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Lauren named this Challenge, The World Comes to Canada, in honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics. On February 12, the XXI Olympic Winter Games will commence in Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. I would love to visit Vancouver and Whistler someday...I've often contemplated a ski vacation over Christmas and New Year's, at the stunning Fairmont Chateau Whistler. Perhaps the Fairmont would like to treat me for a long weekend and offer my Blueberry-Maple Cheesecake and Maple-Bacon Tuiles as a special dessert on one of its restaurant menus??? A woman can dream...
Granted, I have never tasted an original Nanaimo Bar, but I did not find the coconut in the bottom layer, and excessively sweet-sounding middle layer, too appealing. I could have lived with the coconut, but the middle layer sounded much too similar to Royal Icing and brought back visions of the 25 lbs. of confectioner's sugar we went through during our recent gingerbread season! More importantly, the Daring Bakers' Challenges are all about being daring and creative, right? It would be rather dull and boring if all the Daring Bakers simply duplicated the original recipe, and all of our Nanaimo Bars looked and tasted the same.
The first part of the challenge was to make homemade graham crackers, which were then crumbled and used in the base layer of the Nanaimo Bars. For the remainder of the challenge, we were permitted to experiment with different flavors and ingredients.
Therefore, I transformed the Nanaimo Bar into a Cheesecake version, and incorporated some Canadian ingredients:, i.e., Saskatoon berries (ok, I used blueberries), maple syrup, and bacon. I added a few more spices to the crust (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves) and a little orange zest to the cheesecake filling. And, for a little garnish atop the dark chocolate ganache, which was flavored with smidgen of Canadian Whiskey, I baked up some Maple-Bacon Tuiles!
I found the plate during a recent junking afternoon, and added the bronze maple leaves (Christmas tree ornaments) and swatch of fur, to make my plating and presentation more Canadian and Winter Olympic-ish ;-) Our copper placemats are pretty cool also, from Crate & Barrel. One of these days, I must do a post on all of the great stuff I've found junking!
I made four, 4-inch cheesecakes, because I happen to own four, 4-inch springform pans. They're so cute! It's also nicer to give away a cute little cheesecake, rather than just a piece off a larger cheesecake.
For this one, I omitted the chocolate ganache topping in favor of a spoonful of blueberries macerated in Canadian Whiskey and maple syrup. Thanks, Jack, that beautiful bottle of Crown Royal Special Reserve was perfect for this occasion! Cheers to all the Olympians!
For the Tuiles, I adapted Fine Cooking's Maple-Walnut Tuiles, substituting bits of maple and brown sugar bacon for the walnuts. These were very easy to make and added a tasty garnish to my cheesecakes.
I enjoyed a very petite tasting of my Cheeesecake (my New Year's Resolution Eat Healthier Diet IS in progress), but I must say that the homemade graham crackers were the highlight of this challenge. Crispy wafers, with hints of honey and vanilla...they were easy to make and vastly superior to store-bought grahams. I did not make the gluten-free version, but please visit our hostess, Lauren, at Celiac Teen if you're interested in her version, and other gluten-free recipes.
Graham Crackers
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.
Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line.
Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the tough, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.
Dry ingredients
Wet ingredients
Chilled butter into the dry ingredients
Pulsed until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal
After wet ingredients are added
The dough
Wrapped in plastic
Refrigerated over night
Rolled out and cut into desired shapes. Be generous with your flour as the dough can get sticky.
Graham crackers placed on parchment for baking
The crackers are then scored and pricked with a fork
Freshly baked grahams
Original Nanaimo Bars
The legendary Nanaimo Bar recipe, including the recipe for the graham crackers, can be found here. You can read about the town of Nanaimo, and also find the recipe for Nanaimo Bars, here. The following is for my Olympian Blueberry-Maple Cheesecake version.
Olympian Blueberry-Maple Cheesecakes
Inspired by the original Nanaimo Bar
(Makes four, 4-inch cheesecakes)
1/2 cup (115 g) (4 ounces) Unsalted Butter
1/4 cup (50 g) (1.8 ounces) Granulated Sugar
4 tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 Large Egg, beaten
1 1/4 cups (300 mL) (160 g) (5.6 ounces) Graham Wafer Crumbs (See previous recipe)
1/2 cup (55 g) (1.9 ounces) Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
1 cup (130 g) (4.5 ounces) Dried Blueberries
1/4 cup Canadian Whisky
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
Place dried blueberries, Whisky and Maple Syrup in microwave safe bowl, and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Set aside (drain just before adding to the mixture below). Cover the round bottoms of four 4" springform pans with foil and snap bottoms back into place.
In a double-boiler, over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and then gradually whisk in the beaten egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (about 1 minute). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, graham cracker crumbs, drained blueberries, and chopped almonds. Press 1/4 of the mixture evenly into each springform pan. Refrigerate while you prepare the cheesecake filling.
Maple Cheesecake Filling
(Modified slightly from Kevin at Closet Cooking)
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese (room temperature)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest of one small orange
Beat the cream cheese and maple syrup until smooth; beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and incorporate. Divide the mixture into the four springform pans. Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes. Turn oven off, open the oven door slightly, and allow cheesecakes to cool in the oven. Refrigerate cheesecakes.
Chocolate Ganache
4 ounces (115 g) Semi-sweet chocolate
2 tablespoons (28 g) (1 ounce) Unsalted Butter
Melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over cheesecake and chill.
4" springform pans with foil covering the bottoms for easy removal of the cheesecakes after baking
Ingredients for the crust
Sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves
Thank you, Lauren, for an interesting, timely, and sweet Challenge! I truly enjoyed reading more about Canada and look forward to visiting your beautiful country! Fairmont Chateau, I am able to hop a flight at a moment's notice...
Be sure to visit The Daring Kitchen for information and recipes for this month's Challenge, and please do stop by some of our Daring Bakers' blogs to see what they came up with for this Challenge. Again, a toast to all of the Olympic athletes! Ummmm, good whiskey!


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Quick mushroom & spinach lasagne
An easy vegetarian supper that's cheap to make too
Nutrition and extra info
- Vegetarian
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal301
- fat16g
- saturates8g
- carbs25g
- sugars4g
- fibre3g
- protein16g
- salt1.15g
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Olive oilol-iv oyl
Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 250g pack mushrooms, sliced
The mushroom is a fungus which comes in a wide range of varieties that belong to two distinct…
- 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
- 200g bag spinach
Used in almost every cuisine across the world, spinach is an enormously popular green vegetable…
- 300g tub light soft cheese
- 4 tbsp grated parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)
Parmesan is a straw-coloured hard cheese with a natural yellow rind and rich, fruity flavour. It…
- 6 fresh lasagne sheets
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the garlic and cook for 1 min. Add the mushrooms and thyme, then cook for 3 mins until they start to soften. Throw in the spinach and stir until the heat of the pan wilts the leaves. Remove from the heat and stir in the soft cheese, 1 tbsp of the Parmesan and some seasoning.
Put a quarter of the spinach mix on the bottom of a medium-sized baking dish, lay 2 pasta sheets on top, then repeat until you have used all the pasta. Finish with the final quarter of the spinach mix, sprinkle over the rest of the Parmesan, then bake for 35 mins until golden and the pasta is tender.

subset: commoncrawl


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Flower earrings black
Sterling silver open earrings of 12mm with a flower and a black core.
- Material: sterling silver + epoxy
- Coating: oxidized + E-coat
- Silver content: 925
- Size rose: 8 x 8 mm
- Size earring: 12 mm
- Thickness earring: 0,8 mm
- Weight: 0.65 grams
Buy more save more !
The discount will automatically be deducted in cart.
Shipping within 48 hours on working days.
Bezorgkosten NL € 4,95
Aangesloten bij WebwinkelKeur
Rising discount up to 15%!
Rising discount at jewelry! Even if you order different jewelry, the discount will rise.
The discount will automatically be deducted at the settlement.
Number/sets 2 4 6
Total discount 5% 10% 15%
How do I keep my sterling silver jewelry beautiful?
Sterling silver jewelry often shines beautiful when you buy them but can become brown or even black. This is because silver oxidizes by the sulfur present in the air. This can be avoided by storing your jewelry in a sealed box or bag if you do not wear them.
How do I clean my silver jewelry ?
If your silver jewelry is oxidized, polish them with an impregnated silver wiping cloth. Do not wash this cloth, the blacker it is, the better it works.
You can also wash your silver jewelry in warm water with soft soap. Carefully rubbing by hand or a soft brush should be enough.
All other methods can damage your sterling silver jewelry so be careful when making use of it.
- Subject
- Flowers/trees
- Main color
- Silver
- Variety
- Earring
- Material
- Silver 925


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Switzerland: Activists Demand Tougher Tobacco Treaty
GENEVA -- Flaws plague the draft of an international anti-smoking treaty being discussed this week in talks sponsored by the World Health Organisation (WHO), charge civil society groups, particularly because proposed bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship have been watered down.
The text lacks teeth in several key areas so will do little in achieving the objective of significantly curbing tobacco consumption, says the Framework Convention Alliance, a network of some 100 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from around the world.
The weeklong negotiations on the draft agreement include the participation of representatives from government, industry, tobacco farmers and anti-smoking groups.
The objective of the treaty, as summarised by Brazilian ambassador Celso Amorim, who is presiding over the talks, is ''to continually and substantially reduce the prevalence of tobacco use.''
The treaty -- intended to enter into force in 2003 -- should ''protect present and future generations from the devastating health, social, environmental and economic consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke,'' says Amorim.
The debate under way in this Swiss city is based on the text presented by the Brazilian diplomat, which summarises the results of the initial round of talks last October.
Amorim, a former minister of Foreign Relations, rejects charges launched by NGOs that the text is ''weak.''
He argues that the negotiations are taking place in an inter- governmental process with two basic requirements: ''a convention that is meaningful, but one that also -- at least in principle -- is ratifiable.'' The draft was written within these limits, Amorim emphasised.
Sources involved in the negotiations point out that even delegations coming from the same country hold deeply divided opinions because they include representatives from government health entities, who tend to favour a strict anti-tobacco agreement, and from industry and farming, who reject the plan outright, or will accept only a very lenient compromise.
Representatives of the Framework Convention Alliance said they ''were greatly encouraged'' by the many commitments delegates expressed at last October's meeting, which included a total ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, and strong measures to combat contraband.
Nevertheless, they said they are ''greatly concerned that the Chair's text falls short in several critical areas, especially tobacco advertising and promotion,'' and are calling for an ''energetic and precise'' agreement that is guided by the principle of protection and promotion of public health.
Smoking and tobacco use in general cause four million deaths annually, and if this trend continues, tobacco-related death will reach 10 million annually by 2030, according to WHO statistics.
As far as advertising, the anti-smoking activists maintain that Amorim's document focuses on youth prevention alone, while ''ignoring the legitimate needs of adults, especially smokers seeking to quit.''
Amorim repudiated such claims, pointing out that the draft agreement contains some very restrictive provisions, such as phasing out tobacco companies' transborder advertising and sponsorship of sports events.
A ban on tobacco advertising in electronic transmissions targeting people under 18 is an enforceable measure that would also limit publicity for people over 18, commented the diplomat.
One of the prickliest points included in the draft of the anti- smoking agreement involves the potential inclusion of clauses about liabilities and compensation for damages caused by tobacco use.
The matter primarily affects the big tobacco transnationals, but also those governments that hold monopolies, or at least major shares, in their domestic tobacco markets, such as Japan and China.
Amorim stressed that at a seminar convened by the WHO in April, delegates were unable to reach concrete conclusions; therefore, he said, the debate remains open.
- 109 Tobacco


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Cliff and I both contributed chapters to the new BP book, It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: The Baseball Prospectus Pennant Race Book. Tonight, I'll be up at Columbia U with some of the authors, including Steven Goldman, Jay Jaffe, Kevin Baker and Allen Barra. The chat starts at 7:00 at Alfred Lerner Hall (lower level), 2922 Broadway. If you are around the neighborhood, swing by, it'd be great to see you. In the meantime, dig this chapter from the book, written expertly by Goldman. I think you will really enjoy it.
Book Excerpt
How to Break Up the Yankees
From the mid-1930s through the mid-1960s, baseball struggled with how to "break up the Yankees," at one point even adopting a rule forbidding teams from trading with the previous year's pennant winnerwhich was always the Yankees. The rule lasted but one winter, that of 1939 to 1940. New York didn't win in 1940, Detroit did. The rule hadn't been intended to harm the Tigers, so it was quickly rescinded.
The no-trade rule had little chance of hurting the Yankees anyway, because so much of their talent was homegrown. When Branch Rickey's farm system began transforming the way major league talent was developed, Yankees general manager Ed Barrow, something of a reactionary, had been resistant to the new methods. In 1932, team owner Jacob Ruppert overruled him, buying the Newark Bears of the International League and hiring independent minor league operator George Weiss to build a complete farm system. An injection of New York revenues turned Rickey's farm into a factory. Of the key players on the champion 1939 Yankees, none of the position players were acquired via trade, and just a handful of the pitchers were acquired this way.
The factory system fed the Yankees dynasty, which was only occasionally interrupted between 1936 and 1964. Not until 1965, with the advent of the amateur draft and with ownership's cutbacks in player development on the eve of selling out to CBS (the Yankees had never been generous with bonuses anyway), did the factory shut down. The Yankees stopped producing young players, and shortly thereafter, the team stopped winning.
Over the more than 40 years since, the Yankees have resisted getting back in the habit of producing youngsters. During its brief ownership, CBS didn't know how. George Steinbrenner, who bought the team from the Tiffany Network, didn't care to. For all Steinbrenner's financial largesse, the posture damaged the club almost from the first moment of the regime. The first test was offered by Otto Velez in 1974. The club failed it and, as a direct result, lost the division title to the Baltimore Orioles.
A key reason the team couldn't surpass the Orioles was production both at first base and at designated hitter (DH). In fact, the designated hitter was a problem from the moment of its invention. Though the Yankees are credited with having the first DH, Ron Blomberg, a productive designated hitter eluded them for some time.
On April 26, Yankees general manager Gable Paul raided his former organization, the Indians, sending pitchers Fritz Peterson, Steve Kline, Fred Beene, and Tom Buskey to Cleveland in exchange for first baseman Chris Chambliss and pitchers Dick Tidrow and Cecil Upshaw. In the long term, it worked out to be a very good trade for the Yankees, but in 1974, Chambliss personally dragged the Yankees away from their first postseason appearance since 1964.
Chambliss was never more than a decent hitter for the Yankees, an impatient lefty who never learned to pull the ball for power. Still, from 1975 through 1979, he was mildly productive, batting .287/.328/.428. In 1974, however, the then 23-year-old seemed to panic on reaching New York, hitting a dreadful .243/.282/.343 in 110 games.
Simultaneously, the Yankees possessed a rookie first baseman named Otto Velez, one of the most promising prospects developed by the team at any time during the Steinbrenner ownership. Signed as a 19-year-old amateur free agent in 1970, the young Puerto Rican, who had been tutored by Roberto Clemente and Orlando Cepeda, batted .369/.469/.591 in rookie ball, then hit .310/.417/.510 (16 home runs in 384 at bats) in A ball (Table 9-3). Velez not only showed great hitting ability for a player just out of his teens, but also had a refined knowledge of the strike zoneunusual knowledge in one so young.
In April 1973, the Yankees gave the 22-year-old Velez the James Dawson Award, presented annually to the best rookie in camp. At the same time, they moved him from his initial position, third base, to the outfield, because the team had acquired Graig Nettles. Velez didn't mind. "I like the outfield," he said. "It gives me more time to concentrate on my hitting." Unsurprisingly, Velez proved to be an indifferent outfielder. Though he had a decent arm, his range was never very good, and he was clumsy. His abilities in left field were exemplified by a 1979 play in which Oakland catcher Jim Essian, batting with the bases loaded, ripped a grounder down the third-base line into left field. Velez charged the ball, stepped on it, and fell into the wall. Essian rounded the bases for an inside-the-park grand slam. After his tumble, Velez had to miss several games with a twisted ankle. This was in the future, but the Yankees were already thinking of moving him to a third position. They just couldn't decide where.
Velez's 1973 season was stunning. After the young slugger hit 13 home runs, including three grand slams, in Triple-A Syracuse's first 37 games, his manager, Bobby Cox, said, "He's the best hitting prospect I've ever seen. He can run, throw, and hit with power, but I don't think he's a 40- to 50-homer guy. I'd say 20 to 30 is more like it." Cox proved prescient after Velez cooled in the second half. Nonetheless, Velez was named the International League's Rookie of the Year after batting .269/.445/.562 with 29 home runs and 130 walks. That fall he made his Yankees debut. Though he didn't hit for average, batting .195/.325/.326, he did show his trademark patience and power. Manager Ralph Houk was encouraging: "The experience was good for him. I expect him to make it next year."
Unfortunately for Velez, Houk resigned under pressure from Steinbrenner. Velez then became a pawn in the team's hunt for a new skipper. When the Yankees attempted to sign the former Oakland A's manager Dick Williams, who had resigned but was still under contract, A's owner Charles Finley demanded compensation. The Yankees offered veteran second baseman Horace Clarke. But Finley demanded one of their "kids": Velez, Scott McGregor, Terry Whitfield, John Shupe, Steve Coulson, or Kerry Dineen. Gabe Paul was appalled. "Those aren't kids. Those are our crown jewels." None of them ever contributed to the Yankees.
Velez took three strikes in the managerial shuffle. Strike one was the loss of Houk, who as a long-time organization man was familiar with his strengths and weaknesses and might have made room for him. Strike two was the team's failure to sign Williams, an astute manager who would have been eager to exploit Velez's talents. The third strike came with the naming of Bill Virdon as Houk's replacement. In his 15-year managerial career, Virdon proved to be largely hostile to young players. His attitude, which jibed perfectly with Steinbrenner's own impatience with inexperienced players, set a pattern for the organization that lasted years.
Velez's minor league accomplishments should have earned him a prominent place in the Yankees' plans, especially since the team was going into the 1974 season with no established first baseman or designated hitter. Instead, when Velez struggled during the exhibition season, Virdon used the opportunity to send him back to Syracuse. "I couldn't give him a spot on the club the way he looked," said Virdon. "He simply failed to make our club." Virdon selected veterans Mike Hegan and Bill Sudakis as his first baseman and designated hitter, respectively.
Velez went back to the minors and began a campaign superior to his great 1973 season, batting .310/.480/.570. At the end of June, Chambliss, batting .185 as a Yankee, was benched and Velez was recalled. Virdon wasn't keen on the move. "For now, I think he'll play first base against left-handed pitchers. It depends on how he goes and how others go whether he'll play every day. I think he can hit right-handers, too. He showed he can, but I want to give others a chance to play themselves out of the lineup before I go too far with Otto."
Velez made just one hit in his first 12 at bats, but broke out with a home run off the great Detroit closer John Hiller on July 4. By then, some of the players had objected to his presence. On July 2, pitcher Pat Dobson criticized Virdon for playing Velez. "Win or lose, you have to play your best ball club. We haven't been. That's my opinion and I'm not afraid to voice it. Sudsy should be playing first base. Stick [Michael, 36-year-old second baseman; the Yankees had been trying out a 24-year-old named Fernando Gonzalez] ought to be playing second. Last night, he pinch-hit Otto Velez when he needed a home runand Sudsy can hit homerswhen Velez hasn't even gotten the ball out of the infield." On July 1, Velez had struck out against the difficult Hiller, the same pitcher he would hit a home run against three days later.
Velez played regularly for roughly two weeks and batted .279/.389/.488 in that time (the American League hit .258/.323/.371 that year). In the 11 games after he broke his hitless streak, he batted .343/.444/.600. Despite Velez's breakthrough, it was decided to give Chambliss another try. Virdon rarely used his bench, and Velez appeared only sporadically thereafter, playing in 13 games scattered over the rest of the year.
That was the last serious audition that Velez was granted as a Yankees player. Virdon farmed him out again at the beginning of 1975. On June 8, 1975, the slugger fractured his left wrist in a home plate collision, which delayed his return to the Yankees until September, when he received a few cursory at bats. By that time, Billy Martin was the manager of the Yankees. Although he had an open mind toward Velez, Chambliss was now established, and Oscar Gamble and Carlos May had been added to the crowd of outfield and designated hitter candidates. Consequently, Martin had no plans for Velez beyond occasional use as a platoon outfielder. Velez stuck with the Yankees for all of 1976, but received just 117 plate appearances. Yankees designated hitters again performed poorly, but it didn't matter. By this time, the Yankees had just three players who had been developed by the organization: Thurman Munson, Roy White, and Velez.
Velez's Yankees experience was mercifully terminated by the 1976 expansion draft. The draft rules stipulated that the Yankees could initially protect 15 players. After each round, the team could pull back an additional three players. Velez was not among the initial 15. As the draft continued, the Yankees withdrew Fred Stanley, Fran Healy, Sandy Alomar, and Carlos May, but never withdrew Velez. The Toronto Blue Jays drafted him with their 27th pick, making him one of the last players selected.
Velez finally established himself in Toronto, though injuries and his defensive problems in the outfield would limit his playing time. "I'm not saying I will hit 30 home runs," he said in 1977, "but I would like to have 500 at bats to see what I can do." He seemed to get hurt whenever his manager was on the verge of giving him the time. Still, from 1977 through 1980, he batted .269/.375/.480 for the Jays, numbers more impressive then than now.
He had his small revenge against the Yankees as well. The newly established Jays played their first series at Yankee Stadium from April 18 to April 21, 1977. Velez pounded Yankees pitching, going 9 for 15, with two doubles, two homers, and two walks, and driving in eight runs. "I know I can swing the bat a little bit. I feel so great to show the owner," he said. "He only likes the big names."
In subsequent years, Steinbrenner's hostility to young players became legendary. In 1978, he sent rookie pitcher Jim Beattie to Triple-A in the middle of a game Beattie had just started. "Did you see Beattie out there?" he told the media afterward. "He pitched like he was scared stiff." In the midst of a difficult pitching appearance by 25-year-old righty Ken Clay, reporters were called to Steinbrenner's office. "[Clay] doesn't have any heart," the owner told them. "Ken Clay has spit the bit." In March 1981, 24-year-old pitcher Mike Griffin failed to beat the Mets in an exhibition game. "Mike Griffin has fooled us long enough," Steinbrenner said. "We found out about him today. That does it for him. He won't be pitching for us this year." He was sent to Columbus the next day and soon thereafter was traded out of the organization. After making an error before Steinbrenner early in the 1984 season, rookie shortstop Bobby Meacham found himself demoted not to Triple-A, but to Double-A. "Meacham isn't ready for New York," Steinbrenner said.
In 1976, the Yankees had reached the World Series for the first time since 1964. After losing to the Cincinnati Reds that year, they returned again in 1977 and 1978 and won both times. The Yankees also reached the postseason in 1980 and 1981, but failed to capture another championship. By that time, the core of the 19761981 team was rapidly aging and would have to be replaced, but the delusion that somehow a player who had been developed in another organization was automatically superior to one developed within the Yankees system made rebuilding nearly impossible. Several promising young players were traded out of the organization, often for little return, among them Scott McGregor, Tippy Martinez, Jim Beattie, Tim Lollar, Willie McGee, Fred McGriff, Greg Gagne, Dennis Rasmussen, Steve Balboni, Tim Burke, Jose Rijo, Scott Bradley, Jim Deshaies, Doug Drabek, Bob Tewksbury, Jay Buhner, Al Leiter, and Hal Morris. While all organizations make a certain number of mistakes in player evaluation, the record of the Yankees organization during this period was egregious. Not only were the Yankees pathologically opposed to giving their own young players a chance, but the veterans the club was acquiring in the younger players' stead, such as outfielder Omar Moreno or pitcher Tim Leary, weren't any good.
The few prospects the Yankees were left with during this period failed to develop. The Yankees, unused to teaching youngsters, were no longer good at it. Moreover, the veterans-only strategy had neutered the farm system. In the pre-free-agency years of the Steinbrenner regime, the handling of the amateur draft was simply inept. After the advent of free agency, the league developed a compensation system in which a club losing a free agent would be awarded the first-round pick of the club that signed him. Since the Yankees signed a free agent virtually every winter, they went years without a first-round draft pick and sometimes were penalized in their second- and third-round picks as well. While baseball forbids the trading of picks, this was essentially what the Yankees were doing.
This proved to be a disastrous strategy. The first round is important because with intelligence and a little luck, a team should, at the very least, be able to come up with a serviceable major leaguer. Veteran players are more predictable than youngsters, but are also used up faster, having spent their baseball prime with their original team. In addition, certain players, such as pitchers and shortstops, proved difficult to acquire on the open market. These positions became suppurating wounds for a Yankees team that won many games in the regular season, but which, from 1982 through 1994, failed to reach the postseason (more accurately, through 1993; no one made the postseason in 1994).
In 38 annual drafts through 2003, the Yankees scored exactly four times in the first round, picking Ron Blomberg, Scott McGregor, Thurman Munson, and Derek Jeter. As Yankees picks failed, it meant that the team was forced to sign a greater number of free agents. The compensation system then kicked in, preventing the Yankees from signing better players. A vicious cycle was created, as described in the following paragraphs. Note that the "Hindsight is 20-20" section lists players available to the Yankees at various times in the draft. These picks are usually restricted to the first three rounds. In the early part of the draft, teams have more consensus about who the best talents are. In later rounds, it becomes more difficult to discern the keepers, so it's unfair to fault the Yankees for, say, not realizing that Wade Boggs was a first-round talent when he lasted until the seventh roundno team had great expectations for the third baseman. Note also that most players drafted by the Yankees were subsequently used as trade fodder, many before getting a chance to make their mark with the Yankees.
Douglas Heinhold, RHP, pick 13 (high school)
Picked before the Yankees' turn: David Clyde (1), Robin Yount (3), Dave Winfield (4), Gary Roenicke (8).
Picked after the Yankees' turn: Lee Mazzilli (14).
Later: Heinhold tapped out in the minors. Later, the Yankees picked Mike Heath (2), Kerry Dineen (4), LaMarr Hoyt (5), Garth Iorg (8). The first three were used in deals netting Sergio Ferrer, Dave Righetti, and Bucky Dent, among others, while Iorg was lost to the Blue Jays in the 1976 expansion draft.
Hindsight is 20-20: Eddie Murray (Orioles 3), Fred Lynn (Red Sox 2), Floyd Bannister (A's 3).
Overall: In the first year of the administration, the pattern was set: Acquire talent, then deal it before giving it a chance in New York. A lasting fascination with high school players was also damaging.
Dennis Sherrill, SS, pick 12 (high school)
Picked before the Yankees' turn: Bill Almon (1), Lonnie Smith (3), Dale Murphy (5).
Picked after the Yankees' turn: Garry Templeton (14), Lance Parrish (16), Willie Wilson (18), Rick Sutcliffe (21).
Later: Sherrill went 1-for-5 in five games with the Yankees. The Yankees took Dave Bergman (2), and Jerry Narron (6). The former was dealt for Cliff Johnson, the latter for Ruppert Jones.
Hindsight is 20-20: Rance Mulliniks (Angels 3), Pete Vuckovich (White Sox 3), Moose Haas (Brewers 2), Butch Wynegar (Twins 2).
Overall: Almost any other player the Yankees picked would have been important to the franchise, perhaps helping to save it from the malaise of the early
James McDonald, 1B, 19 (high school)
Picked before the Yankees' turn: Rick Cerone (7).
Picked after the Yankees' turn: Dale Berra (20).
Later: The Yankees took Jim Beattie (4), Willie Upshaw (5), Mike Fischlin (7). Beattie was railroaded out of town after spotty work with the 1978 and 1979 teams. He was part of the Ruppert Jones deal. Upshaw was lost to the Jays in the Rule 5 draft. Fischlin was part of the Cliff Johnson deal.
Hindsight is 20-20: Carney Lansford (Angels 3), Lee Smith (Cubs 2), Don Robinson (Pirates 3).
Overall: The Yankees got a good return in a poor year but didn't capitalize.
Pat Tabler, OF, 16 (high school)
Picked before the Yankees' turn: Floyd Bannister (1), Ken Landeraux (6), Steve Trout (8), Leon Durham (15).
Picked after the Yankees' turn: Mike Scoscia (19), Bruce Hurst (22).
Later: Not much; Tabler was New York's only real catch. He would be dealt to the Cubs for Bill Caudill and Jay Howell.
Hindsight is 20-20: Alan Trammell (Detroit 2), Rickey Henderson (A's 4).
Overall: It's hard to imagine the devout Mormon Hurst being comfortable in New York. Some things just aren't meant to be.
Steve Taylor, RHP, pick 23 (college)
Picked before the Yankees' turn: Harold Baines (1), Bill Gullickson (2), Paul Molitor (3), Terry Kennedy (6), Richard Dotson (7), Wally Backman (16), Bob Welch (20). Having finally won a pennant during the draft era, the Yankees were pushed down in the draft order just in time to miss out on a strong draft class.
Picked after the Yankees' turn: Dave Henderson (26).
Later: Taylor never surfaced. The Yankees took Joe Lefebvre (3), Chris Welsh (21). Both players were traded to the Padres as part of a deal for Jerry Mumphrey.
Hindsight is 20-20: Kevin Bass (Brewers 2), Scott Sanderson (Expos 3), Tim Raines (Expos 5), Ozzie Smith (Padres 4).
Overall: At least the Yankees finally took a college pitcher. It wasn't a true change of philosophy.
Rex Hudler, SS, pick 18 (high school)
Matt Winters, OF, pick 24 (high school)
Brian Ryder, RHP, pick 26 (high school)
Picked before the Yankees' turn: Bob Horner (1), Lloyd Moseby (2), Hubie Brooks (3), Mike Morgan (4), Andy Hawkins (5), Kirk Gibson (12), Tom Brunansky (14), Nick Esasky (17).
Picked after the Yankees' turn: No one of significance. Despite winning the World Series, the Yankees acquired two extra picks after losing Mike Torrez and Ron Blomberg to free agency. As such, the team had all the options at the end of the first round.
Later: The Yankees took Steve Balboni (2), Tim Lollar (4), Andy McGaffigan (6), Brian Dayett (16), Don Cooper (17). Balboni won several minor league home run titles, then was dealt to the Royals for Mike Armstrong. Tim Lollar was included in the Mumphrey deal. McGaffigan was traded to the Giants for Doyle Alexander. Dayett got a share of the Yankees' left field job in 1984, showing power and impatience. He was dealt to the Cubs that winter as part of a deal for Ron Hassey.
Hindsight is 20-20: Steve Bedrosian (Braves 3), Larry Sheets (Orioles 2), Mel Hall (Cubs 2), Britt Burns (White Sox 3).
Overall: For many years, this seemed like the last draft. Too little came of it, and the seeds of the 19821992 period were sewn.
After 1978, the Yankees almost completely vanished from the first round, as shown in their first-round picks from 1979 to 1989:
1979: None, for signing Tommy John.
1980: None, for signing Rudy May.
1981: None, for signing Dave Winfield.
1982: None, for signing Dave Collins.
1983: None, for signing Steve Kemp. The Yankees also lost their second-round pick for signing Bob Shirley and their third-round pick for signing Don Baylor away from Anaheim. The Angels took Wally Joyner with the pick.
1984: Jeff Pries, pick 22 (college). When the Yankees finally had a first-round pick, they botched it, picking one of the few lemons in a deep draft class. They did find Al Leiter with their second pick.
1985: Rick Balabon, pick 28 (high school). This was a compensation pick for losing Tim Belcher because of a rather bizarre commissioner's ruling the previous winter. New York's actual first-round pick went to San Diego for signing Ed Whitson.
1986: None, for signing Al Holland.
1987: None, for signing Gary Ward.
1988: None, for signing Jack Clark.
1989: None, for signing Steve Sax.
In 1990, Steinbrenner was banned from baseball by then-commissioner Fay Vincent as a result of the owner's dealings with gambler Howie Spira. That year, the team had collapsed to last place in the American League East with a 67-95 record. Although Vincent's "lifetime" ban turned out to be temporary, general manager Gene Michael, hired in August 1990, restored some sanity to player procurement. The Yankees stopped giving away their first-round picks. In 1992, they drafted Derek Jeter. Incredibly, he was allowed to progress through the minor leagues at a normal rate, reaching the majors for a cup of coffee in 1995.
The next season, the 22-year-old rookie broke camp as the Yankees' starting shortstop, this despite trepidation by new manager Joe Torre, who like his predecessor Virdon preferred veteran players to youngsters. Steinbrenner, having resumed the active role he held with the Yankees before his suspension, publicly supported Jeter. "I would not have gone with a Jeter in the past. I think I've changed," he said. "I was too demanding. Too hasty." Privately, though, he was insisting the Yankees find an alternative. Michael faced Steinbrenner down, winning Jeter a temporary stay, and the rest is history.
Despite Jeter's success and the key role played by homegrown talents Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, and Mariano Rivera in the four championships won by the Torre-era Yankees, player development did not become a mainstay of the Yankees' approach to team building. The battle to wean Steinbrenner from expensive free agents and to pursue products of the farm system with equal vigor is still being waged by Michael's successor, Brian Cashman. Since winning their most recent championship in 2000, the Yankees have reverted to buying off the shelf instead of building from within, spending big bucks on DOA free agents such as Carl Pavano and Jaret Wright. As in the 1980s, the Yankees have won many games but have failed to win another title. They are somehow always just a little bit short, having neglected to buy this piece or that on the open market. Developing pitching has been a particular problem; in 2007, the 2004 first-round pick Phil Hughes became just the second Yankees number one pick to pitch for the team. (The other, Bill Burbach, who pitched 37 gamesbadlyfrom 1969 to 1971, was their first pick in the 1965 draft.)
In 1974, the long-standing question of how to break up the Yankees was finally answered, and the solution played out again and again over the more than 30 years that have followed. No outside team could break up the Yankees, but it was a simple matter, through neglect of the young, for the Yankees to do it themselves.


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We all know about the first movie poster for Mr. Popper's Penguins:
http://www.iwatchstuff.com/2011/04/14/m ... poster.jpg
Here is the second movie poster:
http://www.moviesmeter.com/wp-content/u ... nguins.jpg
http://www.moviefone.com/movie/mr-poppe ... 49251/main
[^^scroll down when on that page]
The second poster features Jim's silhouette in a 'waddling' position. On his right stands a silhouette of a penguin. As seen on: http://media.theiapolis.com/d4-i14EQ-k4 ... guins.html
As far as I know, this poster is only featured on Netflix. If you find this poster on any other site, please let us know!
What do you all think??


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So I read this article today with this guy whining about piracy, file sharing and the music business and I'm compelled to make a few points. No sense in beating around the bush, let's get started at the beginning, with the headline.
"How a generation's freeloading has starved creativity"
Starved creativity? The last I checked, there is more music being produced today from a wider range of artists with a more diverse sound than ever before, and that's expanding. There's more books being written and available by a wider range of authors with more diverse styles than ever before, and that's expanding. Creativity hasn't been stifled at all. It's been unleashed in a major way. The studio system (and the traditional publishing industry among others) is what stifled creativity. If you want to argue that the changes have stifled these old school media conglomerates' ability to dominate their respective industries, I can get behind that. But it has in no way stifled creativity. Just the opposite, in fact. It's generally a bad sign when the headline of your piece kicks off with unsubstantiated bullshit. You're basing your argument on a false assumption right off the bat, and an easily refuted one at that.
"Things changed for me when I got a job in a Brooklyn café in the late 2000s. Many of the most respected and critically-praised bands of the day were customers there, but my excitement at getting to know them was dimmed when I realized that rather than enjoying the fruits of their success, they were, well, just as broke as I was."
And if you'd gotten that job in the pre – Internet '90s, they'd still be just as broke as you were. Same goes for the '80s, '70s, '60s etc, etc. Conflating that with the coincidental emergence of file sharing is a mistake. He goes on:
"Apologists for digital piracy advanced one fantastic new rationalization after another—that artists would actually be helped by their rights getting trampled; that old-timey models like touring and merchandise would magically become a cash cow; that you could solve the whole problem by just letting fans "pay what they want."
If you retain control of your rights, you have the choice to allow sharing of your music or not. Unless you're signed on with a big label, in which case you have no choice in how you're music is distributed or shared. That's evidenced by this guy, the musician Kaskade, who is directly opposed to his label suing for copyright infringement but he has no legal right to stop them or to determine what he considers an acceptable use of his own music. In that sense, you're correct that artists' rights are being trampled, by their own labels.
Touring and merchandise are old timey? How much do you know about the music industry? Touring and merchandise were where artists made their money in the past. The labels made their money from album sales (whatever format) with contracts structured so that even some of the most successful bands ended up owing money to the label when all was said and done. If touring and merchandising aren't cash cows, then why are record company contracts increasingly demanding large cuts of any revenue bands earn from both of those areas? Bands are broke because of the labels and their exploitative advance structure, their accounting practices and increasingly grabbing revenue from touring and merchandise that bands themselves generally controlled in the past. These aren't problems the internet or file sharing created, this is the result of the standard operating procedure of the labels.
The book industry isn't quite as exploitative as music, but they're not far behind. They, too, use an advance system and accounting practices that virtually guarantee the majority of books never get to the point of earning royalties above the advance (and not because advances are high or because the books themselves aren't largely profitable). They, too, try to lock up other rights so authors can't generate any other income streams on the material, even when they have no intention of exploiting them.
Did you see the recent UK report that showed writers' incomes shrinking? Most of those writers were longtime traditional writers. Publishers have been establishing a low rate for ebook royalties that pay them more but authors less than on a regular print edition. They focus their sales efforts on ebooks and high discount print books, both of which cut authors' compensation per book dramatically. The internet isn't causing these authors' incomes to shrink, their own publishers' actions are. And not coincidentally, the publishers are reaping sometimes record profits.
And fans have always paid what they want. If they want it new, they'll buy it. If they don't, they'll get a copy from someone or they'll buy a used cd for a few dollars. Today, they may download it. They used to record it from the radio or television. But if you only offer one full price option, and somehow magically eliminate any possibility of obtaining any other copy, you won't see more sales. You'll see significantly fewer. Not to mention a whole lot of pissed off people with money in their pocket that might have decided to spend it with you now and in the future.
"The people who fought against copyright in this battle would have to confront the fact that they were never carrying the flag for freedom or "openness", but for aggression, entitlement and selfishness."
Like it or not, we live in an increasingly on demand world. You can call it entitled and selfish all you want. It's not going to change it. The people you're trying to sell to want what they want when they want it. The technology exists to give them exactly that. And everybody knows damn well digital distribution is far cheaper than physical, so prices must reflect that. There's a huge stream of people looking for music and books 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Not providing what they're looking for in the price range they're looking for, that they can access in the way they want to is their failing, not the internet.
Even then, people will still seek out free alternatives. I downloaded my first song in 1998 on AOL dialup. I had been a huge music collector for a full decade prior to that. At no point in those 10 years pre-internet, was I ever not able to get a copy of any damn thing I wanted for free. The internet didn't invent this behavior, it's been with us for a long, long time. What happened to the music industry as technology proliferated to allow people to make and acquire copies of music on their own? It grew exponentially. When did it shrink? At the precise time they chose a strategy that openly attacked the sharing of music. That's not a coincidence.
"Don't make the mistake of thinking the torrent-indexing websites that popped up in my search results are just rambunctious, boundary-challenging adolescents swapping files with their friends, as Napster disingenuously spun themselves."
That's precisely what most of the people using Napster (and later Limewire) were. The music and film industry stomped on them, leading to the development of torrents that let little pieces of files be downloaded to and from multiple sources so no one except the few souls who seed ever actually made a full file available for download. It drove them from their own communities into the arms of the profiteers like Megaupload. The persecution of which, by the way, regardless of what you think of them, is a disgusting abuse of law and power. Read up on it.
It's a bit like the gateway drug problem, I think. These sites make millions precisely because the actions of industry drove sharing amongst individuals underground. Without those acts, people would be openly sharing within their own communities now instead of enriching parasites. If there's any gateway effect to marijuana ( and I don't think there is) it's caused by the prohibition. The only place you can get pot is from that sketchy guy on the corner who's also got meth, heroin and some blow. Take out the prohibition and exposure to genuine bad elements drops dramatically if not altogether.
Black markets come about when there's a gap between what a sizable portion of the public wants and what's available to them. Drive off the safe alternatives and you're left creating many more problems than you solve. I don't get down with media companies decrying the black market when their own actions created the problem and made it exponentially worse.
"The big question is: how would things look if the illegal free option weren't as convenient? Would Hollywood not be quite as dependent upon comic book blockbusters and take a few more chances on new stories? With stable promotional budgets for record labels and studios, a few more daring artistic voices might find an audience, and charge their way onto the pop culture radar, and even change the way some of us think about the world."
Hahaha! No. I'll tell you what it will look like, exactly like it looked in the late '80s, stagnant and repetitive. The only time new voices got through was after an independent movement somewhere built the momentum for it. And then, the labels would descend, sign up every band that remotely sounded like the new in-thing, saturate the world and squeeze every last dollar out of it before moving on to the next hot movement (see: Seattle in the '90s).
On top of that, with increasing digital sales yet no free option, discoverability, which largely happens word of mouth from sharing, would take a huge hit. Sales of all but the biggest names would plummet and we'd be left with far fewer risks being taken and far less unique voices ever getting a chance. You know, precisely what was happening before the internet came along.
"Forging an internet that takes individual rights (including privacy), cultural diversity and sustainable progress seriously also requires that consumers get on board."
Ah, yes. Please pay considerably higher prices so we don't actually have to adapt or alter our ridiculously outdated and inefficient corporate structure, or even pay lip service to giving you what you actually want for those higher prices. Get on board, already!
"We are all entitled to fair compensation for our work."
I see, customers are entitled in a bad way for wanting what they want for their money (or not) but labels and artists are entitled in a good way for wanting what they want for your money. Nobody is entitled to make one red cent. You have to convince people to want to pay you willingly. That means convenience, price, format, restrictions on use; everything must be done to appeal to the guy holding a credit card and deciding if he wants to use it. "Hey you! You're gonna pay more and we're gonna tell you what you're allowed to do with it and you're gonna thank us for it" is a bad strategy.
I do agree in one way with being entitled to fair compensation. But that argument isn't directed at the internet or consumers. It goes to the media companies. Stop ripping off your artists! You think artists aren't being paid fairly? Changing conditions so media companies make more money isn't going to change that. It's just another version of trickle down nonsense. The labels make more money and those musicians in your coffee shop, they'll still be just as broke. The copyright argument with file sharing has nothing to do with rewarding artists, it's all about further enriching large media conglomerates.
"Just as US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr said of taxes, consider it 'the price we pay for civilization.'"
The price consumers pay, you mean, in high prices that have no bearing on production costs or market value? Or the price artists pay in exploitative contracts and shriveling compensation from their corporate "partners"? The media conglomerates here don't pay any price, for civilization or otherwise. They simply reap the rewards of squeezing the only two irreplaceable cogs in the industry machine, consumers and creators.
Why should we as artists have to accept pittance payouts? Why should consumers have to pay more for less? Why shouldn't these corporations have to alter their business models, ones that developed in a different time and a different set of conditions, to meet the new realities? Why should we have to severely restrict the conduct of people that has far pre-dated the internet and file sharing?
You are conflating the business difficulties of large, once dominant corporations that are becoming increasingly obsolete with a decline in the industry and creativity itself. That's a mistake. We don't need record labels. We don't need publishers. Before much longer, we won't need film studios either. What we need are artists willing and able to create and customers willing and able to buy. Restrictions and higher price points to support corporate bottom lines achieve neither of those ends.
Piracy and file sharing isn't the problem. The old industry titans who choose to stand in the way of what artists want, what consumers want and what civilization in general wants; they're the problem. Advocating for a system that enriches them by taking money out of the pockets of both artists and consumers achieves nothing.
As a final point, there seems to be a thread to the piece that assumes people getting music for free is not good for commerce. Well, take a look at The Live Music Archive. There are over 6,000 bands and 130,000 separate concerts available for download or streaming absolutely free and totally legal. Concerts range from 40 years or more ago right up to yesterday. Many of the artists in here are very well known, many are unheard of independents. But they all allow fans to bring equipment, record their live shows and freely distribute them however they choose. In fact, the one thing they are prohibited from doing is selling them. And the community itself polices that kind of conduct very nicely. There's a huge sub-industry in music totally outside of the major label system that not only encourages the free sharing of their music, but thrives on it. The most famous band to take this track is the Grateful Dead, who pioneered much of this and parlayed the touring and merchandising you dismiss into being one the highest grossing bands of all time, almost totally outside the label system. Their big label studio albums were almost an afterthought to their career accomplishments.
And as for bit torrent, which you sited as a particularly egregious tool for piracy, look at this. Etree.org has a huge, ever changing list of torrent files for concerts totally free and legally available for download. Bit torrent is far from simply an elicit tool for piracy. It's used here to great effect to freely distribute music from bands who aren't cowering in fear of consumers or sharing, bands that are building careers one fan at a time, without so much as a dime of support from the label system. I'll guarantee you'll find a wider array of music styles and talent here than any label-driven alternative. Giant media companies, as more of us are learning every day, aren't the only way to pursue a career in the arts. They're likely not even the best way.
There are problems with the internet, legitimate problems with piracy, too. But what you advocate benefits a portion of the industry, who also happen to be the richest, most entrenched, afraid to adapt element of it and does nothing to further anyone's ends but theirs. Take a wider view of things. Track the problems you site deeper than simply, "Oh, Napster caused this" and you may find issues like artist compensation and stifled creativity far predate the internet itself. And who was running the show back then? These same giant media conglomerates. Huh.
Dan Meadows is a writer living on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay. Follow him on Twitter @watershedchron


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Coaching in Fitness Centers—The Next Sales and Retention Tool
By Matt DuFresne
June 10, 2006
Matt DuFresne is a former owner of a fitness center in Western Massachusetts. He is a personal trainer of 20 years. Presently, Matt consults for clubs and trainers, developing coaching systems within their membership. He is sales director for FitSteps LLC. He can be reached at 413-374-9328 or by e-mailing [email protected]
Not every club member fits into the personal training mold, so some fitness facilities are implementing coaching services to boost their bottom line. Coaching is a system of communication between a client and a coach that enables them to discuss the various aspects of a client's overall health and wellness. To fitness centers, coaching is the best retention and sales boosting tool to come along in many years.
Typically, only 1 percent to 5 percent of fitness center members use a trainer's services within a health club, which is not very high penetration for what is said to be the number one profit center next to membership. Coaching is designed to potentially access the rest of your membership as well as supplement the traditional personal training relationship. These members get overall wellness plans designed for them that include workouts, nutrition plans, cardio schedules, exercise videos and access to a trainer/coach for support and guidance.
Suspend, for a moment, the desire to predetermine what your members will and won't pay for. People will pay for information from reputable and credible sources. Why wouldn't they pay your club and your trainers? Several club chains in California are already offering coaching to their membership. They have recognized that something needed to be offered to help the rest of the membership beyond the usual personal training.
Benefits of implementing a coaching service. By starting up a coaching service in your club, you can expand current trainer offerings. You can also convert those members who cannot afford to stay in touch with, learn from and be motivated by their trainers on a continuing basis by moving to a coaching platform. These members can be converted into a whole new receivable base paying for recurring plans.
Clubs can also market to non-traditional members via virtual memberships. By using a coaching system, your trainers can coach an online member through their whole wellness program without the client actually visiting the brick and mortar location. There are many potential members who prefer this option rather then be forced to come into a fitness center, an environment that, by surveys, is still intimidating to most.
Coaching can boost employee morale and job satisfaction. With a coaching service and the right incentive program, trainers can realize increased income by moving beyond the traditional one-on-one trainer member sessions.
A coaching service provides a wealth of information drawn together in one area as well as an organized platform within which a member and coach can communicate, which will empower your membership.
To increase sales in your club through coaching services, leverage life coaching trends. Medical experts, politicians and fitness gurus alike are espousing the need for fundamental lifestyle changes that reach into every facet of a person's life. To tap into these trends, consider converting your fitness club to a wellness center.
Choosing a system for coaching within your club. A coaching system can be put together using paper, phone systems and e-mail, but if more streamlined and efficient means are out there, take advantage of them. Online coaching systems, built especially for health and wellness, make it very easy for trainers to manage and communicate with hundreds of clients.
Ask yourself these questions.
- Is it a brandable extension of your club? The system you use for coaching should make members feel as if they are in your club. Your colors, logo and "feel" should be present.
- Is it easy to use and intuitive? A system is only as good as it is usable. The coaching tool has to be intuitive and understandable.
- Is it set up specifically for health centers and many clients? People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan. If you want trainers to carry a large load of coaching clients, the system must be very easy to use and efficient for the trainer. Online programs can cut down huge amounts of time and allow your system to be available anywhere.
- If you want the big returns on a coaching system, it must become a core component of everything you do and say about your fitness center.
Your coaching system can, and should, be aligned with all of your departments including training and nutrition. Promoted correctly, a coaching system augments these services, promoting them to all of your membership, not just a select few. The unlocking of a new receivables source from within your membership is reason enough to implement a coaching system. Add to this the increased sales of other ancillary services along with a huge boost in member retention and this new program is here to stay.


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Jose Salvador Alvarenga's family had given him up for dead
Comments from tearful parents do little to dispel continued doubts about man's tale
The parents of a Salvadoran fisherman who says he survived more than 13 months and travelled about 10,000 kilometres in an open boat say their son's return is "a miracle" — though the man's extraordinary tale is still raising doubts.
Comments by Jose Salvador Alvarenga's joyful, sometimes tearful parents about their son — who they lost touch with eight years ago — may help explain how he survived, but they did little to dispel continued questions about his tale.
Jose Salvador Alvarenga says he survived 13 months adrift in Pacific
His father, Jose Ricardo Orellana, 65, who owns a store and flour mill in the seaside Salvadoran town of Garita Palmera, described a strong, stocky young man who went to sea at age 14.
"The sea was his thing," Orellana said.
His mother, Maria Julia Alvarenga, 59, broke into tears after recounting a phone call with her son from the Marshall Islands. He told her he was well, staying at a hotel and getting food and medicine.
"We hadn't heard from him for eight years, we thought he was dead already," said Alvarenga. "This is a miracle, glory to God."
Alvarenga's 14-year-old daughter, Fatima, said she didn't remember ever seeing her father, who left El Salvador when she was just over a year old.
"I'm so very happy to know he's alive," said Fatima. "He's alive and I'm going to see him."
The parents said he was known in his hometown as "Cirilo," a nickname that coincides with the first name of a man registered as missing with civil defence officials in the southern Mexico state of Chiapas. The civil defence office said a small fishing boat carrying two men, named Cirilo Vargas and Ezequiel Cordoba, disappeared during bad weather on Nov. 17, 2012, and that no trace of them or the craft was found despite an intense two-week search.
Alvarenga said his fellow fisherman, who he identified only with the first name of Ezequiel, died after about a month at sea and he tossed his body overboard. Alvarenga said he survived on raw fish, birds, bird blood and turtles before washing ashore on the remote Marshall Islands atoll of Ebon,10,000 kilometres across the Pacific Ocean from the fishing hamlet of Costa Azul, Mexico, where he set out.
There was no immediate explanation of the discrepancy in dates given by Alvarenga and Mexican authorities or the survivor's different names. Alvarenga said he set sail on Dec. 21, 2012, but fisherman in the Chiapas hamlet of Costa Azul said a Central American man known as "La Chancha" had been lost since November 2012. Alvarenga may have used multiple nicknames, and seems fuzzy about details of his voyage.
There are things that don't match up. I knew him, but I have a lot of doubts.- Fishing boat owner Villermino Rodriguez
Jose Manuel Aragon, spokesman for the Chiapas state civil defence office, said two weeks of searches were fruitless and reflected the widespread incredulity at Alvarenga's tale.
"It was probably something that was planned beforehand, something we had no knowledge of," Aragon said. "Our only duty was to carry out search and rescue operations."
'I may have some doubts'
Villermino Rodriguez, a young fishing boat owner in Costa Azul known as "Willie," described Alvarenga as a heavy set, quiet man. Alvarenga has said he worked for Willie.
"You can imagine a lot of things, but that is something he should explain," said Rodriguez. "There are things that don't match up. I knew him, but I have a lot of doubts."
Central America is a major transshipment route for U.S.-bound drugs, but there is no evidence traffickers would use such a small boat to try to make such a long journey.
Alvarenga did not appear badly sunburned, despite his account of spending such a long time adrift.
"It's hard for me to imagine someone surviving 13 months at sea," said U.S. Ambassador Tom Armbruster in Majuro, capital of the Marshall Islands, after speaking with Alvarenga. "But it's also hard to imagine how someone might arrive on Ebon out of the blue. Certainly this guy has had an ordeal, and has been at sea for some time."
Armbruster said the soft-spoken man complained of joint pain Monday and had a limp, but could walk. He had long hair and a beard, and rather than appearing emaciated he looked puffy in places, including around his ankles, said the ambassador. Otherwise, he added, Alvarenga seemed in reasonable health.
Armbruster, who speaks Spanish, said Alvarenga told him he was working for Willie, catching sharks for 25 pesos ($1.90 US) per pound, when a storm blew his seven-meter fibreglass boat off course.
"He talked about scooping up little fish that swam alongside the boat and eating them raw," Armbruster said. "He also said he ate birds, and drank birds' blood."
Gee Bing, the Marshall Islands' acting secretary of foreign affairs, said "I'm not sure if I believe his story" after meeting with Alvarenga Monday.
"When we saw him, he was not really thin compared to other survivors in the past," said Bing. "I may have some doubts. Once we start communicating with where he's from, we'll be able to find out more information."


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By Donnie MacGowan
Lava continues to to gush unabated from Kilauea Volcano on the big Island of Hawaii through the former village of Kalapana into the Pacific Ocean, yielding one of the volcano's best spectacles of the last ten years. That's the good news.
The bad news is you cannot see any of it from the County of Hawaii Lava Viewing Area. This is not the County's fault; the entire area is not only private property, but also highly unstable and ferociously dangerous.
For obvious reasons, trespassing on private property is not an option, here. Further, Big Island Mayor Billy Kenoi has promised the residents whose homes are in danger of being engulfed that he will not turn their personal tragedy into a public spectacle by opening up the area to casual tourism.
My PhD is in geology and I have spent years wandering the lava flows here and on other volcanoes around the world; I find that I really cannot recommend that folks casually stroll about this area without a basic understanding of some of the hazards. The extreme danger results from several factors. The active lava flow, especially in the vicinity of the County of Hawaii Lava Viewing Area where it is most accessible, is currently surrounded by an enormous area (perhaps 20 or more square miles) of what is called "dim lava". This is lava that, mostly still liquid and incredibly hot, has more or less "ponded", or virtually stopped moving, and has developed about a foot or so crust on top of the still liquid lava. As such it appears deceptively safe to walk on but actually it is exceptionally dangerous to cross. Nobody would be foolish enough to walk on lava that is obviously still liquid, but many are tempted to cross the solid-appearing dim lava. This is extremely, shall we say, stupid; dim lava is highly unstable, subject to rapid changes bringing great masses of liquid rock to the surface and is very, very dangerous. During daylight hours it is difficult to tell the dim lava from flows that have been solid and cold for years, but one misstep can take you through a thin spot in the crust and into 2000 degree liquid. The glow from the liquid rock can frequently be seen through cracks in the surface at night, giving you warning that you are on extremely dangerous ground. Although at times people seem to navigate dim lava safely, it would not be wise for me to advise anyone to venture out onto it.
Additionally, lava is much more viscous than water and flows a bit differently…sometimes, not all the liquid lava is below you. When scouring a route past the dim lava last week, we were wandering between two lava "hillocks" on long-cooled rock, when we noticed that, ten feet above our heads, was the tell-tale glow of dim lava that had infiltrated the hillocks and could, at any moment, break out and spread over the ground we were walking on. A very, very dangerous situation and one we immediately remedied by beating a hasty, safe retreat. No one wins an argument with flowing lava.
The second prevalent hazard are the forest fires burning where the lava flows through jungle, especially surrounding the lava ocean entries, the most spectacular part of the flow and the place most people are trying to get to. The danger from the fires is obvious, but what is not obvious is the fact that methane gas, extremely explosive, accumulates ahead of the flow under the ground surface in forested areas. Every so often (and without warning), there will be a large methane explosion (in and of itself highly dangerous) that can blow enormous chunks of fiery-red hot liquid lava and solid rock thousands of feet.
Another hazard is the littoral explosions. Littoral explosions occur when hot, liquid lava meets the cold ocean water, mostly where lava tubes empty under the ocean. Littoral explosions can hurl hot solid and molten liquid material hundreds of meters and are best given about half kilometer leeway. These hazardous explosions were once common at the Waikupanaha Lava Viewing Area, but there are currently no explosions occurring in the Kalapana Lava Viewing Area. Just because littoral explosions are not occurring today, however, does not mean they could not start again instantly.
Finally, although not common, it is worth bearing in mind that the extremes of temperature of the mixing air, rock and water, the amount of particulate matter and vapor injected into the atmosphere and other weirdly perturbed variables around the ocean entries can cause bizarre weather phenomena, such as waterspouts and highly localized lightning.
Your best bet is to heed the advice of the County of Hawaii Public Safety professionals: do not cross private property, stay off of the dim lava and stay away from where the lava streams cut through burning jungle. You put your life, and those of any foolish enough to assist you when you get in trouble, at extreme risk.
So…is it possible to see the lava flow without paying a boat captain or pilot to take you safely to the shores' edge? In a word, yes. One can hike along the shoreline from the end of the road at Kalapana (by the new Kaimu Beach), but is is extremely difficult and very, very dangerous. A complete discussion of hiking to see the lava can be found here and here. The route follows the coast on razor sharp basalt, rough, broken and unforgiving, and there is no trail. The way is at least 5 miles long in each direction of hard, hard hiking and includes about a mile of rank bush-whacking through very, very dense jungle that is not only easy to get lost in, but is on fire in some places.
It is frequently quite rainy and, since the best viewing is at dawn or dusk, you are likely thinking about going at least one way in the dark. Traveling this risky route in the dark and/or rain greatly magnifies the dangers. Much of the way is jammed in a couple feet between a 60 foot cliff with unforgiving open ocean underneath and the dense jungle pressing you on the other side. When it is dark or misty or raining, or when you are tired or not paying close enough attention, this is very hazardous.
Hard and dangerous.
Honestly, I do not recommend you go at all. Night after night of hiking in to see the lava, of all the people who set off from Kalapana around when we did, and the many, many we met returning, most turned around after only 3 or so miles of hard hiking over the lava. Some turned around when they got hemmed in by the dim lava, not knowing to cut through the jungle to the shore; more got lost and wandered for hours in the jungle before turning around. Many had been told by local residents that the walk was "only 20 minutes or so" and so set off in sandals, or with children, without water or rain gear. Be aware, the hike is, at minimum, two difficult hours in duration each way (due to the difficulty of the terrain), there is no marked trail or path and the rock is like razors if you slip on it.
Do not even attempt to hike along the shore to the flows unless you are in extremely good physical shape, confident of both your route-finding and cross country hiking abilities, you are equipped for rain, cuts and bruises, have plenty of water to drink and food.
There are many wondrous, enigmatic and fascinating attractions on the Big Island of Hawaii, some better known than others, many out of the way and generally off the beaten track. Tour Guide Hawaii has produced an encyclopedic collection of the most up-to-date information, presented as short GPS-cued videos, in an app downloadable to iPhone and iPod Touch that covers the entire Big Island, highlighting the popular and the uncrowded, the famous and the secluded, the adventurous and the relaxing.
The best of Tour Guide Hawaii's free content about traveling to, and exploring, the Big island, can be found here.
For more information on traveling to Hawaii in general and on touring the Big Island in particular, please also visit www.tourguidehawaii.com and www.tourguidehawaii.blogspot.com.


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Hello everyone,
I've been seeing some discussions elsewhere about applications for gedan barrai, lately, and decided to record and share one that I like using in conjunction with a tsuki of some kind--a very common combination of techniques across a wide variety of styles and kata. Of course, you could replace the shotei-tsuki I used with any other strike you prefer that fits the situation.
The attack this deals with is a grab to the upper arm that is used to control the limb and pull the victim to another location--according to the last UK crime study I saw, this was the #1 attack against women, but it's possible this has changed. In the video, I used someone smaller than me because he was the only uke available at the time, but I have confirmed that it works quite well against larger, stronger people. I know that my video isn't as clear and detailed as many, but I hope you can see the gist of what I'm trying to show. Thanks!


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Tokyo fashion in Shinjuku: Marui One is amazing for Lolita, Kawaii, & other unique styles
Sarah Deschamps and Lee Jay Walker
Modern Tokyo Times
In Tokyo the names of Laforet Harajuku, Shibuya 109, and Marui One, stand out for being amazing stores to visit when it comes to fashion. If you adore kawaii fashion, Goth styles, punk, Gothloli, Lolita, Visual Kei, and so forth, then Mauri One in Shinjuku is a must. After all, the choice available is amazing and the environment blends well with the many boutiques which provide fantastic styles.
Famous boutiques which have enhanced the Tokyo fashion vibe can be found in Marui One because clearly they understand the significance of this major department store in the heart of Shinjuku. Indeed, it is thanks to some of these boutiques that the fashion industry in Japan is so famous internationally when it comes to unique styles. After all, many of the boutiques in Marui One have enabled the unique fashion trends of Tokyo to expand internationally.
Of course, the same boutiques can be found in other department stores and are located in many other cities. However, it is the unique fashion angle of Tokyo which attracts the younger generation from all over Japan and internationally. Yes, other major cities like Osaka and Kobe are blessed with stunning fashion districts and often alternative trends have begun in Osaka. Yet internationally it is the streets of Harajuku, Shibuya, and Shinjuku, which hit the headlines when it comes to youth culture, subcultures, and the latest trends in fashionable Tokyo.
In fairness, it is a little harsh on Kansai because it was this area that was the initial bedrock of Lolita fashion in Japan but internationally Tokyo gets more international attention than Osaka. Early boutiques which began this movement many decades ago applies to Milk and Pretty (known as Angelic Pretty in time), Pink House, The Stars Shine Bright, and Metamorphose temps de fille.
Therefore, turning back to Marui One it is clear that the strong background of some of these boutiques have enhanced the growing reputation of this department store in Tokyo. Marui One also took a unique approach and collectively it is working like "a dream ticket." Given this, stunning boutiques including Angelic Pretty; Metamorphose; Baby, The Stars Shines Bright; Alice and The Pirates; h.Naoto; Jesus Diamante; and many others, moved into Marui One because they understood the dynamics of this amazing store.
Angelic Pretty comments on their website that "Angelic Pretty provides adorable clothing covered in lace, frills and ribbons like that of the fairytale princess you dreamed about as a little girl. We want girls to never lose sight of that dream — And this is a brand for girls who want to keep that dream alive."
Metamorphose comments that "Metamorphose is an adorable brand of Lolita fashion made for everyone, best described as EGL or Elegant Gothic Lolita."
"Almost everyone has the desire to "transform" one's self, be it into an angel, someone who is more elegant, or even back to the time they were a little girl. With this concept in mind, we created the Metamorphose brand. In order to assist you in your "transformation", while not being a slave to the current fashion, we continue to conceive cute EGL fashion."
In truth, the companies highlighted in this article are real treasures because they stand out for being unique and providing a different angle to the diverse Tokyo fashion scene. Therefore, if you want to feel the vibes and unique styles of Tokyo then a visit to Marui One is a must because you have so many different styles to view. Also, the quality of the clothing stands out and the color schemes, creative angle, and unique thought patterns are clear for all to see.
In an earlier article by Modern Tokyo Times it was stated that fashion at Marui One applies to "…fantasy fashion, romantic designs, modern kimono, Gothic Lolita, Sweet Lolita, dreamy fashion, casual styles, visual kei, and other amazing trends. Therefore, Marui One is like "a mirror" of parts of Harajuku because this store is internationally famous. Marui have many different stores in Shinjuku (and throughout Tokyo) but Marui One stands out because of its individualism."
Therefore, if you adore fashion then a visit to Marui One is most rewarding.
http://www.babyssb.co.jp/ Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
http://www.angelicpretty.com/en/ Angelic Pretty
http://www.metamorphose.gr.jp/english/ Metamorphose
http://www.boz.ne.jp/ Atelier Boz
http://www.hnaoto.com/ h.Naoto
http://www.jesusdiamante.com/ Jesus Diamante


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Web Tool Provider Communications
Announcement of the HCBS Web Tool Internet Page
October 31, 2013
In a continued effort to support the use of the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Web Tool within CyberAccesssm, DSDS has developed a specific internet location to consolidate Web Tool information. Located at http://health.mo.gov/seniors/hcbs this site combines existing HCBS Web Tool information and will contain future HCBS Web Tool provider resources and communications.
Providers are encouraged to become familiar with the page in order to access HCBS Web Tool information when needs arise.
- 'Provider CyberAccesssm Enrollment' organizes HCBS Web Tool information for providers new to HCBS. Included is a list of the Xerox Outreach Representatives.
- Information related to password and computer settings is located on the 'Account Maintenance/System Settings' page.
- Future DSDS provider communications related to HCBS Web Tool functionality will be posted in the 'Web Tool Provider Communications' section on this page. As with other provider memos, DSDS will use the current DSDS E-News link to alert providers to posted HCBS Web Tool Communications on the internet. In order to receive these alerts, HCBS providers must subscribe to DSDS E-News and keep their e-mail address current.
- The 'Resources' page includes the HCBS Web Tool Instructional Guide for providers (a power point presentation) and the Web Tool icon guide.
- Note -- The HCBS Web Tool 'Reassessment Provider Guide' located on the 'Resources' page is for utilization by only HCBS providers who have enrolled as a '27' type of provider for the purposes of completing HCBS reassessments.
- 'Contact Information' provides various resources.
- Note -- As a reminder all Protected Health Information (PHI) exchanged between HCBS providers and other entities including DSDS must be in a secured manner i.e., encrypted e-mail.
Any questions regarding this memorandum should be directed to the HCBS Web Tool Project Management Unit at firstname.lastname@example.com .


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This month has been the soggiest March on record in the Seattle area, according to the Associated Press, and some areas of the state are experiencing heavy rain that may cause flooding today and tomorrow. Here are some things that are good to know about floods and insurance:
- Homeowner policies typically do not cover flood damage. Flood damage is not on standard homeowner policies and most commercial policies, although many people assume it is. That can be a costly assumption. Your mortgage lender may require you to have flood insurance if your home is located in a flood-prone area, also known as a "special flood hazard area." You can estimate your property's flood risk online.
- Most people buy flood insurance through the government's National Flood Insurance Program, which is run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). These policies are sold through local insurance agents and brokers, which you can locate online. As with most policies, there are limits to what is covered.
- Flood insurance rates are in flux. In July 2012, Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act, which changed the way the National Flood Insurance Program is run. Among those changes were premium rate increases to make the program more financially stable. However, a new bill is being heard in Congress that would slow the premium increases for certain policyholders. That bill, call Grimm-Waters, passed the U.S. House of Representatives on March 4.
- If your vehicle is damaged in a flood, your auto policy's comprehensive coverage typically will cover it. However, you should verify you have that type of coverage with your insurance agent or broker. Read more about auto insurance.
You can read more about flood insurance on OIC's website.


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Salsbury Extra Wide Designer Lockers are constructed of industrial grade particleboard and covered with durable plastic laminate. Extra Wide Designer Lockers comes in 1-Tier, 2-Tier, 2-Tier "S", 3-Tier and 4-Tier and offer ample space for personal storage needs and are ideal for settings where a professional environment is desired. These spacious extra wide designer lockers feature a gray, blue, black, maple, cherry or mahogany finish and are available in 18 in., 21 in. and 24 in. depths. Optional matching laminated sloping hoods and side panels easily attach to extra wide designer lockers and provide a finished look to an individual locker or a row of lockers. One wide extra wide designer lockers are available as fully assembled units only. Three (3) wide extra wide designer lockers are also available as fully assembled units only and require minor assembly. Salsbury Industries is an ISO 9001: 2008 certified company and has excelled in the field of manufacturing since 1936.
- Individual locker dimensions: 15 in. W x 76 in. H x 21 in. D
- Locker set assembled dimensions: 45 in. W x 72 in. H x 21 in. D
- Compartment dimension: 13-3/4 in. W x 40-3/4 in. H x 19-3/4 in. D
- 25% wider than standard designer lockers
- Include a black laminated base and are 6 ft. high (add 4 in. for base)
- Include a black engravable name/number plate
- All locker doors include heavy duty concealed hinges and a lift up handles and recessed hasp for added security
- Manufactured in USA


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Friday, July 3, 2020
Complete forecast
Herald Community Newspapers editors and reporters have spent the past two months reporting on Election 2018, and on Tuesday, November 6th, it will all boil down to a single factor: your vote.
Below are links to our Voter's Guides and Endorsements.
• Voter's Guides
• Endorsements
• Election Results
Other items that may interest you


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Page 1 of 15 pages
Email : firstname.lastname@example.com
Telephone : 01656 808 444
Company Address :Premier Commercial Vehicles32 Sturmi WayVillage Farm Industrial EstatePyleBridgendCF33 6BZ
Premier Commercial Vehicles are a credit broker and not a lender, we are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered No : 807812
Registered in England & Wales with company number : 11230967 | Data Protection No : ZA461627 | VAT No : 294943945
Registered Office : Unit 15b Queensway, Fforestfach, Swansea, United Kingdom, SA5 4ED
Disclaimer: All vehicle images and descriptions are for illustration and reference purposes only, all vehicle leases are subject to credit approval and subject to change at any time. E&OE.
Copyright © 2020 Premier Commercial Vehicles, All rights reserved.
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I have a Epson 3800, I use PS CS3 10.0.1 in windows 7 and I have a Spyder 3Pro.Im making water slide decals for model planes and such and the paper Im using is from http://www.beldecal.com/Now the images are way to dark and I guess one of the problems is no profile for this paper. They say to just pick photo glossy paper and print at best setting.Well I am new to all of this and Im trying to wrap my head around it all.So does a printer print less ink on "plain paper" verses a "glossy photo paper"?Epson dont have profiles for just plain old paper, but you can pick that in the printer settings. Doh!Suggestions on which way to start?Thanks.
To look at this paper it looks like any glossy photo paper. It does have a thin plastic film on top but it accepts ink very good.However my printouts seem way over saturated.So Im thinking I need to pick a profile that uses less ink, maybe?
I have photoshop manages.Is this the sliders you speak of? I had to pick "color controls" then "advanced" instead of "no control".


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The Oceanside Marina Suites is located on its own private peninsula in the Oceanside Harbor. Surrounded by the Pacific Ocean on three sides, our resort offers a host of amenities in a peaceful oceanfront environment. Lounge by the pool. Relax on your own spacious private patio. Unwind with a picturesque walk along the adjacent marina or shop and at the Marina Village.
We have large One & Two Bedroom suites with fireplaces and fully equipped kitchens, as well as spacious deluxe rooms. Our heated pool, large spa and Pacific Room are conveniently located on our spacious resort grounds. Relax in our Gazebo, sit back and watch the boats glide smoothing in and out of the marina. Or, if you prefer a sunset dinner, enjoying grilling at our pool side barbecue. The Oceanside Marina suites has everything you need to make your stay a memorable one.