences among HC's in this league. Praising a player in a press conference? How dare he! Not cutting a player after a boneheaded move? No one deserves a second chance! He hasn't regressed. The greatest predictor of success is how you handle failure. He deserves the opportunity to turn this around and work through that failure. He's proven he can win, and he will win again.
All this is why Rex must stay.
If your argument to keep Rex is that he is successful with challenges and knows when to call time out, then you have really low standards.
Of course the fact that the talent in the defense has declined may be also be factor as well perhaps?Rex is considered a defensive genius, yet his Defense has gotten worse every year.
And 'gotten worse every year' is a bit stretch when talking about 2009 to 2010. The defense 'regressed' from going 1st in the NFL to 3rd. A decline in 2011 was inevitable considering how high the Jets were ranked the previous two years.
Rex has the worst starting linebacking corps in the NFL. The roster is completely devoid of pass rushers. His top sack leader is Bryan Thomas with 2.5 sacks.
Need talent on the roster to be an upper echelon defense. Coaching only takes you so far.
The other defensive genius in Foxboro hasn't had anything better than an average defense in the last 4 years.
Sanchez sucks but so do McElroy and Tebow. Tebow is basically a left handed version of Sanchez that can run and McElroy has neither the arm or athleticism to be a viable long term solution. With his contract and no long term solutions in Tebow and McElroy I can understand Rex sticking with Sanchez even if I disagree with it.Why wasnt Sanchez benched earlier to send a message?
I'd love to see the coach that would make this roster a contender, any coach who could have surpassed 8-8 with this roster would have been a miracle worker. Worst starting QB in the NFL, no pass rushers, no LB's, and no RB's on the roster that are any better than JAGs.
Rex isn't without his faults but the main culprit of this mess is Tannenbaum.
My argument is that the guy who excels on game day is the guy we should keep. If you want to can a guy over him being dishonest in a press conference, well, I'd advise lowering your standards a bit. No one will fit your mold of perfection.


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Since Aug. 1, thousands of Maine residents have missed or been late to their doctors appointments, counseling and other treatment services because of the major unpreparedness of a new transportation coordinator chosen by the state.
The company, Coordinated Transportation Solutions, should not require the two months the Department of Health and Human Services has granted it to competently arrange transport for low-income patients who may be blind, elderly or have developmental disabilities or brain injuries. It needs to fix the problems immediately.
The Connecticut-based company, with a center in Lewiston, is responsible for getting MaineCare members in six of Maine's eight transportation regions to their medical appointments. About 340,000 Maine people are eligible for MaineCare — the state's version of Medicaid — and 75,000-80,000 receive the nonemergency transportation services.
The broker can arrange rides in a variety of ways — by providing fare for public transportation, setting up rides with a volunteer or agency, or scheduling a wheelchair van for those with special medical needs. Though the rides are not used in emergencies, failing to get a ride to the doctor can create an emergency later.
Rep. Peggy Rotundo of Lewiston, House chair of the Appropriations Committee, said she has heard from constituents who have waited as long as an hour for someone at the call center scheduling rides to pick up. Sometimes calls are dropped. Other times no one shows up to bring them to their appointment. One woman who didn't get to her dialysis treatment ended up in the hospital. Others have stopped calling for rides because their calling cards ran out, or they gave up.
The potential harm is obvious. Providers also suffer when patients don't show up because they don't get reimbursed.
MaineCare Services Director Stefanie Nadeau leveled an appropriate amount of fury at the company in a Sept. 30 memo. "CTS has failed in its service to MaineCare members by: failing to secure an adequate transportation network, failing to provide prompt and competent service at its call center. As a result, thousands of MaineCare members have missed, or been late, for appointments and, in some instances, gone without necessary medical services."
The memo states CTS has missed more than 4,000 trips, per the company's self-reported data. Additionally, up to 58 percent of callers between Aug. 1 and Sept. 14 hung up before they could get an answer; the contract allows no more than 5 percent. The company has received more than 3,300 complaints, while DHHS has received hundreds of additional complaints. The company is paid about $28 million annually.
Nadeau wrote, "CTS has not provided transportation services as required by the Contract. … CTS has not responded quickly enough to identified deficiencies, and has not provided sufficient resources to remedy the deficiencies."
She demanded a plan within five days that outlined the cause of each problem, a remedy and a timeline for improvement. She requested the company show "significant measurable improvement" by Dec. 1 or face financial penalties or the termination of the contract.
The company did submit the corrective plan on time. Nadeau said Wednesday the department is reviewing it and is not yet prepared to publicly release it. However, she said, the company has hired more call center staff, and the call abandonment rate has improved. In August, the company missed an average of 824 rides per week. In September it missed an average of 394 per week. The number should be zero.
CTS is not the only new vendor. After a competitive bidding process, Logisticare now serves the York County area; and Penquis Community Action Program continues to serve the Bangor area. All companies have missed rides as they've switched to a new delivery system, and the department has sent letters to all of them to pinpoint necessary improvements. CTS was the only company required to complete a corrective plan, however.
The state created the new MaineCare transportation system in response to federal concerns about data collection and accountability, Nadeau said. (It wasn't about saving money; the total cost is still $35-40 million.) Prior to Aug. 1, local agencies both arranged rides and transported people, leading the federal government to express concern about potential conflicts of interest and a lack of payment transparency. If the state didn't fix the problems, federal matching funds were on the line.
DHHS should maintain a strong backbone: It should develop an alternative plan, while it keeps the pressure on CTS to deliver — fast. People in need shouldn't have to live through two more months of uncertainty about whether they'll get to the doctor.


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Bluebonnet Regional Branch Library
9200 Bluebonnet Blvd.
Baton Rouge 70810
United States
The LAS Baton Rouge Chapter regular meeting presents professional archaeologist, Melissa Braud, who will speak about her experiences as an archaeologist. This talk will be of special interests to those who may be contemplating a career in archaeology.
Melissa Braud is a native of Dutchtown, Louisiana, and currently works for Edge Engineering & Science, LLC in their Baton Rouge office. She has a B.A. and M.A. in Anthropology from Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge campus). Ms. Braud has been working in cultural resources since 1997 and as a consultant in the environmental field since 2007. Her work supports clients across the Gulf Coast specializing in cultural resources, NEPA document preparation/review, and federal and state permitting requirements (USACE, USCG, FERC, NPS, USFWS, TVA, LDWF, LDNR). She has served as liaison to State and Federal agencies during environmental emergencies providing NHPA Section 106 and NEPA compliance oversight. Ms. Braud has experience in environmental field coordination and environmental inspection on numerous natural gas storage and transmission projects. She also has experience in the FERC 7(c) permitting process, resource reports (ERs), environmental inspection management, and NHPA training for construction.
Melissa will share her journey in archaeology, highlighting various projects from her early days in archaeology through her academic and professional career.
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