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SANTA ANA – Santa Ana has sued to place the long-abandoned Saddleback Inn property under a receiver who would see to it that repairs are made to fix what the city has for years contended are unsafe conditions.
Named as defendants are Saddleback Inn LLC, which holds a leasehold interest in the property on which the old inn sits, and the Elks Building Association of Santa Ana, which owns the 2.4-acre parcel on which the four hotel buildings sit. The parcel is adjacent to the Santa Ana Elks Lodge.
"The unlawful, dangerous and substandard conditions on the subject property substantially endanger the health and safety of the public, especially the citizens of Santa Ana living or working in the area," the suit said. "The city has attempted every feasible method to motivate and compel respondents and their predecessors to abate the dangerous and substandard conditions on the subject property. Nonetheless, the subject property has continuously and progressively deteriorated."
The lawsuit lists 23 problems that the city contends are dangerous. They include water damage, rotting wood, rusting metal, damaged walls, broken windows, vagrants and extensive fire damage. It listed violation notices that date to 1994.
Last year, fire caused extensive damage to a building on the south side of the property, turning it into "a significant hazard," the suit said.
A representative of the inn said that demolition of the fire-damaged building was expected to begin today.
An Orange County judge in April ordered Santa Ana to allow the owners of the long-closed Saddleback Inn the option to repair the property after the city ordered the once-popular inn demolished.
According to the suit, the owners of the Saddleback Inn admitted in a May letter to the city that they had not begun rehabilitation of the property or started work on a repair schedule mandated by the court. The city said it followed up with a letter in June reminding Saddleback Inn owners of their obligation to develop a repair schedule, citing the property's dangerous conditions.
After another inspection in September, the city issued a "repair or abate" order directing the owners to begin repairs within 10 days, with a 30-day deadline to complete them. Citing no significant progress, the city sued in Orange County Superior Court on Oct. 30 for appointment of a receiver. A receiver would take control of the property and work with contractors to see that problems are corrected through repair or demolition.
In emails sent during the summer, Kevin Jones, an attorney representing Saddleback Inn's owners and general counsel of J.K. Residential Services, said his client had been working with developers on a plan to turn the hotel into low-income senior housing, but that the city rejected the concept in a July 24 meeting.
"Since the city of Santa Ana has summarily rejected our planned use and is threatening a lawsuit for abatement, we have no option but to demolish the fire-damaged building," Jones said in an Aug. 7 email.
City officials said in July that the site, at 1660 E. First St., was zoned general commercial, as opposed to residential.
"The city was only asking for the plan that described what was going to be done and when," City Attorney Sonia R. Carvalho said in a July 31 email to the Register. "We received a response from Saddleback saying that they planned to explore the possibility of locating a senior housing project on the property. I told the lawyer that they were free to do that, but they still had to submit the plan and if they did not do so we would seek Council authority to file an action."
The hotel, which eventually expanded to 231 rooms, opened in 1964, becoming a popular Orange County gathering place. By the 1980s, it began a downward slide as a result of competition from newer hotels. It has been closed since 2003. According to news stories, the hotel operator is in a 55-year land lease with the Elks, due to expire in 2019.
Contact the writer: 714-796-6999 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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Over seventy students recently completed the year-long CT231 module in Professional Skills. For their final Digital Media Projects, students were asked to develop a resource for an audience beyond ...
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Natalie Brunzel's comment, March 12, 2013 7:27 PM
This really interested. Thank you for bringing the experiment to my attention. I love the quotes you have used in the presentation itself, I thought it highlighted the points you were making.
Paula Silva's comment, March 4, 2014 2:53 PM
Will you check this scoop? Thank you so much. http://sco.lt/5okJ17 It's for my research project.
Catherine Cronin's comment, March 26, 2014 10:46 AM
thanks for your comments, @Paula Silva. do you have students doing similar presentations/projects?
Grishma Chauhan's comment, April 8, 2013 7:53 PM
Wow, I got new way of looking at Maslow's Theory Thanks :)
Natalie Brunzel's comment, March 12, 2013 7:45 PM
You used really powerfull images that draw the observer in. I liked this presentation but do think I needed to hear you present it to get the full benefit. Loved the quotes :)
Natalie Brunzel's comment, March 12, 2013 7:40 PM
I really liked this presentation. Considering I wasn't there to see you deliver it tI still felt that he slides gave me a really good over view. It seemed really comprehensive. I have to say I would have liked to have some further information/throughts about slide 9 as this seemed really interesting to me. Great presentation.


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Throughout history, "statistician" has not typically been one of the sexier job titles. But now — thanks in part to Nate Silver, who correctly predicted the presidential election — that may be changing.
Although he's yet to hear anyone use "Wanna go home and crunch some numbers?" as a pickup line, MIT professor Erik Brynjolfsson says the field's allure is growing.
"Statisticians have become sexy just the way geeky Internet nerds became sexy in the 1990s, and I suppose investment bankers were in the 1980s," said Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Center for Digital Business. "Things that drive the economy give people power, and I guess that's sexy."
"There are over 100 billion Internet searches every month," he said. "That's a staggering amount of data. People like Nate Silver are now very much in demand because they have the tools for looking at all this data."
Indeed, a recent study by the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that the US will need between 140,000 and 190,000 more professionals with expertise in statistical methods by 2018.
The new heartthrob stature of statisticians was captured in the Nov. 19 issue of The New Yorker, in an imagined love letter to Silver, whose FiveThirtyEight political calculus blog runs in The New York Times.
"I can't stop thinking about how you study polls and create probability models and predict elections and how you're always right, which I think is so unbelievably cute," a fictional smitten 11-year-old wrote, "and I keep imagining you saying to me, 'Emma, I think that there's a 93.7% chance of me falling in love with you.' " (Paul Rudnick penned the piece.)
So pronounced was the post-election statistician bump, that the American Statistical Association put out a press release that both reveled in the field's high profile during the 2012 election — and pointed out that statisticians are enabling advances in other fields, too. Among them: medicine, economics, public health, agriculture, business analytics, law enforcement, and weather forecasting.
No mention was made of Boston's most famous statistician, Bill James, who coined the term "sabermetrics" to describe the specialized analysis of baseball through objective evidence. (The term is derived from an acronym for Society for American Baseball Research.)
As baseball — and Brad Pitt — fans no doubt recall, statistics got a pre-Nate Silver glamour boost when Pitt played the stats-using Oakland Athletics' general manager, Billy Beane, in the 2011 movie adapted from the book "Moneyball."
Meanwhile, with the International Year of Statistics just over a month away, in 2013, the statistical association's incoming president reflected on the field's change.
"People used to think of us as actuaries," said Marie Davidian, a statistics professor at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
You've come a long way . . . mathematicians?Beth Teitell can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @bethteitell.


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Dear Friends,
I feel I've been blessed to find myself involved in a monumental undertaking in my first few weeks in Sri Lanka. It seems that next May is the 2600th anniversary of the Buddha's enlightenment by Sri Lankan reckoning. In honour of this, Sri Sambodhi Viharaya and The Buddhist ( http://www.thebuddhist.tv ) are working with the government and sangha council to, among other things, start a 500-acre (may be an exaggeration) forest monastery for meditation training. As a part of this project, they will arranging the ordination of 100 bhikkhus at the Temple of the Tooth Relic in Kandy for the anniversary. I have been asked to participate in this, as one of the teachers for the new monks, and have been given permission to open the project up to international applicants. Details:
- Applicants are required to send a CV outlining both their experience in Buddhist study and practice as well as worldly study and work (send an email to yuttadhammo at gmail).
- A minimum anagārika period of one month is required before the ordination (earliest acceptance will be March 2011).
- The May ordination, in accordance with Sri Lankan tradition, will be, I am told, a sāmanera (novice) ordination, followed by upasampadā (full ordination) after 4-6 months.
- Applicants may be required to stay at the Sri Sambodhi Viharaya until enough space is available at the forest monastery, though there should be enough room for everyone by May.
- As it stands, the quota for foreigners is 5, but I imagine this can be stretched. Preference will be given, if we need to limit the number of applicants, to those who have experience in intensive meditation practice and/or involvement with forest monasteries (letters of reference might help).
- Bhikkhuni ordination is still not officially recognized by the sangha council, but sāmanerī ordination will be conferred upon request (and as I understand, bhikkhuni ordination can be pursued in Sri Lanka at a later date).
- Applications will be probably be accepted up until March or April, 2011.


text:
Yigal necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 33 diseños de 16 diseñadores freelance.
Strategic Commercial Partners, Inc.
This is a new Entity for us (Strategic Commercial Partners, Inc.). We have already secured our domain (http://www.StratCommercial.com). We (the partners) have over 85 years of experience in the finance field. We also ran a public company before the mortgage industry took a dive. We have come together and formed this company to help people in the commercial real estate sector obtain financing. As you well know, banks are not lending these days and getting a loan has become very difficult. You need a clear strategy in today's world in order to get a loan. That is why we call ourselves "Strategic Commercial Partners". Due to the extensive years in the field, we have strong contacts and connections that would love to fund loans and finance our clients.
Our target audience is people that own commercial real estate (shopping centers, gas stations, apartment buildings, car washes, etc.) and are in need of refinancing or in need of obtaining a loan to add square footage or remodel their current location. They are clients that have had difficulty obtaining financing on their own due to the current market conditions. They are in need of a company that can make things happen.
We need to convey a few things to our clients: Strong Presence in the Financial Industry, Ethical, Many Years of Experience, Stability, easy to talk to, and Great customer relations.
We want the website to be clean, yet have an edge that makes the visitors like to come back. Maybe some flash elements? Not sure. We don't want to look like all the rest of the "financial" dull websites. Need a little edge. Thank you.


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Mastering Elliott Wave Principle: Elementary Concepts, Wave Patterns, and Practice Exercises
176 pages
May 2012
By convention, most Elliott Wave Principle (EWP) practitioners focus on individual market price movement. Connie Brown has a global reputation of developing analysis that focuses on the integration of global markets. In a two book series you will be taken through the steps to master the global cash flows of today's financial markets. The approach found in this first book differs from the traditional view of EWP because it shows you how geometry and the use of simple boxes drawn within a trend will guide you away from the common complaint of subjectivity, thereby making smarter trades of higher probability. While EWP can be a challenging topic, the structure of this book eases you into the analysis principles.
With Mastering Elliott Wave Principle you are guided step-by-step through the learning phases of Elliott Wave analysis and then your understanding is further challenged through self-examination. The preliminary coaching unravels common misunderstandings that sabotage the beginner. You will discover how price swings and waves are not the same. Elements of balance and proportion are mathematical concepts taught through geometry and not subjective. These basic skills establish a foundation that allow beginners to understand what to expect from their level of skill. There are three distinct levels of skill that all masters of the EWP have learned. Now there is a series to guide your understanding at each skill level so you can develop a working knowledge of how to define market positions around the world in short or long term time horizons. Bring your biases, bring your past concerns and discover how this breakthrough and original approach to teaching the Wave Principle can help you.
- Traders, from beginners to advanced, can use this book to become proficient in the Elliott Wave Principle
- Contains practice charts to compare your understanding and skill level with follow-up discussions of how you may have differed based on the results from twenty years of coaching
Table of Contents
Introduction xiii
Why this Teaching Approach is Different xiii
Elliott Waves and Market Swings Are Not the Same xvi
Are Attributes of Balance and Proportion Subjective? No. xxi
CHAPTER 1 Using the Elliott Wave Principle to Evaluate Mass Psychology 1
Geometric Proportion in Market Data 2
CHAPTER 2 The Patterns That Describe Trending Market Movement 17
Impulse Waves Create Market Trends 18
How to Label a Specific Price Pivot 23
Using Fewer Bars to Represent Complete Impulse Waves 24
Working with Impulse Waves in Strong Trends 26
Termination Diagonal Triangles: An Introduction 35
CHAPTER 3 The Basic Patterns That Describe Corrective Market Movement 39
How to Examine Corrective Price Movement 40
A Zigzag Corrective Pattern 43
A Flat Corrective Pattern 49
An Expanded Flat Corrective Pattern 53
The Triangle Corrective Patterns 58
CHAPTER 4 Diagonal Triangles (Wedges) 67
Termination Diagonal Triangle Pattern 67
Leading Diagonal Triangle Pattern—Type 2 73
CHAPTER 5 A Summary with Study Flash Cards for Patterns, Rules, and Guidelines 77
Study Flash Cards for the Basic Patterns 78
A Summary of Rules and Guidelines 83
A Table of Degree Labels and Names 85
Beginner Level: Practice Examination 86
Beginner Level: Final Examination 95
Exercise Appendix 105
About the Author 137
Index 139
Author Information
CONSTANCE BROWN, CMT, is the founder of Aerodynamic Investments Inc. (www.aeroinvest.com). Connie trades for an institutional bank and offers research and analysis to financial institutions worldwide. She also trains other advanced professionals and hedge fund managers. The Market Technicians Association in New York has members in seventy countries. The organization selected her book Technical Analysis for the Trading Professional, Second Edition as required study for the final certification examination for the CMT (Chartered Market Technician). She has written nine books and was recently the editor of the Journal of Technical Analysis. Brown has been a professional trader with extensive global experience trading futures markets since 1991.
Buy Both and Save 25%!
Mastering Elliott Wave Principle: Elementary Concepts, Wave Patterns, and Practice Exercises (US $75.00)
-and- How Markets Really Work: Quantitative Guide to Stock Market Behavior, 2nd Edition (US $49.95)
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Message Board
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Talk about the novels, new and used books that Fister has written!
Author Fister's Book Reviews
On Edge
Dell, Dec 2002, 6.50, 288 pp. ISBN 0440231513 Konstantin Slovo just had to get away from the mess his life has become. A Chicago police detective, he and his partner were setup in a trap with Robin getting killed and Konstantin very badly injured. To make matters worse, Slovo's gun was missing from the scene of the crime and he is being investigated to see if it was his gun that killed his partner. Without asking permission, he leaves Chicago ...


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TRU. Brick and mortar. AT-AT $99.99.In front of the wife, which took balls.
Fett's a neat improvement, actually.
Quote from: Dressel Rebel on July 30, 2010, 02:25 PMTRU. Brick and mortar. AT-AT $99.99.In front of the wife, which took balls.Has she given them back yet?
Quote from: Jesse James on August 4, 2010, 09:49 PMFett's a neat improvement, actually.Crap I thought that one was a repack of Evolutions. What was the improvement on this version?
Finally scored Jodo Kast tonight. I had been checking five K-Marts everyday for this damn figure and tonight I went into a K-Mart and was helped by what had to be the nicest K-Mart employee I've ever come across. She offered to look through the stock room to find him for me and when she couldn't find him on her own, she offered to let me come back into the stockroom with her and help her look -
Dude, it sounds like next time you might want to stop, run, and tell someone you trust.Sounds like she stopped just short of offering you some candy to follow her back there.
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By Cody Willard
Cisco's a core holding in my Marketwatch Revolution Investing newsletter, which is available at http://marketwatch.com/cody. And it's also featured in my recent report at http://AppRevolutionStocks.com.
Barron's puts Cisco on their cover, saying the company's prospects and positioning are both strong and that it would helpl if Cisco paid a dividend. Barron's figures that if Cisco even comes close to its long-term objective of 12-17% growth, the stock should get back to its recent levels in the high $20s. A more paranoid analyst than myself might wonder if Barron's must be buying my reports and subscribing to my newsletter. Here's last week's Revolution Investing newsletter, published in its entirety, in which I detailed not just why Cisco should be headed higher, but also exactly how sophisticated investors should be trading it:
Maximize gains with as little risk as possible — sound like a good idea? It's what separates successful investors and traders from the losers.
We won't be right all the time, but we want to make sure that when we are right we get big payoffs, and that when we are wrong we won't have lost much capital.
Today I'll outline one of the ways I'd trade one of the new stocks in our portfolio in order to maximize potential gains while minimizing risk.
Let's talk about Cisco Systems, because I think that stock, and this strategy, is probably my single favorite trading idea right here right now.
Cisco recently took a bit of a hit after CEO John Chambers told Wall Street that government spending was slowing and the company was cautious about the next quarter. The stock has fallen from the high $20s to just below $20 a share now. With about $5 per share in net cash, Cisco shares now trade at a very cheap 8x next year's earnings, even as the company has plenty of fundamental growth and catalysts over the next couple years, in large part because of the scramble to add network capacity to deliver more content and more apps.
Even though for the last few weeks — as we've rallied some 30% from the summer lows — I've been scaling back our long exposure and adding to our shorts in the Revolution Investing model portfolio, I would look to be a buyer of Cisco right here, right now with a time horizon of two years or so.
I'd expect the stock to get back its 12-15x multiple and in a couple years, I'd expect earnings to be closer to $2.20 to $2.50 a share vs. the $1.84 estimate for 2011. That would give us a price target of at least the high $20s or even closer to $40 a share by the end of 2012.
Calls and response
Given that set up, there are two primary ways I'd play Cisco here.
First and easiest, I'd just look to buy some Cisco common stock and hold onto it for the next two years at least. But were I still running money, I'd probably be a little more sophisticated in my approach and I'd look at some slightly out of the money call options. Then I'd use just a small percentage of my funds to scale into those calls over the next few weeks.
Consider, for example, the January 2013 Cisco calls with the $20 strike price which would cost you $3.30 each right now. Knowing that I will lose every single cent if the stock doesn't get above $23.30 between now and 25 months from now, I wouldn't go crazy and I'd make sure to risk only a small percentage of capital on the trade.
It's not the first time I've employed this strategy. Back in 2006, Microsoft Corp announced that Windows Vista would be hitting the markets a few months later than expected, and the stock got crushed, falling from nearly $30 to just about $20 a share over the next few days.
The valuation of Microsoft fell to levels we hadn't seen before and the stock was trading at a single-digit enterprise value to earnings ratio, even as the company was positioned to see growth over the next couple years.
After months of having been aggressively long tech and catching some big gains in some specific stock names, I'd been selling off a lot of my longs and moving heavily to cash to get much more defensive and protect my recent gains. But with "Softee" trading so cheaply and with some strong fundamental catalysts and growth ahead of the company, I took a small percentage of my fund's money and bought some slightly out-of-the-money calls in Microsoft.
Here's what I wrote at the time about Microsoft:
"What I do know is this: I am paying about 8 times cash flow for this stock six months before a major new initiative with 90% plus gross margins hits a (still) healthy global economy. Yet I am hearing about how stupid I am from contributors (Yes, Alan, I can do high school math. I even use calculus when I evaluate stocks and markets — remember when everyone was talking about how the market had to top because the growth of the growth rate out of the recovery was slowing?) and emailers and blog commenters and friends and family.
"If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that my vision of Microsoft's fundamentals and stock price isn't going to be entirely accurate. But I do remember how much everyone beat the hell outta me when I was buying Apple at about $7 a share and explained at the time that:
"Now, we've been buying Apple and Apple calls when it was getting crushed off the Universal Music purchase rumors. And I like the valuation on this stock and the fact that every investor and trader to whom I mention that I own it says "What?! Why?!"
"Yes, I'm very, very long Microsoft right now.
"And I know that I'm about to hear and read: What?! Why?!" Read more about Microsoft in this archived blog posting.
Microsoft did indeed climb from those levels — eventually hitting nearly $40 a share — and I had huge returns for my investors with little capital exposure because I used those options. For example, I recall having paid about $2.50 or less for the $25.00 calls and although I started selling some of those calls what turned out to be much too early in retrospect, I sold the last of those calls for upwards of $10 each by the time the stock was over $35.
I want to finish by reminding you how risky buying out of the money calls can be. You will lose every cent on the trade unless the stock gets above the strike price ,and even then you will lose a big chunk of your money unless the stock climbs not just above the strike price of your option, but also above the premium you paid on those options. So be careful with the Cisco trade here. (Be careful with EVERY trade, EVERY time, of course.).
But I will tell you that since I added Cisco to the Revolution Investing model portfolio, all I've heard is: "What?! Why?!"
The calls I suggested in that Marketwatch Revolution Investing newsletter last week are already up 25%. I think they've got much more room to run over the next couple years and I'd be looking to scale into calls on any future Cisco weakness.
Cisco's a core holding in my Marketwatch Revolution Investing newsletter, which is available at http://marketwatch.com/cody. And it's also featured in my recent report at http://AppRevolutionStocks.com.


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The Case for Neutral Area Rugs
I love a nice, neutral wool area rug. Flat woven wool, preferably, but a thick tufted creation isn't out of the question. The problem is that my husband is always drawn to colorful, printed designs. And we're rug shopping in a major way: for a 9x12 in the living room. Let's just say it isn't pretty.
I've collected these images rather selfishly, in an attempt to make the case for neutrality. I feel like it's such a big purchase and something neutral will always work for us. It also sets up a serene foundation for the room, which is something we definitely could use around here right about now!
What's your preference when it comes to large area rugs?
Images: The Parker Palm Springs, Houzz, Mix and Chic, D. Stanley Dixon, House to Home
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text:
LONDON (Bloomberg) -- Now is the time to maximize the impact of OPEC's oil production cuts, yet the market is still waiting for the group's biggest member to show it's doing " whatever it takes" to eliminate the global oversupply.
OPEC's best chance to make a big dent in the lingering glut in the U.S., and with it reverse oil's three-year slump, lies in the remaining weeks of peak summertime demand. That's already become harder because of the resurgence in output from OPEC members exempt from cuts, while there are no signs yet that Saudi Arabia, the group's de-facto leader, is willing to cut as deeply as it did earlier in the year.
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Join NrgEdge and create your own NrgBuzz today
Things just keep getting more dire for Venezuela's PDVSA – once a crown jewel among state energy firms, and now buried under debt and a government in crisis. With new American sanctions weighing down on its operations, PDVSA is buckling. For now, with the support of Russia, China and India, Venezuelan crude keeps flowing. But a ghost from the past has now come back to haunt it.
In 2007, Venezuela embarked on a resource nationalisation programme under then-President Hugo Chavez. It was the largest example of an oil nationalisation drive since Iraq in 1972 or when the government of Saudi Arabia bought out its American partners in ARAMCO back in 1980. The edict then was to have all foreign firms restructure their holdings in Venezuela to favour PDVSA with a majority. Total, Chevron, Statoil (now Equinor) and BP agreed; ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips refused. Compensation was paid to ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, which was considered paltry. So the two American firms took PDVSA to international arbitration, seeking what they considered 'just value' for their erstwhile assets. In 2012, ExxonMobil was awarded some US$260 million in two arbitration awards. The dispute with ConocoPhillips took far longer.
In April 2018, the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favour of ConocoPhillips, granting US$2.1 billion in recovery payments. Hemming and hawing on PDVSA's part forced ConocoPhillips' hand, and it began to seize control of terminals and cargo ships in the Caribbean operated by PDVSA or its American subsidiary Citgo. A tense standoff – where PDVSA's carriers were ordered to return to national waters immediately – was resolved when PDVSA reached a payment agreement in August. As part of the deal, ConocoPhillips agreed to suspend any future disputes over the matter with PDVSA.
The key word being 'future'. ConocoPhillips has an existing contractual arbitration – also at the ICC – relating to the separate Corocoro project. That decision is also expected to go towards the American firm. But more troubling is that a third dispute has just been settled by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes tribunal in favour of ConocoPhillips. This action was brought against the government of Venezuela for initiating the nationalisation process, and the 'unlawful expropriation' would require a US$8.7 billion payment. Though the action was brought against the government, its coffers are almost entirely stocked by sales of PDVSA crude, essentially placing further burden on an already beleaguered company. A similar action brought about by ExxonMobil resulted in a US$1.4 billion payout; however, that was overturned at the World Bank in 2017.
But it might not end there. The danger (at least on PDVSA's part) is that these decisions will open up floodgates for any creditors seeking damages against Venezuela. And there are quite a few, including several smaller oil firms and players such as gold miner Crystallex, who is owed US$1.2 billion after the gold industry was nationalised in 2011. If the situation snowballs, there is a very tempting target for creditors to seize – Citgo, PDVSA's crown jewel that operates downstream in the USA, which remains profitable. And that would be an even bigger disaster for PDVSA, even by current standards.
Infographic: Venezuela oil nationalisation dispute timeline
In 2018, U.S. exports of crude oil continued to increase to 2.0 million barrels per day (b/d), up 846,000 b/d (73%) from 2017 (Figure 1). The number of destinations for U.S. crude oil exports also increased from 37 to 42. Volumes by destination changed significantly between the first and second halves of 2018.
The increase in U.S. crude oil exports was the result of increasing U.S. crude oil production and infrastructure changes. U.S. crude oil production increased 1.6 million b/d from 2017 to 10.9 million b/d in 2018, with the U.S. Gulf Coast—where more than 90% of U.S. crude oil exports depart from—producing 7.1 million b/d. The increased production is mostly of light, sweet crude oils, but U.S. Gulf Coast refineries are configured mostly to process heavy, sour crude oils. This increasing production and mismatch between crude oil type and refinery configuration causes more of the increasing U.S. crude oil production to be exported.
In early 2018, modifications were made at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP) in the Gulf of Mexico to enable the loading of vessels for crude oil exports. LOOP is currently the only U.S. facility capable of accommodating fully loaded Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCC), vessels capable of carrying approximately 2 million barrels of crude oil. After LOOP was modified to also allow exports, the increase in cargo scale led U.S. crude oil exports to surpass 2 million b/d for 25 weeks in 2018 compared with just 1 week in 2017. In addition to LOOP, other U.S Gulf Coast export facilities in and around Houston and Corpus Christi, Texas, have been investing in increasing the scale of U.S. crude oil export cargos.
In 2018, Asia was the largest regional destination for U.S. crude oil exports, followed by Europe, and, as in previous years, Canada was the largest single destination for U.S. crude oil exports. Canada received 378,000 b/d of U.S. crude oil exports, representing 19% of total U.S. crude oil exports in 2018. South Korea surpassed China to become the second-largest single destination for U.S. crude oil exports in 2018, receiving 236,000 b/d compared with China's 228,000 b/d (Figure 2).
However, the distribution of U.S. crude oil exports by destination varied significantly from the first half of 2018 to the second half. In the first half of 2018, the United States exported 376,000 b/d of crude oil to China, which made China the largest single destination for U.S. crude oil exports for that period. However, in August, September, and October of 2018, the United States exported no crude oil to China, and then in November and December it exported significantly less than in earlier months. In the second half of 2018, the United States exported 83,000 b/d of crude oil to China, a decrease of 294,000 b/d from the first half (Figure 3).
In the summer of 2018, as part of ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and China, China temporarily included U.S. crude oil on a list of goods potentially subject to an increase in import tariffs. At the same time, the difference between the international crude oil benchmark Brent and the U.S. domestic price West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures prices narrowed rapidly between June and July 2018. Brent prices went from $9 per barrel (b) higher than WTI in June to $6/b higher than WTI in July. The rapidly narrowing price discount of U.S. crude oils versus international crude oils and the potential for higher import tariffs caused Chinese buying of U.S. crude oil to slow.
Although U.S. crude oil exports to China slowed in the second half of 2018, exports to South Korea, Taiwan, Canada, and India increased significantly. U.S. crude oil exports to South Korea increased 247,000 b/d (222%) between the first and second half of 2018. U.S. crude oil exports to other destinations in Asia also increased, particularly to Taiwan, which rose 111,000 b/d (168%) in the second half of 2018 compared with the first half, and to India, which increased 86,000 b/d (97%) during the same period.
Despite the volume changes in U.S. crude oil destination between the first and second halves of 2018, the list of destinations has remained consistent over the past three years. Of the 27 destinations that took U.S. crude oil in 2016, the first year of unrestricted U.S. crude oil exports, 22 destinations did so again in 2017 and again in 2018 (Figure 4). Furthermore, few destinations appear to be one-time recipients of U.S. crude oil, other than those such as the Marshall Islands that were listed because of data collection methods and ship-to-ship transfers.
U.S. average regular gasoline price increases, diesel price falls
The U.S. average regular gasoline retail price rose nearly 8 cents from the previous week to $2.55 per gallon on March 18, down 5 cents from the same time last year. The East Coast price rose nearly 9 cents to $2.52 per gallon, the Gulf Coast price rose over 8 cents to $2.30 per gallon, the Midwest price rose nearly 8 cents to $2.48 per gallon, the Rocky Mountain price rose nearly 7 cents to $2.32 per gallon, and the West Coast price rose nearly 5 cents to $3.03 per gallon.
The U.S. average diesel fuel price fell nearly 1 cent to $3.07 per gallon on March 18, nearly 10 cents higher than a year ago. The Midwest price fell nearly 2 cents to $2.99 per gallon, the Gulf Coast price fell over 1 cent to $2.87 per gallon, and the West Coast price fell nearly 1 cent to $3.50 per gallon. The Rocky Mountain price increased nearly 1 cent, remaining at $2.94 per gallon, and the East Coast price rose less than 1 cent, remaining at $3.12 per gallon.
Propane/propylene inventories rise
U.S. propane/propylene stocks increased by 1.0 million barrels last week to 51.1 million barrels as of March 15, 2019, 6.3 million barrels (14.0%) greater than the five-year (2014-2018) average inventory levels for this same time of year. Gulf Coast, East Coast, and Rocky Mountain/West Coast inventories increased by 1.2 million barrels, 0.4 million barrels, and 0.1 million barrels, respectively, while Midwest inventories decreased by 0.7 million barrels. Propylene non-fuel-use inventories represented 12.1% of total propane/propylene inventories.
Residential heating fuel prices decrease
As of March 18, 2019, residential heating oil prices averaged nearly $3.22 per gallon, 1 cent per gallon below last week's price but 16 cents per gallon above last year's price at this time. Wholesale heating oil prices averaged $2.09 per gallon, nearly 4 cents per gallon less than last week's price but 8 cents per gallon more than a year ago.
Residential propane prices averaged $2.41 per gallon, less than 1 cent per gallon lower than last week's price and almost 8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Wholesale propane prices averaged nearly $0.84 per gallon, less than 1 cent per gallon above last week's price but 3 cents per gallon below last year's price.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly
Renewable generation provided a new record of 742 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2018, nearly double the 382 million MWh produced in 2008. Renewables provided 17.6% of electricity generation in the United States in 2018.
Nearly 90% of the increase in U.S. renewable electricity between 2008 and 2018 came from wind and solar generation. Wind generation rose from 55 million MWh in 2008 to 275 million MWh in 2018 (6.5% of total electricity generation), exceeded only by conventional hydroelectric at 292 million MWh (6.9% of total generation).
U.S. solar generation has increased from 2 million MWh in 2008 to 96 million MWh in 2018. Solar generation accounted for 2.3% of electricity generation in 2018. Solar generation is generally categorized as small-scale (customer-sited or rooftop) solar installations or utility-scale installations. In 2018, 69% of solar generation, or 67 million MWh, was utility-scale solar.
Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly
Increases in U.S. wind and solar generation are driven largely by capacity additions. In 2008, the United States had 25 gigawatts (GW) of wind generating capacity. By the end of 2018, 94 GW of wind generating capacity was operating on the electric grid. Almost all of this capacity is onshore; one offshore wind plant, located on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, has a capacity of 30 megawatts. Similarly, installed solar capacity grew from an estimated less than 1 GW in 2008 to 51 GW in 2018. In 2018, 1.8 GW of this solar capacity was solar thermal, 30 GW was utility-scale solar photovoltaics (PV), and the remaining 20 GW was small-scale solar PV.
Growth in renewable technologies in the United States, particularly in wind and solar, has been driven by federal and state policies and declining costs. Federal policies such as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 and the Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credits for wind and solar have spurred project development.
In addition, state-level policies, such as renewable portfolio standards, which require a certain share of electricity to come from renewable sources, have increasing targets over time. As more wind and solar projects have come online, economies of scale have led to more efficient project development and financing mechanisms, which has led to continued cost declines.
Conventional hydroelectric capacity has remained relatively unchanged in the United States, increasing by 2% since 2008. Changes in hydroelectric generation year-over-year typically reflect changes in precipitation and drought conditions. Between 2008 and 2018, annual U.S. hydroelectric generation was as low as 249 million MWh and as high as 319 million MWh, with hydroelectric generation in 2018 totaling 292 million MWh. Generation from other renewable resources, including biomass and geothermal, increased from 70 million MWh to 79 million MWh in the United States between 2008 and 2018, and it collectively represented 1.9% of total generation in 2018.


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Thirst for Knowledge
By Matt Hawkins
June 16, 2014
Alyssa Macuk '12 MS '14 quickly found her passion for mechanical engineering research on the Hilltop. Working as an undergrad with Dr. Kalyani Nair and as a graduate student with Dr. Shannon Timpe, she published several conference papers and two journal papers, with two more journal publications on the way.
That research agenda is competitive with the quantity and quality of work at the doctorate level.
"Her work has shown itself to be competitive with top scientists and researchers all over the world," Timpe said. "The fact that she is publishing four articles is amazing. The university should be very proud of her tremendously productive research activities."
An early conversation with Timpe sparked an interest in research for the once-hesitant scholar. That conversation, coupled with an internship at Lisle, Illinois,-based Navistar, led to a life-altering decision.
"I felt like if I started doing research it would change my life, and somehow it did," Macuk said. "I get excited about finding new knowledge, and that drives my passion for research."
She focused on nano and micro technology with an interest in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). MEMS are tiny mechanical systems incorporated into everyday computers, cell phones and other devices.
Broad research interests fueled her quest to understand the diverse sciences that converge in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).
"She is more concerned about understanding things than she is about the external rewards of her hard work," Timpe said. "She needed to understand the material and this 'attack mode' has helped her develop into a successful student and researcher."
"I love the connection of so many fields like electrical engineering and basic physics," Macuk said. "I definitely veered off the traditional engineering path, but more people will be doing that in the future because you have to have that knowledge."
She participated in Timpe's research group, which blossomed from a handful of students to more than a dozen graduate and undergraduate researchers. The group has produced scholars who continued research at prestigious schools such as Georgia Tech and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
The research group challenged her to grow both as a scholar and leader. Initially, she hesitated to touch lab equipment. Once she became involved with research, she quickly learned skills and knowledge to make things happen in the lab.
"To go from a student who wouldn't actively get involved in labs to the person who travel to the University of Illinois alone to work independently on multimillion-dollar machines was is a huge step," she said. "Being able to take these steps helped me gain confidence and realize that I was the only one holding myself back."
Macuk leaves Bradley with a job at Knowles Electronics in Itasca, Illinois, largely because of her broad research experience. At Knowles, she will continue her quest for knowledge as a member of a research and development group. The group will focus on MEMS microphone devices.
"My biggest career goal is to keep learning, growing and staying active in pursuit of knowledge and skills," she said. "I don't just want to get the right answer."
She wants to understand the answer.


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tls callback
Codegate 2011 CTF – Binary200 – Anti Debugging Techniques Explained
Published March 14, 2011 | By Corelan Team (fancy)
Again I stumbled upon a nice reverse-me, binary200 from the Codegate 2011 CTF.
And again there are some really interesting anti-debugging tricks implemented, so I decided to produce another video.
Continue reading →
Posted in 001_Security, Malware and Reversing, Video | Tagged anti, anti debugging, binary, binary200, bpexp, breakpoint, codegate, corelan, ctf, debugger, fancy, int 2d, ntglobalflags, ntqueryinformationprocess, peb, reverse engineering, reversing, seh, seoul, tls callback
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Holmes to edit Gilchrist on Blake
Submitted by rc-admin on
Gilchrist on Blake, a new edition of the 1863 Life of William Blake by Alexander Gilchrist, will be published by Harper Collins in August, edited by biographer Richard Holmes.
This is from the description on the Harper Collins Website:
. . . the first biography of William Blake ever written, at a time when the great visionary poet and painter was generally forgotten, ridiculed or dismissed as insane. Wonderfully vivid and outspoken (one chapter is entitled 'Mad or Not Mad'), it was based on revealing interviews with many of Blake's surviving friends. . . . Gilchrist adds detailed descriptions of Blake's beliefs and working methods, an account of his trial for high treason and fascinating evocations of the places in London, Kent and Sussex where he lived. The book transformed Blake's reputation.
Last spring the Guardian printed an excerpt from Holmes' introduction, which is available here.


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I'm looking for a developer to re-build my site from the ground up, and then stick around on an ad-hoc basis to add features/fix bugs/etc.
I am the owner of a large reviews website. The site has 20k+ members, 6k+ products, and 20k+ reviews. It receives over a million visits a month, and is my "full-time" job.
I built the site in 2006 as I was learning PHP. I started with the basics, then kept adding features along the way. My strategy was always "keep messing around with it until it works, then stop". Eventually I integrated (very sloppily) an SMF forum. Now it is a huge site that was hack-jobbed together over the years by a PHP amateur (me).
Bottom line is that the code is sloppy and outdated, and so is the layout. I'm too busy with sales and managing the community, so I need someone to completely re-built the website from the ground up, and also re-do the design (bring your designer in if you have one).
Project specifications:
- User system
- Reviews
- Datafeeds for affiliate product pricing
- SMF Forum
- Q/A system
- Built on custom PHP/mySql (no framework used).
- It is a super-custom site. Joomla/Drupal really doesn't make sense at this point.
- Tons of existing data (users, passwords, reviews, Q/A's, user reputation, etc.)
- Mobile site/Iphone Android apps also desired
- Expecting the project to take 3-4 months
- Expecting to spend $15-30k.
- I have a project spec that I can send to interested parties
Please let me know the following:
1. Your background in PHP/MySql (education, work history)
2. Hourly rate for odd-jobs
3. How many hours a week you will be putting into this project
4. Framework that you like to use, or none at all
5. Do you do the design as well or have someone you like to work with?
6. Examples of your work that are similar to this project (include URLs).
7. Your email address/skype. I'd prefer to get to know you through email rather than PM.


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Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes will be released on the Apple iTunes store on January 24.
The puzzle role-playing game, originally published by Ubisoft for the Nintendo DS in 2009, will now be playable on both iPhone and iPad compatible devices.
The iOS version comes roughly 18 months after Ubisoft released a downloadable high definition version of the game for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Steam on PC.
The story of Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes takes place 40 years before the Heroes V saga, with five heroes travelling across five different regions of Ashan to unravel a demonic plot and save the world from Chaos.
The game consists of 20 hours solo campaign, local and online asynchronous multiplayer, and touch controls from the Nintendo DS edition.
Launch trailer can be found below:


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The LSU Trademark Licensing program was developed in 1981 to protect, promote, and support the use of the LSU name and trademarks on products in the market place. This site is designed to provide information about the LSU Trademark Licensing program including:
how to obtain an LSU License
which companies are licensed to produce LSU products
which local retailers are carrying officially licensed LSU products
LSU Trademark Licensing
Louisiana State University
330 Thomas Boyd Hall
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Phone: 225-578-3386
Send Comments or Questions about this site to the Webmaster
Copyright © 2019. All Rights Reserved. Official Web Page of Louisiana State University.
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Sarasota Opera owns and performs in the historic Sarasota Opera House. The building has recently undergone a $20-million rehabilitation to restore the beauty of the 1920's theater, while creating an up-to-date opera house for the 21st century.
Need help finding your way to Sarasota Opera? Learn more about directions to get there and where to park.
2014 © Copyright Sarasota Opera


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Look, you're not going to get rich doing this. But if making some extra income per month would help, then this might be for you. Read on.
We have partnered with over 200 market research companies that are looking for panelists. We evaluate each company and tell you the specialty of each one, including their strengths and weaknesses. You will see our evaluation of each one in the members area (a free service to you). You will not actually take surveys on our site, but you will connect directly with each survey company. You will complete surveys for them and be compensated by them.
If you are the kind of person that enjoys giving your opinions about new products and services and getting paid for it, then you've found something you're going to really enjoy.
And the best part is that this service is NO COST to you.
Here's what it's all about. My name is Hailey Gates and I'm a stay at home mom of three young children. I have been making money taking surveys at home for several years. I just do it when I have some time throughout my day.
I've been doing this so successfully for a few years now that the Marketing Research companies want me to find other like-minded people who can take paid surveys at home. People like you.
When I first started in this business I had to pay $35 for a list of paid survey companies. But YOU don't have to pay that. I'm giving you the same list for free.
Here's how it works. Fortune 500 corporations spend millions of dollars per year with Market Research companies to try to find out what their consumers really want. That's where you come in. The Market Research companies send you surveys that you complete online right at your computer and then pay you for your time and effort. It's very simple.
You've heard of the companies that need your opinions. Companies like Apple, Ford, Starbucks, TGI Fridays, Calvin Klein, etc. Virtually every company that sells to the public uses market research in one way or another. And you might have heard of the Market Research companies as well: Nielsen (the TV ratings people), IPSOS, NPD, etc. We currently have over 40 Market Research companies in our members' area (you can see the top 20 here without registering). All of them want your opinions for their clients and they pay you for them.
Here are some of the things you will be doing:
- Getting paid to do online surveys
- Getting paid for answering phone surveys
- Previewing movie trailers
- Getting paid to try out new products (and getting to keep them when you're done)
Register at the top right of this page and I'll teach you the best way to get the highest paying surveys. I'll send you a complimentary email course over the next 7 days that will get you off to an amazingly fast start. Register now to see if there are paid survey opportunities in your area.
All my best!
Hailey Gates
How do I get paid?
When you sign up as a panelist for survey companies, they send you surveys for your demographic (your age, gender, marital status, etc.). You fill out the surveys and then they pay you directly, either by check, PayPal or gift cards (like Amazon or Visa).
Why would anyone pay me for just filling out surveys?
Market Research companies pay out millions per year for surveys to find out what people like YOU want. You will be helping to shape the products and services companies will bring to market.
What's in it for you? Why would you do this?
We like to be 100% upfront and honest and treat people how we would want to be treated. We get paid by the marketing research firms to find panelists for them. They value your opinion enough to pay us to find YOU.
What are the risks to me, the survey-taker?
We suggest that you carefully read the privacy policy of any "market research" company you are planning to sign up with. Many sites pose as market research companies but simply harvest whatever information you give them and resell it to other companies that spam you (and they actually tell you they are going to do this in their privacy policy!). We do not represent any of these kinds of companies. We only partner with authentic and well known market research firms.
How much can I expect to make?
That depends on how much you want to work. If you want to spend 20 minutes a day and make an extra $1000 a month, this isn't for you. It's going to require a greater time investment than that. You get out of it what you put into it, just like any other worthwhile venture. We find that you get several lower paying surveys in the beginning ($2 to $5) and once you show that you are a real person and are answering the questions responsibly, you start getting higher paying surveys.
How do I get started?
Easy. Just complete the signup form at the top of the page. We will match you with market research companies that are looking for new paid panelists.
Do I have to give my credit card info to anyone?
No. Not to us and not to any of the Survey companies we represent. Any Marketing Research company that asks you for money is not legit. You will not find any of those companies in our list.
What's the catch?
No catch. You get a free membership to Survey Money Machines and we connect you to the best paying survey companies online. And we don't just leave you there. We train you and give you all the ins and outs of how to maximize your earnings with online surveys.
Will I get rich?
No. And anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. You won't make millions of dollars doing this. It's just not that kind of opportunity. It's fun doing surveys at home and getting paid for it makes it even more fun. Simple as that.
Will you spam me?
Absolutely not. We hate spam and will never spam you. We will never sell or rent your email address to anyone. We stand by our privacy policy 100%. You can read it here. (By the way, there are other free paid survey sites out there that spam you like crazy and sell your information anyone who pays them for it--please read all privacy policies before signing up at any of those sites)
What are the requirements for me to be a panelist?
You need to reside in the U.S., Canada, U.K. or Australia (other countries are being added soon). You need to have a computer or tablet device and an Internet connection. You also need to be able to check your email regularly. In order to qualify for particular surveys, you will need to complete your profile with all relevant demographic information that describes your consumer habits. You will need to allocate time to complete the online surveys. Some surveys require 5 minutes or less, but more extensive surveys may require 20 minutes or more.
Three things make us different from everyone else:
- Our service is absolutely 100% free to you. We will never charge you. Most Paid Survey companies charge for their service (see proof). Why pay when you get the same information for free?
- We never sell your contact information to anyone. We hate spam as much as you do and we will never spam you,
or help anyone else spam you.
- You need to know that many websites posing as Survey companies simply blast you with "offers" that you end up paying for. We do not support or do business with any of those companies. And as far as we know, we are the only survey company that doesn't.
At Survey Money Machines, we match your demographic to market research events and panels that need your opinion and are willing to compensate you for it. This service is completely free of charge to you. We receive a small stipend when you register with survey panels, or when you take your first survey. You benefit by being paid handsomely for your time and feedback. It's a business model that works out great for everyone involved in the process. Thanks for signing up for SMM and we can't wait to see you in the members area.


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A dream of a new east-west corridor in northern Kane County is at least 18 months to two years away from being ready for bids on the work.
This year, Kane County plans to spend $3.4 million for engineering and design of the proposed Longmeadow Parkway.
Carl Schoedel, director of Kane County Division of Transportation, said he expects the design work to take 18 to 24 months. It's then that the county would be able to seek bids for the project.
But bids won't go out until 100 percent of funding for the project is identified, Schoedel said.
The county wants to pay for part of the parkway with a toll bridge over the Fox River.
Through tolls, both residents and nonresidents of the county would help pay for the road.
Kane County also wants to look into federal funding for the project.
"It's a huge undertaking for a local government," Schoedel said. "A project of this size is more typical for a state government undertaking."
About $9 million in federal money has been used for land acquisition for the project, according to an update fact sheet put out by the county. The county has about 60 percent of the land required for the $117 million parkway, Schoedel said.
Planners hope to build the road initially as two lanes, with hopes of widening it to four lanes as use of the parkway grows. The bridge would built so it could easily be widened to four lanes.
"The important thing is to make the connection ... from west of Randall Road to Route 62," Schoedel said.
The project – about 5.6 miles of new road in the Algonquin-Lake in the Hills-Carpentersville area from Route 62 to Huntley Road – is needed to relieve traffic congestion in northern Kane and southern McHenry counties, where during rush hour it can take 50 minutes to travel a few miles on Routes 62, 72 and 31, according to the Kane transportation officials.
The division of transportation estimates that more than 200,000 vehicles a day cross bridges over the Fox River from Elgin to Algonquin, according to its fact sheet.
The parkway also would improve accessibility to businesses in Algonquin, Carpentersville, East Dundee and West Dundee and increase desirability to shop in the downtown districts, officials said.
Kane County estimates there would be $100 million growth in equalized assessed property values along the Longmeadow Parkway corridor and that the corridor could create 12,800 permanent jobs.
Village boards of 10 area municipalities, including Algonquin, Carpentersville, East Dundee, West Dundee, Huntley, Hampshire, Lake in the Hills and Gilberts, have adopted resolutions supporting the bridge project.
Relieving traffic congestion in the area has been a priority in recent years. The widening of Rakow Road was completed last year and work began on the Algonquin Western Bypass, along with the widening of Route 31 from the Virginia and Klasen roads intersection to Rakow Road.


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Michel Cluizel
Friday, November 30, 2012
Eat with your Eyes: Michel Cluizel Bille
At the Michel Cluizel shop in Manhattan, I was enchanted by the look of these little chocolate spheres. Inside the chocolate and sparkly ones is dark chocolate and a little bit of crisped rice. The red ones are white chocolate inside. I loved the elegant holiday look.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 1:05 pm Candy • Christmas • Michel Cluizel • Highlight • Photography •
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Michel Cluizel 99%
For about six months I've been looking for the Michel Cluizel Noir Infini 99% bar. It's not that it's new, it just happened that the usual stores where I find Cluizel products were sold out of the bar.
I like the responsible size of it, it's only 30 grams (1.05 ounces) instead of the usual 100 gram size for Cluizel's large tablets.
Even though I declared this sugar free week, it wasn't until I was prepping this post that I found out that there is sugar in this bar. The ingredients are: cacao (99%), cane sugar, spices, cocoa butter & Bourbon vanilla. Honestly, with a list like that, I can't imagine it's more than a pinch per pound. The wrapper also explains the bar further: This chocolate with its long kneading process and extremely high content of cocoas, reveals deep and dense strains for connoisseurs' palate.
It is a lovely little bar, with a rich and deep scent of chocolate.
On the tongue the thin bar melts pretty quickly. Overall it feels a bit like a clay slurry ... not quite chalky enough to call it, well, chalky or dry. The vanilla notes are pretty strong, as is a bit of a green wood and black tea note. By the end I was getting mulch, vanilla grass, pecans, burnt hazelnuts ... all wrapped up in smoke and charcoal.
Though it was bitter, there was very little puckeringly acrid acidity that I get with other high cacao bars (I'll have a rundown of some of those tomorrow).
But not really a lot of fun. I was grateful that it was a small bar.
The other chocolate on my list of pursuits lately has been the Michel Cluizel Cacao Forte bonbon.
It's amazing what a difference it makes when the intensity of the cacao is reduced by just a bit. While this truffle has no added sugar, it is a ganche and contains butter and/or heavy cream. So while the chocolate is 99%, the truffle itself is not.
The ganache is soft and melts quickly. The lighter berry & fruit notes come out much better, the bitterness is nearly gone and the finish, though dry is not acrid or acidic. But it feels thin in flavor, and I've tried quite a few Cluizel chocolates, so I know I can do better.
After eating the straight chocolate, the bonbon is a relief and seems almost sweet by comparison. But if you have this in a box and have been eating Champignon Caramel or Madagascar Dark Chocolate Ganache it will be jarring.
These pieces feel like exercises, like some single origin bars that give us the sense that it's great that so many chocolate makers blend beans to give us a consistent and appealing flavor profile. I appreciate them, I grant that they have the right to exist, but I don't care to eat them again.
As for the aspect that they're free of added sugar (effectively), they're not a low calorie food. Chocolate has oodles of fat in it and the bar comes in at 151 calories per ounce and less than a gram of carbs. (I don't know what the bonbon is, but I'll guess it's even higher in fat.) However, if you're looking for a chocolate punch that won't raise your blood sugar level (and dark chocolate has been shown to lower insulin resistance, lower blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol levels, blah blah) this is an interesting "theraputic" option that's probably cheaper than many other medical alternatives. It's also just an interesting excercise all chocophiles should experience. The Noir Infini tasting square can be found in Cluizel assortments, so that's probably the best way to experience this ... as part of an entire trip, not as the destination.
Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:07 am
Friday, February 29, 2008
Upscale Hollow Chocolate: Michel Cluizel & Hotel Chocolat
Though the standard big item in an Easter basket is a chocolate bunny, there's nothing in the books that says that is must be a bunny. In fact, many companies make things like eggs (often filled with other chocolate or confectionery items), chicks, ducks, filled baskets, geese and some folks even do crosses.
This week I looked at four different options that could be purchased at just about any drug store or discount retailer: R.M. Palmer, Wonka, Russell Stover & Lindt, though this isn't the first time I've reviewed hollow chocolate items.
Two years ago I visited Jacques Torres Chocolate Haven, and if you were ever looking for a Tiffany-style experience for Easter baskets, that'd be the place. You can get a hollow chocolate bunny the size of a toddler. (Well, toddlers aren't hollow.)
Oddly enough at this writing there's nothing on the Jacques Torres website that mentions anything about the impending holiday (I always figured Lent was the classic time to display Easter goodies).
So I thought I'd wrap up the week with two other devilish hollow chocolate items, though they're not exactly for Easter, they give a good sense of some more pricey items that are out there.
Milk Chocolate Gnome by Michel Cluizel with a white chocolate beard - I was sent this as a sample a few days before Christmas along with some other items that I'd already tried (the single origin tasting kit, being one of them).
Cluizel is known as one of the few bean to bar to bonbon companies in the world, so they have exclusive control over everything from the quality of the beans to the molding and packaging of the product. This fellow came in a flat bottomed clear bag and in perfect condition. He's made with a dark milk chocolate that is tempered to perfection. It has a nice milky scent and perfect snap when I bit the top of his hat off.
The chocolate itself isn't very thick at the top but moreso as I got down to his little feet. The chocolate is sweet, perhaps a little too much for me, but extremely creamy with a well balanced chocolate flavor.
I also had a white chocolate flat snowman with a candied orange peel scarf and a nose and buttons made from chocolate pearls. The white chocolate was indeed buttery and sweet with wonderful vanilla notes.
I don't know what you can get from Cluizel in the States via the web, but a visit to their NYC shop or any of their French locations would probably be divine. The closest item I can find online right now is in the Chocosphere "Bargain Basement".
Rating: 7 out of 10
Chocolate Penguin from Hotel Chocolat - again, just before Christmas I got a package of some items from Hotel Chocolate which included some things that I couldn't eat because of walnuts (okay, I actually ate one of them and besides being very uncomfortable from a swollen throat I was mostly cross).
The mostly milk hollow figure is a bit thicker than the Cluizel. It's nicely formed and decorated in the shape of a penguin with both dark and white chocolate accents.
The Hotel Chocolat dark chocolate is 40%, which is really high in cacao for a milk. It's very creamy with a strong dairy component, good malty tones and a mellow chocolatey base.
Hotel Chocolat is new to the States, but has a strong following in the UK (see the coverage at Chocablog for more reviews). They source their chocolate ethically and use natural ingredients. They don't actually have any chocolate bunnies here in the States, but a really attractive "engraved egg" that's either hollow or filled with an assortment of their chocolates. Their UK assortment is much wider (and has a great mix of elegance and casual kookiness.)
Rating: 7 out of 10
My hollow chocolate adventures are not over, I'm still planning on getting some from See's (which uses Guittard milk and dark chocolate), Vosges, L.A. Burdick, Lake Champlain among others.
Related Candies
POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:53 am Candy • Review • Easter • Michel Cluizel • Chocolate • Ethically Sourced • Novelty/Toy • 7-Worth It • France • United Kingdom •
Saturday, November 11, 2006
CocoaBella "World's Best Box"
Yesterday I told you about the Night of a Thousand Chocolates. Today it's all about the "World Geatest Box of Chocolates" and the Artisan Picks of 2006 from CocoBella.
The box is interesting. It has a heavy focus on nuts with half of the offerings featuring nuts in them (hazelnuts as the top favorite). Here's the lowdown:
- Marquise de Sevigne Praline Noisette - France (Hazelnut paste enrobed in Chocolate) - mellow with a sweet and smooth paste center with a healthy dose of hazelnut but really not a sugary sweetness (or so it seemed). It balanced really well with the thin coat of rich chocolate. The nicely toasted nut on top gives this candy my pick as the candy I would most like to wear as a hat.
Marquise de Sivigne Orange Amer - Belgium (Orange ganache in Dark Chocolate) - This one was fascinating. It tasted like orange juice - more like a whole orange than a caramel or ganache. It was kind of like the custardy filling of a lemon meringue pie (only orange) because of the tart bite to it. The mellow dark chocolate with its bitter bite pulled it all together.
Knipschildt Chocolatier Hannah - US (Liquid Caramel with Pink Hawaiian Sea Salt) - this one doesn't look like much. I'd never had a Knipschlidt chocolate before, so I thought this would be interesting. It truly was. Lately I've been eating a lot of salted caramels and this one was interesting. The center was a soft, custardy caramel with a good rounded sugar flavor, maybe with a hint of molasses. The salt was not too much and did actually have a little mineral hint to it.
Michel Cluizel Vesuve - France (Madagascar Dark Chocolate Ganache) - A simple single origin dark chocolate truffle. It was soft and had a good mix of bitterness, acidity, dry finish with smoke and woodsy notes. I realized that my less than stellar experience with the Cluizel nibby bar last year should not dissuade me from trying more of their truffles.
Corne Port Royal Rocher Noir - Belgium (Hazelnut Praline in Dark Chocolate) - another hazelnut chocolate, this one was more like a hazelnut halvah. It had an interesting crystallized texture. The nutty flavors combined really well with the shards of sugar, though I would have preferred a little more toasty caramel flavor to it. The chocolate was nice and mild and set off the sweetness really well. It was a good chocolate, but I don't know if it's among the best hazelnut chocolates I've ever had. (And I'm the girl who likes Perugina Baci.)
Charles Chocolates Almond Cluster - US (Lightly Salted Roasted Almonds in Milk Chocolate) - it's not the most elegant looking piece of chocolate, in fact, there's very little chocolate here at all. Everyone keeps going on about how nicely Chuck Siegel roasts his nuts, and though I agree, the milk chocolate just isn't doing anything for me here. Too sweet. (Have no fear, I'll say nice things about Chuck's nuts in a few days when I get to that review!)
Cary's Toffee - US (English Toffee topped with Almonds) - I was surprised to see toffee there. I was also pleased. This generous bar has a wonderful caramelized scent with an immediate hit of butter. The toffee itself had a wonderful gentle cleave, breaking into shards when bitten. The dark chocolate really helped to bring out the darker smoke notes of the sugars. The extra nuts on top could stay or go as far as I was concerned, in fact, they kept falling off.
Maglio Tartuffini - Italy (Caramelize Dark Chocolate Almonds) - chocolate covered almonds rolled in cocoa. Simple. The nuts were more like the buttery
Marcona ones I've had at tapas bars, and the different flavor of them and density of oils really set off the slightly salty zing of the cocoa outside.
Christopher Elbow Strawberry Balsamic - US (Strawberry Puree with Caramel and Balsamic Vinegar) - a lovely looking candy with an inventive design that really screams balsamic vinegar. But here goes ... I'm not fond of vinegar and chocolate. I've tried a few in the past year and maybe there's one out there that will make me happy, but this one isn't it. The center was a little too tart for me and the white chocolate a little too sweet. I think I would have preferred everyone compromising a bit in the middle. Perhaps a milk chocolate and a caramel with more butter to balance the acids.
Christopher Elbow Aztec Spice - US (5 Spice Blend with Ancho and Pasillo Chilis) - this one was lovely, one that I've actually had several of now. The spice is mellow and robust at the same time. I could make out the caramelized flavors of the roasted chilis and the cinnamon and allspice gave it a good woodsy boost.
Christopher Elbow Rosemary Caramel - US (Caramel infused with Rosemary) - The caramel in here is the slow flowing kind with a slight grain to it and a strong infusion of rosemary. However, the white chocolate added no vanilla balance but a pure sweetness that just drowned out the balsam qualities. This chocolate with its eighties style gemtone brushstrokes of color gets my pick as the one that I would least like to wear as a hat.
Valentino Framboize - Belgium (Whole Raspberry with Raspberry Buttercream) - I was really looking forward to this one. I have to say that it didn't look very appealing to me, but the thought of a whole raspberry made me look past its bulging belly like a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. Aside from that, it was nice and floral with a really good raspberry flavor, but again too sweet for my tastes. I wanted more chocolate and less of the buttercream, I guess.
Marquise de Sevigne Creme Brulee - France (Caramelized Butter Ganache) - More like a praline than the custard I was expecting (like the Kee's one I tried in NYC). Caramelized, a little grainy but rather light. Tastes a bit like coconut but not in a bad way. It kind of grew on my after I got past my expectations. It was more like the sugar crust of a creme brulee than the custard itself.
Amadei Supremo - Italy (Milk Chocolate Espresso Ganache) - simple and divine. I'd leave it at that, but the way I've laid out this page I kind of have to go on about each one the same amount. It's not the prettiest one of the bunch, being from a rather common stock mold, but the milk and mellow ganache go well.
Maglio Stuffed Fig - Italy (Almond and Lemon with Fig) - when Michael Freeman was presenting the box and he got to this one I was just itching to bolt across the room to wolf one down. Billed as a dried fig stuffed with candied lemon and almonds, I was pretty much sold. Upon trying it was I in love with the figs and chocolate (as I'd already been downing the Trader Joe's ones in my motel room earlier in the day) but didn't get the lemon and almond notes I was promised. Don't worry, I didn't demand my money back. The dark chocolate was absolutely wonderful. I am surprised that I actually shared this with the neighbors (it's pretty big and easy to cut into pieces) but I felt bad because someone pointed out that Amy spits out a lot of stuff I give her.
Michel Cluizel Champignon Caramel - France (Caramel Mushroom with Almond Praline Cap) - Were you wondering if I was saving the best for last? There actually aren't in any particular order (I think the order I took the photos in). I didn't know what it was, I think my mind was still on the fig thing when it was mentioned in the presentation. It looks like a mushroom. The stem is a wonderful firm caramel covered in mellow white chocolate. The cap is a little half-sphere cup of almond praline (like the florentine cookies) filled with a truffle ganache and then coated in chocolate. Genius. Cute and absoutely an incredible combination.
There was another walnut item in the box which I didn't try.
On the whole, the box isn't my favorite. However, after sampling the wares at CocoaBella, I know that Michael Freeman has good taste. I find boxed chocolates frustrating on the whole, because there's usually such an assortment, as in this one, once you hit on a favorite you've eaten it and have to move on. The good thing is that it's a great cross section of a lot of different chocolatiers that I probably never would have recognized before that are now on my "seek out" list.
So, my tip is, if you have the money, dive in and take a chance. If you don't and you still want to explore, try the CocoaBella "Build a Box" feature on their website (or go into the store). The pre-selected boxes don't actually tell you what's in there but do have some good indicators (Dark Chocolate, Exotics, Milk Chocolate, Truffles and Wine Pairings). I think if I had to pick a box out for myself, I'd try either the exotics or the truffles.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 8:05 pm Bay Area • Candy • Chocolatier • Review • Charles Chocolates • Michel Cluizel • Caramel • Chocolate • Nuts • White Chocolate • 8-Tasty • Belgium • France • Italy • United States •
Friday, November 10, 2006
CocoaBella - The Night of the Chocolate Hangover
It finally happened. I ate too much chocolate.
I had always figured that my first chocolate overdose would happen with a giant Toblerone or a bag of Hershey's Kisses. This was the happiest surprise of all, it was with some of the best chocolates on the planet.
On November 1st I attended CocoaBella's unveiling of the "World's Greatest Box of Chocolates." This box is the culmination of Michael Freeman's tastings of hundreds (probably thousands) of chocolates from some of the best chocolatiers. Instead of just shoving a box in the mail with some literature, Freeman and his PR team held a reception to introduce not only the chocolates but also the aesthetic and even three of the chocolatiers.
CocoaBella Chocolates bills itself as a purveyor of the best small batch artisan chocolates from all over the world. They carry Amadei, Christopher Elbow, Michel Cluizel and Charles Chocolates, among others. What's different about them instead of going into all of those shops to find your favorites is that you can create your own box with chocolates from any or all of the chocolatiers. One stop shopping, if you will.
The evening began with the normal press recieving line where we were given our name badges as we entered the little shop in San Francisco. I was offered wine and given an overview of the evening. We would start with browsing and we were free to try ANYTHING in the shop. The chocolates for the box unveiling were located along one wall, but anything behind the counter was also available. There would be a presentation by Michael Freeman and three of the chocolatiers were actually present, Christopher Elbow of Kansas, Chuck Siegel (Charles Chocolates) of Emeryville and Jacques Dahan of Michel Cluizel Chocolates (Paris).
It was clear since the shop still didn't have that many people in it and there were many name badges laid out on the table that there would be some mingling until everyone arrived. I browsed. I took photos. I didn't touch anything. It smelled good and looked fantastic. There were other bloggers there, so I began to relax. It was no mistake that I was there.
At the back counter there were two men working to create and plate chocolates. I recognized both of them. On the left was Chuck Siegel and on the right was Christopher Elbow. Since other folks were talking to them, I sidled up and listened in. They were creating three fresh creations for us to try, nothing that either of them were ever going to include in their chocolate lines, just one-offs. I chatted with both of them and some other writers and then started trying some of the chocolates. I started with the nutty items, I had to pace myself. I got four chocolates under my belt when the presentation began.
Michael Freeman explained the chocolate shop, where he carries at least 300 different items. It sounds like exhausting work traveling Europe and the States to find some of the little chocolatiers and he insists that you can set down any of the chocolates he carries in front of him and he can identify it on sight.
Jacques Dahan did a little tasting of three of the Michel Cluizel single origin chocolates. I felt a little smug, as I'd already tried these as a tasting kit a few months back, but was comforted to see that my tasting notes of the time still held up. Dahan reiterated some of the literature in the tasting kit, that Cluizel fosters relationships with the plantations, just as I imagine great sommeliers do with wineries. There's a great deal of pride involved in this upscale chocolate. What I found particularly refreshing though, was the openness and the nods that each of the chocolatiers were able to give to each other.
There were Siegel and Elbow, two men who might be regarded as rivals, happily collaborating on a set of chocolates for the evening.
Oh, and what were those chocolates? The little one is a simple dark ganache with a dollop of fresh mango and ginger chutney. Fresh and earthy, the bitterness and complexity of the chocolate was set off nicely by the rooty balsam flavors of the chutney. Then there's the fresh fig, split open filled with a white chocolate ganache then dipped in dark chocolate. Wonderfully fresh, and the mild sweetness of the fig itself was set off well by the truffle cream, which happily was not sickly sweet. The dark chocolate wasn't as powerful as I'd hoped, but maybe I didn't pick one out that had been dipped enough.
The last one was a little mousy looking and they were pretty quiet about what it was. Just a peanut praline with a surprise. The next day Siegel explained a bit more about how praline is made, basically they take raw nuts and throw them in a copper kettle with sugar and heat it all together. As the nuts roast the sugar caramelizes. Then it's ground together to make a paste that has little flecks of the sugar in it. This little square had an extra bonus though, at first I thought it was just something like the center of a Butterfinger bar, but then it popped. Then there was a lot of popping in there. Unflavored Pop Rocks. It was an interesting combination (and was a great help for my novel).
After the presentations it was back to the chocolate floor. I took photos, of course, and now that I had a better understanding of what Freeman was up to, I started really examining the offerings behind the counter. I also started tasting. I started tasting things that weren't in that box. I knew that I was going to try more of Charles Chocolates the next day (yes, there's still more to tell from my San Francisco trip!) so I looked at the other chocolatiers.
At first Elbow's were missing the mark for me, they were very sweet (but they're so darned pretty). Some that I tried that were fantabulous, most notably was the Orange Honey Blossom, which was a half-sphere button with a drippy honey cream center with a true honey taste and texture. I regret not trying one of the Bananas Foster. The Cluizel was fantastic and so incredibly specific. It finally dawned on me the unique position Cluizel is in, because they make their chocolate, from bean all the way to the final truffle creation. There are so few actual chocolate factories on the planet, and the fact that this one creates more than just the bars and couverture for the rest of the industry sets them apart. (And I need to pay more attention to them now.)
Fact is, I was seriously overloaded with chocolate. I wouldn't call it a chocolate high, more like a chocolate sedation. I wanted it all, but part of my brain wasn't working well enough to figure out where to put it. I couldn't possibly fit any more in my tummy. I had a half a glass of wine during the presentations and after that a bottle of sparkling water. A glance over by the door though, and I saw that the name badges were replaced with gift bags ... with a box of chocolate to take home. I sighed in relief. As much as I didn't want to leave, because the Golden Ticket would be voided the moment I stepped outside the door, I had to go. The wine had worn off at least a half an hour earlier and it was time to go back to the motel.
I lost count with how much I ate. It was probably a third of a pound of chocolate in two hours. Good thing I didn't have any lunch or dinner.
Here's the full review of what's in the box (but here's a visual preview).I'd consider this night a 10 out of 10.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:05 am
Monday, September 4, 2006
Michel Cluizel Les 1ers Crus de Plantation
One of my splurges last month with my ill-gotten-gain (payoff from a production company) was to buy some goodies from Mel & Rose's and this was the big ticket item of the day (I would have bought more but the heat lately is death to chocolate). I've only tried Michel Cluizel once before and I wasn't that impressed. But people keep telling me how good it is and I always enjoy the variety of a tasting kit.
Michel Cluizel is a French chocolatier who is not at all new to this, his company has been making gourmet chocolate since 1948. It's one of the few chocolates you'll find that has no soya lecithin in it. It's just cocoa beans, sugar and vanilla. His single origin tasting kit showcases his chocolates that are created using beans from only one plantation. Most of the chocolate that we eat is a blend of beans from all over the tropics, or perhaps one region.
It came with a nice little brochure that talked about each of the plantations that the cocoa beans came from, but I thought it would be fun to taste the chocolates first and then see how I did. So my initial tasting notes are followed with the ones from the leaflet.
Los Ancones (green) x4 - What I tasted was ultra smooth. Slightly bitter at first with some very dark smoky notes but as the buttery chocolate gives way, more acidity comes through and gives way to raisin and cherry notes.
The brochure said:
Maralumi (fuscia) x4 - quite a bit more acidic than the first, this one was kind of tart and brought to mind olives and apricots (dang, I shouldn't have read that brochure!). I was also getting some woodsy notes of cedar and balsam. The acidity gave the whole thing a dry finish with a slight bitter note that lingered far after the cocoa butter was gone.
The brochure says:
Tamarina (blue) x2 - quite tangy with some powerfully deep smoky notes and a lowgrade bitterness that was offset by some mellow sweetness. The chocolate is slick and smooth with a dry finish.
The brochure says:
Concepcion (orange) x2 - a great start with instant chocolatey roundness, the smoke and woodsy notes come out right away, and perhaps some coffee, followed by some tangy notes that might have some mango essence in it. Then a crisp, dry finish.
The brochure says:
Mangaro Noir (yellow) x4 - instant notes of raisin and fig, sweet and mellow with a pleasant tang. There are also some balsam notes, maybe juniper or sage. It reminded me of the desert, that crisp feeling.
The brochure says:
It's obvious I'm getting the general vibe of each chocolate, but not the specificity that the brochure reveals about each one. I think part of it might be the small pieces. I liked the slightly larger E. Guittard tablets that I tried earlier this year, which makes it easier to discern the more obscure notes. I was really pleased with the smooth buttery consistency of each of the tablets, they're all in the 64% - 70% cocoa solids range, so they're intense without being too dense.
If you're looking for some extensive reviews and commentary on the range of single origin from Michel Cluizel and how it compares to the rest of the world of chocolate, check out SeventyPercent.com. I was really pleased with the kit, it's fun to share or just spread out over a week as I did. I'm always disappointed when they don't do comparable numbers of squares for each variety, but it's a small kit and really only appropriate for two people at most.
See reviews of all my reviews of Single Origins to date. I think my favorite is still the Chocovic Ocumare, because of it's excellent well-rounded flavors and of course the price.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 7:37 am
Friday, April 22, 2005
Noir au Grue de Cacao
Name: Noir au Grue de Cacao
Michel Cluizel has been mentioned to me a few times as the epitome of fine, dense chocolate. I've looked at it quite a few times in the shops but have always been hesitant because of the price. Really, at $1.55 per ounce, this stuff better be pretty good.
It's nicely packaged, I like things in boxes instead of flimsy paper, especially for something that I'm not going to finish in one sitting. The scent of the chocolate is positively gorgeous. Chocolately, rich and with a hint of coffee.
The bar I chose is a standard dark chocolate with bits of cocoa nibs in it. I've had this sort of bar before (I'll try to find that bar again, because I really liked it) and was looking forward to the mix of textures and taste density.
My first two squares were disappointing. I think I hit a bad patch of nibs, because they tasted very musty. But, upon revisiting it the next day, I found that the chocolate was very smooth with an excellent contrast of the crunchy nibs. Overall I think that the addition of the nibs if more of a novelty than an actual enhancement. I like nuts in my chocolate, or raisins or, jeeze, just about anything. But I don't like things in my chocolate that don't add to the experience.
Rating: 6 out of 10.
POSTED BY Cybele AT 10:08 am Candy • Review • Michel Cluizel • Chocolate • Nibs • 6-Tempting • France •
Meticulously photographed and documented reviews of candy from around the world. And the occasional other sweet adventures. Open your mouth, expand your mind.


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One of the things Android does a lot better than iOS is provide more direct control over power management. As is typical of Apple, you don't get much visibility into what's sucking the life out of your iPhone/iPad/iPod's battery. And what controls you do have are buried deep in iOS' settings.
For example, if you want to turn off the Bluetooth radio, you'll have to go three menu levels deep: Settings > General > Bluetooth.
If you want to do the same thing on an Android device, you can put a widget on one of your home screens that gives you instant access a Bluetooth on/off switch. That same widget can also turn on and off location services, Wi-Fi, syncing and control brightness. For example, this is the power widget from a Samsung Galaxy Nexus smartphone
In addition, Android gives you a lot more information about the apps and features that are draining a battery. You can see a list of active components and which is drawing the most power. You can drill deeper into each for more information.
On iOS, you get very little information. And by "little", I mean almost none. Go to Settings > General > Usage and scroll to the bottom of that screen.
Clearly, for the data-curious – and those who want to be aggressive about managing power usage – this is an inadequate amount of information. To be fair, it's been my experience that iPhones generally have better battery longevity than Android devices, even when power-intensive features such as screen size and processor are matched. But still, I think most iOS users would like for power management to be more useful than this.
Fortunately, there are some apps that can provide better visibility into iOS battery usage. I have been playing with one that's got real promise, and looks great, too. Battery Life Pro, which had cost 99 cents in the past, is now available for free in the iTunes App Store. It's an iPhone/iPod Touch app but will run on the iPad as well.
Battery Life Pro has a nice, graphical presentation of your battery's current charge, recharge time and how long it would take for specific actions to drain the battery.
You can change the kind of graph that displays the power if you prefer a different view for your data.
While Battery Life Pro won't give you direct access to switches for turning off battery-sucking features, it does offer a handy checklist of actions that can help. They include instructions on where to find these switches in Settings.
But my favorite feature shows details about memory usage and running processes in iOS. While you can't kill these processes, they do give you some much-needed insight into what's happening on your device.
This app does a pretty good job, given Apple's tough restrictions on access hardware. Considering that it's free at the moment, the price is certainly right, and you'll get a lot more information about your device's state than Apple will give you.
Now, if only iOS users can get access to radio switches and brightness levels from the home screen. Maybe in iOS 6 . . . but I'm not going to hold my breath.


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Article by Dr. Matthew Kim Featured in Preaching Magazine
April 25, 2013
"Learning from My Mistakes" by Dr. Matthew Kim, Assistant Professor of Preaching and Ministry, was recently featured as the cover article in the May/June 2013 edition of Preaching magazine. Dr. Kim is the author of 7 Lessons for New Pastors: Your First Year in Ministry and was former president of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. Read the full article here.


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