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|Courtesy: Unknown
Lincecum's mechanics have always made some uneasy, he brought the kinetic chain to the masses. His mechanics demonstrated that you don't have to stand 6-5 with tree trunks for legs to be a legitimate and durable power pitcher. The kinetic chain allowed him to generate substantial force from minimal stature. And, while I've often wondered whether aging might rob him of the flexibility needed to effectively utilize his mechanics, I see no reason why the kinetic chain should falter as he heads into his age 28/29 season. But, if the problem isn't an inherent and inevitable flaw in the principles on which his mechanics were built, then what exactly IS it?
Back in the day, I took a golf lesson from a teaching pro who was very good at what he did. And, part of what he did was to study outcomes and walk them all the way back to identify the swing problem. By focusing on how the results differed from what was intended, he could draw inferences about the nature and extent of the problem. For example, his fellow teaching pros would call him the Divot Doctor, because he would look at the direction and depth of the divot to determine the swing path and angle of attack. From there, he could identify the problem and determine how to correct it. Of course, he could also examine the height, shape, and distance of the shot, along with countless other outcomes of the swing, to identify the problem.
After failing to find a single person who could actually pinpoint the reasons for Lincecum's troubles (granted, Dave Righetti probably [hopefully?] knows, but if so he's not running around espousing those views), I started trying to figure it out on my own. And, starting from the premise that the underlying principles of the kinetic chain remain sound, I started studying the outcomes and trying to walk them back to the underlying mechanical problem. In the end, I think I identified the problem, if not the reason for it.
As mentioned above, the first hue-and-cry to be heard on Lincecum's struggles was that his velocity was down. So, that was the obvious starting point. Was he hurt?
I wondered that until I watched his start on May 9, 2012, which was a typical and telling start. Lincecum's problem in 2012 was "the big inning." For whatever reason, he would frequently fall apart in a single inning, completely derailing any quality work that had come before. It wasn't all bad, all the time, it was more of a high wire act, occasionally impressive but with an inevitable tumble. The only question about his starts was when the tumble would happen. The May 9th game was no different. Lincecum cruised for the first 3 innings, striking out 6, walking 1, inducing one double play ball, and giving up 3 hits and 0 runs. Impressive, no?
Even more impressive than the results was the process. The remarkable thing was that for the first 3 innings, he was crisp. He not only had his velocity back (fastball sitting 92/93/94), but his command was back (painting corners, avoiding middle of plate). Those three innings convinced me that the problem wasn't injury related. The next inning convinced me it was mechanical.
The kinetic chain is about stacking force through a coordinated series of movements and efficiently imparting that force to the baseball. When the kinetic chain is unbroken, the pitcher reaps maximum benefits in performance. The performance of the pitch, whether (1) velocity, (2) movement, or (3) location, will be improved when the chain is unbroken. However, when the kinetic chain breaks, it can impact all three of those components of performance. In the first three innings, Lincecum looked like his old self. In the fourth inning, he looked like a pitcher with a broken chain, complete with decline in velocity and loss of command.
The other constant that I noticed with Lincecum in 2012 was that, during his big inning struggles, he frequently missed up-and-in with the fastball, brushing back right-handed hitters, and bounced his curve ball, uncorking 55-footers way off to the first base side of home plate. Not surprisingly, those pitches both made an appearance in the fourth inning.
In the fourth, his command and velocity were gone, as a result he gave up a double, single, single, and a wild pitch to start things off. His fastball was slower, missing up-and-in, and he bounced 55-foot curveballs. When it was over, he had given up 4 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 wild pitch, and 1 strikeout.
How could it all go so wrong, so fast? That's the obvious question. But, the question that was truly puzzling to me was how he could miss up-and-in with the fastball on one pitch, then down-and-away with the curveball on the next? Mistakes up-and-in AND down-and-away? That's the question that bothered me to the core, as the flaws seemed to be polar opposites. After thinking on it (a lot!), I started focusing on the deceleration phase of the delivery.
I have previously written about the early phases of the kinetic chain, focusing largely on generating force through each sequential move in the chain and then unleashing that force by efficiently imparting it to the baseball. I left out the deceleration phase for a couple of reasons: 1) there is more than enough to chew on with just the generating and imparting phases of the chain, and 2) there is one aspect of the deceleration phase that doesn't make intuitive sense to me.
Notable kinetic chain proponent Trevor Bauer has stated that the deceleration phase includes:
1. The glove side remains firm out front.
2. The throwing shoulder must be closer to the plate than the glove side shoulder.
3. The arm must pronate and the earlier the better.
4. The pitcher needs to continue rotating around the front hip after release.
The one part of the deceleration phase that doesn't make intuitive sense to me is the one that helped me understand Tim Lincecum's problem: number three on the list, pronation of the arm.
The deceleration phase is very important to the health of the pitcher. During a pitch, the shoulder exceeds 7,000 degrees per second of internal rotation for adult pitchers, which is considered the fastest human movement and clearly requires a proper deceleration phase. Obviously, the stress placed on the arm is tremendous, creating substantial injury risk that's only exacerbated by any mechanical flaws in the delivery.
Pronation of the arm is the rotation of the arm such that the surface of the palm is facing downward, which is the opposite of supination. This early rotation of the arm is designed to reduce stress on the elbow. Early pronation (or supination) of the arm dissipates the momentum of the arm more gradually, rather than the momentum slowing down by the banging of the elbow joint. Insufficient pronation (supination) of the arm is the equivalent of slamming on the brakes of the car every time you want to stop. The more often that happens, the sooner the brakes wear out. It's the same with a pitcher's elbow, as you want the pronation/supination of the arm, rather than the elbow joint, to dissipate the momentum.
Ok, so early (i.e. immediately after releasing the ball) rotation of the arm is a big key to proper deceleration, but how does that help us with Lincecum's struggles? Well, in pitching, the arm rotates in different directions depending on the type of pitch thrown. For example, the arm pronates (i.e. rotates counter-clockwise from the perspective of the pitcher) on fastballs, while the arm supinates (i.e. rotates clockwise from the perspective of the pitcher) on curveballs. On the curveball, pitchers either use supination completely throughout the deceleration phase or after their hand passes around the ball to generate the curveball spin their arm then moves back into pronation to decelerate the arm. Lincecum is actually the latter, so he pronates on the curveball as well, but he still starts with supination on his curveball.
Here's a photo of Tim Lincecum throwing a fastball, notice the pronation of the arm upon release:
|Courtesy: Unknown
When throwing the curveball, the arm supinates upon release, as demonstrated by the Navy pitcher in the photo below:
|Courtesy: Unknown
So, back to my original question: how could Lincecum miss up-and-in with the fastball on one pitch, then down-and-away with the curveball on the next? How can one flaw result in mistakes up-and-in AND down-and-away?
Well, it seems clear that the above photos set forth the reason for the bouncing curveball and high-and-tight fastball. Lincecum suffered from one flaw, but it was obscured by the difference between pronation (fastballs missing up-and-in) and supination (curveballs bouncing short and to the first base side). Simply put, Tim Lincecum's flaw in 2012 was a slight lag in his pitching arm.
Lincecum was able to pitch well for stretches, but inevitably the kinetic chain would break. If the arm lags behind, then the body's attempt to pull the arm along in the kinetic chain will exacerbate the effect of the pronation/supination of the arm. If the arm lags, then the coordinated movements of the body will be out of sync and the arm won't have the same snap in the delivery. The delivery will be inefficient, reducing the force generated. The shoulder rotation will begin before the arm is up in proper position, as a result the shoulder rotation will be farther along than normal when the pitching hand reaches the release point.
Given that the shoulder rotation was farther along than normal when his pitching hand reached the release point, the rotation would naturally pull the arm towards the first base side. Such an effect would exacerbate the natural pitching arm action, be it supination or pronation.
Consequently, if the shoulder rotation pulled the arm to the first base side on a curveball (supinate), then a bounced pitch to the first base side is the natural result. Further, if the rotation pulled the arm to the first base side on a fastball (pronate), then the natural result would be missing up and in to righthand hitters. In both instances, the pitching arm is unable to catch up to the upper body rotation, but the pitcher holds onto the curveball longer to finish the pitch, whereas the fastball leaves the hand sooner and is pushed up-and-in by the shoulder rotation and lagging pitching arm.
While I think this explanation addresses most of the symptoms of his struggles, the reason why the struggles emerged is much more complicated.
The problem that caused his struggles was that his arm lagged behind in his delivery. What I can't determine is the reason for the lag. I have two theories. First, his arm speed was simply diminished. Second, that he, in some way, altered his arm swing, increasing the distance his arm had to travel to reach the release point and causing his arm to lag behind his upper body rotation.
As to the first, if the arm itself slowed down, then it would naturally lag behind the normal tempo of his delivery. If that's the case, then the follow-up question is whether that's reversible or permanent. One interesting aspect of Lincecum's struggles is the weight fluctuation that he has undergone over the last several offseasons. Two offseasons ago, Lincecum felt that added weight, in the form of increased muscle mass, would increase his durability and keep him strong later in the season. Despite a solid season, he wasn't happy with the added weight. As a result, last offseason he committed to dropping the weight. One viable theory is that he dropped too much weight, too quickly and that his strength suffered as a result. That could also explain his inconsistency, as the rapid weight loss could also have affected his stamina and balance. That could be a legitimate reason for a decrease in arm speed.
If, on the other hand, the arm itself is simply not able to move as fast as did in previous seasons, then arm lag could be a permanent problem. But, in light of the fact that he has shown flashes of his old velocity and the lack of any evidence of injury, it seems unlikely to be permanent.
As to the second, I don't see any indication that his arm-swing has changed. It's possible that it has, but given his flashes of good performance, it seems unlikely. It would seemingly require him to use one type of arm-swing during his good innings and another during his bad ones.
In the end, Lincecum's struggles in the 2012 season seem related to a broken kinetic chain, causing him to lose velocity and command. The chain appeared to break due to a lagging arm, which prevented the shoulder rotation from properly pulling the arm around in the delivery. The tell-tale signs for me were the 55-foot curveball and high-and-tight fastball that popped up in his big innings.
While the reason for the arm lag remain unclear, it seems like the type of problem that can be corrected. Hopefully, an offseason dedicated to rebuilding any lost strength and refining his mechanics can see him return to the pitcher he was prior to the 2012 season. The Cy Young seasons may not be coming back, but there's no reason he can't return to being the top flight pitcher he was in 2010 and 2011. I remain cautiously optimistic that the Freak can return to form in 2013.


text:
S&P/TSX Composite Index
The TSX stock exchange defines an index as a statistical measure of the state of the stock market, based on the performance of certain stocks. The performance of the index is typically viewed as a broad indicator of the direction of the economy. Originally known as the TSE 300 the composite index was created in 1977, with a base level of 1000 as of 1975. Through the years the index consisted of a sample of 300 companies, though the companies that comprised the index varied from year to year. Stocks were dropped when they no longer met exchange requirements for size and liquidity.
Effective May 1st, 2002 the index has been managed by Standard & Poor's Corp. of New York. The name was changed from the TSE 300 to the S&P/TSX Composite Index. Along with the S&P branding came new rules. Tougher criteria for meeting size and liquidity standards were imposed and there is now no fixed number of companies in the index. Since May 2002 the number of companies has dropped from 300 to 212 as of November of 2003.
SEO in Vancouver is the provider of SEO Services for the webpage TSX-Today. Our webpage gets thousands of visits. Thanks to SEOinVancouver TSX-Today now ranks on Page 1 in Both Bing and Yahoo for the super competitive keyword TSX. If you are looking for SEO Canada or SEO Vancouver, please visit SEO in Vancouver. Simply the BEST for SEO Canada!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|General software and network General OS-independent software and network questions, X11, MTA, routing, etc.
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
What are you guys running in lieu of Dropbox? I have been off in Linux-land for a while, where I got hooked on Dropbox to automatically sync files across multiple systems/OSes. It's been an awesome alternative to emailing myself a bunch of files all the time, especially since it it seamless...just save the file and it's automatically updated on the other computers.
That being said, my dependency on Dropbox over the past couple of years has resulted in most of my work/school documents being stored on the Dropbox server. Because my FreeBSD laptop is the odd man out from several computers capable of running a native client, I'm wondering if there exists a method of staying in sync with the Dropbox server. What tricks do you use? Or is there a cross-platform alternative to the service Dropbox provides?
I don't know much about dropbox, but it doesn't look very appealing.. I'd rather pay for a dedicated server running software I know works.
That said, there is one service I remember seeing mentioned on the OpenBSD ports mailing lists.
Tarsnap, apparently this was done by a FreeBSD developer.
Source is available for the client, but it is not open source, you can't modify it legally, and you can't even use it if you're a Canadian.
It's not free, costs money.
I think I can get it working using sitecopy from ports/www. Will report back later.
The only thing better than dropbox is ssh -X followed by running screen or tmux.
Trust me, I've tried. Or should I say, there's nothing better unless your network is a lot more bland than mine.
My Journal
Thou shalt check the array bounds of all strings (indeed, all arrays), for surely where thou typest ``foo'' someone someday shall type ``supercalifragilisticexpialidocious''.
Okay, here's a workaround:
Go to https://dav.dropdav.com This provides WebDAV access to Dropbox.
Sign up with your regular Dropbox username (email@example.com) and password.
Install www/cadaver from ports.
Cadaver is similar to ftp or whatever, except it works with webdav hosts. So you do 'open dav.dropdav.com' and authenticate using your Dropbox username/password combo. Then you can pull everything using mget or mput, just hit '?' to get a list of commands. This works for now.
If you need to change your DropDav account info, or delete your account from accessing Dropbox, go to https://dropdav.com/account.php.
There ought to be a way to use www/sitecopy from ports so that you can auto-synchronize like the Dropbox daemon. But when I run 'sitecopy --fetch Dropbox' I get:
sitecopy: Fetching site `Dropbox' (on dav.dropdav.com in /)
sitecopy: Failed to fetch file listing for site `Dropbox':
sitecopy: XML parse error at line 21: not well-formed (invalid token)
Anyway, using cadaver works at least well enough to manually fetch/update the Dropbox contents. Not having auto-sync is something I can deal with. It beats using the web-interface.
|android, dropbox, keepass, rsync
|Thread Tools
|Display Modes
Linear Mode


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Making It Work
August 28, 2013
Internships are learning experiences that give students a competitive edge. To make summer opportunities more widely accessible, our Career Development Center awards grants to help students support themselves while they gain real-world experience in their fields of interest.
The grants come in the form of the Stephanie Fowler and Irving Levin Summer Internship Award and the Miller Internship Award.
Our students can use the grants for internships here in Portland, as the students in this video have done, or anywhere else in the world.
Career Development Center Lewis & Clark Admissions


text: DryJoys Tour XP and FJ HydroLite outerwear are made up of advanced technology-packed materials that deliver 100% waterproof, breathable protection for golfers in windy and rainy conditions. Make Every Day Playable with Tour-Proven FJ Outerwear, The #1 Outerwear in Golf. - 2-Year Waterproof Warranty: FootJoy warrants that this piece of outerwear will be waterproof in normal use for two years (U.S. Warranty). - HydroLite System: The HydroLite System is a 100% waterproof shell. Combining lightweight fabrics with a bonded liner, makes this DryJoys piece the lightest garment ever produced by FJ. - Storm Flap: A storm flap is located along the outside and inside of the zipper to provide additional protection from the elements. - Four-Way Stretch Fabric: This performance fabric offers extreme comfort and allows complete range of motion during the golf swing. - Waterproof Zipper: A waterproof front zipper allows for easy-on and easy-off wear, while protecting you from the elements. - Seam Sealed: Seam sealed for complete waterproofing. - Scorecard Pocket: A scorecard pocket makes for easy storage and retrieval.


text:
Multi-Store Wardrobe Insert – Extra Wide 3 x Drawer Unit – 745h x 608w x 450d – White melamine wardrobe organizer
Multi-Store Wardrobe Insert – Fully Assembled
The Multi-Store Wardrobe Inserts offers a practical range of wardrobe storage solutions in different widths & heights, giving you the flexibility to combine different sized units for optimum use of space.
Multi-Store Wardrobe Inserts are fully assembled, making installation quick and easy.
Accessories and are for display purposes only and are not included unless specifically nominated. Prices may vary due to various factors including but not limited to freight, packaging and insurance. All prices include GST. Any photos or illustrations shown on the web site are for illustrative purposes only and may vary, as may availability of products.


text:
Don't worry about the fitment; let us take care of that. Our experts can recommend the best fitment for your vehicle. Every wheel and tire is checked for quality and packaged with the utmost care to ensure your order arrives without any damage. The year, make and model of your vehicle is all we need to secure the proper fitment for your car or truck. With over 50 years of experience, put our knowledge to work for you. Let us help you with your All Star package.
We are the professionals. Let us worry about the fitment. All you need to worry about is finding the wheel and tire package of your dreams. With the year, make and model, we have all the necessary information we need to secure the proper fitment for your car or truck. Please note: if you already have a modified suspension please inform your All Star representative to help guarantee fit. Order your All Star package today!


text:
(This is the first episode of a new series I'm calling "Implosion". It will evolve over time…)
Never before has this generation been standing on such a precipice. What happens between now and Election Day will define our country's future. Pick wisely!
From her comments on Benghazi to her unwavering belief in free elections, I think Governor Palin would agree with me.
Cross-posted from RodericDeane.com


text:
Parrott Academy shot a school-record 275 and capped a perfect season in conference play by winning the Eastern Plains Independent Conference championship at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary on Tuesday.
Tournament champion Wes Simmons shot a 66, followed by 69s from EPIC Player of the Year Jack Sides and Riley Davis. Matt Simmons rounded out the scoring with a 71.
The Patriots went 28-0 in league play this year. Wes Simmons and Davis earned all-conference honors along with Matt Simmons and James Stroud.
Parrott will compete in the NCISAA 3A state tournament May 13-14 at Bryan Park in Greensboro.
KINSTON 1, WILSON BEDDINGFIELD 0: At Kinston, the Vikings knocked off the Bruins and are a win away from sharing the Eastern Plains 2A Conference title.
Hannah Vermillion scored on an assist from Shannon Mayo with about 9 minutes left to play. The Vikings outshot Beddingfield 9-4.
Kinston (4-9-2, 3-2-0) hosts league-leading Tarboro tonight at 7 for a chance to share the conference title.
PARROTT ACADEMY 2, CARY CHRISTIAN 1: At Cary Christian, the Patriots continued their quest for a league title.
Langley Mills scored on an assist from Jana Warren to tie it at 1, then Holden Arthur secured the win with a goal assisted by Jackie Pilato.
Parrott (11-4-2, 10-2-1) hosts Rocky Mount Faith Christian today.
SOUTH LENOIR 11, CLINTON 1, 5 INN.: At South Lenoir, the Blue Devils scored eight runs in the fifth inning to put the East Central 2A Conference game away.
Grant Tyndall went 2-for-2 with three RBIs and scored two runs, Garrett Holland went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs, Will Graves went 2-for-2 and scored three runs, Brett Davis drove in two runs and Jake Villabona had an RBI for South Lenoir.
Wyatt Janning held the Dark Horses to three hits, struck out five and gave up one earned run � a home run to Jacob Taylor in the third.
The Blue Devils (10-9, 7-6) wraps up league play at home against East Duplin on Friday.
SOUTH LENOIR 16, CLINTON 0, 5 INN.: At South Lenoir, the Blue Devils routed the Dark Horses in a conference game. No other details were reported.
South Lenoir (16-3, 10-2) hosts Richlands on Thursday.
ERWIN TRITON 4, NORTH LENOIR 2: At Triton, North Lenoir saw its season end in the first round of the Eastern Carolina 3A Conference tournament. No other details were reported.
North Lenoir finished the season 5-11.
SL BOYS FINISH FOURTH IN EC2A CHAMPIONSHIPS: At Swansboro, the Blue Devils finished fourth in the East Central 2A Conference championships.
Team scores were: Swansboro 149, Jacksonville Northside 118, Richlands 109, South Lenoir 50, East Duplin 35, Croatan 35, Topsail 33 and Clinton 26.
Top four finishers for the Blue Devils were: Hunter Bryan, fourth, 400-meter dash, 52.76 seconds; Ivan Covarrubias, fourth, 800-meter run, 2:12; Mason Zeagler, third, 1,600-meter run, 4:47; Zeagler, second, 3,200-meter run, 10:23; Maquyse Jackson, third, 300-meter hurdles, 44.37 seconds; Tanner Dixon, second, discus, 117-feet, 7-inches; Robert Simmons, fourth, discus, 115-feet, 3-inches; Bryce Floyd, first, wheelchair shot put (10-feet, 4-inches), wheelchair discus (26-feet, 3-inches), wheelchair 100 meters (42.49 seconds) and wheelchair 200 meters (1:33.59).
The girls championships will be held on Thursday at Swansboro.
WENDELL CORINTH HOLDERS 7, KINSTON 2: At Wendell, the Vikings saw their season come to a close in the first round of the NCHSAA state 2A dual-team playoffs. Kinston finished its season at 8-5. Singles: 1. William Xia (CH) d. Dan Hoang 6-0, 6-3; 2. Koty Wojeski (K) d. Cade Greer 6-3, 6-1; 3. Braxton Brewington (CH) d. Julian Quintero 6-2, 6-2. 4. Jake Altman (CH) d. Stan Vanclooster 6-0, 7-5; 5. Christian Green (CH) d. Matthew Burwell 7-5, 6-1; 6. David Orcutt (CH) d. Nicolas Romero 6-3, 6-0. Doubles: 1. Xia/Greer (CH) d. Hoang/Wojeski 8-1; 2. Brewington/Green (CH) d. Quintero/Vanclooster 8-5; 3. Burwell/Romero (K) d. Altman/Orcutt 8-6.
PARROTT ACADEMY 6, CARY CHRISTIAN 3: At Cary Christian, the Patriots improved to 11-2 overall and 10-1 in league play. Singles: 1. Kyle Lynch (CC) d. Miller Stallings 6-2, 6-1; 2. Jackson Perry (APA) d. Blake Ledlow 6-0, 6-0; 3. Parth Patel (APA) d. Ethan Bolden 6-1, 6-2; 4. Ben Hoover (CC) d. Ridge Mazingo 6-1, 6-2; 5. Jason Farsaie (APA) d. Keaton Long 6-1, 6-1; 6. Neil Sides (APA) d. Brian Finnegan 6-1, 6-0. Doubles: 1. Lynch/Hoover (CC) d. Stallings/Mazingo 8-1; 2. Perry/Patel (APA) d. Ledlow/Bolden 8-2; 3. Farsaie/Sides (APA) d. Finnegan/Hayes 8-2,
PARROTT ACADEMY 11, NEW BERN EPIPHANY SCHOOL 3: At Parrott, the Patriots earned a win.
Dale Delaney scored four games, Wyatt Webster scored two goals, Spencer Doyle scored two goals, and Landon Moody, Connor Griggs and Tripp Combs scored a goal each.
The Patriots (5-9) host Topsail High School today.


text:
Christmas, The Holidays, New Years. It's a busy time and it can start to feel a little stressful and overwhelming.
In this week's Weekly Wisdom I share a simple little exercise that I do with my kids every single evening at the dinner table.
It takes minutes and really helps us all shift the overwhelm into peace and presence. (Maybe even something you try at your holiday dinner next weekend?)
Check it out... http://thebetterlife.com/
They say the little things don't mean a lot...they mean everything!
On top of the Weekly Wisdom I also share what my team and I have been working on for over a year that will help you increase your happiness, boost your confidence, teach you how to make more money, and get you healthy in 3-minutes or less each day....completely FREE.
Not to mention help you challenge your friends and family and win awesome prizes!
You'll learn more about the TheBetterLife.com in the video but click HERE to check it out -- http://thebetterlife.com/
It's completely free and we're giving away awesome prizes like iPads, iPhones, and even a Tesla (Yes I'm serious!)
Don't miss it!!
With Love,
Dean Graziosi


text:
SANTA CRUZ — A 22-year-old Watsonville man was robbed of his San Francsico 49ers jersey and a watch recently after three young men on bikes rode up to him near Riverside and Liebrandt aveneus and demanded them after explaining that they had stopped him because he was wearing red, police said.
Officers were called to the area about 12:30 p.m. Friday, spokesman Zach Friend said.
They learned that the victim had been walking from an appointment when one white man and two Latinos, described as ages 18 to 25, rode up on bikes and the white man made a gang claim, Friend said.
The victim told them that he didn't want any trouble and they grabbed his watch and the jersey before riding away on their bikes, he said.
The white suspect was estimated to be about 20 years old and wore a blue hat and a blue and white shirt. One of his companions was estimated to be in his early 20s and had a muscular build and tattoos and wore a green and born shirt. The third was described as 18 years old and wore a white tank top.
Santa Cruz police ask anyone with information on the case to call the anonymous tip line at 420-5995 or leave a tip at www.santacruzpolice.com or on its cellphone application at http://m.santacruzpolice.com.
©2012 Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.)
Visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) at www.santacruzsentinel.com
Distributed by MCT Information Services


text: You might not be good enough to compete at the Olympics, but if you're reading this blog, you're probably adept when it comes to button tapping. So, make the best use of your skill set by playing Google's new Olympics doodle, called Hurdles 2012. Left and right arrow keys to run, space bar to jump... and goodbye to a productive start to the morning. [Google]


text:
IST-Data Services Wiki
Data Services provides stewardship of both academic and administrative data, as well as tools for data presentation, visualization, analysis, and collaboration. Data Services helps prepare the campus for the convergence of IST, Library, ETS, and appropriate external providers. Our Units include:
An Org-chart is shown at the bottom of this page.
DEPARTMENT: IST Data Services - FY11 Goals
UNIT: Data Repository Management (DRM)
- Media Vault Program (MVP)
Key DRM accomplishments - September 2008-2009
UNIT: Services Architecture and Development
- CollectionSpace is a collaboration that brings together a variety of cultural and academic institutions with the common goal of developing and deploying an open-source, web-based software application for the description, management, and dissemination of museum collections information. Visit the project wiki or the community site.
- Project Bamboo is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary, and inter-organizational effort that brings together researchers in arts and humanities, computer scientists, information scientists, librarians, and campus information technologists to tackle the question:How can we advance arts and humanities research through the development of shared technology services? Visit the project website.
- The Delphi project provides a framework of semantic tools and community annotation for museum collections. The open-source toolkit includes linguistic analysis tools and services to produce an easy-to-use faceted browsing UI that makes it simple and fun to explore and understand museum collections. Visit the project website, the deployments wiki, or see it in action on the PAHMA deployment.
- Berkeley Prosopography Services (BPS) is an open-source prosopographical toolkit that generates interactive visualizations of the biological and social connections that link documented individuals, providing a dynamic and heuristic tool for researching historical communities documented in legal and administrative archives. Visit the project site.
UNIT: Enterprise Data Warehouse & Database Services
Data Services Leadership
Data Services Staff
- DS Staff (all-staff meetings and other content for staff in Data Services)


text:
Everton remained unchanged from last week's demolition of Wolves. An early injury to Jonny Heitinga meant Jack Rodwell came into the team, but the formation remained 4-2-3-1. Blackburn setup in a 4-4-1-1 with former Barcelona man Ruben Rochina playing in behind Santa Cruz with wide support from Olsson and Emerton.
Playmaker Head to Head
The first half was something of a non event. Without Hoilett Blackburn lacked any real penetration or ability to get in behind the Everton defence, shown by the fact they only registered one shot on target in the entire match. Rochina was deployed off Santa Cruz as Blackburn's principal playmaker and had some decent touches but there was no real runners in behind our backline for him to pick a pass with – Santa Cruz is good with his back to goal but less of a threat in behind. We possessed a tad more variety in the final third with the pace of Beckford, power of Magaye and movement of Billy and Osman.
The below chalkboard compares Rochina's passing with Everton's principal playmaker Leon Osman. Whilst Rochina had good pass completion figure (74%) which is well above his team's average of 64%, he fails to register one successful pass into Everton's penalty box. Compare this to Osman who had a pass completion of 80% (also above his teams average of 70%) but delivers more incision, with 7 of his passes penetrating the Blackburn penalty box. Osman's goal topped of a great all-round performance as the diminutive schemer again took the plaudits for a stand out display.
Blackburn tire/Blues get goals
The Blues showed more incision in the second period as Blackburn began to fade, fitting in with the belief that Rovers are something of a first half team (before the game based on 1st half results they would have been in a Champions League spot). The % of Blackburn's overall passes made in Everton's final third dropped 10% in the second period from 32% to 22% as their forwards looked increasingly isolated with their defensive line dropping as the second period continued. Everton's second goal was an example of this, as Leighton Baines was able to run 60 yards without being challenged. The full back then rolled the ball into the Blackburn box for Osman to tee up Coleman, who was rashly taken out by Phil Jones. It was a leggy challenge which summed up a Rovers side that had run out of steam.
Another good win for the Blues who have now taken 17 from the last 21 available points. Inspired by Osman and playing in a system which seems to suit the personell we have available at the moment, it was a fairly routine win against a Blackburn side who suffered from a below par second half display.


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Fez is amazing! But everyone has translated the alphabet sideways. SPOILERS!
Fez is a really great game! I had no idea it had so many puzzles and riddles…I thought it was just a quirky platformer puzzle game. So you should totally buy it, not read anything else about it, and try to figure it out yourself. You can "beat" the game without solving too much, but it's the rest of the game that has all the mysteries. It has a whole alphabet you need to decipher, and that's the main reason for this post. So MAJOR SPOILERS ahead!


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The 1984 hit "Footloose" is all about dancing, and was in part filmed in Lehi, Utah.
Now, a video made by a 6th-grade teacher at Meadow Elementary School in Lehi is cutting footloose by trending on social media.
In the video, teacher Collin Seastrand brings each one of his 6th-grade students on stage to share a unique handshake and dance, all while still in their Sunday shoes.
Each student had their own handshake that Seastrand memorized and performed with each student.
Seastrand told 2News:
At the beginning of every year I have them come up with handshakes... they teach me [the handshakes] and then I memorize [the handshakes] and we do them every single day as they come in in the morning and when they leave in the afternoon.
Seastrand has been doing the custom handshakes with his students for the past two years:
I wanted to have a personalized thing with each of them. Doing it first thing in the morning helps the kids know and feel [that] I'm excited for them, [for] each individual to be here. They can be having a bad morning and when they get to my door I can tell. Sometimes they'll do the handshake all glumly, and it gives me an opportunity to notice it and address it and help them make sure they know they are loved and we try to turn their day around.
On the Facebook video, which was posted May 29, Seastrand says:
Sad it's over tomorrow. This year was a special one.


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Whether on land or in the water we are all aware of the cardiovascular benefits of a good aerobic activity. Aqua aerobics, also known as water aerobics, allows for a safer and healthier exercise as compared to other forms of exercise, mainly because aqua exercises are considered low impact thereby reducing strain on your bones, muscle and joints. Ninety percent of the weight is supported by water.
When water aerobics were first introduced in the early 1980s all you needed after registration at your local pool or fitness center was a bathing suit. Perhaps also a bathing cap and/or nose plugs. Back then you didn't have a choice of what type of class you could take that you would benefit from. It was basically one size fits all. Today you can take water therapy classes and numerous aquatic aerobics from passive/beginner to advanced.
Aerobic exercises have really come a long way since its beginning of simply jogging in shallow water. And today's aquatic programs incorporate not only music, but video too. Aquatic exercises have applied more than 100 types of other aerobics to encourage maximum results.
Equipment used in today's aquatic programs also differs from yesterday's, and varies depending on the program you join. A water weight, floating belt and other gear may need to be purchased. These items increase water resistance and help in floatation and balance. You can also purchase chorine resistant swimsuits and other high-functioning swimwear, which is a great investment over time.next article >>


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We Really, Really Don't Need New Consoles
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I don't want a new console unless it can make me a cup of coffee. Seriously. It doesn't make to make an upgrade at this point. If your fancy new machine can't play my last generation games or function without the internet there to hold it's hand, in what way is it an upgrade? Unless it can make coffee.
Time to save up for a new graphics card...
You could always get an Ouya, Yahtzee. Imagine the fun! Just imagine it.
Uh, yes? And yes, and yes, and- maybe not for the specific reasons Yahtzee cites, but yes again?
I've been saying much the same for a while now, though I'm reasonably content to wear the "doomsayer" placard. The cost of games development is skyrocketing, the sale price hasn't kept up, people aren't willing to spend more on the games, the means they've come up with to bridge those cost gaps are largely questionable at best and self-destructive and audience-insulting at worst. The cost of manufacturing hardware is such that companies selling their consoles at a loss has gone from unthinkable to all but Standard Operating Procedure, and the cost of creating games that justify the new hardware promises no end to the above trends in sight.
But, much as I love my PC, I don't feel unfettered optimism in that area, either. The PC seems to be getting more exclusive games and more games developed for it cross-media this year than ever, and that's great. But Windows 8 suggests a disturbing trend of Microsoft trying to create a more closed market in which they can maintain a greater control in the hopes of creating a space where they have the kind of presence that Google and Apple enjoy today. And neither Google nor Apple seems like its about to re-create the combination of power and open development in their platforms that Microsoft seems in a hurry to squander. I'm no more in a hurry to do all my gaming on a Android or Apple tablet than Yahtzee is to shelve all his PS3 and XBox 360 libraries.
My prognosis remains: major video game market crash within five years. Would be happy to be wrong; don't see a way through.
Don't bother they are all shitty broken ports or break if you have the wrong companies GPU and steam is getting worse every weak with bullshit EULA's that if you don't sign all the games you've paid for are inaccessible.
But you ignored all my reasons why this isn't true. How come CDProjekt has no trouble making a AAA game with better graphics but SquareEnix loses money on Tomb Raider? It's not the visuals - the Witcher 2 looks better. The Witcher 2 is not a smaller game either. SE are just doing it wrong.
There is absolutely no indication that the new console generation will be more powerful than current top of the line PCs. Some companies are already making games for those PCs, and they aren't losing money either. You just ignored my statement about the textures involved too. I'll change my mind on this as soon as someone explains what all these new costs are and why they're different than the costs current companies are already paying and still making plenty of money.
Seriously, the first few years of this console generation will just be comparable to the current PC versions with all the bells and whistles (High AA, PhysX or something comparable, hig res textures, etc.) turned on. These things already exist.
You. You should post more.
The latest numbers that are coming at the end of the longest console generation in the history of the medium?
I love the PS3, but the fact that it did as well as it did this generation was an amazement, and it's been in second place most of the way. Don't discount the 360's legacy.
Personally, while I do hope that losses (probably a crash) will be good for the console industry, I'll be sad to see it go. At least the Playstation brand, anyway. The PS3, as clunky and as neglected by Sony as it was, was the home to some truly great games that just wouldn't have been the same on a keyboard or a PC. I don't care how compatible the PC is with gamepads: Uncharted, Infamous, and God of War simply wouldn't have been the same.
Just . . . I'm being sentimental, I know. I want companies to learn from their mistakes and stop the self-destructive business practices that got them here in the first place. If that takes a market crash, I'm fully prepared to weather it.
But damn, man. I just wish it hadn't come to this.
The next console I buy better plug me into it directly, Matrix style, to actually experience and feel the gameplay. :P
PS4 and Xbox another one, as well as the Wii U, aren't going to cut it for me.
What it all boils down to, I don't know.
But what I do know is that this is the first new console generation that I'm dreading. The bad is just starting to outweigh the good for me.
Yeah, there are two hopeful endgames there. Either Microsoft doens't make Windows 9 a closed market or Valve somehow actually manage to kickstart Linux gaming. As much as I would like it to happen, the latter seems unlikely. However, even if it only serves a small market, if Linux gaming does grow greatly that might be the thing that gets Microsoft to wise up and do everything the can to actually support PC gaming.
In the end, no company can stop the PC from being open. If MS does try it, I think the combined efforts of the internet and MS's partners will find a solution.
Or not and maybe I'll start reading more ...
He kinda touched on that you know, the whole "why have a new console generation with zero games and backwards compatibility if you have almost a decade worth of games on cheaper consoles" thing he talked about.
I don't really care for consoles to be honest. To me it started to go downhill when the ability to simply plop in a game and play it was lost. Wasn't that one of the main strengths of consoles? That if your dad had to do a spreadsheet or design something on the PC you could just grab the SNES and play Super Metroid or Super Mario World instead. Now they're all some kind of hybrid between a PC and a DVD/Blu-ray reader, so what's the point? Besides, mobile phones games are going to get larger I think, laptops are getting more and more powerful and USB's being, well, universal (so you can plug pretty much any controller and have it work), I really don't see the point on the ongoing console wars. Looks more like a opening for bile between fans rather than an improvement on gaming.
And this is ultimately the reason why PC gaming will never die. Consoles might go under, but PCs are multi-purpose machines that can also handle games. Even if the console market crashes, you'll still have use for computers that you won't have for consoles, thus someone will always be able to make PC games.
At this point, I don't care if the console market crashes. I've got a PS2 and a healthy library of games and there are still used stores around here that sell PS2 and PS1 games. If the console market crashes, I'm set until something comes along to revive it.
Sounds like the ideal conditions for the PC platform to come back.
Consoles are still good for now .in terms of graphics just look at god of war III . right now developers need to focus more on smoothing out there games. one example that comes to mind is skyrim ,its lore in the books don't reflect the real world .(off topic) Fps games need more variety in gameplay . hack and slashes are a good source , god of war focuses on quick responses overpowering enemies while dmc(classic) is suited for style and continues combat
Let's start out by saying Nintendo Wii U's performance is more or Less, On Par at the moment. Monthly sales are lower than usual, but total Sales are ahead of the last generation, Wii Aside. You can't really expect another Wii.
Honestly, I think you hit the nail on the Head with your arguments against the PS4 and Xbox. Triple A Game Development is on the verge of Collapse. There is no way to sustain the cost of development on the Current Gens capabilities. Trying to push these consoles' Next Gen to their limits will mean a Hit with turn a small profit and a flop will fold a company. Every other negative you pointed out has me Glad I opted in to the Wii U.
Nintendo is doing just about everything you recommended. They are lowering Development Costs and trying to Pull the Industry back from the Competitions obsession with the Pinnacle of Graphics Technology. This next gen will not be noticeably better to the average person anyway. Where Sony is trying to build an on console Facebook, Nintendo is focusing on new ways to play. Let us not forget, they are also fully backward compatible, not just the games either.
I think where you have missed your mark insisting we do not need a new Gen. Let's face it, the Gameplay on PS3 and 360 is well beyond Stale. People have long since gotten over the Wiis Motion Control Craze. Kinect and Move were a total fail. Most importantly, the Games, which were good when they came out, are now on Sequel number three, four, five and, in Call of Duties Case, Eight. Most of these Sequels have seen little if any gameplay evolution and are more or less re-skinned versions of their predecessors.
We desperately need a new console generation. A Generation that Focuses on new and innovative gameplay. Not the Highest End Possible Graphics and Social Media integration. I think, if anyone, Nintendo has seen the Path forward. Touch Screen Controls are not new, but they are new to Console Quality Gaming. The Big Name Developers, the EAs and Activisions, are a lost cause. Nintendo is right not to beg them for Support. Nintendo is targeting the Next Generation of Innovative Developers. They are going for the Indies. Of course it is going to start out slow. It will most likely be a blood bath of Failed Indie after Failed Indie, but some of them will make it. With success comes money and with money comes Higher Quality games. When they start work on the Project of their Dreams, they will remember that it was Nintendo that helped them Break into the Console Market. It is Nintendo that will let them make and publish the games they love at a reasonable cost with all the gameplay mechanics they could hope for.
Nintendo doesn't require Developers to use it's "Gimmicky" controllers. They even made the Pro Controller just for the Big Companies to use on ports. But in the End, no matter what kind of game you want to make, Nintendo has the Technology you need to bring it to a massive audience, on a unified platform, at a reasonable price.
Thanks Yahtzee, you reminded me that I need to give my PC a look-over pretty soon to see if there's anything that needs upgrading.
What do you expect?
Nice work missing my point. It matters not what the state of the Halo franchise is now (and frankly, your accusations that 343 are incompetent are staggeringly opinion based). It doesn't necessarily even matter about the success of the console either. The argument presented is that new hardware is not enough, that we need quality games to go with it and actually do something with that hardware.
I used Halo because it's an example of a game no one saw coming. Sure, it had interest when it was announced as part of the launch line up but I don't think anyone expected the rather generic sounding sci-fi shooter debuting as an exclusive for an underestimated console to be as huge a success as it was. My point is simply that we don't know what's around the corner. We don't know that all this talk of 'always online' and lack of backwards compatibility is absolutely going to prevent fresh ideas from kicking the industry up the butt and back into action.
I also don't buy any of your arguments about either console as a failed return on investment or this concept of 'staying power'. Raw numbers may seem to paint both Xboxes as a loss, but don't even try and pretend you know how Microsoft manages its money. I mean, the consoles are manufactured at a loss! Unless you can quote me figures on how well MS subsidises Xbox production on licensing and similar fees paid to them by other companies for using their system, I will remain skeptical about any unsubstantiated claims you have for me about how current Xbox sales are a precursor to poor game development in the next generation.
No. Because that hasn't happened yet. Naysaying don't make it so. All I'm calling for is more of wait and see attitude. If the next gen does prove impossible to develop for, if 'alien hardware' (seriously, wtf is that?) really does 'triple programming costs' (not what you said, but I think what you were implying), if no dev studio 'takes chances' and we're left with a horrible grey clones of games for the next ten years, then by all means come gloat at me.
These dire predictions just have no real basis other than scraps of journalistic fear mongering from around the internet of all things. Also, this.
That specifically, but everything else in that post is good too. More people should listen to this guy.
Thanks :). One tries, but adamantly fence-sitting really chafes after a couple of posts.
Pretty much this, the AAA industry really hasn't been doing to well. As a rule I really think it's doomed. Also Nintendo for the love of god get some new IPs. I really feel sorry for developers who are forced to churn out mario game after mario game or zelda etc etc
I really need to watch out for this mystical creature that appears from the ether and devours your previous gen hardware the moment you buy something new. It's odd because I own still working hardware and games dating back to the Intellivision and I've never seen it.
I'm sorry, but backwards compatibility is not that big of a deal. Sure, it's a nice convenience, but it's far from a game breaking issue. Just keep using your old console for your old games if you really want to play them that badly. Then, in a few months at most, when you're probably not playing the old console much at all, disconnect it but keep it handy. Non-existent problem solved.
Argh. I'm so sick of this argument.
They're building the PS4 around the idea of making it easier and cheaper for developers to make games for the console. If they don't participate in some sort of ill-advised graphical arms race in gaming, then the PS4 should make the entire thing more profitable for developers. The models and textures are pretty darn good on PS3, the hardware just isn't powerful enough to do them justice, so you get texture popin and shoddy framerates on so many games. The cramped memory is also a massive issue.
I think all around the PS4 shouldn't increase costs for the majority of developers on it. It'll only increase costs for those idiotic studios that think they have to bump the models and textures up until the new consoles bog down to 25fps and completely run out of memory again.
Games like Borderlands 2 and Rage are already at next-gen levels of graphical fidelity, they're just having trouble trying to run on hardware that's been around way longer than it should have.
I agree with you and Yahtzee both. I'd love to see some of those games be ported to PCs, or developed for them. But I haven't been a console gamer for a long time now and I wouldn't get one of the new generation for exactly the reason Yahtzee says. What's the point? It's an investment in games that may never even be developed.
Well, it's better than Yahtzee rattling off against jRPGs or Nintendo. Oh wait, this counts off as rattling off against Nintendo, I think.
Though in this case the Wii U kind of deserves it. It has been fairly terrible the past few months. I do have hope it might pick up.
I agree with the sentiment that the "AAA" industry is bloated. Honestly, the indie section of the video games industry anywhere is the healthiest right now. The West, or Europe and American and other colonies of Europe and their games, are being pretty dominated by basically overly large budget games about guns. Square Enix and Capcom as well seem to be losing money chasing this audience.
And for Japan, the most prominent in game development outside of the West, is having many of its own struggles. Attempting to cope with new technologies has sunk a lot of franchises and genres. Japanese RPGs have moved to handhelds because most have given up attempting to make a Japanese RPG on demanding consoles. And when done console jRPGs usually take up few of the resources actually provided by consoles.
And Devil May Cry is dying. And Castlevania. And Mega Man. And Final Fantasy has crashed and burned. And it is reflective of both the East and West having different kinds of failings when adapting to new technology.
I kind of like the fact that this is happening. I want the AAA industry to burn up and shrivel into something else. If this new console generation can help kill off the problems in the gaming culture quicker, all the better. I hope that this generation can help many developers and publishers to give up chasing graphics.
And that's why I'm a console gamer and have always been one. Around the time of the SNES there were some nice PC titles. Point and click adventures. Scorched earth. But they never gave such an impressive experience as what the SNES offered at the time.
And even then I liked a lot of the PC genres than a lot of the stuff that dominates the PC now like first person shooters. I'll take point and click adventure games over a first person shooter any day.
I'm becoming a little more of a PC gamer due to that changing. The PC is starting to get more and more console friendly titles. There are several JRPGs and Fighting games now coming to the PC. When the console is doing well, PC genres tend to migrate to consoles. When the PC is doing well, console genres tend to migrate to the PC. I think that is what is happening right now and will continue to happen as I don't perceive consoles killing off interest in PC gaming this generation.
Again, I'm not a PC gamer primarily because I tend to prefer console gaming genres. But that is all changing as the PC is getting more games in those genres that I care about.
I will say one thing. This is the first time I have truly not been excited for a new console generation in my life. And had no other incentive to buy a new incentive whatsoever to buy a console other than Japanese exclusives like RPGs. There's undoubtedly going to be some Konami, Bandai Namco, Gust, Grasshopper, Atlus, Nippon Ichi, or Arc System Works game that is not for the PC and I just have to play.
Well-said, Yahtzee.
I've been a console gamer all my life and I am also investing in PC gaming as a safe-guard for enjoyment next generation. I need it to fall back onto in the case that the probable 2nd Video Game Crash happens and the whole industry spends months, if not years, re-evaluating its system.
That said, I'm still hopeful with the PS4. I'm waiting to see what they show at E3 and anything else before launch. If they can fix the backwards-compatibility problem and smoothing over the social system on the platform so it seems less intrusive then I might get it. Same with the Durango. If it isn't always-online and has the right library at launch, I might feel like getting one.
Eh. I don't know if this will the the "last" traditional console generation or not. I do know that people will continue to have computational hardware hooked up to their TV which plays games. Maybe the big three will make consoles so attractive that all of the developers will come back. Maybe the Steam box will take over and everyone will have tiny modular pc'esq boxes. Who knows! In the long run I'm not sure it matters, and in the short run its not like my feelings, or even Yahtzie's feelings, have any impact.
Yeah, the problem isn't the new generation coming around as much as the reason for why it is coming around, which is to just continue the current console industry trend. Sony at least is admitting they need more than shooters on their console, but at the same time they don't understand at all why some people like myself bought into the playstation brand to begin with. The Playstation was good because it had games for a whole variety of niche crowds: from JRPGs and Action Adventure games, to sports, 2d side scrollers, fighting games, and racing titles. And it did this with reasonable prices and a market that was accepting of used game sales.
Meanwhile, Microsoft is increasingly converting their 360 into a front for commercialization and advertising while adding services that seem to be based around some kind of early frat house stereotype. A pizza ordering app? Do they think the average 360 player does nothing but plays Sports and Shooters while eating junk food on Friday nights, screaming into a microphone? (Now that I think about it they might be right on one or two of those aspects...)
The 360 still doesn't compete with a devoted movie/online streaming box in either price or functionality, it can't compete with even a moderately built PC from Dell for gaming, and it has one of the most useless peripherals ever deployed simply because they thought they could get in on the Wii motion crowd AFTER the Wii motion crowd had their fun and were moving on. On top of which they got the gall to try and force subs when advertising is everywhere, even with Gold Membership.
No, they don't need it. They've got plenty of IP under their own belt.
They keep making Mario and Zelda games because fans want them and they sell millions.
People like you who are sick of them are in the minority. And I feel really envious of developers who have the privilege or working on games for the legendary Zelda and Mario franchises.
To discredit them is to attempt to discredit one of the most important traditions and heritages of video gaming itself. They're not "churning" these games out, like a lot of horribly failed AA or AAA experiments out there. These games come with a gameplay first philosophy, and are well tested for bugs. Lovingly crafted and not pushed through until they are assured of being quality games worth playing.
Nintendo games, Mario and Zelda games, are not "churned out". They are some of the most lovingly crafted, highly polished pieces of art created in the gaming industry today.
Is better visuals really what developers, or whoever's in charge, are going for? Back when Metal Gear Solid 2 came out, I thought graphics would never get better, (Laughter acceptable) thought we could stop trying altogether when I saw Assassin's Creed 1, and a few weeks ago I started playing Just Cause 2, in which I found myself actually stopping to look at the beautiful scenery between blowing things up and murdering government officials and helpless, wrong-place-wrong-time innocents.
Remember Morrowind where you couldn't see 30-ish (I think) meters in front of you? Now we can typically see to the extent the human eye would allow, but not being able to certainly didn't stop me from pouring countless hours into taunting anyone who called me 'outlander' one more goddamn time into attacking me and enchanting my pants with water walking magic.
In short, as was said, pretty environments are nice, but fun gameplay is a touch more important. To avoid sounding like a parrot, I suggest being able to imbue magic in one's trousers be a feature in more games.
We've reached the point where developers can make a clear visual presentation of anything they want. The hardware of our current generation of consoles is not limiting what can be achieved with games, the biggest border is our imagination.
Forget the allusions to eugenics and Nazis, welcome to sensibility.
It's kind of sad seeing the consoles go to the wayside just to pull lame money-making stunts out of their ass.
I would bet that is due to your being unable to meet the minimum requirements, have a bad virus, or one of your parts is defecting(commonly ram). Also console's don't work 100% of the time as the YLOD and RROD are prominent enough to get nicknames.
I find myself agreeing with most of the points, and the one on the lack backwards compatibility especially. You would have thought that Sony had learned something, anything, from the launch of the PS3.
And the lack of compatibility for PSN titles? There is just no excuse.
I can help you with that... For a price. ;)
On modern OS's though, Bluescreening is often caused by Hardware issues. Take it to a certified tech.
I'm leaning with Synobal here. You are free to like what you like, but for me neither of the series are worth my money any more. I received Skyward sword as a gift a while back and my favorite part was when I was on the roller coaster like mine carts in the desert sea. Which pretty much says it all for me I think.
OT: I'm already basically a bin diver because new games are just a bit too pricey for me. So, I'm not happy with the estimated prices of the games going up to $70 U.S. I also live in a part of the US where internet is fairly terrible. So the new generation has a double whammy from me right from the start.
While to much pretty without substance is worthless do not make the common mistake that graphics and gameplay aren't linked. Certain graphics are required and well implemented graphics can be used as gameplay elements.
The other issue is that consoles can't even deliver the current standards consistently.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Most of Nintnedo's IPs get a New Game once, sometimes twice, per console. Nintendo considers 2d and 3d Mario Games as seperate entities. While there is overlap, they both even have their own dedicated fan base. I could see justification in Complaining about all the spin off games featuring Mario, soccer, golf, kart and party. All of those could have easily had their own IP. But people continue to demand sequels to those games too.
Most people don't actual know how many IPs Nintendo owns. A lot of their games come out and people don't realize that it is a Nintendo Property. Games Like Wii Fit aren't even acknowledged as an IP. I don't think I've ever met someone who actually knows Nintendo owns Animal Crossing. There's a lot more to Nintendo's Lineup than Mario, Zelda, Metroid and Star Fox.
Don't get me wrong, I would love to see some new one. Miyamoto has already announced he is working on one. But if you waiting for Nintendo to create the next Call of Duty or Assassin's Creed, your in for a long wait.
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The Council on Physician and Nurse Supply (CPNS) was created in response to the emerging shortage of physicians and the ongoing nurse shortage in the United States.
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With both physician and nurse shortages predicted to escalate by 2020, CPNS has called for an immediate increase in physician and nurse training. If more physicians and nurses cannot be trained, the adverse consequences could include:
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December 2007
Recent Rays Moves………….My View from Rightfield
Here it is a few days from the Winter MLB meetings in Opry-ville and we made a few needed moves that will help define our current and future goals for our squad.
First off, let me get that off my chest right now. I am not a Delmon Young hater in anyway, but, from my seat in Right Field, I could read some of his body language and tell he was just buying time before the poisoned axe or his actions dictated a move to new Fieldturf pastures.
Have fun in the pillow-dome Delmon. You complained about not being able to clearly see balls at the Trop. Wait until you look up in that sea of lights and true white roof at the Metrodome………..you will wish for the grey white roof of the Trop. I do wish him alot of luck in his future and success with that "Young" brothers curse of having a small attitude adjustment problem. His brother seemed to have finally gotten his attitude to shine with the Nats, let's hope it doesn't take Delmon as long to fine the right basepath to being the great teammate. Delmon's departure will come back to haunt us at times,…………..but only for 6 or 7 games a year.
Now the players we got for Delmon are quality guys. Matt Garza is a young player that can br dialed into this rotation for years and will be a positive and needed upgrade to our constantly inproving and maturing pitching staff. Garza has not even hit the stride in his career yet, so the sky is the limit right now with him.
By the way, in Garza's last 2007 start in, he pitched 6.2 innings with 4 hits and 1 ER against the Royals and Lost the game. We will take 6.2 inning outting any day with only 1 ER…….with the offensive power we have on our roster right now, it should always be a "W" with the Rays.
The additon of Garza is great because this staff can grow into a huge AL East pitching monster. Scott "The K" Kazmir is just getting started. James Shields was perfecting a few of his pitches last year, and gaining a boatload of knowledge about American League hitters.
Those two will hold down the front of the rotation for a long time. Matt Garza is a great addition to help get those extra ( hopefully) 10-15 wins a year to get close to that hallowed 82-82 mark.
They only curious point to this trade is Jason Barlett,the second player involved in this trade. He is destined to be just a stop-gap fill-in until protege' Reid Brignac is ready to man the 5 hole for years to come. Bartlett hit .265 last year, but only has 10 HR's in his career and only 1,079 AB's in his career. He has primarily been a utility man during his career in the bigs, and this is his first extended playing time in the shortstop position.
Now he knows the role he will play here in Tampa Bay, but who knows, someone could come to camp to even replace him ( maybe Ben Zobrist ). Worst things have happened to our team. Remember Danny Batista and Roberto Alomar retiring from our squad with only days to go in Spring Training. Losing these ex- All-Stars was viewed at the time as a failure by the team. It turned into the emmergance of Jorge Cantu and Jonny Gomes as "go-to" guys for the Rays for that year. So, sometimes a bad look can turn into a solid gold treasure when you only look at the surface of a situation. But that is why we play the games and do not award a trophy for roster potential, but game results.
With that in mind, let me wander a bit. and fantasize here.
Can you go back home again in baseball? Not to a home per se, but to an old team that left you unprotected in the Rule 5 draft, and you selected to a good NL team that did not even know if you could play an entire season because of health and personal concerns.
Josh, I have always wanted success for you and knew that you could and would pull yourself together and show the world what a ture 5-tool player looks like up here. You went on to prove you can play at the highest level and even make their opening day lineup in Right Field. the start of the season offensive expolsion you provided made everyone's jaws dropped in awe. You finally had an entire country knowing you had it in you, and you proved it to everyone.
Hey Josh, I was there the day you came back after your off field problems that took you from baseball and the Rays. I was the Pepsi guy in the locker room talking to Tim M. right before you went out the door of the training complex and first met the media.
I knew then that you had it again. That your head and attitude felt right to me, and I wanted the sky for you. Can you forgive the powers from beyond the Trop's D-rings and just listen to them if they want to trade and include you on our squad. I would cheer and enjoy watching you in Right Field again. And a huge plus that people forget, you can be the left-handed bat that Joe has been searching for in the lineup. Could be a sea of pluses for both the team, and yourself.
Okay, fantasy time is over……… Trade number two might not seem big on paper or even in reality, but it can be the jump start for each player. Elijah Dukes and Glen Gibson both needed a team that wanted them and believed in them. Now I do not think the Rays ever disliked or wanted harm for Elijah. His off-field and on-field distractions just took their toll on himself and the front office. Both parties knew that a change of scenery can work wonders for you, as a person and a player.
I wish you a cartload of homers in that new park Elijah. And we will not see you for about 6 years. It take a few years for the schedule to again list the Nats' as a interleague opponent again.So this trade might be a hidden blessing for you.
Now Glen Gibson is daily becoming a more polished pitcher. Baseball America rated Gibson's changeup and curve the best in the Nats's farm system. Now we know he has inherited talent and a great barometer a phone call away from him. Not every guy has a father that pitched in the majors. That could end up being a hidden blessing for him and the Rays.
Fantasy time again…………this time Minor edition. The Rays' top draft pick last year, David Price has set high expectations of himself and his progression in the Rays farm system this year. Now I will never argue with a Vandy grad, but I just want him to have a shot to know the systems and not rush his progress. When he gets called up to the Big club, he may get hit like a pinball for a few weeks, but being a Southeastern Conference pitcher is a bit of a farm system in its own right. The best have had a rough beginning until they adapt and conquer the unique strike zones and brutal power potential of a MLB batters' box.
I love to hear bravado and throwing caution to the wind, but I think a year in triple-A and a call up down the line could be his best medicine. There are a great amount of talent in Double-A and Triple-A right now biting at the bit to get that Spring Reporting date here and start to show their stuff. Jeff Neimann, Jeff Ridgeway, JP Howell,Mitch Talbot, and ex-big club guys like Chad Orvella, Jae Kuk Ryu want another shot up here as well. And that does not include the future power pitchers scattered in the Montgomery, Columbus, and Vero Beach teams. The future looks really bright for this team in the pitching department.
Having a prospective rotation of………Scott Kazmir, James Shields,Matt Garza, and add any of these current teammates names,………Andy Sonnanstine, Jason Hammel and my favorite, Edwin Jackson to the mix, make for an exciting rotation problem that could win anytime they hit the rubber.
Back to reality. The addition of closer extrodinaire, Troy Percival only makes the 6th through 9th inning a more secure spot for the Rays.
What I am talking about is the fact that Gary Glover,Al Reyes, Dan Wheeler are proven MLB relievers who can make it a challenge for any team to try and score after the starter leaves the game. We have had great relievers before, but never in the middle roles.
I think Reyes showed a huge amount of class in knowing that what is right for the team is great for the future of this squad. I think that is why they picked up his option. There is no doubts or questions he is a plus everytime he hits the mound for us.
He might be the last guy to get the ball on most nights, but he is the first to know that this team has within reach lofty goals, and they are within reach most nights, even in Fenway Park.
Now I have heard a bushel basket of rumors about additons and subtractions to this team. I want to address my views on a few subtractions here.
Delmon might have been a player with a career that will bury his older brothers, but he also has the Young family cancer of that hidden danger and aggression that could ruin all that is good with……..a simple, casual walk to first. Rays' fans know what I am talking about here. I enjoyed watching Aubrey Huff hit for years here, but when he started to jog down to first is when he got that dreaded "Ben Grieve" epidemic. Maybe it is in the aura of Right Field that our players get that attitude and begin to falter right in front of us.
Brendan Harris and Josh Wilson were the "blue collar" guys last year. Each guy experienced a banner year. they got to play ball almost every night and did it the right way. Both got rewarded in different ways.
Brendan got to play in another Dome, but has a great chance to be the everyday guy in the 5 hole up in Minn. Josh Wilson was put on the daily MLB waiver wire with the hopes he could pass through without a hitch. One big hitch, some people actually read those waiver wires daily. The Pirates took a gamble, and got another quality infielder for their rebuilding ballclub. We wish you a ton of success Josh……you did a great job for the short time you were a Rays. Just a reminder, we did get Josh on waivers from the Nationals last year. Karma? you never know.
The last two trades I want to discuss did not happen as of the writing of this blog. That does not mean that the teams are not on their cellphone right now mending the deal or twisting the pieces to fit both teams.
The First is the rumor of Edwin Jackson shipping off to Seattle for 1b/DH Ben Broussard. Now I am a huge "Action" Jackson fan, just ask him (lol). I liked Ben Broussard when he was an Indian, but I think his production has slowly seem a downward spiral. We could have done better even in a rumor than this one. Another rumor had the Mets again this year coveting Jackson. I do not know what the Mets' still have left in their farm system. They have been active the last few years adding the missing pieces to their squad. But I am not sure their farm system is as strong as when we plucked Scott Kazmir from their clutches.
The second non trade is a two-parter.It is the "non" trading of Carl Crawford and Rocco Baldelli.
I know that Carl would love to be a part of the first winning team in this franchises' short history. He should be a part of this celebration……front and center. Rocco I believe will come out of Spring Training in better shape, and better condition than any other time in his short Rays tenure.
I used to be out at the Rays complex delivering alot, and when Rocco was mending from his surgeries and bumps and bruises, he was always eagerly training and building himself up for his return. If you remember, Joe used to like to have Rocco in the dugout at home games and selected road series because of his great attitude and zest for success.
I think this time it is totally personal for Rocco. I feel he knows that the team took a gamble and signed him to a long term deal. He is a proud guy, and he is probably the most excited about reporting in Feb. 2008. Rocco stated in a news article he will relax this off season for a change. I believe that like I believe the "Clear" was a muscle relaxing ointment. FDA approved too………right? He is probably getting in the best condition both mentally and physically for this team.
Right Field has been a concern for the big wigs upstairs since Delmon hit the road for the Great White north. I think Jonny Gomes, Rocco, or even the tandem of Triple-A studs Fernando Perez or Jason Ruggiano can man it better than Cliff Floyd, Geoff Jenkins, or Darin Erstad. No disrespect to Darin, Luis Gonzalez, or Cliff. I even recently heard a rumor of my old baseball buddy Trot Nixon maybe being a good fit for us. He did hit great here against us, But remember fans,so did Jose Cruz Jr. when he was with the Jays and then got suddenly an average hitter at the Trop.
I think the Rays can have a perfect "wait and see" attitude here, unless Josh Hamilton is truly availiable….hint hint Andrew and Matt.
In conclusion, the non-tendered list of players will be announced in the coming weeks. This is a huge announcement that always has a few jaw dropping names on it. Things can change dramatically if a huge or unexpected name is released. There always seem to be a a few high dollar drops, or a player with health questions when these names hit a wire……………We shall see.
Kick the tires and look real close under the hoods there guys. This team is finally in a position to take quality over quantity in a players signing.
This team will have Carlos Pena back with a projected one year deal. Pena has two years until he is a Free Agent, but both sides are working towards a agreement in place before the Spring Training report date.
I think this might happen to both prove both sides points. His agent,Scott Boras says that "Carlos is just heating up", and the Rays are hoping it was not just a fluke year offensively for Pena. Either way, Carlos will be a rich guy come Feb. 2008.
And we are a richer team both in knowing the talent is the best this team has fielded in its 11 years in the MLB. Sorry Fred McGriff, Wade Boggs and Jose Canseco. I wanted the "Hit Show" to be the thing that we measure our successes by, but that is not the case.
I will end this with a note about the hardest working Rays I have nkown in my years watching and following this team. Bullpen Catcher Scott Cursi is always working with the pitchers and providing BP pitching and foul pole comments and analysis. I have known Scott for years and truly feel blessed to have ever met him. We have had a routine of him coming to give me some grief before every game down the Right field line after he tosses with the Rightfielders.
We have a habit of tipping our caps after the last out before he heads into the locker room for the night. Scott is a guy who has invited me out a few times when I have gone on road trips to celebrate with himself and a few people on the team. I have cherished these moments in Seattle and Cleveland. I look forward to 2008 for both the Rays sucesses, and seeing my baseball buddy again manning the Bullpen with Bobby Ramos. As always Scott, I tip my hat to you for what you do for the Rays, and our Section 138 fans group.
Only ( as of Dec 7th, 2008) 77 days until Pitchers' and Catchers' report ……..and I can't wait until 8 am that day.


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For all the users wanting to better know how the Kat desktop search program works, Roberto Cappuccio explains the inner workings of Kat, the difficulties encountered during development and the future of this long awaited (and still under heavy development) piece of software in the article Busy Kat on Linux Magazine.
A KAT-io-slave would take the project a _big_ step forward. The benefits of an io-slave can be seen in the demo of kio-clucene (http://kioclucene.objectis.net/). It's an easy but very powerful way to embed the desktop search into the desktop.
I hope KAT's development moves forward at same speed as in the last months - keep up your good work :-)
I don't remember where I read this, but won't KDE4 use postgresql to store metadata information? I realize this is a minor detail, but I was quite happy about that choice, provided this will be transparent for the user (no need to set up pgsql manually: create a default db for each user, and ask for a password once when you install KDE?).
There has been no such decision on the subject.
Well, I had the same impression. Probably from this article.
Newsforge: Updating KDE at the Appeal initiative - http://software.newsforge.com/software/05/12/06/2042232.shtml?tid=130
The new architecture of Kat (the one which will be published with Kat 0.7.0, codename Lilith) is based on plugins and is therefore fully expandable.
You can provide plugins for both the Repositories (the storage layer, for example SQLite3, PostgreSQL, Lucene or even Reiser4 or XML...) and the Spaces (the information layer, for example FileSystem which indexes files, Communication which indexes emails and contacts, or Links which indexes the connections that hold between objects of the other spaces).
So, if KDE will incorporate a metadata layer, it will be easy to build a Kat Repository plugin for it.
I can't see the PDF correctly with KPDF on KDE 3.5 :( the text is corrupted. With AcroRead it works perfectly.
kghostview on kde 3.5 works, too
It works perfect for me on KDE3.5. Most likely you have a build of KPDF using the poppler PDF library. Depending on the version of poppler you are using, you get rendering accordingly. Older version are not particularly good, and is known to have problems.
Try a newer version of freetype. I had a similar problem with another PDF file and the nice guys over on the kpdf team pointed me in the right direction when I raised a bug. Updated version of freetype fixed the problem.
Also I was wondering, if two users choose to index the same dir, will Kat store it twice or once and use it twice?
For the moment Kat creates a repository for each user. We are planning to add the possibility to share the entire repository or single information spaces.
If you want to know better what repositories and information spaces are in Kat, please read the online API documentation at: http://kat.mandriva.com/apidox/
The documentation is under development but you will find some interesting information about Kat::Repository and Kat::Space.
I like the basic concept of indexing the contents of your data, but in most of my Linux installs, the homedirectories of users are on a network drive. Keeping a copy of all the indexed file in a database (I'm assuming this will also be located in the homedirectory, but I couldn't determine that from the article) seems like a huge overhead on the network and server diskspace!
I could imagine that the index and cache is actually managed by a central service running on the network, not under the user's administration, but by the system admin. If it is not central or outside the network drive space, I would (as a sysadmin) have to disable the kat functionality entirely (which I will do when we switch to Mandriva 2006.x)
Good observation. For situations like the one you describe, we are planning to suggest the use of a centralized database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, MSSQLserver, whatever) running on a central machine.
Every user will have his own repository and will only have access to it and to the repositories the other users will mark as shared.
i'm looking forward to the day KAT is integrated into our desktop evironments...
maybe the Kuartet Superkaramba applet (http://www.kde-look.org/content/show.php?content=32541) can support kat...
great to hear that lucene has been ported to Qt!
Yep, Tenor is the one I want to know about. I don't know why there's so much fuss about Beagle and Kat, or why GNOME's Dashboard project seems to have died. That was really astounding in its utility -- a true killer app. At this rate, windows will have it (I believe they're working on it for Vista) before the Free Software community gets it from the drawing board and obscure projects to the everyday users' desktops. That's a real tragedy, since the kind of integration needed for Dashboard/Tenor is something open source patches should enable easily.
But, to answer your question from what little I've heard... Tenor is coming in KDE 4, and the Kat folks are working with them. I think Tenor is going to be another backend for Kat. Someone mentioned those backends above. Personally, I'm hoping it really focuses on Tenor technology, rather than watering down the possibilities of Tenor for a generic search system. After all, with no disrespect to the Kat team, Kat's own technology isn't really much more than find or grep.
Maybe you should RTFA, it says that Kat will provide an API so that Tenor can build on top of it as a layer because Kat is the perfect basis for Tenor (down the PDF it explains that).
Dashboard is not dead, it was renamed to Beagle.
> Dashboard is not dead, it was renamed to Beagle
But wasn't Dashboard (http://www.nat.org/dashboard/) much more than Beagle (http://beaglewiki.org/Main_Page)?
As I see it, Beagle is a search tool very similar to Kat. You have to search for your stuff.
Dashboard seemed to be tool that showed data which fitted the current context without the user activly searching for it.
I really wanted to like Kat, in the absence of something like Tenor, but I'm sad to say that Kat was basically useless for me. When indexing things, it doesn't really do anything except say that it found it, and in what file. That's really not good enough, if you're trying to, say, search irc conversations for a discussion that happened five hours in, when you only remember a few keywords. Likewise, when I search PDFs for text, I don't want to just know that the text is in that file *somewhere*.
For IRC, it would need to display READABLE context, preferably in the normal IRC log format, and have a "Open" or "View" or maybe even a plugin-aware button like "View discussion", which opens the appropriate app in a highly-integrated way.
So, for instance, when I find an IRC log, clicking View might bring it up in Kopete's log viewer, already centered on that first conversation, and automatically jumping to the right place if I select another IRC search hit.
Likewise, if I select a PDF, I need it to open at the page that actually has that text. Otherwise, I just know that the 500-page PDF contains the phrase "secure network infrastructure". Which, honestly, I probably already knew.
I don't need a file search tool. "find" and "grep" do that. I need an information search tool, that brings up what I ask for, ready to use.
Please don't take this as criticism. I'm not trying to insult Kat -- nor to demand things. I would help if I could. I'm just hoping you can make it fit my needs, and maybe give us all a really great tool that will make KDE even better :)
> Please don't take this as criticism. I'm not trying to insult Kat
I like criticism, especially when it is constructive, and your post points out some of the most frequently criticized features (or the lack of them) of the actual version of Kat.
The new version, on which I'm currently working, addresses most of them. In particular, it will feature the Google-like "two lines preview" that shows 2 (or more) lines of the text where the searched words are highlighted.
To open a PDF right at the page where the words have been found, well, it depends on bot Kat and the PDF viewer. We can issue a command like "open that file at page x" but then it is up to the PDF viewer to actually show that page.
For this kind of things we will need collaboration from the authors of the applications.
> I don't need a file search tool. "find" and "grep" do that.
Well, if you really think that, continue to use them, but, as I said a thousand times on other forums, it won't work for the vast majority of file formats (like PDF, PS, XLS and the like) because they don't contain clear text.
Then, if the documents are saved in an encoding which is not the one you use on your command line (probably UTF8), you will not find anything at all.
Moreover, if you have Gigabytes of documents to search, "find" and "grep" will take hours to give you what you need.
So, please don't say that "find" and "grep" are equivalent to Kat. They aren't.
You mention that with the current interface you can only search for a single word, but you plan on adding more advanced capabilities like AND, NOT, et cetera, later on. How about using the same sort of syntax for this as Google has? It has the advantage of being relatively simple, and probably the most well known (or should I rather say, the least obscure) -- out of the people out there who know any kind of search syntax at all and aren't programmers, this is probably your best bet. I've already added support to amaroK, as well :)
Basically, words are ANDed by default unless you put an OR between them yourself, to exclude something you put a - before it, use ""s to match exact phrases, and you can search in specific fields/attributes with field:word. GMail has basically the same thing, but you can use parentheses to group things as well.
For an example, bats OR "flying mice" -baseball site:wikipedia.org
would search wikipedia for either bats or "flying mice", but not for baseball bats.
This is exactly what I'm planning to implement. Thanks for pointing it out.
Take a look at amarok playlist filter. It already supports Google syntax and may be useful to your needs.
Wow, that's pretty cool! I never knew amarok had that feature.


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In response to the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, people are committing random acts of kindness in honor of the shooting victims.
It started with a Tweet from Ann Curry, of NBC News: "Imagine if all of us committed to 20 acts of kindness to honor each child lost in Newtown. I'm in. If you are RT. #20Acts."
The impact is being felt in a community that is mourning.
A resident of Arizona called Carminuccios Pizza, on South Main Street in Newtown, and bought 1,000 slices of pizza over the phone to be donated to anyone who went into the restaurant.
U.S. & World
Whether the person made the donation because of the movement or just wanted to help is not known, and it is just one example of many in which people have reached out to Newtown and made similar donations to try to help ease the pain in some small way.
The Wishing Well ift Shop, on Church Hill Road, posted words of thanks on Facebook after a woman bought several items.
"I don't know who this stuff is for, but I know that all of this is really hurting your business, so I just wanted to help you out," she said, according to the post.
Curry wrote about the movement on NBCNews.com and said tens of thousands of people responded on Facebook and Twitter. The pledge has since increased to 26 acts to also include the six adult women who were killed inside the school on Friday.
The response has been global, including in Connecticut, where residents from each corner of the state are in mourning.
Schaghticoke Middle School in New Milford put out the call on Twitter.
Some are committing to do 26 random acts of kindness by the end of Dec. in honor of Newtown victims. Will You?#26Acts#26ActsofKindness — Schaghticoke MS(@SMS_CT) December 18, 2012
It is also taking off at New Milford High School.
NMHS students came up big today! I had numerous requests for Newtown fundraisers all day long- in halls, over email, at lunch, etc. #26acts — Dr. Chris Longo (@DrChrisLongo) December 18, 2012
A man in Ontario placed a call to a Newtown restaurant and paid for meals, according to one Tweet.
Friends had their meal paid for at a Newtown restaurant by a man who called from Ontario @nbcnews @anncurry #26Acts — Gina McDade (@McDGG) December 18, 2012
One woman decided to buy a cup of tea for the police officer behind her in line at the drive-through in Danbury.
Just bought a cup of tea for the #Danbury cop behind me at @dunkindonuts drive thru#26acts #thankyoufirstresponders — Anne Cox (@anne246) December 18, 2012
Some have tweeted that they are sending cards to soldiers, in memory of the young victims. Others are making donations to help children overseas.
While there are many public pledges, others are no doubt being done privately and quietly by people who just have the desire to bring a smile to someone's face after so much sadness.


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Your front row seat is reserved for this rare, in - depth look at the working repertoire of the master bar magician of our time. Peppered with lines, bar bits and jokes, this "Doc"umentary features guarded, highly commercial secrets which bring celebrities and locals back again and again. Twenty years of nonstop performing at the Tower have turned Doc Eason into a pro at the top of his form. You'll watch these tapes over and over for the sheer joy of seeing how much fun magic can be. Also featured are "Doc's Prescriptions for a Long and Successful Performing Career." To many, this wisdom, which can only be obtained from a professional who has weathered nearly every type of performing nightmare, will be worth the price of the series! Following Doc's incredible live show, Michael Ammar joins him as he reveals how it all works and why it all works. Everyone, from the hobbyist to the seasoned pro, will discover priceless, professional information produced in the topnotch quality you've come to expect from L&L Publishing.
Volume Two contains Doc's stand - alone pieces. Each one a separate showpiece, these tricks are fully routined and reflect the years of development that have gone into them. Included are; Happy Birthday Trick - perfect for every special occasion you might encounter; Frank Everhart's Classic Sam the Bellhop - with Doc's twists to the "mother" of all story tricks (performance only); Kerry Pollack's "Stan, Kate and Edith" - the perfect bar trick with jumbo cards; Doc's Poker Demo - 15 minutes of pure entertainment (including Scotty York's Fabulous Ace Routine, Allan Hayden's "Exposed" and John Mendoza's "Routined Poker Mental"). For those dyed - in - the - wool fans, Doc's closely guarded handling tips for Steve Spill's presentation of the Bill in the Lemon, a cornerstone of Doc's art for more than 15 years ... now finally released!


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When a group of strangers end up living under the same roof, they come with their own personal baggage.
Wu Xiao Li (Miao Ke Li) is a mother figure who rents out rooms in her house to a group of young people. Ji Yan Xi (Yorke Sun) faces tremendous pressure from his family but tries his best to go after his dreams. Xiang Yi Yang (JR Chien) is a likable, easy-going young man despite all the hardships he has faced. Wen Xin (Esther Yang) and Xiang Yi Rou (Vivi Lee) are both trying to grasp the things they want most out of life.
Can the group of housemates support one another through life's many challenges and learn the true meaning of a family? "Home Sweet Home" is a 2017 Taiwanese drama series.
- Original title
- 真情之家
- Romanized title
- Zhen Qing Zhi Jia
- Volunteer Team
- My Sweet Home
- Broadcast Network
- Broadcast Period
- 10-24-2017 to 12-08-2017
- Rating


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A Laugher
Game 3 recap
Brad Lidge entered the hotel elevator after Friday's Game 1 nail-biter in LA, "When are we going to have a laugher?"
Well, Brad, it happened last night. Aerial fireworks greeted the Phillies as they took the field for the start of the game. In their first at-bat, fireworks continued on the field as they scored four times and then tacked on two more in their second AB. End result: a brilliant pitching clinic once again by Cliff and the biggest romp in Phillies postseason history.
Heck, we out-scored the Eagles!
The Big Piece continues to pepper the postseason record book. He's an RBI machine. Cliff tied the club postseason record with 10 strikeouts (Steve Carlton and Curt Schilling). Teammate Scott Eyre called him amazing.
Quietly Chase has also entered the team's postseason record book. After going hitless in his first postseason game in 2007, he's now hit in 23 consecutive games. Then, there's Chooch. Ruiz is a certified hot hitter.
Then, there's Jayson. Werth now has the most extra-base hits in team postseason history, 14 in 76 ABs. Schmidt had 13 in 140 ABs.
Postseason Memories
Mickey Morandini, a second baseman with the Phillies (1990-7; 2000) is throwing out the ceremonial first ball tonight. His postseason career with the Phillies came in 1993. During the NLCS, he hit .250. In the World Series, .200, in 3 games. His big league career also included the Chicago Cubs (1998-1999) and Toronto Blue Jays (2000). Now 43, Mickey resides in his native Indiana.
What was the biggest change when you played in the postseason?
"Biggest change since I was in the postseason has been the addition of the wildcard team. We only had two rounds, the NLCS and Series, which made for a shorter postseason."
What is your fondest personal postseason memory?
"Beating the Braves in the NLCS was something I'll never forget. As far as my foundest personal memory, hitting a triple off Greg Maddux to clinch Game 6 at Veterans Stadium. Standing on third base and hearing the Phillies fans make all that noise was quite a thrill."
Where were you when the Phillies won the World Series last October?
"I was watching the game on TV with my family in our home. We had to have the loudest cheer in Indiana after the last out."
Postseason history
Phillies are 1-1 on this date. They took a 3-2 lead in the 1980 World Series with a 3-2 win in Kansas City on Manny Trillo's game-winning single. 13 years later, they fell behind the Blue Jays in the WS, 2-1, after losing 10-3 at the Vet.
Phillies Insider is on twitter as barons63.