odd coincidence, my battery died on the BB last night, which shut off the radio transmitter. This morning, I re-enabled wireless and did not receive any email, a quick call to VerizonWireless and was told me mail is down.

updating my address book, if your email address has changed let me know

Letter to CT Gov, Lt. Gov and Stamford Legislative Delegation, TO PROTEST THE GOVERNOR'S CUTS TO EDUCATION FUNDING

Dear Governor Rell, Lt. Governor Fedele and Members of Stamford's Legislative Delegation:

As a Stamford resident and taxpayer, I am writing to protest the Governor's proposed cuts of over $426,000 in Stamford's Educational Cost Sharing (ECS) funding.

Stamford's school district has substantial and costly needs. Over 40% of Stamford's students qualify for free and reduced price lunch, almost 15% of its students are English Language Learners, 37% of its students come from homes where English is not the first language and about 10% of our students have disabilities. Despite this level of need, Stamford has historically been underfunded by the State. In fact, our district must rely on local funding for 86% of our budget. Our district receives one tenth the amount of ECS funding that most similarly situated municipalities receive.

In our struggle to compensate for inadequate state educational funding, our city contends with divisive battles over the school budget every year. Year after year, our schools have to cut staff, services and programs. With dwindling resources, we must meet ever increasing mandates.

It is inconceivable that the state would wreak further havoc to our schools by cutting already promised funding. Such cuts will be devastating to our school budget. Regardless of the economic climate we are in, we must continue to properly educate all our children. Depriving students of needed educational resources will only cause our students to fall behind. The lasting consequences of an inadequate education are far more costly in the long run than any short term savings that may accompany such funding cuts.

I urge you not to make the cuts to the ECS funds. Neither our City nor our State can afford the lasting damage that will result.

Sincerely,

Jeff Herz

addresses
Governor.Rell@ct.gov,
LTGovernor.Fedele@ct.gov,
William.Tong@cga.ct.gov,
Jim.Shapiro@cga.ct.gov,
Carlo.Leone@cga.ct.gov,
Gerald.Fox@cga.ct.gov,
Patricia.Miller@cga.ct.gov,
Livvy.Floren@cga.ct.gov,
Scott.Frantz@cga.ct.gov,
amcdonald@pullcom.com

First Round of Tiger Woods Jokes

• Tiger's new movie is out: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Hydrant.
• Apparently the police asked Tiger's wife how many times she hit him. She said "I don't know exactly... but put me down for a 5."
• Tiger Woods is so rich that he owns lots of expensive cars. Now he has a hole-in-one.
• Elin's excuse? She had to play a bad lie.
• What's the difference between a car and a golf ball? Tiger can drive a ball 400 yards.
• What were Tiger Woods and his wife doing out at 2.30 in the morning? They went clubbing.
• Tiger Woods crashed into a fire hydrant and a tree. He couldn't decide between a wood and an iron.
• Why did Tiger leave the house so early? He has a 2:30 tree time.
• What do a Cadillac SUV and a Nike golf ball have in common? Tiger Woods can drive them both into the trees.

Thanks Len

reading ppt decks before heading home, the definition of true excitement

Wishing you all a very happy thanksgiving, and want to ask you to remember to take a moment and think about what you have to be thankful for in our lives. For me, it is my wife, kids, parents, in-laws, and everyone reading this. Thank you

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation October 3, 1863

Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
(from the collection of Lincoln 's papers in the Library of America series, Vol II, pp. 520-521).

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States , and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union. It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.

- Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation October 3, 1863

What am I thankful for - #3

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am writing down something which I am thankful for every day between now and Thanksgiving.

3) I am thankful for two parents who have taught me the difference between right and wrong, who instilled in me the confidence to be my own person, and helped mold me into becoming the man, husband and father that I am today.

2) I am thankful for the 3 most wonderful children that I could ever imagined. They bring me joy every day and I could not (and would not want to) picture my life without them

1) I am thankful for my beautiful wife, who has made my life complete

Bon Jovi: Living on a Prayer

Here is another song that I heard on the way home tonight. Took me back to the days in Hilliard Hall at Ithaca College




Once upon a time
Not so long ago

Tommy used to work on the docks
Union's been on strike
He's down on his luck...it's tough, so tough
Gina works the diner all day
Working for her man, she brings home her pay
For love - for love

She says we've got to hold on to what we've got
'Cause it doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot

[Chorus:]
Whooah, we're half way there
Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer

Tommy's got his six string in hock
Now he's holding in what he used
To make it talk - so tough, it's tough
Gina dreams of running away
When she cries in the night
Tommy whispers baby it's okay, someday

We've got to hold on to what we've got
'Cause it doesn't make a difference
If we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot
For love - we'll give it a shot

[Chorus]

We've got to hold on ready or not
You live for the fight when it's all that you've got

[Chorus]

What am I thankful for - Day 1 & 2

So the meme out there have asked to post every day between now and thanksgiving what we are thankful for, and being the simple person that I am, I have to oblige:

1) I am thankful for my beautiful wife, who has made my life complete
2) I am thankful for the 3 most wonderful children that I could ever imagined. They bring me joy every day and I could not (and would not want to) picture my life without them

RUSH: Spirit of Radio

I heard this song on the radio on the way home last night and can't get it out of my head. I might as well enjoy it, since it is a great song:



Begin the day with a friendly voice,
A companion unobtrusive
Plays the song that's so elusive
And the magic music makes your morning mood.

Off on your way, hit the open road,
There is magic at your fingers
For the Spirit ever lingers,
Undemanding contact in your happy solitude.

Chorus
Invisible airwaves crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle with the energy
Emotional feedback on timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price, almost free

All this machinery making modern music
Can still be open-hearted.
Not so coldly charted
It's really just a question of your honesty, yeah,
Your honesty.
One likes to believe in the freedom of music,
But glittering prizes and endless compromises
Shatter the illusion of integrity.

Chorus

For the words of the profits were written on the studio wall,
Concert hall
And echoes with the sounds of salesmen, of salesmen, of salesmen!

6 Mistakes Companies Make in Selecting an Interactive Agency

This was published by Peter Weiss of Weiss and Mowery a digital consultancy run by a good friend and long time colleague . Here is the entire White Paper

1) The client Cowboy
2) Avoid Eye Contact
3) I'll Have What He's Eating
4) Agencies are Non-Profit Institutions
5) Be Careful What You Wish For
6) "RFP" is Shorthand for "Ready for Primetime"

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month

I would like to take a few minutes today to stop our regular activities and think about all those who have offered to give their lives or willing to put their life on the line in order to protect our country and defend our freedoms. From the dough-boys in the trenches of WWI, to the Greatest Generation of WWII, to those that fought courageously and valiant efforts of Korea and Vietnam, to our current generation of soldiers that have been involved in the first Gulf War and are now stationed here or abroad in Iraq and Afghanistan

From The Nation:

On the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month, the guns of World War I fell silent. And a war that should never have been fought – arguably by anyone, certainly by Americans – was done.

Americans who know their history celebrate Veterans Day not to honor war, but to recognize the soldiers who died and the soldiers who survived the wars of the past – and, hopefully, to ponder the futility of abandoning George Washington's advice to avoid the entangling alliances of distant continents and the mortal combats of the kings and conquerers who intrigues Americans rejected when the United States revolted against monarchy, colonialism and the madness of empire.

From Don Russel in the Stamford Advocate

"The eleventh hour of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month" -- that was the way Armistice Day was described to us in school and at home -- the time and the day the Germans surrendered to the Allies of World War I.

At 11 a.m. we knew the time by blasts from the factory whistle at Yale and Towne. One could hear the Yale and Towne whistle in every corner of Stamford. It was the community signal for snow days -- no school, and other emergencies. But on this day it was the signal that everything stopped. Drivers emerged from cars and stood at attention facing east for three minutes. A brief blast from the whistle signaled people that the Stamford community parade was starting its line of march from what is now Washington Boulevard to Atlantic Street, past Old Town Hall to St. John's Park for the annual ceremony of remembrance. I remember from my childhood some of the fiery speeches by leaders and veterans of what was called "The Great War," which indeed it was. Pictures of Doughboys (the common name for soldiers in muddy damp trenches waiting to "go over the top" into battle and for most, sure death) were on the front pages of most newspapers.

Remember the 5th of November

Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot ;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes,
'Twas his intent.
To blow up the King and the Parliament.
Three score barrels of powder below.
Poor old England to overthrow.
By God's providence he was catch'd,
With a dark lantern and burning match

Holloa boys, Holloa boys, let the bells ring
Holloa boys, Holloa boys, God save the King!

Hip hip Hoorah !
Hip hip Hoorah !

A penny loaf to feed ol'Pope,
A farthing cheese to choke him.
A pint of beer to rinse it down,
A faggot of sticks to burn him.
Burn him in a tub of tar,'
Burn him like a blazing star.
Burn his body from his head,
Then we'll say: ol'Pope is dead.

Attention Stamford Voters; Board of Education Endorsements

Net/Net, this year's election is a bit of a farce, since the city charter says the majority party (democrats) can have no more than 6 of the 9 seats, so that guarantees that at least 2 of the republicans (Pia, Olson or Pierre-Louis) running will win, even if they receive the least amount of votes. I guess they could win all 3 seats, but I seriously doubt that, since enough democrats will come out to vote in the Mayor's race to ensure one Dem will finish in the top 3.

In my opinion, Jerry Pia is a given, since he has name recognition, has been on the BoE in the past and is currently on the Board of Representatives. He is very experienced in the inner workings of the city and and might be able to help navigate the budget process more effectively and will fight to protect the schools educational needs

That leaves the only Olsen and Pierre-Louis as the remaining Republicans candidates of choice. Fred Pierre-Louis is very knowledgeable of the process, as he is a teacher in Naugatuck. He seemed smart enough in the debate I was at to say when he did not have enough information to answer a question, rather than try to sugar coat, and I can respect that intellectually. He supports middle school reform as he "is a doctoral student at U of Hartford and his research focuses on mixed ability, or heterogeneous, classes. A pilot project, done as part of his research, found that 14 low-achieving students placed in college prep courses came to think of themselves as college prep students." - Stamford Advocate

I dont know much about Olson, other than she is running on the same ticket as Pia and she could not attend the forum I attended as she claims she is sick with H1N1. She has gotten into a bit of hot water recently with the Catholic schools, since she claimed to have gotten sick as a nurse there, and has said that students at her school have contracted H1N1, though the Principal has denied any students have tested positive. Certainly rips her credible to shreds in my mind. She is also a former school nurse and health instructor in Stamford Public Schools, though I dont think this is sufficient enough to garner my support. The fact that she was unable to attend the forum I attended, sends a signal to me that she is not dedicated or committed in spite of being sick. This may not be a fair assessment, but all is fair in love, war and politics.

That leaves 1 seat for the 2 remaining democrats running. Polly Rauh has the greatest name recognition and is probably the most qualified and right now, and (imho) we need experienced people on the Board of Education to muddle through the process. However, she is for school choice (basically breaking the city into 4 quadrants and assigning 4 schools to that area and saying you can go to any of those schools) and I am not sure how feasible or realistic that really is going to be implement here, since there are much more pressing issues in this city right now.

I liked Naomi Chapman-Taylor but it will take her months to get acclimated and become productive. She has not been to enough BoE meetings to really know or understand the issues. If she comes on a regular basis, she could wind up being a good candidate next year.

I am supporting Jerry Pia, Fred Pierre-Louis and Polly Rauh. Each comes with their own pluses and minuses, but I feel that they are best candidates for Stamford now. Pia and Rauh are both experienced with the Stamford political scene as they are currently on the Board of Reps. Pierre-Louis is a high school teacher and is on the ground in the classroom and can speak first hand to the needs of students. I think a combination of both education and political experience is the leadership qualities which we need now.
The Advocate ran a bit of a profile on the candidates, that is worth a read.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_13640383?source=rss

They also endorsed the same candidates that I am supporting.

Blanton to start Game 4 for #Phillies, huge break for #Yankees as Lee starts Game 5, and can only relieve in Game 7 (if necessary)

Another reason to avoid divorce

True story from Sweden some might enjoy.......

After 17 years of marriage, a man dumped his wife for a younger woman. The downtown luxury apartment was in his name and he wanted to remain there with his new love so he asked the wife to move out and then he would buy her another place. The wife agreed to this, but asked that she be given 3 days on her own there, to pack up her things.

While he was gone, the first day she lovingly put her personal belongings into boxes and crates and suitcases. On the second day, she had the movers come and collect her things. On the third day, she sat down for the last time at their candlelit Dining table, soft music playing in the background, and feasted on a pound of shrimp and a bottle of chardonnay. When she had finished, she went into each room and deposited a few of the resulting shrimp shells into the hollow of the curtain rods. She then cleaned up the kitchen and left.

The husband came back, with his new girl, and all was bliss for the first few days. Then it started; slowly but surely. Clueless, the man could not explain why the place smelled so bad. They tried everything; cleaned & mopped and aired the place out. Vents were checked for dead rodents, carpets were steam cleaned, Air fresheners were hung everywhere. Exterminators were brought in, the carpets were replaced, and on it went.

Finally, they could take it no more and decided to move. The moving company arrived and did a very professional packing job, taking everything to their new home. Including the (curtain rods).

(Maurice, thanks for sending this along)

Am now the Director, Interactive at #C2Creative

Attention Stamford Voters and Parents: It is time for our voices to be heard, a unified parent community has to be heard in order to be effective: http://tinyurl.com/ylqxhmd

Attention Stamford Parents: Let your voice be heard in the upcoming Election

Friends,

As we approach this upcoming election, other interest groups are out there rallying the troops. It is time we, as parents, begin to flex our political muscle.

In this year's BOF election, we have a slate of candidates on the Democratic ticket that is more pro-education than we have seen in a very long time. Tim Abbazia, and John Louizos have always been supporters of the education budget and they are now joined on the ticket with Dudley Williams, a former BOE member and, in his role as a GE employee, the coordinator of GEs highly substantial educational grant to our district. I am not saying this because I’m a democrat (which I am not) or because I am a friend of theirs (I do not know any of these gentlemen personally)—we really just need the best people for the job. It just happens to be the case that these three Democrats represent our best chance to get BOF support for a strong education budget in the coming years.

And, while party politics SHOULD NOT matter, If Joe Tarzia and Bob Kollenberg, who have been staunchly in opposition to increases in the school budget, get more support and have leverage over more fellow Republicans on the BOF, we will only see a continuation of their clear agenda in recent years to push for significant cuts in our school budgets.

We only have a few days before the election. If a parent-based grassroots effort is going to work, it needs to have everyone's help. If everyone on this list could start the communications chain and begin to mobilize their respective communities and reach out to friends in other communities to do the same, we could make a considerable impact on election day--- and make it clear to these candidates that they should be beholden to us once in office as the interest group that got them elected.

If we don’t not make some noise and gain some political capital now, when it is most important, we will have no one to blame but ourselves when, in the months to follow, we see the BOF making dramatic cuts to the school budgets once again. Let’s show Stamford that the parent community is a force to be reckoned with. Let’s make it clear to our politicians that they need to support our schools, and that not doing so can have political consequences.

I hope you will join with me to make our voices heard. Together, we can make a difference.

Feel free to cut and paste in order to forward onto your friends

Best Regards,

Jeff Herz

Should we take flu shots for H1N1

Here is a comment I made to a friend wondering if she should get her kids the flu-shot:

Since my initial childhood shots, I have not been vaccinated for anything (except the occasional tetanus shot after a puncture wound) and I am still standing. I agree halfheartedly with others about the only reason we have vaccines is so that the pharmas can make more $$$, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.

As Nancy will attest, I rarely take anti-biotics and when I do I almost never finish them. I believe that all this "medicine" is impacting and effecting our ability to naturally ward of natures attempt to kill us, which is why the bugs and viruses are getting more and more nasty as time goes on.

I also believe that we as a species have lived for thousands of years before modern science required us to take preventative medicine, and assuming we don't find some other way to kill ourselves prior, we will live for a few thousand more.

The current strain of H1N1, has been bad, been declared a pandemic, but has not been particularly deadly as of yet, so at the end of the day if it does not kill you, it only makes you stronger. So even though Nancy is looking to get the kids the flu shot, I would recommend against it, though coincidentally, Nancy never asked me or anyone else their thoughts on this subject.

BBQ Beer Can Chicken w/ Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Broccoli

Start with one whole chicken (fryer or broiler).

Generously add chicken rub (mine is Kosher Salt, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, lemon pepper, and cumin)

Open Can of beer, drink (or pour off) 1/3 of the can. Pour some of the rub into the remaining beer. Place the chicken over the beer, so that as it evaporates it moistens and flavors the inside of the chicken. Place the chicken on a grill (or in the oven) and kick for 2-3 hours. The chicken will stand on its legs and the beer can.

Turn oven to 450. Cut tomatoes in half, drizzle in EVOO spread out over baking pan then sprinkle iwth balsamic vinegar, kosher salt and pepper.

Cut Broccoli into small bite size pieces and throw into a ziplock bag. Cut up 3 cloves of garlic and add to bag. Add EVOO to zip top baggie to coat broccoli and garlic with oil. Place on another baking sheet and add kosher salt and pepper.

Cook both trays for 20-25 minutes, then combine and serve.

http://bbq.about.com/od/chicken/ss/aa072807a.htm

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-duran/spice-rubbed-beer-can-chicken-recipe/index.html

off to the darien farmers market, lunch, then pick up kids at school to head to Binghamton for the holiday with my parents.

Who is better as an all around ball player and leader: Pete Rose or Derek Jeter?

Just back from the dentist, who fixed a chipped tooth, what a relief

Something has gone seriously wrong here

The Daily Dish - More Reason from the Right

Or: why I am not a tea-partier:

The kid holding it, according to the reader who took this picture, was maybe 16. Obama is a communist and a fascist and a traitor! Then this:

The above protestor is comparing an attempt to privately ensure millions of people currently uninsured is the equivalent of this:

Action T4 (German: Aktion T4) was a program, also called Euthanasia Program, in Nazi Germany spanning October 1939 until August 1941, during which physicians killed 70,273 people specified in Hitler's secret memo of September 1, 1939 as suffering patients "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination", but described in a denunciation of the program by Cardinal Galen as long-term inmates of mental asylums "who may appear incurable".

This is as sick as those who called Bush a Nazi before the Iraq war. But unlike the Iraq war, the proposal for universal healthcare was a big issue in the last election, was widely debated, and the winners of that election are fulfilling a clear pledge. So what we have here is unhinged hysteria. I certainly think pent-up anger at Bush (which partisanship and religious devotion meant they could never vent) is a part of this; but the fact of a non-white, non-Southern effective president should not be discounted.

Seeing the flags at half mast today seems more meaningful than any words or other images

Sad State of Network Television

If you check out this list of when the Fall TV shows (new and old) are debuting, and I see only a handful of programs I am planning on watching. They are:

Glee
Heroes
The Office
Cougar Town
The Simpsons

Throw in Grey's Anatomy (Nancy's choice) and that is just a pathetic offering across the board.

Random Thoughts on the Healthcare debate

In response to someone saying we should listen to the issues, debate, and enact or not enact some of the presidents ideas.

This issue with listening, debating, enacting or not is that it involves time and thought, not knee jerk reactions and being able to draw immediate infallible conclusions, leaving no position with a fraction of an inch of variation regardless of how the winds are blowing. The blowhards (that is the media, not the conservatives), dont want us to stop, listen, think, process, digest, absorb and then respond to our leaders actions. It is more memorable, photographic, with better imagery to attract the fleeting eye, when you light a fire of hate, intolerant ideologically and what not because that is what the masses want to see, that is how you make news and gain viewers and advertisers. We are now like the Romans, feeding the christians to the lions, since this is what the masses want. The inmates have escaped and are now running the asylum on both sides of the spectrum because they think extremism is what the people want, because the extremist are screaming the loudest and making the biggest impact.

The problem is the moderates are driving 10 year old hondas and subaru's, trying to make ends meet, trying to raise our children to be tolerant of all cultural, all religions, all ideologies, all belief's. There is no PAC or lobby group that is focused on the middle. People that dont want our government to grow, people that want health care reform in an intelligent capitalistic way, where government is not picking up the tab, where Doctors are compensated for treating the individual not for bilking the insurance companies because they are worried about being sued for malpractice if they dont run one test, where consumers have free choice to choose a health insurance plans that fits their individual needs, not the needs of their employer, where insurance companies are allowed to compete and make money by offering policies that people need and then incentivized to provide care to those that cannot afford insurance.

The bottom line is we, the people, are already paying for those that dont have insurance already one way or another. By creating tax breaks or other incentives for the insurance companies to cover everyone, essentially achieves the same goal without the govt footing the entire bill.

And for the record, I dont think a typical elementary school kid understands or cares about the presidents philosophy or ideology or agenda. They think it is cool to know who the president is and they feel honored if they get to hear him (or her) speak. In spite of my feelings for Bush 43, I never stopped Jacob (8) from listening to him or talking about him, since he was excited he knew who the president was and he was learning to respect the office, which is what we all should be doing. If we teach our children that we disrespecting our leader is appropriate than that is not acceptable and we are doomed like some many empires before.

Just like I was told in 2000, we lost, now get over it. The conservatives need to take their own medicine. You dont like the president, then work to find someone that is more electable in 2012.

Looking for a fulltime mid level digital project manager to work in NYC Suburb, let me know if you or someone else is interested

"These Iranians are wusses. Remember when Bush stole the election in 2000. Did we riot in the streets and complain. We did not!" "Hell, No. We said, 'Well, that's the way it goes," and went home and watched TV."

Have you tried the new Sarah Palin cocktail. Russian vodka over ice with bitters and a garnish of sour grapes. Potentially powerful, but you want to quit half way through.

Baseball HOF thoughts

Honestly, I don't think that Jim Rice belongs in the Hall of Fame. I believe the writers actually got it right for 14 years, by keeping him out. He had a 15 year career (1974-1989), where he hit .298/382/1451, and one MVP season in 1978.

He currently sits in 56th place in RBI's behind players of the same era such as Rusty Staub (53), Dave Parker (51), Jeff Kent (48), Andre Dawson (34), and Harold Baines (29) who has 1628 RBI's, and none of these players will (or should) never gain entry into Cooperstown. He is in 56th place on the career HR list, one ahead of Albert Belle, and behind Baines (54), Joe Carter (48), Andres Galarraga (45) and Andre Dawson (36) with 438. Jim Rice was a very good player in the pre-steroid era, however he was not one of the best ever.

So in other news, temporary commissioner for life, Bud Selig has said he is once again seriously considering reinstating the All-time hits leader Pete Rose after 20 years, in order to make him eligible for the Hall of Fame. Now, I have two thoughts on this issue:

1. If he is reinstated, he should not be allowed on the field as a manager or general manager.
   
2. Shoeless Joe Jackson (and the other banned Black Sox) should also be reinstated, since they have been out of the game for 89 years and deserve the opportunity to be reinstated before Charlie Hustle.

I think and hope in the end that Rose is not reinstated, even though be absolutely positively belongs in Cooperstown, since it will open an enormous can of worms about what he can do and won't he will not be able to within the game. Even if Selig allows him a limited return, allowing him entry to the hall and to the celebrations of the past players, Rose will continue to lobby and pressure Selig and his successors to give him either greater access to the game, which he simply does not deserve. He broke the one cardinal rule of the game, and has to learn to live with the consequences. He has said and done everything he can to get out of the baseball purgatory for the past 20 years, and if a lifetime ban means anything, then let it be a lifetime. Joe Jackson's lifetime ended in 1951 (31 years after he was banned) and he has not yet been reinstated.

Finally, the question around who from the steroid era deserves to be in the hall will still take a few more years to figure out. Once we have a slightly longer historical view on the subject, then we will have a more objective way to view this period. Quite simply, I believe the Hall of Fame should represent the best players of any given era. My standard is fairly simple, as you look back on any era, you need to ask yourself was player x one of the best of that period. If we assume that sufficient number of players were on juiced (both pitchers and hitters) over the past 20 years, then which of those players stand out as the best and most elite of that era?

The no brainers remain Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez, Ken Griffey*, Mark McGwire, Derek Jeter* Greg Maddux*, Pedro Martinez, Frank Thomas, Tom Glavine, Manny Ramirez and Mike Piazza. The players who in my opinion are not HOF material are Rafael Palmeiro, Fred McGriff*, Jose Canseco, Mike Mussina*.

I don't know what to do with Sammy Sosa and Curt Schilling*, for very different reasons; Sosa because not only is he tainted, but also a cheater, and Schilling because he was largely a mediocre pitcher for much of his career.

* - Untainted to date by steroids

About to talk CMS

Steroids, you think?

Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz passed an eye exam so eyesight is not to blame for his season-long slump. Gosh, so what could make a player’s home run total plummet the exact same time Major League Baseball is cracking down on performance enhancing drugs? Shoot, I feel like I should know this one. Nope, I don’t get it.

Very excited that Jacob woke me up, asking me to come watch a Yankee Classic with him. Not happy that it was 6 am.

This is the first of many, but really made me chuckle (thanks Ida): Just got the inside word from St. Pete. Apparently when Farrah Faucet got to heaven, she was granted one wish. Farrah asked only for the children of the world to be safe. So God killed Michael Jackson. 

To quote another friend and put our celebrity obesesed culture into perspective: "In other news...149,997 non-celebrities kicked the bucket yesterday. Laid end to end, the corpses would form a line 170 miles long, the distance from New York to Baltimore..." JS

To quote another friend and put our celebrity obsessed culture into perspective:

A truly prophetic quote to sum up today's passings: "one little boys loved the other loved little boys" - TG

Big day today, Owen turns 2, and Jacob will be visited by the tooth fairy for the first time tonight

When is the last day of School in Stamford?

Dear Advocate Editor

I am writing regarding Joe Gonzalez's letter regarding the confusion surrounding when exactly Stamford Public Schools last day actually is and the subsequent article on the same subject.

I must admit that I am terribly disappointed that the only parent quoted in this article is the same Mr. Gonzalez who wrote the original letter. Did the Advocate go to any of the 21 schools in the district to talk to other parents to see if anyone else is confused or worse uninformed about the recent changes to the school calendar? A calendar that was set well over a year ago.

I believe Mr. Gonzalez's original point was that a) the district has moved the closing day twice and b) that those changes have not been well communicated to the community.

Based upon today’s article, it does not seem that the district is concerned about getting this information out, in spite of admitting that the website has had incorrect information. Sarah Arnold, spokesperson for the district says most parents are not confused or frustrated by these changed based upon the amount of complaints that have been called into the central office (and assumingly reported up to her). Is she aware of every single complaint made to the district? Is she aware of every parent that is talking to their respective schools principal about this change?

My fundamental concern is that if some parents are still unaware of when the last day of school is, then how can they complain it has changed? How can they expect others to know, since Mr. Gonzalez found out about these changes at church and not through an official school notification?

The district has a telephone calling system for just this purpose; perhaps it is not too late to call every student’s household to ensure that they are aware of the last day of school. If even one child is sent out on Wednesday morning to wait for a bus or is taken to school then clearly the district has failed to properly and effectively communicate these changes to the community.

Sincerely,

Jeff Herz

Writing copy

Need a reason to justify an investment in Digital Asset Management: http://ping.fm/3Izll

Marketers Guide to Justifying Investment in Digital Asset Managment

Aberdeen Research on "The Marketers Guide to Justifying Investment in Digital Asset Management".

The Aberdeen Group assesses the business justifications for investing in Digital Asset Management technology.

The digital era has led to an exponential growth in marketing content. As companies expand outbound marketing across multiple channels, content management becomes essential to maximizing marketing efficiency and effectiveness. Solution providers offer an eclectic mix of content management solutions that are designed to help marketers capture, store, and retrieve marketing content – both structured and unstructured.

Aberdeen recently surveyed over 130 companies to understand how organizations justify investments in digital asset management for marketing. This study highlights Best-in-Class practices for managing marketing assets and further validates 2008 Aberdeen research on marketing asset management, which revealed that digital asset management technology is vital to Best-in-Class performance in return on marketing investment, brand consistency, and time-to-market.

If your organization is interested in driving efficiencies and cost savings, then they should be investing in digital asset management systems or DAM's, to store and retrieve their marketing collateral for reuse. A well organized DAM, will allow content that is created to be reused multiple times across a myriad of industries, in various markets with simple tweaks, rather that having new unique content created for each time collateral is required

Too often marketing material is created and then only used once, even though a significant portion of that content, be it images or copy, could be reused again to promote the same product, or slightly customized to meet the needs of a specific market. A DAM allows organizations to save and tag (with metadata) all their assets so they can be found again and reused. This drives cost savings by reducing the total fees paid to agencies to develop the same content over and over again.

The Case for Year Round School

this is a great idea from the Washington Post, whose time has to come soon. The only way for us to continue to compete in a global market is to evolve our 19th century agrarian educational model into a more modern way to teach and train our young people so that we may remain relevant now and into the future.

Though different schools and districts have different schedules, our modified calendar works like this: The first day back to school typically falls in the first week of August. The children attend regular classes for nine weeks. Then they have a two-week break, or intersession, in October, when they can choose either to attend fun, creative classes or to go on vacation. Then they have nine more weeks of school, winter break, and then a week of intersession in January. Nine more weeks of school, then a two-week intersession that bumps up against spring break. The school year ends in June, at the same time as schools on the traditional calendar. But summer break lasts five or six weeks, rather than the traditional 10.

If students choose to pursue the intersession classes, by the time they've gone from kindergarten through fifth grade, they'll have attended what amounts to an additional year of school. And this isn't just the same test-prep, paper-and-pencil, drill-and-kill stuff that so much public education has become. Done right, intersessions are a time to open minds and discover passions. At our school, students have learned karate, ballet, photography, cooking and a host of other things. Children needing extra help are invited to attend half-day remedial classes. But these are remedial classes with a twist. Like Math You Can Eat. My son learned fractions using brownies. Students learning English hone language skills in Books Come Alive by reading such classic stories as Goldilocks, writing their own scripts and acting them out.

Magnum v. Solo, sequence comparison

And now for a side by side comparison

Han Solo, P.I.

Hysterical, great example of someone with too much time their hands

considering options

preparing estimates and scoping work

is just finished reconciling projects, and now can get ready for a fun family dinner

Finally had enough outrage and passion to write a blog post again, check out what got me fired up at http://ping.fm/cHfUk

Kinda Upset and Disappointed at Topps

So in, 2007, after reading the baseball card blog, I decided I would start buying and opening individual packages of baseball cards again, and see if could collect an entire set, just like when I was a kid. I picked up the baseball card fever a few years before that, when my parents emptied their attic and brought me all the cards that had been stored there, and I found they were in pretty good shape. I had essentially collected cards from 1976-1982, primarily baseball and football, with some basketball and hockey thrown in as well.

Once they brought those cards down, I spent an entire December holiday working on reorganizing them to figure out what I was missing. I spent the next year or two scouring ebay like a maniacal fool looking for the necessary cards to complete those sets. I was not savvy or smart enough to figure out what I should be paying, I was just sucked into the ebay mentality of bidding, and refusing to be outbid. It was fun, until I was getting hosed on overall value. (Note, I am not collecting as an investment, but rather because I enjoy the hobby and stockpiling more shit on the shelves in my office in what I long to do.)


I also got this hair brain notion that I would also buy complete collections, either on ebay, or from other online stores, for every year since I was born. A legacy I could leave my kids to argue over when I am dead and gone. I have at least one complete collection of Topps standard baseball cards from 1980 on through last year. It would be virtually impossible to try to collect every single line of cards produced by every single manufacturer out there, especially since the industry proliferated in the 1990's, and the market just became flooded with utter crap. When I went back into this hobby, I said, I am going to stick with the classic Topps cards and nothing else. You gotta make some choices, and that was mine.

I also purchased (and probably overpaid again) a slew of cards that a friend of my parents had purchased over time. It was thousands of cards, of not much value. Quite frankly, I have no idea how he accumulated them, since he did not have full sets (maybe he was buying packs too), and he ordered them alphabetically by team, rather than by card #, by year, by manufacturer, which is obviously the only way to catalog cards. But I digress..


So for the past few years, I have a pretty consistent arguement with my wife, about whether I really need to buy individual packs during the season, when I can usually pay $50 at the end of the season, and just purchase a complete set that is factory sealed and will probably have more appreciable value in the long run than individual cards. I have to admit, I enjoy the feel of the cards, being able to see the player stats, what players actually look like and just the sheer joy of the hunt. If I get a factory set today, I never break the plastic and would never take a card out to look at it, so it achieves different levels of satisfaction, and if that is my worse vice, then so be it.

I am disappointed that trading cards are not more readily available nowadays, because kids have no interest or incentive to purchse them today, which does not bode well for the future of the industry. Back when I was buying as a kid, every single corner drug store had cards in or near the candy aisle, or by the register, so it was natural for the kids to gravitate to them. I realize today that there are probably a hundred or more types of collectible and trading cards on the market, and it would be impossible for the two remaining manufactures Topps and Upper Deck, to offer all their cards in a single store, but I do think they can do more to get back into the mainstream with some intelligent marketing. Today, I can only consistenly get baseball cards in Walmart, Target or Toys R Us, which means I need to make a special trip just for cards which is not very convinient, but again I digress.

Anyways, for the past 3 years, Topps has used a nice card stock, with a glossy picture on the front and a glossy image on the back where the players stats and maybe some career highlights are printed. Each season is broken up into Series 1 (Cards #1-330) and Series 2 (#331-660), and the cards had always been very consistent in their presentation. I started purchasing the 2009 series 1 cards in February this year, and everything was exactly as I expected. Then a few weeks ago, I purchsaed a few packs from Target and as I opened them up, they looked completely different. The card stock, was now a lower quality and the finish was not as sharp. As I turned the card over, I was horrified, the backs no longer had a high glossy finish, but were rather dull and difficult to read, very similar to the cards from the 70- 80's of my childhood.


I realize their is a recession going on, and Topps, like any other company, has the right to change to change their product whenever they want for whatever reason they wish (though I assume this is a cheaper card stock, and shocking it had no impact on the retail cost of the card), but it really seemed unusual to do this in the middle of a production run. So now I have some cards that have the shiny, glossy finish, and other cards in the same series that are dull and flat. That really kinda pisses me off.

diagraming networks and listening to Rush

thinking about technology integration

Researching SSO certificate implementation

Beware of Tyranny

Catching up on this week's daily show, and this is so true. Jon Stewart rocks. If you dont have 6 minutes to watch the whole clip, start around the 2 minute mark for the real truth

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Baracknophobia - Obey
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Thoughts on A-Rod and Steroids

As I was going out last night to pick up our Valentines Dinner (long story short, all 3 kids were supposed to go to the in-laws, enabling us to go out for a nice meal, but Mollie came down with a bit of a cold, so in we stayed) I was listening to WFAN. It occurred to me while listening to the FAN on this night, as opposed to all other nights, that these people who were calling in had to be the biggest losers in love, since it is a Saturday night, and rather than being out with their girlfriends, wives, or lovers, they were sitting at home calling WFAN to talk about A-Rod, or Pete Rose and the integrity of the Baseball Hall of Fame, which got me thinking.

As anyone who reads this space knows I have never been a fan of Alex Rodriguez. I cheer him now because he wears the pinstripes and plays the hot corner, just like I cheered for Mike Pagliarulo when he did the same thing. Until he hits a game winning HR or really comes through consistently in the clutch, then I shall continue to mildly tolerate him, even though he is one of the best players in the game. He just does not seem to bring anything to the team, does not make it more interesting or fun to watch. It is almost as if he is too clinical in his approach.

In case you have been under a sports rock for the past week or so, Alex Rodriguez was recently outted for failing a steroid test back in 2003, when steroids had been prohibited by MLB since 1991, but there was no punishment (or testing for that matter until 2003) for taking these chemicals. MLB and the Players Association agreed to provide random samples to help determine how prevalent steroids were and to figure out what the next steps in working to reduce this pox upon the sport. All told only 104 (between 5-7% of the total sampled population) player samples tested positive and were supposed to remain anonymous forever. Somehow, somebody leaked ARod's name as being one of those 104 positive samples.

Alex Rodriguez immediately did the right thing and had an interview with Peter Gammons on ESPN (which I have not seen in it entirety) in which he came clean and said yes, from 2001-2003, while with the Texas Rangers he did take steroids, but he has not taken any since then. I don't know whether to believe him or not, but to some degree it does not matter any longer, since this entire period is tainted and should be noted as such. He said that he fell under peer pressure to perform, in spite of being 29 years old at the time. This is what I believe to be ARods fundamental flaw, he is too worried about how he is perceived by the media, the public and his teammates rather than simply going out and doing the best he can and letting his actions on the field speak for him (read Derek Jeter)

As Adam the Bull, the host of WFAN said last night, there are a number of factors that have also contributed to this increased offensive era besides steroids; expansion of the leagues, thereby diluting the pitching pool; smaller ballparks making it easier to hit the home run; and changes in the manufacturing of the baseballs, making them livelier than ever. But I digress.

This leak of one name from the 2003 samples begs a few questions that have nothing to do with ARod:

• Why were they labeled in the first place if they were supposed to be anonymous?
• Why were they not destroyed in 2003 like they were supposed to be?
• Where are the other 103 samples?
• Why aren't the names associated with the other 103 being made public?
• Why does the Players Union continue to support those breaking the rules and those who are not?
• Why is Arod being singled out, when there could be other players that should be answering the same questions?

There is another group of individuals that are not being called out to the carpet by the sports media for this steroid era and that is the commissioner, the owners and managers. They have turned a blind eye to this crisis while the turnstiles have been spinning, ratings have been spiking and pockets are getting deeper.

By looking at the names on the Mitchell Report, you can possibly point to a few teams as having been the genesis of this problem, the A's of the late 80's (McGwire/Canseco) and the early 90's, the Giants during the Barry Bonds era, the Rangers (Canseco again) in the 90's and at the beginning of this decade. I am not saying that these players are solely responsible for this epidemic, since time may show that additional players and teams were also doing and dealing (it is suspected that the 1993 Phillies NL Champions, were very juiced), but some GM, or manager, or clubhouse attendant or scout or ballgirl must have suspected that something was a foot and to date no one has uttered a word of indignation on the subject. Nothing but classic denials or turning a blind eye from any inside the clubhouse.

However, everyone kept their mouths shut because they were all on the gravy train. They all saw how McGwire and Sosa in 1998 revitalized the game with their pursuit for Maris HR mark, and how it drove fans back to the game after the 1994 strike. How can Tony LaRussa or Dusty Baker (for just few examples) not have known what was going on in their own clubhouse? How could any manager (Joe Torre, Bobby Valentine, Art Howe, Grady Little, Buck Showalter, Mike Hargrove, Davey Johnson, Charlie Manuel, Felipe Alou, etc.) not suspected something was going on and not question it further? Makes you wonder if there will be some death bed confessions in the future, when all those associated with this era start to see that the end is neigh, and need this burden lifted from their souls and conscious

Even the media admits at times that they missed the signs and no one questioned the overgrown biceps and heads, and just chalked it up as working out all year round.

So maybe my friends, Adam on the FAN is correct, the answer is not to ban all those that are guilty, since that would be virtually impossible. Maybe we just officially designate this era the Wildcard era (less controversial for sure), which represents essentially the period when Selig became commissioner and the wildcard format began and performance enhancing drugs entered the game. McGwire, Bonds, and Clemens, should be given passage into Cooperstown, but their plaques should read guilty of using banned performance enhancing substances during the Wildcard era.

Which bring us back to ARod. He is obviously guilty of breaking a rule that by Baseball's own standard had no consequences when the rule was broken. Does this mean his statistics should be expunged from the record books? No! Does this mean he is now grouped with all the other players who have been caught cheating? Yes! Does this take anything from him as a player? No, since he was a great player in Seattle, before he allegedly took steroids and has been great at compiling statistics as a Yankee. This of course assumes that he only took from 2001-2003. I would also say that taking, did not seem to give him a better lift during that period than during any other three season trend during his career.

This is something that A-Rod will need to work through and because of his personality and how the media relishes making him stew, this is going to be a very uncomfortable spring training and put additional pressure and distractions on the entire Yankee squad this season. Is it insurmountable? No! He will just need to do his job, expect the abuse from the fans, in NY and elsewhere and keep a smile on his face. What will not help is for him to become sullen and withdrawn ala Barry Bonds.

Today is a great day

This was orignially posted 3 years ago now (2/16/06), and I still like it, though I am few days late this year in getting out:

Today is a great day!!

Today is the first day of the new baseball season when Pitchers and Catchers report. It is almost like the you can feel the winter coming to an end (in spite of todays snowy forecast) and a warm breeze blowing in your face. It is the smell in the air, and the pop as a ball hits a mitt.

Pitchers and Catchers reporting has a magically sound to the ears. Like birds singing this morning in the back yard, since they too must know that spring is almost sprung. All teams start today with an equal chance, a clean record, last year removed from memory, and just like spring itself, they are ready to bloom anew.

Everything is fresh and clean, with no scent of scandal. No steroids, no contraction, no fire-sales, no more salary arbitration. The winter olympics are being played in Italy, and it doesn't matter. Pitchers and Catchers report today and everything is going to be alright again since baseball is now back.

Today is a great day!!

Jet Engine Bird Test

This was sent to me by father, so I am assuming it is true, though I was unable to find anything to validate it online



Even in a controlled environment the test is dramatic.

This is a video of an RR engine on a test stand undergoing a 'Bird Ingestion' test.
This test is accomplished by firing a bird, [generally a dead chicken complete with feathers and internal organs] at the engine. This test is considered a success if the failure was completely contained, [i.e. No engine parts penetrated the engine cases or th e aircraft cowling and there is no sustained external fire].

It does not take long for the engine to digest the bird as well as a significant number of its own blades & vanes. The video lasts 33 seconds and the bird is fired into the engine at the 17 second mark.

Now you have some idea what the pilot of that US Air flight faced when he ingested birds into both engines simultaneously! It also gives you a fair idea why the one engine's mounts failed after the water landing and dropped off the wing!

More on Using Poultry to test things

As I was trying to do some due dilligence on the Jet Engine Bird Test video, I did come across this nuggest on snopes (http://www.snopes.com/science/cannon.asp):

In an issue of Meat & Poultry magazine, editors quoted from "Feathers," the publication of the California Poultry Industry Federation, telling the following story:

The US Federal Aviation Administration has a unique device for testing the strength of windshields on airplanes. The device is a gun that launches a dead chicken at a plane's windshield at approximately the speed the plane flies. The theory is that if the windshield doesn't crack from the carcass impact, it'll survive a real collision with a bird during flight.

It seems the British were very interested in this and wanted to test a windshield on a brand new, speedy locomotive they're developing. They borrowed FAA's chicken launcher, loaded the chicken and fired.

The ballistic chicken shattered the windshield, broke the engineer's chair and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine's cab. The British were stunned and asked the FAA to recheck the test to see if everything was done correctly.

The FAA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation:

"Use a thawed chicken."

NFL Fantasy Files: The Best Players

This is amazing. I cannot figure if all of them real or trick of the eye, but still pretty darn amazing

Letterman - Farewell Tribute to Great Moments in Presidential Speeches

If these clips don't tell the story of GWB, I dont know what else will

Are we Free at Last?

Is The Dream to be Realized tomorrow? Good timing this year: http://ping.fm/2zHvS

After having just read and listened to the "I have a Dream" speech, I find it ironic that we will have an African-American President in the next 13 hours, but yet America as whole has less freedom's than we did in 1963.

I know that might be construed as racist, since clearly African Americans did not have the same freedoms that white Americans did, but society as a whole was not as burden by a government that felt it needed to protect its citizens by curtailing rights, liberties and freedoms in the name of democracy. Or maybe, society as a whole has shifted to increase the freedom of some, but reduce those liberties for others, in order to keep some karmic general ledger in balance.

Anyways, it will be interesting to see if President Obama will be able to come up with such poignant and moving rhetoric tomorrow as was heard here 45 years ago. I think most of the nation is looking forward to hearing this type of speech, that will move Americans, and allow us to reach for the possibilities again, rather than what we have become, an introverted, protectionist, arrogant nation who no longer recognizes that the world is made up of many different cultures that have existing long before our founding fathers had a revolution, that should be respected, regardless of their ideology, or their proximity to oil. Just my thoughts on this inauguration eve

and in the final wtf moment of this administration: http://ping.fm/FMsP2

4-4 in the playoffs so far. Had the Steelers and the Ravens right. Should have had more faith in the Eagles, since I figured the G-Men would not repeat.

is wondeirng how much the NFL is dying for the Giants to win today, since Cardinals v Eagles in Phoenix is not particularly compelling playoff football

I am enjoying the stuffed JD on Scrubs and recognize the excellence of the second episode

Boy am I glad I did not make any NFL predictions this year, since I had the Falcons and Colts in at least the Championship games. OOPS

Uncle Jay Explains: Year-end! 12-22-08

A great recap of 2008, enjoy