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Kit-Cats PowerCat 40 — By Capt. Bill Pike
— September 2005
Kit Cat
Part 2: Although the test boat was a finished version with everything from electronics to bilge pumps installed, simplicity was still the theme of her interior.
The ensuing afternoon was an interesting one. Among other things, I recorded a top speed of 24.7 mph—rather spiffy, considering the modest firepower in our fuel-sippin' Suzukis. For rough comparison's sake, last year I got slightly less speed (22.7 mph) out of a longer, narrower (45'7"x17'5") NauticBlue 464 power cat equipped with a couple of 370-hp Yanmar diesels ("Cuttin' Edge Cat," June 2004). Although, at 41,527 pounds, the charter-equipped NauticBlue was way heavier than our ultra-light, airplane-inspired, 11,000-pound PowerCat.
Weight was not the only thing we had going for us, though. According to Young, Aerocomp has built a reputation over the years for highly aerodynamic/hydrodynamic Superfloats—sleek pontoons that make for exceptionally efficient waterborne landings and takeoffs. "You're riding on proprietary Superfloat technology right now," Young said mystically as I carved a tight, stable turn and then goosed the throttles.
I docked our PowerCat behind Young's house on Syke's Creek, just off the Banana River, a maneuver that emphasized both the boat's buxom width–she just fit between the finger pier and pilings of her double-wide slip—and her excellent close-quarters maneuverability, a quality mostly attributable to the leverage inherent in engines mounted at considerable remove from each other. After we'd finished tying up, Young and I did a walkthrough while Lueck returned to the shoreside airstrip to top off our Air 7's fuel tanks.
Although the test boat was a finished version with everything from electronics to bilge pumps installed, simplicity was still the theme of her interior. There were four double-berth staterooms below decks (two per hull; fore and aft, with a head in between), a bright, spacious saloon/galley/dining area as well as a large cockpit on the main deck, and a helm station with great visibility all the way around on the flying bridge. Fit and finish was workmanlike and, again, simplicity was key. For example, while the staterooms were cooled with two separate 7,000-Btu Cruisair air conditioners, the saloon/galley/dining area had an easy-to-service and -install 6,000-Btu Fedders window-type unit. Moreover, cabinetry was constructed straightforwardly of stick-built mahogany ply, galley equipment was minimalist but of good quality, and the furniture onboard was comfy and condoesque, albeit not my taste by a long shot.
While flying back to Tallahassee that afternoon, I did some thinking on this last score. And what I came up with was accurate, I think. Certainly, the Kit-Cats PowerCat 40 is a comparatively fast, fuel-efficient cruiser, with sophisticated, lightweight laminates and a no-nonsense layout. But what really sets her apart is the fact that she's sold in various stages of completion (see "Have It Your Way," this story) and can therefore be finished in perfect accordance with an owner's tastes and wishes.
Almost as cool and convenient as commuting to boat tests via private turboprop airplane!
Kit-Cats ( (321) 453-7175. www.kit-cats.com.
This article originally appeared in the October 2005 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


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CSI 'Shadow Cast' T-Shirt - Black
Become a member of the CSI team featured on this official black shirt. This CSI t-shirt has a comfortable cotton fit that makes this shirt perfect for hanging out with friends or mowing the lawn. A CSI TV show t-shirt is a must-have gift for fans of the show. This is a CBS CSI Store fan favorite t-shirt.
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- Brand: Trevco Sportswear
- Color: Black
- Fit: Slim Fit. We recommend ordering 1-2 sizes up.
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Great shirt with original cast love it fits great just what I expect from CAN SHOP
- Fit:
- Feels true to size
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- Feels true to length
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wear in casual, mainly reason is to memory the show CSI
- Fit:
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subset: commoncrawl


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Welcome to the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN). DIAN is an international research partnership of leading scientists determined to understand a rare form of Alzheimer's disease that is caused by a gene mutation. Understanding of this form of Alzheimer's disease may provide clues to decoding other dementias and developing dementia treatments.
Funded by a multiple-year research grant from the National Institute on Aging, DIAN currently involves outstanding research institutions in the United States, Australia, Europe, Asia and South America. Randall Bateman, M.D., Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is the project's principal investigator.
DIAN is currently enrolling study participants who are biological adult children of a parent with a mutated gene known to cause dominantly inherited Alzheimer's disease. Such individuals may or may not carry the gene themselves and may or may not have disease symptoms (click here for information about genetic testing).
To register for DIAN drug trials or DIAN, visit www.dian-exr.org. To view a brochure about the DIAN drug trials, click HERE.


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Results 121 to 140 of 149
Thread: Skyrim Skills Discussion
Last edited by DigitalSignalX; 26-11-2011 at 02:29 AM.All times I have enjoyed greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone.
I'll try to clarify.
Yes I agree that archery is brokenly overpowered, especially when combined with the crafting skills. Even if you don't do any recursive enchanting and potion making but simply use the enchanter's elixirs and fortify alchemy gear you find as you go through the world, make one set of crafting gear and craft yourself an archery set and a bow, you can easily end up with weapons close to the 300 damage range with +50 damage enchants and +100 poisons. Marksman pots can boost that to the double. Add in how easy it is to get sneak attacks with bows and the 30% critical strike chance and you can take over half the health off an Ancient Dragon before it even sees you. You can 1-shot Dragon Priests.
Yes I agree I pushed the game farther than it's sensible to do, but to be clear, I made a set of 4x +22% alchemy gear and used that to make enchanting and blacksmithing pots to improve the gear I can make (which again isn't the best you can learn to craft). I already had +20% alchemy pieces and +25% enchanting pots that I'd looted off mobs and found in dungeons. This isn't something that's difficult or exploity to do but something the game presents and supports very clearly.
When the "fix" is to raise the difficulty to max and use a weapon you got 50 levels ago, that you choose to not add the benefits of 2/3 of your crafting skills on, there's a balance problem.
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I'm not doing that though, I've said that quite clearly and more than once. However, I do think there's a serious game design problem when players have to give themselves severe artificial constraints because they decided to level up crafting professions, especially in an RPG where developing and improving your character is such a big part of the game.
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Morrowind had broken alchemy
Skyrim has broken enchanting
As said an easy fix show some self restraint and don't abuse the mechanics so much.
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I have just about maxed smithing and enchanting on my level 45 thief, and smithed and enchanted gear for myself throughout the game, and playing on the 2nd highest difficulty I have plenty of challenging fights.
Talking about balance in a strictly single-player game, where there is literally no reason why you would max your character to gamebreaking levels, is completely pointless. You might as well argue about why godmode cheats exists in Doom, since they obviously break the game when you use them.
So because Morrowind had a similar problem they somehow cancel out?
The idea that it's the player's job to balance game difficulty and the skills system is frankly laughable. Are you really saying you don't see a problem with having to purposefully gimp your character and not use the skills you've spent time training and spent perks on, on the hardest difficulty of the game?
Godmode is a cheat, not an intended way to play the game. It's not like you have to use console commands to craft and enchant silly weapons and potions in Skyrim and as I said above you don't have to go back and forth between them to make special gear, you can just use the materials and equipment the game will give you as you play it and end up with the same net result. I've had tons of fortify alchemy, smithing and enchanting equipment and potions drop while playing.
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Yes. I'm sure more people would like the choice of being able to abuse the mechanics than having them locked at some set lvl.
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It's clearly not intended from the developers side that you should be able to stack stuff so you can one-shot ancient dragons on master difficulty, it's a side-effect of various features of the game that when combined to the point of ridiculousness ruins the game experience. I'm saying, if you didn't do this intentionally yourself (whether to actually one-shot dragons, or to see if you could break the game) you wouldn't be complaining about this problem in the first place.
Personally I think that Bethesda can't be bothered with so-called balancing on this level in their games because it simply doesn't matter, and for the small audience who do get offended when stuff they do to break the game isn't picked up during bughunting or patched in immediately, there's always a billion modders that does it for them.
On a side-note I'm whining about people whining because on all the gaming forums I frequent, in all the Skyrim threads that exists, there inevitably are people bitching about the game being too easy and Bethesda catering to the retard console-audience, when it's clearly just bitter people ruining their own game experience.
Last edited by Bristoff; 26-11-2011 at 03:44 PM.
If it's unintended then why are there fortify effects for the crafting skills in the first place? I don't think an entire dev studio with years spent thinking about their game systems couldn't figure out what happens if you level up multiple crafting skills on one character.
If you don't mind then that's fine, but I know I'm not alone in thinking that figuring out ways to improve your character is an important part of playing RPGs. If you suddenly run into a wall where you have to stop using your skills in order not to make the game boring then that's a problem. I want to be rewarded for my efforts and use of game mechanics, not punished.
Lumping me in with the "lol consoletards" crowd because I pointed out an absurdity is insulting and having two pages of people essentially saying I'm stupid for breaking my own game through stacking crafting skills, when I said in the very first post I made on the topic that I'm not actually using weapons crafted that way, is baffling, so pardon me if I'm being overly defensive here.
Perhaps it's worth mentioning that this hasn't soured my opinions on Skyrim as a whole. It's one of my favourite games this year, certainly the game I've spent the most time with and I'm still enjoying it a lot. I just wish I hadn't wasted perk points on skills I can't use lest I trivialise the game.
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In Mass Effect etc. I always end up collecting special potions or abilities I forget to use until it becomes hard.
So while it's off topic really, it's interesting that a lot of games actually do require the player action to actively balance them to make them fun. And not just by refusing to use broken parts as in bethesda games.
I'm actually looking forward to being overpowered. I plan to max out every skill and it'll be nice to be a god when I finally reach there.
For now, I'm a stealthy archer battlemage alchemist thief. I balanced my Nord character quite nicely - off the top of my head, 35 destruction, 38 one-handed, 29 block, 30something light armour, 42 archery, 42 speech (fortified), 32 alchemy, 50 lockpicking. I make extensive use of potions and poisons. Every other skill I only use occasionally and many are under 20. For my character I feel the difficulty is appropriate - challenging, but not really hard if I pay attention.
I just wish the inventory was easier to use, it's a nightmare to juggle all those potions.
Apologies skalpadda, my intent wasn't to spark any insulting or inflammatory comments. I inferred, perhaps incorrectly, that you were dissatisfied at being forced to use a hunting bow at higher levels on master difficulty in order to balance archery. What I intended to show was that if you did not use enchanting specifically toward the goal of increasing crafting / further enchanting potential, that using dropped items alone for bonus to enhancement (as we both have done also) provides a decently balanced experience. I offered my own bow as proof, and even still, I one shot most opponents from sneak, but if I get ambushed or vs. dragon priests / arch dragons, it's still quite a fight that I can (and have) died from even on normal difficulty.
I think we both agree the potential to abuse it greatly is there, and should not be - but we differ on how much each of us felt was necessary to experiment with on our own character. c'est la vie.All times I have enjoyed greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone.
Firestorm is easily the worst, since it's a single burst of damage centered on your character. It requires enemies to be basically on top of you to get the full effect, which is an extremely dicey situation given the charge time, and then doesn't really do enough damage to justify that charge (there's never a situation where the AoE makes up for being barely better than Incinerate). Maxed out SPOILER:Slow Time is your friend, as it will give you the chance to use it. Still, you're probably better off with spamming Dual-Cast Incinerate. I'm OK with this spell kind of sucking, since Fire is overall the best element in the game on a damage vs. magicka vs. enemy resistance basis.
Blizzard is better, since it's both AoE and DoT. You can use SPOILER Ice Form to incapacitate multiple enemies, then cast the spell. The initial hit will break the Shout's effect, but they will start taking damage from that moment on and will be stuck in a rising animation momentarily. This spell's big problem is that a significant number of enemies are resistant or immune to ice: Nords, Trolls, Ice Wraiths, Dwarven Constructs, Frost Atronachs, and I believe Draugr (Deathlords seem to take almost no damage from the spell). Dragons are also very difficult to deal with, as there aren't any methods that I'm aware of to get them to hold still long enough for the spell to be worth using.
Now Lightningstorm is a great spell. You can easily use a Storm Atronach (or two, if you're a skilled conjurer) to tank and then just hose a room down. If you've invested in Enchanting, you can make this spell ludicrously magicka-efficient. I've found using it to bring down circling dragons to be very effective, even against Elder Dragons, and in fact I sometimes choose not to use it against dragons simply because it feels kind of cheap. Despite the fact that it's a lightning spell, you don't want to use this against magic users without somehow incapacitating them first; even with summoned creatures, mages tend to be very good at blasting you while you charge up.
Hope this helps! I'm personally hoping that they will add in some new Perks in upcoming DLC. A second point in Master Destruction that cuts the charge time by 50% or more would make these spells more worthwhile, but they aren't unsalvageable even now.
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2 questions though:
1. What's the point of ice or lightning spells other than...visual variation to break the monotony?
-Ice spells should be used against melee enemies but either barely slow them down or doesn't last long enough to matter. You can stun lock them anyway with dual casting. Not moving at all is much better than moving slower.
-Lightning is supposed to be good against mana users, draining them of it but like with ice, that becomes less important once the enemy is stun locked and can't even cast spells no matter how much mana he might have.
From what i've seen, unless the enemy is fire immune, there is no reason to switch to other spells.
2. What's the difference between fire and lightning astronach?
Other than the obvious immunity to their element, i see no reason why one is better than the other. The storm astronach is considered expert i think, but i don't see why it's not on the same level.
They seem to have the same damage and die just as easily.
I'm using flame astronach because if it lights the enemy on fire, maybe i get extra damage from my own fire attacks. Other than that, to me they are identical in practice.
I think the Console Command Skill is way over powered... but the game obvious supports it so I can't NOT use it.
28-11-2011, 07:58 PM #138All times I have enjoyed greatly, have suffered greatly, both with those that loved me, and alone.
The Console skill gives me unlimited gold and lockpicks at level 1. FIX IT DEVS!


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PALM BAY, Fla. –The Saint Leo men's golf team was crowned the winner of the Panther Invitational on Tuesday afternoon, shooting a tournament total of 304-292-304—900. The Lions held off the host Florida Tech Panthers who came in with a score of 902.
"It's a good win which should give the guys the confidence they need," Head Coach Ray Cisbani said after the tournament. "We will be working hard on the weakness that I saw for the Barry event. With the strength of that field, shooting a 900 won't get us very far. But knowing that we can shoot in the low 280s and low 290s gives us the belief that we can surprise some people."
Coming in eighth place overall and in the lead for Saint Leo was Nick Brothers who fired a 73 in the final round to finish with 76-74-73—223 for the tournament. Next in line was Chaz Heinz who continued his steady play in the final round with a 74. For the entire 54 holes Heinz shot 75-75-74—224 and came in 10th place on the individual leaderboard.
"It was a mental grind out there all day today," Brothers said. "I am so proud of the way ny teammates hung in there and never gave up."
Three strokes behind Heinz was freshman Trevor Joseph who shot the low-round of the entire tournament field in round two with a 69. In Joseph's final round he carded an 80 to finish the tournament at 227.
Austin Grey came in just a stroke behind Joseph with a 75-74-79—228 for the tournament. Rounding out the Lions was Codi Daudelin who shaved six strokes off of his second round score in the final round by firing a 79. Daudelin finished with an 83-84-78—245.
Florida Tech finished two strokes behind Saint Leo with a 308-289-305—902.
The Lions will now prepare for the Buccaneer Invitational which gets underway on April 1.


text: Doctoral Programs Admission to doctoral programs is highly competitive and requires an interview after initial evaluation of the total applicant pool. Doctoral Programs Admissions Requirements Department Degree Biblical & Theological Studies Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biblical & Theological Studies Psychology Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) in Clinical Psychology Master's Programs Master's Programs Admissions Requirements Department Degree Biblical & Theological Studies Biblical Archaeology Biblical Exegesis Biblical Studies "part-time" cohort History of Christianity Theology Christian Formation & Ministry Christian Formation & Ministry Evangelism and Leadership Evangelism & Leadership Missional Church Movements Intercultural Studies Intercultural Studies TESOL & Intercultural Studies Psychology Clinical Mental Health Counseling Marriage & Family Therapy Teaching Teaching (MAT) Includes licensure in elementary or secondary education. Accelerated Master's Accelerated MA For current Wheaton undergraduates only.


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HOUSTON – (Aug. 24, 2012) – Members of NuMat Technologies, winner of the 2012 Rice University Business Plan Competition, rang the closing bell at Nasdaq OMX Aug. 24.
NuMat Technologies won the Rice Business Plan Competition, the world's largest and richest business plan competition, in April with its invention of a nanomaterial that can store gases just like a sponge soaks up water.
Pictured from left at the Nasdaq OMX in New York City are Ashok Rao, TiE global chair; Greg Price, director of consulting solutions, PKF Texas; Ben Hernandez and Omar Fahra, NuMat Technologies; Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, which hosts the annual business plan competition; Tabrez Ebrahim and Chris Wilmer, NuMat Technologies; Cari Broderson, vice president of marketing of the Greater Houston Partnership; Gautam Ghandhi, Google; and Alex Robinson, Insperity.
Click here to read the full article on nasdaq.com.


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I got a job just now to build a site for a paint company. Doing the scripting myself wont be good as am still learning. So, i've decided to go for CMS. Please, which CMS would be best for a paint company? I know most of you have got the experience thats why am asking. TIA.
Use Drupal ... which has variety of Themes in its support website and is one of the easiest CMS to manage...Lot of plugins are available for Image Gallery which would again be a important page for the Paint Company...
Go to their home page drupal.org...
Where do i get tutorials to learn it?
You have asked a question, that often is asked and then hundreds of opinions are given, leaving someone new confused.
In google search for Drupal and Wordpress. Drupal is harder to understand for most people than Wordpress. Both have documentation, however Wordpress's is in MHO better. There are a number of smaller CMS that don't suffer from the bad code bases that Drupal and Wordpress do. However, with this said, many many thousands of people use these CMS and are fairly rapidly able to post their content to the Web, so do a bit of research before posting here because you will get too strong of opinions. Instead read the documentation for these respective CMS's and decide what is easier for you to understand.
Ok. I am not sure wordpress would be that good. I'll need something thats good with pictures. Which would that be?
What will be your other requirements? Is it mainly a portfolio site to showcase previous work of the company or do you need a community angle? forum? support desk? e-commerce options? other tools? Or just the basics with a good galley? Once you clarify what your main requirements are, there might be other suggestions.
Yes Worpress has many gallery and image plugins. Like mondala says
Your other requirements would help determine what is your best option here.
Again read about Drupal and Wordpress, if they do not service your needs then ask for alternative. Keep in mind that it is a lot of work to configure a CMS, so take the time to read about it so your time can be well spent by making the right choice.
I also see that mondala has a link to a custom CMS so look at that too, since mondala choice to help.
I'm thinking of using Concrete5. What do you guys think?
It's better to look at a range of CMS sites and see what features they list. Then perhaps make a choice and then ask here if we think it's a good choice. It really all depends on what you need to do, how much you want to spend (if anything), etc. etc.
Wordpress would have been better but its concept is basically blogging. I don't know if theres a way of changing its appearance to look like a normal site. As it involves a paint company, there're gona be images almost on all pages. Drupal and joomla are kinda hard to work with at the moment.
I recommend you try ExpressionEngine, but it does have a price tag on it. That's what I use, anyhow.
Wow. Price tag? How do i go about that? My country (Nigeria) has been blacklisted by paypal.
Use a credit card.
I think drupal best, but it's hard for newbie. If you want to learn build a site, lets try wordpress!!
I plan on learning drupal and joomla asap.


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Phone: (617) 338-0581 or (413) 788-7878Web site: http://www.massbarinsurance.com/
MBA Insurance Agency President Terence Welsh and his customer-focused team are prepared to help you develop customized policies to address your professional and personal coverage needs. As an MBA member, you can benefit from insurance designed by lawyers for lawyers. And, you receive exclusive, significant discounts on a variety of plan options. The MBA Insurance team aims to work to provide high quality, competitively-priced products for Massachusetts practitioners, so you can more appropriately focus your energy on the practice of law.
Visit the MBA Insurance Web site or call (617) 338-0581 or (413) 788-7878 to learn more about the following or other products to meet your professional or personal coverage needs.


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Terms and Conditions:
1. No purchase necessary. Entries are limited to one per person
2. Entrants must be a professional in the hair and/or beauty industry
3. To enter, all mandatory fields must be filled in as clearly shown on the website
4. Closing date for all entries is 23:59 (GMT) on 19 June 2015. No entries will be accepted after this date
5. The winners will be picked at random from all valid entries and will be notified by email or post within 28 days of the closing date
6. The winners must be a resident of the UK or ROI and aged 18 or over
7. The promoters are Valera and Rupa Photography
8. The winner may be asked to take part in publicity and the promoter reserves the right to use the winner's name, location and photograph in any such publicity
9. Entry excludes employees of the promoter, Sally Salon Services or its group of companies, The River Group and anyone directly involved with this promotion including their immediate families or anyone professionally connected with the creation and administration of the promotion
10. The judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
11. Prize on offer - 5 x Valera Swiss Silent 9500 Ionic Rotocord hairdryers, and one Ultimate Inner Goddess Experience for three people. The prizes are non-transferable and no changes or substitutions can be made.


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DKNY Fall 2012
The fact that there is never a cab around when you need one is a constant gripe of all New Yorkers; the fight to catch one during Fashion Week is a sideshow in itself. There is one place, however, you're always likely to find a yellow taxi these days, and that's at the DKNY show, where for the past few seasons, a cab has been parked at the top of the runway and rolls onto the street. Today has undoubtedly been the coldest day this week, and as the army of models swept in from the sidewalk, they brought with them a frosty chill, and fashion editors in the front row huddled together to keep warm. Wearing a shiny black leather and shearling coat fastened securely around the neck, the first model that walked into the spotlight was more appropriately dressed than most for a cold New York winter. That high, wind-shielding collar ran through the entire collection, sometimes worn as a detachable scarf atop one-button blazers with leather sleeves and black dresses with flirty leather peplum insets. Indeed, if there is one insulating top layer set to topple fashion's current love of fur this season—judging from what we've seen of fall thus far—it's leather. It appears all over the collection, from the head-to-toe look of a skirt suit to the embossed croc corset-like belts cinching a cozy puffer.
That being said, the strongest message to come through for fall resonates at the brand's very core. It's time for the young, city-dwelling DKNY girl to go back to black. In the 20-plus years since the label launched, that idea of an urban uniform has became a universal, working dress code across the world. In that sense, it's easy to forget that the all-black-everything look originated here with women like Donna Karan. When the designer emerged from the street to take her bow at the end of the show, she did so dressed in the shearling that opened the show; the consummate New Yorker through and through.
For more information and a full profile on Donna Karan, go to Voguepedia.com.


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Preheat oven to 350°. Place all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the sweet corn and onions. Mix thoroughly. Combine Edensoy and vinegar, and let sit 2 to 3 minutes. Combine dry and wet ingredients, and mix again. Lightly oil a cast iron skillet or 8" x 8" baking dish. Pour the cornbread batter into the skillet or dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove, slice and place on a serving platter.
Per serving - 239 calories, 8 gram fat (28% calories from fat), 6 gram protein, 39 gram carbohydrate, 5 gram fiber, 0 milligram cholesterol, 297 milligram sodium


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Friday, October 11, 2013 - 14:51 PM
Clyde and Jabo - Funkmasters and Original James Brown Drummers – Episode One
Clyde and Jabo - Funkmasters and Original James Brown Drummers – Episode One
If you follow Meinl Cymbals' activities online, then by now you have almost certainly seen our posts and our teaser trailer for the Clyde Stubblefield and John 'Jabo' Starks interview/documentary we did that we are releasing in multiple webisodes. If you haven't seen any of these updates, then here is a brief synopsis.
At virtually the same time, my colleague Norbert Saemann and I both had the exact same idea. That idea was to get Meinl Cymbal artists and the two original James Brown drummers, Clyde Stubblefield and John Jabo Starks together in one room, and sit them down for a long interview. We wanted to have a Meinl Cymbal artist who has been greatly influenced by Clyde and Jabo to act as the moderator and to present the questions. We chose Robert 'Sput' Searight of Snarky Puppy for obvious reasons. One listen to Sput's playing and it's completely obvious that Clyde and Jabo have made a huge impression on him and his drumming.
And so it was that we all gathered together in Nashville, Tennessee at S.I.R. in the big room, to have Clyde, Jabo, and Sput play some drums, do a lot of Q&A, and eat some good bar-b-q! Sput really did his homework for this project, I have to say. He knew the history of these two guys and he asked some great questions. But even Sput was surprised by some of their answers, as were Norbert and I. There were some facts that Clyde and Jabo laid on Sput, that none of us knew. This was both cool to hear, but in retrospect it was sad to consider. The fact that everything there is to know about Clyde and Jabo isn't already out there in print or online for mass edification, and that everyone doesn't know it already, is a testimonial to the crime in all of this. Without being too dramatic about it, it is sad to think that with the enormous impact that both Clyde and Jabo have had on modern drumming as we know it today, that there is still more to learn about them that hasn't been put out there already. This wasn't surprising to me or Norbert. Of course, this is the sole reason why we both had the idea to tackle this project. When James Brown said "give the drummer some," he meant it, although symbolically the rest of the world hasn't always sat up and taken notice.
So here we are with episode number one. Stay tuned for further episodes.
We really hope you enjoy this as much as we did.
- Chris Brewer


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Preheat the oven to 350°. Place equal amounts of peppers, olives, onions, basil and garlic on top of each length of bread. Drizzle the olive oil equally over the vegetables. Place bread on a baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes or until crisp and golden. Be careful not to burn the bread. Slice and serve.
Per serving - 201 calories, 6 gram fat (27% calories from fat), 5 gram protein, 31 gram carbohydrate, 2 gram fiber, 0 milligram cholesterol, 420 milligram sodium


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New Delhi: Bharti Airtel Ltd, India's largest phone company by revenue and subscribers, posted its 12th consecutive quarterly drop in net profit on Friday, hit by increased interest and financing costs as a result of the rupee's depreciation in the three months ended 31 December.
Net profit tumbled 72% in the three months to December (Q3) to R284 crore from Rs.1,011 crore in the year-ago period. A Bloomberg survey of 29 analysts had forecast a profit of Rs.839 crore for the company.
The profit came on a 9.5% increase in revenue to Rs.20,239 crore, paced by its Indian business, which reported a 70% jump in Internet usage during the quarter and ended 2012 with 5 million 3G subscribers.
Net interest costs of Rs.284 crore and amortization costs of Rs.316 crore contributed to the drop in profit at Bharti Airtel, which also took a hit of Rs.261 crore because of fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate and increased tax burden of Rs.109 crore. Net finance costs, including foreign exchange fluctuations, increased to Rs.1,330 crore in the quarter from Rs.790 crore a year earlier.
The rupee's 3.9% decline against the dollar in the quarter gone by pushed up interest costs on overseas debt for the telco controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal.
"There are a lot of one-offs this time around that have left a major impact on the bottomline. If those are removed, then the results are largely flat, which is a great thing for the current environment," a Mumbai-based telecom analyst with a multinational brokerage firm said on condition of anonymity.
"These are not bad numbers, but going forward, it does not look like the one-offs are going to subside, which poses a problem for investors in the sector," the analyst said.
Bharti Airtel's share fell 2.62% to close at Rs.330.50 on Friday on BSE, on a day when the benchmark Sensex lost 0.57% to 19,781.19 points.
The company's management is optimistic about future prospects given the increase in consolidated revenue and the growth in its Indian operations. Analysts noted operational improvements at Bharti, but said its African business was still a point of concern.
"The quality of customers in India has gone up. The churn is down and VLR (visitor location register) has improved significantly," said Sanjay Kapoor, outgoing chief executive officer (CEO) for India and South Asia. VLR refers to the measurement of the number of active subscribers in a month.
He was referring to a marginal decline in the total number of subscribers because of stricter subscriber verification norms, which has been welcomed by most telcos because they have taken out deal-seeking subscribers who cost more than the revenue they generate. Last month, Bharti Airtel cut discounts and free minutes of talk time for subscribers.
"There are a lot of leakages in the tariffs. The headline tariff is between 1.2-1.5 paise per second while, in some areas, the realized rate is as low as 28 paise per minute—less than half. This is not sustainable and we are continually working towards bridging the gap," Kapoor said, adding that the telco would look at further corrections.
He did not rule out increasing the headline rate as the company tries to cope with increasing input costs resulting from factors such as the higher price of diesel that fuels its telecom towers.
Average revenue per user fell 3% year-on-year to Rs.153 (from Rs.157) while realization per minute (RPM) fell 6% to 35.2 paise (from 37.5 paise) over the same period last year. The fall in RPM was attributed to the fall in the total number of subscribers.
Bharti Airtel reported a 21% jump in data usage per customer to 166 megabytes, while average data revenue per user grew 9% to Rs.47.
The company will likely fall marginally short of its $2.8-3 billion (around Rs.14,925-15,990 crore) capital expenditure for the current fiscal.
"We have spent some $440 million in this quarter. That takes us to around $2.5 billion for the year (from $2.8-3 billion)," said chief financial officer Sarvjit Singh Dhillon.
Dhillon said increased ma-intenance costs and network enhancement could result in capital expenditure of around $2.5 billion in the next fiscal.
The company is also likely to revisit plans to sell overseas bonds to help repay some of its debt. Bharti Airtel's net debt fell to $11.7 billion in the last quarter from $12.7 billion in the same quarter last year.
Profitability is still healthy for the company, although under pressure. Its Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) margin narrowed to 30.6% in the quarter from 32.2% a year ago.
Other challenges loom for Bharti Airtel and other telecom operators. The government has issued notices to the company to pay a one-time fee for additional spectrum of around Rs.5,200 crore. The government is looking at doing away with roaming charges, which could mean a drop in revenue by as much as 12%.
Bharti Airtel will also have to compulsorily participate in the coming auction for spectrum if it wants to keep its services operational in the lucrative telecom circles of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The telco's licences will expire in these circles in November 2014.
"Going ahead, we are positive on the Indian operations and expect tariff to inch up, but there are concerns regarding the African operations which might weigh upon Bharti Airtel's performance," Ankita Somani, research analyst (telecom) at Mumbai-based Angel Broking Ltd, wrote in a Friday report. "Elevated costs are likely to exert pressure on Bharti Airtel's margins in the next couple of quarters."
Manoj Kohli, CEO of Bharti Airtel's international operations, said tariffs in Africa had stabilized. In most countries of Africa, the telco is the main challenger if not the leader and is continually adding market share. Kohli admitted that the African business was growing slower than earlier anticipated, but said the peak capital expenditure in the region was behind it.
Bharti Airtel entered Africa by buying Zain's telecom assets in a deal valued at $11 billion in 2010. Revenues from the Africa business grew 15% to Rs.6,169.4 crore in the quarter from Rs.5,357.7 crore in the year-ago period.
Bloomberg contributed to this story.


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Results 1 to 6 of 6
REVIEW: Performance Friction BBK / Alpina_B3_Lux
24. Performance Friction Big Brake Kit
You will probably have noticed in some of my reviews that I do drive on the Nürburgring Nordschleife from time to time, as well as on German Autobahn with no speed limits. On the 'Ring but also when braking hard from very high speeds in excess of 170 mph, the brakes of any car are under tremendous stress and have to cope with different requirements than under normal traffic conditions. I had therefor already replaced the stock brake pads with pads from Cool Carbon, which improved the braking response (by making it more linear) and the resistance to heat-induced fading.
During the sportscar driving training of the German car magazine "sport auto" on the Nordschleife in September 2011 where I was doing a lot of rather quick laps on the 'Ring I noticed that at the latest after three fast laps the stock brake system was at its limits, even with the improved brake pads. In particular at the end of these two track days, where the weather was finally dry and I had more confidence in my knowledge of the circuit as well as my car (and I therefor drove faster than before) this was noticeable: vibrations, juddering and squealing signaled that the stock braking system could take no more.
In addition, I knew that I would be upgrading my turbos with RB turbos at the beginning of 2012, resulting in a power bump to more than 500hp. More power = more responsibility errr I mean better brakes required! In particular on a race track a more powerful car also means that you will drive faster in most sections and will therefor have to brake harder at the end thereof (at least as long as the speed in the bends stays identical). Until now I had avoided this last big step of upgrading my car as I knew that a complete brake kit is one of the most expensive investments that can be made for a car.
Which brake kit to take then? There were several alternatives:
- There's StopTech, that has a very good reputation and their brake kit for the 335i was also used by Alpina in their limited edition model B3 GT3. Their kit costs for the front axle (part no. 83.154.6700; 355mm diameter) 3745,- EUR and for the rear (part no. 83.154.004; 345mm diameter) 3103,- EUR.
- Then there's of course Brembo. Their BBK called "Gran Turismo" or "GT" is even available in two sizes as a six-piston kit for the front (355mm and 380mm). It has to be noted though that the bigger diameter results in fitment issues with most wheels, even in 19 inches due to the huge calipers. The smaller version has a list price of 3868 EUR (front) and 3400 EUR (rear).
- Furthermore there is AP Racing who also dispose of an excellent reputation in the brake sector and offer a similar kit for the 335i, again with 356mm and six pistons in the front, but using the stock brake discs for the rear (possibly due to difficulties in fitting the hand brake drum). This Set is sold in Germany among others by ISA Racing and is offered at a list price of 2905 EUR (front; part no. CP5575-09) and 1244 EUR (rear; part no. CP6625-00).
- Finally there is Performance Friction who also have a first-rate reputation for high-end braking systems. Their big brake kit is not cheap either and is quotet at 3600 EUR (front; part no. 1113.0001) and 3400 EUR (rear; part no. 1114.0001).
All of these kits are in principle an excellent choice and a substantial improvement over the stock braking system. At first I had intended to get the kit from AP Racing, as several friends of mine already have it installed on their 335i and are very satisfied with it, even while driving on the Nürburgring. In addition, the AP Racing kit is less expensive and it was possible to further upgrade it by using brake discs from Performance Friction ("PFC"). I excluded Brembo as I found them extremely expensive, and had heard that the availability of spare parts can be a problem with it. The kits from StopTech and PFC are almost as expensive, but I was told from several people independently of each other that PFC uses components of higher quality. The fact which tipped the scales in favour of the PFC big brake kit was in the end that I was offered a used kit that had only by used for one week for testing purposes on a car at a substantial rebate.
Here's a photo of the complete kit (I borrowed some photos from the excellent article from MotoIQ about the almost identical kit for the 135i):
What are the specific features of the PFC big brake kit?
One aspect that indicates quite strongly to the high-end quality of this kit is the use of a monobloc caliper made out of aluminium. Monobloc kits are usually reserved to motorsport applications and are horrendously expensive for street cars (Brembo offers a kit that goes well into a five figure price, used for example in the Porsche GT3), and it means that the whole caliper is made out of one piece of aluminium instead of two or more pieces being bolted together. An advantage of the monobloc calipers is a far higher resistance against warping, which also means better fading resistance than with two-part calipers. Also, that means that the calipers can be designed smaller, which again is an advantage in weight and compatibility with existing wheels.
Here's a photo of the caliper:
Comparison between stock caliper and PFC caliper:
Each caliper is equipped with four pistons, which may seem paradoxical at first the standard being rather a 6 piston kit (see above). In principle the more pistons the bigger the pad surface that touches the brake disc, which improves the stopping power. However, other factors also play a role, such as the nature of the caliper (monobloc or two-piece), the size of the pistons etc. PFC has decided to go with a rather unusual design: For each piston there's one small brake pad, which should result in a better initial bite and less taper wear.
You can recognize this feature very well in this photo:
And here are the four brake pads; these are no track-only pads but you can easily use them on a track, as well as in daily driving. For track-only duty it is recommended to use the new PFC08-compound. A replacement set for the front axle costs around 500 EUR:
The rotor has an alloy hat making it about 1.5kg (3 lbs) lighter than stock despite being larger and thicker. The rotor itself is made from a heat and wear resisting, heat treated, high carbon, copper, molybdenum iron alloy. The rotor's ventilation was designed by extensive computer aided airflow, stress and thermal analysis. The directional ventilation system (i.e. the ventilation channels are different for left and right) channels far more air into the rotor, which can mean a temperature difference of between 50 and 100 degrees Celsius. As one can see, the rotor is not drilled, but only dimpled so that there cannot be any fractures between the drill holes, and at the same time also dissipating gases and providing an excellent brake performance in the wet.
Here's a photo of a rotor:
In the following close-up you can see that the bolts simply hold the retaining ring and are not in shear at all:
Another advantage of the PFC kit is that it retains the original rear parking brake which is a separate unit inside the rear rotor, combined with a floating light weight alloy hat:
One of the problems of aftermarket brake kits is that these multi-piston brakes have to use the single hydraulic cylinder of the stock braking system, which due to the bigger surface area of the pistons often results in a poor braking bias and prevents the car's electronic nannies to function properly. That is also one of the reasons why in practice a bigger and more expensive braking system may actually result in longer braking distances and poorer performance of the brakes than with the stock stystem.
PFC however designed their kit exactly around the 335i and its hydraulic system, and the car's weight distribution and suspension geometry were examined as well as the stock hydraulic proportioning. The geometric mechanical advantage of the calipers due to caliper mounting position and rotor size was considered as well to model what the overall brake bias balance would be in static and dynamic simulation. The piston sizing of the Performance Friction calipers was configured using this data to give the proper brake bias.
The installation was done at the same time as my Öhlins coilover at BMSracing e.K. in Leimbach at the Nürburgring. The mounting of the brake kit didn't present any particular difficulties, as the owner of BMSracing had lots of experience with PFC brake kits.
Here's a photo of two calipers with a bespoke colour in blue:
Installation / front (1):
Installation / front (2)
Installation / front with view onto the caliper:
Installation / rear:
Installation / steel flex brake lines:
And that's how it looks from the outside (1):
Ready! (2)
The first thing you notice is the turbine-like noise that the brakes make when braking and which is caused by the slotted rotors. I find this really cool and it doesn't disturb me at all and at higher speeds this is drowned out by other noises anyway.
The pedal feel is far better than with the stock brakes the initial bite is there, but it is also linear so that with increasing pedal pressure the braking power increases proportionally as well.
The PFC brakes are completely fading resistant. I have not been able to extort any decrease in braking power even when pounding really hard on it during fast laps on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. To the contrary, the harder you strain the brakes, the better it brakes possibly also a consequence of the brake pads that reach their optimal temperature only after having been used a bit. The same also holds true for several hard brakes from high speeds in excess of 200 km/h on a German motorway and that really makes me feel much safer than before.
Due to the dimpled rotors, braking under wet conditions is much better than with the stock brakes, which due to their smooth surface often accumulate a water film that subsequently has to be eliminated by the brake pads before they can grab and transmit braking power. This has been much improved with the PFC kit.
There are almost no squealing issues either. With the first set of (used) brake pads that was indeed a slight problem (although nowhere near any full-race-pads-squeal), but this has improved a lot since I had the front pads replaced; now the kit almost does not squeal at all, even at the current very low temperatures.
On a race track, you could of course equip the kit with even more aggressive pads (e.g. the PFC08), but these are in my opinion unsuited to being drivin in public traffic or at low temperatures.
None, really. The only disadvantage is the hefty price tag including installation you have to count with at least 7500 EUR, and this does not even include (for Germans that is) the work necessary to get it TÜV approved (which is possible but also costs quite a bit). For me however the value for money of this kit is nevertheless excellent, as from other manufacturers you can easily spend double that price to get a kit with similar build and engineering quality. Still, this is certainly only worth the while for those who intend on using their car on race tracks.
Alpina_B3_LuxCurrent: Audi R8 V10 2013 S-Tronic, daytona grey, carbon side blades, MTM tune, Michelin PSS tires, Capristo x-pipe
Gone: Audi R8 V10 2010 manual, ice silver, grey side blades, MTM tune, MTM air filters, Michelin PSS tires
Gone: BMW 335i Individual (Öhlins, PFC brakes, RB turbos etc.)
Gone: Alpina B3 E46 3,3
Your reviews are very well done, respect.1 SPOT LEFT - BoostAddict Fantasy Football League
01-17-2013, 08:09 AM #3Member
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i have one question for now: why are the prices over there so high?
$3700 EUR is $4700 AUD for front stoptechs.. but you can actually get them for $2500ish AUD? why is it such a massive $2000 price increase?
i'm going to read the rest of this later when i don't have a headache, for now i'm just curious about the $2000 ~ price difference on all the parts.. even brembo GT kit is only $3500 or $3200 or something normally.. :|
ED: in fact, normally the brembos are about $500 or so more expensive than stoptechs.
confusing that AP doesn't make rear kits, they do for the M cars, and heck, they're a subsidiary of Brembo even.
ED: and on your 'monobloc' bit, if you read stoptech's article on the matter
monobloc is for weight saving, and has less rigidity than a multi piece caliper due to less bracing and they tend to warp a very significant amount more.
Last edited by Flinchy; 01-17-2013 at 08:19 AM.
01-17-2013, 08:20 AM #4Member
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missed the 10min mark.. :
which leads to worse braking performance
that being said, i have read that PF makes amazing brake kits.
but the pad replacement cost is through the roof, and the limited selection of pads is a turnoff. a major turnoff.
EDL excellent review, as always, this is the first PFC BBK review i've read, apart from reading that the berk 135i uses them. the price will probably be a bit out of my taste range, as well as the limited and expensive pad selection, but they do seem like rather impressive units indeed. how will they compare to Stoptechs i wonder?
Last edited by Flinchy; 01-17-2013 at 08:27 AM.
I have a lot of trust in PFC's engineering department - if they do monobloc calipers, they'll know how to do them perfectly. And yes, I've read the StopTech article (which is a bit difficult as it's really badly written with lots of grammar errors) and understand it mainly comes down to the materials used and the design of the calipers. Which I have no doubt PFC is doing very well.
As for the pads: top-quality brake pads are almost always in that price range. Go see the prices of Endless pads, they're even double the price again of the PFC ones. And PFC have several options (such as the track pad indicated in my article), so that's not really a problem. At least IMO that's no drawback at all - and the pads work perfectly.
Alpina_B3_LuxCurrent: Audi R8 V10 2013 S-Tronic, daytona grey, carbon side blades, MTM tune, Michelin PSS tires, Capristo x-pipe
Gone: Audi R8 V10 2010 manual, ice silver, grey side blades, MTM tune, MTM air filters, Michelin PSS tires
Gone: BMW 335i Individual (Öhlins, PFC brakes, RB turbos etc.)
Gone: Alpina B3 E46 3,3
01-18-2013, 07:24 AM #6Member
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the grammar is actually pretty well perfect.. it's got a lot of acronyms and technical terms, but it's all correct.
i know, 90% of manufaturers to monobloc, because they can cast or billet it MUCH MUCH easier, it's a LOT cheaper to mass produce. brembo's and AP's are monobloc as well. for 99% of drivers, including basic track stuff, you're not going to notice the difference anyway.
Endless pads are expensive because they're endless, they may not always even be better than competitors... an endless BBK will be at LEAST the price of the .. gah the ones above Brembo GT, i can't remember the name.. stoptech is trphy.. brembo competitions? the $7k ones lol... but that's because endless only makes a LIMITED release. i saw a local civic (practically a racecar, turbo etc.) with endless BBK. guy must have a lot of money...
normally a good set of pads is that price for front and rear, $325 AUD per pad is an extreme price. even endless pads aren't that bad from memory .. for a 135i they're $500 or $550 or something front and rear. hawks are <$500 a set
the price i can get PFC for however, is approximately double the cost of a stoptech brake kit, and a stoptech trophy kit, that's the major factor for me at least.


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The federal debt held by investors and foreign countries amounts to 72 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product. Except for a short period around the end of World War II, that's the highest level in U.S. history.
And although the federal deficit has dropped sharply in the past year, it is expected to start rising again in a few years. Sara Imhof, Midwest regional director for The Concord Coalition, points out in a recent op-ed that demographic forces, health care spending and interest payments are putting more and more pressure on the rest of the budget.
As a result, current-law projections indicate that by 2020 federal spending apart from Social Security and major health care programs will fall to its smallest percentage of GDP in more than 70 years. Yet the debt would continue to climb.
Imhof 's article appeared in Quad-Cities Online in advance of two interactive budget exercises today in the 17th Congressional District of Illinois. The programs, presented by Concord and Rep. Cheri Bustos, invite participants to work together to develop comprehensive fiscal reform packages.


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Recent Albion graduates can be found working in fields as diverse as public policy and veterinary medicine. Our alumni have pursued advanced degrees at many different universities, including Harvard University, the University of Michigan, Indiana University, the University of Wisconsin, UCLA, and the University of London. Potential career paths.


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USDA Prime Rib Roast
For you carnivore's, this USDA Prime Rib Roast is marbled to perfection and will kick off your 4th of July party right in a classic way.
I LOVE THIS PITCHER! I am not a fan of ice! And I feel like such a pain always asking for no ice with all my drinks! Especially if I'm getting a refill! Now we can all share and it's Clear who's Drinking what, DuraClear!Tags: baby, mommy, child, parties, pitchers, 4TH OF JULY, independence day, party accessories, Ice Cold PitchersAdded 9 Years Ago from Williams-Sonoma
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SYNOPSIS: When Eva opens her eyes a young girl finds herself chained terrified for being abused. Her fears become reality in a way no one could ever imagine. REVIEW: The first thought that went through my head when I noticed I had a Dutch film was, "At least it's not "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo". It's tends to be frustrating …Read More »
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text:
John Legere has done a great job convincing many tech reporters that he's not like the rest of the CEOs running cellular carriers. He's gained fawning press because he calls his competitors' offerings "shit" and worse. Being the industry's bad boy is his shtick. As such, his company aggressively promotes itself as the "uncarrier" that doesn't abuse customers like AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon do. The truth is that T-Mobile is different, but not necessarily any fairer to customers. In fact, T-Mobile has incredibly complex plans that are hard to understand and full of charges not readily apparent, such as low-price "unlimited" plans that are actually limited beyond the first line unless you pay extra per line. Conversely, AT&T and Verizon have the simplest-to-understand plans.
Which is not to say that AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon are any better. They may advertise great pricing, but at the end of the day, they're expensive to use, too. Yes, they've simplified their plans -- but often at higher prices than a few years ago.
[ The 5 mobile technologies to watch in 2014. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobilize newsletter. ]
Making sense of carrier plans is not easy, so I've created a calculator (see below) that will show you how the four major carriers actually compare for the service you want. Occasionally, you'll find that one is substantially cheaper than the rest, but I think you'll decide that overall, they're pretty much the same. That means most people should choose their carrier based on the quality of the service where they live and travel. Of course that varies widely, too, again despite the promises in their ads.
Note that the upfront charges include activation fees and other carrier costs (such as the $10 SIM that T-Mobile sells separately from its smartphones). Neither the upfront nor monthly charges include taxes or government-imposed fees, as those vary by location. If you have a mix of basic cellphones and smartphones, your cost per line will go down about $10 per basic cellphone on all the carriers.
Also note that T-Mobile does not require (or allow) users to share the same pool of data, so users can have their own allotments (500MB, 2.5GB, and unlimited). However, for a user to have tethering enabled, his or her line must have at least 2.5GB of data allocated to it. The calculations above will increase the data plan as necessary to support tethering for all lines if tethering is selected above.
Confused? Congrats! That's the carriers' goal, so you'll spend more than you need to -- or get less than you thought. But use the tool above and those at each carrier to work through to the best options for you.
This article, "Dollars and cents: The real cost of a smartphone plan," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Galen Gruman's Mobile Edge blog and follow the latest developments in mobile technology at InfoWorld.com. Follow Galen's mobile musings on Twitter at MobileGalen. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.


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Sunny wrote: The thought of being referred to as a cow chewing my cud would require a complete wardrobe change and as well a change of expression as I eat my dinner!
Funny, Sunny, you sure don't look like you have the stomachs for it.... nor did I know this meaning of ruminate, and certainly it can't have been the intended use.
It's more like: "after turning it over and over in my mind I went into the dining ruminate dinner".


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Badgy is simple and nice looking error page with CSS3 effects. You will be able to search and go to some links, what else you need in error page?Resources:
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MANY MORE PEOPLE WILL AVOID SINS OUT OF FEAR OF HIM [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)] RATHER THAN OF THE QUR'AN..." (Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah, p. 6)
Asbag Ibn Nabata says: Ali, Commander of the faithful, said: "... No more you than kohl on the eye or salt in food will remain. And I shall give you an example: A man has a quantity of wheat. He cleans it and stores it in his house. When he returns to it a long time later, he sees it is full of weevils. He cleans it again and again puts it in his home. When he comes back to it after another long time, he sees it is again infested with weevils. He repeats the same processes. WHAT EVENTUALLY REMAINS IS A VERY LITTLE HEALTHY WHEAT THAT WEEVILS CANNOT HARM. You are like that. At the end, a small group of you will be left that corruption cannot harm." (Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Said also transmits the same hadith.) (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 246)
Those who abandon or are opposed to him (Hazrat Mahdi (as) will be able to do him no harm. He will continue on the path of victory despite those who abandon him.(Ahmad Diya ad-Din al-Kamushkhanawi, Ramuz al-Ahadith, p. 487; from Al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Kabir)
... From Abu Bashir: Imam Jaffar Sadik said this about the verse: "You would know them by their mark" (Surah Muhammad, 30): ALLAH KNOWS THEM, HOWEVER THIS VERSE HAS BEEN REVEALED CONCERNING THE QAIM [HAZRAT MAHDI (AS)]. HAZRAT MAHDI (AS) WILL KNOW THEM (THE HYPOCRITES) FROM THEIR FACES AND WITH HIS COMMUNITY, HE WILL (SPIRITUALLY) DESTROY THEM. (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Numani, al-Ghaybah al-Numani, p. 283)
O people, Almighty Allah has certainly FORBIDDEN YOU THE CRUEL, THE HYPOCRITES AND THEIR FOLLOWERS and has made Hazrat Mahdi (as), the most auspicious of the community of Muhammad … your commander, so join him. (Ibn Hajar al-Haythami, Al-Qawl al-Mukhtasar fi `Alamat al-Mahdi al-Muntadhar, p. 31)
From Nahj al-Balagha: The Lord of believers (saas) said: "When he [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] hides away from people, NOT EVEN TRACKERS WILL BE ABLE TO SEE ANY TRACE OF HIM… (Kitab al-Ghayba, [Bihar al-Anwar, Vol. 51], Ansariyan Publications, Collected by: Muhammad Baqir Majlisi, Iran-Q'um, 2003, p. 186)
… at the end of time two currents of irreligion will gain strength:
One of them: Under the veil of duplicity, a fearsome individual named the Sufyan will deny the messengership of Muhammad (saas), and coming to lead the dissemblers, will try to destroy the Islamic Law [way of belief and practice]. To oppose him, a luminous individual called MUHAMMAD MAHDI from the family of the Prophet (saas) will come to lead the people of sainthood and perfection, who are bound to the luminous chain of the Family of the Prophet (saas), and HE WILL NEUTRALIZE THE CURRENT OF HYPOCRITES, which will be the collective personality of the Sufyan, and scatter it. (Bediuzzaman Said Nursi, Letters, The Sixth Sign, Fifteenth Letter - p. 79)
THIS WILL CONTINUE VICTORIOUSLY DESPITE THOSE WHO DEPART. HIS OPPONENTS AND THOSE WHO LEAVE HIM WILL DO HIM NO HARM... (Transmitted by Hazrat Jabir (ra); Great Portents of the Judgment Day, 487/6)
At Allah's command, A COMMUNITY FROM MY UMMAH WILL CONSTANTLY AND HEROICALLY STRIVE AGAINST THE FOE, AND THEIR OPPONENTS WILL DO THEM NO HARM. This will continue until the Judgment Day.(Al-Barzanji, Al-Isha'ah li-ashrat al-sa'ah)
He [Hazrat Mahdi (as)] will depart from them for a time, and thus people of deviance will be separated. So that the ignorant will say: There is no need for the Family of Muhammad [one from the line of our Prophet (saas)] in order to reach Allah." (Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Nomani, al-Ghaybah al-Nomani, p. 161)
Do you not see those who were forbidden to confer together secretly returning to the very thing they were forbidden to do, and conferring together secretly in wrongdoing and enmity and disobedience to the Messenger? And when they come to you they greet you with words Allah has never used in greeting you, and say to themselves 'Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?' Hell will be enough for them! They will roast in it. What an evil destination! (Surat al-Mujadala, 8)
Conferring in secret is from Satan, to cause grief to those who believe; but it cannot harm them at all, unless by Allah's permission. So let the believers put their trust in Allah. (Surat al-Mujadala, 10)
They have already tried to cause conflict before, and turned things completely upside down for you, until the truth came and Allah's command prevailed even though they detested it. (Surat at-Tawba, 48)
They try to conceal themselves from people, but they cannot conceal themselves from Allah. He is with them when they spend the night saying things which are not pleasing to Him. Allah encompasses everything they do. (Surat an-Nisa', 108)
They have the word, 'Obedience!' on their tongues but when they leave your presence, a group of them spend the night plotting to do other than what you say. Allah is recording their nocturnal plotting. So let them be and put your trust in Allah. Allah suffices as a Guardian. (Surat an-Nisa', 81)
If they had gone out among you, they would have added nothing to you but confusion. They would have scurried about amongst you seeking to cause conflict between you, and among you there are some who would have listened to them. Allah knows the wrongdoers. (Surat at-Tawba, 47)
Among the people there are some who say, 'We believe in Allah and the Last Day,' when they are not believers. They think they deceive Allah and those who believe. They deceive no one but themselves but they are not aware of it. There is a sickness in their hearts and Allah has increased their sickness. They will have a painful punishment on account of their denial. (Surat al-Baqara, 8-10)
The men and women of the hypocrites are as bad as one another. They command what is wrong and forbid what is right and keep their fists tightly closed. They have forgotten Allah, so He has forgotten them. The hypocrites are deviators. (Surat at-Tawba, 67)
But all might belongs to Allah and to His Messenger and the believers. But the hypocrites do not know this. (Surat al-Munafiqun, 8)
Those who were left behind were glad to stay behind the Messenger of Allah. They did not want to struggle with their wealth and themselves in the Way of Allah. They said, 'Do not go out to fight in the heat.' Say: 'The Fire of Hell is much hotter', if they only understood. (Surat at-Tawba, 81)
They swear by Allah that they are of your number, but they are not of your number. Rather, they are people who are scared. If they could find a bolt-hole, cave or burrow, they would turn and scurry away into it. (Surat at-Tawba, 56-57)
... Like panicked donkeys, fleeing from a lion. (Surat al-Muddathir, 50-51)
There you are, loving them when they do not love you, even though you have iman in all the Books. When they meet you, they say, 'We have iman.' But when they leave they bite their fingers out of rage against you. Say, 'Die in your rage.' Allah knows what your hearts contain. (Surah Al 'Imran, 119)
Or did those with sickness in their hearts imagine that Allah would not expose their malevolence? (Surah Muhammad, 29)
... They are indeed a disputatious people. (Surat az-Zukhruf, 58)
If something good happens to you, it galls them. If something bad strikes you, they rejoice at it. But if you are steadfast and guard against evil, their scheming will not harm you in any way. Allah encompasses what they do. (Surah Al 'Imran, 120)
If they come upon you, they will be your enemies and stretch out their hands and tongues against you with evil intent, and they would dearly love you to become unbelievers. (Surat al-Mumtahana, 2)
As for those who have set up a mosque, causing harm and out of disbelief, to create division between the believers, and in readiness for those who previously made war on Allah and His Messenger, they will swear, 'We only desired the best.' But Allah bears witness that they are truly liars. (Surat at-Tawba, 107)
If it had been a case of easy gains and a short journey, they would have followed you, but the distance was too great for them. They will swear by Allah: 'Had we been able to, we would have gone out with you.' They are destroying their own selves. Allah knows that they are lying. (Surat at-Tawba, 42)
Among them are those who listen to you and then, when they leave your presence, say to those who have been given knowledge,'What was that he just said?' They are those whose hearts Allah has sealed up and who follow their own desires. (Surah Muhammad, 16)
At that point the believers were tested and severely shaken. When the hypocrites and people with sickness in their hearts said, 'What Allah and His Messenger promised us was mere delusion.' And a group of them said, 'People of Yathrib (Madina), Your position is untenable so return!' some of them asked the Prophet to excuse them, saying, 'Our houses are exposed,' when they were not exposed; it was merely that they wanted to run away. (Surat al-Ahzab, 11-13)
The hypocrites are in the lowest level of the Fire. You will not find any one to help them. (Surat an-Nisa', 145)
Give news to the hypocrites that they will have a painful punishment (Surat an-Nisa', 138)
Those who break Allah's contract after it has been agreed, and sever what Allah has commanded to be joined, and cause corruption on the earth, it is they who are the lost. (Surat al-Baqara, 27)
You see many of them taking those who are unbelievers as their friends. What their lower selves have advanced for them is evil indeed, bringing Allah's anger down upon them. They will suffer punishment timelessly, for ever. (Surat al-Ma'ida, 80)
If they had been overrun from every side, and had then been asked to revert to kufr, they would have done so and hesitated very little about it. Yet they had previously made a contract with Allah that they would never turn their backs. Contracts made with Allah will be asked about. (Surat al-Ahzab, 14-15)
Anyone who is the enemy of Allah and of His angels, and of His Messengers and of Gabriel and Michael should know that Allah is the enemy of the unbelievers.' (Surat al-Baqara, 98)
Among the people there is someone whose words about the life of the world excite your admiration, and he calls Allah to witness what is in his heart, while he is in fact the most hostile of adversaries. (Surat al-Baqara, 204)
You who believe! Do not take any outside yourselves as intimates. They will do anything to harm you. They love what causes you distress. Hatred has appeared out of their mouths, but what their breasts hide is far worse. We have made the Signs clear to you if you use your intellect. (Surah Al 'Imran, 118)
Allah knows best who your enemies are. Allah suffices as a Protector; Allah suffices as a Helper. (Surat an-Nisa', 45)
When they come to you, they say, 'We believe.' But they entered with disbelief and left with it. Allah knows best what they were hiding. You see many of them rushing to wrongdoing and enmity and acquiring ill-gotten gains. What an evil thing they do! (Surat al-Ma'ida, 61-62)
In this way We have appointed as enemies to every Prophet satans from both mankind and from the jinn... (Surat al-An'am, 112)
Arm yourselves against them with all the firepower and cavalry you can muster, to terrify the enemies of Allah and your enemies, and others besides them whom you do not know. Allah knows them. Anything you spend in the Way of Allah will be repaid to you in full. You will not be wronged. (Surat al-Anfal, 60)
We brought the tribe of Israel across the sea and Pharaoh and his troops pursued them out of tyranny and enmity... (Surah Yunus, 90)
Then on the Day of Rising He will disgrace them, and say, 'Where are My partner gods for whose sake you became so hostile?' Those given knowledge will say, 'Today there is disgrace and evil for the unbelievers.' (Surat an-Nahl, 27)
In this way We have assigned to every Prophet an enemy from among the evildoers. But your Lord is a sufficient guide and helper. (Surat al-Furqan, 31)
They retort, 'Who is better then, our gods or him?' They only say this to you for argument's sake. They are indeed a disputatious people. (Surat az-Zukhruf, 58)
Do you not see those who were forbidden to confer together secretly returning to the very thing they were forbidden to do, and conferring together secretly in wrongdoing and enmity and disobedience to the Messenger? And when they come to you they greet you with words Allah has never used in greeting you, and say to themselves 'Why does Allah not punish us for what we say?' Hell will be enough for them! They will roast in it. What an evil destination! (Surat al-Mujadala, 8)
You who believe! Do not take My enemy and your enemy as friends, showing love for them when they have rejected the truth that has come to you, driving out the Messenger and yourselves simply because you believe in Allah your Lord... (Surat al-Mumtahana, 1)
When you see them, their outward form appeals to you, and if they speak you listen to what they say. But they are like propped-up planks of wood. They imagine every cry to be against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. The curse of Allah be on them! How they are perverted! (Surat al-Munafiqun, 4)
You who have iman! Some of your wives and children are an enemy to you, so be wary of them. But if you pardon and exonerate and forgive, Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Surat at-Taghabun, 14)
Among the people there is someone whose words about the life of the dunya excite your admiration, and he calls Allah to witness what is in his heart, while he is in fact the most hostile of adversaries. (Surat al-Baqara, 204)
O Prophet, struggle against the unbelievers and hypocrites and be harsh with them. Their shelter will be Hell. What an evil destination! (Surat at-Tawba, 73)
Do not obey the unbelievers and hypocrites and disregard their abuse of you. Put your trust in Allah. Allah suffices as a Protector. (Surat al-Ahzab, 48)
If the hypocrites and those with sickness in their hearts and the rumour-mongers in the City do not desist, We will set you onto them. Then they will only be your neighbours there a very short time. (Surat al-Ahzab, 60)
There was a group of nine men in the city causing corruption in the land and not putting things right. They said, "Let us make an oath to one another by Allah that we will fall on him and his family in the night and then say to his protector, 'We did not witness the destruction of his family and we are telling the truth.'" They hatched a plot and We hatched a plot while they were not aware. (Surat an-Naml, 48-50)
He knows the eyes' deceit and what people's breasts conceal. (Surah Ghafir, 19)
Allah will defend those who believe. Allah does not love any thankless traitor. (Surat al-Hajj, 38)
When those who are unbelievers were plotting against you to imprison you or kill you or expel you: they were plotting and Allah was plotting, but Allah is the Best of Plotters. (Surat al-Anfal, 30)
They desired to trap him but We made them the losers. (Surat al-Anfal, 70)


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"Why did you choose this product?"
Recommend it!! You cannot go wrong...
Rico Boston Red Sox Deluxe Weatherproof Lined Vinyl Grill Coverby Rico Industries
ITEM#: 13463518This Boston Red Sox Deluxe Grill Cover features the team logo screened on both sides of its durable vinyl. The MLB grill cover fits most large gas grills and has Velcro straps on bottom for holding onto the grill on windy days.
- Brand: Rico
- Materials: Vinyl, felt
- Style: MLB deluxe grill cover
- Weatherproof
- Felt lining on inside to protect finish
- Dimensions: 68 inches wide x 35 inches long x 21 inches deep
|68x35x21 in
|Model Number
|Country of Origin
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Recommend it!! You cannot go wrongRead More
great gift
My husband loves it and it has held up very well in the AZ sunRead More
Great BBQ cover
When I receive this Red Sox BBQ cover it was nicer and more durable than described, love it.Read More
Good Quality Grill Cover
We have a camp on the side of a mountain where it can get fairly windy. Our last grill cover was shredded due to the wind whipping it around. This grill cover is of a heavier material and the velcro straps at the bottom secure it around the grill. Since we bought this we haven't arrived at our camp to find the grill cover on the deck instead of on the grill.Read More
Great quality!
I bought this for my husband for his birthday. I purchased one at a *** in Rhode Island when we lived there, and it was very thin plastic. It tore within a year. This cover will last because it's quite thick. My hubby loves it!Read More
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We are Red Sox fans, and we needed a grill cover. So when I saw this, I decided to purchase it.
Birthday gift for my son in law.
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Calvin Klein
CK. Everyone knows the initials. Almost everyone has worn the clothes and fragrances. We've watched Kate Moss pitching him, Mark Wahlberg wearing him and even laughed at Seinfeld's Cosmo Kramer auditioning for his brand. At the end of the day, the history of American fashion designers begins and ends with Calvin Klein, the ambitious New York-born fashion baron who has dominated the industry in one shape or form for the better part of 40 years. Known for his simple fashions and saucy advertising campaigns, Calvin Klein is a fashion force who will remain on pop culture radar for as long as CK continues as the most fashionable set of initials that clothing money can buy.
While Calvin Klein -- the man -- is no longer involved on a day-to-day basis with his brand, his influence remains alive and well through CK's continuing success. The clothing and fragrances he pioneered are as hip as ever, and countless aspiring American fashion designers continue to hope, as they have for 40 years, to one day experience even a glimmer of the same success as Calvin Klein.
While Calvin Klein -- the man -- is no longer involved on a day-to-day basis with his brand, his influence remains alive and well through CK's continuing success. The clothing and fragrances he pioneered are as hip as ever, and countless aspiring American fashion designers continue to hope, as they have for 40 years, to one day experience even a glimmer of the same success as Calvin Klein.
AppealTo be blunt, Calvin Klein knows women. For starters, his profession and minimalist style have allowed many women -- from celebrity models to ordinary women on the street -- to look great and feel sexy without risking fashion faux-pas. While the designer has courted controversy with his use of young women in his advertising campaigns -- Brooke Shields is the most notorious example -- it's a safe bet that many women would be happy to get close to Calvin Klein for his name-recognition alone.
Calvin Klein has been married twice, first marrying Jayne Centre in 1964. That marriage entered the public eye in 1978 when their daughter, Marci Klein, was kidnapped and held for a ransom of $100K. She was recovered safely and has gone on to take a place in pop culture herself as an Emmy-winning producer on 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live. Her father married again in 1986 -- this time to fashion photographer Kelly Rector -- but since their subsequent divorce in 2006, Klein has remained single, enjoying the fruit of a long and successful life.
SuccessOnce upon a time -- circa 1968, that is -- Calvin Klein's fashion empire comprised nothing more than a Big Apple coat shop. Over 40 years later, Klein's empire earns hundreds of millions of dollars annually and stretches across the lines of formal clothing, jeans, underwear, and fragrance. A master at fashion simplicity and genius in the field of advertising, Klein has evolved with the times like no other American designer. Named by Time as one of the "25 Most Influential Americans" in 1996, Klein is also a three-time Coty American Fashion Critics Award-winner and a past recipient of the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Lifetime Achievement Award. In short, he's an American fashion legend.
Calvin Klein's success has also spilled over into other areas of pop culture influence. While it's true that consumers around the world can thank Klein for dressing them for almost half a century, there are many celebrities who owe him enormous gratitude for putting them on the map. On the female side, Kate Moss, Toni Garm, Natalia Vodianova, Eva Mendes, Doutzen Kroes, Alessandra Ambrosio and Lara Stone are only a small sample of the models whose careers have benefited from their association with Klein. We can't forget the men, as the Calvin Klein campaigns featuring Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Sabato Jr. cemented those guys' careers even as they were also among the designer's most successful ventures.
Calvin Klein BiographyCalvin Klein was born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York. While neighboring kids played stickball, Klein's main interest was fashion. So strong was his passion for clothing that Klein learned to sketch sew designs on his own. Naturally, he gained entrance to the High School of Art and Design where he applied his skills further before being accepted to New York's Fashion Institute of Technology.
Rather than complete his training at the Fashion Institute of Technology, in 1962 Calvin Klein dropped out and became an apprentice to Dan Millstein, a designer who specialized in formal suits and dress coats. During his time with Millstein, Klein worked extra hours -- often staying late in the evenings and coming in on weekends -- to further his skills and learn how to make concrete the design ideas he was developing. By 1968, Calvin Klein had had enough of being an apprentice. In a partnership with his friend, Barry Schwartz, he launched Calvin Klein Limited using shop space at the York Hotel. With Klein's designs and Schwartz's financial backing, a fashion empire was born.
calvin klein launches calvin klein jeansThe initial investment forming Calvin Klein Limited was approximately $10K. The story goes that in the company's first year of existence, a representative from the New York department store Bonwit Teller stumbled upon the shop by accident and ordered $50K in merchandise. A cover appearance on Vogue came in 1969 and within four years, Klein earned his first of three straight Coty Awards as his operation was expanding into items and accessories like sportswear, lingerie, sunglasses and shoes. Through the licensing of specific items, Calvin Klein and Barry Schwartz became millionaires and their sales figures soon topped $100 million annually.
In 1978, Calvin Klein went into the jeans business, employing 14-year-old actress and model Brooke Shields to promote them. While the jeans were a staggering success, the designer attracted significant controversy for his sexually suggestive print and television ads featuring the underage Shields. However, the controversy ultimately only helped to sell more jeans, and Brooke Shields continued to work with Calvin Klein as a model in the years to come. As Klein continued into the 1980s to master fashions for both men and women, he picked up awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, who made him the first designer recognized for outstanding design for both sexes.
calvin klein launches underwear and fragranceThough the awards poured in, and the publicity (both positive and negative) made Calvin Klein and his jeans one of the fashion world's hottest commodities, his company suffered serious financial setbacks in the 1890s after the failed launch of a cosmetics line. Employee departures and whispers of impending bankruptcy made it seem like the end of Calvin Klein's empire was near, but in true to form, he rebounded to reclaim his industry throne.
The salvation of Calvin Klein's company was in large part the CK line of underwear for men and women that was popularized by advertising campaigns featuring models Kate Moss and Antonio Sabato Jr., as well as then pop-star Mark Wahlberg (aka "Marky Mark"). The Calvin Klein underwear line -- known across pop culture as "Calvins" -- became must-haves for both sexes, and its annual revenues reached upwards of $70 million.
While Calvin Klein's early experimentation with fragrance and cosmetics had been money-losers, he tried again and struck gold through the late '80s and into the '90s with a stream fragrances like Obsession, Escape and Eternity -- all marketed with sexually-charged bravado. Though Kate Moss was the most visible representative of the Calvin Klein fragrance line, the designer made every effort to create fragrance that could be marketed to both sexes. This strategy hit a new peak in 1994 and 1996 with the respective releases of CK One and CK Be, both of which were unisex scents.
calvin klein contributes to america's top male model and hires zoe saldanaIn 2002, just a year after winning the Council of Fashion Designers of America Lifetime Achievement Award, the Calvin Klein company experienced a major corporate shake-up and was sold to the Phillips Van Heusen Corporation for upwards of $700 million. The change in ownership marked the beginning of Calvin Klein's reduced role in his brand and his transition towards retirement, though he stayed on to oversee his collections until 2003, when he switched over to the position of Consulting Creative Director.
At present, Calvin Klein is no longer as active inside his brand as he once was, but his influence can still be seen in the ongoing production of new clothing lines and the brand's participation in hip pop-culture endeavors. In 2008, the Calvin Klein brand released Calvin Klein Golf, a line created specifically for golfers. That same year, it also became a prize partner for America's Top Male Model by offering a $100K contract to the winner. In 2010, the remnants of Calvin Klein's famed foray into underwear were alive and well as his brand hired Avatar star Zoe Saldana as the face and body of its new underwear line, Underwear Envy.
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The Best Beer Menus in America
Like the proper use of a tire jack or how to win a game of poker, beef is one of those subjects about which, as a man, you're assumed to be knowledgeable. But that doesn't mean you are, at least entirely. Matters used to be difficult enough when you only needed to possess an informed opinion regarding T-bones versus tenderloins. These days, steakhouse menus and butcher's-case labels can look like a USDA licensing exam: Should you go grain-fed or grass-fed? Is dry-aged worth the hype? And what the hell does "prime" mean, anyway? Without getting too technical, we've provided the important know-how in our handy Eat Like a Man guide. Read it, and all the glory of a good steer will be revealed.
A basic designator of high-quality meat, "prime" is the USDA's top beef grade (followed by "choice," then "select"), representing less than three percent of what's sold in the United States. The grading system is based almost entirely on marbling, or how much fat appears within the muscle, explains Mark McCully, Vice President of Certified Angus Beef. "More fat, distributed more evenly, means a higher grade." It's the melting of that fat through cooking that makes a piece of beef flavorful and juicy. Most of the prime steak on the market ends up in restaurants and sold by premium purveyors, and it's rarely found in supermarkets. Know that a restaurant can call itself a "prime steakhouse" if it offers even just a single cut of prime-grade beef. And to make matters more complicated, "prime rib" is the name of a cut of beef and doesn't indicate that the meat in question falls in the USDA's top class.
The 2011 Bottles You'll Want to Try