SOTD - Zduriencik's Projection

Submitted by jemanji on 12/08/08 8:59pm
Q. As a fashion mogul, do the threads get a thumbs-up? A. The color is empathetic and friendly. The double-breasted jacket is trying way too hard. Cross the two of 'em, and ... well, light-colored DB suits are worn only when rocketing a Murcielago around its home country. As the star of a video game. We kid. Kinda. But don't ever bust my chops about calling this amigo a "suit." ;- ) .............. Q. What about Zduriencik's vaunted eye for talent? Do you buy the hype? A1. I suppose, because e-v-e-r-y-b-o-d-y in baseball likes his eye for talent. National League, American League, dugout, owner's boxes, they are all wow'ed by this guy. And that's my #1 requisite for a GM: be able to point your finger at a ballplayer and say, "THAT one." It's becoming increasingly clear that the Gillicks and Hunsickers of the game win, precisely by finding the 3-4-5 starters and 8-9-10 hitters that others whiff on. Gillick came in here and moved on Sele and Paul Abbott and John Halama, and he got Mark McLemore and David Bell performing well, and the next thing you know there's nobody in the lineup with an ERA+ or OPS+ under 100. It's hard not to be good that way. All that said, there are a lot of guys around baseball who have a nice touch for talent.  Few become Walt Jocketty. ........... Q. Would Bob Fontaine be a good GM? A2. Yeah, note that Zduriencik's most robust track record is in picking amateur players. It's one thing to project a teenager. It's a different thing to know that Jorge Campillo will perform well. It's a different thing to realize that if you gave Jayson Werth 400+ AB's, he would return a 120 OPS. Zduriencik has not proven that he can pick the 4-5 starters and the 8-9-10 hitters. If he does, the Mariners (with their $$$ and with their young players) will get good very, very quickly. So, Zduriencik liked Jason Kendall, and Prince Fielder, and Ryan Braun. That's fine, but those are first-round draft picks. It's not the same thing as picking between Ryan Rowland-Smith and Rich Dorman. Zduriencik's 2009 will be made or broken, early, by his choice of 3-4-5 starters. And he ain't going to be pickin' 'em by looking at xFIP. So, huh. Neither did Gillick, though. ............. Q. Anything hit you about the types of players they had in Milwaukee? A3. Just quickly: The fact that Zduriencik was not prejudiced against Prince Fielder is a huge plus to me. It implies that he's a sabermetrician at heart: performance vs. tools. There are a lot of scouts who would rather work for Baseball Prospectus than sign a guy 50 pounds overweight. Zduriencik thinks performance first. In that vein, he's in the spirit of a Billy Beane. ............. Q. First indications yet? A4. Jack Zduriencik decisively moved on Russ Branyan, a #10 hitter *whose OPS will be >100.* Great, great indicator. ............ Q. Is he better with stars or with scrubs? A5. In Milwaukee, they don't study about anything *other than* #4 starting pitchers. :- ) Gotta love the fact that you're bringing a scrub-specialist on board. .............. Q. What's that again that James said about roster inversion, or thermal inversion, or what was it again? A. James pointed out that all human beings have blind spots. We all have prejudices, preferences, and biases that warp and distort our effectiveness. Suppose a manager loves speed: maybe he doesn't sufficiently value home runs (almost certainly because he was a non-power player himself). The point is, a new manager has a very, very easy time seeing the holes in the roster he is taking over. Just about the first thing that Zduriencik talked about, was LH power in Safeco. If Bill James his ownself had taken over, I will guarantee you that Bill would have talked about exactly the same thing. So when the new GM plays his first card and it's an ace, well, good for him. Perhaps Pat Gillick has such a fine feel for intelligent pitchers (Moyer, Halama, Sele, etc etc) because he himself was an intelligent pitcher of less than overwhelming talent. What was Zduriencik? He was precisely what Earl Weaver was: a minor-league second baseman. There are a tremendous number of these who have done well in baseball management. ............. If you can't have a Hunsicker, Zduriencik looks real good. Keep an eye on the back of that rotation. Cheers, jemanji

house training my 13month old pittbull

Submitted by Anonymous on 12/08/08 8:18pm

At-Home Whitening Products

Submitted by msarko on 12/08/08 7:21pm
For several years now it seems that at-home kits for teeth whitening have become more and more ubiquitous. There are a lot of teeth whitening kits out there, so it’s important to be careful about which one you choose to use. More importantly, you should be informed about why exactly you’re using them. Do your research and learn about what you’re going to be putting into your mouth before you do it. Is it safe? Is it effective? How and why does it work? Don’t be distracted by fancy names or promises that aren’t founded in solid science. The most important factor in choosing a whitening product is understanding what the product’s active ingredient is. In other words, what’s actually going to make your teeth whiter? There is a significant difference between bleaching and true “whitening”. The process of whitening actually involves cleaning the teeth to restore them to their natural brightness. Chances are, if you’re buying an at-home kit you’re not buying a whitener, you’re buying a bleaching system. The most common, effective at-home system for actual whitening is something you probably do every morning: Brushing your teeth. Bleaching is exactly what it sounds like. It is the application of a chemical agent, usually some form of diluted peroxide, to temporarily remove colors from a surface. It’s not really dangerous, but bleach is not harmless just because it happens to come in the form of a mint-flavored jelly. Bleach is bleach. If it gets on your hair or skin, it will temporarily alter the pigmentation of the area. If you swallow enough of it, it can make you sick. Be wary of active ingredients with marketing-friendly names like “Smile Shine Paste” or some other silly term meant to distract you from what you’re actually getting. It’s an all-too-common concession consumers make for the sake of price and convenience. Sure, bleaching agents will give you a whiter smile for a short period of time if you use them in a regimented system. They will not, however, clean your teeth except for with the incidental anti-bacterial nature of bleach. Teeth stain for a reason and covering up that stain cosmetically is like putting makeup on a bruise. It’s far prettier, but the problem persists underneath. Teeth whitening (bleaching) kits are often advertised and sold on the Internet. Be wary of these because, like so many other things online, they can be fronts for scams. A lot of companies offer free trials that get your credit card number by charging for shipping and handling. When the trial ends, the account retains a recurring charge for the full price of the product and it will continue to charge you until you call the company and cancel your account. Some scams are designed to ignore or delay requests for cancellation and then fail to refund any superfluous charges. For a healthy smile, the same rules always apply. Brush and floss daily. Don’t consume an excess of products with caffeine or carbonation. Don’t overdo it with sweets. Get a checkup with your dentist just like you get checkups with your general practitioner.

Celebs Just Love Twisted Silver

Submitted by artchick on 12/08/08 7:21pm
Small online merchants, including those in the fashion industry such as jewelry designers, often battle for visibility in the massive marketplace that is today’s Internet. With thousands of new websites going up every day, it can be a real struggle for small-website owners to connect with their would-be customers. This is the story of how one jewelry designer uses blogging to connect with her fans – and with lots of celebrities, too! Having a WordPress blog in addition to your website is a great way to drive traffic to your site. Because blogs are dynamic rather than static like websites, the search engines love them - especially when they contain lots of content with plenty of inbound/outbound links. Blogs allow online merchants to establish relationships with their customers and interact with them in ways that are difficult or impossible with a static website. Twisted Silver (www.twisted-silver.com), a funky custom jewelry retailer based in northern California, is one online merchant that’s made it big with blogging. This boutique jewelry firm leads the market in the hot new trend of convertible jewelry, in which recycled belts become necklaces, necklaces become bracelets, and so on. Cashing in on this popular trend - and having a great time doing so - is Twisted Silver founder and jewelry designer Debra Mitchell. After finishing her degree in fashion and beginning a career as a fashion coordinator, Debra, now a wife and mother of three, took some time off from fashion to raise her family. But once her children were in school full time, she started creating again, and, according to Debra, “This time it led me from silverware wind chimes to jewelry. Who knew?!” And so Twisted Silver was born. Hints of Debra’s vintage silverware motifs still abound in her collections. Debra says her jewelry is all about creating ultra-modern designs with an unexpected twist.  “Ideas and inspiration come from the most unexpected places," she says, "from mailrooms to hardware stores to memories of my grandmother’s jewelry box.” Her wares reflect this diversity. Although Twisted Silver is known for its abundance of chain - copper, gold, brass, silver, steel, and aluminum - it is the offbeat use of vintage and salvaged gems and unusual elements that really make it stand out. “You’ll find vintage inspiration and retro-contemporary elements throughout the collections,” Debra says. This is part of the reason her designs have become so popular. Twisted Silver jewelry is often included in the gift baskets given to celebrities at the Grammy awards and other star-studded affairs. A number of celebrities, including Maria Shriver, Nicolette Sheridan, Shantelle, and Ming Na (below), are pictured on the Twisted Silver website wearing Debra’s designs. Debra’s business has really taken off since she hired blogmeister Twisted Tina, with help from Web 2.0 expert Jerry Hart (www.jerryhart.com), to set up and run the Twisted Silver blog (www.twisted-blog.com). This stunning yet functional blog has the same look and feel as the Twisted Silver website, and is linked to it. And, to keep Twisted Silver fans coming back for more, Tina has dreamed up lots of promotions including contests, giveaways, info about celebrity spottings, articles about the hot boutiques all over the country that carry Twisted Silver jewelry, and much, much more. Check out Twisted Silver today!

modeling

Submitted by mous on 12/08/08 6:46pm
female models from all ethnicities are invited to contact me for runway & print work, IMMEDIATELY. please write to me at allbeautiescuties@yahoo.com A.J.

Wants to model.

Submitted by mous on 12/08/08 4:55pm
18 year old male looking to get into modeling career. Live in the Philadelphia area. E-mail me for additional info. I'm 6'2" 150lbs light skinned with braids

www.provico.com

Submitted by Anonymous on 12/08/08 4:28pm
This is a great new site that offers many farm products. Anything from cattle, swine, horse, and even pet supplies. Pretty good prices too.

DeVotchKa, December 31 – Celebrate the New Year at the Showbox

Submitted by beatriz on 12/08/08 3:44pm

While Congress and the Treasury Department are bickering over who gets how much of a trillion-dollar-bailout, it’s likely you, like me, have decided to cut back on concert-going as belt-tightening measure. That, along with the need to buy presents at this time of year probably means you have no concerts on your calendar, at least for the near future. While this is perfectly understandable, I would like to dissuade you of this notion (perhaps as a New Year’s treat to yourself), and go see DeVotchKa at the Showbox at the Market on December 31, 2008.

Based out of Denver, you may recognize some of DeVotchKa’s signature sound from the soundtrack of the 2006 hit film Little Miss Sunshine, for which they were nominated for a 2007 Grammy award. The band uses a plethora of unusual instruments such as a tuba, accordion, theremin and a bouzouki. DeVotchKa assembles influences as widely varied as Greek and Eastern European traditional music, filters it through a punk-pop-folk sensibility to create a sound as original as has been heard in recent years.

Likely to perform many songs off their March offering A Mad and Faithful Telling, this writer hopes to hear as many from their 2004 breakout hit How It Ends. The album is a virtuosic turn, letting the listener brood and feel self-pity on one track, then feel the need to dance a traditional Slavic folk dance the next. A Mad and Faithful Telling no less an opus, though perhaps I appreciate it less having had my mind blown back in 2004 (I still thank the friend who turned me on to them).

But perhaps the best measure of whether to see a band in concert is not whether you’re an uber-fan or simply casually appreciative, but whether you expect the show to have staying power in your heart and mind. I’ve seen DeVotchKa in concert once, in Denver, and it is probably among my five favorite shows of my life. So much goes into what makes a concert good, it can be hard to separate the performance from other periphery events – examples being, who you go with, the venue, etc. (For whatever it’s worth, the Showbox is the best venue in Seattle). But DeVotchKa will not disappoint: they play the songs close enough to the album that you recognize a song when it’s coming, while at the same time they vary the performance enough to keep you interested.

Who knows what the band, or the venue, will have up their sleeve when the clock strikes midnight, but rest assured, the show will be entertaining enough to promise a few fireworks. Give yourself (and maybe a special someone) a treat this holiday and go spend New Year’s with DeVotchKa at the Showbox. Doors open at 8.

Peter Wilburn

Full Tilt Ice Cream in White Center

Submitted by beatriz on 12/08/08 2:49pm

Full Tilt Ice Cream 9629 16th Ave SW Seattle, WA 98106

If there is one thing I love in life, it is the grassroots, lo-fi punk rock businesses that adorn the outer edges of big cities, and their dedication to all things handcrafted and pure. But lets be honest, if there is one thing I love even more it is arcade-style classic video games like Ms. Pac-Man, Dig Dug and Pinball of all varieties. I love to relive the glory days of my youth spent in local arcades trying vainly to shatter the coveted high scores. But my God, what I love the better than either of those, is Ice Cream. Hand made, local and organic Ice Cream with mind-boggling flavors such as Coffee Donut, Horchata, Butter Toasted Hazelnut and Chocolate Covered Bacon (!!!). And when all of those elements are mixed together into a glorious cornucopia of nerdy D.I.Y. sweetness? Mercy Me! I do believe I’m getting the vapors!

Full Tilt Ice Cream resides in the heart of the south Seattle neighborhood White Center and no matter where you live in the Emerald City; it is well worth the trek.

While by no means are there scores of flavors, the twelve that they do have (with six revolving day to day) are triumphs of the art form. It would be a true poverty in my life if I did not someday try them all. It was a tough call, but after sampling many of the decadent flavors, I decided to go a relatively simple route and have the Candy Cane flavor. It turned out to be so rich and utterly infused with peppermint that it was almost too much; luckily the gloriously sweet and creamy goodness helped propel me through. The waffle cone that served as the pedestal to the admirable scoop was obviously freshly made and equal parts crunchy and chewy (if you can imagine such a glorious combination). The portions were more than generous and it was just as well that I found myself without so much as one quarter and unable to engage in a bout against Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde, as my mano a mano bout with the cone was taking up most of my attention.

But wait, there’s more. As my companions and I entered the establishment late on a Saturday night we were greeted not only by the tattooed man behind the counter offering samples, but also by the sounds of bands sound checking in the corner. Yes, this Ice Cream shop has live music and on this particular night the patrons would be rocked mightily by punk rock due the Femurs and the husband and wife electronic powerhouse No Fi Soul Rebellion. Take my heart, Full Tilt. You’ve earned it. And with Vegan flavors, zines and literature both for free and cheap and an annual Pac-Man tournament to top it off, I believe there will be many trips to White Center in my future.

Andrew Moore

Barking Insanity

Submitted by hellenwyeth on 12/08/08 2:43pm
Currently I am living with three small dogs. Now normally I am an all around animal lover no matter what shape size or species. These three little monsters however are in some need of an attitude adjustment. I always felt that debarking a dog was cruel but the suggestion is becoming more and more pleasing.
 
When their owners are home the incessant barking is for the most part at a minim. The ballistic barking trio only chime in at ear piercing decibels if there is a knock at the door. When their owners are away, these little dogs have no self control and every thing is a reason for uncontrolled barking. Sitting down to relax and watch TV or a movie is a complete impossibility.
 
If a car drives down the street or the neighbors pull into their driveway, the three of them go absolutely insane. As a matter of fact, I think our neighbors just came home because they are at it again and this time in stereo. One in the living room, one under a bed and the other at the front door. That's one heck of a home surround sound system!
 
Now I've watched great dog training shows like "It's Me Or The Dog" on Animal Planet and "The Dog Whisperer" on National Geographic. Both shows have worked barking mad behavior issues like the one I'm having. I even have some of the best ones stored on my DVR for reference if needed while using these techniques. Using treats with hand and verbal commands in combination together, they do work and results are made (though usually short term). If given the opportunity to work with them each individually I get even better success. Having all three of them together usually just results in a disaster and training is easily discouraged.
 
Further proof of these show training techniques working, I have used them with my own dog and continue to use them everyday. Considering my dog is still under a year old his manners are much more in check than these three adult dogs. I'll admit that my dog is not perfect but barking is a rare occurrence with him, even when someone comes knocking at the door. Instead of barking at knock to claim his territory and alert the entire block that we have company, he gets up and sits by the door quietly and doesn't make a peep. I'm really glad that he hasn't picked up the bad barking behavior habits from the other three dogs.
 
These three barking monsters know just how to play their owners too. When their loving caregivers come home from where ever they were they do their normal "someone is here" barking routine. It's expressed that while gone they went nuts the entire time but the only thing these dogs do is stare with their pleading, pitiful, heart melting stare. I know that it's hard to refuse these three when they are giving you the works and milking it for all it's worth. They've pulled it on me more than once and I don't deny that I have given in a time a or two. Oh, the insanity...

Pages