Tonight we were going to partake in our usual night before thanksgiving tradition. We usually take extremely lean ground beef, mix it with onion, stuff it in a pita and top it with cheese to make our pre-thanksgiving meal. Well, I was awakened to a horrible sight when I cut open my roll of 93% lean beef that I purchased yesterday at Harris Teeter.

This 2lb roll of Harris Teeter brand beef was encased by a thick layer of pure fat. The core of the roll was also nothing but a solid chunk of fat. This brings up several concerns to me. The first concern is the fat content. Can we really trust any fat content labeling of meat? Many people are on tough diets for heart conditions. Those very people must have the leanest cuts of meat possible. Are those people being falsely informed? My second concern lies in the packaging process. If this large chunk of meat can pass through the packing line without being caught; what else could make it’s way into my package of meat? Is it possible that foreign objects could make their way into my meat? My third concern lies in the attached nutritional information. Government standards require this to be accurate. Obviously in this case, the nutritional information was not accurate.

I want to know what happened here. I want a response from Harris Teeter regarding this meat.

With the unfortunate loss of Al Harris and Aaron Kampman for the season following the win over San Francisco, changes are going to have to be made moving forward to continue playing at the level we were at. Right now, more than ever, is when experienced coordinators with good football minds earn their paycheck. What sort of changes might we see out of Dom Capers?

Replacing Aaron Kampman:

Replacing Aaron might be easier than fans realize. This is one place where the 3-4 scheme really shines. The fluidity of the scheme allows for very different player types to be successful in the outside linebacker role, bringing different skill sets to the table. Many of the players that play OLB have to be hidden by scheme to some degree, and Kampman was no different. Clay is one of the rare 3-4 OLB’s that seems equally at home in virtually any role.

It was obvious that one of the places that Kampman was schematically hidden was in pass coverage. He dropped on occasion, but generally that was limited to little zone drops. He was not left in trail technique coverage on fast TE’s splitting the seam, and did not move over to press and bracket cover a WR. This is in very sharp contrast to Clay Matthews, who is trusted to do all of these tasks.

Kampman was also helped rushing the passer both by occasionally playing a 3-3-5 defense that put his hand in the dirt, and by overall maintaining a consistent launch point without an excess of twisting and stunting. In other words, things that he has been comfortable with. It has helped, though it has limited some of the overall defensive options.

Replacing Kampman most likely will be rookie Brad Jones, though Brady Poppinga and Jeremy Thompson could see time as well. Brad couldn’t be more different than Kampman, which could work to Dom’s advantage in a very big way. Hopefully this is where Dom Capers separates himself from former DC Bob Sanders. Brad is not the kind of player that can or should be plugged in to do the tasks that Kampman did the same way he did them. But on the flipside, he does open up a lot of things that were not previously possible.

Brad Jones is extremely fast and agile, and is especially noted for his ability to drop into coverage. Like Clay he can drop extremely deep from the 3-4 OLB position, and has the ability to stay with WR’s and TE’s, at least when he has some help. Dom almost surely will be much more comfortable with him in coverage, and won’t be consistently making an effort to have him rush the passer, limiting his coverage to the bare minimum as he was with Kampman. Of course the effect of this will be to enable more blitzing/zone blitzing. Clay will likely get to rush more, but I think that the biggest beneficiaries will be the ILB’s, I suspect that we will see them rush a good bit more.

Having been a 3-4 OLB, Brad likewise was not married to a small little plot of land on the line most of his career. I suspect that his launch point will not be as rigid as Kampman’s was, and be more like Clay, who moves around in the formation a great deal. This is greatly aided by the defensive line; they are playing at a level where the OLB’s don’t have to be extra DE’s on run plays, freeing the OLB’s up to shut down any attempts to bounce run plays outside, or pursue the tackle quickly. Every one of our top 4 defensive lineman can hold his ground in the face of a double team. Brad’s quickness will allow Dom to move him around a bit to probe for pass rushing weaknesses, and to allow for more stunting and combo rushing, where instead of an every man for himself, the LDE (typically Jolly) attempts to open a lane for the OLB moreso than plow through himself. The faster the OLB, the more effective that is.

While changes will be necessary, changes can be made to insert Brad Jones into the lineup without a big downgrade in defensive quality. Brad has a different skill set and will have to be used a different way, but the overall effect should hopefully be minimized. however it may change the way things “look”.

Replacing Al Harris:

This should almost be rephrased “replacing Tramon Williams”. Replacing Al should be the easy part, plug in Tramon, but replacing Tramon will be a task.

Dom can go two completely different directions with this. He can do exactly what Bob Sanders did, and literally replace Al with Tramon, placing him at the RCB spot over the split end on the sideline, or he can take the approach to keep Tramon doing what he has been doing, at least in nickle+ defense, only moving him over to Al’s spot on base defense. Either option should be equally viable, the route chosen will largely depend on how Dom adjusts to cope with the changes.

Al’s position at RCB is unique in that the route tree used by most teams is somewhat more limited. Few QB’s roll to their left. The timing of read progressions and pass patterns cuts out a good amount of intermediate routes, and if the QB turns to watch his split end, he is also watching his best pass protector, turning his back on some of his worst.

Though our defense plays all sorts of different coverages, if you had to group them into classifications, Al would be more of a man guy, Tramon more of a zone guy, and Woodson more of a rover. Al played the least amount of underneath zone of the 3. When rolling a S into the box or forward out wide, and using a CB as a S in a cover-2, 3, or 4, (forms of sky and cloud coverage), Al was typically a bail corner covering a deep zone, with LB’s or S’s covering underneath. Tramon bails much less, instead if one corner is used in the short zones more than others, Tramon is that guy. Whereas Woodson does a little of everything, generally in an effort to have him where the offense most wants to go.

When Tramon did fill in for Al last season, he did an excellent job basically doing Al’s job. In fact there seemed to be some differences where we might actually have had better pass defense, as we did run a little more zone during that time, not necessarily becasue Tramon is better in zone, but because he seems at home doing either, whereas Al definitely (at least in Sanders’ defense) was more at home in man.

One thing that we will likely see, with the hopeful return of Chillar soon, and Jones at OLB, is return to sparse dime defense. Prior to Chillar’s injury Green Bay rarely ran dime defense, even agaisnt 4-5 WR sets. The 4th CB did not see the field a whole lot.

If we do put Tramon in Al’s spot and replace Tramon, likely an increased amount of LB/S bracketing will be required. Which could mean less play in the box by Bigby and more zone drops by the LOLB. If we replace Al’s spot and keep Tramon in his, we are probably looking at 2 different players dedicated to the sideline, either CB shallow S deep, or CB deep S/LB shallow in distinct zones.

Whichever direction Dom goes, replacing Al wil surely stress our secondary.

The Potential Positives:

While the negatives of these injuries are obvious, some positives may be taken away.

Tramon will be a free agent again next year. This year he played for just over the tender amount. This is his time to grab hold of the starting job for good (even if Al returns, I don’t think that he will return as a starter). This gives Ted and his staff 6 games to determine just how much Tramon is worth, and if he is a viable starter. I’d like to think, if he makes the most of this situation that Ted will not tag him again, instead giving him a full starting CB contract while his value is still on the low end of starting CB’s.

It also gives Ted a chance to evaluate Bush as a defensive back. I doubt that he gets another chance. He’s been developing too long, this is a seize the moment or go away couple of games for him. If he can hold his own as the 3rd CB, he’ll likely stick. If someone else is given a shot after he is, because he didn’t seize the job, I suspect that this will be his last year. He have replacements at ST gunner now; his hold on a roster spot is much more tenuous than it has been.

With free agency on the horizon for Kampman, few Packer fans seriously thought that he would return to the team. The prevailing though being that he would be franchise tagged and traded (similar to Corey Williams) to a team that runs a 4-3 defense. With this injury he now has very little trade value and almost surely will not be franchised, chances are he simply leaves as a free agent.

This means that Kampman will need to be replaced long term this offseason. That task is much easier if Brad Jones (or Jeremy Thompson/Brady Poppinga) shows that they belong on the field this season, and that they are the long term solution. If not I suspect that free agency and/or higher draft picks will be used to fill this spot.

Young guys stepping up to fill an injury void and impressing is one of the primary ways that players become full time starters in this league. Lets keep our fingers crossed that we have the good fortune of that occurring at both spots for us. The players behind our lost starters are certainly physically talented enough to do so, it remains to be seen thather they put it all together.

In Sunday’s victory over the San Fransisco 49ers, the Green Bay Packers may have lost two key components to their defense, and not just for the remainder of the season, but perhaps for the rest of their careers.

Al Harris and Aaron Kampman each left the game Sunday with ACL injuries to their respective knees.  With these injuries, both Harris and Kampman will be put on IR and be out for the rest of the regular season and the postseason if the Pack makes it that far.

Harris, who is 34 and soon to be 35, is definitely on his last big contract with the Packers.  Even with a successful recovery from surgery and rehab, Harris will most likely not be getting the money he deserves.  He would be fortunate to get a starting job anywhere, and would definitely be a surprise to see Harris back in Green and Gold next season.

Harris has had many great years in Green Bay, including two Pro Bowls for the Packers.  Harris has been a key asset to the aggressive style of defense the Packers play.  He will always be remembered for his physical bump-and-run coverage on the league’s top receivers.

Kampman, like Harris is in trouble of getting a new contract with the Packers.

Kampman, before this season, was an elite pass rusher in the NFL.  Making it to a couple of Pro Bowls himself, Kampman was a beast in the three-point stance.

With Don Capers at the helm of the defensive controls this season however, left Kampman to change positions.  This 3-4 switch, lead Kampman to stand up and play outside linebacker for a change.  This put Kampman out of position as he was dropping back into pass coverage a lot more often and the defense was vulnerable because of this switch.

Unfortunately for Kampman, his style of play would suit him and the Packers better if he was on a 4-3 style of defense.  This means of course, Kampman may be traded this offseason or released to create a better outcome for Aaron’s future and the Packers defensive personnel.

Personally, Kampman should have remained on the defensive line this season within the 3-4 scheme, but that’s my 2 Cents.

Ted Thompson will have a tough decision to make to whether or not to bring Harris and Kampman back in 2010, and unfortunately it looks like it may be the end for two very loyal and fan favorite’s in Green Bay.

Mix To Go Magazine Presents

DANCE AFTER DARK | The Mix Show

The theme: “At A Classic Pitch”

Dance After Dark

Mix by DJ FREEDOM

Live at 632 Studios in Brooklyn, New York City

Monday, November 23, 2009

(DOWNLOAD LINK AT BOTTOM OF SONG LIST)

SONG LIST:

(1) Razamatazz (Free*Mix) – Quincy Jones

(2) Portuguese Love (Free*Mix) – Phil Asher’s Miami Samba Vs DJ Freedom’s Tribal

(3) You’re My Latest, My Greatest Inspiration (Quentin Harris Remix) – Teddy Pendergrass

(4) Make Sure Your Sure (Quentin Harris & Timmy Regisford Remix) – Stevie Wonder

(5) Baby I’m Scared of You (Free*Mix) – Womack & Womack

(6) Still In Love With You (Masters At Work Dub) – Melisa Morgan

(7) Forget Me Nots (DJ Freedom’s Back To Basics Mix) – Patrice Rushen

(8) Club Lonely (Original Vocal Mix) – Lil Louis

(9) Everybody Dance – Chic

(10) Encore (Freedom’s Classic Club Vocal Remix) – Cheryl Lynn

(11) In The AM (Quentin’s Remix Vs DJ Freedom’s Remix) – Mary J Blige…dedicated to cousin Ann Douglas!

(12) Horizons (Freedom’s Classic House Remix) – The Sylvers

(13) Nights Over Egypt (Freedom’s Nights Over Ibiza Remix) – The Jones Girls

(14) Super Constellation 2009 (Freedom’s Disco Pitch Remix) – Sousa & Mad

(15) Ecstasy (Freedom’s Classic Pitch Remix) – Barry White

(16) Ready 4 More – International Featuring Miss Lynsey

(17) The Night The Lights Went Out (The Black Science Orchestra Remix) – The Trammps

(18) Don’t Talk Just Dance _Free*Mix Project Featuring Jon B

(19) No One – Maxwell

(20) Bad Times (I Can’t Stand It) -Captain Rapp

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FIWPVCN4

This is unbelievable. Completely unbelievable. Ian Harris (the guy who wrote the  HARRY_READ_ME.txt?) is discussing with Tim Osborn how to tailor-make an algorithm that will make the data look like desired. How can it be interpreted any other way???

From: Ian Harris <i.harris@xxxxxxxxx.xxx>
To: t.osborn@xxxxxxxxx.xxx
Subject: Re: Hopefully fixed TMP
Date: Fri, 4 Sep 2009 14:50:20 +0100

Hi Tim

I’ve re-run with the same database used for the previous 2006 run (tmp.0705101334.dtb). /cru/cruts/version_3_0/update_top/gridded_finals/data/data.0909041051/
tmp/cru_ts_3_00.1901.2008.tmp.dat.nc.gz Is that any better? If not please can you send the traditional multi-page country plots for me to pore over?

Cheers

Harry

On 3 Sep 2009, at 17:04, Tim Osborn wrote:

Hi Harry and Phil,

the mean level of the “updated-to-2008″ CRU TS 3.0 now looks good,  matching closely with the 1961-1990 means of the earlier CRU TS 3.0  and CRU TS 2.1. Please see the attached PDF of country mean time series, comparing last-year’s CRUTS 3.0 (black, up to 2005) with the most-recent CRU TS 3.0 (pink, up to 2008).

Latest version matches last-year’s version well for the most part, and where differences do occur I can’t say that the new version is any worse than last-year’s version (some may be better). One exception is the hot JJA in Europe in 2003. This is less extreme in the latest version. See attached PNG for a blow-up of France in JJA. I‘m sure some people will use CRU TS 3.0 to look at 2003 in Europe, so we need to be happy with the version we release. Perhaps some hot stations have been dropped as outliers (more than 3 standard deviations from the mean?)?

But I’m not sure if that is the reason, since outlier checking was  already used in last-year’s version, wasn’t it? Does the outlier checking always check +-3 SD from 61-90 mean (or  normal), or does it check +-3 SD from the local mean (30-years centred on the value) which would allow for a gradual warming in both mean and  outlier threshold?

Cheers
Tim

On Wed, September 2, 2009 6:08 pm, Ian Harris wrote:

Tim

When you have the time and/or the inclination, please can you run the new TMP output through your IDL thingummajig? /cru/cruts/version_3_0/update_top/gridded_finals/data/data.0909021348/ tmp/cru_ts_3_00.1901.2008.tmp.dat.nc.gz

Please let me know if you can’t access it. I do appreciate your help!

Cheers

Harry

By now we know of the injury to Al Harris. Torn ACL out for the year. Now we learn that OLB Aaron Kampman has followed suit. Both have season ending knee injuries.

This all came from a game that had multiple injuries on both sides. OL David Baas, RB Michael Robinson, S Mark Roman and WR Arnaz Battle all went down for the Niners. Not sure on the length or the severity of those injuries at this point in time.

The Packers will seemingly use talented corner Tramon Williams with the first team to fill the void. They will need other guys like Brandon Underwood and Jarrett Bush to step up big time.

As far as Kampman’s spot, the Packers are have a little more depth at the linebacker position. Rookie Brad Jones stepped in a played pretty well against the Dallas Cowboys last week and should see plenty of action. Otherwise, they could go with Brady Poppinga in that spot.

The Packers should hope to figure it out right away. They have a game in three days against Detroit, who are coming off quite the offensive performance this past week.

Using only tape and garbage bags, Joshua Allen Harris creates giant inflatable animals that become animated when fastened to a sidewalk grate.  Steven Psyllos caught up with Harris recently to discuss his older works (including a bear and a giraffe) and unveil a new beast that looks not unlike the Cloverfield monster.

Voilà, ça y est, le salon Esperluette est fini… est c’était bien.
Deux jours sur le pont, de 10h00 à 19h00, sous pression constante pour éviter de dire des âneries (ma spécialité) ou de les dire trop fort… et pourtant on en redemande.

Pourquoi ? Parce que…
… il y avait du monde, du beau monde, du monde gentil, qui s’intéressait à ce qu’écrivaient les auteurs, même si ce n’était pas sa tasse de thé (« Moi j’aime pas la science-fiction »),
… il y avait Catherine Dufour, qui est gentille comme pas permis et qui dit des trucs super au lieu de se contenter d’en écrire (je cite de mémoire : « Hum… je réfléchis. »)
… il y avait Fabrice Colin, que j’ai peut-être un peu gavé par ma comparaison des stations de ski françaises et italiennes, mais c’est comme ça, groupie complex, on dit n’importe quoi au lieu de rien, et André-François Ruaud, que j’ai peut-être un peu gonflé aussi en lui demandant quel genre de texte il voulait pour sa revue Fiction,
… il y avait Delphine et Sylvain, qui avaient fait le voyage depuis Lyon à (presque) trois et que j’ai dû gonfler un peu aussi mais ils ont été assez gentils pour ne pas le montrer,
… il y avait Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès, tellement ému quand je lui ai dit merci pour son livre Là où les tigres sont chez eux (lisez-le, c’est beau, et puis prêtez-le)
… il y avait Eddy Harris, tellement grand, sage, ouvert, magnifique !
… il y avait Cathy, qui dessine des fées comme une fée (facile !) et qui, et que… non, Manu, je n’y ai pas touché !
… il y avait le chef papou (en pagne, plumes, os dans le nez et tout) avec qui j’ai déjeuné et papoté en pidgin et qui a dû partir en courant sinon il pissait là, par terre,
… il y avait tous ces gens qui ont pris le risque de s’offrir Djeeb le Chanceur jusqu’à ce qu’il n’y en ait plus, et tous les autres à qui je n’ai pu que le raconter (ben oui, y en avait plus, rupture),
… il y avait tous ces gens qui ont pris le risque de s’offrir Aria des Brumes, même sachant que la suite ne sortirait pas, enfin, pas tout de suite,
… il y avait Chloé et Isabelle, dont les sourires m’ont touché tout droit, là où ça fait chaud, parce qu’elles aiment ce que j’écris (Oh merci vous !)
… il y avait tous ces organisateurs si extraordinairement sympas, Thierry Caquais en tête, que j’en suis à me demander si Esperluette n’est pas le salon le plus agréable où je me sois rendu.

Voilà. Un bon week-end. Merci les gens. À bientôt j’espère.

Ismeretlen, titokzatos fiatal nő,Vianne Rocher érkezik a kis faluba, Lansquenet-be, és megnyitja “csokoládézóját” – a tenyérnyi kávézóval kombinált csokoládéboltot. Végre van egy hely, ahol elsuttoghatók a titkok, megszellőztethetők a sérelmek, kipróbálhatók az álmok. Amikor Vianne húsvétra csokoládéfesztivált szervez, a falu egész közösségét megosztja…

Ime az első olyan regény, amelyben a csokoládé elfoglalja a maga méltó helyét. A tartalmas, okos és franciásan pajzán könyv valamennyi érzékszervnek irodalmi ünnepet kínál.

A könyv alapján készült, világszerte hatalmas sikert aratott film már kölcsönözhető videokazettán és megvásárolható DVD-n.

Oldalak száma: 310
Borító: PUHATÁBLÁS, RAGASZTÓKÖTÖTT
Súly: 340 gr
ISBN: 9789632540030
Nyelv: MAGYAR
Kiadás éve: 2007
Fordító: SZÁNTÓ JUDIT
Árukód: 2145950 / 1031438

It was a night of whistles, but not from the fan section.  Bloomington was 34 of 48 from the line in a game that saw 58 fouls called, and the Lady Raiders downed cross-town rival Normal Community 65-51.  The intercity matchup moved the Lady Raiders to 2-1 in the tournament, but more importantly, gave them an opening win in the Big 12 conference race.

The game saw Bloomington jump out to an 18-9 first quarter lead, but Normal rallied to make it a one point margin at halftime, 27-26.  But a 12-1 run to open the 3rd quarter put the Lady Raiders in control, and Normal could get no closer than four points the rest of the way.

Shaneice Bell left midway through the first quarter with her third foul, but she keyed the 3rd quarter run with six points before picking up her 4th foul at the 3:41 mark in the third quarter.  Despite being plagued with foul trouble, she finished with eleven points on the night.

Sophomore Tiana Shickel was a force on the boards, pulling down 15 rebounds.

Teasha Harris netted 15 points and controlled the offensive from her point guard position.  She also had five steals on the night.

But the top individual performance belonged to Amanda Hainlen, who netted a game high 28 points, including 12 of 13 from the charity stripe.  The effort was within 1 of her career high of 29 against Decatur Eisenhower her junior year.  She also had 12 rebounds to record the double-double.

The road doesn’t get any easier, as the Lady Raiders return to action tonight against defending conference champion Normal West.  In what will be the final intercity tournament contest for Bloomington, the game also looms as a key early matchup in the Big 12 race.  Game time is 7:30 p.m., and will be played at Bloomington Central Catholic high school.

Summary:
Bill has been acting oddly distant with Sookie lately, so she isn’t exactly pleased when he announces he’s going to Seattle on a mission for the vampire queen of Louisiana.  She soon finds out from Pam and Eric, though, that Bill lied to her.  He’s actually been in Jackson, Mississippi with his one-time vampire lover, Lorena.  He’s also been kidnapped.  Something he’s been secretly up to has put them all in danger, so Sookie must put aside her anger for now and try to help the vampires free Bill and prevent a vampire war between the kingdoms of Mississippi and Louisiana.  Along the way, Sookie gets to know a whole lot more about the werewolves–not to mention about Eric.

Review:
I have to hand it to Harris, I expected there to be trouble in paradise for Bill and Sookie, but I didn’t expect it this soon or this serious.  Reading Club Dead made me realize this series isn’t about Sookie’s relationship with Bill, but about Sookie’s gradual entry into the supernatural world.  Bill just kind of served as a door.  I tend to be a bit of a romantic, but I’ve never really liked Bill nearly as much as the other supernatural guys, so let me just say–woohoo!

The plot is complex.  There are multiple mysteries for Sookie to figure out on top of dealing with her emotions about Bill’s betrayal and her odd popularity among the supernatural guys.  I enjoy the fact that she was never desired by human guys, but is among the the supernaturals.  It’s akin to the awkward growing up girl finding her niche in her 20s.  At first Sookie thought it was just Bill who has the major hots for her, but it turns out she’s a hot commodity with lots of the supernatural guys, but it isn’t just about her looks.  They like Sookie for her personality.  Something it seemed to me Bill never seemed to appreciate much.

Harris does a good job writing a unique werewolf world.  Whereas the vampires are notoriously cold emotionally, the werewolves are hot-blooded.  They’re passionate, strong, and animalistic.  Harris has them mostly working blue collar jobs, but excelling at it.  Sookie’s escort, Alcide, runs a highly profitable family general contracting business.

My only complaint is that Harris doesn’t seem to trust her readers to remember the rules of the world she’s created.  We get told yet again that silver chains can hold a vampire down, shifters aren’t out yet, Sookie had a hard time in school, the Japanese created synthetic blood, etc…  It’s annoying, and it makes it feel like Harris thinks she needs to dumb down the story for her readers.  I understand a quick rehash at the beginning of the book to remind us where we left off, but as for everything else, I think the reader can be trusted to remember that silver chain nets are dangerous to vampires.  Those parts are easily skimmed over though, and the res of the book makes up for it.

I originally was uncertain that Harris could keep Sookie Stackhouse’s world interesting for seven books.  I envisioned repeated “Bill and Sookie solve yet another mystery” outings, but I am glad to say I was mistaken.  As the books continue, more of the world is revealed, and Sookie’s life becomes more complicated.  I’m looking forward to what she’s going to reveal next.

If you enjoy the gradual building of a world around a strong female character, you will enjoy the direction this series is headed.

4 out of 5 stars

Source: Bought on Amazon

Previous Books in Series:
Dead Until Dark, review
Living Dead in Dallas, review

Well, can you?

Just as the title suggests.
This is the first attempt at a saying, can you perhaps conclude as to which?
I suppose if I said plainly ‘can you tell what it is yet’ it might be a wee bit of copyright infringement.
Oopsies.

So yes, if you didn’t get it, silly you, and for those who did, you’re quite right!
This is trying to represent the saying ‘You can’t teach an old dog new tricks’.

How, might you ask?
Well Jimmy, it’s portraying it, rather crudely, with a grown dog on one side, with a pup on the other.
With me so far? It gets heady from here on in!

Sorry, I’ll stop taking the mick soon.

Basically the circle with tangents spraying off represent the amount of tricks known by the animal, and the pup clearly have a lot more of them.
Perhaps a little over the top with the puppy being able to cook intricate puddings while calculating how much annual income you are pulling in, sure!
But hey, this is my work, so nyaaaah!

Peace out, bra’.

A three point first quarter was too much to overcome, and Bloomington lost to Central Catholic 61-40 last night in intercity play.

The Lady Raiders trailed by 12 after one quarter, and fell behind by 17 in the second before rallying to cut the lead to ten late in the first half.  But a 6-2 run to close out the half and a 20-12 third quarter scoring advantage gave Central Catholic an insurmountable lead, and the Lady Raiders fell to 1-1 on the season.

Statistically, Amanda Hainlen again led Bloomington with 16 points and 12 rebounds.  Tiana Shickel had six points and ten rebounds, and Teasha Harris contributed nine points.

The Lady Raiders return to intercity action Friday night in their conference opener against Normal Community.  Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Central Catholic high school.

SouthCom: Washington Develops its Operations in Soto Cano Airbase in Honduras
By Arnold August, November 18, 2009.

According to a November 17 press release, http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/ussouthcom-cs-selects-harris-corporation–million-services-program-ites-s/ Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company, was awarded the U.S. Southern Command (SouthCom) Command, Control, Communications and Computer Systems operations and maintenance program for Joint Task Force (JTF) Bravo at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras. This five-year task order contract has a base year plus four one-year options and is valued at $38 million — including all options.

This critical infrastructure program supports the Commander of JTF-Bravo — the Commander of all U.S. military operations in Central America in the execution of SouthCom’s strategy to build Partner Nation Capacity. It is intended to bolster security, stability and prosperity in the Americas. This responsibility, according to the press release, encompasses:

- Advancing new visions of the U.S. Government and institutions of the region.

- Reducing sources of conflict and tension.

- Promoting partnership in times of need.

- Empowering initiatives to thwart narcotics trafficking and other transnational threats.

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets worldwide. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and more than 15,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists.

As the Honduran people are developing their struggle to boycott the fraudulent November 29 elections and in favor of a Constituent Assembly, Washington is already arrogantly stepping up its post-November 29 program. For imperialism, it is business as usual, irrespective of the positions, sacrifices and feelings of the vast majority of people in Honduras.

This latest decision under the Obama Administration provides the people an opportunity to see once again what constitute the new visions of the U.S. Government and institutions of the region. They are not new, but the same imperialist vision of domination and interference by the US in the entire hemisphere south of the Rio Grande. The only thing that is new is the appearance with the goal of having the peoples of the region and the world accept the old policies but disguised in new rhetoric.

As far as the above-stated goal of reducing sources of conflict and tension, if the US was really interested in this, President Zelaya would have been reinstated a long time ago; the repression by the US trained military in Honduras and Micheletti would not only have been stopped, but the guilty would have been tried and punished for the crimes committed against the people of Honduras.

However, after all, this is the same Washington which recently concluded the agreement with Columbia for the establishment of the seven military bases there.

According to Jake on the Syracuse Scout forums, who has always been a reliable source, Tobias will be committing to Tennessee instead of Syracuse.  Rumors ran rampant yesterday after Harris was spotted at the Tennessee game.  Obviously nothing is official until tomorrow, when he announces his pick in NYC (The same time that Cuse is in NYC, that would’ve been nice), but Harris looks to be a lock for the Vols.

Obviously I would have loved for Harris to come the Syracuse, but Beoheim still has an incredible class coming in next year, and who know what can happen.  This could turn out in our favor if we end up signing somebody else (Anyone remember the Julius Hodge/Hakim Warrick trade-off?)

Cuando disenas una estrategia de Word of Mouth, debes llegar al momento donde se evaluan posibles hubs para ayudar a propagar la idea, causa, o producto; y es cuando muchas veces valoramos erroneamente a una figura publica.  Y no por la persona, sino por los objetivos de la estrategia, la audiencia objetivo y muchas otras metricas.

Adweek Media y Harris condujeron una encuesta en Estados Unidos, que buscaba observar a celebridades y su persuasion en ese mercado. Entre los resultados, vemos que el 23% de los encuestados opina que las estrellas de cine o TV son las menos convincentes al estar apoyando un producto; contrario al 21% que piensa que los Atletas son mucho mas convincentes al apoyar un producto.

Celebrity Endorsements That Are Most Persuasive (% of U.S. Adults by Age Segment)

Source: HarrisInteractive, November 2009

Recuerdo haber leido un estudio hace varios meses, y me llamo la atencion el dato de que en America Latina, se tiende a confiar mas en las figuras politicas de lo que confian en Europa o en EEUU, principalmente los menores de 23 annios (no recuerdo la edad exacta). 

Saludos,

I’m not really an X Factor fan, so this is a little late, but what exactly was that annoyingly over-rated idiot Calvin Harris hoping to archieve with his stunt with the pineapple?!?

Bloomington opened their season with a 44-37 win over Normal U-High in the intercity tournament played at Bloomington Central Catholic high school.  Although Bloomington held U-High to just two first quarter points, the sometimes lackluster performance saw that early lead evaporate.  The Lady Raiders were outscored 20-8 in a stagnant 2^nd quarter, giving U-High a 22-16 halftime lead.

But Amanda Hainlen’s basket with 1:50 remaining in the 3^rd quarter gave Bloomington a 27-26 lead they wouldn’t relinquish the remainder of the game.  Shaneice Bell had two key blocks at the 3:11 mark, and Hainlen’s free throw with 2:22 remaining gave the Lady Raiders a five point lead.  U-High cut the lead to four with 2:12 remaining, but two Teasha Harris free throws at the 1:01 mark pushed the Bloomington lead back to six.  A late three point bucket wasn’t enough to get U-High back in the game, and the Lady Raiders held on for the victory.

Hainlen led all scorers with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Shaneice Bell added 15 points and 11 boards.  Teasha Harris had nine points, and sophomore Tiana Shickel pulled down eight rebounds in her first varsity action.

Bloomington returns to action in intercity play Wednesday night (11/18) with a 6:00 p.m. matchup against host Central Catholic.

 --  Advancing new visions of the U.S. Government and institutions
of the region.

--  Reducing sources of conflict and tension.

--  Promoting partnership in times of need.

--  Empowering initiatives to thwart narcotics trafficking and other
transnational threats.

This critical infrastructure program supports the Commander of JTF-Bravo — the Commander of all U.S. military operations in Central America in the execution of USSOUTHCOM’s strategy to build Partner Nation Capacity. It is intended to bolster security, stability and prosperity in the Americas.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

USSOUTHCOM C4S Selects Harris Corporation for $38 Million IT Services Program Under ITES-2S Contract

 --  Advancing new visions of the U.S. Government and institutions of the
   region.

   --  Reducing sources of conflict and tension.

   --  Promoting partnership in times of need.

   --  Empowering initiatives to thwart narcotics trafficking and other
   transnational threats.

“We look forward to continuing our long-term relationship with USSOUTHCOM,” said John Heller, vice president and general manager, Harris IT Services. “We are proud that USSOUTHCOM has selected the Harris IT Services team to advance their C4S mission, as it shows their confidence in our ability to deliver on our commitments.”

Team Harris consists of the company’s IT Services, Harris Communications Honduras (HCH), Charter Trading Company, STG Inc., and Smartronix. Under the contract, Team Harris will continue to administer work such as:

   --  JTF-Bravo's C4 systems and networks, supporting network and
   telecommunications customer services (IT Help Desk).

   --  C4S installation and upgrade services.

   --  Information assurance/computer network defense.

   --  Telecommunications and circuit management.

   --  Microwave communications systems, including power production at remote
   microwave sites

Harris IT Services is a leading provider of mission-critical IT and communications services and support to defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil and commercial customers. With more than 3,000 professionals performing to the highest industry standards at locations worldwide, Harris IT Services offers essential past performance, proven technical expertise and innovative solutions in supporting large-scale IT programs that encompass the full technology lifecycle. The organization delivers best-value results to customers through its distributed workforce, present in all 50 states, and extensive experience in performance-based contracting and managed IT services.

About Harris Corporation

Harris is an international communications and information technology company serving government and commercial markets worldwide. Headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, the company has approximately $5 billion of annual revenue and more than 15,000 employees — including nearly 7,000 engineers and scientists. Harris is dedicated to developing best-in-class assured communications(R) products, systems, and services. Additional information about Harris Corporation is available at www.harris.com

Sound interesting? Find great jobs at Harris: www.careers.harris.com

SOURCE Harris Corporation

http://www.harris.com

HOJE NÃO MÁRCIO n

Estamos aqui meus queridos leitores deste blog mais humilde do que pobre depois de enchente. Hoje vamos discutir o que fazer quando seu namorado acabar com você! É um assunto sério leitores, pois estamos falando sobre seu futuro promissor ~cara de marsia goldichimiti~

NUMBER FIVE

ARRANJE UM 22KO  – Depois daquele último relacionamento você não quer mais olhar para outro homem? DESISTE BEESHA n!  Arranje um gato ~miauuuu~e sempre diga para suas amigas que te odeiam ” Meu namorado é mais gato que o de vocês ” e depois, caia na risada

NUMBER FOUR

FAÇA CIÚMES PARA SEU EX – Depois de arrajar o 22ko, saiba quem é a namorada dele, e saiba onde ele vai estar e quando, mas não parece que você está obcecada.

NUMBER THREE

TENTE FRUSTAR ELE EM PÚBLICO – Essa é melhor parte KKK Nada melhor de frustar seu ex e falar o que ele tem de ruim para a nova namorada dele.

NUMBER TWO

APAGUE TUDO O QUE FAZ LEMBRAR DELE – Cartas, número de telefone, fotos, amigos… o máximo o que puder!

NUMBER ONE E O MAIS IRÔNICO

MATE-O – Nada melhor que uma morte sem vestígios e feliz (: n

Esperem os outros posts, esse foi espontâneo.

What a wonderful beach view painted by Robert Kelsey. I have made it as far North West as Barra, but this beach in the Outer Hebrides is just where I could spend a few days – very bonnie !

More Robert Kelsey | The Bay Attic

This image is a signed limited edition print run of 250.This print is available in size small 22″ x 11″. All our prints are produced on heavyweight mould made pH neutral etching paper. The inks used are archival quality pigment inks.

Debate – Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett vs Dinesh D’Souza, Shmuley Boteach, Robert Wright. La Ciudad de las Ideas 2009 Re-evolution (English Version)

If you STILL do not know about the ChartJackers, read this first.

Last night the ChartJackers project came to an end. This post is an update to my post last night about the ChartJackers.

THEY ARE NUMBER 36! YES, OFFIC IAL UK CHARTS LIST THE CHARTJACKERS ON 36!
That would be enough caps lock I’d say.

Ok, awesomeness, the ChartJackers did it. Lots of text and Reggie Yates ( the BBC DJ ) said people to support the guys. Nerimon was in the show via the phone and awesomeness arose. I will see if I can find the bit with the ChartJackers later on, will update on that tomorrow if I can.

Everyone, buy the song if you haven’t yet. UK based people will get the lads perhaps in next weeks charts!
Non-UK based people. your money still goes to charity for the eternal everness. SO BUY IT!

Daily Quote: ‘I’m peng. I didn’t know whether it was  an insult or what so I was confused. My family all called me peng. It means good looking’. – Reggie Yates in the chart show today.

Also, Calvin Harris had a pineapple on his head at the X Factor during Jedwards performance. See it here. Apparently he had tweeted a Twitpic the night before saying IMPORTANT! (see the Twitpic here)  When you clicked the link all you saw was a picture of a pineapple. It all makes sense now. He got kicked of the show though.

Have a ChartJacking day (:

A while ago, at the same time that I bought Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris I bought another by her, the first Sebastian St. Cyr mystery (on which she is listed as “C.S. Harris” – wonder why): What Angels Fear. (Oh, that’s why – it’s not Charlaine Harris. Well, that kind of explains it. Don’t I feel silly.) I made the jump from Urban-slash-contemporary fantasy to plain old good-stuff fantasy to period mystery with this one… And I’m following it with a reread of Caleb Carr’s The Alienist. The two are superficially similar: both are set in the murky depths of a city somewhere around the turn of the century (although different centuries). Both feature gaslight and hansom cabs and foul weather. Both begin with the depraved and sexually tinged (if rape can ever be called sex) murder of a should-be-but-isn’t-innocent. They’re both very well written indeed, and both excellent books…

What Angels Fear opens with the murder of a young woman who turns out to be an actress-cum-prostitute (Cyprian – I’d forgotten about that term). At the scene of the crime is found a dueling pistol with the name “St. Cyr” engraved on it – which obviously incriminates Sebastian St. Cyr, young nobleman and rake, who has been a sore disappointment to his father. But Sebastian (SSC) didn’t do it, and when the officious twits of the London police force come to arrest him, he is rather indignant, especially when the Beau Brummel-wannabe sergeant mouths off to him. SSC puts the latter in his place, which may have been a bit of a tactical error given the circumstances – and given that the sergeant has a knife and a temper. In the end, the second constable stumbles onto the knife, the sergeant is yelling that SSC has killed him, and SSC runs for it. At that point his choices are: turn himself in and hope for the best (although the case is strong against him, and whoever else could or would have stabbed the constable?); find a ship to smuggle him to America or somewhere; or stay hidden and try to find the real killer. SSC being SSC, he has no real choice – he has to try to clear his name.

In working to do so, SSC must turn to the woman who broke his heart several years ago, Kat Boleyn, and a doctor friend who provides valuable forensic information; he is also joined by a young boy who starts off trying to pick his pocket and, in the grand tradition of Regency and Victorian novels, becomes his ally. (And of course he’s much cleverer than SSC was expecting; I swear I’m tempted to write a book about a street urchin being taken under someone’s wing, someone who realizes the boy is at least as intelligent as anyone in society, and educating him and training him to “pass” – and maybe end up in Parliament. I’ll call it “My Fair Laddie.”) I don’t want it to sound like it’s Just Another Regency; it has some rather standard plot turns, and I admit I saw the end coming a ways off, but I was enjoying myself so much that didn’t care. And I did think the killer was someone else; there were some lovely red herrings.

There was political intrigue – the French, of course, and the mess surrounding the Madness of King George – which usually annoys me, but this was quite well done and well integrated into the plot: it’s integral, and more cloak-and-dagger than oh-lord-not-another-worldwide-conspiracy. There was some truly wonderful period detail. And I loved the characters. The supporting cast could easily have been a cast of cliches, but Harris provided enough twists and quirks that those who peopled this novel came quite close to living and breathing. Sebastian St. Cyr is not Mr. Darcy, nor Julian Kestrel, nor William Monk, nor yet Sherlock Holmes, or any of the other dandy or detective (or both) heroes of gaslit fame; he is himself, damaged by childhood tragedies, a cold father, and heartbreak and war horrors as an adult. I have to admit, I was still in Fantasy mode when I started this, and still thinking it was by the author of supernatural mysteries, so when the narrative started talking about how he could see almost perfectly well in the dark and hear what no one else could I kept expecting a paragraph along the lines of “He caught the scent of blood on the constable’s coat, and turned his face away. He had learned to manage his unholy hungers, but since the night he was bitten he lived in constant fear of losing control”… Obviously I was wrong, and I’m glad of it. (It was an odd experience, though…) I loved the book; it wasn’t perfect – again, there was really only one way the climactic struggle could end – but it was close enough. C.S. Harris is on The List, and I can’t wait to get hold of more of her books, SSC and everything else besides. (The SSC series has what has to be the slickest theme for its titles that I’ve seen: What Angels Fear, Where Serpents Sleep, Why Mermaids Sing, When Gods Die – very nice. No Who?)

While What Angels Fear takes place in London in 1811, The Alienist is set in 1896 Manhattan, but the feel is much the same: masterful writing, a milieu lit by gaslight, a sea change in the political arena, hansom cabs and boys snatched from certain hanging to work for “nobs”; depraved murder of someone the public won’t miss, and about whom the public wouldn’t care except it’s not the only killing and at some point less expendable members of society might be targeted… Unusual detectives and hansom cabs and fighting the Establishment to find the real killer: these are the similarities. I know the resemblance ends about there, but I only just began The Alienist and it’s been years since I first read it, so I’ll not venture further. I do remember absolutely loving the book, and being rather disappointed that Caleb Carr a) didn’t write dozens more and b) turned out to be something of a radical. But I’m already relishing the reread.

Oh dear. Now I’m going to be stuck in the groove of Gaslight Mystery. Anne Perry, here I come.