text:
I know that she (and my dad) aren't big fans of American sweets. They claim that our desserts are too sugary for their tastes. They much prefer the more subdued sweets that Chinese bakeries offer. We used to order Chinese bakery cakes all the time when we went to Philadelphia's Chinatown for a meal. There was always a reason to celebrate some momentous occasion, and therefore, always a reason to eat these cakes.
The sponge cake layers are light and fluffy and do not taste too sugary. Two cake layers are sandwiched on top of vanilla custard and fresh fruits. The entire cake is covered in a freshly made whipped cream frosting and garnished with additional fresh fruits. I can see why my parents love this cake - it just seems healthier because the cake is lighter than their American counterparts.
I've had this cake bookmarked from Christine's Kitchen Chronicles for a long, long time. And now was the perfect time for me to tackle it. Don't be overwhelmed with the long list of ingredients and directions. The cake is actually very easy to make, and you'll be rewarded with a beautiful Chinese style cake at the end.
Mom actually helped me bake this cake and had a blast making it. My dad happily ate the remaining custard with a spoon and is already looking forward to the day that my mom recreates it for him. This cake was a huge success and was enjoyed by all.
Happy birthday, Mom!
For the Cake
- 0.7 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 0.8 cups of granulated sugar (split into 2 even portions)
- 6 large eggs, separated into yolks and whites (both at room temperature)
- 1.4 tbsp butter, melted
- 1.4 tbsp milk
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup of all purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2TBSP cold water
- 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
- 2 cups (1 pint) of chilled heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2.5 tbsp of confectioner's sugar
- Various fruits of different colors and shapes, sliced as desired (Can use mangoes, grapes, strawberries, honeydew, canteloupe, canned peaches, or anything else you want)
Preheat oven to 340 degrees F.
Line two 8" or 9" round baking pans with parchment paper and grease the paper and sides of the pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter. (I used silicone baking pans so I skipped this
Separate the eggs and place the egg whites into large stand mixer bowl and the 6 egg yolks into a separate large mixing bowl. It's imperative that there isn't any yolk in the egg white portion!
Mix 0.4 cups of the sugar with the egg yolks and beat until slightly thick and pale yellow. Stir in vanilla.
In the bowl of a large stand mixer, beat egg whites until they are about halfway to forming stiff peaks. Add the remaining 0.4 cups of sugar in three separate additions while continuing to beat the egg whites. Continue whipping until stiff peaks form, creating meringue.
Gently fold in half of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture using as few strokes as possible. Gradually add flour and baking powder and mix carefully. Add the melted butter and milk to the batter. Gently fold in the remaining half of the meringue.
Divide batter and pour into the two prepared pans. Bake for about 20-25 minutes in preheated oven until the cakes are a light brown and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. (Your baking time may be shorter if you use a dark, matte, or non-stick pan, and your baking time may be longer if you use a glass, aluminum, or other shiny pan).
Note that you should bake the two cake layers immediately after the batter is done to prevent the liquid from separating from the rest of the cake.
Remove cakes from oven and leave in pan and allow to cool to room temperature. You may also wrap the cooled cake layers in saran wrap if you are planning to assemble the cake in the same day.
In a medium saucepan, whisk the sugar, flour, and salt. Add 3/4 cup of milk and mix until smooth.
Bring mixture to a boil at medium heat, whisking constantly. Do not scrape off any clumps that form on the sides and bottoms because they will leave clumps in your custard.
Cook another 2 minutes and remove from heat (do not turn off the stove). The mixture should have thickened up dramatically.
Mix the egg with remaining 1/4 cup of milk, then pour it into the mixture in the saucepan. Whisk vigorously to combine. Return the mixture to the heat and cook until it just starts to boil. There will be a lot of lumps initially but just keep whisking over the medium heat and most of the lumps should disappear.
Remove from heat and immediately stir in vanilla. Transfer the custard to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. If there are still lumps in the custard, you can 1) keep whisking until they disappear, 2) strain the custard using a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the lumps, or 3) scoop them out with a fork or spoon.
Chill at least 2 hours in the fridge or overnight.
Sprinkle the gelatin powder over the cold water and let it sit for 5 minutes.
Dissolve the gelatin by placing it in a bowl over a small pot of simmering water and stirring until the mixture turns clear. Let the mixture cool but do allow it to get cold.
Beat the heavy cream using an electric stand mixer (or a hand-held mixer) on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until small bubbles form.
Increase the speed to medium and continue beating for an additional 30 seconds.
Increase speed to high and beat until just before the cream becomes soft and poofy.
At this point, slowly add the sugar and vanilla while continuing to beat the cream until it is almost at stuff peaks.
Finally, add the melted gelatin mixture and keep beating until the cream becomes super thick.
Use frosting immediately or refrigerate for later use.
Carefully remove cakes from pans. If desired, you can peel or cut away the browned top parts of the cakes using hands or a knife. Level the surface of cake with a knife to make the cakes as flat as possible.
Prepare the fresh fruits to be placed between the cake layers. You'll need enough fruit to cover the entire surface between the two cake layers and any additional fruits that you'll want to garnish for the top of the cake.
Make a simple syrup of 2 parts water to 1 part granulated sugar: Mix the two ingredients together in a saucepan and heat it up just until all the sugar dissolves. Squeeze in the juice from half a lemon. Brush each cake with a thin layer of simple syrup on all surfaces.
Lay the first cake layer down onto plate. Spread half of the cooled custard onto the top of the cake layer leaving about 1/2" margin around the edge of the cake. Add the fruit on top of the custard, and be sure to cover the entire custard area. Add remaining custard on top of the fruit.
Place the second cake layer on top of the fruit filling. Gently push down on the layers and wipe away any excess custard that escapes out of the sides of the cake.
Frost the sides and top of the cake using the whipped cream frosting. Use a wide blade or a offset spatula for best results.
If you want to give your cake an extra special professional-looking touch, you can make a glaze to top the fruits on the top of the cake. In a saucepan, heat 1/4 cup of fruit preserves (any flavor) with an equal amount of water. Stir until boiling. Let the mixture reduce by continuing to boil off the water until you reach a glaze consistency (it should be runnier than honey). If desired, you can strain the glaze through a fine sieve to get rid of the fruit and/or seeds. While the glaze is still warm, gently brush over your fruit and let it dry to achieve a shiny finish.
Finally, chill the cake in the fridge and for a few hours to let the frosting set. The cake is best served the same day it is made.
Source: Christine's Kitchen Chronicles; originally adapted from My Edible Memories


text:
Stockton, CA
Kenneth J Wagner
Nov. 20, 1932 - Feb. 11, 2013
Kenneth Jay Wagner 80, passed away unexpectedly Monday,
February 11, 2013 in Stockton. Ken was born in Martinez to
William and
Helena Wagner on November 20, 1932. He was preceded in death by his wife Jeane, his brothers Ed
and Bill Wagner and his sister Ann Wagner Dobretz Schirmer and son Carl Ambrose.
Ken lived in
Stockton his
entire life. Ken married his first wife Kay Poor in 1952 and had two children Vicki and Michael Wagner. Ken was honorably discharged from the
National Guard in 1956.
Ken was sworn in as a San
Joaquin County Deputy Sheriff in 1961. It was here he met his
second wife Jeane. This union brought Jeane's three sons Jeff, Steve, and Carl Ambrose, to the family. Ken was proud to serve our community as a San Joaquin County Deputy Sheriff. He had a distinguished career with the
department for over 30 years
starting in 1961 as a deputy at the jail and honor farm and retiring as acting Sheriff in 1991. From 1963 to 1967 he was with the patrol
division until he was assigned to undercover work with the Special Enforcement detail. Ken was then retained to the Detective Division due to his outstanding investigative abilities. He received many accolades from his superiors and fellow deputies for his loyalty and outstanding abilities.
Ken was an avid hunter, fisherman and golfer. He looked forward to the Deer Camp adventures that to this day are still held in secrecy by the attendees. Another event he started and enjoyed was the
annual Spring Golf Trip to Carson Valley Inn. He loved spending time with his extended family on his porch for the Tuesday coffee klatch and at the bigger events at CVI and everything in between. He loved to laugh and have a good time. Ken was known
affectionately as "Daddy" by his many friends and co-workers.
He was loved by many and will be missed more than mere words can express.
Ken is survived by his children
Michael (Jean) Wagner, Vicki (Rusty) Wagner-Greer, Jeff
(Karen) Ambrose and Steve
(Susan) Ambrose and his grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
His is also survived by his brother Ronald (Diane) Wagner, Thomas Wagner and his sister Janie (John) Jordan.
Services will be held Sunday,
February 17, 2013 at 10:00 am in the Chapel of Flowers at Cherokee Memorial Cemetery located at Hwy 99 at East Harney Lane. Viewing will be held at the Chapel from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to your favorite charity.

subset: commoncrawl


text: The Pella City Council will be meeting in special session on Tuesday. The agenda for the special session includes an official show of support for the Overland Property Group's potential section 42 housing development, and the official adoption of new local purchasing policies for the City of Pella. There will also be a closed session, and a policy and planning meeting after the special session. The city council will meet at the Pella Public Safety Complex off Liberty Street, Tuesday night at 7:00 PM.


text:
The TMS320VC5410A fixed-point, digital signal processor (DSP) (hereafter referred to as the 5410A unless otherwise specified) is based on an advanced modified Harvard architecture that has one program memory bus and three data memory buses. This processor provides an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) with a high degree of parallelism, application-specific hardware logic, on-chip memory, and additional on-chip peripherals. The basis of the operational flexibility and speed of this DSP is a highly specialized instruction set.
Separate program and data spaces allow simultaneous access to program instructions and data, providing a high degree of parallelism. Two read operations and one write operation can be performed in a single cycle. Instructions with parallel store and application-specific instructions can fully utilize this architecture. In addition, data can be transferred between data and program spaces. Such parallelism supports a powerful set of arithmetic, logic, and bit-manipulation operations that can all be performed in a single machine cycle. The 5410A also includes the control mechanisms to manage interrupts, repeated operations, and function calls.


text:
MADRID, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- World No. 4-ranked Rafael Nadal said Friday he will miss next month's Australian Open due to illness.
It will be the second consecutive Grand Slam event Nadal will have missed. He suffered a knee injury after he won the 2012 French Open and, after an early exit at Wimbledon, missed the U.S. Open.
Nadal hasn't played in an ATP tournament since late June when he was stunned in the second round at Wimbledon.
He has said the knee injury has healed but withdrew from this week's exhibition in Abu Dhabi because of a stomach illness. The same illness will keep him on the sidelines for the Australian Open.
"My knee is much better and the rehabilitation process has gone well as predicted by the doctors but this virus didn't allow me to practice this past week and therefore I am sorry to announce that I will not play in Doha and the Australian Open, as we had initially scheduled," Nadal said in a Facebook posting.
"As my team and doctors say, the safest thing to do is to do things well and this virus has delayed my plans of playing these weeks.
"I will have to wait until the Acapulco tournament to compete again although I could consider to play before at any other ATP event."
Nadal was the runner-up to Novak Djokovic in last year's Australian Open. He won the event in 2009.


text:
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Thank you very much for the clarification Mark. And here was me thinking that the written word is utterly accurate and reliable. John
Designed by Phil Chaplain, I think it was called Salome, c.1998.- but not sure.
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text:
Used Bowens Gemini 750 Pro Head
This product is no longer available or has been replaced by a newer model.
Mail Order Returns. These products have been dispatched to a customer and returned as unwanted and unopened, but the packaging may be marked or scuffed.
Repaired. Good condition. More
Buy Now Pay Later
19.9% Representative
Credit subject to application and status
Repaired. Good condition.
The Bowens Gemini 750 Pro Head offers all the features and benefits of the Gemini R units, including the Travelpak Battery option and Pulsar Trigger Card compatibility, with the additional benefits of faster flash durations up to 1/2300 sec, multi voltage operation, faster recycle times and fan cooling. For fashion and commercial photographers, particularly those wishing to shoot on location, ...Back to top
Main Features of the Bowens Gemini 750 Pro Head
- Compatible with Travelpak (optional accessory) for use on location.
- Twin dial power control system allows adjustments in either full stops or 1/10th increments.
- Infra red remote control, via the optional RC-3 remote, including the flash power, modelling lamp mode and output, ready indicators and photocell functions.
- Optional plug-in radio trigger module allowing wireless operation from the Bowens Pulsar radio transmitters.
- Smart Photocell allows the user to ignore pre-exposure flashes from on-camera flashes or other small portable units. The flash head can be programmed to trigger on the first, second, third or fourth pre-flash or to 'learn' the sequence for a particular unit.
- Advanced modelling lamp control allows the usual full, proportional and off settings but also incorporates a 'soft-start' and 'lamp-saver' option to prolong the life of the bulb.
- Auto-dump is a standard feature of the range and can either flash or resistive dump the power. The intelligent power management system monitors the use and calculates the optimum method.
- The side and rear LED displays show either the set or the desired power level as well as additional information during user set-up. The display itself can be inverted for use on a ceiling track system.
- Both audible and visual ready indicators are included with the former having the option to be switched off.
- Guide No 104 (m/100 ISO)
- Colour Temperature 5600K (+/-300K)
- Fast Recycle Time 1.5 Secs
- fast Flash Duration 1/2300 Sec
- Muti Voltage Operation
- Fan Cooling
Gemini Pro Advantages:
Fast Flash Duration
If you need to capture action, then the Pro range is for you. The three-electrode flash tube is the reason for the action freezing flash times on the Gemini Pro monolights - the fastest Bowens monolights ever! The flash tube is easily user replaceable too - so, no expensive service center fees if it needs replacing.
Travel Pack Compatibility and Multi-Voltage
The Travelpak battery unit means that Gemini Pro lights can 'go anywhere' out on location. But what about when you are in the studio in another country? With the Pro range, the Gemini becomes a true go anywhere system. Advanced circuitry within the unit is able to seek the correct voltage to run on meaning that you can take a Gemini Pro monolight anywhere in the world, safe in the knowledge that it will work wherever you go - inside or out.
Fast Recycle Times
In photography everyone knows that time is money. That is why the Gemini Pro range of monolights boasts recycling times to full power faster than ever before. Now you can spend less time waiting for your lights to power up and more time creating amazing images with your world-class lighting.
Bowens Gemini Pro Video
Product Specification
Buy Now Pay Later
With our no deposit Buy Now Pay Later option, pay nothing for six months when you spend £250 or more, then either settle the cash price in full by paying a £29.00 settlement fee, or choose to spread the cost over 36 months at 19.9% APR Representative. Please see the repayment example below to see how much purchasing this item on finance would cost.
|Finance Example
|Item Value (Cash Price)
|Agreement Duration
|42 Months
|Total Amount Credit
|Settlement Fee
|Settlement Payment
|Monthly Instalments
|35 x £15.66
|Final Instalments
|Total Amount Payable
|Annual Rate of Interest
|Representative APR
Are you eligible for finance?
Applicants must be:
- Aged 18 years or older from the application date
- In permanent UK residence for a minimum of three years
- Fulfil at least one of the following employment criteria:
- In regular, permanent employment.
- Retired from regular employment - With a minimum age of 50.
- Not working through disability.
- Self-employed.
Note: All applicants will be subject to a credit reference check by the lender.
Credit is subject to application and status. Warehouse Express Ltd trading as Wex Photo Video act as credit broker and not the lender. Barclays Partner Finance act as the lender.
Can I repay early? If so how?
No repayments are scheduled in the initial six-month deferral period. However, it is possible to pay off the loan, either by way of a lump sum or in smaller amounts. If the loan is fully repaid within the six-month deferral period, then no interest is payable, but a £29.00 early-settlement will be incurred. Such repayments may be made to Barclays Partner Finance by cheque, debit card or standing order. Unfortunately it is not possible to set up a direct debit within the deferral period. Further information on how to make such repayments will be set out in the loan agreement pack provided by Barclays Partner Finance.
What happens if I don't repay within the first six months (deferral period)?
Following the six month deferral period, Barclays Partner Finance will initiate a monthly direct debit payment for the remaining duration of the loan. Interest will be charged at a rate of 19.9% APR on outstanding balances (backdated to the first date of the loan). Late payment penalties and early repayment charges will apply from this point. Barclays Partner Finance will send a reminder letter approximately one month before the six month deferral period is due to elapse. Note: If you chose to spread the cost and pay monthly, interest is charged from the start of the loan, not from the start of the repayment period.
What will I receive from the finance provider (lender)?
Barclays Partner Finance will send a loan agreement pack approximately four weeks after delivery of the goods, confirming that the account has been activated and, from this point, it is possible to make repayments against the loan.
For further information on how our finance product work, see our Finance help section.
To apply for finance, follow these three easy steps
† Once your application has been accepted, usually within minutes, we will immediately dispatch your equipment.


text:
It is a fact that:
- Some people don't want to hack their PSPs.
- Some people can't hack their PSPs (eg. the 3000)
But still, SCUMMVM is an amazing program and many people would love to have it on their PSP.
Is there anybody out there who shares my thought of sending a request to SONY to distribute it freely through its official PSP Network? It's not a crazy idea, believe me. Sony is giving emphasis to the distribution and promotion of new games/software through the network as you all know. I personally use it and download stuff from it, even buy games. They might even like the idea, as it's an anti-piracy act.
Scummvm for PSP should not be homebrew anymore - make it an official download, you have nothing to lose, only gain.
I am doubtful that Sony would agree to doing such a thing (their lawyers would be scared that e.g. LucasArts/Atari might sue them). Moreover, even if they agreed to it, I am not sure whether their terms would be compatible with the GPL.
But of course it wouldn't hurt if you asked them anyway.
You don't really need to hack your PSP, there's a program out there called Half-Byte Loader. It runs programs that would usually require a hacked PSP, but all you need to do is copy some files to your GAME and root directories (it comes with instructions)
PSP 3000 can be hacked easily.


text:
In Depth on the Critical Financial Reform We Need
An Overview of Americans for Financial Reform
Americans for Financial Reform is a coalition of more than 200 national, state and local consumer, employee, investor, community, labor, civil rights, and community development organizations that have come together to spearhead a campaign for real reform in our banking and financial system based on accountability, fairness and security.
Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) supports financial reform that will police Wall Street, defend consumers from abusive practices, and make sure banking and finance serve the real economy, rather than being its master. Real financial reform is crucial to getting the economy back on track and people back to work.
Irresponsible behavior by the biggest banks and Wall Street titans – along with thoughtless deregulation propelled by narrow financial industry self-interest, and a regulatory structure designed to fail - were the fundamental causes of the financial crisis, and the terrible recession we are now enduring. Responding to the crisis, we have bailed out the banks. But we have not yet changed the rules that got us into this mess. We must move forward on making the financial system work for the American people.
Americans for Financial Reform strongly urges you to support and to strengthen the financial reform legislation coming to the House floor.
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection (H.R. 4173)
Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Meaningful financial reform must make the marketplace safer for everyday Americans. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) will ensure fairness and safety for American consumers. Without it, the reform effort will fail in its current mission to save Americans from the type of crisis through which we are presently struggling. With a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Americans can work and save to provide for their families and generations to come. Existing bank regulators failed to design and enforce fair rules of the road for credit, and the results include billions of dollars worth of tricks and traps on high priced credit cards, over-limit fees on debit cards and abusive mortgages that cost families their homes. The financial crisis demonstrates that unchecked abuse not only hurts individual borrowers, but also undermines the whole financial system. The CFPA will streamline government and ensure a stable and safe marketplace. We don't let manufacturers sell toasters that are likely to explode: we need basic rules and protection against exploding loans, too.
AFR supports the CFPA proposal in the Financial Reform legislation, and we support amendments to close remaining loopholes, and oppose amendments to weaken CFPA authority. In particular, the CFPA should:
- Cover all financial products: AFR supports amendments that close loopholes that exempt specific sectors and we oppose amendments to provide additional loopholes. All financial products must be covered.
- Have primary examination, enforcement and rulemaking authority: AFR opposes amendments that would split up consumer protection responsibilities because it would weaken the agency's effectiveness.
- Be a federal floor of protection, not a ceiling: AFR opposes any amendment that would thwart the ability of states to be the first responder to local and regional issues.
- Include the Community Reinvestment Act under its purview: The CFPA must be given both rulemaking and enforcement authority for the CRA in order for the agency to carry out its mission and to level the playing field for underserved communities.
Derivatives, Hedge Funds, and Venture Capital
Transparent, regulated derivatives markets are a critical element of systemic risk mitigation
Unregulated over-the-counter derivatives brought down AIG and fueled the housing bubble by allowing banks to purchase inexpensive "insurance" against risky loans in lieu of credit standards. Taxpayers bore the cost of this subsidy when $134 billion was paid out to AIG's counterparties. Now the 5 biggest banks dominate the derivatives market and want to maintain the status quo, since opaque markets permit them to charge very high fees to derivatives clients. Taxpayers, consumers of energy and other commodities, and commercial enterprises using derivatives to hedge, are the losers.
AFR urges the House of Representatives to ensure that any legislation passed requires all standard derivatives to trade on an exchange, providing instant price information to market participants and regulators. This includes foreign currency derivatives. Because derivatives market participants are "too interconnected to fail" any exception to this policy risks rendering the legislation of little use.
Pooled investment vehicles may cause the next meltdown
Private equity funds, hedge funds, and venture capital funds are rarely stand-alone entities; they are interconnected financial enterprises about which little is known to either regulators or investors. The next Ponzi scheme to defraud investors could be disguised as any of these entities, and their web of opaque and leveraged structures poses significant risk to the US economy.
AFR supports the following elements of the House Financial Services Committee bill applicable to hedge funds and private equity funds:
- Requires managers of hedge funds and private equity funds to register with the SEC;
- Allows the SEC to establish record-keeping and reporting requirements;
- Authorizes the SEC to do periodic and special examinations.
AFR recommends that the bill be strengthened by removing the exemption for venture capital, regulating the funds as well as their managers, and requiring public disclosure in addition to SEC reporting.
Systemic Risk
We need both robust mechanisms for preventing undue risk and putting on the brakes before catastrophic failure is a danger, and a system for resolving institutions should they fail that does not leave taxpayers holding the bag.
The proposed legislation creates a council of regulators to oversee systemic risk, gives the FDIC the authority to put failing banks into receivership, and creates a resolution fund that large financial institutions will pay into on an ongoing basis.
AFR would support amendments to:
- Democratize the Federal Reserve Board and prevent the banks from controlling the regional Bank Boards.
- Strengthen regulators ability to break up banks that are too big or too interconnected to fail, and to prohibit dangerous activity like excessive leverage.
- Provide the systemic risk regulator with its own staff.
- Reinstate separations between commercial and investment banking and limit insured depositories' ability to engage in excessively risky activities.
AFR supports leaving in place the provisions on auditing the Federal Reserve Board added to the legislation during mark up.
Investor Protections
The Investor Protection Act (IPA) contains a variety of measures to enhance the ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to detect and prosecute fraud, including increasing the agency's authorized funding, strengthening its enforcement tools, and providing new protections for whistleblowers. It also includes measures to address long neglected gaps in investor protection. The most important of these would require brokers who give investment advice to act in their customers' best interests and would authorize the SEC to limit the use of mandatory arbitration clauses. The bill also strengthens the ability of shareholders to more effectively hold management and boards accountable from inside the company. This is a necessary, market-based complement to the external regulatory efforts of the SEC.
AFR supports the goals of the IPA and supports changes to strengthen this title and opposes changes that will weaken it. Specifically, the IPA should:
- Require all providers of investment advice to act in the customers' best interests under the fiduciary duty of the Investment Advisers Act. AFR supports stripping FINRA (the brokerage industry's self-regulatory organization) of the responsibility for enforcing the fiduciary requirement for its member firms and associated persons and opposes any amendment to further limit the scope of the fiduciary duty.
- End forced arbitration. AFR opposes any weakening of this provision.
- Restore anti-fraud protections. AFR opposes weakening the investor protections of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and supports restoring requirements that all publicly traded companies comply with Sarbanes-Oxley.
- Give shareholders a greater role in holding corporate boards and management accountable. AFR opposes stripping the proxy access provisions from the bill.
Credit Rating Agencies
Credit rating agencies, attracted by lucrative fees and virtual immunity from accountability when their ratings failed, had given their seal of approval to financial products whose risks they had not adequately investigated and did not fully comprehend. Disastrously unfounded triple A ratings were key ingredients of the financial crisis; we need credit rating agency reform.
The proposed legislation includes useful and important measures to provide for:
- Accountability, including significantly increased SEC oversight.
- Increased liability for credit rating agency judgments (although it does not dramatically alter the structure of the credit rating agency system, as we believe might be the best long term course).
- Universal ratings for corporate and municipal bonds.
AFR recommends that the bill be strengthened in two areas:
- Reliance on ratings. Require regulators to identify areas where laws rely on ratings, determine whether better measures of creditworthiness are available, and either replace or supplement the ratings as appropriate, rather than simply eliminating reliance on ratings with no alternatives.
- Independence. Increase the independence of the oversight board and impose a small fee on ratings engagements to fund increased oversight.
Support the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act (H.R. 3126)
Meaningful financial reform must make the marketplace safer for everyday Americans. The Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA) will ensure fairness and safety for American consumers. Without it, the reform effort will fail in its current mission to save Americans from the type of crisis through which we are presently struggling. With a strong Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Americans can work and save to provide for their families and generations to come. Existing bank regulators failed to design and enforce fair rules of the road for credit, and the results include billions of dollars worth of tricks and traps on high priced credit cards, over-limit fees on debit cards and abusive mortgages that cost families their homes. The financial crisis demonstrates that unchecked abuse not only hurts individual borrowers, but also undermines the whole financial system. The CFPA will streamline government and ensure a stable and safe marketplace. We don't let manufacturers sell toasters that are likely to explode: we need basic rules and protection against exploding loans, too.
The Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act improves federal oversight and protection for consumer financial products. It consolidates all of the consumer protection rule-making and enforcement functions currently spread over 17 statutes and 7 different agencies. It reduces, streamlines and simplifies existing regulatory sprawl and ensures that the same rules apply and are consistently enforced for all entities providing financial products to consumers. The CFPA will improve consumer free choice by making products easier to understand for consumers and ensuring that consumers are offered the best available loans for which they qualify. Moreover, the CFPA will preserve the ability of the States to address particular problems that arise within their borders, and to provide the protections that elected state representatives deem important.
AFR supports the CFPA proposal in the Financial Reform legislation, and we support amendments to close remaining loopholes, and oppose amendments to weaken CFPA authority. In particular, the CFPA should:
- Cover all financial products: AFR supports amendments that close loopholes that exempt specific sectors and we oppose amendments to provide additional loopholes. All financial products must be covered.
- Have primary examination, enforcement and rulemaking authority: AFR opposes amendments that would split up consumer protection responsibilities because it would weaken the agency's effectiveness.
- Be a federal floor of protection, not ceiling: AFR opposes any amendment that would thwart the ability of states to be the first responder to local and regional issues.
- Include the Community Reinvestment Act under its purview: The CFPA must be given both rulemaking and enforcement authority for the CRA in order for the agency to carry out its mission and to level the playing field for underserved communities.
Support the Accountability and Transparency Rating Agencies Act (H.R. 3890)
Unreliable Ratings Allowed Risky Products to Permeate the Financial System
Unsound subprime mortgages and the securities based on those mortgages were the poison that contaminated the financial system, but it was the ability of these mortgage-backed securities to attract AAA ratings that allowed them to penetrate every corner of the markets. As events unfolded, it became increasingly clear that credit rating agencies, attracted by the lucrative fees to be earned rating structured products and virtually immune from accountability when their ratings fail, had given their seal of approval to securities whose risks they had not adequately investigated and did not fully comprehend. As one Standard & Poor's analyst famously proclaimed, "We rate every deal. It could be structured by cows and we would rate it."
House Bill Takes Multi-pronged Approach to Reform
The House bill seeks to address these shortcomings through a multi-pronged approach that simultaneously strengthens regulatory oversight, increases credit rating agency accountability, and reduces the financial system's vulnerability to faulty ratings. Credit rating agencies have been largely inoculated from liability for their misconduct through a combination of court deference toward arguments that ratings are protected speech under the First Amendment and actual statutory limits on liability. The House bill would remove these statutory limits on liability and make clear that knowing or reckless misconduct satisfies the pleading standards with regard to state of mind. In addition, the bill charges the Securities and Exchange Commission with conducting annual reviews of the rating agencies to evaluate such things as procedures followed in developing ratings and management of conflicts of interest, and it authorizes the agency to impose fines for violations. It also strengthens corporate governance practices at the rating agencies themselves, in particular by assigning responsibility for oversight of key functions to the board. Finally, the bill addresses the inequality between government and corporate bonds in that it requires all bonds to be rated on the risk of default. Currently, the rating agencies use a more conservative standard when rating US municipal bonds than they do when rating U.S. corporate or international issuers, which ends up costing taxpayers billions of dollars a year in extra interest and bond issuance costs.
- AFR supports an amendment to further strengthen the bill by imposing a small fee on ratings engagements and dedicating the proceeds of that fee to ensure adequate funding for regulatory oversight.
- AFR also supports an amendment to enhance board oversight by requiring that a majority of board members be independent and that the definition of independence be tightened to ensure that these board members represent the interests of users of credit ratings.
The House Bill Would Reduce Reliance on Ratings
In addition to increasing the reliability of credit ratings, it is also important to reduce the financial system's vulnerability when ratings prove unreliable. One way to reduce our reliance on ratings, and with it the system's vulnerability to inaccurate ratings, is to make both the ratings themselves and the securities rated more transparent. The House bill both would provide greater insight into the assumptions used in developing ratings, the sensitivity of the rating to those assumptions, and the nature and quality of the data relied on. This should better enable the users of ratings to assess the nature of risks being rated and the reliability of the rating. In addition, it would move to eliminate all legal references to credit ratings. While we support reducing reliance on ratings, eliminating all legal references to ratings without first determining whether more reliable measures of creditworthiness are available strikes us as reckless.
- AFR supports an amendment to require regulators first to identify all areas where the laws and regulations refer to or rely on ratings, then to determine whether better or additional measures of creditworthiness are available, and finally to either replace or supplement the ratings as appropriate.
Support the Over-the-Counter Derivatives Markets Act of 2009 (H.R. 3795)
Congress cannot protect the U.S. financial system without acting to regulate over-the-counter derivatives, which brought down AIG at a cost of $134 billion to taxpayers. The five biggest banks dominate the derivatives market and want to maintain the status quo, since opaque markets permit them to charge very high fees to derivatives clients. Unregulated derivatives encourage excessive leverage and unacceptable levels of risk in the economy. Taxpayers, consumers of energy and other commodities, and commercial enterprises using derivatives to hedge, are the losers.
Derivatives are securities whose price is dependent upon (or derived from) one or more underlying assets. These assets include physical commodities (oil, wheat); and financial instruments (stocks, bonds, currencies). Calls, puts, swaps, and futures are all types of derivatives. They serve an economic purpose by permitting businesses to predetermine the prices of key production inputs and outputs.
Prior to 2000, standardized derivatives were required to be exchange-traded. The Commodities Futures Modernization Act of 2000 provided two large loopholes and gave rise to the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market. The first OTC trade was in 1997 and the market has since ballooned to $600 trillion.
AIG Financial Products sold a type of OTC derivative called a credit default swap (CDS) which transfers the risk of a negative credit event from the buyer to the seller, in exchange for a periodic protection fee similar to an insurance premium. AIG issued credit default swaps to cover the credit risk of bundled subprime loans, not only incurring unsustainable risk but also fueling the housing price bubble. Taxpayers bore the cost when $134 billion was paid out to AIG's counterparties.
AFR urges Congress to ensure that any legislation passed requires all standard derivatives to trade on an exchange, including foreign currency derivatives Because derivatives market participants are "too interconnected to fail" any exception to this policy risks rendering the legislation of little use.
Returning derivatives to an open exchange is a common sense solution to the risky bets that were made with our money. We have been using exchanges for hundreds of years for financial products, because they allow market participants to see pricing information in real time, and allow both regulators and participants to take note if a dealer is taking on excessive risk. Most derivatives currently called "customized" are transacted on copyrighted boilerplate documentation, so would lend themselves to standardized exchange trading.
The largest swaps dealers are the five "too big to fail" banks, and they expect to earn $35 billion from opaque derivatives trades this year. Remarkably, these banks have convinced their customers that a return to transparency would be bad for them.1 Since the banks' credibility is damaged, they have sent their corporate customers, known as "derivatives end users" to lobby on their behalf. The US economy cannot afford another derivatives meltdown.
Support the Investor Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 3817)
A side-effect of last year's market collapse was its exposure of the Madoff investment fraud. The subsequent investigation into the regulatory failure that allowed this multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme to operate undetected for decades revealed glaring weaknesses in the Securities and Exchange Commission's oversight of the securities markets and protections for investors. The Investor Protection Act contains a variety of measures to enhance the ability of the SEC to detect and prosecute fraud, including increasing the agency's authorized funding, strengthening its enforcement tools, and providing new protections for whistleblowers. It also includes measures to address long neglected gaps in investor protection. The most important of these would require brokers who give investment advice to act in their customers' best interests and would authorize the SEC to limit the use of mandatory arbitration clauses.
Require All Who Give Investment Advice to Act in Customers' Best Interests
Overwhelmed and intimidated, most investors choose to rely on a professional – whether a broker, a financial planner, or an investment adviser – to help them to make the investment decisions upon which their retirement security and long-term savings success depend. Most approach this relationship with their guard down, relying heavily, if not exclusively, on the recommendations they receive. This leaves them extremely vulnerable, particularly given the conflicts of interest that pervade the securities industry.
Our current regulatory approach contributes to this problem by applying very different standards to services that are indistinguishable to the average investor. Specifically, while investment advisers are held to a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of their clients, brokers who offer investment advice are required only to make recommendations that are generally suitable for the investor. Moreover, this lower standard for brokers has continued to apply even as they rebranded their salespeople as financial advisers and their services as investment planning. As a result, these "financial advisers" are free to offer higher cost, poorer performing investment options that pay them a higher commission as long as the option is generally suitable. And, since none of this has to be disclosed, the typical investor never knows the difference.
The IPA seeks to rectify this problem by requiring the SEC to issue rules applying the same fiduciary duty to investment advice by brokers that applies under the Advisers Act. The legislation makes clear that brokers would still be able to charge commissions for their services and would still be permitted to sell from a limited menu of investment options so long as appropriate disclosures were provided. Unfortunately, an amendment was added during mark-up that would permit the SEC to make FINRA, the broker-dealer self-regulatory organization, responsible enforcing the requirement for its member firms and persons associated with those firms. This would leave primary responsibility for determining how the fiduciary standard would apply to the vast majority of investment advisers in the hands of an organization that is infused with the broker-dealer mindset and has until very recently adamantly opposed holding brokers to a fiduciary standard when they give advice.
AFR supports an amendment to strip Finra of this oversight authority and opposes any amendment to further limit the scope of the fiduciary duty.
Support an End to Forced Arbitration
Since the 1980s, brokers have been free to force customers to sign pre-dispute binding arbitration clauses. As a result, investors today must agree to resolve disputes in an industry-run system many perceive as biased as a condition of opening an account. If investors were allowed a choice of whether or where to arbitrate disputes, the industry-run system would have to compete for their business by offering a system that all parties perceive as fair, efficient and affordable. The Investor Protection Act would promote that outcome by requiring the SEC to conduct a study and permitting the agency to limit or ban the use of binding arbitration clauses if it found them to be contrary to the interests of investors.
Restore Anti-Fraud Protections
Earlier this fall, in a move cheered by retail and institutional investors, the SEC voted to begin long-delayed implementation of post-Enron accounting reforms at companies with under $75 million in market capitalization. Specifically, the Commission voted to require these companies to begin complying next year with the requirement that their independent auditor include in the annual financial statement audit an evaluation of the company's controls to prevent accounting fraud and errors. The requirement is particularly important to protect investors in small companies, since these companies are more prone to both accounting fraud and financial reporting errors than larger companies and since, when fraud occurs at these companies, it almost always involves the complicity of senior management. Implementation had repeatedly been delayed, however, as regulators sought to reduce the costs of compliance. The SEC voted to proceed after having extensively revised the requirement to make it less prescriptive and more scalable based on the size and complexity of the company and after thorough study showed that compliance costs had dropped dramatically since those revisions were made.
Ignoring the revisions to the standard and the cost reductions that have resulted, as well as the devastating costs that accounting fraud and financial restatements impose on investors, the Committee adopted an amendment to the IPA that would provide roughly half of all public companies with a permanent exemption from the requirement. They justified their action using precisely the same twisted logic that landed us in the current financial crisis: that regulation is a luxury we can't afford.
AFR supports an amendment to strip the anti-investor exemption from Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements for small public companies.
Support Comprehensive Regulation of Hedge Funds, Private Equity and Venture Capital
Why we need comprehensive regulation of hedge funds, private equity and venture capital:
Financial oversight has failed to keep up with the realities of the marketplace, characterized by globalization, innovation, and the convergence of lending and investing activities. As President Obama said during the campaign, "We need to regulate institutions for what they do, not what they are."
This means that unregulated pooled investment vehicles, including hedge funds, private equity and venture capital, have been major participants in the shadow financial markets. Private equity and hedge funds and their managers should be subject to more stringent oversight that, at a minimum, requires greater transparency, ensures that managers act in the best interest of investors, and subjects the funds to capital adequacy requirements and leverage limits.
Self-regulation is a myth. Sophisticated investors cannot and should not be relied upon to protect their own long-term financial interests or to avoid overly risky activities that can threaten the health of the financial markets and the global economy. This does not necessarily mean that all participants in the financial markets must be subject to identical regulatory requirements. But regulators must ensure a minimum level of transparency, accountability, and mandated risk management across the financial markets.
Key elements of strong regulation
No exemptions. All private investment funds should be subject to the same level of regulation. Exemptions give Ponzi schemes a place to hide. For example, if Congress exempts venture capital funds from regulation, Ponzi schemes are likely to claim to be venture capital funds to avoid detection by the SEC.
Transparency. It is essential that the SEC has access to information about private investment funds and has the authority to require them to provide disclosures to investors, prospective investors, counterparties and creditors. These disclosures are important to prevent systemic risks and provide investors with the information necessary to make responsible investment decisions. In addition, public disclosure would allow creditors and counterparties to fully assess second- and third-level counterparty exposures and further help to prevent financial institutions from taking on exposures to risky counterparties that could lead to systemic threats.
Regulation must be comprehensive. It is not enough to regulate the adviser. The funds themselves must be regulated as well. They are separate entities and each poses unique regulatory concerns.
Support the Financial Stability Improvement Act (H.R. 3996)
Why we need Systemic Risk reform:
- As the current financial crisis-driven job losses show, stable management of systemic risk is important not only to the financial players on Wall Street, but to every American on Main Street.
- The systemic failures that collapsed giant financial institutions last year also compromised the economic security–the jobs, homes and retirement plans–of millions of Americans who did not contribute to the problem.
- Regulating systemic risk is needed to ensure that the moral hazards and risk-taking activities of a handful of firms do not threaten the broader system.
Key elements of strong systemic risk prevention:
- One central authority should be responsible for monitoring and stemming potential systemic risks.
- The systemic risk regulator must have the authority to stop institutions from creating systemic risk by growing to a certain size or complexity, becoming too interconnected, or engaging in excessively risky activities. Particularly, it should have authority to reinstate separations between commercial and investment banking or limit insured depositories' ability to engage in speculative risk-taking.
- Primary authority for systemic risk regulation may be assigned to a council of regulators, a new agency, or the Federal Reserve. If the Fed is given authority to oversee systemic risk, at the same time it must be made more democratic and transparent. Without reform, the Fed will be unlikely to take necessary steps to limit bank activity; it has designed-in conflicts of interest, with banks largely deciding who regulates them.
- The systemic risk regulator must have staff, resources, and expertise sufficient to monitor sources of systemic risk in institutions, products, and activities throughout the financial markets, and it must have the power to act promptly and independently. It also must be fully accountable and transparent to the public.
- Systemic risk and resolution authority are interconnected issues; strong safeguards against systemic risk requires having strong resolution authority.
Why we need new resolution authority:
- Resolution authority is needed so that there is a process for failing bank holding companies – as there currently is for conventional banks – that does not require massive taxpayer bailouts. Currently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has no authority to take distressed bank holding companies into conservatorship or receivership. This is particularly problematic because bank holding companies (such as Citigroup, recipient of $374 billion in government support) were the main culprits in the risky activities at the heart of the financial crisis.
- Clearly-defined resolution authority will help limit the government's implicit guarantee that it will support failing institutions with taxpayer money.
- In the wake of last year's financial failures, many institutions already considered "too big to fail" have grown bigger by acquiring failing companies, leaving our economy even more vulnerable.
- The Bankruptcy Code's provisions for the distribution of the assets of a bankrupt financial institution take no account of the systemic considerations that regulators can and should consider.
- The status quo severely restricts the ability of the government to prevent the kind of systemic crisis that the failure of a large, interconnected institution can cause.
Key elements of strong resolution authority:
- A sensible approach that ends the current policy of piecemeal bailouts.
- Clear language that resolution is for the purpose of systemic financial stability and not for the purpose of rescuing failing financial companies; i.e.:
- shareholders should recieve nothing,
- unsecured creditors other than insured depositors or employees should the bear losses, and
- management and the Board of Directors responsible for the failed condition of the company should be removed
- Assurance that to the greatest extent possible, the regulating agency responsible for resolution act in a manner that minimizes recourse to the general fund of the Treasury.
- Strong and clearly-defined Systemic Resolution Fund to pay for the costs associated with the resolution process that is financed only through assessments on financial companies and not by taxpayers. The Systemic Resolution Fund should be funded through ongoing assessments paid by financial institutions who pose a risk due to size or the nature of their activities.
- Systemic risk reform must be in addition to -not a substitute for- active, strong prudential regulation.


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DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Bureau of Investigation agents on Wednesday arrested a woman accused of illegally transferring the gun authorities say was used to kill Colorado's prisons chief.
Investigators believe Stevie Marie Vigil, 22, of Commerce City, legally bought the firearm from a licensed dealer in the Denver suburb of Englewood and transferred it to Evan Ebel, who was a felon who couldn't legally possess a firearm, the CBI said.
Ebel is suspected in the shooting deaths of Colorado Department of Corrections head Tom Clements on March 19 and of Nathan Leon, who was shot March 17 while working as a pizza delivery driver in the Denver area.
Ebel died after a shootout in Texas last week. El Paso County, Colo., sheriff's investigators have said the gun Ebel used in the shootout was the same weapon used to kill Clements when he answered the front door of his home.
The identity of the Englewood firearms dealer wasn't disclosed. Authorities described the dealer as "extremely cooperative" and said the dealer had no knowledge of Vigil's alleged actions after buying the gun.
Vigil was being held on one felony count of unlawful purchase of a firearm. Her bail was set at $25,000.
It's not clear how Vigil and Ebel might have met. Records associated with her arrest have been sealed, and an El Paso County sheriff's office spokesman didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Ebel, 28, had most recently been sentenced to four years in prison for punching a prison guard in 2008, according to state records. He was paroled Jan. 28 after serving his full prison term, corrections officials have said. His record also includes pleading guilty to holding a pistol to an acquaintance's head and stealing his wallet.


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If your download does not start automatically, choose a download location to start your download.
Software GhostSurf Hide IP Platinum
Anonymizer 6.1
file size: 31.33 MB
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Anonymizer's new Anonymous Surfing(TM) protects your privacy and secures your identity by staying one step ahead of these online predators. Anonymous Surfing hides your IP address so online snoops are unable to track the sites you visit and build profiles on your Internet activities. Our servers are armed with 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology, similar to that of your bank. Now you can rest easy knowing that Anonymizer has you and your family covered.
Additionally, Anonymous Surfing also protects you from inadvertently visiting Web sites that are known to be phishing, pharming, or spyware sites. If you unknowingly visit one of these sites, a warning page will display to notify you of the hidden dangers that are lurking ahead.
Some of the benefits of Anonymizer's Anonymous Surfing are:
- Protects you and your family from identity theft.
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Try a 30-day free trial of Anonymizer's new Anonymous Surfing and a bonus free trial of Anti-Spyware, Digital Shredder Lite & Nyms will also be included with your download!


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Antique Barn Finish
Add centuries of wear and tear to your projects using a tested formula that's simple and safe – no open flame!
By Troy Sexton
Pages: 78-83
From the June 2007 issue #162
Buy this issue now
This is the furniture finish that fooled our local auctioneer, a man with 30 years of experience selling antique furniture and farm equipment.
I had bought a mower from the auctioneer and he was dropping it off at my workshop when he spotted one of my furniture pieces that sported what I call a barn finish.
He walked over to the piece and asked what I'd repaired on it. I replied that it wasn't an antique that needed fixing; instead, I had just finished building it and was about to deliver it to a customer.
He didn't believe me.
After a few minutes of debate, I finally turned the piece over to show him a spot of new, raw wood that was unfinished.
"In all my years," he said, "I have never seen a finish like that."
From the June 2007 issue #162
Buy this issue now


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Cruising to Athens – Scary or Sane?by Janice Wald Henderson | 06.01.12
A reassuring look at Athens as a Mediterranean cruise destination and a scrumptious taste of the local culinary fare.
Read the newspapers, watch TV and the news is everywhere - Greece is in financial turmoil. And yet for cruisers, "Med season" has just begun. This is primetime (from now through October) for a Mediterranean sail. So many voyages begin or end in Athens, with tempting ports of call in-between. Do you avoid cruises that embark or disembark passengers in Athens - or say yes, but go straight from the airport to the ship? What is a cruiser who has never seen the glorious sights of this ancient city to do?
No one can predict the future, but it's easier to make the right decision knowing the facts. If you've already seen Athens' sights (notably, the Acropolis) and feel apprehensive, skip a visit and go directly from the airport to the ship, or vice-versa. But here's how to make it work: When flying in or out of Athens, book the ship transfers – even if they cost more than a taxi or other privately arranged transportation.
Ships have secure arrangements to get you to and from the airport. Should there be a citywide or national strike, you could potentially miss your cruise or your flight if you're dependent on taxis and car services.
Cruise ships dock in Piraeus, a port some seven miles from Athens. Should any demonstrations or marches occur, you will be far away, snoozing on your verandah, oblivious of any possible discord.
If you have never visited Athens, please don't let Greece's current economic woes stop you from planning a fantastic visit. Find reassurance beyond my words at the Embassy of the United States web site. Click on "Visiting Greece." You'll be taken to "Is it Safe to Travel to Greece?" The site answers its own question, saying that with some common sense and planning, you will have a fun, safe holiday.
This site has several excellent recommendations for visitors, including registering with STEP (Safe Traveler Enrollment Program), so the embassy will know where you are and more easily assist you, if needed.
What is your opinion of Athens as a cruise destination? Talk about it in the Embarkation/Debarkation Ports forum.
Here are more words of encouragement: The embassy web site states that it has received no reports of U.S. citizen tourists being injured as a result of a demonstration. Plus the embassy says that it doesn't anticipate any protests spilling into the traditional tourist sites. When in Greece, stay abreast of current news at web sites, local television news and through hotel security.
In need of more enticement to visit Athens? Reassure yourself further at government web sites such as Travel.State.Gov. Select Greece for the country and find further information for invaluable peace of mind.
When I was last in Athens a few months ago, there was the inevitable demonstration. But taxi drivers knew where and when it was occurring, and took different routes to avoid any traffic disruptions. The demonstration did not disrupt my visit in any way. Demonstrations are geared towards the government, not visitors. Greek people are warm and hospitable. They need and want tourism.
Most demonstrations occur in Syntagma Square, near the parliament. I've never been to Athens when any demonstration occurred anywhere near the bucket-list-worthy Acropolis, which is the city highlight.
And you must tour the new Acropolis Museum, which cost some $200 million to build and sits near the base of the Acropolis with a direct view of the Parthenon. The ascending, wide glass-floored gallery houses finds from the slopes of the Acropolis. This world-class museum is filled with treasures
If staying in Athens, book a hotel away from Syntagma Square, and also, away from the Plaka (Old Town), as it's close by the Square. The Athenaeum InterContinental Athens was first recommended to me by a city insider, who touted its safe locale and top-notch security. Plus, it's slightly nearer the port, and with Athens' terrible traffic, saves valuable time. I've stayed here a few times and also recommended it to family members.
The Athenaeum InterContinental is a high-rise hotel with killer Acropolis views and a rooftop restaurant worth a stop in Athens alone. Its Premiere Restaurant serves superb modern Greek cuisine and would be receiving greater international acclaim if it wasn't located in Athens. The breadbasket – house-baked seven-grain bread, lemon sundried tomato rolls and kalamata olive bread – is stunning. Put yourself in the hands of the sommelier, and try graceful Greek wines like Palivos from Nemea.
click on pictures below for larger imagesAll from the Athenaeum InterContinental Hotel, Athens, Greece:
King Crab with Panna Cotta of Celeriac
Lobster Salad with Mustard Leaves and Ouzo Jelly
Aegean Sea Bass with Olive Oil "Egg Yolks"
King crab with panna cotta of celeriac, lobster salad with mustard leaves and ouzo jelly, and Aegean sea bass with olive oil "egg yolks" (a nod to modernist cuisine, also known as molecular gastronomy) are oustanding. Whether dining indoors or out, the nighttime view of Athens with the lit Acropolis is a jawdropper.
Unwind from (or prepare for) the long flight home at the newly renovated I-Spa. Rooms have also been freshened and deluxe accommodations include access to the Club Lounge with a private concierge, complimentary breakfast buffet, lunch and dinner snacks and drinks. The fitness center is open 24 hours, perfect for jet-lagged travelers.
If you have any lingering concerns about visiting Athens, remember that cruise lines are hyper-vigilant about security and maintain strong communications with ground operators. They will never visit a port that puts passengers at risk. Now start planning that summer Med cruise!
What is your opinion of Athens as a cruise destination? Talk about it in the Embarkation/Debarkation Ports forum.


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Personnel problems in nuclear corps seen as issue
WASHINGTON (AP) — Top defense and military officials worked Wednesday to figure out what systemic personnel problems within the Air Force's nuclear missile corps have caused problems ranging from low morale to cheating and serious security lapses.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel gathered senior nuclear leaders from the Air Force and Navy for the first of a series of meetings on the issue, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
Officials are exploring whether there are cultural problems within the nuclear force that make crew members more willing and able to cheat on proficiency tests, Kirby said, the latest revelation in a growing morass of problems among the men and women who maintain and staff the nation's nuclear missiles.
The number of officers in the nuclear corps who have been implicated in a cheating investigation has more than doubled to at least 70, officials said Tuesday. That means that at least 14 percent of all launch officers have been decertified and suspended from missile launch duties.
All are at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., which is responsible for 150 Minuteman 3 nuclear missiles, or one-third of the entire Minuteman 3 force. The officials who disclosed the higher number spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the information by name while the investigation is ongoing.
Kirby said officials spent the bulk of the meeting discussing the breadth of the problems and how to begin solving them.
"I think the general consensus in the room was that we all need to accept the reality that there probably are systemic issues in the personnel growth and development inside the nuclear mission," Kirby told Pentagon reporters after the two-hour meeting with Hagel. "The secretary made it clear at the end of the meeting that he intends to do these on a regular basis."
The scandal is one aspect of a growing array of personnel problems facing the Air Force's nuclear missile corps. Hagel said last week he was determined to get to the bottom of the problems, which include poor morale, and find quick solutions.
The Wednesday meeting included the heads of the Air Force and Navy nuclear weapons organizations, as well as U.S. Strategic Command, which is responsible for nuclear war planning and for oversight of the nuclear forces.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the additional airmen suspected of being involved in cheating on proficiency tests are alleged to have participated in the cheating directly or were involved indirectly.
The Air Force announced on Jan. 15 that while it was investigating possible criminal drug use by some airmen, it discovered that one missile officer at Malmstrom had shared test questions with 16 other officers. It said another 17 admitted to knowing about this cheating but did not report it.
The 34 officers had their security clearances suspended and they were taken off missile launch duty. Since then the investigation has continued, and the number of those implicated has been growing.
The Air Force has 450 intercontinental ballistic missiles, or ICBMs, on alert at all times, with a contingent of about 500 launch control officers, some number of which are unavailable on any given day due to illness or other reasons. So the number temporarily unavailable for duty because of the cheating scandal is substantial. It was not clear Tuesday how that affects the mission, beyond requiring the remaining crew members to bear a bigger share of the work.
Each day, a total of 90 officers work in pairs inside 45 underground launch control centers, with each center monitoring and controlling a group of 10 ICBMs. They work 24-hour shifts in the missile field and then return to their base. They generally do as many as eight of these shifts per month.
The tests in question are designed to ensure proficiency by launch officers in handling "emergency war orders," which involve the classified processing of orders received through their chain of command to launch a missile. These written tests are in addition to two other types of monthly testing on the missile system and on launch codes.
The drug and cheating probes are being handled by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
A "profoundly disappointed" Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James, the service's top civilian official, told a Pentagon news conference last week that the alleged cheating at Malmstrom was discovered during a previously announced probe of drug possession by 11 officers at several Air Force bases, including at least two who also are in the nuclear force and suspected of participating in the cheating ring.
Malmstrom is home to the 341st Missile Wing, which is one of three ICBM groups. The other two are in North Dakota and Wyoming.
The cheating scandal is the latest in a series of Air Force nuclear stumbles. The Associated Press revealed a number of them, including deliberate violations of safety rules, failures of inspections, breakdowns in training and evidence that the men and women who operate the missiles from underground command posts are suffering burnout.
Hagel last week ordered a review of the problems inside the ICBM force and he has raised the possibility of reconsidering the way ICBM launch crews are tested.
"We have a pretty significant and tight and unforgiving test curriculum and regimen that I'm not sure doesn't need to be explored and examined in some detail," Hagel told a news conference Friday.
Follow Robert Burns on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP ; Follow Lolita C. Baldor at https://twitter.com/lbaldor


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Tyrone PettawayTampa Bay Buccaneers
Assistant Coach
Ht: | Wt:
News | Stats | Stat vs. Team | Targets | Injury | Depth Chart | Roster
|Buccaneers | Finalize coaching staff
Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:14:53 -0800
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hired Keith Millard and Grady Stretz as their co-defensive line coaches, and Tyrone Pettaway as defensive quality control coach Tuesday, Feb. 8, to finalize their coaching staff.
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|| Source: KFFL.com
|NFL | Pettaway works out at Pro Day
Sat, 01 Apr 2006 13:24:04 -0800
Gil Brandt, of NFL.com, reports St. Augustine LB Tyrone Pettaway measured a height of 6-2 1/2 and a weight of 237 pounds at his Pro Day. He ran the 40-yard dash with times of 5.03 seconds and 4.99 seconds. He measured a 33-inch vertical jump and an 8-foot-9 broad jump while completing 22 repetitions on the 225-pound bench press.
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Brief SummaryRead full entry
DescriptionThe relationship between people and harp seals is slowly changing. For years, newborn pups were killed in large numbers for their gorgeous white coats. That still happens, but tourists are visiting some of the haul-out sites where the seals give birth, inhibiting the slaughter and also providing an economic reason not to kill the pups. Harp seal pups grow at an astonishing rate on the fat-rich milk produced by their mothers. From a birth weight of about 10 kg, they bulk up to 35 kg in 10 days. This gets them ready quickly for an 11 month, 5,000 km swim to the far corners of their Arctic range and back again. Large groups swim together, leaping, rolling, and porpoising. Adults have a dark, harp-shaped pattern on their fur.
Mammal Species of the World


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275 members10 Likes
Louis has not received any gifts yet
Hi, I'm Mark, the founder of Tennisopolis, the world's largest and most active tennis network. Please share Tennisopolis with your friends by supporting our Facebook page. Click here for a Guide to Meet Tennis Partners.
Have a look at our introduction page which will help you navigate the massive network which now has over 40,000 members and 600 local tennis groups.
Friend me,
Mark, The Mayor of Tennisopolis
Hello Louis! I just sent you an email with my contact information
Here is the text of the email:
|"Hello, my name is Robert Doran.
If you would like to play some singles(or doubles) call or text me. 702-358-1353.
My days off of work are Tuesday and Wednesday.
I work Swingshift from 3pm till 11:30pm so my mornings are opened.
I live in the Northwest part of town near I-95 and Durango (Centennial Hills)
Right now I am part of a 3.0 league at the Darling Tennis Center(DTC) located of the Summerlin Parkway and Durango
We play our league matches Saturday mornings.
Wednesday night we practice at the DTC. Your welcome to come join us at 6:30pm. Just ask were the 3.0 men's team is practicing and they'll tell you what court we're on.
Have a good day
© 2018 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


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WORCESTER — A group of men, some who police say are known members of a Kilby Street gang faction, were arraigned Monday on charges they posted or disseminated sealed court records on social media to intimidate a victim in a shooting case. How the men obtained the sealed records remains under investigation.
Worcester Superior Court indictments charging the men with conspiracy were handed up by a Worcester County grand jury last week. Many of them are also facing charges or have been arraigned in Central District Court on charges of witness intimidation and abuse of grand jury records.
The dissemination of the grand jury records came at the time a Young Kilby Posse gang member had a juvenile court trial pending in a shooting case, which stemmed from an October 2010 assault on two rival gang members. The grand jury minutes posted online included information about one of those two victims.
"Information came to light to law enforcement that grand jury minutes had been posted on Facebook as well as on Twitter accounts and retweeted by a number of individuals in an attempt to intimidate that victim from testifying," Assistant District Attorney Terrance M. Reidy said in court. "This is a case that strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system. There is a victim who is terrified because of the alleged actions of these individuals."
One of the men grabbed in the investigation was Leroy Edmonds, a 19-year-old known member of the Young Kilby Posse. He was arrested Friday after Holden and Worcester police with a warrant searched 3 Quinapoxet St. in Holden and allegedly found drugs in the home. Also arrested was a male juvenile.
Worcester police were searching the home for evidence involving the leaked sealed juvenile court records, according to search warrant affidavits on file in Leominster and Worcester courts.
Court and police records show Darcelle Jenkins, a 39-year-old case specialist in the Worcester Juvenile Court, lives at the Quinapoxet Street address. She was also arrested on oxycodone possession charges after the Friday search. She was arraigned in Leominster District Court on the drug charges and released after posting bail. Leominster District Court records list Ms. Jenkins as the guardian of Mr. Edmonds, who was apparently sleeping in an attic room in her home.
Worcester police and the Worcester district attorney's office would not comment on whether Ms. Jenkins was under investigation in relation to the leaked grand jury records, stating they cannot comment on active or ongoing cases.
A state trial court spokesman confirmed Monday night that Ms. Jenkins has been fired from her job with the Juvenile Court. The spokesman would not say when the action was taken or provide any other details.
Ms. Jenkins declined to comment to a reporter Sunday while she was in the Holden Police Department attempting to retrieve personal items after her arrest.
During the arraignment of several of the men in court Monday, Mr. Reidy said a protective order was issued on all discovery information and grand jury minutes involving the 2010 shooting case in juvenile court. The order seals the records from being accessed.
"There was to be no copies, no dissemination of any of the discovery material on that youthful offender case. Copies of all discovery were to be retained by the defense attorney and not shared with his client, friends or associates," Mr. Reidy said. "There were also grand jury minutes and discovery material in the file at the Worcester (juvenile court) clerk's office that was also impounded."
On Nov. 6, Mr. Reidy called Worcester investigators to tell them grand jury minutes listing information about one of the victims in the 2010 shooting was on Twitter and Facebook. The postings were the same day as the shooting trial and the victim did not want to show up in court because of the posts, search warrant affidavits said.
The defendant in the shooting case ended up admitting to sufficient facts on Nov. 6 and his sentencing was continued until January.
Detectives captured screen shots of the postings, one calling the victim a rat. That Twitter post was allegedly done by Gregory Pierre, a known Kilby member and friend of the shooting defendant. Mr. Edmonds is accused of posting a portion of grand jury transcripts on Facebook and writing, "This what y'all wanted you got it."
The Facebook posting was shared by a group of other men. Worcester police describe Mr. Edmonds as a violent person who is committed to the state Department of Youth Services until he is 21, search warrant affidavits said.
Investigators seized paperwork, drugs, mobile phones and several other items in the Holden search. One notation states that investigators seized, "several prison letters and gang documents located in Darcelle Jenkins' bedroom."
Worcester police also searched 40 Upsala St., Apt. 3, the home of Mr. Pierre. Police described Mr. Pierre as a Kilby gang member and well known to Worcester police. Cellphones, a laptop and other electronic items were seized in that search, records show.
Mr. Edmonds, Mr. Pierre, 22; Quentin Jacobs-Hylton, 19; and Jordan Martin Rodriguez, 20; all of Worcester, were arraigned in Central District Court Monday on intimidation of a witness and abuse of grand jury records. They were also charged in Superior Court with conspiracy. All of them were held on various violations involving court matters. Bail was set for each at $20,100 cash and their cases were continued to Dec. 19. Not-guilty pleas were entered in the cases.
Mr. Reidy said indictments for conspiracy were reported out for a total of seven people in the case. One man was caught in Framingham.
Police Chief Gary J. Gemme said the allegations in the case are troubling, considering police work hard to have victims and witnesses come forward in violent crimes.
"There are a number of challenges for law enforcement investigating violent crime. Victims and witnesses are often fearful and reluctant to come forward with information and testimony that is essential to the investigation," he said. "Gaining cooperation requires building trust with the victims and witnesses and when you have a situation where grand jury testimony is leaked, trust is eroded and people are potentially put at risk. Without trust or faith in the system, the credibility of law enforcement is at risk, victims are fearful and reluctant to testify, the integrity of the grand jury process is compromised and ultimately justice is not served."


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After my studies, I apprenticed at "Days of Our Lives", which then afforded me a job at Columbia Pictures Entertainment as an in-house Interior Designer. Set Design was ingrained in my sensibilities and stands true today, that space, form and architecture are back drops to work magic with color, textures and materials."
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Victoria.FoundLocally.com - Claim Listing -
Claim This Listing to update the listing, as well as post events, news, jobs, and savings.
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MLK Day: Remember King's Defense of Moral Law
I'm Eric Metaxas. Today on BreakPoint we re-present Chuck Colson's commentary on Martin Luther King Day and Dr. King's dramatic defense of the moral law.
Christian Post Guest Columnist
I'm Eric Metaxas. Today on BreakPoint we re-present Chuck Colson's commentary on Martin Luther King Day and Dr. King's dramatic defense of the moral law.
The bumper sticker read, "I owe. I owe. It's off to work I go." Well, that's what many – including many Christians – think of work.
As this Father's Day approaches, I've been thinking a lot about my own dad, and how blessed I was to have him in my life. I was born during the Depression; by today's standards, I guess you'd say we grew up in fairly deprived circumstances. I just didn't know it.
We've all heard of wrongful death lawsuits, but can a doctor be sued for wrongful birth? Evidently, the answer is yes.
If you think today's world disbelieves in sin, think again. But just wait 'til you hear what it says sin isn't.
We know we will be asked what we think of homosexuality and so-called gay "marriage." So we need to prepare now for what we'll say then. If we are caught off-guard without knowing what to say, shame on us.
What do you get when ideology drives federal policy? Dangerous foolishness.
Want all the blessings of Christianity without having to hassle with a church? Well, it isn't possible.
How will the Supreme Court decide the Obamacare case? And what will factor into their decision?
A decorated American soldier has allegedly become a mass murderer. Why? How? Well, look inside your own heart.
Movies that deal with the sanctity of life are suddenly in the news. Two films delve deeply and fearlessly into an issue that the entertainment industry has rarely been brave enough to tackle.
"A fetus is not truly human," say advocates of abortion. Well, according to two pro-choice ethicists, neither is a newborn baby.
The media and the Administration don't want you to know, but most Americans oppose the HHS mandate.
The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has placed 36 commentators, yours truly among them, on its Commentator Accountability Project list. Their definition of "gay bashing" is skewed.
Can you imagine a campus Christian organization where the leaders aren't even Christian? Your university can!
How do emotions become mental disorders? Well, it depends how you define "mental disorders."
For the past year, Christians in northern Nigeria have been the victims of murder and ethnic cleansing by an al Qaeda-affiliated group named Boko Haram. The group, whose name means "book learning is forbidden," has pledged to kill every Nigerian Christian in its effort to impose Sharia on Africa's most populous nation.
Finally – some good news in the battle between so-called reproductive rights and religious liberty.
Name calling. It's just about the worst thing you can do in public discourse, as one prominent radio host proved.
We are witnessing a crime being committed before our very eyes. The Senate has desecrated the Bill of Rights.
Contraception from vending machines? Sometimes it's better when things aren't so convenient. When contraception is as convenient as sodas and candy bars, that's the sign that sexuality has not only been divorced from marriage and procreation.
If you fear America is becoming like Europe, fear not -- because it's too late.
Do the Communist Chinese have a bad case of "Linsanity?"
What should our leaders think about as they consider aiding the Syrian rebels?
Folks, do your college kids know that when it comes to faith, reason is on their side?


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Posted 10 October 2010 - 04:38 PM
Those of you who refused to join the fun: "Neenr-neener-neener!"
We had a great time:
Nice venue! Thanks Brad.
Nice Weather! Thanks unspoken person in charge of weather fronts.
Wonderful people! All of you.
Fun times. Terrific riding (so I heard) and great scenery. More food than we could eat. More "adult beverage" than could be consumed...believe it or not, some booze was brought home.
Enough! A few pictures for your visual enjoyment:
I love driving across the Sacramento Valley looking at the Sierras, knowing I'll be there in an hour.
I was passing this farm land and kept hearing strange voices saying, "Whe-e-e-ere's Baa-a-a-arry?"
Looking south from Hwy 88
Caples Lake
Downhill on the eastern slope of the Sierras.
Hope Valley. The deciduous trees are just beginning their Fall color change.
Topaz Lake
Yeah...I made it!
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Posted 10 October 2010 - 04:50 PM
Uberkul's toybox, toys and what would become
"Hello Christy and Julia!"
Some of the boys: Joe (Bugnatr Jr.), Doug (Bugnatr), Brad (Uberkul), Dave (FastJoyRide), Mike (Hycle) and Rog (Rogdeb).
Some of the girls: Terri (Better half of Hycle), Debs (Better half of Rogdebs), Jill (obvious better half of Silver Penguins) and "Siggy".
The silver Penguins, some of their toys & hauler. Andy & Zeus, Jill & Siggy.
Zeus listening attentively to Andy!
Bugnatr's heading to Hawthorne for some Father/Son riding.
Uh...Doug...you should have stayed with us....
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Posted 10 October 2010 - 04:56 PM
Posted 10 October 2010 - 05:11 PM
Kudos to Annie Oakley for sleeping with 3 men in her bedroom each night. Mmmm-mmmm-mmm!
Hey, Rog, smile!
Some of the group visiting and watching as the first evening approaches.
Uberkul's trailer to the left, Beemerdons' cabin straight ahead, Annie Oakley's
How many does it take to unload a KLR?
View North from our cabin's porch.
View South from the cabin's porch.
Our cabin...Yes, we're roughing it!
The FJRobs finally made it last night!
FJRob's breakfast table.
Phone Queen (Terri, Mrs. FJRob), the girls (Sorry, I've forgotten their names), Debs, Mike, Rog, Terri and FJRob's back.
Their was a rumor going around about FJRobs different sized balls. Then it was reported that they were the same size but TOO SMALL. I'll let Rob explain his way out of the dilemma.
Getting ready for the morning ride.
Uberkul-ette (Erin) showing how a lady gets ready for dirt riding.
Uhm...Barb (wannabe "dirty-girl"), please take note!
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Posted 10 October 2010 - 05:28 PM
Hycle (Mike) is riding Uberkul's DR650. A possible convert to the D/S crowd?
Head'em up...Mov'em out!
Since I wasn't riding I headed south on NV 338/CA 182 to Bridgeport and Bodie.
Here are some pictures from that journey:
Some dirt road driving.
Aaannndddd.....voila', there's Bodie.
The gold mine.
The brochure.
It's a fascinating place, maintained and preserved but not restored. There are only about 20% of the original structures left. The town was burned in two major fires: 1892 and 1932. You can Google "Bodie" for more information. The last resident, after the bust of Gold and Silver mining, left at the outbreak of World War II.
One of the buildings/intersections.
Future street rod?
Future hot rod?
Barn for Andrew....just because.
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Posted 10 October 2010 - 05:39 PM
Some photos from Saturday evening's "gala" at Uberkul's. Brad also took a number pf photos and I'm sure he'll post up.
I'll just say there was much fun and frivolity. This group is as much FUN to visit with as they are to ride with!
Dave sampling his great salsa.
beemerdons, Christy (Mrs. Uberkul, Julia (Uber-sister in law), Erin (Uberkul-ette).
Many hugs and good-byes.
Many more, "We ARE doing this again next year"s.
Keep your eye on the ride planning section for next year's event....you really shouldn't miss it!
My drive home (beemerdons left first...very early), then I left as most of the riders were headed out for a morning ride before loading up.
Easterm slope of the Sierras above Gardnerville.
Climbing up Hwy 88
Nearing Carson Pass.
They brought wagon trains through this terrain because it was an "easy" passage?
Fiddletown Road
Back in the "Golden State". The Sacramento Valley.
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Posted 10 October 2010 - 06:11 PM
I'm off to look at a hot pissin' WR250R tomorrow. Maybe next year!
Sign up for the Assistance List - www.assistancelist.com
Posted 10 October 2010 - 06:44 PM
Alaska calling to the imitation zone............
Posted 10 October 2010 - 06:50 PM
Sylvia and I took Mike's very scenic "shortcut" to Bridgeport then a very relaxing couple of hours down 395 and we're bunked-in in Bishop, CA for the night. Can't thank you all enough for including a couple of frostbacks in your fun. As the Govanator says: "we'll be baaack"!
SS1K - every WFO since 2004 (except 2010), CFR 2007, NAFO-1, CFR 2009, CFR 2010, WCR 2010, NAFO-3, NAFO-4; Red Lodge Rendezvous 2016; SEOR 2017
Posted 10 October 2010 - 07:15 PM
I think the theme might have been. "Wow, I've never done that before"
I will let the other folks fill in what they did for the first time.
For me, it was riding with a great bunch of folks in the desert.
Thanks Christy, you loaned me an awesome bike to ride and your husband to guide me.
Thanks Brad, your a great leader and riding coach. Your encouragement means so much, I didn't think I could ride that well.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein, physicist
Posted 10 October 2010 - 10:49 PM
Clicky here.
Welcome to the FJR Forum, where the truly twisted meet the merely insane! (El Cajone)
Posted 11 October 2010 - 02:50 AM
We missed you guys. Next year?
I can almost smell the burnt marshmallows
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Posted 11 October 2010 - 05:47 AM
Posted 11 October 2010 - 11:46 AM
Seth called "ALL ABOARD!" and we started our hour long train ride along the approach to Virginia City.
Passed the rail yards where they were servicing the steam locomotives; our loco was a diesel.
Lots of tunnels were required to complete the line from Carson City to the mining districts.
More of the Virginia and Truckee railroad locomotives and rolling stock; impressive restoration.
Entering Gold Hill, Nevada on the train; incredible the amount of gold, silver and minerals that were extracted here in The Comstock Lode.
Here is my Seth (13) operating a Gen 2 locomotive: I said "Son, stick with the Gen 1 one models in both motorcycles and trains; always the fastest"!
Posted 11 October 2010 - 11:49 AM
Thanks for posting up!
Although, I'm tempted to call BS on this thread.
This was an FJR gathering and Petey wasn't there?!? What's the world coming to???
Posted 11 October 2010 - 02:43 PM
Yes, yes, yes
Great report and pics MM. A good time was had by all.
I'll rustle up a few photo's asap.
BIG ... thanks to Brad for all his hard work, and the cool FODS banner.
WFO's 1, 2, 3, 5, & 6 -- CFR '09 :-).. SW-FOG 2011 in Taos
2003 FJR (Red Sylvie) sold :-( ..... after 13 fantastic years of ownership !
2015 CanAm Spyder RT-L (Black Sylvie)
Posted 11 October 2010 - 05:40 PM
I didn't get as many shots as I would have liked because I was too busy riding and visiting but there were a lot of cameras so it was well documented.
We had a friend show up in the tree over our camp spot.
Thanks Rob for letting us use your fire pit. I won't even mention your small balls or severed cable.
More to follow.
Posted 11 October 2010 - 05:53 PM
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world." -- Albert Einstein, physicist
Posted 11 October 2010 - 06:23 PM
Jill (Silver Penguin), Debbie and Andy.
Terri, Mike (Hycle) and Rob (FJRob)
FJRob wringing the the little TW200 out. I can't believe I actually got you in this shot with a point and shoot.
Bluestreek rolling at a pace he actually noticed me. I think he has a little Paris Hilton thing going with no camera goes unnoticed.
Andy (Mr. Silver Penguin) running the Vet-Expert plate on my, I mean his, sweet 2007 KTM 450 EXC ... but I'm not jealous.
And the one, the only pimp-daddy Roger (RogDebs) roll'in the desert wit da lovely ladies.
Jill and Andy after the speed run down Pine Grove Rd.
Andy on our bike.
Mike (MadMike) gets an honorable mention because he came hurt so couldn't ride but made us all happy by just being there. How great a guy do you have to be to just show up and everyone wants to be around you? It must be his deodorant! Mike thought I was shooting this for Easy Rider Magazine.
Missing Don and Seth as they bugged out at O-dark-thirty.
A huge thanks to all who came and made this gathering a success. An extra huge thanks to the Better Halves for letting their spouses come out and play motorcycle.
Posted 11 October 2010 - 06:28 PM


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October 2007
Reviews a journal supplement that compiles studies on drug-related HIV transmission, with a focus on injection drug use, in 16 different localities across the globe.
April 2007 Announces updates to research reports on MDMA/ecstasy and steroids and a new report on HIV/AIDS that provide the latest available information on drugs and drug-related topics.
March 2008 Presents an update on NIDA's Southern African Initiative, a program that aims to build research capacity and infrastructure in the area of addiction, particularly drug-related HIV transmission.
February 2013 Despite the advances in treatment and prevention, roughly 50,000 new HIV infections still occur annually in the Nation. Research, in large part supported by NIDA, has produced a strategy to address this circumstance and break the epidemiological impasse: seek out HIV-infected individuals, particularly those in "hard-to-reach" groups that have minimal contact with the health care system; offer them HIV testing and treatment; and provide support to help them stay in treatment.
December 2008 Reports on a randomized controlled trial of HIV-infected men and women who, as a result of receiving selenium supplements, experienced lower HIV viral load and greater CD4 cell count.
April 2013
Patients were more likely to take a rapid HIV test when substance abuse treatment programs offered the test onsite rather than referred for offsite testing. Patients were equally likely to accept and learn their HIV status whether the offer of onsite testing was accompanied by 30 minutes of risk reduction counseling or by 5 minutes of brief information on the testing procedure. Onsite testing accompanied by brief information was cost effective, taking into account the projected lifetime costs of treatment and the gains in health and longevity for detected cases.
December 2009
Reports finding from a study showing that access to antiretroviral therapies, HAART in particular, can improve the health of HIV-infected patients who have a history of injection drug use.
March 2014 Active drug use before incarceration was associated with decreased engagement in HIV treatment among HIV-infected jail detainees. The severity of drug dependence correlated with worsening measures of engagement in HIV treatment. The study concludes that evidence-based treatment for drug abuse in jails may result in improved HIV treatment outcomes, which in turn could help slow HIV-transmission rates in the United States.