He Is No Different

Just recently information leaked out that David Ortiz was among one of the several baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancement drugs in 2003. Ortiz has been a very outspoken advocate against steroid use, and this information of him being one of the bad guys has shocked Red Sox fans. To be quite honest, I was not surprised when I heard Ortiz was a juicer. His numbers were way too inconsistent and has the build of someone who may have used steroids. I am willing to bet that David Ortiz no longer supports the season-long penalty for performance-enhancements.

Image courtesy of http://www.redsoxvyankees.com/photo-gallery

jotbyjot.blogspot.com is now jotbyjot.com

Jot by Jot now has its own domain!!!

Jot by Jot is now www.jotbyjot.com. This allows Jot by Jot to be more global in that not only will google crawlers be able to recognize it (currently it is the google-owned blogspot.com), but other serious search engines like Yahoo will be familiar with it.

For those who have exchanged links with Jot by Jot this should not effect you, all links will still remain active. In fact, this is an opportunity for your link to get more publicized as it will be on a unique website. I am currently working on a way so that users who visit jotbyjot.blogspot.com will automatically be redirected to Jot by Jot.

Movie Review of The Hangover

Rating: 8.0


Tonight in theaters I saw The Hangover...yes, I realize that this movie has been out for a while, but I never had gotten around to seeing it. Since it got excellent reviews for a comedy I decided to check it out before it was too late. The Hangover is about a group of four guys who decide to have a crazy night in Vegas before one of them gets married. It is that sense of losing all inhibitions before marriage ties you into a life-long commitment. Anyways, the movie is actually not about partying like many teen comedies. Instead each of these adults live ordinary, but separate lives and decide to have some fun. The movie focuses on the day after when nobody can remember what happened last night. The movie is about piecing together what happened based on clues that three of the guys gather. Yes, that's right, the one getting married is missing so part of the trouble is having to find him. While the movie was quite good, I did not think it lived up to my extremely high expectations. The movie does not have a cast of a bunch of big-name actors. That being said the acting was great all things considering. Additionally, the fact that Mike Tyson made an appearance was definitely pretty funny and unexpected. This movie is definitely worth seeing and will definitely give you laughs; however, I feel at times the movie almost tries too hard. For example, the tiger scenes were very dragged out. Do not get me wrong the movie is good, but for a movie that doesn't focus on a storyline, the comedy could have been a bit better. This movie gets a quality rating of 8.

Movie Review of The Ugly Truth

Rating: 8.5/10

The Ugly Truth is a movie that is a romantic comedy about a woman Abby (played by Catherine Heigl) who is looking for the perfect guy. While Abby is gorgeous, she has yet to find anyone that fits the criteria of what she is looking for. She is a big time news-producer who spends some of her free time reading books on romance. One day she flips on her home television and watches a channel that features a guy who appears to be a complete misogynist. The man on the television Mike (played by Gerard Butler) tells woman everywhere that if they do not want to be single they should work on their looks because that is all guys care about. As it turns out Mike's TV show The Ugly Truth has extremely high ratings so without Abby's prior notification, her news station hires him in an attempt to increase ratings. With the addition of Mike, the news ratings soar and the tension between Mike and Abby is exposed. That is about it I will say about the plotline of The Ugly Truth. One thing I can say is that this movie is excellent. While the movie tends to be characterized as a chick-flick, there is a little something for everyone. In fact, there was a lot of guy humor that I found absolutely hilarious, but felt bad laughing in a theatre dominated by woman. If the movie was marketed more heavily towards guys I think it would get higher reviews because while this is a movie women will enjoy, I think it may even be a better movie for the guys…hard to believe considering it is a date/romance movie. Overall the movie is excellent and the acting jobs played by Heigl and Butler are excellent. I highly recommend seeing The Ugly Truth and give it a rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Creative Ideas at Lou Lou's Corner

Lou Lou's Corner is an online shop that sells family-friendly creative gifts. The focus of Lou Lou's Corner is baby gifts including unique plush toys; however, there are plenty of nice gifts available at the site for adults including handbags and robes. There are also some trendy items for dogs and dog lovers which include anything from chew toys to elegant cupcake collars. Lou Lou's Corner also has plenty of unique books such as the fun-filled junglie tails book. The shipping rate is a reasonable flat rate of 4.95 by UPS. If you are able to make the trip, the physical store is located in Hickory, North Carolina.

Lou Lou's Corner has a lot of cool items for the baby including designer baby clothes from brands such as Appaman, Paul Frank and Zutano. These items tend to be relatively inexpensive with good sales. Lou Lou's corner also has items on the cozy site by barefoot dreams including soft plush blanket items and hoodies. Keep in mind that barefoot dreams also offers items fit for adults. Lou Lou's Corner is also home to cool plush items by jellycat. The items are very cute and are products that any child will love. There are constantly new jellycats being released so and the designs and names of the toys tend to be quite clever such as the jellycat cordy roy aardvark which has a brown-lined pattern. So if you are looking to find a creative gift stop by Lou Lou's Corner at www.loulouscorner.com.

America's Got Talent Vegas Elimination

Night 1 of the Vegas Elimination of America's Got Talent ended last night. While so far my top 3 favorite acts are still in. There is definitely a general consensus of one act that was particularly good that will not be going through. My belief that America's Got Talent is too one-sided with singing and dancing has been proven when for some reason the judges thought it appropriate to have only one magic act out of forty that would make it through.

Jay Mattioli is an excellent magic act that got approved in the audition to go to Vegas but once in Vegas did advance to the quarterfinals. America does not seem very happy about this decision. I personally think this act was much better than a lot that did end up going through.

How To – Get a High Score in BrickBreaker

The most popular game on Blackberry handheld devices is BrickBreaker. BrickBreaker is widely played and a commonly used entertainment timekiller in that often times BrickBreaker is the only game Blackberrys come with so Blackberry owners who want to play a game on their cell phone tend to be stuck with it unless they decide to pay to download additional games. Despite how simple BrickBreaker may seem, the game is actually quite complex and getting a good score often takes quite a bit of strategy. This how to guide will show you how to get a high score in BrickBreaker.

Background: Scoring Breakdown
The goal in BrickBreaker is to get the most points. Here is the breakdown of points in BrickBreaker.

10 points – Regular hit (most common way to get points)
10 points – Laser hit for half damage (each individual laser beam [two shot at a time] gives you 10 points and since it takes two laser beams to do the same damage as one regular hit, the laser ability essentially allows you to double your points.
20 points – Bomb attack (keep in mind that the bomb may destroy any brick)
50 points – Gun shot (The gun will destroy ANY object)
50 points – Any Powerup

Raising the Score: Tips
Tip 1 – Get all of the Powerups. Most people do not understand that each powerup gives you 50 points...even negative powerups such as flip and wrap. This means that in order to maximize your score you should get all of the powerups. There are only a couple times when you may not want to get powerups. If getting a powerup will likely lead to your death, you may not want the powerup (as further explained in tip 4). Additionally, if you have a gun powerup with more than one ammo and a significantly weaker powerup is coming you may want to continue using the gun to rack up 50 points for each object destroyed.

Tip 2 – Know the Location of the Powerups. Getting powerups is not luck. Every single level will produce the same amount of powerups every single time you play the game. The only thing random is the type of powerup that is dropped. Furthermore, each powerup is hiding at a certain location and will always drop from that location when the brick triggered is hit. This tip includes knowing which levels do and do not provide Powerups. In terms of early levels it is important to note that Level 8 does NOT have any powerups.

Tip 3 – Love the Gun. While life is an excellent powerup, gun is the best powerup in terms of getting points. Gun will destroy and give you 50 points for anything you hit. This means that a weak brick will be destroyed and give you 50 points as well as a strong brick. Thus, when possible you should try to hit weak bricks with the gun as opposed to strong bricks. Nonetheless, if the option is hitting a strong brick or nothing you should hit a strong brick as you get more points from hitting a strong brick with the gun (50) than hitting a strong brick with your regular attack (40). However, probably the biggest piece of advice I can give with the gun is to hit tiles! The only thing that can destroy tiles is the gun and as you could have guessed, you get 50 points for each tile destroyed. Not only does destroying tiles help clear up the level a bit, but destroying tiles gives you fifty points when you would have ordinarily got zero!

Tip 4 – Do not die. I know this is obvious but it is important to know your playing abilities. While I recommend getting all of the powerups to increase your score, for someone who may not be very good at controlling flip or wrap you may want to avoid these powerups. As a result, you should get all the powerups unless you feel that powerup will make you die. Keep in mind that a powerup gives you extra points so say that there is a “life powerup” on one end of the screen and the ball is on the other and you are only able to successfully get one, you should get the life powerup. This way you gain 50 points and have the same amount of lives after dying as you would have had had you not gotten the powerup.

Tip 5 – Know Conversions. I intentionally put this tip last because it is the least important. Nonetheless, it may be helpful to know that wrap will not disappear when capturing another powerup while flip will disappear. Getting multi will often not take away your previous powerup, however getting another powerup will often destroy multi. Again, this is not the most important thing to know, but it could be useful.

A Random Piece of Advice
Level 13 is one of the trickiest levels for beginners. In level 13, there is a bunch of bricks that are surrounded by tiles with only a one space crevice in the top left to get the ball through. Despite its trickiness, you still must destroy all bricks to advance do the next level. You will also notice that the level gets tougher because the tiles come crashing down slowly but surely making it even harder to hit the ball. At the start of this level I recommend shooting the ball once you have placed your cursor (line to propel the ball) all the way to the left. Often times I have been able to destroy all of the bricks in one try after shooting the ball this way.

Check out Village Luggage and Gifts for Luggage

Village Luggage & Gifts provides people with a way to purchase luggage online. As the name suggests, Village Luggage & Gifts also provides elegant gifts; however, they specialize in luggage. Village luggage offers a wide variety of luggage including garment bags, duffle bags, briefcases, and expandable rolling luggage. The luggage items featured at Village Luggage are of premium quality. While many of these items are typically expensive, Village Luggage has sales on many of the products. Village Luggage carries the top brands in luggage such as Briggs & Riley, Vera Brandley, Tumi, Hartmann and Calvin Klein.

Currently, Village Luggage is offering excellent sales on all Hartmann luggage. The prices of most items have been cut by about 100 dollars from the original price. Hartmann is selling the Intensity 24-inch expandable piece of luggage for 480 dollars when the original price is 650.

If Hartmann luggage is a bit out of your price range, Tumi offers an exquisite collection of excellent pieces of luggage at slightly lower prices. Village Luggage also has several sales on Tumi luggage. One cool thing about Tumi luggage is the immense variety associated with this brand name. Tumi provides formal leather-trimmed luggage items as well as fashionable zebra totes.

The last brand of luggage I will mention is Briggs and Riley. Briggs and Riley is a premium brand that maintains a standard look to luggage. Village Luggage is not providing quite as many sales with Briggs and Riley luggage as it is with some other brands. Nonetheless, you will still find seven sale items as well as other great items that are at the current market price. Some items including this 18-inch superlight upright luggage piece is water proof and on sale for 190 dollars.

The focus of Village Luggage is value. After doing some comparisons myself, I found that most of the items at Village Luggage can be purchased at a better price than Amazon. Village Luggage is recommended for anyone interested in purchasing high-quality luggage at the best price.

[this post had to undergo minor modifications on September 19, 2012 upon advertiser's request to comply with its own internal issues]

Game Review of Hikouki Consecution

Rating: 4.5/5

Hikouki Consecution is a game where you play as a fighter plane and you move on a two-dimensional screen to shoot incoming enemies. While this game is reminiscent of a wide variety of older games vertical shooter games. However, the features of Hikouki Consecution make this game better than any other game of its type - it is hard to believe that this game is a free online flash game. The graphics are in the style of Japanese anime and the music as a cool industrial theme. What makes this game particularly good is that it has variety. At the start, you choose from playing as one of four completely unique characters that each have different special moves and weapons. Additionally, each character can be played with one of three secondary weapons which provide a nice boost to entertainment value. The levels are pretty cool looking and there are definitely incentives for destroying as many enemies as possible. Not only does killing incoming enemies increase your point total, but it also powers up your special power. While you only live once the save/load feature is a nice way to continue games when you have reached higher levels. Overall this game gets a rating of 4.5 out of 5 and is definitely worth playing.

Hikouki Consecution can be played at:
http://www.kongregate.com/games/ViolentAJ/hikouki-consecution

The Rundown

*After Roger Federer's recent championship at Wimbledon defeating Andy Roddick in the finals, Federer topped Nadal in the rankings. Federer is now ranked as the world's best tennis player.
*Xavier student Jordan Crawford dunks over Lebron James. Of course James makes a huge fuss about it and orders the video of this to be confiscated. The general consensus is that James was being ridiculous and let's face it...Crawford is a college basketball player, not some complete amateur.
*Mark Buehrle pitches a perfect game with 13 strikeouts against the Tampa Bay Rays.
*While it would take a miracle for the Diamondbacks to make the playoffs, they no longer have the weakest record in the National League West. The San Diego Padres are 38-60.
*America's Got Talent has finished its auditions. The Las Vegas semifinals will begin soon.

An Attempt to Relieve Credit Stress

Through times economic turmoil, particularly with the subprime mortgage crisis, millions of Americans got hit with bad credit. DSI Solutions have provided Americans with a method to improve credit so purchasing important assets becomes once again possible. Having good credit is important not only to get approved for purchases, but more importantly a good credit rating is important for interest rates to be low. If this economy is good for anything it is that it has kept interest rates for getting a loan low. This allows consumers to invest assuming they can get approved for a loan. It is important to note that taking out a loan NO MATTER WHAT THE INTEREST RATE can be a very bad idea if you do not think you will be able to pay off your loan. In fact, it was misinformation on the side of investment banks that approved loans at will that caused this economic mess in the first place. As a result, it is important to know exactly what you are getting into before taking a risky investment. Fortunately, governmental oversight has increased credibility on the part of banks at the same time, there needs to be more enforcement to make lenders act in good faith. When in doubt, hire a trusted broker…preferably one that is not making a bunch of money on commission. Brokers on commission often encourage risky investments because they get paid based on loans you take out.

That being said, RepairYourBadCredit.com is not just a website that provides a method for credit repair. More importantly the website provides credit repair information. Moreover, it is important to know the facts before making purchasing decisions. The website at RepairYourBadCredit.com should by no means be taken as the sole source of information you are receiving on credit scores. Instead you can gather information from this site in addition to other sources out there. Ideally you should talk to a certified economist who has no monetary incentive to engage in deceitful behavior.

YouSayToo Review

YouSayToo is an ad revenue sharing website designed for bloggers. YouSayToo is designed for bloggers because after setting up a profile, bloggers can post all their blogs on YouSayToo in an attempt to increase their readership. YouSayToo allows bloggers to put all of their blogs and content in a single location. In order to add a blog on YouSayToo, bloggers must provide their RSS feed URL which allows YouSayToo to display a blog’s most recently updated content. YouSayToo is essentially a no-risk way to increase a blogger's readership. YouSayToo does require bloggers to provide a dofollow link to YouSayToo on each blog added on the website. At the same time YouSayToo will provide a backlink to the blogger's blogs so the links are mutually exchanged. YouSayToo is extremely useful for people blogging for money in that YouSayToo gives half of the ad revenue generated to the blogger’s YouSayToo page. YouSayToo uses Amazon and Google Adsense ads which are the most trusted advertising services. By the same token it is hard to believe the success of actually receiving money from YouSayToo.

If you are interested in how to make money blogging, you say to seems like a very feasible option. I am not exactly sure how YouSayToo is able to transfer ad revenue generated from the site to its users considering the minimum cashout for services such as AdSense are very high (at $100USD). YouSayToo has some serious potential for the future in that like I said it does not take much work on the part of the blogger to use YouSayTo. As of now, YouSayToo is relatively new and for a blogging community is still not generating very much traffic. In fact, despite the many users who have become a part of YouSayTo, the website has a google pagerank of 4 which is good, but still weak for a community blog…particularly one that is purported to be a money-making strategy. While I have made money blogging, money is not my purpose for blogging. Sure I would love to make money blogging, but writing is more of my passion. In other words I write because it is a hobby, not because it is a job. Of course if it was true that YouSayToo paid its members a massive amount of revenue, what blogger would possibly refuse? However, it does not yet seem that way and the features on YouSayToo are still limited. There are a few cool things such as sending buzz to the YouSayToo community and increasing readership through visitors of YouSayToo; however, like I mentioned before, YouSayToo still does not have a very big community yet.

I would give YouSayTo a rating of 3.5 out of 5. I like the site and if you are looking for any way to make an extra dime, YouSayToo may be worth checking out. To be honest I think YouSayToo is on its way up as the developers try to incorporate additional features to the site. By the same token as it stands now there is nothing too special about the website and those who are truly interested in making money from writing can find other (or additional) methods.

Filling the 5th - Dbacks lose 10-3

Tonight the Diamondbacks lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates. It is becoming quite clear how the loss of Brandon Webb has been killing the Diamondbacks this season. The Diamondbacks have yet to have a solid 5th pitcher who can provide enough quality starts for the Diamondbacks to give them a shot of winning each game. Yusmeiro Petit started for the Diamondbacks tonight and gave up a total of six runs in only four and one-third innings. His ERA is now up to 7.68 which is plain and simply not pitching material. Things really have failed to click for the Diamondbacks as the Dbacks have not been able to maintain a solid run. This lost game is another example of the struggles that face the Diamondbacks.

Notable Performances:
Brandon Moss: 2-4, R, 2RBI, BB
Jesse Chavez: 2.0IP, 1H, 0ER, 0BB, K

Loser of the Game:
Yusmeiro Petit: 4.1IP, 9H, 6ER, HR

America's Got Talent Top Auditions

Last night concluded the last day of the auditions of America's Got Talent.

Here are the top auditions for America's Got Talent 2009 (the links are below because these videos cannot be embedded):
1) Kevin Skinner with his singing act while playing the guitar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzul5rxd-i8

2) Pete Perkins with his impersonations plus dancing – his Obama impersonation is particularly good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCn9pthYmKo

3) Beale Street Flippers with their flipping dance act
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZheAy9PTHJo

All three of these acts are going to Vegas and should be able to make it to the semifinals no problem.

ADT with America’s Highest Ranked Home Security

ADT provides the best home security to over five million American homes. The ADT Security System provides 24-hour security with operators all around the country. ADT provides customers with full-fledged security packages that include remotes and an alarm system that can provide homeowners with access to a security team. The packages are quite reasonable and start as low as 36 dollars a month. It is important to note that all packages include a whole host of technological devices to make sure that the system operates smoothly. While "basic" packages sometimes mean low-grade, all of the packages offered by ADT are excellent. In fact the other more expensive packages are only slightly better in that they merely provide voice communication in addition to the 24/7 security which is provided by the base package.

So what does ADT have over other security companies? While there are several home security systems, ADT Security has an impressive track record. ADT has been around since 1874 with security technology. Granted, the system ADT now provides was not nearly as high-tech then as it is now, the fact that the company has been around for a while demonstrates their capabilities and leadership. ADT is ranked by Consumer Digest as the best home security surveillance system. Furthermore, millions of Americans use ADT, which makes them an industry leader. Please check ADT out online through www.homesecurityteam.com or through their toll free number at 866-440-8901.

Mark Buerhle Throws Perfect Game

This afternoon White Sox pitcher Mark Buerhle accomplished the greatest and rarest pitching feat in baseball - the perfect game. There have only been 18 perfect games thrown in Major League Baseball and Mark Buerhle can rightfully claim himself as throwing one of them. Buerhle threw nine perfect innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. Excellent job!

Check Out the Best Sports Rivalries

I recently finished making major modifications on my post listing the best sports rivalries. Please check it out here: http://jotbyjot.blogspot.com/2009/04/top-11-biggest-sports-rivalries.html

Also, please vote on my poll for what you think is the biggest current sports rivalry:

Online Surveys & Market Research

If you answered other, please comment below on which rivalry you think deserves to be number one.

Diamondbacks Beat Rockies 6-5

I know my efforts to cheer on the Diamondbacks may seem futile at this point, but it is always nice when the Diamondbacks beat a team from their division. Tonight the Diamondbacks beat the Rockies and Chad Qualls closed it up in the ninth to record his 18th save. Max Scherzer had an off game and had to go out after the fourth with his high pitch-count and after already earning four runs. The ace from Colorado Aaron Cook did not perform a whole lot better in that he gave up 4 earned runs in six and one-third innings. However, it was not until a late eighth-inning rally that the Diamondbacks were able to take the lead. Although it looked like the Rockies could have easily regained it at one point, the Dbacks managed to hold on.

Noteable Performances:
Stephen Drew: 4-4, 2R, RBI, BB, SB
Miguel Montero: 2-4, 2R, 2RBI, HR

Loser of the Game:
Juan Rincon: 1.1IP, 2H, 2ER, HR

Suing the Culprit in Hip Replacements

As the name suggests, the Maglio, Christopher, Toale & Pitts law firm is composed of a crew of trial lawyers. The MCPT law firm specializes on business litigation. This article looks at one particular focus of this law firm which involves personal injury cases. The MCPT law firm attempts to bring successful lawsuits against businesses that may ordinarily get away with malpractice. The website has some important information not just about the law firms but also regarding legal principles such as tort reform. The staff at the law firm indicate that the public should be weary of tort reform because it ends up hurting ordinary consumers. Since 2008, the attorneys at MCPT Law have led the way in taking action against corporations such as Zimmer Inc. which has supplied patients with poor devices for joint replacements. Despite what appears to be an obvious design flaw, Zimmer still markets its Durom Hip Cup.

The Zimmer Matasul Durom hip replacement cup has the potential to fail due to loosening. It is important to contact an attorney if you feel that you have a defective durum cup, which is often characterized by joint pain. Nobody handles issues on zimmer durum cup like the Maglio, Christopher, Toale & Pitts. At http://www.mctplaw.com/joint-replacement you can get a specialized dorum lawyer that will be worth the money paid up front. With a successful durum lawsuit, clients can be awarded a lot of money in damages due to a possible flaw in the manufacturing of the zimmer durum cup. As a result, the MCTP law firm will be worth your while if you have used a zimmer hip cup and are feeling pain.

Need Help with Algebra? Check out TutorVista

Are you, a friend or family member struggling with Algebra? If this is the case, Tutor Vista will be able to clear up any difficulties immediately. Algebra is an important concept in the math world. Not only does having a solid base in algebra help one's understanding of more advanced mathematics such as calculus, but algebra has vital roots in fields such as physics, chemistry and economics. Tutor Vista helps people of all age groups and skill levels. At Tutor Vista students from K-12 and college can get a live online algebra tutor who will give the student one-on-one attention. Algebra tutoring is extremely helpful and after providing your name and grade, the tutor will be happy to go over any problems you have with the subject. The virtual classrooms are equipped with virtual whiteboards where you and the tutor can write out formulas and such that may be difficult to text in the chat box.

Have a question? You can simply ask a question in the text box, which is located on the top of the main page for algebra and the staff at Tutor Vista will provide you with an answer as soon as possible. Outside of help from a tutor, the website provides regular help with assignments and exam prep which includes providing students with sample questions and working them out. There is a fee for continuing to use some of the services at Tutor Vista, however, the website offers a lot of free online algebra help such as an explanation of certain algebraic and properties. There are thorough explanations of concepts such as quadratic equations and Cartesian products. Tutor Vista also provides Algebra 2 help which goes beyond just basic algebraic concepts and formulas. Regardless of what your skill level is, I can guarantee that you will find useful information that you are unfamiliar with. Check out Tutor Vista for algebra help at http://www.tutorvista.com/algebra-help.

Purchase Premium Lighting at Farrey’s

Farrey's sells hundreds of thousands of lights and lighting fixtures from the quality brands in the lighting industry. Farrey's was established in 1924 as a small general store in Florida and has since expanded to a multi-million dollar international company that focuses on hardware. While Farrey's tends to showcase its products at trade shows in Florida, Farrey's will ship via UPS anywhere in the contiguous United States and Canada. With the capabilities of the internet, it is easy to shop for items at Farry's at www.farrys.com. At Farrey's you will find low prices with additional discounts for customers who buy in bulk. Farrey's essentially offers a competitive price guarantee. If there is a product listed at Farrey's that is offered somewhere else at a lower price, Farrey's will send a new quote give a competitive price.

At Farry's you can shop for a wide array of exquisite chandeliers that will definitely add a nice luxurious touch to your home or some more standard lighting fixtures such as lawn lamps that can provide some lighting for the house when it is dark outside. Farry's offers the very best in both conventional and quaint lighting. For example, if you are interested in purchasing a nice silver lighting fixture, you may want to consider checking out sea gull lighting as it has a strong reputation for excellent lighting fixtures that tend to have a nice silvery polish. Of course most brands will provide such an interesting variety of lights and lamps that it is hard to classify their lighting products into a single genre. Forecast lighting lists products such as a amber pendant shade that is so unique in design, it is certain to add a nice touch of decorative personality to a room. By the same token Forecast also sells items that appear more standard such as their Calera collection of ceiling lamps. If you have any questions you can contact Farry's toll free phone number at 1-888-854-5483.

College Policy Debate Topic Announced!

The wording of this years college debate topic has finally been released for Cross-Examination debate.

The 2009-2010 college policy debate resolution is as follows:
Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reduce the
size of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and/or substantially reduce and restrict
the role and/or missions of its nuclear weapons arsenal.

Diamondbacks Lose to Cardinals 2-1

Today the Diamondbacks lost the series to the St. Louis Cardinals. Dbacks losses have been a recurring theme in the organization and as a diehard Diamondbacks fan it is certainly depressing. It seems as if Diamondbacks are looking forward to next year as this season has not worked out so well for the ball club. While the Diamondbacks have been battling with player injuries, even several of the healthy and seemingly promising players have been performing subpar. Chris Young's batting average is now below .200, which is pathetic considering he was in contention for Rookie of the Year just a couple years ago. Justin Upton, while the highest-performing Diamondbacks hitter, has been trying to break out of a nasty slump. Stephen Drew has been described by ESPN fantasy baseball analysts as a must-have seems to be out of the groove. The Diamondbacks have also been struggling with struggling relief pitchers and a starting pitcher to fill the 5th slot. Although I must say, in this game it was not Yusmeiro Petit who struggled the most, despite his awful seasonal numbers.

Notable Performances:
Joel Piniero: 7.0IP, 5H, 1ER, 0BB, 3Ks

Loser of the Game:
Justin Upton: 0-4, 2 strikeouts

Why Britain's Got Talent is Better than America's Got Talent

VS

This post is in no way intended to belittle America's Got Talent. In fact, I have been following the episodes to this season's America's Got Talent. However, watching both Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent, I can say without question that Britain's Got Talent is superior. My opinion is by no means biased...if anything it would be biased the other way in that I am an American who normally tries to root for things that are "home-grown." This post will discuss a six objective reasons why Britain's Got Talent is the better show.

(1) Most importantly, Britain's Got Talent has amazing hosts in Ant and Dec who are essentially two comedians who kid around a lot regarding the acts. Ant and Dec will make humorous comments that tend to be quite witty and most importantly Ant and Dec mutually reinforce each other. This year America's Got Talent got a new host, which was a very wise move. Jerry Springer is the former host of America's Got Talent and while I personally do not take that much offense to him as a person, some Americans did and were repelled by him which hurts ratings. Additionally, Jerry Springer is not that funny of a guy (granted, his show was funny, but not because of him). While he may try to make jokes, he always seemed to be a bit off and him now being a classic old-school personality certainly does not help. Fortunately, this year the crew at America's Got Talent was able to get Nick Cannon to host the show. Unlike Springer, Nick Cannon is young, fresh, and brings some humor to the show with his unique mannerisms. While Nick Cannon is a significant improvement from Springer, he is not nearly as good as the British duo.

(2) Another important point is that the British version has a tendency to show the truly awful but hilarious acts. Such acts tend to get solid introductions and quirky comments by Ant and Dec. Often times either Ant or Dec will attempt to perform the act backstage while the actual performer is doing the act in front of the audience. Excellent examples of this include both James who tried to eat as many Ferrero Rochers he could in a minute as well as Knit 'N' Natter who attempted to show the audience how to knit. Of course neither of these acts made it through to the next round, but they were very amusing to watch.

(3) Additionally, there appears to be better variety on Britain's Got Talent. America's Got Talent tends to only show singing and dancing acts with the occasional magic act. At Britain's Got Talent on the other hand there has been a wide range of acts including last year's signature act which was a surprise dance act that attempted to imitate Michael Jackson. With the exception of Terry Fator's singing ventriloquism, I have yet to see such originality on America's Got Talent. While one may expect America's Got Talent to have much stronger competition than Britain's Got Talent, I have preferred the acts in Britain's Got Talent. The acts are not only unique, but brilliant. Only in Britain's Got Talent has there been outstanding child dancers such as George Sampson and Aiden Davis, unique singers such as Susan Boyle, and impressive variety acts that do not even make it to the finals such as Gareth Oliver's singing ventriloquism (almost Fatoresque). People have often tried to compare other singing sensations to Susan Boyle's, but the fact that the British Boyle is the benchmark certainly says something to the overall show. Additionally, while other singing performances have been unique and excellent none have come close to what Susan Boyle has been able to do.

(4) Furthermore, the constant commercial breaks in America's Got Talent can be quite detracting from the overall show. I cannot compare this criticism to the British version because it does not air in the United States (so you have to catch it online). Nonetheless, America's Got Talent does not allow viewers to watch more than one or two full acts before going to the commercials. After a while, it discourages the viewer to keep on watching.

(5) Additionally, America's Got Talent suffers from not having Simon Cowell as one of its judges. While Simon is a critic, he is reasonable when he needs to be and will tell somebody when his or her performance is good. Cowell is funny and while I will occasionally disagree with what he thinks, he tends to be pretty accurate and gives funny analogies and remarks regarding some of the performances. For example, his remark on Andy, the middle-age dancer, was absolutely priceless: "The problem wasn't the dancing, you just sort of stood there and waved your arms back and forth."

(6) Lastly, the camera view is better in Britain's Got Talent. Britain's Got Talent is able to get good dialogue with Ant and Dec of the contestants before they go onstage. During the performance the camera will often show the expressions on the judges' faces and how rapidly they will change.

AxxisBiometrics with Keyless Locks

I used to think that locks that unlocked based on your fingerprint were a matter of the future or at least something only the high ups in the government could get a hold of. However, AxxisBiometrics is here to provide keyless locks to the average homeowner. The locks at AxxisBiometrics are so innovative with a high-tech look to them – I believe the last time I saw some of these gadgets was in one of the recent James Bond films.

So what are the advantages of owning a keyless lock? First of all, it is hard to break into a house protected by a keyless lock. Keys are not only easy to lose but can also be picked. On the other hand, getting someone else's thumbprint is a near impossibility. Let's just hope nobody cuts off one of your fingers anytime soon! Locks that use a fingerprint are particularly good for teenagers around the house who may be more likely to lose a key, but at the same time may need access to enter the house when there is nobody home to let them in. Furthermore, owning a keyless lock definitely creates a nice elegant display for visitors – trust me some of these locks are quite impressive. I have a much more difficult time finding disadvantages to owning a keyless lock. Having such a unique lock certainly would attract more attention, but that is hardly a disadvantage. Nice houses also attract more attention and in comparison, high-tech locks are hard to spot from a distance.

It is important to note that fingerprint-based locks are not the only type of keyless locks. In fact, most people have probably come across some sort of keyless lock at least once before. Some of the keys displayed at AxxisBiometrics do not operate by fingerprint but rather by a small remote. Such remote-controlled locks run similar risks as a normal key lock in that there is the possibility of losing the remote. At the same time, it is far more difficult to forge a remote giving them a nice advantage over keys. Additionally, you cannot exactly “pick” a lock that unlocks through a remote. Currently, what has to be the most common type of keyless lock is the code-protected lock. Unlike locks protected by fingerprints, I have seen coded locks quite a bit. These locks are very powerful in ensuring someone’s safety. At the same time some coded locks have very poor sensitivity. Sometimes the rightful owner of the lock will punch in the correct code and the lock will not register as being correct. Unfortunately, if such an event happens multiple times the number pad will shut off its activation for about five minutes before another code can be entered (of course this is done for your own security). While such events are rare, they are possible. All things considering, keyless locks are a far better option than locks that use a key to open. You will not find a better place to find and purchase keyless locks than at AxxisBiometrics at http://www.axxisbiometrics.com/.

Find Myrtle Beach Golf Packages and Vacations at MyrtleBeachGolf.net

Some of the most gorgeous golf courses in America can be found in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Only in Myrtle Beach will you find courses such as the scenic King's North public golf course which was created by Arnold Palmer. While the King's North was opened up much earlier, it was not completed until 1996 ranking it as one of the nicest recent courses in America. Myrtle Beach is also home to a golf course known as the Witch. Despite its name, this witch is actually quite gorgeous and Golf Digest gave the Witch four and one-half stars, an excellent rating by the most well-respected golf publication. The Witch has a very naturalistic setting. This particular golf course is home to a diversity of wildlife including alligators, water fowl, and Canadian geese. While the course is open year-round, it clearly sticks to a Halloween theme as there are three cardboard witches across the driving range that depict distance. Additionally, the tee markers are colored orange, black and white.

At MyrtleBeachGolf.net you will find it easy to book Myrtle Beach Golf Vacations that will include golfing excursions along with hotel reservations. What is particularly great about the website is that you can find thumbnails of all of the Myrtle Beach Golf courses which allow users to get a visual of what the course is like. Another amazing feature is that several golf courses have videos that describe the course. As a result, if you are interested in golfing at a variety of Myrtle Beach golf courses you can find out about the golf courses that interest you and then choose a package accordingly. On MyrtleBeachGolf.net you will find dozens of Myrtle Beach Golf Packages to choose from so it is a near certainty that you will find one that interests you. Golf Myrtle Beach at http://www.myrtlebeachgolf.net.

Spilt Milk

The other day when I went from CVS I purchased a few goods to bring back to my house including a gallon of milk. On my walk back from CVS the bag holding the milk broke and it caused the milk container to fall on the ground and snap open. I feel like sharing this because it was such an odd occurrence but you could imagine how embarrassing something like this could be. I was not completely sure what to do, the milk was pouring everywhere from the container causing a huge mess. There was not a trash can visible and by the same token I could not simply carry the milk as it would spill everywhere I walked including on my other groceries. That only left me with one option: leave the milk on the ground. Wait a minute..that is littering. While I may not be an environmentalist I am strongly against littering.

Thinking on my feet I decided to leave the milk on the street and run back to my house with the rest of my groceries. Fortunately, I was almost home anyways so this was not much of a trek. Right after dropping off my remaining groceries at the house I went back outside and rolled the large trash bin along the side walk towards the milk and was able to dispose the milk. This simple act should be expected, but unfortunately there are way too many careless people out there who would not give a care in the world. Cleaning up after myself was clearly the right thing to do. While originally I was kind of worried, in the end it all worked out well...except for the fact that I lost the milk, but oh well life goes on. I think I found a new literal interpretation of the old proverb because it was clearly applicable in my case: It's no use crying over spilt milk.

MyTV Options: Why DirectTV is Right for You

MyTV Options allows people to personalize their television preferences to find out what is a better option: Direct TV, Dish Network or Cable. Personally, I have been using Comcast and have never had any issues with it; however, MyTV Options indicates that it may be time to reconsider. Unfortunately, MyTV Options overloads on information about DirectTV without too much on other networks. While Satellite Directv may provide the most programs and may be a pretty good option, it would be extremely nice if the website at least provided some cost comparisons between Directv and other providers. Unfortunately, this analysis is lacking and many times consumers feel that convenience and lower costs are worth the lack of luxury channels. From testing out various options with the MyTV Options personalized search bar, the options seem quite one-sided in favor of DirectTV.

Despite how much MyTV Options caters to Direct TV, one nice feature about the website is the wealth of information it provides on various channels from premium movie channels to sports stations. You will find out why Direct TV is a great deal for you with the highest level of programs. Based on the number of channels provided, DirectTV has the best HD provider rating. Additionally, MyTV Options will provide you with many special offers for television including deals that provide free channels and professional installation. At MyTV Options you will find a toll-free customer service telephone number to find out offers for your area. Check out MyTV Options and make the judgment for yourself at http://mytvoptions.com/.

Driver Access: Updates for Optimal Performance

Driver Access is a website that provides software for PC users running on Windows Vista. Driver Access is intended to be a quick and easy way to allow computer users to find out exactly which drivers neat to be updates. Normally, such a process could take hours, however, Driver Access provides a quick scan that will check the parts of your computer and which ones need their drivers updated. This allows optimal performance by your computer. To get the full software you must pay to get a software code. Nonetheless, Drivers Access provides a 60% satisfaction guarantee that will give customers their money back if they are unsatisfied with the product. Additionally, Driver Access has a helpful team of computer specialists that are able to answer queries and assist clients in any way possible with the product. Responses by the crew at Driver Access are nearly immediate (typically within 5 hours of a sent query).

Driver Access is an extremely important tool for people who have bought a new computer but would like to use older hardware for it. For example, if you have just bought your new computer, but your Lexmark printer is several years old Driver Access will provide the necessary tools for your printer to be compatible through updated Lexmark Drivers. This saves you tons of time and money by allowing you to keep and use your old devices. Driver Access provides a free scan; however what I do not like is that the scan seems like it could unfairly lure users to purchase the product. At the same time, Driver Access can be used for customers who have just bought a new product. Say you buy a new Logitech mouse and your computer does not seem to be recognizing it. Driver Access will ensure that the right Logitech Drivers are updated to allow your mouse to function. Despite being a commonly used tool for Windows Vista users, the Driver Access database contains several Windows XP Drivers which means that Driver Access will allow you to get updates for items that were designed for Windows XP. It is worth contacting the Driver Access support crew at support@driveraccess.com if you have any questions about the product and are considering getting the software.

American League wins All Star Game...again

Tonight the American League faced off the National League in the annual Major League Baseball All-Star game. The winner gets a homefield advantage in the World Series. While there have been several recent National League World Series champions (including last year's world champions in the Phillies), it has been over a decade since the National League has won the World Series. In fact, the last time the National League won the world series was in 1996. I am so glad to see the 21-year-old Justin Upton have the opportunity to play in his first All-Star game. While he went 0-2, he certainly was deserving of the opportunity and he has an even brighter future ahead of him. The American League ended up winning 4-3. Plain and simply, the National League was unable to score after the second inning. Both Pujols and Ramirez had a tough time at the plate both going 0 for 3. Jonathan Papelbon got awarded with the win; however, it is important to note that Carl Crawford bailed out Papelbon with a home run saving catch.

Proactiv Getting Pushed Out by New Acne Medications

I have had issues with acne for the last five years. I have used a myriad of products found in pharmacies with varying degrees of benzoyl peroxide concentrations (from 2.5%-10%). Nonetheless nothing seemed to help. Certainly acne has never been a huge problem in my life, but like anyone I would like to have clear skin. With the commercial hype and solid reviews I thought I would give the much-acclaimed Proactiv a chance. As a result, a couple weeks ago I ordered Proactiv Solution acne treatment online. Unfortunately with my luck, just about a week later Proactiv had a new promotion for people who ordered online. Proactiv decided to not only provide free shipping, but an additional bonus free gift for people who buy online. I do not know what it is but in the past six months I can recall at least two other instances of a significant item that went on sale shortly after I made my purchase. Whatever, I guess some things you have to live with.

Anyways, after a few days I began to realize exactly why Proactiv was trying to make a special promotion. Several competitors have joined the field claiming new and improved acne medication that is clinically proven to be more effective than Proactiv. Whether such claims are true or not, the people at Proactiv seem to be quite worried of losing a significant amount of business. Just yesterday I saw two different products that contained multi-step acne medication solutions and both of them clearly displayed on their respective boxes that the products were more effective than Proactiv. If that is not enough proof for competitors to be seemingly pushing Proactiv out as having a leading acne medication formula then television certainly has provided some substantiation. In the course of only an hour I noticed three different television ads marketing three different products for acne medication. These ads described themselves as being better than Proactiv. I remember one used testimonials of customers who had recently switched from using Proactiv. These ads were of following: Clean and Clear, Neutrogena SkiniD and I honestly cannot remember the name of the other brand.

Seeing a bunch of alternative products that claim to be new and improved certainly cannot make someone who has just recently purchased Proactiv feel pretty good. Nonetheless, I am not too concerned, Proactiv has been out for a while and has a solid track record something these new competitors cannot yet claim so Proactiv certainly deserves a fair shake. Today is my first full day using Proactiv and I am supposed to have noticeable results by six weeks. It is time to put Proactiv to the test, and I am going to be the judge.

Movie Review of Public Enemies

Rating: 6/10

*spoiler warning*
Public Enemies is a crime movie that takes place in the Depression-era and is based on the true story of felon John Dillinger. In Public Enemies, the Chicago Police Department attempts to take down a group of tough gangsters, the highest-profile one being John Dillinger. The movie starts off in a federal penitentiary where a group of prisoners successfully stage a breakout despite a couple of the prisoners dying in the process. For me this film was able to keep my attention, but there was honestly nothing that really made it special or particularly entertaining. The visual effects were very subpar, and although it is a crime movie based in the 30s, I would still expect a slightly better picture quality for visual appeal. Even the shooting scenes were nothing better than something that could have been produced 20 years ago. As a result, if this movie came out a decade or two earlier I might have had a slightly better opinion of it. Furthermore, a few scenes are unremarkable and occasionally too much of a stretch. John Dillinger somehow gets himself arrested again very early in the movie and yet despite all of the attention given too such a high-profile convict, he still manages to stage another successful breakout, this time with the help of only one other prisoner (granted some of the other prisoners played minor roles). While I still could have lived with that scene, I was unable to stretch my imagination far enough to truly believe the scene where a group of detectives and police officers track Dillinger's girlfriend who happens to be with Dillinger in the car. When Dillinger drops off Billie (the girlfriend), the Chicago police approach her and ask how she arrived and all of the officers believe her when she says she took a taxi. If this is not too much of a stretch then the fact that Dillinger still remains in his car surrounded by detectives and officers is. Not a single person, who by the way is specialized in a Dillinger crime unit, was able to recognize or notice him. For fantasy movies I enjoy letting my mind run wild, but considering this is a movie based on a true story that is supposed to stick heavily to fact, I was unable to make the stretch. Additionally, the scenes of police brutality were a little much. While the audience was able to form mixed views on the police, there was little to no reason to include the scene of the evil police officer not only beating Billie but still being on the squad afterwords despite his actions. In some ways I give the movie credit for creating a conflict between the institution versus the individual, but it portrays people such as protagonist Purvis as cruel at times considering he and several others stood on the sidelines while there was blatant police brutality. Overall, this is not a bad movie and the plotline is relatively intriguing in that the subject matter involves historical events, however, I would not recommend Public Enemies. It is one of those movies that is probably worth seeing on video, but not worth the ten-dollar ticket to see in theaters.

Firstrade with Online Investments

With the economy struggling, now is the perfect time to invest as stock prices are extremely low. It is important to note that the biggest hit to the economy came from predatory lending corporations that relayed unreasonable expectations to investors. As we now know, the economy could not sustain itself with the burst of the housing bubble that eventually spread to virtually all other sectors of the economy. Fortunately, for investors who are still weary of investing there are ways to get someone to help you along the way at very low rates. Firstrade is an online discount brokerage that offers an Online Broker that helps investors make wise decisions.

At Firstrade customers can trade stocks, options, mutual funds, ETFs, and fixed income securities such as bonds. Bonds are definitely a safe way to invest and fixed trade lets you do it easily through making an online purchase. Firstrade has an excellent track record for Online Trading. Firstrade was originally established in 1985 and listed on the internet in 1997. For a number of years Firstrade has been among the top-ranked brokerage firm. In 2006, Kiplinger’s named Firstrade the best firm for mutual funds. Firstrade offers an excellent user experience that even provides means for customers to do things that do not exactly fit in the trading category such as Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) investments. Perhaps Firstrade is best known for its Stock Trading. Firstrade will be able to provide you with a stock broker that makes little commission, which will ensure that customers are able to enhance their investments at a very low cost. In fact, Firstrade offers customers with the option of paying a 6.95 flat rate for unlimited shares of online market orders. One extremely cool and useful feature of the website at Firstrade is that they provide an online customer service representative on weekdays from 9 to 6.

Diamondbacks Beat Marlins 8-0

While the Diamondbacks had a devastating defeat last night, the Dbacks were able to beat the Marlins tonight 8-0. All-Star Dan Haren was phenomenal in that he pitched a complete game shutout...if I am not mistaken, that is the Diamondback's first complete game shutout of the season. Again, Justin Upton struggled at bat but the Diamondbacks were able to get timely hits to conquer a victory. Ricky Nolasco has pitched very well in his last few games but the Diamondbacks were able to get some excellent pieces of hitting on him including several extra-base hits such as a three-run home run by Felipe Lopez.

Noteable Performances:
Dan Haren: 9.0IP, 4H, 0ER, 1BB, 10Ks, CG, Shutout
Felipe Lopez: 2-4, 2R, 3RBI, HR

Loser of the Game:
Ricky Nolasco: 6.0IP, 9H, 7ER, 2HR

Get Clothing at Zappos!

Zappos is a website that allows you to purchase products online. The specialty of Zappos that I am writing this post on is clothing items. At Zappos you can purchase clothing from the comfort of your own computer. This definitely saves the time and expensive fuel cost of having to travel to a clothing retailer. Zappos does an excellent job catering to its users by allowing users to specify to modify search results based entirely on their own interests and clothing sizes. The website is very appealing, and Zappos does not force customers into purchasing anything. For example, I can do a search for jeans and hundreds of results displaying a variety of jeans come up. In general the prices for products listed are pretty high, but then again those are the prices of the brand-names that are outside of Zappos’ control. Zappos does a good job of providing products from the biggest brands. All things considering I can still find myself some IZOD classic fit jeans for thirty dollars which is quite reasonable for high-quality jeans.

Zappos is a huge clothing warehouse with over three million products in their listings so you can be sure to find what you are looking for at Zappos provides clothes for all age groups and sizes. At Zappos you will find some very cool printed T-shirts for men and women. Zappos only lists items that are high in fashion, which would exclude your garage sale/liquidator items. While you may find this odd, at Zappos you can be sure to find clothing items that resemble the latest trends. Zappos provides a customer service line twenty-four hours a day as well as the opportunity to receive free overnight shipping. Check Zappos clothing out at www.zappos.com/clothing.

ACheapSeat with Tickets for Sporting Venues

You may have heard of StubHub or TicketMaster to purchase tickets online; however, ACheapSeat will give you discount prices for premium tickets. ACheapSeat lists tickets for concerts, sporting events and theater. ACheapSeat does not just provide tickets for professional sports but college sports as well. For example, at ACheapSeat you will find Georgia Bulldogs Football Tickets. Nevertheless, my personal preference is professional baseball. Temporarily residing in Boston I would highly recommend to anyone living in or visiting Boston to visit a Red Sox game at least once. Whether you like baseball or not you will appreciate Fenway Park. I am by no means a Red Sox fan, but when I stepped in Fenway Park for the first time, I was immediately amazed. Fenway Park is America's oldest MLB stadium having been opened in 1912. As I have mentioned in a previous post, visiting Fenway Park is like stepping into a piece of history, which is well-worth the price of the ticket. Games are always a sellout at Fenway Park, yet for some games you will find incredible deals on ACheapSeat with Fenway Park Tickets even below face value. The Red Sox are ranked as the second-best team in baseball (behind the Los Angeles Dodgers) and at $20 for SRO tickets and $40 for grandstand seats you can go to this current series against Kansas City for a very good price.

While Fenway Park was established in 1912, Wrigley Field is a close-second (the stadium was built in 1914). I have yet to visit Wrigley Field although it is definitely on my to-do list. It is no surprise that Wrigley Field Tickets may be purchased at ACheapSeat. On the other side of the spectrum, the two newest fields are both located in New York. If you are interested you can purchase Yankee Stadium Tickets to check out the new stadium and see if it is really as "home run" friendly as everyone says. These tickets run as low as $20.

I do not know if it is a good thing or a bad thing that tickets for my Arizona Diamondbacks are so low. Anyways, four Diamondbacks tickets are currently listed for $15 in section 103 well-within home-run territory.

Diamondbacks Sweep Padres - We've got ourselves a streak!

Tonight the Diamondbacks beat the Padres 6-2, which completes a sweep over the Padres. While the Diamondbacks were down for most of the game, the Dbacks rallied in the 8th inning to score 5 runs. While Romero batted in the go ahead run, Felipe Lopez provided some nice insurance with his 3-run 2 out home run. While the Diamondbacks have definitely struggled this season, this win has put them above the Padres in the National League West. The Diamondbacks now have a streak going at five wins in a row, this is their biggest streak this season. Let's keep it up! The nice thing is that the Diamondbacks got some timely hitting while players were in scoring position. Despite Upton having a tough outing at the plate, his teamates were able to get some hits. Production from players such as Chad Tracy and Gerardo Parra certainly helped the Diamondbacks.

Noteable Performances:
Max Scherzer: 7.0IP, 4H, 2ER, 9Ks
Gerardo Parra: 2-3, 2R, BB
Chad Tracy: 2-3, R, RBI, BB
Felipe Lopez: 1-3, R, 3RBI, 2BB, HR

Loser of the Game:
Mike Adams: 0.1IP, 2H, 3R (although 0ER), HR

Planning a Vacation? Check out Myrtle Beach Resorts

Myrtle Beach Seaside Resorts is website where you can find some excellent beach resorts located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. While there are several hotels to plan your vacation in Myrtle Beach, the website makes choosing easy by providing you with the six best Myrtle Beach Hotels that not only provide top-notch accommodations but are conveniently located in very popular areas by the beach. The website provides pictures of each Myrtle Beach Resort, and I have to admit they look extremely nice. My personal favorite would probably have to be the Avista Resort which not only looks phenomenal from the outside, but it also provides a full fitness center, high-speed internet and a great view by the beach.

Myrtle Beach is an excellent vacation spot because in addition to being right by the beach there are also plenty of activities such as golf courses and amusement parks so entertainment is maximized. While Myrtle Beach Resorts tend to be a bit pricier than your typical hotel, it is important to note that these resorts are not only right by the beach, but also very fancy with several amenities. You can book a hotel room for your next vacation in Myrtle Beach at Myrtle Beach Seaside Resorts.

ShopWiki UK on Dogs

So as readers of Jot by Jot may know from previous posts ShopWiki is an excellent way to purchase anything you need at a one stop location – ShopWiki. This post will focus on what ShopWiki has to offer for Dogs. At ShopWiki you will find all sorts of dog accessories, dog food and dog care items. It is important to keep in mind that ShopWiki does not only offer items for purchase but also provides visitors with guides such as important advice for dog care. ShopWiki's guide on dog care ensures that owning a dog is a successful experience. While some of the tips offered may seem obvious there are always a few tips that owners seem to forget the importance of such as giving your dog a dog collar that lists your phone number. As a result, it is important to look over the brief but important dog care guide before purchasing a dog.

For current dog owners, at ShopWiki you will find the largest selection of dog items listed from retailers all over. Having dogs all of my life I would recommend giving your dog an occasional treat. At ShopWiki you will find all sorts of dog treats at a price to your liking. Dog treats including dining pretzels, which look so good that it is unfortunate that they are not for human consumption. Additionally, ShopWiki provides tons of cool dog toys. Tennis balls are a favorite chew-toy among dogs, and for one pound, you can purchase tennis balls that are designed especially for dogs. On the more cozy side, ShopWiki provides comfortable bedding items such as dog beds and throw pillows. Please give ShopWiki for dogs a visit at www.shopwiki.co.uk/wiki/Dog+Care.

Car Facts, Reviews, News and More at TheCarConnection

TheCarConnection provides anything you could possibly want to know about a wide variety car models and makes. At TheCarConnection you will find a plethora of reviews that provide ratings and evaluations of a particular car. This allows you to know what people have to say about any given car before you buy it. Unlike other information sources out there, TheCarConnection is able to evaluate and review vehicles right when they get released and as a result, there have already been several high quality reviews on brand new vehicles such as the 2009 Ford F-150 truck. TheCarConnection is excellent because it provides its users with both expert reviews as well as reviews by the average user. By visiting TheCarConnection you will note that many of its listings also have a numerical rating from 1 to 10, which provide a grade for the car – ten being the best. The website at TheCarConnection is incredibly appealing and extremely easy to use as the entire website clearly follows the coherent theme of delivering clients with all information they ever wanted know about cars. Through the website it is easy to quickly find the information you are looking for as there are clickable buttons that allow you to search vehicles within a given price range. There are also categorical listings regarding the particular make of cars in addition to a custom search engine that allows you to type in your own search terms to search within the website. For example, say I would like to find information on the dodge challenger, I could search the terms "dodge challenger" and with the click of a button my first search result will provide me with a review, price range and overview of the 2009 dodge challenger. Based on user opinion, it looks like the dodge challenger has a nice balanced ride and handling but unfortunately the power driver's seat does not tilt to provide access to the rear seat. That is definitely a useful piece of information to know before you purchase a car! While the dodge challenger has a rating of 7.8, the 2009 MINI Cooper Clubman has a rating of 8.6. One way to find this particular vehicle would be to visit the mini cooper section.

TheCarConnection will also give you sneak peaks at cars that are still in the making including ones that are still a couple years away from being released such as the 2011 Ford Fiesta – I have to say the pictures for this vehicle look awesome. While often times Ford is known for providing the American muscle, the ford fiesta looks quite stylish. For anyone thinking about purchasing a car in the near future, I would highly recommend TheCarConnection so you know exactly what you are getting into before you make your purchase. With raw facts of vehicles, cost estimates, quality reviews, and numerous exterior and interior pictures of vehicles, TheCarConnection is your "go to" place if you are thinking of buying a car.

Gold Coins Gain is the Best Place to Buy Gold

This poor economy has been tough on virtually everybody as people are losing jobs and once-promising assets have quickly lost value. However, the one item that is rising in value is gold and Gold Coins Gain is the perfect place to buy gold. Gold Coins Gain is a website that provides a wealth of information on gold which includes the latest gold market trends and gold information being relayed through news outlets. Gold Coins Gain is composed of individuals, families and high-ranking investors who understand how important it is to back your assets with gold. Unlike paper money, gold is a very scarce resource which prevents it from falling into inflationary dilemmas because the supply of gold is fixed. As a result, gold is a very secure item to invest in.

There are several reasons to purchase from Gold Coins Gains if interested in gold. Gold Coins Gains is an Aurum Advisors website which has an excellent track record. The Gold Coins Gain website is beautifully laid out with labels that make it easy to find whatever you are looking for. This saves you the hassle of going through a variety of vendors just to find what you are interested in. At Gold Coins Gain you can purchase all sorts of gold coins from gold American Buffalo coins to gold Liberty Eagle coins. The nice thing about Gold Coins Gain is that when you buy gold bullion you can choose the exact weight of a particular coin you are interested in. Gold American Eagles are an extremely popular item amongst investors and through Gold Coins Gain you can choose whether you want a 1/10th of an ounce gold American Eagle for about 100 dollars or a full ounce for just under one-thousand dollars. Gold Coins Gain also provides their toll-free number on the top of the website which makes them easy to contact if you have any questions. Whenever times are tough it makes since to store gold and other precious metal in IRA’s. Gold Coins Gain provides detailed information on gold ira's as well as step by step instructions on making a gold ira transfer. Buy gold coins today at http://www.goldcoinsgain.com.

Course Hero Provides Fast Help with Physics

Course Hero is an open coursework website that allows both students and professors to share information which ultimately furthers learning. Course Hero is the ideal website for college students who are struggling in a particular subject and need help immediately. One subject that tends to pose difficulty for some college students like myself is Physics. Fortunately, Course Hero is here to help. Professors from universities all over the country from Vanderbilt to Cornell have provided downloadable documents of lecture notes and exam questions. If you are struggling with understanding a theory and need help fast, check out a Physics Lecture Note on that theory to clear up any difficulties you may have. At Course Hero you will also find Physics Textbook Solutions to check your work to make sure you are well-prepared for an upcoming exam. While you would expect to spend a fortune on similar information, Course Hero offers hundreds of thousands of physics documents free.

Another excellent feature of the wealth of physics information Course Hero provides is that all of the documents are extremely recent so you can be assured that all of the information provided is up-to-date. Everything provided at Course Hero is professional-quality as you will instantly find the university each document comes from before downloading it. This means that although your professor's office hours may be closed, you can still receive the same great professional help with Course Hero which is a resource available 24/7. Please check out Course Hero's section on physics at www.coursehero.com/subjects/32-PHYSICS/.

A Tough Act to Follow

Photo by Matt York - AP

A few months ago AJ Hinch replaced Bob Melvin as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks primarily because Melvin’s team had been struggling. When a team struggles, sports commentators, analysts, and fans all over like playing the blame game. Unfortunately, for Bob Melvin, the blame would fall directly on him. What really stung was that Melvin had little chance of redeeming himself in that once the Diamondbacks’ record began to falter, Melvin had little time to bounce back before getting fired. As he left the Diamondbacks, the record of the Diamondbacks was 12 wins and 17 losses. While there was plenty of time for the Diamondbacks to comeback, Bob Melvin was out of time. In fact, with the severe and unfair comments thrown at him, Bob Melvin lost the will to continue wanting to coach the Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks organization decided that it was time for change so they brought out the young AJ Hinch who would be called to manage the struggling Diamondbacks. While Hinch dreamt of one day acquiring a high-ranking position in Major League baseball, few could have expected him to replace Melvin.

Despite starting the season on the wrong footing, Bob Melvin was an excellent manager. Bob Melvin became manager of the Diamondbacks in 2005 after they had had the worst record in baseball at a miserable 51-111 (one of the worst winning percentages in recent baseball history). The very next year, Melvin was able to bring the struggling Diamondbacks far more success with 77 wins and 85 losses. While not great, he at least converted the worst team in baseball to have the second-best record in the National League West. Melvin’s greatest success came in 2007, when his Diamondbacks had the best record in the National league at 90 wins and 72 losses. That year Bob Melvin earned himself the prestigious title of National League Manager of the Year – little did he realize that he would be fired less than two years later. Melvin deserves extra props because he managed to achieve this impressive 2007 season while being outscored by opponents 712 to 732 runs. Plain and simply: Melvin knew how to hang on to victory when he needed it most. With such a strong track-record it would have taken a huge big shot to stand up to Melvin after his departure, but early in the 2009 season Melvin was weak. Melvin was weak enough to be not only brought down but replaced by someone else who lacked in the experience department.

When being promoted to manage the Arizona Diamondbacks, Hinch had no manager experience and little to no coaching experience. Hinch played a few years in the majors but was forced to retire early as his .211 career batting average made him one of the worst players in Major League Baseball. Nonetheless, as director of player development and former manager of minor league operations, Hinch was familiar with a few of the interworkings of the Diamondbacks ballclub. With the addition of providing a new and fresh face to the front cover of the Diamondbacks, Hinch’s managerial position became a done deal. While people assumed that the “new guy” should have been able to improve the team’s chances of winning, it is important to keep in mind that Hinch had some pretty big shoes to step in. Melvin had done so much for the Diamondbacks that it gave Hinch a very tough act follow. While the organization under Hinch has brought up from the minors some very talented young players such as Clay Zavada and Gerardo Parra, Hinch has been unable to put the Dbacks in rhythm. While I am sure Hinch truly cares about the success of the Diamondbacks, the high expectations were unreasonably placed on him. As if it were a big surprise, firing Melvin has done nothing to help the Diamondbacks and has actually hurt the organization. The Diamondbacks under Hinch have performed worse than they had under Melvin. Their record now stands at 33 and 49, which is easily one of the worst records in Major League Baseball.

Boston College PEPs Fails to Adequately Help Students

Several years ago, the Undergraduate Government of Boston College (abbreviated UGBC) developed a system for students to evaluate their professors. This system is known as PEPs which stands for Professor Evaluation Profiles. PEPs allows students to know what they are getting into before registering for a course taught by a particular professor. The concept of PEPs is intelligent in that students can search a professor via their online PEPs to find out what the general student opinion is toward a given professor. Unfortunately, flaws in the system have caused a failure in the UGBC PEPs system. For one, submitted PEPs often do not get listed and the webmaster who is supposed to make sure the system runs smoothly tends not to monitor nor put care in the system inhibiting the success of PEPs. This is probably the biggest issue I have with PEPs. Many inappropriate PEPs have gone through while most newly submitted appropriate PEPs have somehow managed to get lost. This has provided students who would ordinarily take the time to submit a PEP with a disincentive to submit future PEPs. Moreover, a lack of an active monitor also provides the possibility of violations of PEPs. There are no safeguards that prevent a single student from submitting multiple PEPs for the same professor which means that students who look up PEPs would get an unreasonable interpretation of a professor. Additionally, almost all new professors are not even listed in the system making the system entirely useless for many students. While a good concept, PEPs has been nothing more than a failure for Boston College students looking for an adequate understanding of what a certain professor is like.

A smart form of advertising

Recently I made a run to my local Star Market grocery store to pick up a bunch of food items. One of my many purchases was a small tub of Smart Start which is advertised to be a healthy substitute for butter using no transfatty acids. Along with my receipt I received a couple of coupons, one of which stood out as ironic, but clever: 75 cents off a tub of I Can’t Believe It’s not Butter. I personally found this to be a brilliant form of advertising. Even though I had just purchased Smart Start, I received a coupon for almost a dollar off the same-sized tub of I Can’t Believe It’s not Butter. I purchased Smart Start primarily because it was cheaper than the alternatives, however, a coupon like this one encourages customers easily compare competitor brands. This is an excellent way for rival companies to try to lure consumers away from purchasing the brand of their rivals. I do not know if it was intentional, but I commend I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter for distributing coupons to customers who have just purchased a competitor’s product.

Game Review: Color Archers

Rating: 1/5

This is probably the worst game I have ever played. The one and only thing color archers has going for it is that it is a relatively unique game. In color archers, you are warding off waves of enemies by drawing Greek symbols on the screen. Each enemy will have a colored symbol over its head as it is walking towards your archers to demolish your barricades. If you make a drawing that matches in color and symbol to an enemy, one of your archers will shoot the enemy with the matching symbol. I really do not see the fun in drawing Greek symbols during the whole game. I would recommend doing some econometrics problems as a much more productive use of your time while getting a similar sensation. Additionally, the recognition on this game is awful. Unless the symbol is drawn virtually exact, your archer will not shoot which is a prime cause of frustration. The recommendation for solving this “recognition dilemma” is to lower the game quality. Unfortunately, not only does putting the quality on low make the graphics even worse than they already are, but even on low quality the matches still do not fit very well. While unique, this game seems to entail a total of zero strategy while being a massive cause of frustration and boredom. Color Archers gets a miserable 1 out of 5 in my book.