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Restaurant-style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce Recipe
Restaurant-style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce Recipe – Read my 5 quick tips on how to cook Chinese greens
Makes 12
Your favorite Chinese greens (I used 6 baby bok choy for my dish)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee brand preferred)
1 tablespoon water
1/4 teaspoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 dashes of white pepper powder
Garlic Oil:
2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 teaspoon oil
Heat up a pot of water and bring it to boil. Add two small drops of cooking oil into the water. Drop your vegetables into the boiling water and quickly blanch them for about 20-30 seconds (depends on the quantity). As soon as they turn slightly wilted, transfer them out and drain the excess water off the vegetables. Arrange the vegetables on a plate.
In a wok, heat up the cooking oil, and then add the oyster sauce, water, sugar, and white pepper powder. As soon as the sauce heats up and blends well, transfer and drench it over the blanced vegetables. Top the vegetables with the garlic oil and serve immediately.
(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)
I have been asked too many times how to make a simple Chinese greens dish ala Chinese restaurant style…so here it is, the secrets, tips, and recipe to make all your vegetables taste and picture perfect, just like top Chinese/Cantonese chefs do.
Chinese greens with oyster sauce is an easy dish to prepare but not many can make it right. I have seen too many overcooked vegetable dishes served—at homes and even at restaurants. Once you grasp the basic techniques and skills of making this dish, you can pretty much cook any vegetables or Chinese greens you want—choy sum, kai lan (Chinese mustard greens), bok choy/baby bok choy, or any green leafy vegetables.
Without further ado, I unveil the following secrets, tips and tricks after the jump….
Rasa Malaysia's Guide to Making Restaurant-style Chinese Greens with Oyster Sauce:
- Buy fresh vegetables – select the freshest greens available in your market. Such as the baby bok choy shown in my pictures.
- Use garlic oil – I use a lot of garlic oil in my Chinese recipes. It adds a lot of depth to simple dishes and infuses the veggie with garlicky flavor and aroma.
- Use cooking oil wisely – Add a drop or two cooking oil into the water before blanching the vegetables. The cooking oil coats the vegetables so they look fresh and green, not purple.
- Don't kill your vegetables, they are already dead! – Don't overcook your vegetables by leaving them too long in the boiling water. Perfectly blanched vegetables should be somewhat crunchy, not limp and wilted.
- Discard excess water from the vegetables before plating/serving – Drain the water from the vegetables so it doesn't dilute the sauce. Excess water in the vegetables will make your vegetable dish watery.
Now that you have the chops, complete your Chinese meals with a plate of fresh, green, and delectable Chinese greens. Trust me, vegetables never look or tasted this good from now on. :)
|Chow Mein
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Rate the Recipe:
- AVG RATINGBased on 32 Review(s)4.5
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Almost 200 of the teams that kicked off in September are done. But Division III finally got its 32-team bracket, which means no more first-round byes, as there were in the 28-team system from 1999-2004, among other things.
Yet, we were reminded that this is still Division III. The NCAA wants to ensure fair access to the playoffs, not necessarily a fair playoff. So before we get to our staff's surprises, disappointments and winners in each of the four eight-team brackets, allow a columnist to rant, and enlist Pat Coleman's help in analyzing the playoff field from every angle.
Joy at Wilkes and Cortland State has been met with doubt (of their worthiness) and despair (at Alfred, Cal Lutheran and the like). The initial public reaction showed a clear displeasure with the Occidental-at-Linfield first round matchup, and the overall strength of the "West" bracket. The top four teams in the nation on my ballot — Linfield, UW-Whitewater, Occidental and St. John's — all landed in the same bracket, sending two unbeaten teams — Oxy and Monmouth — on the road in the first round. The North bracket also has a very strong top five, while the South and East combined feature just two of the top 15 teams on my Week 11 ballot (No. 5 Mary Hardin-Baylor and No. 7 Delaware Valley).
Photo by Pat Coleman, D3football.com
Of course, the No. 2 thing we should keep in mind (the first being that the NCAA's definition of "fair playoffs" means access for everyone, not balanced brackets) is that the Top 25 is in no way related to how the brackets are selected. The Division III system really is the best thing going at any level — it beats bowl games sponsored by lawn care products and the four-from-each-region model formerly used in Division III and still in place in some form at Division II. But I get the feeling a lot of people still really don't understand it. So again we plead, read our playoff FAQ before you decide that your team got jobbed and start mouthing off about it.
Bottom line, there are (about) 220 playoff-eligible teams, and 32 get in. That's better than 7:1, where the NCAA's recommended ratio is 6.5:1.
Expansion teams
Next among the "couple of things we should keep in mind before we trash the committee-made bracket" is that four teams are lucky to even be here.
Before you complain about Wilkes and Cortland State getting in and Alfred and Cal Lutheran staying home, be reminded that last year, none of them would have been in the discussion. The same 21 automatic bid teams and four Pool B teams would have been selected, with three Pool C teams instead of the seven taken this season.
Out of North Central, Central, Hobart and Concordia-Moorhead, a deserving one-looss team would have been shafted in a 28-team bracket. That would have been worth complaining about, as all four lost close games to their league champions. Later in the column, we'll rate the last teams in, the best left out and review how the teams that squeaked in have performed over the years.
When the bubble burst
With the extra bids opening the door to two-loss teams, as many as 15 considered themselves on the bubble. Looking at everything Saturday night before the brackets were released, I considered them all too.
Each team that got in had a game that did the trick for them, except for Wilkes, which had a couple. Each team left out had a loss that did it too. While some of my opinions skirt the official criteria, here are the games the made the difference for bubble teams:
Wilkes: Might as well start with the team widely regarded as the 32nd in, since the Colonels' worthiness has been questioned. So let's take a look at it: Their two losses were by a total of seven points, while their schedule featured only three teams with a losing record. (in the 11-team/nine-game MAC rotation, Wilkes did not play 0-10 Juniata). The Colonels shut out 7-3 Widener, lost by a field goal to 10-0 Delaware Valley and lost to a team that beat the team it will face in the playoffs. In other words, the game that essentially got Wilkes in was William Patterson's 20-19 upset of Rowan.
Cortland State: The loss to 27-20 Buffalo State on Sept. 24 looked to be the one that would keep them out of the field, especially since the Bengals finished 3-6. But by staying within one score of Rowan, beating Ithaca and playing in an NJAC that had a 16-8 non-conference record this season, the Red Dragons schedule was stronger than other bubble teams. The win that got them in was the Cortaca Jug game, of course, but the season-opening 20-10 win over Brockport, which beat a playoff team (Wesley) 47-0, didn't hurt either.
Capital: The 17-15 loss to Otterbein could have done in the team that ended up being the 30th in, in our opinion. But a good year in the top half of the OAC helped the Crusaders. The Cardinals finished 7-3, and Capital's other loss was also on the road, 42-24 to 9-1 Mount Union. The late-season wins at 8-2 Ohio Northern, and against 7-3 John Carroll the following week got Capital in.
Here's whose bubbles burst when, in hindsight:
Alfred: The St. John Fisher win in Week 11 got them into the discussion, but a Week 1 loss at Washington and Lee ended up being the killer. If the Generals, who finished 7-3, were two touchdowns better, why not just take them?
Cal Lutheran: You want to argue that the Kingsmen should be in with just one loss? Then name me their most impressive win. Beating 5-4 Redlands at home? A 35-7 romp over 5-4 LaVerne? I realize the schedule was unforgiving, with four straight road games, but the 41-9 loss to Occidental put Cal Lutheran in a different class than a one-loss team like Hobart, which lost by 10 to conference champion Union and helped itself with an early-season three-overtime win over RPI, which finished 7-2. Pool C is for those teams, not ones that suffered a 32-point blowout and beat a bunch of teams having down years.
Hardin-Simmons: Perhaps the most disappointing of the bubble teams, since the Cowboys blew a Pool A berth in Week 11 against Texas Lutheran. Mary Hardin-Baylor, which lost to the ASC's Howard Payne but beat the Cowboys earlier in the year, grabbed the automatic qualifier.
Hampden-Sydney: Romp against playoff-bound Johns Hopkins would have been a convincing argument for an invite, if not for the requisite close loss to Bridgewater (Va.) and a surprising 38-34 W&L loss.
RPI: Both losses were killers, because the Engineers could have won either. Hobart's playoff bid is partially a result of the Statesmen's 56-48 triple-overtime win, while a 49-42 loss to 10-0 Union also pushed RPI to the side.
St. Olaf: Losing 63-9 to St. John's and 49-35 to Concordia-Moorhead made the Oles the third choice from the MIAC in their best season in years. In a weaker West, a third team from a single conference could have a chance, but not this season. Cal Lutheran was in line ahead of the Oles, and had the same blowout loss to conference champion on its résumé.
DePauw: The Monon Bell loss was a double gut punch, as the Tigers would have been a Pool C shoo-in at 8-1, given Week 11's results. DePauw needed to beat one of the three playoff teams on its schedule, but instead lost 31-26 to 9-1 Wesley, 17-14 to 10-0 Wabash and had its game against 9-0 Trinity — which was won by a point in the final 10 seconds in 2004 — cancelled by one of this year's Gulf Coast hurricanes and not rescheduled.
Ohio Northern: The Polar Bears made it easy on the NCAA, who didn't have to rule on whether or not to uphold their playoff ban given the losses to Capital and John Carroll. But the Mount Union win was one of the year's big eye-openers.
John Carroll: After a 70-0 loss to the Purple Raiders, it looked like the Blue Streaks were done as a contender. But they beat then-No. 5 Ohio Northern 50-25, and away they went … until Capital and Baldwin-Wallace ended their playoff hopes in the final weeks.
St. John Fisher: Projected in until the final-week loss to Alfred — especially since the only other loss was in overtime to AQ-taker Ithaca — the Cardinals get a seat next to Hardin-Simmons at the 'you blew it' table.
Wheaton: Augustana ended up being its third loss, but the failure against Illinois Wesleyan knocked the Thunder out of the discussion. Given that they were just a two-point conversion from leading North Central in the closing minutes, they would have had a chance to play themselves into the field if not for the stumble against the Titans.
Thanks ... and no thanks
What a thankless job it is to be on the playoff selection committee. Like being a football official, no one ever wants to congratulate you on the things you get right the majority of the time. They just want hone in on a few things — maybe times when you followed the rules and they still didn't like the outcome, or perhaps a judgement call of yours they disagree with — and criticize, second-guess and berate.
Well Around the Nation thinks you deserve better. But, um, now that we've thanked you and dispensed with the pleasantries, let 'er rip.
Occidental at Linfield in the first round is an absolute outrage. That's horrendous. We understand that staying under budget is the name of the game, and that access to the playoffs constitutes fairness in Division III, but come on ... bend the rules a little bit.
I realize the West was a tough bracket, not just with four of the top teams in the country and five unbeatens in it, but also because Coe-Central and St. John's-Concordia-Moorhead rematches needed to be avoided. And the committee did a fine job there, splitting each on opposite sides of the bracket.
The problem is that Occidental has won its past 20 games, except for playoff loss to Linfield in last year's round of eight. And the Tigers led that game 17-7 before the Wildcats exploded. So even though the committee did right by its guidelines — in effect eliminating one second round flight by getting rid of a West Coast "island" team immediately, it's a major disservice to the legitimacy of the playoff system as a whole.
Add in the case of keeping UMHB at Trinity — making Occidental to Linfield the first round's only flight whereas splitting them would have meant at least two — and the NCAA is flying teams to McMinnville, Ore., and San Antonio so long as the top seeds win, which could be a while. And if the lower seeds win, they're a flight whether at home or on the road.
A more fair bracket could have had both pairings set up for the second round without increasing the number of flights paid for by the NCAA. But that would depend on a number of factors, since splitting Occidental and Linfield, and Trinity and Mary Hardin-Baylor, immediately brings four flights into the picture, instead of one (unless one of the Texas teams was sent West, which was totally unneccessary in the already-loaded bracket).
As I've noted several times elsewhere, I'm pretty sure the Division I-A basketball TV contracts pay for the playoffs in every sport, so we should be glad to get a share we didn't necessarily earn. And we're definitely glad the costs of playoff travel aren't passed on to the schools, like in the NAIA or Division I basketball's NIT. That might even keep some schools from accepting certain playoff bids at all.
I guess what we're saying is: We understand how things work, but we don't have to like it.
A solution for the top-heavy
I always thought the 28-team system, with its four seven-team brackets and top-seed bye in each, needed one tweak. And that was selecting the four teams that deserved the bye first, then seeding everyone else normally, with proximity a factor.
Had that "fairness measure" been in place and carried over to the 32-team system, where a No. 1 gets nothing but home field advantage throughout the playoffs, here's who would have been the one seeds.
Linfield, obviously, in the West. St. John's would have to get a one, and a bracket named after it, but not before UW-Whitewater. That means the fourth could have gone to any unbeaten team, but for argument's sake, let's say Delaware Valley.
Then we'd create brackets under each top seed, probably using four-team regional pods to limit the number of flights down the road. First- and second-round matchups would be grouped geographically, before fanning out toward their possible one seeds in the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Perhaps, of course, the brackets are confusing enough for everyone as they already are.
Bracket reactions
Before we let our Around the Region writers and other D3football.com staff take a crack at the surprises, disappointments and winners in each of the four brackets, here are Around the Nation's first reactions upon seeing the pairings in/and the 32-team field:
Toughest first-round draw
Coleman: UMHB/Trinity, partially because the favored team is sent on the road.
McMillan: Definitely Occidental, which deserved better than a trip to the defending national champion after an undefeated season. However, Linfield could be ticked off at their "reward" for winning 21 in a row too.
Easiest opening game
Coleman: Delaware Valley/Curry
McMillan: Too easy to pick on Lakeland or Curry. I'd like to be in Wesley's shoes, hosting a Ferrum team that lost 44-7 last week. The blowout could have been an eye-opener that will get the Panthers focused in practice this week, but it could also resurface and create doubt if the Wolverines score early and get their crowd into it.
Biggest first-/second-round matchup disparity
Coleman: Linfield or Occidental will definitely have an easier time with the Coe/Concordia-Moorhead winner than they will with each other.
McMillan: Augustana's reward for beating Lakeland? The mighty Mount Union. Trinity/UMHB, Linfield/Occidental and Bridgewater/W&J also figure to have easier second-round games than first.
Toughest path to Salem
Coleman: Occidental
McMillan: Occidental, Concordia-Moorhead, St. John's or UW-Whitewater then Mary Hardin-Baylor? Good luck repeating, Linfield. If you do, you'll be champ for sure.
Longest road to Salem
Coleman: Also Occidental, oddly enough
McMillan: Coe, which could leave Iowa for Minnesota, Oregon/California, Minnesota/Wisconsin, Texas and Virginia ... and wouldn't be favored once, either.
Easiest path to Salem (Book now)
McMillan: I would say Delaware Valley, but the North Region champ should end the Aggies' season. Mary Hardin-Baylor or the South champ would have to deal with a West team, so actually, this is a pretty balanced playoff once the field gets down to 16 or eight.
The committee nailed
Coleman: Cortland State. They played their way in, in a game most Ithaca fans were predicting would be over by halftime. It nearly was, with Cortland leading 23-6.
McMillan: There will be no second round rematch of Coe-Central, Concordia-St. John's, North Central-Augustana, Capital-Mount Union, Delaware Valley-Wilkes, Cortland-Ithaca, Union-Hobart, plus Lakeland and Whitewater and Central and Augustana are in different brackets entirely. Nice work. The only possible rematch in Round 2 is Washington and Jefferson against Thiel, and the Tomcats would host this one.
The committee blew
Coleman: Wilkes. Doesn't matter that Rowan also lost to William Paterson — how much of Rowan's team actually played in that game?
McMillan: The West Coast and Texas matchups, but we'll give them that because it's what they're told to do. Also, I don't believe moving UW-Whitewater to the North bracket would have made that any less stacked than the West is now. I don't have a problem with the 31st and 32nd teams in, although Hardin-Simmons would beat them both, and they even wisely balanced the South bracket at the expense of a possible Thiel-W&J second round rematch. All in all, nice work.
Road team most deserving of a home game:
Coleman: Mary Hardin-Baylor. I am sure that someday UMHB will be permitted to play a home game in the postseason.
McMillan: Occidental and Monmouth are unbeaten and on the road while 9-1 Concordia-Moorhead is the second MIAC host. What else can these teams do, besides revamp their out-of-conference schedule?
Home team least deserving of a home game:
Coleman: Bridgewater, I guess.
McMillan: We could argue with Hobart and Concordia not winning their leagues but hosting, but there's often more to it than there seems.
We would have liked to see
Coleman: Some usage of jet fuel.
McMillan: Whitewater, St. John's, Occidental and Linfield split up. In the realm of 'things that might actually happen,' I would have liked to see Monmouth host even if it was 10-0 in a weak conference, and I would have liked to see Rowan in the playoffs at full strength.
Played their way in during Week 11
Coleman: Cortland State, Curry.
McMillan: Cortland, Wilkes … and Alfred tried to.
Played their way out during Week 11
Coleman: Hardin-Simmons
McMillan: Hardin-Simmons, St. John Fisher, RPI
Best first round matchup besides Oxy-Linfield
Coleman: Capital/North Central.
McMillan: Capital-North Central could spawn a national semifinalist. I like Linfield-Oxy, Ithaca-Union and Bridgewater/W&J as the best games in the other brackets.
The thanks for playing award
Coleman: Monmouth
McMillan: Curry, Mt. St. Joseph, Lakeland … maybe next year.
If this is 2004, we're sitting home
Coleman: Capital, Cortland, Wilkes, Hobart
McMillan: Wilkes, Cortland, Capital are the obvious last three. Central, North Central and Concordia each lost by three or four points to their conference champion and had a win over another team in the playoff hunt. So Hobart, despite being 9-1, is my pick for 29th team in.
The 33rd team award:
Coleman: Alfred
McMillan: The committee may have said Cal Lutheran or Alfred, but the best teams not going are Hardin-Simmons and Ohio Northern.
The 32 best awards
If this year's playoffs matched the top 32 teams regardless of conference affiliation, here's who we'd kick out and invite:
McMillan: Wow. This is kind of mean. But I'd rather see Hardin-Simmons, Ohio Northern, John Carroll, DePauw and even Hampden-Sydney than Curry, Lakeland, Albion, Ferrum and Johns Hopkins. Wheaton could probably beat Wilkes. I'd keep Monmouth, Mt. St. Joseph, Cortland, Ithaca and Hobart though, even though UW-La Crosse would probably beat all of them.
The sorry for the false hopes award
When D3football.com tells you it's hit on 27 of 28 teams just about every year, and hit on 31 of 32 this year, that means one team out there read our projections and got their hopes up. Here's this year's 'one we missed' and past winners:
2005: We projected Alfred; the committee preferred Wilkes.
2004: We got them all.
2003: We projected UMHB; the committee took Simpson, who promptly gave the MWC its only NCAA playoff win since expansion.
2002: We projected Hartwick; the committee took W&J, which squeaked past second-year CNU and got routed at Trinity.
2001: We picked Menlo and Linfield in Pool B, the committee took Whitworth (0-1) and Ithaca (advanced to regional final). In Pool C, we chose UW-Eau Claire, the NCAA took Montclair State (0-1).
Surprises, disappointments and champions
An Around the Nation tradition since 2001, we dig a little deeper into each region without telling you how to fill out your bracket (hey, we wouldn't want to stomp on your chance to win our Pick 'Em contest). With the help of D3football.com experts in the regions they cover, here are surprises, disappointments and final four teams:
Delaware Valley bracket (East)
Pat Coleman: At least two road teams win first-round games.
Gordon Mann: Two of the three visiting teams who aren't in the NEFC win their first-round game. I'd be more specific but that just increases my chances of being wrong.
Mark Simon: That the Liberty League (the one I am most familiar with) sneaks two teams through to the national quarterfinals.
Pat Cummings: Wilkes. Watching the selection show and seeing Wilkes' name on the screen made me think, "I wonder if anyone from Wilkes is actually watching this today." That being said, the Colonels could relish their chance in the postseason. A young squad led by a veteran coach, they minimize their mistakes. Wilkes holds a plus-16 advantage in turnovers this year and will do all it can to force backup quarterback Joe Rankin into making mistakes. I could see the Colonels winning at least one, and possibly two games.
Keith McMillan: Except for the NEFC getting its first playoff win against Delaware Valley, I wouldn't be surprised by much of anything in this bracket. According to the injury report, Rowan is a much different team than it was midway through the season, so even a Wilkes win wouldn't be that much of a stunner. My official surprise pick, though, just to go all the way out on a limb, is four two-loss teams in this bracket's second round. With Cortland, Wilkes, Ithaca and Curry, it could happen.
Coleman: Well, obviously the home teams. But specifically, I think Hobart for sure. Rowan, Union? Certainly conceivable to see one of them lose too.
Mann: Delaware Valley has been talking about getting to the East region finals or further all year. I think they'll be disappointed with anything less.
Simon: My above pick means heartbreaking finishes for the likes of Rowan and Delaware Valley.
Tom Wilson: Alfred … if you knock a playoff team out of contention (St. John Fisher), you deserve to go. Of Wilkes' two losses, it didn't beat a playoff contender.
McMillan: The NEFC would love to shed the winless-in-the-playoffs label, and there are five beatable teams in this bracket. It will happen sooner or later, but not this Curry team against this Delaware Valley team.
Coleman: Delaware Valley. Or Union.
Mann: As the saying goes, "you have to beat the man to be the man." Until someone (other than William Paterson) does that, I'll stick with the Profs through this bracket.
Simon: Union over Hobart. Union's had one of those magical seasons. It easily could have lost to basement-dwellers Coast Guard and Kings Point, but found ways to win, as it did against everybody. The dream season will end against Mount Union, but the Dutchmen will long remember 2005.
Wilson: Very balanced bracket. I think flip a coin between Cortland, Ithaca, and Rowan taking the East region. I don't think the MAC teams can make it past two top ranked NJAC defenses. Ditto for the Liberty League teams.
Cummings: Delaware Valley. The Aggies get the traditional walkover in the NEFC champ. Curry shouldn't get closer than 17 points. Del Val has playoff experience in the form of two nailbiting wins last season and I think they are a better team in 2005. Considering Rowan is weaker sans Mike Orihel, G.A. Mangus' Aggies get over the top in the East this year.
McMillan: Wow, what a bunch of homers and wafflers. I don't think Rowan, or anybody really, will be an easy out in a pretty balanced, if not powerful, bracket. But in the end, I like Delaware Valley over Union in the 42-28 range.
Trinity bracket (South)
Coleman: Johns Hopkins keeps things surprisingly close at Thiel.
Mann: Washington and Jefferson. With quarterback Chris Edwards and receiver Aaron Krepps, the Presidents have the offense to make another run to the regional finals.
Simon: The Johns Hopkins defense, flawless other than a hiccup against Hampden-Sydney will find a way to secure the biggest upset, seed-wise, of the postseason.
Ron Boerger: Trinity, which almost paved the way for independent Huntingdon to get into the playoffs, turning into a ball control team after nearly a decade of aerial acrobatics. And playing defense, too.
McMillan: Based on the word out of San Antonio these days, it wouldn't be a surprise for the Tigers to exit without much of a fight. Especially after what UMHB did to Hardin-Simmons. Hopkins has the defense to upset Thiel, and Wesley should be two-and-done. If Trinity takes its state, the surprise is seeing Eagles or Presidents as the last team standing in a Texas-sized upset. Anything can happen when two of these three South region standbys go at it.
Coleman: This cash-strapped bracket actually doesn't bother me too much. I'm not convinced Trinity is the best team in this bracket or is worth protecting from UMHB. It's just unfortunate this game is at Trinity ... again.
Mann: Thiel seems like a shaky No. 2 seed. Will they beat JHU? Probably. But I don't think they beat Bridgewater (Va.) or W&J again in round two.
Simon: The Bridgewater-Washington and Jefferson game won't be as exciting as their last two meetings.
Boerger: The NCAA once again played "Texas Hold 'Em" with the brackets, yet again costing Mary Hardin-Baylor a home playoff game in Round 1. And Trinity, instead of getting what should have been a fairly easy opener against unranked Johns Hopkins, ends up having to face the No. 4 Crusaders.
McMillan: Ferrum should be disappointed about blowing a first-round home game, which would be a significant advantage. Trinity will disappoint, as will Thiel if the Tomcats are expecting a quarterfinal appearance or more.
Coleman: Mary Hardin-Baylor, in games that get progressively easier.
Mann: Mary-Hardin Baylor. After this Saturday, they'll even get to play a playoff game or two at home.
Simon: Bridgewater, which will score on Hopkins, over Trinity, but then falls to Linfield.
Cummings: I can easily look past Bridgewater's lone loss on the season, by one point to McDaniel. The Green Terror finished 5-5, but were at their best in Week 1, against BC's first-time starter Jacob Lewis, before injuries. The Eagles are 5-1 at Jopson Field in the postseason. Regardless, whoever takes the BC/W&J game wins the bracket, and I think that will be Bridgewater.
Boerger: The winner of UMHB-Trinity will win the bracket. Too bad they meet in Round 1.
McMillan: Based on what UMHB did to W&J last season (52-16) and Hardin-Simmons this season (38-7), I don't see how I can eagerly pick anyone else.
Wabash bracket (North)
Coleman: I'm tempted to pick Albion, which is on a roll, over Wabash. But I won't. Will take Capital instead.
Mann: I'm surprised this bracket is set up so that Mount Union can still get three home games, even with a regular season loss.
Simon: That there are no surprises, until the last game. The seeds will hold to that point.
McMillan: I like the Capital/North Central winner to win in Crawfordsville, despite a raucous red crowd and a defensive front seven that really gets after it. After the first round, this bracket is a crapshoot … but I would not be surprised to see North Central in the national semifinals if it faces a defense that hasn't seen that offense before.
Coleman: Gotta say Wabash, much to the disappointment of the Always Fighters. They're just set up for disappointment with too many other teams in the same general range talentwise as they are.
Mann: Wabash. Not to be inflammatory, but I think the Little Giants are the fourth-weakest team in this bracket, in front of Albion, Mt. St. Joseph and Lakeland.
Simon: Disappointment: Wabash will come up just short of surviving the region, but will fall in the deciding game
McMillan: Anything less than a championship is a disappointment at Mount Union, and since a loss makes them a non-chic pick this season, they just might make it back to Salem. The true disappointment will be the first-round exit for Capital or North Central, since both know they can compete with the power teams in the bottom half of the North bracket.
Coleman: The Mount Union/Augustana winner.
Mann: Mount Union, though I think Augustana will be tough in Round 2.
Simon: Mount Union, as already stated.
McMillan: This is really a five-team race, from top seeded Wabash to No. 5 Capital, but the safe money is always on Mount Union.
Linfield Bracket (West)
Coleman: There's not much potential for surprise here. Where do we turn? Would it be a surprise if UW-Whitewater or St. John's knocked off Linfield? No, they're the two next-best teams in Division III. Would it be a surprise if Occidental or Monmouth won? Sure. But also not going to happen. And Central doesn't seem to match up with Whitewater (but even then, who would be shocked to see a WIAC team lose early?). So that leaves Coe. Good luck, guys.
Mann: None. The higher seed wins every game. Being underrated is overrated.
Simon: Occidental will keep its game with Linfield within single digits, the first time that has happened for Linfield all season
Adam Johnson: Central. Never count out a team with potent special teams and that is just what the Dutch have. A solid running back, a smart QB and a coach who will go for the win over the tie all make the Dutch an opponent to avoid in the first round.
McMillan: An Occidental first-round win would bust the championship race wide open. But barring that shocker, the surprise would be having a West team emerge from this slugfest of a bracket with enough left to win in Salem.
Coleman: In a phrase I may have used in previous years, the penny-pinching of the NCAA.
Mann: UW-Whitewater if they don't at least get to McMinnville. The WIAC finally has its champ emerge from the regular season relatively unscathed. Yes, they would still have to play the national title favorite to get through their bracket, like every other year. But if the WIAC is the best conference, then the Warhawks will at least get past SJU in round two.
Simon: None, other than fans being miffed that five unbeatens are going to beat each other up until only one remains.
Johnson: Monmouth. For the sixth time in seventh tries the MWC will lose, and lose handiliy, in its first-round matchup. The MWC is just not at the level of the rest of the West. Monmouth quarterback Mitch Tanney hasn't faced a defense like St. John's which will make him look like anything but the nation's most proficient passer.
McMillan: Occidental and Monmouth not getting to host games after going unbeaten, and St. John's or UW-Whitewater exiting in the second round when there are other brackets either would be favored in.
Coleman: Linfield, but by a nose.
Mann: Unless USC is suddenly added, Linfield.
Simon: Linfield over St. John's, because it'll be a neat story for the Wildcats to beat teams coached by the two Division III legends, John Gagliardi and Larry Kehres, en route to a national title.
Johnson: Linfield. Offense is as strong as last season and the defense has improved. A year of experience and the home field throughout will be just what the Cats need to repeat. Two solid kickers in Wales and Dailey could be the X-factor.
McMillan: You can't pick against Linfield, but the road is so stacked against them. Plus, they are one quarterback injury away from coming back to the pack. UW-Whitewater has the beef up front and the offensive firepower to hang with red-hot St. John's and white-hot Linfield, so I'll take the Warhawks just to be different, although all three are Stagg Bowl-worthy.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
An excerpt from Laurence Freeman OSB, "The Now of Loving," THE SELFLESS SELF (London: Darton, Longman, Todd, 1993), pp. 36-37.
As long as you think you can do just enough meditation to get by or enough to achieve something, you have not really begun to meditate. When you realize that you have started a journey that will last until the end of your life, you have begun to learn.
That moment of recognition and assent we call commitment. It is well described as a moment of grace and understanding, because in it we experience our deepest meaning and realize the importance of prayer to being fully alive. We meditate, not so much to know why we are alive, as to live differently, to live more fully. [. . . .]
Meditation itself is a learning experience, literally a "discipline." Only discipline will teach us truth, and only practice will bring us to awakening. The discipline of meditation is a school. It is a school of love, and [our growth in that school] is growth in the true discipleship of love. It teaches us what we need to know, to see with the heart, to live from the center, to embrace with every fiber of our being. It teaches us what we have to know in order to fulfill the essential destiny that each human being has, to be oneself for eternity. Human destiny is for eternal living. . .Most of us begin to meditate at the point where we have partially settled for finite life. Yet we have also begun to realize that this was a mistake.
It is easy to settle for finite life because it is a life lived within protective barriers. It seems safe and secure. . .[But] the most challenging option of all is to live eternally, to respond to the ultimate truth about existence, identity and death. It exceeds the power of imagination to realize that we are made for eternity, which means not only life in the world to come, but life lived fully now. And being fully alive demands everything we are at every moment. Not surprisingly, we scale down the wonder of this and construct those protective barriers. . .Yet life is stronger than our fears. . . .Living eternally means living wholly in the present moment. Eternity is the perpetual now, and as we learn to live eternally in the present, we learn the truth about love.
Meditate for Thirty Minutes. Remember: Sit down. Sit still and upright. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Silently, interiorly, begin to say a single word. We recommend the prayer phrase "Maranatha." Recite it as four syllables of equal length. Listen to it as you say it, gently, but continuously. Do not think or imagine anything spiritual or otherwise. Thoughts and images will likely come, but let them pass. Just keep returning your attention – with humility and simplicity to saying your word in faith, from the beginning to the end of your meditation.
After Meditation, from Eckhart Tolle: A NEW EARTH: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (New York: Plume[Penguin], 2005) p. 141.
We can learn to break the habit of accumulating and perpetuating old emotion by flapping our wings, metaphorically speaking, and refrain from mentally dwelling on the past, regardless of whether something happened yesterday or thirty years ago, We can learn not to keep situations or events alive in our minds, but to return our attention continuously to the pristine, timeless present moment rather than be caught up in mental movie-making. Our very Presence then becomes our identity, rather than our thought and emotions.
Nothing ever happened in the past that can prevent you from being present now, and if the past cannot prevent you from being present now, what power does it have?


text:
Afuse is an automounting file system implemented in user-space using
FUSE. Afuse currently implements the most basic functionality that can
be expected by an automounter; that is it manages a directory of virtual
directories. If one of these virtual directories is accessed and is not
already automounted, afuse will attempt to mount a filesystem onto that
directory. If the mount succeeds the requested access proceeds as normal,
otherwise it will fail with an error.
Maintained by: Evandro Alves Rodrigues
Keywords: fuse,afuse,automout
ChangeLog: afuse
Download SlackBuild:
afuse.tar.gz.asc (FAQ)
(the SlackBuild does not include the source)
|Individual Files:
| afuse.SlackBuild
| afuse.info
| slack-desc
© 2006-2018 SlackBuilds.org Project. All rights reserved.
Slackware® is a registered trademark of Patrick Volkerding
Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds
Web Design by WebSight Designs | Managed Hosting by OnyxLight Communications


text:
New England Federation of Agricultural Students Records
The New England Federation of Agricultural Students was organized in 1907 for the purpose of bringing together agricultural students of New England colleges for the study and advancement of agriculture and allied sciences and to learn about each others' work. The Federation organized annual contests in fruit grading and packing, poultry, field crops, and stock.
Correspondence (1915), minutes (1915), constitution, treasurer's report (1914-1915), records of the secretary and treasurer (1907-1915), contest scores and results (1914), and judging regulations (1913-1916).
- Subjects
- Agricultural education--New England--Societies, etc.--History
- Agricultural students--New England--History
- Agriculture--Competitions--New England--History
- Contributors
- New England Federation of Agricultural Students


text:
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Worried about the future of the 3DS?
Fast forward to Christmas 2012; the 3DS is the mega hit of the season. What? Not Christmas 2011? That's right. Christmas 2011 will treat the 3DS very well too, but 2012 will be the real success story in comparison. It is when the casual gamer market finally sees the potential of the 3DS, much like they did with the DS. The reasons for this include a lower purchase price ($199 or less), and a sleek "Lite" version with a selection of fun colors. The library of games sitting on the store shelves will include such must-have titles as Mario, Mario Kart, Zelda, Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Kirby, Pokemon, and much more. The eShop will be pre-installed and ready to go with ease, making it hassle-free for casual players. Services such as Netflix will also be available. And, by that point Nintendo will have opened the marketing floodgates and saturated every media outlet imaginable to ensure every potential customer is aware of its beautiful baby.
Am I bias? Absolutely! But, that doesn't mean I'm wrong. ;)
10 comments:
- AnonymousMay 19, 2011 at 12:56 PM
And hopefully we'll have a Dementium 3DS by then too? ;)ReplyDelete
I agree With YouReplyDelete
This is mostly reasonable, but "a sleek 'Lite' version?" Come on. You know as well as I do that 3DS is already the same size as the Lite. I maintain that there's no chance of a rebranded, primarily-aesthetic (i.e. not like DSi) redesign, unless power-saving or autostereoscopic 3D tech advance much faster than I currently expect.ReplyDelete
Don't mean to be too snide or anything - it just seems pretty clear to me that talk of a 3DS Lite ignores the reasons why the original DS Lite existed in the first place (the original DS being a clunky, bulky, ugly, seemingly rushed-to-market design, with crappy screens and significantly lower battery life than what was possible with tech available at the time), none of which are really applicable to 3DS. I just find it a bit silly (and occasionally annoying) that people keep suggesting it'll happen, considering all that.ReplyDelete
- MasterEMay 19, 2011 at 2:34 PM
Please make a shooter for us!ReplyDelete
Dementium 3ds pleaseReplyDelete
Interesting prediction!ReplyDelete
Plenty of reason to look forward to a lite version: It's currently slightly bulky (not as bad as the DS Phat tho), and the battery life could really do with being better. About 5x better.
- AnonymousMay 27, 2011 at 11:32 AM
I haven't had trouble with my battery dying too early, and the size seems perfect to me. Though I feel like they could have stretched the top screen out a bit more.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousFebruary 27, 2014 at 8:14 AM
Fast forward to 2014, and your predictions were right! :DReplyDelete
The library of games sitting on the store shelves will include such must-have titles as MarioReplyDelete
Royal1688 ผ่านเว็บ


text:
SKU:10500Artist:Compatible Figures:Victoria 4, Michael 4, Aiko 4, Victoria 3, Victoria 2 & 1, Michael 3, Michael 2 & 1, Aiko 3, The Girl 4, The Girl, Hiro 4, Stephanie 3, Hiro 3, The Freak 3Compatible Software:N/AInstall Types:
Optional License Add-Ons:$50.00
*Unless otherwise specified, no discounts or offers will apply to License Add‑Ons.SKU:10500Artist:Compatible Figures:Victoria 4, Michael 4, Aiko 4, Victoria 3, Victoria 2 & 1, Michael 3, Michael 2 & 1, Aiko 3, The Girl 4, The Girl, Hiro 4, Stephanie 3, Hiro 3, The Freak 3Compatible Software:N/AInstall Types:
Optional License Add-Ons:$50.00
*Unless otherwise specified, no discounts or offers will apply to License Add‑Ons.
Welcome to Morph Designer! Morph Designer is the quick and easy way to create full-body and group morphs for Poser cr2 files (characters, clothes, etc). Morph Designer allows you to load a cr2, create new morphs, edit existing morphs and save them directly to a cr2 file! No more importing and exporting .obj files to create morphs. Furthermore, if you need to export obj files for distribution, Morph Designer can export each morph as a "squished" obj file which can be added as a morph manually in Poser (exports one obj file for each group affected by the full-body morph). Morph Designer can also export morph injection files for figures that support it (ex. Victoria 3). You can also automatically transfer morphs from characters to clothes and edit the morphs after transferring them.
What's Included and FeaturesFeatures
- Load morphs from external deltas - mainly used to load character morphs for DAZ characters like Aiko 4 (new in v3.0)
- Display magnet influence - shows how a magnet will affect the model as it's edited. (new in v3.0)
- Inflate command for magnets (new in v3.0)
- Magnet Limits - gives greater control on magnet influence. (new in v3.0)
- Undo support for magnets(new in v3.0)
- Magnet movement shortcuts(new in v3.0)
- Improved manipulator(new in v3.0)
- Automatic Patch support(new in v3.0)
- Recent projects list(new in v3.0)
- Alt Select(new in v3.0)
- Video tutorial showing new features(new in v3.0)
- Project file – save your work in progress to a project
- Project file – save your work in progress to a project file (new in v2.0).
- Magnet system. Quickly create morphs with our intuitive magnet system. Magnets can be saved separately or as part of the project file. Supports symmetry(new in v2.0).
- Transfer morphs from characters to clothing and edit the morphs after transferring them (new in v2.0).
- Smooth – fast smooth command (new in v2.0).
- Morph properties – edit main morph properties for FBMs and JCMs (new in v2.0).
- Support for transferring and setting up JCMs(joint control morphs) (new in v2.0).
- Improved symmetry with soft-selection (new in v2.0).
- Manipulator – for easy mesh editing (new in v2.0).
- Scale Deltas (new in v2.0).
- Combine transferred group morphs (new in v2.0).
- Video tutorials including a tutorial converting JCMs (new in v2.0).
- Load multiple cr2s for morph editing
- Quickly create morphs across groups using soft-selection (similar to magnets but with much more control)
- Save new morphs as full-body morphs directly to a cr2 file.
- Save new morphs as regular group morphs directly to a cr2 file.
- Export morph injection files (creates all necessary files).
- Export a full-body morph as a series of 'squished' obj files for distribution
- Export regular group morphs as a series of 'squished' obj files for distribution
- Selectively load and edit existing morphs.
- Smooth shading
- Display material colors.
- Select by material.
- Saved selection sets.
- Edit morphs across multiple cr2s.
- Single click to switch between morphs.
- Invert selection
- Hide and show selected polygons.
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Video tutorials to get you started quickly.
- This product is for Windows platform only
- System Requirements
- Windows XP/XP Pro, Vista*, Windows 7*
- *May require that you disable the Aero color theme while editing
- CPU: Pentium 4, 1.3 GHz
- System Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Disk Space: 90MB free hard drive space
- OpenGL 1.0 compatible graphics card with at least 128 MB RAM and the latest drivers
- Adobe Acrobat Reader (for help files)
- Windows Media Player 10 (for video tutorials)
- Registration:
- You will be provided with a license key by DAZ in one of the forms below:
- Name: UserName Key: 1111-111-1111-111
- Serial Key: UserName 1111-111-1111-111
- To Register:
- Click the Register button on the application reminder window.
- Enter UserName in the Name field (No spaces).
- Enter 1111-111-1111-111 in the Key field (use copy and paste—don't try to type it).
- Numbers here are only provided for illustration purposes
- Press OK.


text:
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
The WKNR Second Day Fallout Item
HELLO, GALLERIA: Yes, in answer to numerous off-blog questions, we're aware that Good Karma Broadcasting intends to consolidate the operations of WKNR/850 and WWGK/1540 into new studios at the Galleria at Erieview.
That's the upscale shopping center/office complex on East 9th Street, or a short shuttle from Cleveland Browns Stadium and not that much farther from Jacobs Field and Quicken Loans Arena.
It's sure a lot closer to all of Cleveland's major professional sports venues than, say, Broadview Road...or Euclid Avenue and East 80th Street for that matter...
HOUSEKEEPING: We understand that the Good Karma LMA of WKNR actually started immediately, with the very next paychecks for WKNR employees being handled by the new operator/incoming owner.
However, the station sounds - at least today - exactly as it did two days ago. We have not heard any changes on the air...aside from perhaps something we may be imagining, a "spring in the step" of on-air personalities. It's almost like they sound, well, happy...even if it's not entirely known how many of them will end up staying.
NOT AROUND: We're also not sure, now, that now-former WKNR program director Michael Luczak is staying with Salem in Cleveland.
Though Luczak has also been programming sister talk outlet WHK/1420, it would seem that being in charge of just one station isn't enough to keep him at the cluster as far as budgets are concerned. Large broadcast companies tend to not keep around people to run only one station these days - just ask anyone at Oak Tree.
Could he be sniffing around elsewhere within Salem?
WE'LL TAKE RIZZO TO BLOCK: More and more, from the large number of sources we have on this item, it appears that WJW FOX 8 sports anchor Tony Rizzo is a key piece of the puzzle for Good Karma's local sports radio operation.
We haven't heard any solid information on where he'd land in the company's lineup, but we suspect "daily on 850" is a good bet. We would assume that Rizzo, Good Karma boss Craig Karmazin, and the folks at WJW are hammering this one out even as we type.
While we're at it, multiple sources (!!) keep talking about Peter Brown as a possible hire in the Good Karma sports pantheon.
Mr. Brown, as we've mentioned before, is the former afternoon driver at the station then known as "SportsRadio 1220 WKNR"...long before Salem bought the station. Out of all of the former WKNR personalities, he's perhaps the most remembered - and controversial.
He's also currently unemployed, since Entercom sports WSSP/1250 Milwaukee let him go from its afternoon drive shift not long ago...where he competed against, you guessed it, Good Karma WAUK/1510 host Steve "The Homer" True. Needless to say, Mr. Karmazin knows Brown's work.
We're told by more than one source not to rule out names like Kendall Lewis, another former 'KNR host currently doing middays for SportsTalkCleveland.com, in some role...and maybe there's even pursuit of a player at a certain broadcast facility on Oak Tree... but probably not who you'd guess.
This is mostly speculation, based on some pretty decent information. We bear no responsibility if any of these names do not end up on the WKNR or WWGK rosters...but assuming FOX 8 is OK with the talk radio moonlighting, we would almost bet money on Rizzo being involved...
COVERAGE: Akron Beacon Journal sportswriter George M. Thomas covers the sale in his Tuesday sports media column, which ever-so-conveniently shows up the day after the sale. (How'd you work out that timing, George? Heh.)
Mr. Thomas gives some unsolicited advice to Mr. Karmazin, most of it involving beefing up the local sports talk presence of the sleeping giant at 850 AM. We wouldn't be surprised if much of it happens, though we're not sure Jim Rome would go away or gets moved...and haven't heard even any rumblings about this as of yet.
Oh, and since we know George is an OMW reader - umm, Good Karma's original Cleveland sports outlet is "WWGK", not "WKKG". (Unlike previous columnists who have covered radio issues for the Beacon, we trust George is putting that into his word processor.)
And technically, 1540 is not "outside Cleveland"...it's well within the city limits, at Euclid Avenue and East 80th Street on the city's East Side.
With a 1000 watt daytime signal, it may sound like it is "outside" Cleveland, tho...
AND FINALLY...: By the way, we're getting none of this information directly from Good Karma boss Craig Karmazin, though we know he's a reader here (and has responded before).
OMW has issued an invitation to him to respond to any of our items, in any way he sees fit.
But as we noted to him, we get the idea that just about anyone who's ever said the word "sports" into a microphone within 100 miles of Cleveland is camped out on his doorstep right now. We understand if he's too busy to respond...but we're here whenever he's able, or wants, to do so...
UPDATE 11:32 PM 12/5/06: We have indeed heard from Mr. Karmazin, who acknowledged our item and helpfully pointed out, umm, a typo on the price of the studios he plans to build at the Galleria complex. That's $10 million for the entire sports radio shooting match, of course, including the costs of buying both WKNR and WWGK, and the studios.
We have a couple of other items related to future programming on at least one of the two stations, which we'll put up soon...
24 comments:
Now if Craig could just buy AM 1220 and return it to glory as a talk/entertainment outlet, all would be right with the world.
Could it be??
Sports/Talk radio in Cleveland GOOD again?
For being such a huge sports city, we've long suffered with 'KNR being extremey mediocre...and with 'TAM only devoting a sliver of it's programming to sports.
Hopefully new imaging is on the way...aimed at MEN...imaging with some "balls" so to speak.
We also can only hope that the "Boxing show" and other less-than-marginal local programming will also be on it's way out the door. I'd rather have a local host on with open lines than a hyper-focused sports show where you can only talk about ONE THING. Super-serve the audience!
Good days seem to be ahead for sports/talk in Cleveland...FINALLY.
Mr. Karmazin: I agree with those who are saying, please keep a strong LOCAL talent presence on your two stations. Brinda & Roda have paid their dues thru the years, and often are the only two on-air who will speak the truth. And please look at some of the other WKNR talent, Mike Catan in particular. He & his Sat. am rotation foursome are simply outstanding. I listen to Rome everyday at lunch, but could live without him, if you go local. When WKNR switched from Drennan (local) in the morning...to syndicated Mike and Mike, and now Szaban (who I even like, BTW), I had to switch to WTAM in the mornings. People getting ready for work need LOCAL radio, and we like a sports emphasis.
Just thought you should hear from someone who is a longtime fan of WKNR---and certainly NOT Peter Brown. Had enough of his act when the station debuted.
Well how long before Salem is gone from The Cleveland Market with KNR gone,they go from at one time 5 stations to 3. The Fish,WHK,WHKH 1220,I could see Craig getting 1220. Triv may finally have to re-do his act,now that some real competition will be hitting the RADIO SCENE,hmm Peter Brown or Tony Rizzo I can see one of them defeating Triv. And as Johnny Morgan pointed out about contracts which local team leaves Oak Tree Land my bet would be The Browns after last weeks mess with Triv stating Romeo would go. Browns leave Oak Tree,Triv continues his ratings slide,I.E. COLLIER #1,OPIE/ANTHONY#2 OR VISA/VERSA 'TWEEN 1/2. Then Maxwell,Peter Brown/or Rizz and Triv down to 5 maybe 6 or 7 can you say TITANIC 2 STARRING THE 3PM SHOW ON 1100 "A BIG DADDY MARTY ALLEN PRODUCTION"!!!
To the cluless writer of these comments:
"Brinda & Roda have paid their dues thru the years, and often are the only two on-air who will speak the truth. And please look at some of the other WKNR talent, Mike Catan in particular. He & his Sat. am rotation foursome are simply outstanding."
Craig didn't buy the station with any intentions of keeping overpaid, nagging, whinning hosts like Brinda and Roda on air any longer than he has to. "Paid their dues"? How about - kissed butt all the way to the top. Now that the former idiot PD has been shown the door, the station has really no other direction to go than up.
As for the "outstanding Sat AM rotation" you must be one of the proud parents of Catan or one of the other guys who gets $8 an hour to get on air and walk all over each other. Talk about NOT paying your dues...your comments indicate that you have become so numb to good sports talk, that you just accept the crap that KNR has thrown on the air over the past 2-3 years.
Trust me, when the new lineup starts, minus all the garbage that is going to be tossed on the corner like Brinda and Roda, it will be like nothing this town has had to listen to for at least the past 10 years.
I just hope one of the stations continues to air First Team w/Steve Czaban.
my sense is that the office space is expensive real estate.....it will be interesting to see how things go.....
competition is a good thing.....good luck to you young zen master
And what might happen now to 1260-AM? ABC/Disney is selling all of its radio facilties, and some buyer have already been announced.
Since Karmazin was mentioned as a possible buyer, that leaves 1260 dangling.
Who might want that station? A far cry from the WIXY days of 40 years ago, but today it does have a pretty solid signal. What AM market hole is there to fill, besides a minority format such as Hispanic or religion?
Let's speculate...hot local talk, nostalgia, fifties and sixties oldies, syndicated talk? Any noise about 1260 at all out there? We're all ears!
Catan...if you're going to use this board, have some guts and post your name. Your show has four listeners, and three of them sit right next to you.
you may have missed this but the DISNEY formatted stations will remain with the Disney company as will the ESPN formatted Stations.
so, unless disney is NOT happy with being in Cleveland...do not look for disney/1260 to be sold...
- Neil Parks said...
The post above about 1260 going to talk, nostalgia, or 50's/60's oldies is very funny, considering that all those formats were tried over the years on that station.
I loved it when it was the original "magic oldies" WMGC.
As to WKNR, a local morning show would be nice to have. Might even get me to move my clock radio away from Bill Bennett.
IMNSHO the best local talk host Cleveland ever had, sports or otherwise, was WKNR's first morning personality Robert J. Wright. I still wonder why he left after such a short time.
Other old-time KNR people I liked were Geoff Sindelar and Tolo & Tapie.
Another really good one that got away too soon: Mark Kestesher. He was morning host for about a week or two, and to this day I remember fondly a hilarious bit in which he pretended to confuse singer Michael Jackson with a Browns player of the same name. He even managed to work Indians closer Mike Jackson into it.
Those were the good old days. Can the new management recapture that? I'll be rooting for them to try.
"Well how long before Salem is gone from The Cleveland Market with KNR gone,they go from at one time 5 stations to 3. The Fish,WHK,WHKH 1220,I could see Craig getting 1220."
Are you serious?!?!?!
The ONLY reason Salem sold WKNR is because it's their ONLY sports station in the country; and it doesn't help them further their mission. Salem wants to own a religious teaching/talk station in every market, and anchor it with a "FISH" CHR. They also have a News Talk format which is the ONLY home for their "Salem Radio Networks" talk show hosts. They want to have a "News Talk XXXX" in every market too, to influence votes. They don't need KNR, but they DO need 1220! It's part of the core reason they're in business! The only other station they would sell is 1440 WHKZ, and by the way, they own 4 stations, not 3... 1440 WHKZ is an asset because Salem can say they're broadcasting it's syndicated talk and teaching programs in 2 markets (Warren/youngstown and Cleveland) and therefore charge them more. The sale is positive for both companies, but don't look for any more sales of salems core stations... That would be stupid.
"The ONLY reason Salem sold WKNR is because it's their ONLY sports station in the country; and it doesn't help them further their mission."
I agree wholehartedly. The only thing that kind of surprised me was that Salem didn't keep the 850 facility while selling both the WKNR intellectual property and the 1420 stick to Karmazin, moving the conserva-talk WHK to the much better 850 position. Salem has spent some serious dollars elsewhere in the country to upgrade their AM facilities. I can only assume that money talked.
Hopefully, a re-juvenated WKNR will keep everyone on their toes and make Cleveland radio better. I would not hold my breath to see any quick moves of PBP contracts away from WTAM. Those contracts are all fairly long-term (other than the Browns) and I can't see Clear Channel letting them lapse. (They just snagged the Pirates in Pittsburgh away from KDKA after being there a gazillion years.)
To Anonymous TRUST ME SALEM IN CLEVELAND HAS GONE FROM 5 STATIONS TO 3 IN CLEVELAND. 1440am LAST I CHECKED WAS IN YOUNGSTOWN/WARREN MARKET NOT CLEVELAND!!!! Check your facts plus Salem has been selling off stations in other markets. As for 1260 how much longer will DISNEY HOLD ON AFTER THE FIRST OF THE YEAR 1260 ALONG WITH PEOPLE AT STATIONS IN CLEVELAND ARE IN FOR BIG CHANGES,FORMATS,FIRINGS AND STATIONS GETTING SOLD OFF. You thought in 2001 the radio switches were something "BABY YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET"
Dear Mr Karmazin,
Sports Talk Show Hosts I do not want to hear on the new WKNR
1)Bill Needle 2)Ronnie Duncan 3)Greg Brinda 4)Kenny Roda 5)Bruce Drennan 6)Kendall Lewis. STOP RECYCLING THE SAME HOSTS OVER AND OVER (Ok I feel better) We want new opinions
The only 3 hosts I would like to hear from the past are Tony Rizzo,Geoff Sindelar or Les Levine. At least they are entertaining. Bring in some new blood! WKNR fired Greg Brinda and then rehired him time for him to try something new. His opinions have been heard over and over. Kenny Roda needs to get a job at some station in Pittsburgh.
Sour Apples, I completely agree with you. Rizzo used to be great on WHK!
WHKZ is a near-total repeater of WHKW, save for airing Hugh Hewitt's show, he being a Warren native.
Salem did give up the Cincinnati market earlier this year - including conservatalker WBOB, now oldies WDJO - but that was really due to the nature of the market.
Maybe they could also cede WHK. But that's it. The Fish is a successful station, and WHKW is a traditional 24/7 preacher. They can allow to keep those two...
- Nathan Obral
- Ben said...
at least the Galleria will have one tennant
- Johnny Morgan said...
Actually, given what is there, Good Karma's radio studios/offices would be the third or fourth-largest spot there...behind the Cleveland Bar offices (at the east end, upper level), Cafe Sausolito (middle, upper level), and (maybe) Key West Cafe (west end, upper level).
If he's looking for space, there's tons of it--on both upper and lower floors.
Hell, there's one spot across from the CBA that is above a vacant ex-art gallery on the lower level.
He could have two levels of studios--two stations--and offices, with nice internal staircases.
And if he needs a lawyer...
Craig got the station for a steal. Isn't that the real story here? $7 million? People were guessing it would be double that. Kudos to him.
For what it's worth, in afternoon drive, I'd much rather listen to Kenny Roda over Triv. I enjoy Kenny's energy and agree with a previous poster that he has "paid his dues".
Why not just use the existing WKNR office space that is there? It does not make sense to me for a station to move downtown when all of the stations were leaving downtown for a reason.
- Ohio Media Watch said...
Why move downtown from Broadview Road?
1) You have no visibility out there, in studio space that sits on Salem's tower site for 1220.
2) We don't know if the studios could be considered "a dump", but they are likely behind the times.
3) Back to #1, the Galleria location puts WKNR/WWGK smack in the middle of the Cleveland sports scene. Cleveland Browns Stadium is roughly a 10 minute walk, and the Gateway facilities aren't much farther down East Ninth.
Mr. Karmazin wants to make a splash. Galleria does that.
Sure, it's symbolic, but considering the state of that facility (WKNR) the past few years, it's almost required.
4) If you're not going to be downtown and move into new facilities, it would likely be out in the Independence Media Gulch (Clear Channel, Salem, Metro Networks, etc.).
But it's hard to argue against a high-profile location smack in the middle of the local sports universe.
-The Management
Mr. Karmazin: Please take the following suggestions into consideration when planning future moves for 850 and 1540:
- Move ESPN Radio back to 850 so people can actually receive the signal
- If you can't dump FOX Sports Radio, move them to 1540 (the lack of signal is just the same as dumping them)
- Keep Rome - don't drop the jungle for some local talk show - we have local talk and all they do is whine
- Did I mention moving ESPN Radio to a signal someone can actually receive


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Software Development: A Traffic Jam Waiting To Happen
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Ken DeLong described why he thought software development was especially HARD:
Everyone knows that writing software is hard. But I want to talk about why software development is hard.
Software development is afflicted by several qualities that push it into the realm of complex adaptive systems - and often push it into chaos (or close enough). These qualities are
- nonlinearity
- feedback
- time delay
- variation
This is not a novel observation, although many of us in the field meet people who are oblivious to this fact. Perhaps some of us have heard it and didn't completely understand what this means. That's where Ken's blog entry is particularly helpful:
During rush hour, the road is packed, and everyone may be driving fairly quickly. But then some guy rubbernecks, and slows down to 30 mph, just for a few seconds. The result? A massive traffic jam. Ever sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, only to suddenly zoom up to 70 mph? What's up with that? Why was there a giant backup if there was no accident or other obvious cause? Earlier, there was some variation - someone rubbernecked - the nonlinearities compounded, and the jam formed. Many of these complex systems tend to be self-sustaining, and the traffic jam appears to be one of them. Eventually it unwinds, but far, far slower than anyone would guess based on intuition.
The events that happened from one guy slowing down - no accident at all - caused the whole mess! So what's the point? Software is hard and dangerous and the slightest thing can throw it off. What else?
One of the ways to avoid huge traffic jams on a constrained capacity highway is to use metering lights - keep the utilization of the system at a level where normal amounts of variation will not be amplified indefinitely. This is the same way we keep our CPU usage on our production servers at 30% or less so that we can handle spikes in traffic without thrashing the servers.
Therefore, there must be some feedback in the system so it can handle variations without coming to its knees:
In Agile, the number of story points accepted for a sprint is adjusted so that everything on the Sprint can get to the Done state within the Sprint. Metering lights.
Another way to look at the adjustment, the metering lights, in Agile software development is described by Jurgen Appelo in 10 Principles of Agile Project Time Management:
1. Use a Definition of "Done"
2. Use Timeboxes to Manage Work
3. Don't Add Slack to Task Estimates
4. Defer Decisions
5. Reduce Cycle Time
6. Keep the Pipeline Short and Thin
7. Keep the Discipline
8. Limit Task Switching
9. Prevent Sustained Overtime
10. Separate Urgency from Importance
Jurgen's goes into more detail with each of these ten principles and gives references for each one for in-depth reading. Software development is Hard. One of the main reasons is that it is a complex adaptive system. Agile - when done right - seems to do a very good job of providing stabilizing feedback.
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Kanban Systems
Karl Scotland
Avoid Congestion, keep distance
Jim Leonardo
If you're going to use a congestion metaphor, I'd suggest defining what that means. Congestion=bottleneck. Something in your team structure is letting some people get idle while others are dealing with a problem. If this occurs, you can look at a few things
1) How much specialization is there in your team? If you're getting bottlenecks, is it b/c you don't have enough cross functionality? Get some training and knowledge sharing cooking!
2) How many tasks have other tasks as prerequisites? Do you have enough of the chains for someone to pick up on if they get stalled on another task chain b/c of someone else? Are your features divided into tasks in the right way for your team and project? Can they be sliced and diced differently?
3) The dead simplest...Are you allowing enough time for tasks? Realistically, if you constantly are seeing bottlenecks/congestion, you may just be underestimating certain types of tasks or not planning on varying speed to check in (and remember, the "slower" developer may be slower b/c they are producing better quality, so look at things like that)
And finally, my favorite thing to harp on in infoq...
4) Do you have people putting in too many hours? Is someone stalled simply b/c they feel they should be working 70hrs a week while someone else is working "normal" hours? Conversely, is the coder who is always the bottleneck also the one putting in all the hours? If so, you've got a powder keg. If it's not already hurting you, it almost certainly will (and mandatory code reviews for that person are not an option!)
software is hard because it is complex
dave west
Re: software is hard because it is complex
Steven Devijver
I would disagree with the basic premise - software is hard because it is complicated - not complex. If it were truly complex, it would be easy! I am about 2/3 of the way to completing a book making the "easy" argument in detail. Perhaps some preview infoQ articles if the editors find them of interest.
According to M-W.com:
complex: hard to separate, analyze, or solve
complicated: difficult to analyze, understand, or explain
If you understand complexity as to describe the state of an arrangement and complicated the level of difficulty of a situation or task then I would assume both apply to software development.
Re: software is hard because it is complex
Amr Elssamadisy
In everyday usage, we often use "complicated" and "complex" interchangeably. Which makes it a little bit hard to discuss complexity. I mean, the "good" kind of complexity that you find in nature, for example.
We could say that we need the scientific definition of complexity, but science has unfortunately come up with at least 32 different definitions, that don't agree with each other. But if we cut through the confusion a bit, something like this would be workable:
Complicated is when something contains many intricately combined parts. It is something that is hard to figure out. Even if you do figure it out, there's no guarantee that things are put together in a sensible way.
Complex is when something acts as a system, and it is exhibiting systemic properties that aren't obvious. It is something more and different than simply a sum of its parts. There might or might not be many parts, but the result is something not very transparent, which takes on a life of its own in some fashion.
An Airbus A380 is complicated. A jellyfish is complex. The Paris Metro network is complicated. How people use it is complex. Your skeleton is complicated. You are complex. A building is complicated. A city is complex.
This description is from Flemming Flunch's blog.


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Add an abstract touch to your home or office decor with this hand painted canvas painting. Bring a new life and energy to an incredible range of settings from corporate offices, real estate showcases, cafes restaurants, houses and apartments. Ideal when you have a very limited budget, but desire to have tasteful design in your bedroom, living room or dining area. Elegant modern 5 canvas abstract painting in silver/turquoise design.
Estimated Delivery Time Frame: 10-14 business daysReference ID: 162136


text:
Figure D. Gonorrhea—Positivity Among Women Aged 15–24 Years Tested in Prenatal Clinics, by State, Infertility Prevention Project, United States and Outlying Areas, 2009
This web page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being updated. Newer data is available on the STD Data and Statistics page.
* States/areas not meeting minimum inclusion criteria in prenatal clinics.
NOTE: Includes states and outlying areas that reported gonorrhea positivity data on at least 100 women aged 15–24 years during 2009.
- Page last reviewed: November 22, 2010 (archived document)
- Content source:


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Delivery Info
Most of our products are shipped within 14-21 days via secure courier except for the iPhone 8 and 10, some additional items may also take slightly longer depending upon the level of personalisation required.
Our email confirmation will tell you when the item has left Goldgenie and will contain a tracking number to allow you to follow the progress of delivery via the website of the relevant courier company.
Shipping to credit card billing addresses only.


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New York Comic Con 2012's Best Costumes: Prometheus, Toxic Avenger, Bane & More
The 2012 New York Comic Con sold out of tickets for it's 5-day run, Oct. 11-14, at Manhattan's Javits Center. Those who were able to get inside the convention center were witness to some of the best homemade superhero costumes imaginable (and some not-so-great ones.) VIBE pal and Atlantic Records VP of Publicity Sydney Margetson got into the spirit of things, dressing up as Marvel Comic's Power Man and snapping shots of some of his favorite masked crusaders at the 2012 event.
Check out Mr. Sydney's (@Asakiwi) Instagram gallery on the pages ahead.


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Check out the new guide on SOA 11g Performance Tuning published July 2013 by Packt and written by Oracle Partner C2B2 Consulting Ltd:
See more details here: http://www.packtpub.com/oracle-soa-suite-11g-performance-tuning-cookbook/book
From a first glimpse myself I have the following impressions:
- The book gives a very good overview of the various topics of Performance Tuning
- A lot of recommendations are very valuable and show that the authors have real project experience
- My feeling is though that it concentrates a little bit too much on the low level infrastructure (like JVM tuning) and its config settings instead of explaining the why and what to tweak. Example: reducing audit level may help – but can also impact monitoring capabilities during production.
- Even though it touches database tuning, the book underestimates the need of database performance monitoring, database tuning, of regular purging and of tuning to prevent data growth. This often is a major area which leads to performance problems if not addressed in an early stage. For example no word about using Secure File LOBs for reducing HW contention in the DB….
- Architectural decisions are not mentioned– like splitting up one SOA domain into multiple ones for various reasons.
- SOA monitoring chapter promotes and focuses Hyperic as a product and misses out Oracle Grid Control and other available solutions.
- Design-level tuning covers only BPEL. Often one key area of performance tuning is to choose the right SOA component for a requirement. For example to use OSB
- A few components are not covered, for example Mediator resequencer, OHS tuning, XREFs and DVMs.
For some recommendations however, you should be careful to follow them without validation. Just one example:
"The adapter.jms.receive.threads, adapter.aq.dequeue.threads, and InboundThreadCount properties set the number of threads available for processing JMS,
AQ, and MQ messages. The default value for these is 5, and performance can be improved by using more threads to dequeue messages from these providers."
First, the default for "adapter.jms.receive.threads" is 1. Secondly, as an experience from real world complex deployments in large clusters, the right number of consumers should be determined by the expected load and for example the message size (potentially triggering different transaction times). Last but not least, in a cluster, each JMS consumer thread is multiplied by the number of cluster nodes. Therefore you should be very careful to increase JMS Adapter receive threads. I have seen performance tests where we proved that throughput increased dramatically by decreasing the number of JMS receive threads…
As a summary, the book provides some good add on's to the standard documentation available in the Oracle Fusion Middleware Performance and Tuning Guide.
Get a copy, check them out and tune your SOA 11g environment!


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This information is for people who may need to give a
person with diabetes an injection of
glucagon during a low blood sugar emergency.
If you find someone with diabetes unconscious and suspect low blood
sugar, do not take time to check the person's blood sugar level before giving
him or her glucagon. You will do no harm by giving him or her glucagon, even if
his or her blood sugar level turns out not to be low—meaning that something
else caused the person's loss of consciousness. But the longer you wait to
treat severe low blood sugar, the greater the chance of serious side effects
such as
a seizure.
You may want to have two glucagon
kits available in case you make a mistake while you are preparing the medicine.
Glucagon has to be given immediately after it is prepared—it cannot be prepared
ahead of time. Always check the expiration date on the kit.
If the
person with diabetes is unconscious, give them the glucagon shot, then
immediately call 911 or other emergency services. If emergency services have not arrived within 5
minutes and the person is still unconscious, give another glucagon shot.
Practice giving your partner or child an insulin injection at least once
a month so you will not be afraid if you need to give someone glucagon in an
Keep this information with the glucagon medicine, and
review these steps often.
Glucagon medicine comes in two types of
After you give the glucagon shot, immediately call 911 or other emergency services. If emergency services have not arrived
within 5 minutes and the person is still unconscious, give another glucagon
Any time a person with diabetes gets glucagon, he or she
should talk to a doctor to try to find out what caused the low blood sugar
episode. Possible causes include getting too much insulin, missing a meal, injecting insulin into a blood
vessel, having an illness other than diabetes, having liver or kidney damage,
exercise, or taking a new medicine.
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Last Revised:
September 26, 2012
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Jennifer Hone, MD - Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
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text:
Triple Crown Bouldering Series 2012 Wrap-up.
Written by Seth Bentley
Photos by Michael Rosato
First Leg–Hound Ears
It was a cool morning when competitors for the Hound Ears leg of the 2012 Triple Crown rustled out of their tents brimming with excitement, anticipation, and the occasional case of van envy. Gathering in the field, crashpads were quickly loaded as everyone is fully aware that this is their only day of the year to take advantage of the amazing Hound Ears boulders.
Meanwhile, two of the newest members of the Southeast SCARPA Grassroots Team, Mike Rosato and Seth Bentley, began frantically cramming demo gear into Mike's already packed up Tahoe. Mike being in the midst of a week long bouldering excursion had, in true car camping style, forgotten none of the comforts of home and left little room for demo shoes. Nevertheless they set off to the Hound Ears boulders proudly bearing a nice run of SCARPA demo shoes up to the boulder field. On a slight detour, the two proudly wore the shoes all around the Hound Ears neighborhood, because it turns out Mike's three previous seasons of competing in Hound Ears where not enough to instill the directions in his memory. At least he's a strong climber.


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Early this month Google released a major update for their Google+ mobile app, but it was only available on Apple's iOS. Today Google announced that redesigned Google+ was finally making its way to Android.
We continue to work toward a simpler, more beautiful Google, and today we're accelerating these efforts with a new Google+ app for Android phones.Vic GundotraSenior Vice President
The big new feature is that mobile users can now start a hangout from their phone, but lots of other changes were included as well. New improvements include:
- Visual refresh of the stream and improved navigation
- Initiate a hangout from the main menu
- Support for ringing hangout notification
- Support for post editing
- Messenger suggestions for people you may know
- Download photos from posts or Messenger conversations
Grab the latest update from the Google Play Store link below and let us know what you think. Don't forget to add +Android and Me to your circles if you want to chat and share Android related stories with us.


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As in years past, a week in March has been set aside as Poison Prevention Week. This is a good time to review what potential poisons we may have in our homes, garages, and outdoors, and make sure they are safely out of reach of children and pets.
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center in partnership with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to educate pet owners and veterinarians across the Nation during National Poison Prevention Week (March 19-25) to "Read the Label First!" when using household cleaners, flea preparations and other products in the home and on their companion animal. This campaign is part of the Consumer Labeling Initiative (CLI), an ongoing voluntary partnership to improve label information and to help the public purchase, use and dispose of products safely and responsibly in and around their homes.
More manufacturers are voluntarily changing their labels to make them easier-to-read and understand. According to Dr. Steven Hansen, former Senior Vice-President of the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, "We receive a large number of calls related to inappropriate usage of products such as flea and tick preparations on pets. In many cases, problems would not have occurred if the pet owner had taken the time to carefully read and follow the label instructions and precautions."
Helpful tips for using flea and tick or other products safely in the home and on a pet:
Never use insecticides on very young, pregnant, debilitated, or elderly animals without consulting your veterinarian.
Observe your pet closely after using flea products. If your pet exhibits unusual behavior, or becomes depressed, weak or uncoordinated you should seek veterinary advice immediately.
When using a fogger or spray in your home, make sure to remove all pets from the house for the time period specified on the container. Food and water bowls should be removed from the area. Allow time for the product to dry completely before returning your animals to your home. Open windows or use fans to "air out" the household before returning your pets to the treated area. Strong fumes can be irritating to your animal's eyes and upper respiratory system.
Birds are more sensitive to fumes and usually require more time than other pets before their return to the treated home. Contact your veterinary health professional for advice on product usage around your birds.
Be sure to keep products in their original containers to avoid leakage, accidental mix-ups, and loss of important label information should an accidental exposure occur.
Never keep pesticide, cleaning or other household products near pet food or water bowls, and store products such as these in a secure cabinet above countertop level out of your pet's reach.
Once again, ALWAYS "Read the Label First!" This could save the life of your pet!
If you suspect that your pet has ingested something poisonous, seek medical attention immediately.
In an emergency, pet owners can call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, an animal poison control center staffed by veterinarians, including board-certified veterinary toxicologists and certified veterinary technicians. Located in Urbana, Illinois, the specially trained staff provides assistance to pet owners and specific diagnostic and treatment recommendation to veterinarians pertaining to toxic chemicals and dangerous plants, products or substances 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In 2001, the Center handled over 65,000 cases. The Center also provides extensive veterinary toxicology expert consulting on a wide array of subjects including legal cases, formulation issues, product liability, and regulatory reporting. To reach The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center call:
Before you call the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center:


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Save on postage in one single invoice when you purchase multiple items from us within 5 consecutive days. You can pay only $5 postage for each additional item after the highest postage price charged among your combined items; or even enjoy Free Postage for up to 2 clothing items when you order one of our handbags in your combine invoice. Please email us for a combine invoice after all your combinable items ended and before making payment to avoid full postage fees charged.
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Hello, it's me.
So much for my abandoned blog.
Here's a record that I just dragged out again. a record I first heard in Brooklin, Maine in 2003 - I don't have many records that I can remember where or what I was doing when I first heard it - but this is one of them:
here's the lyrics
We all do what we can
So we can do just one more thing
We won't have a thing
So we've got nothing to lose
We can all be free
Maybe not with words
Maybe not with a look
But with your mind


text:
Randale Cowan
Randale Cowan, 91, of Fritch, passed away Friday, September 21, 2012 in Amarillo.Graveside services will be 11:00 a.m. Monday, September 24, 2012 in the "Garden Of Devotion" at Westlawn Memorial Park, under the direction of Minton Chatwell Funeral Directors of Borger. Mr. Cowan will be at the Borger location for viewing.Randale Cowan was born August 12, 1921 in Lohn, Texas to Charles G. Cowan and Lucy T. (McMichaels) Cowan. He was a longtime resident of Fritch, and served his country in the Army Air Corp during WW II from July 29, 1942 to September 7, 1945 as a Airplane Armorer Gunner. Randale also earned the distinguished flying cross with two bronze oak leaf clusters, and the air medal with two bronze oak leaf clulsters. On March 4, 1944 he married Sybil West in Fritch, and was a member of the First Southern Baptist Church. Randale was on the Fritch City Council when Fritch was first organized, and was instrumental in starting the fire, police, and ambulance department. He also helped build the little league parks, and was a volunteer fireman, auxiliary police officer, and was inducted into the Military Hall of Fame in Pampa.Survivors include three daughters; Glenda J. Mattern of Denver, Colorado, Fran T. Thompson of Baytown, Randy L. Jarvis and husband George of Stinnett; his son Charles A Cowan and wife Cindy of Amarillo; his sister Lois Granger of Amarillo, 9 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 3 great-great grandchildren.Randale Cowan is preceded in death by his wife Sybil Cowan March 15, 2000, and son-in-law William Mattern.In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Odyssey Healthcare 6900 I-40 West Suite 150 Amarillo, Texas 79106.To send condolences, sign the online guestbook at www.mintonchatwell.com.


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text: Technically speaking there aren't many items that we consider a must-have before taking your baby out of the house, especially if you're not planning on strolling far from home. There are, however, definitely some useful items we've found best to have on hand, and others that we feel have earned their characterization as modern-day conveniences. Here are a few thoughts and suggestions for when you're ready to get on the go again.


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With the news that SS Choo has been named AL Player of the Week in recognition of him ostensibly putting the Indians' offense on his back en route back to the .500 mark, perhaps it is time to finally acknowledge that Choo no longer projects as an elite hitter because he has arrived as one with his performance since returning to the team in the 2008 season. If you think back to the 2008 season, as the season went into the tank and CC found his way to the Cream City, the bright spots of the offense came in the form of brilliant 2nd halves of the season for The BLC (and have you noticed how the PD and FOX8 have started referring to him as "Big League Choo") and Kelly Shoppach. Each player ranked in the top 10 in OPS in the AL after the All-Star Break among players with more than 200 plate appearances, with Choo only being outpaced by Teixiera and Melvin Mora. While Shoppach's productiveness slowed (whether by his own volition or through his usage patterns) in 2009, Choo kept on chugging along at a steady clip as he was the only player in the AL to hit .300 with 20 HR and 20 SB last year. While those represent fairly overblown statistics, take a look at the line that Choo has compiled since his return from the DL in 2008, through Monday: .305 BA / .400 OBP / .519 SLG / .919 OPS with 69 2B and 38 HR in 1,107 PA Pretty impressive, right?
Sure, but they become even more so when placed in the context of the rest of MLB, using OPS+ as the ranking statistic for all players from 2008-2010 with at least 1,100 plate appearances:1) Albert Pujols – 189 2) Manny Ramirez – 162 3) Adrian Gonzalez – 153 4) Joe Mauer – 153 5) Lance Berkman – 150 6) Alex Rodriguez – 149 7) Prince Fielder – 147 8) Mark Teixeira – 147 9) The BLC – 146 10) Chipper Jones – 145 11) Hanley Ramirez – 145 12) Kevin Youkilis – 142 13) Ryan Braun – 140 14) Matt Holliday – 140 15) Chase Utley – 139
Pujols – 4,741 PA Manny – 8,352 PA A. Gonzalez – 1,557 PA Mauer – 1,755 PA Berkman – 5,127 PA A-Rod – 8,482 PA Fielder – 1,391 PA Teixiera – 3,246 PA Choo – 220 PA Chipper – 8,143 PA How does that old "Sesame Street" song go…which of these things is not like the others?If you think that's where Choo stands out as the outlier, in terms of success with less experience, how about this comparison among the same 10 when it comes to…wait for it…salaries for 2010:Pujols – $16M Manny – $20M A. Gonzalez – $4.75M Mauer – $12.5M Berkman – $14.5M A-Rod – $32M Fielder – $10.5M Teixiera – $20M Big League Choo – $461K Chipper – $13M The 2nd lowest salary on this list belongs to the eminently "affordable" Adrian Gonzalez, who will earn more than ten times what Choo will be paid this year. And…here's where the hand-wringing begins and the name of Scott Boras is whispered about, right? No question, but first let's just all take a look at the absurd notion that two Yankees are on that list, with $52M being paid to those two players this year, allowing me to point your eyes to this absolute must-read from Joe Posnanski on the disparity of MLB revenues. Getting back to Choo and the salary issue, there was the wailing and moaning and gnashing of teeth when Choo hired Boras as his agent. However, let's all remember that the only aspect of Choo's contract status that his new agent really changes is that he's unlikely to sign a long-term deal that would simply buy up his arbitration years (which end after the 2013 season) or buy out any of his Free Agent years. In fact, Anthony Castrovince has a piece up that puts forth that the Indians "approached him (Choo) and his new agent, Scott Boras, about a contract extension" as the "club attempted to sign him through 2014 with an option for 2015." While Choo and Boras rejected those overtures, let's not forget perhaps the most important part of the equation here as Choo is still under contract with the Indians through the 2013 season (assuming this Military Service issue is rectified) and in July of that 2013 season, SS Choo will turn 31 years old. Starting this coming off-season through the off-season prior to the 2013 season, the Indians may find themselves embroiled in arbitration hearings or exchanging numbers with Boras, attempting to find contractual middle ground to avoid said arbitration hearings. Even if Choo does go to arbitration every year until Choo's contract is up (and if he's going to, let's see him earn that high arbitration number that Boras is going to throw out there), the Indians hold his rights until he's 31 years old. While Indians' fans are quick to tab Choo as the next Indian to take the fast train out of town, realize that he's the Indians' property for all of this season, next season, in 2012, and in 2013. Perhaps the Indians try to extend him again (as they already did) or buy out some of his arbitration years at set dollar amounts (as Boras did with another one of his clients, Prince Fielder, a few years back), but the idea of locking him up much further out than 2013 may not be a prudent avenue to travel for a team like the Indians. Why is not prudent?Again, Choo will be 31 when his contract expires and does anyone remember another late blooming slugger among the league's elite hitters that was extended by the Indians as he was entering his 30's? Lest anyone forget, Travis Hafner signed his current contract when he was 30, coming off of a 3-year stretch in which he compiled an OPS+ of 170 and a line of .308 BA / .419 OBP / .611 SLG / 1.030 OPS from 2004 to 2006 and while there is certainly a difference in positional value (a RF vs. a DH), let's not be too eager to assume that Choo's production is going to continue into his early-to-mid-30's, much less his late 30's. Looking past the idea that every player is not going to fall off the proverbial cliff like Hafner did, teams like the Indians aren't going to become consistent winners by paying players salaries dictated by the market when they're 31 and over in this current economic system in MLB. Rather, the way that they're going to stay competitive is by benefiting from having as many players as possible like Choo – young(ish), productive, under club control, and cheap – on the roster. That's not to say that Choo becomes less useful once he enters his arbitration years, as production at the level at which Choo has provided it for the equivalent of two seasons now will still be a bargain (relatively speaking) as he goes through the arbitration process for the next three off-seasons. Rather, the reminder on Choo's age and the Indians' current…um, standing in MLB should be recalled as the Indians traveled down the "lock-up-our-own-players" at market prices back in 2007 with Hafner and Westbrook (29-years-old when he signed his extension) and the last two years have borne out how that strategy plays out in a market like Cleveland. Manny Acta may be right in a sense when he says that Indians' fans should "enjoy him while he's here" in regards to appreciating The BLC when he's donning a Cleveland uniform as the idea of signing him past the expiration of his current contract may not be in the Indians' best interests. Don't confuse the two discussions of the Indians locking in Choo's arbitration years (the preferred path) as opposed to signing him past 2013 (not so much), just realize that him being under contract through 2013 doesn't preclude anyone from "enjoying him" and marveling at the transformation that he's made from a middling OF prospect in the Mariners' system to an elite middle-of-the-rotation order just hitting his prime in Cleveland. However, that enjoyment shouldn't result in any sort of idea that the Indians' best chances of competing in 2014 include Choo because, as we've learned all too regularly, past and even current performance does not guarantee future results. So, enjoy the current performance and even some of the future results because it's not going away anytime soon, just don't fall under the spell of the idea that locking up a 31-year-old Shin-Soo Choo until he's 36 or 37 is the best path for the Indians to travel when, not if, the negotiations between the Indians and Boras become contentious and public. Even when they do and with that subtext always simmering below the surface every time Choo excels over the course of nearly the next four years, "enjoy" The BLC not "while he's here" but instead, because he's here.