text:
It's not easy being an undecided voter.
The talking heads of cable news label us as "out of touch", say that we need to "wake up", or accuse us of being apathetic and lazy. And while I'm quite certain that people like this do exist, not all undecided voters fall into these categories.
In fact, many of we "undecideds" have not made up our mind because we're starved for facts in a nation where it's hard work to uncover them . We want to cast an informed vote. And contrary to what the media would have you believe, an informed vote is not forged in the bowels of Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, or by reading the Drudge Report or The New York Times. It's accomplished by reading opposing policies, searching out real data, and discovering respected experts on a point by point basis. Unbiased news sources do not exist, so news should only be a starting point on a journey to a well-formed opinion.
To a responsible voter, an argument that President Obama desires to turn the United States into a socialist nation should sound like fingernails on a blackboard, annoying to the point of creating an actual physical response.
Likewise, you should be equally disgusted by an accusation that Mitt Romney doesn't care about the poor, the sick, or the old.
The truth is, both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are great men. Both of them have achieved more in their lives than most of us could ever dream to accomplish. In addition, both of them are loving fathers and husbands, and both are great role models for our children. There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that they both want what is best for America, they just have different ideas on how to get there.
The problem for the undecided voter is the lack of an objective, productive discussion on policy. We should invest time into digging out the details, and then use logic to help us make the best predictions on the outcome of policy. Instead, we rely on emotional hysteria and hateful claptrap in daily, mega-doses.
To put it in Star Trek speak, we desperately need more Spock and less Bones.
Unfortunately, our free press is no help. Elections are won with soundbites, and the media gorges on them like a starving animal, then regurgitates them. How can we make the right choices when our decisions are driven by blind allegiance, and a media who cares more about eliciting an emotional response than asking questions that get to the root of the policy being discussed?
Let's look at one of the important issues facing our country as an example.
Namely, "How will taxes impact our out of control deficits?"
One side says we need a balanced deficit reduction approach. This means cuts in spending and higher taxes for the wealthiest among us, i.e., a bigger slice of the pie.
The other side says we need lower taxes to grow the economy, thus bringing more money into the treasury, i.e., a bigger pie.
This is a clear difference, but as an undecided voter I want to know which one has the best chance of success. But unfortunately, arguments like this usually devolve into hateful rhetoric -- "Obama wants to punish small business owners!", "Romney is a fat cat looking out for his friends!"
What saddens me is that we allow such weak, emotional arguments to control our discourse about subjects that are so important they can set the path of our civilization.
Why are we not digging into the issues without demonizing each other? Why are we given soundbites instead of details?
Why don't we see economists and historians debating the issue of taxes on our televisions instead of people like Bill Maher and Anne Coulter?
I long for a day when our free press steps up to the plate and starts digging into the details. It will be a new era for the world when we value strong logical arguments and past performance over who has the loudest mouth.
So yes, I am still an undecided voter. But it's not because I'm "lazy", or "out of touch". That award goes to our press.
Without trustworthy sources, we are left to search the archives and analyze the data on our own.
And we do.
Because we care.
A lot.
We are the undecided voter.
These songs are for us.
In Defense of the Undecided Voter: A Playlist
Follow what Robert is listening to, or suggest a playlist on Twitter !


text:
The Waves of Change luncheon promises to be the event of the year here in Tampa as we celebrate the achievements of two remarkable women: one of the world's most accomplished entrepreneurs Sheila Johnson and Tampa's first female mayor, The Honorable Sandra Warshaw Freedman. We are extremely excited that one of Tampa's newest corporate partners, Johnson & Johnson Global, has signed on as our presenting sponsor for this major event celebrating women's leadership.
This luncheon provides a chance for women to network, develop relationships and discuss issues affecting women in business and their personal lives.
A Community Conversation format with Sheila Johnson will be moderated by Kelly McBride, with questions from her, along with those women in the audience.
Kelly McBride is the Vice President at the Poynter Institute, where she is leading a transformation in how professional journalists serve citizens. She is also a writer, teacher and one of the country's leading voices when it comes to media ethics. The world's largest newsrooms, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, NPR and the BBC, frequently cite her expertise.
She has a journalism degree from Mizzou and a theology degree from Gonzaga. She spent 15 years as a daily newspaper reporter before becoming a media ethicist.
In addition to running the ethics department at Poynter, she has served as the director of the college fellowship program, ESPN's ombudsman, and the founder of the Sense-Making Project, and as lead faculty for the Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Journalism.
Kelly co-edited the groundbreaking book, "The New Ethics of Journalism: Principles for the 21st Century," which argues for a new set of ethical guidelines for journalists, communicators and students and includes chapters by 14 thought leaders examining the challenges of building trust and ensuring credible media in service of community and democracy.
co-anchor on FOX 13 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. News

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Not Accepting Guests
- Last login over 3 years ago
Join Couchsurfing to see Vappu's full profile. It's free!
About Me
Enjoy life and be amazed what it has to offer
I love life. I love people and I love different cultures. I'm usually happy where ever I am and what ever I do.
Eat as much ice cream as you can!
Why I'm on Couchsurfing
I like to participate to meetings while I travel. At home I don't go that often but I might ask people to join some event (hiking etc.) with me.
I've been both a surfer and a host. I've met some nice people and got great friends trough this channel.
This year has been and still is a life changing year. I quit job and now I'm taking some time to travel before I go on my studies later on this year. So I'm traveling around Europe in July and August and can tell you more about my story when we meet.
If you like to do something with me you should know that I love sports. Any kind of sports but I'm hooked to yoga since last years traveling/being a surfbum in Australia. Bouldering, paddling and snowboarding are also on my list of interest. I also enjoy meeting new people, listening good music, dancing and observing art.
- arts
- coloring
- dancing
- yoga
- traveling
- bouldering
- music
- hiking
- skiing
- snowboarding
- sports
- rock climbing
Music, Movies, and Books
I love music but I'm bad with names so I can't give you any names..I love rock, soul, jazz, funk, latin, reggae, what else.. hmm..you tell me..
Movies.. I like movies that have made well and have a good story. It usually doesn't matter what is the story about if it's good.
Books..hmm.. yes. I like good books.
One Amazing Thing I've Done
The Sahara dessert was A AMAZING PLACE I have to say. I wanno go there again and next time I'll take some kind of board with (for sc down hill skiing.)
Amazing is also a hug from a friend. Always, but specially when u very sad.
Teach, Learn, Share
I can share my knowledge about human beings of north country called Finland. And what I like to learn from you.. what you eat, what you enjoy the most, what is your favorite color and all that kind of staf. So let me know.
Countries I've Visited
Italy, Morocco, Poland
Countries I've Lived In
China, Finland


text:
Federal mine-safety officials this weekend launched an experimental program designed to reduce the backlog of contested mine-safety violations — a backlog federal officials say has hampered their efforts to protect the nation's miners.
Yet some mine experts say the focus on the appeals backlog is just a smokescreen being used by officials who, all along, have had the authority to close unsafe mines but didn't want to confront the powerful mining industry.
"It's a red herring," Tony Oppegard, a former attorney with the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), said earlier this year. "It's a way to make you look like you're doing something when you're really not doing something."
At issue are tens of thousands of mine-safety violations under appeal by mine companies, who are wary of being hit with a dreaded "pattern of violations" (POV) status. That delineation — at least in theory — allows MSHA inspectors to close entire mines more easily when hazards surface.
But there's a glitch: MSHA officials can't determine a pattern of violations based on citations under appeal.
The industry is well aware of the loophole, and mining companies have launched a strategy in recent years of protesting more and more violations — a trend that's created an enormous backlog of cases pending before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, a federal panel that reviews appeals.
In 2005, mine operators contested 7,200 violations, or 6 percent of all citations issued, according to MSHA; last year, the number jumped to 46,526, or 27 percent of violations. As a result, there are about 89,000 contested citations idling before the review panel — up from 82,000 in February.
On Friday, MSHA took steps to reduce the backlog, announcing a pilot program designed to resolve the disagreements between mine companies and MSHA inspectors before appeals are filed.
"It is clear that the current conferencing structure is not working," Joseph Main, who heads MSHA, said in a statement announcing the program. "By resolving factual disputes before a violation is contested, these citations will not be added to the enormous backlog of cases that have bogged down the judicial system."
The program will launch in three MSHA districts: one in Pennsylvania; another in Kentucky; and a third in Alabama. Funding for the program comes courtesy of the late Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), whose final legislative victory was a $22 million provision to help MSHA prosecute mine-safety appeals, including $3.8 million for the review panel to hear them.
The pilot is a direct response to April's explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in southern West Virginia, which killed 29 miners. In the months leading up to the blast, MSHA issued the mine operator hundreds of safety citations, yet the project was never shuttered to allow inspectors to examine why the numbers were so high. MSHA officials have said the appeals backlog was at least partially the reason the agency didn't take more aggressive steps to close the operation.
Some mine safety experts, however, don't buy that argument.
Oppegard, now a Kentucky-based attorney representing victims of mining accidents, was quick to point out that the POV delineation originated in a 1977 mine-safety law — long before the backlog — but MSHA has been reluctant to use it.
"There was never one single pattern of violations issued before the backlog occurred," Oppegard said in June. "How can you blame the backlog now?"
That same law, Oppegard noted, gave MSHA temporary injunction authority to close unsafe mines, even for projects not officially on POV status.
"It's never been used in 33 years," Oppegard said, "because they're too timid to do it."


text:
Mon 10th Jun 2013 5:00pmJim Hurt's Tamarindo Surf Report
Evening paddleout, still good swell although Pico Grande was under water on the high tide. Basically 3-4 and fun, maybe 4+ on the best sets and improving after the tide began to drop. Glassy and mostly calm with an occasional south wind and typically large crowd, nearly all inside. Very fun evening surf. Photo: Typical Pico...
View the Tamarindo Surf Report and Forecast. Jim Hurt's Reports have received a total of 439881 views.
This report has received 438 views since 11/6/13.


text:
[ Main Site Menu ] [ Back to HISTORY MENU ] [ Index to Site Documents ]
Ref: Research Papers
Organized Crime Training Program
Vol. VIII, about 1971
By: Rafael Aguirre
I. Its Origin...................................... 1
II. Rise and Fall of the Cuban Mafia.. 3
III. Structural Skeleton....................... 5
IV. Cuban Lottery............................. 8
V. Corruption and Solution............... 10
Bibliography...................................... 11
The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader that a crime confederation, made up of groups of Cubans does exist. This syndicate of crime, in only a ten year span, has risen at a pace unparalleled by any other group, and it is still gaining momentum.
The term "Cuban" will be used throughout to facilitate reference to the Cuban criminal element, and it is not meant to generalize on the nationality.
Much is being written on the rise of the Black and Puerto Rican Mafia but nothing specifically on Cubans. Unfortunately much of the existing material dealing with Cuban criminal activities were found by this writer to be part of active intelligence files and therefore not available for publication.
For this reason there will be a noticeable lack of footnotes and bibliography.
Page 1
The Cuban criminal element in Dade County is a well organized, politically powerful, crime confederation. Ironically, this has not been achieved in the traditional way, that is poor immigrants struggling through a visa quota to enter the United States; once here, using force and violence to reassert themselves as other groups before them have done, like the Irish, Jews, Italians. On the contrary, Cubans were indiscriminately welcomed with open arms as political refugees.
Unfortunately, mingled with the bulk of honest citizens, come the professional criminal. Men who in Cuba had lived outside of the law, arrived to this country seeking to continue, covered by the protective mantle of a democratic government, their illicit trade. The criminal element which arrived in this country after Castro took over was not the ghetto material in the classical sense. It was a well trained, crime-wise, sophisticated element, with established connections throughout Latin America, and the American underworld.
Connections with the American mob were cemented in the latter part of the 1950's when in 1956 Meyer Lansky moved the bulk of his casino operations to Cuba. There he formed a partnership with Santos Trafficante which controlled all the major gambling casinos on the island. The corruption and complete mob control which flourished in Cuba from 1956 to 1959 is paralleled only by what occurred in Chicago during the Capone era.
Page 2
Everyone, from the policeman on the beat to the President of the Republic, received his cut from the mob.
The Central Intelligence Agency played a big part in the rapid growth of the Cuban syndicate by providing it with expert training in the use of firearms, explosives and clandestine methods of operation. In 1960, in an attempt to overthrow the Castro regime, thousands of Cubans were recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency and trained in clandestine warfare. Prior criminal experience combined with the new found techniques resulted in a highly polished criminal which in some instances makes a Cosa Nostra member look like a cub scout.
On December, 1970 Dennis Dule, then an agent with the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, stated before a hearing of the Greater Miami Crime Commission that there was such a thing as a Cuban Mafia. Mr. Dale was nor far from the truth and he can be accredited with being the first person to publicly recognize that such a thing as a Cuban criminal organization existed. Although the writer does not agree with the term Cuban Mafia, for reasons which will be explained, enough intelligence has been gathered by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies which indicates the existence of a Cuban crime confederation. A confederation made up of small, organized groups, loosely connected, with no strong central government and complete local Autonomy, which control large gambling operations, and practically all of the drug importation into south Florida.
Page 3
The term Cuban Mafia denotes an organization having the same structural make-up as, or at least connected with, the Italian Cosa Nostra. While this may have been the case at one time, it is certainly not so now. There are no Capodecinas, Consiglieres, or Commissions in the Cuban groups. Moreover, the Cubans are regarded as unpredictable, and too violent by the now public relations conscious Cosa Nostra. They have been left alone to do their own thing, and are doing it quite successfully.
In 1959, after being chased out of Cuba by Castro, Trafficante did attempt to cash in on the potential profits of a well organized lottery operation, in the rapidly expanding Cuban colony in Miami. He did it by helping old friends from Cuba like Domingo Echemendia,* and Evaristo Garcia Sr. and taking a cut from their operations. "My father saw Trafficante and Trafficante introduced my father to J.D. and that's how my father started operating out here. "We knew Trafficante from Cuba, and there we did favors." (1) There were other Cubans working for Trafficante in Miami at that time, including Evaristo Garcia.
Garcia took over Echemendia's operation after the latter died, and extended it to include shylocking. On December 3, 1967; at a meeting of the Cuban gambling combine of Miami, Santo Trafficante proposed Evaristo Garcia Sr. as lay-off man and senior-banker for this area. With Trafficante's backing he was considered the "Number One Man" for Cuban gambling interests. (2) His handle on bolita operations based on the Puerto Rican lottery was estimated at $40,000. per week. (3) That's a yearly operation of over $2,000,000. which did not include shylocking activity.
*Echemendia had fronted for Trafficante as part owner of the Tropicana Casino Nightclub which was considered as one the world's finest. He died in 1965
Page 4
In June 1969, Garcia, his son Jr. and Lazaro Milian, were indicted by a federal Grand Jury and charged with obstruction of justice. Later that same year, the elder Garcia jumped his $100,000. Bond and fled to Costa Rica where he still lives in order to avoid prosecution.
Garcia Jr., Lazaro Milian, and Oscar Alvarez, continued with Trafficante's rapidly decaying Cuban operation. It did not last very long. Milian and Alvarez had themselves been arrested on October 1968 by Dade County deputies for conducting a lottery operation. At the time of the arrest Milian and Alvarez assumed that the arrest was nothing more than a shake-down by the deputies for more money. They attempted to bribe the deputies, consequently, additional charges were placed on the two subjects. Surprised and angered by the detectives' actions, they complained that they had been making regular payments to another deputy in order to operate free from police harassment. This outburst led to the infamous Celona confessions.
Milian and Alvarez were convicted, and after serving 8 months in minimum security confinement, were given 5 years probation. On Jan. 1971; Garcia Jr. and Lazaro Milian fled to Costa Rica to join the elder Garcia. The subjects are not expected to return to the United States. Since the break-up of the Garcia operation no evidence of any king has turned up indicating that Trafficante has any control over Cuban gambling activities in Dade County.
Page 5
Cubans who upon arrival in the United States were relocated in other cities throughout the nation, make for valuable connections on a national level. Internationally, connections have been made with Cubans who migrated to other countries directly from Cuba; in addition to those who have fled the United States fearing prosecution for crimes committed. One such country is Spain, which had been to the Cubans what Italy is to the Italian-American mobsters. No other group has enjoyed the mobility, ready-made connections, and freedom of operations as the Cubans have.
A factor which has made difficult for law-enforcement to view the Cuban groups in perspective is the lack of organizational structure. Unlike the Cosa Nostra, there are no families or members with formal ranks. A Cuban group may consist of a group of men, working for a financial backer rather than a boss.* Each having different levels of responsibility, but no defined rank position. They are held together by the profit motive, not any family or group loyalty. If the particular illicit activity becomes unprofitable or risky due to police concentration, the backer may discontinue its' financing and disband the group. The members may then look for other going groups which may need their services. The backer himself may change the type of activity and continue operating; or may lay low until the pressure sub-sides, then continue with his activities. It is interesting to note that the Cosa Nostra, after being the dominant force in organized crime in this country for over forty years, is moving more towards the nebulous structure described above.
*Boss as used here, denotes gang leader or family head.
Page 6
Publicity and new laws given to law-enforcement agencies to fight organized crime have made it too risky to be boss. In addition, the respect and prestige that rank and formal membership once brought to the old timers, is not much sought after by their college educated descendants.
The swift, smooth, unnoticed rise of the Cuban groups, has been unparalleled by any other group in the history of crime in this country. There are several reasons which have made it so, some have already been explained in preceding chapters. Let us examine others. No other ethnic group has been so openly received by this country. This has made possible ample ethnic reserves to draw from. As of February 28, 1970, one of every four citizens in Dade Country was of Cuban origin, with 240,716 resettled elsewhere in the United States. (4)
Another reason has been the lack of competition by existing groups in control. Besides being as clannish, or perhaps more so, as the Cosa Nostra, they are also more apt to violence since they have been unhindered by the public lime-light from which other groups suffer. Because the Cuban community has had a relatively low incidence rate of street crime i.e. rape, muggings, assaults, robberies, the Cuban groups have been completely ignored by the public in general.
Page 7
"There is a confederation of Cuban hoodlums who make up a triangle of associates in a conspiracy to smuggle drugs into the United States." (5) The triangle refereed to, is made up of Cubans who reside in the United States, South American and Spain. This confederation has become strong to the point of dealing direct in major drug transaction; thereby eliminating a middle man. In some instances it has played the role of middle man for other groups dealing in narcotics.
Cubans dealing in Spain and South America are dealing directly with conversion laboratories operating in Marseilles, France and various countries in South America. The Cuban confederation has set up its own smuggling routes into the United States involving shipments values in millions of dollars. Cubans are the major importers of heroin and cocaine into the United States today.
"They're moving tremendous amounts of heroin and cocaine to the point where they rival, if not surpass, the traditional organized crime elements in the United States." (6) One can easily measure the rate of growth of the Cuban confederation by observing that the illicit drug trade in this country is being rapidly monopolized by an organization which has been in existence for less than 15 years.
Page 8
The large sums of money which are required for high-level deals come from the same source which usually finances all other types of illicit ventures, illegal gambling. Aside from the few who started by dealing in small quantities of drugs and later bank-rolled themselves into the big time; profits from illegal gambling operations have been the starting point for most. Cuban owned business chains have been established in the hub of Dade County by profits from illegal gambling. Most of those businesses today are being used to front all types of illicit activities, from liquor and meat high-jacking, to cocaine shipments; the most prevalent being, of course, gambling.
The gambling situation in the Cuban community is somewhat unique. Generations of Cubans have grown up with gambling as a way of life; for Cuba had its own national lottery. All forms of gambling were legal; from cock-fighting to casino operation. The common numbers operation was illegal; However, a policeman betting a quarter on a number with the local writer was a common sight. Gambling in the Cuban community is extremely widespread, it permeates social life; yet, gambling arrests are relatively few compared to other sections of the city.
A great number of old honest, law-abiding citizens, proud of having worked all their lives, view writing numbers and selling lottery as an opportunity to earn extra income which would keep them out of the welfare rolls. The advantages of hiring these people are twofold. First, no one wants to arrest a 65 old woman for writing numbers; if they are arrested, chances of a jail sentence are almost nil.
Page 9
Second, by giving the old folks a chance to make some extra money the operation Robin-Hood image is enhanced; thus perpetuating the operation. The biggest lottery and numbers operation in Dade County is financed and operated by a Cuban banker.* His name is not mentioned here for obvious reasons; however this has been verified by intelligence exchange with other law enforcement agencies and extensive use of confidential informants.
*Banker as used here devotes who finances a number operation, not connected with legitimate banking profession.
Page 10
No knowledgeable person in law-enforcement will argue that vice cannot exist in a community without some form of official corruption. Is there vice in the Cuban community of Dade County? Most definitely yes; as we have already observed. Is there corruption? The answer can only be one, yes. However, corruption may only be incidental to the real problem or perhaps result of it; and not the true cause. The real problem, as was the case with the Cosa Nostra, may be failure to recognize that there is a Cuban confederation of crime; that a criminal conspiracy to beat the system does exist in the Cuban community. We must educate the public as we educate ourselves
The Kefauvers and the McClellans have already served their need by placing a name tag and giving a face to one ghost. Let us not have to resort to them again. Let us do our own identifying. Let us attempt to combat this new ghost now; before the next grant is issued to teach us all about the Cuban Crime Confederation.
Page 11
1. Taped conversation of Echemendia's son in 1966 Miami Police Dept. records.
2. Miami Police Department Records.
3. Miami Beach Sun, Sunday, June 22, 1969
4. Fact Sheet, February 28, 1970, Cuban Refugee Center
5. John Enright, Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, "Latins moving most heroin." Miami News, Friday, February 10, 1972
6. David Connoly, Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, "History of Narcotics" lecture given at Biscayne College, Organized Crime Training Program, January 31, 1972
End of Page
Copyright 1998-2014 Cuban Information Archives. All Rights Reserved.


text:
Start off with grilled shishito peppers
By J.M. HIRSCH
Associated Press
Never had shishito peppers? You need to track them down. Right now.
First, a primer, then I'll explain why. Shishito peppers are small, thin Japanese peppers. They look a bit like a longer, thinner jalapeno. But the flavor is quite different. While jalapenos have thick flesh and an assertive heat most of us a familiar with, shishitos are thin skinned and generally sweeter than they are hot.
Except when they are not. For reasons that are debated online, one out of every dozen or so shishito peppers packs a punch. Nothing that will leave you gasping for air, but enough of a bite to wake you up.
During the past year or so, shishito peppers have become a darling of the restaurant scene. Nothing on the epic scale of ramps, which New York chefs in particular went a little crazy for a few years ago.
And certainly nothing on the scale of the cupcake or slider. But they have been showing up on more and more menus across the country.
Shishito peppers generally are served as a starter, often heaped in a bowl and munched. And the prep couldn't be easier. They are cooked whole, usually with a splash of oil and just enough time in the skillet to lightly brown in spots. Seasonings can vary, though coarse salt is a must.
In addition to having a wonderfully addictive flavor — the trinity of oil, salt and a gentle heat helps here — shishito peppers are perfect for summer. They generally are shared, making them perfect for a backyard barbecue. And because they cook quickly and require intense heat, they adapt perfectly to the grill.
So here's my effort to get shishito peppers off the restaurant menus and into your summer grilling repertoire. I've tarted them up a bit with chopped almonds, but feel free to leave those off.
Start to finish: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
1 pound shishito peppers, left whole
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil, divided
1 tablespoon coarse or flake salt, such as Maldon or kosher
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
Heat a grill to high.
In a large bowl, combine the peppers and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Swirl and toss the peppers until evenly coated with the oil.
Using tongs, arrange the peppers on the grill so they lay across the direction of the grates (not with them). The goal is to prevent the peppers from falling through the grates. Cook, turning often, until the peppers begin to brown and blister, about 4 to 6 minutes.
Return the peppers to the bowl (no need to wipe it out). Add the remaining oil, the salt and almonds, then toss well. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
Nutrition information per serving: 140 calories; 90 calories from fat (64 percent of total calories); 10 g fat (1 g saturated; 0 g trans fats); 0 mg cholesterol; 12 g carbohydrate; 6 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 4 g protein; 1,450 mg sodium.
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text:
Complaint Review: TIPSTERIA
United States of America
- Phone: 800-378-9850
- Web: www.tipsteria.com
- Category: Telemarketers
TIPSTERIA Tipsteria charged me $9.99 for service that I did not use or want, Internet
*UPDATE Employee: Tipsteria Customer Service
Does your business have a bad reputation?Corporate Advocacy Program™Fix it the right way.
Set the record straight:Arbitration Program
This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 04/16/2013 03:22 PM and is a permanent record located here: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/tipsteria/internet/tipsteria-tipsteria-charged-me-999-for-service-that-i-did-not-use-or-want-internet-1043758. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content
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#1 UPDATE Employee
Tipsteria Customer Service
AUTHOR: Tipsteria Customer Service - ()
SUBMITTED: Friday, April 19, 2013POSTED: Friday, April 19, 2013
We use an industry best practice double opt-in sign up process which is fully compliant with the Consumer Best Practices Guidelines published by the Mobile Marketing Association and the various guidelines published by the major mobile phone carriers and the CTIA. It is important to note that the double opt-in process virtually insures that inadvertent or fraudulent sign-ups do not occur. Only after a consumer has twice provided verification and authorization to bill their mobile telephone number on their mobile phone are services provided and charges incurred. To further verify a prospective customer's registration for the Tipsteria service, we send a confirmatory text message which affords them the opportunity to cancel the service by replying STOP by text message. We also provide a toll free customer service number in this text message that is manned 24 by 7 by 365.
Please be advised that in our marketing of the service, we disclose all material terms of the service including the monthly cost, how the charges will appear on the subscribers mobile bill, a description of the essential features of the service and how to cancel. We also include links to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
Should you require further assistance, please contact Customer Service at 800-378-9850.
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text:
There's a laundry list of mind-blowing facts and numbers about Tuesday night's effort from Texas Rangers center fielder Josh Hamilton. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past day, you know by now that Hamilton made MLB history on Tuesday when he became the 16th player in the game's history to hit four home runs in one game. Thanks to numerous media outlets and Rangers media relations, we've seen all kinds of ridiculous facts and figures about Tuesday's game by Hamilton, who now has 14 home runs and 36 RBIs after raising his season average to .406.
That home run total through the first five weeks of the season is already more than half of his 2011 season total. He's the first player to accomplish the feat since 2003 when Carlos Delgado did it. If he went 0-for his next 210 at-bats, he'd still have a higher slugging percentage than Albert Pujols. The list goes on.
But there might not be a more impressive fact than the one that involves Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, who was the designated hitter on Tuesday night, hitting one spot behind Hamilton in the lineup.
Beltre, who became a bit of a cult figure last season when he was on the disabled list and was having a good time celebrating his teammate's home runs by yelling "OH [expletive]!" as soon as the balls were hit. His shouts were picked up by television cameras, sending Rangers fans everywhere into a Twitter fury. He did it once again this season.
But Beltre was on deck for all four of the homers Tuesday and wasn't about to do that while in the on-deck circle and show up the pitcher.
"That was my one regret," Beltre told The Dallas Morning News. "I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I might have liked. Who knows what I might have yelled."
The most impressive thing is that Hamilton's game wasn't a once-in-a-lifetime game for Beltre to be a part of. Back in 2002 when he was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Beltre was hitting in front of Shawn Green when he hit four home runs and racked up 19 total bases on four homers, a double and a single, a MLB record which Hamilton was one shy of on Tuesday night.
"They were similar games, really," said Beltre, who went back-to-back with Hamilton after his second homer of the night in the third inning. "They were both hitting the ball everywhere. They were both completely locked in."
And speaking of Twitter fury, all of baseball was in on it on Tuesday, watching the guy they call "The Natural" do his thing.
"Thanks for all of the nice messages tonight..." Green wrote, "and thanks Josh Hamilton for getting people to remember me!"
As for remembering things, you can bet Beltre will never forget either night, as he had a front-row seat for the two greatest single-game hitting performances of all-time.


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Party Food!
Crunch, crunch, crunch is the rhythmic sound I hear beneath my feet as I walk on frozen grass. The sound turns to the crumble, crumble, crumble of the frozen mud on the Desire Path. Last night's fog has frozen in the air, coating every leaf, every branch, every twig and every blade of grass in a crystalline sheath of ice. Tongham Wood is a winter wonderland this morning.
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat and 'tis the season to get your Thermomix cranking out some fast and easy, gorgeous party food!
I've got a party tonight and my inspiration for what to bring comes from my fellow Independent Thermomix Demonstrator Nora's "Journal of a French Foodie: French cuisine, the fast and easy way." Nora takes her favourite French recipes and adapts them for Thermomix, for your greater gastronomic pleasure – and mine!
I've never had panna cotta before and I've always wanted to try it, so Nora gave me the perfect excuse with this gorgeous savoury version. I've tweaked it a tiny bit to keep it soft in texture, and to give it a slight sharp edge to cut through the cream and cheese by adding a splash of Walnut Vinegar. It's absolutely delicious, and perfect for a party. Many thanks, Nora!
Nora's Gorgonzola Panna Cotta, Honey and Chutney Verrines
Original recipe source: Mathon verrines. Adapted for Thermomix by Nora. Makes 12 small verrines (large shot glasses) or 6 starter size portions. Looks great in a martini glass!
For the Chutney:
150 g onions, peeled and quartered
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, quartered and cored
2 cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 2mm "coins" along the lines of the skin
375 g fresh figs, quartered
75 g brown sugar
45 g raisins or sultanas
3 whole cloves
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
For the Panna Cotta:
80 g Gorgonzola
400 g double cream
1 gelatine leaf
1 tsp. walnut vinegar or Sherry vinegar
To serve: Honey or Agave Nectar and toasted walnuts
- Place the gelatine to soak in a bowl of cold water.
- Make the chutney: Place the onions, apple and ginger in the TM bowl and chop 3 seconds/Speed 5. Add the rest of the chutney ingredients and cook 20 minutes/100°C/Speed 1, measuring cup OFF or until it has reached jam consistency (to test, place a tiny amount on a cold plate, and push slightly with your finger. You should see wrinkles; if not, add 5 minutes cooking at a time and repeat test). Tip out into a bowl and reserve. If you can still see them, fish out the whole cloves 😉
- Make the panna cotta: Clean the TM bowl and weigh the cream into it. Cook 4 minutes/90°C/Speed 1.
- Add the Gorgonzola and cook 1 minute/100°C/Speed 4.
- Add the drained gelatine and the vinegar and mix 10 seconds/speed 3.
- Assemble the verrines: Place some chutney at the bottom of each verrine. Gently pour the Gorgonzola cream onto it. Leave to cool, then refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours or until the cream is set. Just before service, pour some honey or agave nectar on top and place a toasted walnut on each verrine.
Bon appétit !
2 Comments
Nora13 December 2012 at 14:26
Wow, your verrines look fabulous! I like the addition of vinegar in the panna cotta, must really bring the flavours out.


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Visitors replacing Sodor engines during their trip to England in "The Eight Famous Engines" (1957)
Picture from Freefoto, Art by Salty, SIF.
Image © Millburn Associates.
Jinty - A real nickname for the very common LMS 3F 0-6-0 - Fowler's 1924 development of his design for the Midland Rly. 417 were built, at least 6 preserved. No 47357 pictured running at the Midland Railway Centre.
Pug - Lots of 0-4-0STs were called "Pugs" - the most famous with that name being the Aspinall L&YR (later LMS) class 21. However, the loco pictured in "The Eight Famous Engines" appears to be an LMS 0F Kitson Dock Shunter of 1932 designed by Kitson to Stanier's requirements. Five more were built with smaller tanks in 1953; none have been preserved.
Modeler's Corner
'Jinty' was a tremendously popular model for Triang from the early 1950s on. I had a Triang-Hornby one in late BR livery just like this one in 1971. There are now good finescale models around from Hornby and Bachmann.
A professional job on the Kitson Pug, from a now-defunct web page.
|Jinty passenger train set by Bachmann available from Amazon's UK website
Foreign Engine<----
---->City of Truro


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A day after announcing it might close as many as 1,100 stores and recording its second straight annual loss, RadioShack this morning posted a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission detailing promotions, raises and bonuses for top executives, including CEO Joseph C. Magnacca.
Here are the details from the filing:
(1). On March 3, 2014, the Management Development and Compensation Committee ("MD&C Committee") of the Board of Directors of RadioShack Corporation (the "Company") approved the promotions of Ms. Janet Fox to Senior Vice President, Global Sourcing and Product Innovation, Mr. Paul Rutenis to Senior Vice President, Chief Merchandising Officer, and Mr. Mark Boerio to Senior Vice President, Planning, Allocation and e-Commerce. In connection with these promotions, Ms. Fox's base salary was increased from $375,000 to $400,000; Mr. Rutenis' base salary was increased from $315,000 to $400,000; and Mr. Boerio's base salary was increased from $325,000 to $375,000.
(2). On March 3, 2014, after giving due consideration of the skills and talent deemed critical to the Company's business turnaround efforts currently underway , the difficult business environment and the competition for skilled, talented employees, the MD&C Committee authorized and directed the Company to enter into retention agreements with certain of its executive officers. The retention agreements state that the officers will be entitled to a retention payment if the officer remains employed by the Company through March 1, 2015. The named executive officers and the amount of such potential retention payment are as follows:
|Retention Payment
|Joseph C. Magnacca
|John W. Feray
|Telvin P. Jeffries
|EVP/Chief HR Officer, Services, International
|Troy H. Risch
|EVP, Store Operations
|Michael S. DeFazio
|SVP, Store Concepts
A form of the retention agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 .
(3). On March 3, 2014, the MD&C Committee recommended the Board approve a special opportunity bonus payable to Mr. Joseph C. Magnacca, the Company's Chief Executive Officer. The payment of the bonus, if any, will depend on the achievement of performance based strategic initiatives relating to the fiscal year 2015 turnaround plan, as designated by the MD&C Committee. The maximum amount of this bonus is $600,000. This bonus is payable on April 3, 2015. This special opportunity bonus is a one-time bonus opportunity relating to performance during fiscal year 2015. The Board of Directors of the Company approved this plan on March 4, 2014.


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When we heard about what British grocery chain Tesco is doing, it made us cringe. So naturally, we just have to share.
As per the Irish Independent, employees at the Dublin distribution center must wear armbands. Not just any ol' armband, mind you. It actually measures their productivity! Talk about Big Brother watching, this device micromanages its employees to the point when it recognizes one of its employees takes a bathroom break!
Officially known as the Motorola arm-mounted terminals, the devices monitor productivity by tracking how quickly employees unload and scan goods in the warehouse.
Not only that, it gives them a grade and also determines their competency at the task. In addition, it tracks loading and unloading speed, metrics employees are supposed to meet. Granted, as per the piece employees may turn off the monitors during their lunch time but hey, anything else — even visits to the water cooler — drops their productivity score.
As for whether or not they're a success, Tesco didn't respond to Bloomberg's request to comment when they heard about the arm bands, too. Productivity aside, we can only wonder how it's impacted workers' morale on the job.


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Even though I occasionally review products in my daily posts, I wanted to put together a page with my absolute favorite fitness/running gear and cooking gadgets for your reference. Everything on this page is stuff I use all the time and really recommend. Just click on any of the product title links for more details!
Just a note that I didn't include any clothing, just gear/gadgets, because clothing offerings change so quickly and I wouldn't want these links to be dead in a month! Also, some of the links below are affiliate links. Thank you for your support!
Favorite Fitness & Running Gear
I wear these shoes for all my long distance running.
Brooks PureConnect Running Shoe
I wear these shoes for all my track/speed workouts and shorter running. Very lightweight – you'll forget you have them on!
Oakley Urgency Women's Sport Sunglasses
These are my most favorite sunglasses ever because they're cute and fashionable enough to double as your normal sunglasses AND your workout sunglasses! I wear them essentially all day long for everything from running, biking, and hiking, to beach trips, to work and around town. This is the first pair of sunglasses I've found that actually stay on when I'm running. They're extremely lightweight, polarized, and have great UV protection. You can also get them made in a prescription version! Pricey but SO worth it.
Nathan Intensity Vest (2 L)
I started using this vest for full marathon training, when I wanted a little more water and a lot more pockets. It's extremely comfortable and I love the pockets up front on the straps – perfect for fuel or your phone/camera!
Garmin Forerunner 910xt GPS Watch
I never leave for a training run without this watch – it's awesome. Expensive but worth it!
These socks are great for speeding up recovery after (or in preparation for) long runs. I wear them around the house ALL the time.
They come in a ton of colors, but I love the argyle. :)
I wear these sleeves, which are tighter than the above compression socks, during long runs. I was struggling with some calf/inner ankle tightness and pain and these essentially solved the problem!
I love my SPIbelt – perfect for carrying a camera, phone, keys, ID, gels, or anything else while running. It looks small but it's stretchy and expandable. So handy and no bouncing when you run, either.
Foam rollers are a life saver for runners — especially when training for a big race. I use this one daily when I'm training and it makes a huge difference in recovery time!
~ ~ ~
The Stick is basically a more portable version of a foam roller. It's also great for rolling out your calves/shins.
BodyGlide Original Anti-Chafe Balm
Great to prevent chafing during long runs.
A must have for any runner. So superior to my previous icing method of choice, frozen peas! You can buy them in different sizes for knees/ankles etc., and I love that they are cuffs so you can ice your whole knee/ankle/shin/whatever at once and not worry about the ice pack falling off.
Sweaty Bands Elastic Sports Headbands
I have a really hard time finding headbands that actually stay on my head; Sweaty Bands is one of the only brands that actually works for me. They come in really cute designs, too!
This waterproof camera is super durable and takes great pictures, too. I've used it on numerous mud runs (even the Tough Mudder!), kayaking trips, scuba diving, and more, and it's still working great. I use it as my main camera when I travel, too — no more lugging the DSLR.
Favorite Cooking Tools & Kitchen Gadgets
Nespresso Pixie Espresso Maker
This is my absolute favorite thing in our kitchen. I use it every day! Not only is the machine really small (perfect for tiny city apartment kitchens), but it makes AMAZING, high quality espresso. You use little cups (kind of like K-cups) for each espresso so there's no messy coffee grinds, either.
And to go with it, the Nespresso Aeroccino Plus milk foamer. Warms AND foams your milk. So awesome.
This is Matt's favorite appliance in our kitchen! It's super simple to use and makes great (and quick) coffee and tea! You can also buy a reusable K-cup so you can use your own loose leaf tea or ground coffee. If you already have a Keurig, a K-cup carousel is a fun addition. We have one and love it.
Awesome blender! For a similar, just as good blender for way cheaper, though check out the Oster Versa — it comes with a food processor attachment too, and some cool blend and go cups.
I LOVE this garlic press. It used to drive me crazy to chop garlic on my normal cutting board and then have it smell like garlic for weeks. Enter the garlic press — problem solved! Super easy to use, you just peel the garlic, stick it in, and squish! Perfectly chopped garlic comes out the other end.
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Combination Wine Pourer and Stopper
Handy to keep wine fresh and look fancy when pouring it, too.
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Immersion blenders are amazing because you don't have to wait for hot liquids to cool and then transfer them (messily) to a blender to puree them. So great for soup!
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Food processors are so useful and really easy to use — make your own hummus, dips, sauces, and more, or simply chop veggies and garlic in a flash.
Favorite Cookbooks
LOVE this cookbook. Easy, healthy, and delicious recipes, all using whole, unprocessed foods and with a focus on seasonality — right up my alley!
Amazing and creative recipes you'll love even if you aren't vegan! Whenever I'm in a meal rut, this is where I start.
Essentially the vegan bible — again, awesome even if you aren't vegan (which I'm clearly not!).
~ ~ ~
For more of my favorite (non-cooking related) books, check out this post I wrote awhile ago: My Favorite Books.
Don't forget to check out my fANNEtastic t-shirt shop for some more fun products, and have a look at my FAQ page to see my favorite cameras and lenses.


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In advance of the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, All Things Considered has been talking about recovery along the Gulf Coast: what's changed, what's moved, what's come back. The musical heartbeat of New Orleans has clearly been shifted by what's become known simply as "the storm."
Nick Spitzer has spent his life immersed in the music of Louisiana -- he hosts the public radio program American Routes from New Orleans. In an interview with All Things Considered host Melissa Block, he says that the cultural disaster he feared after the storm has not come to pass.
"Early on, music became essential to the sense of, 'Why should somebody come back, and how will the city recover?' " Spitzer says. "We found that a lot of it was the intangible sense of music in the neighborhoods and the clubs and the lifestyle. It's a powerful culture, it's a diverse culture, and it's been right there in the middle of getting us to where we are now."
Spitzer discusses some of the musicians and musical projects in New Orleans who have been active since the storm, including the Soul Rebels Brass Band; Derrick Tabb and the Roots of Music program; and a special collaboration featuring Mos Def, Lenny Kravitz, Tim Robbins and a few New Orleans musicians.


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Oasis Day Camp is located at Queensborough Community College in Bayside Queens. Oasis provides children with a fantastic opportunity to play and learn staying close to home.
A traditional day camp in every way, Oasis in Bayside has everything a camp should; incredible grounds and facilities, loads of activities, and most importantly, the most well trained, caring staff in the industry.


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LAS VEGAS – Technology pioneer Palm Inc.'s had a rough few years — and is trying to make up for lost time.
On Thursday, the company once famed for innovative gadgets unveiled its first totally new product since the color Treo debuted in 2003 — a completely overhauled smartphone running a brand-new operating system.
It's meant to seize back a share of the market Palm's surrendered in the past half-decade to Research In Motion's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone.
• Click here to watch an exclusive Fox Business Network interview with Palm CEO Ed Colligan.
• Click here for FOXNews.com's Personal Technology Center.
• Got tech questions? Ask our experts at FoxNews.com's Tech Q&A.
At the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Palm executives brought out the Pre, which at first looks like the iPhone with a face dominated by a 3.1-inch touch screen and single button.
But it's got something the iPhone doesn't: a full QWERTY keyboard that slides out from the bottom of the black and slightly curved body.
"We think it's the first device that will automatically navigate the Web," Palm chairman Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple executive, told the audience at the CES unveiling.
In an effort to capture both business and consumer users, the Pre will come loaded with features including Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth and GPS, as well as 8 gigabytes of storage space, a 3-megapixel camera and music and video playback.
The Pre also has a variety of sensors, such as an accelerometer so images on the screen will rotate when a user turns the device on its side.
Many of these features are already available on rival phones, including the iPhone, the latest BlackBerry models and HTC Corp.'s G1 that was released in the fall by T-Mobile and Google Inc.
"We think it's the one phone you can use for your entire life and you'll really enjoy using it," Palm Chief Executive Ed Colligan said at a news conference.
Palm has been overshadowed in the last several years by the success of these products — especially by the growth of BlackBerry smart phones among business customers and, since its June 2007 release, of iPhones among consumer users.
According to data from comScore Inc., as of October, Palm devices accounted for about 15.6 percent of the U.S. smart phone market. Some of Palm's smart phones run on its own operating system, while others use Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile operating system.
While third-party phones running Palm's current OS first appeared in the late 1990s, the Treo, first offered by Palm breakaway Handspring in early 2002, defined and dominated the smartphone market for two or three years.
Palm bought Handspring in 2003, but the company wasted time and money trying to market new personal digital assistants as the market for stand-alone PDAs dried up.
Later, it spent millions trying to develop a dumbed-down laptop called the Foleo that could surf the Web but had to have a companion Palm PDA or smartphone to send and receive e-mail. That project was abruptly canceled in mid-2007.
Even worse, Palm spun off its operating-system division as a separate company in 2003 to minimize conflicts of interest vis-a-vis licensees — but the new company, PalmSource, got quickly gobbled up by Japanese software maker ACCESS, which did little to develop the OS.
Palm OS has had a few tweaks and bug fixes since then, but the upshot is that all Treos and other devices that run it have an operating system that's nearly seven years old and wasn't designed to surf the Web, play music or watch video.
While Palm dithered, RIM's BlackBerrys quietly took more and more of the smartphone market as the formerly corporate devices made inroads among consumers.
The Apple iPhone's spectacular debut in early 2007, and its subsequent runaway sales, only demonstrated how out of touch and behind the times Palm was.
The company's been kept afloat for the past 18 months by Elevation Partners, a high-powered private-equity firm that counts rock star Bono as one of its five principals.
Elevation bought 25 percent of Palm for $325 million in mid-2007, a deal that brought in iPod developer Rubinstein from Apple, and last month invested $100 million more.
The Pre will be available in the second half of the year, exclusively on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless network. Palm did not disclose the price.
"Palm bet the company on this, so they had to come through and they did," JPMorgan analyst Ehud Gelblum said to Reuters. "The only drawback is how long is it going to be on sale only with Sprint? It's a smaller addressable market than they otherwise would have had."
The device comes with Palm's new operating system, Palm webOS, which the company also debuted Thursday.
It's meant to connect various applications — for example, it will automatically synchronize contacts stored in Facebook, Gmail and Outlook, strip out duplicates and present the information in a master list.
Applications developed for Palm's older operating system will not work on the new platform, Colligan said in an interview.
Palm has been working on the new phone and operating system for "more than a couple years," Colligan said, and they represent "a complete reinvigoration of the company."
"We're really re-launching Palm to some extent," he said.
In addition to the Pre and the new operating system, Palm showed off a unique accessory on Thursday — a wireless charger for the Pre called the Touchstone. When a Pre is placed on top of it, the gadget powers the phone through induction.
FoxNews.com' Paul Wagenseil and the Associated Press contributed to this report.


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The vineyards in MuakLek District are open year-round for visitors. Visitors can either sample fresh grapes or other grape products such as wine, seedless grapes, grape juice, grape candy, grape jam, raisins preserved grape jam and more. Alternatively, visitors can join in with the vineyards' activities.
Vineyards open to the public include Khun Mali's Vineyard, Tel. 0 3622 7056-7 or 08 1853 5893 and PhuAmon Vineyard and Wine, Tel. 0 3632 7183 or 08 1906 9373. Otherwise, sample seedless grapes at KamnanMeng's Vineyard (101 Mu 5, at the entrance to ban Bo Tana, Mittraphap Road, Tel. 0 3634 1015), Papassara's Vineyard, Tel. 0 3636 4475 or www.papassara.com; or Rai Nam PhuFa at Lam PhayaKlang Sub-district
The vineyards are situated along Highway No. 2089, known as the MuakLek-Wang Muang route.


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Ben Haim looking to Europe
By Andrew Scurr
Last Updated: 01/01/70 1:00am
Tal Ben Haim still believes Bolton can finish in the top six for the second year running.
Bolton Wanderers defender Tal Ben Haim still believes the club can claim a European spot in the Premiership for the second year running.
Wanderers played their first ever European game against Lokomotiv Plovdiv this season and Ben Haim says that everyone at the club would be very disappointed not to qualify again this year.
Bolton's hopes of a UEFA Champions League spot were dented by the 4-3 defeat against Middlesbrough on Sunday but the Israeli is still confident of a top six finish.
"Last year we made history for the club by finishing in a European place," Ben Haim told Sky Sports News.
"This season it is going to be harder but we still have a fantastic chance.
"I think the lads will be very disappointed if we don't qualify for Europe again this season because we deserve it."
Ben Haim could be joined at The Reebok Stadium by compatriot Idan Tal in the summer, a signing that the defender believes would be a major addition for the club.
"He plays in central midfield and is very comfortable on the ball, has a good shot and good energy," added Ben Haim.
"He gives his heart to the game and I'm sure Bolton will be more than happy with him."
Israel have been drawn in England's group for the 2008 European Championship qualifiers and Ben Haim is looking forward to doing battle with some of England's finest.
But before then, Ben Haim will be cheering on England during the World Cup finals in Germany later this year.
"Me and my family will definitely be England fans in the World Cup and hopefully England will take the World Cup," said Ben Haim.
"England are one of the best teams in the world so of course it'll be a fantastic atmosphere in Israel."


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Both were well-known Westerners associated with Eastern spiritual traditions, both died accidentally in their rooms in Bangkok. That, it appears from news reports, is where the similarity ends, sadly:
BANGKOK, June 5 — Thai police officers investigating the death of David Carradine, the American actor who made his name in the "Kung Fu" television series in the 1970s, say he most likely died of asphyxiation, possibly when an autoerotic sex game went wrong.
Merton died in Bangkok on December 10, 1968 after touching a poorly grounded electric fan while stepping out of his bath.
The appeal of the East is, in fact, a fascinating mix of sexual and spiritual allures–of indulgence of the flesh and a transcendence of the the material world.
Think of Graham Greene's love of opium dens and prostitutes, all the while crafting brilliantly Catholic novels. Or the giddy fixation on the Kama Sutra or geisha life and the equally popular infatuation with the Dalai Lama and Tibetan Buddhism. From sensuality to Shangri-La. Maybe the appeal is that they are not as distant in Eastern culture as they are in the West? But Westerners rarely seem able to be able to manage the integration, if that's what the aim should be.
Or maybe East and West do not meet? Then again, I suppose a similar confluence/dichotomy in violence and spirituality could be noted, as in the martial arts that Carradine became famous for.


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A couple of new horror movie pics for ya today, including one for "Jennifer's Body" with Megan Fox. Apparently she's all teeth and blood, that one. The second and third pics are of Michael Myers doing his stalking thing in Rob Zombie's upcoming "H2: Halloween" sequel. Check them out below, check them out belowers.
Fangoria brings you more Fox as Jennifer:
Bloody-Disgusting, meanwhile, has two more "H2" pics:


text: The elusive Ivory Billed Woodpecker was officially declared extinct in the 1940s, so could recently reported sightings in the Arkansas bayou have any foundation in fact? As busloads of fanatical birdwatchers descend upon a small Arkansas town in hopes of being the first to find evidence of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker, amateur birder/poet Johnny Neander remains certain he'll be the one to confirm the bird's existence. Meanwhile, the search intensifies, pitting the believers against the skeptics and pitting local environmentalists against scheming entrepreneurs.


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The Apple iPad's Impact on Mobile, Gaming, and E-Books: Local Techies and Startups React
(Page 2 of 4)
offer an alternative. This will create new opportunities to expand family focused services like Cozi into the home. Cozi is well-positioned to capitalize on that opportunity.
Robbie Cape, CEO and founder, Cozi, Seattle:
No question the Apple announcement today will have a huge impact on the consumer electronics ecosystem in the home, but not in the way you would expect.
More than anything, this announcement will drive some exciting innovation between popular CE [consumer electronics] companies that build and market phenomenal hardware and companies like Cozi that focus all their energy on creating great experiences through software. As a result of this iPad play, Apple is saying, "there is a big business around digital solutions for the home" and that is very meaningful to Cozi; we've known this for some time, but it is exactly the sort of affirmation we look for as we continue to build great solutions for families.
I have a rather controversial opinion about the iPad itself. Simply put: I think it is the wrong device, at the wrong price, in the right space. At the end of the day, based on early reports I've seen/heard (which is limited, I must admit), the device is a big iTouch and a Kindle, all in one. But hold on a second! I already have an iTouch (it happens to be an iPhone), and I can buy a phenomenal eReader from Amazon (and soon, many others) for less than $300. And you still need a phone. So why would I pay $500+ for a device that is primarily different from my phone in that it's an eReader?
The iPad looks to be a cool personal device that Apple is targeting at a very interesting space: the home. But the home doesn't need another personal device. The home needs a device for the WHOLE FAMILY to use. The iPad as Apple appears to have positioned it, is not the right device for the whole family to use. It isn't the device that I think will float around the home, being used by everyone. The home needs a family device that everyone can use. That device is not a big iTouch. It's something else.
Apple took what I think was the easy road here, and I am betting their results will show it. They took their existing iPhone experience and dropped it on top of what appears to be just a big iTouch. And they built a new eReader application with a new eBook ecosystem. The are reacting to the Kindle phenomenon. But I don't see this device as revolutionizing how people consume digital applications and content in the home.
The great news is the Apple announcement will drive just that sort of revolutionary thinking amongst CE manufacturers and Cozi can play an important role in all of these devices, including the iPad. Ultimately, devices built for the whole family to use will need to solve core everyday family challenges like scheduling, shopping, and other information families need to coordinate.
[New] John Chuang, founder and CEO, Litl, Boston (maker of the Litl Webbook, a cloud-based home Internet appliance):
We think [the iPad] is an extension of what they already have done, in a different form factor. Ultimately, we are about a much bigger change in how operating systems work and how … Next Page »
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|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|26 Jun 1990
|Filing date
|18 Apr 1989
|Priority date
|22 Apr 1988
|Fee status
|Publication number
|Geoffrey F. Towner, John E. T. Towner
|Original Assignee
|Ico-Texaust Joint Venture, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (13), Referenced by (39), Classifications (10), Legal Events (3)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 184,936, filed Apr. 22, 1988, now abandoned.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a downhole pump pulsation dampener and in one of its preferred aspects to a pulsation dampener which is adapted to be positioned downhole in the production tubing of a well above a reciprocating pump to dampen the pressure surges and acceleration shocks in the fluid being pumped from the well.
2. Background Art
In the vast majority of wells wherein fluids are artificially lifted to the surface, some type of reciprocating, plunger pump is used which is positioned downhole in the well and is operated by a string of "sucker rods" which extend to the surface. The sucker rod string is reciprocated by a "pump jack" or the like to move the plunger up and down in the barrel of the pump to thereby force fluid upward through the production tubing but only on alternate strokes, e.g., each up-stroke of the plunger. While reciprocating pumps have proven extremely dependable for a great number of years, problems still exist in most downhole, reciprocating pump systems which are directly related to the pressure pulsations or "shocks" which are inherently present due to the alternating pump strokes. As is well known in the art, these pressure pulsations or shocks can be highly detrimental and, if unchecked, are likely to eventually cause damage to the pumping system and to substantially increased maintenance costs.
For example, the pressure pulsations and/or acceleration shocks in the pumped flow can create a severe "water-hammer" effect throughout the system thereby subjecting various components and piping in the systems to destructive impact and/or vibratory forces. This is due in part to the fact that the head of fluid in the tubing is at rest at the start of the up or pump stroke and must be accelerated as the plunger moves upward from its bottom dead center position. Therefore, at the start of each pump stroke, the sucker rods are subjected to the combined forces of (1) the weight of the fluid head; (2) the weight of the rods, themselves; and (3) the forces required to accelerate the fluid head and to overcome the frictional forces in the system. Further, the pulsating flow from the pump develops additional high stress loads throughout the system due to the differing elastic deformation of the rods and the pumped fluid, itself. As proven time after time, the combined acceleration shocks, elastic forces, etc., caused by the intermittent flow from a reciprocating pump are usually highly detrimental to the pumping systems and normally lead to early failure, e.g., sucker-rod failure, pump failure, etc., and increased maintenance costs and downtime.
One general solution that has been proposed for alleviating many of the problems normally associated with pressure pulsations and/or acceleration shocks inherently present in a reciprocating pump system involves providing some means in the system to smooth out or dampen the pressure pulses in the pumped flow. A variety of such dampening means have been proposed, all of which appear to have merit. For example, a wide variety of fluid accumulators and/or pulsation dampeners have been positioned in the path of pumped fluid at the surface after the fluid has been pumped from the well; see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,764,103; 3,198,133: and 4,445,829 and U.K. Patent Application GB No. 2,054,041A.
Other proposed solutions have included (1) using hollow sucker rods as a downhole surge chamber, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 3,272,145, (2) providing a surge chamber on a solid sucker rod, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 1,235,112, or (3) providing surge chambers on the production tubing, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,215,558. More recently, it has been proposed to position an inflated bladder in a chamber on the production tubing wherein the fluid from the downhole pump acts against the bladder to thereby dampen the pressure surges in the pumped fluid, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,628,994.
While each of the known pulsation dampeners appear to be sound in theory, for whatever reason, none appear to have ever found widespread commercial application in the industry. That is, as best as can be determined, the tremendous number of wells using reciprocating pumps today (estimated to be well over one-half million in the United States alone) still experience the problems due to the pressure pulsations and shocks inherent in the intermittent flow from a reciprocating pump and still experience early sucker rod failure, high pump maintenance, high horsepower requirements, etc. Therefore, it can be readily seen that a need still exists for a pratical pulsation dampener that can be economically produced and easily installed into new and/or existing reciprocating pumping systems which will effectively reduce the pressure pulsations and/or acceleration shocks in the pumped fluid.
The present invention provides a downhole, reciprocating pump system including a pulsation dampener for dampening pressure pulsation and/or acceleration shocks in the fluid being pumped from a well by the reciprocating pump. The pulsation dampener is connected to or positioned at the lower end of a string of production tubing in the well just above a downhole, reciprocating pump which, in turn, is operated by a string of sucker rods which extend to the surface. The pulsation dampener is relatively simple in construction which allows it to be produced economically and easily installed into new or existing downhole pump systems to substantially reduce the problems associated with the intermittent flow from reciprocating pumps.
More particularly, the preferred embodiment of the present downhole, reciprocating pump system includes a pulsation dampener that is comprised of a conduit, e.g., pup joint of production tubing, which has at least one radial opening, preferably a plurality of openings, therethrough intermediate its ends. An elastic sleeve is tightly fitted over the conduit to cover and seal the radial openings when the sleeve is in its relaxed position and is affixed at each of its ends to the conduit. A housing is positioned around the sleeve and is affixed at each of its ends to the conduit to thereby form an annulus between the relaxed sleeve and the housing.
A one-way valve is positioned in a passage into the housing through which the annulus can be precharged with gas under pressure. The volume of the annulus is approximately twice that of the volume of fluid which will be pumped by a single pump stroke of the downhole reciprocating pump and precharged gas pressure in the annulus is approximately equal to the pressure exerted by the head of well fluid at the downhole location of the dampener in the well. The upper end of the conduit of the dampener is connected to the lower end of the production tubing and the barrel of the reciprocating pump is connected to or is positioned at the lower end of the conduit. The plunger of the pump is positioned for reciprocating movement in the barrel and is operated by a string of sucker rods which extend to the surface.
At the start of each up or pump stroke of the pump, the fluid flows through the openings in the dampener to expand the sleeve against the pressure in the annulus to dampen the pressure pulsations and/or shocks due to the sudden acceleration of the fluid head above the pump. At the conclusion of the pump stroke and during the down stroke of the pump, the sleeve relaxes to its original position thereby forcing the fluid back through the openings and into the flow stream up the production tubing.
In addition to substantially reducing the detrimental effects associated with pressure pulses and shocks which are inherently present in reciprocating pump system, actual field tests have shown that the present pulsation dampener also provides substantial improvements over identical downhole reciprocating pump systems in actual use today which do not include the present dampener, some of which are as follows: (1) Both the maximum and minimum peak polish rod loads are significantly reduced thereby substantially extending the expected life of the sucker rods; (2) the polished rod horsepower is reduced allowing a smaller and more economically-operated power means to be used to operate the same downhole pump; (3) the maximum net torque on the system is reduced; and (4) the daily operating and maintenance costs are reduced.
The actual construction, operation, and apparent advantages of this invention will be better understood by referring to the drawings in which like numerals identify like parts and in which:
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the preferred embodiment of the pulsation dampener of the present invention with its elastic sleeve in a normal, relaxed position;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the dampener of FIG. 1 with the elastic sleeve in an expanded position;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a downhole reciprocating pump system having the dampener of FIG. 1 incorporated therein and having the plunger of the pump in a start or bottom dead center position;
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the downhole reciprocating pump system of FIG. 3 showing the pump plunger on an up or pumping stroke;
FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the downhole reciprocating pump system of FIG. 4 with the pump plunger at top dead center; and
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the downhole reciprocating pump showing the pump plunger during a down stroke.
Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 disclose the preferred embodiment of the downhole pulsation dampener 10 of the present invention. Dampener is comprised of a central conduit 11 which is preferably comprised of a length of the same tubing as that used to form the string of production tubing in the well in which dampener 10 is to be used. For example, a "pup joint" of tubing (e.g., commercially-available lengths of tubing shorter than a standard length) of the appropriate size is selected and the intermediate portion 12 thereof is perforated to provide one or more radial openings 13 therethrough (only some of which are numbered in the drawings for the sake of clarity).
An elastic sleeve 15, e.g., rubber, is tightly fitted onto conduit 11 and extends completely across intermediate section 12 to cover and seal all of openings 13. Sleeve 15 is secured at each of its ends to conduit 11 by wire-wrap 15a, bonding, claims, or the like. Upper and lower collars 16, 17, respectively, are welded or otherwise secured to conduit 11 adjacent the ends of sleeve 15. Cylindrical housing 18 extends between collars 16, 17 and is secured thereto by welding or the like. Collar 16 has a passage 19 therethrough having a gas inlet, one-way valve 20 therein through which annulus 23 formed between sleeve 15 and housing 18 can be charged with gas (e.g., nitrogen).
From the above description, it can be seen that when the pressure of any fluid flowing through bore 21 of conduit 11 exceeds the pressure of the gas in annulus 23 of dampener 10, the fluid will flow through openings 13 to act on sleeve 15 to expand into annulus 23 (FIG. 2) to compress the gas in the annulus. When the pressure of the fluid in bore 21 drops below the pressure in annulus 23, this difference in pressure and the resiliency of sleeve 15 returns it to its relaxed position (FIG. 1) thereby forcing the fluid in sleeve 15 back through openings 13 into bore 21. Now that the basic structure of dampener 10 has been set forth, a preferred downhole reciprocating pump system 22 will be described into which dampener 10 is incorporated to substantially alleviate the pressure pulsations and/or acceleration shocks in the system.
Referring now to FIGS. 3-6, conduit 11 of dampener 10 is threaded at both ends and is positioned at and connected to one end to the lower end of production tubing string 24 which, in turn, extends to the surface of the well being produced. Pump barrel 26 of reciprocating pump 25 is positioned at and/or is connected to the lower end of conduit 11 and has a standing valve 27 therein. Plunger 28 of pump 25 having a traveling valve 29 therein is reciprocated up and down with barrel 26 by a string 30 of sucker rods which extend to the surface and are connected to the "horsehead" 31 of a pump jack or the like (not shown) as will be understood in the art. Annulus 23 of damper 10 has been precharged with gas, e.g., nitrogen, through one-way valve 21 to a pressure approximately equal to the static pressure of the fluid head in conduit 11 when system 22 is in an operable position within a well. The operation of downhole reciprocating pump system 22 is as follows.
Referring first to FIG. 3, plunger 28 is in its bottom dead position within barrel 26 and the head of fluid in conduit 11 of dampener 10 and in production tubing 24 is at rest. As sucker rods 30 begin to move plunger 28 through an up or pump stroke FIG. 4 , the space 40 between standing value 27 and traveling valve 29 increases and the pressure therein decreases. This allows the well fluid below the pump barrel 26 to lift standing valve 27 from its seat and flow into barrel 26. At the same time, the fluid head pressure on the top of the traveling valve 29 keeps valve 29 seated in plunger 28 so that the column of fluid above the plunger 28 is raised or pumped up tubing 24 during the up stroke of the pump.
It will be understood that as pump 25 begins its upward stroke, a sudden impulse is imparted to the fluid above the plunger as the fluid is accelerated to its ultimate during the up stroke. This acceleration shock, the elasticity of rods 30 and the fluid, itself, and other factors inherent in reciprocating pump system can generate highly detrimental or destructive forces that can lead to serious damage if not compensated for. In the present invention, as plunger 28 begins its up stroke (FIG. 4), the sudden shock or increase in pressure of the fluid just above plunger 28 exceeds the precharged pressure in annulus 23 of dampener 10 so flow will occur through openings 13 and will act on sleeve 15 to expand same thereby increasing the pressure in annulus 23. The sudden pulsation caused by the acceleration of the fluid during the start of the up stroke is accordingly "absorbed" or attenuated by the compliance of dampener 10.
As plunger 28 reaches top dead center (FIG. 5), the suction in space 40 ceases and standing valve 27 drops back onto its seat. The pressures in conduit 11 and annulus 22 will theoretically be equal with sleeve 15 in its fully expanded position. After an instantaneous pause, plunger 28 begins to move downward (FIG. 6), fluid in space 40 is unable to flow through closed standing valve 27 and, instead, is put under compression to thereby lift traveling valve 29 from its seat to allow fluid to flow from space 40 in barrel 26 into conduit 11 above the plunger. At this time, the pressure in conduit 11 is reduced thereby allowing the elevated pressure in annulus 23 and the resiliency of sleeve 15 to return sleeve 15 to its relaxed position. This forces fluid back through openings 13 and into conduit 11 to maintain movement of the fluid in tubing 24 during the down stroke of pump 25, thereby effectively smoothing out the pulsations and shocks in the pumped fluid flow and substantially reducing the load on the system at the start of the next up stroke of the pump.
The above description of the operation of system 22 is based on the theoretical analysis of the downhole pump system. However, in actual well tests of the present invention, downhole sensors indicate that the acceleration shock and/or pressure pulsations in the fluid column or head are actually dampened by pulsation dampener 10 during only a short travel of plunger 28 during the start of the up stroke and that sleeve 15 has expanded and relaxed before plunger 28 has reached top dead center. Regardless of the actual operational sequence of dampener 10, as will be seen from the following table summarizing the results from an actual well test, dampener 10 does function to alleviate the severe problems associated with pressure pulsations and/or shocks in downhole reciprocating pump systems and substantially increases the overall efficiencies of such systems.
__________________________________________________________________________ PULSATION DAMPENER TEST RESULTS__________________________________________________________________________SURFACE ANALYSIS WITHOUT DAMPENER WITH DAMPENER__________________________________________________________________________Stroke Length (ins.) 146.4 147.2Pump Strokes/minute 10.66 10.64Pump Plunger Diameter (ins.) 3.25 3.25Depth of Pump in Well (ft.) 1220 1220Specific Gravity of fluid 1.0 1.0Rod Weight in fluid (lbs.) 1724 1724Peak Polish Rod Load (lbs.) 9731 7362Minimum Polish Rod Load (lbs.) 978 348Structure Loading (%) 81.8 61.9Polish Rod Horsepower 19.4 15.9% of Sucker Rod Loading 103.4 79.9Electricity Costs ($/bbl.) 3.85 3.17__________________________________________________________________________ *(1) **(2) *(1) **(2)__________________________________________________________________________Cyclic Load Factor 1.37 1.47 1.37 1.30Recommended Motor Size (H.P.) 35.0 37.0 30.0 28.0Daily Power Used (KwH) 385 415 317 300Max Counterbalance Moment 380.5 499.7 328.8 395.7Counterbalance Effect @ 90� (lbs.) 3928 5663 3187 4156Counterbalance Effect @ 270� (lbs.) 3575 5199 2881 3788Max Net Torque (in.-lbs.) 404.5 322.3 280.7 220.3% Gear Reducer Rating 177.4 141.4 123.1 96.6__________________________________________________________________________DOWNHOLE ANALYSISPump Intake Pressure (psi) 163 153Fluid Load (lbs.) 3028 3111Fluid Level from Surface (ft.) 843 866Fluid Level above Pump (ft.) 377 354Pump Efficiency (%) 74.8 75.3__________________________________________________________________________ *(1) Pumping Unit Unbalanced **(2) Pumping Unit Balanced
It should be recognized that the actual dimensions of dampener will vary with the actual situation involved but roughly the volume of annulus 23 in dampener 10 should be approximately twice the volume of fluid pumped on each pump stroke of pump 25. The required annulus volume may be provided in a single dampener or may be provided by coupling several dampeners together. By way of example only, the following dimensions are those for the dampeners 10 used in the test set forth in the above table wherein two dampeners were coupled together.
Conduit 11 was a 12 foot length of regular 27/8 inch tubing. Housing 18 is an 11 foot - 6 inch length of 43/4 inch I.D., 5 inch O.D. tubular which is welded to collars 16, 17 to form annulus 23 having a volume of approximately 1300 cubic inches. The intermediate section of conduit 11 was perforated with 12 rows of 3/8" diameter holes 13, radially spaced at 30� intervals, starting 11 inches from either end of conduit 11, producing 1470 holes or 160 sq. inches of opening (15% of total surface area) between bore 21 and annulus 23. Sleeve 15 was an 1/8 inch thick, reinforced rubber sleeve having a good resistance to hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulfide and a low permeability to gas, e.g., nitrogen, which was used to precharge annulus 23 to 455 psi, this being equal to the static fluid head pressure of 519 psi when adjusted for the temperature difference between surface and pump depth. Of course, the material for sleeve 15 should be selected for the particular conditions which it will encounter during operation to insure it will not be adversely affected by certain components in the fluid being pumped.
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|U.S. Classification
|166/68, 138/30, 417/540, 166/106
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|1 Feb 1994
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|26 Jun 1994
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|6 Sep 1994
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19940629