text:
HTC Droid Incredible to get VCAST App store next week?
0. phoneArena posted on 04 Nov 2010, 12:03
Although all of Verizon's Android phones running 2.2 will eventually get the VCAST App store, it looks like the HTC Droid Incredible will be the first to offer it...
This is a discussion for a news. To read the whole news, click here
1. MikeG77 (Posts: 415; Member since: 24 Nov 2008)
WTF Verizon! Why not release the OTA update without the VCAST crap?!
2. jcoberg10 (Posts: 112; Member since: 30 Oct 2009)
Agreed, the incredible has a lot of bloat wear, that can not be removed. I've paid a total of $0.99 for apps in 7 months i don't want to pay for apps there for i don't need Vcast app store.... BEAT IT!
6. WP7Fan (unregistered)
Honestly every carrier has bloatware so I dont really see why this is such a big deal when everyone else also does the same thing...tis one reason why I like WP7 as you can uninstall the bloatware.
3. 123stilt (unregistered)
WHY WOULD ANYONE PAY FOR VCAST APPS when there is an android market with pretty much every you want either free or paid and with the android market place you got 24hrs to get a refund as well. no way vzw (ed lover voice)"come on son!!!"
7. WP7Fan (unregistered)
the purpose for this is for people to bill to thier account and not have to use a credit card or google check out. Its a benefit for those who might want to pay for the app later rather then right then...no one knows about the refund process till the app is out also dont want to use it ...then just use market.
4. MikeG77 (Posts: 415; Member since: 24 Nov 2008)
This is a Google OS! I don't need Bing, Bing Maps, City ID, VZ Navigator or this so called VCast app store! Verizon is just being greedy......which is normal for them! There are 2 ways to fix this.....either someone sues Verizon or companies like HTC, Samsung and LG stick up to Verizon and tell them not to @#$% with there products!
8. WP7Fan (unregistered)
if your in the business of making money...dont you want to...well...make money...besides its not like the OEM's are selling devices direct to consumers..if that was the case then people would pay 500 to 800 for a phone easy..also certain phones like the incredible and even to some degree the Evo wouldnt be around since carriers order these phones to the companys on specifications...kiss that 8gig internal storage goodbye....and even still people act like carriers bully OEM's lol.
9. MikeG77 (Posts: 415; Member since: 24 Nov 2008)
Im not saying Verizon can't make money what i am saying is that these services should be optional! As a consumer i should have the option to remove ANY unwanted software that i deem unwanted. They could easily produce an app that you can download but now there forcing it on people.
5. newfdog 13 (Posts: 64; Member since: 06 Mar 2010)
Typical greedy Verizon, can't leave well enough alone. Sell me the damn phone, the way the manufacturers want them spec'd out, and just give me my signal!!! IS THAT SO HARD?


text:
>Racing>Stair Climb
How To Run a Marathon: Step 1 - start running. There is no Step 2.
Very, very cool. Is that the Hancock Tower?
Princess Cancer Pants
• Chemo
• Chemo-Radiation
• Surgery
• Return to kicking my own ass by 2018
She was not strong. She was valiant. Radiant. Brave and broken. The beauty she discovered in the aftermath was unparalleled to anything she had known before, because it had come at such a cost.
~ Unknown
I fly.
Bring it on.
Very, very cool. Is that the Hancock Tower?
madness baby
An annual stair climb race up the 94 floors from the Michigan Avenue level to the observation deck called Hustle up the Hancock is held on the last Sunday of February. The climb benefits the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago. The record time as of 2006 is 9 minutes 39 seconds.
3000 miles
Sub 19:00 for 5K 05-03-13 Clee Prom 5K - 19:00:66 that was bloody close!
Sub-40:00 for 10K 17-03-13 Gainsborough 10K - 39:43
Sub 88:00 for HM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Tony Stephanois, just out of prison and angry at his girl Mado's infidelity, decides to join his pals Jo and Mario in an ambitious crime. With Italian safe expert Cesar, they meticulously plan the burglary of a large jewelry establishment. Not a word is spoken as the crime is carried out. And then things begin to go wrong...
Just as Bullitt (1968) is remembered for its definitive car chase even as the plot details fade in the mind, the 1955 French crime movie Rififi (originally entitled Du Rififi Chez Des Hommes) is universally recalled as the film with the long, wordless robbery sequence. This set-piece takes up over a quarter of the running time of the movie, and has been imitated by heist pictures ever since.
A crew of efficient burglars force their way into an apartment over the Paris salon of Mappin & Webb jewellers, tie up the aged occupants, and hammer through the ceiling into the shop below — forced to chip away at the hole without using heavy equipment because a super-sensitive alarm system will be triggered by any major disturbance.
Later variations on this theme, like director Jules Dassin's glossier Topkapi (1964) or the Mission: Impossible films, deploy hi-tech equipment and feature robbers who are acrobats or secret agents with unbelievable skills, but Rififi is credibly craftsmanlike. The crew use an umbrella lowered through the initial hole to catch chunks of falling masonry and disable the alarm by filling it with foam from a fire extinguisher. Special tools are required to cut into the safe in which the jewels are kept, but so are off-cuts of wood and, at one perilous moment, the strong back of the team's youngest member.
The robbery, including a getaway under the noses of les gendarmes, lasts about 25 minutes and plays with only minimal ^ sound effects and no background music. The crooks keep silent for the same reason that they wear gloves: just to be on the safe side. Having achieved this cinematic coup, Dassin can't resist capping it with a gag—the first line of dialogue to interrupt the wordlessness comes from a moll who barges into the room where the burglars are celebrating with, "Sorry, I heard noises".
Though his name makes him sound French, Jules Dassin was actually an American director. He made a name in Hollywood with the horrific prison movie Brute Force in 1947, then pioneered the documentary-style on-the-streets crime movie with The Naked City (1948), the underrated Thieves' Highway (1949) and the masterly British-shot original of Night And The City in 1950. He skipped America ahead of a subpoena from the House Un-American Activities Committee, served because director Edward Dmytryk had named him as a card-carrying Communist and became an international filmmaker; eventually settled in Greece where he entered a personal and professional partnership with Melina Mercouri. In France in the mid-50s, Dassin hooked up with Auguste le Breton, a crime novelist famous for carrying a gun and acting like one of his characters, to develop a script based on le Breton's recent novel. It is ironic that Rififi is famous for a dialogue-free sequence, since le Breton was known for his command of underworld argot and all the characters in the film speak in a distinctive Franco-Italian crook patois. The title expression was so unfamiliar even to French audiences that a song had to be written in to explain it.
The actual plot is along the lines of the earlier The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and the later The Killing (1956). Tony le Stephanois (Servais), a craggy burglar just out of jail after a five-year stretch, discovers his girl Mado (Marie Sabouret) has ditched him for dope-dealing pimp Pierre (Marco Lupovici). His younger, married protege Jo (Mohner) and genial, grinning Mario (Robert Manuel) try to talk him into a smash and grab raid on the jewellers' window so Jo can buy toys for his young son and Mario can splash out on his bubbly floozy Ida (Claude Sylvain). Tony is reluctant but commits if the raid can be stepped up into a real heist, with specialist Cesar the Milanese ("They say there's no safe that can resist Cesar and that there's no woman Cesar can resist") called in. Perlo Vita, who plays the lounge lizard-like Italian safe-cracker, is Dassin himself, stepping on screen under an assumed name to thumb his nose at the red-baiters back home. These are subtly different from the sort of hoods found in American crime movies: pipe-smoking, wine-drinking, sentimental, fatalist. Though suspenseful, the film has little of the melodrama of similar American movies, even after the
robbery when things inevitably fall apart.
As in The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing, the problem isn't the cops but better-organised and nastier crooks. When word gets out that Tony's mob have scooped "240 millions des bijoux", Pierre tortures Cesar into talking, sets a razor-wielding junkie on Mario and Ida, and has Jo's son kidnapped. Tony, appalled that the criminal code he believes in no longer applies, regretfully but remorselessly murders the squealer Cesar ("I liked you, Macaroni, but you know the rules") and shoots his way into the derelict hide-out where Tony's son is being held. However, though the kid is rescued, Jo is already on the way with the cash for the ransom and winds up dead too. Tony, lonely and gutshot, touches Jo's dead face with a tenderness he'd never show a woman (earlier, he beat up Mado) and empties his gun into Pierre, who is already dead in a grave. It ends, like many French crime films, with a shrug and the almost-unnoticed death (another wordless scene) of the protagonist. Ca va.
A much plundered, but never bettered heist yarn.


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The state of the aircraft service industry eight months after September 11 can best be described as guardedly optimistic. Thanks largely to the success and publicity of fractional programs, the public has never been more aware of the benefits of business and personal aviation. At the same time, airlines have proven themselves less and less capable of meeting the travel needs of top-level executives and so-called "high net worth" individuals. FBOs in some parts of the country are reporting record levels of general aviation traffic, but strategic pockets of restricted ramp- and airspace have paralyzed other airports and brought general aviation traffic to a standstill.
At the AS3 convention held in Indianapolis in late March, NATA president Jim Coyne expressed his prime areas of concern for the FBO industry in the coming months. These areas include, but are not limited to, the unknown effects of upcoming security regulations and the state of the overall economy. As he told AIN in a pre-convention interview, "Our industry has never faced as much change as it does right now."
The Security Wild Card
Possible new security regulations are by far the biggest wild card for Coyne and NATA's members. The nascent Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is expected to grow from sea level to 50,000 employees (including security screeners at airports) within the next 12 months. Within the turf-war battle zone inside the Washington beltway, that constitutes a sweeping blitzkrieg, upsetting the balance of power. The FAA will be among the most prominent federal agencies to have significant segments of its operational authority modified, if not challenged outright, by the new agency.
For NATA and the general-aviation service industry at large, the character of the TSA as it develops is of great concern. As Coyne pointed out in his state of the industry speech in Indianapolis, "The culture of this new agency is dramatically different from that of the FAA." While the FAA has always communicated and worked closely with industry to resolve regulatory conflicts, the TSA is showing an attitude of distrust and isolation, he said. Coyne feels that the FAA has traditionally tapped into the real-world, day-to-day experience of NATA members to gain an accurate perspective on issues of safety. He is fearful that the TSA is adopting a "180-degree reverse position" and operating in a rulemaking vacuum.
"They may be experts on security," said Coyne, "but they don't have the expertise in our field that is available to them from our industry members who have spent their entire careers in this business."
Local Influence and Control
While NATA has great concern over the centralized control of the federal TSA, its members are equally concerned over state, county and local authorities exerting restrictions on general aviation. With the home-front war on terror such a political hot button, lower-level municipal authorities have heavy political incentives to exert their influence.
Coyne said: "Every local community thinks it has the answer to security concerns at its own airport." He is concerned that this will lead to wildly divergent standards and practices from location to location, noting that he has already experienced a sharp diversity of security levels in his own flying.
In fact, much of the hallway conversation at the NATA Convention centered on the various local security measures adopted as a result of September 11 and the January suicide crash of a teenager into a Tampa, Fla. downtown office building. "What is the threat?" is the resounding question that the FBO industry has for those who would look to pile on security measures at FBOs.
William Barkhauer, airport director for DM Developments, manager of Morristown (N.J.) Municipal Airport (MMU), said it is unrealistic to try to convince lawmakers and authorities that general aviation is not any threat at all. Despite the minimal damage inflicted by the Cessna 172 that crashed into a building in Tampa, the so-called "marshmallows thrown at a window" argument goes only so far. Barkhauer said it's important to recognize that general aviation will never be viewed politically the same as it was before September 11.
Other FBO executives recommended a proactive stance with local authorities. Jeff Baum, operator of three Wisconsin FBOs, said he approached local law-enforcement officials and asked what the police chief suggested they could do together to improve security. "While I find it hard to believe that downtown Juneau, Wisconsin, would be a major terrorist target," he said, "we've been keeping aircraft locked and hangared whenever possible. By asking the local police chief to increase patrols at the airport, I believe we have done a lot to bring them into the loop and ensure the lines of communication stay open."
Addressing a gathering at the NATA Convention, Bob Showalter, chairman of Showalter Aviation at Orlando (Fla.) Executive Airport (ORL), summed up the fears of many NATA members. He said, "My biggest concern is that our industry is going to be regulated out of a major part of our functionality without a meaningful increase in security."
While security concerns represent serious potential pitfalls for general aviation, ironically public concern over the safety of airline travel coupled with cutbacks in service, increased delays and the indignity of airport security procedures have been a boon to business-jet travel. Direct beneficiaries of this windfall, so far, have been the charter industry and fractional operators (at least in terms of business inquiries). FBOs live and die by fuel sales, so when business jets fly, the service industry prospers. The effects for FBOs have been inconsistent across the country, representing the best and worst of the effects of September 11.
Certainly representing the worst is Signature Flight Support at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), which remained closed at press time except for fueling limited numbers of government aircraft. Once Signature's busiest location, DCA has seen some of its general aviation traffic (and personnel) diverted to Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Baltimore Washington International (BWI) Airports, but the financial loss for Signature is devastating. The airport closures in the weeks and months after September 11 were harder on other, smaller FBOs that did not have the support of a parent-company network. "In effect, the lights went out for a matter of weeks, or even months," said Coyne, and a number of aviation flight schools and other small businesses were sucked under by the financial black hole.
Conversely, other locations have seen significant increases in traffic. Showalter told AIN that the last three months of last year set records for fuel sales at Showalter Aviation. Other FBO operators shared similar stories, though, understandably, none wanted to appear to be reveling in profits generated by the September 11 atrocity.
The Insurance Challenge, and a Silver Lining
One area where almost all aviation businesses have been dealt a major blow is their collective insurance bill. Many FBOs saw war-risk insurance evaporate altogether at any price. Most have seen significant increases in regular premiums as much as 20 percent overnight. Coyne attributes the increases to the insurance industry attempting to recoup some of the devastating losses it suffered on September 11.
While insurance providers across the board took massive hits, the aviation segment was hit hardest, with the airlines suffering tremendous losses. Coyne believes that insurers may be shifting some of the burden from airlines to general aviation businesses, and he doesn't think that's fair. The rank and file at the NATA Convention agreed.
At the same time, Coyne expressed hope that artificially high premiums could lure new insurers to the aviation field. Underwriters who may not have considered aviation businesses in the past may be tempted by the high prices, and discover in their due diligence research that aviation businesses overall are a good insurance risk. With new blood in the market, the competitiveness would increase, theoretically leading to lower premiums.
The insurance dilemma is complicated by the fact that much of the financial damage was done to the re-insurance market–those insurers who back up underwriters when a claim exceeds a certain ceiling. Since most claims resulting from September 11 were so large, it was the reinsurers who suffered the worst financial loss. Since their business is spread across a wide spectrum of the market, reinsurers are inclined to try to recoup their losses from all market segments rather than just the industries that suffered the direct loss. Some general-aviation business operators believe that they are shouldering more than their fair share simply because their line of business may be viewed by the reinsurers as a close cousin to the airlines.
Future Visions of a Healthy Economy
For a glance forward at business aviation over the next year and beyond, Coyne and other NATA officers look to the state of the overall economy. Coyne has said that if, indeed, we are in a recovery, general aviation is well placed to benefit from the economic upswing. While reports are spotty on increased charter activity, greater interest in fractional sales and higher traffic levels for Part 91 travel, Coyne feels there is a groundswell of need for the product only general aviation can deliver.
"The airlines are not going to be getting better anytime soon," he said, referring to the schedule cutbacks and decreased levels of service systemwide, not to mention the inconvenience and frustration passengers feel with inconsistent and burdensome security measures. With a pent-up demand for travel and general aviation gaining more and more of the public eye, the result could be a strong growth curve over the next 12 to 18 months, Coyne said.
In the long term, a lot could depend on the wholesale cost of jet fuel. Over the last month, Venezuela has sharply reduced its output of crude oil due to widespread political instability. The reduction in output deprives the U.S. of a double-digit percentage of its current foreign oil supply. At the same time, Iraq reduced production in protest over the fighting in Israel, cutting off a further 9 percent of the U.S. foreign supply.
Two major factors mitigate the effects of these cutbacks. First, world oil markets have become increasingly competitive in the past few years, with Russia challenging Opec's status as the world's leading producer of crude oil. North Sea and South American contributions have also combined to produce record-low prices on crude (when adjusted for inflation). Second, the effects of any decrease in supply are buffered by surpluses held in place to prevent precisely the kind of panic caused by the Arab oil embargo of the early 1970s. It will take some time for any real "shortage" to cause any slowdown in the delivery of petroleum products such as jet fuel, home heating oil and gasoline (avgas or auto fuel).
But the emotional response to news such as that of the Venezuelan upheaval can artificially spike crude prices and, by extension, wholesale fuel prices as suppliers react by trying to prepare for the anticipated increases. Depending on how long it takes for more accurate underlying market forces to normalize prices, there could be an increase in retail jet-A prices, but probably not for several months.
Some fuel suppliers feel that with current crude prices unrealistically low, a reasonable price correction would be a stabilizing influence. But that would not likely happen unless the overall U.S. economy shows signs of a real sustained recovery.
Retail Fuel Prices and the Great FBO Dilemma
One of the most vexing dilemmas for some FBOs is how to balance profit margin with an ever- changing overhead-cost structure. The practice of bundling most or all of an FBO's profits into the revenue generated by fuel sales goes back a long way, but represents a significant problem in today's business climate, to say nothing of what the aviation-services industry will be like five or 10 years from now.
Today's fundamental FBO business model dates back to business jet travel in the early 1960s. In that era, JetStars, Sabreliners and 20-series Lear Jets (before mergers contracted the company name to Learjet) chug-a- lugged jet-A at a rate that caused pilots to keep a weather eye on their fuel gauges from spool-up to shutdown. A cross-country trip meant at least a pair of pit stops.
Even short, round-robin missions involved topping off at virtually every airport or running the risk that an unanticipated holding pattern could generate a low-fuel emergency. Wholesale military-surplus jet fuel was available to FBOs for as little as 12 cents per gallon, so drastic markups still made the FBO look like a flight-department sugar daddy. Airport managers, politicians and chambers of commerce gushed at the prospect of big-spending, jet-setting company executives using the local airport as a gateway to their communities. A visit by a corporate jet could mean a shot in the arm to the local economy, corporate tax revenue, new jobs and more votes for the politicians who brought them in.
For FBOs, cash flowed every time one of those thirsty jets bellied up to the pump. It's no wonder they bent over backwards to coax pilots of these sexy new business jets onto their ramp, using every imaginable seductive force. Besides some of those more obvious attractions, expensive pilot giveaways, loaner cars, golf privileges and palatial facilities tempted savvy left-seaters to plan their fuel stops accordingly. Pilots with empty fuel tanks were treated like rich relatives from out of town–and they got used to it.
In fact, selling jet fuel generated so much profit that some wised-up airport authorities began writing into lease contracts that FBOs must provide other aviation services such as aircraft sales, maintenance, flight instruction, charter and aircraft rental. Without those lease requirements, profit-hungry FBO execs in many locations would ignore the relatively skill- and labor-intensive low-margin services and go straight for the jet-fuel jugular, leaving the airport and the community with no other aviation infrastructure.
Back to the Present
In short, FBO veterans universally agree that the early days of the business jets were "like a license to print money." But that was then and this is now.
To say that the business has evolved would be to understate the massive shift over the past four decades. Most of the original financial incentives have reversed themselves, while much of the culture remains. The two opposite dynamics make today's FBO business much more challenging.
For instance, consider this change in financial incentive. New-millennium turbofan engines are much more efficient, and fueling today's airframes offers much more flexibility. Jet spec sheets today list separate range figures for full-tanks with fewer pax, or shorter range with all the seats occupied and the tanks less than full. In 1947, Beech boasted that the Bonanza could fly with full tanks and a full-size adult in every seat. In today's world, that would be considered a strategic design flaw.
With this fuel efficiency and flexibility, pilots began using their jumbo-size fuel tanks to avoid buying fuel at higher-priced FBOs, tankering through until they got home to their private, discounted, fuel farm, or to some out-of-the-way location where, for a variety of reasons, fuel prices were lower. Gone are the days when a jet has to top off at every stop.
Another fiscal reality: with wholesale jet fuel prices watched and managed much more closely today, the days of "buy incredibly low, and sell high" are also gone. Margins on jet fuel may not be readily known on a day-to-day basis, but it's a safe bet that no one is slurping up surplus military fuel at token, giveaway rates.
'Haves vs Have Nots'
Politically, business jets are far removed from the welcome attitudes they enjoyed in the booming 1960s. Sociologists study different societies' "tolerance for disparity of wealth," meaning how readily the lower socio-economic groups accept the fact that those in the upper socio-economic levels have greater privileges. Needless to say, in a Horatio Alger-inspired "anyone can make it rich" democracy such as America's, such tolerance is much lower than in some Asian and Middle East caste-oriented cultures. In Western society we tend to root for the gutsy little guy to work hard and be successful–just not too successful.
As a result, citizen groups and local politicians are more likely these days to join forces against an influx of business-jet traffic, rather than roll out the red carpet. Passengers on business jets are still seen as the elite few who enjoy privileges unavailable to the rank and file.
Those who would go into business to service such aircraft are painted with the same brush, and often find little cooperation from local authorities–or even outright resistance to any plans for expansion or improvement of their facilities. At FBOs on airports also served by major airlines, it's not uncommon for airport authorities to begrudge the very existence of a GA facility. This is the prevailing climate for FBOs, a far cry from the attitudes prevalent when the industry was in its infancy.
Pilots' High Expectations
But the culture remains somewhat intact. Pilots still expect top-level treatment from FBOs. At the very least, they expect their passengers to be afforded the same level of service they enjoyed while on board the aircraft. In some cases, pilots still anticipate the same reception they grew accustomed to in the old days. Even if they aren't old enough to have flown during those boom years, they have heard the stories and expect to receive their fair share of the plush treatment now that they have found their way into the cockpit of a sophisticated corporate turbine.
And in many locations, the old days never left. There are airports where corporate aviation still is king, and FBOs enjoy the cooperation and support of local businesses and municipal authorities. Rent-free leaseholds with paid utilities and other freebies are not extinct. FBOs in those situations can afford to offer top-level services with low-ball fuel prices to boot. The range of total overhead costs for FBOs–from the lowest to the highest–would span an economic chasm to rival the Grand Canyon.
And yet there remains one source of offsetting those costs and, maybe, earning a profit. Fuel sales remain overwhelmingly the primary source of revenue for FBOs. Only now, because of tankering, a large-city facility with high rent, little support from its airport board and tighter rein on its revenues (not to mention unionized employees) is in direct competition with a down-home FBO in the outback that may operate rent-free and pay little, if any, in flowage fees or other overhead costs.
Pilots all want to save their company money, and buying fuel from the latter FBO could save several hundred dollars on a single trip. We've all heard the "guy" jokes about driving cross-town to buy gas for a couple of pennies less per gallon. Saving money on fuel seems to be a national male pastime second only to avoiding asking for directions.
The practice of buying "courtesy fuel" arose from this disparity. Pilots would "reward" good service by taking on a token amount of fuel from each stop along the way. It's an imperfect system. What may seem like a courtesy fuel purchase to a pilot may barely cover the cost of driving the fuel truck out to the aircraft for a given FBO. The variables are just too great to arrive at a general code of good practice as far as compensating an FBO for providing the service, or maybe even just being there at all.
Monopoly Money
There seems to be a general opinion that if an FBO is the only facility on the airport, that accounts for its practice of charging outrageous prices for fuel. While there is some truth to this assertion, the full story is much more complex. No one knows exactly what an FBO's month-to-month costs are to be at a particular airport–sometimes not even the FBO itself. Arriving at a break-even figure for the month is not always a simple calculation. To extend a business plan out several months or years becomes increasingly fraught with uncertainty over the ever-changing variables.
For instance, when business jet travel boomed in the high-stakes dot-com era, FBOs pumped a lot of fuel–but saw double-digit wholesale fuel-price increases at the same time. While most agree it was a good time to be in the FBO business, the steep increases in fuel prices kept it from being the overwhelming windfall it could have been.
Ironically, the jump in wholesale fuel prices may have been good for the long-term status of the FBO industry. Because revenues and profits can fluctuate so much, boom times have traditionally drawn in well intentioned but inexperienced new blood to the FBO business. While such newcomers add spice and new breath to the marketplace, they can also upset the balance by operating with unrealistically low margins that turn good profits in the short term, but can't survive even a modest downturn in ramp traffic.
If fuel prices hadn't gone up in the late 1990s, windfall profits would have attracted more of this brand of newcomer to the aviation field. As it was, profits remained modest and the FBO industry retained stability in the face of the much more volatile ride taken by Wall Street.
Summary Notes
In summary, most pilots agree that the FBO industry as a whole is doing a good job of keeping business aircraft fed and sheltered and their passengers and pilots similarly cared for. FBOs also perform a vital service in maintaining the foothold general aviation enjoys at some otherwise reluctant airports, while making some locations a true pleasure to visit. Over the past five years, billions of dollars have been invested in new construction and capital improvements at existing FBOs, creating a standard of quality rivaling that of the top hotel chains.
Over the coming decade, FBO executives are challenged with the need to adapt to some challenges from new adversaries. At the same time, the business aircraft service industry is committed to extolling the value of general aviation, hoping to sail along on what is expected to be a prosperous economic sea change.


text:
July 14, 2017 - The Governor General and the Canadian delegation attended an event hosted by JD.com to support an online promotion featuring tourism as well as Canadian food and consumer products available on their website.
July 13, 2017 – The Governor General met with President Xi Jinping to reinforce Canada and China's long-standing relations in Beijing.
July 12, 2017 – The Governor General attended a cultural event entitled Celebrating Our Diversity and Preserving Our Heritage at the Confucius Theater in Guiyang.
July 11, 2017 - The Governor General and Canadian delegates participated in a hotpot dinner with Chinese students who are preparing to study at Canadian universities this fall.


text:
The Macroeconomic Implications of Household Debt: An Empirical Analysis
Multi-equation econometric frameworks are used to investigate the impact of household debt on aggregate performance in US. In the vector autoregression analysis capturing the transitory feedback effects, we observe a bidirectional positive feedback process between aggregate income and debt. According to the estimation of vector error correction models, there are negative long-run relationships between household debt and output. The empirical model has also been extended to include investment and corporate debt. The results are in contrast with the results of empirical model without corporate sector variables. The negative long-run relationship between household debt and GDP ceases to exist as shown by the positive cointegrating coefficients in the cointegrating equations. Impulse response functions from these extended empirical models also indicate that investment may be an important channel through which household debt affects output.
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|73 pages
|Date of creation:
|May 2011
|Contact details of provider:
| Postal: 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT 06106-3100
Phone: (860) 297 - 2485
Web page: http://www.trincoll.edu/Academics/MajorsAndMinors/Economics/Pages/default.aspx
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text:
If buying a new Printer today ...
AusPic wrote:
Hi Vernon,
I had really, REALLY hoped to avoid identifying the contenders and my final choice. The tools we use are so like extensions of our self in a way. In Marketing it is well understood and so advertising is pitched at the bait that particular demographic groups respond to.
BUT as you asked I guess I should say rather than being falsely coy.
Based on the criteria outlined above, I pared away all else, and focused on me and my foibles, strengths and weaknesses likes and dislikes as honestly as I could.
At the very core of my needs is the ability to use the media of my choice, in the way I wanted to and to drive the output format myself with a minimum of fuss.
I chose an Epson 3880, it has a history, its proven itself over time and has the flexibility I require.
If my volume of output were to change, or my target expand beyond A2, I would be back at square one again.
Andrew G
Andrew, thanks for your post. The Epson 3880 is an excellent printer and should meet most people's needs unless it is necessary to print on paper wider than 17 inch or the use of Roll papers is absolutely required.
Enjoy your printer.....
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Police Arrest Dozens During Athens Halloween Party
ATHENS, Ohio
Police arrested 80 people during a 12-hour period during the annual Halloween block party near Ohio University this weekend.
Athens police arrested 49 people on Saturday and early Sunday. Ohio University police arrested 31 others.
Paramedics took 25 people to emergency rooms.
Many of the offenses and emergency calls were alcohol related, according to authorities.
In 2011, authorities made 129 arrests.
Watch 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for more information.
©2017 by 10TV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Smoky Southwestern Grill
Recipe by ReeLani
A tasty sounding twist on the grilled cheese sandwich. This was in today's (2/15/05) Detroit Free Press food section and I plan to try it very soon.
Top Review by heather_werner
These sandwiches were wonderful. I was pleasantly surprised. Don't judge the recipe by the pictures, they really are so good. My grocery store did not have any ciabatta bread, so I used french hamburger buns which looked like a similar texture to me. I sprinkled swiss cheese on them instead of mozzarella. The goat cheese was a little strong flavored for me, so next time I will use less than called for. It tastes like a stinky cream cheese, but it's still good. Loved these!
See Discussion:1 Review
Ingredients Nutrition
- 2 pasilla chiles or 2 anaheim chilies (or use canned chiles)
- 8 slice bacon, coarsley chopped
- 4 ciabatta rolls, cut in half or 1 loaf ciabatta, cut into 3 inch wide sections
- 29.58 ml olive oil
- 340.19 g fresh mozzarella cheese, coarsley grated (if watery drain slightly and cut into thin slices rather than grating)
- 113.39 g fresh goat cheese, crumbled or pinched into pea-size pieces
- 4 slice tomatoes, about 1/4 inch thick
Directions See How It's Made
- Roast peppers by preheating broiler, or over a burner of a gas stove.
- Place chiles under broiler or hold one chile with tongs over gas burner flame.
- Cook, turning frequently, until skin is charred all over.
- Repeat with remaining chile.
- Place chiles in resealable plastic bag and set aside 20 minutes.
- With small sharp knife scrape off charred skin, cut off stems, then cut chiles into 1/2-inch wide strips.
- Set aside.
- In large non-stick skillet cook bacon over medium-high heat'til crispy.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Wipe skillet but don't wash it.
- To assemble, pull out some of the center of each roll to create a well.
- Brush the outside of each roll half with the oil.
- Place bottom 4 pieces on work surface, oiled side dow.
- Distribute mozzarella evenly over these pieces, followed by bacon, chiles, goat cheese and tomatoes.
- Place remaining 4 pieces of rolls on top, oiled side up.
- Using same skillet as before, heat skillet over medium heat 2 minutes.
- Place sandwiches in skillet (in batches if necessary) and press firmly with spatula to flatten them slightly.
- Cover and cook 3-4 minutes, or'til undersides are golden brown in places and mozzarella has begun to melt.
- Uncover and turn sandwiches with spatula, pressing very firmly.
- Cover and cook 2-3 minutes, or'til tops are golden brown in places.
- Turn sandwiches again, press with spatula, and cook 30 seconds to 1 minutes'til mozzarella has melted completely.


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Many of the presented ideas are being translated into reality today. The first phase of The Venus Project has been completed in a little over twenty one acres research center in still pristine south-central Florida, where the future is currently taking shape. The actual buildings and conference center are supplemented by models, illustrations, blueprints, posters, books and video presentations. These are the first steps that have been completed to help one see, feel, and touch the future.
Building Designs
Why are the first buildings designed for The Venus Project dome-shaped? The dome requires the least amount of material to enclose a given area. It offers ease of fabrication and prefabrication. It is the shape of maximum strength and stability. When properly engineered, the dome can withstand extremely high wind loads and is resistant to earthquakes, termites, rodents, and fire. Most of all, being constructed of concrete, it preserves our forests.
The domes use reinforced concrete, which is readily available and easy to fabricate. It is well insulated and soundproof. It offers limitless potential of free-form design configuration.
We can fabricate kitchen cabinets, furniture and a great deal of the interior as an integral part of the building, which requires little maintenance and repair.
Nature has evolved the dome configuration as the most efficient enclosure for the human brain; thus, it could be said that we all live in domes!
The buildings shown are the shape of things to come – not just the shape of architecture, but of a way of life that is attainable now. It can be clean, secure, high-tech, aesthetically pleasing, and yet in harmony with nature.
The Venus Project provides the best of science and technology while preserving nature's balance.
Research Center Tour & Seminar
Research Center Seminar & Tour Details
|21 Valley Lane, Venus, FL, 33960
|$200 per person/household
|Package contents
We have a limited number of seats at the Research Center therefore we would like to kindly ask you to send us an email with subject line TOUR to [email protected] so we can reserve your seat for the seminar.
Please send us the following information:


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Belfort Furniture offers White Glove in-home delivery and set-up by professionally trained personnel who will unwrap, place, and assemble your furniture in the appropriate room. Delivery is available Tuesday - Saturday. Once your delivery date is scheduled, you will receive a three hour delivery timeframe the day prior to your delivery.
Furniture may be picked up at our warehouse Monday-Saturday from 10AM to 6PM or Sunday from Noon to 5PM. Furniture that is picked-up may require assembly.
For delivery outside of our local metropolitan area, please contact us with your item(s) of interest for a delivery quote! 703-406-7600 or firstname.lastname@example.com
Influenced by mid-century modern design, yet versatile enough to mix and match with other styles, the Sans Serif dresser exudes modern sophistication. Splayed tapered legs and clean lines create a classic mid-century silhouette, while the warm finish over walnut veneers adds a rustic feel. Ample storage space, including a drop front drawer ensures modern function and convenience.
The Studio 7H Sans Serif Dresser with 9 Drawers by Hooker Furniture from Belfort Furniture. We proudly serve the Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Maryland and Fairfax VA area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.
Aromatic cedar wood lines the bottom drawer(s) of this item, providing a smooth, snag-free surface that will protect your clothing. A cornerstone of quality furniture construction, cedar is a durable wood that resists damage from moisture, mold, and bug infestations, eliminating the need for hazardous products such as moth balls to keep your furniture and off season clothing safe. As an added benefit, the beautiful wood carries a pleasant scent sure to enhance your bedroom's warm atmosphere.
This chest's drop-front drawer provides smart-functioning media storage for your bedroom. The drawer front opens downwards and pulls out, allowing you to keep a DVD player or game console discreetly tucked away, and providing remote access to your device with the flip of a drawer. Holes located at the back of the drawer support easy and safe wire management, neatly hiding cables while doubling as a ventilation hole to prevent your devices from overheating.
This item contains a removable tray for simple and protective jewelry storage. Felt lining in the tray keeps your jewelry in place as you open and close the drawer, preventing necklaces from getting tangled and providing a surface that won't get scratched by various jewels and stones. The tray can also be removed for easier access to your treasured pieces.
This item features removable felt lining in its top drawer(s) to help you organize and protect your accessories. The felt-lining prevents metal items from scratching the wood, and holds items in place, ensuring delicate pieces like necklaces or electronic devices don't get tangled or damaged as you open and close the drawer. For your convenience, the liner can be removed to better accommodate other items you'd prefer to store.
Throw out any old-school rules and ideas you have about furniture and say hello to the refreshing designs from the Studio 7H collection. Studio 7H paves the way for a new style, one that takes elements of Scandinavian, mid-century modern, and rustic design, yet leaves space for your own personal touch. A mix of materials like acacia and walnut veneers, rope, and metal bring an organic modern feel to the collection that is either enhanced or made more sophisticated through the use of different finish options. Upholstered accents in soft neutral fabrics instill pieces with a sense of relaxed refinement, a look that reverberates throughout the collection. On top of its soft modern style, Studio 7H emphasizes the multifunctional, dual-purpose spirit of Scandinavian design, with items that were designed with modern needs and modern living spaces in mind. Throughout the collection you'll find an abundance of storage, with surprising features that account for homes that don't have classic definitions of an office or dining space. Perfectly suited for a large open-concept apartment, but right at home in a rustic farmhouse, classic craftsman, or suburban abode, Studio 7H is about more than furniture; it's a frame of mind, the building blocks to help you create a home that is a unique reflection of you.
The Studio 7H collection is a great option if you are looking for Contemporary furniture in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Maryland and Fairfax VA area.
These images are representative of this group as a whole and may differ from this item.
Browse other items in the Studio 7H collection from Belfort Furniture in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Maryland and Fairfax VA area.
This item has been tagged as: Dresser, Bedroom Dresser, Dresser Chest, Chest of Drawers, Dresser Set, Dresser and Mirror, Bedroom Furniture, Bedroom Storage, Bureau, Clothing Storage, Linen Storage, Bedroom Cabinet, Chiffonier, Bedroom Closet, Highboy, Wardrobe, Vanity, Vanity with Hutch, Make - Up Table, Make Up Table with Hutch, Dresser to Sit At, Vanity Dressers, Large Commode
Nothing on this page may be copied or reproduced without explicit permission.


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LONDON – Ambitious plans to create a Japanese center in London have been unveiled.
The development is planned for West London, which already has a sizable Japanese community. Britain has the largest population of Japanese residents of any European country and has the third-largest Japanese community outside Japan, according to the project's backers.
Supporters of the plans envisage a center that would become the focus in the country for all kinds of Japanese cultural activities, from flower arrangement and haiku writing to martial arts.
They believe that such a project is long overdue in London, given that there are already centers in cities with fewer Japanese nationals, such as Paris, Milan, Italy, Amsterdam and Cologne, Germany.
The center is the brainchild of former British diplomat Phillida Purvis, who now runs Links Japan, a charitable organization set up in 1998 to promote exchanges between Japanese and British volunteer groups and nongovernmental organizations.
Architect Kisho Kurokawa has drawn up plans for the center, which would see the renovation of an old stable block in Gunnersbury Park, together with the addition of extra rooms, and sporting and lecture facilities. In addition, there are plans for a Japanese restaurant in the park as well as a traditional tea house.
The park, which was bought by the famous Rothschild banking family in 1835, also used to be home to a Japanese garden that was completed by the family in 1901. It is currently being restored and would also form part of the project.
The center, expected to cost between 9 million and 12 million pounds (1.71 billion yen to 2.28 billion yen) to construct, will be environmentally friendly as it will employ solar paneling and photovoltaic cell technology.
The technology envisages tiny cells being put into the ceiling to trap light rays that can be stored for the building's energy needs.
A further 8 million pounds (1.49 billion yen) is needed to provide an endowment for the center. The building would be hired out to people to generate additional revenue.
Purvis hopes the building will be used both by the Japanese and local community. The center would be near the Japanese school in the suburb of Acton and many families live in the neighborhood.
Purvis has submitted her plans to the Hounslow and Ealing councils, which jointly own the park. The authorities are expected to make a decision at the end of September.
She said the idea has been received enthusiastically by the councils. The councils will not themselves be funding the winning scheme and all bidders will have to show how they can obtain money from outside agencies.
Purvis hopes to secure the funding mainly from British sources that promote health, education and sports. She will also approach Japanese firms for support, as well as the national federations of various Japanese sports and arts in Britain.
Various groups that have no permanent home have expressed enthusiasm for the project, and it is hoped that once up and running visiting experts or students from overseas or other parts of the country can stay at the center, which will have traditional tatami mat rooms with futon. If she succeeds, Purvis hopes the center can be in full swing by 2005.
Purvis said she first raised the idea with the Japanese Embassy back in 1989 but the concept fell by the wayside due to preparations for the Japan festival that year.
"I remain convinced that the extent of Japanese interests in this country deserves to have a physical space," she said. "The Japanese community here needs it."
She said that at the moment, Japanese activities are taking place at a number of locations of varying quality, and the Japan Center in Piccadilly, central London, is essentially a store.
Purvis said the Nippon Club, also in central London, only has a few rooms available and is not really equipped for the range of activities envisaged by the center.
She said the Japanese community's relative size has inhibited the development of a center in the past.
"The Japanese interests are so big in Britain and there are so many that I think it has made cooperation more difficult than in smaller countries. The Japanese community here really does keep its head down and it doesn't have the presence which I think its size and history justifies."


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The crash of one of the nation's largest footy tipping websites on the eve of the 2014 AFL season has left thousands of fans vying for cash prizes and ultimate office bragging rights confused and angry.
According to footytips.com.au it had more than 600,000 active footy tipping players on Friday morning. By the afternoon its website had crashed, leaving those with tips to lodge angry and frustrated and those that tipped ahead of the website's crash confused about how their tips would be treated.
The website is used by many businesses to provide the technology to run office footy tipping competitions.
Its fans forum was inundated with unhappy tipsters.
"My league members are putting money on the line so I want it done fairly and correctly," complained one user on Sunday.
Another said: "a resolution from footytips.com.au is overdue and required!"
Victorian Treasurer
On its Facebook page, footytips.com.au told fans on Saturday its website was back up and running after its technicians worked through the night to resolve "hardware issues".
On Monday morning footytips.com.au was still pleading with fans through twitter for patience.
"Just to reiterate that we are still stabilising databases. We'll let you know as soon as we have answers. Thanks for your understanding," the site's official account tweeted.
The West Australian newspaper uses footytips.com.au for its competition, which promotes itself as WA's richest with more than $300,000 in prizes on offer.
On its Facebook page over the weekend The West apologised to tipsters, blaming the host tipping site for crashing unexpectedly for several hours, and declaring that all tipsters would be given a correct tip for the round's first four games regardless of whether tips were placed or not.
There was still confusion about how footytips.com.au would determine the weekend's scores for its tipsters. An update on Saturday said it would alert tippers about scores on Monday.
The website's crash also impacted tipping for the NRL competition.
"This is a shamble!" Dean Hardman wrote on footytips.com.au's Facebook page.
The AFL's first round was spilt over two weekends with a further five games to be played this weekend.
For The West's tipping competition the perfect weekend score is likely to upset those rare individuals that actually recorded a tip for AFL newcomer Greater Western Sydney.
According to Sportsbet.com.au GWS had next to no hope of defeating premiership contender Sydney, which was paying just $1.02 for the win. GWS on the other hand was paying $14.
Yet GWS had a convincing win, defeating Sydney by 32 points. The match has been described as one of the biggest upsets in recent AFL history.
footytips.com.au could not be reached for comment.
The Australian Financial Review


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About the Book
An eclectic collection of 99 stunning artworks created by Canadian artist, Dianna Ponting.
Author website
Features & Details
- Category Fine Art
Standard Portrait, 7.75×9.75 in, 20×25 cm
118 Pages
- Publish Date Nov 15, 2010
- Language English
- Tags Canadian art, fine art, watercolor painting, contemporary art, still life, animal art, pastel instruction, international artist, Canadian artist, acrylic paintings, oil paintings, pastel paintings, pastel, wildlife, watercolor, watercolour, contemporary, nostaglia, portraiture, acrylic, oil, art, collection
See More
About the Creator
Dianna Ponting
Abbotsford, BC, Canada
Dianna Ponting - a multi-medium, internationally renowned artist who is perhaps most recognized for her excellence in handling soft pastel. Dianna travels the world teaching workshops and is credited with having works hanging in over 30 countries around the globe. Her focus is reality-based and encompasses several styles and many areas of interest.
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1 Comments
Chuas An absolutely stunning book. An inspiration for all artists whether they paint, draw, sculpt, design, etc. A must have for non-artists who enjoy all things of beauty and grace. Thank you Dianna! I am honored to know you.
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KIAMESHA LAKE, N.Y. (Jun. 14)
B'nai B'rith District 1 adopted a resolution last night denouncing an anti-Israel advertisement that appeared in the NY Times June 6 as "an insult to our country and her citizens who have been maligned." The ad, inserted by Norman F. Dacey, an author and radio commentator of outspokenly anti-Israel views, condemned the Nixon administration for "blind support of Israel."
The resolution, approved by acclamation by the 2000 delegates attending the 120th annual convention of District 1 here, noted that Dacey was "the paid guest of two Arab groups during a meeting in Kuwait." It stated that "the content of that advertisement consisted of the amassing of generalizations, canards, lies, stereotypes and other untruths in order to provide some basis for an attack upon the President of the United States, our government, the proven loyalty of American Jewry and the State of Israel. This insult to our country and her citizens who have been maligned and vilified was motivated by a clear pro-Arab bias."


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Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha is all set for her Tollywood debut. The Dabangg girl after a series of Bollywood hits will now be seen in a Tollywood movie. The movie is to be directed by the great Tollywood director, Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi. Also known as Krish, the director has given several hits like Vedam, Vaanam, Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum.
Sonakshi Sinha will be paired with Tollywood chocolate boy Mahesh Babu and the movie is titled as Shivam. Rumoured to be a period movie the film will start the shooting later this year. Confirming the rumours about the movie, the actress tweeted "Wow! Lots of support from the south for my telegu debut – thanks guys!! Really looking forward to it… Feels like dabangg dejavu – debut with superstar, script I couldnt refuse, capable and intelligent director! Shoot starts later this year.. it's going to be a great journey :)"
All is well for Sonakshi so far. In a recent Times interview, when Sonakshi was questioned if she was uncomfortable locking lips with Imraan Khan for Once Upon A Time In Mumbai 2, Sonakshi said "Yes, I am not comfortable kissing or exposing and I believe in laying open my cards well in advance so that no one is inconvenienced. Till date, I have been very specific about certain things and my directors have always understood my concerns and played along. I don't think this should pose a problem in the future as well. And if a director wants something like that, he is open to casting other actresses."


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Through the "prequalification selection" (PQS) process,City Schools develops a pool of qualified service providers to deliver high-quality programs to schools. These include professional development, academic interventions, student support, and after-school and summer programming.
The goal of PQS is to support schools in selecting supplemental program services for students and staff, enabling schools to form collaborations and partnerships with organizations or individuals that provide these services. Based on an evaluation of responses to a PQS and the qualifications of the proposers, City Schools develops a list of approved service providers. Schools can select an approved service provider with the confidence and knowledge that they are investing in a high-quality, research-based program with demonstrated success.
Unlike the district's traditional solicitation process, which limits approved providers to awarded suppliers for a three-year period, the PQS allows for ongoing qualification of new service providers.


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Mason, Ohio - Olympic champion Andy Murray suffered a second pre-US Open setback in as many weeks when he was knocked out of the Cincinnati Open in the third round on Thursday losing 6-4, 6-4 to France's Jeremy Chardy.
World number one Roger Federer, in contrast, needed just 62 minutes to get by 19-year-old Australian Bernard Tomic 6-2, 6-4 and book his spot in the quarter-finals.
Murray, the defending tournament champion who pulled out of last week's Toronto Masters with a knee injury after his opening match, never looked himself as he was broken in the seventh game of the first set by Chardy, who is in the draw as a lucky loser.
Neither player could hold serve in the opening five games of the second set but Chardy held firm to go up 4-2 and never looked back in the 98-minute match.
Chardy, ranked 38th, has been in good form of late beating American Andy Roddick in the first round in Cincinnati after defeating compatriot and world number six Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Toronto last week.
The 25-year-old took full advantage of Murray's less-than-potent serve and unforced errors for his first win against the Scotsman in five attempts.
"I didn't serve particularly well. I got broken three times in the second set, which isn't good enough. I broke him a couple of times in the second," said Murray.
"I had a lot of close games on his serve in the first and second set and didn't convert enough chances, and, yeah, I didn't serve well enough."
Murray will head to the August 27 to September 9 US Open with just three hardcourt games under his belt since his Olympic triumph on the grass courts at the All England Club but he says he is not worried about lack of preparation before Flushing Meadows.
"I won't play any more matches. Going into the big tournaments, sometimes I've won tournaments in the buildup and it hasn't helped me and then this year Wimbledon I lost in the first round at Queen's and made the final there for the first time," said Murray.
"So it doesn't normally have that much bearing. But, you know, obviously I would have liked to have done a bit better this week."
Chardy will now next face Argentine Juan Martin del Potro who fought past Serb Viktor Troicki 7-6, 2-6, 6-1.
Federer will face American Mardy Fish who defeated Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 in a repeat of the 2010 final here.
"It's his kind of surface, he's at home in America and so I am going to have my hands full," Federer said of Fish. - Reuters


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Isaiah 56:1,6-7; Romans 11:13-15,29-32; Matthew 15:21-28
As a hospital chaplain I was once called to the bedside of dying man in his seventies. His daughter kept vigil by his bed and clearly he had but a few hours of life left. She was not Catholic and neither was her father. Not a Canaanite woman as in today's gospel, but a pagan nonetheless. She asked me to baptise her father.
It was an awkward moment for me as I felt I might have been guilty of taking advantage of his helplessness by baptising him. 'He's had more than seventy years to be baptised' I suggested, 'isn't it a bit unfair to do it now when he is unconscious?'
'But he always wanted to be a Catholic, it's just that he could never bring himself to approach a priest. That's just the way he was.'
I was still reluctant. I had passed that bed a number of times over the days he was in hospital and had never been asked to baptise him.
Then a strange thing happened. The woman at the bed came and stood in front of me, looking into my face. 'Look,' she said, 'I'm telling you my father wanted to be a Catholic but because he was a dysfunctional kind of person he was never able to get round to it. Now I'm asking you to baptise him.'
My response took me completely by surprise. I felt a great surge of admiration, I could almost say love, for that woman. She had (verbally) grabbed me by my shirt-front and, full of the great desire she had that her father should now receive what he had always wanted, made it clear she was not about to take no for an answer.
The man was baptised and confirmed and passed away a few hours later. A few months later the woman knocked on the door of the presbytery and said, 'Now it's my turn to become a Catholic.'
Such episodes in a priest's life are very important, very meaningful. They set in train a process of reflection which can go on for years.
It was when we read the gospel of the feeding of the five thousand that this woman came back to my mind, and now again today. What caused me to think of her then were those twelve baskets of scraps left over from the meal. What was going to happen to them? Who was going to eat them? The children of Israel had been fed, their stomachs were full, so were those baskets of food left over to be just thrown away? Unthinkable!
In my mind's eye I saw those baskets and each of them had a sign "FOR THE GENTILES".
Indeed, the very existence of those scraps was a foreshadowing of the ministry to the gentiles; as were the stone jars of wine left over from the wedding feast of Cana. Talking this over with a friend he said 'That Canaanite woman was looking for those scraps!'
As the responsorial psalm sings today: So will your ways be known upon earth and all nations learn your saving help.
Further reflection on my ministry at the hospital leads me to appreciate how the presence of a priest in the wards every day, a priest wearing a Roman collar, is very much an echo of Jesus' presence in 'the region of Tyre and Sidon'.
Jesus must have known that to make himself present there, so close to pagan territory, would inevitably 'draw out' the pagans; and it could not have been a surprise when: out came a Canaanite woman from that district …
Jesus well understood that he was sent by the Father to the People of Israel as their long-awaited and promised Saviour. As he tells the woman: I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. What the woman did was make plain the truth that implicit in his mission was a necessary openness to the entire world. This fact needed to be firmly established in the minds of his disciples if the newborn Church was ever to undertake her mission to the pagans.
Besides, the woman's daughter was 'tormented by a devil'. Is the devil more interested in the pagans than the Lord? Does the Saviour of the world intend to save only the Jews, or the Catholics? Certainly not! If he came through the Jews he came for all the nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.


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No, the outfit is from Carter's. Though, the headband is handmade. I bought it from Two Bucks and a Doe Hairbows.
About Sarah
Current: Narragansett, Rhode Island
Birth: November 05
On Moms.com since: Mar 9, 2014
Hey everyone, I'm new here! I'm a mommy to a beautiful baby girl born in November 2013. My husband Craig and I have been happily married since April 2011. I'll apologize now, I take TOO MANY pictures of the little lady!


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Career Center
NYU Langone is one of the nation's premier academic medical centers that includes five hospitals (Tisch Hospital, Rusk Rehabilitation, Hospital for Joint Diseases, Hassenfeld Children's Hospital of New York, and NYU Lutheran Medical Center) and more than 200 ambulatory locations across the New York metropolitan area. It also includes NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. Our trifold mission to serve, teach, and discover is achieved daily through an integrated academic culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education, and research. Learn more about NYU Langone.
Position Summary:
Minimum Qualifications:
Bachelor's degree in Human Resources or related field with a minimum of three years of recruiting and/or interviewing experience in healthcare, preferably hiring for professional roles at multiple levels, licensed professionals or nurses, with proficiency in MS Office required. Effective verbal, written communication, interpersonal and consultative skill with the ability to understand the needs and urgency of assigned customer base are essential.
Preferred Qualifications:
Familiarity with an Applicant Tracking (PeopleSoft version 9.0 or later and Silkroad OpenHire) and Onboarding System is preferred.
Qualified candidates must be able to effectively communicate with all levels of the organization.
|Please See Above


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So, back from my August vacation two days late thanks to Hurricane Irene, to discover, at least as far as NY fashion goes, things seem pretty much business as usual — except for Marc Jacobs, who apparently has decided he has to move his show from its usual slot at 8pm Monday the 12th, to a new closing slot on Thursday the 15th at 8:30 pm, thus extending the show week for a good five hours. Apparently, needed the extra sewing time thanks to the hurricane, which reveals a lot about the last-minute nature of what goes on the runway. Read more
© The Financial Times Ltd 2016 FT and 'Financial Times' are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.


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Again, we appreciate the State's annual fiscal crisis, and we agree that the current state of affairs cannot be blamed on any one individual, party, branch or level of government. But we know that in no way can the blame be placed on our long-suffering property taxpayers. Accordingly, we object to those aspects of the Governor's proposed Budget for the State's 2008-2009 Fiscal Year, which ask those taxpayers to bear an inordinate share of the burden caused by past State policy mistakes.
One year after the historic Special Session for Property Tax Reform, which purportedly eliminated the need for a Citizens' Convention, Mayors across the State feel that the rug has been pulled out from underneath them. And property taxpayers will be asked to shoulder more than their fair share of the funding burden.
In his Budget Address to the Legislature, among the many proposed cuts, the Governor mentioned three funding areas he was forced to short-change – hospitals, higher education and municipal property tax relief. Guess which one of those faces the deepest dollar cuts? Higher Ed will be cut by $75.6 million. Hospitals will lose $143.5 million. And municipal property tax relief will be slashed by $189.6 million.
This proposal will eliminate Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief Aid (CMPTRA) for any municipality with a population of under 5,000. It will cut CMPTRA funding in half for any municipality with a population between 5,000 and 10,000. And all but a handful of those with more than 10,000 citizens face substantial cuts in property tax relief, with some losing millions of dollars.
Based on Trenton's untested conventional 'wisdom' that bigger government is necessarily better government, and irrespective of extensive current service sharing arrangements, these arbitrary population limits seem designed to force local officials into otherwise unwise and inefficient consolidations.
The Consolidated Municipal Property Tax Relief program is composed of a number of previously discrete municipal property tax relief funding programs. Many of those programs were initiated as local taxes that lessened reliance on general property taxes. It was at the request, and for the convenience, of the taxpaying corporations that the State became the collection agent or decided to repeal those programs, which had previously provided direct dollars to municipal budgets. Those components of the consolidation, therefore, represent 'revenue replacement' funding, designed to keep things from becoming worse for municipal property tax payers, in all host municipalities, regardless of the number of their fellow municipal citizens.
Further, permanent State statutes mandate annual inflationary adjustments to the CMPTRA and Energy Tax funding programs. And the under-funding or elimination of virtually every other source on local property tax relief will adversely affect tax payers all around the State, many in municipalities facing special demographic- and density-driven budgetary needs.
For example, the $32.6 million distributed according to the CMPTRA formula, which municipalities received last year as 2008 Municipal Property Tax Assistance, is gone. All municipalities will receive level Energy Tax funding, despite State Law that 'requires' annual inflationary adjustments of this (and CMPTRA) funding. Last year, municipal efficiency was promoted to the tune of $34.8 million. This funding has been eliminated. Last year's $32 million in Homeland Security Assistance is gone. Special Municipal Aid funding is cut from $153 million to $145.4 – a loss of $7.6 million. Extraordinary Aid funding is reduced by $1.7 million – from $34 million to $32.3 million. The $8 million Regional Efficiency Aid Program will not be funded. Open Space PILOT is the only municipal property tax relief funding that we have been able to identify that will actually increase – by $200,000, from $9.8 million to an even $10 million.
Again, we appreciate the problems that State officials face in putting together a responsible spending plan for our State's next Fiscal Year. But we urge them to refocus on our mutual responsibility to relieve the burden of regressive and excessive property taxes.
William G. Dressel, Jr.
Executive Director


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Toshiba Rolls Out Portege And Tecra Professional Notebooks
Toshiba is rolling out three new professional notebooks with Intel's 2011 Core (Sandy Bridge) processors. The first out of the bunch is the Portege R830. This notebook gives users the option of an i3, i5, or i7 processor, faster Intel graphics, and USB 3.0 support with the option of Bluetooth 3.0. The R830 has a 13-inch display and is one inch thick.
For $889 you get a speedy 2.1GHz core i3, 4GB of memory, a 640GB hard drive, and an ultra-thin internal DVD burner. If you're looking for a higher end ultraportable, you can opt for a 2.7GHz Core i7 and a 128GB solid-state drive for $1,650. Yes, this is certainly not your budget computer and is targeted towards business professionals.
Next in line is the 14-inch Tecra R840 followed by the 15.6-inch R850. Both laptops are thinner and lighter than previous models and the R840 boasts an 11 hour battery life when couple with a solid-state drive. Both models will be priced at around $900 and include a 2.1GHz Core i3, 3GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard disk drive. Users can splurge on upgrades and max their setup to a 2.7GHz, Core i3, 4GB of RAM, and dedicated AMD Radeon HD 6450M graphics card. You can purchase all three notebooks today. Take a look at the video for a closer look at the R830 and gain some knowledge on their build quality!
Photo Courtesy of MacNN
Photo Courtesy of DigitPedia


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With the beginning of spring comes the ritual of pollen release from trees and grasses and subsequent start of the allergy season. Many allergy sufferers dream of a spring without the chronic symptoms of itchy, watery eyes, sneezing, post nasal drip, recurrent headaches, and wheezing associated with this change of season. The ads on TV for allergy relief using a once a day medications are tempting and look promising. However, many of us can testify that these medications only provide a temporary and partial relief to a chronic problem. However, for the past 100 years, many patients have achieved long-term success in taming their overactive immune system!
In 1911, Drs. Noonan and Freeman published the first article on the efficacy of allergy immunotherapy (aka allergy shots) in the prestigious journal Lancet. The protocol they described used increasing doses of the specific proteins or allergens causing one's allergies every 1-2 weeks, avoiding too high a dose to cause anaphylaxis. Despite the fact that our overall understanding of allergy immunotherapy has improved dramatically since this publication, allergists still use this same method of desensitization 100 years later, really highlighting the success of this methodology.
A blog entry can not summarize the thousands of published studies available on this most basic form of immunotherapy nor detail every modified new method of immunotherapy. Over the next three weeks I will introduce our readers to many topics and updates in the field of immunotherapy: SIT (specific immunotherapy in the form of shots and drops), discuss how allergy shots may prevent new allergies, and the future of immunotherapy re: food allergies. But, let's begin with the basics:
The Basics
With allergy shots, your body responds to injected amounts of a particular allergen, given in gradually increasing doses, by developing immunity to the allergen. In order to not expose a patient to their allergen at anaphylactic levels, patients receive increasing amounts of the allergen over time, about one to two times per week. The length of this build-up phase depends upon how often the injections are received, but can vary from three to six months. In 1930, Dr. Freeman showed that this phase can be "rushed" safely in some people. We now offer a form of rush therapy called "cluster therapy" in our office where within four weeks some patients can achieve effective doses well in time to control their seasonal allergies. Upon reaching the maintenance phase, there will be longer periods of time between treatments, ranging from two to four weeks. The duration of therapy will depend on the condition but can range from three to five years.
The effectiveness of allergy shots appears to be related to the length of the treatment program as well as the dose of the allergen. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, which is often cited to validate medical procedures, reviewed 51 recently published studies on immunotherapy in over 2800 patients and concluded that there was statistical reduction in symptom score and medication use in patients on immunotherapy.
Some people experience lasting relief from allergy symptoms, while others may relapse after discontinuing allergy shots. In 1999 Dr. Durham published studies in the New England Journal of Medicine showing persistent reduction in allergy symptoms three years after finishing a course of immunotherapy for 3-4 years. In many individuals these symptoms may be reduced for many more years
How young can we begin?
Although we do not have a definitive answer on how early we should begin immunotherapy in children, there is some strong evidence that early use of immunotherapy may prevent subsequent development of allergic asthma. In 1968, a 14-year pediatric study by Dr. Johnstone demonstrated the benefits of allergy shots in reducing allergic asthma in children. Dr. Jacobson found similar encouraging results in his pivotal 2006 study in Allergy "Prevention of Asthma by Immunotherapy". The World Health Organization, in their position statement on immunotherapy, supports the early use of immunotherapy to control the progressive nature of allergies in children. In our practice, we offer immunotherapy in children as young as four years of age.
Are there risks?
We are giving small amounts of the actual allergen individuals are allergic to and therefore there is a risk (although rare) of a severe reaction. This is why this particular immunotherapy should be done in a physician's office with the patient supervised in a facility equipped with proper staff and equipment to identify and treat any possible adverse reactions. Most reactions will occur within 30 minutes and, if they do, they require immediate medical attention. Most insurance policies cover shot visits as they too recognize the need for supervision.
My group (Allergy Partners) has collected the largest electronic patient database of allergic reactions from allergy shots which we use to improve the safety and delivery of immunotherapy. We published these studies showing that, in a single year, our physicians gave 590,788 injections with only 188 reported systemic reactions.
Indications for Specific Immunotherapy:
- Seasonal, pet, and indoor allergies.
- Allergic asthma
- Bee (yellow jackets ) and fire ant allergies
- Atopic dermatitis
Next week we will review allergy drops (Sublingual immunotherapy)
Noon L. Prophylactic inoculation against hay fever. Lancet 1911; 1:1572– 1573.
Freeman J. Rush inoculation with special reference to hay fever treatment. Lancet 1930; 1:744–747.
Johnstone DE, Dutton A. The value of hyposensitization therapy for bronchial asthma in children: a 14-year study. Pediatrics 1968; 42:793–802.
Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2007 Jan 24;(1):CD001936.
Allergen injection immunotherapy for seasonal allergic rhinitis.
Allergy. 2006 Jul;61(7):855-9.
Five-year follow-up on the PAT study: specific immunotherapy and long-term prevention of asthma in children.
For more patient information:
For more information www.allergypartners.com/georgia
Follow us on Face book www.facebook.com/apofgeorgia


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 31/1/2013 (1663 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Even though fire departments across the country are cutting budgets and revamping their service plans, the largest fire truck manufacturer in the country is investing for the future.
Winnipeg's Fort Garry Fire Trucks has been making fire trucks since 1919, and while it may be making fewer 100-foot platform aerial vehicles, it's increasing the range and variety of vehicles it makes to accommodate every conceivable configuration of service style.
The company just spent about $7 million on a new 50,000-square foot plant in the Brookside Industrial Park West, increased its workforce by about 20 per cent and is ready to meet all the requirements of more streamlined fire services throughout North America.
Rick Suche, Fort Garry's president and owner, said three years ago production shifted away from high-end trucks and the company introduced a new product line to compete with some of the less expensive models coming in from the U.S.
More than 60 per cent of fire department calls across North America are not fire related so it makes sense that fire departments would need a different type of vehicle to adequately respond.
Fort Garry has about 20 different models and 5,000 options with prices ranging from $100,000 to $1 million.
Suche is determined to keep Fort Garry ahead of the competition — as it is, its closest competition is about half the size of the Winnipeg company — and it remains true to its roots, serving cold-climate fire departments. It currently is working on an order for eight trucks for the Winnipeg Fire Department.
"We grew up building for northern Canada," he said. "Our trucks run at 70 below and the windows stay de-fogged."
He says that's compared to low-end imports built in Florida that don't have proper heaters and quit working when the weather gets too cold.
Fort Garry Fire Trucks, formerly a division of Fort Garry Industries, has about 100 employees.


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Rio Max vs. Rio Skagit Flight
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Adirondacks & Great Lakes Tribs
Posts: 297
Re: Rio Max vs. Rio Skagit Flight
Quite frankly I find it hard to justify purchasing Rio spey lines over Airflo. Example; I bought a Rio Powerflex .30 running line in chartruese 1 year ago, the material and coating has already gone to ****, it sticks in the guides and the material has small hairline fractures all throughout it, no good, after only 1 year.
I have an airflo running line from 7 years ago that still has no cracks, the coating still shoots through the guides perfectly. These lines are simply made better and last, in the long run it saves you money to go airflo. The polyurethane material used to make airflo lines doesn't change shape, it remains the same, it doesn't crack, and it's UV, deet and oil resistant, friggin' amazing. I often wonder why every other company hasn\t moved to Polyurethane instead of PVC (glorified plastic), then I realize, most likely they can't figure out how to do it. Apparently airflo's formula and recipe for thier lines is extremely confidential, a rep for airflo told me you sign all kinds of gag orders before working for the company to keep that glorious line recipe a secret.
Anyway, do yourself a favor, if your going to get a skagit, go airflo all day, in fact any spey lines at that matter. Another good choice is the airflo Rage Compact, this is my go-to spey line. It has a scandi-like design with a more agressive front taper to handle sink tips. Its fun like casting a scandi, but handles much more weight. If the heaviest sink tip you are using is a type-8, then I would suggest the Rage, because the skagit may be overkill and the rage is a joy to cast. Basic rule of thumb with rage is to go 30 grains lighter than your skagit or 30 grains above your scandi. I liked the rage so much I got it in 360, 420, 450, 480 and 510 grains so I can go lighter when using poly leaders or go heavier for t-8 and t-11 material. Not to mention I'm using these heads on three different spey rods.
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- Trans Pecos
- High Plains/Panhandle
- Cross Timbers
- Hill Country
- Post Oak Savannah
- Pineywoods
- Oak Prairie
- South Texas Plains
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Wildlife Division District Map
Pineywoods Wildlife Management
Bobwhite Management
Food supplies are usually most abundant during the spring and summer; seeds are ripening and insects and green plant material are available. The food supply begins to diminish at the time of the first killing frost in the fall, and continues to decline throughout the winter due to competition from other animals and from weathering. Seeds from forbs such as croton (doveweed), ragweed, sunflower, partridge pea, tick clover, and many others are staple winter foods. A number of woody plants provide winter quail food. Fruits and mast such as small acorns, sumac berries, hackberries, and gum elastic berries supplement quail diets. Most grasses, except for paspalums and panic grasses, do not produce seeds large enough to be worthwhile quail food. In general, forbs are the most important and most widely distributed sources of winter quail food. Green material from cool season forbs and grasses that germinate in the late winter if rainfall is adequate are essential to get quail in good body condition for the upcoming breeding season.
Bobwhite quail need several types of cover: screening overhead cover for security while feeding and traveling, "tangled" woody cover to retreat into to escape enemies, a "living room" type of cover for dusting or resting, and nesting cover. Roosting cover is also needed, but if other types of cover are present, the roosting cover requirement is usually adequately met.
Cover can take many forms and a patch of cover can meet several of the cover requirements.
A stand of broomweed, or similar tall plants with bushy canopies and an open understory at ground level, can provide screening overhead cover.
Thickets of low brush, trees, and vines can provide escape and loafing cover. In general, a habitat with between 5% and 15% canopy coverage of good woody cover is adequate, if it occurs in small, well distributed patches (no more than 200 yards between patches as discussed above).
Patches of residual grasses left over from the previous growing season can provide nesting cover. Individual patches should be at least 8 inches tall and 12 inches in diameter (the size of a cake pan). Ideally, there should be more than 250 well distributed clumps of suitable nesting cover per acre, or 1 clump every 15 to 20 steps. Too little nesting cover makes it easier for predators to find and destroy nests.


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As the St. Clair R-XIII School District continues to work on the healing and helping process and move forward in the wake of the three tragic deaths of high school students within the past couple of months, Superintendent Mike Murphy also is working with parents and others in the community to keep the lines of communication open.
The school district has been offering a series of forums at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays in the junior high school cafeteria. Meetings will continue this month and are scheduled on Dec. 4 and 11 with the 18th potentially added.
"The goal is to seek additional parent input while we also share information on programs we're offering students as well as solutions," Murphy told The Missourian. "We're formulating discussion and brainstorming on how we can continue to move forward and keep the communications going."
The three high school students — a freshmen, sophomore and junior — committed suicide in their homes on Sept. 28, Nov. 2 and Nov. 12. Investigations have revealed the deaths do not appear to be connected, but the tragedies sent shock waves through the school, the district and the St. Clair community.
Several hundred people showed up when the district scheduled its first forum on Nov. 13, the day after the third death.
"We're ultimately seeking to ensure an open line of communication," Murphy said this week. "And we will address situations as they arise. We're trying to promote an increased level of parental and community involvement and encourage participation and involvement in this process.
"We're working collaboratively with parents and students to assist as needed and continue to try to be as proactive as we can."
Within the district schools, Murphy said the focus has been on sixth- through 12th-graders, or the junior and senior high schools.
"Things definitely have stabilized as far as attitudes and feelings," the superintendent said. "We feel pretty good about where the high school is currently. Both students and staff there were affected directly, but we feel we're continuing to move forward."
Murphy said currently there is a staff member from the Crider Health Center stationed at both the junior and senior high throughout the school day on a full-time basis to assist students who still may be struggling. The counselors are being paid through assistance from the Franklin County Family Resource Center, which is funded through a quarter-cent sales tax in the county to provide its services.
They will remain until at least the Christmas break.
"We're currently dealing with a very small percentage of students," Murphy said of those still seeking the counseling. "The Crider Center is just one component of what they offer through the collection of the sales tax."
A questionnaire completed by all high school students last month after the three deaths took place indicated there were 128 teens who needed to talk to someone "within a few days" about themselves or a friend. An additional 16 checked a box indicating they needed to talk to someone "immediately."
Those 16 higher-risk students have received in-depth and continued counseling, Murphy said.
After the Christmas break, Murphy said the district's focus will expand to include the two elementary schools and will continue to include the community as well.
"This is going to be a continuing effort," he said. "Anyone who has an interest is welcome to participate. Our students remain involved in this process, and we're going to expand that after the first of the year, and we want to keep the community involved and informed as well."
Murphy said he plans to remind parents of the forums by issuing a phone blast early each week they are scheduled.
For more information, contact the central office at 636-629-3500.


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Wintergreen Resort in Virginia is gearing up for its Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas celebration Dec. 19 - Jan. 1. The resort plans to open for the season Dec. 12, weather permitting.
Festivities during the celebration include a holiday crafts display for adults and for kids, Santa on the slopes, and story time with Mrs. Santa. Room rates from Dec. 25 - 31 start at $147 per person per night for studio accommodations. A one-bedroom condo runs $155. Larger units also are available at a per person cost comparable to studio rates. Lodging prices leading up to Christmas offer the greatest value. A studio is priced at $69 and a one-bedroom is $89 per person, per night from opening day to Dec. 24.
The best bet for a price break on lift tickets during the holidays is to corral a group of 20 people or more. Full sessions during the Christmas - New Year holiday week cost $57, compared to $69. Night sessions run $22, instead of $34. Full session rental discounts for groups average $30 for adults compared to $36 for full sessions and $17, compared to $26 for night session rentals. A full session is any eight-hour period from the purchase time. Night skiing lasts from 5 - 10 p.m. and will be held on Monday, Dec. 28. The slopes are generally closed on Mondays.
Riders visiting Wintergreen during the holidays can compete in the Freestyle Night Rail Jam, 6 - 8 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 27. The event is an open jam where riders hike the park and try to get in as many runs as possible during the two hour allotment. Contestants are judged on style, consistency difficulty, and variety.


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Full Over Full Bunk Bed in Caramel Latte Finish
Product Info:
Category : Kids Bedroom
Bunk Bed Warning . Please read before purchase.. NOTE: Shopladder DOES NOT offer assembly on loft beds or bunk beds. Includes 14-Pc slat kit, ladder and built in modesty panel. Non-toxic, lead free five step finishing process. Designed for safety and durability. Classic mission style design. Mortise and tenon joinery. Clip on ladder with four steel connectors to reinforce strength. Full and 0.75 guard rails on upper bunk. Matching guard rails designed to accent the style of the upper and lower panels. Accepts up to a 9 in. mattress. 26 steel reinforcement points. Compliant with ASTM F-1427 Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bunk Beds and the Government Code of Federal Regulations 1213 and 1522. Made from solid hardwood, plywood, veneer and MDF. 80.5 in. L x 58.37 in. W x 68.12 in. H. . Assembly Instructions . Ladder Assembly . Slat Kit Assembly . So many sleep options, and it creates convenient space in your child's room. This bed will surely become their favorite sleepy time fort and you can feel good about the quality and value.
Tags : Kids & Babies
Product Specs:
Brand : Atlantic Furniture
Price : 755.13


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On June 11, I attended an event in Beijing where Jack Perkowski, author of the book Managing the Dragon talked about his experiences doing business in China and on the Chinese economy. He also keeps a blog where he talks about China-related topics. In March, I had read the book and wrote an online review which you can read here.
During the dinner talk, Mr. Perkowski talked in greater depth about some of the issues he talked about in the book. Most of the audience of 20+ people were people who had considerable experience living and working in China.
He talked about how he saw China as having two different economies, which he calls the "local foreign economy" and the "local local economy". He sees the local foreign economy as being made up of 400M people who have average annual income of US7500. The other 900M people have an annual average income of US2500. Right now, these are almost separate economies in the same country. The existence of the local local economy, which is very cost- and price-sensitive, means that there is a large part of the economy which needs modern things, but cannot afford western prices. Many Chinese companies are looking for new ways to reach this audience. This means that manufacturers are always looking for new ways to constantly cut their costs to reach them, which in turn leads to a very high rate of innovation.
An example he mentioned were piston rings. There are six global piston rings makers in the world, but there are 400 in China. The reason for the China discrepancy is because there is demand for cheaper solutions from the local local market, who are always looking for cheaper and more competitive components. While they have the same need for transport as the foreign local market, they cannot afford the expensive brand components.
In contrast, the foreign local economy accepts a higher level of costs, and is less sensitive to pricing pressure. These are mainly export manufacturers which have come to China from the US or Europe and come to manufacture auto parts first for their home markets and then later, other markets. Mr. Perkowski believes that in order to survive, it's essential to reach down into the local local market. Unfortunately, many American car makers were unaware of this market, and wanted to sell only into the foreign local market. In the meantime, the toughest Chinese makers which have prospered and survived, claw their way into the local foreign market, where they are much leaner, meaner and smarter than the major US makers.
It made me think that in reality, China has a domestic market and an export market. The domestic market can be thought of as the local local market, and the export market is the local foreign market. Eventually, the two markets will merge, but it will take some time before that happens.
Mr Perkowski mentioned that the US "makes" 16M vehicles annually, of which 5M are imported from other countries. This means that in reality, the US makes some 11M vehicles annually. According to him, American makers are not able to make money on small cars, only on larger vehicles such as SUVs, which Americans are no longer buying because of high gasoline prices. The Chinese auto makers, in comparison, are able to manufacture small cars profitably. This year, Chinese makers will make some 10M+ vehicles, putting Chinese manufacturing capacity on a par with US makers. He believes that China will overtake the US economy in size, and Americans will have to get used to the idea of having the second largest economy in the world. (My note: Of course, it will take some time for India to take the world's second largest economy position away from the US.)
He believes that the place where the US will continue to be dominant will be in efficient capital markets. This is a place where America will continue to be the world's leader.
Mr. Perkowski does not speak Chinese, but his good common sense about doing business in China showed that he had a good deal more knowledge about China than many of those who speak the language. In his case, common sense and a good attitude have more than compensated.