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Injuries could be key factor in AL West race
A rash of injury-related issues in the American League West are complicating analyses and projections. Defending division champion Oakland has lost ace Jarrod Parker for the season to Tommy John surgery. Texas is without starter Derek Holland (knee surgery), second baseman Jurickson Profar (shoulder muscle tear) and catcher Geovany Soto (knee) for extended periods. Ace Yu Darvish was forced to bow out of his Opening Day start with a stiff neck, and southpaw Matt Harrison (herniated disk, lower back) is out of commission.
Always competitive -- with the Angels, Rangers and Athletics each having won division titles in consecutive seasons over the past six years -- the AL West looks as wide open as ever. The Mariners and their new superstar, Robinson Cano, are hoping to muscle into the picture, and the Astros are loading up for the future.
A rash of injury-related issues in the American League West are complicating analyses and projections. Defending division champion Oakland has lost ace Jarrod Parker for the season to Tommy John surgery. Texas is without starter Derek Holland (knee surgery), second baseman Jurickson Profar (shoulder muscle tear) and catcher Geovany Soto (knee) for extended periods. Ace Yu Darvish was forced to bow out of his Opening Day start with a stiff neck, and southpaw Matt Harrison (herniated disk, lower back) is out of commission.
Always competitive -- with the Angels, Rangers and Athletics each having won division titles in consecutive seasons over the past six years -- the AL West looks as wide open as ever. The Mariners and their new superstar, Robinson Cano, are hoping to muscle into the picture, and the Astros are loading up for the future.
The A's, using quality pitching, sound defense and a power-packed offense, held off the Rangers for the second year in a row in 2013. The Angels, three-time division champions from '07-09, once again fell to third despite the addition of another superstar -- Josh Hamilton -- to go with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols.
Oakland had another great regular season with 96 wins, outdistancing Texas by 5 1/2 games, but was unable to solve Detroit's superb pitching staff in the AL Division Series. The Rangers, with 91 wins, fell one game short of one of the Wild Card berths claimed by Tampa Bay and Cleveland.
The A's remained relatively intact, while the Rangers made some bold moves, acquiring Prince Fielder's powerful bat from Detroit at the expense of Ian Kinsler, and signing coveted free agent Shin-Soo Choo to play left field and serve as the leadoff man.
If everything falls into place for the talent-laden clubs in Oakland, Texas and Los Angeles, it is conceivable the AL West will showcase three postseason teams.
The spring injury woes of the A's and Rangers have provided added hope for Angels fans that their team is primed to get back in the hunt after a four-year absence from the postseason. Pujols and Hamilton are healthy and determined to show they're still among the most dangerous hitters in the game in the company of Trout, the consensus choice as the premier all-around player in the game at 22 after two historic seasons. Jered Weaver and C.J. Wilson are anchors atop manager Mike Scioscia's rotation.
To keep pace with the three perennial contenders, the Mariners need a collection of young players to step forward as productive Major Leaguers in support of superstars Cano and Felix Hernandez. The Astros aren't expected to make any waves for a year or two, but their stockpile of young talent is believed to be as impressive as any in the game. Houston's theme song should be Tom Petty's "The Waiting," because it will be the hardest part. The future is as bright as those 1980s Astros uniforms.
Oakland Athletics
Strengths: The A's have soared with a deep pitching staff, a disciplined offense emphasizing the long ball, and a defense featuring Coco Crisp in the middle of one of the game's best outfields. The loss of Parker, and elbow issues apparently forcing A.J. Griffin to the sideline for the first month, have forced general manager Billy Beane and manager Bob Melvin to dip into their depth. The rotation is young, with free-agent import Scott Kazmir the old hand at 30. Sonny Gray has All-Star talent, and former reliever Jesse Chavez had a brilliant spring. Sturdy Dan Straily and Tommy Milone fill out the rotation. Jim Johnson assumes Grant Balfour's closer's role, and Luke Gregerson enhances a superb bullpen (sixth-best ERA in Majors at 3.22). Josh Donaldson is a star at third, and rebound seasons by Yoenis Cespedes and Josh Reddick should give the offense a lift.
Weaknesses: Everything revolves around the rotation, and how well it holds up. Beane and Melvin favor strike-throwers, which should keep Crisp and Co. busy running down drives in the gaps. The A's did not have good defensive metrics in 2013, with limited range in the infield and negative numbers behind the plate. Only Donaldson at third and the outfielders rated above the norm. This team doesn't run much (74 steals), preferring to wait for the big blast (186 homers). It worked in the regular season, but not against Detroit's overpowering arms in a five-game ALDS defeat.
Spot to watch: Second base. Holdovers Eric Sogard and Alberto Callaspo are joined by versatile Nick Punto, who elevates any club with his attitude and skills. Sogard has the best range of the trio, Callaspo the best bat, and Punto is a winner. Punto also lends support at shortstop for Jed Lowrie. Callaspo, Lowrie and Punto are switch-hitters, giving Melvin a lot of options in matchups.
Sign of trouble: Cespedes has to find some consistency. He endured a sophomore slump, hitting 26 homers with 80 RBIs, but his runs created fell from 90 to 65. He never really found the groove that made him a breakout star as a rookie. His .240/.294/.442 slash line was nowhere close to what it should be, and he didn't exactly tear it up in the Cactus League. When he's right, Cespedes is one of the best left fielders in the game. If he falls into a funk, expect to see a lot of newcomer Craig Gentry in left.
They'll be rolling if … Reddick and Cespedes bring the thunder with Brandon Moss (30 homers) behind Crisp, Lowrie and Donaldson, the offense once again will send off major sparks. And if Griffin makes it back in May to solidify the rotation, and Johnson picks up where he left off to nail down 40-50 saves, and the infield defense holds its own.
Texas Rangers
Strengths: A star-studded lineup with a rotation to match. Fielder should flourish at Global Life Park with its inviting right-center alley. A return to MVP Award-caliber play form by the first baseman would not be a major surprise after a down year in Detroit. Choo is an on-base machine whose power numbers also should climb in Texas. Adrian Beltre is one of the game's best players and leaders, and Leonys Martin has all the tools in center. Elvis Andrus and Profar should evolve into an electric middle-infield tandem. Darvish has the deepest, most wicked repertoire in the game. The anticipated returns of quality lefties Holland and Harrison will enrich the rotation. By then, Tanner Scheppers and Robbie Ross, both making the transition from relief work, hopefully will have established themselves as solid starters, along with Martin Perez. A terrific bullpen loses Joe Nathan, but Joakim Soria is a proven closer.
Weaknesses: Soto's loss to open the season hurts. Free-agent pickup J.P. Arencibia has a lot on his plate, learning a new pitching staff and a new division. His backup is Robinson Chirinos. Fielder and Choo should elevate the team on-base percentage that dipped to .323 last year. Uneven efforts in the rotation early on could pressure the Rangers' offense to produce in big numbers.
Spot to watch: Catcher. Arencibia and Chirinos have a lot to handle. Along with the multiple responsibilities behind the plate, the duo will be asked to supply some offense. Arencibia is a .212 career hitter in three seasons with Toronto, and he batted only .194 with a .227 on-base percentage in 138 games last year. He did supply power with 21 homers. Chirinos, a Venezuelan, hit .179 in 13 games for the Rangers and .257 at Triple-A Round Rock.
Sign of trouble: If the makeshift rotation doesn't pan out, there could be repercussions impacting both the bullpen (adding stress) and the offense (creating pressure to generate crooked numbers). The bullpen also could suffer significantly with Ross and Scheppers moving into the rotation. The catching situation isn't as stable as expected in Soto's absence.
They'll be rolling if … Fielder bombs away in the formidable company of Beltre, Choo, Alex Rios and Mitch Moreland. And if the rotation stabilizes before it's too late, and the bullpen manages to maintain its familiar level of excellence.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Strengths: Trout is the game's best all-around player. Pujols looks better than he has in several years, and Hamilton is more comfortable in his second season in Southern California. Raul Ibanez still can launch them. Kole Calhoun in right field could be a breakout player. Erick Aybar has won a Gold Glove Award at shortstop, and Howie Kendrick is steady at second. Weaver and Wilson are a terrific tandem atop the rotation, and free-agent reliever Joe Smith will be a big lift to a bullpen that was under siege last year. Smith figures to set up for closer Ernesto Frieri.
Weaknesses: Only three teams in the Majors made more errors last year than the Angels. The defense struggled across the board, along with the relief corps and the rotation. Pujols at first should solidify the infield, and starting the season in center, rather than left, will have Trout in a great frame of mind. With Trout, Hamilton and Calhoun, this could be an excellent defensive outfield. Except for Trout and Aybar, there isn't a lot of speed here, but Calhoun is an aggressive baserunner.
Spot to watch: Catcher. Veteran Chris Iannetta and Hank Conger will be asked to bring the best out of Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs, the young starters at the back of the rotation, along with No. 3 starter Hector Santiago.
Sign of trouble: If Richards and Skaggs struggle, the Angels will be hard-pressed to replace them. There isn't a lot of depth in the rotation throughout the system. Matt Shoemaker and Wade LeBlanc are the likely candidates should a starter go down or scuffle to get deep enough in games.
They'll be rolling if … Trout is Trout, Pujols is vintage Pujols and Hamilton is vintage Hamilton. And if the rotation holds up, relieving stress on the bullpen. And if the defense plays with more consistency than last season.
Seattle Mariners
Strengths: Cano brings a superstar presence to a lineup that has struggled in recent seasons. This is not the NBA, where LeBron James can transform an entire team, but Cano certainly can make a difference, defensively as well as offensively. He's one of the five best all-around players in the game. Hernandez is to the pitching staff what Cano is to the lineup. King Felix, in his prime as he turns 28 on April 8, will welcome the return of Hisashi Iwakuma from his finger injury. If Taijuan Walker and James Paxton are as good as advertised, this will be one of the Majors' premier rotations. Brad Miller has the look of a first-rate shortstop.
Weaknesses: Only three clubs -- the Twins, Astros and White Sox -- scored fewer runs in the AL in 2013. The bullpen last year was ravaged with a 4.58 ERA, which ranked 28th in the Majors. The defense was abysmal, particularly in the outfield. Those areas must be upgraded significantly. Justin Smoak and Dustin Ackley, who has been driving the ball, need to perform to their talent levels, as third baseman Kyle Seager did last year. If not, starting pitching and Cano won't be enough to challenge in this division. Somebody -- Smoak, Corey Hart, Logan Morrison -- has to protect Cano. As great as he is, Robinson can't do it alone. Nobody can.
Spot to watch: Closer. Unpredictable Fernando Rodney can be very, very good -- as with the Rays in 2012, with 48 saves and a 0.60 ERA -- or very, very ordinary. He needs to be good for the Mariners to secure late leads, stay in the hunt and give Hernandez and Iwakuma shots at 16-20 wins.
Sign of trouble: If the Mariners aren't getting sufficient production behind Cano, he might lead the AL in intentional walks. Nobody wants to face this guy in a game-turning situation -- especially if there's no real threat coming up next. The catching, outfield roles and back of the rotation need to be relatively defined and stable.
They'll be rolling if … Cano drives the offense with support, and Walker's inflamed shoulder early in camp is fully healed and he takes flight behind Hernandez and Iwakuma, and the defense is sturdy and the bullpen comes through.
Houston Astros
Strengths: Center fielder Dexter Fowler seemingly has adapted extremely well to the move from Colorado to Texas, and Robbie Grossman is taking advantage of his opportunity to shine in left. Jason Castro provides rare power production to the catching role. Second baseman Jose Altuve is a catalyst, and Matt Dominguez is a superb third baseman. Scott Feldman brings a veteran's wisdom to the top of the rotation, and Jerome Williams, a starting candidate along with Dallas Keuchel, Brad Peacock and Lucas Harrell, is a sturdy veteran who can deliver quality innings in any number of roles. Infielder Marwin Gonzalez made the Opening Day roster with a strong spring. The farm system is loaded. Patience, please.
Weaknesses: The obvious weakness is playing in perhaps the toughest division in baseball, although AL East and NL Central fans will argue the point. The Astros had their moments last year in their introduction to the AL West, including a 10-9 edge over the star-studded Angels and going 9-10 vs. the Mariners. But, realistically, they need their young talent to arrive as soon as possible to make an imprint. There are question marks all over the place for now, the hope being they'll be replaced by exclamation marks in a season or two.
Spot to watch: Closer. Manager Bo Porter plans to go with a committee to open the season, including right-handers Anthony Bass, Josh Fields, Matt Albers, Chad Qualls and lefty Kevin Chapman. Veteran Jesse Crain could claim the job outright when he returns from biceps tendinitis surgery.
Sign of trouble: If the rotation doesn't hold up, it will place undue pressure on a bullpen that crumbled under the weight of 534 innings last year, fifth-most in the Majors. Its 4.92 ERA was the highest among all bullpens, and it succeeded in only 52 percent of save opportunities, also the worst in the game.
They'll be rolling if … Everything falls perfectly and division rivals struggle out of the gate, giving the young Astros the confidence they can compete with the rich and famous.
This is never an easy division to forecast, and the injuries to valued performers in Oakland and Texas make it even more difficult than usual. The talent gap is so thin with the top three clubs that health could determine which team prevails. All things being relatively equal, the two-time division champion A's are the soundest team in the division, but the Rangers and Angels have the high-end talent to get hot and claim the title. The Mariners probably need too many things to fall just right, and the Astros are the not-quite-ready-for-primetime players now.
Favorite: Athletics
Challengers: Angels, Rangers
Darkhorse: Mariners
Never say never: Astros
Lyle Spencer is a columnist for MLB.com.


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Janina needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 105 designs submitted by 15 freelance designers.
Fun4Dogs - Janina´s Dog Training
I am a young experienced dog trainer from Melbourne with dog friendly training methods. I want start my own business as a dog trainer using diffrerent naturally training methods.
My Motto is "Train your dog with fun and games"
The "Fun4Dogs" major rules for a successful training:
1) Praise your dog!
2) Consequence all the time!
3) Use your voice!
4) Oblige with Fun!
Every person or family having dogs regardles any age or breed of the dogs.
Logo for Dog training school used for website, flyer and business cards
- professional and stylisch Logo
- modern and young
- Logo contains a dog: Border Collie prefered
- the text "Fun4Dogs" and "Janina´s Dog Training" needs to be included
- cartoon style
- green or brown color
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.

subset: commoncrawl


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Perez unable to find comfort zone vs. Red Sox
ARLINGTON -- Martin Perez got rattled in Oakland, drubbed in Colorado and clobbered by the Red Sox on Saturday night in an 8-3 loss at Globe Life Park.
Should any concern be setting in for the Rangers?View Full Game Coverage
ARLINGTON -- Martin Perez got rattled in Oakland, drubbed in Colorado and clobbered by the Red Sox on Saturday night in an 8-3 loss at Globe Life Park.
Should any concern be setting in for the Rangers?View Full Game Coverage
Perez certainly isn't the same pitcher who had a 26-inning scoreless streak before this sudden downturn started April 29 at Oakland. The left-hander allowed six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings Saturday, and he has allowed 19 earned runs in 13 1/3 innings in his last three starts for a 12.82 ERA.
There's not any one area where Perez isn't getting beat. He allowed 27 hits and 12 walks during this stretch, and he retired nine of the 23 Red Sox he faced. He's not panicking.
"I'm good," Perez said. "I'm the same guy. I'm going to keep working hard every day. That's how you learn. Better days are coming."
The consensus among the Rangers, from manager Ron Washington to pitching coach Mike Maddux, is that Perez is getting overexcited on the mound. Maddux made visits to the mound twice in the early innings to try to calm down Perez. Getting overexcited is something that Perez, 23, has dealt with going back to the Minor Leagues, and at times he's been able to harness it -- see his consecutive shutouts against the White Sox and Athletics in April.
It's just not happening of late, and thus the mound visits.
"Mike was telling him to slow his mind down," Washington said. "He told him to relax and concentrate on executing his pitches."
Perez heard the message but couldn't rein it in. He was erratic from the outset against Boston.
The Red Sox had two baserunners in the first inning but didn't score. They loaded the bases with two outs in the second -- even after David Ross was caught stealing -- as Will Middlebrooks singled, Jackie Bradley Jr. was hit by a pitch and Dustin Pedroia walked. Shane Victorino drove in the first run of the game with a single to center field, and it could have been worse, but Leonys Martin threw out Bradley at the plate to end the inning.
David Ortiz, who moaned about having a hit taken away from him during Yu Darvish's no-hit bid Friday night, gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the top of the third with a leadoff home run to right field. It was Ortiz's 438th career home run, tying him for 40th on the all-time list with Andre Dawson and Jason Giambi.
Boston broke it open against Perez in the fourth, ending his night in the process. Bradley had a leadoff single and went to third on Pedroia's single (who also moved up a base on the throw). Victorino then gave Boston a 4-0 lead with a two-run single to right field. After Ortiz doubled, Mike Napoli struck out on what was a beauty of a changeup by Perez. But just after making a great pitch, Jonny Gomes delivered a two-run single, and that was it for Perez.
The Rangers slowly started cutting into the deficit in the fourth inning against Jon Lester, who retired the first nine batters he faced. Prince Fielder had a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Shin-Soo Choo, who had led off the inning with a double to end Lester's perfect start. Alex Rios plated Fielder when he lined a triple over the head of Bradley, who took a poor angle from center field on the play.
Elvis Andrus cut Boston's lead to 6-3 in the fifth with a two-out RBI double. Andrus has six hits in two games after a sluggish start to the season.
Boston extended the lead to 8-3 against reliever Justin Germano on Pedroia's RBI single and Victorino's sacrifice fly.
"It was good to see some base hits with runners in scoring position," Boston manager John Farrell said. "It's been a few days since we've been able to put up the number of runs we did today."
Farrell also noted that the Red Sox saw a number of pitching sequences, and that may have helped them wear down Perez, who threw 86 pitches.
Perez isn't feeling fatigue from the two complete games, he insisted after the game. It's more about execution. He struggled to throw his changeup for strikes. He also wasn't getting the low-strike call from home-plate umpire Bill Miller.
This was interesting because Lester punched out eight Rangers, six of them looking, most of them on fastballs at the knees. Several Rangers, from Choo to Martin, made it clear they were displeased. Maddux was ejected in the eighth inning, for arguing balls and strikes, Washington said.
As for Perez, he'll focus on working on slowing the game down before his next start Friday against Toronto.
"That's the first thing he had to work on in the Minor Leagues," Chirinos said. "He gets too excited, too worked up and gets to overthrowing. It's something he's working on. I know he'll get back to the pitcher we saw at the beginning of the season."
Todd Wills is a contributor to MLB.com.


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Trick Tip: Kickflips
So you want to learn a kickflip? Well, you should. A kickflip is the purest skateboard style trick out there, and with it under your belt, the sky is the limit. Pretty much you just jump and flick, but since you probably want a better explanation than that, here goes.
Frame 1
You're going to want to edge out on your heels until you feel the speed you need to do a kickflip. I start with my back foot all the way on the tail and my front foot about 3 quarter up the board with my heel hanging off.
Frame 2
Now you are going to want to really dig that tail into the water so that your nose is high enough to slide and roll your foot up the side of your board.
Frame 3
Now flick your foot off the flat spot on your board. If you flick off that flat spot, it will help to level your board out for a clean spin.
Frame 4
After that flick, you are going to want to just wait and watch your board spin under your feet. Wait to see the grip tape come around while you hold your legs out of the way.
Frame 5
As you see the grip tape come around, start putting your feet onto the board.
Frame 6
Spot your landing and hold on! Keep that heel edge to stop you from slipping out.
Frames 8-9
And there you guys go! You got your self a skateboard kickflip. Just remember you have to really dig that tail into the water to get a good flick or you will be flicking air all day!


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SOURCE: Highwoods Properties
January 30, 2013 16:15 ET
RALEIGH, NC--(Marketwire - Jan 30, 2013) - Highwoods Properties (NYSE: HIW) Board of Directors today declared a cash dividend of $0.425 per share of common stock for the quarter ended December 31, 2012. This equates to an annual dividend of $1.70 per share and is payable on March 12, 2013 to shareholders of record as of February 18, 2013.
The Board also declared a cash dividend of $21.5625 per share of the Company's 8 5/8% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock. The dividend is payable on February 28, 2013, which is the next regularly scheduled dividend payment date, to shareholders of record as of February 15, 2013.
About Highwoods Properties
Highwoods Properties, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a publicly traded (NYSE: HIW) real estate investment trust ("REIT") and a member of the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The Company is a fully integrated, self-administered REIT that provides leasing, management, development, construction and other customer-related services for its properties and for third parties. At September 30, 2012, Highwoods owned or had an interest in 333 in-service office, industrial and retail properties encompassing approximately 34.1 million square feet and owned 581 acres of development land. The Company's properties and development land are located in Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. For more information about Highwoods Properties, please visit our website at www.highwoods.com.
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McGraw-Hill Shares Slump Again: 'Headline Risk Rears Ugly Head'
Analysts are preparing for a rocky road for shares of Standard & Poor's owner McGraw-Hill — coming off their worst day since "Black Monday" — following word of the Justice Department's lawsuit against the ratings firm.
"The impending DOJ lawsuit derails the McGraw-Hill equity story until further clarity can be obtained," says David Reynolds, equity analyst at Jefferies & Co.
Shares fell 7.3% to $46.62, extending the slide that began yesterday after WSJ reported the government intended to launch the civil case. S&P later confirmed the suit. The stock fell 14% on Monday, erasing $2.2 billion from McGraw-Hill's market capitalization.
Fellow ratings firm Moody's Corp. is down 4% at $47.47, after falling 11% on Monday.


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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Sage launches on-demand offering targeted at micro businesses
Dennis Howlett got an early look at SageLive, Sage Software's new software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering. According to Howlett, the system is being targeted at very small businesses:These services are aimed at micro businesses where the user count is most likely to be a single user plus the accountant. The typical customer will be a lifestyle business that might be selling goods or services and may not keep any books today.Pricing is in the range of £10 per user per month, which at today's exchange rate would be about $15.
Sage is opting for a soft launch with SageLive, the brand which Billing (a free service) and Cash (paid for) will occupy. As of tomorrow, the company will be in open beta and eliciting feedback.
It's not clear from Dennis's post whether the system will be offered outside of the UK. Nevertheless, it will be an interesting case study on several levels. First, whether so-called micro-businesses can be induced into taking a SaaS approach to accounting. Many of these businesses scarcely keep any books at all. They just turn over a pile of expense receipts and bank statements to their accountant. Will they be willing to turn over nearly $300 a year to Sage to automate the process?
Secondly, as Dennis points out, can a traditional software vendor such as Sage make the transition to the on-demand world? Dennis is not entirely convinced, but read his whole post for more details.
Update: Read Dennis's second post, outlining the architecture, functionality, and mobility features of SageLive.
Update, Dec. 18. David Turner offers an alternative approach to financial systems SaaS. His CODA 2go application is built on top of Salesforce.com's Force.com platform. He writes, "It's cut years off our time to market and given us the freedom to focus on application development, which is what we do best. It also gets us quickly past any security concerns that users might have, by using a hosting service and infrastructure with an outstanding record over many years."
Related posts
Sage layoff in North Americaby Frank Scavo, 12/17/2008 12:06:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Court dismisses some Oracle claims against SAP in TomorrowNow lawsuit
SAP won a small victory in its defense against Oracle's lawsuit over SAP's Tomorrownow business unit. The U.S. district judge overseeing the case agreed with SAP yesterday that two Oracle legal entities do not have the grounds to sue for copyright infringment, as they do not hold the copyrights. One Oracle entity does have such grounds however.
Nevertheless, the judge rejected all other motions by SAP to dismiss Oracle's case. SAP had argued that TomorrowNow personnel could not have committed breach of contract by improperly accessing Oracle support materials as those personnel were not parties to the customer contracts.
Bottom line: the case will go forward and SAP is still in a heap of trouble.
The full 14 page ruling of the judge is available.
This news is getting surprising little press coverage. A single article, from Reuters, as a short summary of the judge's ruling.
Related posts
Oracle increases accusations in SAP lawsuit
SAP puts TomorrowNow out of its misery
Legal basis for third-party ERP support industry
Oracle wants to broaden lawsuit against SAP and TomorrowNowby Frank Scavo, 12/16/2008 07:49:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Monday, December 15, 2008
SaaS: plan to get out before you get in
A question about software licensing contracts on Ray Wang's blog, prompted me to think about issues involving the use of software-as-a-service (SaaS) for mission-critical applications. Specifically, the issue of vendor lock-in.
If you thought vendor lock-in was a problem with traditional on-premise ERP software, think about the issue when it comes to SaaS. Under a perpetual license agreement for on-premise software, you always have the option of going off maintenance but continuing to run the software, and perhaps maintaining it yourself.
But with SaaS, there is no such thing as going off maintenance. If you stop paying, access to your mission-critical system gets cut off.
Therefore, I think it is important for buyers to think about what will happen if and when they decide to migrate from their SaaS provider. Specifically, there are two things I believe that buyers should ensure are in their license agreements:
Software-as-a-Service is becoming more and more accepted as a deployment option for enterprise systems. But if the application is truly mission-critical, be sure you have an escape plan in advance.
- First, if the SaaS provider offers an on-premise version (e.g. Oracle On-Demand), ensure that there are terms and conditions that allow you to transition to an on-premise version. This covers cases where you want to continue to use the software but are no longer satisfied with the hosting arrangement.
- Second, if the SaaS providers does not offer an on-premise deployment option (e.g. Salesforce.com), be sure the provider gives you the ability to extract all master file and transactional data to an open format (e.g. XML). The ability should be repeatable--not a one-time right--so that you can develop migration programs to facilitate conversion to a new SaaS or on-premise solution.
Update, Dec. 28. I just came across this blog post by the folks at Zoho, which competes at one level with Salesforce.com for CRM customers.Salesforce has repeatedly tried to block customers from migrating to Zoho CRM, by telling them (falsely) that they cannot take their data out of Salesforce until their contract duration is over. We have emails from customers recounting this.If true, and I have no reason to think it's not true, it underscores the need for customers to take proactive measures to mitigate vendor lock-in by SaaS providers.
Update, Feb. 13, 2009. For a really sad story on difficulties getting out of a SaaS relationship, read this account concerning NetSuite. I do not know if current customers of NetSuite are having similar experiences.
Related posts
Netsuite claims new deal flow more predictable
SaaS: degrees of multi-tenancy
Workday: evidence of SaaS adoption by large firms
All not sweet with NetSuite
Computer Economics: The Business Case for Software as a Service
Dell acquires SaaS platform Everdreamby Frank Scavo, 12/15/2008 08:25:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Infor layoffs, Dec. 2008
A Spectator reader reports that Infor is in the process of laying off 400 people worldwide, December 9-10. He writes, "I made it through over 10 years, and several acquisitions. Time to say goodbye!"
I emailed this information to Infor, which responded with a written confirmation:Infor is undergoing a net headcount reduction of approximately 5% of its workforce, which is significantly less than its primary competitors. Like many companies, Infor is aligning its workforce to reflect the realities of the global economy. At the same time, Infor is accelerating several strategic business initiatives to keep pace with its innovative product strategy, increase efficiencies and improve the services it offers to customers. Infor is a healthy, profitable company and these actions position it for exceptional growth when the economy recovers.Infor is not alone among enterprise software vendors in making headcount reductions, of course. Epicor, Sage, Consona, Lawson, and Oracle have taken similar actions in recent weeks.
If you have additional information regarding Infor's action--e.g. what functions have been affected--or layoffs at other vendors, email me or leave a comment on this post.
Related posts
Sage layoff in North America
Consona layoff
Layoffs at Lawson
Oracle layoffs, Nov. 2008
Fresh round of layoffs at Epicorby Frank Scavo, 12/10/2008 08:40:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Crack in the dike for SAP maintenance fee hike
It appears that SAP's forced march to higher maintenance fees is not going so well on its home turf.
The Financial Times first reported this morning, in German, that SAP has agreed to let its customers in Germany and Austria to stay on on their current maintenance contracts through 2009. Previously, SAP had unilaterally forced all such customers to upgrade to its more costly enterprise support. I was first alerted to the FT article in a tweet by James Governor (aka Monkchips).
SAP's backpeddling only gives relief to its customers in Germany and Austria, but it is hard to imagine that clients in other geographies won't demand the same treatment. They should.
Dennis Howlett is following the story and is posting additional news and commentary as he finds it. He writes:This is a major victory for SAP customers who, despite SAP management's protestations to the contrary have continued to lobby for reconsideration of SAP's maintenance package pricing. According to the FT, some 50-60% of SAP customers in Germany and Austria were deeply unhappy with the measures, citing economic pressures contributing to difficulty in justifying what was already a tough budgetary sell. Computerwoche confirms that SAP had only managed to persuade 25% of its customers to changeover from standard to enterprise support.Update, Dec. 10. Vinnie Mirchandani questions whether a maintenance fee rollback to 17% of license cost is enough for SAP, as even that level of cost is too high for the value delivered.
Update, Dec. 10. Dennis Howlett follows up his original post with a phone call from Bill Wohl, an executive at SAP. Wohl says that there are specific legal issues in Germany and Austria that required SAP to tear up existing contracts and issue them afresh so that it could impose the price increase.
Howlett points out that this has created an incredibly complex situation for multinational customers that have different contracts in different countries. He also thinks that SAP is not really hearing its customers on how much resentment the price increase has generated.
Read the whole post for the full picture.
Related posts
SAP maintenance fees: where is the value?
SAP under the spotlight for "broken promises"
Mad as hell: backlash brewing against SAP maintenance fee hikeby Frank Scavo, 12/09/2008 08:25:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Friday, December 05, 2008
Follow the Spectator on Twitter
After months of resisting, I've starting Twittering. You can read my tweets (Twitter posts) at http://www.twitter.com/fscavo. To follow me in real time, you'll need to set up a free Twitter account if you don't have one.
I'm using Twitter to do quick notes on items that I think may be of interest to Spectator readers, especially when I don't have time to do a full post on the Spectator. I also post quick updates on things I'm researching. Plus a small amount of chatter, which I try to keep to a minimum, so as not to annoy people.
I started Twittering about a week ago, and it's already led to some interesting exchanges with other IT professionals and analysts. It also has proven to be a good source for chasing down leads/news/rumors.
Read this Wikipedia entry for more on Twitter itself. There's also a list of my most recent tweets in the right hand column.by Frank Scavo, 12/05/2008 12:55:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Recession prompts great financing deals from IT vendors
An IT leasing agent recently told me that business has actually picked up in the past few months, as a result of the credit crunch. Those leasing firms that still have access to capital are finding buyers more willing to consider financing, where they might have done purchase deals in the past.
Now, major IT vendors are getting in on the act as well. Vendors that have access to capital are offering financing on attractive terms in order to get prospects to close deals.
An article this morning on CFO.com mentions Dell's latest offer:Dell last week offered its zero-percent deal for "qualified large businesses" that lease Dell and EqualLogic hardware for 12 to 48 months. The company is also allowing "best credit" large businesses defer their payments for three years if they buy at least $40,000 worth of hardware by January 23, 2009.Microsoft is taking a similar approach in pushing its Dynamics line of ERP systems:Microsoft, for example, is promoting the zero-percent rate for new customers of its Dynamics ERP and CRM systems whose purchases total between $20,000 and $1 million. The deal must be made before March 20, 2009. Brian Madison, Microsoft Financing's general manager, says he can't yet specify numbers on how many clients have been granted the low rate since the offer was made in mid-November. He told CFO.com the "lending approval rates have been in line with, or better than, industry norms."The article also mentions SAP as a vendor making aggressive financing offers.
Financing options for enterprise systems deals--whether financed by the vendor, or by a third-party--are often a good approach for organizations to conserve cash and improve the timing of costs and benefits. The aggressive terms currently being offered by certain vendors only makes this option more attractive. If you are about to negotiate a new deal, be sure to ask about financing options.by Frank Scavo, 12/05/2008 06:14:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Thursday, December 04, 2008
JDA calls off merger with i2
It's now official. Following weeks of speculation, JDA has canceled the merger it announced back in August with i2.
In its press release, i2 said it expects to receive the non-refundable termination fee of $20 million from JDA within three business days.
JDA did not agree to disclose any information about why it canceled the deal. However, it did announce in November that it needed more time to secure financing, leading to speculation that the global credit crunch might force JDA to pull out.
This leaves i2 back in the same place it was before JDA extended its offer, looking for a way to rebuild its leadership in supply chain management, but now in a market that is much weaker than before. There is little danger for the short term, however. i2 has a strong cash position, with $220 million in cash and equivalents, as of September 30.
Larry Dignan has more analysis.
Update, Dec. 7. Adrian Gonzalez has a good analysis of what termination of the deal means to both JDA and i2.
Related posts
JDA to acquire i2, creating major SCM player
i2 forms committee for possible sellout
Pro-sellout shareholder of i2 elects second board member
Major i2 shareholder calls for sale of i2
i2 seeks patent license shake-down fees
Former i2 CEO learns crime does not pay
i2 innovates with hosted vendor-managed inventory services
SAP: If you can't beat 'em, sue 'em
i2 kills off its SRM business
i2 fires 300, struggles to refocusby Frank Scavo, 12/04/2008 07:57:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Sage layoff in North America
Sage confirms a tip passed on to me of a layoff yesterday within Sage's North American business. A Sage spokesman confirmed that the layoff affected 150 employees (about 3%) from across Sage North America.
He writes:We're supporting all of the people involved by offering severance and outplacement services. We're now at about 4,800 across North America. The reduction affected roles across the business, except for our Healthcare Division, which underwent a reorganization in July. Yesterday's changes are part of cost reduction efforts across the business that will help to ensure we continue to be competitively strong.Separately, Dennis Howlett has some good analysis on Sage's financial results, announced today. Bottom line: slowdown in activity is most acute in the U.S., especially in Sage's healthcare business. His analysis is in these two posts: Sage results show market slowdown and Sage results show impact on SMB market.
The news of layoffs in North America would be consistent with Dennis's analysis.by Frank Scavo, 12/03/2008 07:55:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Epicor's publicity stunt
Over the past few months, Epicor has fought off a hostile takeover bid, announced disappointing results, seen its stock price cut in half, and conducted employee layoffs.
So, what does Epicor do? Spend scarce funds to launch an elaborate fake website for a fake musical, "In the Key of ERP," based on a fake book by a fake author.
Suggestion for Epicor: do a survey of your customers, employees, and shareholders and ask them where they think you should be spending your money these days.
Related posts
Fresh round of layoffs at Epicor
Epicor facing unfriendly takeover bid
More layoffs at Epicor
Epicor in transition: revenue up, profits down
More on Epicor's management changes
Layoffs coming at Epicor?by Frank Scavo, 12/03/2008 07:22:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Monday, December 01, 2008
H-P cuts IT spending in half
H-P's IT spending is planned for about 2% of revenue in 2009, compared to 4% in 2005. That's a 50% cut, but it's not because of the weak economy. Rather, it is the result of an aggressive IT restructuring and consolidation project initiated several years ago by CEO Mark Hurd and CIO Randy Mott.
According to the Wall Street Journal:The IT restructuring began just after Mr. Mott joined the company in July 2005, and will lower IT costs by more than $1 billion a year from that year's levels, in line with its estimate when it began the plan.Technically, organizations such as HP show up in the list of companies cutting IT spending this year. But again, it has nothing to do with weak economic conditions. Rather, it has to do with a broad trend toward consolidation and finding efficiencies in delivery of IT services. Sun Microsystem's massive ERP consolidation project is another example. Remember this when you read the reports of IT spending cuts this year. Some of it would be taking place even if the economy were booming.
H-P will be able to reduce spending on internal IT from about 4% of revenue in 2005 to less than 2% in 2009.
The company also consolidated more than 85 IT data centers globally to six centers in three locations, which are expandable to accommodate growth. It also consolidated more than 6,000 applications running the business to about 1,500.
The company reduced its annual energy consumption in its data centers by 60% as it decreased the number of servers by 40%, while increasing processing power more than three-fold.
Related posts
Sun's massive ERP consolidation effort
HP's new CEO: the un-Carly
What went wrong with HP's SAP migration?
HP blames SAP migration for revenue shortfallby Frank Scavo, 12/01/2008 12:57:00 PM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Negotiating enterprise software deals in Q4
Ray Wang and Vinnie Mirchandani each have good posts this morning on negotiating software deals. Ray focuses on recommended buyer tactics in the current economic environment. Vinnie does a rerun of what he calls his "Top 10 Stupid Salespeople Tricks."
From Ray,In both the enterprise and SMB space, recent market conditions point to a lack of available financing for enterprise software purchases. This trend will continue as the credit markets tighten. The result - vendors will be more inclined to discount. Enterprises engaged in contact negotiation with software vendors should take this opportunity to seek additional discounts as the scarcity of new deals will put customers in the driver seat.Ray continues with five tips for buyers.
Vinnie's "stupid salespeople tricks" include "We want to be a partner, not a vendor," "One of us does not belong," and ""You are trying to commoditize us." Read his whole post for the full list of ten.
Both take a shot at revenue recognition as a vendor excuse. I covered the revenue recognition issues in my previous post. Although I believe revenue recognition is a legitimate issue, Ray encourages buyers to push back when vendors claim it hinders their flexibility:Have the vendor demonstrate the range of discounts as they apply to their VSOE rules. Often times, the sales person is confused about how these rev recognition rules impact the deal and will "hide" behind these rulings. Breaking down the revenue recognition components often identifies hidden opportunities. Keep in mind there are some limits.Vinnie agrees that most salespeople don't understand the accounting standards and therefore hide behind them. He writes,A client CFO challenged a software salesman and asked to speak to his Controller about a so-called recognition issue. The issue magically disappeared soon after. We agreed it probably was a "commission recognition" issue rather than a revenue recognition issue.Regarding the current economic climate, my own observation is that there are still quite a few organizations out there planning to buy software, at least here in Southern California. A local SAP SMB reseller told me last week that he has never been busier, believe it or not. But most deals have already slowed to a crawl. Buyers that are able to move forward, however, will find themselves in the driver's seat when it comes time to negotiate.
Related posts
Why vendors resist negotiating software maintenance feesby Frank Scavo, 12/01/2008 05:52:00 AM | permalink | e-mail this!
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Companies that create a genuinely healthy culture reap the rewards
When it comes to creating a healthy culture to attract and retain high-potential talent in emerging markets, Doug Ready does the math.
"A healthy culture is the product of a company's articulated values divided by its observed behaviors," said Ready, a former leadership professor at UNC Kenan-Flagler. "If you attract talent by saying you are a collaborative company but turn out not to be, you have an unhealthy culture, and people will be disenfranchised."
He cites the example of a Uruguayan software engineer applying to work for an Indian company in Brazil in "Winning the Race for Talent in Emerging Markets," published by Harvard Business Review. The engineer was attracted by compelling promises that Standard Chartered Bank made about:
By keeping its promises, Standard Chartered Bank reduced its attrition rate by three percent at a time when its rivals showed an increase in attrition.
"Purpose attracts, opportunity attracts, brand attracts and so does culture,"
Ready said. "Yet if a company's culture isn't authentic, then the very thing that served as an attraction device will now be a strong factor in driving your high potentials away."
To keep a company's culture authentic, Ready advises:
Companies committed to developing a healthy culture – and delivering on it – will win the contest for recruiting and retaining talented employees in fast-growing emerging markets.
Doug Ready is a former professor of the practice of leadership at UNC Kenan-Flagler and founder of International Consortium for Executive Development Research.


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Hello, all you Lispers out there. At only age 13, I am a very young Lisper. You all probably have more experience. Here is my story.
I started with JavaScript. The first time I tried something, however, I had so much trouble figuring out which function to use, where to put it, etc. I turned to the world of Lisp, with the promise of more time learning it, but also the promise of never forgetting a function, because I got to define them. My current problem is to figure out which dialect to use. I don't prefer the setup of emacs, though. If you prefer emacs, you may as well stop reading and go to another topic. On a lighter note, I am starting to figure out how the forum works.


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Liberty News
Leadership changes announced
|Dr. Boyd C. Rist
Dr. Boyd C. Rist has been a mainstay at Liberty University for 37 years, serving as a faculty member (he is a Distinguished Professor of History) and as Chair of the Division of Social Sciences, Associate Dean and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dean of the Faculty, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. In January he will take on a new role as Senior Academic Consultant to the Provost. Dr. Ronald S. Godwin, who has been serving as Acting Provost, will assume the roles as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.
Rist said the new position "will enable me to remain closely involved in the academic life of the University, while not having the day-to-day responsibilities associated with the Office of the Provost."
He reflected on his role as Provost.
"I have an abiding concern and love for the students we teach and whose lives we seek to influence," he said. "I have embraced the challenge of constantly needing to grow and adapt in an ever-changing internal and external educational environment. I have enjoyed the unending variety of day-to-day challenges, and the long-range planning that is essential to keep our Christian University on a clear course to a future as bright as the Promises of God."
Rist says he pledges his "full support" to Godwin.
|Dr. Ronald S. Godwin
"As one who has walked in these shoes, I know full well the great challenges that lie ahead. Ron and I have known each other for the better part of three decades, and I am confident that this new relationship will benefit from that long association."
Godwin has served Liberty for more than 17 years, either working directly for its founder, Dr. Jerry Falwell, Sr., or for the current chancellor, Jerry Falwell, Jr., fulfilling assignments at the University and as a senior administrator of various affiliated organizations.
"Already in my role as Acting Provost I have been comforted and tremendously encouraged by the amazing number of faculty and administrators who have volunteered their support, friendship and prayers for me in my latest role here at Liberty," Godwin said. "As I have come to know more and more members of our current academic community, I have acquired a far greater appreciation of how gifted the people are whom God has called to serve here on the academic side of this institution. "


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Mease Dunedin Hospital encourages any of the following groups or individuals to make us aware if you have concerns about patient care or safety within the organization:
Please contact your nurse or caregiver to give us an opportunity to resolve your concern. If your concern is not addressed, please call Administration at Mease Dunedin Hospital at (727) 734-6365.
Mease Dunedin Hospital is accredited by The Joint Commission. The Joint Commission's accreditation process focuses on systems critical to the safety and the quality of care, treatment and services. If we cannot resolve your concerns, you are welcome to contact The Joint Commission's Office of Quality Monitoring by either calling (630) 792-5636 or emailing firstname.lastname@example.com.


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My Bella YaYa needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 47 designs submitted by 16 freelance designers.
In need of a whimsy, girly, cute logo.
My Bella YaYa
I am looking for a whimsy and fun design to promote my online business. I sell personalized bag tags, little girl's hairbows, premade scrapbooks, custom greeting cards and other stationery. A little background on the name ~ my daughter's name is Ava. When she was younger she would say that her name was "YaYa" because she was unable to say her name. The nickname stuck.
- brown and pink
- I LOVE the design of jackandcoledesigns.com That is the look I am going for.
- My tag line should include the wording "personalized gifts" and "cute things"
A cluttered design...clean and pretty please!
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Freshman Troy Barr could not have picked a better time to knock-in his first career goal. The Lipscomb midfielder picked off an errant Jacksonville block for the game-winning goal in Atlantic Sun Conference men's soccer action Friday night in Jacksonville, Fla.
Playing their third-straight overtime match, the Bisons picked up the victory to push their record to 5-10-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the A-Sun. The Dolphins dropped to 3-11-1 overall and 2-5-0 in the loop, thrusting the Bisons into sixth place in the A-Sun standings helping the future of a tournament bid.
"We competed all week during practice and came into the game with confidence and belief in our system of play," Lipscomb head coach Charles Morrow said. "Miguel Hof kept us in the game, stopping two legitimate go scoring opportunities from JU."
After an evenly played 90 minutes, with the Bisons attempting 15 shots and the Dolphins attempting 12, Lipscomb turned up the heat in the overtime periods.
The Purple and Gold had a golden opportunity to light up the scoreboard in the 94th minute as senior Jeremy Reid rocketed a shot just inches above the cross bar off a free kick.
The shots kept coming in the first extra period with Reid, Josue Chavez, Reece Holcombe and Anthony Cedano combining for six shots to put the pressure on Gavin Carlin.
Fourteen seconds into the second and final overtime period, the fireworks began for the Bisons. Taking the opening kick-off to the goal line, Holcombe attempted a shot from eight yards out that was blocked by a Dolphins defender. The block landed directly on Barr's foot, striking the ball into the back of the net for the victory.
The Bisons welcomed the return of Miguel Hof in goal as he secured his second shutout of his freshman campaign stopping all five shots he faced.
With the offense taking over in the extra periods, Lipscomb held JU to just one shot after regulation and 13 total in the game, launching 23 of its own shots.
"Our freshman stepped up in overtime with Josue, Reece and Troy combining superbly on the game-winner," Morrow said. "It was a great team win.
"Getting a result Sunday is on our mind now. For us to be a conference contending team we need to find ways to win and string wins together."
The Bisons stay in Jacksonville, playing at North Florida on Sunday at noon in another pivotal A-Sun contest as Lipscomb looks to secure a tournament slot.


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9:00 pm
Secrets of the Dead "Cavemen Cold Case" A tomb of 49,000 year-old Neanderthal bones discovered in El Sidron, a remote, mountainous region of northern Spain, leads to a compelling investigation to solve a double mystery: How did this group of Neanderthals die? And could the fate of this group help explain Neanderthal extinction? Scientists examine the bones and discover signs that tell a shocking story of how this group may have met their deaths. Some bones bear distinct signs of cannibalism. Was it a result of ritual or hunger? Neanderthal experts are adamant that they were not bloodthirsty brutes. D
10:00 pm
NOVA "Decoding Neanderthals" A team led by geneticist Svante Paabo announces in 2010 they have reconstructed much of the Neanderthal genome, and the analysis shows modern humans and their Neanderthal cousins interbred widely outside Africa. The film looks at these findings and a range of new evidence for Neanderthal self-expression and language.G
11:00 pm
Science Mission 101 This competitive reality-style program challenges two teams of high school students to unravel the scientific mystery of why only certain strains of the bacterium salmonella make people sick. The teams perform their scientific investigations aboard the University of Pittsburgh's Mobile Science Lab, a converted 18-wheeler.G
11:30 pm
EcoSense for Living "Children & Nature" Remember how kids used to play outside every day, running thorough the neighborhood until sunset? In this episode of EcoSense for Living we explore "nature deficit disorder," a term coined by Richard Louv (author, Last Child in the Woods), to describe the physical, mental, and emotional effects that children suffer when they lose contact with nature. Richard pinpoints how we came to be a nation separated from the natural world and how we can reverse it. We'll also hike with psychologist, Dr. David Busch, who uses nature therapy to help kids with ADD and ADHD. D


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The World's Most Bizarre Houses
Most of us have wildly different ideas about what a dream house should look like. For some, it's a Cape Cod-style cottage, while others crave the warmth of a Charles and Henry Greene California bungalow. But there aren't too many people we know who fantasize about living inside of a giant seashell. Or Bilbo Baggins' home in the Shire. Or a 110-ton steel pig. But, in the spirit of to each his own, we've rounded up some of the craziest houses in the world for your voyeuristic pleasure. Let us know in the comments if there's anything that we've missed, and more importantly, if you'd like to call one of these inventive designs home sweet home.
Casa Do Penedo – Portugal
Image via Neatorama
The "House of Stone" was built as a rural retreat back in 1974 between four large boulders found on the site.


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Wonderland Ladies
Actress Jennifer Coolidge (CBS's "2 Broke Girls") visits THE TALK dressed in costume as "The White Queen" for the taping of the show's "Alice In Wonderland" themed Halloween episode. The ladies and celebrity guests go "down the rabbit hole" and venture to a magical Wonderland, Wednesday, October 31, 2012 on the CBS Television Network. Sara Gilbert, from left, Jennifer Coolidge, Sheryl Underwood, Sharon Osbourne, Julie Chen and Aisha Tyler, shown. Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS ©2012 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ending mostly lower on Wall Street as the market closes out a turbulent month.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 114 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 14,909 Friday.
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell six points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,606. The Nasdaq composite edged up a point to 3,403.
The S&P 500 had its first monthly loss since October. It still had its best first half of a year since 1998.
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion plunged 28 percent after posting a loss despite releasing make-or-break smartphones this year.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.49 percent from 2.47 percent.
Rising and falling stocks were evenly matched on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was heavier than usual at 4.4 billion shares.


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LibraryThing ReviewAvis d'utilisateur - lkernagh - LibraryThing
Set in the summer months of 1964, the story is about a well-to-do family of breeding residing in a wealthy neighborhood in Ontario. 11-year old Hooker Winslow is surrounded by his family, a family ... Consulter l'avis complet
LibraryThing ReviewAvis d'utilisateur - Katethegreyt - LibraryThing
I've read this novel twice. It is a remarkable first novel; Findley lived up to this beginning and then some during his lifetime. The main character is both hero and victim even while he victimizes ... Consulter l'avis complet
Table des matiŤres
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- Notice
- Modules and Pragmata
- Acknowledgements
- Reporting Bugs
perldelta - what is new for perl v5.19.0
This document describes differences between the 5.18.0 release and the 5.19.0 release.
If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.17.0, first read perl5180delta, which describes differences between 5.17.0 and 5.18.0.
In v5.18.0, quite a few modules were marked for removal. They have now been removed. See "Removed Modules and Pragmata", below.
Modules and Pragmata
Updated Modules and Pragmata
Getopt::Std has been upgraded from version 1.07 to 1.08.
Module::CoreList has been upgraded from version 2.90 to 2.91.
Storable has been upgraded from version 2.41 to 2.42.
feature has been upgraded from version 1.32 to 1.33.
utf8 has been upgraded from version 1.10 to 1.11.
Removed Modules and Pragmata
The distributions below have been removed from the core, but are still available on the CPAN. In many cases, the named distribution includes multiple modules, which are not listed individually. For a comprehensive list of removals, consult:
$ corelist --dif 5.18.0 5.19.0 | grep absent
- Archive-Extract
- B-Lint
- File-CheckTree
- Log-Message
- Module-Pluggable
- Object-Accessor
- Pod-LaTeX
- Term-UI
- Text-Soundex
Perl 5.19.0 represents approximately 0.2857142857 weeks of development since Perl 5.18.0 and contains approximately 52,000 lines of changes across 310 files from 6 authors.
Perl continues to flourish into its third decade thanks to a vibrant community of users and developers. The following people are known to have contributed the improvements that became Perl 5.19.0:
Brian Fraser, Chris 'BinGOs' Williams, Karl Williamson, Nicholas Clark, Reuben Thomas, Ricardo Signes.
The list above is almost certainly incomplete as it is automatically generated from version control history. In particular, it does not include the names of the (very much appreciated) contributors who reported issues to the Perl bug tracker.
Many of the changes included in this version are the removal of modules no longer shipped with Perl's core. We thank those modules for their service and wish them luck in their future endeavors.
For a more complete list of all of Perl's historical contributors, please see the AUTHORS file in the Perl source distribution.
Reporting Bugs
If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl bug database at http://rt.perl.org/perlbug/ . There may also be information at http://www.perl.org/ , the Perl Home Page.
If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the perlbug program included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the output of
perl -V, will be sent off to email@example.com to be analysed by the Perl porting team.
If the bug you are reporting has security implications, which make it inappropriate to send to a publicly archived mailing list, then please send it to firstname.lastname@example.com. This points to a closed subscription unarchived mailing list, which includes all the core committers, who will be able to help assess the impact of issues, figure out a resolution, and help co-ordinate the release of patches to mitigate or fix the problem across all platforms on which Perl is supported. Please only use this address for security issues in the Perl core, not for modules independently distributed on CPAN.
The Changes file for an explanation of how to view exhaustive details on what changed.
The INSTALL file for how to build Perl.
The README file for general stuff.
The Artistic and Copying files for copyright information.


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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - Almost two dozen firefighters from Utah will be sleeping in their own beds tonight. Twenty-three of them arrived back in the Beehive State Saturday, from California. They've been out there fighting wildfires for more than two weeks. The procession of firetrucks arrived on Saturday afternoon. Spouses, kids were gathered, all delighted to have their loved ones home for the holidays.
Among the first responders, Jeremy Robertson – a UFA firefighter. He has been gone for 17 days battling both the Lilac and Thomas firefighters. Authorities say the Thomas fire is now the largest wildfire on record in California. Robertson has been keeping in touch with his family daily via text message. His wife and four children are thrilled he made it back home safely to them.


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Girl talk in "The Closure Alternative", Episode 21 of Season 6
Sheldon feels lost after one of his favorite TV shows gets canceled too soon and Amy tries to help him get over his compulsive need for closure. Meanwhile, Raj discovers a secret about his new love interest, Lucy, on THE BIG BANG THEORY, Thursday, April 25th on the CBS Television Network. Pictured left to right: Kaley Cuoco and Melissa Rauch Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS © 2013 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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The Walmart Distribution Center in Smyrna donated twenty $50 gifts cards to North Smyrna Elementary teachers Oct. 15.
Robert Shipman, the General Transportation Manager, and Mike Hinton, the HR Manager, provided cake and gift bags to give to the 20 teachers, whose names were randomly drawn. The gift bags included the gift cards along with pens, notebooks and a few other items. The gift cards are donated so teachers can buy more school supplies for classrooms.
The 20 teachers from North Smyrna Elementary to receive the gift cards are Mary Floyd, Susan Pechacek, Diane Marthaler, Melissa Pertschi, Chontel Stephens, Kelly Wilson, Courtney Maiden, Kristi Hoffecker, Celia Moran, Kristine Schultz, Crystal Hicks, Karen Sechler, Megan Vannoy, Cynthia McNatt, Kimberly Carlson, Sheryl Markowitz, Marschia Valentovich, Marilyn Stone-Harrison, Staci Lewis, and Amanda Noll.


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Royal Silk Class travelers enjoy enhanced comfort in every aspect, including bespoke amenities to soothe and scent the journey. Slippers are provided on many regional and intercontinental flights, as is a tailored travel kit with a range of designer toiletries and accessories.
A comfortable pillow and soft blanket help make for a restful sleep, while dedicated Royal Silk Class lavatories offer designer scents and hand creams for refreshment and moisturizing at any time during the flight.


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By Andria Cheng
An eight-story building housing several garment businesses collapsed Wednesday near the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, reportedly killing nearly 100 workers. This latest tragedy comes just five month after a fire in another Bangladesh garment factory killed 112, prompting retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to tighten up sourcing standards in the South Asian nation.
The Associated Press said the death toll from today's disaster is likely to rise. The factories make clothing for labels including Benetton, the Children's Place and Dress Barn, the news service reported.
The November fire at the Tazreen garment factory shed light on working conditions in Bangladesh's $20 billion-a-year textile industry, which consists of about 4,000 garment factories and exports clothes to many leading Western retailers, AP reported.
Bloomberg News, citing advocacy group International Labor Rights Forum, said more than 700 garment workers have died since 2005 in Bangladesh. The news service said surging wages and inflation in China, the world's largest apparel supplier, have prompted retailers such as Wal-Mart and Sears Holdings Corp. to move production to Bangladesh.
With about half of the country's garment plants not meeting legally required worker-safety standards, Bloomberg said labor activists are urging the industry to help pay for safety upgrades, which would translate to costs of about 10 cents per garment — or $3 billion over five years.
Wal-Mart in March began to implement a "zero tolerance" standard for undisclosed and unauthorized subcontracting. It had said the Tazreen factory that was making some of its clothing wasn't authorized to carry out the work.
— Andria Cheng
— Follow her on twitter @AndriaCheng


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(WENN) - Susan Sarandon has praised the late PAUL NEWMAN for tackling pay inequality sharing his salary with her when they starred in a film together.
Hollywood's gender pay gap has been a hot topic since 2014, when leaked documents revealed Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams, the female stars of American Hustle, were paid less than their male counterparts.
Susan said that she faced the problem when filming the 1998 neo-noir thriller Twilight, but that Paul gave up a portion of his salary to help bridge the pay gap.
"Emma Stone once came forward and said she got equal pay because her male stars insisted upon it and gave up something of theirs," she told BBC Radio 5 Live in an interview marking International Women's Day. "That happened to me with Paul Newman at one point, when I did a film with him ages ago."
She explained that Newman had, "stepped forward and said 'Well, I'll give you part of mine'. So yeah - he was a gem".
Figures across the movie industry have vowed to stamp out mistreatment of women in the wake of the scandals surrounding movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is alleged to have sexually harassed or assaulted actresses starring in his films, and other filmmakers and stars.
But Susan, 71, believes the "casting couch" culture which involves actresses having to sleep with movie executives to win roles will never disappear entirely.
"I don't think it will ever go away," she explained. "I think what will go away is the unwanted exchange, but I think that giving yourself sexually, or being drawn to power and wanting to have sex with someone that's in power is also a choice.
"What we don't want to have is (people) being exploited and to have the Harvey Weinsteins of the world holding it over your head and holding it over your project - that is the most despicable."


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The CDC has issued a health advisory(www.bt.cdc.gov) in response to reports of eight cases of serogroup B meningococcal disease in students at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.(www.state.nj.us), as well as three additional cases in students at the University of California, Santa Barbara(studenthealth.sa.ucsb.edu) (UC-Santa Barbara). Although both outbreaks are caused by serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis, additional molecular typing shows that the outbreaks are being caused by two different strains, indicating that they are not related.
The agency is urging health care professionals to maintain a high level of suspicion for the disease in patients who are students at, or who have had close contact with anyone from, those university communities and who present with fever and headache or rash.
If physicians suspect meningococcal disease based on a patient's history and symptoms, empiric therapy should be considered, blood or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens should be collected, and suspected cases should be reported to the local health department, according to CDC officials. In the event that clinical suspicion is high, but blood or CSF specimens are sterile, the agency recommends sending specimens to its meningitis laboratory for polymerase chain reaction testing.
Story highlights
- The CDC has issued a health advisory following reports of serogroup B meningococcal disease in students at Princeton University and the University of California, Santa Barbara.
- The agency asks physicians to maintain a high level of suspicion for the disease in patients from those university communities who present with fever and headache or rash.
- At this time, the CDC does not recommend any changes in normal activity to avoid contact with the affected university campuses or their students, although the agency is emphasizing the importance of observing good hygiene practices.
Although administration of the quadrivalent meningococcal conjugate vaccine is recommended for all eligible adolescents at age 11-12, with a booster dose at age 16, the vaccine covers only the A, C, Y and W-135 serogroups. No vaccine that covers serogroup B is currently available in the United States, but CDC officials have recommended that certain individuals in the Princeton University community receive a serogroup B vaccine(www.cdc.gov) used in the European Union and Australia. The FDA will allow administration of that vaccine in accordance with an Investigational New Drug application.
Pediatrician Amanda Cohn, M.D., a meningococcal expert with the CDC, specifically addressed the decision to use the unlicensed vaccine in a press briefing(www.cdc.gov) the agency conducted on Nov. 25.
"In general, CDC defines an outbreak of meningococcal disease as three or more cases in three months that can't be (directly) connected to each other," Cohn explained. "And these outbreaks occur in a certain population, like schools or organizations. Most outbreaks of this disease are self-limited, and no more than three or four cases occur. However, when cases continue to occur over a several-month period, like what is happening at Princeton University, intervention is required to reduce the length of the outbreak."
That is the chief difference between the New Jersey and California outbreaks, according to Cohn: Princeton University's first case was reported in March of this year, whereas the UC-Santa Barbara cases were all diagnosed in November.
"The CDC and the Food and Drug Administration have determined that the unique pattern of disease in this Princeton outbreak, the high rate of cases that have occurred and over the long period of time they've occurred, warrants access to this serogroup B vaccine for that high-risk population," said Cohn.
Admittedly, using an unlicensed vaccine represents a "highly unusual" move, Cohn added. "I'm not sure if it's completely unprecedented, but I think it speaks to the really very high attack rates that we saw at Princeton University, and how strongly we felt along with our partners in New Jersey and at Princeton that we needed to do something to prevent additional cases."
At this time, the CDC does not recommend any changes in normal activity to avoid contact with the affected university campuses or their students, although the agency is emphasizing that observing good hygiene practices, such as thorough hand-washing and coughing or sneezing into the arm, is important.
The agency continues to track the outbreaks and asks that all suspected cases of invasive meningococcal disease associated with the two universities be reported as follows:
- cases associated with Princeton University should be reported to Denise Garon at the New Jersey Department of Health by calling (609) 826-5964 or via e-mail to email@example.com; and
- cases associated with UC-Santa Barbara should be reported to Kathleen Harriman at the California Department of Public Health by calling (651) 699-2970 or via e-mail to firstname.lastname@example.com.
Recommendations for prophylactic use of antibiotics in close contacts of people with meningococcal disease are available from the CDC's Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report(www.cdc.gov).
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200 Pounds Beauty (2007)
Directed by Kim Yong-hwaGenres - Comedy | Sub-Genres - Showbiz Comedy | Release Date - Dec 14, 2006 (USA - Unknown) | Run Time - 116 min. | Countries - South Korea |
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Synopsis by Mark Deming
A big gal goes to great lengths to release the beautiful woman inside in this romantic comedy from South Korea. Ami (Seo Yun) is a glamorous and sexy pop star who has a string of hit records to her credit, but what most folks don't know is she can't sing a note and the voice on her recordings is actually Hanna Kang (Kim A-jung). While Hanna has a beautiful voice, she also weighs 200 pounds, which has prevented her from having a career of her own, and while she's in love with Sang-jun (Ju Jin-mo), the producer who hired her to be Ami's voice, she lacks the nerve to tell him how she feels. When Hanna is invited to a posh party by Sang-jun only to discover Ami is wearing the same dress but in a much smaller size, she decides the time has come to make some changes. Hanna drops out of sight, has plastic surgery and liposuction, and a year later emerges as pretty and slender Jenny. No one recognizes Jenny as Hannah, and when she auditions for Sang-jun, he's certain he's found a new star to replace Ami, whose career has gone into a tailspin since Hannah went AWOL. Jenny's career is off to a great start, and she seems to have impressed Sang-jun on a non-professional basis, but Ami thinks there's something odd about this unknown singing sensation and starts doing some detective work. Minyeoneun gwiroweo (aka 200 Pounds Beauty was adapted from a popular comic book by Yumiko Suzuki.
audition, celebrity, overweight, pop-music


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Living with wolves takes some practice
I paddle to a favorite meadow with my friend, Solan. It's late summer in southeast Alaska, when the tall grasses are turning yellow and the mountaintops are lost in clouds. Coming ashore, we step over dead salmon dragged from the stream by bears.
Walking toward the stream, I talk about the time I watched a wolf fishing here, knee-deep in the estuary. But Solan stops me. "I just saw a wolf," he says, pointing a hundred yards ahead. "It ran into the tall grass."
We take a few steps. I don't know what makes us turn, but there is another wolf only 50 feet behind us. She is gray with tawny legs and skinny, with an adolescent's long limbs and big paws. We stare at each other, and then she cautiously walks toward us, her tail low.
"Hey, wolf," I say assertively, pulling my bear spray from its holster and detaching its safety. Solan speaks, too, telling the wolf it shouldn't approach. It's the same way we talk to bears that are too close, using a firmness that belies our nervousness.
Advancing, the wolf tucks her tail closer to her legs and yawns, revealing sharp, clean teeth. With each tentative step, she reaches her nose forward, sniffing. At 30 feet, she veers from her approach and arcs around us. I glance around, looking for other wolves, but the meadow is empty except for some squawking ravens.
The wolf stays about 30 feet from us, skittishly walking a semicircle. When I step forward, she hops back and lowers her head submissively. Talking assertively seems silly now and Solan and I just stand there, trying to understand her behavior. Fifty miles from the nearest road, it's unlikely she's conditioned to humans. She's not a hybrid, the offspring of someone's pet, and she doesn't appear to be rabid or guarding a kill. Our encounter lasts nearly an hour, with the wolf ultimately approaching to within a few feet of us. Several times she tries to come even closer or walk behind us, but quickly retreats when I thrust my head toward her. For a while, she lies in the grass, her chin resting on a leg. Solan and I sit, still holding our bear spray. Eventually, there's a low huff from nearby woods and she trots away.
Solan and I work in remote areas and have been around wolves a lot, though usually we just get a glimpse of one by the forest fringe or hear them howling from the woods. Yet our experience is not unprecedented. A 2002 Alaska Fish and Game case history of 80 wolf encounters described 29 non-aggressive approaches, some similar to ours. And in Juneau, Alaska's capital, curious wolves are not uncommon. For years, a black male, affectionately known as "Romeo," frequented a popular skating lake and often played with unleashed dogs.
On the other hand, wolves killed a teacher last winter in rural Alaska. The woman was jogging when she became the victim of an extremely rare attack. Like bears and lions, wolves can be dangerous, although far more people are hurt -- and killed -- by dogs.
I think of all this while listening to the wolf debate in the Northern Rockies, my former home. Montana Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg recently held "listening sessions" with a one-sided panel of ranchers, hunters and others who want to cut the recovering wolf population to a minimum, even if it means changing the Endangered Species Act. Many, like Rehberg, were livestock growers who had lost animals to wolves. Others were hunters and guides complaining about diminished elk and deer. Their sentiments echoed those of similar groups in Wyoming and Idaho, but they offered an imbalanced and oversimplified take on the issue.
Many denounced wolves as vicious killers. But it's hard to imagine anything more vicious than the government-assisted extermination program, which used every cruelty imaginable to kill wolves to make way for livestock. And few acknowledged the fact that taxpayers reimburse ranchers when wolves kill livestock. Indeed, ranchers receive a fair amount of public assistance; the federal government even provides predator control, shooting nuisance animals. The hunters complained about reduced ungulate populations, but failed to admit that those populations were artificially swelled in the first place, when wolves were exterminated. Nor did they mention that the rapid development Montanans have permitted near their wildlands is having an effect on wildlife. Then there's climate change, the bull elk in the kitchen. With less autumn snow nowadays, ungulates can roam thousands more acres during hunting season, making populations less dense and hunting harder.
This is not to say that wolves don't kill livestock, deer and elk; they do. Yet in Alaska, wolves enrich the landscape. My experience in the meadow is an example, teaching me about the ancient body language spoken between wolves and humans. It's a reminder of our connection with the Earth's community of life. It makes me hope that people in the Northern Rockies will begin to talk more about intelligently sharing the landscape with wolves, and less about slaughtering them.
Tim Lydon is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). He is a wilderness ranger in Alaska.
Note: the opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of High Country News, its board or staff. If you'd like to share an opinion piece of your own, please write Betsy Marston at [email protected].


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QSC AG: Communication services for SMEs – simple, meaningful, efficient.
IR Releases
QSC's IT competence strengthened by new acquisition
Cologne, December 21, 2010. Effective immediately, Cologne-based QSC AG has acquired all shares of IP Partner AG, of Nuremberg. Formed in the year... Read more
QSC's financial strength and profitability up sharply in third quarter of 2010
Net income nearly triples to € 5.8 million Free cash flow more than triples to € 8.5 million Cologne, November 8, 2010. Cologne-based QSC AG... Read more
QSC again wins Deloitte Sustained Excellence Award
Cologne, October 21, 2010. For the second time since 2007, QSC AG, a mid-size service provider in the telecommunications industry with its own Next... Read more
QSC launches first nationwide Open Access platform and wins city net operator HL komm and 1&1 Internet as partners
Cologne, August 25, 2010. Access to broadband internet connections and the ability to utilize them intelligently will be serving as a major driver for... Read more
QSC plans to triple net income and double free cash flow in 2010
IP-based revenues grow by 12 percent to € 70.8 million in second quarter of 2010; total revenues advance to € 104.9 million Net income rises from... Read more


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poorutron wrote:wouldnt mind dropping by one friday for some boba, not too keen on pho doh :<
I usually showup to the socalsouthbay86 meet on monday at 8pm (via instagram) they're actually chill and wish there'd be more ae86's out there build a new bridge of respect between both cars. then theres also the 86 meet on diamond jamboree located in irvine on tuesdays at 8pm
also there will be a Formula D tech day in irvine this coming march 15 irvine alton ish check formula d's instagram I'll see if i can post the picture of the even for ae86 owners to roll out to.
Yeah man! it'd be cool to see some other people there even if it just for one or the other.
Idk if I could make it to other meets since I work nights usually.
It be cool to go to D1 tech day. I'll try to make it out to that.


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USA Today is arguably one of the best news apps on Windows Phone in terms of design and speed. It's so minimal in its layout that it makes Microsoft blush and the fast loading times of the app and related articles is nearly unprecedented.
There's just one problem though: the app has had quite a few bugs since the last release, causing images and even articles to load incompletely. Frustrating users, many have complained in the app's review on the Store that an update is required.
Starting last night, version 1.9.2 has gone live in the Store and at least from our usage of it, we've had no issues with missing text or images (though we're curious if you spot any). Under the app's changelog it simply notes "bug fixes" and we have a sneaky suspicion that the aforementioned problems have been addressed with this update. Interestingly, the last update for this app was way back in December when version 1.9 hit the Store.
If you haven't tried USA Today for your news, you really should. It's free, has a nice Live Tile (with optional weather) and pinnable subsections. If you're a developer, you should take notes on the design as the USA Today team gets what users want for Windows Phone.
Pick up USA Today, version 220.127.116.11 here in the Store. Windows Phone 8 only.


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6 month contract paying £465pd - Immediate start (LONDON)
Project is for the development of a new Finance Data warehouse system.
Migration from Essbase to TM1.
Ideal candidate will have:
• Administrative/Development experience of TM1 (including processes, rules, security and control cubes)
• Knowledge of the CAFE (Excel) and Performance Modeller (Admin) interfaces an advantage
• Strong knowledge of Excel and a good understanding of Excel macros and VBA
Responsibilities include:
Further development of existing TM1 models/cubes as required
Development of new planning models as required
Owning and maintaining the VBA driven data upload template
Load data where necessary and carrying out reconciliations on the results.
Send CV profiles to email@example.com for a response.
TM1 Developer Needed for Bank in London
Discuss / promote job opportunities for any OLAP / BI tool here.
Post Reply
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Post Reply
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Christian Lopez to be on Baseball Card
There will be a new baseball card bearing the face of the new Latino hero: Christian Lopez.
Topps says it will produce a trading card featuring the fan who returned Derek Jeter's ball from his 3,000th hit. The card will be included in sets later this year.
"We thought what he did captures the essence of what baseball and the Topps company is about," said Mark Sapir, Topps vice president for sports.
The recent college graduate with outstanding student loans will get some financial help, too.
Memorabilia dealer Brandon Steiner and sporting goods CEO Mitch Modell said they will make sure Lopez gets at least $50,000 toward his outstanding student loans of $150,000.
Steiner said he got a call on Wednesday from his buddy Modell, and they got the ball rolling. Steiner set up an auction of memorabilia that eventually will include baseballs signed by both Lopez and Jeter and said Modell is pledging five percent from the sale of Yankees-related merchandise at the Modell's chain during what will be called "Christian Lopez Week."
"That itself is a totally awesome situation right now for all parties involved," Lopez said.
What impressed the sports executives — as well as countless fans across the country — was the way a 23-year-old mobile phone salesman passed on the chance to sell the ball.
Instead, Lopez gave the ball to Jeter, saying he deserved to have the keepsake.
"Can you believe how good a mensch this kid was?" Steiner said.
Lopez has been overrun with requests since Saturday.
"It's been overwhelming to be honest with you," he said. "It's been a little crazy. But I'm handling it as best I can. I'm trying to get back to everybody I can."
That includes Topps.
"Yeah, I spoke with them a couple days ago," Lopez said. "All I know, is they kind of want to make a baseball card out of me."
Lopez was an avid collector as a kid. He said he has "probably a couple thousand baseball cards."
His favorite? A Yankees card, of course. It depicts Babe Ruth and one of the Yankees' owners at the time he came over from the Red Sox in 1920.
"It's a very dear card to me. I've had it for 15 years now or so," Lopez said.
Now he'll have another Yankees card to keep next to it.
Based on reporting by The Associated Press.
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text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - a word:mercurial Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in a word:mercurial Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Help Center View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message hiromichiJoined: 12 Oct 2005Posts: 1370 Posted: Fri May 19, 2017 1:47 am Post subject: a word:mercurial "Mercurial" seems to have a lot of meanings some of which could contradict each other. What does it mean in the newspaper article below? Mr. Assange, a mercurial figure, has acknowledged that the release of the documents had been timed to induce maximum harm to the prospects of Hillary Clinton._________________Hiromichi Back to top LorikeetJoined: 08 Oct 2005Posts: 1863Location: San Francisco Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 5:43 pm Post subject: I'd guess "unpredictable" is the meaning. (I had to look it up ) Back to top hiromichiJoined: 12 Oct 2005Posts: 1370 Posted: Mon May 22, 2017 5:50 pm Post subject: Lorikeet. Long time no see you. Thank you for this time._________________Hiromichi Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Help Center All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


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Tornfolio is a theme that can be used for just about anything. Whether it be a personal portfolio or for the promotion of your company, tornfolio is the template for you.
- jFlow Slider on home page
- jQuery Custom Toggle Box
- WORKING AJAX contact form
- Valid XHTML STRICT 1.0
- Valid CSS
- Easily Customizeable


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Mark's — renamed ReMark's — recently reopened in Laguna Canyon on the site of his original restaurant that has been shuttered for two years. Mark DePalma tells us proudly that his 11-year-old daughter Ashley suggested the clever new moniker.
What remains the same is Mark's inimitable charm, the original dining room and the patio. What's new is the remodeled bar area with its tall tables and high stools. This time, he's focusing entirely on small plates (although we found most of them to be quite generous).
Also new is the Saturday night lounge with a DJ and dancing after 10 p.m. Comfortable lounge furniture on the heated patio provides a warm, cozy spot to nibble on goodies from the late-night menu. Short rib sliders with blue cheese on brioche, crispy chicken burgers served with fried green tomatoes, chilaquiles and chicken Caesar salad are a few of the tempting items offered.
Seated in the small, cozy dining room, decorated with large, mutedly colored, abstract paintings, we perused the new menu while munching on excellent hot, crusty wheat bread and selected a number of appetizers.
Accolades and encomiums go to the roasted tomato soup; it was the best we have ever tasted. It was a light and delicious puree with some texture as well. The roasting of the tomatoes seems to make all the difference, adding depth of flavor. Delicious small leaves of basil throughout contributed an herbal spark.
We were also impressed with the filet mignon tacos made with chunks of high-quality beef, stuffed into small, thin flour tortillas that were very tender and tasted freshly made. The excellent garnishes included a tart, lime tomatillo sauce, sour cream, tomato salsa and chopped avocado. Put it all together and you've got some tasty eating.
Less successful was the ahi stack. The fish itself had no flavor. Mixing together the accompanying wasabi, soy sauce and a squiggle of seasoned mayo perked it up. The advertised jalapeno was nowhere in evidence. It did come with some good flour tortilla chips for scooping.
Since we all know that tomatoes are generally lousy in winter, fried green tomatoes make a nice alternative. These were made from slightly riper tomatoes with a bit of juiciness. They had a crisply fried panko crust and were served with a very flavorful, zippy, ranch, smoky chipotle dipping sauce.
Main courses are a little smaller than a regular entrée and priced accordingly. They run from $9.75 to $14.50 and include a four-ounce filet mignon with spinach, grilled Portobello mushroom and Gorgonzola risotto…a very good deal.
We really enjoyed the very tender short ribs, well seasoned with a slightly sweet, meaty sauce. However, the accompanying Gorgonzola risotto, although quite rich, lacked any cheese-y taste at all and badly needed salt.
Chicken curry is English style with tender breast-meat chicken in a very mild, pleasant yellow sauce dotted with raisins and served with sweet chutney on the side. The rice was a ginger risotto but once again, we found it very bland.
A tower of vegetables was nicely stacked with layers of zucchini, eggplant, carrots, red and yellow bell peppers — all grilled to a perfect al dente texture. Cooked fresh tomato chunks provided a tasty sauce.
We sampled several desserts, including the best flourless chocolate cake ever. The chocolate was rich and dark, the cake was lightly sweetened, but it was the incredibly light texture that distinguished it from all others of its genre.
In contrast, we found the Mexican chocolate cake, made with beverage chocolate, to be an interesting idea but unsuccessful in execution. The thin tart-like cake retained the gritty texture of this kind of chocolate.
We are happy to see Mark back in business, offering tasty food at reasonable prices.
ELLE HARROW and TERRY MARKOWITZ were in the gourmet food and catering business for 20 years. They can be reached for comments or questions at firstname.lastname@example.com.
What: ReMark's
Where: 853 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach
When: 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 4:30 to 11 p.m. Saturday
Appetizers: $5 to $11.25
Entrées: $9.75 to $14.75
Desserts: $6 to $7
Glass: $6.50 to $10
Bottle: $20 to $100
Corkage fee: $15
Information: (949) 715-8700 or remarkslagunabeach.com


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