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I think they are...
This is a discussion on Ammo shortages don't make sense in a free market economy, within the Defensive Ammunition & Ballistics forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; there has been an increasing demand and shortage on ammo for some time now, why wouldn't the ammo manufactures want to ramp up the output ...
there has been an increasing demand and shortage on ammo for some time now, why wouldn't the ammo manufactures want to ramp up the output more, increase the staff and take advantage of the demand?
I believe this topic may have been addressed here:
AT3 (O-Level) United States Navy - NRA Life Member
"Molan labe! Just try... I'll show you the strength of my conviction... and I'll sleep well that night..."
Ramping up may not be a simple thing. It may mean a significant investment in another production line, employees, training etc. Then when supply catches up, the manufacturer may be caught with too much investment.
I'm too young to be this old!
Getting old isn't good for you!
There are also many causes for "market failures." One of those is a when demand suddenly increases and no one saw it coming. Free markets are not perfect. They adjust quicker and more efficiently than controlled markets, but not instantaneously.
Free market theory says that when demand increases, price will increase, production will increase (due to higher profits), and/or demand will fall (due to higher prices), until equilibrium is reached.
Exacerbating factors are in play now. The last few years of price increases were largely due to both military ammo demand and rising commodity prices caused by increased demand for industrial metals in the developing world. With the war slowing, and comodity prices decreasing due to the recession, ammo prices should be going down. However, the panic caused by fears of "market interference" by the new Pres and his crew has kept both demand and prices rising. Eventually the market will correct if allowed.
When you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts & minds will follow. Semper Fi.
I think things will start to level out long about June or early July. Unless one of those idiots in Washington opens there mouth again. Sometimes I thing Holder, Pelosi and Kennedy have shares in S&W and Ruger. if they need more money, they just open there mouths and the stock price goes up
I'm more worried about getting small pistol primers, than powder or projectiles.
wth???? i guess they take weekends off to so it looks like they aren't working all that hard. maybe they are trying to keep prices up by not producing enough bullets.......who knows??
Unfortunately market theory and reality don't work quite the way they should. If they did, financial markets, as just one example, wouldn't fluctuate drastically from day to day and week to week. Oil prices would be relatively stable and ammo prices would have stabilized by now of course, and shortages would not exist.
The part left out is that the old saw about markets being "efficient" is incorrect. Lots of really rich dudes lost big time learning that lesson the last few months.
From the horses mouth so to speak -
One of my customers is a firearms manufacturer. He could really use a new machine that I could sell him which would make him both more profitable and be able to pump out more guns.
His response, "we don't want to invest any money in the firearms manufacturing side of the business because we don't know what this new administration will bring within the next two years."
"Run for your life from the man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper's bell of an approaching looter. So long as men live together on earth and need means to deal with one another-their only substitute, if they abandon money, is the muzzle of a gun."
Who is John Galt?
If ammo prices stay high and comodities (cost of producing) stay low, more manufacturers will eventually step in where there is money to be made. (yes, in theory) That is, if we were in a free market. However, with the threat of government intervention looming on the horizon, the market is not free. Secondarily, the tight credit market makes it difficult for expansion of existing manufacturers and for new businesses to come on line.
The whole bank mess is too much to delve into. Suffice it to say that they are all crooks; the bankers, traders, the Fed. and Congress.
When you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts & minds will follow. Semper Fi.
Remember, this shortage was created by panic buying. Not a long term increase of shooters. Yes, gun sales are up, but I'll bet most people never go to the range with them.
The manufacturing companies are not going to spend possible millions of dollars for a short term shortage of ammo/guns. Especially like someone posted when they don't know what the future political climate may bring.
One of the reason I would not if I were in that business, is that eventually the market will drop off. All these folks that have bought guns and ammo, and those that have stocked up on ammo will get enough. Then the demand will drop way off.
Think of the folks that have bought a new gun, one of my brothers in one of them, he has bought 4 or 5 new guns, and some ammo to go along with it. He is not a shooter, just like many new owners are not shooters, so they will by the gun, buy the ammo, shoot it a couple of times and it will be put up.
Those folks that are buying 3-4-500 rds of ammo to go along with their gun, heck those few hundred rounds may last them for the next 5 or 10 years. Why would a manufacturer invest so much money when it is guarranteed that there will be a lull in the market in the next 12-24 months. Either legislation will come through hindering their ability to produce, we hope not, or folks will get their fill and purchases will stop due to market saturation and folks who have run out of places to store ammo.
As far as the manufacturers taking Friday off. I don't blame them. If they have put in their time for the week, so be it. I don't fault them for having a personal life just because some folks think they need to buy something that they didn't think they needed 3 to 6 months ago.
Just remember that shot placement is much more important with what you carry than how big a bang you get with each trigger pull.
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Ammo production is not a monopoly, nowhere near it, and if one of the manufacturers thought they could beat their competition to the ground by producing more and underpricing, they would do it.
(Assuming of course, no price fixing collusion.)
What I'd like to know is who is getting the cash from the increased costs?
If it's the manufacturers themselves, then part of the price increases could be attributed to increased production costs. During a temporary shortage, it wouldn't be a prudent business move to hire & train additional employees or invest in additional equipment, but it may be productive to work current employees more (overtime) to increase production. Overtime costs would definitely increase the base cost of the product.
If it isn't the manufacturers getting the cash, then it falls to the wholesaler or retailer and IMO, that falls into simple profiteering.
It would be interesting to talk with someone who purchases directly from the manufacturers (Federal, Speer, Hornady, etc.) and compare the manufacturers current price to the price 6 months ago. We all know how much it has increased in the last 6 months, but where is the additional money going and why would be a legitimate question.
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Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Sunflowers & Scarecrows - I'm ready!
Boy, howdy, am I ready for Fall!
We've had lots of fresh tomatoes - one of summer's great gifts. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches with real tomatoes, Burgers bacon and Pep's sourdough bread - I'm in heaven. Pep's summer pizza with his homemade crust, tomatoes, cheese, olive oil and anchovies - to die for. And don't turn your nose up at the anchovies. They just add a touch of rich saltiness to the mix. And then there's just plain ole sliced tomatoes on sandwiches or with dinner. God's gift in summer for putting up with the heat.
And awesome fresh sliced cucumbers, chilled straight from the garden (grown by me) with a dollop of hummus (made by Pep) and a twist of roasted red pepper or sundried tomato.
And still, I'm mostly sated (we're having summer pizza tonight :) - yum) and glad that we're getting some cooler weather already. Thank you, God!
This is Sunflowers and Scarecrows (or is it Scarecrows and Sunflowers?). Either way, it my project in the latest Primitive Quilts and Projects. You can order the kit from me here
or just get the pattern by going to their website and ordering a magazine here.
And there are 14 great projects in the magazine besides mine. Pretty good deal!
"Together" - Linda and my latest fabric line for Moda - is getting ready to ship. Be watching the blog for a free quilt pattern and some fabric - coming soon!.
Time for the dogs and I to go on our walk. Then I get to sit and stitch while Pep makes Summer Pizza. Life is good!
Posted by Jan PATEK at 5:16 PM
3 comments:
I wish my tomatoes would ripen. We had too much rain come in, so hopefully the sun will be out the rest of the week and they can ripen. Have tons on the vine, so will be eating lots of fresh sauce, love that.ReplyDelete
I've only had a few tomatoes this year, it's just been too hot for them I guess. I did enjoy the ones we had though. A few more are coming along, so there is something to look forward to. I think Pep should have his own blog full of his recipes. They sound delish!ReplyDelete
Not a gardener here but a nice friend has been giving me tomatoes from her garden...yummy!ReplyDelete
The Sunflowers and Scarecrows is wonderful!
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The older girl stoked the campfire, making the evil flames dance and squeal, causing shapes to appear, all twisted and contorted, like a creature in pain. The girls bit their lips, blood spilling out of tiny punctures, landing in their laps.
The Hour of the Walking Dead had begun.
" Once upon an evil moon, the sun being hidden behind a planet , causing night to rule the day, petrifying..... things, in it's way. Never before had there been the need to use lanterns in the day, for Madeline and Thomas Grey.
How could you you tell when the hours of the day were the hours of the night, when the hours of the day ceased to be? No daylight, no sunlight, no glittering path to show the way to ever sunshine. Never before Never again would this evil night occur again,who say it would ever end? Would this night just keep going on, and on, and on until the universe had no time left, no time left at all, until everything just..... stopped? Until everything just ceased to exist? Until the Big Bang reversed itself, stars and planets just vanishing like they never existed?
But how could you tell if this hadn't already happened; just that we didn't know or, perhaps, was happening right now, this very second? You just couldn't tell , and the unknown and infinity is what everybody fears, deep down inside, and everyone, Everyone is scared of the dark. The never ending Darkness......"
The older girl sighed. The younger girls had most definitely most wet themselves, but wouldn't admit it. They wanted more, they wanted a happy ending. They were drawn to the story like flies to honey. They Needed the story. They needed the words, and for that they needed her. The Master of the Hour of the Waking Dead.
"Madaline Gray, a girl of 11, woke in the middle of the eve of the day of darkness. She alone seen the trees whip and crack, the branches whirl through the air- like a belt to a back- the sun settle, the black planet cover the sun and the moon, and watch as lights in the above sky blink and fade away. She alone felt the terror run through her veins, felt the shiver over her spine, felt the dread creep slowly, ever so slowly, ever so painfully up her neck. She alone watched the visions her imagination created. She alone screamed inside her head until she calmed slightly. It was just a dream, surly, this couldn't happen.
There was always a way, and the way had always been there. the way wouldn't just vanish. Just a dream, or a hallucination. Shouldn't tell Ma, Da or Tommy, they would think she was crazy, but mabye she was crazy, thoughts trickled through her mind. But the thoughts were silenced as the girl closed her eyes, and lay her head back down, shutting out the world around her.
Darkness held on to the world like the clammy feeling of sleep- deprivation. It held on with teeth, fangs, claws, anything it could get hold of, if darkness can even hold anything. If a match was lit, it spluttered and flickered in an invisible draught. Unwatched candles all flickered before going out, leaving the world in the reign of darkness...."
The older girl stopped talking as thunder rumbled across the sky, surrounding the small campfire. Something was in the air. Something was watching the girls. Then it happened. Darkness reigned the real world. The older girl, the older girl became Madaline Gray.
Here it ends. I have no more to say. Time stops, and it stopped here.
Poems and Short StoriesRandom
This is where i'm going to put short stories and poems i come up with. I'm also going to enter quite alot of these into competitions, i think!
Around the Campfire
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79 bronco project
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March 28th, 2008, 11:13 PM
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79 bronco project
$1000 obo. a little rust and some Michigan pin striping over all it's pretty solid.
460, auto, 35x12.5x15BFG MT's, Motor needs to be mounted. (have the mounts & most major parts, carb, ps pump, starter,radiator,fan, etc... needs cap,rotor plugs,wires,belts and hoses, etc...)
It had a 351M in it originally, but I blew that motor up.
Roll bar, new slider & vent window waiting to be installed
Tube bumpers are welded to hold air for tools, ARB air compressor, 11,500# winch
Body is not too bad for as old as it is. Could use some new rims
Dual shocks on front (Rancho)
d44 w/ARB air locker, 9" w/ tru-track 4.56 gears in both. Could use a new exhaust.
The only reason it's not on the road is I don't have a license, If I fixed it, I'd drive it, If I drove it I'd go to jail.
Everything is in good working order, except the motor needs to be hooked up.(Don't have the plugs, wires, cap, rotor, belts, hoses)
All it needs is to be put back together.
It could use a new exhaust, there's a small crack in the windshield, little stuff.
It's built to be a bad ass truck, stops for nothing but the gas station.
It's not for driving to work everyday. You could but the top speed is like 65-70
It's geared like a tractor 4.56:1
Trans and transfer case are fine, steers good, handles fine,
One thing about the set up that's on there (As opposed to fully locked or welded axles) is you can drive it like a normal truck until you need it, then you have the trutrack in the rear, the air locker in the front and if all else fails... winch it out.
The parts for the air locker alone are over $1000.
If I had any idea when I can get my license back I'd keep it.
p.s. It's in Berkley (48072)
Mike 248-701-7193
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Dr. Mary Alice Heuschel, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Renton School District, Renton, Washington
Education is a global enterprise that serves an evolving, diverse community of students. It is the universal differential and is bound to hopes for economic prosperity and fulfilling lives. Success in this enterprise requires everyone to contribute and to work together; schools, communities, business and government must develop effective partnerships to address our students' needs. Success in this enterprise is about social justice and has been accurately identified as the civil rights issue of our time.
America, do we have the will to make the necessary sacrifices and bring our full attention and adequate resources to bear on this challenge? Do we share the moral imperative to secure the future for our children and ourselves? Do we believe it can be done?
I do! And I have the honor of leading a district that has demonstrated that, with the support and commitment of dynamic community and business partnerships to this work, breakthrough performance is possible and student achievement can soar. Eliminate excuses--recognize, acknowledge and remove barriers, making sure that students can acquire needed skills--and students will meet and exceed our expectations.
The Renton School District is a richly diverse, urban/suburban school district located south of Seattle, Washington serving 14,527 students who speak 87 different languages. Of the student population, 52% qualify for free/reduced lunch with the following diversity: Native American 1%, Hispanic 18%, African American 22%, Asian/Pacific Islander 24% and White 35%. The district has three early childhood facilities that serve multiple pre-K programs, thirteen K-5 elementary schools, three middle schools, three comprehensive high schools, and three alternative high school programs.
I joined the Renton family in July, 2006. The district had and maintains a uniquely strong sense of ownership and pride in their schools, vital community partnerships, a hard-working staff and a culture of caring and support for students and their families. The community has supported bonds and levies over many years resulting in phenomenal learning spaces (school buildings) for students and staff.
However, in 2006 achievement results were lagging. Achievement and opportunity gaps were evident. Systems were not in place to support district-wide improvements. Graduation rates were below 75% with an 8 to10% drop-out rate annually.
We are now celebrating the closing of some achievement gaps (i.e., middle school boys closing the gap with girls in literacy, and complete closure of the gap between African American and Hispanic performance and white student performance in literacy). We are celebrating a 93% graduation rate over the last two consecutive years and have reduced the dropout rate to below 3%. We are getting closer each year to our ultimate goal of graduating 100% of our students, eliminating dropout as well as achievement and opportunity gaps for our students.
Assessing my new district, I came to the conclusion that Renton was capable of significant and relatively rapid change because so much support was in place. "Readiness to benefit" from new information and systems and willingness to improve were evident. I focused first on validating many of Renton's past efforts over the years and capitalized on existing strengths. Then, I set out to drive home the message that we could truly go from having good schools to having great schools in Renton based on my passionate belief that the student achievement gap could be eliminated by eliminating the gap between what we know about teaching and learning and what we do. Renton has made huge strides toward this goal and we will continue to work to extend our successes. We can do this. It is a matter of courageous system-wide leadership, collective will, and community support.
How have we come this far?
Three Actions:
In order to achieve the district's long-term vision and short-term goals, staff collaborates and works on perfecting their skills to successfully meet the diverse learning needs of every student in the district. The Renton team is committed to the mission of the district and our service to students, thereby complementing a relentless focus on measurable results and a willingness to continuously improve.
A specific strategy effectively employed to address the changes needed and close the gaps in student achievement in the Renton School District (RSD) is the use of evidence-based data to inspire a powerful sense of real urgency about the inequity achievement gaps represent, as well as to establish a sharp focus on improving learning for all students. Access to and analysis of data – reliable, transparent information– is a critical foundation to our on-going successful reform efforts. A data "warehouse" has been built to provide teachers, students, parents and administrators easy access to critical information that informs instruction and interventions, and supports the personalization of learning for every student.
Engage Community – Face Facts – Hold Courageous Conversations
Over 300 stakeholders (School Board Directors; Mayor and City Council members; leaders in civic organizations (i.e., Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions' Club); staff, students, and parents from throughout the district; staff from the state office and state professional organizations for administrators and principals; and local business partners) participated in a "data carousel" process to review demographic and contextual data, as well as results of perceptual surveys from staff, students and parents, and academic achievement data including state assessment results, local benchmark assessment results, and classroom grades (GPA). Data was also provided regarding graduation rates, drop-out rates, number of students in Advanced Placement classes, and behavior referrals, suspensions and expulsions. Adherence to a common protocol as the data was examined provided a safe, non-judgmental approach to discussion of "the facts" . The intentional focus on analyzing and responding to data produced the urgency for change because the process generated an undeniable "current reality" regarding the degree to which we were – and were not - meeting student learning needs.
Under or over representation of groups in particular programs; stark differences in behavior referrals, suspensions, and expulsions among groups of students; and detailed aggregation and disaggregation of student achievement data made existing inequities abundantly clear to all stakeholders. Additionally, perceptual results on the surveyed belief of staff, students and parents regarding teachers, schools and the district provided critical information guiding the district's work and further confirmed the profound need to raise achievement for all students and close the identified achievement and opportunity gaps. Analyses of these indicators are now used regularly to determine progress and to drive instructional changes, changes in support to teachers, and all district level decisions.
Mission, Vision, Beliefs
Early in my tenure I felt it was important to strengthen a connection among all constituencies with a deep understanding of our mission and the planned future accomplishments of the RSD. As a result of the data analysis process and follow-up efforts, newly energized mission, vision and goal statements were developed. To further convey this fresh vision, a new logo was designed and incorporated in district communications; it visually represents our aspirations for our students, with a focus on graduation and beyond. A tag line was also developed-- Launching Learning to Last a Lifetime--and this is used to further "market" the message to Renton staff, students and the community that our responsibility for providing excellence in education is for all Renton students.
As superintendent I also facilitated sessions where stakeholders identified a set of "foundational beliefs" essential to the achievement of our goals. These include: commitments to hard work, eradicating the achievement gap, a "no excuses" approach to low achievement, and an evidence-based approach to our work as well as a belief in the potential of all students. These foundational beliefs are frequently communicated to staff and community and revised with their input. I promoted "courageous conversations" regarding accountability for student achievement which led to a reinvigorated sense of shared purpose and commitment throughout the system.
Professional Development
Professional development (PD) to enhance the practice of teachers and leaders has been a tremendous endeavor in Renton. New curriculum adoptions providing teachers with material aligned to the new Common Core standards were necessary and required effective PD to implement them with fidelity. Training on research-proven instructional strategies (e.g., Powerful Teaching and Learning) and reflective practice, effective Professional Learning Community protocols and the effective use of data to drive instruction are a few of the critical areas in which PD has been focused.
While there has been very positive feedback on the value of the "initiatives" undertaken and the associated PD, an outcry for "take something off our plates" was also strong. Efforts to find an existing protocol to identify what could be taken away were unsuccessful, so I wrote (and copyrighted) "Gaining Back Time to Teach". I went to schools throughout the district and used the protocol to help identify efficiencies at the individual teacher, school and district level that could provide time back to classroom teachers for instruction and learning. The outcome of hundreds of staff participating in this protocol was a significant body of creative, insightful feedback, and changes were made at the school and district level that have increased efficiencies and reduced or eliminated some time-consuming tasks that took teachers away from their primary responsibility, teaching.
During my first two years in Renton, we could not fill math positions in our high schools with certificated teachers endorsed or with degrees in mathematics in spite of extensive recruitment efforts both within and beyond the state. Substitute teachers had to fill those positions. Through my serving on the Professional Education Advisory Committee for Seattle University (S.U.), a unique program was developed to address this need. The Renton Mathematics Endorsement Academy was initiated collaboratively with S.U. professors and the RSD curriculum/professional development team. Reduced tuition expenses were offered, and RSD staff were identified and approved as adjunct professors, with S. U. staff monitoring. The Renton Chamber of Commerce developed a "sponsor a teacher" program so that teachers were individually supported by local businesses. We presently have 72 teachers K-12 who have participated, successfully passed the state assessment and are now endorsed in mathematics. Innovative thinking, willingness to support teachers and strong partnerships targeting a specific need delivered positive solutions that contribute to the content knowledge and skill set of all RSD mathematics teachers.
The RSD aligned its mission, vision, beliefs, policies, curriculum/assessment adoption cycle, professional development and the effective use of information and data to complement a keen district-wide focus on academic achievement. While Renton's culture of care and support for students and their families has been preserved, the shift toward our ACHIEVE culture has solidified and provides the structure to guide our annual goal setting:
Achievement Opportunities
Community Partnerships
High Expectations
Implementation of Best Practices
Engaged Students
Vision shared and lived
Effective Parent Partnerships
This alignment is the direct result of the processes that galvanized the vast network of stakeholders in the district and throughout the community to analyze data, understand the value of research in making choices, and build agreement and support for the direction of our work. Annual goals are set in each ACHIEVE area, monitored and evaluated, setting new achievable goals as results are reviewed, analyzed using "root cause analysis" to determine changes or continuation of strategies to meet each measurable goal.
The district developed a "Vision of Instruction" (VOI) framework, a project that came out of our district-wide needs analysis that has resulted in a shared understanding of what effective instruction demands for every student, every day in every classroom and environment. We have common language, clear understanding and deep conversations about what quality instruction "looks like". Developed collaboratively by teachers, administrators and other instructional support staff, Renton's VOI includes the following components: relationships, knowledge, skills, thinking, application and assessment. For each component, descriptive sub-components are accompanied by examples of teaching and learning activities that address the topic. These examples are specifically linked to district goals and initiatives. The VOI forms the foundation for classroom walk-throughs and a teacher reflection tool, and is the basis for current and future professional development as well as recruitment and hiring.
Members of the RSD leadership team:
We operate from a theory of action that is directly related to improving student learning: if we improve the quality of instruction in the classroom and the quality of leadership throughout the district, then student learning will improve and the achievement gap will close. I am unwavering in my belief that all means all and each means each. I am relentless in my pursuit of equity and excellence for each student.
I meet individually each year with every one of the 80 leaders in the district (those who supervise staff and/or budget) to discuss expectations, progress and successes, and to learn what more I can do to support them. These one hour sessions provide a connection, personally and professionally, with each of the leaders in the district; they also model our purpose at the district level, to support schools and student achievement. We are also engaged in Central Office Transformation, using the research about leadership at the district level, and targeting restructuring of our time and efforts to directly support the work happening in Renton schools.
I conduct "Listen and Learn" meetings monthly open to all staff in the district. There is no formal agenda; I answer questions and dialog with interested employees from throughout the system, working toward creating an even greater sense of unity of purpose. This provides a forum for all voices to be heard, and for learning and teaching to be discussed directly with the superintendent.
Take Care of the Team
Renton is blessed with "wrap around services" for students through strong partnerships with the community and organizations. Examples include: Communities in Schools of Renton, who provide school-based family liaisons to support students in need of access to the clothing and food banks, medical care or other support services; Renton Rotary, who provides "coats for kids", dictionaries for every third grader to own personally, and grants for teachers for classroom supplies and innovative projects; business partners, who provide books for our district-wide "book buddies" program and financial support for programs like robotics, after school tutoring and field trip learning experiences for students.
Wrap around services are also critical for staff. I enjoy a photography hobby and have been able to use it in my work. When I do presentations, one of my photos is up on the screen to "match" the message and link to the concept – visually--creating a special connection with participants. I start every morning with a "Happy Birthday" message to staff on their special day, accompanied by a photo to wish them a great day and elicit a smile. Before summer, winter, spring breaks and upon each return, I send a poem or a message of gratitude for the work staff does and the difference they make with student achievement. I find one of my "favorite" photos to match the message. This has become a "trademark". I carry "reflection cards" that have one of my photos on one side with my name and district – and on the back a message to bring a smile (i.e., "You have to dream anyway, so why not dream big?") Pictures speak a thousand words and these help in some small ways to build and support the team.
Each winter holiday break my cabinet leadership team set aside a week after work to make cookies for our district staff. We make 4,000 cookies and deliver them before break with a photo of all of us "in the kitchen" and a strong message of being appreciative for the hard work staff does every day to make a difference in student success. What started out as "just an idea" using my mom's cookie recipe from my childhood has become a "tradition" in the RSD.
High expectations and urgency about outcomes must be accompanied by lots of support, both professional (in such realms as developing and applying new skills to achieve stronger achievement), as well as personal. I am guided in this belief by the widely used quotation, "No one knows how much you know until they know how much you care."
America – we can do this. Each leader in every community has the responsibility to step up and make a difference in public education.
Additional Resources
Blankenstein, A.M., Houston, P. D., & Cole, R.W. (2009). Building sustainable leadership capacity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Palmer, P. (2004). A hidden wholeness. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Tichy, N.M. & Bennis, W.G. (2007), Judgment: How winning leaders make great calls. New York: Penguin Group.
Bearden, J. (2006). The relentless search for better ways. Hea.
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And the Snarky Goes to ...
As with any trademarked, money-making, globally televised event, those celebrating with an event of their own have to get creative. Bars enticing customers to "watch the Big Game here" can't name-drop the Super Bowl. "Tinseltown's Biggest Night" often stands in for the Academy Awards, but what kind of crazy person would have a public party to watch the, erm, little gold man statues be handed out? What goofball would dare gather L.A.'s most uproariously comedic minds and have them offer running commentary a la Mystery Science Theater 3000? Josh di Donato revives his popular red-carpet comedy slaughterhouse for the first time since 2003 with I'm Going Somewhere With This Presents: Salute to Movie Night. "Making fun of celebrities is one of L.A.'s greatest exports and some of our finest experts will be gathered here," he promises. How many years have you watched the Oscars, painfully sipping Shiraz with a bunch of bitter industry types? Too many. Have fun poking fun at our town's big night, alongside Howard Stern Show regular Eli Braden, the UCB's Walsh Brothers, TV's Moshe Kasher, The Moth's Brian Finkelstein, the incomparable Blaine Capatch and a cast of, if not thousands, then a dozen super-funny people and super-surprise guests. Looking to create a party-in-your-living-room vibe, attendees are encouraged to come with blankets, couch cushions and comfy clothes. The Mint, 6010 Pico Blvd.; Sun., Feb. 26, 4 p.m.; $15, $10 in advance; brownpapertickets.com/event/225609.
Sun., Feb. 26, 4 p.m., 2012
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An Experiment In Excellence, Part 1
|Posted on January 16, 2011 at 6:15 PM
This is part one of a series. Visit the other entries here.
As I pondered the unique challenges that I face with the instrumental music program I teach at my school, it became very apparent that it was time for me to make some adjustments and try a little experiment. Initially, I wrote about some of the pre-planning I intended to do in this article about rehearsal mapping.
Now, I have introduced my students to a new approach to rehearsing. As I thought this all through, it became apparent that my students simply have no concept of the actual amount of successful repetitions it takes to master a piece of music. It was time to not only pattern our in-class rehearsals to highlight this point, but to give them guidance for how they could improve their own music preparation outside of class.
The typical pattern in most American households is similar - the student sits down to practice for a half-hour with little or no guidance from their parents unless the parents are versed in music performance of some kind. Many students have home environments that actually punish them for praciticing (typically psychological punishment like "Do you have to play that stuff while I'm trying to watch TV?"). Many parents simply don't know how to help their student practice and think that their part to an ensemble piece doesn't sound like much of anything even when it's right.
Practice Quotas, Check-Offs, And Home Facilitators
I devised a practice quota for each week. I post a number for each piece or scale they are supposed to be working on on the class's web page. To begin with, they needed to complete at least 10 successful repetitions of each item over the course of a week. That's all - 10 total successful repetitions - not in one session, simply in one week. The quota totals will go up over time as they get used to it.
I require no accountability sign-off sheet and so on. The quota is a guideline, that is all. Where the rubber hits the road with this plan is that they will periodically have music check-offs in class. For ensemble pieces, they have to check off each major section of the piece by rehearsal number. For solo memorized pieces (like from the Suzuki books), they have to check-off the entire memorized song. If they don't check it off by the deadline, they keep working on it. If they check it off, they move on to the next song or the next section. Whatever they have mastered by concert time is what they get to perform on.
In many ways, this is what students do anyway. If they have a technical passage they can't do, most make an honest effort to get better at it, but if they can't quite play it up to performance tempo, they just sort of fake that part and let the stronger players do it. We're just formalizing that process a bit more. The check-offs are going to be done in class with entire sections (violin 2, clarinets, etc.) playing together. I will check them off and then hand them a slip with the results and a brief suggestion or two. Discrete, and hopefully not discouraging.
I sent home the following letter to parents:
To: CPFA Instrumental Music Parents
From: Mr. West
Re: Spring 2011 semester
Happy New Year,
I hope that you enjoyed the winter concert just before the holiday break. The students worked well toward this performance, and their results, while mixed, were a good representation of the progress they have made so far. As I reviewed the results and contemplated our progress, it became apparent that a more focused approach is required
for every student to maximize their learning. For this approach to work, we need your help.
First, some logistics – our spring chamber orchestra rehearsal is on Friday, April 8 from 1to 3:30 PM. Our dress rehearsal and spring concert will both occur on Monday, April 11. Lower School students will also be performing during the school day on Wednesday, May 18th from 8:30 to 9:30 AM.
Our focus this spring will be on attaining a level of mastery on all music that they present in their concert. In terms of mastery, the student should be able to perform the music either from memory or with the music only as a reference point with a high level of accuracy in pitch, rhythm, and intonation. They reach this level of mastery by completing successful repetitions of the music on the order of hundreds, perhaps thousands of times.
A successful repetition is one that the student plays the correct sequence of fingerings, rhythms, and pitches. The tempo of the repetition can and should be slow enough to get it right, even if that means the tempo is painfully slow. Over time with many, many more repetitions, the proficiency will come and the tempo will be able to be increased. This amount of repetition will not only make them successful, it will internalize the music to the point where they will be able to perform some or all of it without looking at the sheet music.
We need your help to get the students to increase the amount of successful repetitions of their music they are accomplishing. Your student will be coming home with a list of music they will be working on. Since we are working for higher quality levels, there will be less material to learn. Some of the pieces will be very short and simple and will be easier to memorize. Once the student checks off that song, they will move on to the next one in the list. The more songs they check off, the more pieces they will be able to perform in the concert.
Each week, I will post a practice quota on the class Moodle page for each piece of music. That number is the minimum amount of successful repetitions (not just repetitions – they have to be correct repetitions) required of them for the week on that piece of music. I will also have deadlines for music check offs for each piece of music. These are dates for students to shoot to have the song memorized by. If they do not get the music checked off by this deadline, they will continue working on that piece until the next check off deadline. If they get the piece checked off, they can move on to the next piece on the list.
I am not requiring a practice chart or journal that must be checked off. My experience with these is that students fudge the numbers and forge their parents' signature when they forget to ask them to sign the chart. I simply ask you to use the practice quotas and deadlines to help your student structure their at-home practicing. There will be practice recordings of all of their songs available on their Moodle page, so you will know what their music is supposed to sound like for each one. You will be able to tell if they are practicing effectively and achieving successful repetitions, or if they are wasting time or practicing ineffectively.
Again, the amount of pieces of music they will be able to perform in the spring concert will be based on the number of pieces of music they have checked off by the final deadline, which is our combined chamber orchestra rehearsal on April 8th.
Please allow some time for me to populate the Moodle page with the practice recordings
and practice quotas. We will begin next week with our first round of quotas and deadlines. Thank you for your continued support of your student's music education, and please contact me if you have any questions.
Mr. West
I got some interesting reactions when I shared this letter with colleagues on last week's #musedchat on Twitter. Students in many districts are so overburdened with homework that this just seemed to some to add to those hours of required outside work. I pointed out, however, that the student is ultimately in control of how much music they master. I expect every student to at the very least finish one of our memorized pieces and at least master the less technical passages in our chamber orchestra repertoire.
The letter above is being followed by a series of phone calls to each family to make sure that parents read it, understand what we're doing, and are able to assist with meeting those quotas at home. There will be practice recordings of all of this music on the class web pages, so the parents and students will all know what their parts are supposed to sound like.
It's all a grand experiment, and the end result is hopefully a group of students who, when they rehearse music, work in an efficient and effective manner, getting "in the zone" and cranking out as many successful repetitions in the session as possible.
This article (c) 2010 Thomas J. West. All content on ThomasJWestMusic dot com is licensed under a Creative Contributions Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Please contact the author before publishing on or off-line.
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He reminds me of the head of the American Tobacco Co. whose motto was, 'irritate them, irritate them.'
When a rock 'n' roll brother like Trent Reznor says something negative, does that irritate you?
Some members of this school even wish to give NATO membership to Georgia and Ukraine, mainly to irritate Moscow.
The smooth chatter begins to irritate me, and then infuriate me.
Huffington also wrote that he was "easy to irritate and apt to air his grudges in public."
I believe he smoked it merely to show how well he was feeling, and to irritate people who were not feeling very well.
Everything that was tried only seemed to irritate her the more.
That the sight had the power to melt some jurymen and irritate others, who should deny?
Were it not, then, more becoming in me to pray for, than to irritate him?
This reference, which was receive with smiles by the Imperial Parliament, was certain to irritate a punctilious republic.
1530s, "stimulate to action, rouse, incite," from Latin irritatus, past participle of irritare "excite, provoke." An earlier verb form was irrite (mid-15c.), from Old French irriter. Meaning "annoy, make impatient" is from 1590s. Related: Irritated; irritating.


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Search Results
Cited Taxa3 taxa cited in:
Probert, P.K., Batham, E.J., and Wilson, J. B. 1979. Epibenthic macrofauna off southern New Zealand and mid-shelf bryozoan dominance. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 13:379-392.
Click on a species name to view details, or select up to five species to plot on the map.


text: Disorder 2016 300mb movies, Disorder (2016) Worldfree4u Movie Download, Disorder (2016) Hollywood Movie Free Download Watch Online, Disorder English Movie Torrent Download Mp4 Hd Print.Disorder English Movies Download in Utorrent. Vincent (Matthias Schoenaerts), a French Special Forces soldier just back from Afghanistan, is suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder. He is hired to ensure the […]Continue reading


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- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
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- Heat gas or charcoal grill.
- In small bowl, mix butter and cheese; set aside.
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- Spread butter mixture over toasted sides of bread; sprinkle with olives.
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Billings, Mont. • A former Montana teacher convicted of rape wrongly blamed his 14-year-old victim when he argued that she bore responsibility in the case, an attorney for the state said Thursday in a court filing.
The office of Attorney General Tim Fox is appealing Stacey Dean Rambold's one-month prison sentence to the Montana Supreme Court. The state says he should have served a mandatory minimum of four years after pleading guilty to sexual assault without consent.
Rambold is fighting the appeal.
In a brief submitted to justices Thursday, Assistant Attorney General Tammy Plubell chastised Rambold for suggesting the victim should share in the blame. That assertion from Rambold was contained in arguments submitted by his attorneys.


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The DP24-PH is an economical, user-friendly panel meter for pH measurement. Its small size allows for easy installation and will accommodate any pH electrode with BNC connector. Temperature compensation is either manual or automatic with use of any 1000Ω platinum RTD. The DP24-PH features a compact depth of only 104 mm, allowing for mounting in areas with limited panel depth.
| Accuracy: ±0.02
pH Input: Impedance > 1012Ω
Analogue Output: Non-isolated - fixed range 0-14 pH = 4-20mA
Operating Temp: 0 to 60°C
Storage Temp: -40 to 85°C
Relative Humidity: 95% @ 40 °C, non-condensing
Temp. Compensation: Manual fixed resistors; Automatic 1000 Ω RTD
Display: 4 digit, red LED, 14 mm high
Display Range: 0-14 pH
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Voltage: 115 or 230Vac ±15% Specify (10-32 Vdc optional)
Frequency: 50 or 60 Hz
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Mechanical Specifications
Dimensions: 96 W x 48 H x 104 mm D
Panel Cutout: 92 W X 45 mm H (1 /8 DIN)
Depth Behind Panel: 104 mm
Weight: 312 g


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Wal-Mart's Stock: No Bargain Here
By Amy Tsao
As it expands beyond the scope of any company in history, Wal-Mart (WMT ) has racked up quite a few detractors. Many local communities still fight to keep it from plopping one of its massive stores down in their environs. Former employees are suing, alleging discrimination and other labor grievances. Retailing rivals -- from toy stores to supermarkets to mom-and-pop shops -- complain about how hard it is to compete against a giant with so much buying and selling power (see BW Cover Story, 10/6/03, "Is Wal-Mart Too Powerful?").
Yet while Wal-Mart may be reviled in some circles, at least one group has prospered by being on its side: Wall Street. The retailer has a long track record of sales and earnings growth. In recent months, Bentonville (Ark.) giant has announced solid back-to-school sales results and improved performance at its Sam's Clubs warehouse division. With $8.2 billion in net income and sales of $244.5 billion in 2002, Wal-Mart plans to keep getting bigger at a stable pace with a combination of new store formats, international expansion, and market-share growth in the fashion department and grocery aisle.
The question for investors is: How much upside does the stock have left? At around $57.50 a share, it's just shy of a 52-week high of $60, reached in early September, and up from around $46 earlier this year. It trades at a price-earnings ratio of 28 on the current year's earnings. That's down from its average current year p-e of about 33 in the past five years, when earnings growth averaged 17% a year. Earnings this year are expected to rise about 14%, according to analysts polled by First Call. The bottom line: The stock price isn't likely to stumble in the near term, but it's unrealistic to expect any huge gains, even if the nascent economic recovery is stronger than expected.
With predictions of a decent holiday season of 5% sales growth at stores open at least a year, Mark Mandel, analyst at Blaylock & Partners, recommends buying the shares only if they fall below $50. "That's where it gets interesting. Then it gets closer to 20 times next year's estimates," says Mandel, who rates Wal-Mart a hold. (He doesn't own the shares, and the firm doesn't do investment banking business with Wal-Mart.)
Citing valuation concerns, Bernstein analyst Emme Kozloff recently cut her rating to market perform. She says the retailer would need to show 22% earnings growth next year for the stock to merit a 15% gain. Kozloff figures the probability of that to be low. In the next fiscal year, which ends in January, 2005, she expects earnings per share of $2.33, up from $2.05 in the current fiscal year. (Kozloff doesn't own the shares, and the firm has no banking ties with Wal-Mart.)
Some external issues could prove challenging for Wal-Mart in the coming months. Rising energy costs and the economy's persistent lack of job creation could offset some of the gains it has realized from President Bush's tax plan. The retailer said during a recent sales call that it's seeing sales spikes mid-month, which in the past has suggested that consumers are spending when they get their paychecks but keeping their wallets shut the rest of the time.
And higher energy costs are "like a big tax increase to those in the Wal-Mart hinterland where transportation is a major expense," says Jim Luke, director of growth equity at BB&T Asset Management. (Wal-Mart is a holding at BB&T. Luke doesn't own the stock personally.)
Wal-Mart also needs to prove that its new fashion-conscious George clothing line is selling. Furthermore, overseas stores, which account for some $40 billion in sales, have yet to "reach the critical mass they're looking to achieve," says Ira Kalish, global director at Deloitte Research, a unit of Deloitte & Touche. He expects that Wal-Mart will keep searching for acquisition targets in Europe and Asia.
A weaker dollar could help Wal-Mart in its overseas forays, but any gains would offset by higher costs for international merchandise that the retailer buys. Finally, analysts are watching to make sure the new "neighborhood markets," which are smaller stores that more closely resemble traditional supermarkets, don't pilfer sales from supercenters -- Wal-Mart's most profitable store model yet.
Still, analysts and investors largely expect the retailer to continue growing at an impressive pace for the long term (see BW Online, 4/16/03, "How Wal-Mart Keeps Getting It Right"). And no doubt the stock will remain a large holding in many professional portfolios. "Our official rating is a hold, but we've always said it's a long-term holding," says Morgan Keenan analyst John Lawrence. (Lawrence doesn't own the stock, and the firm does no banking with Wal-Mart.)
While confidence in Wal-Mart's ability to produce earnings is well-founded, for this economic cycle the stock has probably made most of its gains. As a long-term holding, Wal-Mart is a likely winner. But if you're looking for big gains quickly, chances are you'll need to shop elsewhere.
Tsao covers the markets for BusinessWeek Online and writes for the Street Wise column
Edited by Beth Belton


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Hurricane Matthew
At this time, Miami-Dade County is monitoring Hurricane Matthew.
Please visit our Emergency website for the latest information on openings and closings in Miami-Dade County.
History of the Military Affairs Board
On May 17, 2012 the Board of County Commissioners unanimously adopted County Ordinance No. 12-37 creating the Miami-Dade County Military Affairs Board, to be known as the Military Affairs Board (MAB) providing for powers and duties, composition and appointment of Board, qualifications, organization, financial support, staff and council; providing severability, inclusion in the code and effective date.
The Military Affairs Board, sponsored by Commissioner José "Pepe' Díaz will provide the Board of County Commissioners with recommendations regarding military affairs in Miami-Dade County specific to the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard Reserves and Coast Guard (collectively "Armed Forces") and active, reserve, retired, disabled and deceased military personnel in Miami-Dade County.
The board will consist of 24 members, with each one appointed by the mayor, commissioners, the various military branches located in Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Dade Defense Alliance, the greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, and the Red Cross.
Board members must meet certain qualifications to be eligible, such as being a U.S. Citizen, and having served in the military or showing interest in military affairs. Terms are for three years. Board members will advocate on behalf of military personnel on issues like health care, housing, loans, pension benefits, education, employment, incarceration, reintegration, unemployment benefits, disability claims, vocational training, and insurance.Back to Top Page Last Edited: Wed Jul 31, 2013 3:40:44 PM
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More expected for Pueblo Riverwalk's future
Attraction to get $137 million in next 15 years for expansion, improvements
PUEBLO, Colo. - The annual crowd at the Pueblo Riverwalk holiday lighting ceremony could be tame compared with larger future events that officials are hoping for.
An estimated 3,500 people attended Friday night's ceremony which included Santa Claus and a fireworks show. But officials say expanding and improving the Riverwalk will attract more businesses, more events and bigger crowds.
Kevin Oriz, director of marketing and operations for the Riverwalk, said officials plan to invest $137 million in the facility during the next 15 years.
"Our top goal is to bring tourism here and have out-of-town people spend their money. Anyone who thinks the Riverwalk is finished, that's not the case."
Pueblo resident Manuel Pena said he visits the Riverwalk twice a month, and has ides on what he's like to see there.
"More restaurants where people can have breakfast, lunch and dinner," said Pena. "Bring the families out here more, evenings and weekends. I'd like to see more entertainment at night."
The newest restaurant on the Riverwalk is The Sicilian, an Italian eatery and bakery that opened during the summer. Manager Nicole Jasper cites what she describes as the excitement and potential of the Riverwalk.
"Business is about what we expected," said Jasper. "Sometimes when it's cold, there's not a lot of people out. But business is great and I think it'll get better."
Ortiz said officials want the Riverwalk to one day rival its famous San Antonio namesake.
The Riverwalk's future also affects the nearby convention center. A renovation there begins in 2014.


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Will the resource curse stifle democracy in Libya?
(note to self, cross-posted at troppo)
Just a week ago, the betting markets still gave Gaddafi a 40% chance of remaining in charge till the end of the year but now the markets have given him up for a lost cause. The Arab Spring can hence boast another regime change, and this time one that is quite complete: there is almost no existing government bureaucracy that remains in place after the change because there was no Libyan government bureaucracy in the first place.
It is also a victory for French and English pride: as I predicted 4 months ago, the European countries caved in to their own need to keep face once they started interfering and they thus armed and trained the rebels, whilst NATO acted as the rebels' air force. They said they wouldn't arm the rebels at the time but it was obviously more important to win than to stick to that promise. And it must be said, the victory has been well-managed so far with few reprisals. It is a good day for international justice.
What next for Libya? If you read the constitution that the Transitional Council has put up, you get to read a carbon copy of the constitutions of Western nation states. If nation building was hence only about laws, the Libyans are going to be just like us. With a GDP per capita of around 20% of that of the US (which is high but still down from 100% in 1980!), an urbanisation rate close to 80% and a relatively large tertiary student base, no government debt worth talking about, and more revenues than running expenses, you would think that if any Arab country could pull off a modern democracy it would be Libya.
Libya will be a good test of the political-economic theory of the 'natural resource curse' which holds that a country with weak institutions burdened with a lot of money flowing in for no effort is going to end up very corrupt and un-democratic. There are many variations to this theory (for an example paper of my own on this issue, see here), but the essential story is that the rents created by the resource lead to a political system oriented solely around fighting over those rents, leading to exclusion of losing groups and of the non-resource sector. Under the curse, it is too hard to develop a vibrant manufacturing or export-oriented service sector when the natural resource rents make the exchange rate high and gives the politicians too little incentives to provide public goods oriented towards the non-resource sector. Having to fend on its own and surrounded by rent-seeking politicians looking to tax anything visible, the modern sector dies in childbirth and the country remains poorly educated and un-versed in the ways of the modern economy, merely living off the resource rents while they last.
There are two scenarios for Libya, one in which it overcomes this curse and one where it once again succumbs to it.
The first scenario is that Libya can skip the century or so it normally takes for good democratic habits to become ingrained and immediately mimic a country like Norway. The way to do that would be to actively reduce the degree to which the resource rent affects the exchange rate too much. A national fund that buys up overseas assets and that re-invests any dividends in increases in the fund is one way to do this. The government can otherwise invest in the kind of things needed to get modern sectors up and running, including a more developed education infrastructure, independent competition regulation, modern tax codes, etc.
The second scenario is that the many different groups that make up the transitional government, before and after elections, fight over the spoils and all demand their group gets a share. If no group trusts the other groups and there is insufficient national identity to trust anyone calling themselves 'non-partisan', then things like a national future fund cannot be set up and maintained as each group in power would simply raid the fund immediately for its own benefits. There might be then some prestige projects (like 'broadband for all') that a national government engages in, but every check and balance in the system gets manned by individuals foremost identifying with their group. The oil contracts are of course the main things over which the groups would fight, and deal-makers on the side of the oil companies will look for long-standing political connections to safeguard their own interests.
The essential question is whether Libya has the centre-group it would need for the first scenario. It would have to be a centre-group not associated primarily with a particular city, not encumbered by the demands of their family and communal structure for jobs and influence, and not identified with any particular grouping.
Such a group does not exist in Libya: land-holdings are still primarily based on kin-ship, i.e. family and community ties. Cities have strong independent histories and are made up of patchworks of overlapping tribe-like communities. Even if you have the odd individual who himself really wants Libya to become like Norway, the reality of the situation is that such a person would only have political support from his community and would be expected to reciprocate. If he doesn't, he is out.
So, my prediction on the eve of its introduction is that Libyan democracy will fail. There will probably be an election in which some coalition of interests will win, after which there will be a gradual sifting-out of alliance members who are not needed to hang on to power. More and more of the best jobs and transfers will go to a smaller in-group defined by family, ethnicity, and, most-importantly, region. That group will subvert the democratic process such that Libya becomes a kind of small Egypt with oil, a mini-Russia at best. The internal divisions in Libya are not strong enough to expect blood-shed of the type you see in Nigeria, but true democracy is going to have to wait in Libya. In 20 years time much of the current tribal and ethnic structure should be destroyed by economic forces that make land irrelevant and that will replace most of the other tribal economic aspects with purely monetary aspects (greatly aided by the internet). With any luck, Libyan oil has run out by then.
Is there a way in which truly far-sighted decision makers could avert the resource curse? What the Libyans should realise today rather than tomorrow is that their oil fields are their curse. They should immediately outsource the running of their oil fields to some international organisation that pre-commits to hoarding most of the oil wealth generated from these fields for Libyans in the future. It won't happen though: it goes against human nature for the victorious Libyans to recognise what they themselves will become if they don't remove the temptation, and there is no international organisation that has the ability to credibly pre-commit to doing the right thing by the Libyans such a long time into the future.
6 Responses to "Will the resource curse stifle democracy in Libya?"
I've often wondered why you would have a country made up of many disparate groups; surely it would be better to form several smaller countries with homogeneous populations? Obviously there are a few caveats to this (economies of scale in decision making, the assumption that similar people tend to live in the same geographic region and that dissimilar people tend to live in the seperate geographic regions), but they don't seem so unlikely as to be unreasonable. Is the desire for natural resources the reason why dissimilar groups are competing to occupy the same land?
Paul A,
the history of these places is very complex and the reasons for the current borders include accidents, foreign powers, defunct kingdoms, etc. The question is what prevents countries from breaking up along ethnic lines and other divisions. Think of incentives: why would people in charge allow a chunk of their territory and thus influence to break away? It needs a virulent separation movement to overcome that inertia.
You make a good point; what's relevant is the question of why existing countries don't split up.
But arguably the people in charge don't have much influence in some of these chunks. Given the cost of trying to quell and subjugate the insurgents, surely it would sometimes be easier to just give them their own country?
yes, sometimes it is easier, though of course you do have to put up a fight because if you dont put up a fight you get seen as a weakling by the other people in charge and you lose your position, so you cant let go without a bit of bloodshed.
In the end though, you indeed just have to suck it up which is why we now have over 200 countries whereas we had closer to 50 in 1900.
Paul Amores if you're interested there's a book, 'The Size of Nations', by economist Alberto Alesina that's relevant. I haven't yet managed to read it (though I've had it for a while) but Joshua Gans has previously blogged here about this book.
In most nations there is a dominant faction that doesn't want to let any of their territory or influence erode.
Classic case is Indonesia which is from what I've heard a fairly diverse conglomeration with any number of groups who'd like to not be ruled from Jakarta. See East Timor (oil), West Papua, Aceh, etc…
They can't let even seemingly valueless territory leave since that sets a precedent. e.g. Can't let Tasmania be independent because then WA would be next.
The lesson of Alaska is never give away land, even when it is seemingly worthless.


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Hey guys,
It's for my urquattro, but I guess that the cars in this forum is more frequent to have them due 20VT engines...
My onboard LED oil temp gauge is either dead or approx at 130 degree celsius, which is a little high if true.
Now my engines is a tweaked Bosch Jetronic car, so I am not fully sure what modifications is done, but I'd like to ensure it is running as it should on A/F ratio. In that case, I was wondering if anyone in here had any idea for non-flashy-FU-broadband-measuring-meters that could suit the car?


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I love participating in Twitter chats. These bring together intelligent individuals with a common interest yet each one adds something unique to the conversation. I've already covered how to join Twitter chats. This post looks at the process of participating in the chat.
#journchat set many of the standards that other chats have adopted. While official standards don't exist, it becomes clear what works and what doesn't work after you participate in enough chats. These guidelines capture the practices that lead to productive and fun chats.
What else works or doesn't work when it comes to chatting through twitter?
ShortURL to this post: http://bit.ly/19w1w7
Meryl, It's been a pleasure to interact with you on Twitter and on our #SmallBizChat Weds. 8-9 ET.
This is a great post that I will tweet out to our peeps. Good ideas.
In addition to blocking a spammer, another quick way is to report him/her to @spam on twitter. I suggest that everyone follow the spam account before they need it. @Spam follows back. Then you can do a silent spam request. From regular update/tweet window type "d spam @spamersname they are spam " and add anything that helps proove it.
This sends a direct message to the spam account, without having to go into your direct messages tab. (BTW, you can use this "d spam" to send any direct message to anyone that you mutually follow each other.)
Cathy, thanks for posting the @spam info. I am sure many will appreciate the help!
Thanks for compiling. I think TweetChat is a must have to follow these conversations and use it regularly.
Meryl, thanks for a great blog post. In addition to Tweetgrid.com, we like to use http://tweetgrid.com/party, which allows you to participate in the chat, monitor your Twitter account and stay informed with updates from the chat host (so you always know which question you're on). It works great for our #smbiz small business chat. Looking forward to seeing you at the next one this Tuesday!
.-= John Sternal's blog …Dos & Donts Of Twitter – #smbiz Chat Recap =-.
@Mike, agreed! It's my chat app of choice.
@John, thanks for running #smbiz. I enjoy the chat. Didn't know about /party. Appreciate the link.
[…] Guidelines for Twitter Chats | Meryl.net http://www.meryl.net/2009/06/24/how-to-run-a-successful-twitter-chat – view page – cached Content on writing, tech, business, marketing, web design., Image credit Flávio TakemotoI love participating in Twitter chats. These bring together intelligent individuals with a common interest yet each one adds — From the page […]
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Hotels in Layton, Utah
Search & Compare Layton Hotels
Get Secret Prices on select hotels
These prices aren't available to everyone.
Best hotels in Layton
Layton overviewLayton is surrounded by picturesque views of islands and lakes. You're sure to find the coffee and bar options to your liking. Families will find plenty of fun at Lagoon Amusement Park. Don't miss your chance to see attractions like Great Salt Lake Shorelands Preserve and Cherry Hill Water Park. A family- and business-friendly area, Layton also has something for everyone.
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Here are the top hotels based on 34323 user reviews of Layton hotels:
- • Best Western Plus Layton Park Hotel (Layton)
- • Hampton Inn Layton (Layton)
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How to get to LaytonFly in to Salt Lake City, UT (SLC-Salt Lake City Intl.), 19.3 mi (31 km) from downtown Layton. Layton Station is the closest train station.
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Seasonal temperature averages
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- • January-March: 6.5 inches
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Answers Home
» Food & Nutrition
» Other Food & Nutrition
How can I build up weight on under weight cat?
My darling Tulula went missing for 5months, she was found in Jan and we're both so happy to be together again! She was (amazingly) in near perfect health, the only 2 issues being she had a scratch on her eye, which is almost gone now, and she had lost over 1/2 her body weight! Shes now 2lb 5 and looking great (she was only just over 3lb before she went) I have followed the vets advice in building her food up, but she seems a bit too happy on alnost no food! She gets half a pouch of wet food in the morning with a tea spoon of dry food in for the crunch (she loves the crunch!) and the same at night, I tried upping the morning meal to 3/4 of a pouch which she pretty much woofs down, only to bring it up an hr later. Her stomach looks incredibly swollen too so I have dropped back down to 1/2 a pouch. Did I just increase the food too fast? The vet said I should just carry on but I cant stand seeing her ill like that!
Asked by
Member 1210706
on Mar 23rd 2014
in Other Food & Nutrition
- This question is closed.
Best Answer
Dry food has 3x the protein of wet, which is mostly water, so increasing the dry portion will help. The solution is a bag of kitten food. It is higher in fat and protein, and she may prefer the taste. Try MaxCat or Natural Choice brands from pet stores, they are great quality, made in Tennessee and won't break your bank. I would not feed more than 1/2 wet with dry or her teeth will start to decay, and she will need dental work. A solution after the wet would be to introduce treats such as SmartBites by Greenies in digestive care (salmon flavor), or regular Greenie feline dental treats. ^_^
Panda Bear answered on Mar 25th.
Other Answers
Feed a good quality cat food that's high in protein, about 40% protein and 20% fat, such as Diamond Active Cat. Did the vet check your cat for worms? Worms can cause a swollen looking belly and weight loss or failure to gain weight. In addition to her wet food, In addition to her wet food, I think I would offer her dry food free choice. A cat who has been starving-as she apparently has been before she came home-usually does tend to eat too fast. Once she gets used to having enough food, she should relax and eat more slowly.
Aurora answered on 3/24/14. Helpful? / 0


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Cutting down glass
I don`t think it can be done at home huh? Would you cut down existing glass (1954) or just buy new? Thanks guys!!
Slider in Wa.
Get it cut in a glass shop. Your rear window could be ground down at home with a stained glass shaper, maby the front one to, but for all ease intent and purpose its simpler to get a glass shop to do it. Its not very exspensive.
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Grand Beach Hotel Surfside has installed InvoTech's UHF-RFID Linen System to protect the property's high-value linen investment. T-Y Group provided the hotel with 50,000 linen items pre-tagged with durable UHF-RFID laundry tags to enable instant, simplified linen inventory and tracking. InvoTech is a leading provider of systems that integrate the latest RFID technology to increase profitability for hotels, casinos, hospitals, and commercial laundry operators.
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I'm curious about a problem :
What is your estimated time for finishing the design process of a website ? I'm asking just for the purely designing part in Photoshop or any other program that you use, not the whole html/css thing.
It will likely be different for everyone but personally it just depends on the project. From scratch it can take anywhere from 4-48 hours. The latter having to be approved by the client, edited, etc. For templates here at TF I would assume somewhere between 6 and 18 hours or so maybe.
I set about 2 days just for designing as I never send a design to a client without viewing it the day after with my "fresh eyes" on.
I've often gone to bed thinking "job well done" then wake up in the morning and cringe.
I know it is different for everyone that's why I've asked in the first place. I'm working 6-8 hours for a full PSD template – I guess thats one of the reason I get rejected so much


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Frae Wikipedia
Renault S.A. (Euronext: RNO) is a French automaker producing caurs, vans, buses, tractors, an trucks, an, in the past, autorail vehicles. Due tae its alliance with Nissan, it is currently the warld's fowert lairgest automaker. Headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, Renault awns the Romanien automaker Automobile Dacia an the Korean automaker Renault Samsung Motors. The Lebanese-Brazilian Carlos Ghosn is the current CEO. The company's maist successful caurs tae date is the Renault Clio an the Renault Laguna, an its core market is Europe. The company is kent for numerous revolutionary designs, security technologies, an motor racin.
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Cuisine: Modern European
Location: UK, London – Belgravia
On coming to London I hadn't given a thought to the fact I could possibly visit the restaurants of chefs that are on TV. Jamie Oliver, Heston Blumenthal, and Gordon Ramsay immediately spring to mind. Sure, one of the things about travelling is trying out new things, so I thought I would try and squeeze in a few fine dining restaurants. Unfortunately I may have left things a little too late so availability combined with popularity counts against you the closer the time approaches. After having a read of some reviews, I did manage to snag a booking at Gordon Ramsay's, Michelin star restaurant, Petrus.
I caught the tube to Knightsbridge and walked to Petrus (or could stop over at Harrods beforehand). Finding it was rather difficult as I found myself in a residential district on a narrow lane-way lined with apartments and houses. Fortunately I asked one of the locals who pointed me in the right direction. I was immediately greeted with the friendly waitstaff on either side opening the double doors for me to walk through. I was taken to my table situated next to a large, floor to ceiling, cylindrical wine galley. Petrus is named after one of the most expensive wines in the world, hence, it was fitting situated behind me was the cylindrical glass case encasing a variety of wines. The interior is modern, smart, but not ostentatious. Just like my experience at The Ledbury, the waitstaff were very friendly, highly professional, and efficient. I did ask if Darrius was here on mention of the maitr'd at The Ledbury who had worked with him. A short time later, Darrius appeared and I chatted to him briefly about my travels in between courses. He was very friendly and looked after me throughout the night. The service was second to none.
At Petrus they serve lunch and dinner with al a carte and degustation options available. I liked the look of the al a carte menu and chose 3 courses for £65 but you get a lot more than just 3 courses. While I waited I was presented with a basket of sourdough bread & softened butter. After experiencing the delicious French butter, I was curious to see how the English version stacked up. Nowhere near as good but it's still better than what we get in Australia. With the sprinkle of salt atop the butter, I spread it generously and enjoyed the lovely bread. Then it all began.
Pre-starter #1: Foie Gras & Smoked Salmon
Foie gras & smoked salmon sandwiched within a wafer crisp. Surprisingly, the salmon balances really well with the foie gras. The salmon is pretty distinctive in it's own right but it somehow marries really well with the very rich flavour of the foie gras. Who would have thought? There was also filo pastry surrounding a soft cheese mixture – the pastry offsets the richness of the herbed cheese mixture.
I obviously was eagerly waiting for my courses and I made the horrible mistake of consuming my dish without taking a photo. A really delicious start to the dinner.
Pre-starter #2: Asparagus Mousse
Asparagus mousse mixed with horseradish with a wafer on top and then salmon tartare on top of the wafer – fantastic! Really light smooth mousse with the after taste of asparagus balanced with the creamy horseradish. A few soft pieces of asparagus were also thrown in as a textual contrast, with the more crunchier wafer providing the separation between the flavours of the light mousse and the salmon. The dill & salmon are an excellent combination tasting similar to gravalax.
Entree: Pan fried sea scallops with cauliflower, anchovy and caper, lemon buerre noisette
This Scottish dish contained succulent but firm scallops with a lovely golden brown finish on top, contrasted with the crisp bread crumbed fish. The creamy cheese mixture partners perfectly with seafood but the sweetness of the raisins and the saltiness of the capers counteracts the richness. The sauce adds a lovely buttery element to the dish. Delicious & well executed.
Mains: Roast duck breast with confit duck leg & granola, spring onion and Szechuan pepper jus
The mains was another delight. Perfectly cooked duck breast with the fat left on and roasted like roast pork, creating a salty and slightly chewy texture. The jus was packed with flavour. I could just keep eating this dish for eternity. The jus really made the dish and I loved the duck mixture the duck breasts sat on. All the elements of the dish combined to ensure an absolutely delicious dish full of flavour. If only I could lick the dish – yes, it's lickworthy!
Pre -Dessert: White chocolate & passion fruit mousse
Wow! Presented like 2 mini ice creams in a wafer cone, the passion fruit flavour was not too intense nor the chocolate, ensuring the flavours shone through in the light airy mousse. That mousse could easily be served as a dessert on it's own in a larger quantity. It's so delicious, light soft flavours.
Dessert: Chocolate sphere with milk ice cream and honeycomb
This came with theatre. A dark sphere of chocolate appeared in a large white bowl before the waiter poured hot milk chocolate over the top melting the sphere so that it partly melted and collapsed. A layer of vanilla ice cream immediately spewed out and the honeycomb was revealed. One bite and I thought I was in a dream. This is chocolate decadence at it's best. The chocolate is not too strong initially and balances well with the creamy melted vanilla ice cream. There is a smaller sphere of vanilla ice cream which has been preserved. After awhile, the dish does become rich but I enjoyed every spoonful. I would have loved a little more honeycomb which worked very well both in sweetness and texture. Later I did get a little bowl of honeycomb after dessert and I also got taken down to the kitchen. Pretty amazing to see the kitchen at work. You only see this on TV.
Petrus Food Review Summary
Verdict: I'm really being spoilt but I must indulge while I'm all the way over here. Another fantastic dinner in a lovely polished setting with professional service to match the professional food served. I thoroughly enjoyed my dining experience with the highlight being the main course of roast duck. What a fantastic jus so full of flavour it absolutely transforms the meal and steals the show from the perfectly cooked and roasted succulent duck. Of course, there was consistency across all the dishes and the signature dessert of the chocolate sphere presented not only theatre, but such amazing chocolate decadence. If there is a meal to finish off the night, this was it.
Price: Expensive (~$122 AUD, $1 AUD = £0.6 Pound)
Taste: Delicious
Value: Excellent
Recommendation:Highly Recommend
Petrus Restaurant Details
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