text:
Well, on use.perl.org, anyway. I'd like to thank those who run this place for doing so, as it's been the place I've blogged about my Perl 6 stuff for the last couple of years. However, I've found the user experience of WordPress a lot more enjoyable - it was great for the Perl 6 Advent Calendar - and figure I'll blog more if I more enjoy doing so.
So, from now you'll be able to read my Rakudo news and other Perl 6 related ramblings from my shiny new blog. For those reading through Planet Six, no action required - I'll arrange for my new blog to be aggregated there.
See you over there.
On Friday I flew from rainy Sweden to scorching hot Kiev to attend a combined Perl Mova + YAPC::Russia. The passport queue wasn't overly long, and I'd happily managed to be hand luggage only, so I wasn't too long in the airport. I planned to take the "official" bus, but before it appeared I heard a lady shouting about a mashrutka going to the center, so I took that instead. Understanding basic Russian - well, it coulda been Ukrainian too - sure comes in helpful. I was dropped by a metro station, leaving the 15 euro-cent (yes, really) metro ride a few stops to where I was staying - a hotel right on the main Independence Square. I was a little bemused as I checked in to be spoken to in a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian, by the same person in the same conversation.
My plane had been slightly late, so I was also slightly late joining the pre-workshop dinner. After I'd filled up on a tasty dish of borsch, we wandered on to a pub that offered no less than 22 different beers. I was...happy.
I was worried I'd sleep badly in my room since it was a little hot, but I actually slept really quite well and was nicely refreshed for the hack meet. There were a lot of people there hacking on all kinds of different projects. Some folks were interested in contributing to Rakudo, and so we gathered around on a table and I helped each of them find and get started on a task. It went extremely well - everyone in attendance contributed Rakudo patches or code that allowed us to close an RT ticket right there on the day, or that will after I apply patches. Of note, people who were new to Rakudo hacking:
I think it goes without saying that this is really quite impressive, especially given they had to share one Rakudo core hacker between them for guidance. In fact, I even had time to cook up a few patches myself amongst guiding others! It was great fun to hack alongside such pepole. I handed three spectest repo commit bits out that day, and I think they were all used. It's experiences like the one at this hack meet that make me really glad that we're writing most of Rakudo in Perl 6 or a restricted dialect of it - all of the above tasks required (apart from a one line change in one of them) no PIR or C knowledge at all. Some of those at the hackmeet said they may find time for a bit more Rakudo hacking in the future, which would be really great.
Day two was talks day. I had one 40 minute talk on Perl 6 signatures which went well. I received some great questions, and I hope I answered them all to people's satisfaction. Later on, I gave a lightning talk about Rakudo * and what it would contain, and showed off a simple little example site that used Rakudo Perl 6, including the modules JSON::Tiny by moritz++ and FakeDBI by mberends++ along with Blizkost (sorear++ for that) to get at the Perl 5 CGI module (though I'll refactor it to use Web.pm in the near future - I just wanted an excuse to show off Blizkost). The evening was, of course, more food and beer, and a lot of fun.
The final day of the workshop was a bit different - a river cruise! It was very relaxing, and gave me yet another way to enjoy this beautiful city. Certainly good for unwinding after a workshop. Most people left either after that or were flying home today; I on the other hand used "no direct flight on a Tuesday" as an excuse to get another day to potter around Kiev, and today I've enjoyed doing exactly that, gently strolling between my favorite sights and stopping in the odd open air cafe in a park to keep myself refreshed in the somewhat stuffy weather. Soon it'll be time to take my last dinner here, an evening stroll and maybe find some outdoor place to sit and nurse a final beer before it's time to get some sleep before my flight home tomorrow.
Beautiful Kiev. It gets harder to leave each time I come.
Recently I moved to Sweden to join startup company Edument. They are, happily, very open to and supportive of my involvement in the Perl 6 project, and are organizing and sponsoring me to give a talk on Perl - both 5 and 6 for the Dataföreningen in Malmö on Tuesday 27th April. I believe this is only open to those who are members of the user group; if you are, feel free to come along though.
I spent my Easter up in Uppsala with masak++, who it turns out is not only awesome at breaking Rakudo, but also a great host. Amongst a lot of memes, bad puns, wonderful noms (I learned how to make kötbullar!) and even a Czech beer, we got quite a bit of Perl 6 hacking done too.
On the first evening, we managed to fix up a bunch of issues with various escape sequences in regexes and strings, and also the fact that "\$x" was failing to escape the $ since we made ng the new master! I fixed a longstanding bug that annoyed masak so much that he dedicated a whole blogpost to it, did some work on enforcing zone constraints in signatures and, in an awesome bit of collaborative development along with colomon++ and moritz++ wired up their new reduction implementation to the reduction meta-operator parsing stuff. That means that you now have triangle forms of the meta-ops, chaining meta-ops work and right-associative ones do the right thing too. We never had any of these right before.
Spurred on by the interpolation work on the previous night, on the next day I started looking at what it would take to implement more of the interpolation bits, and after a bunch of hacking I accidentally the whole lot of it. You can now interpolate indexes into both arrays and hashes, calls to subroutines and method calls on all of these. The way this works in Perl 6 parsing-wise is really neat: we just call from the quote parser back into the standard expression parser, but giving it a few constraints so it knows only to parse the things that are allowed to be interpolated into strings. It's a fairly directly following of STD - we differ in a couple of minor ways for now, but the approach is the same.
Along the way, I used the regex tracer that pmichaud++ had implemented while developing the new grammar engine, and noticed that we seemed to be dropping into a lot of protoregexes we shouldn't have been. A little more exploration and I realized that we were failing to calculate a bunch of constant prefixes for regexes. Fixing that gave a 5% saving on parse times.
The day after that, I worked on something I'd really been putting off because it's hard and painful: making the setting the outer lexical scope of user programs. While some languages define a prelude, Perl 6 essentially defines a "circumlude" - it's as if your program was running as an inner lexical scope inside the built-ins. That means that you find just about everything through lexical scoping. I got the first difficult 80% done and committed, but I suspect I've now got another really difficult 80% left to go, and probably another really really difficult 80% after that. Along the way, I fixed some bugs to do with scope modifiers "leaking". Anyway, to prove it helped somewhat, I tossed a whole bunch of "our"s that had been in as hacks while we didn't have the setting as an outer lexical scope. I suspect that perfecting this is going to be a large chunk of my work on Rakudo over the next couple of weeks.
The last day, I did the (relatively easy, thanks to all the groundwork I had laid during my signatures grant) bits of work to get us able to do smart-matching against signatures. This deserves an entire post of its own, and I'll write one for you soonish, but essentially you can use it to write a given/when that dives into a hash/array/object and looks at whats in it, just using declarative signature syntax. It's just like having a sub-signature on a parameter passed to a block or routine, apart from the signature object stands alone. By the way, I do plan to submit a talk on signatures for YAPC::EU - I'm really quite excited about the declarative power they offer that goes far, far beyond a better way to do parameters than Perl 5's @_. Especially in combination with multi-dispatch.
masak++ spent a good portion of the time working on Temporal/DateTime spec and starting an implementation to back it up. It has to be one of the most bikeshedded areas in the Perl 6 spec, with plenty of "let's do something SO clever" thinking along with the much more sensible "we want something minimal but useful in the language itself, and the clever stuff belongs in modules". Anyway, masak++ and mberends++ for having the patience and diligence to take on something that we really need a finalish answer on, amongst all the various opinions people have on how it should be done. I'm hopeful that we're now approaching the point where we have something that works for the vast majority of use cases, and the answer to anyone who it doesn't work for is simply, "go write a module".
Anyway, that was The Easter Hackathon! For those not following the commits, I'm happy to report that others are also committing bits here and there, and we're steadily working towards brining you Rakudo *.
The last week has brought some sad news. While software is of course insignificant compared to life and health, and it's absolutely right that at this time Rakudo should be the last thing Pm should be worrying about, I know a lot of people will be wondering what this means for the Rakudo * release. Myself and the other Rakudo developers are still working out the exact details, but here's an overview.
There's been a lot of exciting progress in Rakudo recently - the ChangeLog for the last release gives a bunch of it, but we've done a whole load more since then too. I'll try and blog about some of it soonish. In the meantime, I'd like to thank all of the Rakudo and Perl 6 team for being amazing to work with on this, and my thoughts and prayers are with Pm and Paula.
It's been a while since I scribbled anything here, so a few quick updates.
First, an update on me. Since last time I wrote, I've moved country. Yup, I actually left behind my beloved Bratislava and I'm now hacking from Lund in Sweden. The beer - like everything else - is more expensive, and I don't have views of a beautiful city castle from my apartment here. But the city is overall very pleasant, I'm located a short walk to the center and the train station, and the supermarkets have a great range of international nom (and HP sauce!) I've yet to try the nearby curry house, or any of the other many appealing restaurants here, but I'm optimistic there will be plenty of WIN. Anyway, here's hoping I can get nicely settled down here.
I was greatly assisted with the move to Sweden by Perl 6 hacker Martin Berends, to whom I am extremely grateful. On the way, we went via the Netherlands Perl Workshop. I gave a couple of talks; I'll get the slides online shortly. It was really lovely to be at the Netherlands Perl Workshop again - the atmosphere was every bit as warm and friendly as I remembered from the last time. To everyone who organized and attended: thanks for a wonderful couple of days.
In the couple of days before the move and during the NPW, mberends++ and I hacked on a shiny new project: Zavolaj! It is a way of doing native calls from Perl 6, just by adding a trait to a stub subroutine, and is a first draft for native calling in Perl 6. The upshot is that we now have a working MySQL client written using Zavolaj, in pure Perl 6! mberends++ is continuing to build this out, and happily this all means that Rakudo * will ship with database access, amongst other things. (I've also done an example of calling a Win32 API, and we're both pondering an ImageMagick binding with it too).
My first days in Scandinavia were actually mostly spent in Copenhagen, at a Perl 6 hackathon organized by Copenhagen.pm - a group I hope to drop in on now and then, since I'm only an hour or so's train ride away. There's a wonderful write-up by moritz++ that tells a lot of what went on, and I can only echo his sentiments about how much fun it was to hack and hang out in meat space with other Perl 6 folks. I'm already looking forward to the next time we get to do that!
Rakudo wise, the work goes on at a good pace. I've been working on lots of bits, and colomon++ has been having quite the patch fest too. The release later this week is a good step forward from last month's release, which was the first after the ng branch was merged. We've won back a lot of functionality again, and this is the first release ever that has some basic support for versioned modules - a direct consequence of the hackathon - and also regexes taking parameters, thanks to a patch from bkeeler++.
Anyway, that's all for now. Only to note that I expect to be making it to the Nordic Perl Workshop in Iceland in May, and with a bit of luck to the Perl workshops in France and Ukraine too (will take some fun logistics to do the two, but I did miss the French Perl Workshop last year, and I always really love to visit Ukraine, so I'll try and work out a way). Have fun, and I'll try and blog again soonish!
My signature improvements Hague Grant is pretty much wrapped up. I wrote a couple of posts already about the new signature binder and also about signature introspection. In this post I want to talk about some of the other cool stuff I've been working on as part of it.
First, a little background. When you make a call in Perl 6, the arguments are packaged up into a data structure called a capture. A capture contains an arrayish part (for positional parameters) and a hashish part (for smok^Wnamed parameters). The thing you're calling has a signature, which essentially describes where we want the data from a capture to end up. The signature binder is the chunk of code that takes a capture and a signature as inputs, and maps things in the capture to - most of the time, anyway - variables in the lexpad, according to the names given in the signature.
Where things get interesting is that if you take a parameter and coerce it to a Capture, then you can bind that too against a signature. And it so turns out that Perl 6 allows you to write a signature within another signature just for this very purpose. Let's take a look.
multi quicksort([$pivot, *@values]) {
my @before = @values.grep({ $^n < $pivot });
my @after = @values.grep({ $^n >= $pivot });
(quicksort(@before), $pivot, quicksort(@after))
multi quicksort( [] ) { () }
Here, instead of writing an array in the signature, we use [...] to specify we want a sub-signature. The binder takes the incoming array and coerces it into a Capture, which essentially flattens it out. We then bind the sub-signature against it, which puts the first item in the incoming array into $pivot and the rest into @values. We then just partition the values and recurse.
The second multi candidate has a nested empty signature, which binds only if the capture is empty. Thus when we have an empty list, we end up there, since the first candidate requires at least one item to bind to $pivot. Multi-dispatch is smart enough to know about sub-signatures and treat them like constraints, which means that you can now use multi-dispatch to distinguish between the deeper structure of your incoming parameters. So, to try it out...
my @unsorted = 1, 9, 28, 3, -9, 10;
my @sorted = quicksort(@unsorted);
say @sorted.perl; # [-9, 1, 3, 9, 10, 28]
It's not just for lists either. An incoming hash can be unpacked as if it had named parameters; for that write the nested signature in (...) rather than [...] (we could have use (...) above too, but [...] implies we expect to be passed a Positional). For any other object, we coerce to a capture by looking at all of the public attributes (things declared has $.foo) up the class hierarchy and making those available as named parameters. Here's an example.
class TreeNode { has $.left; has $.right; }
sub unpack(TreeNode $node (:$left,
say "Node has L: $left, R: $right";
unpack(TreeNode.new(left => 42, right => 99));
This outputs:
Node has L: 42, R: 99
You can probably imagine that a multi and some constraints on the branches gives you some interesting possibilities in writing tree transversals. Also fun is that you can also unpack return values. When you write things like:
my ($a, $b) = foo();
Then you get list assignment. No surprises there. What maybe will surprise you a bit is that Perl 6 actually parses a signature after the my, not just a list of variables. There's a few reasons for that, not least that you can put different type constraints on the variables too. I've referred to signature binding a lot, and it turns out that if instead of writing the assignment operator you write the binding operator, you get signature binding semantics. Which means...you can do unpacks on return values too. So assuming the same TreeNode class:
sub foo() {
return TreeNode.new(left => 'lol', right => 'rofl');
my ($node (:$left,
say "Node has L: $left, R: $right";
This, as you might have guessed, outputs:
Node has L: lol, R: rofl
Note that if you didn't need the $node, you could just omit it (put keep the things that follow nested in another level of parentheses). This works with some built-in classes too, by the way.
It works for some built-in types with accessors too:
sub frac() { return 2/3; }
my ((:$numerator,
say "$numerator, $denominator";
Have fun, be creative, submit bugs.
Tomorrow's regularly scheduled Rakudo release is the first one since the long-running "ng" branch became master. It represents both a huge step forward and at the same time a fairly major regression. Internally, the changes are enormous; some of the biggest include:
Every one of these - and some others I didn't mention - are important for getting us towards the Rakudo * release. The downside is that since we've essentially taken Rakudo apart and put it back together again - albeit on far, far better foundations - we're still some way from getting all of the language constructs, built-in types and functions back in place that we had before. It's often not just a case of copy-paste; many of the list related things now have to be written with laziness in mind, for example.
So anyway, if you download tomorrow's release and your code doesn't compile or run, this post should explain - at least at a higher level - why. After a slower December and January, Rakudo development has now once again picked up an incredible pace, and the last couple of week's efforts by many Rakudo hackers have made this release far better than I had feared it was going to be. If we can keep this up, the March release should be a very exciting one.
Today plenty happened in Rakudo land - in fact, it was my most active day's Rakudo hacking in quite a while. colomon++ also made some great commits, and between us a lot of things moved forward today. For my part, hashes and pairs are in much better shape.
I wrote before that I'd got some Rakudo days left to write up; there are two of them, but I'll cover them both in this post, since some of the work crossed the two of them anyway. Here's what I got up to between them.
Thanks to Vienna.pm for sponsoring me to hack on Rakudo, not only for these two days, but also throughout 2009!
Several days before Christmas, encouraged by my mum asking, "when you're going to start your Christmas break", I stopped working and hacking on stuff and started relaxing. Until then, I hadn't realized just how tired I was. I slept quite a few ten hour nights in the following week, and had an enjoyable Christmas break. I'd figured I'd maybe take a week or so's break, and then get straight back to things, but a week on I had no motivation or energy to dig in again whatsoever. So, I decided my break would go on through New Years. New Year's celebrations this year involved curry - something I certainly wouldn't mind it involving again.
Early January brought several days in Sweden, part of planning for an upcoming refactoring of my work/location - there's details on my personal blog, but the short version is that I've accepted a job at a Swedish startup and will be moving there in March. It's not full time, so I'll continue to have time for Perl 6 development. They know about and, happily, are supportive of my involvement in Perl 6 and my continued attendance of Perl conferences.
I spent a weekend in Prague on the way home. I did it by train rather than flying, which was enjoyable. It snowed almost my entire time in Prague, and I caught a cold in the following week, but it was kinda worth it to wander around this beautiful city. Didn't bother studying Czech at all, and sorta got by with speaking Slovak, though some folks heard me speak and immediately concluded English would be easier.
Anyway, I eased back into some work in January, but mostly took it quite easy. The happy result is that, come February, I'm finding myself recharged and ready to dig back into things again. I got some nice commits done to Rakudo yesterday, and today I meant to, but instead participated on an interesting thread on p6l and did some other useful meta stuff (like this post). Tomorrow should have plenty of hacking time though, and I'm looking forward to it. I also have a couple of blog posts to do about Vienna.pm-funded Rakudo Days I did in December, but never got around to writing up; thankfully I did make notes on what I did on them.
Anyway, that's what's been up with me. If you take away anything, it's that you may not realize how much you need a break from something until you take it, and if it's not the only thing putting food on the table, then it's probably better to take the needed amount of break and come back revitalized. I guess the other option is to dig back in regardless, but I suspect that's the path to burnout, something I'm quite keen to avoid.
More technical blabbering here soon.


text:
Mourning the loss of Clara Stanton Jones
DPL's first woman and African American Executive Director dies at the age of 99.
Clara Araminta Stanton, born on May 14, 1913 in St. Louis, Missouri, was the older of two children of Etta James Stanton and Ralph Herbert Stanton along with her beloved younger sister Esi (Etta). She also had three loving older brothers, LaJoy, Lawrence and Herbert who were offspring of her father's previous marriage and whose mother passed when they were young.
Clara and her sister grew up in St Louis with their mother, a school teacher, and father, an insurance man and surrounded by a large and close extended family of aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents. She spoke lovingly of the joy of weekends and summers when all of the relatives would gather at their grandparents' house in Carondolet on the outskirts of St. Louis. It was a forgone conclusion that all five of the children would go to college. Thus, the three boys went off to college at Marquette University in Wisconsin when Clara was quite young (since there were no colleges that would accept African American males in the state of Missouri).
Clara's love for reading began at a very young age. She was always an excellent student and said that reading would take her to lands and places that fascinated her. She developed quite an imagination and zest for life. Some days she would play tennis from sun up to sun down. Hearing of the adventures of her brothers in college far off, Clara dreamed of having the experience of going away to college also. Clara graduated from Sumner High School in 1929 and, like many young professional women of her day, planned to become an elementary school teacher. Her dream was fulfilled when she was able to attend Milwaukee State Teachers College (MSTC) for one year before transferring to Spelman College. While at MSTC, Clara was one of only six black students in the entire school, and combined her academic studies with courses in modern dance and tennis and part-time jobs to help defray her college expenses. She also changed her mind about teaching and transferred to Spelman College in Atlanta, completed her undergraduate studies in 1934 and two years later went north to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to earn her degree in library science. Her class at Spelman was the first to be allowed to dance at their graduation in 1934. Also, ironically, Clara could not use the public library in Atlanta since it was segregated at the time.
While working at the Atlanta University library to save money for graduate school at the University of Michigan, Clara met and often had lunch with W.E.B. Dubois who guided her reading and who really inspired her. Dubois was on the faculty there. She also met her future husband of 70 years at the library, Albert DeWitt Jones, who was doing graduate work in social work at Atlanta University.
Clara and Albert married in St. Louis on June 25,1938 after she completed graduate work in library science at the University of Michigan. They lived in New Orleans for several years where Clara worked in the library at Dillard and Southern Universities.. The couple had their first two children in New Orleans, Stanton William and Vinetta Claire. They moved to Detroit in 1944 when Clara accepted a job as librarian in the Detroit Public Library system. Their third child , Kenneth Albert, was born in Detroit.
Albert worked many years as a social worker after attending graduate school at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University and receiving a Masters in Social Work at the latter. Clara's library career culminated in her being appointed the first Black person to head a major public library system (Detroit), the first to be elected as President of the American Library Association and the first person to be named visiting Regents Scholar in Library Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Clara and Albert retired and moved from Detroit to Oakland, California, in 1978. Other highlights of Clara's career included:
- She advocated and won the passing of the "Resolution on Racism and Sexism Awareness" in 1977 despite the ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee's recommendation to the ALA Executive Board that the resolution be rescinded. She wrote, "The spirit of the "Resolution on Racism and Sexism Awareness" is not burdened with repression; it is liberating. If the resolution is imperfect, try to make it perfect, but not by destroying it first!"
- Clara founded the community referral system called TIP -- for "The Information Place" while she was Director in Detroit. TIP was replicated in libraries throughout the country. It helped people get in touch with all kinds of agencies. There was no Google then. TIP was huge, and is still used extensively. In 1984 in Oakland, Clara founded a Black women's dialogue group, Black Women Stirring the Waters, where the special perspectives of black women were explored in a full range of fields: education, art, politics, the media, literature, health, history, genealogy, culture, technology, business, social and economic trends and foreign policy. In 1997 because of their concern about the media's failure to provide realistic images of black women in all their diversity, the group published a book of 46 members' vignettes on their lives as a legacy to be passed on.
- President Jimmy Carter appointed Jones as Commissioner to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science in 1978. She served this post until 1982.
- Jones received the Trailblazer Award in 1990 from the Black Caucus of the ALA (American Library Association), the highest award given by BCALA. The award recognizes individuals whose pioneering contributions have been outstanding and unique, and whose efforts have "blazed a trail" in the profession.
- In 1975 Clara received The University of Michigan Athena award, the highest award for an outstanding graduate for Humanitarian Service. In 1978 She received the Distinguished Service Award from Wayne County Community College.
- For her pioneering work in urban libraries promoting them as a tool for opportunity for all, the people's university, she was awarded honorary doctorate degrees at her beloved Spelman, the University of Michigan and scores of other colleges and universities across the country.
Clara and Albert nurtured their three children with expectations of excellence and a sense of responsibility reflected in the phrase, "Those to whom much is given, much is expected/required." Their older son, Stanton, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and combat pilot, is Owner of Stanton W. Jones & Associates Management Consulting.. Vinetta is a professor of educational psychology and former Dean of the School of Education at Howard University. Kenneth is a nuclear engineer and former Vice President of Northrop Grumman, a White House Fellow, and is now Director of Programs at Saft America. Clara and Albert have served as loving role models to their seven Grandchildren: Allison, an attorney, Ellen Marie, a research scientist, Angela, an MBA and entrepreneur, Stanton, an attorney, Clair an engineer and Hazel and Albert, college students. The couple also had seven great grandchildren: Brittany, a student at Howard University, Elijah, Joshua, Harvis, Brandon, Clara (her namesake) and Amelia. Clara was a devoted wife and mother and loving friend to so many. She had two daughters-in-law, Linda and Gladys.
Reflections on Clara in her family role are clear -----she was the heart of our family. To touch her was to feel unconditional love. She could find some good or a lesson to be learned in whatever we did. (Our father sometimes had a different perspective on our behavior that did not measure up in some area.) She was so soft and yet so strong. She loved life, she loved people. However, any adversaries of the Detroit Public Library, civil rights or her family who tangled with her found themselves outmatched. With her active career and busy schedule, she always made us feel we were the most important thing in the world to her. Even as adults when we would visit my parents at home, we would call it "going back to the well" to be renewed. She did do it all.
When we think of Clara the woman, the devoted mother, wife, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and friend, the matriarch of our family, the words that come to mind are: strength, gentleness, grace, beauty, brilliance, compassion, success, honor, wisdom, love and yes, she was regal. We are blessed to have had her, both in quality and longevity, 99 years. Now she will be with us always in our hearts. Her legacy is a beautiful life well lived --- truly a renaissance woman.
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text:
The office of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) has released the 2011 edition of its annual "Wastebook." The document spotlights 100 particularly ridiculous expenditures of taxpayer money from the past year. From an entertainment standpoint, it's pure gold. But it's also infuriating, depressing, and a painful reminder of what happens when politicians and bureaucrats spend other people's money.
Downsizing Blog
Jack Link's Presents: Messin' With Taxpayers
If you're a taxpayer and you like beef jerky, I have good and bad news. The good news is that Jack Link's is expanding the production facilities at its corporate home in Minong, Wisconsin. The bad news is the expansion is being "made possible" with a $365,000 federal grant to Minong for infrastructure upgrades.
USPS Gives Congress More Time to Kick Can
Last week, the U.S. Postal Service filed a plan with its regulator to close half of its mail processing facilities and reduce delivery standards in order to reduce costs. I called the move a message to Congress because "the USPS is running on financial fumes and Congress is still trying to figure out how to kick the can down the road."
Reality, Meet Education Policy. Education Policy, Please, Meet Reality!
Nobody wants to be the guy — especially the Congress-guy — who says that we need to cut education spending. Nobody wants to be the target of attacks from both the well-intentioned and politically opportunistic that they hate children, only care about "the rich," or any of the other deviousness that long ago snuck up behind reasoned debate, threw a rope around its neck, and pulled it backwards.
Obama and Daniels Team Up to 'Shovel' Subsidies
The Indianapolis Star recently profiled local boy makes good (handing out other people's money) John Fernandez, the ex-Bloomington mayor and Obama fundraiser who now heads up the Economic Development Administration. A reference to an EDA taxpayer handout to a technology park in southern Indiana caught my eye:
It Was those Bad Speculators That Drove the Housing Bubble...
A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York examines the role of speculators in driving the housing bubble. Setting aside the fact that almost everyone who bought a house was "speculating" to some degree, the researchers focus on those who were buying homes they did not intend to live in.
No Free Lunch in Subsidy Programs
Extending the extra unemployment insurance benefits would be bad for the federal budget and bad for the economy, and there is a better long-term solution for unemployment than the current UI system.
USPS Sends a Message to Congress
On Monday, the U.S. Postal Service filed its proposal to reduce service standards with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC). The USPS is seeking to cut costs by closing about half of its mail processing facilities, which would mean slower mail delivery. Given that the USPS is running on financial fumes and Congress is still trying to figure out how to kick the can down the road, management apparently decided that it had to act.
Income Inequality Data Has Flaws
In the Wall Street Journal yesterday, Alan Reynolds pointed out some of the flaws in the data being used in the income inequality debate. Far too many policymakers, analysts, and reporters assume that the data showing rising inequality is carved in stone, but it isn't. Some portion of the supposed change in income inequality in recent decades is a statistical artifact due to changes in marginal tax rates and other factors.
Four More Things Washington Shouldn't Do
AEI's Rick Hess and Stanford's Linda Darling-Hammond—two folks who don't always see eye to eye—have a New York Times op-ed that decries federal micromanagement in education, then lays out four things they think Washington should do.


text:
Thrush is a very common word for those of us who have been spent any amount of time around horses. It is one of the more common diseases of the equine hoof. But does everyone know what thrush is? How do you prevent it, or how do you treat it once it has set up shop within your horse's hooves?
Thrush is characterized by a thick, black discharge.
Thrush is a disease of the foot that usually occurs within the frog (the wedge-shaped structure on the bottom surface of the foot) and its sulci (the grooves next to and in the middle of the frog). The disease is characterized by a very soft frog and sulci. When the frog is picked out, a thick, black discharge is present that is easily removed from the sulci. There also is a characteristically pungent odor. Once smelled, it will never be forgotten, and you have your diagnosis.
The disease is thought to be caused by a bacterium. Usually thrush does not cause lameness if the disease stays in the superficial external and non-sensitive area of the frog. However, if left unchecked, the disease can extend into the sensitive tissue of the frog and make horses quite sore. They might flinch as you clean the sulci. Thrush can progress to a severe lameness that can be seen at a walk--much like a hoof abscess. The infection in general leads to degeneration of the frog. Thrush also can cause enough degeneration of the frog that portions of that structure have to be removed by your veterinarian or farrier.
Thrush is most commonly associated with poor management practices or conditions. It can be seen in horses which are allowed to stand in paddocks or stalls that are full of wet manure, or just in horses which do not regularly have their feet cleaned. However, this disease is also seen in horses which are never allowed to stand in manure.
Thrush can also occur in horses, for example, that wear full pads underneath their shoes. The full pad is good because it will protect their feet from rocks or help absorb shock in order to prevent lameness. On the other hand, the full pad does not allow the hoof to be cleaned on a regular basis. As a result, shavings, straw, or dirt, but most importantly moisture, get trapped underneath the pad and stay there for six to eight weeks--until the shoes are reset. As a result, this long-term exposure to moisture and bacteria sets up the perfect environment for thrush to thrive.
I am not saying don't ever put full pads on your horse's feet. I am just warning that if your horse develops thrush after wearing full pads, he/she might need to have the shoes reset more frequently than the usually recommended six to eight weeks. If the disease is mild, the feet can be treated for the thrush while the shoes are being reset. Basically, horses are at risk for developing thrush in any condition where the bottom of the hoof is kept in a damp environment.
How can you prevent thrush?
It's simple. Keep your horse's feet clean. Every time you groom your horse or before every ride, you should pick out the feet. Don't forget to clean the frog and the sulci--don't just remove the shavings or dirt trapped in the sole. This is an excellent practice not only for preventing thrush, but also in checking for any foreign objects that might have found their way into your horse's foot, such as nails or rocks. So, you can prevent several potential problems with one hoofpick.
Also, try to keep your horse's stall or paddock as clean and dry as possible. If you live in an area like I do--Central New York state--it is impossible during the months of March through June to have anything short of a mudslide in your paddocks. But daily foot cleaning will help offset the otherwise muddy conditions and will go a long way in helping prevent thrush.
What do you do if you find the hallmark signs of the disease in your horse's feet? First, clean the feet. Make sure you have removed as much of the black discharge as possible. Then, allow the feet to dry. There are a number of commercial products that are available to help dry the feet and rid the foot of the infection. Some examples are Kopertox, or Thrush Buster. Other medications can be used such as a dilute bleach solution, tincture of iodine, or a 10% formalin solution. These solutions can be applied topically to the frog to help resolve the infection (watch your clothes; most of these products will stain them forever). Wearing gloves to protect your hands is a good idea.
Be careful though. Overzealous use of these products can damage the frog by drying it out too much. In addition, most of these chemicals are strong tissue irritants and are very capable of causing chemical burns of the frog and skin if used in excess. The thrush may be long gone, but the foot remains quite sensitive from the chemical irritation of the treatment--use these products as directed and don't overtreat. Also, avoid getting these products on the coronary band and soft skin area of the pastern. If you don't think you are making headway with the infection within a few days, contact your veterinarian. There might be another problem brewing within the hoof.
Thrush Or Canker?
There is another disease of the hoof which can be confused with thrush. This disease is called canker, which is why you should have your veterinarian out to check your horse if you don't get resolution of the supposed thrush infection quickly. Both of the diseases primarily affect the frog area, at least in the beginning. Canker more commonly affects draft-type horses, although it has been seen in light breed horses. Canker also has a very foul odor that accompanies the disease similar to that of thrush. So, the unfamiliar can be fooled. The difference between thrush and canker is that with canker, the tissue in and around the frog is not destroyed, but proliferates (grows excessively).
The cause of this disease is unknown, and although secondary infections of the hoof usually occur, a purely bacterial origin has not been proven. Left untreated, the disease can become extensive, and it can distort the hoof quite dramatically. These two diseases also are treated a bit differently, so early distinction between the two is important.
Canker usually is treated by removing the abnormal tissue, either with the horse standing or sometimes under general anesthesia if extensive debridement of the hoof tissue needs to be performed. After the abnormal tissue is removed, aggressive topical antibiotic therapy is instituted. One of the most important aspects in treating this disease is keeping the hoof in a clean and dry environment. Therefore, the foot often will need to be kept in a bandage for the duration of the treatment.
More On Thrush
What if you examine the hoof and the entire frog is unhealthy or perhaps even loose? For these cases, your veterinarian and/or farrier needs to get involved. A hoof pick just won't do the job. The diseased frog will need to be removed along with any other unhealthy tissue with a sharp hoof knife. Sometimes a bar shoe will be recommended to give support to the much smaller frog after the tissue is removed. However, these cases are not very common.
If you are having trouble resolving the infection or if your horse is lame, please consult your veterinarian. He or she can confirm whether or not your horse has thrush and recommend further treatment if necessary.
About the Author
Christina S. Cable, DVM, Dipl. ACVS
Christina S. Cable, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, owns Early Winter Equine in Lansing, New York. The practice focuses on primary care of mares and foals and performance horse problems.
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text: One special night – Feb 2nd at the Continental Club (Houston) with RENALDO DOMINO (Numero – Twinight), BARBARA LYNN (You'll Lose a Good Thing), and ARCHIE BELL (Tighten Up)! A FISTFUL OF SOUL will be spinning throughout the evening! LTD edition hand screened prints available at Sig's the evening of the show! Click on poster to buy your tickets NOW!!


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THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE SECURING OTHER DEBTS AGAINST YOUR HOME. YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON YOUR car insurance.
*Correct as at 15th January 2008


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Would be a damn good move for Seattle
Would be a damn good move for Seattle
Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter
Trade bw MINN and SEA for Percy Harvin contingent upon a new contract for Harvin; contract likely to be completed in next 48 hours.
Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora
Trying to nail down which picks changing hands in Harvin to Seattle trade, and what contractual changes coming. but regardless huge for SEA
Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
Everyone talked about how many picks Niners has going into the offseason ... Seahawks had 11, plus probably two more compensatory picks.
Albert Breer @AlbertBreer
Harvin's a heck of talent. But he's also grown a reputation as moody and unpredictable. Payoff could be huge. Risk is considerable too.
Worthy to point out that Harvin is injury prone and has off the field issues and is going on the last year of his deal. Thus, he will be making big money. Yet, the ocmpensation will probably be at least seattle's first round pick.
Still can't see how the best CB in the game who is injured, but will be likely to recover, has no off field issues and is looking to get paid like Harvin can't be worthy of at least a first round pick. Hopefully this Harvin trade helps the jets make a revis trade.
Seahawks acquired WR Percy Harvin from the Vikings in exchange for undisclosed draft-pick compensation.
So much for Rick Spielman's denials. The Seahawks will open the season with 24-year-old Russell Wilson throwing to 27-year-old Sidney Rice, and 25-year-old Harvin and Golden Tate, with 27-year-old Marshawn Lynch in the backfield. Already one of the league's premier defensive teams, Seattle's offense now rivals any in football in terms of explosiveness and playmaking ability. We expect Harvin to lead Seattle in receiving, and his fantasy value should remain among the top-15 wide receivers. While the fantasy effect on Rice and Tate is unlikely to be positive, it's a gigantic plus for Wilson's.
Source: Jay Glazer on Twitter.ESPN's Adam Schefter confirms Seattle's trade for Percy Harvin will net the Vikings the Seahawks' first-round pick in the 2013 draft.
It's the 25th pick, and there may be more compensation. The trade is also pending a physical, but FOX Sports' Jay Glazer, ESPN's John Clayton, ESPN 1500 Twin Cities' Tom Pelissero, and Schefter have all confirmed it's a done deal. Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Seahawks will indeed be signing Harvin to a new, long-term contract. Schefter reports the new deal will be consummated within 24 hours. Harvin has been said to be seeking Calvin Johnson money. We suspect he's more likely to receive in the range of $12 million annually.
Related: Vikings
Source: Adam Schefter on Twitter
Jay Glazer @JayGlazer
Seattle sends this years first round pick and a 7th rounder as well as a mid-round pick next year for Harvin. Win-win for both teams
WTF!!! Seriously, what is Revis worth???
So a guy like Harvin who is coming off a season ending injury, isn't a Top 5 player at his position, and is looking to get paid is worth a 1st round pick...but Revis isn't?
Jason_OTC @Jason_OTC
#Redskins free up 8 million with release of Hall. He was half the reason for the cap penalties so this offsets it a bit
Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora
been saying for a while trade market would be robust this offseason. Harvin, Smith already done. Revis and Flynn still on deck. more to come
The media doesn't help. They all seem to think giving anything more than a second round for revis is too much. But when KC acquires Alex Smith for 2 second rounders, or percy goes for a 1 and more, it is a win win for all teams. Please!!
If injury prone, off field problem talented but not top 5 WR is worth a 1 and more, what should Revis be worth? What, he wants a new contract? so does Harvin. He is injured? sure, so is Harvin half the time, and if you are afraid if his injuries, make the picks contingent for 2014, that is fair.
Media is the issue and GMs trying to take advantage of our rookie GM.
Revis will be gone by Wednesday


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Hey Paul,
I will try to be there. I have some things going on possibly that day but if I can manage it I will be by. I hope to see you.
Hey Paul,
I will try to be there. I have some things going on possibly that day but if I can manage it I will be by. I hope to see you.
Not sure the waitresses will look like this.
Hope you can make it. Looks like about half-a-dozen so far.
Here is a little of what is on tap for you tomorrow.
It's already "tomorrow" in Thailand! All I have if this locally brewed Heineken.
See you in early September on the ride from Vt. to South Florida.
I went down to Wolffs Biergarten after work tonight and met up with Paulbach, Dan, Lisa, and Bob (enfoman). I enjoyed some dinner with a couple bratwursts, which were served with some sauerkraut, some smashed red potatoes, and a dinner roll. I also had a couple Spaten Octoberfests.
Clockwise, Paulbach, Dan, Lisa, Stephen (empeg9000)
Dan drank from the 2 liter Birthday Boot and had some of the house ale. You have to leave your ID at the bar if you want to imbibe from the birthday boot. It costs $40 should you break it.
Lisa had some from the Birthday boot as well.
Bottoms up! Dan had no problems polishing off the birthday boot.
I have a good time hanging out with everyone. Thanks to Paulbach for getting us together.
PS. Sorry for the low quality photos, everyone forgot their cameras and a cell phone camera was all we had.
That looked like a lot of fun! How were the eats?
Hey the pictures are fine and a great time was had by all. Lets do this again! Next time I'll remember the camera. I was sure it was in the top case. Wonder where it went?
Photo by ENFOMAN
Great time had by all! The loudness of the garden got higher as the night went on as more and more people came in through the front door although the firehouse garage door right besides it was wide open. That was a point of interest as we sat and had conversation. Also, It is great to have pics of Paul on the forum. Maybe he should forget his camera a bit more and be in more photos Although you do look to be a bit naked in the garden without it Paul!
First order of business when we get rolling this morning is to put a small camera in the riding jacket. But it is amazing how well the cell phone did saving the day.
Will be returning soon to Biergarten to get prices for the Brunch. Will be putting together another event soon. Hope more riders can join us. There are a lot of Beemer riders in the area but no easy way to contact them.
Maybe can schedule a weekend event that involves a ride and a stop for the brunch.
That big glass boot holds two liters and is FREE if you arrive on your birthday.
Food was good and reasonable priced - could get dinner for under $10. I had the Brats (two large beef brats, potato salad, sauerkraut and roll. Put down a ten spot and got change back. When ENFOMAN and I arrived there was no line. When EMPEG9000 got in line the wait tried one's patience.
Not bad for the first shot out of the box. Definately have to get bck for potato pancake night.
Oh one final note for anyone heading over, they take cash only. I only went with a $20 and I bought dinner for two so I had to hit up the atm in there at a $2 charge.
All in all it was a cool place to go and I will go back for sure when Paul organizes the next event.
Nice! Glad you had a good time, wish it was a little closer to South Jersey!
Bob Smith
2005 Rocket III
Thank you! Very, very informative. Will keep that in mind for the next birthday party.
Can you remember the German word for spontaneous good time. It was the theme of the Wisconsin Rally. Looked like geimenschaft but that is definitely not the word.
Last edited by PAULBACH; 03-20-2009 at 03:45 PM.
Close enough Bob. Or is it fahrvergnugen?
The History Channel's Modern Marvels tonight was on..... beer . The Bavarian beer drinkers talked about gemutlichkeit and what it means. They didn't mention a BMW rally.
My Smugmug


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Discussion in 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine' started by Photon, Feb 11, 2013.
vs Picard and the ENT-D crew.
A Janeway Locutus would be the scariest of all.
Sisko had no personal knowledge of the ENT-D crew, so he'd be less effective than was Picard.
"How do we beat an enemy who knows us better than we know ourselves"
If the Borg cube was up against the USS Saratoga, assimilating first officer Sisko might have made a difference there.
Otherwise, Sisko is just another meat puppet Borg slave.
The Sisko would have assimilated the Collective with the sheer power of his badassness.
In an alternate universe depicted in one of the novels, Sisko was assimilated at Wolf 359, and yet still managed to become the Emissary, even as a Borg.
Because he's just that badass.
Any particular reason why the Borg would want the first officer of such a small ship?
When Picard was taken, the Borg took the time to explain to him why - he was the captain of the most powerful ship Starfleet had, and thus, he would be their spokesman for the assimilation of humanity.
Given the Borg's own experiences with time travel, it's possible that they would be aware of Sisko's future exploits within the Federation.
Yes that and from a tatical standpoint. Sisko > Picard
That never made any sense to me. Why wouldn't the Borg just come in and assimilate the crap out of everyone? Why did they need a spokesman? What did the Borg plan to speak about? Maybe try to convince people that being assimilated really wasn't so bad after all?
Its possible the Borg did this with others. There's the initial contact (TNG 'The Neutral Zone'), threat assessment (TNG 'Q Who') and then assimilation (TNG 'The Best of Both Worlds, Part One').
Or it could just be how they handled spacefarin' races that could put up a defense, since Picard's tactical knowledge was put to use to get all the way to Earth.
The Borg traveled backward in time, not forward.
If they ever assimilated Sisko they would immediately realize they should send more than one cube at a time.
Jump to 6:20 in this video to find out.
Separate names with a comma.


text:
Yankees sign first two Draft picks
Heathcott lands $2.2 million bonus; Murphy gets $1.25M
By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com
Heathcott received a $2.2 million signing bonus from New York after being taken with the 29th overall selection in June from Texas High School in Texarkana, Tex. He was the first position player taken in the first round by the Yankees since 2005.
"We're looking at a high-end athlete with really good tools," Yankees director of amateur scouting Damon Oppenheimer said recently. "He's a guy that's really intense about the way he plays the game.
"He's an old-school guy in terms of the way he plays; he plays hard and gets after it. You're talking about someone that has a chance to be really pretty good."
Murphy, a power-hitting and strong-armed catcher from the Pendleton School in Bradenton, Fla., received $1.25 million. The Yankees also signed Vanderbilt right-hander Caleb Cotham, their fifth-round selection, to a $675,000 bonus.
Heathcott and Murphy will report to the Yankees' Gulf Coast League club in Tampa, Fla., while Cotham is set to join the Class A Staten Island Yankees of the New York-Penn League. The Yankees signed each of their top six picks and 10 of their top 12.
Heathcott has plus power to all fields and a strong arm. He returned from a severe left knee surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered while playing football.
The 6-foot-1, 196-pound Heathcott has been described by scouts as a plus defender at all three outfield positions, possessing speed and instincts that allow him to cover ground. He hit .457 (21-for-46) with four homers, 28 RBIs and 15 runs scored for Texas High.
Heathcott had committed to Louisiana State University, but had a scholarship offer recently withdrawn because it was believed he would eventually sign with the Yankees. The inking was important: had the Bombers been unable to sign him, they would not have been due compensation.
The signing of Heathcott comes one year after the Yankees were one of two Major League clubs unable to finalize an agreement with their first-round selection. Right-hander Gerrit Cole was taken 28th overall, but opted to attend UCLA instead.
Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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I spoke with a source dealing with Knicks jerseys and they said the blue color of the jersey will be much darker next season.
I spoke with a source dealing with Knicks jerseys and they said the blue color of the jersey will be much darker next season.
I got a nice Amar'e #1 for christmas. I don't think i'd care too much for a much darker blue. this one is poppin'
why a darker blue? i'd rather see a black jersey for the road
Quiggle's reputation has taken a huge shot. Tough to take anything he says seriously.
But if this is true its kinda odd. I like the Knicks away jerseys the way they are.
aka H2O
i dont think yall understand quiggles contributions to this forum..
ands knickssince92 would say, this guy is popping with swagger
Image hotlinked from a malware website // removed
no pics yet but the source is very reputable. yall said the same last year when I told you they were changing the numbers to three colors and laughed me off, how many colors are they now?
lol @ KingStarbury3
Now i know everybody hates this dude because all the thrash he talks (talked) about the knicks, and all the times he failed, but the only thing quiggle wasn't wrong about yet is jerseys. So if he says a change is coming, that might be true.
I love the shade we have now. It must be quiggle's fault


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Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School Returns to Summit Motorsports Park in June
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, 07 May 2013 10:17
Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School will return to hold its most popular course, the two-day Super Class, at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio. The one and only 2013 stop for the school at the premiere NHRA facility will be held June 10 and 11.
There are many reasons drivers give for attending one of Hawley's courses. Some are looking to improve their driving skills, earn or crossgrade their NHRA competition license, while some just participate simply to experience the pure thrill of wheeling a well-prepared, high horsepower drag car down the quarter mile.
"We hold our classes at many NHRA tracks and the staff, as well at the entire Summit Motorsports park facility, is one of the best you'll find anywhere in the country," said school founder and instructor Frank Hawley. "The Bader's make us, and our students, feel very welcome and give us a superb surface in which to conduct our course."
The two-day Super Class allows drivers of all backgrounds the opportunity to earn their NHRA competition driver's license in the school's Chevy Performance 572/720R equipped Super Comp Dragster or Super Gas Firebird, with some drivers even leaving the class with both licenses, all while being able to take in Hawley's reaction time clinic.
No experience is necessary to take the course and several spots are also available for drivers to participate in the class utilizing their own car for training, as well.
As with any of the Frank Hawley Drag Racing School classes or locations throughout the U.S., space is very limited for the class to be held June 10-11 at Summit Motorsports Park. Interested parties are urged to reserve their seat as soon as possible to insure they don't miss their opportunity to work with the Two-time NHRA Nitro Funny Car World Champion, Frank Hawley, when the school makes its one Ohio stop for 2013.
To view the Super Class in action or for more information on all available classes, dates and locations for Frank Hawley's Drag Racing School, visit the school's website – www.frankhawley.com or call 866-480-7223 (Outside U.S. 678-804-8835) Also on Facebook and YouTube!


text:
Watch These Dogs Who Really Hate Windshield Wipers — Daily Distraction
[onescreen item="5114238″]
We don't really have any friends—or, in this case, best friends—with strong opinions on windshield wipers.
They're helpful, sure, but they're one of the less remarkable features on a car. Some dogs, though, have VERY strong opinions on windshield wipers. And they do not like them. Not at all.
The Daily Distraction is your Internet break from reality. Whether you're eating lunch at your desk or avoiding high school exes on Facebook, you might just laugh, say "aaahhh" or not believe what you just watched.


text:
2014 RFA for Penn CFAR Pilot Grant Program in HIV/AIDS
Penn Center for AIDS Research (Penn CFAR) seeks applications to the pilot program offered through its Developmental Core. Proposals in HIV/AIDS clinical, pathogenesis, virology, immunology, structural biology, vaccine, epidemiology or prevention research are encouraged.
View the 2013 Developmental Workshop for an overview of the program.
The most recent submission deadline was March 2013; the NEXT pilot grant competition deadline will be in Spring 2014.
Award: We offer awards up to $40,000 for each grant. Grants are for a one-year period and are not renewable. It is expected that funds will be available in August 2013.
|Faculty members ("General pilot awards")
Post-graduate degree with an appointment equivalent to a staff scientist, assistant/research professor, associate/research professor, or professor at University of Pennsylvania, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, or The Wistar Institute.
A specific Mentorship Plan with a senior faculty member is strongly encouraged for junior faculty applicants
|Non Faculty members ("Mentored Research Scholar awards")
A one page mentorship plan with a mentor at the assistant professor level or above is required describing how this project will lead to independent funding.
Please also refer to the CFAR mentorship plan guidelines for expectations of mentored activities: http://www.med.upenn.edu/cfar/developmental_mentorprogram.shtml
We encourage applications from:
- New investigators who never have held extramural support from the NIH
- Established investigators who have not previously worked in HIV/AIDS
- Investigators who have worked in HIV/AIDS but are planning to undertake a new research direction that is a significant departure from their currently funded work
NOTE: Clinical Trials cannot be supported through this funding mechanism
The most recent submission deadline was March 2013; the NEXT pilot grant competition deadline will be in Spring 2014.
Important additional information:
Pre-Submission Mentoring Workshop for Junior and New Investigators:
A Pre-Application Mentoring Workshop is offered annually to help junior and new investigators craft a stronger research proposal. For info on the workshop or individual mentoring, contact Evelyn Olivieri, firstname.lastname@example.com.
|Pre-Submission Workshop:
|Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013
1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Room 252 BRB
International Applications:
All applications that include an international component should be discussed with Dr. Tebas, firstname.lastname@example.com, prior to preparation of the application.
Applications based in Botswana must be reviewed and approved by Dr. Harvey Friedman, email@example.com, before submission to determine feasibility and related expenses.
Pablo Tebas, M.D. (Director CFAR Developmental Core)
Luis J. Montaner, D.V.M., M.Sc., D.Phil. (Co-Director CFAR Developmental Core)
Evelyn Olivieri (Associate Director, Coordinator of the Pilot Program, Penn CFAR )


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She was born Jan. 22, 1929, in Phoenix, Ariz., to John and Lois Stover. She loved singing and dancing. She was a homemaker and in her later years enjoyed spending time at Clarksville Senior Citizens Center.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Robert Swaim; four sisters; and a brother.
She is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law, Doug and Connie Swaim and Eric and Regina Swaim; one daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Terry Payton; eight grandchildren, Amber, Jourdyn, Terry, James, Richard, Xandra, Mystina and Treylan; eight great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and a sister, Lucille Wieliman.
The family will conduct a memorial service at a later date.
Arrangements are by Shinn Funeral Service of Russellville.
An online obituary and guestbook are available at www.shinnfuneral.com.
Paid obituary


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ATLANTA -- Innovolt has introduced a cloud-based reporting system that allows enterprise users to remotely monitor business-critical electronic environments. Called Innovolt Management Cloud, the program offers customers the ability to receive and analyze key information, including the type and frequency of power-related events at each location.
In conjunction with the debut of IMC, the company also is rolling out its Power Doctor Smartphone Adaptor for smartphones. It is designed to read data generated by Innovolt's electronics management appliances and upload it immediately to the cloud platform. It works in conjunction with the Innovolt App, now available for iOS phones and slated for Android release in the near future.
Innovolt explained that users could simply plug the Adaptor into a smartphone and, using the Innovolt App, optically read performance data associated with the asset's environment. The data can be uploaded directly into the IMC, and is available for analysis from any Web-enabled device.
Businesses today increasingly rely on electronic assets that are vital to their brand reputation and ability to serve customers, the company pointed out. But these sophisticated digital assets are susceptible to disturbance related to the power supply, temperature, weather-related events and others. Without the ability to understand how the environment is impacting electronic equipment, executives are left in the dark regarding the impact of location environments on valuable equipment, which can increase service-related costs and parts expense.
These disturbances also affect businesses through lost revenue, lost profitability, shortened asset life and lost customers, the company emphasized. The IMC program is designed to arm businesses with added tools to improve their defenses against environment-related difficulties in order to maximize the performance of expensive and sensitive technology assets, reduce service costs, improve customer satisfaction and extend the useful life of equipment.
The Power Doctor Smartphone Adaptor application will be available at Apple's iTunes App Store.
Innovolt designs, manufactures and markets electronics protection technology. The company exhibited power supply protection systems at the National Automatic Merchandising Association's recent OneShow in Las Vegas.
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November 12, 2009
KStew: Devil Woman or Little Green Man?
I can't work out exactly what she's trying to be... suggestions?
See more out-takes from one of the best shoots ever (Vanity Fair being over all winners with Harpers Bazaar in close running) at KStewartSource
- Lorabell
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text:
Comment Re:Time to move search engine companies (Score 1) 162
Exactly. Why should a non-american trying to search a access *outside* the U.S., limited to a list of sites approved by the U.S. law? Just because he's using an american search engine?
This sucks. It seems it wasn't enough for the U.S. to destroy the global economy, they want to destroy the internet, too?


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This is a fundraiser like no other fundraiser. Statues will come to life. Music will move. Wine will soothe and food will nourish.
That's not all.
The art will enrich your being, and the surroundings will entrance you.
Put it all together and you've got a sensational evening for a sensational cause.
It's "An Evening in Tuscany," the fourth annual fundraiser for Always There on Sept. 24 from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Lazy Swan Golf and Country Club in Saugerties.
The event will be live streamed by Stella May Productions, in conjunction with the Freeman.
The Kingston-based agency that's been going strong since 1970 provides a broad range of health-based services throughout the Mid-Hudson Valley. It helps residents of all ages by providing in-home care and health services and quality-of-life programs.
Each year, Always There helps more than 1,800 Ulster County residents, providing care to clients in their homes.
"A lot of people don't realize we take care of everyone from preemies on up to Hospice," said Jami Anson, the director of development at Always There. "We have everything from personal care, right up to running errands ... to physical and occupational therapy ... to nutrition."
The fundraiser is meant to benefit the adult day program, which offers engaging activities, hot meals and camaraderie to senior citizens in a safe environment.
While a nursing home can cost between $120 and $180 a day, the Always There adult day program runs as little as $49 a day, Anson said.
With transportation to and from either of the facilities at 918 Ulster Ave. in Kingston or 221 Canal St. in Ellenville, the cost is just $52.
"With the adult day program, they get to go home happier and healthier to their families," Anson said. "There's health where there is socialization. Just that interaction makes a world of difference. Our seniors revel in it."
Always There, a nonprofit agency, is also looking to expand its services to Northern Dutchess County, according to Anson.
The fundraiser adopted the Tuscany theme after committee member Kathy Reed vacationed in the northwestern region of Italy four years ago.
"It was so friendly and full of sunshine and wine and sunflowers and good food that, when she came back, she really wanted to give a flavor to our fundraiser, so she developed 'An Evening in Tuscany,'" Anson said.�
A lot of planning goes into it each year to make it an enjoyable experience, she added.
Not only will this year's event include live entertainment from Stella May's singing waiters, but music from Crossroads, a Hudson Valley blues band.
A cocktail hour and wine tasting will kick off the night, followed by a silent auction that will include valuables like jewelry, gift certificates and vacations. Dance performances by Always There's living statues will be part of the entertainment.
Anson said whenever someone drops a donation in a bucket, the statues will come to life and perform everything from tap dancing to ballet. That will be followed by a Tuscan-flavored dinner served by singing waiters.
Stella May Productions, which is supplying all the equipment and expertise to live stream the event, is furnishing the singers and may include actor and vocalist Stephen Tenner, who co-owns Stella May.
"I don't get to perform too much because I'm so busy with the business, so it will be nice and for a good cause," Tenner said.�
Anson said singers from the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice are also expected to perform.
The night will end with an awards ceremony, recognizing those unsung heroes who have made a difference in the lives of the program's senior citizens.
Lyle Schuler, the owner of MAC Fitness, will be presented with the individual Make A Difference award, while Horse Shows In The Sun will receive the agency award.
Anson said 10-year-old Joseph Bendelius, a classical pianist, will also be recognized for the countless hours he has given playing for the seniors.
"He comes and brings so much life into the adult-day care program," she said. "It's that positive energy I love seeing from people in the community."
Anson said all of the proceeds will go toward Always There's adult day program. Last year, An Evening in Tuscany raised about $14,000, she said, adding she hopes to equal or better that amount this year.
Tickets are $100 per person and include dinner, the wine tasting and entertainment.
Anson said even in this economy, that's a deal.
"As far as I'm concerned, you get a lot for the money," she said. "It should be a lot of fun."
WHAT: "An Evening in Tuscany"
WHEN: Sept. 24 from 6 to 10 p.m.
WHERE: Lazy Swan Golf and Country Club, 1754 Old Kings Highway, Saugerties
DETAILS: The annual fundraiser for Always There. The event is part of "The Freeman Sessions with Stella May," a collaboration between Stella May Productions and the Freeman. Live video of the event will be broadcast at dailyfreeman.com. If you are interested in being part of this effort, contact Stella May at (845) 331-7955 or at http://stellamayproductions.com.
CALL: (845) 339-6683, ext. 3213, for tickets.
ONLINE: Send an email to firstname.lastname@example.com


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A BILL to amend chapter thirty-one-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated article two-a; to amend article four of said chapter by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-a; and to amend article five, chapter thirty-one-c of said code by adding thereto a new section, designated section eleven, all relating generally to limiting access to certain records of financial institutions; providing for the access of certain governmental entities to financial records; defining terms; establishing requirements for government access to records; permitting access upon written authorization of a customer; requiring state entity to certify compliance; enumerating exceptions; establishing subpoena and notice requirements; setting forth procedures when subpoena issued by grand jury; providing for civil and criminal liability and penalties; establishing the statute of limitations and the tolling thereof; authorizing injunctive relief; providing for the exclusiveness of remedies; limiting stockholder inspection of books and records of state banking institutions; and limiting the inspection of books and records by credit union members.
§31A-2A-3. Written authorization of customer; contents; certification of compliance.


text:
ACHICA / Bold Reflections
Bold Reflections
Bold Reflections
A statement mirror adds an instant focal point, increasing the amount of light, giving the illusion of space, and immediately drawing-in the eye. These styles have been handpicked for their impressive size, which makes them immediate design features in any room. Discover a new take on the traditional Baroque style mirror, with a gorgeous blue gloss coating that brings it on-trend. With exclusive standing, leaning and wall mirrors on offer, this promotion makes finding your statement-making mirror simple.
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text:
jr to novack again nice !!!!
Also I hope Woodson tells Jorts not to fade away when posting a small pg. SMH
Real Talk
Also I hope that Woody sitting Baron so long means we wont see bibby and douglas in the second half
I know TD made a 3 to tie it but he's awful. Just terrible decision making skills.
Real Talk
Our bench is awful, that's first. Secondly, our offense looks completely stagnant, jump shot contest...
i just hate when we are forcing shots and not moving the ball, i dont care if melo forces shots, thats melo, but, BD and Fields? come on, give it to Shump, at least he will penetrate and draw fouls
Iman almost got knocked the fugg out lmao


text:
During her recent tenure,
Editor Xenia Zed had dreamed of an ãall femaleä issue,
written exclusively by women, that would subtly appear
without much fanfare. Though the issue was never realized,
new Editor Glenn Harper decided to produce an issue on
feminism but without limiting the content to female writers.
The result was spirited and politically-oriented, a trend
which would continue throughout Harperâs editorship,
containing an interview with Barbara Kruger and an infamous
Public Service Announcement by the Guerrilla Girls. Essays
in volume 11 were loosely linked around themes-including the
second Artistâs Pages issue (see photo), subtitled, ãWhat
Next?,ä an issue with a focus on ãArt and Nature,ä which
contained the magazineâs first contribution from current
Chicago Contributing Editor Maureen Sherlock, and an issue
which purported to survey ãthe non-profit beastä-while
containing the short-lived ãQVä section of non-related
feature material, the most notable being an interview with
theorist Fredric Jameson. This year also saw the final
collaborative issue with the Architectural Society of
Atlanta, and the arrival of Mildred Thompson as a writer and
Although it was
the theme of an issue which focused on art, taxes, politics
and criticism, the magazine itself placed inside a ãcoverä
printed on a large manila envelope, ãPlaying Hardball with
the Big Boysä also symbolized the publicationâs growth
during volume 12 via hard-stock covers and increased
production values throughout-this in addition to ART PAPERSâ
credible reputation as a growing national publication. That
year brought some inventive theme issues, including the
third Artistâs Pages Issue (see photo), subtitled ãCampaign
Promisesä in honor of the presidential election of that
year, and issues on performance and art and funding. Glenn
Harperâs editorship was now firmly in place, and a clear
sense of consistent political involvement was emerging while
the publication continued with some of the themes it had
established earlier-such as Southern folk art, seen in a
lengthy obituary for Minnie Evans, and African-American
artists, which manifested as an entire issue on
ãContemporary Black Artists.ä Other articles of interest
included interviews with Keith Haring and Group Material.
Also of note was a special issue sponsored by the Southern
Arts Federation, which contained an insert on the National
Endowment for the Artsâ Documentary Photography Fellowships
along with several essays on photography in the regular part
of the magazine.
Volume 13 kicked off with John
Johnstonâs interview with Jean Baudrillard in an issue which
also contained Fluxus artist Dick Higginsâ essay, ãFive
Myths of Postmodernism.ä Other issues that year focused on
film and video, sculpture, a special look at regionalism in
addition to the annual artistâs pages issue. Controversial
photographer Sally Mann was among those interviewed, as well
as artists ranging from Native American sculptor Bob Haozous
to conceptual artist Richard C., and artist Pat Courtney
designed the cover of the March/April issue (see photo).
Interviews with sculptors and installation artists such as
Donald Lipski, Shirazeh Houshiary, and Athena Tacha, as well
as a conversation with folk artist James ãSonä Thomas and
essays on the mobile home in America and Harris
Dimitropoulosâ monument in Paris for the bicentenary of the
French revolution rounded out the year.
Guest Edited by frequent
contributor Alan Sondheim, the ãNoise Cultureä issue delved
into the world of zines and club culture, even containing a
special zine insert. The issue also contained an interview
with Atlantaâs own Ru Paul, who was then on the cusp of
celebrity status. Of particular note was an article on art
in Berlin at the time the Berlin Wall came down. Other
issues in volume 14 included a second collaboration with
Nexus Press on artistâs books, with a cover designed by Ruth
Laxson, and an issue on black artists containing articles by
theorist Bell Hooks and artist Adrian Piper. The magazineâs
first issue on art and education also appeared, a theme that
would continue to be revisited in later years. Ending the
volume was an issue on art criticism (see photo) with
articles by Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe and Eleanor Heartney.
After a decade and a half of
publishing, Art Papers under Glenn Harperâs editorship had
arrived as a national art journal of prominence, routinely
featuring well known artists alongside emerging ones and a
similar range of writers. Volume 15 contained some of the
magazineâs most interesting contents, including interviews
with artists Keith Sonnier, Philip Glass, Chris Burden,
Christian Boltanski and Ann Hamilton, curators Collins and
Milazzo, and folk artist George Andrews. Articles included
censorship and public art, a timely topic in relation to the
NEA culture wars, and special issues on Mail Art and the
Alternative Arts Press. The latter issue, in particular,
proved that the publication was among a handful of enduring
non-profit journals of note along with Art Issues and New
Art Examiner. Other publications featured in that issue,
such as the Minnesota-based Art Paper, contributed daunting
accounts of why they went out of business-almost as a
warning to the remaining members, and readers of, the
alternative arts press. The year concluded with a special
15th Anniversary issue (see photo). Funded by the Warhol
Foundation, the issue featured contributions from former
editors and writers, as well as reprints of some of the most
provocative and still relevant articles from the magazineâs
Feature Articles | Retrospective |
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text:
These Tim Leiweke quotes are stolen from main page of RaptorsRepublic.com:
First and foremost, we have to figure out consistently and how to win long-term. I guess I referred to it earlier today as being a Seven Eleven. Good enough to maybe be in the 7th or 8th spot and maybe make the playoffs, but never good enough to win.
I do like the fact that we're going to have a GM with a fresh view of the world, with a fresh view of the world, with a fresh view of this roster, with a fresh view of what it is we need to do to be competitive long-term.I have a bit of a disagreement on the current status of the organization and this roster. I guess I don't think we're right there. I don't think we're a piece away, I think we have work to do. I think in the last five years we've made mistakes. We're a team knocking on the luxury tax that has zero draft picks this year, and we have to improve on this roster but we don't have a lot of resources to do it. I find it ironic that people think that that, at the end of the day, would give me a high degree of comfort. That said, Bryan has a different opinion and I respect that opinion, but somebody had to make a decision and someone did.
We got to find somebody that is extremely good and rational at looking at this roster and reaching the right conclusions about who's going to work and who's not going to work. Sometimes you got to find a new set of eyes and a new opinion in order to judge a roster and not be personal about a player because you chose him. Or you used the first pick in the first round to pick a player. Sometimes it's easier for a guy coming in that doesn't have that loyalty, and doesn't have the burden of being the guy that made that decision, you reach better conclusion at times on how needs to stay and who needs to go.
We want someone that is not afraid of making trades, we want someone that is not burderend by ultimately saying, 'God, I feel bad about making this move because I brought this guy into the organization'.
There has been a lot of talk in these forums about the "core" of Lowry-DeRozan-Gay-Amir-JV moving forward. It seems pretty clear that the status quo is not going to remain for whoever comes in to take control of this franchise from a basketball operation/decision-making perspective based on the comments of the ultimate boss.
With that said:
Who goes and, if you are really adventurous or just have time on your hands, why?
**In the poll, only included guys under contract for next season minus Kleiza and it is multiple choice!**


text:
We love the thrill of getting our hands on beauty products which contain the most talked about ingredients. But what we love more is getting our hands on the products and discovering ourselves that they really really work. Alpha Hydroxy Acids (known as AHA's, including glycolic, lactic, and citric amongst a few) can't get raved about enough these days.
So today, we set out to uncover what really is so beneficial about the most popular one ingredient of the moment: Glycolic Acid. And, for Black Friday, you can also get 25% off many amazing skin care brands when you enter the code CYBER at the checkout!
Glycolic acid is a naturally occurring substance, that when used in skincare products offers many benefits to the skin, from rejuvenating to moisturizing. In its raw state, glycolic acid is a powder made up of colorless crystals that have no scent. Before we get too into the 'sciencey' stuff though, here's a few of the benefits it delivers:
The Benefits of Glycolic Acid
- You'll find Glycolic Acid in many chemical peels due to high percentages being very effective for skin treatments (if done safely and properly!). Its even safe enough to use on sensitive skins.
- A lower percentage of Glycolic Acid can be used in our daily skincare products, without causing any irritation. This is particularly popular across facial washes and cleansers, bringing along rejuvenating benefits from your first step of your cleansing routine


text:
Rays unable to finish off Red Sox
ALCS heading back to St. Pete after seven-run lead slips away
By Bill Chastain / MLB.com
The Rays were nine outs away from nailing down a trip to the Fall Classic, but they couldn't get it done. Now the ALCS will shift back to Tropicana Field for Game 6 on Saturday night with Tampa Bay leading 3-2 in the series with two chances to win its first pennant.
With the score tied, 7-7, Kevin Youkilis reached in the ninth inning on a two-out infield single and went to second on Evan Longoria's wild throw to first base. J.P. Howell then intentionally walked Jason Bay before J.D. Drew singled over right fielder Gabe Gross' head to give the Red Sox the largest comeback in the history of postseason games by a team facing elimination.
"He stayed on it good, he showed discipline, man," said Howell of the 3-1 changeup Drew hit for the winner. "It was a pretty good piece of hitting. He drove it and it had backspin over [Gross'] head."
When Drew's hit landed, the six innings of flawless Rays baseball that started the game were effectively erased.
"Yeah, we outplayed them for six, but we play nine here," Howell said. "We've got to throw this one out of the window. They checked us, and they showed us why they're here. With their backs against the wall, they didn't quit."
Holding what appeared to be a commanding 7-0 lead after six innings, the Rays went to a bullpen that had been solid throughout the postseason. In 24 2/3 postseason innings, the Rays' bullpen had allowed just four runs. Unfortunately for the Rays, that total doubled Thursday night.
Grant Balfour started the seventh inning, and the hard-throwing right-hander surrendered an RBI single to Dustin Pedroia and a three-run homer to David Ortiz that cut the Rays' lead to 7-4.
Despite having three left-handers in the bullpen, Rays manager Joe Maddon did not consider lifting Balfour in favor of one of the trio to face Ortiz.
"No, we've been doing that all year," Maddon said. "Grant has been very good in that situation. Actually, he just got him tonight. If you had been watching us all season, that's the situation where Grant has really done well. He's been kind of like that middle closer guy and I felt pretty good about it. Papi just got him."
Dan Wheeler issued a leadoff walk to Bay in the eighth before giving up a two-run homer to Drew. Coco Crisp added an RBI single during a 10-pitch at-bat to tie the game, 7-7.
|Red Sox starter: RHP Josh Beckett
|2008 on the road: 7-5, 2.85 ERA
|2008 vs. Rays: 2-1, 2.06 ERA (five starts)
|Career vs. Rays: 5-3, 3.11 ERA (10 starts)
|2008 ALCS vs. Rays: 0-0, 16.62 ERA (one start)
|2008 postseason: 0-0, 11.57 ERA
|Career postseason: 6-2, 2.85 ERA
|Rays starter: RHP James Shields
|2008 at home: 9-2, 2.59 ERA
|2008 vs. Red Sox: 2-2, 5.85 ERA (four starts)
|Career vs. Red Sox: 2-4, 5.23 ERA (eight starts)
|2008 ALCS vs. Red Sox: 0-1, 2.45 ERA (one start)
|2008 postseason: 1-1, 3.29 ERA
|Career postseason: 1-1, 3.29 ERA
|Rays lead series, 3-2. This is the 12th time since the advent of the best-of-seven ALCS in 1985 that one team has held a 3-2 series advantage. Of the previous 11 times, the team with the 3-2 series lead has gone on to win the series seven times.
|Game 1: Red Sox 2, Rays 0
|Game 2: Rays 9, Red Sox 8 (11 innings)
|Game 3: Rays 9, Red Sox 1
|Game 4: Rays 13, Red Sox 4
|Game 5: Red Sox 8, Rays 7
|Did You Know? Tampa Bay suffered its first defeat of the season when establishing a lead of five or more runs. The Rays are now 38-1 in such games this year.
"They're a great lineup over there," Wheeler said. "Just boil it down to we weren't able to execute and they were. It came a lot at once. That's the thing, they're very capable of doing that. You know, we come back on Saturday, if the same situation arises, I've got 100-percent confidence in all of us to go back out there and get the job done."
Maddon couldn't get too upset with his bullpen.
"Nobody feels worse than the guys out of our bullpen right now," Maddon said. "Nobody feels worse. They've done a tremendous job all year.
"I thought we played a great game. They just came back and beat us tonight. That happens sometimes. We're going to go home, take tomorrow off and come back, and [James] Shields will pitch in Game No. 6. But you can't dwell on it. Again, we'll lose for a half-hour or so and then we'll move on. We have another game to play."
Scott Kazmir started for the Rays and silenced the critics who thought Maddon had made a tactical error by switching starting pitchers from Shields to Kazmir. The Rays left-hander pitched six scoreless innings and allowed just two hits.
"Kaz was very good tonight," Maddon said. "You feel pretty good about a seven-run lead at that point of the game with Grant and Danny coming into it. It just didn't want to happen. There goes Papi and there goes Drew. I mean, that just can happen at any time."
The Rays' offense got busy early Thursday night.
B.J. Upton put the Rays up, 2-0, in the first inning when he homered on a 1-1 pitch from Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka. The blast gave Upton three for the ALCS and six for the postseason.
Carlos Pena hit a two-run homer off Matsuzaka in the third, and Longoria followed with a solo shot over the Green Monster to put the Rays up, 5-0.
Longoria's home run gave the Rays 13 homers for the series, which broke the ALCS record of 12 set by the Red Sox in 2003.
Upton doubled home two more in the seventh to put the Rays up 7-0, which looked like enough of a cushion for victory.
"We played a great game, scored seven runs," Upton said. "They stayed in it, they didn't give up. And they came back to win."
Throughout the season, the Rays' credo has been to take losses hard for the first half hour after the game, then forget about it.
"By the time we get on the plane, we'll forget about it," Upton said. "Guys will be talking and joking around. We still have two games to play and they have to come to us."
However, the frustration of being so close to the World Series on Thursday night and not being able to finish it off was real.
"Yeah, you could smell it," Upton said. "But they're a veteran team. They've been here year after year. They've done it once and obviously they knew they weren't out of it. It's a seven-game series. They played all 27 outs. And that's the outcome."
Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Robert Olen Butler Says His Mass Email Was 'Intended Strictly For Those Who Personally Know Elizabeth And Me'
So! Jilted author Robert Olen Butler isn't happy that yesterday we published the email he sent to his grad students. You know, the email that began "this sort of thing can get wildly distorted pretty quickly. You can feel free to use any part or all of this email to do so," and in which he explained exactly why his wife was leaving him for Ted Turner (she was abused by her grandpa!). In his email to us, he sounded steamed!
That email, intended strictly for those who personally know Elizabeth and me, was to explain an event that, if not explained, would be spun in ways that would unfairly make Elizabeth look bad. It had its intended effect around Tallahassee and in some other places where she and I are actual human beings. The sad thing about your sneeringly printing this in a blog is that both of us are easily dehumanized. Which, of course, is your point. Dehumanization is the essential ingredient for the daily pleasure of gossipers and gawkers. What a creepy little circle-jerk of self-righteousness you're running.


text:
Joyce proud of All-Star selection
Rays outfielder was voted by the players for first nod
Rays right fielder Matt Joyce was planning to spend a few days around mid-July with fiancée Randi Jones in a buddy's condo on a beach, or maybe on a boat in the Gulf of Mexico. Then, manager Joe Maddon told him he'd have to shelve those plans.
"This is terrible. It ruins my off-days," Joyce said, laughing, as he talked about being selected by his peers to play in the July 12 Major League All-Star Game in Phoenix.
"I never had the opportunity to play on an All-Star team in professional baseball," Joyce said. "This will be my first," since Little League.
He played college ball at Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla., where the Tigers spend Spring Training. They saw enough to spend their 12th-round pick on him in the 2005 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He sailed through the Minors and by May 5, 2008, he was in the Tigers outfield.
"As you go along you realize how many good players there are and how hard it is to get [to be an All-Star]," Joyce said. The idea of being one this year wasn't even in the back of his mind when the season began. It was more a matter of avoiding a repeat of the start of the 2009 and 2010 seasons.
The Rays traded 14-game winner Edwin Jackson to Detroit after the 2008 season to get Joyce, whom they expected to lay claim to right field. Instead, Jackson became an All-Star in 2009 and Joyce wound up in the Minor Leagues for virtually the entire season. He batted .188 (6-for-32) in 11 games.
He'd made the Opening Day roster that year, starting in center field only because B.J. Upton was on the shelf after being hit on the right hand by a pitch during Spring Training. After one week, Upton was reinstated and Joyce was sent to Triple-A Durham.
Things got worse at the start of 2010. A right elbow strain during the spring kept him off the Opening Day roster. He wasn't called up until June 25.
But he had two grand slams in July, the second one breaking up former Detroit teammate Max Scherzer's bid for a no-hitter. The Rays starter, Matt Garza, wound up no-hitting the Tigers that game.
"After the trade, to come in in '09 and play only a couple of weeks and spend most of the season in the Minor Leagues, then make the team the next year and have an opportunity to start every day and then get hurt, that was the most frustrating time for me," Joyce said.
"Coming into this I wanted to show everybody that I belonged, to be a fixture in right field."
At first, it looked like more of the same. He batted .200 with no home runs and just two RBIs in the spring and was at .238 with neither a homer, nor an RBI after nine games.
Then Joyce found his groove. He was batting .321 on May 1. "When you work hard enough, usually your hard work pays off," he said. "You have to put in the effort, the sweat and tears to get to the point when you have that success."
By June 1, his average had soared to a lead-leading .370. But when the first results of the fan voting were announced that day, Joyce wasn't even in the top 15.
Maddon said it was unrealistic to expect Joyce to continue at such a torrid pace, and by the end of June he had settled back down to about .300.
Although the 1.6 million fan votes he wound up with were only good enough for 11th in the balloting, he was fourth on the players' ballot, ahead of Josh Hamilton of the Rangers, one of the fans' elected starters.
"It means a lot to have the guys kind of recognize what you're doing out there," Joyce said. "They're the guys you play against."
Bruce Lowitt is a freelance writer based in Tampa, Fla.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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I am an Asian currently residing in Africa who writes about European characters in what I assume is American English. If this doesn't sound weird, try reading my stories!
July31, 2008
From Africa I have moved to Dubai after a short stint in India. I apologize for the delay in my stories. I will revert to the vicinity!