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Separate names with a comma.
Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by cyclopathic, Dec 30, 2011.
Toyota Launches 83 MPG Prius C In Japan, Takes 60,000 Pre-Orders
10% more fuel efficient than the standard Prius is about what I was expecting and anything above 55mpg is a bonus IMO. Now let's see how many of these Toyota can make.
With all the US government money GM got, OUR MONEY OF COURSE, why couldn't GM in the U.S. make a 50 plus mpg car that is under $20,000.00 so the average family could afford one?
Not many families can afford a 43,000 dollar Volt.
The answer is that US car compaines are scratching there heads when it comes to making a 50 mpg vehicle. In fact, they were scratching their heads during the 70's when the price of gas doubled and Toyota and Honda were kings in the auto world.
Just look at the cars that Ford and GM make in Europe several models get great mpg over 50 mpg, mostly diesel models, but YOU CAN NOT BUY ONE IN THE US.
well with respect to diesels we should thank GW, Chaney&Co. If you look at their dismal environmental record, they govern with little environmental concern, except for passing tier 2 bin 5. You get an idea why when you put together killing 80MPG program and passing draconian tier 2 bin 5 which ensured cost of cleaning diesel will make them costlier then hybrids.
Honda had plans of bringing diesel Accord to US (rated at 93MPG in euro cycle), putting V6 diesels in Odyssey/Pilot/Tundra/etc, and they all got axed b/c of T2B5.
My friend wants to buy a C as her first car. She was about to buy a Honda Fit when she heard about the C.
Hoochie mama!!
10% better is not what i hoped for and i expected better.
but we well see in the hands of hypermilers and the at delivery what the real mpg wil be
GM wanted to leapfrog the Prius and the Volt turned out to cost about twice as much.
Not only 50mpg is very hard to achieve in real world (remember European Fuel Measurement Standards are much softer than EPA)...
The energy content per gallon is 11% higher than gas...
Watch out for maintenance in a diesel, as well as a more rough ride (vibration, noise, turbo lag)...more noticeable in urban ways.
IMHPOV, there aren't many reasons to buy one in US...
I was just reading up on 520d and E200cdi, entry level diesels much lauded for very low official fuel consumption...and in AMS (german AutoMotorundSport), they averaged 50-55% worse than official figures, during normal driving. They actually ended up getting very similar MPG to RX450h... and guess that, whats probably where EPA would rate them too
imagine if Prius drivers were averaging 22-25mpg in normal driving situations...
I like diesel engines because diesel fuel is less likely to be contaminated with ethanol than gasoline is. Also, diesel engines can run on other oils, such as kerosine, jet fuel, biodiesel, and used cooking oils. This gives you much better flexibility in a situation where shortages of fuel are common. Finally, diesel is more suitable for natural gas conversion, and natural gas is cheaper and more available than liquid fuels.
Prius c in hot demand. Price, mpg, size and a proven design = winner. Everything Gm wishes the Volt was.
Can't agree.
Actual diesel engines have less ability to burn other low quality oils/fuels, mainly due to injector's techonology.
And converting to natural gas is done with a "downgrade" closer to Otto compression values, and injection system is switched to spark plugs + fuel intake pre-mix. It is done in many buses, not in cars.
That's generally true. However, diesel-cycle engines have been successfully run on natural gas with a small "pilot" injection of diesel fuel (see, e.g., Westport HD :: Technology).
Yes, I keep forgetting those applications.
However, it does not mean "better" flexibility as stated by the OP, since is not total conversion.
I can't help but ask. Have you ever driven a modern diesel car?
Diesel don't necessarily require more maintenance. You can just get one that isn't made in Germany. The maintanence intervals and prices are about equal for our gas car, prius and diesel.
A diesel engine is rough when cold and during idle, but the low RPM makes it more refined than a comparable gas/hybrid engine at speed.
The improved torque of a diesel makes it possible to accelerate without using high revs, start without pressing the accelerator and remain calm at highway speed where downshifting isn't necessary as often when overtaking.
There is a reason why Europeans embrace diesels!
why? subsidies on diesel fuel?
In US diesel is ~20% more expensive then gasoline. US emissions are much tighter, so the cost of cleaning diesel exhaust eats any savings diesels would have over hybrids: Jetta TDI costs more then Prius.
Diesels are expensive, have no real uptake rate in consumer vehicles in the US, and are more or less irrelevant in the North American market until you get into trucks.
60 MPG would have been awesome on the c, but 55 is not bad. Ultimately, it's a less expensive Prius than the regular, that gets better mileage. It is smaller, but it's going to sell like candy to a fat kid, I have no doubt.
My lifetime mpg on the 2010 Prius II with over 30 K mi , is 56 as measured at the pump. That means a "c" would give me 61 mpg (based on what I get over EPA) which is the same as my prior 2000 Insight 5 spd got over its 262,000 miles Wow !!
Oh Yeah, no thanks!
At $3.23 for regular, $3.83 for diesel in my neighborhood, it costs $1.62 to drive a prius for 25 miles and $2.82 to drive a Jetta TDI 25 miles. One start in EV mode and the other rough cold start.
Particulate filter?
A 4.9 gallon urea tank in 2012 Passat!
Urea is not cheap!
Maintenance costs?
VW quality?
Adding Urea To Clean Diesel Cars: Can I Just Pee In The Tank?


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GT-RNOC Platform
Submitted by rc57 on Fri, 05/29/2009 - 09:23
The GT-RNOC (Research Network Operations Center ) Platform exists to accelerate innovation combining Web 2.0, mobile, SIP+IMS, interactive TV, and high-speed networking services. We provide research and development communities with resources required to pioneer ubiquitous visual and voice communication integrated with personalized real-time information and media.
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subset: commoncrawl


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A multinational computer games company is set to swoop on Dundee and lure the best talent from Realtime Worlds, the failed games company, away from the city.
The move came as efforts continued to find a buyer for the city's biggest computer games company as well as to encourage some of its 217 redundant staff to set up their own games business.
Paul Dounis, joint administrator of the failed venture, said that several potential buyers had expressed interest in purchasing Realtime Worlds and stressed that the company was continuing to trade.
However, the attraction of working for the American-French gaming


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BioShock Infinite Mac, War in the North Ship Aug 29; Usain Bolt Runs
Although day and date release parity with the PC is still somewhat rare, major Mac game titles now arrive much, much faster than before. For example, BioShock Infinite Mac will ship on August 29, about five months after the PC release, and shares the date with Lord of the Rings: War in the North.
Indebted to the wrong people, with his life on the line, veteran of the US Cavalry and now hired gun, Booker DeWitt has only one opportunity to wipe his slate clean. He must rescue Elizabeth, a mysterious girl imprisoned since childhood and locked up in the flying city of Columbia. Forced to trust one another, Booker and Elizabeth form a powerful bond during their daring escape. Together, they learn to harness an expanding arsenal of weapons and abilities, as they fight on zeppelins in the clouds, along high-speed Sky-Lines, and down in the streets of Columbia, all while surviving the threats of the air-city and uncovering its dark secret — Aspyr
BioShock Infinite Mac will ship on Thursday, August 29 — check your Mac for compatibility (Mac Match) and pre-order now at Game Agent ($60). Pre-ordering nets buyers a 20 percent discount, as well as the Columbia's Finest and Clash in the Clouds DLCs.
BioShock Infinite Mac will also be available via the Mac App Store and support SteamPlay.
Lord of the Rings: War in the North
Play as an elf, dwarf or man and slay orks, trolls, goblins and other minions of Sauron by the hundreds and thousands. Lord of the Rings: War in the North ($30) is available for pre-order and the system requirements aren't overly high:
Min — OS X 10.7.5, 2GHz Core 2, 4GB, 11GB, GPU w/ 256MB, Drive DVD, Multi-button Mouse
Rec — OS X 10.8.4, 2.4GHz Core 2, 4GB, 11GB, GPU w/ 512MB, Game Pad
For what it's worth, War in the North for PC shipped in late 2011 — naughty, naughty Feral Interactive.
Two Great Runners Face Off
Usain Bolt is the world's fast man and not by a little. He is also a new in-app upgrade ($0.99) in the blockbuster Temple Run 2 (free), a lot folks will be betting a buck he can help them outrun destiny.
Not enough Usain? Then get his game, Bolt! for iPhone, which has a 4.5 star rating and is free.
Related posts:
— Star Trek Wallpapers for Your Mac
— Gaming on a MacBook Air with External Thunderbolt eGPU
— Top 10 iPhone Games: Follow the Money
— Get Your Game On: Deus Ex, Rovio Tiny Thief, KOTOR Cheap, Civ V Brave New World
— Napoleon: Total War Mac Ships


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Jeffrey Clayton "Parker" Parker, 51, of Amarillo died Friday, Aug. 21, 2009.
Memorial services will be at 2 p.m. Thursday in Oasis Southwest Baptist Church with the Rev. Kurtis Spidel of Faith Baptist Church officiating. Arrangements are by Rector Funeral Home, 2800 S. Osage St.
Parker was born Aug. 29, 1957, to Jerry and Barbara Parker in Trenton, Mich. He attended Caprock High School, served in the Army as a master mechanic, and later received his real estate degree at Amarillo College becoming a top producing agent for Action Reality Group in Amarillo. He loved rebuilding old motorcycles and riding his Harley and his Indian with his brothers of the Southern Monarchs.
Jeff was a born-again Christian who had a God-given talent for repairing anything and finding humor in most any situation. He had a heart for giving and fervently supported the Downtown Women's Center. He loved spending time with his family and is dearly loved by them all. He was one of six children.
He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Norman and Frances Schwartz; and his father, Jerry Parker.
Survivors include his mother, Babs Peterson and husband Charles of Canyon Lake; two brothers, Jerry Parker of Loganville, Ga., Chip Parker and wife Jennifer of Amarillo; three sisters, Betsy Hughes and husband Larry of Amarillo, Barbara Metcalf and husband Dan of Spring Branch and Linda Jordan and husband Scott of Bismarck, N.D.; six nephews; 10 nieces; 13 great-nieces and great-nephews; and his special brothers of the Monarchs, who will all miss him terribly but also rejoice that he is with the Lord.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials be to Downtown Women's Center, 409 S. Monroe St., Amarillo, TX 79101 or at www.dwcenter.org/Donations.htm.
Amarillo Globe-News, Aug. 26, 2009
© 2016. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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COLUMBIANA — Alex Casi has always had a solid short game. The 2002 graduate of East Palestine High School was a standout for the Bulldogs' golf squad and went on to play at the collegiate level for the University of Maryland. It was her drives that needed a little work.
But with a little help from her now fiance and a whole lot of time on the practice rage, Casi is set to compete in next week's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Golf Championship at Erin Hills Golf Course in Erin Hills, Wis.
Casi qualified for the event by posting a 4-over 72 at Manakiki Golf Course in Willoughby.
"I've always had good touch," she said. "It was always a case of if I could just hit the ball a little better."
Casi started working with fiance and Copeland Hills and Castle Shannon golf pro Paul Wackerly last July, and it's already paid dividends.
"There were a lot of little things that I've done wrong," she said. "Paul didn't want to give me any quick fixes, so we really had to start over to get things right. A year later, I'm just now getting into a consistent groove."
Casi will make the trek to Erin Hills today to get in a few practice rounds before the start of competition on Monday. Her solid short game will come in handy on the links-style course that sports large, undulating greens. Erin Hills opened in 2006, and was named the new public course of the year in 2007.
She will play 18 holes on Monday and Tuesday in hopes to be in the top 64 for match play competition that begins Wednesday and concludes Saturday.
The winner of the event receives exemption from Public Links sectional qualifying and also receives a five-year exemption from U.S. Open sectional qualifying.
"I'm pretty excited," she said. "I'm a lot more mature now." Casi qualified for the event in 2005 but her stay was short-lived.
"I don't think I understood a lot of the technicalities then," she said. "I'm a lot more level headed now. I played really well my senior year in high school, then I had some struggles. You just can't play when you're standing over the ball and wondering where it's going to end up."
Wackerly has helped her fix that, and Casi heads into the event as confident as ever.
For Casi though, she hopes the Public Links is just the beginning.
"I think I stated when I was 15 in the paper that the LPGA is my ultimate goal."
That hasn't changed.
Follow Casi's progress all next week in the Salem News.
E-mail B.J. Lisko at email@example.com


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NEW YORK — By now, you readily accept this as a self-evident truth: Carmelo Anthony's name appeared third when the Most Valuable Player voting was revealed yesterday because he is an elite scorer.
So, even if you weren't one of the 19,000 groaners at the Garden yesterday, where (just coincidentally) they were booing the Knicks at the end of the third quarter while their MVP candidate was nursing four fouls, you must acknowledge these other developments:
• Melo suddenly is a lousy finisher around the rim, which he attacks gamely enough, only to get turned aside like a guy trying to dunk on a jet propeller.
• And lately, Melo's odds of hitting a 3-point shot are somewhere south of your chances of winning the Mega Millions jackpot.
You are invited to consult the statistics. We use the ones at NBA.com, which also can tell you that Melo finished second in the league this season behind Zach Randolph in second-chance points — a positive indication of his quick-twitch second jumps, his tenacity and his willingness to take a hit as a part of a grand and noble plan to win basketball games.
Only this driving tendency is now backfiring on him.
His long-range game has also completely abandoned him.
And the timing of these developments not only made the Knicks look thoroughly outclassed in their 102-95 defeat against the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, it also leads to speculation that his left shoulder is not going to allow him to be Melo again anytime soon.
"The shoulder's the shoulder — it is what it is," Anthony said after a 27-point game on 10-for-28 shooting, which dropped his postseason stroke to .377. "It's not something I'll constantly talk about. I'll deal with it, probably get some treatment for it, and get through it."
Or — and we'll just throw this out there as another possibility — he won't get through it, and the Knicks will be pushed around and slammed into submission as they were in Game 1.
Time and again, Melo tried to do the right thing against some elite defenders — Paul George, Tyler Hansbrough and David West — but every time he ventured into the paint, he found a 7-2 building with feet named Roy Hibbert protecting the rim.
Sometimes Melo anticipated contact and missed, and sometimes he just was careless — he even missed a dunk — and it makes you wonder how long this can go on. Again, just check the shot chart: In this postseason, he is 17-for-46 around the rim (36.96 percent), which is a steep drop from his regular-season efficiency (51.59 percent).
Melo issued a strategic yawn: "I've been in more physical games than this one here," he said. "The physicality doesn't do anything to me or us."
But he also missed his first three 3-point attempts in this game — all rushed releases, resulting in line drives — which dropped his dry-heave string to 1-for-24 before he hit his last attempt of the day.
Wait, are we the only ones who consider this more trend than aberration?
"They're being really physical with Melo — they're banging him, hitting him, they're going at his shoulder," said Raymond Felton, one of the few Knicks to have an A-game. "It's one of those things that goes on in a series — he'll (eventually) get those calls. Right now, they're trying to frustrate him. He'll be fine, and we'll be fine."
That's the point: As we muck around in the swamp of unknowing, we can only be sure that the Knicks are done if Anthony doesn't play like the shooting star he is expected to be.
Indiana is not a better team. But Indiana is a big and tough and efficient: Witness the Pacers' 44-30 dominance of the glass in Game 1. But laudable as they are, Indy is also irretrievably dull, and if this series is decided by which team can gain separation with bursts of offense, the easy bet would be the Knicks because Indy simply doesn't have an offense that can blow your doors off.
But (always the but) get this: The Pacers hit eight 3-pointers to the Knicks' seven in Game 1 — D.J. Augustin was a game-buster, he hit four — and the Knicks spent much of the day waiting around for Anthony and J.R. Smith (4-for-15) to do something.
It didn't happen until the fourth quarter, and by then the Knicks were down 16 because Melo and Smith were a combined 7-for-27.
So it's back to the drawing board. Anthony claims the shoulder brace he wears is doing its job ("It helps me, keeps it in place, keeps it from moving") and eventually, he'll be back on the firing line.
He had better hurry. Because if the Knicks' MVP candidate doesn't start playing like one again, none of this makes much sense.


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Android Internet Tablet from Archos
Electronics manufacturer Archos has introduced its new ARM-based multimedia player including Linux platform Android in collaboration with Google. An additional DVR docking station allows the device to morph into a video recorder.
The Archos 5 Internet Tablet comes with WLAN, email, address book, not to mention an FM transmitter and receiver (RDS).The sleek player, including flash memory, is just one centimeter thick, weighs 182 grams, and can be purchased in either 8, 32, or 64 GB. A Micro SD slot can be used additionally to extend memory capability.
Archos also offers two variations with 160 and 500 GB hard drives, respectively. The manufacturer swears by quick programs thanks to the ARM Cortex microprocessor from Texas Instruments. The Archos 5 has a 4..8 inch tall touchscreen with a resolution of 800 x 400 pixels. In terms of all things relating to connections, Archos 5 offers WLAN, Bluetooth, and of course a USB slot.
The multimedia player can play a whole slew of video formats such as MPEG4, HD, H.264 HD, WMV, MPEG, MP3, as well as WMA, WAV, and Ogg Vorbis and also boasts software plug-ins for AC3 stereo. Over the Android platform Appslib store, further applications can broaden the device's horizons of functionality even more. The Archos 5 can even be turned into a GPS with 3-D navigation, via plug-in. The applications can be displayed in either horizontal or vertical orientation, depending on the user's needs. If the customer is willing to invest a measly 100 dollars for a DVR docking station, the device can grace the viewer's eyes with high resolution videos in HD quality and is also capable of displaying LCD TV. For Microsoft Office users, an Office View application is also integrated in this versatile little electronic.
The Archos 5 Internet Tablet is available as of today. The 16 GB version has been marked at a recommended price of $300, while the version with 32 GB should cost about $380.
|Gallery (6 images)
Issue 192/2016
Buy this issue as a PDF
Nextcloud Announces Raspberry Pi-Powered Home Cloud Box
Innovative system adds a hard drive and Ubuntu Core to the RPi for an IoT hub.
Linus Torvalds Confirms the Date of the First Linux Release
Linux is two weeks younger than we thought!
End of OpenOffice?
The Apache Software Foundation considers retiring OpenOffice
Adobe Gives New Life to NPAPI Plugin for Linux
Adobe won't kill the plugin in 2017
LinuxCon North America Convenes in Toronto, Canada
Linux Foundation's big event celebrates the 25th anniversary of Linux
Linux Turns 25
Linux has evolved from "won't be a professional" project to one of the most professional software projects in the history of computers.
Mirantis Joins Hands with SUSE To Offer RHEL Support; Red Hat Not Happy
Competitors get in the game with RHEL without Red Hat
Linux on Windows 10 Poses a Security Risk
Security researchers have already notified Microsoft; some fixes are available
Mirantis to Refactor OpenStack Fuel for Kubernetes
The company is collaborating with Google and Intel to use Kubernetes as an engine for Fuel
Canonical Joins Document Foundation Advisory Board
The upcoming release of LibreOffice will be available as a snap package


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Top Definition
Wikipedia.com is becoming more and more used by schools. Instead of "googling" it, you "Wiki" It
Yo, Jump on Wikipedia.com and Wiki it, your science assignment!
Mickel hahaha tarafından 8 Ağustos 2006, Salı
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
to search something on wikipedia that you don't know.
Brad Pitt: I don't know where the town of Buttzville is so I'll wiki it.
JackJohnson6969 tarafından 11 Mart 2009, Çarşamba
To search something on Wikipedia, usually in an attempt to disprove someone else. Can also be said as Wiki-That, or for a more broader search, Google/Yahoo-It/That.
Kirk: Hey, did you know that pink floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" totally syncs up with "The Wizard of Oz"?
Spock: Thats illogical. Let me wiki-it.
Spock: Thats illogical. Let me wiki-it.
Dr. Leonard McCoy tarafından 27 Nisan 2009, Pazartesi
Look it up in "Wiki-pedia."
Don't Know what I'm talking about? Wiki-It,Yo.
Waboa tarafından 11 Şubat 2009, Çarşamba
To look something up on wikipedia.org
John: Who's Pablo Escobar?
Mo: Don't know you should Wiki it.
Mo: Don't know you should Wiki it.
mutlagson tarafından 13 Nisan 2008, Pazar
This is the act of using Wikipedia.com to discover the meaning of obscene terms.
"My cousin thinks a cameltoe is a pair of flip-flops, I beleive it is a female wedgie. To set the record straight we are going to Wiki-it.
SuctionParrot tarafından 12 Nisan 2009, Pazar


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Some large school bus contractors tell their shareholders the reasons for declining profits and margins are the current economic downturn and that school districts are reducing the number of routes. They usually also throw in a line about adverse weather conditions to support their decline.
These claims belie the truth about school busing in North America. Companies that view school bus contracting as a commodity business are doomed to failure. Correspondingly, school districts that bid their contracts as a commodity are ensuring that they will not receive the best, safest service available at a fair price.
Downturns don't cut profits
Starting in the 1970s, school districts that contracted services were always looking for ways to optimize and efficiently reduce the number of routes they operated. For example, the Los Angeles Unified School District in the early '80s eliminated more than 300 Crown buses to reduce costs.
Countless other school districts over the past 40 years have periodically reduced routes for efficiency and cost savings. School districts reduce routes in good economic times as well as difficult economic times.
During economic downturns, school bus contractors actually are able to significantly reduce recruitment, training and driver turnover costs. It is a well known fact that during good economic times, contractors have a difficult time recruiting and retaining drivers.
When there is low unemployment (5 percent or less) companies struggle to hire drivers. Many times, large recruitment and retention bonuses have to be paid. High turnover is very expensive for companies, with the average cost of training a school bus driver being more than $3,000.
Blaming declining profits on an economic downturn is merely an excuse for poor management decisions.
Don't blame the weather
Claiming that weather negatively impacts profits is baseless if one looks at the facts. Of all the countries in the world, the U.S. historically has had the worst and most varied weather conditions. We have harsh winters, hurricanes, tornados, droughts, too much rain, not enough rain, too much snow, no snow, etc.
However, kids continue to be transported to school, and the number of days is set by state law. Sure, a few days may be eliminated during a snow storm, but those days usually are made up in later months to ensure that the minimum number of days of schooling is achieved.
The real reason some contractors are experiencing profit problems is that they have failed to understand the nature of the business and what it takes to succeed. They view the business as a commodity, where low price wins. The decision-making is based on offering the lowest price and attempting to drive out the competition so ultimately a monopoly can be formed.
This approach has been tried by several companies, with the ultimate fate of eventual bankruptcy and/or acquisition by a competitor.
Remember Mayflower's school bus business? It consistently bid margins significantly lower than the competition. It took approximately 10 years for them to fail. In reviewing their financials before they were acquired by Laidlaw, I recall margins of less than 2 percent on several contracts and a number of contracts that were losing money. They operated the business as a commodity and paid the price.
Adjust with unemployment
Several factors influence bidding a school bus contract. Driver wages and fuel are two of the most important factors.
Logic would dictate that when unemployment is high — above 6 percent — school bus contractors have an easier time recruiting and retaining employees. Thus, pricing will be reduced. Correspondingly, when unemployment is low, prices will increase.
We did a study to correlate unemployment rates with bid rates. We found that successful contractors indeed raised their prices in relation to the unemployment rates.
We also discovered that the companies that use the excuses of the economy and weather did not base their prices on the above factors. In fact, they continued to use the commodity approach to basing their bids regardless of what the unemployment rate was.
Fuel prices have fluctuated significantly since 1973. Sophisticated bidders have accounted for these fluctuations and have used a number of interventions to eliminate this variable as a significant factor in margin retention. Fuel hedging, district reimbursement policies and other programs have effectively stabilized the price impact of rising fuel costs in bids.
Value-added service
Why are some school bus contractors reporting EBITDAR (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and restructuring or rent costs) of 20-percent plus?
First, they do not view the business as a commodity business. They view the business as a value-added service where they compete based on safety, customer service and price. They have determined what a fair return to their shareholders is and what it costs to deliver superior service, and they offer their services and features based on that model.
These successful contractors understand what it costs to effectively provide exceptional service. They may not win every bid, but the bids they do win offer a fair financial return and exceptional service to the school districts that select them.
When the commodity bidder wins, the margins are so thin that they rarely can provide the level of performance and safety that satisfies the customer. All one has to do is review the complaints from parents and district staff regarding the level of service and look at their renewal rates. Since the contracts were bid so low, many times they can't even cover their expense line. These companies continue to look for every way to reduce costs and thus have no room for performance improvement.
But there are contractors that consistently have more than a 90-percent renewal rate. The exceptionally performing school bus companies are constantly talking about customer service, technology enhancements and safety interventions. The commodity-bidding companies are constantly talking about expense reduction, profit enhancements and adverse economic times effecting margins.
Industry outlook
Where is school bus contracting headed?
Having more than 30 years' historical perspective on the industry, I believe that commodity bidders will fail and either be forced to raise their prices or will eventually be sold or forced out of the market. School busing cannot be sustained by companies that bid using a commodities model.
Based on what I've seen, school districts that operate the service themselves are consistently more expensive to operate versus contracting out the service. Therefore, I don't see districts reverting back to operating their own fleets if contractors avoid the commodity bid model.
Exceptionally performing contractors are controlling prices by retaining quality management. They typically have had management in place for a long time.
They also use technology to reduce costs. A number of contractors are using fleet management programs by GreenRoad and other companies to reduce fuel costs and accidents. One contractor that began using one of these programs reportedly cut its fuel costs an average of $46 per bus per month and decreased accidents by 50 percent.
Successful contractors are investing in technology and training to reduce costs. These companies have at least two more things in common: quality management and a business model that refuses to view the marketplace as a commodity.
Howard Wallack is president of Transportation Sector Consultants Inc. (TSC). Prior to joining TSC in 1994, he was with Laidlaw Transit as president and executive vice president of operations for U.S. school bus operations.
Get the latest news and most popular articles from SBF delivered straight to your inbox. Stay on top of the school bus industry and don't miss a thing!


text:
Got any suggestions, requests, bug reports, questions?
Email us to
Liked our free extensions? How about motivating us, rate us at Joomla! extensions for FAQ FTW, Tip Of The Day FTW or User Group FTW for Hikashop!
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Simple Image Gallery Extended


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DETROIT, MI -- The 50-city "Jesus Christ Superstar Arena Spectacular" with a June 28 stop at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena has been cancelled.
Options Clause Entertainment LLC, an affiliate of S2BN Entertainment, announced the cancellation in a press release but didn't specify why.
All purchased tickets will be refunded.
Tickets purchased at Ticketmaster, online and via telephone will be automatically refunded.
Tickets purchased from the Detroit's Fox Theatre and the Joe Louis Arena box offices must be returned to that location for refund.
For more information visit Olympia Entertainment's website.


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Kate Upton's Boyfriend Directing All Questions About Their Relationship to His 'Pa-pa'
Grumble, Verlander.By Hilary Moss
Grumble, Verlander.By Hilary Moss
New modeling show. Same attitude.By Alex Rees
It takes that long to figure out Cleopatra.By Ally Betker
She just isn't going to work much.By Alex Rees
And not just because he's criminally attractive.By Alex Rees
No matter that Hardin is only 15 years old.By Alex Rees
"A lot of big names are involved."By Alex Rees
"I never need to see this outfit again!"By Hilary Moss
Fresh new face, etc., etc.By Alex Rees
"I have good people. I have two amazing children."By Hilary Moss
Karaoke rarely looks this good.By Alex Rees
The model explains what happens when you have a baby, then shoot a holiday lingerie catalog soon after.By Jenni Avins
A low-cut dress and diamonds, as modeled by Alessandra Ambrosio.By Ally Betker
They're certainly trying.By Charlotte Cowles
Ford, Wilhemina, and Elite Models are all named in the class-action suit.By Alex Rees
As a model, "she hasn't got that drive."By Alex Rees
Heatherton: "People should embrace themselves."By Alex Rees
She posed next to a plane wearing a green jumpsuit.By Ally Betker
And hooray for Hollywood.By Hilary Moss
"That starvation look isn't for everybody."By Hilary Moss


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JERUSALEM, Israel - Former Israeli ambassadors Zalman Shoval and Moshe Arens said media hype played a key role in the hullabaloo over the construction in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.
"In the eyes of the Israeli media, we are supposedly going from one crisis to another, week by week," the former ambassador said.
"The demand not to build in Gilo seems strange and even bizarre since it has been inhabited for more than 30 years," he said.
Gilo, he pointed out, is not an east Jerusalem neighborhood.
"It's not east Jerusalem. Arabs have never lived in Gilo and its houses weren't built on private Arab land," Shoval said.
Moshe Arens agreed.
"Crisis is too big a word. It's not a crisis, but a difference of opinion we've shared in the past and will share in the future," Arens said.
"There has been a change with the Obama administration, but in tone and in music. Perhaps the demand has always existed in internal conversations, but it has not prompted such public resonance as it does today," he said, also attributing the "crisis" to media coverage.
Both Shoval and Arens believe Israeli-U.S. relations remain strong, evidenced by the overwhelming support for the Jewish state by Congress.
"My estimate is that this support won't wane - just the opposite," Shoval said.
Israel, Arens said, is within its legitimate rights to reject the Obama administration's demands.
Shoval served as Israeli ambassador to the U.S. at the beginning and end of the 90s, and Arens served in the early 80s.
Source: YNet news
Controversy Lingers as Settlements Go Up in Israel
Netanyahu: No Building Restriction in Capital
Déjà vu: 'Unilateral' Palestinian Statehood
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The Terrorists Funded by the WestBassam Tawil
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Column one: Fighting fire with fireCaroline B. Glick
Op-Ed: There is no 'radical Islam' and there is no 'moderate Islam'Dr. Mordechai Kedar
'Narrow' escapesRuthie Blum
Why Palestinians Do Not Want Cameras on the Temple MountKhaled Abu Toameh
Social Media Killed My FatherYoni Kempinski and Ari Soffer
Iran's New Palestinian Terror Group: Al SabireenKhaled Abu Toameh


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Southeast Humphreys County Tornado
Click on the map above for a detailed, interactive track map and damage pictures.
Event Summary
This tornado damaged several outbuildings and travel trailers and snapped several trees.
Radar Imagery
These images from the Brandon, MS Doppler radar show the storm just after the tornado lifted northwest of Yazoo City. The image on the left shows 0.5° base reflectivity data, and the image on the right shows 0.5° storm relative velocity data. Click on the thumbnail below for a higher resolution image.


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Top Definition
An expression used when a person, or yourself, has done somthing extremely stupid and dopey
Person 1: Dude, I just hit my head on the door.
Person 2: HERP DERP.
Person 2: HERP DERP.
Kommandant tarafından 25 Kasım 2009, Çarşamba
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?
Another way of saying duh.
Stacey: I ordered the food, it will be here in 10 minutes.
Louise: okay when will it be here?
Louise: okay when will it be here?
TheObieOne tarafından 10 Mayıs 2010, Pazartesi
the answer for every physics problem according to idiot hipsters that think they are so cool
Q: What is the force of gravity?
A: herp-derp
Teacher: you're a moron
A: herp-derp
Teacher: you're a moron
what??oh i get it . . . kinda tarafından 26 Mayıs 2011, Perşembe
A rage face showing expression of dumbness or suprising.
Hey, look, it's the herp derp face!
superworddude tarafından 16 Mayıs 2014, Cuma
A word used for complete randomness.
Alex: I'm bored. Herpderp.
SOMEONE WHO IS MIPPIN tarafından 23 Mart 2011, Çarşamba
Herpderp is the smell of herpadermis.
Being able to smell ones face in the case they have herpes of the face.
The process of facial screening before sexual intercourse of the face
Being able to smell ones face in the case they have herpes of the face.
The process of facial screening before sexual intercourse of the face
"i had to herpderp her face with my tongue to make sure she was clean
HerbDerby tarafından 26 Temmuz 2010, Pazartesi
Abe Harrington!
My boyfriend, Abe, is a herp derp!
JoryPoopyPants tarafından 2 Ocak 2012, Pazartesi


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By Lynn Grisard Fullman
Dishing With Van Sykes, owner and pit master, Bob Sykes Bar B Q Restaurant, 1724 Ninth Ave. North, Bessemer, 205-426-1400, www.bobsykes.com.
Restaurant's specialty: Barbecue and catering.
What sets this restaurant apart from others: Our 56 years in business and three generations. We have a love for barbecue and the process which starts with chopped wood. No gas, no electricity. Just a natural, slow cook over a wood-burning pit. We begin smoking meat every morning at 3:30. Our barbecue goes from the pit to the plate.
When did the restaurant open? In 1957. When I was two years old, my parents Maxine and Bob Sykes opened their barbecue restaurant in Bessemer.
Restaurant's most popular entree? Chopped barbecue pork sandwich.
Most popular side? Onion rings.
And the most popular dessert? Red-velvet cake.
Honors: In 1982 Bob Sykes Bar B Q received national news coverage from the Boston Globe for its lemon ice-box pie. Most recently the restaurant's barbecue pork sandwich has also been touted by the Alabama Tourism Department as one of the "100 dishes to eat in Alabama before you die." The restaurant has also been featured in regional and national publications -- including Bon Appetit, Southern Living, Money magazine and countless barbecue books -- as the place for barbecue
What's new? Weekly food specials called "Grills Gone Wild" and sides of the week.
Job you'd have if not a barbecue guru: It would be something to do with marketing and promotions.
Who inspired your love for cooking? My father Bob Sykes, the founder. He barbecued meats, cured country hams, canned vegetables and made wine, all things learned in his youth (while) growing up on a farm.
Your mentor: The greatest influence in my career is my mother who is 92-years-old and grew up in West End. There will never be anyone in this business any better than her. Intelligent, personable, lovable, mean as a snake (when she had to be), encouraging, teaching and very, very driven not just for her success but also everyone around her. The absolute best!! I'm a blessed man.
Best advice you were ever given: Whatever you do with food always stay on the side of quality. Never cook for your own convenience but for the best result of food.
Your worst cooking disaster: At age 12 I had earned enough trust from my father to cook all night in preparation for the Fourth of July. I fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning and burned a pit load of meat. My mother cut my paycheck for the next two years 'til I had paid for my mistake.
Restaurant-related thing you're proudest of: I have been able to meet the requirements of living in a fast society and not change the real art of barbecuing with the aid of gas or electricity. Just natural-cured fire and a brick fire box.
Favorite type food to prepare: Barbecue.
Favorite food to eat: I enjoy food that brings together southern classic food with Latin influences.
Favorite food-related website: Southern Foodways Alliance: www.southernfoodways.com, I'm an original founding member of this organization.
What would you choose for your final meal? My daddy's collards with cornbread.
Favorite restaurant: Bright Star for old-school fresh; Superior Grill and Margarita Grill, for the best Tex-Mex; Hot & Hot Fish Club (no further explanation required), and I love Costas's in Hoover (they have the best salmon in town).
Chef you most admire: I have a great relationship with Chef Chris Vizzina, general manager and executive chef at Samford University. He also is district manager and corporate chef for Campus Dining Inc., a food-service management company which provides healthy and nutritious meals to college campuses. We work together on different projects. I find his knowledge provocative and refreshing.
Favorite spice: Cumin.
Favorite herb: Peppers.
Do you cook at home? I do all the grilling -- smoking and barbecuing -- but not enough of the clean-up, according to my wife, Tippi.
Kitchen gadget you couldn't work without: Digital thermometers.
Most disappointing kitchen gadget: Rotisserie forks for turning pork shoulder.
Strangest occurrence in your restaurant's dining room: A man once tried to break into Bob Sykes -- and got stuck in my chimney. This made national news.
Food/restaurant-related pet peeve: Punctuality on all fronts.
Worst mistake most cooks make: They cook meat too long and too hot and dry it out.
Your best-kept kitchen secret: Don't try to fool people with food. Be honest on both sides of the counter.
Advice for pulling off a last-minute meal: Stick with something tried and true. This is no time for experimenting.
Your best cooking tip: Do not be afraid to try new things and don't serve it until you are ready.
When is the restaurant open? We are open Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. We are closed on Sundays.
Where will you be in 10 years: God willing, right here, staying true to my barbecue roots. It is my charge to preserve the old ways of southern barbecue.
Any final words or thoughts: We're in the midst of planning for the Fourth Annual Bob Sykes BBQ & Blues Festival scheduled for Sat., June 1 at DeBardeleben Park in downtown historic Bessemer. Each year the festival grows, and we're looking forward to another successful year. We're in the process of booking local and national blues musicians to perform -- so be sure to stay tuned for the line-up. You can find details on www.bobsykesblues.com. Also check out our Facebook page for weekly specials and contests.
Have a chef or cook to suggest? E-mail Lynn Grisard Fullman at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Star Tracks: Monday, May 16, 2016 42 years, 2,191 covers and 55,436 stories from PEOPLE magazine's history for you to enjoy
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People Top 5
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PEOPLE Top 5 are the most-viewed stories on the site over the past three days, updated every 60 minutes
- August 01, 1988
- Vol. 30
- No. 5
The Lady Vanishes, and a Woodchipper Leaves Just a Shred of Evidence
Over the next few days, when Helle failed to turn up for work and could not be located by anxious friends, word of her disappearance spread quickly. So too did whispers of suspicion. A native of Denmark, with delicate features and pale blue eyes, Helle had a spotless 17-year record with Pan Am and was a devoted mother. Those who knew her well could not imagine her simply walking out on her job and family. They suspected foul play, and in their minds there was only one logical suspect.
Helle's friends had always viewed Richard Crafts as a strangely aloof and secretive man, and they knew that a marital breakup had been imminent. After discovering that Crafts was having an affair with another flight attendant, Helle had resolved to divorce him and claim custody of Andrew, then 10, Thomas, 6, and Kristina, 4. She wanted Richard out of the house, she had told friends, and out of her life for good.
During the three-day storm that swept into Newtown the night Helle arrived home for the last time, a local highway worker named Joe Hine came across a baffling sight while putting in long hours at the wheel of a snowplow. Late at night, on a narrow country road, Hine found his path blocked by a woodchipper hitched to a U-Haul truck. A man in an orange poncho stepped out from beside the woodchipper and, gesturing like a traffic cop, waved the snowplow past. Why would anyone be out in a storm using a woodchipper? Hine asked himself; it didn't make any sense at all.
Six weeks later, state police decided that maybe it did. Finally, this spring, during a 15-week trial that dragged on through the first month of summer, Connecticut prosecutors would portray Richard Crafts as the most callous of killers. Faced with the destruction of his comfortable life, they argued, Crafts coldly planned to eliminate his wife of 11 years, disposing of her body so that it would be virtually impossible for anyone to prove he had murdered her. According to the prosecution, Crafts dismembered and probably froze Helle's body before feeding it through a powerful woodchipper. Helle's only mortal remains were minute fragments of bone, hair and tissue weighing just two-thirds of an ounce. "[Richard Crafts] accepted the challenge of the perfect crime," argued State's Attorney Walter Flanagan. "And he came within two-thirds of an ounce of committing it."
The case was the first murder trial in Connecticut history with such scant evidence of a corpse. Indeed the defense did not concede that Helle Crafts was dead. "A woman who speaks several languages and has extensive travel experiences," argued Crafts's attorney Daniel Sagarin, "is certainly in a position to make herself disappear." Eleven jurors disagreed. But after 17 days of deliberation, a record in Connecticut, Warren Maskell, Jr., a 47-year-old carpenter, forced a mistrial when he abruptly walked out of the jury room and refused to continue. Maskell had visited a nearby church every day at lunchtime, seeking divine guidance, and his belief in Crafts's innocence was unshaken to the end. "A woman who was sick of trying to change a guy could just take off and say the hell with it," he explained. "I think Helle Crafts might still be alive."
When Helle met with attorney Dianne Andersen in September 1986, Helle was convinced Richard was unfaithful to her, and she wanted a divorce. To Andersen, the case seemed routine. But Helle hinted that Richard could be dangerous; he had an arsenal of rifles, machine guns, even grenade launchers in their basement. "If something happens to me," said Helle, "please don't assume it was an accident."
When it came to guns, Richard Crafts was no mere collector. In the early '60s, after a stint as a Marine aviator, he joined Air America, Inc., an airline operated by the CIA, and had spent five years flying risky, covert missions in Laos. Later, he kept himself combat ready; as recently as June 1986, he'd taken a course at the Lethal Force Institute in Concord, N.H., where civilians are taught to shoot to kill in simulated conditions of danger.
Despite Crafts's cloak-and-dagger background, his extramarital love life was easily unveiled. At Andersen's suggestion Helle hired Keith Mayo, a private investigator, who photographed Crafts kissing Nancy Dodd, a tall, blond Eastern Airlines flight attendant, after they had spent the night together at her New Jersey home. After seeing Mayo's pictures, Helle confided in Rita Buonanno, a Pan Am flight attendant who lived nearby. "If Richard ever found out what I've been doing, he would kill me," she said.
Finally, early in October, Helle got up the courage to tell Richard she wanted a divorce. To her surprise, he seemed undisturbed by the news. "Helle said he put his hand on her head and said, 'Anything you want, dear,' " Buonnano would testify at his trial.
A few weeks later, Crafts went on a curious shopping spree. On Nov. 13 he ordered a new freezer chest. The dealer would testify that Crafts refused to give his name or address and insisted on paying cash and picking up the 200-pound unit himself on Nov. 17. Crafts also made several telephone inquiries about renting a woodchipper, ostensibly to clear some downed tree branches from his property. Shunning local equipment suppliers, Crafts contracted with a dealer an hour's drive from his home for a three-day rental beginning Nov. 18. He chose the largest model available, a 4,220-pound Brush Bandit capable of shredding logs 12 inches in diameter.
On Nov. 14 the Craftses' live-in nanny, Dawn Marie Thomas, then 19, overheard an angry shouting match between Richard and Helle. When the couple emerged from the bedroom several hours later, Helle was inconsolable. "Richard tried to put his arm around her," Dawn Marie testified, "but she just walked away."
Helle described the blowup two days later during a layover dinner in Frankfurt with Buonanno and another flight attendant, Gertrude Horvath. "I know he's up to something," Helle said. "I just don't know what."
After Helle returned home on Nov. 18, the storm swirled over western Connecticut and downed power lines, causing a blackout in Newtown. At 6 the next morning, Crafts woke the nanny, telling her that since the heat and electricity were off, they would all have to go to the home of his sister Karen Rodgers, in Westport, 30 miles away. According to the nanny's testimony, Crafts explained that Helle had already gone on ahead. Yet when they reached his sister's home, there was no sign of Helle. Showing little concern, Richard calmly fixed pancakes for the kids.
Crafts drove back alone to Newtown after breakfast. Power was restored by 10:30 a.m., but he didn't retrieve his children and the nanny until evening, and driving them home he fell asleep at the wheel. Within the next few days, Dawn Marie Thomas noticed a grapefruit-size, brownish stain on the master-bedroom carpet. Crafts, who said he had spilled some kerosene from a portable heater, promptly ripped up the entire carpet and hauled it to a garbage dump. It was never recovered.
When Buonanno called during the next few days to inquire about her friend's whereabouts, Crafts had surprising news. Helle had left for Denmark, he said, because her 81-year-old mother, Elisabeth Nielsen, had been hospitalized. A few days later Buonanno was dismayed to learn that Helle had not requested emergency leave from Pan Am and faced automatic dismissal. She tried to phone Helle in Denmark only to find that the number Richard had given her was wrong. Alarmed, Buonanno discussed the situation with other flight attendants. When one of them finally reached Helle's mother, Elisabeth Nielsen said she was well and had not heard from Helle in weeks.
Almost at once attorney Andersen began receiving frantic calls from several people who believed something terrible had happened to Helle Crafts. In a way it was Helle who had raised the alarm. She had told at least five friends what she had told Andersen: "If anything happens to me, don't assume it was an accident."
At Andersen's request, private investigator Mayo tried to get the local police to take immediate action. But Crafts had been an auxiliary policeman in Newtown for four years and was then a part-time cop in neighboring Southbury. The Newtown police saw no reason to question Crafts's word. "They were totally indifferent," says Mayo. "They believed Helle was a stray dog who would come home when she was good and ready." On Dec. 26 State's Attorney Walter Flanagan, disturbed by lack of progress in the case, officially turned the investigation over to the state police.
While Crafts and his children celebrated Christmas in Florida with relatives, investigators searched their Newtown home. The house was in complete disarray, with furniture piled everywhere, and the mattress in the master bedroom was dotted with human blood—though it couldn't be proved to be Helle's. If Crafts had killed his wife in the bedroom, as police suspected, there was no weapon and no proof.
Then Joe Hine reported his strange encounter during the storm. He took two detectives to the shores of Lake Zoar, where he had seen the mysterious woodchipper, and there, in a pile of frozen woodchips and debris, police found several address stickers and a torn envelope bearing Helle Crafts's name. They were struck by a grisly suspicion. A few months earlier, a man in the area had been convicted of cruelty to animals after throwing a neighbor's noisy dog into a woodchipper. Crafts could have heard about that. Was it conceivable that he had used the same method to dispose of his wife's body? "We all tried to suppress the thought," says State Police Inspector Tony Dalessio. "It was just too much to believe someone could do something so inhuman."
On Jan. 6 state police called Crafts in for questioning. He denied any knowledge of Helle's whereabouts and cried as he described his children's concern over her disappearance. Later he joked about his extramarital dalliances. "In the airlines business there are numerous opportunities presented to you," he said. "I'm not sexually overactive. I don't think I'm a pervert. But if the opportunity presents itself, I would not turn it down." He admitted to a long-term relationship with Nancy Dodd and revealed he also had a second mistress, another Eastern flight attendant.
While Crafts bantered with detectives, police divers were searching for evidence in the murky waters of Lake Zoar. Braving freezing temperatures for four days, they brought up a chain saw, which was subsequently traced to Richard Crafts. On it, forensics experts would discover human tissue and strands of blond hair. Meanwhile investigators combed the shoreline inch by inch, using kerosene heaters to thaw the ground. They succeeded in recovering human fragments, including parts of a thumb, a big toe and a minute chip from a skull. The remains could not be positively identified as those of the suspected victim, but police also found two teeth. After comparing them with dental X rays, forensic odontologists would testify that Helle Crafts was no longer missing.
On Jan. 13, 1987, Helle Crafts was declared legally dead. Police arrested Richard Crafts and booked him for murder. Unable to raise $750,000 bail, Crafts remained in jail for 16 months while prosecutors prepared a complex circumstantial case against him.
At the trial, prosecutor Flanagan depicted Crafts as a man with "nerves of steel and ice in his veins. What other kind of person," he asked, "could do something like this to their spouse and the mother of their children? Most of us couldn't even do it to a rat." In an attempt to prove that Helle Crafts was dead, the prosecution presented the results of exhaustive forensics experiments. But the critical identification of the two teeth found at Lake Zoar was disputed by experts called by the defense, and when Crafts took the stand, he was extraordinarily calm, almost nonchalant. He admitted he had been unfaithful to Helle, but suggested his wife was no saint and had lured him into marriage by getting pregnant. On the night she disappeared, Helle had left without offering any explanation, he maintained. "She was all right the last time I saw her," he said.
Throughout the prolonged jury deliberations, Warren Maskell was the lone juror voting for acquittal. For Maskell, the seeds of doubt were planted early when Helle's mother, Elisabeth Nielsen, appeared as a witness for the prosecution. "When she was asked to identify Crafts, she pointed to him and smiled," says Maskell. "That would not have been the reaction of my own mother-in-law if I had been accused of killing her daughter and putting her through a woodchipper." Maskell believes some unknown person could have planted the evidence found at the lake. "I think Crafts might have been framed," he says.
Eight days into the deliberations, Maskell crashed his truck into a telephone pole on his way home and was hospitalized with head injuries and two cracked ribs. But after three days' rest, he insisted he could continue. "When we asked him what had caused the crash, he said, 'I thought I saw Helle driving by,' " says juror Elizabeth Farbotka. "We all laughed, and he played it up as a joke. But I think he actually meant it." Finally, after nine more days of haggling with his fellow jurors, Maskell decided to walk out. "I kept looking at the door handle, and it started looking bigger and more inviting," he says. "And as soon as I walked out the door, it was like jumping into a cool pool." When Maskell—risking jail for contempt of court—defied Judge Barry Schaller's order to continue deliberating, the judge had no choice but to declare a mistrial.
Prosecutor Flanagan described the trial's outcome as "a terrible disappointment" and vowed to press for a retrial. Defense attorney Sagarin said he planned to file for reduction of Crafts's bail. For now, Crafts's children are in the custody of his sister Karen Rodgers, who testified for the prosecution that Crafts showed little concern after Helle's disappearance. The children have visited Crafts in jail on several occasions. "If they want to continue seeing their father, we will allow it," says Karen's husband, David. "If they don't, we won't." As for the once and presumably future defendant, Crafts says he wants nothing more than to be reunited with what remains of his family. "Clearly we're deeply disappointed" by the mistrial, said Sagarin. "Richard wanted to go home to his kids."
—Additional reporting by Arthur Herzog and Patrick O'Neil in New London
- Contributors:
- Arthur Herzog,
- Patrick O'Neil.
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The Kindle Fire HDX: Is it time to upgrade your Kindle?Cecily Kellogg
The tablet market is seriously heating up these days, and Amazon just set it on fire with the release of the new Kindle Fire HDX (excuse the pun; it's just too obvious to avoid). The tablet is currently available for pre-order (expected to ship in about two weeks).
The reviews of the latest Kindle Fire tablet are so effusive and enthusiastic you begin to wonder if they are paid, but I have to admit the features on this one are pretty cool. It is, however, significantly more expensive than the current Kindle Fire $90 more for the 7″ version, and $150 more for the 8.9″ option putting it on par with the iPad mini.
Of course, this is the goal: it's clear the Kindle Fire HDX is aiming to knock out the market for the iPad, and it seems it could actually happen.
So what are the coolest features on this latest Kindle?
It's lighter. I love my current Kindle Fire, but I'll admit my iPad mini is easier to use for long periods because it's lighter. The Kindle Fire HDX is more than 20% lighter, and is considerably more sleek according to reviews. This is very appealing.
OfficeSuite built-in. I, personally, can't do content creation on a tablet. I like a full-size keyboard and an operating system I know well. However, if you work in an office and can bring a device to meetings, the Kindle HDX looks like it might be a great option to follow along on spreadsheets and documents.
Faster. Every review of the new Kindle is crowing about the new faster speed. This makes sense; the Kindle Fire HDX offers up a Quad-Core 2.2 GHz vs. the Dual-Core 1.5 GHz in the current model.
Bigger. The Kindle Fire HDX offers storage all the way to 64 GB. This is particularly good news when you combine it with the news you can download movies and shows to your Kindle from Amazon Prime for offline viewing.
4G available. Yes, the Kindle Fire HDX offers optional 4G network capability (although this will slightly increase the weight of the tablet).
Overall, it looks like the Kindle Fire HDX is a solid choice for a tablet. Will you be upgrading?


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Distributed Proofreaders Update for 5 November 2003
This is a historically significant week for Distributed Proofreaders. You may not be aware of this yet for it was not covered on the BBC or CNN, nor was it picked up by any of the major daily papers. Consider it a PG Newsletter exclusive. In fact, so important is this week that the mid-section is going out in an extended Late Edition.
Now before you go wondering what you might have missed, remember we did say it was a 'historic' week. To behold the full majesty of significance surrounding us at present requires that we step back a little and attempt to view as much of the DP time line as possible. Okay, so maybe just the past year for now!
A new era has definitely begun for Distributed Proofreaders. This was not planned to be a demarcation, but a clear one has settled in right before our eyes. If you are a daily visitor to the site, it is likely that you felt the sea change moving in over the past several weeks. If this is includes you, then please stay with us as we explore the past twelve months for those who are occasional visitors or recently joined members.
Before the beginning, let us set a marker in the present, for that is where we will circle back to. It is a landmark impossible to miss; last Friday's Halloween celebration and the collaborative 'Big Climb.' In last week's column we gave everyone ample notice, and it was clear from the line at the door that the word went out. I must say, the party wasted no time getting started. From Midnight on Thursday the place started rockin', and it did not slow down until well past Midnight on Saturday morning. I can't name for you everyone who was there...they all wore masks...and some people switched every hour.
Appropriate content begin dancing through the rounds in pumpkin colored costumes within minutes of the witching hour...there were short stories by Bram Stoker and Alexandre Dumas, Curiosites infernales were seen. The Centaur by Blackwood made an appearance as did La vampire, who was still hangin' out in R2 last night refusing to believe the party's over. Juliet went home with the prize for 'Scariest Book of All' for Diseases of the Horse's Foot. I'm still having nightmares.
Thanks must go out to Dr. Gutenstein, and to all the content providers and behind the scenes crafters who made the event as much fun as it was. The highlight of all was the 'Big Climb.' If you missed it, you have my sincere condolences, because it really was something to see! There was a steady pace to the climb right from the start, but it did not really get exciting until late in the afternoon, when we started to see over 1,000 pages an hour being proofed. The existing high, which is what we set out to surpass was over 15,000 pages proofed in a single day. We entered the challenge in the spirt of the day with more fun in mind than seriousness of purpose. After all, the highest proofing day of 2003 was still less than 10,000 pages.
In the final six hours it became certain that we actually had a chance
to set a newrecord, and to go a good stretch beyond. The original
target for everyone was to match or slightly pass their own best
proofing day. With this in mind, people had committed to a set number
of pages they would complete for the day. Most everyone went beyond
their pledge, and many people doubled and tripled what they set out to
do. By the final three hours the pace had quickened and the 15,000
drew near, and then with just a passing wave, Oct 31st flew on by Nov
8th and rose another 3,000 pages, opening up a whole new era in DP
history. Friends and family members are still at a loss to explain the
behavior last Friday of the members who were on-line when the new
record was set. To stretch a worn out cliche that just happens to
fit. . .
If you weren't with us, there's always the many forum threads from the 31st that will bring back a sense of what it was like. For those who were a part of the climb, the memories will linger for a long time to come. For those who have been members for more than a year, Friday night rekindled existing memories of another day, and another mountain of pages that were proofed by a small and enthusiastic band. That of course, leads us back in time nearly a year to this day. The timing of these two grand days was the inspiration for this special issue of the column.
This upcoming weekend marks an important anniversary for DP. One year ago on November 8th a small piece appeared among the daily discourse on Slashdot. Within hours the ranks of registered proofers began to grow...and grow...and grow. That day changed DP fundamentally like a plot point in a classic novel.
November 8th is not an official holiday at Distributed Proofreaders, but it should be. Not so much because of the large crowds that came initially, nor the high page counts. It should be a day of reverence for those members who came and saw and stayed. Next time you are in the forum pay attention to the Date Joined beneath the poster's name. Note how many arrived either on Nov' 8, 2002 or within the following week to ten days.
Among this group you will find people who have contributed immeasurably to DP, including two of our largest content providers, a legion of high volume proofers, including some of the Top Ten, code authors and site maintainers, nearly all the tool developers and even our own SA Bill Keir. Whenever the story of DP is told, that Slashdot November will always be remembered as a milestone in the project's early history, yet not solely for the high count numbers to which it is often anchored. The greatest contribution of November 2002 is the quality and character of the people who came to stay and add something uniquely their own to DP.
As we look back over the past year, it begins to seem that the greater part of 2003 was spent adapting to new size and potential of the membership. We have all been learning, growing and sharing ideas that over time came materialized into concrete results. Through the unfolding of that process we have managed to send over 1,500 completed books to PG with an equal number at some stage on the DP server.
There were times in 2003 when we seemed to loose our forward momentum and even begin to drift apart. But somehow something always came along and drew us all back together; a mention by Slashdot in July, a spontaneous run for a daily goal that reminded us that we were a collective effort after all. Somewhere towards the third quarter of the year we began to find ourselves together more often than not. Within this same time frame several sub-projects and initiatives that had been developing through the year began to take on more of a concrete and unified form.
It is no longer possible to point to any few specifics and say 'that's what made the difference', but the DP of today is very different than the DP of six months ago. This transformation is measured by strong increases in output and quality at all stages of production. What brought about this deep change then, if not some particular event or development? I have been thinking about this question a great deal in the past week. From today, I believe it can be attributed to two primary factors. The first is arguably the recent synchronization of the many tools and technical innovations that have been evolving through the past year. Space and time do not allow me to cite them all...and individually they may not seem like much.
Together the improvements to the site code, the steady evolution to the proofing process, such as the queue organization and enhancements to the project release system, added to the impressive set of tools now available to assist the pre and post production processes. All of these have become integrated into an effective system within the past few months.
The second primary cause, in my view, is a little less obvious, but of an equal import. I believe that what we have come to possess in the later part of this year is the collective sense of who we are in our dedication to the work of DP. I have been reading and watching very closely of late both in on-site and off-site exchanges. One thing stands out very clearly, time and time again; this work, which is very distinct to DP, has become a significant part of our lives. What we do here, both as individuals and in collaboration, is held very high amongst our personal values. We don't discuss this often in the forum, except when a new member makes note of it, and then for a while we are reminded of what keeps us coming back. Maybe the reason we don't discuss it often is that we have come to accept this as a group. Once we log in to DP we know we are among a kindred mind-set. We all know why we are here, and it is widely recognized that the work we do is no mere idle pastime. We believe it makes a difference in the world.
What has happened to us recently is that we have uncovered and experienced a new found dynamism when we give ourselves collectively to a specific end that we hold to be of significance. This is the true service of the Daily Page goals; they call hidden strengths from our inner depths and push us to always do better than we might just normally settle for. They are more important than the playfullness with which we approach them may evidence. Times will come when there are urgent and maybe important needs that require us to reach up and stretch on some short notice. By having found our sense of self as a working group, we will not hesitate to take on such challenges, and we will not fail to accomplish them. It is a faith based work ethic at DP...the same is true for the larger PG community. The great cathedrals rose up on the dedications to such an ethic. A world library is rising up on this one.
So those are my theories on how we manage to average 6,500-7,000 pages a day without breaking into a sweat, and how we can post process 325+ books in a month. Maybe what matters above any reason why is the fact that we are doing it in the first place. We are nearing a new year now. The holiday season will soon be upon us and there's no doubt that we will all have some time away from DP while we enjoy the affairs of our personal lives. It does seem to be good timing after all that has been achieved in recent weeks. We will begin 2004 fresh, strong and ready to complete the most challenging of projects.
PG has reached the long awaited milestone of 10,000 titles and new horizons are nowfocused upon. DP is ready and fit for such new vistas within this new and exciting era. If the past year revealed to us who we are collectively, the year ahead seems ready to show us what we are truly capable of. Perhaps the greatest lesson October taught us, is that on this account, who we may yet become, we still have very much to discover. I look forward to sharing the journey with you! I believe many of us will be togetherfor a long while to come yet. As Big Bill often says..."We have many years of work out there ahead of us." Let give the best within ourselves to those years!
With this week's expanded column we are going to give you a taste of some new features that will be appearing regularly. One of these is a spotlight on unique and special DP accomplishments. Now there are no hard rules here and there will be no judgmental limits applied. The features will justify inclusion on their own. Now we will try to make this a little surprising, so you may not actually be aware of the nature of the 'accomplishment' until we focus upon it. That's the main reason why we have decided to add this element. Maybe the motto here could be 'credit where it is due, not where it is recognized.'
For the first feature we will start with something I am personally very familiar with, and which you will be in the days and weeks to come. It is called 'The Project Gutenberg John Keats Collection.' It has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Expect several more authors to receive such designation in the near future as we get to them. On the whole, the framing of an authors entire catalog, once it is available, is one component in the ongoing upgrade of the PG index. The Keats Collection deserves special mention here because it is a purely DP accomplishment. In fact, the entire Keats library; three volumes of his verse; all of his letters and two very extensive biographies, was located, scanned and prepared for DP by one person; Jonathan Ingram. You most likely know him as Jon.
Earlier this year upon learning that the body of Keats' work was not available in PG, Jon set out to right this imbalance with firm determination. It would not be the last Romantic poet Mr. Ingram would single handily escort to the PG library. Our Jon has managed the entire works of Byron, Coleridge, Southey (well, the first 20 years - watch out if you work at Jon's local library, he'll be in shortly for the rest!), Wordsworth, and many other poets outside the Romantic era. Perhaps this is a good place to mention that Jon joined up with DP on November 8, 2003.
I know a little bit about this collection because I adopted the entire series for the post production phase. The logic behind that decision was on one hand a gesture of respect to what Jon had done, and on the other, an intention to see that the set of titles would be sent to PG within a consistent style, along with some added features. These works are near to completion now and will begin their passage to Verification beginning this week. Once the set is completely available in PG, we will remind you within the newsletter and there will be a fixed link posted on the archive site along with PG Collection authors.
As part of this week's Featured Accomplishment we will be including some samples from the Letters of John Keats and William Rossetti's biography. These will be complimented with an author profile by our own Gali Sirkis. For anyone who would still like to proof a little Keats, watch for the upcoming French translation of Saint Agnes which was just recently located and should be available just in time to join the collection.
There is a lot of news within this week that I have not even touched upon so far. It would be an injustice to attempt to squeeze it all in effectively in this last paragraph or two. Next week, when the column returns to normal size, I will explore some important day to day developments that tend to serve as the glue which holds DP together through all manner of weather.
One thing that deserves mention going into next week is that Tuesday the 11th, which is recognized as Armistice Day or Veterans Day and by other names elsewhere will be honored at DP by several content providers who are preparing appropriate titles for the proofing rounds. If you would like to contribute a book or two, please visit the Content Providers forum or contact one of the System Administrators. If you would like to contribute by proofing some texts, all you need to do is log in at any time during the day or night. A diverse selection of books will be available for release.
To everyone who joined up with DP in those first wild days of the great Slashdot rush, a very Happy Anniversary!!Thank you all for staying and helping to make Distributed Proofreaders what it is today!
For now...Thierry Alberto
Links to Articles19 October 2004
18 February 2004
11 February 2004
4 February 2004
14 January 2004
17 December 2003
3 December 2003
19 November 2003
12 November 2003
<-- 5 November 2003
29 October 2003
22 October 2003
15 October 2003
8 October 2003
1 October 2003
17 September 2003
10 September 2003
3 September 2003
27 August 2003
20 August 2003


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It was intriguing to read the December 19, 2012 edition of the Bitterroot Star weekly as Carlotta Grandstaff wrote an article for the Rocky Mountain Labs and their work on a new virus. In the past, I had quoted her work from the Missoula In
dependent with regards to Geoff Mahar orchestrating felonies to obtain fraudulent convictions, but Ravalli County never does anything like that.
The Rocky Mountain Labs have been in Hamilton, MT for about 100 years, information Ms. Grandstaff neglected to report. As Mark Twain once said, "Get the facts first, then distort them as you please." Dr. Heinz Feldman, Chief of the Virology Laboratory at RM, mentioned how the facility in Hamilton is built for examining dangerous viruses that have potential for public health damage. The Rocky Mountain Lab was designed by Marshall Bloom with a disregard for the public's health in Hamilton, MT. After three years of operation, RML can't even provide employee parking without purchasing, and grading residential property north of federal property.
The RML lab is credited for a cure to the still under-diagnosed Lyme Disease, and dug a moat around the RML facility to convince local residents that ticks couldn't swim. Lyme, Connecticut (named for this tick-borne disease) is across the Sound from Long Island, NY where NIH had a facility at Fire Island. Today no moats are needed, every official at NIH feels Rocky Mountain Laboratories is safe including Bloom, Feldman, the Director, and officials in the Office of Facility Services for NIH.
RML is the only bio-level 4 laboratory (of 4) without fire protection adjacent, or on the facility. The Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department (HVFD) is no match to Bethesda, MD fire department, or the revamped fire department on the Bethesda NIH campus. The Raleigh-Durham Fire Department has more resources and capability, as does the Frederick, MD Fire Department, than HVFD. On September 12, 2011, the only communication network operational in Hamilton was two-way radio, as a fiber-optic telephone cable was severed. NIH was not prepared or protected by the Ravalli County 911 center or otherwise as no Bio-Hazmat capabilities are within 50 miles.
RML, which claims to be prepared for any virus, emits sound from its cooling and exhaust fans with a frequency in the low range which penetrates homes, causes depression, heart problems and awakens residents (sleep deprivation) who pay federal taxes for the NIH lab. Rocky Mountain Labs published a newsletter to the community May 31, 2011 that stated the noise coming from the new $66M lab in Hamilton was less than before the lab was built! We were not born yesterday, NIH. RML's sound contractor was sanctioned with a cease and desist letter by the State of Montana for practicing engineering without a license in Hamilton, MT for NIH.
While Dr. Feldman and Marshall Bloom may feel Rocky Mountain Labs is ready to examine viruses that have public health hazards, perhaps these NIH officials might want to start with their agency goals of accountability to the public and scientific integrity. As homes are within 10 feet of noise sources, standard buffers dictate a 1500 ft. protection zone. As the constant noise of RML affects our neighborhood, it is far different than attempting to fool us with a moat, or a newspaper article saying RML is built to handle dangerous viruses.
Michael Spreadbury


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Sometimes, though Laura Doering wags her finger at me, I take work to do at home, usually things I can't get to at the office because of time. I once joked to Melissa Kauffman it's too bad we can't work 24 hours a day, and in a deadpan voice, she said, "We could." (Eep!)
On this particular day, I had spent my office time getting the magazine ready for the printers, and I wanted to look over a few articles one last time before they were off. So when I got home, I got out of my work clothes, got some ice cream and went to work. When I realized I had forgotten to grab a pen to make any changes, I got up to go find one.
And, when I returned, Walter the cat had decided there was no way I was going to continue working. He had planted his kitty bottom on my papers and he absolutely refused to move.
While I was a little miffed (I really needed to work!), it is a vast improvement from what I am used to. When I was in school, Tori would convince me not to work by chewing up my text books.
Or my research papers.
Or my classmates' papers. (A lovebird's work is never done.)
Like I said: a vast improvement. Sit away, Walter-cat!<< Read the Previous Entry Read the Next Entry >><< Back to blog home page
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The Senior Citizens Nutritional Program, sponsored by the Bay County Division on Aging, is open to all senior citizens age 60 and older and their spouses.
Meals are served cafeteria-style at noon Monday through Thursday at Williams Township Hall; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Canteen Building at the Bay County Fairgrounds; Wednesday and Thursday at the Kawkawlin Township Hall; and weekdays at the Riverside Friendship Center. You may call 989-893-7070 for the Friday noon menu at the Riverside Center.
The Hampton Senior Center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 2 to 6 p.m. Friday. You may call 989-895-5968 for the menu.
• MONDAY: Deviled pork chop, baked potato, Italian baked beans, chunky applesauce
• TUESDAY: Chicken a la king, baby carrots, creamy coleslaw, almond poppy seed cake
• WEDNESDAY: Macaroni and cheese, peas, fresh fruit
• THURSDAY: Pork chop suey over brown rice, broccoli, lemon pudding


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Am Montag, 7. November 2005 19:40 schrieb Alvaro:
> A few days ago I upgraded kde to 3.4. It removed hotplug of my system,
> because this xorg didn't run (graphics driver didn't load) , after it I
> installed hotplug by hand and I it removed hal and udev. I thinked that
> this conflict would be resolved on some days, today those packets are in
> conflict yet. Some about this?
There is no real conflict: either use hotplug or udev (which can do the
hotplug stuff, too).
The problem is rather with changed behaviour: udev does not contain all the
device files. This changes the module loading behaviour,
e.g. /etc/init.d/setserial will not automatically load the serial port
Work-around: load the module with /etc/modules.
By the way: since when does xorg absolutely rely on kernel modules?
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to email@example.com
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Day 1 | Day 2
Finding or detecting cancer at an early stage can make it much more treatable. Molecular staging of cancer has the potential of being able to recognize subsets of the disease to allow for highly targeted therapies that can yield unprecedented results. Commercial tests need to be able to diagnose cancer with an exquisite sensitivity with just a few cells, to overcome the challenge of the heterogeneity of cancer. Plan to attend to learn what progress has been made towards developing assays with specific biomarkers to cancer that will create a new generation of products.
Scientific Advisory Board
Harry Glorikian, Managing Partner, Scientia Advisors
Myla Lai-Goldman, M.D., CEO, CancerGuide Diagnostics, Inc.
Jorge A. León, Ph.D., President, Leomics Consulting
1:00-2:00 pm Short Course Registration
2:00-5:00 Pre-Conference Short Courses*
4:00 – 5:00 Main Conference Registration
*Separate registration required. Click here for details.
7:30 am-6:00 pm Registration
7:30 Morning Coffee
DEEP SEQUENCING OF CANCER GENOMES: Identifying Candidate Genes
8:30 Chairperson's Remarks
Jorge A. León, Ph.D., President, Leomics Consulting
8:40 Molecular Profiling - The Future of Cancer Treatment
Hans Lehrach, Ph.D., Director, Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin; Head, Department of Vertebrate Genomics
It will soon be commercially feasible to apply deep sequencing in the clinic at the full-genome level to clinical patient samples, which makes the development of systems able to take advantage of this new flood of clinical information an urgent matter. We are therefore presenting a system we have developed that has the capacity to integrate these types of data in a "holistic" and comprehensive fashion. The "Virtual Patient" system allows us to create predictive models out of all the information available from any deep molecular characterisation technology, allowing the selection of an optimal therapy for each individual patient.
9:10 Development of Personalized Tumor Biomarkers Using Massively Parallel Sequencing
Rebecca Leary, Ph.D., Post Doctoral Fellow, Oncology, Ludwig Center for Cancer Genetics and Therapeutics, The Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center
Personalized Analysis of Rearranged Ends (PARE) is a novel approach to identify tumor-specific rearrangements on a per-patient basis and create personalized biomarkers for detection of circulating tumor DNA. The PARE approach may be used to monitor tumor levels after therapy and determine cancer recurrence.
9:40 Expression Profiling of microRNAs in Ovarian Cancer Using Deep Sequencing Chad Creighton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Baylor College of MedicineBy comprehensively profiling expression of microRNAs and genes in ovarian cancer, we have identified strong candidate microRNAs and their target genes that may contribute to the pathogenesis of this disease. To date, we have found that miR-100 inhibits mTOR signaling and enhance sensitivity to rapamycin in clear cell cancer cell cultures, and that miR-31 inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis in those serous cancer cell lines that have a dysfunctional p53 pathway.
Sponsored by 10:10 Presentation Sponsored by EdgeBioOmayma Al-Awar, Ph.D., Director of Sales and Marketing, EdgeBio10:25 Coffee Break
10:55 Chairperson's Remarks
11:00 High Throughput Cancer Diagnostic Discovery and Development in Using Somamers: Slow Off-Rate Modified Aptamers
Stephen A. Williams, M.D., Ph.D., CMO, SomaLogic, Inc.
A clinical assay has been developed which uses SOMAmers to measure ~900 proteins simultaneously in 15ul of plasma or serum, with a CV of ~5% and a median LLOQ well below 1pg/ml. This combination of attributes is not currently matched by any other technology platform. The high-throughput assay has been used to discover protein signatures which diagnose cancer or predict recurrence in a number of different cancers. Relevant case studies will be discussed.
11:30 Combined Tissue and Blood Tests Based on a Novel Biomarker for Predicting and Real Time Monitoring of Breast Cancer Recurrence
Ginette Serrero, Ph.D., CEO, Oncology Biomarker, A&G Pharmaceutical, Inc.
Applying biological screen for target discovery has been a very powerful approach to identify targets in oncology that have therapeutic and diagnostic applications for drug resistant cancers. Using this approach we have discovered a novel biomarker that is over expressed and secreted by breast tumors and plays a critical role in breast tumorigenesis and acquisition to resistance to therapy. A tissue and blood tests were developed to detect this biomarker in breast biopsies as well as in serum. Training trial followed by a validation clinical study enrolling 264 patients have demonstrated and validated that tissue expression of this biomarker was a predictor of recurrence independent of tumor size, tumor grade, disease stage and lymph node status. On-going prospective clinical studies show that serum GP88 measurement can be used for real time monitoring of recurrence. These data and their impact on personalized medicine in breast cancer will be presented.
12:00 pm Technology Funding Opportunities at the National Cancer Institute
Avraham Rasooly, Ph.D., Program Director, Cancer Diagnosis Program, National Cancer Institute
Cancer is uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the body. Cancer is recognized as a multistep process within the cell, involving multiple genomic alterations that manifest in multiple phases. A trend in cancer treatment is personalized medicine, the tailoring of treatment to the unique "molecular signature" of the patient's cancer. Personalized medicine and the complexity of cancer demand new diagnostics tools to analyze such molecular signatures. The NCI's Cancer Diagnosis Program support research and development of new diagnostics technologies for cancer.
12:30 Luncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Available) or Lunch on Your Own
2:00 Chairperson's Remarks
Myla Lai-Goldman, M.D., CEO, CancerGuide Diagnostics, Inc.
2:10 Rapid Mass Spectrometric Metabolic Profiling of Blood Sera Detects Ovarian Cancer with High Accuracy
John McDonald, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Integrated Cancer Research Center, School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology
We report the application of a new mass spectrometric procedure for the measurement of relative metabolite levels in sera combined with a customized functional Support Vector Machine (SVM)-based classification algorithm for diagnostic applications. As an initial test of the diagnostic power of our method, we examined sera from 94 women. The assay was able to distinguish between ovarian cancer and control groups with an unprecedented 99-100% accuracy (100% sensitivity; 99-100% specificity) demonstrating its potential as a clinically significant diagnostic test.
2:40 ColoVantage–A Test for Colorectal Cancer Using Methylated Septin 9 DNA in Plasma
Kasinathan Muralidharan, Ph.D., Senior Director, Molecular Genetics, Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute
The good prognosis for colorectal cancer (CRC) when detected early has supported the value of CRC screening. However, compliance to CRC screening is low compared to for example prostate cancer screening, partly due to the inconvenience associated with colonoscopy and fecal sampling. The availability of a blood based test for CRC detection can potentially improve compliance. Detection of methylated Septin 9 DNA in plasma has been strongly correlated with CRC with a sensitivity of about 70% and specificity of about 90% in detecting CRC. We here report the development and validation of a test for methylated Septin 9 DNA in plasma.
3:10 Refreshment Break
4:00 Interactive Panel: Practical Approach for Developing Predictive Diagnostics
Moderator: Myla Lai-Goldman, M.D., CEO, CancerGuide Diagnostics, Inc.
Stephen Little, Ph.D., Vice President, Personalized Healthcare, QIAGEN (Formerly CEO, DxS Ltd.)
Felix W. Frueh, Ph.D., Vice President, Research & Development & Personalized Medicine, Medco Health Solutions, Inc.
Questions will be collected via email beforehand from the audience.
5:00 Opening Reception in the Exhibit Hall
6:00 Close of Day
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text:
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services raised the long-term rating on JPMorgan Securities Inc. derivative inverse tax-exempt receipts (Erie County), Pa.'s series 1507 to 'AA-' from 'A'. This action follows Standard & Poor's upgrade of the underlying bond to 'AA-' from 'A'. The long-term component of the rating is based on the underlying bond....
Companies mentioned in this report are:
- JPMorgan Secs PUTTERs & DRIVERs Tr Ser
- Erie Cnty
Action: Upgraded
Standard and Poors RatingsXpress Credit Research provides in-depth coverage of international corporates, financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, sovereigns and structured finance programs. RatingsXpress Credit Research lets users determine the credit rating of holdings and identify key factors underlying an issuer's creditworthiness, distinguishes the different risk exposures for new and existing deals, and provides an understanding of how their analysts interpret key regulatory, political and environmental events and their economic impact.
This product consists of a Summary Analysis: Bi-annual (at least). An abbreviated analysis containing Standard & Poor's issuer credit ratings as of the time the article was published. The analysis includes a rating rationale - the basis on which the rating was assigned - and an outlook section if the issuer is not on CreditWatch. Financial statistics are not included.
- JPMorgan Secs PUTTERs & DRIVERs Tr Ser
- Erie Cnty


text:
I hate McDonald's Advertising.
I'm a pet sitter. I drive a lot. I listen to the radio, a lot. I hear McDonald's commercials, a lot. I cannot stand them, at all. Why? Just listen to these series of commercials:
It's not just a fish sandwich, its THE FILLET-O-FISH!
The McGriddles is so good, somebody had to rap about it
I'm going nuts for […]


text:
Filed under: Main
I'm not sure exactly what it is that can trigger an overeating event, but I figure there are two main culprits: food and circumstances. This week I experienced triggers in both arenas, so perhaps they are inter-related. All I know is that once I started eating candy at work, I just wasn't able to stop. Then the next day it happened again, and once again after that.
Perhaps what I really ought to be concerning myself with is what causes these eating binges to END. I mean, I've been through enough of them. You'd think I might remember what things that I might say or do that would bring me back to my senses. For instance, tonight when I went to put on a pair of jeans and couldn't get them buttoned, I had to face facts.
Fortunately, I do know that stopping is NOT about berating myself or telling myself that I've been bad and made mistakes. Generally the more angry I am with myself, the more my destructive pattern continues.
It's far more helpful to think "okay, here's what I was getting out of that behavior….." This week, for example, I think that part of what I was doing was feeding some kind of physiological response that kept getting louder and louder. My rational brain may have known that a pound of chocolate wasn't a good idea, but there was something (perhaps chemicals in the bloodstream) that made me keep going anyway. I wasn't being crazy, I was addressing a need of some sort.
Another thing I was probably engaged in was a semi-conscious response to the anxiety, exhaustion and confusion I've been experience lately. I have a lot of stamina and can take multiple 10 and 11 hour workdays, but when I do that for an extended period, I'm draining the batteries a bit. So the natural resources I have for thinking and acting wisely are a bit diminished.
And the viscious cycle that sets in is based on the fact that non-nutritious food just makes you feel more anxious, tired and exhausted over the long haul (no matter how good it might taste while eating it!). That's why you can't eat just one potato chip, as the old saying goes.
Fortunately, I'm not panicked. I have resources that I can rely upon to pull me out of a tailspin, both internal and external. For one thing, I'll be talking to my friend Diane tomorrow and she always calms me down (even if we're not talking about food). And I also have this blog, where I can explore ideas and experiences and –hopefully– learn from them.
Who knows, maybe all I need is a good night's sleep. But whatever it is, I'll let you know what ENDS all of this!
** Just coming back in to provide this link to a great blog I read today on the topic of forgiveness (or as Sally calls it "self care") **
Hey, maybe it's as simple as the caffeine in the chocolate. Try coffee instead? You might just try putting a bit of cocoa in the coffee.Comment by Mary 02.21.09 @ 8:43 am
You know, you're right…. a warm beverage might have helped!Comment by Jonathan 02.21.09 @ 9:58 am