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The Power Train
Strong Cigars Fuel the Industry's Hottest Trend.
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He ran to the bathroom.
Not a pleasant first experience with strong tobacco, but a fairly common one. People used to puffing on Macanudos or Davidoffs are frequently overwhelmed by the taste of a Cuban. The difference is that this macho cigar hailed not from Havana but from a factory in the Dominican Republic. Cigars with muscle are what Americans, who once preferred a mild smoke, now want, according to an October 2001 poll on cigaraficionado.com in which 75 percent responded that they enjoy smoking strong cigars. And the industry has delivered, catering to the new breed of smoker with cigar names that suggest the intended power of the cigars: Cohiba Extra Vigoroso. C.A.O. eXtreme. Indian Tabac Super Fuerte. Advertisers used to promise their cigars would be "smooth"; now they trumpet such qualities as "rich" and "full."
Read the ad touting Ashton Virgin Sun Grown cigars. "Explosive undertones," the copy warns. An earlier version even depicted a leather chair, advising smokers daring enough to try the cigars to sit down before taking a puff.
Many advertisements tend toward hyperbole, but in the case of the Ashton, the warning is valid. The VSG is one of the strongest non-Cubans sold today.
The cigars' Ecuadoran wrappers are grown on hilly plots in the foothills of the Andes mountains by Oliva Tobacco Co., a specialist in Sumatra-seed leaves. When John Oliva Jr. and Angel Oliva III smoked the finished cigars for the first time, some five years had passed since their company had actually grown the tobacco leaves.
The lit ends glowed as the Olivas took their first puffs. Eyebrows lifted as the intense spice of the cigars blasted the insides of their nostrils. "Whew!" said Oliva Jr. "Whew!" He shook his head, said "Whew!" again, then took a chair.
It's not every day that a cigar is strong enough to bench a professional tobacco grower. VSGs are a lot stronger than many modern Cuban cigars, which many experts are now claiming are devoid of ligero, the most potent of filler tobacco. (A grade, not a species of tobacco, ligero is taken in the primings of the tops of the plants.) Nowadays, you're more likely to be bowled over by the strength of a non-Cuban.
Take the El Rico Habano, recently reintroduced by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo of La Gloria Cubana fame. Think La Glorias are strong? If La Glorias pack the strength of a silverback gorilla, El Ricos are King Kong.
Carrillo has always been known for his strong smokes, and in the mid-1990s his El Rico was an anomaly, a non-Cuban cigar that could outmuscle a Havana. Today, it has plenty of company.
José Seijas of Tabacalera de Garica Ltd., the Dominican cigar factory owned by Altadis U.S.A., has created beefed-up versions of Altadis's mild Montecristo and H. Upmann brands. He recently made H. Upmann 2000, a strong cigar with a Nicaraguan wrapper, and Montecristo Serie V, a powerful smoke wrapped in Cameroon. They are some of the fullest-flavored cigars to come out of an Altadis factory.
Angel Daniel Núñez, the man in charge of making Macanudos, has done the same for his employer, General Cigar Co. He recently created Partagas Black and Cohiba Extra Vigoroso, stronger versions of the two brands.
Caribe Imported Cigars, the company behind mild mainstays Baccarat and La Fontana, has come to market with a powerful pair of Honduran puros called Camacho Havana and Camacho Corojo. They're full-bodied cigars built in the style of the Cubans of old.
Even Davidoff of Geneva has joined the strong-cigar bandwagon. A stalwart devotee to the temple of mild cigars, Davidoff finally acknowledged the strong-cigar trend by releasing the Davidoff Millennium Series last summer.
Carlos Fuente Jr., the creator of the Fuente Fuente OpusX and Ashton VSG, is one of the biggest believers in full-flavored cigars. He and his father, Carlos Sr., who run one of the world's biggest handmade cigar operations, have built their formidable reputation on a portfolio of stronger cigars. But in 1980 strong cigars were a problem for the company.
"People started complaining that our cigars were too heavy, too rich. We had a lot of complaints," says Fuente Jr. "It was a time, an era, where we had to adjust. And we had to survive."
Fuente made milder blends, and began using Connecticut-shade tobacco for the first time in the company's history to appeal to the tastes of the time.
"There was a trend towards light -- light beer, light Coke, light, light, light. The big companies in the cigar industry determined what taste was, because they determined the [advertising] campaigns. And there was a whole campaign about mild," says Fuente Jr. "I always hated that word -- 'mild.' 'Smooth,' I like, but not 'mild.' So every ad in every trade magazine, every ad that you would see, was always 'mild,' 'sweet.' And that really bothered me. We didn't want that; I didn't want to smoke that."
As recently as the early 1990s, Dominican cigars were pigeonholed as mild smokes. That's no longer true. If the VSG and Fuente Fuente OpusX aren't convincing enough, take a puff of the latest cigar to come from the Tamboril factory of La Flor Dominicana. Aptly named the Ligero, the cigar is strong enough to weaken the knees of even a seasoned smoker.
"It's giving me a headache right now," says Litto Gomez, chuckling as he puffs away on a Ligero. "I made the mistake of smoking it this morning."
Gomez, who co-owns the La Flor Dominicana brand with his wife, Ines Lorenzo-Gomez, admits that the Ligero is not for everyone. He uses a liberal dose of ligero from his tobacco farm in La Canella, a windswept part of the Dominican Republic known for producing strong tobacco, to make the cigar.
The Ligero is the latest step in Gomez's transformation as a cigarmaker. When he first began making cigars under the Los Libertadores name in 1994, the cigars were typical of the time: they sported pale, Connecticut-shade wrappers and unaggressive Dominican filler and binder tobacco. They weren't bad, but they weren't distinctive.
Gomez, a driven innovator, kept working at his blends. Now using the brand name La Flor Dominicana, he created a powerful little sparkplug called the El Jocko Perfecto No. 1. Wrapped in Connecticut broadleaf and powered with a hearty dose of Nicaraguan tobacco, the cigar (a bulbous perfecto then unique to the market) was a huge success. He later created a strong line of tubos, using his farm tobacco and Ecuadoran wrapper, and now he's introduced the Ligero, his strongest cigar yet, wrapped in Ecuadoran Sumatra.
"Normally, to make a fuller-bodied blend you need tobacco from Nicaragua or Honduras, but we've been able to do without it," says Gomez. "If somebody thinks Dominican cigars are mild, think again."
Strength was one of the primary reasons why Gomez invested in a tobacco farm. Tobacco brokers consistently disappointed Gomez with the quality of their Dominican product; much of their purported ligero didn't have the kick he was seeking.
"We were looking for more power in the cigar," he says. "I found the only way to do that was to go into farming."
Growing strong tobacco is not in the best interests of farmers, especially in the Dominican Republic. One of the country's best cigar tobaccos is piloto Cubano, a smallish plant that grows few leaves but delivers maximum flavor. However, farmers prefer to grow a hybrid known as San Vicente. The plants grow larger and have more leaves, increasing a farmer's yield per acre.
The harvesting method also determines the strength of tobacco. Getting it right can be time-consuming. Leaves ripen from the bottom of the plant up, and good farmers allow each row to become fully ripe before harvesting. The higher a leaf grows on a plant, the stronger the taste. The upper leaves take the longest to ripen. Some farmers speed the process by picking leaves before they are ready.
It takes a patient farmer and ugly leaves to make the strongest cigar tobacco. Picture the tobacco plant, almost entirely harvested. The flower has been pruned long before to force the plant to concentrate power in the leaves. The plant is now nothing more than a ravaged stem, scars pocking the entire length where leaves have been removed, one by one. But there, at the very top, sits a small, withered, thick leaf, wrinkling like a raisin in the tropical sun. Growing stronger. More flavorful.
"In the old Cuban style, the top leaves are left to overripen, and it looks ugly as hell," says Fuente Jr. "That's the medio tiempo, the maduro, your heavy leaves. And that's what gives you your baritone, heavy flavor, more body. It gives you more complexity." But many contract farmers opt to skip that final, time-consuming step. "The farming techniques in the Dominican Republic changed. It did a lot of damage to the Dominican Republic," says Fuente Jr. "Instead of leaving those last few leaves until they are ripe, once farmers got to the fourth priming they would just pick the whole thing."
Fuente Jr. also says that the manner in which most wrapper leaves are cut at the rolling table eliminates much of the flavor of a tobacco leaf. When a wrapper leaf is prepared for rolling, a cigar roller takes a chaveta and slices a crescent-shaped piece of tobacco from half a leaf. In most factories, says Fuente Jr., the roller simply cuts at will. In his factories, he instructs his workers to cut right at the edge; he says flavors and power are concentrated there.
"It's very, very easy to make a strong cigar, and it's very, very easy to make a mild cigar," says Fuente Jr. "What's very, very difficult is to make a rich, complex, balanced cigar consistently."
Fuente Jr. is an unabashed lover of powerful smokes, what he likes to call high-octane cigars. Able to smoke a fresh, supercharged cigar right off the rolling table on an empty stomach, he possesses tastes that are certainly not shared by the average Joe cigar smoker.
"People see the band on the Fuente Fuente OpusX and their eyes gleam, but I know that's not their choice to smoke all the time. That's for a certain smoker," he says. He calls his milder offerings his company's "bread and butter."
And despite Fuente Jr.'s reputation for making powerful cigars, he's no fan of the word "strong."
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PHILADELPHIA -- Former Giants closer Brian Wilson has crossed to the other side of one of baseball's fiercest rivalries.
According to multiple reports, Wilson has signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Wilson was drafted by the Giants in 2003 and 171 saves in seven seasons in San Francisco. He threw the final pitch of the 2010 World Series and was a cult hero with the fan base thanks to a quirky personality and bushy beard.
Wilson had a second Tommy John surgery last April and was cut loose by the Giants in the offseason. The team left the door open for Wilson to return when healthy and closely monitored the rehab process. Twice in recent weeks, Giants bullpen catcher Billy Hayes caught Wilson at USF, and pitching coach Dave Righetti watched one of the outings.
"We've tried to stay in touch throughout the process and monitor his progress," assistant general manager Bobby Evans said on July 22. "His rehab is our responsibility. He's a Giant, and we've been in tough with his people as he considers his options.
"We've kept the door open the whole time."
Wilson shut it Tuesday. The next time he pitches at AT&T Park, he will do so in a rival uniform; the Dodgers, currently in first place in the division, visit San Francisco during the last week of the regular season.
Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports reported that Wilson had three offers and chose the Dodgers. According to Brown, Wilson is expected to be pitching in the big leagues in about two weeks.

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Kentucky: George Sales
My name is George Sales. I am a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, but for the past 35 years, I've lived in Louisville, Kentucky. I worked on President Obama's campaign in 2008, and this time around, I have a wonderful team here in Kentucky. We knew that the President wasn't likely to carry this state, so we've marshaled the good Democrats here to make sure that we still have an impact on this election, getting volunteers over to Ohio to help in any way that we can. The experience has been really terrific—it inspires me.
I've phonebanked and canvassed for about five campaigns, so I got my training from years of experience—but it really isn't hard at all. I canvassed in a number of different types of neighborhoods and I absolutely love it—that's where my heart is because it's door-to-door and face-to-face. I've heard so many stories from all types of people, and what always amazes me is how folks still have hope and optimism, and they just believe in this president. I've learned in my work that it's all about building relationships, so I always try to connect with the people I'm talking to—that's what makes the difference when you're volunteering.
We've got a week left, so I just want to make sure that everyone shows up at the polls—if they haven't already voted early. For the homestretch of the election, we're putting together a group of volunteers to head up to Ohio. At this point it's all about getting out the vote, which we actually started on already with early voting. That's how we're going to win this election, so we're going to keep it up.
I'm a Vietnam veteran, and for the years that we were in Iraq, I was always advocating for peace. That's why it was such a relief to see the President bring our troops home. It breaks my heart that we lost a whole generation in that war. Who knows, maybe a future president was in that lot. When I came home from the war, the anti-war movement was raging and we didn't exactly get the warmest welcome, so it means the world to have a president who is this supportive of veterans and grateful for our service. Truly, I can't remember another president who has done more for veterans than any other before him, between showing his appreciation in speeches and giving them the opportunity to further their education and find jobs. I went to the University of Florida on the G.I. Bill, so I know just how important that is for a veteran.
I'm also gay, and when I served in Vietnam, there was never a question of whether or not you were gay. I served in an Army reserve company that got a presidential citation—and believe me, the fact that I'm gay never once came up during my time in Vietnam. It was a non-issue back in '68, and it should be a non-issue now. So I thought that repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was well overdue. I've met any number of gay and lesbian service members since I've come home. They're doing right by their country, and the President's support is an amazing step forward.
I recently saw the President speak at an amphitheater in Eaton Park in Cincinnati, and I was wearing my favorite button that says "Veterans for Obama." After the event, he was walking around to shake hands and when he reached me, I told him I'm a veteran. Then the President reached into his pocket and gave me this incredible commemorative medallion and thanked me for my service. I think I was just about speechless at that point!
I'm very proud of my president. The Republicans are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him, but we are truly grassroots, we believe in canvassing and phonebanking and our ground game is what's going to take us across the finish line.
This election will be decided by the thousands of volunteers across the country like George. Join them—commit to volunteer on Election Day.


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A FIRE broke out on the banks of the Severn Valley Railway this afternoon.
Firefighters were called to the embankment off Northwood Lane, Bewdley, near Worcester at 4.24pm in the second incident in the area on the same day.
A crew from Bewdley extinguished both blazes, the first of which was around 50 square meters in size and the second 40 square meters, with one hose reel.
The fires are not suspicious and are likely to have been started by hot embers from the steam trains.


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The end of 2013 is upon us, and what a year it has been! So much changed for me this year, and it would not have been possible without all of you, the readers. I will touch on some specific moments later, but I want to start things off by thanking all of you who have read my reviews and other articles, commented on them, and had wonderful things to say. All of the positive responses have been very encouraging. A lot of you may not understand how much all of the compliments and positivity help when doing things like this, it really means a lot. Besides thanking all of you for your support, the purpose of this article will be to look back on everything that has happened in the last year, as well as give you guys an update on my upcoming reviews, articles, and projects.
Thanks to everyone who made this year so awesome. And "Stay Classy"!
While I had done some reviews before this year, they were pretty bad, and I never got much of a response from them. I had a lot going on in late 2012 and early 2013, so I completely abandoned reviews (which I never did on a consistent basis anyways). However, things changed a bit when I reviewed Dredd, a very under-rated movie. This is where I made some tweaks that vastly improved the quality of my reviews. First, I did away with "categories" and "category scores" in order to give a more free-flowing style to the review. Second, I added a Pros and Cons section at the end to summarize things (and to give an out to those who don't like to read). The last one I added was the big Kahuna: PICTURES! That's right, as if in some state of insanity I had never put pictures in my the very few reviews I had done in the past. Here's a link to the Dredd review: http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/03/01/dredd-review/ . While it really isn't that great of a review, it did get things started for me, and the positive response that I received made me consider pursuing things further.
Reviewing "Dredd" was a huge step forward
Just 2 days after my Dredd review, I made a decision with a ridiculously humungous impact that I never could have been able to see coming: I reviewed that night's episode of The Walking Dead. I decided a few days earlier that I would give reviewing episodes a shot, and I caught a lucky break: that week's episode was "Clear". Being one of the best episodes of the series, reviewing it was a breeze. I didn't know at the time if I would continue to review each week's episode or if it would be a one-time thing. I decided that I would let the responses to the review dictate where I went next. That first night I got some negative responses, namely one using the "No one cares" Spongebob meme. At that point I had some serious doubts about continuing. However, an encouraging comment was posted overnight, and a few people up-voted it, so that was good enough for me. Here's the link to the "Clear" review: http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/03/03/the-walking-dead-clear-review/ . The season continued, and I reviewed "Arrow on the Doorpost", "Prey", and "This Sorrowful Life" (if you want to see those but don't want to sort through the blog, search the "(episode title) review by ao66". Then came the season finale, "Welcome to the Tombs". My distaste for that episode resulted in a rant of epic proportions, making that my longest review by far. The review clocked in at a whopping 2,629 words! I gave the episode a 6 out of 10, but I would go even lower now. Never in my life have I been more disappointed than I was by that episode. Here's the link (beware, the rant is VERY LONG): http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/03/31/the-walking-dead-welcome-to-the-tombs-review/
Reviewing "The Walking Dead" drastically changed the course of my reviews for the better
With The Walking Dead done for a long time, I reviewed a few movies here and there. Suddenly, summer was upon us. I didn't do as much during the summer, but I did do my own E3 coverage. I gave my impressions of the Sony Conference and the Microsoft Conference. Lastly, I did my own "Best of E3" awards, which ended up being 5,210 words! Here's the link to that: http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/06/14/best-of-e3-2013 . After E3, things really died down on the blog. Aside from the fact that the E3 coverage took a lot out of me, an exiting development occurred. A short film idea that I had been working on for months (which I wrote and ended up directing) was finally ready to film. Seeing my vision come to life was truly special, and I couldn't have done it without the spectacular cast and crew involved. It is a post-apocalyptic film with production requirements that seemed impossible to meet, but we were able to get it done. If you want more info on the film, as well as a link to the first trailer, go here: http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/12/23/trailer-for-my-first-short-film . The film will hopefully release in early February.
2013 Would have been likely the biggest year of my life solely because of how much my reviews took off, but "Connor's Journal" made things even bigger
One article I was able to get out during filming, however, just happened to be my most popular one ever: my impressions of the trailer for The Walking Dead Season 4. Here's the link to that: http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/07/19/the-walking-dead-season-4-trailer-impressions/ . I got a whole lot of comments on that one, which really got me excited. Then came the final episodes of Breaking Bad, which were pretty much the best thing I've ever seen. Follow the search procedure I gave earlier to find the reviews for each episode. I really recommend reading those, as they are probably my best work (Breaking Bad is REALLY deep). In my review for these final episodes as a whole, I gave it a 10 out of 10, a number I don't think I will ever give to a single season ever again. I hadn't given anything a 10 out of 10 all year up to that point, but 4 of the 8 episodes got a 10, as did the season itself. Here's that link: http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/10/07/breaking-bad-final-season-review-spoilers/ . In honor of its end, I began a "top 25 episodes" countdown. The first batch has the links to the rest, so here it is: http://www.ign.com/blogs/ao66/2013/10/08/top-25-breaking-bad-episodes-25-21-spoilers/ .
Thanks to the "Walking Dead" season 4 trailer and "Breaking Bad", but mostly you guys for reading all of my articles and reviews, this blog reached new heights
With Breaking Bad over, I turned my attention back to The Walking Dead, whose improvement in writing in Season 4 was exponential. There was previously only 1 episode in Walking Dead history I would have given a 10 for sure (the pilot episode), but the first half of Season 4 was able to get 2 out of me! If the show can keep things up, awards committees will have no choice but to recognize it. Most of this was because Scott Gimple was named as Season 4 show-runner, a move I was calling for the second they announced the firing of the last show-runner. He somehow surpassed my wildest expectations for the show, and I can't wait to see where they go next. Those reviews are recent enough that I won't post any links (you can find them, I believe in you!). I am planning some Walking Dead-themed articles soon to keep my anticipation under control.
The quality jump in season 4 of "The Walking Dead" has to be seen to be believed, and i loved every second of it
Some of you may be asking, "What's the game-plan for 2014?" Well, early in the year I will be releasing my "Best of 2013" pieces, starting with TV characters and acting, then episodes, series, and writing. Once that is out, I'll do the same thing for movies and games. Obviously I will be reviewing The Walking Dead once again (you can count on that for sure). I also hope to start reviewing The Americans and Game of Thrones. They are my other 2 favorite shows now that Breaking Bad is gone, and I hope I have the time to review them each week. Also be on the lookout for the release of my short film, as well as any film festival dates I will be posting, which could give you the chance to meet me or any of the other contributors. Lastly, I want to thank all of you once again for making 2013 such an amazing year for me. I really couldn't have done this without you, and I hope all of you had a phenomenal year as well! Hopefully we can make 2014 even better!


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Browning Raglan T-shirts are an Idakoos specialtiy! Idakoos has many things to offer. Whether you want to get a Browning Raglan T-shirt for a special occasion, give a Browning T-Shirt as a present or need to represent with a funny Browning Raglan Tee during Holidays or Family and Friends get-togethers, Idakoos is sure to have the right Browning Raglan T-shirt for you! Even if it turns out you can't find the right Browning Raglan Shirt with the perfect design for your mother, father or children (or friends!); Idakoos offers all of its men's women's and children's Browning Raglan T-shirts as Custom Browning T-Shirts. Personalize any Browning Raglan T-shirt the way you want to ensure the perfect gift.
Showing 1 - 24 of 77 Raglan T-Shirt


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Product Certification
Flowers Program
Giving Fair Trade certified blooms are the best way to show one cares about the person receiving the flowers as well as about the workers on flower farms. Fair Trade certification ensures that workers on large-scale flower farms have access to unions, receive better wages, and work under safe labor conditions with protective equipment and proper training. Growers are able to keep the best workers because of these benefits, leading to better productivity and better flower quality. In addition, Fair Trade certification provides workers vital financial support in the form of the Fair Trade premium: 10 percent of the commercial price of every stem sold is allocated to a development fund that gives workers the opportunity to invest in the future of their communities. Fair Trade certified flowers are becoming increasingly popular and are available nationwide in popular retail outlets such as Whole Foods Market. Since the Fair Trade Certified floral program launched in 2007, U.S. consumers have purchased over 20 million Fair Trade stems, resulting in an impressive $600,000 in community development funding for workers to reinvest in their communities.
Wholesalers and Retailers
How to Sell Fair Trade Flowers--Requirements for Retailers & Brands
- Wholesalers that buy Fair Trade flowers in bulk for mixed bouquets that will bear the Fair Trade label also need to be certified by Fair Trade USA, but retailers do not need to be certified to sell Fair Trade Certified flowers.
- Sign a Fair Trade USA certification and licensing agreement.
- Purchase Fair Trade Certified flowers from a registered importer.
- Submit all packaging, sales and marketing material carrying the Fair Trade Certified logo to Fair Trade USA for approval.
- Submit quarterly reports on Fair Trade Certified flower purchases and product sales. Undergo, and comply with, regular desk audits and on-site audits.
- Please note: Processed formats and by-products may also be eligible for certification. For example, if a cosmetic product contains flower essence from Fair Trade certified producers, the cosmetic may be eligible for Fair Trade certification.
How to Import Fair Trade Flowers
- Sign a Fair Trade USA certification and licensing agreement.
- Purchase Fair Trade Certified flowers from Fair Trade producer groups or exporters certified by FLO-Cert.
- Sell Fair Trade Certified flowers to other Fair Trade registered traders and operators.
- Upon purchase directly from a Fair Trade producer, pay a Fair Trade premium on top of the commerical price --see the Pricing Database for premium information
- Pay the designated Fair Trade premium directly to the bank account of the farm workers organization -- see the Pricing Database
- Submit quarterly reports to Fair Trade USA on Fair Trade Certified imports and sales. Undergo, and comply with, regular desk audits and on-site audits.
- Pay licensing fee to Fair Trade USA on all Fair Trade Certified flower purchases.


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|The Revolution is Here
A new hydrogen-based propulsion and genset system is poised to transform the marine industry.
By Elizabeth Ginns — January 2003
Let's face it: As hard as engine manufacturers work to produce low-emission engines, present-day internal combustion technology is not exactly eco-friendly. While significant strides continue to be made to clean up marine engines, there's no disputing that they continue to release hydrocarbons into the atmosphere and are associated with fuel spills that pollute the water and harm aquatic life. Little wonder companies are investing huge sums of money to develop cleaner alternatives to fossil fuels, and many of the most promising ones are hydrogen-based.
Hydrogen technology has been around for a while, and there have even been some automotive applications involving fuel cells, but HaveBlue, a developer of clean-energy marine power, recently announced an agreement with Solomon Technologies, pioneers in electric motors with hydroelectric regeneration, to install its ST74 electric propulsion and control system on a demonstration 42-foot Catalina sailboat. Dubbed the X/V-1, it will initially be powered by a bank of conventional batteries, but once the development team determines usage requirements and renewal rates under a range of conditions, they hope to tie the ST74 into a hydrogen-based fuel cell. "By the second quarter of 2003, HaveBlue plans to have the X/V-1 fitted with a self-contained zero- or ultra-low-emission power system that utilizes fresh or saltwater to produce, store, and consume hydrogen as an energy carrier or fuel," says the company. HaveBlue says the X/V-1 can power boats of up to 12 tons, and although there is no word yet as to when larger systems will be available, X/V-1-powered gensets for large powerboats and megayachts are available now.
Here's how the prototype X/V-1 works. Water is drawn from outside the boat and purified by an onboard water-making device. Using renewable or other energy sources, an onboard electrolysis unit produces hydrogen and oxygen from the water. The hydrogen is stored in onboard tanks for use by any suitable powerplant, from fuel cells to internal combustion engines.
Apart from its low impact on the environment, a big advantage of this system for genset applications is that it is virtually maintenance-free. That means an obvious cost savings, although installations will still likely be more expensive initially than those for comparable diesel-powered systems. However, costly maintenance, such as oil changes, winterizing, and fuel filter checks/replacements, will be a thing of the past.
The HaveBlue propulsion system currently being tested with Solomon has no transmissions, valves, gaskets, filters, pumps, oil, pollutants, smell, spills or (best of all) noise. Imagine that.
HaveBlue Phone: (805) 985-2010. www.haveblue.com.
Next page > HaveBlue Image Gallery > Page 1, 2
This article originally appeared in the January 2003 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


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Insuring Your Pet
For many, a pet is a full-fledged member of the family. And just as health-care costs for human family members have risen over the years, so has the cost of veterinary care. It's probably not surprising, then, that pet insurance has gone in a fairly short period of time from relative obscurity to something that more and more people are considering.
With pet insurance, you pay premiums to a pet insurance provider; in return, the provider agrees to pay for some of your pet's medical costs, according to the specific terms and limits detailed in the policy agreement. How much you pay in premiums and the coverage you receive vary widely by provider, and depend on factors that include breed and age.
If you are considering pet insurance, it's important to request quotes from several providers (a list of 12 pet insurance providers, along with some helpful information, is available at www.avma.org, the website of the American Veterinary Medical Association). After obtaining quotes from multiple providers, look carefully at the coverage details offered by each company.
With pet insurance, costs associated with "wellness" care (e.g., regular office visits and vaccinations) generally aren't covered. Pre-existing conditions are also generally excluded. Some providers also exclude certain hereditary or common conditions--for example, many pet insurance providers exclude coverage for hip dysplasia, a disease often associated with larger dog breeds.
In addition to comparing coverages, make sure that you understand your out-of-pocket responsibilities. You may be responsible for a co-payment. You're probably also responsible for a specified deductible amount before a policy will make any payment. And once you've satisfied any deductible, a policy is likely to pay only a certain percentage of covered costs. So, for example, you might have a policy that pays 80% of covered costs after you satisfy the policy deductible. Some providers also cap benefits on a per-illness, annual, or lifetime basis.
One final note--with your health insurance, your provider probably bills your insurance directly. That's generally not the case with pet insurance. Typically, you pay all costs up front, and then you submit claims to the pet insurance provider for reimbursement.
Is pet insurance worth the cost?
The last thing you want is to have to forgo lifesaving treatment for your pet sometime down the road because you simply don't have the money to pay for it. But that's a situation many pet owners eventually face. Pet insurance can provide some peace of mind, but is it worth the cost? That's a tough question to answer.
Let's say that you have a two-year-old Labrador retriever. You get quotes from all the major pet insurance providers, and after carefully comparing coverages and details, you decide on a policy that will pay 80% of covered costs after you satisfy an annual $250 deductible. Your cost for the policy is $40 each month. In most years, you don't have any reimbursable claims--just routine visits or claims that don't exceed the deductible. After six years, your lovable Lab swallows a sock, things go horribly wrong, and he needs surgery at a cost of $4,000. Good thing you purchased the insurance, right?
Remember, you have a $250 deductible, so you will have to cover that yourself. And, the insurance policy will only reimburse you for 80% of the remaining $3,750, or $3,000. Consider this: If, instead of purchasing the pet insurance policy, you set aside $40 each month into an account earning 3%, you would have a little over $3,000--the same amount you would receive from the insurance policy--saved by the time the operation was needed. Of course, this example assumes that you have the discipline to set money aside each month. And, of course, if the great sock catastrophe happened in year two instead of year six, the insurance might seem like a wise purchase.
The bottom line is that pet insurance companies are in business to make a profit, and that is how they set their rates. By purchasing a pet insurance policy, you're shifting some of the potential financial risk from you to the insurance provider, and you are paying for that as part of your premiums. That doesn't mean purchasing pet insurance is a bad decision; you just have to consider the numbers carefully. At the same time, you have to factor in that it's not all about the numbers--you may believe now that there's a limit to what you will spend to treat a pet, but if and when that time comes, emotions often have a tendency to trump logic.


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So far I've fixed my eyes on places like Wat Pah Nanachat in Thailand and Na Uyana in Sri Lanka, but the more I research online the more confused I get about all the little details and differences in levels of strictness and visas etc. etc.
vagrancy wrote:On the other hand, right now I'm having serious drama with my parents. My father stopped communicating with me, my mother is very uspet but alseast she gave me the opportunity to expalin what this is about. Any advice on this ?
vagrancy wrote:Hi Reflection
My approach is not as rushed as my writing style may seem. I've thought about going forth for a year now and in my heart I feel ready. I have already taken serious steps towards this goal and reconsidering is out of the question for me at this stage. Right now I really need some opinions about actual places where I could persue my ordination, not discouragement from going forth. Thank you for your opinion !
binocular wrote:vagrancy wrote:On the other hand, right now I'm having serious drama with my parents. My father stopped communicating with me, my mother is very uspet but alseast she gave me the opportunity to expalin what this is about. Any advice on this ?
On principle, one cannot ordain if there is opposition from one's family.
kilanta wrote:Except maybe by threatening to burn the monastery down unless one is ordained. I've seen this has been mentioned in various other threads about ordaining as well (wouldn't mind someone who's more knowledgeable to point out if this really is mentioned in the rules).
[Threatening behaviour] Someone who has quarrelled with his parents
comes demanding to be ordained. On being told to come back after he
has consulted his parents, he replies, 'I will not leave unless you ordain
me. I shall set fire to the monastery, I shall attack you with a knife, I shall
harm your relatives or supporters by damaging the hermitage, etc., I
shall jump off a tree and die, I shall join a gang of robbers, I shall emigrate.'
If it is in order to protect life itself, it is permissible to proceed with
his ordination. Now when his parents come and ask, 'Why have you ordained
our son?' one should relate the circumstances to them and explain
to them, 'We ordained him for his own protection – verify this with
your son.' When someone has climbed up a tree and is threatening to
jump from it, it is only permissible to ordain him once he has released his
hands and feet from the tree.
[Father abandoned family] Suppose the father has deserted his son and
wife making no provision for them, and the mother gives the son to the
monks saying, 'Ordain him.' If in response to the question 'Where is his
father?' she says, 'He has deserted us pursuing his own selfish whims,'
then it is permitted to ordain him.
• [Mother abandoned family] Suppose the mother has run off with some
man, while the father hands over [the son] saying, 'Ordain him.' The
same principle applies in this case as in the previous one.
[From another region] Also one who requests ordination after going to a
different region should be ordained if he went there after consulting [his
parents]. If not, he should be ordained after a young monk has been sent
to consult his parents. If it is an extremely long way, it is permissible to establish
consent by sending him off with monks even after ordination. In
the Kurundi Vinaya tradition, by contrast, it is stated: 'If it is far away and
the road is very difficult, it is permissible to proceed with the ordination
after forming the resolution, 'We shall go and consult them.''
BlackBird wrote:I've heard good things about Na Uyana.
This might be of use:
http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/Sri-L ... teries.pdf
Stayed at Meetirigala in Sri Lanka myself for a couple of months.
Actually I have decided to go and ask for ordination in either Meetrigala Vanaya or Na Uyana Aranya ! : )
Should I write first, book a ticket, then apply online for a tourist visa and just show up? Would language be a problem? Would I receive sufficient instruction in english and find buddhist literature in english in there ?
Most Ven. U. Dhammajiva Maha Thero primarily teaches Vipassana meditation. However, he is also trained in Samatha or tranquility meditation. He is one of the very few traditional teachers who could guide a student in either pure Vipassana or Samatha meditation according to the inherent characteristics of that student.
http://damsara.org/dhamma-talks-in-engl ... n-english/
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Pastry Chef Damien Hergott is giving the Mont Blanc ($6.50) a modern update at Bosie Tea Parlor. The classic Mont Blanc is composed simply of whipped cream and a sweetened chestnut purée. Hergott's version starts with a sweet dough tart shell that filled with a vanilla mascarpone cream. Then goes in a layer of fresh strawberry jam, another layer of mascarpone cream, and finally a mini-mountain of Swiss meringue. The puréed chestnut is piped round and round and over the top and finished with a quartered strawberry and gold leaf. It is noticeably lighter than the classic, with the strawberry jelly offering a fruity lift and the meringue an airy breath to the chestnuts.
Bosie Tea Parlor
10 Morton Street, New York, NY 10014 (map)
About the author: Originally from Honolulu, Kathy YL Chan blogs at Kathy YL Chan, where she chronicles her eats and travel adventures between Hawai'i, New York and beyond. She firmly believes that there is always room for dessert.


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Vienna Boys' Choir Comes to the Warner, 12/7
On Friday, December 7 at 7:30 pm, the Warner Theatre will present the Vienna Boys' Choir Holiday Concert.
Founded in 1498 in Austrian Emperor Maximilian I's court, The Vienna Boys Choir has expanded to include four touring choirs and boast a collective sound that exhibits "astonishing vocal range," according to The Washington Post. Their holiday repertoire features favorites like "I'll be Home for Christmas" and "Silver Bells," plus a selection of timeless French, Italian and Russian carols.
Treat yourself, and your family, to a special holiday musical experience.
Tickets for this concert are $29.50, $39.50, $49.50 and can be purchased by calling the Warner box office at 860-489-7180 or online at www.warnertheatre.org.


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Wanda Smith's downtown St. Paul apartment is in pretty bad shape.
"My bathroom floor is falling in, the whole thing is crumbling inwards, every time you shut the bathroom door you get pieces of plaster falling on you. My toilet is kind of tilted sideways," she says.
Smith and her partner, Anthony Jones, also found abandoned fuel tanks in the basement. Sometimes the fumes are so strong, their eyes burn, they say.
"When you mention it to anybody, their only answer is that the owner isn't going to put any more money into this place. And yet they want a $1,000 down for a deposit and he wants $500 a month," says Smith.
This is just the kind of living situation the city's new inspection program aims to prevent. St. Paul has historically inspected commercial buildings and rentals with three or more units for code violations and fire safety.
But single-family and duplex rentals have not been inspected. As a result, the city says many are rundown. And city fire statistics show the majority of fire deaths occur in one- and two-unit rentals.
Fire inspector A.J. Neis is visiting Smith and Jones' apartment for the first time. He asks them if they've noticed anything in the apartment that needs to be fixed.
Neis inspects the basement and then goes upstairs to check out the bathroom.
"We have a leak where it's coming from. We've also got a very large hole in the upper part of the building by the roof," says Neis.
"It scares me anytime I hear a wrinkle or a rumbling that more people will be forced into homelessness and since our shelters that we have in Ramsey County are pretty much full every night."Margaret Lovejoy
Neis says the leaky skylight is one of several violations he'll order the landlord to repair within seven to 10 days.
The city uses a point system. Units with more violations earn more points -- and more points mean more frequent inspection.
The new program means that from now on, units with the fewest violations get inspections once every five years. Those with the most get inspected every year. The city says this system helps focus attention on the most neglectful landlords.
At the end of his inspection, Neis notices the smoke detector is broken. Having a non-working detector or having none at all is considered a serious violation.
Inspectors are not required to install detectors, but Neis promises to return later in the day with a new one, free of charge.
Before leaving, he tells Smith and Jones that they may have to move if the landlord doesn't comply and make repairs.
This has homeless advocates worried.
They say the program focuses on just the kind of spacious rental housing families need. They worry that increased inspections will inevitably lead to more condemnations and, they fear, more homeless families.
"It scares me anytime I hear a wrinkle or a rumbling that more people will be forced into homelessness and since our shelters that we have in Ramsey County are pretty much full every night," says Margaret Lovejoy, executive director of The Family Place, a non-profit that provides services for homeless families. "That means more people coming into the system that we are not able to provide shelter for."
Lovejoy says she's not against inspections, but she wants to prevent displacement. Fire Marshall Steve Zaccard says he understands the concern but that it's unfounded.
"It's a perfectly legitimate question, but it has not been our experience in apartment buildings and so far now, I can tell you it hasn't been our experience in these smaller rental properties either in the last three months," Zaccard says.
The condemnation process doesn't happen overnight. Property owners get time to make repairs and they can appeal violations before a judge. Except in life-threatening conditions --like a carbon monoxide leak -- tenants are allowed to stay while repairs are being made.
So far, the new program has condemned 14 occupied buildings. Fire Marshall Zaccard says he believes that any tenants who had to get out all had places to go.
In situations where tenants have no place to go, fire inspectors refer them to the Red Cross and other social service organizations. The city is now working to come up with funds to help tenants who can't afford to move.
City Council President Kathy Lantry helped design the inspections program. She says sometimes even going to a homeless shelter is better than continuing to live in dangerous conditions.
"If we are getting people out of substandard housing, I guess I would rather have them looking for a decent place to live than allowing them to continue to remain in squalor," says Lantry.
Back at the apartment, fire inspector Neis is installing the smoke detector he promised.
Outside, he reflects on the hard choices he sometimes has to make. He says it's never easy telling tenants they have to move out when their apartment is condemned.
"It's a decision that we have to make with regard for their safety and their well being. If they don't have a place to go, we'll do our best to find one, but we can't have them being in a building that there is already life-safety violations," he says. "If they have no place to go, there are shelters and so forth that hopefully they can find a place."
Today's inspection is just the beginning for this property. First, the city will send a letter to the owner ordering repairs. Then, inspectors will return to the property a second time. If the repairs are not made, the owner could be forced to vacate the property.
Neis says he hopes the owner will comply so that Smith and Jones don't have to move out.
City officials say they are confident the inspections program will lead to better living conditions and fewer fire deaths.


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Kevin Ollie has reached agreement on a $3 million annual contract extension at UConn, spurning the NBA, sources tell Yahoo Sports.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 19, 2014
hell of a (deserved) raise
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Kevin Ollie has reached agreement on a $3 million annual contract extension at UConn, spurning the NBA, sources tell Yahoo Sports.— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) May 19, 2014
hell of a (deserved) raise
Delany hanging a mission accomplished banner in that New York office today
The Big Ten is one big step closer to putting its flag in the New York/New Jersey television market.
Mark Silverman, president of the Big Ten Network, confirmed Monday that the network had reached deals with Time Warner Cable and Cablevision to broadly distribute its channel to the millions of homes in the market. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Silverman also said he is optimistic that a deal will be reached with the third cable giant -- Comcast -- before the football season.
eventually the NCAA's going to have to stop pretending they took care of the UNC scandal like they were any other school
Rashad McCants, the second-leading scorer on the North Carolina basketball team that won the 2004-05 national title, told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that tutors wrote his term papers, he rarely went to class for about half his time at UNC, and he remained able to play largely because he took bogus classes designed to keep athletes academically eligible.
McCants told "Outside the Lines" that he could have been academically ineligible to play during the championship season had he not been provided the assistance. Further, he said head basketball coach Roy Williams knew about the "paper-class" system at UNC. The so-called paper classes didn't require students to go to class; rather, students were required to submit only one term paper to receive a grade.
McCants also told "Outside the Lines" that he even made the Dean's List in Spring 2005 despite not attending any of his four classes for which he received straight-A grades. He said advisers and tutors who worked with the basketball program steered him to take the paper classes within the African-American Studies program.
Rashad Mccants is dumbass. Why is he telling on himself? He acts like he didn't want people to do his work for him. U know his dumbass couldn't do the work. I'm pretty sure most of the athletes would rather be able to play instead of do work. What a fuxking dumbass. Is he trying to prove a point on why college players should get paid? Fuxking idiot
Relative of Pierre Niles saying that Calipari arranged a "play for pay" setup for Niles to play at Memphis.
I never expect leads like these to go anywhere, but Calipari can't dodge this stuff forever, can he?
joint statement from all the Big Ten presidents and chancellors
Pac 12 issued a similar statement a while back. The big 5 are laying the groundwork to break away from the NCAA.
Vanderbilt won the College World Series. IU would have hosted them in Super Regionals had they not choked away the Stanford games.
What could have been...
Suppose it fits here, IHSAA ruled Eron Gordon ineligible because his transfer to Cathedral because it was "primarily for athletic reasons." One, where the hell were they on the couple hundred others that were "primarily for athletic reasons?" Two, why's that matter? Cathedral's private anyway, not like the school district matters. He can afford to go there, what's the problem?
Good job driving a kid out of state for the rest of high school because he made the wrong person mad apparently.
Wow. Tell him to transfer to a South Carolina school. This stuff happens everyday.
I am out of the loop, so forgive me for asking, but what was wrong with North Central?
Yahoo Sports sources: investigation into academic fraud underway at Notre Dame, football players (as well as regular students) part of probe— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) August 15, 2014
uh oh
Reddit reports that the hammer is falling on ND; 4 players expelled, 2012 Wins vacated.....
"Nobody wants to play against Tyler Hansbrough NO BODY!" ~ Frank Vogel
"And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. "
Kentucky lost to the Dominican Republic 63-62. LOL
Didn't Calipari coach them a few years back?
Without looking at rosters I don't think that result is LOL worthy. A lot of those Olympic teams are older, more mature and very good.
James Feldeine--Quinnipiac University, Italian league
Eloy Vargas--University of Kentucky (played there after flunking out of Florida), Spanish league
Orlando Sanchez--St. John's University
Eulis Baez--Florida International University/Western Illinois University, Spanish league
Ronald Ramon--University of Pittsburgh
Jack Martinez--(couldn't even find where he went to school)
Victor Liz--(couldn't find school), Gaiteros
Edgar Sosa--University of Louisville, Euroleague
Manuel Fortuna--(couldn't find school), Dominican National Team
Juan Coronado--Liberty University, Piratas de Quebradillas
Gerardo Suero--University at Albany, Dominican National Team
Edward Santana--(couldn't find school), Bucaneros
Not one player on that team was drafted by an NBA team. By contrast, Kentucky is thought to have as many as 8 first round picks in next year's draft, and they had 7 McDonald's All-Americans playing today.
And to further illustrate the gap between basketball in the USA vs. the Dominican Republic, the last time the two countries played each other the USA won 113-58.
A bunch of freshman and sophmores losing to a team full of professional basketball players by a point in the middle of August sure is LOL-worthy.
"I had to take her down like Chris Brown."
-Lance Stephenson
Again, 18/19 yr olds losing to professionals. I am not sure why you are so surprised.
Going to Penn. State v Florida Knights tomorrow in Dublin. Looking forward to it!
Change is neither good or bad, it simply is.
Ah just noticing this post! Hope you had a good time, saw there were a ton of PSU fans who made the trip over. Pretty good ending to the game too.


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SHEPHERDSVILLE - Starting back to school when it is an observed holiday for many workers across the country?
Sounds like a gamble?
Well, it looks like it was an excellent decision by the calendar committee for the Bullitt County Public School System.
Although few school districts were back at work on Monday, Bullitt County numbers were probably not as bad as some may have anticipated.
Superintendent Keith Davis said that preliminary figures put the attendance mark for students at 91.6 percent.
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Using the Drug Thalidomide to Stimulate T Cells in HIV-Infected People
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|HIV Infections
|Drug: Thalidomide Drug: Thalidomide placebo
|Phase 2
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double (Participant, Care Provider)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|Pharmacologic T Cell Costimulation In HIV Disease
- Doubling in HIV Pol-specific CD8 cells, measured by ELISPOT [ Time Frame: Through Day 28 ]
- Increase in CMV pp65 CD8 cells, measured by ELISPOT in the thalidomide treatment group [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Increase in HIV p24-specific IFN-gamma-secreting CD4 cells in the thalidomide treatment group, measured by fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Increase in cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific interferon (IFN)-gamma-secreting CD4 T cells in the thalidomide treatment group, measured by FACS [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Increase in the frequency of keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)-specific lymphocyte proliferative responses in the thalidomide treatment group [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
- Increase in adverse events in the thalidomide treatment group [ Time Frame: Throughout study ]
|Study Start Date:
|April 2001
|Study Completion Date:
|February 2006
|Primary Completion Date:
|August 2005 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Experimental: 1
Participants will receive low dose thalidomide for 28 days
Drug: Thalidomide
Tablet taken orally daily
Placebo Comparator: 2
Participants will receive low dose thalidomide placebo for 28 days
Drug: Thalidomide placebo
Placebo tablet taken orally daily
Detailed Description:
In patients with chronic HIV infection, HIV replication and abnormalities in immune function persist following treatment with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Specifically, costimulatory T cell interactions are impaired. The immune modulatory drug thalidomide was recently found to costimulate T cells. Pharmacologic T cell costimulation may compensate for the T cell deficiencies in people with HIV disease and improve immune function. This study will test whether thalidomide treatment enhances HIV and cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific immunity in patients with HIV and CMV, and will evaluate the effect of thalidomide on HIV replication.
In this study, 40 HIV and CMV infected patients on HAART and 40 HIV uninfected CMV seropositive controls will be randomly assigned to low dose thalidomide or placebo treatment for 28 days. T cell responses and HIV replication and genetic diversification will be assessed.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria
- HIV-infected for at least 5 years prior to study entry
- CD4 count of 300/mm3 or above
- Pre-HAART nadir CD4 count of 300/mm3 or less
- CMV infection
- HAART for 12 months prior to study entry
- Same effective HAART regimen for 3 months prior to study entry
- HIV viral load less than 200 copies/ml
- Clinically stable
Exclusion Criteria
- Active opportunistic infection
- Females of childbearing potential
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00053430
|United States, Florida
|University of Miami School of Medicine
|Miami, Florida, United States, 33125
|Principal Investigator:
|Patrick Haslett, MD
|Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami School of Medicine
|Responsible Party:
|Rona Siskind, DAIDS
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00053430 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
1R01AI047742-01A1 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
7R01AI047742-02 ( U.S. NIH Grant/Contract )
|Study First Received:
|January 29, 2003
|Last Updated:
|August 6, 2009
Keywords provided by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID):
Immune Modulation
Immune reconstitution
Treatment Experienced
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
HIV Infections
Lentivirus Infections
Retroviridae Infections
RNA Virus Infections
Virus Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Viral
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes
Immune System Diseases
Immunosuppressive Agents
Immunologic Factors
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Leprostatic Agents
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Angiogenesis Inhibitors
Angiogenesis Modulating Agents
Growth Substances
Growth Inhibitors
Antineoplastic Agents
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 21, 2017


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The one thing I consistently fail to account for when planning trips, especially shorter ones, is the disruption it will cause to my routine. For over a hundred days in a row, I wrote a blog post every day, did a Chinese lesson, worked on SETT, and a few other things for which I hold myself accountable.
I went to Peru for ten days, and although I started off strong, jamming in the blog post and Chinese lessons on my flights and bus ride to the Andes, once I started hiking I stopped doing those things. No real foul there, because breathing and walking had become difficult first priorities. When I got back to civilization, still in Peru, I resumed working hard on SETT, but I stopped doing Chinese lessons. I was practicing Spanish every day, though, so that made it okay. I wrote a monster blog post about Peru and sort of let myself coast on that. After all, it was a lot longer than my average post.
I got back to San Francisco and had only a week before I was going to Mexico. That week was great. I felt bad about being off schedule, so I used that as motivation to get back on. I rated three of those days as As and four as Bs, which is a pretty solid week. Next there are ten days completely missing from my schedule. I remember them, though. I worked on SETT every day while I was in Mexico, at a reduced capacity, as expected. I did a couple Chinese lessons, but was speaking Spanish, and fell behind on blog posts. Maybe I wrote four during those ten days.
Again, I got back and got back on schedule, but this time with less consistency. One day I gave myself an F and didn't even write any notes on the day. A few others I got Ds. There are As and Bs, too, but not as many as there should be.
Two weeks later I left for China, where I stayed for three weeks. I worked hard on SETT the whole time, but barely wrote any blog posts. Worst of all, I didn't keep a daily log. Then I got back, and like magic, my habit of daily tracking was gone. So were Chinese lessons, and so was blogging.
I've been back for a couple weeks now and I don't think I've written any blog posts besides the gear post. I haven't tracked a single day. I've done good work on SETT, but it's my overwhelmingly major priority, so that's sort of a given at this point.
I go through this whole sequence not to flagellate myself, but to think about it and examine what went wrong. I accept that I'll make mistakes, but my rule for myself is that when I make a mistake I own up to it, figure out what went wrong, and get back on the horse.
So I'm in the saddle today. I kept my daily accountability journal, planned my day, and wrote this blog post. I haven't done a language lesson because I'm going to switch back to Japanese focus for a few months before going there and I haven't worked out a game plan yet.
What went wrong? I forgot about the most important thing-- consistency. It's WAY better to do a terrible job on habits than to not do them at all. Better than not recording a day is recording it with blanks. Better than that is recording it with guesses. Better than not writing a blog post is writing a paragraph on my phone about how I ran out of time or motivation or whatever. Better than that is writing a really bad post that never makes it to the light of day. At least these actions keep the consistency. That's the hard part.
You could have an incredible day today. You could tackle the most important thing on your todo list with all of your attention. You could handle those half dozen errands that have been piling up. You could write a great blog post. You could call the people who are waiting for calls back. That's the easy part. I'm sure we've all had manic days like that where everything just clicks and we feel superhuman.
But how do you get a week like that? You work on it every day. Some days you perform at an A, others at a D, but as the weeks and months and years pass by, your average inches upwards along with your standards. Eventually you have a week that feels like a B or a C, but if you had looked at it a year prior you would have called it a definite A.
I've been really consistent about two things, blogging and programming. I have tons of work to do on both, and wouldn't claim to be an expert on either, but that's how my progression has been. An average blog post now is better than my best ones used to be. The amount of useful work I can add to SETT per day is probably 3-5x what it was two years ago.
Not always, but very often the hardest parts of things are the most valuable parts. That's true of performance. One of the hard parts of it is consistency, but consistency is the very foundation of high performance. Keep chugging away, putting in work, getting better, and eventually you're good. Keep at it and you're great. Then excellent.
So consistency is the hard part, but it's also the good part. There's a meta element to this, that the more consistent you get about being consistent on things, the easier it becomes to maintain that consistency. That's how you really accelerate, compounding the wins you're creating.
As for me? I'm back to being consistent on a few of my things, and today is day one. Again.
Picture caption? I'm guessing this is near where you were enjoying the Sasquatch tea you hunted down in China.
It's true, being consistent is much better than on and off activity. I like how you presented it by degree.
Two questions: 1. What are you programming SETT in? and 2. How much fluency do you make your goal in your languages?
Programming in PHP.
My goal for languages is to be able to have a clumsy conversation with anyone. So maybe my vocab and grammar aren't great, but they'll understand me at least. I'll probably have to make substitutions like "The very fast train" instead of "The bullet train", etc. I'd like to get a lot better than that, but once I get there I tend to move on to another language instead of chase the diminishing returns.
Hang on there, Ty! I understand the need for self-discipline, but when you are paying thousands of dollars to travel to some remote place, shouldn't you then attempt to do unique things there?!? Things which you couldn't do in your regular location, be it SFO or Austin. BTW, I have an unrelated question for you: How do you maintain romantic relationship(s) with all that traveling? I am struggling with this myself at the moment.
Who said anything about thousands? :)
I definitely don't attempt to be 100% productive when traveling. Like when I was hiking through the Andes, I expected not to work for 2-3 days. In Mexico I expected to work about 4-5 hours per day, maybe taking 1-2 days off.
Really the problem with what happened was that there were many days in China where I did nothing but hang out in the apartment and work, and on those days I didn't stick to my system. So when I got back to the US, it was easy to keep slacking on it.
As for romantic relationships-- it's tough. You have to be dating someone who's extremely independent (or just have her travel with you, which I've never actually done long-term). This is probably the hardest part about being nomadic.
I finally had another few minutes between papers and tests. Finals week at college!
I see you use a grading system and keep a log. I do something similar, but to that I add graphs.
For writing, I keep a word count, but a "word" is defined as a "good word," so it's not just a raw number; it's the number of words in the finished product. With my carving, in addition to hours spent, I also compare that to the value of the finished pieces, so I get a value per hour. It is interesting to see how those graphs change. Whenever I try a new style or new tools, the graphs go down, and then, as I master the new form, the highs become higher than ever and the lows are higher than previous lows...
Or not. Sometime the graphs show I'm wasting time, so I need to change what I'm doing.
I don't use a spreadsheet. I do it the old fashioned way and hang the graphs on my board near my desk, so they are always present.
I have had an on again off again relationship with working out and exercise in general. (Graphs there too) The only solution I've found is to allow myself light days when I simply don't feel strong. That at least keeps me in the habit.
[I too have been seeing the "Guest" thingy while the upper right shows me logged in. Haven't tried deleting cookies, but logging out and logging works. I'll try deleting my cookies to see if that fixes it.]
You are consistently putting yourself into variable situations and solving problems as they happen. Life is a series of solving problems. Traveling seems to accelerate the process. The purpose of education - formal or not is...change.
Great reminder on working on one's habits.
Can you explain more about your tracking system sometime? I think it's the first time you mention it (or I missed the other times). I guess it's an adaptation of Sebastian Marshall's tracking (as is mine).
How are the grades working for you and based on what do you give them (gut feeling, metrics,..)? Personally I mark each day as (WIN/FAIL/OK) and track progress I made that way in a little chart (WIN = +1, FAIL =-1)
Maybe my favorite post you've ever written. Probably because it clicks with what I've been thinking in my own life lately, but still a great insight that I think we often undervalue.
Hi Tynan,
I got out of my car this morning to hop on a plane and realized I had forgotten my Chinese language books. Still curious about which Chinese podcast you are talking about.
I can totally relate to the consistency thing. You just have to keep getting back on that horse.
Maybe nothing "went wrong." Maybe it is possible to be consistent at one, or two, or three things - but not at the twenty or thirty that you (and I) aspire to. Especially not with the traveling that you do.
I do wonder whether daily grading is best - "local optimization" doesn't always lead to the best long-term results. Still figuring this out for myself.
[SETT feedback: top-right shows me logged in as "Ashish" - I clicked on a mail link to login since SETT is always losing my browser login - but the Comment system shows me writing as "Guest."]
I like to err on the side of believing that things are possible, and only changing that stance when the evidence is overwhelmingly against it. In this case, I tracked this stuff for four months successfully, and found the practice very helpful. The daily grading is a quick way for me to spot trends.
re: SETT-- can you try deleting your cookies and seeing if that fixes it? We made some changes to how SETT handles sessions.
When you're doing something hard, the effort curve looks something like a bell curve. At first, as you're dabbling in it, you don't put in much effort. Then it progressively gets harder and harder until you finally reach that peak. That's when you "make it" and things start to get a little easier. But we don't always make it to that peak. Sometimes, often, we give up.
Polyphasic sleep was brutally difficult. I tried three times to get on the schedule. The first two times I gave up on day five because it was just too hard and there was no end in sight. Then Steve Pavlina got on the schedule. He announced that on day six it gets easy. I tried again, and sure enough on day six it got easy. It's not that it took no effort after day six, but when the effort required is less and less each day, it's really easy to persevere When it's harder every day, well, that's a different story.
Pickup was like tights, too. At first it was murderously difficult to get a girl to even talk to me. It was painful and showed no signs of getting easier. I stuck through it somehow, and I still remember the day I realized it had gotten easier. I was talking to a friend and told him that pretty much every girl I talked to those days would be attracted to me in some capacity. It struck me that I could have never said that before, and that I had in fact reached that peak of effort and passed it.
It's like climbing a really densely fogged mountain. You have a rough idea of how far you've come, you can see how difficult the patch you're working on is, but you can only have the vaguest idea of where the top is. Maybe it's a day away, maybe it's a year away.
About the author: Matt Ackerson is the founder of PetoVera, a professional web design company, and an avid student of the principles of creativity and self-improvement. He writes a daily article on the company's blog.
This post isn't really about punching holes through walls (although you can if you really want to try), and yes, "WTF" indeed, so please read on…
Imagine yourself on a journey. You're walking to get to your destination, a goal perhaps, something you want. You walk for hours, days, maybe years.
A lack of food or water is not an issue on this journey. But at some point, you arrive at a giant concrete wall that blocks your path, even as you are certain that the thing you desire is just beyond this boundary.


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Victoria Beckham and Harper London Shopping Pictures
Victoria and Harper Hit London as Shirtless David Takes the Field in Canada
The Beckham family was spread out over three cities this weekend. Victoria Beckham and baby Harper were in the UK and were seen shopping along London's Sloane Street and at Selfridge's yesterday afternoon. David, meanwhile, was in Canada for a game with the Galaxy. On Saturday, David Beckham got shirtless to celebrate a successful match with the Galaxy. David and his teammates traveled to Montreal for the matchup, and he managed to tie up 1-1 with a free kick.
David and Victoria's three sons, meanwhile, stayed in LA. Romeo, Cruz, and Brooklyn had a fun day together yesterday playing volleyball and rollerblading in Santa Monica. David returned to the US in time to send a special Mother's Day message last night. He posted on his Facebook wall, "It's Mother's Day here in America, so lots of love to my mum Sandra and to Victoria Beckham, the mother of my four beautiful children. Also to all the mothers out there, have a great day. Hope you're being spoiled!"


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THERE is very little point to a rate cut unless mortgage holders feel the benefit. In fact, a cut that is not passed on is more likely to increase consumer caution than entice us to loosen the purse strings as intended, thus stimulating the economy.
The ridiculous stand-off last week as the big banks waited to see how the first would respond did nothing to ease the mounting concerns of the nation's mortgage holders. ANZ's audacious announcement that it will move rates independently of the Reserve from now on can only mean fewer cuts in the future.
You might have missed that in all the pom-pom shaking when - for the last time - it delivered the full 25 basis points.
What is vital to realise, however, is that whatever your bank did or does, you can secure a rate cut - and possibly more than one.
The back-to-back decreases mean the official rate is now 4.25 per cent. The best rate you can get on a home loan today is only about two percentage points above that.
For comparison, the big banks have actually been tracking more than a percentage point above that again. So rather than being held to ransom by them as they play a self-interested game of chicken, simply switch to save.
Institutions are still in the throes of adjusting for last Tuesday's cut, so exact rates aren't yet available but the best are from online lenders. These lenders are usually smaller but, crucially, have no branch networks so save on operating costs and can undercut the bigger players.
Ones to look out for include eMoney, loans.com.au, Better Option and UBank (actually owned by NAB).
Let's put some figures on it. If you had a $300,000 loan, the latest cut represents a saving of about $50 a month. Together with last month's cut, that's $100.
But also get a full 1 per cent reduction by switching to a more competitive offering and that jumps to $238.
Granted, it would be lovely to have that much extra in your pocket for Christmas. But you actually have the opportunity to turn the money into far, far more if you instead keep paying it into your mortgage.
If your lender has cut by 25 basis points and you maintain your repayments at the same level, you will save $25,000 in interest and repay your loan 1½ years early. If they also delivered a Melbourne Cup day rate cut, that rises to nearly $50,000 and three years.
But if they didn't, you might be able to move from an average of 7.5 per cent pre-cut to 6.25 per cent post. Keep payments the same and your savings leap to $73,000 and 5½ years.
Remember, that's not costing you a cent more than you're already paying (bar possibly some remortgaging costs and what now has to be no more than a small break-fee - but ask your new lender to waive the former and see if they'll pay the latter).
Be a little cautious about fixed rates right now. Yes, these have moved below standard variable rates, which increases their appeal. Late last week you could get 5.94 per cent with Citibank, 5.95 per cent from Heritage Bank and 5.99 per cent from Macquarie Bank, fixed for three years.
But if Europe fails to extricate itself from its debt mess, interest rates here could fall fast. Indeed the market believes they'll drop another 1.25 percentage points to 3 per cent next year.
The last thing you want is to fix at the top of the interest rate cycle and be forced to watch in despair as they drop (even if banks don't pass on all the cuts).
Only ever fix half your mortgage and never for more than three years. Interest rates are far too unpredictable to commit for any greater length of time.
Follow this writer on Twitter @NicolePedMcK


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Yokogawa's FX1000 Recording System
FX1000 paperless recording system delivers a high level of measurement, recording and networking functionality in a compact package. The shallow 6.5-in. case depth behind the panel allows installation in tight locations and easy system integration. Up to 12 universal input channels are available with optional alarm relays, loop power supply, remote control inputs and 24-V AC/DC power.


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A Look at Tony Stark's Workshop...
Hot Toys provides fans with a sneak peek at some of the new 1:6th scale Iron Man collectibles they can expect this year. In addition to the Hall of Armor Collectible Set (see our story HERE), a Tony Stark figure in his workshop will see release, the combination allowing collectors to recreate the scene where he is putting on his armor.
More photos of this and many collectibles from the Iron Man 3 movie are coming very soon.
To insure your action figure collection, get in touch with Collectibles Insurance, the official insurance company of the Figures.com network. Say "Figures.com" to get 5% off your first term premiums.
To buy action figures, take a look at BigBadToyStore.com, Toynk.com, BriansToys.com, ToyWiz.com, and MonkeyDepot.com.


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This is the first time I've posted my bag, although I've tweaked it a few times with advice from reading other bag critiques. Here goes.
Valks: 170g. Pro and Proto DX. I use Valks for most of my drives. I keep the pro because I love the feel. All the Star Valks I've had seemed domey and uncomofortable, and Champion just doesn't make sense to me here for something I use as a touch disc. The Proto/1st Run DX is slightly more overstable than newer Valks. I love them. I need to buy like 20 more.
Z Preds: Around 171g. I use these in the wind, and when I need a strong left finish. I use them for thumbers and sidearm flicks. Z plastic because there's no reason for me to have a beat in Predator. I recently swapped these for firebirds, which never felt comfortable to me.
Champ Roadrunners: Around 172g. I use these for anhyzers, and [attempting] rollers. I use the Champ over the Star because I like the way they fly out of the box, and to me Champ beats up much more slowly than star.
Star Teerex: 168g. I carry a Teerex that I don't really need. It's my lightest disc, and in my head I can throw it farther than my Valks. It performs in the wind better than my Valks. Eventually I'll wise up and put it away until my game gets better. I already put away the heavier ones.
Star TLs: 170g. Fairway driver, control driver. I find that a new one will finish with a bit of fade for me, whereas a nice, beat in one will stay dead straight. I use them for sidearm flicks, too. Back when I played in the woods a lot, they got more use.
(I recently switched from Rocs to Buzzz/Wasp. While Rocs worked for me, I just love the way a Buzzz feels and made the switch. I'm still in the experimental phase with the Buzzz's and Wasps.)
Z Buzzz's: 177-178g. I have obtained a few 2nd 1st Runs which I love and feel very comfortable with, and a couple of new Z Buzzz's to compare them to. I throw these as my straight and turnover Mids, and for long approaches. I don't throw putters much outside of 100 feet or so.
Wasps: 175g. I have Z and ESP, still figuring out which one I like better. I'll probably keep both. I use this as my stable Mid, and in the wind sometimes. Like I said, I'm still auditioning them.
KC Pro Whippet. 172g. Yes, I listed this as a mid. I do not use it off the Tee. I use it for extremely windy appraches, spike hyzers, short tumbers, trick shots, extremely windy putts, approaches around trees and obstacles, and other utility shots. Sometimes, I'll use it for any old approach just because I know I can always make it curl up under the basket. I have utmost confidence in the way this disc flies, and it will probably never leave my bag. I can throw it up in the air and it just falls down next to the basket.
First Run Pro Aviars. 174-175g. Once I found these babies, I knew it was the putter for me. I love the BB Aviar mold, very comfortable for my putting style and grip. The KC Pro's were too stiff, the JK A-x's, which I used for a long time, were too gummy in the heat. These are just too perfect. I'm lucky to have obtained 8 or so of them (without paying more than about 12 bucks for any one of them) so I can have plenty to practice with. I literally think this plastic will last a lifetime.
I don't throw putters off the tee much, or from much of a distance. I tend to feel more comfortable with a Mid.
What do you think?
I'd like to try an Eagle-X, possibly to replace my Valks, but it's unlikely.
I'd also like to try a Flick, as a new Proto Valk worls for me in light headwinds, and a flick might be better for thumbers, sidearm flicks, and extreme winds.
I'll also probably get some ESP Buzzz's, and an FLX Buzzz or 2. I think the FLX will be good for my short approach shots. It might be too floppy, though.
Any opinions on that?


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Let's play it out, for heaven's sake. The GOP shuts down the government because President Obama doesn't offer any spending cuts. Then what happens?
Do the Democrats take the Republicans to court? Does the Constitution insist that the country's bills be paid, as the 14th amendment seems to indicate? Do the Republicans put their feet down and stop sending Social Security checks, or stop paying soldiers? Is that the deal? Do we really expect the president to change Medicare or Social Security?
So, what's the conclusion for the stock market?
I have three.
One: Move some of your money off shore right now into any other market around the world.
Two: Make sure that your companies are more international than domestic.
Three: Buy gold -- we can't find as much as we need.
After we get hammered on the idea that there can be no resolution, you return some of that money to this country because, in the end, we are not going to default, we are not going to stiff the seniors or the soldiers and we are not going to commit suicide over this.
I am not so undisciplined as to tell you to buy up here. I don't do that. I have only bought up 2% out of total desperation and I have largely lost money when I do it. I have to be willing to pass, even as we go higher. We have been sellers of stocks in the charitable trust all day. That's just what I do. I don't know how to do anything else.
But I am adamant that you have to stop thinking the world is ending, even as that's all I am hearing.
There's too much opportunity elsewhere. And there will eventually be too much opportunity here, too, after the internecine struggle finishes and the Republic is saved from Washington


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A series of changes to Louisiana's new method for evaluating public school teachers breezed through the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday.
The changes were recommended by state Superintendent of Education John White and won easy approval Tuesday by a committee of BESE.
The modifications will give teachers access to student data at the start of the school year, allow principals to provide some teachers with more detailed reasons for their annual ratings and give teachers access to instructional videos on how top-flight teachers perform in the classroom.
White said after the meeting that all the changes either clarify how the job reviews will work or provide more feedback for educators.
The state is in the midst of an overhaul of how public school teachers are evaluated.
Under the old rules, they were typically reviewed once every one to three years.
Officials said more than 98 percent got satisfactory marks.
Under the new rules, reviews will be done annually and half of the reviews will be linked to the growth of student achievement and half will be based on classroom observations by principals and others.
The overhaul stems from a 2010 law pushed by Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Leaders of teacher unions and other critics contend the change is seriously flawed and puts too much reliance on standardized test results.
They also said the latest changes are another sign of the state's rush to overhaul teacher job reviews.
The state has about 55,000 public school teachers.
White said the latest recommendations stem from meetings with teachers and principals, town hall gatherings and advisory panels.
"Every single change is geared either toward clarity for teachers or more feedback for teachers," he said.
One of the key changes is aimed at allowing teachers to get more feedback from principals if they are rated as effective, which covers a wide range of scores.
Another section is meant to give more flexibility for teachers in high-performing schools, where yearly academic gains are harder to achieve.
White said the net effect is to give those students more ways to demonstrate academic growth so that teachers are not unfairly penalized.


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Shop Labels/Labeling Kits
Labels/Labeling Kits
The Labeling Kit available with us will definitely make your life and your CDs a lot colorful and fun. The Label Kits will bring you organizes CDs stack since you have them neatly labeled and named. If you dont want to settle for ordinary CD markers (which would usually come only in two or three colors) and would like to give your CDs a whole new light and life (and color), our CD Label Kits and DVD Labeling Kits should be considered.


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Get the Recipe
Apples are autumnal fruits, but thanks to modern science, they live perennially in the produce aisle and in refrigerator crisper drawers, bunking with many other out-of-season fruits and vegetables. I'm guilty of consuming the forbidden fruit year round, however, bake with them? Absolutely not.
A cooked apple, glossy, glazed, tender, concealed in warm soups, tossed in the oven with a roast beast, peeking through the criss-cross of a flaky lattice, is simply out of place on a flowery spring day or a sulfurous summer afternoon. But, crisp and windswept, the first chill of fall begs for apples to be peeled, cored, sliced, and baked.
As October exhausts itself, apples in all their glorious shades and colors pile high in outdoor market bins and are turned into warm cider and doughnuts. Some of my favorite costumes for apples are sugary coatings like scarlet candy shells, and particularly, sticky caramel blankets. With that in mind, melted caramels lurk in a mound of tart Granny Smith apples bubbling in butter, brown sugar, and vibrant lemon. Hot and tangy crystallized ginger pierces boldly through this wonderfully amorphous galette whose charm lies in its rustic simplicity and the ease of draping and folding flaky pastry around fall's bounty.
Get the Recipe
Ginger Caramel Apple Galette »
About the author: María del Mar Sacasa is a recipe developer, food stylist, and author of the food blog High Heels & Frijoles. Behind her girly façade lurks a truck driver's appetite. Read about her cravings and suffer through her occasional rants on Twitter @HHandFrijoles.


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mikenz66 wrote: A quibble about Buddhadasa's teaching
by robertk » Mon Jan 19, 2009 9:59 pm in Classical Theravada
by clw_uk View the latest post Sun Apr 12, 2009 9:25 am
I can't see the last post. Perhaps it was deleted, but it still shows up in
View active topics.
retrofuturist wrote:I'm hoping it might self-correct once Bhikkhu Samahita makes his next daily Dhamma drop.
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This week I make no apology for focusing on bullying. It's an issue close to my heart as I was persistently bullied for months by two girls in my first year of secondary school.
When you've been bullied, the tortuous effects stay with you throughout your life. Its persistent nature and the pure vindictive pleasure a bully gets out of persecuting you, endures into adulthood.
In my case, I eventually refused to go to school and my mother insisted I tell her why.
She knew both girls and she confronted them in front of their parents wearing a very angry face.
Bullying didn't occur for me within the school buildings though – it was on the journey to and from school via two older girls who lived near me. My mum mistakenly believed they would 'look after' me.
They didn't. They ridiculed me for my lack of knowledge, made fun of my clothes, my hair and my quiet nature. They criticised and insulted my friends and, when I did attempt to answer back, they would push me around including into the road.
Somehow, I felt unable to get myself out of the situation. As an adult, I think 'why didn't I just tell someone and not walk to school with them anymore?' But I wasn't an adult. I was a child and I felt powerless.
Once my mum intervened, it stopped overnight.
However, when you have children of your own, you worry that they will have to deal with that same debilitating experience. In my case, I've tried to come up with strategies to deal with it – the 'do this, if this happens' strategy.
Some parents don't know it's even happening, and for some families the consequences can be devastating.
- If you'd like to share your views or make a comment, please feel free. I can be contacted via any of the above routes or you can write to me at Gazette & Herald, 100 Victoria Road, Old Town, Swindon, SN1 3BE.


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Vintage Glass Simulated Turquoise Silver Tone Square Southwest Clip Earrings Z33
1" (25 mm)
Glass turquoise in silver tone metal
.45 ounces each
The backs have some age 'speckling' - The fronts are in excellent condition
Please feel free to message with any questions or requests for further information. Replies will be received within an hour during normal business hours.
Shipping from United States
Items are sent through USPS first class within one business day of receiving payment. Please let me know if you would like insurance before paying. Jewelry is always packed safely with plenty of padding. Delivery confirmation and tracking are included and tracking information will be given to you immediately upon mailing.
I will be more than happy to give a refund within seven days of the purchase date if I have misrepresented an item. Please always feel free to ask any and all questions before purchasing to avoid buyer's remorse.


text: Vines & Vittles: Tape ball strikes interest in wine By John Brown April 14, 2012 Story Share CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- I am often asked what prompted my interest in wine. The answer goes back to my childhood and the influence of my Italian immigrant grandparents and relatives.As I have recounted before, wine was a part of everyday living then, and an integral component of family meals, particularly the large gatherings after Mass on Sundays at Grandma Iaquinta's home.Because my family produced their own homemade wine each year, I was able to observe and sometimes assist in the menial tasks of winemaking. These experiences formed the foundation for my lifelong affair with the vine.However, one particular (almost magical) incident involving wine, food and sport may have been the catalyst.A stroke of genius! That's what I like to think it was that sunny afternoon in the fall of 1956.I had been trying to find something that would provide just the right weight to form the core of a tape ball. Stones or rocks were simply too heavy, paper too light and soft. I had just stroked the tape ball we had been using along the ground into a curb storm drain. In rather colorful language, my two older cousins graphically described the consequences that would ensue if I did not immediately replace the lost orb.A golf ball would have been perfect but, because the socioeconomic roll of the dice had not favored our fathers and uncles, Maxflies or Titleists were not an option. No sirree. If it wasn't a baseball, softball or bocce ball, we weren't playing it.This was beer-drinking, homemade wine-swilling and parlay-betting country where Mickey Mantle and Rocky Marciano were the heroes of the day, and where kids like us spent warm afternoons playing our version of the national pastime along the streets of North View, the working-class and ethnically diverse neighborhood of Clarksburg.A tape ball game required only one pitcher and one batter, but no more than two players per side. The rules mimicked baseball, with a few adaptations. Cleanly fielded grounders and caught fly balls counted as outs, as did one swing and a miss. There were three outs to an inning, but no bases. It was simply a nine-inning game of pitching, hitting and keeping score with disputed calls settled by the loudest and largest players. Hitting the ball over Mrs. Mazza's five-foot hedge was an undisputed home run. A minimalist and inexpensive sport, the game required only a homemade ball and a broomstick.So as I struggled to resolve the problem and to avoid bodily harm, I was struck by an idea so novel that I was confident I had the perfect solution. Sneaking into the kitchen of my Aunt Notie's apartment, I opened the small freezer compartment of the old Kelvinator and extracted the perfectly cylindrical answer to my problem.Aunt Notie was a gifted cook whose meatballs were the stuff of culinary legend. It was said, she could make a garlic clove sing. Surely she would not miss one frozen meatball, I thought, and sacrilegiously snatched the circular little treasure that had sealed my aunt's reputation in our neighborhood as the "meatball queen."It felt just right and, as I wrapped the white adhesive tape around the frozen meatball, I realized that with stealth, cunning and courage I could provide our gang with an endless supply of tape ball cores. Proudly, I returned to the game where the new tape ball was an immediate and literal hit. For an hour, we pounded it, smacked it and sent it soaring through the air, and it performed flawlessly.But then fate stepped in. Standing at the plate, I whacked a hanging curve (meat) ball with a tremendous stroke and lofted it at least 100 feet in the air. At the apex of its trajectory, the ball began a rapid descent toward earth. Like some miniature asteroid with my future etched on it, the small round object streaked into a vat of fermenting red wine.My grandfather, who was stirring and punching down the cap of the fermenting grapes, was startled by the impact, which immediately splashed and stained his upper torso purple. Reaching into the vat, he fished out the broken, meatball-oozing tape ball, sniffed it and said in his broken English: "Eat-sa rain meat-a-balls!"The rest is history.For more on the art and craft of wine, visit John Brown's Vines & Vittles blog at thegazz.com. Story Share Story Share Trending Now 1 Facebook founder visits Cabin Creek Health Systems 2 Teen pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Oakes Field shooting 3 Safety shutoff disabled prior to June coal-mining death, report says 4 Congressional opioid investigation targets drug wholesaler Miami-Luken 5 Rod Run and Doo Wop brings classic cars, music to Boulevard for 12th year Billie Sue Graybeal: Spring's beauties aren't far away Previous Story Arts Notes: April 15, 2012 Next Story


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90 Swivel Elbw, 5/16" Tube OD, Black, PK10
JOHN GUEST| Zoro #: G2109633| Mfr #: PM090813E-PK10
Zoro #: G2109633Mfr. Part #: PM090813E-PK10
$73.00 /pk
This item ships free. DetailsStandard ground shipping
Technical Specifications
|Zoro #: G2109633 Mfr #: PM090813E-PK10
|Temp. Range: -14 Degrees to 167 Degrees F for Air and 33 Degrees to 140 Degrees F for Water
|Max. Pressure: 150 psi
|Standards: NSF-61 For Drinking Water, NSF-51 For Food And FDA For Food And Beverage
|Basic Fitting Shape: Elbow
|Tube Fitting Material: Acetal Copolymer
|Color: Black
|Item: Swivel Elbow, 90 Degrees
|Basic Fitting Material: Plastic
|Specific Fitting Shape: 90 Degrees Swivel Elbow
|Fitting Connection Type: Tube x Male BSPP
|Pipe Size (Fittings): 3/8"
|Tube Size: 5/16"
|Country of Origin (subject to change): United Kingdom
Product Description
Swivel Elbow, 90 Degrees , Tube Fitting Material Acetal Copolymer, Fitting Connection Type Tube x Male BSPP, Pipe Size (Fittings) 3/8 In., Tube Size 5/16 In., Max. Pressure 150 psi, Color Black, Temp. Range -14 Degrees to 167 Degrees F for Air and 33 Degrees to 140 Degrees F for Water, Standards NSF-61 For Drinking Water, NSF-51 For Food And FDA For Food And Beverage, Package Quantity 10
Restrictions and Compliance
- This product has been certified by a third party to be compliant with the "Safe Drinking Water Act" requirements for low lead in potable (human consumption - drinking and cooking) and non-potable water applications (non-human consumption).