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A federal jury Monday found that James "Whitey" Bulger participated in drug trafficking, 11 murders — including strangling a young woman — and assorted other crimes, a verdict that sends the aging gangster to jail for life and punctures the "good bad guy" myth he cultivated over decades.
Bulger, 83, stood passively in US District Court on the same South Boston waterfront where he committed some of his crimes, as a clerk repeatedly proclaimed "guilty" to 31 of the 32 counts with which he had been charged. As he was led away, he turned and gave a thumbs-up sign to his family members, before he was heckled by a relative of one of his many victims.
The verdicts mark not just the certain end to Bulger's freedom, but a theatrical note of finality to the story of a crime lord who has been chronicled in Hollywood movies and analyzed in best-selling books, and who rose to near legendary status as he held a virtually permanent spot as one of America's most wanted fugitives during his 16 years on the run from 1995 to 2011. It also files a piece of Boston's dingy past, and the FBI's complicity in it, on the shelves of the city's sometimes sordid history.
"This day of reckoning for Bulger has been a long time coming," US Attorney Carmen Ortiz said to a barrage of reporters outside the courthouse following the verdict. "So many people's lives were so terribly harmed by the criminal acts of Bulger and his crew. . . . We hope they find some degree of comfort in the fact . . . that Bulger is being held accountable for his horrific crimes."
The jury found prosecutors proved Bulger participated in 11 of the 19 murders he was accused of in the 1970s and 1980s. Those included the strangulation of Deborah Hussey; the assassination of Tulsa businessman Roger Wheeler; and the slayings of Paul McGonagle, Edward Connors, Thomas King, Richard Castucci, Brian Halloran, Michael Donahue, John Callahan, Arthur "Bucky" Barrett, and John McIntyre.
Not all families of Bulger's alleged victims were pleased with the trial's outcome.
Jurors found prosecutors failed to prove Bulger was involved in the slayings of seven others: Michael Milano, Al Plummer, William O'Brien, James "Spike" O'Toole, Al Notarangeli, James Sousa, and Francis "Buddy" Leonard. Jurors were unable to reach a verdict on whether Bulger was involved in the strangulation of another woman, Debra Davis, in 1981.
The judge said she would not release the names of jurors until Friday. But a juror told WBZ radio that there was some disagreement during deliberations, and that about five jurors felt the government had not proved that Bulger strangled Davis, the girlfriend of his partner, Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi. The juror, Scott Hotyckey, said some jurors doubted the credibility of Flemmi, who implicated Bulger in Davis's murder.
"People kept saying that you can't believe what he says," Hotyckey said.
The verdicts provoked tears of relief and anger among the families who had waited for years for justice.
"You've got to be kidding me," one of Leonard's daughters gasped as the clerk announced "not proved" when she came to her father's name.
Patricia Donahue, whose husband, Michael, was gunned down by Bulger while giving a ride home to his intended target, quietly sobbed as her son held her close. "I am happy," she said afterward. "But I was sad for the other families."
US District Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled a three-day sentencing hearing for Nov. 13 to 15, and said she will probably set aside at least one day for the victims' families to give statements.
Bulger still faces murder charges in Oklahoma and Florida, both states that have the death penalty. He is charged with orchestrating the slaying of Wheeler in Tulsa in 1981 because the businessman refused to sell his company, World Jai Alai, to a Boston businessman who fraternized with members of Bulger's Winter Hill Gang.
Bulger is accused of ordering the slaying of businessman John Callahan in Florida the following year, after his FBI handler warned him that the FBI was seeking Callahan for questioning and he would probably implicate Bulger and Flemmi in Wheeler's slaying.
Prosecutors in Florida and Oklahoma said Monday that they would not decide until after Bulger is sentenced in Boston whether to prosecute him.
Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Michael Von Zamft said Bulger is expected to be sentenced to life in prison for his federal conviction and "if that happens, then of course we might have to, given his age, . . . consider whether it's advantageous to try him or let him negotiate something."
On his way out of the courtroom Monday, Bulger smiled and gave the thumbs-up sign to his brother, John, and two nieces — the children of his brother William, the former president of the Massachusetts Senate and the University of Massachusetts.
The gesture outraged Cheryl Connors, whose father, Edward, was gunned down by Bulger inside a Dorchester telephone booth in 1975.
"Rat-a-tat Whitey!" Connors yelled from the gallery. Later, she said she was referring to a taped conversation played at the trial, in which Bulger mimicked the sound of machine gun fire as he mentioned her father's slaying to his nephew and niece when they visited him at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility.
One of Bulger's lawyers, J.W. Carney Jr., said Bulger will appeal his conviction, arguing that he should have been allowed to present his claim that a deceased former prosecutor promised immunity from prosecution decades ago for all crimes, including murder.
He said Bulger was "very pleased" with the outcome of the trial because he felt the case had exposed more government corruption. "Mr. Bulger knew as soon as he was arrested that he was going to die behind the walls of a prison . . . or be injected with a chemical that would kill him," Carney said. "This trial was never about Jim Bulger being set free."
Bulger, who was captured in June 2011 as he was living in a rent-controlled apartment two blocks from the beach in Santa Monica, Calif., had dubbed his trial "the Big Show" and vowed in letters from jail to take the stand to refute that he was an informant and deny that he ever killed women.
Instead, he called his trial "a sham" and told the judge he would not testify because she refused to let him present his claim that Jeremiah O'Sullivan, former head of the New England Organized Crime Strike Force, promised him immunity. O'Sullivan died in 2009. Casper had ruled that Bulger had provided no evidence or affidavit to support his claim, and that even if O'Sullivan had made such a promise, he did not have the authority to do so.
The defense spent much of the trial trying to persuade jurors that Bulger was not an informant, despite a hefty FBI file indicating that he was an informant from 1975 to 1990. His lawyers argued Bulger paid corrupt FBI agents for information and his so-called handler, John J. Connolly Jr., fabricated his file to cover up their corrupt relationship.
Prosecutors called 63 witnesses, including three of Bulger's former associates — Flemmi, John Martorano, and Kevin Weeks — who all implicated Bulger in murder and admitted their roles as well. All three cut controversial deals with the government.
Bulger's other lawyer, Hank Brennan, said the jury's verdict, finding Bulger was not involved in seven slayings, indicated it rejected the testimony of Martorano or found the plea deal he made with the government was "so offensive the jury didn't want to dignify it with a conviction."
The jury of four women and eight men deliberated for 32½ hours over five days before reaching its verdict. They only had to find that prosecutors proved that Bulger committed two of 33 racketeering acts that occurred within 10 years of each other to find him guilty of the racketeering count, which included 19 murders.
The only charge Bulger was acquitted of was the extortion of Kevin Hayes, a former bookmaker who said he had been extorted by Weeks.
Flemmi testified during the trial that he and Bulger were longtime FBI informants, who paid Connolly more than $230,000 over a decade. He said Connolly warned them when other informants were cooperating against them, prompting them to kill Castucci, Halloran, and McIntyre.
Assistant US Attorney Fred Wyshak, who began targeting Bulger in the early '90s, said the conviction was vindication for the prosecutors and investigators.
"It's been a long time coming," he said. "And I think justice prevailed."Martine Powers, Jonathan Saltzman, Milton J. Valencia, and Travis Andersen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@


text:
Now Viewing:
This item is noncancelable and nonreturnable.
The SRSR-X-26 26U SRSR Series 23" Rotating Sliding Rail System from Middle Atlantic is a pull-out rotating rack system designed to allow easy rear access to equipment. It extends and rotates 90° in either direction, making it an ideal solution for smaller millwork and in-wall installations. Its detachable rack frame also allows for in-shop integration and on-site installation of equipment, saving valuable time in the field. It locks in place at 0°, 60°, and 90° to ease maintenance tasks. Ball bearing slides ensure a smooth rollout.
The rack is designed for use with 19" equipment and will support up to 300 lbs of equipment on (4) slides. A cable-management system ensures organization of abundant cabling. Standard hardware includes a locking device for maximum security. A wide array of accessories allows you to fully customize your cabinet to meet your needs, including a brush gasket to fill unsightly gaps that may appear between the rack and custom millwork.
|Black brushed anodized finish
Accepts 19" equipment (Width)
23" Useable Depth
26U (null") Useable Height
|Not specified by manufacturer
|Dimensions (WxHxD)
|48-1/2 x 32-3/4 x 23-1/4"
|Weight Capacity
|300 lbs
|Not specified by manufacturer
|Packaging Infozcrrxuurdbwtfauwfdzxfavztwedureedwaq
|Package Weight
|57.6 lb

subset: commoncrawl


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- April 17, 2018|9:30am – 11:30am
What: All moms are welcomed to join us. We will begin the semester gleaning wisdom from women of the faith at CBC, enjoying fellowship and breakfast.
When: We will meet on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of every month.
Where: Cornerstone Bible Church Basement


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Today was all about the Fiscal Cliff.
First the scoreboard:
Dow: 12,815, +4.07, +0.03 percent S&P 500: 1,379, +2.34, +0.17 percent NASDAQ: 2,904, +9.29, +0.32 percent
Now the top stories:
- The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index rose to 84.9 in November, up from 82.6 the previous month and higher than expectations of a 83.0 print. This was the highest reading since July 2007. But Gennadiy Goldberg at TD Securities wrote that while confidence has improved notably, the index continues to run below the pre-recession average of 91.
- But the day was really about the fiscal cliff, with both President Obama and House Speaker Boehner holding press conferences to discuss the situation. House speaker John Boehner went first and he said he hoped for a "Grand Bargain" in 2013, but he also said that he would not be willing to raise taxes on upper-income Americans.
- President Obama held his press conference at 1:05 p.m. ET, and he continued to call for rich Americans to pay more in taxes. He said he was open to compromise, but not on the issue of raising taxes on upper-income Americans. The president invited leaders of both parties to talk about the fiscal cliff next week. Obama is reportedly ready to ' barn-storm' the country if Republicans don't agree to a deal. 10 countries hoarding massive amounts of gold >
- After closing down two days in a row, markets stayed in the red early this morning. Stocks climbed after consumer sentiment data beat expectations, but the rally faded after President Obama's press conference.
- Groupon is taking a beating today with the stock off nearly 30 percent and reaching an all-time low of below $3. Ken Sena of Evercore reiterated his 'conviction sell' rating and cut his price target to $2 from $3.
- CIA director David Petraeus resigned over an extra-marital affair according to a letter submitted to CIA staff. Deputy CIA director Mike Morell is expected to be offered the role of acting director. Why an extra-marital affair means automatic resignation for the head of the CIA >
SEE ALSO: 7 Unexpected Events That Could Blow Apart Investor Portfolios in 2013 >
BI Intelligence, a new subscription research service from Business Insider, provides in-depth insight, data, and analysis of the mobile industry.
Access all reports, research updates, presentations, data and chart libraries plus much more with your free trial.Click here to start your subscription>>


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Moms Also Need Their Own Back to School Supplies What are yours?
After Labor Day, back to school marks the unofficial season of new beginnings and new opportunities for moms everywhere. For many moms, back to school is a time where women regroup, take stock about the things they want to accomplish. It also represents a true chance to get their life back or even find a new path.
So, where do you start?
Rise and shine: After getting a full 7-8 hours of sleep, rise a half hour or full hour if you can manage. This will allow you me time to put things into perspective, make a list of the things you want to do for the day or change in your life for that matter! Its your time, go for it! Best tip, spend 10 minutes before you even get out of bed to set yourself up for the day. Dont just jump out of bed the minute you wake up. Instead, take a moment to be, think about the day ahead, put your thoughts in order, and lastly give thanks for everything you have in your life.
Make yourself the best cup of coffee of your life: Everyone by now has heard about single serve coffee machines, but not everyone understands or believes these machines can make great coffee. Back to school for moms mean they can enjoy their coffee how and when they want it and dont have to hear their children asking for this or that. It is all about me time and BUNNs My Caf brings that message home. My Caf makes the perfect cup of coffee in under a minute and you can choose from a large variety of coffee pods, which by the way are great for the environment! Best tip, My Caf has a cool pulse feature where you can customize your coffee strength. Again, how you like it, when you want it. Visit www.mycafe.com.
Self-care: As moms, you are so busy taking care of everyone else " your significant other, your kids, pets and so on. It is time you focus on your self and how you care for YOU. Youve heard the saying, your body is your temple and you must treat it right. Aim to get a full eight hours of sleep (or as much as you personally need) is a great start, as well as eating nutritious (organic if possible) food, exercising daily and speaking kindly to yourself. No time to exercise you say? How about a half-hour walk while listening to notes youve dictated to yourself on your Ipod during the extra time that youve allowed for yourself in the morning before the kids mania begins? Or try an exercise DVD like P90X or a favorite yoga routine so you dont have to make the trip to the gym? No excuses!
Girlfriend time: We all know how important our girlfriend time is, but why do we have such a hard time making time for the most important people in our lives? We receive invites all the time, but have a hard time making commitments. The kids will be fine. Theyll survive a night on their own with dad or a babysitter. Best tip, schedule a monthly get together with girlfriends and try a new restaurant every other time. Make dinner at a girlfriends home during the other weeks. Go out, enjoy those girlfriends, catch up and support each others next chapter!
Dinnertime: How often do you hear, Whats for dinner? The old stand-bys seem boring even if they are your best, favorite family meals! One of the best tricks Ive heard was to make one new meal a week. The Fall is the best time as there are so many great recipes to try from pulled pork sandwiches to chicken corn chowder! Soups and stews are the best since they will keep for days and are easy to reheat after the 3rd soccer practice youve been to in one day! Best tip, gather a few girlfriends once a month and make 3-4 new dishes in one night! You can have great quality time, learn new meals and have dishes for the next 10 days! Voila!
Declutter: As with anything, getting rid of clutter can be made incredibly simple: just go through your stuff, one section, closet, drawer, or shelf at a time, and get rid of everything that isnt absolutely essential. Take all your items that you are unsure about getting rid of (i.e. I might need this someday), put them in a box, seal it and date it for 1 year in the future. When the date comes, and you still didnt need to open it to get anything, donate the box WITHOUT OPENING IT. Best tip, declutter for 15 minutes every day and donate anything you get rid of to your favorite charity or Goodwill!
Quiet time: One of the first things we tend to sacrifice as a mom is our personal time and space. We devote all of our energy and attention to caring for others, multi-tasking, meeting responsibilities and "being productive." Over time this depletes our energy and we begin to feel like a child and our inner voice says What about me? Burn-out and frustration is imminent. Taking, and quite frankly, demanding quiet time for you is CRUCIAL post Labor Day. It isnt the easiest to do and trust me, there will be times when you have to say no, thanks anyway for the invite. This is powerful because you are in control of YOU and your happiness. Best tip, take a few minutes spent sitting quietly in meditation, or for those who cant fathom meditation, sit on a bench, do some dreaming and people watching. Soaking in a hot bath, reading a fun novel and lastly writing yourself a letter can do wonders for your soul. Be good to yourself.
Flexibility: Get rid of the words should and assume. I should have done this, or I assume youll do that. Make things happen as you can. My favorite saying is Life happens as you live it. Everyone has a mental picture of how they want their life to be, right? We all do, that is perfectly fine to dream about how our lives "should be", but the problem is we get really annoyed when our outer circumstances don't cooperate! One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is a flexible and free state of mind. Learn how to detach from unrealistic expectations and go with the flow in life. If youre a perfectionist, you need to let go all of the notions you have of what you have to do to be perfect. Remember what you tell your kids, nobody is perfect including you.
Take a chance, whats next: When your life seems out of control and you've got endless demands tugging at you from all directions, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, fatigued - and just plain stressed! But wait, the kids are back at school, and you have time to be, just be. Taking a chance to try something new can be very stressful, but there are ways to help you figure it out, temper your stress or even put your life back into balance again. The point is that you matter and you can have the life that youve always wanted. Bringing drive, new focus or much needed balance back into your life does not require massive changes, but it does require you to DO something. You don't have to completely abandon your daily routine or escape to a remote island in order to find out whats next or important in your life. Taking changes or finding true balance is something that starts WITHIN YOU, no matter what else is happening in your life circumstances.
You can get there.
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ClaudeP needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 157 designs submitted by 36 freelance designers.
We are a young web shop that offer fair services. Our customer use our services because we have good idea and ''not able to'' is not in our vocabulary.
We need a new logo that will represent our business right now (8 years old business) We are more sophisticated in our approach, we are more professional than our beginning, we are a bit older, we need to reflect a well establish business that we can trust but little bit edgy.
We are near of our customer
Ok i just increase the bid to 400$ for letting you know that we are serious about our new logo design. the logo i receive are good but not 100% WOW, i let you all the latitude you need, be creative, use the color you want, try to do something different with ''clic'' because all logo look the same just the ''iC'' change form one logo to the other. I'm sure you could do something good with this really short business name. Play with the i the C. Good luck to everyone and don't forget the price is now 400$. Thanks a lot. Talk to me ask me question if my brief is not clear enought.
******Update 2*******
I really liek this presentation and the logo
*****Update 3*******
I'm really satisfied of your works every one, on monday we will see who's the winner and it will be very hard to make a choice between all this great work. Please work hard till the end, it's my first try with 99designs but we will use this service for all of our customer. Thanks everybody
*******Update 4*******
Thanks everybody for your great works. The logo not eliminated are our favorites and will be jugging for the winner. Could you please present us the logo on t-shirt, letterhead, business card. Some designer #83, #79, #53, #8 already do that and it will help us choose the right logo. Thanks every one and show me only one logo with business card, not all of your work.
******* Update 5******
#115 as been removed and could be considerated again, could you please bring back #115 Thanks!
We are French Canadian based company established since 2001 and providing web services to government and large business in the manufacturing industries. We need a refresh of our logo that will reflect more our professionalism.You can see our old logo at http://www.iclic.ca and our last web site. Our customer is Marketing manager, sales manager between 35 and 55 years old. iClic come from nowhere, we choose the name because the domain name was available. We like to write '' iClic '' like this with the first letter lowercase and second letter uppercase.
We like that
- Keep it simple, simple, simple
- We would like a icon non-generic
- Create a memorable and entertaining experience, a little trick in the logo
- Vector-based Logo, limited color, easy to handle
- Versatility for promotional products, being able to use just the icon or just our brand
- Show me the logo with or without the icon and our slogan, our slogan is ''Créateur de succès Internet'' in english internet success creator
- All sources files
- Too much item on it, our logo need to be easy for embroidery and be recognize on promotional object that we will generate
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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There are so many little Eco friendly brands popping up in the UK and so far I have had positive experiences with most of them.
has a range of skincare, bodycare and haircare products that are organic (certified by Ecocert) and come in 100% recyclable packaging.
I like how the range looks; it has a sort of softness to it but looks smart at the same time, and I also like how simple the range is – ths skincare range has a cleansing melt, a facial wash and two moisturisers – one for dry skin one for normal/oily skin.
I tested this for a few weeks (half and half with a friend because I had some other skincare to test straight after!). I have the Gentle Cleansing Melt and Multi Action Double Cream for my dry skin!
First of the Gentle Cleansing Melt – this is a fabulous cleanser! I am a real fan of cleansing balms anyway (Boots Time Delay is one of my faves) but this is different…it's a "melt".
So it already has that gooey type texture to begin with, no need to warm it up first….It is quite odd at first I have to say, like smearing vaseline on your face. They say:
This gentle soap free cleansing balm melts away make up and impurities before transforming into a rich creamy milk on with warm water. It rinses away leaving skin clean, moisturised and soft to the touch.
This amazingly versatile product can also be used as a rinse off massage oil, a soap free body cleanser, shaving oil and more.
This is a really great cleanser if you like rich, balm type cleansers. If you prefer something fuss free and quick like a face wash then you might not like this.
But what I personally love about this cleanser is that it didn't flare my skin up AT ALL (it's so tender and sore at the moment!), and it comforted my skin and it's quite nice to work something into your skin to get the make up off…a little massage I guess.
Also you MUST use a hot (well warm but I like hot!) towel, flannel, sponge – to take this off. It's greasy and cold water and simple rinsing won't do it.
It doesn't smell of anything. Faintly of nuts perhaps?
Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides , Glycerin , aqua (water), Sucrose Laurate , Helianthus Annus (sunflower) seed oil
Very simple stuff, but works well.
The Evolve Multi Action Double Cream:
Anti aging natural peptides restore firmness, whilst protecting against free radical damage and preserving skin elasticity. Organic superfood argan oil, rich in omega 6 and antioxidants, nourishes and protects. Almond peptides lock in moisture for long lasting hydration.
Again beautifully packaged:
There is a "single" cream version of this for ladies who don't need so much hydration.
Now, a word of warning you need to give this a good shake. Cos for the first few days I was applying this:
It's ratherrrrrrr light, I told myself. Alas no, for some reason mine was a bit runny at the top and on day 3, I had this much better, thick rich white cream:
Once again, this is a lovely product. It's what I would class as effective cream; it's a bit like Neutrogena in the sense that it's a simple but effective product (that's how I see Neutrogena skincare!). But an organic version!
My skin felt lovely and soft after using this cream – the hydration levels are great – not perfect (because I still have flaky patches on my face that are a pain!). It's a nice base for pre make up too because it sinks in quickly without leaving a layer of grease like my richer creams do.
The only thing is that it didn't leave my skin looking 'brighter' – a lot of the creams I use focus on this (as a lot of Asian skincare products do). Having said that, this will be one of those creams I turn to, to comfort my skin when I go through tons of product testing!
Aqua (water), Parfum , Butyrospermum parkii butter , Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil , Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil , Sesamium indicum , Candellila/Jojoba/Rice Bran Polyglyceryl-3 Esters , Glyceryl Stearate , Cetearyl Alcohol , Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil , Plukenetia volubilis seed oil , Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate , Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Protein , Dipalmitoyl hydroxyproline , Magnesium Aluminium Silicate , Mannitol , Lactic Acid , Dehydroacetic acid
is £10.99 and the is £17.99
Verdict: Recommended!


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1) Mack Nature Park (in Smithfield Canyon, across the road from Mack Park)
2) Denzil Stewart Nature Park (in Logan, 1st South and 750 East, cross the river on pedestrian bridge)
3) Stokes Nature Center in Nibley (just south of Blacksmith Fork River turn right on 2600 South. Travel 200 meters and enter through gate on right side of road)
Schedule of Activities:
June 10:
10AM (at Stewart NP): Give a bug a hug! (insects)
7PM (at Mack NP): Water bugs!
June 11:
10AM (at SNC Nibley): Nature Journaling
7PM (at Stewart NP): Tweeting and Twittering! (birds)
8PM: PBS Nature program "Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air"
June 12:
10AM (at Stewart NP): Bat Man!
7PM (at Mack NP): Edible and useful plants
June 13:
10AM (at Mack NP): Rock On! (rocks and minerals)
7PM (at SNC Nibley): Gone Fishin'!
June 14:
10AM (at Mack NP): Nature Crafts
7PM (at Stewart NP): Snakes Alive! (reptiles)
June 15:
10AM-12PM: Fun hike and Junior Naturalist Awards
(at King Nature Park Pavilion/Bonneville Shoreline Trail mouth of Green Canyon: eastern end of 1900 North, North Logan)
Activities at 10AM and 7PM Monday-Saturday
|June 10-15, 2013
Various locations


text:
It's time Gil Hodges went to Cooperstown.
It's that time of year when the Hall of Fame ballots come out, and recently the Hall of Fame released ten candidates from the Golden Era (1947-72). Joining Hodges, who is in the running for consideration for the ninth year are: Dick Allen, Ken Boyer, executive Bob Howsam, Jim Kaat, Minnie Minoso, Tony Oliva, Billy Pierce, Luis Tiant and Maury Wills.
Unfortunately, I only vote in the annual balloting and not on this committee. Otherwise, I would vote for Hodges and Kaat.
I'm not a big believer of comparing eras because the conditions differ from era to era. I look at it as how that player fared in his time, and The Boys Of Summer aren't the same without Hodges. Very few players transcend eras, such as Babe Ruth.
He hit 370 homers with 1,274 RBI despite missing two years serving in World War II. Using today's stats, he also had a .359 on-base percentage and .846 OPS. Hodges averaged 29 homers and 100 during his 18-year career – which included the Mets in 1962 and 1963 – but never once struck out 100 times. He also won three Gold Gloves.
Of all the great Hodges stories, the one that stands out most was when fans in Brooklyn went to church to pray for him during the 1952 World Series.
Hodges was known for his quiet dignity, best exemplified when he walked out to left field to remove Cleon Jones from a July game in 1969 for not hustling.
There was no argument from Jones and neither hashed it out in the papers, either. Can you imagine that today, in any sport? Many Mets followers said the incident sparked their pennant run.
To this day, Tom Seaver chokes up when he talks about Hodges, calling him the key behind the 1969 Miracle Mets' championship run.
Here's hoping Seaver chokes up again when Hodges' name is finally called.


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'Scrawny' bears in Mammoth doing well ... so far
One of the more interesting bear seasons in years has begun in Mammoth, and Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles said their habitat is remaining intact, more or less.
They're scrawny, however, and hungry.
"The drought this year means it's going to be busier," he said in his monthly bear report. "The bears are going to run out of natural foods and will be more likely to try to get into human food."
He said people in Mammoth are going to notice some skinnier bears, but "The Bear Whisperer" said he is urging that people "can't give in to feeding them."
"Don't intervene with scrawny bears," he said. "We need to work with Mother Nature, not against her. It's going to be fine, but we may lose some bears along the way."
Searles said younger bears will most likely to be the ones to suffer most, either by being chased out of town by bigger bears to areas with even less food, or being attacked by the same bigger, older bears.
Searles' latest count showed about five sows (none lactating), seven second-year bears and a dozen, predominantly male, older bears over 5 years old.
Last week, he said he was surprised to witness a sow coming out of her den with two cubs, when none was anticipated this year.
"We're still on track at about 25 bears in the 26 square mile incorporated area of Mammoth Lakes, which includes the Lakes Basin and Mammoth Mountain Ski Area," he said. "That's consistent with the state average of one bear per square mile."
This season, Searles said he observed the earliest bear wake-up he'd seen. He estimated that the bears were roused seven weeks earlier than usual, which means this summer's "busy" season is about seven weeks ahead of schedule.


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Operators, OEMs and MRO providers work together to optimize maintenance programs
Most non-aviation people believe life's lone certainties are death and taxes. Those who understand aircraft operations know there is at least one more: maintenance downtime.
Regardless of an aircraft's operating environment, configuration or utilization rate, being parked for maintenance always is part of its life cycle. Such inevitability gives operators, manufacturers and maintenance providers plenty of motivation to devise strategies to take advantage of that parked time. In most cases, this means minimizing total downtime during an airframe's service life.
This is done in several ways. The most obvious one is stretching out maintenance intervals, leading to fewer heavy checks over 20-25 years. Boeing leverages its Statistical Analysis for Scheduled Maintenance Optimization (Sasmo) on its in-service fleet to find opportunities for improvement. The purpose-built tool analyzes fleet performance data and helps determine optimal maintenance intervals while minimizing the risk of in-service (and therefore more costly) disruptions.
The results can lead to big changes. On the Boeing 737NG, for instance, 80% of the maintenance task intervals originally scheduled at 4,000 flight hours were escalated based on Sasmo's findings. For the Boeing 777, Sasmo determined that 68% of the 7,500-flight-hour check tasks could be safely and cost-effectively escalated.
"These programs do not stay static," says Farshad Doulatshahi, a program manager in Boeing's maintenance program engineering department. "The maintenance program intervals we have now for a given model are significantly different and more efficient from when the airplanes were introduced."
Tools such as Sasmo underscore that minimizing downtime does not always mean pushing task intervals farther apart. On the 737NG, for instance, Sasmo data convinced Boeing to cut the interval times on 10% of the 4,000-hr.-check tasks. The result? Fewer in-service issues and less downtime overall.
Arguably the most aggressive effort to alter a traditional airline block-check maintenance program involves Airbus narrowbodies. In 2004, SR Technics, at Airbus's request, developed an equalized maintenance program for EasyJet's fleet of A319s and A320s to maximize aircraft availability. Work usually wrapped into 18-month C checks is divided and accomplished in overnight packages—or e-checks—at shorter intervals, typically about once every 65-70 days. Because EasyJet cannot fly at night due to noise bans, its aircraft sit idle during those hours anyway, allowing ample time for a team of 15 or so technicians to complete each e-check.
Breaking the work up into smaller, more frequent chunks allows EasyJet's airframes to stay in service for six years at a time, except for one 36-hr. check every three years and a four-day check between years six and 12 in the cycle. SR Technics says the e-check approach cuts downtime by about 28 days per airframe over each 12-year cycle that ends with a D check. For EasyJet's fleet, 157 A319s and 56 A320s at the end of 2012, that translates into a bottom-line-altering 5,964 fewer days—or more than 16 fleet years—out of service per full 12-year D-check cycle.
"We don't have any structural tasks that require long elapsed times to perform before six years in service," explains Airbus Director of Maintenance Marketing Bert Stegerer. "All of the shorter interval tasks are system tasks, not structural tasks."
Moreover, the e-check schedule caught or prevented problems that otherwise would have popped up during a heavy check. Fewer non-routine items and the good overall condition of the airframes meant that EasyJet's six-year checks take about 14 days, or four days fewer than first projected.
SR Technics notes that not all of the e-check metrics are positive, however. Flight-hour costs can be higher because some work must be done earlier than the optimal interval to make the program work. In addition, accessing the same area on an airframe on multiple e-checks and accomplishing few tasks each time is less efficient than opening it once during a heavy check and completing all required tasks. But, the MRO provider notes, "experience shows that these minor drawbacks are offset by maximum utilization of the fleet, the additional revenue generated and other improvements."
Despite EasyJet's experience, no other Airbus operators have adopted the e-check concept, although other carriers have moved off of the block program. Frontier splits the 24-month, 7,500-flight-hour check into smaller packages done every 750 flight hours, Stegerer notes. In exchange for the 750-hr. checks, which are slightly longer than a routine overnight check, Frontier's aircraft avoid a lengthy heavy check for six years at a time.
Boeing's maintenance gurus report that their operators have not expressed much interest in breaking up heavy checks. Boeing maintenance engineer and 737 specialist Victor Wang notes that in the case of the popular airliner, the amount of equipment, access and downtime needed to accomplish many heavy-check tasks makes phasing them challenging. A few 737 operators roll C checks into phased B checks done every 90-120 days, but "those are very rare," Wang notes.
Boeing 747 Maintenance Engineer Matthew Razniewski contends that the opposite is true. "A lot of operators, especially those contracting-out maintenance, will wrap smaller maintenance tasks into one single package and send it out to be accomplished in one maintenance visit," he says. "This takes advantage of opening up access just once, doing everything in that area and closing it up once."
Both Airbus and Boeing underscore that a customer's goals determine how a maintenance program will be set up. "Is the interest of the operator to optimize the maintenance schedule for low maintenance cost, or is it prioritizing for aircraft availability?" Stegerer asks.
Both OEMs strive to build maximum flexibility into each program, then help each operator piece together an optimal maintenance schedule. Seasonal operators will want aircraft out of service during low-demand times, while operators unconstrained by night bans may not want overnight checks to last any longer than absolutely necessary.
Boeing Maintenance Engineering prepares a report for each customer that illustrates an optimal maintenance program over a number of years. "Sometimes, an airline will put one maintenance concept in place, and a few months down the road, come back to Boeing and say, 'we've had second thoughts here,'" says Razniewski.
Maintenance programs are benefitting from the industry's natural technological evolution as well. Composites and titanium do not corrode, so heavy-check task cards for, say, an Airbus A350 will read much differently than those for an A300-600. Eliminating most corrosion issues cuts maintenance man-hours by nearly 40% on current-generation airliners compared to their aluminum ancestors, Airbus calculates.
In addition, improvements in onboard diagnostics help identify problems sooner, leading to fewer in-service incidents and shorter diagnostic times when aircraft are down for work. "Instead of tearing things down, you press a button and you get more information, so the amount of time performing a check will be less," says Wang.
Maintenance engineering's more active role in aircraft design also is helping create better airworthiness programs. Christian Delmas, Airbus's director of maintenance program engineering, says his team's involvement in A380 design played a role in enabling the aircraft to enter service with a then-unprecedented 750-flight-hour A-check interval. On the A350, the OEM's plan is to eliminate the six-year heavy check completely, phasing much of the work into smaller, more frequent checks and moving some tasks—such as galley removal—to the 12-year heavy check.
"If we want to ensure that we have an efficient maintenance program that offers maximum flexibility to operators, we have to influence the aircraft design," Delmas says.
One challenge presented by longer intervals between out-of-service periods is keeping up with non-critical items, such as a cabin's appearance.
Timco Aviation Services, which counts line maintenance and interiors as two of its specialties, sees such challenges as opportunities. Its Cabin LifeCare program, launched in 2011, offers interior maintenance and refurbishment tailored to an operator's needs. Day-to-day work can be done through Timco's network of 20 line maintenance stations and supplemented with "cradle-to-grave" support, either providing touch labor or supporting a customer's personnel or designated third-party providers with parts, says Leonard Kazmerski, Timco vice president of marketing and business development.
"We're able to do a little more inside the cabin than a traditional line maintenance division," Kazmerski says.
Besides its extensive line and base maintenance service offerings, Timco produces a line of interiors products. The company's willingness to support other interiors suppliers' products as part of Cabin LifeCare underscores another approach some operators are taking to streamlining maintenance: eliminating vendors.
Lufthansa Technik (LHT) launched its Total Base Maintenance Support (TBS) offering in early 2011 with a promise of simplicity at its core. The program allows airlines to source with LHT and customize every aspect of a heavy check. "An operator with a mid-sized or large fleet has different requirements than a start-up," notes an LHT spokesman. "TBS is offering several selectable modules for our customers and also optimizes the interfaces with other LHT Group products that the customer might have with, or will contract to, LHT."
Most importantly, TBS offers guaranteed slot availability—thanks to LHT's extensive network, with more than 20 heavy check lines in Europe alone—combined with price certainty. TBS customers can pay by the heavy check, flight hour or month, enabling them to put off the expense of a major check as long as possible or spread out the financial burden more evenly.


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2010 King Of The Hammers - 100 Miles Of BrutalityPosted in Events on July 1, 2010
Why cover King of the Hammers? Many of us like running trails at an accelerated pace, seeing how much ground we can cover in an afternoon. King of the Hammers takes that line of thinking and ramps it into the stratosphere.
Each Hammer trail is brutal all by itself, and there's no shortage of tales about the difficulty involved in running just one Hammer trail in a day. Often, that day runs into overtime as the sun sets and broken rigs must be repaired in order to complete the trail.
The 2010 iteration of King of the Hammers included every well-known Hammer trail plus a few new ones. Need some names? Boulderdash and Spooner's are two. We checked out both of them and while they're not as famous as Clawhammer and Sledgehammer, they're just as brutal.
It's not just a trail run through extreme rock-crawling trails. King of the Hammers includes the high-speed desert sections that connect the crawling trails. Successful KOH teams needed skills and machinery capable of both high- and low-speed terrain.
Add it all up, and you've got 100 miles of brutality. One competitor claimed KOH is tougher than the Baja 1000. True? Maybe. The two races present different types of challenges to their competitors, so it's hard to make an apples-to-apples comparison. Terrain-wise, KOH is peerless. Logistics and distance are tougher in Baja.
There are similarities between KOH and the Baja "mil." Just like Baja, King of the Hammers is a fickle beast. Polished driving skills and premium equipment don't guarantee a win. You'll need a bit of luck as well. This year, Loren Healey of Farmington, New Mexico, had the right combination required for the victory. Healey and his co-driver, Randy Rodd, completed the course in 6 hours, 57 minutes, and 53 seconds. Counting the time down to the second is significant here, because Healey's time was a mere 28 seconds faster than the second-place time of Brad Lovell. Congrats!


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OROVILLE — Ignoring a problem isn"t going to fix it, and despite the challenges that prisoner realignment has brought up, Butte County is actively trying to adjust and make it work.
When Assembly Bill 109 passed, Sheriff Jerry Smith felt obligated to deal with the challenges, said Butte County Undersheriff Kory Honea. Smith started developing programs and solutions to mitigate the impact to public safety with the resources the state provided.
But it"s been an ongoing challenge since the beginning more than a year ago, he said.
Some of the difficulties the county is facing are improving its facilities to keep up with the new demands of having an influx of inmates who would normally be in state prison.
Functional jail capacity is 590, Honea said. That number allows for movement and to accommodate the inmates appropriately. It used to be 540, but the number crept up.
Now, the jail"s population is in the 600s on a regular basis, he said.
The jail"s currently has 614 beds.
It"s apparent the jail needs to expand and be renovated, Honea said. Failing to do so will place the county where the state once stood — facing lawsuits from inmates for inadequate facilities and health treatment.
Currently, there are only three cells to house inmates with medical conditions, and the higher the population, the more medical needs there will be, he said. It"s difficult to treat people with what there is now.
About 14 percent of inmates are currently taking medication for mental illness, and approximately 50 percent are on medication for various needs.
When the jail was built in 1963 it wasn"t meant for long-term stays, Honea said. Now, inmates are here for long periods of time and the county is trying to adjust to the changes.
The state allocated $3.1 million to Butte County for the first year of operations.
The county didn"t receive sufficient resources to deal with realignment, Honea said.
There is going to be additional funding dispersed to counties in the fall, he said. However, it"s unknown how much Butte County will get.
Butte County will also try to get a grant of up to $40 million under Senate Bill 1022, which provides money to renovate and expand correctional facilities, Honea said. It"s a competitive grant that requires a 10 percent match and is awarded based on need.
However just because the county is seeking ways to renovate, doesn"t mean it"s abandoning its efforts to reduce recidivism, he said. Public safety is a priority and by keeping offenders from reoffending, the county would ensure that.
If a drug addict is in jail for stealing property, then there will be effort to keep them off drugs and perhaps will keep that person from committing crimes, Honea said.
Yet, the jail is not equipped to efficiently implement programs that have been proved to work.
The space available to run classes or substance abuse programs is not adequate, Honea said.
Currently, about 600 inmates must be rotated through a room not much larger than the average bedroom to get those services.
It"s difficult to deal with, but the county is committed to find solutions, Honea said.
With the increase in inmates, decisions on who can be released start being made.
The vast majority in custody have been arrested and are awaiting trial, he said. Those people are too dangerous to release.
The jail sees about 70 to 80 percent of parole violators, Honea said. There are very few people in for misdemeanors because of the lack of room, however, those are decided on a case-by-case basis.
Everyone is evaluated and it"s determined if they"re a threat or can be released. However, inmates must meet an array of requirements and then are placed on home arrest.
Inmates who are put through the alternative custody program are supervised by eight correctional officers and two deputies, who can track inmates by using their phones, Honea said. Offenders must get a GPS monitoring ankle bracelet and check in. Inmates are only allowed out of their home with permission.
If they deviate from the scheduled plan or remove their GPS bracelet, it is considered an escape, he said.
Out of the close to 300 people who have been put in that program, 26 either took off their bracelet or were out where they were not permitted, Honea said. All were caught. Twenty have been convicted and put in prison and six are pending.
"It shows how serious we are," he said.
Inmates on the alternative custody program are required to report to the Day Reporting Center in Oroville, just down the hill from the jail.
Butte County partnered with Sentinel, which has years of experience in evidence-based programs to reduce recidivism.
There are also partnerships with the Butte County Literacy Council, the Butte County Fire Safe Council and a mentor program to allow inmates to work, gain skills and make change.
The Day Reporting Center has a "hall of fame" with photos of inmates smiling that have completed programs and achievements to work as motivation to others.
However, programs offered there are only available to those who are safe to be put in the alternative custody program, Honea said. Inmates in the jail are not allowed.
Honea would like to create those programs and services in the jail, he said. He"d also like to expand the pretrial release programs to be able to put those people under supervision and free up some beds.
The realignment has been tough, Honea said. But the county is working hard to address the needs of the inmate population and keep the public safe.
The situation isn"t as positive as some may say, he said. But it"s not terrible either.
Reach Almendra Carpizo at 896-7760, email@example.com, or on Twitter @almendracarpizo.


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The purpose is to implement joint strategies to support smallholder and medium farmers of staple grains through WFP's Purchasing for Progress (P4P) initiative and FAO's Central American Agri-Food Chain Project.
Tegucigalpa, April 8, 2014 - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representatives Pasqualina Di Sirio and María Julia Cárdenas Barrios, signed a memorandum for a technical partnership that will contribute to strengthening the capacity and market integration of small and medium family producers of staple grains in Honduras.
Both agencies have the common objective to improve the food security of farming families and reduce poverty. This is done through initiatives such as P4P driven by WFP and FAO's Agri-Food Chain Project.
P4P promotes increased agricultural production and market development in developing countries, while the Agri-Food Chain Project works on improving the trade of agricultural products and assisting in the development of efficiency within the value chains that are selected to participate.
The aim of the collaboration is to establish a partnership between the UN agencies. The partnership between WFP and FAO will have a more effective and advantageous impact on the smallholders and medium farmer beneficiaries in the departments of Yoro, Comayagua, Olancho and El Paraíso.
The selected value chains are those that are focused on staple grains (beans and maize). Through the interagency partnership, marketing strategies will be developed to improve nutrition and food security in the selected departments.
Objectives of the Partnership
• Train farmers in effective production processes, increase productivity through the appropriate use of agricultural inputs and increase productivity and efficiency of smallholder and medium producer's farms.
• Empowering smallholder farmers and cooperatives, in developing systematic means of direct marketing in the production of staple grains in order to improve commercialization.
• Develop and implement joint training workshops on issues of quality control and safety, GMP, and SSOP. The trainings will also focus on the use of media (internet and mobile), negotiation methodologies, associative marketing, business management and finance.
• Develop manuals on manufacturing for both organizations and for the Government of Honduras.
• Strengthen the value chain of staple grains through added value strategies that have been launched by SAG.
• Implement business seminars, trade shows, and coordinate an interagency trade forum.
FAO and WFP are the United Nations agencies responsible for ensuring food and nutrition security of the most vulnerable groups in Honduras.


text: DuPont Crop Protection Sponsors HungerU, Bringing the Hunger Issue to the Table March 22, 2013 09:32 AM Tweet TAGS: Marketing, Overseas December 18, 2014 By Farmers Feeding The World Farmers Feeding the World Grassroots tour part of Farm Journal Foundation's Farmers Feeding the World initiative Farmers Feeding the World is pleased to announce that DuPont Crop Protection will again sponsor the HungerU Tour. After a successful pilot last fall, the collegiate tour will visit eight West Coast schools this spring, enlisting students to join farmers in addressing the world's food crisis. By building awareness of global food security issues and the critical role modern agriculture plays in putting food on our tables, HungerU engages students in the ongoing hunger crisis and empowers them to take action in their communities. The eight selected schools will be announced on April 2. Student groups from the schools participating in HungerU will have the opportunity to win $2,500 for their respective organizations by engaging their communities and elevating the conversation about hunger and advanced agriculture. "The students' enthusiasm has shown us that a college campus is a hungry market for information on solutions to end world hunger," said Andy Weber, CEO of Farm Journal Media and Chairman of the Farm Journal Foundation. "With the incredible success we saw last fall, we're hitting the road a second time, bringing the Tour to the West Coast this spring." DuPont Crop Protection is again generously supporting the HungerU Tour, a special project of the Foundation's Farmers Feeding the World effort. "HungerU aligns with our goal to feed the world by engaging and educating youth about food security and modern agriculture. After the success of last year's Tour, we are excited to collaborate with HungerU again this spring," said John Chrosniak, DuPont Crop Protection Director of North America. For more information, and to track the HungerU team's journey, check out HungerU on Facebook, follow @HungerUTour on Twitter, or visit www.hungeru.com. Back to news


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You'll love the subtle detail of this brushed inlay wedding ring. Crafted in brightly polished platinum with a brushed finish center band, this timeless ring features curved inner edges for endlessly comfortable wear.
Men's rings typically range from size 8 to 14. The most commonly purchased are between 8 and 10.5 and size 9 is the most popular.
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Best Dance Company
Well, Keshet, of course!
Best Theatre Company
Tricklock—and not just because they are Keshet's sister company but because they are responsible for starting revolutions! Well, that and the fact that Joe Pesce is such a hottie.
Best Musical Experience That Makes It Really Difficult to Stand Still on Wednesday and Thursday Nights
500 Second Street. But there's a $5 cover and you should probably know something about drawing or painting from the figure.
Best Painter
Couldn't possibly choose.(But I do have some serious soft spots for Duvian, Jeffri, Jeremy and Dennis. Check them out at the above musical experience.)
Best Sculptor
Randy Cooper. Who else do you know that sculpts shadows?
Best Tile Guy Who Does a Phenomenal Job, Has a Brilliant Idea for Bullet-Proof Dogwear and Is Good to His Mother
Jonathan Elliott, Elliott tile (and don't try to race him on the natural runners either).
Best Korean Food
Fu Yuang. The kimchee is awesome and they don't make fun of you when you order enough food for four people and then ask for extra rice.
Best Princess
Shira Greenberg.
Best Easy Water Soy Chai
Starbuck's, Nob Hill. I know, I know, imperialism and all. I'm just as against it as the next bleeding heart, pinko commie liberal artistic type, but there's this really cute boy who works there and I think he might like me. (and of course, since we're married, I'd get in a lot of trouble if I said anything about Whiting Coffee.)
Best Men's Haircut
Nob Hill Barber Shop. I swear every day another man in my life spends an hour extolling the virtues of the marvelous Chani. But look out, her price is increasing by $1 next year.
Best Place to Get Sucked Into One of Those "The More You Buy the Cheaper It All Is" Sales
Viola and Co. Dropping $350 never felt so cheap.
Best Loud Scary Guy
Mark Scott. I'll set a metal chair onstage for your mouse scaring tantrums any day.
Best Neighbor Who Puts Up with Your Dogs, Saves Your Life From Your Own Poor Motorcycle Maintenance, and Offers Promising Fashion Advice Over Mint Juleps To Die For
Timmy Ranney. Were you expecting competition in this category?
Squeaky Bush. Yeah, she's out there, hiding behind the clever façade of a professional business suit. But we all know.


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Enjoy the precision and control that comes with Beautyrest's legendary Pocketed Coil® support system. Hundreds of individually wrapped coils flex to your unique shape to help provide personalized back support, generous freedom of movement and precision pressure point relief.
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Fill out the form below to request Better Price for this product.
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The 7th Annual Ultimate Wedding Expo
January 20, 2013
- Cost:
Additional Information
The 7th Annual Ultimate Wedding Expo
Sunday, January 20, 2013
12pm-4pm at
The Vanderburgh County 4H Center
Join the area's trendiest wedding vendors to help you plan your big day! From photographers, to cakes, to invitations, dresses, djs, tuxes and more, find just what you are looking for to get started or wrap up everything you need for the perfect wedding!
Brought to you 99.5 WKDQ, 105.3 WJLT, 106.1 KISS FM, Bauer's Tents & Party Rentals, Bob Davis State Farm, and davis digital photography.
Admission: FREE!!!!


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This book is intended to serve as a textbook for a course in algebraic topology at the beginning graduate level. The main topics covered are the classification of compact 2-manifolds, the fundamental group, covering spaces, singular homology theory, and singular cohomology theory. These topics are developed systematically, avoiding all unecessary definitions, terminology, and technical machinery. Wherever possible, the geometric motivation behind the various concepts is emphasized. The text consists of material from the first five chapters of the author's earlier book, ALGEBRAIC TOPOLOGY: AN INTRODUCTION (GTM 56), together with almost all of the now out-of- print SINGULAR HOMOLOGY THEORY (GTM 70). The material from the earlier books has been carefully revised, corrected, and brought up to date.Massey, W. S. is the author of 'Basic Course in Algebraic Topology', published 1980 under ISBN 9780387974309 and ISBN 038797430X.[read more]
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Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Lauterwasser Handlebars Launched
It is with great pleasure we are releasing an updated version of the racing bars that Olympic cyclist and cycling engineer Jack Lauterwasser hand-made in the 1930's. We received a few requests a couple of years ago to reproduce this bar design. We learned the originals were much sought after by collectors. With its unusual design, we knew right away if we wanted to do this right, we would need to find one of the original bars. So we plunked down a few hundred bucks to some stranger on the internet and soon it arrived(complete with an antique bike attached no less....seller would not sell the bar separately).
We tried to keep the design fairly close to the original with modern touches to make the bar more practical. Grip OD was changed to 22.2 to fit MTB grips and the drops were lengthened to accommadate levers. The stem clamp was widened to 25.4mm (Sorry 26.0mm fans - get a shim). There were suggestions to make it narrow like a modern drop bar, but that altered the look too much.
Width is 48cm (same as our sample). Drop is 90mm. This is the first bar we are producing in both aluminum and steel. Steel version will take bar end shifters and is a little stiffer of course.
How do they ride? Well this no upright townie bar. If you compare it to a Nitto Moustache bar, it has more drop, a more forward position, and narrower. It is very comfortable to get out of the seat and mash on the pedals with this bar. Definitely more comfortable than a full-on drop bar. You can also move your hands forward to get into a more aero position when desired. We recommend a short stem to preserve the original look, but do what you want. Handling is very stable on bikes with hybrid/CX geometry.
Threw these on a friend's commuter bike for kicks.
Above: Original versions of the Lauterwasser Below: Original bar on an old Raleigh. Most
old set-ups we've seen is with a tall quill stem with super short extension. This seems to
give the most clean look, but please don't just go by looks. Figure out what works best for
your riding and your bicycle's geometry. Most likely it doesn't quite match a 1930's race bike.
(Picture courtesy of Haight Ashbury)
Now how do you pronounce the name? You don't want show off this fine bar to your buddies and murder the name when you explain it. Lauterwasser is German, so you can pronounce it "lot-ta-vossa"; however Jack Lauterwasser was born in London, England and he pronounced his name like a Cockney would ("lorda-was-suh"). An apt American pronounciation could be "lot-ter-wasser", but the others are more fun to use.
In 1928 Jack won a silver medal in the 160km road race event at the Amsterdam Olympics. He rode to and from Amsterdam. In the same year he also broke the 50 and 100 mile RRA records.
Jack learned how to build wheels in his teens but in 1929, with Olympic and record-breaking success behind him, he set up his own cycle shop in Holloway Road, London, and marketed his own brand of bikes.
His "Lauterweight" brand specialized in racing machines, the lightest of which was 17.5 lbs.
More biographical info on Mr. Lauterwasser here.
Currently available at our online shop and Rene Herse Cycles, but your LBS can get them too.
Labels: antique, drop bar, lauterwasser, new product, raleigh, rene herse, replica, retro
3 comments:
- Rob Perks said...
These look really nice. I am thinking of how thay could fit into my spring rotation. Do the drops have any flare or are they near parallel as the picture of the older bars shows?
- December 21, 2010 at 4:01 PM
- Somacisco said...
Rob: There is a slight flare...about 6 degrees of parallel.
- December 22, 2010 at 1:57 PM
- Josh Mitchell said...
VERY nice. Any chance of a pic of these next to a MTB Moustache and a sparrow?
- December 23, 2010 at 8:55 AM
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Used Truck - 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 Base in Virginia Beach, Va
Please Call For Price
About This 2010 Nissan Cube 1.8 Base
Vehicle Location:
Virginia Beach, Va
1.8 Base
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City MPG
Highway MPG
Combined MPG: 28 - Efficient 30+ MPG
Estimated Monthly Fuel Cost: $79.46*
*Based on $1.78 per gallon and 15k miles per year.
Actual costs may vary.
Actual costs may vary.
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Seller's Description and Comments:
Located at Premium Auto Brokers Company in Virginia Beach, Va. Call Premium Auto Brokers Company today at 757-424-1265 for more information about this vehicle.
Vehicle Options:
- Abs Brakes
- Air Conditioning
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- Cd Player
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- Deep Tinted Glass
- Driver Airbag
- Electronic Brake Assistance
- Front Air Dam
- Front Side Airbag
- Interval Wipers
- Keyless Entry
- Passenger Airbag
- Power Adjustable Exterior Mirror
- Power Door Locks
- Power Windows
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2010 Nissan Cube ReviewThis car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale.
Friendly and practical.
The Nissan Cube is a small crossover SUV sporting a boxy, whimsical body design housing a practical cabin. Small on the outside, it's easy to maneuver, easy to park, and it's EPA-rated at 31 miles per gallon Highway. Yet it's big on the inside. It seats five people, with miles of headroom and acres of cargo space.
Nissan refers to the Cube as a mobile hub, instead of a car, because it is meant as an affordable, moveable gathering place for young people, their friends, and their music. Its back seat reclines for comfort or can be deleted for van-like cargo space. Nissan markets its cube in fashionable lower case, like iPhone and smart fortwo.
Cube was new to the U.S. for 2009. For 2010, Nissan Cube changes are oriented around the information and entertainment systems. Bluetooth and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls are now standard on all but the base model; as is a six-speaker stereo with iPod interface, MP3/CD-ROM capability, Radio Data System (RDS), and speed-sensitive volume control. For 2010, the Cube SL with the Preferred Package and the top-level Cube Krom (pronounced chrome) add a 4.3-inch color audio display with USB connectivity and a rearview monitor, along with Intelligent Key and push-button starting.
The Cube may be a newcomer to the U.S. market, but it has been on sale for a decade in Japan, and the version sold here is actually the third generation of the product. The Cube predates the Chrysler PT Cruiser, Scion xB, Kia Soul, Toyota Yaris, and Honda Fit, all of which Nissan counts as the Cube's direct competitors. The Cube is built on the same Nissan B platform as the Versa, a roomy subcompact that also competes with those cars.
The Nissan Cube is powered by a 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder engine, the same engine that powers the Nissan Versa in this market. Buyers can choose between a six-speed manual transmission or the Nissan-built Xtronic continuously variable transmission, or CVT.
We found the Cube perky in the big city and able to keep up with the traffic on the highway. Easy to park, it can make a U-turn in the tiniest of spaces. It made us smile, it's cute, it holds a lot of people and cargo, it's zippy, and it can be easily customized with accessories.
The Cube is the latest addition to an increasingly crowded segment of cute little cars aimed at younger drivers, but it can certainly be appreciated by older drivers who need a second car as a runabout or weekender, or those in between who are looking to downsize their car payment and fuel bills.
Nissan says its designers had in mind a bulldog wearing sunglasses when they were working on the Cube. This might explain the concave, rounded corners on each of the four side windows, with shorter windows in the front doors and longer windows in the rear. Even more odd (literally) is the Cube's odd number of visible roof pillars: a fairly conventional three on the left side but only two on the right, with the third pillar on right side covered by dark glass. This feature, as much as any other, gives the Cube its unique appearance.
The 2010 Nissan Cube is offered in a choice of four models, with two transmissions available: The base Cube ($13,990) comes only with a six-speed manual. Cube S is offered with the manual ($15,030) or a CVT automatic ($16,030). Cube SL ($17,130) and Cube Krom Edition ($20,120) come with the automatic only.
The base Cube is pretty basic. It comes standard with cloth upholstery; manual air conditioning; tilt steering wheel; six-way adjustable driver's seat; 60/40 split reclining rear bench seat; power windows, power mirrors and locks; a two-speaker AM/FM/CD sound system; rear privacy glass; and P195/60HR15 tires on steel wheels.
The Cube S adds niceties and conveniences: a more deluxe fabric interior; body-colored outside mirrors; cruise control; driver's center armrest; vanity mirrors; map pocket; and a cover, lights, and tie-downs for the cargo area, among other features. New for 2010 is a six-speaker stereo featuring an iPod interface, MP3/WMA/CD-ROM capability, Radio Data System (RDS) and speed-sensitive volume control; as well as Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity and a leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio controls.
The Cube SL adds automatic climate control, auto on/off headlights, fog lights, and P195/55VR16 tires on 16-inch aluminum-alloy wheels. Optional on the SL is the Preferred Package ($1,600) which adds a seven-speaker Rockford-Fosgate audio system with a new-for-2010 4.3-inch color display screen and rearview monitor, USB interface, XM Satellite Radio; and Intelligent Key with push-button starting.
The Cube Krom Edition is distinguished by an integrated body kit that includes unique front and rear fascias and trim, as well as extended side sills and a roof spoiler. Tires are the same size as on SL, but Krom's wheels have a unique look as well. The interior gets an equally individual two-tone treatment with black and gray fabric, aluminum pedals, a titanium-look shifter and 20-color accent lighting. Most of the super-zoot stereo from the SL Preferred Package is standard on Krom, as is Intelligent Key with push-button start.
Commercial buyers can delete the rear seat and other equipment from the base model ($3,200), creating a Cube cargo van; and that's about it for factory options. But more than 40 dealer-installed accessories are available, ranging from such mundane items as splash guards ($150) and a cargo organizer ($180) to an aero kit ($1,180) and the Krom's 20-color interior lighting ($290). There's even the Ginormous Package ($2,550), which combines a long list of popular interior and exterior accents.
Safety equipment standard on all models includes front, side and curtain air bags, active front head restraints, anti-lock brakes (ABS) with Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist, traction control, and stability control.
Except for one new color choice (Sapphire Black), the 2010 Nissan Cube looks just like the 2009 Nissan Cube.
The Cube's side windows are rounded at the corners, as if intentionally at odds with vehicle's overall squareness, and beveled into the surrounding sheet metal.
This alone would set the Cube apart from most other vehicles; but even more unique is the single, hidden roof pillar at the Cube's right rear, which creates the illusion of a continuous sweep of glass flowing all the way from just behind the center right door pillar, around the right-rear corner of the vehicle, and across to the left side of the tailgate, where it meets up with a conventionally visible pillar just where you'd expect to find it holding up the left rear corner of the roof.
Thus the left and right sides of the Cube are decidedly different, and it's this assertive asymmetry that easily trumps the fish-tank side windows as the Cube's more striking visual feature.
The Cube's exterior also features a long, flat roof with built-in ridges for strength and quietness, a tall windshield, tall side windows and large doors, including the left-hinged, right-opening 'refrigerator' rear cargo door.
Base, S, and SL models breathe through three distinct tiers of air intake. At top, a gray plastic grille with a slotted texture integrates with the main light clusters; it curves up at its bottom center to make room for a simple air slot below it. Below that, a body-colored grille integrates into the bumper, with fog light nacelles at its outboard ends. The appropriately named Krom both simplifies and brightens this arrangement with single rectangular grille between the headlights and a much bigger and bolder opening below that in a more sharply defined bumper; both openings are filled with bight horizontal bars.
Around back, Krom is distinguished by horizontal air slots in its rear bumper, a more defined license-plate niche, and a free-standing rooftop spoiler. Running-board-like side sills complete the Krom's body mods.
Wheels also help identify the individual members of the Cube family. Base and S models wear plain plastic covers with a six-spoke pattern. SL models upgrade to alloys with four slim double-spokes, a design that looks almost too light for the Cube's visual weight. Krom's more interesting wheels feature eight individual spokes that each meet the hub at a tangent, so they look like they're spinning even when standing still. Other wheels are offered as accessories
The Cube is built close to the ground, so it is very easy to get into and out of, and the cargo sill is low enough for a child to load groceries over.
What the Cube has more than anything else remotely in its class is its huge interior size, just under 110 cubic feet overall, in a car that's only 157 inches long.
We found a 6-foot, 4-inch driver has about eight inches of headroom; and leg, hip and shoulder room is equally generous. A six-way manual adjuster provides for all types of driver physiques.
The reclining rear seat slides fore and aft more than six inches, enabling moms to deal with backseat kids or babies easily at arm's length or large adults to sit comfortably behind large adults in the front seat. The optional cargo package deletes the rear seats to provide enough space for a rock band's gear. Multi-functional hooks can be detached and moved around the car as needed, and there six cupholders.
Although the Cube's design is quirky on the outside, it's all business and quite normal on the inside, with a conventional gauge package, a slightly stylized center area with the radio and environmental controls, and a large glovebox, with storage cubbies all over the doors and interior.
Interior design licks include a ripple-effect headliner with concentric circles around the dome light, a theme repeated on the speaker cones (and on the Rockford Fosgate subwoofer when ordered). The waveform dashboard and instrument panel are delightful to look at and very easy to use.
The Krom and Preferred Package SL come with that Rockford Fosgate subwoofer mounted in the center of the cargo door.
Driving Impression
Weighing just 2800 pounds in its basic form, the Cube doesn't tax the 122-horsepower engine at all, and it feels reasonably quick getting away from stoplights and stop signs in urban and suburban settings.
The Cube SL test car we drove had the CVT transmission as standard equipment, and it worked very well with the engine's 127 pounds-feet of torque without a lot of waiting around for the revs to catch up to the ratios, a common problem with other CVTs that tend to make driving noisy and clunky. Not in the Cube CVT. It's not a rocket ship, but it more than keeps up with the traffic, and it isn't buzzy or whiny at freeway speeds.
The Cube runs on Regular gas, and with the CVT is EPA-rated at 27/31 mpg City/Highway. The six-speed manual is actually somewhat less efficient, at 25/30 mpg.
The suspension under the Cube is entirely conventional, with MacPherson struts, coil springs and a stabilizer bar up front, and a torsion beam setup with coil springs and a stabilizer bar at the rear: simple, cheap and effective, and a system that has tuned out almost all of the usual body roll in corners, so the Cube feels stable and planted on its relatively skinny, tall tires.
The steering is light and easy, but not ropey; its variable assist is vehicle-speed-sensitive even on the base model. The driver's seating position is nice and high, with really excellent outward vision in all directions. Base and S models ride on P195/60HR15-inch tires; SL and Krom have slightly lower-profile 195/55VR16's, but there are no options larger than that.
One of the driving dynamics that distinguishes the Cube is its 33.4-foot turning circle, the shortest in the class, and more than six feet shorter than some of its competitors, a factor that just makes the Cube more maneuverable in more tight places than the other cute little cars.
We found the brakes worked just fine in the busy, crazy downtown Miami traffic, defending the Cube against tourists, pedestrians, scooters and cabbies, with good power and good pedal modulation, without the added expense of rear discs. The brakes are discs front and drums rear, but with ABS, electronic brake force distribution, Brake Assist, traction and yaw control built into the system.
The Nissan Cube is cute, practical, and fuel-efficient, whether used as a primary car or as a runabout or weekender. It holds a lot of people and cargo, it's zippy, and it can be easily customized.
Jim McCraw filed this NewCarTestDrive.com report from Miami, Florida, after his test drive of the Cube.
Model Lineup
Nissan Cube ($13,990), Cube S manual ($15,030), Cube S CVT ($16,030), Cube SL ($17,130), Cube Krom ($20,120).
Assembled In
Oppama, Japan.
Options As Tested
Aero kit ($1,180), 16-inch accessory wheels ($790).
Model Tested
Nissan Cube SL ($17,130).The Nissan cube looks like nothing else on the road today; it boasts fun and whimsical styling, excellent fuel efficiency and space for five people in its comfortable, yet quirky interior. The front-wheel drive cube is powered by a 122-hp 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine, bolted to either a six-speed manual or Xtronic CVT. There are four trim levels available, 1.8, 1.8S, 18SL and 1.8 Krom, each is standard with features like speed-sensitive steering, anti-lock brakes, keyless entry, power windows, single CD player, 6-way manual driver seat, cloth seats, six airbags, active front head restraints, tire pressure monitoring and stability control. The S adds things like cruise control, Bluetooth, leather steering wheel with audio controls, a cargo cover, dual vanity mirrors, four more speakers (for a total of six), iPod interface and a driver seat armrest. The SL then adds a standard CVT, 16" alloy wheels, auto headlights, and auto climate control. Finally, the Krom specialty vehicle brings a custom look and feel to the line-up with an aero body kit, chrome grille, rear spoiler, 4.3-inch color audio display with USB port, a rearview camera and a Rockford Fosgate subwoofer. For 2010, Bluetooth and leather wrapped steering wheel with audio controls are now standard on the S and SL trims. The S trim is also now standard with 6 speakers, MP3-CD playback, iPod interface, radio data system (RDS) and speed sensitive volume.
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Kat Jezek needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 200 designs submitted by 17 freelance designers.
Kat Jezek Photography
I am a photographer that focuses on candid style portraits in natural light. I work with families at locations of their choosing, which are mostly outdoors: backyards, beaches, parks. I mainly shoot children and pets but also do some pregnancy and engagement shoots, as well as family portraits around the holidays.
I'm attaching a design I was playing around with on my own "katjezek_logo.jpg" - I love love love the font my name is written in and I like the artistic style of the tree. I don't love how it all sits heavy and the colors are kind of sad. I really like a lot of the submitted designs for Sue Cote Photography, a contest that is currently open; as well as Laura Rausch's logo though I feel it's too big and elaborate. I want something that will easily fit on letterhead and look great on business cards as well as my website. My current website is http://www.katjezek.com so you can see some of my work; though I don't really like the style and design of the website itself - it's too modern and cold for my taste and plan to redesign soon.
I'm also attaching a couple logos I've stumbled upon online that I thought were really nice and very "me". I like their style and layouts and colors and just general look and feel :)
My audience will mostly consist of moms and grandparents.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Message Board
Louise Hoblitt Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Hoblitt has written!
Author Hoblitt's Book Reviews
Two Dead, One to Die
IUniverse, 2004, 17.95, 310 pp. ISBN: 059526414X In Oakland, communication expert Darby Hill is expected to find a means to sell Terra Tech video game arcade to the public as a nice place to have a good time in a science oriented virtual reality medium. The project would be fun except that her former lover Curtis is her team worker and is a competitor for a promotion. Darby has not forgiven him for cheating on her. When an elderly man charge...


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Secure Connections Get Web-SimpleBy Baselinemag | Posted 2006-02-07 Print
Forget special-purpose encryption software. Many companies say the Web's built-in security is better for serving data to remote employees and partners.
Getting access to corporate data on the road has usually required special-purpose security software orhorrorsdialing up over a slow modem to headquarters. Many enterprises are finding a path of less resistance: the Web's built-in security mechanisms.
Three years ago, Continental Airlines wanted to let 1,500 executives and office workers worldwide access e-mail and corporate Web applicationssuch as those for travel reservation and expense reportingover the Internet.
The airline gave employees dial-up Internet access software from Fiberlink Communications, along with virtual private network software from Cisco Systems that establishes an encrypted "tunnel," using the Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) standard, back to a Cisco security appliance at Continental's Houston headquarters.
But there was a key drawback with IPSec, says Stacey Thomas, the airline's senior manager of telecommunications: Continental's support staff spent an inordinate amount of time helping employees get the Cisco IPSec software installed and configured properlysometimes several hours per individual. It was especially tough, she says, to help employees who wanted to access Continental's Web portal from their home computers because support technicians didn't have physical access to those machines.
"We had some real [remote worker] support issues with our IPSec infrastructure, so we changed strategy," Thomas says.
The new approach: Continental last year rolled out a security device from Juniper Networks that provides encrypted remote access over the Internet with the security standard built into virtually every Web browser, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
Now the airline plans to expand the remote access program to let any of its 43,000 employees log into the portal, Mobile CoAir, with an ordinary Web browser. For Thomas' group, that means no more wrestling with IPSec configurations. "We can offer access from any Internet-connected computer," she says. "It's much more user-friendly."
Cisco, for its part, notes that it provides an SSL option, called WebVPN, for its virtual private network appliances. In addition, the company says, IPSec is more efficient than SSL for accessing non-Web-enabled applications.
But Continental's experience reflects a broader trend among organizations looking at SSL virtual private network systems as an easier way to let employees and partners connect securely. The category is small, but growing: Research firm Gartner estimates that the number of employees using SSL virtual private networks will grow from fewer than 3 million in 2005 to at least 27 million teleworkersdefined as those who work from home at least one day a weekin 2008.
Its ease-of-use appeal is pushing SSL remote access projects to the fore. Kent School District, a 40-school district outside Seattle, bought SSL virtual private network gear from F5 Networks in December 2004, even though it already had a Cisco IPSec VPN.
Thuan Nguyen, Kent School's director of project management and technical services, says the original goal for the Cisco VPN was to give remote access to 30,000 students, teachers and staff. However, he says, "We never got more than 15 people using it."
The issue for Nguyen, as in Continental's case, was that it took far too long for the information-technology staff to set up and support users. Furthermore, he says, the standard Cisco IPSec software simply sets up a secure connection, rather than presenting a menu of applications someone could choose from as the F5 product does.
It took Nguyen's team about a week to install F5's FirePass system. Within a month, more than 3,000 teachers and staff were logging into the district's FirePass portal to access e-mail and student information, and to update Web pages. "The support calls we've received have dramatically dropped," Nguyen says.
The technology has even helped companies form new partnerships. James Richardson International (JRI), a Canadian grain producer and distributor, uses Aventail's SSL virtual private network appliance as part of a joint venture with a competitorthe Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, according to public recordsto operate a shipping terminal in Vancouver.
JRI hosts a Web-based shipping-management application for the joint venture, and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool employees are granted access to only that application through the Aventail system. "Neither of us wanted to fully open up our networks to each other," says Paul Beaudry, JRI's director of technical services. "I don't know how I'd have delivered this without an SSL VPN."
And in some ways, SSL provides better security than IPSec, says Eric Hanson, manager of information-technology security at Quad/Graphics, a commercial printer in Sussex, Wis. Because an IPSec tunnel provides a full network connection, if a remote computer is infected with a virus, the bug could potentially spread across the main network; an SSL connection, by contrast, is restricted to the Web's HyperText Transport Protocol. Quad/Graphics uses SSL-based virtual private network products from Citrix Systems and Juniper to give access to its 11,000 employees. "We don't have to worry about viruses and worms coming in from remote machines," Hanson says.
On the other hand, putting an SSL remote-access portal on the public Internet introduces some risk, since it's accessible to anyone and his Web-hacking brother. The U.S. Fund for Unicef, the child welfare organization based in New York, met the need for easy access and strong security by using security password tokens from RSA Security with F5's FirePass.
The RSA SecurID devices, small enough to fit on a keychain, display a unique number every 60 seconds. That number must be entered when someone logs into the organization's portalan extra level of security necessary for staff members looking up sensitive financial data while traveling the globe, says Abraham George, manager of information technology for the U.S. Fund for Unicef.
"If someone's at an Internet kiosk in Mozambique," he says, "we don't want them to accidentally leave their password sitting on the machine."
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How Lower Gears & Lockers Affect Your 4x4Posted in How To: Transmission Drivetrain on March 1, 2012
If you're new to four-wheeling then you've probably heard about changing gears and adding lockers. If you pictured shifting your transmission with locking boxes in the bed, that is not what we are talking about. Four-wheeling gears and lockers can change your truck from zero to hero as much as suspension and tires.
In our '79 F-150, BluFerd, we recently changed from a 3.50 axle gear ratio with open diffs to 4.56s with Detroit Lockers. The changes were tremendous off-road and both good and bad on-road. Here is how we did it, what it means, and what we discovered.
Lower Gear Basics
Axle assemblies have a ring-and-pinion gearset inside that transfers driveshaft rotation into axleshaft rotation, basically making a 90-degree turn. The pinion gear on the driveshaft side has teeth that mesh and drive the ring gear on the axleshaft side. The ratio of pinion teeth to ring gear teeth is the gear ratio.
When building a 4x4 that is outfitted with larger tires we recommend going to a different gear ratio, as it will assist the engine in turning the larger, heavier tires. We often recommend going to a "lower" gear, a gear that offers more torque multiplication, similar to shifting to a lower gear in your transmission. However, by lower we actually mean a higher numerical ratio. For example, 4.56:1 is considered lower than 3.50:1. Just remember, lower gears are higher numbers. To better understand this, imagine that your engine puts a certain amount of torque into each and every driveshaft rotation, and the gear ratio multiplies that torque into each and every tire rotation. If a single driveshaft rotation is 100 lb-ft, then the lower ring gear of 4.56 now puts 456 lb-ft into turning the tire just once as compared to the higher 3.50 gear, which only saw 350 lb-ft.
Locker Basics
At the same time as the gear change we often recommend making the change from open differentials to locking differentials or lockers of some sort. The axle differential carrier allows for the inner and outer tires to turn at different speed (thus the name differential) while going around a corner. They each follow a different arc/track. That differential is usually what we refer to as "open," meaning it will send power to the wheel with the least traction. Because of this, most 4x4s have only two wheels actually driving while off-road, and if one front and one rear wheel have no traction simultaneously the truck stops moving forward. This is why we recommend lockers, which connect both axleshafts together to provide better forward progress.
Lockers come in many styles: automatic lockers, selectable lockers, and spools. All have a simple job, to send the power equally to both wheels at the end of the axleshafts. Two terms that may confuse you are center diff lock and locking hubs. These are parts of the transfer case and front axle hubs, respectively—neither are "lockers" and neither are important for this story. Our most recommended types of lockers are automatic lockers and selectable lockers. Limited slips are not lockers as they are "limited" in their power dispersion to each wheel, while spools have zero differentiation between tires, making the vehicle difficult to turn because the tires cannot rotate at different speeds.
Mileage & Costs
Changing gears and lockers isn't a cheap upgrade. Two Detroit Lockers will set you back about $1,150; two Superior Axle gearsets and install kits for these axles will run another $500. Plus, there is the labor of installation. Doing it yourself isn't impossible but will require special tools, adding even more costs.
We also found other issues when tearing into our axles. Both rear brakes were in need of replacement. Our rear pinion yoke was worn out. Front and rear axle seals needed replacing. The front hub bearings needed to be repacked or replaced. To put it simply, doing gears and lockers on an old truck requires a flexible budget, as you may have to get more new parts than planned when you open this can of worms.
The fuel economy improved and worsened with the gear and locker swap, but mostly due to the lower gears. Before the swap we did a long highway drive where the 3.50 gears were netting 11.4 mpg, and then a section of steep mountain climbs, city stop-and-go traffic, and off-road testing where the mileage dropped to 7.4 mpg. After the gear swap our highway mileage dropped considerably to 9.2 mpg since the engine was spinning much faster to maintain highway speeds. However, the mountain, city traffic, and off-roading sections all netted 11.5 mpg because the engine had to work less to get the truck moving and propel it up the steep climbs. Averaged out, the gear change actually would save us fuel, but if long highway drives are your commute then the higher 3.50 or possibly 4.10 gears are a better option for you—and just the opposite if stop-and-go traffic makes up your daily routine.
The Detroit Locker has an unearned reputation for being odd-handling on the street. In fact this is normally due to uneven tire pressures, which cause the internal clutches to lock and unlock aggressively while street driving. This is often amplified by a short wheelbase and manual transmission. Maintaining equal tire pressures and weight loading side to side on-road can greatly reduce the Detroit's infamous personality.


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People Creative—aka The People Crew, are the guys who brought you 2009's Nice Try. Remember that one? It featured Marben, Huot, Wille, Debari, etc? Yeah, thought so. This season, they've got new riders on board—a good mix of styles—and they've been working overtime. In case you haven't heard, this year's movie is called Cheers. The crew here at TransWorld is stoked to be teamed up with People again this year. Otherwise I probably would never have gotten the invite to join them for some spring fun in B.C.
I just spent a week up in the B.C. backcountry rolling with Eero Niemela, Shaun McKay, Mikey Rencz, and People director-producer Justin Eeles. We went on some missions: I watched, did some shoveling, and got my rented sled stuck a few times (quite a few times actually). Even got a couple No Board runs in.
Across town two other People crews, made up of Joe Sexton, JP Walker, and Simon Chamberlain, plus Seth Huot and Aaron Biittner were rouping and looping around the various Whistler zones trying to rack-up some more shots. These guys were going hard and kept the whip cracking on themselves after I left—that springtime race to get all the shots they need before the snow disappears. I witnessed some sick shit. Had some laughs. Saw Renczy get semi-Lobbled bouncing himself off an icy landing. Definitely good times and damn good riding. Based on the crew, the motivation, and the filmers, it seems like a sure thing that CHEERS is gonna give us all something to cheer about. And they still aren't done filming.
Full movie crew: Jeremy Jones, JP Walker, Simon Chamberlain, Seth Huot, Aaron Biittner, Joe Sexton, Lauri Heiskari, Mikey Rencz, Zac Marben, Eero Niemela, Curtis Cizsek, and Shaun McKay.
Locations: B.C. Canada, Minnesota, Sweden, Finland, Lake Tahoe, Washington, Oregon, California, Salt Lake City
Movie Release Date: September 2010
For People on the daily, Click HERE.
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And check back for CHEERS teasers, updates, and stuff.