October 2015 archive

Six In The Morning Saturday October 31

Russian airliner crashes in central Sinai – Egyptian PM A Russian airliner has crashed in central Sinai with more than 200 people on board, the office of Egypt’s prime minister has confirmed. The Airbus A-321 had just taken off from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, on its way to the Russian city of …

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Aloha Part 2

Remember, it means both Hello <i><u>and</u></i> Goodbye. So these ([The Stars Hollow Gazette http://www.thestarshollowgazette.com] – [DocuDharma https://www.docudharma.com]) are our new digs.  At best I can say they are <i><u>reminiscent</u></i> of our wonderful old place that was demolished by Vogons to make way for a Hyperspace Bypass because goodness knows you can never have enough of …

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On This Day In History October 13

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

October 13 is the 286th day of the year (287th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 79 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day on 1792, the cornerstone for the White House in laid in Washington, DC.

In 1800, President John Adams became the first president to reside in the executive mansion, which soon became known as the “White House” because its white-gray Virginia freestone contrasted strikingly with the red brick of nearby buildings.

Architectural competition

The President’s house was a major feature of Pierre (Peter) Charles L’Enfant’s’s plan for the newly established federal city, Washington, D.C. The architect of the White House was chosen in a design competition, which received nine proposals, including one submitted anonymously by Thomas Jefferson. The nation’s first president, George Washington, traveled to the site of the federal city on July 16, 1792, to make his judgment. His review is recorded as being brief, and he quickly selected the submission of James Hoban, an Irishman living in Charleston, South Carolina. Washington was not entirely pleased with the original Hoban submission, however; he found it too small, lacking ornament, and not fitting the nation’s president. On Washington’s recommendation, the house was enlarged by thirty percent; the present East Room, likely inspired by the large reception room at Mount Vernon, was added.

Construction

Construction of the White House began with the laying of the cornerstone on October 13, 1792, although there was no formal ceremony. The main residence, as well as foundations of the house, were built largely by enslaved and free African-American laborers, as well as employed Europeans. Much of the other work on the house was performed by immigrants, many not yet with citizenship. The sandstone walls were erected by Scottish immigrants, employed by Hoban, as were the high relief rose and garland decorations above the north entrance and the “fish scale” pattern beneath the pediments of the window hoods. The initial construction took place over a period of eight years, at a reported cost of $232,371.83 ($2.8 million in 2007 dollars). Although not yet completed, the White House was ready for occupancy on or circa November 1, 1800.

Shortages, including material and labor, forced alterations to the earlier plan developed by French engineer Pierre Charles L’Enfant for a “palace” that was five times larger than the house that was eventually built.] The finished structure contained only two main floors instead of the planned three, and a less costly brick served as a lining for the stone facades. When construction was finished the porous sandstone walls were coated with a mixture of lime, rice glue, casein, and lead, giving the house its familiar color and name.

As it is a famed structure in America, many replicas of the White House have been constructed.

The Daily Late Nightly Show (See You Next Week I Hope)

We are undergoing a change in Platforms from Soapblox to Wordpress on Thursday (the 15th) this week, the details of which are occupying much of my time.

After tonight The Daily Late Nightly Show will not be posted again until next Monday (the 19th) at the earliest.

Here are your guests-

Trevor Noah

Stephen Colbert

In planning the rest of the week (because it’s not like we don’t have weekly and daily story meetings, we’re very professional like that) it’s become quite clear that Thursday the 15th, Transition Day, is going to be fraught.  We expect that the Wordpress sites will be open for reading, including our back catalog, with little delay (there will probably be some).

There is virtually a 100% chance that there will be NO POSTING AT ALL on Thursday.  We will simply be too busy.  If you visit you are likely to get an Internet error.  THIS DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE CEASED PUBLICATION.

After tomorrow we will stop Baseball Playoff coverage until functionality is restored sufficiently to do so.

We will have an Open Thread Tuesday for the Democratic Debate.

After that all regular publication will stop except for Meta announcements on progress.

We hope to resume posting, at least ours, by Friday.

That’s the best case scenario.  In the worst case it may take us up to a week.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Senior League Division Series: Dodgers @ Mets Game 3

Saturday’s Game

Top 2nd Leadoff Solo Shot.  Mets 1 – 0.  Solo Shot.  Mets 2 – 0.

Bottom 4th Ground Rule Double.  RBI Double.  Mets 2 – 1.

Bottom 7th.  Raul Tejada criminally assaulted by Chase Utley.  Dodgers 5 – 2.

Series Tied at 1.

Analysis and Setup

People who know me say I’m the quiet type, keep to myself.  I like to think I’m very reasonable and non- confrontational.

Were I Manager, here’s how it goes down.

On Chase Utley’s very first at bat I take my Starter and send him to the field to play a position.  It doesn’t matter which one.  I bring in my hardest throwing, most disposable Reliever and when I make the call to the Bullpen I say-

“You have one pitch.  Be sure it’s a good one.”

Of course we’re both ejected.  Probably suspended and fined.  My Bench Coach takes over, brings back the Starter, game continues.

The next time Chase Utley’s at bat, my Bench Coach puts the Starter in the field.  The Umpires probably eject him right then.

Doesn’t matter.  Is Major League Baseball going to take over Managing one of the teams?  I think that’s a game they don’t want to play.  Is this the WWE where Vince calls the shots?

If Utley isn’t benched for his own safety by the time his spot rolls around the 3rd time, when one of my Bat Boys (there are about 12 or 15 Coaches of various sorts I’ll run through first, but my purpose is firm) sends the Reliever to the field, what will they do then?

And afterward, at what will no doubt be an exciting and well reported News Conference, this is what I will say-

This is perfectly good, old school, hard play.”

Well, I wasn’t going to the Hall anyway.  I’ll find a College someplace.  Maybe a Radio or TV gig.

But ek!  The entire Coaching Staff is fired or under suspension!

We have Minor Leagues.  Those guys aren’t doing anything except sitting on their ass watching the game and wishing they were me anyway.  Voila!  Fully staffed.

Forfeit the game?  Forfeit the Divisional Series?  Do you think Major League Baseball is willing to go down in History (because Baseball is all about History) putting their thumb on the scale that much?

This is bigger than the Black Sox and the Media (at least the New York part of it) is going to sympathize with  me even if they don’t say so and they’re much more efficient (if no less corrupt) than they were in 1919.  Baseball will take years to recover, if it ever does.

If the Series continues and Chase Utley comes to the plate it is deja vu all over again.  He will slink away bruised, battered, and humiliated.

And so shall he ride the bench a coward in every game against the Mets until he retires.

But what if you just lose?

With this much smoke it won’t be a ‘just lose’, it will be a rallying cry, a cause, a legend.  It will put butts in the seats for years.  These guys have shown that they’re good enough to make it back next year, the Minors are full of talent (not quite as good as the Cards but who is?) and there’s enough money to re-sign the wheat and replace the chaff.  The Mets will do fine in 2016 and if they don’t…

Well, we’re used to that.

And should we win there’s this magical thing where you can change your roster with each new Series in the Playoffs.  They can’t fire everybody unless they’re willing to seize control of the Ball Club WHICH is it’s own company.

If they do that then maybe we should be looking at that ‘Anti-Trust Exemption’.

The Mets will be putting Matt Harvey (R, 13 – 8, 2.71 ERA) on the mound.  Brett Anderson (L, 10 – 9, 3.69 ERA) will start for the Dodgers.  If certain unfortunate things had not occurred I might be talking more about Harvey’s contract, but it seems kind of pointless at the moment.

Senior League Division Series: Cardinals @ Cubs Game 3

Sunday’s game

Bottom 1st Solo Shot.  Cardinals 1 – 0.

Top 2nd Leadoff Single.  Fielder’s Choice, Error, Runner on Second, Steal, Runner on Third.  Walk.  Attempted Sacrifice, Error, Score, Runners at Second and Third, 1 Out.  Tied at 1.  RBI Sacrifice.  Cubs 2 – 1.  RBI Infield Single.  Cubs 3 – 1.  2 RBI HR.  Cubs 5 – 1.

Top 3rd Leadoff Walk.  Single, Runners at Corners. RBI Sacrifice.  Cubs 6 – 1.

Bottom 5th Solo Shot.  Cubs 6 – 2.  Solo Shot.  Cubs 6 – 3.  Final.

Series Tied at 1.

Analysis and Setup

Tah Dah.  They did what I told them and look at how it worked out.  Welcome to Wrigley Field (don’t lose the ball in the ivy), one of the storied parks in all of Baseball, where the Cubs (99 – 66) can close it out and the Cardinals (101 – 63) must at least split on the road to survive.

The Cubs will be sending Jake Arrieta (R, 22 – 6, 1.77 ERA) out. The Cardinals will respond with Michael Wacha (R, 17 – 7, 3.38 ERA).  Arrieta is the real deal, very impressive.  We’ll see if he has a rubber arm tonight.  If so he could be very dangerous in a longer Series, appearing in as many as 3 games of 7.  On paper this is the Cubs game.

Game time is 6 on TBS.

Junior League Division Series: Blue Jays @ Rangers Game 4

Sunday’s Game

Top 3rd Leadoff Double.  Infield Single, Runners at Corners.  RBI Double Play.  Blue Jays 1 – 0.

Top 4th Leadoff Double.  Sacrifice. Intentional Walk. Walk, Bases Loaded.  RBI Walk.  Blue Jays 2 – 0.  Double Play.

Top 6th Leadoff Infield Single.  Single, Runners at Corners.  Walk, Bases Loaded.  Double Play, Runners on Second and Third.  3 RBI HR.  Blue Jays 5 – 0.

Bottom 7th Single.  Single, Error, Runners at Second and Third.  RBI Sacrifice.  Blue Jays 4 – 1.  Final

Rangers lead Series 2 – 1.

Analysis and Setup

Still win or Spring Training for the Blue Jays (94 – 71).  The Rangers (90 – 75) will want to close out at home.

Derek Holland (L, 4 – 3, 4.91 ERA) will be on the mound for the Rangers.  The Blue Jays will be starting R.A. Dickey (R, 11 – 11, 3.91 ERA).  Holland missed 4 months with a shoulder tear, Dickey used to play for the Rangers (where he was terrible).  I don’t much like the Rangers, a Blue Jay win after an 0 – 2 start would be counter-intuitive.

Game time is 4 on Fox Sports 1.

Cartnoon

Junior League Division Series: Royals @ Astros Game 4

Today’s Meta (because what good is a day without Meta?).  As I mentioned yesterday both TMC and I are in meetings all day long.  We were able to resolve some of our issues yesterday (we think, that’s what today’s meeting is about) which is good.

In planning the rest of the week (because it’s not like we don’t have weekly and daily story meetings, we’re very professional like that) it’s become quite clear that Thursday the 15th, Transition Day, is going to be fraught.  We expect that the Wordpress sites will be open for reading including our back catalog with little delay (there will probably be some).

We’ve decided that the best way to communicate with our readers is through our normal twitter activities.  Information that can’t be expressed in 140 characters we will post at Corrente which is run by our friend Lambert.

There is virtually a 100% chance that there will be NO POSTING AT ALL on Thursday.  We will simply be too busy.  If you visit you are likely to get an Internet error.  THIS DOES NOT MEAN WE HAVE CEASED PUBLICATION.

We hope to resume posting, at least ours, by Friday.  User posts may take a little longer to resolve.

User accounts WILL BE RESTORED, at least for posting.  Commenting may take longer and there’s a possibility that the initial commenting system will not represent a permanent solution.

That’s the best case scenario.  In the worst case it may take us up to a week.

Sorry for the inconvienience.

After tonight The Daily Late Nightly Show will not be posted again until next Monday (the 19th) at the earliest.

After tomorrow we will stop Baseball Playoff coverage until functionality is restored sufficiently to do so.

We will have an Open Thread Tuesday for the Democratic Debate.

After that all regular publication will stop except for Meta announcements on progress.

I want to apologize once again to our Readers, Authors, and Commenters.  We like Soapblox and are not leaving the Platform willingly, it’s just that our vendor will no longer support it.

Baseball-

There will be no live blogging of today’s games (except the Mets, c’mon).

Sunday’s Game

Top 4th Solo Shot.  Royals 1 – 0.

Bottom 5th Walk.  Double.  2 RBI Single.  Astros 2 – 1.

Bottom 6th Leadoff Double.  Sacrifice.  Walk, Runners at Corners.  RBI Single.  Astros 3 – 1.

Bottom 7th Leadoff Solo Shot.  Astros 4 – 1.

Top 9th Leadoff Solo Shot.  Astros 4 – 2.  Final.

Astros lead Series 2 – 1.

Analysis and Setup

Game as expected, an Astros (89 – 77) blowout.  The Royals (96 – 69) must win tonight or they will hit the links and wait until next year.

The Astros will send out Lance McCullers (R, 6 – 7, 3.22 ERA) and the Royals Yordano Ventura (R, 13 – 8, 4.08 ERA).  The New York Times thinks McCullers is almost as good as Keuchel though te numbers don’t agree.  Ventura is the pitcher who got rocked in Game 2 and had to leave after 2 Innings, supposedly because of a stomach virus.  Royals fans better hope he’s recovered because it’s win or go home.

Game time is 1 on Fox Sports 1.

The Breakfast Club (Music Man)

Welcome to The Breakfast Club! We’re a disorganized group of rebel lefties who hang out and chat if and when we’re not too hungover  we’ve been bailed out we’re not too exhausted from last night’s (CENSORED) the caffeine kicks in. Join us every weekday morning at 9am (ET) and weekend morning at 10:30am (ET) to talk about current news and our boring lives and to make fun of LaEscapee! If we are ever running late, it’s PhilJD’s fault.

 photo 807561379_e6771a7c8e_zps7668d00e.jpg

This Day in History

Columbus lands in Americas; USS Cole bombed in Yemen; Soviet leader Khrushchev bangs shoe at UN; Blast rips Bali nightclub; Opera’s Luciano Pavarotti born; Singer John Denver dies in plane crash.

Breakfast Tunes

Something to Think about over Coffee Prozac

Learning music by reading about it is like making love by mail.

Luciano Pavarotti

On This Day In History October 12

This is your morning Open Thread. Pour your favorite beverage and review the past and comment on the future.

Find the past “On This Day in History” here.

October 12 is the 285th day of the year (286th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 80 days remaining until the end of the year.

On this day in 1810, Bavarian Crown Prince Louis, later King Louis I of Bavaria, marries Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.

The Bavarian royalty invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. These famous public fields were named Theresienwiese-“Therese’s fields”-in honor of the crown princess; although locals have since abbreviated the name simply to the “Wies’n.” Horse races in the presence of the royal family concluded the popular event, celebrated in varying forms all across Bavaria.

Oktoberfest is a 16-18 day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and the world’s largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modelled after the Munich event.

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1994, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 (German Unity Day). Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the first Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. In 2010, the festival lasts until the first Monday in October, to mark the 200-year anniversary of the event. The festival is held in an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called Wiesn for short, located near Munich’s centre.

Visitors eat huge amounts of traditional hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Schweinshaxe (ham hock), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstl (sausages) along with Brezn (Pretzel), Knödel (potato or bread dumplings), Kasspatzn (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Blaukraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a spiced cheese-butter spread) and Weisswurst (a white sausage).

First hundred years

In the year 1811, an agricultural show was added to boost Bavarian agriculture. The horse race persisted until 1960, the agricultural show still exists and it is held every four years on the southern part of the festival grounds. In 1816, carnival booths appeared; the main prizes were silver, porcelain, and jewelry. The founding citizens of Munich assumed responsibility for festival management in 1819, and it was agreed that the Oktoberfest would become an annual event. Later, it was lengthened and the date pushed forward, the reason being that days are longer and warmer at the end of September.

To honour the marriage of King Ludwig I and Therese of Bavaria, a parade took place for the first time in 1835. Since 1850, this has become a yearly event and an important component of the Oktoberfest. 8,000 people-mostly from Bavaria-in traditional costumes walk from Maximilian Street, through the centre of Munich, to the Oktoberfest. The march is led by the Münchner Kindl.

Since 1850, the statue of Bavaria has watched the Oktoberfest. This worldly Bavarian patron was first sketched by Leo von Klenze in a classic style and Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler romanticised and “Germanised” the draft; it was constructed by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier and Ferdinand von Miller.

In 1853, the Bavarian Ruhmeshalle was finished. In 1854, 3,000 residents of Munich succumbed to an epidemic of cholera, so the festival was cancelled. Also, in the year 1866, there was no Oktoberfest as Bavaria fought in the Austro-Prussian War. In 1870, the Franco-Prussian war was the reason for cancellation of the festival. In 1873, the festival was once more cancelled due to a cholera epidemic. In 1880, the electric light illuminated over 400 booths and tents (Albert Einstein helped install light bulbs in the Schottenhamel tent as an apprentice in his uncle’s electricity business in 1896). In 1881, booths selling bratwursts opened. Beer was first served in glass mugs in 1892.

At the end of the 19th century, a re-organization took place. Until then, there were games of skittles, large dance floors, and trees for climbing in the beer booths. They wanted more room for guests and musicians. The booths became beer halls.

In 1887, the Entry of the Oktoberfest Staff and Breweries took place for the first time. This event showcases the splendidly decorated horse teams of the breweries and the bands that play in the festival tents. This event always takes place on the first Saturday of the Oktoberfest and symbolises the official prelude to the Oktoberfest celebration

In the year 1910, Oktoberfest celebrated its 100th birthday. 120,000 litres of beer were poured. In 1913, the Braurosl was founded, which was the largest Oktoberfest beer tent of all time, with room for about 12,000 guests.

I have very fond memories of Oktoberfest. If you ever have the opportunity to visit Europe, do it in late September because this is a must see and experience.

More Odds or Onions

Can you pick The Onion without hovering your mouse over the links?



Not much of a challenge really, but if you just looked at the headlines you’d have an easy 50 / 50 shot at being wrong.

Woman stops intruder with medieval combat skills, sword

An Indiana woman says her training in medieval combat helped her corner a home intruder.

The Indianapolis Star reports 43-year-old Karen Dolley of Indianapolis threw punches until she had the man cornered during the Thursday night break-in. She then kept him subdued with a Japanese sword she keeps near her bed.

Dolley says she learned to fight as a teenager in the Society for Creative Anachronism, a group that recreates skills of the Middle Ages. She also skates with roller derby team Naptown Roller Girls.

Police responding to Dolley’s 911 call arrested 30-year-old Jacob Wessel of Greenwood, charging him with residential entry. Police say he forced open the home’s back door. Police reports say he was taken to a hospital because he was high on an unknown substance.

Popular New Exercise App Just Tells Users They Ran 5 Miles A Day No Matter What

LOS ALTOS, CA-Having reached nearly 2 million downloads within its first month of release, the new smartphone app ProMiler has quickly become one of the nation’s most popular exercise tools by informing users that they ran five miles each day no matter what, the app’s creators told reporters Friday. “With ProMiler, achieving your exercise goals is as simple as turning on your device in the morning and being notified that you’ve already run five miles,”

ProMiler spokesman John Lyons said while demonstrating the app, which uses advanced GPS technology to display a new, randomly generated five-mile running route near the user’s location every day. “The more you take advantage of ProMiler, the better runner you become, as the app automatically reduces your running time by several seconds per day. And with our ‘Calories Burned’ counter staying fixed at the number 1,000 each day, 100 percent of our users report hitting their fitness targets.

The results speak for themselves.” Officials added that the app comes pre-synced with Facebook, allowing users to automatically post their time and running route on their feed for all their friends to see.

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