Bryce Harper can handle this challenge, ready or not

As the sun sets over the San Gabriel Mountains on Saturday night,Bryce Harper will stroll to the plate for the first time as a major leaguer, thousands of gazes focused on him, the baseball nation watching from home. He may or may not get a hit. It will not be a challenge for him.

Do you want to know what a challenge is for Harper? When he was 13 and 14, which is not so long ago, he traveled across the country, without his parents, to play baseball in the best tournaments, the best leagues, for 15- and 16-year-olds. The other kids teased him. The other parents were jealous. Harper could gain acceptance if he played baseball well. Then he would fly to another tournament, put his uniform on in the car on the way from the airport to the field, and start over. That was a challenge. That was pressure.

Saturday night, Harper will be where he believes he belongs. Does he? We’ll have to see. “There’s no better place to get groomed than the big leagues,” Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth said. If Harper fails and gets sent back down to the minors, he will still believe he belongs. It will not ruin him. “He needs to be challenged,” one person close to Harper said.

There is no downside for it to happen now. If he’s ready, great, the Nationals have added offense to a team that desperately needs it. If he is not, he will handle it. His world will not end.

“Getting to the big leagues and sticking is not 100 percent guaranteed for anyone,” Ryan Zimmerman said. “Bryce is the kind of kid that, he’s very confident. He knows he’s a good player. But you have to be like that in baseball. He’ll be able to handle whatever it is, whether he comes up and goes back down or comes up and stays up. For the most part, Bryce is very mentally tough for his age.”

Zimmerman reached the majors a few weeks before his 20th birthday. He remembers facing John Smoltz, a player had grown up admiring, and thinking, ‘Holy [smokes].’

“You have to get past that point,” Zimmerman said. “You have to get past the point of, these are figures, these are superheroes, and now you’re playing against them. You have to put yourself on that level. Once you get past that, the game is the game.”

In that regard, Harper will benefit by being more famous than pretty much everyone on the field. He calls Albert Pujols by his first name. He wore a hat with an uncommon logo this spring, and when asked for an explanation, Harper said, “Kobe and Beckham wear it.”

I think Harper will feel less internal pressure in the majors than in Syracuse, and a few people in his orbit agree. If Baseball’s Chosen One fails in the minors, it is an embarrassment. If Harper struggles at the major league level, then he is just another player working through a slump. He is the rare player with less to prove in the majors than in the minors.

The questions about his demeanor, his attitude, his makeup will come. The Nationals are past that.

“Bryce, not so much anymore, but at first, had a different way of expressing his confidence,” Zimmerman said. “From last spring training to this spring training, I’ve never seen somebody grow up as quickly as he has in one year. The way he carries himself, he thinks [about] things differently now.”

After Harper moved to minor league camp, he briefly became somewhat restless. But at Class AAA, he fit in well. His teammates teased him, and he teased them back.

“That’s never been an issue,” Class AAA Manager Tony Beasley said. “He’s always been a good teammate. He’s just another one of the guys in the clubhouse. He doesn’t separate himself or get any kind of special attention. He’s been awesome.”

He’ll walk to the plate Saturday night at Dodgers Stadium. He may or may not be ready. He will have handled tougher situations on a diamond. What will happen? Who knows?

“What has he always done?” one Nationals coach said this winter. “He always found a way to be the best player on the field.”

Sources

Originally Posted by Adam Kilgore

5 Tips For Winning An Argument

5. Soft and Steady

When debating you should never raise your voice. You should remain calm at all times. The louder you talk, the louder your opponent talks – and the end result is a yelling match. And of course, it goes without saying that you should definitely not resort to violence. You can even try to talk quieter than normal – as this can draw people in to you and it can make you appear wise. An argument is not won by the person with the loudest voice, it is won by the person with the most compelling arguments.


4. Get Your Opponent On Your Side

It is a good idea to try to get your opponent on your side by making statements that you know he agrees with – this puts you in the strong position in the debate. You don’t even need to use a fact relating to your debate – you could, for example, in a debate about the existence of God state “I am sure you agree with me when I say that petrol is overpriced”. As soon as your opponent agrees, you have won a psychological battle. You are no longer the opponent – you are a comrade. This technique is so effective it is used by telemarketers all the time.

3. Don’t Attack

It is not a good idea to blatantly tell your opponent that he is wrong – instead you should show that he is wrong through good counter-arguments. Telling a person they are wrong merely annoys them and does nothing for your argument as (at least until you can prove it), it is a subjective comment. Be humble in the debate and show good will – not only will it make you look good if you win, it will show that you are a worthy opponent even if you lose.

2. Don’t Play Dirty

Never resort to name calling – even if your opponent does. You must attack your opponent’s argument – not their person. As soon as you begin to criticize your opponent, it becomes obvious that you have run out of ways to defend your view. These types of insults (ad hominem) are a sure way to lose a debate. You should be pleased if your opponent resorts to this feeble attempt to escape the real debate as it means you are close to victory.

1. Define The Fundamentals

When arguing, both parties need to agree on fundamental “truths” to begin with – if you don’t, there can be no debate. What is the point of arguing that the Bible was written by God, when your opponent doesn’t even believe in God? First you should debate the existence of God. If you both agree that He exists, you can then debate the smaller points. If your opponent convinces you that God can not exist, there is little point in arguing about the authorship of the Bible. This is the structure seen in the Summa Theologica by Saint Thomas Aquinas – he starts with the basic points, presents arguments and counter-arguments, and moves on when each point is “proven” by logic.

Sources

Top 10 Theories On How The World Will End

There are many possibilities through which the world’s end can occur. There have been put forward many explanations as to how that all will happen. Here are just ten of the many possibilities that have been proposed by the scientists from all over the world about how life on earth will end.

10. Destruction through Nuclear Holocaust or Biochemical Weapons

Nuclear weapons have been a threat since day one. However, nuclear energy is useful. It is the weapons that would kill human race, especially in an event where mistrust between states grew to the point that they engage in a nuclear warfare. There are enough nuclear weapons that states have, if launched at once, can actually destroy the entire planet earth hundreds of times over. Biochemical warfare also presents itself with the same consequences.

9. Genetically Engineered Human Mutants

With the kind of scientific experiments from which the stuff for popular science-fiction emerges, it is possible that humans would end up themselves and all life forms on earth. They could leave this interphase of destroying life and other forms and directly just reach the end of the world. How can humans risk and threat the world like this? Through genetic engineering and gene therapy. Humans are capable of transferring harmful genes to other species. Scientists have conducted experiments to make genetically modified animals. They can make a human mutant too in the form of a humanoid. Having changed human genes and DNA, it would affect human emotions, psyche and physical abilities, leading to complications. Man has spent years in order to understand human behavior, it will be the deconstruction of that understanding, if human mutants increase in numbers to the extent of overtaking known human species.
8. Invasion by Aliens from the Outer Space

One of the adventurous stories that science-fiction always has to offer is something about aliens invading the earth descending g through their UFOs. If one was to believe that there is an intelligent life existing in some other part of the universe and that it is trying to connect with us, they might at least make a visit. If they are of domineering nature, like humans, they might actually invade instead of merely visiting. The threat is of them possessing far superior weapons that would be enough to kill the whole of human kind instantly.

7. Collision of an Asteroid

There are many flying objects in space, one of which is giant asteroids. Like planets, they too have their own orbits to rotate about. However, since there being so many of them, there is a possibility of one of them colliding with the earth. There are thousands of meteors and small asteroids that fall to the earth, which we often see in the form of a shooting star. But the threat exists from a giant one. NASA claims that it is developing a more applicable technology, where not just theoretically the asteroid can be destroyed or made to change its trajectory, but could actually save the earth in this way.

6.  Reversal of Geomagnetic Field

Earth has a magnetic field which has a north and a south pole, which also make the end of earth’s axial points. The purpose of the earth’s magnetic field is to protect it from cosmic radiations, solar wind and subatomic particles from space. Scientists believe that every tens of thousands of years to millions of years, earth’s magnetic field gets reversed. The last time it occurred was over 780,000 years ago, called the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal. Over the past century, the earth’s magnetic field has decreased in strength about 5%. If natural changes that occur inside the earth happen to be extreme, it could alter the magnetic field and end all life as we know it

5. Earth Spins Off Its Axis

One of the factors which is sustaining life on the planet earth is its location in the Solar System. It is neither too far from the sun, so as to kill life from cold temperature, and nor too near it to kill life from overexposure to harmful sun rays. It spins on its axis to give us day and night and revolves around the sun to give us seasons. If earth was to spin off from its axis even a little bit, the whole balance would be disturb that would directly affect living conditions. The right pull of gravity from the sun and the right push of centrifugal forces is what keeps the axis in the right place. The current axial tilt of the earth is 23.5°, which remains the same through its rotation and revolution. The external forces which can cause an impact large enough to disturb this tilt of the axis include massive earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.

4. The Big Freeze

Scientists believe that since the Big Bang, which essentially created the universe, there has been a constant process of expansion that has not stopped and will never cease. This very expansion of the universe would lead heavenly bodies away from the center of the universe. In the process, earth would be moving away from its center, which is the sun. When that happens, called the Big Freeze, the coldness will prevail over the earth. Under such extreme coldness existence of life is not possible. The phenomenon of global warming is something that can speed up the process of the Big Freeze real quickly.

3. Solar Flares and Gamma-Ray Bursts

There are massive explosions taking place on the surface of the sun, which release incredible amount of heat energy. The sounds of these sun explosions are not heard because of the vacuum that exists in space, through which sound waves cannot travel. However, these sun explosions do give out solar flares which do reach the earth’s atmosphere. These solar flares are most harmful to the Ozone Layer, which basically works to protect us from these high radiations. The very unpredictability of a solar flare is what is fearful. Gamma-ray bursts, which according to scientists has never taken place in Milky Way, our galaxy, but has a possibility of occurring anytime. Solar flares and gamma-ray bursts can destroy earth.
2. The Death of the Sun or the Universe

Every star in the universe has a life-span completing which it fades away to its own death. Sun is the star, which is still in its early ages, but there would come a time when it too will expire. Along with this fact that sun is a red star which has to die, the universe having been born once would face an end too. When there would be no sun or no universe, the earth will not exist in isolation against natural laws. The end of universe will occur, as believed by scientists, when it would not have any more capacity to expand and would reach its limit by exploding killing all life forms and life-sustaining conditions.

1. God will End the Universe Someday

According to all religious belief systems, God, which is the Force of Nature and the First Cause, created the universe and made man to live on earth to test him based on his deeds, intentions and will power. God is the single most significant factor which started this whole chain of events and He will end this whole cosmic phenomenon at some point in time. The exact time as to when He would decide to end the universe and man is only known to Him alone. However, amongst many ways and theories as to how the world will end, one strong belief is that of God ending the universe someday.

Sources

S. Korea Curbs U.S. Beef Sales After Confirmation Of Mad Cow Disease

 (CNN) -- The first U.S. case of mad cow disease in six years sparked fears of illness that prompted at least one major South Korean retailer to suspend the sale of American beef.

However, public health officials said the risk for disease for Americans is extremely low given that the affected dairy cow in central California was not part of the human food chain and was not exposed to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) through animal feed.

"It was never presented for slaughter for human consumption, so at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health," said John Clifford, the Agriculture Department's chief veterinarian.

Sarah Klein, food safety attorney for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said there is no need for consumers to take precautions.

"A case of a single cow with bovine spongiform encephalopathy is not a reason for significant concern on the part of consumers, and there is no reason to believe the beef or milk supply is unsafe," she said.

"If the cow were exposed to the typical strain of BSE via animal feed -- and the government says that's not the case here -- that would have represented a significant failure," she said.

However, she said the government would have had a difficult time tracking down other cattle that may have been eating the same feed because the nation lacks an effective animal identification program.

In South Korea, one of the world's largest importers of U.S. beef, the discovery of BSE, also known as mad cow disease, was enough to prompt retailer LotteMart to remove American beef from store shelves.

"Currently, the sale of U.S. beef is temporarily suspended to ease our customers from anxiety," LotteMart said.

For its part, the South Korean government said it will step up checks on U.S. beef imports -- but not halt it for now.

In 2010, South Korea imported 125,000 tons of U.S. beef, a 97% increase from the year before, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The cow's carcass was at a Baker Commodities Inc. rendering facility in Hanford, California, according to company Executive Vice President Dennis Luckey.

The company renders animal byproducts and had randomly selected the animal for testing last Wednesday, he said.

"We are in the business of removing dead animals from dairies in the Central Valley," he told CNN. "As part of that program, we participate in the BSE surveillance program."

The sample was sent to the University of California at Davis for initial testing, which came back inconclusive. It was then sent to the Department of Agriculture's laboratory in Ames, Iowa, where it tested positive, the agency said.

The carcass was in quarantine Tuesday night.

"We're waiting now for USDA to tell us how to dispose of it," Luckey said.

Eating contaminated meat or some other animal products from cattle that have BSE is thought to be the cause of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.The fatal brain disease was blamed for the deaths of 150 people in Britain, where there was an outbreak in the 1980s and 1990s.

In people, symptoms of the disease include psychiatric and behavioral changes, movement deficits, memory disturbances and cognitive impairments.

BSE can cause infected animals to display nervousness or aggression, difficulty in coordination and standing up, decreased milk production or loss of body weight.

It is usually transmitted between cows through the practice of recycling bovine carcasses for meat and bone meal protein, which is fed to other cattle.

In this case, the Agricultural Department reported that the cow had a rare form of BSE not likely carried by contaminated feed.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said he remains confident in the health of the national herd and the safety of beef and dairy products.

"This is an atypical case, which means it's not connected in any way, shape or form to feed. ... A very rare circumstance and situation," Vilsack told CNN. "It can just sort of come up and pop up -- sometimes it's genetic."

Since 2004, the USDA has removed the brain and the spinal column -- the parts suspected of causing mad cow disease in humans -- from the food system.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the odds of a person contracting mad cow disease, even after consuming contaminated products, are less than one in 10 billion.

Unlike most other meat-borne illnesses, such as those caused by E.-coli bacteria, cooking does not kill the infectious agent that causes mad cow disease.

Consumers who wish to exercise extra caution can follow the advice presented by the Web-based consumer advocacy group Consumeraffairs.com, which advises the avoidance of brains, neck bones and beef cheeks, bone marrow and cuts of beef that are sold on the bone. The group also says to choose boneless cuts of meat and ground beef only if it has been ground in the store.

"Evidence shows that our systems and safeguards to prevent BSE are working, as are similar actions taken by countries around the world," said the USDA's Clifford.

Last year, 29 cases of BSE were reported worldwide, down 99% from the peak of 37,311 cases in 1992.

"This is directly attributable to the impact and effectiveness of feed bans as a primary control measure for the disease," he said.

The Agriculture Department confirmed the first case of mad cow disease in America in December 23, 2003, in a cow born in Alberta, Canada, in April 1997, only four months before the United States and Canada began banning the use of brain and spinal cord tissue in cattle feed.

A second U.S. case was confirmed June 24, 2005, and a third on March 13, 2006.

The infected California cow confirmed Tuesday was America's fourth case of mad cow disease.

CNN's Kat Kinsman,Tom Watkins and Moni Basu contributed to this report

Sources : CNN