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German Carmakers In The Fast Lane
The U.S. luxury-vehicle market has pretty well stalled these days. Sales are expected to grow a scant 4% over the next two years. But around the New Jersey offices where both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have their American headquarters, optimism reigns. Flush with success from record sales in 1997, the German auto makers are loading up for a product blitz. Mercedes has a flashy new convertible, a souped-up version of its M-class sport-utility, a revamped line of large sedans, and maybe a luxury minivan on the way. BMW is gearing up for the launch of a new version of its popular 3-series sedans this fall, and has a hybrid sport-ute debuting in 1999. "We're going to keep pushing, no matter what," says Victor H. Doolan, president of BMW of North America Inc.
The swagger is back at BMW and Mercedes. It has been a remarkable dual turnaround for the German companies, whose U.S. sales hit rock bottom in 1991 in the face of a successful onslaught by Japanese luxury brands. But they have since left rivals behind in the slow lane. Bolstered by a stable of new products and aggressive marketing campaigns, BMW and Mercedes again rank as the hottest luxury brands in the U.S.
Indeed, both BMW and Mercedes have plenty of room to boast. They ended 1997 in a dead heat for preeminence among luxury import brands, with BMW's sales of 122,500 vehicles edging out Mercedes' 122,417. And in a luxury-car market that grew just 6% from 1991 to 1997, BMW sales soared 130%, while Mercedes rose 83%. That has allowed the German brands to leapfrog past their top two Japanese rivals, Lexus and Acura.
BACKLASH. What's more, if BMW and Mercedes keep accelerating, they could roar past the faltering U.S. market leaders, General Motors' Cadillac Div. and Ford's Lincoln unit, within the next five years. "Cadillac and Lincoln are definitely on the defensive," says Susan Jacobs, an independent auto analyst in Rutherford, N.J. Lincoln's car sales slipped 1% last year, to 139,540. Even with an all-new entry-level car, the Catera, Cadillac's sales rose just 7%, to 182,624. Lincoln is bringing out a small luxury car this fall, and Cadillac is banking on a redesigned DeVille in 1999. But few expect those additions to be strong enough to slow the Germans' momentum.
Competitors now hold Mercedes and BMW up as the standard to beat. "They have clearly reframed the luxury market," says John F. Smith, general manager of GM's Cadillac Div. "I think they've been much more responsive to a variety of consumer tastes." That's just the opposite of the reputations BMW and Mercedes carried at their low point in 1991. Back then, the pair admittedly lost touch with consumers. They paid the price: Sales bottomed out at 53,343 vehicles for BMW and 58,869 for Mercedes--down 45% and 41%, respectively, from their high five years earlier. "The key issue then was to survive," says Michael Jackson, president of Mercedes-Benz of North America.
BMW suffered, in part, from a backlash against its yuppie image of the 1980s, when "Beemers" were the car of choice for nouveau-riche stockbrokers and investment bankers. They were known for performance, style, and such expensive maintenance that the brand's nickname was Break My Wallet. "The quality was always good, but maintenance was a huge issue," says Steve Thomas, a BMW dealer in Camarillo, Calif. "You'd spend $40,000 for the car, and a couple of thousand dollars a year to keep it on the road." Mercedes, on the other hand, was known as safe, reliable, exceptionally well-engineered--and dull.
In other words, both companies were ripe for the picking. That's exactly what the Japanese auto makers set out to do, starting with Honda's Acura brand in 1986 and followed by Toyota with Lexus and Nissan with Infiniti in 1989. The Japanese luxury models had fresh styling, topped the quality charts, and were priced significantly lower than the competing BMW and Mercedes cars.
The way consumers flocked to the upstarts humbled the Germans. "We thought we couldn't be touched by them, that we were superior," says British-born Doolan, who joined BMW 20 years ago and has headed its U.S. sales operations since 1993. "There was a degree of complacency, maybe even arrogance." The attack came as the dollar was falling against the German mark, pushing up prices of BMW and Mercedes models. When Toyota introduced its LS 400 for $35,000 in 1989, the cheapest BMW 7-series sedan cost $55,000, and a Mercedes 300SE sold for $56,000. "Certainly, the Japanese did their homework, and we were vulnerable," says Jackson, a former Mercedes dealer who became president last year. "We had to change."
Their problems were all too apparent: bloated prices, antiquated dealer networks, and, most important, a lack of hot new cars. Both slashed prices across the board on existing products and held down costs on new models by opening their first assembly plants in the U.S. They pressured dealers to catch up to Lexus' standards for sales and service. BMW started a program that covered routine maintenance for a three-year period, for example.
The toughest challenge was to energize the tired lineups. Mercedes brought out two new C-class midsize sedans in 1994 and followed up with redesigned E-class full-size sedans and wagons two years later. Both new models were sportier, without a matching price hike. Mercedes ventured further into new territory last year with the SLK two-seat roadster and the CLK luxury coupe.
An even bigger gamble came with the introduction last year of Mercedes' first-ever sport-utility vehicle, the M-class, built at the company's new factory outside Tuscaloosa, Ala. It has been a runaway hit, with 21,000 vehicles sold in the first six months. Sometime later this year, Mercedes execs will decide whether to stretch their brand even further, to cover a uniquely American product--a luxury minivan.
BMW has matched Mercedes product for product. It radically redesigned the 3-series sedans in 1991 and made them more affordable to younger buyers. Currently, it offers seven versions of 3-series models, ranging in base price from $21,960 to $42,070. Another update set for this fall has already received rave reviews from the automotive press. BMW also rolled the first Z3 roadsters out of its new Spartanburg (S.C.) factory in 1996. And next year, BMW will introduce a "sports-activity-vehicle," described as a hybrid of an SUV and a performance sedan.
CACHET. Even as the Germans improved, they got a big break from an unexpected corner: Toyota and the other Japanese carmakers seemed to forget what had put them on the map in the first place. Lexus, for example, hit the market initially with less-expensive cars that mimicked Mercedes styling. But as Mercedes and BMW got nimble and held down prices, Lexus and other Japanese brands hiked prices to boost profits and promptly lost their edge. They have since tightened their belts by freezing and, in some cases, cutting prices.
But those moves have come too late to prevent BMW and Mercedes from recapturing the hearts of many luxury buyers with their new lineups. Don Busse, an engineer from Port Hueneme, Calif., recently traded in an Acura CL for a BMW Z3. "The Z3 is more sporty, more fun," says Busse. "BMW also has more cachet than a Japanese brand, or a Lincoln or Cadillac."
That's a message the German pair is also trying to hammer home in their advertising. In a new Mercedes ad campaign featuring its SUVs, for example, actors dressed as executives and engineers sing and dance to a 1950s-era rock beat. "I love my Benz now," croons an Elvis-like exec. The one-word tag line? "Fun." So far, the message seems to be resonating with Mercedes buyers. "It's the most reliable car on the road, but its image is hipper than before," says Kim Adams, a TV newswoman from Marlton, N.J., and owner of a C-class sedan.
Of course, the German competitors are not doing everything in lockstep. As their rivalry has intensified, executives of both Mercedes and BMW have begun to snipe at the other's accomplishments. Before a speech in Detroit in January, Jurgen E. Schrempp, chairman of Mercedes' parent Daimler Benz, suggested that BMW may have manipulated its 1997 U.S. sales figures to beat Mercedes' numbers. "They reported their sales after us, right?" Schrempp said with a smile. "The point is, if we say our sales were 122,780, they would say they had 122,781." Retorts Doolan: "If it's a sales race, let's make it a level playing field. If we include [BMW-owned] Land Rover trucks, we beat them 144,000 to 122,000."
And even as the Germans enjoy their resurgence, rivals are hardly giving up. GM's Cadillac unit is entering the luxury sport-utility fray with the Escalade, due out this fall. Lincoln will court baby boomers--and potential C-class and 3-series buyers--with its own midsize luxury cars, the LS6 and LS8. The so-called Baby Lincolns come out this fall, with expected price tags around $30,000.
So far, the Japanese brands have yet to mount an effective response. Lexus is bringing out a carlike SUV called the RX300, aimed directly at the M-class. In a market that's largely product driven, however, more will be needed. "The Japanese counterpunch hasn't occurred yet," says John Casesa, an auto analyst with Schroder & Co. in New York.
With the market expected to slow, however, virtually all the luxury brands are holding the line on price hikes. That means competition is likely to get a lot tougher. But the German duo is expected to continue to grab new buyers. "BMW and Mercedes are riding the wave right now," says Lincoln Merrihew, an analyst with J.D. Power & Associates in Agoura Hills, Calif.
Mercedes and BMW executives vow that complacency will never creep into their companies again. Still, the surge in sales will level off, says Dieter Zetsche, a managing director of Daimler Benz. "You will not see continued 30% growth rates," he says. Helmut Panke, a BMW managing director, agrees. "When you get to the top of Mt. Everest, you have to take a deep breath," he says. For two companies that have been to the brink, it's remarkable enough that they're on the top, looking down.


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Dispute Follows Unclear Description in Will
05 April 2012
Lack of clarity in a will has led to a High Court battle over a vintage Bentley.
The car was owned by a 90-year-old woman when she died. Her will left her 'principal motor car' to her partner of 40 years, Adolf Weidner, 67. He claims this was the only car she owned when she died and that she had transferred the ownership of the only other car she had owned in recent years, a Volvo, to him in 1992.
The woman's son, Robert Watkins, was appointed her executor in the will and he sold the Bentley for a sum said to be in the region of £200,000.
Mr Weidner is suing Mr Watkins, who disputes his claim to ownership of the Bentley.
For more information on this subject or any other legal matter,
please contact us:
Tonbridge: 01732 770660
Sevenoaks: 01732 747900
Email: [email protected]

subset: commoncrawl


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Police: Man uses fake child abuse donation box to get money
Reporter: Katy Harris
SURF CITY, ONSLOW COUNTY - An Onslow County man has been arrested for creating a fake child abuse donation box outside a store in order to take people's money.
Surf City Police said Samuel Carson Harris, 47, of Sneads Ferry, was arrested and charged with felony obtain property false pretense.
Arrest warrants say between January 2010 and November 2013, Harris obtained an unknown amount of money from people at the Surf City Friendly Mart.
The warrants say Harris left a donation box to collect money under the guise of protect-a-child services at the store.
The Surf City Friendly Mart Manager contacted the Surf City Police Department on July 25th.
"It was so full that we couldn't get anything in it and some people were trying to take some out of it so we were calling him. He wouldn't answer his phone and it went to voice mail but voice mail wasn't set up so we put it in the safe until the manager got a hold of it and turned it over to the police department," said Surf City Friendly Mart Assistant Manager Tara Bayse.
After the Surf City Police Department took the donation box, they contacted the Attorney General's Office to see if Harris was running a legit donation company.
All searches came up empty, leading to Tuesday's arrest.
"Well it's just a shame that somebody would use channel protection to supply their lifestyle," said Bayse.
Bayse says Harris emptied the donation boxes twice until he was caught.
Surf City Police say the last donation box contained $60.
Police said Harris posted a 10-thousand dollar unsecured bond; he made his first appearance in Onslow County District Court this morning.


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Field Notes: Petco Park, Home of the San Diego Padres
Photo By: Stephen Dunn
Photo By: Andy Hayt
Photo By: Paul Spinelli
Photo By: Andy Hayt
Photo By: Kent Horner
Photo By: Andy Hayt
Photo By: Donald Miralle
Photo By: Andy Hayt
Petco Park, San Diego
Check out these photos and learn about what goes on behind the scenes at Petco Park. And don't forget to vote for San Diego on our "Pin Your Turf" Pinterest board.
Petco Park, San Diego
Q: What type of grass is used for the field's turf?
A: The field uses 328 Hybrid Bermuda over-seeded with Chaparral Perennial Ryegrass.
Petco Park, San Diego
Q: How often is the grass on the field mowed during the season?
A: Maintenance on the playing field is year round because of the mild weather in San Diego and because special events are held at the ballpark throughout the year. The field gets mowed every game day for consistency, and is mowed as needed when the team is out.
Petco Park, San Diego
Q: What kind of soil is used on the field, and where does it come from?
A:The grass is grown on 90 percent USGA-spec sand and 10 percent Dakota Peat Moss. The infield skin is approximately 50 percent sand, 25 percent silt and 25 percent clay. The warning track is a crushed lava cinder that is 1/8-inch and comes from a dormant volcano in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Petco Park, San Diego
Q: How are the turf patterns created? Are there patterns for special occasions, etc.?
A: The grounds crew designs and determines the turf pattern. For opening day, the crew may mow in the "SD" pattern, which is popular among fans, but the turf pattern used for the remainder of the year is strictly for consistent ball-roll and a good, predictable, playable field — attributes the crew regards as more important than aesthetics.
Petco Park, San Diego
Q: What turf heights are used on the field? Are there height differences between infield and outfield?
A: Currently the mowing height for the entire playing field is 5/8 inches. This has varied in the past, with heights for games as low as 1/2 inch and as high as 3/4 inch. There have also been times in the past when the infield grass has been mowed to a different height from the outfield.
Petco Park, San Diego
Q: How is the field surface constructed, and are there special or "hidden" features to help manage irrigation or maintenance?
A: The drainage lines for the field are cut into the subgrade and run every 30 feet across the field. The main drainage line runs around the warning track underground. The entire system works by gravity. The irrigation lines are on top of the subgrade in 4 inches of pea gravel. On top of that is 12 inches of root-zone or sand.
Petco Park, San Diego
Q: How are lines, logos and other decorations applied to the field? What kinds of paints are used?
A: The crew uses standard turf paint from World Class. Logos are laid out for opening day, but the "SD" behind the plate remains for the entire year.
Petco Park, San Diego
Padres team facts:
-Edinson Volquez is the team's top starting pitcher. Volquez also pitched brilliantly for the Dominican Republic on the team's road to winning the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
-The Padres' team mascot is the Swinging Friar.
-The team's ballpark, Petco Park, in the heart of downtown San Diego, is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful in all of baseball. Learn more about the San Diego Padres at padres.com or check out the next ballpark: Safeco Field, home of the Seattle Mariners.


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Do you rise your pizza dough overnight or not?
Do you want a flattish crispy pizza or a deep crust pizza?You should prove your dough until it doubles in size (good rule of thumb) then roll and shape it - throwing it around with abandon if you s...
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How to Quickly Rise Dough?
Nothing beats the taste or aroma of freshly baked, homemade bread. Although the bread making process is fairly simple, it is time consuming because of the waiting time needed for the bread to rise....
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Tricks to Help Dough Rise?
Dough is a delicate substance. A skilled hand is required to ensure dough rises and cooks just right. Everything -- from using fresh dough to maintaining proper temperatures -- must be carried out ...
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Why does bread dough rise?
Bread is a simple but complex staple in most households. Simple, because few ingredients are required and the chemistry behind making bread is fairly basic. Complex because variations to the ingred...
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How to Fix Dough That Won't Rise?
Noone likes to wake up in the morning to find this happened...The common nightmare for many home bakers is to go to a lot of effort and use ingredients to make a nice shaped loaf, but when it comes...
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text:
Bovens, Luc (2015) Concerns for the poorly off in ordering risky prospects. Economics and Philosophy, 31 (3). pp. 397-429. ISSN 0266-2671
- Accepted Version
Download (370Kb) | Preview
The Distribution View provides a model that integrates four distributional concerns in the evaluation of risky prospects. Starting from these concerns, we can generate an ordering over a set of risky prospects, or, starting from an ordering, we can extract a characterization of the underlying distributional concerns. Separability of States and/or Persons for multiple-person risky prospects, for single-person risky prospects and for multiple-person certain prospects are discussed within the model. The Distribution View sheds light on public health policies and provides a framework for the discussion of Parfit's Priority View for risky prospects.
|Item Type:
|Official URL:
|Additional Information:
|© 2015 Cambridge University Press
|Library of Congress subject classification:
|B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
|Departments > Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
|Date Deposited:
|27 May 2014 12:55
Actions (login required)
|Record administration - authorised staff only


text:
Food & Wine
Curry Sage Butternut Squash Soup
This squash soup is creamy, sweet and nutty, and features some Fall spices including: cumin, coriander and curry powder. Great recipe for the Fall!More
Poached Cod with Tomatoes
Martha Stewart shares one of her favorite recipes from an episode of Martha Stewart's Cooking School. Check out this delicious recipe and don't miss the tips and techniques that accompany each dish.More
Candy Corn Cookies
These cookies look like real candy corn! Kids of all ages will love this Halloween treat. Try this Recipe!More
Creamy Pumpkin Sage Fettuccine
Fall calls for sweet comforts and this recipe has October written all over it. It's an autumnal twist on fettuccine Alfredo: thick homemade egg noodles bathed in a creamy pumpkin sage sauce with a dusting of freshly shaved parmesan and nutmeg.More
Baked Apples
There's just something so comforting about sweet, juicy baked apples with a hint of cinnamon. Try them with ice cream for dessert, or with roast chicken or pork. Baked apples make the perfect seasonal side-dish! Enjoy this recipe!More


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It was just Red, her murky herpetology collection, and a dwindling supply of Powerbars and Diet Coke. She had surrounded herself with spreadsheets and maps of the Great George River Basin, a calculator and a few tottering resource books. Red was so close to a breakthrough.
Numbers floated across her eyelids, over her brain waves, and through her senses as though she could see them in mottled rainbows of colors. She could feel the numbers as they bumped their way across her synapses, trying to make connections that she knew must exist. Every hour she was just a little closer. It was there, she knew it was, if only she could just reach out and grab it in solid form.
Red pulled at her greasy ponytail with frustration, attempting to tuck withered amber strands back into order. She looked for the hundredth time over the local habitat of the Eastern Indigo Snake, endangered since 1978, supposedly due to destruction of habitat. Red knew better. She'd seen the regional dwindling of reptiles and amphibians much too heavily over the past eight years, and she was going to figure out why.
The connection had something to do with the grand Robicheaux estate. It loomed on the edge of town in Southern luxury, attracting dreamy tourists during the summers from across the nation, and even overseas. From her spreadsheets, Red knew that the concentrations of dead animals were heavier along the five mile perimeter of the estate. She just needed to get some sleep, if the numbers would stop scrolling across her mind and let her rest, and then she'd grab McDonalds and head over there to see for herself.
She'd been sitting so long on the floor that her legs didn't want to unfold to allow her to stand. Cramps surged across her muscles as she stretched out her feet. She arched her back for a moment, and then raised her eyes to the jars on her shelves. And that's when the octopus, the crown jewel of her herpetology collection, raised it's gelatinous tentacled arm at her in a wave, and slowly winked.
This is a piece of flash fiction for The Red Dress Club. The prompt was to write the fiction in 300 words (just a teeny bit over, sorry!) or less, inspired by the word 'life'. You can check out other writings HERE. All of the pictures were taken when we went to the Natural Science Museum in Raleigh, NC last month. I've been saving them for a little fiction ever since.


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French Vanilla New Wave
Talking about the great films you're going to make can get your pulse racing. So can chugging a whole pot of coffee. Doing them both at the same time is the cineaste's equivalent of backhoeing Pop Rocks and Coke into your yapper. But if you dream in Cinemascope, then maybe fizzy self-immolation is worth the risk to get your movie idea off the ground. Cue the Percolator, a meet-up just for you, the spaz with the kino-glaz, on Tuesday at O Cinema Wynwood (90 NW 29th St., Miami). Directors, actors, writers, editors, wardrobe stylists: for three hours starting at 6:30 p.m., you can spitball your ideas with other local filmmakers or find someone else's project you'd like to join. Indie Film Club Miami is hosting the event and providing free, unlimited coffee. (Even if you aren't interested in making a film, you should take on their unlimited coffee challenge and see what gives out first, your heart or the IFCM's French press.) The Percolator is also open to visual artists, web designers, comic scribblers, animators, and really anyone who creates visual content. What'll you do at the Percolator? You can pitch ideas to the group, gather 'round the Idea Table for a jolt of that inspirado, or join a group to see what jittery collaborations develop. Then go out and do it, because sleep is for people who just want to dream, and coffee is for those who actually want to get stuff done.
Tue., Aug. 27, 6:30 p.m., 2013
Related Location
90 NW 29th St.
Miami, FL 33127
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Category:United States Supreme Court Justices
From Wikisource
Past and present United States Supreme Court Justices.
- related portals: Supreme Court of the United States.
- sister projects: Wikipedia article, Commons gallery, quotes, data item.
This category has only the following subcategory.
Pages in category "United States Supreme Court Justices"
The following 96 pages are in this category, out of 96 total.
- Author:Henry Baldwin
- Author:Philip Pendleton Barbour
- Author:Hugo Black
- Author:Harry Blackmun
- Author:John Blair
- Author:Samuel Blatchford
- Author:Joseph Philo Bradley
- Author:Louis Dembitz Brandeis
- Author:William J. Brennan
- Author:David Josiah Brewer
- Author:Stephen Breyer
- Author:Henry Billings Brown
- Author:Harold Hitz Burton
- Author:Pierce Butler
- Author:James F. Byrnes


text:
August 8: Welcome BBQ
August 9: Small Group Dinners
August 10: POM Begins
August 10: Big/Little Sib Luncheon
August 11: Bowling Night
August 15: 80's Party
August 16: Welcome Dinner #2
August 21: White Coat Ceremony
August 24: Molecular Medicine Begins
August 29: Bull Run
Physical Exam
POM Name Tag
Little Sibling Survey
12-PAC Supplies Order
USF Oasis Account
USF ID Card
USF Health Email Account
USF NID/Blackboard Account
Health Coverage
Find Housing
Purchase Laptop
Important Links
Please check below for an outline of the great events we've got planned for you all as you begin at USF!! The events are a great way to get settled in Tampa, meet your classmates and professors, and enjoy yourself before the hard stuff begins! Please keep in mind these events and dates are all TENTATIVE!! We don't anticipate any major changes, but please understand if things do get moved around some!!
BBQ/Pool Party Saturday August 8, 2009 12pm-??
This is your first chance to meet the new MD class of 2013 and the DPT class of 2012! The location is TBA, but plan to come for some fun in the summer sun, burgers, dogs, and plenty of fun games and things to do!!
Welcome Dinners during POM August 9th and 16th
Click Here for small group assignments and dinner locations!!!!
These two dinners are informal and will be somewhere quick and easy around campus or in south Tampa. You will be divided into small groups with your classmates and members of the classes above you. These dinners are here to help you get to know each other better as well as to provide another opportunity to ask questions to the upper classmen!! So relax, enjoy some good food and better company, and unwind before class starts!! FYI, you will be responsible for paying for your own meal!!
12-PAC Big/Little Sibling FREE Lunch Monday August 10, 2009
Not too much to explain here. We get you for two hours so you can meet your big sibling, chat, and eat a free lunch on your first day of POM!! At this point, the second years will be in full swing, so it'll be a nice break for both of us. We'll start at noon and end at 2. See you in the histo labs!!
Bowling Night Tuesday August 11, 2009
No matter how cool you think you are, no one is above a fun night of bowling, so tie on those funky shoes, put on your brace, grab your White Russian and enjoy a night out!! The price will be $5 per person (please bring exact change) with $0.25 games of bowling, $0.25 hot dogs, free shoe rental, and $1 beer. Pitchers of beer are available. This will be from 8pm-midnight at the U Lanes on 56th. Friends and family are welcome!!
Directions from USF:
1. North on Bruce B. Downs toward Fletcher Avenue
2. Make a RIGHT on East Fletcher Avenue
3. Make a RIGHT on 56th Street North
4. Make a RIGHT into 13109 North 56th Street AMF University Lanes
80's Party!! Saturday August 15, 2009
This is a BIG one!! This party is fun and it's a great way to celebrate your time so far in medical school!! This costume theme party is to celebrate the 80's in all its glory and to see your professors dressed as ridiculously as possible. Costumes make this fun, so don't hold back!! We all know you went to an 80's party at some point in college!!
Bull Run Saturday August 29, 2009
This debauchery and ruckus is a USF COM tradition where all four classes are invited to a night out in Ybor City. Shirts are purchased through 12-PAC and friends and family are welcomed and encouraged to attend!! Each shirt will have a list of participating clubs/bars that have agreed to provide free cover and their best drink specials to the wearer of the shirt!! Buses will be provided for the members of the class of 2013 to and from Ybor City. There will also be members of 12-PAC located at certain participating vendors in case you lose your friends or need a break from the fun!! PLEASE REMEMBER, as students embarking on the medical profession and representing USF, it would be a smart idea not to get too crazy. You don't want to show up on the front of TBT in a mugshot!! (in other words, drink responsibly!!)
2nd Annual Bulls Football Tailgate (date/time TBA)
The greatest American tradition: college football and tailgating!! For those of you who don't know, one of your 12-PAC Co-chairs, Evans Heithaus, went to Ole Miss where tailgating is a HUGE tradition (just google "The Grove Ole Miss")!! When it comes to good football, bbq, beer, and the art of throwing a party, Evans knows what he's doing. He helped put together the first annual tailgate last year and is planning on holding an even bigger one this year!!!


text: Communication is a key ingredient in a successfully diverse work environment. Often people do not understand those who are different from them because they simply do not listen and communicate effectively. This lesson explains how to use active listening, nonverbal communication, and speaking with intent to accurately convey your message and better understand others.


text:
Parker ChairDetails http://www.ethanallen.com/en_US/shop-furniture-living-room-chairs-chaises/parker-chair/207571.html
Item #: 207571
Dimensions: 32"w x 41"h x 37"d
Custom made, ships Premier In-home Delivery. You will be contacted within 6 to 8 weeks to schedule a delivery date for this item.
Dress this item any way you like with our beautiful selection of fashionable fabrics.
Product Details
Sit up and take notice of the Parker, a go-anywhere chair with considerable appeal--just look at that bold silhouette! We've freshened up the classic wing chair with a generous, loose seat cushion and tapered legs. It's available in fabric, dual-fabric, and leather. With the Parker ottoman, it's a perfect resting spot.
- Tight back
- Loose welted seat cushion
- Stain-resistant fabric
- Available in leather (727571)
- Matching ottoman available
- Custom options are available in Design Centers
Additional Information
- Interior seating area: 21"w × 23"d
- Seat back: 22"h
- Seat height (floor to top of cushion): 19"
- Arm height: 24"
- The dimensions listed are not precise measurements; they have been rounded up to the next whole inch. Because hand-tailoring our upholstery involves manually cutting, sewing, and fitting material to frames, the dimensions of each style may vary slightly from piece to piece.
Composition and Construction
- Seven-ply engineered hardwood panels with glued and stapled mortise and tenon joints for extraordinary stability
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- Long-lasting oven-tempered coil spring units function independently for individualized comfort across the seating area.
- Soft foam, fiber and nonwoven ticking surround a dense core for sink-in comfort with firm support
Download the Ethan Allen Limited Warranty >


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- On #GivingTuesday Remember Our American Military Heroes Through A Donation To The Heroes To Heroes Foundation!
- Heroes To Heroes Is Successfully Impacting The Devastating Statistic That Every Day Of The Year 22 Military Veterans Take Their Own Lives!
- And, Very Sadly, The Actual Number May Even Be Greater Than That!
|Why Donate To Heroes To Heroes Foundation On #GivingTuesday?
Donate At The Secure Heroes To Heroes Website Here!


text:
The Russian connection: See all our coverage | Read about our investigation
I don't know many people who take opinion polling on policy issues as definitive in any way, but James Fishkin's piece in the Boston Review on polling had two interesting anecdotes on just how unreliable polling can really be:
Sometimes the "opinions" reported in polls do not exist. Because respondents do not like to say "I don't know," they often pick an answer more or less at random. When George Bishop of the University of Cincinnati asked in surveys about the "Public Affairs Act of 1975," the public offered opinions even though the act was fictional
The second problem with conventional polling is that sometimes the responses to questions do not express real opinions but simply the first thing that comes to a respondent's mind. This phenomenon was first described by the eminent political scientist Philip Converse. A National Election Studies panel was asked the same set of questions each year from 1956 to 1960. The questions included some low-salience items about such subjects as the government's role in providing electric power.
Converse noticed that some of the respondents offered answers that seemed to vary almost randomly over the course of the panel. They cared so little about the issue that they could not even remember what they had said the previous year in order to try to be consistent. Converse concluded that significant numbers of people were simply answering randomly.The Fishkin piece, by the way, advocates "deliberative polling," a process which would gather a representative group of people together on some weekend retreat or other, poll them on an issue, let them talk it out, and then poll them again to see what they think after some thought, discussion, and, well, deliberation. It's an interesting idea, but either way, the piece is a good reminder that people can say all sorts of things about various intricate policy programs, but that's no indication as to what they really might think about something if they gave it some actual thought.


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Is your meeting designed to maximize attendee connections? Are you being intentional in your room sets and meeting spaces that will deliver greater educational value? Would you like to move from a speaker-centric meeting model to a learner-centric one that will increase your attendee engagement and satisfaction? Join Sarah as you explore unique general and concurrent session room sets using only the furniture available on-site that is guaranteed to increase peer-to-peer interaction which is how adults like to learn best. Discover creative and affordable designs that will foster Connexity and help your meeting become the "watering hole" for your attendees to connect and build community.
Brought to you by Nashville Convention & Visitors Bureau
Program Objectives
Program Information
Date Presented:
August 22, 2013 1:00 PM Central
1 hour
Registration Fee:
Professional Convention Management Association
Total CEUs: 0.10
This Program is presented free of charge.


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Want to know where to eat? Where to shop? Where to stay? Curious about special events? Sedona's unique history? Or would you like to view a map of our most famous hiking trails?
Receive all the information you need from our Experience Sedona Visitors Guide.
You can order our glossy, magazine-style Experience Sedona Visitors Guide, or view the guide online for free!
The red rock formations and the intimate closeness of the beautiful little town to the creek and surrounding stunning landscape is unequalled...100% a different environment than GC or Monument Valley. If I could go beyond 100%, I would!!!
beautiful scenery and amazing energy
Takeshi Miyaji
Q: Sedona in addition to Grand Canyon South Rim? A: Don't miss Sedona
Half day in Sedona : Arrive via 89A through Oak Creek Canyon and return by the same route. Drive down Upper Red Rock Loop Road to Red Rock Crossing.
625 Golf Club Way
Sedona AZ, 86336
Phone: (928) 203-2001
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Seven Canyons is a private golf club open exclusively to club members & guests of Enchantment Resort
30 Most Rejuvenating Vacation Spots in North America:
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"How dare she be so self-absorbed!" is the battle cry. "It's highly self-indulgent for a woman to break off her marriage and seek personal pleasure on a world voyage to Italy, India and Bali."
See the movie. Make your own decision about the woman's motives. But I find it ironic that some of the same people troubled by the "self-indulgence" of the author are probably supporting Steven Slater, the Jet Blue flight attendant whose adolescent behavior has transformed him into a celebrity.
If you haven't heard of "the incident," you've probably been living in a cave. Annoyed by a passenger and his on-board luggage, Slater grabbed the aircraft's microphone, liberally used obscenities to berate all the "rude" passengers he had encountered in his career, then opened a beer and ceremoniously activated the jet's emergency slide.
He slid right into the unemployment line. But many thousands of Americans are e-mailing him support and demanding that Jet Blue rehire their hero. He's even been offered his own reality TV show.
Oh let's get real. If it acts like a duck and quacks like a duck … Face it, the guy is a prima donna and a jerk!
We all face workplace pressures. We all have dealt with demanding customers or colleagues. We've all peered at the office clock and prayed that we were on Eastern Standard Time.
But most of us handle the pressure in a mature manner. We don't throw down the gauntlet, urinate on the table and hoist our middle finger as we stomp out the door.
Slater should understand that certain jobs demand certain skills. If you are afraid of heights, you shouldn't be a roofer. If you fear enclosed places, you shouldn't be a coal miner. If you cannot take stress, you shouldn't be an air traffic controller. If you wince at the sight of blood, you should avoid being a surgeon or a trauma nurse.
And if your blood pressure rises when a stranger tries to stuff a large bag into an overhead bin, you probably shouldn't work in the airline industry.
What's next? Kick a passenger in the shin when he asks for an extra bag of peanuts?
I'm frankly amazed at the support Slater is receiving. Most of his supporters rationalize away his actions by claiming that "he just had his fill of rude, demanding and obnoxious people."
I'm sorry, but Slater was well-paid for his suffering. He wasn't a volunteer.
That was your job, Slater. Deal with it – just like Julia Roberts did in bringing an intriguing journey to your neighborhood theater.


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The five projects the Parental Engagement Fund is supporting are listed below:
A smartphone app that sends game ideas to parents of young children, to help develop the skills that will prepare children for school, and beyond. The app provides parents with simple, fun games to play with their children, aged two to five, supporting their early development.
Making it REAL
Making it REAL (Raising early achievement in literacy) trains practitioners to use the REAL evidence-based approach. Reaching out to parents and families through home visits and group events, they engage parents in their children's early literacy by building confidence and knowledge to support the early learning home environment.
Peep into pre-school
An outreach project aiming to increase take-up of two year old funded places while simultaneously engaging parents in their children's learning from the outset using the evidence-based Peep Learning Together Programme.
Stories for You and Yours
A reading programme designed to engage parents in shared reading with their child by building their confidence to read with their child and encouraging a love of stories and poems.
Engaging Parents Effectively
The Parental Engagement Network
Training and on-going support for school staff to enable them to engage parents in their children's learning and development from the beginning of school, throughout the Foundation Stage and beyond.


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Easily access more than 100,000 products and tools with our robust search engine. Manage your entire IT lifecycle from purchase to renewal all in one place — so you can get more done faster.Sponsored Listing
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Divine Logic
The future of information technology will be based on controlling the flow of natural light. This project is an attempt to establish the code (or software) that will enable this to happen. It involves rewriting an OS from the ground up.
My Wardrobe
You can 'wear' any clothes on the internet 'virtually' on your body (image). And this application stores the URL where you can buy the clothes, you can share your information like your good looking shot or your ratingson the clothe over internet.


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Powerball Jackpot Rises To $403 Million; $2 Million Ticket Sold In RIWith no winner drawn on Saturday night, the Powerball jackpot has risen to an estimated $403 million.
Powerball Jackpot Up To $359 MillionThis week's Powerball jackpot will be the highest since July with the drawing reaching an estimated $359 million.
Mega Millions, Powerball Jackpots Total Over $750 MillionAfter there was no winner in Tuesday night's drawing, the The Mega Millions jackpot has risen to $508 million.
Powerball Jackpot Spikes Over $500 MillionThe last time Powerball grew nearly so large was February 2014.
Lottery: No Jackpot Winner In $380M Powerball DrawingA $2 million ticket was sold in Bellingham, Mass.
New Hampshire Couple Wins $2.4 Million At Las Vegas Slot MachineA pair of grandparents from New Hampshire has won $2.4 million at a notoriously stubborn MGM Grand slot machine.
Milford Town Workers Miss Mega Millions Jackpot By One NumberForty workers from Milford Town Hall all went in together to buy tickets. They got five numbers right, but they were the wrong five numbers.
Mega Millions Sales Push Jackpot To $636 MillionSales of Mega Millions tickets were booming Tuesday, pushing the jackpot to $636 million for tonight's drawing.
No Jackpot Winner, Mega Millions Up To $550 MillionOne of the largest jackpots in U.S. lottery history climbed even higher Saturday after no ticket matched all six numbers to win the $425 million top Mega Millions prize.
Mega Millions Jackpot Reaches $425 MillionSuperstition didn't deter players hoping that Friday the 13th would bring them good luck in the recently revamped Mega Millions game, as heavy sales prompted lottery officials to boost the jackpot from $400 million to $425 million.
41 Coworkers In Holbrook Split $1 Million Lottery Jackpot Workers at a Holbrook metal fabricating firm are smiling after willing $1 million in the MegaMillions drawing this week.
One Winner In $400 Million Powerball DrawingThe winning numbers drawn late Wednesday night were 7-10-22-32-35 with the Powerball of 19.


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March 5, 2013 5:00 am
Nobody else is talking about these free agents, but we will.
Opening Day 2013 is fewer than four weeks away. That means the time to talk about free agents is behind us. Even when the spotlight does turn to those remaining unemployed players it tends to hover on Kyle Lohse and Jose Valverde. Yet there are numerous other notable players still available. Let's take a look at a few of their situations.
Bobby Abreu
October 30, 2012 5:00 am
It's the time for non-tenders. R.J. looks back at last year's giveaways to see which fared the best.
Expect to hear about the non-tender deadline a lot over the next four weeks. Teams must determine by November 30th which arbitration-eligible players to tender contracts to. The players deemed unworthy will experience one of the sport's oddest existences. Although the players are technically free agents, their market worth is limited. Teams have no incentive to offer this subset of players more than a one-year deal since they retain the players' rights through their arbitration years regardless. Non-tendered players are almost by definition undeserving of a raise, so they usually take pay cuts on the open market.
Despite the odd existence, the pool of non-tendered players intrigues fans and media alike. Many of these players have a marketable skill or two that could prove useful in the right situation. Everyone likes finding the diamond in the trash. But dumpster diving correctly usually means finding more slime than treasure. That never seems to stop us, so we hunt on, with our hearts full of hope and our pockets full of hand sanitizer.


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LOVE/HATE: The 'Sliced and Diced' Edition
Here we have yet another bridal model staring us down, daring us to say something… anything… about her choice of wedding day frock. This time, it's Ian Stuart's Harlequin, one of the gowns from his 2011 collection. According to Ian Stuart's web site, this is a wedding dress for a "diva bride" and it features "imposing loops." Imposing indeed! So imposing that I kind of hate it. Is anyone else imagining stuff getting in the loops as the bride walks along – particularly during the reception when who knows what will end up on the floor?


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Making Things Better for Brokers.
We've initiated several changes in service to save you time and make account management more convenient and easier than ever!
Over the last year Empire has greatly improved the lines of communication with our brokers. In addition to launching the broker e-newsletter, we have enhanced Broker Online Services, developed new broker handbooks and introduced the broker delinquent e-mail notification program which alerts brokers and group benefit administrators about a group's past due premium bill.
Also in the past year, we have seen the average response time at the GBA and Broker Contact Center shrink to less than 30 seconds.
We've also installed a user-friendly Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) system at the GBA and Broker Contact Center to provide quick answers to most questions. The number remains the same, 1-866-422-2583, and you can easily connect to an Empire representative if you need to.
And we're happy to report the average installation time for small groups is now less than 14 days, while the average small group claim is processed in four days or less.
Service Improvements Make Account Management Easier.
If your account has given you administrative authority, you can now take advantage of measures Empire has taken to expedite a number of group and member transactions.
You can make many member or group changes online in real time including member Name Change, Address Change, PCP Change, Info Request, and Termination and Reinstatement. Simply log on to or register for Broker Online Services at www.empireblue.com.
New forms have been created to make the following fax transactions faster and more convenient:
Member Name Change
Member Address Change
Member Primary Care Physician (PCP) Change
Member Information Request for:
Benefit packages (one per family/contract)
Replacement identification (ID) cards for member, his/her family or specific dependents
Member enrollment status (for entire contract)
Termination and Reinstatement
Group Info Request for:
Group status including billing invoice-related information by group and/or subgroup including group active or inactive, bill prepared to date, payment date, amount of bill and status of payment
And for small groups (250) there are forms for:
Group Contact Rep Change
To change the group's contact person by group and or subgroup
Group Billing Info Update
To change the group's billing contact and/or billing address, telephone number and/or fax number
To request these forms you can download "Request for Forms" from the "Document Library" within the Broker section of www.empireblue.com.
We will be notifying GBAs with groups sized 10500 of these service improvements in a mailing the first week in august.
Important Changes to Empire's Formulary.
To ensure that our formulary is providing the broadest coverage possible for our members, the thousands of drugs on the list are reviewed several times a year by Empire's Pharmacy and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee and revised as appropriate. The P&T Committee recently updated the formulary, adding and removing certain medications.
For the most up-to-date listing of our formulary, please direct members to www.empireblue.com. If they find that a medication they are currently taking is no longer on the formulary, they should be advised to ask their doctors about switching to safe, effective, low-cost alternatives that are included in the formulary.
A mailing notifying members of these changes was sent in mid-July. This mailing included a list of the medications that were deleted as well as a list of alternatives. The mailing also included dates that the members will no longer be able to obtain their removed prescription. We also plan to include a reminder in the fourth quarter Member Newsletter.
Broker Relations and Account Services Moving!
Broker Relations and Account Services based in New York City will be moving permanently to our new facility at 9 MetroTech South in Brooklyn, New York this fall. Since September 11, 2001, these two areas have been in a temporary location in Manhattan. There will be no interruption in service. The telephone number for Broker Relations will remain the same, however the Account Services telephone number will change, as will the fax numbers for both areas. Please stay tuned for more details and the new contact information in the August Broker Newsletter.
Broker Relations has a full-time staff dedicated to serving brokers writing new business for 250 groups. The Broker Relations staff can assist you in:
Getting quotes and proposals
The sales process
Obtaining marketing materials
Answering questions on Empire's product suite
Every Empire group with more than 24 contracts or more than 50 eligible employees receives a dedicated Account Service Representative (ASR). The ASR is responsible for helping to resolve any issues the group may have, including:
Claims adjustments
Membership and/or billing issues
Access-to-care situations
Product/benefit interpretations
Clarification of medical policy
Resolution of provider/network issues
Assistance with open enrollments
Check Out the Exciting New Changes at www.empireblue.com.
The Empire website has been redesigned! Now visitors need only click on the appropriate tab to get information tailored for "Members," "Employers," "Brokers," "Physicians" or "Facilities." One click on the "Brokers" tab will bring you to important documents, plan information and industry-specific news. Then all you have to do is log in to Broker Online Services to perform secure transactions, such as getting quotes and proposals.
Modifications in Healthy New York Health Plan.
There are a number of changes to New York State's Healthy NY Health Plan that will benefit groups covered under Empire.
Co-payments are no longer required for children's preventive visits and immunizations, resulting in lower costs for members.
Eligibility guidelines and recertification requirements have been expanded to encourage enrollment.
A new plan has been introduced that provides coverage at a lower cost through the exclusion of prescription drugs. Groups may purchase the "no Rx plan" option as a new group or upon renewal. Since this is considered a reduction in coverage, a group may elect to change to this plan prior to their renewal date. However, once a group has selected the "no Rx plan" option, they may not change back to the option with the Rx plan until their next renewal date.
New rates have been approved for Empire by the New York State Insurance Department that will be reflected in group bills.
Empire's rating methodology has changed. It has converted from a guaranteed 12-month premium (no changes until the anniversary or renewal date) to non-guaranteed rates.
For more information contact your Empire account representative or Broker Relations.
Hirsch Wolf
Hirsch Wolf & Company, Inc. New York, New York
Hirsch has been in the business for a total of 45 years.
The excellent service Wolf and his clients receive, not only from Empire's sales rep, but from the internal support staff as well.
Services provided by Empire HealthChoice HMO, Inc. and/or Empire HealthChoice Assurance, Inc., licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of Independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.
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