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We're delighted to be able to share an excerpt from Simon Schama's new book. As longtime fans of his work, we'll also be tuning in to WNET on Tuesday for the premiere of his show, also called The Story of the Jews. Click here for more information and to watch video previews.
Excerpt from The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words 1000 BC – 1492 AD by Simon Schama
In Egypt
In the beginning – not the imagined beginning of patriarchs and prophets, and certainly not the beginning of the whole universe, just the documented beginning of ordinary Jews – in that beginning, a father and mother were worrying about their son.
This son, a soldier boy, was called Shelomam, an Aramaic version of my Hebrew name, Shelomo. His father's name was Osea, which was the middle name of my own aba. The time was two and a half millennia ago, in 475 BCE, the tenth year of the reign of Xerxes, the Achaemenid king of Persia who, though much bloodied in Greece, was still ruler in Egypt, where Shelomam and Osea lived. Xerxes had another decade on the throne before being murdered by his most trusted officer, Artabanus the Hyrcanian, who did the deed in cahoots with a helpful eunuch. Jesus of Nazareth would not be born for half a millennium. If the several writers of the Hebrew Bible are to be believed, it had been around eight hundred years since Moses had led the enslaved Israelites from Egypt into the desert mountains where, in possession of the laws given directly by Yahweh – indeed written with His very finger – they turned, despite recurring flings with idolatry and a yen for many other gods, into something resembling Jews.
The exodus from the flood valley of the Nile, the end of foreign enslavement, was presented by the Bible writers as the condition of becoming fully Israelite. They imagined the journey as an ascent, both topographical and moral. It was on the stony high places, way stations to heaven, that YHWH – as Yahweh is written – had revealed Himself (or at least His back), making Moses' face hot and shiny with reflected radiance. From the beginning (whether in the biblical or archaeological version), Jews were made in hill country. In Hebrew, emigrating to Israel is still aliyah, a going up. Jerusalem was unimaginable on the low fluvial plain. Rivers were murky with temptation; the sea was even worse, brimming with scaly monsters. Those who dwelled by its shores or shipped around upon its waves (like the Phoenicians or the Greeks) were to be detested as shifty, idolatrous and unclean. To go back to Egypt then, in the eyes of those for whom the exodus was the proper start of everything Jewish, was a fall, a descent to brazen idolatry. The prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah – the latter even when he had gone to Egypt himself – had warned against this relapse, this un-Jewing. Those who fully succumbed, Jeremiah warned, would become 'an execration and an astonishment, a curse and a reproach'.
Heedless, the Israelites not for the first or last time disobeyed, trotting back to Egypt in droves. Why not, when the northern kingdom of Israel had been smashed by the Assyrians in 721 BCE, and a century later the kingdom of Judah was likewise pulverised by the Babylonians? All these misfortunes could, and were, interpreted by the writers of the Bible narratives as YHWH's chastisement of backsliding. But those on the receiving end could be forgiven for thinking: much good He has done us. Some 30,000 rams and ewes sacrificed for Passover in the Temple by King Josiah; a mass rending of raiment in contrite penitence for flirting with false gods; no help at all in fending off whichever hellish conquerors came out of Mesopotamia with their ringlets and their panthers and their numberless ranks of archers and javelin-men.
So the Israelites went down from their lion-coloured Judaean hills to the flood country of Egypt, to Tahpanhes on the delta, and Memphis halfway south, and especially to Pathros, the south country. When the Persians arrived in 525 BCE, they treated the Israelites not as slaves but often as slave owners, and above all as tough professional soldiers who could be depended on, as much as Arameans, Caspians or Carian Greeks from the western Anatolian littoral, to suppress Egyptian uprisings against Persia. They would also police the turbulent southern frontier where Nubian Africa began.
Shelomam, Osea's boy, was one of these young men, a mercenary – it was a living – who had been posted south all the way to the garrison of the Hayla hayahudaya, the Judaean Troop, on the island of Elephantine, just downstream from the first cataract of the Nile. Perhaps he had been assigned to caravan convoy, guarding the tribute of elephant tusks, ebony and Ethiopian boys that had been the pharaoh's due from Nubia and was now sent to the Persian governor in his place.
The father, Osea, was writing from Migdol, probably located on the eastern branch of the Nile delta, where Shelomam had previously been stationed. His letter, sent five hundred river miles south to await the soldier boy's arrival on Elephantine, was written in Aramaic, the daily tongue of the region and the entire empire, on the pressed-reed writing surface of papyrus. Patched together though this particular piece was, papyrus degrades very slowly. If kept from light, the ink remains dark and sharp. The square-form script, the same elegant style in which Hebrew would be written from the time of the Second Temple to our own, is still crisply legible. In Jewish memory it is as though Osea had written just yesterday. A worried father is a worried father. He can't help letting the boy know how he feels, right away, at the top of the letter: 'Well-being and strength I send you but from the day you went on your way, my heart, it's not so good.' And then, the inevitable clincher, the three words Shelomam must have known were coming, even without Osea having to write them, the phrase all Jewish boys hear at some point; the phrase from which history unfolds: 'Likewise your mother.'
A classic pre-emptive strike. My own father, Arthur Osea, was known to resort to it shamelessly when, as in the case of Egyptian Osea, he was on the back foot, worrying that the news which followed might not make his son altogether happy. 'Don't worry . . . your mother's a bit upset about this but . . .' Now what might get his pride and joy, his Shelomam, all bent out of shape? Trouble with pay and kit? Oh, don't get in a snit. 'That tunic and the garment you wrote
about, they're made, all right? Don't get angry with me because I couldn't bring them to Memphis in time (for your journey south). I'll bring them so you have them on your way back.' The pay? Yes, well, bit of a problem there, my boy. 'When you left Migdol, they wouldn't send us your money.' Worse, when Osea made enquiries about the back pay owing, he got the brush-off default mode for the minions of empires. Tremendously sorry, actually not my department, you see, but please do by all means forward your complaint to the appropriate officials. 'When you come back to Egypt, give them what for and they'll give you your pay.' So listen, my son, Osea goes on, brushing off any notion that he'd failed his boy in the crucial matter of the kit: 'don't cry. Be a man . . . Your mother, the children, everyone's well.'
It would be good to know in more detail how Shelomam lived in the frontier world of Jewish soldiers on Elephantine, but the letter stayed there, so perhaps he never made it to Elephantine, never got his tunic or his pay. Or perhaps he did, and left the note behind. At any rate, there it remained for two and a half millennia until an American amateur Egyptologist and ex-journalist for the New York Herald Tribune, Charles Edwin Wilbour, bought clay pots full of papyri from women digging for sebagh fertiliser on the island mounds in 1893. 'All these pap. from Kom shown me by three separate women at different times,' Wilbour wrote in his diary. But once he saw the papyri were Aramaic, and twenty-seventh dynasty, he lost interest. Grander, older, pharaonic antiquities were his game.
Twenty years before, he had left Manhattan in a hurry when his crony, the king of city graft Boss Tweed, who had put some nice contracts Wilbour's way for his paper business, had been booted out of town. In Paris, ancient Egypt gave Wilbour a new life, its stupendous history learned from the eminent scholar Gaston Maspero. He rigged out a dahabiyeh so that he and his wife, Charlotte Beebee, an ardent suffragist, could sail the Nile with all conveniences, stopping by to help with digs in Karnak, Luxor, Thebes. High-domed Germans, French and British Egyptologists found his Yankee enthusiasm entertaining, sometimes even useful. Occasionally Wilbour would go and see Flinders Petrie in his rude tent and thought the British archaeologist
ostentatiously spartan for camping like an Arab.
Sporting a prophetic beard, Wilbour made the Nile his living room for nearly two decades. When, near the end of that time, he stood on the mounds of Elephantine amid the grubbing women, he knew that the sebagh they were after for their crops was the pulverised
debris of ancient mud bricks, with enough hay and stubble mixed in to give it nitrous potency. But he was certainly unaware that somewhere beneath his feet was a decomposed Jewish city, the first we can reconstruct in the thrumming drone of its daily business: its property-line disputes over rooms and houses, exits and access; its marriages and divorces; its wills and prenups; its food and its dress; its oaths and its blessings. Oblivious to all this, Wilbour took the
papyri, neatly folded and bound, addressees on the outside as they had been in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, to the Paris lodging where he expired in 1896.
Ten years later more extensive troves were found by German expeditions who picked at their content, took them to Berlin and Paris, and published a little more. Needless to say the British, whose pithhelmeted dominion Egypt had become, were not far behind. Papyri and inscribed clay potsherds – ostraca – duly ended up in the usual destinations – Oxford and the British Museum – and when the archaeological proconsuls chose to be grandly magnanimous, in Cairo. Some papyri were published in the early twentieth century but it was when the papyrus hoard passed to the Brooklyn Museum that the curtain truly rose on the marvel of Jewish Elephantine.
From THE STORY OF THE JEWS by Simon Schama Copyright © 2014 by Simon Schama. Reprinted courtesy of Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Image: Simon Schama at Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt.
Credit: Tim Kirby, ©Oxford Film & Television 2012
Image: Simon Schama at Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt.
Credit: Tim Kirby, ©Oxford Film & Television 2012


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More than half of small business owners say that generating new customers is a challenge for them, yet nearly two-thirds say they do not use outside support for marketing assistance, according to a survey of US small businesses from the Yellow Pages Association (YPA).
The recently released "Small Business Marketing Poll," was conducted by research firm Issues and Answers and undertaken to better understand the marketing preferences of small business owners. It found that the smallest of businesses – those with one to five employees – are most likely (70%) not to consult with anyone when making advertising/marketing selections.
On the other hand, half (51%) of businesses with six to 10 employees and only one-third (34%) of those with more than 11 employees do not consult with outside sources.
Additional study highlights are listed below.
Finding New Customers is Hardest
Most Use ROI to Measure Success
Most Know Why Customers Purchase
About the study: The results are based on a telephone and online survey of 400 small business owners conducted by Issues and Answers. Some 200 interviews were conducted over the phone and 200 were conducted online. The sample of participating companies was drawn from Dun and Bradstreet's business list of companies. Each company was screened to include only those that have between one and 50 employees (full- and part-time).
Topics: Analytics & Automated, Local & Directories / Small Biz, Traditional
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subset: commoncrawl


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McCourty hitting the books, learning on the fly
|08.01.10 at 1:08 pm ET
FOXBORO — There are a number of different paths one can take to the NFL. Whether it be as an undrafted free agent-turned practice squad guy-turned special teamer or as a high profile first-round pick, there are plenty of ways to end up playing with the big boys.
Once training camp begins however, there is something to be said for all previous accolades, accomplishments, or struggles going out the window. Defensive back Devin McCourty seems to be getting a sense of that in his first training camp. A fast riser in the pre-draft process, the Rutgers product was chosen by the Patriots with the 27th overall pick, adding him to a stable of cornerbacks that included veteran Leigh Bodden and second-year man (and fellow Big East corner) Darius Butler.
Now that McCourty is under contract and a few days into training camp, things like draft position and signing bonuses become more and more irrelevant with each passing day, while learning a new playbook and adjusting to NFL receivers takes the forefront.
"Probably by the first training camp [at Rutgers], I kind of understood that whole playbook, so that was kind of it," McCourty said of the adjustments made in understanding Bill Belichick's scheme. "I didn't have to study as much, just learning more about personnel and everything, but now it's trying to learn personnel and learning a bigger playbook."
Though McCourty appears to have a very high ceiling and was likely the best tackling corner in a draft that saw seven defensive backs go in the first round, his selection wasn't viewed as the team addressing a huge need. With Bodden and Butler in tow, McCourty doesn't need to necessarily be one of the top two guys on the depth chart. Having a veteran like Bodden and a someone who is just a year removed from the rookie process should be extremely beneficial for the youngster, who has also sought the advice of the other corners.
"Leigh, Darius, Jon [Wilhite], [Terrence] Wheatley , and Kyle [Arrington], all those guys have been here," McCourty said. "Anything I can learn from each one of them I try to use it.
"Each defense and each drill we kind of do is like a new technique, so there's always a little something that they can just tell you from experience."
The above-mentioned personnel, given McCourty's position, may prove to be just as difficult as learning a new playbook for the defensive back. His assignments in training camp have already included covering Randy Moss, who didn't waste much time in beating the rookie in the end zone for a touchdown. Rather than getting frustrated with being just another name on the list of corners Moss has beaten, McCourty looks at his competition in practice as a blessing in the name of his development.
"I guess you could say that lining up against Randy Moss — I mean you line up against that guy and you know you're going against one of the best. Just lining up against him day in and day out is just going to get me better as a player. … You go against a guy that good and you're really prepared to go against anyone in this league."
The learning doesn't end with Moss, however. For McCourty, any action against the receivers on the Patriots' roster is a step in the right direction.
"Every time you line up — everyone talks about Randy Moss — but when you line up against any of those guys at wide receiver, you're going against the best receivers in the world, really, so it's a big step up competitively. … When you get to go against the best, you have no choice to get better."
So after some time with the book, defensive backs, and some competition across the line of scrimmage, is McCourty comfortable yet?
"I won't go that far," McCourty said with a laugh, almost overwhelmed by the notion. "I'm still learning."
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Who's Gonna Win at Fontana?!
Who is going to win the next Sprint Cup Series race this Sunday at the Fontana track?
Leave your guess of who you predict the winner will be. We will select one random winner from all correct guesses to win a $25 Sports Authority gift card!
*Entries must be entered before the start of the race on 3/27. Winner will be announced on 3/28.
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Limit only one entry per person. Must be 18 years of age or older and a resident of the US or Canada to be eligible to win. Winner will be randomly selected from all correct answers posted in the comments below.


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Search billions of records on Ancestry.com
Funeral services for Allie Karine Sullins, of Buckhorn, Texas were held
Monday May 19, 2003 at 2 p.m. from Bellville United Methodist Church in
Bellville with Rev. Guy Williams and Rev. Wayne Middleton officiating.
Interment was at the Pilgrims Rest Cemetery near Bellville.
Honorary pallbearers were Doug Thompson, Dick Crick, Gilmore Huebner,
James Snell, Haskel LaRose and Bob Fox.
Born in Bartlett, Texas Karine was the daughter of Allie and Mary Karine
(Laughlin) Shults.
Karine was raised in Bartlett and Robstown and attended
Bartlett Public School and Texas A&I. On March 12, 1938, the former Miss
Shults and Mr. Charles Austin Sullins were married with ceremony held in
Robstown, Texas.
Karine was a devoted member of Bellville United Methodist Church. For many
years she taught lessons on Sunday for the Joy Class, and was a loyal
member of the United Methodist Women, a member of the ladies hostess committee at
the Bellville Golf Club, and was a Marathon Bridge Player.
Mrs. Sullins
had many interests, sewing for her granddaughters Christy and Kendall, hosting
cousins reunions on the farm for dozens of family members, tending to her
flower garden, putting together beautiful flower arrangements and she
loved to garden, sending visitors home with grocery bags full of vegetables
always gave her great joy.
Karine loved the men in her life, husband Charles and son Rick. She loved
her nieces Norma Kay and Mary as well as their girls and two boys. They
brought her immense joy as she prepared for the weddings and births with
her sisters Jo and Dit. Being a homemaker was very important to Mrs. Sullins,
cooking from scratch and passing her secret recipes on to her
daughter-in-law who learned to cook from her by watching her rustle a
dinner together for the six of them, Charles, Rick, Georgette, Christy and
Kendall. Allie Karine Sullins was one of those rare ladies who remained married to
her beloved husband for 65 years.
Allie Karine Sullins, 96, passed away Thursday May 15, 2003 at her home
with family by her side.
She is survived by her husband Charles Sullins of Buckhorn, son and
daughter-in-law Rick and Georgette Sullins of Houston, granddaughters
Christy and Kendall Sullins and other family and friends.
Preceded in death by her parents Allie and Mary Karine Shults, sisters Jo
Dobberin and Dit Cardwell and their older brother Itus who died at age 6.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Methodist
Children's Home, 11 Hering Ave., Waco, Texas 76708.
Funeral services under the direction of Knesek Family Funeral Chapels,
Bellville, Texas.
Posted by Joy Neely
Index Listing


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I have a 02 wrx with an auto tranny. It has a cobb uppipe and full exhaust running an AP stage 2. I also have the cobb pulley. Other than that and a few handling mods its stock. The car has 90,000 miles. The car was great up until 3 weeks ago and even though it is an auto was fast.
About 3 weeks ago the car started overheating so I took it to the dealer. Its there right now for the 3rd time. This is what they did:
Head gasket. That was the first diagnosis. The dealer tore the engine down and said the vales and pistons "look like a new car". It overheated on the way home.I noticed that when the car was apart that they layed the exhaust ON the intercooler and dented the crap out of it. They will not put a new one on but said it was only cosmetic. I pulled the dents out with pliers.
2nd time thermostat and raplaced a hose.
Took radiator out and had it flushed.
They said they checked the water pump and fan operations. They said everything is okay.
The car will not overheat driving around town but will on the highway around 70mph. If you gun it, the temp actually goes down. They are dumbfounded.
I have paid close to $3,000 including rental car. I use the 91 octane map. I should also add that before it went to the dealer the car hauled ass. Its a complete dog now. I cant even think about getting an sti now financially and if the dealer can't fix this one there is now way I'd buy a new one. One of the salesmen had the audacity to tell me "they'll never fix it" and to trade up. There is only 1 dealer here in okc and its 30 miles away. A this point I couldnt afford to take it somewhere else anyway so im hoping to find out what is wrong and tell them. No, they wont give me my money back even though I think I'd know if it was the headgasket. that didnt fix it and I park the car in the garage and you'd think it would have lost ccolant or smelled.
Please help,


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City Council
Welcome to the Chattanooga City Council
Meetings & Committees
Council meetings are streamed live each Tuesday, beginning with the Agenda Session and committee meetings at 3:00 p.m. The Council Meetings, which start at 6:00 p.m, are also streamed live each Tuesday.
Click this link to view video from the weekly COUNCIL meetings: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/chattanooga-council-meeting
Click this link to view video from the AGENDA SESSION and COMMITTEE meetings:
Mission Statement
To promote an ethical, inclusive environment which enhances and sustains the well-being of the people.
About the Council
Chattanoogans elect a Mayor and all nine Council members on the first Tuesday in March of every fourth year. To be elected, a candidate must receive a majority (50% + 1) of the votes cast; if no candidate garners a majority, a run-off election is held between the two candidates that received the most votes. Runoff elections are held on the second Tuesday of April. Mayor and Council receive oath of office and their new terms begin on the first Monday after the second Tuesday of April. The inauguration ceremonies have historically been held at the Tivoli Theatre. In April of each year, the Council also elects a Chair and Vice-Chair.
2016-2017 Chair: Moses Freeman, Councilman, District 8
2016-2017 Vice Chair: Jerry Mitchell, Councilman, District 2
The duties of the Council, order of business and proceedings during Council meetings is described in Resolution 28503.
In order for an item to appear on the Council Agenda, it must first be presented in a committee meeting; exceptions may be made with approval of either the Council Chair or Vice-Chair, or any two members. The Council works through a committee structure and committee assignments are made by the Council Chairperson.
DON'T KNOW YOUR DISTRICT? Use the DISTRICT LOOKUP here.
City Council
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Phone:(423) 643-7170
Fax: (423) 643-7199


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It begins: FDA may pull Avastin approval over cost concerns
posted at 12:15 pm on August 16, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
When Barack Obama and the Democrats spent most of a year pushing their deeply unpopular health-care system overhaul, they repeatedly insisted that government intervention in the market would not mean that treatment decisions would come down to cost issues — even while demonizing providers as Tonsil Vultures and amputation-happy predators. Today, however, the Washington Post reports on an effort at the FDA to decertify Avastin as a treatment for breast cancer and its implications for cost savings at Medicare:
Federal regulators are considering taking the highly unusual step of rescinding approval of a drug that patients with advanced breast cancer turn to as a last-ditch hope.
The debate over Avastin, prescribed to about 17,500 women with breast cancer a year, has become entangled in the politically explosive struggle over medical spending and effectiveness that flared during the battle over health-care reform: How should the government balance protecting patients and controlling costs without restricting access to cutting-edge, and often costly, treatments? …
The FDA is not supposed to consider costs in its decisions, but if the agency rescinds approval, insurers are likely to stop paying for treatment.
"It's hard to talk about Avastin without talking about costs," said Eric P. Winer, director of the Breast Oncology Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. "For better or worse, Avastin has become in many ways the poster child of high-priced anti-cancer drugs."
Avastin got approved through a fast-track process demanded by Congress several years ago when complaints about the length of getting new treatments approved reached a fever pitch. Subsequent testing has called into question some of the assumptions made about Avastin, particularly about the effectiveness in delaying advanced tumor generation in breast cancer. However, others note that the drug works for a large number of women, even if it doesn't necessarily work for them all:
"I'm very upset," said Leslie Twohig, 48, of Lothian, Md., who has been taking Avastin for eight months and credits the drug with helping her survive. "How long will I be able to stay on Avastin? Are they going to take it away? I know it's working for me. Right now I am able to enjoy my life. Every morning I wake up and wonder how long it's going to go on."
"I am very concerned about people who are receiving the drug and may feel threatened that they may not be able to receive it," said the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Winer, who is also chief scientific officer for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer patient advocacy group. "This is not a worthless drug by any means. There is almost certainly a group of women who get a big benefit. "
Would the FDA even be re-reviewing Avastin for its application to breast cancer without the cost issue? I'm skeptical. As the Post notes, the FDA doesn't do a lot of follow-up on fast-tracked approvals. Avastin didn't just get lucky to get renewed attention from the FDA.
With the new ObamaCare regime in place, the issue of cost has now become openly part of the FDA process. This is a perversion of their mission, which is supposed to only involve product safety and effectiveness, not bean-counting. If Medicare doesn't want to cover Avastin, that should be a separate issue handled by CMS and HHS. This strongly suggests that the FDA has become politicized to a degree where their recommendations lose credibility — a dangerous situation for consumers and providers alike.
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- fly at night » Blog Archive » Will Avastin Be The First Casualty Of ObamaCare?
- Reagan takes on today's Democrats « Disrupt the Narrative
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- Dear liberal women who sport pink ribbons, buy pink mixers, and breathlessly adore The One: caveat emptor « Politicaljunkie Mom
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- Pelosi Pulls Strings So Dying Dem Donor Might Live two more days « The Obama Watch Blog
- What Is About To Begin Here Is Already Going On Over There « The Camp Of The Saints
- Eyeing Insurers' Expenses | Kaiser Permanente Health Insurance Help


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Utility class to contain basic XML values as constants.
This doc is hidden because your selected API level for the
documentation is . You can change the
documentation API level with the selector above the left navigation.
For more information about specifying the API level your app requires,
read Supporting
Different Platform Versions.


text:
Hey, I am Nelly Ritchie, foodie, mum and social media junkie from Newcastle Upon Tyne.
My blog title is rather deceptive. I do enjoy a cupcake as much as the next person, however, the blog focuses on so much more. For the past 6 years the focus of this blog has been baking and cooking. I love to experiment with both sweet and savoury (and sometimes both together). The majority of my posts are food-related, however this is a personal blog and within the last 6 years my life has changed dramatically. I have gone from being an impoverished student learning to cook on a budget, to being in a couple learning to plan, cook and bake for more than just me, to a Mum cooking for a family.
I am starting to branch out into more parenting and lifestyle posts too, as it is such a big part of my life now.
I did take a break from blogging during pregnancy and early parenthood, but I am steadily rebuilding my blog, now averaging over 6500 page views per month and a domain authority of 26. I have 600 facebook page likes, 2472 twitter followers, 1338 instagram followers and almost 2100 pinterest followers. (updated January 2017)
As well as blogging about baking, in 2012 I was filmed for an episode of Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard, which was aired in March 2012 on channel 4 (UK).
I am happy to receive items for review and will consider sponsored posts, but will always make it clear to my readers where the information has come from and when items have been sent to me. I also adhere to all of Google's guidelines with regards to paid content and links. ( read more about it here.)
To discuss sponsored posts, product reviews and my rates please contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com or use the contact form here.
If you are interested in advertising on the site, please contact me for details of the spaces available and prices.
For information about privacy and cookies please click here.


text:
Pacers surge past visiting Grizzlies
(Reuters) - A furious fourth quarter from the Indiana Pacers sparked an 88-83 comeback win over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
The Grizzlies, the NBA's top defensive team, led by 11 late in the third quarter before the Pacers charged back.
Ben Hansbrough spurred the charge with two consecutive three-pointers to open the fourth, propelling the Pacers to a 14-4 run that gave them the lead for good.
"That's a really good team win for our guys," Pacers coach Frank Vogel told reporters. "I'm proud of the effort and grit to beat a really good basketball team."
Paul George scored 21 points to lead Indiana (18-13), who outscored Memphis 28-16 in the final quarter.
Grizzlies big man Zach Randolph had 21 points and 15 rebounds with Rudy Gay adding 11 points but missing a potential tying three-pointer with five seconds remaining.
Indiana made six straight free throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the win, their fifth in six contests.
D.J. Augustin helped wrap up the win and finished with 17 points after being pushed into the starting lineup because of a thigh injury to George Hill.
Augustin's three-pointer with 2:07 left gave the home team an 82-76 edge. Continued...


text:
who discovered the toolik field station?
hows life at the toolik field station?
Thanks so much for your question!
I have forwarded it to PolarTREC teachers Susan and Nick - who are at Toolik now. I hope to hear from them soon!
Ms. Alex
The Institute of Arctic Biology Toolik Field Station (TFS) is a world-renowned Arctic climate change research station located in the northern foothills of the Brooks Range in Alaska at 68° 38' N, 149° 36' W, elevation 720 m. Toolik-based researchers have access to 87,000 acres designated by the Bureau of Land Management as a Research Natural Area. Our location allows scientists access to three major physiographic provinces of Alaska: the Brooks Range, the arctic foothills, and the arctic coastal plain. Toolik Field Station has been a major location for scientific research in the Arctic since 1975.
Take a look at some of the research at http://toolik.alaska.edu/
Thanks again!
Ms. Alex
And here's a bit more information from Nick - who is currently at Toolik...
'The question took a little digging, as I was getting a variety of stories. My understanding of Toolik's history is that it was originally set up as a camp to support construction workers who were building the Haul Road (now officially the Dalton Highway) in association with the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline. A group of researchers had been working in Barrow on the Arctic Ocean and were looking to establish a research area to further examine arctic tundra ecosystems. They specifically were looking for a deep lake that doesn't freeze all the way to the bottom, to compare to the shallow lakes they had been studying in Barrow. They found that Toolik Lake met that criteria, and moved a small travel trailer up here in 1975. It has certainly changed a lot since those days!
Thanks for passing the question along!'
Ms. Alex


text:
Posted by John Rakowski on July 15, 2013
Recently Dan Bieler and I attended a Colt Technology Services analyst day in London. It was great to see a technology services provider who is trying to embrace both disruptive ICT trends and challenges facing enterprise IT. Here is a high level summary of our views from the event:


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TrainOne, a Jeffrey Gitomer company based in Charlotte, NC is a recognized leader in leadership, attitude, customer relationship, and customer loyalty training. TrainOne has been recognized by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the Society for Applied Learning Technology® (SALT), and Chief Learning Officer magazine for training excellence.
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Songzanlin Monastery & Tiger Leaping Gorge
Trip Start Nov 02, 2011
197Trip End Ongoing
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Songzanlin Monastery Shangri-La
Read my review - 5/5 stars
Read my review - 5/5 stars
I arrived at the bus station with not too much time to spare, bought my bus ticket and boarded, I have a window seat and I'm looking forward to the trip and the views on route, I've heard the rice terraces on the way are impressive
The old town in Lijiang is beautiful and filled with flower displays, old traditional housing and people in traditional dress, it has a lovely river flowing through it and has a really nice atmosphere. There are the usual crowds of Chinese tourists in their massive groups following someone with a flag which I always find funny, especially when I am kicking around on my own, making it up as I go along. One old man gets off the back of a motorbike in his traditional dress of skins etc. but when we look at each other we burst out laughing, honestly I'm in a sun dress and he wrapped up for winter, I had to take a picture.
I enjoy it here, part of me feels like I've been dropped back in Nepal with all the shops selling Tibetan items from traditional dress, to pashminas, yak horn goods, prayer flags and lots, lots more
I get a cheap dorm for only 35yuen (�3.50) which is clean and quiet and head off to explore…wow what a place. I'm staying in the old town and wander round the lanes full of shops similar to Lijiang, the old square which has local dancing in the evening and the local temple which has the biggest prayer wheel I have ever seen. It takes around 40 people heaving and pushing away just to get the wheel started, it's all tourist trying, and are having fun in the process. In front of the temple is another square with people in traditional costume and there are yaks and dogs to have your photo taken with, there are big Newfoundland's with big fluffy collars on them, and loads of people are having their photos taken with them, they look like big lions. I enjoy wandering round the temple, monastery and the massive prayer wheel; you get a fantastic view of the valley from this vantage point, it's all very Tibetan but we're right at the border here really.
I headed up to Songzanlin Monastery on the local bus but I didn't realise what I was about to see. I got off and paid into the complex and was put on another local bus which takes you up
I spend hours and hours up here, it's a lovely sunny day which I spend walking round, in and out of the different areas, round the complex and lake and out to the huge Stupa. I sit chilling out with a few young lamas who speak some English and are amazed by my travels so far, I enjoy being in their company. I never realised until this moment how much I miss Nepal though, and this very moment reminds me of sitting at the monastery in Upper Pisang on the Annapurna Circuit Trek in the middle of the mountains, which was almost a year ago (that's hard to believe). I take a million photographs, I love the colors and style and the whole valley is really stunning, I could stay here all day but as the sun goes it really starts to get cold, jolting me back to reality and jumping a bus back to the hostel and a nice cozy fire, although I'm disappointed the fire isn't yak dung, that would really have taken me back to my trek
Tiger Leaping Gorge is another one on my 'list' (as well as Shangri La) and I'm looking forward to going although I a bit conscious about my time left on my visa, so the plan is to go into the gorge and out again but once I'm there I can't resist walking the high road where the views of the valley are immense. I meet a doctor from Canada just as I'm starting out and we head off together which is nice having a bit of company. He's been in KunMing for a conference and is taking some time out while here, he's walked down to the 'stone' where legend has it the tiger leapt from while trying to escape a hunter, and once we're nearing lower ground he tells me how to get down the 'ladder' then walk along to Walnut Garden where I plan on staying for the night.
The walk through the gorge is breathtaking, the shape of the mountains, the snow capped peaks, how close the opposite valley is, the river running through it, and not forgetting the noise of the rapids. The high pass then starts downward towards the main gorge and the 'ladder' which takes you down to the river which is a steep, treacherous walk (especially in cycling shoes), although every step is worth it
So eventually I arrived at the hostel I celebrated with a well deserve beer, I've arranged a lift in the morning down to Lijiang with the doctor in a taxi which he's already paid for, so I just give him money towards it which suited us both. I spent a pleasant evening with him and the hostel owner before crashing out for the night, I love sleeping out in the mountains it's so peaceful and quiet. I'm glad I decided to come to Lijiang, Shangri La and Tiger Leaping Gorge, it's been quite an adventure, time now though to head back to PanZhiHua to continue cycling my way through China and beyond.
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(BLACKFOOT) – Blackfoot resident Tara Pagan and her family claim they witnessed an UFO sighting Saturday evening.
Pagan said she saw 10 to 13 orange, glowing balls circling in the night sky that were staggered and then made formations. By the time she got her phone out to take a picture, all but one of the many orange balls had disappeared.
The National UFO Reporting Center reports there were three sightings from this area alone. By the end of the night, the center had a total of six reports in the western United States, all claiming to see the same thing.
Stephan Rockefeller, EastIdahoNews.com
EastIdahoNews.com staff
Nate Eaton, EastIdahoNews.com
Carrie Snider, EastIdahoNews.com


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basement framing
Hi I am helping a friend finish his basement. I have done it for myself but since I am helping him I want to make sure everything is done correctly.
Question : someone told me that we need a piece of drywall as a spacer between the top plate and the rafters. Is that correct?
Why would you do that?
ON the interior walls we would leave them down 1/2" so if the floor in the basement heaved it would have room to move before effecting the upstairs joists.
We used 1/2" pieces or plywood as temporary shims that we pulled out after nailing the top plate to the joists.
Did this when using drop ceiling in basement.
Different method for drywalled ceiling.
Welcome to the forums!
Perhaps you are thinking of the drywall as fire-stopping to the above floor/ceiling joists...
Hi Gary
You are correct. He thinks it is required as a fire stop. Don't know where he got that idea.
Probably from the building codes since at least '73 since I started framing. Fire-stop in wall at cove ceiling also. Here is the current code; "1. In concealed spaces of stud walls and partitions, including furred spaces and parallel rows of studs or staggered studs; as follows: 1.1. Vertically at the ceiling and floor levels. 1.2. Horizontally at intervals not exceeding 10 feet (3048 mm)."From: http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/ic...002_par017.htm
Acceptable materials- - 1/2" gypsum board, etc.; http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/ic...002_par018.htm
An outlet fire could travel across the wall or up into the floor/ceiling joist cavity above and follow a plumbing pipe/wiring hole (on other side/end of house) to surface in the attic, burning the house down from above and up from below.
Post #8, 21, and #22: http://www.diychatroom.com/f98/how-f...-37190/index2/
wood and firecaulking/foam is used best as a firestop. drywall is to crumbly...
Is it to fill in any gaps between the top plate and the floor joists? Do I need this only where an outlet is or along the entire wall? I want to thank everyone for their help.
or, just fire foam behind the entire wall at the plate, I'm a carpenter and love wood so the way explained above is how I* do it
"7. Wood furring strips or other wood framing members attached directly to the interior of exterior masonry walls or concrete walls below grade except where an approved vapor retarder is applied between the wall and the furring strips or framing members." From: http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/ic...9_3_sec017.htm
Use a sill sealer foam product under the bottom plate to limit the air/thermal/capillary conducting there; http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...-building-code
Rigid foamboard glued (air-tight) to the concrete is the safest way to control below/above grade moisture problems in a basement; http://www.buildingscience.com/docum...study-analysis
1 last question. Does fiberglass batting insulation count as fire block
No, rockwoool works up to one half inch in my area but a can of fire foam is the ticket and seals best,one can is from 10$ to 15$. avoid getting the fire caulking unless you only have holes to fill...
Yes, if under the IRC: "Batts or blankets of mineral wool or glass fiber or other approved materials installed in such a manner as to be securely retained in place shall be permitted as an acceptable fire block. Batts or blankets of mineral or glass fiber or other approved nonrigid materials shall be permitted for compliance with the 10 foot horizontal fireblocking in walls constructed using parallel rows of studs or staggered studs." From post #6, above: http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/ic...002_par018.htm
"R602.8.1.1 Unfaced fiberglass.
Unfaced fiberglass batt insulation used as fireblocking shall fill the entire cross section of the wall cavity to a minimum height of 16 inches (406 mm) measured vertically. When piping, conduit or similar obstructions are encountered, the insulation shall be packed tightly around the obstruction." From: http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/ic...002_par019.htm
Though, I wouldn't use it for that, they are like oxygen pumps; http://www.cellulose.org/userdocs/TechnicalSpecifications/ConsumerUpdate02-InsulationEffectiveness.pdf
P.S. Where are you located?
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GD Whalen Photographer
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Thanks for looking at my portfolio! I'm interested in commercial and editorial as well as fashion modeling. I do my own makeup and hair and can also work as a trained MUA. However, although I usually do my own hair and make-up, I am not opposed to other MUAs working on me. If a photographer has an MUA that he\she prefers to use, that is fine with me Feel free to contact me about any type of work except shots involving nudity.
I'm dependable and can provide references upon request. I'm also fun to work with and enjoy every shoot. Although I appreciate the offers, I have very little need for TFCD at this time. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Conference Paper (1990)
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Number of items: 15.
Akintoye, Akintola S. & Skitmore, Martin (1990) Analysis of UK tender price levels. In 34th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cost Engineers, Symposium K - Cost Estimating, 1990, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Akintoye, Akintola S. & Skitmore, Martin (1990) A Conceptual Model of Construction Contractors' Pricing Strategies. In Baxendale, A. (Ed.) 6th Annual Conference, Association of Researchers in Construction Management, September 1990, Salford University.
Bruce, Christine S. (1990) Developing research skills : the information literacy connection. In 8th Australasian Tertiary Learning Skills and Language Conference, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, pp. 294-303.
Cameron, C., Hampson, K. D., & Wilson, L. (1990) Housing for aged women : a Brisbane based review. In Proceedings of the 24th Conference of the Institute of Australian Geographers, University of New England, Armidale.
Drew, Derek S. & Skitmore, Martin (1990) Analysing Bidding Performance; Measuring The Influence of Contract Size and Type. In Ireland, V. & Cheetham, D. (Eds.) The International Council for Building Research Studies and Documentation, CIB W-55/65, Sydney, Australia.
Franz, Jill M. (1990) Design Education in Architecture: A Psychosocial Analysis. In Architectural Science and Design in Harmony. Joint ANZAScA / ADTRA Conference, 10-12th July, 1990, Sydney.
Gacsalyi, K., Skitmore, M., Szoke, K., & Patchett, M. (1990) The image of the Hungarian and UK building industries : a comparative analysis. In Ireland, V., McCaffer, R., & McLennon, H. (Eds.) Proceedings The International Council for Building Research Studies and Documentation, CIB W55/65, International Council for Building Research Studies and Documentation, Sydney, NSW, pp. 289-301.
Gale, Andrew W. & Skitmore, Martin (1990) Women in the Construction Industry - A Discussion on the Findings of the Two Recent Studies of the Construction Industry Sector. In Ireland, V. & Cheetham, D. (Eds.) Building Economics and Construction Management: Management of the Building Firm,, Sydney, Australia.
Kelson, Neil A. & Reizes, John (1990) Natural convection in rectangular cavities at high Rayleigh number. In 3rd Australian Natural Convection Workshop, 6-7 December 1990, Monash University, Clayton, Vic.
Marston, Vernon K. & Skitmore, Martin (1990) Automatic resource based cost-time forecasts. In 34th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Cost Engineers, 1990, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
O'Shea, Peter J. & Boashash, Boualem (1990) Instantaneous frequency estimation using the cross Wigner-Ville distribution with application to nonstationary transient detection. In International Conference on Acoustics, Speech, and Signal Processing, 1990. ICASSP-90, 3-6 Apr 1990.
Rietmeijer, F. J. M. & Mackinnon, Ian D. R. (1990) Titanium-oxide magneli phases in four chondritic porous interplanetary dust particles. In Proceedings of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, Texas, pp. 323-333.
Skitmore, Martin (1990) Which estimating technique? In 11th International Cost Engineering Congress and 6th Association Francais des Ingenieurs et Techniciens D'estimation de Planification de Projets Annual Meeting, 1990, Paris, France.
Skitmore, Martin (1990) A multivariate approach to bidding strategies. In Ireland, Vernon, Cheetham, David, Miller, D, & Soderberg, J (Eds.) Building Economics and Construction Management: Management of the Building Firm, CIB W-55/65, The International Council for Building Research Studies and Documentation , University of Technology, Sydney, N. S. W., pp. 478-490.
Wood, Joanne M. & Collins, Michael J. (1990) Binocular summation as a function of eccentricity. In American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting, 6-10 December 1990, Opryland Hotel, Nashville, TN.


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Here's a new game. It's like musical chairs but for grown-ups. It used to be mainly for the old, but more and more young people are getting into it. Actually even kids can play too, but they have to be fat kids. And the grown-ups should be drunk or on drugs, or both. Right, so when the music stops, it's not a chair you're looking for, but a liver. The consequences are the same though: if you don't find one, you're out. For ever. OK so far?
That's it basically. There are a few little extra rules. Like the livers aren't just in a big pile in the middle of the floor. That would be too messy, especially with everyone drunk or high or fat. So there's a bunch of guys in white coats, handing them out – they decide who to. And to make it even more challenging and exciting, it's not just the number of livers that goes down, but that more and more players get to join every round. So it becomes harder and harder to win. Good isn't it? I was thinking of calling it musical livers, but that's a bit obvious. So I've gone for the liver transplant unit of King's College Hospital in London as featured in The Hospital (Channel 4). Snappy. Or Russian roulette for short.
God, it's bleak. In the past five years the number of people coming in with so-called lifestyle-related liver disease has more than doubled. They're coming in younger and younger, with increasing numbers in their 20s. There simply aren't enough donor livers to go around for the people who would benefit from a transplant. Of the people put forward to go on the transplant list, only half get on. The meeting, in which doctors and social workers decide who makes the list and who doesn't, is a terrible event – a judgment based on age, health and lifestyle. It's hardly surprising there is resentment towards these people who decide; they have to play God. She lives, he doesn't, he lives . . . Well maybe lives. Because even once you're on the list you're not home and dry. Far from it. Twenty per cent of people on the list die before they get to surgery. And then 10% don't survive the operation.
The news isn't good for Francis, an old fellow who doesn't even get on the list. "That's disappointing," he says. Another old boy, Anthony, is luckier and gets one. "At the end of the day there's always a day of reckoning, and I know I've had mine," he says, after surviving his operation.
"At the end of the day" seems a fitting expressing to use, when it comes to liver disease, and it crops up again. Young Jackie had a big scare, but she's still out on the lash with her friend. "At the end of the day it's the society we live in, everyone goes out and has a drink and whatever," says the friend, and of course they drink to that.
I found myself getting quite angry with Jackie, and the others, not just for what she's doing to herself but for abusing the NHS. It's a rubbish game – why are they all playing it? But then maybe I am too. "An alcoholic or alcohol dependent probably isn't someone who's homeless and lying in the gutter," says cocky Dr Kosh Agarwal, consultant hepatologist and transplant physician at King's. "I see people who are maybe having half a bottle of wine every night over dinner, and maybe a bit more at the weekends. That's heavy drinking."
Half a bottle? With dinner? Hmm. Sobering thoughts.
I'm enjoying Grandma's House (BBC2) more and more. Simon Amstell can be ever so slightly annoying as himself. But I like the other characters – mum's boyfriend Clive with his crap jokes and his positive-thinking, self-help book attitude; Grandad with his "cancer" (which may be a raisin); Auntie Liz who no one takes any notice of unless it's to have a go at her appearance, especially now she's got her frilly Prince blouse; and young Adam who can't decide whether he's a child or a grown up – he knows he's interested in "pussy" but he also dropped his phone in the loo when he was taking a photo of his poo.
I watched this one twice and enjoyed it just as much second time round; that's a good sign in a sitcom. I don't know how long it will feel fresh. Could it survive a second series? I'm not sure. But right now there's a subtlety and a sharpness about it. And yeah, it's funny.


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Rothstein: Louisville, Damyean Dotson And 16 Reasons To Love The Sweet 16Louisville's press, Damyean Dotson's upside and Denzel Valentine's versatility are just three of the many reasons to love the Sweet 16.
Rothstein Files: Monday Morning College Hoops NotebookSyracuse can beat anyone without James Southerland. How do I know that? Because the Orange won at Louisville without Southerland on Saturday.
Rothstein Files: The 10 Best-Kept Secrets In College BasketballA tenacious on-ball defender, Briante Weber is officially the biggest nuisance in college basketball.


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Model Mayhem Admin
H e a t h e r R e n e eModel Female Portland, Oregon, US
My MM URL: http://www.modelmayhem.com/HeatherRenee
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An established and published model and actor, Heather has a great work sense and ability to get along well on set. She enjoys meeting and working with people and discussing new ideas to get edgy and unique, or classic and sophisticated shots with every shoot. Versatile and able to be re-invented, Heather enjoys taking on challenging jobs just as much as taking on the classic American girl look that comes naturally.
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IN WATERVILLE, Wednesday at 9:05 a.m., criminal mischief was reported on Leighton Street.
9:07 a.m., someone came to the Police Department to report a theft at Burger King on College Avenue.
10:33 a.m., an assault was reported at Thayer Campus, MaineGeneral Medical Center, on North Street.
11:42 a.m., harassment was reported at Waterville District Court on Colby Street.
4:19 p.m., a theft was reported at the Big Apple on Main Street.
5:45 p.m., a theft was reported on King Street.
6:10 p.m., an assault was reported on Union Street.
7:22 p.m., a fight was reported on Silver Place.
7:32 p.m., a theft was reported on Silver Street.
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Hotels in Parioli
Parioli Hotels
Parioli Details
If you find yourself with enough time to spare, or if youd like to escape the bustle of the city centre for a short time, Parioli is a great place to visit. This districts name originated from the denomination Monti Parioli which some believe to stem from "peraioli" as it was once the site of pear orchards. The area stretches approximately from via Salaria and the end of viale Regina Margherita, to the slope descending towards the Tiber and the Museum of Modern Art. Two centuries ago, Viale Regina Margherita was a tree-lined avenue that went from the neighborhood of San Lorenzo to the fields of Monti Parioli. Today, the principal arteries of the area Viale Parioli, Via Archimede, Viale Bruno Buozzi, Via dei Monti Parioli and Piazza Euclide, a wide square considered the center of the area.
Parioli began as an upper-middle class neighbourhood and then changed during the Fascist period in Rome. It then became the residence of many high-ranking party and state functionaries. Urbanization was completed in the 1950's and today, Parioli is thought to be one of the hippest neighborhoods in the capital. If you are hoping to see a trendy area where the locals spend their time in Rome, don't miss out on Parioli. This is a cultural mecca for the Romans.


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the 3.6 RWD is already pretty performance packed.
I'm also surprised that they're shovelling 410 HP into the XTS. That's fantastic.
the 3.6 RWD is already pretty performance packed.
I'm also surprised that they're shovelling 410 HP into the XTS. That's fantastic.
With an eight-speed automatic.Quote:
The 3700-3800# vsport is rated for 17/25
I don't think we'll get close to apples-to-apples for these two powerplants, at least not until the new Camaro arrives.
What if there is AWD and an 8 speed auto tuned for efficiency? If using terminology like BMW, we could have...
The ATS-V.
The ATS-V V-Sport.
The ATS-V V-Sport x-drive.
The ATS-V V-Sport x-drive eco.
Ha haa! God help us from kraut salad!Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigjimsho
Don't forget about the Luxury, Base, Modern and regular sport lines.
There are acutally >5 different front fascias for the 328i alone.
Rumors are rumors. Look how wrong so many were regarding the Corvette C7. I am a Corvette C6 owner as well as a new ATS owner. If GM is going to be making new engines for the C7, where else do you think they MAY USE THEM! If you look to to the ATS, it is a natural for it. Small, light in weight per hp produced with direct injection, etc. All the things a new ATS coupe could use to sell cars. GM is not going to drop and old school LS generation motor in a new ATS-V! LS motors will continue to do stout work in other GM cars and trucks. There will be a new LS7 put in the C7 ZO6 model and if they do a new ZR1, it will most likely be the new C7 motor but supercharged. They have great experience at that..!! My two cents... Keep in mind, the C7 will only sell 20,000 to 25,000 cars per year to begin with. That is not enough motor production for GM. Therefore, they stick them in other cars, like the ATS-V! That way they get to use more like 100,000 motors per year. That GM could most likely live with....
The new-generation pickups will provide plenty of volume for the new smallblocks. The LT1 itself will surely wind up in the next-generation Camaro (about 42K my2011, 27K in my2012).
The ATS-V is probably not going to sell a lot of volume. It will owe a debt to its engine, moreso than the other way around.
If he ATS V is going to be competitive against the Germans it needs a 7 speed DCT minimum and a 450+ hp turbo 6 cylinder. It should also have some sort of AWD option as well.
If I was a betting man I'd guess a ZF sourced DCT and a 450-500hp turbocharged six will be offered. The big question is if they go long stroke 7k rpm redline) or short stroke (closer to 8K rpm redline)
AWD, 450hp plus, DCT, latest mag ride control tech and light weight will be a M3 killer on the track and street.
AWD? Don't hold your breath.
ATS Coupe announced for NAIAS. But what about the V?! The LA Auto Show is here and almost gone, NAIAS is right around the corner and it is CRICKETS as far as the V announcement hints...
Just like back in late '07 prior to when the '09 V2 engine (LSA) was announced ... "crickets."
Yup ... unless we can believe that 3.2 TTV6 rumor. :bouncy:
Really!?? Is this true? I just assumed they would offer awd. I really need awd in buffalo. I really want an ats-v next. The cts-v is not awd, while the cts vsport is, the cost is 70k.Quote:
Originally Posted by rand49er
Seriously, I'm just assuming no AWD availability for an ATS-V based on GM's past offerings (CTS-V, STS-V, XLR-V, Vette, etc). Probably more likely with AT than MT, but let's hope for a full offering. With effective launch control, it's possible.
There's a GOOD reason the "V" series and Corvette dont have AWD, just ask Nissan - the GTR is pretty much $50,000 more than a Corvette.
The problem is reliability with AWD systems and high power - they just don't handle it all that well - and thus the manufacturer needs to price the car in order to recover the inevitable warranty costs (notice the GTR's sticker price shot up by $30,000 in a few years?).
If they included AWD in the ATS-V, it'd end up being a much more expensive car and I dont think GM wants to do that right now. Maybe by the 2nd gen ATS-V...
Truly, that's one hell of jolt to the drivetrain when you dump the clutch at, say, 5k RPM and ask all four tires to respond.


text:
10 Badass Thugs Who Went Sweet
Many thugs have gone to the softer side. And while the Sour Patch Kids are infamously mischievous, maybe one day they will too. Take a look at some notorious badasses who have given up the sour life for a sweeter one. And if you've been wronged by the infamous Sour Patch Kids, you can get your revenge right here.
1. Snoop Dogg
We tend to think of the world's richest rappers as hard, bad guys; but in reality they are not all that bad. Snoop Dogg is well known for giving to many charities, including Habitat for Humanity, Orca Network, Save a Life Foundation, Shriners Hospitals for Children, and The Healing Circle. Snoop also has a special charity he has set up himself named Snoop Youth Football League in which he actually coaches youth football. Considering his "bad-guy" street cred, Snoop is a big ol' softy.
2. Master P
After lawsuits forced P to shut his label down and file for bankruptcy in 2003, Miller has dedicated much of his time to communities through P. Miller Youth Centers and his P. Miller Food Foundation for the Homeless. On July 28, 2007, Willie W. Herenton, the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee even presented Miller with the key to the city.
3. Ice Cube
Beginning his career in Compton, CA as part of the rap group N.W.A. along with Eazy-E, Ice is best remembered for starting the gangsta rap genre and for saying "f- tha police." But Mr. Cube has since moved on from his notorious days as a bad boy. Recently, Ice has participated in charity work involving the creation of an art series to benefit those affected with Aids.
4. Ludacris
Thug no more. Luda is now a clean cut family man, who has mostly given up the rap game for prime time TV and movie gigs. Along with acting, he also enjoys spending time with his daughter, Karma Bridges.
5. Rev Run
Rev Run might have been a hard-ass back in the day, but now he's an all around man of the Lord. And it's no secret that this rapper's delight is now religion. Focusing on God and his family, this is one transformation Rev is proud to rap about.
6. 50 Cent
A long time since his gansta days, 50 cent is now one of the most charitable rappers around. 50's dedication to charity has been formulated into the G-Unity Foundation which he founded. The major focus of his charity is on underpriviledged, low-income, and underserved communities in the United States.
7. Ice-T
Legendary gangsta hip-hop emcee Ice-T may still be a badass in his own right, but he's certainly taken a bit of the edge off. Ice now focuses exclusively on his acting career, most notably in the hit series Law & Order SVU.
8. Mase
After riding the wave of one of the most successful labels in the '90s, Mase left Bad Boy and decided to take his talents to the alter. In 2005, he attempted to marry the church to the streets by briefly joining G-Unit, but later repudiated the move as a mistake.
9. Nas
While Nas may still be making music, he is no longer known as the gangsta bad boy of rap. This veteran rapper now prides himself on other things including his love of Michelle Obama and his heavy hand in charity work, most notably with the "Nobody Wa s Thirsty" campaign (as seen on Nas above) which helps provide drinking water to developing countries around the world.
10. Jay-Z
Before Jay-Z was selling millions of records, he was selling drugs on the streets of Brooklyn. And although these days are long behind him, he has used his past as a platform for jumping into the future. And with the millions of dollars he earns from his music, he certainly gives back. With over $450 million dollars donated to various charities and organizations, Jay is one rapper who is trying to make a difference.
11. Sour Patch Kids
And while there's still hope for the Sour Patch Kids, they're not quite there yet. If you've been wronged, you can get your revenge right here.


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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ford Motor Co. must pay nearly $2 billion in damages to thousands of dealerships in a 2002 class-action lawsuit that said the automaker violated dealer agreements, an Ohio judge ruled Friday.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan issued the ruling based on a Feb. 11 jury determination that the company overcharged dealers for commercial trucks over an 11-year period.
Damages are to be paid to more than 3,000 dealerships, said James Lowe, a Cleveland attorney for Westgate Ford Truck Sales Inc., a dealership in Youngstown that represents the class.
"In awarding the dealers the amount of money they overpaid for trucks, the jury verdict places Westgate and the rest of the dealers in the financial position contemplated by the terms of the contract," Lowe said.
Ford said in a statement that the company will appeal.
"We believe that the trial court committed significant legal errors. Ford will appeal the judgment and we are confident that it will be reversed," the statement said.
Lowe said the lawsuit stemmed from a wholesale price-discount system called the CPA program and that internal documents and testimony showed the automaker used the program to shift retail revenue from the dealerships to Ford.
Ford disputes the allegation.
"We continue to believe that the CPA program caused no harm to our dealers; rather, it brought significant benefit to the dealers," its statement said.
In Ford's annual report, filed on Feb. 28, the automaker says the jury awarded $4.5 million to Westgate and that "total damages could be substantial" if similar amounts were awarded to other dealers represented by the class-action lawsuit.
The report says the judge had approved the class action, adding all dealers who purchased a 600?series or higher truck from Ford from 1987 to 1997.
It says the lawsuit accused the automaker of "failing to publish to all Ford dealers all price concessions that were approved for any dealer."
AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.


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Hi, Everyone. Here's a little #TBT (throw back Thursday). It's been a year since the momentus "JKR Japan Gasshuku". Here is an article written by one of the travelers, Sensei Paul Belle Isle – Branch Director of JKR New England, for JKFan Magazine.
– Mina Yamazaki
By Paul P. Belle Isle
August 1-10, 2014
(JAPAN) In early August, Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai (JKR) Chief Instructor Kiyoshi Yamazaki (9th dan, JKR; 8th dan, Japan Karate Federation (JKF)) and his daughter, current top U.S. and international competitor Minako Yamazaki (5th dan, JKR), led a group of over 40 karateka and their family members from the United States, Australia and Great Britain on a cultural, educational and martial arts tour of Japan.
Yamazaki Sensei believes strongly in education as a foundation for effective karate training, and began laying the groundwork for the trip several years ago, so that participants would have time to plan and save for the journey. "I don't think that anyone ever reaches a point where they have learned all there is to know," he says, and for that reason, felt it was important for Western karateka to forge ties with Japan.
The international group began its tour in Tokyo, with training sessions over two days at Japan Karate Federation (JKF) headquarters. The first seminar was with former All-Japan Champion Sensei Masao Kagawa (8th dan, Japan Karate Shotorenmei), who focused on one of his signature kata, Sochin. Kagawa Sensei remains impressively athletic, and he gave several members of the JKR group individual attention.
The rest of the first day in Tokyo was spent sampling everything Japan's capital has to offer. Some of the delegation visited the Dai Nippon Butokukai and Sengakuji Temple, while others toured Meiji Jingu and visited Edo Castle, or strolled through Shibuya Crossing and Ginza. The following day featured a seminar with former World Karate Federation (WKF) and Japan Karate Association (JKA) champion Toshihito Kokubun, who led the visitors through kumite exercises that emphasized proper distance, timing and the use of angles.
Japan Karate-Do Ryobu-Kai Soke Yasuhiro Konishi was also on hand to observe, and afterwards, posed for pictures with everyone. Finally, the travelers were honored with an appearance by JKF President Ryoichi Sasakawa, who made a short welcome speech, and greeted each of the JKR karateka individually.
The international group's next stop was Shizuoka, making a quick and comfortable trip on Japan's famous shinkansen. Minako Yamazaki spoke for the group when she said, "We would be in one area of Japan in the morning and on the other side of the country by late afternoon. I was really amazed with how reliable the transportation system was." Once there, they met up with former WKF champion Takashi Katada, who today not only coaches the men's and women's karate teams at Yamanashi Gakuin University in Kofu, but is working to help grow YGU's business education department. Sensei Katada joined the JKR members for the bus ride to YGU, traveling through beautiful hill country that was dotted with lakes.
Arriving at the university, the visitors took part in a joint training session with Katada Sensei's students, working on kumite, kata and practical application, with Yamazaki Sensei stressing the need to balance the many aspects of karate. As he has said before, "It is very important that an instructor knows the difference between sport karate and self defense… Karate is several things at the same time: It is a great physical activity, a martial art, a self-defense method, and a great sport."
Following that, the JKR group was treated to kata demonstrations of Chatan Yara no Kushanku by the Yamanashi Gakuin University women's team, and Anan by the men. An iado demonstration by Takeru Sato, star of the hit Rurouni Kenshin movies, closed out the athletic portion of the day, and everyone adjourned to a reception featuring remarks from members of the university faculty and administration, good Japanese food, and an opportunity for the YGU students to mingle with their foreign guests. The day concluded with a stop at Mount Fuji to visit one of Japan's most important sites, before returning to Shizuoka.
From there, the Americans, Australians and Brits moved on to Kyoto. No training was scheduled to take place in Japan's old capital, so this visit was a chance for the group to relax and take in some more of Japan's rich history and culture. Many members of the group visited Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-Ji and Kiyomizu-dera Temples, and others also explored Fushimi Inari Temple, Nijo Castle, and the Kyoto Tanabata Festival. The highlight of Kyoto for many, however, was a visit to the Taizo-in Buddhist Temple, where a special program had been arranged for the JKR group.
The abbot of Taizo-in, Daikou Matsuyama, led the international visitors on a tour of the temple and its grounds, where they contemplated its famous gardens and viewed Josetsu's masterpiece, Hyonenzu ("Catching a Catfish with a Gourd"), one of Japan's oldest surviving ink paintings. The group then took part in a seated meditation session and dined on a delicious meal of vegetarian Japanese specialties prepared by temple chefs. Osaka, the last stop on the travelers' itinerary, saw the group return to training, this time with two seminars at Yamazaki Sensei's alma mater, Kindai University. In the morning, WKF medalist Kou Matsuhisa led a number of kumite drills, with current members of the school's karate team training alongside the visitors, and finished with focused instruction on his signature technique, sasori-geri. Asked what she thought of Matsuhisa Sensei's abilities, Sensei Anna Parkin of Great Britain (6th dan, JKR) said, simply, "Awesome. Just absolutely amazing."
Following a short break for lunch, legendary 4-time world champion Sensei Atsuko Wakai (5th dan, JKF) provided instruction on Seipai kata, covering both the form and its bunkai. Her precision, technique and power remain exceptional, and the class was a high point for many. Sensei Paul Belle Isle of the United States (5th dan, JKR), noted, "Training with someone like Wakai Sensei, who, with all of her accomplishments, remains incredibly friendly and outgoing, is something I'll remember for the rest of my life."
While in Osaka, members of the group also visited Sumiyoshi Taisha, Osaka Castle and other sites. Finally, just as Typhoon Halong began lashing southwestern Japan, the karateka from the U.S., U.K. and Australia held a celebration dinner at a soba restaurant the evening of August 9th, before departing for their home countries the next day. The group had grown closer to one another, closer to Japan, and closer to the roots of karate, and all agreed that their visit was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sensei Howard High of the United States (7th dan, JKR) noted that the trip was beneficial for everyone involved, including their Japanese hosts: "Working with some of the greatest practitioners in the art of karate was invaluable to those of us who were able to participate in this tour. It was also invaluable for the Japanese karateka to train with our sensei, Kiyoshi Yamazaki, who provided insights into some of the deeper meanings of the art of karate. I was specifically impressed with the attentiveness of the students at Yamanashi Gakuin University when Yamazaki Sensei was instructing them in practical applications." Simon Oliver of Great Britain (6th dan, JKR) agreed, and summed up his views thusly: "For us as a family, this visit to Japan was a perfect blend of spending quality time with like-minded friends and enjoying training with a varied and friendly mix of dojos and senseis. Making new friends and meeting old ones from when I lived in Japan was something that made this trip special. We visited famous and cultural locations that brought back many old memories – as well as created some great new ones. We can't wait to go back!"


text:
Laws, Regulations & Annotations
Business Taxes Law Guide – Revision 2017
Transactions and Use Tax Annotations
805.0000 COLLECTION OF TAX BY RETAILERS—Regulation 1827
Annotation 805.0042
805.0042 Collection of District Use Tax. A taxpayer is a software company with offices only in one county but which sells its software throughout California. All sales are made from its offices located in the one county. However, the taxpayer's representatives go to the clients' offices to install the software and, thus, the taxpayer is engaged in business in any district in which its customers are located (Regulation 1827(c)(2)). Accordingly, the taxpayer properly collects the appropriate district use tax on the sale of the software itself. Software upgrades are, however, distributed to the clients by mail or UPS, without any subsequent visits by the taxpayer's personnel. Since it ships the upgrades to its customers in districts in which it is engaged in business, the taxpayer must also collect district use tax on the sales of the upgrades (Regulation 1827(b)(1)). 4/23/96.


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Notice: On March 31, it was announced that Statalist is moving from an email list to a forum. The old list will shut down on April 23, and its replacement, statalist.org is already up and running.
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st: example about choice experiment datasheet
elisabetta capobianco <firstname.lastname@example.com>
st: example about choice experiment datasheet
Sun, 18 Nov 2012 10:11:47 +0100
Hi, I'm new of statalist and stata!
I'm working on choice experiment about food preferences in schools.
I have 4 alternatives unlabelled, 4 attributes and 4 levels, 130 individuals.
I have the data base in excel, but before insheet the file in stata
i'm not sure that i have put the data in the right mode in the excel
Have you got an example on a excel datasheet about choice modelling?
Just an example to understand how to organize my datasheet.
Thank you,
* For searches and help try:
* http://www.stata.com/help.cgi?search
* http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/resources/statalist-faq/
* http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/


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Answers Home
» Local Spots & Services
» U.S. West
I am Buster and I am looking for a play mate. I play really rough but want a friend in Santa Barbara, CA. Interested?
I really love to play but I am deaf so I don't respond to verbal cues from my playmates. So, I play best with patient but young dogs who aren't aggressive. Let me know if you are interested.
Asked by
on Sep 26th 2007
in U.S. West
- This question is closed.
Hey, Buster, I'm in SB, too. Check your dogster email.....
Jack answered on 9/26/07. Helpful? / 0


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Article Preview
And Still a Winner; John Vliet Lindsay
IT had been a long year for the 103d Mayor of the City of New York: the wrenching teachers' strike in the fall, the suffocating snow in the winter, the vituperation of the spring, the uphill campaign of the summer.
November 05, 1969
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Poster for TNA Turning Point, Mystery Woman on Impact Revealed
– As seen on Thursday's episode of Impact Wrestling, a female TNA crew member ended up turning on Sting and Hulk Hogan backstage, leading to their kidnapping. That woman has been revealed to be independent women's wrestler Leva Bates. Bates is from Orlando and was trained by Bully Ray at the Team 3D Academy. No word yet if TNA will continue to use her.
– The 2012 TNA Turning Point poster is a play off hit TV show Sons of Anarchy. The poster indicates that Aces & 8s won't be done terrorizing TNA at Bound For Glory. Turning Point takes place on November 11th from Florida:


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I pre-ordered Dragon Age II. Signature edition and everything. Though I think that was just a bonus of the pre-order. I knew I wouldn't play it right then, but I did expect to play it before now. I can't say why I felt either of those things, but time is a cruel mistress and slips away while we're distracted with other things with nary a warning or goodbye.
But I did read about Dragon Age II and its Mass Effect 2ification. And I read the hate the game got. The complaints made me wary, but only so much. The action speeding up isn't inherently a bad thing, it was the simplification of ME2 that rubbed me the wrong way. And while it's nice to have the options that the original Dragon Age had, I never felt hamstrung by Mass Effects dialogue options either. And as for the infamous repetitive dungeons....well, to be fair, it's not like Dungeon design was exactly masterful in DA:O. You were fighting through living structures and the like, designed as such and blocked off in places. So while wary, it didn't mean that DAII was going to be a bad game for me.
And it's not. It's a good game. It's just half the game the first was. Pretty Much Literally. Signifcantly shorter with abilities and systems just completely removed. No longer do you get to gear up your allies, they have set armor that you just buy upgrades for (at least you can still give them accessories). No Longer can you take that Archer Rogue they give you and make him/her a two weapon fighter. Or vice versa. Characters are assigned roles more strictly and are pretty much forced to adhere to them as they lack the skill trees to change. It's true that in Dragon Age, it was most efficient to keep your companions in their assigned roles, but you didn't HAVE to, and sometimes you didn't want to (Shapeshifting sucks, I needed a healer = Morrigan gets a new focus in life).
This is equally true of your own character. Before you had three races and six origins to choose from along with class and gender, but now you're always a human from Lothering. While you have more flexibility in your class than your companions do, your choices have been constrained. Warriors lose the ability to Dual Wield and use Archery, and the four specialization options have been cut to three (your companions get none, instead just having their own unique tree). They seemed to work more than ever to funnel each class down one of three roles. Warriors are tanks, Rogues deal damage, and Mages support. It's true that ALL have damage dealing abilities, and built right a Two-Handed warrior is still boss, but the funnel seems to be more obvious. These were always kind of the roles the clases played, but now they play them more than ever.
It's not fair or accurate but overall Dragon Age II just FEELS Lazy. I'm sure it's not. I'm sure lots of effort went in to making the game and plenty of thought to the decisions that got us here. It's more likely they were simply time constrained, a fact that makes it easy to blame EA and their profitability demands. And it's clear that a lot of the missing things are gone intentionally, a streamlining that makes the game simpler and harder for the player to mess up. But it's undeniable that the game feels LESSER for it.
That's not to say it's terrible. It's still, at its core, Dragon Age, and you can still see that. Good characters, good writing, and combat that's fun most of the time. I must say despite the improved fluidity and speed of the combat, I was overall left disappointed in it. Mostly because of the way they structured the fights. In a bid to increase the action no doubt, fights are much larger this time around. You'll almost never fight less than ten guys, and 20 to 30 felt standard. They don't come all at once, however, instead appearing in waves as the old ones die. They appear all around you and the game makes no effort to hide they're just fading in, often doing so right in front of you. It ruins any strategy you may have had, as your positioning and choice of when to burn your spells is completely thrown out the window. Plus, most of these enemies are nothing more than cannon fodder, featuring nearly nonexistant lifebars that are usually depleted in a single hit of an area spell, making defeating them feel more like a chore than an acomplishment.
I could say that the companions aren't as good because they're not, but they're still very well developed and either likable or hatable based on your own opinions. It's simply a case of where Dragon Age: Origins had the best written characters of pretty much any game ever, so it can't measure up. I must admit I was also underwhelmed with my romance options. Fenris, Merril, Anders, and Isabella are your choices, and those are your choices regardless of gender. For one, I kind of liked it better when they had their own sexual preferences instead of just being up for it no matter what gender you were. Origins and the Mass Effect games had characters that didn't care, of course, and that's fine. But None of them? Really? But more importantly, I just wasn't that thrilled with them in the end. I kinda liked Isabella, but given both her history and her proclivities toward pirating I can't say I was that excited about it. It's especially true if you're trying to play Hawke as a paragon of justice and good and such things. None of these people are really what I'd call...good. They're not actively trying to be evil, mind, but they all tend to be blinded by some facet of their personality that makes them do bad things and be perfectly contented with those bad things.
Still, despite all that, It's worth playing. The dialogue system is still good, and the adaptations of it to the choices you make (i.e. If you're snarky Hawke will become snarky in dialogue you don't choose, same with Aggressive or diplomatic choices) is just stellar, something I wish could be seen more often. The combat is fun and though it can get tiresome it can also feel good to wipe out whole swaths of enemies with a single wave of ice. And I did 99% of the game in under 30 hours (there was literally one Side Quest that I didn't complete, one to find a bunch of Qunari swords), so it's not a huge committment either. If you like RPGs, you'll like it. If you liked Dragon Age...you'll be disappointed, but you'll probably still like it. And that's where I am. It's why I can recommend this game despite doing nothing but complain about it. Because it's not that it's bad, it's just not what it could be. Not what Origins was. And that's just disappointing.
And now, I'm going to go even simpler than Dragon Age did.Score: 7.5/10
Next Up: Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures


text:
Amory Lovins:
Amory Lovins: vincere finale del petrolio
In questa energica esposizione, Amory Lovins presenta un semplice piano per rendere gli USA indipendenti dal petrolio e rivitalizzare l'economia.
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text: My daughter thinks it was great, since the airline tickets and hotel to Hawaii were paid for and non-refundable Im letting her and the son-In law go in our place. My boss is also working on getting the company to reemburse me even though I gave the tickets to my daughter. Yea Ive got a job and way to much work there as long as I want it.


text:
The notoriously private couple is spotted in a very cute, and very private, moment as Cameron feeds A-Rod popcorn. Awwww!
Cameron Diaz and Alex Rodriguez seem to slowly be coming out of their shells! Often resistant to show any affection or PDA in public, the notoriously private couple was spotted not once, but twice during Super Bowl weekend! The duo made an appearance at Diddy's Feb. 5 party in Dallas and then were caught on camera during the big game — as Cameron fed A-Rod popcorn. Cute!
Check out the video above!