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USA Jr. Nationals – Insider Tips
USA Jr. Nationals – Insider Tips
By: Gianna Henke
The United Spirit Association's Jr. Nationals is around the corner and we are thrilled to be going back to the most magical place on earth. If you are competing or watching someone compete at USA Jr. Nationals, below are some insider tips to make sure you make the most of your magical weekend.
PARKING AND ARRIVING. When arriving on competition day, make sure to give yourself ample time to park, get into Disney California Adventure® Park and make your way to the Hyperion Theater in Hollywood Land where the competition takes place. Remember, Pop Warner and Independent/Non-Affiliated teams perform Saturday and Elementary or Junior High School teams perform Sunday.
The weekend of Jr. Nationals is a busy time for Disneyland® Park and Disney California Adventure® Park, so be prepared to possibly be directed to an off-site parking lot and shuttled to the park. Be aware that there is now enhanced security with metal detectors and bag checks that could take a while to get through. Once you get into Disney California Adventure® Park, remember that a spectator wristband is needed to get into the Hyperion Theatre to watch the performances. If you did not pre-purchase one through USA or your team, be sure to go to the USA admissions table outside of the Hyperion Theatre to do so. Lastly, to ensure your fans catch your awesome performance, we recommend them getting there an hour before your team's scheduled time in case there is a line to get into the theatre. With so many great teams and families coming to beautiful Southern California, these tips will help plan for an enjoyable day!
Making the most out of your trip can be stressful; especially when you are traveling with families and trying to ensure you are there for your athlete's performance. Once you know what time your athlete performs, you can plan the rest of your day accordingly.
Now for the fun stuff…
Disneyland® Park App. Before you start your day, make sure you download the Disneyland® Park App to help maximize your time in the park. The app has a built in map features, as well as up to date wait times for rides. It also shows you which characters are in the park, where and when they can be found. Additionally, you can use the app to make dining reservations. It even has a search filter that tells you which restaurants have open reservations for a specific time of day! This can be so helpful when you are working your day around a cheer or dance performance.
Eats and Treats. Planning your dining experience in advance is a great idea, as there are endless options when traveling with families so it can be hard to decide on one thing! In Downtown Disney District®, Tortilla Joe's, Naples, and Brennen's Jazz Kitchen all have "express" versions of their restaurant that are slightly less expensive without the wait. For example, Tortilla Joe's "express" version restaurant is called Taqueria at Tortilla Joes' and is similar to a Chipotle style restaurant where you can build your own burritos. Also, located in Downtown Disney District® is a brand new Sprinkles cupcakes! If you want a fun dining experience for kids of all ages, make a reservation at the Rainforest Cafe! Downtown Disney District® is a bit of a walk, so if you are short on time and looking to eat at Disney California Adventure® Park, there are a variety of food options at the Pacific Wharf, including comforting soup and chili in bread bowls at the Pacific Wharf Cafe. If you want a snack on the go, must try snacks include: churros, which can be found at various stands throughout the park; corn Dogs at Corn Dog Castle next to Goofy's Sky School; and the pizza flavored popcorn at the Cozy Cone Motel in Cars Land. If you want an upscale dining experience, make a reservation at Carthay Circle Restaurant which is a replica of the very first theatre to screen Snow White. Inside Carthay Circle, don't miss the beautiful mural on the ceiling of Snow White's forest, as well as photos of 1950s celebrities like Shirley Temple and Walt Disney himself. Cove Bar is an outdoor restaurant, located at the base of Paradise Pier that overlooks Mickey's Fun. You cannot make a reservation for Cove Bar, so there is often a long line to get in. However, if you are lucky enough to get seated around sunset, the beautiful views are well worth the wait. Everyone loves Starbucks, so it's no surprise that there is one in Disney California Adventure® Park, one in Disneyland® Park, and two in Downtown Disney District®. What is unique about the Starbucks located inside the two parks is that they have special cups with Disney characters on the side!
THRILLS AND CHILLS. There are tons of rides at Disney California Adventure® Park. A few of my favorites include California Screamin', Radiator Springs Racers and Soarin' Over the World. These are, however, some of the most popular rides at the park. There are fast passes available for all three, but keep in mind that Radiator Springs Racers almost always runs out of fast passes early in the morning because it is that popular. So, if you get to the park right when it opens and you do not have to get to the competition right away, see if you can grab a fast pass. Remember you can't get a new fast pass until an hour after the time you got your last one, so you have to be strategic if you are really trying to get all three of these rides in on the day you are also watching/competing at USA Jr. Nationals. Soarin' and Screamin' are both a little easier to get a fast pass for and you can go on a few rides while you are waiting for your hour to pass to get your second one. Ariel's Undersea Adventure, Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters and Goofy's Sky School are fun rides that usually don't have very long lines. Depending on the ages of the people in your family, you may want to jump in a single rider line as the wait times are significantly shorter. The single rider wait times are not listed on the app, so you will have to go to the ride to check it out, but the Radiator Spring's Racers single rider line is usually half the wait time of the regular line. You can stand with your family while waiting in a single rider line, but you may not sit next to them during the ride.
If you are finding yourself unable to get on a ride before you need to be at the Hyperion Theatre, check out the Animation Academy right down the street from the theatre. Inside they screen clips of all of your favorite Disney® animated films and have a few interactive shows including a step by step drawing tutorial of a character. Right outside of the Animation Academy is a lovely wall mural that says "And They Lived Happily Ever After" which is a great picture spot for a team or stunt group!
A little extra…
If you also plan on going to Disneyland® Park, be sure to check out some of the parades and shows. The Main Street Electrical Parade is back and is so much fun to watch! Disney's Magical Map is a great show to watch as well. Did you know that many USA alumni dance in the parades and shows at Disneyland® Park? Before and during the parades, certain roads are cut off and there can be heavier foot traffic, so be sure if you do head over to Disneyland® Park to see a parade that you give yourself enough time to get back Disney California Adventure® Park if you are needed to be back at the Hyperion Theatre for a performance or awards show. All parade and show times are also listed on the Disneyland® Park App.
Right now, Space Mountain, currently renamed "Hyperspace Mountain" is set to the theme song of Star Wars and has special effects for a limited time. Hyperspace Mountain is another ride that often has a very long wait and runs out of fast passes early. So, if that is a ride that you know you want to ride, try to grab a fast pass earlier in the day. Some other rides that have fast passes include Indiana Jones, The Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain.
All the rides in Fantasyland are nostalgic and fun, but Peter Pan's Flight is the one that draws the most people and has the longest wait, but is well worth it. Another fun Fantasyland essential is Mad Hatters Tea Party. Right outside of the ride, they have a standing teacup that makes for a great picture spot! If you find yourself in Fantasyland after dark, take a ride on the Storybook Book Land Canal boats. The miniature vignettes really come to life at night and there is something dreamy about how the light hits the water as you float around in your boat.
MAKING MAGIC. No matter which adventures, thrills, chills, eats and treats you experience, remember that the real magic is in the teamwork, dedication and hard work your athletes and dancers have been putting in all year long. CONGRATULATIONS on making it to Nationals. Make memories and MAGIC!


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There was a strange silence over Nigellagate from some feminist commentators who usually appear to have the acronym AMAB (all men are b******s) tattooed on their typing fingers.
Had Kerry Katona been snapped getting throttled by her partner outside a Toby Carvery in Warrington, and stayed silent, I'm sure there'd have been a tweetfest about Little Miss Thickoe betraying her gender by failing to report the Neanderthal scumbag.
But with it happening to The Thinking Man's Crumpet, in Mayfair, via the hands of an influential art collector, they kept schtum.
Well, Nigella's their mate, and her dinner parties are divine. So best not over-egg the pudding, eh?
The irony is there has never been a better time to play the AMAB card.
Rarely, over the past few months, have I watched TV news without my wife or one of my daughters reacting to a horrific story with the words: "Why is it always men?"
From the Derby dad who burned his kids to the murderers of Tia Sharp and April Jones, WPC-killer Dale Cregan to child-abuser Stuart Hall, men are starting to look about as attractive as a tribe of cannabilistic apes who use the bones of their victims to wipe their behinds.
And what is almost as offensive as the acts themselves is the cowardice.
Their initial denial of guilt in the hope they'd get away with it.
Maybe they're aware there's plenty of men out there ready to give a helping hand. Take Hall's lawyer Crispin Aylett who appealed for leniency by saying he's a "bewildered 83-year-old man" who only had 13 victims, unlike Jimmy Savile who had 1,300.
Which may have worked on the male judge who clearly felt sorry for poor old Hall, who will now probably serve a fortnight for each of the girl's lives he grotesquely scarred.
Of course, the vast majority of men wouldn't dream of wreaking violence or abuse on women and children.
But how many of us have allowed ourselves to aid and abet it?
How many of us believe it's best not to intervene in things that don't concern us because we don't know what we're getting into?
Why did no man outside that Mayfair restaurant have the balls to stand up to Saatchi as he throttled his wife?
How often do you see YouTube footage of a ranting racist or a sex pest being allowed to do his worst because men around keep their head down?
Remember the horrific broad daylight murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich, when the only people to confront the killers were women?
Decent men are still in the majority and there are plenty of have-a-go heroes among us.
But, like our sperm count, the numbers seem to be receding. We need help.
Maybe the country's top ad-man could re-brand us with slogans like "Masculinity Isn't Working".
No, hang on... maybe we should call in the nation's top celebrity PR man.
No, best give that a couple of months. Or maybe we should see our priests or bishops. No, best not.
Although we'd better work something out soon before Loose Women is granted, by popular demand, a Friday afternoon castration slot.
* More from Brian Reade this week on Ian Brady, Kate Middleton, Frankie Fraser and the five big questions of the week

subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to Huki Links – highlighting some of our favorite literary links from across the 'net! For more about Huki-Links, check out our inaugural post.
The best part of the "huki" is that we all pull together, if you find any fun or interesting book related links/articles please feel free to share them via comments or contact us![gn_divider]
Links covering the week of September 12 – September 18, 2011*
Self Love
-For Book Blogger Appreciation Week we interviewed fellow book blogger, Elizabeth from the blog, "As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves." Read the interview here, and then make sure to leave her a comment! [Hawai'i Book Blog]
-In return, Elizabeth interviewed Misty from HBB! Read all about Misty and which two fictional characters she'd put in a room together! [As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves]
-This week's featured t-shirt is our "Stuck on Books" shirt…but be sure to check out our entire stock of Literary and Hawaiian language t-shirts! [Hawai'i Book Blog]
-Just in time for the Hawaii 5-0 premiere: He likiki kāu i ka hōʻike ʻana o nā mākala ʻuala? (Do you have a ticket to the [guns] show?) [ʻŌlelo of the Day] #H50
-Don't forget to follow our family of Twitter accounts: @HawaiiBookBlog, @OlelooftheDay, @mistysanico, @redunk808
Hawai'i Literary
-The renshi poetry on The Massie Affair continues with Juliet Kono and "They Raped Her" [Bamboo Ridge]
-Local sci-fi author Linda Nagata's latest, Limit of Vision, now available at Book View Cafe. Go buy 'em! [Book View Cafe]
-Donald Carreira Ching reading from the most recent M.I.A. event this past Thursday. Damn those mopeds! [Still Working…]
-Check out this adorable new children's book blog. While it primarily covers non-Hawaiʻi books, she'll feature a local keiki book for Aloha Fridays! [Little Paper Hen]
-Great Read: 'Big 6 publisher drops [local author] Kiana Davenport for self-publishing.' [Karen Woodward]
-'Life Lessons on the Dance Floor': Patrice Tanaka returns to Hawaiʻi with new memoir. [MidWeek]
-Listen to two interviews with Gerald Horne, the author of Fighting in Paradise: Labor Unions, Racism, and Communists in the Making of Modern Hawai'i, from KPFK and politicalaffairs.net. [UH Press Blog]
-A review of self-published author Gerry Stimmler's latest novel Dropped Dead in Kona. [TwinCities.com]
-Cute video slideshow detailing the Army Hawaiʻi Libraries Summer Reading Program for 2011. [YouTube]
-In case you missed it the first time: video of the UH Book Bandit. [YouTube]
General Literary
-The Real Names of 18 Authors Known By Initials. [mental floss]
-Some incredibly awesome literary t-shirts. [Out of Print]
-Funny: 'I'm Comic Sans, Asshole' [McSweeney's] (language)
-So absurd, I want to read: "Were Sarah Palin and Barack Obama Lovers?" [PRWeb]
-A lesson in "Aloha" all the way from Newport Beach. [Newport Beach Independent]
Off Topic (Sense and) Nonsense
-Charles Kaʻupu: A Cultural Icon Passes Away [Lahaina News]
-Amazing resource looking at the history of pro-wrestling in Hawaiʻi. [50th State Big Time Wrestling]
-Maui's Shane Victorino honored with Branch Rickey Award. [MLB]
-Alex's favorite Beatles song, MONO MIX! [YouTube]
-Misty's favorite Beatles song, MONO MIX! [YouTube] [gn_divider]
You can catch some of these links and more by following us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have interesting links you'd like to share with us, or feel like we've missed something out the past week, please feel free to leave us a comment!
*some exceptions to the date range may apply


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In a tradition as old as my Hall of Fame ballot analysis series itself predating even the JAWS acronym, we come to the pitchers on the BBWAA ballot for the Hall of Fame mere hours ahead of the announcement of the voting results. As with last year, it's a short list, featuring three holdovers and four newcomers. Among this group, Bert Blyleven remains the standout. Now in his 13th year on the ballot, he's polled above 60 percent in each of the past two years. While the work done by statheads here and elsewhere to boost his candidacy has gotten through to the voters, he's running out of time.
The basics of JAWS remain the same for the pitchers as for the hitters: we consider a player's career and peak WARP totals-the latter defined as his seven best seasons-using the all-time version of our WARP metric, WARP3 (or WARP adjusted for 162 games). Just as the worst elected Hall of Famer at each position was eliminated in the process of determining the JAWS benchmarks, we'll exclude a similar percentage of pitchers-four out of 61, in this case (Jesse Haines, Rube Marquard, Lefty Gomez and-say it ain't so, Charlie O-Catfish Hunter). In examining these pitchers, we'll also use Pitching Runs Above Average (PRAA) as a secondary measure for "peak" in conjunction with Pitching Runs Above Replacement's "career" proxy. A pitcher with many PRAA but fewer PRAR likely had a high peak and a short career, while one with the same number of PRAA but more PRAR likely had a longer career. Although durability should not be confused with excellence, league-average performance has value, as anybody who's ever suffered through a fifth starter's pummeling knows.
Again, if you're joining us late, please read this year's introduction regarding the recent changes in the underlying WARP metric.
Starting Pitchers
Pitcher W L IP ERA ERA+ AS CY 3C HoFS HoFM Bal 2009% Kevin Appier 169 137 2595 3.74 121 1 0 1 24.0 32.0 0 N/A Bert Blyleven 287 250 4970 3.31 118 2 0 0 50.0 120.5 12 62.7% Pat Hentgen 131 112 2075 4.32 108 3 1 0 12.0 37.0 0 N/A Jack Morris 254 186 3824 3.90 105 5 0 3 39.0 122.5 10 44.0% Shane Reynolds 114 96 1792 4.09 103 1 0 0 12.0 18.0 0 N/A Pitcher PRAR PRAA Carer Peak JAWS Blyleven 871 363 92.4 49.3 70.9 Appier 423 117 46.7 39.0 42.9 Morris 346 -78 36.2 27.3 31.8 Hentgen 260 13 29.2 28.5 28.9 Reynolds 163 -49 19.2 21.8 20.5 AVG HoF SP 665 269 70.5 47.7 59.1
A brief explanation for today's extra alphabet soup items: AS is All-Star and CY is Cy Young Awards won; 3C is a tally of leagues led in the triple-crown categories for pitchers (wins, ERA, and strikeouts); HoFS and HoFM are the Bill James Hall of Fame Standards and Hall of Fame Monitor, respectively; Bal is how many years the player has appeared on the ballot, and 2009% is the player's share of the vote on the last ballot, with 75 percent needed for election.
Blyleven was a power pitcher with a devastating curveball (or two) who spent the first part of his major-league career (beginning at age 19!) toiling for a mostly mediocre Minnesota club, racking up innings and decisions galore. Despite middling won-loss records, he was dominant, posting ERAs 25 to 50 percent better than league average, striking out about 230 guys a year, and averaging a robust 5.8 WARP per year through his first six seasons. His top WARP (8.8) came in 1973, when he threw a whopping 325 innings of 2.52 ERA ball, striking out 258 and going 20-17 for his trouble. Contract issues hastened his exit from the Twin Cities, as he was traded to Texas in 1976, and then dealt to the Pirates a year and a half later.
For the Pirates he remained a frontline starter, albeit with a considerably lighter workload; manager Chuck Tanner loved his deep bullpen, and Blyleven didn't. Nonetheless, Blyleven's stellar 1979 postseason (1.42 ERA in 19 innings) helped the Pirates win the title. Following the 1980 season, he was traded to Cleveland, and after a strong 1981, he lost nearly all of 1982 to an elbow injury. Upon coming back, he returned to his usual workhorse self, and in 1984 put up one of his best seasons (6.6 WARP and 6.7 SNLVAR, the latter third in the league) by going 19-7 with a 2.87 ERA and 170 strikeouts in 245 innings. He put up an 6.9 WARP season in 1985 while being traded back to the Twins mid-season. It was like he never left: 17-16, 17-14, high strikeout totals, good ERAs, and homers by the bushel (a record 50 in 1986). In 1987 he helped the 85-win Twins to an unlikely World Championship, again shining in the playoffs. He left for California after 1988 and had another strong season (17-5, 2.73 ERA, 5.5 WARP), then sandwiched two mediocre years around one completely missed with rotator cuff surgery.
JAWS rates Blyleven as the best eligible pitcher not in the Hall of Fame, and one of the top 20 pitchers of all time (last year's bleeding edge data set saw him temporarily surrender both distinctions, but he's regained them):
Pitcher PRAR PRAA Career Peak JAWS Walter Johnson* 1406 808 161.5 87.1 124.3 Grover Alexander* 1115 595 124.4 78.2 101.3 Cy Young* 1400 785 142.6 59.7 101.2 Roger Clemens 1167 611 135.1 64.6 99.9 Christy Mathewson* 927 465 109.6 71.1 90.4 Greg Maddux 907 315 115.8 59.6 87.7 Tom Seaver* 936 440 104.9 55.4 80.2 Warren Spahn* 910 339 105.3 52.9 79.1 Phil Niekro* 903 338 98.5 52.8 75.7 Steve Carlton* 810 264 91.6 55.9 73.8 Bob Gibson* 751 354 86.5 58.8 72.7 Randy Johnson 816 331 89.7 53.2 71.5 Ed Walsh* 629 346 72.7 70.2 71.5 Gaylord Perry* 872 333 91.1 51.8 71.5 Bert Blyleven 871 363 92.4 49.3 70.9 Eddie Plank* 840 413 87.7 52.5 70.1 Lefty Grove* 809 391 84.7 51.0 67.9 Fergie Jenkins* 794 325 85.5 50.1 67.8 Mariano Rivera 563 341 82.6 52.0 67.3 Robin Roberts* 764 257 82.0 49.7 65.9 *Hall of Famer
Blyleven has the lowest WARP peak of any pitcher above, though not by much, and he's actually ahead of peers Niekro, Carlton, Perry, and Jenkins-as well as Nolan Ryan, Jim Palmer, Don Sutton, and Catfish Hunter-in terms of PRAA.
Which brings us to the real issue: the BBWAA hasn't elected a starter with fewer than 300 wins since Jenkins in 1991, spoiled by the half-dozen members of that peer group-Carlton, Niekro, Perry, Ryan, Seaver, Sutton-who won 300 games from the mid-'60s to the mid-'80s, when the days of the four-man rotation dominated. Still, Blyeven more than holds his own amid his Hall of Fame peers:
Pitcher PRAR PRAA Career Peak JAWS SUP Tom Seaver 936 440 104.9 55.4 80.2 96 Phil Niekro 903 338 98.5 52.8 75.7 97 Steve Carlton 810 264 91.6 55.9 73.8 104 Gaylord Perry 872 333 91.1 51.8 71.5 96 Bert Blyleven 871 363 92.4 49.3 70.9 97 Fergie Jenkins 794 325 85.5 50.1 67.8 101 Nolan Ryan 778 200 74.0 43.1 58.6 95 Jim Palmer 575 179 60.4 43.8 52.1 109 Don Sutton 655 106 61.8 31.4 46.6 105 Catfish Hunter 320 -31 33.8 33.0 33.4 112
Note the last column in the table above, which compares the run support of those contemporaries in a park- and league-adjusted index similar to ERA+, where 100 is average; Blyleven got three percent less support than the average starter during his time, comparable to many of those contemporaries but nonetheless something which kept him from attaining the 300 wins which would have virtually guaranteed entry. Not that losing nearly two full seasons to injury didn't have something to do with that as well.
Still, his traditional credentials are strong enough that Hall of Fame voters must perform Olympic-level gymnastics to attempt justification of why Blyleven doesn't get their vote, most fixating on his relatively unimpressive winning percentage (.534), his 250 losses, the sub-300 win total, and his failure to garner a Cy Young Award or reach 20 wins more than once-all of those related to the level of support he received from his teammates (not to mention unenlightened voters). His career totals place him in elite company: fifth all-time in strikeouts (only Ryan, Carlton, Clemens, and Randy Johnson are ahead), ninth in shutouts, 11th in games started, 14th in innings, and 27th in wins, with virtually everybody around him on those lists either in the Hall of Fame or headed there. He ranks 10th in career WARP and 29th in peak, 11th in PRAR, and 10th in PRAA. He's well ahead of the average Hall of Fame pitcher according to JAWS, and that's enough for the vote here.
The first time I tackled the Hall of Fame ballot for BP, Blyleven polled at just 35.4 percent in his seventh year on the ballot. Thanks to an internet blitz that's centered around Rich Lederer's campaign at The Baseball Analysts website (one that's even swayed actual BBWAA voters, including 2005 Spink Award recipient Tracy Ringolsby), he crossed the 50 percent threshold four years ago, attaining 53.3 percent of the vote in his ninth go-round, and has polled above 60 percent in two years running, suggesting that his eventual enshrinement is hardly the ballot's most farfetched proposition. I'll believe it when I see it, but I remain optimistic.
Like ballot-mate Alan Trammell as well as Lou Whitaker and Lance Parrish, Jack Morris was part of a homegrown nucleus that debuted with the Tigers in 1977, became a fixture by the following season, and went on to anchor the Tigers' fine 1984 title team. After spending more than a decade fronting Detroit's rotation, he then went on to even greater fame as the gritty gun for hire on two other World Champions, most memorably spinning an unforgettable 10-inning 1-0 shutout in Game Seven of the 1991 Series. That game looms large in the Morris legend, and for awhile it looked as though it might carry him to Cooperstown, offsetting a Hall of Fame candidacy whose merits appear to fade each year, at least under the harsh glare of the JAWS spotlight.
Morris racked up some high win totals over the course of his 18 seasons, and put up some stellar performances in October (7-4, 3.80 ERA) beyond that Game Seven. But his career ERA-which would be the highest of any enshrined pitcher-and subsequently his WARP-based totals are nothing to write home about; in fact, they get worse with every revision of JAWS. In 2006, the first year I used the seven-season definition of peak (previously it had been five consecutive years), Morris was 10 points below the average Hall of Fame starter, per JAWS. A higher replacement level and revised division of responsibility between pitchers and fielders now has him more than 27 points below the standard. His 1987 season rates as his most valuable, at 5.0 WARP, and he's got just three other seasons of 4.0 WARP or above. By comparison, Blyleven had 10 seasons at or above 5.0 WARP, and another four between 4.0 and 5.0. SNLVAR regards Morris more favorably; he ranked in the league's top 10 seven times in a nine-year span, five of them in the top five (Bert: 11 times in the top 10 between 1971 and 1989, four times in the top five, with a career-best number two ranking coming in his final full season). But Morris' PRAA total is now deep in the red; he was below average in five of his last seven seasons, and just eight above average in those two years where he was the ace of the World Champion Twins and Blue Jays. To borrow one of Bill James' more dubiously applied phrases, if that's a Hall of Famer, I'm a lugnut.
Supporters have dismissed Morris' high ERAs with claims that he "pitched to the score." Research by Greg Spira and Joe Sheehan has long since put the lie to this claim. Poring over Morris' career inning-by-inning via Retrosheet, Sheehan concluded: "I can find no pattern in when Jack Morris allowed runs. If he pitched to the score-and I don't doubt that he changed his approach-the practice didn't show up in his performance record." Morris' record is more a product of strong run support-seven percent better than the park adjusted league average-than it is special strategy. For all of his extra wins and post-season success, his case rests on a distortion of the value of one shining moment rather than a well-rounded career. The majority of Hall of Fame voters seem to see it that way as well, though last year's 44 percent was his high-water mark in 10 years on the ballot.
Though he's got 85 fewer wins and three fewer World Series rings than Morris, Kevin Appier's got a much stronger case from a JAWS standpoint. The longtime ace of the Royals was adept enough at preventing runs that he led the AL in ERA in 1993 and finished in the top five three times in his first four full seasons (1990-1993); he also averaged 6.3 WARP per year during that four-year run, eclipsing Morris' best season three times. Along with David Cone, Appier pitched for the Royals during their last gasp of competitiveness. Despite atrocious run support-10 percent below the park-adjusted league average-he was one of the game's best pitchers from 1990 to 1997, posting the sixth-best ERA among pitchers with at least 1000 innings in that span:
Player IP ERA Greg Maddux 1924 2.47 Roger Clemens 1755 2.90 David Cone 1616 3.14 Tom Glavine 1765 3.18 Kevin Appier 1644 3.22 Randy Johnson 1547 3.24 Curt Schilling 1219 3.28 Dennis Martinez 1424 3.30 John Smoltz 1788 3.38 Kevin Brown 1702 3.42
That's a veritable Who's Who of Nineties pitching, representing 10 of the 16 Cy Youngs won during that period, and featuring four 300-game winners and at least a couple of other pitchers likely to wind up in Cooperstown as well (Schilling and Smoltz). Appier actually posted a higher WARP (42.3) than all but Maddux (61.0) and Clemens (56.4) during that span, with Johnson (40.0) fourth; he's also third in SNLVAR. Running with this crowd, the best Appier could do in the Cy voting was a third-place finish in 1993, when he went 18-8 with league bests in ERA (2.56) and SNLVAR (9.3). He earned only one All-Star berth during this time, and pitched for one team that even finished higher than third, the 1995 Royals, who were second in the AL Central despite an anemic 70-74 record.
Appier missed most of the 1998 season due to a torn labrum, and when he returned to the team the following year, he asked out of Kansas City. He made stops in Oakland, Queens, and Anaheim, helping the 2000 A's to a division title and the 2002 Angels to a World Championship while functioning as a mid-rotation innings sponge. After never putting up a full season worth less than 3.3 WARP from 1990 through 1997, he couldn't top that low-tide mark once during his final seven seasons, which included a protracted farewell in Kansas City in 2003-2004, and then, after a year's layoff, a failed comeback with the Mariners' Triple-A club in 2006. A very good career, but not enough for the Hall of Fame.
Pat Hentgen is best remembered for winning the 1996 AL Cy Young award on the strength of an across-the-board career year: 20-10 with a 3.22 ERA and 177 strikeouts in a league-high 265
Hentgen had already enjoyed some ups and downs prior to that point. A fifth-round 1986 pick from Michigan, he debuted in 1991, spent most of 1992 in the Jays' bullpen, and emerged as a frontline starter-and even an All-Star-in 1993, going 19-9 with a 3.87 ERA for a team that won the World Series for the second straight year. Pummeled by the White Sox in the ALCS, Hentgen recovered to pitch six strong innings in a 10-3 Game Three rout of the Phillies in the Fall Classic.
Hentgen's 1993 season was worth only 3.8 WARP, a mark he bettered three times in the next four years, topping out with a high of 6.7 in his Cy Young season; he also led the league that year with 8.7 SNLVAR, rebounding from a lousy 1995 (10-14, 5.11 ERA, 2.7 SNLVAR). His effectiveness took a serious dip after 1997, with his rising ERA and falling strikeout rate crossing paths, never a good sign. He took his lumps every five days from 1998 through 2000 (32 starts per year with a 4.89 ERA), moving onto the Cardinals via trade in the latter year. After signing with the Orioles in 2001, he got off to a strong start, but his roll was thwarted by Tommy John surgery, and he was never the same after that, going just 9-21 with a 5.27 ERA sandwiching one serviceable season in Baltimore around two disappointing ones, the last back in Toronto. He won't be adding a bronze plaque to his respectable collection of hardware.
Shane Reynolds ranks among the Astros' all-time top 10 in many key pitching categories, including starts, innings, wins, losses and strikeouts. A third-round pick out of the University of Texas in 1989, he spent 14 seasons in Houston's organization, a span that bridged the stylistic outlandishness of their rainbow-attired Astrodome days with the blandness of their pinstriped Minute Maid days.
Though he debuted in 1992, Reynolds didn't carve out a regular spot in the Astros' rotation until 1995. He was a mid-rotation mainstay for the next five seasons, averaging 33 starts and 215 innings per year with a 3.73 ERA and a tidy 4.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He cracked the top 10 in strikeout rate in all five of those years, and ranked among the league's top five in walk rate in three of them, posting an NL-best 1.4 walks per nine in 1999. He helped the Astros to three division titles from 1997 to 1999, and while both he and the club had down years in 2000, they rebounded to win another flag in 2001. Those Astros never made it past the Division Series, losing 12 out of 14 playoff games; Reynolds was the starter in both wins.
From an advanced metrics standpoint, Reynolds' 1996 and 1999 seasons (5.6 and 5.0 WARP, respectively) rank as his best; he cracked the NL top 10 in SNLVAR in both years, and the top 20 four times in five years. His 19-win, 209-strikeout 1998 campaign comes in at just 3.1 WARP, though he did finish 11th in SNLVAR that year with 5.7. He was 22 Pitching Runs Above Average during his five-season heyday, but 61 below average over the next five years as he struggled to stay healthy. After leaving Houston following the 2002 season, he served a year at the back end of Atlanta's rotation, and spent 2004 battling rotator cuff woes as a Diamondback, making just one final start. He's got no real case for Cooperstown, but he deserves to be recognized as a pretty important cog on a team that enjoyed a pretty decent run but couldn't quite take the next step.
Relief Pitchers
Pitcher W L SV IP ERA ERA+ AS CY 3C HoFS HoFM Bal 2009% Mike Jackson 62 67 142 1188 3.42 125 0 0 0 11.0 52.0 0 N/A Lee Smith 71 92 478 1289 3.03 132 7 0 0 13.0 136.0 7 43.3% Pitcher PRAR PRAA Career Peak JAWS WXRL RAJAWS Jackson 233 75 28.7 19.6 24.2 33.6 40.9 Smith 377 144 47.7 32.2 40.0 46.7 63.3 AVG HoF RP 455 180 53.7 35.2 44.5 43.0 66.0
When I first cobbled together the system that became JAWS, just two relievers were in the Hall of Fame: Hoyt Wilhelm and Rollie Fingers. Since then, that number has more than doubled with the elections of Dennis Eckersley (2004), Bruce Sutter (2006), and Rich Gossage (2008). Though there's plenty to quibble about with regards to Sutter's election in 2006, it's become easier to sketch out a standard for relievers, particularly with our own Keith Woolner's development of the Reliever Expected Wins Added (WXRL) stat. WXRL accounts for the discovery that a reliever at the end of a ballgame has a quantitatively greater impact on winning and losing (a ratio called leverage) than a starter does. It measures that impact by comparing a team's chances of winning based on the game state (bases, outs, score differential) before he enters and after he leaves. For the purposes of measuring a pitcher's Hall-worthiness, it functions as something of a career/peak hybrid; one can accumulate a high total via performing well under high-pressure situations for shorter periods or in more moderate pressure situations for longer. Four years ago, I put aside an earlier kludge and began incorporating WXRL totals into a Reliever's Adjusted JAWS score via the formula RAJAWS: ((0.5 x WXRL) + JAWS).
The physically intimidating Lee Smith stepped into the large shoes vacated by Sutter in Wrigleyville and did a very credible job in six years as the Cubs' 100-innings-per-year closer. From 1983-1987, he finished in the top five in saves every season, leading the league once. He was in the top five in WXRL three times in that span, and never lower than 11th. Traded to Boston after 1987, he continued to post high-quality seasons, though his workload and save totals dipped a bit. Traded again to the Cardinals, he flourished, topping Sutter's NL save record and recording 160 saves in parts of four seasons-taking over the all-time lead in that category-before packing his bags again. He finally led the league in WXRL in 1991, with 5.142. Through five more stops, the innings began to take a toll, and his managers limited his usage to about 50 frames a year, one inning at a time, to keep him effective. He spent his last two seasons in a set-up role, with diminishing returns, finally hanging it up in 1998.
From a traditional standpoint, Smith's case starts with his status as the number three guy on the all-time saves list, his seven All-Star selections, and an amazing string of consistency which followed him to virtually every stop on his 18-year ride. Until his abbreviated final season, his ERA+ was always better than league-average, 32 percent better for his career. On the down side, his teams never went further than a LCS appearance, and he got bombed in his brief post-season appearances, blowing two ballgames in best-of-fives. His RAJAWS tops those of Sutter (52.8) and Fingers (61.8), but with the admission of Gossage (73.5) and the replacement level adjustment, he's now fallen below the Hall average, well behind Eck (76.8) and Wilhelm (65.0 and counting, since we don't have data for his 1952 and 1953 seasons) too. The line for relievers remains fuzzy, and while the JAWS system has come down on his side in the past, he's currently a no.
If Lee Smith is a no, Jackson has no chance. A well-traveled reliever who pitched for eight teams across 17 seasons-not including two full campaigns lost to injury late in his career-Jackson never made an All-Star team, and spent only two years as a full-time closer, with the 1998 and 1999 Indians. With all due respect to a reliable setup man whose great slider helped him rack up the 23rd-highest WXRL total of the Retrosheet era (1954 onward) and made him a crucial part of the bullpens of five playoff teams, he has absolutely no business on a Hall of Fame ballot.
So with the business of the pitchers concluded, we add Bert Blyleven to the ranks of Roberto Alomar, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Mark McGwire, Tim Raines, and Alan Trammell on the JAWS 2010 ballot. With the voting results scheduled be announced later today (Wednesday), I wouldn't be at all surprised if that slate draws a blank while Andre Dawson gets in, though I do think Alomar has a decent shot (early returns suggest reasons for optimism) and Blyleven may be nearing the tipping point. We'll find out soon enough.


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Memorial Day for children: Thank You Soldiers songApril 25, 2010 | Categrory: being an American, military kids, parenting
kids sing thank youMemorial Day for children: Thank You Soldiers song.
Check this out, click on the title above and listen to a beautiful song of thanks to our Military, sung by children. I know you will love it. Mommylife.net offers the music free to teachers and parents who want to teach this to your little ones for the celebration!


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Mets Fans
JFro: Fire Jerry Manuel
John Frascella, aka JFro, of FanNation argues for Mets manager Jerry Manuel to be fired. I agree with most of what he has to say except for his last argument that Daniel Murphy should have been lifted for a defensive replacement in the 8th inning of a tied game (in St. Louis on 4/21). You […]
People Magazine/MLB's Sexiest Fan Alive Contest
Reader Stacey Chase wrote in with the following request: Their season may be over, but the Mets still have a chance to WIN! My good friend BRIAN DOMINGO, New Jersey native and ardent Mets fan, has made it to the FINALS of People Magazine/MLB's Sexiest Fan Alive Contest!! We need you to VOTE for Brian […]
FedEx and the Mets
Apparently the FedEx guy who delivers to my office is a Mets fan too. Click the image to see a larger version of it. You've got to love camera phones. The image is on the web less than 5 minutes after I discovered the decorated handtruck.


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- Telephone:
- 07931 918420 | 0121 5205884
Key factsPrint summary
FULL MERCEDES SERVICE HISTORY WITH PRINTED INVOICED, HPI CLEAR WITH WARRANTED MILES, LONG MOT WITH NO ADVISORY, 1 FORMER KEEPER, 2 REMOTE KEYS - SATELLITE NAVIGATION, HANDS FREE BLUETOOTH CD PLAYER, USB, AUX INPUT, AUTO LIGHTS, AUTO WIPERS, FRONT AND READ PARKING SENSORS, ELECTRIC FOLDING MIRRORS Next MOT due 03/03/2018, Last serviced on 18/10/2017 at 95,000 miles, Good bodywork, Black Full leather interior - Good Condition, Tyre condition Good, Silver, #ALL MAJOR CREDIT & DEBIT CARDS ACCEPTED #AA/RAC INSPECTION WELCOME #5 DAY DRIVE AWAY INSURANCE AVAILABLE SUBJECT TO STATUS #12 MONTHS WARRANTY AVAILABLE. ## 12 MONTHS MOT ALSO AVAILABLE ##, VIEWING BY APPOINTMENTS, PLEASE CALL 07931 918 420, 121 GREAT BRIDGE STREET, WEST BROMWICH, B70 0DA, £5,685
This car comes with
Leather Upholstery, Parktronic (PTS), Tyre Pressure Monitoring, Automatic Climate Control, Speedtronic Cruise Control, Tinted Glass - Green, Electric Front Seats, Metallic Paint, Mercedes-Benz Audio 20 Radio/Single CD and Telephone Keypad, Rain Sensing Wipers with One - Touch Wiper Function, Electric Windows (4), Alarm System, Upholstery - Biarritz Fabric Upholstery with Side Bolsters in Leather, 17in Alloy Wheels (4) - 5 Twin Spoke Design 8.5J x 17 with 245/45 Tyres, 10 Speakers, Airbags, Automatic Dimming Rear View, Centre Console, Cup Holders, Cruise control, Folding rear seats, Electric door mirrors, Immobiliser, Remote central locking, Radio, Traction control, Power steering, Height adjustable drivers seat, Centre Armrests - Front and Rear, with Storage, CD Player
- 201710110189632
- 2007
- 57
- £5,685
- 569
- 96,000
- Cars
- VUKlKjhri7I=
Vehicle summary
|Body style
|Engine size
|2987 cc
|Fuel type
|Number of doors
|Number of seats
|Gearbox type
|CO2 emissions
|200 g/km
|Insurance group
|Standard manufacturer's warranty (miles)
|No details available
|Standard manufacturer's warranty (years)
|3 years
|Standard paintwork guarantee
|No details available
Performance & economy
|Fuel consumption (urban)
|26.7 mpg
|Fuel consumption (extra urban)
|47.9 mpg
|Fuel consumption (combined)
|37.2 mpg
|0 - 60 mph
|7.0 seconds
|Top speed
|153 mph
|Engine power
|221 bhp
|Engine torque
|376.18 lbs/ft
|1381 mm
|Height inclusive of roof rails
|No details available
|4913 mm
|2854 mm
|1873 mm
|Width including mirrors
|No details available
|Fuel tank capacity
|80 litres
|Minimum kerb weight
|1815 kg
|Interior features
|Exterior features
|Interior Lighting in Rear with Integral Reading Lights
|Door Mirrors - Electrically Adjustable, Folding, Heated and Auto Dimming Drivers Door Mirror
|Silk Matt Burr Walnut Wood
|Heated Windscreen Wash System
|12 V Power Socket in Rear
|Metallic Paint
|Outside Temperature Gauge
|17in Alloy Wheels (4) - 5 Twin Spoke Design 8.5J x 17 with 245/45 Tyres
|Automatic Dimming Rear View
|Body Coloured Bumpers
|10 Speakers
|Space - Saver Spare Wheel
|Tinted Glass - Green
|Steering Column - Manually Adjustable for Height and Reach
|Upholstery - Biarritz Fabric Upholstery with Side Bolsters in Leather
|Cup Holders
|Mercedes-Benz Audio 20 Radio/Single CD and Telephone Keypad
|Leather - Trimmed Steering Wheel
|Electric Front Seats
|Trip Computer
|Sun Visors with Illuminated Vanity Mirrors
|Centre Armrests - Front and Rear, with Storage
|Multi - Function Steering Wheel
|Centre Console
|Lumbar Support for Front Seats
|Heated Rear Screen
|Automatic Climate Control
|Rain Sensing Wipers with One - Touch Wiper Function
|Gear Shift Lever in Leather
|Speedtronic Cruise Control
|Electric Windows (4)
|Third Brake Light
|Airbags - Dual - Stage, Driver
|Neck Pro Active Head Restraints - Front Seats - Adjustable for Height and Angle
|Power - Assisted Steering
|Anti - Lock Braking System (ABS) with Brake Assist (BAS)
|Electronic Stability Programme (ESP)
|Airbags - Front Sidebags/Windowbags
|Remote Central Locking
|Alarm System
|Headlamp Assist (Automatic Headlamp Activation)
|Acceleration Skid Control (ASR)
|Seat Belt Pre - Tensioners - Front
|Airbags - Dual - Stage, Front Passenger
Please note
This includes MPG figures which are calculated under European Standards, in test conditions, and will vary under normal driving conditions. The information displayed above describes the typical specification of the most recent model of this vehicle. It is not the exact specification for the actual vehicle being offered for sale which may vary. Specifications for older models may also vary. Please contact us prior to purchase to confirm the exact specification of this vehicle.
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Puppy: Nala
Friends: 5
Member Since: May 1, 2009Add to Friends
Nala is the love of my life besides my hubby-to-be. She is now 11 months and she is the happiest english bulldog EVER!!! She has added more joy and laughter to my life and i couldn't ask for a better friend. She's lovable and a great cuddler, too. Just look at her face... how can you not resist her?View Profile


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By Matt Walker
Baytown artist Ken Pridgeon has finished 140 portraits of slain Texas military servicemembers - and has 440 to go.
At an age when most people are slowing down, a 78-year-old retired Baytown sign shop owner has launched into what he calls the mission of his life.
Ken Pridgeon acknowledges he might not realize his dream, but his goal is to paint a picture of every Texan killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. So far he's finished 140 portraits with at least 440 to go.
Pridgeon said he keeps going because of the families of the fallen. At a gravesite, he said, they can't see their loved ones. At his gallery full of the pictures, he said, "the guys are in here and I tell their stories everyday" to visitors.
"All I can tell you is I love it so much now that it's my field of dreams. It's what I was supposed to do with my life ... to bring a little peace to these families."
Pridgeon himself is a veteran, having served for a decade in the Air Force and later working as a sub-contractor for NASA. He also ran his own sign shop for 20 years before retiring in 2010 and turning to art, initially as a hobby.
To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.
Standing at a rail-thin six feet in blue jeans and red beret, Pridgeon said he wanted to stay busy, even in his retirement. It was around the time he first retired that he had started painting soldiers on canvas and in oil, trying to tell their stories. He works from photos and strives to show the soldiers, women as well as men, "having a good time.''
How it came together
The project started in 2010 when he was contacted to paint a picture of Wesley Riggs by a friend of the young soldier's family. Riggs, 19, was killed in battle during the Iraq War and the friend, Colleen Fontenot, wanted to give it to Riggs' parents as a gift.
"I started painting Wesley," Pridgeon, said, motioning towards a portrait of Riggs on the wall of his Baytown studio. "That would have been the end of the matter," he said, but for a chance encounter in the summer of 2010 in the town of Old River-Winfree.
Pridgeon was outside on a sidewalk during the town's "Founder's Day" finishing his portrait of Riggs - an Army private killed in May 2005 by an improvised explosive device in Tikrit, Iraq - when a funeral procession passed by.
A stranger in the small crowd watching Pridgeon remarked that the procession was for yet another fallen Army soldier from nearby Dayton.
That soldier, Staff Sgt. Jesse Ainsworth, had been killed while building a water reservoir in Walakan, Afghanistan. Pridgeon obtained pictures of Ainsworth from a family friend and went to work on the portrait.
"It was July 12, 2010," Pridgeon recalled. "If I had done that Riggs portrait one day later, everything would have changed."
He hasn't stopped since.
Now, he hopes to enlist other artists to finish the monumental task.
"I'd be 150 if I do this the rest by myself," he said with a laugh at the thought of painting at least 440 more portraits of fallen Texas servicemen. It takes about 10 days for him to complete each piece of art.
Hopes to pass torch
Mike Wilson, a banker and board director for the Portrait of a Warrior Memorial Art Gallery in Baytown, has agreed to assist Pridgeon.
Wilson's goal is to raise funds to house the original paintings in what is known by Baytown residents as "the Hefner building." Pridgeon gives prints to survivors of the war dead.
"We're not taking donations at the moment," said Wilson, "but we should have things up and running as a nonprofit organization soon."
Pridgeon added that while memorializing Texas service members was his original intent, he now hopes the project will eventually grow to honor all fallen soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Pridgeon said he hasn't made one dime from this effort and his only income is from Social Security. "Someone needs to do it and I don't have all the responsibilities that married people have. I'm nearly 79 years old."
For the soldiers who lay down their lives for their country, Pridgeon won't rest until they are all accounted for on canvas.
He rubbed his white beard, staring at a wall of his portraits and said: "It's the very least I can do."
© 2017 Hearst Newspapers, LLC.


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- Medicine Access and Rational Use > Primary Health Care
- Traditional Medicine > Traditional, Complementary and Herbal Medicine
(1995; 86 pages)
If suitable audio-visuals are not available, you can often make your own from low-cost local materials. Engage a local artist to draw pictures. Use pictures from magazines and other visuals to create your own posters or flip charts. Photocopy existing materials.
Keep in mind the following points when designing your own visual aids:
• use pictures whenever possible;
• when words and numerals must be used, use as few as possible;
• use graphs to present statistics and numerical information;
• use colours as often as possible. The use of colour can increase the effectiveness of a picture and emphasize key points. Colours can be used for coding, contrast, and improving visibility. Colour combinations or contrasts are important. The colours that attract attention best are red and blue;
• make the visual display simple and easy to understand. Use only key words and phrases, simple shapes and lines, and a few well-chosen colours. Do not crowd the display;
• for lettering, use special pens of the desired size, colour and boldness. You can often use commercial, pre-cut letters, lettering guides (stencils), and stick-on letters, or you may write free-hand. Be sure the letters are large enough and not crowded together so that those at the back of the room can read them;
• if a complex figure is necessary, the various elements should be introduced one by one. If you build up the picture step-by-step, it will be more easily understood and accepted. Flannel-boards and overhead projectors are very good for this purpose; for instance, a flannel-board can be used to teach how to obtain a balanced diet.
Learning from pictures may be difficult for people who have not had much formal schooling. People who have had some experience in learning from pictures will be able to understand and use pictures more easily than people who have never been to school.
When using visual aids of any type, it is important to make them agree with, and strengthen, the information you are teaching. The people in the drawings should look friendly and be dressed to look like the people in your community.
Make sure colours are appropriate to the culture - to be sure, ask trainees or people in the community what different colours mean to them. All technical points need to be correct when visual aids are adapted or new ones are produced. For example, the way in which a mother holds her baby when breast-feeding, or the way in which an injection is given should be shown accurately and correctly.
Some visual aids, for example, films and slides, may be expensive, and may require special equipment, like projectors, to be displayed. Simple visual aids are often just as useful and effective. Begin with what you have.
People often learn more from getting involved in making visual aids than they do from watching a film or a set of slides, especially if the film or set of slides shows pictures of places and people that are not familiar.
Demonstrations are a good way to involve participants. You can prepare effective demonstrations by creating your own materials from real-life objects. For example, have the participants bring: samples of foods for a nutrition demonstration; water, sugar, and salt for a demonstration on ORS; materials to demonstrate how to disinfect water.
A good example of how a training project involved the class in developing its own visual aids occurred in a training project in Mexico. The instructor involved the herbalist practitioners, who were learning how to use local herbal medicines, in making a handbook of drawings of local herbs. This project helped the trainees to learn to identify local herbs and to understand how the herbs could be used. At the end of the session, each trainee was given a copy of the book for his or her own use in identifying local herbs and using them to treat patients in communities.


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As Maryland gets ready to pass strict gun laws that would ban assault weapons, gunmaker Beretta has said it may move to a more gun-friendly state. Now neighboring West Virginia is wooing the gun maker, located in Accokeek, Md., and its approximately 300 jobs.
On Thursday, West West Virginia House Speaker Rick Thompson wrote Beretta suggesting his state is the most suitable destination for the company's relocation.
"As you may be aware, West Virginia has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the country, only behind Alaska, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming," Thompson wrote. "This combined with the state's long support of the Second Amendment and our close proximity to your current headquarters, makes us an excellent choice for Beretta USA in your relocation efforts."
Thompson also assured the gun maker West Virginia will not support a gun control law like the one poised to pass Maryland's legislature.
But Thompson faces competition from Virginia, Businessweek reports. Earlier this week, Virginia Republican lieutenant governor candidate and investment company executive Pete Snyder wrote to Beretta as well, noting his state's friendly tax and gun climate. Snyder promised the company, whcih has a facility in Fredericksburg, "would be welcomed with open arms in all parts of the Commonwealth."
Earlier this month, Jeff Reh, general counsel for Beretta, told the Maryland legislature his company has poured resources into the state, but the new laws — which would ban some of Beretta's products — could drive the company and its tax dollars elsewhere.
"That commitment is not one-sided, though, and deserves the respect of a corresponding commitment from the local community and from the state Government," he said. "Instead, we are confronted with a state government that wants to ban our products at a time, by the way, when numerous other state governments are courting our investment. It is worth noting that these other states also do not try to blame a product for human misconduct."
Reh likened the gun ban to a book ban, saying both would be unconstitutional.
"From a constitutional point of view, we see SB 281 as tantamount to a legislative effort to ban certain books," he said. "That might seem like a provocative statement but the parallels are apt. The possession and use of firearms and printed materials are both protected by the Constitution."


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iOS 7
iOS 7 is a major upgrade of the mobile OS for iPhones and iPads.
As Apple always focus on providing a great user experience over support for older models, the introduction of iOS 7 leaves behind a few devices.
iOS can only be upgraded on the following devices
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4S
- iPhone 5
- iPad 2
- iPad 3rd Generation
- iPad 4th Generation
- iPad Mini
- iPod Touch 5th Generation
For the early adopters of the iPad, sorry but it's time to upgrade. I do have the first version of the iPad and it's running the most up to date iOS 5.1.1. It's still in daily use although it feels a bit sluggish compared to my iPhone 5 running iOS 6.
iPhone 4 users can upgrade to the latest iOS 7 but I'm going to leave my old iPhone 4 on iOS 6. Some people have reported that the user interface is a bit slow.
The iOS 6 is still quite good with notification center over the iOS 5. However closing apps is a chore as you have to hold the icon down for a few seconds to close it. Other than that, I would choose to have the speed over the extra features of iOS 7 on the older iPhone 4.
Although some of the features of the iPhone 5C are nice like the much improved camera, like most people who are locked in a two year mobile contract, I can't upgrade to the latest.
Updating to iOS 7 feels like getting a new phone and will tide me over till the iPhone 6 is out. If you have the iPhone 4S or 5, do make the upgrade.
The new icons and animation is very beautiful and smooth. I found it fast and it does not feel sluggish on the iPhone 5.
Upgrade Process
1. Update your iTunes to the latest version
2. Backup and sync your iPhone
3. Ensure that purchases done on iPhone are transferred.
4. Download and update to iOS 7 from iTunes.
The iOS 7 is a hefty download at more than 700mb depending on the device. As such, I would recommend updating while connected to the computer instead of over the air.


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Thursday, May 28, 2009
"Sotomayor Sides With the Cops: And persuades a Republican judge to go along with her." Emily Bazelon has this jurisprudence essay online at Slate.
Posted at 11:57 PM by Howard Bashman
Available online from law.com: Marcia Coyle has an article headlined "Questions Arise About Long Delay by Sotomayor-Led Panel in Climate Case."
And in other news, "Georgia Lawyers Take Sides in High Court Client Privilege Case; Groups siding with Mohawk say not allowing immediate review of privilege waiver means no review at all."
"Roberts and residents agree: Leavenworth doesn't want Gitmo inmates." This article appears today in The Kansas City Star.
Posted at 11:30 PM by Howard Bashman
"Sotomayor's Sharp Tongue Raises Issue of Temperament": Jo Becker and Adam Liptak will have this article Friday in The New York Times. Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain articles headlined "Nominee's Links With Advocates Fuel Her Critics"; "Buzzwords Shape the Debate Over Confirmation"; and "Court Pick Missed State Votes." Today's newspaper, meanwhile, contains articles headlined "Sotomayor Pick a Product of Lessons From Past Battles"; "Sotomayor's Appellate Opinions Are Unpredictable, Lawyers and Scholars Say"; "Sotomayor's Opponents and Allies Prepare Strategies"; and "A Judge's Own Story Highlights Her Mother's."
Today's edition of The Washington Post contains articles headlined "Rigorous Questioning Hasn't Fazed Nominee" and "Making History Was but One Factor; Obama Touts Nominee's Credentials, Story." And in commentary, columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. has an op-ed entitled "Obama's Anti-Roberts"; columnist David S. Broder has an op-ed entitled "A Choice for the GOP"; and Dana Milbank has a "Washington Sketch" essay headlined "Latina Woman, Tongue-Tied Man."
Friday's edition of The Los Angeles Times will contain articles headlined "Sotomayor's net worth probably on low end of federal judiciary; The Supreme Court nominee's only investment income is interest of $1,000 on bank accounts that add up to no more than $65,000, a 2008 disclosure form shows" and "Reaction to Sotomayor more good than bad, poll finds; Gallup says nearly half rate her as good or excellent, with only 13% giving her poor marks." And today's newspaper contains an article headlined "At Yale, Sotomayor won apology from law firm; In 1978, she complained of bias during her job interview process; And a university panel backed her stance."
Friday in The Wall Street Journal, Jess Bravin will have an article headlined "Legal Realism Informs Judge's Views." Tomorrow's newspaper will also contain articles headlined "A Sotomayor Ruling Gets Scrutiny; Justices Weigh Firefighters' Claim After Appeals Panel Upheld 'Race Neutral' Decision" and "Another Hot Issue: Intellectual Property." Today's newspaper, meanwhile, contains an article headlined "Battle Over Sotomayor Heats Up; As White House Gathers Backers, Conservatives Heighten Attacks on Judge's Record." And Karl Rove has an op-ed entitled "'Empathy' Is Code for Judicial Activism; What damage did Democrats suffer when they attacked Miguel Estrada?"
Linda Feldmann of The Christian Science Monitor has an article headlined "The marketing of Sonia Sotomayor: She hasn't ruled on hot-button issues, which puts her in a middle position - for now, anyway."
And ABCNews.com reports that "Abortion Rights Groups Wary About Sonia Sotomayor's Views; With Little History on the Issue, Groups on Both Sides Say Supreme Court Nominee Should Explain Her Point of View in Hearings."
"Sotomayor Took Cautious Approach in Cases on Race, Gun Rights": Greg Stohr of Bloomberg News has this report.
And Bloomberg News columnist Margaret Carlson has an essay entitled "Sotomayor Stokes Republican Identity Crisis."
"Sotomayor's views on abortion rights are unknown": The Associated Press has this report.
Posted at 09:18 PM by Howard Bashman
The Associated Press is reporting: Now available online are articles headlined "Conservatives, liberals take sides on Sotomayor" and "White House comfortable with nominee's views."
Posted at 04:28 PM by Howard Bashman
Available online from National Public Radio: Today's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained an audio segment entitled "How Obama's Nomination Of Sotomayor Unfolded" (featuring Nina Totenberg).
Yesterday evening's broadcast of "All Things Considered" contained audio segments entitled "Groups Prepare For Sotomayor Battle" and "Diabetes: Is It An Issue For The Supreme Court?"
And yesterday's broadcast of "Morning Edition" contained audio segments entitled "Obama Picks Hispanic Woman For Supreme Court" (featuring Nina Totenberg); "Housing Project Part Of 'Inspiring Life's Journey'"; "Senate Will Debate Sotomayor's Nomination"; and "Looking Back At Sotomayor's 1995 Baseball Ruling."
RealPlayer is required to launch these audio segments.
In posts of note at "SCOTUSblog": Lyle Denniston has a post titled "Sotomayor and the Second Amendment."
And Kevin Russell has a post titled "Where Would Justice Souter's Replacement Make A Difference? Part I."
"Sampling Sotomayor on the First": David L. Hudson Jr. has this news analysis online at the First Amendment Center.
Posted at 11:33 AM by Howard Bashman
"U.S. Manga Obscenity Conviction Roils Comics World": At Wired.com's "Threat Level" blog, David Kravets has a post that begins, "In an obscenity first, a U.S. comic book collector has pleaded guilty to importing and possessing Japanese manga books depicting illustrations of child sex abuse and bestiality."
Posted at 11:32 AM by Howard Bashman
"Pa. Justices: Internet Child Porn Search Constitutes 'Knowing Possession.'" This article appears today in The Legal Intelligencer.
And The Philadelphia Daily News reports today that "Pa. high court backs ban on viewing kid-porn."
My earlier coverage of Tuesday's Pa. Supreme Court ruling appears at this link.
"Court says no First Amendment violation in church aid case": Online at The Michigan Messenger, Ed Brayton has a post that begins, "The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the city of Detroit did not violate the establishment clause of the First Amendment by giving more than $700,000 to several churches downtown to reimburse them for exterior renovations prior to the city's hosting of the Super Bowl and the NCAA Final Four."
Circuit Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton wrote today's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel.
Update: The Associated Press reports that "Atheists lose lawsuit over Detroit's downtown aid."
"Appellate court revives pit bull lawsuit": The Associated Press has a report that begins, "Opponents of a Denver ordinance that calls for euthanizing pit bulls found living in city limits have another chance at challenging the law in court. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday revived a lawsuit filed by three former Denver residents who moved out the city to avoid losing their dogs."
You can access yesterday's ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit at this link.
"Prepping Sotomayor for hearings: Get your game face on." CNN.com has this report.
Posted at 10:55 AM by Howard Bashman
"5th Circuit council backs judge's impeachment": This article appears today in The Houston Chronicle.
And The Galveston County Daily News reports today that "Judicial panel urges impeachment of Kent."
You can access at this link yesterday's order of the Judicial Council of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and at this link a letter communicating rejection of the judge's disability claim.


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Category Archives: Grasslands Birds
Birding on the Carden Alvar
Sleeping in always sounds so good as I anticipate a day off… but there is one thing that will make me eagerly jump out of bed at the crack of dawn on a weekend morning: birds. On the gorgeous Saturday … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Canada, Birding Trips, Grasslands Birds Tagged birding Ontario, Carden Alvar, grassland birds, ontario birds 4 Comments
Endangered Burrowing Owls Given a Head Start
Endangered species come in all shapes and sizes, and the Calgary Zoo is launching an innovative conservation project to save one of the most unique owls in the country — the burrowing owl. Working in partnership with Environment and Climate … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Conservation Canada, Grasslands Birds, Owls Tagged burrowing owl conservation, burrowing owls Comments Off on Endangered Burrowing Owls Given a Head Start
Early Autumn on the Prairies
While it's still summer in Alberta, many areas in the province experienced snow yesterday (Monday). In our area, it snowed for just a short while, but then the melted away as the temperature reached a high of 5 degrees C. Here are … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Canada, Canadian Birds, Grasslands Birds, Migration, Raptors Tagged Sandhill Cranes, swainson's hawk 4 Comments
Summer Birding around Vermilion, Alberta
This post is a quick look at what birding looks like on the Canadian prairies in July. For more specifics, here is one of my recent eBird lists for July 2, 2014 . This Song Sparrow was singing at the Provincial … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Canada, Grasslands Birds, Nature Photography, Shorebirds, Songbirds, Waterfowl Tagged american robin, blue-winged teal, Brewer's Blackbird, killdeer, red-winged blackbird, Song Sparrow, Spotted Sandpiper, Summer Birds, yellow headed blackbird Comments Off on Summer Birding around Vermilion, Alberta
First Captive Born Greater Sage-Grouse
Calgary, AB – One of Canada's most critically endangered birds is one step closer to being saved from extinction. Eleven greater sage-grouse eggs, collected from the wild, have hatched successfully and are being reared at the Calgary Zoo, marking a … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Canada, Conservation, Grasslands Birds Tagged greater sage grouse in canada 2 Comments
My 2014 Baillie Birdathon
Cross-post from my blog Prairie Birder: Thursday, May 29th was my "green" Baillie Birdathon which was not only the wettest but also possibly my best Birdathon so far. I decided that I'd do a "green" birdathon because I wanted to focus more on the birds … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Canada, Bird Conservation Canada, Birding Trips, Canadian Birds, Citizen Science, Conservation, Corvids, Grasslands Birds, Hummingbirds, Migration, Raptors, Shorebirds, Songbirds, Waterfowl, Wood Warblers Tagged Baillie Birdathon, bird studies canada, Edmonton Nature Club, warblers, waterfowl 1 Comment
Big babies, little mamas
Last summer I watched an exhausted-looking Chestnut-backed Chickadee valiantly feed a demanding Brown-headed Cowbird chick about four times its size. Here's the cowbird, waiting (impatiently) while the harrowed chickadee gathers food to bring back to him. The year before I'd … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Behaviour, Grasslands Birds Tagged brood parasitism, brown-headed cowbird, buffalo bird, shiny cowbird 2 Comments
Spring Scouting at Frank Lake
As I'm sure it's been made clear by now, I absolutely love Frank Lake. I do a trip down there at least once a month, and in the spring it's a very productive major staging area for gulls, waterfowl, and … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Canada, Canadian Birds, Grasslands Birds, Migration, Nature Photography, Shorebirds, Waterfowl Tagged alberta birds, frank lake, shorebirds, spring migration, waterfowl 4 Comments
Canada's Shrikes, a tale of two seasons
Many North American birders and photographers fawn over the majesty and beauty of birds of prey. From the soaring raptors and eagles, to the swooping and diving falcons, to the deft and agile accipiters, and of course the ever popular … Continue reading
Posted in Bird Canada, Conservation, Grasslands Birds, Songbirds Tagged alberta birds, canada, loggerhead shrike, northern shrike, prairie birds, shrikes 2 Comments
Memories of Summer in Southern Alberta
Back in early August, I was invited by Gus Yaki to go on a little excursion around south-eastern Alberta. Our ultimate goal was to join a Nature Calgary trip to the area around Manyberries in search of Alberta's only lizard … Continue reading


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Jessica M.
Nanny in Arizona City, AZ 85123.
Looking for full or part-time work as a nanny.
Enhanced Background Check not run.
Enhanced Background Check(Not Run)
Basic Background Check not run.
Basic Background Check(Not Run)
Motor Vehicle Records Check not run.
Motor Vehicle Records Check(Not Run)
First Aid Training
First Aid Training
CPR Training
CPR Training
Arizona City, AZ
- Age 26
- 5 years paid experience
- Female
Last signed in: More than 6 months
Preferred Rate $10-$15 per hour
Jessica's Bio
I've been caring for children since 2008 when my first niece was born. I have three nieces and have spent time babysitting and caring for them separately, and all together at once. I am highly certain I can care for multiple children at a time. I love spending time around kids and doing anything I can to help and make sure I am doing my best to care for them. Although I am younger, I am able to keep up and be active with children and able to keep them busy with all sorts of activities and endless learning fun. I also obtained a Medical Assistant certificate and am CPR certified, for adults and as well as children.
Age Specific Experience
5 years of paid child care experience with:
- First year
- Toddlers (1 to 3 years)
- Preschooler (3 to 5 years)
- Grade School (6 to 11 years)
- Pre-teen/Teenagers (12 years and over)
4 to 5 years of infant care experience
Availability & Job Preferences
Availability Duration
- Permanent (1 to 2 years)
- Permanent (2 or more years)
- Summer Position
Job Duration
- Will consider either a part time or full time position
- Start date is flexible
My availability is valid through 6/3/14
- Weekday Early Morning (Before School)
- Day-time Weekdays (M - F)
- Weekday Afternoons (After School)
Skills & Abilities
Homework Help:
- Checking answers
- Studying for a test
- Proofreading
Additional Services:
- Meal Preparation
- Laundry
- Light Housekeeping
- Crafts
- Willing to run errands as needed
- Willing to drive children to events, school, appointments, or carpooling
|Jennifer M. is a reference for Jessica M.
|Relationship: Family
|Join Now to Contact Reference


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"$3.2 million? I have to tell my wife that, she could do with some money. Trisha! Word in town is that I got $3.2 million. Hahahaha!. We rich! Heeheel!"
That was the response of former minister Herbert Volney yesterday to speculation that he was paid handsomely for his public admission of guilt in the Section 34 imbroglio, which was made, via a press conference on Tuesday at the Attorney General's office.
After being amused, Volney said it was "so insulting".
He said he also heard that he was offered an ambassadorship." I would love that", he commented. "I would take anything to serve the country...It would be a great honour but I had no such discussion with the Attorney General, who is in no position to offer me any such thing", he said.
Asked about his column written two weeks ago in the Sunshine newspaper in which maintained his position on Section 34, Volney revealed that he had been fired as a columnist yesterday morning.
"Jack Warner pulled the plug on me today....I cannot be an independent thinker, I have to toe somebody's line. I was trying to make a contribution by writing and I know that there are many many people who read my commentary. But if Jack wants to terminate, well he has his reason. But I would not be anything but an independent commentator," he said. "The only thing I would write for now is the Catholic News," he said.
Asked where he stood politically, Volney said he was a member of the Independent Liberal Party as far as he knew. On the fact that Warner criticised him for taking blame for Section 34, he said he (Volney) had no allegations pointing to him, other than "idle conjecture than I spoke for money".
Told that Opposition Leader Keith Rowley said he (Volney) was hoping to benefit from the largesse of the Attorney General's department, Volney said: "Keith Rowley has been calling on me to talk the truth and now I talk the truth, he condemning me."
Volney said he had not recanted on any of his previous statements with respect to the Section 34 fiasco.
He said was willing to work. "But the work that I want to do is not the work that is being offered. I don't want to go up the islands. I want to stay in Trinidad. I have young children, they are at school, I don't want to disrupt anybody," he said.
He said, as a former judge, he was prohibited from practising in court but he could do consultancy and other legal work.


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A female pedestrian was struck and killed Sunday morning by a Green Line light-rail train on University Avenue near the St. Paul-Minneapolis border.
The accident was the first fatality on the Green Line since it opened June 14.
Metro Transit spokesman Bruce Howard said the eastbound train hit the woman about 10:15 a.m. as she was attempting to cross the tracks on a pedestrian walkway from the south side of the railway to the north side at the Westgate Station near University Avenue and Emerald Street just across the border in Minneapolis.
Howard said the woman, who appeared to be in her 40s, was dead when emergency personnel arrived. He said the train was probably going about 30 mph when it hit the woman. He said the train operator apparently tried to apply the brakes. The train, which was carrying about 40 people, hit the woman and stopped about 150 yards short of the eastbound platform near Berry Street.
Howard said no one on the train was injured.
Howard said a waist-high lighted sign mounted at the pedestrian walkway should have warned the woman that a train was coming. But he said, "She may have been wearing headphones."
He said the driver of the train will be taken offline as a standard procedure and tested for drugs. He said the accident will be investigated by Metro Transit police and likely will include a review of video footage from the train.
Howard said the woman's identity will be determined by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office.
Eastbound train and vehicle traffic on University Avenue was interrupted by the accident but resumed shortly after 12:30 p.m.
There have been three prior pedestrian accidents involving the Green Line, the most recent on Aug. 25, near University Avenue and Chatsworth Street in St. Paul leaving a man with a gash on his head and leg injuries. The two other accidents resulted in only minor injuries.
Richard Chin can be reached at 651-228-5560. Follow him at twitter.com/RRChin.


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Win an AMD Llano A8-3870K APU from PC Perspective!!
Subject: Editorial, General Tech | October 18, 2012 - 08:09 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: contest, video, giveaway, amd, llano, APU
In a self-serving attempt to increase awareness about the PC Perspective YouTube channel, we are running another contest where you can win one of four AMD Llano A8-3870K APUs simply by leaving a comment and being a subscriber.
That's right, there are two steps:
We'll pick our winners on October 24th! Good luck!
AMD Launches New Z-Series APU for Tablets
Subject: General Tech, Mobile | October 8, 2012 - 09:43 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: z-60 apu, tablets, radeon hd, APU, amd
AMD launched a new APU today meant for tablets and other mobile devices. The new Z-60 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) is now the company's lowest power APU processor. AMD is primarily pushing this chip as the best choice for tablets as thin as 10mm that are capable of running Windows 8.
The Z-60 APU supports AMD's Start Now and AppZone technologies for fast boot and resume times and application repository respectively. AMD has stated that it identified a gap between low performance and high priced mobile devices, and believes the Z-60 APU fills that void. AMD Corporate Vice President of Ultra-Low Power Products Steve Belt further stated the following:
"Tablet users seeking an uncompromised experience for both creating and consuming content on the Microsoft Windows 8 platform now have a performance-driven, affordable option with the AMD Z-60 APU."
Interestingly, AMD has managed to bring the TDP of the new Z-60 lower than the previous generation without sacrificing hardware or needing a new manufacturing process. While the Z-01 is part of the Brazos platform (codename Desna), the new Z-60 is codenamed Hondo and part of the Brazos-T platform, which involves several tweaks to the design to get more power efficiency.
The Z-60 has two Bobcat CPU cores clocked at 1GHz, 1MB L2 cache, and a Radeon HD 6250 GPU with 80 cores. This APU has a TDP of 4.5W, which is a noteable decrease from the Z-01's 5.9W TDP when you consider that this chip is going to be used in a battery powered, mobile device. In fact, with a Z-60 APU, AMD is claiming up to eight hours of batery life. Further, thanks to the integrated HD 6250 GPU, the Z-60 can support Direct X 11, OpenGL 4.1, and OpenCL 1.1 graphics technologies.
|CPU Cores
|CPU Clockspeed
|L2 Cache
|Radeon GPU
|GPU Cores
|USB Support
|1 GHz
|Z-01 (previous generation)
|1 GHz
AMD has announced that the Z-60 APU is shipping now to its OEM customers. The company expects that consumers should see products using the new processor as soon as the end of this year.
Read more about the future direction of AMD at PC Perspective.
Qualcomm Joins HSA Foundation to Further Heterogeneous Computing Standards
Subject: General Tech | October 4, 2012 - 05:28 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: qualcomm, hsa, APU, amd, AFDS
The HSA Foundation announced today that Qualcomm would be joining as its newest Founder-level member. The mobile ARM System on a Chip company joins AMD, ARM, Imagination Technologies (the company who licenses out PowerVR graphics), MediaTek, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. Reportedly, the HSA Foundation has doubled its total members since its inception in June where it was announced at the AMD Fusion Developer Summit (AFDS 2012).
Senior Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm Jim Thompson has stated that the company is joining the HSA Foundation in an effort to standardize aspects of heterogenous computing. Those programming and hardware standards will then be incorporated into devices running future Snapdragon ARM processors.
HSA Foundation President Phil Rogers welcomed the mobile communications giant to the organization by stating the following.
"It's great to see an innovative company like Qualcomm, which has revolutionized the wireless communications market, placing their support behind HSA."
It is unclear from the press release where Qualcomm and the HSA Foundation will go from here, but it is promising to see additional companies lending their expertise to further heterogeneous computing standards. Here's hoping that the HSA Foundation is the opposite of the PC Gaming Alliance and actually gets things done to further the technology. After all, AMD is betting the company on APUs and could likely benefit from a big HSA programming standard push and the low power computing prowess of the ARM chip designers in its ranks.
Podcast #221 - Intel Clover Trail, AMD's Trinity Desktop APUs, the Samsung 840 SSD with TLC, and more!
Subject: General Tech | October 4, 2012 - 02:56 PM | Ken Addison
Tagged: trinity, TLD, ssd, Samsung, podcast, nand, clover trail, APU, a8, A10-5800k, a10, 830
PC Perspective Podcast #221 - 10/04/2012
Join us this week as we talk about Intel Clover Trail, AMD's Trinity Desktop APUs, the Samsung 840 SSD with TLC, and more!
You can subscribe to us through iTunes and you can still access it directly through the RSS page HERE.
The URL for the podcast is: http://pcper.com/podcast - Share with your friends!
- iTunes - Subscribe to the podcast directly through the iTunes Store
- RSS - Subscribe through your regular RSS reader
- MP3 - Direct download link to the MP3 file
Hosts: Ryan Shrout, Josh Walrath, Jeremy Hellstrom Allyn Malvantano, and Scott Michaud
Program length: 1:21:21
Podcast topics of discussion:
- Week in Reviews:
- 0:49:00 This podcast is brought to you by alxTech
News items of interest:
- 0:52:00 4TB Western Digital Hard Drives
- 0:53:45 Apple A6 uses hand drawn ARM cores
- 0:57:00 Steam for Linux beta in October
- 0:58:45 AMD Vishera Info Leaks
- 1:00:20 ASUS Shows silent Trinity APU builds
- 1:01:30 Why you care that AMD can't keep up
- 1:04:45 Kickstart TINY PCs
1:06:20 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
- Ryan: Corsair Dominator Platinum Memory
- Jeremy: More gaming
- Josh: A fun, new combo!
- Allyn: Samsung SSD 840 - TLC, baby!
- Scott: Corsair HX 850W Power Supply
- Tim: Black Mesa: Source!
- 1:06:20 Hardware / Software Pick of the Week
- 1-888-38-PCPER or firstname.lastname@example.com
- http://pcper.com/podcast
- http://twitter.com/ryanshrout and http://twitter.com/pcper
- Closing/outro
Gigabyte Launches Flagship GA-F2A85X-UP4 Trinity Motherboard
Subject: Motherboards | October 3, 2012 - 02:52 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: trinity, motherboard, gigabyte, fm2, APU
AMD's latest Trinity APUs launched yesterday, and with that Gigabyte launched its flagship socket FM2 motherboard, the GA-F2A85X-UP4. This board was shown off earlier this year, but now we have all the details. This motherboard is packed with all the Gigabyte technology you would expect from an enthusiast board, and some of the more interesting features include the Ultra Durable 5 capacitors, a digital PWM array, single package IR3550 PowIRStage ICs, and dual APU clock generators to push overclocking of non-K edition processors as far as possible – at least in theory. Also interesting is the inclusion of Lucid's Virtu MVP GPU virtualization technology, two EFI BIOS chips, switchable graphics, and the ability to crossfire certain 6000-series discrete graphics cards with the GPU in the Trinity APU.
Internal connectivity options include the FM2 socket, four DDR3 DIMM slots (up to 64GB @ 1866MHz), seven SATA 6Gbps ports, one eSATA 6Gbps port, and support for RAID O, 1, 5, 10, and JBOD. Furter, the GA-F2A85X-UP4 supports three PCI-E 2.0 x16 slots. The first slot runs at x16 or x8 if there are two GPUs installed. The second and third slots run at x8 and x4 respectively. Gigabyte has also included three PCI-E 2.0 x1 slots for sounds and networking cards.
Internal IO headers include one CPU fan, four system fans, one S/PDIF, one USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, one serial, one clear CMOS, and one TPM.
Rear I/O on the flagship Trinity motherboard includes:
- 1 x PS/2
- 1 x VGA
- 1 x DVI
- 1 x HDMI
- 1 x DisplayPort
- 1 x S/PDIF
- 4 x USB 3.0
- 2 x USB 2.0
- 1 x eSATA
- 1 x RJ45
- 6 x analog audio jacks
This board is packing a lot of hardware, and the price is right around $130 depending on the retailer. The GA-F2A85X-UP4 is available now. Interestingly Gigabyte has also announced the F2A85XM-D3H based on the same A85X chipset as the flagship F2-A85X-UP4 as well as some lower tier motherboards based on the A75 and A55 chipsets with new FM2 sockets. Unfortunately, these motherboards do not appear to be available yet. If you are interested in those boards (which should cost less), keep an eye out for the F2A75M-D3H, and F2A55M-HD2 – or simply watch PC Perspective's homepage of course!
In the meantime, you can find more photos of the GA-F2A85X-UP4 on Gigabyte's website.
ASUS Shows Off Silent PC With AMD Trinity APU
Subject: General Tech, Systems | October 2, 2012 - 04:44 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: trinity, silent pc, passive cooling, asus, APU, amd
AMD officially launched its desktop Trinity APUs (Accelerated Processing Units) today, and along with the new processors are a number of new socket FM2 motherboards to support them. One of the cooler motherboard and Trinity APU pairings was shown off today in a completely silent PC by ASUS and AMD in the Akihabara district of Tokyo, Japan.
The silent system is nested inside a Streacom FC5 chassis that does double duty as a case and heatsink for the AMD APU. Inside the system is an unidentified power supply, two DDR3 DIMMS, Corsair Force SSD, ASUS F2A85-M PRO motherboard, and – of course – the AMD A10-5700K APU that we recently reviewed.
The APU is covered by an aluminum and copper block that is then connected to the metal case via four heatpipes. Then, the outside of the case has a finned design to provide more cooling surface area (but likely just to make it look cooler, heh).
This passively cooled system would make for a really nice home theater PC case, and the GPU prowess of the Trinity APU is well suited to such a task. You can find more photos of the fan-less Trinity system over at FanlessTech.
What do you think of Trinity, and will you be using it in your next build?
Read more about HTPCs and Trinity APUs at PC Perspective!
AMD Binning Trinity APUs With Defective GPUs as CPU-Only Athlon Processors
Subject: Processors | September 13, 2012 - 01:03 PM | Tim Verry
Tagged: trinity, fm2, cpu, athlon, APU, AMD A series, amd, a75
NVIDIA's new Kepler graphics cards (such as the GTX 660 we recently reviewed) will be getting most of the PC enthusiast attention today, but there is a bit of news about AMD to talk about as well.
The Trinity APU die.
Thanks to a Gigabyte motherboard compatibility list that was accidentally leaked to the internet, it was revealed that Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) would be repurposing Trinity APU dies that don't quite make the cut due to non-operative graphics cores. Instead of simply discarding the processors, AMD is going to bin the chips into at least three CPU-only Athlon-branded processors. The Athlon X4 730, X4 740, and X4 750K are the three processors that are (now) public knowledge. All three of the CPUs have TDP ratings of 65W, and the X4 750K is even unlocked – allowing for overclocking. Further, the processors are all quad core parts with a total of 4MB of L2 cache (1MB per core).
The new Athlon-branded processors will be supported by the A75 chipset and will plug into FM2-socket equipped motherboards.
The following chart details the speeds and feeds of the Athlon processors with Trinity CPU cores.
|Athlon X4 730
|Athlon X4 740
|Athlon X4 750K
Unfortunately, there is no word on pricing or availability. You can expect them to be significantly cheaper than the fully fledged Trinity processors to keep them price-competitive and in-line with the company's traditional CPU-only processors.
Would you consider rolling a Trinity-based Athlon in a budget build?
Read about the new direction of AMD as it moves to producing Vishera processors and beyond.
Biostar Launches Mini-ITX A68I-350 Deluxe Motherboard
Subject: Motherboards | September 10, 2012 - 09:29 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: mini-itx, htpc, fusion, biostar, APU, amd, a68i-350 deluxe, a68
While Intel has gotten a lot of Mini-ITX love lately, AMD is not out of the game yet. Motherboard manufacturer Biostar recently launched an AMD Fusion APU powered Mini-ITX motherboard that would make for a nice little HTPC. The A68I-350 Deluxe is based around some of the latest technologies including support for DDR3, PCI-E 3.0, and USB 3.0 standards.
The A68I-350 Deluxe motherboard measures 17 cm x 17 cm and comes with a bundled dual core AMD Fusion 350D APU. A heatsink and passive cooling for the south bridge are also provided in the package. The graphics card, memory, storage and other accessories are up to you, however. The Mini-ITX board features two DDR3 DIMM slots that support a maximum of 16 GB. Located in the lower right-hand corner are three SATA 3 6Gbps ports. Below that is a single PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot for a graphics card or other peripheral. Additional internal IO includes:
- 1 x printer header
- 2 x USB 2.0 header
- 1 X front panel audio
- 1 X front panel header (hdd, power, reset, ect)
- 1 x S/PDIF-OUT header
- 1 x CPU fan header
- 1 x system fan header
- 1 x serial header
According to Biostar, the motherboard also uses all solid capacitors to improve longevity.
Rear IO on the board is not quite as extensive as some of the other offerings available, but is still fairly good for the price. It features two PS/2 ports for keyboard and mouse, one HDMI out, one VGA output, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, one Ethernet port (Realtek RTL8111F Gigabit controller), and three audio output jacks (Realtek ALC662 6-channel HD audio).
The AMD APU that comes with the A68I-350 Deluxe features Radeon 6310 graphics, which are not the fastest but will still provide plenty of oomph for watching videos on the big screen. While it has not yet shown up at online retailers like Amazon and Newegg yet, it is reportedly already shipping and will have an MSRP of € 66 (euros) or approximately $84 USD. Considering the Intel options that have recently surfaced are going for $100+ easily, this Biostar motherboard should provide a nice budget option for your next HTPC or small form factor PC build!
You can find more information on the A68I-350 Deluxe over at the Biostar website.
Read more about Mini-ITX motherboards at PC Perspective.
AMD Launches Professional FirePro APU for Workstations
Subject: General Tech | August 7, 2012 - 10:41 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: FirePro APU, APU, amd, a320, a300
AMD announced today that it is extending the professional FirePro brand to its Accelerated Processing Units–APUs. Aimed at the professional market, AMD is hoping to get its APUs into workstations that perform computer aided design (CAD) work as well as multimedia content creation and editing. Thanks to the APU's built-in VILW4 graphics, it can be used with GPU-accelerated software to speed up workloads.
Currently, there are two FirePro chips planned–the A300 and A320 APU. Both processors are based on the company's consumer Trinity APUs. They feature four Piledriver CPU cores and a VLIW4 GPU architecture with 384 stream processors and dedicated UVD video decoding hardware. The A300 is clocked at a 3.4 GHz with a turbo speed of 4 GHz. On the other hand, the A320 has a base clockspeed of 3.8 GHz and a turbo clockspeed of 4.2 GHz. The A320 is even unlocked, which would allow open overclocking.
|APU Model
|CPU Cores
|CPU Clockspeed (base/max turbo)
|Stream Processors
|GPU Clock
|AMD FirePro A300
|3.4 GHz/4 GHz
|760 Mhz
|AMD FirePro A320
3.8 GHz/4.2 GHz
|800 MHz
The new FirePro APUs differ from the consumer lineup in that AMD has put them through more testing to ensure reliability and compatibility with industry software.
Features include:
- AMD Eyefinity Technology support
- AMD Turbo Core
- Display resolutions up to 10,240 x 1600 for multi-monitor setups
- Discrete Compute Offload support that allows the pairing of the APU graphics and a discrete GPU to accelerate GPGPU software.
- 30-bit color support
- Dedicated UVD hardware for media encoding
It is an interesting move for AMD to get into the workstation and professional design market. The company has been putting out dedicated graphics cards aimed at professionals for a long time, and now with the company betting its future on HSA and APUs, it was only a matter of time before they started aiming APUs at the professional market as well. The A300-series APUs will be available in various workstation integrators (OEMs for workstations) starting this month. Unfortunately, there is no word yet on pricing or whether the processors will be sold individually or not. You can see the full press release on the AMD website.
A selection of parts
AMD is without a doubt going through some very tough times with massive personnel issues as well as some problems with products and profitability. But that doesn't mean the current product line from AMD is without merit and that you can't build a great system for various environments, including those users looking for a mainstream and small form factor gaming and home theater PC.
While preparing for Quakecon 2012 we needed to build a system to take on the road for some minor editing and presentation control purposes. We wanted the PC to be small and compact, yet still powerful enough to take on some basic computing and gaming tasks. I happen to have some AMD Llano APUs in the office and thought they would fit perfectly.
If you are on the hunt for a small PC that can do some modest gaming and serve as an HTPC, then you might find our build here interesting. And while it isn't nearly as exciting as building a Llano PC while blindfolded - it's pretty close.
Case: Lian-Li PC-Q08B
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