Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving

I have updated the Italian homework.  The final draft of the Romanesque art essay is due on Monday.

If you are interested in chess, you should click on my Chess.com gadget so you can play against me.  We can start up an online tournament next week or a tournament during free period.  Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Pedroia Wins MVP


Dustin Pedroia rightfully wins the MVP award.  For some reason there was one voter who did not even include him on his ballot (on which one votes for 10 players).  On a side note, I found this funny, albeit dated, article at Call of the Green Monster.


Manny Punches Out Johnny Pesky--Team to Handle It Internally

Manny

In yet another bizarre outburst of violent behavior, Manny Ramirez--who in recent weeks has assaulted a teammate and then a 64-year-old traveling secretary--yesterday got into a verbal confrontation with Johnny Pesky that resulted in Ramirez showering the 88-year-old Pesky with punches and sending him to the hospital unconscious.  Ramirez apparently asked Pesky to make him some lunch, and when Pesky politely explained that he didn’t do such things, the savage attack took place.  Pesky is still hospitalized and in severe pain, though, ever loyal to the team, has offered to make a sandwich for Manny if it would help the matter.
           Meanwhile the Red Sox are trying to figure out to how to handle the situation, wondering if disciplinary action was necessary.  “We take these matters very seriously,” said a grim-looking Theo Epstein, “but we also handle them internally.  We look at all the facts.  Did Johnny provoke Manny?  Did Johnny throw the first punch?  I’m not saying he did, but we have a lot to consider.”
           A disturbed Terry Francona said, “I love Johnny and feel terrible about this.  I also talked to Manny, and he knows this is something that just can’t happen.  How will we handle it?  Maybe as a goodwill gesture Manny will make Johnny a sandwich and bring it to the hospital.  I’m sure Johnny would enjoy it once he can eat solid food.  The point is, we’ll deal with this our way; these things happen more than you think.  Pesky and me had a little scrap once; lemme tell ya’, the guy can throw a punch.”

bill@callofthegreenmonster.com

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Daily Update


Don't forget about the Italian sources for tomorrow!

Tonight, the Patriots and Jets do battle in rainy Foxboro.  Expect a defensive battle beginning tonight at 8:15.

Today, George Bush warned leaders of the world, namely those of Europe, against increasing government regulation in the wake of the global economic crisis.  It reminds me of the Great Depression when countries around the world retreated into their own shells, minimizing international trade.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Today's News

I updated the Italian homework.  The culture project booklet says that the sources are due on Friday November 17.  Of course, Friday is on the 14th, so I will have them done for the 14th.

I would like to briefly talk about Monday's Heroes episode.  (spoiler alert) Overall, I thought the episode was somewhat disappointing.  It showed us some new connections (like Sylar and Elle) as well as filled us in on how Arthur Petrelli "died."  Noah Bennet just keeps looking worse and worse, having been the one who really turns Sylar into a monster.  But we never learned anything really new or startling, and nothing exciting happens the entire episode!  It ends with a bit of a cliffhanger (but why didn't Hiro just stop time to survey his surroundings when he stumbles upon the headless body?), but I find it difficult to believe that the writers would have the guts to do any permanent damage to Hiro.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

And This One Too

This is a prank call to Microsoft.

Watch this funny movie

Wikipedia in italiano


Sirio (α CMa / α Canis Majoris / Alfa Canis Majoris, conosciuta anche comeStella del Cane o Stella Canicola; in latino Sīrĭus) è una stella bianca dellacostellazione del Cane Maggiore; è la stella più luminosa del cielo notturno, con una magnitudine apparente pari a -1,46 e una magnitudine assoluta di +1,40. Vista dalla Terra possiede due volte la luminosità apparente di Canopo (α Carinae), la seconda stella più brillante del cielo; in una notte limpida, senza Luna e possibilmente senza i pianeti più luminosi, è pure in grado di proiettare a terra una leggerissima ombra degli oggetti. Sirio può essere osservata da tutte le regioni abitate della Terra e, nell'emisfero boreale, è uno dei vertici dell'asterismo del Triangolo Invernale.

La sua brillantezza in cielo è dovuta sia alla sua luminosità intrinseca, sia alla sua vicinanza al Sole; Sirio si trova infatti ad una distanza di 8,6 anni luce, ed è perciò una delle stelle più vicine alla Terra. È una stella di sequenza principale di tipo spettrale A1 Vm ed ha una massa circa 2,4 volte quella del Sole. La sua luminosità assoluta è pari a 25 volte quella del nostro Sole, ma è notevolmente meno luminosa di Rigelo della stessa Canopo, che appaiono meno luminose perché più lontane.

Sirio è in realtà un sistema binario: infatti, attorno alla componente principale (detta per questo Sirio A)orbita una nana bianca chiamata Sirio B, che compie la propria rivoluzione attorno alla primaria ad una distanza compresa tra 8,1 e 31,5 UA, con un periodo di circa 50 anni.

The Political Compass

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International Chart

A diverse professional team has assessed the words and actions of internationally known contemporary leaders to give you an idea of how they relate to each other on the political compass.

First Post

Hello and welcome to my blog.  I am not yet sure what, if anything, I will be putting on this blog.  I am somewhat busy at the moment but I hope to put up some posts soon.