text:
Italian court orders new trial for Amanda Knox
ROME (AP) -- Italy's highest criminal court on Tuesday overturned Amanda Knox's acquittal in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial, prolonging a case that has become a cause celebre in the United States.
ROME (AP) -- Italy's highest criminal court on Tuesday overturned Amanda Knox's acquittal in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial, prolonging a case that has become a cause celebre in the United States.
By FRANCES D'EMILIO
Associated Press
ROME (AP) -- Italy's highest criminal court on Tuesday overturned Amanda Knox's acquittal in the slaying of her British roommate and ordered a new trial, prolonging a case that has become a cause celebre in the United States.
Knox called the decision "painful" but said she was confident that she would be exonerated.
Italian law cannot compel Knox to return for the new trial, and her lawyer said she had no plans to do so. The appellate court hearing the new case could declare her in contempt of court but that carries no additional penalties.
Italy's Court of Cassation ruled that an appeals court in Florence must re-hear the case against the American student and her former Italian boyfriend for the murder of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. The exact issues that have to be reconsidered won't be known until the court releases its full ruling within 90 days.
Knox, now a student at the University of Washington, stayed up until 2 a.m. Seattle time to hear her fate and issued a statement through a family spokesman.
"It was painful to receive the news that the Italian Supreme Court decided to send my case back for revision when the prosecution's theory of my involvement in Meredith's murder has been repeatedly revealed to be completely unfounded and unfair," she said.
Knox said the matter must now be examined by "an objective investigation and a capable prosecution."
"No matter what happens, my family and I will face this continuing legal battle as we always have, confident in the truth and with our heads held high in the face of wrongful accusations and unreasonable adversity," Knox said.
Knox, now 25, and Raffaele Sollecito, who turned 29 on Tuesday, were arrested shortly after Kercher's body was found in a pool of blood in November 2007 in her bedroom. Kercher, whose throat had been slashed, had shared an apartment with Knox and others in Perugia, an Italian university town where the two women were exchange students.
Prosecutors alleged Kercher was the victim of a drug-fueled sex game gone awry. Knox and Sollecito denied wrongdoing and said they weren't even in the apartment that night, although they acknowledged they had smoked marijuana and their memories were clouded.
An Ivory Coast man, Rudy Guede, was convicted of the slaying in a separate proceeding and is serving a 16-year sentence. Knox and Sollecito were also initially convicted of the murder and given long prison sentences, but were then acquitted on appeal and released in 2011.
The high court's ruling Tuesday overturned the appeals court acquittals.
"She thought the nightmare was over," Knox attorney Carlo Dalla Vedova said after the decision was released.
The court on Tuesday also upheld a slander conviction against Knox. During a 14-hour police interrogation, Knox had accused a local Perugia pub owner of carrying out the killing. The man was held for two weeks based on her allegations, but was then released for lack of evidence.
Dalla Vedova said Knox wouldn't come to Italy "for the moment" but would follow the case from home. He said he didn't think the new appeals trial would begin before early 2014.
It is unclear what would happen if Knox was convicted in a new appeals trial.
"If the court orders another trial, if she is convicted at that trial and if the conviction is upheld by the highest court, then Italy could seek her extradition," Dalla Vedova said Monday.
It would then be up to the United States to decide if it honors the request. U.S. and Italian authorities could also come to a deal that would keep Knox in the United States.
The appeals court that acquitted Knox and Sollecito in 2011 criticized virtually the entire case mounted by prosecutors. The appellate court noted that the murder weapon was never found, said that DNA tests were faulty and that prosecutors provided no murder motive.
It's not clear what part of the appeals sentence was faulted by the high court in ordering a new trial.
Kercher's family attorney, Francesco Maresca, said after Tuesday's ruling: "Yes, this is what we wanted."
Sollecito's attorney, Giulia Bongiorno, noted that Tuesday's ruling was not a determination of guilt but merely a need for further study of the appeals court ruling.
"It's a decision that cancels a verdict and orders a retrial," she said. "I'm not concerned about a deeper reading of the documentation, because I know the documentation."
She acknowledged that perhaps the appeals court ruling had been "too generous" in ruling that the pair simply did not commit the crime, but was confident that Sollecito's innocence would be affirmed.
In her statement, Knox took the Perugia prosecutors to task, saying they "must be made to answer" for the discrepancies in the case. She said "my heart goes out to" Kercher's family.
After nearly four years behind bars in Italy, Knox returned to her hometown of Seattle after the 2011 acquittal and Sollecito resumed his computer science studies, following the degree he earned while studying in prison.
Italy's judicial system allows for two levels of appeals, and prosecutors can appeal acquittals.
Although the court on Monday heard gruesome details, including how Kercher choked on her own blood, it wasn't ruling on the guilt or innocence of the defendants. Its sole task was to decide if the appellate trial was properly conducted.
Dalla Vedova had argued Monday that the slander verdict against Knox should be thrown out because she was questioned without a lawyer even though police essentially treated the student as a suspect in their 14-hour interrogation session.
Because of time she served in prison before the appeals-level acquittals, Knox didn't have to serve time for the slander conviction.


text:
"Nerd World Report" airs live Saturday 10:05 p.m. to midnight Pacific Time. No matter where you are you can listen to the show LIVE by hitting the "Listen Live" button at kernradio.com.
Best of all, you, constant reader, can join this very nerdy conversation.
The toll-free call-in line is:
Call in drunk, as I always do, but watch your language. This is not a podcast. This monster goes out over the air on all 50,000 watts of Southern California's KERN-AM and KERN-FM.
Have something better to do tonight? Want to listen to older shows? Head over to The Nerd World Report archives!!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
blastwave fx develops next-generation hd sound effects libraries for professional audio production. our design and engineering teams push the sound envelope with innovative product formats, rich metadata, multi-channel libraries and the highest resolution audio that technology allows. blastwave fx libraries, including our flagship sonopedia, serve as royalty-free creative resources for audio professionals worldwide in post, broadcast, film, television, video games, animation, radio, new media and beyond. blastwave fx is based in detroit, mi and is headed by ric viers, author of the sound effects bible (mwp).
Genres: Sound Effects , Sports Voice Clips
Description: Sports Sports Voice Clip Old Male Vender Peanuts.


text:
Steel sheet instead of pizza stone?
I just finished reading an online piece on "Modernist Cuisine", the six volume tome covering virtually all aspects of cooking. In the piece, the following is suggested for baking the perfect Neopolitan-style pizza in your home oven:
PROBLEM #3: You love Neopolitan-style pizza, but don't want to invest in a brick oven.
SOLUTION: Make an oven out of a steel sheet.
Get a ¼-inch-thick sheet of steel from a metal fabricator (Google a local one), have it cut to the size of your oven shelf and insert it in the rack closest to the broiler. Preheat the oven at its highest temperature for ½ hour, then turn on the broiler and slide your pizza onto the metal plate. It should emerge perfectly cooked in 1.5 to 2 minutes.
WHAT'S GOING ON: Pizza in a brick oven cooks at about 800 degrees-way hotter than the highest setting of most home ovens. The metal sheet is more conductive than a brick oven's stone, so it can cook just as fast at a lower temperature.
Any volunteers? How about steel sheets for bread as well?


text:
So, this is the way chemo works. The further you get away from it….the more you start feeling like your old self. The bad news? That means you are probably ready for your next treatment. And I am 😦
I am choosing to stay positive and just get through another treatment and push forward. This will be 3 down, 5 to go. Then I'm blowing this popsicle stand 😉
While I end on a good note here are some fun family photos I found. Most with my brother:) love you
over 11,000 views too!


text:
- High Arch
- Maximum Cushioned
- Cushion Foam Max Air
Run fast and far with cushioned comfort. Featuring Cushlon foam and a full-
length Max Air Unit, the Nike Air Max 2014 provides soft, cloud-like
cushioning to soften your step and keep you focused on your fitness, mile
after mile. Flex grooves increase foot flexibility, allowing smooth and
natural transitions. Built with no-sew overlays and supportive foam, the
lightweight mesh upper promises a smooth, comfortable, and secure fit.
Environmentally preferred rubber outsole features strategically placed BRS


text:
On 18 August 2011, the popular subscription genealogy database Footnote.com announced two major changes.
For nearly five years, Footnote was the strongest competitor to the market-dominating Ancestry.com. The site made available improved images of several federal census enumerations, as well as improved image viewing and tagging capabilities. Over time, Ancestry and Footnote became complementary competitors, as separate agreements with both the U. S. National Archives and Records Administration and the Family History Library/FamilySearch provided different record groups to the two sites. Throughout this time, I have consistently recommended Footnote to audiences in my lectures on the U. S. Civil War, specifically because of the site's strength in records of this era.
Almost a year ago, on 23 September 2010, Ancestry.com announced the acquisition of iArchives, the parent company of Footnote. Until the 18 August announcements, there were no noticeable changes to the site.
Two major changes have now occurred, according to the announcement:
- The site will now focus entirely and exclusively on military records.
- Footnote has been renamed Fold3.
In my opinion, the first of these two changes is a wise move. Especially now that Footnote is a subsidiary of Ancestry, it simply does not make sense to have two separate teams (e.g. the Ancestry team and Footnote team) both working to increase record holdings without focus. There are already several duplicate databases between the two sites. It would be inappropriate to increase this number. What Fold3 has done is recognized its strengths and chosen a focused path.
As a professional genealogist (or aspiring professional) we must do the same. I wrote before about being "Primary Care Genealogists," that is, strong in the basic universal research skills that can be applied to any problem in any location. This does not mean that we should not define ourselves more specifically. In fact, most professionals eventually become known for a specialty–geographic, ethnic group, record group, time period, methodological, etc. This specialty can be either a conscious decision or a natural development of personal interests. But once a professional becomes a recognized expert on some subject, the amount of business relating to this content will increase (and consequently the amount of business not relating to this specialty will decrease).
So from this perspective, Footnote did what every professional must eventually do: they have created a focus by which they can become known.
The flip side of this coin is that Footnote.com was already known, and had many loyal subscribers. Yesterday's announcement has upset quite a few of these subscribers. Just take some time to read the comments left on the Fold3 blog. There were quite a few subscribers, including institutions with small budgets, who were attracted to Footnote due to its lower subscription price, as an alternative to the rather pricey Ancestry subscription. Prior to its acquisition by Ancestry.com, Footnote was marketed as a competitor and an alternative, with the promise to someday rival Ancestry. The more specific–and more limited–focus puts an end to the site's existence as a cheaper alternative.
The name change has also received mostly negative reviews. The most frequent objection is that no one knows what it means. According to the announcement,
We wanted a name that would show respect for the records we are working on and for the people who have served in the armed forces. The name Fold3 comes from a traditional flag-folding ceremony in which the third fold is made in honor and remembrance of veterans for their sacrifice in defending their country and promoting peace in the world.
This makes complete sense to me as a man whose brother is currently in Afghanistan after having already served in Iraq in the past three years. As a business owner, I feel that, with the new focus on military records, a new name reflecting this focus also seems warranted.
The down side of changing the name to reflect the new focus is that, where Footnote had become a recognizable brand, Fold3 is not yet recognizable. The name change erases years of marketing by Footnote. This is usually bad, but in creating a new name and a new focus, the company has ultimately created an entirely new entity. For some genealogists, this entity will not have any interest. Other genealogists–as well as new markets possibly uninterested in genealogy, such as military historians and reenactors–will continue to find Fold3 useful.
Changes are difficult to accept. But sometimes they are for the best of everyone involved.
The official announcement appears in the following blog post:
"Footnote is now Fold3 (updated)," Fold3 HQ blog, posted on 18 August 2011 (http://blog.fold3.com/ : accessed 18 Aug 2011).


text:
Green Building for Tough Times
Squeezimus Sanguinem ex Turnipibus (Butchered Latin for We squeeze blood out of a turnip)
In my roughly 35 years of building energy-efficient homes, I've had the pleasure of learning from building scientists, designers, and clients. Building science, of course, is focused on the physics of energy flow, but it ignores the human factors of how we use energy and space. I believe both are important. In this article, I will share some of my insights with you.
No doubt we live in a tough economy, one where we have to wring every dollar to meet our goals. The same goes for building the most energy efficiency into our homes. But how do we find that sweet spot—that peak of the curve where we get the most benefit for our buck in both efficiency and livability? It's a tall order, especially when some of the best new materials, equipment, and programs can magnify the cost of traditional methods of homebuilding.
Affordability is the limiting concept here. Clients' budgets have limits. Affordability is central to how successful we are in achieving our goals. If our goals focus on finishes, they can consume much of the budget for energy efficiency. If our goals focus on being comfortable, we can achieve that best by focusing on energy conservation. Clearly, building one demonstration home—such as a net zero energy home—will prove a point, but that home probably had expensive components that were subsidized by grants, partners, or donors, making it a home that most ordinary buyers couldn't afford. To make the benefits of sustainability and energy efficiency available to large numbers of home buyers, the price of admission has to be within reach.
I build homes in east central Iowa, a predominantly heating climate, where in winter, maintaining a warm interior temperature and comfortable relative humidity (about 35% or more) is desirable. Iowa also has hot, humid summers, where we need to reduce interior humidity. In each case, a well-insulated, airtight envelope is needed to control humidity. From my experience, I've found that focusing on energy conservation nets greater rewards than focusing on efficient energy production. It costs roughly $10,000 more to build a house using sprayed-foam insulation, structural insulated panels (SIPs), and energy recovery ventilation than it costs to build the same house using sticks and fiberglass—and the payback is about 8 years. It costs an additional $10,000 to $15,000 for a geothermal system, which comes with a 25- to 40-year payback.
What Comes First
Our eyes can be bigger than our stomachs, as my dad used to say, and that applies to all the energy-saving upgrades we may want to use. If we insist on wanting everything, we may end up getting nothing—or very little—and moving into a poorly built house. I favor concentrating the budget for energy upgrades on things that would be very expensive to upgrade later, like windows and wall or subslab insulation. The better the building envelope keeps the interior at its conditioned state, the less it matters how efficient the HVAC equipment is.
My heating contractor once asked me, when I demanded the most energy-efficient furnace for a new home on a modest budget, "Don, which client gets the better deal—the one who gets 95% of the heat from an 85% efficient furnace, or the one who gets 60% of the heat from a 95% efficient furnace?" Furnaces don't last forever, and when it comes time to replace them, we may be in a better position to install a geothermal system.
In a similar way, we may want to include the most durable roofing or siding or flooring, but if including those things means the whole house will be unaffordable, we might want to consider holding our noses and installing the more-affordable materials, knowing that, yes, they will make one trip to the landfill, but by then, we may be able to afford something more durable. Sure, good-quality steel roofing can last for a very long time, but it can cost 5 times as much as composition shingles.
As a general contractor and project manager, I'm involved with the client from concept to commissioning. As someone informed about building science, I find that my job places me at a crossroads. I want to provide the greatest comfort and sustainability while staying within the client's budget. So what guides can we use to give us the greatest energy efficiency at the lowest cost? We have to follow building science, but we have to consider design and lifestyle as well.
Stick to the Basics
I start with the basic principles that govern how energy crosses a building enclosure: convection (air leakage), conduction (movement through walls, for example), and radiation (of sunlight through windows, for example). I choose building components that best address energy flow by design, and that require proper installation, but not extra labor and skills, to make them work.
Can we build an energy-efficient, stick-framed envelope insulated with fiberglass? Sure, but it takes a lot of work and requires skill, persistence, and a ton of caulk. Air leaks through stick-framed walls at the top and bottom plates; between the drywall and the sheathing; around windows and doors; and through light fixtures, switches, and outlets.
We can still use stick framing and dramatically reduce air leakage with properly applied sprayed polyurethane foam, reducing the need to caulk holes from wiring or plumbing. Foam costs 3 or 4 times as much as fiberglass, but if it's applied as directed, it fits tightly, insulates, and doubles as an excellent air seal—far better than fiberglass. If we're concerned about heat loss through studs, we can either sheathe the exterior with rigid foam sheathing, or better yet, use SIPs, which eliminate a great deal of framing lumber.
I spray open-cell foam directly to the underside of the roof deck, from the ridge down to the tops of the walls, creating a conditioned attic. This stops air leakage to the outside through any penetration in the ceiling, eliminates the need for roof ventilation, and does not, in my opinion, lead to premature deterioration of the shingles. All HVAC supply and return ducts are within the conditioned space, access to plumbing and wiring in the attic is simplified, and recessed ceiling lights need not be airtight or protected from insulation. Admittedly this insulation method costs more, both because foam costs more than fiberglass, and because there's more surface area to cover. Nevertheless, foam seals out air leakage better than fiberglass, and the home's energy performance is greatly improved.
Framing with SIPs is faster and simpler than stick framing. An additional benefit at gables is to install SIPs that are continuous from the top floor up to the roof deck. This eliminates thermal bridging through the top plates, and the need for gable end trusses.
Are there yet other ways to build even more energy-efficient envelopes? Sure, but let's always keep the client's budget in mind. PV panels for a net zero home or using extra-large amounts of insulation are expensive choices and come with a very long payback. Installing 14 inches of rigid foam under the basement floor alone cost about $10,000 in one Passive House project I read about.
Informed Oversight
It is crucial for someone, such as the designer, the general contractor, or the project manager, to understand how one subcontractor's work affects the performance of the whole project. A few years ago I was called to remedy an energy performance problem in a very large and beautiful home. The home had three geothermal systems and zoned heating, and yet the bills for heating alone were about $1,000 a month in the winter. Furthermore, the humidity, even with humidifiers, hovered around 10%.
The owner had wanted to be involved hands-on in building this home, so he decided to be his own general contractor, hiring a draftsperson and all his own subcontractors. The owner understood the need for structural framing, insulation, attic ventilation, and efficient heating systems. Most of the subs were competent in their own respective roles, but none of the subs understood the building science of the home's envelope, or how each one's work affected the entire project.
Poking our heads above the main-level vented soffit, we could see the tops of recessed ceiling lights in the kitchen, and see all the way across the house to the opposite side. The air barrier was entirely missing, allowing outside air to wash across the whole ceiling. The second floor had air leaking through fiberglass insulation on the ceiling, down interior cavities, and throughout the whole house. Most of the return ducts in the upper level were open to the attic, sucking cold outside air into the house. And finally, the three heat pumps had been improperly installed, so that the whole HVAC system was operating inefficiently. Either all three operated simultaneously, or only one operated at all, recruiting the electric-resistance heat when it was on.
I wish I could tell you how it all turned out, but after we sealed the air leaks in the envelope, the owner turned the issue over to the heating contractor and the heat pump engineers. Clearly, a good understanding of building science on the part of anyone in the process could have prevented this debacle.
Clients usually care much more about the aesthetics of the home than the envelope technology, as well they should. A lesson I learned from a client about blending aesthetics with energy efficiency started me on a journey learning about the value of design. In 1995 an owner wanted me to build a Victorian home, but decided to orient the long axis north-south, resulting in a large amount of glass due east and west (picture a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall sunroom window, unshaded and facing due west). What little glazing faced south was also either unshaded, or behind the roof overhang of a 12-foot- deep veranda.
I was perplexed, thinking the house had to follow all the rules about overhangs and the proper amount of glass facing each direction. However when we had the home HERS rated, it became the first 5-star home in Iowa—thanks to the other details of the building envelope, and the energy-efficient heating, mechanical ventilation, and sealed-combustion water heater. I had to admit that the owner's decision to take advantage of the view and natural light, rather than choose the optimal orientation and amount of glass, made the home more enjoyable to live in.
While this next example is for remodeling an existing home, the same principle of squeezing the most use and value out of every square foot applies to the design of new homes as well.
Architect Sarah Susanka, author of the Not So Big House book series, expanded my appreciation for design as a tool for increasing the efficient use of a client's budget and the enjoyment of the space. She tells of a client who hired her to design an office addition to his home. Upon visiting the home, a simple, one-and-a-half-story Cape Cod, she learned that the owner had a desk that he frequently used for working, reading, paying bills, and so on. This desk was an heirloom, handed down through several generations.
Susanka suggested that rather than adding on and going through the expense of building a whole new room, the client add dormers to the upper level. The dormers were designed with a half-round window and a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Susanka designed the windowsill to be the same height as the desktop, so that when the desk was slid next to the window, the desk and window seemed to become a single unit, and the soft reflection from the barrel vault illuminated the whole area.
So without adding one square foot of floor space, she made the existing space much more attractive and useful, and did it at a fraction of the anticipated cost.
Here are some of Susanka's ideas for reducing the size of a home while making it feel more spacious.
Diagonal view. The diagonal view is the longest possible view in a house. Having an unobstructed diagonal view gives the feeling of spaciousness.
Focal point. Create a focal point at a distant location to attract the eye. Use a contrasting design, a photo, a geometric shape, or even the bright light of a window.
Double duty. Save floor space by doubling up on function. Widen a hallway to include a washer, dryer, and storage, thereby saving space that would otherwise be used for laundry. You can also save space by using an area such as the dining room to double as work space.
Multiple lighting schemes. Borrowing from Susanka's ideas, we once enabled a client to afford things he would otherwise have had to forgo simply by trimming 4 feet from a house plan. The client wanted window seats across the entire length of a 28-foot wall. By reducing the wall to 24 feet on the first floor, second floor, and basement, and including one window seat in an adjacent wall, we saved the owner well over $33,000. With the savings he was able to purchase a geothermal system, high-efficiency appliances, and custom cabinets. See Figure 1.
If we plan to stay in our home after our children are gone, after we retire, or if our mobility changes, we may want to renovate that home. Here are some ideas that we can incorporate into a new home that will improve our lives and save considerable renovation costs.
To make the entry and hallways more accessible, we can
- provide t least one no-step entry, preferably from the garage;
- design all hallways with a 60-inch turning diameter; and
- combine uses for hallways by adding storage closets with adjustable shelving, a washer and dryer, or a shelf to hold packages.
To make the stairs more accessible, we can
- design them 48 inches wide, to accommodate a future stair lift;
- plan for a future elevator shaft by stacking closet spaces basement to top floor; and
- design a U-shaped, carpeted stairway to reduce the chance of falls.
To make the kitchen more accessible, we can
- install full-extension drawers for easy access;
- design pull-out counters from base cabinets with knee space underneath;
- design a base cabinet on casters that rolls out from under the sink, for knee space;
- install cooktops and ovens with controls in front;
- install a wall oven; and
- design low countertops, or counter tops of different heights, with rounded edges.
To make bathrooms more accessible, we can
- mount sinks on a wall or pedestal, or close to the front edge of the counter;
- install toilets, with seats 17–9 inches the floor ;
- design low- or no-curb shower stalls with built-in seats; and
- preinstall lumber backing for future grab bars.
And for general accessibility throughout the house, we can
- install electrical switches 42 inches, and electrical outlets 18 inches, above the floor;
- design all doors, including pocket doors, to be 36 inches wide;
- install casement windows; and
- install windows designed to provide natural lighting.
Are our homes energy efficient, or are we? It's not often that we get to see data that demonstrate the relationship between lifestyle and energy use (see Figure 2). The data shown in this figure raise many questions as to what strategies designers and HVAC contractors can use to balance occupants' energy use with their lifestyle, and make homes more affordable to buy and maintain.
In 2011, the South Mountain Company in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, built eight Cape Cod-style, two- or three-bedroom homes, all with the same floor plan, except that half of them had the third bedroom added to the back of the house. All of the homes had a 5kW PV array and were heated with a single air source heat pump (ASHP) designed to condition the entire home. Bedrooms had auxiliary radiant-heat panels. All of the homes were oriented alike, were exceptionally tight, had double outside walls with cellulose insulation, and were built to be potentially net zero energy. After the homes were sold and occupied, they were monitored for itemized energy use for a full year.
The results showed that two of the homes achieved net zero; some were a little over; and some used as much as 75% above the 5kW PV output.
One might expect that the two-bedroom homes, being smaller, would have used the least amount of heating energy. But in fact, both the greatest and the least amount of heating energy were used in three-bedroom homes. Two-bedroom homes are most often occupied by couples without children; three-bedroom homes by couples with children. With children, the parents would more likely keep the bedroom doors closed, requiring the use of radiant panels and eliminating the benefit of the single ASHP.
Given the disparity, what could the designer and heating contractor have done to accommodate the different lifestyles?
learn more
Don Otto can be reached at email@example.com or www.dpoconstruction.com.
Get more information on Sarah Susanka's Not So Big House book series.
Proskiw, G. Identifying Affordable Net Zero Energy Housing Solutions. Report prepared for Alex Ferguson, Sustainable Buildings and Communities (Housing Group), CanmetENERGY, and Natural Resources Canada, 2010.
Here are some possibilities:
- Integrate the third bedroom deeper within the floor plan to reduce the amount of cold wall surface, especially on the north side.
- Install jumper grilles with ultraquiet fans to circulate air through the bedrooms, and engineered to eliminate or greatly reduce the need for radiant panels.
- Install another ASHP instead of the radiant panels.
In these projects, how could the roughly $35,000 cost of PV have been otherwise applied?
My point is not to criticize the developer's efforts; they were remarkable; and the data are a lesson for us all. For me, those lessons were: Get to know the client better and accommodate the client's particular needs. Don't waste material or floor space that won't get used, but try to get the greatest value out of the client's budget.
Enter your comments in the box below:
(Please note that all comments are subject to review prior to posting.)
While we will do our best to monitor all comments and blog posts for accuracy and relevancy, Home Energy is not responsible for content posted by our readers or third parties. Home Energy reserves the right to edit or remove comments or blog posts that do not meet our community guidelines.


text:
Universal Pictures and Focus Features announced Saturday that the actor who was to play Christian Grey will depart the project. The studio called it a mutual decision because Hunnam's preparation time was limited by his television schedule. He stars in the FX series "Sons of Anarchy."
It's an abrupt and embarrassing switch for a high-profile film. Fans of E L James' erotic best-seller are eagerly awaiting the movie adaptation, which will be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson.
Dakota Johnson remains in the co-starring role of Anastasia Steele. A replacement will be sought for Hunnam, who last month said he initially turned down the role.
When his casting was announced in September, many vented online that the "Pacific Rim" actor was ill suited to play the seductive billionaire. Producers Dana Brunetti and Michael De Luca took to Twitter to defend the choice, maintaining their two leads had good chemistry together.
Representatives for Hunnam didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.


text:
Only for Members
You must be a member in order to access this content.Join Now (No Thanks)
Join PrivateBlack.com and enjoy unlimited access to top interracial content in the safest way. Top quality and absolute privacy guaranteed.Language 1 Language 2 ENTER
This site displays content only suitable for people who are at least 18 years old. If you are under 18 years of age or can be offended by sexually explicit photos and videos, please leave this site.


text:
Podiatrist - Holly Springs
1140 Holly Springs Road
Holly Springs NC, 27540
Call (919) 557-0300
Podiatrist: Holly Springs, NC
Dr. Bailey-Rayner and staff believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and well being. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you. Or, for a more comprehensive search of our entire Web site, enter your term(s) in the search bar provided.
As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns. Call today at (919) 557-0300!
Ganglion masses, or cysts, are normally removed through surgery. Most cyst removal surgeries are performed on an outpatient basis. Contact our office to have this procedure performed.
During the procedure, the cyst is dissected from the surrounding soft tissues and removed. The recovery period depends on the location of the ganglion and the amount of dissection required during surgery. In many cases, patients receive a splint or below-the-knee cast. The surgeon may require the patient to use crutches for several days to up to three weeks. This level of protection may be necessary if the ganglion is near the ankle joint.
Possible complications from cyst removal surgery include infection, excessive swelling, and nerve damage.


text:
The Talker: Billy Ray Cyrus goes hip hop
Staff Writer
Mount Shasta Herald
Trending on Twitter
Like daughter like father? Billy Ray Cyrus has released a hip-hop version of "Achy Breaky Heart," and it's ... well, just see for yourself: http://bit.ly/1bmYSzr
Something to talk about
NBC News has announced that former anchorman Tom Brokaw has cancer. Brokaw is being treated for multiple myeloma, which affects blood cells in the bone marrow.
Hot video: Top dog
There is a new top dog prancing around New York. Check out the winner of the Westminster dog show.
More Content Now


text:
What is the Location for IPv6 2a00:5da0:1000::114?
Our tracking system has found the location of IP 2a00:5da0:1000::114 at latitude 48 and longitude 68 in the Kazakhstan
(Did you know that the Kazakhstan is a country in Asia? And here we will state a couple of interesting facts about that continent. The Asia continent is one of the seven continents of the world, covering an area of 44,579,000 km² or 17,212,000 square miles with a population density of 100 per km² or 260 per square mile and that the average life expectancy of females is 76 years and men 72 years. In percentage terms, the Asia continent has a population of 4.6 billion, which is 60% of the world's total population.)
The lookup details for the requested IP are purely informative.
Although we try to be precise with the lookup location and other details regarding a certain IP or website we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy.
Namely, in general, IP block ranges change the owner (ISP / Organization) on a daily basis, which contributes to the imbalance in detection.
But in most cases, at least when it comes to the USA, Australia, Canada and Europe, you will be able to get a credible result and information from our IP lookup and know where the device or person behind the requested IP address is geolocated.
Also to remind you that if you want to find the exact physical geolocation of your own device (note that your explicit permission is required for this method) please check out: IP Geolocation
Are you looking for the exact physical address for IP 2a00:5da0:1000::114 ?
You will probably not know the exact physical address of an Internet device (mobile phone, computer, etc.), website, or the person you're trying to locate, but in most cases you will know the region (district), city , postal address, along with latitude 48 and longtitude 68, which is quite enough information when you are doing your own investigation and you also want to see those details on the visual map as well.
Regardless of whether you are looking for as much exact information as possible, regarding IPv4, IPv6 address or domain, with the possibility of insight into the visual display of the traced geolocation on the Map, our advice is to always check your results through our Whois Lookup tool that will reveal a lot of information about the internet service provider and the organization behind the requested domain or IP including email address, phone number and the physical location of the owner of the given IP address or website.
Enter an IP or Domain to search its location and additional information.
Geolocation of an IP on Map
Basic Tracking Info


text:
On the Road with Rick Holmes: The divided states of America
People have been talking about America's divisions since it was just a string of random, widely separated colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard.
For all the things that connect us – a common language, a long history, a rich culture, a set of (largely) shared values – it's the differences that have always fascinated politicians, journalists and academics. Talk of divided Americans always grows louder after hotly fought elections, and we're seeing a flurry of it as intellectuals try to grip with what happened to America in 2016.
"We're suffering through a national identity crisis," writes columnist David Brooks in the New York Times. Brooks, the kind of urbane, thoughtful conservative most appealing to liberals, might well be speaking of himself. Like the rest of the intellectual right, Brooks never saw Trump coming and is still trying to figure out what it means.
Analyzing America's divisions always begins with geography. There are political and cultural divides within states – northern vs. southern California, upstate vs. downstate in New York and Illinois, for instance – as well as between them. Redrawing maps better reflect their population's politics has long been a popular parlor game.
In one such exercise, Colin Woodard's "American Nations," North America is described as 11 rival "nations," each with a distinct character. Woodard gives them cute names – like Yankeedom, the Midlands, El Norte, Tidewater and the Left Coast – and argues that the attitudes of each region's founders toward government, the outside world, freedom and citizenship have persisted in their cultural DNA for centuries.
Woodard contends that the United States has never been truly united, and that migrants, rather than changing the regions they move to, are molded by them. That's why increased mobility and modern communications haven't erased America's differences.
In "The Big Sort," journalist Bill Bishop offers another reason Americans are growing more divided. Using demographic data, Bishop argues that for at least the last three decades Americans have been moving to states, cities and neighborhoods where people share their ideological beliefs. Liberals cluster in cities and on the coasts, looking for diverse communities with excellent schools and vegetarian restaurants. Conservatives move the other direction, choosing to live where churches are at the heart of the community and people value guns, trucks and barbeque.
While some divide us by geography, others stress conflicting "narratives." Brooks writes that until recently, the American identity was sustained by the "Exodus story:" We all came here from other countries intent on finding a better life for our families in a country more free and righteous than the places we left behind. That narrative is being forgotten, he contends, because schools teach more about American oppression than American exceptionalism. I'm not buying it, but it's an interesting theory.
George Packer, whose "The Unwinding" is a masterful look at how America lost touch with its core, offered four conflicting narratives in a recent speech. As recounted by Brooks, Packer divides Americans into western-style libertarians who value freedom over obligation; Silicon Valley globalists who put their faith in disruption; multiculturalists more bound to their identity group than their country; and "America Firsters" fearful of contamination by foreigners and disdainful of elites.
Brooks offers two narratives competing for America's future. The "mercantilist" vision sees the U.S. as a player in a zero-sum global game, and Americans as a tribe that must be protected from other tribes. The "talented community," on the other hand, welcomes diversity, immigration and trade for the "dynamism" they unleash.
Brooks makes no secret which vision he prefers, which is the problem with these parlor games. In every description of this or that American sub-group hides value judgments and stereotypes. Intellectuals can't help but sound condescending in such analyses, especially when they are talking about people they don't know, like poor people, racial minorities and Trump voters.
I tend to take these analyses with a large portion of salt. But I can't resist drawing my own dividing lines.
I see Americans divided by attitude. On one side are those who think we aren't where we need to be, but we're getting better; on the other are those who think things have been going downhill since the 1950s and keep getting worse. On one side are those who think government is the problem; on the other are those who think government is the solution. On one side are those who see globalization as a threat; on the other are those who see it as an opportunity.
But divisions like these are not fixed in stone, and certainly are not a fatal flaw. Diversity of opinion, like all the other kinds of diversity, is a feature in America's operating system, not a bug. Americans are a sprawling, sometimes unruly and fractious family, but a family nonetheless.
Rick Holmes can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. You can follow his journey at www.rickholmes.net. Like him on Facebook at Holmes & Co, on follow him on Twitter @HolmesAndCo


text: Make the most of the XVIII Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and explore the city and all it has to offer, or go further and experience the fascinating diversity of Victoria's regions. Melbourne is a city of world-class events, exceptional food and wine, and a fabulous arts scene. Home to some of the best shopping and nightlife in Australia, a non-stop program of film and food festivals, renowned dining, major art exhibitions and musical extravaganzas, Melbourne is one of the most enlightened and liveable cities in the world, and the perfect host for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Go to visitvictoria.com for more information about Melbourne and Victoria.


text:
Homestead Base 786-738-5973 Appliance Repair Men and book today. For other alternatives if we are too busy you can contact Amazon Home services which offers offers similar service if you are looking for an appliance repair company that can handle GE, Maytag, Whirlpool, LG, Samsung, Kitchenaid, Bosch, Frigidaire, Kenmore, Electrolux, GE Monogram, Frigidaire Gallery, then make sure you check all options before booking to make sure you picked the right choice.
Other Communities serviced: Aventura, Bal Harbour, Bay Harbor Islands, Biscayne Park, Coral Gables, Cutler Bay, Doral, El Portal, Florida City, Golden Beach, Hialeah, Hialeah Gardens, Homestead, Indian Creek, Key Biscayne, Medley, Miami, Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, Miami Lakes, Miami Shores, Miami Springs, North Bay Village, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Palmetto Bay, Opa-locka, Pinecrest, South Miami, Sunny Isles Beach, Surfside, Sweetwater, Virginia Gardens, West Miami,


text:
Just Dance® 4
The Games on Demand version supports English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese. Download the manual for this game by locating the game on http://marketplace.xbox.com and selecting "See Game Manual". This game requires a Kinect™ Sensor. The world's #1 dance game brand is back with Just Dance®4! The latest edition of the record-breaking franchise takes the party to a whole new level of fun with new game modes, brand new features, coaches and stylish environments. Discover over 40 chart-topping hits from "Good Feeling" by Flo Rida, and "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction to legendary tracks like "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder. Challenge your friends in 5 rounds of dance battles with the brand-new Battle mode! Go head to head to unique choreographies and music to be crowned the dance battle champion! Browse through the latest and most popular community content with Kinect™-exclusive Just Dance TV, check out all of you and your friends' videos, and explore the Featured video section, where the very best content is highlighted by our team. With Just Dance 4, the party never ends! Have a blast dancing, laughing, and breaking a sweat with friends and family all night long.
- 1/8/2013
- Ubisoft
- Ubisoft
- Music, Kinect
- Offline players 2 - 4
- Dolby Digital
- Content downloads
- Leaderboards
Get it here. Play it there.
Buy Xbox content on Xbox.com. Your Xbox 360 console will automatically download the content next time you turn it on and connect to Xbox Live.Learn More


text:
He did it!
Wearing golden shoes he received as a gift from the #Nats in the 3rd inning, Teddy Roosevelt dodged a fake Philly Phanatic to take his first presidents race at Nationals Park.
Photos videos and all the details to follow after the game!
Update: Stuck in the rare weekday game day traffic. Thanks for all the tweets and messages. Photos, videos and full story coming soon!


text:
Heritage Week Art Workshop
Time: 11.00am-Noon
Join artist Louise McGrath in this Animal Farm art workshop for 3-6 year olds. Fee €5. To book please contact the Gallery Reception on 01 2225564
Please note: Parents must stay with their children for the 3-6 year olds workshops.
Pre-Booking of Children's Art workshops People are welcome to contact the Gallery Reception desk to pre-book places on the Thursday children's art classes. However, people will need to pay for the workshop and collect their workshop ticket between 10.00am and 10.30am on the day of the workshop. After 10.30am it will no longer be possible to hold places for people who have pre-booked by telephone and places may be allocated elsewhere if there is extra demand.
If someone has pre-paid in advance for their place, their ticket/s will be held for them but they will need to arrive in advance of the workshop start time to collect their ticket/s.
Workshop Tickets are only given out on the day of the Thursday art workshop. There are limited numbers for each workshop.
Late Comers: It will not always be possible to admit late comers to an art workshop after the workshop has started, even if they have pre-booked and pre-paid as this is disruptive and places may have been fully allocated.
In case of any emergency , children will be escorted from the Gallery to the designated emergency meeting point outside the former Colaiste Mhuire building on Parnell Square North and will remain there until parents collect them or escorted back into the gallery in the case of a false alarm


text:
Home » Hair Dye » Hair Dye Colours » Red Hair Dye » Cherry Red Hair Dye » La Riche Directions Colour Hair Dye 88ml (Poppy Red)
Product Key Features
Hair Conditioning Formula
This dye is designed to not only keep hair looking colourful and vibrant, but to also keep hair in top condition. This hair dye formulation has conditioning qualities that keeps hair feeling nourished, luscious, and looking its best.
PETA Registered Brand
This brand has pledged to be part of PETAs Beauty Without Bunnies program which means they do not conduct or instruct other companies to conduct animal testing on their products at any stage of the manufacturing process.
Create Your Own Style
This hair dye can be used to create a range of styles including rainbow, two tone, ombre, and dip dye. Find out how in our Hair Dye Style Guides.
Vegan Friendly Hair Dye
With a formulation made using ingredients that are 100% free from animal-containing materials, this dye is completely Vegan Friendly!
Easy To Use
This hair dye has a neat container that makes it easy to apply meaning no mess! It can also be resealed so that you can save some hair dye to top up your colour later.
Product Description
- Style: Semi-Permanent Hair Dye
- Colour: Poppy Red
- Volume: 88ml
- Free From: PPD Free, Ammonia Free, Peroxide Free, Vegan Friendly, Cruelty Free
- Duration: 2 - 6 weeks
- Brand: La Riche Directions
- For Best Results: Follow Included Instructions or view our Blue Banana Hair Dye Guides.
Read More...
You might also like...
was £5.99
Extra Information
View our customer help tabs for more information. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding a product or an order.
Delivery Information
UK Delivery
|Royal Mail 24 Tracked
Royal Mail 48 Tracked
Royal Mail Next Day Delivery
Royal Mail Saturday Delivery
from £7.99*
International Delivery
We offer delivery to a huge range of countries in Europe and across the rest of the world. This list includes: Ireland, United States, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy & Spain. Please view our Delivery Information page for a full list of delivery countries.
Price and delivery speed will vary depending on location. Add all items to your basket and select your country of residence to see your most up-to-date delivery information.
Any customs or import duties are levied once the package reaches its destination country. Any additional charges for custom clearance become the responsibility of the recipient.
* Price may vary depending on weight and size of package.
Click here for more information
Returns & Exchange Information
Returning an item from us has been made extra simple thanks to the Royal Mail pre-paid delivery label, which will allow you to return an item to us from the UK totally free if your return is due to a fault with the item or because of error we have made.
If you are returning an item for any other reason, for example if you ordered the incorrect size or product, you must use a Royal Mail pre-paid label to post your return but we will deduct the cost of the delivery from your refund.
All you need to do to return an item to us is visit https://bluebanana.com/rm and create a pre-paid label with Royal Mail. Fill in a returns form as directed and print out the pre-paid Royal Mail postage label. Attach the label to your parcel and take it to the Post Office to be sent back to us. You should obtain a proof of postage receipt when returning your item.
Make sure you remember to include your returns form with your item and youll be sent an e-mail confirming the status of your return as soon as possible. Returns can take up to five days to reach us and will then be processed within 48 hours.
Our Returns Address
Click here for more information
Product Categories
La Riche Directions | Hair Dye | Hair Care | Halloween Hair Dye | Vegan Hair Dye | Red Hair Dye | Bright Red Hair Dye | Maroon Hair Dye | Hair Dye Colours | Hair Dye Brands | Hair Dye Types | Hair Dye Styles | Single Pack Hair Dye | Semi Permanent Hair Dye | PPD Free Hair Dye |
Customer Help
Call us: +44 (0) 1579 341907
(Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm GMT) or Email us here.
(Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm GMT) or Email us here.


text:
The separation is now a permanent parting of ways for The Civil Wars. Santa Cruz native Joy Williams and John Paul White announced on the band's website that they are officially breaking up almost two years after going on hiatus.
In late 2012, the duo pulled out of a world tour, citing irreconcilable differences. Their first album went gold and they won four Grammy Awards, but they chose not to tour after the release of their second album.
Sounds as if Civil Wars really did apply to these two.
As a parting gift, the duo are providing on their site a free download of "You Are My Sunshine," released in 2011 as a b-side to their limited edition "Barton Hollow 7" vinyl.
The musicians also released a combined statement. In it Williams offered an olive branch of sorts to her former music partner: "JP is a tremendous musician, and I will always be grateful for the music we were able to create together."
White stuck to a more standard thank-you farewell statement: "Whatever shape or form the next chapter takes, thanks for being a large part of this one."
Ann Tatko-Peterson provides celebrity commentary for the Bay Area News Group. Follow her at twitter.com/atatkopeterson.


text:
Google has updated the stable version of Chrome to version 27. On top of the usual bug and security flaw fixes, the new version is claimed to load webpages about 5 percent faster on average.
Finding a 5 percent improvement in a browser that's already fast is no mean feat. The better performance comes from making Chrome smarter about the way it uses the network: being more aggressive to download things in some instances and being less aggressive in others.
Although Google is switching to its own Blink rendering engine, Chrome 27 still uses the WebKit engine. WebKit detects the resources that are needed and puts them in a download queue. A component called the scheduler then sets about downloading all the resources. When doing this, it has to make various trade-offs. Some resources (like HTML itself) are needed more urgently than others (like images). Network bandwidth is finite, and browsers in general should not make too many connections to any one server.
In WebKit, this scheduler is part of the rendering engine itself and as such, each tab (which has its own renderer) has its own scheduler. Chrome 27 moves the scheduler to be shared across the entire browser. This gives the scheduler a better view of the current network activity. Downloads belonging to background tabs, for example, can now be run at a lower priority than those of visible tabs.
Chrome 27 also changes how the scheduler works. If it detects that the network is idle (something it can now do, thanks to its holistic view of the browser's network activity), it will try to pre-load resources that are probably going to be used.
It also scales back some activity: the WebKit scheduler would try to fetch an unlimited number of images at a time. The new one limits this to ten concurrent images, which reduces bandwidth contention. This in turn means that the first few images download faster, and as these images tend to be the ones that are currently visible, it allows the page to render sooner.
The new version also includes a bunch of more or less unspecified "improvements" to the built-in spell checking and predictions in the Omnibox. For developers, there's an extension to the HTML5 FileSystem API that enables files to be stored to, and synced with, Google Drive.
Chrome 27 users will also see a new feature if they use Google as their search engine. The search box has picked up a microphone icon. Click it, and you can speak to the search engine and dictate your searches. It should even support Siri-esque conversational requests.
That said, at the time of writing, this feature seemed extremely unreliable, most times telling us that we had no Internet connection and refusing to let us speak to the search engine.


text:
Carports in Lebanon are a great investment that you can make at a fraction of the cost of a wood building. Metal carports offer superior protection for your vehicles such as cars, trucks, vans, boats, ATVs, and RVs. Quality-built carports are available from Carport Central throughout the state of Pennsylvania. In the city of Lebanon PA, our steel carports are the best covers you can get, and they also come at the great price! They provide reliable protection from wind, heavy rain, and snowfall. Carport Central also offers attractive rent-to-own and financing options on our excellent selection of carports, garages, sheds, and commercial metal buildings.
Carport Central works with top-quality local carport manufacturers across the country, serving 42 states including the great state of Pennsylvania. We bring you the great metal carport prices in Lebanon, PA, so there's no need to shop around to find the great prices for your metal building. And when you shop with Carport Central, delivery and installation in Lebanon is included!
We have a dedicated team of experienced building specialists available to walk you through every step. Carport Central is the top volume online carport dealer in America, but we didn't reach this level of business by simply rushing our customers through a sale. We actually take the time to LISTEN to your needs before we make any recommendations. We don't just want to sell you a carport or garage; we're here to help you find the perfect steel structure storage solution for all your needs!
Carport Central offers a vast range of metal carports and buildings in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. We offer roof-only carports in the regular, boxed-eave, and vertical styles, and we can also provide you with custom utility carports, garages, lean-to buildings, clear span buildings, and commercial buildings. We can design buildings up to 70 feet wide, and in any length or height you may need. We offer up to 18 colors for you to choose from (based on your location), and our Carport Color Planner is a great tool you can use to visualize different color options for your carport or building.
We can design and install certified metal carports in Lebanon, PA to meet your local building codes and requirements. Our carports are built with 26- or 29-gauge sheet metal and 12- or 14-gauge metal frames, based on your specific needs and preferences. We also offer a variety of customization options including colors, trims, side and end enclosures, different roof styles, building dimensions, frame and siding gauge options, door options, window options, and more!
Carport Central offers some of the most competitive prices in the country, and we'd love to help you get your dream metal carport or steel garage installed on your site in the Lebanon, PA area!
You can contact one of our friendly and knowledgeable building specialists to learn more; they are familiar with most local building permits and requirements and can guide you through the whole process, so you can get your perfect carport or building with no hassles or surprises.
Remember, delivery and installation in Pennsylvania always included with your standard purchase! Just give us a call at (980) 321-9898, and let's get started!
At Carport Central, We Provide Shelter For Your Way Of Life.


text:
Train slams into float at Texas vets parade; 4 dead
- A train slammed into a trailer that was carrying a vets, a parade float to the event
- The parade was supposed to end at a "Hunt for Heroes" banquet
- Six people remained hospitalized, including at least one in critical condition
MIDLAND, Texas (AP) — Federal officials are heading to West Texas to join investigators looking into why a freight train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans, killing four people and injuring 17 others.
Witnesses described a harrowing scene Thursday afternoon as the Union Pacific locomotive bore down on the decorated flatbed truck as it tried to clear the rail crossing on its way to an honorary banquet.
The train was sounding its horn and people on the flatbed truck — mostly wounded veterans and their spouses — were scrambling to jump off before the collision around 4:40 p.m. in Midland, according to witnesses and Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange.
A preliminary investigation indicates the crossing gate and lights were working, Lange said, though he didn't know if the train crew saw the float approaching.
Two people died at the scene, while two others died at Midland Memorial Hospital, City of Midland spokesman Ryan Stout said. Six people remained hospitalized Thursday night, including at least one in critical condition; the other 11 people injured have been treated and released, hospital officials said.
About two dozen veterans and their spouses had been sitting in chairs on the float, set up on the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer decorated with American flags and signs identifying each veteran. Many seemed to panic as the locomotive's horn sounded, said Patricia Howle, who was waiting in her car at a nearby traffic light as the train approached.
"I was on the phone, and I just started screaming," she told The Associated Press late Thursday night. "The truck was on the other side of the train, but I did see the panic on the faces of the people and saw some of them jump off."
The float was among two flatbed tractor-trailers carrying veterans and their spouses. Police said the first truck safely crossed the railroad tracks, but the second truck's trailer was still on the crossing as the train approached.
"The train honked its horn, but the 18-wheeler could not go anywhere because of the other one being right in front of it," said Daniel Quinonez, who was in traffic that had been stopped by sheriff's deputies to allow the parade to pass.
"It was a horrible accident to watch happen right in front of me. I just saw the people on the semi-truck's trailer panic, and many started to jump off the trailer. But it was too late for many of them because the train impacted the trailer so fast," he told the AP.
Several police vehicles remained at the crash scene late Thursday night. Flood lights illuminated the wreck as investigators in reflective vests and hard hats carefully took measurements of the site, which was cordoned off by yellow police tape.
The parade had been scheduled to end at a "Hunt for Heroes" banquet honoring the veterans. The wounded service members were then going to be treated to a deer-hunting trip this weekend. The events were canceled.
The events were organized by Show Of Support, a local veterans group. Its president, Terry Johnson, did not immediately return an email for comment and his phone number was unlisted; the phone rang unanswered at the group's offices.
Stout, also the police department's spokesman, said he had no information about the individuals who died or the driver of the truck.
Lange said Union Pacific is offering help to the community and victims' families, as well as peer-to-peer counseling for the train crew, who did not sustain any injuries.
"There is going to be a very thorough investigation," Lange said. "It's obviously a very tragic incident."
The National Transportation Safety Board also is investigating, NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson said.
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta "was deeply saddened by news of the tragic accident involving veterans heroes and their spouses in Midland," Pentagon spokesman George Little said in a statement. "His thoughts and prayers are with the families of the victims, with those injured in this incident, and with the entire community."
Midland is about 320 miles west of Dallas.


text:
Everyone, apart perhaps from die-hard Ferrari fans and Spaniards, had to be truly impressed by the Red Bull Racing team's successes in the 2012 F1 season. The relatively new British-based F1 team (it took over the Jaguar team at the end of 2004) captured its third straight World Manufacturer's Championship last week at the US Grand Prix in Austin. Then yesterday in Brazil, during one of the most nail-biting F1 races in a long time, Sebastian Vettel grabbed his third straight World Driver's Championship. He is the youngest driver ever to achieve this and joins Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher as one of only three drivers to achieve this milestone.
Just before yesterday's race, Infiniti announced it has expanded its partnership with the team for another four years. What's more it has obviously upped the dollar amount, as the team will be known as Infiniti Red Bull Racing from 2013 on.
When making the announcement, Johan de Nysschen, the former president of Audi USA and now president of Infiniti, said: "While our first 24-months have been very beneficial to both parties, our new deeper relationship will bring increased advantages to Infiniti and Red Bull Racing. As title sponsor, Infiniti Red Bull Racing will help us garner even more worldwide exposure for our brand, products and technology."
Red Bull Racing's Team Principal Christian Horner added: "Red Bull Racing and Infiniti have been working on a number of initiatives since the start of our relationship in 2011. During that time, Infiniti has demonstrated significant technical prowess and I've been impressed by the depth of the wider engineering capabilities of the Nissan Motor Company. In terms of marketing, Infiniti has leveraged their involvement with Red Bull Racing and Formula One extremely effectively to become much better known in a short space of time. These two attributes make Infiniti the ideal title and technical partner for Red Bull Racing."
Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing's Chief Technical Officer commented: "Formula One presents immense design and engineering challenges on a daily basis. Having a committed technical partner like Infiniti gives us a great platform for working together on technical projects, such as the Energy Recovery Systems for the 2014 season."
A few years ago Toyota and Honda withdrew from F1 racing, as it proved too expensive to go it alone. As of now the Red Bull car is powered by a Renault engine but we can only imagine that the name on the engine might change to Infiniti before long, especially if Nissan engineers have any major input.
From a purely financial point of view it makes tremendous sense for Infiniti to place its name on a successful team rather than try and build one from scratch. Such is the popularity of Formula One worldwide this alliance will undoubtedly help Infiniti establish itself as a key luxury brand as it expands its presence globally.
Related posts:
- F1 Returns to Canada; Red Bull Gets There a Little Early
- Video: Red Bull Off-Roads an F1 Car in Texas
- Breaking: Familiar Faces To Highlight 2013 F1 Broadcast Team
- Infiniti Enters F1
- Sustainable Racing Summit 2012


text:
This time around, young people voting with their pocketbooks not emotions
This election cycle may well be remembered as the one in which fiscal conservatism outweighed social liberalism for Americans under 30.
Martha Irvine of the Huffington Post interviewed several college age voters, and came to the conclusion: "It's the economy, stupid".
This generation of young Americans has been called many things, from civic-minded to "entitled." But fiscally conservative?
That's a new one, and it just might have an impact on the presidential election.
Listen to Caroline Winsett, a senior at DePaul University, who considers herself fairly socially liberal but says being fiscally conservative matters most right now.
"Ultimately, I'm voting with my pocketbook," says Winsett, a 22-year-old political science major who's president of the DePaul student body. She recently cast an absentee ballot for Republican Mitt Romney in her home state of Tennessee.
To be clear, polls show that President Barack Obama remains the favorite among 18- to 29-year-old registered voters, as he was in 2008. No one thinks the majority of young voters will support Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, in the Nov. 6 election.
But the polls also hint at a "schism" between those who weren't old enough to vote in 2008 and their older twentysomething counterparts, says John Della Volpe, the polling director at Harvard University's Institute of Politics.
In one poll, for instance, he found that 42 percent of 18- and 19-year-olds identified as "conservative," compared with just over one-third who said they were "liberal." By comparison, those proportions were nearly flipped for 22- to 24-year-olds: 39 percent said they were "liberal," and a third called themselves "conservative." It was much the same for older twentysomethings.
Tina Wells, head of Buzz Marketing, an agency that tracks the attitudes of young people, has noticed this shift to the right. Her own researchers have found that the youngest adults are much more likely to label themselves "conservative," "moderate" or "independent" than older millennials, a term for young adults who've entered adulthood in the new millennium.
Like a lot of youth experts, Wells thinks it has to do with one thing: the economy.
Suddenly, she says, the "entitled generation," those who grew up in more prosperous times and were seen as having ridiculously high expectations for jobs and standard of living, was no more.
"That bubble burst the minute the economy started tanking, and they were the `unemployed generation,'" Wells says. "They had to grow up."
She says the recession had a particularly profound effect on the political attitudes of younger millennials, who've come of age as the adults who preceded them have lost homes, jobs and retirement funds. It has set a decidedly grimmer tone as their age group also has faced the highest unemployment rate of any age bracket, while many others have had to take jobs below their qualifications.
"We heard about how our parents' bank accounts were shrinking and how money that was there one day was gone the next," says Jessie Wurzer, a 17-year-old in Fairport, N.Y.
She says it's left her and her peers "with a lingering anxiety about money and finances in general."
They worry about how they'll afford college, whether Social Security will be there when they're ready to retire and how the national deficit will affect them. That's why Wurzer now calls herself a "fiscal conservative."
At the same time, however, she considers herself a moderate on social issues, including gay marriage and abortion. So in traditional political terms, this generation is hard to peg.
Unemployment is now the top concern among young people, says Deborah Maue, vice president at TRU, a Chicago-based research company that specializes in tweens, teens and young adults. Just after the 2008 election, unemployment ranked fifth, behind such issues as education and health care.
But, Maue, says this is a generation that's also passionately "hands off" on social issues. TRU's research also has found that teens are increasingly uninterested in organized religion.
"They're all about individuality and accepting people as individuals," says Maue, who leads the TRU Enrollment Insights Program for higher education professionals.
For some young people, an interest in individual freedom has sent them to the Libertarian party. Rachel Palermo, a 19-year-old in Northfield, Minn., is one of them.
"Our loss of trust may be why we have the mentality that the economy would be best with less intervention" says Palermo, a sophomore at St. Olaf College. She plans to vote for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson.
"Even though politician after politician promises they'll improve the economy, they have failed, and we are going to suffer from it."
Republicans also have seen an opportunity here.
In 2008, Republican pollster Kristen Soltis says she watched disappointedly as her party "really let the youth vote go."
This election, that hasn't been the case. Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan has spent time campaigning on college campuses. George P. Bush, son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, has done the same for the Romney-Ryan ticket in that state.
Soltis also notes that, last summer, during a recall election in Wisconsin, a slight majority of voters in the 18- to 24-year-old age bracket cast a ballot to keep Republican Gov. Scott Walker in office.
"This election is such a huge opportunity for Republicans," says Soltis, who, at age 28, is also a member of the millennial generation.
But it remains to be seen whether Republicans can win over these young voters on social issues, especially when the economy rebounds.
"Either the party will have to persuade more young people or the party will adapt. I don't necessarily know which way that's going to go yet," Soltis says.
Winsett, the DePaul senior, says Republicans would be wise to "shift back to the center" to attract more young people.
Brady Meixell, a freshman at the College of William & Mary in Virginia, agrees.
"People in my age group who would typically be Republicans, and are very fiscally conservative, are disenchanted with the social conservatism of the GOP and don't exactly know where to turn," says Meixell, who's 18 and plans to vote for Obama.
He says Obama has won many students over with college loan reforms and with his health care plan, which allows young people to stay on their parents' insurance into early adulthood.
Meanwhile, 21-year-old Alex Avdakov describes himself as conservative on social issues such as abortion and welfare. But his vote will be driven by what amounts to fiscal conservatism: a concern about government spending.
He plans to vote for Obama because he strongly opposes Romney's plan for military spending, "especially when his entire campaign is centered around reducing the deficit," says Avdakov, a senior at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.
These mixed emotions help explain why this election is generating much less excitement on college campuses than there was in 2008.
"They're not fully committed to Obama. But they're not fully committed to Romney either," says Della Volpe, the pollster from Harvard.
Or perhaps they're not fully committed to the political process as a whole, but are turned off, as many young people note, by partisan bickering and gridlock.
A recent TRU poll found that more young people answered "don't know" or "don't care" when asked if they were liberal, moderate or conservative.
Six months after the 2008 election, 13 percent of teens and twentysomethings gave that answer. In a recent poll, that "don't know/don't' care" number rose to 27 percent for the entire age group – and to 36 percent for teens.
That could be bad news for those hoping to build on the last election's banner youth vote numbers. But Maue, at TRU, doesn't necessarily think it means they're disengaged.
"It may mean they're undecided," she says. "So it could go either way."
Young millennials – fiscal conservatives? (The Huffington Post)


text:
Insulated Siding Provides Continuous Insulation
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, vinyl siding is already the top-selling exterior cladding in the United States. The vinyl siding industry, however, would like more people to think of it as a cladding product with benefits—not just as exterior cladding. Insulated siding, for example, can help homeowners save energy.
Recognized by energy codes and government programs alike as continuous insulation, insulated siding is the latest trend in home insulation. But to convince builders that the product will reduce thermal bridging, it's important to understand how it is tested for R-value, and how it should be applied for best performance.
Cladding with Benefits
First introduced commercially in 1997, insulated siding is vinyl siding that incorporates a substantial thickness of rigid-foam plastic insulation, which is laminated or otherwise permanently attached to the vinyl. The insulation that is most commonly used for the purpose is expanded polystyrene (EPS), which is covered under ASTM C578 "Standard Specification for Rigid, Cellular Polystyrene Thermal Insulation." Insulated siding should not be confused with vinyl siding with a drop-in backer that is not integral to the panel. Insulated siding is more rigid and more stable dimensionally, and is designed to achieve higher levels of thermal performance. All of these qualities are verified through specific R-value testing.
Both DOE and EPA recognize that insulated siding can improve a home's energy efficiency. For example, when correctly installed, insulated siding that meets the R-value levels specified by EPA can help meet the performance guidelines of an Energy Star-qualified new home. All applications of materials to reduce thermal bridging, however, must meet the climate-specific R-value and installation requirements for the program.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also has regulations governing home insulation claims, including the manufacturer's claims regarding its thermal insulation value. According to the FTC regulation, the claimed or rated R-value must be based on actual testing conducted in accordance with approved standards; for insulated siding, the appropriate standard is ASTM C1363 "Standard Test Method for Thermal Performance of Building Materials and Envelope Assemblies by Means of a Hot Box Apparatus."
Real-World R-values
Everyone knows that the higher the R-value, the more effective the insulation. For that reason, raters must be sure that the advertised R-value truly indicates how the product will perform on a wall. Like many other home insulation providers, vinyl siding manufacturers are required to perform tests in accordance with an ASTM standard on their insulated siding products before they can make any claims concerning R-value.
However, because ASTM C1363 does not include installation details, the Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI) Technical Committee has determined test installation configurations, environmental conditions, and procedures to simulate real-world conditions. Insulated siding is installed over an 8-foot x 8-foot base wall according to the manufacturer's instructions, in a manner that replicates field installation. Wind is directed against the surface of the siding, perpendicular to the wall. This ensures that the R-value claimed for the siding represents the actual thermal insulation value that will be delivered to the home. R-values identified through these testing methods can be used to comply with the requirements of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC).
Another approach to consider—one that is important to raters evaluating insulated siding—is the U-factor. The U-factor of a wall assembly takes into account the combined insulating effects of all the wall's elements, including air film, interior gypsum, siding, structural sheathing, and insulation. Insulated siding can help builders and designers meet or exceed IECC requirements for whole-wall U-factors, which are climate zone dependent. The established R-value of the insulated siding is still necessary, however, to plug into the overall equation for establishing the U-factor of the wall.
VSI is working with ASTM International to develop a standard specification for insulated siding and is proposing a minimum R-value of 2.0. This R-value would be consistent with the minimum R-value required for insulated sheathing in the IECC.
Complying with Energy Codes
Insulated siding meets the requirements of vinyl siding and foam plastic insulation in the International Residential Codes and the International Building Code. The 2012 IECC recently added insulated siding to the building materials that can be used as continuous insulation outside of the framing to provide the required total wall value for buildings in the coldest climate zones. Insulated siding can be used to comply with previous versions of the IECC.
Per Section 402 of the 2009 IECC, the rated R-value of insulated siding can be used to calculate a whole-wall U-factor. When properly installed, insulated siding can also meet the definition of continuous insulation in ASHRAE 90.1, which is referenced in the 2009 IECC. And under the 2012 IECC, the R-value of insulated siding may be used to satisfy the insulation requirements of Table 402.1.1 when it is used as continuous insulation.
Table 1 gives an example of whole-wall U-factors for a wood-framed wall 16 inches on center. The left column shows the continuous insulation R-value of insulated siding and any other foam sheathing. Yellow-shaded cells represent wall assemblies that are in compliance with 2009 IECC residential U-factor requirements for wall assemblies in climate zones 1 through 4, and blue-shaded cells represent those in compliance in climate zones 5 through 8. Figure 1 shows a schematic drawing of the installed siding on an exterior wall.
Insulated Siding and Energy Star-Qualified Homes
Because it can reduce thermal bridging, insulated siding has been added to the list of building products that can help qualify new homes under Energy Star-Qualified Homes Version 3, which began implementation in 2011 and will be required for new homes seeking to earn the Energy Star label by January 1, 2012. Both Energy Star-Qualified Homes and DOE's Builder's Challenge use a HERS index created from a building energy simulation model of a home to rate the home's energy performance. To demonstrate how insulated siding can improve a new home's energy performance and lower its HERS index, Newport Ventures, a research firm with expertise in the housing industry, created a model for a typical new home cladded with insulated siding.
The prototypical new home was modeled using EnergyGauge USA software, configured to meet the minimum prescriptive and mandatory requirements of the 2009 IECC. The prototypical home was modeled for each IECC climate zone and its HERS index was recorded. Simulations were then run with insulated siding installed at insulation ratings of R-2, R-2.5, and R-3. Results showed that insulated siding could provide a 1- to 3-point improvement in the HERS index of a 2009 IECC minimally compliant home, accounting for 23% of the total improvement necessary to comply with Energy Star-Qualified Homes Version 3. Insulated siding was also found to reduce the heating and cooling energy use in an existing home by 1–4%, with a HERS index of up to 6 points less than the typical home.
NYSERDA Study Cements Results
As part of its High-Performance Residential Development Challenge, designed to examine affordable energy efficiency, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) conducted a study on two single-family homes built with insulated siding in New York State in 2008 and 2009. The goal of the study was to achieve 50–60% energy savings from typical homes built to the already stringent energy codes in New York by including affordable, energy-efficient systems. Building energy simulations conducted for both homes used an R-value of 2.6 for the insulated siding (based on a sample product tested using ASTM C1363).
As part of this study, VSI commissioned Newport Ventures to evaluate the environmental performance of insulated siding against fiber cement siding. Newport focused on one of the homes in the study, a two-story colonial in Burnt Hills, New York. Using both insulated siding and James Hardie fiber cement siding, Newport cladded a two-story section of a south-facing wall with no openings. Cavities were insulated to ensure that the overall thermal performance of the wall far exceeded code minimum requirements.
Newport used infrared imagery to measure the surface temperature of the wall. The exterior temperature of the insulated siding section turned out to be colder than that of the fiber cement siding. This shows that insulated siding minimizes heat loss through the wall assembly, especially through the studs, which have the lowest R-value in the overall assembly. Based on a building energy simulation, Newport projected that the Burnt Hills home could save significant resources by builders specifying insulated siding over fiber cement siding. Specifically, doing so would save 3.2 million Btu of energy consumed annually, 488 lb of CO2 emissions associated with that energy use, and $56 per year in natural-gas and electric utility costs.
Because the benefits of insulated siding vary across climate zones in the United States, Newport conducted building energy simulations on the same home across the eight IECC climate zones. The simulations were based on a typical 2,280 ft2 two-story home with energy efficiency equipment that complied with the minimum prescriptive path of 2006 IECC, except vinyl windows and basement insulation, Newport determined that using insulated siding in lieu of fiber cement siding across all eight climate zones would produce energy savings of 0.6–6.2 MMBtu (average 3.3 MMBtu); a decrease in the HERS index of 1 to 2 points (average 1.9 points); a decrease in CO2 emissions of 167–755 lb (average 497 lb); and utility cost savings of 2–5% (average 3%), based on total heating, cooling, and water-heating costs.
Matt Dobson is director of code and regulatory for the Vinyl Siding Institute. VSI is located in Washington, D.C.; it is the trade association for the suppliers of vinyl and other polymeric siding to the industry.
>> learn more
For the FTC regulations governing home insulation claims, including claims regarding the thermal insulation value provided by the manufacturer, see 16 C.F.R. Part 460. Go to www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_10/16cfr460_10.html).
Additional information about insulated siding and U-factor calculations is available in VSI's Insulated Siding as Home Insulation: Guide for Users and Energy Raters. To download a free copy, go to www.insulatedsiding.info. VSI also offers a free webinar on insulated siding as home insulation.
To learn more, go to www.vinylsiding.org.
To learn more about the NYSERDA study mentioned at the end of the article, visit www.vinylsiding.org/aboutsiding/insulated/nyserda/index.asp.
Enter your comments in the box below:
(Please note that all comments are subject to review prior to posting.)
While we will do our best to monitor all comments and blog posts for accuracy and relevancy, Home Energy is not responsible for content posted by our readers or third parties. Home Energy reserves the right to edit or remove comments or blog posts that do not meet our community guidelines.


text:
The above Banner is a Sponsored Banner.
Upgrade to Premium Membership to remove this Banner & All Google Ads. For full list of Premium Member benefits Click HERE.
Join The Silver Forum
The Silver Forum is one of the largest and best loved silver and gold precious metals forums in the world, established since 2014. Join today for FREE! Browse the sponsor's topics (hidden to guests) for special deals and offers, check out the bargains in the members trade section and join in with our community reacting and commenting on topic posts. If you have any questions whatsoever about precious metals collecting and investing please join and start a topic and we will be here to help with our knowledge happy stacking/collecting. 13,000+ forum members.


text:
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Stewart coasted for at least 250 miles at Daytona International Speedway, where he hardly worked up a sweat until the final hour of the race.
It's a game he hates to play, dropping to the back of the pack at restrictor-plate races to casually circle the track lap after lap. The strategy of waiting until the end of the race to make a frantic, final push goes against his fundamentals of racing.
But he couldn't deny the results Saturday night when he found himself in position to challenge Jimmie Johnson for the win. Although he ultimately settled for second, the finish pushed him a whopping six places to 10th in points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings.
"This is a 195 mph chess match, and the lap that pays is lap 160," Stewart said. "A lot is said about guys that lag back like that, but we're in the most competitive series in the country, and when you're running in the most competitive series in the country you have to do what you think is in the best interest of you, your car, your team and your situation to get to the end.
"Part of winning races is knowing to be where at what times. I know some people don't like that and some people don't agree with it, but that's what I think is the best thing to do in the interest of our race team and to ensure at the end of the day when it's time to go we have a car that's capable of doing so."
Stewart has used that strategy for years at Daytona and Talladega, the two tracks that NASCAR requires the use of horsepower-sapping restrictor plates.
The plates control speeds and keep the cars bunched, raising the likelihood of a multicar crash when a driver makes a mistake.
Now more and more drivers are simply riding around for the three quarters, choosing to wait until the end to turn it up a notch.
It was frustrating to fourth-place finisher Clint Bowyer, who had voiced his boredom with Daytona several times over the weekend.
"I made a rule with myself at these restrictor-plate tracks to be easy. You know, ride around," Bowyer said. "It's boring. You want to be up there racing for every lap led. If you get wiped out it doesn't matter who caused it or whose fault it was. If you get wiped out before halfway in one of these restrictor-plate races it's your own fault. You knew better than to put yourself in that situation."
The final results Saturday showed that riding in the back is the best strategy for making it to the finish line.
Johnson, who had the dominant car, led a race-high 94 laps and felt confident his speed was enough to keep him out front and ahead of trouble. But Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Bowyer and Michael Waltrip all made it inside the top-five but laying back for at least half the race. David Ragan did the same thing to win at Talladega in May.
But Stewart is correct in sensing that many fans don't like watching drivers take it easy. They gripe and grumble that there's no point in watching a plate race until the very end because that's when it gets exciting.
So what does NASCAR do about this predicament? Series officials can't force drivers to race hard, and there doesn't seem to be any real consequence to laying back. Several years ago when Denny Hamlin was in the thick of the championship race, he lost a tandem partner while racing at the back and fell out of the draft. In danger of going a lap down and ruining his title chances, fellow Toyota driver Waltrip got out of the gas and slid back to rescue Hamlin.
And NASCAR can't take the plates off unless it figures a way to slow the cars, which nobody has been able to do at the two biggest and fastest tracks in the series.
But as Bowyer grumbled about how much idle time he spent at Daytona, where drivers run just a few laps of practice to tune their cars, then turn one lap on qualifying day, then sit and wait for the race to take it easy until the end, it became apparent the whole system is broken.
NASCAR will never cut races from 500 or 400 miles to a 25-lap shootout, but that's basically what they've become. Everybody sat around and waited three days to watch the final 25 laps of Saturday night's race.
At minimum, NASCAR should cut the plate events, excluding the Daytona 500, down to two-day shows for the Sprint Cup Series. No team is using all its practice time, making it pointless for everyone to be at the track all those hours.
As for the race itself? Who knows? There's no incentive to race early, and there's not much NASCAR can do to change that. For now, we know what we're going to watch four times a year. We'll sit and watch for some wrecks, then wait for it to get crazy at the end.
As he left the track with a second-place points on the same night teammates Danica Patrick and Ryan Newman both wrecked, Stewart accepted plate racing for what he's stuck with right now.
"With these things being as crazy as they are, if you can end up with a top-two, you're pretty happy when you leave here," he said. "One out of three isn't bad in the organization. The other two got wadded up pretty good."
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tony Stewart coasted for at least 250 miles at Daytona International Speedway, where he hardly worked up a sweat until the final hour of the race.


text:
Miss Teen Dream contestants try to keep their spirits up after their plane goes down in a finalist for a 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Beauty Queens. By Libba Bray. Scholastic, 396 pp., $18.95. Ages 12 & up.
By Janice Harayda
Thirteen beauty queens stumble into literal and metaphorical quicksand after their plane crashes on a tropical island in this madcap feminist farce with AK-47s and eyelash curlers. With fish and coconuts to sustain them, the Miss Teen Dream contestants don't waste time weeping for their dead chaperones, who might have enforced the morals-clauses in their contracts. They keep hoping for a rescue and practicing their dance steps for the pageant, led by the crown-obsessed Miss Texas, until they discover that their island holds secret agents with high-tech offices hidden in a volcano who may work for their corporate sponsor.
As they try to outwit the men with walkie-talkies, the contestants have time to explore their varied sexual identities – straight, gay, transgender or uncertain – with the frankness of Miss Illinois, who dislikes having to declare an orientation like a major: "I am straight with a minor in gay." Their tale sags in its last third under the weight and predictability of the wrap-ups of all the subplots — each involving a character who sees that she must be true herself, no matter what her unenlightened parents or friends think — and a deus ex machina in the form of a ship full of TV-show pirates.
But Libba Bray satirizes worthy targets along the way, including corporate greed, identity politics, and sexual double standards. And the contestants' stories coalesce into a tidy theme expressed by Miss Nebraska. "Maybe girls' need an island to find themselves," she says. "Maybe they need a place where no one's watching so they can be who they really are."
Best line: "My platform is Identifying Misogyny in American Culture." From the "Miss Teen Dream Fun Facts Page" about Adina Greenberg, Miss New Hampshire, a high school journalist who entered the contest hoping to expose how it promotes "the objectification of women."
Worst line: "Taylor had heard enough. She emerged from the jungle like a Kurtzian goddess." In these lines, Bray is writing from the point of view of Taylor Hawkins, Miss Texas, a pageant obsessive who shows little evidence of having read anything but I'm Perfect and You Can Be, Too, a self-help manual by a Miss Teen Dream winner who resembles a Southern-fried Sara Palin. It's hard to believe she would see herself in terms of a character in Heart of Darkness.
Published: May 2011
Furthermore: Beauty Queens is a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in the young-adult literature category. Some critics have called Beauty Queens a "satire," and it does satirize contemporary follies, but its intentionally over-the-top aspects give it more in common with farce. The novel is the fifth by bestselling author Libba Bray, who lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Learn more about Beauty Queens or buy a copy from an independent bookstore in the author's city.
Janice Harayda has been the book columnist for Glamour, the book editor of the Plain Dealer, and a vice-president of the National Book Critics Circle. One-Minute Book Reviews recently was ranked one of the top 40 book blogs by Technorati and top 40 book-review blogs by Alexa Internet. It was named one of the top blogs in New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly.
You can follow Jan (@janiceharayda) on Twitter by clicking on the "Follow" button in the sidebar to the right of this review.
© 2012 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.