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There was a lot of excitement surrounding the release of the Goblin 700. It seems that when the designers at the Italian based company SAB decided to build a helicopter, they asked themselves "how can we make it different from anything seen before?" (but probably in Italian I'm guessing...). They certainly seemed to have figured that out with their new 700! There are many innovative features that stand the Goblin apart from any other heli out on the market, and this is very apparent from first glance. From the carbon fiber square tapered boom, to the "steampunk" array of belts and gears, and even the way the cyclic servos are laid out, the Goblin 700 doesn't disappoint.
With videos galore of team pilots Bert Kammerer and Tareq Alsaadi showing what the Goblin is capable of (and more recently Kyle Stacy), it is very apparent that this new design not only looks good, but also performs extremely well. I had been following the progress of the Goblin since the first batch was released, and after thinning my own fleet I got on the waiting list for the next batch. SAB has made a number of revisions since the first batch, and more still since the version I have, which shows that SAB is listening to its customers and continually improving their design. Did SAB stop there? Nope. If the 700 isn't your cup of tea, very soon SAB will have a whole family of Goblins, including a 500, 630, and 770!
|Main Rotor Diameter:
|1568mm (with 690mm blades)
|Main Blade Length:
|690 to 710mm
|Tail rotor diameter:
|Tail blade length:
|Main shaft diameter:
|Tail shaft diameter:
|Spindle diameter:
|Weight including electronics:
|3470g (excluding batteries)
|Futaba 8FGS
|Futaba R6203SB
|Futaba CGY750
|Cyclic Servos:
|Outrage Torque BL9180
|Tail Servo:
|Outrage Torque BL9188
|12S 5000mah 40C SkyLipo
|KDE Direct 700XF-495
|Castle Creations HV-160 V2
|SAB Heli Division
|Available From:
The box arrived safe and sound, packed in an outer shipping box with a little bubble wrap to stop it sliding around. The minimalist art gives no real impression as to what is inside, so all that was left was to open it! It appears as though just as much thought went into the packaging as the design. I was presented with six neatly packed boxes that would make any Tetris fan proud. On top of the boxes, nestled in the center, was the full color instruction manual. Picking up the manual first, I flicked through it briefly and found that everything was illustrated using 3D CAD drawings, as well as additional photos showing various electronics installations.
The first box I pulled out was box number 4. Opening box 4 revealed four foam trays, each wrapped in its own bag, that contained most of the aluminum parts for the heli. The foam trays had been cut specifically to accept the part it was holding, and looked great. The next box I pulled out was box number 6. This box contained the flat carbon fiber parts, such as the skids and side frames. Underneath box 6 was box 2, which contained the canopy and foam blade holder. The canopy is a work of art in itself, and painted by canopy experts "Canomod". The finish of the canopy was spectacular, Canomod really did an excellent job. There were two smaller boxes next to each other, 5 and 7. Box 7 was empty, and the manual showed that this was where combo parts were stored if they were offered. Box 5 contained bags of hardware, and finally box 3 contained the unique boom, blades, and tail blades.
Choosing your equipment for a heli can be a very personal thing. There are many choices out there, and it helps to do a lot of research beforehand, and you can ask around and see what fellow flyers think. To get the Goblin in the air I needed to choose a motor, ESC, receiver, gyro, servos, and batteries.
After talking with a few flying buddies, I decided to contact Patrick Keogler at KDE Direct to ask him a few questions about their XF series of brushless motors. Patrick was very helpful, both in answering my questions and suggesting possible setups that I could use. So I ordered the KDE 700XF-495. This is a powerful motor (11,000+ watts), and I had watched the 600 version fly at IRCHA last year, which I was completely blown away with. Couple that with the customer service I got from KDE and it was a no brainer. The only caveat was that the canopy would need to be cut open to allow the motor to stick out a little, which didn't really bother me too much as it could only help with cooling.
I've been using Castle Creations ESC's for a while now, and I am a big fan of their PC software that lets you program every aspect of the controller. I chose the HV-160 V2, partly because of previous experience with Castle, and partly because this was one of the recommendations from SAB as well as Patrick at KDE.
While browsing servo options, it became apparent that the Torque servos from Outrage were very popular. I contacted Outrage, and they very graciously provided a set of servos for this review. The torque servos are ultra high speed and high torque servos, with an all aluminum case that helps dissipate heat, titanium coated gear train, helical gears, and brushless motor. The cyclic servos are the Torque BL9180, which can handle up to 8.4 volts and will swing 60 degrees in 0.10 with just over 245 ounces of torque. The tail servo, BL9188, again at 8.4 volts, will swing 60 degree in a staggering 0.034 with a little over 83 ounces of torque. Impressive stats for anyone!
I already had a Futaba R6203SB S.Bus receiver, and again it was a no brainer to pair it with a CGY750 flybarless gyro. Using the S.Bus features of both the gyro and receiver, I was able to cut down on wiring, but the biggest bonus is being able to adjust the gyro gains of the rudder, aileron, and elevator channels from my 8FGS. This has fast (no pun intended) become my favorite setup for helis, and I was excited to try it out on the Goblin.
Again I already had some SkyLipo 5000mah 6S batteries, so decided to stick with those and ordered a couple more. They are only 40C, but watching a few videos online of similar powered Goblins convinced me that I would be happy with the setup for now. I decided to use a separate Lipo for the receiver, mainly to take advantage of a High Voltage setup. I had a two cell 2200mah lipo that I hadn't used yet, so it was volunteered for the job. As I came to appreciate later, this was a decision that would save me a lot of money and heart ache.
|Building the Goblin is almost as fun as flying it. Almost. Every step of assembly is marked with a number that corresponds with a bag number, and in that bag are all the parts you need for the current assembly step. In fact, there are so many small ziplock bags in this kit that you will be stocked up for a long time afterwards! As mentioned earlier, the instruction manual is made up of 3D CAD drawings to aid you in the construction process, and is extremely easy to follow. Now here is where SAB breaks the mold yet again, this time with preassembled parts. SAB stresses that the preassembled parts in the kit are all built with threadlock, and that there is no need to take them apart. In many other kits it is necessary to take these sub assemblies apart in order to threadlock them back together, and is a necessary part of the assembly process. It is up to the builder to decide if they want to check up on SAB's promise that these parts have threadlock, and I am sure that many will double check for their own peace of mind. I did a little reading online to see what others had done, and found that the ones that had trusted in SAB had no problems, so I decided to follow suit and trust what SAB was saying. However, I did randomly select a part and disassemble it, only to find that the parts had indeed been assembled with threadlock. I'm happy to say that after many flights I haven't had anything loosen up, but this decision will ultimately be up to you.
The side frames went together extremely fast. One of the many unique features about the Goblin is how most of the electronics and mechanical parts are installed on an upper aluminum plate. This entire plate is removable via several screws, leaving the side frames behind, making replacing the side frames a two minute job. The photo above shows the completed side frames, just about everything else is installed on the aluminum base plate.
The motor drives the rotor head indirectly via a belt and pulley system. This pulley system also contains the one way auto bearing, which must be lubed (triflow) before installation. The tail is also belt driven, with a separate spring loaded belt tensioner that hangs below the main aluminum plate. The main gear is helical cut for extra strength and meshes directly with an aluminum pinion gear at the top of the motor pulley. There is no backlash on the pinion, nor the ability to adjust it, and it is important to use WD40 to lubricate these gears for the first few flights in order for them to break in. Do not be tempted to use an alternative lubricant, I saw first hand on another Goblin what a mess this created, plus it could shorten the life of your gears by causing excessive wear. It is worth noting at this point that the aluminum parts were beautifully machined, and I didn't encounter a single error during assembly.
The motor is mounted to it's own separate aluminum mount. This mount is spring loaded against the main aluminum plate, which acts as a tensioner on the motor to pulley belt. There isn't a lot of room for the motor shaft, so it is necessary to cut it down to size per the instruction manual. I took one of the larger ziplock bags from the kit, and placed the motor inside it with the shaft poking through one of the corners. I then used a dremel with a cut off disc to carefully cut off the excess shaft, after measuring several times to make sure I had it right. The ziplock bag kept any fine metal particles from entering the motor case, which could possibly cause problems later on.
The motor mount was then installed into the side frames, along with the main mechanics, and I installed the motor belt before snugging down all the bolts. Another thing to consider is what size motor pulley you will need to use. The kit comes with a 22 tooth pulley, but after some calculations using Castle's ESC software, I realized that I would need at least a 24 tooth pulley in order to run 2200rpm governed. SAB has a myriad of different pulleys to choose from, so make sure you know which one you want when you order your kit! There is already some great info on the web about the Goblin's gear ratios, so I won't go into it here, suffice it to say that some research ahead of time really helps.
The only thing left to build at this point is the tail. There is no traditional tail hub, instead you have a carbon fiber "cage" that houses the tail rotor shaft and pulley. This is held to the boom with four belts, and can be adjusted by sliding it forward or backward on the boom to adjust belt tension. The tail blades grips are already assembled, along with the pitch slider, which greatly speeds up assembly (that is unless you want to check them yourself!).
The plastic inserts for the tail pushrod and servo were already glued in place, and only a small amount of work was needed to get the rest of the boom finished up. The paint finish on the boom was just as good as the canopy, but there were still a couple of very minor cosmetic flaws. These flaws were along the black part of the boom, and only noticeable upon close inspection. Speaking of the boom, it is one of the most obvious unique features of the goblin. That is no shroud you see in the photos, it's the actual boom. Made of carbon fiber, the boom is of a square, tapered design. This incredibly strong design means that boom supports are not required, and there is no horizontal fin. Some care must be taken when routing the wire from the tail servo, and a little dab of hot glue ensures it doesn't move around.
The boom has an aluminum shoe that slides onto the big aluminum plate sandwiched between the side frames. This is then held in place by two big nylon bolts through the top, as well as two cap head bolts through the side. Once the nylon bolts are snugged down with the included tool, a carbon fiber lockring is installed over the top to stop them from turning. The boom is designed to break away during a crash, and from some accounts that I've read so far this seems to work fairly well. In some earlier models incidence on the aluminum shoe was slightly off, resulting in the greater possibility of a boom strike, and after watching Mr Kammerer's video on how to check the blade to boom clearance, I found that I had plenty of clearance. This advisory from Bert was another great example of the customer service from SAB.
With the mechanics finished all too quickly, it was time to move on to the electronics installation!
I know I must sound like a broken record when I keep mentioning "unique" features of the Goblin, but it simply can't be helped. Looking at how the cyclic servos are set up, you can't help but think of the word. The servos are laid down on their side, spaced evenly around the main shaft, and link directly to the swash with very short ball links. This arrangement just about eliminates any linkage play, and makes for a crisper feeling cyclic. Initially I installed the servos using the rubber grommets that we are all familiar with, but after reading more input from fellow Goblin owners, I decided to remove them and bolt the servos directly to their mounts. Supposedly this eliminates any play in the servo, making a more accurate cyclic. I used the included four way servo arm that came with the Torque servo. It is a very stiff arm, but must be trimmed down and the three unused arms need to be cut off. I made sure everything was centered before I started trimming the servo horn.
There is however a slight drawback to an otherwise impressive design. Once the servos are installed you can't remove or adjust the servo horns. Therefore, it is important to center your servos before installation. I did a dry run with my electronics setup out of the heli, and did all my centering on the table.
The goblin features a raised platform for installing your receiver and gyro. I ended up putting the controller for the CGY750 on the top, and my receiver underneath. The gyro sensor was installed on the underside of the main aluminum plate. SAB also provides a place for you to run your antennas, in my case one on either side of the boom. I later added a short piece of plastic tubing to help prevent any chafing on the antenna wires.
The Castle ESC proved to be something of a challenge. No matter which way I oriented the ESC I could not get it to sit flat on the ESC mounting plate. Others had installed it at a slight angle with a single zip tie holding it in place, but I wasn't happy with this solution. I wanted as much of the ESC sitting on that aluminum plate as possible in order to help dissipate heat. After a lot of head scratching I finally figured out a way that I was happy with. For it to work I temporarily removed the plastic clamshell case from the ESC, and using a dremel sanding drum I carefully cut away some material directly below the battery input wires. I then attached a thin strip of double sided adhesive tape to the top of the ESC, and mounted it upside down to the aluminum plate. I then wrapped a velcro tie around the whole thing to keep it in place. I was happy with this method for two reasons. The first was that it placed the ESC's heatsink in direct contact with the aluminum plate, which itself has cooling fins on the bottom. The second reason was that this also placed the ESC cooling fins directly in the opening of the canopy, ensuring air travelled through the fins. The reason the material was cut away from the clamshell was to allow the wires to curve upward, and not rub on the edge of the aluminum plate. I later cut and added some fuel tubing to the ESC wire as an extra precaution. You can see in the first photo below where the plastic needed to be trimmed to allow the wire to travel up and over the front of the ESC plate.
This also meant that the motor wires would not fit through the hole in the side frames that were designated for those wires. This was not an issue, as I simply looped the wires around the back and down around the side frame. I glued a square piece of the soft fuzzy side of velcro to the inside of the canopy just to make sure there was no chafing on the motor wires.
There were a few things I needed to do before I could really fly the Goblin the way I wanted. I "guesstimated" some throttle curves so that I could fly with the governor disabled while I set up the CGY750. I use linear pitch curves, so once I had set the pitch range mechanically, there was very little to do in the radio. I mixed in a little expo on the aileron and elevator too, just until I got used to the heli. I made sure that I had the WD40 handy to lube the gears, and headed out to the flying field.
After spraying the main and pinion gears with some WD40, I lifted off on the first flight. It was incredibly smooth, but I didn't get to enjoy it too much as I was concentrating on setting up the gyros. I limited my first few flights to just three minutes, until I had a better idea of how much my batteries were getting used. I spent the first three or four flights tuning the gyro and checking that everything else was still tight. I did some gentle forward flight, and progressed into faster forward flight to test the tail. Everything seemed good at the end of day one, but I still hadn't really flown the Goblin.
Now that the gyros were dialed in pretty good, I activated the governor mode on the Castle HV160. It's worth noting that there is a certain amount of setup that needs to be performed on the ESC itself, and if not done correctly you will not get the performance you are expecting. From my initial flights I found that with my gyro set nicely for higher head speeds, lower headspeeds would induce a little wobble. With this in mind I kept my rpms pretty close together, with normal mode at 2000rpm, idle up 1 at 2100 and idle up 2 at 2200. With the 24t motor pulley, the Castle software was happy governing at 2200.
After a few more flights of testing and tweaking, I felt confident enough to put a real flight on the Goblin. A little more relaxed, I flew the Goblin through most of what I could do. One of the first things I noticed was how quick it was to respond to pitch inputs, the KDE 700 is a monster motor and pulls the Goblin through the air as though it weighs next to nothing, and those Torq cyclic servos are extremely quick and precise. The tail blew my mind as well. With the Torq servo on the tail as well, combined with the CGY750, the tail is lightning fast and stops instantly with no bounce at all. It just starts and stops exactly where you want it.
Because of the sleek nature of the Goblin, it is one fast heli! I couldn't believe how quickly it would climb, and high speed passes were a lot of fun. With the canopy wrapped around most of the mechanics, blending in with the boom (that doesn't need any external boom supports), the Goblin is very aerodynamic and it certainly shows in the air. It tracks as straight as an arrow, and rolls are very axial. That being said the Goblin is also a 3D monster, with that much power you can flip flop the Goblin around without any worries of bogging the motor. The HV160 and KDE 700 seem to be a great match for each other, I don't recall a single moment when I thought "uh oh, too much collective just bogged the motor". However, after a little down the deck smack, there is that inevitable grin that comes from a high speed pass, especially when your heli is faster than most of the planes out at your field...
This video below shows me getting more comfortable after about 20 flights.
To see what a real pro can do with the Goblin, you should watch this video of SAB team pilot Bert Kammerer.
|So far I'm a big fan of the Goblin. SAB seem to have their ear to the ground, and are listening to feedback from pilots and continue to improve upon the design. They did have a few bumps in the road initially, and issues have been addressed and problems solved. I have no doubt that we will continue to see great things from SAB as time goes on. In the mean time I will thoroughly enjoy my 700. I see my Goblin and I progressing together, myself improving on my skills, and the Goblin giving me the confidence to push myself further. It really is a joy to fly, and to anyone who is on the fence about getting one themselves - do it!
|Innovative Design
|Servo needs to be removed to adjust horns
|Extreme performance
|Looks and feels great!
|Thread Tools
Bellissimo, amice!
That is one good-looking Italian there, bro. Beyond cool.
Awesome review Chris, thanks for posting! I've watched videos of the Goblin 700 for a few months now and even though I don't fly 3D, my jaw hit the floor in watching what this heli is capable of. It's too bad it's not designed for my style of flying as I'd love to have one. A hobby shop owner near me had assembled one but not yet flown it and I was facinated with its construction and belt-drive layout.
Thanks again, and enjoy!
Im not a heli guy, but watching that thing fly gives me a chubby.
RE: Bruce Jenner
Recent article on Bruce Jenner and featuring his Goblin, in part.
And while it's clear the Goblin is a marvel of engineering performance and will set the direction of our helis in the future, I must say that even after all these months, its bionic dragonfly look still has me left a little cold.
Last edited by FNFAL; Aug 14, 2012 at 08:49 AM.
I need to thin down my fleet before I even think about it though, as I'm already lacking space in this one bedroom accommodation.
Will be closely watching this thread.... Subscribed.
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Russellville Police Department Public Information Officer Drew Latch said the unidentified woman was heading north on Arkansas Avenue at 39th Street when her truck left the roadway to the right, then hit a fence, parked farm equipment and a utility pole.
Latch said the woman was unconscious, and the people who found her began administering CPR. When Pope County EMS and Russellville firefighters arrived, emergency personnel took over the CPR and took the woman to Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center, where she remained in intensive care.
Latch said the cause of the accident isn't known at this time, but it is standard procedure to have blood work done on an unconscious person involved in an accident.

subset: commoncrawl


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WASHINGTON, DC, March 5, 2008 (ENS) - The federal government is suspending its loan program for new coal plants in rural communities. The Rural Utility Service announced today that due in part to uncertainty over litigation, it will not fund new coal plants in 2008 and 2009.
A branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Rural Utility Service provides low-cost financing to rural electric cooperatives. It has issued more than $1.3 billion in loans for new plant construction since 2001.
The Rural Utility Service announcement reverses a position the agency took last May when it said it would process a loan application to fund 85 percent of a proposed coal-fire power plant near Great Falls, Montana, at an estimated cost of $600 million.
In July 2007, Earthjustice filed a lawsuit challenging Rural Utility Service financing of the Montana power plant, citing the agency's failure to consider the global warming implications of financing new coal plants.
American coal-fired power plants currently pump two billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere annually, which exceed the greenhouse gas emissions from any other source.
"This is a big decision. It says new coal plants can't go to the federal government for money at least for the next couple years, and these are make or break times to get these plants built," said Earthjustice attorney Abigail Dillen, based in Montana.
The Rural Utility Service funding suspension will also affect at least five other proposed coal plants in Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas, Texas, and Missouri.
The Rural Utility Service announcement is the latest piece of bad news for would-be coal plant operators. In January, Wall Street downgraded coal stocks, citing cost increases of burning coal to generate electricity that will be coming when Congress regulates greenhouse gas emissions to curb climate change.
A coal-fired power plant spews greenhouse gases over a Wyoming rural area. (Photo by Greg Goebel)
On February 14, two federal legislators sent a letter to Rural Utility Service Administrator James Andrew questioning the agency's financing of new coal plants.
"We are concerned that financing these huge new sources of greenhouse gas emissions puts taxpayer dollars at risk, as well as undermines the United States government's efforts to address global climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions," wrote Congressman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House Government Oversight Committee, and Congressman Jim Cooper, a Tennessee Democrat.
"In addition to these broader issues," Waxman and Cooper expressed particular concerns regarding the role of the Rural Utility Service in the development of the Sunflower Electric Power Corporation's proposed new coal-fired power plant units at Holcomb Station, Kansas.
"The Department of Justice recognizes that Sunflower is a financially troubled borrower, which owes the federal government roughly $200 million in loans for an existing plant at Holcomb Station," wrote Waxman and Cooper.
"Sunflower and its partners are now proposing to take on billions of dollars in additional private sector debt to construct a huge new $3.6 billion coal-fired power plant at Holcomb, comprised of two new units. The expanded plant is projected to release 11 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, which would amount to over 500 million tons of carbon dioxide over its lifetime."
Sunflower cannot take on additional debt without permission from the Rural Utility Service, which granted that permission in July 2007.
But Waxman and Cooper say they are "concerned" that the Rural Utility Service "may not have accounted for the risk of substantial additional costs associated with the new plant's massive greenhouse gas emissions."
If the Rural Utility Service failed to take this into account, "it has put both taxpayer funds and Kansas ratepayers in jeopardy. If this plant is built, Kansas ratepayers may be stuck with billions of dollars in stranded assets and sky-rocketing costs for power," wrote Waxman and Cooper.
In October 2007, Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby denied Sunflower the air quality permit needed to build the two units at Holcomb on the grounds that the greenhouse gas emissions from the facility would be detrimental to the environment of Kansas.
Kansas legislators now are moving a bill through the Statehouse that would overturn Bremby's decision. The bill won approval in the Kansas House today and is now headed for the state Senate. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is expected to veto the measure.
"We will know that the Rural Utilities Service has agricultural interests at heart when it starts promoting clean renewable energy that directly benefits rural agriculture instead of promoting coal," said Anne Hedges of the Montana Environmental Information Center. "Now it has a chance to help the country and rural communities by funding renewable energy sources that truly benefit local people."
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.


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Hi folks,
I'm trying to mod a builded dll for a game (medal of honor allied assault), but it doesn't works because of 'jmp' undeclared. (I don't have any experience at all in kernel programming)
My question is:
How can I get jmp declared?
I'm building it with Dev-C++.
thanks already,


text:
Trailblazers 40 Below Tabs Bill Clancy
The greater the challenge the more fun Bill Clancy, vice president of retail strategy at Lake Michigan Credit Union, has trying to figure out a solution.
That drive has helped him achieve at his job and drove his selection as the next Trailblazer 40 Below from Credit Union Times.
Get the whole story on this young innovator here. And check out all the winners so far at our Trailblazers 40 Below microsite.


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" Author: Nick Sharratt / Format: Paperback / Date of publication: 06 April 2009 / Genre: Interactive & Activity Books & General / Subcategory: Picture & Activity Books / Category: Interactive & Activity Books & Packs / Publisher: Scholastic / Title: Octopus Socktopus / ISBN 13: 9781407107318 / ISBN 10: 1407107318 "
* Prices may differ from that shown
When it comes to bedtime stories there are certain books that fill my heart with glee when I am presented with them. These books are funny, brightly coloured and most importantly nice and short! Octopus Socktopus is one of my 2 year old son's favourite books, he is a huge fan of Nick Sharratt books and we have quite a range in his bedroom book box. This one has a RRP of £6.99 but is available on amazon for £4 to £5.
Nick Sharratt has written and illustrated many books for this age range as well as being a well known illustrator for TV and fiction e.g. Tracey Beaker and Jacqueline Wilson. He has a unique, appealing style which relies on simple lines and bright colours, very cartoony. We own at least seven of his toddler books and all of them have been a hit with both children. They are generally my default birthday and Christmas gifts for children aged between 0 and 3 years old and have always been met with excitement and approval.
This largish picture book is beautifully simple. On each page is a picture of an octopus with the word and picture altered in some way. The first two are the eponymous Octopus and Socktopus, but there are other gems like Punk Rocktopus with his Mohican and pierced nose, Cuckoo Clocktopus (Ticktocktopus!), Octopuss with its bowl of milk, Doctorpus with his bag. My son's favourite is the Toffee Choctopus which looks like a giant quality street sweet. Lift the flap and the paper unfolds to reveal the chocolate octopus inside - this page has been dribbled on and licked rather a lot, but the shiny coating means that it looks as good as new. Each picture is simply drawn but full of life and humour. There are only 24 pages in the whole book so theoretically you could whizz through this in about 30 seconds. However each picture is so bright and colourful, beautifully drawn and illustrated that you can spend much longer poring over some of the pictures.
In addition some of the pages have paper engineering that adds a further layer of entertainment. The wheels of the Octobus all turn, if you pull the tab at the top of the cuckoo clock then the octopus pops out, the doctor's case flaps open and much more. At the end of the book, just like at the end of Moo Cow, Kung Fu Cow and Elephant Wellyphant there is a paper door which you open to slide out more of the subject creature, in this case the octopus. Despite my fears these elaborate paper mechanisms and flaps have survived extremely well. We have owned this book for about six months and it is read daily, often independently by my son and not one flap or mechanism has become damaged. The pages are equally as strong and have so far proved resistant to any sort of ripping or pulling.
My son has loved this book since he was 18 months old, the primary coloured pictures, appealing creatures and limited text are extremely appealing to this age group. However I have also caught my 6 year old reading it and have to admit to flicking through the pages myself. It is short enough to mean that repeated presentations aren't met with a chorus of groans (I'm looking at you there Gruffalo) and if necessary it can be zoomed through if bedtime is stretching out too long. But its also a lovely book to share first thing in the morning before your brain starts working properly, just looking at and discussing the pictures seems to satisfy my son.
This is simply one of the greatest and most innovative children's books I have ever seen. I have to give this book 5 out of 5 (but would give it 6 if possible).
Written by Nick Sharratt it is basically a few pages of rhyming octopus with various characteristics as can be seen on the front of the cover, such as an octopus wearing socks, hence socktopus. There are drawings of each octopus and a lot of the pages have pop ups, or fold outs, or bits that move.
This book really helped my youngest child start talking when he was 3 as the words rhyme and the absurdness made him laugh. Now he is a year older he still goes back to this book time and time again. My older child (7 years old) also loves this book, but does get a little (understandably!) fed up with because it is read time and time again.
The only downside is that it is a little short, and so great you really want more. There is also Nick's other book in the same vain of Elephant Wellypant about elephants that is equally as great.
Today was a good day for my toddler at the library as he came home laden down with a great selection of books. Amongst the haul was this bright and attractive 'Octopus Socktopus' written by Nick Sharratt. Nick Sharratt seems to be quite a prolific writer and illustrator of children's books and we have been drawn to a few of his books in the past as they are always colourful and humourous.
This particular paperback certainly does not disappoint in any respect. The bright cover featuring two smiling octopuses (or should that be octopi?) caught our eye, particularly as one of them is very bizarrely wearing a sock on each tentacle! The fun and bizarre themes continue within the book as each octopus has been given something of a makeover and has been given an amusing new name to accompany the transformation.
The octopus wearing the eight socks has become a 'socktopus.' We also have a 'Goldilocktopus', scoffing porridge and complete with spotty ribbons that can be twiddled with and turned (and unfortunately also ripped or pulled off, if the reader is a little heavy handed, as my two year old has a tendancy to be.) The book also features a 'cuckoo clocktopus' with a cute pop up octopus instead of a cuckoo and a ghostly octopus known as a 'scary shocktopus'!
The whole book continues in the same vein with similar puns and plays on the whole octopus theme. There is no 'story' to follow as such but with language this well written and so funny, it really doesn't seem to matter. My personal favourites are the spotty octopus (chicken pocktopus) swiftly followed by 'Send for the Doctorpus' as well as a bus carrying a group of octopus, which could only be called an 'octobus' - what else! The language used is incredibly clever and very skillfully pulled together to make a very funny story.
It is a bit of a shame that the intended audience probably won't appreciate the wit involved here as some of the phrases are going to be completely meaningless to a two or three year old. There is a 'Party Frocktopus', for instance, who is wearing a pink party dress with a lift up flap which reveals 'Knickerbocktopus' underneath! As an adult, I can appreciate the clever humour but toddlers aren't going to be familiar with words such as 'frock' or 'knickerbockers,' Even my seven year old, who was chuckling at many of the images and phrases, was confused by the 'Knickerbocktopus' so I had to explain what they were.
I wouldn't be put off by this at all as my two year old's attention was held throughout the 24 page story and he was thoroughly entertained by the bright pictures and the tempting flaps and pull out features. I like how the images are so colourful and clear and there isn't too much going on in each spread to confuse or distract the young reader. Instead there is generally at least one interactive feature on each double page spread, whether this be a tab to make something (octopus related) pop out, wheels to turn or doors to open.
These fun features, alongside the beautifully drawn pictures and clever puns make this a book that is a pleasure to read, for both parents as well as the children. This is one book that I was more than happy to read 'again' and 'one last time' at bedtime!
Published by Alison Green Books 2009
New copies available from £4.50 currently on Amazon
Octopus Socktopus is a childrens book written by Nick Sharratt and published in 2008.
It is available in paperback and hardback, this review is based on the paperback version.
The cover is bright, colourful and glossy. It has 2 octopus on the front (one wearing different socks on all eight legs).
The book is quite flimsy and can be bent backwards and forewards - this is good in some ways but children are very heavy handed and whilst our copy is in good condition at the moment I don't suspect it will be too long before it gets damaged (the corners are already starting to get bend marks). Fortunately the book isn't completely weak and is actually quite tough for a paperback. If I realised at the time that the book also came in hardback then I probably would have paid a couple of pound extra and brought that because it's definitely a book for keeps.
Octopus Socktopus has 24 pages and includes tabs and flaps for added fun.
The first page has an octopus on holding a sign saying "This book belongs to ..." which gives the child an opportunity to write their name in.
The book starts with a regular octopus and goes on to more random and bizarre octopus. Each page has a fun octopus illustration and the name of the octopus underneath or above.
There is a Socktopus (the same as the octopus with socks on the cover), Goldilocktopus (an octopus with blonde bunches, eating 3 bowls of porrige), Cuckoo Clocktopus (with is a pop up cuckoo clock which has a tab that needs to be pulled up to open a door to reveal an octopus), Toffee Choctopus (which you unwrap like a sweet to reveal a brown/chocolate octopus), Scary Shocktopus (a white octopus with black background and bats), Chicken Pocktopus (a pink octopus with red spots), Doctorpus (an octopus with glasses, stethascope, bowtie and medical bag - the medical bag is a flap which can be opened to expose the contents of the bag), Helicopterpus (a pop up octopus with hopter on his head), Punk Rocktopus (octopus with spikey pink hair, guitar and safety pin through his nose), Furry Octopus (a fluffy octopus with cat face), Eight-Wheeled Octobus (a bus full of octopus which has 4 wheels that can be spun around), Party Frocktopus (a girlie octopus in a dress - the skirt of her dress is a flap which you can lift up to see her knickers - above it says 'Knickerbocktopus!').
The last page is a blue door with 'Knock Knocktopus' written on, when you open the door (which is a flap) it slides out a dozen different octopus with party hats, blowers and streamers and says 'Chock-o-blocktopus'.
As you can see the book is quite a strange one but is very unique and fun. Sometimes I feel like I enjoy it as much as my 2 year old daughter! It makes a refreshing change to most of the other books we read together. She really enjoys this book and particularly the pages with flaps and tabs as it allows her to interact.
Although my 2 year old likes it, I also think older children will enjoy it and find it interesting and funny. Because of the strangeness of the book I'd say it would best suit 3-7 year olds.
The only downsides really are that some of the flaps and tabs can be ripped and generally destroyed so it's best to keep an eye on the little ones.
It is priced at £6.99 although I'm sure you can get it cheaper if you shop around. It's currently for sale at Amazon.co.uk, Waterstones, WHSmith and Borders to name a few.
Overall Octopus Socktopus is a very fun, amusing and unique book which all children will love.


text:
BalletX Makes Philly "Happy"
C'mon, c'mon get happy! —said contemporary ballet company BalletX to everyone in Philadelphia.
BalletX's Summer Series kicks off next month in Philly, and to get the city revved up for the string of premiere-studded performances, the company put together a video montage of BalletX dancers and other Philadelphians showing off their best moves to—what else?—Pharrell Williams' hit song "Happy." (Thought that song was over? You thought wrong. "Happy" WILL NEVER DIE, and frankly we are totally OK with that.)
The four-minute video is chock-full of adorableness—we're especially partial to the talented little guy at 1:45—and features all kinds of iconic Philly landmarks, too. Take a look, and get your tickets to the BalletX Summer Series here!
Harper Watters is a ballet dancer for today's generation. A social media maestro and a charismatic performer, the Houston Ballet soloist is equally at home in front of the camera hosting his hit YouTube series, "The Pre Show"; interacting with fans on his crazy-popular Instagram account; or showing off his beautiful classical technique onstage. It's a multifaceted identity that's proven to be invaluable to his career—and it's taking him to places he never even dreamed of.
Getting corrections from our dance instructors is how we grow, and as students, it's important that we do our best to apply every correction right away. But sometimes—whether it's because we're in physical pain, or have a lot on our minds, or are just not paying attention—those corrections don't sink in. And from a teacher's standpoint, giving the same corrections time and time again gets old very fast. Here are 10 important corrections dance teachers are tired of giving. Take them to heart!
Summer intensive auditions can be nerve-racking. A panel of directors is watching your every move, and you're not even sure if you can be seen among the hundreds of other dancers in the room. We asked five summer intensive directors for their input on how dancers can make a positive impression—and even be remembered next year.
When we think of a dancer who's broken barriers, American Ballet Theatre principal Misty Copeland tends to be the name that comes to mind. And though Copeland has been a crucial advocate for equality in the world of ballet, Raven Wilkinson—a mentor of Copeland's—is considered one of the original pioneers of the movement.
In 1955, Wilkinson became the first African American to dance with the renowned Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Her fortitude in the face of bigotry and hate cemented her legacy. Now, with the release of the new children's book Trailblazer: The Story of Ballerina Raven Wilkinson, a new generation of dancers will be inspired by her tale of overcoming obstacles to achieve a dream.
The book details Wilkinson's life, from her experience as a young dancer training in Harlem, to her run-ins with the Ku Klux Klan while on tour with Ballet Russe, to her later ballet career in Europe. "There were times where my heart really hurt because of the situations I had to deal with," she says. "But I always had faith that I was made to be a dancer and that I was gonna dance."
Dance Spirit spoke with Wilkinson to discuss the new book and get her take on racial equality within the ballet world.
Postmodern pioneer Trisha Brown redefined how dance is seen and felt. A founding member of Judson Dance Theater, Brown frequently collaborated with other experimental artists like Yvonne Rainer, Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, and Steve Paxton.
She embraced pedestrian movement, pairing everyday gesture with rhythm and fluidity. "It's liquid," says Wendy Perron, who danced with Brown in the '60s and '70s. "Like a river with many tributaries, water coming out of a faucet, or being on a raft and seeing the water move away in different directions." Brown also pushed beyond stages with choreography in fields, museums—even on the sides of buildings.
So book your tickets to Tulsa already, people!
There's a common misconception that a dancer's body has to be thin. But the truth is that talent knows no body type, and the number on the scale never determines an artist's capabilities. Here are some extraordinary dancers fighting the stereotype of what a dancer "should" look like.
We always love a good halftime performance. And we LIVE for halftime performances involving talented kids. (Fingers and toes crossed that Justin Timberlake follows Missy Elliott's lead and invites some fabulous littles to share his Super Bowl stage.)
So obviously, our hearts completely melted for 5-year-old Tavaris Jones. Tavaris may have just started kindergarten, but during Monday night's game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, the Detroit native danced with the panache of a veteran pro at halftime.


text:
Bennington College inaugurates 10th president
BENNINGTON - Bennington College celebrated the inauguration of its 10th president, Dr. Mariko Silver, on Saturday in Greenwall Auditorium. Silver also used the weekend's events to announce a new partnership with the Bennington Museum and her dedication to making the college more of a part of the Bennington community.
The inauguration ceremony was introduced by Williams College President Adam Falk and Marlboro College President Ellen McCulloch-Lovell.
"Speaking for the five other women presidents in this state, we greet you and embrace you," McCulloch-Lovell said. "From just 40-some miles away from my hill of Marlboro College ... to your hill in North Bennington, we seek you to shout congratulations from your sister college."
McCulloch-Lovell, also the chair of the Association of Vermont Independent Colleges, formally announced Silver's inauguration on behalf of 18 college president colleagues in the association.
Silver became president of Bennington College in July 2013. The college wanted to give her time to get to know the campus community, meet alumni and parents before the inauguration.
Faculty member Angel Brownell and college senior Bahar Baharloo brought up Silver for her inaugural address in ritual, which Baharloo explained is not customary of the college.
"At its groundbreaking in 1931, Bennington established a covenant of simplicity, brevity and dignity in its formal rituals, and hence we have not had any traditional symbols of office," Baharloo said, presenting to Silver a colorful, extravagant neck piece. "This medallion was designed for today, for Mariko: To represent the confidence and exuberance we feel as we invest in our new president. Inspired by President Silver's favorite flower, the peony, this pendant was crafted by Bennington College faculty and fabricated in our 3D printing studio."
After accepting the medallion, Silver announced her dedication to furthering the college's success in the liberal arts. She also extended her wish to connect the college better with the town of Bennington.
"We will build on the partnerships we have and forge new ones just beyond the gates and around the globe," Silver said. "Now, more than ever, we must bring Bennington to the world and the world to Bennington."
In closing, Silver pondered, "Why? Why Bennington? Why now?"
"Because today, more than ever before, the world needs institutions that match its creative restlessness that embrace the complexity and diversity of our planet," responded Silver. "That are focused not on the final shape of what the institution wants to be, but on the hope for the way the future can be."
Additionally, Silver declared her intent to make more college events open to the greater community. For a list of things going on at the college, visit http://bennington.bwcs-hosting.com/cal/main/showMain.rdo
Contact Tom Momberg at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMomberg
If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us. We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom.


text:
Surely this is a documentation bug and should have been reported via RT ?
Why should module users have to check yet another documentation source ?
Not that I have anything against AnnoCPAN in principle but this seems a good example of using it incorrectly.
My initial reaction was to report this with RT, but I didn't want to duplicate existing information in case CPAN authors feel overloaded.
It's a tough call, but your response prompted me to go with my gut feeling and send a patch in Bug #15573 [cpan.org].
Thanks for the suggestion, essuu.


text:
Frump's been frumping about boxing and MMA-related subjects quite a bit lately, so how could we pass up the chance to log a quick post on the NFL's recent foray into that growing market?
Now, as I've chronicled before, I'm certainly no expert on the "fighting" sports, hockey included. However, notwithstanding the apparent beatdown delivered by Johnson here, my gut tells me that the uproar amongst NFL fans is related more to the relative novelty of the event itself rather than any observed skill.
After all, I imagine most hockey fans would jeer such an outburst — and not out of distaste for the utter lack of sportsmanship displayed. No, they'd probably just be expecting more. More than what they might expect from a tiff between the cast of Disney on Ice, at least, and certainly to not see the players, let alone officials, break it up.
All that said, I'm not suggesting an NFL season already infused with the controversy associated with something like helmet-to-helmet collisions is losing any popularity contest amongst fans of "violent" sports. Far from it.
But if some of the hottest stories around the league — in back-to-back weeks — are going to be Cortland Finnegan's tap-out and Richard Seymour's devastating right hook, well, why not capitalize on the trend?
Then again, perhaps they already are.


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Results 1 to 10 of 25
Finished my tsunami pump ugrade for my '08 SUPRA Sunsport 22V. I wanted to post pictures of the project along with directions on how I did it. This system will eliminate the sprinkler valves, filter and RULE pump. The only thing I used left over from the stock system was the ball valve and intake grate. You will need to completely remove the entire stock manifold/sprinkler valves, cut the wiring, remove filter and RULE pump.
First, I had to remove the intake grate from the boat and grind down the scupper. With this setup you will not be using sprinkler valves anymore and the tsunamis will not prevent water from entering into the bags while plaining the boat/driving. The vented loops are used to help alleviate the bags from filling.
After you have grinded the scupper off the intake grate, re-install onto the boat by sealing with 3M Marine Silicon 4200. Make sure and remove it from the boat! dont try and grind it on the boat, I can gaurantee you will do damage to the bottom of your boat/gel coat! and wear eye protection and long sleeves when grinding. Brass slivers will be flying all over the place. I also chose to put duck tape around the intake grate before removing it, this helps with scratching and also makes it nice when you apply the silicone after re-installing without making a mess of everything.
The manifold I used is 3/4" brass, I bought all the parts at Home Depot. I chose brass because it is strong for this applications, wont rust and a much better alternative than PVC. It is more expensive, but the last thing you want it have your manifold crack and start taking in water in the bilge area. You can see by the pictures it sits very low to the bottom of the boat. It was a tight fit, but my main concern was having it low to the bottom which I accomplished. You need to have the tsunami pumps close to the bottom of the boat because they are not self priming. They need to be below the water draft line on the outside of the boat to create pressure to force water into the pump. I had no priming issues at all, hit the fill switch and you are good to go. Unlike the stock RULE pump that will not prime at times unless you drive the boat, and even this method did not always work.
Once the manifold is put together and installed after the ball valve, you need to screw on the tsunami pumps. This is also a great time to extend the wiring on the pumps, it will make it much easier than waiting until they are mounted by the bottom of the boat. I would add about 1 ft of wire to each wire, this should be plenty to reach the wires from the sprinkler valves. Obviously everything that is threaded needs pipe dope or teflon tape wrapped around the threads to prevent leaking.
After this the wiring will easily match up, just reconnect the stock wires to the tsunami's. Does not matter which wire you connect. The wiring from the RULE pump can just be capped of, you will not need this anymore. Make sure and connect the proper wiring to the pump you want to fill a certain bag with. They had the wires marked right, left and center on the stock wiring harness.
Now you are ready to install your vented loops. I chose to mount them on the rear wall of the ski lockers as high up as possible. The higher up the better. I also mounted the center ballast vented loop right next to the drivers side vented loop. Wakemakers recommends mounting it under the front dash, I chose this route because it was easier and seems to work fine. I figured if it would not fill up the rear bags, why would it fill up the center bag??? my theory proved correct, no problems with center bag filling.
Now you are ready to connect your hoses to the vented loops and tsunami pumps. I used 1" hose clamps and 3/4" no-kink bilge line, the stuff is bullet proof and wont kink and is easy to work with. I used an additional 25 feet of hose to make all the new connections. You will also need (3) double male barbed 3/4" fitting to attach the new bilge line to the existing ballast line. This makes it a lot easier not having to re-route the entire fill line. I picked up 5 or 6 of them just to have a few extras on hand incase I needed them. You can always return the ones you dont use.
You will run the hose from the tsunami to the vented loop, back into the bag. Pretty simple, and the drains will not have to be touched seeing as each bag already has its own drain pump on it. I would recommend replacing the stock drain tube with the new 3/4" no-kink line, this will eliminate any headaches of pinching the line from a full bag. (had this happen to me once, it sucks). You will need a couple 3/4" double male barbed fittings to attach the no-kink bilge line to the existing stock drain lines. I would cut it just behind or near the sidewall and re-run the no-kink from this point. The 3/4" double male barbed fittings are available at Lowes, wakemakers did not sell them.
The last item you need to replace is the 3 amp fuses on the fuse panel under the dash. If you crawl on your back and look up to the right side of the dash area you will see a fuse bank with 6 fuses. They are clearly marked with 3. There is also three other fuses that already are using 5 amp fuses, dont do anything to these, they are for the drain pumps. The 3 amp fuses will need to be replaced with 5amp fuses or else you will start to blow fuses when filling. The sprinkler valves you replaced used very little amperage to operate, the Tsunamis run at about 2 amps, so 5 is a good choice. 3 amps is a little close to the max output and eventually you will blow a fuse. Its also not a bad idea to keep some of these handy on your boat just incase you end up needing one on the water. They can be purchased at any automotive store.
One other recommendation is to vent the bags, Supra did not do this. It will make a huge difference in filling them and not having air pockets and loosing ballast weight. Typically you loose about 20% from air pockets. All you need to do is run a line from the extra plugged fitting on the bag to the end of your drain line with a "Y" connector and one way check valve. The check valve is used to stop water from entering back into the bag when emptying. Try and get it as close to the end of the line near the exit hole out the side of the boat. This will also help the bag drain when it is completely full, letting you know it has reached capacity. And of course the biggest advantage to let all the air push out while filling. I have done this to all three of my bags. Tie each bag into the drain line it is using. Make sure you have the extra vent plug on your bag, some have them and some dont. If you dont have the extra one you will have to purchase an entire new bag.
After this you are finished and good to go. The tsunami's will pump 13.4 GPM per bag, much faster than the stock RULE system. The 3/4" intake is good for about 38-40 GPM. So it will accommodate the necessary flow for all the three pumps running at once. Tsunamis are reliable, easy to use pumps. The nice thing about aerator style pumps over impeller driven is aerator pumps will not burn up when ran dry. Impeller pumps when ran dry will burn up and need to be re-built.
I chose the tsunami's over the JABSCO pumps (they use in malibu and mastercraft) because the tsunami 800's put out 13.4 GPM compared to the JABSCO at 9 gpm, so you are getting a little more flow. In my opinion, the Tsunami's will probably outlast the JABSCO pump. And if you do need to ever replace one they are only about $30. JABSCO pumps are running about $235 each. The JABSCO pumps also use 9 amp per pump, and the Tsunami is less than 2 amps per pump. All 3 Tsunamis running at one time do not equal the amount of amp draw one JABSCO pump uses. I just could not see that much benefit using it in this application, especially since the Supra has seperate drain pumps already installed for each bag. Another problem with the JABSCO pumps is when the impeller goes bad, water will drain out of the sacs.
Hope this gives some useful information, I know its a great upgrade from the stock system. In my opinion, well worth the $300. Total install time for me was about 7 hours. I lake tested this system last week and hod no problems with it filling or having the bags fill up when the system is not being used and the boat is being driven. If you choose to also vent the bags, it will be an additional $150 worth of parts to do this.
Jason at wakemakers help me build this system, I ordered everything from them. Unfortunately the adaptors for the stock manifold they sent me did not fit, that is why I built my own out of brass. My stock manifold would not have worked because there was not enough space to fit the tsunami's down below near the bottom of the boat. Jason has been very helpful and I would highly recommend them to get your parts and any questions you might have for them.
Parts list:
3 Tsunami 800 ballast pumps
3/4" Male barbed fitting that will screw on exit port on Tsunami pump
20-25 ft of 3/4" no kink bilge line (I call it no-kink, its ribbed)
3 3/4" double male barbed fittings
A bunch of 3/4"-1" hose clamps
Solder gun/wire connectors to extend wiring on pumps
Extra wire (5 ft max) to exend wiring on pumps
3 Vented loops
Brass Manifold parts or Supra Manifold (my supra manifold would not fit the pumps correctly by the bottom of boat)
3m Marine 4200 silicone
Pipe dope or teflon tape
Tie straps to secure wiring
Electrical tape
Grinder to grind off intake scupper/vice to hold intake grate
Safety glasses/long sleeve shirt while grinding
5 amp fuses (3 of them)
If you are venting the bags:
3 "Y" or "T" connectors to tie into your drain line
3 one way check valves
3 male quick disconnect fittings (goes into extra port on bag)
3 female quick disconnect fittings (with red tab, goes on bilge line)
3 3/4" double barbed male fittings
Extra 3/4" no-kink bilge line
More hose clamps
Website is www.wakemakers.com
Last edited by Fman; 09-05-2009 at 01:17 AM.
Here are a couple more pics...
08-03-2009, 12:00 PM #3Junior Member
- Join Date
- Aug 2008
- Posts
- 1
fman did you just use the sprinkler valve wires to power your 800 tsunumi, i'm thinking about adding 2 1200 tsunumi to mine 08 22ssv.
intrigued with this. perhaps you could mspaint a diagram or something to show what you did and how the vent lines are ran. I'm not visualizing how the vents will keep the bags from filling...
Is this similar to the setup that nautique uses? I have seen their pump setup and it looks real nice. much more professional than the sprinkler setup we have'06 Supra Launch 20SSV-gone but never forgotten
Yes, the wires from the sprinkler valves will power the tsunami's with no problems. I chose the 800's because there was not a huge GPM difference between the two and the 800's are already setup for 3/4" which was much less headache. But you could definitely use the 1200 series (1" plumbing) if you wanted to make all the adaptors and fittings and get more GPM's.
Yes, the vented loops are there to prevent any water from entering the bags when you are driving the boat. The tsunami's will not prevent water from entering the system, this is the reason from grinding off the scupper at the bottom of the intake. If you dont grind off the scupper it will force too much water into the system and the vented loops will not be able to hold back the pressure. The vented loops create an air pocket that will stop the water from entering into the bag, kind of a syphoning effect. Not sure if it is the same system as the nautique's use or not. Not to familair with that boat at all.
If you dont grind the scupper off, you can manually close the ball valve when not using the system and it would work. I just did not want the headache of having to life up the seat and turn it on/off after filling the bags.
*** If you have more questions, please ask up... happy to answer and try to lend a hand. This is a great upgrade for this boat, I always hated those sprinkler valve/one pump system. I will try and take some better pictures this week and post them up.
Last edited by Fman; 08-03-2009 at 03:44 PM.
Im in the middle of this mod, just need one more 800 pump, anyway took the boat to the lake today to check and see how the 3 pumps would work and found out that adding the tsunamis were the sprinkler valves are (above the trans) does not work. I would loose all water coming out when at idle but water would poor out when the boat was just above idle speed. So back to Ace hardware and now I have relocated the 2 pumps down low and hope to pick up the 3rd pump soon as im going out the coming weekend surfing with friends. I will actually have a 4 pumps filling 3 bags. I will post up some photos when done. 2 of the pumps are just for filling the surf bag.Hey, Its Moomba time
Its all about the dash - enjoy the dash, as that is your time between the dates
13 Mobius LSV-sold
08 Mobius LSV-sold
03 Mobius LSV-sold
life is about finding the balance between being a responsible adult and staying young at heart
08-03-2009, 06:52 PM #7Hey, Its Moomba time
Its all about the dash - enjoy the dash, as that is your time between the dates
13 Mobius LSV-sold
08 Mobius LSV-sold
03 Mobius LSV-sold
life is about finding the balance between being a responsible adult and staying young at heart
You are correct about the 1200's, I was discouraged by wakemakers to use them because of the difficult thread pattern they have used to match anything up to it. According to wakemakers they did not see a significant difference in fill times from the 800 to 1200 model.
Good luck with your install, post some pictures when you are finished. When its all done its a much better system than the stock setup. I think it might even be better than the '09 JABSCO setup because aerator pumps last forever and can be run dry without damaging them, unlike the impeller style that will burn up if ran dry. Plus, the tsunami's put out more GPM's than the JABSCO's and cost much less (Tsunami - $35, JABSCO - $265).
Last edited by Fman; 08-03-2009 at 07:58 PM.
For right now im leaving the scooper in place and am going to just close the ball valve on the thru hull for now. I will get some photos up soon, like i said im looking for one more pump-everthing is in place and just need it. This has been about the 5th change ive gone thru on the filling system.Hey, Its Moomba time
Its all about the dash - enjoy the dash, as that is your time between the dates
13 Mobius LSV-sold
08 Mobius LSV-sold
03 Mobius LSV-sold
life is about finding the balance between being a responsible adult and staying young at heart
4th pump is now bought, should be installed tonight and might get to test it all out after work one night this weekHey, Its Moomba time
Its all about the dash - enjoy the dash, as that is your time between the dates
13 Mobius LSV-sold
08 Mobius LSV-sold
03 Mobius LSV-sold
life is about finding the balance between being a responsible adult and staying young at heart


text:
Top Items:
James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:
Obama's Startling Second Inaugural — This was the most sustainedly "progressive" statement Barack Obama has made in his decade on the national stage. — I was expecting an anodyne tone-poem about healing national wounds, surmounting partisanship, and so on.
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Michael D. Shear / New York Times: Obama Cites Nation's Ideals in Call to Act
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Obama's Second Inaugural Speech — The following is a transcript of President Obama's second inaugural speech: — MR. OBAMA: Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens: — Each time we gather to inaugurate a president …
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First inaugural use of the word 'gay' — President Barack Obama on Monday became the first president to use the word "gay" in an inaugural address in reference to sexual orientation, making two references to gay rights as he began his second term. — "Our journey is not complete until …
Discussion: The Atlantic Online, ABCNEWS, Reuters, CNN, The Fix, New York Magazine, Truthdig, Weasel Zippers and Associated Press
Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online: A Fittingly American Ceremony, Without Much Pomp
Shushannah Walshe / ABCNEWS: Obama Cites Stonewall, Gay Rights
Kevin Robillard / Reuters: Left tweeters hail 'progressive' speech
Sean Sullivan / The Fix: Obama's history-making use of the word 'gay,' and why it matters
Kat Stoeffel / New York Magazine: Obama Said 'Gay' and Other Inauguration Firsts
Washington Post:
(APPLAUSE) — That they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Today we continue a never ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time.
Ed Kilgore / Washington Monthly: Voting Rights Moved Up In the Line
David Ignatius / PostPartisan: A flat, partisan and pedestrian speech
John Cassidy / News Desk: Obama the Centrist Comes Out As a Liberal
Nile Gardiner / blogs.telegraph.co.uk: Inaugural address: a defiant Obama reminds Americans why he is the most liberal president in US history
Kevin Drum / Mother Jones: Obama Gets Political, Kelly Clarkson Wows 'Em
Sean Sullivan / The Fix: President Obama's second inaugural address, by the numbers
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn: Really, that's it, Mr. President?
Janet Shan / The Hinterland Gazette: President Obama: Our Journey Isn't Complete Until Women, Gay Men and Women Are Treated Equal
John J. Pitney, Jr / National Review: 'No Single Person Can . . .' — In his inaugural today …
Ta-Nehisi Coates / The Atlantic Online:
Obama's Second Inaugural
Obama's Second Inaugural
Discussion: Guardian
Zack Ford / ThinkProgress:
How Obama Made His Second Inaugural Address A Landmark Moment For LGBT Equality
How Obama Made His Second Inaugural Address A Landmark Moment For LGBT Equality
Discussion: Addicting Info
President Barack Obama / The Atlantic Wire:
Read and Watch Obama's Second Inaugural Address
Read and Watch Obama's Second Inaugural Address
Discussion: Spectator and The Agonist
Steve Hynd / The Agonist: Obama's Exceptional Inauguration Speech
StartUp RockOn / HyperVocal:
Lupe Fiasco: Official Statement From StartUp Rock On Organizers — StartUp RockOn is all about startups helping startups. At Sunday night's Inauguration Celebration at the Hamilton Live, organizers set out to honor innovative visionaries with grants, accolades and a party worthy of the success …
Discussion: Post Politics, Politico, The Raw Story, Mediaite, Gawker, Mashable!, Los Angeles Times, This Just In, theGrio, PolicyMic, The Agonist and nation.foxnews.com
Rachel Weiner / Post Politics: Lupe Fiasco escorted off stage after anti-Obama comments
Caitlin McDevitt / Politico: Lupe Fiasco escorted offstage at inauguration party
Arturo Garcia / The Raw Story: Rapper Lupe Fiasco thrown out of inaugural party after criticizing Obama during performance
Meenal Vamburkar / Mediaite: Rapper Lupe Fiasco Reportedly Removed From Stage After Anti-Obama Comments At Inauguration Concert
Hamilton Nolan / Gawker: Wack vs. Whack: Wack
Michael Muskal / Los Angeles Times: Inauguration 2013: Lupe Fiasco leaves concert after antiwar rant
Carrie Healey / theGrio: Lupe Fiasco bashes Obama, escorted off stage at inaugural concert
Alex Marin / PolicyMic: Lupe Fiasco's Anti Obama Song Gets Him Kicked Off Stage During Inaugural Concert (VIDEO)
Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Lupe Fiasco Thrown Off Stage At Inauguration Concert After Bashing Obama
Lupe Fiasco Thrown Off Stage At Inauguration Concert After Bashing Obama
Allahpundit / Hot Air: Video: Rapper kicked offstage at private preinaugural concert for criticizing Obama?
Jade Walker / The Huffington Post:
Lupe Fiasco, Rapper, Thrown Off Stage At Inaugural Concert (VIDEO)
Lupe Fiasco, Rapper, Thrown Off Stage At Inaugural Concert (VIDEO)
Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Alan Colmes' and Truthdig
Taylor Bigler / The Daily Caller:
Rapper Lupe Fiasco thrown offstage during pre-inauguration event after anti-Obama rant [VIDEO]
Rapper Lupe Fiasco thrown offstage during pre-inauguration event after anti-Obama rant [VIDEO]
Discussion: The Gateway Pundit, Infowars, Pat Dollard, NewsBusters, americanthinker.com, Gawker and Hit & Run
Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit: WILD! Rapper at Obama Inauguration Concert Tossed From Stage After Anti-Obama Rant (Video)
Chuck Biscuits / Pat Dollard: WATCH - Fiasco: Rapper Kicked Off Stage For Anti-Obama Rant At Inaugural Event
Matthew Sheffield / NewsBusters: Rapper Lupe Fiasco Ejected from Concert, Organizers Insist It Wasn't for Anti-Obama Rant
Neetzan Zimmerman / Gawker: Lupe Fiasco Booted from Stage at Inauguration Party Following 30-Minute 'Anti-Obama Rant'
Nick Gillespie / Hit & Run: Lupe Fiasco Causes One, Calls Out Obama at Pre-Inaugural Concert
Jeffrey M. Jones / Gallup:
Obama Averages 49% Approval in First Term — Approval has been climbing in recent quarters — PRINCETON, NJ — President Barack Obama averaged 49.1% job approval during his first term in office, among the lowest for post-World War II presidents. Only Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford had lower job approval averages.
Discussion: Hot Air, CNSNews, The Daily Caller, The PJ Tatler, The Lonely Conservative, Pat Dollard and Jammie Wearing Fools
Ed Morrissey / Hot Air: Gallup: Obama lowest-rated re-elected President since WWII
Susan Jones / CNSNews: Gallup: Obama's 1st-Term Approval Rating Among Lowest of Post-WWII Presidents
David Martosko / The Daily Caller: Gallup: Obama average first-term approval ratings among lowest in modern history
Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler: Well, the Good News Is, Obama's Honeymoon is Already Over
The Lonely Conservative: Number Of Americans Not In Workforce Increased 8.3 Million In Obama's First Term
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
Obama's second inauguration: Is the thrill gone?
Obama's second inauguration: Is the thrill gone?
Discussion: Politico, Reuters, The Hill and This Just In
John Bresnahan / Politico: Republicans: Fighting words from Obama in inaugural speech
Roger Simon / Reuters: Obama's inaugural message: Just do it!
Justin Sink / The Hill: Polls show dampening enthusiasm as Obama inaugurated
Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Obama's Second Term Not Really Up to Him
Obama's Second Term Not Really Up to Him
Discussion: BuzzFeed
Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:
Obama Becomes A "Great" President — And Republicans start looking for ways to embrace him. Liberals should be prepared to lose him. — Image by Pool / Reuters — This time about 12 years from now, President Tagg Romney will, with a mixture of exasperation and amusement …
Discussion: nation.foxnews.com, Gawker, Washington Examiner and The Daily Dish
Mobutu Sese Seko / Gawker: Embracing the Cool Porcelain of Our National Toilet: The Obama Hangover
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish: The Liberal Reagan, Ctd
Daily Mail:
Wanted: 'Adventurous woman' to give birth to Neanderthal man - Harvard professor seeks mother for cloned cave baby — His ambitious plan requires a human volunteer willing to allow the DNA to be put into stem cells, then a human embryo — They're usually thought of as a brutish, primitive species.
Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Maggie's Farm, Althouse, Forbes, Addicting Info and Mediaite
Alan Colmes' Liberaland: Harvard Scientist Seeks 'Adventurous Female' To Give Birth To Cloned Neanderthal
Ann Althouse / Althouse: "Wanted: Harvard seeks 'adventurous woman' to give birth to cloned Neanderthal baby..."
Alex Knapp / Forbes: Is It Possible To Clone A Neanderthal?
Paul Ryan / Facebook:
Paul Ryan on the President's Swearing-In — I congratulate President Obama on his inauguration, and I join the country in celebrating this American tradition. — The president and I were political opponents. We had strong disagreements over the direction of the country—as we still do now.
Discussion: The Huffington Post, The Daily Caller and National Review
Nick Wing / The Huffington Post: Paul Ryan Booed By Inauguration Crowd
Caroline May / The Daily Caller: Paul Ryan booed at inauguration
Paul Krugman / New York Times:
The Big Deal — On the day President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, an exuberant Vice President Biden famously pronounced the reform a "big something deal" — except that he didn't use the word "something." And he was right. — In fact, I'd suggest using this phrase to describe the Obama administration as a whole.
Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog: Obama's 'Big Deal'
Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money: The First Term
Talking Points Memo:
Obama Takes One Last Look At Inauguration Crowd: 'I'll Never See This Again' — Departing the West Front of the U.S. Capitol after delivering his second inaugural address on Monday, President Obama wanted to take one last glance of the hundreds of thousands of Americans gathered to celebrate his second term.
Discussion: The Political Carnival and Business Insider
Jeremy Herb / The Hill:
Republicans: Obama should have reached out more in address — Republicans lawmakers criticized President Obama's inaugural address Monday, saying he failed to reach out to their party. — "I would have liked to have seen some outreach," said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who lost to Obama in the 2008 presidential race.
Discussion: The Maddow Blog and Daily Kos
Steve Benen / The Maddow Blog: GOP feels left out of Obama inaugural
The Loudest Protester At The Inauguration Was In A Tree — "Democrats are baby-killers!" — WASHINGTON — A lone protestor managed to distract a large swathe of the crowd outside the Capitol for the inauguration on Monday by perching in a tree and yelling for the entirety of the ceremony, as well as for some time beforehand.
5 shot at LaSalle and MLK — Police searching for white sedan that sped from scene — Several people were injured Monday in a shooting at LaSalle Street and MLK Boulevard.WDSU — Five people were wounded in a shooting at the intersection of LaSalle Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on Monday afternoon.
Discussion: The Raw Story and Jammie Wearing Fools
Noam Cohen / New York Times:
How M.I.T. Ensnared a Hacker, Bucking a Freewheeling Culture — In the early days of 2011, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology learned that it had an intruder. Worse, it believed the intruder had been there before. — Months earlier, the mysterious visitor had used …
Discussion: emptywheel and Firedoglake, more at Mediagazer »
Matt Higgins / CBS DC:
Unemployment Rate Same Today As It Was When Obama First Took Office — WASHINGTON (CBSDC/AP) — Even though much has changed the past four years, President Barack Obama begins his second term with one thing that hasn't: the unemployment rate. — When Obama first took office in January 2009, the unemployment rate was 7.8 percent.
Discussion: Gawker, PolicyMic, 24Ahead and Poor Richard's News
Hamilton Nolan / Gawker: Unemployment Stories, Vol. 23: 'Only My Own Cowardice Has Kept Me From Ending it All'
Derek Miles / PolicyMic: Obama Inauguration Shows Climate Change a Top Priority Over the Next 4 Years
Benjamin Franklin / Poor Richard's News: FAIL! Unemployment today same as when Obama first took office.
Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
Obama Prepares To Govern From The Left — Gay rights, climate, and gun control! "A much more muscular form of liberalism," says Begala. — Image by Pool photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images/MCT — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's determinedly progressive second inaugural speech …


text:
Abbey Road For Sale
Abbey Road For Sale
London-based Abbey Road Studios has been placed on the market for sale by EMI Group Ltd. in a bid to leverage debt stemming from private equity group Terra Firma's 2007 buyout, according to a Financial Times report. The studio, which was purchased by EMI in 1929, has housed recordings by the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Radiohead, among others, in addition to scores for film franchises such as Harry Potter and The Lord Of The Rings. (2/16)
Live Nation, Walmart Sign Ticketing Deal
Live Nation Entertainment has entered into an agreement with Walmart to sell tickets to sporting events and concerts in select Walmart stores. While a specific launch has not been announced, the program will be introduced in the coming months in major U.S. markets including Chicago and Los Angeles. (2/16)


text:
Tonight at 9 PM ET, New York's Ed Sullivan Theater will echo to the sound of powerful vocals, as Jennifer Hudson takes the stage for Live on Letterman in an online concert exclusive.
Today, Last.fm Trends is looking into her scrobbles, to see which tracks may stand out as favorites in her performance.
"Spotlight" is by far her biggest track on Last.fm, and was her debut single in 2008 following her appearances on American Idol and Dreamgirls. The rest of her top five is comprised of tracks from her debut Jennifer Hudson, but she should also be performing the new tracks that are making their way up her charts tonight.
"Where You At" from sophomore release I Remember Me has seen a varied Recent Listening Trend since its release, but her forthcoming live shows, preceded by Live on Letterman, should showcase her new material where her voice can shine through.
Watch Jennifer Hudson Live on Letterman presented by AT&T, right here, tonight, June 13 at 9pm ET / 6pm PT. Meanwhile, Last.fm Trends brings you the news in scrobbles every weekday.


text:
Yesterday on the Non-Prophets episode 8.16, Matt posed the question: do people perceive a schism forming in the skeptical community? Is there a concerted effort to distance the general skeptical movement from atheists?
You can listen to this discussion somewhere around the last fifteen minutes of the show. After you do, we'd like your feedback.


text: On Tue, 22 Oct 2002, Ken Chase wrote: > On Mon, Oct 21, 2002 at 11:28:09AM -0400, Robert G. Brown's all... > > > Most standard circuits have enough capacity to run two duals or four > > singles - you can estimate that they'll draw somewhere in the vicinity > > of 400-600 Watts, which is roughly a third the capacity of a twenty amp > > circuit for a switching power supply load, more like half the capacity > > of a 15 amp circuit. Then you've got a monitor and network switch, > > which can be another 100-200 Watts. A beefy UPS is not a bad thing to > > wow. thats huge. I had 8 dual 2466s with 1.3tbirds on a 15Amp circuit (no > disk). When I moved it to a new building, I am guessing that the voltage was a > bit different, and the power bars they were wired into started blowing. > (perhaps they were drawing more amps at a lower voltage than my install > area?) At any rate, I put them in 8 per 20 amp circuit (instead of my > original intall 8/15) and nothing has blown (oh, and only 4 per power bar > too now :). Are you spec'ing for some seriously heavy disk power loads? My recent experiences with 2466's and building wiring are in the recent list archives and they are a sorry mess, although they are in the process of running the additional neutral wires required to get us perhaps semistable. We are finding that we can run at most 8 per 20 amp circuit here as well. One reason for the constriction in number of systems relative to their average power draw is that the switching power supplies draw a much higher PEAK current to provide the average power than one expects -- they have a relatively poor power factor. Apparently the circuit breakers used are sensitive to peak current more than rms current. Perhaps your 15 amp circuit used slow-blow breakers that were more sensitive to rms current than peak? The danger of doing this is that one can dangerously overload primary transformers and cause them to prematurely burn out. There are URL's in the stuff I posted last week (and some of the extended discussion that has occurred on this subject) that explain all of this. I now just assume that any system I plug in has a power factor no better than about 0.8 (and will thus draw a peak current that is 25% or better high) and, because of the harmonic distortion of the supply voltage sinusoid, prefer to keep circuits relatively underloaded. We've seen a LOT of power related problems on circuits loaded close to capacity, although the non-shared neutrals may help this (I hope). > [A friend told me about blowing a circuit once at his lab and he had a large > metal bracelet on. When the circuit blew, he was standing under the power > run (about 5 feet over his head in the ceiling) and his bracelet shot up his > arm and yanked on his wrist, quite hard! He had a bruise to prove it. It > was only a 20A circuit - what would cause that? Dangerous wiring situation?] I have no idea. The current in the overhead line should have been balanced -- hot and neutral currents opposing in the conduit, the conduit itself grounded to boot to shield whatever field the resulting inductive surge would have caused. I don't see how an inductive EMP could have been generated strong enough to create a current in a bracelet that would magnetically attract it to the dropping line current. Unless, perhaps, the overhead power run contained a single, unshielded high current line that was grounded at the panel, or there was a transformer nearby, and the pulse from this was responsible. Even then I'd be surprised that such a strong impulse force was generated -- 20 amps isn't all that strong a current, so somewhere a much larger current must have been induced. But I'm not a wiring expert. Maybe this is normal. > > For that reason you might well want to select systems based on their low > > power requirements rather than their speed... > > Has anyone here actually done this based on a full TCO analysis where > operations cost were as large (or larger) a factor than initial install? > Are TMTA's worth it in this situ? Sorry, TCO I get, but TMTA's? rgb Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


text:
He didn't swing a bat, throw a pitch or write out a lineup, but Marvin Miller had a greater impact on major league baseball than just about any man who ever lived. In 1992, former Dodgers announcer Red Barber numbered him among the three most important figures in the game's history, along with Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson. As executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1966 to 1982, Miller revolutionized the game, overseeing its biggest change since integration via the dismantling of the reserve clause and the dawn of free agency. Yet petty politics prevented him from receiving proper recognition via enshrinement in the Hall of Fame, to the point that Miller, still feisty well into his 90s, took the unprecedented step of asking voters not to consider him.
While he may gain that honor eventually, he won't live to see it. Miller died on Tuesday at the age of 95, ensuring a level of shame for the Hall far surpassing that regarding Ron Santo, the great Cubs third baseman. Santo, a nine-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner, never got close to 50 percent of the baseball writers' vote in 15 years on the ballot, and while he netted the highest vote percentage in three cycles of the Veterans Committee, it wasn't until a year and two days after his death at age 70 that he finally won entry. As with Miller, personal grudges almost certainly played a part in his being deprived the honor while he was still alive.
As executive director of the MLBPA, Miller was instrumental in shifting the game's century-old balance of power from the owners to the players via the abolition of the Reserve Clause, which bound players to teams indefinitely; effectively, it was a system of indentured servitude. In addition to securing the players the right to free agency, he brought them the rights to collective bargaining, impartial arbitration of grievances, representation by an agent to negotiate on their behalf and rejection of a trade after accruing enough major league service. Miller's leadership also brought the players the system of salary arbitration and substantial increases in the pensions of retirees. During his tenure, the average salary of a major league player rose from $19,000 to $241,000, and the MLBPA became the strongest labor union in the country.
While there's room for debate as to whether the opening of this Pandora's Box of player rights was uniformly a good thing — nobody likes a work stoppage (which happened via 1972 and 1981 player strikes), and nobody likes to see star players leave town via free agency — the talents of professional baseball players should not exempt them from receiving basic workplace rights. Huge player salaries are a product of increasing attendance levels and revenue growth that continues to outpace the rest of the economy, evidence that the massive changes Miller wrought have yielded a healthier industry than before. If you need further evidence of his legacy, note that baseball is in the midst of a two-decade stretch without a lockout or a strike, having achieved a relatively peaceful and immensely profitable equilibrium thanks in part to the groundwork Miller laid, while the three other major North American sports have all had work stoppages in the past two years.
For all of those accomplishments, Miller deserves a place among the small handful of movers and shakers in Cooperstown, because one simply can't write a credible history of the game without making reference to his enormous impact. Commissioners who have accomplished far less are already there, including owner-friendly contemporary Bowie Kuhn, whom Miller beat like a rented mule at virtually every turn, most notably in the landmark Seitz decision that created free agency in 1975.
As a non-player, Miller's Hall of Fame candidacy hinged not on the Baseball Writers Association of America balloting but on the even less transparent Veterans Committee, which changed constitution several times in the past few decades. From his 1982 retirement to the 2001 VC expansion that granted the vote to every living Hall of Famer as well as the surviving Ford C. Frick Award and J.G Taylor Spink Award winners (the broadcasters and writers, respectively), Miller didn't appear on a single ballot. Players who played in the pre-union days often resented the high salaries and freedom of movement that their successors enjoyed, and even the most historically-minded writers on the VC disagreed on Miller's eligibility.
Influential players such as Hank Aaron, Brooks Robinson and Tom Seaver voiced their support for Miller, with Seaver calling his omission from the Hall "a national disgrace." He finally got a spot on a composite ballot among executives, umpires and managers in 2003, but received just 43 percent of the vote (35 out of 81) in an election where 75 percent is needed for enshrinement. The bitter irony was that the players whose careers he helped the most wouldn't return the favor. Reggie Jackson, one of the first high-profile free agents — he signed a five-year, $3 million deal with the Yankees in November 1976 and led them to back-to-back World Series titles in the next two years — struck out in as spectacular fashion as he did during his playing days, sending in a blank ballot while telling reporters, "I looked at those ballots, and there was no one to put in." Jackson eventually realized the error of his ways, and his comments stirred awareness among the electorate. Miller rose to 63 percent (51 out of 84 votes) on the 2007 ballot.
Miller wasn't alone in his rejection, as the expanded VC failed to elect anyone on the ballots for 2003, 2005 or 2007 induction. The lowest blow took place in December 2007, for the 2008 ballot, after the process was reformed to place the candidacy for non-players back in the hands of a 12-player committee stacked with Miller's historical adversaries. As player-turned-author Jim Bouton, whose Ball Four bestseller netted him a summons to Kuhn's office in 1970 under Miller's defense, succinctly summarized, "Marvin Miller kicked their butts and took power away from the baseball establishment -- do you really think those people are going to vote him in? It's a joke."
Indeed, beyond the three writers from among the committee's 12 members, none of the three ex-players — Monte Irvin, Bobby Brown and Harmon Killebrew — played a single major league game in the post-reserve clause era. Irvin spent 17 years working for the commissioner's office under Kuhn, Brown was an executive with the Rangers and then the AL president after Kuhn stepped down. Of the six other owners and executives on the committee — John Harrington (Red Sox), Jerry Bell (Twins), Bill DeWitt Jr., (Cardinals), Bill Giles (Phillies), David Glass (Royals) and Andy MacPhail (Orioles) — DeWitt, Giles and MacPhail were legacies whose fathers (and the latter's grandfather) were on the management side during the reserve clause era, while Giles, Harrington and MacPhail were part of management during baseball's late-1980s collusion scandal, the trial of which featured Miller as the lead witness.
Even with commissioner Bud Selig, who owned the Brewers during Miller's tenure and battled successor Donald Fehr during the 1994-1995 player strike, speaking up on his behalf ("The criteria for non-playing personnel is the impact they made on the sport. Therefore Marvin Miller should be in the Hall of Fame on that basis..."), the fix was in: Kuhn, who had received just 17.3 percent of the vote from the larger committee, won election with 10 of the 12 votes, while Miller received just three of the 12 votes.
Understandably, Miller had had enough. Six months later, with his candidacy not set to be reviewed for another 18 months but his own age advancing, he asked the Hall of Fame not to include him on another ballot. In a letter sent to the BBWAA (which had only partial input in the process via the inclusion of the Spink winners), he wrote:
"Paradoxically, I'm writing to thank you and your associates for your part in nominating me for Hall of Fame consideration, and, at the same time, to ask that you not do this again. The anti-union bias of the powers who control the Hall has consistently prevented recognition of the historic significance of the changes to baseball brought about by collective bargaining.
"As former executive director of the players' union that negotiated these changes, I find myself unwilling to contemplate one more rigged Veterans Committee whose members are handpicked to reach a particular outcome while offering a pretense of a democratic vote. It is an insult to baseball fans, historians, sports writers and especially to those baseball players who sacrificed and brought the game into the 21st century. At the age of 91 I can do without a farce."
Like any great labor leader, Miller knew how to count votes before an election was held, and he knew when he didn't have them. When I interviewed him for Baseball Prospectus shortly after that release (a career highlight of mine), he vowed not to show up for induction if the Hall went against his wishes and the VC elected him, referencing both Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman (who refused to run for president: "If elected I will not serve…") and comedian Groucho Marx ("I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member.")
Despite his instructions, that wasn't quite enough to let the matter rest. Miller received seven of 12 votes (58 percent) in December 2009, and then in 2010, the Veterans Committee reformed yet again via the creation of historical era committees, 16-member panels focused on the players and non-players from the Pre-Integration (1871–1946), Golden (1947–1972) and Expansion (1973 and later) eras. With the Golden Era first on the slate that winter, Miller came up for election once again, this time with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, a collusion kingpin and anti-union hardliner joining Giles, Glass and MacPhail on the committee — a bloc that required Miller to run the table among the other 12 voters, assuming that quartet all passed on him. Miller got 68.8 percent via 11 votes, one vote shy of election.
That Miller is on the outside of Cooperstown while the likes of Kuhn, Commissioner Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis (who fought tooth and nail against integration during his 24-year tenure), and fellow integration foes ranging from Cap Anson to Tom Yawkey (whose Red Sox were the last team to integrate in 1959, 12 years after Robinson's debut) to George Weiss (who as general manager of the Yankees vowed never to allow a black man to wear a Yankee uniform) are in is just another black mark against an institution with all too many undeserving honorees. It may take a year — the Golden Era committee is due for another round next December — or a generation, but he'll get his bronze plaque posthumously, though the electorate can never make right the slight of failing to honor him in his lifetime.


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I agree with you, GT. Even the gurus can be overwhelmed by all the suffering in this world, if they contemplate it for even a few seconds. Lucky for all of us though, impermanence can also be a positive event. This being overwhelmed, this death of our gurus, is also impermanent. As we say, impermanence cuts both ways.Gyaltsen Tashi wrote:I think even the gurus are helpless in this torrent of suffering. Pretty soon they will all pass away, and we will be left to our own devices.
MalaBeads wrote:I am sorry to hear this, GT.Gyaltsen Tashi wrote: I don't know. I used to take comfort lovey-dovey compassion. But now no guru is badass enough to inspire me. I'm going through the motions. Maybe I should leave Buddhism for good.
I'm in a war zone. I'm angry. I used to have psychosis. I live under a dictatorship. I'm so tired. I just want to go home....
Gyaltsen Tashi
I don't have anything to offer you except maybe this. In English we have saying: home is where the heart is. Even the Buddha said: hatred will never cease by hatred but only through love. In my own life, it has taken many, many years to get to a place where I could even remotely imagine the possibility of actual love. I have seen the faces of stone cold hatred and it is an awful sight.
I hope for you to see and understand the difference between what you are calling lovey-dovey compassion and actual love. Love is very healing but it is often quite difficult to see. Its something that is in very short supply here in the west but we are working on it.
All the best to you.
"Yet in attachment, blossoms fall. In aversion, weeds spread" - Dogen Zenji
All the best to you.


text:
Most of your comments are off target.
Firstly, you seem to have overlooked the remark in my opening post: "The most political Buddhist text of all —the Mahasupina Jataka— reads almost like a manifesto of classical western conservatism (though not of what goes by the name of 'conservatism' in contemporary Britain or America)."
"Classical western conservatism" is generally understood as referring to Burke and his followers in the Anglo-Saxon world, and to the likes of Joseph de Maistre on the Continent. So your bringing up the policies of the so-called Neo-cons etc. is a bit beside the point.
Secondly, what Kirk refers to as the imprudent ideologies of "liberals and radicals" (in his book, The Politics of Prudence) are the rationalism of the French philosophes, the moral skepticism of Hume and Rousseau, the utilitarianism of Bentham, the positivism of Auguste Comte's school, and the collectivistic materialism of Marx and other socialists. In other words, he was taking a rather longer historical view than you seemed to be supposing in your reply.
I would say that it's ultimately unworkable, but that hasn't been an impediment to its being adopted by non-conservatives, either across the board (as, for example by Marxists and Nazis) or in an issue-specific fashion (as, for example, with the feminist support for abortion).Jechbi wrote:So what if we state the converse? As in:
The non-conservative believes that no enduring moral order exists. There is no order made for man, and man is not made for any order. Human nature is inconstant, and moral truths are impermanent. ...
Which seems like an unworkable premise in politics in any context.
Best wishes,
Dhammanando Bhikkhu