text:
Anyone can smoke a cigar, but only overpaid corporate executives can smoke them knowing that they deserve to smoke them. A half pack of cigarettes worth of tobacco just tastes better after a long day of mergers, acquisitions, and dream-crushing.
That sense of cancerous entitlement inspired Thomas Pink's "Mogul Shirt." It's got a small pocket for a cigar on the chest, making sure you never are without a stogie when you need one. Just make sure you have a stack of $100 bills around to light it with for the full effect.
Thomas Pink [via Book of Joe]


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UPDATE JAN 22 2014 These pics recently fell into my hands and as I get so many requests about any recent images of Jock this is the best you are every going to get!
JOCK ROSS AND HIS MISSUS VANESSA "NESS" ROSS Visit the COMANCHERO MEMORIAL UP THE COAST AT Palmdale Memorial Park and Crematorium. To protect some younger family members I have altered them out of the picture. Click the image for a larger view
I have been swamped with searches and queries on current day pics of the main players since the TV show has been aired. Not surprisingly the ones who are still alive, are living their lives in a much different way to how the did 30 years ago. The main ones I get and for Jock Ross and Snoddy Spencer. If anybody has links to other pics let me know via the comments or an email and I will post them. Same goes for any video footage on youtube or elsewhere…
Some new ones I came across via and reader.cheers
Here is one I have been sent in the last few days,of Snoddy, who killed himself in jail following the massacre.
The Milperra Massacre was a firearm battle between rival motorcycle gang members on September 2 (Father's Day) 1984, in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney. Seven people were killed: six motorcycle gang members and a fourteen year old female bystander.
The massacre
The massacre had its beginnings after a group of Comancheros broke away and formed the first Bandidos Motorcycle Club chapter in Australia. This resulted in intense rivalry between the two chapters.
An advertised "British motorcycle swap meet" was placed in a few local press releases, at the Viking Tavern, with a scheduled start at 10 a.m. on Sunday, September 2, 1984.
On Sunday September 2, 1984 around 1 pm, a heavily armed group of Comancheros entered the carpark of the Viking Tavern during the motorcycle part swap meet with 30 similarly armed Bandidos arriving soon after with a back-up van carrying weapons following close behind. Both sides proceeded to line up at opposite ends of the car park. William George "Jock" Ross, who had founded the Comancheros in 1968, signalled by waving a machete in the air and the two clubs charged at each other.
Police responded after receiving reports that "a man" had gone berserk with a rifle at the Viking Tavern in Milperra and "a few shots" had been fired. The first of more than 200 police began arriving but the fighting continued for another 10 minutes before they were able to stop it. Four Comancheros died from shotgun wounds, two Bandidos died after being shot with a Rossi .357 magnum rifle and a 14-year-old bystander, Leanne Walters, also died after being hit in the face by a stray .357 bullet. A further 28 people were wounded with 20 requiring hospitalisation.
Mark Pennington, one of the first policemen on the scene, was later awarded $380,000 compensation for psychological damage.
- Andy: Andrew Thomas
- Blowave: John Bodt
- Bones: Scott Dive
- Chewy: Rick Lorenz
- Dog: Tony McCoy "Dog" was shot with two blasts to his upper right chest and face. He was hit with such force it was estimated he was dead before he hit the ground.
- Foghorn; Foggy: Robert Lane "Foggy" was shot in the centre of the chest with a .357 magnum "Rossi" rifle. He remained where he fell and died almost instantly.
- Glen: Glen Eaves
- JJ: Robert Heeney
- Jock: William Ross
- Kraut: Kevork Tomasian
- Leroy: Phillip Jeschke "Leroy" Was the Comanchero's "Sergeant At Arms" and was a "hit" target. He was shot with the .357 magnum "Rossi" rifle and died instantly. Entry and exit wound indicate "Leroy" was crouching over and was shot in the back.
- Littlejohn: John Hennessey
- Morts: James Morton
- Pee Wee: Garry Annakin
- Snow: Ian White
- Sparrow, Sparra: Ivan Romcek "Sparrow" was shot with one round of a shotgun and was shot at such close range that the cartridge wadding can be clearly seen embedded in his right ear. He died instantly with a baseball bat under his body
- Sunshine: Raymond Kucler
- Terry: Terrence Parker
- Tonka: Michael O'keefe
- Bear: Stephen Roberts
- Bernie: Bernard Podgorski
- Big Tony: Tony Cain
- Bull: Phillip Campbell
- Caesar: Colin Campbell
- Charlie: Charlie Sciberras
- Chopper: Mario Cianter "Chopper" was shot with two blasts of a shotgun to his chest and died instantly.
- Davo: William Littlewood
- Dukes: Greg McEiwaine
- Gloves: Mark McElwaine
- Hookie: Steve Owens
- Junior. Mark Shorthall
- Kid Rotten: Lance Purdie
- Knuckles: Phillip McEiwaine
- Lance: Lance Wellington
- Lard: Tony Melville
- Lout: Rick Harris
- Lovie: lewis Cooper
- Opey: Stephen Cowan
- Peter: Peter Melvine
- Pig: Grant Everest
- Ray: Ray Denholm
- Roach: James Posar
- Roo: Rua Rophia
- Shadow: Gregory Campbell "Shadow" was shot in the throat by a shotgun and died instantly. Ironically, because of the number of charges this man's own brother was charged with the murder.
- Snake: Geoff Campbell
- Snodgrass, Snoddy: Anthony Mark Spencer
- Sparksy: Gerard Parkes
- Steve: Steve Hails
- Tiny: Graeme Wilkinson
- Tom: Tom Denholm
- Val: Vlado Grahovac
- Whack: John Campbell
- Zorba: George Kouratoras
As a result of the massacre, the New South Wales Firearms and Dangerous Weapons Act 1973 was subsequently amended. The court case following the "Milperra Massacre" was at the time one of the largest in Australian history. In total forty-three people were charged with seven counts of murder. Christopher Murphy, Solicitor, acted for the Banditos' members charged as a result of the incident. Greg James QC, as he then was, represented all but one of the Banditos' members during their trial, that being Colin Campbell. Greg James QC was Juniored by a number of Junior including John Korn, Andrew Martin, and Philip Young. Mr. Campbell was represented by Mr Greg Woods QC, as he then was.
During the longest joint criminal trial in NSW history, armed members of the Tactical Operations Unit were stationed in the courtroom and witnesses required armed guards from the Witness Security Unit to escort them home. More than two years later, on June 12, 1987, the jury delivered 63 murder convictions, 147 manslaughter convictions and 31 of affray. The judge in the case named the instigator of the violence as William "Jock" Ross, the "supreme commander" of the Comancheros, saying "Ross was primarily responsible for the decision that members of his club go to Milperra in force and armed". Ross received a life sentence for his role in the violence.
Eight other members of the Comancheros gang received life sentences and 16 Bandidos received sentences of seven years for manslaughter. Interestingly, as the Bandidos arrested were charged in regards to all the deaths, this resulted in one being found guilty of the manslaughter of his own brother. Commonwealth Games gold medallist boxer Philip McElwaine was the only motorcycle club member to be acquitted at trial of the manslaughter and murder charges that were brought against him.
In a repeat of the circumstances that led to the Milperra massacre, in early 2007 more than 60 members of the Parramatta and Granville chapters of the Nomads, previously affiliated with the Comancheros, defected to the Bandidos. The defection resulted in a new eruption of violence between the Comancheros and Bandidos involving fire-bombings and drive-by shootings. New South Wales Police set up Operation Ranmore to stop the violence escalating, which has resulted in 340 people arrested on 883 charges as of January 2008.
Movie plans
In 2002, Australian film maker Martin Brown produced a documentary titled 1% One Percenters Search For A Screenplay in an effort to raise interest for a big budget movie of the massacre. The documentary, first aired on 2 February 2003, follows Brown as he looks for screenwriters, funds and a director for his movie. It includes interviews with the police investigating officer, ex superintendent Ron Stephenson, Comanchero president "Jock" Ross, Bandido vice president "Bullets" and several other Milperra survivors.
"Brothers in Arms" is a book by Lindsay Simpson and Sandra Harvey.
Television mini-series
A television mini-series Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms based on the book will screen on Network Ten in 2012. The screenplay was written by Greg Haddrick, Roger Simpson and Jo Martino. It is directed by Peter Andrikidis. It stars Callan Mulvey, Matthew Nable, Susie Porter, Maeve Dermody, Anthony Hayes, Todd Lasance, Luke Ford, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Damian Walshe-Howling, Nathaniel Dean and Luke Hemsworth.
Massacre At Milperra
Monday 3rd September 1984
Seven people are dead and 20 injured after a motorcycle enthusiasts' picnic went horribly wrong in Sydney's south-west yesterday. The recreation day, organised by the British Motorcycle Riders Club at the Viking Tavern in Milperra, broke out into a wild brawl just before 2.00pm. More than 30 men were arrested and police have already questioned over 500 witnesses in what is being described as 'the Milperra massacre'. Although no charges have been laid, many are expected in the immediate future.
The Tavern's car-park exploded into violence when two bikie gangs, the Comancheros and the Bandidos, arrived there at around 2.00pm The previously peaceful meeting turned into chaos as two shots rang out.
The crowd, including families with young children,scattered. 'People took off in all directions. As I ran I was worried I was going to get a bullet in the back.' said one of the British Motorcycle Association members.
The event had been organised to coincide with Father's Day and was widely advertised. It was a regular motorcyclists' function–a swap meet– where enthusiasts gather to exchange motorcycle parts and socialise. The organisers had planned a barbecue and hired a band to provide entertainment. The day had a family atmosphere.
Trapped witnesses say the shoot-out lasted 15 minutes
An estimated 30 shots were fired in the first 10 minutes and people hid wherever they could to avoid the crossfire.
Witnesses say the shootout lasted 15 minutes and the gangs trapped 40 bystanders inside one of the tavern bars as they fought it out.
One of the dead was a 14-year-old girl–all others slain were men. Fourteen ambulances attended the scene and armed security guards have been placed on hospital wards.
Mr Wes Graham, 23, who was on the hotel porch when the bloodbath began, saw one man shot in the head. 'I saw another guy shoot someone in the guts, and he just keeled over and then the girl was shot. She wasn't even doing anything.' he said.
The police response was quick and decisive. One hundred officers were at the scene, including members of the crack Tactical response Group and the Special Weapons and Operations Team. The police could not stop the killings which had happened so quickly but were there to diffuse violent outbreaks during the afternoon as people were detained for questioning.
Members of the bikie fraternity believe that yesterday's massacre was planned. The two gangs, the Comancheros and the Bandidos, split up 18 months ago and had been feuding ever since. 'Reports so far suggest that these blokes had decided beforehand to sort themselves out at Milperra,' said Mr Ross Goodman, President of the NSW Motorcycle Riders' Association.
Brothers in Arms
By Sandra Harvey
Format: Paperback, 288 pages
Other Information: 16PP b&w PHOTOS
Published In: Australia, 01 April 1989
Father's Day 1984: seven people die in a blaze of gunfire on a sunny afternoon in a hotel car park.Among the dead, a fifteen year old girl caught in the crossfire when two heavily-armed bikie gangs, the Comancheros and the Bandidos, clash. Brothers in Arms tells the extraordinary story of this murderous outbreak, from its vicious beginnings in the closed world of Sydney's motorcycle gangs to its inevitable end in death and imprisonment.
Wrecking Crew
Caesar Campbell, Donna
Macmillan Publishers Aus., 01/09/2011 – 288 pages
Wrecking Crew' takes you into the heart of the Bandidos, and the outlaw biker world, through the eyes, fists and boots of Caesar Campbell, founding member of the Bandidos in Australia and the club's first sergeant at arms and legendary enforcer. Jailed for seven years after the bloody ambush at Milperra that saw two of his brothers killed, Caesar led and protected the other imprisoned members of his club inside some of Australia's toughest jails. But when he was finally released Caesar found that the world of the outlaw motorcycle gangs was changing, and that his particular values of courage, brutal force and utter loyalty to your club were making him more enemies than friends. And with Caesar Campbell you'd rather be a friend than an enemy…
THE critics are already calling Brothers in Arms "Underbelly on wheels" but the real Milperra massacre was more like hell on wheels.
By the time Glen McNamara and other detectives screamed into the Viking Tavern carpark on that Father's Day 28 years ago, bullets were still flying and bodies piling up.
McNamara and his colleagues were dressed in jeans and T-shirts and armed with service revolvers — hardly the safest combination for perhaps the biggest gunfight on Australian soil since the Kelly Gang's last stand or even the Eureka Stockade.
"Bikes were overturned and cars were parked everywhere and bikies were down, injured," recalls McNamara.
Gunsmoke hung in air that reeked of cordite and blood.
McNamara and his mates crouched between cars and advanced across the carpark motorcycle swap-meet that had turned into a battleground.
He immediately tripped over a warm, bleeding body.
Comancheros enforcer Mario Cianter had just been cut down with a shotgun blast.
"His chest was blown away and still smoking, like a burnt sausage cut open," says McNamara.
Five other bikies were dead — and 28 injured, 20 badly.
But the worst thing about Milperra was that a 14-year-old girl, Leanne Walters, was shot dead while selling raffle tickets. She was hit in the face with a .357 round from a handgun.
Milperra produced the longest-running and one of the biggest criminal trials in our history: 42 Bandidos and Comancheros went down on 63 murder and 147 manslaughter charges.
Only one, former Commonwealth Games gold medal boxer Phil "Knuckles" McElwaine, was able to beat the homicide rap.
Television drama being what it is, unlike the book it's based on, the depiction of this outrage on Channel 10 over the next few weeks will bear only a passing acquaintance with reality.
That's taking nothing away from the makers, just a fact of show business life.
The truth is, of course, that like the main players in Melbourne's underworld wars, underneath the gang "patches" the "outlaws" on their iron horses were no more than drug dealers and their hired muscle fighting over a hugely profitable trade. Still are.
The drug trade is global and so is the bloodshed it breeds.
The recent outbreak of shootings among outlaw biker gangs here mimics "wars" in North America, Scandinavia and Germany.
In each case, it's about "new" gangs taking on old ones, mostly over drug money.
Meanwhile, in Melbourne, police are still looking for the guns used to shoot Bandido heavy Toby Mitchell last November. Another episode in a never-ending and bloody story.
Father pleads 'Don't turn my little girl into bikie moll'
April 01, 2012
THE father of the 14-year-old girl shot dead in the Milperra bikie massacre is terrified his daughter will be portrayed as a "bikie moll" in a new television series about the tragedy.
Rex Walters, 68, says he feels Channel Ten should have consulted him before making the adaptation of the book Brothers In Arms, which documents the deadly shoot-out between bikie gangs The Bandidos and The Comancheros, on Father's Day 1984.
His daughter Leanne was caught in the crossfire and was the only non-bikie among the seven killed.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph about his concerns, Mr Walters said: "I really wish they had spoken to me. There have been bad things written about her in the past which aren't true. What sort of clothes will they have her in? I still have the outfit she wore when she died – it was a lovely jumper, a belt and jeans – they weren't the clothes of a bikie. I just want my daughter to be remembered properly."
In the book, Leanne is described as a girl from a broken home, who got involved with the bikies because she didn't have a family support network.
Mr Walters, from Ingleburn, admits Leanne was living away from her parents but said: "We had a good relationship — the last conversation I had with her was that she was coming to see me on Father's Day."
He also said stories about why she was at the Viking Tavern were untrue.
"She was there with a friend of mine. She loved his bike and wanted to go to the bike swap meet. It wasn't because she was involved with a bikie."
A Ten spokesman said the series focuses on the relationships between the key members of the motorcycle clubs.
Caesar Campbell – OLD bikies never die. They don't mellow, either.
Paul Kent
The Daily Telegraph
August 28, 2010
OLD bikies never die. They don't mellow, either.
Caesar Campbell, the biggest and baddest of all, took three shots at the Milperra Massacre.
Between the second and third shots – a shotgun followed by a .38 – he reached over to tear the throat out of Comanchero Ivan "Sparra" Romcek, who died right there. He was 38 then. Caesar, not Sparra.
He is 64 now, sitting in the lounge-room of his home in the Snowy Mountains region, with pictures of his brothers on the wall as clean-cut young men. Then there is the other photograph, the brothers photoshopped together with their bushy bikie beards.
Here are the two sides of the man called Caesar.
Moments earlier, his son walked into the lounge room and grabbed his father by the hand and leaned over to kiss him on the forehead.
"Hey Dad," he said.
"Son," said Caesar.
Amid all the Bandidos paraphernalia decorating the room, sitting on the coffee table is a single sheet of paper – a hospital report from January this year. It details the two scars across Caesar's forearm, the scar across the shoulder that bisects a tattoo and the pale scar that runs across his cheek.
"I told the cops I had a run in with sheet metal," Caesar said, explaining the scars.
Four pieces of sheet metal, to be exact.
"I was walking a bit behind the woman," he said, indicating his wife Donna, "and one of them decided he was going to put his hand on her shoulder. So I stepped on the four bits of sheet metal and one of them had a jagged edge and happened to get me.
"But," he said, "the jagged edge had a piece of metal go up here," and he pokes the soft skin under his jaw, "and it come out here."
He points to where the steel came out through the tongue.
The obvious hazards of scrap metal are not all the dangers ex-bikies face.
Caesar has been shot more times since he left jail than he was at Milperra, when along with his brothers Shadow, Bull, Wack, Snake and Chop he took on the Comanchero in the most famous bikie brawl in Australia.
In the new book Enforcer, which Donna wrote with the help of her friend Liz – out on Monday and described by Donna as "97 per cent fact and 3 per cent fiction" – Caesar details how the war started, not because the Comanchero had split over issues of power, as was pushed in court, but because the Campbell brothers had caught Comanchero president Jock Ross having an affair with a club member.
Ross soon split the club so he didn't have to answer charges, and the city chapter eventually patched over to become Bandidos.
Guerrilla attacks escalated until the two gangs ran into each other at the Viking Tavern on Father's Day 1984, when seven eventually died.
Caesar was the second man shot after his brother Snake, two blasts of a shotgun putting him down next to Sparra before a Comanchero named Robert "JJ" Heeney – or maybe it was his Ol' Lady, Caesar always thought she had more balls – shot him with the .38 that lodged under the skin in his forehead.
He can't remember a lot of what happened next. The .22s, he said, sting, while shotgun blasts are more like being thumped with a baseball bat.
The last time he was shot was several years back when he was watering his lawn and a car rolled past, with the windows coming down. He dropped the hose and opened his arms when – crack, crack – two .22s hit him in the guts.
"Is that the best youse can f … ing do?" he yelled at the fleeing car.
It never stops for old bikies. Just two weeks ago he was having a drink at his local when it started again.
"A bunch of Lebs sitting in two cars," he said, "and the 'big, bad bikie' thing came out. They got out of the cars. They were about 23, 24, and there was seven of them. I decked three and the other four didn't want nothing to do with it."
At a rough count Caesar, an underground fighter and the Bandidos' sergeant-at-arms, has had about 800 fights.
That works out to be about a fight every three weeks since he had his first at 14, when his father put him in a boxing tent.
In all that time nobody has ever dropped him to as much as a knee. He used to worry about losing. In his 40s he was sure it was near and in his 50s he was certain. But it still hasn't happened and he is content now, at 64, that if it does happen it will be because of his age and not because the other bloke is better.
"Unless, of course, it's another bloke in his 60s."
The fascinating part is that it keeps happening. Might it be because, nowadays, he looks more like an old bloke trying to look like a bikie, rather than the 24-carat real deal?
"They look and they see a 60-year-old bloke and they think he's not going to be much trouble," Caesar said. "And normally a 60-year-old bloke, to a 20 and 30-year-old, isn't going to be any trouble.
"But I've been hit with baseball bats, bricks, shot, stabbed, hit with a car …
"I can take a thump and it doesn't affect me so much."
Years back he was in a pub toilet when a rival bikie told him some blokes in the carpark were loading his bike onto the back of their ute.
"Put the bike back down," he said when he found them. Soon after, two were unconscious and the third was groaning. Caesar then took
a boning knife he kept on his belt and sliced the little finger off each of them, then wrapped them in a handkerchief. When he got home he tossed the small package to Donna.
"Not more fingers," she said. He already had another 20 or so kept in a jar.
Not that he is always looking for a fight. Some years back he was in a pub when a bloke started in on him.
"You're built like a brick shithouse," he kept saying. "How big are you?"
It got to the point where Caesar stood up and walked to the pub next door. Shortly after the bloke was there, too.
"How big are you?" He got up again and began to walk out through the toilets, when the bloke grabbed him on his colours. "I thought, 'F … why'd you have to do that?"
Milperra – the spark that started the bikie violence
By Paul Kent
April 11, 2009
IT begins with an open window. Everything today, the escalation in violence, the historical hate between the Bandidos and Comanchero, begins with that window.
As secrets go, Colin "Caesar" Campbell has been hanging on to the secret of that window for 26 years.
Like his brothers Bull (Phillip), Snake (Geoff), Wack (John), Chop (Mario) and Shadow (Gregory), Caesar was once a Comanchero.
They were the Wrecking Crew and together with the McElwaine brothers – Knuckles (Phil), Gloves (Mark) and Dukes (Greg) – the unofficial muscle of the gang.
- The must-watch Aussie drama of the year Courier Mail, 7 hours ago
- Matthew Nable in the chain gang Adelaide Now, 2 days ago
- TV hides reality of bikie war Herald Sun, 4 days ago
- Band of bikie brothers deliver dark tale The Daily Telegraph, 5 days ago
- NSW government funds bikie TV show Courier Mail, 5 days ago
"They could walk into a room of a hundred men and clear the room," said Bear Campbell, an adopted brother. They broke away in 1983 because of the window.
Not even the Comanchero that remained, the ones that stayed loyal to then-president William "Jock" Ross when the gang split in 1983, knew about the window.
They still don't.
"You're just the ninth person to know this," Bear said yesterday. "And four are dead."
Bear is Caesar's adopted brother, and we are talking about Caesar's secret. Caesar is 62, the last surviving original Bandidos office-bearer, and despite a recent stay in hospital he can still clear a room if he must.
From retirement Caesar watches the latest escalation of bikie violence, filthy at the attacks on homes where children sleep, adamant this was never what it was about.
Those naive to their war might point to Milperra, but Caesar insists back then they had honour. Indeed, Milperra was all about honour.
Police still believe the war began over turf, or drugs, or a combination of both. They alleged it in court in 1984, some seven weeks after the violence in the carpark of Milperra's Viking Tavern, when six bikies were shot dead, as well as 14-year-old Leanne Walters.
Now, for the first time, Caesar Campbell has let go of the secret that cost him two brothers – Shadow and Chop – at Milperra, and which would see Wack die three years later from illness caused by the massacre.
"One of the Campbell brothers and another member went to another member's house and saw Jock Ross' vehicle out the front," he said.
"They went to the front door and looked through the window and saw Jock and the other member's wife in a compromising position in the lounge room.
"They knocked on the door, they answered the door, and both members looked at Jock and turned around and came straight to me and told me about it.
"It was then that it was decided that Jock would be brought up on charges of committing one of the greatest offences that you can make in a motorcycle club – apart from selling heroin and making a police statement – by making love to a member's wife."
Ross had broken one of the 10 club rules he drew up himself, namely Club Rule 4: "Any member found guilty of screwing another member's Ol' Lady, or taking advantage of a rift between them for future conning up, will be thrown out."
The Campbells and McElwaines, their bond born in battle, were filthy.
Caesar won't reveal the member's identity now out of respect to his children but as sergeant-at-arms he ordered Ross to the next club meeting to face charges.
He failed to show.
He failed to show at the next meeting, too, but walked into the third, announced he was splitting the Comanchero into two separate chapters, and walked out.
The Wrecking Crew went to the city, opening their clubhouse at 150 Louisa Rd, Birchgrove. Ross's clubhouse remained at 65 Harris St, Harris Park, in western Sydney.
Relations remained strained but workable until the club's annual run. It broke down amid fights and threats, and the city chapter returned and voted to break away.
Police believe the breakaway occurred shortly after Christmas 1983, when Anthony "Snotty" Spencer and Charlie Scibberas flew to America to seek permission to form an Australian Bandidos chapter.
What actually happened was "Snotty" and Charlie had gone to America two years earlier to buy Harley-Davidson parts, met Charles "Ha Ha Chuck" Gillies, president of the Bandidos' Albuquerque chapter, and now Snotty and Shadow called Ha Ha Chuck. "Within a week it was granted," Caesar said.
A set of colours were made and taken to Caesar for approval.
More colours were ordered, but for 10 days Caesar was the only man in colours. For 10 days he was president, vice-president, sergeant-at-arms, treasurer and secretary.
Bashing and clubhouse attacks took place until August 1984, when Snotty and Jock officially declared war in a phone call.
Caesar declared homes and places of work off limits. Everywhere else was fair game.
It was unlike today's bikie war, where homes are now a target of choice, and small attacks continued until Father's Day 1984.
Among the dead and bloodied at Milperra, Caesar was shot six times.
He was thrown into a car and dropped off at Bankstown Hospital. Some weeks later Caesar gripped the back of his chair while his Ol' Lady Donna pulled four remaning shotgun pellets from his back with tweezers and a buck knife and no anaesthetic.
Much of what the gangs believed they stood for then is now lost.
Caesar does not see the honour he once stood for, and still stands for.
Some time before Milperra the American Bandidos visited Australia and noticed the Australian patch, the fat Mexican brandishing a pistol, was wrong. The American Bandido has a white beard. The Australian version was black. They ordered the patches back so they could be burned and replaced with the correct patch.
No, said Caesar.
On his jacket was the blood of his dead brothers. He wasn't giving it up. The Americans insisted, saying the club stood above all else.
Caesar knew in that patch was the blood of everything he stood for, so he looked at the Americans and said, "If you want it, come and get it".
Caesar, the original Bandido, is the only man in Australia to still have that patch.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
DETROIT -- You're Up, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing physical therapy, personal training and spinal cord rehabilitation to people without insurance, was started earlier this year in the Detroit area by former NFL player Charlie Sanders Jr. and personal trainer Rossano Rea.
After five months of fundraising, the duo is now offering a year of free services to those who qualify in southeast Michigan. To qualify for You're Up, applicants must be uninsured and have household incomes below $22,000 per year.
Sanders told local media that the program could serve up to 150 people a day and ultimately could grow to thousands more when they open a 40,000-square-foot facility in Detroit that was anonymously donated to the organization. Sanders is working to raise money to transform the building into a fitness facility with a swimming pool.
Rea currently donates his Bodymorph gym in Ferndale, MI, for You're Up services. Oakland MRI will provide diagnostic care for You're Up, and Lucia Zamorano, a clinical professor of neurological surgery, and Fred Leff, a podiatrist at the Detroit Medical Center, will be the organization's medical advisers.
Sanders played briefly in 2000 with the Detroit Lions, the team for which his father, Charlie Sanders, starred for 10 seasons. The elder Sanders was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007.


text:
On Tuesday, the Celtics got mollywhopped by the Rockets. (The stat sheet broke Rajon Rondo's brain for a second.) Gerald Wallace, who knows a thing or two about being a good player on a terrible team, was understandably exasperated in his postgame interview.
"I don't know what the fuck tonight was, just to be honest with you. I don't really know what was going on."
That's a bad word, and the NBA doesn't like its players using bad words. Yesterday, the league fined Wallace $10,000 for "using profane language." Wallace explained how the phone call went, and it sounds like someone in the league office was sympathetic to his struggles.
"They read to me what I said," Wallace said, "and then just told me, 'OK then, well, we understand you're having a rough season. Hope your season gets better,' and hung up the phone."
Gerald Wallace needs and deserves a hug.


text:
This week on War Rocket Ajax, we're joined by my ex-boss, Caleb Goellner, for a show that's equal parts a memorial for ComicsAlliance and a pretty optimistic chat about his awesome comics, Task Force Rad Squad and Mermaid Evolution. It's a long one, clocking in at almost two hours, but… well, we had a lot to say. Plus: Love Haters, Matt finally discovers Copra, and yet another discussion of why Chris can't play the shootin' games that all the cool kids like so much.
War Rocket Ajax #157: Hashtag Hireable with Caleb Goellner
We are available on iTunes! Click here to find ComicsAlliance Presents War Rocket Ajax in iTunes, where you can subscribe and leave us a review if you enjoy the show!
You can also stream the show using the player above, or download it in MP3 format from WarRocketAjax.com.
Show Notes:
Caleb's on Twitter! Follow him if you like hearing about pugs and snowboards, bro.
Pay whatever you want for Task Force Rad Squad (even $0, if you're an unemployed cheapskate) and read Mermaid Evolution online!
The War Rocket Ajax donation drive is back. Hit the comments or send an email to warrocketpodcast at gmail and tell us what you'd like for rewards.
Rest In Peace, Michael Ryan. Listen to his amazing hater story from his appearance on the show.
Which is your favorite Mighty Mutanimal?
Chris's Rec: Chris Sims and Matt Wilson, for all your bad movie-watching needs.
Matt's Rec: Farcry 3: Blood Dragon
Comics Reviewed: Adventures of Superman #1, The Copra Compendium, Indestructible Hulk #7.


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Top Shows, Dec. 4-10
Crowbar w/Unearth, Crobot, Daywrecker, Black Crown Initiate Dec 4 @ Ziggy's Touring behind their latest album "Symmetry in Black," this New Orleans sludge metal band that formed in the late 80s delivers heavy music that oscillates between low-slung and rapid fire hardcore songs. This multi-band showcase also has Crobot on the bill, a hard rock band with a groove heavy, southern rock feel. Details: 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. show, Thursday, 208 Market Street, Downtown Wilmington, $15 adv., $20 day… Read More »


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Halfway through the season, something's missing - mostly - on a list of the league's elite teams.
The AFC.
It's difficult to make a case for including any team from the conference other than Houston among the league's best, while unbeaten Atlanta, San Francisco, Chicago, Green Bay and the New York Giants could be considered in that category from the NFC.
Coming off three straight Super Bowl wins and four out of the last five, the NFC is playing some dominant football on both sides of the line.
In interconference play, it's up 23-13 on the AFC, led by the Falcons sweeping the AFC West, and the Bears going 3-0 against the AFC South - with Chicago meeting the Texans on Sunday in the biggest matchup of the season so far. The Bears are slight favorites in the showdown of 7-1 teams.
That's not too much of a surprise, really. Chicago is home and only Pittsburgh, 3-0 against the suddenly vulnerable NFC East, has showed strength among AFC teams when crossing over.
The NFC has outscored the AFC 1,012-767 in head-to-head matchups, and has a plus-30 turnover margin in those games.
``The quarterbacks as a group are deeper in the NFC,'' says former NFL executive Pat Kirwan, who has looked extensively at the differences in the conferences. ``The bottom teams in the NFL are all in the AFC: Jacksonville, Kansas City and Cleveland.''
Just as pronounced are the statistical rankings, with six of the top eight defensive teams coming from the NFC. In a league where just about everyone can play offense - sorry Jacksonville, your 117 points wouldn't cut it in the ACC - the efficient defenses tend to swing the pendulum of power.
But if you want offense, something the league is providing plenty of once again this year, note that seven of the 11 highest-rated passers are from the NFC, as are eight of the top 11 receivers. The ground game? Try the top four, led by Minnesota star Adrian Peterson, and six of the first 10 are NFCers.
There's far more balance to NFC attacks.
``I think the balance has to be more maybe not weekly but over the course of the season,'' said Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano, whose team has averaged 36 points in winning three of the last four, two of those victories against - you guessed it - the AFC.
``You have to take what the defense gives you. Different weeks the defense is going to afford you different opportunities. I think that's the hardest thing, coaches being able to recognize it and if it's different than what they've shown, being able to adjust. And for your players being able to get that communicated to them and having a system that is flexible enough to change the game plan because of the way they are playing the offense.''
Back to defense, consider that seven of the top 10 players in sacks, and 11 of the first 15, are from the NFC. Six of the eight best sacks teams are from the conference.
Of the 19 players with at least three interceptions, 13 are from the NFC.
Get the picture? Well, half the picture considering we have eight more weeks left in the regular-season.
Kirwan cautions that the AFC, which had the edge in interconference play from 1996-2010 (the NFC edged it 33-31 last season) could turn it around before January.
``I will say with Peyton Manning and John Fox in Denver, Andrew Luck in Indy and with the Steelers' strong push,'' Kirwan said, ``they are helping the AFC close the gap.''
Defenses have not closed the gap in what every year becomes more of an offense-oriented league. Games are averaging 705 yards gained, nearly 12 ahead of the record pace of last season. Yards through the air is rising to the stratosphere, more than 17 yards a game higher than the 2011 record.
The Bears' defense is adding significantly to the points totals, which are not quite on a record pace and might slow down as cold weather hits in many NFL cities. Chicago has seven interception returns for touchdowns and eight scores on defense already.
``At any given time on Sunday, anyone on this defense can score,'' said star linebacker Brian Urlacher, who did just that last Sunday. ``We didn't have that back in the day.''
Here's another wrinkle. Consider that the NFC has been dominant even though three teams usually among the contenders - New Orleans, Dallas and Philadelphia - have fallen into mediocrity. Or worse.
The Saints, of course, have been damaged by the bounties scandal that cost them coach Sean Payton for the season. Having a sieve of a defense has exacerbated their fall to 3-5, leaving them on the very outer fringe of the playoff race.
That's also where the Cowboys and Eagles have plummeted to through eight games. Dallas has issues with fundamentals such as receivers running the right routes and actually holding onto passes. Philly's defense can't tackle anyone and the offense, specifically Michael Vick, keeps turning over the ball.
Still, they tend to keep games close, as do most teams except the Titans, who have allowed a ludicrous 308 points in going 3-6. Already, 31 games have had the winning points scored in the final two minutes or in overtime. Eleven of those were decided in the last 10 seconds of the fourth quarter and 10 went to OT.
Among the players producing the heroics in those games have been a bunch of rookies in what might be the strongest freshman class in years. Five first-year quarterbacks have started and, generally, made an impact, with the Colts' Andrew Luck - top overall pick last April - noteworthy for his success. He's lifted Indianapolis into the playoff push after the team won two games last season.
Robert Griffin III in Washington and Russell Wilson in Seattle have provided all kinds of excitement at the position, but don't think only young QBs are making headlines. From running backs Doug Martin in Tampa and Trent Richardson in Cleveland to Bucs safety Mark Barron and Patriots DE Chandler Jones, it's been a rocking half-season for rookies.
``I don't really know if there's something in the water or what. The rookies are definitely making a huge impact this year,'' Dolphins running back Reggie Bush said.
So are Manning and Peterson in their comebacks from major injuries and surgery. Now that Manning is approaching full health and a symbiotic relationship with his receivers, the Broncos have started looking like Super Bowl material. Peterson, coming off left knee surgery, returned to the lineup in less than nine months and has been, well, as sensational as ever.
For all the NFC superiority, the great comebacks, the offensive explosions and the remarkable rookies, the first half of the 2012 season might be most remembered for the opening three weeks of replacement officials. Indeed, if the Packers miss the postseason and the Seahawks make it, Seattle's 14-12 victory in Week 3 on a last-second desperation pass that sparked the end of the lockout of the regular officials will be revisited endlessly.
Thankfully, there's nearly two months of action left to dim the memories of those blown calls and indecisive noncalls. Eight weeks of points galore, perhaps. Of record-setting performances, for sure.
Maybe even an AFC revival.


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In the wake of yet another quarter of flat-to-falling desktop sales and missed revenue estimates, PC manufacturers are pulling out the excuses once again and promising that a magical panacea lies just around the corner. "Blame the Thailand floods!" they cry. (No, wait; that was last year.) "Blame tablets! Ultrabooks will save us!" Actually, the NPD Group's numbers say that Ultrabooks only account for around 2 percent of the total notebook market. Try again.
Here's one: "Windows 8 will save us!"
No it won't. There is no cavalry coming to rescue "struggling" desktop sales. Rather than being a savior, Windows 8 is more like a gateway drug, offering no hope for PC salvation. Let me explain.
Lackluster PC Sales: Blame tablets? Naaah
Nine out of ten industry analysts agree: Tablet sales are cannibalizing PC sales. Me? I'm the tenth guy.
I don't believe that tablet sales actually eat into PC sales at any sort of noticeable scale. Some enterprise applications aside, I truly believe Microsoft's "PC-Plus" concept has it right: People buy slates to supplement PCs, not replace them. In fact, I don't know of a single actual person who has completely eschewed PCs for a tablet-only solution, despite hype that suggests that very scenario is playing out left and right.
So why are PCs faltering while tablets are booming? Market maturity, plain and simple.
The tablet market is not even three years old, and full of growth potential. Consumer PCs, on the other hand, are a very, very mature market, full cut-throat margins and products that don't need to be upgraded very often to be functional. Simply put, most people who want a computer already have one, and a six-year-old Intel Core 2 Duo system can still handle everyday tasks capably enough for the Average Joe. If it ain't broke, a lot of people ain't gonna fix it, or more importantly, pay hard-earned money to buy a new one — especially in a recessed economy.
Those flat-lining PC sales will never hit dramatic new highs again. At this point, more sales will go to buying replacement PCs than buying new ones. The PC market is sustaining, not growing. (At least in the U.S.)
If you ask me, Microsoft knows that. The proof lies in Windows 8's dual nature… and its dirt-cheap upgrade pricing plans.
Windows 8: Blame tablets!
As much as people have been panning Modern UI (formally Metro), the touch-tastic interface is a key component of Microsoft's strategy. In fact, Microsoft's future in the consumer PC-Plus world depends on it. The more familiar Average Joe is with Modern UI, the more likely he'll be to pick up a familiar-feeling Windows 8 or RT tablet when he go shopping for his first slate, giving Microsoft a major leg up in the young and booming tablet market.
Since Microsoft makes a big chunk of change from licensing its operating system to manufacturers, it can succeed in the tablet space even if OEMs are generally left to squabble over cut-throat margins; no matter what price an OEM sells its Windows tablet for, Microsoft gets its flat-rate share. It's a no-brainer revenue strategy that has worked like gangbusters for the company in the PC realm, but now that the PC market is so mature, Microsoft needs to transfer the model to mobile to continue increasing its profits and share price. The company rakes in dough hand-over-fist from licensing Windows on laptops and desktops, but investors hate stale revenues, even if said revenues are astronomical.
Enter Windows slates and the crossover Metro interface.
It'll be interesting to see how Microsoft prices its own Surface tablet. If Microsoft can sell the Surface relatively cheap, it could move a lot of units and bring heavy consumer awareness to Microsoft's mobile efforts, giving the company a chance to potentially pull back out of hardware, pass the torch to its OEM partners, and return to simply licensing operating systems and counting cash. Even if it's priced at iPad-plus levels, Surface serves as an ambassador for Windows 8 slates and a design inspiration for Microsoft's manufacturing product. Either way, Microsoft wins.
Of course, the idea hinges on consumers getting used to Metro and actually demanding Windows tablets. That's where the upgrade pricing comes in.
Windows 8 upgrade deals: Bypassing the flat PC market
Once Windows 8 hits in October, it will be installed on virtually every new PC sold. That alone will bring Windows 8 tremendous mainstream face time; as flat as the market is, over 86 million PCs still shipped worldwide last quarter. Only 16 million-ish of those were in the U.S., however, where the market is at its most mature and people are simply hanging on to their older, still perfectly functional computers. Microsoft can't afford to wait for people to buy a new PC; it needs to stimulate Windows 8 adoption now to start luring people onto the Metro bandwagon.
Enter Windows 8's aggressive upgrade pricing. Some pundits have said it reeks of desperation. I think it's a stroke of genius.
Microsoft plans to sell Windows 8 at greatly reduced prices through the holiday season. Boxed copies of the step-up Windows 8 Pro will sell for just $69.99 through January 31. In the same time frame, anybody running a computer with Windows 7, XP or Vista can digitally download Windows 8 Pro for only $40, while people who buy Windows 7 PCs from June onward can make the leap to W8P for $15 — roughly the same price as a large specialty pizza.
It's win-win; Microsoft generates revenue from direct sales that wouldn't be made otherwise while simultaneously introducing new legions to Metro. The low upgrade price stimulates conversion to Windows 8, and once a person is used to Metro, the familiar interface stimulates conversion to Windows tablets rather than iOS or Android alternatives.
Apple and Microsoft: the same, but different
If everything shakes down correctly, Microsoft should be able to have its cake — flat, but still sizeable PC license sales — and eat it too, with a Metro-led toehold in the rapidly expanding tablet market. Once you're used to Modern UI, the Live Tile interface found on Windows Phones is a whole lot less intimidating, as well.
Interestingly, Apple is attempting a similar coup, but in the opposite direction; now that everybody and their neighbor has played around with an iPhone or iPad, the Cupertino company is starting to introduce iOS-like features to Mac OS X.
For the scheme to work, however, people have to adopt — and more importantly, like — Windows 8 and the new interface. Will they? How many mainstream users would actually pay to update their operating system? Those are the billion dollar questions. As Geoff Duncan said earlier this month, if customers hesitate and Windows 8 goes the route of Vista "it may take another two years before the company is positioned to make a real move into the mobile and tablet market—and it might not be able to wait that long."
How do you think Windows 8 will pan out? Will Microsoft successfully stimulate demand for its mobile devices or will Metro spur on Mac adoption, instead?
The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not reflect the beliefs of Digital Trends.


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Some places you may not want to find yourself vacationing in…
Where else to find All Time 10s…
Check out a selection of video's highlighting some Alltime10's favourite and interesting people.. @ http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=365DD325201BCB58
We are Alltime10s and we aim to bring you the most informative, fascinating and engaging top 10 videos on YouTube.
Don't be a stranger, drop us a line in the comments and let us know which videos you'd like us to make next or if we missed out any amazing facts. We really do enjoying reading everything you have to say.
A massive thanks to all of you for the support and love that you've shown us over the past couple of years! Thank you Alltime10s Family.
If you haven't already taken a look, then you might also enjoy some of our other channels. Be sure to tell us if you like them or have any ideas on how we can make things better.
Alltime Conspiracies – https://www.youtube.com/user/AlltimeConspiracies
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If you want more Alltime10s be sure to check out our favourite videos in this playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLec1lxRhYOzt2qqqnFBIpUm63wr5yhLF6
Dave and John


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Introduction to Banking Energy
By Robert Rapier on August 16, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Nice, comprehensive inaugural article. Welcome to the CER family.
By Roy Toy on August 16, 2012 at 7:36 pm
Thank you for this great Article I look forward to the next Installments.
I am experiencing almost everything you mention in trying to bring a new technology to market. If I am successful in raising the Capital needed I will probably experience the rest.
The barriers to entry are high and wide.
By Russ Finley on August 16, 2012 at 11:59 pm
I will make every effort to cut through bias in the many representations made about financing different energy sources and projects to help inform more honest policy discussions.
Welcome. Every study is biased. That is the one thing you can count on.
By Andrew Holland on August 17, 2012 at 10:24 am
Elias – welcome aboard. Great first article.
If I can sell my kilowatt hours for more than it costs to generate those kilowatt hours my power project makes sense. If it doesn't sell for more than it costs to produce, I don't build the generation project.
I'm sure this is the case for your projects, but I know that many utility companies are the most conservative (small c) businesses in the country – meaning that they would much prefer to build new electricity generation that is the same as the electricity they've already built and are familiar with.
Its important to note that not every business decision is a purely cost-benefit decision.
By Elias Hinckley on August 21, 2012 at 11:43 am
Thanks for all the nice welcomes.
Andrew, you are exactly right. There are all kinds of things that influence how decisions on generation choice actually get made. Perception, familiarity and all kinds of other biases become part of the decision making process. Combined those biases with the inputs that can't be easily given a dollar equivalent and there are times where good projects (or choices) just don't happen.
Physicist Victor Yakovenko at the University of Maryland is developing the field of Econophysics, the main basis of which is the idea that money (currency) obeys natural laws strongly analogous to the Laws of Thermodynamics which govern the behavior of energy in physical systems: physics.umd.edu/~yakovenk/econophysics/
The titles of his papers are very revealing: "Statistical mechanics of money", "Evidence for the exponential distribution of income in the USA", "Two-class structure of income distribution in the USA: Exponential bulk and power-law tail", etc.


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Just Think – We Were That Close
It's true Andre Dawson doesn't fit into Royals History, yet it was oh so close – keep reading. But first…
I know Andre Dawson was an absolute idol in Chicago during his time with the Cubs. He may well have been the single most popular and revered Cub outside of Ryne Sandberg during the late 1980's and his 1987 MVP season cemented his place in Windy City baseball lore.
Nonetheless, I sure hope the 'Hawk' and our friends in Cooperstown put him in a Montreal Expos cap for his National Baseball Hall of Fame plaque. In my mind he became the Hall of Fame player he was north of the border and should be enshrined as such. The Expos may be gone, but they are also part of Major League Baseball's history and Andre Dawson was one of their brightest stars.
Actually if it hadn't been for the persistence of Dawson's grandmother that young Andre go to college…no if and or buts…then the Hawk might have been apart of the Royals championship teams. Read this article and dream of a Royals outfield of Amos Otis, Willie Wilson, and Andre Dawson. Come on grandma, we would've sent him to school too!
Congratulations Andre!
(Curt Nelson, Director – Royals Hall of Fame)


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Sen. Mark Kirk Encounters Angels on Long Road to Recovery
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk returns to Capitol Hill today after suffering a life-threatening stroke in January of 2012. What is most amazing is the story of his encounter with three angels who appeared at the foot of his bed inside a hospital intensive care unit.
"You want to come with us?" Kirk recalls them asking.
"No, I'll hold off," he said.
In an in-depth interview with the Daily Herald, Kirk describes what life has been like during his recovery and how his outlook on life has changed. It was on a Saturday in late January 2012 that Kirk realized that something was wrong. He drove himself to Lake Forest Hospital and was soon transferred to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and underwent surgery to relieve swelling on his brain the following Monday.
His life would never be the same again.
Lying in his hospital bed, he awakened not knowing if he had been dreaming or had died. But the questions he was asked by the angels seemed to be an indication that he was entering a new world. For reasons he doesn't understand, he was allowed to stay on Earth.
Kirk says he is now more resolved than ever "to never, ever give up."
"I kept imagining going back to work," Kirk said, "and the irreducible physical amount of effort I had to put in."
Kirk was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 and remained there until 2010 when he was elected to the U.S. Senate to replace Sen. Roland Burris who had filled the seat when President Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008.
Through months of physical therapy, Kirk can now climb stairs and expects to make the 45-step climb to the U.S. Senate chambers unassisted today. He speaks clearly but more slowly and deliberately. His left side is partially paralyzed, including his left arm.
Yet aside from his physical limitations, his spiritual life is alive and well and he seeks comfort from the Book of Matthew on a daily basis.
"I would say that I definitely became much more religious," he said. "They say there are no atheists in foxholes, and this stroke put me into a very deep foxhole. Yet, that feeling of faith sustained me, so I have no feelings of anger or regret."
And in a day of deep partisan differences in Congress, Kirk will be welcomed back by his Democratic colleague from Illinois, Sen. Dick Durbin.
"I was talking to Mark the other day, and he said 'I want you with me to come up the steps,'" said Durbin. "There's going to be a big crowd, and you can bet I'm going to be in it."
Kirk will continue his service in the 113th Congress and will use a wheelchair to move around the Capitol complex most of the time.


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Busy Sunday
An East Hampton Town police officer on patrol at 2 a.m. on Sunday saw a gray Volkswagen Jetta cross over the yellow lines into oncoming traffic before making a right-hand turn onto Woodbine Drive in Springs, police said.
When the officer asked the driver, Edison E. Guzman, who is 27 and lives in East Hampton, for his license, he handed over an Ecuadorean passport.
Mr. Guzman subsequently had difficulty performing roadside sobriety tests and was arrested, police said. At police headquarters in Wainscott, a breath test revealed his blood alcohol level to be .21, according to police. Because that level was allegedly above .18, he was charged with misdemeanor aggravated driving while intoxicated. Bail was set later that day at $750.
Also in the early morning hours on Sunday, a blown stop sign led to the arrest of the driver of a black Jeep Wrangler on a D.W.I. charge, according to town police.
Tevis R. Thompson, 39, of Key Largo, Fla., was driving on Old Stone Highway in Springs when he ran a stop sign while turning south onto Springs-Fireplace Road at 50 miles per hour in a 30-miles-per-hour zone, the police report said. The officer followed.
Mr. Thompson then turned right onto Gardiner Avenue, and the car slid onto the shoulder. At that point, the officer pulled over Mr. Thompson, who got out of the car with great difficulty, almost falling down but catching himself on a door, police said. He was charged with driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $300 later that day.
The driver of a 2006 Toyota apparently sped his way to a D.W.I. arrest, the third such arrest early on Sunday.
According to the police report, a little before 4 a.m. Domingo Fernandez, who turned 22 yesterday, was driving east on Gardiner Avenue in Springs, doing 48 miles per hour in a 30-m.p.h. zone past an officer.
After reportedly failing a breath test at headquarters, Mr. Fernandez was charged with driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $350.
Driving in the early dawn without headlights on resulted in a fourth driving while intoxicated arrest Sunday, according to police.
Ryan A. Crozier of East Hampton was driving north on Springs-Fireplace Road with his headlights off at about 5:30 a.m. and weaving across the double yellow lines as he passed an officer, police said. The officer switched her police lights on but Mr. Crozier, 26, continued driving, turning left onto Gardiner Avenue before coming to a stop on the shoulder of the road, the report said.
At headquarters, Mr. Crozier allegedly registered a reading of .21 on a breath test and he was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated. Bail was set at $200.
Driving too close for comfort led to the arrest of a Riverhead man on a charge of driving while intoxicated, East Hampton Village police said.
An officer on patrol at about 8 a.m. on April 17 spotted a red 1999 Ford Econoline van tailgating another vehicle headed west on Montauk Highway near Buckskill Road, according to the police report. The officer followed the van, driven by Alexander M. Hudson, 27, as it reportedly swerved onto the shoulder and back across the double yellow lines.
The officer stopped the van near Daniel's Hole Road and allegedly found Mr. Hudson to be intoxicated. He was arrested and taken to headquarters, where he failed a breath test, police said. In addition to D.W.I., he was charged with multiple moving violations. Bail information was not available.
In Sag Harbor, an officer saw a 2008 Volkswagen Jetta run a stop sign on Main Street on Tuesday a little after midnight, Sag Harbor Village police said. The officer stopped the car on Route 114 and questioned the driver, Amber C. DeFilippo, 31, of Astoria, Queens, who went on to fail a breath test at headquarters on Division Street, according to police. She was charged with aggravated D.W.I.
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Madonna looking fab in her MDNA Celebration pants and Hard Candy album promo necklace from 2008.
Long time publicist, Liz Rosenberg waiting in the wings before Madonna made her appearance.
Clearing the way for Madonna.
Fans waiting in the rain.
Fantastic as usual! Love that she looks her age and oh so elegant.ReplyDelete
She looks great! Love her vibe!ReplyDelete
Has she been listening to Bowie's Berlin trilogy-Low, Heroes and The Lodger?-Erotica, Bedtime Stories and Ray of Light are exactly like that!ReplyDelete
M looks fucking fab! Damn. I imagine my 10 year old self staring at Madonna on my walls and all these years later, I'm still staring!ReplyDelete
Stupid people!!! Empty livesReplyDelete


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Leadership PACs
Politicians collect money for their own campaigns — we all know that. But many of them also raise a separate pot of money, commonly called a leadership political action committee, to help other politicians. By making donations to members of their party, ambitious lawmakers can use their leadership PACs to gain clout among their colleagues and boost their bids for leadership posts or committee chairmanships. Politicians also use leadership PACs to lay the groundwork for their own campaigns for higher office. And some use their PACs to hire additional staff—sometimes even their family members—and to travel around the country or eat in some of Washington's finest restaurants. The limits on how a politician can spend leadership PAC money are not especially strict.
PAC Contributions to Federal Candidates
|Total Amount:
|Total to Democrats:
|Total to Republicans:
|Number of PACs making contributions:
Based on data released by the FEC on February 01, 2019.
Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics. For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: email@example.com


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Monday, May 13, 2013
George Postolos resigns
Stunning move. More as we learn it, but I can't help if the almost-total failure of CSN Houston (a deal Postolos helped engineer) has anything to do with it.
Postolos worked with Crane for seven years to acquire a franchise. Brian Smith has a quote:
I am very proud of what Jim accomplished with my help – acquiring a major league franchise with a strong and diverse ownership group, developing and implementing a good plan for the team's future, and assembling a first rate management team. I look forward to helping other investors pursue their objectives in sports knowing that Jim and the Astros organization are off to a great start and well positioned for future success.
So it seems as though nobody really liked George Postolos.
Jose de Jesus Ortiz called it "positive news, and that "Crane ultimately would have to get rid of Postolos this year." He continued, saying the "Postolos regime treated baseball as though it were basketball, got rid of a lot of institutional knowledge and it has bit them badly."
Brian Smith said there was a divide within the organization and that many were unhappy with Postolos' decisions. Smith echoed Ortiz's thoughts, saying Postolos would be "fall guy" later this season or after the current season.
Danny Knobler didn't even try to spin it, and just said that "Many in org didn't like him."
Greg Lucas: "Astros on-field record/performance not why Postolos is packing it in."
10 comments:
I still don't think this will change the debacle at CSN. As far as I'm concerned......ALL OF THEM SHOULD BE FIRED.....and you can start with Jim Crane.
- May 13, 2013 at 1:02 PM
I wouldn't know about any of this because I still can't catch a game! I agree with the above comment. fire them all.....
- May 13, 2013 at 1:29 PM
My name is Becky, the first post is mine. I can't see the games EITHER, because we have suddenlink.
AND.....at exactly 8:13 P.M. 790am
goes off the air, so I can't HEAR them either. I'm so pissed off about the CSN debacle I could punch Jim Crane in the mouth. Grrrr
- May 13, 2013 at 2:42 PM
I have never gone this long without watching a game. I agree with Becky, someone needs to be punched in the trachea!
- May 13, 2013 at 2:59 PM
As far as the CSN thing, its a two way street. The Astros and Rockets just want the same deal the rest of the regional sports networks are getting. Heck they put it on for free for a month and I still don't think most of the providers are showing the free preview.
- May 13, 2013 at 4:01 PM
Freeview? If it was really a free view they would drop the blackout restriction and all of us could watch it on mlb.tv.
I agree with Becky too. Although I did get to watch the ranger series on tv and it was painful listening to the rangers announcers.
- May 13, 2013 at 4:28 PM
I'm not sure why Crane is getting all the blame for the CSN debacle. The change was in the works for 3 years prior to McLane selling the team. You'd think that it would've been worked out sooner. I'm not saying doesn't deserve Crane some of the blame, but in the end, he has to make a smart financial decision. Just look at all the new TV contracts being handed out all over baseball. For example, the Indians, in the bottom 5 in attendance, signed a new deal that will pay them $50 million extra per season. If Crane took what the providers were offering, it would pay them less than $20 million per season. That's NOT fair market value. Jim Crane is not as rich as Drayton McLane. McLane could support the higher payroll because of his other business expenditures. Crane can't do that. That makes the TV revenue so important..
- May 13, 2013 at 4:55 PM
Where did you get the $20 million figure from?
- May 13, 2013 at 5:25 PM
Apples and Oranges. Cleveland sold their network to Fox. Comcast is trying to license based on the End Providers viewers. Astros viewers have declined for years. Hell last year alot of games were not even on tv. I wish we could see the deal but all you can find is Comcast wants what they feel is Fair Market Value. Why pick on crane? Maybe because he owns the biggest piece of CSN. So far he has been a complete failure at getting this done.
Sign a bad one or two year deal and work on improving your product and rebuild the number of viewers. otherwise you will always be dealing from a position of weakness.
Our payroll is almost entirely covered by the luxury tax.
- May 13, 2013 at 5:32 PM
Over the next 10yrs. Jim Crane will POCKET...100 million for his interest in CSN. How's THAT for doing nothing. AND.....*NOT ONE*
provider picked up the "free" 30 day deal that was offered. NOT ONE.
- May 13, 2013 at 8:01 PM


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Chicago area new Honda and used car shoppers have been more than satisfied not only with their car buying experience, but also all of the other services that Honda of Joliet has to offer. We treat our customers with the utmost respect and ensure the highest quality vehicles and service in the area!


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RedFin is a real estate site that posts information about residential and commercial properties. Information usually includes things like physical details, estimated value, and whether or not the property is for sale or lease.
What You Need to Know About RedFin
View Privacy Policy
RedFin rarely attaches the property owner's name to its listings. While it may be disconcerting to know that you home's value is available on the internet, no one searching for your name will be able to find that on RedFin. Like most real estate sites, RedFin will not remove or redact information from its site unless it is incorrect. Because the information is readily available in the public record, the site has no reason to remove individual listings.


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Hat Works
Hat Works is the UK's first and only museum dedicated to the hatting industry, headwear and hats. It is the winner of "Best Small Visitor Attraction 2002" awarded by England's Northwest Tourist Board. Hat Works is situated in an old cotton mill opposite Stockport Bus Station and only a two minute walk from Stockport Train station. At Hat Works you can learn about Stockport's fantastic historic history with hats and how the industry flourished throughout the 19th century.
Watch the hat makers as they reveal the art and mystery of hat making with working machinery. Enjoy the vast collection of hats on display ranging from the fine felt hats of the early 1800's to the catwalk fashion of the 21st century! Visit Stockport's very own Yurt (felt tent).
And there's more… relax whilst having a bite to eat or drink in the level 2 Internet Café.
Venue Type:
Museum, Heritage site, Industrial heritage site
Tuesday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm
Sunday: 11am - 5pm
Mondays: Closed
£2.65 for a guided tour - call to pre-book
- Museums Association
The Hat Works is home to a fantastic collection of hats and headgear with some hats dating as far back as the 18th century. There are hats for every occasion, contemporary hats from todays top milliners, hats from all over the world and the worlds tallest top hat! The museum also houses a vast collection of Victorian millinery machinery which has been restored back to full working order.
Collection details
Costume and Textiles
Key artists and exhibits
- The Hat Works houses hats from top milliners such as Phillip Treacy and David Shilling.
- A fantastic selection of millinery has been on the display in the changing exhibition area and have included hats and costumes from the hit movie Titanic and hats from characters in childrens literature.
Hat Works
Wellington Mill
Wellington Road South
- About
- | Collections
- | Map


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Physical Sciences
Research Highlights
July 2005
Ion-Water and Ion-Ion Structure in Supercritical Water
The interactions of cations with anions underlie processes in nearly all aqueous systems. In liquid systems, cation/anion interactions are the basis for ion exchange separations and many biochemical functions. In the supercritical region (T>365°C), ion pairing dominates certain types of transport in the earth's crust and it is an ever-increasing component of industrial processes from power plant water chemistry to chemical synthesis. In the gas phase, ion-ion interactions play an important role in atmospheric chemistry in areas of nucleation and catalysis. John L. Fulton and Yongsheng Chen, chemists at PNNL, recently captured the first detailed structure of the Ca2+/Cl- interaction using x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAFS) at the Advanced Photon Source whose intense x-ray source has enabled them to study these light elements.
Most salts will fully dissociate in ambient water to form separately hydrated negative and positive ions. However, at high temperatures, the negative and positive ions associate in a structure known as a contact-ion pair. There are hundreds of papers dealing with thermodynamic and the macroscopic properties of these species in supercritical water but there are virtually no experimental studies of the details of their molecular structure. Using XAFS we have captured the complete structure of Ca2+ associating with two Cl- deriving precise bond distances, bond disorder and the degree of hydration around the cation and the anion. These XAFS measurements are now providing the basis for direct comparison to molecular simulation using a "first-principles" methods developed at PNNL.
Details can be found in Fulton JL, Y Chen, SM Heald, and M Balasubramanian. 2004. "High-Pressure, High-Temperature X-Ray Absorption Fine Structure Transmission Cell for the Study of Aqueous Ions with Low Absorption-Edge Energies." Review of Scientific Instruments 75(12):5228-5231. DOI:10.1063/1.1813131.


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Everywhere you look there is social media. It's in our homes, businesses, places of worship and schools. And everywhere you look people are using it and talking about it. And it seems that every week there is a new social site launched.
To make matters worse, for every social site launched, there seems to be two or more services created to measure, track and monitor that service. What's a marketing professional to do?
To help you cut through the clutter I thought I'd share with you 17 must-use social media tools that have helped my clients and their businesses. You'll also get my reasons for why you should be using these tools, too.
1. EditFlow
An open source project led by Daniel Bachhuber, Mo Jangda and Scott Bressler, EditFlow is a WordPress plugin that allows you to manage your editorial team seamlessly.
Get a snapshot of your month-to-month content with the calendar:
Improved content status beyond WordPress' default draft and pending review:
Inline comments between writer and editor:
And user groups to help you keep your team of writers organized by department or function.
Who should use EditFlow and why: anybody who manages a multi-author blog and wants a one-stop shop for managing one. EditFlow keeps all of the things that are important to a multi-author blog in one spot so management is easy, clean and documented.
2. TweetReach
This nice, little tool allows you to see how far your tweets travel. For example, with TweetReach I can search my blog (QuickSprout) and come up with these results:
Who should use TweetReach and why: From a social media manager to a consultant to a celebrity…basically anybody who is interested in finding out how effective their tweets are based upon the number of people they touch. This is also useful from a metric standpoint when you are justifying results with senior management or partners. By the way, this is one of the tools that helped me learn how to get more retweets.
3. ArgyleSocial
This Durham-based startup is a social media platform hoping to help marketers connect the business dots with the social media dots. And they aim to make it drop-dead simple.
Some of the features ArgyleSocial includes are team-based collaboration and publishing:
A single dashboard to monitor Facebook and Twitter that allows you to delegate tasks to your team:
And easy reporting on the ROI of your social media efforts:
If you'd like to be an affiliate, you can use ArgyleSocial's white label brand and resell the social media platform to your clients. Even the billing of this feature is simple. All of your accounts will be wrapped up into one bill and sent to you to distribute or absorb as an included service.
Who should use ArgyleSocial and why: From the social media manager to the one-man or –woman shop who needs to prove to management, clients or themselves that their social media campaign is paying off. Also useful for those who are chronic testers and want to know if their latest experiment worked or not.
4. HootSuite for iPad
HootSuite users, you'll be happy with this iPad application that reflects HootSuite products in general with the column approach. Includes a stationary column in the sidebar that keeps track of all streams being tracked.
Among the other things HootSuite says you can do with this iPad app:
- Check-in and shout via your Foursquare account
- Translate messages to and from 50+ languages
- Schedule messages to send in the future
- Examine click-through statistics
- Add geo-location coordinates to messages
- Share and store photos and files
- Shorten URLs with built-in Ow.ly tool
Who should use HootSuite for iPad and why: For anyone who wants to manage their social media content and engagement away from the laptop or desktop (doing it on a smartphone just plain sucks).
5. TweetLevel
You might be thinking you don't need another Tweet metric tool, but TweetLevel, a handy tool from Edleman, allows you to specifically search for hash tags, leading to interesting insights on who to follow based upon conversation versus person.
Once you've found someone you'd like to follow, you can measure their social influence:
Evaluate the buzz around a certain topic to determine if it's a trend worth paying attention to:
Then take a peek at related phrases around your topic to gauge the true scope of the trending idea:
Who should use TweetLevel and why: PR managers and social media marketing professionals who want to analyze a campaign. These tools can help you identify the conversation, where it's going wrong and how to correct that mistake.
6. ReFollow
When it comes to Twitter, numbers are not important. It's who you follow and who follows you. ReFollow is a premium application that allows you to lock in those followers that you've connected with…and keep them.
Other features include filtering a search on your Twitter circle to uncover insights:
And you can also uncover unique relationships…like what you have in common with certain followers:
This can lead you to connecting with someone who maybe you're Twitter conversation has been close to zero, but with a simple DM you can make a connection and build a relationship with that person.
Who should use ReFollow and why: This tool is perfect for the person who wants to grow a list of highly-qualified, like-minded people…very slowly. If you're concern is quality over quantity, which you should be, then ReFollow is your tool.
7. TwitterSearch
You've probably heard of TwitterSearch. It's one of Chris Brogan's favorite tools. More than likely, however, you've never been taught how to use it correctly.
Here are seven tips from Thomas Baekdal.
- Uncover top trending topics – Search that topic plus –rt filter:links. For example, "digital marketing-rt filter:links". That code will remove all of the RTs.
- Find out who is talking about you – To see who is talking about you in conversations you aren't involved in, use this search string: Patel-to:patel-from:patel-@patel. Replace Patel with your name.
- Track multiple profiles – If you have more than one Twitter profile, search using to: plus your Twitter handle. For example, to:patel plus your other handles.
- Follow conversation about your competitors – To see what people are saying about your competitors, search with to:competitor or from:competitor. Replace "Competitor" with their handle.
- Follow links from certain people: Search with the search string from:handle filter:links.
- Look up only the latest on a trending topic – Search with "trending topic" plus –rt –via which will exclude all the RTs.
- See pictures with trending topic – If there is a picture/s trending with the topic, search for these using the string "trending topic twitpic/post.ly/twitgoo filter:links".
Who should use TwitterSearch and why: Anybody who's interested in learning any of the things I mentioned above. By the way, this is very good for finding topics to blog about. When you see trending topics, you can create a blog post with content relevant to that discussion.
8. Traackr
A simple way to find and follow people who are influential in your space is to use Traackr. Whether you are an ad agency:
Or a brand:
You can identify the authorities that will mean the most to your business or your client's. What's also nice is that you can watch how social media leaders are responding and contributing to content you are sharing.
As an agency you can see who you should target to help social media campaigns get off the ground, build your engagement strategies based upon Traackr's unique intelligence and then see results of those campaigns.
Who should use Traackr and why: Traackr is superb for either agencies or brands who want to build social media campaigns that will demonstrate effectiveness from the start…improve over time…and ultimately show how it pays off in the end. Traackr is also superb for the brand that wants to grow its presence based upon certain influencers.
9. SocMetrics
The Topical Influencer platform by SocMetrics is a web-based platform that allows you to identify influencers, understand who these people are, interact with this select list and then monitor that campaign.
You can even validate their influence:
And build a list of these influencers:
Their Competitive Influence feature allows you to specify brands and contrast their influence and drill down for detailed influencers.
What's slick about this tool is that it allows you to narrow your search to a long-tail keyword, thus seeing who is truly influential on a finite level.
Who should use SocMetrics and why: Any marketing professional who wants to build an effective social media campaign based upon influencers in that field. We've all learned by now what power thought leaders have. SocMetrics help you harness that power to build your brand and sell more.
10. Social Scope
For Blackberry users who've longed for an app that combine Twitter and Facebook on one screen, like TweetDeck for your desktop, enter Social Scope:
Plus, on that same screen you'll see a little thumbnail of an image if someone shares something from TwitPic. The ease of sharing a link is nice, too, since as you surf you'll get an option to "Send to Social Scope":
It's got a built in retweeting feature, hash tag search and will also let you see the entire URL to know where a truncated URL is pointing.
Who should use SocialScope and why: Obviously, anyone who owns a Blackberry and has a Facebook and Twitter account is a prime target for this app. And for the reason you should use it, it's the closest thing you can come to a desktop as you will get on a Blackberry.
11. Google+
Google+ seemed like it was primed to take the social-site spotlight on its launched. It didn't do that, but I wouldn't count it out just yet. In fact, I expect the adoption of Google+ to grow much in the same way that Facebook and Twitter both grew. Right now the early adopters have set up camp in Google+. I recommend you do the same, even if you don't consider yourself an early adopter.
One feature that will draw more people is the open content approach—everything that happens on Google+ is by default searchable on the web. This includes photos and other rich media. In other words, what you do on Google+ can leave a footprint in the search space.
Who should use Google+ and why: At the moment I think Google+ is most useful for those who are concerned with a personal brand. But even the big brands can benefit from the growing connection between social and search that Google has monopolized with its site. If you haven't started with Google+ yet, here's a nice beginner's guide.
12. Social Mention
When it comes to real-time of monitoring of keywords and mentions, Social Mention can't be beat. Drop a keyword in their search tool and you'll pull up results like the latest mentions across the search world (I searched my blog "QuickSprout"):
You can see a snapshot of your influence:
Then drill down into that data:
You can also get the Social Mention blog widget or sign up for alerts…like Google Alerts, but for social media.
Who should use Social Mention and why: Any professional who is interested in following their brand or their client's brand, measuring their influence, gauging the general sentiment on that brand. With this data, plus other data from the tools I've shared earlier, you can build a comprehensive view of your standings in the social web.
13. Ice Rocket
Probably the best blog search engine out there, Ice Rocket allows you to search across blogs, but the social web as well. This includes images and video.
Here's a search under "QuickSprout":
Who should use Ice Rocket and why: Bloggers. I love Ice Rocket because it helps me to research a particular topic…and then to see all the citations of that topic across blogs. This then allows me to create a high-concentration of outbound links that leads to a stronger SEO presence through link building but also helps me to reach out to new people I can help.
14. HashTracking
Whether you want to do research on a current topic or track a future event, Hash Tracking is your tool to do it. Let's say you are going to Blog World. Simply enter the hash tag and Hash Tracking will start tracking as the conversation with that hash tag starts.
But you can also run custom reports on hash tags, like "networking":
With the data reports you can see who is using that tag, total tweet impressions and reach, total tweets and a complete transcript of all tweets.
Who should use Hash Tracking and why: This is another great tool for the marketing professional who wants to gather information in tweets and links from the social web on a particular topic, who the influencers in that topic are and seeing the reach for that topic. Insights might lead you to plan where you will focus your social campaigns.
15. Qwerly
For anyone with an email newsletter, you'll be interested in Qwerly, a data API that allows you to mine social profiles in your email newsletter list.
You can grab a key and get started right away.
If you have an email newsletter and want to capture social profile data for the list, Qwerly is a data API for mining social profile information which is somewhat similar to Rapleaf. This way, you can identify the top social sites your email list is associated with and can adjust social advertising, networking, and content accordingly.
Who should use Qwerly and why: This tool is perfect for the email marketer who wants to squeeze as much performance out of his or her email list as possible.
16. Rapleaf
Like Qwerly, Rapleaf gives you useful social profile information about your email newsletter list. Drop in a text file into their system and out they spit the demographics of your list:
Who should use Rapleaf and why: Rapleaf is perfect for the email newsletter marketer who wants to get the most out of his or her list. Find out what people like and then create unique offers based upon that data. You can make recommendations to a segmented email list, thus driving up your conversion rate.
17. Page Lever
Last but not least, there's Facebook analytics tool Page Lever. This will take you beyond Insights that will allow you to grow more fans, traffic comments and newsfeed impressions.
You can see where your fans are coming from:
The Day Overview lets you get in-depth information from a particular day:
Page Lever was created by two guys who were consulting with high-profile clients like MTV and YouTube to help them optimize Insights when they recognized the shortcomings of what was available at the time. So they created Page Lever. MTV and YouTube followed them over.
Who should use Page Lever and why: If you manage a brand's Facebook fan page, you need Page Lever. The unique, granular data will help you pinpoint what works and what doesn't. As the tag line says, this is data you never thought possible. And if MTV and YouTube use it, don't you think you should, too?
The first step in any social media marketing plan is to identify which social media sites you are going to concentrate on. Then it's super important to track your performance across those sites as your campaign proceeds.
If you're not tracking, how can you know whether your campaign is working or not? If you do know you can tweak to make it work better…and deliver results that will make you happy…or your clients happy.
Which social media tools do you use that I didn't mention?


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Another "emergency" call was sent out on my cell phone. Very handy these cell phones! This time to AAA to come and jump my van battery. Yes, I know I have my own jump "
. But I thought I'd give AAA a try. Perhaps not a good idea. Here I was, sitting at the Best Western parking lot at Power Center" – capitol of Virginia, and it took 70 minutes to get a tow truck to me. Then the guy brought over his little Jump "Power Box" and wha-la my engine started. Well, I just wanted to see how HE did it! Anyway, next time, I'll do it myself. My battery had run down because I came out to leave, turned on the key, and then started writing down my mileage, then I started looking up my civil war ancestors, to be sure I knew their units, then I did this and that, and finally, after an hour I was all set to go -- but the van battery wasn't. Richmond
Well, it was a rainy morning anyway, so I might as well spend it in the dry van – ha! But I finally got onto I-295 and headed south towards
I had seen the amazing siege lines last year, so this time I wanted to see "City Point' where Marshall Akins had noted he had been sent to. Petersburg, VA.
City Point was the critical supply point for the Union Army siege of
. It was supposedly the busiest port in the world for the six months or so of the siege. It was also the Command HQ of General Grant. Petersburg
To finish the story, The siege of
Petersburg worked, causing the Confederates to leave, and that caused the evacuation of , the confederate capitol. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen U.S. Grant at Richmond a few weeks later. Appomattox
I left Richmond and drove downstream along the
James River to Flowerdew Hundred Plantation, but it was closed by 3:45pm. That is where Marshall Akins in Gen Hancock's II Corps was ferried across the river from Wilcox Landing in June 1864, and later the other Corps walked across a temporarily and hastily constructed pontoon bridge – a marvel of its day. And to the City Point unit of the Petersburg National Battlefield. I was surprised at the lack of tourists anywhere I went today. There were just two others at City Point to hear the Ranger talk about the that the US Army took over in 1864-1865 for their headquarters. General Grant's quarters were in a nearby log cabin. Epps Mansion, a house
I felt it was only fitting having just retired from the US Army, to stand back at the City Point National Cemetery and watch the Memorial Day Ceremony where a few people were gathered - old veterans no doubt. I felt like I belonged to this ceremony. There were little
flags placed at each grave. US
So where did Marshall Akins come in? He was sent to City Point Hospital when he became ill after the force march from Chancellorsville,
Bethel Church, Cold Harbor and crossing the James River to . I especially wanted to see the site where this hospital was located. The area is a National monument where Rangers give information and it is kept up nicely. Petersburg
I imagined my cousin, Marshall Akins, a patient at this Hospital, exhausted yet pushing on in the forced march, yet never fully recovered from early illnesses in Alabama.
I drove back up I-295 to Cold Harbor, stopping for gas, and my only food of the day, an ice cream sandwich and banana. Ahhh ice cream, the staff of life! I wanted to return to
Cold Harbor because I had studied the maps I bought there yesterday and knew where Marshall Akins was situated during the week or so of the battle. In fact his Corps made the only real advance of the face-off, but they were repulsed without back-up.
I took photos of the fields. Further up the road had been an earlier battle near Bethel Church, the Ranger had pointed out yesterday on a map that there was a monument to the 36th
Wisconsin Regiment on a road up there. So I found the monument and photographed it. It had been erected by one of the soldiers, years later in honor of those of his regiment who had died, were wounded, or were captured at that spot on 1 June 1864.
The day was fast coming to an end so I was back on the cell phone and I called KOA Campground at
and reserved a tent spot for the night. Cost $25.61. It seem like a lot for just a space and the use of the bathroom, but cheaper than a motel. Fredericksburg
Well, it was a rainy morning anyway, so I might as well spend it in the dry van – ha! But I finally got onto I-295 and headed south towards
|Map--- Richmond / Petersburg and City Point Virginia
|City Point Harbor during Civil War
|Epps Mansion - site of Grant's HQ at City Point
|General Grant's Cabin
|City Point Veterans' Cemetery on Memorial Day 2001
|City Point Hospital, Virginia on the Bay of Appomattox River
I drove back up I-295 to Cold Harbor, stopping for gas, and my only food of the day, an ice cream sandwich and banana. Ahhh ice cream, the staff of life! I wanted to return to
|Marshall Akin was in the 36th Wisconsin - with Hancock's unit on right
|Cold Harbor Visitor's Center at the battlefield
|Monument to the 36th Wisconsin at Bethel Church - and my Vagabond Van
|Those 36th Wis Inf wounded on 1 June 1864


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What I love is how the government doesn't include food (or energy) in the core inflation. So when they report inflation, it makes the picture look better than it is.
Core inflation is not a practical measure, since energy and food are two things most of HAVE to have, not to mention what we spend a great deal of money on.


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Click on question to reveal the answer.
|1. Do you have instructions for collecting the samples with the YSEQ sample collection kit?
|2. I have sent you my sample with a previous order. Do I need to pay for the shipping again?
|3. How long does it take until I receive my results?
|4. Why do I receive many more results than I have ordered?
|5. Which laboratory is processing the DNA tests?
|6. How can I tell if I'm ancestral (=negative) or derived (=positive) for a certain SNP?
|7. What does the * mean after a haplogroup designation? E.g. R1b-L21*


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The settled stadium situation in Minnesota became quickly unsettled on Tuesday. Now, it's settled again. Sort of.
According to the Associated Press, the chairperson of the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority says that Personal Seat Licenses (technically, Stadium Builders Licenses for the new Vikings venue) are permitted, but that exorbitant fees won't be allowed.
"What people were reacting to is $20,000, $30,000, $40,000 a seat," Michelle Kelm-Helgen said, regarding PSL fees charged elsewhere. "If they had that in their mind vs. something in the thousands perhaps. And I don't even know. I don't want to say."
The thinking is that the fees will be much lower than five figures.
"Our frame of reference has been things like at the Twins stadium and the Gophers' TCF Stadium," Kelm-Helgen said. The Twins applied PSL fees in the range of $1,000 to $2,000 for a "small number of premium seats," per the Associated Press. The University of Minnesota charges an extra $100 to $500 per season ticket annually, based on the location of the seat.
It could be that Governor Mark Dayton picked the fight to ensure that the Vikings wouldn't try to gouge season-ticket holders. Though along the way he came off as clueless regarding the contents of the stadium bill that he signed into law, Dayton successfully got the attention of the folks who'll decide whether the Vikings are charging too much for PSLs.
Regardless, the folks who ultimately should make that decision are the fans. If the Vikings charge too much, then the tickets and the PSLs won't sell. It's basic economics, and the fact that the highest levels of government in Minnesota don't understand this could shed light on the budgetary woes facing state and federal government from sea to shining sea.


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Teddy Bridgewater was at Adrian Peterson's 30th birthday party in March, when the running back made a grand entrance riding a camel, not knowing whether the Vikings would enter the season with the prolific rusher.
"I was praying it would work out," said Bridgewater, the quarterback who started 12 games as a rookie. "We could have benefitted a lot having him last year, especially me."
Coach Mike Zimmer oscillated between hopeful and confident Peterson would return after missing 15 games while on the commissioner's exempt list dealing with child abuse allegations.
"I was fairly confident but more hopeful," Zimmer said. "You never really...