text:
Item 21 'Marriages qualifying connections' - what a pity the Group thought it was too early to revisit this one. Out in the field, as it were, pastoral and mission opportunities are being lost by the hundreds. Despite nowadays a rather more flexible approach to qualifying connections, which has improved things a bit, many couples are still opting for secular venues where, of course, clergy may not venture even to bless let alone conduct a legal service.
It's time for a radical rethink here to enable the minister rather than the building to be licensed. This already happens in Scotland and the United States. In this scenario clergy could go with the people into hotels, castles, theatres, any licensed premises and conduct a good C of E service and meet people where they are.
Mission impossible? - come on let's grapple with this one now, we are haemorrhaging support where we used to be strong.Posted by Nicholas Henderson at Thursday, 13 October 2016 at 7:23pm BST
"Work stream?" When a Church gets so far up its own managerial navel that it has "work streams" it may be time for some pretty radical simplification. :)Posted by Clive at Thursday, 13 October 2016 at 10:32pm BST
'Tis a gift to be simple,
'Tis a gift to be free,
'Tis a gift to come down where you ought to be.
And when you find yourself in a place just right,
You'll be in the valley of love and delight.
Quaker Song.Posted by Father Ron Smith at Friday, 14 October 2016 at 10:58am BST
I'd love to see a simplification of all the outrageous titles that the church has proliferated and still seems to love, despite them surely being deeply unchristian and also bewildering for outsiders. Can we bin Preb. Canon, Ven, Rt Rev, Most Rev etc please?Posted by aic at Friday, 14 October 2016 at 2:08pm BST
Father Ron, thanks for getting us back to basics with the 'simple gifts' lyrics. However, the song originated with the Shakers rather than the Quakers! And now of course it belongs to everyone.Posted by Mary Clara at Friday, 14 October 2016 at 5:28pm BST
aic - How come Very Reverend Deans are exempt from your list of possible prohibited clerical titles?Posted by Father David at Friday, 14 October 2016 at 6:23pm BST
alc, reverend, venerable, etc are not titles but styles, effectively adjectives describing the person (accurately or not). Canon, Bishop are often job titles, and not to use them would be confusing and, therefore, silly. The usage, Rev Surname, is a clear solecism, and thus to be avoided. Whether the different styles, Most, Very etc, are needed is open to question but they add a certain colour to life, surely! There are better targets for simplification.Posted by David Exham at Friday, 14 October 2016 at 7:57pm BST
Simplification is the wrong word. Clarification would be better. There's nothing wrong with complexity or intricacy; a labyrinth can be an education, a thing of wonder, a source of inspiration.
But I do think the process itself is excellent because it is on the whole about clarification: what do we want to do, and how do we do it well?
Then of course, there's Mark 10:21. Give it all away?Posted by Peter S at Friday, 14 October 2016 at 10:47pm BST
I think we would be well shut of most titles. In a Christian community what is wrong with Christian names? If you want to describe a person's role as well, Father or Mother for a priest, Bishop of course, maybe even Canon or Dean. But why should a priest be any more Reverend than any other human being? Let alone degrees of reverendness implied by Most Rev, Very Rev etc.Posted by David Emmott at Friday, 14 October 2016 at 10:58pm BST
But why not styles too? From Scripture it is generally accepted that we have deacon, minister and bishop so that should be our basic list for both titles and styles with a bishop addressed simply as Bishop etc? I can see the need for dean to be added to avoid confusion, and maybe vicar for a minister who holds a benefice because it is so widely, but a simple list would have greater integrity and make the church seem more accessible.
Thank you, Dear Mary Clare.
Shakers and Quakers - both capable of Moving with the Holy Spirit. The nett result? Loving concern for all Creation; including Humanity.
I'm also pleased to see that aic does not wish to "bin" the title "Father"Posted by Father David at Saturday, 15 October 2016 at 8:47am BST
David, a number of Christians believe the use of Father as the form of address for a minister of religion is sacrilegious, and that those who style themselves Father are blasphemous. The church should prohibit its use. Vicar or Minister are the correct forms. (It is another issue which would prevent reunification with the Catholic Church.)
I appreciate Anglo-Catholics like to be styled Father but there's no reason they need to, so harmony is best achieved by prohibiting its use entirely.Posted by Kate at Saturday, 15 October 2016 at 9:12am BST
I see Kate continues to maintain that the C of E doesn't have priests! Surely deacons and bishops are also ministers.Posted by David Emmott at Saturday, 15 October 2016 at 9:31am BST
Isn't TA being a bit slow in adding a thread to its Blog about the current fracas at York Minster with regard to the mass dismissal of 30 highly skilled and experienced campanologists?
The take over of the episcopate by those who have been dubbed episcopal "managers" is well documented and publicised (see the last Dean of Peterborough's Farewell sermon)- now it would seem that the managerial virus is aversely affecting one of our great Northern cathedrals.
I note that the bishop of Willesden touches upon the possibility of amending Canons B11 and B14. I am especially concerned that an amendment to Canon B14 should not be used as a ramp to discontinue worship in many places (especially on a festival basis, or in order to encourage redundancy) if there is no adequate funding in order to ensure that buildings selected for festival use are maintained in default of there being support from regular attendees. By all means amend these canons, but please do so as circumspectly as possible, and include appropriate safeguards in order to ensure that there is at least some residuum of Christian witness (which I appreciate might themselves militate against simplification).
The suggestion that these two canons be amended strikes me as being one of the most important (perhaps the single most important) aspect of reform and renewal, since it might affect - perhaps adversely - the notion that the Church is a living presence in 'every community'.
It is worth noting that we already have a number of de facto festival churches in a number of places (and which are not vested in the CCT or FFC), without there being any need for amending legislation: think of Bicknor in Kent, Easington and Godington in Oxfordshire, Horningsham in Wiltshire, Tilbury juxta Clare in Essex, Woodsford in Dorset, etc., etc., where services are held only a few times a year.Posted by Froghole at Saturday, 15 October 2016 at 11:29am BST
@the two Davids, if you prefer the term presbyter can be used. But I would be interested in why you believe the term priest should be used? Likewise father.
Terms like priest and Father can offend and drive some people away from worshipping in a church where they are used. So they should only be used if there is very strong justification. Personal preference, Anglo-Catholic tradition etc just doesn't cut the mustard. But I can see no such justification - or am I missing something?Posted by Kate at Saturday, 15 October 2016 at 12:09pm BST
"Terms like priest and Father can offend and drive some people away from worshipping in a church where they are used." - Kate -
With all due respect, Kate; on this matter you are 'going against the grain' of Church Tradition - even in the Church of England. If your suggestion were to gain credibility in the Church; where would that l;eave society at large? Are you against all titles that indicate one's calling? Would you be content to discard the use of Papa and Mama for children?
And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven - Matthew 23:9Posted by Kate at Sunday, 16 October 2016 at 8:35am BST
Kate: The statement about 'calling no-one Father' , does that apply to familiar abbreviations like Dad? If we can't call another human being father we would need a new term to refer to our male parent. As for 'Vicar' being the correct term to refer to a priest/minister, that only applies to those clergy with that job description. Not to curates, rectors, priests-in-charge, deans etc etc. I know most people use it and most of us don't quibble, but nor do we claim it is the 'correct' term.
I'm all for keeping it simple and I don't see the need for any titles. But I much prefer Father or Mother to Reverend, not because it is 'anglo-catholic' but because it denotes a relationship, not social status (of which we have none).
And 'presbyter' is only a synonym for priest anyway. As was said (by whom?), 'old priest writ large'.Posted by David Emmott at Sunday, 16 October 2016 at 5:18pm BST
Kate - so can we also assume you expect us all to pluck out our eyes and cut off our hands when they offend us - as they surely do?
The historic formularies (to which all office-holders subscribe) include the Ordinal which outlines 'the form and manner of making, ordaining and consecrating of Bishops, Priests and Deacons according to the order of the Church of England'. In the preface it is stated that these Orders may be continued, and reverently used and esteemed'. From that I can see no argument (within the CofE at least) for saying that priests are not priests (or bishops bishops/deacons deacons).
Many priests are referred to by the offices they hold vicar, padre, dean, curate, chaplain, rector - but although all priests (or deacons or bishops) they are not all vicars. Indeed, it would be simpler to just call all priests 'priests' regardless of their office...
I personally prefer my first name to 'reverend', or 'vicar' or 'rector' - but normally I'm just grateful it remains to be polite!
P.S. My understanding is that presbyter is the Old English antecedent of the word priest anyway.
David Emmott, it is clear that Matthew 23:9 should be read in conjunction with the Commandment to "honour thy father and mother" so I don't see why you would think it meant you couldn't call your father "Dad"?
However there is NO possible way of reading it which doesn't suggest it is disrespectful to God to call a human cleric "Father", especially since what comes before ch 23 is aimed squarely at clerics.
And David Runcorn is suggesting we abandon the whole Bible because he struggles with the verses which tell us to cut off a hand [or foot] if it causes us to sin. But of course it isn't our hand which causes us to sin, it's our greed, or our anger... It is our sinful nature which causes us to sin. That is why Jesus wasn't surrounded by one-handed Apostles.
It is also entirely possible that both verses are prophetic with Matthew 23:9 aimed ahead in time at the Catholic Church and Anglo-Catholics and the verses about an offending hand aimed at Sharia law, pointing out it is for the sinner to act not for a third party to judge them.Posted by Kate at Monday, 17 October 2016 at 8:42am BST
"And 'presbyter' is only a synonym for priest anyway. As was said (by whom?), 'old priest writ large'."
That is not true. Presumably you are talking of etymology? If so, then firstly you are making an erroneous assumption that if two words have the same apparent etymology that they have an identical meaning. The second error is the assumption that the two words have the same etymology when they don't. The etymology of presbyter is relatively straightforward, that of priest quite complex.
But the better way to look at things is that the English word presbyter maps only into the Latin presbyter (elder) whereas priest maps onto both presbyter (elder) and sacerdos (one who offers sacrifices) because English is missing a common word which corresponds to sacerdos. So in English presbyter has a single meaning (elder) but priest has two meanings (elder and one who offers sacrifice).
When untrained laity use the two words they probably don't understand the distinction and will likely say priest since it is the simpler sounding word. When trained clergy choose priest rather than saying presbyter or "presbyter or priest", the chances are very high that they are invoking the sacerdos meaning as well.
So no, priest and presbyter are not identical terms by any means.Posted by Kate at Monday, 17 October 2016 at 9:06am BST
No, there's a sleight of hand going on. Usage has moved from presbyter to "presbyter or priest" to priest.
If you can't see the difference, try looking at it this way. There are various Hebrew words in the Old Testament which are translated to priest and never to presbyter because the two English words have different meanings and presbyter won't stretch to cover kohanim for example.
Put another way, the Old Testament describes a priesthood based on ancestry and sacrificial responsibility. The New Testament describes elders and apostles recognised by the laying on of hands who had no sacrificial responsibilities.
If we use the term priest to embrace the entirely different concepts set out in the Old and New Testaments, we risk those who haven't studied the two deeply conflating them and not recognising the impact of Jesus's teaching. It must therefore surely behove the church to use different words to describe the OT and NT concepts and priest for the OT and presbyter for the NT is the obvious approach.Posted by Kate at Monday, 17 October 2016 at 9:50am BST
"No, there's a sleight of hand going on. Usage has moved from presbyter to "presbyter or priest" to priest."
Any sleight of hand seems to go the other way - so far as CofE doctrine goes it was consistently priest in 1550 and 1662, becoming 'priests, also called presbyters' in 1980 and priest/presbyter used interchangably from 2000.
The change in nomenclature is therefore in fact the opposite of that stated - with presbyter being the innovation (albeit) on the foundations of a particular convention of translating the old and new testaments.
Whilst my own understanding of priesthood is shaped by the Church of England's teaching and therefore different from the teaching of the Roman church I nonetheless see the ordained priesthood in the CofE to be a reformed priesthood that is in continuity with that which went before - in line with the teaching of the 1550 Ordinal and 1662 Prayer Book (not exactly unAnglican documents!).
Kate 'David Runcorn is suggesting we abandon the whole Bible ....'. What?!! I am teasing you for your own over-literal use of texts.Posted by David Runcorn at Monday, 17 October 2016 at 4:52pm BST
The thing is, Kate, that the Church generally, and over 2000 years, has recognised the calling of some to be priests: in the Anglican Church, in the (Roman) Catholic Church, in the Orthodox Church. They all have priests.
And vocation is discerned and tested by the Church as a whole. Over the best part of two millennia, the calling of certain individuals to fulfil priestly vocations has been embraced, explored, tested and lived out.
Has the greater part of Christendom been living out a fantasy, an error? or, in practical and spiritual terms has it been found to be a way of grace, with accompanying charism. Something that God has worked through and blessed?
I think it is important not to downplay the significance and importance of tradition - the way that God has worked in the life of the Church through the generations - and not try to pin down doctrines (lepidopterist-style) based on proof texts alone.
The Word of God is alive and active, and lives not only in texts, but in the lives and ministries of Christians and communities. In countless communities, priests have carried out anointed and ordained ministries, lives of sacrifice and service, and - if they model themselves on our Lord Jesus Christ - been servants to us all. What a lovely thing.
I agree that we should also recognise - in a different way - the priesthood of all believers, but for myself, I recognise and acknowledge the continuity of the ministry of the priest, in line with Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox practice through the ages, as a specific vocation that some (but not all) people are called to.
It simply isn't the case, in the lived out practice of the Church over countless generations, that the call to be a priest has been invalid.
We all have our callings - and these are explored in all kinds of diverse ways, by people living in community in their churches and religious houses as well as their lives of service.
All of us have vocations. The vocation of serving as priest is one of many ways in which God calls some people. In each case, it is best that vocation is tested and affirmed by the Church, and not just individually asserted, and that is exactly what the Church has been doing for so many centuries in living, authentic communities.Posted by Susannah Clark at Monday, 17 October 2016 at 6:13pm BST
On the question of Canon B14, Canon B14A (2) already states "Where there is more than one parish church or place of worship in a benefice or where a minister holds benefices in plurality with more than one parish church or place of worship the minister and the parochial church council acting jointly shall make proposals to the bishop as to what services of Morning and Evening Prayer or the celebration of the Holy Communion (as the case may be) are to be held in each of the parish churches or places of worship and if the bishop is satisfied with the proposals he shall authorize them accordingly."
The Bishop of Willesden is quoted in the Guardian as saying, "In rural parishes, no vicar can actually get around all their parishes so technically, they're breaking the law. All we're doing is putting the law in line with what already happens." (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/17/church-of-england-could-drop-legal-requirement-weekly-sunday-services) He must be being misquoted or quoted out of context, presumably another error from the Guardian newspaper. Incumbents of multi-parish benefices certainly are not put in the position where they are breaking the law.Posted by Russell at Monday, 17 October 2016 at 7:28pm BST
If we have to have a title, I'm all for 'sheepdog' myself...Posted by Tim Chesterton at Tuesday, 18 October 2016 at 1:59am BST
Amen and amen aic. Such nonsense these styles and titles are, comrade.Posted by DBD at Tuesday, 18 October 2016 at 9:25am BST
Even Christ needed to be baptised. That is why John the Baptist had to prepare the way. Jesus though underwent no rite of priesting before he celebrated the last supper and was crucified.Posted by Kate at Tuesday, 18 October 2016 at 11:11am BST
I would add that Jesus's followers called him Master, Teacher or Rabbi but never addressed him as a priest. Also, Rabbi in those days was simply a descriptor, not a title, since Rabbinic ordination had not yet been invented. The more I study, the more convinced I become that any title other than Minister, Presbyter or Teacher has no foundation in the Gospels.Posted by Kate at Wednesday, 19 October 2016 at 1:26pm BST
So you would render us without bishops, deans, deacons, sisters, along with priests?Posted by Pat O'Neill at Thursday, 20 October 2016 at 8:21pm BST
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text:
Appendix: ISS Proposed Modifications to Executive Compensation Evaluation Policy
October 19 2012
Management Say-On-Pay Proposals
Peer Group
- Incorporate company's own selected peers as an input to ISS's peer group methodology
- Under the proposed methodology, in addition to using market cap, revenues (or assets for financial firms), and the target company's GICS code when selecting 14-24 companies for the pay-for-performance evaluation group, ISS will now also incorporate those GICS industries designated by companies' own selected peers, with similar size constraints
- Will attempt to maintain the approximate proportion of GICS industries from the company's peer group in the final ISS peer group where possible
- Use the target company's eight-digit GICS code, instead of the six-digit code currently used, as the starting point for identifying industry peers
- Slight relaxation of size constraints in peer selection criteria, particularly for very small and large companies
- Usage of revenues (instead of assets) for certain financial companies
- ISS has requested comments on
- Additional or alternative ways that ISS should use company's self-selected peers to inform peer group construction
- Reasonable size ranges with respect to revenues/assets for peer group construction
- Whether or not there are additional factors which should be considered in peer group construction
Qualitative Evaluation
- Incorporation of a comparison of realizable pay to grant date pay as part of ISS's qualitative evaluation of pay-for-performance alignment for large cap companies only
- ISS has proposed that realizable pay consist of the sum of relevant cash and equity-based grants and awards made during a specific performance period being measured. Equity awards would be valued using the stock price at the end of the performance measurement period, using either awards actually earned, or target values for ongoing awards.
- ISS has requested comments on
- How realized pay should be calculated, particularly with respect to options
- The length of an appropriate measurement period for realizable pay
Problematic Pay Practices
- Addition of the pledging of shares by executives or directors as a factor that may lead to negative recommendations under the existing problematic pay practices evaluation
- ISS has requested comments on
- What should constitute a "significant" level of pledging of company stock that causes concern for investors
- If pledging raises concerns significant enough to warrant voting action, and whether this action should be directed at the say-on-pay proposal (if available), the board, or members of a specific committee (and if so, which one)
- Whether or not remedial actions, such as a commitment not to pledge in the future, or to unwind positions within a reasonable period, would be sufficient to address concerns.
- ISS has requested comments on
Say on Golden Parachute Proposals
- Include existing change-in-control arrangements maintained with named executive officers rather than focusing only on new or extended arrangements
- Increase scrutiny on problematic features in existing change-in-control agreements which may result in an AGAINST recommendation depending on number, magnitude and/or timing of issue, such as
- Single- or modified-single-trigger cash severance
- Single-trigger acceleration of unvested equity awards
- Excessive cash severance (>3x base salary and bonus
- Excise tax gross-ups triggered and payable (as opposed to a provision to provide excise tax gross-ups
- Excessive golden parachute payments (on an absolute basis or as a percentage of transaction equity value
- Recent amendments that incorporate any problematic features (such as those above) or recent actions which may make pay packages so attractive as to influence merger agreements that may not be in the best interests of shareholders
- The company's assertion that a proposed transaction is conditioned on shareholder approval of the golden parachute advisory vote
- Recent amendments that incorporate problematic features will tend to carry more weight in the analysis, but the presence of multiple legacy problematic features will also be closely scrutinized
- ISS has requested comments on
- Whether or not the differentiation between new and existing problematic arrangements is appropriate when determining whether to support a proposal
- Whether or not the number of problematic features should be a consideration when evaluating golden parachute proposals
- Whether or not there are other factors which should be considered when evaluating golden parachute proposals

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wednesday Recruitin'
Deciding Soon
Decision day approaches for OH S Jarrod Wilson, who will make his choice public on Friday at 2:45PM. Michigan, Penn State, and Notre Dame are the finalists, and the general vibe seems to be that Michigan has at least as good a shot at landing him as the other two schools.
Should Wilson pick Michigan, KY S Jeremy Clark will keep his greyshirt offer from Michigan, but it's expected that Clark will receiver a full scholarship offer for the 2012 class if Wilson picks the Nittany Lions or Irish.
Holding the Lines
Michigan's recruiting on both side of the line of scrimmage has gone well already, and it could get better soon.
CA OL Commit Erik Magnuson comes in for some praise from Rivals following the B2G camp (H/T Bodogblog on the message board):
According to camp position coach Courtney Morgan, Erik Magnuson was the best offensive lineman in attendance and it's really no surprise since the four-star tackle from Carlsbad (Calif.) La Costa Canyon has proven multiple times that he's one of the best in the country.
Magnuson has great footwork, plays with a lot of intensity and passion, and simply doesn't let defensive ends around him. He was really good at the B2G Camp, the Stanford NIKE Camp and the Asante Trenchmen Academy this spring and summer.
In an absolutely loaded group of offensive linemen in the West this recruiting cycle, Magnuson continues to prove he's one of the best.
Of note, Courtney Morgan happens to be a former Wolverine, and a mentor of CA OL Jordan Simmons. Tom spoke with Magnuson's high school head coach:
"He's one of the most athletic offensive linemen in the country," he said. "That's his big selling point is that he's a real athlete. At that size, a full 6-foot-6 and 280 plus pounds he can run with just about everybody on the team. It's ridiculous how athletic he is."
He also mentions that Magnuson is one of the hardest workers out there, and athletic enough to practice at wide receiver(!!!!) for his high school team.
AZ OL Andrus Peat's top 10:
Arizona State, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Stanford, Texas, USC (Southern California).
Michigan may be a longshot, but staying on the list this late into the game definitely gives them a chance.
MO DT Ondre Pipkins took to Twitter last week to provide a recruiting update. Per MGoShoe's recap:
- Top 6 (in order): Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida
- Intends to take officials in the fall
- Hasn't been in contact with other Michigan recruits
- Has visited Missouri, Kansas, Ohio State
- Hopes to visit Michigan soon
- Wants to major in business administration or communication
Not a whole lot of new stuff (aside from the teams joining Michigan in his top six), but it's good to hear it directly from the prospect's mouth.
MI DT Danny O'Brien fluff from the Flint Journal:
While O'Brien said all the right things about the embattled Rodriguez at the time, he believes that the program is heading in the right direction under new coach Brady Hoke.
"Their new coaching staff is unbelievable," O'Brien said... "I think they're going to make a big turnaround, especially with the recruiting classes they're pulling in."
O'Brien and Pipkins seem to be the top two prospects for Michigan's nose tackle spot in the 2012 class, though Brian would prefer two 1-techs in the 2012 crop.
More of the same, as OH DE Chris Wormley tells the Toledo Blade's Ryan Autullo that Michigan leads for his services. As far as timeline goes, he plans to decide by the end of August, but a choice could come any time.
MD DE Ryan Watson has a top four of Michigan State, Michigan, Tennessee, and Georgia Tech.
Other People's (De)Commits
NY DT Jarron Jones is back on the market, decommitting from Penn State this week. However, with Michigan's current recruiting situation at defensive tackle, the Wolverines probably aren't a serious contender for his services.
After decommitting from Stanford, CA DT Aziz Shittu publicly hoped that he gets a chance to check out Michigan before the class is full. Tom talked to him about recruiting, and Aziz may try to take in Ann Arbor the weekend of the Notre Dame game.
CA WR Jordan Payton has decommitted from USC, and Michigan is among the schools he will consider:
The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder will likely play most of his recruitment close to the vest before announcing and one of the key reasons why is the fact that he's trying to orchestrate a few other players to join him at his eventual destination.
"I'm going to tell you this, it's going to be interesting the next couple of weeks for in recruiting," Payton said. "You're going to see a lot of changes. Just think Fab Five." Knowing how the comment would sound, Payton was quick to clarify "like" the Fab Five and that it didn't mean they were for sure headed to Michigan.
He said he's "not sure" he wants to stay in Los Angeles for his college career. He tells Tom that Michigan is in it for him (with a little more detail in the Weekly Update).
ESPN's "The Opening" is taking place as we speak in Oregon, with a number of Michigan commits:
- Erik Magnuson
- Mario Ojemudia
- Terry Richardson
- James Ross
- Anthony Standifer
...and targets:
- Zach Banner
- Adam Bisnowaty
- Bri'Onte Dunn
- Durron Neal
- Danny O'Brien
- Aziz Shittu
- Jordan Simmons
in attendance (among many others). If you want to see this event with your very own eyeballs, it's airing on ESPNU tomorrow at 9 and 10PM, Friday at 8 and 9PM, Saturday at 6, 7, and 9PM, and Sunday at 6AM, noon, and 1:30PM.
Happy Trails
- IN QB James Knapke committed to Bowling Green.
- IN QB Zach Terrell and IL QB Anthony Maddie committed to Western Michigan.
- MA QB AJ Doyle committed to NC State.
- FL QB Bennie Coney doesn't mention Michigan in a recent video interview, and in fact he told Tom he's no longer considering the Wolverines.
- IL DT Jaleel Johnson will pick between Michigan State and Iowa.
- UT DE Troy Hinds will decide soon from a list of six schools that doesn't include Michigan (it does include Utah, BYU, Stanford, Cal, Notre Dame, and Nebraska).
- Michigan is outside the final five for OH DE Ifeadi Odenigbo. Ohio State and a cast of good academic schools (Northwestern, Notre Dame, Cal, and Stanford) make his list.
- TX CB Will Hines committed to Missouri.
With Michigan's class filling up, it's not a surprise that prospects are picking other schools with greater frequency.
ESPN's Jeremy Crabtree does not think Michigan is the leader for OH QB Maty Mauk. With conventional wisdom saying that IN QB Gunner Kiel is leaning elsewhere as well, top-flight quarterback options are dwindling for the 2012 crop.
Tom talks to MI RB Juwan Lewis (and his father) about recruiting, but it doesn't sound like a Michigan offer is coming soon.
The Cincinnati Enquirer has 50 local high school football players to keep an eye on this fall, and a few players of Michigan interest appear. Commits:
- #2 Joe Bolden
- #5 AJ Williams
- #7 Caleb Stacey
Targets DE Adolphus Washington (who has Michigan in his top 5 - and Ohio State out of it), Dwayne Stanford, and many juniors also appear.
MI QB Commit Shane Morris highlights from the Madden 7-on-7 championships:
Très impressionnant, and it's a scientifically proven fact that lefties just look much better throwing the ball.
Local fluff on MI OL Steven Elmer and his relationship with former Detroit Lion Lomas Brown.
"My timeline is whenever I'm absolutely sure that's where I'm going to go," he said. "I would prefer not to wait until the last possible second. But I'm not rushed. I still have a lot of time. I want to make the most informed decision and involve my family. ... It's going to be tough to make a decision to pull some of these schools out of the running," he admitted.
With more than 18 months until Signing Day, it doesn't sound like he's expecting a decision any time soon. He's done attending summer camps for the summer.
Tom talked with IL OL Kyle Bosch, who would like to hear from Michigan.
"Michigan still leads" for OH S/RB Dymonte Thomas ($, info in header).
ESPN fluff on TX WR Jake Oliver, who has already received a Michigan offer.
"I've coached coaches' sons before and they just have a real feel for the game," Jesuit coach Brandon Hickman said. "He just has a knack for the ball and he runs great routes, precision routes. His hands are probably the best I've ever seen as a coach." Combine all that with Jake's size at 6-foot-4, 194 pounds, and college scouts had plenty of reasons to visit Jesuit during the offseason. It's clear they liked what they saw, as he already has received 10 Division-I offers from schools like Texas A&M, Michigan, Texas Tech, Arizona and Arkansas.
Once the 2012 class is wrapped up (which could happen absurdly soon), we'll have a better idea what the needs for 2013 are.
Unverified Voracity Answered Botswana
The second-worst game ever. Wolverine Historian has digitized the 1995 Purdue game, which was played in miserable conditions and ended 5-0 to the Wolverines:
It's not 2008 Northwestern because the team didn't finish 3-9 and won that game, but it's probably the second-worst game of the last twenty years to attend. I didn't; I was playing Quiz Bowl in high school.
A man after Lloyd's own heart. Don't bother asking incoming freshman OL Jack Miller any uncomfortable questions. His presser-fu is unassailable:
"On the Buckeyes, they're a great program and they will be resilient. But we need to take this opportunity as a team to move forward and keep getting better."
Rich Rodriguez: call this man for pointers.
Heavens to Betsy. Maryland hit with violations essentially identical to those of Michigan:
Maryland self-reported the violations and recommended penalties — which the NCAA has accepted — that will include the loss of 2 ½ hours of the normal 20 hours a week maximum for practices and games. The penalties will be enforced during the 2011 season. Maryland officials confirmed details Friday in response to inquiries. …
"Specifically, 30 minutes of meeting sessions and 30 minutes of practice on Mondays and one hour of weightlifting on Wednesdays were not accurately reported," Maryland said in a May 5 letter to Chris Strobel, NCAA director of enforcement for secondary violations. "During the review it was apparent that the coaches and staff at the time believed those activities were voluntary in nature; however, when reviewed in detail, the institution determined the activities to be mandatory."
Yeah, you read that right: secondary violations. I'm not sure why these are secondary. It seems Michigan got hit with a major violation because its problems were persistent, not isolated, and that that was enough to trigger all the stuff Michigan dealt with the last two offseasons. Here Maryland did almost exactly the same thing and gets almost exactly the same punishment but doesn't get the black mark.
It's mostly important for semantics, but goddamn if the NCAA had hit Michigan with the exact penalties they did but only secondary violations that would have been epic win for the internet in Internet vs. Free Press. Maybe the sensational nature of the original article caused the NCAA investigation and prevented Michigan from self-reporting the results of the audit they'd already done.
Oregon stuff. So… yeah, that thing about the NCAA having to make an inference a fourth-grader could make and this being an important thing for them to do: nevermind all that. Unusually for a dude who received a big check for acting as a "street agent," Lyles has taken the opportunity presented by an NCAA investigation to launch a media blitz.
You know about the Yahoo article. That in and of itself isn't unusual. What's unusual is what happened the next day: instead of recanting after people threatened to burn him at the stake (or offered him dollars) Lyles said more stuff. He called up a local columnist who had called him "scum" and a "slimeball" and offered an extensive interview with quotes like this:
Lyles said he's willing to fully cooperate with NCAA investigators. Said Lyles: "What did coach Kelly say to the NCAA? What did he say to the administration? That's going to be a key piece of information for them. I keep things. I don't throw things away. It bodes well in this circumstance."
He also did an interview with the Register-Guard and was on The Morning Jones this morning. He is very talkative for a street-agent-type-guy.
His defense isn't totally unbelievable insofar as it doesn't seem like Lyles is a terrible guy. He's inserted himself as a middleman in a market created because of NCAA restrictions and got some football players to go to some colleges, for which he got paid. If not for NCAA regulations he'd just be a guy doing a job.
But those NCAA regulations do exist and Oregon paid 25k to a representative of their athletic interests who got to act outside said regulations, so they've got to suffer. How much will be fascinating. This isn't an extra benefits case so the USC benchmark doesn't apply.
Throwdown. YELLING IS WARRANTED
Tim Hardaway is fifth on the USA U19s in scoring; they're 5-1 in pool play after avenging a blowout loss to these same Lithuanians in a tourney tuneup. They just lost to Croatia today. Two more games until the quarterfinals.
This is what it sounds like when no one has any idea of anything. If this whole hockey superconference-insofar-as-you-can-call-an-eight-team-conference-that thing comes to fruition and some CCHA teams fold and everyone blames the Big Ten that's going to be annoying. Nebraska fans feel me on this after being blamed for the Big 12's dissolution when there was going to be a Pac-16.
But it might happen. North Dakota is the latest school sporting the initials ND to make noises about it:
UND is having formal discussions about pulling out of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and joining several other schools in creating a new power hockey league, multiple sources have told the Herald. … It is believed that eight teams are involved in the talks to some degree.
UNO, Miami, Notre Dame, and Western Michigan(!) are specifically mentioned in the article. Add UND, CC, DU, and Fortunate Minnesota Team Pretty Much Indistinguishable From The Ones Left Behind and that's an eight-team conference that has a lot of traditional or nouveau powers, no geographical sense at all, no home base, and some chance of keeping pace with the Big Ten.
You've also got flailing WCHA and CCHA remnants trying to figure out how to survive. The WCHA schools might be able to grab Air Force* for an eighth team; the shattered rump of the CCHA would probably grab a handful of Atlantic Hockey schools who want to offer maximum scholarships. The financial viability of the WCHA schools isn't much in question—most have just put a lot of money into infrastructure and hockey is king in Minnesota. The CCHA would be in some trouble, though.
If I was Michigan I'd be rattling my saber at anyone eyeing this new superconference, promising to play any local nonconference games against the teams who don't get raptured up into the Engelstad Conference.
Ugh—I just realized we have two more years of this before the Big Ten even exists.
*["Might" because the conventional wisdom in the hockey community is that priority #1 for AF is being in the same conference as Army and Atlantic Hockey's scholarship restrictions and general lack of behemoths makes them more competitive.]
Barnett shelved. TX TE Chris Barnett was one of Brady Hoke's biggest recruits in the brief window he had to acquire dudes before Signing Day, and he plays a position of desperate need now that Michigan's going all pro-style and stuff. Unfortunately, this does not sound like a guy who is going to be ready to play this fall:
I tore my ACL in early October, and I didn't have surgery for it until December, because like I said, me and my mom, we struggle. We don't have a whole bunch of money. So the injury thing wasn't to the point where I could go get surgery. But I've been working out really hard...I came up on the spring game, and I was 295 [lbs]. Right now, I'm 272. Coach wants me to be 280 -- no [not any] more than 280. But at the same time, I'm getting stronger. I'm crisp [while] running. My knee that I had surgery on still isn't 100%, so I go about 80/85%. But talking to Coach, I still have 2 months [before the season starts] to rehab with them
That sucks in four different ways. Hopefully he makes it back but December surgery plus generally being a freshman seems like a recipe for a redshirt.
Etc.: Bill Connolly reminisces about the 2000 Northwestern game (yes, the 54-51 one). Shorter Andy Staples: watch The Wire, college football coaches. OH DE commit Tom Strobel tells twitter he'll play strongside defensive end and hopes to get up to "at least 270"—if that's by the time he hits campus, whoah. Also, paging Matt Godin to aisle defensive tackle.
This Northwestern-ish blog is updated about every three months but has the most fantastic blog name ever: Bring Your Champions, They're Our Meat. Nik Stauskas is finally loose on the AAU circuit and is impressing with more than his three-ball.
How do you list a home with a waterfall and not include a picture of said waterfall? Boo, Edward Surovell retailers. Boo.
Mailbag: Grayshirting, DTs, More Borges
Brian -
I was wondering if you could answer the question as to why Jeremy Clark and Michigan would pursue a grey shirt versus a preferred walk-on. In both cases the player has to pay their own way until a scholarship is available. But with a grey shirt you can't practice with the team at all. Is the thinking that they would then get a psuedo sixth year? I would think having the player on campus and practicing with the team as a walk-on that first year would be better than hoping he earns a scholarship by sitting around doing nothing for a year.
Also, I know we all share concerns about the size of this class and where the scholarships will come from - but I have a more specific question for you. How do you feel about only taking one at the DT spot? My thinking is that it is one of the hardest positions to project (cough-Will Campbell-cough), you need a healthy rotation of players, and you need size. I have no idea why the staff wouldn't want two true defensive tackles in this class given the lack of depth and talent at that position. I would even take one lower rated DT in this class if you get a star DT with another scholarship. I think that's far more important than just about every other position at this point.
Chicago, IL
On grayshirting: you do get a psuedo-sixth year since your eligibility clock does not start ticking until the subsequent year if you are a mid-year enrollee. Clark could enroll, redshirt, and have four years of eligibility starting in in 2014. Enrolling in the fall starts your clock, so the fall of 2012 would be Clark's redshirt year. Also, being a preferred walk-on costs money.
I'm not actually sure what path Clark will take since grayshirting is an overloaded term that refers to both enrolling without a scholarship and not enrolling until winter. It could be either depending on how quickly Michigan thinks they'd want to deploy Clark and if he wants to/can make the financial sacrifice to enroll without a scholarship.
On the defensive tackle spot: I don't think anyone gets Michigan's plan there. When the 2012 class hits campus the only potential nose tackles on the roster are Quinton Washington and Richard Ash; the only three-techs are Will Campbell and Terrance Talbott. Both Talbott and Ash have been dogged with rumors they have health issues and neither was exactly a slam-dunk recruit. No one has played; Michigan took no true DTs a year ago. Campbell will be a senior and Washington a junior.
Meanwhile, the defensive line sees more rotation than any other position in football—Michigan rotated four guys last year even when the options were walk-ons and journeymen like Adam Patterson.
So it seems nuts to me to turn down a consensus four star DT with the offers to match, as it seems they will if Pipkins and O'Brien both want to sign up. Even if they can move some combination of Godin/Wormley/Strobel/Rock/Wilkins inside, those guys are all tall dudes who probably can't deal with the nose.
That leaves essentially no one after Martin graduates. Hoke's made all the right moves so far but if he takes a scholarship fullback over a desperately-needed nose tackle people should question that.
Hi Brian,
First, the giant scoreboard at Yost: on the post today it indeed appears to be gigantic and I was wondering if you had a chance yet to see if this thing might interfere with sightlines across the ice or corner to corner? Don't know if anyone remembers/cares, but there was a giant block hangy-downy scoreboard there back at Yost in the early 80's and it hung down too far. If you were sitting really high up in the endzones or even in the top couple of rows on the sidelines, the scoreboard actually hung down far enough to block your view across the ice. It was worse than obstructed view at Tiger Stadium, though I guess that might be because Larry Herndon never ran very far. So, the end-zone scoreboards were actually an innovation kind of because there were then no seats obstructed by the scoreboard hanging down. Someone must have thought about that one before they hung this thing, right? I am suspicious of change, get off the lawn, I miss the Apple IIC, etc.
The board is currently closer to the ice than it will be when it is finally deployed, and while it's certainly larger than the current one I don't think it's significantly taller. And the top couple rows on the sidelines are now usually vacant because of overhangs.
Second, we've seen a lot of decision matrices about 4th down, go for it vs. field goal vs punt on different places on the field. Would it be possible for someone to do a historic survey?
For example, I bet that matrix looked a lot different for a 1972 Bo team than for a 1998 Lloyd team because of the efficiency - or not - of the passing game back then. Bo going for it on 4th and 7 with his option teams was a totally different animal than Carr going for it on 4th and 7 with Henne and Braylon. I guess what I'm asking is, can those 4th and charts be adjusted backwards for inflation? I bet they would explain a lot about the evolution of 4th-and theory and about Carr's reluctance to not punt from the opponent's 41.
A historic survey is outside the scope of a mailbag response but it's probably unnecessary anyway since the Mathlete tackled something similar in a past diary that got bumped to the front page. Two charts, one for high offensive expectation…
…and one for low offensive expectation…
…show the increasing viability of the punt as scoring decreases.
Game theory in the paleolithic era was probably better than it was over the past 20 years. It seems we've passed an inflection point where going for it is the choice, but teams are still being coached by guys who came up under old school coaches who had totally different probabilities in their head. It's like adding four cards to a deck and asking 1950s poker players to cope—eventually they'll make a mistake because the game has changed.
I think it is worth noting that the West Coast offense, which Borges favors, can be traced directly back to Sid Gillman, the same Sid Gillman whose offensive style was loathed by manball loving Woody Hayes when the two of them were rivals at Cincinnati and Miami of Ohio respectively. Also, the most famous west coast quarterback of all time is Joe Montana, and he was hardly an immobile pocket passer.
I am probably being overly optimistic, but do you think there is a possibility that Michigan's offense in 2011 will resemble Auburn's 2010 offense in that it will be a hybrid of spread elements and pro-style elements? Yes I realize that Denard's skill set is not identical to Cam Newton's, but based on some of the remarks Borges has made and Hoke's likely realization that Michigan fans aren't going to be patient for wins, I think this is the most likely direction for the offense.
I'm not sure I agree with the above emailer's police work there. Auburns' offense worked so well because they didn't even need any semblance of a pro-style attack because an inverted veer with Cam Newton was short-yardage gold. Newton was recruited to run the same offense he did run. When there was a mismatch between the offensive coordinator's vision, that of the head coach, and available personnel, both Tony Franklin and Tommy Tuberville got fired. Auburn is not a good analogue.
I'm not sure if there is in fact a good analogue for the transformation Denard is going to be asked to make. Usually when you have a talent like him at quarterback the head coach doesn't get fired because you win a bunch of games. I've searched my memory banks for an example of a successful returning spread quarterback dealing with a new, more pro-style system and can only recall the most ironic possible name: Pat White.
White, of course, was coming off of West Virginia's 48-28 demolition of Oklahoma; WVU was third nationally in rushing offense, 15th in yardage, and 9th in scoring. The next year Rodriguez was out and Bill Stewart brought in Jeff Mullen from Wake Forest; Mullen preached balance but seemed to respect the accomplishments of the previous regime:
"I don't want it to be too much different. You're talking about a group of men who left here who were very successful coaches, and they installed one of the best offenses in the country. I'm not going to come in here and turn it around," he said.
WVU still ran the spread but lost some of its maniacal dependence on the run (70% in RR's last year, 63% in Stewart's first) and large chunks of its derring-do. West Virginia lost almost a yard per carry in the transition despite running less and retaining White and Noel Devine. Total yardage dropped to 59th, scoring to 73rd. You will not be thrilled to hear that turnover margin remained as ludicrously good as it was for the bulk of Rodriguez's tenure.
I think something like that dropoff may be in the cards for Michigan. Mullen was no slouch. He was able to staple together decent outfits at Wake Forest despite having a massive injury plague strike his already-depleted roster. But his expertise did not align with the skills of his offense and as a result a bunch of returning starters got a lot less explosive.
I do think Al Borges is going to put together something that tries to take advantage of the parts he has. If I had to guess I'd say Brady Hoke's public statements about manball are just statements—at San Diego State Borges had full sway to do what he wanted, and what he wanted was a lot of different things including quite a bit of zone running. But you can't expect Borges to be Rich Rodriguez when he's spent much of his career fiddling with passing routes instead of the slight adjustments Rodriguez used to keep Robinson ahead of the pack.
The falloff from the transition probably won't be as bad* but if Borges can just maintain Michigan's YPC I'll be thrilled.
*[Reasons: The offense wasn't as good as that WVU unit and shouldn't be exposed to such a withering regression to the mean, Denard is lower on his learning curve than White, there's no equivalent to losing Slaton, general coaching ept-ness will probably go up, field goals.]
TVH Weekly: Joshua Garnett, Aziz Shittu, Jordan Payton, and More
Michigan technically now has 18 commitments for the 2012 class, if you include S Jeremy Clark who accepted a greyshirt role. Outside of the commitments the coaching staff also secured Illinois WR Bo Dever (6'2", 195 lbs) as a preferred walk on. You know you're doing well on the recruiting trail when you have kids accepting greyshirts and walk on roles and you're not even half way through summer.
That's just how things are going, and it looks like things could wrap up sooner than later for the coaching staff. Here's a look at recent happenings and what could be in the future. As always you can follow me on Twitter @TomVH, or email me with any tips or questions at [email protected].
Joshua Garnett
6'5", 290 lbs.
Offensive Lineman
Puyallup, Washington
Garnett has been expressing strong interest in Michigan for some time now. He has stated that he would like to take an official visit, and recently included Michigan in his top list.
I cut my list to eleven. They're Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, Auburn, Nebraska, Stanford, Oklahoma, and Cal. I thought it would be easier just to focus on a top eleven rather than all the schools involved.
As for summer visits, it doesn't look like any more unofficials will be in the cards for Garnett.
I don't know if I'm going to take any visits to any other schools. I know I'll take official visits. I've already seen Oregon, USC, UCLA, Washington, Cal, and Stanford. I feel good about Michigan, taking an official out there and seeing the Big House.
Ganett is one of the 150 elite athletes that will be attending "The Opening" in Oregon this week. The event will be televised on ESPNU and will include a good number of Michigan recruits and commitments.
There's going to be a lot of skilled players there. A lot of the guys I've made friendships with are going to be there. I talk to Erik Magnuson and we've talked about schools, where we see each other fitting. It definitely helps to get together with those guys and see who else is being recruiting and who else will be on their team. It makes you feel more comfortable with potential teammates.
Garnett has been very impressed with what Michigan brings to the table and is excited to learn more.
It's just the atmosphere around Michigan, the legacy, the fan support, and the great academics. It's a top notch academic program, and all the games are packed. You don't get that feel on the west coast or anywhere in the nation. Michigan is rolling out NFL linemen and they all have great NFL careers. I think I get a bad stigma being from Washington. You don't think nasty guys come from Washington, but I'm 6-foot-5, and 290-pounds right now. I'm very athletic and I know that's the kind of guys Michigan likes.
It will be interesting to see how offensive line recruiting plays out. Depending on what happens in the near future with other prospects Michigan could be out of spots depending on when Garnett would like to visit.
Aziz Shittu
6'3", 275 lbs.
Defensive Tackle
Atwater, California
The five star defensive tackle has been making noise ever since he decommitted from Stanford. Rivals ranks him as the number three best defensive tackle overall in the country, and he told me he has list down to ten.
I don't think I'll be taking any other summer visits. I'm focused on my team more than recruiting right now. I have it narrowed to ten schools though with Arizona, Stanford, Auburn, Cal, Washington, USC, Michigan, UCLA, Florida, and Nebraska.
Shittu is another prospect that has maintained he would like to take an official visit to Michigan. He too will be at The Opening this weekend, and as mentioned will be with Michigan recruits and commitments.
I haven't figured out a specific date yet, but it could possibly be for the Notre Dame night game. I'll be at The Opening this week and I talk recruiting everywhere I go, but I'm mostly going there to have a good time. It's cool to hang out with the committed players to see if your personalities match up.
Defensive tackle is another position that will likely start to fill up soon. The coaching staff have told recruits that they will likely take one interior linemen, but I have to imagine that they will take two at the end of the day. Either way, Shittu says that doesn't bother him.
It's 50% that I'll sign on signing day and 50% that I'll do it at the Army game. Nothing sooner, and if their class fills up then it fills up. I'm making my decision on one of those dates.
The scenario could get interesting with Ondre Pipkins' visit coming up, and instate DT Danny O'Brien saying that he would like to take official visits. If Pipkins decides to make an early decision and the coaches decide to take two defensive tackles it looks like it could be down to Shittu and O'Brien for the last spot. A lot of ifs, but they're in a good place.
Jordan Payton
6'2", 199 lbs.
Wide Receiver
Westlake Village, California
I recently reported that Payton had decommitted from USC this past week. He had been feeling uncomfortable with his commitment for awhile, so this wasn't anything that was surprising. He has a lot of interest in Michigan and plans on taking an official visit if things go as planned.
My coach wants me to make a decision relatively soon, but no matter what I want to take an official out to Michigan. We can take official visits during our season as long as we don't miss any Oaks time, miss any class or anything with our teams.
There was recently a CBS Sports article published that quoted Payton as saying, "I'm going to tell you this, it's going to be interesting the next couple of weeks in recruiting…You're going to see a lot of changes. Just think Fab Five." Naturally people began to tie that to Michigan. He clarified what he meant there.
When I said that the reporter, he was just like oh so you're going to Michigan? I told him that I just meant I've been talking to some other recruits and trying to get a fab five group to go to the same school, not necessarily Michigan.
Interesting comments to say the least. The article did clarify what he meant as well, I just thought I'd get him in his own words. If you look at what he said though it sounds like his decision could come soon. We'll see.
Ohio S Jarrod Wilson is announcing his decision on Friday July 8th at 2:30pm EST. He's kept everything close to the vest, but it seems like it will be worthwhile to monitor the announcement.
DT Ondre Pipkins named his top six of Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Florida. He will be visiting Michigan at the end of July or beginning of August. That visit will be big for Michigan to get him on campus.
Offensive line recruiting is starting to get tight, as I mentioned above. I've said this before, but I don't expect Ohio OL Kyle Kalis to take too much longer with his decision. I have been in contact with him this entire time. His decision could likely have an effect on what other prospects decide to do and when they do it. We'll see what happens.
Ohio DE Chris Wormley will be making his decision relatively soon, sometime before the end of the summer.
The Michigan recruits and commitments to watch in The Opening this week are OL Adam Bisnowaty (who Michigan really likes), RB Bri'onte Dunn, OL Erik Magnuson, DT Danny O'Brien, DB Terry Richardson, LB James Ross, DT Aziz Shittu, DB Anthony Standifer, WR Dwayne Stanford, TE Ron Thompson, DE Adolphus Washington, OL Zach Banner, DE Mario Ojemudia, and OL Joshua Garnett. You can watch it on ESPNU on July 7th, 8th, and 9th, at 9pm EST.
The Big House BBQ is July 31st, I will confirm names for that as it gets closer. It looks like it was by invitation.
Explode Something Today
Off today for the Fourth. See you tomorrow. Until then, Amurrica.
Dear Diary Predicts the Past III: Linebacker
Previously: The Offense, The Defensive Backs
Dear Diary,
In 2006, David Harris never came off the field for a single defensive play. Then he (and Prescott Burgess) graduated, and the Ezeh/Mouton era was born.
The cheapest thrill in MGoBlogging from '07 to '10 was making an Obi Ezeh joke. Here was a guy with limited ability who was subject to terrible coaching and forced into the center of Michigan's defense – wearing David Harris's number no less – for four terrible years because until Kenny Demens there was no alternative. Since linebacker mistakes are harder to spot than, say, free safety mistakes, you could get a lot of internet cred by intelligently pointing out the flaws in Ezeh's game.
If you hang around enough program insiders, you already know that in all of the important things in life, Obi Ezeh is a spectacular success. On the overwhelming majority of the plays he was involved in, Obi did something other than fail spectacularly. And then there were those times on the field when he failed, spectacularly.
That it took until midway through his senior year to displace Ezeh says a lot about the depth of Michigan's linebacker recruiting, and probably more about the coaching. Four years ago, was this the future we expected?
Depth Chart:
|Chris Graham
|Johnny Thompson
|Shawn Crable
|Jonas Mouton
|Obi Ezeh
|Marrell Evans
|Brandon Logan
|Austin Panter
|Brandon Herron
Incoming: (Marcus Wither-)SPOON!
Expected: AUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!
But that AUGGGHHHH was a long time coming. M had a string of bad linebacker recruiting years that ended up giving playing time to a Sarantos and the vastly overrated McClintock a few years earlier before the enterprise was saved by Burgess moving in from safety and a Grand Rapids 2-star running back emerging as all-world MLB David Harris. By 2007 those guys were gone and it was the undersized seniors Graham and Crable, then hope.
The story of 2007 recruiting, other than "PLZ moar DBs!" was "PLZ moar LBs!" Then the LB haul turned out to be a JUCO junior and two fliers, and two of the freshmen transferred, and crippling fear set in. Little bits of happy flakes like "maybe Chris Graham will have a Bennie Joppru renaissance" and "Obi Ezeh practice hype!" and "Jonas Mouton's recruiting pedigree as a safety" were used to provide the necessary optimism to balance the previews that start with a tiny linebacker with Tyrannosaurus arms, yappy trash-talking spear, and blitz-only knife, and end with one guy down the depth chart with any hope of being good.
Tyranno-arms was Chris Graham, who was terrible as a sophomore, didn't play behind Burgess, and came into his senior year expected to raise even more internet ire. The expectation here was for Mouton's loads of talent to push Graham out of the way.
At MLB, Thompson and Ezeh were in a battle. What little had been seen of Thompson led Brian to conclude he was a guy born a generation too late, the best case scenario a Sam Sword who needs to come off the field on passing downs. Ezeh was our knight in Harris-ian armor:
Nobody's seen redshirt freshman Ezeh in the flesh yet, but the indicators on him are good. For one, he is David Harris: a nothing running back recruit out of Grand Rapids who Michigan unearthed and brought in as a linebacker. He even took the newly hallowed #45 once Harris graduated. In the fall he was moved to middle linebacker to compete with Thompson and Panter so he wouldn't spend his year idling behind Crable. Whenever people try to get you on the field, that's a good sign.
We now know that whenever people try to get you on the field, that could be a good sign for you, or a bad sign for the entire unit.
Crable? Ah, Crable. Expert attacker, not made for regular linebacking duties. The SAM position that kind of became Spur and is now again SAM was exactly what Crable was good at. He essentially made Michigan's defense a 5-2, with Crable serving as a sharp knife to terrify bludgeoning offensive linemen and wreak backfield havoc. When he's not doing this, Michigan would go to the nickel, with Brandon Harrison in for Crable. Brian in the preview:
As a 6'6" linebacker with chicken legs and a high center of gravity, he's not the sort to defeat a block and close out a hole. He doesn't make tackles three yards downfield. It's either in the backfield or after long pursuit.
As for depth and future: negligible or less after Mouton and Ezeh. The team was sucking up the departure of Mixon and Patilla, and Brandon Graham's move to DE, leaving just 9 scholarship players, of whom Mouton was the only consensus 4-star or higher. Logan was already a clear Anton Campbell Memorial Special Teamer. Pessimistic practice reports ruled out any immediate usefulness from Panter. Evans was a 2-star reportedly offered on advice that he had a better work ethic than Brandon Minor, according to Brandon Minor. Herron was an athletic project recruit who looked like a receiver. On July 31, 2007, until help arrived from the 2008 class, the future was Ezeh, Mouton, and bleakness:
Mixon transferred, Patilla is likely gone, and Graham is a defensive end. Mouton (who moved down from safety) and Ezeh are both drawing very positive reviews and are odds-on favorites to start next year, but past that we have only the two freshmen, one of whom was a two-star and the other a three-star regarded as a combine freak who needs a lot of work. Depth is also going to be an issue at linebacker going forward; we need at least three in this class.
As for those 2008 recruits, SPOON! was Rival's 160th overall at the time, and the board was full of linebacker prospects. Taylor Hill, a 3.5-star-ish guy was apparently off to Florida (the RR hire turned him back), but M was in good position for 4-star J.B. Fitzgerald, and Christian Wilson was close to coming in, but as an H-back. Because the offer list was so rich and large and positive feeling-y, in-state Kenny Demens didn't have an offer from Michigan, and insiders expected him to end up at that school people go to when they want to go to Michigan but don't have a letter of acceptance from Michigan.
All told, expectations were for a dark period that hopefully saw Mouton emerge as a killer to cover up deficiencies in the Ezeh/Thompson platoon, while the coaches schemed around the 3rd LB spot with two-LB sets (nickel/5-2) or sets that basically act like two-LB (3-3-5, 4-3 under) until the fruits of the 2008 haul ripened. The 2008 preview gave a kind 2 out of 5 rating because if Ezeh got better (rather than worse) each year, he'd be Schilling minus the recruiting hype. At that point Mouton was beaten for the starting gig by the workmanlike (pre-transfer) Marrell Evans, and Panter was your 2008 starting SLB. By Penn State '08 it was Thompson at SAM, Mouton terrible in coverage but awesome at blitzing, and Ezeh a convenient focal point for power running teams, which the Big Ten has those, and we talking about how we totally called it.
Ultimately this meant 'eh' to mediocre linebacker play for 2007-09, and then something approximating good in 2010 when Mouton and Ezeh are 5th year seniors with loads of experience, and the 2008 guys were upperclassmen.
How Did that Turn Out?
This is a picture taken from Brian's picture pages of Mouton losing contain again. RB#32 will now cut behind LT#77 and probably have enough time to cue a celebratory animation as he waltzes toward the end-zone as you throw your controller and curse the EAsshole who programmed suction blocking.
Then you realize this is real life and you go looking for a coach to throttle.
The depth chart at the beginning of 2007 fall practice tells a story, but the rest of the tale of linebacker in the 2007-10 is the clearest case in M history since DeBordian offensive playcalling in which the coaches failed their players.
Whereas the defensive backfield suffered from a lack of guys, the linebacker corps had a some guys with wildly varying abilities The truth of that statement can be found in the era's picture pages that weren't about bad DB play, bad backup DL play, or some bit of insight into the Offensive Genius of Mr. Rodriguez, from lining up Demens incorrectly to the consistent fundamental mistakes made by experienced 5th year seniors. It can be confirmed by the incredibly short careers of various linebacker coaches in this time:
2007: Steve Szabo – Former LB's coach for Jacksonville Jaguars ('94-'02) and DC for B.C. and Colorado State before that. Michigan's LB coach from 2006-'07, was let go with rest of Carr's staff when RR took over, and joined the Carr's-Michigan-in-Exile project of Ron English down the road in Ypsilanti.
2008-'09: Jay Hopson – A favorite MGoWhipping Boy, this Mississippi import couldn't a.) coach linebackers, or b.) recruit Mississippi. He was the fall-guy for the 2009 defense. Brian on Hopson postmortem:
Now that he's actually gone, it's no sugarcoat time: Hopson failed at all aspects of his job at Michigan. At least Tony Gibson can point to the walk-ons and whatnot when attempting to explain what went wrong with his section of the defense; Hopson had two redshirt juniors with three years of starting experience between them. They went backwards, and the big-time recruit backing them up also proved unready.
Meanwhile, a—possibly the—primary reason Michigan lacks depth on the defensive line and might have to turn down a couple of recruits who want to come was Hopson getting "commitments" from two defensive tackles who eventually went to Arkansas and Texas Tech on signing day.
This makes Rodriguez 0/2 on his new hires since coming to Michigan, with Greg Robinson currently sporting an incomplete. If Rodriguez doesn't make it at Michigan the guys he picked to run his defense will be a primary factor.
If the link to that Christmastime '09 post is purple on your browser, it's because I've linked it several times before thanks to this famous bit of prophesy fulfilled: 2010: GERG – You see a man with fantastically groomed white locks who takes the opportunity afforded by his first linebacker ward performing a linebacker play correctly to rub said linebacker's face with a beaver beanie baby. Throttle this man? Y/N
That's not to say they were working with a roster full of Ray Lewis and Jarret Johnsons (like some people). The transfer bug continued, as Evans and three of the '08 commits (Hill, SPOON!, and former safety Brandon Smith) followed Mixon and Patilla out the door. The recruiting story under Carr was, if you can believe it, even more desperate than the defensive backs, evidence: Panter. But where you can't get away from playing 4 DBs on most downs, you can get away with 2 every-down linebacker-y linebackers if you scheme for it, and that's what Michigan essentially did.
The result: zero depth behind the two summon creatures played above. At various points along the way, tiny walk-on Kevin Leach became a nominal starter, and not because of injuries to guys ahead of him. Suboptimal options J.B. Fitzgerald, Craig Roh, Brandon Herron, Mark Moundros and Brandon Smith were all forced into the lineup in hopes of plugging some of those holes between Adam Patterson and wherever Adam Patterson's shoes were landing. If the Opong-Owusu family had produced any more sons, they probably would have played as well.
The real story of 2007 to 2010 though was Mouton and Ezeh. Mouton came to be known in my (fantasy nerdy) head as the Goblin Sapper, equally liable to cause massive to enemies and his own party. Since the NFL apparently thinks they can make a linebacker out of him, and he was actually getting really good coverage drops whenever he knew to do so, I tend to blame the coaches more than Mouton for his 'define erratic' play. We can only wonder if he would have been our best WLB prospect since Dhani. Ezeh? At this point let's just and wish him luck in everything he does.
That's 2/3 of the tale. The third LB position, strongside, turned out fine. Crable was Crablicious in limited duty for English's nickel-happy '07, and in '08 John Thompson got to do his neaderthalish thing when the occasion called for it (which was basically just Wisconsin and MSU). In 2009 the SAM spot became Spur, a straightforward hybrid position that basically combines Brandon Harrison and Shawn Crable into a player who stays on the field for every down. In '09 it turned out to be Stevie Brown's lifetime calling. In 2010 it was the home of a rotating cast of freshmen: two redshirted Gordons and Carvin Johnson, who were not at all disappointing.
5 Point Scale of Expectation vs. Outcome: 3. We knew things were gonna be Mouton, Ezeh and pray for rain, and only hoped that experience, recruiting, plus a breakout or two from among the 2- and 3-stars, would be able to fix that. Ezeh got a little bit worse every year. Mouton had a major regression as a junior from a promising but mistake-y sophomore year, before getting a bit better as a senior. The recruits came but didn't develop. What really nailed this unit was the coaching, both the effects of changing schemes every year, and the overall poor quality of the Hopson/GERG coaching experience. Heading into 2011, the outlook isn't all that different, depending on your excitement level over Kenny Demens in a sensical defense (Brian: high, Misopogon: medium) and trust that one of the WLB guys will be serviceable (Brian: low, Misopogon: medium). For the future, the "I coached Ray Lewis" pitch seems to be working like free ice cream as Mattison has grabbed first dibs on a loaded regional LB class, and Mark Smith, who has followed Hoke around since '03, would really have to work to match the record incompetence of his last two predecessors.
Next week is the d-line and I promise it won't be this depressing again. Look: Biakabutuka going for 313.
Diaries after the jump.


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In a world seemingly filled with nothing but bad news, it's refreshing to hear about a dream coming true every once in a while. Three-year-old Rayden Kahae's dream, for example, was to have two hands like his sister. Thanks to some great engineers and a 3D printer, he now has one modeled off of his favorite superhero, Iron Man.
Nicknamed Bubba, Rayden was born with Amniotic Band Syndrome (ABS) which occurs when the fetus becomes entangled in fibrous string-like amniotic bands in the womb, restricting blood flow and affecting the baby's development. This restriction can lead to an array of anomalies, depending on which body parts are affected.
"He knew from earlier on when he could notice that his sister had two hands and he didn't, that he always said he doesn't like that hand he wanted one like [his sister's]," said his Grandmother, Rulan Waikiki.
Luckily for Rayden, the kind folks at E-nable caught wind of his predicament thanks to his grandmother reaching out. Not only did he recieve a new, fully-functional hand, but it was based on Iron Man - which was exactly what he wanted.
Normally, prosthetic hands can range in price all the way up to $40,000. Rayden's cost $50 via 3D printer, but absolutely nothing for his family, who were gifted Rayden's hand (and every refitted hand after) for free.
Check out the video for a look at Rayden receiving his hand.
This isn't the first time E-nable has made a kid feel like a superhero. A quick dive through their gallery shows an assortment of great work for kids in need:
Source: KTLA


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Definition

In English grammar, sentence length refers to the number of words in a sentence.

Most readability formulas use the number of words in a sentence to measure its difficulty. Yet in some cases, a short sentence can be harder to read than a long one. Comprehension can sometimes be facilitated by longer sentences, especially those that contain coordinate structures.

Contemporary style guides generally recommend varying the length of sentences to avoid monotony and achieve appropriate emphasis.

 See Examples and Observations below. Also, see:

Sentence Variety

Basic Sentence Structures in English

E.B. White's Exercise in Sentence Length and Variety

Euphony

Paragraph Length

The Rhythm of Prose, by Robert Ray Lorant

Sentence Variety in Alice Walker's "Am I Blue?"

Sentence Variety in Thurber's "Life and Hard Times"

Style

What Is a Sentence?

What Is Sentence Combining and How Does It Work?

Examples and Observations

"When the great orator William Jennings Bryan accepted the Democratic nomination for president in 1896, the average length of a sentence in his speech was 104 words. Today, the average length of a sentence in a political speech is less than 20 words. We're simply in an age of directness and making our point more quickly." (Bob Elliot and Kevin Carroll, Make Your Point! AuthorHouse, 2005)

"Varying your sentence length is much more important than varying your sentence pattern if you want to produce clear, interesting, readable prose." (Gary A. Olson et al., Style and Readability in Business Writing: A Sentence-Combining Approach. Random House, 1985)

Examples of Varied Sentence Length: Updike, Bryson, and Wodehouse

"That laugh said a strange thing. It said, This is fun. Baseball is meant to be fun, and not all the solemn money men in fur-collared greatcoats, not all the scruffy media cameramen and sour-faced reporters that crowd around the dugouts can quite smother the exhilarating spaciousness and grace of this impudently relaxed sport, a game of innumerable potential redemptions and curious disappointments. This is fun." (John Updike, "The First Kiss." Hugging the Shore: Essays and Criticism. Knopf, 1983)

"One of the great myths of life is that childhood passes quickly. In fact, because time moves more slowly in Kid World--five times more slowly in a classroom on a hot afternoon, eight times more slowly on any car journey of more than five miles (rising to eighty-six times more slowly when driving across Nebraska or Pennsylvania lengthwise), and so slowly during the last week before birthdays, Christmases, and summer vacations as to be functionally immeasurable--it goes on for decades when measured in adult terms. It is an adult life that is over in a twinkling." (Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid. Broadway Books, 2006)

"The young man's judgment was one at which few people with an eye for beauty would have cavilled. When the great revolution against London's ugliness really starts and yelling hordes of artists and architects, maddened beyond endurance, finally take the law into their own hands and rage through the city burning and destroying, Wallingford Street, West Kensington, will surely not escape the torch. Long since it must have been marked down for destruction. For, though it possesses certain merits of a low practical kind, being inexpensive in the matter of rents and handy for the buses and the Underground, it is a peculiarly beastly little street. Situated in the middle of one of those districts where London breaks out into a sort of eczema of red brick, it consists of two parallel rows of semi-detached villas all exactly alike, each guarded by a ragged evergreen hedge, each with coloured glass of an extremely regrettable nature let into the panels of the front door; and sensitive young impressionists from the artists' colony up Holland Park way may sometimes be seen stumbling through it with hands over their eyes, muttering between clenched teeth 'How long? How long?'" (P.G. Wodehouse, Leave It to Psmith, 1923)

Ursula Le Guin on Short and Long Sentences

"Teachers trying to get school kids to write clearly, and journalists with their weird rules of writing, have filled a lot of heads with the notion that the only good sentence is a short sentence.

"This is true for convicted criminals.

"Very short sentences, isolated or in a series, are terrifically effective in the right place. Prose consisting entirely of short, syntactically simple sentences is monotonous, choppy, a blunt instrument. If short-sentence prose goes on very long, whatever its content, the thump-thump beat gives it a false simplicity that soon just sounds dumb. See Spot. See Jane. See Spot bite Jane...

"As Strunk and White say, variety in sentence length is what's needed. All short will sound stupid. All long will sound stuffy.

"In revision, you can consciously check for variety, and if you've fallen into a thumping of all short sentences or a wambling of all long ones, change them to achieve a varied rhythm and pace." (Ursula Le Guin, Steering the Craft: Exercises and Discussions on Story Writing for the Lone Navigator or the Mutinous Crew. Eighth Mountain Press, 1998)

"Don't Just Write Words. Write Music."

"This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals--sounds that say listen to this, it is important.

"So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the reader's ear. Don't just write words. Write music." (Gary Provost, 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing. Mentor, 1985)

Sentence Length in Technical Writing

"Sometimes sentence length affects the quality of the writing. In general, an average of 15 to 20 words is effective for most technical communication. A series of 10-word sentences would be choppy. A series of 35-word sentences would probably be too demanding. And a succession of sentences of approximately the same length would be monotonous.

"In revising a draft, use your software to compute the average sentence length of a representative passage." (Mike Markel, Technical Communication, 9th ed. Bedford/St Martin's, 2010)

Sentence Length in Legal Writing

"Keep your average sentence length to about 20 words. The length of your sentences will determine the readability of your writing as much as any other quality. That's why readability formulas rely so heavily on sentence length.

"Not only do you want a short average; you also need variety. That is, you should have some 35-word sentences and some 3-word sentences, as well as many in between. But monitor your average, and work hard to keep it to about 20 words." (Bryan A. Garner, Legal Writing in Plain English. University of Chicago Press, 2001)

Sentence Length and Polysyndeton

"To dwell in a city which, much as you grumble at it, is after all very fairly a modern city; with crowds and shops and theatres and cafes and balls and receptions and dinner parties, and all the modern confusion of social pleasures and pains; to have at your door the good and evil of it all; and yet to be able in half an hour to gallop away and leave it a hundred miles, a hundred years, behind, and to look at the tufted broom glowing on a lonely tower-top in the still blue air, and the pale pink asphodels trembling none the less for the stillness, and the shaggy-legged shepherds leaning on their sticks in motionless brotherhood with the heaps of ruin, and the scrambling goats and staggering little kids treading out wild desert smells from the top of hollow-sounding mounds; and then to come back through one of the great gates and a couple of hours later find yourself in the "world," dressed, introduced, entertained, inquiring, talking about Middlemarch to a young English lady or listening to Neapolitan songs from a gentleman in a very low-cut shirt--all this is to lead in a manner a double life and to gather from the hurrying hours more impressions than a mind of modest capacity quite knows how to dispose of." (Henry James, Italian Hours, 1909)

The Lighter Side of Sentence Length

"Writers who wish to impart to their productions power and pungency, who wish to keep the reader's attention upon the tiptoe of activity, who desire to escape the imputation of pedantry and who seek to surcharge their sentiments with sparkle and spirit, will do well to bear in mind constantly that long, lingering sentences, unduly overburdened with an abundance of phrases, clauses, and parenthetical observations of a more or less digressive character, are apt to be tiresome to the reader, especially if the subject matter be at all profound or ponderous, to place an undue strain upon his powers of concentration and to leave him with a confused concept of the ideas which the writer apparently has been at great pains to concentrate, while short, snappy sentences, on the other hand, with the frequent recurrence of subject and predicate, thus recalling and emphasizing the idea to be expressed as the development of the thought proceeds, like numerous signposts upon an untraveled road, these frequent breaks having the effect of taking a new hold upon the reader's attention, oases in the desert of words, as it were, will be found to be much more effective, much more conducive to clarity, and far better calculated to preserve the contact, the wireless connection, so to speak, between the writer and the reader, provided, however, and it is always very easy to err through a too strict and too literal application of a general rule, that the sentences are not so short as to give a jerky, choppy, and sketchy effect and to scatter the reader's attention so often as to send him wool-gathering completely." (Ellis O. Jones, comic playwright, anti-war activist, and editor of the original Life magazine. Reprinted in The Writer, December 1913)


text:
The series functions to control door access and to record time and attendance activity of employees, suitable for every office, factories and in places with high traffic flow.
Fingertec AC800 Plus MC delivers peace of mind through its personalized identification via fingerprint and card technology combined. No more worries about unauthorized entry and "buddy punching" occurrences in your company with the use of Fingertec AC800 Plus MC, as the fingerprint is shored in the card and no exchange of cards would allow entry without the presence of the genuine fingerprint
Fingertec AC800 Plus MC is made user-friendly, reliable and flexible, ensuring your company the high-level protection that you required. Its innovative design complete with built in doorbell and voice greetings, complements the advanced door access system for your company.
Fingertec AC800 Plus MC is a the only card system that is impenetrable by impostors.
Features & Benefits of Fingertec AC800 Plus with MiFare Card
- Manage one-lp-many (1:N) identifications of 1500 templates (AC802 Plus MC) 49
- Allow a maximum of 10 fingerprints enrollment per user or storage of 1KB of fingerprint in a card
- Allow 360° rotation fingerprint placement
- Possess storage capacity of 30,000 (AC802 Plus) with work code feature
- Offer easy enrollment and fast clocking system
- Equipped with built-in doorbell, voice greeting and door access system to ease operation
- Enable transactions download via RS232, RS485, TCP/IP and USB Flash Disk
- Complete with easy-1 -use Windows based management software and built-in standard time and attendance features
- Improved management of human resources
- Duress option, which allows user to trigger alarm in case of emergency using duress finger
Fingerprint System for Time Attendance & Door Access Control vvith MiFare Card - Fingertec AC800 Plus with MiFare Card Brochure (.pdf) >>


text:
what is database? what are the advantages and disadvantages of database? how do I create a database?
- print Print
- list Cite
Database is an organized collection of data, for example a library catalog (with alphabetical listing of all the available books). Databases help us in retrieving useful information easily. For example it is much easier to find a particular book in a library if we can get a database that contains alphabetically arranged listing of books. The databases are managed through software packages called "database management systems" (DBMS).
A database keeps all the information together and it can be easily moved around on a laptop or pen-drive or memory card. It stores a large amount of information in easily retrievable way. It can be accessed simultaneously by multiple users over a network and it can also be made very secure (using the relevant security protocols and applications).
However, they are complex, time-consuming and difficult to design and entail initial set up (hardware and software) cost as well as require user training. Another issue is the related to the safety of portable information, as we keep on hearing every few months how a laptop stolen at an airport compromised the financial information (bank account numbers, credit card information, etc.) of thousands of users.
One can create a database by using one of the many available DBMS options, including MySQL, Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, etc.


text:
New Products
Whether layer thickness, material analysis or material testing: Fischer is constantly improving and expanding our product range for you. For our new products, we always keep the user's requirements in mind - from compact and handy devices for the measurements on the go to sophisticated and fully automated measuring systems. Here you can find all information about our new products.
One instrument, three job descriptions: not only is the flexible XAN®500 a handheld XRF device, it also converts into a desktop unit and can be integrated into production lines.
Fischer's first scratch tester for automated testing of the adhesion and cohesive strength of hard material layers.
With an improved measuring head, the powerful PICODENTOR HM500 offers new features and allows precise long-term measurements as well as the dynamic mechanical analysis.
XDV-µ Series
High-performance X-ray fluorescence instruments, including models tailored especially to the needs of the electronics and semiconductor industry
Whether in the chemical or the transport industry – whenever corrosion protection is the order of business: with their dual-element probes, the handy gauges of the FISCHERSCOPE UMP series measure wall thickness quickly and reliably.
UMP 150 is a high-precision ultrasound device designed for ultra-fine, non-destructive wall thickness measurements on a variety of materials using single-element probes.


text: It looks like Ileana DCruz took a wrong decision by coming out in public against her recently released Telugu film Shakti. Her statement raised many eyebrows and a section of people in the film industry decided not to cast her in their films. Now, Mohan Natarajan producer of upcoming Tamil movie Deiva Thiumagal, had demanded a ban on the actress for unprofessional attitude.Mohan Natarajan has claimed that Ileana had agreed to act in Deiva Thiumagal and had given bulk dates to act opposite Vikram. The producer adds that he had paid Rs. 35 lakhs as an advance amount. But when she got Shankars offer for the female lead in Nanban, she ditched their film and went on to allot the same dates for the Tamil version of the 3 Idiots.The producer further adds that Ileana has not repaid the advance amount nor she is picking her calls. He has filed a formal complaint against the actress at the film chamber for not returning his money. He has also sought a ban on her for unprofessionalism. #13;


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Location: Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement and Protection
Project Number: 8080-21000-024-33-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2013
End Date: Aug 31, 2016
The objectives for this project will be to: 1) identify fruit-based attractants for spotted wing drosophila; 2) identify visual cues important in host location; 3) combine chemical (fruit-based) and visual cues to develop attract-and-kill approaches; and 4) distribute information to stakeholders.
We will identify attractive olfactory and visual stimuli that can be integrated into an attract-and-kill device for spotted wing drosophila. Behavioral bioassays will be conducted in the laboratory and under semi-field conditions, followed by full-scale field evaluations. Research findings will be communicated regularly to the affected stakeholders.


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I have social anxiety and over think way too much. Me and my boyfriend have been dating for 3 weeks now. He always text me and usually his latest texts are 5-ish or 7ish. He hasn't texted me yesterday at all. We texted a day before and it was fine. I keep thinking he stopped liking me, got bored of me, hates me, heard something about me, or using me. I'm so depressed and won't stop looking at my phone.
He was probably busy but his sister, mom, and cousin were online and posted stuff, nothing saying what they were doing that day. He wanted me to go to this fair with him, his mom and cousin this morning which he seemed happy. He's supposed to pick me up but now since he hasn't texted me , I feel like he is going to stood me up and not pick me up. I'm also nervous about going anyway, but boyfriend doesn't know about my anxiety. Need help. Advice?
This is our texts from 2 days ago:
Me: Whatcha doing?
Him: Thinking about you <3
Me: Awww you're always on my mind babe <3
Him: How so? c:
Me: How so what?
Him: The text that you sent saying that I'm in your thoughts as well (: so I say again: how so? :)
Me: Heh you first :P
Him: I won't if you won't lol c:
Me: Tell me or I won't go to the fair with you XD
Him: Fine...
Him: Whenever I'm staring at you...I am always thinking about you <3 Does that make sense? lol c:
Me: Not really lol -_-
Him: Well you're always in my thoughts& it's hard to explain. Now it's your turn. Hehehe :P
Me: You're just always on my mind (:
Him: Aaaaahhh! why are you so stubborn?! Lol XD
Me: hehe XD <3
Him: Sooooo…watcha doing? C:
Me:Trying to find a movie on YouTube. Don't forget to look up that one movie I told you about ha ha XD
Him: Type in sprigs episode 1, you can thank me later…just,oh god just watch it you will like it. Lol XD
(hour later)
Him: I'm going to bed, good night c:
I got the texts later because my phone wasn't working. He hasn't texted me yesterday or this morning about the fair since he's supposed to pick me up in about an hour. I texted him and no reply.
Most Helpful Guy
can you really call someone your boyfriend after only 3 weeks though...00|00|0


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Inequality in Philippine society is reflected in the whole stretch of Edsa. Despite its People Power past with its egalitarian promise, the site Edsa is still very much a territory dominated by the elite. In fact, the relics of the feudal past are visible along Edsa. Several prime properties which dot the 54 kilometer highway are former hacienda estates of the old rich. The Cubao Araneta Center was part of the estate owned by the Aranetas. Their relatives (Tuason family) used to own the nearby Katipunan and Marikina. The Madrigals have properties in New Manila, while the Quezon family is the original owner of the PSBA lot today which used to have the best view of the quaint Marikina Valley. Adjacent the Araneta Hacienda is the estate owned by the Ortigas Family. They donated some parts of their vast estate to the government which later became Camp Aguinaldo. The hacienda owned by the Ayalas in Makati was developed in the 1970s and quickly evolved into a major financial mecca.
ito pala ang history ng edsa? i had no idea!
Ano yun San Roque?
Is he a communist?
Pinoys didn't earn their freedom, and because freedom was a gift to us di na tayo maging mapili. Syempre ibig sabihin di na nabalik yung lupa sa totoong may ari.


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Today on Amazing World Newz we're journeying deep into the mysterious caverns beneath Spring Bay as we hunt for… Rune's Hat!
Now of course Rune's Hat isn't actually buried beneath Spring Bay but that's where you need to go if you want to win one. Rune is hoping to open her own museum one day so she is always looking for Zings to help her dig for legendary treasures.
If you find a legendary treasure and bring it to Rune she'll reward you with a special prize from the "Treasure Finder" collection. And one of those possible prizes is… Rune's Hat!
You're going to have to find something pretty spectacular to convince Rune to give you her Hat so start digging today! Just click on Rune to begin. Remember, you'll also need Rune's Hat to complete the "Treasure Finder" collection and win Rune's Hammock.
If you do win Rune's Hat please let us know! So far nobody from Amazing World Newz has been lucky enough to get one.


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Helios Calendar integration question
Appologies, this is a duplicate post from Hacks, but was recieving no views over there and couldn't figure out how to remove that post.
Second time lucky…
Hi, Im new here and to wordpress, and hope ive found the right forum for this question. If not my appologies and please direct me to the correct section.
Ok, so Ive been asked to incorporate the php based Helios Calendar into a wordpress blog. I need to add a standard version of the calendar on its own with sidebar removed to one page, which I think I should be able to handle with a bit of tweaking, but my main issue will be to implement a working version of the calendar interface into a box on the sidebar.
Any help or direction greatley appreciated.
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I really like this guy but it seems like he just wants to have sex. I don't want to sound stupid and put my feelings out there and get hurt.
Have an opinion?
All guys at our age want sex If your not putting out, then there are plenty of other girls who are. Just tell him you like him. But if you don't put out he will leave, just like any other guy would.
Be the first girl to share an opinion
and earn 1 more Xper point!
You cannot undo this action. The opinion owner is going to be notified and earn 7 XPER points.