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Jonathan in US, Meets Obama Today
From Tokunbo Adedoja in New York and Olawale Olaleye in Lagos, 04.11.2010
A cting President Goodluck Jonathan will be received today in the White House by the US President, Mr. Barack Obama, at 5.45p.m after arriving Washington DC, at 9a.m (4a.m Nigerian time) this morning for the Nuclear Security Summit.
Jonathan and his entourage, travelled late last night to the US on Nigeria Air Force 001, the Presidential jet.
This is clearly an indication of the change in status of the acting president as the official aircraft of the Nigerian vice president is the Gulf Stream V.
Taking a cue from the US system; only the American Presidents travel on the Air Force One. The US Vice President has his official jet which is Air Force Two.
According to the President’s itinerary obtained by THISDAY yesterday, Jonathan would be received at the Air Force Base, Washington DC by members of the Nigerian mission in US, led by Professor Adebowale Adefuye. US officials are also expected to be on ground to receive the Acting President.
Jonathan will be accompanied on the visit by Foreign Affairs Minister, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke, and her counterpart in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Olusegun Aganga.
Also expected to join the Acting President at the meeting with Obama are Adefuye, former Ambassador Hassan Adamu and Nigeria Ambassador to the United Nations, Professor Joy Ogwu.
Tomorrow, the Acting President would hold a breakfast meeting with the Council on Foreign Relations and then have lunch with US Vice President, Joe Biden. Jonathan will also meet with the World Bank President, Robert Zoellick, at 3p.m from where he would depart for the opening ceremony of the Nuclear Security Summit at 4:30p.m.
The Acting President would spend the whole of Tuesday at the Nuclear Security Summit. On Wednesday, according to the itinerary,Jonathan would have a breakfast meeting at the Center for Global Development and hold lunch with Corporate Council on Africa.
A meeting had also been scheduled to hold between him and the President of ExxonMobil at 3p.m the same day. The Acting President is expected to depart US 6p.m on Wednesday for Nigeria after meeting with the Nigerian community at 4p.m.
The US trip also marked Jonathan’s first official trip outside the country since he became Acting President.
The presidential jet, a Boeing 737-700, was converted to BBJ- a business jet. It has the capacity to travel 10 hours without stopping to refuel. The fuel capacity can therefore not enable the plane to make a direct flight to the US. What this means is that the jet would stop-over either in Darka, Senegal or London, United Kingdom where it is expected to refuel before it continues with the trip.
On Jonathan’s entourage are Minister of Foreign Affairs, Odein Ajuimogobia (SAN); minister of state for Foreign Affairs, Aliyu Idi Hong, Minister of finance, Olusegun Aganga, Wakili Adamawa, Amb. Hassan ÆAdamu, Dr Emmanuel Egbogah, Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum; Dr Martins Uhomoibhi, Permanent Secretary Ministry of Foreign Affairs and oil magnate, Mr Femi Otedola. Minister of Petroleum, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke who on official duties is in Los Angeles, United States will also join the acting president’s team in Washington.
Five state governors are also in the entourage, amongst whom is Governor Ikedi Ohakim of Imo State, who had earlier gone to the US.
His advance team, THISDAY learnt, had left for the US since Friday. Members of the advance team included senior special assistant on strategy, Mr. Oronto Douglas and his colleague in charge of media, Mr. Ima Niboro.
The United States largest hand-dug well, with a new museum on the way
Kansans, it seems, have dug themselves into a hole, and they couldn’t be happier about it.
Boasted as the world’s largest hand dug well, and known as “The Big Well” it was begun in 1884, with farmers, cowboys and transients in crews of 10 to 15 working from sun-up till sun-down using only shovels, picks, a half barrel, pulley and rope to dig the well. Their pay was 50 cents to a dollar a day.
At 32 feet wide and 109 feet deep, it is indeed a very big well, though despite its claim, the Big Well isn’t quite the largest hand-dug in the world. The Pozzo di S. Patrizio or St. Patrick’s Well, built in 1527 in Orvieto, Italy, is larger as 200 feet by 42 feet, but it is certainty the largest in the US.
Recently named on of the 8 wonders of Kansas, the residents of Greensburg have long been proud of their well, but maintaining it hasn’t always been easy going. The well was a popular stop in the 1970s and 1980s, with thousands of visitors stopping by each year to throw a coin, shoe, or other lucky item into the bottom, (in the 90s the town hired divers to clean the bottom of the well and a silver onyx crucifix was found) and many buying the two dollar ticket to take a journey down into the well. But by the 1990s it seems that the well’s supply of tourists had dried up.
Even worse in 2007 a tornado, destroyed almost the entire town, including the Well’s visitor center, leaving only a few buildings and, of course, the well itself. But what was initially a disaster became a chance for Greensburg to put themselves and their well, on the map. The town began rebuilding as the most “environmentally friendly little town” in America. Solar panels and composting toilets were installed and with the help of TV show “Planet Green,” which was about the towns recovery and conversion to green tech, the town began to receive attention and visitors many of whom made a stop by the Big Well.
Greensburg decided that as well as renovating the town, it was time to renovate the Big Well and a 3 million dollar museum has been planned. Not all the residents are so sure though that a fancy museum will attract enough visitors to come to the Big Well to make it worth the cost. Nonetheless the plans are moving forward and hopefully, the new Big Well Museum will do well, big time.
Read more about The Big Well on Atlas Obscura…
Category: Subterranean Sites
Location: Greensburg Fire Department, Kansas, US
Edited by: Dylan
| EDFix Call #8 – Summary (12 min.) |
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| EDFix Call #8 – Full (52 min.) |
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Brian Behlendorf of Collabnet, Apache Foundation and most recently the US Government's Connect project, joined our EDFix call on March 22 to talk about open source approaches to addressing social problems. (I apologize for the poor audio quality on the recording of this very interesting call. Future recordings will be better.)
Two key insights I garnered from the call:
When US CTO Aneesh Chopra invited Brian to join the Connect project it was already underway and, in fact, had released an open source software package. What Brian started to work on was building an open source community to encourage use and contributions by others, ranging from the 26 government agencies that share health data to the many different constituencies, large and small, in industry. To build an engaged community, Brian focused on using an open development process including public coding "sprints", using open development tools for managing code releases, issue tracking and building a public discussion stream that anyone could join. He also reached out to those constituencies, including taking a trip to Houston for the recent HIMSS conference where he participated in a showcase with 50 other Connect users.
I'm interested in better understanding commercial interests in open sourcing products and how this might serve business sustainability. Brian suggested that open source infrastructure can be developed to solve generic problems — problems where companies would prefer to "split the cost". This infrastructure is "just the plumbing" that sits underneath products the commercial sector does compete with.
Though we may dip back into the Sustainability Commons periodically, calls 8 and 9 are the formal conclusion of that module of the EDFix Conference Calls.
Starting with the April 12 call (at 9am PT), we'll switch to a module on Sustainability and Transportation Priorities, during which we'll be focusing on the opportunities for improving environmental performance in the transportation space. Corporate truck fleets are a major opportunity for greening business. The first call will be with my EDF colleague, Jason Mathers, who will describe the lay of the land. Don't miss it!
Quite often, you may find some blogs with horrible designs and backgrounds. The content is good and you want to read the page but the colors used in the site’s layout make it impossible to read. If you want to get rid of all the colors from a webpage, the Nocolor Firefox add-on will come in handy. The add-on removes all the background images and colors, thus offering a clean reading environment.
Download the No Color Firefox add-on. Internet explorer users can try IESurfGear instead.
Once the add-on is installed, restart Firefox and go to Tools > add-ons > Nocolor > Options. Choose the text and background color which you want to see once you use the extension.
The add-on adds a small button in the status bar and a link in the “View” menu so that you can quickly remove all the background garbage from cluttered webpages and read the content at ease.
I tried the add-on on Techie Buzz and here are the results:
Before
After
Note that the add-on is not an ad blocker and neither it removes the borders. It will remove the background colors and replace the text color with your chosen color from the add-on options.
If you love designing websites and themes, often you would search the web for design inspiration. Whenever I am designing something and want to create a CSS structure for a theme or layout, I will head over to a popular blog or website and see how the designer has implemented the CSS. I would turn on Firebug and then see the different Div tags one by one and learn to code myself.
But most of the themes contain colors, images and other graphics which is of course a barrier when you are learning to code. The Nocolor add-on, paired with Firebug helps to copy the CSS structure with all colors disabled.
The add-on removes the colors but should have more options to choose from. I would love to see more features included in the future versions – remove the borders, block the ads etc.
Techie Buzz rating: 3/5 (average).
Below is a video of Ron Paul’s speech at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference (SRLC) in New Orleans.
Date: 4/10/2010
Related posts:
Article Tags: You could not make it up
Proposal to declare mass destruction of ecosystems a crime on a par with genocide launched by lawyer
Supporters of a new ecocide law also believe it could be used to
prosecute “climate deniers” who distort science and facts to discourage voters and politicians from taking action to tackle global warming and climate change.
“Ecocide is in essence the very antithesis of life,” says Higgins. “It leads to resource depletion, and where there is escalation of resource depletion, war comes chasing behind. Where such destruction arises out of the actions of mankind, ecocide can be regarded as a crime against peace.”
Click source for a modern day version of burning witches at the stake! This article from the Guardian has now had some changes, it does not include the original comment Supporters of a new ecocide law also believe it could be used to prosecute “climate deniers” who distort science and facts to discourage voters and politicians from taking action to tackle global warming and climate change just goes to show the original mindset involved!
Source: guardian.co.uk
The Ant and The Aardvark – The Froze Nose Knows. This Mirisch Films, Inc. cartoon was released on November 18, 1970.
Produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng. Directed by Gerry Chiniquy. Story by Dale Hale. Animation by Robert Bentley, Manny Gould, Kenneth Muse, Manuel Perez, and Robert Taylor. Color Design by Richard H. Thomas. Film Editing by Lee Gunther. Graphic Design by Dick Ung. Production Management by Jim Foss. Camera Operation and Electrical Department by John Burton Jr. Production Coordination by Harry Love. Voices by John Byner (Ant, Aardvark). Original Music by Doug Goodwin.
What’s on your mind?
Things exploded into violence yesterday in Thailand with 18 reported deaths so far and casualties well over 500. Many accuse protesters of being bribed to attend, protesting just to collect money and free food. Yet for the protesters shown in this video, it’s hard to believe given their intensity, captured by one brave person on the ground who somehow manages to maintain a sense of humor.
The clash begins at the 3:00 mark. Warning: This is graphic at the end. (See the original video here with additional commentary)
Join the conversation about this story »
-The adorable Betty White showed off the Apple iPad on the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Friday night….
-Who says controversy doesn’t equal cash? Controversial crackpot Glenn Beck earned $32 million last year?
-Meinhardt Raabe, who played the Munchkin coroner in The Wizard of Oz, has died. He was 94….
– Kellan Lutz is falling in “Love” with Mandy Moore…..
–Dreamgirls director Bill Condon is in chats to direct the next Twilight movie….
–Bacon-flavored baby food?!
–Nancy Kerrigan’s brother has pleaded non guilty to charges that he killed the figure skater’s father during a dispute in January…..
-Erin Andrews was on
http://www.redlasso.com/ClipPlayer.aspx?id=98cd9aa2-e632-4665-a687-56ec4dc059a9″>Good Day LA yesterday….
-TLC’s Chilli is looking for love with the help of VH1….
-The reviews are in for Broadway’s The Addams Family….and it sounds like this stage musical is one kooky misfire….
-Lil Wayne protege Nicki Minaj has pulled out of a summer tour with Ke$ha and Rihanna and fired her manager….
–American Idol alum Danny Gokey performs his single “Best Days Are Ahead of Me” on Tampa’s FOX 13…..
-Is there a Drake/Justin Bieber collabo in the works….
–Twilight’s Ashley Greene has been cast in the new comedy Butter….
-What have pelicians got against local bird experts….
–Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune will remain on the air for years to come….
-Universal Studios has pulled the plug on Josh Brolin’s $40 million drama Cartel due to script and budget concerns….
-In case you missed it, South Park took on Facebook this week….
-Leighton Meester is the new face (and hair) of Herbal Essences….
-It’s time for Parade’s annual “What People Earn” issue….
-A Wisconsin town has elected a 19-year-old mayor!
-Selena Gomez and Leighton Meester head for Monte Carlo….
-In WTF News: Real Housewives of Atlanta gay bestie Dwight Eubanks has announced his engagement — to a woman! Is this a belated April Fools Day joke? Excuse me, but do you know any heterosexual men that wear fur pants? If he’s straight, so is Little Richard…..
The President of The Heritage Foundation, Dr. Edwin J. Feulner, today passed along his heartfelt condolences to the people of Poland and joins them in mourning the tragic passing of their President, Lech Kaczynski, the First Lady Maria Kaczynska and other Polish officials and ministers. Dr. Feluner stated:
“On behalf of the entire Heritage family I pass to the people of Poland our heartfelt condolences for the tragedy that occurred this morning. Poland is a strong ally, one we can count on as evidenced by the more than 2,000 Polish troops fighting alongside ours in Afghanistan. And Poland has been a friend from the very start of our Republic, whose birth was aided by the brave General Pulaski.
“The Heritage Foundation has a long and proud association with Poland, with both its leaders and its people. And as Americans, we will forever be grateful for Polands unstinting support in the wake of our own tragedy on 9/11.
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Poland is a country which has suffered monstrously over the years, most notably in fighting for its freedom against Nazism and Communism. President Kaczynski will forever be remembered as a true Polish patriot, with an unflinching commitment to his countrys liberty and self-determination. Poland can take comfort that their great advances as a nation in the past two decades represent the culmination of President Kaczynskis hard work and lifelong dedication to his beloved country.
“On my many visits to Poland, I have always been struck by the fortitude of her courageous people and leaders. Today, they and we are deeply saddened. As our Polish friends come to terms with their devastating loss, they can be sure that the American people stand shoulder to shoulder with them in this dark hour.
Curious as to what you’ll find exactly in 3D Dot Game Heroes? Not to worry, the first ten minutes of the game is now up and circulating the web for your examination.
Lawyer and National Review writer Shannen W. Coffin is Fed Up with oppressive governmental intrusions upon his Liberty, such as his inability to buy toxic pajamas for his children and the fact that he has to pick up after his dog after it takes a crap. He’s pretty upset, saying “you don’t have to be Ted Kaczynski to feel just a little overwhelmed.” Yikes!
Clearly, Coffin needs some perspective, stat, before the cop who tickets him for leaving dogshit all over the sidewalk gets a pipe bomb in his mailbox. To this end we shall borrow the humorous premise of the classic and not at all disturbing 1940 short A Case of Spring Fever, in which a man named Gilbert Willoughby learns that if you long for a world without springs, much to your sorrow, your wish will be granted by a demented animated spring-sprite named “Coily.” (No, really.) By the Power of the Internet, we hereby grant Coffin his wish: NO REGULATIONS! (Must be imagined in voice of Coily for Full Comedic Effect and Maximum Laffs.)
SCENE. The Coffin Household.
Bleary-eyed, I crawl out of bed, shuffle into the bathroom, and flip on the lights, but the bulb is out. I remind myself to get to Home Depot and stockpile a few cases of good, old-fashioned incandescent bulbs while I still can.
He has to flip the switch a few times to see if the problem is just that there’s no electricity, because maybe the Enron guys felt like sleeping in again. But then the light comes on — and the bulb explodes, burning off Coffin’s eyebrows. Houses don’t have to be wired to code, you know! NO REGULATIONS!
After my morning business, I flush an extra time, since 1.6 gallons just doesn’t seem to do the trick. But at least we’re saving water, huh? Hop in the shower, where the water trickles out at an EPA-limited 2.5 gallons per minute. I think I’ll stay in here for an extra ten minutes or so.
But of course the morning business bubbles up from the shower drain, because there’s no such thing as plumbing codes either! And it’s cheaper to have plumbing done by inexperienced immigrants who work for slave wages anyhow! Coffin leaps out of the tub, his bare feet caked with his own morning filth! NO REGULATIONS!
I walk out to get the morning paper and take out the trash. “Honey, make sure to put out the recycling, too.” Right. I hope we sorted this stuff correctly.
There’s no recycling — freedom! He’s eyebrowless and afflicted with stinkfoot, but maybe this no regulation thing will work out after all! But upon opening the front door Coffin is buried under a huge mountain of garbage. He pokes his head out of the trashpile with the inevitable comical banana peel dangling over his forehead: there’s no municipal sanitation department, and there’s no one to force the private garbage company from providing shitty service, because it’s a monopoly! NO REGULATIONS!
As I’m contemplating whether you can recycle pizza boxes, my dog fertilizes the lawn, so I go looking for a plastic bag (without holes).
Everyone is free to let their dogs poop everywhere, and so they do! And since everyone in this Brave Poo World is a Randian Objectivist, and since everybody who ever lost their marbles after reading Atlas Shrugged always assumed somebody else would be cleaning up the shit, the whole neighborhood is a fetid swamp of canine feces three feet deep! NO REGULATIONS!
I load my daughter into my fuel-inefficient SUV, asking myself how many hybrids the manufacturer had to make to offset the hit against Department of Transportation CAFE standards. She’s comfortably seated in her state-mandated booster seat.
The SUV immediately explodes because of a faulty fuel tank, spewing debris across the suburban pet-fecal hellscape that had been anyway poisoned because of leaded gasoline contamination! Still, beats having the government force you to do anything ridiculous, like keeping your kids from dying because they don’t have the correct car seats! I begin to suspect that the original is becoming too ludicrous to be amenable to satire! Anyhow, NO REGULATIONS!
With no time for a decent breakfast, we hop in the drive-through lane at McDonald’s. I wonder how they’re going to get all that nutrition information required by Obamacare on the drive-through menu. Or how I’m going to be able to read it. Not to worry, though — at least no insurance company can refuse to cover me for my high cholesterol now. Who says there is no such thing as a free breakfast?
That doesn’t even make any sense! Fast food places have been posting nutrition information long before Obama was president! And you’re a frickin’ DC lawyer and former Cheney apparatchik — you have insurance! But to continue the joke, you get yourself & your kid a nice Crack McMuffin and wash it down with McLaudanum Shakes to start your day — and it’s perfectly legal: remember, NO REGULATIONS!
When I get home that night, I lunge for the remote as the all-too-familiar Cialis ad is coming on. The kids don’t need to hear about side effects in excess of four hours. (Four hours? Really?)
This still happens because corporate capitalism still exists. Except… no FCC! You and your kids are now watching Bob & Liddy doing the nasty, perhaps wearing some sort of patriotic fetish gear! Freedom! NO REGULATIONS!
After sending them off to bed in their Consumer Product Safety Commission–compliant pajamas, I look at a stack of bills.
No more bills — hired goons just come to your house to beat the snot out of you once a month to collect on your Visa. And what are you gonna do about it? Also, all American children are dead because of Osh Kosh B’Gosh’s misguided foray into electric bathing footie pajama marketing! NO REGULATIONS!
Oh, and you’re a corporate lawyer…? No you’re not! Corporations just hire, say, Blackwater mercs to do what needs to be done. NO REGULATIONS!
Now, quit your bitching about having to take out the recycling like it means you’re worse off than the Russian peasants under Stalin, you great big geek of a baby, and go bore the daylights out of your horrible friends on the golf course about the wonders of trivial legislation, like a good little Gilbert Willoughby, won’t you?
The electrics are coming, the electrics are coming! And that’s a good thing from the point of view of the Electrification Coalition, a group of business leaders (includingNissan, Cisco Systems,PG&E and Johnson Controls) that came together last year. The coalition predicts that by 2040, 75 percent of U.S. passenger vehicle miles traveled will be “electric miles.” But there will be winners and losers, something advocates are sometimes reluctant to admit.
The coalition’s projections are usually among the rosiest out there, and that’s certainly true of its latest economic forecast, prepared by the University of Maryland’s Infoforum and Keybridge Research. If the Coalition’s policy recommendations are implemented, it predicts:
I talked to Coalition Policy Director Sam Ori about all this. Since there will undoubtedly be many jobs lost as well — I was thinking specifically of auto suppliers, since EVs have fewer moving parts — does the group conclude that there will still be such a strong positive impact?
“Yes,” Ori said. “The 1.9 million is a net figure, using mainstream forecasts of GDP and other factors as the reference case scenario. We layer on a scenario that includes penetration of EVs.” The travel and tourism jobs, he said, will result from people “having more disposable income that they will spend on a range of things.”
Ori acknowledged that parts suppliers would be affected. “Employment in certain sectors of the traditional internal-combustion supply chain will no longer exist,” he said, “but they will be replaced with jobs making components for electric vehicles. There will also be less need for petroleum-related jobs, but we still think the jobs created will be more than the jobs lost.”
The Coalition doesn’t see EVs completely replacing internal combution anytime soon. By 2030, it sees perhaps 75 percent penetration. “There will always be a need for internal-combustion engine parts and a complete supply chain,” said Ori.
I called the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) for some reaction to this, and spokeswoman Della Domingo told me the group believes that there will be a need for parts and customization of electric cars. “All vehicles can be accessorized to a certain extent,” she said.
John Waraniak, SEMA’s vice president of vehicle technology, sees a big challenge to parts suppliers, but one it can meet. “Hybrid and electric vehicles represent blank canvases for SEMA-member companies,” he said. “SEMA is uniquely positioned to demonstrate that horsepower and green power can coexist without sacrificing performance or the cool factor.”
A SEMA article reports, based on an internal survey, that 72 percent of auto enthusiasts won’t buy alternative-fuel vehicles unless gas hits $4 a gallon. And, sadly for SEMA, $4 a gallon gas also means that 35 percent of its customers would cut spending on specialty parts and equipment. Some 15 percent of the auto buffs surveyed said they’d never own an alternative-fueled vehicle, and 23 percent said they wouldn’t even buy a fuel-efficient one.
The Coalition does see some speedbumps in fast-track to EV success. These include, said Ori:
On the latter issue, Ori and Waraniak are firmly in agreement. Waraniak says, “Hybrids and electric vehicles have to connect with consumers’ lifestyles and experiences. Consumers will not adopt a new technology unless it’s better in every way than what it’s replacing, and anecdotal evidence of emerging markets does not drive consumer acceptance.”
Photo: Flickr/Bisgovuk“
9to5Mac dug up references to video conferencing—hosted on Apple’s own servers—as well as group chat rooms and chat moderators in iPhone OS 4. That’s good news. More »
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Known as the Sacagawea of fantasy primers, the Weekly Rundown guides
head-to-head owners through a forest of obscure stats and exploitable
matchups in an attempt to help solve lineup conundrums. While reading,
keep in mind matchups are subject to change due to managerial moves,
unforeseen injuries and Mother Nature’s influences.
LEADING OFF
Arlington’s
Department of Ballpark Security has just raised its threat level from
orange to
red. As a result, new guards have been hired, bullpen chairs bolted down
and
box seat patrons warned. No pretzel
dog feels safe…
Frank Francisco(notes) blew yet another save.
On Friday, the hotheaded closer failed to hold a three-run
lead against the Blue Jays, surrendering three in two-thirds of an inning.
Saturday’s encore, this time against Seattle,
was a disastrous carbon-copy. Below is the frightening play-by-play. Franky
supporters are strongly recommended to shield their eyes:
Francisco’s updated ERA (27.00) and WHIP (5.00) is more
indicative of a Dirk Nowitzki end game line than anything resembling a
reputable stopper. Frankly, it’s appalling. Owners who shelled out sizable coin
for the stopper’s services (The Noise embarrassingly raises his hand) are
likely already wallowing near the basement in two key pitching categories. Yippee
Skippy.
After the game Ron Washington (We can only assume he has an insatiable urge to be trapped in a "blizzard" right now) was supportive yet veiled when discussing his troubled closer’s latest debacle. From MLB.com:
There could be another save opportunity on Sunday, but it might
not necessarily be Francisco who gets the call."Stay tuned," Washington
said cryptically.Thursday and Saturday had one other thing in common. Neftali Feliz(notes) preceded
Francisco to the mound and retired the side in order in the eighth inning. But
it would still seem unlikely that Washington
would make a change at closer right now this early in the season."I’d just like to see him get those three outs in the ninth inning, and
he would, too," Washington
said. "Nobody wants to get those outs worse than Frankie. … He’s our
closer."
Francisco’s velocity is down a few ticks, but Rangers’ management doesn’t
seem concerned. Evidently he’s still rounding into shape. Still, until he can successfully generate outs, wunderkind
Neftali Feliz could snag a save opportunity or three in the short-term.
After a
rocky Opening Day, the young flamethrower has relaxed, tossing consecutive scoreless
innings with four strikeouts. Despite his tender age and end-game inexperience,
he clearly has the stuff to develop into a dominating closer.
Obviously, the torched Ranger, like Mike Gonzalez(notes), shouldn’t be banished to St. Helena just yet. With his manager’s support, he will be given additional
opportunities to right the ship. Still, owner doubt has unquestionably crept in.
QUICK HITTERS (tidbits from
Saturday’s slate): Magglio Ordonez(notes) is rapidly becoming fantasy relevant once
again after clubbing his second homer in three days. He’s now 10-for-21 on the
young season with four RBI…AL hitters continue to be intimidated by Jon Rauch’s(notes)
6-foot-11 frame and trailer-rad neck tattoo. He’s now a perfect 4-for-4 in save
opportunities…Bat cancer Willy Taveras(notes) could actually be the answer in right for
the Nationals. The speedster, a potential source of cheap speed, collected two
hits and four RBI against the Mets. Keep close tabs on him deep leaguers…Aaron
Harang(notes), arguably the unluckiest starter in the bigs over the past two seasons,
shined in a no decision versus the Cubs, racking a 7:0 K:BB split over seven
innings. He allowed three runs. In the same game, Carlos Zambrano(notes) rebounded
with a 3 ER, 9 K effort over seven strong…St.
Louis’ Jamie Garcia is a name to watch closely in
12-team and deeper formats. The rookie surrendered just one earned over six
innings (5:3 K:BB) earning the W in Sausageland. Based on his minor league
track-record, he could become a valuable K source. Dave Duncan is a genius…Gaby
Sanchez(notes) cracked his first career homer, a three-run jack off woeful Vicente
Padilla(notes). He’s quietly been productive collecting five hits in 16 at-bats (four
for extra bases) and four RBI. It won’t be long before he’s relevant in 12-team
mixed formats…The Butler bump has turned Rick Ankiel(notes) into a ball-crushing
monster. The outfielder has notched six hits and four RBI in his past two
games. He could amass a surprising RBI total hitting behind the Ass-O-Meter…Finally,
Lance Berkman(notes) is targeting April 20 for his season debut. The Big Puma’s deteriorating
bat will provide little hope for the dreadful ‘Stros. Where’s Dickie Thon when
you need him most?
DOUBLE DIPPERS
For stream conscious owners
who want to push the innings-pitched envelope this is the list for you.
Run support, ballpark factors, historical and recent trends, opposing
offenses, opposing SPs, managerial tendencies and meteorological
influences are painstakingly taken into account to give you the top
double dippers of each week.
Other AL Double Dippers: Justin Duchscherer(notes), Oak (at Sea, Bal), Brian Tallet(notes), Tor (ChW, LAA), Jeremy Guthrie(notes), Bal (TB, at Oak)
Other NL Double Dippers: Ross Ohlendorf(notes), Pit (at SF, Cin), Nate Robertson(notes), Fla (Cin, at Phi, Greg Smith(notes), Col (NYM, at Atl)
FEAST OR FAMINE?
Torn between two
stat-similar infielders this week? Use the pitching and hitting staff
sorters below to help you decide whether or not Adam LaRoche(notes) or Carl Pavano(notes) is fantasy feast or famine.
Stats are for games played through April 9:
Freshman Democratic Senators Mark Begich (D-AK) and Jean Shaheen (D-NH) have been joined by Republican Senators Mike Crapo(D-ID) and Lisa Murkowski (D-K) in announcing breakthrough bipartisan support for a little-utilized form of renewable energy, with major implications for greenhouse gas reductions in the US in the American Renewable Biomass Heating Act.
Their legislation would expand the use of waste biomass in high-efficiency heating systems in commercial and industrial buildings, Brighter Energy reports, by expansion of 30% tax credits to exceed the $1,500 limit, and to extend past the current expiration date of 2013.
Previously both Republicans had joined the now routine minority filibuster to prevent extending expiring renewable energy tax credits, not once but twice, both voted no on ensuring that when fuel is defined as renewable that it not hurt the environment, and both filibustered against tax credits for renewable biomass, in particular.
Let’s take a breather from all the iPad reviews, accessories, etc… and talk about a product that may not have all the bells and whistles of the iPad but it is also a pretty good multimedia unit for on the go, and especially for those long roadtrips with the kids. The iLuv i1166 is a multimedia player that plays both DVDs as well as media from your iPod Touch or iPhone. It’s a perfect companion if you are traveling with a lot of people as it has multiple headphones jacks, comes with a car charger, and a 8.9″ display big enough for everyone to share.
The iLuv i1166 debuted way back at CES 2009, but only till recently did it officially launch and become available for sale. The i1166 packaging is simple and comes with an AC Adapter, Car Charger, Remote, iPod dock adapters, and manual. The device itself is colored a high gloss black and it has a nice compact design with a built-in stand that flips out so it can easily sit on your desk – which is certainly a nice touch. In order to insert your iPod Touch/iPhone or DVD you have to lift up the front of the i1166 and once done reveals a DVD area and a dock for your iPhone/iPod. The i1166 supports the iPod Touch 1st and 2nd generation, iPod Nano 4th and 3rd generation, iPod Classic, and iPod with video.
One we inserted both our iPhone and a DVD movie, it was time to see just how portable and fun this device was. When you turn the device on, the iLuv logo comes on and then a menu screen appears that you can navigate using a cross hair pad located on the face of the unit, or alternatively you can navigate the menu system using the included remote control. I was disappointed to see that the very impressive renderings originally shown off for the device’s menu system at CES 2009, are completely different now. Instead, a very watered down menu screen gives you options to choose to play media from your iPod, DVD, SD Card, or USB Flash Drive.
We chose to play a movie first – the Godfather. The display was crisp and clear and played well on the 8.9 inch screen (sadly though it’s not a touchscreen). However the viewing angles are a bit disappointing. Since this device is very practical for sharing, if you have people sitting to the right or left of you, they will see mostly shadows, while the person directly viewing in front will get the best viewing experience. There are ways to tilt it that make it less of an issue, but that can get frustrating. Another gripe that we have is that the highest the volume goes is to 15. The DVD I played didn’t sound very loud when jacked up that high. The audio experience is definitely better when listening to the device via headphones. Also, if you want to skip scenes or fast forward or rewind, you will need the remote as the control pads on the i1166 don’t not operate when in DVD mode, so you really can’t afford to lose the remote. I also tried to reenact what a typical car trip would be like – you know, the device ends up getting rocked around on bumpy roads. So I tried shaking the device, the result was that the DVD stuttered, but didn’t completely stop and it then resumed right where the interruption happened.
Moving on to the iPod/iPhone feature of the device. Just dock your iPod/iPhone and the i1166 will pick it right away, and you can choose to play either videos, songs, playlists, etc… You can select to play songs in shuffle mode, one by one or as a playlist in its entirety. If you decide to play songs or videos one at a time, you will have to keep hitting the ‘Menu’ button which also doubles a back button to get back to the song list to play another song after the current one is done playing. Navigation takes a bit of getting used too, but once you do, it’s pretty simple to operate. Again, sound quality was tinny sounding playing out of the built-in speakers, but sounded incredibly better and louder with a pair of good headphones. On a single charge I was able to squeeze out 4 hours of playing time on the i1166 before it went dead.
Conclusion:
Back in 2009, the iLuv i1166 was a trendsetting device that was ahead of its time. But a lot has changed since then, and the device can’t help but fall into the shadow of the iPad and other touchscreen tablets with their slick interfaces. We also can’t help but feel like this is a poor man’s iPad. After all, it essentially transforms your iPod Touch or iPhone into a giant one. But for those who already have an iPod, and are looking to purchase a portable DVD player, it doesn’t make sense to buy anything but the i1166 since it lets you play both DVDs and your iPod on a bigger screen. The fact that it has multiple headphone jacks for sharing, supports many media types, and has additional media inputs is a huge plus. However the poor viewing angles do dampen the experience. You can pick up the iLuv i1166 for as low as $230 on Amazon.
The Good: Easy portability with compact sleek design. Decent battery life. Large screen. great for road trips. Liked that they include a car charger. It plays iPod movies and it’s a DVD player!
The Bad: Poor viewing angles. Low quality speakers. Menu system is almost antiquated. Would have liked a touchscreen interface for the price.
