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Dear Mr. Amazing,
I found your post both amusing and honest though perhaps a little self deprecating. Now that I have made myself sound like one really smart guy lets discuss the game. I am part of a 6 person group of old grumpy men who are very set in our ways. We play how we play and are always looking for new blood to add to the group. We really don't care how much you know or don't know about Pathfinder. Here are the important parts:
1. We play online every Wednesday from 9PM - 11PM and you need to show up every week. Its not a lot of time because we have real jobs, real lives, and real kids that take up too much time.
2. You need some manner of stable employment so you can afford your technology and you aren't changing jobs that affect your ability to show up and play.
3. Your significant other understands that every Wednesday from 9PM - 11PM is OUR time and she or he or it needs to wait until after 11PM to ***** about your playing.
4. You take the game seriously and you play to win. No ****ed up characters, and excuses for stupid decisions in order to properly role play a character. We all played sports, drank too much, and had gratuitous sex in college. We do not speak with phony accents, dream about being a knight, or try to change the color of a traffic light by using the force.
That's my pitch. I thank you for your time as well. If you are a brave enough soul to give us a shot, feel free to respond.
Also, just to make clear: This IS a campaign, we just started a new one so its a great time to jump in.
Either way, great post, I thoroughly enjoyed it

subset: commoncrawl


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Many people hop in and out of investments all too frequently. That's due in part to the fact that mutual fund advice and information are so freely available that individuals often are persuaded to switch from their more prosaic funds to those that have been delivering more exciting short-term returns. At the opposite extreme, others take the attitude that once bought, mutual funds can practically be held for a lifetime. That can be true in some instances, but it's often not—you really must rethink your portfolio periodically.
What are the legitimate reasons for selling funds, and when should you stay put?
Lousy Performance
Continuing poor performance of a fund relative to a relevant benchmark and its peers is the number one fund-related reason for selling a mutual fund. You should focus on a fund's returns over the past one, three, and five years. Longer periods can be misleading if there have been major changes in the fund or its management.
While quarterly returns can be monitored to alert you to signs of deteriorating performance, one-year returns are the shortest relevant performance span for long-term investors to examine. However, that doesn't mean you should automatically sell if one-year returns turn up poor. Deciding how much time to give a poor performer to rebound is not easy, but you should seriously start to think about selling a fund that has lagged its benchmark and peers for the past 18 months to two years.
How do you decide on a relevant benchmark? Different benchmarks are available for different market segments and investment styles. Peer and index benchmarks are provided in AAII's annual "Individual Investor's Guide to the Top Mutual Funds" for each investment category and investment style.
A simple way to determine which benchmark to use is to check your fund's prospectus or annual report to find out what the fund compares its performance against. Another possibility is to compare your fund's performance with an index fund that has roughly the same portfolio composition. However, you're never going to find a perfect benchmark because each fund has its own unique portfolio.
Keep the following points in mind when comparing a fund's performance with its benchmark:
- Mutual funds hold some cash, which will affect their returns relative to a fully invested index.
- Mutual funds incur expenses and trading costs, which will result in some underperformance relative to an index.
- Each fund holds its own blend of stocks and sectors, which will cause its returns to deviate from an index or benchmark.
- A mutual fund may be more or less risky than its benchmark.
A fund that trails its benchmark may be considerably less risky than another in its category that beats the yardstick. For that reason, it's often more revealing to see how a fund performed relative to its peers. You can compare a fund with several of its most similar competitors or against an average for the category.
It's always important to prune out any genuine duds. Some people tenaciously hang onto unproductive investments because they hate to admit that they made a mistake, or they may hate to deal with the tax consequences, or they are loath to expend the effort to fill out the paperwork and move to a new fund or fund family. The problem is that these individuals face a high opportunity cost by clinging to losing or mediocre funds.
Other Reasons to Sell
Don't sell solely because your fund's performance has been disappointing during the past year. Rather, view a single year of underperformance as a signal to take a closer look at the fund and how it fits with your objectives. You should examine the following factors that may impact a fund's performance or its suitability for your portfolio.
- A management change: Management's ability is crucial for stock funds. But a management change by itself is not always a reason to sell. Perhaps the manager who left was not exceptional. A good replacement for a skilled manager may be waiting in the wings at a large fund company. Conversely, if a star manager leaves a fund, an equal replacement may be hard to find. So take the exit of a star manager as a warning flag, but not an automatic sell. Finally, think seriously about selling if a fund has had more than its share of management turnover, because frequent changes are not healthy and constant shifting of a portfolio creates negative tax and transaction cost consequences.
- Rising expenses: Significantly higher expenses can hurt performance. Perhaps a 12b-1 fee has been added or management fees have increased. A money market fund may have lifted a fee waiver, causing its yield to drop significantly relative to other similar money market funds. An increase in costs is particularly hard on bond and money market funds because they earn lower gross returns than stock funds.
- A surge in assets: Performance could falter if a small-stock or micro-cap fund is flooded with investor money. And the fund could experience style drift if it is forced to start investing in bigger companies. Conversely, a surge in assets may be no problem for many other types of funds, particularly for high-grade bond and money market funds or index funds that could benefit from economies of scale.
- Shrinking assets: Watch out if a fund is rapidly losing assets because investors are jumping ship for some reason. Sizable redemptions can force management to dump good stocks to raise cash. If gains are realized, the fund could make an unusually high capital gains distribution, saddling those who hold shares in taxable accounts with a potentially large tax bill.
- A strategy change: Funds change strategies in various ways. A new portfolio manager might decide to fully hedge currency risk for a foreign stock fund that previously did not hedge. An active trader might take the helm of a fund that was noted for low turnover. Or a small-cap value fund might become a mid-cap growth fund. A strategy change will not necessarily hurt a fund's performance, but it might not help a laggard either. If the new strategy does not mesh with your objectives, it may be time to move on.
Even if your funds have compared favorably to their benchmarks and peers, there can be other, compelling reasons to sell. Conversely, you may not want to walk away from a laggard just yet. That's because personal factors often dominate in the decision-making process.
Tax Considerations
If selling seems warranted by the performance numbers and other factors, you also need to weigh any potential tax liability you would incur by taking a large gain. On the plus side, the tax consequences may be less painful with long-term capital gains taxed at lower rates. In addition, the long-term capital gains holding period is 12 months. Nevertheless, if you would be in for a hefty tax bill it may make sense to give a lazy performer more time. This obviously is not a concern if your fund is held in an individual retirement account or other tax-advantaged plan.
On the other hand, tax considerations may argue for a sale. Do you have a paper loss in a taxable account? Perhaps you hold a fund that has done poorly because it invests in a stock-market sector, country, or region that has experienced major problems. You might expect an eventual rebound, but in the meantime you could lock in your loss to offset other gains, thereby reducing your tax bill, and then reinvest in a peer fund that has better performance.
Dumping Excess Baggage
Individuals who own too many funds might consider paring their holdings down to a manageable number, perhaps to as few as five or six. Money-losing investments should be pruned along with unsuitable ones. Check for redundancy in your fund portfolio: Funds with different names may, in fact, share the same objectives and investing style. Your performance likely will improve, and your financial life will be a lot simpler. Plus, it will be much easier to track your asset allocation.
People often make purchases that they regret later. These could include a narrowly focused fund that makes you uncomfortable due to its risk, or any gimmicky fund that really doesn't add to your portfolio. A broad-based asset allocation fund is unnecessary if you've allocated your assets properly in the first place.
Suppose you hold a fund invested in an asset class that has done poorly even though the manager has fared better than the benchmark. In this case, you need to decide whether you still want that asset class. This is often a difficult call. It depends on factors such as your age, time horizon, and investment outlook.
Generally, mutual funds are viewed as safe because you won't lose as much as you could with an individual stock. But narrowly focused funds such as sector funds can be dicey. If you have allocated too much to a focused fund that's on the skids, think about reducing or eliminating that position before the loss becomes unmanageable. If a volatile fund plunges 50%, it must rebound 100% just to recoup its loss. Consider selling when a speculative fund has fallen 15% to 20% below your cost. Even if you have a relatively minor position, you still may want to walk away.
Allocation Changes
Other reasons to sell may arise in your periodic asset allocation review, which should be done at least annually. This entails checking your allocations to large-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, foreign equities, bonds, money market funds, and any subcategories. Recognize that your stock funds could plunge anywhere from 20% to more than 40% within a few months during a bear market. You might want to check and see how your funds and similar ones did during down periods to get a feel for what could happen during a bear market. If you feel uncomfortable with a decline of that magnitude you should rethink your asset allocation.
However, if selling would result in large capital gains, you may wish to consider the following alternatives:
- Sell stock funds held in tax-deferred retirement plans to restore your risk balance.
- Make a more gradual change in your asset allocation by investing any new money in the underweighted categories or reinvesting distributions from your overweighted funds into your underweighted holdings. This second alternative is particularly desirable if you feel there is a good chance your overweighted funds will continue to advance and you wish to make a more modest reallocation for the time being.
Staying the Course
It's generally unwise to make a big shift from stocks to cash because you fear a bear market. Trimming your stock allocation back a moderate amount—say, from 80% to 65% of your assets—can make sense if you are uncomfortable with the risk level of your fund portfolio, but drastically reducing it because you fear a plunge is basically market timing. The stock market will fluctuate, but you can't pinpoint when it will tumble or shoot up. If you have allocated your assets properly and have sufficient emergency money, you shouldn't need to worry.
Finally, don't panic and sell just after a big plunge. You could lock in a loss and miss any rebound. Panic-selling rarely makes sense because investors tend to overreact to recent bad news, hammering prices to unrealistic lows. But even if a bear market is long and painful, it's important to remember that stocks have a bullish bias and gain a lot more in the bullish phases than they lose on the downside—that's why the long-term trend of the market is up.
Of course, this assumes you have sufficient liquid assets in money market and short-term bond funds to meet emergencies and planned big-ticket expenditures over the next several years. The following is a good rule to keep in mind: Don't have money invested in stock funds that you will need within the next five years. By following the five-year rule, you greatly reduce the risk of having to sell shares after a market tumble.


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The sun has barely set on "New Moon's" record-breaking opening weekend, but director Chris Weitz already has his next gig lined up.
Weitz will reteam with Summit Entertainment – the studio behind the "Twilight" film franchise – to direct "The Gardener," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'New Moon' Tour Takes The World By Storm
The film, which is scheduled to begin shooting in Spring 2010, follows a hard-working Mexican gardener in Los Angeles and his efforts to protect his son.
"There are no werewolves or vampires, just a Mexican gardener in Los Angeles," Weitz told the Reporter.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' LA Premiere
Weitz's other directing credits include "The Golden Compass," "About a Boy" and "Down to Earth."
"New Moon" brought in an impressive $258.8 million worldwide in its opening weekend, including $72.7 million on its opening day, beating "The Dark Knight" for biggest opening day in box office history.
Its $142 million domestically was also the biggest November opening to date.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: All Access: Up Close & Personal With The Stars Of 'New Moon' In Los Angeles
PLAY IT NOW: MovieMantz Review: 'New Moon' & 'The Blind Side'
PLAY IT NOW: 'New Moon' LA Premiere: Director Chris Weitz - Seeing The Fans Is 'Wonderful'
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: New Moon - The Twilight Saga - Casting Call - Movies


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Hon Authorized RetailerShop All Hon | Shop All 10500 Series
10500 Series L-Shaped Workstation 2
by HON
HON's 10500 Series office furniture collection features durable laminate with the look of real wood, giving the sturdy desks and storage long-lasting quality. With a 6' wide desk, 42" return with storage hutch, and two 3/4 height file pedestals (one each under desk and return), this workstation provides both storage and extra worksurface area. The desk features dual grommets for wire management, and the return adds one more.
This office setup provides extra worksurface area, while adding enough storage that you won't wish you had more.
- Durable melamine wood-look laminate
- 1 desk with one 3/4 pedestal
- 1 return with one 3/4 pedestal
- 1 Hutch, 42" wide with three doors and 1 adjustable shelf per compartment
- Each pedestal contains 1 file drawer and 1 box drawer
- Pedestal drawers open to full extension
- File pedestals lock, and attach to the underside of the desk and return
- Desk has 2 grommets for wire management, and return has one grommet
Add durable, classy worksurface space to your office with the 10500 Series L-Shaped Workstation 2 by HON.
About the Manufacturer
HON Office Furniture
Inspired by practicality and invested in understanding the needs of its customers, The HON Company strives to establish meaningful connections resulting in product solutions and customer support that exceed market demands. As a leading designer and manufacturer of workplace furniture including chairs, storage, panel systems, tables and desks, HON's commitment to serving its customers is rooted in reliable performance and a member culture that is approachable, confident, smart and ready to serve. Headquartered in Muscatine, Iowa, The HON Company has numerous manufacturing facilities strategically located throughout the United States, and markets its products through a nationwide network of loyal dealers and retailers. The HON Company is an operating company of HNI Corporation.
Design Story
The 10500 Series L-Shaped Workstation 2 is one of the latest products from HON, the world renowned producer of storage, organization, and workspace furniture solutions. HON furniture combines an appreciation of classic style with a focus on modern design, creating pieces that look great and function magnificently. HON desks combine productivity enhancing workspace with high efficiency storage capacity. You'll be able to effectively wrangle and manage your entire working life from the beautiful 10500 Series L-Shaped Workstation 2.
The L-Shaped Workstation 2 is equipped with a long return that nearly doubles the amount of available work surface from the standard rectangular desk. The main desk surface is 6 feet wide, giving you plenty of room to store necessary equipment, display pictures and books, and of course host a computer monitor, laptop, or other essential electronics. Hanging beneath the desk and the return (not visible from the front of the desk) are two file pedestals, each with the capacity to store letter and legal sized hanging files, as well as general storage.
The 10500 Series L-Shaped Workstation 2 is built with a solid, durable laminate that guarantees it a long and productive life. This is a desk that's built to last you a very long time. The laminate has a beautiful wooden finish on it that gives the desk a classic, attractive look that works in nearly any office environment.
At Smart Furniture we believe our customers should have a big say in the final appearance of the furniture they buy. That's why you can use the design engine on this page to preview and choose between seven different wood finishes, each with its own unique character. Get the desk you deserve - the desk you help design.
Materials & Measurements
Overall Footprint
66.625" h x 72" w x 78" d (with 42" space for movement between desk and credenza)
29.5" h x 72" w x 36" d
29.5" h x 42" w x 24" d
Storage Hutch
37.125" h (from credenza top) x 42" w x 14.625" d
Shipping & Delivery
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Questions & Answers
This product is covered by HON's limited lifetime warranty. HON promises to repair or replace any product or component that is defective in material or workmanship for as long as the original purchaser owns it.
For assistance filing a warranty claim, please give our customer service folks a call at 888-762-7841.
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text:
walikumsalaam brova Alhamdolillah everything is fine
what reason this people martyr?
what no protect of BBC and united stated for this people?
picture of parachinar shia
'Taliban targetting Shias in Pakistan':
The Taliban and its allied groups have killed hundreds of Shia Muslims during some last months in the north-west Pakistan, local media reports say.
for readind this new go this site
o alikum brother
how r u?
Hadith Validation:
Please take a look...
Alhamdulillah i m fine....
Assalaamu-alaekum warehmatullah
Assalaamu-Alaekum brother...`````
When a doctor gets sick and another doctor doctors him,
does the doctor doing the doctoring have to doctor the doctor the way the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored,
or does the doctor doing the doctoring of the doctor doctor the doctor as he wants to do the doctoring?
A dozen dim ding-dongs.
How much dew would a dew drop drop, if a dew drop did drop dew
did ur tounge slip ...?
Eid Mubarik
Assalaamu Alaikum....
Wish you a
very happy
Ramadan Mubarak
To u & ur family....
May The Divine Blessings of "ALLAHSUBHANAWTALA" Light Up Your Life With Peace, joy and Prosperity
Send an Instant Message to AHB Using...
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School Choice Enrollment Reaches Record High
Just in time for National School Choice Week, the Friedman Foundation for Educational Choice has released its annual ABCs of School Choice report, detailing every private school choice program in the nation. The number of students participating in school choice programs has reached a record high of more than 301,000 students nationwide, up from about 260,000 in 2012–13. More than half of those students are participating in scholarship tax credit programs.
The Friedman Foundation's report is an invaluable resource for understanding the dozens of school choice programs and their various rules and regulations. A new feature in this year's report is an infographic ranking every school choice program along two criteria: eligible population and purchasing power. The Friedman Foundation's view is that choice programs should have universal eligibility and that the purchasing power of the vouchers or scholarships should be on par with the per student spending at government schools.
Universal access to a variety of schooling options is certainly a noble goal, essential to fostering equality of opportunity. However, it should be noted that wealthier families can already afford school choice. Universal access to school choice does not require universal access to school choice programs. Targeting support to low‐ and middle‐income families is a more efficient way to ensure universal school choice as it directs scarce resources to those who need them most. Of course, measuring access is a lot more difficult than measuring program eligibility, so this is not a deficiency of the Friedman report.
There are other important criteria by which we should judge school choice programs, particularly the amount of regulatory interference imposed on private schools (e.g. — mandating state tests) and the amount of freedom granted to parents to tailor their child's education (e.g. — New Hampshire's tax‐credit scholarships for homeschoolers). Perhaps the Friedman Foundation will consider these and other criteria for future reports.


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For most 12-year veterans coming off knee surgery, health and conditioning are the two biggest concerns heading into a new season.
But for Rapids midfielder, or shall we say, defender Brian Mullan, the biggest worry this preseason has been adapting to his new position: left back.
"[There's] definitely a lot more patience involved, and [I] can't really do what I want to do," Mullan said this week about switching to left back this preseason. "It's a learning process right now."
A veteran of 307 MLS games and the winner of five MLS Cup titles, the 34-year-old has seen it all. However, he hasn't seen it as a left back (he briefly played right back at times last year and has done so for the US national team in the past), playing almost exclusively out of a midfield role through the course of his lengthy career.
Pareja on team leaders
But when Rapids head coach Oscar Pareja first approached Mullan about the idea of switching from the midfield to defense in the middle of last season, the veteran was open to the idea. And sure enough, Mullan saw periodic action at right back toward the end of last year, enough for Pareja to feel comfortable switching him to left back this preseason.
"With Brian, you have experience, you have fight, you have desire and you have 300 games on his back," Pareja said. "He's not natural [left back], but Brian is that guys that gives you whatever he has."
Youngsters Anthony Wallace, Chris Klute and rookie Kory Kindle were in a three-way battle for the left back spot, but none of the three appear to have impressed Pareja enough to win the job, and so the manager decided to move Mullan from right back to left. The former Colorado high school soccer star isn't fully comfortable yet or perhaps fully satisfied with his new position, but he realizes it's not only best for the team, but best for him.
READ: 2013 Colorado Rapids season preview
"I'm here to do whatever the team needs me to do. So if moving back up is something Oscar wants, then so be it," Mullan said. "I'm a fan of playing. So, if I'm on the field, I'm happy."
As for Mullan's health? Well, after an offseason knee scope, it's still a work in progress, but improving.
"I feel good. If you'd asked me about two weeks ago, I would've said, 'I feel horrible,'" Mullan said. "But actually I feel very good now."
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.


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Here's a nice backstory to the Yankees' comeback win over Minnesota yesterday. Seems Brett Gardner's inside-the-park home run in the seventh was preordained.
Earlier in the day, the center fielder paid a visit to New York Presbyterian Children's Hospital in Manhattan, to hang out with and read to a group of kids. While he was there, he was given a gift by a young girl that she claimed had special powers. Said Gardner:
One girl gave me a bracelet and I asked her what it was for. She said it was for me and she told me if I kept it, I'd hit a home run.
Think she'll make one for Vernon Wells?
The funny thing is, Gardner wasn't even supposed to play yesterday. He only entered the game after a close-cropped Johnny Damon got tossed for arguing balls and strikes. Making the whole thing even more unlikely, it's not as if Gardner's a big power hitter, and a Yankees player hasn't hit an in-play homer in ten years:
"It was probably more likely for me to hit an inside-the-parker than it was to hit one over the fence," Gardner said. "I'm glad I could do that for her. I hope she was watching."
Gardner's insertion continued to pay big dividends for New York, as he also had a triple in the ninth off Twins' closer Joe Nathan, which sparked his team's game-winning rally.
In less inspiring news, Alex Rodriguez made his New Yankee Stadium debut last night. He was sort of cheered.
Yankees' real hero: After hospital visit, Brett Gardner plays key role with inside-the-park homer [New York Daily News]
Bracelet propels Gardner's inside-the-parker [Yankees.com]


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If Debra Messing keeps having the kind of good time she's having on "Smash," could "Will & Grace" one day drop a ranking on her "Best Job Ever" list?
"The amount of fun that I'm having on this show is so ridiculously off the charts already," says Messing of her latest role on NBC's making-of-a-Broadway-hit series, in which she plays lyricist and co-writer Julia Houston. And she can't avoid being asked about how the experience stands up so far against her eight-season stint on the sitcom. "Of course, you can't compare them – they're apples and oranges. This is a huge ensemble, a drama, very character‑driven, a very naturalistic world and tone."
"But this cast is so accomplished and so committed, everyone is so passionate about this project – we're working really hard, but we're laughing a lot, and we're really proud of what we're doing," she adds. "And so I wouldn't even compare my experiences on both. I would just say I'm grateful for the fact that NBC has created a new home for me again where I want to go every day."
"One of the things that was most exciting to me about the character and what I related to was: here is a woman who is very passionate about her creative life and needs that part of her life fulfilled, but also really is a proud mother and wants that home life and wants that balance," Messing reveals. "And I love that nothing is simple. My character – all of our characters – go through difficulty and challenges, and we're often surprised at the table reads. You know, we have no idea what's happening next, but it's all interesting and it all feels authentic."
The actress says she not only gets to do what she does best at work, she also frequently gets a front row seat to some impressive on-set performances right in her scenes. "Oh my gosh, I always feel like I'm jumping out of my skin I'm so excited," she confesses. "I'm in a privileged position because I get to sit behind the table and act like I'm judging them and just enjoy them. I get to watch Megan [Hilty] and Kat [McPhee] and everyone sing and dance for eight hours at a time. I feel like I'm fifth row center at a Broadway show."
Messing's character has been co-crafting the original songs for the Marilyn Monroe-inspired musical the show's centered around, and she admits she's gotten bit envious that she hadn't been called on to sing and dance herself.
"It's hard, it's really hard," she admits, but then makes a coy revelation. "I actually have all ready shot a song. All I can say is that I have played the lyricist, so the context and the tone of the singing is very different, but they have incorporated song into the very dramatic arc of my character in a way that I think is pretty clever."
Given that her last regular TV character Grace Adler was particularly known for her off-key singing, can we assume that Messing will demonstrate decidedly more melodic talents this time around? "I leave that," she chuckles, "to you to decide."
"Smash" airs Monday night at 10 PM ET on NBC


text:
Go, Ye Messengers of Glory
31243, Hymns, Go, Ye Messengers of Glory, no. 262
1. Go, ye messengers of glory;
Run, ye legates of the skies.
Go and tell the pleasing story
That a glorious angel flies,
Great and mighty, Great and mighty,
With a message from the skies.
2. Go to ev'ry tribe and nation;
Visit ev'ry land and clime.
Sound to all the proclamation;
Tell to all the truth sublime:
That the gospel, That the gospel
Does in ancient glory shine.
3. Go, to all the gospel carry;
Let the joyful news abound.
Go till ev'ry nation hear you,
Jew and Gentile greet the sound.
Let the gospel, Let the gospel
Echo all the earth around.
4. Bearing seed of heav'nly virtue,
Scatter it o'er all the earth.
Go! Jehovah will support you;
Gather all the sheaves of worth.
Then, with Jesus, Then, with Jesus
Reign in glory on the earth.
Text: John Taylor, 1808-1887
Music: Leroy J. Robertson, 1896-1971. © 1948 IRI


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The Tesla Model S Is The World's Most Expensive Beta Test
The Tesla Model S Is The World's Most Expensive Beta Test
What do you mean 'aspiring space explorer Elon Musk' ? He and his team have sent a spacecraft to the international space station. What have you done, you worthless piece of....
One would think the Fisker Karma is the most expensive beta test ever, since it is... more expensive...
Simple, don't want to be a beta tester, don't buy one *now*, but it a year from now.
There's plenty of beta testers in a long line.
Perfectly happy being a "Beta Tester".
Recall....like Hell. They can have my S when they pry it out of my cold, dead hands.
Ain't nothing that bad on my Lithie that requires a recall.
Jalopnik doesnt like Tesla. In other news, dog breath smells bad, and it rains a lot in Seattle. ***yawn***
A little blogger who has achieved squat. Musk is dreaming and creating, delivered the first-cheapest and non government sponsored payload to a space station. Jalopdick has achieved complaining. Maybe in his past life he was Einstein's teacher who said he would never amount to much...
They say there are only 250 Model S on the road. No need to pay any more attention to the article, they clearly lack credibility (and journalistic skills... is is really that hard to get an accurate number when you interview the CEO?)
What Jalopnik talked sounds like a story about a horseman with his four wood wheeled wagon ridicules four wheeled machine called automobile: without a horse, this piece of "thing" cannot run far. Time will reward Jalopnik and his fellow of Tesla haters the horsemen title in Tesla time.
Elon and his team are changing history, making a better future for all, any joe blow can post a blog and say whatever, but they have not done any good for humanity. It's the price we pay for free speech.
You should expect problems with any 1st model year of any car. So I'm not surprised MS owners are collectively having problems. Even with all its problems the MS is the best overall car I have ever driven. When Tesla gets all the kinks work out, it will be even better.
All....take solace in the fact that there are thousands of Investors betting against Tesla...and in a HUGE way. Don't think for a second that wall street isn't influencing some of the negative press. This company has made millions for some....but also lost millions for those who have, and continue to, bet against it. I own a Mercedes a BMW and a Tesla. The best car in my garage, hands down, far and away, without a doubt, is my Tesla MS.
Indeed. No one is suggesting that the Model S isn't a brand new car, from a brand new company, with a brand new design. What we are saying is that there are probably many more BMW owners (for example) who *DO* have issues but don't have an aggregator like a popular Tesla forum complete with a single thread for this express purpose.
I don't think there are very many Tesla owners who aren't already aware of the company's startup status. Nobody buying a Model S should expect flawless execution. We should expect exactly what we're getting; a great car with excellent service when things inevitably go wrong. In fact my wife and I bought the car because we are trying to be more green and we are extremely early adopters. "Journalists" with personal agendas are therefore of little concern to us.
Unfortunately I'm sure Elon is mainly concerned with the impression these same writers are leaving on customers with less regard for new technology and more concern with reliability. These are the customers who would normally buy a BMW, Merc, Acura (?) or Lexus but to whom Tesla is an interesting way for them to differentiate themselves from the other families on the block. Writing disingenuous, ill-informed and out of context articles may sway "fencers" or casually interested parties towards a traditional car when they would indeed be well serviced by a Model S, given the chance.
That, in my humble opinion, is the danger with Jalopnik, NYT and other publications running negative articles about Tesla.
Jalopnik is a sensationalist who just wants to write something contrarian that would get readership. Not surprised....
Actually, it's kinda inevitable. As the 'speed of change' itself accelerates, there is no longer time to do multi-year beta testing. TM did its best from 2008 on, but Murphy's Law of engineering design sez "It's impossible to make things foolproof, because fools are so ingenious." ;)
As for space exploration, Elon specifically intends to help/goad humans to become multi-planetary.
Bottom line: I own a Model S, have driven it over 4,000 miles and love it! It's a great car by any and all measures. Patrick George (the author of the article) is looking to 'create a story' where there is none. Who you are going to believe? The guy who drives the car everyday or the guy who makes a living selling a story?
I have had my Model S since December 19, 2012. I love it!!!!!!!!!
Driving a MOdel S takes a little thought, expeience and planning. People such as the NYT reporter seemed to lack at least one or maybe more of these. I now have over 5,000 miles on the odometer and frequently drive over 200 miles per trip. On a standard trip with the with the standard charge I have reached hme with 10, 11 and 3 miles of range. The 3 was a little scary but I made it. By careful driving at 50 MPH (not in the interstate) one can pick up range and I have picked up as much as 16 miles range on a 102 mile trip. On a Maximum charge I have returned with 70 miles range on a 185 mile trip. My advide is don't set out to damn the car, plan ahead and think.
I got a diesel car in 1978 when the only diesel gas stations were on the highways. My car held 20 gallons and I got 25 mpg so I had 500 miles between fill ups. At first, I would start to look for stations at 1/2 tank, then as I became more comfortable with the range I waited until 1/4, then until the E. There were times that I got so good at estimating how far the car would go, that I ran out of gas. Fortunately, my wife became skilled at locating a diesel station and getting gas to me.
I've had my S for two weeks and have the same beginning worries that I had with the diesel. I'm older, more careful and maybe a bit smarter. And, my wife won't be able to rescue me with a 3 mile extension cord.
What I have learned is that there are remedies available if you start looking soon enough. You don't want to wind up without airspeed, altitude and ideas all at the same time.
@nickniketown@gm... | FEBRUARY 17, 2013: It took Apple iPhone four years to get 95% of the bugs out. Model S is same.
The original iPhone, just like the "original" Model S, was a perfectly usable device that was ahead of its competition. I don't know where you get the 95% iPhone bugs figure you are talking about, but just like the Model S, there will always be an improved product to come down the line: there will always be a faster, cheaper, lighter, etc. product. The question is, "Do you want to wait and not enjoy what is available now". Your answer is obviously that you'll wait. Some of us are older and would rather enjoy what is available now, rather than wait for the future unknown.
I gave up my SL and C4S for the Model S and will never look back (although do need an ICE for travel longer than 150 miles). Using an old saw, you are cuting off your nose to spite your face - one more year waiting is one less year to enjoy the car.
Wait all you want while the rest of us are out driving perfectly well in the most advanced cars ever made - far superior than ANY MB, Porsche or BMW that I have owned, and we don't have to wait - mine it is sitting downstairs. You will live only so long, and these small software issues are just that - small. No one is having any problem driving the car except a certain NYT reporter. You come across as an uninformed whiner.
It is absolutely a silly and foolish idea to wait an innovative creation to be "perfect" to enjoy it. If someone held such foolish view on automobile, he would stll ride a horse today (if he could live this long).
I'm curious to understand the motive behind reporting these issues. I bought a new 2012 Toyota Prius (for my son) that has been to the Toyota service dealer three times in seven months. (Note: the Model S is mine) There have been issues, mostly minor issues from electronic/software related bugs, etc. This is normal stuff with any car: hybrid, electric or other.
I disagree. I think Microsoft is the most expensive beta...
I have plenty of ICE cars too. But not buying a Model S solely because of some teething problems is nuts.
You prefer your SL550 for reliability? PLEASE! My SL550 was constantly in the shop and had many more reported problems than the Model S. Check out the MB SL web forum if you want to see REAL complaints. The compaints here are minor by comparison.
Top down is nice, but we have way cooler classic cars for that. And the pano roof option.
We are very happy "beta testers" at our house. Love our car can't go back ever!
So far my "beta testing" has contributed little to Tesla. The car is just too damn good to start with!
I'm also in line to 'beta test' the Model X and pretty much any other 'beta' that Tesla rolls out.
Now I know why nickniketown can't afford a Model S. The bank won't give him another loan until he pays off his minimum $105,000 SL550... and that's just the starting price for a slower 0-60 than the cheaper Performance Model S. For that crazy starting price it'd better have a decent features. According to Mercedes even the rear-view camera is an option.
For someone who says "all EVs are the same" and "it's only a car", he sure spends a lot of time on this forum.
I read the Jolapnik (or whatever it's called) blog, but didn't have the time or interest in responding. Our S has over 2,200 miles on it, and while we've seen some of the minor stuff (documented elsewhere), really don't have any complaints. I've had to remind my wife of other issues we've had with the two other new cars we purchased:
2002 Honda Odyssey - outside trim peices kept falling off for the first three months. Had to be returned to the dealer 2 or 3 times before this was sorted out. The car also was initially prone to locking itself for no apparent reason, which Honda fixed eventually.
2003 Chevy Suburban - the brakes had problems, which mandated new back brake pads at 10,000 miles. At 20,000 miles, all the electronics associated with the 4 wheel drive system had to be replaced. In between, the catalytic converter had to be replaced. All done under warranty. At 70k, the fuel pump had to be replaced, not under warranty. Oh, the emergency brakea failed several times, last with a broken cable, I have yet to replace.
So... Were we beta testers for these vehicles? I don't believe either manufacturer would consider us such. These bloggers (and the NY Times) need to get a grip.
Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but could the timing of the Times article have anything to do with the State of the Union speech? Romney was pretty harsh on Obama during the campaign about Tesla...
To all of you have received your MS already, as "beta" testers it is your duty to go out every chance you get and driver an extra 50 miles. I know it's tough duty but that is the responsibility of being "beta" testers.
And stop grinning so much!
@ghillair As a Tesla minion I was hoping for an assignment I wasn't already doing. You MUST smile back & acknowledge the people giving you the "thumbs up" sign & waving. I awaken in the morning and start grinning as soon as I realize I have to drive to work now.
Hahahaha...for just a half million dollars you too can get an electric MB! Oh, and the 0-60 is the same as the best yet 0-60 clocked for the Model S. For $500k+, I would rather have a Roadster, a Model S, and $300k to burn!
@nnt - since you clearly are a MB fanboy, why don't you go play on their forums? A car which hasn't been built yet clearly can't be the fastest anything in the world -- here you are talking about the Model S being too young, but it has already shipped more than the SLS E-Drive will *ever* ship.
+1 jat
Jar, what, you don't think MB can sell at least 20,000 half-million dollar cars? You must be a Tesla fanboy and anti-MB. :-)
@nickniketown why are you here? It seems you just like to argue... with everyone.
And your English reeks. Vocabulary and grammar are below grade-school level. You wouldn't get a passing mark in Grade 4. It's truly ugly to read.
Don't feed the troll. You just make this more enjoyable for him. Just ignore anything he has to say - he'll get frustrated and leave eventually.
Not "correcting", so much as clarifying. Not worth the bother in your case. Your writing varies from fairly clear to sloppy and nearly incoherent. That's arrogance, making your time (writing effort) too valuable to spend sparing others the need to untangle your ambiguity and confusion. How many times have you told us mpw about the 5 languages you speak? Are you fluent in any?
I don't mention the other 3 languages I speak because I don't use them enough to be fluent. Plus once upon a time I spoke some Latin, but that's decades gone. So what?
In any case, I expect that you natter about the same in all of them. The content and form are equally tiresome.
typo: mpw now
tag failed: mpw
Hm, the working HTML on this site keeps shrinking. Tiresome.
In somewhat keeping with the thread title I nominate nnn as the Tesla forums Master Beta. Appears to be pretty self-serving.
I fell out of my chair!
(also, I second the nomination)


text:
Kenneth B. Johnson
Kenneth B. Johnson, John N. Pinkerton, and Jeffrey K. Stone are recognized for their outstanding work on the eastern filbert blight disease of European hazelnut (Corylus avellana). Since the disease was first reported in the Willamette Valley of Oregon in 1986, their work has described the etiology, epidemiology, and management strategies for control of the disease. They have described factors that are required for release of ascospores of the causal agent, Anisogramma anomala, and they have identified the weather conditions that produce the greatest risk for disease spread. From this data, they developed epidemiological models that describe the likelihood of release of ascospores during individual rain events as affected by rain duration and time of the year. In addition, the annual pattern of ascospore maturation and the relationship of cumulative annual precipitation to cumulative spore release have been used to develop a model that predicts the relative availability of inoculum during the period when hazelnuts are susceptible to infection.
Their research also has addressed the processes of regional disease spread. Using spore traps mounted on towers and trap trees, they concluded that ascospores are discharged actively and that the spores move rapidly up and away from orchards during periods of heavy rain. They used this data as well as historical weather records to explain the current distribution of eastern filbert blight and to estimate the likelihood of the disease spreading into noninfected areas. This information, along with survey data, was used to further characterize the epidemic and develop regulatory programs to contain the disease.
Another aspect of their research involved characterizing the infection biology of A. anomala and host response to infection. They determined that the infection site was immature shoots formed after bud break, rather than dormant buds damaged by Eriophyid mites as previously reported. In histological studies, they described the adhesion and germination of ascospores on hazelnut shoots and the direct penetration of the germinated hyphae. They have documented the host response at the infection site, as well as the response of a large collection of Corylus germ plasm to A. anomala in field screening projects. They also have conducted experiments to ascertain the effects of temperature and moisture on the survival, germination, and infectivity of ascospores of A. anomala and developed an axenic culture method for A. anomala that furthered the understanding of the biotrophic nature of this pathogen. This latter research also demonstrated the involvement of autohibitors to ascospore germination.
Their collaboration has resulted in a thorough understanding of the biology of A. anomala and the epidemiology of eastern filbert blight. With this as a basis, they developed a disease management program that combined information on cultivar susceptibility, disease sanitation, and properly timed fungicide applications. Growers have been able to maintain productivity of infected trees in orchards with this program.
Their contributions to the understanding and management of the eastern filbert blight have been original, creative, multifaceted, and well documented, as evidenced by the publication of 12 scientific articles in Phytopathology, Plant Disease, and Mycologia since 1992. Drs. Pinkerton, Stone, and Johnson were presented the Oldfield/Jackman Team Research Award for their collaborative contributions to the understanding of eastern filbert blight by the College of Agriculture at Oregon State University.
Kenneth B. Johnson was born in Minneapolis, MN. He obtained his B.S. degree in plant health technology in 1979 from the University of Minnesota and his M.S. degree in plant pathology from Oregon State University in 1982. He completed his Ph.D. degree in plant pathology in 1986 at the University of Minnesota and continued as a postdoctoral associate and lecturer until 1988. He then joined the faculty of the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University, where he is an associate professor. Dr. Johnson has distinguished himself through outstanding, pioneering research on potato and deciduous tree fruit and nut crop diseases. His research focuses on the areas of quantitative epidemiology, integrated control, and application of epidemiological principles for enhancing biocontrol. He teaches graduate courses on plant pathology and disease management. Dr. Johnson has served APS as a member and chair of the Plant Disease Losses and Epidemiology committees, as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee for Plant Pathology 2000, and as associate and senior editor of Phytopathology. He also has been active in the IPPC Epidemiology Committee. In 1996, APS honored him with the Ciba-Geigy Award for his significant contributions to the advancement of knowledge of plant diseases and their control.
John N. Pinkerton was born in Englewood, NJ. He received a B.S. degree in zoology from Oregon State University in 1968. After serving as an extension fisheries specialist with the Peace Corps in Nepal, he returned to Oregon State University to pursue a Ph.D. degree in plant pathology. While in graduate school, he was the extension nematologist and ran the plant clinic's nematology laboratory. In 1983, he accepted a research associate position in nematology with Washington State University at the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, Prosser. Between 1986 and 1988, he worked for the Oregon Department of Agriculture as a plant pathologist. In 1988, he accepted a position with the USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory in Corvallis, OR, to work on the epidemiology and management of eastern filbert blight. In 1996, his responsibilities at the USDA changed to the epidemiology and management of phytonematodes and soilborne plant pathogens in small fruit and ornamental nursery production. Dr. Pinkerton is a member of APS and has served on the Nematology Committee. He also is a member of the Society of Nematologists and the Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America.
Jeffrey K. Stone was born in East Liverpool, OH. He received a B.A. degree in biology in 1976 from Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH. He completed a Ph.D. degree in biology and mycology at the University of Oregon in 1986. His doctoral research dealt with the ecology, taxonomy, and physiology of Rhabdocline parkerii, an asymptomatic foliar endophyte of Douglas fir. From 1987 to 1990, he served as a research associate at the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University in Corvallis. It was at this time that he was actively involved in studying the pathology of A. anomala on European hazelnut. In 1993, he accepted a position as assistant professor (senior researcher). His research interests continue to be the ecology, distribution, and biodiversity of fungal parasites of plants in natural systems, and endophytes. He has also been involved with the pathology, ecology, and taxonomy of foliar and stem fungi of woody hosts, and the systematics and evolutionary biology of inoperculate discomycetes. He teaches courses in fungal plant pathogens (mycology), biology of conidial fungi, and forest pathology at Oregon State University. Dr. Stone is a member of APS, the Mycological Society of America, the British Mycological Society, and the International Symbiosis Society. He is currently an associate editor for Mycologia and serves as the chair of the MSA Endowment Committee. In addition, he has served as a MSA councilor of ecology/pathology.


text:
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Melissa Stone / Courtesy photo
Walden Media / Courtesy photo
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If you want to have an excellent time at the movies this summer, take a couple of brilliant eighth-grade girls to see the newest "Godzilla" in 3D like I just did. Their 2 cents? Utterly priceless: The female characters were weak, the subplots and 3D were essentially useless, but Godzilla — the movie and the monster — "totally boss." As we trailed out of the theater deep in discussion, they reminded me of the pure joy of sharing a good film with simpaticos.
Yes, summer films often are rife with ridiculous explosions, flat characters, unnecessary subplots and scantily clad women with little agency, but every once in a while a film comes along that's different. Maybe the explosions hit you on an emotional level, the flat characters are flattened. Sometimes, you get a "Godzilla."
Below you'll find all the summer movies fit to print — well, at least all the ones that aren't so far down on the "Limited Release List" that you'll have to drive to a coast to watch them.
Your best bets for loud, explode-y, summer movie popcorn fare include "X-Men: Days of Future Past," lauded as director Bryan Singer's triumphant return to (mutant) form, and Disney's "Maleficent," a deliciously dark "Wicked"-style reimagining of the evil fairy from "Sleeping Beauty." Less awesome: the feh-inducing Michael Bay reboot of "TMNT" (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and the latest "Transformers" flick.
If last year was the summer of zombies, this is the summer of sci-fi, heralding a new, original space opera ("Jupiter Ascending") from "Matrix" creators Andy and Lana Wachowski, family-friendly flick "Earth to Echo" and "Edge of Tomorrow," wherein Tom Cruise is stuck in a time loop.
Promising comedies include Seth MacFarlane's irreverent "A Million Ways to Die in the West," Gillian Robespierre's funky, stand-up-comic-in-love story, "Obvious Child," and the Damon Wayans-Jake Johnson romp,"Let's Be Cops."
Should you hate summer films because they're just too loud, stunning and explode-y, then your salvation might lie in the quiet Irish drama, "Calvary" (starring Brendan Gleeson), "The Hundred-Foot Journey," (starring Helen Mirren), or either of the two weeper flicks, "The Fault In Our Stars," or "If I Stay."
Since you might not have a brilliant eighth-grader to hit the movies with, I asked Sali to weigh in on a few of the films here. All release dates are subject to change, and here's to a happy summer, in and out of the movies!
May 31
PG-13 | Comedy
The last time I watched a rom-com starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, I got in a huge fight with my boyfriend. I was mad he wasn't inventive enough in our relationship and he was irate I made him go see "50 First Dates." But that won't happen after watching this new Sandler-Barrymore rom-com (about single parents hooking up during a family vacation to Africa, Brady Bunch-style) because we are seeing other people.
X-Men: Days of Future Past
PG-13 | Action
Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) is sent into the past to affect crucial historical tweaks to save both mutants and humans who're threatened by a robot army controlled by Peter Dinklage! (Insert girlish squeal here.) James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart play Dr. Xavier, Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender are Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence plays Mystique, Halle Berry is Storm, Anna Paquin is Rogue, Ellen Page is Kitty Pryde, Nicholas Hoult plays the younger version of Beast, Shawn Ashmore plays Iceman, Omar Sy is Bishop, Evan Peters is Quicksilver, Daniel Cudmore is Colossus, Bingbing Fan is Blink, Mr. Peter Dinklage is Dr. Bolivar Trask, and if none of this means anything to you, that's too bad because director Bryan Singer's latest X-Men film is going to be one of his best.
May 30
A Million Ways to Die in the West
R | Comedy
Seth MacFarlane aims his blissfully juvenile, pop culture savant sense of humor at the old west in a story centered on the burgeoning romance between an affably dorky farmer (MacFarlane) and the no-nonsense, gunslinging New Girl in Town (Charlize Theron) as they face a murderous thug (Liam Neeson) who happens to be her husband. On the off-chance you're too busy reading books to have watched MacFarlane's "Family Guy," expect rapid-fire bawdiness and gallows humor.
PG | Family
Angelina Jolie stars in Disney's "Wicked"-style reimagining of the evil, horn-headed antagonist from the Sleeping Beauty tale as a once-kind fairy turned vengeful monster after a series of major letdowns. (Good for her; I get salty over something as simple as bad coffee.) Sali likes that it doesn't seem "too violent for younger viewers but has enough action for older audiences."
June 6
Edge of Tomorrow
PG-13 | Sci-fi
Remember in "Groundhog Day" how Bill Murray repeats the same day over and over, eventually using the time to learn 16th century French poetry and classical piano? This flick is totally samesies, except swap Tom Cruise for Murray and alien warfare skills for French poetry/classical piano. Despite its delayed release, the film could be something of a dark horse, quality-wise: Doug Liman directs (he did the original and arguably best "Bourne" film).
The Fault in Our Stars
PG-13 | Drama
Hazel (Shailene Woodley) is a teen with cancer requiring an ever-present oxygen tank. She meets cancer-surviving, prosthetic leg-havin' Augustus (Ansel Elgort) during an otherwise lame group therapy session. They fall madly in love and then disaster strikes. Directed by Josh Boone, who did 2012's "Stuck in Love" and is making Stephen King's "Lisey's Story" next year. Should you go see this one, I recommend a full-size box of Kleenex, not one of those little purse packs.
Obvious Child
R | Comedy
Jewish stand-up comedian Donna (Jenny Slate) was "recently dumped up with" after her best friend slept with Donna's boyfriend. Donna now "would just like to murder-suicide them." She then gets knocked up during a drunken date with a goy toy (Jake Lacy). Still, the gentile seems to be a real mensch. Some folks won't like the low-brow comedy of director/co-writer Gillian Robespierre, but that's OK because then they won't sit by me in the theater, talking and rustling their candy wrappers.
June 13
22 Jump Street
NR | Comedy
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill return as undercover officers Schmidt and Jenko. This time they go to college. No, I'm not going to say it.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
PG | Family
Fine: Your mom goes to college. Anyway. I didn't see the first dragon training film (I heard it was of no use to Daenerys Targaryen), but there are more than a few elementary school girls who dressed as Astrid last Halloween who'll be disappointed this installment mainly leaves Astrid at the dragon races while Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon, Toothless, roam the skies looking for adventure.
June 20
Jersey Boys
R | Drama/Musical
Clint Eastwood directs the screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical about The Four Seasons. Stars John Lloyd Young, Vincent Piazza, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda and Christopher Walken. Let's hope he's not just Walken. Let's hope he's dancin'. (Sorrynotsorry.)
Think Like a Man Too
PG-13 | Comedy
The crew heads to Vegas for a wedding, kicking off another battle of the sexes, but with less clothing this time. (Vegas is quite warm in the summer.) Stars Kevin Hart, Gabrielle Union, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Michael Ealy, Meagan Good, Regina Hall, Taraji P. Henson, Romany Malco and other talented actors who deserve better than a lame Steve Harvey script.
June 27
Transformers: Age of Extinction
PG-13 | Action
Mark Wahlberg finds a hoopty-ass semi that turns out to be Optimus Prime. But Stanley Tucci tells everyone Transformers suck and we don't need them anymore, so they leave, and then — predictably — we're invaded by robot dragon monsters. "I don't have high hopes … it's directed by Michael Bay," said Sali. "Might have a few cool action scenes; we'll just have to wait and see." Fair enough.
July 2
Deliver Us From Evil
NR | Thriller
Eric Bana plays NYPD cop Ralph Sarchie, who doesn't believe in supernatural evil until his daughter's sock monkey and owl toy show him a terrifying ghost/demon thingy. Even though it's hiding under his kid's bed and not his own, Ralph's quick to team up with an exorcist (Edgar Ramirez). Because this is supposed to be based on a true story, I recommend ignoring any direction you might receive from sock monkeys and/or owl toys.
Earth to Echo
PG | Sci-fi
A bunch of kids ride their bikes 20 miles into the desert after their phones show them a map to an alien resembling a robot owl. Tangent: What's with all the owls this season? Why don't you put an old-timey mustache on his face and some bacon in his talons already, you Hollywood joiners?! Ahem. The robot owl is friendly and wants to go back to his home planet, but guess what? The evil scientists who didn't learn their lesson from "E.T." put a big ol' hitch in that giddyup.
R | Comedy
Melissa McCarthy co-wrote this flick with director Ben Falcone, who also happens to be her husband. McCarthy plays the title character, a woman who loses her job, her husband and her mind (presumably in that order), then robs a fast-food joint and hits the road with her drunken gramma (Susan Sarandon.) Also stars Dan Akroyd.
July 11
And So It Goes
PG-13 | Rom-com
Orin Little (Michael Douglas) is a lying, rude, navel-gazin' real estate agent who's entrusted with the care of his granddaughter (Sterling Jerins) after his estranged son drops her off with him. (Really questioning your judgment here, Estranged Son.) Then Orin hits on the next-door neighbor (Diane Keaton). As silly, contrived and distasteful as this setup is, it's also a rom-com, so Keaton will go for it, the kid will teach Orin to be nice, and — just a second; I need to find something to hurl into.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
NR | Action
After a virus wipes out most of humanity and genetically enhanced apes grow in number, a tentative truce is threatened. Caesar the Ape (Andy Serkis) says, "I can't trust the humans," but Malcolm the Human (Jason Clarke) is like, "No, we'll be cool. It's cool." Then Dreyfus the Human (Gary Oldman) is all, "No, the apes gotta go," and Ellie (Keri Russell) says, "But this baby monkey is adorable!" Then they fight anyway.
The Fluffy Movie
NR | Documentary
This documentary about popular stand-up comic Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglesias appears to be no more than a series of performances edited together. Sali, however is looking forward to it because "it looks like a funny movie about a funny fat guy."
July 18
Jupiter Ascending
NR | Sci-fi
Lowly janitor Jupiter Jones (Mila Kunis) discovers extraterrestrials exist, they're more evolved than us, some of them own planets, she's the rightful heir to Earth and an alien businessman (Eddie Redmayne) and the Queen of the Universe want her dead. Kind of a big day. Thankfully, the alien bounty hunter (Channing Tatum) sent to kill her changes his mind. This flick is hotly anticipated, as it marks a return to original sci-fi screenplays by Matrix franchise creators Andy and Lana Wachowski and is slated as the first in a trilogy (insert "Uranus Ascending" joke here).
Planes: Fire & Rescue
NR | Family
I know little kids get obsessed with trucks and planes and tractors, and it makes financial sense for Disney to make a film with all those things in it. Still, it's kind of weird to have it focus on something as dangerous and devastating as wildfires and then release it right in the middle of summer.
The Purge: Anarchy
R | Thriller
This is a sequel to last year's horror flick about an annual night set aside so citizens can give into murderous impulses, free of legal repercussions. Although the night mostly serves as a Get Out of Jail Free card for sociopaths, some use the evening for revenge, while others curse their luck after their car breaks down. Stars Frank Grillo, Michael K. Williams and Kiele Sanchez.
July 25
NR | Action
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Hercules (a "totally boss guy who kills stuff," according to Sali), who's already bested his 12 labors when we meet him in Brett Ratner's film, based on the graphic novel by Steve Moore and Cris Bolsin, "The Thracian Wars." Now busy leading a group of mercenaries, Herc's gotta whip his posse into shape and save the King of Thrace (John Hurt).
Sex Tape
NR | Comedy
Married couple Annie (Cameron Diaz) and Jay (Jason Segel) have hit a sexy-time lull — one of those it's been so long, I don't know how long it's been lulls that none of us has any experience with. They set aside a Thursday night, deciding that taping it will make the experience extra kinky, and wake up the next morning to discover their video's gone missing. Cue panic. While the premise is solid and the cast (which includes Rob Corddry, Jack Black and Rob Lowe) has comedic chops, the trailer features a German shepherd flying off a treadmill, making me wonder if a promising setup got undermined by pedestrian humor.
Step Up: All In
PG-13 | Drama
Attention dance nerds! The fifth — fifth! — installment of the Step Up franchise is here. This time, a mix of wickedly talented kids ranging from "plucky" to "troubled" join together to win a dance competition. Don't go thinking this is exactly like the other four films; this one is in Vegas.
Aug. 1
NR | Comedy
Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) is a unilaterally respected priest in a small Irish town, which is why the death threat he receives during confession one Sunday is such a shock. As the week progresses, the townspeople's super-egos dissolve, leaving Father Lavelle to wonder who's going to take him out. Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, the film stars Chris "Moone Boy" O'Dowd, Kelly "Black Box" Reilly, Aiden "Littlefinger" Gillen, Dylan "Black Books" Moran and lots of other fine Irish actors. Slainte!
Get on Up
NR | Biography
Did you Step Up? Good. Now it's time to, Get on Up. Director Tate Taylor takes on the tumultuous rise to fame of the hardest-working man in show business, Mr. Dynamite, the amazing Mr. Please Please himself, the star of the show, James Brown from poverty to the Apollo Theater. Chadwick Boseman ("42") appears to have the pained expressions and pigeon-toed walk down; let's hope he also brings the electric energy, or it'll be time for the big payback.
Guardians of the Galaxy
NR | Adventure
This. Looks. Terrible. I love Chris Pratt, who plays Peter "Star-Lord" Quill, leader of a ragtag team of pseudo antiheroes who save the galaxy, but when I learned one of them is a raccoon and saw John C. Reilly being John C. Reilly in a very silly outerspace costume, I lost interest. Maybe you haven't, and if not, you should know Star-Lord steals some kind of orb and gets the team in trouble with an evil alien. (Tangent: How freakin' cool is the name "Ronan the Accuser"?) Director James Gunn won the 2006 Chainsaw Award for Highest Body Count for "Slither," which could be considered a plus in some circles, but then went on to win a Worst Director Award at this year's Razzies for "Movie 43." He shared it with 12 other directors; let's hope he's not earning one just for himself this time.
Aug. 8
The Hundred-Foot Journey
NR | Drama
Lasse Hallstrom ("Cider House Rules," "Chocolat") directs this film based on Richard C. Morais' novel about an elegant, yet entrenched French woman (Helen Mirren) running a Michelin-starred restaurant across the street from a new Indian eatery. Tensions are high between Mademe Mallory and her new neighbors (played by Om Puri, Manish Dayal, Farzana Dua Elahe, Amit Shah, Juhi Chawla) but once the son (a burgeoning chef in his own right) begins sharing techniques and recipes with her, both neighborly love and omelets improve.
Into the Storm
PG-13 | Action
I love it when studios make the same flavor of onscreen hell in the same year — two enter; one leaves. Last year, we had two White House Under Attack flicks ("Olympus Has Fallen" and "White House Down") and next year, we might get a pair of Everest-themed movies. In 1996, we got both "Tornado!" and "Twister" (plus "Night of the Twisters" on TV). It's kind of weird and sad then, to see this disaster film all by its lonesome. In "Into the Storm," papers, people and planes get sucked up, er, into the storm. Guess I'll watch "Storm of the Century" again.
NR | Action
Scarlett Johansson is Lucy, kidnapped during a wild night of clubbing only to discover contraband in her belly the next morning. Hint: It's not curdling White Russians. Instead, it's a package of blue, brain-enhancing goo she's supposed to smuggle into the States. Like my cop buddy always says, "Most criminals are pretty dumb," and these guys are no exception. After Lucy is kicked in the belly, the package explodes, leaking the goo into her system and creating a super-smart lady able to control time and space. (So, like half the women in Boulder County.) Morgan Freeman is the friendly professor who helps her.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
NR | Action
Fans of the franchise complained about a now-reversed decision to cut both "Teenage" and "Mutant" out of the title and turn them into aliens who come to the aid of crime-ridden New York, but Sali nailed it when I asked her opinion: "Michael Bay's producing. There're going to be too many camera flares, jump cuts, boobs and hot women." Kid really dislikes Michael Bay.
Aug. 13
Let's Be Cops
R | Action
Two delightful dummies (Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr.) decide against lame sheet/ghost costumes in favor of police uniforms. The second they realize everyone thinks they're the real deal, they let the gag take its natural course. "Too far?" you ask. Yes. But here "too far" might be "just right."
Aug. 15
As Above, So Below
NR | Horror
Scarlet Marlow … Wait. Anybody else reminded of "rural juror" from "30 Rock"? Just me? OK. Anyway, Scar-Mar (Perdita Weeks) and her little archaeologist buddies (including Ben Feldman and Edwin Hodge) dig around Parisian catacombs, discovering Zee Gates de Hell. Events from their past that are tres horrible, triste, et terrifiante are dredged up and tossed into their faces like mauvais vin blanc. Sacrebleu!
The Expendables 3
NR | Action
The third one.
The Giver
NR | Sci-fi
Sci-fi this summer is like Hansel — it's so hot right now! Lois Lowry's bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning novel about a perfectly controlled, pain-avoiding dystopian society is brought to the screen by director Phillip Noyce. Brenton Thwaites plays Jonas, the teen chosen to receive knowledge of the true, suffering nature of the world from The Giver, whom you might know as The Dude (Jeff Bridges). Also stars Meryl Streep.
Life After Beth
R | Zom-rom-com
Did you see "Warm Bodies," the movie where the zombie falls in love with a normal? This is sort of a reverse of that premise, a flippy-floppy if you will. Zach (a promising Dane DeHaan) is pretty broken up when his special lady friend, Beth (Aubrey Plaza), keels over. When she climbs out of the grave with zero cognizance of her death, he wonders if this is less of a second chance and more a zombie situation. John C. Reilly might redeem himself after that nasty "Guardians" business, as her defensive, zombie-enabling father.
Aug. 22
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
NR | Action
The original "Sin City" cast is back: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba and Jaime King. And they're joining a few new faces — Jeremy Piven, Ray Liotta, Josh Brolin — in a story about a dame supposedly worth killing for: Eva Green. Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez direct. Let's hope this is every bit as pulptastic and visually brilliant as the previous one.
If I Stay
NR | Drama
What begins as a straightforward, coming-of-age tale about a promising young cellist (Chloe Grace Moretz) distracted by an upcoming audition and a new fabulous boyfriend (Jamie Blackley) is soon hijacked after a car accident leaves her an orphan in a coma. Also stars Mireille Enos, Liana Liberato. Based on the novel by Gayle Forman and directed by R. J. Cutler. Maybe we should buy our Sad Movie Kleenex at Costco.
When the Game Stands Tall
PG | Drama
The De La Salle High School football team, with 151 consecutive wins, holds the longest winning streak of any sports team in the whole entire history of the world! Er, the American world, at least. When that streak ended, coach Bob Ladouceur (played by Jim Caviezel), his players, the students and the town of Concord, Calif., had some soul searching to do. Sali's take: "It looks like a movie that teaches people to not get caught up in things." Also stars Alexander Ludwig, Michael Chiklis and Laura Dern.
Aug. 29
PG-13 | Horror
After a car accident kills her boyfriend and leaves her in a wheelchair, Jessabelle (Sarah Snook) is forced to move back to Louisiana and in with her dad (David Andrews). No, that's not the scary part. There, she discovers VHS tapes of her deceased mother (Joelle Carter) reading Tarot cards. No, that's not it, either, but the VHS tapes lead her to the following revelations: She's been cursed since birth; voodoo is not her favorite; baby skulls are in that swamp over there; blood sometimes burbles up in the sink and tub; no, seriously, this voodoo stuff is not her jam, and the mirrors in the house are more than a little problematic.


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Oklahoma's Lovely Clayborne
[Our Beauty Of The Day]
[Our Beauty Of The Day]
Where She's From: Lovely Veronica Clayborne was born in Durant, Oklahoma.
"I was raised in the small town of Spiro, Oklahoma," she tells The Black Star News. "My mother was from Germany, and my father, Miami. We are an extremely close family. My parents instilled a sense of strong morals and self awareness in myself. They taught me to be strong."
Clayborne graduated with a BA in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. She confesses that she'd always wanted to model already almost 6 feet tall in the 7th grade. "My parents valued education so school was first and now I'm conquering my dreams," the young beauty adds. "I want to die a Supermodel. I also sing and I'm hoping to work more on my personal music project this year."
"In 2006, I abruptly lost my mother. She was my life," Clayborne says, when asked how she deals with challenges. "In Dec of 2007, my father quietly passed away after a long difficult illness. I have six brother and sisters and it was so hard for us to pick up the pieces and move on. I felt at times that the weight of the world was on my shoulders. I find strength in them and vise versa. I know God is with me, and I take everyday, one at a time. Every step I take is to honor the legacy of two amazing people who departed this life so prematurely."
Where She's At: Clayborne is well on her way to realizing her goals. She's been featured on MTV Spring Break show "Pretty Smart," Jamaque Magazine April 2008 in a 16-page spread, and she's walked in numerous fashion shows including designers-Eva Danielle, Palm Beach Couture Fashion Week Runway for Andres Aquino, 944 Magazine Zodiac pool party and Amaya swimwear Fashion Show.
"I have shot with numerous nationally-known photographers including the famed Matthew Jordan Smith, who shot the February 2008 Essence cover of Tyra Banks," she says. "I have shot several commercials, print ads and I am currently booking shows for Miami Fashion Week." She says modeling is a stepping stone for future endeavors.
So how does this beauty prepare to step out?
"I'm totally addicted to Victoria's Secret; everything," Clayborne says. "Their new body mouses are my favorite, and they're edible. I can't live with out MAC fix powder and lashes. I'm not really a brand whore. I where what looks good and what makes me feel pretty."
This Pisces also enjoys a good ride; she loves Lexuses but her dream car is a Bentley gt drop top.
Clayborne's Words Of Wisdom: "Always stay true to yourself; live hard today, you may die young. Leave a legacy worth honoring."
Clayborne's Secrets Of Success: "Wanting it more than everyone else and figuring out innovative ways to standout and snatch your dreams."
Clayborne's Favorite Three Movies: "City of Angels, Legends of the Fall, Lion King."
Clayborne's Favorite Three Books: "The Bible, Malcolm X, Incidents In The Life of A Slave Girl."
Three Leaders That Have Most Inspired Clayborne: "Gandhi, Malcolm X, Barack Obama."
First Three Things Clayborne Would Do As President: "Total welfare reform--I would push for laws that gradually help these programs to help underprivileged families instead of crippling them. I would help to create a universal health care program. I would send a letter of apology to the citizens of Iraq."
Clayborne's Favorite Entertainers And Their Songs: "Etta James-Suga On The Floor; Alanis Morrisette-You Learn; Fall Out Boys; and, Ray Charles-Hard Times."
Clayborne's Five Favorite Websites: "modelmayhem.com , myspace.com, facebook.com, people.com, tmz.com."
A Short Clayborne Statement: "I seriously need a reality show because there is no way I could explain the insanity in one story. My life is dramatic and over the top. I'm so lovin' life right now."
To comment, to subscribe to or advertise in New York's leading Pan African weekly investigative newspaper, please call (212) 481-7745 or send a note to
Also visit out sister publications Harlem Business News www.harlembusinessnews.com publications and The Groove Music magazine www.thegroovemag.com
"Speaking Truth To Power."
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Ann GarrisonFebruary 22,2018 @ 08:03 PM
I think you have "Filtered HTML" turned on here. If you switch to "Full HTML," it will probably...


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On sale now!
History is filled with What Ifs. What if Einstein had never immigrated to the US? What if Lincoln had never gone to Fords Theatre? While many decisions in history might have been inconsequential, others may have radically altered the course of history and our role in it today.


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Posts Tagged 'glasses'
Laqlouq Snow Walk June 15th, 2011
Summer seems to have come upon us quite heavily here in Abu Dhabi. Got me thinking about the cooler times, such as earlier this year in Lebanon, where I had the chance to go on a snow walk for the first time.
The weather was starting to warm up earlier than expected and the mountain snow was turning a little slushy around noon, making skiing an unattractive proposition.
We went to a place known as Laqlouq, in Lebanon. We got there early in the afternoon, parked the car by the side of the road, put on the snowshoes and took off up the slope.
Below are a few pictures from that wonderful day.
The snows were already beginning to melt. And to melt quite fast. Just a few short weeks before, the entire mountain side was covered with snow, but the rocks were starting to reach out to the skies again…
As were some of the thorny wild flowers…
We were aiming to get to the cross at the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, just meters from the top, I dropped my glasses! Had to watch them ski their way down the steeper slope of the mountainside.
We headed down after them, and I ended up falling and sliding down a good distance myself. Got snow all over my lens… Halfway down we met two dogs, German shepherds, who eneded up following and playing with us all the way back to the car.
The light was fading fast as we headed back down to Beirut. The clouds hung low over the mountains, bringing fog as the air cooled and making for a spectacular sunset.
More coming soon!
Tags: cloud, dog, fog, german shepherd, glasses, laqlouq, lebanon, mountain, rock, ski, snow, snow shoe, snow walk, snowshoe, summer, sunset, walk, wild flower, winter
Posted in Animals, People, Travel/Urban | Comments (0)


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LEXINGTON, KY -- The University of Kentucky installed two rotating cameras in its student recreation center last month, the Kentucky Kernel reported.
The two cameras supply live still shots of the Johnson Center to the Johnson Center and student government Web sites. The cameras provide a convenience for students who can check how crowded the Johnson Center is before deciding to go there, Ron Lee, Kentucky's director of campus recreation, told the newspaper. There are no signs or other notifications posted in the Johnson Center to inform students about the camera.
Student government leaders said privacy was an issue before they decided the fund the project.
"We didn't want students to feel unsafe," Tyler Fleck, student government deputy chief of staff, told the newspaper. "We made sure you cannot tell who students are. You can't see faces, and you can't zoom in."
Student government allocated $1,500 of its yearly budget for the cameras, and the Johnson Center paid about $7,500, the newspaper reported.


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MULTI-SOFTCORE ARCHITECTURES AND ALGORITHMS FOR A CLASS OF SPARSE COMPUTATIONS by Qingbo Wang A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING) August 2010 Copyright 2010 Qingbo Wang
Object Description
|Multi-softcore architectures and algorithms for a class of sparse computations
|Wang, Qingbo
|Author email
|email@example.com; firstname.lastname@example.com
|Doctor of Philosophy
|Document type
|Degree program
|Electrical Engineering
|Viterbi School of Engineering
|Date defended/completed
|Date submitted
|Restricted until
|Restricted until 13 Feb. 2011.
|Date published
|Advisor (committee chair)
|Prasanna, Viktor K.
|Advisor (committee member)
Ung, Monte
Nakano, Aiichiro
|Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is a representative reconfigurable computing platform. It has been used in many applications to execute computationally intensive workloads. In this work, we study architectures and algorithms on FPGA for sparse computations. These computations have unique features: 1) the ratio of input and output operations to computation is high and 2) most memory accesses are random with little or no data locality, which leads to low memory bandwidth utilization.; We propose Multiple Application Specific Softcore architecture to overcome the performance hurdles that are inherent to sparse computations. We identify the critical issues, demonstrate our solutions, and validate the proposed architecture using two case studies: large dictionary string matching and breadth-first search on a graph. Our architecture utilizes multiple application-specific processing units (softcores) to exploit the potential thread-level parallelism in these computations. To alleviate the impact of long latency from accessing external memory on system performance, a specialized memory architecture and a scheduling mechanism are devised to reduce the number of accesses to external memory and to hide the effects of the remaining accesses. By utilizing customized interconnects which are adaptive to communication demand, flexible and efficient inter-softcore data exchange and synchronization mechanism are well supported.; The two kernels in our study are among the most common sparse computation algorithms and are of practical significance on their own. String matching searches for all occurrences of a set of patterns (the dictionary) in a string of input data. It is the core function of search engines, intrusion detection systems (IDS), virus scanners, and spam and content filters. In our study on large dictionary string matching, our design achieved a throughput comparable to implementations on state-of-the-art multi-core computing systems. Breadth-first search is a fundamental building block for many graph algorithms, with applications in network analysis, image processing, and database query. Breadth-first search is a difficult kernel to parallelize on cache-based multi-core systems due to its fine-grained random data access and synchronization between threads. We demonstrate that, by using a message passing multi-core architecture with a distributed barrier design, high throughput performance can be obtained using a modest amount of logic resources on FPGA.
|reconfigurable computing; multi-core architecture; field-programmable gate array; algorithm; sparse computation; computing system
|Part of collection
|University of Southern California dissertations and theses
|Publisher (of the original version)
|University of Southern California
|Place of publication (of the original version)
|Los Angeles, California
|Publisher (of the digital version)
|University of Southern California. Libraries
|Electronically uploaded by the author
|Legacy record ID
|Contributing entity
|University of Southern California
|Wang, Qingbo
|Repository name
|Libraries, University of Southern California
|Repository address
|Los Angeles, California
|Repository email
|Archival file
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|University of Southern California
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|Full text
|MULTI-SOFTCORE ARCHITECTURES AND ALGORITHMS FOR A CLASS OF SPARSE COMPUTATIONS by Qingbo Wang A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING) August 2010 Copyright 2010 Qingbo Wang


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Elago iPhone 11/11 Pro/11 Pro Max Case Caution: Ivory (Night Glow Blue) / Black
Make your iPhone 11 stylish with waterfall effects in a variety of vibrant colors made of sand and oil. Express your personality with a simple word...View full details
The case fits snugly over the phone. Even if I drop the phone, I feel there is a good chance the case will shield the phone from damage.
I love it, it's sitting on my desk so I can look at it every day.
I chuckle every time I charge my watch on this stand. It's rubbery feel keeps it from sliding off the bedside table and is easy to use. Fun product, especially for Apple fans.
My silver/stainless band fits perfectly, is attractive, and very comfortable to wear. The elastic makes the watch easy to put on and take off. Because I have my watch charger in a stand that's too wide to slip the band over at night, I do have to remove one end when charging but that's not been a problem. I ordered the S/M size after measuring my wrist but the shipping box said it was small... but it still fits my wrist just right so I'm not sure how the company reconciles that. Oh well... I do love the band and consider it a great deal.
I really like the watch band, however I erred in my size request. My order was one notch too small. I can put it on, but it is much too snug. After an hour it becomes tolerable, but still... it wasn't cheap. My email to them about this problem got lost (probably in the spam box, who knows?) for three weeks, but the moment Form Function Form saw it they immediately sent out a resized replacement. The bad itself is as beautiful, comfortable and as marvelously minimalist as you expect from looking at the images. Great Company, great product. To avoid the sizing error I made be sure not to indicate a sport loop size that is snug, because silicone is way more comfortable and flexible when worn tight than leather.


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We welcome all couples regardless of faith and sexual orientation.
In 2000, Former U.S. President Bill Clinton proclaimed June to be Gay and Lesbian Pride month. Almost a decade later, on June 1st, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama proclaimed June to be LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Pride month in the United States. Shunkoin Temple would like honor these decisions and to increase the understanding of gay and lesbian rights by promoting same-sex weddings at our temple during the month of June, 2012.
Our wedding ceremony includes:
1. Chanting of the Heart Stutra (Parajinaparamita).
2. Vows lead by an officiant (priest).
3. Exchange of your own vows and rings.
4. Sake-sharing ritual (san san kudo).
5. Recitation of a special vow. This is vow is written in Japanese and English in certificate-style and is signed by both partners.
6. Proclamation of the marriage.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
Have the most memorable moment at this 420-year old historical Zen Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan.


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When vncviewer receives a file, the server doesn't respond to messages on the tray icon. Usually it will pop up the menu and then its dead until the file transfer ends. The message loop in vncmenu calls pClient->SendFileChunk() which posts a message back to the same window. So it looks like other messages should be processed eventually. This is all on the same thread, and its normal priority.
Any ideas how to throttle the file messages to allow UI messages to be processed?


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Loving father, devoted husband, Ricktator. Discuss the life and times of Rick Grimes here.
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A recent study by the World Watch Institute reports explosive sales growth in compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. This is great news for the climate with a projected 40% reduction in global lighting demand and an estimated 17 billion tons of prevented CO2 emissions. But many experts and one grouchy puppet, are concerned about the growing threat of mercury.
All compact fluorescents contain small amounts of mercury. According to Leonard Robinson of the California EPA, 20 million light bulbs contain about 1.5 grams of mercury. That doesn't sound like a lot, but mercury can accumulate for decades and if not properly contained can work its way into the water table, contaminating municipal water supplies.
The WWI report points out that coal-burning power plants also emit significant quantities of mercury. If you compare a CFL with regular incandescent light bulb and you factor in the extra energy required over the life of the regular bulb, you have about the same amount of mercury released into the environment. But there is a difference. In the case of the CFL, the mercury is deposited directly into the ground in municipal waste sites. Coal-burning plants are usually located outside of municipal areas, so the mercury has some chance to dissipate.
For this reason, California has commenced an aggressive and creative "can-paign" featuring Oscar the Grouch, who explains that CFL's must be disposed of in special collectors located around the city that prevent the mercury from leaking. A 2006 California law actually enforces the special disposal of household electronic waste or "e-waste," but most consumers have never heard of the law or the reasons why a CFL is not like a typical light bulb.
The California EPA with the help of their fuzzy spokesperson are working closely with large retailers like Home Depot and IKEA to educate the consumer at the point of purchase. Right now, the immediate threat is low. CFL's usually last 5 years and some much longer, so the first wave of CFL's has not even hit the trash cans. But next year, when the first generation of bulbs sold back in 2002 are tossed, California is bracing for a significant toxic waste management issue.
Below is a short interview by Cohn & Wolfe with Leonard Robinson of Cal EPA explaining the issue and the need to bring together energy efficiency with waste management concerns:


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Column StatisticsThis window is used to display the maximum, minimum, mean, row numbers of the first maximum and minimum values, and the standard deviation of columns.
Click on a column name in the list box to calculate its statistics.
To calculate statistics for sets of rows of the table, enter the row range in the "Row range" entry field or select rows in table window and check the "use selected rows" checkbox.
Example row range values: 1-10 first 10 rows of the table 2,4,6,8,10 list of individual rows 4-8,20-30,40-60 list of ranges
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