The Midnight Bell

The inevitable, sort of sad marriage between CC Sabathia and the Yankees

if angels gm tony reagins is being truthful here, and the angels are 1) determined to act in concert in there with designate teixeira, 2) coequal if it costs them cc sabathia in the interim, then the yankees would have all the hallmarks to have their humankind.

And all it will have cost them was roughly $140 million, and a tub full of anxiety over why it took Sabathia so long to accept it.

What an awkward beginning to such an important relationship.

Now, first of all, I’m jumping the gun a little here. Perhaps Reagins is trying to turn up the heat on Teixeira with these quotes, and he’ll turn to the California native and resident Sabathia if Teixeira and Scott Boras don’t bend.

Probably not, though. We all can see that the Angels’ primary need is offense, rather than pitching. And the Dodgers and Giants have displayed zero appetite for a Sabathia deal.

So, will it be the Yankees’ $140 million, or the Brewers’ $100 million? That’s hardly a debate. Yet if the money were even, I think CC would be whistling the “Laverne & Shirley” tune right now.

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A Yankees sympathizer lamented to me the other day, “When it has worked out for us when we signed someone who didn’t want to be here?” You could argue Mike Mussina, but Mussina was sold by the way Joe Torre and the Yankees conducted themselves in their pursuit of him. He actually had comparable offers from the Mets and Red Sox. And besides, Mussina’s whole intention was to stay close to his Montoursville, Penn. home, and the Yankees qualified there from the beginning.

Sabathia, by all accounts, is not merely a good guy. He is a GREAT guy, a great teammate. And we know he’s an excellent pitcher (not to mention a good hitter for a pitcher, which is why he was interested in staying in the National League). Maybe he can self-motivate by choosing to be offended by the lack of West Coast interest in his services, and that’ll get him through the next six years.

But I can’t forget the words of someone who has known Sabathia for a long time: “CC likes to be happy.” In other words, he values having an amount of tranquility in his life. If Sabathia gets off to a rough start in 2009, with angry fans paying high prices to boo him, how difficult will he acheter cialis viagra find it to remain happy?

Maybe I’m being overdramatic. But more and more, it looks like these are questions we’ll have answered, down the line.

Thanks to the IMDb for the photo.

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Bailouts are supposed to help us - (heh!) why not cut out the middlemen (and their slices)?

I look at all of the billions (now trillions) of dollars being spent by our government supposedly to save us economically. Billions to the banks, billions to other financial “houses”, and the now all the hands are coming out to say “gimme, gimme, gimme” (car companies, states, cities) - this has to be one of the biggest give aways in history.

Politicians heeding the call for limited government and limited spending? It would be funny if it wasn’t so sad. In the little time that I have dabbled in politics it seems that every organization, every special interest, always believes that they can spend “the peoples money” better than the people can to, of course, to help the people. Not only are the politicans borrowing to spend our money, but we’ll have to pay interest on it as well!

It just seems that the bankrupt keep borrowing even more to give to others that have proven to be bad financial managers.

Well, here’s one idea that should save us money - if it is supposed to help us, why not just let us keep it in the first place? It cuts out the middlemen, stops the whining and the “gimme guys”, and eliminates the interest (H/T: Boortz, emphasis mine)

television release

CONVERT PAULSON’S LAST $350 BILLION INTO TAX HOLIDAY, SAYS U.S. CONGRESSMANPress Release : FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 28, 2008Convert Paulson’s Last $350 Billion into Tax Holiday, says U.S. Congressman”Billions of Dollars for Taxpayers, but Not One More Penny for Executive Bailouts”WASHINGTON, D.C. - As millions of Americans are hoping to maximize their holiday shopping budgets on today’s Black Friday bargains, one U.S. Congressman is fighting to prevent more outrageous spending sprees by Washington with taxpayer dollars going to executive cronies.With $350 billion of the $700 billion bailout still available to Paulson pending Congressional approval, a conservative Texas lawmaker is proposing to put that money towards a tax holiday from both personal income tax and FICA tax for Americans during January and February of 2009.He stated, “By instating a temporary tax holiday, we could electrify the American economy and provide overwhelming relief to taxpayers, all for less than the cost of the current failed Paulson-Pelosi bailout system.“”We need to give this money to the people who earned it. I am sick of Washington millionaires trying to decide which of their cronies should get the next wad of taxpayer money,” Rep. Louie Gohmert continued. “Think about how much you would have if you didn’t have any social security or income tax withheld from your pay check, or if you didn’t have to pay those taxes for January and February! Americans could take and invest their own money where they believe it should go - to paying down mortgages, buying a new car, making credit card payments. The economy would get relief where it is needed the most. Why try to decide how to prevent foreclosures? Just give taxpayers their own money to catch up on their payments. Those in lower income brackets who are hit the hardest by the FICA tax would see huge money back, and then THEY could choose who should benefit from their hard earned money. Even the self-employed and small business owners would receive a fantastic amount of their own much-needed money, and they will be able to invest that back into their businesses and even create the ability to hire more people.”Gohmert is currently preparing a bill to declare the tax holiday for January and February of 2009 and is also gathering support at the same time. He said, “We can save more home mortgages, increase employment, and boost economic growth for a lower price tag with this plan than with any centralized bureaucratic program, all by giving the power back to the taxpayers. I am demanding that not another penny goes to executive bailouts, but these billions of taxpayer dollars should go to the taxpayers who earned them.”According to American Solutions, a conservative think tank founded by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, Americans pay $101.6 billion per month in personal income tax and $65.6 billion per month in FICA tax. Under Gohmert’s proposed plan, all of these taxes would not be paid during January and February of 2009, and the money would stay in the hands of American taxpayers - the ones who best know where economic stimulus should be targeted. Gohmert’s two month tax holiday would stimulate the economy while costing less than the remainder of the Paulson-Pelosi bailout plan.Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) has also recently proposed returning …

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Two-point conversion ends Generals’ season

saturday’s assemble a, division 1 state semifinal football rematch between william campbell and franklin at franklin armory field had the aerosphere of a title hostilities, with the broncos taunting their guests at midfield well before the opening kickoff. the final decision, 22-21 in franklin’s favor, was nothing much the same as the teams’ first state semifinal meeting at the unvaried neighbourhood four years ago, when the broncos stampeded the generals 34-0 with powerful fullback donielle babb carrying them on his in arrears to their first allege crown.

Jennifer england

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NHL Weekly: Netting a trophy

The Starting LineupThe king of the crease is not dead. But Martin Brodeur’s chances of winning his fifth Vezina Trophy certainly are. The 36-year-old, who has taken home top goaltending honours in four of the last five seasons, is recovering from major elbow surgery. Also injured is two-time finalist Roberto Luongo. With the throne vacant, here are five masked men who are vying for the Vezina:

1 Tim Thomas, Boston His style, which has the gracefulness of a baby deer on ice, may seem unorthodox. But it has been working. Thomas (9-3-3) leads the league with a 1.88 goals-against average and second with a .940 save percentage.2 Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers A Vezina Trophy finalist in 2007-08, Lundqvist has posted 30 or more wins in each of his first three seasons. And with a league-leading 14 victories already, he could reach the 40-win mark.3 Carey Price, Montreal If the ballot-stuffers have their way, the Canadiens goaltender will be an all-star. Not that Price is not deserving of the honour. The 21-year-old is 10-4-3 with a .923 save percentage.4 Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose Nabokov is nowhere close to being among the save percentage (.894) leaders. But he has a sparkling 11-2-0 record and is playing on a team that could win the Presidents Trophy.5 Mike Smith, Tampa Bay The Lightning may not make the playoffs. But it has nothing to do with their goaltending. Smith, who leads all goaltenders with an impressive 13 penalty minutes, is third with a .932 save percentage.

The Lines

Alexander Ovechkin vs. Atlanta Thrashers on Nov. 26 Evgeni Malkin vs. New York Islanders on Nov. 26 Malkin and Ovechkin were not playing each other. But the two Russians, who are battling for top spot in the NHL scoring race, may have been watching the out-of-town scoreboard on Wednesday. After Ovechkin recorded a hat trick early in the second period against the Thrashers, Malkin exploded for three goals in the third period against the Islanders. Both players finished with four points each. Heading into Saturday’s games, Malkin had a league-leading 35 points and Ovechkin was third with 29.

The Lip“We can’t use the excuse that our [poor] record is because of all those road games because we are losing our home games now.” ? Edmonton’s Andrew Cogliano after Wednesday’s 2-1 home defeat to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Count9.2 The average number of games Nashville goalie Chris Mason goes between shutouts. Mason’s magic shutout number is tops among active goaltenders with at least 100 starts. Martin Brodeur is second with a shutout every 9.9 games.

The OutlandishToronto’s Brian Burke watch is the Energizer Bunny of top hockey executive sagas, a daily story that has gone, and on, and on for days on end. Burke will finally be introduced as the Leafs’ new president and general manager today, starting another round of stories and headlines. He has certainly kept the headline writers busy the last week or so. Here are some of the headlines:“All Burke has to do is sign name.”"Give thanks for Butterballs and Burke.”"Burke deal almost done.”"Brian Burke is definitely maybe going to Toronto.”"Who knows what Burke might do?”"Burke, Leafs inching ever closer to deal.”"Leafs fans: get ready for a Burke-quake.”And, most curious of all: “Burke charged with corruption, giving false testimony.”Yes, Brian Burke, the former premier of Western Australia, is an alleged crook accused of some shady lobbying practices in connection with Western Australia’s pearling industry. Is this really the right man for the Maple Leafs job?

Michael Traikos and Joe O’Connor, National Post

(Pittsburgh centre Evgeni Malkin celebrates after he scored the second of his three third period goals on Nov 26. Ray Stubblebine/Reuters)

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Viva La Thanksgiving!

I had the family over at my house for Thanksgiving for the first time this year. And it went really well! Usually we would go to my husband’s Aunt Marie’s (link to a video review she did of Stacy Poulos’ latest book, Life in a Nutshell) house where she would prepare the entire feast (with some help from her daughter, Jane). But she had a stroke last year and is still recovering from it, so we had it at our house. It felt a little strange at first. You don’t realize how attached you are to a person or environment until it’s not there anymore. Every year going to her warm, cozy house, surrounded at the same large dinner table, with the same people. This year we had some of the same people. Others moved to San Diego or couldn’t make it or passed away. Time moves on.

I cooked a 15 lb. turkey for 12 guests. It was fabulous. Not because I’m a turkey cooking genius, but because I downloaded a recipe that made it the JUICIEST turkey I, and everyone else, had ever tasted! The trick? Cook the turkey upside down! Who knew? And no basting! In the past I used to baste constantly. But I did absolutely no basting and it was fabulous! I also used cornbread stuffing instead of white bread. I made fruit salad with non-fat vanilla yogurt instead of whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon (my desperate attempt to make one of my favorite dishes nonfat), added some sunflower seeds and walnuts and voila! A fabulous and non-fat fruit salad! The usual other fixings, a pumpkin pie and chocolate pie brought by guests and viva la Thanksgiving!

One of the disappointments I am finding as the years go by is the lack of emphasis on Thanksgiving as its own special holiday. The media and stores blast us with Christmas decorations and displays at the beginning of November, as though Thanksgiving doesn’t exist. Now that I have kids I am finding it difficult to teach them the meaning of Thanksgiving because their little eyes light up at the sight of Christmas decorations and that’s all they can think of. Thanksgiving is just a pit-stop on the way to Christmas for them.

Schooner or later

Well, they’re only 3 so next year I’ll start early, the day after Halloween (before the stores have a chance to put up the Christmas glitter), to teach them the significance of Thanksgiving as being a time to give thanks and be grateful not only for what we have, but for our foremothers and forefathers who landed in Plymouth Rock and helped create one of the greatest countries on earth. This year, I let them get away with thinking it’s just a day for eating a “giant turkey” with relatives, and then on to Christmas already! Next year, it will be different.

I hope all the moms out there had a fabulous and fun Thanksgiving, and a shout-out to all the hard work you did in the kitchen all day, and the day before, maybe even a week before, to make sure your families had the best Thanksgiving ever! And if you didn’t do the cooking, good for you! I hope you had a good time relaxing and enjoying being served for once instead of doing all the serving!

P.S. Did anyone else notice that Safeway didn’t have the price or weight marked on their turkeys this year? When asked, the cashier said I would have to bring my turkey to the cash register or butcher to get the weight and price. So, I went to Trader Joes. Better turkey, cheaper, and clearly marked with the weight and price, so I knew exactly what I was getting and didn’t have to make multiple trips looking for someone to scan my turkey until I found the right weight! What’s up with that??

Original post on Silicon Valley Moms Blog.

When Cheryl’s not in the kitchen whipping up a fabulous Thanksgiving feast, she’s helping make the transition to motherhood a little easier on New Mother Central.

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Sony VAIO LV all-in-one PC review

When first announced back in September, the Sony VAIO LV-series was described as a High-Definition PC/TV. That blurring of distinctions between computer and entertainment gives a good idea of how the company envisages their all-in-one slotting into your lifestyle; a relatively rare HMDI input, allowing external sources to use the LV as a 1080p-capable display, helps single the system out even further. Are TV tuners, Blu-ray and Dolby Digital surround sound enough to let the VAIO LV replace your current HDTV?

The specs set the LV off to a good start, with up to a 3.16GHz Intel Core Duo E8500 processor, 4GB of RAM and 1TB of 7,200rpm SATA storage available. Graphics are courtesy of up to an NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS video card with 256MB of memory, and all but the base model has a Blu-ray drive, with the top-end LV supporting both Blu-ray playback and burning. Crowing glory, however, is the 24-inch widescreen XBRITE-HiColor display, running at 1920 x 1200 full 1080p High-Definition.

Connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth with A2DP, five USB 2.0 ports, S-Video, iLink Firewire, HMDI input, S/PDIF and headphone outputs, A/V and line/microphone

inputs. There are also dual NTSC/ATSC TV tuners, with two RF aerial inputs. Sony includes not only a low-profile wireless keyboard and mouse, but also a remote control. On the LV itself there are a small number of controls: separate PC and Display on/off buttons, HDMI source selection, volume, wireless on/off, keyboard/mouse connect and webcam angle adjust control. The webcam is mounted above the display and 1.3-megapixel resolution; it supports software face tracking and has an integrated microphone.

OS is one flavor or another of Windows Vista - Home Premium on the lower-end models, Ultimate on the higher-end - all with Media Center support. That means pausing and recording live TV, including over-the-air HD channels, and scheduled recordings, all through a lounge-friendly GUI that also gives access to music and online content. As well as that, Sony add their usual array of VAIO apps - here including the “Click to Disc Editor”, “Movie Story”, “MusicBox”, “Media plus streaming” and more - together with trials of Microsoft Office 2007 and OneCare. Happily the bloatware for which the company had become known for has been dramatically reduced.

BENCHMARKS

While the LV would make a perfectly pleasing desktop PC - with 24-inches of high-resolution screen ample for just about any application you could think of - it’s true home is in front of your sofa. The integrated dual 5.5W stereo speakers do a passable job, but for best results we’d recommend hooking up a full surround system. Do that, and the LV comes into its own: the XBRITE display is a typical Sony triumph, with deep blacks, minimal motion smear and crisp, bright colors. Vista comes in for plenty of (often justified) criticism, but its Media Center functionality is straightforward and intuitive to use. The Sony remote manages to be both comprehensive but not overwhelming, and the keyboard (which feels a little plasticy) has an integrated trackpad for surfing the web from your lap.

Plug another video source, such as a PS3; into the LV’s HDMI input and instead of a Vista PC you’re now looking at a high-definition display. Copyright reasons mean Sony won’t allow you to use both the PC and the HDMI input at the same time, so you have to switch between them, but all the aspects that made the VAIO such a good PC monitor make it an equally good standalone screen. We can’t help but be disappointed by the inability to have, say, a PS3 window onscreen at the same time as a Word document, though.

Sony has obviously used some of their HDTV knowledge with the LV’s physical design. Unlike many all-in-one PCs, the power …

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Saks adopts poison pill: Why?

Filed under: Management

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a few days after mexican billionaire carlos slim reported an 18% stake in the company, saks (nyse: sks) adopted a poison pill, disclosed in a filing with the sec.under the terms of the “shareholder rights pattern,” if carlos slim or anyone else acquires a stake of 20% in the company, other shareholders discretion be able to acquire shares at half price. the company said that the plan will “impose a informative penalty upon any being or group which acquires beneficial ownership of 20% or more of the company’s outstanding common stock without the prior rubber-stamp of the board of directors.”shareholders should be appalled. shares of saks closed at $4 on wednesday, down from a 52-week high of $22.19. in 1993, the stock traded north of $15 per share out.so shareholders should not be happy with any plan that gives the company’s current directors and directors more in check over the future: their track record is individual of gloomy failure. given mr. slim’s track record of creating enormous wealth, shareholders would likely be control superiors off with whatever plan he has up his sleeve.the wall street journal reports (subscription required) that “saks spokeswoman julia bentley declined to comment on the timing of the announcement, but said that saks had a rights plan for more than a decade that expired in march 2008.”it be obliged be illustrative to look at the returns that shareholders deceive received over that duration.

Saks adopts poison pill: Why? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GeekStuff4U dresses up for X-Mas

just to notify you that geekstuff4u.com dressed up in the interest christmas and changed its website design. you don’t have any belief down what to tender to your friends, family, girlfriend(s), or boyfriend(s)? you should take look at the geekstuff4u team’s best christmas selection right here! [url=http://www.geekstuff4u.com/gadgets/xmas?limit=all][/url]…reader comments

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stromectol onlineQuantum of Solace (2008)

[rating:3.5] overseer: marc forster starring: daniel craig, olga kurylenko, judi dench reward how casino royale ended? you’d bettor hope so, because the late james bond movie picks up maybe an hour later. bond remains motivated by pay someone back in his for the death of vesper lind, his lover in the first haziness who betrays him at the behest of an unnamed, unreliable organization. that federation, a spectre retooled for the purpose a untrodden millennium, is named quantum, though that detail goes by so quickly in this frentic large screen that i had to confirm the details on wikipedia. as the first link moving picture to be a escort supplement to its predecessor, quantum of solace doesn’t take half-measures. it relies on the first daniel craig installment as a remedy for motivation, theme, unexpected expansion and all its best moments of relationship between characters. someone who either didn’t see or has fully forgotten the initial installment from 2006 (like my companion after this screening) will be totally wrecked (like my companion for this screening).

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Thanksgiving: Stock and Gravy

The way to ensure abundant and delicious gravy on thanksgiving is to make a big batch of turkey stock today. Roast a couple pounds of turkey wings, and any other inexpensive parts you may be able to gather, until they are golden brown and good enough to eat. Cover them with water and cook below a simmer for 6 hours or so uncovered or in a 180-200 degree oven. For the last hour or two, add a large onion, 2 big carrots, two bay leaves, some peppercorns, thyme and parsley (if you have it on hand), and a couple tablespoons of tomato paste. Strain it through cloth and it’s done.

Green bean casserole site foodnetwork.com

To make gravy, you may want to fortify it with neck and giblets while the turkey cooks (or chop the giblets and saute them with some shallot to add to the gravy). Save the fat rendered from the turkey and mix it with enough flour to form a thick paste, cooking this paste, or roux, to get rid of the raw flour flavor. Use this roux to thick your turkey stock, adding more aromatics if you wish and any juices the turkey drops as it rests.

Here’s last year’s post on making turkey stock with your left over turkey carcass, whichis too abundant and too delicious to throw away. (The pix here are generic stock shots donna had on hand–abundant veg, called mirepoix, is essential to the flavor of stock. At right is the temperature I cook a stock, 180 degrees, so that there’s not even a simmer, but the pot is too hot to hold your hand to comfortably.)

And because you may have abundant turkey stock, it’s a great time to try making consomme?turkey consomme beats chicken any day.

Wishing all readers on this, one of the great and unifying American holidays we all share, a bountiful day with hopes that all have the opportunity to cook with one another and sit down at the table together to acknowledge a shared gratitude for what we have.

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