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Posts Tagged: Thomas Scott
Global Burden of Dengue
The mosquito-borne viral disease known as "breakbone fever," is three times more prevalent than originally thought, according to a research paper published today in Nature and co-authored by dengue expert Thomas Scott of UC Davis.
In their research paper, titled "The Global Distribution and Burden of Dengue," Scott and the 17 other team members estimated that 350 million people are infected each year--more than triple the World Health Organization's current estimate of 50 to 100 million.
Professor Simon Hay of the University of Oxford led the research as part of the International Research Consortium on Dengue Risk Assessment, Management and Surveillance.
"Dengue takes an enormous toll on human health worldwide, with as many as 4 billion people at risk," said Scott, a UC Davis professor of entomology and worldwide expert on the epidemiology and prevention of dengue. He chairs the mosquito-borne disease modelling group in the Research and Policy for Infectious Disease Dynamics (RAPIDD) program of the Science and Technology Directory, Department of Homeland Security, Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health.
"The results of our study and infrastructure that created the dengue maps fill a critical gap in the battle against dengue," said Scott, who maintains field research programs in Iquitos, Peru, and Khamphaeng Phet, Thailand. "Prior to this, without rigorously derived dengue estimates that can be continuously updated, it was not possible to know with confidence where and when to direct interventions for greatest potential impact or to objectively assess the effectiveness of regional and global control efforts. That kind of knowledge was among the most important missing information for developing enhanced dengue prevention programs."
The highly infectious tropical and subtropical disease is spread by the bite of an infected female Aedes aegypti, a day-biting, limited flight-range mosquito that prefers human blood to develop its eggs. Dengue is caused by four distinct, but closely related, viruses. The most severe form of disease is life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever or DHF.
The researchers assembled known records of dengue occurrence worldwide and used a formal modelling framework to map the global distribution of dengue risk. They then paired the resulting risk map with detailed longitudinal information from dengue cohort studies and population surfaces to infer the public health burden of dengue in 2010.
"There are currently no licensed vaccines or specific therapeutics, and substantial vector control efforts have not stopped its rapid emergence and global spread," the researchers wrote.
Dengue has now begun to appear along the southern border of the United States, including Texas. Florida has also reported cases of dengue.
Of the 96 million clinically apparent dengue infections, Asia bears 70 percent of the burden, the research paper revealed. India alone accounts for around one-third of all infections.
Professor Thomas Scott, a worldwide expert on dengue, is pictured in Kenya.
Global dengue risk. Areas in red indicate high risk for dengue occurrence while green areas indicate low risk. (Map courtesy of Jane Messina)
Temperature Fluctuations Affect Population Growth Rate of Dengue Mosquito
The PLOS ONE journal published "Effects of Fluctuating Daily Temperatures at Critical Thermal Extremes on Aedes aegypti Life-History Traits," written by lead author Lauren Carrington and four other scientists from Thomas Scott's Mosquito Research Laboratory and the Center for Vectorborne Diseases (CVEC).
Their work analyzed how natural temperature fluctuations affect the population growth rate of the dengue mosquito. Basically, temperature effects on larval development time, larval survival and adult reproduction depend on the combination of mean temperature and the magnitude of fluctuations.
"The effect of temperature on insect biology is well understood under constant temperature conditions, but less so under more natural, fluctuation conditions," said Carrington, who completed her three-year postdoctoral fellowship last December in the Scott lab and continues research projects with the lab. She is now based at the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
The research is expected to lead to greater accuracy of applications for mosquito surveillance and disease prevention.
"An improved understanding of mosquito responses to natural temperature variation," Carrington said, "will enhance the effectiveness of vector control strategies, thereby reducing transmission of mosquito-borne diseases, such as dengue fever." By using constant temperatures, scientists can under- or -over estimate values, she said.
"In the field, mosquitoes, and other insects, are exposed to a constantly changing environment, with fluctuations in temperature throughout the day, every day. In the lab, however, experimental protocols generally try to minimize as much variability as possible, and temperature is often the first element to be standardized."
Co-authors are Veronica Armijos, Christopher Barker, Louis Lambrechts and Thomas Scott.
Dengue is spread by an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito, a day-biting, limited flight-range mosquito that prefers human blood to develop its eggs. Dengue is caused by four distinct, but closely related, viruses and the most severe form of disease is life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever or DHF.
Some 500,000 people with severe dengue are hospitalized each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and about 2.5 percent of those affected die.
"Dengue takes an enormous toll on human health worldwide, with as many as 4 billion people at risk—half of the world's population--and 400 million new infections each year," said Scott, a professor of entomology at UC Davis and active in CVEC.
Dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti. (Photo courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Fighting Dengue
And compelling.
In an article published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the UC Davis medical entomologists and their colleagues found that human movement—people going from house-to-house to visit their friends and relatives—is a key component to driving the virus transmission. (Read PNAS paper)
The research site is Iquitos, nestled in the heart of the Amazon rain forest of northeastern Peru. It's considered one of the world's primary "open laboratories" to study the transmission of the virus.
The Aedes aegypti mosquito is a day-biting mosquito and we humans are its favorite host/target.
The ground-breaking research shows why it's crucial to focus on people movement, not just on the traditional mosquito control-and-prevention methods, such as applying insecticides and eliminating water-filled containers that can provide a larval habitat.
As lead author/medical entomologist Steve Stoddard said: "This finding has important implications for dengue prevention, challenging the appropriateness of current approaches to vector control."
"Interestingly, it didn't matter how far away the visited houses were," Stoddard said. "The mosquito that transmits dengue virus prefers to stay in small areas, say in less than a 100-meter radius, but the distance between houses was often much greater than this. So it only makes sense that humans are frequently spreading the virus around as they commute between their homes and the homes of their friends and family. Altogether the data demonstrate what we expected, that human movements are really key to the transmission of this mosquito-borne virus."
Said Scott, professor of entomology at UC Davis and director of the Mosquito Research Laboratory: "Dengue takes an enormous toll on human health worldwide, with as many as 4 billion people at risk—half of the world's population--and 400 million new infections each year. The results from our study are focusing attention to the role human social networks in virus invasion and epidemic spread.
"At our Peru study area, we found that infection risk is based on the places a person visits and transmission dynamics are driven by overlapping movements of people who recently visited the same places, like the homes of their family and friends."
Bottom line: The scientists found that people movement not only defined individual infection risk and local patterns of incidence, but resulted in the rapid spread of the virus and marked heterogeneity in transmission rates.
Next phase of the research? It's aimed at "understanding how variation in human behavior influences transmission and applying that knowledge in enhanced disease prevention strategies," said Scott, the principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded grant.
With some 4 billion people worldwide at risk, and with 400,000 million new infections each year, dengue is indeed taking its toll. Every year some 500,000 people with severe dengue are hospitalized, and 2.5 percent die.
Aedes aeypti, also known as the dengue mosquito. (CDC Photo)
Street scene in Iquitos, Peru. (Photo courtesy of the Thomas Scott lab, UC Davis)
Zeroing in on Dengue
So are researchers from the Thomas Scott lab at UC Davis.
Scott, a medical entomologist who directs the state-funded UC Mosquito Research Laboratory, and his field director Amy Morrison, based in Iquitos, Peru, know their foe well.
Their goal: to save lives through research, surveillance and implementation of disease prevention strategies.
Morrison talked about the research efforts today on National Public Radio (NPR).
Morrison told Charles: ""What's fascinating to me about aegypti is it's probably the mosquito that's most closely associated with human beings, and the most adapted to human beings."
The tiger-striped mosquito, is a daybiting mosquito that prefers human blood. Some 2.5 to 3 billion people, primarily in tropical and sub-tropical countries around the world, are at risk for dengue, which Scott describes as "the world's worst insect-transmitted disease." See feature on him on the UC Davis Department of Entomology website, with links to significant research work.
Aedes aegypti is out for blood. And so are the UC Davis-based researchers tracking it.
Aedes aegypti transmits dengue. (Photo courtesy of James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Trying to Control Dengue
It's not just high temperatures that play a significant role in the transmission of dengue, a deadly mosquito-borne disease that strikes millions of people in tropical and subtropical countries.
The size and pattern of fluctuations in daily temperature have a large effect on pathogens transmitted by mosquitoes, according to groundbreaking research published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The research, led by French, Thailand and U.S. scientists and conceived by medical entomologist Thomas Scott (right) of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, targets the transmission of spread of dengue.
Lead author Louis Lambrechts (left) of the Institut Pasteur, France, who did postdoctoral research in the Scott lab, points out that the influence of average temperatures on dengue virus transmission has long been known–the higher the temperature, the more efficient the virus transmission—but this is the first study linking temperature fluctuations to the transmission of the disease.
Dengue, transmitted by the daybiting Aedes aegypti mosquito, globally infects 50 to 100 million people yearly. At risk are some 2.5 to 3 billion people, primarily in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The most severe form of the disease, dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), strikes half a million a year and kills an estimated 5 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Scott said the study helps to explain a long-standing enigma: "What are the underlying causes of seasonal fluctuations in dengue incidence?" Experiments showed that mosquitoes die faster and are less susceptible to virus infection under large temperature swings, which is typical of the low dengue season, than under moderate temperature variation, which is typical of the high dengue season.
Scott, a noted dengue expert whose goal is to save lives through research, surveillance and implementation of disease prevention strategies, has a longstanding interest in the factors that drive seasonal and annual fluctuations in diseases caused by mosquito-transmitted pathogens. "Traditional explanations for the seasonal increase in dengue are not consistent with my experience in Thailand, Peru, and Puerto Rico," Scott said.
For more about the research, see the UC Davis Department of Entomology web page or access the PNAS paper.
The dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti. (Photo courtesy of James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).


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Retinoblastoma is a rare, cancerous tumor of a part of the eye called the retina.
Tumor - retina; Cancer - retina
Retinoblastoma is caused by a mutation in a gene that controls how cells divide. As a result, cells grow out of control and become cancerous.
In about half the cases, this mutation develops in a child whose family has never had eye cancer. In other cases, the mutation occurs in several family members. If the mutation runs in the family, there is a 50% chance that an affected person's children will also have the mutation. These children will therefore have a high risk of developing retinoblastoma themselves.
The cancer most often affects children younger than 6 years old. It is most commonly diagnosed in children 1 to 2 years old.
One or both eyes may be affected.
The pupil of the eye may appear white or have white spots. A white glow in the eye is often seen in photographs taken with a flash. Instead of the typical "red eye" from the flash, the pupil may appear white or distorted.
Other symptoms can include:
If the cancer has spread, bone pain and other symptoms may occur.
The health care provider will perform a complete physical exam, including an eye exam. The following tests may be done:
Treatment options depend on the size and location of the tumor:
If the cancer has not spread beyond the eye, almost all patients can be cured. A cure, however, may require aggressive treatment and even removal of the eye in order to be successful.
If the cancer has spread beyond the eye, the likelihood of a cure is lower and depends on how the tumor has spread.
Blindness can occur in the affected eye. The tumor can spread to the eye socket through the optic nerve. It may also spread to the brain, lungs, and bones.
Call your health care provider if signs or symptoms of retinoblastoma are present, especially if your child's eyes look abnormal or appear abnormal in photographs.
Genetic counseling can help families understand the risk of retinoblastoma. It is especially important when more than one family member has had the disease, or if retinoblastoma occurs in both eyes.
Dome JS, Rodriguez-Galindo C, Spunt SL, Santana VM. Pediatric sold tumors. In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Doroshow JH, et al., eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Elsevier Churchill Livingstone; 2013:chap 95.
National Cancer Institute: PDQ Retinoblastoma Treatment. Bethesda, Md: National Cancer Institute. Date last modified: Dec. 6, 2013. Available at: http://cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/retinoblastoma/HealthProfessional. Accessed: February 10, 2014.
Adam S. Levy, MD, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Isla Ogilvie, PhD, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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To disappear without anyone noticing at first. Usually done while in large groups.
Wait...wasn't Miguel with us just a second ago? Don't tell me he ghosted on us!
av Xaq Webb
3 december 2004
The art of carrying on with your routines throughout the day without actually paying attention to what is going on around you, as if you're floating through the day. e.g, other people, conversations, distractions.
"Holy sh*t! Did you see that fat bitch trip up the curb? Hilarious!"
"...huh? Sorry man I was ghosting"
"...huh? Sorry man I was ghosting"
av yesirichards
9 september 2011
V. To Ghost. The action of not attending a specific date, situation or function when it was previously decided that it would be attended. To duck out or to bail from the situation.
When John Smith failed to show up for classes that day, his classmates reffered to him as Ghosting that day.
av T0m0HAwK
5 december 2010
The act of hiding while a friend is having sex in the same room. As your friend didn't tell you to leave, and you are stuck there till your friend is done fucking, as afraid of being seen by the girl.
Dude...I was hanging out with my friend and he brought a girl up to bang without telling me, and I had to wait there ghosting for hours.
av littlelago
8 januari 2014
The act of ghosting on private torrent trackers is achieved by first downloading the .torrent, opening the file in your torrent client then once connected to a good amount of peers, the user then goes to the properties of the torrent connection and removes the private tracker "Tracker URL". In effect, unseen by the private torrent website's ratio counting systems. Used to get files for free without adding to your downloaded amount thus having a higher membership ratio.
Ghosting a torrent: BitMe TV is so hard to seed, my ratio is going to be crap.. oh wait I'll just ghost this torrent
av rec0n
25 februari 2013
A term used to define the act of leaving.
"Hey Tiquisha, where's Tyrone?"
"He's ghosted."
"Man's gotta go yard! I'm ghosting."
"He's ghosted."
"Man's gotta go yard! I'm ghosting."
av LolalolalolaBAM
10 oktober 2012
a skier who skis with his/her arms straight forward and proceeds to swerve at a large angle pissing off all the non ghosters on the hill
that that noob was ghosting he almost cut me off
that old guy was ghosting and it looked fucking hilarious
that old guy was ghosting and it looked fucking hilarious
av the skionator
6 februari 2012
A soccer term created by Brian Dunseth in 2011. The term describes a player switching into Stealth Mode and disappearing behind a defender.
This term can also refer to any type of sneak attack on a fellow human being.
This term can also refer to any type of sneak attack on a fellow human being.
Brian: Here he goes here, ghosting into the box, right there. Just ghosting right in.
av Joey Mackswell Lewis
30 augusti 2011


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Receptionists are friendly. But the Room is quite small. And the equipments are poor inside. There are just 4 wall-sockets in a 6 beds room, and two of these are even hide by the bedstead! It was not reasonable to be asking to return the hairdryer which I paid the deposit in 2hrs, because after the shower, putting on the night wearing, I had to go down the stairs and waited for the desk to return the hairdryer. It will be more friendly when I check out with returning the hairdryer.


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Mr. Wing-It bought me too many presents, so I will only show you my favorite one or else this post will be too Tolstoyan. I wanted a watch with a timer and an alarm, and Mr. Wing-it bought me the most-awesome-watch-ever! It's pink, it's black, and it rocks! My Mr. Wing-it is ever so dreamy! How have I survived this long without a timer to keep me from burning food, over-rising yeast doughs, missing the Ellen DeGeneres show...
Studious Bear sneaked in at the last second.
The characters are exquisite! Amanda is very Bridget Jones-ish and charming as could be. The actress (Jemima Rooper) was so well cast and she is extremely lovable. If Darcy appeared rude and rigid in the book, then prepare yourself for something very dreadful. This Mr. Cranky Pants is even colder and more insufferable! Yes, there is the water scene for all the Colin Firth obsessed fans.
Jane is lovely, and her story is greatly affected by Amanda's presence. Lydia is not the annoying little brat that she is in the book, and she is actually very sweet. Kitty and Mary are not a big part of the story, but the girls are adorable.
Mr. Bennett is Amanda's ally, but Mrs. Bennett is not her biggest fan.
Bingley is quite the bimbo, and the interactions between him and Amanda are hilarious. During one of their conversations there is a subtle reference to Jane Austen's "Emma", which you will definitely notice it if you have read that book. Miss Bingley is delightfully arrogant, and let's just say that she will reveal something quite surprising about herself.
If you thought Mr. Collins was odious, you will find him even more repulsive here. This version of the character is downright disgusting! If you watch this, you can finish this sentence: at least Charlotte Lucas...
Lady Catherine de Bourgh is not so evil. She won't win the Miss Congeniality award any time soon, but she is definitely less rigid!
Mr. Wickham steals the show! He is far less evil and much more mischievous than his book-self. Georgiana Darcy's story will surprise you!
There are people who didn't enjoy this show, but I certainly wasn't one of them. Apparently they are making a Lost in Austen movie directed by Sam Mendez! If I had the energy, I would do a cartwheel right now! Well, I don't know how to do cartwheels but I would at least try!
Baked potato and greens soup with potato-wedge croutons.
All soups should have a potato-wedge crouton stuck in them. Or two, like mine here.
Not from Veganomicon but one of our meals from last week that I really want to mention - Jessy's butter bean burgers of awesomeness! We had them breaded and topped with goodies, and they were fantastic. Jessy is the Butter Bean Queen!
So, there you have it. This was a really good birthday and I'm even OK with not being in my 20s anymore. I can live with the couple of gray hairs (this means four) that have grown right in the middle of the top of my head.
Happy March to everyone!!


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'Eureka Moment'
17 February 2011
'Eureka Moment'
Cape Town. Rehearsal day.
On going into the gig this morning, I learned that Craig, one of my lighting crew, had been robbed at knifepoint last night, pretty much right where I'd had the near miss with the motorbike scam. Craig was fine, unharmed & recovered to the point of being able to joke about it but it made me feel better about not engaging with biker boy.
In the rehearsal room Dec & I had some rare quiet time to work. Regular readers are probably sick to death of hearing about our apparently never-ending work on the 'Questions' segue, but after about a year of noodling with it, I finally had a bit of a 'Eureka' moment and realised exactly what we needed to do. I talked with the band this week about that particular moment in the show and what we might do to complete it. They threw some ideas around including reviving a short section of Your Blue Room. I thought this had potential, as I felt that the reason Your Blue Room didn't survive in the 2009 show was not that it wasn't good but that it was simply too long to hold attention in a stadium. A minute-long snippet might therefore be worth a look. However, in a fevered dream a couple of nights ago I realised that the answer isn't Your Blue Room, but that it's Fez, from No Line on the Horizon. Ironically, when I first envisaged the opening of the giant 360 video screen, the soundtrack I had in my head was Fez. I dropped this idea when it became evident that Being Born wasn't going to make the show. I thought then (two years ago) that you couldn't have one without the other but this week woke up and thought 'well, of course we can.'
The result is a glorious mash of Fez, the audience-sourced questions, plus samples from Zooropa, odd bits of Achtung Baby and god knows what else thrown in on top. Bono and Edge sat with us to help make it all work and we finally (please god) finished it off. I hope I still like it tomorrow, as tonight I'm really delighted with it. I put the finished sound file on a memory stick to distribute to those who'd need to hear it. These little memory sticks form a daily part of the culture of information transfer in the video and audio departments on tour. When you plug one into your computer, a little icon pops up on screen showing its title (usually the owner's name). These memory sticks get passed from hand to hand and may go walkabout for days at a time before being returned to their owner. When I got this particular stick back, I was amused to note that some wag had renamed it "Animal Porn". Just as well I spotted that before heading through customs.
The band came in and got straight into the new/old song. It felt really good to watch them play something from off the beaten track, so hopefully it will develop and make it into the show at some point. I'm not holding my breath, but it's not out of the question. At least I got to hear it. They also ran through two or three songs from the show that were deemed to need upgrading or work of some kind. We ate dinner at the gig then headed back to the hotel.
I had a wild night in my room doing a Vectorworks tutorial (a CAD drawing programme I use but that I've never mastered the finer points of) whilst listening to Lucinda Williams. Desperately dull as this sounds, I quite enjoyed it, not really being in the mood for company.
The wind is still blowing a gale outside, which could be a huge problem for the 360 video screen. We've never had weather conditions that have precluded us being able to open the screen during a show, but theoretically this is a possibility, so fingers crossed.
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25 February, 2011
Fez is too good a song, to merely have a snipet played is a crime, I am saddened but will keep hope alive that it will be played in full before this tour wraps........sigh.......hicksong
24 February, 2011
the gale outside
Yes, it was quite windy the night before the show as we camped out in the GA queue. We wondered whether the wind would affect the show but all worked out well. It was worth the long, windy night outside(surrounded by security) as we ended up on the front rail and enjoyed FEZ. Great choice for a great show!
23 February, 2011
I LOVED hearing FEZ in Cape Town. was at the frontrail and all I thought was : LOUDER pleassse!
22 February, 2011
Oh my!
1991, Gulf War and all ... my two friends and I showed up at Heathrow after 4 months in ganga-rich Nepal, bald as billiard balls and the one pal wearing an eye patch for fun with a whack of (Canada World Youth training) video tapes with no labels in his bag. We got hauled off and searched for a while. The English Inquisition ensued. Good call on omitting the Animal Porn title. Now, Fez. I do like the song, however, I could only ever see it as a good opening song if U2 was playing on a lovely warm beach and I was in a lounge with a cider in hand. It's too dreamy and never really kicks off up-tempo enough for me. I could picture them rising out of the ocean's depth to it. More submarine than space craft. But I haven't seen them in concert since Calgary (10 years?) so I crave a first song that will legitimize my hopping up and down without looking like a zealot. June 1st. Really? Could be snowing. How's your screen in a snow squall?
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Latest Willie's Diary
31 Jul, 2011
'Extraordinary Ride'
'I've loved it. Just loved it.' Homeward bound Willie grateful for an 'extraordinary tour'.
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18 Jul, 2011
'Shades On'
'I'd agreed to see the Alexander McQueen show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.' Day off in New York City for Willie.
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15 Jul, 2011
'Love This Town.'
'It was a beautiful night and I enjoyed strolling, people-watching, window shopping.' Willie has a day off in New York.
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06 Jul, 2011
'Beautys Luncheonette'
'The booths, the counter, the old boy on the stool with his gruff greeting...' Willie discovers a special food establishment.
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05 Jul, 2011
'Soldier Field is a great-looking stadium and sits right in the centre of the city.' Willie in Chicago.
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Biotechnology Laboratory Technician
The Biotechnology Laboratory Technician Certificate consists of five classes (16 semester units). It is designed to provide San Diego area students with the skills necessary to secure entry-level positions as biotech lab technicians or research assistants. The program curriculum provides an overview of the industry and the functions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical laboratories in research, manufacturing, and quality control. This Certificate program is designed to be completed within two semesters of study, or approximately eight months.
Courses in the Biotechnology Laboratory Technician Certificate program -
- Cover a range of topics considered crucial in supplying a solid science foundation, supplemented by hands-on training in a laboratory
- Taught by faculty from the Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Biotechnology departments at CSUSM
- Include study of cutting edge technologies and current biotech market trends
- Emphasize the role of biotechnology companies, the process of discovery, and the development of new products
This program is funded by the San Diego Workforce Partnership and the Riverside County Workforce Development Center enabling workers in Southern California to seek training for laboratory technician or research assistant roles in the biotechnology workforce.


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Pricing/ Rates: (click to convert currency)
Pricing Notes:
Rates in the table do not include the cleaning and booking fee. These fees depend on the specific travel dates and are shown as part of the online rate quote.
Weekly Specials Available: Aug 22, 2014-Aug 28, 2014: 30% Discount. Weekly Rent Discounted from $1915 to $1340. |


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THE COMPACT AFINIA H479 IS A VERSION OF PP3DP'S UP PLUS 3D printer, rebranded for the U.S. market. It's got a single extruder and runs via USB of Mac or Windows machines, with no onboard controls except an Initialize button and a flashing status indicator. But despite the no-frills hardware, it's a surprising little performer that's ideal for beginners.
To read the full review, buy the Make: Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing.
2013 MAKE Ultimate Guide To 3D Printing
- 3D Printers Buyer's Guide — 15 Reviewed
- Getting Started in 3D
- Learn the Software Toolchain
- 3D Design for Beginners
- 3D Printing without a Printer
Just Released! 2014 MAKE Ultimate Guide To 3D Printing
We want to hear from you! Share your experiences with this machine, what you like, what you don't like, where you think our test team got it wrong. We hope you'll join in the discussion. We'd also love to see the things that you design and print out.
- Primo Features Heated platform, great print quality and software, U.S. tech support.
- Print volume 5.5″×5.5″×5.3″
- Print speed 3-30mm3/sec
- Print material ABS, PLA
- Resolution (z-axis) 0.2mm
- Machine software Afinia 3D
- Slicing software Afinia 3D
- OS supported Windows, Mac
- Open Source No
- Price as tested $1,499 assembled
- Pedigree PP3DP Up
- Print without PC? Sort of…


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Library Card Policies
The East Central Georgia Regional Library participates in PINES, the state wide circulation and cataloging system. The following regulations are in compliance with PINES regulations and requirements.
Library cards are free to all residents of Georgia. Persons who attend school, own property or are employed in Georgia are also eligible for a free PINES card. PINES cards are valid for 2 years.
Property owners who do not reside in Georgia may be required to show proof of ownership, such as a tax bill or deed. Persons employed in Georgia or attending school in Georgia may be required to show proof of employment or enrollment.
Out-of-state cards are available to persons living outside Georgia who do not meet the above criteria for a $25 annual fee, payable at the time the card is issued. A temporary card is available for a $12.50 charge and is good for 6 months.
Signing a PINES card application denotes acceptance of responsibility for lost or damaged materials.
There is no minimum age for a child to receive a PINES card. A parent or legal guardian may register a child. Parent or guardian must show proper ID to register a child. A parent or guardian must sign the application for all children under 18. Signing a child's PINES card application denotes acceptance of responsibility for all fines, lost or damaged materials charged on that card.
A library card is required in order to check out materials.
Proper identification must be presented to register.
An applicant for a new card is required to provide proper ID, which includes current local address.
Acceptable ID for a PINES card:
a) photo ID showing current local address, OR
b) photo ID and one item from approved list (see below) showing current, local address (if photo ID does not have correct address), OR
c) TWO (2) items from approved list showing current, local address.
Acceptable ID includes a valid driver's license, a valid voter registration card, checks with pre‐printed addresses, a utility bill, tax receipt or other piece of mail that shows the user's name and present address. The registering library is responsible for ensuring that a correct address is obtained.
Applicants for a card must complete and sign an application form, available at any PINES participating library's circulation desk.
Parents or guardians of children under the age of 18 must sign their child's application.
The charge for a replacement PINES card is $2.
The Library is subject to an annual audit of finances and financial responsibility, including adherence to pertinent rules and regulations. Due to high losses of material and the requirement of the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), which dictates that governments have a responsibility to be accountable for the use of resources and to demonstrate a reasonable endeavor to recover property paid for with tax payer's money, the library cannot issue a library card to anyone residing at a property whose residents are transient, e.g., hotels, motels, hospitals, halfway houses and mission homes. Persons at these addresses may receive a card which can only be used for computer access and other services which do not include the circulation of materials. If they wish, they also have the option of a deposit card: a deposit is required to cover the cost of materials checked out and the deposit is refunded with the return of the materials and the closing of the account. Also, if a fiscally responsible officer at a transient property gives written acknowledgement, accepting responsibility for loss or damage to material, a card may be issued to a resident of that property.


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That's all from us for today - thanks for reading this blog and posting all your comments.
Here are today's biggest winners and losers among the top 200 stocks:
The huge payday Aquila Resources executive Tony Poli and his shareholders are set to receive includes a large chunk of bonus or "free" shares accumulated over a decade.
Aquila was the subject of a $3.40 per share bid by Aurizon and Baosteel today, valuing Poli's stake in the company he helped float in 2004 at slightly more than $400 million.
Included in that stake – as is the case with every Aquila shareholder that has backed the company since its $600,000 float in 2000 – are a huge amount of bonus shares, which have made Poli and other directors extremely rich.
Starting at the end of 2004, Aquila undertook each year until 2010 the awarding of bonus shares at nil cost to each shareholder.
Just before Christmas in most years, shareholders received one new bonus share for every five or 10 held, though in 2006 investors got one share for every share they owned – effectively and instantly doubling the value of their stake.
Poli, a former accountant himself, has received about 77 million bonus shares since 2004. He has sold down some of his stake since then, including offloading about $20 million worth of shares in 2010, and now holds close to 120 million shares.
The sharemarket has closed slightly higher, following a last-minute push higher.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 squeezed out a gain of 4.1 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5462.2, after trading lower for long stretches of the session. The broader All Ords gained 4.6 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 5443.3.
Among the sectors, materials jumped 1 per cent, while financials slipped 0.4 per cent.
The two largest sectors diverged today: mining stocks rose on stronger commodity prices and a takeover bid, but banks fell despite a better than expected earnings report from Westpac.
"Lofty share prices in the banking sector are producing a "sell the fact" reaction to bank reports," CMC's Michael McCarthy notes: "Fears that bank share prices will fall more than the value of upcoming dividends saw the sector lead the market lower."
US wheat futures have soared as much as 3.4 per cent to an 11-month high on fears that recent hot, dry weather will curb production in the United States, the world's largest exporter.
Corn edged lower for a fourth straight session, though the strength of wheat capped losses. Soybeans rose for a second straight session.
Chicago Board of Trade July wheat futures rose 2.2 per cent to $US7.31-3/4 a bushel, just below the session peak of $7.40-1/2 a bushel, the highest since late June 2013.
"It has been very hot in the Southern Plains, with temperatures between 90-100 degree Fahrenheit (32.2-37.8 Celsius)," said Andrew Woodhouse, grains analyst, Advance Trade Australasia. "It puts another nail in the coffin of the US hard-red wheat crop."
Talks are underway to settle a class action over the billion dollar collapse of agribusiness Great Southern.
The agricultural projects manager, which raised $1.8 billion and managed 45 investment schemes, collapsed in 2009. A trial concluded in October 2013 and a judgement is pending.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, which had loans to investors in Great Southern managed investment schemes, has confirmed settlement talks are being held by the parties involved. No agreement has been reached, and if there is an agreement struck, it would require court approval, the bank said.
Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly says Australia needs tough spending cuts to deal with a rising deficit.
Unlike ANZ boss Mike Smith, who last week criticised a proposed new tax or deficit reduction levy he said would damage confidence and entrepreneurialism, Kelly would not comment on proposed government policies.
However she rejected the suggestion that any budget upheaval, whether it be taxes on workers earning about $80,000 or cuts to nearly all government agencies, would hurt an already fragile economic recovery.
''We all know it's going to be a tough budget, it has been well flagged and it needs to be a tough budget,'' Kelly said today. ''The fiscal deficit issue we have is proving to be quite intractable.''
In relation to confidence, budget measures tended to have medium-term element to being rolled out, giving people time to absorb them and deal them into the economy, she said.
Kelly said she liked the Business Council of Australia's Jennifer Westacott's view that budgets should contain four planks to deliver: economic growth; efficient expenditure and revenue and good social policy including skills training.
Westpac CEO Gail Kelly backs a tough love budget. Photo: Nic Walker
In August 2011 representatives of supermarket giant Coles approached energy drink maker Red Bull for a $200,000 payment in what insiders at the supermarket called, quite plainly, the ''direct ask approach''.
Indeed, Coles had calculated the value of the benefit to Red Bull of its improved supply chain at $400,000 but thought it would be a sport and only ask for half that amount from the beverages company.
The casual request for the cash was part of a pilot program where Coles sought payments from some of its key suppliers, and the biggest suppliers in the Australian grocery sector, to help pay for what it claimed was improvements to the supermarket's supply chain.
In nearly 60 pages of stunning documents lodged with the Federal Court this afternoon, the inner workings of the nation's second biggest supermarket group have been laid bare, forming part of the case launched against it by the competition watchdog this morning.
It started with a briefing to Boston Consulting Group whereby Coles asked the firm to help develop strategies to improve its pre-tax earnings.
According to court documents, a target of $30 million was chosen to squeeze from suppliers and even a script was written to help Coles representatives talk to their supplier accounts and to get them to hand over the cash.
Read more on how the ACCC claims Coles milked suppliers
Shanghai copper has edged up to near its highest in two months, supported by steady local demand as markets returned from a two-day holiday and tracking gains in London copper prices that climbed on hopes of the US economy gaining speed.
Demand for copper in China improved in the past month, boosted by a shortfall of metal in the domestic market and steady second-quarter consumption, typically the peak season for usage. The outlook for copper prices, however, was muddied by the latest economic data that showed slowdown in China's manufacturing sector.
"Every time (copper) has tested the lower end of support it has found buying - but we need a fresh catalyst to make it break its current range. It looks range bound for now," says Rickin analyst Tim Radford.
The most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 0.5 per cent to 47,830 yuan ($US7600) a tonne, after earlier climbing as high as 47,920, bumping up near two-month highs of 48,160 a tonne, hit on April 28. Markets were closed on Thursday and Friday.
LME copper chalked up gains of 1.1 per cent on Friday. The London Metal Exchange will be closed on Monday for a public holiday.
Gas firm WestSide has rejected as undervalued a takeover offer from China's diversified energy company Landbridge Group that valued the company at $177.6 million.
Landbridge, based in Shandong, China, launched the bid for the Queensland-based coal seam gas company to gain entry into northern Australia's fast-growing gas industry. It currently owns a 3.2 per cent stake in WestSide.
WestSide said the proposal, which was already increased to 40 cents per share a week ago from 36 cents, did not represent fair value as it did not take into account recently announced gas sale deal with a consortium including Santos, Total and Korea Gas Corp.
The gas sale agreement could generate over $110 million in annual revenue to WestSide at the maximum production rate, the company added. It recommended shareholders reject the Landbridge offer.
WestSide owns the Meridien CSG field in Queensland state, where three large liquified natural gas (LNG) projects are being built and are due to begin operating over the next two years.
WestSide shares are up 1.3 per cent at 38 cents.
News Corp is believed to have paid more than $200,000 for explosive photos that show billionaire gaming mogul James Packer exchanging punches with former best man and Nine Entertainment chief executive David Gyngell.
Media outlets were being approached to bid for rights to the photos this morning, sparking a bidding war for the images, sources told the AFR.
The images were taken outside Packer's multimillion-dollar Bondi Beach home on Sunday afternoon and show the pair shaping up to throw punches on a busy street in broad daylight.
They end up wrestling on the ground before being separated by people who appeared to be Packer's bodyguards. An enraged Packer had to be restrained while a barefoot and bearded Gyngell appeared equally livid.
This morning, the two executives released a joint statement saying: "We have been friends for 35 years and still are. In that time we have had our fair share of ups and downs. We respect each other and neither of us will be commenting further."
Here's a good chart from the US's Bureau of Labour Statistics, which looks at changes in costs and prices over the past decade. As the chart shows, essentials have become more expensive while non-essentials have fallen (sometimes sharply) in price.
Big TVs became much cheaper while essentials like food, health care & child care became more expensive pic.twitter.com/R70THUwaI8
— Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett) May 5, 2014
Contrarian fund manager Simon Marais is poised to call an extraordinary general meeting this week in to oust the Roc Oil board over anger about the company's $800 million "merger of equals" with Horizon Oil, which is set to proceed without being put to Roc shareholders.
Marais, of Allan Gray, which is Roc's biggest shareholder with a 19.9 per cent stake, has been sounding out replacement directors to offer up should fellow investors back his bid to overhaul the board. He is highly critical of the friendly zero-premium merger not being put to Roc investors.
A loophole in listing rules allows one company to buy another with scrip without getting approval from its own shareholders. Only Horizon shareholders can vote on the deal.
"It is getting pushed through by a merchant bank that gets paid a success fee, they are exploiting this little loophole," Marais says. "It is being done at a massive discount (for Roc investors) and the savings of ordinary Australians are being used for some massive empire building. But they are trying to avoid scrutiny at all costs."
Marais said he wanted to give the board - including Roc chairman Mike Harding, chief executive Alan Linn - and its adviser more time to reconsider and put the merger to investors for a vote. But he was planning to lodge the paperwork this week to call a vote on the board revamp.
It's been three months since Australia's immediate economic outlook took a turn for the better, a turn the federal government has insisted on ignoring at any price, Michael Pascoe notes in his weekly video:
Business Week: no good news
It's been three months since Australia's immediate economic outlook took a turn for the better, a turn the federal government has insisted on ignoring at any price.
PT5M0S http://www.smh.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-37rg9 620 349 May 5, 2014- Autoplay OnOff
- Video feedback
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Most regional markets are trading lower, with worries over China's economy weighing on investors after a private gauge of Chinese manufacturing came in lower than expected.
- Japan (Nikkei): closed
- Hong Kong: -1.5%
- Shanghai: -0.75%
- Taiwan: -0.1%
- Korea: closed
- Singapore: -0.25%
- New Zealand: -0.7%
''The economy is suffering from relatively weak growth momentum,'' Societe Generale economist Yao Wei said after the release of the HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI. ''It's a structural problem. The economy will remain weak and the deceleration is not over yet.''
Building approvals fell in March but remain strong over the year, amid expectations of a strong lift in construction activity in coming quarters, economists say.
The number of residential building approvals slipped by 3.5 per cent in March to take the annual rate of growth to 20 per cent.
The fall was driven by the volatile multi-unit segment, which dipped by 7.5 per cent for the month.
The fact that building approvals were still 20 per cent higher than a year ago meant "there is still a significant boost coming to construction and spending which will help offset the winding down of resources investment from its recent peak", Commonwealth Bank senior economist Michael Workman said.
"The trends in building approvals data will help significant parts of the economy through rising revenues, fuller order books, more employment and higher retail spending. Building multipliers are among the strongest in the economy."
Less than six months since Treasurer Joe Hockey blocked Archer Daniels Midland's $3 billion tilt at GrainCorp, UBS analyst Jordan Rogers thinks the east coast grains handler could become the hunter rather than the hunted.
Competition in the east coast grains market has been heating up – as evidenced by Qube Holding's new Quattro Grain JV – and Rogers says GrainCorp may look for acquisitions and rationalise its grain-storage network to boost its return on equity amid growing competition.
Rogers thinks GrainCorp could make another run at listed feedstock and rendering company Ridley Corp or take a much bigger bite and merge with WA grains powerhouse CBH.
"We would view Ridley Corporation's feedmilling and meat rendering assets as being highly complementary to GrainCorp's assets, with close overlapping of grain silos and feedmills," says Rogers.
GrainCorp made a hostile bid for Ridley in 2008. Ridley's past few results have been lacklustre but any bid would be complicated given US private equity firm AGR Partners owns almost 20 per cent of Ridley.
GrainCorp shares are up 0.5 per cent at $8.98.
Nine Entertainment chairman David Haslingden has stood by his chief executive, David Gyngell, following a violent public brawl with his friend, billionaire James Packer.
''David Gyngell has had and continues to have the full support of the boardin his role as CEO of Nine Entertainment Company,'' Haslingden said in a prepared statement.
Gyngell issued a statement this morning saying: ''We have been friends for 35 years and still are. In that time we have had our fair share of ups and downs. We respect each other and neither of us will be commenting further."
Inflation has jumped by an "alarming" 0.4 per cent to take the annual rate to 2.8 per cent in a sign that the strengthening consumer prices could see the Reserve Bank raise rates by the end of the year, a private survey has found.
The monthly survey, by TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute, was released this morning and showed that inflation rose by 0.4 per cent in April after a 0.2 per cent lift in March.
The increase took the inflation gauge to 2.8 per cent, the highest annual rate since September 2011, the survey showed. Meanwhile, the trimmed mean, which strips out monthly volatility, leaped by 0.5 per cent to take the year-on-year rate to 3.1 per cent.
"This first taste of the June quarter reveals an alarming jump in headline and trimmed mean inflation, of which only a portion can be attributed to seasonality, with annual rates for both measures sitting on top of the RBA's 2 to 3 per cent target band," TD Securities head of Asia-Pacific research Annette Beacher said.
She added that the case for keeping the cash rate at its record low of 2.5 per cent "is no longer there".
"Our base case of lifting the cash rate by 50 basis points by year end may look odd right now, but there is clear evidence that the economy is returning to trend growth, employment momentum is building and inflation pressures are not abating. These factors are expected to more than offset whatever lies within the May 13 budget."
The Australian dollar has weakened slightly after a softer-than-expected reading of Chinese manufacturing activity, but is set to be tested further this week amid a raft of domestic economic data and as the Reserve Bank makes its monthly decision on interest rates.
It rose as high as US93.17¢ early on Monday morning, but weakened slightly to US92.55¢ in the afternoon after new data showed that Chinese manufacturing activity slowed last month, with new export orders contracting.
Local economic data that will be released this week include the Reserve Bank's monthly board statement on Tuesday, the central bank's monetary policy statement on Friday, retail sales data on Wednesday and unemployment rate figures on Thursday.
Traders are closely watching the statement that will follow the Reserve Bank's board meeting on Tuesday afternoon, as the central bank is expected to keep the cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent for another month.
As such, investors will be looking for forward guidance from the RBA about its outlook for the Australian economy, and if it starts to talk down the local currency again after a softer-than-expected reading of inflation for the first three months of this year.
But Commonwealth Bank of Australia currency strategist Peter Dragicevich said he did not expect the RBA to return to its "jawboning" tactic, which it used extensively late last year in a bid to encourage the dollar to weaken.
Andrew Forrest's investments continue to range far and wide, with the mining billionaire today investing millions into a uranium junior just days after he bought a beef exporting company.
Forrest pumped $12 million into Energy and Minerals Australia as part of a broader $36 million funds injection for the company.
The investment is a reunion of sorts, with EMA run by two men with prior links to Forrest via his main company Fortescue Metals Group; Julian Tapp and Mike Young. Tapp was government relations advisor for Fortescue until 2012, while Young led iron ore exporter BC Iron into a highly successful joint venture with Fortescue in 2009.
EMA is exploring acreage in the goldfields of WA which are prospective for uranium and base metals.
Downward pressure has eased but Chinese manufacturing remains weak, Capital Economics China economist Julian Evans-Pritchard notes on today's final reading of the HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI for April:
- The breakdown was weaker than the flash release across the board. In particular, the improvement in new orders was smaller, though it remains the primary reason for the increase in the headline number. Output and employment were also weaker than the flash had suggested.
- Today's lower than expected reading is a sign that conditions in the manufacturing sector remain challenging. Nonetheless, it is the first improvement in the index since October, which alongside the second successive pick-up in the official manufacturing PMI announced last week, suggests that downward pressure on the economy has eased somewhat.
- Looking ahead, official measures to speed up spending on railways and public housing should boost infrastructure investment, helping to support the manufacturing sector. That said, we still expect economic growth to weaken further over the medium term as private property construction slows.
Not a good day for James Packer: plans to build a casino resort in Sri Lanka were in the balance when Packer flew home over the weekend. That may no longer be the case after his violent brawl with former best mate and Nine chief executive David Gyngell.
According to local reports, Packer was in Sri Lanka last week in a last ditch attempt to salvage the $400 million casino resort.
"As stated by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa in Parliament on April 24, the government will not allow casinos to operate in the country," Faizer Mustapha, Deputy Minister of Investment Promotion told a media conference on Friday. No one is taking this as the final decision just yet.
Buddhist leaders opposed the casinos saying it would be detrimental to Sri Lanka's culture, and there were also worries gambling would encourage prostitution and harm Buddhist culture.
Sales of new vehicles fell in April from a year earlier but largely because the month had fewer selling days this year.
The Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries' VFACTS report showed sales of 80,710, were down 5.2 per cent on April last year. April this year had two fewer selling days, so sales per day actually increased from last year.
Sales in original terms were down 17 per cent in April compared to March, but when adjusted for seasonal factors that equated to a rise of 0.3 per cent. The timing of the Easter holidays can greatly impact sales between March and April.
In the year to date, sales were running 3.1 per cent behind the same period in 2013, but still pointed to a solid annual pace of 1.114 million vehicles.
Demand for sports utility vehicles remained resilient with sales up 4 per cent in April, from March. That was a marked contrast to sales of passenger vehicles which fell 8.9 per cent, mostly due to losses in the small car segments.
Shares in Aquila Resources jumped almost 40 per cent after China's Baosteel and rail company Aurizon Holdings said they planned a $1 billion takeover of the iron ore developer.
Aquila shares hit a high of $3.41 and last traded up 37 per cent at $3.35 compared with the $3.40 per share cash offer.
Activity in China's manufacturing sector slowed for a fourth consecutive month in April, adding to questions about whether the world's second-largest economy is still losing momentum.
The final reading of the HSBC/Markit purchasing managers' index (PMI) for April came in at 48.1, lower than a preliminary reading of 48.3 but up slightly from an eight-month low of 48.0 in March.
The HSBC/Markit PMI has been below the 50 level that separates growth from slowdown since the start of 2014. Output and new orders contracted in April, and new export orders slipped back into contraction after a recovery the previous month, the survey found.
"The latest data implied that domestic demand contracted at a slower pace, but remained sluggish. Meanwhile, both the new export orders and employment sub-indices contracted, and were revised down from the earlier flash readings," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC.
"These indicate that the manufacturing sector, and the broader economy as a whole, continues to lose momentum," he added, saying the government needed to take bold action to make sure the economy regains its momentum.
Last week, China's official PMI rose to 50.4 from March's 50.3, indicating a slight expansion.
The official PMI is weighted more towards bigger and state-owned enterprises and tends to paint a rosier picture than the HSBC/Markit survey, which focuses more on smaller private firms.
Job advertisements in newspapers and on the internet rose for a fourth straight month in April, a further sign that demand for labour is recovering from a long fallow period.
A survey by ANZ showed total job advertisements rose a seasonally adjusted 2.2 per cent in April, from March when they had risen 1.4 per cent.
The average number of job ads per week was 136,091, from an upwardly revised 131,111 in March. That was up 1.5 per cent on April last year, the first positive growth reading in at least two years.
"Labour demand has strengthened this year, with each of the main job ads/vacancies measures improving gradually, or at least stabilising over this period," said ANZ chief economist for Australia Ivan Colhoun. "The pick-up in hiring intentions suggests employment growth will continue to improve modestly in the near term and the unemployment rate should be close to a peak around 6 per cent or slightly lower."
Official employment figures for April are due on Thursday and analysts generally look for a rise of 6750 after a couple of solid months. The jobless rate is seen ticking up to 5.9 per cent after an unexpected fall to 5.8 per cent in March.
Here's a bit more on the ACCC's legal action against Coles, from its chairman, Rod Sims:
Sims said the alleged conduct of Coles was capable of causing significant detriment to small suppliers' businesses.
''This could have resulted in these businesses becoming less able to plan and less able to innovate in the market, with resulting reduced economic efficiency and consumer detriment," Sims said in a statement this morning.
"The ACCC alleges that Coles used undue pressure and unfair tactics in negotiating with suppliers, provided misleading information and took advantage of its superior bargaining position, so that its overall conduct was in all the circumstances unconscionable.
If this conduct is established in court, the ACCC expects that the community will share the ACCC's view that business should not be conducted in this way in Australia," Mr Sims said.
You can read the full story here.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking action against Coles for "alleged unconscionable conduct towards its suppliers".
The allegations relate to the supermarket giant's Active Retail Collaboration (ARC) program, with the ACCC claiming that Coles' action were in contravention of Australian consumer law.
The ACCC alleged that Coles sought to improve its earnings by obtaining better trading terms from its suppliers - through the introduction of ongoing rebates connected to the ARC program.
The consumer watchdog alleged that or 200 of Coles' smaller supplies, the company required an agreement to the rebate in "a matter of days". Suppliers that declined to agree to pay the rebate were "threaten[ed] commercial consequences if the supplier did not agree".
"The ACCC alleges that, in a number of cases, threats were made when suppliers declined to agree to pay the rebate," the watchdog said in a statement this morning.
"The ACCC alleges that Coles has engaged in unconscionable conduct towards 200 of its smaller suppliers."
Read the ACCC statement here.
Expectations are growing the Abbott government will move shortly to clamp down on online piracy and internet service providers that enable the national pastime.
Fairfax Media has been told that federal cabinet will consider two proposals to crack down on illegal downloads as early as this week.
One is internet service providers being required to issue warnings to people who repeatedly download illegally. The other is forcing ISPs to block file-sharing websites such as Pirate Bay.
The government has promised to make ''significant'' changes to Australia's copyright laws as a first-term commitment, although a spokesman for Arts Minister and Attorney General George Brandis said there was no firm timetable for this. The topic is also battling for attention ahead of the federal budget.
Australians are among the biggest illegal downloaders per capita. Debate continues about whether this is driven by opportunism, the delays for overseas content to reach here, or an aversion to the country's higher prices.
Iron ore exports to China from Port Hedland, which accounts for about a fifth of the globally traded market, rose by almost 7 per cent in April, from March when they jumped 27 per cent.
Shipments to China amounted to 28.89 million tonnes in April, up from 27.04 million in March, data from the Port Hedland Port Authority showed.
That was almost 50 per cent higher than in April last year, a sign of still resilient demand from the Asian giant and of Australia's success in grabbing market share from other producers.
Overall shipments of iron ore from Port Hedland edged up to a fresh record of 34.82 million tonnes, from 34.43 million in March. That compares to 26 million tonnes in April last year.
Local stocks are off to a surprisingly strong start, with most blue chips trading higher, after Westpac became the latest bank to post a bumper first-half result.
The big miners are both up 1.2 per cent, while the four banks have added between 0.1 per cent (ANZ) and 0.5 per cent (Westpac).
Here are the biggest winners and losers in the top 200:
The services sector has contracted for another month, according to the Australia Industry Group's monthly indicator, which was released this morning.
The Performance of Services Index contracted by 0.3 points to 48.6. A reading below 50 points to a contraction.
"The services sector retreated again in April after building towards recovery late last year and in the early months of 2014," AiG chief executive Innes Willox said.
"The contraction in sales, new orders and employment in the large services sector suggests the overall economy is clearly struggling to find sufficient alternative sources of expansion to offset the impacts of the slowdown in mining-related investment."
Mr Willox said the respondents to the survey were concerned about "potential spending cuts and tax increases" in next week's budget.
"There is clearly apprehension in the business community that next week's budget will stifle economic activity," Mr Willox said.
The local sharemarket looks set for a tentative start to the week as investors weigh up mounting tensions in the Ukraine and solid earnings from Westpac, CMC sales trader Niall King says:
- Having wilted last week as the banks and miners were hit by profit taking and an iron ore slump respectively, the market reaction to Westpac's result this morning could prove telling to broader sentiment. Elsewhere, gold miners will be on the radar following the precious metals spike on geopolitical tensions.
- Across the Pacific, US market advances struggled once more to pierce resistance at these levels. Despite a rosier outlook on both the corporate and macro-economic front, escalating problems in the Ukraine sparked a reduction of exposures going into the weekend, keeping bullish activity in check.
- Friday's headline figures gave a glossy finish to the pivotal monthly employment checkpoint. However, a look under the bonnet of the data revealed crucial weakness in the participation rate and wage growth. Overall though, the takeaway is positive for equity markets with US economic growth apparently strong enough to withstand tapering but still sufficiently reliant on monetary intervention to require a low interest rate environment to remain prevalent.
- A week bumper to bumper with key economic data points is kicked off this morning by local building approvals with Chinese manufacturing data hot on its' heels. Given the reluctance of the greenback to appreciate on Friday's payrolls, positive vibes from this morning's releases could edge the Aussie over US 93 ahead of tomorrow's monthly RBA rate decision.
Expectations for Westpac's east coast exposure see it as a stand out of the big four over the past 12 months, as the housing recovery has taken off, IG's Evan Lucas says, identifying three key themes for WBC:
- East coast lending growth – particularly retail housing, which grow by about 5% in the first half and was ahead of estimates.
- Possible positive margins growth – which was expected to buck the trend in the big four as competition has driven this down on most. However, this has not eventuated; WBC has seen net interest margins falling eight basis points to 2.11% versus a consensus of around 2.14%.
- A strong capital position and positive asset integration – this is certainly one area of improvement; cost growth was been benign, the balance sheet continues to show good signs of improvement and operation income was a beat.
In years past, the build-up of franking credits on WBC's balance sheet has seen special dividends which have been stripped out this time, which saw a consensus read for WBC's interim dividend of 90 cents - which has been delivered, Lucas continues:
- The real positive for WBC is the financial services space like CBA; wealth management has seen major double-digit growth as retail and business banking continues to be strong.
- The results on the headlines looks very solid, however the detail is likely to see WBC coming in under stellar, which may see it losing ground.
James Packer. Photo: Reuters
Quite a bit of news out this morning, but the most explosive item that's sure to get everyone talking about at the water cooler today is a report of a punch-up between James Packer and Nine boss David Gyngell:
A set of explosive photos showing billionaire gaming mogul James Packer embroiled in a vicious fist fight with his former best man and the head of Nine Entertainment Group David Gyngell have hit the market this morning.
The images were taken outside Packer's multimillion-dollar Bondi Beach home on Sunday afternoon, and show the pair in the midst of throwing and receiving punches.
The pair eventually fell to the ground and continued wrestling, before being forcibly separated by people who appeared to be Packer's bodyguards.
According to alleged witness claims, people were spotted looking for teeth outside Packer's home shortly following the exchange.
Sources close to both men told PS this morning that their life-long friendship soured soon after Packer and his second wife, Erica, announced their shock separation six months ago.
It is understood Gyngell confronted Packer about his decision to walk away from his seven-year marriage that had produced three children, an approach to which Packer did not react kindly.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank has agreed to purchase the business and assets of Victoria's Rural Finance for $1.78 billion as its shares enter a trading halt ahead of a capital raising.
The halt was requested to be in force until the start of trading on May 6 as the bank prepares to issue new ordinary shares.
In a statement, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank said it expected to complete the purchase of the business and assets of Rural Finance by July and that it was "committed to maintaining Rural Finance's distinct brand and its presence in 11 locations across Victoria".
The purchase was formalised with the Victorian state government earlier today and will include all the assets, including Rural Finance's loan book, which has an estimated value of about $1.695 billion, the company statement said. The acquisition is subject to APRA approval.
Chinese steel giant Baosteel and Aurizon, Australia's largest freight operator, have made a joint $1.4 billion takeover offer for iron ore miner Aquila Resources.
A letter was sent to the mining company's board on Saturday outlining the joint conditional off-market $3.40 bid.
If the offer was accepted by all share holders, Aurizon would acquire a 15 per cent slice while Baosteel would achieve majority ownership of 85 per cent.
The Chinese company already controls 19.9 per cent of Aquila and its intentions have long been a subject of speculation.
According to a letter released to the stock exchange, the iron ore miner has had numerous confidential discussions with Baosteel about its potential direct participation in the West Pilbara Iron Ore project, Aquila's main asset in which it owns a 50 per cent stake.
Westpac's profits have swelled, as the country's second biggest bank benefits from strong growth in its vast mortgage business and low default rates from borrowers.
The bank today delivered an 8 per cent increase in cash earnings to $3.77 billion and announced an interim dividend of 90c a share, up from 86c last year.
The earnings result is ahead of market forecasts for a result of about $6.65 billion, while analysts had been expecting the dividend increase. Contrary to some predictions, the bank did not pay a special dividend as it has in previous halves.
Profits were up strongly across most of its divisions, with double digit growth in every division except for its institutional bank, where earnings fell.
Although households remained cautious, the bank cited signs of stronger spending growth and confidence, and also said there were better signs ahead for the business sector.
The bank has the strongest capital position of the big four banks, with a tier one capital ratio of 8.82 per cent, and some analysts had expected it would return some of these funds to shareholders via a special dividend.
The bank said one reason it had opted instead for the increase in regular dividends was upcoming regulations that will require banks to hold billions more in capital from the start of 2016.
Westpac lifts its dividend - but isn't quite as generous as ANZ ... Westpac CEO Gail Kelly. Photo: Nic Walker
Local stocks are poised to open little changed, with investors focusing on Westpac's first-half profit result but likely to remain on the sidelines as tensions rise in Ukraine.
What you need2know:
- SPI futures up 7 points to 5454
- AUD at 92.85 US cents, 94.87 yen and 66.89 euro cents
- On Wall St on Friday, S&P500 -0.13%, Dow Jones -0.28%, Nasdaq -0.09%
- In Europe, Euro Stoxx 50 -0.65%, FTSE100 +0.2%, CAC -0.65%, DAX -0.49%
- Spot gold up $US15.39 to $US1299.70 an ounce on Friday in New York
- Brent oil up 83 US cents to $US108.59 per barrel
- Iron ore edged up 0.6 per cent to $US106.00 a tonne
What's on today
Australia: building approvals for March, performance of services for April, TD inflation gauge for April
US: ISM services for April
Stocks to watch
RBC Capital Markets has reiterated its "outperform" recommendation on Sirius Resources. It has a $3.50 a share target price.
Deutsche Bank has cut Woolworths to "hold" after the release of its latest sales data. It has a $38 price target on the stock.
Morningstar has a "hold" rating on Mirvac Group with an unchanged fair value estimate of $1.70.
Good morning and welcome to the Markets Live blog for Monday.
Your editors today is Jens Meyer.
This blog is not intended as investment advice.
BusinessDay with wires.


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Is it normal teenage moodiness, or a sign of something more? Learn to spot the warning signs of teen depression.


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Drug Notes
UPMC Patient Education Materials
Calculators and Assessment Tools
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A WBC count is a test to measure the number of white blood cells (WBCs) in the blood.
WBCs help fight infections. They are also called leukocytes. There are five major types of white blood cells :
Leukocyte count; White blood cell count
Most of the time, blood is typically drawn from a vein located on the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand.
In infants or young children, a sharp tool called a lancet may be used to puncture the skin. The blood collects in a small glass tube called a pipette, or onto a slide or test strip. A bandage is put over the spot to stop any bleeding.
Most of the time, you do not need to take special steps before this test. Tell your doctor the medicines you are taking, including ones you buy without a prescription. Some drugs may change the test results.
You may feel slight pain or a sting when the needle is inserted. You may also feel some throbbing at the site after the blood is drawn.
You will have this test to find out how many WBCs you have. Your body produces more WBCs when you have an infection or allergic reaction. You can also have more WBCs when you are under stress.
The normal number of WBCs in the blood is 4,500-10,000 white blood cells per microliter (mcL).
Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different labs. Some laboratories use different measurements or may test different specimens. Talk to your doctor about your test results.
The examples above show the common measurements for results for these tests.
A low number of WBCs is called leukopenia. A WBC count below 4500 is below normal
One type of white blood cell is the neutrophil. This type of white blood cell is important for fighting infections.
It may be due to:
There may also be other less common reasons for this result. .
Drugs that may lower your WBC count include:
Drugs that may increase WBC counts include:
There is very little risk involved with having your blood taken.
People who have had their spleen removed (splenectomy ) will always have a slightly higher number of WBCs.
Bain BJ. The peripheral blood smear. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 160.
Berliner N. Leukopenia and leukocytosis. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 170.
David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by A.D.A.M. Health Solutions, Ebix, Inc., Editorial Team: David Zieve, MD, MHA, David R. Eltz, Stephanie Slon, and Nissi Wang.
For help in finding a doctor or health service that suits your needs, call the UPMC Referral Service at 412-647-UPMC (8762) or 1-800-533-UPMC (8762). Select option 1.
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This is disturbing. Waking up every morning around noon, going to the air-conditioned wireless library, waiting for company at home, watching cable tv, working on portfolio/cover letters, and sleeping 9 hours. I called this monotony dressed in a tutu. It's ridiculously boring that it's silly.
This is disgusting. No more classes, no more friends, no more roommates, and no more college town that has everything in close proximity. I loathe my car in which takes me 10-30 minutes to get anywhere and everywhere. I spit in the name of LA summer temperature especially since I lack the luxury of air-conditioning (which makes me wonder I got so depended on energy wasting appliances). The only air circulation I have is from my fan in my room that is only moving hot air elsewhere.
This is distasteful. Working on something that might not even get work. Working for free. Working for the sake of working. Working. I can't seem to feel the sense of purpose working on my portfolio. It's never ending.
Take me back to college. I'm actually just scared of (adult) life.


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Men's Nike Zoom Hyperchaos Basketball Shoes
The Nike Zoom Hyperchaos Men's Basketball Shoes feature a Hyperfuse upper for lightweight protection and durability. High-wrapping rubber cupsole provides increased durability and protection, especially when you're showing off on the court. Responsive Nike Zoom cushioning in the forefoot offers support from tip off to the final buzzer. Solid rubber outsole with flex grooves gives you superior flexibility and durability.


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I'm curious about blood transfusions. The reason is that I have lost a lot of blood in the last four months and (surprisingly still sitting at the computer) am worried that I lost enough to at least almost be considered for a blood transfusion. Seriously. I hope it never happens, but how does it actually work. (Not trying to sound like and idiot or nothing but) I was just curious. Do they give the blood in an IV or something like that?
And what about autologous blood donations? How does that work. (Honestly yeah I can spend hours looking this stuff up, but spend even more time trying to understand it.)... would it work with a blood transfusion?


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Organic Cotton Jersey Knit Bedding
Jersey-knit bedding that gets softer with time
Our supremely soft jersey Organic Cotton Knit Bedding is comfortable year-round and gets better with age, just like your favorite T-shirt. This may be the softest bedding you ever find, all in 100% pure Organic Cotton. Set includes flat sheet, fitted sheet, and two pillowcases (except twin set, which includes one pillowcase). King set comes with two king-size pillowcases. The Swirls Print Organic Cotton Knit Duvet has a button closure for easy removal. Made in India/Pakistan.
Organic Cotton Knit Bedding Features:
- Bedding becomes softer over time
- Created with eco-friendly dyes
- Swirls Print Duvet has button closure
100% Organic Cotton
Machine wash cold, gentle cycle. Do not bleach. Tumble dry low, remove promptly. Warm iron as needed.


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Departments and School within the College
Saint Louis University's College for Public Health & Social Justice houses five academic departments and the School of Social Work. Each of our departments and school has internationally recognized faculty with the same commitment to teaching, research and service.
Our departments, degree programs and School of Social Work are constantly expanding. Within the past three years, we have expanded from two departments into five departments and combined with the School of Social Work.
We offer a wide range of academic programs housed in our five academic departments and School of Social Work.


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20 East 76th Street, New York City, NY 10021, United States of America – Show map
Excellent location – rated 9.1/10! (score from 150 reviews)
Rated by guests after their stay at The Surrey.
Our room was nicely appointed. Comfortable bed. Large bathroom.
United States of America
aaaaaI loved my room and the spa...the service staff was terrific./
United States of America
Location was fantastic, staff friendly & helpful. Food excellent at 5 star Cafe Boulud. Nice cocktail bar lounge for pre dinner drinks and snacks.
United States of America
The room size was nice. Staff were amazing and bed was very very comfortable
United States of America
This was a first rate establishment for us. Every staff member was eager to serve whether it was advice, opening doors or a greeting. We would definitely stay at the Surrey again.
United States of America
excellent staff, wonderful extras for wife's birthday, exceptional concierge service
United States of America
very friendly staff, very nice room and bathroom
United States of America
The rooms were elegant yet the hotel is small and intimate. The bed was extremely comfortable and the linens seemed expensive, but the cost of the room was reasonable for the location. The location near the museums and the park was perfect.
United States of America
Great location, friendly staff, excellent facilities. We stay here every time we're on business in NY. Great place!
the location, the roof terrace, the staff, the room and bedlinen are equal to any top class hotel anywhere.
United Kingdom
This luxury, Upper East Side Manhattan hotel features a seasonal private rooftop garden, with light menu and drinks. The rooms include an iPod docking station and flat-screen TV.
Guest rooms at The Surrey feature a spacious bathroom, with luxury bath amenities. The rooms also have a minibar and DVD player.
Surrey guests can request help from the 24-hour, 7-days a week concierge service. The hotel also features a gym with private yoga or Pilates classes.
The Café Boulud is on site and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The menu includes French cuisine and seasonal meals. Cocktails are served in Bar Pleiades, which has Art Deco décor.
The Surrey is one block from Central Park. The 77th Street subway station is 2 blocks from the hotel and offers access to other Manhattan sights, including Times Square and the Museum of Modern Art.
Upper East Side is a great choice for travelers interested in Fine Art Museums, Museums and Friendly People.
We speak your language! Hotel Rooms: 189 This property has been on Booking.com since Aug 13, 2009.
Room Type | Max | |
Deluxe Salon with One King Bed | ||
Grand Deluxe Salon | ||
Deluxe Salon with Two Queen Beds | ||
Queen Room with Two Queen Beds - Disability Access | ||
Grand Deluxe Suite | ||
Ultra Deluxe Suite | ||
Ultra Deluxe Two-Bedroom Suite with Two King Beds | ||
Quadruple Room | ||
Grand Deluxe Two-Bedroom Suite | ||
Deluxe Salon with Two Double Beds | ||
Ultra Deluxe Two-Bedroom Suite with Two Double Beds |
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526 properties in New York City
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150 verified reviews
We verify all reviews from guests who have stayed at The Surrey. Find out more.
They speak your language!
The Surrey's staff speaks: French, Spanish, English
Booking is safe
When you book with us your details are protected by a secure connection.
Fitness Center, Spa, Massage, Bikes Available (free)
Food & Drink
Restaurant, Bar, Breakfast in the Room, Restaurant with Dining Menu
WiFi is available in all areas and costs USD 15.95 per 24 hours.
Public parking is available on site (reservation is not needed) and costs USD 55 per day.
Room Service, 24-Hour Front Desk, Express Check-in/Check-out, Currency Exchange, Tour Desk, Ticket Service, Baggage Storage, Concierge Service, Private Check-in/Check-out, Babysitting/Child Services, Laundry, Dry Cleaning, Ironing Service, Shoeshine, Meeting/Banquet Facilities, Business Center, Fax/Photocopying, Honeymoon Suite
Paid WiFi, Newspapers, Safe, Non-smoking Rooms, Facilities for Disabled Guests, Family Rooms, Elevator, Heating, Hypoallergenic room available, All Spaces Non-Smoking (public and private)
French, Spanish, English
From 3:00 PM
Until 12:00 PM
Cancellation and prepayment policies vary according to room type. Please enter the dates of your stay and check what conditions apply to your preferred room.
Children and Extra Beds
All children are welcome.
All children under 12 years stay free of charge when using existing beds.
All older children or adults are charged USD 40 per person per night when using existing beds.
One older child or adult is charged USD 40 per person per night in an extra bed.
The maximum number of extra beds/cribs in a room is 1.
Any type of extra bed or crib is upon request and needs to be confirmed by management.
Additional fees are not calculated automatically in the total cost and will have to be paid for separately during your stay.
Pets are allowed. Charges may apply.
When booking more than 3 rooms, different policies and additional supplements may apply.
Cards accepted at this property
Hover over the cards for more info.
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Guests are required to show a photo ID and credit card upon check-in. Please note that all Special Requests are subject to availability and additional charges may apply.
Based on 150 reviews
Value for money
Paid WiFi
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The Standard, High Line New York
Latest booking: 24 minutes ago There are 6 people looking at this hotel.
In Manhattan's Midtown, this New York hotel is 4-minute walk to Central Park and a 2-minute drive to Columbus Circle. An on-site restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Score from 763 reviews
Very good
In Midtown, this boutique hotel is within a 4-minute walk of Manhattan's Central Park and shopping on 5th Avenue. Free Wi-Fi is accessible and has an on-site restaurant.
Score from 468 reviews
The Park Lane Hotel is a deluxe hotel with a European atmosphere, providing views of Central Park and the New York skyline.
Score from 3653 reviews
citizenM New York Times Square Located right in the heart of Manhattan, this hotel is just 1-minute walk from Times Square and within a 5-minute walk of Central Park and Columbus Circle.
Score from 3459 reviews
Great location, friendly staff, excellent facilities. We stay here every time we're on business in NY. Great place!
Wifi is only free in the lobby, but once you connect it usually works in the room too
The hotel was perfectly situated for a holiday of sightseeing and shopping. From the moment we arrived we were impressed by both the staff and the hotel. rooms were large and well decorated. At all times the staff were courteous and highly efficient . Despite it being -16 degrees the doormen were always there to welcome with a cheery smile . The food was good and the bar excellent with an interesting cocktail list. We will retunr
Very slight niggle, no tea or coffee or free beverages in the room. Wifi wasn't free which was surprising in an expensive luxury hotel.
Our room was nicely appointed. Comfortable bed. Large bathroom.
Did not have our reservation when we arrived. Had copy of the reservation and they honored it. Would love a coffee maker in the room.
Great location near Central Park and museums, very stylish and lovely staff
Wifi was extortionate and then we discovered too late that it was free in the lobby! Also not many restaurants nearby
The location was quite convenient to east side and midtown.
The desk staff were not knowledgeable concerning their own hotel. They seemed overly busy with things other than the guests. The maid service was spotty, and seemed to aim more for facilitating use of the minibar than in maintaining a clean room. Doormen were not helpful with valet service, so don't bring a car.
the location, the roof terrace, the staff, the room and bedlinen are equal to any top class hotel anywhere.
It should not be necessary to pay for wifi, my room category only has showers, the lobby is dark - if I were the owner, I would commission a light sculpture or installation by someone like Jason Bruges.
Room service charming, staff helpful, room very comfortable
Always friendly helpful attentive staff. Rooms lovely and beds very comfortable. Warm and nice toiletries.
This time the generator noise disturbed me necessitating earplugs to sleep. For the first time I felt the room and bathroom was just a little tired. Next time I will try and avoid that room. At this price I find it very irritating having to pay for room Internet.
aaaaaI loved my room and the spa...the service staff was terrific./
Next to Central Park, luxury hotel with big and confortable room.
Location was fantastic, staff friendly & helpful. Food excellent at 5 star Cafe Boulud. Nice cocktail bar lounge for pre dinner drinks and snacks.
Smelled cigarette smoke in our room and asked to be moved. Unfortunate experience for this lux hotel.
The rooms, the vibe, the service, were all excellent. Quite pricey though
2 concierges were not up to the job . Forgot to organising simple things Housekeeping : one staff was rude due to tipping issues Valet : on staff to whom was given a bill of $20 to fetch for a taxi forgot to return $10 in the room and had to be asked again 3 days later . Excuses were not convincing.
The rooms were tastfully furnished, bed was very comfortable, beautiful bathrooms. I liked the vibe of the hotel and most of the staff.
Concierge seemed disinterested when we requested bicycles and didn't offer any suggestions. They should provide a coffee maker in the rooms.
The rooms are large and comfortable, the staff very competent, all the personnel was attentive to our wishes
The wifi connection at almost 20 $ /day is inappropriate when you are charged over 700 $ per night. But at my request this wifi connection was not billed and thus the connection free.
No coffee available in bar or roof top terrace.
I sent my best client to this hotel and I made the reservation for my best client. I made a reservation for 4 adults and when my client arrived to the hotel, they gave them a room with 1 double bed and a roll-up bed. But they were in 4 and not in 2 and half. So I had to discuss with the reception and at the end they gave them another room (so already 1 change). The room was nice but again they got 1 double bed plus a sofa bed but it was a french style bed, so it's not good for 2 adults (plus it was on the 4th floor and there was a lot of noise coming from the AC system). Then I had to take an extra room for the 2 adults and of course I was charge for this... (second change) but when I made the reservation, I booked a room for 4 adults!!! Then after 1 night, the hotel told to my client that the room where he was staying was sold to another client as the room had 1 connecting room. So he had to change room again (3rd time!!!!). Of course they gave him the best suite, but from an hotel 5 stars you really do not expect this kind of treatment. I will do my best to be refunded for all this. Of course my client is really disappointed and furious about it. I hope that he will still work with me and that I will not loose him as client!
Five star hotel and Staff were both excellent, with the fabulous Cafe Boulard Restaurant. Also Eric the bar manager was both knowledgable and proficient, in addition to Michael the Conciere.
Nothing !
We arrived a few hours early before the scheduled check in time of 3pm. Tired from traveling, they let us have the room early with no issues whatsoever. Was very impressed! The room was great and the shower is the best ever I have experienced in a hotel!
Charging for Wi-Fi which nowadays really should be complimentary. Food was way overpriced
Rooftop garden is spectacular, rooms are beautiful, staff are great.
Beautiful hotel with good service, breakfast was excellent. Location is incredible close to Central Park.
The staff were fantastic. They were friendly and very helpful. Michael the concierge gave us excellent restaurant recommendations and made the bookings for us.
The cost of beverages- both alcoholic and non-alcoholic - generally was a bit over the top