Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/244803678?client_source=feed&format=rss
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Friday, August 31, 2012
[Shifty Look] Coin-Op Community College
Dig Dug was released into arcades across the globe in 1982 and instantly became a worldwide hit. Ports include nearly every platform imaginable, and downloadable versions are available on all the current generation home consoles. The game pits Dig Dug against underground monsters known as Pooka and Fygar as he attempts to eliminate them through pump inflation or rock-crushing. In celebration of its 30th anniversary, ShiftyLook lined-up a mix of talent that included some of the very best in webcomics. Concluded at 34 episodes, Dig Dug will return with new comics this holiday season starting with Canadian Thanksgiving.
Source: http://www.shiftylook.com/comics/digdug/coin-op-community-college
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How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Change Management | Eamon Hoey
The wheel of change is ushering in an unprecedented economic, political, and social transformation. We are at a historical turning point. Violent transformational change is altering the world, as we know it. This is dramatically transforming the business environment. It is shifting long held business assumptions. Leaders must transform their organizations or fall by the wayside.
Organizational change has only a 30% chance of achieving success. Most lack the change management tools to bring about effective organizational change. Moreover, they embark on change management without a clear understanding of the issues of organizational change. The causes of failure are a general resistance to change, lack of process and methodology, and failure to acknowledge the impact change has on the people. The key considerations to overcome the barriers to successful change management are strategic compatibility, degree of change, scale and scope, pace, style, and creating a guiding coalition.
Strategic Compatibility
The goals of change management must align with the organization?s strategic plan. For the project to succeed, the goals must be precise and easily understood. Whereas, a vaguely defined project with uncertain goals and does not comply with a company?s strategy will fail.
Degree of Change
Some organizational changes are easy, some more difficult. Changing an organization?s structure, systems, and strategies are difficult to accomplish. By contrast, change such as upgrading skillsets and minor changes to the reporting structure are more easily accomplished. In this time of radical transformation of the business environment organizations, if they are to survive, must undertake bold, ambitious, arduous, transformational change. Organizations that focus solely on minor organizational changes will fail.
Scale and Scope
Scale is the amount of resources the change requires including human resources, capital, and time investment relative to organizational size. Large-scale change involves more risk. Managing large-scale projects requires senior leadership commitment, stakeholder buy-in, exceptional project management, and a communications plan. Change management that neglects any one of these elements will undoubtedly fail.
The project scope can be limited to a department or companywide. In today?s environment, companies require large-scope change management to keep pace with the transformational change that is occurring in the business environment.
Pace
Pace is the speed at which an organization can absorb change. As the pace of change increases, so does the risk. The world is experiencing unprecedented pace of social, political, and economic change. Given the scope, scale, and pace of change, organizations need to mitigate the risk of undertaking large-scale transformational change management. Companies that do not react to market conditions in a timely manner become a tail ender and subject to financial failure. Kodak was late in adapting its organization to a digital world and is now in Chapter 11. By contrast, IBM undertook fast successful large-scale transformational organizational change and flourishing.
Style
Style is the leadership approach to change management. It can be top down or bottom up. Radical top-down, large-scale, fast-paced, transformational, planned change, that seeks to obtain staff buy in, best overcomes employee resistance to change. Leadership must ensure that followers receive appropriate skills training necessary for change. To overcome staff resistance, leaders must engage in intensive communications accentuating the necessity for transformational change and a sense of urgency. Staff buy in can migrate from a top down approach to become a bottom up initiative.
A Guiding Coalition
No one individual can accomplish successful change management on his or her own. It requires a guiding coalition of senior leaders with a sense of urgency, who is committed to radical, large-scale, fast-paced, transformational change. These senior leaders must empower a broad base of committed followers to implement change removing the barriers to the carefully planned transformational change. Employees can quickly determine if there is a lack of management commitment and resist change. Accordingly, senior leadership must convincingly demonstrate their commitment to radical transformational change.
Warning
Slashing expense, thereby making corporate financials attractive to Wall Street, does not accomplish radical organizational transformational change. This is merely financial transformation. Transformational organizational change must take a long-term view and adapt to the unprecedented economic, political, and social transformation occurring in the business environment.
What to do?
Organizations must undertake strategic planning, questioning the validity of current business vision, mission, strategy, values, and business model. They must ask, ?How are the changing economic, social, and political drivers affecting our business?? ?Do we have the right business strategy and organizational structure for today and tomorrow?? ?Who are our customers today and who will they be tomorrow?? ?Is our business going to be another Kodak or do we have to change like IBM?? Nothing short of a radical transformation of today?s organizations will satisfy the upheaval that is bringing about unprecedented change.
Source: http://www.eamonhoey.com/?p=258
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Thursday, August 30, 2012
Russia claims killer demands Pussy Riot freed
This image taken from TV footage provided by The Associated Press Television News shows a place where two women stabbed to death were found under this sign on the wall of their apartment in the central Russian city of Kazan on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. The sign is presumably written with blood, prosecutors said adding that the murderer probably tried to mislead police by the writing that supports three members of the provocative feminist band jailed for their "punk prayer" at a Moscow cathedral.(AP Photo/APTN) TV OUT
This image taken from TV footage provided by The Associated Press Television News shows a place where two women stabbed to death were found under this sign on the wall of their apartment in the central Russian city of Kazan on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012. The sign is presumably written with blood, prosecutors said adding that the murderer probably tried to mislead police by the writing that supports three members of the provocative feminist band jailed for their "punk prayer" at a Moscow cathedral.(AP Photo/APTN) TV OUT
FILE - In this Friday, Aug. 17, 2012 file photo, feminist punk group Pussy Riot members, from left, Maria Alekhina, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova show the court's verdict as they sit in a glass cage at a courtroom in Moscow. The two-year prison sentence handed down to Pussy Riot for a provocative protest inside a Moscow cathedral called attention to just how hard President Vladimir Putin is clamping down on minor displays of dissent. But Russia isn?t the only country where people are punished for offenses that many in the West might consider trivial. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel, File)
MOSCOW (AP) ? The bodies of two slain women were found in Russia beneath a scrawled message demanding freedom for the jailed members of the Pussy Riot band, officials said Thursday.
While a Russian investigator cautioned that the killer was possibly trying to mislead police by drawing attention to the punk provocateurs, the alleged link between a killer and anti-Putin protesters was immediately seized upon by Russian media and pro-Kremlin publicists.
Some publications ran headlines claiming that Pussy Riot supporters "committed" or "inspired" a double homicide. The coverage was full of the mostly negative terms used by Kremlin-friendly television networks and media in their coverage of the protesters' trial.
A Moscow court earlier this month sentenced three Pussy Riot members to two years in jail for performing a "punk prayer" against President Vladimir Putin at a Moscow cathedral in February. The trial, widely seen as Kremlin-orchestrated, caused an international furor, with celebrities such as Paul McCartney urging Russian authorities to free the band.
The jailed band members' attorney said on Twitter that "what happened in Kazan is horrible," calling the case "either a horrendous provocation or a psychopathic" case.
"I am sorry that some freaks are using Pussy Riot's band name," Nikolai Polozov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.
Russia's Investigative Committee said the women, aged 76 and 38, were killed late last week in their apartment in the central city of Kazan with the words "Free Pussy Riot" written on the wall in English, "presumably" with blood.
The substance has not yet been confirmed, it said in the statement.
The agency did not provide the women's names or reveal details about their occupations or whether they had any connection to the band. The Russian tabloid Lifenews quoted an unnamed investigator as saying their faces and bodies were disfigured by multiple stab wounds.
An investigator in Kazan said the murderer was either psychotic or a drug addict who was trying to cover up the crime by attributing it to the band's supporters.
The killer "was trying to avoid suspicion" by misleading police, investigator Andrey Sheptitsky said in televised remarks.
That sense of caution was ignored by many Russian media outlets.
Kristina Potupchik, a pro-Putin blogger and former spokeswoman for a militant youth group known for its violent pranks against opposition and Kremlin critics, said in a post that the band's supporters "will not get away" after the killing. She also compared them to U.S. mass murderer Charles Manson, who also used the blood of his victims to write on the walls of their houses.
The leader of an Orthodox youth group that has accosted and assaulted Pussy Riot supporters claimed that they are capable of committing "any" crime.
"The infernal force that drives them hates God, believers and humankind in general," Dmitry Tsorionov told Interfax on Thursday. "These people are capable of committing any crime, and nothing but force and law can stop them."
The country's dominant Orthodox Church has called the band's stunt sacrilegious but hundreds of artists, musicians and other intellectuals have signed petitions urging authorities to free them.
Several wooden crosses that stood outside Orthodox churches in Russia and neighboring Ukraine have been toppled by people who have claimed to be the band's supporters.
The band's manager and the husband of one of the jailed rockers, however, said the band disapproved of the vandalism.
A poll released Thursday by the state-run VTsIOM polling agency showed that one-third of Russians considered the two-year jail sentence for the band members too harsh, while another 31 per cent found it appropriate. The survey questioned 1,600 people nationwide on Aug. 25-26 and gave a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
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5 Good Tips To Get FREE Web Site Traffic
To get traffic to a new web site is not really something which always just comes about naturally. To get website visitors to your site you need to do one particular thing to get such traffic. So when we are saying "FREE" site traffic I indicate you will not pay for it nevertheless you are going to till have to take action to make it happen.
And what steps are there to generate free website visitors? Listed here we include 5 ways to get free traffic on your web site. To enjoy this site traffic necessitates a small amount of efforts and moment in time from you. However we shall review some of the most extremely popular free website traffic building ways combined with ideas on how to get them carried out or possibly use outside agencies the procedure to somebody besides you that will accomplish this on your behalf.
In my experience its about saving time and so let's get going.
1. Write Articles and reviews to the Best Article Directory Sites
In truth it's just a no-brainer and ought to regularly be regarded as the primary plan for any web sites long term backlink building routine. Article submission has done the trick for others for as long as google and yahoo have been around. Not only does article marketing will help you rank highly in the Search engines these kind of article backlinks usually stays for years on sites like EzineArticles.com etc etc simply because the sites rank well and can also create for you website visitors for years to come.
2. Form and Publish Press Releases to the 100 % free Press Release sites
Press release marketing campaigns for free site traffic is greatly valued. Lots of Press Release directories have a lot authority on the internet plus they will release your PR content throughout several Press Release areas. Specific pr releases may end up in Google News for example and produce A lot direct site traffic frequently immediately or on a regular basis for many years also.
3. Sign up to renowned message boards and write/reply on posts in your niche utilizing your link in your sig.
Forums marketing campaigns at no cost web traffic is probably just about the most well-liked strategies to not just generating traffic to your site but in addition great for building up a good reputation for your web site or online business. Simply post responses on other peoples articles/posts accompanied by a website link in your sig area or start off your individual discussion post or distribute the services you provide etcetera by having a regular dofollow back link to your website.
4. Post your website to all the Top rated Social Bookmarking sites
Mostly all of us as well as their nan are bookmarking stuff nowadays. Be it useful for marketing benefits or basically because they sincerely wish to post, show and keep something on the web for our children and grandchildren to know. Social bookmarking directories are thought to be "human moderated" sites by Google (relatively it's just a fair hypothesis) and therefor are designated lots of influence in the search engines so might be considered locations that you won't want to loose out on a backlink from. Not only do you acquire favourable website positioning by obtaining tons of Web 2.0 Social Bookmarking links but the immediate traffic these websites may bring in can be extraordinary!
5. Put together a Social Networking appearance on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and the like
At this time it seems having a social standing online is deemed to be good interest and seeing as many Social Networking sites receive lots of day-by-day visitors it will be insane almost to not ever consider them if considering getting visitors to your site or blog. Make sure you establish a Facebook group page as well as a Twitter account at the very least! Get hold of individuals to join in your group or page and "like" your Facebook posts/blog products you post and do some tweeting on Twitter to your blogs posts/pages etc each once in awhile. Perhaps go farther and put together a Pinterest account, a LinkedIn, Myspace, Google Plus+ profile and so forth. Each backlinking to your site that folks can see on the web that should benefit you down the road!
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Source: http://www.workoninternet.com/business/reviews/miscellaneous/218198-article.html
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Republicans nominate Romney at storm-hit convention
TAMPA, Florida (Reuters) - Republicans nominated Mitt Romney on Tuesday to challenge President Barack Obama for the White House, kicking off their storm-delayed convention with a barrage of sharp attacks on Obama's economic leadership.
The formal nomination of Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, sets up a two-month final dash to the November 6 election. Opinion polls show Romney running even with or slightly behind the Democratic president.
The convention's opening was pushed back a day by a storm threat, but Republicans wasted no time in condemning Obama's economic record and reminding voters of the stubbornly high national unemployment rate and growing budget deficit.
Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, warned that re-electing Obama would mean "four more years of failure."
"We have a message for America: Elect Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and they'll get America working again," he said to loud cheers. "We must send America's comeback team to Washington."
But as Republicans tried to show a united front against Obama, it was clear on Tuesday that bitter divisions within their party have not been resolved.
Supporters of libertarian congressman Ron Paul of Texas and other conservative activists briefly disrupted the opening session, booing a decision to unseat Paul delegates from Maine and institute rules changes they believe will weaken their power in the next election cycle.
The rules changes, approved by the convention on a voice vote, will bind delegates to the results of a statewide vote and reduce the role of smaller state-level conventions where Paul had success.
Opponents of the move said that Romney's operatives and the party's establishment were trying to freeze them out. Some noted that in the state-by-state roll call of delegates to count votes for the presidential nomination, only Romney's vote totals were announced from the podium.
"We were disenfranchised by our party. We won't participate with this chaos," said Russell Montgomery, 52, of St. George, Maine. "We won't legitimize this fiasco. This is as bad as the other party - the corruption."
The opening night will be capped by prime-time speeches by Romney's wife, Ann, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Romney, who had originally planned to stay out of the spotlight until Thursday night when he accepts his party's nomination, made an early appearance in the Florida host city to be on hand for his wife's turn at the podium.
Republicans hope to use the convention to make an aggressive argument for booting Obama from office while presenting a softer side of Romney, who is struggling to overcome a "likability gap" with the president and refute critics who paint him as a job-killing, out-of-touch former private equity executive.
In excerpts of her speech, Ann Romney said her husband has attacked every challenge he has faced - from reviving the struggling Salt Lake City Olympics to helping her battle multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.
"At every turn in his life, this man I met at a high school dance has helped lift up others," Romney, 63, will tell the convention.
"This is the man who will wake up every day with the determination to solve the problems that others say can't be solved, to fix what others say is beyond repair," she said. "This is the man who will work harder than anyone so that we can work a little less hard."
HURRICANE POLITICS
Republicans have hoped their convention will not be overshadowed by Hurricane Isaac, forecast to hit in the New Orleans area seven years after it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. They also have worried about being seen celebrating Romney's nomination while swathes of the Gulf Coast were under storm threat.
While Tampa was spared the brunt of Isaac, a destructive landfall in Louisiana in the next day or so could create uncomfortable split-screen television images of the convention juxtaposed with the hurricane.
The Republican gathering will culminate with Romney's nationally televised acceptance speech on Thursday, the biggest speaking engagement of his political life.
Obama, campaigning in Iowa and Colorado, dismissed the Republican attacks and said the agenda his political foes were rolling out in Tampa made for a "pretty entertaining show."
He said Romney's economic plan would benefit the rich at the expense of the middle class.
"In just over two months, you will make a choice about which path we take, and it's going to be a stark choice," he told a campaign rally at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
The Republicans' headline speakers later on Tuesday night are expected to keep making their party's case against Obama while arguing that Romney could do a better job.
Expectations are high for the keynote speech by Christie, New Jersey's confrontational governor, which is likely to be heavy on red-meat rhetoric for conservatives.
Many Republicans like Christie's in-your-face style, which contrasts with Romney's stiff demeanor and has made him a rising political star.
"You start turning it around tonight," Christie told ABC's "Good Morning America" program when asked how to overcome some voters' lack of enthusiasm for Romney.
Vice presidential contender Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman, tops the bill of speakers on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Andy Sullivan, Sam Youngman and Sam Jacobs; Editing by Alistair Bell and Leslie Adler)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/romneys-storm-delayed-convention-limps-motion-002110379.html
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Lexmark announces detailed restructuring plan: 1,700 layoffs, inkjet business to be nixed
It's always a sad day when news come in of hard-working folks losing their cherished jobs -- and, unfortunately, today's one of those dismal days. In a detailed press release, Lexmark's let it be known it'll be be undergoing a company-wide restructure, but with the main focus being the exiting of the outfit's inkjet hardware development and manufacturing -- which, in the end, should save the printer maker about $95 million per year once the plan has taken place. Naturally, this doesn't come without any repercussions, as Lexmark's announced these restructuring actions will see around 1,700 worldwide jobs be lost; 1,100 of which are manufacturing positions, and also include the closing of an inkjet supplies manufacturing plant in the Philippines. Needless to say, we can only hope Lexmark sees better days. For now, however, you can peruse over the company's official word in the presser located right past the break.
Filed under: Misc, Peripherals
Lexmark announces detailed restructuring plan: 1,700 layoffs, inkjet business to be nixed originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Aug 2012 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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SIP Trunk - Sip Trunk -- Effective Communication Platform without ...
Since the inception of telephone systems businesses have been paying extensive amounts to traditional telecommunications company at times reaching to tens of thousands of dollars burning any company's budget to the extent that some business became hesitant to pick up the phone and make phone calls. However the solution is not minimizing your calls, but rather changing the platform your system is in.
A recent report revealed that that traditional telecommunication's company have been charging their customers obscene amounts that are not necessary and in some cases reaching 300 percent to 1000 percent of what the rates should be. According to Australian Communications Minister Stephen Conroy and his New Zealand counterpart Amy Adams, every time you pick up the phone and place a call or log on to the internet using your mobile, Telecommunications Company are over pricing their services without the consumers even noticing it. Both minister proposed to legislate a regulation mechanism, set an industry standard and set a price cap for both retail and wholesale.
The report clearly showed how over priced current rates these companies are implementing, although the proposal is a good start businesses still have to wait for the legislation of whatever regulation is need. But luckily a new and innovative form of communication platform is steadily rising and is projected to hit a 770 percent global growth rate within the next three years mainly because of its ability to cut phone b half without requiring a fortune to deploy.
A SIP trunk or SIP trunking is another service offered by VoIP service providers, the idea of the technology is to use the internet as the main platform of transmission thus reducing dial rates significantly and eliminating the need for primary rate interface or PRIs. The latter is contributes greatly to skyrocketing bills along with other miscellaneous charges such as line rentals.
Although a Sip trunk based phone system still have line rentals, rates are significantly lower and you only need to pay for the actual lines that you use, unlike in traditional phone systems that will require you to have a line for each extension you, meaning you are paying monthly for something that is just sitting around and of no use.
Apart from voice calls, a SIP trunk is also capable of handling other forms of communication stream, like data and other multimedia. It unifies all your communication need into one central place, further reducing your overhead cost.
Lisa Harper is a SIP Trunking Engineer that that aims to help small to medium size businesses to take part in bigger markets and ultimately be an industry leader through effective communication stream.
Keywords: cloud pbx, voip phone system, sip trunks, phone systems, hosted pbx, IP phone system, sip trunking
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Tuesday, August 28, 2012
My Computer Sucks, Your Character Name is Stupid, and Other ...
Guild Wars 2 went live this weekend for the kajillionty people that managed to wrangle their way into the early start. I am among these people, and I've learned some important things about the game, its players, and my own technological shortcomings over the past 48 hours.
Let's learn together, shall we?
My Desktop PC Sucks
During the Guild Wars 2 beta events I complained that the game was suffering from low frames-per-second. As it turns out, it wasn't the game; it was my three-year-old gaming PC. Even with the injection of a Nvidia GeForce GTX 690, the most powerful video card on the market, the system really doesn't want to make this game sing. Maybe it's the early Intel Core i7 processor. Maybe it's the fact that the overclocking option in the BIOS that used to make things lovely now make my Maingear system not boot up.
(Edit: Many folks have told me my PC should run the game fine. I know it should run the game fine, and it's not doing a horrible job ? it's just crap compared to a year-old gaming laptop. It's probably settings, I am tired of tweaking them. So, so tired.)
The fact of the matter is I need a new desktop. This runs 10 times better on my gaming laptop, and I cannot allow that to stand. I'll just have to sell one of my children.
There Are Already Too Many People Playing Guild Wars 2
This morning marks the first time since early Saturday morning that I haven't logged in to a message telling me that I was in the overflow version of whatever region I was in, and was in a queue to enter the region proper.
Overflow regions in Guild Wars 2 are essentially instanced copies of the main areas, only with slightly limited functionality ? certain data, like World Vs. World PVP status, is not available in overflow zones. Why? I don't know, they might-as-well have just called them instances and run with that.
What's really annoying about overflow zones is that you'll get a pop up telling you you're ready to enter the proper zone, you'll port in, hop into a personal story instanced mission, hop out, and you're back in overflow. Hooray!
I expect that will be the normal operating procedure during peak hours for the duration. Oh well.
No, the Trading Post Isn't Up Yet
Stop asking. It'll be ready when it's ready.
ArenaNet is Banning the Hell Out of Stupid Character Names
Over at Guild Wars 2 Guru (since the official forums are down) there's a massive thread regarding people being banned for 72 hours because their names violate the game's official naming policy. Folks like Durk Terrorist (his real first name is Durk!) and Lonely Milf have effectively lost their early start privileges due to ArenaNet's no-warning policy. People are concerned about their freedoms. Folks are reaching out to websites like Kotaku, requesting we point out this injustice.
I really wish I could give succor in this trying time, but a) the name Succor would probably get me banned and b) the rules were laid out by ArenaNet prior to the game launching.
Here's what constitutes a non-permitted name, from the official naming policy. Names that:
- Have offensive racial, ethnic, or national connotations.
- Include hate speech or bigoted slurs
- Reference sexual acts or real life violence.
- Are pornographic.
- Make inappropriate references to human anatomy or bodily functions.
- Reference illegal drugs or activities.
- Reference religious or historical figures.
- Reference real-life people.
- Reference names of copyrighted or trademarked characters, materials, or products.
- Use misspellings or alternative spellings of names that violate any of the above rules.
I know it's tough coming up with something even vaguely original or thematically sound. I personally went through 75 percent of a Celtic baby names database without finding one boy label that wasn't already taken, but violence and profanity are not the answer.
And, as a role-player, I'd rather not have to fight side-by-side with Titz McGee. That's just me.
Guild Wars 2 Players are Giant Geeks
An entire hour's worth of chat yesterday was dedicated to figuring out why the plant-based Sylvari required a breathing apparatus while swimming underwater. There was talk of free-floating carbon dioxide and photosynthesis. Some postulated that the race was simply flesh and blood with plant-based skin and hair.
It was glorious. I wanted to hug all of them.
Dat Asura
The Asura are the cutest things possible.
Despite issues with angry banned people, my computer's own hardware failings and general overcrowding, I had no problem logging into Guild Wars 2 and getting my game on at any given time. I've run into a couple of bugged quests, but nothing earth-shattering.
As far as massively multiplayer online games go, Guild Wars 2 is off to a grand start. Unless your name was Boobles Nipplington.
If you'd like to play in the same general area as me, I'll be hanging out on the Yaks Bend server, trying to figure out if they do. If you're already playihng, how's it going? Tell us how 48 hours of Guild Wars 2 has changed your life forever.
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Pregnancy duration predicts stress response in the first months of life
ScienceDaily (Aug. 28, 2012) ? After waking up, the concentration of the stress hormone cortisol in saliva rises considerably; this is true not only for grown-ups but for babies as well. A research team from the Ruhr-Universit?t Bochum and from Basel has reported this finding in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology.
"This gives us a new, non-invasive and uncomplicated possibility to already research the activity of the stress system during infancy," Prof. Dr. Gunther Meinlschmidt, of the Clinic of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the LWL University Hospital of the RUB, said.
The information not only open doors to the pursuit of as-yet unresolved research inquiries, but could also be used in the future to diagnose illnesses in the hormone-producing organs, such as the adrenal gland, of infants.
Testing stress hormones: easy with grown-ups, hard with babies
Scientists usually test the stress hormones of grown-ups by placing test subjects in an experiment under stress-inducing conditions. Since a similar practice is, for ethical reasons, unthinkable to use with babies, it is rather more difficult to find out how well-developed their stress systems are. The German-Swiss research team circumvented this problem by observing a naturally occurring "stress situation" -- waking up. The cortisol-concentration in grown-ups rises after they wake up, presumably to prepare the body for the requirements of the day. At what age this cortisol-reaction develops has long been unclear.
Cortisol levels rise in babies upon waking up
Data from 64 newborns and infants between the ages of three weeks and six months were used in the study. On two days the infants' parents had their children suck on a small cotton swab at home, once right after waking up and once half an hour later. Through this saliva, the scientists determined the cortisol-concentration. The cortisol amount rose considerably after the infants awoke in 63 % of cases. Neither the hour that the child woke up nor breastfeeding after waking played any role in these findings.
The shorter the pregnancy, the less the cortisol-level rises
Instead the length of the pregnancy had an effect. The earlier the children were born, the less their cortisol-levels rose after they woke up. "The stress hormone system may be less mature in babies who were born after a shorter pregnancy, which could have negative consequences," assistant professor Marion Tegethoff, of the Faculty for Psychology at the University of Basel, said. Since cortisol can inhibit the immune system, the lack of cortisol-level rises could lead to excess immunological responses, similarly to what occurs with allergies.
Approaching new research questions through saliva tests
Stress increases the risk for mental disorders and bodily illnesses. There is now a new method available to investigate the stress systems easily in babies. Prof. Meinlschmidt, head of the Research Department of Psychobiology, Psychosomatics, and Psychotherapy at the LWL University Hospital in Bochum explains future research questions: "In some rodents the hormonal stress response in the first weeks of life is, for a specific timeframe, close to shut down -- perhaps to protect organs that are developing during this time. It is still unknown if there is a comparable phase in humans, since it has long been impossible, because of ethical reasons, to repeatedly assess the hormonal stress reaction."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
- Marion Tegethoff, Nicole Knierzinger, Andrea H. Meyer, Gunther Meinlschmidt. Cortisol awakening response in infants during the first six postnatal months and its relation to birth outcome. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.08.002
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
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Effortless Methods Of Personal Bankruptcy Budgeting - Consumer ...
August 27th, 2012
Computer & Accessories, by PropperDonlin287.Bankruptcy can seem like a scary thing to get involved with, especially if you do not know much about it. The truth is, while it has huge ramifications for your financial life, it can be every bit the ?fresh start? it was intended to be. Here are some bankruptcy tips that can help you understand a bit more about what you have to do, if you file bankruptcy.
A great personal bankruptcy tip is to take care of your monetary problems sooner, rather than later. You can always seek the help of counselors for free if you?re worried about your finances. Dealing with bankruptcy when it?s a bigger problem is not a situation you really want to be in.
Start taking calls from bill collectors. You may have been avoiding calls from bill collectors, but if you are filing bankruptcy you may need to speak to them. You need to have all of your debts laid out so that your lawyer can get to work involving them in your case. If you don?t include a debt, it will not be discharged, and you will still have to pay it.
Ask close friends, and family members if they can get you out of a financial bind. This is a good way to avoid bankruptcy, and hurting your credit score. Just make sure that you have every intention of paying them back. Devise a budget plan, with them. Pay them off every month just like a bill if you have to.
There is more than one option when considering bankruptcy. The two primary types are Chapter 7 and Chapter 13. Chapter 7 should be considered when there is serious financial trouble. It assists you in liquidating appropriate assets and eliminating large debts. If there is a possibility with structured payment plans that you will use to repay your credits, then you may wish to consider Chapter 13, which will enable you to keep some of your major assets.
Educate yourself about the bankruptcy process. You can increase your knowledge of the bankruptcy process by conversing with a bankruptcy attorney or by carrying out independent research on the internet. Whichever method you chose to increase your knowledge of the bankruptcy process, it is vital that you comprehend how filing for bankruptcy will affect yourself, your family and your creditors. Browse news on Michael Fiore Text Your Ex Back for up to date information.
A great tip for filers of personal bankruptcy is to thoroughly prepare for the initial meeting with the bankruptcy attorney. By assembling every piece of relevant financial documentation, including mortgage documents, auto finance agreements, credit card statements, tax records and bank statements, you can be certain that your bankruptcy petition and supporting documentation includes all information required for a comprehensive filing.
It is certainly true that the prospect of bankruptcy is a topic feared by many. Much of the worry and hesitation surrounding the filing personal bankruptcy stems from insufficient knowledge on the part of consumers. By studying the guidance and advice in the piece that follows, it is possible to better understand what bankruptcy means and does for debtors, and how best to optimize the process.
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Source: http://blog.ilove3c.com/2012/08/27/effortless-methods-of-personal-bankruptcy-budgeting/
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Monday, August 27, 2012
Antibiotics Linked to Weight Gain in Mice
Changes in the gut microbiome from low-dose antibiotics caused mice to gain weight. Similar alterations in humans taking antibiotics, especially children, might be adding to the obesity epidemic
Image: Flickr/ressaure
From Nature magazine
Bacteria living naturally within the gut provide a gateway to flab, according to a few reports this week. These bacteria may explain how antibiotics fatten farm animals and perhaps people too, and how certain genes predispose organisms to obesity.
In a study published 22 August in Nature, researchers mimicked what farmers have been doing for decades to fatten up their livestock: they fed young mice a steady low dose of antibiotics. The antibiotics altered the composition of bacteria in the guts of the mice and also changed how the bacteria broke down nutrients. The bacteria in treated mice activated more genes that turn carbohydrates into short-chain fatty acids, and they turned on genes related to lipid conversion in the liver. Presumably, these shifts in molecular pathway enable fat build-up. Just as farm animals get fat, the antibiotic-fed mice put on weight.
Martin Blaser, a microbiologist at New York University in New York, says that parents might unknowingly be promoting a similar phenomenon when they treat common ailments and ear infections in their children. To back that idea up, he points to another study he authored. The study, published on 21 August, found that a disproportionate number of 11,000 kids in the United Kingdom who were overweight by the time they were 3 years old had taken antibiotics within their first 6 months of life.
?Antibiotics are extremely important drugs,? Blaser says, ?but especially when given early in life, I believe they come at a cost that parents, doctors and patients should be aware of.?
Microbes also seem to be an accomplice in genetically induced pudginess, according to a study published today in Nature Immunology. When researchers rid mice of a gene encoding a gut molecule called lymphotoxin, segmented filamentous bacteria overwhelmed the normal microbial community. These bacteria may gobble up excess fat like tapeworms ? the mice remained thin no matter what they ate. What?s more, mice with lymphotoxin intact were able to keep their slim figures when the researchers implanted the segmented filamentous bacteria in their guts.
Although the papers provide tantalizing links, Peter Turnbaugh, a microbiologist at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, says that there?s more work to be done before microbes enter the limelight in the fight against obesity. ?These studies suggest mechanisms by which different bacteria promote adiposity, but they don?t fully define pathways,? he says. ?What really excites me about these papers is that now we have two new mouse models to do the follow-up experiments.?
This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on August 27, 2012.
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=87543c8acbd9a34230a31c5eee6c56ac
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Commercial Real Estate for Sale Inland Empire: Warehouse Lease ...
Warehouse Lease with option to purchase. Owner is willing to carry.
Description
Lease with option to purchase. Owner is willing to carry. Easy terms. Low Down Payment. Seller is Motivated to make a deal. Seller has plans for Build to Suite Office Space / Warehouse Improvements. Once complete property will have new Office space, new fixtures, new flooring, new air conditioning unit, new windows, new roll up doors, fresh paint. Buyer can buy now for a Huge Discount and do the work themselves. With a large .68 acre fenced / paved yard the property is zoned Commercial Heavy (CH) and is ideal for Contractors / Truck Yard, RV / Auto Storage, Recycle Yard, Tow Impound Yard, many other uses. Also available for sale with easy Owner Finance Terms. Easy access from the 215 freeway at ?
Attachments
San bernardino California commercial real estate, San bernardino commercial properties, San bernardino commercialrealestate, San bernardino commercialproperty, San bernardino retail space, San bernardino office space, San Bernardino multifamily apartments, San bernardino land for sale San bernardino, California commercial real estate for sale and lease. Find San bernardino Source: http://www.realestateforsaleinlandempire.com/2012/08/warehouse-lease-with-option-to-purchase.html
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Total Vibration ? Blog Archive ? Discover Online Marketing ...
Many individuals that aren?t quite knowledgeable about computer systems have created effective organizations. These tips will reveal the way to achievement.
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There may be challenging levels of competition on the web from major organizations. To stay in front of the competition, adapt your price ranges often and consider your competition?s rates into account if you do. Also, set up your personal online shop which gives men and women the ability to acquire any of your products in one place.
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Sunday, August 26, 2012
Utilize These Suggestions When Marketing Real-estate - 1stFind.com
You must be acquainted with the market if you intend to offer a bit of property. Numerous info at on hand. Naturally, not everybody provides the time for you to discover every single issue there is to know,. This informative article has advice that will assist you make better property choices.
Your home?s appraised value doesn?t automatically reflect its genuine value don?t have the mistake of supposing they?re the identical. All appraisals can provide different types of final results. Comparative market examination provides you with a more comprehensive image of your own home?s importance, based on several different types of evaluation. Inquire your realtor to perform this type of examination to assist you to figure out your home?s correct worth.
In numerous areas of the country, the seasons travel the real estate market. You can decorate your own home to fit the period, like selecting fall hues in September. Also, keep lawn maintenance up-to-date, including taking away fallen foliage, in order that the consumers are more inclined to consider shopping for it.
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When marketing your own home, it is actually a much better and even more cost effective tactic to merely clean up your garden, as opposed to select extravagant landscape designs. The blossoms and landscaping capabilities you choose will be your individual taste instead of automatically anything the newest owners will like. Only bushes and mature shrubs ought to keep on being. However, you must keep the lawn seeking clean.
Coping with real-estate can be overpowering, particularly if you?ve never ever enjoyed a requirement for it prior to. Selling your residence is risky should you be not properly well informed. Ideally, using the ideas presented in this article, you are able to stay away from the problems that lots of people make, and revenue from the real estate property transaction.
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Mortgage Update Los Angeles: What is short pay refinance?
What is short pay refinance?
Bill Rayman, Los Angeles refinance expert discusses short pay refinance.If your credit is good, and you are underwater on your mortgage, you are probably wondering what options are available to you. Do you have to short sell your house? Do you have to foreclose? What about loan modification? Do you qualify for government bailout help? For some home owners, none of the traditional options seem to offer an adequate solution. Many throw up their hands and walk away from the home they worked for.
Short pay refinance may be an option for home owners who are under water and want to protect their credit. This option is not well known, but Bill Rayman can help you understand if this is the right option for you, how it works, and get you started on moving forward with this process.
In this 9 minute video, Bill Rayman explains short pay refinance in common language. If you want to know more about this and other options to refinance in Los Angeles, contact us today.
Source: http://blog.mortgagehelplosangeles.com/2012/08/what-is-short-pay-refinance.html
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US doping agency erases Lance Armstrong's titles
FILE - In this July 24, 2005, file photo, overall leader Lance Armstrong signals seven for his seventh straight win in the Tour de France cycling race as he pedals during the 21st and final stage of the race between Corbeil-Essonnes, south of Paris, and the French capital. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart said Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, that the agency will ban Armstrong from cycling for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles for doping. Armstrong on Thursday night dropped any further challenges to USADA's allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's premier event from 1999-2005. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
FILE - In this July 24, 2005, file photo, overall leader Lance Armstrong signals seven for his seventh straight win in the Tour de France cycling race as he pedals during the 21st and final stage of the race between Corbeil-Essonnes, south of Paris, and the French capital. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency chief executive Travis Tygart said Thursday, Aug. 23, 2012, that the agency will ban Armstrong from cycling for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France titles for doping. Armstrong on Thursday night dropped any further challenges to USADA's allegations that he took performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's premier event from 1999-2005. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)
FILE - This July 25, 1999 file photo shows Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong being kissed by his wife Kristin, left, and his mother Linda after the 20th and final stage of the Tour de France cycling race in Paris. The superstar cyclist, whose stirring victories after his comeback from cancer helped him transcend sports, chose not to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. That was his last option in his bitter fight with USADA and his decision set the stage for the titles to be stripped and his name to be all but wiped from the record books of the sport he once ruled. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
FILE - This July 23, 2000 file photo shows Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong riding down the Champs Elysees with an American flag after the 21st and final stage of the cycling race in Paris. The superstar cyclist, whose stirring victories after his comeback from cancer helped him transcend sports, chose not to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. That was his last option in his bitter fight with USADA and his decision set the stage for the titles to be stripped and his name to be all but wiped from the record books of the sport he once ruled. (AP Photo/Laurent Rebours, File)
FILE - In this July 24, 2004, file photo, overall leader Lance Armstrong, right, of Austin, Texas, follows compatriot and teammate Floyd Landis, left, in the ascent of the La Croix Fry pass during the 17th stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Bourg-d'Oisans and Le Grand Bornand, French Alps. Armstrong, whose stirring victories after his comeback from cancer helped him transcend sports, chose not to pursue arbitration in the drug case brought against him by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. That was his last option in his bitter fight with USADA and his decision set the stage for the titles to be stripped and his name to be all but wiped from the record books of the sport he once ruled. (AP Photo/Bernard Papon, Pool, File)
A cyclist rides along the Lance Armstrong Bikeway, Friday, Aug. 24, 2012, in Austin, Texas. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stripped Armstrong's seven Tour de France titles Friday, erasing one of the most incredible achievements in sports after deciding he had used performance-enhancing drugs to do it. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
His seven Tour de France titles stripped away and his legacy in tatters, Lance Armstrong is heading back outdoors and into the public eye.
A day after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency punished Armstrong with a lifetime ban from professional cycling and erased 14 years of his career after concluding he used performance-enhancing druugs, Armstrong is scheduled to ride in a mountain bike race in Aspen, Colo., on Saturday and follow it up by running a marathon there Sunday.
And he has no plans to slow down any time soon, despite the whirlwind of controversy swirling around him.
Armstrong spokesman Mark Higgins said Armstrong also still plans to attend the World Cancer Congress in Montreal where's he scheduled to deliver a keynote address to thousands in attendance.
"He's getting out there," Higgins said.
Anti-doping and cycling officials will continue to address his career.
USADA said Friday it expects cycling's governing body to take similar action, but the International Cycling Union was measured in its response, saying it first wanted a full explanation of why Armstrong should relinquish Tour titles he won from 1999 through 2005.
The Amaury Sport Organization, which runs the world's most prestigious cycling race, said it would not comment until hearing from the UCI and USADA. The U.S. agency contends the cycling body is bound by the World Anti-Doping Code to strip Armstrong of one of the most incredible achievements in sports.
Armstrong, who retired a year ago and turns 41 next month, said Thursday he would no longer challenge USADA and declined to exercise his last option by entering arbitration. He denied again that he ever took banned substances in his career, calling USADA's investigation a "witch hunt" without any physical evidence.
USADA chief executive Travis Tygart described the investigation as a battle against a "win-at-all-cost culture," adding that the UCI was "bound to recognize our decision and impose it."
"They have no choice but to strip the titles under the code," he said.
That would leave Greg LeMond as the only American to win the Tour de France, having done so in 1986, 1989 and 1990.
LeMond did not immediately respond to messages requesting comment left through his attorneys and friends.
Armstrong on Friday sent a tweet about his plans to race in Aspen, but did not comment directly on the sanctions.
The UCI and USADA have engaged in a turf war over who should prosecute allegations against Armstrong. The UCI even backed Armstrong's failed legal challenge to USADA's authority, and it cited the same World Anti-Doping Code in saying that it wanted to hear more from the U.S. agency.
"As USADA has claimed jurisdiction in the case, the UCI expects that it will issue a reasoned decision" explaining the action taken, the Switzerland-based organization said in a statement. It said legal procedures obliged USADA to fulfill this demand in cases "where no hearing occurs."
If Tour de France officials follow USADA's lead and announce that Armstrong has been stripped of his titles, Jan Ullrich could be promoted to champion in three of those years. Ullrich was stripped of his third-place finish in the 2005 Tour and retired from racing two years later after being implicated in another doping scandal.
The retired German racer expressed no desire to rewrite the record book of cycling's greatest event, even though he would be the biggest beneficiary.
"I know how the order was on the finishing line at the time," Ullrich said. "I've finished with my professional career and have always said that I was proud of my second-place finishes."
The International Olympic Committee said Friday it will await decisions by USADA and UCI before taking any steps against Armstrong, who won a bronze medal at the 2000 Sydney Games. Besides the disqualifications, Armstrong will forfeit any medals, winnings, points and prizes, USADA said, but it is the lost titles that now dominate his legacy.
Every one of Armstrong's competitive races from Aug. 1, 1998, has been vacated by USADA, established in 2000 as the official anti-doping agency for Olympic sports in the United States. Since Armstrong raced in UCI-sanctioned events, he was subject to international drug rules enforced in the U.S. by USADA. Its staff joined a federal criminal investigation of Armstrong that ended earlier this year with no charges being filed.
USADA said its evidence came from more than a dozen witnesses "who agreed to testify and provide evidence about their firsthand experience and/or knowledge of the doping activity of those involved in the USPS conspiracy," a reference to Armstrong's former U.S. Postal Service cycling team.
The unidentified witnesses said they knew or had been told by Armstrong himself that he had "used EPO, blood transfusions, testosterone and cortisone" from before 1998 through 2005, and that he had previously used EPO, testosterone and Human Growth Hormone through 1996, USADA said. Armstrong also allegedly handed out doping products and encouraged banned methods ? and even used "blood manipulation including EPO or blood transfusions" during his 2009 comeback race on the Tour.
In all, USADA said up to 10 former Armstrong teammates were set to testify against him. Had Armstrong chosen to pursue arbitration, USADA said, all the evidence would have been available for him to challenge.
"He chose not to do this knowing these sanctions would immediately be put into place," the statement said.
Armstrong said he has grown tired of defending himself in a seemingly endless fight against charges that he doped while piling up more Tour victories than anyone. He has consistently pointed to the hundreds of drug tests that he passed as proof of his innocence during his extraordinary run of Tour titles.
"There comes a point in every man's life when he has to say, 'Enough is enough.' For me, that time is now," Armstrong said Thursday night, before the deadline to enter arbitration.
His success helped sell millions of the "Livestrong" plastic bracelets and enabled him to promote cancer awareness and research, raising nearly $500 million since his Lance Armstrong Foundation was started in 1997.
Foundation officials said they remained "proud" of Armstrong and had received hundreds of messages of support from donors, partners and supporters since his announcement. Among them was Nike Inc., which said it planned to continue supporting Armstrong and the foundation.
"Lance has stated his innocence and has been unwavering on this position," the company said.
Anheuser-Busch said its partnership with Armstrong was unchanged. American Century Investments, another partner, issued a statement supporting him.
___
AP National Writer Eddie Pells, AP Sports Writers Graham Dunbar and Paul Logothetis, and freelance writer James Raia contributed to this report.
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Saturday, August 25, 2012
Elisabeth Murdoch: I don't want the top job
EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Elisabeth Murdoch said on Friday she had no ambition to succeed her father Rupert as head of his News Corp global media empire, but had intervened to limit her brother's ambitions.
"I really harbour absolutely no ambition for a top job (as head of News Corp)," she told a question and answer session at the annual Edinburgh Television Festival.
She was speaking the day after she used a keynote speech to attack James, previously seen as the most likely Murdoch to take over as head of News Corp, and to praise the values of her father.
That speech had been interpreted by some as her pitch for the top job, portraying herself as having the purpose to lead the company after it lost its way in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the now-defunct News of the World newspaper.
Elisabeth left the family business to her younger siblings James and Lachlan more than a decade ago.
She said she had urged her brother James to step back and had said Rebekah Brooks, her father's favourite executive, should resign in the wake of the phone hacking crisis that engulfed the company last summer.
"Yes," she said in response to a question of whether she had urged those changes in family crisis talks. "It was said within closed walls and Rebekah did resign."
Elisabeth also said she had no plans to join the board "at the moment", but would continue to make a contribution as a shareholder.
"I think and hope the family will be positive contributors even as shareholders in terms of the long-term interest of the company and the other shareholders, but that's really as far as I see it," she said.
Elisabeth was going to take a position on the News Corp board after the company bought her production company Shine, but did not do so as the crisis raised questions about the family's management of the group.
In the wake of the phone-hacking scandal, James Murdoch resigned as chairman of News Group Newspapers and then as executive chairman of News Corp's newspaper arm.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Stephen Addison)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/elisabeth-murdoch-dont-want-top-job-102820555--finance.html
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BASEBALL: Dodgers near blockbuster
By J.P. Hoornstra, Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES - Kenley Jansen turned to face a television as he was leaving the home clubhouse to take the field Friday.
The announcement was splashed all over the screen - the Dodgers were "close" to acquiring Boston Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in a blockbuster trade - and the Dodgers closer was as surprised as anyone.
"Whoa," Jansen said. "It might be done."
Three thousand miles away in Boston, they were rolling up life-sized photos of Gonzalez from the windows overlooking Yawkey Way across from Fenway Park. Inside the park, Gonzalez merchandise was being pulled from the shelves.
The deal wasn't done when the game between the Dodgers and Miami Marlins began, and it had not been made official as of press time.
Judging by the trade winds blowing from coast to coast, however, any impediments to the massive trade were tiny.
According to multiple reports, the Dodgers will receive Gonzalez, pitcher Josh Beckett, outfielder Carl Crawford, infielder Nick Punto and cash. Going to the Red Sox: first baseman James Loney and minor-leaguers Jerry Sands, Rubby De La Rosa, Ivan De Jesus Jr. and Allen Webster.
Both teams must review medical information for all players involved and agree upon the amount of money changing hands. Boston must also get approval from Beckett because he has at least 10 years' service time and five with his current team.
Because the non-waiver trade deadline has passed, Gonzalez and
Beckett had to pass through waivers before the Dodgers could put in their claim on both players. The two teams now have an exclusive 48-hour negotiating window that expires Sunday.One of the game's premier power-hitting first basemen, the 30-year-old Gonzalez started slowly but has enjoyed a productive 2012 overall: A .300 batting average, 86 RBIs - tied for sixth in the majors - and 15 home runs, nine since July 16. He was able to clear waivers because few teams can absorb the six years and $127million remaining on his contract, which expires in 2018.
But for the Dodgers, expensive acquisitions have become routine since Guggenheim Baseball Management was awarded ownership of the team in April. They agreed to pay the remainder of Hanley Ramirez's contract (north of $31 million), which runs through 2014, when they acquired the shortstop from the Marlins. They extended Andre Ethier's contract through 2017 for a total of $85 million.
More recently, they took on the expiring contracts of Shane Victorino and Joe Blanton from the Philadelphia Phillies.
Even the players in the room didn't think the Dodgers were done dealing then.
"No," center fielder Matt Kemp said. "They said they were going to try to do some more stuff."
"Before any of this happened, before any of these moves happened, ownership told us `This is for real,"' catcher A.J. Ellis said.
According to multiple reports, the Dodgers are expected to get some money back in the deal because the four Red Sox players reportedly have a combined $262.5 million left on their contracts. It's the first MLB trade ever involving two players (Gonzalez and Crawford) with more than $100 million left on their contract, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Among outgoing Dodgers, only Loney had to pass through waivers since he is on the Dodgers' major-league roster.
De La Rosa was optioned to Double-A Chattanooga before Friday's game and Alex Castellanos was called up from Triple-A Albuquerque to take his place on the active roster.
Loney was a late lineup scratch in favor of Juan Rivera and left the Dodgers dugout during the second inning of the game against the Marlins.
"Things are always going to be out there floating around," Loney said before the game, just after he was scratched. "Until something happens, your real reaction happens, it's hard to speculate what your real feelings are going to be."
Loney, who becomes a free agent at the end of the season, wore out his welcome among fans and lost his grip on the first baseman's job by getting off to a miserable start offensively. He was batting just .198 on May 7, and by July the Dodgers had a deal in place to acquire Carlos Lee from the Houston Astros. Lee ultimately rejected the trade and became a Marlin.
Though Loney had recovered to hit .254 through Friday, he clearly wasn't part of the team's long-term plans after seven seasons in Los Angeles.
"James has been one of the guys that's, from a hitting standpoint, a coaching standpoint, a little frustrating because you think there's more there," Dodger manager Don Mattingly said. "I love James, but it's disappointing because you think there's more there."
De La Rosa could prove to be the best player going to Boston. His fastball was regularly clocked at 100 mph last season, which was cut short by elbow pain that resulted in Tommy John surgery in August.
The 23-year-old righty defied medical estimates and pitched two-thirds of an inning for the Dodgers on Wednesday, allowing two runs in a loss to the San Francisco Giants. Before that, he did not allow a run in 12 minor-league rehabilitation innings and said he touched 99 mph on a radar gun.
Sands, 24, was enjoying a stellar season for Triple-A Albuquerque, batting .303 with 24 home runs and 101 RBIs. He had a 21-game hitting streak for the Isotopes but could not translate that success to the majors, where he's hit .244 over parts of the past two seasons.
De Jesus, 25, batted .273 during his brief time in the majors this season and .295 at Albuquerque.
Webster, 22, had a 3.55 ERA and 117 strikeouts in 121<MD+,%30,%55,%70>2/<MD-,%0,%55,%70>3 innings at Double-A Chattanooga.
Beckett finished ninth in American League Cy Young Award voting last season, but has slipped to 5-11 with a 5.23 ERA and career-low 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings this year. He's 0-4 in his past six starts and hasn't won a game since July 15.
According to the website fangraphs.com, Beckett's fastball velocity has dropped from an average of 93.0 mph last year to 91.4 this season.
Opponents are hitting the pitch to a .325 average, up from .219 last year. He missed three starts in June while on the disabled list with an inflamed shoulder and some in baseball have speculated that he is still injured.
The contents of Beckett's medical report could affect how he fits in with the Dodgers during their stretch run.
Crawford is on the 60-day disabled list and underwent Tommy John surgery on his left elbow Thursday. The Red Sox said he will be ready to play in six to nine months.
The 31-year-old outfielder has a .292 batting average in 11 major-league seasons, but has batted just .260 with a miserable .292 on-base percentage since signing a seven-year, $142 million contract with Boston in 2011.
Punto, 34, has played all four infield positions in a reserve role this season. He is hitting .200 with five stolen bases in 125 at-bats.
The big fish in the deal is Gonzalez, who is most familiar to Dodgers fans from his days with the San Diego Padres. From 2006-10, he averaged 32 home runs, 100 RBIs and a .288 average at hitter-unfriendly Petco Park. The 30-year-old signed a seven-year, $154 million contract extension prior to the season.
Among all major-league teams, Dodgers first basemen rank 28th in OPS (.641), 27th in home runs (9), 23rd in RBIs (54), and 28th in runs scored (45). The left-handed-hitting Loney and right-handed Rivera are currently platooning at the position, both in the midst of one of their worst offensive seasons. Sands can play first base, but for all his success in Triple-A (.303/24 HRs/101 RBIs) he has only four hits in 23 major-league at-bats this season.
Boston is 59-66 and stuck in fourth place in the American League East, and some players - including Gonzalez - have complained about a lack of commitment from team ownership.
jp.hoornstra@inlandnewspapers.com
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Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/sports/ci_21397620/baseball-dodgers-near-blockbuster?source=rss
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