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17 June 2010|
Written by Dave Pankew | Photos by RCH Designs and Derek Tall
When a type-A personality sets out to accomplish something, they don't let up until it's done. Case in point is Chris Bergemann, the owner of HorsepowerFreaks (HPF) who has been continually setting the bar for E46 M3 performance. For critics who may be wondering why Bergemann has bagged his second PAS Magazine cover in 18 months, the answer is obvious; this completely new car is every bit as visually appealing as the last one, but with performance that would embarrass his previous wild creations.
Recently, BMW reinvented the M3 with a new body design and V8 powerplant but at the same time HorsepowerFreaks in Portland, OR have reinvented the (2001-2006) E46 M3 with a completely new approach to power and style. The elaborate body kit was designed by Perry from Asuka Design to deliver a low coefficient of drag, plenty of down-force and stunning looks. Bret Bothwell and Mackin's Auto Body spent countless hours prepping, painting and installing this multi-piece kit. Everything from the front bumper to the rear bumper was painted with Standox paint including the roll-cage, engine, interior trim pieces and yes, even Bergemann's helmet. The insane graphics were designed by PSPEK and applied by Signs Now. To keep the rear of the car firmly planted on the ground, the rear wing was designed by Perry, the wing brackets by HPF and the lower diffuser by Karwerkz.
The car was stripped of several hundred pounds of excess weight thanks to HPF. Nearly 40 man hours were spent stripping the chassis harness of all non-essential items or swapping OEM stuff for lighter gear. Even with the added weight of the cage, wing, widebody and turbo kit, the M3 weighed in at a scant 3,127 lbs. With the driver in the driver's seat, the car now has near perfect 50:50 weight distribution.
One of the most important aspects of every car built for the track is traction and loads of it. HPF chose VIP Modular for their extremely strong and lightweight wheels. The 19x10 and 19x13-inch wheels were custom built and feature a gloss black lip and matte finish on the center. VIP Modular even etched the letters "HPF" directly onto each wheel. Wrapped in Hoosier R6 265 slicks in the front and 325s in the rear, all of the necessary traction is there. A Brembo GT Brake system ensures that any time the ride needs to comes to a complete stop it happens in a hurry.
The handling was critical to this track beast and the parts were chosen wisely. HPF selected the OS Giken differential for improved acceleration exiting turns and increased durability. A set of KW Variant 3 coil-overs were chosen which provide dampening and rebound adjustment and the UUC lower control arms were used to add rigidity and adjustability. HPF took chassis tuning even further and installed their own front under brace to tie the front suspension points together.
The entire chassis was dramatically stiffened with a custom gusseted roll-cage built and installed by Racetech Motorsports. The interior was stuffed with Sparco Circuit Pro race seats and RCI 5-point seat belts. HPF retained the factory dash and modified it to fit within the roll-cage constraints to keep the BMW feel. The steering wheel is a Vertex which easily disconnects from the Rothsport Racing quick release hub. To monitor engine parameters, this beast was equipped with an AEM fuel pressure gauge, AEM oil pressure gauge, AEM boost gauge and an AEM wideband.
Running the fully built HPF S54 engine, the block was bored and plateau-brushed using state of the art Sunnen equipment. It was then balanced and stuffed with HPF-spec pistons, rods, main studs, wrist pins, rings and bearings all done by M&B Cylinder Heads. The stock S54 heads flow so well, that HPF didn't need to massage or modify the head or even the cams, but it did require ARP L19 studs to clamp it down. The S54 utilizes dual VANOS technology that allows HPF to position the camshafts + or – 20 degrees for every rpm and every boost level, giving all kinds of timing adjustability along with the drivability of a grocery getter.
Bergemann's M3 was tailored specifically for the track with their stage 3 turbo system that makes over 800rwhp when the button is pressed and 650rwhp when the button isn't pressed. The HPF magic button is right by the steering wheel and switches maps when the driver wants an additional 150rwhp on those long straights to pass everything and everyone. To hold the power, HPF turned to JDM manufacturer OS Giken and their triple carbon clutch. The clutch handles all the power with ease. To enhance the look of the engine, an HPF carbon fiber engine cover was installed.
To feed the six-shooter, HPF installed twin Walbro 255lph fuel pumps in addition to the factory fuel pump. To maintain fuel pressure, AEM's high volume fuel pressure regulator was used which feeds fuel under pressure to HPF's fuel rail and into six RC Engineering 1200cc low impedance injectors. Okada Projects plasma direct ignition coils store up spark energy and NGK racing spark plugs fire the intake air charge for each cylinder. The boost comes from a Precision dual ball-bearing billet wheel turbo running an .81 A/R. The turbo spools insanely quickly, yet still flows enough to make 800rwhp surprisingly easily. This is achieved via computer controlled boost feedback through the HPF/AEM EMS system and the TiAL 44mm V-band wastegate. To vacate the intake system of pressure when the ITBs are closed, twin HKS Super Sequential BOV's were installed one directly in front of the intake manifold, and one directly after the turbo. To cool the intake charge a massive HPF intercooler was used which measures 24x12x4-inches with a 95-percent efficiency rating. All of this cool air is forced into the engine via the HPF flow benched "orange" intake manifold which equalizes air to all six cylinders. To keep everything tight under pressure, all of the silicon couplers were designed by HPF for precise fitment and they all utilize 5-layer silicone so the t-bolt clamps won't loosen up.
To keep the engine cool during long track sessions, HPF installed the Active Autowerke mechanical fan which utilizes a stiffer clutch as the factory clutched fan will often slip during hard abuse. They also wired the air conditioning fan to stay on once the car is started and left the factory fan shroud in place to improve air flow through the radiator. To keep the oil cool, they designed an additional oil cooler that runs in series with the factory oil cooler.
This M3 recently debuted at MFest 2010, and Bergemann plans to run it at several of the upcoming Time Attack events. He's even been taking people for ride-alongs (read: rides of terror) at the track in the passenger seat. Bergemann maintains that if you don't get motion sickness, this car is better than any roller coaster you might have been on. Our only question is where do we sign up?
Owner: Chris Bergemann
Location: Portland, OR
Vehicle: HPF BMW M3
Power: 800whp
HPF S54 inline-6 Turbo
HPF-spec: (pistons, rods, main studs, wrist pins, rings and bearings)
Engine build by M&B Cylinder Head
ARP L19 head studs
HPF Stage 3 turbo kit
HPF Intake manifold
HPF intercooler 24x12x4-inches
Precision dual ball-bearing billet wheel turbo
Walbro 255lph fuel pumps
RC Engineering 1200cc injectors
Okada Projects ignition coils
NGK racing spark plugs
TiAL 44mm V-band wastegate
Twin HKS Super Sequential BOVs
Active Autowerke mechanical fan
HPF oil cooler
HPF/AEM Standalone
HPF knock alarm
HPF magic button
OS Giken triple carbon clutch
VIP Modular custom wheels; 19x10-inch (f), 19x13-inch (r)
Hoosier R6 slicks
Brembo GT Brake System
KW Variant 3 coilovers
UUC rear control Arms
HPF chassis bracing
Asuka Designs widebody
Asuka Designs rear wing
Standox Paint
Bodywork by Bret Bothwell and Mackin's AutoBody
Graphics by PSPEK
Vinyl by Signs Now
Roll cage by Racetech Motorsports
Sparco Circuit Pro
RCI 5 point seat belts
Vertex steering wheel
Rothsport Racing quick release hub
AEM 52mm gauges (fuel pressure,
AEM oil pressure, AEM boost, AEM wideband)


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We have information you must know before you buy the Aspire.
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Launched last year as a replacement for the subcompact Festiva, Ford's little Aspire has been a modest success in a market segment - basic transportation - that is itself only modestly successful. After all, as long as the economy is good, roomier and more powerful cars are going to rule the road.
Although it is quite capable of freeway cruising and keeping up with traffic, no one could call the Aspire powerful. But, measured against other cars in this class, it's reasonably roomy and does have its appeal. It's well-suited for use as a second or third family car, with safety features that take some of the worry out of handing it over to younger drivers. And it's an excellent commuter vehicle - comfortable, durable and cheap to operate. The bottom line is also quite pleasing; the 3-door base we tested came in under $10,000, with air conditioning and an AM/FM radio.
Although the Aspire is a direct replacement for the Festiva and continues to be built in South Korea, Ford elected to go with a new name to reflect the car's greater versatility.
It's certainly bigger than the Festiva - wider with a longer wheelbase. And unlike the Festiva, it's available in both 3- and 5-door hatchback editions, both basically ovoid in shape for improved aerodynamic efficiency and reduced wind noise. The distinctly egg-shaped 3-door version might even be perceived as cute. It would be hard to say the same for the 5-door, but it's a good example of modern space efficiency.
All the Aspires have body-colored bumpers, grilles and side moldings, which we think comprise a more attractive treatment than the black bumpers that adorn basic editions of many other small cars.
Aside from the 3- or 5-door choice, there's only one model distinction in the Aspire lineup - a sporty SE version of the coupe. There's only one engine - an economy-oriented 1.3-liter 4-cylinder rated at 63 hp - the same engine that powered the Festiva. Although it's short on muscle, it has compiled an enviable durability record, and improvements to the Aspire version - self-adjusting hydraulic valve lifters, stainless steel exhaust system - make it tougher still.
Aside from two new clearcoat metallic colors - Silver Blue Mist and Teal - changes for 1995 are confined to revisions in option ordering, which is an area where a basic subcompact transportation car can quickly become as expensive as cars in the next size class. If you load an Aspire with every available option, for example, it quickly surpasses the cost of the bigger Ford Escort.
One unfortunate change in option availability is the elimination of a rear-window wiper/washer. Although the Aspire's aerodynamic design helps prevent back-window buildup, being able to give the rear view an occasional swipe in wet weather is nice.
Aside from comfort and convenience options, the only other choice facing a prospective Aspire owner is whether to go with the standard 5-speed manual transmission or pay extra for the 3-speed automatic. We usually recommend manual transmissions in small economy cars - for better fuel efficiency, better performance and less cost - and we particularly recommend the manual transmission here. Equipped with an automatic, this car's performance becomes downright sluggish.
Although it's a small car, the Aspire feels bigger inside than its exterior might suggest. there's plenty of front legroom, and the egg-shaped profile provides good headroom. Rear legroom in the coupe is tight, and rear seating requires cooperation from those up front. The 5-door Aspire is pretty good on this score - better than any of its key competitors: Toyota Tercel, Geo Metro or Hyundai Accent.
However, the Aspire's greatest advantage in roominess is its cargo volume. Both the 3-door and 5-door versions of this car have good-sized cargo holds behind the rear seats, and with those seats folded forward, both become spacious mini-station wagons.
Our test coupe was capable of swallowing 37.7 cu. ft. of assorted stuff with the rear seatbacks folded down, and the 5-door holds even more. However, a plus for the coupe is its flat load floor; the seats in the 5-door don't quite go down flush. Either way, though, extra cargo capacity is the key advantage of a hatchback versus a formal sedan with a conventional trunk.
The interior of our test car was nicely turned out with cloth upholstery, a distinct change from the vinyl that covers the seats in base models of some of the other cars in this class. The SE has a fancier grade of upholstery, but we think the basic grade is just fine, and it helps keep the entire cost of the purchase down.
The aspire's seating is well-padded and surprisingly comfortable for a car in this class. there's not much in the way of side bolstering, but then there's not much about a car like this that tempts - or allows - you to hurl it around corners.
Instrumentation falls into the bare minimum category - speedometer, fuel gauge and coolant temperature gauge. The only way you can get a tachometer is to step up to the SE version, which defeats the basic purpose of this car - reliable, no-frills transportation at the lowest possible cost.
The aspire's safety features measure up well versus its competitors. This was the first subcompact to feature standard dual airbags, although key competitors have since followed suit. Other elements include side-impact protection, child-security rear door locks on the 5-door and 5-mph bumpers. Anti-lock brakes, unfortunately, are available only as an option; this is true of almost all small cars.
Our Aspire coupe provided a pleasant blend of comfortable ride, adequate performance and no surprises. It's an easy car to drive, with light, positive clutch action and acceptable acceleration. Power steering is available only with the automatic transmission, but the effort is light enough, even at parking-lot speeds, that we don't view this as a serious flaw.
One negative control element that we noticed was the aspire's shifting, which was a little rubbery and not as precise as it could have been. Basically, it just takes some getting used to. The only real drawback to a car with only 63 hp is in passing on 2-lane highways, a process that requires planning and a long, straight stretch of road.
On the other hand, we were impressed by how quietly this little car went about its business. Like all small engines, the aspire's 1.3-liter 4-cylinder makes noise when pressed, but in ordinary operation, it's surprisingly subdued. Similarly, the aspire's aero shape and flush glass do a good job of keeping wind noise to a minimum.
Fuel economy is also a plus. We averaged 40 mpg in all-around driving, a very respectable performance and exactly what you'd want in a car whose primary reason for being is to keep expenses to a minimum.
Although it can't be called stark, the Ford Aspire is clearly a basic transportation car, and anyone expecting more from it will be disappointed.
With a 5-speed manual, the aspire's performance is good enough to get the job done, and you can expect bulletproof reliability from its powertrain, as well as durability from its bodywork. Ford set high anticorrosion and paint quality standards at the South Korean factory, and the rust-through warranty, 6 years/100,000 miles, reflects Ford's expectations in this regard.
Like all Fords, the Aspire is backed by Ford's 24-hour roadside assistance program in the unlikely event that something does break down - or the more likely event that one of your kids locks the keys in the car.
At this end of the automotive spectrum, little things like that count for a lot.

subset: commoncrawl


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Gavin Floydfree agent
Starting Pitcher | Ht: | Wt: 240
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|Blue Jays | Gavin Floyd has surgery
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 00:37:09 -0700
Free-agent SP Gavin Floyd (shoulder), who was released by the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, April 5, underwent rotator-cuff surgery this week.
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|| Source: Sportsnet.ca - Shi Davidi
|Blue Jays | Toronto parts ways with Gavin Floyd
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 10:08:11 -0700
Toronto Blue Jays RHP Gavin Floyd was released Wednesday, April 5.
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|| Source: Sportsnet.ca - Ben Nicholson-Smith
|Blue Jays | Toronto signs Gavin Floyd
Thu, 05 Jan 2017 10:48:45 -0800
Free-agent SP Gavin Floyd (Blue Jays) signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays Thursday, Jan. 5. The deal includes an invitation to spring training.
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|Blue Jays | Gavin Floyd to miss up to three months
Wed, 29 Jun 2016 04:24:02 -0700
Toronto Blue Jays RP Gavin Floyd (lat) has a tear in his right lat muscle, according to results of an MRI. He will miss anywhere from 8-12 weeks.
Fantasy Tip: That effectively kills Floyd's season, although there is a chance he could be back at the end of August. In leagues that use middle-relief and set-up help, feel free to drop Floyd in those formats.
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|| Source: The Associated Press
|Blue Jays | Gavin Floyd to the DL
Sun, 26 Jun 2016 16:15:42 -0700
Toronto Blue Jays SP Gavin Floyd (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder tightness Sunday, June 26. In a corresponding move, RP Bo Schultz was promoted from Class AAA Buffalo.
Fantasy Tip: Floyd has been stuck in a relief role all year, and unless he ends up as a starter at some point, he can be ignored in all fantasy leagues.
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|| Source: The Associated Press
|Blue Jays | Toronto could use six starters
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 17:03:52 -0700
The Toronto Blue Jays are entertaining the idea of temporarily using a six-man rotation, in order to limit the number of innings that SPs Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman will throw this season. SP Drew Hutchison, who is currently pitching for Class AAA Buffalo, is the most likely candidate to be used as a sixth starter, although RPs Gavin Floyd and Jesse Chavez (back) could also step into the rotation.
Fantasy Tip: Toronto's starters lead the majors in innings pitched (95) and the team is in the midst of a stretch where they play 29 games in 30 days, hence the desire to add another starter. Hutchison is worthy of consideration for AL-only and cavernous mixed leagues if he gets promoted. Manager John Gibbons views Floyd as a pitcher only capable of throwing one to three innings at this point and Chavez has been battling a sore back recently, so they appear less likely to be used in starting roles.
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|| Source: MLB.com - Gregor Chisholm
|Blue Jays | Aaron Sanchez cracks rotation
Mon, 28 Mar 2016 09:45:55 -0700
Toronto Blue Jays SP Aaron Sanchez has won a spot in the starting rotation, according to manager John Gibbons. Sanchez has a 1.35 ERA in 20 spring innings as the team's best starter, and he packed on an extra 20 pounds in the offseason to become more durable. SP Gavin Floyd will now pitch in middle relief. Toronto will manage Sanchez's innings, though, and it's unlikely he'll be in the rotation all year.
Fantasy Tip: Sanchez won't be as dominant as a starter as he was as a reliever, but his sinking fastball plays very nicely in the rotation, and he has plenty of upside as shown by his dominant spring. Sanchez's control can be an issue, but he should be firmly on your radar late in deep mixed drafts now.
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|| Source: The Toronto Star - Brendan Kennedy
|Blue Jays | Drew Hutchison to start in minors?
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 13:29:42 -0800
Updating a previous report, Toronto Blue Jays SP Drew Hutchison appears to be on the outside looking in for the competition for the fifth starting spot, and he's likely to begin the year at Class AAA Buffalo. SPs Aaron Sanchez, Jesse Chavez, Gavin Floyd and Roberto Hernandez will be the others competing with Hutchison in spring training.
Fantasy Tip: This race likely comes down to Sanchez and Hutchison, and whoever performs better this spring could win it. Sanchez has the most upside of the group, but concerns over home-run allowance and questions about his health should temper your expectations.
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|| Source: MLB.com - Gregor Chisholm
|Blue Jays | Gavin Floyd's role is undecided
Wed, 10 Feb 2016 17:15:28 -0800
Toronto Blue Jays SP Gavin Floyd will be stretched out as a starting pitcher during spring training, although the organization has not made a decision on whether he will start or relieve, according to general manager Ross Atkins.
Fantasy Tip: Floyd is worthy of consideration as a late-round flier in AL-only and cavernous mixed leagues if he cracks Toronto's starting rotation. If he winds up in the bullpen, he would likely be used as a long reliever and wouldn't have much value in any fantasy format.
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|| Source: VICE Sports - John Lott
|Blue Jays | Gavin Floyd financial details
Sat, 06 Feb 2016 11:03:35 -0800
Updating previous reports, Toronto Blue Jays SP Gavin Floyd signed a one-year deal with a base salary of $1 million. The deal also includes up to $1 million in incentives based on days spent on the active roster. He will receive $500,000 for 90 days and $250,000 for 120 days and 140 days.
Fantasy Tip: It is unknown whether the Jays plan to have Floyd battle for a spot at the back of their starting rotation during spring training or use him in relief, as the Cleveland Indians did at the end of last season. If he's used as a starter, he should be viewed as a late-round flier in AL-only and cavernous mixed leagues.
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|| Source: MLB Network - Jon Heyman


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With the U.S. equity markets closed for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the futures markets that are open are quiet. However, the MAR13 E-mini S&P 500 futures are indeed trading today, and they continue their bullish tone, trading up 3 points to 1482. The MAR13 E-mini Nasdaq is also trading up 5 points to 2738. We continue to believe the Nasdaq will approach our first upside target of 2900, possibly in Q1. The equity markets seem very bullish to us. Forthcoming U.S. economic data, such as key jobs and housing numbers will be important in the potential continuation of this trend.
The U.S. bond market continues to be in bearish to neutral mode, as the MAR13 US 10-year note is trading down 6.5 ticks today to 131'05. We believe the next major move for the US bond market will be to the downside, especially if the economic data coming out of the U.S. continues to be positive. Our next major downside target for the 30-year bond futures is 141, but if things really start to heat up with an equity rally, we believe the bonds could go much lower than that.
Crude oil has slowed down its geo-political induced rally from $86. In light holiday trade, crude is trading down $.41, now at $95.15. The markets can stay irrational longer than its participants can stay solvent. Thus the crude market feels like it could try to crush the shorts and rally a bit higher, even though there seems to be a fundamental consensus that supplies are actually plentiful and thus "should" make the market go down.
We focus more on the metals markets today, specifically platinum. Platinum has had a sharp rally to start of 2013, trading from $1,520 all the way up to $1,700. It's 2012 highs are at around $1,740. Today, after retracing a small amount of the rally last week, APR 13 platinum futures are trading up $5.60 to $1,679. We believe platinum could be the surprise market of 2013, as we detect it could rally much more from these levels.
We believe platinum will approach and then break 2012 highs, and possibly trade up to $1,900 by the summer. "Ideas that the 2013 annual platinum deficit will at least equal the deficit from 2012, an improving demand outlook for 2013 and the potential for a major supply disruption early this year are all factors which supported the recent surge higher," Hightower said (of the Hightower Report). With everyone focusing on gold and silver as the main precious metals to watch, we wouldn't be surprised to see people start to jump on the platinum bandwagon.
Click to enlarge.


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BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that money isn't the main obstacle to tackling Europe's high youth unemployment as she brought together officials from across the continent to discuss how best to get young people into jobs.
The heads of the 28 European Union countries' national labor agencies and their labor ministers met before Merkel joined French President Francois Hollande and other leaders at the chancellery in Berlin.
EU leaders have agreed to put aside 6 billion euros ($7.8 billion) starting next year, on top of other funding, to ease youth unemployment. How the money could be used will be one talking point, though decisions aren't expected until later this year.
German officials say that, adding in money from sources such as the European Investment Bank and other European funds, the total available to tackle youth unemployment in the short term is above 20 billion euros.
The conference is primarily aimed at comparing notes on what measures countries can take to bring down an unemployment rate among under-25s that stood at 23.1 percent across the EU in May.
The worst-affected countries, Spain and Greece, have youth unemployment rates above 50 percent; in Germany, the rate is just 7.6 percent. Those figures exclude young people studying full-time.
"Youth unemployment is perhaps the most pressing European problem at the moment," Merkel said in an interview with Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung and five other European newspapers published Wednesday.
Among other things, she said, Europe needs more flexible labor markets and more mobile work forces.
Merkel called for an existing European student exchange system to be extended to apprentices. Germany also has held up its "dual training" system, under which apprentices receive formal education while also doing paid work, as an example to others.
No new pledges of money are expected Wednesday. Merkel, who continues to insist that public spending cuts must be part of a mix of measures to restore Europe to growth and make it more competitive, said the problem can't be cured with money alone and that reforms are important.
"I don't think money is the problem right at the moment," Merkel told delegates as she welcomed fellow leaders to the conference.
"The problem is, how do we want to earn our money in future, how can we give young people an opportunity, how can we supply small and medium-sized companies with loans so that they can afford the interest," she added. "In a word: how can we get the economy going again?"


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Will Ben Kingsley's turn as the Mandarin live up to other great supervillain performances? (Marvel Comics; Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)Link
Lex Luthor, Gene Hackman, "Superman" (1978), "Superman II" (1980) "Superman IV," (1987) As played by Gene Hackman, Superman's arch nemesis is a wise-cracking, cravat-wearing con man who looks more like a car salesman than an evil genius. But he's still ruthless -- willing to kill millions of people (including his girlfriend's mother) to realize his real estate dreams. (DC Comics / Warner Bros.)Link
The Joker, Jack Nicholson, "Batman" (1989) In the late '80s and '90s "Batman" was synonymous with "Michael Keaton" for many moviegoers, and mentions of the Joker conjured images of Jack Nicholson dressed in a colorful ensemble with a pointed grin plastered permanently on his face. Nicholson's Joker was no less murderous than Ledger's, but he's more nuts than nihilistic. (DC Comics; Associated Press)Link
Doctor Octopus (Doc Ock), Alfred Molina, "Spider-Man 2" (2004) In the second installment of Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy, Alfred Molina takes a critically acclaimed turn as Dr. Otto Octavius, a brilliant scientist whose darker nature takes hold after his body becomes fused with mechanical limbs animated by an artificial intelligence. The limbs moved through a combination of CGI and puppetry and gave Molina's remarkable performance added weight – quite literally. The rig the actor was required to wear was quite heavy. (Marvel Comics; Sony Pictures)Link
Mystique, Jennifer Lawrence, "X-Men: First Class" (2011) The blue-skinned shape-shifter Mystique is an enigma in the many "X-Men" comic-book series -- changing sides and sexual preferences as easily as she changes her appearance. But as played by Jennifer Lawrence in "X-Men: First Class," she is a confused young woman battling feelings of jealousy and self-image. How her character will develop in "X-Men: Days of Future Past," due out in 2014, remains to be seen. (Marvel Comics; 20th Century Fox)Link
Gideon Graves, Jason Schwartzman, "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" (2010) What's not to love/hate about Jason Schwartzman's slick and smug Gideon Graves — the mastermind behind the League of Evil Exes that Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) must defeat if he wants to date the mysterious Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) in Edgar Wright's cinematic take on Bryan Lee O'Malley's fan-favorite graphic novels. (Bryan Lee O'Malley / Oni Press; Universal Pictures)Link
Loki, Tom Hiddleston, "The Avengers" (2012)
At once arrogant and insecure, Loki, as played by Tom Hiddleston, is a lost, damaged soul who believed himself to be a prince, and became enraged when he discovered he would never become king. "His destructiveness is motivated entirely by his spiritual desolation and the fact that he has nowhere to belong," Hiddleston told Hero Complex. (Marvel Comics; Zade Rosenthal / Marvel Studios)
More: Tom Hiddleston hopes for redemption in Loki
Red Skull, Hugo Weaving, "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011) Actor Hugo Weaving proved himself a convincing villain in the "Matrix" trilogy, where he played Agent Smith, a powerful program set on destroying Keanu Reeves' heroic Neo. In "Captain America," he portrays the Nazi Johann Schmidt, who is injected with an imperfect super-soldier serum that changes his head into a hideous crimson skull. He's not just evil, he's terrifying to look at. (Marvel Comics; Marvel Studios)Link
Magneto, Ian McKellen, "X-Men" (2000), "X2" (2003),"X-Men the Last Stand" (2006) Ian McKellen brought gravitas and a smoldering, powerful anger to the role of Magneto -- the mutant who can control electromagnetic energy with his mind. As a Holocaust survivor who has witnessed unspeakable horrors, Magneto is a villain we can sympathize with, which makes him all the more compelling. (Marvel Comics; 20th Century Fox)Link
The Joker, Heath Ledger: "The Dark Knight" (2008) Heath Ledger won a posthumous Academy Award for his portrayal of the Joker — a character the actor once described as a "psychopathic, mass-murdering, schizophrenic clown with zero empathy." Director Christopher Nolan has characterized Ledger's performance as "iconic," and there's no question that his performance remains a bravura tour de force. (DC Comics; Warner Bros.)Link
Catwoman, Michelle Pfeiffer, "Batman Returns" (1992) After her boss Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) pushes her out of a high-rise office building, the shrinking, bespectacled Selina Kyle comes back to life as Catwoman, who is perhaps not so much evil as she is unhinged. "I don't know about you Miss Kitty, but I feel so much yummier," she says after donning her shiny black cat suit for the first time. Meow. (Warner Bros.)
More: Tim Burton: Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman was purr-fection
When Oscar winner Ben Kingsley signed on to play the Mandarin in "Iron Man 3," he joined a legion of super actors who have brought serious chops to villainous roles in comic-book movies throughout the years.
In the "Iron Man 3" trailers, Kingsley's Mandarin is calm and possessed, like a Zen master of evil, as he orchestrates the destruction of Tony Stark's world.
"Ladies, children, sheep," he says in the first "Iron Man 3" trailer in a menacing intonation all his own. "Some people call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher. Lesson No. 1: Heroes. There is no such thing."
Iron Man Quiz: How well do you know Tony Stark?
But, whether Kingsley's performance will live up to the best supervillain turns in cinema history remains to be seen.
Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in "Batman Returns," for example, might be hard to beat. "… her performance in that was one of my favorite performances of anything by anyone in any movie that I've worked on," director Tim Burton told Hero Complex. "It was just the best. Really, I'll never forget her in that."
Then there's Ian McKellen, who brought the genius and smoldering anger of Magneto to life in "X-Men," "X2" and "X-Men: The Last Stand," and is due to reprise the role in Bryan Singer's upcoming 2014 film "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
And who can forget Heath Ledger's Academy Award-winning turn as the psychopathic Joker in 2008's "The Dark Knight"?
Above, you'll find our list of the top 10 supervillains from comic-book movies past.
In the comments below, tell us who we left out, who shouldn't have been included, and whether you think Kingsley will earn his place on the roster once "Iron Man 3" hits theaters May 3.
— Deborah Netburn
PHOTOS: 'Iron Man 3′: Trajectory of a superhero
'Iron Man 3′ trailer: The Mandarin shreds Tony Stark's world
Robert Downey Jr. clutches lady love in new 'Iron Man 3' poster


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Shipston on Stour
Morris Conferencing is a FREE, established, independent venue finder. We help organisations of all sizes find the perfect conference, meeting and event venues. We are unbiased and will also give you free expert advice on the best way to plan your event.
Whether it's the government or a large corporation's executives making very important decisions, the venue needs careful thought and vetting. Our planners can quickly source available venues anywhere in the UK and Europe that meet the exact specifications and criteria required. These venues can range from huge congress centre in Copenhagen to a small, intimate executvie meeting for 8 in London City – whatever your requirements, we have the right venue for you.
We have made arrangements in the past that involved total security being implemented on the site and a private switchboard and secure IT units being setup on site to deal with ten phone lines. Morris have laid on specialist high security transport and arranged everything in rooms and restaurants to be laid out to tight specifications.
Trust us to work hard to create the right environment for your most important meetings.
We take great pride in offerering our clients the VIP treatment, and we can help with confidential and political meetings – why talk to our office on 0843 289 7787 or email firstname.lastname@example.com
Call 0843 289 7787 now, successful conferences cost less with Morris!
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The defense for the Los Angeles Dodgers and former owner Frank McCourt has begun presenting its side in a lawsuit stemming from the beating of a San Francisco Giants fan in a Dodger Stadium parking lot after a 2011 game between the rivals.
Major League Baseball security expert and former Secret Service agent Bob Campbell testified Tuesday that the security he observed in the stadium was greater than any he had seen except for a presidential visit and the 2009 World Series.
Campbell testified after a defense motion to toss out the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was rejected by the judge.
The suit was filed on behalf of Giants fan Bryan Stow, who was left with severe brain damage. Two Dodgers fans pleaded guilty in the attack.


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There's nothing quite like a simple slice of butter cake. Be it pound or otherwise, sometimes I don't need any glaze or frosting to adorn my cake. The yogurt in this light pound cake provides a slight tang that is enhanced by the addition of lemon. I originally thought this cake would be more lemony but it was a very mild, delicious cake.
By the way, I baked my cake in a nonstick tube pan. Since my pan has a dark finish, I should have decreased my oven temperature by 25 degrees (from 375F to 350F), but I forgot. The edges of my cake came out very dark but didn't taste burnt.
Yogurt Cake
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temp.
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temp.
1 cup plain yogurt
Preheat oven to 375F. Butter and flour a tube or bundt pan.
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed.
Add lemon zest and beat for 30 seconds. Add lemon juice and vanilla and beat for 30 seconds.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
On low speed, mix in one-third of the flour mixture until flour is just incorporated. Mix in half of the yogurt. Repeat, ending with last third of the flour.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top is light golden brown. Cool for 30 minutes in pan then turn out onto a cooling rack.


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- Home
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- Bushnell H2O Series Binoculars 10x25 Camo Roof BAK-4 Boxed 130106
Bushnell H2O Series Binoculars 10x25 Camo Roof BAK-4 Boxed 130106
(You save $14.51)
Product Description
FULL TITLE:Bushnell H2O Series Binoculars 10x25 Camo Roof BAK-4 Boxed 130106The H2O 10x25 Compact Foldable Binocular (Camouflage) from Bushnell delivers higher magnification in an on-the-water compact housing. Waterproof with o-ring seals, the rubber armoring is textured with soft ridges to keep them in your hands and on board even when wet. Nitrogen purging inhibits fogging and condensation whether on the lake, canoeing on a river or blue water sailing. This is a compact, petite binocular with a closed folding bridge, multi-coated lenses and premium BAK4 prism glass that ensure maximum light transmission and clarity. Twist-up eyecups and a center focus knob supply comfortable, customized viewing no matter how drippy the environment. The roof prism design allows a lighter more compact experience. This glass leaves no excuses for not having magnification immediately accessible when that magic moment materializes out of the mists.
- AAoV of 65.1
- BAK4 Roof prisms provide bright, clear, crisp viewing
- Center focus knob is fast, accurate, intuitive and easy to access
- Twist-up eyecups for a comfortable fit with or without eye or sunglasses
- Roof prisms offer a smaller, lighter, sleeker architecture with fewer internal parts
- Non-slip, blue, rubber armor absorbs shock while providing a soft textured rippled grip
- Nitrogen purged and o-ring sealed for waterproof and fogproof all-climate performance
- Multi-coated optics on at least one lens surface reduces light loss and glare due to reflection offering a brighter, higher-contrast image
- Prism Type: Roof
- Magnification: 10x
- Objective Lens Diameter: 25mm
- Angle of View: 6.5
- Field-of-View: 342' 1000 yd
- Minimum Focus Distance: 15'
- Exit Pupil Diameter: 2.1 mm
- Eye Relief: 13.5mm
- Focus Type: Center
- Tripod Mount: No
- Weight: 10.2 oz
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text: Zoe Emma James is a 20-year-old model from Derby, England, who was recently hired as a ring girl for British MMA promotion BAMMA. Man, do those guys know how to scout talent or what? Get to know her better on Facebook and Twitter — where she describes herself as a "Yorkshire Pudding Fanatic and general all around Bad Ass" — and check out more of our favorite Zoe James photos in the gallery above. As usual, props to BabesofMMA for the tip!


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Huntington Harbour resident Andrea Espejo was enjoying her weekend in the backyard of her bayfront home when the commotion picked up.
"My boyfriend was down working on the boat when he heard a cracking sound," Espejo said. "That's when he saw the little otter about 20 feet away from him, just lying on his back, cracking mussels."
The two snapped photos and yelled across the bay to neighbors to come take a look at their furry friend.
"He didn't care about any of us making a bunch of noise," Espejo said. "He just kept diving and cracking shells."
Related: Scientists tackle otters' great white concern
The June 10 sighting was the latest in a series of local otter sightings since the critter was first spotted in the harbor May 20 and also made a few appearances at the adjacent Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge.
"We're examining the photos to see if it was a female, since they are more likely to stay in one place and create new colonies than males are," said wildlife refuge manager Kirk Gilligan, who noted the sighting as the first ever in the refuge. "It's pretty cool to see them getting back down here. I hope it's the first of many sightings."
For marine scientists, the sightings of southern sea otters past Santa Barbara's Point Conception are a welcome sign for a species on the long road to a slow recovery.
With a population once estimated at around 16,000, the southern sea otter roamed the Pacific coast from the Oregon-Washington border down to Baja, Mexico. The fur trade from the late 1700s to early 1900s was thought to have brought the animals with the plush pelts to extinction, but a colony of about 50 otters was discovered in 1938 in a cove near the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur.
"That's the core population of what we have today," said Lilian Carswell, a scientist at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specializing in southern sea otter recovery and marine conservation.
With the Fur Seal Act of 1911, sea otters were granted protection from trapping, and their listing as an endangered species in 1973 protected them from incidental or accidental take from commercial fishing operations and protected vital habitat locations. Over the past 100 years, otters have expanded from the Morro Bay area north and south, with the current population at 2,792, according to the 2012 U.S. Geological Survey.
But that expansion has been stunted by a strange compromise established in the 1980s between the commercial fishing industry and scientists.
In the 1970s, the slow, steady resurgence of the sea otter had scientists hopeful that the marine mammal would expand back into its original zone along the U.S. coastline, but commercial anglers had other ideas.
With California's coastal waters for years lacking one of its most voracious eaters, a glut of abalone, mussel, clams and sea urchins began to accumulate on the ocean floor.
The abundance of these shellfish – all of which are on a sea otter's menu – led to the creation of a lucrative commercial fishery, with giant fields of red abalone and other shellfish being harvested in Southern California for human consumption for decades.
With the fear of sea otters infiltrating their fishing grounds, a deal was struck between commercial anglers and scientists that would have future generations scratching their heads.
Triggered by concerns of what the damage of an offshore oil spill would mean for otters – whose pelts require constant grooming to maintain the dry inner layer – scientists began planning a relocation project that would transplant a colony of sea otters from Morro Bay to San Nicolas Island, nearly 150 miles away. There, the otters were expected to be safe from a regional oil spill that could threaten the entire population of the species.
Established in 1982, the program alarmed many Southern California fishermen, who feared the otters could swim from the island to the region's rich abalone fields, decimating their catch.
So, a "no-otter zone" was established that required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service to remove every otter that wandered south of Point Conception and return it to San Nicolas Island, or up to Morro Bay.
"They saw otters as this force, this juggernaut that was going to come down and wipe out their fisheries," Carswell said. "They hadn't seen any otters in Southern California for nearly 100 years, so there was a fear there."
Over the next 10 years, the plan proved costly and ineffective, as half of the original 140 otters transported to San Nicolas Island immediately swam back to California, and many others died due to the stresses of the capture-and-release process.
"It became increasingly clear how ridiculous the whole thing was – trying to keep sea otters in certain areas and out of others," Carswell said.
After two otters died during relocation in 1993, the program was suspended. Over the next 20 years, the Fish and Wildlife Service worked to establish a new plan that would put an end to the "no-otter zone," finally passing its Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement in December 2012 that allows sea otters to once again roam freely in Southern California waters.
Today, the San Nicolas-transplanted otters stand at a population of around 48 – with about half of the initial unaccounted for and the other half dead.
"We underestimated sea otters from the beginning," Carswell said. "We didn't think they could swim long distances over deep water, but they proved us wrong quickly at San Nicolas. Hopefully they make those long-distance runs and keep proliferating the coast if we leave them alone."
Contact the writer: 714-796-2468 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romania's president on Monday asked the current prime minister to form the new government despite a bitter feud between the two top officials.
President Traian Basescu's decision follows Prime Minister Victor Ponta's center-left governing alliance victory in Dec. 9 parliamentary elections. Ponta, whose coalition won 68 percent of the seats, has 10 days to appoint the new Cabinet that is expected to be approved by Parliament.
The enmity between the two men has poisoned the political atmosphere in Romania for months, a conflict that came to a head in the summer when Ponta tried unsuccessfully to impeach Basescu, a 61-year-old former ship captain. Romanians voted overwhelmingly to impeach Basescu, fed up with the combative nature of the leader in power since 2004. But the bid failed because of low voter turnout.
Before the elections, Basescu had said he was reluctant to reappoint Ponta, calling him "a pig," and "a compulsive liar."
European Union officials voiced concern that the feud between the two would bring more political turmoil, harming Romania's reputation and deterring much-needed foreign investment.
The EU and the United States criticized the government this summer for failing to respect the rule of law during the impeachment process. Ponta has admitted that the government "hurried" the procedure to oust Basescu on the grounds he overstepped his authority.
The country has been rocked this year by political turmoil and huge protests against government policies and tough austerity measures put in place to deal with the country's debt. Romania took out a €20-billion ($26-billion) bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 2009 to help pay pensions and salaries.
Ponta is Romania's third prime minister this year.


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Do You Realize Some of Your Issues?
We all have issues, and that includes you. We go through life with these issues, some of which become apparent to us, while others not so much. So the question is, do you realize some of your issues?
I doubt that any of us, on this side of heaven, will ever realize all of our issues. But we can't start to make progress until we begin to realize some of them. It is fascinating how these issues differ from one person to the next. Your issues are likely very different from the issues of people around you, and vice versa. Your upbringing, your propensities, and your choices are just some of the things that produce your issues.
There are some issues which are common to millions of people. The most prominent one is the sin of unbelief. It keeps a person in a box and a place of spiritual darkness, where there is no knowledge or acceptance of what God has done to provide the forgiveness of sins. This issue is the mother of all issues because it exists at the very foundation of a person's existence. There is nothing deeper within a man than his belief, or his unbelief, in Jesus Christ.
Then there are issues that exist whether you are a believer in Jesus Christ or not. Some of them involve the way you view yourself, or the way you view those around you. Other issues involve moods and tendencies. And some issues are related to temptation, and to strongholds that have formed in the past by giving into certain sins. We are certainly complex as human beings and when you combine everything we have in our mind with everything we have in our past, it can result in some pretty persistent issues that tend to hang on to a person whether he is a believer or not.
How well do you know yourself and your issues? What are the three biggest issues in your life related to God, and to your thought life and behavior? What issues tend to dominate your existence over and over and over again? Are you even aware of them, and if so, how are you attempting to address them? Have you tried giving them to God? No, really, have you?
Have your issues been much of a factor in your job performance? How about in your marriage, or in other relationships? That's the thing about issues they tend to crop up right in the middle of our relationships and our work. We can't escape them, but we can address them with God's power and wisdom. They can be contained, and sometimes even removed, depending on the nature of the issue. Either way, God's grace is available to help us all the way whether the issue persists or not.
That is one of the many wonderful things about our Lord. He doesn't throw in the towel on us or turn His back on us. He always remains with His children, even through our issues. When we get to heaven, none of us will have even so much as one issue. That will all be a thing of the past. But for now, our best approach is to ask God for the wisdom to recognize our issues and for the grace to overcome them by His love and power.
Sounds simple enough but as we all know, the devil is in the details. Let's ask God to be our strength in the midst of any areas where the devil or our flesh is getting the best of us. God loves to help us and He loves it when we are open to recognizing and admitting our issues to Him. How else would we ever realize our need for Jesus and His love and forgiveness?
God is greater than our issues so let's celebrate His greatness and His ability to carry us through this life and bring us to the day He welcomes us into His heavenly kingdom to a land without suffering, and a land without issues. Just the thought of it reminds us that these issues are quickly passing away. Oh the joy of knowing the One who has no issues, but only grace for those who humbly bring their sin and their issues to His cross and His open arms of love.


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Looking for a printed piece to spruce up your spring wardrobe? These staples with a statement-making twist from Asos's Africa collection are your answer. The London-based retailer turned to market-bought African lace (traditionally reserved for special occasions) to create sheer overlays and pretty paneling on billowy, basic-in-the-best-way silhouettes. Some pieces, like cool trousers, even take an attention-getting graphic turn by utilizing Kenyan monochromatic kanga fabric.
Click through to see our favorite pieces from Asos Africa!


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Peter_Frank wrote:
As I tried to explain - there is a reason why wavekites in generel (for the average weight rider that is) are not low end kites.
You dont want to ride too powered in waves, I agree.
But low end kites has less range than a tad bigger not-low end kites, thats a fact.
(I wont go into the physichs now, but many/most know or have experienced this)
So if you take a smaller kite, so you are powered "okay" when going straight out - then this kite will be much easier overpowered when going down a huge waveface with speed
OR, if you fly the kite down deep in or across the window - you have to follow the pull of the kite somewhat (with smaller kites / heavy winds especially), instead of having full freedom to make a curve or line "whereever" you want on the wave - because you dont have to follow the "string".
So the low end kite will generate huge amounts of more power when speeded up - that goes both for riding down wavefaces, as for flying the kite around in the window
The tad bigger kite with more range, can be depowered more, and has a softer way of pulling you, so even though these the 2 different kites gets you upwind the very same (same pull when going straight), you will be able to handle more speed much easier with the "depower" kite (the non-low end kite a tad bigger).
This is why wavekites are typically designed with bigger windrange and less low end
For freestyle or freeride you dont need this feature - but will usually prefer a bit or a lot more low end instead, so you can use a smaller kite that has a more steady pull, so this is the reason why there is a difference in these kite types, as simple as that
Of course there are huge personal likings and differences, so some light riders like low end kites in waves, and some heavy riders like depower kites - and personal riding style can also influence - but in general above is why wavekites are chosen/designed with more range and less low end, than other kites.
There is a limit, so too much depower is also bad (for the light riders too).
And as stated often, the heavier the rider, the more low end is preferred - to "feel right"
We are NOT talking about a similar kite size here, just different low end or non-low end kites with the same pull, choosing different sizes of course - this is important in order to understand this topic fully


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Frankly speaking, the good old emesene 1 was really awesome but a burden to mantain since it grew without following a precise path. It served our messaging needs since 2006 (who said girlfriends?), and it's been a long road since (Luis) Mariano first published his little project on teh internets.
Now, after two years of intense developing from scratch here comes the new version of our favourite (not-only) msn client; stabler, nicer, faster, stronger (?)
If you're an hardcore user, just download the emesene-2.11.4 tarball or zipball.
Windows user? The installer executable will arrive soon.
OSX Snow Leopard user can try this experimental dmg package.
As for GNU/Linux distributions, you'll find emesene-2.11.4 in Debian Testing and Ubuntu Natty Narwhal (enable natty-proposed repository), other distributions will probably come up to a solution on their own (hello Arch!). Let us know how you packaged emesene and we'll tell users!
Techy details, you won't need these in order to start chatting:
emesene2 design permits to keep the code clean and simple while allowing any sort of extension of the core functionalities.
As an example, please notice you can now also connect with Facebook Chat, GTalk or any other XMPP/Jabber network through the python-xmpppy extension. You won't have the same features you'll get connecting to the Live Messenger network, but if you can get your friends switch to a free(-er?) network, you can keep emesene (of course if you like it!)
Another example is that if you have python-webkit bindings you will get a really nice adium-like output for your chat, if not it will fall back to the default output implementation using gtk's TextView.
The nice thing about this is that you can write your replacement for any part of emesene (even the complete ui!) so if you don't like something, just override the default extension, load it, spread it, and if it's awesome enough we may include it. This allows a great degree of customization and to base discussions on working code, if some feature has more than one option then both can be available as extensions.
As for the Live Messenger network, the "papylib" extension will take care of it automagically through the great python-papyon library, the same as Empathy's (GNOME's instant messenger).
The nice bonuses of using this library over the usual self-made one are: complete p2p support, msnp18, great address book and msn profile handling. Being so widespread allows you, the user, to get the latest 0day fixes from your favourite distro (if you're using GNU/Linux of course) and new features as soon as we plug them into emesene.
The gui is done in GTK with pygtk, but ofcourse you can provide your own interface using
Enough said.
Happy chatting,
the emesene team


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CLEVELAND (AP) -- Tourism officials are hoping a rebranding effort in Cleveland will draw more business and leisure visitors and highlight the city's underappreciated attractions.
David Gilbert, chief of the city's tourism bureau, said Wednesday that the campaign seeks to "change the narrative about Cleveland as a visitors' destination."
The tourism bureau -- called Positively Cleveland -- is specifically targeting those ages 25 to 34 because they don't have their parents' hang-ups about the city and are most open to coming here to visit.
But they say the outreach will be spread across different age groups, from those who appreciate arts and culture to families who are drawn by the affordability.
The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer (http://bit.ly/1qYuujg ) reports that the campaign has spent nearly $2.4 million figuring out what outsiders think about the city.
Information from: The Plain Dealer, http://www.cleveland.com


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Turks protest Russian support for Syria's Assad
Turks protest in Istanbul, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of protecting Syrian President Bashar Assad during the 21-month-old rebellion. Turkey has been flooded with refugees from the civil war in neighboring Syria, and stray rocket fire into border areas prompted NATO to approve deployment of Patriot missiles to defend Turkey.
Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images
Copyright © 2018, The Morning Call


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Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, announced today that the new International Headquarters of his association of clergy, to be opened in June, will be dedicated to and named after John Cardinal O'Connor, Archbishop of New York.
Cardinal O'Connor, who ordained Fr. Pavone in 1988, and released him to be full-time director of Priests for Life in 1993, has been a major supporter of the organization from its very beginning. The Cardinal is recognized as the foremost Catholic leader on the abortion issue in the United States.
Fr. Pavone said today: "Although he is an Archbishop and a Cardinal, the greatest joy of His Eminence is simply to be a priest, and he is truly a 'priest for life.' Throughout my seminary years, listening to the Cardinal preach on pro-life issues clearly and compassionately was my best pro-life formation. He is responsible for so much of the success we have had at Priests for Life in the last seven years. The Cardinal has helped us every step of the way, both publicly and behind-the-scenes, and he deserves much of the credit for the enormous growth we have experienced. It is only fitting that we name our new building after him."
The association of Catholic clergy, whose mission is to train, motivate and encourage priests to effectively advance the Gospel of Life, started in California in 1991. When Cardinal O'Connor gave Fr. Pavone permission to take it over two years later, it immediately began to expand its outreach. Today, it has five full-time priests, 30 lay staff members, offices in New York, California, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Michigan, and Rome, a website that records over 200,000 visitors a month, and a global media outreach that includes television shows broadcast into 88 million American homes, radio programs on Catholic Family Radio Network and Vatican Radio, and a nationally syndicated pro-life newspaper column.
"Wherever I go in the world, people express to me their gratitude for the Cardinal's leadership," Fr. Pavone said. "The love and respect that pro-lifers have for him is truly inspiring. We at Priests for Life are honored and proud to be counted as part of his pro-life legacy."
The new International Headquarters of Priests for Life will provide for abundant office facilities for priests and administrative staff, as well as a warehouse for the organization's pro-life resources, multi-media studios, and a beautiful chapel. More information on the grand opening in June will follow.
"It is our greatest hope," said Fr. Pavone, "that the Cardinal's health will permit him to attend the dedication ceremony."


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"I take my tea bags with me wherever I go"
"I take my tea bags with me wherever I go"
The world's biggest pyjama party, the longest zombie fest … The Guinness Book of World Records is full of crazy things. One of the most recent entries is the world's largest gathering of people wearing party hats. In January, 2018, 621 school students came together in Wakefield, England, to promote the Young Minds charity.
Miami, Bali, Barcelona? That's where most people celebrate beach parties. Here are some ideas for a different experience somewhat off the beaten track.
Come on shore, it's party time! Where? Right on the beach in Máncora, a former fishing village in Peru that has turned into a hot spot for surfers complete with a rousing party every day.
Dirty sand, unruly revelers – Kuta Beach in Bali has an infamous reputation. But never fear, the tiny island of Gili Trangwan, Asia's own Ibiza, is only around 100 kilometers to the north and well known for its fantastic full-moon parties.
Most people associate parties on the Mediterranean with Barcelona, or maybe Tel Aviv. But Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, has been a well-kept secret for a long time. The parties there are every bit as spectacular as elsewhere, but without the rowdy crowds.
The Denver Art Museum, one of the most important art museums west of Chicago, turns 125 this year. Rembrandt: From Painter to Printmaker will be showing through Jan. 6.
Culture clash
The words Happy Birthday are always welcome, aren't they? Yes and no. Birthday traditions vary considerably around the world.
belated is bad
In China, it's bad luck to wish someone a belated happy birthday. You celebrate on or before the big day, but never afterwards. On your birthday, you're allowed to eat as many long noodles as you like, as they are a symbol of longevity.
sweet spoils
In Mexico, you celebrate your birthday with a piñata, a papier-mâché figure or decorated container filled with candy and hung on a rope. Birthday guests beat it with a stick until it breaks and releases its sugary contents.
everyone gets older
In Vietnam, no one congratulates you on your birthday or gives you a gift. Birthdays just aren't celebrated, and your age isn't important. Everyone turns one year older together at Tet, the Vietnamese new year's festival.


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Here's a quick update to let you know what's started blooming in my yard. The last few weeks have been very rainy, windy and cold here in NYC, so I haven't actively started gardening outside yet. However, many perennials are coming to life on their own-- check it out!
Hydrangeas (I wonder what color they'll turn out this year?)
Blueberry (I need to get a second one for pollination, last year my second blueberry plant was killed in the tornado)
Chives (I'm growing these indoors, too, to see if it works!)
Is anything blooming in your garden yet?


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There may be 82 Grammy categories, but don't expect to see more than 10 of them on Sunday's telecast of the Grammy Awards. Instead, the three-plus-hour awards show is more of a televised concert, and this year, Paul McCartney, Daft Punk, Katy Perry and Lorde are among the scheduled performers.
But if the Oscars brings more trophies to its live show, the Grammys packs more theater. The bulk of the Grammy awards are scheduled to be handed out Sunday afternoon during a pre-telecast ceremony that will be streamed starting at 1 p.m. on Grammy.com.
That means the big show, which airs tape-delayed on CBS at 8 p.m. on the West Coast, can carry that much more drama. Here are some story lines to watch.
FULL COVERAGE: Grammy nominations 2014
Will the Grammys get its groove back? Ten years ago, the Recording Academy introduced a Grammy for dance/electronica album. The category, in its short history, has yet to produce an album of the year winner. Buoyed by the summer hit "Get Lucky," Daft Punk's "Random Access Memories" could be the first, and the timing seems right. The Grammys have been making overtures to the dance community in recent years, most obviously in 2012 with a Deadmau5-anchored live performance. But "Random Access Memories" has something Grammy voters love even more than Adele: It sounds old-fashioned. Though its retro flavoring may be Space Age cool, "Random Access Memories," in fact, owes more than a little debt to the era defined by the soundtrack to 1977's "Saturday Night Fever," one of the few dance-centric albums to ever take the top Grammy prize.
So "Random Access Memories" is the album of the year favorite? Tentatively. It's still relatively rare for Grammy voters to stray from albums that aren't steeped in more organic sounds. Fans of breakout rapper Kendrick Lamar should note that it's been a decade since a hip-hop artist won top prize, and an electronic act may be seen as downright exotic. The populist choice would be Taylor Swift, whose critically well-received "Red" has sold close to 4 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, and who has already won album of the year with her 2008 effort "Fearless."
TIMELINE: Grammy Awards through the years
What's bigger than a glowing pyramid? Daft Punk's trophy count is not the only question surrounding the electronic duo on Sunday. Heading into the show, the act's set with Stevie Wonder, Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers is arguably the most exciting bill of the night. And although we know who will be onstage, we don't know what will be onstage. Will they try and outdo their famous Coachella pyramid? Will they scale down for more of a live-band look like they did in the "Get Lucky" video? Will we finally get an all-robot rhythm section? The duo has to tour someday (knock on wood and pray to the luck source of your choice), and this set will be the first look at what they're up to.
Will Grammy sever ties with Kanye? Kanye West was once a lock for an album of year nod. That all changed with his 2010 album, "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," a grisly, honest look into the mind of a superstar. Or maybe it was, to put it mildly, his lack of modesty that started to turn voters away. Regardless, "Yeezus" is the artist's second-straight solo album to be overlooked as an album of the year nominee. Even for West, "Yeezus" was a polarizing work, an album heralded for its riveting electronic beats but marred by off-the-cuff lyrics that struck many as misogynistic. It is nominated for rap album, but considering that it's competing against two album of the year offerings — records by Lamar and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, respectively — West's era as a dominant Grammy force may be nearing its end.
A genuine rap battle in the top slots. Speaking of rap, it's nice that the Grammys finally deigned to nominate two hip-hop acts for two major categories, album of the year and new artist. What's distressing, however, is that it's shaping up to be a bloodbath of competing rap virtues — the wise, fire-spitting Compton flag-bearer Lamar and the coat-swinging, goofball Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Neither of them needs the sales bump, but these contests will be crucial tests to see whether Grammy is more prepared to reward pop-radio ubiquity and soupy positivity, or something a little more ambitious.
What will be this year's train wreck of a performance? Grammy is famous for its 10-car collaborative pileups onstage. This year is especially rich in potential for watching the show through clenched fingers. Who decided that Lamar's live Grammy debut should be shared with the electro-jock-rock of Imagine Dragons? But Metallica's planned noodling alongside pianist Lang Lang and Robin Thicke performing with Chicago (what, was Huey Lewis & the News busy?) will give them a run for their cringe-watch money.
Might rock 'n' roll steal the show? Aside from the aforementioned appearance by Metallica, the Recording Academy has announced a grand finale featuring Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age, two of the genre's more reliably hard-hitting performers. Granted, there's many an atmospheric moment among Nine Inch Nails' cyber-punk aesthetic and Queens of the Stone Age's born-in-the-desert rumble, but at a time when Grammy voters are still nominating old Led Zeppelin works for rock album, expect the likes of Trent Reznor and Josh Homme to make their points loudly.
Will there be a breakout star? A Grammy show is not necessarily the place for music discovery, but keep a close eye on Kacey Musgraves. The new artist nominee is a star among the Nashville contingent — she tied with Swift for six nominations at the 2013 edition of the Country Music Assn. Awards — and with about 300,000 copies sold of her "Same Trailer Different Park" in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, Musgraves appears on the verge of crossover success. Musgraves, who is only in her mid-20s, looks at small-town values with a refreshingly skeptical eye, and her performance could reveal a Grammy fixture for years to come.
'The 56th Grammy Awards'
Where: CBS
When: 8 p.m. Sunday
Rating: TV-14-DL (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14 with advisories for suggestive dialogue and coarse language)
PHOTOS: Show highlights PHOTOS: Top nominees & winners PHOTOS: Red carpet arrivals
PHOTOS: Show highlights
PHOTOS: Top nominees & winners
PHOTOS: Red carpet arrivals


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PORTSMOUTH — Market Square was filled with holiday merriment and warmth, in spite of freezing temperatures, as hundreds lined the streets for the annual December parade.
A Saturday evening Christmas tree lighting sparked the celebration around 5:30 p.m., just before dozens of floats and marching bands passed through the Port City.
Tom Kozikowski acted as master of ceremonies for the evening, introducing interesting factoids about each float and group as they approached the center of the city. A wide array of community organizations were in full stride as the Portsmouth Police Department's K9 units and cadets marched through, along with the local honor guard. A COAST trolley rolled through town as Kozikowski thanked the non-profit organization for its service to the Seacoast area.
The Portsmouth Fire Department closed the parade with the one and only Santa Claus waving off the back of a fire truck.
Dozens of organizations and community groups strutted their stuff in the parade, including high school marching bands and color guards from Dover, Somersworth, Rochester, and Sanford, Maine, as well as the grade 4 through grade 8 group with Greenland Central School.
Durham resident Charlotte Dubravsky, 5, looked on in wonder. Following the festivities, she said Santa was the best part.
"My favorite part of the parade were the marching bands," chimed her 4-year-old younger sister Loreali.
Their parents Althea and Jared said they have attended the parade every year for the last five years.
"It's just so Christmas-y in Portsmouth," Althea said, with a smile.
Jermaine Gardner attended the parade with his 14-month-old son Jermaine, Jr. Gardner recently moved to the area from Louisiana and said the event reminded him of his home French Quarters Festival in New Orleans.
"It's just like this, except we don't have the snow," he said
His friend, Portsmouth native Eric Perkins, said he has never missed the celebration.
"I just like the holiday season," he said. "This really puts you in a good mood."
Float winners for the evenings were Custom Pools, with the Mayor's Award, who had a Grinch Who Stole Christmas themed vehicle, with Who-Ville characters from the Dr. Seuss story throwing water around in a heated, mobile hot tub. The Best Non-Profit Award went to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind; Best Community went Portsmouth High School's "Eco Club" and Best Commercial Entry went to National Wrecker Services.
Local shop owner Robert Wyrick, of Warner's Card and Gift Shop, said the parade has many benefits for the community as well as the local economy.
"It brings so many people to town," he said, noting the shop has been in operation with his family since 1984.
The evening was a gleaming success for those involved, with food pantry donations going to the Seacoast Food Pantry, the Salvation Army and Operation Blessing. Local Portsmouth students volunteered their time walking through the parade with shopping baskets used to collect donations from the crowd.
A filming of the parade will be aired on Channel 22 at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 8.
Holidays on parade Portsmouth celebrates season in style
PORTSMOUTH — Market Square was filled with holiday merriment and warmth, in spite of freezing temperatures, as hundreds lined the streets for the annual December parade.


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19 U.S. Code § 1707 - Repealed. Pub. L. 104–295, § 3(a)(2), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3515
Section, act Aug. 5, 1935, ch. 438, title I, § 7, 49 Stat. 520, required certificate for importation of alcoholic liquors in small vessels, provided for issuance of bond where liquor was destined for foreign port, and authorized penalties for failure to carry certificate unless lost, mislaid without fraud, defaced by accident, or incorrect by reason of clerical error or other mistake.
Effective Date of Repeal
Repeal of section applicable as of Dec. 8, 1993, see section 3(b) of Pub. L. 104–295, set out as an Effective Date of 1996 Amendment note under section 1321 of this title.
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


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- Parent and Family Programs
- Membership Levels
- Join the Parents Advisory Council
- Give to the Parents Fund
- Parent and Family Weekend
- Family of the Year Nomination Form (PDF)
- Honors College Parents Association
Purpose of the Parents Association
Western Kentucky University Parents Association serves as the official parent and family member organization. The Association links our institution and the parents and family members of current students. Its primary purpose is to support the mission of WKU Parent and Family Programs--to engage parents and family members of current WKU students as partners in ensuring student success.
The Parents Association achieves this purpose by:
- Directly connecting parents and family members of current WKU students to University administrators;
- Supporting Parent and Family Programs events and activities;
- Providing feedback and identifying and advocating needs and concerns of other WKU parents and family members to University administrators;
- Assisting the University in fundraising for the Parents Fund which supports non-university funded programs and student directed initiatives; and,
- Engaging in outreach activities designed to acquaint prospective students, parents,
and family members with WKU, promote Parents Association membership, and connect parents
and family members to each other.
Parents Association Constitution (PDF)
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210 Park Avenue #222
Worcester, MA 01609
CultureLEAP (Learning through Education & Arts Partnerships) formerly WAHEC (Worcester Arts and Humanities Educational Collaborative) is a coalition of cultural institutions, funding partners, and the Worcester Public Schools (WPS) that links students and teachers with the extensive cultural resources of Worcester County. By matching these connections to the curriculum of WPS, student learning experiences are expanded beyond school walls.
Our Mission
CultureLEAP seeks to encourage students, teachers, and administrators of the Worcester Public Schools to become lifelong learners and active participants in the cultural life of our city.
To achieve this goal, CultureLEAP will:
- Engage students, teachers, and the general public through outreach and collaboration;
- Raise funds to support CultureLEAP activities;
- Model exceptional arts-integrated education curriculum for both local and state government;
- Provide hands-on learning opportunities for teachers and students that are integrated into the curriculum of the WPS;
- Support continuing education programs for teachers and administrators;
- Create a community of life-long learners, engaged community members, and cultural partner supporters through these collaborative experiences.
About Us
The goal of CultureLEAP is to excite each and every student attending the Worcester Public Schools (WPS) about the riches available in their own community. Great learning is just outside their doors.
CultureLEAP's role is to make experiences with Worcester's cultural institutions part of the everyday lives of WPS students. We bring cultural partners and WPS together to enhance student learning. Our funding partners are the organizations and individuals who help make that happen.


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Parents want juvenile products that complement their busy, well-traveled lifestyles while providing sleek, contemporary styling, as well as safety and comfort for baby.
The Peg PeregoBorsa Mamma Diaper Bag is built to handle all the demands placed on it by active parents and their special cargo. The Peg Perego Borsa Mamma Diaper Bag is designed and produced in Italy, using the best quality materials to provide the ultimate in comfort, safety, ease of use, and fashion styling. These materials include luxurious, durable high fashions Italian upholsters that are plush, soft to the touch, and easy to clean.
The elegant and functional Borsa Mamma Diaper Bag is practical and full of accessories for your baby.
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Conjusted traffic of Manhattan.
Joy Rector 5/24/2012 5:07:07 AMwow, love this shot #1464834
Patricia A. Casey 5/24/2012 7:33:15 AMyes indeed.....NY NY.....a big smile on my face to know that I'm not in that traffic jam! Wonderful capture Tarun! #10148320
Tarun Bose 5/24/2012 9:50:52 AMThanks Joy & Patricia for lovely comments. #10148480
Husain Akhtar 6/5/2012 8:10:50 AMApple is embedded in US - excellent! I see that you are kicking around in US - Preety warmed me!
Tarun Bose 6/5/2012 11:28:33 AMThanks Hussain for lovely comments. #10169469
f/6.3, 1/320 secs, ISO 640, Lens 44-250 mm. Image captured from 33rd floor of a building on 56th street, New York. Here we can see the down traffic from Queensboro bridge. Category Monthly theme.
Exif: F Number: 6.3, Exposure Bias Value: 0.00, ExposureTime: 1/320 seconds, Flash: did not fire, compulsory flash mode, ISO: 640, White balance: Auto white balance, FocalLength: 250.00 mm, Model: Canon EOS REBEL T2i
Uploaded on 5/23/2012 7:00:08 PM
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Source: The Buffalo News
Coal plants planned shift to natural gas fuels energy debate
Posted: July 15, 2013
Originally Published: July 14, 2013
The massive coal-fired power plant that towers over Dunkirk harbor looks every bit like the giant industrial dinosaur that it is.
And if environmentalists get their way, it soon will be extinct.
They've joined in a strange-bedfellows alliance with the Business Council of New York State to resist a $506 million plan by the plant's owner, NRG Energy Inc., to convert the electricity-generating facility to natural gas.
The company says the move to gas is necessary for the plant to survive – and that it would cut the facility's carbon emissions, and thus its contribution to global warming, in half.
You might think environmentalists would like a plan that would end the plant's reliance on the dirtiest fossil fuel of them all, but you would be wrong.
And it's all because natural gas is so intimately tied to the environmentalists' version of the F-word: "fracking," the controversial gas extraction technique that's spurred an energy boom as nearby as Pennsylvania but that remains off-limits while New York continues studying its safety.
"If we continue to replace all the dinosaur plants with new and improved fossil fuel plants – natural gas – we are opening up New York State to fracking," said Lisa Dix, senior New York representative for the Sierra Club. "It's replacing one dirty fuel with another."
On the other side of the argument, though, you'll find both NRG and much of the Chautauqua County political community.
They note that NRG has said that if the Dunkirk plant is shuttered, power will have to be wired in from Pennsylvania or Ohio. And the power plants in Pennsylvania rely nearly five times as much as New York does on coal-fired power plants that are even dirtier than the one in Dunkirk.
"The power is going to come from somewhere," said Rep. Tom Reed, a Corning Republican who's a strong proponent of retooling the Dunkirk plant to use natural gas. "And when you rely on those coal-fired plants, obviously they're going to have to burn more coal that is going to produce more emissions that are going to impact our environment."
Both sides will make their case – and the public will have a chance to weigh in on the issue – at a public hearing at 6 p.m. tonight at the Williams Center, 280 Central Ave., on the SUNY Fredonia State College campus.
The state Public Service Commission, which will decide the proposal's fate, will conduct the hearing.
For many Chautauqua County residents, the issue at the hearing won't be so much about energy and the environment, but about economics.
Jobs, taxes and energy
That's because the Dunkirk NRG plant employs about 70 people with the prospect of creating more jobs, and is the largest taxpayer in Chautauqua County, the city of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk School District.
"This is a project that's critical to our future," Assemblyman Andrew Goodell said during a Friday news conference on the issue at Dunkirk Harbor. "This is an issue that can affect everyone across Chautauqua County. The deepest effect, of course, is right here in the city of Dunkirk where the impact and loss of tax base is roughly the loss of $1,000 for the average homeowner a year, forever."
NRG proposes keeping that resource going by tapping into a trend that's sweeping across the nation: converting dirty coal-fired power plants into cleaner natural gas facilities.
It's a move that has the strong support of President Obama, who views natural gas as a "transition fuel" that will allow the nation to cut back on the carbon emissions that cause global warming while eventually moving to green energy sources.
"Sometimes there are disputes about natural gas, but let me say this: We should strengthen our position as the top natural gas producer because, in the medium term at least, it not only can provide safe, cheap power, but it can also help reduce our carbon emissions," Obama said in his speech on climate change last month.
Obama's climate-change plan includes a crackdown on emissions from coal-fired power plants.
And while the Dunkirk plan underwent a retrofitting several years ago that made it much cleaner than its counterparts in other states, supporters of NRG's plan say there's no economically viable way to continue operating the plant with coal – meaning the transition to gas is a matter of survival for the plant.
NRG says there is more at stake, too.
"We think it provides a lot of environmental benefits ... economic stimulus benefits and tax benefits," said David Gaier, an NRG spokesman.
Power from Pennsylvania
For one thing, NRG says the conversion to natural gas would cut the Dunkirk plant's carbon emissions in half.
Environmentalists counter by noting that closing the plant would eliminate all of its carbon emissions.
But that argument doesn't factor in NRG's alternative for replacing the power produced by the Dunkirk facility.
A document the company filed with the PSC shows the replacement power coming from two transmission lines from the electricity grid in Pennsylvania. That state, though, gets 48 percent of its electricity from coal-fired plants, according to the Edison Electric Institute.
New York gets only 10 percent from the coal-powered plants.
That being the case, Reed said environmentalists should be supporting the Dunkirk plant's move to natural gas.
"When you have a clean source like natural gas that's available to us – and it's much cleaner to burn than coal – I don't know why we don't come together, the environmentalists and us, and say this is good," Reed said.
Seeking green energy
But to hear environmentalists tell it, now is the time for a move toward renewable sources and away from all fossil fuels, including natural gas.
They decry the proposed transition of Dunkirk from coal to natural gas as the fossil fuel industry's play to keep a foothold in the state, which would only delay the move toward green infrastructure and renewable energy.
"It's shackling ourselves to fossil fuel addiction for generations to come," said Brian P. Smith of the Buffalo-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment.
Smith said allowing Dunkirk to switch to a natural gas operation sets up an infrastructure that will be forced to chase a supply of natural gas for up to six decades into the future – only further inviting the spectre of hydraulic fracturing into New York State.
"What they are not telling us is this is 60 years of natural gas with volatile prices, with climate impacts and with sources issues including increased dependence on pipelines and fracked gas," said Dix, contending that fracked gas is rife with its own set of environmental problems, such as contaminated land and water.
"Are we going to keep a few jobs and continue to pollute our air and drinking water with dangerous fossil fuels?"
An alliance
Smith and Dix, along with other environmental groups, said decommissioning the Dunkirk coal plant – and the coal-fired Cayuga Plant near Ithaca – provides an opportunity for the state to take a lead in green and renewable energy technology.
"This is a critical juncture and a crossroads for energy decision makers in New York State," Dix said. "We really see Dunkirk and Cayuga as the first tests."
And that is how environmental groups are finding themselves in a rare position: allied with business.
The Business Council of New York State, citing the massive costs of reconfiguring Dunkirk into a natural gas operation, favors a plan National Grid outlined to improve the lines of transmitting electricity to enhance efficiency rather than updating the power plants to natural gas.
The council, whose hard initial stand irked leaders in Chautauqua County, has appeared to ease up on its position in recent days.
"We don't oppose NRG repowering Dunkirk, but we don't believe the PSC should mandate that the ratepayers become part of the financing," Gary Hughes, the Albany-based council's vice president of communications, said Friday. "We believe one of the drags on the upsate economy is the cost of power."
Todd Tranum, president and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, said the state's council misstepped by failing to understand that repowering is the private investment of "a half-billion dollars" that will create jobs and bolster the economy of the state's westernmost county.
"I don't think they thoroughly did the research they needed to do, or thoroughly vetted the issue with the community," Tranum said.
And it's no surprise National Grid, which transports the electricity rather than generating it, isn't bullish on revamping the plant in Chautauqua County, according to those in favor of repowering Dunkirk.
"They make more money shipping expensive power a longer distance," Assemblyman Goodell said. "This is like asking your trucking company what TV you should buy: the one across the road or the one across the country."
Costly green energy
As for the green energy like solar, wind and small hydro generators, the environmentalists contend these producers have made hefty strides in recent years. Renewable energy technologies are no longer "futuristic" models, they say.
It's why environmental activists like Smith, Dix and local Sierra Club chairwoman Lynda Schneekloth say this is no time to allocate hundreds of millions of dollars to the traditional modes of power generation using fossil fuel when resources could be channeled into continued development of green infrastructure.
"They're using a long-term solution, for a short-term fix," Schneekloth said.
Then again, advocates of the natural gas conversion in Dunkirk note that the energy produced by the retooled plant would be far cheaper than that produced by green technology.
And the U.S. Energy Information Administration agrees.
Its latest energy outlook shows that wind power will be at least 29 percent more expensive than electricity produced by the natural gas technology proposed for Dunkirk – and solar power will be more than twice as expensive.
Gas conversion reliability
Gaier, of NRG, said opponents of the natural gas conversion are missing some other important points as well.
Not only is the Dunkirk plant important for "system reliability" of the electrical grid as well as the Chautauqua County economy, but in addition, the new, repowered gas-fired plant as proposed would employ "combined cycle" technology, eliminating waste, Gaier said.
That technology, which is already widely used in industry, works like this: Natural gas is used as fuel in an engine, which spins a generator, creating electricity. Heat also generated in that process – which in older systems was wasted – is then channeled and used to create steam in another turbine, creating electricity there too.
"A combined cycle plant is very good for integrating renewable resources like solar and wind," said Gaier, explaining that when the wind stops or the sun goes down, this type of power plant can quickly ramp up to meet the demand on the grid lost by those renewables.
Add it all up, and Dunkirk's move to natural gas sounds like something environmentalists ought to support, backers of the plan said.
"This will be the cleanest, most efficient power plant in the state of New York," said Gaier.


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BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand on Thursday sentenced a man to two months in prison and a 6,000 baht ($185) fine in the first case to be concluded involving a protester against last month's military coup. The jail sentence was suspended because the man admitted his guilt.
A Bangkok district court found Weerayuth Kongkanatan guilty of violating a martial law statute making political gatherings of more than five people punishable by a jail term of up to one year and a fine of 20,000 baht ($615).
He had taken part in a protest by several hundred people in Bangkok on May 23, the day after the coup. Initial public protests against the takeover have faded in the face of the military's repression.
Weerayuth was tried in a civilian court, but the junta decreed on May 25 that future cases would be tried by a military court, with no opportunity for appeal.
"Today's guilty verdict in the case of a peaceful anti-coup protester in Thailand sets a dangerous precedent for freedom of assembly and contributes to the climate of fear under military rule," the human rights group Amnesty International said.
"While it comes as a relief that Weerayuth has not been jailed today, the verdict sends an alarming message that peaceful protest is not tolerated in Thailand," the group's Asia Pacific director, Richard Bennett, said in a statement. "This is likely to be the first in a series of planned trials of people who have voiced dissent against the army's rule. We're calling for it to be the last."


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Victoria, BC, Canada. Join this group to find tennis partners and let them find you too. Everyone welcome
Location: Victoria, BC, Canada
Members: 75
Latest Activity: Feb 16, 2017
Looking for hitting partners near James Bay, Oak Bay area.
I'm 4-4.5 player but open to meeting anyone of any skill level
Hi there,
Interested to find out more about your group, love to meet more local players and get a regular game each week.
I want a playing partner, I am a beginner. I live by Crystal Pool. I can bike ride to other sites.
I work 7 out of 14 days on a rotating schedule and can play on the same day every other week.
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Joe McQuaid's Publisher's Notebook: Dr. Stahl was a builder of his community
October 27. 2013 7:32PM
Community was mentioned more than once in the funeral service for Dr. David Stahl in Manchester last week.
You are bound to touch a few community points in 87 years but David didn't just touch them; he embraced them, inhaled them.
He was a dentist, at one time in practice with his dad, Sam. (I must be getting a bit long in the tooth myself, because Sam was my first dentist. I still smile when thinking of the elder Dr. Stahl.)
David's obituary didn't mention it, but I'm pretty sure that he was once an office boy at the Union Leader. David was very liberal in his politics and he spent considerable time, when my mouth was full of cotton and his fingers, telling me where the newspaper was wrong. It was tough to argue with him, but only because I couldn't talk back at the time.
It was tough, too, or perhaps impossible to say no to David. Even last year, he was proudly bringing international Harvard fellows up to learn about New Hampshire and our Presidential politics and he always had them stop by his local newspaper.
He was a proud Jew, involved in both Temple Adath Yeshurun, serving on its board more than once, and also on the statewide Jewish Federation and he had an encyclopedic knowledge of the history of Jews in Manchester.
He was a huge fan of and donor to the Currier Museum of Art and a supporter of individual artists.
He was among those who rallied to save and restore the Palace Theatre. His obit said he was "instrumental'' in the effort.
He might have appreciated the pun as he was also an accomplished pianist, starting as a little boy and playing ever since. His daughter remembers him playing at night, after coming home from work, as his children fell asleep to the sound of his one-man concerts.
His love for music led him to the Boston Symphony as patron and regular attendee. He supported the New Hampshire Symphony, the Manchester and state historical associations, and he was a founder of The Derryfield School in Manchester.
Every group seemed to be represented at his services.
David Stahl could be a difficult man. Those he considered fools, he didn't suffer gladly. He was a man who spent much of his life playing a vital part in some of the many pieces that, together, make a community and make it better. Manchester and New Hampshire were fortunate to have him.


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Claire Merry Gold Chronograph Watch
This gold watch went perfect with Claire's killer heels.
Claire Merry Strapless Dress
Claire sizzled at the Glamour Women of The Year Awards in this red cocktail dress with a fabulous train cut.
Claire Merry Platform Sandals
These gold Christian Louboutin Ulona sandals looked hot on the red carpet!
Brand: Christian Louboutin
Brand: Christian Louboutin
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Views: 737
For the cellulose and rigid I wouldn't worry about the foaming of penetrations unless they are big enough to have a blow out in the living space.
For the fiberglass and rigid, I think foaming the perimeter to seal off any leaks would be good, but probably nothing other than that.
Good luck out there.
Housewrap as your blowing barrier makes a lot of sense, though it's like wall papering a ceiling getting it in place!!
I dunno about the foam board. Where I come from (cold climate) that might work with unfaced EPS board. But If you use foil-faced Thermax, that leaves you with a vapor retarder on the cold side of the assembly, doesn't it?? Great idea in an A/C-dominant climate. But that's a really bad idea here in Wisconsin.
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Accounts and Logins
As a faculty, staff, student or alumni of WKU, you could have several IT accounts and IDs assigned to you that enable you to login to various computer systems, applications and online services at WKU. These accounts will typically have a username (login ID) and a password or PIN. It is your responsibility to manage and protect your IT accounts and login information. You need to become knowledgeable on how to use your accounts to login to the many online services at WKU and to change and reset your passwords and PIN.
For help you may contact the IT Helpdesk via phone at (270) 745-7000, Chat, Knowledge Base or Service Catalog.
Important Account Points
- WKUID and PIN -- The WKUID (800#) is your main identification number at WKU. You need to memorize it and your PIN.
- NetID Account -- The NetID is the "Universal" login account for accessing most WKU systems and
services. Examples of major systems and services you access with your NetID are:
- Blackboard (Ecourses)
- TopNet
- WKU Portal
- Computer Labs
- Wireless Network
- MyStuff
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