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As 2011 comes to a close, it's time to look forward to the movies set to open in 2012. While many are busy compiling their Top 10 lists from 2011, we thought it'd be a good time to run down the list of our 15 most anticipated blockbusters of the coming year. Will The Avengers deliver as the culmination of four years worth of Marvel movies? Just how much of a prequel to Alien is Prometheus? Will The Dark Knight Rises be the greatest movie ever made in the history of movies and awesomeness? There are a lot of unknowns, and we've learned that sometimes the best behind-the-scenes talent can still make a stinker (Cowboys & Aliens), but we're hoping for more than a few pleasant surprises (a la X-Men: First Class) to appease us in 2012. Hit the jump to check out our list.
*Note: For the sake of this article, a "blockbuster" is considered a large-scale, big budget event film. Movies are listed in order of release.
Director: Andrew Stanton
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Willem Dafoe, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, Dominic West, James Purefoy, Daryl Sabara, Polly Walker, Bryan Cranston, and Thomas Hayden Church
Release Date: March 9th, 2012 (3D)
Why We're Excited About It: A feature film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs sci-fi collection John Carter of Mars has been in development for a very, very long time. Wall-E director Andrew Stanton is finally the one to bring the story to life, and while the initial teaser trailer did little to impress, the subsequent marketing materials (including the full-length trailer) have inspired much more faith in the project. The setting is vast, the effects are notable, and the sci-fi is on full display. Stanton's work at Pixar is extraordinary, so here's hoping he delivers on his live-action debut.
Director: Gary Ross
Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz, and Donald Sutherland
Release Date: March 23rd, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: If you've read the books, you know that Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games universe is ripe for a feature film adaptation. It's epic in scope, has multiple thrilling and unique action set-pieces, and centers on teenagers fighting each other to death with a hodgepodge of weapons/modes of murdering at their disposal. Judging from the full-length trailer, it looks like director Gary Ross has the tone down pat, but Lionsgate is keeping the second and third act close to the vest (ie. the killing, running, and fighting). Hopefully the film takes what made the books so damn addictive—intriguing characters and a twisty plot—and expands upon them, giving us an all-out dystopian adventure.
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, and Mark Ruffalo
Release Date: May 4th, 2012 (3D)
Why We're Excited About It: The road that began with 2008's Iron Man comes to a turning point here with the superhero movie to end all superhero movies. As if bringing together Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk wasn't enough, Marvel nabbed "God of Nerds" Joss Whedon to write and direct the pic. While everyone's definitely looking forward to seeing Tony Stark trade jabs with Steve Rogers, The Avengers also provides a look into the future as it sets up "Phase 2" of Marvel's development slate (which will presumably culminate with The Avengers 2).
Director: Rupert Sanders
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin, Noah Huntley, Nick Frost, Ray Winstone, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan and Steven Graham
Release Date: June 1st, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: While the idea of two Snow White movies wasn't exactly the most appetizing thought, the first trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman was kind of badass. In his feature film debut, the first look at Rupert Sanders' iteration of the classic story definitely took a lot of people by surprise; it's much more Lord of the Rings than Alice in Wonderland. Charlize Theron is a delight any time she gets a meaty character to chew on, and she appears to be in fine form here as the Evil Queen. We haven't seen much from Kristen Stewart yet, but turning Snow White into a sort of reluctant warrior is definitely an interesting direction. Sanders' visuals are epic in scope, and I'm enticed to find out if this ambitious fairy tale delivers.
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce
Release Date: June 8th, 2012 (3D)
Why We're Excited About It: This maybe-probably prequel to Ridley Scott's Alien marks a much-welcomed return to the sci-fi genre for the director. Judging by the footage seen so far, it appears that he's returning to the horror tone that he so expertly pulled off with the 1979 pic. The cast is pretty great, with Michael Fassbender—a damn fine actor and everyone's current obsession—playing an android and Noomi Rapace set as the lead. We still know very little plotwise, but given its connection to Alien and the fact that Scott is tackling sci-fi once more, I'm incredibly eager to check this one out.
Director: Mark Andrews
Cast: The voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, Robbie Coltrane, and Julie Walters
Release Date: June 22nd, 2012 (3D)
Why We're Excited About It: It's safe to say many have been eagerly awaiting Brave ever since the project was first announced (our anticipation grew more intense as we realized we first had to sit through Cars 2). Besides the fact that the film comes from the nearly always on fire hit factory that is Pixar, Brave is a picturesque fairy tale set in the Scottish highlands. The visuals look stunning, and the movie marks the studio's first film with a female protagonist. Fantasy is a new avenue for Pixar, and I couldn't think of a genre better suited for the expert storytellers to take on.
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sally Field
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012 (3D)
Why We're Excited About It: All eyes are on Marc Webb's reboot to see how it sets itself apart from Sam Raimi's previous three films in the Spider-Man franchise. It looks as though we're getting the origin story again, but Webb has a keen eye for visuals and he's assembled an intriguing and fresh cast. Garfield has dramatic chops, and Stone is endlessly charming, so hopes are high on this one. We still haven't seen too much in the way of footage, but I'm interested to see what direction Webb takes the Spider-Man story.
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Marion Cotillard
Release Date: July 20th, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: This one's pretty much a no-brainer. With Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan ushered in the era of "gritty" superhero movies. No such imitators have come close to the earnestness that the director displayed with The Dark Knight, and Rises brings the epic saga to an end. Will Bane beat the living hell out of Batman? Can Catwoman really fit into Nolan's reality-grounded universe? All will (hopefully) be answered come next July, and I'm already anxiously counting down the days.
Director: Tony Gilroy
Cast: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Oscar Isaac, Scott Glenn, and Stacy Keach
Release Date: August 3rd, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: While I'd have loved to see Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass return for another installment in one of the most consistently great franchises in recent memory, this "reboot" has become increasingly interesting. Set within the same universe as the previous Bourne films but lacking the character of Jason Bourne, screenwriter Tony Gilroy takes over the helm with Jeremy Renner in the starring role. Gilroy is the credited writer on the first three Bourne's, and his directorial resume (Michael Clayton) gives faith that he's crafted another enthralling pic. Renner's a great choice in Damon's wake, and Edward Norton makes for a fascinating choice as the villain, so I'm hopeful Gilroy can take this franchise in a different yet equally engaging direction.
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Cast: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Michael Pena, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi
Release Date: October 19th, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: This 1940s crime thriller marks the first big-budget project for Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, and boy is he going all out. Besides a super cool premise—back from WWII, a cop assembles a task force to take down Los Angeles gangster Mickey Cohen—the film boasts an outstanding ensemble that sees Josh Brolin squaring off against Sean Penn (who plays Cohen). Fleischer has a knack for interesting action, so I'm antsy to see how he takes on this large-scale period piece.
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Whishaw
Release Date: November 9th, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: While Quantum of Solace took a bit of the wind out the "Bond rejuvenation" sails that kicked off with Casino Royale, Skyfall has all the right ingredients to get the series back on track. Generally known for his weighty dramatic material, Mendes should bring some fresh perspective to Bond, and he's rounded up one of the more impressive supporting casts: Javier Bardem steps into another villainous role, and Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney are set to appear. Bardem is particularly exciting, as it's hard to think of many I'd rather see as a Bond villain than the No Country for Old Men star.
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Cast: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney
Release Date: November 21st, 2012 (3D)
Why We're Excited About It: The rumors about this project have become almost mythic. There are whispers of a 20-minute opening shot, never-before-seen visual effects, and groundbreaking 3D. What we know for sure is that Sandra Bullock plays an astronaut stranded in space, and she occupies most of the screentime completely alone. If Alfonso Cuaron wasn't directing, this would still be an intriguing project, but this is his first film since Children of Men and I utterly cannot wait to see what he has in store. My mind is fully prepared to be blown.
Director: Peter Jackson
Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, James Nesbitt, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, and Andy Serkis
Release Date: December 14th, 2012 (3D)
Why We're Excited About It: Years in the making, this adaptation has definitely had its ups and downs. While I was sad to see Guillermo del Toro leave the director's chair, the only reasonable replacement had to be Peter Jackson. The Lord of the Rings films are beloved by many, and The Hobbit offers us an opportunity to return to Middle Earth and visit our old friends once again (as well as a healthy amount of new ones). The recent trailer suggests the movie is everything we'd hoped it'd be, and Jackson is filming the two-part adaptation in 3D at 48 frames per second, which ensures that The Hobbit will be an intense visual treat.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Don Johnson, Sacha Baron Cohen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Release Date: December 25th, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: I'm always thrilled for a new Quentin Tarantino film, but the writer-director has assembled himself one hell of a cast for his Spaghetti Western. How exactly Tarantino plans on approaching the prickly issue of slavery is a big question mark, but I'm intrigued to see how QT transports his signature touch to the 1800s. Even more enticing is the thought of the immensely talented Leonardo DiCaprio disappearing into his role as an evil plantation owner (is it too much to hope for a Colonel Sanders-esque goatee?).
Director: Tom Hooper
Cast: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Eddie Redmayne
Release Date: December 25th, 2012
Why We're Excited About It: Director Tom Hooper made waves with last year's The King's Speech, for which he won the Best Director Oscar. So how does one follow up a small period piece about the King of England? With a large-scale movie musical of course. Les Miserables certainly fits into Hooper's wheelhouse (he also directed the HBO miniseries John Adams), and he's assembled an incredible cast for the adaptation. Hugh Jackman is a Broadway veteran and can charm the pants off of just about anyone, so he seems a swell choice for protagonist Jean Valjean. Then we've got Russell Crowe as the nefarious Javert, set to go toe-to-toe with Jackman. There are still a few roles yet to be cast, but Hooper's visual taste for period work paired with the actors cast thus far should prove for an adaptation that's equal parts gorgeous and entertaining.


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The next time you wonder just how far to the left Rolling Stone magazine is, consider that in its first issue of the new year, it actually published an article calling for capitalism to be totally abolished in America and replaced with a socialist structure wherein people didn't need to work, all assets were taken over by the government, and redistributed to the masses.
Fasten your seatbelts before continuing further:
1. Guaranteed Work for Everybody
Unemployment blows. The easiest and most direct solution is for the government to guarantee that everyone who wants to contribute productively to society is able to earn a decent living in the public sector...A job guarantee that paid a living wage would anchor prices, drive up conditions for workers at megacorporations like Walmart and McDonald's, and target employment for the poor and long-term unemployed – people to whom conventional stimulus money rarely trickles all the way down...Imagine a world where people could contribute the skills that inspire them – teaching, tutoring, urban farming, cleaning up the environment, painting murals – rather than telemarketing or whatever other stupid tasks bosses need done to supplement their millions. Sounds nice, doesn't it?
Sounds nice? And where would the money come from? And what would the goods and services produced by so many people requiring higher wages cost? How would people afford them?
Keep your seatbelts on, because the author has an answer:
2. Social Security for All
But let's think even bigger. Because as much as unemployment blows, so do jobs. What if people didn't have to work to survive? Enter the jaw-droppingly simple idea of a universal basic income, in which the government would just add a sum sufficient for subsistence to everyone's bank account every month...A universal basic income, combined with a job guarantee and other social programs, could make participation in the labor force truly voluntary, thereby enabling people to get a life.
So why would we need to guarantee everyone a job with a good wage if folks didn't have to work as a result of a universal basic income?
And if people didn't have to work, who would produce the goods and services necessary for life on this planet?
And if no goods and services were being produced, where would the money come from to fund this universal basic income?
Sadly, the author didn't delve into the impracticalities of his suggestions, but instead continued with this childish fantasy:
3. Take Back The Land
Ever noticed how much landlords blow? They don't really do anything to earn their money. They just claim ownership of buildings and charge people who actually work for a living the majority of our incomes for the privilege of staying in boxes that these owners often didn't build and rarely if ever improve...So why don't the community and the public derive the value and put it toward uses that benefit everyone? Because capitalism, is why.
The most mainstream way of flipping the script is a simple land-value tax. By targeting wealthy real estate owners and their free rides, we can fight inequality and poverty directly, make disastrous asset price bubbles impossible and curb Wall Street's hideous bloat. There are cooler ideas out there, too: Municipalities themselves can be big-time landowners, and groups can even create large-scale community land trusts so that the land is held in common. In any case, we have to stop letting rich people pretend they privately own what nature provided everyone.
"[W]e have to stop letting rich people pretend they privately own what nature provided everyone."
That's a doozy, isn't it? So people don't really own the land they pay for.
Sounds like Obama's claim that business owners don't actually build their businesses.
Of course, this shouldn't surprise folks familiar with the author, as Jesse A. Myerson is a media coordinator for Occupy Wall Street.
Figures, doesn't it? But he wasn't done:
4. Make Everything Owned by Everybody
Hoarders blow. Take, for instance, the infamous one percent, whose ownership of the capital stock of this country leads to such horrific inequality. "Capital stock" refers to two things here: the buildings and equipment that workers use to produce goods and services, and the stocks and bonds that represent ownership over the former. The top 10 percent's ownership of the means of production is represented by the fact that they control 80 percent of all financial assets.
This detachment means that there's a way easier way to collectivize wealth ownership than having to stage uprisings that seize the actual airplanes and warehouses and whatnot: Just buy up their stocks and bonds. When the government does that, it's called a sovereign wealth fund. Think of it like a big investment fund that buys up assets from the private sector and pays dividends to all permanent U.S. residents in the form of a universal basic income.
But where does that money come from?
As the top ten percent pays 70 percent of federal income taxes collected every year, once you decimate them, there will be no money to purchase their property.
Once again, Myerson didn't address the flaw in his logic. Liberals never do.
Cue the late Margaret Thatcher again:
(HT Dan Gainor)

subset: commoncrawl


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Antiretroviral Drug Levels During and After Pregnancy
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00616252
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : February 15, 2008
Last Update Posted : December 6, 2010
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
In HIV-infected women, the use of combination therapy with antiretrovirals (ARV) in pregnancy prevents HIV related morbidity and mortality and prevents mother-to-child transmission of the HIV virus.
Specifically, suppression of the virus to an undetectable level is important during the delivery of the baby to minimize potential HIV exposure. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the use of ARV combinations containing nevirapine is the cornerstone of current HIV therapy, due to an affordable cost, availability in a fixed dose combination pill, and generic availability. Maintaining the efficacy and preventing development of resistance against this agent by the HIV virus is imperative, as second line therapies are often more difficult to obtain, are more expensive, and present more challenges in drug storage in clinics and in the community.
Pregnancy adds another dimension to the challenge of treating women with HIV, as the physiologic and metabolic changes can affect levels of antiretroviral agents in the body. Though these changes are known to exist, few trials have evaluated the effect of these factors on the pharmacokinetics of antiretroviral agents and their impact has yet to be demonstrated.
We wish to evaluate if the physiologic changes that occur during pregnancy impact the levels of stavudine, lamivudine, and nevirapine compared to those of a non-pregnant, HIV-infected Ugandan female. These data are imperative to ensure adequate suppression of the HIV virus throughout pregnancy.
|Condition or disease
|Study Type :
|Actual Enrollment :
|16 participants
|Observational Model:
|Time Perspective:
|Official Title:
|Comparison of the Pharmacokinetics of Antiretroviral Agents in HIV Infected Ugandan Women During and After Pregnancy
|Study Start Date :
|February 2008
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|November 2008
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|September 2009
- To evaluate differences in the trough concentration (C12hr) of nevirapine during the second and third trimester of pregnancy and after delivery in the same patient [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
- To evaluate differences in the clearance (Cl/F), area under the curve (AUC), Volume of distribution (V/F), maximum concentration (Cmax), time to maximum concentration (Tmax), and half-life (T1/2) of nevirapine as a result of pregnancy. [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
- To evaluate potential changes in intracellular triphosphate concentration of NRTIs that may occur as a result of pregnancy [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
- To evaluate pharmacogenomic differences in this East African population. [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
- To establish pharmacokinetic levels seen in non-pregnant East African women as compared to the levels seen in the western population, based on the post-partum levels. [ Time Frame: 12 months ]
Biospecimen Retention: Samples With DNA
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 39 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
|Sampling Method:
|Non-Probability Sample
Inclusion Criteria:
- HIV-infected pregnant female in her second or third trimester who requires ARV therapy during her pregnancy
- Antiretroviral therapy includes nevirapine in addition to two NRTI agents
- Informed consent obtained
Exclusion Criteria:
- If primary physician feels the required blood draws would be potentially dangerous to the patient or fetus
- Haemoglobin <8 g/dL
- Liver Function tests > 2x normal
- CD4 cell count >250 cells/mL if ART naive
- Calculated Creatinine Clearance < 30 ml/min at any visit during the study period
- Patients receiving any medications that may interact with the cytochrome p450 enzyme system metabolism of nevirapine
- Concurrent herbal medication use.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00616252
|Infectious Diseases Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Makerere University
|Kampala, Uganda, 22418
|Principal Investigator:
|Concepta A Merry, PhD
|Trinity College Dublin
|Responsible Party:
|Dr Concepta Merry, Infectious Diseases Institute
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|February 15, 2008 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|December 6, 2010
|Last Verified:
|December 2010
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Antiviral Agents
Anti-Infective Agents


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When the government shut down on Oct. 1, we could tell a whole new adventure was about to begin for all of us at La Bonne Cuisine Catering & Events.
We had a client who had chosen the Maritime Museum as the location of her wedding reception. Due to the shutdown, the museum was closed, and our bride could no longer hold her wedding where she had planned to. We had no other choice but to move the 150-guest event to a new location.
We conducted tours of several different venues in hopes to find a perfect match for what the bride was looking for--a view of San Francisco Bay. To find a new location that met all the bride's criteria was an especially difficult task. All things considered, we only had 72 hours' notice, all of the prime locations were already booked, and additional rental fees were beyond the bride's budget. Our director of sales did many site visits but in the end, the bride chose her mother's house, which had the beautiful view of the bay she was looking for and also held sentimental value.
The house is on a hill with almost a 30 percent slope with more than three flights of stairs to get to the front door. This presented our production team with a whole new set of challenges.
In order to get the private home ready for the 150-person event, drastic measures had to be taken. A landscape team had to come in to manicure the grounds, movers were required to move all of the furniture out to make room for the guests, cleaners came in to clean the whole house, and lighting had to be completely changed.
CATERING CHALLENGES On our end, moving the reception meant we had to change the logistics of everything. Menus and floor plans had to be altered, additional site previews had to be conducted, and our design team members had to completely re-do their original vision to fit the new space.
Food stations had to be broken up because of the size of the rooms, and the bar had to be placed in a room off the entrance. The bussing area was up some more stairs behind the house, and the huge professional kitchen we had planned the original menu around was now downgraded to a small private one.
This was a challenge not only to us the caterers and vendors, but also to the grandmother, whose health did not allow her to climb the three flights of stairs on her own. We hired two people to help her up the 147—yes, 147—stairs in order for her to be able to enjoy her granddaughter's big day.
All of the extra work that went into changing locations accrued extra costs for the bride and groom, which were eventually absorbed by the refund given by the Maritime Museum. In the end, the bride was extremely happy with the level of service we provided and appreciated the many extra steps we took to make her wedding reception a success.
Ju-Young Miller heads up marketing and media for La Bonne Cuisine, based in Oakland, Calif.


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Candy Canes, Bells, Ribbons, and Santa : Adobe Illustrator vector files for the Holidays!
When the holidays roll around you find clients and users alike scrambling for art. Now you can fill all those demansds from this very cool vector collection. Here we're talking about a collection of 196 top-quality Christmas vectors that will save you precious hours of work! In this set you will get a lot of vectors with Santas, Snowmen, Winter Ornaments, Winter Seamless Patterns, Kids and a lot more! November 21, 2014


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This Week's Menu
Tuesday, February 18, 2020Juice, Cranberry
Ingredients: Water, Cranberry Cocktail Juice (Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Water, Corn Syrup, Concentrated Cranberry Juice, Natural Flavors, Malic Acid, Citric Acid (Provides Tartness), Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Red 40)
|Nutrition Facts
|Amount / Serving
|% Daily Value*
Serving Size: 12 fl. oz
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Total Fat: 0 g
* Consumer Responsibility * Ingredients and nutritional content may vary. Manufacturers may change their product formulation or consistency of ingredients without our knowledge, and product availability may fluctuate. While we make every effort to identify ingredients, we cannot assure against these contingencies. Therefore, it is ultimately the responsibility of the consumer to judge whether or not to question ingredients or choose to eat selected foods. Food-allergic guests and those with specific concerns should speak with a manager for individualized assistance.


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Wow. It's been awhile. Haven't even gotten around to welcoming the new Pope, Francesco Primo. Well, it's been a little busy around here. I've been knocked flat a couple of times by the aftermath of dental surgeries (me, who can fall asleep during a root canal -- this was brutal stuff). All the while trying to work on a play with the small-fry, and preparing for the wedding in So-Cal, now just about ten days away.
And, to no great surprise, I'm not hanging around today to write anything profound or even playful -- too much to do. Just stopping by to say this, as I munch on a carrot pulled out of the red Georgia clay:
If I have to lie, steal, cheat, or kill -- as God is my witness, I'll never let my blog go hungry again!
And then there's this:


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Hydrocodone is available as tablets, capsules, or syrups.
It is sometimes combined with other medicines such as acetaminophen or
Methadone is available as pills or as a liquid that you
swallow. It is also given as a shot.
Morphine is available as pills or as rectal suppositories.
It is also given as a shot or intravenously. Pills such as MS Contin supply a
controlled release of morphine.
Oxycodone is available as pills, controlled-release
tablets, or a liquid that you swallow. It is sometimes combined with
acetaminophen or aspirin.
Tramadol is available as pills or capsules. It is also available as a pill that dissolves in your mouth.
Opiate pain relievers are also called opiates, opioids, or narcotics.
Opiate pain relievers act upon specific
receptors in the brain and spinal cord to ease pain and reduce your emotional
response to pain.
Opiate pain relievers are used to ease
pain caused by surgery, accident or injury, or chronic illness such as
Methadone also is used to treat addiction to opiates, such
as heroin.
Hydrocodone also is used to control coughing.
These medicines work well to manage pain.
Hydrocodone effectively controls cough.
All medicines have side effects. But many people don't feel the side effects, or they are able to deal with them. Ask your pharmacist about the side effects of each medicine you take. Side effects are also listed in the information that comes with your medicine.
Here are some important things to think about:
Call 911 or other emergency services right away if you have:
Call your doctor if you have:
Common side effects of this medicine include:
See Drug Reference for a
full list of side effects. (Drug Reference is not available in all
Opiate pain relievers are strong medicines that can be very helpful in treating pain, especially after an injury or surgery. They are safest when you use them exactly as your doctor prescribes. But there is a risk of addiction when you take them for more than a few days. The risk is lower if you follow your doctor's instructions on how to take them. Your risk is slightly higher if you or someone in your family has a history of substance abuse. If you are worried about addiction, talk with your doctor.
Some of these medicines have acetaminophen in them. Check the labels on all the other nonprescription and prescription medicines you take. Many medicines have acetaminophen. Do not take two or more medicines with acetaminophen in them unless your doctor has told you to. Taking too much acetaminophen can be harmful. If you have questions about this, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.
Dry mouth is common with these medicines. To help with dry mouth, you can chew sugarless gum, suck on sugarless candy, or melt ice in your mouth. If you continue to have problems with dry mouth after a couple of weeks, call your doctor. Dry mouth can lead to tooth decay and gum disease.
Medicine is one of the many tools your doctor has to treat a health problem. Taking medicine as your doctor suggests will improve your health and may prevent future problems. If you don't take your medicines properly, you may be putting your health (and perhaps your life) at risk.
There are many reasons why people have trouble taking their medicine. But in most cases, there is something you can do. For suggestions on how to work around common problems, see the topic Taking Medicines as Prescribed.
If you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to get pregnant, do not use any medicines unless your doctor tells you to. Some medicines can harm your baby. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, herbs, and supplements. And make sure that all your doctors know that you are pregnant, breast-feeding, or planning to get pregnant.
Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.
Complete the new medication information form (PDF)(What is a PDF document?) to help you understand this medication.
Last Revised:
February 5, 2013
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Michael Seth Rabin, MD - Medical Oncology
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Discrete Manufacturing Software
We have extensive knowledge of the discrete manufacturing industry, with advanced innovative functionality tailored for the needs of companies and helping them on their fourth industrial revolution journey. IFS is independently recognized as a leading, customer-centric, global supplier of discrete manufacturing ERP, service and customer engagement software, providing value solutions for:
- Industrial manufacturers
- High-tech manufacturers
Our high-tech & industrial manufacturing industry experts are committed to ensuring the future successes of our customers by providing best-in-class solutions for discrete manufacturing, and industry expertise to prepare them for what's next.
Want to hear more?
Have a question about IFS or our solutions?
Our contact form and local phone numbers can be found on the Contact Us page.
Industrial Manufacturing Resources
Manufacturing: the size of the talent gap
This survey looks at responses from manufacturing companies on the universal talent challenges and their abilities to resolve them.
Enterprise (ERP) software is one of the main tools modern manufacturers leverage to grasp the opportunities that arise from successfully meeting challenges.


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Drug information provided by: IBM Micromedex
Enalaprilat injection is used to treat high blood pressure (hypertension). High blood pressure adds to the workload of the heart and arteries. If it continues for a long time, the heart and arteries may not function properly. This can damage the blood vessels of the brain, heart, and kidneys, resulting in a stroke, heart failure, or kidney failure. High blood pressure may also increase the risk of heart attacks. These problems may be less likely to occur if blood pressure is controlled .
Enalaprilat works by blocking an enzyme in the body that is necessary to produce a substance that causes blood vessels to tighten. As a result, the blood vessels relax. This lowers blood pressure and increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart .
This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription .
This product is available in the following dosage forms:
In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered:
Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully.
Appropriate studies have not been performed on the relationship of age to the effects of enalaprilat in the pediatric population. Safety and efficacy have not been established .
No information is available on the relationship of age to the effects of enalaprilat in geriatric patients. However, elderly patients are more likely to have age-related kidney problems, which may require an adjustment of dose in patients receiving enalaprilat .
Studies in women suggest that this medication poses minimal risk to the infant when used during breastfeeding.
Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are receiving this medicine, it is especially important that your healthcare professional know if you are taking any of the medicines listed below. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive.
Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication or change some of the other medicines you take.
Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is usually not recommended, but may be required in some cases. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.
Using this medicine with any of the following medicines may cause an increased risk of certain side effects, but using both drugs may be the best treatment for you. If both medicines are prescribed together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use one or both of the medicines.
Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. Discuss with your healthcare professional the use of your medicine with food, alcohol, or tobacco.
The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially:
In addition to the use of this medicine, treatment for your high blood pressure may include weight control and changes in the types of foods you eat, especially foods high in sodium. Your doctor will tell you which of these are most important for you. You should check with your doctor before changing your diet.
Many patients who have high blood pressure will not notice any signs of the problem. In fact, many may feel normal. It is very important that you take your medicine exactly as directed and that you keep your appointments with your doctor even if you feel well.
Remember that this medicine will not cure your high blood pressure but it does help control it. Therefore, you must continue to take it as directed if you expect to lower your blood pressure and keep it down. You may have to take high blood pressure medicine for the rest of your life. If high blood pressure is not treated, it can cause serious problems such as heart failure, blood vessel disease, stroke, or kidney disease.
It is very important that your doctor check your progress at regular visits to make sure this medicine is working properly and to check for unwanted effects .
Stop using this medicine and call your doctor right away if you have swelling of the face, arms, legs, eyes, lips, or tongue, or problems with swallowing or breathing. These are symptoms of a condition called angioedema .
You may experience lightheadedness during the first few days with this medicine. If this becomes severe and you faint, talk to your doctor right away .
Tell your doctor immediately if you have any signs of infection such as chills, sore throat, or fever. These may be symptoms of an immune system condition called neutropenia .
Using this medicine while you are pregnant can harm your unborn baby. If you think you have become pregnant while using the medicine, tell your doctor right away .
Check with your doctor right away if you have symptoms of jaundice (yellow skin or eyes) because these may be signs of a serious liver condition .
This medicine may increase the amount of potassium in your blood. Do not use salt substitutes containing potassium without first checking with your doctor .
Make sure any doctor or dentist who treats you knows that you are using this medicine. You may need to stop using this medicine several days before having surgery or medical tests .
Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.
Check with your doctor or nurse immediately if any of the following side effects occur:
Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:
Other side effects not listed may also occur in some patients. If you notice any other effects, check with your healthcare professional.
Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.
Portions of this document last updated: Feb. 01, 2020
Original article: https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/enalaprilat-intravenous-route/description/drg-20069206
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Red Bull Glen Helen National
Glen Helen Raceway Hosts Lucas Oil Pro Motocross
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (May 24, 2014) – More than 27,000 fans witnessed a historical afternoon of racing at Saturday's 2014 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, sanctioned by AMA Pro Racing, season opener, which took place in San Bernardino, California. The 450 Class winner Ryan Dungey and 250 Class winner Jeremy Martin emerged victorious in their respective classes, making history as the first Minnesota natives to sweep the winner's circle at the sixteenth running of the Red Bull Glen Helen National.
|Ryan Dungey made a big statement at the opening round
Photo: Simon Cudby
The Glen Helen National made its highly anticipated return to the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross circuit since 2009, when Red Bull KTM's Ryan Dungey captured the 250 Class win en route to claiming the 250 Class Championship the same year. Dungey, also a two-time 450 Class Champion, made a statement at the season opener as he topped the highly competitive field with 3-1 moto scores.
Dungey's stiffest competition came from his Red Bull KTM teammate Ken Roczen, who finished in the runner-up position in his Pro Motocross 450 Class debut.
|Josh Grant captured the first holeshot of the season, along with the Moto 1 victory in the 450 Class
Photo: Simon Cudby
It was Riverside, California's Josh Grant who kicked off the season opener in a big way as the Toyota/JGRMX Yamaha rider captured the $500 MotoSport.com Holeshot Award and led Moto 1 from start to finish. Grant's newest JGRMX teammate, Phil Nicoletti, joined the front-runner early on in Moto 1 before Roczen made the move for second place. Roczen made a valiant charge toward Grant's lead at the end, where he finished less than one second behind the JGRMX rider for second place, while Dungey came in third.
The Red Bull KTM duo of Dungey and Roczen were neck-and-neck heading into the second moto and things only became more exciting as the gate dropped and the battle ensued. Roczen got off to a great start and Dungey filed in close behind, but as the race wore on, the veteran Dungey closed the gap on the leader. With only a few corners to go, Dungey made the pass on Roczen for the lead and held on to capture the Moto 2 win.
|Red Bull KTM teammates Ken Roczen and Ryan Dungey battled all day long
Photo: Simon Cudby
Dungey's 3-1 moto scores were enough to secure his first overall win at Glen Helen in the 450 Class, where he now leads the early points chase heading into the second round next weekend.
"It was really just a game of cat and mouse the whole time," Dungey said. "I felt like the win was there early on, but I just needed to make that pass happen [on Roczen]. It was good to go 1-2 with a teammate and it was a good day for KTM."
While Roczen led fifteen of the sixteen laps in Moto 2, the former world champion finished second place in the moto and second overall for the day.
"I'm happy about my riding today," Roczen said. "I want to take it week by week and just keep making progress. We're going to go to Sacramento 100 percent focused and to just ride as good as we can."
|Trey Canard kicked off the season with third place overall in the 450 Class
Photo: Simon Cudby
Team Honda Muscle Milk's Trey Canard carried himself to a podium finish in the second moto, where a 7-3 score gave him third overall for the day.
"One thing that's for sure about this series is that it's long," Canard said. The biggest thing you can do is just focus on yourself and try to go out there and win the race. My goal is to get maximum points each week and where the cards fall, they will."
|450 Class podium: Trey Canard, Ryan Dungey, Ken Roczen
Photo: Simon Cudby
Australia's Bret Metcalfe made his first appearance aboard the Monster Energy Kawasaki squad on Saturday, where he will fill in for the injured 2013 450 Class Champion Ryan Villopoto this season. Metcalfe, who is the reigning Canadian Motocross Champion, proved his merit by claiming fourth overall for the day, just ahead of Grant, who ran into issues in Moto 2 that dropped him back to fifteenth. Grant's 1-15 score was good enough to land fifth overall in front of his hometown crowd.
In the 250 Class, it was a big day for the Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha team, who saw two of the three podium finishes in the division. In his sophomore year of Lucas Oil Pro Motocross competition, Millville, Minnesota's Jeremy Martin secured his first career victory with a 1-1 sweep for the day. Martin had an exceptional day all around, as he captured the $500 MotoSport.com Holeshot Award in both 250 Class motos. From there, Martin accomplished an impressive feat as the 21-year-old led every lap of 250 Class racing across both motos at the opening round.
|Jeremy Martin had a flawless day at Glen Helen with a 1-1 moto sweep
Photo: Simon Cudby
Martin was joined atop the podium by his Yamalube/Star Racing/Yamaha teammate Cooper Webb, of Newport, North Carolina. Like Martin, Webb put forth a consistent effort, where he finished with a pair of second places to claim the runner-up position for the day.
|Cole Seely finished third overall with 4-4 moto scores
Photo: Simon Cudby
While Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Honda's Cole Seely didn't get the best starts, the southern California native quickly put himself into the top five in both motos. Seely battled with Webb in the first moto, where the duo flip-flopped for the second place position. Rockstar Energy KTM's Jason Anderson interjected himself into the mix, where he finished third in the first moto. In the end, Seely finished the day with third overall after scoring a consistent showing of 4-4.
Jeremy Martin heads into the second round as the points leader in the 250 Class for the first time in his professional motocross career.
|250 Class podium: (left) Cole Seely, Jeremy Martin, (right) Cooper Webb
Photo: Simon Cudby
Round 2 of the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship heads to Sacramento, California for the GoPro Hangtown Motocross Classic on Saturday, May 31.
Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship
Red Bull Glen Helen National
Glen Helen Raceway – San Bernardino, California
May 24, 2014
Round 1 of 12
450 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM (3-1)
2. Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM (2-2)
3. Trey Canard, Shawnee, Okla., Honda, (7-3)
4. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Kawasaki (4-5)
5. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha, (1-15)
6. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM (6-9)
7. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki (6-6)
8. Malcom Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki (8-8)
9. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki (10-7)
10. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki (9-10)
450 Class Championship Standings
1. Ryan Dungey, Belle Plaine, Minn., KTM 45
2. Ken Roczen, Germany, KTM 44
3. Trey Canard, Edmond, Okla., Honda 34
4. Brett Metcalfe, Australia, Kawasaki 34
5. Josh Grant, Riverside, Calif., Yamaha 31
6. Andrew Short, Colorado Springs, Colo., KTM 30
7. James Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki 26
8. Malcom Stewart, Haines City, Fla., Suzuki 25
9. Jake Weimer, Rupert, Idaho, Kawasaki 24
10. Chad Reed, Australia, Kawasaki 23
250 Class (Moto Finish)
1. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha (1-1)
2. Cooper Webb, Morehead City, N.C., Yamaha (2-2)
3. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (4-4)
*The final 250 Class results are currently unavailable.
250 Class Championship Standings
1. Jeremy Martin, Millville, Minn., Yamaha 50
2. Cooper Webb, Morehead City, N.C., Yamaha 44
3. Cole Seely, Newbury Park, Calif., Honda (4-4) 36
*The final 250 Class results are currently unavailable.


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Emergency Planning
What is Emergency Planning?
Emergencies are happening somewhere in the country almost every minute of every day. The emergency services, (police, fire, ambulance and coastguard) deal with them quickly and efficiently. These incidents can include traffic accidents, fires, medical emergencies and other serious incidents at sea or in the waters of the Solent. The local authorities do not activate their emergency plans for these incidents.
It is when a more disastrous event takes place that is beyond the capacity of the emergency services to deal with unaided that the county and district special plans are put into action. These plans are designed to support the emergency services in their difficult task.
Definition of Major Civil Emergency
We define a major civil emergency as a major incident or any emergency that requires the implementation of special arrangements by one or more of the emergency services, the NHS or the local authority, for:-
- the initial treatment, rescue and transport of a large number of casualties;
- the involvement either directly or indirectly of large numbers of people;
- the handling of a large number of enquiries likely to be generated both from the public and the news media, usually to the police;
- the need for the large scale combined resources of two or more of the emergency services;
- the mobilisation and organisation of the emergency services and supporting organisations, for example a local authority, to cater for the threat of death, serious injury or homelessness to a large number of people.
When the immediate life threatening period has passed, the local authority will play a role in restoring normality to the area affected as quickly as possible.
What sort of disaster could happen?
Disasters can happen anywhere and any time and they can take many forms. Violent storms, like those in the winter of 1993, the Lockerbie air-crash, the fire at Kings Cross station and the terrorist bombing of London's Dockland. Whatever shape a disaster may take, should it happen in Hampshire the people affected would look to the County and District authorities to react promptly as promised in their public charters.
The type of disaster and the extent of its scale will determine which County and District Department(s) will be the most heavily involved. It is probable that the consequences will involve a large number of personnel for a considerable time and will call for much effort and dedication from all.
Why should we bother to make plans?
When a major emergency occurs the speed of response, and particularly in the first instance, is critical. This is not the time for any of us to ask "Where do I go and what do I do?". Generally speaking, local authority staff will be asked to carry out their normal working functions; but in crisis conditions. They will also be operating with many other organisations and agencies, including those from the voluntary sector. Under these circumstances co-ordination of the total activity becomes paramount otherwise chaos could well reign. Therefore, plans are prepared to ensure that we are not caught totally unawares.
Procedures have been developed to help in the setting up of a model organisation in the shortest possible time. Once in place the senior managers can assess the situation and determine the appropriate level of response. It is essential that the planning is flexible so that the response can be expanded or contracted should circumstances change. If there were to be no guidelines, or a basic organisational response, much valuable time would be lost, to the benefit of no one.
Major Emergency Arrangements
The one thing you can be sure of in an emergency situation is that it will probably be the last thing that you expected.
This explains simple steps everyone should take to be ready when an emergency strikes. It explains easy safety measures, how to reduce damage to property and what to do if you have a shelter in your home or move out of your home until danger has passed. Remember your own preparations and self-help are essential and critical factors in dealing with any emergency.
This simple guide aims to help people cope with the unexpected and assist the emergency services in dealing quickly and efficiently with major emergencies.
Dealing with an emergency
Whatever the situation, it is important to be ready to follow the instructions from the Police and other emergency services. Planning for an emergency is never easy because no-one can predict what might happen - a major road, train, air or river accident; a serious fire; violent storms; flooding or another dangerous incident. Whatever happens, it will almost certainly mean police, fire and ambulance services in the front line of a tough situation.
Although every incident is different, they will operate in accordance with procedures set out in the Emergency Services Major Incident Procedure Manual.
These procedures are constantly being updated, and the Council has its own plans for mobilising social services, housing, highways and environmental health. Public utilities, voluntary organisations and many businesses also have their own emergency plans.
An emergency incident might mean evacuating an area and providing temporary accommodation. Rest centres may need to be set up, food and blankets provided and information given to anxious relatives. Someone has to be ready to reunite families who may be parted by an emergency situation, perhaps because the children were at school or some people at work.
Arranging all this is the job of the emergency services supported by the Council and many other public, private and voluntary organisations.
Radio and TV - warning the public
In major emergency situations, it may be necessary to issue warnings and advice to the public. Such messages would normally be broadcast on relevant radio and TV channels.
Remember to cater for power cuts - you should have a battery-operated radio and know how to tune in to your local stations.


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This year will be our ninth year at FOSE (the Federal Office Systems Exposition), the largest Federal government information technology trade show in the United States, and we'll be providing several unique opportunities for attendees to see how technology and mobile apps are changing the way that government works.
The BlackBerry® PlayBook™ Mobile Tour Truck will be joining us on-site for all three days of FOSE, which is taking place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., July 19-21, 2011.
The BlackBerry PlayBook Mobile Tour Truck (Booth # 650) will give this year's FOSE attendees the opportunity to see the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet first-hand. Attendees will be presented with an interactive experience showcasing the tablet's powerful features – from its high resolution display, speed, performance and multi-tasking capabilities to apps, secure pairing with BlackBerry® smartphones via BlackBerry® Bridge™ technology, and high-fidelity web experience with support for Adobe® Flash®, Adobe® Mobile AIR® and HTML5.
Beyond the BlackBerry PlayBook Mobile Tour, there are a couple of breakout sessions I think you'll want to check out:
1. BlackBerry Education sessions on Wednesday, July 20th from 10-4PM
- "Using the BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet in Government"
- "The Consumerization of IT: Managing the Security and Risks of Individual Liable Smartphones"
- "The Apps Every Agency Should Know About"
- "BlackBerry Enterprise Solutions for Federal Government: Today and Tomorrow"
- "Ask the Experts: Talk to an expert about your BlackBerry solution"
2. The Mobile Apps Experience on July 19th at 1:45pm and July 20th at 1:15pm
Finally, don't forget to visit us at the Recharge Lounge (Booth # 1301) where you can take a break while we charge your BlackBerry smartphone and BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.
If you have questions around applications and deployments, hardware and software, or mobile solutions from field service to emergency responsiveness – we'd love to meet you at FOSE.
See you soon!


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Substitution policy applies, subject to season availability, we will do our best to ensure the items are as close to displayed picture.
A bright and funky selection sure to please.
Bright coloured Gerbera bouquet is a sure way to brighten up someone's day.
Substitution policy applies, we will do our best to ensure the flowers are as close to displayed picture, due to season availability.
This can be made as a bouquet or in a vox filled with water. The choice is all yours


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Albums, like lovers, come in all shapes and sizes, and we fall for them for all sorts of different reasons. Maybe your favourite record came along and nursed you at a tricky time in your life; maybe it makes you feel like you've never felt before; or maybe it's guaranteed to piss of your parents, and that's reason enough to keep it around. The point is this: just as appearances shouldn't matter when you're falling in love with a person, trivial aesthetic points like length shouldn't stop you falling in love with an album.
But you can't help but be a little disappointed when you put on your copy of Tosta Mista, the second album by lo-fi Canadian indie-rock sextet Hooded Fang, and realise it's only 23 minutes long. Obviously, not every album has to be Mellon Collie and the Infinite(ly long) Sadness to be enjoyable, but you know – just 23 minutes? Really? And three of the ten tracks are just interludes of the same freaky sample of jazz-café blues? Really?
Okay, so that leaves us with seven actual songs to play with, and they can be broadly divided up into two categories. First, there are the so-slapdash-I-really-hope-it's-intentional rock and roll numbers, which have got bits of psychobilly riffs tossed over the top and throw-away lyrics about nothing more than having a good time. Then there are the surf-pop shakedowns, soaked in Sixties girl group grooves and crude staccato guitars.
Out of the real rock songs, 'Clap' is the obvious highlight. It doesn't burst, but rather stumbles into life, as the old three chord trick gets played on a guitar that's never been near a tuner. It has all the excitement of having been recorded in a rush, and while it's the sort of song that could have been played by any band of the last 50 years, that's exactly what makes it so immediately likeable. But it's not a formula for repeated success, as 'Jubb' proves, sounding as it does like a bad cover of a Pains Of Being Pure At Heart B-side.
As for Tosta Mista's Sixties swingers, the title track sounds a little like something from an Austin Powers soundtrack, but there's a hell of a lot of fun to be had with its mashed potato funk and psychedelic jams. All that's missing is a young Tony Blackburn introducing it on Top Of The Pops. At the other end of the spectrum, 'Vacationation' sounds like a naff Monkees pastiche by Benny Hill, or Wavves without the drug-addled attitude.
The only track that doesn't quite belong in either camp is the penultimate 'Den Of Love', which sounds far too much like Mud's 'Lonely This Christmas' to either be taken seriously as a sorrowful break-up ballad or an authentic Summer of Love slow dance.
And just like that, your 23 minutes with Hooded Fang are up, and your final impression of Tosta Mista probably matches your preconception of such a brief album, in that it's clear that Hooded Fang aren't exactly overwhelmed with ideas. Don't get me wrong – listening to Tosta Mista won't be the worst 23 minutes of your life, but that's not to say the time can't be better spent.
Of course, two-and-a-half minute pop songs do have their place – the enduring popularity of The Beatles' early material tells us that. But even The Fab Four managed to pad their first few albums out to at least half an hour each, and the guitar-pop barometer is still being set ever-higher today by the likes of Dum Dum Girls and Wavves. So while Hooded Fang's two-and-a-half minute pop songs are absolutely fine, you'll struggle to find the time for them when there are already so many better ones out there.
5Robert Cooke's Score


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Warning: Last items in stock!
Availability date:
Simple but simply stunning, Denby Bone China Dinner Plates, Set of 4 adds an extra touch of class to all dining occasions. From the elegant white serving dishes and salad bowls to chic dinner sets and champagne flutes, Denby China is a welcome guest at any dinner party. White by Denby reflects the purity and simplicity expected from a white collection while offering contemporary shapes that could only come from the Denby design team. White Squares are an accent which offers an alternative to the soft, rounded shapes of White.
|Bone China
|Country Of Origin


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esg necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 136 diseños de 44 diseñadores freelance.
The logo will be used for a car-related website that will serve the general population (your average driver, commuters, mechanics, car salespersons, business fleet managers, taxi drivers, etc.)
I'm looking for a logo that can be used for lifelong branding. It should include the words (blue star car) but also include a graphic representation that can be easily recognizable itself (like the Nike Swoosh). Generally speaking, I'm looking for a logo that makes the average driver -- with no particular car knowledge -- comfortable using the website, but also something that speaks to the car gurus too.
It's very possible that after this contest is finished, I'd use the same designer for the next portions of the project (business cards, etc.)
1. I'm thinking the logo should definitely make reference to a blue star, but the best design will figure out how to make the star appealing and interesting, rather than cheesy. Feel free to include some abstraction of a car also or something like that if you've got a good idea (e.g., car, headlights, steering wheel).
2. the look that i'm striving for is professional, approachable, almost friendly-looking, modern, sophisticated, and fairly simple. concepts that imply movement or a smooth ride might be interesting. i tend to like things that look hand-drawn. I'm less inclined to pick anything cartoon-like. but feel free to be creative, i'm open to new ideas.
3. it would make sense to include some blue in the design, and i'm open to other colors along with the blue. orange, a grass or lime green, other shades of blue are all fine, and others are too if you've got a good idea. Ultimately, though, a design taht is effective also just in black and white will be important.
4. Feel free to play with the capitalization and spacing of bluestarcar (e.g., bluestarcar, blueSTARcar, blue star car, Blue Star Car, BLUESTARCAR, etc.) I'm open to creative ideas about all of those.
5. Ultimately, I'll be interested in having a version that I can use in different situations (e.g., just the logo, the logo and the company name, the logo and company name and tagline). But the logo and the company name is the most important right now.
Finally, I'll need the logo produced in a vector format by Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator so I can resize without any loss of quality, so final transmittal in both standard web formats (.jpg, .gif or .png) and vector formats (.eps, pdf, or .ai).
It's really important that this website be user-friendly and that the logo almost "welcomes" people to the site so nothing too edgy or metallic (even though it is an automotive website).
Nothing complicated or cheesy please.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Lindenwood University's history department, political science department and cable television station (LU TV26) are seeking high schools to participate in the inaugural Lindenwood Invitational High School History Bowl, a high school history quiz show to air on the station in November.
The competition is open to any high school that wishes to participate and will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10, in the LU TV-26 studio in Young Hall on the Lindenwood campus; the preliminary matches will be aired the following week, and a championship round between the top two schools will be held Sunday afternoon, Nov. 18, and aired live on the cable station. Teams will consist of three students per school; there is no registration fee.
The first eight schools to sign up for the competition will be accepted. The categories will be American history, political science, and geography. Rules will be modeled after MSHSAA academic competition guidelines, although there will be some modifications with respect to the number of categories and to format the competition for television.
All students in the competition will receive a tournament T-shirt, a DVD of the broadcast, lunch and various parting gifts. The winning team will be awarded the invitational trophy, and team members will be eligible for scholarships to Lindenwood. The competition will be held annually.
For more information about the competition or to enter a high school, contact Dr. Kris Smith at 636-949-4775 or email@example.com.


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Past Programs
The Schneier Program supported faculty research by funding three research projects during the summer. Funded projects covered a wide spectrum of international issues ranging from forensic economics dealing with compensation to the families of 9/11 victims to the impact of the US embargo against Cuba on Cuban families divided between Cuba and the USA to public health issues in Mumbai, India. All projects received funding because they increased awareness of pressing international issues.
The Schneier Program supported two graduate students of the University conducting advanced research on pertinent issues of international dimension.
The Schneier Program facilitated the training of undergraduate students in research by granting six student internships for the summer. Three of these internships were funded by the Schneidman Scholarship Program in Conflict Resolution administered by the Schneier Program. Students were paired, according to their interests, with faculty conducting research projects, some funded by the Schneier Program, as research assistants.
Faculty and graduate students gave public presentations on the results of their summer research projects in a Schneier Program forum called Research Night. Student interns gave poster sessions in a special session of Research Night on the research projects in which they had been involved and what they learned about doing research from these internships.


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Advocates and opponents of the proposed UARC contract present their case to the UH Board of RegentsUniversity of Hawaiʻi
Mia Noguchi, (808) 956-9095
External Affairs & University Relations
HONOLULU — At an informational meeting held on January 20, 2006 at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Campus Center Ballroom, numerous individuals in support of and against the proposed University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) at UH Mānoa presented their arguments to the UH Board of Regents. More than 70 people presented oral testimony at the meeting and more than 500 written testimonies were received from students, faculty, interest groups, neighbor island residents, mainland residents, community members, and other key stakeholders in the university.
In the written testimony received by the end of the day on Thursday, January 19, about 130 people voiced support for the UARC and more than 430 voiced their opposition. Numerous petitions were included among the submissions, including one from the College of Engineering with about 70 signatures in support of the UARC and one from the William S. Richardson School of Law with about 170 signatures opposing the UARC.
Infringements on academic freedom, conflicts with the university's mission to serve its students, and respect for the vote of the Mānoa Faculty Senate in opposition of the UARC were some of the points brought up by those opposed to its establishment at the Mānoa campus.
Amongst those in support of the UARC, many emphasized the major role a UARC would play in furthering Hawaiʻi's science and technology industry, and the potential for increased research funds and the elevation of the university's reputation. Others cited the misinformation in the current debate and recommended approval of the UARC contract with stipulations that could address the concerns raised by opponents.
The informational meeting was held as part of a process outlined several months ago, which was designed to ensure that extensive consultation took place and involved all stakeholders from the Mānoa campus and the broader community. The purpose of today's public meeting was to allow these stakeholders an opportunity to share their perspectives on the issue with the Board of Regents, who will make the final decision on whether or not to approve the contract once they receive a recommendation from UH Interim President David McClain.
The United States Navy, in the 1990s, reaffirmed its strategic relationship and commitment to four university laboratories by designating them as University Affiliated Research Centers (UARCs) to serve as centers of excellence for critical Navy and national defense science, technology and engineering. The four designated UARCs are the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University, the Applied Research Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington, and the Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas at Austin. All four laboratories have been conducting research and development for the Navy for the last 60 years in specific areas of core competencies. UH Mānoa was recommended as the fifth UARC of the Navy in July 2004.
On November 18, 2004, the Board of Regents gave its provisional approval for the establishment of the Navy UARC on the UH Mānoa campus. Before giving final approval, the Regents required that the campus complete work on a contract for the proposed center, and complete the normal consultation process on the campus.
On December 5, 2005, UH Interim President David McClain issued a statement stating that, thanks to the leadership of UH Mānoa Interim Chancellor Denise Konan and others on the Mānoa campus, both conditions had now substantially been met. As Konan's statement of the same date indicated, the consultation process on the campus revealed opposition from several faculty and student constituencies, some of which was based on the contract itself, which is unique for this kind of UARC. As a result of this consultation and analysis, the chancellor stated that "I do not recommend proceeding with the contract," and noted that "UARC-related research would more appropriately be located off campus."


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Press organizations are circling their wagons against news aggregators and other websites that rely on their content.
On Monday, the Associated Press said it would crack down on websites that copy-and-paste its stories without paying for them and would lower fees for the 1,500 newspapers that pay for AP services.
"We can no longer stand by and watch others walk off with our work under some very misguided, unfounded legal theories," AP chairman Dean Singleton told his board at their annual meeting in San Diego.
U.S. & World
He said that the AP is still working out how it plans to track content that is illegally distributed, but that the organization was "mad as hell, and we are not going to take it any more."
The Wall Street Journal's top editor, Robert Thomson, also lashed out Monday at news aggregators like Google and at readers who he said had come to expect free content.
"There is no doubt that certain websites are best described as parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the Internet," he said in an interview with The Australian.
Thomson added that content providers would soon fight back, a threat that prompted Michael Wolff, editor of aggregator Newser.com, to fire back on his site that Thomson's "old media backlash was a day late and a dollar short."
Wolff -- the author of a biography of News Corporation chief Rupert Murdoch -- went on to taunt the company for overpaying for the Journal.
"That deal cost Murdoch $5.6 billion in cash and another $30 billion in share price value, making it the most expensive blunder of Murdoch's career," he wrote. "So Thompson is full of sour grapes. He clawed his way to the top of the financial news pyramid, only to find it ready to turn to dust."


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Originally posted on 07 January 2014
November 2013 Trade Data Shows A Mixed Picture
Posted by John Lounsbury or Steven Hansen
Written by Steven Hansen
A quick recap to the November 2013 trade data released today shows a mixed picture of the economy - with the unadjusted data saying both imports and exports growth decelerated month-over-month.
Inflation Adjusted But Not Seasonally Adjusted Year-over-Year 3 Month Rolling Average - Goods Export (blue line) and Goods Import Excluding Oil (red line)
/images/z trade2.PNG
The headline data is seasonally but not inflation adjusted. Econintersect analysis is based on the unadjusted data, removes services (as little historical information exists to correlate the data to economic activity), and inflation adjusts. Further, there is some question whether this services portion of export/import data is valid in real time because of data gathering concerns. Backing out services from import and exports shows graphically as follows:
Inflation Adjusted But Not Seasonally Adjusted Year-over-Year Change Goods Export (blue line), Goods Import Excluding Oil (red line), and Goods Import with Oil (yellow line)
/images/z trade1.PNG
Growing exports is a sign of an expanding global economy (or at least a sign of growing competitiveness).
Seasonally Adjusted Total Imports (blue line), Exports (red line) and Trade Balance (green line)
Indexing the data to the end of the recession, here is a look at the relative growth of imports and exports using current dollars as the basis for the index.
Seasonally Adjusted Total Imports (blue line), Exports (red line) and Trade Balance (green line) indexed to the End of Recession
Econintersect is most concerned with imports as there is a clear recession link to import contraction. Adjusting for cost inflation allows apples-to-apples comparisons in equal value dollars between periods. The graph below uses seasonally adjusted data is in direct contradiction to the unadjusted data year-over-year data which shows contraction.
Seasonally and Inflation Adjusted Year-over-Year Change Imports (blue line) and Exports (red line)
Note: In general this is a rear view look at the economy - however, imports do have a forward vision of up to three months ahead of expected economic activity.
Caveats on Using this Trade Data Index
The data is not inflation adjusted. Econintersect applies the BLS export - import price indices to the data to adjust for inflation - total exports, total imports, and imports less oil. Adjusting for cost inflation allows apples-to-apples comparisons in equal value dollars between periods.
Although Econintersect generally disagrees with the seasonal adjustment methodology of U.S. Census, in general this methodology works for this trade data series as the data is not as noisy as other series. Another positive aspect of this series is that backward revision has usually been very minor.
Econintersect determines the month-over-month change by subtracting the current month's year-over-year change from the previous month's year-over-year change. This is the best of the bad options available to determine month-over-month trends – as the preferred methodology would be to use multi-year data (but the New Normal effects and the Great Recession distort historical data).
Oil prices, and also quantities of imported oil, wobble excessively year-over-year and month-over-month. In 2010, the percent of oil imports varied between 10.4% and 14.6% of the total. In 2008 the variance was between 11.5% to over 20%. No amount of adjusting – short of removing oil imports from the analysis – allows a clear picture of imports.
Contracting imports historically is a recession marker, as consumers and business start to hunker down. Main Street and Wall Street are not necessarily in phase and imports can reflect the direction for Main Street when Wall Street may be saying something different. During some recessions, consumers and businesses hunkered down before the Wall Street recession hit – but in the 2007 recession the Main Street contraction began 10 months after the recession officially started. [Graph below is updated through 3Q2011.]
Above graph with current data:
Imports of Goods and Services
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This Web Page by Steven Hansen ---- Copyright 2010 - 2020 Econintersect LLC - all rights reserved


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Saturday, August 14, 2010
Ruth's Chat on Charts and Forms
Ruth's witty charm and knowledge shown through the silly computer that was not cooperating. Finally she found what she was in need of but had covered it nicely with out the pictures.
It is amazing to me how we can fill our charts and forms and know what they are for but not really think about them as tools to
find the missing link.
She stated that a journal daily is a must to help you in research. It can be used like a diary in format. That journal is a form of sourcing your information. She said you write : called Aunt Helen showed number and about a specific letter. It receives a sourcing number for locating when doing further search.
She did present a chart I have never seen before I found it extremely informative and have to agree with Gary's comment adding that one more item to it makes it a very awesome chart. Resource Tracking Chart.
She talked about how when you fill in the blanks the empty spaces are the brick walls but the data between is your clues.
She spoke of how a census said living in a certain time frame as husband and wife, then the next time frame a widow remains.
This tells you (yes, I knew this) that he had passed. What it also tells you is the time frame of his passing.
She used many examples of the way she uses her charts, from a 4 generation to a 15 generation chart. She talked of her love of using a circle chart and showed us why she felt it was easier to use and understand for research. One the blank spaces pop out, two the relationship shows quicker within system when more than one family member marries another family member. This being if two sisters married in generation 7 and then in your generation 3 you learn that these missing women are siblings.
There was a chart presented that was color coded. The reason behind this chart was to show migration pattern of the families.
It was a five generation type chart. But in flow format and color coded to each surname and region.
I fell in love with the Resource Tracking chart she uses. That is so different from anything I have ever seen.
She talked about Family Group sheets showing family history. The knowledge of collateral lines can be pertinent when you run into a brick wall. She stated: Validation of Data Search, Collaboration with "cousins", Quick Reference Sheet. are the reasons for using this chart.
She talked about the numbering system on a 5 or 4 generation chart. There are 8 more charts needed if you fill out the full 5 Generation Chart form. Each male surname needs a separate chart. The males are always even numbers and the females are odd numbers.
The oddities in families brings the need to address the cousins marrying cousins, Uncles marrying niece, towns and counties that change names use of different charts and how the more effectively handle those situations.
She also addressed a Census Summary Data Chart. She talked about the results you can get from using this method for tracking females, narrowing of birth and death dates, members in family and migration of same.
She helped show some tips for the use of these charts at our picnic.
So come to the picnic or attend her next talk next week and learn all of this directly.
Stay tuned for it is hoped another topic brought up will be spread out before us by her in the not to far distant future.
Some of these charts she mastered doing her Grandma Camp but it was a really fun informative event.
More on that one chart at a later date. Stay tuned for more chatting.
3 comments:
Today I met with a lady, Mary Lou, that attended the chat on Saturday. We reviewed the pedigree charts in the society files and found excellent examples of adding additional charts. The files showed excellent examples of chart 2 expanding the lineage of ahentalfal person #16, and chart 3 expanding the lineage of ahentalfal person #17.ReplyDelete
Since the picnic will be exploring 7 generations, I suggested printing 5 gen charts for each of her four grandparents. She also liked this idea.
This being if two sisters married in generation 7 and then in your generation 3 you learn that these missing women are siblings. OOPs did you mean "generation 7 and then in your generation 6 0r 8 ?ReplyDelete
Although maybe not impossible "generation 7 and then in your generation 3" to find siblings would be highly improbable.
wow wow wow Susi I need to talk slower and add more to my handouts!! Thanks for the heads up!ReplyDelete
Each male surname needs a separate chart. should have read "each line entry numbers 16-31 receive an additional chart".
"journal is a form of sourcing your information. She said you write : called Aunt Helen showed number and about a specific letter." Should have read "if being used as a source: the letter, not the journal itelf, receives a sourcing number. The journal states the date, source number given to the letter, and people that may have knowledge of the source. It receives a sourcing number for locating when doing further search.


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Second ISS spacewalk runs on rails
Light tinkering with Kibo
Busy STS-124 mission specialists Mike Fossum and Ron Garan yesterday completed their second spacewalk outside the International Space Station, in the process carrying out preparatory work for attachment of the "Experiment Logistics Module - Pressurized Section" to Japan's Kibo laboratory.
During the seven-hour, 11-minute jaunt (see pic), the astronauts installed two cameras on Kibo which will be used to "judge clearances for the module's robotic arm", removed an external video camera suffering from a failing power supply and "made preparations for a nitrogen tank assembly swap they will make on their third spacewalk".
The Kibo pressurised logistics module was delivered by Endeavour on mission STS-123 back in March. It's 11.2m metres long and 4.4m in diameter, and will "allow astronauts to work in a comfortable environment with air composition and pressure similar to Earth's".
The other main component of Kibo is the "Exposed Facility" - a "staging area for long-term experiments in open space, as well as Earth and astronomical observations", which will be delivered and attached during 2009's mission STS-127. ®
Sponsored: Practical tips for Office 365 tenant-to-tenant migration


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The concept is simple. Start with the right amount of quality ingredients, including seed, mulch, fertilizer, and water. Add a tackifier to make sure things stick. Mix together to create your hydroseeding slurry, then spray.
Viola! You have the perfect recipe for a robust lawn, a quickly stabilized slope, a wildflower field, or any other seeding project.
Okay, so there's more to it than that. There are several important steps that quality hydroseeding contractors take to ensure success. But with a little knowledge and the right equipment, hydroseeding can be a simple and very profitable addition to your business.
Hydroseeding is a much more economical option than sod and is far less labor intensive than dry seeding. If done correctly, it can also be more successful, because the seed/fertilizer/mulch mixture provides the perfect moist environment for germination.
Part of the beauty of hydroseeding is its versatility. By changing the slurry ingredients, you can tailor the recipe to meet the needs of a variety of different projects, from a residential lawn to a golf course to a native roadside planting. Various amendments can also be added to improve the soil or to provide further stabilization in erosion control situations.
Hydroseeding is especially useful for areas where other methods aren't practical, such as large expanses and steep slopes. "Hydroseeding offers such a wide range of application possibilities. You can use it for just about any condition you encounter," says Jerry Haupt, owner of Lakeland Landscape Service of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, a thirty-three-year-old landscaping firm started by Haupt's father. Lakeland added hydroseeding twenty-five years ago, after the Haupts did some research on the process and saw it being used successfully in other areas. Impressed by what they saw, they decided to purchase their own machine, and have never looked back. In order to meet increasing demand, the company recently upgraded from a small Easy Lawn model to a larger, more versatile machine from the same manufacturer.
"Hydroseeding fits in really well for us because lawn installations were already a large portion of our business," says Haupt. "It has been easy to market. People know about it and understand the advantages."
Because of its lower cost, hydroseeding can give contractors a way to expand their customer base to include clients who wouldn't ordinarily opt for a professionally installed lawn. These customers are often likely to add other landscaping services as well.
"This is simply a great way to offer a premium product with very little labor that will produce excellent results," says Pat Holubetz, director of sales for Finn Corporation, an Ohio-based manufacturer of hydroseeding equipment. "For contractors who already install sod or work with seed and straw, this is an excellent value added service that will enable them to reach a wider market."
"We still install a lot of sod, and that's a good choice for many customers," says Haupt. "But hydroseeding gives us a chance to offer customers another option at a different price. It doesn't provide the instant results that sod does but it's more affordable and results are much quicker than with dry seeding. Because the mulch holds moisture in the soil, germination and overall development is quicker. Our customers are typically out there mowing a lot sooner than they would be with dry seed applications."
Get growing There are many ways for contractors to get started with hydroseeding. Some opt to contract the service out to a company that specializes in the process. This can be a good option when seeding is not a major portion of your business but is requested occasionally.
When contracting out, it pays to be picky. The key is to form a partnership with a reliable, reputable service with a proven history of successful projects.
Hydro-Plant Inc., in San Marcos, California, has been offering hydroseeding and erosion control services for more than 25 years. Working with landscape contractors is a big part of their job. "For many contractors, seeding is a small percent of projected business," says Rob McGann of Hydro-Plant. "Working with a service like ours that specializes in hydroseeding gives them a chance to offer the service, benefit from our experience, and use the latest hydroseeding technology without having to purchase and maintain their own equipment."
Other contractors get started by renting equipment. This is one way to add the service while trying out hydroseeders to see what fits best with your operation. This can also help you determine whether it makes financial sense to purchase your own unit.
For many contractors, purchasing their own equipment makes the most sense and is the best way to reap the rewards of this growing market. To determine if you're ready to buy, it helps to do some research. "We have an estimated profit sheet that breaks down gross profit per thousand square feet," says Bob Lisle, president of Easy Lawn, Greenwood, Delaware. "This helps contractors determine whether they'll save if they purchase their own machine. In many cases, they can save enough to pay for the machine in six months, sometimes longer. A six-month payback is a very good investment. If they can't save enough to pay for it in eighteen months, it may not be a good investment for them at this time."
When making these decisions, it behooves contractors to think ahead and factor in the increased business they are likely to add. Most find that demand increases dramatically when they start using their equipment. This happens in part because of the good results their customers see and because seeding starts to become a much more lucrative aspect of their business.
"Work normally doubles or triples in the first year," says Lisle. "Because of the high labor involved with conventional seeding, we find that if they don't hydroseed, many contractors practice seeding only marginally -- often only when they have other landscaping business on the site. But with hydroseeding, one man can seed one to two acres per day by himself. Conventionally, it would take four to five people to do the same amount. Suddenly his costs are lower, he's using less labor, getting better results and making more money per job. Now he's going to start eagerly looking for more seeding work rather than avoiding it."
When choosing equipment it's important to match the machine to your business in order to maximize profits. "We do a great deal of information gathering with landscape contractors to help with decision making," says Lisle. "Key questions are: How much seeding are you currently doing? What size lots? What type of seeding do you do: residential lots, commercial contracts, tract homes, erosion control projects, highway right-of-ways?"
It's critical to match performance and size to the needs of the company and the types of projects you take on. A smaller, entry-level machine can obviously cost less up-front but it could hinder productivity if it's not up to the amount of seeding work you do and the lot sizes you encounter. Stopping too often to refill the tank will quickly eat into profits.
"The reason you buy more performance in a machine is time," says Lisle. "You have to look at the overall cycle time: how long it takes to fill, mix, and spray. This will determine how much work you can do in a day. When you are only doing small amounts, cycle time is not as critical. If you save fifteen minutes per job and you're only doing ten acres a year, that's not a lot of time. But if you save fifteen minutes per job and you do two hundred jobs per year, that's another story."
In addition to size, the type of agitation used is another consideration. Machines can be jet-agitated or mechanically-agitated. Jet-agitated machines use water action to mix the slurry, while mechanically-agitated ones use rotating paddles. Jet-agitated units may have lower initial costs and have fewer moving parts to troubleshoot and maintain. However, they may not be as versatile for some businesses because they aren?t as good at handling the thickest slurries -- those that include one hundred percent wood mulch or bonded fiber matrix.
The complexity of the machine and ease of operation should also be weighed against your company's capabilities. Consider who is going to operate your machine. Will it be handled primarily by short-term laborers? If so, you may want a unit that doesn't require extensive training.
"The more moving parts, the more maintenance is required," says Lisle. "For a company that has its own shop, this isn'?t a problem. But a smaller contractor without a shop is usually better off with a simple, low maintenance machine."
Reliability is always a critical consideration when making new equipment purchases. "You're going to live with that machine for ten to twenty years," says Lisle. "How is it going to hold up? What's it going to cost to maintain? How much maintenance will you have to do over the life of the machine?"
The best products, the right mix
No matter what type of machine you choose, profitable hydroseeding starts with doing a high quality job. This means using the right products in the right amounts.
Holubetz identifies three factors that are absolutely critical for success: "You have to determine your coverage correctly, calibrate your materials correctly, and use high quality materials. In just about every case where I've come across projects that failed, it was for one of these three reasons."
Any good slurry starts with quality ingredients. "All seed is not created equal," says Holubetz. "You want to use one that has high purity and germination. The quality of your fertilizer, mulch, and tackifier is also important."
Determining coverage and calibrating materials correctly is another important part of the equation that's often overlooked, according to Holubetz. "Calculating correctly impacts not only the success of your project but also your bottom line, because you will use the right amount of materials necessary, not more or less than you need."
Calibration is an easy but necessary step. Holubetz offers an example to illustrate how changing one factor can make a big difference. "Mulch manufacturers recommend putting down a minimum of 1,500 lbs. of mulch per acre. This is adequate in some situations but as a general rule, I recommend 2,000 lbs. per acre. This will change the other amounts in your slurry. In a 900-gallon tank, the mulch capacity is 400 lbs. If you apply 2,000 lbs. of mulch per acre, each tank will do one-fifth of an acre. But if you use only 1,600 lbs. of mulch per acre, the load will go further. You have to recalibrate seed and other materials to match. People don't always take the time to do this," says Holubetz.
"More often than not, they're not using enough product to cover adequately. But using too much is also a problem. They're not bidding jobs correctly or not getting the profit they should from each job."
Hydroseeding equipment manufacturers go out of their way to make sure contractors understand and use these concepts. Finn Corporation's website has many useful tools for calculating coverage and materials for various kinds of applications. Hydroseeding has been around long enough to demonstrate that it works. It offers customers a quick, economical route to lush vegetation. It offers contractors a low labor, high profit way to grow their business. Contractors who learn how to provide high-quality hydroseeding services are well-positioned to take advantage of this green market.