text:
Thomas launches No. 500 at Metrodome
Blue Jays slugger hits three-run shot vs. Silva in first frame
By Joe Kieser / Special to MLB.com
It was a journey that began where it ended. Thomas hit his first home run in the same place, and against the same team, that he hit his 500th home run. When Thomas hit his first career home run off Twins lefty Gary Wayne, who would've known he would be back at the Metrodome 498 homers later looking for 500?
As Thomas rounded the bases after his career-defining blast, he said he was feeling a combination of satisfaction and relief.
"It was a great feeling," he said. "A big smile came to my face. This was a big goal and a big dream."
Thomas has 50 career home runs against the Twins (more than any other team) and has 16 career home runs at the Metrodome.
While some may think 500 homers isn't a big deal in a time when Barry Bonds is chasing Hank Aaron's career home run record, Thomas begs to differ.
"It means a lot to me because I did it the right way. I could care less what others have done," he said.
Thomas became the 21st member of the 500 Home Run Club in front of a crowd of more than 38,000 when he hit a 1-2 Silva pitch over the left-field wall in the top of the first inning. The three-run blast was measured at 396 feet and put the Blue Jays ahead of the Twins by a score of 4-0. The Jays slugger eventually accounted for four of the team's five runs in the loss.
Thomas said that when he looks at the other players in the 500 Home Run Club, he feels honored to be among them.
"That's an unbelievable class of talent."
It was looking like Thomas wasn't going to hit No. 500 on the road trip against the Twins. In his first at-bat of the series Monday night, Thomas drove a ball to deep center, but Twins center fielder Torii Hunter made a leaping catch before running into the wall. Thomas didn't come close again until he faced Silva three days later. He admitted that he was "overswinging," but on Thursday he went back to the philosophy of just getting a hit at the plate.
Thomas' milestone home runs
|Aug. 28, 1990: Thomas homers to left off Twins pitcher Gary Wayne in Minnesota for first career home run.
|Aug. 31, 1993: Thomas connects for career home run No. 100 off pitcher Sterling Hitchcock at Yankee Stadium.
|June 9, 1996: Home run No. 200 comes off Orioles pitcher Jimmy Haynes on the road in Baltimore.
|Aug. 7, 1999: Thomas launches No. 300 in Oakland off right-hander Kevin Appier.
|July 25, 2003: The 400 Home Run Club is achieved after Thomas hits a home run off Tampa Bay pitcher Jorge Sosa at Tropicana Field.
|June 28, 2007: Thomas hits No. 500 off Twins pitcher Carlos Silva at the Metrodome.
"That's when home runs happen, when you don't try to do too much," he said.
Thomas has had many individual achievements through the years with the White Sox, A's and currently the Blue Jays. Not only was Thomas a back-to-back American League Most Valuable Player in 1993 and '94, but he is also the career leader in home runs for a designated hitter with 248.
For the next half of the season, Thomas will concentrate on moving up on the list of all-time home run leaders. With good production, Thomas could surpass Eddie Murray (504), Mel Ott (511), Eddie Mathews (512) and Ernie Banks (512) by season's end. There is no indication that Thomas is ready to quit the game any time soon.
"Now that I'm healthy, I would love to get to 600," he said.
Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez figures to be the next member of the 500 Home Run Club. Rodriguez has 492 homers entering the Yankees' game with the Orioles on Thursday night. The most recent player to hit 500 homers before Thomas was Ken Griffey Jr., who did it in 2004.
Among the thousands of fans at the Metrodome to witness Thomas' 500th career home run were his wife and three children. It was a good thing he hit his home run early in the game, otherwise they might not have seen it.
"They had a flight at 1:45 p.m," Thomas said. "My daughter said to hit it early. I'm glad I got it done."
The entire Thomas family was in Minneapolis for all four games of the series with the Twins. When Thomas returned to home plate after his historic blast, he gave a wave up to his family.
It was a day to celebrate for Thomas, but it didn't look that way in the ninth inning of the loss to the Twins. Shortly after Thomas was called out on strikes by home-plate umpire Mark Wegner, he was ejected from the game after he barked at Wegner from the Jays dugout.
Manager John Gibbons was also ejected after he stormed out of the dugout to have words with Wegner after he ejected Thomas.
"The moment got the best of me," Thomas later admitted.
Joe Kieser is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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A-Rod notches fourth Aaron Award
Yanks star led the Majors in home runs, RBIs and runs scored
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
Yet the Yankees aren't the only ones who are finding time to appreciate Rodriguez's 2007 campaign, in which he led the Major Leagues in home runs, RBIs and runs scored.
Rodriguez received 24 percent of the American League vote and secured his fourth Hank Aaron Award on Sunday, with the presentation taking place at Colorado's Coors Field before Game 4 of the World Series.
Rodriguez -- who also was honored with the award in 2001, 2002 and 2003 -- was unable to attend because of prior commitments, said Commissioner Bud Selig.
The 32-year-old Rodriguez set career highs with 143 runs scored and 156 RBIs while batting .314 and slugging 54 home runs for the Yankees, helping his club overcome early stumbles out of the gate to finish with 94 victories on its way to the AL Wild Card.
The performance put Rodriguez in select company in baseball history. Since RBIs became an official category in 1920, only three other players (and none within the last 50 years) have compiled a season with the outright Major League lead in home runs, RBIs and runs scored, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Their names? Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle.
Aaron said on Sunday that of all his achievements during a stellar 23-year playing career in Milwaukee and Atlanta, the numbers he remains proudest of are his runs scored and RBI totals.
"I wouldn't say the home runs, I wouldn't say the batting average," Aaron said. "I would say the runs batted in and the runs scored, because those are the two things that win ballgames. You can hit home runs, you can hit home runs with nobody on base, you can touch home plate with nobody on base, but the most important thing is batted-in runs, especially when you have runners in scoring position."
Rodriguez, who spoke often in 2007 about the importance of team play and doing little things to help the Yankees win games, would agree.
The Hank Aaron Award, presented by Sharp, was introduced in 1999 to honor the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Babe Ruth's all-time home run record, and honors the most outstanding offensive performer in each league. This is the first year that Sharp AQUOS, the official high-definition television of Major League Baseball, has been the presenting sponsor of the award.
The Milwaukee Brewers' Prince Fielder secured the National League's Aaron honors after clubbing 50 home runs and leading the Senior Circuit with a .618 slugging percentage. Fielder attended the presentation at Coors Field.
"He carried his ballclub all year, and he is a young man, to be honest with you," Aaron said. "He's young. So when you see someone who has the credentials that he had and do the things that he did this past year, you have to say that he is on his way to being part of the Cooperstown brigade."
Rodriguez's entry into that class has long been a foregone conclusion. Widely considered the likeliest candidate to someday trump Aaron's lifetime career home runs mark of 755, Rodriguez became the youngest player to hit 500 home runs in August.
He is already connected to Aaron in terms of their shared power-hitting consistency. When Rodriguez hit his 40th home run -- on Aug. 20, off the Angels' Chris Bootcheck -- he tied Aaron, Barry Bonds and Harmon Killebrew in having hit 40 or more home runs in eight seasons, the quartet sharing honors of the second-most in Major League history.
The only player to better the mark is Ruth, who hit 40 or more home runs in 11 seasons.
"I think that home runs will always have a special place in baseball's heart," Aaron said. "When someone hits a home run, it's just something that is magic about it. I mean, it will always be there.
"... But I think that if you talk to teams and team owners and teams that win championships, and things like that, it's the ballclub that does the complete things, like runs batted in, bunt with guys on first base, do little things, field ground balls and things like that. That's the most important thing."
Rodriguez's season ended with a fizzle, as he homered just once and drove in only one run in the Yankees' four-game AL Division Series loss to Cleveland, but the biggest bangs of the offseason are yet to come.
While Rodriguez has been enjoying the praises of an individually rewarding season -- he's the overwhelming favorite to receive Most Valuable Player honors on Nov. 19 -- the Yankees are prepared to look forward to 2008.
Already knowing that they will report to Spring Training with a new manager, having parted ways with Joe Torre earlier this month, the Yankees envision hitting the playing fields of Tampa with Rodriguez entrenched as their starting third baseman.
The Yankees are readying to meet soon with Rodriguez and his agent, Scott Boras, to discuss a potential multi-year contract extension that will give the 10-time All-Star a raise over the $81 million he is due to receive over the final three years of his contract.
Rodriguez holds a clause that allows him to opt out of that deal and become a free agent, and the Yankees have publicly stated that if he opts out, they will not pursue him.
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
sponsored by
4 people in Georgia exposed to rabid pet llama
Send a link to a friend
[January 09, 2013]
MORGANTON, Ga.
(AP) -- Health officials say four people in northwest Georgia have been exposed to rabies by a pet llama.
Officials say a veterinarian was called to a house in Morganton on Dec. 28 because a llama was showing signs of aggression
-- biting at itself, at others and spitting at one of its caretakers. The llama was euthanized and sent to a lab.
Officials say the caretaker the llama spat on is receiving treatment. Authorities say one person who came into contact with the animal experienced very little exposure and will not need treatment. Officials are waiting to hear from the other two people who were exposed to the virus.
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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text:
The ICOMOS procedure for evaluating nominations to the World Heritage List
1 Preparatory work
The preparatory work is done in several stages:
a. Initial study of dossiers: This first stage of the work consists of the creation of an inventory of the nomination dossier documents, a study of them to identify the various issues relating to the property and the choice of the various experts who will be called on to study the dossier (ICOMOS advisers, experts for mission, experts for consultations). A compilation of all relevant comparative material (Tentative Lists, properties already on the World Heritage List, nomination dossiers, "filling the gaps" ICOMOS study, etc.) is prepared in order to assist the work of the advisers on the specific item of comparative analysis.
b. Consultations: Experts are consulted to express their opinion about the comparative analysis and the outstanding universal value of the nominated properties with reference to the ten criteria set out in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (July 2012), § 77.
For this purpose, ICOMOS calls on the following:
- ICOMOS International Scientific Committees;
- Individual ICOMOS members with special expertise, identified after consultation with International and National Committees;
- Non-ICOMOS members with specific expertise, identified after consultation within the ICOMOS networks.
c. Technical evaluation missions: As a rule, ICOMOS calls on a person from the region in which the nominated property is located. In certain exceptional circumstances, often in cases in which the nature of the property is unusual, the expert may not originate from the region concerned. The objective of the missions is to study the authenticity, integrity, factors affecting the property, protection, conservation and management (Operational Guidelines, § 78).
Experts are sent a copy of the nomination (or all relevant parts of it, when the dossier is particularly extensive), a note with key questions based on a preliminary examination of the dossiers, documentation on the Convention and detailed guidelines for evaluation missions.
All experts have a duty of confidentiality. Their opinion about the nomination does not necessarily reflect that of the organisation; it is the ICOMOS World Heritage Panel which, after acquainting itself with all the information, analyses it and determines the organisation's position.
Missions are sent to all the nominated properties except in the case of nominations referred back for which the Operational Guidelines do not stipulate that a mission is necessary. (Note: The principle is that properties are referred back because additional information is necessary, and not because thorough or substantial modifications are needed; the deadlines set in the Operational Guidelines mean moreover that it is not possible to organise missions, desk reviews or consideration by the full ICOMOS World Heritage Panel for properties referred back).
For mixed property nominations, technical evaluation missions are carried out jointly with IUCN, and ICOMOS and IUCN exchange information about draft recommendations. Furthermore, ICOMOS consults IUCN on cultural landscape nominations, includes comments received in the evaluations and taken them into account in its recommendations.


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And so it all comes to an end for another year. For once, the final time trial wasn't critical to the final result, merely a final exclamation mark added on the end of what's been a pretty emphatic victory. Wiggins has continually referenced Miguel Indurain as his hero, and this has been a very Indurain-esque victory. Wiggins has blown away the competition in the time trials, and then dared them to try and attack him in the mountains, riding down anyone who tried. It's been a Tour of brutal efficiency rather than style and panache, but there are many ways to win a Tour and Wiggins chose the one that suited him best.
There wasn't a major shake up of the finishing order yesterday, mostly a stretching of some of the gaps, but we did witness one sad moment as Cadel Evans slipped down another place and was caught on the road by Tejay Van Garderen. All that scene needed to be complete was for Evans to have some symbol of the BMC team leadership to hand off to Van Garderen as he passed. I hope that's not the last we see of Evans at the Tour, as it would be sad to see that as our last memory of the champion, and I hope he comes back to support Van Garderen next year.
I'll have a proper look back at the Tour tomorrow, but as well as Van Garderen and Wiggins, the other two jersey winners have to be noted on the final day. Peter Sagan has had an incredible impact on cycling in the last year, and the green jersey is likely to be the first of many major prizes he'll win. The question that's still hanging is whether he can become a Grand Tour GC contender in years to come, but I think we've got a few years of him demolishing sprints and winning classics before then.
Thomas Voeckler's King of the Mountains win has been conducted in traditional Voeckler style – with a face that could take part in professional gurning championships and an ability to break, and then attack the break at the right time. With Rolland's white jersey last year, that makes it back-to-back titles for France, and perhaps their Tour fortunes might finally be getting back on track.
It's the traditional-since-1975 end on the Champs-Elysees, and will feature all the sights we're used to – the jersey winners sharing a glass of champagne, the peloton hitting central Paris at high speed, riders trying to get away and being chased down and then a Mark Cavendish victory at the end.
Well, all but the last are guaranteed, but after his sprint on Friday showed what form he's in at the end of the race, I doubt you can find many people who'd suggest other potential victors. The only problem that might have caused is that other teams may not want to let it get down to a bunch sprint and will prefer to take their chances in a break, leaving Sky on their own to chase it down. Whatever happens, I do expect we'll see the spectacle of the yellow jersey at the front of the peloton, either leading the chase or leading out the sprint, though we probably won't get a repeat of 1979 or 1982, when Bernard Hinault won in Paris while wearing the yellow jersey.


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I'm thinking of buying a pair of RevIt Alaska gloves. As the name implies, these will be my cold/wet weather gloves.
Anyone have any experience with this model or RevIt in general?
Quality, fit, etc.
I'm thinking of buying a pair of RevIt Alaska gloves. As the name implies, these will be my cold/wet weather gloves.
Anyone have any experience with this model or RevIt in general?
Quality, fit, etc.
Not with this model but most of my gear (Turbine and Scirocco jackets, Cayenne and Turbine pants plus some gloves) is RevIt- its good stuff. I actually get hot on my RT in Scirocco jacket with Gerbings underneath in 20 degree weather if I don't turn the heat down- only drawback is that its a very heavy jacket.
However!!! Glove fits are very variable model to model and very personal choices. I use 5 different pair regularly (BMW Air, BMW Winter, RevIt H2O Ultra no longer made, Held Steve, Gerbings G-3 electric).
I can't imagine wanting to buy gloves I've never tried on except as a direct replacement for a worn out pair. I always poke around in glove displays to see whats around and keep mental notes on what fits and would seem to work in various situations, though.
For really cold riding in GLOVES, rather than mitts, anything that blocks wind from your hands, especially the fingertips is a great addition. My RT has Barkbuster S-7s for this reason. They add about 10 degrees of low end range to any glove. Some prefer the big sleeves that fit over your hands and the bike handlebars (eg from Hippo Hands or Wunderlich). They work very well in the most extreme conditions but I find them a bit of a nuisnace so though I have them, rarely use them. However, at least one of my friends who is an all year bike commuter uses them all winter.
I think the Alaska may be too much glove for Western North Carolina and my wimpy riding habits of 40 degrees + (except the Florida rally next month). I think I'll go with the RevIt Kelvin H2O, a mid-weight winter glove with plenty of features.
Speaking of heated grips, IMHO they aren't as effective with heavy winter gloves. With thinner gloves they actually heat your palm, but with heavy gloves they heat the glove and it takes quite a while for you to sense the heated grips' impact. So, unless you're really cold, and you need the wet weather protection of goretex, then you might want to consider more "normal" gloves with heated grips and hand guards. BTW, I'm in the Dallas area, which I'd guess has similar winters to North Carolina.
As to REV'IT in general, I've worn a REV'IT Dragon jacket for a year now, and its the best three season jacket I've owned. The Dragon is REV'IT's more affordable alternative to the Cayenne Pro. Its a very fine product for a decent price (~$300).
Good luck, and let us know what you do!
Former owner of an '03 R1150R


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Here is your nightly recap for the Cubs minor league system, enjoy.
Peoria's pitching had a rough weekend. One night after giving up 20 runs to Quad Cities they gave up 9 in a 9-2 defeat. Wes Darvill and Rafael Lopez each had two hits in the losing effort. Brad Zapenas was 1-for-1 with a double and three walks. Michael Jensen was beat up on the mound for Peoria as he took the loss, dropping his record to 3-2 on the season.
Austin Kirk was outstanding once again, however he had to settle for a no decision as the bullpen couldn't hold a late 3-2 lead. Jupiter tied the game in the 8th and 9th innings, only to have Daytona walk off in the ninth for a 5-4 victory. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-for-5 with two triples and two RBI's. Matt Szczur continues to turn his season around slowly but surely going 1-for-4 and stealing his 16th base of the season.
Junior Lake made his Smokies debut on Sunday and he didn't disappoint. One of the Cubs top infield prospected went 2-for-4 with a double and a triple. Elliot Soto also had two hits and an RBI in the losing effort. Brooks Raley had a solid day on the mound going a strong six innings for a no decision as the Smokies couldn't hold on to a 2-0 lead and ended up losing 4-2.
Brett Jackson had a big day at the plate going 2-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored. Unfortunately that wasn't enough as Iowa fell to New Orleans 12-4. Luis Valbuena and Alfredo Amezaga each had two hits as well. Iowa pitching got beat up top to bottom, Jay Jackson took the loss after surrendering five runs in four innings of work.
Thanks for reading,
– George


text:
In Miami, expect World Baseball Classic to heat up
By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com
PHOENIX -- If the baseball universe aligns properly, three Latin American teams and the U.S. will converge on Miami's Marlins Park from March 12-16, when the World Baseball Classic convenes for the second round.
The U.S. and Mexico could come out of the first round in Pool D, which includes Canada and Italy and plays from March 7-10. The Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Puerto Rico are competing with Spain down in San Juan, P.R., on the same dates.
The confluence of three powerhouse Latin teams and the U.S. would create an intriguing bracket in the one-year-old ballpark located in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood just beyond the outskirts of downtown.
The other second-round pool is slated to be played in Tokyo Dome from March 8-12.
MLB Network will broadcast all 39 games in a tournament that eventually closes with the semifinals and final March 17-19 in San Francisco's AT&T Park.
|Bracket | Full scoreboard
"It would be great to get to Miami this time," said Dominican starter Edinson Volquez, whose D.R. club didn't make it out of the first round at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in the 2009 Classic. "I hope we can do better. That we can pass on to the second round. We're all aware of that, and we know what we have to do. It's a tough bracket. We're going to do the best we can."
The second round is a double-elimination bracket, meaning that the first pair of teams to lose two games is out.
March 11 will be a workout day for all four teams at Marlins Park. The round begins on March 12 with a day-night, separate-admission doubleheader. In the first game at 1 p.m. ET, the winner of the San Juan pool plays the runner-up from the Arizona pool. And at 8 p.m., the winner of the Arizona pool faces the runner-up from the San Juan pool.
The two losers from Miami's Day 1 play at 7 p.m. on March 13, and the winner from Day 1 will face the winner from Day 2 at 7 p.m. on March 14. The two winners of the bracket will be decided after another 7 p.m. game on March 15. And seeding for the semifinals will be determined when the two pool survivors play at 1 p.m. on March 16.
The final game is essential, because it will decide who plays the first semifinal game in San Francisco on March 17 at 9 p.m. In that one, the winner from the Tokyo pool will play the runner up from Miami, giving the Miami winner a key off-day.
The Miami winner plays the Tokyo runner-up on March 18 at 9 p.m., with the final game at 9 p.m. on March 19.
If this all sounds confusing, it won't be as the tournament sorts itself out. Just figure there will be at least one very meaningful game every day.
The U.S. is slated to play three of the premier games in the round-robin opening round at Chase Field: On March 8 at 7 p.m. MT against Mexico, on March 9 at 7 p.m. against Italy, and March 10 at 1 p.m. against Canada.
Japan won the first two Classics with right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka named tournament MVP on both occasions. This time, the Japanese won't play on U.S. soil, unless they survive the first and second rounds, both slated for Japan.
This year, Japan is joined by Cuba, China and upstart Brazil in its first-round bracket this weekend at Fukuoka, Japan. In Taichung, Taiwan, on the same dates is Pool B's bracket, which includes Korea, Chinese Taipei, Australia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The two winners from each of those brackets meet in Tokyo Dome on March 8-12.
In Puerto Rico, the bracket opens next Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. ET, with Venezuela playing Team D.R. Like 2009, when the Dominicans opened by losing the opener to the Netherlands, Volquez is expected to be on the mound.
Barry M. Bloom is national reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Boomskie on Baseball. Follow @boomskie on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
Smalkowski Case Settled in Federal Court in Oklahoma
From: Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director for American Atheists
To: The Board of Directors and the Membership of American Atheists.
Date: October 30, 2008.
It is my distinct professional and personal pleasure to announce that the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, at Oklahoma City, by American Atheists against the Hardesty, Oklahoma public school and certain named officials has been dismissed as settled. The order was filed yesterday, October 29, 2008. It is now part of history.
I am not at liberty to make public the terms of the settlement agreement, but both the monetary considerations, and the assurances provided by the defendants, were satisfactory to American Atheists, were approved by the past and present Presidents of American Atheists, Frank Zindler and Ed Buckner, and were of such a character that I recommended that American Atheists accept the settlement.
This case arose out of what we alleged was a denial of civil rights, and a conspiracy to violate civil rights, by state actors in Oklahoma against members of the Smalkowski family and other members of American Atheists. The Smalkowski family has made its own separate settlement with the defendants. Our lawsuit was based on the denial of civil rights to Atheists in the Oklahoma school, using the treatment of the Smalkowskis as evidence for this claim, and seeking redress for Atheists.
This case was filed just over two years ago. The history of what happened is contained in the following writings, that have previously appeared nationally, regarding the events that formed the cause of action for the Federal lawsuit. The factual background is a matter of public record.
A special "thank you" goes to attorney Richard Rice of Oklahoma City who served as local counsel on this case. Rick is a Christian. He made that clear to me from the outset. And he believes in the rights secured by our Constitution. And he fought for them. Without his most competent and professional assistance, the result announced today could not have been achieved. On this issue, we are in the same line.
We thank the Smalkowski family for their praise of our efforts on their behalf and we wish them well in their future undertakings.
Edwin Kagin
National Legal Director
American Atheists, Inc.
PO Box 666
Union, KY 41091
Phone: (859) 384-7000
Fax: (859) 384-7324
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web Posted: June 26, 2006
American Atheists Magazine
Chester (Chuck) Smalkowski, a member of American Atheists living in
Hardesty, Oklahoma, has been found Not Guilty on all counts by a
twelve person jury in Guymon, Texas County, Oklahoma.
Chuck, together with his family, is featured on the cover of the
current issue of American Atheist Magazine. At the 2006 Annual
Convention, the Smalkowski Family was presented the American Atheists
Award for Valor, now prominently displayed on the wall of their home.
The Smalkowski case attracted national attention after Nicole
Smalkowski was kicked off of the girls' basketball team after refusing
to stand in a circle with her teammates on the gymnasium floor of the
Hardesty public High School and recite the "Lord's Prayer." After
school officials learned that she and her family were Atheists, lies
were created about her as grounds to take her off of the team.
When her father Chuck discovered conclusively that public school and
law enforcement officials had lied to him about his 15 year old
daughter, he and Nicole and her mother Nadia went to the home of
principal Lloyd Buckley to attempt to discuss the matter with him.
Outside of his front fence, the principal struck Chuck, who blocked
the blow. Both men fell to the ground and Buckley sustained minor
injuries, the provable origins of which were strikingly contrary to
his under oath trial testimony. Buckley then took out misdemeanor
criminal assault charges against Chuck. After Smalkowski rejected the
offer to drop the charges if he and his Atheist family left the state,
the charges were raised to a felony. Chuck called American Atheists
for help.
On June 22, 2006, after only a little over two and a half hours of
deliberation, a span of time that included dinner, the jury found
Chuck "Not Guilty" of the felony charge of assault and of two lesser
included misdemeanor assault charges.
Edwin Kagin, National Legal Director for American Atheists and his
wife Helen drove from Kentucky to Guymon, Oklahoma for the five day
trial. Edwin had become registered as an attorney in Oklahoma for the
purpose of assisting Tim Gungoll, Chuck's attorney from Enid,
Oklahoma. Mr. Kagin conducted the voir dire of the prospective jury,
gave the opening and closing statements in the case, cross examined
the Superintendent of the Hardesty public schools, David Davidson, and
conducted the direct examination of the defendant Chuck Smalkowski.
Tim cross examined the other prosecution witnesses and conducted the
direct examination of Nicole and Nadia Smalkowski.
The Atheist and Christian attorneys worked together effectively for
the cause of justice and to vindicate an Atheist falsely accused.
The true significance of this trial is that this is the first case we
know of in American jurisprudence where Atheism has been directly used
in as a defense in a criminal trial.
Edwin introduced himself to the jury as National Legal Director for
American Atheists and asked the prospective jury in the Oklahoma
panhandle if they could accept the testimony of an Atheist over that
of a professed Christian. When the jury looked at him blankly, the
judge asked the prospects if they understood the question. One woman
spoke for many in the group by asking "What is an Atheist?"
Edwin explained that an Atheist was a person who did not believe in a
god or gods or in a supernatural world, and that the defendant and his
entire family were such persons. Many of the prospects said they
could not believe such a person over a Christian and were struck for
cause. To their credit, many members of the jury panel, including two
ministers' wives, told the judge they could not be fair to an Atheist
in such a situation and were excused.
Edwin also told the prospective jurors that his co-counsel Tim Gungoll
believed Jesus Christ to be his personal savior and that Tim was a
practicing Roman Catholic who asked if the jury might feel him a
hypocrite to his faith for defending Chuck. Ultimately a jury of
twelve was seated who had sworn that they could believe the testimony
of an Atheist over that of a Christian.
In closing argument, Edwin told the jury that it really should not be
necessary for an Atheist to tell them it is wrong to lie under oath,
as he reminded them the Christian school officials and the police had
done in their sworn trial testimony. "Thou shall not bare false
witness against thy neighbor. Ninth Commandment. Eight if you are
Roman Catholic," Kagin said.
The jury believed the Atheists. Unanimously.
The night of the verdict, tornados of unusual violence descended on
the panhandle of Oklahoma. The home of the Principal who had brought
the false charges against Chuck Smalkowski was severely damaged.
This fact has no relationship whatsoever to the verdict.
A civil lawsuit in Federal Court, with the Smalkowski Family and
American Atheists as Plaintiffs, is contemplated.
by Chester Smalkowski
Web Posted: July 8, 2006
American Atheists Magazine
From the AANEWS Editor: Below, we are reproducing, "as is" and un-edited, the account circulating on the internet and the democraticunderground.com web site penned by Chester Smalkowski and aptly titled "Just Another Salem."
It is his personal story about the ordeal he and has family have been swept up in after their daughter, Nadia, refused to join a prayer circle during a basketball game at their local high school. Nadia, instead, recited the "godless" Pledge of Allegiance.
From there, events went out of control. Chester Smalkowski and family members attempted to hold a conversation with the high school principal. That turned into a physical altercation, Mr. Smalkowski was arrested under a battery of charges, and the authorities offered to dismiss the case if the Atheist family fled the state.
http://www.atheists.org/catalogue/special.htmlAmerican Atheists joined in the subsequent criminal case, and Chester Smalkowski — battling incredible "Bible Belt" odds in the courtroom — was found innocent of the charges. News of that can be found on the American Atheists web site.
Edwin Kagin (firstname.lastname@example.com), National Legal Director for American Atheists, is preparing a federal action which will touch on a number of issues in the Smalkowski case including violations of this Atheist family's civil rights.
Chester Smalkowski vented his thoughts about this experience on a blog. AANEWS is reproducing this story for the benefit of our readers, unedited and in its original format. This conveys the honest, emotional, "from the heart" sentiments of Mr. Smalkowski, and constitutes one man's recollection of an agonizing experience due to religious intolerance and fanaticism.
American Atheists welcomes support so that we may continue our efforts on behalf of Chester Smalkowski and his family.
There are lessons to be learned. Perhaps the most important, though, is that "it can happen here," in America, in the year 2006.
— Conrad Goeringer,
AANEWS – American Atheists
The bailiff took the piece of paper from the foreman of the jury and handed it to the Judge. He opened the paper and while staring at it he nodded. The courtroom was silent and the jury stared straight ahead.
I have been in many situations where my life or limb were on the line but I was still in the game and had a hand to play. But not here, here I just sat waiting for the verdict.
Though I worried about being sent away for five years on bogus charges, my dread was the Christian mob. They knew I must be found guilty in order to slow or stop the civil case being filed in Federal court. Since the start of my daughter's stand against the public schools disregard for the law of the land, it was imperative to run us out of the county to make any civil action non valid. With me in jail for five years running my family out would be a whole lot easier, or so they might have thought.
The courtroom was packed for it is the Bible belt. There was no love in this courtroom.
The loving Christians brought their children to hear the verdict. They brought the town. They brought ministers. I even saw another Judge in the back of the room. The Judge who in an earlier hearing while slapping an inch thick stack of papers on his bench saying with a list of witnesses this big you had better be a good boy. It was lies then, it was lies now and the DA knew it! (She was later forced to hand over a written statement she denied for over a year existed!) People prayed openly for a conviction. Many holding their bibles. During the trial the Prosecutions side of the courtroom was packed. Only my son and Edwin Kagin's wife, Helen sat behind me, but now there was not enough room in the whole courtroom.
Yet now the so-called victim, the 325 lbs victim, the ex Marine, hurrahs, was nowhere to be found. Neither was the woman assistant district attorney anywhere to be found. Whose vindictive, bogus case this was from the start.
What sort of place is this?
Well this is not the place for a little debate in a coffee shop with the sweet salt air rolling up from San Francisco bay. This is a place where the children write on their schoolbooks the south will rise again. This is a place where they say that black people caused slavery! Where they burn rock CD's. Mormons are the tools of Satan. That my daughter is gay cause only homosexuals vote for Kerry and Christians vote for Bush. Atheists worship Satan! Where religious fanaticism is fused with political rhetoric and political leaders pander to this madness. This place has a sickness, a malignant disease and it is spreading. Edwin saw it first hand.
There has not been many a trial with a Not Guilty verdict in this county for years. The head DA is good friends with the self-righteous in the courtroom and greets them all by name. You know the type.
Many old women in the courtroom are taking notes. Others have been taking notes at every hearing for the past year and a half! They strain to listen not wanting to miss one juicy word. With the pens and pads they write continuously. The pads shaking with every push of the pen. Even writing down what my children spoke amongst themselves.
Blue gray haired old Christian spinsters bitter for wasting all those fruitful years now just waiting for those pearly gates. These are truly the wicked. You have seen them before. With their bogus self-righteousness they strut and sneer. How far we have not come.
Others had walked out into the hall and warned a police witness saying that justice must be served, that justice better be served. The judge called a hearing on the threat.
He warned the crowd that if it happens one more time he would have no choice but to throw out the case. He was between a rock and a hard place. He knows my lawyers are watching and the loving Christians are out for my blood, and they are watching too. The law, elections and politics were all in play. The Judge left the court for his chambers and stayed away for a quite awhile.
The Christians, the loving Christians! Praying to a God whose wings are dripping in the blood of innocent men, woman and children down through the ages. Truly hypocrisy is one of their commandments and the blood of the innocence one of their sacraments!
Christian against Christian, Christian against Moslem, Christian against Mormon. Basically Christian against anyone or anything that challenges their pathetic little fairy tale.
Go to any Indian reservation and see the lies and broken promises by a country with "Under God" in their pledge.
I assume I need not have to explain about the loving hymns sung in church on Sunday and beatings of black slaves on Monday. But on Monday night the good old Master has a little tippy toe over to slave huts for a little brown sugar. While the queen of the manor is in the master bedroom past out on an opium tonic. Praise the Lord!
Well that was then but now the court was about to hear the verdict. There was a feeding frenzy about to begin with the dirty little atheist and his family put in their place with him in jail and the family run out of town. Like the teacher told my daughter "This is a Christian country and if you don't like it get out!"
I could hear my heart beat in my ears and I dreaded the cheers from the righteous mob that were about to begin. The pain of having my family being in the front row to witness this swirling cesspool of hatred come to its inevitable end with my head on a pike, sucked the air right out of my lungs.
It was truly just another Salem. Different time and place. Same characters with new names. Oh, no gallows or big oak tree this time. But if they could they surely would. How far we have not come. I know, I already said that but do you really understand what a tragedy it means? The whole universe is ours if we want it but instead we must gravel in the dirt having to debate the obvious.
I have been standing against injustice most of my life. It is my nature. I am a child of the 60's and proud of it. But what of my poor family? They stood so proud and strong. They are tougher than I will ever be. I had told them do not cry. Do not give these bastards any satisfaction. I told my wife if I see you cry I will surely loose it. I said it is in the Federal courts we will set things right and send that wall higher than it has ever been. On the wall behind us was a painting of the signing of the Declaration.
The judge handed the verdict to the clerk. The only sound was the paper. The paper in the clerk's hands with the hand written words that spelled my doom, my family's fate and the inevitable cheers from the Christian mob.
With my guts in my throat and no air to breathe. The court clerk read the decision of the jury.
We the jury find the defendant:
On the charge of Aggravated Assault and Battery:
Not Guilty!
On the charge of Assault and Battery:
Not Guilty!
On the charge of Assault:
Not Guilty!
On the charge of Battery:
Not Guilty!
Not a word, not a sound. The lynching had been cancelled. I took my first free breath in almost two years. I looked at the jury and mouth the words thank you. I gazed at the floor as floodgates opened, I dared not move my head that others might see. Charley don't cry, but free air has its effects.
With all their praying, lies, crooked cops, warning that justice better be done, packing the courthouse with their followers, Even a teacher on the jury who had taught at the Hardesty School. (Our motion to take her off the jury denied.) Not guilty was still the outcome. The evidence was obvious. This was a bad case. And 12 men and women had the guts.
From the start of this legal fight my lawyers said Atheism must be kept out. That it was a no go in the Bible belt. I was just adamant that Atheism be brought in. For it is the reason. It was the motive for all the lies and hate. I felt it was about time that this dirty little secret of hate, persecution, Christian madness and hypocrisy is brought out into the light of day. When I told my lawyers this they all gave me the same bewildered stare.
So one by one, I dropped one lawyer then two. Then I had a hard time in finding another one. My third lawyer was still trying to convince me to keep my atheism out even up till the day of the trial. I still said no. Somewhere along the line I talk to the ACLU out of San Francisco. Who let me know my first civil lawyer was not telling me the whole story. I was advised by them and many others to complain to the Bar about him.
You see he never told me that the prayer in itself is illegal. That the schools in this area were not following the state and federal funding guidelines. When I asked him after finding out from the ACLU. He said yes it is against the law.
I told him I want to have it stopped. He told me he would not for he was a Christian and he believed there should be school prayer. His statement floored me for it bordered on madness. I said what you believe and what you do for a client is two different things and that you took an oath. He still refused.
It did not matter to him that I had already given him $10,000 dollars. He knows we are not rich. So I wrote a letter to him to complain about his refusing to take my daughters civil case where it should have gone from the start. And I asked for my money back. He sent me a bill for another $5000 saying it was the charge for reading my letter and wasting his time.
In my search for a civil attorney it became clear that no one would touch this case. In all of Oklahoma I could not find an attorney. My criminal attorney said he would look at it but only after I paid him his $15000 for the criminal case. He sent me a letter that the funds for the criminal were coming too slow and suggested that I seek other counsel for the civil matter. But even after he got his $15000 he would only take it if I paid him more. (Now that I have won the criminal case he wants on the civil. Suffice to say he is off the civil!)
Eventually I contacted the American Atheist, which was referred to me by Edward Tabash, who was referred to me by a Mr. Robert Tierman. I told them my problem in finding an attorney willing to take church and state case in which the people are blatantly breaking the law. Yet no one will take it. American Atheist, being out of another state, could not refer me to anyone. But they said they would try to help. The ACLU out of Oklahoma City refused. They sent me some standard letter. It really hurt that I did not even rate a return call or a reason. I felt betrayed, lost and confused.
Was this the United States? Where freedom reigns?
The whole family was under constant stress. Police trying to get search warrants to the property by having ex-employees file false statements. Other cops trying to hire ex-cons to beat me up. The whole town knows of it! The Sheriff trying to have my bond pulled by the bail bondsman when there was no legal way to do it. My kids have been out of school since November. Principal's son saying should he get a gun when he sees my daughter and my son. DA has yet to reply to our concerns. The Department of Human Services comes to my place saying they received a complaint that I starve my kids. It was even obvious to them the charge was bogus.
We have become very good at using back roads. The police follow us around. Traffic tickets that when challenged were dropped in court. Not to mention the stares and whispers, the betrayal from employees, one of my healthy dogs dying. Brush fires starting up upwind.
An FBI agent even said, "You aren't kidding". When it was obvious someone followed us and was watching our meeting out in the middle of nowhere. I was told about a few things. All I can say is that some of the crooks out here now charged with crimes wore badges and guns! But he could not help my family and me. Not without witnesses willing to come forward. One scared witness left the state. The last words she spoke to me were, Chuck I don't want to end up dead in a ditch!
Just what you would expect life to be like out here in the Bible belt!
The roller coaster of emotions we went through every minute, every day. It was truly a hell. There were days we spoke little. Other days we spoke late into the night. You get to a point you become numb, but it doesn't last. For it is all aboard and you are on the roller coaster again.
My poor family. They were standing tall. But they would not even be in this place if it were not for me and my bright idea about centralizing our business. We all missed the desert. The free open Mojave Desert. My family did not ask for this. They deserved better. I saw them all suffering.
Many a night I would sit in the barn alone with a pint of scotch and look at the high beams and the rope on the wall.
Then out of the blue my wife received a call from Ellen Johnson who said they had a lawyer that can help us, an Edwin Kagin who is their legal director. Well I called him up, and our civil case is up and running.
Edwin Kagin also by my request came to my criminal case for the two cases are obviously interrelated. There were also other reasons.
Simply stated without Edwin Kagin, Ellen Johnson and American Atheist I would be in jail now, or worse. Without them, we would have no federal case on separation of church and state. The only group, the only lawyer that would stand with my family and me to protect the wall and not cringe at me wanting to put atheism as part of my defense.
In Edwin's opening statement American Atheist magazine was shown. The crowd almost rioted. He explained that Atheism was not a dirty word and that it was a conclusion. That my family and I are not devil worshippers. We just have no Gods. It was the basis of the case. It was the danger. It was the truth. Yet the only lawyer to go there freely was Edwin Kagin.
In a world where superstition is the norm and those who seek another path are ridiculed or worse. Being an atheist takes guts. Freedom is never freely given. The good fight is always there.
Oh you can hide yourself in the latest sitcom or have one or two more scotch and waters but the good fight is still there. You can run to your malls and buy yourself crazy with credit card frenzy. But the good fight is still there. You can look away and deny allegiance. But the good fight is still there. These are the times that try men's courage. You can debate till you're blue in the face. It will not change a damn thing.
Our forefathers are on our side in this fight. Trust me. From Adams to Madison to Jefferson and Paine they all knew the dangers of a Theocracy. They wrote the Constitution to assure it. And within the federal courts we can protect this nation from a Theocracy.
The wall between the church and state must stand. But the wall is being battered and cracks now appear. The Christians are at the gate attempting to breach the wall and send us back down the road to an age of darkness, bloodshed and fear. My family and myself are willing to stand and fight the good fight. If we lose some skin, so be it. We have no more else to give. We are financially done. Thanks to American Atheist, Ellen Johnson and Edwin Kagin for the first time we do not fight alone.
Please stand together with us and fight the good fight. The fight that our forefathers began. Lets make the wall so high between Church and State that they who wish to tear it down will know better and be content with staying in their churches.
For freedom has never been free! There can be no freedom for all if the wall does not stand.
The wall must stand.
Chuck, Nadia, Nicole, Czeslaw and Bridgette Smalkowski
Copyright © 2008 American Atheists, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
*No weirdos please! If you don't want to haggle then pls don't contact me for trades.*
Aloha! I'm trying to complete my pet list and upgrade them so I will try to keep this list updated. Please send friend request to Noelani#1543, I don't always check the forums....but I'm usually online
Looking for Stones:
Pets for trade:
Albino Snake
Anacona Chicken
Black Kingsnake
Bombay Cat
Brown Prairie Dog
Brown Snake
Calico Cat
Clockwork Rocket Bot
Cobra Hatchling
Cornish Rex Cat
Crimson Snake
Dark Whelpling
Darting Hatchling
De-Weaponized Mechanical Companion
Father Winter's Helper
Great Horned Owl
Green Wing Macaw
Hawk Owl
Imperial Silkworm
Mana Wyrmling
Mechanical Squirrel Box
Nether Ray Hatchling
Obsidian Hatchling
Orange Tabby Cat
Pandaren Earth Spirit
Pandaren Fire Spirit
Pandaren Water Spirit
Pandaren Fire Spirit
Pet Bombling
Ravasaur Hatchling
Red Cricket
Red Dragonhawk Hatchling
Siamese Cat
Snowman Kit
Terrible Turnip
Tickbird Hatchling
Undercity Roach
White Kitten
White Moth
Winter Reindeer
Yellow Moth
Looking for the following pets:
Darkmoon Rabbit
Ethereal Soul-Trader
Eye of the Legion
Landro's Lil'XT
Spectral Tiger Cub


text:
Votto proud of club on-base record, playing every day
By Mark Sheldon and Jeremy Warnemuende / MLB.com
CINCINNATI -- Some players say they aren't aware of their numbers, and if they are, some don't care. Reds first baseman Joey Votto fits neither of those categories.
Votto is keenly aware he avoids outs better than most and places a premium on it. He knew he was approaching Pete Rose's 1969 club record for reaching base in a season via a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch. With a pair of singles in Friday's 4-1 loss to the Pirates, Votto reached for the 311th and 312th time to break Rose's mark.
"I was really very excited and really happy about that achievement," Votto said Saturday morning. "It's a combination of playing every day, which is something Pete was very good at. I don't know if it's a skill or luck, a determination or personality trait, but whatever it was that helped him play every single day, he did that so consistently throughout his career. That was the first step. I played every day. The second was the ability to get on base, be competitive and not make outs. It's a difficult thing to do. To put that combination together, I'm very proud of it.
"This was a little different version of a baseball year for me offensively. But to have been rewarded with something like this, anytime you get mentioned with an all-time great like Pete Rose or Joe Morgan with the walks, I'm very proud of it, yes."
On Saturday, Votto added another Reds record. His first-inning walk gave him 133 for the season and moved him ahead of Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, who had 132 walks in 1975.
Votto might get some National League MVP Award votes, yet he has received criticism in some circles this season for not having more RBIs. He entered Saturday with 73 RBIs and 24 home runs. But he leads the NL in walks, intentional walks and on-base percentage and was fifth in total hits and runs scored and 10th in batting.
"I've been probably asked more about my failings than my successes this year, which is kind of frustrating," Votto said. "I think it's a two-headed monster -- it's the lack of RBIs and also being compared to my previous self. I can understand people's perspective. They hope for the best for me. They want me to play my very, very best for the ballclub."
Assuming he plays the regular-season finale on Sunday, Votto will have played in all 162 games this season. The last Reds player to do that was Aaron Boone in 2002. Votto was limited to 111 games last season after missing about six weeks in the summer to rehab from a pair of arthroscopic surgeries on his left knee. At times when manager Dusty Baker looked to give Votto a day off, he would ask to be kept in the lineup.
"Despite my performance at times this year, I'm very proud of playing every day," Votto said. "I had two surgeries and I played every single day. That's something I think I owed to the Reds fans, I owed to management and the people signing my checks. I think I owed it, most importantly, to my teammates. I think playing every day is a sign of health and what I'd like to be about as a player."
X-rays negative, Phillips expects to play Tuesday
CINCINNATI -- X-rays on Brandon Phillips' left shin were negative after he was struck by a foul ball and exited Saturday's 8-3 loss to the Pirates in the fifth inning, and the Reds second baseman expects to be ready for Tuesday's Wild Card Game in Pittsburgh.
With the Reds trailing, 6-3, Phillips hit a 1-0 fastball from Charlie Morton directly into his lower left leg near the ankle. Phillips then backed out of the box and leaned on his bat in obvious pain, and TV cameras showed a noticeable bump where the ball made contact.
Head trainer Paul Lessard and manager Dusty Baker came out to check on Phillips, who finished the at-bat two pitches later with a single to right field. Cesar Izturis promptly replaced Phillips as a pinch-runner, though, and took over at second base in the top of the sixth.
Phillips was relieved to find out the results of the X-ray after watching the immediate swelling on his shin.
"I thought it was broke," Phillips said. "Honestly, I couldn't feel my toes at the time. I was just like, 'Oh my gosh.' That's why I called [Lessard] to come out there. You get hit on the foot and you hit yourself with the ball every once in a while with foul balls, but I never felt anything like that."
Earlier, Phillips connected on a single with runners on the corners in the bottom of the third for his 103rd RBI of the season. He also came around to score later in the inning on Jay Bruce's two-run double.
Although he hadn't talked to Baker about playing Sunday, there's little chance Phillips takes the field for a game that doesn't decide anything. The mark on Phillips' leg was still visible after the game, but he said he felt better and had no doubts about playing in the upcoming Wild Card Game.
"I'm just going to come to the field, get a lot of treatment and try to get everything going so I can be able to help the team win on Tuesday," Phillips said. "As long as I'm playing Tuesday, that's the only thing on my mind."
Baker brings perspective to offensive struggles
CINCINNATI -- Like any Reds fan, Friday night's 4-1 loss to the Pirates was agonizing for manager Dusty Baker. In a game in which Baker said Cincinnati gave away runs, the Reds had just one at-bat with runners in scoring position, and it ended with a Homer Bailey groundout.
The offense has been in a funk throughout the homestand, scoring just six runs en route to a 1-3 record. Although Baker has been as frustrated as anybody, he tried to bring some perspective to the situation on Saturday.
"I've said it 100 times. It's not easy to sit over there and watch your team struggle to hit," Baker said. "But they say hitting a baseball is the most difficult thing in sports to do. And then they say that good pitching beat good hitting. And then when you don't hit, they ask why you're not hitting. That doesn't really make any sense if you think about those first two things."
Whether it's been the result of good pitching or not, the Reds' bats have gone relatively cold since winning five of six to close out their recent road trip before playing their final six games of the season at Great American Ball Park.
In the first four games of the homestand, Ryan Hanigan (3-for-7) and Shin-Soo Choo (6-for-16) were the only Reds with more than two hits. The offensive woes have plagued Joey Votto (2-for-12), Brandon Phillips (2-for-15) and Jay Bruce (1-for-15), who along witch Choo have been the most productive Cincinnati hitters this season in terms of average.
Hitting, Baker said, is all about adjustments, and after 160 games -- including 17 against the Pirates -- entering Saturday there has been plenty of chances for adjusting back and forth. Baker also added that the difference between a hit and an out can often be a matter of inches if guys are hitting balls right at people.
In an effort to get things rolling, Baker moved Ryan Ludwick into the two-hole on Friday, and he was there again for Saturday's game. Ultimately, though, Baker said now is not the time to be making wholesale changes in any regard, and it's key to remain confident the recent struggles will end before it's too late.
"You got to do the things that got you to this situation," Baker said, "because you know you're going to go through times when you're up and down -- especially offensively. ... There's a lot of factors in there."
Worth noting
• Saturday's game vs. the Pirates was the Reds' 15th sellout of the season at Great American Ball Park, tying last season's franchise record.
• Derrick Robinson celebrated his 26th birthday on Saturday.
Mark Sheldon is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Mark My Word, and follow him on Twitter @m_sheldon. Jeremy Warnemuende is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text:
You can customize your training computer display to show the information you find helpful during training. You can do this either directly on the training computer or via Polar ProTrainer 5 software.
Polar CS400/CS600/CS600X/RS400/RS800/RS800CX offers up to 5 different customizable display views for training. Each view shows 3 rows of data so that you get the best possible guidance on how you are doing during the training session.
If you are training with an exercise program downloaded from Polar ProTrainer 5 software, you get an extra display view that you cannot customize. For ready programs, please visit Polar Training Plan Bank.
To customize display on the training computer
1. In the Time display, press OK (red button).
2. Select Settings and press OK.
3. Select Display and press OK.
4. Select Edit and press OK.
5. Select the view you want to edit and press OK.
6. Select upper row information is displayed. Press OK.
7. Use Up and Down buttons to scroll through the available data. Press OK to confirm selected data.
Repeat to customize middle and bottom row information.
The available information depends on the training computer model, and which of its available features are enabled.
To edit displays via ProTrainer 5 software
1. Connect your training computer to the computer.
2. Click or select Tools → Edit Polar Product Settings.
Connection window appears and settings data are read from your Polar product.
3. Select Product tab in the settings window.
4. Click Customize Display Sets and select the data you wish to see for each row in each display. Click OK.
Available display options depend on your training computer features.
In some models, you can edit displays also in Bikes or Run tab.
- Bikes tab gives option to customize each bike its own displays. Available display options depend on the sensors in use.
- Run tab gives option to customize displays when using speed/pace measurement.
5. Click Transfer. The edited settings are sent to your training computer.


text:
Great Lakes Gas Transport, L.L.C.
Second Revised Volume No. 1
Contents / Previous / Next / Main Tariff Index
Effective Date: 11/01/1993, Docket: RP97-157-006, Status: Effective
Original Sheet No. 207 Original Sheet No. 207 : Effective
EFT Service (Cont'd)
Unless otherwise mutually agreed in a written amendment to this
Agreement, for each dekatherm of gas transported for Shipper by Transporter
hereunder, Shipper shall pay Transporter the maximum rate provided under Rate
Schedule EFT set forth in Transporter's effective FERC Gas Tariff, including
the Fuel and Loss Charge, if applicable. In the event that the Transporter
places on file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("Commission")
another rate schedule which may be applicable to transportation service
rendered hereunder, then Transporter, at its option, may from and after the
effective date of such rate schedule, utilize such rate schedule in performance
of this Agreement. Such a rate schedule(s) or superseding rate schedule(s) and
any revisions thereof which shall be filed and become effective shall apply to
and be a part of this Agreement. Transporter shall have the right to propose,
file and make effective with the Commission, or other body having jurisdiction,
changes and revisions of any effective rate schedule(s), or to propose, file,
and make effective superseding rate schedules, for the purpose of changing the
rate, charges, and other provisions thereof effective as to Shipper.
Shipper agrees to reimburse Transporter for the filing fees associated
with this service and paid to the Commission.
Term of Agreement
This Agreement shall be effective as of ___________________ and shall continue
in effect for a period of ______________, [and shall continue in effect
thereafter until terminated by either Shipper or Transporter upon six (6)
months written notice to the other].
Points of Receipt and Delivery
The Point(s) of Receipt for all gas that may be received for Shipper's
account for transportation by Transporter, and the MDTQ applicable to each
point of receipt, shall be:
The Point(s) of Delivery for all gas to be delivered by Transporter
for Shipper's account and the MDTQ applicable to each point of delivery shall


text:
Planning well ahead seems essential to someone who quilts. Looking for fabric and patterns (or portions there of) with an ultimate vision is realistic enough, but I wonder how many quilts to store in the noodles? Ive about a dozen planned for family and friends before getting around to my own bed, about three in the works mentally and one in practice. What do I do to keep it all straight? What is a good plan of attack when planning quilts and how far ahead should one plan? Keep a journal or notebook?
Ive been purchasing fabric ad hoc with the various projects in mind, but am afraid of forgetting what goes where and exactly why I purchased it to begin with. Quite honestly Ive little room to store a ton of fabric, otherwise I would.
PS. I do this with music and the writ as well; having ideas and executing them are two entirely different things I find and imagine it the same here.


text:
Thomas Pink white shirt from Shutter Island seen with Mark Ruffalo (Chuck Aule)
As Seen on Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) in Shutter Island
THE ASSISTANT: It's the 50s: tailored suits, classic cars, and a few murders. In Shutter Island Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) tries to be Teddy's (Leonardo Dicaprio) right hand man, but when he gets nearer to the truth, Teddy quickly slips into a psychological nightmare.
Scroll down to see more clothes, outfits and products identified from Shutter Island.
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"The Oprah Winfrey Show" has been on the air longer than "Twilight Saga" star Robert Pattinson has been alive, and when the talk show host wraps up her 25th and final season in 2011, she'll leave behind an enormous television legacy filled with some of televisions most memorable moments.
Here's a look back at Access' Top 10 Oprah moments:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Big Hair! Wild Fashions! Oprah Winfrey Over The Years
10. Mackenzie Phillips Reveals Incest (September 24, 2009)
When she decided to give her first television interview about her claims she had been involved in what turned into a consensual, ongoing incestuous relationship with her father, Mamas & The Papas mainman John Phillips, Oprah Winfrey was the TV host Mackenzie Phillips turned to.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Oprah! Ellen! Regis! TV's Favorite Talk Show Hosts
9. Oprah Joins Tina Turner On Stage (2005)
Oprah may not have pipes of gold, but that didn't stop the TV talker from joining Tina Turner on stage in Las Vegas at the legend's invite. Oprah, in a tight fitting black outfit, held her mic low, and shimmied alongside the legend. Reflecting later on in the DVD for her 20th Anniversary, Oprah said it was while on stage with Tina that she really learned how to just "enjoy the moment."
8. Oprah's Favorite Things (2004, 2005)
VIEW THE PHOTOS: The Queen Of TV Talk — Oprah Winfrey
Tickets for "The Oprah Winfrey Show" were always hard to get, but never moreso than during the "Oprah's Favorite Things" episode, which the host usually held around Thanksgiving. In 2004, Oprah decided to give goods like Burberry scarfs, Dooney & Burke bags and Sony VAIO notebook computers to a needy bunch – teachers. And a year later, she found another worthy group for the free swag – volunteers who helped out those affected by Hurricane Katrina.
7. Oprah Takes On James Frey (March 16, 2006)
After being endorsed by Oprah's Book Club in 2005, sales for James Frey's "A Million Little Pieces" skyrocketed. But a few months later, The Smoking Gun published an investigative story revealing that much of the book was more fiction than fact.
Oprah brought the author back on her show to confront him about his claims and she held nothing back. "I have to say, it is difficult for me to talk to you because I feel really duped. But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers," Oprah said, before going on to pick apart most of Frey's claims in his book.
6. Kirstie Alley Bares It In A Bikini (November 6, 2006)
In 2006, Kirstie Alley had become a tabloid target over her full figure. Paparazzi would follow the former "Cheers" star to the burger joint eagerly snapping away as she munched down on lunch. But the actress vowed to lose the weight and she promised when she did, she turn up in a bikini on Oprah.
On November 6, 2006, the then-55-year-old star lived up to her promise, sashaying out in a brown two-piece.
5. New Cars For Everyone! (September 13, 2004)
In 2004, for her 19th season premiere, Oprah literally made the day of everyone in her studio audience by giving each one of them the keys to a brand new Pontiac G6. Nearly 300 people (276 to be exact) walked away with swanky cars worth an impressive $28,400.
4. Oprah & Gayle's Big Adventure (Summer 2008)
In 2008, lifelong best friends Oprah and Gayle took a road trip in a Chevy Impala. The two gave viewers an inside look at their close friendship, the bickering that comes with being on the road with your best friend and a whole lot of silliness as the two drove cross country hitting Las Vegas, Graceland and ending in New York City. In October 2009, Rosie O'Donnell recalled the trip while making a barb after Howard Stern asked her why there are so many rumors that Oprah and Gayle are gay – rumors they've denied. "When they did that road trip, that's as gay as it gets," Rosie quipped.
3. Oprah's Historic Michael Jackson Interview (February 10, 1993)
When Michael Jackson decided to give his first television in more than a decade, he picked Oprah for the honor, inviting the talk show queen to his home at Neverland. The 90-minute interview was seen by more than 100 million people around the world and nothing was off limits. From addressing rumors like whether he bought the Elephant Man's bones (he said he didn't), to his changing skin color (which he said was a family inherited condition), it was all fair game. (Child molestation allegations weren't made against the star until after the interview aired)
2. Oprah Gets In Her Skinny Jeans (November 15, 1988)
Oprah may have gotten into her size 10 Calvin Klein jeans for her November 15, 1988 episode, wheeling out a wagon of lard the equivalent to the amount she lost, but it was not to last.
"Two hours after that show, I started eating to celebrate — of course, within two days those jeans no longer fit," she told USA Today years later.
1. Tom Cruise's Couch Jumping Incident (May 23, 2005)
Tom Cruise took a seat on Oprah's new angled interview couch on May 23, 2005, but it wasn't the fascinating furniture that people remember – it was what the "Mission Impossible" star did to it.
After bringing up Tom's then new love Katie Holmes, the actor quickly became animated, standing up, kneeling and moving about, but it was after Oprah said, "We've never seen you like this before," that things quickly escalated. Tom jumped up on to the custard colored couch leaving Oprah to declare, "You're gone. You are gone."
Later, during an appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman," Oprah explained what she really thought of the moment. "I don't think he's nuts. I had never seen him that way before… I think that that's what love does to you when you're just all impassioned, but I do have to say I was really surprised by it. I didn't expect it… and was just trying to move with the flow," she said.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
PLAY IT NOW: Ellen DeGeneres Reacts To Oprah Leaving Network TV
PLAY IT NOW: Gayle King On Oprah Leaving TV: 'Isn't It Great To Go Out On Top?'
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Oprah Winfrey - TV - TV One - Mackenzie Phillips - Michael Jackson


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By Amanda Wicks
There are all sorts of symbols associated with gay pride, but Adam Lambert may soon start a new fad thanks to the fresh ink he recently got.
Related: Adam Lambert Shows Off His 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' Character
The pop star got a new tattoo on his flank, which he showed off on Instagram yesterday (October 3). The black and white design features the head of Antinous, the Greek youth who was a lover of Emperor Hadrian way way back in the day aka circa 120 B.C.
Lambert posted on Instagram, "(look him up)" after sharing the name behind the design. After Antinous' death at only 29 years old, Hadrian deified him and he has since become synonymous with homosexuality in Western culture. Lambert's tattoo, therefore, is a proud symbol of his sexuality's heritage, one that moves past more traditional symbols like the rainbow flag.
It looks like Lambert's new tat hurt, which isn't surprising since he chose to get it along one side of his rib cage. After posting the design, he also shared a picture of his face while the artist worked on his tat. "Face while GETTING said tattoo. #ouch #seared #likeaknife #whatislife," he wrote.
Check it out below.


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Octopussy: Maud Adams
Swedish model-actress Adams was gorgeous, the only woman to play a leading love interest in two different movies (she got offed halfway through The Man With the Golden Gun), and the only one to have a whole film named after her character. And yet, for all that, do you remember a single thing about her biggest role? Neither do we.


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The old gang's all here to celebrate Thanksgiving and help the newbies prepare for sectionals.
But coming home isn't always easy as Mercedes, Quinn, Finn, Puck, Santana and Mike express in their return medley.
The previous members of New Directions slow things down with their mash-up of Simon and Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound" along with "Home" by Phillip Phillips. With little else but a piano, the gang goes for a quieter take, letting the lyrics speak for themselves.
With past grads home they decide to come by the old high school and help Finn out with the glee club. The Unholy Trinity-Quinn, Santana and Brittany—even reunite to teach the ladies a thing or two about singing with their tride and true rendition of "Come See About Me" by The Supremes.
Off in New York City, Kurt and Rachel are having a quiet Turkey Day celebrating like orphans. But the duo gets a special guest when they're joined by fellow misfit, Isabelle (Sarah Jessica Parker).
The trio go disco with their combination number that mixes Scissor Sister's "Let's Have a Kiki" with "Turkey Lurkey Time" from the musical, Promises Promises.
We imagine this is probably not your grandmother's kind of Thanksgiving.
While some would take a few days to recoup from feating, these kids have to get back to work. It's sectionals time people! And the stakes are high this time around. So high in fact that at least one person gets slapped in the face.
The boys of the Warblers are back and they're going pop with an impressive cover of One Direction's "Live While We're Young."
They also tackle hip-hop with their cover of Flo Rida's "Whistle," which shows off their impressive whistling skills.
New Directions on the other hand tackles Psy and his viral hit "Gangnam Style." Yes, it finally happened and it only took eight episodes!
Tina even gets a chance to show off her Korean, which actress Jenna Ushkowitz says she learned in a week specifically for the episode.
What do you think? Do they have the chops to win sectionals?
– Shannon Carlin, CBS Local


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Trade Toney douglas. We would be up by 40 if he never came on the floor. Package jordan or something, teams are desperate for 7 footers, we don't even play him so it wouldn't matter, get a guard that can play.
Trade Toney douglas. We would be up by 40 if he never came on the floor. Package jordan or something, teams are desperate for 7 footers, we don't even play him so it wouldn't matter, get a guard that can play.
Hate to gripe about something small when we've looked better, but wish we'd try something with these 1.5 seconds remaining type things, even the old christian laettner-esque long pass to one of our big guys, hoping they get the catch, then turn and shoot quick. I know it's not big odds but its a chance of more points or drawing a foul, and if pass is picked on other team's end no harm done. Not a real big deal I realize, but seems like another thing blown by coaching to me, if there isn't any real risk why not take every extra chance. Football I get cuz at 0.00 a team can return a pick til play ends, but NBA if they pick off the pass who gives a crap, maybe, maybe they can chuck a full court but chances are by the time they have enough control the half is over. Idk, whatever
"Tough times don't last forever, tough people do"
I'll be impressed with Laundry when he consistently holds enemy shooting guards at bay. Steals are cool and a system thing, I wanna see better on ball D against some real comp before I believe in him again.
Let me see who's to come
Clyde gonna break Whoopi off after the game lol
Real Talk
I cringe every time I see Giraffries set the pick and roll because even if he has a clear lane he finds a way to turn it over or get fouled which means missed shots either way. Well at least we're winning... against the Pistons tho...
Laundry "Perfect From The..." Fields looks like his old rookie self, anticipating and percolating.
Girafferies and Spinning, 2 words that should never be used together, leads to nowhere but bad news.
Melo, healed with a couple days off. what else was Coach Macaroni to do?
Start Girafferies? don't make me laugh-eries!
STAT looking better, spacing is better, not banging knees.
Toney D still lost, so sad. what happened to the kid. still got a shoulder boo-boo?
Good first half, one of the best we've seen all year, against the Pissed-Ons.
they're gonna be the Sh*t-Ons before we're through.
nobody wanted to trade tony douglas in a deal for crawford "omg hes our best defender we cannot trade him no no way no"
win today to make us 8-13, next 3 games were gonna end up being 0-3 losing to the nets to add the cherry on top.


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There's So Much TV for a Tuesday Night
How great was that kid on Louie last night? Get used to seeing a lot more of Devin Druid in the very near future. As for tonight, the only thing I really care about is the season premiere of Pretty Little Liars, which either makes sense to you as a fellow human being or does not. Mostly I'm just glad we're getting more fully into the summer season. Like the swallows returning to Capistrano, those ladies signal better than anything that summer has once again begun.
At 8/7c. there are new episodes of 19 Kids & Counting, Bad Girls Club, and Famous In 12, a special one-hour presentation of True Tori, and the continued America's Got Talent auditions. I can't pretend I've gotten any closer to understanding what Fox's Riot even is, but I do know that two of comedy's most inscrutable humans, Rob Delaney and David Arquette, will be appearing on it tonight. And of course, Pretty Little Liars picks up back in NYC with some surprising people dying and some other surprising people not being dead.
At 9/8c. there's a fair amount of stuff going on, for this time of year. The NBA finals continue on ABC, Royal Pains enters its sixth season of being a show that is a secret, and ABC Family's new cancer-ridden romcom drama Chasing Life debuts. Meanwhile in what we jokingly call reality television: I Wanna Marry "Harry" introduces its "Prince William," the Little Women of LA continue to make strides toward acceptance by acting horrible in bathing suits, and the Real Housewives Of New York City say hello to an old, dear friend named Kelly Bensimon, popularly known for the even-keeled, rational approach these women so desperately need. When in the tumult one must find an anchor, and if that anchor brings satchels of gold and is wearing a mask over her face for secret Kelly reasons, all the better.
At 10/9c., MTV's Awkward. leads into the Faking It season finale (renewed!) and the still-stellar Playing House continues on USA. If adults solving crimes and/or medical conditions is more your bag, there's NBC's Night Shift and Fargo on FX. And if that doesn't give you enough feelings to get you through the night, MTV's following that up with a special about the implacable and yet mysterious phenomenon known as Ed Sheeran at 11/10c. or thereabouts.
What do you think? Are you mostly just waiting around for Teen Wolf to start at this point, or will the Sheeran thing get you through? I liked the duet with him on the Taylor Swift album and he seems affable, but other than that I still can't get a read. He looks like Debbie from Shameless, which I can't deny increases my warmth toward him tenfold. Are you tired of people talking about Pretty Little Liars? Do you know what Twitter is and, if so, are you sick of that show wearing Twitter like a glove for 24 hours every week?
What is the wisest lesson you have learned from Pretty Little Liars? (Mine is "Act Normal, Bitch." Obviously.) What is the wisest lesson you have learned from Twitter? (Mine has been that no matter how guilty and self-loathing you feel with a hangover, everybody is the exact same kind of stupid when they are drunk.) What is the wisest lesson you have learned from Ed Sheeran? (Mine is that you don't have to take your clothes off to have a good time. Especially when you are chilling with Taylor Swift.)


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Ahead of the opening of the 2013 Combine on Friday, the SuperDraft "Big Boards" have begun to make their appearances.
MLSsoccer.com's Simon Borg, Matt Doyle and Jason Saghini ran through their initial thoughts on the first 19 selections for Thursday's SuperDraft.
Manneh (L) or Hurtado (R) could make for
interesting offensive projects
Simon and Matt both agreed on the Fire's choice at 11th overall, saying they thought Frank Klopas and Co. would select Generation adidas signing, Gambian forward Kekuta Manneh, while Saghini differed with his pick of midfielder Erik Hurtado from Santa Clara.
Having just turned 18, Manneh seems to be a wild card in this draft. During the 2010-11 U.S. Soccer Development Academy campaign, the 5-9 forward tallied 35 goals for the Texas Rush.
The closest teammate to him goals scored was Marco Molina at seven.
Manneh didn't play in the Academy league this past year but the then 17-year-old did suit up for the USL Premier Development League's Austin Aztex, tying for the team lead in goals with 10 in 12 games before adding three more in two playoff matches.
Hurtado is a bit more of a known quantity. The Beaverton, Ore. product was a four-year stand-out at Santa Clara where he was actually teammates with current Fire defender Jalil Anibaba in 2009.
The attacking midfielder led the Broncos in goals all four seasons, tallying 33 to go along with 20 assists over 76 matches.
The last two summers, he's suited up for the Portland Timbers U-23 PDL side, tallying an impressive 14 goals in 18 matches.
Elsewhere over at TopDrawerSoccer.com, J.R. Eskilson and Travis Clark projected the Fire to select Maryland midfielder John Stertzer 11th overall.
Maryland's Stertzer is another name in the Fire mix
A product of Oakton, Va., Stertzer tallied 25 goals and 14 assists over 79 matches between 2009-12.
Stertzer came into his own offensively over the last two seasons, bagging 21 goals and 11 assists and helped the Terrapins in their return to the NCAA College Cup this past December but is expected to take on more of a holding role in MLS.
What do you think of the three projected players? Certainly with two offseason additions in attack, none of the three may stick out to Fire fans on paper and all would seem to be sort of project players. Of course these are just initial lists and the Combine has a lot to do with the reshuffling of the draft order.
We'll be sure to keep up with the combine this weekend and the newest Mock Drafts to come out from it…


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Porter, Astros celebrate Humber's perfecto
By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Astros pitcher Philip Humber isn't one to bring much attention to himself, but manager Bo Porter certainly put him -- and the perfect game he threw last year for the White Sox -- in the limelight on Thursday.
Porter arranged to have Rangers catcher A.J. Pierzynski, who caught Humber's April 21 perfect game against Seattle, to call from Arizona as the Astros' players gathered in the clubhouse to have a sparkling cider toast to celebrate Humber's accomplishment.
"It was kind of cool," Pierzynski said. "It's not every day you get to do that. It was nice of Bo to include me, especially for Phil. He's a great guy."
Porter wanted to take the opportunity to honor an event that has happened so few times and is universally celebrated throughout baseball.
"Obviously, it's quite an honor and it's special when you're able to accomplish pinnacles in this game," Porter said. "We're grateful to have Philip Humber in our organization and get him over from the White Sox, but we wanted to acknowledge him today."
The team also acknowledged bullpen coach Dennis Martinez, who threw the 13th perfect game in history in 1991 for Montreal. Humber threw the 21st perfect game in history last year, just a couple of months before Matt Cain accomplished the feat against the Astros.
"It was really cool," Humber said. "It was good to do something like that. Nothing to do with me, just to have something for the team to come together. I thought it was a good deal. I wasn't expecting it. It was fun for everybody."
When Thursday's workout concluded, Porter took the pitchers and catchers to a conference room upstairs at Osceola County Stadium to watch the final three outs of Humber's perfect game.
"We made an adjustment with the [post-workout] shaking hands, and we moved that indoors and we had a little video set aside for the guys," Porter said. "The last three outs of the video [were] Humber's last three outs of his perfect game, and then we shook hands."
Gonzalez takes scenic route to Spring Training
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- No Astros player had a longer trip to Spring Training than pitcher Edgar Gonzalez.
About 12 hours after he helped his native Mexico win the Caribbean World Series in Hermosillo, Sonora, last week, Gonzalez packed his white truck with his luggage and began an 1,800-mile drive to Kissimmee that took him 34 hours to complete.
He stopped in Laredo, Texas, to pick up a friend and spend the night. He wound up spending about $700 in gasoline.
"It's a big truck," Gonzalez said.
Still, Gonzalez said being behind the wheel was better than flying.
"I had all my luggage in my truck and that was an important thing," Gonzalez said. "I put everything in my truck, and I like to do that. If something happens, I have my truck and I have everything in there. No problem. I don't like to fly and pay for extra luggage, because it's extra, extra, extra. I bring like six pieces of luggage, and if I can fly, I can only bring two or three. I figured that was much better."
Nameless jerseys are team-first message
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- This isn't exactly the best year for the Astros to not put the names of players on the backs of their Spring Training jerseys. After all, only 22 of the 61 players in camp this year were at camp a year ago, and the 40-man roster has seen a 50-percent turnover since the end of the season.
Still, manager Bo Porter told the players on the first day of camp he wants them to earn the names across their backs by making the club on Opening Day. Until then, it's numbers only on the backs of the team's jerseys.
"It was explained to the players exactly why," Porter said. "The name on the front [is what] matters, and we have 25 guys that will earn the right to have the name put on the back, and that will be the 25 men that will make this ballclub. It definitely was done by design. It's a message sent to them that it's all about the Astros."
The players were on board with the notion.
"Bo said we have to earn our names when we get to the big leagues," pitcher Rudy Owens said. "It makes sense and gives you something to look forward to."
Trainers err on side of caution as Ambriz rolls ankle
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- The Astros saw their second minor injury of the spring when relief pitcher Hector Ambriz rolled his ankle during a drill. He was removed from the field to be examined by trainers and have the ankle taped.
"It's minor, but at the same time, we want to be careful this time of year," manager Bo Porter said. "They said it's a little tender, a little sore. He'll get treatment, and we'll re-evaluate him [Friday]."
Meanwhile, catcher Max Stassi, acquired in last week's trade with Oakland, was held out of drills for the second day in a row because of a strained oblique.
"We just want to be careful," Porter said. "He comes over here from Oakland, and it's something we knew about, but at the same time, it's too early in the spring to even push it. We're not close to playing games, and it allows us to get this thing healed so when he does get back on the field, he's ready to go."
Top prospects report early to camp
KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Second baseman Delino DeShields Jr. and outfielder George Springer, a pair of former first-round picks who are at their second Major League camp, reported to Osceola County Stadium on Thursday, one day ahead of the reporting date for players.
"It was a long winter," DeShields said after signing autographs for fans. "I'm excited to see the new environment and meet the new people. There's been a lot of changes. It's different, but I like it."
DeShields Jr. will get the chance this spring to work with legendary basestealer Vince Coleman, who's joined the Astros' staff.
Coleman stole 752 bases in 13 seasons in the Major Leagues, and became the only player in history to steal more than 100 bases in three consecutive seasons when he was with St. Louis (1985-87). He will be an outfield/baserunning developmental specialist assigned to Class A Quad Cities.
DeShields Jr.'s eyes lit up when he found out Coleman would be in camp; the prospect stole 101 bases last year en route to being named Astros Minor League Player of the Year.
"He's here? That's cool," DeShields Jr. said. "I'll be excited to talk to him and meet him and stuff, and see what he's got under his sleeves."
Worth noting
Astros manager Bo Porter is going to great lengths to make sure there's good chemistry in the clubhouse. He encouraged the players to bring music into the clubhouse earlier this week, and he's going to start having food delivered to the clubhouse following workouts to encourage the players to hang around and talk.
"You want to make it a place they want to come," Porter said. "I explained to the guys, some of your best lessons of playing baseball are with your teammates after you're done with your workout and you're just sitting around and talking about baseball, sitting around and talking about the day, the game and other teams. You talk about each other's families. You get to know each other. As an organization, we have to provide the atmosphere that helps create that culture."
Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com and writes an MLBlog, Tag's Lines. Follow @brianmctaggart on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Anyone else having this problem? As I complete what should be pre-registration, it tells me I have no event registered and starts it all over again.
I can't help, but I had the same issue several weeks ago.
Take 2 aspirins & try it in the morning.
Go like hell, You'll get there quicker
05-GS Rock Red 101k miles
Well, I was trying last night in IE7 at home when I couldn't after 4-5 attempts. I ultimately gave up.
Went to work today, and on a whim, tried it with Firefox, and voil?á! Registered, even though I have to fly in. It was that or not come...
But now I am!
Pre-Reg worked fine this morning for me, using Firefox. Also renewed membership while I was at it.....
Frustrating. I tried both IE7 and Firefox and in both cases I get past the screen where I enter my age and my bike information then the next screen tells me my cart is empty. Guess I'll have to call to register. This happened to me on a different computer a couple months ago when I first tried to register. Anyone else having this problem?
Finally got it to work on the 3rd computer. Not sure why it worked on this one. One difference was this computer is running IE6, not IE7 or Firefox like the others.
I got it to work, but signing in was a bit tricky.
"If you can't fix it with a hammer, it's electrical." -somebody's dad
I was able to register myself, but they have put on a limitation of one person per registration. Thus, I can't register my wife/passenger. I guess I'll have to call them.


text: Why are we not talking about Wesley Johnson to the raptors, a long quick 3 with a good shot and entering only his 3rd year. He will be playing behind Beasley where he was hidden during his whole career in Minnesota and will continue to be hidden in Phoenix. For the raptors he could become that great small forward we need. He was a very high draft pick that was and will be underutilized.


text: Course format: Two afternoon laboratories per week (1:00P-5:00P, MW OR TR, MY 059). Requirements: Course in molecular biology or consent of instructor. Course description: The recent completion of sequencing of human genome is most important development in history of biological sciences that would revolutionize not only the understanding of the human genome, but will change our understanding of life in general. This success is based on the development of a number of new molecular biology techniques that first were applied to the task of studying human genes but eventually became widely used in all areas of biology. This course will introduce you to these new techniques. The human genome is of great interest and is the subject of intensive basic and applied research. Molecular biology techniques used in this research are highly advanced and unique. Learning these techniques will permit you to learn basic principles of molecular biology and also will prepare you to work with the human genome. These skills are in great demand by biotechnology, forensic analysis and pharmaceutical companies. Besides providing basic experience and understanding of the principles and practice of cutting edge molecular biology techniques, the course will provide you with an opportunity to analyze and study your own genes. To date no other university offers a course like this to undergraduates. Experiments and topics of the course: 1. Preparation of human genomic DNA. Each student will prepare DNA from his or her own cells. 2. DNA fingerprinting using RFLP analysis with human 33.1 DNA probe. Techniques used in the course of this experiment: • Restriction enzyme digestion • Reverse field agarose gel electrophoresis • Southern blot transfer • Preparation of non radioactive probes • Hybridization and chemiluminescent autoradiography 3. DNA typing by PCR i.e., DNA fingerprinting using single locus analysis. In this experiment students will type their DNA with probes used in standard forensic analysis. 4. Linkage disequilibrium analysis using physical markers on chromosome 12. Loci used for this analysis are Alu CD4 locus and the TTTTC repeat element. This analysis is based on the paper of Tishoff et al. in Science: 272;1380-1387 that established a common and recent African origin for all non-African human populations. Students will perform PCR analysis of both loci and analyze results by high-resolution agarose gel electrophoresis. Computer analysis of the data will consist of calculation of linkage disequilibrium of the class sample. Results will be compared to the disequilibrium found in different world populations. 5. Sequencing of human DNA using ABI capillary sequencer and BigDye technology. Students will prepare their DNA for sequencing using random sequencing strategy used by Human Genome Project. Techniques used in the course of this experiment are: • Preparation of a random sequencing library by nebulization • Preparation of DNA fragments for cloning (DNA end repair) • Cloning DNA fragments into a sequencing plasmid • Transformation of E. coli cells by electroporation • Selection of transformants with inserted DNA • Preparation of plasmid DNA • PCR cycle sequencing and preparation of the samples for automatic sequencing using an ABI capillary sequencer 6. Analysis of sequencing data with computers. Students will carry out the following analyzes: • Local alignment analysis with Blast and Fasta • Determination of expression of sequenced DNA using databases such as ESTSDB, ALUDB and ICRDB (genes expressed in cancer cells) • Global alignment analysis e.g., Dot-matrix analysis, GpC island analysis, ORF analysis • Analysis of direct and inverted repeats (self-Dot matrix analysis) 7. Determination of human telomere length. The telomere length is a reflection of the "mitotic clock" of normal somatic cells and therefore age-dependent. In the course of this experiment, students will determine telomere length using their DNA. Techniques used are: • Multi enzyme digestion of genomic DNA • High-speed agarose gel electrophoresis of DNA fragments • Turbo-blot transfer and hybridization • Preparation of DIG-labeled probes by PCR • Computer analysis and determination of average telomere length 8. Analysis of actin gene expression. Students will isolate RNA from their cheek cells and determine actin gene expression using RT-PCR. Techniques used during this experiment are: • RNA isolation and purification • Determination of RNA purity and concentration • Isolation of polyA+ RNA. • RT-PCR reaction and data analysis using high-resolution agarose gel electrophoresis Required text: "Basic Techniques in Molecular Biology" by Stefan Surzycki. Springer-Verlag. 2000. Weekly assignments: One chapter from the text and viewing one VCR "tape of the week." Exams/papers: Two take home exams and three laboratory reports.