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BY Stu Leventhal (Philadelphia Restaurant Consultant)
1. Philadelphia Museum of Art:
2600 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy
The Art Museum is simply awesome with special exhibits going on all the time! World Class art is on display daily! But perhaps the biggest draw is the famous ROCKY Statue. Feeling in shape, test yourself. Take a run up the museum steps where Stallone's Champ worked out! It is not so easy as it looks!
2. Rittenhouse Square is Center City Philadelphia's famous Park! Located on Walnut St btwn 18th & 19th streets the well maintained park attracts lots of people, especially during lunch on business days! In the summer bring a blanket and catch a sun tan or just park your butt on one of the many park benches and read a book. For example my new mystery book 'High Sea' by (me) Stu Leventhal! Check out the video book trailer http://youtu.be/R3NICAjPOZ4
There's a cool goat statue and some other great statues and fountains! This is certainly one of the best place in the city to chill and people watch.
*Rittenhouse Square is bordered by many fine-dining and drinking establishments like Parc Brasserie, located at the corner of 18th and Locust Streets; from where you can sit, relax and watch the bikers, runners and walkers do their laps around the park!
Rittenhouse Square really is an oasis inside Philly's sky scrapers!
3. Reading Terminal Market:
51 N 12th St between Arch & Filbert Streets
The Reading Terminal Market is a suave, Farmer's Market filled with great deals! You will find fresh vegetable stands, ethnic food stands, superb desert stands, café's, fish and beef markets and much more…Come and bargain with the numerous Amish merchants!
4. The Franklin Institute:
222 20th Street… at Race Street
The world famous Franklin Institute is a Science Museum that is super popular with visiting school tours, families and kids of all ages! Who wouldn't want to take a walk through the Giant Heart! And, do not miss the planetarium!
5. Washington Square:
210 W Washington Square, between Locust and Walnut streets
Washington Square Park is a 6.4 acre protected park located in Center City Philadelphia. The park is home for the 'Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier'.
TRIVIA: Did you know; A very special sycamore tree was planted in the square in 1975? The SYCAMORE MOON TREE was grown from seeds that had been carried to the moon by astronaut Stuart Roosa on the Apollo 14 mission!
*Well, no Philadelphia tourist spot article could ever be complete without a few suggestions for where to find the best cheese steaks in the City! Believe me when I say they are all so good! Here are a few of the best....
6. Pat's King of Steaks:
1237 E Passyunk Ave at 9th Street
Sandwiches extraordinaire! Cheese steaks of all kinds! A local favorite!
7. Tony Luke's
39 E Oregon Ave
Tasty and large sandwiches! Always on everyone's list for Best cheesesteak in Philly! Their chicken cutlets are great with sharp provolone and broccoli rabe. The ROAST PORK ITALIAN is a local favorite!
8. Jim's Steaks:
400 South Street and 4th street
When you are walking along South Street window shopping, seeing the sights or pub crawling and you get a case of the munchies, Jim's Steaks is the place for you! I highly recommend 'The Whiz' with plenty of cheese whiz and onions!
Food cost tips, sales tips, menu design, operational streamlining, crew retention, kitchen safety, food safety are all discussed on this Philadelphia Restaurant Management Blog. Stay current on all kinds of Philly hospitality industry news, restaurant, bar and entertainment management tips and marketing and promotional advice that is cutting edge for the Philadelphia hospitality arena! If you need restaurant management advice contact Philadelphia Restaurant Consultant: email@example.com
Quite possibly the only Philadelphia entertainment advice website you will ever need to book mark. Philly Fun Dot Net has all the info about what is happening on the Philly night life scene, her suburbs, the Delaware Valley, across the river in nearby South Jersey and Delaware.
Philadelphia PA's only creative writing website featuring writers from all over the City of Brotherly Love. There is poetry, flash fiction, short stories, mysteries, lyrics featured, a kid's section and creative writing contests of all kinds. Plus check out the expert writing advice tutorials. You can learn how to write a romance or write comedy or business copywriting!


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Vic Firth Corpsmaster Signature Snare Drumstick - Murray Gusseck - Product Information
With almost 20 years of participation with the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, Murray Gusseck is currently the Battery Caption Manager for SCV. His Signature stick, affectionately known as "M-Dawgs", was designed to produce a big sound while maintaining a light feel. With a thick shaft and a medium long taper, "M-Dawgs" offer great balance with enough weight up front to move air through the drum. The slightly elongated tip provides quick rebound with a bright sound that works well on both snares and tenors.
Length: 17"
Diameter: .715"
Wood: Hickory
Tip: Wood
Length: 17"
Diameter: .715"
Wood: Hickory
Tip: Wood
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subset: commoncrawl


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RK Motors may be relatively new to the classic car auction business, but that only motivates it to be innovative.
October 31-November 3, RK Motors stages only its second auction. But the event promises to be not only interesting, but innovative and international.
While the primary auction will be held near RK's base in Charlotte, North Carolina, a second bidding parlor will be set up at the 7-star Emirates Palace Hotel in the United Arab Emirates, where people, including those in town for the 2013 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the Formula One race, can place their bids on vehicles such as the McLaren M26 that James Hunt drove (see photo) to his last F1 victory.
"As we were looking at how do you start an auction, how do you make it different, how do you compete with auctions that have 30-year histories, you have to do something different, something that's new and exciting, but it also has to be a value proposition," said Bill Mathews, executive vice president of RK Motors Collector Cars Auctions.
If people you'd like to have bidding on your cars cannot attend your auction, why not take the auction to them?
"We have these amazing cars," Mathews said. "People get it when you explain what you're doing, that there's an opportunity to expand the market and to bring in bidders who otherwise wouldn't be there. That helps drive sales prices."
RK Motors was established two years ago when Joseph Carroll merged his Ohio-based Best in Show Automotive restoration shop with Rob Kauffman's RK Collection, a high-volume classic car dealership in Charlotte. Since then they've added a growing website, My Classic Garage, and earlier this year staged their first auction, at North Carolina's Pinehurst resort, where they did nearly $2 million in sales of American muscle and other cars.
Mathews said that the bidding parlor in the Middle East will be in the same hotel where the F1 racing teams are staying. The auction will be held on the eve of the race.
"It will be like you are at the auction in Charlotte, a live simulcast, and with live auctioneers and live auction staff taking live bids as we are auctioning the vehicles in Charlotte," he said. "We'll just be getting bids from two sources."
Those bids will come on a lineup that includes a 1954 "gullwing" Mercedes-Benz 300SL, one of six 200-2 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR roadsters, the 267-mph 1995 Lotec Mercedes-Benz C1000, a 1006 Bugatti Veyron, the 1974 Gurney Eagle that Mario Andretti drove in the Indianapolis 500, Ivan Stewart's 1993 Toyota off-road racing trophy truck, Dale Earnhardt's 1977 NASCAR Chevrolet Nova, a Trans-Am race-winning 1978 Porsche 935, the award-winning 1967 Chevrolet Nova "Innovator" street machine of the year, Ray Evernham's NASCAR-powered 1964 Plymouth Belvedere, and others, including a 1957 Plymouth Savoy with 31 miles on its odometer.
"We have very modest expectations for the first one," Mathews said of the remote bidding parlor concept. "If we sell a handful of cars there it will be a home run. This is a proof of concept. It will only get better from here."
Mathews said RK plans on staging perhaps three auctions in 2014 and as many as five the following year. And he's already looking at other overseas locations for remote bidding venues.
$1.5-million Corvette paces Mecum's Chicago auction
Nearly 1,000 vehicles crossed the block at Mecum Auction's Chicago sale in north suburban Schaumburg. More than 600 sold for a total of $18.6 million, which was some $7 million more than the same sale posted the previous year.
The high-dollar sale was $1.5 million for the 1963 "Harley Earl Corvette," a car specially created for the head of GM Design (see photo).
Other top cars were a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for $500,000, a 2005 Ford GT for $250,000, a 1965 Shelby Cobra for $140,000, a 1967 Corvette convertible for $135,000 and a 1968 Dodge Hemi Dart lightweight for $125,000.
Mecum's next event is November 21-23 at Anaheim, California.
Long-garaged Jags featured at Coys' Ascot auction
An early Jaguar E-type found in a garage near Le Mans and an XK120 found in storage in England are among the cars being offered October 26 at Coys Spirit of Motoring auction at the Ascot Racecourse in the UK.
The 1961 E-type is chassis No. 40 and had been an a French barn from 1974 until being discovered just a few weeks ago, Coys said.
The 1951 XK120 has a racing history. The car was acquired by a collector as payment for a debt in 1993 but plans for the car's restoration never were fulfilled and it remained in storage.
The auction also includes a 1953 Connaught L3 racing car from the collection of Ian Hill of the Judas Priest rock group and a 1991 Bentley Eight owned by British television legend Bruce Forsyth.
Auto innovations, dirt tracks highlighted at California museum
"Innovations that Created the Automobile" is the title of an exhibition that opens October 26 at the California Automobile Museum in Sacramento. The exhibit features three car chassis that visitors can get "hands on" to not only see but to feel the differences and similarities. The exhibit also includes engine cutaways.
A few days later, the museum opens another exhibit, "Dirt! Racing on Sacramento's Legendary Tracks." Among the vehicles displayed will be several supermodifieds, a dirt-track hardtop from the 1950s bearing sponsorship from a beauty salon, and a Vukovich family-tribute midget racer.
And then, the museum's "Life in the Fast Lane" benefit and auction is November 8.
See www.calautomuseum.org for more information.
Nuvolari featured in Watkins Glen 'conversation'
Italian racer Tazio Nuvolari will be the subject of a "Center Conversations" November 2 at the International Motor Racing Research Center in Watkins Glen, New York. Presenting "Tazio Nuvolari: His Life and Times" will be Joe Tierno, who in 1955 became the youngest person in the country with a Sports Car Club of America membership. The presentation will include Tierno's talk, photographs and film footage.
"Nuvolari was an enormous personality and the most loved and admired race driver of his era," said Michael Argetsinger, a member of the Racing Research Center's governing council.
Nuvolari (see photo) began racing motorcycles. In 1930 he won the Mille Miglia. In a 30-year career, he won every European Grand Prix event except the Czechoslovakian GP while driving for Alfa, Ferrari, Maserati and Auto Union, among others.
See www.racingarchives.org for details.
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Income Withholding for Support Instructions
Published: July 15, 2014
- Information About:
- State/Local Child Support Agencies, Tribal Child Support Agencies, Employers, Courts
- Topics:
- Employer Responsibilities, Income/Wage Withholding
- Types:
- Forms
These instructions provide guidance for completing the Income Withholding for Support (IWO). The IWO is the OMB-approved form used for income withholding in Tribal, intrastate, and interstate cases as well as all child support orders which are initially issued in the State on or after January 1, 1994, and all child support orders which are initially issued (or modified) in the State before January 1, 1994 if arrearages occur. This form is the standard format prescribed by the Secretary in accordance with USC 42 §666(b)(6)(A)(ii).
- Income Withholding for Support Instructions.pdf (188.03 KB)


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Related Photo Galleries
Siping tools use a series of razor blades to cut slits into a tire. Properly siping a tire can require hundreds of cuts. As you can see here, multiple blades mounted into the siper allow multiple cuts in one pass, which greatly reduces the amount of time required to completely sipe a tire. Van Alstine


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Jimmy Ballard, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman
Dr. Ballard studies toxins produced by Bacillus anthracis and Clostridium difficile, two prominent Gram-positive pathogens. He uses a combination of cellular and molecular biology, and bacteriology to study the effects these bacterial toxins on eukaryotic cells, and has pioneered the zebrafish embryo as a novel system to follow localization of toxins to major organs in real-time.
Darrin Akins, Ph.D.
Dr. Darrin Akins laboratory is focused on identifying molecules that could be used to develop a vaccine for Lyme disease. Lyme disease is the most common infection transmitted by ticks to humans in the United States and a vaccine for this debilitating disease is a public priority. Dr. Akins' laboratory has been identifying novel outer surface proteins from the organism that causes this disease so that they can be used in the future to prevent Lyme disease or improve diagnostic strategies for identifying patients afflicted with this disease.
Noah S. Butler, Ph.D.
Dr. Butler's laboratory is focused on investigating protective immunity against the malaria parasite,Plasmodium. Two central questions are being pursued in parallel. First, what are the critical numerical and functional features of T cells and antibodies that coordinately act to limit or clear Plasmodium infections? Second, how does persistent malaria infection impact pre-existing anti-Plasmodial immunity or the ability of the host to mount de novo protective immune responses against the parasites?
Michelle C. Callegan, Ph.D.
Dr. Callegan's laboratory Bacillus cereus is an insidious ocular pathogen, causing a rapid and fulminant endophthalmitis that invariably leads to blindness within one to two days. Despite aggressive antibiotic and surgical intervention, B. cereus endophthalmitis has a relatively poor prognosis. There is presently no universal therapeutic regimen for successful treatment of Bacillus and other forms of severe bacterial endophthalmitis. Clinicians and researchers have attributed the virulence of B. cereus and other virulent endophthalmitis pathogens to toxin production. For Bacillus however, toxins are not the complete story. Bacillus is also motile, and migrates throughout the eye in a short period of time, inciting an explosive intraocular inflammatory response in its wake. This inflammatory response is likely the result of breakdown of the protective blood ocular barrier in response to infection, the triggers of which are presently being investigated. In addition, during infection, retinal architecture collapses and retinal function drops precipitously. We hypothesize that either Bacillus or its toxins (or both) target specific cells in the retina that are involved in protection by the blood ocular barrier (retinal pigment epithelial [RPE] cells) or retinal function itself (Muller cells, photoreceptor cells), leading to the detrimental effects observed during infection. Since the ultimate goal of therapy is to kill offending organisms, arrest inflammation, and preserve organ function, an important goal is to develop more effective therapeutic regimens, with newer antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents, and/or novel drugs that target bacteria- and host-derived virulence factors in order to prevent blindness. Daniel J. Carr, Ph.D.
Dan Carr, Ph.D. investigates the host immune response to the highly prevalent human virus pathogens, herpes simplex virus (HSV) types 1 & 2. In mouse ocular (HSV-1) and
genital (HSV-2) models of infection, the role of chemokines and their receptors in the generation and recruitment of effector cells (T and NK cells) in response to infection is currently under evaluation.
Madeleine W. Cunningham, Ph.D.
Dr. Madeleine Cunningham has focused for 30 years on molecular mimicry, autoimmunity and infection in studies of inflammatory heart diseases related to streptococci and viruses. Her work involves studies of the pathogenensis of rheumatic carditis, myocarditis and cardiomyopathy as well as the fetal heart disease hypoplastic left ventricle syndrome(HLHS). A second area of her research focuses on the brain and the pathogenesis of movement and behavioral disorders associated with streptococci, including Sydenham chorea, the neurologic manifestation of rheumatic fever, and pediatric autoimmune neurologic disorder associated with streptococci (PANDAS). Currently her laboratory is involved in studies of human diseases, to improve their diagnosis and treatment and determine how infections play a role in autoimmune diseases of the heart and brain. Her laboratory studies both B and T cell immunology as well as neuronal and cardiomyocyte cell signaling. Dr. Cunningham is the director of the NIAID supported Immunology Training Program at the University of Oklahoma for the past 10 years. She has been the recipient of NHLBI Career Development and MERIT Awards and has been funded NIH for the past 25 years.
Zachary Dalebroux, Ph.D.
David Dyer, Ph.D.
Dr. David Dyer's work centers on microbial pathogenesis and microbial genomics. His laboratory has been responsible for sequencing the genomes of the human pathogens Neisseria gonorrhoeae andAggregatabacter actinomycetemcomitans and in the sequencing of a strain of nontypeableHaemophilus influenzae.Additional studies are exploring the regulation of the iron regulon inNeisseria gonorrhoeae, and initial studies in gene regulation in Bacillus anthracis.
Joseph J. Ferretti, Ph.D.
Dr. Ferretti's laboratory was the first to complete the genome analysis ofStreptococcus mutans. Recent work has centered on the genetics of sugar transport and metabolism and the regulatory mechanisms involved in metabolism and virulence.
Allison Gillaspy, Ph.D.
Dr. Gillaspy is the Director of the Laboratory for Genomics and Bioinformatics at the OUHSC which is a state of the art facility that specializes in genomic technology and custom DNA sequencing. A major focus for our lab in recent years has been to aid in the integration of next generation sequencing technology, specifically the SOLiD platform from Applied Biosystems, into existing biomedical research.
William H. Hildebrand, Ph.D.
The Hildebrand Laboratory is focused on the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II molecules. These molecules mediate the rejection of organ and bone marrow transplants, the targeting of cancerous and virus-infected cells for immune destruction and autoimmune responses such as diabetes and arthritis. To delineate the role that MHC molecules play in these various immune scenarios, the Hildebrand Laboratory studies MHC genes and the proteins they encode.
Molly Hill, Ph.D.
Dr. Hill is the graduate student liaison and education coordinator for the Department. Her duties include directing the academic program of graduate students in the department and coordinating the teaching activities for graduate, medical and dental students.
Mark Lang, Ph.D.
Dr. Lang and his team are researching the development and maintenance of antibody-mediated immunity also known as humoral immunity. The major focus is on mechanisms by which a specialized subset of T cells known as natural Killer-like T cells (NKT) are activated and in turn boost long-term humoral immunity. The laboratory has two specific goals: (i) understand the mechanisms by which NKT cells regulate long-term humoral immunity, (ii) apply the knowledge to develop novel vaccine strategies against pathogenic bacteria and viruses.
Fengxia(Felicia) Qi, Ph.D.
The research interests of Dr. Qi's lab have focused on the molecular mechanism of interspecies interactions in the human infection associated biofilms, using the human oral microbiome as a model. The focus of her laboratory centers on two questions: 1)how do different species interact to maintain an ecological balance? And 2)how do the bacterial species keep the yeast in check?
Rodney K. Tweten, Ph.D.
Lauren Zenewicz, Ph.D.


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Trenton Adventurous and experimental
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Published on: March 18 2016
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Fun & Kinky Tips For Your Bondage Games!
Pick a card and let the naughty thrills begin!
These 50 cards cover a wide range of bondage-related topics, teaching you everything from 20 must-know knots to using different types of restraints. "Become an Escape Artist" teaches you how to wiggle out of binding rope and knots. "The G-String Tie" creates a rope thong for your lover to wear that teases her clit. "The Arm Box Tie" involves full-body Shibari play straight from Japan.
And it's not all about rope either! The cards have plenty of information about sensory stimulation from blindfolds to temperature play. And there are loads of kinky games for you and your lover to play! "Nyotaimori," for example, details all the rules for eating sushi off your partner's naked body!
The front of each card features a colorful and artistic image related to bondage play. Each card measures 4.5 inches by 6.5 inches. The 50 cards come in a convenient holder for easy storage. Detailed safety information is also included.
Due to manufacturer pricing policies, we are unable to offer further (all) discounts on this item.


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Online Ad Market Perks Up After Dismal Year
Signs of life are returning to the Internet ad business after the harshest year since 2002, with a new report on Wednesday showing that U.S. online ad spending started to pick up again during the second half of 2009.
U.S. online ad spending reached $6.3 billion during the fourth quarter of 2009 – the largest quarter on record for Internet advertising, according to a report released by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a trade group of media and technology companies. Spending during the fourth quarter increased 2.6% from the same period in 2008.
"The worst of the economic impact on Internet advertising is over and that the seeds of growth have been planted," said David Silverman, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Fourth-quarter growth in 2009 capped a bleak year in the digital media business, where total online ad spending dropped 3.4% to $22.7 billion, according to the report. That yearly decline marked the first drop-off in the online ad market since 2002, when online ad spending fell 16% following the burst of the dot-com bubble.
Some online ad formats fared better than others. Search remains the largest online ad format and continues to take share of the U.S. online ad market, making up 47 % of 2009 ad revenues, up from 45% in 2008. Search ad spending increased 1% in 2009 to $10.7 billion compared to 2008.
Spending on display advertising, the graphical ads that border Web sites, increased 4% to $8 billion in 2009. Spending on online video grew 38% in 2009 to $1 billion.
But some ad formats experienced sharp declines. Ad spending on classifieds dropped 29% in 2009 to $2.3 billion. Ad spending on lead generation dropped 14% to $1.5 billion, and email ad revenues dropped 28% to $292 million.
Compared to the broader media business, the Internet escaped the economic downturn relatively unscathed. Total ad spending declined 12.3% in 2009 to $125.3 billion compared to 2008, according to WPP's ad-tracker Kantar Media.
Several forecasters predict that online ad spending will experience double-digit growth this year and continue to take share from traditional media, like print and TV. Online ad spending will grow 5.5% this year to $23.6 billion, according to research firm eMarketer.
While online advertising is a growing piece of the total advertising business, several impediments remain before the amount of dollars marketers spend online matches the amount of time consumers spend on the Internet, industry experts say. Internet advertising lacks strong measurement standards and remains too complicated to buy, says Terence Kawaja, managing director of investment bank GCA Savvian Advisors. "What is needed in the interactive industry is some revolutionary thinking," Mr. Kawaja says.


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Those of us in the battle to save the planet - and all living forms - from the catastrophic consequences of Climate Change - more vicious hurricanes, tsunami, typhoons, tornadoes, blizzards, drought, flood, fire on an apocalyptic scale), public health (more viruses, disease, famine, disease-causing insects), conflict (due to the potential of 200 million climate refugees as coastal areas are flooded) and economic stress (billions and billions to rebuild after climate-caused destruction as we have seen first-hand with Hurricane Sandy, not to mention higher food prices) - have had to do battle with the likes of the Koch Brothers, who have spent $100 million funding Climate-change deniers, with politicians in the pocket of Big Oil like Senator Inhofe who at least once a year gives a speech decrying climate change as a hoax and a fraud aimed at enriching the clean-energy entrepreneurs, and ignorant people who even after their lives have been devastated by climate change catastrophe, declare, "I think comon sence would dictate that if you live along the coastal areas than things like this happen its not climate change..its called what its always been called Mother Nature!" [sic]
(This comment was in reaction to an article titled, "Hurricane Sandy showed that our rebuilding efforts need reform").
Despite the death, destruction and despair all around us, and despite President Obama's declarations that climate change must be addressed with urgency, these forces have caused virtual paralysis at the federal level,
Just last week, Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe used the opportunity of the polar vortex which plunged half of the country into record cold as proof in the fiction of Global Warming. Imagine, cold in winter! He did not make such remarks during December, when the country was in record heat. Nor did he remark on the fact that the last dozen years have been the warmest on record, with 2010 setting the all-time record.
Storms of a magnitude that are not supposed to strike except once in a hundred years, are besetting us every couple of years.
The economics alone (since that seems to be the only thing they understand) scream for addressing climate catastrophes. Climate Change deniers like Inhofe claim that making adjustments will cost the economy too much and destroy the American Way of Life. But besides investing in new, locally sourced and homegrown industries and jobs, they fail to take into account what climate disasters cost: The U.S. had the world's two costliest natural disasters in 2012- Superstorm Sandy and the drought cost $100 billion the Koch Brothers stand to make $100 billion in profit if they get the Keystone XL Pipeline built). Between 2011-2013, Congress spent nearly $140 billion cleaning up the pieces of battered communities.
"The nearly $400 per household spent annually over the past three years could be the beginning of a very costly future as climate-related extreme weather multiplies," Daniel J. Weiss and Jackie Weidman wrote in "Disastrous Spending: Federal Disaster-Relief Expenditures Rise amid More Extreme Weather."
Pretty soon, someone will keep track of climate change deaths (10,000 in the Haiyan typhoon, 1800 in Katrina), and climate change refugees, like in war.
Indeed, following the impact of Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, Governor Cuomo proposed a $17 billion strategy that will transform New York's infrastructure, transportation networks, energy supply, coastal protection, weather warning system and emergency management to better protect New Yorkers from future extreme weather. these are essentially mitigation efforts, rather than addressing the cause of the severe climate events.
Still, the climate change deniers have managed to control things at the federal level.
As a result, most of the response to climate change have come from the state and local level.
This was made demonstrably clear at a Climate Change forum, held at the Universalist Unitarian Church of Shelter Rock.
North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth vowed to continue policies aimed at protecting the environment begun by her predecessors Newburger and Kaiman (in contrast to President Reagan, who dismantled the solar panels that Carter had put on the White House), and North Hempstead's Sustainability Officer Fran Reid (North Hempstead is one of the few towns to have a sustainability officer).
Reid offered a presentation on Climate Change based on conference conducted by former Vice President Al Gore who has made the issue of Global Warming his life's work and through his film "Inconvenient Truth," has done more to make the crisis understandable for people.
It includes a steady stream of disasters and catastrophes connected to the effects of global warming, exacerbated by human activity.
"The deadly European heat wave of 2003, the fiery Russian heat wave of 2010 and catastrophic droughts in Texas and Oklahoma last year can each be attributed to climate change, " stated James Hansen, former director of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, in August 2012 (July 2012 was the hottest month on record).
"The only plausible explanation for the rise in weather related catastrophes is climate change," stated Munich Re (one of the two largest reinsurance companies in the world), Sept. 27, 2010.
Indeed, back in 2006, Al Gore predicted precisely what would happen to New York City if a storm on the scale of Superstorm Sandy hit.
Global warming is contributing to an increased incidence of extreme weather because the environment in which all storms form has changed from human activities, said Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "You look out the window and you see climate change in action."
It's not just violent hurricanes and floods which are brought on because the hotter oceans send more moisture into the air, but the same forces literally suck moisture out of land, causing droughts and wildfires.
In the United States, drought conditions in August 2012 caused 1452 counties in 32 states to be declared disaster areas.
Just a few months ago, Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful storms ever recorded, killed at least 10,000 people in the central Philippines, with huge waves sweeping away coastal villages and devastating one of the main cities in the region.
Soon after, at the UN climate talks in Warsaw, Naderev "Yeb" Sano, the leader of the Phillipines delegation, declared, Sano had no hesitation in connecting Typhoon Haiyan to climate change: "What my country is going through as a result of this extreme climate event is madness. We can stop this madness. Right here in Warsaw."
It was the second year in a row that Sano addressed the Climate Change conference after a massive typhoon hit his country.
A year ago, after Typhoon Bopha killed more than 1,100 people, he declared, " The outcome of our work is not about what our political masters want. It is about what is demanded of us by seven billion people. I appeal to all: Please, no more delays, no more excuses. Please, let Doha be remembered as the place where we found the political will to turn things around, and let 2012 be remembered as the year the world found the courage to do so, to find the courage to take responsibility for the future we want."
But then again, the Philippines is not a powerful or rich country.
You know what he should do? Do the only thing that Washington politicians can understand: his country should sue the biggest carbon polluters for damages.
It's not Mother Nature. It's us humans who burn fossil fuels - the rise in carbon emissions into the atmosphere traces back to the Industrial Revolution, based on burning fossil fuels.
In the absence of a national campaign to reverse course, akin to the Manhattan Project, states and localities have taken the lead.
Governor Andrew Cuomo deserves credit for putting resources into developing electronic charging stations along the highway, funding research into clean energy, for the energy audits available through NYSERDA, and there is even a group within his government that is advocating for a windfarm off the south shore of Long Island. But environmentalists are upset that he has not firmly taken a stand to ban hydrofracking.
(Similarly, Obama has spoken out on the need to address climate change, has done his best to allocate funds to the development of clean, renewable fuels, but at the same time, he has been an eager booster of hydrofracking and oil production.)
Congress has refused to adopt a cap-and-trade standard in order to use market forces to control carbon emissions (which is actually a conservative idea, like Obamacare), but NYS Assemblywoman Michelle Schimel, at the Climate Change Forum, spoke of The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cooperative effort among the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont to cap and reduce CO2 emissions from the power sector. It is the first market-based regulatory program in the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (www.rggi.org).
What this means is that states sell emission allowances through auctions and invest proceeds in consumer benefits: energy efficiency, renewable energy, and other clean energy technologies. A coal-fired plant which does not utilize all its credits can sell to someone else, but in this way, the total emissions are effectively "capped."
Schimel reported that RGGI has cut carbon emissions by 40%, and at the same time has had direct economic benefits: $1.6 billion in New York State alone, affecting more than 55,000 households and 628 businesses.
But Schimel warned that there is a serious new threat which could undo all of the effort of states and localities to control their environmental fate: the Trans Pacific Partnership treaty (TPP).
The treaty, which would involve 12 countries representing 38% of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is being negotiated in secret -even Congressmembers are not privy - by some 600 "trade advisors" (lobbyists) for the largest multinational corporations on the planet - Chevron, Halliburton, Monsanto, Walmart. (Most of what is known about the TPP's provisions are from leaks; Wikileaks provided the first public mention.)
"The trade advisors have privileged access, but your congressman can only see a small part," Schimel said.
Although it is called a "free trade" agreement, the TPP is not mainly about trade. Of TPP's 29 draft chapters, only five deal with traditional trade issues. One chapter would provide incentives to offshore jobs to low-wage countries. Many would impose limits on government policies that we rely on in our daily lives for safe food, a clean environment, and more. Our domestic federal, state and local policies would be required to comply with TPP rules.
The TPP would even elevate individual foreign firms to equal status with sovereign nations, empowering them to privately enforce new rights and privileges, provided by the pact, by dragging governments to a supranational tribunal to demand taxpayer compensation over policies that they claim undermine their expected future profits.
There are no human rights safeguards. No consumer protections No environmental protections.
Now, NAFTA (and tax policy) has been responsible for 50,000 American factories shutting down, and the decimation of US manufacturing jobs.
The TPP is NAFTA on stereoids, says Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt).
"I have the same concerns as with NAFTA and even more with this," Senator Sanders said "It's being negotiated virtually in secret. It gives enormous power for corporations over national governments and local governments all over the world - worry very much that this is an agreement written by the leading corporations of the world, to benefit them, and will be continuation of policy of driving wages down in US and continuing this race to the bottom which has been so harmful.
Another comparison is RLUIPA - the law that removes the ability of localities to restrict religious use.
The effect of TPP though would be to force US wages and working conditions down to the lowest level - in fact, the government would be forced to purchase goods and services from the lowest bidders (just as it buys its uniforms from foreign manufacturers, and was forced to use a Canadian software company to build the Obamacare website).
It is hard to see how this treaty could benefit Americans, but amazingly, the Obama Administration is looking for fast-track authority - meaning that Congress would not even get a chance to debate or have input into the treaty.
Just the day before this Climate Change Forum, Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Representative Dave Camp (R-Mich.) officially introduced fast-track trade authority legislation in Congress. Fast track is a process that bypasses Congress' constitutional role in the treaty process. Fast track prohibits amendments to a trade treaty, limits Congress' right to debate and requires an up-or-down vote (even though Senate Republicans have filibustered more than 400 other times since President Obama took office) within 90 days of the treaty coming before the Congress.
Here's an example of how TPP might undermine us locally:
Take the proposal to build a Liquid Nitrogen Terminal off the south shore of Long Island. Building it would not only set the stage for transiting fracked natural gas from upstate New York and Pennsylvania through our roads, but would likely prevent the alternative use: an offshore windfarm in what is considered the best location in the country for wind power.
Even if New York and New Jersey and the various localities say no, under TPP, a foreign corporation could demand access to the terminal, and could sue the locality for "lost income" based on opposition. It could effectively nullify local environmental protection laws, not to mention zoning, labor laws, and on and on.
Besides environmentalists, which see this as essentially coming under the thumb of corporatists, workers would be harmed.
The TPP has been under negotiation for five years, and the Obama administration wants to sign the deal by early 2014. Opposition to the TPP is growing at home and in many of the other countries involved.
Public Citizen has an action alert out (action.citizen.org) (Click through to "Write Your Representative to Vote 'No' on Fast Track Trade Authority." The Coalition For a Prosperous America, representing "manufacturing, agricultural, worker, consumer and citizen interests," also has a page you can use to tell Congress to vote against fast-track trade authority. (action.prosperousamerica.org)
(To see the leaked details of TPP: www.citizen.org/documents/Leaked-TPP-Investment-Analysis.pdf).
Ironically, to battle against TPP may require an alliance with some "strange bedfellows" - alliance with the Right Wing. (perhaps that's why Obama is pushing so hard for it - he knows that anything he wants will be opposed.)
After all, it was Rick Santorem (former Senator, perennial Presidential candidate) who so successfully crushed the treaty in the Senate that would have spread Americans With Disabilities Act standards to the rest of the world. That treaty would have gone far not just to make it easier for our disabled veterans and seniors and children to travel abroad, but would have gone a far way to removing the stigma that disabled experience in their communities, often resulting in children being hidden away rather than allowed to be part of community and society.
The basis for Santorem's opposition was the fiction that the treaty would have dared to make the US subject to foreign authority - even allow black-shirted forces to grab special needs children out of the clutches of home-schooling (or should we say brainwashing, but that is another story).
And so, even with Senator Dole who was the force behind the Americans with Disabilities Act, sitting in his wheelchair in the chamber, the Republican Senators managed to prevent the treaty from passing.
If they could argue that the treaty to spread American standards for accommodating disabled people would subject this nation to the authority of a foreign power, what are we to make of the Trans Pacific Partnership Treaty.
It will be an interesting test to see how much of the Republican opposition to a treaty based on the concern of relinquishing our sovereignty (which it specifically wouldn't), would come together to oppose this treaty which absolutely would - but is favored by their campaign donors and benefactors.
The strategy in this, as in all things, is to rally people to "contact your Congressmen". "Make Noise." But as we have seen over and over again now - with gun violence prevention legislation, minimum wage, unemployment benefits - it doesn't seem to matter if 55, 60, 70, 75, even 90 percent of "The People" favor legislation or not. The Congress people only march to the drum of money (they no longer need to worry about voters because they have taken care of manipulating election results with various techniques including gerrymandering, voter suppression, and on and on).
Here's a different strategy: we should be marshalling local reporters because the ramifications of this treaty are not confined to the lofty international or even federal layers, but will strike us at our core.
Local reporters - not the mainstream, which if you start with Fox which is a propaganda tool (admittedly so) to implement Republican policy, and move on through the mainstream which, like the politicians, is beholden to their revenue sources (American Petroleum Institute, Exxon-Mobil - just look at who advertises).
Get the reporters to flood the White House trade representatives and Senate and House trade committees with probing questions and demands for documents, and force them to expose what they are doing and explain or defend it.
Get the local reporters to embarrass the national reporters - the ones who have the access and the ear of the movers and shakers - to demand answers. That will result in the editorial writers - Nick Kristof, Paul Krugman, for example - to start writing.
And that's the path to turning this around.
Karen Rubin, Long Island Populist Examiner
© 2014 News & Photo Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. For editorial feature and photo information, go to www.news-photos-features.com or email email@example.com. 'Like' us on facebook.com/NewsPhotoFeatures.


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Wow that Arab Spring is sure working out well isn't it? The only way these pigs will ever get to Jerusalem will be as fertilizer made from their corpses.
by Oren Kessler
Egypt's Islamists aim to install a global Islamic caliphate with its capital in Jerusalem, a radical Muslim preacher told thousands of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in a clip released Monday.
"We can see how the dream of the Islamic caliphate is being realized, God willing, by Dr. Mohamed Mursi," Safwat Higazi told thousands of Brotherhood supporters at a Cairo soccer stadium as Mursi – the movement's presidential candidate – and other Brotherhood officials nodded in agreement.
"The capital of the caliphate – the capital of the United States of the Arabs – will be Jerusalem, God willing," Higazi said. "Our capital shall not be in Cairo, Mecca or Medina," he said, before leading the crowd in chants of "Millions of martyrs march toward Jerusalem."
Higazi is an unaffiliated Islamist who is barred from the United Kingdom for making statements endorsing terror attacks against Israelis. The clip, from Egypt's Islamist-oriented Al-Nas television station, was aired last week and uploaded to YouTube on Monday by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
Members of the crowd carried banners emblazoned with slogans related to next week's "Nakba Day," when Palestinians and other Arabs mourn Israel's creation in 1948.
"Tomorrow, Mursi will liberate Gaza," an unidentified man cheers in the video before leading the crowd in chants of "Allah Akbar."
"Banish the sleep from the eyes of all Jews," the man repeats, accompanied by drumming. "Come on, you lovers of martyrdom, you are all Hamas… Forget about the whole world, forget about conferences. Brandish your weapons, say your prayers and pray to the Lord."
Returning to the stage, Mursi vowed to pray in Jerusalem. "Yes, Jerusalem is our goal. We shall pray in Jerusalem, or die as martyrs on its threshold."
Raymond Stock, an American translator and academic who spent two decades in Egypt, said the clip should come as a surprise to no one.
"This is what the Muslim Brotherhood really stands for: the extermination of Israel – and Jews everywhere – as well as the spread and control of radical Islam over the world," he told The Jerusalem Post.
"How anyone can fail to see this boggles the mind – yet its denial is virtual dogma in the global mainstream media, US government and Western academia today," said Stock, who has translated a number of books by the Nobel Prize-winning Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz.
The Brotherhood won about half of Egypt's parliamentary seats, but its main candidate Khairat al-Shater was disqualified last month from running for president and Mursi has struggled to win wide support.
Hard-line Salafi Islamists were parliamentary elections' biggest surprise, taking around 25% of seats.
A presidential election, which starts on May 23-24, will choose a replacement for Hosni Mubarak, who was toppled in February last year.
Poll numbers released Monday by the state-run Al-Ahram Center show Moussa leading the field with 39%, followed by Abol Fotouh with 24%, former Mubarak premier Ahmed Shafiq with 17% and Mursi in fourth with just 7%.
"Many people want Islamist values but are afraid that Islamist control of the presidency in addition to parliament could be bad for tourism and foreign investment. Others simply like Moussa," he said. "He is a radical nationalist with a pragmatic streak, and from a Western point of view is the best we can hope for now that Omar Suleiman has been excluded."
"But we can't rule out Mohamed Mursi yet – the Brotherhood machine is extremely formidable, and nearly everyone has underestimated them before," he said, adding that "the Salafis remain wild cards, as ever."
Read the rest – Egypt Islamist vows global caliphate in Jerusalem
Tags: Oren Kessler


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Mark Levin celebrates #BREXIT by whining about Trump June 25th, 2016
Paul Ryan's faggy reax to Democrat hooliganism is a perfect microcosm of America in 2016 June 22nd, 2016
Trump accurately stalls while trying to remember correct answer on gun registration June 20th, 2016
Even Howard Stern doesn't want to ban AR-15s June 17th, 2016
With the petition to deport Piers Morgan closing in on 100,000, Piers Morgan responded in typically moronic fashion…
Although I love the country as a second home and one that has treated me incredibly well, I would, as a concerned parent first – and latterly, of a one-year-old daughter who may attend an American elementary school like Sandy Hook in three years' time – seriously consider deporting myself.
Friendly reminder: Children are more likely to be struck by lightning than massacred in a Sandy Hook style attack…
Odds of your child being killed in a Sandy Hook style attack:
1 in 325 million or less than .0000001%.
Odds of your child being struck by lightning:
1 in 775,000 or less than .00001%.
I know this is right-wing, extremist crazy talk? But further curtailing civil liberties to prevent crimes that are tantamount to being struck by lightning doesn't make sense to me.


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Representing Acworth. :smt1099
Printable View
Representing Acworth. :smt1099
Hi there jacket!
Marietta, here
I just found this site last night and am happily checking it out.
Stockbridge, GA in Henry County.
Hey Mac Attack, I am right next door on the Clayton/Henry line in Rex. Send reinforcements!:smt083
Fayetteville GA.
We about got the state covered..Now does anyone know where to Quail hunt?
I havent been in years.
Representing Augusta here.
Are there any good gun shops over in the Augusta area?
New member from Ringgold, GA...15 miles south of Chattanooga off of I-75 or Highway 41.
Macon, here.:smt013
Decatur, GA (Dekalb County) here...
Hey all, Athens GA here...
Anyone else close by who might like to go shooting sometime at the Athens Rifle Club?
just checking this because your title jumped out at me. i am going to a place today that sells guns for 10% cost over what he gets them for to see what a sig equinox will run me. its in Austin. if you find Georgia unoccupied again you are always welcome to join us in Texas their seems to be a lot of us on this forum.. bye
North Georgia here.
Glad to see some of the GA GANG here.
Ya'll ain't alone, but where the heck is 2cacca? Son you gotta be 2 fer north? There are enough shooters in Hiawasse to keep ya company. Check the NRA web site for clubs up there. More around Macon and in the Southeast corner of the state.
Statesboro, GA checking in
NEWNAN CHECKING IN.:smt023
Hi y'all from Savannah!:)
Sharpsburg here.
Young Harris Ga. here.


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Consumer prices up 0.2 percent in June
July 19, 2001
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.2 percent in June, following a 0.4 percent increase in May.
A downturn in the energy index was partially offset by larger increases in the indexes for food and for all items less food and energy. The energy index, which increased 3.1 percent in May, declined 0.9 percent in June.
The food index, which increased 0.3 percent in May, rose 0.4 percent in June. Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U rose 0.3 percent in June, following a 0.1 percent increase in May.
Consumer prices rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 3.7 percent in the second quarter after advancing at a 4.0 percent rate in the first three months of 2001. This brings the year-to-date annual rate to 3.8 percent and compares with an increase of 3.4 percent for all of 2000.
For the 12-month period ended in June 2001, the CPI-U increased 3.2 percent.
These data are a product of the BLS Consumer Price Index program. Find out more in Consumer Price Indexes, June 2001, news release USDL 01-226.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Consumer prices up 0.2 percent in June on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2001/july/wk3/art04.htm (visited June 27, 2016).
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Rail of War
DescripciónThe railroad is the battlefield and the train is the war machine! Dominate the railways with your locomotive!
HackAll trains - Weapons unlocked but as its not full version advanced trains are not available - Health has been increased to max (9999999999+) - You can even drive slow Trains - Speed has been increased from 100 to 500 - Weapon firing range increased - Weapon power also increased.
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text:
Hal Stoen
© 2001
revised April, 2012
Introduction and disclaimers
OK, let me make all of the usual caveats first. This is just my personal take, based on my experience in the field. And, in all fairness, I got out of the flying business a little over 10 years ago. However, I held a variety of positions in aviation, flight instructing being one of them. To the best of my knowledge, the requirements and experience levels that I list for the various ratings are correct. However, should you decide to pursue a aviation career, you will want to make certain that you have all available current information. My intent is not so much to list the requirements for the various ratings as it is to give the potential pilot some insight into this fascinating endeavour called flying. And, not to be jingoistic, but this applies only to the United States, as it is the only country that I am familiar with. This page is laid out on a "progressive" basis, advancing from the casual pilot to the Airline Transport Rating. Hopefully that covers my bases. One last thing- if the reader does find any errors, please contact me so that I can make the necessary corrections.
Let's get started.
Flying airplanes is a wonderful pass time, it's even better if you can get paid to do it for a living. Should you decided to progress through the ratings and become a commercial pilot you will discover that flying for a living has a lot of rewards- and a lot of pot holes.
Big Airport vs. Small Airport
Big Airport
There are some excellent flight schools at the major airports, but there are some things that you should know about before going in. First off, your instructor is more likely to be using his ticket as a stepping stone to a higher rating and a better job. His motivation, from your standpoint, may not be totality pure. Also, these flight schools tend to charge more because they have a higher overhead. On the other hand, their equipment, aircraft, and teaching aids are more likely to be more up to date. And, lastly, take into account that extra time to fly out to the "practice area." Airplanes aren't cheap, and the Hobbs meter starts counting as soon as the engine fires up. If you spend 10 minutes just getting out of Big Airport airspace, and 10 more returning on each training session, you could easily end up paying 15 to 20 hours of aircraft rental fees for the privilege. However, one big benefit of operating out of a larger airport is that you will become familiar with radio procedures and working with Air Traffic Control.
Small Airport
By small airport I mean anything other than a major metropolitan airport, and preferably an airport without a lot of airline coming and goings. Airline traffic delays your arrivals and departures, makes it more difficult to do touch-and-go practices, requires more spacing when in trail behind them for possible wake turbulence, and just drives up your costs. Sure aviation is a first come, first served operation, but you have to be practical. The chances of your instructor having more varied experience also increase, as he probably has more chances to fly charters and freight operations than his big city cousin does. Also, while he probably has his eyes set on a better job, he is most likely to be better motivated than his big city brethren. The aircraft may be a little older, and class room material a little less scarce and fancy. A chalk drawing on a blackboard may replace a professional production video on the same subject. But the odds are that you will always have the same instructor, and perhaps even the same aircraft. And, travel time to the practice area is usually shorter.
Your instructor
Look. You're going to spend a lot of money taking flying lessons, and the learning curve varies by the individual. Your flight instructor is a critical part of your training, and as I alluded to above, his interests may not be totally pure from your viewpoint. It's a fact of aviation life that pilots become instructors to build up time. The instructor rating is the only one that you can log PIC (Pilot In Command) time while someone else is doing the driving. There are some great flight instructors out there, and there also a lot of turkeys.
Interview your potential instructor. Don't be intimidated. Show a little respect, he deserves that, but ask questions. "What kind of aircraft do you use?" "What's the average time your students spend before solo?" "How long does it take to get to the practice area?" Talk in general, non-aviation terms. Try to get to know this person a little bit. You'll be spending a lot of time up there in a cramped, noisy box with him shouting in your ear. If you don't much care for him on the ground, you'll like him a whole lot less in the air. Trust me.
If you don't like the vibes, ask to try a different instructor. Or go to a different school on the airport. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You're going to spend a lot of money learning to fly. Get the most bang for your buck
The aircraft
They come in all shapes and sizes. High wing, low wing, I've even known people that started- and completed- their training in a twin. What's best?
The one that is the most difficult to fly! Well, within reason of course.
A Cessna 152, for example, is more sensitive on the controls than it's larger brother, the 172. If you learn to fly in a 152, and then step-up to a 172 it will be a piece of cake to handle. It's more difficult the other way around. Generally speaking, the larger the aircraft the easier it is to fly. And, the guy that learns in a tail-dragger has a much easier time of transistioning to a tricycle gear than the tricycle driver does going the other direction. So, in my opinion, opt for the small trainer. High wing or low wing? I'm partial to the high wing for the reasons stated above, but it's really a matter of what the flight school that you pick uses.
Oh, one last thing. Be a little leery if the school uses a 4-seater airplane for a trainer. It's larger, and some big people just need a bigger airplane to fit into, but it's also more expensive to operate, and you're the guy that will be paying those charges. I've always been a little suspect of some operations that use a 4-seater for training, then charge people to ride in the back seats as "observers." There are facets of aviation training where this can be valuable- instrument training, for example- but I've always looked on this practice as more of a way for the school to bring in a little extra revenue than as a benefit for the student, or the back seat "observers."
The FAA
The Federal Aviation Administration, sometimes referred to, in a sense of reverse humor, as "The Friendlies". You might as well get used to these folks, as they control aviation in the United States. They are not your enemy, however they are a government bureaucracy. They have the power to give you your license, and they have the power to take it away. They have a myriad of regulations that can be over-powering. However, if you intend to fly airplanes, it is in your best interest to learn what regulations apply to you, and to understand them.
And to follow them.
Go to the FAA's page on the internet
I highly recommend that you visit the FAA's site (I used to provide an active link, but the government being the government, it kept changing. Just do a Google search.) There you will find a wealth of information that will tell you precisely what is required for the various pilot's licenses, test guides, and medical information, among many other things.
The introductory lesson
Hey, you have to start someplace. If you can afford it, drive out to your nearest small airport and take an introductory lesson. Many flight schools offer a special deal for that first flight. If you are not certain, use the yellow pages and let your fingers do the walking.
During the introductory flight the pilot will let you take control of the aircraft, doing some gentle turns, and the always-a-favorite trip over your house if you live near by. Don't worry about hurting anything. Most likely the fellow sitting to your right is an instructor who has the wonderful ability to look calm and distant while actually being mentally and physically poised to grasp control of the aircraft before you can do any harm.
If you do nothing more than take an introductory flight lesson, at least you will satisfy that "what if?" itch.
The medical
In order to fly airplanes, you need a medical certificate. There are three basic classes of medical, known as "Class 1", "Class 2", and "Class 3". (How logical.) Class 1 is for the airline pilots, and is good for 6 months. Class 2 is for the commercial pilots, and is good for 1 year. Class 3 is for non-commercial pilots, and is good for 2 years. If you want to spend some extra money, you can get a Class 1 medical, even though you are a Private Pilot. It will revert to a Class 2 after 6 months, and a Class 3 after 1 year.
Medical exams are administered by doctors that have been certified by the FAA. The exams, particularly the Class 3, are not that difficult. If you are in good health, you will pass. You must have your Medical in order to solo, however you do not need one in order to receive flight instruction.
As an aside, when you get your Third Class Medical Certificate, you will also receive your Student Pilot License. However, the "license" will have no real value until it is endorsed by a flight instructor.
What happens when your Medical expires? Your license to fly airplanes expires. Plain and simple.
For the requirements of each class Medical, check the FAA's
web site.
Recreational Pilot
This is an inexpensive way to get in the door to flying airplanes. The license has limited privileges, however, unlike a Student Pilot certificate with a solo endorsement, you won't have to keep going back to an instructor for re-endorsement every now and then. There is a written, and a flight examination. Day VFR, limited (50 miles) distance from the airport, no night flying.
Visit the FAA web site for an FAQ on the privileges and requirements for the Recreational Pilot Certificate.
Student Pilot
This is where it starts. In order to take flight instruction you can be any age- no minimum, no maximum. All you need is the money. You'll have to be at least 14 to solo. In addition, you will need a Student Pilot certificate and a 3rd. Class Medical Certificate. The training curriculum will be set by the school, meeting FAA guidelines. First off will be air work, just to get you comfortable with the airplane. Gentle turns and climbs, then when you are confident moving on up to some stall work. After you can do air work, it'll be back to the airport for touch-and-go landings. Then more air work, and more touch-and-go's. When your instructor is satisfied with your competence, he will one day announce that he wants you to stop the aircraft on the airport. This is it. Your solo.
Instructors generally like to spring it on you for the shock value and the heightened experience of the moment. Trust me, they are testing and qualifying you for this event without your knowledge. The first time that you taxi out and realize that there is no one next to you is a moment that you will remember all of your life.
And the elevator can stop of this floor if you wish. By flying an airplane solo, you have accomplished something that an extremely small, and I mean extremely small, percentage of the Earth's population has ever done. You will find that this will have an effect on your entire attitude on life in general. It will do wonders for your self esteem.
Visit the FAA web site for an FAQ on the privileges and requirements for the Student Pilot Certificate.
Private Pilot
Let's say that you decide to stay on the elevator and get your Private Pilot's License. More intense instruction with your instructor will follow. Emergency procedures, including simulated engine-out landings, will be practiced. Stalls, power on and off, maneuvers closer to the ground so that you can see what the wind aloft does to the airplane in it's track across the ground, and how you correct for that. Cross country trips (more than 50 miles from the departure airport), both with and without the instructor (you will need and endorsement from the instructor before striking out). During this time you will also be taking "ground school", which will cover aerodynamics, navigation, aircraft systems, Federal Aviation Regulations (the FAR's), weather, how to use a computer. (No, not that computer, a "flight computer." Actually it's a circular slide rule, and can give you information on True Airspeed, winds aloft, fuel burn, and other data that the pilot needs to handle his aircraft in the most efficient manner.)
After you complete your course of studies, you can take the Private Pilot written exam. You may take this exam at any stage of your training, however you will have had to passed it before you can take your flight test.
Then, after at least 40 hours of experience, You'll be ready for the Private Pilot flight test. Some flight schools have a Designated Examiner on their staff. This is a person that has been tested, and certified, by the FAA to give flight exams in their stead. Or, you will go to an FAA Examiner. It makes no difference which one you go to, the end result when you pass will be the award of your Private Pilot's license.
Visit the FAA web site for an FAQ on the privileges and requirements for the Private Pilot license.
OK, now what? Well, the first thing that you're going to want to do is take someone up for a ride- your wife, dad, mother- somebody. That's only natural. Take it easy on them, they know that you're a newly licensed pilot, and are probably a little apprehensive about the whole thing. Please, don't go up and demonstrate stalls. Unless they're pilots you'll scare the holy bejeezus out of them.
OK, now what? Well, there are the elevator doors again. Stay on this floor and enjoy the privileges of being a Private Pilot. If I may offer just one piece of advice here though. Total time (TT) is everything in aviation. You now possess a license to learn. Fly. Enjoy. Realize your limitations. Don't take chances. Read. Learn more. As you accumulate time your knowledge base will expand and you will become more comfortable and more proficient. That is where "TT" comes into play. Back to those elevator doors. Let's continue the journey and step on in.
The Instrument Rating
If you want to go when you want to go, you're going to need an instrument rating. During your Private Pilot training, there will be some limited instrument (IFR) training. This is intended for emergency use only- to get your butt out of trouble. Nothing more. Without an instrument rating you must be able to practice patience in the local area when you want to fly but the weather won't permit it, and out on a cross-country trip when you want to continue or return home and the weather is below VFR (visual) minimums. All of the stories of "the cat, the dog and the duck" aside, you will get disoriented in clouds and low visibility. If you tempt fate you might get away with it once, twice, or more.
But, as the aviation writer Ernst Gaan said, "Fate Is The Hunter". It will track you down if you play with it...
and it will kill you.
Accept that.
The Instrument Rating
So, the elevator makes the next stop, perhaps it might even be called a "lateral stop." The Instrument Rating, or Instrument Certificate. With this certificate you can fly on the gauges, go when you want to go, Mother Nature be damned. Well, not quite. Even instrument rated pilots can get grounded if the weather goes below minimums. And, the ticket won't get you through a thunderstorm. For that you'll need a special license- it's called the "Test Pilot Rating."
To get the rating you'll attend a specialized ground school, and do a lot of reading and studying. Training will be with a CFII (Certified Flight Instructor- Instruments). After completing the ground school and your studies, it will require another written exam, administered by the FAA or a designated examiner. After you pass the written, and have been signed off by your instructor, there will be the flight test. After you pass the test you will receive your endorsement to fly IFR.
Visit the FAA web site for an FAQ on the privileges and requirements for the Instrument Rating.
Now what? Well, this can be a very dangerous rating. It allows you to legally fly into all kinds of bad stuff. And some of it, icing for example, may be beyond your, and the aircraft's, capabilities. Also, flying along on the gauges is totally foreign to your body's instincts. All of your life you have been receiving your body's status from your inner ears. Suddenly, after departure, you have to turn this input off and transition to the gauges- not an easy thing to do. And, most importantly, this transition from visual to instruments becomes more and more difficult the longer you have been away from it.
Being current when just flying an airplane is critical enough. Being current on instrument flying is even more important. Toss in a system failure, a little disorientation- even briefly- and your chances of meeting Our Mother, The Earth at a high rate of speed are pretty good. The bottom line is this: Don't expect to have an Instrument Rating and be able to use it once or twice a year to fly down to an ILS minimums approach- it ain't gonna happen. What's the answer? Well, for starters, set your own personal minimums depending on how long it has been since you flew actual IFR, or had recurrent training. If your destination airport has published minimums of 600 overcast and 1 mile of visibility, you may want to impose something like 800 overcast and 2 miles on yourself. Sound silly and non-macho? Well, the airlines do it on aircraft Captains until they have so much time on a new route. The military and most corporations do the same.
Macho? That word doesn't belong in the flying lexicon. Macho is for fools. Macho pilots bend airplanes, and often end up killing themselves and the unfortunate souls that placed their faith in the pilot's supposed abilities. Sorry for the lecture, I feel strongly on this one.
Oops, there's the elevator again. Let's go up.
Commercial Pilot
This rating allows you to fly airplanes for hire. As a Private Pilot you can receive money for your operating costs, but you are not allowed, by law, to make a profit. To do that you will need your Commercial Pilot's License. By now you know the drill. More training, more hours of experience, more ground school, a written exam, and a flight test.
Visit the FAA web site for an FAQ on the privileges and requirements for a Commercial Pilot Certificate.
In theory, you could now go out and get a job flying airplanes for a living. However, with some exceptions, there are few commercial operations utilizing single-engine aircraft. Wait, you say. "What about the Cessna Caravan? That's a single-engine airplane used in commercial operations." Yes, it is. But, and by now you're learning that aviation isn't always easy, that type of flying requires a Commercial Pilot's certificate with what is called a "Type Rating" that allows you to fly that specific airplane. See, I told you flying airplanes wasn't that simple.
The Multi-Engine Rating
This rating allows you to fly multi-engine (usually twin) airplanes, as long as they're under 12,500 pounds in Gross Take Off Weight. (Above that weight and you'll need what is called an "Airline transport pilot certificate". That's what the folks that fly the heavy iron have in their billfolds.)
Visit the FAA web site for an FAQ on the privileges and requirements for a Multi-Engine Rating.
Much like the Instrument Rating, this can be a potentially dangerous certificate to use. Unlike Transport Category Aircraft, most General Aviation airplanes have two engines because they need two engines. That extra fan is not there for back-up, it's there because it is needed. Once again, just like the Instrument Rating, currency is everything. Not just currency in multi-engine operation, but currency in emergency procedures. Unless you are sharp, and I mean very sharp, and you lose an engine on take off, treat the airplane just like a single-engine aircraft. Chop the power on your remaining good engine, and land straight ahead. Don't do that, and your chances of landing upside down, or in a spin, are overwhelming.
But now, with a Commercial License, and a multi-engine rating, you can start making money off of your investment in training, can't you?
The Insurance Companies
Reality check time. Here's one of aviation's "dirty little secrets." In truth, it is the insurance companies that call much of the shots on what you will be able to drive around in the friendly skies. Say that you spend a few hundred dollars to get checked out in the "Fast Baby 340". Does that mean that you can now go out and rent a "Fast Baby 340"? Probably not. What about renting the twin that you just got your Multi-Engine Rating in? Could you go out and rent that? Probably not. Somewhere in the insurance policies for those aircraft is a section titled something like "pilot qualifications." In that section it will state the type of experience that a prospective pilot must have to fly that particular aircraft. And, odds are, if you have a "wet ticket", you won't qualify.
Well, isn't that just great! You need the time in the aircraft in order to fly the aircraft, but you can't fly the aircraft because you don't have enough time in the aircraft. A flying "Catch 22." So, what to do? Well, if you are a friend of the owner, or work for the FBO (Fixed Base Operator) that operates the aircraft, you may become a "named insured." What that means is that you, and your qualifications, will specifically be placed in the policy and allowed to fly the airplane. Failing that, your only choice is to have someone else that is qualified to ride along as the PIC (Pilot In Command) until you rack up enough hours to meet the insurance minimums. That's just part of the flying game.
Flight Instructor
Remember earlier on when I said that "TT was everything"? Now you may be starting to get the picture. How does one get all of that expensive time and experience? Ah, Grasshopper, you become a Flight Instructor. Or, as the FAA refers to the rating, a "Certified Flight Instructor". (I have no idea what a non-certified instructor is.)
Now, all of this starts to come around in a full circle. Remember when we were talking about picking out your flight instructor during your basic training period? Remember the line about "His motivations may not be totally pure"? Well, here we are.
Now it's your turn. You want to continue on up the elevator. You need time and experience. Unless you have a ton of money, you sure as heck can't afford to rent airplanes for a few thousand hours. What to do? You become a flight instructor.
Visit the FAA web site for an FAQ on the privileges and requirements for the Flight Instructor Rating.
Now, what's your main motivation for becoming an instructor? Is it to share your vast knowledge about aviation and how to fly airplanes with new students? Nope, not by a long shot. Your motivation is build time. And, the Flight Instructor rating is the ONLY rating that allows you to sit over there in the right seat while someone else is doing the driving, and log the time as Pilot In Command. And, what's even better, you get paid while you're racking up the hours. Well, you won't get paid much, after all, the people that you're working for understand your motives also. Many an instructor has worked for free, just so he could log the hours.
So, here's your chance to really do something good for yourself, and aviation. If you go this route, and it's almost impossible not to, dedicate yourself to being a really great instructor. I will tell you this: of all of the jobs that I had in aviation, the time that I spent as an instructor was the most rewarding of all. By a long-shot.
Now what? Well, the elevator is there again. Perhaps you want to stay as an instructor. There are places, few and wide apart, where you can continue on as a professional, but it will require a fair amount of time and research to find them.
Well, what does the elevator say for the next floors up?
Folks, here's where it gets a little shaky. You have your Commercial, Multi-Engine, Instrument and Instructor's ratings. All you lack is time- and a sense of direction. This is when you want to start a data base if you have not already done so. Make friends. Make contacts. Stay in touch with people that you fly charters for. Same for your students. Someone out there needs a pilot. You have to go find them. The jobs are there, just not usually posted in the Want Ads. Contacts are everything to a pilot. When I got my job as a corporate pilot, one that I held for 18 years, one that rewarded me greatly, it wasn't because I was the best qualified pilot available. No, it was because I knew the pilot that held the job before I did. And, he was a former student of mine.
What about the airlines?
If the airlines had their way, a new hire would be 20 years old, with a degree, and several thousand hours of "jet time" under his belt. Hmmm, who meets those qualifications? Right, the military jocks. Uncle Sam is the flight school of choice for the airlines. What about you, after all of your effort? You'll need that degree, that's a given. Experience? Lots. How? Perhaps a lot of time flying charters and stuff, but more likely the commuter airline industry.
Commuter Airlines, Third-Level Carriers
Whatever you want to call them, "Delta Express", "Mesaba", "Air Wisconsin" and so on, these are your bridges to the big airlines if you are not a military flier. And they know that they are stepping stones. Most charge for the training that you will receive, allowing you to "work it off" as you stay in their employment. And, knowing what your motivation is, the pay is enough to live on but you'll never get rich. Get enough time in with them, and it's "Big Airline here I come." After that, Fat City.
Is that it? Is that all there is?
Nope, there's a whole lot more than the airlines when it comes to flying for a living. Personally, I had a chance to go with United Airlines back early in my aviation career. I chose not to because, even though the pay is extraordinary, I just didn't want to be an airborne bus driver. It's not for everyone.
So, what else is there?
Lots, here's just a few:
Corporate operations utilize aircraft just as sophisticated, and in some cases even more so, than the airlines. In many cases the pay is really up there, especially for the Captains. Hey, in flying you gotta pay your dues. In this field, contacts are a major help.
Air ambulance, pipeline, oil rigs (helicopter), charter services, freight, cancelled bank checks, Fed Ex (Airborne, UPS, etc.)
There are many niches out there.
Professional Academies, Universities
This goes back to square one. If you have a degree, take a look at one of the "air academies." You'll spend a lot of money on an intense training syllabus, and walk out a trained, qualified pilot. And, and it's a big "and" they have job placement services.
If you don't have your degree, take a look at Universities like Purdue and the University of North Dakota. They have excellent reputations with the airlines and corporations. You'll walk out with your degree, and all of the necessary ratings. Expensive? Yup, but expeditious.
So there you have it. One person's spin on flying airplanes. My opinion, my errors, my prejudices.
I hope that this has been helpful, and not too discouraging, to you.
This tutorial is available on a CD
This tutorial, along with additional content, is available on a CD. Click here for more information.
Hal Stoen
August, 2001
revised 2/23/2008:
Corrected name of "Airline transport pilot certificate" under the multi-engine heading. (Thanks to Alan Larson for pointing this out.)
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