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Culture and Values
We are seeing a renaissance of interest in culture and values in business these days1, which I view as another example of nature abhorring a vacuum: Culture and values are coming into focus now because we simply haven't given them much consideration in recent times. While revelations about errant companies and company officers continue to multiply, those who have hewn to the true path seem to be forgotten. It's always that way: The foibles and follies of rascals sell newspapers and media air time, and the honest folks don't get much publicity--even if they represent the majority.
In this piece, we'll delve into the relationship between "culture" and "values." I'm proud to work for a company that has a strong culture, coupled with the right values. But this is not an accident. In mapping out the territory from my own perspective, it goes without saying that my own set of values aligns pretty closely with those of Rational; otherwise, I would not have spent more than sixteen years here.
We'll start by examining what a culture is and then see how values play into defining and supporting culture.
What Is a Culture?
We define a culture as a set of characteristics that sets one group of people apart from another. For example, we sometimes attribute differences in the way the English act as opposed to the French as the result of "cultural differences." In doing so, we take a vast number of differences and agglomerate them under one umbrella.
Some characteristics are transcultural, though. For example, we more or less expect that all children, everywhere, will grow up to love their parents. The way they express that love may depend a lot on the culture in which they are raised, but the loving feelings are culturally agnostic.
Another way to think about this is that a culture defines how a set of abstract principles is translated into day-to-day behavior. That is, we all have a set of nearly instinctive "default behaviors," programmed into us from infancy, which represent accepted norms and modes within our local environment. Of course, we can consciously choose to behave outside these norms, which we may well do in unusual situations. For example, if we live in a culture that believes violence is bad, then when disagreements arise, our default behavior, according to that cultural norm, is to use our words and not our fists--to resolve conflict verbally. However, if it becomes clear that someone who is threatening another person's life will not "listen to reason," then the culture admits violence as a "last resort" for the potential victim--or a law enforcement officer. But this is an exceptional case. In general, there are sanctions, both formal and informal, for violating cultural norms when exceptional circumstances do not apply.
Perhaps my colleague Philippe Kruchten said it best when he wrote the following (in an unpublished paper):
Our behavior is driven by three forces:
- Human nature: this is inherited and is universally shared across all human cultures.
- Culture: our collective programming, which is learned, not inherited.
- Personality: the component that is the additional unique set of mental programs not shared with other human beings; it's partly inherited and partly learned.
If we're not exposed to other cultures, we have a difficult time distinguishing culture from human nature. We naturally assume that all these aspects are universal, but they are not. It is also important to distinguish those characteristics that are cultural--that is, generic to a group of individuals--as opposed to attributing such characteristics to individual personality quirks. It is somehow easier to condone someone for not having surmounted a cultural barrier than it is to forgive what we perceive as a personal deviance.
Strong and Weak Cultures
Continuing down the same path, I believe there are two different kinds of cultures: strong and weak. This speaks to how a culture translates its underlying principles, or values, into everyday life.
In a strong culture, the abstract principles (values) are translated very directly into people's day-to-day lives. The military, for example, has a definite set of values and a very strong culture. Whether or not you agree with these values, you have to admit that they are translated into daily use very rigorously and consistently; they are enforced through external rules and regulations, as well as education that is absorbed internally. The prevailing culture of the 1960s was also a strong one, characterized by distrust for authority and a desire to question all social conventions. Once again, whether you agree with these values or not, you have to acknowledge their powerful influence on people's behavior at the time. I remember, for example, how difficult it was to "organize" a peace march, because the participants were so anti-authority--leaders had to explain and justify every "request" they made,2 and "enforcement" came almost entirely from peer pressure.
Not all cultures are that strong, though. Some have a set of generally accepted abstract values, yet these do not really inform daily life. In Western culture, for example, the degree to which church-goers apply their religious values to daily life varies widely. Some churches and sects have a very strong culture and strive to place religious tenets at the core of every act and thought, day in and day out. Other sects, in contrast, are much more laissez faire with respect to regulating daily behavior, and treat faith as the most important value.
The strength of a culture depends, finally, on two factors. One is the degree to which the values of the culture are codified and effectively transmitted to all. The second is the degree of pain people suffer for straying outside the cultural norms. The strongest cultures, obviously, are those in which all members clearly know and understand the "code," and also recognize that the penalties for violation are harsh. Whereas strong cultures are successful at translating their abstract principles into daily actions, weak cultures do this much less predictably and effectively.
Defining Corporate Values
We'll return to strong and weak cultures later, but first, I want to plant a stake in the ground on the way we define values.
We sometimes refer to core values, as though these particular values transcended other, less worthy, values. But then I get lost when I read that a company has seventeen core values. This does not make sense to me. There can't be that much room at the "core."
Still, I believe that some values do transcend others, and we get to pick which ones run our lives. Maybe some people can keep a hierarchy of values straight in their minds and hearts, but I'm too simple for that. I have a very small set that I try to hold myself to and evaluate others by. I keep the set small so that I don't have to worry about order and priority, or about balancing one value against another.
I've also learned that it's not helpful to label as "values" those qualities that everyone endorses. Take "citizenship," for example; who is going to argue that we shouldn't be good citizens? The problem is, this word is always interpreted according to more "local" values that define the behavior of a good citizen within a given culture. So, paradoxically, the more general and vague the term, the closer it gets to being a universal "value," but the narrower and more culture-bound its interpretation becomes.3 The value of such a value is really very small.
In defining a set of desirable values for a corporate culture, then, we will choose terms not for their relative popularity, but rather for their utility in describing a company that is worth working for. I want to work with people who share these values. If others don't, I hope they will gravitate to another organization that has values more to their liking. We will all be happier in the long run.
My list has three items, few enough that I can keep them in "registers" at all times.4 They are: integrity, customer focus, and results.
The cornerstone of all that is honorable, "integrity" is a value that requires us--in all our relationships, both internally and externally, with colleagues and customers--to conduct ourselves in an honest, truthful, and straightforward way. There may be dishonest people in the world, but we don't have to admit them into our company. We can choose to associate only with those whose conduct meets our standards.
Integrity is a high standard, but it is exceedingly easy to know whether or not you have acted with integrity. It is as easy as knowing right from wrong. It is not complicated.
Many desirable characteristics of corporate culture that I have written about in past articles5 are based on integrity: a high-trust environment, honoring commitments, an absence of noxious politics, true teamwork, and an open interchange of ideas. Without integrity, we cannot hope to achieve or implement any of these. Later, I will discuss why these characteristics are so crucial in a software development organization.
Customer Focus
Anyone working in the business world is torn over and over again by having to make difficult choices. Sometimes the choice is obvious; we usually have no problem doing something that is clearly required or rejecting behaviors that are clearly wrong. It gets tricky, however, when there are conflicting requirements, a gray area, or something that involves reasoning on the margin. At these times, success means getting a higher percentage of these choices right than we might otherwise do by flipping a coin.
I'm not talking about technical decisions here. Instead, these are judgment calls such as, "Do we ship the product today or work on it for a few more weeks to get it to a better state?" There is usually no single, unambiguous answer. But is there a simple criterion you can use to help frame the decision?
I believe there is. The question I always ask is, "What is right for the customer?"
To further complicate matters, however, there is rarely a single customer.6 So you must visualize the customer base as a distribution, and try to reason what is best for the mainstream group of customers--the greatest good for the greatest number. If you can put yourself in the customers' shoes and reason through what is right for them, my belief is that you will get many more of these decisions right.
Note that doing the right thing for the customer may sometimes cause a great deal of internal pain. But if you don't do that, then all you are doing is deferring the pain to a later date. And, most likely, that deferred pain would be far worse than the pain you'd have to bear early on to create a responsible, responsive solution.
Customer focus has many cultural manifestations: a drive to release products on time, a passion for creativity and quality, and products that are genuinely fit for use. But it all starts with having the courage to ask the question, first and foremost, "What is best for the customer?"7
This third value has to do with results. I believe in results, not excuses.
Today, people seem to expend a lot of time and effort on excuses. It is almost as though they believe that a good explanation for failure is a legitimate replacement for the desired result. But this is not something you can build on.
The simplest way to differentiate the good from the bad is to evaluate results. Not intentions. Not effort. Not "does what he's told to do." Not "easy to work with." All these are irrelevant if results are not achieved. Note, however, that I am not saying "success at any cost" or "the end justifies the means." That kind of Machiavellian perversion means you are willing to act without integrity, and that is not allowed.
Finally, we must realize that most goals worth achieving are not accomplished in sprint mode, but in marathon fashion. Persistence counts. For those people for whom "failure is not an option,"8 we salute you.
And the Applicability to Software Is...
I'm sometimes accused of making very general observations under the guise of writing articles on software development. I plead not guilty! It's simply that the principles I believe in are universal, and their value is not limited to the realm of software. On the other hand, I can show why the particular values I've identified are relevant to software--why, unless you observe them, software products and companies degrade.
Let's go back to integrity, one of our basic values: We never lie to our customers, and we never lie to ourselves. We deliver a quality product in exchange for a sum of money, and the customer has a right to expect value for that money. Nothing specific to software in that simple equation.
Yet the production of a software product that customers will be able to use over an extended period requires integrity. First, the product must be sustainable in the field for many release cycles; it can't just be cobbled together for the next release and then forgotten. In order to achieve this, the product must have a maintainable underlying architecture that can be modified over time to suit new, emerging requirements. Also, the product must be supported, so that as questions and defects arise, the organization can cope with them and provide solutions for customers. It takes considerable infrastructure to support and evolve a product over many years, and making that investment requires the integrity of a long-term view. Companies that "ship it and forget it" will not be around for long.
A high-trust environment and teamwork are essential for the production of any large software product. Why is this? The answer is simple: Software is by nature a very complex product. Many individuals on the team make many thousands of decisions every day; some are large, some are small, and all may have an impact on customers. If we were to depend on a system of permissions and checks to ensure that each and every decision was "correct," progress would grind to a halt. What we need instead is everyone making good decisions on one's own most of the time. Large, critical decisions need to be reviewed, of course, but the majority should be made promptly and implemented effectively and efficiently. This is impossible without integrity at every level of the organization.
Now let's think a little bit more about customer focus. The quality mavens are always getting up on their soapbox and lecturing us about the need to improve the quality of the software we ship. But it's a bit more complex than that. Quality is a very subjective objective. Some people measure it by defect counts; others talk about usability ("fitness for use" for some, performance for others); still others have different metrics entirely. But none of these can be evaluated in the abstract; there is always, always, a tradeoff between quality and some combination of cost and timeliness.
That is why I think customer focus is the right value, and the cultural manifestation of this value is that everyone in the organization thinks about the customer: developers, testers, writers, product managers, support, field technical people, salespeople, marketing folk--yes, everyone. The customer is no one single group's responsibility; it is everyone's responsibility. If you have both a high-trust environment and everyone focusing on the customers, then you have a potent combination.
And what about results? Well, systems need to be architected, coded, documented, tested along many dimensions, and then built, packaged, and shipped. Without an intense focus on results, the product just doesn't get out the door. Too many things depend on too many other things. The lesson of the old folk tale, "For the want of a nail "9 was never more true than for software development. Most projects slip because of an accumulation of intermediate tasks that are delayed, deferred, or simply not completed. Individually, none of these small slips seems important, but the cascade is devastating.
On the flip side, there is a hidden danger in striving for "perfect" results in all the details. Everyone needs to be clear on the most important result: timely shipment of a high-quality piece of software. Creating a perfect Software Requirements Specification along the way will be irrelevant if the customer-visible result--the product--is wanting.
Building a Strong Culture
How can we in the software world implement these three values and build a strong culture around them?
First, we need leadership by example. As a leader, it is part of your job to reinforce and propagate the culture and values of the enterprise, starting with integrity. Our leaders should be held to an even higher standard of integrity than the one to which we hold everyone else. And here I mean all our leaders, not just the folks at the very top. Leadership is part of the company culture, and regardless of where you are in the corporate hierarchy, being a leader means heightened responsibility. The only way to demonstrate integrity as a leader is to act with integrity in everything you do.
It's shocking that the US Congress has felt the need to pass legislation requiring American CEOs to swear to the veracity of their financial statements. Shouldn't we just expect these statements to be accurate? "Cooking the books" is the moral equivalent of counterfeiting, and Dante put counterfeiters in the bottom of the eighth circle of Hell for good reason. His conception of Hell consisted of nine concentric circles, so being at the bottom of the eighth was almost as low as you could go.
Second, to develop a customer-focused culture, our leaders need to spend time with customers to gain an acute sense of what the customers need. Only then can they translate that into direction for the rest of the organization.
Finally, we need leadership in the area of pay for performance. Managers at software companies need to be able to objectively evaluate performance and compensate people for their contribution to the organization--and nothing else.10
In addition, we need continuity. Cultural propagation of values is meaningful only if it survives all the varieties of change that occur in the business world. Let's have a look at some of the phenomena that threaten continuity in software companies.
That Old Devil, Growth
Inevitably, successful companies grow, however small they are at first. Their culture needs to be nurtured so that these organizations do not abandon the very values and traditions11 that made them successful in the first place. But it is not easy to do this right.
If your company grows slowly enough, there is hope. You can recruit very selectively, working hard to find people who are "good cultural fits" for the existing organization. Rapid growth, on the other hand, is a double whammy. In the scramble to "fill open positions,"12 it is easy to lose discipline and get sloppy. On the margin, we hire people we probably wouldn't if we weren't in such a hurry. Then, to make matters worse, we don't explain to them the cultural milieu into which they are about to be thrust because we are too busy hiring the next batch of folks.
Notice that we are not necessarily recruiting people with the wrong values. No, what typically happens is an overall weakening of the culture as the organization expands. Occasionally forgetting to put the customer first may not draw sharp criticism any more. Over time, Gresham's Law takes over: The bad money drives the good money out of circulation.13 Those living by the old values become the minority, viewed at first with curiosity, then with derision, and finally ignored.
What replaces the strong culture is often a bureaucratic system designed to check on and enforce a wide range of policies and procedures that never quite capture the previous spirit of "do the right thing." In the absence of cultural strength, organizations fall back on meticulous attention to detail, as if we could recapture the spirit of the law by increasing the number of its letters. Leaders assume that everyone else will make the wrong default decisions, so they impose lots of rules to guide and correct them. It's a sure sign that bureaucracy has set in when the Ten Commandments are replaced by a 247-page handbook that sits on a shelf gathering dust.
Mergers and Acquisitions
After growth, the second most destructive force for a strong culture is a merger or acquisition. The software industry periodically goes through cycles of consolidation; many companies, Rational among them, grow "organically" for many years, and then use mergers and acquisitions as a way of continuing or accelerating growth. Unfortunately, we (software companies) seem to be much worse at this than other industries, perhaps because software companies have such a wide spectrum of cultures and values. The largest single reason for failure when two software companies combine is cultural incompatibility. Even if the two cultures are similar, merging them can be difficult for a vast variety of technical reasons. Plus, if the two companies are located some distance from one another, there is insularity because of the separation. Whatever the root cause, in the face of fundamental incompatibility, most software mergers fail, plain and simple.14
There is a solution. When our pioneer great-grandmothers crossed the prairie in their Conestoga wagons, they always carried a lump of "starter dough" so they could bake the same kind of bread in their new home that they did in their old location. The starter dough contained a yeast culture15 that could spawn new loaves; every time they baked, they saved a bit of that dough to mix with new dough later.
Similarly by transferring one or more people, preferably senior people, to the new location, software companies can provide "starter dough" to transmit the company culture and values to the newly merged or acquired company. Any merger or acquisition that forgets to transmit cultural messages early and often is a disaster waiting to happen.
The Single Big Customer or Partner
Another interesting threat comes from having a single large customer or partner with a very strong culture. In this case, both subtle and not-so-subtle influences can permeate your organization. For example, the customer's or partner's style of reporting results--nature, frequency, and so on--may be imposed upon certain projects; gradually, it may spread through the ranks, so that all internal divisions start reporting in the same way.
Sometimes this can be good; we can always learn from others. On the other hand, we do need to be careful that the customer or partner shares our values, and that what morphs is the cultural manifestation of those shared values, not the values themselves.
Finally, it is an unfortunate fact of life that partnerships in the software business world are complicated. Today's partner may be tomorrow's competitor, and vice versa. Figuring out the implications of that one is an exercise left to the reader.
New Efforts
Yet another threat to a strong culture is the startup of a new effort, such as a new product line or a facility in an overseas country. Here the "starter dough" principle is crucial. I have personally witnessed a new organization built from the ground up halfway around the world that faithfully reproduced the "mother culture," simply because it started with one person who thoroughly understood the original recipe. He hired and trained every single addition. Nine years later, through slow but steady growth, this organization was one of the strongest in the company, both culturally and in terms of productivity, even though they were geographically farthest of all from the home office.
Be especially wary of efforts to start new groups whose express purpose is to launch a radical cultural change; these are almost always doomed to failure. Here's why: If the change is that important to make, hitch up your pants and do the hard work to make it across the entire organization. If you don't, the new organization will always be on the outside, resented by the rest of the company. If they are successful, they will be resented even more. As they grow in power and influence, civil war will loom, and the only solution may be to spin them off. In so doing, all the benefit to the original organization will be lost. On the other hand, if the experiment fails, it will likely be because the splinter group felt orphaned.
When You're Looking for a JobÂ
The last item on my agenda is advice about what to do when you are looking for a job. I believe, strongly, that the biggest single factor contributing to your happiness and success in any company is how comfortable you feel with its culture and values. Almost every other variable in the equation can and will change over time: your role, your responsibilities, your direct supervisor, your organization, and your compensation. Problems in any of these areas can be addressed and fixed over time. But if there is a fundamental incompatibility between the existing culture and your idea of what constitutes a good culture and healthy values, you will be working against something that will nag at you every day in good times and totally sink you in bad times. Remember that cultures and values change very, very, slowly. The odds are better that you will gradually adapt to the culture than that the culture will change in a direction to your liking. So unless you really enjoy swimming against the tide, look for compatibility.
How do you discover a company's true culture and values? The best way is to talk with current employees and recent ex-employees.16 Ask them to speak candidly about what they like and don't like. And during your formal interviewing process with the company, do two things. First, calibrate how important culture and values are by seeing whether your interviewers ask questions to determine the fit between you and their organization. If they never ask you one question in this area, beware. It means that either they are sloppy in their recruiting, or the corporate culture is extremely weak.
Second, when it is your turn to ask questions, spend as much time as you can getting them to talk about culture and values. Don't be afraid to put them on the spot; for example, ask them flat-out what is the single most important value in the company, or what is the defining attribute of the most successful employee in the company. If they have the right culture and values, they will understand why you are asking, and will interpret your efforts as "serious buying" questions. If you get a consistent, coherent story from almost all the people you talk to, there is reason to believe that the culture is strong: The "code" is visible to all and understood in the same way by most. Once you have established that there is a strong culture, seeing whether your own values align with it should be somewhat easier.
If you are hired, it's a good idea to begin the process of gaining an in-depth understanding of your new company's culture and values immediately. Ask lots of questions. The more quickly you can assimilate the default behaviors that represent the cultural norms of your new company, the fewer blunders you will make, and the more productive you will be. This advice also applies if you are in a company that merges with another, or is acquired.
The Bottom Line
I believe in a culture that strongly transmits the values of integrity, customer focus, and results. Software can best be produced and supported by talented, creative, competent individuals who collectively function as true teams in such a context. Strong cultures are maintained over time both through leadership by example and careful attention to transmitting values in the face of growth, mergers and acquisitions, requirements imposed by large customers and partners, and new startup efforts. Just as education is what remains after all else has been forgotten, culture and values are what govern when no one else is looking. Better get them right.
1 For example, see Amy C. Edmondson and Sandra E. Cha, "When Company Values Backfire." Harvard Business Review, November 2002, or Patrick Lencione, "Make Your Values Mean Something." Harvard Business Review, July 2002.
2 Yet, ironically, the members of this culture had "non-negotiable" demands. We lived in interesting times.
3 It is sometimes said that it is impossible to be all things to all people, but some values are bland enough to fit that bill. The American colloquialism for such values is "apple pie and motherhood"--things everyone is in favor of.
4 In the olden days of programming, we could specify things we wanted to keep in fast memory so we could access them rapidly, on the principle that we would be using them often. Such locations were called registers.
5 This content is no longer available.
6 And even if there were just one, there would be conflicting priorities in that person's organization as well.
7 Needless to say, this means you have to know who your customers are and what problems they face. I can't conceive of running a business, let alone a software business, absent this knowledge.
8 Attributed to Gene Krantz of NASA, during the Apollo 13 rescue mission.
9 The tale starts out with a missing nail leading to a missing horseshoe, then a missing horse, and so on--all the way up to losing the battle "for the want of a nail."
10 This content is no longer available.
11 A tradition is a cultural artifact that becomes ingrained, so that people observe the tradition without even remembering the underlying value that created it.
12 One of my least favorite expressions in the business world.
13 This needs some explanation. Sir Thomas Gresham, advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, noted that when a new currency is introduced to replace an older, debased one, people tend to hoard the new currency while trying to spend as much as possible of the old. This is the origin of the expression, "Bad money drives out good." In a business context, though, we can borrow this old saw to describe what happens when a small company with a strong culture undergoes the transition to becoming a large company with a weak culture. The newer, weaker, more diffuse and less desirable culture is shared by many more people, so that, over time, the older, stronger, more valuable culture is marginalized to a smaller and smaller number of adherents, eventually dying out. The "tyranny of numbers," unfortunately, wins out.
14 Wall Street confirms this almost every time a software merger is announced. The typical response is a decline in the share price of both companies prior to the accomplishment of the merger. Only after the merger has proven its value does the share price of the combined company recover. While this phenomenon is also observed in other mergers (even non-technical ones), it seems to be more severe in the case of software companies.
15 Curious coincidence. Or is it?
16 You may have to discount for certain opinions, based on the circumstances. Some current employees may be overly zealous; some recent ex-employees may be bitter without legitimate cause. But the raw data is always useful.


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SOUTH DAYTONA, Fla. - South Daytona police say a man who tried to set an apartment building on fire while accidentally setting himself on fire is now in the hospital.
Police were called to the Spanish Villa Apartments at 1685 South Ridgewood Ave. around 9:42 a.m. Saturday for a disturbance that turned into an arson.
Police said a resident with a small child sleeping in the apartment advised a man, identified as Arthur Avery, was banging on the door.
Avery was allegedly yelling for someone by the name Dred. The victim said there was no one by that name or did not know who Dred was, but Avery outside yelling accused them of lying, police said.
Police said Avery had a gas can with him and began to pour the gasoline in the breezeway between the apartments.
Avery also poured gasoline on a mattress that was under the stairs, police said.
Police said Avery lit the gasoline on fire in front of the apartment and the stairs.
Residents on the second floor had to be rescued by fire officials and everyone on the ground floors was able to escape out their back doors, police said.
While setting the blaze Avery set himself on fire and fled the area in a vehicle with two other men, police said.
Police said Avery was trying to put out the flames on himself as his clothing burned. During that process he dropped a set of car keys and his wallet with an ID inside.
Witnesses told police that they could see Avery's skin coming off his arms and identified a passenger that got out of the car to help put the flames out on his friend.
Copyright 2014 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

subset: commoncrawl


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An expectant Kourtney Kardashian and her beau Scott Disick were seen dining with their 2-year-old son Mason at a deli in Woodland Hills, Calif. on Wednesday (January 4). While toting her tot, Kourt looked chic in her plaid blazer and skinny jeans, coupled with flats and a ponytail.
The reality TV couple recently rang the new year in together at the Chateau Nightclub at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Kourtney looked simply radiant in her black Diane Von Furstenburg gown showing off her gorgeous pregnancy curves.
Sounds like the cravings are alive and well for the gorgeous expectant mama. "What should I make for lunch? I'm SO hungry! :)," Kourt recently tweeted.
And did you hear the latest about Kourtney and her sisters Khloé and Kim Kardashian?
According to Us Weekly, the reality stars will be immortalized as Barbie's pals in an upcoming limited-edition doll line. "The dolls will reflect the girls' measurements and may even comes in Kardashian-designed outfits," a source tells the mag.


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What's Hot Today
The crossover between Cristina's personal and professional life took a sudden twist in Thursday's new episode of Grey's Anatomy. As if life at the hospital wasn't awkward enough after Teddy (Kim Raver) confessed her undying love for Owen (Kevin McKidd), now Cristina (Sandra Oh) has decided to offer Owen to Teddy. TVGuide.com spoke to McKidd about the offer, how this will affect Cristina and Owen's relationship and what's next for the triangle. To Read More Click Here .
here is my review of Blink. Did you see it? HERE IT IS!: CLICK HERE FOR BLINK
Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice spoilers don't always intertwine, but tonight, when the characters from both are on screen (and hooking up) with each other, they do! Below are a couple of excerpts from EW's spoiler Q&A this morning. We suggest if you are looking to keep the events of this evening a surprise, particularly involving the romantic dalliances of Dr. McSteamy, you not read past the picture ... * Things will heat up between Sam and Addison on Private Practice. Starting this evening, when he gets jealous of Mark, and again in February. * Their guilty consciences will prove a major obstacle, however, as will the added complication involving another doctor waiting in the wings! * Mark and Lexie are over. Done. The lovers will break things off this week, but their single status doesn't really become official 'til next week. * That's when word of their respective dalliances comes to light. Interestingly, someone's reportedly not as upset by this as you might think. * Katherine Heigl returns to the set in late February, so Izzie should likely be back on a regular basis in episodes airing in March or April. Source Here
Boy, does Private Practice's Addison (Kate Walsh) have man troubles. She's kissed Derek (Patrick Dempsey), Mark (Eric Dane), Sam (Taye Diggs), but can't seem to hold down a boyfriend. And her love woes will continue during the Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice crossover, Walsh says. Facing a family crisis, Addison will turn to Mark. But that will make Sam reconsider his decision to turn down her booty call. Yes, all of these characters are supposed to be doctors. Walsh spoke with TVGuide.com about what else we can look forward to in the crossover, who she thinks Addison should end up with, and what's ahead in the second half of the season. To Read More Click here .
Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice return tomorrow night on ABC, and from the sneak previews and extended promo we've seen, there's little doubt Mark and Addison, well ... Let's just say that it looks like old habits die hard for these two in the Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice crossover event. You're either going to love it or be kind of creeped out. While much of the focus on the Mark-Addison relations has centered on what that means for Mark and Lexie, has anyone thought to consider how it might impact Sam Bennett? According to TV Guide, Sam's "jealousy will turn to regret, as he kicks himself for turning down Addison's previous overture." Wow. Maybe they're not ready to be just friends! To Read More Click here .
During last night's Brothers & Sisters episode, ABC ramped up its promo for the Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice crossover event this Thursday with a 45-second advertisement. While we've seen a lot of these snippets from the much anticipated 2010 debuts of both Shonda Rhimes series already, they've never been packaged quite this dramatically. Or in the case of Mark and Alex, nakedly. The promo for "Blink" and "Another Second Chance" leaves little doubt that more than one relationship may be in peril along with the life of Mark's pregnant daughter. If you missed it, we posted a huge photo gallery for both episodes as well as five sneak previews this weekend. Source & Previews
Grey's Anatomy has been on hiatus since airing an all-encompassing festive episode in November. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's were all rolled into one "Holidaze." Next week, the show finally returns with "Blink," which kick-starts another crossover event with Private Practice. At the center of the action is Sloane. As in Mark's daughter. Her condition brings Addison back to Seattle Grace, and the sparks between McSteamy and his former flame will fly again. What will that mean for Mark and Lexie's future? We'll have to wait and see. Elsewhere, something is definitely going on with Meredith and the Chief, as she reveals to Derek in this sneak preview clip from next Thursday ... Source & Previews
Check out photos of the Crossover Episodes of GREY'S ANATOMY and PRIVATE PRACTICE airing Thursday January starting at 9:00 p.m., ET. Episode Synopsis GREY'S ANATOMY - "Blink"- Mark flies Addison to Seattle to help with a difficult procedure on his pregnant daughter, Sloan, Owen questions Teddy's motives when she assigns Cristina the lead on a complicated surgery, and Derek's suspicions are raised when the Chief recruits Meredith to assist with a high profile operation on, "Grey's Anatomy," THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 (9:00-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. PRIVATE PRACTICE - "Another Second Chance" - Desperate to help his pregnant daughter, Mark follows Addison back to Oceanside Wellness, Dell and Naomi struggle to raise their children under the same roof, and Violet and Cooper heatedly disagree on how to treat a patient on, "Private Practice," THURSDAY, JANUARY 14 (10:01-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Source & More Photos


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Hi all,
I have just discovered scripthook and have started making a few simple mods, I just have a few questions on some things I can't find.
1) How can I get the force vector of a bullet that has been fired?
2) Is there a way I can change the bullet, so for instance instead of firing a bullet it fires the spliff from the scripthook examples?
3) How can I move a peds body, so for instance if I aimed at a peds right arm could I get that ped to raise that arm?
4)And lastly and probably easiest how can I move an object, so if I have a vehicle how can i move it say 10 metres down the road, I see it has x,y,z but these are read only and I can't change them. Or can I just create a new Vector3 and set the position to this?
A few beginner questions
Started by nerozero, Apr 12 2012 05:45 AM
6 replies to this topic
Posted 12 April 2012 - 05:16 PM
I will make a tut for the second file, as that has been patched and its harder to explain in text.
Posted 13 April 2012 - 02:39 AM
I don't know about the first 3 questions, but I think you're right on #4. Just set the position to a new Vector3.
Posted 13 April 2012 - 08:05 AM
What I want to do is make a mod that lets you shoot like bullets that will stick peds to things. So you could hook a ped to a car or hook to a building. So i was thinking set the force of the player to the force of the bullet and then stick the hit bodypart. It doesn't sound too hard to do but dont know if I can reference a individual bullet to get its force etc
Posted 13 April 2012 - 08:07 AM
And also how to check collision so I would know when the flying ped hit something and what it hit
1 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 1 guests, 0 anonymous users


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We've featured the work of Shih-Mao here on the site some years back, and just a short while ago we stumbled onto some of his more recent work. It seems the Taiwanese artist has been keeping himself busy creating simple yet striking illustrations, which are often quite sexual, suggestive and at times even morbid in its content.
Take a look at more of his work after the jump.
pic and info: Shih-Mao


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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
/Class I
/1-1/4 Inch Hitch
/2000 lbs GTW
/200 lbs TW
Item # 24787
To see if this custom-fit item will work for you please tell us what vehicle you'll use it with.
This item qualifies for Free Shipping
This fully welded, corrosion-resistant vehicle trailer hitch receiver is perfect for your light-duty towing needs. Draw-Tite's Tested Tough guarantee ensures that this hitch exceeds industry standards. Drawbar sold separately.
Draw-Tite's Tested Tough program provides testing standards far superior to those outlined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the go-to source for engineering professionals.
Each Draw-Tite trailer hitch receiver undergoes extensive fatigue testing and static testing with the ball mount that is either supplied or recommended for use with that particular hitch, thus ensuring results that are applicable to real life use. Fatigue testing is also conducted on hitches rated for use with weight-distribution systems.
In addition, Draw-Tite performs static testing on a simulated automobile, as opposed to the rigid fixture used for SAE testing, resulting in a more true-to-life scenario.
At etrailer.com we're committed to the products we sell, and to our customers. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff are available via both phone and email to address your questions and concerns for the lifetime of your hitch. The technicians at etrailer perform hitch installations on a daily basis, making them a valuable resource for do-it-yourselfers. The one-on-one, personal service you'll receive comes straight from an expert in the towing and automotive field. We've installed it, we've wired it and we've towed with it, so whatever your question, we can answer it.
2003 - 2007 Honda Accord Coupe
2003 - 2007 Honda Accord Sedan
Video of Draw-Tite Sportframe Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class I - 1-1/4"
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today we are going to be installing hitch part number 24787 from Draw-Tite on a 2006 Honda Accord. This installation will also apply to Hidden Hitch part number 60953. We are underneath the vehicle. The first thing we want to do to gain access to the frame rail is to go ahead and lower the exhaust down from the passengers side frame rail. There are actually two hangers that we are going to need to remove to lower the exhaust down. The one here on the outboard side, about midway up the muffler here, that is going to need to be pried off. And I definitely recommend to spray it down with some form of spray lubricant, like a WD-40. It makes the removal a lot easier. And the second exhaust hanger that we are going to need to lower is a little bit forward here of the muffler, right dead center of the car.
Before I remove the second exhaust hanger, I am going to go ahead and use a basic tow strap to support the exhaust tube, so that when I remove the second hanger the exhaust does not fall down and damage the exhaust system. OK, with the exhaust lowered, I am going to go ahead and point out the mounting locations for the trailer hitch. The center mounting location will be to the tow loop here that is mounted on the bottom of the trunk well. And you can see on the drivers side frame rail we have got two existing holes we are going to be using the rearmost hole as our attaching point on the frame rail. And we are going to have the same thing here on the passengers side.
In order to get the hardware into the frame, we are going to be using the fish wire that is provided in the installation kit. We are going to take the 7/16 block, which you can see has a few notches cut out in it, and the 7/16 carriage bolt, as well. These are going to up into this hole, and then we are going to pull it back down into place. To do that, we just want to go ahead and feed the fish wire into the block and then wrap the threads of the carriage bolt with the fish wire and feed it up into the hole, followed by the block. And we want to put the notches in first that is going to allow it to go into the frame a little bit easier. And then we just pull it back down into position. And we are going to do that on the passengers side location, as well. And with those two fasteners in place, we can go ahead and put our hitch up into position. I am actually going to attach it to the center tow hook first. We are going to put the 1/2-inch carriage bolt in through.
We are going to take the flat block and place it on the other side. We will come over to the bottom of the frame and go ahead and lift the arm up into position. And again, we are just going to attach this tie with the 7/16 conical-tooth washer and the 7/16 nut. Now that we have got all of the hardware into position, we can go ahead and torque all of our bolts down. We are going to start by torquing the ones at the bottom of the frame on each side first, and then we will come back and torque the one for the center tow hook attaching point last. You want to check with your directions to verify the appropriate torque rating for each individual bolt. And with all of our bolts torqued down, we want to make sure we put our exhaust back up on its hangers, and our installation will be complete. This will conclude the installation of hitch part number 24787 from Draw-Tite on a 2006 Honda Accord.
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (130 Customer Reviews)This fully welded, corrosion-resistant vehicle trailer hitch receiver is perfect for your light-duty towing needs. Draw-Tite's Tested Tough guarantee ensures that this hitch exceeds industry standards. Drawbar sold separately.
by: Phil G.07/20/2017
I've just installed the hitch, and while it wasn't a walk-in-the-park to put on my '04 Honda it really wasn't all that bad. I'd agree it is a "5" out of 10 in difficult, but this is no reflection on the hitch: it's on Honda's design of the car. We've been wanting to get kayak trailer. Between the installation video, people's comments here on how their installation went, the etrailer site actually putting a green "check" confirming this hitch goes with my car... these all helped sway me to actually give it a try doing my own installation. Helpful tips for me in installation - 1) Watch the installation video a few times *before* even starting. This helped a *lot* to have things straight in your mind on what to do. 2) Use WD-40 on the rubber muffler mounts for easier removal. 3) Use adj. pliers on the rubber mounts when removing them. Try and get one jaw on the tip of the muffler pin and the other on the opp. side of the rubber mount for leverage. 4) If bolts are rusted a bit on your heat shields above the mufflers, *before* trying to loosen them actually tighten them just a *tiny* bit or enough to see them move. THEN try and loosen. This may save you twisting the heads of the bolts off. 5) Someone else wrote that they could not get the washers *and* the nuts to fit on the bolts holding the hitch to the frame, and that they first just used the nuts and tightened everything down on both sides, then loosen one side and *then* put the washer and nut back. This worked well for me. Thanks for mentioning it! 6) Don't forget to use a torque wrench to tighten the bolts correctly. I did not use car ramps, but if you have them I suspect it would have greatly helped. My point is it *is* possible to install without them, just not as easy. It looks great under my car and barely noticeable. Two thumbs-up here! 408242
by: B Keith11/22/2013
I'm handy with tools but not with cars; this took about 1.5 hours to install, no problem. Watch the installation video on YouTube, it's much more helpful than the printed instructions. Unhooking the rear exhaust hanger was the toughest part. Like the video says, soak it in WD-40 first. Then I used the small pry bar shown in the picture. I positioned it so that the tip is between the two pegs at the back and braced against the bottom side of the trunk and I was able to slowly pry it off. To put it back on, I sat on the ground facing the muffler and pushed it back in place on with the long screw driver shown. The printed instructions suggest leaving the fish wire on the bolt so that the arm of the frame doesn't push it back into the frame. While this would be bad, keeping the wire on makes you have to remove the wire while holding the hitch frame in place, which is difficult. Take the wire off and just be careful is my advice. I tried attaching the frame to the back tie-down loop first, as the video suggested, but found that I couldn't get the other two holes lined up. It would be helpful to have someone hold the frame up while you're trying to attach it. If not, four bricks will hold it high enough to be attached (see picture.) 108183
by: Doug H.02/20/2015
Ordered the Invisible Hitch for the 2005 Honda accord. The video made it look simple enough. I was impressed with the "No drilling required" option and was a deciding factor for this old man. It did take me a couple of hours to completely install but not a fault of the product. i had dual mufflers making it a little more work but in all honesty the two rain showers and an 'emergency' run to the store for great grandson's diapers was the worst of it. I did jack it up on jack stands and sprayed the rubber muffler hangers before the first storm so they soaked during the 2 hour ordeal. After things finally dried out i lowered the mufflers and removed the heat shields (ahem - for drilling) on both sides. This was the most time consuming part. Then drilled the obligatory holes 4 1/2" from mounting hole. Really no big deal as it is thin aluminum. I couldn't get the nuts to catch a thread with the washers as the heat shield's ribbing was too thick. No brainer! Snugged them up w/o washer to 'squish' the heat shield's into submission then snug the center hanger then remove one nut at a time and insert washer & torque to spec. Repeat. Torque center hanger to spec. Push the rubber muffler hangers back into place and remove from jack stands. The wiring harness was hampered by a rain shower (again) and the colors didn't math up. Luckily, the connectors were I-D-ten-T proof so after the shower plugged them in and checked connections replacing the inner lining and making sure the rubber seal was in place. I am a happy camper. Easy enough for a do-it-yourselfer for sure. p.s. those lead wires were indispensable! 175489
by: Jerome05/01/2016
Where they say drill a hold 4 1/2" from the front hole, I found that it had to be about 4 1/8", or the hitch frame support bolts won't line up with the would line up hitch frame support holes. The centers of the two holes on the car frame are 4 1/8" apart. Measure them and you'll see. Also, they don't tell you the what diameter to drill. I used 1/2", but then found that I had to wallow out the hole in the shield to the same diameter as the hole in the car frame, which is about 1". This allowed me to have some wiggle room to allow the support bolts to line up with the holes in the hitch frame. Would be nice if the support bolts were 1/4" longer so that it would be MUCH easier to feed them through the hitch frame, leaving enough length sticking out to start the nuts threading onto them. Also, DON'T remove the lead wires from the bolts until you have successfully gotten the support bolts to line up with the hitch frame, and they are extending out long enough to thread the nuts onto them. Otherwise, the installation process will end up pushing the bolts inside the car frame, and you'll never get them out. You'll be up the creek at that time. Also, I found a VERY easy way to remove the muffler hangers from the muffler hanger rods. Apply the lubricant as shown in the video. Wiggle the mufflers around to distribute the lubricant. Then with large channel locks, put one jaw on the muffler hanger support rod, and the other jaw behind the rubber hanger. Squeeze the channel locks and the rubber hangers slide off the metal hangar rods easily. I did all four of mine in about 3 minutes. 247894
by: Dale Wolf06/23/2014
I put this hitch on my 2004 Honda Accord because I sold my pickup but still needed a way to haul large or heavy objects. The hitch was easy to install, except for the top muffler bracket is kind of hard to slide off. I do have a car lift, so that made it a lot easier. I bought a utility trailer to pull with my car, it fits on the hitch perfectly and sits at a nice angle for towing. The hitch is barely noticeable when not in use. I am very pleased with this hitch. 137067
The hitch is great, I use it frequently and really like it.Dale W - 06/23/2015
by: Adam02/22/2013
First let me say I was very satisfied with ETrailer's service. It was easy to purchase, I watched their video, easy to install, and I received the product in just a couple of days. I'm very pleased with the service and I will be purchasing more products from them. As far as the DrawTite product - I'm very disappointed. I didn't notice a problem with the hitch until it was installed. Once installed, I could see that the square sleeve that comes off brace was not welded at a perfect 90 degree angle. Its at least 5 degrees off, which mean when I slide my hitch mounted bike rack (the reason I bought the hitch) in the sleeve, it doesn't stand straight up at a 90 degree angle, it leans to the left considerably. I am very, very, disappointed with the DrawTite product and will not be buying another DrawTite product. 67487
by: Kramer06/17/2014
Great design and fit for my 2007 Honda Accord 4 cylinder. eTrailer videos were especially helpful regarding how to lower the exhaust. As instructed, I sprayed both hangers with WD40 and the lower hanger came right off, using a pair of channelock pliers. The upper hanger was a bit more difficult, requiring a pry bar and block of wood (place the block of wood behind the hanger for the pry bar to rest on). I was a little nervous about removing the exhaust hangers, but it wasn't so bad. Other than that, it was a piece of cake. The included "bolt leaders" are an ingenious design, which helps to prevent you from losing a bolt up in the car frame. Total installation time was approximately 1 hour, including time to lower the exhaust. My 9 year old was nearby to hand me bolts, nuts, and washers when I needed them, but otherwise I was able to install the hitch by myself. eTrailer service and shipment was very efficient and I strongly recommend them. The only mild complaint is that eTrailer attached a sticker to the hitch -- I'm a bit picky about things like that, but I was able to remove the eTrailer sticker, as well as the Draw-Tite stickers for a cleaner look. 136110
by: Mike G07/24/2012
I purchased the Thule TH9025 4-bike carrier and it is very high quality. I wanted anti-sway, a way to lock the carrier so it couldn't be stolen, as well as the bike lock and this had it all plus lifetime warranty. Also includes adapter to go from default 1-1/4" to 2" square receiver. Works great on my 2012 Sienna which has a Class III (2") hitch. I also purchased the Draw-Tite 24787 hitch receiver which was installed on my 06 Accord and worked out very well (easy install) and handles the 4-bike carrier very nicely. E-trailer was great to do business with and provided very fast shipping. Will definitely be a repeat customer with e-trailer. 49224
by: Justin10/16/2011
Hitch installed very easily, 25 min tops...but not 100% happy with it. It will do what I need it to do just fine, but the reason I bought this hitch brand for a few more bucks than a drawtite is that in the pictures of it installed on the silver honda accord, the breakaway chain loops were tucked up and rather hidden. This is also the case in the install video for the hidden hitch, it has the flat, tucked up and away style loops. I know it is a nit-picky complaint, but I'm particular with my car and wanted those breakaway chain loops tucked up as much as possible. The hitch pictures (not on a car) are exactly what you get, not what is displayed on the pictures of a hitch installed on the accord. The only other complaint I have is that after one use of the breakaway loop, the finish has already worn off and bare metal is showing. Being particular about my car, I'm not excited at the fact this will likely rust and I'll likely want to take it off and get it stripped and coated in a better quality finish at some point. 25640
by: Jason07/28/2011
Installation instructions are a little light for a V6 Accord. It also references an illustration that doesn't seem to appear on the sheet. The only difference between a standard and V6 is the heat shield and an extra muffler, so it shouldn't be too hard to install. I do like that they have installation videos on the site (though none for V6 models). The instructions say "Hitch should only be used in the RISE position" with no further description, simple enough to search, but would have been nice for them to provide a picture or say that the rise position is basically where the hitch ball attachment angles upward and the ball sits on top of that... the hitch ball mount is intuitively used in the drop or angled downward position most of the time. Rise postion: _0_ __/ Drop position: __ \_0_ Shipping was super fast, however, the hitch did come with a few scratches and scrapes through the powder coat down to the metal. Hoping these small scratches don't affect long term rusting. 20414
by: Stanley R07/20/2014
Product showed up very quickly, followed the directions in the video which is much clearer then the printed ones. Only problem I had was getting the back muffler hanger off (never did but moved it enough to get the bolts in). Probably the issue was mostly having to do this with a cast on my right forearm. So if I can get it on with an arm and a half it's pretty straight forward. Looks good on the car, tucked under ok. Even the wiring was pretty simple. 142293
Still working.Stanley R - 07/20/2015
by: Benny D02/09/2012
I recently ordered the Draw-Tite trailer hitch receiver and I couldn't be happier. The description of the parts on their website were spot on and what you see in the picture is exactly what you get (which is not always the case with every retail website). I also ordered the plug-in wiring kit made for my 2005 Accord, and a draw bar. The quality of each item is very good and the installation was easy. The only frustrating part was removing the muffler from the mounts. (Follow the directions on etrailer's web video and use lots of WD-40!!). Once the muffler is out of the way the rest is a breeze. I would say an average do-it-yourselfer can have the receiver installed and wired in about 45 minutes. 20 minutes of that time is spent removing the muffler. 20 for installing the receiver, and 5 for wiring the harness. The service was great. The packaging was excellent, and the shipping was fast. As a whole, everything exceeded my expectations. 31367
by: Mark K.04/30/2015
Mostly expect to use this receiver to carry a bike rack on my 2007 Honda Accord. I had read comments by folks who'd done their own installation, which helped a great deal to inspire confidence in this purchase. This "shade tree" mechanic spent about two hours, including jacking up and down, placing stands, etc. doing the install -- by myself -- on my 4-cylinder model. Can't imagine how much more frustrating it would have been with another muffler (V6). Install kit was great, complete with clear instructions, parts and fish wire. Driver's side was good practice; passenger side was tedious, due to muffler proximity. Rubber muffler suspension/damping bushing was nearly impossible for me to budge, based on location, but I was able to get the parts in place and do the install without dropping the muffler. It's on, looks good and I'm excited about being able to transport my cycles. 189132
by: Kaochi06/16/2011
This is the first time I installed a Trailer Hitch Receiver and I was nervous about drilling holes to the heat shield (needed for V6 exhaust). It took me a few hours to complete the installation. I just followed the instructions and watched the demo video. The reference dimension on the instruction is vague and just showing ball park locations. Do use the hitch receiver to mark the holes on the heat shields before removing for drilling. When mounting the final assembly, the given screws may seem too short at first. I had to tighten the nuts without using the washers first just to compress the heat shield so the nuts could catch the screw thread with the washers in between. Then remove the nuts and re-tighten with the washers was easy. The final assembly is a perfect fit. I am very happy with this item. E-trailer ships it super fast. Extra stars if I could. 17164
by: Tim O.05/09/2014
High quality product. Great customer support and communication. Relatively easy install with the only complications coming from the vehicle design itself. Great company to do business with. 129726
Had the hitch for a year now and no problems or issues. The hitch will likely last longer than the car.Tim O - 05/09/2015
by: Rich05/12/2012
The positives: 1. eTrailer's ordering + delivery was very good. 2. Product works as expected. The downsides: 1. As mentioned in several other reviews, the exhaust muffler is REALLY hard to move. I could have fit this thing within 10 minutes if it wasn't for the exhaust, as it turned out it took hours. The instruction manual doesn't mention the exhaust and the video only mentions that it needs to be removed and my exhaust certainly didn't pop off like theirs did! It required an awful lot of pushing, pulling and lubricant to get it all sorted out. My hint is to get a long screwdriver as a leaver behind the rubber mount and use it as a lever and pushed against the exhaust the other way. Getting it back on was pretty hard too, but once it aligned it did just pop on. 40221
by: Mike S.03/12/2013
I have a 2004 4cyl Accord. Getting the rear exhaust hanger off took me somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour. At first I tried to work it off by pushing from the drivers side like other reviewers mentioned, but I didn't get very far with that. I ended up pulling some of the passenger side bumper off so I could work a pry bar in from that side and that worked. Installing the hitch took maybe 10 minutes after that. And the exhaust hanger went back on without tools since it was all lubed up at that point. So far I have only used the hitch to pull a log splitter but it works great. 70176
The hitch was great while I had it. I used it to haul a number of things and never had any problems. I sold the car a couple months ago and they were happy to get the hitch on there.-- comment by: Mike S - 03/17/2014
by: Rod S.05/20/2012
Hitch arrived after 2 or 3 days. I installed on 2007 Accord (4 cylinder), as advertised NO DRILLING on 4 cylinder. Only difficulty at all was loosening the exhaust system. Lower came off by hand. Upper is easier with a 2 foot pry bar. Use WD 40 as shown in the video and just patiently work it loose with the bar behind the rubber connector and working against the frame. At first you might think it comes off the pin on the muffler but it actually comes off the pins on the frame. The video is a little unclear about that step. I told my buddy about my new hitch and he said he's used etrailer in the past with good results too. Now I still have to do the electrical but hoping that's just as easy. I would purchase from them again. 41048
by: Brenda10/29/2012
Speedy delivery and product looks good so far. Haven't had a chance to put it on my car, will let you know if I find it otherwise. Would recommend your company. 58344
I am still enjoying the hitch and love that it isnt complicated to use!Brenda - 05/16/2014
by: Dave Leddon08/31/2011
I purchased this hitch largely based on the outstanding information provided on the etrailer web site which insured that the product would not only match my 2005 Honda Accord but also would match the Thule bicycle rack that I wanted to use with it. My friends warned me that I would regret trying to install my own hitch but with the etrailer instructional videos and the supplied printed instructions I had no problems whatsoever. Plus, by buying both the hitch and rack together I got free shipping. And then there was the incredibly fast processing and shipment of my order. Four business days from the moment I submitted the order in Missouri until it showed up on my doorstep in California. Great work guys. 23231
by: Paul07/10/2013
Good product. I have a 2007 Honda Accord. The instructions say to drop the exhaust. I can understand why they want you to do that. but honestly i didn't need to. it was a bit of a pain to reach up around the exhaust to get at the bolt but with some careful maneuvering, I was able to get the nut on the bolt, and get the hitch installed WITHOUT drilling/removing/ or modifying anything. I'll have to let you all know how it works out for carrying a bike rack :) My ONLY concern was NOT with the hitch, but with the "tiedown" loop thats welded to the car that you bolt the hitch to, seems flimsy. but thats not an issue with the product. 88768
by: Mark in MH10/10/2017
etrailer service was fine. The hitch I bought was terrible. I'm a car guy, and do most of my own maintenance as well as having 3 older hobby cars. I tried putting this hitch on for the better part of an afternoon and gave up. In frustration I chucked it across my driveway. The hole thing is distorted and the receiver was welded at an angle so the rack would have been tilted at 5-10 degrees. What garbage. I'll never purchase another Draw-Tite product. It has been hanging on a bike hook in my garage to remind myself never to buy another. Bought another hitch for the same application and am happy with it. 441291
by: Scott K.06/17/2014
The product was delivered quickly, but one of the ends had pushed through the packaging. No damage was done but it made it a little more difficult to carry through the house. Installation was relatively easy, although we had to lower the exhaust on the 4-cylinder model to access the side rail. Also, there are 2 sizes of screws: smaller ones for the side rails and a larger one for the loop in the middle of the bumper. I initially tried to thread the wire-guide on the screw that was too large, so watch out for that. I haven't used it yet, but happy with the delivery and installation. 135919
by: Paul Davis10/18/2012
The entire experience with etrailer was fantastic! The installation videos were great. This company knows how to communicate. From ordering to shipping to delivery, they communicated with me via email at every step. They sent the correct products, they were good quality and packaged well. I installed the hitch and trailer wiring harness in about 90 minutes. The only difficult part was, as others have said, removing the Honda exhaust hanger. (Try pushing it off from the driver's side instead of pulling it - that worked for me.) If you are on the fence about where to buy - get it here. 57518
by: Dave06/14/2011
I think the mounting method described in the instructions for this hitch are incorrect for V6 engined models. The instructions call for the the heat shield to be bolted between the hitch and the frame rail. The heat shield is a thin piece of corrugated material and can interfere with getting a clean/tight install. It also will rub against the hitch (defeating the point of a heat shield). A better install method is to put larger holes in the heat shield so it can be bolted up after the hitch is mounted directly to the frame rails. Other than that the hitch works great. 16962
by: Adam S.06/14/2011
Hitch was simple to install. On an 06 Honda Accord 4Dr the heat shields you are instructed to unbolt are actually welded to the muffler. just pull off the muffler hanger donut and there is enough room to fish the frame bolts in. It's a little tight at this point getting the muffler side bolt started but seems better than drilling holes! I've used these types of hitches on Honda's for years without issue. This one is even better, prior years (2000 accord) require drilling holes in pan for spare tire. 16938
by: Lawrence11/02/2011
The video is all you really need to install this baby. The only problem I had was removing the rubber exhaust holder on the passenger side of the car (2007 Honda Accord). That itself took about an hour (and several bruises on my arms, lol). Once I got the exhaust out of the way, it took me less than 15 minutes to bolt on and torque everything down. I used some Loc-Tite on the threads cause I don't anticipate removing the hitch anytime soon. I couldn't believe how simple this was. Thanks eTrailer! 26457
by: Robert01/23/2014
The hitch fit was great and looks good on my 2006 accord 4dr.The installation was pretty easy for the most part.The only glitch was the hanger on top of the muffler.It was at a hard location to get to.So what I did was pull down on the muffler and put a wood block between the body and the muffler.That gave me enough room to get to the mounting holes.Just remember to remove the wood block afterwards.Lol.But all together a very easy installation.Took me about 45 minutes from start to finish. 114548
by: James B.10/17/2016
Pretty quick and easy to install. I used a pair of ramps to lift the back of my car high enough so I could roll under easily. Did the installation by myself. Hardest part of the whole process is the exhaust hanger that is up under the exhaust - I used a Wonder Bar to pry it off easily enough, but getting it back on took a lot of work and WD-40. A torque wrench with a universal joint is required to tighten the nut under the muffler due to the angle, like in the video. 308057
by: Bart V.05/14/2013
I ordered the trailer hitch for our Accord V6. The online process was a snap, came within a week with free shipping. Hitch and all parts were as expected. Installation took a little longer since I had to deal with dual mufflers and dual heat shields but overall very straight forward. Check out the etrailers links to YouTube on how to install. Very helpful. Torqued everything down per spec. The trailer hitch looks great on the car. Thanks! 80202
by: Peter Frey09/27/2012
The trailer hitch I ordered for my 2004 Honda Accord arrived a few days after I ordered it. Everything was in order. I had a local auto body shop install the unit on my car. Because I have a 6 cylinder Accord, the exhaust mufflers had to be lowered and the heat shields removed and drilled before the unit could be bolted in place. This took the mechanic a little over an hour in labor. The installed hitch works exactly as expected. 55918
by: Fathead07/11/2013
Installed as shown in video for most part but I would recommend that the heat shield be flattened around the drilled hole. Had trouble getting bolt through far enough to start nut on that side since the waffling in the heat shield added another 1/4" to the thickness the bolt needed to pass through. Also would recommend the hole in the heat shield be drilled extra large to allow room for movement when aligning hitch. 89080
by: Jared S05/21/2012
Install was straight forward and simple. Order was correct, shipping was fast. Only minor issue was one washer was too small for the bolt that goes through the center loop under the spare tire well. Put on a lock washer we had laying around and solved. Trailer wiring kit was a piece of cake. Would definitely order from here again and recommend you guys to anyone that needs a trailer hitch or accessory. Excellent 41084
by: CR05/15/2010
Great experience Easy use web site. Tells exactly what is included and what isn't. (I couldn't tell what I was buying on some of the other sites.) Prompt shipping. Easy install. It might have taken me a couple more minutes than advertised to install the hitch but it was still quick and exactly as described. Great installation videos. I referred to them several times for help in installing hitch and wiring harness. 3034
by: Byron C.06/06/2013
I was impressed not so much with the product in this case (which is excellent, by itself), but with the outstanding service I received while choosing and ordering it. I had personal interaction with a helpful rep who went out of their way to ensure the item was correct, that it was shipped promptly (I had a deadline), and that I had a tutorial for installing it from their videos list. Fantastic all around. 83572
by: Ben S11/25/2011
After you painfully pry off the rubber exhaust bracket the rest of the installation is a breeze, even in the garage lying under the car. I recommend a lot of WD40 and a 1-foot piece of a broomstick that you wedge in from the rear end as lever to loosen the bracket. The video also has a much better suggestion to put the bolts in place than the paper instructions that come with the hitch. (2007 4-cylinder) 27368
by: R. Wilson10/06/2012
Excellent customer service!!! Our order was shipped the same day and arrived 3 day later. It was given Priority Mail status at no extra charge to us. My husband just finished putting it on our 2005 V6Honda. He likes the hitch. Putting it on was not an easy installation as there were 2 mufflers to deal with. We are hooking it up today and going for a bike ride so it was worth his extra effort to me! 56567
by: John B.11/16/2011
Great hitch for a decent price. Fit great, and not too difficult to install. Worst part was getting the muffler hanger loose so I could get access to mount one side of hitch. We bought an old pickup truck bed/ trailer conversion instead of buying an old pickup truck. Trailer and hitch were a lot more affordable than a truck would have been, and a lot less maintenance. 27048
by: A. Erikson07/10/2012
Ordered this trailer hitch by phone, the people at ETrailer are extremely helpful ! The follow up with this company is amazing!! I cannot say enough! I wish all companies were run like this one. Yes every thing was ordered , shipped on the same day it was ordered!! Great communication between the customer and ETrailer!! Thanks will alway's refer you to my friends. 47373
by: Bill01/14/2013
Everything was very good and I had no problem putting the hitch on myself. The only thing I would suggest to make it even easier to put on is if you could have the front mounting bolts 1/2 inch longer that way it would be easier to make use of the washers and getting the nut started. A great product and you gave great service. Thank you ....Bill Keen 62972
by: Bob08/25/2008
Problem w muffler hanger I couldn't get the muffler hanger off. Otherwise, everything fit perfect. The instructions didn't say anything about dropping the muffler; this made it very diffucult due to to the limited clearance between muffler and frame. I'm sure there is a simple way to remove the rubber muffler hanger, I just didn't figure it out. 1220
by: Karl D.03/02/2011
Usually deals like this are a huge letdown... Takes forever to ship, parts missing, product doesn't fit etc. None of that with etrailer!!! Product shipped in two(!!) days, fit my 2006 Accord coupe like a champ and best of all I installed it myself during my lunch hour at work. That's right! Less than 40 minutes to install. I couldn't be happier!! 8250
by: Bruce Magnuson08/28/2011
Let me start by saying this was perhaps the best service I've ever seen. Outside of one small washer being the wrong inside diameter, this was a flawless transaction. The website was easy to use, informative and the product installed perfectly in little time. Thanks for the help, I'll recommend your products and service to everyone I meet. 22969
by: Roger06/17/2015
This is the second hitch we have purchased from etrailer. I arrived earlier than we expected and was in excellent condition. The web site has lots of instruction and videos that go into intimate detail on installation. It would be pretty hard to run into a problem they don't address. Excellent product, excellent support and service. 204087
by: Neal S04/14/2012
Installation notes: 1. For the front exhaust hanger, note from the video that he pulls the hanger to the side and not front to back. He takes it off the two pegs. This is shown quickly and it is easy to miss. 2. There is not much space above the exhaust and in the video he uses an angle. I also used a short socket and not a deep one. 37199
by: Big Poppa Pump03/21/2012
Incredibly fast delivery. Product fits nice and accepts my receiver Thule bike rack perfect. Install went smooth but what a pain in the butt without a lift and extra set of hands. The 6cyl models require the removal of heat shields to drill one hole per side then reinstall. All in all everything went well, took about hour or so. 34704
by: Jeremy05/31/2012
Package arrived before estimated time. Excellent directions online and in package. Only took me 30 min to install. Great product. 42216
by: George B.06/15/2012
Your product is perfect for what I was needing. It fits great and was easy to install. Deliver was excellent. Thanks for not only selling me something, but also for actually delivering exactly what I needed. Great job of good products and good service. Wish Direct TV, ATT, Sears, and many others were more like you guys. 44276
by: Gordon S05/27/2016
The product arrived in a timely fashion and in good condition. The installation was straight forward and simple, though it should be noted that I did have access to a car lift. The design is good with nothing sticking out to catch your shin while at the same time easily accessible when you need a receiver. 252344
by: Marie08/09/2012
Purchased the Draw Tie Sportframe Hitch to attach to my 07 Accord. It was easy to install after watching the video. i did have dual exhaust, but the procedure was almost identical on both sides. Slightly longer bolts would have been a little easier to manipulate, but otherwise I highly recommend this product. 51060
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text:
These days, figures look better and better. They also cost more and more. Against that backdrop, this creation is baffling.
Above is a 9.6-inch soft vinyl figure of Mian from virtual bar hostess game Dream Club and Dream Club Zero. Out this October in Japan, it's priced at ¥15,750—that's a little over US$200. Crazy! This is hideous.
『ドリームクラブ』ホストガールソフビシリーズ 魅杏 [Rakuten]
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.


text:
Download Watch M72 apk free for Android smartphone
5 Aug
Watch M72
Posted by Watch Mobile 7 in Tools | Aug. 5, 2013 | 0 Comments
Apk file size: 0 bytes
Shows the true spirit of mechanical watches, centre seconds hand, minutes, hours, date window, buttons exit, about and link wm7, on a full screen display.
Watch Mobile 7 part of our Tools and have average installs from 500 to 1000. Last Update Aug. 5, 2013. Google play rating is 72.0. Current verison is None. Actual size 0 bytes.


text:
The best at the end, we can say – Icelandic sound masterminds SIGUR RÓS have finally revealed the last video clip for their ambitious Valtari Mystery Film Project which they have been running throughout the whole year. They've already announced an official winner for the competition back in October and they are also planning to screen the contributions soon in various locations. NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION keeps you updated on this and is also planning to collect all the clips for you in the near future. But for now we enjoy the probably most professional entry to the contest from criticly acclaimed director Floria Sigismondi who already directed SIGUR RÓS video clips in the past. It's called Leaning Towards Solace and it features the Hollywood stars Elle Fanning and John Hawkes plus the two songs Dauðalogn and Varúð from the band's recent album. Fantastic sounds, hauting images and a really amazing end – witness this little masterpiece right now.
[one_half last="no"]
postrock / shoegaze / ambient
from Reykjavik, Iceland
[one_half last="yes"]
Facebook | Homepage | Twitter


text:
Paakh crowned Miss Northwest 2010
1 / 4
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Melissa Paakh of Detroit Lakes was crowned Miss Northwest 2010. She is the 17 year-old daughter of Bruce and Lori Paakh. She will be a senior at Detroit Lakes High School this fall, and plans to attend college following high school to pursue a degree in oceanography.
Kalli Randall of Brainerd was crowned first runner-up, and Emma Hilgart of Brainerd was crowned second runner-up.


text:
Corporation for National and Community Service
Address: 125 South State Street Ste 8416
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
Phone: 801-524-5411
Fax: 801-524-3599
Service Categories:
Map URL: http://mapit.utah.gov/viewmap?args&mbox=423870:4511425:425870:4513425&mxv=424870&myv=4512425&mlbl=350%20South%20Main%20Street%20Suite%20504&tools=yes&mlbl2=Corporation%20For%20National%20And%20Community%20Service
Eligibility: VISTA: 18 years old or older.; FGP/SCP/RSVP - 60 years and older.
Wheelchair Accessible: Entry and Bathroom(s)
Services Provided: The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, and leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve.
|Original Source:
|MedHome Portal
|Last Updated:


text:
Last February in a post about Darda, "daveena" included a mention of neighboring Chili Garden and some of the interesting items on its menu. http://www.chowhound.com/topics/488279
Today seven chowhounds (and one guest) rallied for lunch to check it out. We discovered that Chili Garden has a new Chinese name (while the English has stayed the same), as shown in the photo below. The ostrich, deer and Roberto have left the house.
Chili Garden's grand opening banner
That said, the current menu still offers many Sichuan specialties. "tanspace" did a yeoman's job helping us communicate with our server. Here's the list of what we ordered, please jump in with your comments.
Cold Dishes:
C2. Spicy pork ear, $6.95
C4. Cucumber in vinegar sauce, $4.95
C6. Chicken in hot sour and fruit flavor, $5.95
C8. Couple beef (fu qi fei pian), $6.95
E19.Twice cooked fish fillet, $9.95
F1. Roast lamb leg with cumin, $13.95
F9. Beef in fiery sauce ("water-boiled beef"), $9.95
G5. Chong Qing spicy chicken, $8.95
K2. Stir singua, $7.95
L7. Ground pork noodle (dan dan mien), $6.25
LS20. Spicy pork intestines (lunch special size), $6.25
R6. Sesame bread, $5.65
R7. Green onion pan cake, $2.25
My favorite dish was the spicy pork ear, which our waitress had recommended. Pressed into a terrine-like block and then shaved into slices, like the version at Oliveto's Whole Hog dinner, the crunchy slices of pig ear bound with gelatin were so thin you could see through them. Interleaved with thin slices of cucumber and then doused with Sichuan peppercorn sauce, the fanned presentation was absolutely gorgeous. The taste and texture was even better.
Here's the "after" shot of our lunch table,
By the time the dan dan mien came out, I could barely muster for a small taste.
We had also wanted to order the steamed lamb dumplings, but these were sold out. A rather insipid soup of the day and steamed rice were included with our meal. With tax and more than 20% tip, our bill came to only $16 per person.
A white board offers additional dishes, but I forgot to ask about these.
We passed the hat and raised more than $75 for the Sichuan earthquake relief fund. Thanks for helping the people and culture that brought us this delicious cuisine.
* * * * Sichuan Chowdown Series * * * *
Chili Garden, Milpitas (July 2008)
Little Sichuan, San Mateo (July 2008)
Great Szechuan, Richmond (June 2008)
Hunan Restaurant, Fresno (Chef Liu rediscovered, May 2008)
China Village, Albany (November 2007)
South Legend, Milpitas (July 2007)
Zone 88, San Francisco (December 2006)
Little Sichuan Express, Fremont (September 2005)
FeldmanFest @ China Village, Albany (Chef Liu's last night, September 2004)
Spices! II, San Francisco (January 2004)
Lu Lai Garden
210 Barber Ct, Milpitas, CA 95035


text:
'No No' Gets a Yes Yes at Sundance
Arts + Labor presents a webisode from the premiere
By Monica Riese,
3:00PM, Tue. Jan. 21, 2014
No No: A Dockumentary has been on our radar for years.
The highly anticipated documentary about Dock Ellis, the Pittsburgh Pirate who pitched a no-hitter while on LSD, has been in production since 2010 – the 40th anniversary of that unbelievable game. As Mark Fagan put it in his 2012 writeup about the film:
"It's an (in)famous milestone in baseball lore, but even nonsports fans are familiar with the story from James Blagden's funny, trippy animated short "Dock Ellis and the LSD No-No," which has more than 2 million hits on YouTube."
But as editor Sam Douglas put it: "He's an exceptional person who happened to be a baseball player."
Our friends from Arts + Labor got an exclusive peek at the film's premiere last night at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Check out their interviews with the filmmakers here.
Sundance 2014 - No No A Dockumentary Premiere BTS from Arts+Labor on Vimeo.
Richard Whittaker, Feb. 18, 2016
Richard Whittaker, Dec. 7, 2015
April 3, 2014
April 2, 2014
Sundance Film Festival, Sundance, Arts+Labor, No No: A Dockumentary, documentary, Dock Ellis, LSD, baseball


text:
On Wednesday morning, Costco (NASDAQ:COST), the well-known membership warehouse operator, reported fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011 results. As I noted in an article early last month, co-founder and long-time CEO Jim Sinegal, who Charlie Munger has called "one of the most admirable retailers to ever live on this planet" has announced that he is stepping down at the end of January. Here are some of the highlights from the call and the press release:
Net sales for the fourth quarter were $27.59 billion, an increase of 17% from $23.59 billion in 2010; after adjusting for sales from the company's Mexico JV (which were not included in 2010 figures), the increase was 14%. Comparable sales in Q4 were up 10% in the United States, 19% in the International markets, and 12% overall (average transaction increase of 8%, and average frequency increase of 4%); excluding gasoline and foreign currency, the increase was 6% in the U.S., 10% internationally, and 7% overall. Amazingly, the company does roughly $146 million in sales per location on an annual basis, an average of $400,000 a day.
For the fiscal year, sales were $87.05 billion, an increase of 14% from $76.25 billion last year; excluding the Mexico HV discussed above, the increase in sales would have been 11%. On a full year comparison, sales increased 7% in the U.S., 16% in International markets, and 10% companywide; excluding gasoline and foreign currency effects, the increase was 5% domestically, 10% in international markets, and 6% overall.
Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 was $478 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, compared to $432 million, or $0.97 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. For the full year 2011, net income was $1.46 billion (up 12.3%), or $3.30 per diluted share (up 13%), compared to $1.30 billion, or $2.92 per diluted share, during fiscal year 2010. The consolidation of the Mexico JV had no impact on net income or earnings per share for reporting purposes.
The Company also announced that effective November 1 of this year it will increase annual membership fees, a long awaited move by Wall Street analysts since the company's last increase in May 2006. For U.S. Goldstar (individual), Business, Business add-on and Canada Business member, the increase will be $5 to an annual fee of $55. For the Executive Membership, this marks the first increase since the inception of the program in 1997; annual fees will increase from $100 to $110, and the maximum 2% reward associated with Executive Membership will increase from $500 to $750. The fee increases will impact a little over 22 million members, roughly half of which are Executive Members; a simplified calculation (which assumes the company can maintain their impressive retention level in the mid-80's, or make up for lost customers with new add-ons) shows that this should add roughly $165 million to the bottom line; importantly, membership fees are accounted for on a deferred basis, meaning the full impact will take nearly 2 years to roll through the P&L.
In the words of CFO Richard Galanti, "We feel that the enhanced value of the Costco membership over the past 5 to 10 years far exceeds the modest $5 and $10 increase in the annual membership fee levels, and it will continue to allow us to bring our members even greater value in everything we offer". In regards to the potential impact on renewals, Mr. Galanti had this to say: "Historically, we have very low fall-off from it. We don't take it lightly. We didn't take it lightly by doing it and when we do it, but we recognize that it's part of what we have done historically over 25 years, doing modest increases in the fee. But every time we've done it, we feel -- and we take a hard look ourselves, we look at ourselves in the mirror and feel that we have continued to enhance the value of that membership by a lot more than that. And we say that sincerely. Maybe we're fooling ourselves, but we don't think so."
As of the end of the year, Costco operates 592 warehouses, with 429 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, nine in Japan, eight in Taiwan, seven in Korea, and three in Australia; for the year, the company opened 20 net new locations, with 13 in the U.S., 3 in Canada and 2 each in Taiwan and Australia. For 2012, expansion plans call for 20 net new locations, split evenly between the U.S. and international. '
For the day, the stock was down 1.71%, closing just above $80 per share.
On Wednesday morning, Costco (NASDAQ:COST), the well-known membership warehouse operator, reported fourth quarter and fiscal year 2011 results. As I noted in an article early last month, co-founder and long-time CEO Jim Sinegal, who Charlie Munger has called "one of the most admirable retailers to ever live on this planet" has announced that he is stepping down at the end of January. Here are some of the highlights from the call and the press release:


text: There will be a benefit for the family of Marie "My My" Fragnito, who recently lost her life to liver cancer on Sunday, April 14, 2pm, at the Travelodge, Park Road, Batavia. Tickets available at the door or at the Enchanted Florist. (for more information call Alexis Banks at 716-480-0905)


text:
Job Reservations In A Globalized Economy: Challenges And Inadequacies
With the reforms launched and pursued by different political regimes at the center, globalization has become a reality. Its impact on various segments of the economy is felt differently by different sections of the society. This article analyzes the growth experience in India since the 1991 reforms in terms of theoretical, empirical and policy experiences and aims to map the challenges to, and the inadequacies of, job reservations in ensuring efficiency in our economic endeavors and welfare of the human capital. It also suggests a policy framework to counter these threats.
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Volume (Year): V (2006)
Issue (Month): 2 (March)
Pages: 47-61
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text:
Cryonics Company And Family Battle Over Ownership Of Woman's Head
A bizarre legal case pits the family of recently-deceased Mary Robbins against Arizona cryonics company Alcor. Robbins signed a contract with Alcor to have her head cryogenically frozen after her death. But now her daughter won't hand the head over.


text:
LOS ANGELES, June 26 (UPI) -- CC Sabathia allowed a run over eight innings Friday and the New York Yankees won their third straight -- 2-1 over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It was the first time New York had faced Los Angeles Manager Joe Torre since he left the Yankees following the 2007 season. He guided the Yankees to six American League pennants and four World Series titles in a 12-year tenure.
Sabathia (9-3) gave up a first-inning, RBI single to Manny Ramirez, worked his way out of a second-inning jam and then turned aside the Dodgers on four hits while striking out seven.
Jorge Posada singled home Alex Rodriguez in the second to tie it and Rodriguez hit his 10th homer of the season in the sixth to break the deadlock.
Mariano Rivera struck out the side in the ninth for his 17th save.
Vicente Padilla (1-2) suffered the hard-luck loss, turning in a seven-inning effort that included two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts.


text:
Truckin' Hall Of Fame: Trenz Incredible Duo
Trenz Incredible Duo
The Year Was 2002, And The Custom Truck Scene Was At An All-time High. Parts Were Flying Off Of Shelves, Shops And The Economy Were Thriving, And Truck Magazines Were Literally Busting At The Seams. Ah, The Good Ol' Days. In June Of 2002, A Pair Of Breathtaking Trucks Graced Our Cover And Sparked A Revolution In The World Of Monster-lifted Trucks. Built By Doug DeBerti, A Gearhead And Owner Of Mega-manufacturer Trenz, The '02 Excursion Was Heavily Modified, And Featured A Classy Paint Scheme, Incredible Billet Parts (an Easy Task For Trenz), And Attention To Detail That Really Took The Custom Truck World By Storm. Matching The Lifted Ford With Similar Colors, The Lowered 2000 Silverado, Owned By Steve Bowden, Is A Truck That We Can Still Appreciate Today Because It Combined The Best Aspects Of A Show Truck, With The Performance Of A Muscle Machine.
Bolting on a 5/7 DJM kit to a Chevy was nothing new, but Steve made sure to apply his own style to the Silverado by way of a Trenz 3-D billet flame grille, MagnaCharger supercharger, and tons of billet interior accessories from Trenz. Twenty and twenty-two-inch Colorado Custom billet wheels looked right at home on the fullsize, and with Nitto tires on all four corners, Steve could really push his truck to its limits.
In preparation for the 2001 SEMA show, Doug DeBerti gave the green light to a project that would turn heads with the best of them. Not one for having an average ride, Doug went big in every area. A one-off, custom-built suspension with Firestone semi-truck airbags was constructed and incorporated massive solid-billet trailing arms that were laser cut in the shape of flames. Polished, chrome, and powercoated components were everywhere underneath the truck, which easily cleared 44-inch Super Swamper tires mounted to 16.5-inch Weld Crusher wheels. A Steve Bowden-sprayed two-tone paintjob featured wispy flames, along with, no surprise here, a Trenz billet grille, and Doug even went as far as laser cutting Ford oval taillights into the rear barn doors. Inside the massive family hauler, billet accessories from Trenz were found throughout, and taking things to the next level, two 20-inch monitors on swivel arms play DVDs and games from a PlayStation 2. We told you it was a trendsetter.
Still fresh in our memories after nearly a decade, these two trucks were at the top of their game and really showed the full spectrum of customization from lowered performance trucks to monster-lifted beasts.