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Neural responses in primary visual cortex (area V1) are selective for the orientation and spatial frequency of luminance-modulated sinusoidal gratings. Selectivity could arise from enhancement of the cell's response by preferred stimuli, suppression by nonoptimal stimuli, or both. Here, we report that the majority of V1 neurons do not only elevate their activity in response to preferred stimuli, but their firing rates are also suppressed by nonoptimal stimuli. The magnitude of suppression is similar to that of enhancement. There is a tendency for net response suppression to peak at orientations near orthogonal to the optimal for the cell, but cases where suppression peaks at oblique orientations are observed as well. Interestingly, selectivity and suppression correlate in V1: orientation and spatial frequency selectivity are higher for neurons that are suppressed by nonoptimal stimuli than for cells that are not. This finding is consistent with the idea that suppression plays an important role in the generation of sharp cortical selectivity. We show that nonlinear suppression is required to account for the data. However, the precise structure of the neural circuitry generating the suppressive signal remains unresolved. Our results are consistent with both feedback and (nonlinear) feed-forward inhibition.
The cortical representation of the retinal image undergoes profound transformations as it progresses along the visual pathway. Cells in primary visual cortex are tuned for local attributes of the image, such as stimulus orientation, spatial frequency, and color, among other dimensions (De Valois et al. 1982; Hubel and Wiesel 1962, 1968;Movshon et al. 1978). Understanding how such selectivity is generated in V1 requires separating the relative contributions of the feedforward circuitry and intracortical mechanisms.
An important question is the role that intracortical inhibition plays in the generation of stimulus selectivity (Anderson et al. 2000; Benevento et al. 1972; Blakemore and Tobin 1972; Bonds 1989; De Valois and Tootell 1983; Ferster and Miller 2000;Hata et al. 1988; Morrone et al. 1982;Nelson and Frost 1978; Nelson 1991;Ramoa et al. 1986; Ringach et al. 1997b;Sillito et al. 1980; Sompolinsky and Shapley 1997; Volgushev et al. 1993). There is an on-going debate regarding the role of inhibition in establishing sharp selectivity for orientation. On one hand, some studies suggest that inhibition has no role in sharpening tuning selectivity. This claim appears to be supported by the following findings: the tuning of excitation and inhibition, recorded in layer 4 cortical neurons intracellularly, appear to be very similar (Carandini and Ferster 2000; Ferster 1986); the tuning of a V1 cell's membrane potential modulation in response to drifting grating stimuli remains unchanged when the cortex is inactivated by cooling or by electrical stimulation (Chung and Ferster 1998;Ferster et al. 1996); and neurons retain their tuning selectivity when inhibition is blocked intracellularly (Nelson et al. 1994). On the other hand, several studies suggest that suppression plays a critical role in establishing sharp selectivity for orientation. Some of the findings that support this view are response enhancement and suppression in V1 have different bandwidths, with suppression being more broadly tuned than enhancement (Blakemore and Tobin 1972; Bonds 1989; Burr et al. 1981; Monier et al. 2000; Morrone et al. 1982; Nelson and Frost 1978; Nelson 1991; Ringach et al. 1997a); blocking inhibition pharmacologically leads to a broadening in V1 tuning selectivity (Allison and Bonds 1994; Allison et al. 1995,1996; Crook et al. 1998; Hata et al. 1988; Sato et al. 1996; Sillito et al. 1980); and theoretical work indicates that broadly tuned inhibition could act as a mechanism to suppress the response of the cell to nonoptimal stimuli and sharpen selectivity (Ben-Yishai et al. 1995; McLaughlin et al. 2000; Pugh et al. 2000; Somers et al. 1995). There is also a similar lack of agreement about the role of inhibition in spatial frequency tuning. Some authors report the absence of response suppression at nonoptimal frequencies (Ramoa et al. 1986), while others find a substantial amount of suppression (Bauman and Bonds 1991; De Valois and Tootell 1983).
We studied the steady-state and dynamical tuning properties of neurons in the joint orientation and spatial frequency domain (the Fourier plane). The dynamics of orientation and spatial frequency were measured using a new reverse correlation method that was an improvement on methods used previously to measure orientation tuning dynamics (Ringach et al. 1997b). The pattern of response enhancement and suppression in the Fourier plane revealed that the responses of the most highly selective neurons are almost always suppressed by nonoptimal stimuli. This correlation between high selectivity and suppression indicates that intracortical inhibition probably plays an important role in the generation of sharp stimulus selectivity.
Acute experiments were performed on adult Old World monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) in compliance with National Institutes of Health and University of California Los Angeles/Animal Research Committee guidelines. Details of the preparation can be found elsewhere (Ringach et al. 1997a).
An increase in the firing rate of a neuron, as measured extracellularly, will be termed an "enhancement" of the neuron's response relative to some baseline. Similarly, a decrease in the firing rate of a neuron will be termed a "suppression" of the neuron's response. Enhancement and suppression are also often called "net excitation" and "net inhibition." We do this to avoid confusion with the words inhibition and excitation, which indicate, respectively, changes in the opening times of the inhibitory and excitatory ionic channels of a neuron. It is not possible to determine the underlying inhibitory and excitatory components of a cell uniquely from its extracellular firing rate. For example, response enhancement could be due to increased excitation, decreased inhibition, or a combination of both.
We measured the dynamics of tuning in the orientation and spatial frequency plane using a newly developed variant of the reverse correlation technique (Mazer et al. 2000; Ringach et al. 1997a,b). The stimulus is a sequence of luminance-modulated gratings with randomized orientations, spatial frequencies, and spatial phases presented rapidly one after the other at an effective rate of 50 Hz (Fig.1 A). The refresh rate of the monitor was 100 Hz, but each image in the sequence was presented twice. The linear size of the stimulus was 1.5 to 3 times that of the classical receptive field, defined by the peak (or saturation point) of an area summation curve obtained with a grafting drifting at the optimal spatiotemporal parameters. The contrast of the stimulus was 99%. The total experimental time was 15 min.
The neuron's response consists of the arrival times of action potentials elicited during the period of visual stimulation. Given a fixed time lag, τ, we calculate the probability that a grating of a particular spatial frequency, ω, and orientation, θ, preceded an impulse response by τ ms, Pr{ω, θ; τ}. Spatial phase information is averaged in this computation. The result of the analysis is a family of two-dimensional probability distributions, one for each value of τ. We investigate the dynamics of tuning by studying the evolution of the probability distribution with time. For small or large values of τ (usually for τ < 30 ms or τ > 150 ms), the stimulus does not influence the neuron's response and Pr{ω, θ; τ} approximates a uniform (flat) distribution. At intermediate values of τ, the preference of a cell for a particular set of stimulus parameters is revealed as a peak in the probability distribution. Similarly, suppression of the cell's response for some stimuli produces valleys in the probability distribution. It should be noted that this "reverse correlation" method is formally equivalent to calculating the probability that a grating with a particular spatial frequency and orientation evokes a spike τ ms after its presentation, or a "forward correlation" analysis.
Each image in the stimulus set was a Hartley basis function (Ringach et al. 1997b) of size M× M pixels, for all 0 ≤ l, m ≤ M − 1. Here, cas α ≡ sin α + cos α, andk x andk y represent the spatial frequency of the grating in units of cycles per stimulus side. The stimulus space consisted of all the basis functions {±H kx ,ky} such that ‖k x ‖ ≤k max and ‖k y ‖ ≤k max. The maximal spatial frequency tested along the x or y axes is given by ωmax =k max/L, whereL is the size of one side of the stimulus patch in degrees of visual angle.
In defining our stimulus space,k max was chosen to ensure that stimuli along the "boundary" of the space (given by all gratings in the set B = {H kx ,±ωmax∨H ±ωmax , ky}) had no effect on the neuron's response. The choice ofk max was based on the spatial frequency tuning for the cell to drifting sinusoidal gratings at the optimal spatiotemporal frequency and size. From the definition, it is clear that four spatial phases, 90° apart, are present for each combination of (ω, θ). We denote all gratings in the stimulus space by S(k max). Each frame in the stimulus is drawn at random fromS(k max) with a uniform distribution.
To visualize the data, we compare the probability attained by each grating in the stimulus space to a baseline. A natural choice for the baseline is the probability of stimuli that are known to have no effect on the neuron's activity, such as sinusoidal gratings with arbitrary orientations but spatial frequencies so high that the cell cannot resolve them. We define the baseline B(τ) as the median probability of a set of such gratings. In our case, we selected stimuli located at the boundary of our stimulus space that correspond to the gratings with the highest spatial frequency tested at each orientation as defined by the set B in the preceding text. The median was chosen to minimize the effects of a few responses reaching the boundary of the space, such as in Fig.2 C.
The empirical probability distributions were smoothed at each time using a 3 × 3 Gaussian kernel with ς = 1 cycle/stimulus side and then transformed by calculating Equation 1By definition, stimuli whose probability is the same as that of the baseline are mapped to R(ω, θ; τ) = 0. Similarly, stimuli that enhance the response of the cell are mapped to values R(ω, θ; τ) > 0, while stimuli that suppress the response of the cell are mapped to valuesR(ω, θ; τ) < 0. There is an optimal time lag, τpeak, at which R(ω, θ; τ) reaches a maximum absolute value. The analysis in this study is based solely on R(ω, θ) ≡R(ω, θ; τpeak). A description of the temporal dynamics of response enhancement and suppression will be the subject of a separate report.
R(ω, θ) can also be interpreted as the log probability of finding a spike in a small time window τpeak ms after a grating with parameters (ω, θ). Using logarithms means that we consider enhancement and suppression equal in magnitude if the geometric mean of their firing probabilities equals the baseline probability. It can be shown that, under the assumption of Poisson firing, this definition implies that enhancement and suppression have equal magnitudes if and only if they can be discriminated equally well from the baseline rate of the cell (i.e., they have the same d′, see ).
To plot the results, we image R(ω, θ) using a pseudo-color map (Fig. 1 B). Areas of enhancement are represented by red hues, areas of suppression are represented by blue hues, and green areas represent neutral stimuli. The data are plotted in the Fourier plane (cf. DeValois et al. 1982;Jones et al. 1987). The origin is at the center of the graph. The distance from the origin to any point in the plane represents the spatial frequency of the grating at that location, and the angle with respect to the positive x axis represents its orientation; the x axis represents the spatial frequency of the grating in the horizontal meridian, ωx = ω cos θ, and they axis represents the spatial frequency along the vertical meridian, ωy = ω sin θ. All the relevant information is contained in the first and fourth quadrants: the data in the second and third quadrants are obtained by symmetry. We plot all four quadrants for visualization purposes only. Enhancement in the response of a cell is defined as significant if That is, there is a peak in the response at least four times the SD of the noise. The same criterion was applied to determine the presence of a significant suppression after the appropriate sign change. Cells were subdivided into two sets. Cells that had both significant response enhancement and suppression are members ofS. Cells with only significant enhancement are members of S̄. Two cells had only a significant suppressive component and they were discarded.
Computer simulations
We simulated the reverse correlation experiment on three models of simple cortical neurons. First, a model cell whose membrane voltage depended linearly on the luminance contrast of the stimulus followed by half-wave rectification due to spike generation (Fig. 6 C). The linear receptive field was modeled as a spatiotemporal separable function, h(x, y, t) =A(x, y)B(t). The space kernel, A(x, y), was a Gabor function: A(x, y) = exp (−x 2/2ς −y 2/2ς ) cos (2πωx + φ), and the temporal profile was a Hanning window, B(nΔt) = 1/2 − cos [2πn/(N + 1)]/2, where Δt = 10 ms is the duration of one time slice and n = 1, … , 8 (n = 8). Spatial kernels were sampled on a 64 × 64 grid representing 1 × 1 deg of visual angle. Two different types of spatial profiles were simulated: a filter that had broad tuning in orientation and spatial frequency and was even symmetric in space (Fig. 6 A) and an odd-symmetric filter that was well tuned in orientation and spatial frequency (Fig. 6 B). The parameters for the first filter were ςx = 0.15 deg, ςy = 0.15 deg, ω = 1.6 cycles/deg, and φ = 0 deg, and for the second filter they were ςx = 0.11 deg, ςy = 0.25 deg, ω = 5.3 cycles/deg, and φ = 90 deg. The static nonlinearity was a half-wave rectifier, Φ(x) = x ifx ≥ 0, and zero otherwise. This type of linear-nonlinear model is commonly used to model simple cells under constant levels of contrast gain control (Movshon et al. 1978).
We also explored two additional models that incorporate suppression. In the first of these models, a divisive gain control signal (Carandini et al. 1997), not tuned for orientation, and predominantly low-pass in spatial frequency was added to the linear-nonlinear model (Fig. 6 D). The tuning of this feedback signal in the Fourier domain was equal toF(ω) = K exp[−(ω − ω0)2/2ς ], where ω0 = 2 cycles/deg and ςω = 1.4 cycles/deg. Note thatF(ω) is independent of the orientation, and therefore the feedback signal is untuned for orientation. In this model, the output of the linear receptive field is divided by a factor (the gain) that is proportional to the energy (variance) of the stimulus in a Fourier space weighted by F(ω). This value can be estimated by pooling the responses of cortical cells with different tuning selectivities. A purely feed-forward circuit can estimate the signal energy as well (Fig. 7). The temporal weights of the gain signal were identical to the temporal kernel of the linear filter. The second variant of a suppressive model used subtractive inhibition (Fig. 6 E). Here, the output from a linear filter representing the excitatory input to the neuron is shifted by a DC hyperpolarization caused by a nonlinear suppressive signal. The magnitude of this hyperpolarization was proportional to the energy of the stimulus in the Fourier domain weighted by F(ω), which can also be estimated via pooling of cortical responses. This model may also be implemented in a feed-forward fashion (Fig.6 F). In both suppressive models, the tuning of the inhibitory signal in the Fourier plane overlapped partially with the tuning of the excitatory input but was broader in orientation and mostly low-pass in spatial frequency.
Measurement of enhancement and suppression
Response enhancement and suppression in different locations of the Fourier plane are evident in the majority of V1 neurons (Fig. 2). A typical example of R(ω, θ) is shown in Fig.2 A. The magnitude of peak enhancement equalsR max = +1.29. Thus at the peak time lag, the optimal stimulus is ≈20 times more likely to precede a spike than baseline stimuli (see Eq. 1 ). Suppression has a similar magnitude of R min = −1.35. Nonoptimal stimuli are ≈22 times less likely to precede a spike than baseline stimuli. A similar response profile is illustrated in Fig. 2 B. Suppression may also peak at orientations flanking the optimal for the cell (Fig. 2 C). Maximal response suppression occurs for stimuli about 30 deg away from the optimal. This sort of flanking suppression in the orientation domain is consistent with our previous results on the dynamics of orientation tuning (Ringach et al. 1997a). Because a baseline was not available in previous studies, we could not establish with certainty that the valleys were the product of suppression. The present method overcomes this limitation and shows that suppression is indeed present in the responses of many cells.
There are some neurons that do not show response suppression (Fig.2 D). These cells tend to be broadly tuned for orientation and low-pass in spatial frequency. Such cells make up a significant proportion of our population (31/75, 41.3%), but the majority of cells had both response enhancement and suppression in their responses (42/75, 56%). Two cells had pure suppressive responses (2/75, 2.7%).
Our population consisted of 51 simple cells and 24 complex cells, defined as in Skottun et al. (1991). At present we do not observe any obvious differences between simple and complex cells, but a larger sample is required for a careful comparison of simple/complex properties.
To evaluate the relative importance of suppression in the development of tuning selectivity, we first compare the absolute magnitude of response enhancement and suppression in the subpopulation of neurons having both components (Fig.3 A). On average, peak suppression tends to be slightly smaller than enhancement. In a significant fraction of cells, however, enhancement and suppression have similar magnitudes. For such neurons, not responding to the "wrong" stimulus appears to be as important as responding to the "right" one.
Further insight into the role of suppression can be gained by looking at its location in the Fourier plane relative to the preferred stimulus for the cell (Fig. 3 B). Here, data are normalized so that the peak response enhancement for each cell is always located at zero orientation and a spatial frequency of one [that is, at (ωx, ωy) = (1, 0)]. The distance from the origin represents the ratio between the spatial frequency for peak suppression and enhancement. Thex axis represents the horizontal component of the spatial frequency and the y axis the vertical component. Points inside the circular sector of radius one have peak suppression at spatial frequencies lower than that of enhancement. The angle between each point and the positive x axis represents the relative difference in orientation between the location of peak enhancement and suppression in the Fourier plane. Peak suppression tends to occur at orientations near the orthogonal to that of peak enhancement and for similar spatial frequencies. However, cases where suppression peaks at oblique angles are also observed (Fig.3 C). In about 80% of the cases, the spatial frequency of suppression is within an octave of the optimum for response enhancement.
Suppression and orientation selectivity
The comparable magnitudes of peak enhancement and suppression and the particular location of suppression in the Fourier plane suggest that suppression of neural responses to nonoptimal stimuli may play an important role in the development of neural selectivity. Therefore we looked for a correlation between the presence or absence of suppression in the responses of neurons and their degree of selectivity. If the hypothesis is correct, one would expect cells that are suppressed by nonoptimal stimuli to have higher selectivity than neurons with purely excitatory responses. Indeed, we find that selectivity for stimulus orientation is higher in neurons whose responses exhibit suppression for nonoptimal stimuli than for cells that do not. To obtain this result, we first divide our population into two groups: cells that have a significant suppressive component in their response,S (n = 42) and those that do not,S̄ (n = 31; seemethods). Then we ask if orientation selectivity is higher for cells in S compared with those inS̄. To cross-validate results, we calculated the orientation selectivity of neurons based on an analysis of the dynamics data as well as the response of the cell to sinusoidal gratings drifting at a constant speed. The first measure is derived from the dynamics measurements by calculating the angular projection of the response inside a disk in Fourier space: Here, R +(ω, θ) represents the positive part of R(θ, ω); the negative part is clipped to zero. Averaging over spatial frequencies increases the signal to noise of our measurements and is reasonable given that most of the responses are very well approximated by separable functions in spatial frequency and orientation. The circular variance of the projection gives a measure of orientation tuning selectivity and is defined as (Mardia 1972) This measure is bounded between zero and one. Cells that are highly selective for stimulus orientations have circular variance values close to zero. Cells that have broad selectivity are mapped to values close to one.
The distribution of the circular variance of R(θ), for both cell groups, is shown in Fig.4 A. Cells that have a suppressive component in their dynamics are more selective (have lower circular variance) than those that do not (P < 1.5 × 10−8, Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction). By definition, the way we calculated circular variance as a measure of orientation selectivity only reflects the tuning of response enhancement [due to the positive clipping ofR(θ, ω)]. Thus there is no reason why, in principle, selectivity and suppression should be correlated with one another, but we find that they are.
Also we evaluated the orientation selectivity of a neuron based on its steady-state tuning curve. In this experiment, we measure the steady-state orientation tuning curve of a cell using drifting gratings at its optimal spatiotemporal frequency and defineR(θ) as the mean firing rate at each drift direction. The circular variance of R(θ) is calculated from the steady-state tuning curve using the same formula as above. Histograms of the circular variance of R(θ), for both cell groups, are illustrated in Fig. 4 B. Steady-state selectivity is also significantly higher for cells showing suppression for nonoptimal stimuli than those showing pure excitatory responses (P < 7 × 10−4, Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction).
Suppression and spatial frequency selectivity
Spatial frequency tuning is also influenced by suppression. The main effect of suppression is in shaping the low-frequency limb of the tuning curve. Cells with pure excitatory components tend to have low-pass tuning curves, while cells that show suppression tend to have band-pass tuning curves. To obtain this result, we first use the dynamic measurements to calculate the average response at each spatial frequency averaged across all orientations, The ratio between the response at the lowest spatial frequency tested (ω0) and the response at the peak spatial frequency (ωpeak), α ≡R(ω0)/R(ωpeak), provides an index that is close to zero for tuning curves that are band-pass shaped and close to one for tuning curves that are low-pass shaped. We call α a low-pass index. Histograms of α, for both cell groups, are illustrated in Fig.5 A. Cells that have a suppressive component in their dynamics have lower low-pass indices (tuning curves that are more band-pass shaped) than those that exhibit pure excitatory components in their responses (P < 2 × 10−6, Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction).
A similar result is obtained if we analyze the steady-state spatial frequency tuning curves. Here, R(θ) represents the mean firing rate at each spatial frequency. Histograms of α, for both cell groups, are illustrated in Fig. 5 B. Cells showing suppression for nonoptimal stimuli have lower low-pass indices (i.e., the tuning curves are more band-pass) than those showing pure excitatory responses (P < 7 × 10−3, Wilcoxon rank sum test with continuity correction).
Comparison with models
We compared the experimental results with the prediction of three mathematical models. First, we simulated the response of a quasi-linear feedforward model to our stimulus (Fig.6 C) (Movshon et al. 1978). The model consists of a linear spatiotemporal filter followed by half-wave rectification. The input is the luminance contrast spatiotemporal pattern generated by the stimulus and the output is the rate of firing of the cell. In the , we formally show that if the static nonlinearity is convex (as in the case of a half-rectifier or half-squaring) the resulting kernels will always be positive (independently of the form of the feedforward filter). This means that such a model cannot generate suppression as defined by our analysis. The simulations confirm this theoretical result.
We offer two examples of feed-forward receptive fields. In both cases, the linear receptive field was modeled as a separable filter in space and time. In the first example, the space kernel was an even-symmetric Gabor function broadly tuned in orientation and low-pass in spatial frequency, denoted by h 1 (Fig.6 A). In the second case (Fig. 6 B), the filter was an odd-symmetric Gabor function well tuned in both orientation and spatial frequency, denoted byh 2. The reverse correlation kernels obtained for the different models are shown as panels in Fig.6, C–E. The left panel corresponds to the results of h 1 and theright panels correspond toh 2.
As expected, the results of the simulation for the linear-nonlinear model reveal responses with no suppressive component (Fig.6 C). In this sort of feedforward model, tuning selectivity can be set to high or low by an appropriate choice of the linear kernel. The kernel obtained usingh 1, shown in the left panel of Fig. 6 C, has broad tuning (circular variance of 0.8 and low-pass index of 0.8). In contrast, the kernel generated byh 2 has sharp selectivity in the Fourier plane (circular variance of 0.25 and low-pass index of 0.1). However, because the linear-nonlinear model never generates suppression, it cannot explain the correlation between suppression and tuning in our data. The linear-nonlinear model could account for neurons like the one whose results are shown in Fig. 2 D. Such weakly tuned neurons comprise a significant fraction of the data set.
A nonlinear suppressive signal is therefore required to explain the results in the sharply tuned neurons. We then investigated if the addition of suppression to the basic linear-nonlinear model could sharpen tuning selectivity. We considered two different suppression mechanisms: divisive and subtractive. In the models we studied, suppression is assumed to originate as a feedback signal in the cortex by pooling a number of cortical cells, but as we discuss in the following text, equivalent feed-forward implementations can be postulated as well. Thus while our data show that suppression might be important in the generation of tuning they do not speak as to the structure of the circuit underlying its generation.
In the divisive suppression scheme, the output of the linear filter is divided by a gain signal obtained by pooling the activities of a large number of cortical cells with different tuning selectivities (e.g.,Carandini et al. 1997). The resulting kernel in theleft panel of Fig. 6 D resembles some of the empirical kernels (Fig. 2, A and B) and shows that divisive inhibition can be used to enhance selectivity. Forh 1, divisive inhibition generates a kernel with CV = 0.23 and α = 0, compared with the linear-nonlinear model, which has CV = 0.8 and α = 0.8). A similar outcome is obtained if we use subtractive inhibition (Fig. 6 E). Here suppression acts by shifting the feedforward contribution away from threshold. These simulations demonstrate that both subtractive or divisive feedback can transform a broadly tuned excitatory component (Fig. 6 C,left) into a response with higher selectivity in orientation and spatial frequency (Fig. 6, D and E, left). Adding suppression to a well-tuned filter generates similar kernels but the sharpening effect is much reduced (Fig. 6,C–E, right). These findings, together with the fact that we rarely observe sharply tuned cells without suppression (as in the right panel in Fig. 6 C), are consistent with the view that feedforward mechanisms may provide broad stimulus selectivity to the cortex, but the way the cortex seems to achieve high selectivity is by the use of intracortical inhibition.
Based solely on the qualitative shapes of the simulated kernels, it appears that our data cannot distinguish between divisive and subtractive inhibition. We are now investigating if a quantitative comparison of the resulting kernels may provide a way to differentiate between the two. Recent intracellular experiments in cat visual cortex, however, suggest that shunting (divisive) inhibition plays an important role in suppressing nonoptimal responses (Monier et al. 2000; but see Anderson et al. 2000;Ferster et al. 1996).
We used a reverse correlation technique to map response enhancement and suppression in V1 neurons. The method can be considered a refinement of the classical "conditioning stimulus" technique, where the response to a test stimulus is measured on top of some elevated firing rate set by a conditioning (or base) stimulus (e.g., among others, Blakemore and Tobin 1972; Bonds 1989; Nelson and Frost 1978). This elevated rate facilitates the detection of suppression. In the reverse correlation method, the elevation in firing rate is caused by the rapid stimulus sequence itself. The elements in the sequence are themselves the test stimuli, which appear multiple times embedded in different contexts. The analysis averages the effect of a test stimulus across the different contexts. A significant advantage of the reverse correlation technique is that the cortex does not adapt to the "base" stimulus (as is the case in the conditioning paradigm). This is a potential problem with the classical conditioning stimulus technique because it is known that adaptation can induce changes in tuning (Dragoi et al. 2001). An additional refinement we have made in the method over our previous work (Ringach et al. 1997b) is to define a baseline response explicitly. Suppression can now be measured directly instead of being inferred from the "Mexican-hat" shape of the tuning functions. Furthermore, global (uniform) suppression, which might have gone undetected by the previous method, can now be measured as well. Finally, by measuring response on the whole Fourier domain with reverse correlation, we have obtained a clear picture of the relationship between enhancement and suppression in V1.
Previous work showed the presence of response suppression in the orientation or spatial frequency domains but did not systematically study the relationship between suppression and selectivity or make comparisons to model outputs (Bauman and Bonds 1991;Blakemore and Tobin 1972; Bonds 1989;Burr et al. 1981; De Valois and Tootell 1983; De Valois et al. 1982; Morrone et al. 1982; Nelson and Frost 1978; Nelson 1991; Ringach et al. 1997a; Sclar and Freeman 1982). By using a new technique that allows us to map simultaneously the precise location of response enhancement and suppression in the Fourier plane, we found that suppression and tuning selectivity are correlated in V1 neurons. Cells that are suppressed by nonoptimal stimuli are more selective, both in the orientation and spatial frequency domains. In the spatial frequency domain, however, suppression acts mainly on the lower-frequency-limb of the tuning curve, enhancing the neurons' band-pass characteristics. This was established without the need for pharmacological manipulations as done in some previous studies. Instead we took advantage of the natural variability of tuning selectivity in the cortex to study the correlation between inhibition and tuning selectivity in the normal V1 population.
The modeling shows that a broadly tuned inhibition, which overlaps significantly with the response of the feedforward signal in the Fourier domain, is sufficient to generate results that are qualitatively similar with most of the experimental data (a tuned inhibitory signal is required to replicate the flank suppression in Fig. 2 C). Broadly tuned suppression was used in the simulations to be consistent with experimental results in cat area 17 (DeAngelis et al. 1992), which show a suppressive component that is broadly tuned for orientation and spatial frequency. Both subtractive and divisive inhibition generated results that are in qualitative agreement with the measured kernels. The divisive model has been proposed before to account for contrast gain control in the cortex (Albrecht and Geisler 1991; Carandini et al. 1997; Heeger 1992). The suppression observed in the kernels could be related to a contrast gain control signal acting on fast time scales. An assumption of these models is that response selectivity is invariant at different levels of contrast gain control. However, the observed correlation between selectivity and suppression, together with the modeling results and the findings of previous studies (McLaughlin et al. 2000), show that in addition to controlling contrast gain, divisive inhibition might sharpen response selectivity in the cortex.
A question that remains unanswered in our study is the exact structure of the cortical circuitry generating the inhibitory signals. The numerical simulations show that cortical feedback is one possibility. In principle, feedback suppression can be replaced with feed-forward suppression using a circuit as shown in Fig.7 A. Here, the nonlinear suppressive signal is generated by summing in a feed-forward fashion the output of simple cells. This is similar to the hierarchical complex cell model of Hubel and Wiesel. The nonlinear signal is then used to inhibit, via division or subtraction, the target cell. An alternative is that several inhibitory simple-cells synapse directly on the target cell (Fig. 7 B). These feed-forward inhibition models can be made to generate results that resemble those of the feedback models.
Because there is no evidence for direct thalamo-cortical inhibition, the feed-forward inhibition models postulate the existence of a cortical inhibitory interneuron for the main purpose of inverting the LGN input (Troyer et al. 1998). However, we feel the existence of such purely "feed-forward" circuitry through inhibitory interneurons is doubtful given our knowledge of the cortical anatomy (Dantzker and Callaway 2000; Lund 1987,1988; Lund et al. 1995). It appears likely that inhibitory interneurons also receive a substantial cortical input that is dependent on visual stimulation and that the entire circuit is more appropriately described as a feedback system. Nevertheless the actual organization of the inhibitory circuitry remains a question for further research.
The data presented here significantly advance our knowledge of the relationship between suppression and tuning. Specifically, the correlations in our data are consistent with the idea that nonlinear suppression, whether generated by feedback or feed-forward mechanisms, plays a role in generating sharp stimulus selectivity in the Fourier plane. Models of cortical selectivity need to predict the observed correlation between response suppression and tuning selectivity in primary visual cortex. Simple models that generate high orientation selectivity through feed-forward (linear) excitatory mechanisms but no suppression, as shown by simulations (Fig. 6) and analytically, do not predict such a correlation and therefore are rejected by the data.
This research was supported by National Eye Institute Grants EY-12816 (D. L. Ringach), EY-08300 (M. J. Hawken), and EY-01472 (R. M. Shapley) and by the Sloan Foundation for support of the New York University Theoretical Neuroscience Program.
Calculation of d′ for the Poisson case
Given two Poisson distributions, with rates λ and αλ, we can derive a measure of d′ analogous to the Gaussian case (Green and Swets 1966). The parameterd′ gives a measure of how separated the two distributions are—the more separated the rates are the higher thed′. The log-likelihood function for a Poisson distributed variable is easily calculated and equalsL(k) = −λ + k ln λ − ln k!. Thus the log-likelihood ratio between two hypotheses with rates λ and αλ can be written as,l(k) = k ln α +C, where C is a constant that depends on λ and α. In analogy to the equal-variance Gaussian case, we can write d′ = ln α. The parameter d′is the log of the ratio between the means of the two distributions. Given a baseline rate λ there are only two different rates that will yield the same (absolute) d′ value: λe d′ and λe −d′. Clearly, the product of these rates equals λ, and the logarithm of the ratio between the rates and the baseline rate equals ±d′. Therefore the absolute magnitude of enhancement and suppression, as defined in this study, is effectively a measure of d′ relative to the baseline rate.
Nonnegativity of kernels in a linear-nonlinear system
Consider the linear-nonlinear system depicted in Fig.6 C. We claim that if Φ(·) is convex then the reverse correlation kernel is nonnegative, R(ω, θ; τ) ≥ 0.
In other words, this model cannot generate suppression as defined in our analysis. This can be seen as follows. Let us denote byy(t) the output of the linear filter at time t and the instantaneous (Poisson) rate of firing by r(t) = Φ[y(t)]. At any point in time, the probability of the neuron firing in an interval Δtis given r(t) Δt. Thus the expected firing rate τ ms after the presentation of a grating with a fixed spatial frequency (ω) and orientation (θ), but random spatial phase (φ) is given by Here, H(ω, θ; τ) is the amplitude spectrum of the linear filter evaluated at t = τ, and z is a random variable that represents the contribution of the filter to y(t) from times other than τ. If Φ(·) is convex, we can use Jensen's inequality to obtain but Which yields However, Φ(0) is also the firing rate of a baseline stimulus, as the definition requires that for such stimuliH(ω, θ; τ) = 0, which means that the stimuli cannot be resolved by the neuron. We conclude that
Address for reprint requests: D. L. Ringach, Dept. of Neurobiology and Psychology, Franz Hall, Rm. 8441B, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1563 (E-mail: dario{at}ucla.edu).
- Copyright © 2002 The American Physiological Society


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I think I wrote in my other blog about one of my current Teaching Assistant positions… it's for Joey Reiman of BrightHouse. BrightHouse works with companies of all sizes to help them capture (or re-capture) their "Master Idea." Part of what this entails is a focus on the true ethos of a company. As Joey often says, traditional advertising and/or marketing companies tend to focus on tactics or strategy, especially when dealing with internal branding (which , by default, directly effects what your external brand portrays). BrightHouse goes right to the core of the company, starting with the culture and digging right down into the real company ethos (the deepest level you can reach).
The reason I'm bringing this up is not necessarily to talk about BrightHouse, but more to talk about the process they use to achieve their results. Are you ready for this? It's thinking. No joke. They literally take a significant amount of time thinking and brainstorming. BrightHouse assembles panel-like sessions from its cadre of enormously influential people in various fields (usually they are matched according to the industry of the client company, however, there is also an effort to get thinkers from outside the field to add a new view).
And what do they do at the end? They sell their idea to the company. There's not a campaign, or a poster design, or a new commercial. Just an idea.
It's a beautiful thing. To me, thinking is the most crucial action in life (aright, perhaps involuntary actions like… I dunno, breathing, might be more crucial, you get me though). Thinking is what separates the men from boys. You can't act effectively without thinking. And the more you can broaden your thought process in general, the more effective and diverse your thinking will be when it's needed the most (execution).
There should be more thinking in the world as far as I'm concerned. So pick up a book, or ask your coworker what her hobbies are (and then ask her about those), or watch a pigeon in the park, or a kids cartoon. Something. Anything. Get the juices flowing.
Aright, I feel like I just preached the power of thinking. I did preach the power of thinking. I'm allowed one soap-box entry a month, how about that? Then I'll stop and be funny next time.

subset: commoncrawl


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Would you like to get your GED® certification in Greensburg LA? The exam is for adults who have not received their high school diploma. The certification that you receive upon passing the Louisiana GED® test is accepted as an equivalent credential to a high school diploma by employers and colleges throughout the United States.
The exam covers basic subjects that students are taught in high school. Subjects reviewed in GED® classes include reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. Those are the subject areas that make up the test in Louisiana.
Many GED® classes in Greensburg LA are offered at:
- Greensburg Adult Education Centers
- Greensburg Public Library
- Greensburg Literacy Centers
- Greensburg Community Colleges


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Nepal's King Cuts Nation Off From World
Expand Messages
- http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/N/NEPAL_GOVERNMENT_DISMISSED?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME
Feb 1, 3:28 PM EST
Nepal's King Cuts Nation Off From World
By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA
Associated Press Writer
KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) -- King Gyanendra dismissed
Nepal's government Tuesday and declared a state of
emergency, closing off his Himalayan nation from the
rest of the world as telephone and Internet lines were
cut, flights diverted and civil liberties severely
Britain and India both expressed concern, saying the
king's actions undermined democracy.
This was the second time in three years the king has
taken control of the tiny South Asian constitutional
monarchy, a throwback to the era of absolute power
enjoyed by monarchs before King Birendra, Gyanendra's
elder brother, introduced democracy in 1990.
King Gyanendra denied his takeover was a coup,
although soldiers surrounded the houses of Prime
Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and other government
The king also suspended several provisions of the
constitution, including freedom of the press, speech
and expression, peaceful assembly, the right to
privacy, and the right against preventive detention,
according to a statement from the Narayanhiti Palace.
"We will oppose this step," Deuba, who was not allowed
to leave his home, told reporters. "The move directly
violates the constitution and is against democracy."
Nepali Congress, the country's largest party, said the
king had "pushed the country toward further
complications" and called for a demonstration.
India, Nepal's southern neighbor and close ally, also
criticized the king.
"These developments constitute a serious setback to
the cause of democracy in Nepal and cannot but be a
cause of grave concern to India," India's foreign
ministry said. "The safety and welfare of the
political leaders must be ensured and political
parties must be allowed to exercise all the rights
enjoyed by them under the constitution."
India said the king had violated Nepal's constitution,
which enshrines a multiparty democracy alongside a
constitutional monarchy.
Britain expressed similar concerns.
"This action will increase the risk of instability in
Nepal, undermining the institutions of democracy and
constitutional monarchy in the country. We call for
the immediate restitution of multiparty democracy, and
appeal for calm and restraint on all sides during this
difficult time," said Foreign Office Minister Douglas
Armored vehicles with mounted machine guns patrolled
the streets of Katmandu, Nepal's capital, and phone
lines in the city had been cut. Many flights into the
city were canceled, although the airport remained
Long lines quickly formed at grocery stores and gas
stations, as worried residents stocked up on supplies.
"We are so confused. We don't know what is going on or
what will happen," said Narayan Thapa, a government
worker. "I am worried I can't reach my family on the
In an announcement on state-run television, the king
accused the government of failing to conduct
parliamentary elections and to restore peace in the
country beset by rebel violence.
"A new Cabinet will be formed under my leadership," he
said. "This will restore peace and effective democracy
in this country within the next three years."
Later, state-run television reported a state of
emergency had been declared.
"This is not the first time that the king has tried to
impose himself by force, depriving the Nepalese people
of their freedom of expression," international media
freedom group Reporters Sans Frontieres said. "The
international community has failed to respond to a
deteriorating human rights situation in the country.
It is now urgent that the U.N. reacts firmly."
The monarch, who commands the 78,000-member army, said
security forces would be given more power to maintain
law and order. But he insisted human rights would be
The king fired Deuba as prime minister in 2002,
sparking mass protests demanding the restoration of a
democratically elected government. He reinstated Deuba
last year with the task of holding elections by next
month and conducting peace talks with Maoist rebels.
Nepal has been in turmoil since Gyanendra, 55,
suddenly assumed the crown in 2001 after his brother,
Birendra, was gunned down in a palace massacre
apparently committed by Birendra's son, the crown
prince, who also died. In all, 10 members of the royal
family were killed.
Riots shook Katmandu after the killings. Soon after,
fighting intensified between government forces and the
rebels, who control large parts of Nepal's
The rebels have been trying since 1996 to overthrow
the government and establish a socialist state. More
than 10,500 people have died since the fighting began.
� 2005 The Associated Press.
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text:
Harlequins Daughter
Only Conor Byrne is keen to welcome Brigit Flood into the small artistic community that he has formed, despite her intention of televising their work. Drawn to the charismatic Conor, Brigit does not realize what a nest of vipers she is stumbling into, nor the poisons they are capable of disgorging.
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SARASOTA - A Ft. Myers teen got more of a ride than he probably bargained for while out boating off of Captiva this weekend.
Chris Kreis says last Saturday, while he was thirty miles offshore, he saw a thirty foot long whale shark. So what did he do? His friend rolled video while he jumped in and tried to go for a ride. "I decided, you know what, maybe I should go try and swim with him. I might not be able to do it ever again," said Kreis.
The 19-year old didn't get very far--but this video has gone around the world.
Daredevils may be applauding this stunt off the coast of Southwest Florida, in Sarasota, marine biologists at Mote Marine aren't laughing.
"I thought, ah, not a good thing to do. Please don't do that...certainly not riding them." Dr. Bob Hueter says whale sharks have tiny teeth and aren't dangerous, but he says their tails can whip you, and they're covered with a slime that helps protect them. "But the main thing is, these fish are feeding; and when you jump on them, you make them dive and take them off their feeding, and it compromises their health."
Hueter says seing a whale shark near the Suncoast is a once in a lifetime experience. He understands being excited, but asks that next time, people keep at least six feet away from the fish.


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Both nostalgia and plain old fun contribute to the ubiquitous presence of biographical dramas and comedies -- with their larger-than-life personalities engaged in desperately (or jovially) over-the-top antics. And this season is no exception. Biographical plays are also safe: The characters have high-profile names that almost guarantee an audience.
Currently running are "Moonlight and Magnolias," a madcap look at David O. Selznick, Ben Hecht, and Victor Fleming holed up in an office for a week hammering out the script for "Gone With the Wind," and "Orson's Shadow," which depicts the volatile encounter between Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier as the two collaborate on a 1960 production of Ionesco's "Rhinoceros." And upcoming is "China Doll," a glimpse into the misunderstood life and times of the first female Asian-American star, Anna May Wong.
But questions remain: Are the creative teams bringing any new spin to their well-worn subjects and, outside of diehard fans and history buffs, are the protagonists of these plays of any real interest to anybody today? In addition to discussing the particular challenges that writers and directors face in evoking the lives of such public icons, the theatre artists interviewed by Back Stage commented on how these figures -- who function as fictional characters though their stories are based on solid research -- still strike a chord with contemporary audiences.
Ron Hutchinson, the author of "Moonlight and Magnolias," now playing at Manhattan Theatre Club, notes that "Gone With the Wind" continues to be "an iconic movie for a whole new generation of moviegoers, who find a simpler world in that film. But it's much more than nostalgia," he stresses, suggesting that the play talks to audience interests on a totally different level.
"We are obsessed today with how things are made, especially with how films are made," he says. "Maybe that interest has something to do with the number of people walking around with video cameras. Audiences are interested in whose vision makes the film: Is it the writer, the director, or the producer? I hope this play offers a new appreciation of the producer, who lives with the movie longer than anyone else and is ultimately responsible for what gets up on the screen yet gets the short end of the stick and is often caricatured." Hutchinson, a Hollywood writer for many years, adds, "We're all fascinated by process. We're at the keyhole looking into rooms that were at one time sealed."
Taking a voyeuristic peek into the lives of the rich and famous also plays a part in the drawing power of a piece like "Orson's Shadow" (now running at the Barrow Street Theatre), says its director, David Cromer. "We're always comparing ourselves -- rating and judging our lives -- in relationship to the accomplishments and failures of others, especially those whose lives and struggles are played out in public. These characters' struggles are immediately relatable to an audience."
Austin Pendleton, who wrote "Orson's Shadow," agrees, adding, "Laurence Olivier was a man constantly redefining himself, determined to move on and survive, while Orson Welles had a pull towards self-destruction. Those opposing impulses are very human and universal. But the themes become amplified when the characters are renowned.
"But I don't believe audiences even have to know who these characters are, except that they're theatrical figures who have been allotted size and that they lived in an era when people of talent were viewed almost as otherworldly," he continues. "Now talented people are viewed reductively. Everyone is endlessly analyzed and the mystery is gone. Reality TV is the opposite of what Olivier and Welles are about. I think this play speaks to audiences who are experiencing a fierce desire -- much fiercer than nostalgia -- to find that world again."
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre's artistic director, Tisa Chang, who is helming "China Doll" (scheduled to open at the West End Theatre on April 2), also sees Anna May Wong as the embodiment of a more elegant world that is long gone and much missed. For Chang, Wong continues to be fascinating, although she is perceived differently by Caucasians and Asian Americans.
"We wanted to add a human side to the myth," Chang says. "Anna May was a pathfinder and role model, not simply an actress reinforcing such Asian stereotypes as the submissive ornamental exotic on the one hand or the dragon lady on the other. Asian Americans have viewed her dubiously when in fact she was an extraordinary actress."
But Caucasians don't grasp the full picture either, Chang stresses: "They will remember her glamour, her star power, but not the difficulties she went through and how she was slotted into a niche."
Challenges and Pitfalls
The challenges faced by these artists vary. For Chang, whose theatre's mission is, in part, to forge positive images of Asian Americans, there were added concerns. For example: "At the end of her life, Anna May Wong was alone, cloistered, and drank heavily -- many different kinds of alcohol," Chang explains. "We didn't want it to be so grim. So we had her drink champagne to maintain the glamour and dignity that she really did have."
Truth is an elusive concept and perhaps nowhere more pointedly than in the life of a star like Anna May Wong, "who was so many different things to different people," Chang points out. "One of my biggest challenges -- besides the technical challenge of adjusting to the quick and time-shifting cinematiclike scene changes -- was giving Anna May a cohesive imprint. Anna May was a complicated woman who was distant even in her personal life and took on the persona of some of the characters she played on screen."
The author of "China Doll," Elizabeth Wong (no relationship to Anna May), underscores the idea that "the play is a biography with a twist. I'm not literally telling a life story. I'm describing relationships and conversations that I can't possibly know she had. I deliberately put her in movies that she did not appear in. I'm reclaiming and reinventing cinematic history in order to explore what it means to be an artist, what it means to be an Asian-American woman in the arts. But I also want audiences to place Anna May in her world and not to view her through modern eyes."
Rosanne Ma, who plays Wong, concurs: "Every time you portray a real person, you want to maintain respect and therefore cannot make any grand assumptions about that person. One of my goals was to suggest her sense of humor and her quirkiness, which we don't see in her films. I did a lot of research and found that she had a real sense of irony. I want audiences to recognize her integrity, intelligence, and her passion for acting that was almost violent."
Without doing an imitation of her, Ma attempts to hint at "Wong's voice and British dialect."
Similarly, the actors in "Orson's Shadow" have been directed to evoke -- but without leaning on it too heavily -- the physical and vocal characteristics of their onstage alter egos.
"We cast actors who were not afraid of playing famous people and we spent time attempting to capture the characters' voice and look," recalls Cromer. "We gave Jeff Still [who plays Orson], for example, some padding. In the end, the padding helps suggest Orson but, more important, a man who is dragging a lot of weight around and struggling because of it. This play is about people who are struggling, putting up their own barriers, and screwing themselves in the process."
Still, when your subjects are real people, there are added problems, Pendleton acknowledges. The writer doesn't want to violate the truth, but he has to take liberties for dramatic purposes, he says, noting that some events in the play are taken out of context. He admits, for example, that he used Kenneth Tynan -- the critic who was responsible for bringing Welles and Olivier together for "Rhinoceros" -- as a catalyst and a structural and thematic lynchpin.
"Tynan also serves as a stand-in for the audience, the man who adores the two great actors," Pendleton adds. "His presence gives the play a sense of immediacy. He's also not unlike the fool in 'King Lear.' "
But Pendleton hopes that at its close, the play is finally about two men "who are weirdly united in their realization that life is a process of dissolving. Art may transcend that dissolution, but art doesn't take the artist past it. Art cannot save the artist from dissolution."
More Serious Themes
"Moonlight and Magnolias" also embodies some serious themes -- specifically, the peculiar role of Jews in Hollywood's early years. "They were a handful of Jewish men, true outsiders, who created the movies, and American culture through those movies," Hutchinson says. "Yet there was tremendous anti-Semitism in Hollywood -- the belief that Jews were not real Americans -- and Ben Hecht was uncomfortably aware of it and talks about it in the play, while Selznick truly believed that he was assimilated."
To capture the movie mogul's sense of assimilation, Santo Loquasto designed a lavish set deliberately evoking an "Englishman's club," says Hutchinson, who acknowledges that he doesn't know whether Selznick really had an office that looked like that. Regardless, it concretizes the spirit of the man.
Despite its serious undercurrent, "Moonlight and Magnolias" is very much a valentine to the buccaneering spirit of that era, embodied by all the characters on stage, including director Victor Fleming (played by David Rasche), "an aviator, a big-game hunter, and a man for whom directing a film was a contact sport," remarks Hutchinson, adding that Fleming also had a reputation for sartorial splendor.
"The material cried out to be handled in a farcical way," he says, citing another layer to the challenge. "It's the subject -- the three men locked in a room to write the screenplay of 'Gone With the Wind' when the writer has never read the novel. But the madcap style is also right for the era, the comic movies of the era, echoing the comic plays on Broadway -- actors speaking quickly, stepping on each other's lines. The rapid-fire style suggested a kind of modernity."
Director Lynne Meadow, the artistic director of Manhattan Theatre Club, adds that "melding all the elements together was the big challenge. I also wanted all the characters to be human beings, grounded in truth. They're tightly wound, loveable, and endearing. They're larger than life, but they have to be familiar, known to an audience.
"This is a play about serious fun, what it takes to create something -- the work that goes into creation, without knowing if it will be successful at all. There was so much going against Selznick. And that fascinates me: the reality of what's happening on stage versus the cosmic joke of how it all turns out, 'Gone With the Wind' becoming one of the greatest film successes ever. And the audience is in on that.
"I want the audience to leave the theatre admiring how much it takes to make something happen," Meadow continues. "And in the course of that to understand what it must have been like to be a Jew in 1939 Hollywood. They were marginalized outsiders in the mainstream creating a cultural icon."
It is indeed the enigma and paradox of movies in general and "Gone With the Wind" in particular that Hutchinson hopes audiences see in a new light: "One of the greatest movies of all time, whose heroine is a tramp and [with] a background that glorifies slaveholding. But what I really want is the audience to leave the theatre feeling it's been a bloody good night in the theatre."
Certainly, none of the artists would dispute that. But a biographical drama adds another element to the mix. Perhaps playwright Wong sums it up best when she declars that if a play like this is done well, theatregoers will walk away "celebrating their own humanity."


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The Villanova Community Garden student group organizes and advocates the creation of sustainable, locally-sourced, and healthy dining options on campus as well as participates in community gardening efforts in the area. They volunteer at local and urban community gardens, promote campus awareness of food sustainability, and support environmental justice efforts to increase food access. They also enjoy good food together through community dinners. The group aims to increase campus awareness of where our food comes from and how it affects both our own health and the health of the environment.
Advisor: Carol Anthony, CPJE (x94608)
Co-Presidents: Michelle Velez (founder), Shaye Glovas
Publicity Chair: Cristina Rocca
Campus Project Chairs: Marc LePrince, Manuela Elizondo
Local Outreach Chairs: Kendall Hagan, Natalie Flinn
Dining Services Project Chairs: Hannah Caswell, Kathleen Dolan, Rebecca Connolly
Visit Philly Urban Creators and Skunk Hollow Community Garden to learn more about these organizations!
Contact Michelle Velez with any questions
VU students volunteering at Skunk Hollow


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Challenge your friends to a game of pool or darts, or just cosy up to the bar at Cue Guru.
12th Inter-School National Scrabble Championship 2013
- Date
- 20 Apr 2013 To 21 Apr 2013
- Venue
- D' Marquee
Interested to witness which school will win the 12th Inter- School National Scrabble Championship 2013?
Downtown East will be hosting the finals for the Primary School Category and Secondary School Category which will be taking place on 20th & 21st April respectively. Over 300 students will battle it out in the finals, vying for the championships of the year.
Free admission for all! Come and see the interesting words that the students can form and lend your support to your favourite team!
Event subject to change without prior notice.
More Like This
Take advantage of the following promotion and start making some unforgettable memories!


text:
Pure Bliss Vibe
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Brand: Good Vibrations Toys
Get tickled pink with the Pure Bliss Vibe. Read More
Get tickled pink with the Pure Bliss Vibe. This petite, discreet bullet-style vibe features a tri-tipped tickler and nubbed texturing for added sensation. Push-button control allows for ease of operation and waterproof design makes ideal for any intimate adventure in or out of the water.Pure Bliss Vibe
TPE and ABS
Uses one N battery, included
3" x 1 1/8" (7.6cm x 3cm")
Volume: 3, Intensity: 2
Brand: Good Vibrations Toys
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Managing the household budget is tough, in the best of times and especially in the worst of times. But there are ways to make your money work harder for you and to reduce the interest rates on loans and credit cards to help lower your family's bills. If you are looking for steps that can be taken to reduce expenses, consider switching credit cards or consolidating multiple accounts into one. Balance transfer credit cards might be the money tool your budget needs to lower your interest rate and get your budget back under control.
How do you know if it is time to switch credit cards as a money savings tactic? Let's start with the basics of budgeting and debt. Three of the big economic indicators used to gauge the financial health of our country are:
· Jobless/Unemployment Rates
· Credit Card Debt
· Amount of Savings and Investments
These factors also have a direct impact on the financial health of individual households. If the primary wage earner is unemployed, underemployed or goes through periods of layoffs, union strikes or lack of work in their preferred industry, the income of the family is negatively affected. Full time, gainful employment is needed to establish a standard of living and financial stability. It can take a long time for the average family to recover from this type of financial setback – but it's not impossible.
Households that have several credit cards with high balances subject to high interest rates are at a disadvantage. Family budgets straining to pay only the minimum payment on the outstanding balance (rather than paying off the balance every month) are just treading water or slowly sinking financially. In 2012, the average American household with at least one credit card has almost $16,000 in credit-card debt. When the average American salary is $47,000, we obviously need to do a better job at controlling our personal debt and reduce our credit card balances to more a manageable level
Typically, households that are living paycheck to paycheck or not able to pay their monthly bills on time are not going to be able to save any money. The lack of savings for major upcoming expenses like braces for teenagers, college for the kids or retirement of the wage earners can affect two or more generations within just a decade or two. Not having saved for these expenses ends up putting family members at risk of not getting the needed services or having to go into debt to get them.
Assuming your household's primary wage earner is working full time and the income is relatively stable, reassessing the budget and making adjustments will be based on controlling what is spent and managing debt. Living within your means, paying off debt and planning for a secure financial future are your goals. Use these strategies to get your budget back on track:
· Track all expenditures and know what you are spending money on every month.
· Keep impulse purchases to a minimum.
· Identify and change bad spending habits.
· Commit to a savings program that sets aside a regular amount for a long term goal.
· Reduce the amount of interest on loans and credit cards and pay down the balances as quickly as possible.
Companies are well aware of the business opportunities in helping households manage their money and get out of debt. According to Ready for Zero, one out of three Americans is crippled by credit card debt, paying as much as 30% annual interest. Attacking the high interest rates by switching cards and controlling spending can wipe out that debt in just a few years.
With motivation and the right tools, we can all use better budgeting tactics to get out of debt and be prepared for a secure financial future.


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Here at Review Centre we work hard to make sure we are the best place on the internet for honest, unbiased consumer reviews - we are grateful for your help in keeping us that way!
Written on: 15/08/2012
Sorry it took so long to review, but the scooter is never stopped. My grandaughter loves it and goes everywhere on it. She hasn't even had time to put the glitzy jewels on yet! Delivery was prompt and it arrived safely.


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I get the cross hairs and as soon as I try to draw the region box, the error occurs.
1. Seems to be only happening with selected region capture. I seem to be able to take full screen captures.
can anyone else confirm that this is true for them too?
what i need confirmation of is that the only thing that causes the error is a Selected Region capture.
That's what I'll be checking tomorrow...
Page created in 0.129 seconds with 71 queries.


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When Hairy Palms met Sally
|By Amy Alkon
When Hairy Palms met Sally
Q: I checked my boyfriend's online history (okay, invaded his privacy) and saw he'd been looking up porn all day yesterday and the day before while home with the flu. I freaked! We'd talked about porn before. He said he watched it in his younger days, but didn't anymore, so I was surprised. I confronted him, and he said he'd been bored and curious, but doesn't watch porn regularly. I don't know whether I believe him. I've heard people get addicted to porn. Beyond that, there are the unrealistic images of women.
A: You thought you'd come home, ask what your poor sick bunny did all day, and learn that he was weak and feverish, but not too weak and feverish to spend eight hours straight picking out a ring and poring over all the great wedding gifts on Tiffany's website.
Figure out whether you're getting your needs met, and if you aren't, tell him, and see whether he'll do something to change that. Remember, there are men who never look at porn. You'll find them where all the rapists are rich and handsome and where nobody ever gets knocked up by the bus driver; in other words, wherever books like Harlequin's "Billionaire Prince, Pregnant Mistress" and "Pregnant with the Billionaire's Baby" are sold.
Windbagging The Girl
Q: I just learned my high school sweetheart is attending our 10-year reunion and is single. We never expressed our love sexually. I still think of her as a whole person, an attractive person, and wonder what she looks like in the nude. How might I tell her I'm interested in her, wanting to be physical, establish a bond, and increase intimacy with her in a sexual way?
A: It seems you've gotten your hands on the Kama Sutra, as translated by C-3PO: "I am wanting to be physical. Establish a bond. Increase intimacy with you in a sexual way." Let's get real: You never nailed her in high school, and you think she might get drunk and put out. And no, don't say that either, but at least be honest with yourself. And then, when you see her, grab her some punch and just talk about life. Get a little nuzzly, put your arm around her, and if she doesn't pull away in horror, keep going. Maybe you'll score with her, maybe you won't, but you'll do much better with women in general if you keep in mind that seduction is an activity, not the transcript to an episode of Dr. Phil.
© 2009 Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.


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17691Eorclanstanas (was Re: For JDR: Query on Hobbit geography)
Expand Messages
- Jan 2, 2007--- In firstname.lastname@example.com, Jason Fisher
<visualweasel@...> wrote:
> > Wild-hare speculation: was there ever a passing
> > of the Arkenstone with the Silmaril (eorclanstane) ofMaidros?
> > The descriptions are not dissimilar; and the Arkenstonerather
> > singularly appears to be a light-source in "Not At Home."Tolkien used "Eorclanstanas" as his OE translation for
> Wild it may be, but I've wondered the same thing. I believe
"Silmarils" in HoMe (not handy to cite page numbers, though;
perhaps someone can help out). Based on that, I think it's
very natural to wonder about a connection between the
Arkenstone and Silmarils. In fact, in my original draft of the
entry "Silmarils" for the Tolkien Encyclopedia, I had written
a paragraph in speculation on this same point, but I ended up
cutting it for space (and because it was much more speculative
than warranted for the entry).
>If we were to push this notion rather harder than it probably
warrants (remember, we're considering early, unformed
conceptions), the Ered Wethion-Sirion-Taur-na-Fuin-Dor-na-
Fauglith geography would place Erebor at - Himling? Maidros'
home? Although of course even in the first draft of the
Hobbit Erebor was not drawn as flat-topped nor suitable to be
crowned with a fortress; and there's no suggestion at all
where in ruined Beleriand* Maidros stole the Jewel, nor where
he committed suicide.
And yet....
And yet: "The great jewel shone before his feet of its own
inner light, and yet...it took all light that fell upon it and
changed it into ten thousand sparks of white radiance shot
with glints of the rainbow." Compare QS (1937): "Of their own
radiance they shone even in the dark; yet all lights that fell
upon them, however faint, they took and reflected in
marvellous hues."
Unfortunately for this notion, the words hidden behind my
ellipsis in the Hobbit quote are "...cut and fashioned by the
dwarves, who had dug it from the heart of the mountain long
*The destruction of Beleriand ("and Sirion was no more") goes
back at least to the Qenta (1930), which is problematic for
the whole notion.
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Tagged: easy slider
I'm having some difficulty with Easy Slider. I have 9 images with titles set to fade on a 5-second timer.
The first image transitions abruptly (no fade) to the second and then the slider stalls. The navigation buttons don't work either.
The website is http://www.bathcan.net
Any help appreciated.
Hello Jonathan!
You are currently using Enfold version 1.7.1. Recently version 2.2 was released and there were many bug fixes and improvements since version 1.7.1. On the other hand, you need at least Enfold version 2.0.1 if you are using WordPress 3.6+. After updating your theme, issue should be fixed. If not, let us know
For a quick guide on updating your theme take a look at this video on updating the Enfold theme via FTP: https://vimeo.com/channels/aviathemes/67209750
Best regards,
Hi Yigit,
Thank you! I've upgraded to the latest version of WP and Enfold and things are working well now.
Really appreciate the fast response.
Hi Jonathan!
Glad that it is working well now :) Let us know if you have any other questions
Hi Yegit,
i have the same problem, how can I upgrate Enfold to new relase? Now I'm working in local.
Sorry Yegit,
i didn't see the video… I resolve ;)
The topic 'Easy Slider Problem' is closed to new replies.


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Thunder roar past Bucks
The Oklahoma City Thunder took control in the second half and closed out a 108-90 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night.
Oklahoma City covered the 5-point spread, while the 198 points made it OVER the posted total of 196.5.
Kevin Durant poured in a game-high 33 points to go with 12 rebounds for a double-double in the win.
Ersan Ilyasova collected 13 points with 12 boards for a double-double in the loss.


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- Sold Date:
- Source: eBay
DESCRIPTION: I am pleased to offer for auction a vintage figural whiskey decanter. This piece stands 9" high and is designed to resemble a fisherman or englishman type figure. The decanter comes with a serving tray and (5) shot glasses. Each piece is simply marked "Germany" on the bottom. T is a small chip in the serving tray and some paint loss to the face of the figure but overall in nice condition. SHIPPING : Buyer is responsible for fixed fee priority mail shipping in the amount of $8.95. Insurance is optional at the buyer's expense. I ill not be responsible for items not insured nor do I file insurance claims for merchandise lost or damaged in transit. In the event of loss or damage, I will forward insurance receipts to the buyer for claims processing. I accept Money Orders, Cashiers Checks and Paypal only. No personal checks. Paypal is offered as a payment option, but it is NOT my preferred method of payment. Business accounts are assessed high fees for Paypal transactions, making it an undesirable method of payment for me. I offer it for the convenience of the buyer only. TERMS AND CONDITIONS : I do my very best to be honest and to give as accurate descriptions as possible, however, inadvertent errors and omissions may occasionally occur. I strongly urge all bidders to examine the photos and email me with ... read more


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Wednesday, March 6, 2013
The two wings of the house are set at a 45-degree angle to maximize views and light. Whidbey Island landscape architect Kenneth Philp used foliage and native plants to create a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance garden that looks good in all seasons.
Photography home | Most viewed photos | Purchase photos | Video home
© 2013 The Seattle Times Company


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Festive fare
Fine foods
Gathering with friends and family and toasting the year with fine fare and delicious treats—that's what the holidays are about. Fresh and unique, our collection of gourmet foods offers everything you need to make this season special. Join us, won't you? It's time to celebrate.
Hand Cut 3-Year Old Parmigiano Reggiano
Often referred to as the King of Cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano is an absolute stunner, and one that belongs in every kitchen. Nutty and sharp with a complex, savoury flavour, this cheese is perfect grated onto pasta, or roughly cut and placed onto a cheese board.


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Jamal Morrow recently took unofficial visits to the two schools that have offered - Utah and Washington State - and the Romoland (Calif.) Heritage running back has even more to think about moving forward.
Washington State had a lot for Morrow to like and he said the new coaching staff and the program's direction definitely impressed him.
"It was a beautiful campus," Morrow said. "I loved it up there. I had the whole college town scene and I saw the campus so it was a great visit.
Article Continues Below
"I loved how they brought in pretty much a whole new coaching staff and it's pretty much a new Washington State. They brought in the running backs coach from Nevada and he did a good job there. I love the new coaching staff."
Morrow, a 5-foot-8, 180-pound prospect who looked good at the Southern Cal Rivals.com Showcase Powered by FBU Select this summer, said he was especially impressed with the coaching staff on his trip to Utah.
He sees things running orderly there and has strong feelings about the Utes as well.
"It was great," Morrow said. "Both schools have their own separate kind of vibes. Coach (Kyle) Whittingham knows what he's doing up there and it's just great."
Because both schools are still in the running and Morrow is waiting for a few others - he said Oregon State is showing more interest - the Romoland Heritage standout does not want to make his decision yet.
Morrow is thinking about taking some visits during his senior season, waiting to see if other offers come in and then getting ready to make his choice.
"I still want to take my officials so whenever I have a chance I'll give the coaches a call and take an official and see how it is at the schools again," Morrow said.
"I want to wait until the middle of the season and see if anybody offers. If they don't then I can take my official visits and then make my decision."


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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Tax reform legislation enacted by the Georgia General Assembly in 2012 created a new system for taxing cars registered in the state.
On March 1, House Bill 386 went into effect, removing both sales tax and annual ad valorem taxes for cars bought March 1, 2013 and beyond, replacing them with a single, one-time title ad valorem tax (TAVT).
"It means that automobiles purchased beginning March 1 are no longer subject to sales tax or annual ad valorem tax," said David D. Hicks, Forsyth County's chief deputy tax commissioner. "Both have been replaced with a one-time ad valorem tax."
In the past, on a person's birthday, they would pay the ad valorem tax along with a $20 registration fee to renew a car's registration.
Now, that has become a one-time tax paid at the time the title is processed. The value of the vehicle is assessed one time, and thereafter motorists only pay an annual $20 registration fee.
"Now you only pay the $20 registration fee," Hicks said.
The changes have created slightly longer wait times at the tax commissioner's office.
"It has increased the transaction time for those wishing to opt in," Hicks said. "Because that has to be done in person; you can't just mail it in."
Hicks said he believes the workload for staff will level out as time goes on.
If a car was bought out-of-state between Jan. 1, 2012 and prior to March 2, 2013, they are eligible to opt-in to the new tax, thus eliminating their birthday tax, regardless of where the car was purchased. People who move into Georgia with a car after March 1 will have to pay the new tax on any vehicles entering into the state when they register their cars in Georgia. New out-of-state residents will have to pay half the fee up front, and will have a year to pay the rest.
Those who choose not to opt in will continue to pay the annual ad valorem tax, as in the past.
Vehicles purchased before Jan. 1, 2012 will not be able to opt in and are subject to the annual ad valorem tax until they are resold and retitled.
The new law is revenue neutral, Hicks said, and has just created an alternate method, meaning there's not supposed to be a financial impact on the tax commissioner's office.
The new title ad valorem tax is calculated as a percentage of the car's fair market value (FMV), not the sales price, as determined by the Georgia Department of Revenue.
The new tax rate will be 6.5 percent of FMV for cars bought March 1, 2013 through Dec. 31, 2013, increasing to 6.75 percent for cars bought Jan. 1, 2014 through Dec. 31, 2014, and to 7 percent for those bought Jan. 1, 2015 and beyond.
Owners who choose to opt in to the TAVT system will need to go to their local county tag office at any time between March 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 to do so. To calculate TAVT, visit the Georgia Department of Revenue website www.newtitletax.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this article said that out of state cars could not opt-in.


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When Elaine Euwer was being treated for stage IIB breast cancer in 2007, she was too exhausted to tend to her carefully maintained gardens. In addition, her chemotherapy regimen weakened the avid gardener's immune system, which meant bacteria in soil and mulch could increase her chances of developing a life-threatening infection. Her eight gardens began to show signs of neglect.
Receive monthly updates, including information about web exclusives, events, resources, articles and highlights from new issues—direct to your email inbox. Be among the first to hear the latest news from Cancer Today! Click here to sign up!


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Current mood.
17 hours ago
When searching for this blog I came across a eunach enthusiasts site. Specifically a story (probably user submitted) about a group of female pals who liked to work out and talk about castrating men. The ultimate fantasy was to de-ball a guy with huge ones! They did so.
My advice; stay away from buff women, they probably want to emasculate you.
Not sure if your comment is worthy of a pornographic sketch Alex, but considering it's the only entry I've had you may be in for a treat this Friday.ReplyDelete
if you'll check your stats from google, you'll see that found this site the same way. big balls. nice blog JackReplyDelete
Extra large balls don't do anything better than regular ones.ReplyDelete


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RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 30 (Reuters) - A delay in re-starting a unit at a Petroleo Brasileiro SA refinery and an unexpected spike in gasoline demand have led to fuel shortages in northeastern Brazil, a company source with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
The unit at the 178,000 barrel-a-day RPBC refinery in the southeastern city of Cubatão had been closed for routine maintenance but its start up was delayed by five days, said the source, who declined to provide further details.
Petrobras, as the company is known, said in July that the catalytic-cracking unit at the Cubatao refinery, in the state of São Paulo, would be down for maintenance work between October and December. Inaugurated in 1955, RPBC was the first refinery constructed by Petrobras.
"The delay means a shortfall in production of 15,000 cubic meters to 20,000 cubic metres of gasoline in Cubatão," said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity. "Part of the gasoline produced in São Paulo supplies the Northeast market."
The source said the main reason behind the shortage of gasoline was the unexpected spike in demand, adding that the situation was expected to return to normal by the weekend.
In a statement, Petrobras said gasoline deliveries to the northeastern states of Pernambuco and Paraiba had been disrupted by delays in the arrival of fuel tankers.
The company said a tanker arrived on Tuesday in Paraiba, while another docked in Pernambuco on Wednesday. It did not provide further details.
The head of the Sindipetro oil workers union for the coastal region of Sao Paulo, Marcelo Juvenal, said the problems at the RPBC refinery had been caused by Petrobras using contractors to carry out the repair work during an oil workers strike in November.
"Petrobras should have waited for the end of the strike to carry out the maintenance," Juvenal said. (Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier and Marta Nogueira; Editing by David Gregorio)


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City parks will soon be added to the list of places in Sudbury where you can't smoke. Sudbury councillors voted unanimously Tuesday night to ban smoking from parks, playgrounds, arenas and other recreational areas.
Councillor Jacques Barbeau had spoken out against a total ban at an earlier meeting, but said he changed his mind after going out and speaking with Sudburians.
"I targeted the smokers," he said. "And I was quite surprised that they were in favour of supporting such a bylaw."
Some councillors had concerns about how the new bylaw would be enforced, but Coun. Dave Kilgour said this shouldn't be an issue. There were similar worries a decade ago when smoking was banned from restaurants and bars, he said.
"Very shortly after this, peer pressure and people just giving a person dirty looks was the solution to the problem."
Sudbury joins a list of 50 other cities and towns in Ontario, including North Bay, that have banned smoking from municipal parks.
'Smoking is not illegal'
A few councillors wanted to go further and ban smoking from the grounds of Tom Davies Square and other city buildings, but Coun. Andre Rivest said he thought that would be going too far, too fast.
"You can't just put it all down," Rivest said.
"After all, all Greater Sudburians are taxpayers and we have to represent everyone fairly too. Smoking is not illegal."
Council asked city staff to report back on the options for restricting smoking on other municipal property.
As for the ban in city parks, council will decide at an upcoming meeting when that will take effect.


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Artist description:
red sky lightining
Canvas Draw Created Apr 27, 2012 640 x 460px Unless noted Copyright 2012 monicamiare.
We encourage you to submit a comment and let the artist know what you think of this drawing. Please log in or join to post a comment.
Post a comment
red sky...blood ocean...kinda seeing a theme here lol
Wonderful colors! 5/5
Nice draw. 5/5h
Nice draw. I like the singilar color sheme.
Very nice draw.. 5h
Well captured.
nice one 5/5
Angry looking sky. fabulous drawing
Great draw, I like the way you drew the lightning. 5h :)


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TORVILL and Dean bade an emotional farewell to the North-East last night (Friday) as they brought the curtain down on Dancing On Ice.
The Olympic gold medal winners were the stars of the show at the Metro Radio Arena in Newcastle and performed their trademark Bolero for the packed audience.
The tour marks the end of the ITV series which has run since 2006.
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Among the other stars taking to the ice were X-Factor runner-up and Dancing On Ice Champion of Champions Ray Quinn, Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle and Coronation Street actress Hayley Tamaddon.
All were judged by Olympic gold medal skater Robin Cousins and former professional skaters Karen Barber and Nicky Slater.
The skaters not only performed to impress the judges, but also the audience, who were able to text votes for who they thought should win on the night.


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What's OnCompetitions
Food and Drink
Food Hall
Sporting Supplies
Main Ring Events
Off-Road Course
Game Fair Video
All you need to knowPress
The Trust
Find Us
Trader Admin
GWCT Stand
GWCT Main website
Visitor Information
Get in touchThe Scottish Game Fair
Unit 95
Perth Airport
Tel: 01738 554826
29th Annual GWCT Scottish Game Fair
30 June to 2nd July 2017
The 29th GWCT Scottish Game Fair in Scone Palace's beautiful Parklands did not disappoint with thousands of visitors streaming through the gates over three lively days.
Families, our Trust members and country enthusiasts alike enjoyed the new Four Nations International Gun Dog challenge on Saturday, which was won by England. The new Fly Fishing Mall and events, demonstrations and Anglers Bothy proved a welcome addition to this year's Fair along with the return of the World of Gundogs and main ring performances by the Clwyd Axe-men, popular Dog and Duck Show and Falconry were real crowd-pleasers.
This years Fred Taylor Memorial Award for Working Hill Ponies was won by Glenprosen Estate in Kirriemuir, Angus. Sponsored by London Gunmaker John Rigby & Co., with a record 19 entrants, Eric Stark with pony 'Mia' from Glenprosen Estate was presented with a new Rigby Highland Stalker rifle by Simon Barr on behalf of John Rigby & Co.
Some 470 traders ensured that visitors were spoilt for choice with the country's finest crafts, clothing, sporting goods and equipment, and food and drink producers.
Firmly established as Scotland's most popular outdoor event, the Fair is a true celebration of rural Scotland and veritable showcase of game, wildlife and countryside management. This year we ensured an even greater focus on country sports welcoming experts such as Massimo Magliocco, one of the world's outstanding casters.
Our Food Hall and Cookery Theatre, sponsored by Macdonald Hotels, served up expert cookery demos with Foodie in Residence Christopher Trotter welcoming Masterchef: The Professionals' winner Jamie Scott among others.
We would like to give a huge thanks to all those who supported this year's Fair. From our fantastic volunteers, traders, sponsors and visitors to our event performances, chefs and professional demonstrations, this was a year to remember.
Plans are already underway for our 30 th anniversary Scottish Game Fair, which will be held on Friday 29th June to Sunday 1st July 2018. This is going to be a very special and memorable Fair and more information will be made available here over the coming months.
Please note that we do not employ other agencies to solicit material for our programme.


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Should always be done when tyres are changed, yes?
Chat Forum
Car wheel balancing
And the weights should always be on the inside of the wheel where you cant see them too - according to the person who fits my tyres and has done so for the last 20 years. (Just dont go and try and get tyres fitted during the TT because he will be otherwise engaged).
My usual mobile fitter seems to have packed it in, so called someone else who turned out to be a right bunch of cowboys, and said that his balancing machine was broken, it wouldn't work in the van cos it's on a slope, and that alloy wheels didn't need balancing.
It doesn't matter if you're travelling slowly though, so no need to worry, Molly
Alloy wheels don't need balancing?
Walk away.Drive away slowly and carefully, dont exceed 20mph and go straight to Kwik fit / other reputable tyre fitters.
Tempted to do just that bigyinn, even though it'll cost me more. £27 in fact.
Just make sure they put the stick on balance weights on the inside of the rim, rather than the crimp on ones that are meant for steel wheels.
If you put them on alloys, they knacker the lacquer. Well, they did on mine....
go straight to Kwik fit / other reputable tyre fitters
Lolz. Massively variable Kwik Fit. We have to use them (co car) and the various branches provide widely different "customer experiences" - the last one managed to fail to balance a brand new rear AND it leaked 7psi a week into the bargain. The time before that (same branch), they were brilliant - smooth as silk. The time before that (different branch) they weren't... <etc>
A good balancing machine will tell you where to put the weights. If it tells you to put them on the outside of the wheel that's where you put them. Stick on for alloy whether inside or outside.
+1 for Edu - if you're dogmatically putting the weights on the inside, then your wheels won't be properly balanced in all directions. If the company you pay to balance your wheels only puts them on the inside, the chances are their machine isn't good enough to balance the wheel in all directions.
Am I allowed to overtake somebody who's wheels are wobbling?
A really good tyre fitter will have a really good digital machine, which tells him not only the weight required but whether to put it on the inboard part of the inside of the wheel or the outboard part.
For anybody in the Bury area that means Chris and Hedley at Ainsworth Tyres at the bottom of Ainsworth Road, Radcliffe. Excellent blokes.
After several disastrous experiences and hours of my life wasted I NEVER give my business to the big franchises. All together now: "Ya can't get thicker than a Quick Fit fitter...."
So, how the hell does one find such a place in Cardiff? I've never been able to find decent car mechanics
How about using Dyna Beads instead of weights??
Just pour in and the job is done. You can also re-use them.
By inside of the wheel he'll be meaning don't use clip on weights on the outside face of the wheel. Use stickons as close to the outside as you can. Clip ons on the outside tend to get knocked off on kerbs and cyclists.
"Ya can't get thicker than a Quick Fit fitter...."
My brother in law managed a branch, think you have to accept that they're garages, some will be good some will be bad, that's down to the manager and the technicians, not the blue and yellow sign over the door*.
*and they own a lot of other small chains as well, just the headed paper changes. So even if you avoid QuickFit as a brand, you probably struggle to avoid actualy using them.
So whaddya reckon? Go and have cowboys do it for free, or pay £26 to maybe have it done properly...
Used these chaps last time I got new tyres (via mytyres online) and they and was impressed by the service. They seemed very knowledgable.
Have it done properly.
With my lease car, we use ATS and again its massively variable, the main problem being lack of stock of the tyres which the lease company specify I.e. the cheapest.
The lads in my local ATS are brill and I go in a few days before to check stock and they get authorisation and I go back a few days later and job done in 20 mins or so.
For my own car. I use a small garage locally behind a petrol station who do basic servicing and MOTs, not the cheapest but about average price, reliable, and they straighten my wheels on the lease car for nothing it one of the learners catches a kerb.
Probably best to ask around locally to get recommendations for a good garage.
Just to clarify, my above post was in relation to this
So, how the hell does one find such a place in Cardiff? I've never been able to find decent car mechanics
Just went to Kwik Fit for a balance.
On the way back I hit 50mph and noticed loads of road noise, a low whine. Crawling down our street to pull into the drive there was clearly low speed rumble and when going very slowly you could feel the individual vibrations like riding MTB mud tyres slowly on tarmac.
Wtf? Tyres were whisper quiet when I took them off. Pressures are between 35 and 38 which is vaguely around normal range. It must be loose wheel nuts surely?
They have taken notice of the rotation arrows haven't they?
Well - I couldnt' see any. They are mounted with 'outside' on the outside though.
They have tightened your wheel nuts haven't they? Another favourite is for the nice new weights to fall off as they hit the brake calliper.
Pressures are between 35 and 38 which is vaguely around normal range.
That's pretty high for car tyre pressure. Cant think of a car I've had where I've needed to put more than 32psi in.
2.6 bar is written on the inside of the fuel filler cap.
Fair enough - is that the load and speed pressure or the normal driving pressure?
Normal. The higher figure is 2.8 and 3.0. And this is without checking, I know this off the top of my head. So you needn't worry
What car is it?
The infamous Passat.
See my Passat had 30psi as the standard tyre pressure.
Horrible and expensive cars when they start to go wrong.
Expensive when you get dodgy local mechanic to fumble around with it and mess it up I do love the car though.
For reference black circles fitting centers tend to be rated on their site, most of these are just independent tyre fitters who have a deal with black circles as far as I can tell. Might make it easier to see other peoples views and experiences. There's one I have used in Milton (near Cambridge) a few times and they have been ace so far so I'll happily be going back to them as opposed to KwikFit (who once kept my car all day waiting for a brake assessment - tools!)
Yeah our local internet supplied tyre fitter (Alpha and Yapps) is ok, but they don't do drop-ins
They have tightened your wheel nuts haven't they?
Kwik-Fit (IME) usually over tightening them. They then use their torque wrench to confirm the nuts are above the recommended torque, instead of leaving the finally tightening to the torque wrench. Great for stretching studs or bolts and shite for trying to get the wheel off with the provided tools in the event of a puncture.
I did mention this to my local Kwik-Fit guys, but they just looked at me blankly mouths agape.
Topic Closed
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Blue barriers and the crystal discs
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May 14th, 2010, 02:19
you're looking in the wrong area… the temple to the east they are talking about is just south of the monastery. it is near a tower needed for leon's undead lords quests, it is easy 2 miss. the entrance is near a stream with a log going across it. you will come 2 a fork in the path, one will be a swamp, and the other just brush. follow the latter, and you are there.
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