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This month, Sandra breaks down Question #2 on the 2015 AP Chemistry exam. Read step by step instructions on how to solve this tricky question, and get tips on how to avoid getting tripped up on questions like this in the future!
On average students scored 3.88/10 points on this question while only 1% of students got a perfect score. In this question, students are expected to know how to analyze the experimental data that is given and show an understanding of thermodynamics.
The Question
Ethene, C2H4(g) (molar mass 28.1 g/mol), may be prepared by the dehydration of ethanol, C2H5OH(g) (molar mass 46.1 g/mol), using a solid catalyst. A setup for the lab synthesis is shown in the diagram above. The equation for the dehydration reaction is given below.
A student added a 0.200 g sample of C2H5OH(l) to a test tube using the setup shown above. The student heated the test tube gently with a Bunsen burner until all of the C H OH(l) 2 5 evaporated and gas generation stopped. When the reaction stopped, the volume of collected gas was 0.0854 L at 0.822 atm and 305 K. (The vapor pressure of water at 305 K is 35.7 torr.)
(a) Calculate the number of moles of C2H4(g)
(i) that are actually produced in the experiment and measured in the gas collection tube and
(ii) that would be produced if the dehydration reaction went to completion.
(b) Calculate the percent yield of C2H4(g) in the experiment.
Because the dehydration reaction is not observed to occur at 298 K, the student claims that the reaction has an equilibrium constant less than 1.00 at 298 K.
(c) Do the thermodynamic data for the reaction support the student's claim? Justify your answer, including a calculation of DG298 D for the reaction.
(d) The Lewis electron-dot diagram for C2H4 is shown below in the box on the left. In the box on the right, complete the Lewis electron-dot diagram for C2H5OH by drawing in all of the electron pairs.
(e) What is the approximate value of the C–O–H bond angle in the ethanol molecule?
(f) During the dehydration experiment, C2H4(g) and unreacted C2H5OH(g) passed through the tube into the water. The C2H4 was quantitatively collected as a gas, but the unreacted C2H5OH was not. Explain this observation in terms of the intermolecular forces between water and each of the two gases.
The Solution
First, quickly read through the question and get an idea of on what you are being tested. Underline values that are given! Notice that both the standard enthalpy change of reaction(ΔH°298) and standard entropy of reaction (ΔS°298) are given in different units. They are also given at standard temperature and pressure. During the test make sure to convert all measurements into the correct units before doing calculations and get in the habit of writing out the units in the answer!
Part (a)
Now, let's work through (a) which asks for (i) the moles actually produced in the experiment (ie. experimental yield) and (ii) the moles that would be produced if the reaction went to completion (ie. theoretical yield). Before hand, remember to clearly label your work and answers for section (a)(i) vs (a)(ii). Points are not given for correct answers in the wrong section. Recognize that we need the equation PV=nRT from the equation table where n represents the moles and to solve for moles the equation becomes n=PV/RT. The question gives us the volume of gas collected, 0.0854L, total pressure, 0.822 atm, and temperature, 305K. Notice that the total pressure is given but we need the pressure of ethene. Given the equation Ptotal = Pwater + Pethene from the equation table we can solve for Pethene. However, we first need to convert Pwater into the correct units, atm. Given Pwater = 35.7 torr and 1atm = 760 torr using division we can cancel the units and get Pwater = 0.0470atm. Remember the significant figures here. Solving for Pethene = Ptotal – Pwater = 0.822atm – 0.0470 atm = 0.775atm. Using this pressure and the equation n=PV/RT = (0.775 atm)(0.0854 L)/ (0.08206 L atm mol-1 K-1) ( 305 K) = 0.00264 mol. Make sure to write in all the units and make sure they cancel out to leave moles! For (a)(ii), which asks for the theoretical yield of moles if the reaction went to completion make sure the equation is balanced. Since in this case the equation is already balanced we see that 1mol C2H5OH will yield 1 mol of C2H4 thus calculate the moles of C2H5OH given the amount of grams initially used.
Part (b)
Part (b) wants you to use the experimental yield and theoretical yield and calculate the percent yield. Many students calculated the percent error here but remember that the percent yield = actual yield/theoretical yield x 100. Percent error is not the same as percent yield so be careful! Using this equation 0.00264 mol/0.00434 mol x 100 = 60.8%. Since we are representing the percent yield there is no need to convert moles to grams. Also, to check your answer make sure that the percent yield is not more than 100% since it doesn't make sense to yield more than the theoretical amount possible.
Part (c) requires that you know how to calculate ΔG° of the reaction using the equation ΔG°= ΔH°-TΔS° that is given on the equation sheet and determine the equilibrium constant for gas pressure, Kp, from this equation. First let's calculate ΔG° at 298K like the question requires. Note that ΔH° and ΔS° are already given at 298K but in different units. Convert the units of ΔS° to kJ by diving by 1000 since 1J = 1000kJ. Thus,
The student claims the reaction has an equilibrium constant less than 1.00 at 298K. To determine whether this is true let's use the equation give from the equation sheet that includes both ΔG° and Kp, which is ΔG°= -RT ln Kp. Solving for Kp we get Kp= e(-ΔG°/RT) < 1. So, yes the data supports the students claim because a ΔG° > 0 results in a Kp < 1.
Part (d)
Part (d) can be answered without any calculation. For (d) you are expected to know how to draw Lewis structures which are based on valence electrons. Remember that for neutral atoms the group number is equal to the number of valence electrons. Thus Carbon has 4 valence electrons, Oxygen has 6, and Hydrogen has 1 valence electron, which gives 20 valence electrons that need to be represented in the dot structure. Begin by drawing two dots between each atom to represent a chemical bond. By doing this you will use 16 valence electrons and satisfy the octet rule for both carbons but 4 electrons are left and the octet for oxygen is not satisfied. Thus those 4 electrons go around the oxygen and represent two lone pairs, so the diagram looks like this:
Part (e)
Part (e) asks you to give the bond angle between the C-O-H in this molecule. Due to the lone pairs present around the oxygen this bond makes a tetrahedral like angle, which is approximately 109°. However, the scorers gave 1 point for any bond angle between 100° - 115°.
This question required knowledge about VSEPR models but required no justification to receive points.
Part (f)
This part wants you to show an understanding of the intermolecular forces between ethene and water and ethanol and water. Ethene, which is a nonpolar molecule, is only slightly soluble in water because of the weak dipole/induced dipole forces of nonpolar molecules. Ethanol however is soluble in water because they are polar and form hydrogen bonds with the water molecules as they dissolve.
Using this question as a study guide I would advise you to review the following
- VSEPR bond angles
- types of reactions (ie. endothermic and exothermic)
- relationship between enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy
- intramolecular forces and physical properties
- ideal gas law
Always remember to show your work, label each part of the question correctly, use significant figures, and watch the units!
Are you interested in getting a chemistry tutor to help you?
Here are some additional blog posts on the subject of chemistry!

subset: commoncrawl


text: Home / Trinket Box Pouch backward forward prev next Trinket Box Pouch Bordeaux Velvet SG$150.00 Colour: Bordeaux Velvet Luxury Gift Wrap Add 13 left in stock Add to bag Order by 1pm for next day delivery Description Details Delivery Item code: 039-2253 An exquisite addition to your accessory collection, our Trinket Box Internal Pouch has been designed specifically to fit inside our range of transparent Trinket Boxes. Hand-crafted from the finest velvet in a rich shade of bordeaux, the signature grosgrain lining on the interior paired with the plush, sumptuously soft velvet exterior is what makes this piece so luxurious. Designed with practicality in mind, it is secured by fine quality zips and features versatile D-rings that attach to your trinket box strap so you can wear it as a separate clutch for an evening out. Our Aspinal signature gold plaque and fine quality hardware lend this piece a decadent finishing touch. Read more Height: 3.2 inches / Width: 6.5 inches / Depth: 1.6 inches Luxurious Bordeaux velvet Signature grosgrain lining Designed specifically to go inside our transparent Trinket Boxes Aspinal of London gold plaque on exterior Fine quality zip with signature zip pull D-rings attach to strap for use as a clutch Insurance & Handling Fee SG$15.00 will be added to your total purchase price at checkout. This will subsidise tax, duty, credit card fees, insurance in transit and handling. UK DELIVERY UK Standard Delivery (2-3 days) £4.95 UK Express Delivery (Next Day) * £9.95 *Orders placed before 2pm are delivered next working days. All delivery times are based on working days. INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY European Delivery £13.00 €16.00 US/Canada Standard Delivery (2-3 days) £15.00 $15.00 US/Canada Priority Delivery (1-2 days) £18.00 $28.00 Worldwide Delivery £20.00 Insurance and Handling will be charged at a rate of 2.5% (EU) / 5% (USA & Canada) / 10% (Rest of World) on your total purchase price at checkout. This will subsidise tax, duty, credit card fees, insurance in transit and handling. In the unlikely event that any extra charges are requested from you at the time of import by customs or by courier at the time of delivery, please contact our Customer Services Team for advice with this matter.


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Trails Throughout CoralvilleCoralville has over 20 miles of recreational trails and over extra-wide sidewalks that connect throughout the community. As Coralville grows, we have identified about 40 additional miles of trail which could be part of future development.
Trail development is funded in two ways in Coralville:
- Through state and federal grant programs with match money from local hotel / motel taxes
- Through working with developers as subdivisions are planned to place dual-purpose trails for recreational use and for sewer manhole access
Area Trail & Bike Parking Maps
- Coralville Trails and Overwide Sidewalks
- Coralville / Iowa City Bike Parking
- Iowa Bike Trails mapped by the Iowa Department of Transportation
- Iowa City Metro Area Trails mapped by the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County
TrailheadsCoralville has several trailheads or facilities to help users enjoy the trail system. Trailheads have parking, restrooms, and amenities such as shelters or concessions. The following serve as trailheads in Coralville:
- Brown Deer Golf Club, 1900 Country Club Dr.
- Tom Harkin Trailhead, 719 Camp Cardinal Blvd.
- Coralville Youth Sports Park, 2280 Dempster Dr.
- Iowa Firefighters Memorial, 1 Russell Slade Blvd. (off exit 242, Interstate-80)
- North Ridge Pavilion, 2250 Holiday Rd.
Trail Policies
Motorized Vehicles
View Policy for Use of Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices.
Snow RemovalThe City of Coralville's policy is to not remove snow on trails unless they are directly linked to a passageway to a school. Those trails are:
- The Auburn Hills trail segment northeast from Brown Deer Road under the Muddy Creek Bridge to Kate Wickham School
- The Auburn Hills Trail segment north from Kate Wickham School through the woods, and at the T-intersection to go east to Auburn Hills Drive and west to Muddy Creek Lane
- The Oakdale Boulevard Trail from Kate Wickham Elementary to 12th Avenue
- One path through S.T. Morrison Park leading to Northwest Junior High and Kirkwood School complex
- Sidewalks in Central Park that provides access to Coralville Central Elementary School


text: The looming danger of climate change is a global issue that has high potential to impact all the nations adversely across the globe in varying degree based on geographical location, technological and financial capabilities to adapt to the impact of climate change. As climate change is a global issue; therefore, it requires global solution with concerted efforts of all the nations: big and small, develop and developing as per their differential responsibility and capability. Kyoto Protocol under United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was such a historical international negotiation to address climate change issue, but it couldn't succeed due to lack of global political will across all the nations in reducing green house gases (GHG) which is the main cause of global warming and in turn climate change. However, over the years negotiations for climate change mitigation under UNFCCC continued and it has taken many twists and turns before finally taking a shape at COP21 Paris Climate Change Summit in 2015. As COP21 Paris Climate Change negotiation has turned into an agreement, and accordingly it will enter into force from 4th November, 2016. Now it is to be seen that how much credible and pragmatic is Paris Climate Agreement in addressing GHG emission reduction. The credibility and pragmatism of implementation and monitoring mechanism of GHG reduction needs to be analysed. The success of any international negotiation will depend on concerted efforts by all participants, and this is only possible when justice and equity is there in an agreement for all the members. Equity and justice in climate change mitigation would necessarily require pooling and sharing of resources. In light of above, it will further be required to examine the pooling and distribution of global intellectual, technological, financial, labour and other resources in equitable manner at affordable cost so that these resources could be gainfully utilised by all the nations across the globe to reduce GHG in order to mitigate climate change.


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13 July 2015
Notice of Extraordinary General Meeting on 3 August 2015
Notice is hereby given of an EGM of Bergen Group ASA to be held on Monday 3 August 2015 regarding the approval of a loan agreement of NOK 60 million.
The EGM will be held at the offices of Advokatfirmaet Harris DA, Dreggsallmenningen 10/12, 5835 Bergen, Norway.
The Board has proposed that the Company shall enter into a loan agreement with Køhlergruppen AS for loan denominated up to NOK 60 000 000, as informed about in the stock exchange message distributed 24 June 2015. Since Køhlergruppen AS is a shareholder in the Company, the loan agreement has to be approved by the General Meeting of the Company, ref. Asal. § 3-8. Attached this Notice is a report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) according t Asal . § 3-8 , ref. § 2-6 , for the loan agreement proposed entered into.
The Notice has today been distributed by post to all shareholders as per 10 July 2015 with a known address. The Notice is also available for download here.
Øyvind Risnes
SVP Corporate Functions & Communications
+47 480 48 561


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There was a time when the possibility of Robert De Niro and John Cusack appearing in the same film would hold great promise. Not anymore.
There was a time when the possibility of Robert De Niro and John Cusack appearing in the same film would hold great promise. Not anymore. Time and desperation have left an unsavory tarnish on both. Sure, you still see signs of their former selves in cameos they've made in "American Hustle" and "The Butler." But for the most part, both are now content to appear in indie claptraps like their latest, "The Bag Man," and do nothing but go through the motions in service of a paycheck.
The dollars may be short, but then so is the material. In other words, they get pretty much what they're paid for, which is practically nothing. That's certainly the case with "Bag Man," a tale of calamity, deceit and mayhem right out of the Coen brothers' playbook. Which is fine, except first-time director David Grovic is no Joel and Ethan Coen. He's more like a second-rate Michael Bay, lazy, uninventive and seriously devoid of talent.
Those dubious qualities are evident almost from the start of what proves to be a drudge through a gauntlet equal to Dante's nine circles of hell. It begins promisingly with a phone conversation between De Niro's gray pompadoured mob kingpin Dragna and Cusack's hard-luck flunky Jack. The former orders the latter to pick up a mysterious bag, take it to a fleabag motel in Louisiana (Room 13, natch), where Jack is to wait for Dragna's arrival. But under no conditions, is Jack to look inside the bag. And with this stipulation, a McGuffin is born. So is a lot of boring set pieces in which Jack must match dimwits with a host of unsavories, including a pimp (Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones) and his little person partner (Martin Klebba), a 6-foot hooker with blue hair (newcomer Rebecca Da Costa), a ruthless, crooked sheriff (Dominic Purcell) and a nosy wheelchair-bound hotel clerk played by the master of strange, Crispin Glover.
They take turns trying to maim, kill or mutilate Jack during the course of a dark steamy night. Well, everyone except the hooker, a heart-of-gold type whose motives for coming to Jack's aid are continually in question. Is she out to snatch the "valuable" bag via her womanly charms, or is she really falling for this much older loser who can't seem to do a thing right?
I suspect Grovic expects us to care, but you really don't. Nor do you want to after umpteen incidences of the hooker getting slapped around by various "men," and even more scenes of gratuitous violence, as Jack cuts down his enemies via such inventive ways as decapitation, a shovel to the head and good ol' fashion shotgun blasts to the heart. The intent, I suspect, is to be darkly funny, but the result is deathly boring.
Cusack, as is his wont, always remains strangely likeable, even when Jack is at his most despicable. I suspect some of that has to do with Jack being the only character who is more than superficially fleshed out by an anemic script by Grovic and Paul Conway that could use at least a dozen more rewrites. As is, their words are pretty much empty, as is the picture, which seriously lacks purpose and a point. Some might find joy in watching Cusack murder a string of adversarial nincompoops one by one until there's no more room to stuff the bodies. But without any brains, the blood in "The Bag Man" runs much too cold to ever warm.


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Methods Of Direct Selling – Differences In Compensation Plans
The official definition of direct sales or selling is: the marketing of products or services directly to the consumer, bypassing the retail location. The original peddler or door-to-door salesmen were the old-fashioned version of direct sales.
Definition Of Direct Sales
Modern direct selling includes many variations of 1:1 selling such as party plan and a wide variety of relationship-based systems of connecting as well as internet sales.
Using the true definition of direct sales then, all of the following types of home businesses would be considered direct sales:
- party plan
- network marketing
- door to door
- affiliate marketing
- and any variation of relationship marketing 1:1
Direct selling companies often use a variety of methods to reach their consumer and each company has a unique pay structure or commission plan.
Methods Of Direct Selling Commission Structures
What really separates the different methods of direct selling businesses are the commission structures.
It is actually a pretty complicated subject and adding to the complication of the plans is the fact that many companies pick pieces from different types of programs to implement for their field consultants. Below is the layman's definition of the different methods of direct selling.
If you would like a full white paper on any or all of these methods of direct selling, just send Deb an email for a more complex description of each.
Simple Definition Of Direct Sales Commission Structures
There really is no simple definition of any direct sales commission structure. Due to the complexity of the topic it is difficult to cover all the variables. Most companies' compensation structures fall into one of the following and/or may take parts of several plans.
Unilevel Payment Plan
The unilevel plan is the one that most party plan companies use.
It is very easy to understand which is definitely a benefit in itself. Unilevel plans only enable you to personally bring in one line of distributors, therefore everyone you personally sponsor is on your 1st line. (As opposed to other plans where you can bring people in and place them under someone else.)
There are no limits to how wide your front line can be in this plan, meaning that you can bring in and sponsor an unlimited number of people. They are all placed under you, the recruiter in the first line. The commissions are normally paid out on a limited depth between 3-5 levels deep in various percentages reducing as they go deeper.
The goal of the unilateral plan is to recruit a large number of front line distributors and then encourage them to do the same.
The Breakaway Plan
The stair step breakaway means exactly what the name implies. You climb the ladder to success and when you reach a certain level you break away from your upline distributors. The group that breaks away then runs their organization separately.
The break away distributor earns a higher commission percentage.
There is no limit to the width or number of front line distributors you can sponsor. This program really does not encourage teamwork as income is reduced when a break occurs.
As distributors break away, the original sponsor is still entitled to earn a small percentage (override) from each break away distributor's efforts although this is generally much smaller compared to what they were earning before the break away.
In the "stairstep breakaway" plan, the best income is earned by recruiting as many front line consultants as you can who are great product users or sellers.
The break away system works really well for long term direct sellers who are able to make up in loss of immediate income by accumulating many teams who have broken away and the residual income makes up for the immediate loss of sales.
What Is The (Forced) Matrix Compensation Plan
The matrix plan, also known as a forced matrix plan, is based around a compensation structure that has a set width and depth for which a consultant is paid.
The width and depth of the plan indicates how you get paid.
For example a 3 x 5 plan suggests you can only sponsor a maximum of 3 front line distributors and you earn commissions up to 5 levels deep.
This system encourages teamwork because your front line is limited. Any new recruits that are sponsored after your front line is full must be positioned under one of your existing downline distributors.
Understanding The Binary Compensation Plan
The binary plan is all about 2. There are only 2 first line consultants in a team. Each one is called a "leg".
All distributors after the first 2 are then placed under one of your first 2 front line members or under another distributor in the downline. This creates a supportive environment for new members because the best way for you to achieve success is by helping new members to build their organizations.
In the binary compensation plan the goal is to have balance in the amount of volume flowing through either side of your business.
For example if you had 900 sales dollars (or points) in the left leg of your business but only 600 points flowing through the right, you are paid out on the highest leg which is the 600 side.
Because the goal is to balance both of your organizational legs this encourages your consultants to help their weaker members to build their organization and promotes teamwork. Everyone is focused on achieving volume balance and a more consistent , higher commission check.
Like the unilateral plan, the binary plan works better in creating faster and quicker income for the average consultant because 2 front line distributors begin to provide income immediately for the recruiter.
Which Is Better MLM Or Direct Sales?
So, as you see…. this is a pretty complicated subject! When you ask "Which is better MLM or direct sales?" What exactly do you mean by that?
Print or download the descriptions of the explanations offered above.
I think that most people who ask that question are really asking "Which is better party plan or MLM?"
Party plan sales is really relationship marketing at its finest because the party plan environment taps into the emotional connection of the home party. Since it is predominately unilateral commission the opportunity for massive income is lower and yet the average consultant can make income quickly,
Usually party plan commission structures do not provide residual income meaning that you must continue to do home parties on all levels to continue to receive income.
MLM, which means of course multi-level marketing, usually uses one of the deeper multi-level structures. Therefore, it offers a greater chance for wealth creation and residual income when you stick with it long term. It is more difficult to understand and often is not as quick of a start up when looking for quick income.
The important thing to remember about all of these forms of direct selling payment plans is to realize that they are NOT a pyramid selling situation. We have another page that you may want to look at to determine what is a pyramid scheme.
Direct Sales Business Success
If you are here because you are considering starting a business and are trying to figure out which one is best for you then another article on how to start a party plan business may be more relevant because it is not the commission method that determines your success.
Most companies are a combination of different parts of the above-mentioned pay structures. A specific commission plan is not what determines success in direct sales.
Direct sales is an awesome opportunity and a viable business model to supplement any home's income yet many who start never achieve their goal because they do not stick with it.
When seeking a direct sales company you only need to understand the simplest form of the compensation structure and make sure that it matches your long term goals.


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Why Our Dallas Clients Take Advantage of a Trigger Point Injection (TPI)?
Pain can be felt in the body for numerous reasons and in multiple ways. One of the reasons why you may be feeling pain is due to an issue that is sometimes referred to as trigger points. These areas of inflammation and spasm can occur in the muscles or in the fascia, which is the fibrous connective tissue that surrounds the skeletal muscles. It is possible to experience trigger points in any part of the body, but they are more commonly experienced in the upper back muscles or in the area of the shoulder.
Trigger points can occur for any number of different reasons but they are a common problem which is generally associated with another musculoskeletal disorder. Some of the common disorders which can lead to trigger points include low back pain, neck pain, fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome. If you experience repeated tension headaches or pain of the jaw joint (temporomandibular pain), it may also lead to trigger points. In some cases, you may also suffer from this difficulty if you have minor injuries on a repeated basis or due to acute trauma.
Although there may be different options available for the treatment of trigger point pain, one that is commonly used is a trigger point injection (TPI). It is a type of injection that is given directly into the trigger point in order for an anesthetic to be directed to the area. This anesthetic may differ, depending upon your needs and the preference of the physician but lidocaine is a common choice. Your doctor may also want to inject a corticosteroid hormone into the area to reduce inflammation and it may be mixed with an anesthetic, which will numb the area. Yet another way that trigger point injections may be completed is through dry needling, in which no medication is to be injected into the area but a needle is inserted into the trigger point.
A More Detailed Look at Trigger Point Injection in Dallas
A trigger point injection is an outpatient procedure that may be done at the doctor's office or in certain cases, in another clinical setting. The patients will be made comfortable and put into a position which makes it easy to access the trigger point. In some cases, an ultrasound will be used to assist with the location of the trigger point but in most cases, the doctor will be able to locate it by a gently pinching the area. Trigger points are often easy to feel when the skin is pinched.
The skin in the area of the trigger point will be cleaned and a topical anesthetic may be used to help numb the area of the injection. This helps to reduce any pain that is associated with the injection itself. After the area has been numbed, a needle will be inserted directly into the trigger point and the solution (possibly corticosteroid and anesthetic) will be injected into the area. This is done to cause the trigger point to relax and to reduce inflammation, which could be leading to the difficulty. If the initial injection is not sufficiently able to relax the trigger point, additional injections may be necessary in the same general area.
After the injections have taken place, the area will be clean and a bandage will be applied. You may be directed to apply heat or ice to the area to help reduce swelling and pain. It may also help if you take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID), such as Advil which will help to reduce the pain that you may be experiencing further.
It is not common to experience side effects with trigger point injection. You may have some pain that is associated with the injections but it is typically a temporary issue. Steroids, which may also be injected during a trigger point injection could also lead to side effects, such as fat shrinkage in the area which could cause a visible dent in the skin.
If you suffer from a difficulty with trigger points or from any other pain in the body, you can trust the DFWPainDocs to take care of the problem for you. We have 10 convenient locations throughout the Dallas Fort Worth area and can assist you with one of our innovative techniques. We will also work along with your physician or chiropractor in order to provide you with a more complete treatment for your difficulty.


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Economy of Switzerland – Overview
Switzerland ranks as the 15th largest export economy in the world with annual exports of $302 billion and a positive trade balance of $34.7 billion (after deducting yearly imports of $268 billion).
The GDP of Switzerland was last calculated at $659 billion and that equates to a GDP per capita of $62,900.
The country has managed to increase its annual exports at an annualized rate of 4.42% over the last five years, rising from $283 billion to $302 billion during that period.
Switzerland has always been a country that has supported a position of international neutrality and this has helped it achieve a stable economy, with low unemployment and a GDP per capita that is among the highest in the world.
Switzerland's Top 5 Commodity Exports
|Amount (Annually)
|$82.1 billion
|$2.06 billion
|$2.06 billion
|$1.63 billion
|$954 million
Switzerland's Other Notable Exports
- Packaged Medicaments – $39.7 billion
- Human or Animal Blood – $26.2 billion
- Base Metal Watches – $12.1 billion
- Nitrogen Heterocyclic Compounds – $8.45 billion
- Jewelry – $10.8 billion
Switzerland's top export destinations are Germany ($43.7 billion), the U.S.A ($37 billion), the UK ($32.7 billion), China ($27.3 billion) and Hong Kong ($18.6 billion).
Switzerland's Top 5 Commodity Imports
|Amount (Annually)
|$82.9 billion
|Refined Petroleum
|$3.38 billion
|$825 million
|$614 million
|$702 million
Switzerland's Other Notable Imports
- Packaged Medicaments – $16.6 billion
- Cars – $10.3 billion
- Computers – $3.2 billion
- Orthopedic Appliances – $1.82 billion
- Wine – $1.08 billion
More Information About Switzerland's Commodities
Switzerland is the world's leading exporter of gold, enjoying a 28% share of an annual export market worth $288 billion. The nearest rivals are Hong Kong (19%) and the United States (6.1%).
Although Switzerland is the biggest exporter of gold, it is actually ranked 8th globally in terms of the number of gold reserves it holds. According to World Gold Council figures, Switzerland has 1,040 tonnes, compared to the United States who are top-ranked with 8,133 tonnes.
Switzerland is the ninth largest exporter of diamonds and has a 1.6% share of an annual export market valued at £128 billion.
The country has managed to increase the value of its diamond exports over the last five years by 14.2%.
European countries control 34.8% of global coffee exports and Switzerland is the continent's 2nd largest exporter of coffee with a 6.7% share of an annual world export market worth $30.6 billion.
Switzerland has managed to grow the value of its coffee exports by 14.1% in the last five years.
Higher coffee bean prices charged by Swiss exporters than their counterparts and specializing in selling small quantities in specific formats, such as pods manufactured in factories based in Switzerland, mean that the average price paid for roasted coffee exported out of Switzerland is often about 3.5 times the international average.
Switzerland is the fifth largest exporter of electricity and has a 7.3% share of an annual export market valued at $22.3 billion.
Neighbouring Italy is the major destination for Switzerland's electricity exports, with a 70% share, followed by France (18%), Germany (11%) and Austria (0.94%).
The global platinum export market is worth $21.3 billion per year and Switzerland is the seventh largest exporter with a 4.5% market share.
The country has posted a 78% decline in the value of its platinum exports in the last five years.
Interesting Facts About Switzerland
- Switzerland has one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world but enjoys one of the lowest crime rates of all industrialized countries.
- Teaching is one of the highest paid occupations in Switzerland with an average salary of $68,000.
- The Swiss government has mandated to provide every citizen with a bomb shelter and almost everyone has ready access to one.
- Swiss people have the second longest life expectancy rates in the world, after Japan.
All figures based on OEC/IMF 2016 projections unless otherwise stated.
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Realtime Access Map
Effects of glass-fiber sizings on the strength and energy absorption of the fiber/matrix interphase under high loading rates
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The interphases of various sized E-glass-fiber/epoxy-amine systems were tested at displacement rates in the range 230-2450 μm/s by a new experimental technique (dynamic micro-debonding technique). By this method, the rate-dependent interphase properties, apparent shear strength and absorbed energies due to debonding and frictional sliding, were quantified. The systems include unsized, epoxy-amine compatible, and epoxy-amine incompatible glass fibers. The high displacement rates that induce high-strain-rate interphase loading were obtained by using the rapid expansion capability of piezoelectric actuators (PZT). The results of dynamic micro-debonding experiments showed that the values of interphase strength and specific absorbed energies varied in a manner that is dependent on the sizing and exhibited significant sensitivity to loading rates. The unsized fibers exhibit greater frictional sliding energies that could provide better ballistic resistance, while the compatible sized fibers show higher strength values that improve the structural integrity of the polymeric composites. In addition, significantly higher amounts of energy are absorbed within the frictional sliding regime compared to debonding. By using the experimental data obtained, a case study was performed to reveal the importance of the interphase related micro damage modes on energy absorption (and therefore ballistic performance) of glass/epoxy composite armor.


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Here's what it looks like:
Here's the sink we're going to be using:
And here's where I'm sitting with decisions.
I think I'll keep the knobs - who can compete with those big wooden things - perfection! I will either paint them the same colour as the dresser or white and I'll sand them a bit to show wood through.
Dresser/Vanity Top
As for the top, I'd like to say I'll keep it, but should I sand it and stain it again? Different colour?
Oh and the vanity itself. I'm looking for a punch of fun... here are a couple of colours I was thinking... what do you think? (You can see the floors in the second picture and we'll be keeping the same grey walls and adding white wainscotting)
|the colour on the walls in this picture. via.
|the second colour. via.
|misted fern or aegean teal. via.
|And pretty much most of these. via.
Or, maybe one of the other many colours I have pinned over on my paint. board? Go dark or go light? How much colour is too much? And did I mention, I think I'm going to add a punch of colour in the laundry closet too?
What do you think I should do... I'm stuck!


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About Us
The Lebling Companies consist of affiliated limited liability companies which are managed by Lebling Development, LLC. Lebling Development, LLC only manages for its own account and acts as a property manager for all activities of the Lebling entities.
Steven L. Lebling, Owner
Steve is a 4th generation Montgomery County, Maryland resident. He is a past President of the Montgomery County Students Construction Trades Foundation, past board member of the Reginald S. Lourie Center for Infants and Young Children, and a past member of the Montgomery County Business Political Action Committee. He most recently has been a supporter of Charity Works, the Fisher House, St. John's Opportunity Shop and Potomac Country House Tour charities. Steve was recently elected to the Board of Trustees at Meridian International Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving international relations. As a member of its Executive Committee, Steve has led the development effort of an underutilized parcel on Meridian's behalf.
Andrew R. Lebling, Director of Asset Management & Acquisitions
Steve's son Andrew (Andy) joined Lebling Development, LLC in 2009 after graduating from the University of Maryland. He manages the commercial investment portfolio for the company and is involved in development and acquisition opportunities including identification, analysis, costing and all interactions with sellers as well as agencies. Andy received his B.A. from the University of Maryland and his Masters in Real Estate (Finance) from Georgetown University. His outside business affiliations include ULI and the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.


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I really enjoy documentaries and I watch a lot of them. I'd have to say Hollow is still probably the best documentary I have seen and it is entirely online and interactive. McDowell County, WV is a fascinating place and we, as a country, can learn a lot from looking at what has happened (and still is happening) there.
Appalachia is a region that has long been on my heart but I know now that I am not called to minister to it. But if I can help disseminate knowledge to others about what life is like there then I'll at least accomplish something so please, check out this documentary.


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Thursday, January 24, 2013
Lingering Items--A Banner Edition
There are any number of ways to look at the upcoming Super Bowl and the local and national media won't tire of trying to tell you what that should be. But really if you're a Browns fan is there any other context than to look at the participants and use them as a benchmark for how far your team has to go? Didn't think so.
For in truth, the only point of the NFL, indeed all sports really, is to find a way to get to the top of the mountain. When you're a team like the Browns that can't ever seem to exit base camp, all you can do at this time of year is to watch the better climbers do what they do best and figure out how to be one of them when you grow up.
The Browns journey over the last decade plus has been quixotic, to say the least. To say the most it's been one big cluster after another and while we've dissected all the reasons why until we're as sick as sick can be, the fact remains that neither the patient nor those who care about it most (that's you, the fans) has gotten any better. This is the narrative that we all know so well, including now owner Jimmy Haslam and his right hand hatchet man Joe Banner.
Haslam has made no great missteps since he bought into the Billionaire Boys Club known as the NFL unless you count his almost blinding trust of Banner. This isn't a screed about Banner, however, just a cautionary note that while Haslam's methodology is sound it success still hinges on the execution by people. Banner has enough of a resume to warrant some level of trust but right now the fans are a little queasy placing their faith in the guy who just placed his fate in the combined talents of Rob Chudzinski and Mike Lombardi.
At first I was confused because I assumed that the Browns and Banner were thinking of the guy who played Mike Lombardi in the TV show Rescue Me as their new personnel guy. Sure that Lombardi was confused about his sexuality but he was a helluva fireman and always had Tommy's back. So that had to count for something. Then someone told me it wasn't that Mike Lombardi but the recycled nut job who helped run Bernie Kosar out of town. That didn't exactly clear things up until I remembered that this is Cleveland and nothing smells as fresh as a repainted house. So yea, it made as much sense as the Cavs blind faith in Byron Scott.
The trepidation about the actual Mike Lombardi (and Chudzinski) is well earned, sure, but at what point do the fans just sit back and let it all be? There have been seemingly far more competent hires in the Browns' recent past and yet not a single damn one of them worked out. I suppose then just on the basis of that rare combination of dumb luck and contrarian thinking there's every reason to hope that this can work.
I know more about why Chudzinski hasn't yet been a head coach (young, paying his dues) then the reasons why Lombardi's been on the sidelines for the last 5 years giving curbside opinions into open microphones instead of showering his brilliance on some other wanting franchise. Maybe the right situation didn't materialize. Maybe he liked the non pressured life of a pundit. Maybe no one until Banner trusted him enough to make personnel decisions for real. So Lombardi enters the fray here in Cleveland with a cloud hanging over him, which is nothing new for virtually and Cleveland sports hire, and an upcoming draft that will either make other teams look stupid for ignoring his acumen for so long or confirm Browns' fans worst fears.
But hell, let's give the guy the benefit of the doubt for now and treat it as if there's a choice. Let's remember that in most circles outside of Cleveland a recommendation, particularly a glowing one, by Bill Belichick, is highly valued. That doesn't have to be good enough here mainly because Browns fans would be nervous if Belichick up and quit the Patriots and came back to coach Cleveland instead. But there's really no way of knowing how Lombardi will perform until he does. Besides let's stop acting as if something terrible will happen if Lombardi does turn out to be the devil. This franchise through all its losing has proven to be remarkably resilient and the fans remarkably forgiving as it waits for some sort of oracle who probably never will arrive.
Are you finding the budding feud between Banner and his childhood buddy and former boss, Eagles owner Jeff Lurie delightfully perverse? I know I am. When Banner and Haslam escaped Arizona without doing something really stupid like making a flavor-of-the-month, always-chokes-when-the-pressure's-greatest, no NFL experience, getting-out-of-Dodge-before-the-NCAA-can-saddle-up guy like Chip Kelly the highest paid head coach in the NFL, they did so because Kelly was vascillating. An attention whore at heart but as decisive as a 6-year-old in Dylan's Candy Shop, Kelly wasn't coming across as all-in. While flirting with Haslam he also was making goo-goo eyes at Lurie and secretly texting his love to Phil Knight. So the Browns' contingent left and Kelly went back to Oregon, a classic case of overplaying a truly lucky hand.
But when the Eagles couldn't find a suitable date they called back Kelly and he proved he isn't always as stupid as he's been and jumped. A press conference was held and all sorts of cutesy pointed barbs were hurled toward banner by Lurie and the next thing you know a rivalry has taken hold. Gosh I hope not.
I'm all for circling the wagons around the locals and protecting them from the invaders but really, what's the point? Lurie is an idiot. He ran a perfectly successful coach out of town in favor of a perfectly enigmatic question mark. Maybe it works and maybe it doesn't but why get all grouchy about it? It's not as if the Browns and the Eagles are tethered by their division. They aren't even in the same conference. Chip Kelly could go on to be the next Bill Belichick and Rob Chudzinski could go on to become the next Chris Palmer and it still wouldn't make me question the decision to leave Kelly standing on the tarmac of Sky Harbor airport picking at his scabs. Kelly is a shady character and the Browns always will be better off without him.
On the other hand if Banner engages the fight by bringing in a washed up Michael Vick in order to try and prove a point, then I will start to worry mostly because what's business will have turned personal and that's just one more distraction this franchise doesn't need.
Norv Turner was officially introduced to the media by way of a press conference with his new boss earlier this week and all attention turned to the "Brandon Weeden Question." Basically, is Weeden the guy or not?
The early verdict is that it's too soon to tell. Chudzinski and Turner say they have to look at some more film, talk to Weeden, etc ad nauseum. But if Brandon Weeden doesn't fit the offense that,Chudzinski and Turner have in mind, well, doesn't that just figure? Weeden was a risk pick based on age alone. He needed to impress immediately because of his age and instead ended up as one of the worst quarterbacks in the league, a player who had some early downs, some mid season ups and some end of season disasters. He played like a typical rookie, assuming that rookie was 10 years younger.
Weren't fans told that Weeden's age was an advantage? Whatever extra maturity he brings didn't particularly translate on the field and so now what Turner and Chudzinski face is a 30 year old second year quarterback.
Will Weeden develop isn't as much the question as will he develop in enough time? That's the question Turner, Chudzinski and Lombardi will debate in one form or another for the next several months. It's the most important personnel question they face and the one they can least afford to screw up.
That said what's the effective alternative? Is there someone coming out in this year's draft that makes the Weeden question a no-brainier? Hardly. Throw in Weeden's contract, a contract that reflects his actual draft position instead of where he was projected, and you immediately get the sense that no matter how many hours the Browns' current brain trust debates the matter, no matter how much film they watch, no matter how many times they take in vain the names of the previous Browns' brain trust who put them in this position, Weeden will be back under center or in the shotgun come next year's season opener. Call it the Travis Hafner syndrome—too much contract to dump.
In other words, pray that Banner and Lombardi do the right thing and resign Phil Dawson. I see lots of stalled out drives in the Browns' future.
Getting back to Kelly, he's the subject of this week's question to ponder: What's the over/under on how long he'll stay in the NFL?
Posted by Gary Benz at 6:54 PM
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Labels: Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns, Jeff Lurie, Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, Mike Lombardi, Norv Turner, Rob Chudzinski
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
A World Class Creep
Lance Armstrong is a liar, but that's hardly the extent of his sins. He's also a thief, a fraud, a serial cheat, a gutless bully and about the worst possible guy you can ever imagine a guy being. While there seems to be a growing trend in the media at the moment to put Armstrong's transgressions on some sort of sliding scale giving him a relative pass for some and railing against him for others, there's no need for the exercise. He's a despicable being unworthy of anything more than completely fading from the national conscious and crawling back under the rock where he came from.
I'm not buying the current narrative that seems to excuse his cheating under the guise that everyone in bicycling did it. Yea, everyone did it and they did it because the guy that was winning and kicking their asses was doing it and they knew it. They were doing it to level a playing field that Armstrong deliberately tilted in his favor. That doesn't excuse their transgressions either but let's face it the "everyone does it" defense is used because it works. It also illustrates why even the now pedestrian charge of using performance enhancing drugs doesn't seem to hardly raise an eyebrow these days.
But I will concede that if Armstrong merely took the drugs and kept to himself, sort of like Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens, that would be bad enough but perhaps not world ending bad, especially these days. But Armstrong was about so much more, so much hideously more.
In pursuit of perpetuating his continuing fraud on the world Armstrong deliberately went about trying to destroy everyone who got in his path, men, women and children, without a second thought to the damage he was doing. Lives have been ruined by and because of Armstrong. And all for what? So he can go on Oprah Winfrey's fledging, failing network, boost her profile and ratings, in what, some sort of redemption tour in a pathetic attempt to reclaim a competitive sports career? Lance Armstrong perjured himself when he testified under oath to that which he now says isn't true. A statute of limitations on that crime may keep him from prosecution but the simple fact is that Lance Armstrong should be in jail.
The reaction thus far has been fairly interesting if not predictable to Armstrong's confessional, particularly given how calculated it all was, though eventually I expect it will probably take the familiar arc that Armstrong is banking on: shock, disgust, forgiveness, celebration. Here's hoping that this is one cycle that breaks.
Armstrong had the first opportunity not to go down the path of performance enhancing drugs. No one held a gun to his empty head and forced him to dope. In fact it was more the other way around. Armstrong held the careers and fates of others in his hands and pushed them to follow his illegal lead time and time again.
Having chosen to cheat, Armstrong then went at his craft fully vested in lying, cheating and stealing a thousand times over to his fans, his sponsors and anyone else with even a fleeting interest in bicycling. When someone broke ranks, Armstrong got insular and combative in the most destructive way possible. You could Google Armstrong's reactions to the various claims made against him over the years by journalists, doping agencies and fellow riders and you'd end up with pages of denials. And they weren't denials by deflection, the sort of "everyone just wants to see someone who is successful, who beat the odds, fail" denials that really act as hedges in case the truth is ever discovered. They were denials of absolute certainty built on taking the supposedly higher moral ground against those who would bear false witness to his greatness. Lance Armstrong is a true sociopath, a sociopath of such historic proportions that he should be immortalized in the same way that Charles Ponzi is immortalized. Now when athletes and their enablers cheat through drugs, deception, fraud, you name it, we should say they are pulling an Armstrong Scheme.
Ponzi may not even be the best comparator to the kind of long-term fraud that Armstrong engaged in. A better one is probably Bernie Madoff. The comparisons are eerily similar. Both built empires off of modest talent originally that could never sustain the outsized and unattainable dreams they had for themselves. So they both cut corners, small ones at first and then bigger ones along the way to keep the lie going and to keep the money flowing. It wasn't enough for either to simply build a small fortune for themselves by defrauding others while remaining off the radar screen. They both had to live large, build bigger until eventually the energy and level of deception it took to maintain the fundamental lie collapsed by its own weight on their thick skulls and amoral souls.
But the American people are a gullible and forgiving sort. There will be columns like this one trying their best to remind people of the seriousness of Armstrong's crimes. They won't do much good. Armstrong will face a mountain of legal trouble as those he's wronged line up against him to reclaim all they lost by daring to confront one of the biggest liars, cheats and frauds in American history. Yet as sure as I'm writing this is as sure as I am that eventually the pendulum will swing back in Armstrong's direction. His calculating, devious mind is counting on it and there's no reason to bet against him on that.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency did everyone a huge favor by spelling out in abject, crystal clear detail the extent of Armstrong's cheating and yet it's instructive to note how many people still came to Armstrong's defense. The most flagrant has been Sally Jenkins, a Washington Post columnist and a rider on the Armstrong gravy train as the co-author of two Armstrong books of lies, particularly when she wrote a mystifying defense of Armstrong just about a month ago.
Styled as a thought piece meant to justify her own role in furthering Armstrong's fraudulent narrative, Jenkins gave Armstrong a pass despite the mountains of evidence against him by hinting first of a hatchet job by the USADA in their pursuit of Armstrong (a high class way of parroting Armstrong's charge that it was a witch hunt, proving as always that she and Iran's Minister of Information had more in common than even she thought) as well as a more pointed indictment of the unfairness of drug testing in general (another favorite Armstrong target). It was clear from the column, just as it's been clear for years, that Jenkins was too seduced by Armstrong and all his hollow, grandiose statements about competing to see the fraud for what he was. She was not a journalist in any sense of the word but a fan girl whose credibility and position was used by Armstrong to provide him the cover he needed to further his grand myth. To paraphrase Ms. Jenkins and her column, maybe I'm not mad at Sally Jenkins because I understand how even with all the professional advances a woman like Jenkins can make as a sports journalist a good looking man can usually get what he wants from her just by charming her with the words she wants to hear.
Jenkins and her school girl crush have forever ruined her credibility and for that she should be summarily fired by the Post. If she had a shred of dignity, she'd resign before they have to make that choice but I suspect she too is so steeped in denial that she doesn't realize how shameless she became in order to protect a criminal. Jenkins won't lose her job and she won't resign but more to the point does anyone think that Armstrong cares about the fate of someone like Jenkins either way? Armstrong has already proven he doesn't care about anyone but Lance Armstrong because he's as fully entrenched now in controlling the uncontrollable damage his crimes have caused as he was in perpetrating those crimes in the first place.
Another acolyte was Buzz Bissinger, the opinionated loudmouth writer of Friday Night Lights who wrote a fawning piece about Armstrong this past August for Newsweek. Bissinger bought into the lies, something he now strongly regrets. Writing for the Daily Beast on Monday, Bissinger now says he was conned by Armstrong and that virtually nothing Armstrong says to Oprah or anyone else should be believed. Good for Bissinger for seeing the light.
There will be some handwringing certainly by Armstrong defenders as they try to contextualize him in much the same way that Joe Paterno defenders still fight tirelessly to contextualize him. Armstrong and his Lance Armstrong Foundation (recently renamed the LiveStrong Foundation in order to distance itself from such a world class creep) certainly did some good in the world for cancer victims. But let's not forget that this good was furthered mostly by true believers in the Armstrong myth and not Armstrong himself. Every step he took, every breath he uttered was built on lies and even though those lies pushed others to do good in his name they can never be seen as justifying his underlying deceptions. Every action he took supposedly in the service of others was merely part of the scam, meant to deflect attention away from the shady, immoral and unethical way he built his narrative in the first place.
Armstrong gets a pass on nothing. He can and probably should ask God for forgiveness. He just shouldn't ask or expect it from anyone else.
Posted by Gary Benz at 7:06 PM
2 comments:
Sunday, January 13, 2013
The "It" Factor
Before he officially took over as the new owner of the Cleveland Browns, Jimmy Haslam III went on a tour to visit his soon-to-be partners in the money printing business better known as the NFL. With the hiring of Rob Chudzinski as the new head coach, it's apparent what Haslam learned on that tour: it's more important to hire a guy that looks like he has that new car smell then one who actually does.
It's why, really, Chip Kelly did Haslam and team president (CEO? Czar? I forget his title) Joe Banner a favor by taking his fat butt back to Oregon. Kelly would have been an interloper to the ways of the NFL where stripes are better earned over the many miles traveled as a low paid assistant first. No one wants a repeat of the Lane Kiffin/Oakland Raiders experience, including Haslam.
All that said, Chudzinski may be a surprise of a hire and with a barely indistinguishable resume from the recently-fired Pat Shurmur but he does have a certain sort of "it" factor, if Susie Spanos is any sort of judge. Let me explain.
Shortly after Chudzinski was hired by the Browns in 2007 as the offensive coordinator, I was at a wedding in California for the daughter of a close friend. Also on the invite list was Dean Spanos, the owner of the San Diego Chargers, and his wife, Susie.
At the reception the father of the bride introduced me to Dean and his wife as "a close friend from Cleveland." Dean seemed more interested in the nearby jumbo shrimp platter and made a beeline for it almost immediately. Susie stayed behind for a moment to chat.
She said "you must be a Browns fan" to which I nodded affirmatively, if not embarrassingly. Then she said "you got a good man in Chud. He'll do a great job for you guys in Cleveland." I told her that I hoped that was the case because the Browns then, as now, could use all the help they could get. She said Chud would certainly help and that the Chargers hated to lose him. Then as she turned to join her husband who looked to be into his 6th or 7th piece of shrimp by then she turned to me, smiled the toothy white-capped smile of the moneyed and gracious, and said "you watch. Someday Chud will be a head coach. Maybe in Cleveland."
Brilliant woman. Maybe arrived on Thursday when the Browns confirmed Chudzinski's hiring and I immediately thought back to that conversation with Susie Spanos. More outrageous predictions have been made but you have to give the woman credit. She was years ahead of the curve on this one. She probably should have said something to her husband. The Chargers are still looking for a head coach even as the Browns have theirs.
The fact that the Browns hired Chudzinski and the Chargers did not does beg the question as to why. The answer though lies probably in Chudzinski's relationship with Norv Turner, the beleaguered and recently fired coach of those Chargers. According to the rumor, Chudzinski plans on bringing Turner to Cleveland as offensive coordinator. Even if that rumor isn't true it says enough about the relationship between the two that Chudzinski's hiring by the Chargers would have been impossible. Even in the re-tread warmed over world of the NFL, there isn't enough snake oil to convince Chargers fans that Chudzinski would represent a new start.
That doesn't mean that Chudzinski wouldn't be a new start for the Browns. He is and actually brings with him a modicum of success both with the Browns and elsewhere. With Chudzinski as offensive coordinator for those two years, the Browns won 14 games which is just slightly below the two year totals of Eric Mangini and Pat Shurmur, combined. Chudzinski turned Derek Anderson into a one year phenom and that year still represents the Browns' high water offensive mark since their return.
Chudzinski was fired after the next season when the promise of that 10 win season turned into a far more typical 4 win season the next. There are reasons, there always are, for that 4 win season, there always are: injuries, malcontents (Braylon Edwards anyone?) and the like. But ultimately the Browns failed for the reasons they usually fail, lousy leadership. Romeo Crennel was an African-American version of Norv Turner: a highly competent coordinator who Peter Principled to head coach. The Browns cleaned house after that season and with that through out everyone associated with it, including Chudzinski. Maybe they should have turned to Chudzinski then but Randy Lerner being Randy Lerner fell in love with Mangini quickly who then went about setting the franchise ablaze in a two year reign of terror. Lerner fell out of love later that season and in love with Mike Holmgren and you know the rest of that story.
If Chudzinski does bring in Turner it will at the very least be an interesting experiment to see if the Chargers simply had the formula wrong all along. It also tells you a key life lesson. Never burn bridges because you never know when you'll find yourself on the other side
Anyway, to get back to the original point, Chudzinski is exactly the kind of hire you'd expect a new owner working tirelessly to fit in like an old owner would make. He is young enough to be considered on the front end of a potentially promising career but he has enough NFL experience and hence cred to be considered a safe hire. It's the NFL way. There are plenty of Chudzinski's kicking around the NFL. Shurmur was one of them. So was the recently fired Mike Mularkey. In fact you can go through the ranks of the NFL head coaches right now and most of them were Chudzinski's at one time or another. You'll find the occasional Jim Harbaugh in there and someone will take a chance on Bruce Arians like they the Browns and the Chiefs did on Romeo Crennel. Trends change. This year it's the offensive mind that is in. Some years they'll look for the up and comer on defense. Every once in awhile someone will fall in love with a loon like Chip Kelly. But essentially the NFL hiring process is a meritocracy where you start, like Bill Cowher, as a special teams coach and work your way forward.
There's no way to know at the moment whether Chudzinski will be successful. I think Susie Spanos seeing a certain "it" factor in him is as good a barometer as any. He'll be successful, as I wrote about whoever the next Browns' head coach would be, if the support system around him is strong. That starts with Haslam, moves to Banner, and from there the general manager, the head coach and then the assistants.
The Browns find themselves in the relatively early stages of putting together that puzzle. They have the right owner in place, finally. Banner by all accounts is highly respected. There's no general manager in place at the moment, which comes next. On a parallel track comes the next wave of assistants, then the draft and then training camp and then another season. That's when we'll really find out if the Browns are finally on a path forward or are just playing out the first year of their usual two year cycle.
Posted by Gary Benz at 7:44 PM
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Labels: Chip Kelly, Cleveland Browns, Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, Rob Chudzinski
Monday, January 07, 2013
Not Feeling Very Chipper
If Cleveland Browns fans are being honest with themselves, and if there's anything Cleveland Browns fans like less than all the losing it's being honest with themselves, then they'll admit that the best thing to happen to their team this past weekend was the inability of owner Jimmy Haslam and CEO Joe Banner to secure the services of Chip Kelly as the team's 838th head coach since 1999.
Kelly might very well be a good fit for the pro game. That's an unknown. But there's enough checkers in his past to more than suggest that he's probably not the guy this team needs right now, or ever.
First of all, Kelly is a guy that plays the in betweens. He may not be a complete scoundrel but he's nobody's idea of an altar boy, either. Kelly seems most comfortable when he can run his little black ops off the radar screen to the approving glance of Phil Knight at Nike. Kelly's a tease of sorts having flirted with the NFL a year ago as well but that's his least objectionable quality. In the end, he's perhaps a bit higher on the scale than a two-bit hustler but not much.
I figured that Kelly was far more serious about the NFL this year having seen how well Pete Carroll could escape the slow moving clutches of a NCAA infractions committee posse and become the toast of the NFL. But either Kelly figures that NCAA still has its hands full with the Penn State mess and the pending litigation to get around to slapping down the Oregon program any time soon or his ego has overtaken his common sense. Either way, Kelly left the NFL once again at the precipice to stay with the Ducks and the history he's forged of good offenses and almost accomplishments.
program has featured plenty of iffy players brought to campus by even iffier handlers. The NCAA has investigated and to this point it seems that the only conclusions to draw is that it needs better ways to regulate the shady characters employed by programs like Oregon to steer questionable student/athletes to campus under the guise of providing amorphous recruiting services. The NCAA may still come down more directly on Oregon though that outfit is so random that it really is anyone's guess what it will do next. Oregon
But as to Kelly, is this the kind of guy you really want fronting your franchise? It's a cutthroat business and all and often times to get to the top you have to get awfully comfortable navigating the edge of a cliff, but in Kelly's short time in
the only thing he's really proven is that he can pirouette along that cliff's edge with the best of them. Oregon
The other sense you get is that he really has no particular interest in being a NFL head coach. He just wants the people of and around
to think he does. This is the second consecutive off season he's flirted with the NFL and the second consecutive off season he ended up right where he began except with a bigger contract. Kelly plays the game well but I'm guessing even the knuckleheads in Oregon will begin to discern the pattern. Indeed, for all the various markers out there demonstrating the absolute corruption in college football the courting of Kelly from those more interested in wins then integrity is among the most prominent. Oregon
Besides a reputation for running a fast-paced read option offense that could embarrass bad college defenses, what exactly does Kelly bring to the NFL party anyway? Even the worst defenses in the NFL are better by leaps and more leaps than the best college defense. Seattle and Washington are having some success with the read option at the moment but it requires a specific type of quarterback that most teams, including
, don't have on the roster and then puts that athlete constantly in harm's way. In a league with a salary cap where quarterbacks garner a disproportionate share of cap space, no coach with hopes for a long career can abide consistently putting their highest priced asset at risk. All you needed to do was see how much both Russell Wilson and Robert Griffin III got bounced around in Sunday's Seattle-Washington playoff game to realize that no team will be able to run a steady diet of fast-paced read option. Cleveland
If anything, the injury
suffered Sunday served as a reminder on how precarious it is to run the type of offense that Kelly cultivates in the NFL. Griffin Griffin is a special athlete and Washington head coach Mike Shanahan exploited every inch of that specialness in riding to the playoffs. But Shanahan died by the same sword he lived by most of the season when Griffin went down with an apparently even more serious knee injury than he suffered earlier in the season. It's an instructive knee injury in the sense that Griffin is a freak of a physical specimen. That said he's not any more immune to injuries than any other player counted on to orchestrate every offensive snap in the most physically demanding sport on the planet. The NFL has flirted with running quarterbacks all throughout its history and keeps returning to a more balanced mix for a reason. Griffin
The reasons Browns fans seem apoplectic at the moment over losing Kelly is really because they got overheated in the thought of him coming to Cleveland in the first place coupled with a lazy and ineffective local media that used speculation and guess work rather than close in reporting with real sources to build false expectations in fans desperate for any good news. It's actually mystifying to me why anyone would think that Kelly would be some sort of all healing balm to a franchise that has literally cornered the market on bad decision making. I've not used the restroom facilities inside the
complex but I'm betting that they don't even flush properly. Berea
But again, if Browns fans stop and really consider the situation carefully they'll realize that Kelly offered no greater promise and arguably less than, say, Butch Davis and we know how that turned out.
A competent coaching staff will do wonders for this franchise but there are no magic bullets. Kelly struck me as someone who always fired blanks anyway so the fact that he's out of the picture is probably more a reason to celebrate than cry.
The question now turns to which sap gets to wear the banner of "1st runner up" in the retooled, renewed, rebooted search for the team's second choice or, as the Browns' public relations department will soon refer to him, "the guy we really wanted all along."
It could be a recently fired retread but I'd be suspicious if only because of how well that all worked out with Eric Mangini. It could also be an up and coming assistant, you know, the next great offensive or defensive mind in the game. That kind of sounds like the search for a more legitimate version of Pat Shurmur, doesn't it? Or, they could also go for the long time assistant who everyone acknowledges should have gotten his shot years ago but just didn't, sort of like Romeo Crennel and Bud Carson.
When it gets right down to it, there aren't any good options just debating points over the best of the worst options which is what Haslam probably realized about 15 minutes after Kelly called on Saturday to say that he'd be a little late to dinner.
Picking a successful head coach in the NFL trends far more to luck than anyone will admit. You could look at almost any of the Browns' previous 648 head coaches since 1999 and make a case as to why he was a good hire, except for Mangini. That none of them worked out was more a team effort than a steady case of individual failures. If Haslam and Banner really want whoever is next in the barrel to be successful they better make sure he's surrounded by utter competence throughout for it will be that support team more than anything else that will determine the fate of the pending intended.
Posted by Gary Benz at 6:53 PM
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Labels: Chip Kelly, Cleveland Browns, Jimmy Haslam, Joe Banner, NCAA, Oregon
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A pair of 18-year-old men who allegedly broke into nine cars this week were arrested after arousing the suspicion of police officers on Sunday.
Christian Fuller and Christopher Lapan, both of 59 N. Main St., pleaded not guilty yesterday in Dudley District Court to nine counts of breaking and entering vehicles during the nighttime, eight counts of receiving stolen property valued at under than $250, and a count each of receiving stolen property valued at more than $250 and conspiracy.
Mr. Fuller and Mr. Lapan were ordered held on $100 bail each. Their pretrial hearings are Jan. 8.
On Sunday morning, police went to Nelson Street after a resident whose car had been burglarized told them he had chased the suspects down the street. The resident said he lost sight of the men near Morris Street.
Officer Daniel DiFusco said he spoke to Mr. Fuller and Mr. Lapan on Park Avenue. They allegedly told the officer they were headed to Price Chopper.
Later, Officer Timothy Moran said he spoke to Mr. Fuller and Mr. Lapan at a Red Box movie vendor at Walgreen�s. The men allegedly told the officer they had come from Price Chopper, where they had cashed in cans.
But Officer DiFusco, who arrived a short time later, said the men did not have cans when he spoke to them earlier.
Mr. Fuller had a child�s backpack, police said. The men allegedly said they found it in the road. Mr. Fuller told police that everything inside the backpack belonged to him, which the investigators said made no sense considering he said he had just found it.
Mr. Fuller allowed police to search the bag, which contained a knife, three cellphones, a gift card, debit cards with other people�s names, $250 and lottery tickets. Police said all of the items were stolen from cars in the Nelson Street area.
A resident whose car appeared to have been broken into said the bag belonged to her young son, police said
Mr. Lapan admitted breaking into the cars, as well as others in the Racicot and North Main streets area late Friday into Saturday, police said.


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Association President
Association Chairman
Deputy Chairman, Political
for Nantwich South and Stapeley. Peter is working hard alongside Councillor Andrew Martin to help all the residents of the Nantwich South & Stapeley Ward. He is a firm believer in doing everything possible to make a difference locally.
Deputy Chairman, Membership & Fundraising
Councillor for Willaston and Rope
Andrew lives on London Road, Stapeley, Nantwich and is married, with three children, two of whom are at Brine Leas School. He is a practising Solicitor. Andrew was elected to Nantwich Town Council in 2006 representing the Birchin Ward and to Cheshire East, representing Nantwich in 2008. He is a governor of both Brine Leas and Pear Tree Schools.


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|About this Recording
8.550864 - GRIEG: Peer Gynt / Lyric Pieces / Sigurd Jorsalfar
Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907)
Peer Gynt Suites Nos. 1 & 2
Edvard Grieg, the greatest of Norwegian composers, was descended on his mother's side from a Norwegian provincial governor who had adopted the name of Hagerup from his adoptive father, the Bishop of Trondheim. On his father's side he was of Scottish ancestry. His great-grandfather, Alexander Greig, had left Scotland after the battle of Culloden, when the cause of the Stuart claimants to the thrones of England and Scotland was finally destroyed by the English army under its royal Hanoverian general. In Norway the Greigs became Griegs and during the nineteenth century established themselves comfortably in their new country , his father and grandfather both having served as British consul in Bergen.
The Grieg household provided a musical background for a child. Musicians visited the family and these visitors included the distinguished violinist Ole Bull, who persuaded the Griegs to send their son Edvard to Leipzig Conservatory, an institution he entered at the age of fifteen, there to benefit from the demands of a traditional German musical education.
In Leipzig not everything was to Grieg's liking. He objected to the dryness of normal piano instruction, based on the work of Czernyand Clementi, and was able to change to a teacher who was to instil in him a love of Schumann. He attended concerts by the famous Gewandhaus Orchestra that Mendelssohn had once directed and was present when Clara Schumann played her husband's piano concerto there and at performances of Wagner's Tannhauser. At the same time he was able to meet other musicians, including Arthur Sullivan, whose later fame, at least, was to depend on the music he wrote for the operettas of W. S. Gilbert in London.
After a short period at home again in Norway, where he was unable to obtain a state pension, Grieg moved to Denmark. The capital, Copenhagen, was a cultural centre for both countries, and here he had considerable encouragement from Niels Gade. The principal influence that was to change his life came from a meeting with Rikard Nordraak, a young Norwegian, who fired him with ambition to seek inspiration in the folk-music of Norway.
Nordraak was to die tragically young, at the age of 24. Grieg, however, continued to prepare himself for employment in Norway, first of all taking a long holiday, which led him to Rome, where he met the great Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It was a concert arranged by Grieg in Christiania (Oslo) and given by him with his cousin and future wife Nina Hagerup and the violinist Wilhelmine Norman-Neruda that secured him a position in Norway and provided support for the projected Norwegian Academy of Music, established in the following year, 1867.
The period that followed saw Grieg's struggle, with the backing of Liszt and the support of his friend, the dramatist and theatre-director Bjørnson, to establish some sort of national musical movement in Norway. He divided his time between concert activities, on tour as conductor and pianist, composition, and periods spent in enjoyment of the Norwegian countryside.
Grieg's ambitions for Norwegian music were very largely realised. At home he occupied a position of honour, and his collaboration with the writers Bjørnson and Ibsen further identified him with the culture of his homeland. He died in 1907, as he was about to undertake one more concert tour. For years he had suffered from lung trouble, the result of an illness in his student days. It was this that was to bring about his death at the age of 64.
Among the best known music that Grieg wrote was his incidental music for Ibsen's remarkable play Peer Gynt, first performed in Christiania in 1876. Suite No.1 opens with the famous Morning, music that seems based on the Norwegian fiddle, the hardanger, with its characteristic tuning. In the drama the piece serves as an introduction to Act IV, set on the south-western coast of Morocco. The scene immediately follows the death of Peer's mother, Aase, with which Act III had ended. Anitra's Dance, in the fourth act, welcomes Peer Gynt, hailing him as prophet and master, in his Arab robes. The final excerpt in the first suite is from Act II, set in the mountains of Norway, the land of Trolls and of the Old Man of the Dovre, whose daughter Peer Gynt courts and whose kingdom he covets.
Suite No.2 opens with Ingrid's Lament, the introduction to Act II, set on a high narrow mountain-track, where Peer Gynt has taken Ingrid, a bride that he has abducted from her wedding and now plans to betray. The Arabian Dance is taken from Act IV, where Peer has donned his Arab robes, and Peer's Homecoming from the introduction to Act V, as Peer Gynt returns as an old man to his own country. Solveig's Song, from Act IV, offers a brief glimpse of the girl, now a middle-aged woman, who sits waiting for Peer Gynt in the far North. She is there to accept him home again after his wandering as the fifth and final act of the drama comes to an end.
During his life Grieg wrote a large number of so-called Lyrische Stücke, Lyric Pieces, primarily for piano solo. He arranged two of the pieces of Opus 68, Evening in the Mountains and Cradle Song for orchestra. The work was written in 1898. Wedding Day at Troldhaugen is taken from an earlier set of Lyric Pieces, written in the previous year, and was arranged by the composer also for piano duet.
The incidental music for Bjørnson's play Sigurd Jorsalfar was completed in 1872 and used when the play was staged in Christiania in May of the same year. Bjørnson has suffered by comparison with his great contemporary Ibsen. His fame has not travelled so far and his relevance to the development of drama has seemed more local. The three orchestral pieces that Grieg extracted from the five of the original score open with a Prelude, continue with Borghild's Dream, originally the first music of the score, and end with the Homage March.
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Jerzy Maksymiuk
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Welcome to the final part of my posts from Brasil!
If you haven't already seen the previous two posts from this trip you can check them out here.
For my fifth visit to Brasil (my wife's home country) Nat and I chose to visit a very unique part of the country that is greatly overlooked and unknown by most foreigners. Chapada Diamantina is a national park situated ~400kms west of Salvador, Bahia. It is known for its old mining towns, incredible panoramas, stunning waterfalls, and numerous ancient sandstone caves. To sum it up, it's the best kept secret from foreigners visiting Brasil, in my opinion.
Traveling to and staying in Chapada Diamantina is very easy, but you'll have to plan carefully as there are only 2 flights to the region each week, or otherwise be prepared to sit on a bus for 7-8 hours.
We were fairly budget minded for accommodation, as we wanted to make sure we could comfortably pay for transport around the national park and its many sites. We stayed with Tatu Do Bem in the town of Lencois, which was an exceptionally comfortable hotel, run by Shirley and Eduardo. They put on a fantastic breakfast (included) everyday, and also run really great personal tours throughout the Chapada. Eduardo knew of all the best places to check out, which often meant that secluded waterfalls and caves were left for us to experience independently of other tourists!
We only had two full days to explore Chapada, but we still managed to do a lot of exploring!
On Day 1 we visited Mucuguezinho River and Poco do Diabo (waterfall), Caverna da Fumaca (cave), Pratinha (turquoise river), Gruta Azul (river cave), finished with sunset at Morro do Pai Inacio.
On Day 2 we visited Poco Azul (river cave) and Cachoeira do Mosquito (waterfall).
Enough with the chatter. I hope you enjoy the snaps!
In Australia we really like our long weekends. In the first half of the year we get quite a few, which gives many of us the well earned time off from busy jobs to get away with family and friends for 3 or 4 days in beautiful parts of the country, or simply veg-out a bit and relax.
. During the recent Easter holiday period we took off down to Phillip Island in Victoria's south for a quiet couple of days away with some friends who rented a sweet beach house. It may have only been 2 days and 1 night, but I was certainly treated to a few stunning photographic experiences, and as you can expect, I packed a nice little shoulder bag load of FujiFilm gear. All shots were on an XT-1 with either the XF16 1.4, XF35 F2, XF56 1.2, or XF90 F2.
As a little thank you gesture for having us, I made sure to grab a few family snaps of our friends who so kindly let us stay with them for free. It was such a pleasure to be able to merge stunning scenery with a family portrait of sorts, which also helps to keep me sharp and inspired in between weddings and other more formal photo shoots. For this afternoon walk I simply took my XT-1 and XF56 1.2, which provides that subtle hint of compression and stunning subject isolation when I take a 'wider' approach to my framing, such as with the shot above. After being so inspired by the location only 2 minutes away from our accommodation that afternoon I made a point of getting up early the next day for sunrise to see how some long exposures would work out.
As the sun rose on the opposite side of the island, I was treated with some stunning tones and during a cloudy early morning. Was it what I expected? No. Was it still immensely satisfying? Absolutely!
What I loved about where we were situated was how quickly I could walk from this beach to another side of the island that had direct morning light, offering a new and equally unique perspective to the day's beginnings. As the day moved on I returned to the beach with our friends for a few more snaps and took advantage of some of the finer details around the house in which we were staying. The XF90 was a gem as always for the close up shots because of its combined focal length and relatively close minimum focusing distance.
Our final short trip down in Phillip Island was to The Nobbies, a vital area to many animal species and a spectacular sight to behold. The boardwalk is a comfortable experience for people of all ages and abilities and awesome viewing angles are in abundance. It's a wonderful family friendly place and if you're lucky, you may get to see penguins having a rest down by the rolling hills and oceans' edge.
As you would expect, the selfie-ticks were in an abundance here but thankfully it wasn't so busy that I couldn't get the snaps I wanted. The sharpness of the XF16 with a 10 stop ND filter in some cases won for me during this experience, with a few extra shots coming in from the XF35 F2 & XF90.
With only a bit more than half a year left before we move to the UK for a few years, I have become increasingly eager to explore my home country. Sure, things will probably be much the same when we return but there is certainly a yearning to live in the now and for experiences, not things. I also hope to inspire fellow visitors or dwellers in Australia to get out there more often and see what this massive country has to offer. Go get lost!
February 2019


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Online teaching resources from the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Everything from albums of images to historical documents, current videos to literary archives — a treasure trove of French history, art, politics, and much more. A compendium of links that will take you to all things French, past and present. — Bob
A "little English bookshop in the south of France, half an hour from Nice, 10 minutes from Grasse, and with a constant view of the Mediterranean," run by a Texas ex-pat, Lin Wolff, whose advice to English speakers trying to learn French is "LEAVE YOUR EGO BEHIND! Don't worry about how you sound – just try!"
Or French news made easier. A daily practice to shape up your listening skills and be on top of the world! Scripts available for the "I must understand every word" student. — Claire
Got a New Year's Eve card from a French friend that has me hooked on their website. What a great way to window shop in Paris on your lunch hour or sample a video or two for a dab of French in the middle of the day. — Linda
Discover the "real Frenchness of London" on this site, which celebrates French pop culture of the post-World War II years (les 30 glorieuses) and showcases "cool, fun and interesting" products and events. — Bob
A hot spot for the FSL teaching community worldwide to rendezvous, learn, and chat. With an array of fab — and free — resources, the site has fostered a space to share and reflect on beliefs and classroom practices. — Claire
Coffee Break French Newsletter
Cultural Services of the French Embassy
Office québécois de la langue française
Rendez-Vous with French Cinema
American Association of Teachers of French
French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF)
Maison Française of Columbia University
Alliance Française de Los Angeles
Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Los Angeles
Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles


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PDX Acupuncture is a friendly and professional acupuncture clinic. We specialize in treating acute and chronic pain, digestive disorders, women's health, sports and accident recovery as well as relaxation and promoting well being.
We offer acupuncture, deep tissue, shiatsu and relaxation massage, cupping, herbal therapies, gua sha, electro stimultion, and nutritional counseling. In addition to...
Specializing in Pain, digestive disorders and womens health, PDX Acupuncture is in in downtown portland, friendly acupuncture clinic downtown, acupuncturist downtown portland for pain, acupuncture clinic downtown accepts insurance010701ATTR:ACUPUNCTUREACUPRESSURECHIROPRACTICMASSAGE THERAPYSPAS & SALONS
Hello there! I am delighted you clicked on my profile! I am located downtown in the Postal building in downtown Portland. I absolutely love this medicine and I enjoy the busy days in my practice very much. Each and every encounter I share with my patients is truly a powerful experience for me. I love to assist with pain management, headaches, women's health, allergies, colds and flu,...
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