Posted at: 11:54 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Sports and Leisure
In one of the most technically advanced opening ceremonies, Beijing proved that not only can they put together a 3 million dollar live show, but they can incorporate their 5,000 year history into it.
I DVRed the opening ceremonies and I want to write about each part of it, hopefully I will get around to it in the next few days.
The torch lighting ceremony was very creative. All eight were Chinese Olympic champions including the final carrier who they hoisted up to the top of the stadium and he “ran” around a projection that went around in 360 degrees culminating in the lighting of the cauldron followed by fireworks.
Posted at: 11:49 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Sports and Leisure
Well, after a very upsetting Super Bowl in February, the Patriots were back in action today, but it wasn’t the first string. Pre-season, a lot of the back up players will get their chance to prove themselves to the team.
Matt Cassel didn’t do well at all in his first start, but Matt Gutierrez and rookie Kevin O’Connell played decent in comparison. Even though the Patriots lost to the Ravens 16-15, it was the first time we have seen the Patriots play a game since the Super Bowl.
Posted at: 11:28 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Armenia
Back in October I wrote about the Armenia Tree Project for Blog Action Day because it is really important to me. I spent time there while I was in Armenia and it is an amazing cause.
I don’t know if you have heard of the Members Project, but it is by American Express and they are giving 2.5 million dollars to plant more trees in Armenia. I know that there are enough problems in the US, but if we help Armenia’s ecosystem, it might help out our situation in the long run. Our struggles will go away in the near future (a few years maybe), but Armenia 80% of Armenia’s territory is at risk of deforestation.
Posted at: 11:10 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Sports and Leisure
Jason Bay and Jed Lowrie had an amazing series against Oakland this weekend. Jason Bay in his first three games with Boston has a 3 game hitting streak which included a triple to win the game in 12 innings Friday and a 3-run Home Run last night. Also with great plays in left field and his speed make him a real threat to the opposing team.
Jed Lowrie is replacing Lugo while he is on the DL. However, I don’t think Francona will want to take Lowrie out right now since he is on fire. Numerous big hits have left an impression of Lowrie that sits a lot better than Lugo. Send him back down to the PawSox and keep Jed up here where he is actually helping us instead of hurting us.
Posted at: 4:11 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Tech and Web
At work, we are redesigning one of our websites and we couldn’t completely get rid of our old data since other websites/cms still use it. On the new site, we standardized our database structure, used transactions and started using views once we converted from mysql 4 to mysql 5. The change went pretty smooth until we realized one of the changes in mysql 5, caused a lot of problems with our old code. Luckily it was on our development server and were able to make the changes before we went live with mysql 5.
The code was originally written around 1999 and contained Comma Joins. SELECT * FROM users as u, user_details as d WHERE u.id = d.user_id
A comma separated joins are not as efficient nor are they the norm in web development. The “as” in “users as u” is not required, but that is my style.
If you have any of those joins and you move to mysql 5, you will run into some issues. You will want to convert those to INNER JOINS or LEFT JOINS, etc…
SELECT * FROM users as u INNER JOIN user_details as d ON u.id = d.user_id
Posted at: 11:50 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Sports and Leisure
Just as hoped, Manny Rameriz is not in a Boston uniform and his “replacement” produced. Jason Bay not only scored the winning run, but the only two runs that Boston had. He walked twice, got hit by a pitch and hit a triple off the Green Monster before Jed Lowrie (rookie) got an infield hit in the bottom of the 12th inning to give the Red Sox the walk off.
Welcome to the [Jason] Bay State (reference to Massachusetts being the “Bay State” in case you are unfamiliar)
Posted at: 8:48 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Sports and Leisure
It’s official, Manny Ramirez is no longer on the Boston Red Sox. One of the most notable and best players the Red Sox have ever seen is going to the LA Dodgers in a three way trade with the Pirates.
Pittsburgh gave up Bay and wound up with four young players. The deal was completed just before the 4 p.m. EDT deadline for making trades without waivers.
As of early Thursday, it appeared Ramirez might be on his way to the Florida Marlins. But when those talks fizzled, the Red Sox and Pirates found a willing third partner in the Dodgers.
“When a player like Manny becomes available, I don’t think there’s a manager in baseball who wouldn’t say they’re interested,” said Dodgers skipper Joe Torre, whose Yankees teams went toe-to-toe with Ramirez for years. “It was something that happened very quickly, obviously.” - source
Manny was a icon in Boston for the last 7 years, but after some of his comments and actions recently, I am glad the Red Sox traded him. Don’t get me wrong, I thought he was awesome, the Red Sox need a player who don’t cause so many problems. Sox are trying to win back-to-back World Series and Manny brings too many distractions.
Posted at: 11:44 pm by Timothy Haroutunian Categories: Sports and Leisure
I don’t know what the Red Sox have been doing lately, they have lost 8 games since the All Star Break out of a possible 12. Once the trade deadline passes, I believe the Sox will get back in it and make their stride to the top of the AL East.
“I thought they hit some decent pitches; they hit some bad pitches, too,” Beckett said. “Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely not perfect tonight.”
The Angels looked just about perfect in this three-game showdown between two teams who could meet again in the postseason.
“They’re playing really well right now,” said Beckett. “They’re feeling good about themselves and they should be because they’re playing good baseball. I wanted to go out there and set the tone. I just couldn’t hold it there.”
Beckett continued to have trouble in the sixth, so much so that the Angels landed a knockout punch. Again, Anderson was a problem, ripping a two-run homer that curled just inside the Pesky Pole in right. The Angels simply wouldn’t relent. Howie Kendrick followed with a single and moved to third on a throwing error by Varitek. Jeff Mathis followed with an RBI double and after a Chone Figgins single, Beckett was lifted in favor of Manny Delcarmen.
With runners at the corners, Figgins stole second. Making matters worse, shortstop Jed Lowrie couldn’t handle Varitek’s throw. The error — charged to Lowrie — allowed another run to score. Maicer Izturis produced a sacrifice fly, pinning the Red Sox in an 8-2 hole.
