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Nikon D777 Forecast
© 2009 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.
February 2009 More Nikon Reviews
Introduction top
History shows us that the D700 came out a year after the D3, and offers exactly the same image quality in sharpness and high-ISO performance in a smarter, smaller package.
Therefore it's obvious to any casual observer that the D777 is due out a year after the D3X.
The D3X was announced on 01 July 2008, meaning I'd expect the D777 to be announced in the summer of 2009 and ship at the end of 2009.
Most decent photographers are boycotting the outrageously priced D3X, and by doing so, keeping themselves open to getting the mostly likely superior D777 instead.
Nikon scammed us with the D3: we all bought them as Nikon's first FX DSLR. A year later, out comes the D700, which handles much better and faster.
This time, Nikon can keep their $8,000 bluff, and I'll wait for a D777.
Specifications (target) top
Finder: 95% coverage (of full FX frame, not the tiny DX frame), 0.72x with 50mm lens. (D3 is 0.7x and 100% coverage.) . 18mm eyepoint. Inferior finder for DX lenses; the D777 doesn't crop the finder as does the D3.
Electronic Level: Yes, electronic virtual horizon, just like D3X.
AF: 51 points. CAM3500FX sensor array (same as D3X). Fine-tuning, if you have slight errors with certain lenses.
Shutter: 1/8,000 ~ 30 sec, bulb. Carbon fiber and Kevlar, tested to 150,000 cycles.
Flash Sync: 1/250.
Frame Rate: 3 FPS. 5 FPS in DX mode.
Built-in Flash: GN 39/12 (Feet/meters at ISO 100). Controls wireless flash.
Sensor: 24MP CMOS, same as D3X. 14-bit linear ADC, 16-bit data pipelines, as the D3X. 12-channel parallel readout.
Sensor Size: FX (23.9 x 36mm) and cropped DX, just like D3X. No professional 5:4 mode.
Live View: two modes.
Resolution: 24MP in FX, 10MP in DX.
FX (24 x 36mm): 6,048 x 4,032 (L), 4,544 x 3,024 (M) and 3,024 x 2,016 (S).
DX (16 x 24mm): 3,968 x 2,640 (L), 2,976 x 1,976 (M), 1,984 x 1,320 (S).
ISO: 50 ~ 6,400. Nikon really only want you using ISO 100 ~ 1,600, so lower ISOs are read as gibberish like "Lo-1" and higher ISOs are coded as garbage like "HI+2."
File Formats: JPG, TIF, NEF. NEF in 12- or 14-bit with no, lossy or lossless compression.
Rear LCD: Exquisite 3," 920,000 pixels. HDMI HD output, but it uses a screwy, non-standard mini HDMI connector.
Storage: Single CF card. Too bad; I love the in-camera backup of the D3's dual card slots.
Data Communication: USB. Optional WT-4 wireless and ethernet.
Optional Macho-Man Grip: MB-D10, same as D700.
Power: EN-EL3e, standard; same as D700, D200, D300, etc.
Size: 5.8 x 4.8 x 3.0" (147 x 123 x 77mm).
Weight: 35.1 oz. (995g) without battery, card, strap, monitor cover or lens.
Price (USA): $4,399, September 2009.
Introduction: 21 August 2009.
Available: Early December 2009.
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Spectre (Zoe Martinique, Book 2)
by Phaedra Weldon
Review by Gayle Surrette
Ace Paperback ISBN/ITEM#: 9780441015931
Date: 03 June 2008 List Price $14.00 Amazon US / Amazon UK / Show Official Info /
Zoë Martinique is trying to get a grip on her life. She can't talk and is trying to learn sign language after loosing her voice in the Wraith. She's also been told to change her diet or be treated for diabetes. It seems being out-of-body, does take its toll and the longer she's out the worse it gets. As if that wasn't enough problems, it seems that her mother is acting strange, there's a series of weird murders (body parts are missing), and the ghosts are worried. Everyone is trying to tell her what to do and it's annoying. Zoë just wants to crawl home and nest -- but somebody has to do something and it looks like she's got the short straw.
I'm happy to say that this is the page turning action packed adventure, you'd expect after Wraith. Zoë is still self-absorbed and easily distracted, often acting more like a child than an adult. However, when the chips are down, she's there trying to do the right thing -- if only she could keep her mind on the job. This isn't a failure of the character, it's part and parcel of what makes Zoë tick.
The main characters from the first book are back and we get some more depth and background on them. The story takes up almost where the last one ended -- very little time has past. This time there's more going on that just a snatch and grab, Zoë is learning that not everyone is who they seem to be, and there's more to this out-of-body ability than she thought. This one is far more philosophical -- trust and betrayal -- who can you depend on when your life is on the line? What happens when you find your trust has been misplaced?
Weldon has managed to give us full-bore action while dealing with some pretty tough subjects. Zoë is beginning to realize that she has to take control of her life -- now if she'd just stop fantasizing and listen when people try to give her information, maybe things wouldn't be as much on the razor's edge of disaster. But that's just my opinion, I'm sure Zoë has her own.
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Glenwood turned the ball over three times leading to 14 points and Harlan used a balanced offense to hand the Rams a 42-6 loss in Class 3A, District 8 football on Friday.
The Class 3A state ranked No. 7 Cyclones wasted little time jumping on the 0-2 Rams, marching 63 yards in just four plays and a little over a minute on the clock to go up 7-0.
Luke Schafer threw for a school-record seven touchdown passes and the East Mills football team defeated Stanton for the first time in four years with a dominating 48-12 victory on Friday in the Eight-Man, District 8 opener for both teams.
"These kids that are seniors, when they were freshmen they got torched pretty good by them and it was closer their sophomore year and then last year, I think they felt like they out-played Stanton and kind of blew it," said East Mills coach Kevin Schafer.
The Glenwood Girls Cross Country Team placed seventh at the Clarinda Cross Country Meet last Tuesday.
Shenandoah-Essex was the team champion with 65 points. Griswold was second with 74 points. Glenwood was led by Carlie Cooper who finished 10th. Lizzy Young was 16th and Morgan Naughton placed 27th.
Villisca swept East Mills 25-21, 25-19, 25-13 in Corner Conference volleyball on Thursday.
"The first two games were neck and neck before Villisca pulled away the last four or five points," said East Mills coach Connie Viner-Blank. "We have to minimize mistakes late in the game."
The Wolverines (1-7 overall, 0-3 in the conference) were led by Amanda Bazer's seven kills. Jessika Lynn added three kills and seven digs and Zoe Frink had three kills and four digs.
School board elections will take place Tuesday, Sept. 13, across the state of Iowa.
Three candidates are running for seats on the Glenwood Community School District Board of Education. Craig Patzer and Theresa Romens are the candidates for two at-large seats while Ann Staiert is seeking to fill the vacant seat left by Dave Warren who resigned over the summer. Staiert was appointed to the seat on an interim basis in July.
Voting for the Glenwood Community School District will take place at Harvey T. Rimel American Legion Post No. 141 from noon to 8 p.m.
The levees near the banks of the Missouri River in Mills County are no longer in the hands of the Iowa National Guard.
The Glenwood volleyball team got its first win of the season last Thursday at the Omaha South Triangular.
The Rams (2-1 overall, 0-1 in the Hawkeye 10 Conference) downed Omaha Roncalli 25-12, 24-26, 25-17 in match one.
Emily Blum led Glenwood with six kills against the Crimson Pride. Grace Newman was 19-of-20 serving with four aces, and McKenna Henze had 18 assists and was 9-of-9 on the serving line.
The Rams defeated the host Packers 30-32, 25-9, 25-10
The East Mills football team capped a perfect non-district season with a dominating 55-6 victory over Lenox on Friday.
The game was halted in the third quarter after lightening was spotted in the area. Due to the mercy rule the game was ruled a completed game.
Luke Schafer had another strong day under center for the Wolverines, tossing five touchdown passes for the second straight game and finishing 9-of-17 passing for 206 yards and no interceptions.
The Glenwood girls and boys cross country teams kicked off their season with the Co-Ed Ram Invitational on a hot and muggy evening at Glenwood Lake Park last Tuesday.
COUNCIL BLUFFS - Conventional football wisdom says if you can run the ball and stop the run you will be successful.
The Glenwood football team had trouble running the ball and stopping the run, and the Rams' success against Council Bluffs St. Albert followed suit with conventional wisdom in a 35-7 loss at Al Leber Field in a non-conference game called with 5:38 remaining in the game due to lightening and storms in the area.
Copyright © 2018
The Opinion Tribune is your source for local news, sports, events and information in the city of Glenwood and Mills County, Iowa.


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Sherrington: Jerry Jones still thinks Jason Garrett is his Tom Landry
Catch SportsDay On Air twice per week on Fox Sports Southwest, when Dallas Morning News experts discuss hot sports topics from the Cowboys, Mavericks, Stars, Rangers and colleges (check our TV listings for air times). Here are a few highlights from Thursday's episode featuring Kevin Sherrington and Evan Grant:
On the relationship between Jerry Jones and Jason Garrett:
Sherrington: "I think that Jerry still thinks he's got his guy. I think he still believes that Jason is his Tom Landry. He has all the intangibles he likes in a head coach. He's a smart guy. He has a lot of the qualities he really looks for, but I think it's chipping away. I think that Jerry sees less in Jason than he did at one time. He thought he was an offensive genius. I think he's beginning to doubt that now. In the end what you have to remember was Jerry is he doesn't believe in anybody or anything. I think Jason is fine after this year. I think after another 8-8 year next year or worse, and Jason is gone."
Grant: "I think that Jerry undervalues coaches. He undervalues personnel people. He values his own opinion, and he gets himself into trouble with that constantly. You look at the teams that are in the championship game where the Cowboys haven't been since '95 and you look at Atlanta that has been there three times in the same period. The Falcons went through a complete rebuilding process early in this decade where they did bring in a personnel guy and they let him hire a coach in Mike Smith, who wasn't a sexy hire by any stretch of the imagination. They together put in a scheme and brought in personnel and Atlanta has the best win-loss record regular season wise in the NFC."


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After missing a portion of his junior season due to injury it appears San Antonio (Texas) Madison wide receiver Dannon Cavil is quickly making a rise up the recruiting ranks.
On Feb. 4 the 6-foot-5, 205-pound pass catcher quietly made his trip first trip to Norman for the Sooners Junior Day.
"Yes sir that was the first time I had been up there. We actually came up the day earlier because my Dad is friends with (former Sooners ) (Terry Peters) and Joe Washington two guys that played back in the 70s and 80s and we got a chance to talk with all of the coaches while I was up there and even watched a little bit of film with Coach Norvell so yeah it was good," Cavil explained.
"It was wonderful you can tell there is a true focus on academics but football is definitely key. I was expecting Oklahoma to be just like Texas with 100,000 students or something but to hear there are only like 25,000 students or something like that and the faculty to student ratio is lower that was good thing to hear for a learning environment but just the whole aspect of working out and getting better I really took interest in that at Oklahoma."
Drawing comparison from Sooners wide receiver coach Jay Norvell to that of former Sooner and Longview (Texas) native Malcolm Kelly- Cavil admits the trip to Norman was eye opening experience coming from a family that has endless ties to the program in Austin.
"I mean it's one of those things where my Dad (Michael Cavil) played there, my cousin (Kwame Cavil 1997-99) played there, my Mom is an alum, my Aunt is an alum she cheered there (so) we have strong ties to Texas. I was a fan when I was a kid and now it's a business and I know that, that it's now about where I'm going to play, you know?"
"I didn't know what to expect but it was a good trip."
Cavil's time on campus also gave the Longhorn legacy the chance to catch up with current Sooners who cleared the air on chances of the prospects of coming in and competing from 'Day 1'.
"Kenny Stills and then a couple guys from the defensive side of the ball were talking about coming from a different state and coming in early to compete. If you feel you have the opportunity to come in and do that. (Stills) said that there was a need for him to come in and catch balls because they needed other receivers other than Ryan Broyles and that if you feel like you can come in and compete then you'll have a chance to play," said Cavil.
"It gave me great insight and I think I might graduate early next year and enroll next year in January wherever I chose to go. I'm done with my math (classes) and I just need to take some classes in summer school."
The Lone Star State product even spent some time with the Sooners head ball coach who took every opportunity to make it known he would like to see Cavil takes his talents north of Austin.
"Coach Bob Stoops was showing us all of their championships and rings and most of those were against Texas- so you know he just had to show us that," said a laughing Cavill.
"When we were walking around they were letting us try on jerseys and they were saying to send this to Kwame- send it to your cousin and see what he says. But we were having a good time and (Stoops) was talking about going to the PGA Tour event."
This weekend Cavill will continue the Junior Day tour when he heads to Texas Tech.
"I'm going to Texas Tech this Saturday and then I was offered to go to A&M's but I think I'm going to Alabama on Feb. 18. (Camps) aren't really being thought about right now it's just junior days and spring ball and off-season and the Nike Sparq coming up on March 24."


text: After 30+ years, I've decided (with my wife's agreement) to get back into biking and have recently purchased a 03' RT. The MOA forums have been a termendous help in my decision to get a bike again and which bike would be best for me. Since cars didn't even have cup holders when I last owned a bike, I thought it would be best to get a little training before I went back on the road. Although I still have my cycle endorsement, I took the basic safety course offered here my Schoolcraft College. The course was terrific - great instructors, lots of bike time and excellent classroom instruction. I'm looking forward to seeing our spectacular fall colors from my RT over the next few months.


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If you're looking for a sustainable hotel in the middle of the countryside, look no further. Hampshire Boshotel – Overberg is the most sustainable four-star hotel in the Netherlands. It's in a fantastic location on the edge of the forests of the N... View hotel
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For the true golf lover there is of course nothing nicer than being able to walk straight from the hotel room to the golf course. At Hampshire Golfhotel - Waterland, the golfer also has the choice of four different loops of 18 holes: red, yellow, blue and white. Ea... View hotel
Hampshire Hotel & Spa – Paping is situated on the edge of the ancient Laerbos. The location is ideal: the central station is close by and the lively Ommen town centre is just a few minutes walk. Culture, countryside, relaxation and recreation: everything ... View hotel
A weekend in Zutphen? Then Hampshire Hotel – 's Gravenhof Zutphen in the centre of the town is the ultimate location. In the hotel alone, history will be all around you, with seventeenth century architecture and paintings from the seventeenth and eighte... View hotel
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Hampshire Hotel – 108 Meerdervoort is situated next to the Vredespaleis (Peace Palace), between the embassies and close to Scheveningen. Perfect for a city and beach weekend break. The heart of The Hague, within walking distance of the hotel, offers a diverse r... View hotel
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Hampshire Hotel – Babylon The Hague is right next to The Hague's central station and has views over Haagse Bos. All the city's places of interest, such as Mauritshuis, Paleis Noordeinde, Binnenhof, Panorama Mesdag and Madurodam are within easy rea... View hotel
If you're visiting Amsterdam, why not treat yourself to one of the best locations? Hampshire Hotel - Beethoven Amsterdam is situated in Beethovenstraat, in the middle of the chique and popular Oud-Zuid district. The area surrounding the hotel has a lot to off... View hotel
If you want peace as well as bustle in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, then Hampshire Hotel – Churchill Terneuzen is ideal. The hotel is in a fabulous location on the Zeedijk, on the Western Scheldt. This is the perfect starting point for a walk to the centre of Terneuzen o... View hotel
Hampshire Hotel - City Groningen is the ideal base for a weekend exploring Groningen and its surroundings. It is located close to the central station, so easily accessible with all the city's hotspots nearby. You can hire a bicycle at the hotel and explore the ... View hotel
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|Allegro CL version 8.2
Unrevised from 8.1 to 8.2.
8.1 version
Arguments: name
This function prints what would be printed by who-calls and who-uses applied to name. name should either be a function name or a global variable depending on the information desired. See the descriptions of who-calls and who-uses for information on exactly what is printed by this function.
This function does not return any value. The information is printed to
instead. The function get-relation can be used when you
wish information returned rather than printed.
See cross-reference.htm for more information on the cross reference facility.
Copyright (c) 1998-2016, Franz Inc. Oakland, CA., USA. All rights reserved.
This page was not revised from the 8.1 page.
Created 2010.1.21.
|Allegro CL version 8.2
Unrevised from 8.1 to 8.2.
8.1 version


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- Details
- Published on Thursday, 04 July 2013 08:45
Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals moves in, readies for excitement!
NORWALK, Ohio – Family tradition on nitrous and artsy entertainment spice the mix at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, part of the Mello Yello Drag Racing Series July 4-7, 2013 at Summit Motorsports Park in Norwalk, Ohio.
On Wednesday, National Hot Rod Association enthusiasts set up camp, wrenched on race cars, and prepared for Thursday's packed lineup of gorgeous rides.
Most of the Sportsman racers in the Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series pit on the Summit side of Summit Motorsports Park, west of the dragstrip.
Professional racer David Rampy, who won Competition Eliminator in a red A-Econo Altered 1932 Bantam two years in a row at the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals, also lines up in a red 1987 Camaro in the GT I Automatic Super Stock class, said Barry Davis, Alabama, crew for David Rampy.
The GT I Automatic Super Stock allows crews to use an old-style motor in a newer car, Barry Davis said.
Wrenching on a 2009 Undercover dragster, Kyle Cultrera, 23, a mechanical engineering student at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, prepared for Super Comp action.
"This is my summer job," said Kyle Cultrera, Elliot, Maine, whose parents, Steve and Joann Cultrera, own the dragster. "I'm traveling around, having fun.
"I started racing at 16," Kyle Cultrera said. "Got my license. This is the first car I ever drove, a 180 mph dragster.
"I grew up doing it," Kyle Cultrera said. "I worked on them all the time. My dad used to drive. He crewed for 15 years. Dad used to be a Pro Stock crew chief. The last person he crewed for was Jeg Coughlin. He won two championships with him."
Kyle Cultrera also lines up in Competition Eliminator in a red H-Econo Altered 1932 Bantam.
"It says, 'Professor Dave and the Three Ring Circus,'" Kyle Cultrera said. "The guy who owns it is a college professor in New York. Every car he has owned said, 'Professor Dave.' The three ring circus is Dave Ring, Al Ackerman, and Kyle Cultrera."
At their home track in Epping, New Hampshire, Kyle's older sister, Lauren Cultrera, tests the ways of speed and win lights in a dragster, too.
"She just started this year," Kyle Cultrera said. "Her car looks just like mine, but black with gray on the bottom. She's getting better with every run. I'm very proud of her."
Kyle Carrothers, from the Detroit area, eased a sticker off of a 2004 Corvette painted orange, magenta, purple and white by R&R Auto Body in Cleveland.
"It's a replica of a 2004 Corvette," Kyle Carrothers said. "We put it together in 2005. It's got a big block Chevy engine, 572 cu. in., and runs 9.90s at 170 mph.
"My partner, Rock Haas, drives it. His dad, Ralph Haas, was a Detroit police officer for many years. He's here with us, too," Kyle Carrothers said. "Rock and I have been racing together for 24 years, since 1989. We started with a '27 Ford Roadster project car."
The sticker was a car number used in Chicago last weekend.
"A guy from California drove the car there, because he was an All-Stars representative," Kyle Carrothers said. "He was kind enough to let us drive his car when we were in the points chase in 2006. It's easier to fly in and drive someone else's car than to trailer yours across the country. This is from friendships we've made over the years.
"I'm contracted to work for a racing team from Louisiana, Candies Family Motorsports," said Kyle Carrothers, an engiineer at Roush. "So I guess racing is a way of life for me, which isn't a bad thing.
"We've been to almost every track in the country, but this is our absolute favorite track to come to. We're always having fun when we're here at Norwalk," Kyle Carrothers said. "The representation of this track from everybody from the Sportsman guys to the Top Fuel guys says a lot for the way they do things here."
Curt Valtman, 36, Brookpark, Ohio, polished a black and cosmic blue 2006 Diamond dragster with a towel, preparing for a debut in Super Comp.
"It was painted by Mike Kubiak. I got it on Christmas Eve in 2010," said Curt Valtman, a logistics manager at Duraline, Elyria, Ohio, a manufacturer of underground pipe for electric wires and fiber optics cable. "They keep me busy. They let me off to come here and play.
"I've been racing since 2000," Curt Valtman said. "Started with a 19-second street car, an old Dodge Spirit. It was an old gem."
Normally sizzling the track on Saturdays in the Mallory Super Pro class of the Mr. Gasket $53,100 Super Series at Summit Motorsports Park, Curt Valtman stepped outside his comfort zone for the Summit Racing Equipment NHRA Nationals.
"This is my first ever National event," Curt Valtman said. "It's been a good time so far."
Mike Wesolowski, Mesa, Arizona, stretched out on his back under a rear wheel well of a dark impact blue 2012 Cobra Jet, wrenching in preparation to race AAA Super Stock.
With Mike Wesolowski was Rick Rodgers, Dearborn Heights, Mich., who mashes gas in a white 2012 Cobra Jet in Super Stock DA, and Rick's black Labrador and weimeranger mixed crew dog, Mustang Sally.
In the Family Camping area, Tina and Don Makin, Suffield, Ohio, set up home-style comforts.
"I like Top Sportsman," Tina Makin said. "And I like all the different Pros here, just about everything, basically.
"We've been coming since 2005. It's kind of our annual get-away," said Tina Makin, an inside sales manager for TRM Manufacturing, owned by Tim Molnar, who races a Grand Am in Top Sportsman.
"Back in 2005 I went to watch Tim race the first time," Tina Makin said. "And after sitting through the races, I got addicted to it. Now we come to several races a year. It's a lot of fun, a lot of enjoyment, a chance to get away from everything."
Across the lane Bart Kelly, 50, Sebring, Ohio, parked a tent camper in anticipation of his eighth NHRA Nationals event in a row.
"I was going to quit coming down when my roommate, Greg Bartlett, passed away," Bart Kelly said. "This will be my third year, now, of coming by myself. He got me hooked on it. His dad had race cars."
Bart Kelly works in the main shop at RWJ Sprinkler Company, which installs sprinklers in hospitals, schools, nursing homes, warehouses, and office buildings.
Between Top Fuel rumbles and trips through the pits, Bart Kelly gets acquainted with his Nationals neighbors.
"You meet people once a year, and see them again," said Bart Kelly. "I'll be back next year."
Tooling the access roads on a golf cart, Bob Mandell Jr. and Nikki Jenkins, Culleoka, Tenn., introduced two 13-week-old mini Yorkshire terrier puppies, Cookie and Candy, to the ways of the dragstrip.
"This is their very first racing trip," said Bob Mandell Jr., 24, who drives a yellow dragster in the Top Dragster class. "We loaded them up on the bus. We took them for a 12-hour adventure.
"They like the race car noise and everything," Bob Mandell Jr. said. "We fired the '57 Chevy up last week. It was in one shop. The dogs were in the other. They came running over. They're out in the shop most of the time with us."
Along with Bob Mandell Jr., two other Team Pro Fab drivers are Jeff Mandell, 22, driving a black 1968 Camaro in the Top Sportsman class, and their dad, Bob Mandell Sr., racing the 1957 Chevy in Top Sportsman as well.
Bringing the puppies to the track took some pressure off of Lucky, a 25-pound long-hair black cat at the Mandell's home. Though the cat's three or four times bigger than the pups, it tolerates their rambunctious nips and tugs fairly well, Bob Mandell Jr. said.
"The cat thinks these dogs are adorable," Bob Mandell Jr. said.
In the Pro pits on the Budweiser side of the race track to the east of the dragstrip, a bright blue and white Mopar tent marks an artsy display.
Michael Kelley, Chicago, organized well-known street graffiti artists from New York to air brush one-of-a-kind designs on vehicle hoods.
"The artists are going to be doing custom art each day on a new hood," Michael Kelley said. "We have a big easel. We put the hoods on the easel."
He scheduled the artists to work on the designs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
"All throughout that time, the artists are going to be creating art on the hoods," Michael Kelley said. "In the next tent, throughout that time we're going to be doing free airbrush tattoos on people. It washes off.
"We'll display the hood from each previous day in front while the new one is being created," Michael Kelley said. "They make the work last all day."
Another perk in the Mopar tent is an opportunity to register for a drawing. The winner receives a $45,000 credit toward the purchase of a new Chrysler vehicle, which includes anything in the Chrysler family – Chrysler, Ram, Dodge, Jeep, SRT, and Fiat, Michael Kelley said.


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Take the starting right-handed pitchers who had good seasons on full-season league teams in 2012, add in lefties Dallas Keuchel, Brett Oberholtzer and Rudy Owens, and then add in the new pitchers that Luhnow picked up in the off-season (Alex White, John Ely, Philip Humber and Erik Bedard), and the field starts getting very crowded between the major leagues, AAA and AA. And this isn't even counting Kyle Weiland and Wes Musick as they come back from injury.
So I asked Luhnow how he was going to handle juggling 15 or more pitchers for whom a valid case could be made for a starting roster spot at AAA and AA. I shouldn't have been surprised by his response, but I was. I should know by now that Luhnow thinks outside the box.
"That's going to be one of the most challenging things. We've got our best people working on it. Quentin [McCracken, Director of Player Development] is going through every day and putting magnets in different spots. Sig's [Mejdal, Director of Decision Sciences] on it, and I'm on it. I think those roster decisions at AA and AAA are going to be as important as the big league roster decisions.
"When I was farm director at the Cardinals, I instituted the piggyback, the tandem pitching rotations which allowed you to have eight starters for the first couple months of the year so we are going to discuss whether or not that's appropriate.
"The way you do that [is] you have four groups of two. First guy comes in and goes through the fifth inning and the second guy goes sixth to the end. The pitchers have to get used to it. They're not used to coming in in the sixth inning, but sometimes it's good because then [they] get the experience of finishing a game which is a totally different experience than most of these guys have had. And then the next time, [the second pitcher is] the one that starts the game and [his] piggyback partner comes in later.
"We're going to talk about it. We'll be creative certainly in how we allocate those roster spots. We'll proably have to have a few guys a level below where they would be otherwise."
That final statement brought to mind Mike Foltynewicz. Until recently, I thought that Foltynewicz might skip Lancaster and go straight to AA Corpus Christi, but in looking at the pitching depth at the higher levels, I had come to doubt that there would be enough room for him on that roster, at least to start the season. Luhnow and I discussed that briefly and it sounds as though he isn't as likely as the last regime to spare a top prospect like Foltynewicz the challenges of pitching in the hitter-friendly California League, "If they're going to learn to pitch here [Minute Maid Park], they're going to need to learn to pitch through some adversity."
One final thought. Knowing what Luhnow has in mind as far as the possibility of using tandem pitching duos helped me understand my findings regarding the lack of depth in the area of right-handed relief pitching at the upper levels. With two starters piggybacking in one game, the relief corps isn't likely to get much work.
The plethora of pitching is a good problem to have. And having a creative out-of-the-box thinker like Luhnow around to solve it is a very good thing as well.


text:
Peter Heller. The Dog Stars: A Novel. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012. 336 pages.
You know post-apocalyptic fiction has come a long way when it goes from sci-fi and horror to literary fiction. The Dog Stars is, without a doubt, the most introspective piece of post-apocalyptic writing I've read yet.
There's not much plot–it's mostly the protagonist, Hig, thinking–but it's still a compelling read. I'm not sure there's a lot more to be done plot-wise with the "end of the world as we know it but I feel fine" premise, anyway: You've got The Stand as an epic good vs evil battle, Earth Abides even before that as an anthropological/ecological perspective, and everything from zombies to hard sci-fi in between. So it's interesting to see the post-apocalyptic genre go a little up-market (so to speak).
I thought that the writing style–no quotation marks, fragmented sentences–was a great editorial choice. I figure that someone in Hig's situation is going to be mostly in their own head and no longer "socialized" (in the sense of living in society, not anything political), so it's natural that he wouldn't perceive a huge break from his interior monologue to speech. It made me feel disoriented, which I think is why the author was going for. Judging by his extensive portfolio of journalism and nonfiction, I've got no doubt he could have turned out something more traditional for his first novel; stylistically, I think he made the right choice here.
I personally hoped that the survivors would do a better job of forming groups, both for self-defense and for obvious benefits: the doctor's better off if she can reach out to a mechanic for help with her generator, and the mechanic is, clearly, going to be a lot better off as well. But guess what? This wasn't my book, and I respect what the author was doing here. I found some of the reviews where readers good hung up on the technical minutiae unnerving and funny at the same time: it doesn't really matter to me which grade of gas will hold up better after ten years of sitting in a tank within the reality of Heller's novel, since it's fiction, not a survival guide. I also don't obsess over how many MPH the Enterprise is doing at Warp 6, because I accept that it's going to move at the speed of plot. So I wasn't approaching The Dog Stars as a Lonely Planet guide for how to survive the end of civilization; I wanted to see where the author took the initial premise–the end of the world–and how he made it his own. the world he created wasn't pretty, but he and Hig made me think quite a bit, which makes this a great novel.
Recommended if you want something a little different from the usual end of the world novel.


text: I have trouble sleeping tonight, so I got back up and banged together a little toy program that goes over a text file full of TrekBBS review thread URLs and computes a HTML file that tabulates them sorted by average score. The average score is determined as follows: Each vote is given a weight from 1 for "Poor" to 5 for "Outstanding". Then the sum of all votes is divided by the number of votes and rounded to two places. Here's the output: http://www.eikehein.com/stuff/trekbbs/review_threads.html This is static, i.e. it'll be outdated as soon as any new vote comes in past the time I generated the page (see below regarding future plans). Here's the source code, under GPL v3: http://paste.kde.org/186488/03186132/ And the URL file used as input, put together manually via a search for "review thread": http://paste.kde.org/185954/64256221/ It's written in Python 3 and requires the lxml library. I ran it on Linux, but it should run equally well on Windows and other operating systems, with an invocation à la "python3 threads.py threads.txt > threads.html". Beware that this was written hurriedly while suffering sleep deprivation, so it may eat babies or attract Borg cubes. Obviously there are tons of things that could be improved, starting with the scoring algorithm: The Children of Kings comes out on top with a single "Outstanding" vote at present (edit: the output has since been regenerated to reflect additional votes), because the number of voters is not taken into account (luckily this is the only thread with a sample size that's too small to be useful). It would also be nice to output a little fancier HTML, with sortable table columns. And the review thread discovery could be automated, obviating the need to prepare an input file. At least it does already take care to reject threads that don't follow the "standard poll format", so the data should be reliable . Stay tuned, I'll probably revisit this and make it a proper, live website at some point - or, of course, you can grab the source and beat me to it if you want! Thanks to Thrawn who inspired me to do this with this post.


text:
So forward passing is not allowed but kicking the ball downfield is?
There a few different types of kicks and each has a different application.
First the scoring:
After a penalty, the team can elect to "kick for points". They place the ball on a tee and boot it through the uprights from where ever the penalty occurred worth 3 points. They could also choose to dropkick, but that is rare. The defending team has to be 10 meters away from the ball, but the ball is live after the kick so they'll position to receive it in case of a miss.
After a try score, the scoring team gets a conversion kick perpendicular from where the ball was grounded in the try-zone. They can be as close to the try-line as they wish, but the opposing team is allowed to rush the kick in an attempt to block it (ball is not live). This kick can be teed up or dropkicked and is worth 2 points.
Lastly, anytime during play the ball may be dropkicked through the uprights for 3 points. This is usually attempted when a scrum or line out is won in the opponent's half but the opposition's defense is not yielding any ground.
Now, the field position kicks:
During play, the team possessing the ball will punt the ball to open space or out of bounds to get the ball out of their half. Inside their 22-meter line, the punt may go directly out of bounds. Outside the 22, the ball must bounce in bounds before traveling out. If an open play punt goes directly out of bounds, then the resulting line-out occurs at the spot of the kick instead of where it went out negating any gain in field position. The line-out following an open play kick always goes to the opposition.
On a penalty, the team may elect to punt the ball to gain field position. If the ball goes directly out, then they still maintain possession for the line-out and there is no "inside the 22" restriction. Sometimes you'll see a team that needs a try to gain the lead, kick a penalty out of bounds even if they are right in front of the uprights. This is because they feel their best chance to score is from a line-out close to the try-line.
Now, there are couple strategic kicks teams will use to put the ball behind the defense in an effort to score. They do this because the defense is facing them and would have to turn to chase the ball, whereas the offense is running full pace to where the ball is kicked giving them a great chance to get to the ball first. These kicks come in two forms. A "pop" kick is where they put it over the defense. A "grub" kick is where they put it on the ground. The defense employs a fullback like a safety to cover these kicks, so the offense needs to be accurate with the kick and selective of when to use them.
At Toulon / Stade Francais Match
Just watched Italy-Wales on the DVR from Saturday. Wales has a great team. What happened with the France game on Sunday?
The setup for the tournament was perfect where our last game in Wales would have been for the grand slam (either Wales or us). Wales is arguably playing the best rugby the past 2 years in Europe, and has a serious beef with the French after losing by 1 point in the semis in the World Cup this year in a game where they should have won while playing a man down for about an hour. Then we went on and lost by 1 point in a final we should have won .
Anyways, we fell behind early against England who's in full rebuilding mode after a few turnovers. We were down by double digits, stormed back in the 2nd half and fell short 24-22 after a last second drop goal died a few inches short. Still, we're way too inconsistent. We did the same thing against Ireland: started slowly, fell behind early and had to fight back in the 2nd half.
Now we shat the bed, the build up for the Wales game won't be as great. Should still be a good game to watch. Plus Wales will be playing FTW.
If Wales loses next week can France win the whole thing? Or does Wales have it locked up already?
I wish I could watch that game. BBC America is carrying the Ireland game instead.
If Wales loses, I think England is 2 points behind, but has a massive point differential.
Well deserved Grand Slam for Wales
That being said, I really enjoyed watching Rugby Union coverage, I wish it was on tv more here in the states. I've seen something called Rugby Sevens on a few times, but I didn't really like that as much.


text:
The man who killed former Belmont Mayor Kevin Loftin and his friend Donna Deitz in a February traffic wreck received a 25-year prison sentence Tuesday.
Lester Saunders Norman Jr. will spend at least 25 years in prison for causing a crash that killed a Belmont man and woman in February.
But at least one woman says Norman�s not the only one responsible for the deaths.
Norman was eluding police when he crashed into a car, killing former Belmont Mayor Kevin Loftin and his friend, Donna Jean Deitz. Loftin�s car then spun into another car where two more people were injured and that car then struck a fourth where yet another person was hurt.
Norman was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, felony death by vehicle, two counts of reckless driving, assault on a government official, speeding, DWI and driving with a revoked license.
Judge Robert Sumner sentenced Norman to a minimum of 25 years and a maximum of 31 years in prison Tuesday.
The sentence was part of a plea arrangement offered by Gaston County District Attorney Locke Bell.
Norman pleaded guilty to all charges. As part of the plea agreement, he was sentenced for two counts of second-degree murder, speeding to elude arrest causing death and reckless driving. The other charges were consolidated.
Bell said that North Carolina law does not allow the state to charge anyone with first-degree murder in a vehicular death.
Fatal crash
Norman and another man were getting off I-85 in Belmont when they drove up on a police checkpoint about 10 p.m. on Feb. 22.
Out on parole for felony charges, Norman made a decision to blow by police officers and get back on the interstate, Bell said in court.
The next few minutes were chaos, according to Ellen Deitz Tucker, Deitz�s sister.
Tucker spoke in court Tuesday about the police chase that led to her sister�s death. Tucker and her brother have watched the video footage shot from one of the officer�s dashboard camera. She described how officers accelerated to 120 mph to catch up to Norman. She said an officer tried to box Norman in using an uninvolved driver in the process, and she accused the policeman of trying to push Norman into a guardrail, an act that could have ended in a fatal crash.
Ultimately, Norman eluded officers and took the next exit, N.C. 273. Norman turned right and drove up on the intersection of Wilkinson Boulevard where a fatal crash did occur.
Police chase
When Tucker spoke on behalf of her family, she read from a four-page statement. Only one paragraph was directed solely at Norman.
Tucker told Norman she hopes he spends his time in prison improving himself and learning to make better decisions.
�I pray you find a way of respecting your own humanity, and respecting the humanity you share with the rest of us on this fragile planet,� she said.
Outside of the courtroom, Tucker said she�s contacted the Belmont Police Department repeatedly to ask about their procedures and to find out if any changes have been made since the fatal crash. Tucker said she was told that the matter wouldn�t be discussed until the case was closed.
Tucker said she intends to call again now that Norman has been sentenced.
�It is now time for the Belmont community to study the problem brought to light by the deaths on Feb. 22. Of course the community wants to see police authority respected. But we must demand that the police either find safer ways to stop fleeing drivers, or that they only bring them to justice after they�ve stopped on their own,� Tucker said.
Police policy
Belmont police officers can pursue a suspect when a felony has been committed.
Norman tried to run over an officer when he blew through the checkpoint, said Belmont Police Chief Charlie Franklin.
Franklin said that while the incident ended in tragedy, his officers followed procedure. No officers were suspended or disciplined in the wake of the crash.
Officers have to fill out paperwork that goes to their supervisor and the chief when they are involved in a chase. Franklin can either sign off on the chase or launch an investigation.
In 2011, Belmont Police engaged in three chases. No one was injured or killed in those instances.
Officers initiate pursuit when they believe someone has committed a felony, Franklin said.
A police chase ended in death in 2005 in Belmont. David James was chief then and saw a man push a woman out of a vehicle at a DWI checkpoint. The woman told James she had been assaulted, so he started to follow the man � but before James could catch up with him, the vehicle crashed and the driver died.
Belmont held the most checkpoints in 2011 of any municipality in Gaston County, including the much larger city of Gastonia. Belmont had 158 checkpoints compared to 95 in Gastonia and 12 neighboring Mount Holly.
No winners
Forty-two-year-old Norman will be well into his 70s before he�s up for parole.
His daughter, Te�yana Clyburn, stood before the judge Tuesday morning to speak on her father�s behalf. She sobbed as she spoke about losing her father while he�s incarcerated, and she turned to the families of Loftis and Deitz and apologized for the tragedy.
Norman chose not to speak.
Defense attorney Rocky Lutz said his client wakes up each day with regret for his bad choices the night of the crash.
�He�s never denied accountability for what he did that night,� said Lutz. �He is as remorseful as any client I�ve ever represented.�
Tucker said her family has been devastated by her sister�s death.
Deitz served as the caregiver for her parents. Deitz�s father died eight months after the crash. Her mother�s dementia has worsened, requiring around-the-clock care. The family has to explain to her at least once a week what happened to her daughter, Tucker said.
Tucker said she grieves for all families involved, but she wants more than a hefty prison sentence for Norman, she wants change.
Police driving at high rates of speed might as well be firing guns on the street, she said. Local and national police policies need to change, said Tucker.
�The police share heavily in the blame for what happened,� she said. �It�s our fault for allowing this.�
You can reach reporter Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and twitter.com/GazetteDiane.


text:
Okay, I'm a little early but early is better than late. What am I talking about? Well, I'm talking about getting ready for Christmas. I've already kept my eyes open for gifts and decorations. Besides purchasing decorations from department stores, I also like making them myself. It's one of the best time of the year to spend with family and work on a fun project.
This week, I decided to create a miniature Christmas tree out of wired ribbon. This is really fun and it's great to do as a family or teachers can use this for school projects also.
Materials: (1-800-965-8746)
Two and half yards of 1″ green wired edge ribbon (#40930)
Two and a half yards of 1 1/2″ green wired edge ribbon (#32776)
8 1/2″ round crafts stick. You can get this at any crafts store. If you can't find 8 1/2″, you can also cut it from a longer stick.
Your choice of rhinestone button
Star shape nail heads or dome. Which ever you prefer.
Multiple colors and sizes of flatback rhinestones
Any size of pearls you'd like
Using the scissors cut 6 inches of the 1 1/2″ ribbon. You're going to need five pieces of this. Then five pieces in 5 inches, five pieces in 4 inches, and five pieces in 3 inches.
Once again using the scissors cut 6 inches of the 1″ ribbon. You're gong to need six pieces of this. Then six pieces in 5 inches, six pieces in 4 inches, and 3 pieces in 3 inches.
Now take the craft stick and place it into the styrofoam. The styrofoam will be the base.
Remember the 6″ of the 1 1/2″ ribbon you cut earlier? There was five pieces. Take the ribbon, add glue to 1/2″ of the ribbon on the edge and wrap it around the stick towards the bottom. Do this with the rest of the ribbon. It's okay if you overlap the area that you already placed the ribbon.
Once you're done with those five pieces. The next part is to do the same with the six pieces of the 1″ ribbon. From then on, you pretty much just have to wrap the ribbons around the stick; switching between the 1″ and the 1 1/2″ ribbon. Go from the largest cut ribbon to the smallest. Such as from 6″ to 5″ to 4″ to 3″.
Once you reach the top, you can glue the rhinestone button on as a star.
Then start shapping the wired ribbon and decorate using the rhinestones, pearls, nailheads and gem-tac glue.
After you're finish, wrap the base with the velvet ribbon and you're done.


text:
In one of his first public appearances since becoming engulfed in a sexual harassment scandal that cost him much of his political power in Albany, Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez held a fundraiser Thursday as part of a possible bid for a City Council seat.
Lopez said he was looking into whether he could raise money for a potential campaign. Guests paid between $100 and $1,000 to attend the event at a Brooklyn banquet ball.
The Democratic assemblyman filed to run for a City Council seat earlier this month, despite harassment allegations and a series of health problems.
"It's America," he told NBC 4 New York. "You're saying me as a citizen, based on allegations, I have no right to explore whether to even run?"
"If anything, I've become the insurgent, independent candidate in this race," he said.
The once-influential Lopez lost his job as Brooklyn Democratic party boss and was stripped of his Assembly leadership role last year after allegations emerged that he had sexually harassed female staffers, which he denies. Two claims were secretly settled for $103,000, using taxpayer money.
Outside the restaurant Thursday, two dozen protesters said they don't want Lopez running for any office.
"I'm incensed that a man is abusing his power and abusing women in the process," said Melissa Quesinberry of Brooklyn.
"Shame on anyone who's inside that building giving him money," said Shirley Ranz of Brooklyn.
Lopez dismissed the protesters as supporters of his likely opponent for the Council.
The state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics investigated the settlements paid out to Lopez's accusers. The findings were filed with the Legislative Ethics Committee but haven't been disclosed. Staten Island District Attorney Daniel Donovan, appointed as a special prosecutor, is investigating.
The investigation gripped the state political scene last summer with tales of a groping assemblyman and a confidential, publicly funded settlement sanctioned by powerful Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Protesters and some politicians, including Silver, urged Lopez to resign, but he refused, saying his constituents should get to decide who should represent them. They did, re-electing him in November to the seat he has held since 1984.
Silver has said that he regrets making the secret June deal but that the accusers requested it.
Lopez, 71, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1993 and announced in 2010 that he had esophageal cancer. He said in February that he had pneumonia for the second time in nine months, his mobility was limited and his health was "deteriorating."
Still, talk circulated of a possible council run, especially after a panel that draws council district maps crafted one last fall that popped his block into the district he's now filed for — currently held by term-limited Democratic Councilwoman Diana Reyna — rather than the less politically appealing district where he'd been. The maps were redrawn after criticism.
It's possible to run for a district from outside it, but a successful candidate would have to move in.
Also, in New York, an elected official can run for another elective office but cannot hold both offices at the same time.


text:
Date: January 13 2013
Roger Federer will launch his bid for a record fifth Australian Open men's crown buoyed by a poll that ranked the Swiss tennis ace the most admired athlete in the country.
For the third year running Federer upstaged our football, cricket and swimming stars in a gemba Asset Study (gES) which surveys Australians' attitudes and opinions towards more than 200 Australian and international sporting icons.
"Australians are very attracted to athletes who are seen as competitive and humble and Roger embodies these attributes," gemba director Rob Mills told AAP.
The study aims to understand which athletes are most admired by Australians.
"Asset Power" is gemba's key indicator of an athlete's ability to engage Australians and measures awareness and likeability of that athlete within the community.
Federer, who begins his Australian Open campaign against young Frenchman Benoit Paire on Tuesday, was humbled to have out-polled the likes AFL superstar Buddy Franklin and Test cricket captain Michael Clarke to be voted the most popular athlete in Australia.
Federer has been heavily influenced by Australians throughout his life and career and the 17-times grand slam champion admitted he thought of one particular Aussie, his late coach Peter Carter, every year upon arrival for the season-opening major.
"(Peter's) parents always come around every year to watch me play, which is nice," Federer said.
"I feel very welcome here. I know the people well. I have good feelings here, good friends.
"So it feels sort of a home away from home to a degree."
Federer hasn't played competitively since losing to world No.1 and two-time defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the final of the World Tour Finals in November.
But the second seed doesn't consider his build-up a gamble.
"It's been very relaxing, the last one and a half months," he said.
"Not many appearances, no press almost. Just focusing on getting ready mentally and physically really.
"I went to South America, played some (exhibition) matches there, which was good for me, because I didn't play any tournaments leading up to this event.
"That was good to do that after a few weeks of vacation.
"Now I feel fine. I arrived really early, two, three days earlier than in the past, which has been quite nice.
"I feel like I have an extra two, three days of a cushion, which is honestly good to have before a slam sometimes.
"I'm hoping for another good year."
This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.
[ The Age | Text-only index]


text:
Keysight Technologies Opens Its Doors
19 comments
As of today, the Electronic Measurement Group of Agilent Technologies is now operating as Keysight Technologies. For the time being, Keysight will operate as a subsidiary of Agilent until early November, when it will become a publicly traded company.
This is, of course, the third name for the business, having been the original business started by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard in 1939. Agilent severed itself from HP in 1999 and now Bill and Dave's core business is once again independent.
On Tuesday, August 5, Keysight Technologies will exhibit at the IEEE EMC Symposium in Raleigh, N.C. It will be the first trade show with the new name. I'll be there and will be sure to take a photo at the Keysight booth. According to the company, all products on display and those now shipping bear the new name.
Bill and Dave are surely smiling. It's too bad that the computer company still bears their names.
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