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The bill passed on an unrecorded voice vote that included three Republicans, thought to be the first in the Colorado Senate ever to vote for such a proposal. In-state tuition for illegal immigrants has been considered for more than a decade in Colorado, but the measures were defeated each time by lawmakers from both parties.
Over the years, as Colorado's Latino population exploded, Democrats came to unify behind the tuition measure. Friday's Senate vote showed at least some Republicans are changing their minds, too.
"I want the GOP to become the Grand Opportunity Party," said Republican Sen. Greg Brophy of Wray, who has voted against in-state tuition proposals before.
Brophy said his mind was changed by ambitious young Latinos in his rural eastern Colorado hometown.
"They can't leave here to go home, because they are home," Brophy said.
Brophy was joined by two freshmen Republicans, Sens. Larry Crowder of Alamosa and Owen Hill of Colorado Springs.
Most in the GOP still opposed the tuition measure. But they took pains to argue they aren't anti-Latino, but critical of an overall immigration system that is flawed.
After the Democratic sponsor of the tuition told a story about a young high school graduate forced home to Mexico's dangerous Ciudad Juarez, the Senate's lead Republican stood to make clear that the Republican Party doesn't oppose immigration or young people seeking an education.
"We are a very generous people," insisted Sen. Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs.
Other Republicans tried and failed to amend the bill to get rid of out-of-state tuition entirely, saying people from neighboring Kansas or Wyoming should have lower rates, too. Some argued that the tuition bill is a Democratic attempt to gloss over the deep immigration problems this nation faces.
"Our bureaucracies are broken, and by passing bills like this, we are taking pressure off Congress to act," said Sen. Scott Renfroe, R-Greeley.
However, the debate highlights came when Brophy and the freshmen Republicans explained why they favored the tuition bill. Crowder talked of growing up in southern Colorado surrounded by Latino immigrants, both illegal and legal.
"Until the federal government steps up to the plate and fixes this problem, we've got to do something," argued Crowder, who went on to decry anti-immigrant sentiment.
"I guess some people just want them to graduate and flip burgers ... (but) it's time to realize we are a melting pot," Crowder said.
Hill talked about visiting the Statue of Liberty as a child.
"It is not that I love law less, but I love liberty more," Hill said.
After a formal vote next week, the measure heads to the House, which has defeated tuition proposals in the past. This year, the House is in Democratic hands, and the bill is expected to pass. Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper has said he'll sign the bill into law.
Kristen Wyatt can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt
Senate Bill 33: http://bit.ly/Xzzw3j


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The former Levy County Sheriff's lieutenant who attacked and held his ex-girlfriend prisoner for 10 hours, beating and raping her, will spend 30 years in prison followed by 15 years sex offender probation with electronic monitoring.
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LA PLATA, Mo. - The Marion County girls entered Friday night's Class 1 District 10 championships determined to force players other than La Plata's MaKay Belt or Samm Jett to score.
In accomplishing that goal, the Mustangs logged a 42-26 victory and captured their fifth-straight district championship.
Kaelyn Spratt scored a game-high 18 points and Danielle Maxwell scored nine in a critical two-minute spurt to lift Marion County over the host Bulldogs and into the Class 1 State Tournament.
For La Plata (16-11 overall), it was a disappointing finish to a solid season under first-year head coach Steve Lightle.
"I'm not disappointed in their effort. I'm disappointed, I thought we were a little bit closer team than that, maybe within 10 points or so [of Marion County]," Lightle said.
It marked the final game for seniors Belt, Taylor Snodgrass, Naomi Larson and Molly Safley.
"They're awesome young ladies, all of them," Lightle said. "They wanted to win this one bad. It's a bitter pill to swallow for them."
The Bulldogs had an 8-6 lead on a Belt layup early in the second quarter when Spratt took the game over. She scored 12 of her 18 points in the frame, leading Marion County on a 15-2 run that gave them a 21-12 lead at intermission.
La Plata put a bit of a run together in the third quarter, getting a jumper from Jett and a three from Belt that made it 25-17. The Bulldogs had four possessions with a chance to get closer, but missed three shots and committed one of their 14 turnovers before Maxwell came off the bench and drilled threes on three consecutive shots. The last came with just three seconds left, making it 34-17 heading into the final quarter.
"When Maxwell came in and hit those three threes in a row, that was huge because it really, I thought that was the dagger," Marion County head coach Mike Johnson said.
Belt finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. Jett had four points and five boards. The two accounted for all but nine of La Plata's points.
"Our game plan was pretty much to let someone else try to score," Johnson said.
The 19-9 Mustangs reached the Final Four last season, one year after winning the Class 1 State Championship. They've reached at least the Final Four after their last four district title wins.
Marion County will play in a Class 1 Sectional Tuesday in Sturgeon, Mo. The winner of that game will play in Saturday's Class 1 Quarterfinal at Pershing Arena in Kirksville.


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The film follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his...
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The film follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
To get showtimes, select a county to find cinemas showing this movie in your area.
Gatsby may have believed in the green light, but in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, every color in the spectrum is strewn across the screen to an orgastic degree. Like Project X for the gimlet-sipping crowd, Luhrmann takes F. Scott Fitzgerald's source material, douses it in modern music courtesy of soundtrack mastermind Shawn ''Jay-Z'' Carter, and shoots the melodrama with sweeping movements normally reserved for Lord of the Rings. Weary narrator Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) describes Gatsby's weekly festivities as a ''kaleidoscopic carnival.'' Quite apt: Luhrmann's 3D spectacle goes from mesmerizing to dizzying in under 30 minutes.
Like Carraway, The Great Gatsby is eventually awoken to the ''real'' man behind the lavish production numbers. The movie changes course for the better when the brilliant Leonardo DiCaprio enters the picture. Like the plebs he greets, DiCaprio's Jay Gatsby takes the movie's breath away, forcing Luhrmann to put aside his song and dance infatuation for dazzling performances in the heightened world he's created. Luhrmann's script sticks closely to the required high school reading we all know and love: After settling into a modest West Egg, Long Island cottage for the summer, Carraway is courted by Gatsby for friendship. With the help of the reclusive gazillionaire, Carrway experiences life in the fast line. But Gatsby has ulterior motives. Five years prior, he fell desperately in love with Carraway's cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan). Now he needs Carraway to pull her out of East Egg long enough for Gatsby to convince her to leave her cheating, polo-playing husband Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). Mesmerized by charm, Carraway reluctantly abides.
Maguire does a stand up job playing witness to Gatsby's upper crust destruction, but it's DiCaprio's show to steal. The actor finds new sides to his on-screen persona that outshine the glitz and glamour; in his first encounter with Daisy, Gatsby bumbles around Carraway's living room, hyperventilating and trembling in fear like a teenager on his first date. It's DiCaprio embracing physical comedy and low status - in complete contrast to what he does as the ''Great Gatsby'' who commands over parties and works shady business deals in the backrooms of New York City. Like the sporadic beauty of jazz, DiCaprio mixes Gatsby's moods into one enchanting character.
The supporting cast feels more like they're role playing in the Roaring '20s then digging into their literary counterparts - impaired partially by Luhrmann's insistence on voiceover and flashy execution - but there are standouts. Without material doing her an favors, Mulligan turns Daisy into a vicious romantic, her fragility exposed when Edgerton's Tom reacts violently to Gatsby intrusion. The Aussie actor finds plenty of moments to chew up with his boisterous, period-appropriate delivery. The mustache doesn't hurt the smarminess. In a small role, heralded Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan appears to push Gatsby's buttons and turn the film on its head. He makes more of an impression than two normally strong performers, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke, who have little to do as Tom's mistress and her gas station-owning husband.
Luhrmann doesn't put style over substance, though Great Gatsby is off-balance. The first half nearly collapses under the weight of production value and DiCaprio's bravado isn't quite enough to carry the film to greatness. The stylized backdrop, New York by way of Life of Pi, fit the larger than life story. If it were precisely used rather than slathered over the screenplay, Luhrmann would have a year's best on his hands. Instead, The Great Gatsby straddles the line of disaster, manic in the vein of its protagonist's delusional escapades.
What do you think? Tell Matt Patches directly on Twitter @misterpatches and read more of his reviews on Rotten Tomatoes!
More: DiCaprio & Maguire: 'Great Gatsby' BFFsFlorence + The Machine's New 'Gatsby' Track
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"The thoughtLEADERS Blog covers leadership, communications, strategy and operations."
"Storytelling is the 'new' way of doing - selling, training, motivating. Yet, while we in libraries deal in story and deeply understand the social imperative of story, are we using story in our professional practice? To increase understanding of what good customer service is, for example, should we share those stories? Would it help to motivate and make the change? This 'story' is an example of how one might use such a method to begin the process. Nice."
Via Karen du Toit


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The return of the Minnesota deep freeze this week also brings us back to the perception that cold weather might cause problems with our cars.
However, many local mechanics say modern automobile technology makes a car of today better able to withstand cold snaps like the one we've just experienced.
The return of the Minnesota deep freeze this week also brings us back to the perception that cold weather might cause problems with our cars.
However, many local mechanics say modern automobile technology makes a car of today better able to withstand cold snaps like the one we've just experienced.
Still, if a driver has a five year old battery and has been trying to nurse it through one more winter (like me), then the sub zero mornings this week might have been the coupe de grace for that old battery.
Lorin Nommensen at Don's Tire in St. James said he was having a busy day on Monday, but he wasn't sure that it was all connected to the cold weather.
Nommensen said Don's Tire had to jump start a couple of cars and had to push a couple into the shop.
If it's not the battery, very cold weather seems to push any mechanical part near the end of its life over the edge. Cold weather can be hard on equipment.
For some people it is the battery. Oscar Alvarez of NAPA Auto Parts said that because of the cold weather his store has seen an uptick of people coming in with suspect batteries. The parts store can test batteries. On Monday morning NAPA sold three batteries in the first hour to customers who had dead batteries.
Rod Rushing of Rod's Repair said that the way modern cars are engineered that this cold snap wasn't cold enough or wasn't going to be long enough to adversely impact too many drivers. "Equipment like fuel injectors are so much more refined this day and age," he said.
"That first cold snap back in December killed off a lot of the old batteries," Rushing said. He said he replaced a lot of batteries that month.
He also said that it would take a long cold snap of four or five nights in a row of below zero weather before mechanical problems would start showing up in many of the newer cars.
"It's not like it was ten or twenty years ago with old cars," Rushing said.
Cold weather back then tended to cause more problems to the cars of those days. Of course cold snaps back then were often 25 or 30 below zero and they did go on for longer periods of time.
Sam Clipperton of Clipperton's Auto Repair agreed that modern cars are built to better handle cold weather. "Cars today aren't affected as much," Clipperton said.
"The truth of the matter is hot weather is more effective in killing a battery," Clipperton said.
The longtime auto mechanic said that back in the 70s and 80s the fall was a busy time of year for mechanics as people would bring their cars in getting them ready for winter. He said that today preparing cars for winter was a foreign concept for most people.
'Cars have more powerful ignition systems, smaller engines and better batteries," Clipperton said.
He said these kind of advances and other engineering advances have made getting through winter easier for owners of newer automobiles.
Perhaps that's good news for me too as now maybe I can stretch out replacing that old battery of mine till this summer. I just might wait till just before that first hot stretch hits.


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Pascal's Wager
Pascal's Wager is the argument that states that you should believe in God even if there's a strong chance that he might not be real, because the penalty for not believing, namely going to hell, is so undesirable that it is more prudent to take our chances with belief.
Background information
Based on simple probability theory, the argument was first formally put forth by Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century philosopher and mathematician. The concept of the wager derives from the Pensées, a collection of Pascal's thought forged into a literary work. This line of argument forms a response to another proof of God known as Cartesian Thought. Pascal believed that Descartes's argument created a false notion of absolute certainty, which contradicts the concept of faith or belief. Pascal critiques the Cartesian doubt, by implementing no absolute certainty in God's existence. Rather one must believe in God from a point of faith, without assurance. Thus why the term "Wager" was coined.
This is one of the most common arguments presented for god which atheists commonly encounter in the form of the question, "What if you're wrong?"
God might or might not exist. It is a gamble whether you believe in him or not. As with any gamble, we should consider the odds.
Pascal described the payoff of this gamble as follows: If God does not exist, then you neither gain nor lose anything from belief or disbelief. In either case, you just die and that's the end. However, if you choose to believe in God, and you are right, then the reward is infinite: Eternal bliss in heaven. On the other hand, if you choose not to believe in God, and you're wrong, your pay off is negative infinity: Eternal suffering in hell.
To summarize:
|Table of Payoffs
|Believe in God
|Don't believe in God
|God doesn't exist
|God exists
|+∞ (heaven)
|−∞ (hell)
Since the chance of God existing is unknown, but the payoff/punishment scheme is infinitely in favor of believing in God, you should believe just in case he exists. It's the safe bet.
- p1. Believers and non believers alike, agree that payoff is good, punishment is bad.
- p2. if god is real you receive infinite punishment for disbelief or infinite payoff for belief
- a. if you believe you go to heaven for eternity.
- b. if you do not believe you go to hell for eternity.
- p3. if god is not real you don't really lose or gain anything either way.
- a. if you believe falsely that god does exist you haven't really lost anything.
- b. if you don't believe and it turns out god doesn't exist then you don't really gain anything.
- c1. Therefore even if there is strong evidence against god it is still better to believe.
- a. the payoff for believing if there is a god, is infinitely better than the benefit for not believing if there's no god.
- b. the punishment for not believing if there is a god, is infinitely worse than the loss caused by believing falsely that there is a god.
Begging the question
Pascal's wager commits the fallacy of begging the question, by assuming in its premises, certain characteristics about the very god the argument is intended to prove.
Rather than the typical Christian god, what if we hypothesize the possibility of a god who rewards skeptical thinking unbelievers and punishes credulous believers? Such a god would be consistent with the fall-back response of theologians, "We cannot understand the ways of God," so it is conceivable that such a god would want to reward atheists. This god would not need to be malevolent, merely inactive (e.g., Eru Ilúvatar of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium or Ao of the Forgotten Realms Pantheon). This also mirrors deism with regards to creation, and wanting to reward those who take a rational, logical, reasonable, and or skeptical approach to their beliefs.
The new table including a Maltheist god may look like this:
|Table of Payoffs
|Believe in God
|Don't believe in God
|God doesn't exist
|Legalistic religious god exists
|+∞ (heaven)
|−∞ (hell)
|Anti-conventional god exists
|−∞ (hell)
|+∞ (heaven)
The mere possibility of such a god makes the expected outcomes for each column undefined, but more importantly, equal.
If you can accept Pascal's Wager as a realistic reason to believe, that leads you to a point where you have no choice but to believe just about everything on the same grounds. Lacking specific evidence about the nature of the true religious faith, there are an infinite number of possible requirements for going to heaven and avoiding hell. Maybe only those who collect stamps go to heaven. Maybe you have to donate $10 a week to Iron Chariots for life. Why quibble about a few measly dollars if it will save you from eternal hellfire?
Non-zero cost of belief
One flaw with Pascal's wager is that it makes the false assumption that belief costs nothing, and lack of belief provides no benefit. This is not the case.
For one thing, if you go through life believing a lie, that is a bad thing in itself. Besides that, there is more to being a believer than just saying, "Okay, I believe now," and getting on with your life. Serious believers spend a lot of their time in church, and contribute a lot of money as well. There's a reason why some towns have very affluent looking buildings for churches, and why large and elaborate cathedrals are possible: they're funded by folks who donate a tenth of their income throughout their lives to tithing. This is surely quite a waste if the object of worship isn't real.
That's to say nothing of the persecution of other groups that's been instigated in the name of God throughout the ages. Also, in the US, churches don't have to pay taxes, which includes property tax. Property tax is what goes to schools, so all the land that churches own is sucking money out of schools.
When "God Did It" becomes an acceptable answer, there is little incentive to continue exploring the question. More damaging, the "success" of this theory encourages one to apply it to other areas of human understanding. Practiced in this manner, theism can actively discourage human knowledge by compelling people to follow an arbitrary code of conduct, rather than one based on logic and reason.
And by the way, you don't lose pork.
Special pleading
- Main Article: Which god?
Another flaw is that Pascal's Wager makes the assumption that belief and disbelief are a true dichotomy, and invokes special pleading to apply the argument only to a specific religion's god.
Belief in one god often excludes belief in another. The Wager can be invoked by any religion which claims to reward belief and/or punish disbelief. One is not left with a choice only between belief and disbelief, but a choice between hundreds of different gods. In using the argument, one asks that it be applied only to his particular god, not all the others. This is special pleading.
The conclusion that belief is the safe wager also invokes special pleading in that it relies on the assertion that belief will be rewarded. The Wager could be used, equally validly, by a religion with an unconventional god who punishes faith and rewards conclusions drawn from evidence (the Atheist's Wager).
This also invokes the assertion that non belief will not be rewarded in any way. For specific religions such as Christianity it is frowned upon for use of alcohol and drug use and sex outside of marriage. Now a non-believer who participates in these events seems to be rewarded for their disbelief.
Other counter arguments
Atheist's Wager
The Atheist's Wager is a variant of Pascal's Wager which divides the gods who reward faith and the gods who reward works, finding that it is better to not believe and do good works, for maximum benefit. If one takes into account that rewarding and punishing based on faith in a deity without reasonable evidence to believe that god is evil, then spending your time sucking up to a such a deity is a waste of time. If one discounts the possibility of a God who sends good people to hell for bad reasons, we are left with a completely different payoff table.
- If one does not believe in God.
|Table of Payoffs
|Good Life
|Evil Life
|Benevolent God Exists
|+∞ (heaven)
|−∞ (hell)
|No God Exists
- If one believes in God.
|Table of Payoffs
|Good Life
|Evil Life
|Benevolent God Exists
|+∞ (heaven)
|−∞ (hell)
|No God Exists
Regardless of one's belief about a benevolent God, the results still favor a Good Life. Pascal's wager relies on the judgments of an evil God who sends good people to hell for not believing in him. Moreover, because there are an infinite number of possible such Gods, the odds of getting the right answer are 1 in ∞. Even if a faith rewarding God existed, believing in an incorrect faith-rewarding God might anger such a god more than not believing in any gods with good reasons.
Definitions: Belief
Even if one assumes that the wager applies to the Christian god, would he really accept the kind of faith it promotes? The wager doesn't promote true, deep faith; it promotes a fake faith. The person simply pretends to be convinced because they're afraid of the punishment for not believing. The wager is simply an attempt to force the person to believe (see argumentum ad baculum). (Or, perhaps more accurately, it attempts to force the person to act as if he or she believes—that is, it serves as an instrument of social control.)
An analogy to this would be a child that professes belief in Santa Claus out of fear that they will not otherwise receive presents, knowing full well that the presents left under the tree are really from his or her parents. Moreover, can we truly choose what we believe?... If the reward for believing in the existence of unicorns was a ton of gold, would you believe? Or would you simply say you believe.
Moral implications
There are deep moral implications to Pascal's wager if the argument is taken to its logical conclusions. It promotes the idea that beliefs are more important than actions. Or more precisely that apostasy is the only unforgivable sin. It seems to promote the idea that choice to believe is more important than actually having the faith to believe.
The central tenet of substitutionary atonement in Christianity, means that you can spend your life murdering, raping, killing, waging genocide, etc., and as long as you accept Jesus Christ as lord and savior before you die, you are entitled to an eternity of pleasure in heaven.
However, on the other hand, a non believer who spends a good honest life helping others, is damned to spend an eternity being tortured in hell despite their good deeds.
This is illustrated in the Gun Slinger (Chick tract).
See Also
External links
- Pascal's Sucker Bet by Jim Huber
- Reverse Pascal's Wager at strongatheism.net
- Wikipedia:Pascal's Wager – Wikipedia article on Pascals wager
- Wikipedia:Blaise Pascal – Wikipedia article on Blaise Pascal


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A troubled starlet dies in a helicopter crash off the Irish coast after sending a series of mysterious text messages. Three years later, a hungry young reporter desperate for work takes an assignment to write a quickie celebrity biography of her — but finds complexity and danger.
That seemingly accidental death is the catalyst for the events in Bloodland, a new thriller by Irish author Alan Glynn.
Glynn tells weekends on All Things Considered guest host Mary Louise Kelly that his book takes the reader from Dublin to New York to the Congo in pursuit of a tangled story of murder, corruption and illegal mining of rare ores.
"It's an exploration, if you like, of the power dynamics that go on" between New York boardrooms and warlords in the Congo, Glynn says.
But he plays out these grand themes — the global economic crisis, America's battle with China for dominance in Africa, the human costs of illegal mining — on a very personal scale, through a group of deeply flawed but compelling characters.
"I think the danger with something like this is to be polemical," Glynn says. "If you start with an agenda, a political agenda in fiction, you're asking for trouble. It's important to kind of not preach, even though at the heart of the story, there is a kind of a political point."
Glynn says what interests him is the psychology of the powerful characters on his pages. "Characters which, on the surface ... might seem extremely unsympathetic, [but] I think by getting close to the way they think, there's a certain ambivalence that comes out, which is interesting," he says.
None of those characters really know how the story will turn out — they're all piecing it together as they go along. Glynn says that's the way he likes it.
"I don't really plan in great detail at all," he says. "I'm always reminded of that great quote by E.L. Doctorow. He said writing a novel is like driving a car at night: You can just see as far as the headlights will show you. But you can make the whole journey that way ... and I think that keeps it fresh for the writer as well as the reader."
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Mary Louise Kelly.
In war-torn Congo, the heart of Africa, a convoy of private military contractors carrying a U.S. senator to a secret mine is about to run into trouble.
ALAN GLYNN: (Reading) In the little car, the package is still staring out of the window, a look of horror forming on his face. It's as though the anticipation has spread, as though it's a virus or a stain alive somehow, crimson and thirsty. Ray swallows. He's thirsty himself, the feeling in this veins now inexorable like a dark, slowly uncoiling sexual desire that senses imminent release. He puts his finger on the trigger.
KELLY: That shooting is the first strand in a complicated web that makes up our book this week, the new thriller "Bloodland." Author Alan Glynn - that's his voice you just heard - unfolds a story of corruption and murder and cover-ups. And Alan Glynn joins us now from Dublin. Welcome to the program.
GLYNN: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: So tell me in just a few seconds what's the book about.
GLYNN: The book is a political thriller, which takes us from Dublin via New York to the Congo. It deals with illegal mining of metals in the Congo and the relationship that they have to corporate boardrooms in New York. It's an exploration of the - it's like the power dynamics that go on between these two things.
KELLY: A lot of manipulation of power and shady backroom deals in all this. I was so struck by - you do have all these kind of grand themes, as you just mentioned. But instead of, you know, lecturing about them from lofty heights, you really take it down to these just - you have this great cast of quite seedy characters, people who are outwardly powerful but inwardly have their issues. Was that a deliberate way to tell the story?
GLYNN: Yeah. I think that the danger with something like this is to be polemical. If you start with an agenda, political agenda, and infection, you're asking for trouble. It's important to kind of not preach, even though at the heart of the story, there is a kind of a political point, I think. But what really interests me is the psychology of these people in these positions of power, characters, which, you know, on the surface of the page might seem extremely unsympathetic. I think by getting close to the way they think, there's a certain ambivalence that comes out, which is interesting.
KELLY: Which character did you have the most fun writing?
GLYNN: I like James Vaughn, the character. He's a kind of a gray eminence, if you like, behind the book.
KELLY: He's the international financier, right...
GLYNN: Yes.
KELLY: ...kind of a George Soros gone bad like that.
GLYNN: Yeah. He runs a - yeah, a private equity company called The Oberon Capital Group. He's a guy in his early 80s. He's been around for a long time. I'm just fascinated by someone who's been so involved on so many levels of the power structures and the way the world has developed to today.
KELLY: Without giving away any of the twists and turns in your book, it is safe to say that a lot of the characters here make very bad choices. They - you know, they land in trouble, and it's entirely of their own making.
GLYNN: Yes. Yes. And I think - and then they make further choices, which get them further into kind of naughtier trouble spots, which is fun, I think, to - fun to write and fun to watch how they dig deeper into the hole that they're in.
KELLY: Let me ask you to focus in on one of them, and this is the character Larry Bulger. He, until quite recently, in your book was prime minister of Ireland. He's now out of a job, and he's also an alcoholic who had not had a sip in a decade until now. And you have a great scene in there where you describe him in his living room. He's standing in front of his liquor cabinet. He's reached out, and he's touching a bottle of whisky. I wonder if you would read that passage for us, page 63.
GLYNN: Sure.
(Reading) He raises the glass to his lips and slurps whisky. The taste of it, the feel of it going down, oh my God. He holds the glass in front of him, stares at it in disbelief, raises it to his lips again, takes a couple of gentile sips just for confirmation. Already, he can feel it, that burning sensation in his stomach. Already, he can feel those familiar cravings, sudden and impatient for a cigarette, for company, for another sip. He turns around and takes one.
KELLY: One interesting thing hearing you read that, it's all in the present tense. It's a little jarring...
GLYNN: Yes.
KELLY: ...because most fiction, you realize, is written in the past tense. Why did you choose to do it that way?
GLYNN: You say most fiction is in the past. I suppose it is. But there's a pretty good tradition of writing in the present tense. Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" is written in the present tense. It's just it's more immediate and we're just - we're swept along, I think, with the events of the story in a more immediate way.
KELLY: I'm speaking with Alan Glynn about his new thriller "Bloodland." And, Alan Glynn, let me ask you about the character - your kind of protagonist who's the one who's trying to unravel all of these various twists and turns is a journalist named Jimmy. And you write - I mean, as a journalist reading this, I felt, well, he kind of got it right. He gets how it works. Were you ever a journalist yourself?
GLYNN: Oh, thank you. That's good to hear, because no, I haven't been a journalist. I don't think I have what it takes to meet deadlines.
GLYNN: But, I mean, I know journalists. I've spoken to some. And it also deals with the whole crisis that's going on at the moment in newspapers, with newspapers closing and all that stuff. He's kind of (unintelligible) in the middle of that. He's very young, he's not that experienced, and he's looking for a place in a news organization where he can, you know, do what he wants to do, which is follow a story.
KELLY: Now, as this young reporter is trying to follow the story, the reader is following along with him. And that's how a lot of the plot twists in the book unfold. I am always fascinated when I speak to writers to find out did you know what was going to happen? I mean, when you start writing a book like this, do you know how it's all going to end?
GLYNN: No, I don't. I don't really plan in great detail at all. It's - I'm always reminded of that great quote by E.L. Doctorow. He said writing a novel is like, you know, driving a car at night. You know, you can just see as far as the headlights will show you, but you can make the whole journey that way. And I think that keeps it fresh for the writer as well as the reader.
KELLY: So you're getting to know the characters yourself as you write them on the page, yeah.
GLYNN: Yeah. And it's kind of a tightrope walk in a way, too, because, you know, it's a confidence trick that you play on yourself as well as the reader. If you look down, you know, you can fall.
KELLY: We've mentioned this - the action in this book is set largely in Dublin - where you live - and also, action unfolds in New York, in Italy. But several of the key scenes are in Africa, in Congo, a place I'm assuming you have not personally lived in. How do you deal with that challenge of describing a place that you haven't yourself gotten to know very well?
GLYNN: I did a lot of research. And also, the scenes in the Congo are filtered through characters who are not from there. And I think that helped me a bit too.
KELLY: You're not trying to write in the voice of an African. But on the other hand, it's fiction. I mean, you could make up whatever you want.
GLYNN: Yup. Absolutely.
KELLY: How important is it to you to get it absolutely right?
GLYNN: Perhaps 100 percent accuracy is not so important. I think James Joyce kind of, you know, flogged that horse to death, really. You know, when he wrote "Ulysses," everything had to be inch perfect, everything he described - he used to write home to his relatives to measure things of the street, you know? So I think once he did that, you know, it was left open after that for anybody to make it up as you go along. But you want to get it right to a certain extent.
KELLY: Well, again, without wanting to give away any of the twists and turns that unfold on these pages, I think I can safely say that at the end of this one, it seems as though you're setting us up for an epic battle between two of the characters: your reporter hero Jimmy and the wicked Jimmy Vaughn. Are we going to see these characters again?
GLYNN: Yes. The third novel in the - it's kind of a loose trilogy, I've described it. The books could be read separately, but I think they will go together quite well. The third one is called "Graveland." I deal with the character of James Vaughn in quite a lot of detail in this new book through his father, his grandfather, his great-grandfather back as far as the 1870s and the railroads. It sounds pretty ambitious, but we'll see how it goes.
KELLY: You got your work cut out for you.
GLYNN: Absolutely.
KELLY: Well, we'll look forward to that one. Alan Glynn, thank you very much.
GLYNN: Thank you, Mary Louise.
KELLY: That's Alan Glynn talking about his latest novel, "Bloodland." And we just spoke with him from the studios of RTE in Dublin. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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By Thomas Gerbasi
UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar has withdrawn from his UFC 106 main event title defense against unbeaten Shane Carwin due to an illness that has forced him out of training camp for nearly a month. The UFC hopes to re-schedule the bout for early 2010. Stepping up into the main event slot will be the highly-anticipated rematch between former light heavyweight champions Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin.
Tickets are on sale now for UFC 106: Ortiz vs Griffin 2, which takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.


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so i have my egomag setup put together.
-xvalve is tune and shoots fine.
-everything goes together just fine.
-using and EGO8 OLED board/the one that does the readout not the LED lights
-got a plug to plug the SMC noid into the board
-SMC noid seems to be venting all the the time
-sometimes the ram in the clippard rammer stays out and does not reset
-the ram when it does reset and i start cycling shots with the ram in my hand, it doesnt seem to be activating very hard. (exmaple i get the lpr to put out a higher preasure and hold my thumb over the ram and it doesnt even move my thumb) is this right?, the hole time the smc noid is just dumping air out the vent port.
anyone who can help me with what to do please speak up.
thankyou for any and all help.
kinda bummed that this is not going well.
lmk what you guys think.


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This may sound dumb - but I was following the level 10 instrutions and got to where it tells you to install the valve assy with old bolt spring into the body. It will not fit into my emag body the Valve assy (with new bolt) seats just fine in an automag/warp body, but not the emag. I even took the emag body off the rail. Any suggestions?
AGD: Your main body washer has raised a burr from repeated use. Just go in there with a round file and work it off.


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CORVALLIS. Ore. — There's always something to do at a dairy, and the 4 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. milkings are just a start. Walking past Jersey cows standing patiently at the feeding grates, Hayden Bush doesn't miss a step. He grabs a snow shovel mid-stride and works his way down the line, shoveling grass silage back within reach of the cows.
Bush, 22, is the no-nonsense student manager of Oregon State University's Dairy Center west of campus. He's a senior, majoring in agricultural science, president of the college FFA club, executive president of OSU Agriculture and a member of the team that in September placed third nationally in a collegiate dairy cattle judging contest. Back home in Tillamook, his family operates Gypo Jersey Farms, a dairy that's been in business more than 50 years.
He has classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but most of the week he's here, running things, doing chores, teaching others how to do things right. "This is a vacation for me," he says. "The thing I love about the opportunity is that it's like I'm almost being paid to farm."
He fully expects to return to the family business, but not yet. First he wants to teach dairy science and management, possibly even at OSU. And he frankly wants the OSU dairy to become a national "powerhouse."
That would be quite a comeback. A year ago, the dairy was shut down as decades of facility neglect and university funding choices turned around to bite it. It had been fined nearly $7,000 for leaking cow manure into a nearby creek and was forced to sell its herd of 120 animals while making repairs. At least one industry representative called it an embarrassing turn of events for OSU's College of Agricultural Sciences, the academic flagship of the state's second leading industry.
It's fair to say things are looking up. An alumnus in California donated 30 registered Jerseys to get the program running again and some improvements have been made to the manure handling system. The dairy is now also supplying milk to the campus fermentation center, where students make the popular Beaver Classic cheese.
Oregon's dairy industry, which was gravely concerned about the closure, is happy to see things turning around. Industry representatives say giving students hands-on experience is critical, especially at a land grant university such as OSU.
"It's fair to say it was embarrassing and upsetting," said Jim Krahn, soon to retire as executive director of the Oregon Dairy Farmers Association. "Frankly, that's part of the requirement for being a land grant university."
The need for understanding of animal agriculture is greater than it's ever been, Krahn said. Many students, even ag majors, lack an agricultural background. In a state where the beef and dairy industries are key economic sectors, that could spell trouble, he said.
"If we want to maintain our position as an industry in this state, it's really, really, really important these young people — who go on to be attorneys, vets, engineers — have some basic knowledge of what goes on at an agricultural operation," Krahn said.
"I understand a dairy will not be a money-making enterprise, but neither is a building on campus," Krahn said. "It's simply a tool to teach students."
For that reason, "The industry stepped forward and said there needs to be a dairy there operating."
The dairy industry didn't have money to throw at the problem, but lobbied hard for restoration of the dairy and helped in other ways. The anonymous alum who donated the Jersey cows is a longtime friend of Krahn.
The dairy's problems came to a head April 11, 2012. The dairy has a system that separates manure solids and liquids, and uses the latter to irrigate adjoining fields. An irrigation pipeline riser blew out and liquid manure drained from a pasture into Oak Creek for as long as four hours. Someone living downstream reported the spill after smelling manure, and a creek monitor operated by the city of Corvallis recorded bacteria level spikes during that time. It's not known how much manure spilled into the creek, which borders the dairy.
The state Department of Agriculture, which regulates CAFOs — confined animal feeding operations — issued the dairy a notice of non-compliance and followed it in July 2012 with civil penalty of $6,920. The department also ordered OSU to come up with a plan to correct the problems.
Ray Jaindl, manager of the department's natural resources program, said OSU had a history of recurring problems with the dairy's waste management system. OSU officials didn't argue the findings, he said.
"They recognized they needed to pay more attention," Jaindl said. "After the incident we were in constant communication; we want them to succeed and not pollute."
University and industry officials believe the dairy is back on track. A smaller herd should make for less waste, and Jerseys are smaller, eat less, weigh less and produce less manure than other larger breeds while providing milk that is high in butter fat content — great for cheese making. Going to a forage-based herd should save feed costs. Despite other problems, the facility's milking equipment is state of the art.
"As an industry we're really glad to see them up and going," said Jerome Rosa, a Gervais dairyman and member of the Oregon Board of Agriculture. "They're taking care of some of the issues they had before."
Classes use the facility often. Beginning animal science majors visit the dairy, veterinary students take a hand, and artificial insemination classes make use of the dairy as well. Student cheese makers pick up milk from the dairy.
Bush, the student manager, believes the dairy operations can go hand-in-hand with the specialty food emphasis emerging at OSU's fermentation center.
"Ultimately what we'd like to see is to be able to do more of that," he said. "What we're trying to do is develop a dairy program that sets us apart from the others, with more student involvement all around."


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Washington state Oks funds to improve three crossingsWritten by Jenifer Nunez, assistant editor
Washington state regulators approved funds to improve the safety of three railroad crossings in Kelso, Longview and Oakesdale, Wash.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) approved $40,000 from the Grade Crossing Protective Fund (GCPF) to pay for upgrading warning devices at two railroad-highway grade crossings in Kelso and Longview, Wash.
The railroad crossing in Kelso is located at the intersection of Columbia Heights Road and the Columbia & Cowlitz Railway's tracks. In Longview, the crossing is at the intersection of Washington Way and the railway's tracks.
In Kelso, the railroad plans to install new shoulder-mounted gates, LED flashing lights and replace the existing warning bell with an electronic model. The railway also proposes to install a new electronic-signal circuitry and upgrade train detection.
In Longview, the railroad plans to change the existing 12-foot cantilevers with a 24-foot variety and replace cantilever foundations and crossbucks. In addition, LED flashing lights will be installed and the current warning bell will be substituted with an electronic-warning bell.
UTC also approved $20,000 for warning devices at a grade crossing at the intersection of State Route 271 (SR-271) and the Washington & Idaho Railway's (WIR) tracks near the city of Oakesdale, Wash.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) plans to use the funds to install new cantilever gates with LED flashing lights. In addition, WSDOT is proposing to replace the old-style bungalow with a newer model, install constant-warning train detection and replace all underground signal cable.
State GCPF funding is limited to $20,000 for each of the three projects. The approximate cost of Kelso project is $23,350. The railroad will pay the difference of $3,350. The Longview project will cost about $21,600 with the railroad paying the difference of $1,600. UTC staff is helping to provide surplus equipment at each crossing. The approximate cost of the Oakesdale project is $52,367.30. WSDOT will pay the difference of $32,367.30. Upgrades to all three crossings must be completed by June 30, 2013.


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Twitter's video service, Vine, has been around since early this year, but lately it has been getting more attention than ever.
Via Martin (Marty) Smith
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Renaye Edwards's curator insight, May 15, 2014 6:57 AM
Insightful - makes technology feel more human!
Jeff Domansky's curator insight, March 23, 2014 12:57 AM
This is a valuable list of 101 optimization resources. Recommended reading for marketers and PR pros.
Jean-Marie Grange's curator insight, March 20, 2014 10:43 AM
All the tools to monitor and analyze your social media activities. Nice infographic
Carole Borie's curator insight, April 2, 2014 10:44 PM
Analytics tools to improve your business on the Web
Joseph Ruiz's curator insight, January 20, 2014 8:02 AM
Great tips for more seeing more relevant Facebook content
Chris Barrow's curator insight, August 9, 2014 6:02 AM
SEO isn't about meta-tags any more - its about sharing
Caroline Wood's curator insight, August 9, 2014 4:49 PM
This is a brilliant resource for understanding next generation SEO. Thanks for scooping!
Go Viral Exposure's curator insight, March 3, 2014 9:54 AM
Here is a different look on #seo http://buff.ly/MImAdH , #patowings showing an infographic based post on sea vs new seo. Enjoy the read !!
Martin (Marty) Smith's curator insight, March 21, 2014 10:52 PM
Just got a great tweet from Jack Varnell:
Mike Ellsworth's curator insight, March 14, 2014 6:15 PM
Seeking the source of viralocity is like the historical search for the source of the Nile or the white whale. Here are some ideas to achieve it:
1.) The science of persuasion: Nailing the fear of "missing out"
2.) We only read 20% of web pages – make your content easy to skim read
3.) We all want to learn something and get smarter – it's science!
4.) A greatly undervalued element: Sharing buttons make content 7 times more likely to spread
5.) Length of content and virality go hand in hand
6.) Consistency and Authority – Marc and Angel have been blogging since 2006
Via @seekristintweet
mark ivey 's curator insight, March 19, 2014 1:40 PM
Nice piece on the elements of viral content. Much of it we already know-high quality, "surprising" content; consistency; easy to skim. But another feature revolves around "scarcity and missing out." "...If you are writing something that's unique and people might have a feeling of otherwise missing out on, then this is a fantastic trigger to get people interested in your content..."
ConfluenceSocialMarketing's curator insight, January 25, 2014 10:34 AM
Great infographics on the various networks.
Siri Anderson's curator insight, February 1, 2014 9:14 AM
What if these were stats instead about "number of children immunized," "mentoring hours," "released prisoners education opportunities." sigh
S.Gzg's curator insight, January 21, 2014 3:21 AM
A savoir avant d'intégrer Pinterest dans votre stratégie digitale.
DigitalMumsHQ's curator insight, January 30, 2014 2:10 PM
Mums are 61% more likely to use Pinterest than the average American


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Rodney Hood scored 15 of his 27 points in the second half of Duke's 79-57 victory over Georgia Tech on Tuesday night.DURHAM, N.C. --
Quinn Cook added 13 points and freshman Jabari Parker had 12 on 4-of-12 shooting for the Blue Devils (12-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Playing their first game outside the top 10 since November 2007, they struggled for little over a half before Hood helped them pull away for their 25th straight win at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"We were dead in the first half. We didn't play like we just came off a loss," Hood said. "In the second half, we just came back and played hungry. We played together."
Marcus Georges-Hunt scored 18 points for the short-handed Yellow Jackets (9-6, 0-2), who shot 49 percent yet lost their second straight.
"Some good things to build on," Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory said. "Not satisfied because six, seven possessions (are) the difference in these games, and we've got to tighten up those."
Duke had trouble getting any sort of separation until Hood hit 3-pointers 45 seconds apart down the stretch.
Hood -- who was 5 of 5 from long range in the second half -- hit a stepback 3 one possession before knocking down one with a hand in his face to put the Blue Devils up 66-50 with 6 1/2 minutes remaining.
Rasheed Sulaimon scored 11 points and Andre Dawkins added 10 to help Duke win its 30th in 33 meetings in the series and avoid its first consecutive regular-season losses since February 2009.
Daniel Miller added 14 points for Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets were outrebounded for the first time this season on the same day the ACC's top rebounder -- Robert Carter Jr., who averages 9.3 boards- had surgery on the meniscus in his left knee. He has been out since tearing it Dec. 29.
The Blue Devils struggled for much of the game to slow down a Georgia Tech offense that entered 12th in the 15-team ACC in both scoring and field goal percentage, averaging 71 points and making under 43 percent of its shots.
Before pulling away late, the only thing resembling a Duke run came early in the second half when Sulaimon's 3-pointer capped a quick 12-3 burst that gave the Blue Devils their first double-figure lead, 48-38, with 16 1/2 minutes left.
"They were just so good for so long," Miller said. "They were taking off, and we were coming back, but we just didn't have it in us to finish."
Duke's streak of 225 consecutive games as a top 10 team came to an end shortly after a 79-77 loss at Notre Dame that sent the preseason ACC favorites tumbling down the rankings.
The defeat led Duke to tweak its starting lineup, reinserting Sulaimon and forward Amile Jefferson in place of seniors Josh Hairston and Tyler Thornton, who had both started the past eight games.
Early on, it didn't seem to help.
The Blue Devils led 34-33 after sleepwalking through a first half in which they allowed Georgia Tech to shoot nearly 54 percent.
The struggles continued for Parker, a 20-point scorer in 10 of his first 12 games who found himself benched late in the Notre Dame loss following a 2-for-10 shooting performance.
"I'm human, too. I'm going to make mistakes," Parker said. "We won the game, so that's all. My time will come again, hopefully, but if it doesn't, as long as we win, as long as I can do other things to help the team, that's my focus."
His only two field goals in the first half of this one were dunks, he didn't hit a jump shot until midway through the second half and he didn't play in the final 7:53 after he picked up his fourth foul.
"He's learning a whole bunch of things, and as he's doing that, we're still Duke, and everyone expects us to be perfect and win everything and look great while we're doing it," coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It doesn't happen that way. We're a work in progress, and I want to coach them that way without putting extra pressure on them."
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April 1, 2009
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Ten Yale student-athletes were honored today, as the Ivy League released its list of those selected for Academic All-Ivy recognition in winter sports. Eligible student-athletes include all starters or key reserves on officially recognized varsity teams that have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
Senior Murat Kayali (La Jolla, Calif.), a history major from the men's track and field team, earned second team All-Ivy honors as a member of the 4x880-meter relay squad. Individually, Kayali also turned in a top ten finish in the 1000-meter run at the Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Championships.
Ross Morin (Cincinnati, Ohio), the senior captain of the men's basketball team, was a second team All-Ivy selection after ranking among league leaders in both scoring and rebounding. This season, Morin became the 22nd player in Yale history to reach 1,000 career points. In the classroom, Morin is a political science major.
Another team captain, senior Matt Nelson (Westwood, Mass.) of the ECAC Champion men's ice hockey team, makes the list as an economics major. Nelson scored four goals and tallied three assists this season, including the game-winning goal against St. Lawrence in the ECAC Tournament Semifinals.
Fencer Michael Pearce (San Francisco, Calif.), a senior architecture major, finished eighth in the épée at the NCAA Championships. He was a first team All-Ivy honoree after racking up a 9-4 record in Ivy League competition.
Senior men's swimming and diving captain Alex Righi (Phoenix, Ariz.), who competed in three events at the NCAA Championships this past weekend, adds an Academic All-Ivy nod to a long list of accomplishments in the 2008-09 season. Righi earned the Moriarty Award as the top point scorer and the Ulen Trophy as the top career point scorer at the Ivy League Championships. He won the 50- and 100-yard freestyle races, as well as the 100-yard backstroke at the event. Righi finished fourth in the 100-yard freestyle, fifth in the 50-yard freestyle and 12th in the 100-yard backstroke at the NCAA Championships. Academically, he is a political science major.
The list of female student-athletes includes Danielle Kozlowski (Melrose, Mass.), an anthropology major from the women's ice hockey team. Kozlowski played in 116 of 122 possible games in her career. In 2008-09, she was a key component of Yale's penalty killing unit that successfully killed 61 of 68 penalties over the final 17 games of the season.
Gymnast Alina Liao, a senior English and economics major, was the ECAC Gymnast of the Year and all-around champion. The team captain also won the all-around and beam at the Ivy League Classic. Liao will compete at the NCAA Regionals in Tuscaloosa, Ala. this weekend, as well as the USAG Collegiate Nationals at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven from April 9-11.
Women's track and field captain Jennifer Lin (Raynham, Mass.), a senior psychology major, was a dual All-Ivy honoree during the indoor season. Lin grabbed first team laurels as a member of the 4x880-yard relay team, as well as a second team distinction in the pentathlon after totaling 3,408 points at the Ivy League Indoor Heptagonal Championships.
Another All-Ivy honoree, senior Alexis Mann (Ontario, Calif.) of the women's swimming and diving team, makes the list after grabbing second team honors at the Ivy League Championships. Mann, a history major, earned her All-Ivy distinction in the 200-yard freestyle relay, while also qualifying for the finals in the 50-yard freestyle at the event.
Rounding out the list in senior captain Jamie Van Horne (Healdsburg, Calif.) of the women's basketball team. Van Horne, a psychology major, wrapped up her four-year career this season as the Bulldogs' all-time leader in three-point field goals with 216, the fifth-highest career total in Ivy League history. Her 62 three-pointers this season tied the Yale single season mark, held by Maria Smear '03. Van Horne was the only Bulldog to start all 28 games in 2008-09, and she will leave Yale as the all-time leader in games played with 110, having never missed a game in her career.
The complete 2008-09 Winter Academic All-Ivy release is available here.
report filed by Drew M. Kingsley, Yale Sports Publicity


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Brussels, 26 October 2010
Vice-President Kallas to attend summit on how to improve competitiveness of European aviation industry
European Commission Vice President Siim Kallas will today and tomorrow attend an aviation summit dedicated to the competitive challenges facing the European aviation industry. The summit in Bruges is organised by the Belgian presidency.
Vice President Kallas, responsible for transport, said: "The European aviation business must remain able to compete with global competitors. Global competitiveness must be integrated in European safety, security or environmental policies so that these policies produce the desired results. Europe must also deliver funding solutions to finance new technologies to strengthen the foundations of the competitiveness of its industry."
The Vice-President congratulated the Belgian Presidency on organising the aviation summit, which highlights the competitive challenges facing our aviation industry.
Vice President Kallas added that: "Europe is fully committed to deliver the highest safety standards; ensure a smooth and adequate security system; and facilitate the greening of aviation. This will require innovative solutions to fund the necessary investments in new technologies, which are key in achieving these objectives."
Freedom to travel has become a normal commodity in today's societies. Europe should further improve the competitiveness of its aviation industry in line with the needs of the Single European Transport area. The European aviation industry plays a pivotal role in providing the economy with an engine to prosper. In parallel, the already good safety and security record of aviation in Europe should be truly improved. By 2012, all links of the safety chain will be covered by fully harmonised set of EU safety rules. The common rules are the basis for a pro-active monitoring process of the safety situation. For security, a strategy based on risk assessment, better use of technology and international cooperation with third countries should ensure the highest protection of our citizens, while striking the right balance with travel comfort for our passengers. Aviation should also contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gases. The recent historic agreement within ICAO has confirmed that Europe is entitled to go forward more quickly than others in the framework of a global action plan.
Europe must coordinate the investment efforts, especially the investments in the modernisation of air traffic management; timing and synchronisation of investments; governance structures of the SESAR deployment. Overall efficiency must be improved to give travellers and companies more value for money.
The conclusions of the Aviation Summit will be presented for endorsement to the Transport Ministers at the December 2010 Transport Council.
See also SPEECH/10/596.
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UPDATE: Search suspended for Northfield man presumed drownedBy DAN SEUFERT
Union Leader Correspondent
April 16. 2014 10:40AM
BRISTOL – The search for a 32-year-old Northfield man who is presumed drowned after jumping into the raging waters in a "Polar Plunge" of the Smith River Monday night was called off today, as the Smith River below Profile Falls had risen by as much as 10 feet overnight.
Instead, Army National Guard helicopters will be flying over the river today, combing the swelling river from above, according to Lt. James Kneeland.
"It's too high for us to consider going back there today, so we have pulled out," Kneeland said. "We'll play it day by day, hopefully we can get back in there by this weekend."
Teams are searching for Aaron Hoyt of Northfield, in what Kneeland said is now a recovery operation, as Hoyt is "presumed drowned," he said.
Two friends who were with Hoyt have not seen him since he jumped in the water just before 8 p.m. Monday, he said. The two swimmers called for help after he failed to surface.
The two friends were upset Tuesday, Kneeland said, that media reports indicated they had dared Hoyt to jump in. The reports came from statements made by rescue crews Monday night and Tuesday morning.
"I don't doubt that they were participating in a Polar Plunge, they were talking about it afterward and said they had seen it on the Internet," Kneeland said.
"We just don't have any specific evidence that anyone dared him to go in. They indicated they wanted to participate in a Polar Plunge, but we don't have evidence of a specific dare," he said.
The bridge at the falls where the search teams headquartered Monday night and Tuesday was underwater this morning, Kneeland said, and the waters were expected to continue rising.
Kneeland said Fish and Game and Marine Patrol search teams hoped to return to the scene by the weekend. When they next search, they will likely have "cadaver dogs:" dogs trained in finding bodies, he said.
Previous story follows:
BRISTOL – A 32-year-old Northfield man still missing in the raging waters of the Smith River apparently lost his life late Monday night after taking a dare from two friends in what state officials said was a dangerous "Polar Plunge" activity.
Michael Hoyt of Northfield confirmed Tuesday that his son, Aaron Hoyt, is the person who was lost in the waters Monday night. Michael Hoyt said police met with him Tuesday morning. Michael Hoyt would not comment further.
Law enforcement authorities confirmed this evening that Aaron Hoyt is the victim.
State Fish and Game and Marine Patrol divers and boat crews were searching a 2-mile stretch of the river near the 30-foot Profile Falls, a popular swimming area in summer months.
But Fish and Game Lt. James Kneeland said the man will not likely be found alive.
"This is a recovery operation at this point," Kneeland said.
The two friends who were with man have not seen him since he jumped in the water just before 8 p.m., he said. The two swimmers called for help after he failed to surface.
The rivers and streams in the state are running dangerously high because of the snow melt and recent rains. Tuesday, the rain fell heavily at times on the rescue crews.
Fish and Game officials issued a press release Monday warning of the dangers of participating in a Polar Plunge, a fad "being fanned on social media sites."
According to Fish and Game officials, a Polar Plunge requires participants to jump into freezing water wearing only summer swimwear and without life vests. Once in the water, they also have to dare five others to take the plunge.
The fact that someone apparently died from a Polar Plunge just hours after the press release warning of its dangers was issued caused frustration among the search teams.
"What a waste," said Marine Patrol Sgt. Dave Ouellette, who helped develop the press release. "Even a strong swimmer, even our divers, have a minimum chance of survival right now because the rivers are so dangerous. People need to think twice before participating in a fad like this."
The rapids below the falls are now at 15- to 20-foot levels, and the water is flowing fast. When divers conducted their searches Tuesday, once in the water, they were jerked into the main river flow and pushed downstream without much control over their direction or speed.
The water temperature was in the 40-degree range.
"It's definitely not conducive to swimming," Kneeland said.
The crews were expected to keep searching, but the rain threatened to cut the search short, and Kneeland wasn't sure if crews would be able to continue searching Wednesday morning.
"All we can do is snorkel and dive and hope we get lucky," he said.


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The Smyrna wrestling team suffered a rare setback Saturday night in their home gymnasium, falling to the McDonogh School (MD) 43-23 in the "Battle of the Eagles."
The Smyrna wrestling team suffered a rare setback Saturday night in their home gymnasium, falling to the McDonogh School (MD) 43-23 in the "Battle of the Eagles."
McDonogh came into the match with an 8-0 record, against some tough, Maryland competition. Smyrna, meanwhile, has had a successful season to date against in-state competition. The Maryland Eagles also turned in a credible performance in the Beast of the East Tournament at the University of Delaware in Newark last month, coming in sixth place overall out of 102 area high schools. The Smyrna team came in 27th place, the highest of all Delaware schools.
"This was a good match for our team at this time of the year, I scheduled McDonogh now because I wanted to challenge my team," said Smyrna coach Kurt Howell. "I'm happy with what we accomplished against a team that's in the Top 25 in the country, with three nationally ranked wrestlers. We were a little overmatched, but we wrestled with our hearts and we let it all out on the mats tonight," said Howell.
"Sometime you win without your best effort, sometimes you lose with a tremendous effort, and I think we learned a lot about wrestling against McDonogh tonight," he said.
McDonogh won the battle Saturday night on the strength of their ability to achieve pins against a formidable Smyrna squad. The Maryland Eagles recorded pins in the 106, 132, 138, 145, 152 and 220 pound divisions, a dominating victory.
Smyrna recorded victories in the 113, 120, 126, 170 and 182 lb. categories. "I am very happy with Tyler Carney's performance at 126 lbs. He gave a great effort, kept his cool and did what he needed, in order to get the win in overtime, and he gave our team a great lift," said Howell.
The coach was also impressed with the work of Jarren Wilson in the 160 weight class. "Jarren didn't win, but he wrestled really hard. I could see his opponent change tactics in the middle of the match because of Jarren's effort," stated Howell.
Kudos were also given to Ron Wuest who won a close decision at 182."He did so many things right, and coming back and winning in overtime by wearing down his opponent, said the Smyrna coach.
McDonogh coach Joe Bakewell was gracious in victory and said he was impressed with Smyrna's program. "We love coming here to wrestle. It looks like half the town is here, and they're are very knowledgeable about wrestling," he said. McDonogh is a private school in Maryland with students and wrestlers from several surrounding states.
"We worked very, very hard tonight, so I'm pleased with what we accomplished, and I'm proudto be part of the Smyrna community," said Howell.
Smyrna is now 1-1 in dual meets, with their next match scheduled for Wednesday, January 9th on the road against Dover High, beginning at 7 p.m.


text:
May 6, 2007
Clemens Signs With Yankees For $28,000,000
Good. I did not want to spend any of my summer evenings rooting for that asshole.
I'm going on record right here: 2007 is the year FBfO goes into a serious decline. Serious.
Edit: 28 Million?!!? ESPN says that annual sum will be pro-rated, so the TCM will pocket about $18 million.
When he left ...
I'm sure New York will forgive him.
61 comments:
- Sean said...
I don't get it. How can we root for people like Julio Lugo, but not for someone who can actually make a difference? We do want to win, right?
Instead of having a replacement-level player, the Yankees now have a player who hasn't had a 3+ ERA in 3 years. Even if it was in AAAA, that's a great freaking player.
This is seriously troubling.
- May 6, 2007 at 3:59 PM
- Peter N said...
What an a**ho*e.
- May 6, 2007 at 4:06 PM
- Peter N said...
AN dyes, this makes the yanks so much better. What an a**hole!
- May 6, 2007 at 4:07 PM
- Woti-woti said...
I had an irrational (in that I had no evidence) fear that Clemens would suck if he wound up in Boston because I don't think he'll be able to handle deep AL batting orders. I'm glad he hasn't and will gladly convert that fear to a fervent hope.
- May 6, 2007 at 4:13 PM
- L-girl said...
Thank goodness. This is a big relief.
I've been predicting Clemens's demise for so many years. It's just got to happen one day!
Plus thank goodness I can comment again. It was getting really annoying.
- May 6, 2007 at 4:30 PM
- redsock said...
Laura points out that New York is not in last place. The Blue Jays are.
Whatever. My point stands.
I will not root for that jerk. Ever. Plain and simple. (There are players who, if they came to Boston, other fans would be similar disgusted, but I'd be happy.) That's simply the way it is.
- May 6, 2007 at 4:31 PM
- L-girl said...
The Blue Jays are.
Oo, this week is gonna be fun. :)
- May 6, 2007 at 4:33 PM
- s1c said...
i-girl said...Plus thank goodness I can comment again. It was getting really annoying.
Annoying me too, I had to manually type the link into the system, kept on saying my request looked like a virus (even ran virus just to make sure grrrr).
- May 6, 2007 at 4:34 PM
- redsock said...
the Yankees now have a player who hasn't had a 3+ ERA in 3 years. Even if it was in AAAA, that's a great freaking player.
2003 - 2.83
2004 - 2.90
2005 - 2.30
2006 - 2.13
There's FOUR straight years of a sub-3.00 ERA.
Daisuke Matsuzaka in Japan. "A great freaking player".
- May 6, 2007 at 4:35 PM
- L-girl said...
Annoying me too, I had to manually type the link into the system, kept on saying my request looked like a virus (even ran virus just to make sure grrrr).
No virus, it was a Google/Blogger problem. That's L-girl, by the way. Looks weird in lower case.
- May 6, 2007 at 4:50 PM
- Jere said...
Sean, you're asking me how I can't root for a guy who rubbed/kissed the Babe Ruth bust before every game he pitched with the Yanks? You're seriously asking that?
- May 6, 2007 at 4:51 PM
- s1c said...
L-girl, my bad. Got new fingers today :).
Papel-bot for the ninth? Better be!
- May 6, 2007 at 4:55 PM
- redsock said...
- May 6, 2007 at 5:02 PM
- s1c said...
Espn is reporting Clemens signed for 28 mil. No way the Sox would have matched that. Dave Pinto at Baseball Musings says first game would probably be at Fenway!
- May 6, 2007 at 5:06 PM
- L-girl said...
No prob, S-won-see. :)
I am amazed that any Red Sox fan could even consider cheering for Clemens at this point.
Also, I am looking forward to a reply to Allan's recent comment re Dice-K's ERA. I'm pretty sure Japanese baseball is above AAAA level.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:07 PM
- redsock said...
28 fuckin' million? suckers.
K and a 6-3 for the Bot. 1 to go.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:10 PM
- redsock said...
28 million. man, do i want that fucker to go down in flames now.
28 million is more than half of what we are paying dice for SIX YEARS.
fat billy will get that for 4 months of work, at best (assuming a few minor league starts).
- May 6, 2007 at 5:12 PM
- Rasputin said...
Am I allowed to say "Roger Clemens sucks donkey schlong?"
- May 6, 2007 at 5:12 PM
- redsock said...
And a soft liner to third.
We win.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:13 PM
- redsock said...
it is explicitly encouraged.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:14 PM
- L-girl said...
it is explicitly encouraged.
A co-worker of mine once asked if Allan still liked Pedro Martinez, "even after that incident with Don Zimmer".
I said before that incident he merely loved Pedro. After, he wanted to marry him.
Is it allowed indeed.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:21 PM
- redsock said...
FB: "Let's face it -- these guys know how to win."
Oh, do they?
... not as well as they know how to lose, judging from April.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:27 PM
- redsock said...
NY is still 5.5 GB, but they are now in second place. (Bal and TB 6.5 and Tor 7.5.)
Time to change my headline.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:30 PM
- L-girl said...
This post could use a glossary. Does everyone know what FBfO and TCM mean?
- May 6, 2007 at 5:37 PM
- Sean said...
Would I rather pay a pro-rated 28m for Clemens, 2nd best pitcher in history, or $103 to get stuck with Matsuzaka for 5 years? I'm not so sure.
All I'm saying is, Clemens rubs/kisses the babe ruth bust before a start, while *someone* smashed Mabely Lugo's face into a car windshield. Obviously, one of these things is worse.
Clemens is a jerk, but he's an incredible ballplayer. I'm hoping those who are happy to not have a jerk on the team feel similarly about Lugo and Wil Cordero.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:37 PM
- thatdietcokegirl said...
ridiculous ammount of money. it's embarrassing.
also, yeah, 'these guys know how to win' is dumb. if winning = playing 4-something ball for the past month then yes! i agree witchoo fatty ;p
psht he's so goin down too. the al east says 'oh hay roger, i'm ready to downgradez yr era'z now!' ;D
- May 6, 2007 at 5:40 PM
- redsock said...
Clemens is a jerk, but he's an incredible ballplayer.
I agree. But he annoys and angers me to the point where I do not want him on my team.
Seeing him get hurt in the first inning of his first start and ending his season after about 4 pitches in would be enjoyable, I'd much rather see him lug around a 6.00 ERA with the MFY forced to send him out every five days for his weekly thrashing. Humiliation! Constant humiliation!
(I have an idea: let's give "truth serum" to every player, ask them all sorts of questions about their personal lives, and then base our front office decisions on who gives the proper answers.)
- May 6, 2007 at 5:50 PM
- L-girl said...
Clemens is a jerk, but he's an incredible ballplayer.
Has he been downgraded from the best pitcher in baseball? Or would you like to back up that earlier statement with a fact or two?
- May 6, 2007 at 5:50 PM
- Jackie said...
Hahahahahahaha. I cannot wait for the AL to give this moneygrubbing [censored for sensitive readers] multiple thorough shellackings. Or maybe for his arm fall off sometime in mid-September. Or both, if the gods are feeling generous.
I had started to come around on Roger a teeeeny bit in recent years, to the point where I felt okay with the prospect of him going into the Hall with a B on his hat. Now I really, really can't imagine his cap with anything but a big old dollar sign on it. I know that's not an original sentiment, but I mean it.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:55 PM
- L-girl said...
By the way, I don't care if the players on my team are jerks or not. Odds are, some are and some aren't. Put 25 guys together, you're gonna get some great guys and some a-holes.
And I don't hate Roger Clemens. I have no reason to. Prior to Pedro, he was the best pitcher the Red Sox ever had, and I think he was treated shabbily by management, and later, by fans. He helped my old team, too, and he was very entertaining. (I was at the bat-throwing game.)
But Clemens as presently constituted is monumentally over-rated. I think he'll do the Yankees more harm than good and I'm glad the Sox didn't waste one penny on him.
- May 6, 2007 at 5:55 PM
- s1c said...
ooh, rhyming with witchy, the things being said. As for Daisuke vs Clemens? hmm, 26 yo in first year of six vs 44 yo who has become basically a 5 or 6 inning pitcher, I take the youth in this case.
BTW - Clemens vs Sox is 8 and 5 with a 3.85 era, (5-0 in fenway). As for being a big game pitcher? 12-8, with a 3.66 ERA.
Schilling is 7-2 with a 2.06
Beckett is 2-2 with a 2.11
Hmm, two pitchers just as good or better in post season.
The question is does Theo pull a trade for Helton? I say if they will take combination of Lowell, Hanson, Tavarez and Wily Mo then go for it.
- May 6, 2007 at 6:11 PM
- redsock said...
In looking at my posts when Clemens "unretired" and signed with Houston (January 2004), I ran across these two quotes from SoSHers. I like them so much I'll post them here too:
Pumpsie: "Let us review ... for posterity's sake. Roger played for the Red Sox and now most Red Sox fans hate him with a passion as the Texas Con Man. Roger played for the Blue Jays and now most Blue Jay fans hate him with a passion a money-grubbing, backdoor deal-making liar. Roger played for the Yankees, and now most Yankee fans will hate him with a passion as a fake and phony. ... Clemens is a pathological liar and a bully. He always lies. He's lied his entire career. He lied when he said he wanted to remain a member of the Red Sox, wouldn't sign with an AL East team and wanted to be closer to his family ... He lied when he signed his Toronto contract, the one with the illegal side agreement "escape clause." He lied shamefacedly when he said that he didn't throw at Mike Piazza or that he thought, the second time around, that the broken bat was a ball ... He lied when he allowed Yankee fans, and all the fans he played before last year to go on believing that that was his last year, phony standing ovation after phony standing ovation."
The Gray Eagle: "You can always rely on Fat Billy from Ohio to make a chump out of anyone who gives him a standing ovation. Sox fans who stood and applauded him for beating their team in a pennant race, because he was "retiring"? Chumps. Yankee fans who stood and applauded him after he was knocked out of the box by their hated rivals in Game 7 of the ALCS? Chumps. ... Applaud this fraud at your own risk. When he makes chumps out of you, you will have no one to blame but yourselves."
- May 6, 2007 at 6:19 PM
- thatdietcokegirl said...
at the very least it's going to be fun taunting him again when he's on the mound.
yeah, he's a phony. but fuck, aren't they all? they are all pwned by the dollar. look at little twit johnny.
- May 6, 2007 at 6:53 PM
- redsock said...
he's a phony. but fuck, aren't they all?
no. keith foulke retired instead of dragging things out in camp and being able to pocket $6 million from cleveland. he signed the deal, but i believe he retired before they had to pay him anything.
wakefield and ortiz have signed (or been extended) in boston for less than they could have made elsewhere.
- May 6, 2007 at 7:02 PM
- thatdietcokegirl said...
i suppose. but keith foulke isn't roger clemens.
true about ortiz and wake tho. this reminds me of some corny song or something?
it just seems that more often than not, it's about the dollars. meh w/e. i'm already antsy for the toronto series. fuck this shit. lol ;//
- May 6, 2007 at 7:11 PM
- redsock said...
if all you want to do is play ball, and two teams offer you different amounts, with all things being equal, why not take the one with more $$?
i would.
- May 6, 2007 at 7:14 PM
- L-girl said...
it just seems that more often than not, it's about the dollars.
That's the world we live in - all of us. Most of us would like to earn more money for doing the same work. Most of us would work for the company that paid us the most, not another company that offered us less.
Ballplayers are no different than anyone else in that respect - except that they give us the great game of baseball. People in the entertainment biz earn way more money for crap products that contribute nothing.
- May 6, 2007 at 7:23 PM
- thatdietcokegirl said...
i prolly would too. unless i had a loyal fan base, the difference in money was basically the difference between buying that villa in the south of france or a flat in north london, and i swore never to go to the team that is my team's arch-rival. but all other times i would go fer shure.
- May 6, 2007 at 7:24 PM
- Zenslinger said...
I think Roger has a good idea of whether or not he can come back and be pretty good. If he didn't think he could, he wouldn't bother. But I do see him being a half-step behind where he has been in the last couple of years, and between that and coming to the AL, he'll be in the 3.5 - 4 ERA range for the year.
There's nothing wrong with that if you pitch every time and bring significant intangibles (i.e., hope) with you. The Yankees don't need lights-out pitching; they need decent, reliable pitching, which is why Zito would have been good for them.
So Clemens is going to be a plus for New York, unless he gets injured. It's just a question of how big a plus. It doesn't exactly terrify me. Even if he's effective, he's only one pitcher. Moose could still break down and Wang have his off days and Petite could yet go down with an injury.
I admit that it puts a damper on my dreams of the Yankees not making the playoffs at all, but we can still beat them if we stay healthy.
- May 6, 2007 at 7:54 PM
- Zenslinger said...
I'm on the fence about Helton. Of course, it's not just a matter of improving the offense by "adding Helton" -- you only get the difference between Helton and whoever he replaces. If the trade configuration is still the same, that means Lowell. And even with Todd's current .390, the difference isn't huge. Power's about the same. You figure Helton will hit .320 for the year, Lowell will hit .280, similar power numbers. Sure, it's an improvement in the short term, but not a massive one. Although there is his OBP and run-scoring advantage to think of. Hitting 2nd in front of Papi-Manny...that's a lot of runs. (Helton's OBP at the moment is .527 -- that's an OPS of 1.067 with the help of only two HRs.)
Then there's the next five years to think about. I'm sure Helton will hang in there, but five years leave a lot of room for regret when a guy's going to be 39 at the end of it.
- May 6, 2007 at 8:29 PM
- 9casey said...
Zen, all very good points.......The yankees are better today then they were yesterday.
Clemens said in his press conference that his big reasons for coming back were, Mr. Torre and Jetes and all the friends he still has on this team.......He also added during the game broadcast that there was one main reason he came back to New York and he will say at the end of the year what it was.......My guess is that it had something to Steinbrenner......
It will be interesting to see how Theo reacts to this move.......Not that he has to do someting....but you have to imagine he will..
I also think someone in the starting 9 will go before the trading deadline, and also one of our young stud pitchers..Just to add a bat whether It happens or not who knows.......
I can see them adding Tori Hunter or Helton.......So I would assume that would leave Crisp, Lowell, Youklis and Pena all vulnerable...
I think we need another bat..
And Sean this is for you:
(Taken from espn.com)
"I was very upset, confused,'' Mabely Lugo said of an April 30 argument she had with her husband at Minute Maid Park. "He wasn't at fault
This from the sporting news:
She testified she exaggerated the story and he didn't mean to hurt her during an April 30 argument at Minute Maid Park.
Mabely Lugo let out a big sigh and smiled when the jury returned the verdict after deliberating for 35 minutes. Lugo's mother, Rhina Lugo, hugged her son's wife as she began crying.
But sean if you were there I am sorry for in advance for assuming you just read all that stuff about him and assumed he was guilty....
Like most people do when it concerns athletes and people in the public eye.
I am not saying he did or didn't do it I just know that a jury of six aguitted him........
But if you want to run with all year so be it...........Have fun!!
- May 6, 2007 at 8:46 PM
- Bartman said...
Another contest: When will he first go on IR, or how many days will he be on it?
- May 6, 2007 at 8:55 PM
- L-girl said...
Clemens said in his press conference that his big reasons for coming back were, Mr. Torre and Jetes and all the friends he still has on this team...
But you don't believe that, do you? You can't believe a word of that man's mouth.
Jetes. Yeah.
Re Lugo, for a domestic violence case to even make it to court, it has to meet a very high standard or no prosecution will touch it. Many abused women can't go through with it and end up recanting. One doesn't have to have been there. One need only know something about abusive relationships and the legal system to be fairly certain of how this went down.
As for a jury's acquittal, I have two words: O J.
- May 6, 2007 at 9:02 PM
- CaKeY said...
This is gonna kill their bullpen.
- May 6, 2007 at 9:10 PM
- s1c said...
Zenslinger said...
Although there is his OBP and run-scoring advantage to think of. Hitting 2nd in front of Papi-Manny...that's a lot of runs. (Helton's OBP at the moment is .527 -- that's an OPS of 1.067 with the help of only two HRs.)
If you have a line up of Youkilis, Helton, Ortiz, Manny, Drew, Tek, Lugo, Crisp, Pedroia. I think it would be explosive. The first 5 would provide OBP, Power, RBI's in bunches. Plus you get a gold glove at first.
The bottom three would be able to play small ball, etc. If you are committed to Lugo leading off then you have Youkilis batting sixth, Tek, Crisp and Pedroia. My concern is you have just under 1/4 of the games being less than 3 runs and the sox are 1-6 in those games. If you go to 4 runs counting today, the sox are 4 and 4. Half of the games they score 4 or less runs.
The offense needs to get in gear! Pitching wins games, but at least 1/3 of the time you are not going to get good pitching.
- May 6, 2007 at 9:11 PM
- redsock said...
And FB will still be able to fly home when he's not starting, skip short road trips if he's not scheduled, etc. (way to support your teammates, Rog!).
Sounds like the behaviour of a .... DIVA!
- May 6, 2007 at 9:16 PM
- L-girl said...
Cakey makes an excellent point. He can't go more than 5 innings. Proctor's arm should fall off by the break.
- May 6, 2007 at 9:18 PM
- redsock said...
Cakey makes an excellent point. He can't go more than 5 innings. Proctor's arm should fall off by the break.
In 19 starts last year:
Less than 5 innings: 0
5 innings: 6 times (3 of those in September (tired?))
6 or 6.1 innings: 7 times
7 innings: 5 times
More than 7: 0
He threw more than 100 pitches in only 9 of 19 starts.
He's another year older -- turns 45 on August 4 -- but he was more than a 5-inning pitcher in the NL last year. The AL will tax him a bit more.
(We said that about Proctor last year.)
- May 6, 2007 at 9:25 PM
- L-girl said...
OK, I exaggerated about Clemens's IP. Stupid numbers. :)
(So has it happened yet?)
- May 6, 2007 at 9:29 PM
- redsock said...
No, he still has two arms!!
Helton: I wrote a little about him in late January. His production has dropped each of the last 4 years, but is still decent.
$: $16.6 in each of 2007-08-09-10, $19.1 in 2011 and either $23 or a $4.6 buyout in 2012.
Bad contract!
- May 6, 2007 at 9:32 PM
- s1c said...
I agree about the contract, but if Colorado picks up 1/3 would prefer 1/2. Then I think it would be a good addition. Plus this year he has made a good comeback.
Splits show .344 /.459 /.508 away games. .375/.524/.375 2 outs risp. .476/.667/.571 Late and close this year. Those are very good numbers and better than his career numbers.
Lowell doesn't even approach these numbers (except in slugging).
- May 6, 2007 at 9:54 PM
- 9casey said...
If I did my calculations right and with no rainouts or anything....
If Clemens makes his debut June 3rd vs. Schilling at Fenway 8:05 Sunday night on ESPN.....
It makes for great television......
- May 6, 2007 at 10:55 PM
- Sean said...
Sean, you are such a comedian.
Either that, or you are such a fool. You decide.
I love being personally attacked. I wish you were still a Yankee fan.
- May 6, 2007 at 11:20 PM
- Jere said...
Sean: Re: Lugo vs Clemens. The difference is, it's not like all of us who didn't want Roger all specifically wanted Lugo to come to the Sox back when he was on the D-Rays. But we don't decide who comes to the team. When I heard we got Lugo, I thought, Oh, now we've got this guy who once hit his wife, that's shitty. I even recently posted a pic I took of him on my blog, and titled it "enddomesticviolence.jpg".
But this, to me, is all about "baseball" asshole-ness. You know what I mean? Lugo and lots of other guys may have done shitty things, but regardless of all of it, I'm rooting for the Sox to win. So, yes, I would've had to root for Roger if he'd come to us. But he's worse than Lugo, baseball-wise. Being on the Sox and then going to the Yanks, having the nerve to only pitch when it's convenient for you, not going on road trips, etc., is the "wife-beating" of baseball.
Just trying to explain it the way I see it.
- May 7, 2007 at 12:45 AM
- L-girl said...
I love being personally attacked.
This is a personal attack? Yeesh.
- May 7, 2007 at 8:24 AM
- L-girl said...
But this, to me, is all about "baseball" asshole-ness.
Jere, that's a great way to put it.
As I said, I don't hate Clemens the way you and Allan do, but this perfectly explains the difference between two very different issues.
- May 7, 2007 at 8:27 AM
- Pokerwolf said...
So, what's the over/under on Clemens getting injured?
Will he end up getting hit by a pitch in his first game or will he last more than five?
- May 7, 2007 at 8:55 AM
- redsock said...
personally attacked
You said he was either "such a comedian" or "such a fool".
Now ... is that worse than wishing someone was still a Yankees fan?
We need a ruling.
(Sean is entitled to believe William is the best pitcher in baseball. I don't think the facts show that -- he wouldn't be the first arm I'd chose to build a team around -- plus I'd like to read his argument, but it's an opinion. ... Oh, did I mention that Dice had four straight ERAs below 3.00 before coming to Boston, making him a super great freaking pitcher?)
- May 7, 2007 at 10:20 AM
- Matthew said...
Irony, oh irony.....
"I still have people that I don't want to let down. Cash, Mr. Steinbrenner ... I don't want to let the people down," Clemens told reporters in New York. "It's my nature. It's the way I've been brought up."
- May 7, 2007 at 2:53 PM
- joebass said...
This might actually be a good thing for the Red Sox. I'm actually looking forward to his first outing a Fenway. This could fuel the fire between these two teams again. They seem to be playing to "nice" lately. Hope this heat's things up a bit. I know it will fan wise at least. Funny, I was saying to my wife "we don't need him" right before Schilling came on and said the same thing. I'd gladly keep our rotation just the way it is and not have this ridiculous distraction.
- May 7, 2007 at 3:12 PM
- L-girl said...
You said he was either "such a comedian" or "such a fool".
Now ... is that worse than wishing someone was still a Yankees fan?
We need a ruling.
OK, I'll rule. :)
- May 7, 2007 at 5:45 PM


text:
ROCKFORD - New thrills are planned for the former Alpine Hills golf course this summer, but it will take a heap of generosity for the Rockford Park District to realize its vision for a year-round adventure park.
Golf is expected to return to the 52-acre property at 4402 Larson Ave. in the form of a five-hole course designed to introduce the game to beginners or those looking for a quick round. A zip-line course, which sends participants speeding through the treetops on a steel cable, is also expected to open in a separate portion of the property by late summer. The district is negotiating a contract with EBL Canopy Zipline Adventures, which would build five to six zip lines spanning as long as 1,000 feet and a suspension bridge.
But the district needs to raise $815,000 to pay for the mix of snowboarding, snow tubing and tobogganing that would anchor the park in winter.
Donate here.
The district has a company, Gateway Parks, to run the snow sports facility and provide equipment while leasing the space from the district. But before it can do that, the district needs to bring in lights, a water system for snow-making machines and other infrastructure.
Alpine Hills is one of eight projects the district has included as a first-tier priority for fundraising help from the Rockford Park District Foundation, the district's nonprofit arm. The annual list of fundraising priorities isn't a true capital plan, but it does give residents a glimpse of what's on the horizon for the district.
The list will be modified as the foundation discovers which projects are likely to receive financial support.
The list, with the exception of Alpine Hills and a boat dock planned for the Riverfront Museum Park, is largely filled with playgrounds and recreation path bridges that need to be repaired or replaced. It includes fixes at the Sinnissippi Park gardens and plans to create an endowment to support the continued presence of summer camps, swim lessons and other core programs.
Among last year's top priority projects was replacing Washington Park Community Center's rubber-composite floor with hardwood while making heating, ventilation and air conditioning improvements. The upgrades were completed in September, thanks to a $75,000 donation from Kiwanis Club of Rockford.
"My personal bias, I'm not speaking for the board, but that was my favorite project because it directly affected young people in the community," Hazen Tuck, president of the foundation board, told commissioners last week. "I see a lot of (this year's) projects doing the same."
The biggest financial figure on the district's proposed priority list is the $2.4 million replacement of four wooden playgrounds around Rockford that were designed by architect Bob Leathers. The Leathers playgrounds are some of the district's most unique structures. They stand at Liberty Park, Harlem Community Center off Forest Hills Road, there's a science-themed playground at Discovery Center and one designed for and with the help of teenagers at Black Hawk Park.
The district typically replaces playground equipment after 15 years and those parks are nearing the end of their useful life due to repairs needed and changing standards for accessibility, said Tim Dimke, the district's executive director. He said he knows some people will be disappointed when the playgrounds are eventually replaced.
The playgrounds were a "great idea at the time. They were awesome to get community involved at the time, but the standards are 180 degrees from what they are now for accessibility, for just getting slivers off them and little things like that," Dimke said. "They're not in danger now, don't take that wrong, but with the new standards that change every year, they're very much outdated."
They would be replaced with more modern metal and plastic equipment, said Laura Pigatti Williamson, deputy director of capital planning and asset management. She said the district would keep the community involved in the design process.
"Whenever we do any of our playgrounds we always ask for community input for the type of playground structure they might want," Pigatti Williamson said.
One item removed from this year's list was the district's proposal to build an overpass for joggers, bicyclists and other recreation path users that would connect Sinnissippi Park to the riverfront over Illinois 251. The district said it needs more time to work with the Illinois Department of Transportation as it develops a way to cross over the state highway.
"This project hasn't fallen off the radar," Pigatti Williamson said. "We just need more time to plan."
Kevin Haas: 815-987-1410; firstname.lastname@example.com; @KevinMHaas


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