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Tag Archives: Great Rivers Athletic Conference
January 10, 2023 stvkrh905 Leave a comment
Illinois junior college baseball has long been a destination for Indiana players.
Many have used the two-year institutions to springboard into a four-year school or the professional ranks.
Our neighbors to the west sport 41 National Junior College Athletic Association programs in Division I, II and III (Regions 4 or 24).
There is a difference between divisions.
NJCAA Divisions I and II can offer up to 24 athletic scholarships. Division III schools do not. Most (but not all) junior colleges have other scholarship and financial aid options.
Illinois' NJCAA D-I teams include Frontier Community College (Fairfield), John A. Logan College (Carterville), Kakaskia College (Centralia), Kishwaukee College (Malta), Lake Land College (Mattoon), Lincoln Trail College (Robinson), Olive-Harvey College (Chicago), Olney Central College (Olney), Rend Lake College (Ina), Shawnee CC (Ullin), South Suburban College (South Holland), Southeastern Illinois College (Harrisburg), Southwestern Illinois College (Swansea), Triton College (River Grove) and Wabash Valley College (Mount Carmel).
Wabash Valley went 59-9 and qualified for the 2022 NJCAA D-I World Series in Grand Junction, Colo.
"We've been very fortunate," says Wabash Valley coach Aaron Biddle, who is in his eighth season with the Warriors and first as head coach in 2023. "We've had some very good Indiana kids over the years. We're just right across the border form Princeton, Ind. Getting into Evansville and going up to Indianapolis are great recruiting sources for us.
"Our conference is real competitive."
John A. Logan, Kakaskia, Lake Land, Lincoln Trail, Olney Central, Rend Lake, Shawnee, Southeastern Illinois, Southwestern Illinois and Wabash Valley is in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
WVC plays mostly D-I schools with a few D-II's sprinkled in.
"The more D-I opponents you have on your schedule the better it is for your (RPI) rankings," says Biddle.
What does "JUCO Bandit" means to Biddle, who started his college playing career at former NJCAA D-III St. Catharine in Kentucky and finished at NCAA D-II Kentucky Wesleyan.
"Maybe he's not be getting the offers he wants at (NCAA) D-I or a big school and he's going to bet on himself and he's going to go the JUCO route, grind for two years and get better everyday and definitely get that offer he's not getting right now," says Biddle. "We get to spend a lot of time with our guys. We get to be with them almost every single day. There's not a lot of restrictions on how much practice time we have.
"The big things is that in the fall, we get to play 14 dates. We get to play every weekend. Guys are getting all those extra innings and they're getting to compete. That's a big thing for us.
"In baseball you've got to play to get better."
Biddle says the funnest aspect of his job is seeing players land at their dream school.
South Suburban posted a 42-19 record in 2022.
Kevin Bowers has been head coach at Lincoln Trail since the 2010 season. That was the sophomore season of Justin Hancock (who went on to pitch in the big leagues and is now an Indiana State University assistant).
Bowers was on the LTC staff since 2001 and was an assistant to then-Statesmen head coach Mitch Hannahs (who is now head coach at Indiana State).
Bowers coached at ISU for the 2000 season. Lincoln Trail is about 10 miles from the Indiana line and 40 miles from ISU.
"The talent level is just off the chart," says Bowers. "I'm certainly not knocking the state of Illinois. We've had a great deal of success with kids out of Indiana."
Bowers has a take on "JUCO Bandit."
"We develop an 'ask no quarter, take no quarter' mentality," says Bowers. "We don't want for a lot. We don't need a lot. But we try to get a lot done.
"'Bandit has that negative connotation to it. When you go to junior college your mindset is that you're foregoing the 100,000-seat football stadium. There's not a lot of nightlife. Campus activities are geared around the athletics. You develop a worker's mentality.
"There's not a lot of thrills, but the talent at this level is crazy good."
Bowers said there was a time when junior college baseball was battling the perception that their players had got booted from another school or could not make grades.
"Our guys are getting it done in the classroom and they're getting it done on the field," says Bowers, whose program earned a 2021-22 American Baseball Coaches Association Team Excellence Award for posting a grade-point average of 3.0 or above. "It's a situation where academically you're not going to lose ground."
Illinois' NJCAA D-II squads are Black Hawk-Moline College (Moline), Carl Sandburg College (Galesburg), Danville Area CC (Danville), Elgin CC (Elgin), Heartland CC (Normal), Highland College (Freeport), Illinois Central College (East Peoria), Illinois Valley CC (Oglesby), John Wood CC (Quincy), Kankakee CC (Kankakee), College of Lake County (Grayslake), Lewis & Clark CC (Godfrey), Lincoln Land CC (Springfield), McHenry County College (Crystal Lake), Moraine Valley CC (Palos Heights), Morton College (Cicero), Parkland College (Champaign), Prairie State College (Chicago Heights), Sauk Valley CC (Dixon) and Spoon River College (Canton).
Heartland (49-10) played in the 2022 NJCAA D-II World Series in Enid, Okla.
The Mid-West Athletic Conference features Heartland, Danville Area, Illinois Central, John Wood, Lewis & Clark, Lincoln Land, Parkland and Spoon River plus Vincennes (Ind.) University.
Also in 2022, Kankakee went 43-17, McHenry 40-18, Black Hawk-Moline 35-20, Lake County 32-20 and Morton 32-20.
Illinois' NJCAA D-III features College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn), Harper College (Palatine), Joliet Junior College (Joliet), Oakton CC (Skokie), Rock Valley College (Rockport) and Waubonsee CC (Sugar Grove).
The Arrowhead Conference is made up of Black Hawk-Moline, Carl Sandburg, Highland, Illinois Valley, Kishwaukee and Sauk Valley.
Oakton (34-28-1) competed in the 2022 NJCAA D-III World Series in Greenville, Tenn.
Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference includes Lake County, Elgin, McHenry County, Moraine Valley, Morton, Oakton, Prairie State and Waubonsee.
Since 1993, Triton is a two-time D-I World Series runner-up (1993 and 1994).
D-II World Series titles were earned by Kishwaukee (1999), Lincoln Land (2000), Parkland (2002 and 2009) and Kankakee (2017). Parkland was also a runner-up in 2018.
Joliet earned D-III World Series championships in 1994, 2008 and 2012 and placed second in 1995 and 2015. Oakton reigned in D-III in 2018 and Waubonsee was runner-up in 1996.
Aaron BiddleArrowhead ConferenceBlack Hawk-MolineCarl SandburgCollege of DuPageCollege of Lake CountyColoradoCommunity CollegeDanville AreaElginEnidGRACGrand JunctionGreat Rivers Athletic ConferenceGreenevilleHarperHeartlandHighlandIllinoisIllinois CentralIllinois Skyway Collegiate ConferenceIllinois ValleyIndianaIndiana State UniversityJohn A. LoganJohn WoodJoliet Junior CollegeJUCO BanditJunior CollegeJustin HancockKakaskiaKankakeeKevin BowersKishwaukeeLake LandLewis & ClarkLincoln LandLincoln TrailLTCMcHenry CountyMid-West Athletic ConferenceMitch HannahsMoraine ValleyMortonNational Junior College Athletic AssociationNJCAANJCAA D-I World SeriesNJCAA Division II World SeriesNJCAA Division III World SeriesOaktonOklahomaOlive-HarveyOlney CentralParklandPrairie StateRend LakeRock ValleySauk ValleyShawneeSouth SuburbanSoutheastern IllinoisSouthwestern IllinoisSpoon RiverSt. CatharineStatesmenTennesseeTerre HauteTriton CollegeVincennes UniversityWabash Valley CollegeWarriorsWaubonseeWVC
Southern Illinois slugger Archer basking in bonus baseball season
May 14, 2021 stvkrh905 Leave a comment
"Play until you can't play no more."
Philip Archer plays baseball with the words of his father — Leslie Archer — ringing in his ears.
Granted an extra year of college eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Archer has had hits ringing off his bat in 2021 as a powerful puncher in the Southern Illinois University lineup.
"It's certainly a blessing to extend your career one more year," says Archer, a 2016 graduate of Floyd Central High School in Floyds Knobs, Ind., in his fifth college diamond season. "I need to play until I can't play no more because one day I'm going to be done and enter the real world.
"I will not be a kid anymore."
As Archer and the Salukis (33-15) enter a Missouri Valley Conference series at Indiana State May 14-16, the lefty-swinging first baseman is hitting .324 (60-of-185) with nine home runs, 16 doubles, 49 runs batted in, 40 runs scored and .965 OPS (.408 on-base percentage plus .557 slugging average).
The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder has produced 13 multi-hit games, including four against Mercer Feb. 26, Southeast Missouri March 24 and Austin Peay April 6.
Archer drove in five runs against Mercer and seven against Austin Peay.
In three seasons at SIU-Carbondale covering 114 games (112 starts), Archer is hitting .302 (127-of-421) with 16 homers, 26 doubles, 94 RBIs, 84 runs and an .869 OPS (.382 on-base percentage plus .487 slugging average).
He was at Olney (Ill.) Central College in 2017 and 2018 and hit .341 (120-of-351) with 15 homers, 29 doubles, 102 RBIs and 82 runs and an .950 OPS (.397 on-base percentage plus .553 slugging percentage).
What's Archer's secret sauce?
"Discipline, hard work and having good coaches and people around me," says Archer. "With our lineup this whole year, we've got a lot of guys swinging it well."
Archer often bats in the No. 5 or No. 6 hole in SIU head coach Lance Rhodes' batting order.
Besides input from Rhodes, Archer also works closely with staffers Brett Peel (hitting coach), Ben Brewer (volunteer) and Kirby McGuire (director of player development).
"Power hitter — that's my main role on the team," says Archer. "I'm there to knock in some RBI's and make some things happen."
Saluki hitters receive a detailed scouting report before every game.
It tells them the pitches and tendencies of opposing pitchers.
"If lefty is busting me in, it's different than a righty living on the outer half," says Archer.
Archer, who turns 23 on May 28, was born in Indianapolis but grew up in Greenville, Ind.
He got his organized baseball start at Floyds Knobs Community Club. He played travel ball through Highland Youth Recreation and later for the Louisville Elite and Midwest Prospects.
At Floyd Central, Archer played for Highlanders head coach Casey LaDuke.
Casey is a great guy and a great coach," says Archer. "He's done a great job with the program and the facilities.
"Learning from him at a young age was huge for me with his elite-level practices."
At Olney Central, Archer played for veteran Blue Knights head coach Dennis Conley.
With Conley's success and demeanor, Archer likens him to Hall of Famer Augie Garrido.
"You can't beat knowledge and experience of Dennis Conley," says Archer. "He's got it all.
"He's calm when he needs to calm, but he's got a fire."
During his time at Olney, Archer was a Great Rivers Athletic Conference and National Junior College Athletic Association District 24 Player of the Year. The Blue Knights went 41-16 in 2017 and 42-16 in 2018.
During his college summers, Archer has played for the Dubois County (Ind.) Bombers (2017) and Richmond (Ind.) Jazz (2018).
The Bombers were managed by Andy Lasher, who is now head coach at Oakland City (Ind.) University where Philip's little brother, Joel, is a freshman infielder/pitcher.
Former Zionsvillle Community High School and University of Southern Indiana player and SIU assistant Ryan Bertram managed the Jazz.
Leslie and Mary Anne Archer have three sons — Andrew, Philip and Joel. Andrew Archer is with the Clarksville (Ind.) Police Department.
Archer did not play in 2019 while attending to summer classes and a job. There was very little opportunities to play in 2020 due to the pandemic.
A Sport Administration degree was completed last spring. He is now half way to becoming a Master of Health Administration.
After the Indiana State series, Southern Illinois completes the MVC slate with games agaisnt Dallas Baptist and then hosts the conference tournament.
Will professional baseball coming calling for Archer after that?
"If I have an opportunity to play at the next level I'd for sure take it," says Archer. "If not, I'll move on and be satisfied with my career."
Philip Archer (Southern Illinois University Photo)
Andrew ArcherAndy LasherAugie GarridoAustin PeayBen BrewerBlue KnightsBrett PeelCarbondaleCasey LaDukeClarksville Police DepartmentDallas Baptist UniversityDennis ConleyDubois County BombersFloyd CentralFloyds KnobsFloyds Knobs Community ClubGreat Rivers Athletic ConferenceGreenvilleHighland Youth RecreationHighlandersIllinoisIndianaIndiana State UniversityIndianapolisJoel ArcherJunior CollegeKirby McGuireLance RhodesLeslie ArcherLouisville EliteMary Anne ArcherMercerMidwest ProspectsMissouri Valley ConferenceMVCNational Junior College Athletic AssociationNJCAAOakland City UniversityOlney Central CollegePhilip ArcherRichmond JazzSalukisSoutheast Missouri StateSouthern Illinois UniversitySport Adminisration
Evansville Razorbacks promote accountability, communication, commitment
February 17, 2020 stvkrh905 6 Comments
The 18U Evansville (Ind.) Razorbacks have been a force in the travel baseball world with four Pastime Tournaments national championships and a National Amateur Baseball Federation World Series runner-up finish.
The 2017 team went 40-0.
Established in 2002 by Jeremy Johnson, the Razorbacks have had 336 players sign on with college baseball programs and numerous players have been in pro ball.
"This program sets guys up not only in baseball, but their whole life," says Johnson. "It's a fraternity. You're going to be a Razorback the rest of your life.
"It's bigger than anybody, including me."
Johnson is a 1993 Mater Dei graduate. He grew up spending Saturday mornings helping his father groom youth diamonds around Evansville. C.J. Johnson is a 2017 inductee into the Greater Evansville Sports Hall of Fame as a baseball administrator.
At 14, Jeremy severely hurt his right arm and learned how throw serviceably with his left. In high school, he was a successful cross country and track runner.
Johnson networks with college coaches and does his best to educate players and parents on the recruiting process and deciding on the best fit for them.
"My job is to help you find out your 'why,'' says Johnson. "What is driving you? If you don't know that, you can get lost. You need to have a really good grasp on that. If you don't and everything starts to go south, you'll start panicking."
And it doesn't have to be NCAA Division I or bust. Some are best-suited by going the D-II, D-III, NAIA or junior college route.
"I'm completely over the fact that Division I is the best case scenario (for every player)," says Johnson. "You should pick a school where, if you didn't play baseball any more, you wouldn't want to transfer.
"It's very, very personal thing for each kid. Look at schools that fit you personally. Start putting together legitimate ideas on what you know you want instead of what you think you want.
"High school is very status-orientedYou're not doing it for your teammates. There's a 50-50 shot you'll meet your wife there.
"It's way more than baseball."
Johnson says he has watched the transfer portal blow up in recent years in part because of so many early commits (freshmen and sophomore are making verbal commitments these days) and players and parents not doing their due diligence on what they want and what a program has to offer.
"They may be good enough to be a tweener with D-I," says Johnson. "But they could play more at D-II or go to D-III and be an All-American.
"We don't want them to have regrets or at least minimize them."
While he has been involved in most of the 336 college signings, Johnson doesn't take credit. It's the players with the talent.
"I'm not the reason any of my kid plays in college," says Johnson. "I'm just a guy who goes to bat for them. My job is to market them. I'm an avenue.
"The kids are the ones that deserve everything. I didn't throw a ball, catch a ball or hit it. I'm not the reason for the season."
A junior college advocate, Johnson says those players tend to play with a chip on their shoulder. Six starters on the Razorbacks' 2018 team went on to JC ball. The 2017 club was made up mostly of D-I commits.
"It saves money and keeps their options open," says Johnson. "It makes you grind a little bit. You find out if you really love baseball if you go junior college."
Johnson says the Razorbacks are well-represented in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference (John A. Logan, Kaskaskia, Lake Land, Lincoln Trail, Olney Central, Rend Lake, Shawnee, Southeastern Illinois, Southwestern Illinois, Wabash Valley).
Johnson says parents don't always receive personal feedback when they take their sons to showcases. They get the numbers, but not an idea of what that coaching staff thinks of the player and how they would fit in their program.
Players can go to showcase after showcase and the money spent can add up to the cost of a scholarship.
"Tell me what you're interested in doing and let me market you," says Johnson. He will do his best to have college coaches look at the player and let them know what they think.
"College recruiting always in flux," says Johnson. "(Recruiters) don't want to tell you yes or no. There's a lot of maybes. That's a frustrating thing. I tell parents to build an idea of where their kid really fits."
In showcases or with private lessons, many times players are told over and over again how good they are.
"Some are honest about good things and bad things," says Johnson. "There's nothing wrong with constructive criticism. You need it."
Johnson sees his role with the Razorbacks as driven by relationships.
"I get to know the kids," says Johnson. "I spent a lot of time on the phone with them."
While many players come from southern Indiana, southern Illinois and Kentucky, there is no real limit and have come from several states away.
"I'm not afraid to ask anybody," says Johnson. "We have the ability to house a few kids."
Many players spend two seasons with the Razorbacks, which Johnson says averages 17 to 20 college commits per year. In any given year, a third to half of the squad goes into the summer uncommitted.
Among the 2019 high school graduates from Indiana schools on the '19 summer team were Evansville North shortststop/second baseman Alex Archuleta (University of Southern Indiana), Austin shortstop/right-handed pitcher/third baseman Drew Buhr (Saint Louis University), Castle left-handed pitcher Blake Ciuffetelli (USI), Castle first baseman Brodey Heaton (Belmont University), Evansville Memorial right-handed pitcher Isaac Housman (USI) and Tecumseh outfielder Steven Molinet (USI).
There's also shortstop/second baseman Alex Adams (Purdue University), catcher Garret Gray (Butler University), right-handed pitcher Trey Nordmann (Howard College in Texas) and left-handed pitcher/outfielder/first baseman Mark Shallenberger (University of Evansville).
Former Ben Davis High School catcher Zyon Avery (Ohio University), Decatur Central right-hander Bradley Brehmer (Wright State University) and right-hander Garret Simpson (Eastern Kentucky University) are among the recent Razorbacks now playing college baseball.
Razorback alums left-hander Dean Kiekhefer (Oakland Athletics), right-hander Derek Self (Washington Nationals) and outfielder Cole Sturgeon (Boston Red Sox) played at Triple-A in 2019. All three played at the University of Louisville. Kiekhefer appeared in the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016 and with Oakland in 2018.
There's also former Backs Easton McGee and Stewart Ijames.
Right-hander McGee played for Bowling Green in the Tampa Bay Rays system in 2019.
Outfielder Ijames, a former U of L player and in the Arizona Diamondbacks system, was with the independent Kansas City T-Bones in 2019.
Clint Barmes, a Vincennes Lincoln High School graduate who recently went into the Indiana State University and Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association halls of fame after a major league career, played for the Evansville Black Sox (1993-2001), which were picked up by the Razorbacks in 2002.
Johnson was an outfielder for the Jim Wittman-coached Black Sox in 1993-94. In a Black Sox alumni game, Johnson's last pitch resulted in a Barmes home run.
"I hadn't pitched in two years," says Johnson. "Didn't matter. Would happened on my best day."
Former U of L catcher Jeff Arnold was signed by scout Kevin Christman and played in the San Francisco Giants organization.
Right-hander Morgan Coombs went to West Vigo High School and Ball State University then played independent ball.
Outfielder Sean Godfrey played at New Albany High School and Ball State before time in the Atlanta Braves system and indy ball.
First baseman Jon Hedges played at Indiana State.
Third baseman Kevin Hoef went to the University of Iowa and played indy ball.
Catcher Jeremy Lucas played at West Vigo and Indiana State before time in the Cleveland Indians system.
Black Sox right-hander Stephen Obenchain played at Evansville Memorial and the University of Evansville before stints in the Athletics system and independent ball.
First baseman Derek Peterson, who hails from New Jersey, went on to Temple University and played in Baltimore Orioles organization.
Black Sox right-hander Andy Rohleder played at Forest Park High School and the University of Evansville before tenures with the Florida Marlins organization and indy ball.
Right-hander P.J. Thomas, a Jeffersonville High School graduate who played at USI, was twice-drafted by the Red Sox and played indy ball.
Catcher Kolbrin Vitek (Ball State) played in the Red Sox organization.
Former Black Sox, Heritage Hills High School and University of Dayton catcher Mark Wahl was in the Orioles system.
While the Razorbacks run a full program with off-season training, Johnson says he is a realist and he knows that players have commitments to their hometown teams and work with their own hitting and pitching instructors. He doesn't ask them to drive several hours to Evansville to hit them grounders.
"I'm not that full of myself," says Johnson. "I have the utmost respect for high school programs.
"I love travel ball. But a large amount of travel ball is B.S. It's such a money-driven situation. Travel ball — as a whole — is expensive for families with travel, hotels and all of that. We try to keep that cost down as low as we possibly can."
When the 18U Razorbacks do travel, the team stays together in the same hotel.
Many of the players are getting close to going away to college. They get to experience curfews, team meetings and learn personal accountability. It's an early look at their freshmen year and that first taste of freedom. They are responsible for their own laundry.
"The team runs the team," says Johnson. "There's a lot to be learned off the field until they go to college."
Parents are encouraged treat the weekend like a getaway. All they have to do is attend the games and watch their sons play.
The organization expanded this off-season to 10 teams — 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, two 12U squads, 13U, 14U, 16U and 18U. 8U to 14U is high school prep. 15U to 18U is college prep.
According to Johnson, whose 18U assistant coaches are Bob Davis, Ryan Dills and Buddy Hales, the emphasis is on teaching player accountability at an early age, communication with parents, speed and strength conditioning and commitment to helping the person, then the player."
Top 18U events in 2020 include June 12-14 in Midland, Ohio, June 18-21 in Louisville, Ky., June 26-28 in Midland, Ohio, June 30-July 1 at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, July 5-9 at Perfect Game World Series (invitation only) in Hoover, Ala., and July 15-19 at the 18U Nationals in Indianapolis.
Jeremy and Christi Johnson married in 2013. There are three children — Seth (18), Ava (14) and Conner (13). Conner Johnson, now an eighth grader, was born in 2007, the same year the Razorbacks were NABF World Series runners-up.
"Spending summers with him with me is what ties it all together," says Jeremy Johnson of time spent with Conner and Backs baseball.
The Evansville (Ind.) Razorbacks have placed 336 players in college baseball since 2002. (Evansville Razorbacks)
Jeremy Johnson (center) is the founder of the Evansville (Ind.) Razorbacks travel baseball organization. The Razorbacks' first season was in 2002. (Evansville Razorbacks Photo)
18U NationalsAccountabilityAlex AdamsAlex ArchuletaAndy RohlederArizona DiamondbacksAtlanta BravesAustinBall State UniversityBaltimore OriolesBelmont UniversityBen DavisBlake CiuffetelliBob DavisBoston Red SoxBradley BrehmerBrodey HeatonBuddy HalesButler UniversityC.J. JohnsonCastleCleveland IndiansClint BarmesCole SturgeonCommitmentCommunicationDean KiekeferDecatur CentralDerek PetersonDerek SelfDrew BuhrEastern Kentucky UniversityEaston McGeeEvansvilleEvansville Black SoxEvansville Mater DeiEvansville MemorialEvansville NorthEvansville RazorbacksFlorida MarlinsForest ParkGarret GrayGarret SimpsonGreat Rivers Athletic ConferenceGreater Evansville Baseball Hall of FameHeritage HillsHoward CollegeIHSBCA Hall of FameIndiana High School Baseball Coaches AssociationIndiana State University Athletics Hall of FameIsaac HousmanJeff ArnoldJeffersonvilleJeremy JohnsonJeremy LucasJim WittmanJohn A. LoganJon HedgesJunior CollegeKansas City T-BonesKaskaskiaKevin ChristmanKevin HoefKolbrin VitekLake LandLincoln TrailMark ShallenbergerMark WahlMorgan CoombsNAIANational Amateur Baseball FederationNational championsNCAA Division INCAA Division IINCAA Division IIINew AlbanyOakland AthleticsOhio UniversityOlney Central CollegeP.J. ThomasPastime TournamentsPerfect Game World SeriesPurdue UniversityRecruitingRend LakeRyan DillsSaint Louis UniversitySan Francisco GiantsSean GodfreyShawneeSoutheastern IllinoisSouthwestern IllinoisSt. Louis CardinalsStephen ObenchainSteven MolinetStewart IjamesTampa Bay RaysTecumsehTrey NordmannUniversity of DaytonUniversity of EvansvilleUniversity of IowaUniversity of LouisvilleUniversity of Southern IndianaWabash Valley CollegeWashington NationalsWest VigoWright State UniversityZyon Avery
Fort Wayne native Glant's baseball odyssey lands back in Muskegon
January 7, 2020 stvkrh905 Leave a comment
Nate Glant's personal and baseball odyssey has taken him far and wide.
The 2002 Fort Wayne (Ind.) Wayne High School graduate pitched at Muskegon (Mich.) Community College and Aurora (Ill.) University.
After his playing career, Glant was a commercial fisherman and a rancher and spent time in Alaska, Wyoming and Oklahoma.
Drawn back to baseball, Glant became a coach. He owned and operated Trident Baseball Academy in Ardmore, Okla.
He served as pitching coach at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Mont. Catcher Reynoso Pichardo, who is now in the Texas Rangers system, was at Dawson when Glant was there.
One summer, Glant was associate head coach/pitching coach for the Cortland (N.Y.) Crush of the New York Collegiate Baseball League, where he coached Philadelphia Phillies draftee and 6-foot-7 right-hander Jake Kinney.
The 2018 and 2019 seasons saw him work as pitching coach/recruiting coordinator at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill. Before he shined at the university of Michigan and was drafted by the Houston Astros, outfielder Jordan Brewer played at Lincoln Trail.
The 2020 season marks his first as head coach at Muskegon CC. The Jayhawks are NJCAA Region XII members and in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference.
Gaskill played for Dave Fireoved then two years for Tim Gaskill (with assistants Adam Swinford and Timon Pruitt) as a Wayne General.
"(Coach Gaskill) is one of my biggest influences," says Glant. "His practices were individualized and focused on results. He was ahead of his time. He showed that each player is different. It was not a cookie cutter system.
"You also don't have to do fire and brimstone to get results."
As a Muskegon player, Glant spent two seasons with head coach Carl "Cap" Pohlman, who played in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.
"Coach Pohlman taught me a ton about doing things the right way," says Glant. "We would work work on mental side of things. You don't worry about things you can't control."
Aurora coach Shaun Neitzel took a combination of players from differing background — junior college transfers and NCAA Division I kick-backs — and got them to jell.
"They would buy into the culture pretty quickly to have success," says Glant. "It was knowing the recipe to cook things up."
Glant learned the think outside the box in Montana.
"Weather changes tremendously," says Glant. "You had to make sure guys were still doing something to get better. It was quality over quantity."
He cites Marc Rardin at Iowa Western College for showing the way to success in a cold weather state.
"It's more of a mindset and practice planning and having your guys doing something productive," says Glant. "Midwest teams must have a little more of a chip on their shoulder and a blue collar work ethic."
At Lincoln Trail, Statesman head coach Kevin Bowers gave Glant much latitude while finding and developing players to compete in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference.
"It's the toughest Division I JUCO conference in the Midwest," says Glant, who sent Lincoln Trail against Wabash Valley, John A. Logan, Olney Central, Rend Lake, Kakaskia, Southwestern Illinois, Southeastern Illinois, Shawnee and Lake Land. "We would shake the trees and find the diamond in the rough.
"With the pitching staff, Coach Bowers let me sink or swim," says Glant. "Fortunately, we had success. It set me up for where I am now, being a head coach."
At Muskegon, Glant is a one-man band.
"We do not a big recruiting budget," says Glant. "It's good to have friends int he coaching industry and to bounce ideas off of them.
One resource for Nate is older brother Dustin Glant, who was pitching coach at Ball State University before taking a job in the New York Yankees organization after the 2019 season.
"Having Dustin as a brother is nice," says Nate. "I can pick his brain and thoughts on things. He had a heck of a year at Ball State (the Cardinals went 38-19 and Drey Jameson was selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks)."
When recruiting, Glant prefers to see players in-person.
"I want that eye test," says Glant. "I can see the intangibles and how they interact with teammates.
Most players come from Michigan and many hails from the Grand Rapids and Traverse City areas.
"To me, it's all about a fit," says Glant. "I don't like people writing off divisions because of the perception."
He likes to have recruits work out for him and learn what makes them tick.
"I like the JC level," says Glant. "I like the developmental side of it."
Going to a junior college allows a player to grow athletically and academically.
While the NCAA has to abide by care hours, junior college players can work on their craft throughout the school year. They can play 20 games in the fall and 56 in the spring.
"They get a lot of game experience right away, which I think is big," says Glant. "They are facing some of the best 17, 18, 19 year olds in the country."
All his outposts have led Glant to be the coach he is.
"I've kind of been all over the place," says Glant. "Getting into the coaching game so late has shaped my perception of connecting with a person regardless of age and working at a common goal.
"There's no hierarchy here."
Glant currently has 14 pitchers on his roster and would like to have 16 or 17 since he will take his arms into MCCAA doubleheaders on Fridays and Saturdays and mid-week non-conference games.
He is focused on arm care and keeping his hurlers healthy so they can go on to pitch at four-year schools and, perhaps, beyond.
"We don't burn them up here," says Glant. "We now know how the human body functions. Some guys are flexible. Some guys are not."
Glant says he wants his players to understand the "why."
"We want to execute," says Glant. "Do not give an at-bat away. Control the running game. You're trying to win games and get better. Throwing strikes and getting guys out is the name of the game
"How you do that shouldn't matter."
But it's not all about the game for Glant.
"I want to mold these kids to be a good husbands, fathers, people down the road," says Glant. "I want them be respectful and say 'yes sir' and 'no mam' and be productive members of society."
It's like the late University of Louisana-Lafayette head baseball coach Tony Robichaux often said: "Baseball is what they do. It's not who they are."
Nate Glant began his college baseball career at Muskegon (Mich.) Community College and he is now heading into his first season as the Jayhawks head coach.
Adam SwinfordAlaskaAurora UniversityBall State UniversityCap PohlmanCortland CrushDave FireovedDawson Community CollegeDustin GlantFort Wayne WayneGrand RapidsGreat Rivers Athletic ConferenceHouston AstrosIowa Westen CollegeJake KinneyJayhawksJohn A. LoganJordan BrewerJunior CollegeKakaskiaKevin BowersLake LandLincoln Trail CollegeMarc RardinMichiganMichigan Community College Athletic AssociationMilwaukee BrewersMontanaMuskegon Community CollegeNate GlantNational Junior College Athletic AssociationNew York Collegiate Baseball LeagueNew York YankeesOklahomaOlney Central CollegePhiladelphia PhilliesRend LakeReynoso PichardoShaun NeitzelShawneeSoutheastern IllinoisSouthwestern IllinoisTexas RangersTim GaskillTimon PruittTony RobichauxTraverse CityUniversity of Louisiana-LafayetteWabash Valley CollegeWyoming
Lebanon grad Herrin pitching in Angels system
July 5, 2019 stvkrh905 Leave a comment
Travis Herrin has been a professional baseball pitcher since 2015 and the graduate of Lebanon (Ind.) High School (2013) and Wabash Valley College (2015) in Mount Carmel, Ill., has made steadiness his goal.
"I look for consistency," says Herrin, 24. "It means learning to throw every five days (instead of every seven like in college). That extra two days is a pretty big deal."
Herrin is a right-hander in the Los Angeles Angels organization with the Inland Empire 66ers in the Advanced Class-A California League.
Inland Empire uses a "piggyback" system for its starting pitchers, meaning Herrin may start one time then come in right after the starter the next. Through June 30, he had made 12 appearances totaling 48 1/3 innings and was 3-2 with one save, a 4.84 earned run average, 45 strikeouts and 24 walks.
"You make sure you get down whatever you need to get done — the weight room, arm care," says Herrin of each day at the ballpark.
What's the difference between Advanced-A and lower levels (he has pitched in the rookie-level Pioneer and Arizona leagues and the Low-A Midwest League)?
"Competition," says Herrin. "You get away with less and less as you move through the system.
"You have to have your stuff going from he first pitch.
Herrin throws a four-seam fastball with arm-side fade, a 12-to-6 curveball, a slider with side-to-side action and a change-up.
"The minor leagues is about development," says Herrin, who works with people like Inland Empire pitching coach Michael Wuertz and Angels roving minor league instructors Matt Wise and Buddy Carlyle to get dialed in. They use video to study what he does in games and bullpen sessions.
During this past off-season, Herrin rode with Reid Schaller (a Lebanon High school graduate in the Washington Nationals chain) to work with Greg Vogt at PRP Baseball on mechanics and pitch design.
The son of John and Christy Herrin and older brother of Maggie Herrin (an Indiana State University student), Travis played for Rick Cosgray at Lebanon High and Rob Fournier at Wabash Valley.
"He's a great guy," says Herrin of Cosgray. "(Fournier) is unreal. He is close to 1,000 wins (for his career). Junior college is a character thing. You don't get a whole lot of gear. It's pretty competitive (in the Great Rivers Athletic Conference). There are a lot of guys moving on to (NCAA) D-I schools every year."
Herrin grew up in Lebanon — a town located northwest of Indianapolis — and played at Lebanon Little League and with the IBA Storm coached by Cesar Barrientos (now an assistant at Wabash College) during his junior summer in high school. He later pitched for the Lebanon Merchants.
Selected in the 18th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Year Player Draft by the Angels, the 6-foot-3 hurler was with the Burlington (Iowa) Bees when he had Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery June 19, 2017. He came back in August 2018 and appeared in seven games.
"It was a grind," says Herrin of the recovery process. "I was doing something every single day to try to get ready.
"I had no doubts about getting ready. I know the organization likes me."
Travis Herrin is a graduate of Lebanon (Ind.) High School and Wabash Valley College pitching in the Los Angeles Angels organization. (Inland Empire 66ers)
Travis Herrin pitches for the California League's Inland Empire 66ers — aka California Burritos — in the Los Angeles Angels organization. (Franklin Gutierrez Photo)
Travis Herrin pitches for the California League's Inland Empire 66ers — aka California Burritos — in the Los Angeles Angels organization. He is a graduate of Lebanon (Ind.) High School and Wabash Valley College. (Franklin Gutierrez Photo)
Advanced-AArizona LeagueBuddy CarlyleBurlington BeesCalifornia BurritosCalifornia LeagueCesar BarrientosChristy HerrinGreat Rivers Athletic ConferenceGreg VogtIBA StormIndiana State UniversityInland Empire 66ersJohn HerrinJunior CollegeLebanonLebanon Little LeagueLebanon MerchantsLos Angeles AngelsMaggie HerrinMajor League BaseballMatt WiseMichael WuertzMidwest LeagueMLB DraftPioneer LeaguePRP BaseballReid SchallerRick CosgrayRob FournierTommy John surgeryTravis HerrinWabash Valley CollegeWashington Nationals


text:
Inhibition of mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway decreases retinoic acid stimulated gene 8 expression in adult mouse testis
Mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway regulates spermatogonial stem cell differentiation via stimulated retinoic acid gene 8 (Stra8).
Pinar Sahin, M.Sc., Zeliha Sahin, Ph.D., N. Ece Gungor-Ordueri, M.Sc., Baris Ozgur Donmez, Ph.D., Ciler Celik-Ozenci, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Volume 102, Issue 5, Pages 1482–1490.e3
To evaluate the expression of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway molecules in mouse spermatogenesis and as well as its role during proliferation and meiotic initiation of spermatogenic cells.
Experimental animal study.
Animal(s):
C57Balb-C adult male mice.
Intervention(s):
Expressions of mTOR signaling pathway proteins in adult testis were evaluated. Then the effect of inhibition of this pathway on proliferation and differentiation of spermatogonial stem cells was investigated using seminiferous tubule culture.
Main Outcome Measure(s):
Immunohistochemistry was performed to evaluate the expressions of mTOR signaling pathway proteins. To inhibit mTOR signaling pathway by rapamycin, seminiferous tubule culture was done. Viability assay and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling was performed to evaluate the culture conditions and to examine cell death, respectively. Western blot was used to determine the expressions of the PCNA, STRA8, and VASA proteins.
Result(s):
Our results showed that spermatogonial stem cells and preleptotene spermatocytes express total mTOR, p-mTOR, total p70S6K, p-p70S6K, and p-4EBP1. Expressions of p-p70S6K, p-4EBP1, PCNA, and STRA8 decreased significantly in the rapamycin-treated group, where no difference was observed in VASA expression. Cell viability and the number of apoptotic cells were similar for all groups.
Conclusion(s):
Our findings suggest that the mTOR signaling pathway may have role in the proliferation and stimulation of meiotic initiation of spermatogonial stem cells. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ex vivo study that reports the function of the mTOR pathway in adult mouse spermatogenesis.
Read the full text at: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(14)02063-9/fulltext
Optimizing cryopreservation of human spermatogonial stem cells Comparing the effectiveness of testicular tissue and single cell suspension cryopreservation
Optimal adult human SSC recovery is achieved with testicular cell suspension cryopreservation, whereas similar fetal SSC recovery was achieved with both tissue and single cell suspension cryopreservation.
Timing the window of implantation by nucleolar channel system prevalence matches the accuracy of the endometrial receptivity array
We demonstrate that nucleolar channel systems are present during the window of endometrial receptivity previously identified by their transcriptomic signature using the endometrial receptivity array.
Dopamine receptor 2 activation inhibits ovarian vascular endothelial growth factor secretion in an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome OHSS animal model Implications for treatment of OHSS with dopamine receptor 2 agonists
Dopamine receptor 2 agonist prevents vascular permeability in an ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome rat model by decreasing ovarian vascular endothelial growth factor production.
Genome wide identification of aberrantly methylated promoters in ovarian tissue of prenatally androgenized rats
Prenatally androgenized rats had aberrant metabolic and polycystic ovary morphology similar to human polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Changesof DNA methylation may be an important factor for epigenetic programming of PCOS during development.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
George Ratcliffe Obituary
George Ratcliffe
of George's Passing
George Ratcliffe, a 55-year resident of Darien, Connecticut died peacefully on February 22, 2021 at age 92. He was born on June 22, 1928 in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel Edward Ratcliffe and Gladys Wilding Ratcliffe.
George grew up in Manhasset, New York. At age 15, he took the train from New York to Seattle where he boarded the M/V Bellingham serving as a utility boy on its voyage to Alaska and back. Thus began his passion for all things marine. He attended the United States Merchant Marine Academy, graduating as an engineer in the first four-year degree class in 1949. He received an honorable discharge from the US Navy and the US Coast Guard for activity at sea at the end of World War II.
In 1949 he met Jean Eilers, the love of his life, and they married in 1951. He then embarked on a career in the insurance and reinsurance industry, retiring as the CEO of Underwriting at Skandia America Reinsurance Company.
He was a collector of marine art and artifacts, as well as an artist in his own right, who loved to create marine scenes at his easel during family summers in East Chop on Martha's Vineyard. A multi-sport athlete in his day and a lover of sports throughout his life (especially Auburn football), George never missed a UCONN women's basketball game. He will be remembered for his gift of conversation, his genuine interest in people, his enviable memory and a sharp wit.
He is survived by his three daughters, Susan Cameron, Kass Bruno, Lynn Biggart and her husband Bob, all of Darien, and his son Jim of Lolo, Montana. He is also survived by ten grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Jean, his sister, Gladys Whitehouse, and his grandson, Benjamin Bruno.
A family celebration of his life will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the US Merchant Marine Academy AAF (Morale Fund), 300 Steamboat Road, Kings Point, NY 11024 or the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County, 461 Glenbrook Road, Stamford, CT 06906.
Create An Online Memorial For George Ratcliffe
The beautiful and interactive Eternal Tribute tells George's life story the way it deserves to be told in words, pictures and video.


As we have learned (daf 107), this perek focuses on the prohibition against bringing sacrifices outside of the Temple. In fact, not only are sacrifices forbidden outside of the Temple, but all services unique to the Temple cannot be performed outside of it. In the Mishna on today's daf Rabbi Elazar teaches that someone who pours a water libation on the holiday of Sukkot outside of the Temple is liable for performing a Temple service inappropriately.
The water libation service is described in detail in Massekhet Sukka (see daf 48), where the Mishna describes the nisukh ha-mayim. Water was brought from the Shiloaḥ spring up to the Temple with great fanfare. The kohen would take the jug of water, walk up the ramp to the altar and turn left, where there were two bowls – sefalim– that drained into the foundation of the Temple. The bowls were for the nisukh ha-mayim on Sukkot and for the nisukh ha-yayin, the wine libation that accompanied many of the sacrifices. The kohen was instructed to raise up his hand so it would be clear that he was doing the avoda properly. This was instituted because a kohen once poured the water on his feet instead of on the altar, and the enraged crowd pelted him with the etrogim that they were holding in their hands.
Although Rabbi Elazar's position is first identified as following Rabbi Akiva who derives the service of the water libation from passages in the Torah (Bamidbar 29:31), the Gemara concludes that this mitzva is a halakha le-Moshe mi-Sinai – an oral tradition received by Moses on Mount Sinai. In his Commentary to the Mishna, the Rambam suggests that the halakha will be different depending on whether the source for this mitzva is actually in the Torah or if it is an oral tradition from Moshe. While many of the commentaries object to this distinction, arguing that both are considered biblical, it appears that the Rambam follows the approach of the Talmud Yerushalmi (Sanhedrin 11:4) that distinguishes between them, and understands that halakha le-Moshe mi-Sinai is similar, on some level, to divrei soferim – the teaching of the Rabbis.


text: from aiotelegram.bot import *

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Dick Savitt, 2-time Slam champ who walked away, dies at 95
by: By HOWARD FENDRICH
Dick Savitt, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 1951 shortly before walking away from a tennis career at age 25, has died. He was 95.
Savitt's son, Bob, said the 1976 inductee to the International Tennis Hall of Fame passed away at home in New York on Friday.
"I really don't think that anybody loved tennis as much as my dad, and the combination of playing, watching and coaching since he was 13 years old is really pretty remarkable," Bob Savitt said in a telephone interview. "He loved the game and respected the game so much. He loved watching how the quality of tennis improved over the years."
Richard Savitt was born on March 4, 1927, in Bayonne, New Jersey, and his family later moved to Texas. Savitt played basketball and tennis at Cornell University.
In 1951, he picked up his biggest victories on a tennis court, collecting championships at the Australian Open and Wimbledon – by beating Ken McGregor in both finals – and rising to No. 2 in the rankings. He was featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
Savitt remains one of just four men from the United States to win those two major tournaments in a single season, along with Don Budge, Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras.
Savitt was also a Grand Slam semifinalist on three other occasions. But after winning the U.S. National Indoor Championships in 1952, he retired from the tennis tour, without ever publicly revealing why.
He won gold medals in singles and doubles at the 1961 Maccabiah Games.
"He really didn't discuss it. He was fortunate to be a successful business person. He was in the oil business for a couple of years and then became a stockbroker. The business world was really good to him and he never looked back," Bob Savitt said.
"He continued to play tennis four-plus days a week for over 50 years. In his 80s, he went down to three days, and then two," he said. "He went to the U.S. Open every day and every night just about his entire adult life until the last two years."
Survivors include three grandchildren.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports
Attention DirecTV Subscribers


Running your own business as a freelance Graphic Designer can be rewarding, but also expensive. After all, you can rack up expenses on everything from computer equipment to business travel. The key to making the most of your business investments is knowing what you can deduct as a business expense to help you avoid overpaying your quarterly taxes and year-end-taxes.
According to the IRS, a business expense is a reasonable expense directly related to you making a profit and running your business.
Here are nine tax deductions Graphic Designers should not miss to help them save money on their taxes.
Generally, business start-up costs have to be capitalized, but both business start-up costs and organizational costs (like costs to create and research your business) can be deducted up to $5,000 as a current business expense instead of being spread over a period of years.
As a Graphic Designer, you have a lot of expensive equipment and tools. You can deduct items like your computer, desktop publishing applications, and camera as long as you primarily use them for work.
Finding customers can be one of your most costly expenses. Any and all marketing and advertising expenses are deductible as long as they are for your business. Some common advertising expenses you can deduct include your website, business cards, flyers, and online ads.
If you have the luxury of designing in your PJs and you have a dedicated space in your home used only for business, you can take the home office deduction for a percentage of your home expenses like mortgage, utilities, and property taxes based on the percentage of square footage used for business. The IRS also allows you to take a Simplified Home Office Deduction up to $1,500.
As a Graphic Designer you probably go out on countless appointments to meet clients. You can choose to deduct either your mileage at 54 cents per mile or your actual expenses like car repairs, new tires, and car insurance based on how much driving is allocated to business needs. QuickBooks Self-Employed will help you track and separate your business and personal mileage and vehicle expenses year-round.
Not every client will be accessible by car. If you are lucky enough to land a design job in a tropical location you may be able to deduct the airfare and hotel expenses as long as the trip was directly related to your business.
If it's been a while since you took a class, go ahead and take that prototyping class this summer. You can receive a tax credit worth up to $2,000 under the Lifetime Learning Credit or a Tuition and Fees deduction worth up to $4,000.
If you don't have health insurance coverage through a spouse, you can purchase it through private providers or the Health Insurance Marketplace. When you are self-employed, your health insurance is fully tax deductible, as is the cost for your dependents' insurance coverage.
Software used to help you keep your business on track, like QuickBooks Self-Employed can not only help you maximize your business deductions and get ready for tax-time, it is also tax deductible.
There are many deductions ranging from skill development to travel. Ensure you're maximizing your tax savings by tracking relevant expenses. Better yet, leave it to an app like QuickBooks Self-Employed to identify these deductions for you, so you can focus on what you enjoy most about your work.
Have any tips we missed? Leave them in the comment section below.
Im sorry for the last message, its supposed to be for something else.
For which countries are these tip suitable?. Inside EU also?
It would be great if you could specify which country you are talking about. I guess the US?
There are similar tax reductions in Germany, but with different limits.
Otherwise great topic and information.
I am actually taking one course per year (at least) and use to learn something and take care of my taxes 😉 And as a VO talent, you should take great care to keep training with different trainers all over the VO universe.


text:
RBS Takes First Step on Journey Towards Fully Integrated Reporting: We Are Building a More Sustainable Bank
Date and Time for Distribution:
NEWSROOM: 3BL ReportAlert
"We are committed to running the bank as a more sustainable and responsible business, serving today's customers in a way that also helps future generations, generating long term value for all of our stakeholders and society." Ross McEwan, RBS CEO
Read more about RBS Takes First Step on Journey Towards Fully Integrated Reporting: We Are Building a More Sustainable Bank
HanesBrands Earns 10th United Way Campaign Excellence Honor, Raising $2.1 Million to be Donated in 2017
NEWSROOM: HanesBrands
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., February 24, 2017 /3BL Media/ – HanesBrands announced today that the company and its employees have pledged $2.1 million this year for the United Way of Forsyth County and surrounding communities, as well as donated food items and volunteer hours to community agencies as part of its 10th award-winning charitable fundraising campaign.
The United Way of North Carolina awarded Hanes with its Spirit of North Carolina Award for campaign excellence, the eighth consecutive Spirit Award and 10th earned in the past 11 years by Hanes and its employees.
Read more about HanesBrands Earns 10th United Way Campaign Excellence Honor, Raising $2.1 Million to be Donated in 2017
To view this report: http://reports.csrwire.com/report/
Tetra Tech's Deena Garland Highlighted in Woman Engineer Magazine
NEWSROOM: Tetra Tech
Even as a child, Tetra Tech's Deena Garland knew that engineering was in her future. Today she uses her degrees in civil and environmental engineering to provide access to clean, reliable sources of water.
Woman Engineer highlighted Deena's passion for engineering as a tool for change in the "Safeguarding the Future" section of its Winter 2016/2017 issue. The article discusses Deena's "ongoing dedication to education, outreach, and fundraising efforts to raise awareness about the global water crisis."
Read more about Tetra Tech's Deena Garland Highlighted in Woman Engineer Magazine
How Our Love for Sports Can Help Drive Social Good
NEWSROOM: AT&T
CAMPAIGN: AT&T: Possibilities
As a Butler Alumnus, I was beyond proud that our small school from Indiana showed everyone that they could compete with the country's basketball powerhouses. Existing fans like me grew more enthusiastic, and the team gained countless new Bulldog supporters as others around the country jumped on the underdog bandwagon.
Read more about How Our Love for Sports Can Help Drive Social Good
Environmental Protection at Our Plants
NEWSROOM: Daimler AG
In addition to developing fuel-saving and zero-emission vehicles, Daimler is responsible for ensuring environmentally compatible production. With hydrogen-powered forklifts, recycled materials and waste efficient production processes, we are reducing impact and saving our environment. Everything the plants do to continuously improve the environmental compatibility of production has been documented for many years. We take a look behind the scenes at the plants.
Read more about Environmental Protection at Our Plants
Old Wheels Get a New Life: Republic Services & Meridian Volunteers Save and Restore Bikes Destined For Landfill to Give to Families in Need
NEWSROOM: Republic Services
CAMPAIGN: Republic Services in the Community
In partnership with Republic Services of Boise, Ken Pierson-a local volunteer-has made a difference in the lives of dozens of Treasure Valley families by helping to repair and restore bicycles that have been diverted from the landfill to provide to families and children in need at the Boys and Girls Club and the Agency for New Americans.
Read more about Old Wheels Get a New Life: Republic Services & Meridian Volunteers Save and Restore Bikes Destined For Landfill to Give to Families in Need
Ten Booz Allen Employees Named Modern Day Technology Leaders at Black Engineer of the Year Awards Ceremony
The Ten Booz Allen Hamilton Employees Named Modern Day Technology Leaders at 2017 Black Engineer of the Year Awards Ceremony
NEWSROOM: Booz Allen Hamilton
CAMPAIGN: Diversity and Inclusion
This year's 31st annual BEYA Global STEM Conference recognized ten Booz Allen Hamilton engineers as Modern Day Technology Leaders (MDTL). The conference and awards program took place February 9 through 11 in Washington, DC.
Booz Allen's partnership with the BEYA program dates back to 2005. To date, more than 100 Booz Allen employees have been recognized for their work in the field.
Read more about Ten Booz Allen Employees Named Modern Day Technology Leaders at Black Engineer of the Year Awards Ceremony
CITGO Earth Keepers Program Plants Trees at Local Schools
NEWSROOM: CITGO Petroleum Corporation
CAMPAIGN: CITGO Lake Charles Refinery
LAKE CHARLES, La., February 27, 2017 /3BL Media/ – In January, representatives from the CITGO Earth Keepers recycling program planted trees at participating local schools to recognize students and teachers for recycling.
Read more about CITGO Earth Keepers Program Plants Trees at Local Schools


text:
Q: How to count records faster querying linked DB2 server from SQL SERVER 2012 My setup is - on my machine I have an instance of SQL SERVER 2012 with 3 linked DB2 servers. Most of the operations are taking a lot of time so I want to optimize as much as possible each query. Since now I've been using COUNT(*) which I know is relatively slow method but now it's taking 19 seconds to return a result, so it's not acceptable.
I've read articles on this topic and I see that the main concern is the accuracy of the result but since I'm using this data mostly to perform pagination and it's not that important to get the absolutetly exact number I would be pretty happy with something faster and not 100% accurate.
I tried this query :
select *
 from openquery(MyLinkedServer,
 '
  select sum (spart.rows)
  from sys.partitions spart
  where spart.object_id = object_id(''MyTable'')
  and spart.index_id < 2

 '
)

but I got this error:
[IBM][iSeries Access ODBC Driver][DB2 UDB]SQL0204 - PARTITIONS in SYS type *FILE not found.
I have very basic knowledge on SQL so I'm not really sure what is the reason for this error. I suspect that maybe it's because the compatability with the DB2 servers but at the end I have two questions - if my query is wrong, how to fix it in order to work? If it's not the query itself but the Linked servers, any idea how I can perform faster recrod count than using COUNT(*)?
P.S
Additional information the COUNT(*) query that I'm using is as follows:
select *
from openquery(MyLinkedSerbver,
'
select
  COUNT(*)

from Person P

left outer join Information INF
  ON P.ID = INF.PersonID

where

TRIM(P.FirstName)||'' ''||TRIM(P.MiddleName)||'' ''||TRIM(P.LastName) like ''%Peter%''

'
)

which yesterday took 19 seconds to execute and today I get:
**SQL0666 - SQL query exceeds specified time limit or storage limit.**

And I have no idea what's going on. I uncheked Allow Query Timeout but with no effect.

A: The SQL0204N error refers to an undefined name.  It's hard to troubleshoot the exact error without more information about your data, but there is some documentation here (find the equivalent documentation for your version of DB2, as there are differences).
As for count(*), if you need to count rows, this is as efficient as anything you can use for that task.  You won't gain anything by avoiding it.
If your query taking 19 seconds is similar to the one shown above, it is likely slow because you are calling the function object_id() for every row.  You may be able to optimize this by specifying that the function is deterministic (returns the same output for every input) when creating it.  This would, in theory, prevent DB2 from calling the function every time.
Or you could rewrite the query to remove the function call from the where clause.

A: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM mytable is a very quick operation on IBM i.  I've got a table with almost 17 million rows and the above comes back instantly.  And I have one of the smaller and older boxes available.
It's only when you add the WHERE clause that things may slow down.  As with any other operation on any DB, indexes play an important role.  Actually, the IBM i has an advantage over most (every?) other DB's out there when it comes to counting rows.  IBM i supports the standard bitmapped index like any other DB; but it also supports another index type called encoded vector index (EVI).  I won't go into all the details, but for the purposes of counting rows and EVI index is quite useful as the row count for each key is part of the index itself.  As you can imagine, this makes counting rows with a matching key pretty much instant.
Going back to your code
[IBM][iSeries Access ODBC Driver][DB2 UDB]SQL0204 - PARTITIONS in SYS type *FILE not found.
The error is pretty clear.  There's no SYS.PARTITIONS table in IBM i.  SYS.PARTITIONS is not an ANSI/ISO standard catalog nor a JDBC/ODBC standard one; it's MS SQL Server specific.
Available DB2 for IBM i catalog views for the latest release (7.2) are shown here:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_ibm_i_72/db2/rbafzcatalog.htm
For v5r4 (5.4), look here:
http://www-01.ibm.com/support/knowledgecenter/ssw_i5_54/db2/rbafzmstcatalog.htm
It appears that SYSPARTITIONSTAT in QSYS2 is the closest IBM i has to MS SQL's SYS.PARTITIONS. However, there's no OBJECT_ID or INDEX_ID column.
If all you're after is a row count, I'd simply use...
SELECT COUNT(*)
FROM MYLIB.MYTABLE

As it should return pretty much instantly.  You'll have some overhead by going through the linked server.  To see how much, use either an IBM tool such as the (green screen) STRSQL or (Java) iNav's Run SQL Scripts to run the query directly.  SQuirreL could be used also.
If you really want to query the meta data, then:
SELECT NUMBER_ROWS
FROM QSYS2.SYSPARTITIONSTAT
WHERE TABLE_NAME = 'MYTABLE'
  AND TABLE_SCHEMA = 'MYLIB'

*Note there's also a SYSTEM_TABLE_NAME and SYSTEM_TABLE_SCHEMA column containing the 10 charactor system table & schema name.
But I'd be surprised if it performed any faster.  On my system, over that 17M row table, SELECT COUNT(*) took 39ms and querying SYSPARTITIONSTAT took 135ms.
Looking at your added COUNT(*) code...
The LIKE ''%Peter%'' is going to hurt performance as an index lookup can't be used.  At best, you're looking at a full index scan.  Make sure you have an index the system can use.  I would try 3 separate scenarios and see which index the system uses.  (Use the Run & Explain in iSeries Navigator's Run SQL Scripts)

*

*separate (bitmapped) index over each column

*separate EVI index over each column

*1 combined (First middle last) (bitmapped) index over all three columns

Also have you tried the format
WHERE P.FirstName  like ''%Peter%''
   OR P.MiddleName like ''%Peter%''
   OR P.LastName   like ''%Peter%''

That should allow the DB to search less work especially if most the matches come from P.FirstName, plus it doesn't have to use any temporary storage to concatenate the data.  Note: I also got rid of the TRIM() it's not needed in either case.  I suspect it's costing you some.  It's possible it helps, but in that case TRIMR() would be better.  The best solution would be to have variable length columns in the first place.
It's possible that your original format (with or without the TRIM() might be more conducive to the third index option above (1 combined index).  Whereas the other two index options would be more conducive to the first two options.
Create all 7 indexes mentioned above then try the various scenarios using Run & Explain to see what's happening which each one.
In between tries,
 - disconnect and reconnect from the system
 - use the SETOBJACC OBJ(PERSON) OBJTYPE(*FILE) POOL(*PURGE)
That should keep caching to a minimum and the comparisons equal.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Earth4All - An Overall Approach to Well-Being
Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Per Espen Stoknes present insights from the newly launched Club of Rome report "A survival guide for our planet", in which they call for a turnaround in international economic and climate policy.
SONJA HENNEN
Imagine the world at a crossroads. One road is leading to a prosperous future for many, safely so within planetary boundaries. The other to the dismantling of our existing economic and political system and greatly reduced prosperity. A new Club of Rome study calls for drastic changes in policymaking and outlines 'a survival guide for the planet' to ensure mankind can avoid collapse.
Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Per Espen Stoknes, two of the authors behind the Earhth4All report, a joint endeavor spearheaded by the Club of Rome, presented the study's underlying model at our 50 years Limits to Growth Symposium earlier this week.
Before diving into the specificities of the model, Per Espen Stoknes recapped the drastic global increase in inequality. Together with the global ecological trends, this leaves the world with two possible pathways, according to Stoknes. One, where we continue with business as usual and the dangerous trends of the past decades, and a second, that requires a giant leap and extraordinary changes, but could lead to a much more just and prosperous future for all.
In contrast to standard macroeconomic equilibrium models, Earth4All works with a simulation that runs all the way to the year 2100. The model incorporates ten different world regions and considers all of the nine planetary boundaries. The purpose of the model, according to Stoknes, is to challenge our thinking, and allow for complexity and long-term developments to be incorporated into the simulation. At the core of the model lies the interrelation between wellbeing and trust. With increasing inequality, social trust declines. If social trust declines, the speed of public action goes down. This leads to less stable governments, ineffective policies, where one government reverts what the other has done, and an increase in coordination costs. A reduced speed of public action then leads to higher inequality, completing a vicious cycle. It must be our purpose to find ways in policymaking to break this cycle, argued Stoknes, and find a way towards a wellbeing economy.
To outline policy recommendations, the model identifies five key levers that are crucial to steering the world off its current path towards disaster. These include ending poverty, addressing inequality, transforming gender equity, a transformed food system, and the transition towards clean energy. Within each of the five areas, the report outlines three key policy recommendations. For example, for inequality, these are progressive taxation, increased unionization, and a universal basic dividend.
A key outcome of the report, according to the authors, is the extraordinary role of inequality in solving humanity's crises.
"Without a redistribution of wealth, the climate crisis cannot be solved. The speed of action on planetary boundaries is a function of the speed of action on inequality and poverty."
Sandrine Dixson-Declève added that the knowledge on the precarity of the crisis and possible solutions to it has to be translated to every citizen. The Earth4All model clearly shows the potential for transformation, said Dixson-Decleve.
"Whatever it looks like, we need a new economic and social system. We need to transform our worldview from an extractive to a regenerative economy. How do we tap into that? How do we tap into that potential? We do that by providing clear solutions."
Sandrine Dixson-Declève
To do so, global commons have to be taxed more effectively and the benefits be redistributed back to citizens. Dixson-Declève also emphasized the imperative of empowering women, and ensuring that women are more strongly involved in the decision-making situations.
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Wednesday Jul 27, 2011
The History of Rugby - Parts 14 & 15 - Final
It's dragged on a bit, but today we've got the 14th and final parts of the thoroughly enjoyable History of Rugby documentary. It started with the games inception, and two and a half hours later, ends just before the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Looking back, the first episode was posted on here exactly a year ago, so hopefully those of you that have been following along have enjoyed it. The opportunity to catch up on how the game was formed and what's happened over the years is not something to be scoffed at, so no matter where you come from or which team you support, we'd like to think you've found value in it.
Two weeks ago part 13 covered the Five Nations and went right up till the 1999 World Cup. That's where we pick up in part 14, but as England didn't have a great World Cup, the documentary then skips ahead.
In fact, the rest of the documentary focuses on England and how their star rose in the build up to the 2003 World Cup. You could say it's because it's English made, but it's also perhaps a fair reflection of the time, as they were a powerful unit that as we all know, went on to take the title.
Ironically that is where the documentary ends, just before that tournament. Perhaps in time we'll get to see an updated version that covers the next eight years, including this years World Cup in New Zealand. Time will tell though, and if or when it happens, you can be sure that you'll get a chance to see it right here on RD.
Enjoy the rest of this one (22 mins total), and if you did, please leave a comment to say so, and share it with your friends. Both parts are listed as a playlist below. Or you can catch up on all episodes via the History of Rugby archive page .
The History of Rugby - Part 13
The History of Rugby - Parts 10 & 11
Luke Cowan-Dickie leaves England's Portugal training base
The Exeter Chiefs hooker could miss the Guinness Six Nations opener against France in Paris on Sunday after departing the Algarve on Tuesday night.
Jamie Joseph desperate to avoid club rugby conflict in Japan
Jamie Joseph, who led Japan to the quarter-finals of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, has made it clear the new domestic professional league planned for next year has to avoid club versus country conflicts.
The History of Rugby - Parts 14 & 15 - Final | RugbyDump - Rugby News & Videos


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5 reasons why the Schiff show will hurt the Democrats' case for impeachment
by JD Rucker
in Democrats, Opinions, Politics, Republicans, White House
Soon, America is going to be giving a full dose of House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff. It's not going to go well for the Democrats. Schiff is trying to sell a fundamentally flawed impeachment narrative and so far he's been relatively successful doing it because the media is all on board with the Democrats' agenda. But now that it goes public, things are about to change.
The President often calls impeachment the "Schiff show" with clear references to his name sounding close to the expletive referring to feces. We tend not to engage in such petty jabs, but the last few weeks have made us more open to it. If anyone deserves a Trump nickname, it's Adam Schiff.
Here are five reason this public phase of the impeachment inquiry is not going to go well for the Democrats.
Adam Schiff is not watchable
He's persnickety, and not in a good way. One does not get to be the chair of a powerful committee because of their innate charisma or entertainment value, and Adam Schiff is especially deficient in both categories. That's why he's perfect for closed door hearings. He's ideal when people can hear the short version from pundits. But he's a lost cause when trying to convince people directly with his questioning and combative style of ruling over his committee.
The best things going for @realdonaldtrump in the #ImpeachmentHoax are Adam Schiff and 24/7 media coverage.
The 2 collide starting today.
Schiff is unwatchable, but we're about to be served a whole bunch of him.
The people will wish the whisteblower never started this debacle.
— JD Rucker (@JDRucker) November 13, 2019
Most who watch for an hour will never watch again
Let's say you're one of those dedicated politically minded Americans who can overcome the urge to turn off Adam Schiff and binge on Jack Ryan, season 2 instead. You're a trooper who is truly interested in getting to the bottom of this whole Ukraine scandal. I'm sorry to be the one to burst your bubble but you're not going to be treated to earth-shattering evidence, smoking guns, or anything that resembles a breakthrough in the impeachment case. This is an inquiry into nuances. It's a case study in trying to determine the motivation of this person or that person based on third person testimony told in second person with the knowledge of a fifth person rumor.
The more you force yourself to watch it, the more pain you'll endure. Before an anti-Trump operative chimes in and says I'm hoping to dissuade people from watching it, I'm not. The exact opposite is true. I'm very hopeful that people will watch it instead of getting the short version from progressive mainstream media. I'm simply warning them to prepare themselves for a bunch of nothingburgers, and that's the point. If they watch the hearings and then compare them to the overblown reports from pundits later, they'll wonder if they were watching the same, boring exercise in futility that the rest of us watched.
The redundancy will be redundant
The Democrats' best play is to accumulate numbers. They need to be able to say X number of people believe their was quid pro quo (or, as the narrative now goes, "bribery") and X number of statements came to the same conclusion about Rudy Giuliani, the aid shipments, the Burisma investigation, or any other components of the Democrats' impeachment case. Since they cannot come up with anything concrete, they're left with innuendo.
The only way to make innuendo play is to say enough people believed the innuendo, therefore it must be more. They will be redundant for a reason, and oddly enough it's not to retain interest in the hearings themselves. In fact, they WANT people to turn it off. They'd prefer the people get the condensed, biased version from their mainstream media puppets rather than hear it all for themselves.
Republicans will either get stifled or eat the witnesses alive
If enough people can watch this, the tide will turn in favor of Republicans. Why? Because they're positioned to be in a win-win situation if they play their cards right. They need to ask pressing question that challenge not only the narrative but the credibility of the people delivering it. To do that, they'll need to be very aggressive. They have an opportunity to be the entertaining portion of the hearings by being contrary and asking very challenging questions of the witnesses.
Will Adam Schiff allow it? Probably not. If he does, the Republicans will win over hearts and minds. If he doesn't allow it, he will be obstructing a proper defense delivered by Republicans, in which case he'll still lose hearts and minds. So he has a choice: Allow Republicans to win hearts and minds or take action that will make Democrats lose hearts and minds. There's really no other option as long as Republicans are prepared to take it to the witnesses hard.
The case is fundamentally flawed
The worst-case scenario for Democrats is if the actual details of the entire Ukrainian situation is covered by the press. Thus far, mainstream media has intentionally avoided certain facts that the Republicans laid out in an internal memo:
The July 25 call summary — the best evidence of the conversation — shows no conditionality or evidence of pressure;
President Zelensky and President Trump have both said there was no pressure on the call;
The Ukrainian government was not aware of a hold on U.S. security assistance at the time of the July 25 call; and
President Trump met with President Zelensky and U.S. security assistance flowed to Ukraine in September 2019 — both of which occurred without Ukraine investigating President Trump's political rivals."
As long as Republicans can make these points, then Americans will start scratching their heads about why the Democrats even think they have a case at all. The reason for this is simple. They don't have a case, but they have the media behind them so they feel emboldened to push their false narrative.
The more Americans get to see Adam Schiff in action trying to make a case against President Trump, the less likely they are to support impeachment. All the Democrats have is mainstream media pushing a narrative that the public will realize is false.
We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.
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JD Rucker
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I never know what to get Brad for Valentine's Day. I'm actually really bad at shopping for a Valentine's Day gift because I think Valentine's Day is silly. We should show love and appreciation for each other more than just one day of the year. But I won't bore you with that soapbox.
Our first Valentine's Day together I got him a mini-hatchet to take on his camping adventures. It was really a gift for me since I love a good campfire, and sometimes you need to prep some kindling to get a good campfire going. I can say I've gotten better over the years. One time I got him (us) a massage. Again, that was partly for me.
I have yet to come up with something for Brad's Valentine's Day gift, but I have a great idea for you.
It's the first full men's line of safer skincare and body products from my beloved Beautycounter.
Brad has heard me harp on and on about how wonderful Beautycounter has been for my skin. So with his recent cancer diagnosis, we have been trying to eliminate endocrine disruptors from the products he uses, as well as that we use in the house.
It just didn't seem fair that I had all of these great, safer products to use, and he didn't have anything I felt like would fit the bill. Thankfully, Beautycounter announced the new men's line right after the first of the new year. I was lucky enough, with my consultant status, to get the entire line a month in advance. So it was neatly wrapped and under the tree on Christmas morning.
So why should you get your man a skincare regime?
• Men's skin is thicker. In general, men's skin density is about 25% thicker than women's—which is attributed to collagen density. They retain this density level for longer than women, resulting in younger-looking skin.
• Skin is tougher. Men's skin tends to be tougher due to slower cellular turnover and constant shaving that disrupts the skin barrier.
• Skin is oilier. Men generally produce more sebum than women and tend to be shinier and more prone to breakouts.
• Pore & follicle size is larger. Not only do men produce coarser and darker facial hair, but their pore size is larger, leaving skin more vulnerable to blackheads.
*1. AAD, DW August 21, 2014. "Biological differences in skin create challenges in treating men". A Publication of the American Academy of Dermatology|Association.
What is the Sequoias Stem Cell Complex, and what are the benefits?
If you feel like learning more, click the link at the bottom of each photo. That's also the way you shop, too, if you are interested.
Did you know there are sets?
The regimens and full collection comes with a free gift until the end of January. So get your favorite guy some safer skincare this Valentine's Day. You won't be sorry, especially when his skin starts looking so healthy and good.
I also have samples of some of the items. If you are interested, visit the Contact Me page, and shoot me a message with your address. I will ship them out ASAP.


Beautiful baby girl long sleeve formal dress by PartyLook collection.
Perfect for a ceremony as a flower girl or a special occasion, it is available in two colours: white and pink.
This baby girl formal dress has a balloon skirt, decorated with small and delicate little roses, and a double bow belt: on the back and on the front, with lace details.
Two little bows on the sleeves make this elegant dress even more romantic.
Liner: 20% cotton + 80% polyester.


It's been 35 years since the release of Aretha Franklin's album Jump To It, written and produced by none other than Luther Vandross. In this Soul Revisited we take a look back at the album, and the Queen of Soul's legendary diva-ness.
By the early eighties it seemed that the Queen of Soul's crown was slipping. For critics and fans alike, as well herself, it appeared that Aretha Franklin's best days were behind her. In 1979 Franklin had left Atlantic Records after three uninspired albums (Sweet Passion, Almighty Fire and La Diva), and went in search of a new label who could reignite her stalling career. A year later she had signed with Clive Davis's Arista Records, and had released the album Aretha, which featured a cover of the Otis Redding classic 'Can't Turn You Loose'. It was a decent effort, and she followed it up with the moderately successful album Love All The Hurt Away, the title track of which featured George Benson. She even won a Grammy for her cover of 'Hold On, I'm Coming', but it quickly faded from memory.
Importantly, these Arista-era albums marked a change in Aretha's sound. Compared with her earlier albums at both Columbia and Atlantic Records, gone were the typically large arrangements, replaced instead by more commercial-orientated arrangements, as well as more eighties sounding instrumentation. What the Queen wanted was commercial hits, not critical praise. She wanted a hit, and she wanted it badly. Frustratingly for Aretha the commercial hits continued to allude her.
In 1982 Davis approached the then-upcoming Luther Vandross to produce Franklin's next album. Whilst promoting his debut album Never Too Much, Vandross was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine as wanting to produce Franklin. Davis had read the article and made Luther an offer. It was an inspired choice: Vandross, a longtime backing singer for the likes of Chic, Bette Midler and Roberta Flack, was finally finding fame with the release of his debut solo album along with his appearance with the studio group Change on their debut singles 'The Glow of Love' and 'Searching'. Luther had successfully navigated soul in the post-disco area, and initiated the adult contemporary genre in black music with his super-romantic ballads, in particular his version of 'A House is not a Home', arguably his first real masterpiece.
Vandross's new found fames and infectious soul grooves made him perhaps the perfect choice to revive the career of the Queen of Soul. He was a fan of the great female voices in soul, growing up adoring the vocals of Patti LaBelle (he was rumoured to have started her first ever fan club), Dionne Warwick (he once lied about being related to her at college), and Aretha herself.
Eventually, the two got into the studio together, but it wasn't an easy relationship. Aretha, the Queen of Soul, seemed to resent the approach Luther had in the studio, particularly for telling her how and when to sing. In an interview with David Ritz, quoted in his excellent biography on Franklin, Luther remembered that "There were quite a few disagreements. Aretha doesn't like her vocals criticised – and understandably. Hey, she's Aretha Franklin".
Indeed, the song helped Arista flog enough copies of the album for it to be certified Gold, giving Aretha her tenth number one R&B album. It was the best performance by an Aretha Franklin album since 1976, when she released Sparkle, a collaboration with Chicago soul genius Curtis Mayfield. Critics, however, were less enthusiastic about the album. Richard Harrington in the Washington Post wrote that "Franklin's remarkably earthy voice jumps out full force from note one, its pure, accessible, bell-clear tone still a natural wonder after all these years" but that on much of the album "she doesn't sound challenged" and that her gospel roots had been "washed out in mainstream considerations".
The album cover of Aretha Franklin's excellent 'Jump To It' album, produced by Luther Vandross.
Revisiting the album thirty-five years later with the benefit of hindsight, and listening to much of the work Aretha released in the proceeding years, Jump To It sounds remarkably good. The title track sounds fresh and exciting, and although the introduction groove is long, Vandross was right: this listener is still hooked. One particular highlight of the album is a duet with the Four Tops: Aretha has always had an uneasy relationship with other singers but the chemistry her and Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs was simply breathtaking to hear, and it's a shame as to why they only ever recorded three songs together, 'I Wanna Make It Up To You' on Jump To It, 'What Have We Got To Lose' on the Four Tops' Back Where I Belong album, and 'If Ever A Love Was' on their Indestructible album.
All in all, Jump To It is one of Aretha's best post-Atlantic records. It was enough to warrant a further Vandross-Miller-Franklin album, Get It Right, but the album wasn't as strong as Jump To It, despite the infectious title track.
But Vandross and Miller had succeeded in relaunching Aretha Franklin's career. They had reversed the trend of her declining album sales. It set her up nicely for her 1985 platinum record Who's Zooming Who, which would yield the huge commercial hits 'Freeway of Love', 'Who's Zooming Who', and 'Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves' with Eurythmics.
However, for us at TFSR however, Franklin's work with Vandross and Miller on Jump To It (and later Get It Right) is far superior: the grooves are more infectious, the songs are funky and and it's less dependent on eighties sounding synthesisers. Jump To It is a wonderful Aretha Franklin album, and it still sounds great thirty five years later.


A level trol is used to measure and control the level of a tank, where the tanks are in the isolated area.
The displacer level transmitter works under Archimedes principle. A force measuring mechanism senses changes in the buoyant force and converts this force into an indication of level.
The basic procedure used in this calibration is the same for any type of displacement level transmitter. It is possible to calibrate this unit using weights instead of the sensor. You will calibrate the transmitter using water to set the required level.
Remember the final calibration must be done on the job. This final calibration depends on where the transmitter is fitted.
There is wet calibration and dry calibration. And usual for all transmitter there are zero adjustments for low liquid level and span adjustment for displacing immersed in the liquid which is maximum level.
When the water level is below the bottom of the displacer, set the zero adjustments. Check that the output gauge reads 3 psi.
Repeat zero and span steps until both are correct.
0%, 25%, 50% , 75% & 100%. Mark on chamber.Fill up & Drain water to check 0%, 25%, 50% , 75% & 100%. Check output.Check function two three times.
Using weights, find out the weight of the displacer first and arrange weight similar to the weight of the displacer.
For 100% Hang weight= Displacer weight – Volume X Specific gravity.
Adjust span to 15 psi.
h is height, here it is Length of Displacer. Do the span procedure for 25%, 50%, 75% 100%, by changing the weight by subtracting weight ÷ 4 weight from hanging weight for each 25% step.


Senior Database Administrator (DBA) should have extensive hands-on experience and knowledge in DB2 and database administration in zSeries/Operating System (Z/OS) environment. The Senior DBA should also have expertise with Capacity planning, Backup/Recovery, Patching, Performance Tuning and DB2 tools. Senior DBA will be responsible for communications with Business groups and Development teams to ensure support, per Service Level Agreements, and will be responsible for leading the team in platform and software upgrades and assisting application teams in troubleshooting production issues.
Selected candidates may not need to travel for all projects outside of their metro area. However, all candidates must be able and willing to travel based on assigned project demand. Travel requirements may vary but could be up to 100%. Candidates are not able to refuse a project based upon travel.


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The Aston Martin DB5 Continuation Lets You (Almost) Play Bond for Real
by Matthew Skwarczek on January 4, 2021
Regardless of the incarnation, James Bond is inexorably linked to Aston Martin. While in the books the fictional spy started off with a Blower Bentley, on the silver screen he's been behind the wheel of multiple Astons. And few are as iconic as the Aston Martin DB5 seen first in Goldfinger. Which, incredibly, has been resurrected in the form of a continuation car. One that's seemingly been touched by MI6's own Q.
The Aston Martin DB5 Continuation is the closest thing to a real-life Goldfinger clone
First, a bit of clarification.
Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation | Aston Martin
The 'new' Aston Martin DB5 cars are officially continuation models. They're not restomods and they're not exactly replicas like the ones Pur Sang makes. Instead, they're "' meticulously detailed authentic reproductions,'" Petrolicious reports. Though not of the original, road-going Aston Martin DB5. No, Aston Martin Modeled the Continuations after the car Bond drove in Goldfinger. And that includes the gadgets.
You read that right. Each Aston Martin DB5 Continuation has almost all of the same gizmos demonstrated by the Goldfinger star car, Hagerty reports. No, there's no ejector seat or functioning Browning machine guns mounted behind the headlights. But each DB5 Continuation does have retractable gun barrels with flashing LEDs, mechanical recoil, and a built-in soundtrack, Car and Driver reports. And Aston Martin faithfully recreated the other gadgets.
Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation rear with smoke and shield | Aston Martin
Like in the Goldfinger film, the Aston Martin DB5 Continuation has its gadget controls mounted on a panel between the seats. There's a functional oil-slick system (really dyed water), rotating number plates, bumper battering rams, a pop-out rear bullet-resistant shield, and the previously-mentioned guns, Top Gear reports. And while there's no ejector seat, there's still a red button in the shifter and an optional removable roof panel.
Aston Martin has also outfitted the DB5 Continuation with a deployable smokescreen and a Bluetooth-enabled telephone in the door pocket. The car even has the map display seen in Goldfinger, only it genuinely functions as a modern GPS, Road & Track reports. And while the tire slashers are static, not pop-out, they're still present, albeit mounted on separate wheels.
But gadgets only go so far. Is there any substance behind the Bond car flash?
What's it like driving a recreation of James Bond's Aston Martin DB5?
Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation interior | Aston Martin
RELATED: The Valiant: An Aston Martin V8 Vantage Restomod for the Track
Behind the tech, these Continuation models are genuine Aston Martin DB5s, MotorTrend reports. They're built in the same shop as the originals, for one. And the automaker scanned original blueprints and DB5s to build the Continuations. Admittedly, the automaker's engineers and designers made a few improvements for the sake of easier running. But mechanically, the Continuation is virtually identical to the original.
That means each Aston Martin DB5 Continuation has a 4.0-liter six-cylinder engine rated at 290 hp, linked to a 5-speed manual, Hagerty reports. That manual has the same gear ratios as the original, and it sends power to the rear wheels via a mechanical limited-slip differential. The DB5 Continuation also has period-style 4-wheel disc brakes, and even vintage-style cross-ply tires made to the original specs by British brand Avon. As a result, driving the Aston Martin DB5 Continuation is a vintage experience, but in a good way, Car reports.
The shifter requires some effort to move, R&T reports. And the disc brakes, while effective, are unassisted. Ditto the somewhat-slow steering. Plus, those tires are less grippy than their modern equivalents. But Aston Martin designed the DB5 Continuation to drive like the original, MT reports. In that regard, the marque more than succeeded.
RELATED: You Can Buy a New 1950s BRM F1 Car With a 591-Hp V16
Even today, the DB5 Continuation makes a good GT car. It's not fast, per se, but "it flows nicely down the road," MT reports. The lower grip levels from the tires mean slides are beautifully simple to initiate, but it's easy to control them. While the steering is heavy at first, at speed it lightens up, and the ride quality is "pillowy soft," Top Gear reports. And not only does the engine have an old-school song, but it also has good low-end torque. Little wonder the filmmakers wanted one for Goldfinger.
An original model might be cheaper and easier to find
How a DB5 should be driven.#AstonMartin #DB5pic.twitter.com/qzs2P7jJB1
— Aston Martin (@astonmartin) December 16, 2020
RELATED: The Jaguar E-Type Alternative: The Austin-Healey 3000
Naturally, Bond's wheels don't come cheap. Each DB5 Continuation costs the equivalent of $3.73 million, Motor1 reports. Though admittedly, the actual Goldfinger Bond car sold for $6.38 million at a 2019 auction, Hagerty reports. So, it's kind of a bargain.
But good luck finding one of the Continuations. Aston Martin made just 25 examples, and only the prototype is road-legal. And even so, Aston Martin sold every single one.
1964 Aston Martin DB5 | Bring a Trailer
RELATED: The Stylish Aston Martin DB9 Is Now a 'Relatively' Affordable V12-Powered Luxury GT
However, an original DB5 may actually be easier to obtain. Including the convertible and shooting brake variants, Aston Martin made over 1000 DB5s, Hagerty reports. And while they're not exactly cheap, they're cheaper than the Continuation models. A good-condition DB5 typically goes for about $726k, Hagerty reports. And a few examples have sold on Bring a Trailer for less than $750,000.
Follow more updates from MotorBiscuit on our Facebook page.
Tags: Aston Martin classic


YouTube is a new mode of marketing that has taken the world by storm. In times of old informercials and adverts where shown on live tv in a bid to persuade the nations masses to purchase their products. If the video wasn't captivating enough the viewers would simply bypass the video and quickly forget about it thereafter. YouTube then came along and changed the entire ball game. YouTube became a place for people to relax anytime, anywhere. YouTube exploits the individual niche interests a person has by having millions of various contributors adding each day at their own free will. As a result of the extreme content specificity revenues producing marketing quickly became a focal point for YouTube.
YouTube adverts run through Google AdWords. This is as YouTube is a Google product. AdWords is Googles online advertising management platform. It can be self-managed by the business or by an external marketing agency due to its slight complexity. All adverts run by Google through Google AdWords work on a Pay Per Click (PPC) basis. The adverts will show to many people, but the advertiser will not pay unless the user clicked on their ad. This is Googles initiative to give the advertiser a better return on investment.
Regarding YouTube, the adverts co me up before a video. Some if these adverts can be skipped others cannot. This is a setting that would have been created by the account owner. Removing the option to skip the adverts costs the advertiser much more money. Now that we have gone through how the businesses get themselves onto the platform using direct adverts let's look at how they get in touch with the content producers themselves to promote their product or service.
Affiliate partnerships with influencers is all the rage on YouTube. These account owners are called Influencers because of the power they hold towards their loyal followers. If for example the influencer focuses on beauty and make up tutorials many tops make up brands will send free products to the YouTube influencer in hopes of them using their products, loving it and raving about it to their followers.
It's not just the product-based firms that employ this indirect form of marketing it is also service based companies. Hotels that are within top holiday locations but are lesser known often love to find YouTube influencers who love travelling. They know that the influencers have a loyal base of fans who trust in their reviews. That is the advantage of influencer marketing. You have a base of ready to convert clients who are in a somewhat hypnotic trance, trusting every word and review of the influencer. This opens the chance for the influencers to get paid to post reviews on the location whether they enjoyed the trip or not. Now we see that marketing platforms such as YouTube have been slightly corrupted.
This leaves the question of is marketing really for the user or it's for the core reason of making money?


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Q: Git: ignoring files after deleting .gitignore file I had a magento setup in which I created a .gitignore file which is like as follows:
########   MAGENTO RELATED FILES AND FOLDERS    ######
var/*
media/*
app/etc/local.xml
minified/css/*
minified/css_secure/*
minified/js/*
minified/media/*

later I figured out that due to this rule var and media dirs also got ignored and were not part of commit.
So I tried to comment var/* and media/* lines, I tried to delete, the .gitignore file, committed and pushed to remote repo. but nothing works.
Any chance to get them back under tracking? Please note there is only one .gitignore file.
Many thanks!!

A: git tracks content; directories are not content, they are structure. What you can do is, drop empty placeholder files in var/ and media/ and track those. That will bring the directory structure under git's supervision.
You can keep the var/* and media/* lines in your .gitignore, just add an exception for the placeholder files like
!var/README.md
!media/README.md