Frustrated by Islamabad's continued refusal to sever ties with jihadist networks, US President Donald Trump's administration has begun to evolve a full range of measures to put pressure on Pakistan.
Frustrated by Islamabad's continued refusal to sever ties with jihadist networks, US President Donald Trump's administration has begun to evolve a full range of measures to put pressure on Pakistan that range from economic pressure using international financial bodies to stepped-up lethal action against key terrorist leaders, Washington-based diplomatic sources have told The Indian Express. In a tweet at 4 am January 1, President Trump said the United States had "foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit" — the latest in a series of angry comments by top leaders, including vice president Mike Pence. Even though the statements have not been followed by action, sources said these were intended to signal to Pakistan that anger in the US government had reached tipping point. The decision to push Pakistan hard, led by national security advisor H R McMaster and the National Security Council's senior South Asia director Lisa Curtis, marks a break from caution in earlier administrations which believed too much pressure posed unacceptable risks of destabilising a nuclear-weapons power. Following President Trump's tweet, the White House said on Tuesday that the United States had no plans to release $255 million in military aid promised for the 2016 financial year.
However, the funds had already been placed in escrow in August after the United States said it was dissatisfied by the action Islamabad had taken on terrorism. The cash itself is unlikely to impose pain on Pakistan, amounting to a little over 10% of $1.87 billion the country's budget commits to new acquisitions and modernisation of its armed forces. "It's not the money that's important," one diplomat said, "it's the message. The question is: is Pakistan going to listen, or put the United States to test?" Later this month, an inspection team from the Financial Action Task Force, a conglomeration of the world's leading economies, which frames rules for the international banking system, is set to visit Pakistan to study its action to stop funding of jihadist groups, the first step in the United States' pressure-building strategy. The team's assessment will inform FATF discussions in February when the State Bank of Pakistan, the country's central bank, will present measures it has taken to contain asset-building by terrorist organisations proscribed by the United Nations, including the Jama'at-ud-Dawa, Jaish-e-Muhammad and the Afghan Taliban.
Failure to persuade the FATF that adequate action has been taken could lead to Pakistan being placed under watch by the organisation, a measure that would lead the international banking system to place transactions involving the country under intense scrutiny. In an effort to preempt such action, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan issued orders on Monday, warning companies against "donating cash to the entities and individuals listed under the United Nations Security Council sanctions committee's consolidated list". Earlier, on December 19, Pakistan's Finance Ministry had asked provincial governments to submit plans for taking over assets belonging to the Jama'at-ud-Dawa, including educational and medical institutions run by its charitable wing, the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation. Interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, who attended one meeting relating to implementation of the December 19 instructions, said he had ordered authorities to "choke the fundraising of all proscribed outfits in Pakistan".
However, websites seeking funding for the Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation's activities in and outside Pakistan remained online on Tuesday. "We don't have any intimation about any crackdown so far," FIF spokesperson Salman Shahid told media. "No one has asked us about our work or assets," he said. Further pressure is likely to mount on Pakistan through the International Monetary Fund. Faced with depleted foreign exchange reserves, the country was pressured by the US-dominated IMF last month to allow its currency to depreciate against the US dollar. "I believe the Trump administration is pretty clear about what it wants to do," said Husain Haqqani, Islamabad's former ambassador to the United States. "These measures will reveal themselves incrementally in coming months." President Trump has already removed restraints on covert CIA drone strikes inside Pakistan's Federally-Administered Tribal Areas and, sources said, he has expressed willingness to consider targeting key leaders from Afghanistan-focused jihadist groups elsewhere too.


text:
Q: Alternative to "autopsy" for software We're developing a software feature that allows the user to examine the result of a series of rules after those rules are executed. We've tentatively called this feature running an "autopsy". Unfortunately, the word autopsy has negative connotations in its primary definition. We realize a secondary definition ("A critical assessment or examination after the fact.") expresses exactly what the feature does but the negative connotations are inescapable.
We're looking for an alternative to autopsy for naming this feature. Synonyms such as checkup, inspection, review, or examination don't seem to capture the spirit.

A: A post-mortem is the term I'm familiar with:

An analysis or discussion of an event held soon after it has occurred,
  especially in order to determine why it was a failure

I've participated in more than a few software post-mortems myself.

A: Both post-mortem and retrospection work as stated by other answers, but first, some context from an English speaker in the industry from Silicon Valley.
Where I work, we use post-mortem for the end of a release, and we use retrospection for the end of a Sprint.
So really, this comes down to context. If you're talking about the end of a release, I advise post-mortem. If it's just a Sprint, go with retrospection. Technically, retrospection works for both, but it can get confusing depending on your work environment and workflow.

A: An alternative could be retrospection:

The action of looking back on or reviewing past events or situations, especially those in one's own life.
ODO

A: Postgame comes to mind, as does Post-op and Post-hoc [Latin:  "After This], but the best option I can think of is:
After-Action Report, or AAR for short.

An after action report (or AAR) is any form of retrospective analysis on a given sequence of goal-oriented actions previously undertaken, generally by the author themselves.
The two principal forms of AARs are the literary AAR, intended for recreational use, and the analytical AAR, exercised as part of a process of performance evaluation and improvement, while in most cases AARs are a combination of both.

A: It sounds like a dissection

Very detailed analysis of a text or idea:
  this dissection of modern relationships

Oxford Dictionaries Online
While this is closely related to the rejected autopsy, it seems just a bit less morbid.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
package com.demigodsrpg.demigods.greek.structure;

import com.demigodsrpg.demigods.engine.entity.player.DemigodsCharacter;
import com.demigodsrpg.demigods.engine.structure.DemigodsStructure;
import com.demigodsrpg.demigods.engine.structure.DemigodsStructureType;
import com.google.common.base.Function;
import com.google.common.base.Predicate;
import com.google.common.collect.Collections2;
import com.google.common.collect.Iterables;
import com.google.common.collect.Sets;
import org.bukkit.Location;
import org.bukkit.entity.Player;
import org.bukkit.event.Listener;

import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
import java.util.Set;

public class GreekStructureType implements DemigodsStructureType {
    private String name;
    private Design[] designs;
    private Function<Location, Design> getDesign;
    private Function<Design, DemigodsStructure> createNew;
    private InteractFunction<Boolean> sanctify, corrupt, birth, kill;
    private Set<DemigodsStructureType.Flag> flags;
    private Listener listener;
    private int radius, generationPoints;
    private Predicate<Player> allowed;
    private float sanctity, sanctityRegen;

    public GreekStructureType(String name, Design[] designs, Function<Location, Design> getDesign, Function<Design, DemigodsStructure> createNew, InteractFunction<Boolean> sanctify, InteractFunction<Boolean> corrupt, InteractFunction<Boolean> birth, InteractFunction<Boolean> kill, Set<DemigodsStructureType.Flag> flags, Listener listener, int radius, Predicate<Player> allowed, float sanctity, float sanctityRegen, int generationPoints) {
        this.name = name;
        this.designs = designs.clone();
        this.getDesign = getDesign;
        this.createNew = createNew;
        this.sanctify = sanctify;
        this.corrupt = corrupt;
        this.birth = birth;
        this.kill = kill;
        this.flags = flags;
        this.listener = listener;
        this.radius = radius;
        this.allowed = allowed;
        this.sanctity = sanctity;
        this.sanctityRegen = sanctityRegen;
        this.generationPoints = generationPoints;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public Design getDesign(final String name) {
        try {
            return Iterables.find(Sets.newHashSet(designs), new Predicate<Design>() {
                @Override
                public boolean apply(Design design) {
                    return design.getName().equalsIgnoreCase(name);
                }
            });
        } catch (NoSuchElementException ignored) {
            ignored.printStackTrace();
        }
        return null;
    }

    public Set<Design> getDesigns() {
        return Sets.newHashSet(designs);
    }

    public Set<DemigodsStructureType.Flag> getFlags() {
        return flags;
    }

    public Listener getUniqueListener() {
        return listener;
    }

    public int getRadius() {
        return radius;
    }

    @Override
    public int getRequiredGenerationCoords() {
        return generationPoints;
    }

    @Override
    public boolean isAllowed(DemigodsStructure unused, Player player) {
        return allowed.apply(player);
    }

    public boolean sanctify(DemigodsStructure data, DemigodsCharacter demigodsCharacter) {
        return sanctify.apply(data, demigodsCharacter);
    }

    public boolean corrupt(DemigodsStructure data, DemigodsCharacter demigodsCharacter) {
        return corrupt.apply(data, demigodsCharacter);
    }

    public boolean birth(DemigodsStructure data, DemigodsCharacter demigodsCharacter) {
        return birth.apply(data, demigodsCharacter);
    }

    public boolean kill(DemigodsStructure data, DemigodsCharacter demigodsCharacter) {
        return kill.apply(data, demigodsCharacter);
    }

    public float getDefSanctity() {
        return sanctity;
    }

    public float getSanctityRegen() {
        return sanctityRegen;
    }

    public Collection<DemigodsStructure> getAll() {
        return Collections2.filter(DemigodsStructure.all(), new Predicate<DemigodsStructure>() {
            @Override
            public boolean apply(DemigodsStructure save) {
                return save.getTypeName().equals(getName());
            }
        });
    }

    public DemigodsStructure createNew(boolean generate, String designName, Location... reference) {
        // Define variables
        Design design;
        DemigodsStructure save;

        // Determine the design
        if (designName == null) {
            design = getDesign.apply(reference[0]);
        } else {
            design = getDesign(designName);
        }

        // Create the save
        save = createNew.apply(design);

        // All structures need these
        save.generateId();
        save.setLocation(reference[0]);
        save.setType(getName());
        save.setDesign(design.getName());
        save.addFlags(getFlags());
        save.setActive(true);
        save.save();

        if (generate) save.generate();
        return save;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return getName();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Posts Tagged 'Chicago Bears'
Chicago Wrap Up
Posted: December 5, 2012 by Mauricio Rubio Jr. in Sports
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, baseball, Basketball, Bears, Bulls, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, MLB, NBA, NFL
Urlacher could miss the rest of the season – A hamstring injury could cut Urlacher's season short and there's the very real possibility that he has played his last game as a Chicago Bear. There is no clear replacement on the current team either. Awful news. – via Suntimes.com
Derrick Rose is running and stuffz – PLEASE DON'T GET MORE HURT – via CBS Sports
Kevin Youkilis has several offers – Given the weakness of the 3B market this shouldn't be too surprising. Yanks are kinda in, Phils, White Sox, and Indians are more serious contenders. – via Hardballtalk
In related news, the White Sox are looking at Keppinger – As one of their backup options should Youk sign elsewhere. – via MLBTR
Brewers, Demp, at a standstill – Dempster is looking for a third year in any contract and the Brewers are balking at it. – via MLBTR
The SaniTERRYum XVI: The Psyche of a Winner
Posted: October 3, 2012 by Terry Carlton in Columns, Football, NFL, SaniTERRYum, Sports
Tags: Big Shoulders, Blackhawks, Brandon Marshall, Brian Urlacher, Bulls, Charles Tillman, Chicago Bears, Cubs, Dallas Cowboys, defense, Devin Hester, Jay Cutler, Lambeau, Lance Briggs, MIke Tice, Rob Ryan, San Francisco 49ers, Sox, Sports
Courtesy Tom Mleko
The beautiful thing about sports, about living in a city drenched in sports teams, engulfed in sports history is the ongoing cycle of teams to root for and follow. The Sox' unexpectedly hopeful season just ended, the Cubs lost 100+ games (for the first time in 50 years, believe it or not), the impending strike may shorten/eliminate the Blackhawks' season, the Bulls' hopes rest on an ACL of the best point guard in the NBA, but da Bears? Da Bears are 3-1 and atop the NFC North. The cycle continues, and this leg of the cycle looks like a winner.
Da Bears look like serious contenders. Outside of an embarrassing loss at Lambeau, da Bears have looked like the best team in the NFC not representing the Bay Area. The defense is up to its usual tricks: forcing turnovers, scoring points (read: plural), and wreaking havoc on opposing defensive coordinators thus far (read: thus far). After the thorough thrashing of Rob Ryan and the Cowboys, we and the rest of the nation were reminded just how good this defense still is. Brian Urlacher is still the anchor of the D, the same way Jay Cutler anchors the other side of the ball. Both guys want one thing: to be competitive and win football games.
It's no wonder than that after the aforementioned ass-kicking Dallas and the rest of Cowboy nation received Monday night, we were wondering about the psychological makeup of both stars, albeit in very contrasting ways. Through all the revelations we received Monday night, all the answers, we were still left with a few questions. We want to know why Cutler had a tiff with Offensive Coordinator Mike Tice, and we want to know how mentally tough Urlacher will prove this year, battling his obviously hankering knee(s?) injury.
Cutler's magnetism begs us to talk about him, to write about him and his will to win. In this city, a city built on big shoulders, historical defense, and legendary running backs, we don't know of this passing game you speak of. This is still so new to us. Cutler brings something we've never seen before his arrival. Does he know that? I don't know. What I do know is that with the addition of Brandon Marshall this year and Cutler evolving into the quarterback and man he is capable of, da Bears have become…gulp…a passing team? This is dangerous on many levels.
Mike Tice calls the plays. Jay Cutler executes said plays. Bottom line. Was there a blowup between the two on the sideline after a failed 3rd and 1? That depends on how you define blowup. Was Cutler pissed that they turned the ball over to the punting unit? Obviously. I would be more concerned if there were no blowup at all. We criticize Jay when he seems complacent, and we criticize Jay when he shows emotion. Come on. You can't have it both ways. I love the competitive fire, the spirit of "We may be up big on the scoreboard right now, but I want to shove it down their throat, I want to put this game away, leaving no doubt who wins." The coverage of Cutler walking away from Tice on the sideline is a non-issue. Cutler is the leader of this team, but he has to mature and converse with the coaching staff every now and then, doesn't he? That's part of leading by example, beyond throwing touchdowns to Marshall and Devin Hester en route to victory and spreading the ball around to increasing targets. If we are to become a passing team (read: if), Cutler needs to maximize his potential, which will include heavy doses of competitive flames. The offensive line is starting to gel, evident in preventing Dallas' up-to-this-point-lauded defense from having any effect on the game. He's got plenty of targets (Hey there, Kellen Davis! Didn't see you come in), Forte will get healthy, and Tice will learn where to pick his battles. Yes, that is part of Tice's job description I'm sure. Know your personnel. But no one wants to talk about Mike Tice. Mike Tice is not going to sell papers, make you tune into the post-game show. I know my personnel…
Da Bears' defensive personnel, on the other hand, could not have excited football fans any more than they did Monday night with their play. They picked off overrated Dallas Quarterback Tony Romo 5 times, scoring touchdowns on two of them. Components of the defensive core for years, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman picked 6 once apiece, up and comer and potential Pro Bowler Major Wright intercepted twice, and D.J. Moore took one away late in the 4th quarter. Everyone on the defensive side got involved. Everyone that is, except for Urlacher. His own brand of competitive fire is still ignited, but I'm not sure Urlacher the of yesteryear is still in the house. He didn't look like the Urlacher I know and love Monday night, but I know he'll still have his moments, his flashes of brilliance. The defense, even without him contributing on a regular basis, will continue to dominate, but we miss you, big fella. Get well soon?
In the meantime, the rest of your personnel on both sides of the ball will handle business. Just ask Dallas.
Next stop: Jacksonville.
Posted: September 21, 2012 by Tony Leva in Columns, Football, Hockey, NFL, NHL, The Bag Skate
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, NFL, NHL, refs
NFL vs. NHL Lockout Edition…Who Ya Got?
At this moment, there are two lockouts being rammed down our throats. Both are insanely stupid and could cost one league it's credibility for a while and the other may cost the other league far more than that. The NFL refs and the NHL lockout are both maddening, but which one is stupider? Let's look at this match-up in detail…..
Money issues….The NFL is refusing to pay their refs what they want since they classify them as part-time employees. With a record $9 billion and change in revenues, the money they are quibbling over is just stupid. The percentage the refs want in relation to those revenues is measly at best. In the case of the NHL, the issues at hand are basically identical to the issues in the 2004-05 lockout that cost us an entire season. The owners want to reduce the players' cut of revenue from 57% to 49% and then eventually to 47%. The reduction last time was from 70% to the current level. The players can't stomach getting another royal bowel-ripping and are holding tough. This is some serious shit here. BIG EDGE…NHL
Contract Terms….The NFL's issue here is that they refuse to make the refs full-time employees like the MLB, NHL and NBA all do. Hence, they keep their salaries low, which returns us to point #1, Money. The NHL owners want to limit the length of player contracts to 5 years, which still didn't stop these asshats from signing players to contracts as long as 14 years this summer. Here's a hint, fellas, stop fucking yourselves in the ass with contracts like those. It's hard to see your side of things when you do shit like this. Due to the sheer stupidity factor, the NHL takes this one as well. EDGE…NHL
Damaging Your Sport Factor….The NFL refs have been so bad they're affecting point spreads in Vegas and are a jokewriter's dream. The internet is seeing some pretty good compilation videos of refs mistakes. Being a national punchline isn't something you strive for when having labor issues. But no matter how bad the NFL is looking, that harm will vanish when the real refs come back. But the NHL lockout may cripple the sport in irreparable fashion. Nobody knows how many fans will never come back if a second season in 8 years is stolen from hockey fans. No sport has ever cancelled an entire season, let alone two. The damage will be unprecedented. ROSIE O'DONNELL-SIZED EGDE….NHL
It seems by my count the NHL's lockout wins the battle of "How stupid are we?". There is simply no way the NFL's ref dispute can compete with such blatant dumbfuckery that the NHL owners are showing here. In fact, this may be the dumbest sports labor issue ever. Well done, you band of ringmeats.
Another Clown Claims the Crown
Nearly each season in Survivor, we are gifted with a contestant that hatches some can't-miss plan. They usually involve making multiple alliances or a bit of back-stabbing that will end up with a blindside vote at tribal council. Some plans are brilliantly conceived and are beautifully executed with accordant results. Those plans are always the brainchildren (is that a word?) of the more educated players. Some plans are hatched by guys like Zane. This is Zane.
If I told you Zane here was born and bred in Kentucky, didn't have a high school diploma, was a veteran of the paper hat and nametag work scene, currently works as a tire re-treader and was the one to hatch a can't-miss plan immediately after losing the immunity challenge, which way would you answer?
A…Plan comes off without a hitch. Zane the mastermind is installed as the new kingpin of his tribe. He is now in a position of power. Shit just got real. ZANE real.
B…Plan mostly works. Zane escapes unscathed at tribal, but doesn't fulfill the endgame of the plan. He's still solidly placed in an alliance that controls the game.
C…Plan fails. Someone else gets voted off at tribal , Zane survives by the skin of his teeth and is now on shaky ground with a weak alliance. His place in the game is very precarious.
D…Plan explodes in his inbred face. Zane looks every bit the idiot he's portrayed himself as and is voted off with extreme prejudice.
Before you guess, let me fill you in on what Zane's plan was. During the immunity challenge, Zane, a recent (less than 3 days) ex-smoker caused his team to fall behind in the challenge, a deficit they never made up, losing the challenge and forcing them to vote someone out that night. Back at camp, Zane decided to take the blame for the loss and insist he was fine with being voted out. The whole tribe was kind of shocked and looked glad that they had a patsy volunteer for the chopping block. It's often tough at your first tribal council, not knowing who is the biggest liability. Zane made it easy.
So far, so good, I assumed. I mean, surely this was the groundwork for one helluva plan. I couldn't wait to see how this Mozart played the keys of the strategy piano and engineered his salvation. What was the masterstroke of the can't miss plan?
He went to the other tribe members and tried to initiate a blindside of Russell by using his Kentucky hillbilly charms on them. He tried to make himself the lovable loser and went for the pity. This fucking idiot decided to go for pity 3 days into the game. Let's say his gambit DID work. How long did he hope to milk that angle? You don't win Survivor on 39 days of pity. You get voted out real fast when the pity stops. Instead of laying low and rallying support to dump the incredibly unpopular Russell, he jumped into the breach and went ass-up. The bitch of it was he was openly laughing about his gamesmanship and how his plan was sure to work before tribal.
Let's get back to our quiz. I bet you guessed D. Well, you'd be right. At tribal, the vote went 5 against Zane and only Zane's lone vote against Russell. Walking away from tribal, Einstein Jr remarked, "Son of a bitch" and was flabbergasted in his closing remarks to close the show. This wasn't as stupid as how James (twice) got voted off with immunity idols in his pocket, but it sure deserves a spot in the team photo. Well done, Zane Einstein!! You are an official Survivor legend!!
Posted: September 9, 2012 by Tony Leva in Baseball, Columns, Football, NFL, The Bag Skate
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, Bears, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, NFL, THIS IS FOOTBALL MISTER
Loaded for Bear – The Offense
Going into the 2012 season, there are grand expectations for Bears fans. Grand, yet reachable. The reasons for optimism are totally valid in this case. For years, the team has been plagued by poor quarterbacking and substandard depth and quality at the WR corps. This season, our franchise QB was given a legit group of weapons to play with. Marshall, Jeffery, Hester, Bennett and Token White Guy have a chance to do some damage. Adding quality RB Michael Bush was a nice touch to compliment Forte. It all going to come down to health and the play of the offensive line. They don't need to play at a Pro Bowl level, but they need to be competent. Let's break down the offense and see what's what.
QB – Recent Bears history has been full of shitawful QBing. The backup spot never mattered more than this past season when Jay Cutler broke his thumb. A team that had legit Super Bowl hopes was suddenly as impotent as Jerry Sandusky's wang in a Hooters with Caleb Hanie at the controls. The very same Caleb Hanie who was championed by the idiot section of the fanbase after the 2011 NFC title game. Remember those clueless jerkoffs? Anyway, it was proven that Hanie was shit and he's been replaced by a legitimate NFL QB in Jason Campbell. In a similar situation, we'd have someone who could actually play the position now. That's a nice feeling.
Going with only two rostered QBs, the Bears are hoping for great health in this spot. I'd love to see us get some breaks this year and give Cutler a shot at a healthy season. This season could be special. GRADE – A
RB – Let's recap some recent history….Forte wants to get paid, turns down an offer that carried a $14M guarantee, comes to camp and gives away his leverage by showing up, plays at a Pro Bowl-level, gets hurt, wants even more money than he wanted before, looks like a whiny pud, watches the team sign Bush, feels like he may have fucked himself, ends up taking a solid deal to stay here. Did I miss anything?
Forte and Bush should be about as solid a duo as there is in the league. Both are solid vets who should compliment each other well. Armando Allen should provide a nice scatback element to the offense. Should be a fun group to watch. GRADE – B+
O-Line – Ummmm, nothing to worry about, right? I mean, once Gabe Carimi turns into an All-Pro, things will fall into place. J'Marcus Webb will play like a young Orlando Pace, I'm sure!! Things will be great!!
Yeah, let's dial it back a notch. For this unit to give the offense a chance to thrive, they'll need one thing above all else….health. If the starting five guys can stay together and jell a bit, they have a shot at being competent enough to give Jay 4 or 5 seconds on a consistent basis. We need them to be mentally into it, not letting their minds wander and take penalty after bad penalty. Competence would be acceptable at the moment. I'll believe it when I see it. GRADE – D
Let's Wreck Some Shit – The Defense
[youtube http://youtu.be/vGwUpM9QryU]
D-Line – This is, in my opinion, the very key to the defense this season. In any defense, the pass rush makes or breaks it. The team addressed this area with their first draft pick, DE Shea McClellin. Many of us wanted an offensive lineman, but they went this way. I'm willing to trust someone not named Jerry Angelo in his first draft making this pick. If he realizes his role, he could give Pro Bowler Julius Peppers someone to take some of the pressure off. The unit is depending on it's depth to keep fresh players rotating in and eventually winning the late battles by doing so. Phil Emery won't get a pass if his hunch doesn't pay off. GRADE – B
Linebackers – Brian Urlacher's knee. Do I need to say more? I tend to think Urlacher will be healthy enough to start the season and make contributions to a unit that isn't very deep. As long as Lance Briggs is the best LB on the team, we'll still be dangerous. Urlacher's knee won't make or break the season, but a healthy knee will obviously be a tremendous piece of luck. GRADE – B+
Defensive Backs – No other unit on the team is as dependent on another unit as the d-backs are dependent on the d-line to generate a consistent pass rush and limit the time these guys have to cover opposing WRs, some of which are goddamned monsters….Calvin Johnson, that crew from GB, etc. Peanut Tillman has been a solid player but it seems he may be slipping a bit. A hopefully resurgent Kelvin Hayden will provide some depth and experience to a unit that had issues last season. DJ Moore and Tim Jennings seem to provide a spark at times. I'd love to see this unit step it up and surprise the skeptics, myself included. GRADE – C
Special Teams – With the Greatest Kick Returner of all Time (G.K.R.o.a.T. from now on) back to playing at a Pro Bowl level, the team added former Pro Bowl special teams player Eric Weems and another ST ace in Blake Costanzo to an already unit. There are few things one can count on in life and the Chicago Bears special teams units playing their asses off and making plays is among them. Already the NFL record holder for career TD returns, the G.K.R.o.a.T. is as deadly a weapon in the open field as the game has ever seen. He's just a joy to watch.
[youtube http://youtu.be/HuCMb9FYyDA]
PK Robbie Gould is the 5th most accurate, by percentage, field goal kicker in NFL history. He's always a solid bet and seems to work hard on his game each season. Having a kicker you don't have to worry about it a pleasure.
As for the punting, Adam Podlesh and Ryan Quigley will be battling for the spot and doing a credible job of it. I'm not worried about the punting as it is. GRADE – A+
Coaching – Lovie is not always a great in-game coach. I think he does a great job from Monday to Saturday, but he gets dumb somehow for 3 or 4 hours on game day, blowing time outs and challenges like they were free with every purchase at your local 7-11. Lovie is almost in the same predicament as the o-line….he doesn't need to be great, just don't fuck up the easy, basic stuff and let your team win it for you. I think the rest of the staff will do a good enough job to keep the ship on a straight course. The schedule this season is filled with winnable games. Lovie and Co. should be able to guide the squad to at least 9-10 wins, if not more with a good dose of luck and health. GRADE – B
Outlook – Without a perfect team in the league, the Bears seem to have as good a shot as anyone to get hot near the end of the season, a la the 2010 Packers and the 2011 Giants, and make a serious run at the Super Bowl. They were hitting their stride last season and have added to that bunch in hopes of sustaining that feeling and success. The schedule coupled with health and luck could make for some really fun times this season for Bears fans. Add in the fact that the NFC North is one of the best divisions in football with the dirty rat bastard Packers and the Lions both expected to make a run at the SB and there could be some dramatic football played down the stretch. I'm going with an 11-5 record and a playoff berth for the team, with a legit shot at glory in attendance. They're going for it and should be rewarded.
[youtube http://youtu.be/67BR5zcPAFM]
Episode 019 – The Absolutely Worst Swear Word In The History Of The World
Posted: August 27, 2012 by Mauricio Rubio Jr. in Podcast
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, baseball, Basketball, Bears, Beer, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cubs, MLB, NFL, Theo Epstein, White Sox
http://awmr01.podbean.com/mf/web/qwz6b/Episode019.mp3
www.99sportsproblems.com @sportsproblems
00:05 – HORALE MANG!
00:44 – Sad Girl
01:15 – Propers
02:50 – Weekend Round-Up
04:35 – Tittlebrooks
06:15 – Facebook Questions
08:27 – Luke Gregorson knowledge
21:04 – "It Begs The Question, What Kind Of Drugs Is AJ On?"
22:00 – Sam Hurd, via Jared S. Hopkins
24:24 – Chewing Tobacco Is The Devil
27:10 – Breakage
27:43 – Anybody Got A Wet-Nap?
28:10 – Bears
31:00 – Well That's Professional/Texts From Mom
36:46 – White Sox
42:35 – Raul Goes All In
45:40 – Cubs
51:36 – "We Need To Sell This Shit."
53:22 – The Absolutely Worst Swear Word In The History Of The World
57:10 – Canadian Can't Go To Canada
59:00 – Exit
1:01:21 – Bye Bye
The Bag Skate – The People's Champion Era Ends, BEARS!!, Olympic Round-Up, Wrigleyfest
Posted: August 3, 2012 by Tony Leva in Baseball, Columns, Football, MLB, NFL, The Bag Skate, Uncategorized
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, baseball, Bears, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Cubs
Dempster stops acting like a wank, goes away.
After receiving plenty of negative feedback from numerous Cubs fans following his decision to veto the Atlanta trade I talked about last week. Dempster, who somehow became The People's Champion (said with dripping sarcasm), allowed himself to be dealt to the Rangers literally five minutes before the deadline expired at 3 pm Tuesday. While the return from Texas (third baseman Christian Villanueva and right-handed pitcher Kyle Hendricks, both from high-Class A Myrtle Beach) isn't immediately viewed to be as strong as Randall Delgado, it was still more than the Cubs might have expected to get. Both players show some promising traits and will be tossed onto the massing pile of depth being built in the Cubs's minor leagues. Maybe neither of these guys make it, but it shows the deep commitment TheoCo has the plan. Even The People's Champion (TPC henceforth) isn't immune from the TradeHammer. If you build enough depth and collect enough talent, eventually enough will blossom and bear fruit.
So endeth the era of TPC, a Tommy John reclamation project who became an All-Star for the Cubs, did the single worst Harry Caray impression anyone has ever seen, choked like a dog against the Dodgers in 2008, taking the air out of the team and setting that ugly sweep in motion, endeared himself to many with his charitable works, did his little glove-flippy thing and ended up looking like a hypocritical turd. I respect his charity stuff, but he's never been off my shit list since the aforementioned choking in 2008. Good riddance to him and bring on the new era of Cubs baseball.
BEARS IN CAMP!!
It's still early in camp, but we've seen a few interesting things happen so far. The battle at left tackle seems to be tilting in JaMarcus Webb's favor, which isn't a surprise. Rookie Shea McClellin has been struggling a bit in his first camp. Brandon Marshall hasn't punched a bitch yet. Lovie almost raised his voice above that monotone he never strays from. Urlacher has yet to whine about his contract, which I was a bit worried about.
There are a few other position battles going on, but the team is set at the glamour spots…QB, RB, WR, LB. Until we see some game action, it's tough for me to take anything that happens in camp seriously. A few years ago, 2007 if I recall, the reporters were raving about the offense they were seeing in camp. Over and over, it was MAN, THESE GUYS ARE CLICKING OUT THERE!!! and the like.
Then, the season started and they sucked ass and missed the playoffs. So until they crack heads with Denver next week, I'll holster my Cutlerection and all it's attendant glory. I'll have ample opportunity to whip it around during the season, I'm sure. Looking at the Bears' schedule, I'm seeing lots of bad teams and lots of bad defenses. If this new offense can click, it's going to be a 9-11 win season, especially if the D/ST have great seasons. As long as special teams coordinators keep kicking to Hester, anything is possible. If there's one rock-solid fact in the NFL right now, it's that Hester is one bad motherfucker. He's like Jules's wallet in Pulp Fiction.
The Olympics started? When?
No, I know they've begun. After the snoozefest of an opening ceremonies, we've seen a badminton scandal (I knew the Olympic badminton scene was as crooked as a snake's dick), Michael Phelps become the most decorated Olympian ever, the US women gymnastic team win Gold, Gabrielle Douglas win individual Gold in a rout and the US men's hoops team win a game by 83 before they sweep to their own Gold medals in a week or so. That's about all I've been following so far, and that's being generous.
I think the oncoming Bears season combined with the excitement of the arrival of The Riz, with a bunch of baseball trade deadline stuff mixed in have kind of blunted the allure of the Games. I'm not the biggest Summer Games guy anyway, but I usually get into it somewhat. I have no issue with getting psyched for the Winter Games obviously, but there was just no obvious for me draw this time around. Odd.
The 10th Annual Wrigleyfest
It's coming, and it's going to be spectacular.
Episode 016 – The Ballad of Mudbone
Posted: June 18, 2012 by Mauricio Rubio Jr. in Podcast
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, baseball, Basketball, Bears, Beer, Blackhawks, Boston Celtics, Boxing, Bulls, Carlos Boozer, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Derrick Rose, Football, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, MLB, NBA, NFL, Podcast
[audio http://awmr01.podbean.com/mf/web/tm8rv/Episode_016.mp3]
iTunes Linkage
00:35 – Andy fucks up
02:30 – First place White Sox
09:00 – Giving Seattle fans some Chicago love
10:30 – Young Guns
15:40 – Lucky Dog
16:50 – Concussion talk
23:20 – Bears Talk
27:37 – Raul's summer beer advice
31:48 – NBA Jam and BJ Armstrong, Where are They Now
37:26 – The Cubs are indeed, awful
39:00 – Because I'm Mexican
43:50 – "I fucking hate softball"
46:40 – Top Ten Individual Seasons
01:04:07 – Origins of Mudbone
The Bag Skate – Da Bears O.T.A.ing, the Cubs Sucking, the Thing Known as American Idol
Posted: May 25, 2012 by Tony Leva in Baseball, Columns, Football, MLB, Music, NFL, Sports, The Bag Skate
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, Art of Suck, baseball, Bears, Beer, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Jeremy Bates, Mike Martz, MLB, NFL, OTA's, QB
Bear Down, bitches!!
This week, the Bears are ensconced in their first Organized Team Activity (just a fancy term for practice) with plenty of new personnel and coaches. Mike Tice has taken over for the tyrant known as Mike Martz as offensive coordinator and Jeremy Bates has been installed as the passing game coordinator. Bates is a good friend of Bears QB Jay Cutler and has always worked well with him. That's a far cry from the adversarial relationship Cutler has with Martz. Listen closely at the 0:24 mark. This says it all about their relationship…
Martz's system was never a good fit for Cutler's strengths, which include being mobile and being smart enough to read a defense and change the play at the line. Martz's offense did not include audibles and frowned upon the QB moving out of the pocket. Tice and Bates have said they will allow Cutler to have plenty of input into the playcalling, which is a great thing. When your QB hates the system and the coach who stubbornly insists on running it, even when the franchise QB is getting mauled while running it, replacing the coach is a no-brainer. Cutler took more sacks and hits than any QB in the NFL the past two seasons. Check my math, but that sucks.
As for the new personnel, we haven't added the offensive linemen we needed, but if Gabe Carimi comes back healthy, the line will improve by his addition. But the big additions are to one of the worst WR corps we've seen in forever, which is saying a bunch considering the Bears have never had much of a top-flight corps to begin with. All-Pro WR and legit asswipe Brandon Marshall has a great history with Cutler from their Denver days and have already expressed their joy at being reunited. 2nd round draft pick Alshon Jeffery is another big-bodied WR who should pair nicely with Marshall. This bumps Devin Hester down to play in the slot and Earl Bennett, Cutler's recent favorite target, to play as the 4th WR. An actual, legit NFL WR corps. I may wet myself.
The defense was bolstered in the draft and the core guys, Urlacher, Briggs, Tillman and Peppers, should have enough left to give us a chance to have a top-10 defensive unit. Well, with good health we have a shot. The window is closing on the effectiveness of these guys so we need to take advantage.
Football season can't get here fast enough, since the Cubs blow ass right now.
Perfecting the Art of Suck
As things went from piss-ass shitty to fucking unbearably craptastic for the Cubs, the buzz has been about bringing The Riz up to fix the offense, cure cancer and convince Kate Upton to do a sex tape and upload it for free. Or something along those lines. As much as I can't wait for The Riz era to start, he won't do any of the aforementioned stuff all by himself. He'll help when he gets here, but the service time issue is the greater concern. They're going to wait until June sometime to bring him up and delay his free agency eligibility. Fine with me.
There is so much wrong with this team that I don't know where to begin, so let's focus on a few positives for now.
Starting Pitching
The starting pitching has been really good for the most part. Matt Garza, Ryan Dempster and Jeff Samardzija have all been about as good as could be expected, with Samardzija exceeding any expectations anyone could have had for a converted reliever who has been as inconsistent as a depression case using homemade Prozac. Paul Malholm has been pretty good as well and Travis Wood has contributed as well. It's nice that the Sean Marshall screamers have been silenced for now with Wood pitching well. Those clueless fools never fail to give me a chuckle.
Starlin Castro
The lone Cubs All-Star last year, Castro has picked up where he left off after becoming the youngest player in NL history to lead the league in hits. He's still a work-in-progress in many areas, but he's brimming with talent. As evinced here…
Gotta love this type of stupidly good talent.
Dale Sveum and the coaches
The Cubs have been playing aggressive baseball. From baserunning to defensive positioning to going right after hitters, the coaches have put their stamp on this team in the way they want them to go about their business. Even with the recent stuff about Garza and Marmol not throwing the pitches the staff wants, this has been a positive so far. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do with some more legitimate ML talent.
The Show that Won't Fucking Die.
Over 13 million votes for the final vote on Wednesday. (No, I don't watch this show. My wife and girls do and I caught the last 5 minutes the other night when the winner was crowned.) Apparently, some guy named Phillip Phillips won, beating some 16-year-old girl. I haven't heard him sing yet, but I'm sure he'll be coming to a low-rent dinner theatre near me sometime soon. There have been some very talented winners, of course, but chances are they would have been discovered anyway. Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood come to mind. Some of the shit that has won…Taylor Hicks, David Cook, Fantasia….really are pushing it as to being considered stars.
While the world certainly would manage to not explode if this show went off the air, the thirst the American public exhibits for this show never fails to amaze me. The early shows are pretty funny, when the truly talentless come in and get their metaphorical nuts squashed, but when they whittle the "talent" pool down to whatever they take to Hollywood, it gets silly. Shoving some of these clowns down America's throats…anyone remember that hack Sanjaya they tried to hype as an uber-talent?….is just crap. I'm no great judge of vocal talent, but I know what I hear and some of those people have no business doing nothing more than singing in church choirs or in the shower. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's Elvis pissing on my leg.
Unfortunately, this show is a phenomenon and isn't going away any time soon. I'll stick to Laverne and Shirley reruns, thanks.
Episode 015 – I Have A Cloak Of Loneliness And A Lotion Of Pleasure
Posted: May 16, 2012 by Mauricio Rubio Jr. in Podcast
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, baseball, Basketball, Bears, Beer, Blackhawks, Boston Celtics, Boxing, Bulls, Carlos Boozer, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul, Corey Crawford, Cubs, defense, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, Football, funny, Hockey, Joakim Noah, Jonathan Toews, LeBron James, liquor, Luol Deng, Miami Heat, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, patrick kane, Rip Hamilton, Theo Epstein, Tim Tebow, Tom Thibodeau, video games, White Sox
http://awmr01.podbean.com/mf/web/yf2stf/Episode015.mp3
Email us 99sportsproblems@gmail.com
0:48 Andy is dead this episode
1:15 Propers
2:10 Tony thinks Twitter is exuberantly happy
2:46 Ted Lyons Sunday Starter
9:30 Top Ten MLB HOFers that need to be kicked out
19:38 Breakage
20:15 Beer brewed with maple syrup
22:00 Andy's story time
23:00 Waite Hoyt sucks too
25:00 @SaintLouisSport
25:30 White Sox talk
37:02 Chicago Cubs talk
44:30 A buncha gutless dogs that folded like lawn chairs
48:43 House Cleaning
51:58 Where Are They Now: Bo Jackson
57:50 The show never really ends
59:27 Bye-bye
The Bag Skate…..Seau, the Cubs on the Farm, Rocky Horror Live Cast
Posted: May 4, 2012 by Tony Leva in Baseball, Columns, Football, Hockey, Misc, MLB, NFL, NHL, Nightlife, Sports
Tags: a drinking town with a sports problem, AA, AAA, Adrian Gonzalez, Andrew Cashner, anthony rizzo, Arcada Theatre's, Brett Jackson, Bryan LaHair, bucket list, Cat Daddy, Chicago, Chicago A Drinking Town With Sports Problem, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, concussions, CTE, Dave Duerson, Daytona, death, Defensive Back, depression, Derek Boogaard, enforcers, Farm system, Football, gun, Hall of Fame, High A, Hockey, Hodgkin's Lymphoma, Iowa Cubs, Javy Baez, Jim Edmonds, Jim Hendry, Junior Seau, Kate Upton, kids, Linebacker, Matt Szczur, Nagasaki, NFL, Rick Rypien, Rocky Horror Picture Show, service time, Sports, suicidal, suicide, symptoms, The Riz, the show, trauma, Trey McNutt, Villanova, Virgins, Wade Belak, Wise Up Janet
Junior Seau, CTE and where this all may lead
On Monday, future NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Junior Seau put a gun to his chest and pulled the trigger, ending his own life at age 43. This is eerily similar to how former Bears defensive back Dave Duerson took his own life in February of 2011. Duerson left a note saying he intentionally left his brain intact so it could be studied for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, commonly known as CTE. It's a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to violent contact sports like football and hockey. Repeated blows to the head in these, and other, sports are suspected to directly lead to CTE, which in turn causes the victim to suffer from memory loss, depression, confusion and aggressive behavior. Obviously, suicidal tendencies are also a symptom and unfortunately, sometimes the last symptom.
With the recent deaths of hockey players considered "enforcers", Rick Rypien, a CTE victim who committed suicide, the possible suicide of Wade Belak, a depression sufferer, and the overdose of Derek Boogaard, also a depression sufferer and CTE victim, the hockey community has been seriously questioning the role of enforcers in the game as its becoming apparent the constant punches to the head may be directly linked to CTE. Considering the relative youth of these 3 players…Rypien was 27, Boogaard was 28 and Belak was 35…the crippling effects of CTE manifesting itself in such young men is truly frightening. If getting into fights on the ice is linked to CTE, what the hell is the game of football doing to others?
Virtually every play in football ends with a high-speed collision between at least two people…at least one of which is moving at full speed. From the first time a youngster puts on the pads and taps into that neanderthal gene that says "RRRAAAAAHHHHHRRRRRR!!!! HULK SMASH!!!!" they are subjecting themselves to the very real possibility of injuring their brain on a constant basis until the day they stop playing the game, be it one play later or when they retire from pro football. The damage done to a brain from a violent concussion can never be trusted to fully heal and the medical data supporting that conclusion gets bigger with every study done on the brain.
When do parents around the world finally say, "Not my child" and refuse to allow them to participate in sports where the risk for brain injury is so great? I'm not advocating one side over the other here, just asking that very important question…."When"? I'm certain that many parents out there won't give a shit about anything that's come to light and will keep enrolling their kids in these sports and will continue to scream encouragement from the stands when little Johnny plants a crushing hit on the son of another set of parents. They'll yell "SHAKE IT OFF, RUB SOME DIRT ON IT AND GET BACK OUT THERE" even when it's their kid on the sideline, woozy and nauseous from receiving a similar hit, even when their coaches insist they watch from the sideline until they're cleared by a doctor to return to game action. I'm not sure where this is leading for the future of these sports, but I'm sure controversy will abound.
The Cubs and the Farm System
On a lighter note….Yeah, the Cubs suck hard this season and probably will in 2013 as well. While this is nothing new for us Cubs fans, what is new is there's an actual plan to improve via the farm system. Let's take a look at my top 5 prospects…
1. Anthony Rizzo, 1B The prize of the Adrian Gonzalez to Boston deal, the Cubs somehow heisted The Riz (That's MINE and I expect royalties when he wins his first MVP and everyone calls him that) from the Padres for Andrew Cashner. Only 22 years old, he's tearing it up at AAA to the tune of a .372/.422/.638 slash line and is only being held back by the issue of service time (free agency eligibility begins after 6 major league seasons and teams sometimes try to delay the eligibility clock by bringing young players up in June or July) and the fact that Bryan LaHair is playing well at the major league level. He's a Hodgkin's lymphoma survivor, so you know the kid is a fighter, too. I think he's the most big league-ready of our youngsters and will give the Cubs a big run producer for a decade or so. ETA…June 2012
2. Brett Jackson, OF Jackson is a big, left-handed hitting OFer with superb defensive skills, is faster than rent in the ghetto and actually has the ability to draw a walk, something the Cubs haven't stressed in the past. He's prone to the strikeout, but so were plenty of other difference-makers with a similar tool set. I'm hoping he can be Jim Edmonds with more speed and less power. I don't expect 40 homers from him, but 40 steals per season are in his sights. He's excelled at every level he's been at and at 23 is ready to hone his craft in Wrigley. There's an available OF spot for him, but he's in the same service time boat as The Riz. This kid is going to get every chance to be the dynamic leadoff hitter we have lusted after like we've lusted after a video of Kate Upton doing the Cat Daddy.
God help the rest of baseball if Jackson exceeds that level of awesomeness. ETA….June 2012
3. Javy Baez, 3B The last 1st round pick of the Jim Hendry reign of terror, he's from the last MLB draft where overslotting and overpaying those players was possible. Drafted 9th overall in 2011, he's 6′ 1″, 205ish, and still filling out since he's only 19 years old. Scouts raved about how the ball jumps off his bat to all areas of the field. Defensively, he's already a plus player and has the ability to play SS as well as 3B. Attitude may be an issue, though. He was recently scolded for admiring a home run and responded, "I can do whatever the fuck I want!" He'd better hit about 35 homers with a .300+ average in Wrigley if he's going to be a cockbite. Hey, they can't all be saints. ETA….2015
4. Matt Szczur, OF Pronounced "Caesar", Szczur is a super athlete who played both baseball and football at Villanova before choosing baseball after being drafted in the 5th round of the 2010 draft. He probably would have chosen baseball anyway, but the Cubs gave him $100K to sign and another $500K to skip the NFL scouting combine. For $600K, I shudder to think what I'd do. He's struggling a bit at High-A Daytona, but he was a project with a high ceiling when we drafted him and we can afford to let him learn his craft at his own pace. He's athletic and was very durable in college while playing two sports. He's gone from 5th round future to fast-track prospect making a name for himself in the organization. ETA….2014, maybe 2015
5. Trey McNutt, P The top pitching prospect in the system, McNutt, only 22, has two outstanding plus pitches…an overwhelming fastball and a big ol' power curve that are almost major-league caliber as it is. Refining a 3rd pitch and sharpening his control a bit will be the keys for McNutt (yeah, you love that name) to make it as a starting pitcher in The Show. He is thought so highly of that the Cubs refused to include him in the Matt Garza trade and laughed in Boston's collective faces when they wanted McNutt (don't act like you're not giggling) in compensation for Theo. Standing 6′ 4″, he's an imposing figure on the mound and may even put a few more pounds on his 205 pound frame. We need more home-grown arms to compete, but McNutt is a good start. ETA…2013
Rocky Horror Live Cast Showing
Ok, off sports for a second. This past Friday night, I took my girls and two of their friends to the Arcada Theatre's live cast showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you've never seen this, it's a Bucket List thing, especially if you like rude, vulgar, offensive and colorfully dressed people who worship a movie that bombed like it was dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. These goofs (said lovingly, of course) dress up in costume and act along with the movie in it's entirety. But that's not the fun part!! The fun part is the audience callbacks. During the whole movie, the dialogue in the movie is "answered" by the in-the-know members of the audience. Here's a decent example of this. Gotta listen kind of close, but you can make out the callbacks.
The enjoyment level for virgins (Oh yeah, first-timers are called "virgins" and are marked with a lipsticked "V" on each cheek and some offensive words or artwork on foreheads or bald heads. Then, the cast tries to offend them pre-show. The guy who tried to offend me had the tables turned on him. Silly cross-dresser!!) depends on how good the audience is. It's much more fun to hear everything crisp and in-time (My name is Janet. "SLUT!!") rather than a bunch of people who aren't into the flick. It's very audience participatory-dependent for fun, because the movie itself pretty much sucks, which is why it bombed years ago. After the show, the cast is more than happy to pose for pics and shoot the proverbial shit with you. This is me and my boy, Frank. I think it's a boy. I didn't have the sack to look under it's panties…
Bring your kids if you don't mind taking a chance on scarring them for life. How can you, really, when it's just a bunch of grown-ups prancing around in drag?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This is a relief valve sensing line for the Wilkins 375DA series reduced pressure zone assemblies. This sensing line is made of a rubber lined stainless steel mess tubing. Genuine Zurn/Wilkins repair parts. No special tools are required for servicing.


"Your current safe boundaries were once unknown frontiers." – Author: Unknown.
Bringing a new baby home is full of wonder and fear. This is an exciting and busy transition step for families involving many considerations; family roles will be redefined, the home environment rearranged, and everyone's schedule adjusted. Being prepared and considering needs and resources before the event occurs is the best way to make this transition time as smooth and stress free as possible for all children and families (This website also includes information and resources for medically fragile children and children with disabilities). Some issues to focus on may include: Equipment Needed; Parent Physical and Mental Health; Child's Physical and Mental Health; Safety Considerations; Social Relationships; Recreation; and, Support Services and Community Resources.


Pa Lamidi Adams, father of Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, is dead.
The 80-year-old Pa Adams passed on in the early hours of Saturday in a private hospital in Lagos.
A statement by the family said the octogenarian ran a private transport business in Oturkpo, Benue State before joining Desmony Nig. Ltd, an Italian company.
He worked at Desmony as Head of Transport Unit before venturing into his personal transport business.
Survived by Iba Adams and many children, burial arrangements will be announced later.


Cryptography plays an important role in computer and communication security. In practical implementations of cryptosystems, the cryptographic keys are usually loaded into the memory as plaintext, and then used in the cryptographic algorithms. Therefore, the private keys are subject to memory disclosure attacks that read unauthorized data from RAM. Such attacks could be performed through software methods (e.g., OpenSSL Heartbleed) even when the integrity of the victim system's executable binaries is maintained. They could also be performed through physical methods (e.g., cold-boot attacks on RAM chips) even when the system is free of software vulnerabilities. In this paper, we propose Mimosa that protects RSA private keys against the above software-based and physical memory attacks. When the Mimosa service is in idle, private keys are encrypted and reside in memory as ciphertext. During the cryptographic computing, Mimosa uses hardware transactional memory (HTM) to ensure that (a) whenever a malicious process other than Mimosa attempts to read the plaintext private key, the transaction aborts and all sensitive data are automatically cleared with hardware mechanisms, due to the strong atomicity guarantee of HTM; and (b) all sensitive data, including private keys and intermediate states, appear as plaintext only within CPU-bound caches, and are never loaded to RAM chips. To the best of our knowledge, Mimosa is the first solution to use transactional memory to protect sensitive data against memory disclosure attacks. We have implemented Mimosa on a commodity machine with Intel Core i7 Haswell CPUs. Through extensive experiments, we show that Mimosa effectively protects cryptographic keys against various attacks that attempt to read sensitive data from memory, and it only introduces a small performance overhead.


collection of galleries from Coloring Pages like Hello Kitty Color Sheets. Cute Dog Coloring Pages. Stocking Print Out. and other designs you might like Printable Spiderman Pictures. Phee Mcfaddell Coloring Pages. Little Caesars Coloring Pages. Spongebob Pictures To Color. Pig Print Out. Narnia Coloring Pages. Kubo Coloring Pages.


PROTECT is the result of a 2009 consolidation of the Residents' Committee to Protect the Adirondacks (RCPA) and The Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AFPA).
Founded in 1901, the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks (AFPA) is the oldest non-profit advocate for the long-term protection and health of the natural and human communities of the Adirondack Park. AFPA was directly involved in virtually all of the seminal events that comprise the environmental legacy of the region.
Founded in 1990, the Residents' Committee to Protect the Adirondacks (RCPA) is one of the Park's newest environmental advocacy organizations. Its strong voice for protection of the Park and its communities has been highly influential in the early 21st century.
Both of these organizations have employed education, citizen action, partnerships and strong advocacy in support of a common vision for the Adirondack Park, which integrates strict protection of public wildlands with sustainable stewardship of private farms and forests to promote the mutual well-being of the Park's natural and human communities. Both have fought to maintain the integrity of Article XIV of the New York State Constitution, which is the so-called "Forever Wild" clause that protects the publicly-owned NYS Forest Preserve in the Adirondack and Catskill regions.
By consolidating these two groups, PROTECT now serves a combined membership, many of whom are full-time residents of the Park. Most of our members reside in New York State, but many others live throughout the country. They all share a common desire to protect the legacy of the Adirondack Park.


text:
A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae
Ingeborg Grgurina*, Feliciana Mariotti, Vincenzo Fogliano, Monica Gallo, Andrea Scaloni, Nicola S. Iacobellis, Pietro Lo Cantore, Luisa Mannina, Valeria Van Axel Castelli, Maria Luigia Greco, Antonio Graniti
Two strains (B728a and Y37) of the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae isolated from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants were shown to produce in culture both syringomycin, a lipodepsinonapeptide secreted by the majority of the strains of the bacterium, and a new form of syringopeptin, SP22Phv. The structure of the latter metabolite was elucidated by the combined use of mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and chemical procedures. Comparative phytotoxic and antimicrobial assays showed that SP22Phv did not differ substantially from the previously characterized syringopeptin 22 (SP22) as far as toxicity to plants was concerned, but was less active in inhibiting the growth of the test fungi Rhodotorula pilimanae and Geotrichum candidum and of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium.
Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology
Published - 20 May 2002
Lipodepsipeptide
Phytotoxin
Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae
Syringopeptin 22 Phv
Fingerprint Dive into the research topics of 'A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Pseudomonas syringae Medicine & Life Sciences
syringopeptin 22 Medicine & Life Sciences
Bacteria Chemical Compounds
syringomycin Medicine & Life Sciences
Geotrichum Medicine & Life Sciences
Rhodotorula Medicine & Life Sciences
Phaseolus Medicine & Life Sciences
Bacillus megaterium Medicine & Life Sciences
Grgurina, I., Mariotti, F., Fogliano, V., Gallo, M., Scaloni, A., Iacobellis, N. S., Lo Cantore, P., Mannina, L., Van Axel Castelli, V., Greco, M. L., & Graniti, A. (2002). A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology, 1597(1), 81-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4838(02)00283-2
Grgurina, Ingeborg ; Mariotti, Feliciana ; Fogliano, Vincenzo ; Gallo, Monica ; Scaloni, Andrea ; Iacobellis, Nicola S. ; Lo Cantore, Pietro ; Mannina, Luisa ; Van Axel Castelli, Valeria ; Greco, Maria Luigia ; Graniti, Antonio. / A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. In: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology. 2002 ; Vol. 1597, No. 1. pp. 81-89.
@article{8aa1c07960f848d0bfc67aaf515736ff,
title = "A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae",
abstract = "Two strains (B728a and Y37) of the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae isolated from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants were shown to produce in culture both syringomycin, a lipodepsinonapeptide secreted by the majority of the strains of the bacterium, and a new form of syringopeptin, SP22Phv. The structure of the latter metabolite was elucidated by the combined use of mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and chemical procedures. Comparative phytotoxic and antimicrobial assays showed that SP22Phv did not differ substantially from the previously characterized syringopeptin 22 (SP22) as far as toxicity to plants was concerned, but was less active in inhibiting the growth of the test fungi Rhodotorula pilimanae and Geotrichum candidum and of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium.",
keywords = "Lipodepsipeptide, Phytotoxin, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, Structure, Syringopeptin 22 Phv",
author = "Ingeborg Grgurina and Feliciana Mariotti and Vincenzo Fogliano and Monica Gallo and Andrea Scaloni and Iacobellis, {Nicola S.} and {Lo Cantore}, Pietro and Luisa Mannina and {Van Axel Castelli}, Valeria and Greco, {Maria Luigia} and Antonio Graniti",
doi = "10.1016/S0167-4838(02)00283-2",
journal = "Biochimica et biophysica acta-protein structure and molecular enzymology",
Grgurina, I, Mariotti, F, Fogliano, V, Gallo, M, Scaloni, A, Iacobellis, NS, Lo Cantore, P, Mannina, L, Van Axel Castelli, V, Greco, ML & Graniti, A 2002, 'A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae', Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology, vol. 1597, no. 1, pp. 81-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4838(02)00283-2
A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. / Grgurina, Ingeborg; Mariotti, Feliciana; Fogliano, Vincenzo; Gallo, Monica; Scaloni, Andrea; Iacobellis, Nicola S.; Lo Cantore, Pietro; Mannina, Luisa; Van Axel Castelli, Valeria; Greco, Maria Luigia; Graniti, Antonio.
In: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology, Vol. 1597, No. 1, 20.05.2002, p. 81-89.
T1 - A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae
AU - Grgurina, Ingeborg
AU - Mariotti, Feliciana
AU - Fogliano, Vincenzo
AU - Gallo, Monica
AU - Scaloni, Andrea
AU - Iacobellis, Nicola S.
AU - Lo Cantore, Pietro
AU - Mannina, Luisa
AU - Van Axel Castelli, Valeria
AU - Greco, Maria Luigia
AU - Graniti, Antonio
N2 - Two strains (B728a and Y37) of the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae isolated from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants were shown to produce in culture both syringomycin, a lipodepsinonapeptide secreted by the majority of the strains of the bacterium, and a new form of syringopeptin, SP22Phv. The structure of the latter metabolite was elucidated by the combined use of mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and chemical procedures. Comparative phytotoxic and antimicrobial assays showed that SP22Phv did not differ substantially from the previously characterized syringopeptin 22 (SP22) as far as toxicity to plants was concerned, but was less active in inhibiting the growth of the test fungi Rhodotorula pilimanae and Geotrichum candidum and of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium.
AB - Two strains (B728a and Y37) of the phytopathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae isolated from bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants were shown to produce in culture both syringomycin, a lipodepsinonapeptide secreted by the majority of the strains of the bacterium, and a new form of syringopeptin, SP22Phv. The structure of the latter metabolite was elucidated by the combined use of mass spectrometry (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and chemical procedures. Comparative phytotoxic and antimicrobial assays showed that SP22Phv did not differ substantially from the previously characterized syringopeptin 22 (SP22) as far as toxicity to plants was concerned, but was less active in inhibiting the growth of the test fungi Rhodotorula pilimanae and Geotrichum candidum and of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus megaterium.
KW - Lipodepsipeptide
KW - Phytotoxin
KW - Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae
KW - Structure
KW - Syringopeptin 22 Phv
U2 - 10.1016/S0167-4838(02)00283-2
DO - 10.1016/S0167-4838(02)00283-2
JO - Biochimica et biophysica acta-protein structure and molecular enzymology
JF - Biochimica et biophysica acta-protein structure and molecular enzymology
Grgurina I, Mariotti F, Fogliano V, Gallo M, Scaloni A, Iacobellis NS et al. A new syringopeptin produced by bean strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - Protein Structure and Molecular Enzymology. 2002 May 20;1597(1):81-89. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4838(02)00283-2


It isn't necessary to publish information about specific cases contemporaneously, nor to publish to the world at large at any time the "not so basic" details of a specific case, in the way that the courts have started to do. The Practice Direction can be amended to oblige practitioners to provide the required basic information to a central office in the High Court. Transparency is possible through statistics without needing to draw attention to individuals at the time they obtain the injunction.
I've left a comment below the piece, asking whether the open justice principle in fact requires the publication of basic detail about contemporaneous privacy judgments, which mimics a question put by Edward Thompson in the Journal of Media Law last December, in relation to cameras in court. I am not attempting to provide an answer at this stage, but am interested in hearing what other people think.
This entry was posted in courts, data, digital open justice, media law, newspapers, privacy, public interest, reporting restrictions and tagged courts data, gideon benaim, privacy injunctions, super injunctions. Bookmark the permalink.


text:
Q: image validation in codeigniter I am trying to validate the form in the following  code.
Controller:
public function do_register()
{
    $this->load->library('form_validation');

    $this->form_validation->set_rules('uname', 'Username', 'required|min_length[4]|max_length[15]');
    $this->form_validation->set_rules('email', 'Email', 'required|valid_email');
    $this->form_validation->set_rules('pass', 'Password', 'required|min_length[4]');
    $this->form_validation->set_rules('address', 'Details', 'required|min_length[4]');
    if($this->form_validation->run() == FALSE)
    {
        $this->load->view('login_view');
    }
    else
    {
        $path = $_FILES['image']['name'];
        $imgext=strtolower(strrchr($path,'.'));
        $imgname= $this->generateRandomString().$imgext;
        if($path!='')
        {
            $im= $this->config->item('base_url').'/uploads'.'/'.$imgname;
            $x=$this->do_upload($imgname);
            $data['img']=$im;
        }

        $this->search_model->register_user($data['img']);
        $this->load->view('register_view');
    }
}
function generateRandomString()
{
    $characters = '0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz';
    $randomString = '';
    for ($i = 0; $i < 8; $i++) {
        $randomString .= $characters[rand(0, strlen($characters) - 1)];
    }
    return $randomString;
}
function do_upload($img)
{
    $config['upload_path'] = './uploads/';
    $config['allowed_types'] = 'gif|jpg|png';

    $config['max_size'] = '1024 ';

    $config['file_name'] = $img;
    $this->load->library('upload',$config);

    if ( ! $this->upload->do_upload('image'))

    {
        $error = array('error' => $this->upload->display_errors());
    }
    else
    {
        $data = array('upload_data' => $this->upload->data());
        return $data;
    }
    return;
}

If I leave the image field , and do registration then I got the error

Error Number: 1048 undefined variable data  and column 'img' cannot be null.

I think validation is not working in the case of image field? How to solve this issue?

A: Here you were getting a database error not a PHP error so in order to validate your image field within PHP side you can check it as
if($_FILES['image']['error'] != 4){
   // then insert or upload will be done
}else{
   // please select an image
}

A:     if (empty($_FILES['image']['name']))
    {
    //User did not uploaded file. Use default image
    }
    else
    {
    //User uploaded the file. Do something
    }


For over 700 hundred years there has been a Mill of one kind or another across the River Tas at Stoke Holy Cross.
Once the home of Colman's the producers of Mustard, which today is famous all over the world. The Restaurant has recently undergone major refurbishment with attention to detail retaining the full character of the building.
We have an extensive Menu offering local fresh produce and homemade dishes, complemented by an excellent Wine List.


text:
Fast cars, cash and watches seized by CAB
By Kieran O'Mahony
LUXURY cars, high-end watches, records relating to cryptocurrency purchase, electronic devices and €1,400 in cash have been seized by CAB (Criminal Assets Bureau) from a number of properties, including a house in Aherla, near Crookstown.
The search at the West Cork house last week was one of three searches at locations in the county, including an office in the city.
A luxury property near Caragh Lake in Co Kerry was also searched.
The target of the searches was a man in his 50s, who was previously investigated by CAB in 2011 and who was convicted of money laundering, following a lengthy investigation. No arrests were made last week, but the investigation is ongoing.
In excess of 40 officers were involved in the early morning searches, including CAB officers and local detective units from both Bandon and Macroom garda stations, along with the Garda Dog Unit.
The items seized at the properties included a 161-registered Mercedes Benz car, a 182-registered Audi TT, and numerous high-end watches, including a Rolex, a Mont Blanc and an Omega.
Officers also seized a number of phones and electronic devices, including laptops, as well as records relating to cryptocurrency purchase. Cryptocurrency is commonly used in money laundering.
A spokesperson for CAB said the search operation is a significant development in an ongoing investigation into criminal assets.
'In addition to these searches, CAB will consider using its revenue tax powers in respect of any liability that may arise,' the spokesperson added.
Chief Supt Con Cadogan of the Cork West garda division confirmed to The Southern Star that the searches carried out were a joint operation between CAB and detective units from West Cork stations, and that some of items were seized from the property in Aherla.
'The investigation is ongoing and a file will be prepared for the DPP, while CAB will continue with their own investigations,' said Chief Supt Cadogan.


Provide an undergraduate education experience that promotes independent inquiry, is grounded in fundamentals, affords opportunities for innovation, and leads to successful career outcomes.
Our undergraduate students are among the best in the world. They choose engineering at Washington University in St. Louis because of the strength of our science, an environment that encourages exploration, and the opportunity to collaborate with both peers and faculty.
To keep our undergraduate curriculum and pedagogy focused and modern requires continued investment of time, energy and resources. Engineering continues to evolve — now more rapidly than ever. Our curriculum and educational delivery must evolve as well.
Goal 1: Support a vertically integrated educational environment and increase the participation of undergraduates in research.
At WashU's McKelvey School of Engineering, the distinctions of being an undergraduate student, a graduate researcher, or a postdoctoral fellow are blurred; the creation of knowledge in the lab is fundamental to the identity of the School and should be experienced by all students.
Goal 2: Ensure a modern, relevant curriculum for each major.
While fundamentals of disciplines change slowly, the skills relevant to the practice of engineering or to the pursuit of new knowledge in research evolve more rapidly. To ensure that our curriculum meets the needs of our students for both today's world and that of tomorrow, it must be critically assessed in a modern context.
Goal 3: Increased opportunity for design and collaboration during the four-year undergraduate experience.
Innovation is the process of applying a new and original approach or set of approaches to solve a problem. In engineering, design is the practice of innovation. And the design process can be greatly amplified when performed collaboratively.
While some engineering students begin their studies with a clear understanding of the domain they wish to pursue, many only know they enjoy the analytical thinking embodied in engineering and that they have an aptitude for the quantitative methods that underlie the domain.
Goal 5: Increase the adoption of best pedagogical practices by instructional faculty into the teaching and learning environment of their classes (NTT, Enhancing, Support, Digital).
As engineering has evolved, so has the pedagogy of engineering education. Assessment can be measured both qualitatively and quantitatively, ranging from the percentage of classes adopting effective instructional paradigms to results of annual surveys.
Goal 6: Increase the connectivity between our undergraduates and career opportunities.
Our students — and their parents — expect the university to provide them not only with career opportunities upon graduating, but also with learning experiences during the entire four-year journey that result in a more sophisticated understanding of their various career choices. Faculty most naturally provide insight into graduate school and academic research options. More challenging is insight into industrial and corporate possibilities.
Goal 7: Promote a more diverse student body and ensure that students develop communication and interpersonal skills effective across disciplines and cultures.
Engineers and researchers have the most impact and success when they can communicate their ideas and perspectives to others outside their disciplines, and indeed outside the technical sphere. WashU is often the first place our students encounter cultures and values different than their own. Establishing the value of such cultural diversity encourages communication and discourse.
Goal 8: Establish targeted mentorship and advising in Undergraduate Student Services to support disadvantaged and minority students with the goal of achieving better retention and graduation rates within those populations.
The university has significantly increased its undergraduate recruiting efforts targeting disadvantaged and underrepresented students, and the results of these efforts are visible within the school. But our success rates with those students are lower than those overall. The goal is to identify opportunities to provide better mentoring and advising to disadvantaged and underrepresented students.


CD Label Designer is application that will help you to design and print CD / DVD jewel case disk labels. It supports images, texts, circled texts and shapes, read of file structure and CDDB (freedb) audio database and customizing printout positions.
CD Label Designer is application that will help you to design and print CD jewel case and DVD box labels, booklets, sleeves (envelopes), round and business card disk labels.
It supports images, RTF texts, circled texts and shapes allowing you to arrange, change size, angle and transparency of objects. You can also read directory and file structure, CDDB audio CD database or define own lists to include them on labels, and you can customize printout positions.
With template files you can pre-define number of templates for different kind of designs.
Also, you can make different print layouts and exchange them with others, and you can customize printout positions. Very easy to use.


Come meet horny in Jerusalem women that simply want to get laid with a no-strings style relationship, membership is free and only requires you to setup a simple profile to get started. Got Laid is a 100% free hookup site where you can get laid in just minutes, all profiles are private and only takes 30 seconds to get setup. Click a city within Jerusalem from the list below or scroll to the left to view profiles of horny girls directly.


text:
Negotiating Lessons from "A Beautiful Mind"
Jared Bamford 12th September 2017
Russell Crowe isn't in the Scotwork database as an alumnus but he would have to be awarded honorary alumnus status from what he learnt and portrayed by playing the role of the genius, John Nash in the movie, "A Beautiful Mind".
A bar scene fairly early in the movie opens with John Nash's chief rival Martin Hansen's comment regarding a pool game, which hints at a significant moment to follow - "Who's winning? You or you?". A little later, all the young men are eyeing the same beautiful Blonde who saunters into the room, and are jostling for her attention...and Hansen's comment is "Every man for himself, Gentlemen."
It is at this crucial point that John Nash has an epiphany with far-reaching consequences...so far –reaching that, as an alumnus, you have benefitted from his revelation.
As the special lighting effects signal a pivotal moment for the young scientist who had been struggling to latch on to an original idea for his thesis, Nash declares:
"Adam Smith needs revision.
If we all go for the Blonde, we block each other. Not a single one of us is gonna get her.
So then we go for her friends.
But they will all give us the cold shoulder because nobody likes to be second choice.
But what if no one goes for the Blonde? We don't get in each other's way and we don't insult the other girls.
That's the only way we win.
Adam Smith said the best result comes from everybody in the group doing what's best for himself-right?
Incomplete. OK?...Because the best result will come from everyone in the group doing what's best for himself...and the group."
The interpretation of Adam Smith's economic theory which the movie's Nash character was putting forward was that competing parties can't simultaneously achieve a desirable outcome. While movie director, Ron Howard's portrayal of both Adam Smith and John Nash's economic theories has been widely questioned and criticised, it can be agreed that before Nash, economic theory purported that there must be a winner and a loser and that maximising profit and meeting clients' needs was not concurrently possible. However, what we at Scotwork have heard and proved, over and over, is:
1. Know what you want to achieve and just as important know what your competition wants to achieve - be transparent and ask the right questions.
2. There is not just one way to reach your desired outcome. What may look like a block or insurmountable obstacle is merely an opportunity to find another route. Be creative.
3. By looking for a "we all win" result, healthy relationships are maintained and offence eliminated. Commerce thrives when both sides win – and that's a fact!
Ready to learn how you can achieve a win-win negotiation outcome? Review our negotiation training courses.
Jared Bamford
More by Jared Bamford:
Building Trust Through Transparency
Your Most Important Negotiations... Or Not?


text:
Infer Raises $10M Round in Series A Funding from Top Investors | Infer
April 23, 2013 by Danielle Ricci - 3:36 min read
Infer Raises $10M Round in Series A Funding from Top Investors
Press Release: Redpoint Ventures Leads Series A Funding Round
PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA – April 23, 2013 – Infer Inc., a company that delivers data-powered business applications inspired by the consumer web, today announced it has closed $10 million in Series A funding led by Redpoint Ventures, with Andreessen Horowitz, Social+Capital Partnership, Sutter Hill Ventures, and influential angel investors also participating in the round. Infer helps businesses accurately predict and act on their highest potential customers.
Infer's solutions mine the historical customer won/lost records sitting in companies' sales and marketing databases, pull in hundreds of valuable signals from untapped web sources, and build statistical models that accurately identify customers with the highest propensity to buy. This approach leverages advanced information retrieval and machine learning algorithms to model customer data, along with company financials, social media presence, job listings, legal filings and other external information. As a result, Infer unearths actionable revenue-driving insights that businesses can leverage to prioritize their flow of leads, focus on their best prospects, and ultimately win more customers in less time.
"Infer's predictive solution has helped our sales force deal with lead overload by prioritizing those with the highest likelihood to engage and close," said Jim Herbold, executive vice president of sales at Box. "The application integrates quickly, and delivers real lift — in our case, more than doubling the conversion rate from our highest volume lead sources."
Infer has closed several multi-year customer agreements, attaining early profitability. Its models have consistently achieved significant lifts in conversion rates for customers across the board, including several Fortune 1000 companies and some of the hottest emerging technology companies in the market, like Box, Jive Software, Tableau, Yammer and Zendesk.
"While the sales and marketing automation markets have been strong over the last several years, automation is not enough," said Satish Dharmaraj, partner at Redpoint Ventures. "The much larger opportunity is to bring enterprises deep data science wrapped up in simple application services that anyone can use. Infer's world class team is bringing web search, machine learning and personalization smarts from places like Google, using it to harness enterprises' untapped big data for the first time, and gleaning amazing topline value for its customers. This is a rocketship."
Infer's founding team is led by Vik Singh, who was listed in MIT's Top 35 under 35 list for helping to create the popular open search platform Yahoo! BOSS. The company's technology leadership includes co-founders Yang Zhang, an ex-Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! and MIT researcher, and Chung Wu, who was formerly the front-end tech lead of Google's Public Data project.
"When my co-founders and I set out to create Infer, we were shocked by how poorly even the biggest, most innovative companies manage and act on their own internal data — especially given the amazing advances we've seen in the data science used for the consumer web," said Vik Singh, co-founder and CEO of Infer. "For example, there's way more intelligence being applied in Facebook's newsfeed telling you that your friends are getting drinks across the street than there is in helping companies make critical decisions that could have serious consequences like massive layoffs. It's time for a change. We intend to bring the product thinking and data intelligence of the consumer space to the enterprise, and deliver data science applications that solve real problems and 'just work' seamlessly in existing workflows."
Infer will use its Series A funding to grow its team of engineers and scientists, as well as to deliver and apply its solution to more companies and customer intelligence problems. In addition, Satish Dharmaraj of Redpoint Ventures will join the company's board of directors.
About Infer
Founded in 2010, Infer delivers data-powered business applications that help companies win more customers. It leverages proven data science to rapidly model the untapped data sitting in enterprises, along with thousands of external signals from the web. Inspired by the simplicity of the consumer web, Infer delivers seamless, cloud-based applications that anyone can get up and running in just days. Customers include several of the Fortune 1000 and numerous high growth companies like AdRoll, Box, Jive Software, New Relic, Tableau, Xactly and Zendesk. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Infer is funded by leading investors, including Redpoint Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Social+Capital Partnership and Sutter Hill Ventures. For more information, visit www.infer.com or read the company's blog at blog.infer.com.
Infer Raises $10M Round in Series A Funding from Top Investors 2013-04-23T15:24:24-07:00 2019-05-20T15:41:57-07:00 Danielle Ricci
Data-Driven Arms Race for Customers Is Fueling Hot Enterprise Company Infer
Infer Grows Partner Ecosystem to Help Marketers Build Best-In-Class Programs
Infer Delivers Glengarry leads
Infer's Sean Zinsmeister on the Gold Rush for Predictive Data
Where does Profile Management fit into my Sales and Marketing stack?
New Infer Product Demo
Infer Releases Profile Management Platform to General Availability; Adds Net-New Profile Builder
What is the difference between Infer and traditional lead scoring?
Infer Lenses – Using your predictive model to score different segments of your business
February 05, 2015 - 2:25 min read


text:
https://www.thehour.com/entertainment/article/Holocaust-survivor-makes-symphony-debut-with-Ma-8229203.php
Holocaust survivor makes symphony debut with Ma
Jacqueline Larma
Published 5:45 am EDT, Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Dr. George Horner speaks to the Associated Press at his home in Newtown Square, Pa. Thursday Oct. 17, 2013. Horner, a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor and pianist, will join Yo-Yo Ma on stage at Boston's Symphony Hall on Tuesday Oct. 22, 2013 to perform music that was written in the concentration camp where he was imprisoned. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)


text:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<menu xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android">

    <item android:id="@+id/menu_station"
        android:title="@string/bottombar_tab1"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_map_white_24dp"/>
    <item android:id="@+id/menu_order"
        android:title="@string/bottombar_tab2"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_directions_subway_white_24dp"/>
    <item android:id="@+id/menu_mine"
        android:title="@string/bottombar_tab4"
        android:icon="@drawable/ic_person_white_24dp"/>
</menu>


AFTER being arrested for drunken driving early Friday in Windsor, Ontario, Bob Probert of the Detroit Red Wings, who had been convicted of a similar charge earlier this year, was suspended indefinitely from the team. . . . Gene Smithson, who was dismissed as Wichita State's basketball coach last March, has reached a $305,000 contract settlement with the school. . . . Louis Espinoza has signed to fight Tommy Valoy for the World Boxing Association junior-featherweight title in a bout in Phoenix Jan. 6. . . . Reggie Jackson lost a bid to dismiss disorderly-conduct charges stemming from a scuffle with an autograph seeker in Milwaukee last May and was ordered to stand trial at a date to be set. . . . Ben Johnson, whose 1986 record included a victory over Carl Lewis in the 100 meters at the Goodwill Games in Moscow, has been ranked No. 1 in the event by Track and Field News. . . . Jack Nicklaus, who hasn't played in the Westchester Classic since 1978, has agreed to play in next year's tournament, set for June 11-14.