text:
DENVER — Bruce Bochy prides himself on knowing his pitchers, but the knowledge goes both ways.
When Tim Lincecum ran into trouble with two outs in the sixth inning Wednesday, Bochy jogged toward the mound. Lincecum knew the jog, in lieu of Bochy's usual deliberate walk to pull a pitcher, meant he had one more chance. He made the most of it. Lincecum struck out Colorado Rockies outfielder Dexter Fowler on three pitches to cement another solid night and keep the Giants well on their way to an 8-3 victory at Coors Field.
"I knew there was going to be something going on in the next couple of batters, and I knew I had to get out of (the inning) or I'm out of the game," Lincecum said. "I dug deep."
It's a trait that Lincecum has shown throughout a second half in which he has a 6-4 record and 3.33 ERA, the lowest on the starting staff. Lincecum was 1-6 with a 9.00 ERA in his first 10 road starts, including an early shelling at Coors Field that foreshadowed a rough stretch to come. But Wednesday's victory gave him five straight road victories, something he had never previously accomplished in the big leagues.
"He's really elevated his game and gotten on track, which is huge for us," Bochy said. "We've had a couple of guys who have had their hiccups, and he has picked up his game and picked us up."
On a night when Angel Pagan and Pablo Sandoval were out of the starting lineup, the lineup picked up the slack early. Gregor Blanco hit a leadoff triple to get the Giants started in a five-run first inning. Marco Scutaro, Joaquin Arias and Hector Sanchez had run-scoring hits, and Brandon Crawford hit a two-out, two-run double. Crawford later hit another double for his 22nd multi-hit game of the season.
"I've gotten more comfortable with (hitting eighth) as the year has gone on," Crawford said. "It's a tough spot to hit in, but I'm getting more used to it. You learn when to expand the zone and when to be more patient with the pitcher coming up."
Given an early cushion, Lincecum at first stumbled. He walked a batter in each of his first two innings, extending his streak to 10 straight innings with a walk, the longest by a Giants starter since John D'Acquisto did it in 1976.
"It's messing with fire there, and obviously it just takes one bloop hit to have a big inning," Lincecum said. "I was just trying to be too fine. After that I just kind of opened my sight to a big strike zone and threw strikes."
Lincecum gave up a homer in the third but then cruised into the sixth, when the Rockies cut the deficit to 6-3 on Charlie Blackmon's RBI double. Lincecum was at 105 pitches when Bochy trotted out to the mound.
"I said 'You're the guy right now — focus on your pitch,' " Bochy said. "He made three great pitches."
Lincecum threw a slider for a called strike and got ahead 0-2 when Fowler, the Rockies' leadoff hitter, fouled off a curveball. He blew a 90 mph fastball past Fowler to end the at-bat and inning.
"This feels good, obviously, because from a personal standpoint you want to be getting better as the year goes on," Lincecum said. "I've completely eliminated the first half from my mindset."
Bochy has displayed a new mindset in September, making plenty of pitching changes as he tries to finish out games with his 14-man bullpen. Seven relief pitchers took the mound in the final three innings.
"I've been here a few times and I've seen some comebacks that are hard to stop," Bochy said. "You don't want to get a rally started here, because momentum gets going."
The Giants are the ones with the momentum at the moment. They're 8-0-1 in their second-half road series and have a season-high seven-game lead in the National League West with 19 games to play.
Sandoval entered Wednesday's game with a .222 average and just three extra-base hits since coming off the disabled list Aug. 13.
"This will give him a couple of days to get away," Bochy said. "He's fighting it and it's starting to mount up on him in terms of trying too hard."
Pagan has been red-hot but admitted Wednesday that he has been playing through a minor hand injury that he suffered in spring training. A callous on his left hand split and left him with a cut that Pagan described as being a persistent feeling similar to a paper cut.
The Giants expect Pagan back in the starting lineup Friday. Pagan didn't get a full day off Wednesday; he struck out in a pinch-hit appearance in the eighth inning and stayed in on defense.
After a three-game series in Los Angeles, the Giants play their home opener on April 5 against the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Giants will host the Dodgers for three series, on May 3-5, July 5-7 and Sept. 24-26. Their longest homestand is a 10-game stretch from May 3-12 against the Dodgers, Phillies and Braves.
They have two 10-game road trips, on June 24-July 4 at Los Angeles, Colorado, Cincinnati; and Sept. 12-22 at the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees.
For more on the Giants, see Alex Pavlovic's Giants Extra blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/Giants. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/AlexPavlovic.


text:
Zane Pihlstrom
Scenic and Costume Design
Since 2007 Zane has been a close collaborator with international avant-garde theater and opera director Yana Ross. Work with Ross includes scenery and costumes for a Eurydice at The Finish National Theater (Helsinki); scenery and costumes for Macbeth at the Volksbühne Am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz (Berlin); costumes for Bambiland (National Theater of Lithuania; Oskaras Korsunovas Theater) and scenery and costumes for Sleeping Beauty (Seoul Performing Arts Festival, South Korea).
Upcoming international work in 2013 includes The King Stag (dir. Dmitry Troyanovsky) The Shanghai Theater Academy; You, We, Us, All (dir. Andrew Ondrejcak) Hamburg, Antwerp; Our Class (dir. Yana Ross) with The National Theater of Lithuania.
In New York City Zane frequently collaborates with Beth Morrison Projects. BMP's focus is to develop new operas and music pieces with today's emerging and established composers. Zane has designed scenery and/or costumes for Sumeida's Song (Here Arts Center); Song of the Uproar, and Binibon (The Kitchen Theater) and Kocho (Galapagos Art Space).
Since 2008 Zane has been the resident designer for Company XIV, a Brooklyn based neo-baroque dance company. He continues to collaborate with visual director and choreographer Austin McCormick on his intensely physical productions that fuse opera, dance, burlesque, circus and fashion. These productions are inherently dark, sensual re-imagined versions of classic operas and fairy tales. Zane has designed costumes and/or scenery for multiple productions with Mr. McCormick thus creating a decadent company aesthetic that is often intentionally visually self-referencing. In 2012, Zane and Austin won the Opera America Director/Designer Competition. Their fully designed proposal for John Adams's A Flowering Tree was presented at Boston's conference and will subsequently premier in New York City in 2014.
In New York Zane designed the costumes for the premier production of Tarrell Alvin McCraneys' The Brothers Size by (dir. Tea Alagic, The Public Theater) with subsequent tours to The Studio Theater (Washington, D.C.) and The Abbey (Dublin, Ireland).
Zane has also designed for numerous universities and regional theaters including Gotham Chamber Opera, Steppenwolf Theater, Yale Rep, Active Eye, Edinburgh Fringe, New York Fringe, Bard College, Columbia University, Princeton University, Northwestern University, DePaul University, Yale University, Yale Opera and Stony Brook University
Awards: New York Innovative Theater Award (2011), Bessie Nomination (2012), Donald and Zorka Oenslager Travel Fellowship (2006), The Donald and Zorka Oenslager Award in Stage Design '05 & '06, and the 2004 Michael Merritt Scholarship Award in Stage Design. Zane's work was exhibited at the Prague Quadrennial in 2007.
Education: BFA, DePaul University. MFA, Yale School of Drama.
When Zane was fourteen years old he created his first fully designed production in the barn of his parents lonely Oregon farm. This production of The Phantom of the Opera had no audience or cast save a snow white pony he had dyed yellow, then blue, then pink and finally green. He has not removed the emerald glasses since.
Selected Projects

subset: commoncrawl


text:
All eyes on Budget reaction2:27
Domestic economics under the microscope as the US maintains record highs. Commsec report
THE Australian market has opened higher due to strong overseas leads and the falling Australian dollar.
IG market strategist Evan Lucas said the local market was off to a positive start after Wall Street and European market posted strong gains overnight and the Australian dollar continued to slide.
"Capital goods, health care and financial services could go on a tear, with the dollar falling and will raise earnings optimism for the second half if stays underwater," Mr Lucas said.
The Australian dollar remained below parity at 99.10 US cents and continued to fall.
Health care stocks all opened in positive territory. Primary Health Care jumped 10 cents to $5.13, CSL surged $1.44 to $64.64 and Cochlear gained $1.04 to $73.67.
The four major banks also opened higher. Commonwealth Bank leapt 71 cents to $72.80, after it said its third quarter profits were up 12 per cent to $1.9 billion. Westpac added 28 cents to $32.03, ANZ jumped 20 cents to $30.09 and National Australia Bank gained 15 cents to $33.25.
The mining giants had a lacklustre opening. BHP Billiton lost 30 cents to $34.37 after new chief executive Andrew Mackenzie, at a conference in Barcelona, signalled plans to slash capital spending by almost a fifth. Rio Tinto dived 80 cents to $56.75 while Fortescue fell 8.5 cents to $3.655.
US stocks surged to new all-time closing highs overnight on renewed optimism after a prominent hedge fund manager said the 2013 rally has further to go. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.57 (0.82 per cent) to a record 15,215.25, while the S&P gained 1.1 per cent, or 16.57 points, to 1650.36.
Leading European stock markets climbed while the euro edged lower against the US dollar as traders welcomed German investor sentiment data and digested corporate results. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed up 0.82 per cent at 6686.06 points.
* At 10.22am AEST today, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 15.8 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 5236.4, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 14 points, or 0.27 per cent, at 5216.5. On the ASX 24, the June share price index futures contract was up 17 points at 5215.5, with 8403 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 207.42 million securities worth $406.3 million.


text:
These waffle cone Christmas trees are a fun craft to do with your kids during the holidays!
These Waffle Cone Christmas Trees are a great alternative to the messy, crumbly, stale gingerbread houses!
It is a simple waffle cone tipped upside down, covered with green frosting and decorated with candy "ornaments"!
Waffle Cone Christmas Trees
1. Supplies Needed: Waffle Cone, Small Candy, Frosting, Green Food Coloring, Licorice, Yellow Gum Drop/Dot
2. If your waffle cones are slanted, as mine were, you will have to carefully break away the taller part of the cone so it will stand up straight
3. Die your frosting green
4. Give each child a plate with all of their needed ingredients
2. Wrap your licorice around your tree to look like a strand of lights or tinsel.
3. Decorate your tree by sticking small candies to the frosting.
4. Top your cone with a yellow Dot or Gum Drop & enjoy!


text:
Sign up for Insight Alerts highlighting editor-chosen studies with the greatest impact on clinical care.
Call for Nominations: Pediatrics is seeking an Associate Editor for Case Reports. Please see the job description and the application.
Common Variable Immunodeficiency Presenting With Persistent Parvovirus B19 Infection
Parvovirus B19 infection in healthy hosts is self-limited, but persistent infection has been described in patients with cellular immune defects. A 6-year-old boy presented with a 6-month history of weight loss and malaise and a 1-month history of fever and polyarticular arthritis. Parvovirus DNA was detected in plasma at 10 300 copies/mL. Levels of immunoglobulin (Ig)G, IgA, IgM, IgG-1, and IgG-2 were low, and antibody responses to vaccine antigens were impaired. HIV antibody and DNA polymerase chain reaction were negative, and the patient had normal immunophenotype, mitogen stimulation response, CD40 ligand and inducible costimulator expression, transmembrane activator and CAML interactor sequencing, genomic analysis, and fluorescent in situ hybridization for deletions at 22q11.2. Common variable immunodeficiency was diagnosed and replacement therapy with immune globulin intravenous was initiated. The parvovirus DNA level declined by half over 3 months and was undetectable at 15 months. Constitutional symptoms improved but arthritis persisted and eosinophilic fasciitis eventually developed. This case demonstrates that persistent parvovirus infection may be a presenting feature of humoral immune deficiency and can mimic juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The infection may respond to immune globulin intravenous therapy.
- common variable immunodeficiency
- Ig —
- immunoglobulin
- immune globulin intravenous
- juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- rheumatoid arthritis
Parvovirus B19 infection is self-limited in healthy hosts, commonly manifesting as erythema infectiosum.1 Persistent infection, described in patients with HIV infection,2 therapeutic immunosuppression,3 and primary cellular immunodeficiency,4 is not classically associated with humoral immune defects. This report describes a 6-year-old boy who presented with persistent parvovirus infection and arthritis and was found to have common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).
Patient Presentation
A 6-year-old white boy presented with a 6-month history of decreased energy and 5-pound (2.3-kg) weight loss. Other symptoms included cough, dyspnea, malaise, decreased appetite, and abdominal pain. For the preceding month he was pale, had night sweats associated with temperatures to 101°F (38.3°C), and had swelling and stiffness in large and small joints that impaired his usual activities. Nine months before presentation, he began experiencing watery, nonbloody diarrhea, which lasted until 3 months before presentation.
On physical examination he appeared chronically ill (Fig 1), with weight, height, and BMI below the 10th percentile. He had pale conjunctivae, a 2/6 systolic murmur, multiple small, mobile, nontender anterior cervical lymph nodes, and a 1-cm-diameter mobile inguinal lymph node. He had a shuffling gait and swelling; warmth; pain on motion; and decreased range of motion of his shoulders, elbows, wrists, and metacarpophalangeal, proximal interphalangeal, knee, ankle, and metatarsophalangeal joints. There were no skin lesions or rash.
Laboratory investigation showed microcytic anemia (hemoglobin 6.8 gm/dL, mean corpuscular volume 55.8 fL, reticulocyte count 1.3%), eosinophilia (22%, 1562 cells/μL), and thrombocytosis (691 000 cells/μL). Iron level was <10 μg/dL and iron saturation was 3%, but total iron-binding capacity, transferrin, and ferritin were normal. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate was 70 mm/h and C-reactive protein level was 139 mg/L. Renal, hepatic, and muscle laboratory evaluation were normal; total protein was 5.4 mg/dL and albumin was 2.7 mg/dL.
Endoscopic gastric biopsy showed moderate chronic active gastritis, but biopsies of the esophagus, duodenum, terminal ileum, cecum, colon, and rectum were normal. Computed tomography demonstrated axillary and inguinal lymphadenopathy with a soft tissue mass abutting the head of the pancreas. Laparotomy revealed mesenteric lymphadenopathy, with enlarged lymph nodes behind the head of the pancreas. Biopsies from these showed sinus histiocytosis with mild eosinophilia. Flow cytometry on lymph node samples demonstrated a predominance of lymphocytes (57% to 68% T cells, 29% to 38% B cells) without evidence of monoclonality or aberrant antigen expression.
Radiographic studies revealed osteoporosis, periarticular soft tissue swelling, and advanced bone maturation. Results of the following tests were normal or negative: rheumatoid factor; antinuclear antibody screen; C3 and C4 levels; antibodies to proteinase-3, myeloperoxidase, cyclic citrullinated peptide, dsDNA, RNP, Smith, SS-A (Ro), SS-B (La), Scl-70, thyroid peroxidase, mitochondria M2, myocardial cells, parietal cells, actin, striated muscle, and ribosomal P. The patient was seronegative for Epstein-Barr virus and cytomegalovirus but was not tested for mycoplasma. Stool culture was not done. Parvovirus B19 DNA was detected in whole blood by polymerase chain reaction at a copy number of 10 300 copies/mL (Fig 2). Both IgG and IgM antibodies to parvovirus B19 were detected (IgG 2.61 index value, IgM 2.20 index value).
Immunologic evaluation revealed hypogammaglobulinemia with normal immunophenotype and lymphocyte function (Table 1) and abnormal antibody responses to vaccination (Table 2). HIV antibody and HIV DNA polymerase chain reaction on blood were negative. CD40 ligand and inducible costimulator expression were normal. Fluorescent in situ hybridization showed no deletions at 22q11.2. Sequencing of the gene for transmembrane activator and CAML interactor, also known as TNFRSF13B, or tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 13B, showed homozygosity for a synonymous mutation, c.81G>A, which is not associated with CVID. Microarray genome analysis failed to reveal major deletions in the genes for CD19, CD20, and CD81; deletions in B cell-activating factor receptor, also known as TNFRSF13C, or tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily, member 13C, were not assessed by this method, and sequencing of CD19, CD20, CD81, and B cell-activating factor receptor was not done. No mutations were found in the X-linked lymphoproliferative syndrome gene baculoviral IAP repeat-containing protein 4, also known as XIAP, or X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis. The diagnosis of CVID was made based on the demonstrated quantitative and qualitative humoral immune deficiency in the absence of a defined cellular defect or syndrome. Interestingly, before the presenting illness he had had recurrent episodes of acute otitis media.
Two months after presenting, the patient was started on immune globulin intravenous (IGIV) replacement therapy at a dose of 400 mg/kg per month. Parvovirus DNA levels in the blood declined during the first 3 months of therapy and were consistently undetectable beginning at 15 months (Fig 2). The arthritis responded initially to corticosteroids and naproxen, and within a few months, the anemia, eosinophilia, and thrombocytosis resolved; however, arthritis persisted, and methotrexate was started at 1 mg/kg weekly. At 5 months, etanercept was added at a dosage of 0.4 mg/kg twice weekly. At 8 months, methotrexate was discontinued because of transaminase elevation.
Fifteen months after starting IGIV, he was gaining weight (Fig 1) but still had active arthritis. Adalimumab 20 mg every 2 weeks was substituted for etanercept. Eighteen months into his disease course, he developed sclerodermatous changes over both lateral ankles, with no peau d'orange, as well as recurrence of eosinophilia (1425 cells/μL). Interleukin-5 was slightly elevated at 6 pg/mL. Repeat endoscopy showed mild gastritis and duodenitis with increased tissue eosinophils. Full-thickness skin biopsy revealed marked collagen deposition within the dermis and subcutis and sparse perivascular and interstitial chronic inflammation with lymphocytes and eosinophils, consistent with eosinophilic fasciitis. Echocardiogram, pulmonary function tests, and computed tomography of the chest were normal. Weekly and then monthly intravenous pulses of corticosteroids were started; adalimumab was discontinued and abatacept was started.
Two years out from diagnosis and initiation of immune globulin replacement and disease-modifying antirheumatologic drugs, he had not experienced neuropathies, myositis, weakness, Raynaud phenomenon, or ophthalmic involvement. Serial pulmonary function tests were normal and he had no unusual, recurrent, or opportunistic infections.
Human parvovirus B19 replicates in erythroid progenitor cells.5 In immunocompetent patients, acute viremia resolves within 1 week, coincident with the appearance of specific IgM antibody. Persistent parvovirus infection has been associated with deficient antibody responses to the capsid protein.6 It is not surprising, therefore, that a patient with humoral immune deficiency, as the patient presented here, might develop persistent parvovirus infection; however, to our knowledge, only 1 other case of persistent infection in the setting of CVID has been reported. There, parvovirus infection manifested as erythema infectiosum with reticulocytopenia and was not the presenting feature of the immune deficiency.7 IGIV was started 2 weeks into the illness, resulting in prompt recovery of the reticulocyte count. Two months later, parvovirus DNA was not detectable.
We are unaware of other reports of persistent parvovirus infection leading to a diagnosis of CVID. In our case and the case cited in the preceding paragraph, the clinical and virologic response to IGIV, which contains antibodies to parvovirus,8 supports a role for humoral immune deficiency in predisposing to persistent parvovirus infection (in the present case, the endogenous antibody response was quantitatively or quantitatively inadequate to clear the virus). There are 2 reports of persistent parvovirus infection in apparently healthy hosts who were treated with IGIV; in one, arthritis and viremia resolved, whereas in the other arthritis resolved but viremia persisted.9,10
Autoimmune diseases occur in about 20% of patients with CVID.11–13 In those with arthritis, synovial biopsy may demonstrate hyperplasia, as is typical of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but with few B cells and no plasma cells.11 It is possible that some cases of RA in patients with CVID are caused by unrecognized parvovirus infection. One report described 2 young children who presented with arthritis and anemia and were later diagnosed with CVID.14 They were treated with IGIV and both recovered; in light of the present case, one might wonder whether these patients might have had persistent parvovirus infection. It is worth noting here that a dermatomyositislike syndrome has been described in patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia in association with chronic enterovirus or adenovirus infection.15
Parvovirus causes chronic arthritis in adults.16 In children, parvovirus infection can mimic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). In a series of 22 children with recent parvovirus infection and arthritis and/or arthralgia, 6 developed chronic arthritis that fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of JIA.17 Another study of 50 children with JIA found that 48% had laboratory evidence of parvovirus viremia, as compared with 0% of a control group.18 Similarly, in a study of 74 children with active RA, 30% had detectable amounts of parvovirus DNA in serum, as compared with 7% of 124 controls; 22% had parvovirus DNA in synovial fluid.19 It is not clear whether the arthritis of persistent parvovirus viremia, which is presumably attributable to the formation of circulating antigen-antibody complexes, simply mimics that of JIA and RA, or whether parvovirus infection has a more direct role in the pathogenesis of rheumatic disease. It is possible that some of the improvement seen in our patient resulted from the antiinflammatory effects of IGIV.
Our patient presented with polyarthritis and subsequently developed eosinophilic fasciitis, of which there are fewer than 35 reported pediatric cases.20 Eosinophilic fasciitis is a subtype of deep morphea with unclear etiology, and arthritis occurs in 40% of patients.21 Interestingly, patients can present with polyarthritis and subsequently develop eosinophilic fasciitis, as did our patient.22 The few reported cases of eosinophilic fasciitis in patients with CVID have been in adults,23 although a 13-year-old child presented with polyarthritis and IgA deficiency and developed eosinophilic fasciitis 4 months later.24
Persistent parvovirus infection can be a presenting feature of CVID, and immune globulin replacement can result in clearance of viremia. Chronic polyarticular arthritis or anemia in a patient with CVID should prompt an evaluation for parvovirus infection.
- Accepted June 26, 2012.
- Address correspondence to Gary S. Marshall, MD, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Medicine, 571 S. Floyd St, Suite 321, Louisville, KY 40202. E-mail: gary.marshall{at}louisville.edu
Drs Adams, Schmidt, and Marshall provided medical care to the patient; Dr Adams abstracted the clinical data and contributed to its analysis and interpretation; Drs Schmidt, Cost, and Marshall contributed to analysis and interpretation of the clinical data; Dr Marshall conceived and designed the project; and all authors participated in review and substantive revision of the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript as submitted.
Dr Adams is currently in private practice with Greensboro Pediatricians, Inc, Greensboro, North Carolina.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.
FUNDING: No external funding.
- ↵
- Brown KE,
- Young NS
- ↵
- Abkowitz JL,
- Brown KE,
- Wood RW,
- Kovach NL,
- Green SW,
- Young NS
- ↵
- Cavallo R,
- Merlino C,
- Re D,
- et al
- ↵
- Kurtzman G,
- Frickhofen N,
- Kimball J,
- Jenkins DW,
- Nienhuis AW,
- Young NS
- ↵
- Young NS,
- Brown KE
- ↵
- Kurtzman GJ,
- Cohen BJ,
- Field AM,
- Oseas R,
- Blaese RM,
- Young NS
- ↵
- ↵
- Modrof J,
- Berting A,
- Tille B,
- et al
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- Agarwal S,
- Cunningham-Rundles C
- Knight AK,
- Cunningham-Rundles C
- ↵
- Conley ME,
- Park CL,
- Douglas SD
- ↵
- ↵
- Lederman HM,
- Winkelstein JA
- ↵
- Naides SJ,
- Scharosch LL,
- Foto F,
- Howard EJ
- ↵
- Nocton JJ,
- Miller LC,
- Tucker LB,
- Schaller JG
- ↵
- Gonzalez B,
- Larrañaga C,
- León O,
- et al
- ↵
- Lehmann HW,
- Knöll A,
- Küster RM,
- Modrow S
- ↵
- ↵
- ↵
- Olson NY,
- Lindsley CB,
- Kepes JJ
- ↵
- ↵
- Ching DW,
- Petrie JP
- Copyright © 2012 by the American Academy of Pediatrics


text:
The Team starts out sick!
This was My first real mountaineering experience in the "CORDILLERA BLANCA!" I seemed to have symptoms of altitude sickness before the day of the hike. The night before our attempt, after hanging around base camp all afternoon and acclimating, things took a slight turn. My two climbing companions, and also my close friends fell sick. After a near fistfight, and the releasing of different bodily fluids by my teammates,(to put it lightly) we began the ascent from low base camp or the "refugio." It was just after 2:00 am. The approach was very steep. Through the dense darkness of the night, I wondered if my teammates noticed the feeling of openness behind us that I had. It was very well disguised by the brisk dark night and the steep walls on each side of the valley below. We had to stop every few minutes for one of our sick team members. Sadly, Jamin, who is the most avid climber between the tree of us decided to turn back before the glacier.
I noticed as we approached the moraine field that the rocks were glazed with ice. It didn't dawn on me until my second attempt, that this was a good sign! It meant that the glacier had refroze that night and conditions were good.(on the off season they get a lot of new snow here and it takes time to settle)
On the Glacier
The bottom of the glacier was a gradual wall easily scaled by some toe picking and mild ax use. Once on the glacier, it didn't take very long for the creeping candle like alpenglow to overtake us from the east! It was a sight that I hope to take in again, and again, and again!
We went over a very cool walkway separating two crevasses. This little boy from Maine was "in heaven" for lack of better words! We easily walked over a couple crevasses. I got a good photo while nervously standing on an ice bridge, and My friend Alex captured one looking back at me! We took more than a few brief stops for my friend Alex, who was now displaying more signs of altitude sickness than I thought that I had. It worked out good because I got to take photos and footage, and we got some good looks at our summit! There were no other traces of teams before us, so you could guess that we were happy to have a very seasoned guide with us. He is a local Peruvian. He was trained by the swiss, and he is very well known in the area! Magno Camones is his name.
The Summit
The last crevasse had a steep slope above it. We traversed across to arrive near the sub summit, and than we approached the main ridge! The path was narrow, and Magno punched through a weak spot in the snow. It than collapsed, and tumbled down the steep wall to the crevasse below! With the valley and the base camp down to our right and the surreal summit at our fingertips, Our team cautiously made our way up!
Finally, The summit of Vallunaraju. We were at 18963 feet, or 5780 meters. I felt like pitching a flag or something! I felt like there were no other people at that elevation in the world at that particular moment!(who knows, maybe there wasn't. After all, it was the "off" season!)....
Than, looking around at the large and silent, but mysteriously communicating gentle Giants around me, I was humbled... I had made it to the top...I made it to the summit of one of the smallest, and non technical mountains in the "Cordillera Blanca" range in the "Andes mountains" in "Ancash, Peru!)


text:
Kevin McDonald's boost as interim coach took another turn for the worse as Villa came unglued at home against Rapid Wien. It was a bright start by Villa as Ashley Young in a trademark tear down the right crossed beautifully to Agbanlahor who finished in a nice bit of hustle.
Villa's defending so shambolic against Newcastle once again proved its undoing as Habib Beye lost the ball to Veli Kavlak who then danced around him before unleashing a fine cross which Atdhe Nuhiu headed home after fronting Carlos Cuellar.
The Clarets missed a golden chance to go ahead when Stilian Petrov's spot kick in response to a foul on Emile Heskey by Marco Sonnleitner was saved by goalie Raimund Heidl but Heskey following up made a mess of the rebound booting it high over the crossbar. He made amends a short while later deflecting a Beye shot into goal to give Villa a short lived lead.
Brad Guzan's sloppy goalkeeping gifted Wien's next two goals. Sonnleitner was able to get his head on the ball and nod it past a group of Villa defenders to Guzan who was unable to hold onto it and the ball drifted into goal. Three minutes later, Wien were celebrating the winner as they caught Villa on the counterattack which left Guzan stranded as Christopher Trimmell crossed for Gartner to tap home past the sprawled Villa goalie.
Villa were sent packing by Wien two seasons in a row. The loss puts more pressure for Randy Lerner to find a replacement for Martin O'Neill sooner than later. Bob Bradley might be getting a few feelers depending on his talks with Sunil Gulati about his future with the USMNT that were set for today.


text:
This product is no longer available.
You can try these similar gifts instead.
Canvas Sisters Quote Art Print
Show your sister just how much she means to you, with this Canvas Sisters Quote Art Print. This vibrant print reads, "Sister are different flowers from the same garden," and features a floral collage behind two little girls.


text:
chroot & slackpkg update different partition
I've got my ide hard-drive set up as follows
hda1 Windows Xp ( ntfs )
hda2 fat32
hda3 linux swap
hda4 ( extended )
hda5 linux (Slackware 11)
hda6 linux (Gentoo )
hda7 linux (Slackware - Gnome )
hda8 linux (Slackware - current)
I've only got one computer at my house and when I emerge update world in gentoo it takes hours. I'm still learning so what I wanted to do is be able to do is boot into my favorite partition (hda5 because it has all the family goodies on it) and login to the graphical enviroment and use it as normal. While the family is using slackware be able to go into anther console and chroot into the other partitions and let stuff update like "emerge --update world" in Gentoo or either "slackpkg update-all" if this makes since.
Is this possible?
Thanks for the help in advance.
A new console is not independent from the boot session. chroot would change the file tree for both sessions. Whatever is different from Slackware 11 to Gentoo etc would disappear. Any compiled in file paths in the boot session that are not identical in the chroot tree would break. Dynamic library references in the boot session would not be compatible with updated versions in the new file tree.
Thanks for the information on this. I was hoping that there was someway to keep from being such a computer hog around the house without buying a new machine.
You can accomplish your objective by being your own mirror. With
|All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:35 PM.


text:
Graeme Gibson
Photo: © Dennis Minty Photo
About the Author
Graeme Gibson is the acclaimed author of Five Legs, Perpetual Motion, and Gentleman Death. He is a past president of PEN Canada and the recipient of both the Harbourfront Festival Prize and the Toronto Arts Award, and is a member of the Order of Canada. He has been a council member of World Wildlife Fund Canada, and is chairman of the Pelee Island Bird Observatory. He lives in Toronto with writer Margaret Atwood.


text:
Members of the Garland health department have teamed up to create a buzz about West Nile Virus prevention in a 5-minute online video geared toward children.
The video is intended to teach elementary school students about the virus and how to protect themselves and take a proactive approach toward eliminating the mosquitoes that transmit the virus to people.
Fight the Bite was produced by the city's public and media relations department for the health department.
Local personalities include environmental health specialist Jeff Crocker, who plays Dr. Culex Q. Fasciatus, a nutty professor who begins the video in the lab, showing kids where mosquitoes can be found. He goes on to teach how to help eliminate the mosquitoes, which in turn helps slow the spread of the Nile Virus.
The video can be found at www.garlandtx.gov/gov/hk/health/services/nile.asp.
For additional information, call 972-205-3460 or email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
GENIRE-L ArchivesArchiver > GENIRE > 1998-07 > 0899941782
From: ELD52< >
Subject: Cork/Cloyne Diocese
Date: 8 Jul 1998 23:49:42 GMT
Searching for the descendants of the the following families that once lived in
Ballyandreen, Ballylanders, Kilmahon, and Dooneenmacotter.
Doyle, Collin, Cronin, Stafford, Maguire, Morrison, Casey and Walsh.
E-Mail to
This thread:
|Cork/Cloyne Diocese by ELD52< >


text:
Just in time for spring, our newest lookbook, Must Be Magic, has our imaginations captivated with enchanting prints and watercolor hues. This vision of whimsical elements, met with an abundance of rich colors, will transform our wardrobes into a truly magical array of ethereal ensembles. With a little help from saturated blossoms and cascading pleats, our Must Be Magic lookbook has us dreaming of sunny days spent admiring botanical gardens and wandering through our favorite downtown spots. We can't wait to indulge in the delicate lace, classic silhouettes, and vivid prints that we've been picturing for this spring season.
Now is the perfect time to shed the layers and dark hues of winter in favor of swirling pastels and pretty patterns. Join us in creating a little springtime magic!


text:
Written on: 24/08/2010 by timowino (1 review written)
We recently visited Uganda with some friends. Being or first time in Uganda, we needed help to on places to visit and the attractions. We were able to get in touch with Lil Super Safaris http://www.ugandalastminute.com while searching for last minute safaris to Uganda. With speedy response to our inquiry and help we received from Martin, we were able to take the 9 days Uganda primate safaris. Just like the response, martin was prompt in ushering us into Uganda on arrival on 4th august 2010. He introduced us to our driver guide David who would be of great help for the nine days that we were to be in Uganda. David is so incredibly, kind, funny, intelligent, and above all, knowledgeable of all things Uganda. He has a vast knowledge of everything from the people & culture, vegetation, animals and food.
The first park we visited was the magnificent Murchison falls. With the water squeezing into a narrow gorge the view from the top of the falls was spectacular. Driving south though long, seemed short as David ensured that we were not bored by pointing out on each and every scene that came past us before we got to Kibale. We stayed at Primate Lodge. Chimpanzee trekking the next morning was fun as we looked at the young ones playing. Driving further south to Queen Elizabeth National Park where the main highlight was the boat cruise ride on Kazinga Channel. What an amazing way of game watching. The climax of our safari was the gorilla tracking in Bwindi. After the assembly at the park headquarters and allocation of groups, out we went in search of the big apes. When we came face to face with the mountain Gorillas, it was breath taking. Looking into the eyes of the gorilla, I felt that connection that makes us more o cousins. It is amazing to watch these big apes for the one hour we were there.
After a fun filled 9 days of adventure, it was time to get out of Uganda. This was the sad part as we had established a friendship with David. On this last day, Martin joined us for dinner and together with David they saw us off at Entebbe. I felt I let a part of me in Uganda and promised that I will be back soon. We will always thank martin and David for making our safari worth more than the value. Without them we would have chosen a different destination.


text:
Simon Critchley first encountered David Bowie in the early '70s, when the singer appeared on Britain's most-watched music show, Top of the Pops. His performance of "Starman" mesmerized Critchley: it was "so sexual, so knowing, so strange". Two days later Critchley's mum bought a copy of the single; she liked both the song and the performer's bright orange hair (she had previously been a hairdresser). The seed of a lifelong love affair was thus planted in the mind of her son, aged 12.
In this concise and engaging excursion through the songs of one of the world's greatest pop stars, Critchley, whose writings on philosophy have garnered widespread praise, melds personal narratives of how Bowie lit up his dull life in southern England's suburbs with philosophical forays into the way concepts of authenticity and identity are turned inside out in Bowie's work. The result is nearly as provocative and mind-expanding as the artist it portrays.
©2014 Simon Critchley (P)2014 Audible Inc.
"Critchley lovingly unearths profoundly deep cuts from every Bowie era in a short sharp book worthy of its subject. Miraculously doubles up as an introduction to philosophy." (Gruff Rhys, member of Super Furry Animals)
"The most powerful and provocative philosopher now writing..." (Cornel West)
"A truly inspiring voice..." (PopMatters)
"the best music culture theory book that exists"
the deepest and riveting piece of music criticism i have ever read. and i sm occasionally in the music press. to come even close we're looking at work like modris eksteins rite of spring or gesualdos death in five voices or david byrnes how does music work. but everything mentioned and critchleys book as well are singularities and have only the faintest similarities insofar as they are narrative meditations about music. this is avery special book.
Report Inappropriate Content
If you find this review inappropriate and think it should be removed from our site, let us know. This report will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.


text:
Researchers believe they have found a way to cripple the spam ecosystem and reduce the incentive for spammers to send out high volumes of unsolicited email in search of high economic returns.
In a paper delivered at the USENIX Security 2007 conference in Boston, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) said that while spammers use vastly powerful, distributed delivery networks to pump out junk email, it's quite another story for the internet scams that form the real heart of the spam mechanism.
Such scams, such as selling pharmaceutical products over a website, are typically hosted on a single website, the researchers found. What's more, a single site might host several scams and might also act as a spam relay.
"The engine that drives this arms race is not spam itself - which is simply a means to an end - but the various money-making 'scams' (legal or illegal) that extract value from internet users," said the report, which was authored by David Anderson, Chris Fleizach, Stefan Savage and Geoffrey Voelker of UCSD's Collaborative Center for Internet Epidemiology and Defenses.
Spam might seem ever-present - it makes up more than 80 percent of all email, according to some estimates - but in fact junk email is organised into particular campaigns, the study found.
A given campaign tends to begin with just a day or two of heavy spamming, but the ads point to a scam-hosting site that tends to be online for at least a week, the researchers said.
"The availability of scam infrastructure is critical to spam profitability - a single takedown of a scam server or a spammer redirect can curtail the earning potential of an entire spam campaign," the report said.
The researchers used a UCSD-developed technique called 'spamscatter' to analyse emails and follow links to their eventual destination server, including any redirection mechanisms put in place.
"The underlying principle is that each scam is, by necessity, identified in the link structure of associated spams," the report said.
The researchers were able to identify individual scams by clustering scam servers whose rendered web pages are graphically similar, using a technique they called 'image shingling'.
Using a real-time spam feed of about 150,000 emails per day the study identified more than 2,000 distinct scams hosted across more than 7,000 distinct servers.
While spam servers are widely diffused, scam servers tended to be based in the US, the study found.
Since scams and spam are of necessity linked together, the results suggested that spam might be combated by attacking its economic lifeblood.
"Individual machines are commonly used to host multiple scams, and occasionally serve as spam relays as well," the study said. "This practice provides a potentially convenient single point for network-based interdiction either via IP blacklisting or network filtering."


text:
(Tune: "Immortal, Invisible")
Words by Gary Shepard
We gather this morning to worship and praise,
The God of all glory, the Ancient of Days.
None other is worthy but Jesus alone
God's Lamb once provided, His blood has atoned.
From sin and from darkness, He brings out His own
Through preaching the gospel to them He makes known,
The riches of glory and grace by His cross:
Eternal possessions which cannot be lost.
Praise be to the Father who chose us in grace.
Praise be to the Son who has died in our place.
Praise be to the Spirit who gave us new birth.
Praise be to the One God of heaven and earth.
With all of our hearts does the Lord bid us sing
Come humbly before Him , thanksgiving to bring.
All others are idols, He lives, God alone
By grace He has saved us and made us His own.
Today's Speaker: Brother Robert Margeson will conduct the 11:00 am service today. Pray for him as he delivers God's word.
Television Broadcast: Our Reign of Grace Television program is being broadcast on WFXL Fox 31, Channel 4. The program will air every Sunday morning at 11 AM.
Radio Broadcast: Sunday morning at 10:30 am on Mix 107.7 FM
Web Sites: Visit our web sites at: Reign of Grace: www.rofgrace.com
Sermon Audio: www.Sermonaudio.com\reignofgrace
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reignofgrace
Radio: http://www.mix1077albany.com/
Birthdays: Banks Margeson – Sept. 6th – Patrick Flynn – Sept. 7th
If the Righteousness of Christ doth come upon all the Elect unto Justification, in the same manner as Adams sin came upon all men to condemnation, as the Apostle shows it doth, Rom.5; then it must follow, that the Righteousness of Christ was reckoned or imputed to the Elect, before they had a Being, and then much more before they do believe in Him; for it is evident that Adams sin came upon all men to condemnation, before they had a Being; for by that first transgression {says the Apostle, vers.12,} sin entered into the world; and more plainly, "death passed upon all men;" the Reason follows, because in him, or in his loins, all have sinned. Now as in Adam, the non-elect; that is, all that shall perish, were constituted sinners, before they had a Being, by reason of the imputation of his disobedience to them; so in Christ the elect; that is, all that shall be saved, were constituted righteous; his obedience being imputed unto them by God, before they had any Being, otherwise than in him as their Head and common Person. - Now the Apostle hath observed, That God in justifying, and imputing Righteousness, calleth things that are not, as if they were, {Rom.4:17,} as the Righteousness of Christ was actually imputed to the Patriarchs before it was wrought; and our sins were actually imputed to Christ before they were committed; so I see no inconvenience in saying, that Christ's Righteousness is by God imputed to the Elect, before they have a Being.
--- William Eyre {Justification without Conditions – 1654}
"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6-7). The Scriptural cure for anxious care and worry for a child of God is a continual and constant realization of true peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. The natural man knows nothing of THIS peace, and that is why it is too much for him to grasp. This peace is founded upon the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the righteousness He accomplished on Calvary to enable God to be both a just God and a Savior to His people (Col. 1:19-23). Christ is the One Who made and sustains this peace between God and His people, sinners saved by grace. This peace is known and realized as God the Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and drives us continually to Christ Who is our peace as we are brought unto God for all salvation, comfort, and assurance "by the blood of Christ" (Eph. 2:13-14). There are many, many things in the world that give us cause for worry, but these things can only be overcome as we fix our minds and hearts upon Christ, "The Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6).
--- Pastor Bill Parker
Christ - the Only Way
Thou who hast chosen any other Savior, any other Deliverer, any other help but Jesus Christ, where wilt thou appear when the Lord shall come to judgment? Then all thy saviors will forsake thee, and not one stand by thee. When thou hast said of thy forms, and fellowships, and thy ordinances {as thou callest them} these be thy gods that will save thee, {Ex.32:4,} these shall give thee rest and peace; and though with your tongues you do not say thus, yet this is the very end of thy cleaving to them, to be rest for thy spirit here, and to save thee from the wrath to come. What is all this, but to rob Christ of his Glory, and to set the crown upon thy own inventions? And it is true we in words say Christ is all in all, yet in practice we must bring in something of man, he must act and he must do something, else he cannot expect that Christ should do his part; how then is Christ all in all? How is he the author and finisher of faith? {Heb.12:2} These are therefore those which Christ and the Prophet speaks of, that have eyes and see not, and ears and hear not, and hearts which cannot understand. - For there is but One Deliverer, so there is but one way of deliverance; though there may be in the world thousands of inventions of men, some worshiping this way, and some that, some after one form, and some after another; yet this is certain, there is but one Deliverer, and one way of Deliverance. As the Apostle saith, there is a unity in the spirit, which is the bond of peace; for "there is one body, and one Spirit," one Lord; that is, One Deliverer, "one faith, one baptism," that is, one way of deliverance; "One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." {Eph.4:4-6} One Savior, and One way of salvation; and there is no more, and this way is Christ alone!
--- John Webster {Judgment Set, and the Books Opened, 1654}


text:
HOUSTON, May 1 (UPI) -- NASA has exercised a $168 million contract option with Lockheed Martin for facilities development and operations.
Services under the one-year option will be performed at Johnson Space Center in Texas and covers support for hardware, software, data and display systems used in training and execution of human spaceflight missions supported by the Mission Operations Directorate.
"For more than 50 years, Lockheed Martin has provided mission operations support to NASA, which includes support for every space shuttle and International Space Station mission," said Rick Hieb, vice president of exploration and mission support for Lockheed Martin's Information Systems and Global Solutions.
"Lockheed Martin is currently working with NASA to update the Mission Control Center, training facilities and software applications for the next generation of human spaceflight including commercial space services and future exploration programs," the company added. "The update will reduce operations and maintenance costs and is expected to be completed in 2014."


text:
Note: this ThoughtCast interview was broadcast on WCAI/WNAN on Nov. 12, 2006 in honor of Veterans Day.
Carol's book tells the story of the short, heroic life of Charles Russell Lowell, Jr., an elite young cavalryman who embodied the promise of his generation. An ardent abolitionist and reformer, Lowell was also a brilliant battlefield strategist, and he turned the tide at the Battle of Cedar Creek in the Shenandoah Valley, a crucial victory for the North just two weeks shy of Lincoln's re-election. Shot twice during the fighting, Lowell died at dawn the following day.
Click here: to listen (28:30 mins).
Click here to listen to a lecture by Carol Bundy on her biography of Charles Russell Lowell, Jr. at the Harvard Book Store.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS


text:
What Do You Know About Canine Skin Cancer?
Just because the weather's getting colder in many parts of the country, doesn't mean dog owners can be less concerned with skin cancer. Luckily many cases can be treated successfully when caught early enough so brush up on the facts about the various types of this disease in the quiz below.
What Do You Know About Canine Skin Cancer?
What's the most common kind of skin cancer that affects dogs?
Image Source: Getty


text:
Baby Wearing for longer periods of time
How long do you wear your baby?
My Lil Chunker is 6mos. He's around 21lbs. I wore him for over 2hrs Saturday and he put a strain on my shoulders. He was outward-facing in a Mai Tei. Did I wear him wrong for him to put a strain on me? Its more convenient to wear him and I enjoy it, but he's so heavy! What is a good way that will not hurt me. I have migraines and they come from straining muscles/nerves in my neck. Thanks!
The Ergo is the only one that I can use for long periods of time.
to be honest.....I forgot that my moby was in the car. I had my ring sling and mai tei out. He hasn't been in the moby since birth b/c he stays so hot. I bet it would be better now that's its cooler out. Definitely need to get it back out and try!!!
Quoting bellaamore:
Angelle was ten pounds at borth, was at twenty pounds by six months. I always had issues with my neck, back or shoulders wearing her in anything but a moby.
Even now, she is 13 months, and i can wear her for long walks in the moby and i never have a tired achy muscle up top.
I have worn my 31 month old ds (28lbs) for up to 4 hours with a toddler hawk. Did you pull your straps too tight maybe? Also make sure you little one is sitting correctly in the carrier if they are off center it can cause the pull to be off. I also reguarly wear my 19 month old Dd (will be 20 months on Sunday) in our moby. She is around 21 lbs. It all depends on the carrier and what position the child is in. My kids do not like foreward facing in any carrier. DS prefers being on my back and DD prefers to face me or be on my hip.
I wear my 21 pound 15mo the majority of my shift at work (paint-your-own-pottery store)... sometimes he's in it between 4-6 hours... I will be bending down on my knees, over a sink washing brushes, loading and unloading kilns... totally comfortable.
I usually back carry with my Ergo. Occasionally I RS if he's being clingy.
When my kids got to the nosey stage, I put them on my back, I've never had their back to my body though.
But my 17 month old only weighs 19 lbs, granted I also wore my 3 yr old and he was 25+lbs
Quoting rHOPEb:
I usually wear him facing me at the grocery store, but we were at a strip mall with family and he kept looking around. So, I figured I'd face him out. Oh, and I was carrying the diaper bag too :/Quoting SewingMamaLele:
I wore Lola (almost 7 mo) yesterday for about 3-4 hours in my ergo... I would have been fine with just her, but my diaper bag was really getting too heavy and I have to keep switching the shoulder it was on.
I wasn't aware you could outward face with a mai tei? I would say the outward facing is your problem... throws off your balance so you're always trying to compensate rather than baby just moving with you.
Mommy of FIVE!!!
Tara~12.16.03 Zachary~5.17.05 Rowan~1.17.09 Willow~8/10/11 Baby~ EDA 1/27/13
I am also guilty of having too many baby carriers lol, well at least according to DH!
I have an ergo, a moby and a woven.
When mine was teeny (under 6 months) I would wear her for hours at a time in the Sleepy Wrap. I hardly even noticed she was there! She's 18 months now and the most comfortable position for both of us is her in a back carry in the Ergo, but she would rather walk or be held in my arms so I can't wear her very long anymore.
I've found outward facing is always more straining to me than inward. When they face inward they conform more to your shape, if that makes any sense. Of course, at that age it's hard, because they definitely want to be looking around. I wore my almost 6m old for about 3 hours one day when we were traveling. I was a bit sore that day too.


text:
Reynolds outduels Gille, captures second Late Model win
By Eric Huenefeld
LOVES PARK, Ill. — As tradition goes, when the weather gets hot, so does "Driver X," Jon Reynolds Jr.
Reynolds, who won the Stanley Steemer NASCAR Late Model feature two weeks ago at Rockford Speedway, was again top dog Saturday night, June 22, winning a caution-free 30-lap feature and topping three-time track champion Jerry Gille in doing so.
Joel Clossey led the field to green, taking the early race lead from outside pole-sitter Mark Hartline. Very quickly, Reynolds would move to the runner-up spot, pursuing Clossey. On lap three, Reynolds made the move past Clossey, and assumed the race lead. However, behind Reynolds, Gille also continued to forge his way toward the front.
Gille jumped to Reynolds' back bumper, and for the next 20 laps, would try every possible angle in his pursuit of Reynolds. Reynolds held off Gille's advances for the lead, en route to his second triumph of the year.
Gille took the runner-up spot, while Alex Papini would finish in the third spot. Papini, the division's point leader, closed to within a car length of the top two, but settled for third spot. Jake Gille, who took the Gerber Collision and Glass Ultimate Challenge, came from the back of the field to finish in fourth place, while Mitch Garfield rounded out the top five.
The Bargain Hunter Sportsman division feature was action-packed and crowded. Seventeen of the Sportsman cars took the green flag, and at the end of the race, it was one of the least experienced of the Sportsman drivers taking the win.
In only his second Sportsman feature race ever, Kyle Lapier was the big winner of the 25-lap main event. Lapier, who climbed from fifth-place starting spot, ripped the lead away from Howie Ware on lap 12, and stormed away from the pack, en route to his first-ever Sportsman feature win.
Lapier was followed to the line by Austin Nason, who made his first start in a Sportsman car in more than a year while taking a runner-up finish.
Nason advanced 10 starting spots from his 12th starting position on the way to his second-place finish. 2012 track champion Doug Bennett finished in third spot.
73-year-old Gene Marocco showed the way for all the youngsters Saturday night, taking the victory in the 20-lap Rockstar Energy Drink Road Runner feature event. The win was Marocco's first of the year, while using a borrowed engine. Marocco stole the lead from James Gregory on lap 12, a lap after Gregory inherited the lead from Jonathon Stotlz in a wild exchange. Road Runner point leader Terrance Robinson came all the way from 16th starting spot to capture second. Joey Thomas came across the line in third, followed by Arlyn Roush and Gregory.
Antioch's David Cerer topped a thrilling 25-lap American Super Cup feature. Cerer held off the last-lap advances of teen-ager Cody Erdmann to take the win. Erdmann finished second, while Mick Ellis took home third.
Upcoming at the track
Wednesday night June 26, at 7:07 p.m., it's the second "Wild Wednesday" of the year, and it's also "Faith Night" featuring the "Fastor Pastor Races." The Wild Wednesday racing lineup includes the Road Runner Super Summer Series, Bandits, Misfits, Winged Women on Wheels and Super Cup cars as well as One-on-One Spectacular Drags and the Wild and Crazy Figure 8 race. Every Wild Wednesday is also Dollar Beer Night. Adult admission is $9. Spectator gates open at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday night, June 29, at 7:07 p.m., is "Stan Burdick Night," a salute to Burdick, who has been an employee at Rockford Speedway for every one of its 66 years of operation. A reception will be held for Burdick starting at 3 p.m. that afternoon under the Party Pavilion, and the public is invited to attend. On track, it's Round II of the Cool 5 Series with the NASCAR Late Models, Sportsman, American Short Trackers and Road Runners. The Late Models will compete in a 76-lap feature event, the "Star Spangled 76." Spectator gates open at 5 p.m., time trials begin at 5:55 p.m. Adult general admission is $12, students 12-17 are $8, kids ages 6-11 are $5, and kids age 5 and younger are free.
Visit www.rockfordspeedway.com or call the box office at (815) 633-1500.
From the June 26-July 2, 2013, issue


text: Okay. It seems this threat is off topic, so I'll try to bring it back in line. I'm a Utah resident, and Utah CFP holder. Imo, this law is a waste of time and energy. Utah is so pro gun that it almost makes sense to be constitutional carry. The current system does allow for daily checks. As it was explained to me, the current checks are done by BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigations) and consist of nothing more than comparing the daily arrest records from Utah agencies to the list of CFP holders. Only 0.001% of the time do they get a match. So, to me it really seems redundant. Also, this new piece of legislation states it would become violation to carry on school grounds. This will never happen even if the law did pass. Why? About 5-6 years ago the state supreme court ruled that because the state constitution very closely resembles the national constitution, schools that receive public funding cannot ban firearms on their premises.


text: note tilly Indeed. People who only know how to traverse a directory using recursion will suffer grief if they are asked to do it breadth-first instead. Recursion gives you an implicit stack. If you can unwind it to get an explicit stack instead, then switching between depth-first and breadth-first is as simple as switching from a stack to a queue.<p> But, one step at a time. Recursion is a great technique for thinking through a problem that you don't know how solve up front. Once you understand that solution, you can start trying to think of other approaches with other trade-offs. :-) 1003519 1003715


text:
A randy dolphin is looking for love in all the wrong places in the waters off the Cayman Islands.
He's been getting frisky with divers in the area, and now he's been caught on video.
More from GlobalPost: Firestorm erupts over Obama bear hug photo
The recent encounter with "Stinky" the dolphin was filmed by Michael Maes, an underwater videographer based on Grand Cayman Island, The Huffington Post reported.
The video, posted to Maes' YouTube page, shows the lonesome dolphin circling and trying to "ride" Maes before turning to Maes' friend.
Stinky is then seen rubbing his body along the other diver's back before trying to roll him over.
More from GlobalPost: Men caught with tiny primates in their underwear at airport
Maes said he posted the video, which is going viral with more than 102,000 views as of Monday afternoon, to show the dangers of lone dolphins like Stinky who are looking for a mate.
"It remains a wild animal and Stinky is in an awkward situation which can turn him into a playful killer-machine," he wrote on his YouTube page. "Please be prudent people and get out of the water when you see him. Believe me, if he decides, you don't stand the slightest chance!"
Cayman Islands TV station CITN posted a poll on its site asking viewers whether the government should try to stop Stinky's advances.
Fifty-one percent of viewers said no, 33 percent said yes and 8 percent said they didn't know or they didn't care.


text: Which chipset would you prefer if getting a new video card? My current machine is running a GeForce 256 meg. My wife is getting this machine, and I'm looking for a new card for it. I know I want 512 memory, but not familiar with all the DDR, GDDR3 speak. I'm inclined to go with another GeForce, since my current card has worked well. My previous card was a Radeon with 128 meg, which I remember working well to. Right now the Radeon seems to be more popular? Anything else I should know? TIA. Bucky.


text:
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- Defense attorneys said it was simply a potato. Prosecutors argued it was a silencer.
In the end, a jury decided a man who wielded a gun with a potato stuffed in the barrel was guilty of using a silencer-equipped gun in the commission of a drug crime -- a conviction carrying a mandatory 25-year federal prison sentence.
Alpha McQueen, 30, was also convicted Friday of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Prosecutors said McQueen and another man, Dale Stewart, used the gun to shake down three women they suspected of stealing about $30,000 in drug money. No shots were fired.
Under a deal that spared him from the silencer charge, Stewart pleaded guilty last month to drug and gun charges carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. McQueen opted to go to trial.
© 2017. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us


text:
Gourd, Autumn Wing
These fun gourds are covered in wings, warts, and have curved necks. They are about 4 – 10 inches long and about 3 inches wide. Skin color can be white, yellow, green, and any combination of the three.
Gourd, Birdhouse
Gourds are as easy to grow as Zucchini, but when the season is over instead of going bad gourds can last for years after being dried and cured.
Gourd, Dipper
These gourds have long necks making for good handles. Nearly unblemished skin becomes hard when dried and can be carved and painted like wood. The fast growing vines need lots of room.
Gourd, Large/Small Mix
These vines produce bright, colorful, hard-shelled, inedible fruits that add cheer to any fall arrangement. These fruits come in all sizes, shapes, and colors.
Gourd, Luffa
Luffa gourds are closely related to cucumbers sharing characteristics like long, slender fruits with thin skins. The vine is not frost tolerant at all and the seeds have hard shells so give germination some time.
Hollyhock - Single Flowering Mix
The single Hollyhock is the classic cottage garden plant. Colors are red, rose, pink, and white. Wonderful against a fence, a wall, or in the corner of a garden, it can grow to 9 feet. Full sun is a must in the foggier parts of the country.
Hollyhock, Summer Carnival Mix (Double)
An All American Selection award winner, Summer Carinival is a great pick for adding height to a garden. Five foot tall stalks are covered in large, fully double, peony-type flowers ranging in color from rose, pink, red, white, and yellow.
Hyacinth Bean - Purple Moonshadow
Originally a native of tropical Asia, Hyacinth Bean is an easy to grow vine that quickly climbs any support to create a beautiful screen of attractive, dark green foliage and fragrant, purple flowers.
Lavetera - Mixed
Bushy plants are covered in large, silken, hibiscus-shaped, pink and white flowers. Lavatera has an upright growth habit that doesn't require staking. It is an easy to grow annual which can add much color to the flower garden. Can grow up to 4 feet tall.
Lobelia - Crystal Palace
Royal treatment for walks! Forms a neat, 7 inch band of smoky blue flowers on plants only 4 – 6 inches tall. The dainty flowers absolutely overwhelm the fine, green foliage for an elegant sea of blue in your garden.
Review and update items in your shopping cart at any time.
Featured Products
Seedlinger's Fertilixer
Seedlingers Plant Fertelixir is a universal, biological liquid fertilizer that aids in root generation, plant establishment & one that can also boost flower & fruit production.
Fertilome Seed & Cutting
Best for sowing seeds, and planting cuttings.


text:
Padres plate 10 in fourth, paste Braves
Padres plate 10 in fourth, paste Braves
This occurrence of self-discipline was provided by, oddly enough, third-base coach Glenn Hoffman, who otherwise used his left arm as a perpetual windmill in a 10-run inning, waving home baserunner after baserunner.
But before the flood of runs came, which would add up to a 17-2 Padres victory over the Braves, it was Hoffman who threw up a "stop" sign for Chase Headley, who seemed to be on his way home after Will Venable singled up the middle.
"I'm thinking, score, score, score ... but the speed of the ball, where [center fielder Nate] McLouth was playing and with no one out, I wasn't 100 percent sure," Hoffman said. "I needed to be 100 percent sure he can score."
Fear not, the rest of Hoffman's decisions weren't nearly as difficult as the Padres went on to score 10 runs to stun the Braves (3-4), as 14 batters came to the plate. The inning had a little of everything, too.
Headley had two hits in the inning. Tony Gwynn walked with the bases loaded to force in a run. Kyle Blanks, as part of a three-hit, five-RBI day, had a two-run double. Heck, even pitcher Kevin Correia helped, blooping a two-run single into short right field.
When the dust settled --and pity Braves manager Bobby Cox, on his final trip here to San Diego -- the Padres were on their way to scoring the most runs in a game by any team at PETCO Park and the most runs at home since scoring 18 at Qualcomm Stadium in 2002.
Yes, this from a team that had scored 19 runs in its previous six combined games, all on a 2-4 season-opening road trip where strikeouts (56) were more common than hitting in a contagious fashion and, on this day, in a ballpark that suppresses offense, no less.
Venable and Blanks each finished a hit shy of hitting for the cycle. This from a club that still hasn't had anyone in franchise history achieve such a feat. It was that kind of game.
"It was a collection of good at-bats and good situational hitting," said San Diego manager Bud Black, trying his best to explain, really, the unexplainable. "Some balls found holes, and we hit some balls very hard."
That the Padres inflicted so much damage against Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens, a 14-game winner a year ago who had a 1.32 ERA in two previous starts against San Diego was, to say the least, entirely surprising and unexpected.
Jurrjens allowed two hits, including an RBI single to Nick Hundley, in the second inning, but there weren't exactly impending signs of doom for the right-hander. He allowed a hit in the third inning, but escaped unscathed, trailing, 1-0.
That all changed in the fourth inning.
Headley, who had two hits to raise his average to .448, started the inning with a double that McLouth couldn't quite corral. Venable followed with a hard single up the middle, too hard, in Hoffman's estimation. So he held Headley, not questioning -- not much, at least -- if it was the right decision.
"Instead of having one out there and blowing up the inning," Hoffman said, "It gave us a chance."
The at-bat of the game, in Black's mind, occurred in that fourth inning, but only after the Braves made a pitching change, bringing in left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes to replace Jurrjens. The first batter Reyes faced was Blanks, who struggled in the first week and entered the game hitting .158.
Blanks, who struggled against left-handers in his first stint with the Padres as a rookie a year ago, saw 11 pitches during his at-bat against Reyes, fouling off five pitches before driving a slider into left field for two runs.
"Fighting off fastballs, fighting off curveballs, he finally got a pitch that he could hit," Black said.
Blanks arrived early at PETCO Park on Monday morning to get in some extra time in the batting cage. He found something that worked and took it into the game with him.
"I felt like my hands were really working for me," Blanks said.
After that inning, Correia (1-1) quickly became an afterthought, which was perfectly fine with him. He allowed two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings before letting Edward Mujica and Adam Russell finish the game.
Correia was asked if he ever experienced anything like what he saw Monday. He nodded his head, almost remorsefully. He said that at some time, at some level and on some bad day, these types of games happen to pitchers.
"I know what it's like from the other end, I've been out on the mound when one guy puts a good swing on the ball and then everyone is doing it," Correia said. "Baseball is weird like that. It's not always how well you execute sometimes."
Venable, who drove in three runs and hit a two-run home run in that fourth inning, had a pragmatic view on the inning. He shared it with reporters after the game, doing his best to keep proper perspective on one inning in a season where they eventually all blur together.
"It's nice to have a good day, but you want to stay away from hitting .200 in your next 30 at-bats," he said. "You can enjoy the day, but you have to move on."
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


text: A small bathroom it is a really a great issue to discuss here, especially when it is related to how to decorate a small bathroom perfectly. Your bathroom is considered the second area to relax after your bedroom. Thus, you should know how to decorate your small bathroom to be prettier and cozier as you really wish. Make some illusion …Read More »


text:
« GM's View on Battery Technologies for Hybrids, Plug-Ins and E-Flex | Main | 10.5 Million Alternative Fuel Autos in US Today »
European Automakers Call for Harmonized CO2 Tax on Cars
13 March 2007
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) is calling for a harmonized, cross-Europe CO2 tax on cars and alternative fuels.
The organization notes that CO2-based taxation offers a significant potential for CO2 reduction by shaping consumer demand and setting economic incentives to which vehicle manufacturers and fuel suppliers will respond.
A CO2-based taxation system raises customer awareness and gives a political signal that society attaches a priority to reducing CO2 emissions.
Currently, 11 EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, UK) have elements in their car and/or fuel taxation systems today that are totally or partly based on the car's CO2 emissions and /or fuel consumption.
The ACEA argues that because the taxation systems are very different, they fail to send a clear market signal. Furthermore, manufacturers then face a fragmented EU market and are unable to exploit economies of scale, "to the detriment of their competitiveness."
ACEA is proposing a harmonized system in which:
All existing car taxes/fees should be substituted by circulation tax to send simple and clear signals to consumers;
CO2 should be the key criterion for taxation to provide incentives to buy lower CO2 emitting cars;
Taxation should be technology-neutral to allow competition for the best solutions;
There should be no discrimination against certain types, segments or classes of vehicles;
There should be a linear proportionality to emitted CO2 g/km without cap, or in other words: every gram of CO2 emitted should be taxed the same, to avoid arbitrary thresholds;
Tax revisions should be budget neutral in transition from old to new schemes and should be adjusted over time to ensure budget neutrality.
March 13, 2007 in Climate Change, Europe, Fuel Efficiency, Policy | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0)
TrackBack URL for this entry:
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference European Automakers Call for Harmonized CO2 Tax on Cars:
This approach makes sense and could be an excellent tool to reduce CO2 from vehicles.
Unfortunately, with our split responsability system (Federal-Provinces) in Canada, it would be almost imposible to agree on a common carbon tax. The current low CO2 cars to high CO2 gas guzzler ratio varies considerably between Provinces. Our Western Cowboys friends drive gas guzzlers (up to 70%) while people in PEI, NS and Quebec drive much lower CO2 emisssion vehicles (up to 60% sub-compacts + Compacts + Intermediates).
It seems that people buy vehicles with better mpg where the price of gas is highest and yearly registration fees are based on weight + HP + mph.
Progressive (applied over 5 to 10 years) variable sales tax (-20% % to + 20 %) based on CO2 emission may convince the majority (not neccessarily all) to make the switch.
^ As an American, I disagree.
Different countries in Europe may very well have different environmental goals in mind -- fuel use reduction, CO_2 emission reduction, air pollutant reduction, to name three.
Why should they homogenize if they have different goals?
Think it's zany to have different goals? We see the same thing in the U.S. California has to worry about smog pollutants due to the mountains that keep the filthy air in. The Northeast is more worried about greenhouse gasses (RGGI), whereas the Midwest is mostly interested in reducing oil consumption (with the help of their corn-based Ethanol, naturally).
I'd venture a bet in all 11 countries that the less CO_2 the vehicle emits and/or the less fuel consumed per kilometer, the less tax paid. It doesn't matter if the legislation from the 11 nations is the same or different... the less CO_2/oil, the less tax. That's all they really need to know.
Furthermore, I completely disagree with the idea that "There should be a linear proportionality to emitted CO2 g/km without cap, or in other words: every gram of CO2 emitted should be taxed the same, to avoid arbitrary thresholds;"
One doesn't need linearity to avoid arbitrary thresholds -- piecewise linear or continuous nonlinear (with derivative non-negative or non-positive) curves accomplish the same goal, and may be more reasonable. Why? Even though every gram of a specific emission impacts the environment the same, they aren't all as easy to remove: a vehicle that is emitting many is likely a "low hanging fruit" to eliminate a large percentage, and therefore a bigger stick to get them to make that (easier) removal is appropriate. It's far easier to make the worst-performing unit better performing than to eliminate the same number of grams from the best-performing.
I also disagree with "Tax revisions should be budget neutral in transition from old to new schemes and should be adjusted over time to ensure budget neutrality."
That's another way to say feebates -- that the tax should reimburse manufacturers for vehicles which perform better. Hogwash. Until a vehicle comes around which removes CO_2 from the air, we shouldn't subsidize it. Penalize the small emitters less than the big emitters, but penalize them both please.
I do agree in principle with "Taxation should be technology-neutral to allow competition for the best solutions". Who knows what will come around the corner in terms of technology, and why cast unnecessary uncertainty in the market by changing legislation on the fly?
"Different countries in Europe may very well have different environmental goals in mind -- fuel use reduction, CO_2 emission reduction, air pollutant reduction, to name three.
Why should they homogenize if they have different goals?"
As the automakers point out, if the regulations aren't more homogenized then the changes sought by regulation in many countries won't be achieved. Remember CO2 is global. If half of the countries do something while the others don't we all suffer. Its called failure of the commons. I guess an alternative strategy would be just to impose import CO2 taxes on goods from heavily emitting countries. Not a bad idea if you ask me.
They don't need harmonised taxes, they just need harmonised directions - i.e. if they all push towards lower CO2, they all give the same signal to the car companies.
However, if some push towards Co2 and others push to lower NOx or particulates, you get a conflict.
Both are worthy goals, the problem is to combine them.
This is simple enough, if you simply take CO2/km and add a "weight" for the varying diesel pollution grades, such as
Euro3 - 30 gms
Euro4 - 20 gms
Euro5 - 10 gms
Euro6 - 0 gms
Diesel is very efficient and good from a CO2 point of view, but it does cause more pollution than gasoline, so it should attract a higher rate, but this should reduce as the Euro grades go up.
The trick is to get a unified pollution metric which you can tax - both in purchase and annual taxes.
Taxation of vehicles is effectively taxation of POTENTIAL fuel burned / CO2 emitted per year, not actual. If one drives less, he/she consumes less fuel. The most universal user tax would be taxation of fuel, and Europe already has it in plenty.
Nevertheless, proposed scheme is better than taxation according to engine displacement, fuel type, weight, class, etc., which is highly arbitrary and inevitably leads to market distortions.
Good idea would be to put harmonized tax to harmful emissions too, like NOx, PM, NMHC. Otherwise there will be further incentive to trade-off detrimental to health emissions for CO2 emissions.
This is a clear signal from ACEA that they accept that fleet average CO2 emissions regs are coming. If the EU decides it must change the goal posts on the supply side of the car market, it should also do so on the demand side. The European auto industry needs to turn a profit so it can continue to employ a lot of people and contribute to tax revenue in certain member states.
In its line of argumentation, the proposal appears sensible: it seeks to simplify and cut red tape, adjust vehicle TCO based on CO2 emissions which is what governments just decided is their top priority and, it advocates technology neutrality.
This latter demand is particularly striking, because European auto makers still have a technology lead in diesel engine design and manufacturing. Throughout most of Europe, diesel has long enjoyed a tax advantage over gasoline on a per-liter basis, in addition to the its naturally higher energy content per liter. Technology-neutral fuel taxes would mean a liter of diesel would end up costing roughly 10% *more* than a liter of gasoline, negating a key selling point for the most efficient available ICE technology. Note, however, that refineries in some countries are already having to export surplus gasoline to the US and import additional diesel from Ukraine and the Middle East (e.g. from Iran, which does not permit diesel vehicles).
In related news, the EU is discussing a sharp increase in the minimum tax rate of on-road diesel fuel. Individual member states are permitted to tax fuel even more heavily, but the EU sets the baseline. Raising the tax rate for diesel only would at least partially correct the current bias in its favor (see above). The stated objective, though, is to reduce "fuel tourism" by e.g. Dutch drivers to Luxembourg, where fuel has long been relatively cheap. However, CO2 emissions are accounted for by the country in which the fuel was purchased, with all that implies for the emissions certificate market.
Purchase tax vs fuel tax.
The advantage of a purchase tax is that it influences the buying decision - once you have bought a car, the amount of fuel you use per year is more or less set.
Most people find it hard to drive less and will continue on as before for fuel increases of say < 50%.
So hit them with an up front purchase tax to encourage whatever behaviour you want.
Purchase taxes are more likely in countries that do not make cars (like Ireland for instance) leaving fuel taxes for countries that do make cars, like Germany.
However, as long as the taxes have a similar "pollution metric", both taxes point in the same direction and the car companies have a clear signal of what to do.
Ha anyone seen the following movie? If not, you should venture over to Google and watch it. That puts a totally new light on this discussion:
How long do you have to watch it before they start providing some evidence for their claims that climate scientists only support AGW for the money it brings in? Sorry, but it looks like a slickly produced denialist video.
George, the movie only touched the top layer of AGW scum. Hundreds of other documents, articles, and researches reveal terrifying truth about this ordeal. You may not want to believe it, but anyway take a look at the article of Sir Christopher Monckton:
And there is much much more…
Gm put it fairly simply awhile back.
If you want a fair increase across the board your gona spend alot.
No more cheap cars with cheap enginea and cheap trans and cheap tires and cheap construction.
The engoine will go from a xheapo model to a 6 grsand one. The transmission will double or ever triple in cost. The car body will tri-ple in cost. No more cheapo tires every tire now 400 bucks. No cheap ac.. now its 1500 bucks. All new system to power acessories.. now all cars 36 volt and nothing running off the belt robbing power from the engine...
That will be 5000 bucks...
So your 2012 econo car will be a cheap 45 grand. Will that be morgage or arm and leg?
I think a system of harmonisation with an equal level of fuel taxes applied across the EU would be fairer. In the UK fuel tax on diesel is higher than gasoline despite the CO2 reduction benefits. This results in a huge difference in forecourt prices between diesel in the UK and the rest of the EU. In France for example diesel is roughly a two thirds of the cost of diesel in the UK.
Increasing the level of tax overall on fuel though would not be an answer. In the UK whilst fuel tax rises through the so-called fuel duty escalator have helped to more than double fuel prices over the last 15 years, you'd expect it to have led to a doubling in effeicency but it hasn't. It has not led to a reduction in car use either, as traffic has actually inceased. This is mainly because people in the UK have, in the main, chosen a car to be fit for purpose because fuel prices were high enough in the first place. Any improvements in vehicle efficiency have been driven by technology and to some extent long term trends in oil prices rather than artificial and somewhat arbitrary fuel tax levels.
The latest thinking of politicians in the UK is now to consider making the current system of annual vehicle taxes more differentiated to reflect CO2. I really don't think this would be fair as it would be a tax on ownership instead of use. Why should a person who uses his 4x4 occasionally pay £3,000 per annum whilst another person who drives a small car all day pay almost nothing. I don't see the logic.
I also get very cycnical about how politicians use climate change as an excuse to squeeze more money from motorists who are already overtaxed in the UK. When it comes to domestic household energy consumption, politicians would not dare to make any attempt to tax gas and elecrictity at levels based on CO2 emissions, despite there being a great need to ramp up energy efficiency levels, or at least wear a sweater when it gets cold.
I don't think Scott really needs to worry about SUV owners being priced out of the market in the Uk quite yet.
Commenting on the UK budget this year I calculated the following:
Vehicle Excise Duty, which ranks cars from A-G depending on their size and increases slightly as the car gets bigger, has always been a bit of a joke, a top efficiency car gets charged £50 a thirsty huge sports lump £210 – hardly a disincentive when according to the site Carpage.co.uk a top of the range BMW X5 comes in at £49,980 and a VW Toureg a cool £57,535. Brown announced today that the top range will rise from £210 to £300 immediately and to £400 next year, whereas the greener cars will see a decrease to £35. So someone thinking of buying all toys equiped Toureg is faced with a huge price increase of 0.0015%, this year and a behaviour changing 0.0033% in 2008. Of course higher parking, congestion, and of course fuel consumption increases the cost of running large cars, particularly in London. To make a major change in behaviour something a little meater would be more appropriate, like £2,000 which would add 10% to the price of a new short wheel based Landrover Defender.
or full article see
Verify your Comment
Previewing your Comment
This is only a preview. Your comment has not yet been posted.
As a final step before posting your comment, enter the letters and numbers you see in the image below. This prevents automated programs from posting comments.
Having trouble reading this image? View an alternate.


text:
Sunday link-o-ramaJune 30th, 2013 | By RJ Rushmore | No Comments »
Wait! The weekend isn't over yet. Enjoy a bit of light reading and cool photos before the work week returns:
- Gylnn Judd aka Noir wrote a great op-ed in The Guardian about VAMP's recent prison sentence and living the double-life of graffiti writer and gainfully-employed family man.
- Complex.com published my list of the top 25 murals of the year so far. What do you think?
- El Mac crushed it in Denmark.
- Niels "Shoe" Meulman has a show coming up at White Walls in SF, and Hi Fructose had a preview.
- GATS and IMP give it their all with this piece even though it's not exactly super visible.
- It was just (what would have been) George Orwell's 110th birthday. This is a great way to celebrate.
- I love how Jaz used the wall's existing problems to make this piece even better.
- Once again, there is talk of the mural ban in LA being lifted.
- Sergio Gómez's work is abstract, simple and powerful.
- This is a video teaser for some of Kid Zoom's new work. This is big, bold, and very different stuff from the young artist. Kid Zoom's new body of work will be unveiled at his upcoming show, Suburbia, at the National Gallery of Victoria.
- Ericailcane, Tellas, Crisa and Cireds came together for this great new mural in Italy.
Photo by Laser Burners
Category: Art News, Gallery/Museum Shows, Photos, Random | Tags: cireds, crisa, EL Mac, ericailcane, gats, imp, jaz, kid zoom, l'atlas, mecro, national gallery of victoria, noir, sergio gomez, tellas, vamp


text:
By DE Editors
Tektronix, Inc. has announced that its next-generation oscilloscope platform will make broad use of IBM 8HP silicon germanium (SiGe) technology. The 130 nanometer (nm) SiGe bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) foundry technology offers two times the performance over the previous generation, according to the company.
"Tektronix has a long history of co-innovation with IBM and the inclusion of SiGe technology in our products has enabled us to deliver a portfolio of world-class, award-winning instruments that help solve some of the most demanding customer challenges," says Brian Reich, general manager, Performance Oscilloscopes, Tektronix. "SiGe's performance and the reliability and stability of IBM's SiGe manufacturing capability will enable our next generation oscilloscope to achieve greater than 30 GHz acquisition capability for growing customer needs in the computing/communications industries."
For more information, visit Tektronix.
Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.