text:
san diego
Fire destroyed a Linda Vista home Tuesday afternoon, leaving a family of seven, including an 8-year-old boy, without a place to live.
No one was home when the fire was reported at 4:06 p.m. at a house on Ashford Street near Mesa College Drive, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque said.
As crews fought the blaze, a 40-year-old woman who lived in the home with her husband, four sons and the boys' 71-year-old grandmother, drove up in a panic.
Tense moments followed when she told authorities that one of her sons was inside the burning home, prompting firefighters to search under beds and in closets, Luque said.
They later learned the son had been at a job interview.
The initial investigation indicated the fire started accidentally in an outside kitchen.
It took about 20 minutes to douse the flames. Firefighters' attempts to enter the front of the home were slowed by a security screen door and bars on the windows, Luque said.
The fire burned through at least half of the home, and the remaining portion incurred extensive smoke damage, he said. The family, whose sons are ages 8, 17, 19 and 22, lost everything.
"This is bad to happen any time of the year," Luque said. "But especially this time of the year, it's particularly traumatic."
The president of the local firefighters union said the organization plans to assist the family, he said.
teri figueroa • U-T
Man arrested in South County bank robbery linked to two others
A man arrested on suspicion of robbing a South County bank on Monday has been tied to two bank heists in November in which the robber left behind fake bombs, the FBI said Tuesday.
Roberto Amado Sepulveda, 24, is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in connection with all three robberies, FBI Special Agent Darrell Foxworth said.
Sepulveda was arrested Monday evening, hours after a man robbed a Navy Federal Credit Union in Egger Highlands. During the heist, the man said he had a gun and a bomb.
San Diego police said a tracking device placed with cash stolen from the credit union led them to an Imperial Beach home less than three miles from the robbery site. Sepulveda was arrested without incident.
Foxworth said Sepulveda is also suspected of robbing a Chase Bank in Imperial Beach on Nov. 17 and an American West Bank in Point Loma four days later.
In both instances, the robber left behind a device and indicated it was a bomb. Both times, the device was a hoax.
Two sought in armed robbery of recycling center employees
spring valley
Deputies were searching for two armed men who robbed employees at a Spring Valley recycling center Tuesday.
The robbers, wearing dark clothing, approached the employees at Spring Valley Recycling on Elkelton Boulevard about 10:30 a.m., said sheriff's Sgt. Victor Rivera.
The robbers pointed guns at the victims and ordered them to the ground. They demanded cash and assaulted one of the employees, inflicting minor injuries on him, Rivera said. They stole an unknown amount of cash and two wallets.


text:
This item is currently unavailable
Ordering for a Team?
Let our Team Division Help!
Item has a Minimum Qty
Keep the sweat out your eyes and face with the Sporti Studio Hot Yoga Towel so you can concentrate on your poses in your next class.
NEW!Now you can comment & reply on customer reviews. Simply click "comment" below any review.
Its the perfect size and a good price
Report abuse
Your comment has been posted.
Seems to be almost water repellant at first, I am chalking it up to being so new. The towel is very soft which is awesome, but hoping the repellant factor diminishes with continued use.
Great for my needs in class
Great towel, love the large size
I use this everyday!!! Need to wash it a couple time first. but the more you use it the more comfortable and soft the towel will be.
I purchased three of the Yoga Towels. I perspire readily and appreciate their absorbancy characteristics. The size is a good fit for my use as well. I offer my recommendation for this product.
Get an alert when we add new styles of Sporti! Simply sign up and we'll notify you.
Every one of Sporti's products delivers an EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE ADVANTAGE for your workout, with innovative designs and fits that have been refined for your active lifestyle. Our athlete-approved products combined with your continuous feedback are critical to the advancement of our development process, where we hone in on the smallest of details. At Sporti, we're dedicated to giving you quality products you can put to the test, workout after workout, to aid your life's greatest adventures.
Sporti's Guarantee: If your Sporti purchase does not completely satisfy you, SwimOutlet.com offers a 100% No-Hassle Return Policy. Choosing Sporti is risk-free, so you can take your risks where they count.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
CHATLINE Sriganesh makes his directorial debut today with the film Kaanchaana. Talk to him, and he makes filmmaking sound like a cakewalk for a beginner with no filmi connections, writes BHUMIKA K.
H e's a first-time-lucky director in Sandalwood — lucky to have actors for good friends, lucky to have found a producer for his first attempt at filmmaking and nice enough to share his story. When Sriganesh's directorial debut "Kaanchaana" releases today, it will also perhaps mark a first — he's releasing an e-book on his baby steps in the Kannada film industry.
The 33-year-old is an ad-film maker who's giving vent to the "bhoota" in his mind — that indefatigable desire to make a film that plagues many a young mind today. The guy who was compelled to tell a story in 30 seconds suddenly discovered the joy of telling a story over two hours.
More In: METRO PLUS | FEATURES


text:
The researchers found that between 1956 and 2005, 100 pop music stars had died. Their average age was 42 for North American stars and 35 for European stars. More than one in four died from long-term drug or alcohol problems, the researchers found.
But, for European stars who survived 25 years after achieving fame, their life expectancy returned to normal. North American pop stars, however, continued to suffer higher death rates. "The higher mortality in the rock business has elements about achieving fame, but also coping with obscurity," Bellis said.
The lesson to be learned from the study, the researchers said, is that the music business needs to take substance abuse and risky behaviors more seriously. Not only because of the effect on the stars, but also because the stars serve as role models for others.
One in 10 children in the United Kingdom wants to be a pop star, the study authors said, and many take part in series such as the British show the "X Factor" and the U.S. hit "American Idol," which reinforce the attractiveness of a singing career.
Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University School of Medicine's Prevention Research Center, said the study findings should serve as a wake-up call for performers and their fans about the hazards that can accompany fame.
"Pop culture has a major influence on the lifestyle and behaviors of impressionable young people. Rock stars rank among the premier icons of pop culture, and thus de facto role models for their fans," he said.
"While we have all witnessed the high-profile implosions of the rich and famous, there is little if any scientific data to confirm the intuition that fast living speeds up one's demise, Katz said. "But that's just what this study shows."
"That is a sobering consideration, and one might hope not just for the musicians but their legions of fans," Katz said. "But translating alarming statistics
|Copyright©2007 ScoutNews,LLC.
All rights reserved


text:
Staff Reporter
ALAPPUZHA: Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy has said the indiscriminate use of pesticides in rubber estates and pineapple plantations in Ranni and other areas has led to the extinction of several links in the biological food chain, in turn helping the mosquito population grow unabatedly.
The result was that the mosquito density here was alarmingly high and was such that people could not venture into these estates and plantations.
This was a crucial factor in the high rate of fever cases in the region, she said, adding that the Government would be urged to take steps to prevent such use of pesticides.
Inaugurating a two-day Arogya Mela at the St. Joseph's Girls Secondary School here on Saturday, the Minister said the fever situation in Alappuzha was being strictly monitored and that a fever clinic would shortly be opened at the Alappuzha Medical College.
Alappuzha was being given top priority in the battle against chikungunya and viral fever.
K.C. Venugopal, MLA, said a comprehensive health package had to be urgently worked out for Alappuzha.


text:
Archived Story
The beauty of NCAAF: Every week countsPublished 9:25am Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Whew! Thank heavens Alabama lost to Texas A&M two weeks ago. I would sure hate for the Tide to have to play that speedy juggernaut decked out in a messy combination of nuclear-waste green and jaundice yellow reflectors many people call "Oregon."
I mean, there is NO CHANCE anyone can slow the Ducks potent attack down. Especially not some sluggish, "unproven" team like Alabama, right?
Oh wait. You mean Oregon lost last Saturday? To a team that looked slower than a "Ghandi" movie marathon at your mother in law's house? At home??! ("Well gosh!", Luke began in his most sarcastic tone, "If the Stanford team that lost to Washington could slow down the Ducks, maybe an SEC COULD contain Oregon after all!" Then his eyes rolled as if to say "Of course the SEC could slow them down…. It's the SEC!")
Last Saturday, my friends, is why college football and its regular season is greater than anything any playoff system could give us. It has become cliché to say the following phrase, but that has never stopped me before so: College football has a playoff game EVERY WEEKEND!
Our beloved sport usually finds a way to work itself into a fantastic match up for the national title through a series of exciting weekends. 2009 gave us traditional powers Alabama and Texas, 2010 presented a matchup of exciting foes in Oregon and Auburn, 2011 somehow managed to weave its way back to the best two teams in LSU and 'Bama.
Now, in 2012, there is a very good shot that Notre Dame will take on the Tide or Georgia. The mere fact that ND is in the game will make the hype meter explode. Add one of these SEC powerhouses to the mix and the suits at ESPN may all simultaneously hyperventilate at the thought of the ratings to come.
Conversely, had the BCS title game been Kansas State versus Oregon (spoiler alert: it won't be), the stadium in Miami would have been emptier than the stock room at an Amish Best Buy. (See, the Amish aren't real high on electronics so a Best Buy in their region would be pretty vacant…. Sorry, sometimes I feel my one liners need an explanation.)
I understand that much of our great nation has SEC fatigue. But you know what? I have SEC fatigue fatigue!
You mad that Oregon and Kansas State losses probably paved the way for the Southeastern Conference to extend BCS winning streak? Well, tell Oregon to play a more difficult schedule next time so they can be prepared for an SEC-esque team like Stanford. The Ducks were either dropping bombs like the Gap Band on teams like Tennessee Tech or pretending like beating an overrated USC squad 111-106 is a big deal.
Meanwhile, Kansas State has no argument at all to make the title game after losing to Baylor. At least Oregon lost to a ranked team. The 'Cats didn't just lose to Baylor; they got waxed.
I realize that many non-SECers out there might vomit in terror at the thought of a Notre Dame vs. SEC BCS game. But, in the immortal words of Rik Flair, "To be the man, you gotta beat the man."
Unless a miracle happens and Alabama and Georgia both lose this Saturday, the SEC WILL be in Miami playing for a trophy.
The bottom line is college football is a sport that requires fans to be patient. Every weekend something unbelievable may happen so we are all forced to pay attention. For playoff supporters, let me ask you this question: Who did Alabama play in basketball last week? How about Auburn? UCLA? Kentucky?
My guess is you don't know who your favorite team played in hoops last week (if you do, you are in the minority). However, football fans generally have their teams' schedules memorized by mid-summer because we all know how important each and every weekend is.
Oregon, Kansas State, Florida State and other one loss teams can cry that their teams face unjust biases in being unable to play for a title. However, each one of those team's controlled their own destinies. If they had not lost to Stanford, Baylor and NC State respectively, any one of those teams would be in the BCS title game.
The moral of college football is: show up every week.
Robinson is a columnist for Sportz Blitz.


text:
Recovering Iraq's Assets:
Preliminary Observations on U.S. Efforts and Challenges
GAO-04-579T: Published: Mar 18, 2004. Publicly Released: Mar 18, 2004.
Additional Materials:
- Highlights Page:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Text:
(202) 512-8979
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
Rebuilding Iraq is a U.S. national security priority. Billions of dollars are needed for Iraq's reconstruction. The U.S. government and the international community have undertaken important efforts to recover the assets of the former regime and return them to the Iraqi people. In this testimony, GAO will present its preliminary observations on the recovery effort. Specifically, GAO (1) updates its estimate of the revenues diverted from the Oil for Food Program, (2) describes the U.S. government agencies working on the asset recovery effort, (3) discusses the results of U.S. efforts, and (4) highlights challenges that the United States faces in recovering Iraqi assets.
GAO estimates that from 1997 through 2002, the former Iraqi regime acquired $10.1 billion in illegal revenues related to the Oil for Food program--$5.7 billion in oil smuggled out of Iraq and $4.4 billion in illicit surcharges on oil sales and after-sales charges on suppliers. This estimate is higher than our May 2002 estimate of $6.6 billion because it includes 2002 data from oil revenues and contracts under the Oil for Food Program and newer estimates of illicit commissions from commodity suppliers. The United States has tapped the services of a variety of U.S. agencies and recently developed domestic and international tools in its efforts to recover Iraqi assets worldwide. Led by the Department of the Treasury, about 20 government entities have combined efforts to identify, freeze, and transfer the former regime's assets to Iraq. The United States also used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended by provisions in the USA PATRIOT Act of 2001, to confiscate the property of the former Iraqi regime under U.S. jurisdiction and vest the assets in the U.S. Treasury. Finally, U.N. Security Council Resolution 1483 required all U.N. members to freeze without delay and immediately transfer assets of the former Iraqi regime to the new Development Fund for Iraq (DFI). U.S. efforts to recover Iraqi assets have had varying results. In March 2003, the U.S. government quickly took control of Iraq's assets in the United States. From May to September 2003, the United States transferred $1.7 billion to Iraq to help pay for the salaries of Iraqi civil servants, ministry operations, and pensions. Within Iraq, U.S. military and coalition forces seized about $926 million of the regime's assets. Other countries froze about $3.7 billion of Iraqi regime assets in compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions. As of March 2004, Treasury reported that more than 10 countries and the Bank for International Settlements had transferred approximately $751 million to the DFI. Little progress has been made in identifying and freezing additional Iraqi assets that remain hidden. While the amount of hidden assets accumulated by the former Iraqi regime is unknown, estimates range from $10 to $40 billion in illicit earnings. The United States faces key challenges in recovering Iraq's assets. First, recovering the former regime's assets was not initially a high priority in the overall U.S. effort in Iraq. Second, U.S. officials stated that many countries needed to adopt additional legislation to implement the U.N. requirements and transfer the funds to the DFI. U.S. expectations for the quick transfer of funds may have been overly optimistic given the legal capabilities of some countries. Third, the impending transfer of sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on June 30, 2004, may further complicate U.S. efforts to locate and recover assets of the former regime. It is uncertain whether the new government will allow the United States to continue its hunt for the former regime's assets.
May 15, 2015
Financial Audit:Congressional Award Foundation's Fiscal Years 2014 and 2013 Financial StatementsGAO-15-552: Published: May 15, 2015. Publicly Released: May 15, 2015.
May 1, 2015
Railroad Retirement Board:Actions Needed to Reduce Continued Risk of Fraud and Improper PaymentsGAO-15-535T: Published: May 1, 2015. Publicly Released: May 1, 2015.
Apr 30, 2015
Management Report:Improvements Needed in SEC's Internal Controls and Accounting ProceduresGAO-15-387R: Published: Apr 30, 2015. Publicly Released: Apr 30, 2015.
Mar 27, 2015
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute:Review of the Audit of the Financial Statements for 2014 and 2013GAO-15-395R: Published: Mar 27, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 27, 2015.
Mar 16, 2015
Improper Payments:Government-Wide Estimates and Use of Death Data to Help Prevent Payments to Deceased IndividualsGAO-15-482T: Published: Mar 16, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 16, 2015.
Feb 27, 2015
Disaster Relief:Agencies Need to Improve Policies and Procedures for Estimating Improper PaymentsGAO-15-209: Published: Feb 27, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 27, 2015.
Feb 26, 2015
Financial Audit:U.S. Government's Fiscal Years 2014 and 2013 Consolidated Financial StatementsGAO-15-341R: Published: Feb 26, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 26, 2015.
Feb 12, 2015
Financial Audit:Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Funds' 2014 and 2013 Financial StatementsGAO-15-289: Published: Feb 12, 2015. Publicly Released: Feb 12, 2015.
Dec 23, 2014
Improper Payments:DOE's Risk Assessments Should Be StrengthenedGAO-15-36: Published: Dec 23, 2014. Publicly Released: Dec 23, 2014.
Dec 9, 2014
Improper Payments:Inspector General Reporting of Agency Compliance under the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery ActGAO-15-87R: Published: Dec 9, 2014. Publicly Released: Dec 9, 2014.
Looking for more? Browse all our products here


text:
Grenada's Bledsoe paying attention to Rebels' class
COLUMN: Ole Miss' success on the recruiting trail isn't exclusively tracked by fans. Current verbal commitments for the 2013 football recruiting class are keeping up with what coach Hugh Freeze and his staff are achieving in the days leading up to National Signing Day on Feb. 6, 2013.
One of those commits that is interested in how the rest of the class shakes out is Grenada athlete Trey Bledsoe (6-foot-2, 185 pounds). Bledsoe chose to play for the Rebels well before the 2012 season started, before Freeze's offense started to make stars out of Bo Wallace — this year's Conerly Trophy Award winner — and wide receiver Donte Moncrief, Wallace's main target this season. (more…) (December 12, 2012, Page 3B)
Rebel fans flood field after victory
It's been a long four years for Ole Miss fans.
From the moment Dan Mullen was hired as head coach at Mississippi State he made a point to poke and prod the Rebels and their fans. Mullen did more than just talk the talk, however, and his teams responded by walking the walk and claiming three straight Egg Bowls. (more…) (November 26, 2012, Page 1B)
Rebels get late CB commitment
Ole Miss' defensive backfield may have recently received a big boost. (more…) (May 23, 2011, Page 6)


text:
BSP to back banks in need of dollars
popular .
Following its decision to ease the rules on foreign exchange, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas announced that it was ready to sell more dollars to banks to accommodate the expected rise in foreign currency demand from individuals and businesses in the country.
According to BSP assistant governor Ma. Cyd Tuaño-Amador, banks have adequate dollar reserves in their vaults to answer the rise in demand for the greenback. But she quickly added that the BSP is prepared to sell more dollars to banks in case demand becomes even more significant.
"Banks have ample liquidity, but in case they need more dollars, the BSP would be ready to sell," Amador said Friday. "The BSP is always ready to buy or sell currencies to maintain orderly market conditions."
Data from the central bank showed that outstanding dollar deposits placed in banks stood at $25.15 billion as of the end of 2012. The amount was up by nearly 4 percent from the $24.20 billion registered in the same period of the previous year.
Also, the BSP is managing the country's foreign exchange reserves now worth about $84 billion.
Amador said that, with the dollars on hand, banks have the resources to meet the requirements of the public, such as resident and visiting foreigners, importers and businesses that seek to invest abroad.
The move to further liberalize the rules on foreign exchange is meant to increase demand for dollars and make it easier for people to bring the foreign currency out of the country.
The move will also help temper the rise of the peso, which last year became one of the fastest appreciating currencies against the US dollar.
Get Inquirer updates while on the go, add us on these apps:
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of INQUIRER.net. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
To subscribe to the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper in the Philippines, call +63 2 896-6000 for Metro Manila and Metro Cebu or email your subscription request here.
Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer's day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer's Reader's Advocate. Or write The Readers' Advocate:
c/o Philippine Daily Inquirer Chino Roces Avenue corner Yague and Mascardo Streets, Makati City,Metro Manila, Philippines Or fax nos. +63 2 8974793 to 94


text:
Renewable Energy
About Renewable Energy
The Group of Experts on Renewable Energy was established to carry out action-oriented, practical activities on renewable energy in line with the UN Secretary General's Sustainable Energy for All Initiative.
The Group of Experts on Renewable Energy focuses on activities that help significantly increase the uptake of renewable energy in the region and that help achieve the objective of access to energy for all in the UNECE region. The Group of Experts facilitates regulatory and policy dialogue and sharing of best practices on various renewable energy sources, including biomass, with a view to increasing the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.
UNECE Renewable Energy Status Reports
Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) and the UNECE have joined together to produce the UNECE Regional Renewable Energy Status Report 2015: ToR of the UNECE Status Report.
The report will be prepared in the coming months and issued by the end of 2015.
Read more


text:
St. Nicholas Place Princes Dock Liverpool, L3 1QW United Kingdom
Hotel Front Desk: 44-151-2438000
Hotel Fax: 44-151-2438111
Hotel Email: email@example.com
Liverpool John Lennon (LPL)
- Distance from hotel: 9.32 MI/ 15 KM North l
- Follow signs for Liverpool City Centre and the brown tourist signs for the Albert Dock. The hotel is situated on the waterfront next to the iconic Royal Liver Buildings.
Manchester (MAN)
- Distance from hotel: 46.6 MI/ 75 KM North l
- Liverpool is sign posted from the airport, take M56 then M60 north on to M62 for Liverpool. At the end of M62 follow signs for waterfront and Albert Dock, the hotel is situated on the waterfront adjacent to the Royal Liver Buildings
Liverpool Lime Street
-Distance from hotel: 1.24 MI/ 2 KM South
- Follow signs to Waterfront, hotel is situated on the waterfront
James Street
- Distance from hotel: 0.31 MI/ 0.5 KM North
- Follow signs to the Waterfront the hotel is situted on the waterfront
- Car Parking Available
- Self-Parking Fee: 11.00 GBP
- Guaranteed onsite parking for our residents. Overnight parking is charged at £11.00 per car, per night
- Located on Liverpool's Waterfront a world heritage site
- A Warm welcome to Crowne Plaza Liverpool City Centre
- A Warm welcome to Crowne Plaza Liverpool City Centre
- Picturesque dockside loaction
- Hotel Lobby
- Iconic Royal Liver buildings, the view from hotel lobby
- Club Lounge
- Gym
- Gym
- Harbour Club Gym
- Harbour Club Gym
- Lap Pool
- Swimming Pool
- Harbour Club Pool
- Swimming Pool
- Swimming pool
- Harbour Club whirlpool
Swimming Pool
- Club Floor Lounge
- Double Bed Guest Room
- Double Bed Guest Room
- Executive Suite
- A bedroom that delivers a great nights sleep
- King Club room
- Enjoy the bubbles in the king suites spa bath
- Treat yourself to the luxury of a king suite
Sink in to Egyptian Cotton linen or just enjoy the veiw
- Ballroom
- Boardroom
- Break-out Room
- Break-out Room
- Princes Suite, Cabaret setting
- Princes Suite
- Harrington Boardroom
- Princes Suite
- Meeting Room
- Pre-function Area
- The Lounge
- Plaza Brasserie
- Plaza Brasserie
- Plaza Brasserie
- Plaza Brasserie
- Restaurant
- Liverpool One
Current Settings are:
Country of Residence:
Available Languages:
To book more than 9 rooms for one stay or request a quote, please use our Easy Meetings tool or call 1-800-MEETING (in United States, Mexico and Canada).
Please enter Check In.
Please enter Check Out.
Health & Fitness
Whether you like to start your day with a workout or recharge after a productive day, our fully equipped health and fitness facilities will help keep you energised and at the top of your game.
On-Site Fitness Center Details
Our spectacular Harbour Leisure Club is available to all our guests and offers an 18 metre indoor pool, whirlpool, sauna, steam room, gymnasium with over 40 pieces of state-of-the-art equipment and beauty therapy suite offering a wide range of treatments.
- On-Site Fitness Center Available
- Extensive Offering
- Hours: 5:30 AM to 11:00 PM
- Available Equipment: Rower, Stair Stepper, Treadmill, Elliptical Machines, Free Weights, Stationary Bicycle
- On-Site Fitness Center Free to All Guests
On-Site Pool Details
- Indoor Pool Available
- Pool Is Heated
- Hours: 5:30 AM to 9:00 PM
- Whirlpool in Pool Area
- Whirlpool Hours: 5:30 AM to 9:00 PM
- Children's Pool Available
Childrens restricted swiming times Monday to Thursday 9am - 12noon and 2pm - 6pm Friday 9am - 12noon and 2pm - 8pm Saturday to Sunday 8am - 7pm
- Children's Pool Available
On-Site Spa Details
Health and Beauty treatments by appointment. With Dermalogica products and experienced therapist, you can relax and enjoy a unique spa experience. Spa opening times:- Monday to Friday 05:30 to 22:00 Saturday and Sunday 07:00 to 21:00
- On-Site Spa is Available
- Health and Leisure club
- Spa Services: Sauna
- Spa Treatments: Manicures and Pedicures, Facials, Waxing, Beauty Treatments
Nearby Recreation
- Cycling
- Bowling
- Swimming
- Tanning Beds
Off-Site Golf
Home to the Open Golf Championship
- Royal Liverpool
- 11.0 mi West, 0:30 minutes from hotel
- Driving Range


text:
- Warrior Dynasty AX1 Gloves Review
- CCM RibCor 40K Stick Review
- STX Surgeon 500 Hockey Gloves Review
- STX Stallion 500 Gloves Review
- Colt 2 Raw Stick Review
- Colt 2 Stick Review
- Bauer Nexus 8000 Skates Review
- CCM RBZ Superfast Hockey Stick Review
- Sherwood T120 Stick Review
- Alkali RPD Shift+ Roller Hockey Skate Review
NHL Photo of the Day
- Updated: May 4, 2012
You probably could have been given the match-ups for the second round, asked to pick the winners, and still would have gotten at least two of the series wrong.
The New Jersey Devils took a series lead over the Philadelphia Flyers as Alexei Ponikarovsky netted the game-winning overtime goal. Both goalies have seen better days as Martin Brodeur let in 3 goals on 28 shots (.893 save %) while Flyers' Ilya Bryzgalov let in 4 goals on 31 shots (.871 save %). If either team wants to be a competitor for the Stanley Cup, their goalies need to step it up.
The big news out of the hockey world is the St. Louis Blues and their disappearing act in the second round. Easily handling the San Jose Sharks in 5 games in the first round, they now see themselves down 3 – 0 in the series against the Los Angeles Kings. Again, it comes down to goaltending as Blues' Brian Elliott has a .845 save percentage in the series. Game 4 will be played in Los Angeles where the Blues could very well see themselves swept.


text:
Your financial aid administrator will become an important resource for you both
while you're applying for financial aid at your intended college, and when you're
going to be reapplying for financial aid throughout your time on that campus. Get
to know your financial aid office, as they're going to be responsible for determining
things like your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), Cost of Attendance, and in
special cases, your dependency status.
If anything changes related to your financial aid status during the course of the
year or after you've already submitted your FAFSA, make sure to contact your financial
aid administrator. Changes could mean that you're eligible for more or less aid,
or you may even be asked to return any aid that you received during a period of
ineligibility. See our list of top questions below that you should be asking
your financial aid administrator, but remember to contact your financial aid office
with any questions you may have related to your financial aid package. Browse through
our site, too, to see more tips on landing college scholarships and grants, and
coming up with a complete financial aid application.
May 26, 2015
Suada Kolovic
May 22, 2015
May 19, 2015
Copyright © 1998 - 2015 Scholarships.com, LLC
Scholarships.comTM All Rights Reserved
Scholarships.com, LLC, Publisher


text:
ODT Online
ODT /directory
One person has died and four others are injured after a four
car crash south of Hamilton.
The crash occurred around 4pm, near the intersection of State
Highway 1 and Hautapu Rd, at Cambridge.
One person has died at the scene, northern ambulance
communications shift manager Nicky Green said.
Of the four injured, one is serious, two have moderate
injuries and one has sustained minor injuries, she said.
An initial assessment of the crash indicates a car towing a
trailer and a van collided head on, causing two other cars to
then be struck with wreckage and debris, police said.
Short diversions are in place around the scene and motorists
are asked to take care on the narrower roads.
The serious crash unit will investigate, police said.
Emergency services are still at the scene.
It is understood there are some traffic delays.
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.
Login or Register
to add your business to the ODT/directory. Quick link to
more roadtests & reviews
search cars for sale
Submit your news & photos - Login or
Opinion? Have your say - Login or Register
Submit your
event or notice
Add a photo
Bookmark ODT
Make ODT my
Otago Daily Times print and digital edition, The
Star - Dunedin, The News - Central Otago, The
Ensign - Gore, Southland Express -
Invercargill, The Courier - Timaru, Queenstown Times - Queenstown, Mountain Scene -
Queenstown, Extra! schools
publication, Property
Times South Canterbury


text:
The River Plate
September 20, 2005
The broad, flat estuary visible in this image is formed by the River Plate, at the confluence of the rivers Uruguay and Parana in the Southeastern portion of South America. The River Plate, or Rio de la Plata in Spanish, is the widest river in the world, stretching 220 kilometers (136 miles) where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. It separates Argentina and Uruguay and is home to the ports of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, their respective capital cities. The tan-brown patch at the bottom of the image is sediment carried by the river; it is a hazard to navigation and must be dredged periodically in order to keep the port of Buenos Aires open for shipping. The River Plate is habitat for La Plata (also known as Franciscana) dolphins, a very rare species and one of the smallest cetaceans or whales in the world. This elusive and largely solitary species prefers shallow coastal waters, where they are sometimes accidentally caught and killed in shark nets.
Topics: Environment, War of the Triple Alliance, Río de la Plata, Geography, La Plata Dolphin, Buenos Aires, Political geography, Uruguay, South America


text:
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread
|Display Modes
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
We arrived in Guanajuato, and the city was very cool, set in a picturesque valley, with an amazing road around the top, and tunnels beneath.
We stopped at a market for breakfast and had some great shrimp and seafood cocktails and some bread stuffed with… something. Was tasty but, and all for $4 per person.
I also noticed my pannier rack had cracked again at the weld that was done yesterday… On we soldiered to Santiago de Queretaro, another beautiful Colonial city. We saw lots of bikes as we headed towards the city, big bikes, not the 100-200cc ones, this was obviously gringo country. We arrived and the city was "beautiful", all the buildings painted perfectly and kept exceptionally well. Range Rovers and BMW SUV's abounded, not my kinda place. I like heritage, but I much prefer soul. We didn't stop… until leaving the city and I spotted Mark and Maggie's bike parked outside a hotel… we stopped for a quick chat, swapped some more travel suggestions, they had intentions of staying the night in the city, we didn't.
We headed a little further, and got off the highway, we wanted to see the highlands of eastern Mexico, and our book said something about a road with 700 curves in the area (although it didn't say where!).
We found out it was the one that we were on.
Some spectacular scenery (and roads). We camped as it began to rain, a theme that would continue to follow us for the next few days.
I awoke early in the evening to the sound of Tim's voice and red and blue flashing lights on my tent "cops". We had camped in a pull off away from the road, and we were just visible to passers by, Tim suspected that they saw his headlight as he was reading. Unawares of the laws on camping in Mexico, I expected to be hauled out into the rain in my underpants, get accosted in Spanish, and get summarily told to "GTFO". Nope, they had a quick look and turned their car around, I happily went back to sleep.
We rode into town, enjoying the last bit of the road in the morning light and I noticed an exhaust shop, I stopped and explained the dilemma with my panniers to the kid who looked no older than 19, he knew his way around a welder though… I articulated through arm waving, breaking noises and poor Spanish some further modifications I wanted done to reduce the stress on them, thinking that by the time we leave Central America, I might have a bike that can actually hold up over a rough road! I am pleased to report that no chairs were harmed in the modifications of the panniers, and that I am happy with the finished job. Fingers crossed.
A really pleasant guy who spoke perfect English saw the bikes with California plates, he lived in Texas for a number of years, and had returned to Mexico in search of work, while his family stayed behind in Texas, we gave him a sticker and had a good chat; he gave us a recommendation of a place for breakfast. Times like this I particularly like travelling by Motorcycle, in places like this you stick out like a sore thumb, everyone wants to chat to you, and everyone thinks you are crazy, which is good as it removes the possibility of a false first impression.
We had an amazing breakfast, and then got our bikes washed for $2.50 each, they were filthy. We had a good chat to the guys, they liked our style and we liked theirs.
We continued on down through the Mexican state of Hidalgo, or as I have formally requested it to be renamed to "Land of the bleeding topes" (Tope = speed bump). Like Salsa, Tortilla's, Cowboy hats and mustache's, Mexican's have a fetish for these things, I am yet to understand why, but Hidalgo by far is the worst, they vary in shapes, sizes and in many other ways except frequency. They are there before a corner, after a corner, during a corner, to protect the children, protect the dogs, the cows, the adults, the trees, they put them in the sun, in the shade, behind buildings and in front of them. I lost count of how many times I hit one unexpectedly (and as a result, too fast), my panniers and top box were going to love me.
The scenery and people did kind of make up for it though.
It is obviously on the poorer end of the provinces, and it is not uncommon to come around a corner and be encountered by a little hole in the road
We found a decent camping spot and called it a day.
We had conveniently parked near a lake, in the morning we woke up to this:
And we had the best meal we had in Mexico, fish for breakfast:
Continuing on we saw picturesque waterfalls, towns and the like
Riding down through Puebla, we hit Oaxaca, and noticed a change. This was obviously the poorest province, potholes were now filled in with a crushable gravel, meaning roads looked more like this:
And trucks that would randomly share their load with the rest of the world
That's alright, out route soon turned to the sky
And the sky met us with a present too
The road went away, and back to us.
It was obvious we were entering more tropical provinces, the maize fields were still evident, but now they had to share their surrounds with sugar cane, banana trees and other more tropical flora. We stopped in a cool town
Dinner was particularly epic.
We stayed in a hotel (rare), mostly because it wasn't just cats and dogs coming down, cows and horses decided to come down from the ceiling as well.
In the morning, the scenery and the road simply unfolded in front of us.
Usually I prefer my throttle locked in one position, wide open, for the first time in this trip (and possibly ever), I went slow. I was soaking it up.
A little 125 went past sporting more luggage than us, instead of getting the red mist and wondering how I could out brake him in the next corner, I thought about yelling at him "hey mate, you might have been born here, have you checked out the scenery here lately, how bought slow down and check it out!"
It was all happening, horses carrying Sugar Cane,
horses crushing Sugar Cane
horses not crushing giant spiders
Epic scenery
Empty pools
And traffic :(
With neat rigs
Lunch was impressive
Served by some wonderful senorita's (note the sticker at the top ;) )
We stopped at Sumidero Canyon for a little boat ride, which is well recommended.
Stunningly beautiful scenery surrounded us
with a little bit of trash.
Back on the bikes, and it was a little wet.
New day. Palenque, we paid our $7, although I suggest asking for a discount, looks like they hadn't finishing building whatever we were supposed to be looking at
Trying our best to get our monies worth, we looked past that
Seeing the age and condition of the buildings, Tim dryly added "should have gotten these Mayan dudes to build the roads, they would be a bit better off".
We headed off to Cancun, found our worst campsite so far (in a maize field)
And settled in to enjoy the humidity for the evening.
Arriving in Cancun, we decided to head to Cuba. Tomorrow we are off.
Our hostel's cleaning staff were that efficient that they thought throwing out our motorcycle boots might be a good idea (perhaps that says something about their smell?). I could do nothing but laugh. We attempted to find replacements for them, trying to find boots that fit my (not so large) feet that offer any form of safety protection in Mexico was like finding a swim suit for an elephant. We sort of succeeded and will not be riding in our sandals.
On edit: forgot to add that tomorrow I am off in search of a mechanic to help me with my top box, which broke the bolts that mount the rear rack (again). I also want to get the torques checked on the head bolts for Tim's bike, it seems to be weeping oil from the gasket at the bottom of the cylinder wall. We also need oil and filters, done 2100 miles since Zacatecas already, and 4600 miles for the trip so far!
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
Flys Lo screwed with this post 09-25-2011 at 09:29 PM
Beastly Adventurer
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Okie near Muskogee
Oddometer: 3,894
Great trip you two. Hope you have a nice time on the Special Island.
Thanks for the kind words, maybe seeing you around down in
South America, first round is on me
You have been having way too much fun rewelding those pannier racks; You will be pannier engineer experts by the time you get back to the states
Goodluck Guys
btw: How you guys planning to jump the GAP? (or have you not thought that far ahead yet)
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
Don't know yet to be honest, Tim and I are both pretty good swimmers but
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
So, this part of the trip was sans bikes, so I am breaking the rules, but rules be damned!
We boarded our Russian Thunderbus for Cuba, an A380 Airbus this wasnt, cue the lights flickering, the crew running around, the cabin filling with smoke, and us smiling like a kid at Christmas.
Landing, overwhelmed by old cars, pollution, humidity, beautiful buildings, tourists, poverty and quite a wonderful setting for a city.
We decided to get our tourist on, and visit some of the sites
This fellas mug was everywhere.
In the tourist areas, the city was beautiful.
Where the locals actually live, equally historic, but could do with a little more maintenance.
I like my cars big, American and old. I am not going to apologize for the flurry of photos of them.
We toughed it out for a few days in Havana
We filled our time in by going to the revolution museum, where we got an interesting and incredibly one sided account of the revolution in Cuba. Walked around the city during an evening where the locals told us that each street had to have a celebration to celebrate communism. Interesting choice of words I thought.
We hung out with some local kids whos past time was running across 3 lanes of traffic on the Mercado (Havanas largest and most famous street), hopping the curb, jumping a 2ft wall and then in the next step leaping 10ft out to a small area of ocean where there wasnt rocks that would end the day in a light case of quadriplegia.
Purchased crazy orange soft drink that I think was just refined sugar
Checked out the locals ration book
Smoked (good) cigars
Punished ourselves by going to some terrible beaches
Havana was a place with a lot of character, I enjoyed the city but probably wouldnt rush back.
We headed down to Trinidad, instantly I liked it.
An old slavery town which made its fortune on the burgeoning sugar trade back in the late 1500s
We found a casa particular (essentially a family that has a spare room that they rent out to tourists) called El Chef. Lobster was on the menu, it was incredible, and it was $10US. Nice place, amazing food, well recommended.
We saw a hill overlooking the town. Lets climb it!
Sweating like pigs in a butchers shop, we made it to the top and woke the security guard up from a slumber. Expecting to get asked to leave in a not so polite manner nope. He invited us to come round the back, climb this rickety homemade ladder to the top and explained the history of the place, pointing out which houses were built, where the slaves landed and all the farms that have grown sugar for over 400yrs. Cool stuff.
We checked out the beaches, and were reminded of the dichotomy of Cuba, there is 2 currencies, CUC and National, the former for tourists and the latter for locals. It isnt the only point of separation between those who are citizens and those that are visitors.
Other points included transport
We enjoyed ourselves much more with the locals.
Returning to Havana having thoroughly enjoyed Trinidad, our capstone was probably the most fun. A taxi ride to the airport.
In a 1948 Chrysler.
(note the sticker)
Which then broke down. Even better!
So I put my supervision skills to the test.
Smoke and flickering lights awaited us on our airplane. Cuba was enjoyable, didnt have enough time to explore. The people are very nice, although most (at least in Havana) want something from the tourists, that something is usually money, it is much much poorer than I expected.
Now the last couple of days in Mexico as we head to Belize.
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
Cancun to Tikal
Back in Cancun, we were happy to be back in a land with great food and we found our motorbikes in the same condition we left them, Tims fine, mine still broken. Sought out a local shop and got that sorted we headed through the hotel zone of Cancun, I can describe it like a worse version of Vegas, with a beach. Not a fan but from the number of tourists there my opinion must be in the minority. We continued further south, doing our best to avoid the boring highway filled with tourist buses.
We found some nice Cenotes (pronounced see-note-es) caves with water in them.
And saw some wildlife as we did it.
Staying in Tulum, we went off to check out some more old stuff. I didnt think the ruins were that impressive, but their location was.
Heading south, we enjoyed our final Mexican roadside BBQ chicken feast.
We crossed the border into Belize, it was easy, simple and free*!
*well, apart from the mandatory fumigation and insurance which with some sweet talking to the border guards, we didnt purchase
The landscape changed, contrary to Mexico, Belize has taken a more conventional approach to its tropical wilderness which is bulldoze it for farmland.
We got to Belize City, and toured the city, having a laugh with the locals it was enjoyable to have long conversations with them (Belizeans speak English) we were told many times not to walk and night, and were offered various substances even more frequently. We still quite liked the city though, Caribbean vibe, with a mix of African-American gangster.
The island of Caye Caulker was our destination, and we found it hard not to like a place which has been hit by a hurricane, splitting the island in two so they build a bar so you can sit in the spot where the island was.
We went on a snorkeling tour, where we swam with all forms of impressive wildlife
Manatees (like a Dugong for the Australians)
Sting Rays
And beautiful Coral
Back in Belize city, we found some alternative routes with all the important stuff
On the way out of Belize city we were stopped at a routine police check point, one more junior police officer was happy to send us on our way, his more senior compatriot saw doller signs at the end of it. The game of chess began. He asked for our licenses, we handed over one our few International Driving Permits, he asked for local insurance which we didnt have. I began my BS escapade using one of my preferred tricks lots of stories, handing him lots of paper, trying to chew through as much of his day till he got exhausted. He didnt, he was experienced at this. We got to the point where he dragged me aside and said he can do me a favor and cut me a break, but what am I going to do to return the favor. Out of bills any smaller than US$20, one left my hand to his and our transaction was complete and we were on our way.
We crossed through the border to Guatemala, things got a little more serious border officials with pistol grip pump action shotguns. We followed all seasoned travel advice and road through central America at night time, in the rain, off-road. We got near Tikal and called it quits.
We hit Tikal in the search of old stuff.
Old Temples
Old Buildings
Old Inscriptions
And signs that dont really need a translation.
Heading further south tomorrow.
I have a question for yall actually looking at our map, we hoped to do Coban to through Santa Cruz del Quiche to Lake Atitlan, but all advice from the locals is that we might come down with a bad case of being beheaded. Whats everyone elses thoughts on that here?
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
Flys Lo screwed with this post 10-15-2011 at 09:26 AM
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
Heading south from Tikal, we encountered the typical Guatemala.
Floods where towns once were:
Good food
Amazing scenery (with floods)
Cool roads
Cool people
Coupled with a few little indiscretions
On arriving to a town called Lanquin, we hit up a local soccer match between Lanquin and the next village across.
It was quite the affair, jumping up and down, yelling and throwing rocks at the players was actively encouraged. The raucous behavior of the crowd was only equaled by ambivalence of the large number of armed police in attendance.
We were glad the local team won.
Getting our exploration on, local bat caves were checked out.
Furthering our motivation for exploration, off we went to Semuc Champey (loosely translated to "where the river flows under the water")
Local style transport
More checking out the area
And toughing it out
It rained a lot, and the next day we took a day trip across to Rio Dulce, roads varying from a little hectic
And then it started to get epic.
This was like a powder day at the snow, except the landings were a little harder.
We stopped at an amazing little Canyon
Where a cool kid paddled us in a canoe upstream – he was an amazing little guide, but it felt a bit bittersweet, he was 12 and for most people his age, it was a school day.
The views were incredible though.
Further up was a waterfall with hot spring water (cascada calliente) which we sometimes jumped off
And other times we fell off it
We are now in Antigua, time has been spent mostly checking the place out, catching up with some fellow motorcyclers and doing motorcycle maintenance, I broke my mirror, my left footpeg snapped off, bent my crash guards, and Tim broke off his number plate – and is not to be found again (we are sourcing a "local" solution). We have been blocked from going to lake atitlan by rains blocking the roads – but have since found of an off-road trail there that we should be able to get through, most likely a day trip tomorrow.
El Salvador most likely Monday, famous for amazing surf beaches, nice coastline, and the highest murder rate per capita in the world.
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
Flys Lo screwed with this post 10-15-2011 at 09:37 AM
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
Guadalajara, a tour
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
A teaser of whats to come...
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
Studly Adventurer
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: Woosta county, MA
Oddometer: 756
DR650 - FZ1 - 200 EXC (plated - Not inspected yet)
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
Wet, wet, wet!
Since last report, there were some slight changes of plan. We decided to join the rest of the motorcyclists we caught up with to watch the Kiwi's beat Australia in the semi-finals of the world cup rugby on Sunday, and do a day excursion to Lake Atitlan on Monday. After sourcing solutions for some of our various problems
(the remnants of the license plate)
We then helped André, a Swiss guy we met fix his low beams (they hadn't worked since Minnesota!) on his bike. Discovering hidden talents for reading wiring diagrams written in German, we were able to get something working.
(photo courtesy of André)
We caught up with the crew again (here is an earlier photo)
From front left clockwise, Jess, lady I don't remember, Kerman, Phil, Kevin, me, Tim, Wade, André and Jesse. Missing from the photo (but present!) was Glenn, Mark and Maggie. All riding bikes to Tierra del Fuego. You can follow their progress here
Glenn: http://sabbaticalglenn.blogspot.com/
Kevin: http://exploreplanetearth.net/
Phil and Wade: http://bergaliaboys.com
(photo courtesy of Kerman)
We also took the time to take in some of the culinary delights on offer for us in Antigua
We had enough of sitting around doing nothing in the rain for the last few days, and thought we would take the back way to Lake Atitilan, which consisted of a little of this:
At which point Tim's bike developed a bad case of hydrophobia and blew the main fuse. Replacements also burnt out – and the short was not easily identifiable. We also discovered that the rear rack bolts had snapped on his bike as well (same problem as was happening to my bike – do other KLR owners have the same problem, or are we just "lucky"?).
We pushed Tim's bike back through the river, then we rigged up a tow rope to mine to tow the bike the 10 odd miles up the windy road and back to the nearest town. We managed to find the gentleman with the most amount of electrical knowledge in town and proceeded to do some disassembly.
They worked into the night
We had to stay the night in town and we came back the next morning to a working bike, they suggest it was the Instrument Cluster that got some water in it, I don't know if that was the case or not – but it was running, that was all that mattered.
We returned to Antigua to collect Tim's license plate and get his rear rack fixed – at which point I need to give Moto Café a shout out: http://www.degustantigua.com/en/moto...html?Itemid=90 they helped us a great deal.
The solution for Tim's number plate wasn't really complete – nor sufficient, but we thought we would finish it up, and got his rear rack fixed.
We headed toward the border, rain pelting at us:
My bike died
Fortunately the issue was simple, and so was the fix. Water was that heavy it got thrown up from my rear tire to my fuel tank vent on my de-smogged bike, blocking it from getting air, and just needed to be drained.
Roads and bridges were regularly washed out, necessitating (sometimes creative) detours.
The border to El Salvador
The destruction from the rain here has been immense, they have had over 4ft of rain in a short space of time.
Roads at best looked like this
Rivers like this
It was not fun to be riding it. You were continuously drenched to your skin, had really bad visibility through a helmet visor that would be covered in water (and often fog), and the roads were terrible. You would wake up in the morning to wet motorcycle gear to do it all again.
We finally made it to El Salvador. The paperwork was pretty straightforward (if time consuming at 3 odd hours), and the officials generally pleasant.
Some of the locals jokingly asked if we had brought our fishing rods – when inquiring as to why, they said to go fishing on the road.
We soon got the joke.
Officials here were still friendly, and sported cool poncho's.
MS-13 sightings were slim, but good food locations weren't.
I had heard the road down the coast of El Salvador compares to Hwy 1 on the West Coast of the US, or the Great Ocean Road in Australia, while weather perhaps diminished the experience (and the photo evidence) the comparisons seemed fair.
Not wanting to hang around in the rain, we pushed south to the border, and slept the night there.
I woke up a little enlivened. This border (Honduras to El Salvador) was supposed to be the most difficult border we would cross in the trip, I have heard stories of people being stuck here for exorbitant lengths of time and forced to part with large sums of money that they perhaps shouldn't have. Dealing with this kind of stuff excites me.
So begins the formalities.
One of the downsides of travelling with motorbikes is that at each country you need to import them (and export them from the previous country), it makes the entry/exit process around three times more complicated, time consuming and costly than if you were just travelling by bus.
I am surprised to report that the usual tiresome process at this border was not what we encountered. After leaving El Salvador (10 mins) we had a gentleman approach us offering to assist us with the border formalities (aka a "mule"). We aren't interested in the services of these individuals, as we consider this stuff "part of the experience", not to mention a lot of them are shadier than the corrupt officials you have to deal with anyway. This one was different, despite our persistence with "no", he continued offering assistance, was honest, friendly, spoke perfect English and said he was not going to charge us anything, we can tip him at the end if we appreciated his services. Oscar I believe was his name, and he comes well recommended. We were through in under an hour. We were that pleased with services he scored $20US.
Honduras was a country we had both elected to kind of "skip" mostly due to the fact that we felt other neighboring countries (Guatemala and Nicaragua) offered more of the natural beauty we were seeking. While our experience there was brief and we didn't stray from the Pan-America highway, I cannot report that it was pleasant. Towns were poorly kept, roads weren't even kept at all, we were stopped twice by police fishing for bribes, one of them we had to pay (he discovered Tim's "replica" plate, and threatened a fine because it was in violation of the rule book – which we demanded to see). Reports from other travelers and teachers that work in Honduras that I spoke to do not paint a pretty picture either, and suggest that the country is turning into what Columbia used to be, a drug lord haven.
Into Nicaragua. More paperwork.
Not long into the country the traffic started to back up.
Of course we scooted by.
We soon discovered the cause.
The local police and army egged us on (like we needed it) saying we could make it across pushing them – I laughed, completely contradictory to what officials would say in any western country, I like Nicaragua.
We paid two locals $2 each to guide us and began the pushing.
It was about a mile across, and was hard work. We made it to where the water was shallower, and I followed all experience mechanics advice by testing to see if I had water in my engine by hitting the starter button. It ran!
We stayed in the next major town, and went to check out a rum factory (thanks for the tip Beachguy ), it was closed, but their rum is most excellent.
We found out that André (the Swiss guy) stacked his bike while riding out of Guatemala doing about 50mph at the time. Apparently apart from a sore shoulder and leg he is ok, but his bike looks like a write off...
We then road down to Leon, and today we decided to climb an active volcano
Sit on a bit of ply-board
And slide down it.
Speeds up to 87kph (about 55mph) have been recorded. Not by us unfortunately though.
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
Flys Lo screwed with this post 10-22-2011 at 07:41 PM
Alabama & Costa Rica
Joined: Mar 2007
Location: Back in Alabama!
Oddometer: 475
I had a get off and face plant in
So, sorry I won't be in
2010 Ride Report: Orange Beach, AL to Jaco Beach, Costa Rica
2011 Ride Report: Costa Rica to Panama back to Costa Rica
2014 Ride Report: Ring of Ireland in 30 days
One of the beautiful things about riding solo is the quality of the social experience.
Joined: Sep 2009
Location: Sun Over Beach, Oz
Oddometer: 3,767
Epic ride so far.
Not sure if I comprehended the riding boots loss thing - did the staff throw them away or steal them or put them outside and someone took them? What did they do to help afterwards?
Anyway, keep rolling along - you're definitely doing it right. Keep flying that Boxing Kanga! Amazing photo's and stories. Love the photo of you guys grinning while the plane fills with smoke.
Tree hugger.
Riding the range
Joined: Oct 2003
Location: ABQ, NM
Oddometer: 1,497
OK, I'm hooked...
-- Golf is for the dead.
cool hand fluke
Joined: May 2009
Location: between my last drink and my next one
Oddometer: 321
Not too bummed about not doing the tour, as long as they let me still drink the stuff I am ok!!!
I did forget about your offer - yes, too much rum!
We placed them in the bathroom (next to the trash container) so they didn't stink up the room.
I am sitting at the bar having a beer and Tim comes up "hey, what did you do with our boots?" - I responded "didn't touch them". Then he starts inquiring in Spanish to the cleaner that is working around he bar, his Spanish being better than mine, but I understood her response of "basura" (rubbish)... I could tell Tim was close to flipping his shit.
The place wasn't that helpful finding our boots, nor offering any other form of compensation, or even offering directions to where we could buy any form of boots, I don't mind that much they were friendly otherwise, and they let us store our bikes there free of charge for our week over to Cuba. Just one of them things I 'spose.
The 8hrs we tramped around various markets to find boots that fitted us (but still offer no protection) was a hoot though.
Adrian, Central & South America, 2011/2012
I know violence isn't the answer. I got it wrong on purpose.
Beastly Adventurer
Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Southington , connecticut
Oddometer: 1,041
Holy crap I got here to Leon in the afternoon and you guys left in the morning, darn it lol Ok try again :P
My Blog: www.jantarek.com RR is on
Save $5 on www.smugmug.com enter this code:
My SpotWala
|Thread Tools
|Search this Thread
|Display Modes
Linear Mode


text:
F800GS Rox Riser Install
So, I got home earlyish today, after being Leutentanty for the weekend. It was really nice out, but I can't ride now, for reasons which will become apparent, so I decided to install the rox risers that were waiting on me when I got home:
No instructions, but, come on, the installation is pretty self-evident, isn't it?
First, I had to go (RE) acquire the E10 torx bit I needed :bluduh
Then, I removed the top clamps from the bars
This was only annoying because the clearance for the bolt head is not quite sufficient for the socket I used.
I also took the opportunity to loosen the big ass torx you see which fastens the left mount to the top tree, because it was not quite straight.
I then mounted the risers, with the bars in them, semi- tight. i chose to mount them so the bars are straight above their previous position, rather than following the angle of the forks
(note the fine adjustment tool...)
before I tightened down either joint, I climbed aboard and made sure that the bars were straight, and in a comfortable-feeling position.
Then, I just finished tightening, and there you go!
As for cable length, the clutch and wires are fine. The brake line will flex enough to go to full lock, but only just, so i may get a longer line...
While I was there, i went ahead and installed the cable i made for my GPS
6 torx screws to take off the fake gas tank cover,
and expose the built-in plug:
...which shows WHY I couldn't just go riding instead...
4-5 , more weeks of this crap. At least I'm left-handed.
Looks good :thumb
Which model / size of Rox risers did you use? :ear
Glad they worked for you, looks good... Smitty:clap
Which height?
I emailed Rox and asked about 800GS applications and they said the variable risers wouldn't work. I'm suspecting because of the snug brake line you mentioned.
If you rotated them forward just a bit, would that give you full lock on the brake line? :ear
1-1/8", I guess...
As to rotating them...quite possibly. It goes now, it just is pulling the brake line tight when it does... I'll take a look tomorrow after work. an extra half inch would do it.
1 1/8" should be the bar (fatbar) diameter (vs 7/8"). You can also get 7/8 - 7/8 and 7/8 - 1 1/8 (to use as fatbar conversion for bikes with regular bars).
I think those risers come in 2" and 2 1/4" rise, IIRC.
Cool! I've got the Rox Pro-Offset Block Risers, which raise the bars 30mm (~1 1/8+") straight up. Whereas these go up 57mm (~2 1/4"-). I'd like my bars to be a bit higher--sounds like this might be just the ticket.
BTW, if you happen to get the Touratech raised front fender, that comes with a longer brake line.
Rob in Seattle
That bit of extended brake line won't do you any good here. All you need is the short shot that goes from the MC to the distribution block near the headstock.
Perhaps they should correct that....
Rob in Seattle
Rox Pro Offsets
I guess its time for me to weigh in here. I bought a set of the Rox Pro Offsets to add a little length to my stubby arms. I installed them and found a problem. The back of the risers hit the little plastic "fairing" in front of the key. The risers hit with about a quarter inch to go before full stop.
Here's a shot of the OEM bars clamps in relation to the fairing.
I tried removing the fairing, and the bars could go stop-to-stop, but that looked really lame. So I gave up and called Chad at Adventure Designs. He was very helpful and offered to take the risers back for a full refund. His brother has an 800 and they were going to do a little field testing but I haven't heard back.
Rob, did you run into the same problem when you mounted (no wise cracks here) the Pro Offsets?
So, if anyone has a fix for these puppies I'd sure like to hear about it. I might go to the adjustable risers if offsets don't work out but I'm concerned about the short brake line Nate mentioned.
Jeff, was that with the risers in the "back" position instead of the "straight up" position? :ear
I have the Pro-Offsets facing forward (raising the bars straight up, rather than up and back), so no issue with clearance. They are still not high enough for me, so I'll have the Pro-Offsets up for sale at some point soon.
I'm curious about the anti-vibration version:.
Although hmm...they say:
EDIT: That warning is on the ATV version of the risers, not the motorcycle version. Huh. I may have to ask.
Rob in Seattle
Aren't the handlebar mounts already rubber isolated in the top triple?
|Times are GMT -7. It's 07:55 AM.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.5
Copyright ©2000 - 2015, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ADVrider 2011-2015


text:
Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center
610 North 5th Avenue, Sequim, WA 98382Map
SARC offers a 25 yard, six lane pool with a diving board, 17 foot high water slide & rope swing. They also have a separate shallow pool kept at 88 degrees that is great for kids and seniors. A hydrotherapy pool and dry & steam sauna are available for patrons 16 years of age or older. Work out in the 5,000 square foot weight room, cardio room or circuit room. You can shoot baskets, play volleyball or take a class in the gym. There are two racquetball courts that may be reserved up to two days in advance.
Write a ReviewSign in
Thank you for submitting your review!
See All: Hotels » | Things To Do » | Restaurants » | Nightlife »
- Type:


text:
Excess liquid oxygen should be allowed to evaporate in a well-ventilated outdoor area. Vent oxygen gas to outside location. Locations should be remote from work areas, open flames, or sources of ignition and combustibles. Return empty and excess cylinders of oxygen to manufacturer. For more information on disposal procedures, see Chapter 7 of this volume.
The National Academies | 500 Fifth St. N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20001
Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use and Privacy Statement
Appendix B: Laboratory Chemical Safety Summaries ."
Prudent Practices in the Laboratory: Handling and Disposal of Chemicals . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press,
1995 .
Please select a format:


text:
Genuine Dyson DC07 Power Cord, Dyson Part # 905449-02
Item Code: 905449-02
Brand: Dyson
Availability: In stock
Genuine Dyson DC-7 Power Cord for all DC07 upright models. Dyson cord part number 905449-02.Beware of generic Dyson cords, these cords will void your warranty from Dyson. It's best to always use genuine Dyson partsThis is the replacement cord for all Dyson DC-07 upright models. The cord is disconnected by unscrewing 1 screw )star bit) above where the dust bin connects in the upright part of the vacuum. Right below where the hose release button on the DC-07 models. Designed to work with the following models: DC07 All Floors, DC07 Low Reach, DC07 Animal, DC07 Full Gear.
Rating: (0 Review)


text:
Glamour Salon
Kings Contrivance Village Center
8640 Guilford Road
Columbia, MD 21046
Tel: 410.381.3242
Fax: 410.381.3244
Opening Hours:
Monday - Saturday 10am to 8pm
Sunday 11am to 5pm
Glamour Salon is the place to go for all your beauty & wellness needs. Whether you are looking for a drastic change or a relaxing way to unwind after a hectic week, we are the beauty salon that you have been looking for. From healthy hair to smooth facial waxing or rejuvenating nail services, we do it all! Our expert stylists continually keeping up with the latest styles and techniques to meet your needs.


text:
Postcard Exchanging Project
Reading Volunteers (Prabuhis) need to draw wider horizon to encourage them selves in progressiveRead more
Posted 1st Dec 2013
Reading Volunteers (Prabuhis) need to draw wider horizon to encourage them selves in progressiveRead more
My name is Virginia, I'm an Italian boy-scouts! Write me firstname.lastname@example.com :) Translate
Posted 12th Nov 2013
Reading Volunteering has been promoted in Nganjuk Regency, East Java, Indonesia.Read more
Posted 7th Nov 2013
Kak Roy Affandi; Our program's leader from Kuningan's Prabuhi Team initiate #PRAMASHODMA - a radio drama making by our volunteers about the history of villages or cities or simply about their own mascot or loggos. TranslateRead more
Posted 6th Nov 2013
PRABUHI (Indonesian Reading Volunteer Scouts) marked the 1st Day of Islam New Year yesterday withRead more
Posted 3rd Nov 2013
Adult Scouts give back their spare times for Literary Movement to enencourage their own communityRead more
Posted 1st Nov 2013
Eko Prakoso, our 14 years old Reading Volunteer was sharing his laptop and time with his friends to find out how to create music instruments from things around them. Eko is an active member of Kuningan's PRABUHI Team. TranslateRead more
Iya, Kak! anak asuhnya Kak Zeze dan Kak Roiz ;) hebat, kan?? Translate
This is Indonesian traditional way of husking the rice called "nutu halu" (Sundanese language). Half dozen of women husk rice grains together; creating rhymes and music, as well as chit chat, gossips, and informations. TranslateRead more
This is puppet made of dried unhusked rice stalks from Kuningan Residence, West Java. Buncan, obe of PRABUHI's Managers showed how this puppet can assist us; Prabuhis; Reading Volunteering Scouts; to create a lively fun story telling! TranslateRead more
OMG... try to turn this pic but hardly succeed :( bummer... Translate
Angklung Performance by Cidahu's Reading Volunteer Scouts, creating nice music for MOP Shouts! This wonderful music team is directed by Kang Zeze Guru; one of Kuningan's PRABUHI Leaders! TranslateRead more
Wow photo ya keren bun :-) Translate
Indonesian Reading Volunteering Scouts from Kuningan Residence, West Java Province were performing theatrically poem reading of AKU. This amazing performance was directed by PRABUHI Kuningan's Leader: Kak Roiz Affandi. TranslateRead more
Posted 28th Oct 2013
New promising reading volunteering scout team from Kuningan! They marked the inauguration with lively short stories and poems competition! It's ended with a FUNtastic shout: WE ARE SCOUTS! And WE ARE MESSENGERS OF PEACE!! TranslateRead more
Posted 25th Oct 2013
A Scout Leader, like this beautiful teacher a mother of 3 from Sukabumi, Indonesia; Susan; is rare and very expensive! It's indeed expensive; for no deluxe nor sophisticated workshops/training in this world can "create" her! None! TranslateRead more
Thanks a Zillion, guys! We're lucky scouts indeed ;) *Scout Salute!! Translate
This are children of an orphan house located 2 hours driving from the city of Bandung, named DAPUR YATIM. They have 18 children from 6-17 yrs old who loves scouting but their school didn't provide scout activity they need. TranslateRead more
I love my 5 scarfs! Although I only wear 2 at a time. For me, they are simply representing hopes of a peaceful world and how wonderful to be a scout! TranslateRead more
i like ,.. Translate
My best JOTI Moment was when My Dear "Diver" Guady decided to skype me from Geneva! That was FUNtastic! after a month I can see her encouraging smile again... ;) TranslateRead more
Putra, our reading volunteering scout from Kuningan, West Java, Indonesia, was reading a music history book to his school caterer yesterday! TranslateRead more
Posted 20th Oct 2013
Flash MoP from Sukabumi's PRABUHI - Indonesia :) They're not just Reading Volunteering Scouts Team, they also handy scoutties :D - they clean a Bus-Stop in Sukabumi Region and send their best regards to scout all over the world: "Happy JOTI 2013!!" TranslateRead more
good..! ;) Translate
Posted 20th Oct 2013
My 3 yrs daughter Maura and I wish you all a happy pleasing JOTI Sunday!! Peace is roaming all over the world now like angelic sparkling dusts! TranslateRead more
Very nice. Please join my torch race team. http://scout.org/node/10575 Translate
Posted 19th Oct 2013
I proudly introduce you all good scouts, our young volunteer from Cidahu-a small village in Kuningan region, West Java, Indonesia- her name is DINDA and she loves scouting very much. TranslateRead more
wowww inspiring!!! Translate
Posted 19th Oct 2013
Bandung's PRABUHI Team was trying to form our NSO's loggo then sing our National Anthem and send it to JOTA JOTI Challenge this afternoon ;) TranslateRead more


text:
CALIFORNIAN: New Music for Nov. 10-16, 2011
---- Scripps-McClatchy
Two stars
Roadrunner Records
"Th1rt3en" is the latest in a series of well-composed and well-executed albums for Megadeth. Unfortunately, it seems likely that the group will be overshadowed once again, this time by their comrades Anthrax and their new album "Worship Music."
In spite of that, Megadeth is still very relevant, setting the standard of consistency among thrash bands the world over.
---- Scripps-McClatchy
Three stars
Meshell Ndegeocello
The mercurial singer / songwriter / bassist Meshell Ndegeocello has moved from pop to jazz to funk with abandon; her albums have been unpredictable, and she long ago ceased attempting to repeat the top-40 success she had back in 1993 dueting with John Mellencamp on a cover of Van Morrison's "Wild Night." ''Weather," her ninth album, is another twist: It's understated and soulful, a quiet storm of moodiness and atmosphere.
Credit in part goes to producer Joe Henry, who has a knack for dusky soul and creeping tension (heard also on his own excellent new record, "Reverie"). Credit also to the focus on her gentle singing, often in her upper register, that gives "Weather" a brooding intimacy, whether on covers from Leonard Cohen or the '70s Stax band the Soul Children or on songs she's co-written (including one, surprisingly, with industrial rocker Chris Connelly).
---- Scripps-McClatchy
"More Smooth Jazz and Sweet Sweet Jams"
Four stars
Terry Anderson and the Olympic Ass Kickin' Team
"I've got every sound that makes you glad to be alive," Terry Anderson declares on "I'm Your Radio." The North Carolinian has been evoking that feeling in us for years. He does it again here ---- but no, not really with jazz and jams (talk about misleading titles).
Rather, the singer and drummer, with the help of his versatile and increasingly powerful Olympic Ass Kickin' Team, sounds like the disparate but complementary elements of vintage NRBQ all rolled into one ---- the wild-abandon rock 'n' roll of Big Al Anderson (no relation), the sweet pop of Joey Spampinato, and the mad-genius wit of Terry Adams.
He does that, however, while always bringing the bright spark of originality. He's a thoroughly unpretentious lyricist who writes with the color and conciseness of Chuck Berry and a hook-happy flair. But in some of these new songs, such as "Gambled and Lost," ''Not Turning Around," and "I'm Your Radio," you also sense a stronger emotional undertow that gives them a deeper pull amid all the usual fun.
This is music that should be blasting from radios everywhere, but that's another story. In the meantime, as Anderson puts it, again in "I'm Your Radio" ---- "I know what you want to hear." Does he ever.
---- Scripps-McClatchy
"The Moon Is Waiting"
Three stars
Tim Hagans
Trumpeter Tim Hagans says his music is "tightly structured" to achieve "the wildest playing possible."
That's a fair description of this quartet recording, where challenging lines tease and entrance while rockish, searing moments come and go. It's free jazz with constant drive and passion.
Hagans was artistic director of the Norrbotten Big Band in Sweden for 15 years. After leaving that post, he has veered here into small-group territory with cool results.
Guitarist Vic Juris provides some beautiful fills throughout, especially on the bluesy "Boo," where Hagans punctuates his licks with raspy wails. Finnish drummer Jukkis Uotila and bassist Rufus Reid lay down the artistic haze that fuels this eight-cut session. "Wailing Trees," Hagans' tribute to the first day of Hurricane Katrina, is full of gnarly melody and real heat.
---- Scripps-McClatchy


text:
Adaptations of the gray catbird Dumetella carolinensis to long-distance migration: flight muscle hypertrophy associated with elevated body mass
Alternate Title
Flight muscle hypertrophy associated with elevated body mass
The size and composition (lean-dry, water, and fat contents) of the flight muscles of the catbird were investigated as a function of the large seasonal changes in body mass which occur in this species. The mass of the pectoralis muscle is highly positively correlated with body mass, leading to an elevation in muscle mass of ∼35% during fall premigratory fattening. The changes in muscle mass are brought about by coordinated variations in all major components of the muscles which were measured. High-oxidative, fast-twitch fibers represent 88% of the total fibers in the pectoralis muscle. The cross-sectional area of the muscle fibers increases proportional to muscle mass, suggesting that fiber hypertrophy may underlie the changes in muscle mass. Calculations of the power available from the muscles compared with the aerodynamic power required by catbirds in flight indicates that augmentation of pectoralis muscle mass could make a significant contribution to flight performance.
Originally published in Physiological Zoology 57(1):105-117. 1984. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/637287
Dumetella carolinensis, flight muscle hypertrophy, long-distance migration, birds, catbird
Subject Categories
Catbird--Anatomy, Catbird--Flight
Poultry or Avian Science
University of Chicago
Publication Date
Rights Information
© 1984
Rights Holder
University of Chicago
Permanent URL
Recommended Citation
Marsh, Richard L., "Adaptations of the gray catbird Dumetella carolinensis to long-distance migration: flight muscle hypertrophy associated with elevated body mass" (1984). Biology Faculty Publications. Paper 7. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000615
Click button above to open, or right-click to save.


text:
50 - 100 downloadsAdd this app to your listsTweets por @Appszoom
This is a quote generating app that can potentially alter your mood. You can get quotes that can inspire you or give you a reality check. If you are feeling daring you can even choose the mystery category and get a quote that you weren't expecting. These quotes are meant to be funny, please do not take them seriously. The layout of the app might look a little bit weird on 7 inch tablets.
Recently changed in this version
There are some bug fixes in this version
Comments and ratings for Tributes
- There aren't any comments yet, be the first to comment!


text:
Nearly two years after she filed the lawsuit, a congresswoman who lost in the March primary election has dropped her legal action against a political opponent.
A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Miami Township) told The Enquirer today that she decided to drop her defamation lawsuit against Madeira businessman David Krikorian. Schmidt filed the suit in June 2010, and had sought $6.8 million in damages.
Krikorian is claiming victory in the dispute, and told CityBeat the lawsuit was an intimidation tactic by well-funded special interests.
"Her lawsuit was entirely without merit," Krikorian said. "It was meant to silence and intimidate me and cost me money. It did not work."
Krikorian ran as an independent against Schmidt in 2008; he unsuccessfully ran in the Democratic primary for the same seat in 2010 and again this year.
During the '08 campaign, Krikorian distributed a pamphlet alleging Schmidt had received "blood money" from the Turkish government in return for her opposition to a congressional resolution that declared Turkey had committed genocide against Armenia during a 1915 conflict.
But the lawsuit proved to be Schmidt's undoing. She received more than $400,000 in free legal assistance from the Turkish Coalition of America to support her suit. In August 2011 the House Ethics Committee ruled that Schmidt received an "impermissible gift" but didn't "knowingly" violate the law. She was ordered to repay the coalition, which she has yet to do.
Shortly thereafter, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonpartisan watchdog group, dubbed Schmidt as one of the most corrupt members of Congress.
All of the drama took its toll: Schmidt lost the GOP primary earlier this month to challenger Brad Wenstrup. He defeated her 49-43 percent.
"It's time to move on," Barrett Brunsman, Schmidt's spokesman, told The Enquirer today about dropping the lawsuit.
The Turkish Coalition of America was among Schmidt's top contributors, donating $7,500 to her 2010 reelection campaign through its political action committee, and donating $7,600 to her in 2008.
Schmidt also traveled to Turkey at least twice while in office. The coalition picked up the tab for one of the trips.
Politico reported March 12 that Schmidt was in Washington, D.C., on Election Day, March 6, at a private luncheon with Turkish Ambassador Namik Tan.
"At times, Rep. Jean Schmidt has been closer to Turkish interests than those of her Cincinnati-area constituents," Politico's Jonathan Allen wrote. "Never was that proximity problem more telling than on Tuesday, when Republicans denied Schmidt renomination to run for another term."
When Allen sought comment for the article, Brunsman refused to confirm if the meeting occurred and sent an email that stated, "I think you have lost your way."
For his part, Krikorian said the experience has taught him that Ohio needs to pass legislation that penalizes lawsuits filed solely to silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their opposition. Such a tactic is known as a "strategic lawsuit against public participation," or SLAPP.
"I think the Ohio Legislature should consider passing an anti-SLAPP statue to prevent these kinds of abuses of the legal process," he said. "This lawsuit was an attempt to intimidate and silence me by Rep. Schmidt and the Turkish lobby."
Krikorian apparently lost in the March 6 Democratic primary by just 59 votes to William R. Smith, a virtual unknown from Pike County who didn't campaign, answer questionnaires or grant interviews. A recount is under way and Krikorian has asked for a federal investigation of Victory Ohio Super PAC, which made robo-calls on Smith's behalf but isn't registered with the Federal Election Commission.
Krikorian picked up 14 more votes in Hamilton County on provisional ballots once the results were certified. Meanwhile, Clermont County certifies its results on Tuesday.
Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted announced today that there is a new way for registered voters to change their voting address: the Internet.
If the state had done this in 2008, about 130,000 provisional ballots could have been cast as regular ballots, according to Husted. Provisional ballots are ballots used to record a vote when there are questions surrounding a voter's eligibility. Provisional ballots are sometimes discounted if a person fails to prove his/her eligibility to vote.
"This added convenience for voters is also a powerful tool against voter fraud as current and accurate voter rolls leave less room for abuse," Husted said in a press release.
Husted said the new system will also save tax dollars. For each registration done online instead of by mail or in-person, the state saves money.
The website requires four identification keys: a last name, an Ohio driver's license number, the last four digits of a Social Security number and a date of birth. Registered voters that supply this information will be able to submit an application for an address change.
Applications will be reviewed by county election boards. If the address change is accepted, the election board will send an acceptance letter by mail to the new address.
The state is working heavily with the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to share voter data. At this time, more than 6 million of Ohio's registered voters will be able to change their addresses online.
To change an address online, voters can visit the Ohio Secretary of State page at MyOhioVote.com. Anyone who registers between now and October will also be put in a line to receive an application to vote by mail for the November elections.
"When we publicly started supporting Obama, we did have a lot of fans that were upset about that and just thought, 'you should keep your political opinions to yourself,' " lead singer Matt Berninger told reporters before their Thursday GottaVote concert sponsored by the Obama campaign.
"And I actually totally understand that and in many ways almost agree. I don't want to be preached to by the Rock bands that I like."The band drew a mixed crowd of 750 people to the intimate show at The Emery Theater on Thursday. The concert's purpose was to encourage attendees to vote for Obama in the Nov. 6 election and encourage Cincinnatians to take advantage of Ohio's early voting.
[Photo gallery: The National plays in Cincinnati Oct. 4]
CityBeat staff writer Andy Brownfield contributed to this report.
An investigation by nonprofit journalism group ProPublica has uncovered the identity of one of the secret super PACs funding advertisements attacking U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and promoting his challenger, Ohio state treasurer Josh Mandel.
The group is the Government Integrity Fund and is headed by Columbus lobbyist Tom Norris. Norris' lobbying firm Cap Square Solutions employs former Mandel aide Joe Ritter.
Ritter declined to comment to ProPublica about his role with Norris' lobbying firm or whether he is involved with the Government Integrity Fund.
The race between Brown and Mandel is considered vital to Republicans who want to take control of the Senate and Democrats who want to hold on to their majority. It has turned into Ohio's — and the nation's — most expensive race.
The Associated Press reported in August that outside groups — like the Government Integrity Fund — have spent $15 million supporting Mandel, while similar groups have spent $3 million for Brown.
It's unknown where the money is coming from because federal regulations and the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United case allow the groups to spend unlimited amounts of cash on political ads without disclosing their donors.
Such groups are classified as non-profit "social welfare" groups, which don't have to release donor information or register with the Federal Election Commission. They're supposed to be "primarily" engaged in promoting social welfare.
Super PACs aren't supposed to coordinate with campaigns, but it is common for them to hire politicians' former aides.
According to ProPublica, Ritter was first hired by Mandel as an aide when the candidate was in the Ohio Legislature. He was then the field director for Mandel's state treasurer campaign and then became a constituent and executive agency liaison when Mandel won that race. He left the treasurer's office after six months to work for Norris' lobbying firm.
Ritter was part of an ethics complaint filed after a Dayton Daily News investigation into Mandel's practice of hiring former campaign workers for state jobs. Ritter has contested the charges.
Norris' ties to the Government Integrity Fund was discovered by ProPublica through documents filed with Cincinnati NBC affiliate WLWT. The Federal Communication Commission requires TV stations to keep detailed records about political advertisers.
A prominent Republican congressman is under investigation for insider trading. U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), who heads the House Financial Services Committee, is being probed by the Office of Congressional Ethics for making suspicious trades and buying certain stock options while helping oversee the nation's banking and financial services industries.
Josh Mandel avoided directly answering a question about the auto bailout for five straight minutes during a recent meeting with the Youngstown Vindicator editorial board.
In a video released today by Democrats, Mandel, the Republican opponent to Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown for Ohio's U.S. senate seat, says he would have "trouble" voting in favor of the federal bailout of Chrysler and General Motors. He cites the case of Delphi workers, who lost part of their pensions as part of the deal auto companies made with workers after the federal bailout.
But Mandel, who is also Ohio's treasurer, refused to give a straight answer on whether he would vote for or against the bailout. After five minutes of phrasing the question in different ways, the Vindicator editorial board gave up in clear exasperation.
Mandel had a similar encounter with a WDTN reporter in August. In that encounter, Mandel refused to give a straight answer to the same question. After the reporter pressed the question, Mandel smiled and quipped, "Great seeing you."
But the dodgy encounters are not Mandel's only problem with the media. Media outlets, including CityBeat, have also criticized Mandel for his dishonest campaign tactics. Cleveland's The Plain Dealer gave Mandel the "Pants on Fire" crown for Mandel's consistently poor scoring on PolitiFact Ohio.
Mandel is currently down in aggregate polling by 4.8 points.
The video of Mandel dodging the Vindicator editorial board's questions can be seen here:
One of Ohio's two U.S. senators says Democrats need to get better organized so they can counteract private conservative groups that secretly draft legislation for Republican lawmakers.
The Porkopolis column in this week's CityBeat features excerpts from an interview with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). As is often the case with print media, there was limited space available and segments of the wide-ranging interview with Brown weren't included in the column.
One of the unused segments included Brown's responses to questions about whether President Obama and Congressional Democrats are aggressive enough in pushing their agenda, and whether the Left needs a group to counteract organizations like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
Asked if Democrats at the federal level are too reactive and need to do better at framing and guiding debate on issues, Brown said his party could use some improvement in that regard. He cited the theories of Ralph Waldo Emerson, the 19th Century essayist and abolitionist.
"I think the Democrats could do better at that, from the president on down," Brown said. "It's always easier to say no. The one reason (Republicans) do well with message is, by definition almost, of conservative. Emerson talked about the innovators and the conservators. Progressives are the innovators and conservatives are the conservators. By definition, the conservators protect the status quo. Protecting the status quo means 'no,' 'repeal,' 'don't,' and 'not.' Those are simple concepts. Changing things is more complex."
Also, Brown wishes the media would more clearly articulate what's happening in Washington. During the recent debate on raising the federal debt ceiling, for example, it was Obama and Democrats who were willing to compromise, a fact he believes didn't receive enough attention.
"When one party digs in and is extreme, both parties look bad," he said. "When people say, 'they all look terrible in Washington,' a big reason for that is Republicans weren't willing to negotiate anything. They were willing to shut the government down if we didn't do things their way.
"We, in the end, want to be responsible," Brown added. "A bunch of senators were in the White House months ago and Barack Obama said to us, 'I'm the adult and I have to be responsible. They know I'm not going to let the government default.' Well, as long as they know that, it changes things."
Brown likes the suggestion of Democrats forming their own progressive version of ALEC — the private, corporate-backed group that writes model legislation for state lawmakers, which is funded by the Koch brothers, the National Rifle Association and others.
"That might be a good idea," he said. "The elections last year were all about job loss. Spending a little bit, but mostly about job loss. Then you look at the three most salient things this state legislature has done, which is roll back collective bargaining rights, voting rights and women's rights.
"Not only is that not solving the problems we really have, which is jobs, it's also injecting divisions into our country and our state that we don't need," Brown added. "It's made people so angry and hurt so many people's feelings in a really significant way and for what? So they can accomplish a political agenda. That's what is really outrageous."
An ardent opponent of going to war in Iraq, Brown believes some progressives' fear that Obama will extend the wars there and in Afghanistan beyond the timetables for troop withdrawals is unfounded.
"I'm confident they will be respected and I'm hoping Afghanistan's will be accelerated," he said. "I think (Obama) will stand on what he said."
The senator is more ambivalent about U.S. intervention in the uprising in Libya. "I wish the president had been a bit more forthcoming with Congress about our involvement, but people I respect have also said it would've been a real genocide there if the Europeans and we hadn't done something," Brown said. "It's an awfully difficult call."
Brown believes extremist actions by the GOP — like restricting collective bargaining rights at the state level, and trying to defund Planned Parenthood and limit access to abortion at the federal level — are out of touch with the mainstream, and will benefit Democrats in next year's elections.
"Voters absolutely see these guys overreaching," Brown said. "The voters aren't wild about Barack Obama and the Democrats, but they like the Republicans even less.
"They've overreached on Medicare, it's going after Head Start and Planned Parenthood and all the kinds of things there is general consensus about in this country," he added. "We have general consensus in this country on many things, except the Far Right, on items like the environment, on Medicare, on food safety, on voting rights. These guys have exploded that."


text:
The Comedy In Fifty Shades of Grey
By Amy Nicholson
Wild Tales Lays Bare Everyone's Awfulness
By Stephanie Zacharek
Approaching the Elephant Is a Bracing Education Doc
By Calum Marsh
By Stephanie Zacharek
By Inkoo Kang
The Results of Our 2014 Film Critics' Poll
By Voice Film Critics
By Alan Scherstuhl
The Blue Room (La Chambre bleue)
By Alan Scherstuhl
The film is mostly a skitter around Tokyo malls, with Hubert piecing together increasingly shady events while off-the-hizz daughter Yumi (pop singer Ryoko Hirosue) jumps on beds and buys lots of T-shirts and crinoline. Gérard Krawczyk uses his camera to amusing effect, at one early point mimicking Hubert's mental process as he tries to recall the number of punch-outs in a clubland brawlwith each replay, more people get decked. But the larger project never really finds its center. The father-daughter story stays on the surface, as Hirosue is content to play Yumi as a hyperkinetic Shibuya-child trapped in an i-zone flash.
Just a Kiss (Paramount Classics, opens September 27) is a convoluted writing exercise gone horribly wrong, involving New York media-biz uppies (muppies?) and an intra-friendship infidelity that precipitates haywire events. The intended satire falls flat, though screenwriter-actor Patrick Breen has a solid handle on what makes media careerists venal and dull. Main dudes Breen and Ron Eldard ping-pong around long-suffering or suffer-inducing females: Marisa Tomei plays psycho-vixen, Kyra Sedgwick does a film-long impression of the Sad Mask, and Marley Shelton dredges up the old Mariel Hemingway ingenue shtick. The botched "cruelty of coincidence" zaniness is enough to make Jarmusch spin in Kieslowski's grave. And worse, random roto-mation, conceptually valid in Waking Life, here recalls a kid coloring outside the lines, or a suddenly creative office manager getting busy with the new PowerPoint.
Sponsor Content
Find capsule reviews, showtimes & tickets for all films in town.
Join My Voice Nation for free stuff, film info & more!