text:
A historical entry from Mark Langill…
There is no time limit to "the rest of the story," and this recent tale involves one of the most famous home runs by an opponent in Dodger Stadium history. Although Opening Day 1977 is best remembered as Tommy Lasorda's first game as Dodger manager (not counting the four games at the end of the 1976 season credited to Walter Alston's record) and Frank Sinatra singing the national anthem, San Francisco's Gary Thomasson hit a memorable home run on Don Sutton's first pitch of the game.
Before the game, Sutton was told the first pitch was going to be sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Apparently nobody bothered to tell Thomasson, a left-handed hitting outfielder who later played for the Dodgers. After the game, team vice president Fred Clare told Sutton something along the lines of the Dodgers could've mailed the ball to Cooperstown instead of having Thomasson hitting the ball that far. The joke was possible because Sutton pitched brilliantly that afternoon in a complete-game 5-1 victory.
Turns out the ball was caught by a young Dodger fan named Todd Derrick. Many years later, Derrick was driving in his car after an evening MBA class at USC when he heard Scully mention the Sutton-Thomasson story and that the Dodgers were looking for the ball to give to the Hall of Fame. Derrick called his parents to see if they still had the baseball in storage. Derrick learned his younger brother took that home run baseball, along with a bag of other baseballs, to UC Irvine to play college ball. Derrick asked, "Where are the baseballs now?" and was told they likely were used during batting practice that first summer.
So the baseball destined for Cooperstown took an unexpected exit in Irvine.
210 Comments
I don't think there's anybody in there.
Josh – very interesting story.
Well, he definitely can't be the wise owl. Piglet perhaps? It kind of ruins the image of Winnie for me, but maybe……
They restructured Piglet's contract so he could play for the Rangers.
LOL!!!! Tigger is too pouncy and happy to be Ned. Kanga or Roo? Christopher Robin?
Reposted from the last thread:
I think that, if Furcal stays healthy and approaches his numbers of 2 years ago and Hudson has an injury-free, average year, MKLE could average 20-25 hrs and we would be fine without Manny. For good measure, we've also got Blake's power. I don't think we'll ever get 30 dingers a year out of Russell or James and that's just fine. We saw what happened with Russell last year when he muscled up and tried to hit for power. Russell's at his best when he's using the whole field and reaching the gaps with extra base hits. Loney's, pretty much, the same type of hitter. I, also, have the feeling that the starters will be ok. Bills should be better; Kuroda's had a year to adjust to American culture and MLB and he should also be better. Wolf will be Wolf, and that should be solid. The keys in our rotation will be how much improvement we get out of Kershaw and the production we get (or don't get) out of the 5th spot. The bullpen, I agree, is iffy. The jury's still out on Broxton as a closer and, except for Kuo and Wade, we don't know for sure what we have. A plus: unlike last year, we have experienced depth in the infield if someone goes down.
By firstname.lastname@example.com on February 27, 2009 10:01 PM
Holy crap. Plaschke just wrote an article…and….I didn't vomit. I actually thought it was good and puts the whole thing in perspective about Manny..
jungar – not a bad article at all
Plaschke's never been better.
I don't see Manny being ********** or angry at all. He probably loves it…the kids are probably in on the joke, they enjoy watching Frank and Ned squirm, especially after what they did to their man, Ethier. It's like my high school classroom. The kids NEVER rat out their peers…the "administration" is always the bad guy. Manny probably texts Kemp daily and they split their sides laughing, Martin, too.
Kahli – you are probably right. I didn't think of it that way – LOL!!!!!
Josh – I am not sure how all this Manny drama is affecting you, but I hope you are doing alright through all this. Not that it's been easy off season period, but it just seems like it's getting more and more out of there as time goes on.
Interesting San Francisco perspective on the Manny circus. The writer, Bruce Jenkins of the San Francisco Chronicle, says: "As it turns out, they're being played for fools: the fans, the marketing people, the concessionaires and especially the front office." I think he's got that right.
redfox – a very telling article even if it is from a gnat writer. It's like enchanted said, you wonder what the young guns are thinking? Are they thinking like they did last year or do they have a new perspective of Manny? Having your best friend be Dustin Pedroia, I bet Andre has some insight to how the young guns are feeling. Not that he would share his feelings publically nor would I want him to, but I bet he and Dustin have had their fair share of conversations on the Manny subject……..just a thought.
Good Night ITD Dodgerfaithful,
Good night Josh, good night Ned, good night Frank and Jamie, Good night Dodgers……..Good night Manny, Boras I still dont have anything good to say about you. Manny you already paid your last agent for 2009 so FIRE BORAS!!!!!
GOOD NIGHT MANNY'S TRAIN ( we havent seen you since you left the superbowl, )
There is a ballgame tommorrow thank heavens, Go get em boy's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD BLESS THE U.S.A. and GOD BLESS US ALL AS WELL 🙂
Manny I love ya in Blue but I'm tired, tired, tired of the off season.
Like seesky, when jungar mentioned being too damn old the other night, this song came to mind.
Original Song – Much Too Young (To Be This Damn Old)
By – Garth Brooks
"Might Be Wrong To Be This Damn Bold"
This ol' story's getting longer
Seems there ain't no end in sight
To sleep would be best, but we just can't afford to rest
We want him signed in Glendale tomorrow night
They sent out letters but no one answered
For the last three weeks no one's been close
I guess with offer three, to tell the truth we just can't see
What's kept the Dodgers holding on this long
And the fine line's getting longer and the story's getting old
Scott might be wrong to be this damn bold
All the cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole
Scott might be wrong to be this damn bold
The competition's getting younger
Tougher kids, you know we can recall
The worn out talk of Juan Pierre, goes 0 for 3 and we lose
Seems to be the only thing Juan will do at all
And the fine line's getting longer and the story's getting old
Frank might be wrong to be this damn bold
All the cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole
Frank might be wrong to be this damn bold
Manny might be wrong to be this damn bold
****Sorry for the repost….I forgot about the linebreaks in the song itself – thanks Dodgereric for all you do with dodger lyrics – you are awesome!!!!
Like seesky, when jungar mentioned being too damn old the other night, this song came to mind.
Original Song – Much Too Young (To Be This Damn Old)
By – Garth Brooks
"Might Be Wrong To Be This Damn Bold"
This ol' story's getting longer
Seems there ain't no end in sight
To sleep would be best, but we just can't afford to rest
We want him signed in Glendale tomorrow night
They sent out letters but no one answered
For the last three weeks no one's been close
I guess with offer three, to tell the truth we just can't see
What's kept the Dodgers holding on this long
And the fine line's getting longer and the story's getting old
Scott might be wrong to be this damn bold
All the cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole
Scott might be wrong to be this damn bold
The competition's getting younger
Tougher kids, you know we can recall
The worn out talk of Juan Pierre, goes 0 for 3 and we lose
Seems to be the only thing Juan will do at all
And the fine line's getting longer and the story's getting old
Frank might be wrong to be this damn bold
All the cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole
Frank might be wrong to be this damn bold
Manny might be wrong to be this damn bold
Good morning ITDland ~ Great song Nellyjune! I really have nothing to say since things are still the same. But, I want to wish everyone a great weekend.
The best phrase I got out of the Plaschke article was "public scam" – that in essence is Frank's specialty about everything. I don't believe in anything he says, nor in anything of people that represent him. So, I repeat:
F Manny,
double F Frank and Ned;
triple F Torre if he's serious about posting JP in LF just because he can.
Let's start playing ball and may the best player get to start in LF – one of our younger guys just may surprise out there, and, if not, there's a couple of months of trading time left to get to the right combination minus JP.
Good morning ITD, Dodgerfaithful
I love the song Nelly 🙂
I too would like everyone to enjoy thier weekend.
I am not sure what the boy's in blue are feeling these day's but I for one am tired of all the bull cr** in the media from the events of the offseason. Not just with Manny but the whole enchillada so to speak. It is hard to absorb anymore
A-rod, Bonds, Clemens, McGwire, and ……. Selig. I dont like to harp on any body associated with my Dodgers but Frank is'nt exactly portraying the Dodger name across your chest very well these days. The 50 ballfield fiasco, the publishing of the L.A. power couple as many other couples in L.A. and the country are feeling powerless, and now the events from this ongoing saga….. I understand the feeling of bieng frustrated from these negotiation Frank…I really do but It is time to lead by example. There are always frustrating moments during a season and the boy's in blue need to feel that thier Admiral in charge of the ship has a good firm grasp upon the controls!!!!
Anyhow there is a ballgame today so GO DODGERS!!!!!!!!!!!
WE still BELIEVE in our BOY"S in the DODGER BLUE UNIFORM"S!!!!!!!!!!
so lets go out and take it the other team today.
Bear ~ I see you are a little miffed!!! A lot of us have those sentiments.
Good morning, Dodger4life ~ You, Bear and I, are almost at the boiling point. As are almost all true Dodger fans. One way or the other, I want this over……….it's almost time for Dodger baseball!
Good Morning ITD readers and writers!!!!
messagebear – if it weren't for the fact that Frank,Ned and Joe seem set on the fact that JP will be the left fielder if Manny is not has got me more irked than the Manny saga. This is going to play out the same way it did last year. They (JP, DY and Repko, with Paul perhaps) will compete for a position that in the end the competition will be meaningless because they already have set in their minds that this is the way it "should" be (Pierre in left field). That's the only reason I am holding out hope for Manny at this point.
dodger4life – You said probably what 99.9% of us are thinking. Frank……stop the Media Merri-Go-Round. We want to get off and play some baseball.
Good Morning trublu – I do think messagebear is a little miffed. I would say pissed, but I think that gets the asterisk talk.
…well maybe not – good. I think messagebear is beyond miffed and has moved on to very **********:)
..okay – why in the first post and not in the second post for the same word?……..the word "off" set the asterisk off I guess. So, pissed will stay but p.i.s.s.e.d……..o.f.f. will not – hmmmmmm!! interesting 🙂
Nellyjune ~ I think the ITD censor is a little PO, too! lol
Jungar, who is older: I like that article, too!
No other bidders; Silly Boras.
No other Sluggers; Silly McCourt.
Accurate formulation. However, if Manny wants to wait until later in ST, take his chances that another slugger with a home needs to be replaced or return to the Dodgers fold for what is being offered now, then Frank is taking the bigger chance. If Boras realizes that later in ST, if no other bids are forthcoming and he is sitting on a depreciating asset, then Boras is taking the bigger risk.
That is the game of chicken in a nutshell. Throw into the mix that Manny may find ST inconvenient and boring and time away from his routine of working out and returning home on weekends. Yes, both parties could come to an agreement that Manny sign now, continue his routine until later in March, then join the club. However, that would violate all kinds of baseball ST traditions and set a bad precedent for the Dodgers corporate culture. If that kind of deal would happen, it would have to be secret and neither side can keep a secret. So, here we sit playing chicken. There is a lot of precedent in baseball for ST holdouts and this fits that mold well.
I think we are stuck, boys and girls, until Manny decides that ST is not that bad and he wants to go somewhere to get ready for this season, which is really a matter of continuing the rehab of his rep for next winter's follies. So, since the Dodgers don't want to take a chance on a long-term relationship with an aging NL slugger and Manny thinks that his chances to get another big contract are ticking away with each year, we get to sit on our hands or decide to watch JP instead of Manny. It's really that simple.
Shep ~ meanwhile, the Gnats are sitting back waiting to see what happens. If it turns out we don't sign Manny, it would be a spirit killer to let the Gnats have him! I hope Frank knows this and will get this done.
I'm now off the clock. 😦
Just Wait till Next Year! I'll have a much better strategy on the sweepstakes then, you'll see!
LMAO, Shep!!!! We have to revamp our strategy.
Nells, I never knew that teachers could cuss until about 6th grade, when I had a teacher who alluded to being POed. She didn't actually say the words, but the meaning was clear.
If you keep this up, I'm going to report you to the Principal's office! (I remember how principal is spelled, because he or she's your pal– Yeah, right!).
Incidentally, you can learn alot about math from middle schoolers.
A middle school math teacher was telling her pre-algebra students about some first principles of algebra. The lesson was that two negative signs in sequence would have the opposite effect twice; the double negative is actually a positive value. However, she said that plus signs don't act like that. Just then, Jimmy started disrupting and cutting up from the back of the room, She said, "Jimmy, if you can't be quiet, I'll have to send you to the principal's office."
Jimmy: "Mrs. McGillicuty, you're wrong!"
"All right, Jimmy, you need to go right now. In the long run, it's for your own good."
"Yeah, right!"
Good thoughts, nellyjune. Here is an article that mentions Dustin Pedroia (Second baseman Dustin Pedroia told WEEI in Boston, "We're not going to miss Manny at all.") The writer makes some points that deserve serious consideration:
Shepherd – funny story!! I am very good at turning off my "language" button most of the time when in the classroom. It's funny because I have let the word "crap" slip a few times this year (usually referring to a messy desk or the classroom) and not one word was said. However, I tell them to "shut up" instead of "be quiet" and they look at me in shock like " I can't believe you just said that!"
Cute story: About 6 Years ago I had a first grader who was this quiet little asian girl who really never said much and didn't speak english real well when she did. Anyhow, one day they were writing a story and she goes to erase and tears a hole in her paper. She puts her head down and says "oh schmidt!". She looks up at me with tears already starting, and before she could even say a word I told her "It's okay things happen" and we went about our day.
Ha, Ha!
redfox – very interesting indeed. I know Andre benefited with having Manny in the lineup, but I am willing to bet he knows both sides of the Manny being Manny drama – the Dodger version and the Boston version. Thanks for the article!
Received my season ticket book today…that is always a very exciting day for me. One thing that always makes me laugh is the MVP Club discount card: with the markup at the stadium stores, it is almost always, especially for the big ticket items, cheaper to buy the items online at dodgers.com and pay the shipping than it is to buy them at the stadium, even with my 11-year season ticket holder discount. The discrepancy in prices is actually a new thing; it started when, you guessed it, the McCourts bought the team.
One more thing: the Dodgers trying to shove the whole Dodgertown thing down our throats this year is starting to get on my nerves. The Dodgers play at Dodger Stadium during the regular season, not Dodgertown. Dodgertown is in Vero Beach, Florida. Frank, when you left Vero, you left Dodgertown behind.
And before someone points it out, I know that the Dodgers are actually putting the word California as a subscript to Dodgertown to note the difference between the two locations. But honestly, that ranks right up there with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in my book.
Good morning ITD boys and girls!
Okay, okay. I know I've said before "I'm done with Manny." Well I am. But before I waste another breathe on this stupid game of chicken, the Manny saga, whatever phrase you want to put in there, I will say something. And the Dodgers will not like it.
First of all, let's say Frank is mad as h*** at Borass or at Manny or at both. If Frank is that mad, then let's say Frank tells Ned, "Ned, let's not offer another contract to Manny, be done with this saga, and let's move on." If this happens (which a number of us, myself included) have been calling for, then some, most of us here on ITD would be okay with that. Let's just move on, work with those players we have now and work to get the best abilities out of them for the 2009 season. But unfortunately, there are millions of LA fans that want Manny at ANY cost. For those LA fans, they will be upset at Frank and Ned and, perhaps, not come to games or spend very little $ if they do come. That'll hurt Frank's bottom line. And as PR conscious as Frank is, this decision would be a horrible "PR" move.
Okay, let's consider the second alternative. Let's say we offer yet another contract to Manny (stick in whatever terms you want here). And let's say that Manny actually SIGNS this contract. Great. Manny is a Dodger. And I'm not being pessimistic about this; just VERY realistic. If Manny signs a contract with the Dodgers, what do you think are the chances of Manny showing up (and I don't care if he waits until late March to show up to ST) and Manny being Manny? What I mean, is how many times in 2009 are we going to see Manny faking injuries before a crucial series with the Snakes or the Phils or the Gnats? How many times will he run from home to 1B, to be just beaten by the throw whereas if he ran full force, he definitely would've been safe?
I know these are two scenarios sound more doom and gloom, but given the choice, why not just say, "We're done with Manny." At least this way it's just a PR gaff. The other way will DEFINITELY hurt our chances of winning actual games and could hurt the entire team in ways that we could not see coming. CYL Manny!!!
Oh, and sorry for that long rant…
Remember that tomorrow the Dodgers' ST game at Camelback is being televised!!! Yeah!!! It's on Channel 9 at 12 noon for those of us down in the So Cal area. A delayed version of the game will be on MLBN at 2 PM.
Well, again, I know this was short, but I've got stuff to do. I'll catch up with y'all later…
In the first place, Manny loves the playoffs. Some of his most important records are plyoff records.
In the second place, you can't replace the expected 30 to 35 HRs in the lineup with anybody else currently available. When Dunn was available, the 40 Hrs came at the cost of a .240 BA and tons of Ks.
Manny may be Manny, but he loosens up the clubhouse like no one else. Raffy and ODog are here largely because they like playing along side of Manny.
It's time to chill and watch a master A$$hole at work. Boras gets paid to do what he is doing: provoking management. Even in the A-Rod case, he took the heat and A-Rod got the contract.
Guess who is projected to bat in front of Manny? Just Sayin'
Josh reminded me of something I always try to forget, in the article to open this thread.
When I was about 5 years old, before I ever heard of the MLB, my godfather gave me two balls that were signed by Yankee greats.
I took the balls to a field in my neighborhood and my friends and I banged them around with baseball bats.
Some time later my godfather came to visit and asked to see the balls and that's when I realized what I did.
It always hurts to think about it.
It's a good thing they weren't Dodger greats.
Shep ~ I agree with you that we need Manny in the lineup. He makes it solid, batters 1 – 8. We should score enough runs to give our pitchers some breathing room.
Regardless of which side you take, this whole drama is PATHETIC. Borass and Manny are having a p_$$__g contest with our owner. And Frank, please take a note from the O'Malleys and STAY IN THE BACKGROUND. You're embarrasing us. You were a Red Sox fan before, and after you sell the team, you'll be whatever you are then, but WE'RE DODGER FANS FOR LIFE. Remember that.
And whoever ends up the "winner", guess who's gonna be the losers? Us. Not the Dodgers. US.
We're the ones that against all rational thought, against all better judgement, against telling ourselves again and again that we don't care, there's bigger and better things we should and do care about, and yet here we are. We put the Fan in Fanatic.
And seeming as Frank is out of cash (Which he was when he bought the franchise, but don't get me started), if the Dodgers do cave and give Manny deffered money they don't have (or don't want to give, McSkinFlint style), guess where he's gonna get it from, in this economy?
Expect prices to raise somewhere, with some amenity most can't do without at a ball park. I'm not saying coin-operated water fountains or bathrooms, but there I go giving them ideas again.
So if we want Manny, WE'RE gonna have to cover this margin the two sides are haggling over. Ain't that a beach?
ESPECIALLY in these times when I'm sure some of their fans are losing their houses left and right, the McCourts won't even sell one of their 12 or so.
They'll either pass the buck to us, or play PVL's signed to enourmous contracts their performance didn't warrant for diminishing returns in Blue, just so the Giants don't get him…
(Hey, wait, doesn't that sound like 99? Oh well, whatever, nevermind…)
So in this spirit, I'm dedicating this song, heavily edited but word-for-word, to The Three Out-of-touch Amigos: Scott Borass, Frank McCourt and Manny Ramirez.
From Milwakee, Winsconsin, here's The Frogs with their song "I Only Play 4 Money". To the 3 stars flying high over Uranus tonight.
i don't do interviews
i won't sign autographs
don't you love the star
when he's a [radio edit]
i only play for money
i don't give a [radio edit] about the fans
i only play for money
i don't give a [radio edit] if you dance
'cause you're diggin' on the star
'cause you're diggin' on the one who's gone so far
if you take my picture your camera's smashed
if you send me fan mail i won't write back
don't you love the star
when he's a [radio edit]
i only play for money
i don't give a **** about the fans
i only play for money
so keep your autograph books at home
i don't give a damn
cause you're diggin' on the star
cause you're diggin' on the one who's gone so far
Thanks for embarassing the [radio edit] out of all Dodger Fans, now pull your heads outta your [radio edit]'s and act like responsible millionaires. You know what, nevermind, that's probably asking too much.
Well, I was checking in again, and still no deal. A lot of people are really tweaked at McCourt. While I agree that he make his fair share of dumb mistakes, including sometimes just being kind of tone deaf, I came to the conclusion a while ago that he is generally trying to do the right things. The reports are that his very leveraged position used to buy the team has been paid down quite a bit, and he has put the team in a position to make a lot of investments (the stadium improvements to date, and the ones planned for the future). The club's long-term vision is good (youth movement, grow from within, invest in the stadium and not try to blackmail the city into building a new park or turning Chavez Ravine into a housing development). He's not perfect, and it may never be the O'Malley days, but I give him the benefit of the doubt.
I have no such opinion of Scott Boras. I realize that his job is to serve his clients, not the fans, but all appearances are that he has not done that very well. Some of his biggest clients have had their reputations trashed–A-Rod, Manny, JD Drew. While he gets them money, you see Derek Jeter doing all the advertisements, not A-Rod or Manny, who really are better players. And long term, that's likely more valuable. Moreover, he's not done all that well getting them money. If you follow Bill Simmons ("Sports Guy" on ESPN.com), he talks about how he thinks Boras basically got Manny to dog it for contracct negotiation purposes so he could get out of his 2009-2010 options. Those were two years worth $40 million. Right now, all that haggle seems to have gotten Manny nothing better than 2 years for $45 Million, and that's still in question. His A-Rod gambit nearly completely backfired last year.
Plashke is sort of on to something–they are both playing chicken–but I give more credit to McCourt. And while I would very much like to see us sign Manny, I don't think we're lost without him. If MLKE all have 20 HR seasons, and Furcal stays healthy, we're in very good shape. Manny obviously makes us huge favorites and gives us a margin of error, but I'm not going to give up on us without Manny.
To answer Jungar on the last post, my best speculation about what happened is this. The Dodgers and Boras got together and spoke about a $45 Million, two year deal with a player option for the second year. The Dodgers said that they wanted a piece of this to be deferred compensation. The Dodgers thought that they were close, but had gotten sick of haggling with Boras, particularly where there were no other bidders, and they sent over the offer that was reported.
Boras then made two offers–the $55 Million for 2 years, with part of the compensation deferred such that the present value of the deal was $45 Million. He then told everyone that he was totally negotiating within the parameters–after all, there was deferred compensation and the present value of the deal was $45 Million. So how could the Dodgers complain? And, as a backup, he said "or, you could ust give us $45 Million for two years with no deferral" which is really what he wanted.
McCourt got the offer and was ticked off because Boras was being too clever by half, and got steamed that Boras seemed to be backing off what they had seemingly agreed to–and without having any other bidding.
Why would Boras do it? If he has no other offers from other teams–and it certainly appears he doesn't, the only leverage he has is us–the fans. He hopes that we'll be ticked off enough at Ned and Frank for not making the deal that we'll rebel: beat writers will call Frank silly for haggling over a few million bucks when he can add a piece to the puzzle that will finally bring a championship trophy home to LA; letters to the editor will flood the LA Times, and that in the blogosphere–in places like Dodger Thoughts and here–posters would become irate enough to scare Frank and Ned into thinking we won't show up without Manny, and we;ll boo on opening day.
McCourt's spinning too, of course. Its in the organization's interest for us to think he did everything possible to sign Manny–both so that in case it does not happen we don't rebel, but also just to prevent Boras from getting the leverage he seeks. And in this case, I simply believe ,based on common use of terms in the industry, my benefit of the doubt to McCourt, and my deep distrust of Boras, that McCourt has the better part of the argument. And I give McCourt credit because Boras probably wanted 6 years at $150 Million, and that could hve been a tragic mistake at Manny's age. So the fact that we're here is I think ultimately wise on McCourt's behalf.
It's true that we are somewhat pawns of the whole thing. But I just remain sanguine about this. It seems to me that Manny could live without the Dodgers, and the Dodgers without Manny. But both are just much better off with each other, and I think they know it. And as a result, a deal will be done eventually.
nsblues ~ Wow, you said everything that needing saying! And, most of all, you are so right about we, the Dodger Fanatics, will be the ones to suffer.
Dodgerlyrics is gonna be busy tonight ………
Respect the Blue, Good Job North 🙂
Leekfink ~ You are doing a great job! It's so good to have you back!
One edit to my last post: With Manny, the performance (in Blue, not over the course of last season as a whole) DOES warrant the contract they're fighting over. Hell, the way they've played the other PVLs, Manny would warrant a $300 million dollar contract, when you look at what we've payed for one win from Schmidt in two years.
But these are different times.
Leekfink, great post. after reading the last paragraph, it's like this whole deal is like Shaq and Kobe… except no championships yet, and it's only been 6 months that the two have been attached.
Thanks for the kind words, Tru and D4L. For now, I'm listening to the game. makes it a little better to hear men playing a kids game in the field, as opposed to men playing like kids in the newspapers and ESPNews
It should be obvious to all by now that Scott Boras completely misread the market for Manny and no doubt convinced Manny that he could get a huge contract if only he could get out of the two option years in his Boston contract. Now, in order to save face, Boras has to make the Dodgers look like the bad guys and has probably soured Manny on the team.
The lack of offers really should not come as a surprise after Manny's antics in Boston, his age, and his huge contract expectations. And just look back to 2003 when Boston put Manny and his huge contract on irrevocable waivers and NOT ONE team claimed him, even at a much younger age.
So Dodgers, BEWARE. If Manny does ultimately sign a contract with LA, he is probably not going to be happy with it because he's not really getting the huge long-term deal that he wants and Boras will have convinced him the Dodgers are to blame. And in that case, an unhappy Manny is probably MUCH worse that no Manny!
Esentially have to agree with redfox. There's too much reluctance here to bode well for Manny's season with us this year. First of all, his performance for the couple of months last year can hardly be repeated for an entire season by anybody, not even Manny. Missing most of ST may suit Manny, but it's not good policy to establish for the club and unfair to the team spirit and our youngsters trying to make that club. We should have gotten an Abreu or even Dunn for one season to improve our chances for 2009, but I would be perfectly willing at this point to play this season with what we've got, as long as Torre is realistic about where Pierre belongs – on the bench or pinchrunning, period.
I doubt that Redfox, Manny knows it won't help to get out of a contract, because it will do him no good, if he does.
Furthermore the Dodgers will give him an opt clause.
That should be opt out.
I can't wait to see this Pascucci, sounds like a big guy.
JoePierre: Pascucci's on the right in the Italia jersey in this pic: http://images.cbssports.com/u/gettyimages/photos/GYI0056814031022204_1024x768.jpg
Yow, he looks bigger than Broxton, thanks northstateblues.
You're welcome, JoePierre. Poor Russel has to stand on the railing to try and match the height of those two, heheh.
KEMP a big blast over 400 feet 18 foot wall, great shot.
Full Name: Valentino Martin Pascucci
Born: 11/17/1978
Birthplace: Bellflower, CA
Height: 6′ 6″ Weight: 260
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
College: Oklahoma
MLB Debut: 04/26/2004
The only stats he has show a few at bats with Montreal in 2004.
Nice two inning for McDonald.
Nellyjune want to know if Andre is playing today.
Castro's 3 for 3.
No Nelly he's not.
X Paul is in right.
I think we're going to find out if the Dodgers have any money.
Depending on which deal they take.
Thanks, JoePierre.
Not sure if it is the offseason workout Martin said he did or the fact he is the smaller man of the 4 in that picture, but he looks much thinner.
Nice job by Elbert, today.
Don't call him "Val" Pascucci
Look out Loney.
Pasc has 3 hits today.
Jones a grand slam, Mitch that is.
Phil Nelson any relation the the full nelson?
This is a good time to give up an HR.
Pascucci prolongs the game.
On to Camelback.
Yankees lost today and I don't think they're happy with their LF situation yet. I'm thinking Manny could possibly end up there. He'd probably be a good fit. He can get his revenge on the Bosox. I don't believe he is sitting home smiling at this whole situation.
Plashke brings up good point about Pride….coupled with his greed, McCourt is going to blow this, if he hasn't already. And then, there's always the Mets.
Hello everyone I have not been on in a few days and alot of Manfrank talk…Honestly getting tired of it and Manny I hope you sign soon, if not, oh well…As for Frank, your offer of 45 mil over 2 yrs was a frugasi and you are putting out false info…If you have the money sign him, if not be honest and admit it…for once..
As for the game…Castro is hot…boo…
Mcdonald and Elbert…one of them has to step it up big for us and turn in to a star…good first outing…
X paul all he does is hit the ball ….give him a shot over Pierre.
Good Evening ITD readers and writers!!!!!!! Just checking in to see how everyone is doing. It looks like we had a good Spring Training game. Good job Dodgers!!!!
nsblues – awesome post and song 🙂
Looks like I'll have another few days of waking up and habitually checking sportscenter for any updates, not the best thing to do when you work nights, but I go on leave friday to ski in virginia then on home to Georgia for a week, so at least I wont be working. What has been up with our run fluctuation the past few days? 16 then 2 and now 13 today. And Mitch Jones is a bada$$, I was at the 51's game last year that Furcal, nomar and a. jones started in and Mitch had 2 home runs and a triple, this guy could be legit, congrats to Kemp on his first of many home runs this year. GO DODGERS!!
gprusecki, has a point there and if Manny goes to another team McCourt has only himself to blame.
Give them the $45 million undeferred or $55million deferred.
and swallow your pride.
As long as he doesn't sign where he could really hurt us (Gints), I have no problem with the Yanks or the Mets picking up Manny. In fact, go ahead. We all figured that Manny was a 2 month gift anyway that we'd get a draft pick for when he signed somewhere else.
Manny's not the problem with this team. Pierre is. Its even evident in ST:
Pierre leads off – 3 runs, 2 runs (0 while he was in there)
No Pierre, 16 runs, 13 runs
Its not by accident that even in ST when you have someone who can't get on base, you don't score whatever the level of competition you're playing against.
Blame Ned and Frank for being so single minded about Manny while ignoring other cheaper more viable alternatives: Burrell, Abreu, Griffey, Dunn, Anderson…
Blame Joe too because even after watching JP's pathetic performance last year, he'll still trot him out there every damn day again this year.
Take Manny out of the equation and you still have what we had last year – the Three Stooges running the team.
I agree with joepierre: give them either one of the two deals and put this sorry mess to an end. Like many others have said, I would be perfectly happy to not sign Manny if there was a legitimate open competition for the open OF spot but I don't trust JoJo to really do it….the fact that DeWitt is taking a turn at SS just reinforces my high opinion of the guy. He's willing to do whatever it takes to help the team and his chances of making a spot for himself on it. I do wonder, however, how much all the shuttling between positions might affect his hitting…nice to see our bats booming in the early going even if it is still too early to be truly significant….McDonald looked good in his first outing. I still think he'll be starting before the year is out.
Either hasn't been playing lately, that's right he didn't fall in line with what the Dodgers offered.
Biemel didn't sign, that's right his hair was too long & he made a point of it when they signed Manny.
So, they signed JP and Fatty because Drew left. For good measure they resigned Garciaparra.
85 million payroll ='s CIGAR RING
McDonald SHOULD be the 5th starter sky. I don't know what all this crap is about putting him in the BP. He's started his whole minor league career so its not like he hasn't had any experience doing it ala Troncoso. Just more coaching stupidity IMO.
Question: Why would they try DeWitt at shortstop? Didn't we sign Furcal? Why not try DeWitt in LF.?
…enchanted – you are talking about Dodger management, remember. The haven't done anything that makes sense at all this offseason so why are you wondering now? 🙂
So true, Nellyjune! Larry, Moe & Curly are up to their usual shenanigans.
Dodger Management didn't make sense at all for the first 4 month last season. JP and fatty played just about everyday.
E-I think their idea was to do the same thing with McDonald that they did with Bills. Bills needed the bullpen assignment to help him become more economical with his pitches. But every pitcher is different and, as you say, McDonald has been a starter throughout his professional career, so, like you, I don't quite understand why they aren't giving him a shot at the rotation straight away.
Exactly, gpruseck! Joe kept saying that Andruw would work it out……..sure he did!
LMAO!!!! ….who can forget "I Got You Babe". The way this thing is playing out, dodgereric just may have to pull the old classic out. He may not be batting leadoff, but being in the lineup at all will warrant the song I would think.
tru-It's a lesser stretch athletically to put DeWitt at short than in the outfield. Plus, we've got a big enough traffic jam in the outfield as it is. It's also another option in case Furcal goes down.
seesky ~ thanks……..then why did we sign Loretta? In case DeWitt and Furcal go down? And, what about Hudson? Isn't our infield getting a little crowded too?
Sky – I don't understand either what makes McDonald like Billz and not like Kershaw. Billz still isn't economical with his pitches, so I don't see where the BP helped him really. Kersh started all but one game. I know they're hedging their bets with Brox, and maybe McD would even make a great set-up man this year, but his future's as a starter – a rare commodity given that any hasbeen can be a reliever. McDonald as a fifth starter would keep his innings down, but more importantly, he'd actually be able to win a few games. Instead, we'll have to suffer through 6 or 8 2-4 inning starts by Schmidt before his shoulder's too sore to pitch again.
I don't think its too soon to say that both Estes and Stults have taken themselves out of contention for the job. Troncoso needs time in AAA to develop arm strength and get some innings under his belt. Weaver could make a spot start if necessary. Milton the Toaster???
No, McDonald should be the choice if nothing else than to gain some experience and hold down the 5th spot until you can bring in another pitcher during the season.
Pardon me, I forgot about Huggy Bear.
Put him in the catagory of any hasbeen and put him in the BP. Why? Every club needs a team Proctorologist.
Excuse you is right!!! How can you forget Huggy Bear? LMAO!!!!
How could you forget about Huggy Bear, Enchanted?! Another one of Ned's great signings!
Oh, and there's a rumor that we may have a slight interest in Pedro martinez.
Boy if that wasn't timing trublu 🙂
Great minds think alike lol
E- I agree that McDonald will, ultimately, be a starter. The only question is when? Because of his contract, rightly or wrongly, the 5th spot is, basically, Schmidt's unless he pitches his way out of it. Schmidt's healthy for the first time since we signed him and, who knows, he might actually surprise and be productive. I think you're right in the sense that the other PVL suspects have or will pitch themselves out of contention and, if McDonald pitches well and Schmidt doesn't cut it in ST, McDonald could end up with the 5th slot anyway. That's ST.
tru- by having DeWitt taking turns at SS, it's not like we're adding another player to the mix. He's just adding another skill to his resume. Unlike the others, Loretta can also play 1st. It just shows how great a work ethic DeWitt has when he will do whatever he can to help the club and himself at the same time.
I think the difference between the infield and the outfield, is any of those combination of players will make the infield somewhat the same. The same can't be said for the outfield at the moment.
I hope Schmidt surprises me sky, but I really doubt he makes it to the all-star break.
I wouldn't place any major bets on Schmidt either, E, but we should know better by the end of ST, what, if anything, we'll get out of him.
That's the idea, nelly. If any of the infield starters go down, you can insert one of those other guys and experience little if any dropoff. You definitely can't say that about our OF.
Good evening ITD boys and girls!
Wow!!! What an offensive day we had today!!! Who is this Mitch Jones??? I was looking him up. I see his picture in a Yankee uniform, but no stats; no career stats. Can someone enlighten me on this guy???
So how is everyone???
Frankly, cp, I wasn't offended at all.
I liked it. 😉
Okay Shep. You got me on that one!!! So how are things going? Oh, and btw, I am vowing NOT to talk about you-know-who. I'm sick of it.
LOL!!! That is funny shepherd!!!
Hey CP!!! How's it going for you?
cp, check out http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Mitch%20Jones&pos=CF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=462536
He is over 31 years old, but had a .595 slg in AAA last year.
I'm doing fine Nelly! Hey, I'm being a good girl; I'm actually doing my shoulder exercises! Oh, and I promise to stick around here for more than 2 minutes!!!
"Please ask Frank McCourt if he is willing to renegotiate with the fans, too," wrote Mark Lambert in an e-mail. "With a family of 5 and the current economy, I cannot afford to go to Dodger games and pay $35 per ticket, $15 for parking, not to mention the outrageous costs of heat-lamp hot dogs and ice-filled sodas.
"In the spirit of McCourt's offer to Manny, I would like to pay $10 per ticket, $5 to park and $6 for a hot dog and soda. I will defer the balance with no interest over the next three years."
Thx for the link Shep! Heck, if he keeps going like this, we just may have something. A career minor-leaguer – that's okay with me. Just as long as you produce while in the majors, that's fine with me.
enchanted, All star break is quiet the over under. He may not even pitch in a real game till then and if he does, well then I go under.
That's a good one jungar. I second that motion.
CP – good to hear you are doing your exercises.
Mitch Jones is what some baseball people would call a "AAAA" player: a good AAA player who either never was at the right place at the right time or has some flaw as a player that has prevented him from getting to the big leagues. He has power but tends to strike out a lot. At his age, his chances are probably slim of making anybody's Opening Day roster.
Thx Nelly. So how are you? How's school and the Academy?
Seesky – That may be right, but hey, you can't fault a girl for dreaming, huh??? 🙂
I'm trying to give Schmidt the benefit of the doubt jungar – Its that quiet optimism that I'm so well known for 😉
Now, back to Pierre bashing…
I have no trouble giving a Schmidt. The benefit.
Everything is going well CP….no complaints really. The only complaining I have been doing lately is about the Dodgers.
quiet optimism? LOL!!!
BTW, Anduw Jones is 1 for 9 with 8 K, 1 BB. In otherwords, he at least HAS an OBP (see Pierre, Juan)
Dreans can come true in ST, cp. His name escapes me at the moment but there was a 33-year old rookie catcher playing for the Cardinals last year. He wrote a well-received book about his odyssey getting to the big leagues.
E – I bet you are a closet admirer of JP. No one can talk about someone so much without some level of admiration. jk
I, for one, admire his annual salary.
Red pen–"Dreams"
Oh, enchanted. Don't tell me you're already missing Princess Druw, huh??? 🙂
Heck shep, I'd admire a salary, period. This being unemployed is getting so old…
cp – tough year to be unemployed.
I graduated in 1982 and that was tough. My son graduates this year. I guess it's genetic.
Good Luck!
Seesky – It just seems like Mitch came out of nowhere to surprise everyone around. Even if he doesn't make the big club, I'm just going to enjoy watching him in ST!
Oh, and speaking of which, don't forget that our Boys in Blue will be on TV tomorrow!!!
shepherd – jungar as already admitted he is obsessed with JP. So, if enchanted admires him and if jungar is obsessed with him than I must be at stalker status – LOL!!!!!
Thx shep. My son graduated in '05. He's trying to get into the Border Patrol or the LAPD. He sure wants to give his mom grayer hairs before her time! What am I talking about! I already have gray hairs!!! Heck, my high school 30-year reunion will be taking place this year! Am I that old???
Mitch had a .697 slg for 2007 in AAA. As far as missing him last ST, WE WAS ROBBED!
red pen – "has" not "as"
I was unemployed in the Summer of 1983 and rather enjoyed it. But I had less bills at that time.
I just don't like being unemployed. It's too boring. Plus, being at home "all the time" I am expected to do stuff around here (like clean – which I said I don't like doing). I do what I can, but yuck!
Yes Nells. Its the new positive karma I'm infusing into all my posts now. Before I might say, "Juan Pierre sucks", but now I can "positively" aver that Juan Pierre sucks.
I'm also "rejoicing" in Andruw's statistics or lack thereof. Really though, if we didn't have guys like Andruw Jones as a yardstick, how would we really be able to judge the Mark Sweeney's?
I'd really admire JP shep if he was on another team. Yeah, I'd admire the hell out of him then.
Nells, put the three of you together and we have an admiring, obsessed, stalker!
E – So, let's put you in the "admiring JP from afar" category.
You got it bad, man!
Well, I was on ITD a little longer than my last two times. But I have to get up early tomorrow for church and I'm getting sleepy. So I'll say goodnight. I'll catch up with y'all for now…
1983 I was married to the first wife and working for the father-in-law…
Oh no, here it comes….
@$!!дцюП**% ≠Я#&-(/℗£¥«ΨέΩ!!!!!
Sorry, flashback.
All those words describe my fan relationship with Andre. How can that be? LMAO!!!!!!! However, I stop at the stalker status…….not me 🙂 Admiring and obsessed yes, stalker – not ever.
In 1983, I was a junior in highschool, just like my daughter is now………Oh never again do I want to repeat those years.
LMAO!!!!! you are on a roll tonight Beav!!!!
Good night all. I second cp's sleepy condition. Have a great Sunday, everyone!!
Goodnight CP and seesky!!! Take care and sweet Dodger Dreams 🙂
Good Night and God Bless!
|;^]> (Red Skelton)
Night sky! Night CP!
I was stalked once by a self-proclaimed ex-centerfold. I never could substantiate the ex-centerfold part or it might've been worth it.
I could never figure out how women could go around with staples in their navels. 🙂
This one went around with a screw loose…
enchanted – you have told me (us) that before. LOL!!!!
shepherd – I have no idea nor would I want to find out.
That would get me unhinged, too.
But did I tell you about the park on Waikiki Beach?
Truly Good Night, this time. It's been fun.
Ahhhh the late 80's/early 90's… those were the days.
….I hear the movie Blazing Saddles in the other room.
Nite Shep!!
No, I don't think you did enchanted.
Good Night Shepherd. So you are off the clock and dcollins is now on the clock.
Caddyshack and Blazing Saddles tonight on AMC.
Put me down for the Ides of March, (March 15th) at… um… 11:11 pm (The 11th minute of the 11th hour, not just a WWI reference but the procrastinator's deadline).
I'm not guaranteeing the team that'll be signing, hence the Ides of March.
Good evening northstateblues!!! Caddyshack too? – fabulous!!!! I just heard "Wake up Time!"….you gotta love Mongo 🙂
Speaking of procrastinating… I was looking at shopping bags after seeing the children squabbling again about money.
Sad thing is, I couldn't decide between Paper or Plastic.
Oh enchanted you and your smile. What are we going to do with you? LOL!!!
Mongo only pawn in game of life.
classic 😀
So, what do you think about the Yankees? Do you think they are interested in Manny? They claim they are having left field issues, or is this just more media twisting again.
How about the park at Point Fermin Lighthouse?
Howdy North!!
No, not that one either enchanted 🙂
Yes, you definitely are a man of mystery 🙂
Hi E!
I think it's media twisting. The NY media would LOVE to have Manny in Pinstripes. I think that if NY wanted him, they'd have already scooped him up, and magnifyied Frank's financial impotence.
I was gonna do a song about all this to the tune of "Go Your Own Way" by the Mac, but I think I'm over it. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me, fool me 5 times, I'm Ned and you're Boras.
Must be 20 or so years ago now Nells and I remember it like it was, oh 20 years or so ago.
Obviously time for me to sign off. Night Nells 🙂
Night North!!
Night E!
Good Night enchanted – Take care 🙂
hitting refresh on espn.com again… nope, nothing.
This has been one roller coaster ride that doesn't seem to want us to get off anytime soon, nor are we trying to get off at this point either.
northstateblues – are you still around?
yeah, still here
LOL!!!!!! good – I thought I was in this room all by myself. Where is dodger4life? btw – great song today 🙂
Don't worry, I haven't chosen the plastic bag
Thanks. That band's one Not Safe For Work band, heheh. but that song just sums up everything perfectly. Three Divas fighting for the last ticket to the ball, looking after number 1.
Well, that's good that you are still around. That song was pretty perfect. While they are looking out for number 1, the fans are getting screwed.
I am sitting back laughing at North and Enchanted 🙂
Yeah, and nobody even bought us dinner 😥
I made dinner….does that count?
Alright, that can count, but for screwing us, those three better at least pony up for the ice cream
Of course, one of the parties would just give us that sample spoon from 31 Flavors.
I shot dinner does that count???
Dodgereric is close by……he is posting all the songs he has missed while away from ITD.
….of course it counts dodger4life 🙂
nsblues – it would be just like them to give us sample spoons. Just like Manny….give us a taste and then away it goes unless you are willing to pay for it……..and paying for it is exactly what we are doing right now.
Manny = Mango on SNL?
"No! Mann-go will not accept your offer, you… you… Skinflint! Go away, I hate you!"
Suddenly I want Baskin and Robbins, Baseball nut 🙂
Dodger season really starts for me tomorrow when KCAL televises it's first game. Gotta figure Vinny will be there, too. Having been a die-hard since '69 (the first year of divisional play and the "Wild Wild West"and Claude Osteen and Willie Davis with his zillion game hitting streak), I look forward to baseball. And the only way to watch baseball is the Dodgers. If Manny's here, there will be great fun. If no Manny, the Dodgers will still be a great team.
I agree 🙂
Kahli – good "late" evening to you ,and yes, the Dodgers will always be the Dodgers with or without Manny.
Bored, so I checked Spring Training stats and they tell a humorous tale. Based on batting average AND alphabetical order Pierre is dead last on the hitting stats sheet, pitching in with a zizzling .000 batting average. On the mound, Greg Miller's era is a sparkling 81.00. Doesn't mean anything, but couldn't resist the little dig at our left fielder–the guy who wants to start every game. I keep waiting for my boy Repko to make his move…………………..
I'd like to see Repko finally make the big-league club in a full-time capacity. He's as homegrown as any of the kids.
They should probably make him wear a bell, though. Just in case
I would like to see him or DY get a genuine shot at LF if Manny isn't there.
Yeah, DY for sure. He's great.
I just want the best possible team on the field.
Well, we can always hope for perumike to do his job if all else fails 🙂
Hey, can't stay long. It's church in 6 hours.
Just got all caught up on DodgerLyric business. I didn't read this anywhere here, but heard it on the radio yesterday. They said that Manny doesn't get ANY of the deferred money if he opts out of the second year. So it's essentially a one-year $10 million deal if he wants to leave.
Of course, if he stays it would be a $35 million second year, wouldn't it?
Bottom line, Frank is a liar, Manny is greedy and all will be forgotten should he sign.
church at 7? That is early, yes? Thanks for stopping by. Everyone has been asking where you have been like I am supposed to know. Thanks for posting our songs. We have been busy as you can see. Bottom line is Frank needs to sell the team, don't you think 🙂
Hi Junie! Yes, it's early. Matt is helping another Scout with his Eagle project in the morning and he'd miss church if we didn't go at 7:15.
McCourt should never have been ALLOWED to buy the team in the first place. I said when the sale went through that he was only approved because the other owners thought he wouldn't have enough money to compete. So, yes, he should sell the team.
For a little nostalgia, here's an interview with Peter O'Malley:
Good night and God Bless to all my Dodger buddies. Keep the faith!
Well, Mariya has volleyball so we are off at 7:15 as well heading to Madera for another tournament. Have a wonderful Sunday with your family and hope your fantasy team does well tomorrow. Good NIght, take care and God Bless!!!
Dodgers should bring Pedro Martinez back home with a one-year, incentive-laden contract…besides, he's Manny's little buddy.
Good Night ITD, Dodgerfaithful
God Bless the U.S.A. and God Bless us all…..:-)
crocs 激安


text:
Matthew Garrett has committed changes to the Linux kernel to have Linux Fedora 17 working on Macs. Some of these changes involve dealing with Macs with multiple GPUs. See more details in the url below:
For more information, join the team subscribe to the mailing list at the bottom of the Launchpad page http://launchpad.net/~hybrid-graphics-linux Please join this team if you are new by clicking on the "Join Team" link at the right of the Launchpad page. It's important to have as many users in the community as possible to request for appropriate support.
Friday, 25 May 2012
More work done to support Linux on Macs with multiple GPUs
Matthew Garrett has committed changes to the Linux kernel to have Linux Fedora 17 working on Macs. Some of these changes involve dealing with Macs with multiple GPUs. See more details in the url below:
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
PRIME dmabuf work picked up by ARM graphics open-source development
For the last few months we (ARM MPD... "The Mali guys") have been working on
getting X.Org up and running with Mali T6xx (ARM's next-generation GPU IP).
The approach is very similar (well identical I think) to how things work on
OMAP: We use a DRM driver to manage the display controller via KMS. The KMS
driver also allocates both scan-out and pixmap/back buffers via the
DRM_IOCTL_MODE_CREATE_DUMB ioctl which is internally implemented with GEM.
When returning buffers to DRI clients, the x-server uses flink to get a
global handle to a buffer which it passes back to the DRI client (in our
case the Mali-T600 X11 EGL winsys). The client then uses the new PRIME
ioctls to export the GEM buffer it received from the x-server to a dma_buf
ioctls to export the GEM buffer it received from the x-server to a dma_buf
fd. This fd is then passed into the T6xx kernel driver via our own job
dispatch user/kernel API (we're not using DRM for driving the GPU, only the
display controller).
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Toshiba dynabook Qosmio T852/D8FB 15.6-Inch 3D Notebook
Toshiba dynabook Qosmio T852/D8FB 15.6-Inch 3D Notebook
Toshiba hits back with a new 3D notebook, the dynabook Qosmio T852/D8FB. The system sports a 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 glasses-free 3D display, a 2.30GHz Intel Core i7-3610QM processor, a GeForce GT 640M graphics, an 8GB DDR3 RAM, a 1TB hard drive, a BDXL drive, a CS tuner x 2 degree / BS/110 the ground and runs on Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (SP1) OS with Office Home and Business 2010. The dynabook Qosmio T852/D8FB will become available from late May for 220,000 Yen (about $2,784).
Saturday, 12 May 2012
DMA-BUF PRIME Coming Together For Linux 3.5 @ www.phoronix.com
DMA-BUF PRIME Coming Together For Linux 3.5
Posted by Michael Larabel on May 12, 2012
Coming out this week was a new patch for the DMA-BUF/PRIME buffer sharing support so that Intel's DRM driver can offload rendering in one direction and outputs in the other. This patch is based upon David Airlie's work and amounts to just under 200 lines of code in the i915 kernel DRM driver.
Out on the same day from Alex Deucher was a patch entitled "add PRIME support" that effectively does the same as the Intel driver, but instead for the Radeon DRM driver. This too was just about 200 lines of code.
These patches come one week after David Airlie added PRIME sharing support to the TTM memory manager (here) as well as PRIME support for the Nouveau DRM driver (here).
This PRIME support builds upon the DMA-BUF buffer sharing mechanism that was originally merged into Linux 3.3 and the PRIME fundamentals in Linux 3.4. With the Linux 3.5 kernel is where the popular Direct Rendering Manager hardware drivers should support this for sharing buffers between drivers / GPUs. While Intel / Radeon / Nouveau are the most popular drivers, there's also been ongoing DMA-BUF work for the Texas Instruments OMAP, Samsung Exynos, and DisplayLink UDL KMS drivers too.
This technology can ultimately be used for things like NVIDIA Optimus or SLI/CrossFire. DMA-BUF itself largely was born within the Linaro camp for buffer sharing between driver drivers for ARM SoCs. Last November was when PRIME got back under-way for the GPU offloaded rendering.
Friday, 11 May 2012
ASUS Zenbook UX32VD with discrete graphics
ASUS Zenbook UX32VD unveiled, packs discrete graphics to flaunt that 1080p screen
New high-resolution Zenbooks are on their way, but ASUS has now revealed another addition that's packing its own discrete graphics. Like its recently unveiled siblings, the Zenbook UX32VD still packs a 1920 x 1080 IPS panel and "the latest Intel Core processor" -- likely something from the Ivy Bridge family, although ASUS is keeping schtum on the details for now. Graphical horsepower is delegated to NVIDIA's GT620, while the UX32VD also had a hybrid HDD on show at the event, not the standard SSD -- explaining why this new model is slightly thicker than the UX31A.
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
HP refreshes its Pavilion laptops ahead of back-to-school season, intros six new models
HP refreshes its Pavilion laptops ahead of back-to-school season, intros six new models
HP Pavilion m6-sized for life on the go
With a large display packed into a super-slim design, the HP Pavilion m6 is the notebook users will want with them all day. Movies and games come to life on the 15.6-inch diagonal LED backlit high-definition (HD) BrightView display, and rich audio is made possible with Beats Audio, dual speakers and subwoofer.
The brushed-aluminum HP Pavilion m6 can achieve up to eight hours of battery life and features the latest Intel and AMD processors, an optional backlit keyboard and discrete graphics for running the most demanding tasks without pauses or interruptions.
The HP Pavilion m6 is also loaded with HP innovations. HP CoolSense technology automatically adjusts performance and internal fan settings for a noticeably cooler PC, and HP ProtectSmart locks the hard drive to protect photos, music and memories in case the notebook is accidentally dropped. Optional HP SimplePass remembers passwords and provides easy access to online accounts with the swipe of a finger, and the HP TrueVision HD Webcam provides brighter and cleaner HD images.
HP Pavilion dv-series notebook PCs-powerful yet graceful
With a tapered chassis, slim top view and infinity waterfall edge-all inspired by kinetic energy-the new HP Pavilion dv6 and dv7 boast a metal finish, and the HP Pavilion dv4 is available in black licorice, linen white and carmine red.
Coupled with a soft-touch panel at the base of the display cover, the sleek HP Pavilion dv6 and dv7 conform comfortably to the hand, making the notebooks easy to hold.
A speaker bar integrated into the display enhances the HP dv-series' Beats Audio experience, projecting audio directly toward the user.
The HP Pavilion dv6 and dv7 also include HP CoolSense, HP ProtectSmart, HP TrueVision HD Webcam and HP SimplePass.
Optional NVIDIA GeForce notebook graphics processing units also are available on the HP Pavilion dv line and help deliver amazing visual gaming and multimedia experiences.
HP unveils Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook
HP unveils Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook, other thin-and-lights in various sizes
Blog Archive
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- Toshiba dynabook Qosmio T852/D8FB 15.6-Inch 3D Not...
- DMA-BUF PRIME Coming Together For Linux 3.5 @ www....
- ASUS Zenbook UX32VD with discrete graphics
- HP refreshes its Pavilion laptops ahead of back-to...
- HP unveils Envy Spectre XT Ultrabook
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- ► 2010 (82)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Watch this on demand webinar to learn how you can:
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BREAKING NEWS! During today's live Mocavo Plus Fireside Chat, Elissa Scalise Powell announced GRIP ON THE ROAD extending their popular genealogy institute in Pittsburgh to the Detroit (Orchard Lake), Michigan area in August 3-8, 2014. Four tracks will feature Polish, Bridging the Gap, Intermediate Research, and Tom Jone's Mastering Genealogical Proof Standards. This will be held on a campus that's been around since 1885, and includes a research center there.
There is nothing yet on the GRIP website, so stay tuned for more info:
UPDATE: This was just confirmed in writing via the GRIP Facebook page:
Here's the link to the Mocavo Fireside Chat: http://www.mocavo.com/fireside
As I write this, the chat is still running live.
Happy family tree climbing!
Myrt :)
Your friend in genealogy.
Blog: http://blog.DearMYRTLE.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/DearMYRTLE
G+ DearMYRTLE Community
Twitter: @DearMYRTLE
Second Life: Clarise Beaumont


text: Pardon me if this has been discussed before. I have been charting out some of the tunes on this album and something struck me odd about a few tunes. Listening to "New Speedway" I started having doubts that I was hearing Phil. The parts are a little more repetitive that his usual lines, to me it doesn't sound like his bass, more muddy that the other tunes and it sounds like finger style playing. I have other questions on other tunes, but, this is a start. Anyone have any thoughts?


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The Washington Post was first to break the story on the proposal of Senators Schumer and Cornyn to require prepaid cell phone purchasers to provide ID. Now, most of the media has been reporting in the same typical "objective" sense, with some grandstanding statements voiced by the Senators being "balanced" by privacy advocates. The final paragraph of these articles typically sums things up by pointing out that about 10-15 countries already require ID for prepaid cell phones. The thing that is appallingly missing is that no one in the mainstream press has stopped to do the minimal amount of research to see if prepaid cell phone registration has at all reduced crime or terrorism in any these countries, nor have they really questioned if it stands any chance of actually working. Not one person has stopped to question the core assumption of this proposal, and that is this: it requires that WE TRUST OUR NATIONAL SECURITY TO OUR POINT OF SALE CLERKS.
After waiting far, far longer than I had originally anticipated, I'm finally publicly posting the CookieMonster utility. I've worked with a number of developers and site admins to help test and secure their sites properly, but unfortunately, it is still the case that many sites still are vulnerable. In fact, even after much correspondence with Google on the subject, it is still possible to hijack the GMail accounts of users who attempt to use https but are unaware of the Always Use HTTPS Preference. Using Cookiemonster's FULL_BOUNCE_FOR config option to redirect those users to the plain http://mail.google.com url will still cause Google to re-issue an insecure version of their 'GX' cookie which a local attacker can then sniff to hijack their Gmail accounts...
I've spent the past four and a half years of my professional life working on reverse engineering and accelerating the Microsoft Exchange email protocol for Riverbed Technology, Inc. It's been a maddening journey, and it finally comes to a close this Friday, as I have accepted a position with the Tor Project starting January 1st. What follows is my farewell email to the company. I somewhat regret not documenting the exploits alluded to in this email better outside of various Riverbed email lists. Maybe someday when the statute of limitations is up I'll declassify them and post them retroactively here.
Two weeks ago, I announced on slashdot that CookieMonster was available via email to people who were security consultants and site admins. Unfortunately, I guess I wasn't crystal clear on the procedure for requesting the tool, and many people simply emailed me with no body. Now I'm announcing it again, and also opening up the field to all journalists and all bloggers as well. So, if you would like a copy of the tool, and are a security consultant, teacher, student, blogger, journalist, or site admin, please email me with which sites you admin, write for, blog on, or consult with, and MAKE SURE to put "CookieMonster" in the subject line. If you can't figure out my email address, you are automatically ineligible for the tool ;).
About 3 weeks ago, I sent a preliminary copy of the CookieMonster tool to an Amazon employee who requested it after I announced they were vulnerable, and that it was available for testing/proof. I was glad he contacted me, because I was having a really hard time contacting their security team (all their security pages are FAQs on phishing, and their security alias returns a bounce saying not to trust any mail that comes from it!).
He didn't mention anything in specific or even claim to officially represent Amazon, but we did exchange a couple emails, and he seemed legitimately interested in the tool. Then, about a week or so ago, I received word via a friend of a friend that an Amazon employee had gotten some heat for requesting the tool. Since there was only one Amazon employee who bothered responding or requesting the tool at all, I decided to send him an updated copy and wish him luck on whatever happened. To my great surprise, the email bounced with a "no such user" error. The address certainly was valid when I sent him the first copy, so I'm not sure what this means. I suppose it could be coincidence: the employee could have just quit, but I suspect something fishy is going on..
Shortly after Drupal fixed their issues with cookie demotion, I applied the patch. Unfortunately, since I run both http and https on my site, when I added ini_set('session.cookie_secure', 1) to my settings.php, it caused cookies for my site to get marked as secure even for http visitors. This had the side effect of breaking comments for my site, since the captcha module could not track users that properly solved it. Some of you noticed and contacted me, thanks for the heads up. Check below the fold for some suggestions and solutions for flagging Drupal and other php-based session cookies as secure for mixed sites.
I've realized that the fact that I'm still getting questions to the effect of "How does this attack differ from Robert Graham's 'Sidejacking' attack?" means I did not do a very good job of classifying what sorts of vulnerabilities a Man In The Middle attacker can exploit over the web, especially with respect to what CookieMonster does that other tools do not (or at least do not automate). This post is an attempt to clarify the situation, and describe the two main classes of cookie stealing Man In The Middle vulnerabilities that popular websites are vulnerable to, depending on their security properties.
This post describes the core logic of CookieMonster in more precise
terms than the previous overview post. The hope is to drive home
exactly how the tool functions, and to underscore that source code
counts as speech in this capacity (and in general). In addition, the
README that illustrates how the tool is used, and a README describing a "Quick Start" Live CD method for Mac
and Windows users who do not have Linux installs are now available. Finally, an example configuration file for the tool is now
posted as well. These should hopefully give a clearer picture of how the tool works and how it can be used.
Google has committed to providing automatic secure cookie support for https gmail users by 9/4/08 via a mechanism similar but not identical to the method I described in this post, and has requested I not release the tool until then. Additionally, Twitter has informed me they are working on a fix as well.
A couple people have asked me to provide a list of sites vulnerable to HTTPS hijacking. Unfortunately as a privacy advocate, I have a habit of shunning most Internet services that accumulate or otherwise link my activity long term and beyond my control. I also hate buying items online because of the data profiling, marketing, identity theft, and privacy issues associated with the inability to use anonymous digital cash, and the requirement for complete tracking of every purchase.
However, a number of people have tested the security properties of their own accounts using the method I outlined at the bottom of this post. What follows are the unofficial, unverified, secondhand results as reported to me. If you are aware of any other sites that seem vulnerable, please contact me and I will add them to the list. Additionally, if you have already been provided a copy of the tool, verification or repudiation of the status of these sites would be much appreciated, as I personally have accounts at almost none of them.


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Viral Video: "Grease" Reunion Is the One That You Don't Want
I'm not quite sure what to think of this awkward traffic accident of a music video that reunites Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, who played star-crossed high-school squeezes so adorably in the classic movie musical, "Grease."
Not so much with the cute in their odd new holiday song, "I Think You Might Like It," which I am thinking you might not. (Added bonus: It just makes me feel very old.)
Judge for yourself and then, below it, remember fondly how they used to do it:


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Musician 'Slate Hill Phil' dies
While the death of James Brown grabbed headlines, the Charlottesville music scene is mourning one of its own, a young man who helped shape the local blues and bluegrass scenes: Phillip Allen Gianniny, aka Slate Hill Phil.
Gianniny, who founded the Slate Hill Boys and was a member of both the Hogwaller Ramblers and the Hackensaw Boys, died on the morning of December 23 at the home of his grandmother in Charlottesville. A cause of death was not revealed.
A self-taught musician, Gianniny could often be found playing banjo in front of the Paramount Theater on the Downtown Mall. In a world of goth and grunge, Gianniny was natty dresser whose crisp white shirts and dark suits stood out almost as much as his deep voice.
"Tears won't fill the hole he leaves, so we'll keep throwing songs into it," says friend and former Hogwaller Ramblers bandmate Jamie Dyer.
An obituary says that Gianniny, 31, died "peacefully" and that he is survived, among others, by a daughter, a sister, two brothers, and his parents, Roger Dale Gianniny and Brenda Steve Sampson Gianniny.
A memorial service is scheduled for 2pm. Friday, December 29, at Hinton Avenue United Methodist Church.
Update: Slate Hill Boys Andy Thacker and Charlie Bell will join Dyer in playing some of Gianniny's music at the service. "I'm hoping that my renditions of his songs will p*ss Phil off enough to make him come back and tell me how I'm [messing] them up," says Dyer.
7 comments
Hi Cville and beyond-
If you'd like to leave a thought or two for Phil's family, it'd mean the world to them:
man i just can't believe it. i knew phil from the days when he and jerry "brickie" carty would come and play with us at the irish sessions every sunday at the monitcello brewing company. and it was always nice to see him pickin it out on the downtown mall. guess you could say he was instrumental in keeping the street music scene alive in cville. he and i would talk about banjos quite often down there. sure will be a hollow spot down on the mall without him.
my deepest sympathies to his family and friends.
I'm sorry. Phil played at our yearly NA campout for us a while ago when I was the special events chairman for the event. He was a very talented young man and shared his gift without regard to being compensated. It was our best campout and people remarked to me how special the music was that night. It was the kind of music they could not only dance to but they could feel it in their bones. He was a very sincere musican and surely will be missed. I feel for your loss.
((((((((Phil))))))) Thanks for the banjo lessons - Rock on!
I met Phil about two years ago. He ate at the restaurant where I work and I immediatly liked him. That was about two years ago. Since then I have always looked foward to seeing him on the mall and to hear his lovely voice. He always put a smile on my face. Last week I returned to work after a year off and was looking foward to seeing Phil again when I heard of his passing. I still can't believe that I'll never see him again. I'm not even sure if he knew my name, but I'll always remember his. I miss you Phil!!! It's not the same without you.
My favorite person to throw out of a bar-- and I mean that in the best possible way. He will be missed, indeed...
Just wanted to say I'll miss Phil... Had a chance to play with him one evening in front of the Paramont. He asked if I could play blue grass and that he had an extra martin sittin over there with nothing to do. We played for half hour or so.. Fox on the run was a crowd hit. I walked away and someone asked how long we had been playing cause yall sound great, just met him. his name is Slate Hill Phil Im the other guy.


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Your home - it's your castle, your sanctuary. But could the place you go to escape the rest of the world be bad for you? Formaldehyde, chloroform and even asbestos could be in your home and you may not even know it.
First, the good news. "Today we're designing houses that are green-friendly," says Dan Lee, Interior Design instructor at The Art Institute of Dallas, a campus of South University, and the president of Lee Design Group. "Materials today have fewer chemicals and less carcinogenic substances."
But if you're in an older house or did some remodeling or refurbishing on your own, there could be substances in your home that are bad for your health. "There's something called volatile organic compounds or VOCs," says Kathleen Wakefield, Interior Design and Design & Technical Graphics program coordinator at The Art Institute of San Antonio, a branch of The Art Institute of Houston. She adds, "They are emitted from certain solids and liquids like paint."
Wakefield says that short-term exposure to VOCs can cause nausea and irritation to the eyes, while long-term exposure could damage your kidneys and liver. VOCs are also emitted from carpet foam made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC). So Wakefield suggests that if you're putting down carpet you stay elsewhere for a few weeks while the chemicals are being released. And keep windows open if possible to air out the space more quickly and not trap the compounds in your home.
Lee suggests you avoid carpet altogether. "Go with wood or natural stone floors over carpets and make sure you're shopping for PVC-free floors," he says.
When adding a little color to your home, look for paints with low or no VOC emissions. It should be right on the label. According to Wakefield, federal limits for flat paint are 250 milligrams per liter, and 380 milligrams per liter for all other kinds. California standards are more stringent - 100 milligrams per liter for flat paint and 150 milligrams per liter for all others.
If you're building your home from the ground up, consider using copper plumbing. "Builders have gotten away from copper and switched to PVC," says Lee, "but copper is a natural sterilizer. If water sits in copper, it's being sterilized. In PVC, it's growing something."
If your home was built in the '70s, '80s or '90s, the press board used could contain formaldehyde, explains Lee. And the plastic laminate in those homes was almost always glued and manufactured with formaldehyde as well. And if your home was built before the '60s, the floor and wall coverings may contain asbestos gluing agents.
If you're careful about the materials you're using in your home building and remodeling projects, make sure that caution extends to the household products you bring into your house as well, says Lee. Many fabric softeners actually contain chloroform, benzyl acetate and pentane. These are cancer-causing agents, warns Lee. Also, make sure you're using natural pesticides in the yard as well.
Wakefield advises researching products on the internet before you go out and buy them. She also advises hiring an interior designer that specializes in environmental and sustainable design for any home improvement and renovation projects you undertake.
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Hoping for good weather Saturday as "Steel Valley Thunder" returns for the 1st time since 6/22; Bill Kirila Memorial & Armed Forces Night
By Mike Leone
July 31, 2013
(Hartford, OH)…After yet another rainout last weekend, Sharon Speedway looks to get back in the swing of things this Saturday, August 3 with the return of "Steel Valley Thunder". The last time the weekly six-division program was completed was back on June 22 due to several rainouts, an off night, and the July 20 special event. Saturday's annual Bill Kirila Memorial will feature the Governor Insurance DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds, Barris Supply RUSH Late Models, Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds, Gibson Insurance Agency Stock Cars, HTMA/Precise Racing Products Econo Mods, and the Deforest Used Parts Mini Stocks. Race time is set for 7 p.m.
Saturday's promotion is the twice rescheduled Armed Forces Night with free admission for those active duty members in uniform. Once again Saturday night, one lucky boy and girl under the age of 14 will win a bicycle or scooter thanks to King Bros. and Sharon Speedway. This promotion will continue throughout the 2013 season. Saturday's kitchen special is stuffed cabbage and mashed potatoes.
Come Saturday, it'll be six weeks since the ground-pounding DIRTcar Big-Block Modifieds last hit the dirt at Sharon. On that June 22 night, Jim Weller, Jr. captured the third victory of the season and extended his point lead to 21 over Rex King, who also has three wins. Rex King, Jr., who has a pair of victories, is only another nine points back.
Defending champion, Dave Murdick, sits fourth in the Governor Insurance Agency standings over newcomers to the speedway, Eric Gabany and New York racer Ricky Richner. Since Sharon last ran, Richner beat the big blocks with his "358" small-block in a BRP Tour event at Eriez Speedway on July 7.
The RUSH Late Models are coming off of a big night the last they ran on Saturday, July 20 when Max Blair picked up his season's first win in the Sweeney Touring event, while track regular, Bobby Whitling, was the lucky recipient of the GM 604 engine giveaway presented by Sweeney and Pace Performance!
Dennis Lunger, Jr. continues his quest for his first track championship. The Albion, Pa. racer had never won a Sharon feature before the 2012 season finale and has added three victories this season, but his point lead has shrunk to 39 over defending champion, Will Thomas III. Matt Latta, Josh Double, and 2011 champion Josh Double are still in the hunt for the title. Barris Supply RUSH Late Model rookie, Jamie Wrightsman, is sixth in points.
It's talked about every week, but the quality and competitiveness of the Summit Racing Equipment Modifieds is pretty unbelievable. On July 20, Steve Dixon won the first of his career at the speedway as he became the amazing 10th different winner in the division already this season!
Atop the standings is Mike Kinney as the Ashtabula, Ohio driver also looks for his first ever track championship. Kinney leads Joe Gabrielson by 18 as Jeff Johnson, Alan Dellinger, and Jeff Hassay complete the top five. A total of 63 different drivers have competed in the division to date!
Jamie Duncan was one of five racers on July 20 that picked up their first win of the season, but Duncan's was more than that as he hadn't ever won at Sharon in 10 years of trying! Mike Clark, who two years ago won his first feature after 15 years of trying, is having his career best season as he's the driver to beat for his first championship as well. Clark has a pretty commanding 35-point lead on defending champion, Tim Burns, who is still winless this season. Paul Davis, Brian Carothers, and Jamie Scharba are a distant third through fifth in points. A regular season-high 19 cars turned out on July 20 despite several of the regulars missing in action.
Like the Big-Block Mods, the Econo Mods haven't competed at Sharon in six weeks. The HTMA/Precise Racing Product division has had strong car counts night in and night out as the relatively new division continues to gain cars. Thirty-nine different drivers have participated this year, but it's Ryan Fraley atop the standings by only three over Jeremy Double. Twelve-year-old Jacob Eucker is 31 points back of the top spot in third as rookie Ty Rhoades and Steve Burns, Jr. round out the top five.
Scott Gilliland, who opened the Mini Stock season on fire, has watched his Deforest Used Parts point lead slowly reduce as rookie Travis Creech has become the driver to beat of late. After winning five of the first nine features, Gilliland has been only able to muster a pair of thirds, a seventh, and an eighth as his lead is down to 33 over Creech, who was recently featured in "Open Throttle 360," a Pittsburgh-based television show on PCNC. Like Lunger, Kinney, and Clark, Gilliland has never won a championship as well.
Pits open at 4 p.m. Saturday with grandstands at 5. Racing begins at 7. Grandstand admission for those 14 and over is $13, while children under 14 are always free. Pit passes are $25. Parking and camping is always free.
Don't forget, coming up on Wednesday, August 14 will be the "Charlie Daniels Band" performing at the speedway along with the Huckin Fillybillys. Advance tickets are $33 or $37 at the gate. Advance tickets can be purchased online, at the speedway office, or at Yankee Lake Carryout.
The Lou Blaney Memorial Alzheimer's Association Benefit Event is nearing on Tuesday, August 20 featuring the "410" Sprint Cars for $5,000 to-win plus the BRP Big-Block Modifieds Tour for $2,000 to-win. It's NASCAR Night with Tony Stewart, Kyle Larson and Dave Blaney competing in Sprint Cars; however, unfortunately, Kasey Kahne will be unable to participate due to the fact that Sprint Car racing has all been eliminated from his racing plans. Sharon Speedway thanks Kasey for his great support of this event over the years.
For more information on these events and to buy advance tickets, go to www.sharonspeedway.com.
Sharon Speedway is owned by the Blaney, Weller, and Kirila Families and is a 3/8-mile dirt track located on Custer-Orangeville Road in Hartford, Ohio near the intersection of Routes 7 & 305. For more information, check out the website at www.sharonspeedway.com or call 330-772-5481. Become a fan of Sharon Speedway on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sharonspeedway and follow us on Twitter at @SharonSpdwy.


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My husband and I have shared new year's "resolutions." Instead of giving something up, we like to take something on. This year it was learning how to do Tarot readings. I think we succeeded. Seems fitting I'd do a reading for next year. I'll just do a one-card reading (from the Deviant Moon deck), since I've got a party to go to.
|The confident queen of wands stands a dominant personality in the forest. Her self-assured energy radiates from her soul, attracting everyone she meets with inescapable charm.


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When California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill to regulate self-driving vehicles almost no one -- industry watchers or taxpayers -- objected.
How times have changed from the late-1970s when Brown was given the nickname "Governor Moonbeam" for promoting such futuristic ideas as California launching its own satellites. Brown, 74, was just 36 when he was first elected governor of California.
Even back then he was ahead of the curve championing car pool "diamond lanes" on crowded state freeways and pushing for windmills and burning wood chips to generate electrical power.
Forty years later the self-driving car is a reality and search giant Google lobbied hard for the vehicles that have shown they can drive themselves after some 300,000 miles of testing without an accident on roads as challenging as California's winding coastal Highway 1.
Google cars have been negotiating U.S. roads for a couple of years and California, like most states, had no law saying that cars must have drivers. Just the idea of a driverless car makes lawyers ask "who do you sue?"
The Los Angeles Times said SB 1298, called the "Google Car" bill, caught Brown's attention as soon as it reached his desk after passing in the California Legislature. The law regulating autonomous vehicles initially had been opposed by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, which eventually came around.
"I said, 'Wow. This sounds kind of Moonbeam,'" Brown told the Times. "I want to look at this a little more carefully."
Brown carpooled to Google headquarters in Mountain View Tuesday in a self-driving Toyota Prius with Google co-founder Sergey Brin to sign the legislation, which allows self-driving cars on state roads by 2015, making California the third state to legalize driverless vehicles. Nevada and Florida both permit self-driving vehicles.
"Today, we're looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow's reality," said Brown. "This self-driving car is another step forward in this long march of California pioneering the future and leading not just the country, but the whole world."
For now, a licensed human driver must be seated behind a driverless car's steering wheel in case the need to take over arises in areas like highway construction zones. The law also authorizes the state Department of Motor Vehicles to establish criteria on safety and liability that manufacturers must meet to build and sell self-driving cars.
Brin predicts driverless cars will be available to consumers within five years.
"You can count on one hand the number of years it will take before ordinary people can experience this," he said.
"I expect that self-driving cars are going to be far safer than human-driven cars," Brin told an audience of applauding Google employees. "Self driving cars do not run red lights."
The technology uses cameras, computers and sensors to negotiate traffic and Google Street View and GPS-based services to navigate.
"Self-driving cars have the potential to significantly increase driving safety," Google said in a statement.
With all that technology at work, John Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's privacy project, says manufacturers will have to let the public know in writing how much data about them and their movements is being collected by the driverless vehicle.
"We think the provision needs to be that the information should be gathered only for the purpose of navigating the vehicle, retained only as long as necessary for the navigation of the vehicle and not used for any other purpose," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
"Vehicles of tomorrow"
Taxi riders in New York will enter a new era before the end of this decade.
The Taxi and Limousine Commission voted 5-2 last week to set standards for the city's next taxi fleet, which will use the Nissan NV200 mini-van starting late next year.
The NV200 is bigger and safer than current city cabs -- like those aging rear-wheel drive Ford Crown Victorias -- and has phone chargers, transparent roof panels and quieter horns, The New York Times said. But the vehicles must be retrofitted to accommodate wheelchairs and they are not hybrids.
Despite a gasoline-powered 135-hp, 2.0L four-cylinder engine, commission chairman David Yassky said the Nissan got the best mileage of any of the vehicles submitted for the Taxi of Tomorrow contest. Nissan is also testing an all-electric e-NV200 that shares components from the all-electric Leaf sedan.
The front-wheel drive NV200 will join the New York taxi fleet in the next three to five years, the Times said.
Growing pains
It's no secret the Detroit Three are trying to keep their profits going after better-than-expected summer sales.
General Motors Co. plans to refinance a $5 billion line of credit it has had for two years and has not had to touch, and double it to $10 billion, The Detroit News said.
GM hasn't needed the line of credit because it had $32.6 billion in cash and securities on hand at the end of June. Doubling the credit line could help the automaker restore its credit rating to investment grade.
Ford Motor Co., whose debt is rated investment grade, is considering layoffs for salaried workers in its troubled European operation. The News said Ford is offering voluntary separation to employees in Germany, the United Kingdom, and possibly in 17 other European markets to cut personnel costs.
Ford sales are down 12 percent in Europe from the same period last year and the European division could lose $1 billion this year.
Chrysler halts tests of plug-in hybrid
Chrysler last week halted testing of its advanced plug-in electric hybrids after lithium-ion batteries overheated damaging three pickups.
The damaged trucks were among 109 vehicles being tested by Chrysler -- with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy -- at utility companies and municipalities in 20 states, The Detroit News said.
No injuries were reported and Chrysler plans to upgrade the batteries with a different chemistry in the test vehicles.
"Hiccups happen," a Chrysler spokesman told the News. "We're disappointed, but it by no means spells the end of the program."


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I used to be one of those kids who would cry when it was time to go back to school. Not my proudest moments, I know. For whatever reason, some kids just don't like going to school and it's up to their parents to find a way to motivate them and make them understand that it's for their own good–and for their future. After all, school is their gateway to a world of knowledge, where they can let their imagination and creativity take flight as they grow and learn.
Driving that point across are super moms Daphne and Rena, who created the SuperME backpack. Each one features generic designs and doesn't feature any commercial characters. The best part? Each SuperME backpack comes with a hoodie cape, which might come in handy in bad weather.
The SuperME backpacks cost $39 and are available online. The ones with the capes are priced at $49.
[ Product Page ] VIA [ C|NET ]


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Students must select a plan of study - see Plan I (Thesis) and Plan II (Comprehensive Exam) below.
CE, CCSP, and E &P have area specific course requirements for the M.S. degree:
A master's thesis is patterned after a Ph.D. dissertation but on a scaled-down level of originality and length. A public seminar presentation is not required for thesis defense.
The exam is administered by a committee of three ladder faculty members selected by the student called the Examination Committee for the Degree of Master of Science. Each program area (CE, CCSP, and EP) has a different format for the exam (Comprehensive Examination — Formats by Area - pdf)
Graduation is different from the commencement ceremony. When students graduate, they finish all degree requirements.
Commencement ceremonies occur once a year after the last day of the spring quarter. The Graduate Student ceremony has always been at 4 p.m. on the Sunday after the last day of spring quarter. To attend the ceremony, sign up on the Graduate Division website. Information about commencement is usually available early in the spring quarter.


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1. Anabolic steroids. These drugs, most often ending in an -one and -iol (testosterone, androstenediol, for example), build lean muscle mass and reduce fat. Bye bye potbelly, hello biceps. Not only do they masculinize the users (including women--who'll drop their voices and start growing hair in unfeminine places) they can also make you aggressive, depressed, shrink your testicles, and cause acne and liver damage. Fun times!
2. Peptide hormones and growth factors.
- erythropoetin-like agent (such as EPO, or Epogen) stimulate the bone marrow to grow more red blood cells. Red cells carry oxygen to your body. The more you have, the more oxygen you can deliver to your exercising body. The real Lance Armstrong is dealing with this one.
- insulin. Apparently it's used along with steroids to boost energy storage in muscles and continue the anabolic effect of steroids.
- growth factors (growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor, etc) also used to increase muscle mass.
- hormones like corticotropin, leutinizing hormone, also used to add mass and optimize muscle growth
4. Hormone modulators. These are things like aromatase inhibitors (commonly used to treat breast cancer or osteoporosis). This one had me scratching my head. Apparently, when using anabolic steroids, the balance between natural estrogens and androgens (female and male hormones--both of which are found naturally in men and women) goes off kilter. Men using steroids can sometimes paradoxically grow breasts (called gynecomastia) because of this imbalance. Using anti-estrogens like aromatase inhibitors can prevent a bodybuilder from needing to buy a bra at Victoria's Secret. Secret indeed!
5. Diuretics and masking substance. Diuretics, such as thiazides, are meds that make you pee like a racehorse, which may help you pass your urine drug test. Other substances, like dextran, albumin, and mannitol, can mask the actual illegal chemicals.
6. Blood enhancers. This includes blood transfusions (your own banked blood, or someone else's) an chemicals that help your blood carry more oxygen, like perflurochemicals or blood substitutes.
7. Gene doping. Yes! This is not sci-fi, this is real. You are not allowed to have genetically modified cells injected into yourself.
8. Stimulants. Caffeine? Okay! Sudafed (pseudoephedrine)? Only in tiny amounts. Crystal meth? Adrenaline? No.
9. Narcotics. I know that work out hurt, but no, you cannot pop prescription pain pills.
10. Cannabis, or pot. Or weed. (I wonder if this will change with the legalities of cannabis changing right now.)
11. Glucocorticoids. These are super powerful anti-inflammatory meds, also helpful in recovering from that tough work out. Good for asthma exacerbations, bad for pro athletes.
For more info, check out the comprehensive list by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The CBC gives a nice description of how and why these substances are used.
And the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency also has a nice overview.
If you've got a fictional medical question, let me know! Post below or email me at


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AddictionSurvivors.org is dedicated to providing peer support communities for those with addiction disorders and their families and friends. These forums are currently READ-ONLY.
The focus on this forum is addiction to stimulants including cocaine/crack, amphetamines, methamphetamine, methylphenidate and MDMA (Ecstasy). NEVER take any online advice over that of a qualified healthcare provider, see terms.
This forum is focused on benzodiazepine addiction (Xanax, Valium, Klonopin, Atavin, Restoril, etc.). Sudden cessation of benzos could result in seizures and death, so it is vitally important to taper off of the medication. There are forums for both the addicted person and the family and friends. NEVER take any online advice over that of a qualified healthcare provider, see terms.
Therapy and Peer Support are not interchangeable terms or processes. Both should be used in conjunction with, not exclusive of, each other for a full addiction-free program.
Peer support is non-healthcare provider groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART Recovery, Alanon, SOS and online discussion communities such as these. "Peer support is based on the belief that people who have faced, endured, and overcome adversity can offer useful support, encouragement, hope, and perhaps mentorship to others facing similar situations."1
Online peer support gives the patient the convenience of 24/7 access and anonymity that isn't afforded in live peer support meetings. In-person groups such as AA provides a sense of community and camaraderie and oftentimes social aspects that the patient may not have been exposed to during active addiction. Optimally, peer support of any type should be used in conjunction with professional psychosocial therapy and sometimes medication.
1. Larry Davidson, Matthew Chinman, David Sells and Michael Rowe. Peer Support Among Adults with Serious Mental Illness: A report from the Field. Schizophrenia Bulletin 2006 32(3):443-450; doi:10.1093/schbul/sbj043. February 3, 2006. http://schizophreniabulletin.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/32/3/443