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Nation & World
Car dealers may have upper hand in consolidation plans
To hear auto industry analysts tell it, one thing General Motors must do to survive is eliminate Conrad Holt's business and many others like it.
Holt owns Saturn of DFW, the three Tarrant County dealerships that sell GM's relatively small, unprofitable Saturn brand, which many analysts say should probably just go away.
Not Holt. He wants to see the Saturn brand and his business survive.
"I feel like Saturn is part of the solution, not part of the problem," Holt said. Even in a tough economy, with auto sales in the Metroplex off 40 percent in November, Holt says his three small locations — in Hurst, Fort Worth and Arlington — are viable businesses.
And as long as Holt, and dealers like him, want to stay in business, it's going to be hard for manufacturers to shut them down.
"The problem is, you can't just go in and close a dealership" because they are protected by state franchise laws, said George Magliano, director of auto industry research for IHS Global Insights.
The financial lifeline the U.S. government extended to GM and Chrysler on Friday gives the manufacturers three months to work out some enormously difficult restructuring plans.
And there is widespread agreement among analysts that GM, Ford and Chrysler need to drastically prune their dealer networks. GM has said it intends to cut its 6,450 dealers to about 4,700 by 2012.
That's easier said than done.
To read the complete column, visit The Fort Worth Star-Telegram .


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subset: commoncrawl


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The Gold's Gym convention is moving right along this week in Las Vegas, but so far, no announcement has been made about the speculated Gold's acquisition of Bally. Will that change in the next 24 hours?
In the four-plus years that I've been at Club Industry, no story has garnered this much attention from so many well-connected people in this industry. It seems that everybody has a source or an opinion on how this story will go down.
To give you an example, over the weekend, one source told me that the deal may be dead. A few hours later, another source told me that the deal is done, and that an announcement will come on Wednesday. It's hard to get more extreme than that.
With that in mind, I believe that we're at a crossroads with this story. I think the deal either will be announced at the convention, which ends Wednesday, or it will fall through this week. I just don't see this dragging on for another couple of weeks. I'm sure there are a lot of anxious Gold's Gym franchisees milling about the Mandalay Bay wondering what might happen. I hope they can find something to do in Las Vegas to take their minds off the situation.
It would have been great to cover this event in person. (Remember when we did Las Vegas in a day for the Planet Fitness-World Gym summit?) But according to a source of a source, the convention is private, and media typically are not invited. Another source says people are being tight-lipped at the convention about the speculated deal.
For now, the Gold's Twitter feed is providing us with a few snippets of the convention. On Monday, Lou Ferrigno was inducted into the Gold's Gym Hall of Fame. Earlier today, some convention goers enjoyed an early-morning workout.
And that's the latest from the Gold's Gym convention.


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"Only one block to go! It's South Flat 2, and then we'll call it a year." — Will Thomas, Lytton Springs Viticulturist
The sun rose this morning on Lytton's Last Stand.
Today, Sunday, October 21st, 2012, it ends. Lytton's Last Stand.
The teams went to work …
And then there was one …
One block left to go.
One little 2.5 acre block of Mendocino-clone Zinfandel, planted in 1998 on 1103P rootstock.
And then there were none.
Categories: Events, Lytton Springs, RIDGE Staff, Varietals & Blends, Vineyards, Winemaking, Zinfandel


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|June 28th, 2012, 03:08 PM
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Cyprus
Posts: 92
About time and value
Hi Pierre,
Very nice and instructive essay, as usual.
Let's see what Luca Emilio Brancati ("I tappeti dei pittori") has to say on the subject of high price of oriental carpets at the time:
"That which has always distinguished the oriental carpet is essentially the favour it has found within well-to-do European society. The wish to possess such a carpet was so strong that very high prices were paid. They were the very height of fashion.
Documents of the period, in particular those prior to l500, show that only very few carpets were imported from the Orient, and how owing to high demand, prices were all but contained. So only very few people were able to afford such works, and display them. Quite clearly these people belonged to the aristocracy and upper classes and were often patrons of the arts. The carpet itself, therefore, was not readily seen beyond these restricted environments. So by placing a carpet in a painting the artist is doing more than just providing a decorative backdrop, he is making a statement. He is declaring his fashion consciousness, and how he frequents wealthy personalities, while at the same
time he is seizing the moment to show off his technical skill and bravura. "
I was curious about what Lorenzo de' Medici could have paid in today's currency for the stuff you mentioned:
So, the cheapest rugs were at 1780 US$ each. Not terribly expensive, then (but… see last point below).
So, let's say I take my time machine to go back in Lorenzo de' Medici's Florence with 20 florins (3560 US $)… what would I buy to take back to present time?
Not rugs but, definitely, Donatello's marble statue!
Of course what is missing from the equations is the fact that value - of just everything - fluctuates constantly.
Hence I suspect (and I was right: I checked) that the value of gold was much higher during Renaissance than nowadays, even with its recent increase given the current monetary instability. On the other hand, of course, today the actual value of Renaissance works of Art is stratospheric!
Then, the middle class of modern western society is on the average much wealthier than it was five centuries ago (hence, 1780 US$ for a rug doesn't look expensive for us today).
Well, for the moment, at least. As Lorenzo himself wrote:
Chi vuol esser lieto, sia
di doman non c'è certezza.
(Who'd be happy, let him be so:
nothing's sure about tomorrow)
Keeping my fingers crossed…
|July 1st, 2012, 10:45 AM
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 87
Hi Filiberto,
It is indeed difficult to compare the value of gold or silver between the Renaissance and today.
It seems safe enough though to assume that at least until the end of the fifteenth century there was a permanent shortage of silver and gold in Occident, since the trade balance was generally very favorable to the Orient and the major known sources of these metals were either located in Moslem territory or controlled by Moslem merchants. Thus gold and silver must have had a very high buying power in Occident.
Things started to look different only after 1480:
First the Portuguese made an increasingly significant dent in the Arab monopoly for the gold from Sudan, draining gold caravans to their own trading post of Sao Jorge da Mina on the coast of western Africa.
Then Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire and Mexico in 1519-1521 and exploited huge silver mines in the area of San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato and Taxco which production soon dwarfed anything known until then in the world.
Cortés was soon followed by Francisco Pizarro and Diego Almagro, who conquered the Inca Empire in 1533, equally rich with silver (the huge Potosi mine in what is now Bolivia for example) but also with gold. (The ransom of the Inca Atahualpa, a room filled with gold, is famous).
As, at about the same time, the balance of trade between Occident and Islam also turned in favor of the former, the buying value of gold and silver must have fluctuated quite dramatically during the first half of the sixteenth century.
Best regards
|July 6th, 2012, 08:52 PM
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Fairport, NY
Posts: 38
We all love rugs or we wouldn't be here; however, given the relative values that Filiberto related about the value of one of the Medici carpets and the Donatello statue, I, too, would select the statue.
|July 9th, 2012, 01:49 PM
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 87
Hi Marvin,
I agree.
The Donatello mentioned is probably the one shown below, a long time host of the Palazzo Medici and now at the Bargello. With this hat David would have been a sensation at the Epsom Derby.
Best regards
|July 10th, 2012, 03:02 AM
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Fairport, NY
Posts: 38
I remember that there are three magnificent carpets in the room next to that statue, including a Holbein and Lotto carpet. If I remember correctly the third is a star Ushak.
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James Cameron has scooped up film rights to Taylor Stevens' tome "The Informationist," marking a rare project that has piqued the helmer's interest outside of work on the next two "Avatar" installments.
Cameron, who will produce under his Lightstorm Entertainment banner with partner Jon Landau, will begin work on "The Informationist" after he finishes the next two installments of "Avatar" for 20th Century Fox. He's eyeing "Informationist" as a directing vehicle at the studio, which is tentatively scheduled to release the third "Avatar" installment in 2015.
"Informationist" will deepen the duo's ties to 20th Century Fox topper Jim Gianopulos, a ferocious champion of "Avatar" during its early — and expensive — stages.
But Cameron's full dancecard means it's unlikely he'll get to tackle his new bigscreen adaptation until 2015 or beyond.
The helmer told the New York Times in May that he had basically "disbanded" his company's development arm and that he wasn't "interested in developing anything."
But Landau said Stevens' book had something that overcame Cameron's instinct to stick to his "Avatar" projects.
"When you find a diamond in the rough, even if you're not looking for diamonds, you're going to pick up that diamond," Landau told Variety. "I think what Jim was saying is we no longer have an active development department. We're not out there soliciting, we don't want to be inundated with scripts … if something inspires Jim, we're going to get involved with it."
Published last year, Stevens' "The Informationist" centers on Vanessa "Michael" Munroe, an information specialist who counts heads of state as clients. When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his missing daughter, Munroe finds she must face a past she's tried hard to forget.
Broadway Publishing released the second novel based on the Munroe character earlier this year. Describing the hero as a "female Jason Bourne," Landau said he could picture the series as a potential franchise.
"The book itself is one of the most cinematic books I think either (Jim or I) has ever read," Landau said. "Then deep within that story are all the things that Jim Cameron puts into his movies: a female heroine who's smart, who has an intellect and not just a physical prowess."
Stevens, who has already penned a third novel in the series, has an interesting backstory herself. Born into a religious cult, the scribe spent most of her childhood begging in the streets at the command of religious leaders or caring for younger commune children. She left the group, Children of God, in her 20s and now writes full-time from her home in Texas.
"Informationist" will also further Lightstorm's relationship with 20th Century Fox, which Gianopulos will run solo come Jan. 1, as co-chairman Tom Rothman confirmed he would ankle his post at the end of the year.
"This was an opportunity to continue our relationship with Fox and Jim Gianopulos beyond the 'Avatar' films," Landau said in an official release from Fox announcing the book deal. "We were drawn to this book because of the terrific, compelling narrative and the character, who typifies the strong female protagonists that have inhabited Jim's work."


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AP: Desmond Tutu to retire from public life
JOHANNESBURG -- One of South Africa's most beloved figures, Desmond Tutu, announced plans Thursday to retire from public life after his 79th birthday in October. The Nobel peace laureate honored for his efforts to fight apartheid said he wants to spend more time with his family.
South Africans lavished praise on Tutu and said his retirement was well-deserved, but many said they could not imagine the country without his moral leadership.
Opposition politician Patricia de Lille said Tutu's "special" voice would be missed and there were hopes he would still speak out on issues facing the nation.
Josephina Mahlaba, 60, an unemployed woman in Johannesburg, said Tutu deserved to step out of the spotlight after a lifetime of service to his countrymen.
"It's been a long road for him and he looked after us all in South Africa ... he prayed for us all," she said.
The South African Council of Churches, which Tutu led during the apartheid era, commended the archbishop for the "prophetic role he played national and internationally."
"He was truly a voice in the darkness for very many people who are dwelling in the darkness. He offered hope, he offered love and he offered life," the council's secretary general Eddie Makue said.
In the years since apartheid ended in 1994, Tutu has remained active on a wide array of social and political issues, calling for the ouster of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and also helping to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors last month to the World Cup.
"He has become an international icon of fearless integrity, who has taken a stand against power abuse throughout his long public life," said Helen Zille, the leader of South Africa's main opposition political party, the Democratic Alliance. "He has paid a high price for it at times, but always triumphed through his blend of faith and self-deprecating humor."
She described him as the nation's "moral compass."
The former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town said after his birthday on Oct. 7 he will limit his time in the office to one day per week until February 2011.
"Instead of growing old gracefully, at home with my family reading and writing and praying and thinking too much of my time has been spent at airports and in hotels," Tutu said in a statement Thursday. "The time has now come to slow down, to sip Rooibos tea with my beloved wife in the afternoons, to watch cricket, to travel to visit my children and grandchildren, rather than to conferences and conventions and university campuses."
In recent weeks, a jovial Tutu appeared at several World Cup events. He gave a speech to thunderous applause at the tournament's opening concert and was also seen dancing in his seat at the VIP section at the opening ceremony.
It is Tutu who labeled South Africa the "rainbow nation of God" to celebrate its diverse cultures.
He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, then used his new international stature to step up the campaign against apartheid. Tutu led calls for punitive sanctions against South Africa, remaining one of the few strong voices inside the country while other activists were imprisoned or forced to operate abroad.
He was ever-present during the turbulent final years of apartheid and the ensuing transition to majority rule, praying and sermonizing after massacres and then heading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. For more than two years the panel listened to people testifying about torture, killings and other atrocities during the apartheid era.
Former South African president Nelson Mandela made a similar decision to largely retire from public life back in 2004.
Tutu said once he steps down, he will no longer be available for media interviews and new appointments will not be added to his schedule.
"It's very sad that he's retiring. I used to see him around and he would greet me back," said Josephine Ngobeni, 38, a social worker who lives in the Orlando West section of Soweto where Tutu also has a home.
Sifiso Mahlaba, 30, described Tutu as South Africa's inspirational leader.
"By retiring, we are losing the most powerful leader in our country," Mahlaba said.
Tutu said, though, that he would stay involved with the Nobel Laureate Group and a group of international statesmen and women brought together by Mandela known as the Elders. Tutu also will remain involved in the Desmond Tutu Peace Center in Cape Town.
Tutu said Thursday he contributed "in a small way to the development of our new democratic, exhilarating, exasperating nation.
Thank you to my colleagues, past and present, for doing all the work and allowing me to take the credit," he said. "As Madiba said on his retirement: Don't call me; I'll call you."


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New Art from Cape Dorset
This exhibition features drawings and sculptures created by second- and third-generation Cape Dorset artists in recent years. Eleven original drawings are by Ningeokuluk Teevee (b. 1963) and Tim Pitsiulak (b. 1967), two young artists who are causing much excitement among collectors. Since 2004, Teevee has been creating drawings that explore the relationship between abstraction and representation, particularly the interplay of patterns found in nature. Pitsiulak came to public notice in 2005 with a lithograph, Caribou Migration, that was included in the Cape Dorset annual print collection. His drawings are realistic depictions of modern subjects that are often angled or run off the edge of the page. Both artists have recently been creating large-scale drawings, such as Teevee's Sea Goddess which is five feet wide.
Sculptures in the exhibition have been acquired in recent years and are by artists who are expressing personal interests and concerns. Goota Ashoona (b. 1967), daughter of Kiugak Ashoona, often interprets female imagery, such as the sea spirit Nuliajuk. Goota's son, Joe Jaw Ashoona (b. 1989) has used abalone in his whale bone sculpture as a memory of a exchange trip he made to Haida Gwaii in 2009. Jamesie Pitseolak (b. 1968) is interested in machines, particularly the motorcycle, and the WAG's Chopper was carved in 2007. His sculpture, Horse Shoe, is part of a series of visual puns he created in 2007–08.
This exhibition is part of The Collection on View, six galleries featuring works from the WAG's 24,000 piece permanent collection.


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Toronto passed Montreal to become Canada's biggest city in the 1970s, but it wasn't ready to raise a toast to itself. The dour influence of Toronto's Scottish Presbyterian roots had made it a dull town, its nightlife hobbled by draconian liquor laws. Certain districts remained dry long after Prohibition; the last holdout neighborhood only voted to go wet in 2000. Toronto didn't drink like an honest-to-goodness big city.
More recently, however, a feverish mania for dining out has taken hold, spurring an explosion of youthfully energetic and trendy restaurants in the relaxed, green-canopied neighborhoods that ring the downtown core. The local food revolution has led to a rethinking of the city's liquid diet—sophisticated cocktails are blossoming across the city, and local brewers are introducing formerly unfamiliar styles of beer. The city is even honing a few niche capabilities, with special expertise developing in molecular mixology, infusions and cask ales.
Grassroots Mixology
In early 2011, a couple of visitors at The Harbord Room, Dave Mitton's popular bistro in the Annex neighborhood, boasted about having scored a gluttonous portion of the city's precious supply of Luxardo maraschino liqueur. The essential cocktail staple only shows up sporadically in the province's government-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) stores. "It disappointed me," Mitton recalls.
To the co-owner and head bartender of The Harbord Room, this most un-Canadian display of selfishness pointed to bigger problems holding back Toronto's cocktail scene. He believes bartenders ought to help each other survive in a challenging environment— challenging because there was no local tradition of cocktail drinking to speak of, and much educating needing to be done, and because the LCBO, while improving of late, continues to present supply and selection obstacles that drive bartenders mad.
In other respects it doesn't make sense that Toronto has lagged as a drinking destination. The number of residents in Greater Toronto has doubled since 1976 to 5.6 million, half of which are foreign-born. And the Great Recession withered here in the face of a seemingly unstoppable condominium boom. Prosperity and a multicultural backdrop have made Toronto a hungry city, figuratively and literally.
With that in mind, Mitton made it a mission to put Toronto on the drinking map. He gathered 30 prominent bartenders, and pleaded his case. "'You guys want Toronto on the map? It's not, and here's why I think that is: no camaraderie,'" he remembers telling them. "'Alone, we're never going to do this, but as a whole, we can cause a bit of a buzz.'"
Mitton closed his restaurant one frigid night in January 2011 to hold the meeting. "There were some scraps," he says. "Some people butted heads." But many new friendships were formed, and in the end, 30 bartenders wrote their email addresses on an empty pizza box, anointing Mitton as disseminator of information on tastings, competitions and other events meant to bring the bartending community together. The email roll has grown to more than 200 people, all committed to the goal of developing and elevating Toronto's cocktail scene.
Take Nishantha Nepulangoda, who oversees the bar operations at Blowfish, a high-end Asian resto-bar focused on sushi. Born in Sri Lanka and trained at a luxury resort in Dubai, he's one of the few prominent bartenders to emerge from Toronto's large immigrant population. He's particularly skilled at borrowing challenging Asian ingredients from the kitchen, such as tamarind and makrut lime leaves, and incorporating them into elegantly calibrated cocktails. Nepulangoda experiments with Cognac- and bourbon-based cocktails, but especially popular are his vodka- and sake-based creations like the Green Tea and Ginger, which blends vodka and Campari with housemade ginger cordial and green tea syrup.
Meanwhile, Rob Montgomery has specialized in expanding the comfort zone of local cocktail drinkers. He oversees the bar at the uptown Miller Tavern, established 1857, and a downtown satellite near the arena where the Toronto Maple Leafs play hockey. A well-perfected Canadian standby is the Bloody Caesar, a variation of the Bloody Mary that includes clam juice, and Montgomery's may be the best around. Another locally popular cocktail is the Manhattan, one of the few that red-blooded Canadian men have considered sufficiently macho to safely order. Montgomery offers nine variations and close cousins of the classic formula. While his inspiration comes from New York, the whisky is often Canadian. Montgomery's version of the Carroll Gardens, first seen at Death & Co. in New York, contains Crown Royal Black Canadian Whisky, Punt e Mes, Averna amaro and maraschino liqueur. His rendition of the Bensonhurst, inspired by New York bartender Chad Solomon's original, employs Canada's Century Reserve 15 Year Old as its rye.
The members-only Toronto Temperance Society, a seductively lit, speakeasy-style cocktail bar in Little Italy, offers modern renditions of the classics to drinkers willing to pony up C$285 annually for a black membership card. And, for the masses, Toronto has a plethora of tiny neighborhood bars, many of which have ambitious cocktail leanings. Churchill, for example, offers the hard-hitting cocktails of Sandy De Almeida, who masterfully mixes brash spirits like bourbon and tequila with more subtle notes from amari and other liqueurs. Take her Battle of Algiers, which pairs bourbon with doses of Green Chartreuse and chai-infused sweet vermouth. Her Autumn Sonata, meanwhile, is a full-throttle but balanced mix of clove- and orange-infused Port, Calvados, an amaro and Peychaud's bitters.
Restaurants have taken a lead role in Toronto's cocktail awakening. To visit Mitton's Harbord Room today is to witness a new behavior for the city: people starting dinner with a cocktail. Mitton's cocktail list swings with Toronto's extreme seasons. Among recent highlights is his adaptation of the Scottish Athol Brose, a centuries-old Scottish tipple. He (perhaps mercifully) skips the traditional oatmeal and emphasizes honey, cream and single malt scotch. His Lady Sniper, meanwhile, deftly combines blanco tequila, Cynar and Yellow Chartreuse.
Another small neighborhood eatery serving solid cocktails is The County General, which complements its casual, Southern U.S.-influenced food menu with a short but punchy drink list and healthy supplies of rum and bourbon. The Showdown combines both categories, pairing Demerara rum and bourbon and sealing the marriage with housemade cherry vanilla bitters.
Perhaps more than any restaurant, The Black Hoof, which opened in October 2008, has pushed Torontonians into unfamiliar drinking territory. Food writers have showered it with accolades for its nose-to-tail, charcuterie-focused menu. Four years ago, "there was almost nowhere to go" for cocktails in Toronto, says owner and cocktail creator Jen Agg. Her focus was running the restaurant (and, later, the seafood-oriented Raw Bar next door). But having sharpened her craft running a now-defunct cocktail bar called Cobalt from 1998 to 2006, Agg had skills to share, and Toronto had a void to fill. The hooch was such a hit that The Black Hoof expanded last year to include a satellite called Cocktail Bar across the street. Its spare moniker is a testament to the single-mindedness of Agg's goal: introducing Toronto to the concept of a confident, competent, American-style cocktail bar.
The restaurateur found part of her inspiration in the mid-2000s during trips to New York, gleaning lessons from bars like Milk and Honey. "I became fascinated with infusions and making my own [ingredients], particularly because we couldn't get a lot of stuff here," she says. Infusions and other housemade ingredients gave Agg more command over flavor profiles, allowing her to transcend the LCBO's limited selection.
But while she's serious about her cocktails, Agg leaves any pretenses behind and tries to keep things low-key and accessible. "We don't do the whole vest-and-monocle thing," she says. "Not that I object to it—I think it can be very cute. But I like the clash between old-timey and modern, and I think my drink list reflects that." Her menus feature original creations as well as classics, plus modern twists like a Martinez made with oak-aged Beefeater gin.
The challenges of the LCBO helped inspire another star Toronto bartender. Frankie Solarik, co-owner of BarChef, credits the state's limited selection for his boundary- pushing cocktail repertoire. The molecular mixology side of his menu has been the big draw for the cavernous, dimly lit bar on bustling Queen Street. BarChef made a flashy debut in late 2008, wowing a cocktail-shy city with such molecular trickery as mojito "ravioli." A dip in a sodium alginate bath wraps a spoonful of mojito in a skin of calcium gluconolactate, creating a gelatinous pouch that bursts deliciously in the mouth.
Complex planning goes into each new offering, as evidenced by moisture-wrinkled, much-scribbled-upon notebooks Solarik keeps behind the bar. His skills with chemistry are self-taught, while his inspiration comes from unusual mental wiring. "Apparently I have this thing called synesthesia," he says. "It's the misdirection of the senses. It's a very positive thing for what I do. It allows me to feel flavor; to make flavor a tangible object."
BarChef's signature vanilla hickory-smoked Manhattan is pure cocktail theater. The bartender flames hickory chips before your eyes, then stirs in Canada's own Crown Royal Cask 16, vanilla-infused Cognac and house cherry-vanilla bitters. The drink is placed on a pedestal over the smoldering woodchips, under a bell jar that traps the smoke so it can percolate into the drink. At C$45, it's not cheap, but the result has a pleasant smoky-caramel flavor that has been known to provoke deep memories of sitting by a campfire in some drinkers.
Beyond the sorcery, humbler ingredients and techniques form the backbone of BarChef's four-page punch and cocktail list. Solarik's recipes require a rotating arsenal of 50 jars of housemade ingredients. He suspects Toronto cocktail menus feature an especially diverse variety of infusions because of local bartenders' quest to transcend the restrictions of the LCBO. "Would drinks ever have reached where they are here if we didn't have those limitations?" he asks. "Probably not."
Solarik takes particular pride in the international media attention his unique approach to mixology has brought Toronto, and BarChef in particular. "We're known as a go-to spot … for people visiting the city. I would say almost every night we have someone in from the U.S.," he says.
Micro Madness
Where beer was concerned, Ontarians used to more or less have three options: Molson, Labatt or imports. Emerging in the 1990s, microbreweries focused on popular pilsners and pale ales, a survival strategy that only reinforced Toronto's conservative beer tendencies. Circa the mid-2000s, a wide beer selection was a rare thing. Keen beer drinkers could make a pilgrimage to Smokeless Joe, a tiny subterranean nook nestled among the mega-nightclubs of the Entertainment District (it has since moved to above-ground digs in Little Italy) or the much larger Beerbistro. Opened in 2003 steps from Bay Street, Canada's equivalent of Wall Street, Beerbistro's been packed with thirsty, beer-loving suits ever since. Both spots specialize in mussels, oysters and Belgian beer, and both have swiveled their attention more towards Ontario beers as the variety thereof has expanded.
That expansion has been especially rapid over the past two years. In a bid to break the mega-breweries' hold, local advocates of great beer have adopted a spirit of experimentation—rebellion, even. Several small operations have opened since 2011, including Junction Craft Brewing, named for the Junction—the very neighborhood that held out against alcohol sales until 2000. It's a sign things have changed.
Another sign of Toronto's changing beer landscape: The Beer Academy, something of an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" effort from the Six Pints Specialty Beer Company, Molson's craft beer wing. It has a mandate of educating locals about unfamiliar beer styles, and achieves this by brewing small volumes of beer to take away from its on-site shop. Some of the styles, including a Belgian brown ale, have seldom been tasted in Toronto. Group tastings and food pairing seminars are key activities for the Beer Academy, says Six Pints' Aaron Bilyea.
The fact remains that the LCBO licenses only a handful of companies to control all draught distribution in Ontario, and while the LCBO does stock a few dozen American beers in bottles, Torontonians seeking U.S. craft beer on tap typically have only two choices: Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Brooklyn Lager.
Deprivations of this kind inspired the Saloon League. The underground club was formed last year by Canadian beer enthusiasts tired of being excluded from the best that the U.S. craft beer scene has to offer, at least in draught form. The League holds occasional, semi-secret parties at members' houses, tapping kegs brought in from Quebec or the United States. They usually arrive in the car trunks of members, who say they follow the law by declaring the loot at the U.S.-Canada border.
Establishments that operate above ground have to find other ways to expand the beer options. Around six years ago, Bar Volo was an ordinary Italian restaurant. But the Morana family, which had opened Volo in 1985, found its affinity for beer was growing. Finally, a couple of years ago, the family took a risk and agreed to reboot Volo as a beer bar.
Among Volo's numerous beer-evangelizing initiatives, the House Ales program is perhaps the most intriguing. The Moranas ripped out part of the kitchen to set up a nanobrewing operation, revolving around a stainless-steel, all-in-one brewing apparatus. The experiments, brewed one 100-liter batch at a time, have been a success. Scion Tomas Morana looked sheepish last April when blind judging of a competition between 32 Ontario cask IPAs at Volo placed three of its own ales in the final four.
Palates are slowly changing. Torontonians have a thirst for American-style IPAs, and in the absence of U.S. imports on draught, local breweries, such as Spearhead Brewery, are stepping in. At the same time, the city's British influence remains strong. That may help explain the popularity of Bar Volo's Cask Days events, which have advanced the cause of real ales in Toronto. Today the Moranas have an "amazing" number of customers for another side project: the sale of cask ale equipment. "You've got all these new trendy bars, and the first thing on their mind when they're setting up is, 'I want to have a cask engine,'" says Morana.
The Canadian pub, the primary beer-drinking locale, is another consequence of the British influence here. Torontonians have a deep-set loyalty to the localized version: In Toronto, a "pub" is often an establishment where fish and chips and chintzy pub decor serve as the only nods to British roots. Otherwise, patrons wash down American-style sports bar food (and Canada's ubiquitous poutine) with big-brand beers. But the Canadian pub is getting an update at a few places around town, with English transplant Jamieson Kerr leading the way. Kerr opened the Queen and Beaver Public House downtown in 2009 and added The Oxley in tony Yorkville last spring with chef Andrew Carter as partner. Both pubs serve well-made smashes, Mint Juleps and Pimm's Cups, but the smartly designed properties aren't necessarily cocktail destinations, and Carter's menus dismiss the idea that British food is bland. Think malty, local County Durham Brewing ales on cask and lamb's kidney on toast.
Ontario is also borrowing ideas and flavors from another influence: Quebec, the majority French-speaking province next door. Bar Volo doubles as a small-scale distributor for Dieu du Ciel!, a Montreal-based microbrewery best known for its Rosée d'Hibiscus, a fragrant and thirst-quenching wheat beer flavored with hibiscus blossoms. "The Quebec brewing scene is really interesting, and you don't get the same style range as you do anywhere else," Morana says.
Not content to let the Québecois have all the fun, Ontario microbreweries are at last introducing styles that were rarely seen here until very recently, even styles that have never been seen anywhere. Beau's All Natural Brewing Co., located near the Ontario- Quebec border, recently partnered with Quebec's Microbrasserie Trou Du Diable to create Fous Alliés ("Crazy Allies"), a mango saison ale.
Meanwhile, a puckeringly dry and food-friendly Farmhouse Saison has graced the tap at Bellwoods Brewery, which opened in a former auto shop on the achingly hip Ossington Avenue last spring. Co-owners Luke Pestl and Mike Clark left Amsterdam Brewing, a more established Toronto microbrewery, to take a chance on the idea of West Enders taking a liking to adventurous libations like their Berliner weisse and the challengingly bitter Witchshark Impreial IPA. "Toronto, as far as craft brewing goes, has definitely been a little more on the conservative side," Clark says, "but in recent history, that's rapidly changing."
Indeed, Torontonians are being won over, judging by the thirsty throngs that congregate on the Bellwoods patio. Brewers might do well to woo the bureaucrats next. The paperwork alone to establish the retail side of the Bellwoods operation was "a massive hassle," Clark says. He doubts Toronto drinkers were ever really as timid as their reputation suggested. Perhaps they have been a slumbering giant, waiting for the next wave of entrepreneurs to unleash even greater creativity in the local cocktail and beer scenes. And Toronto's bartenders, restaurateurs and brewers aren't waiting around any longer for regulations to change. They're busy turning Canada's biggest city into one of the world's great places to slake a thirst.


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Smoking increases, while alcohol consumption may decrease risk of ALS
A population-based case-control study of the rare but devastating neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has shown that the risk of such disease is increased among smokers, as has been shown previously. However, surprisingly, the risk of ALS was found to be markedly lower among consumers of alcohol than among abstainers.
Forum reviewers thought that this was a well-done and important paper, as it is a population-based analysis, with almost 500 cases of ALS, a very large number of cases for this rare disease. They were especially struck by the magnitude of the difference in risk of ALS between alcohol consumers and never drinkers: the risk among drinkers was about one half that of non-drinkers. Said one reviewer: "The results in this study are astonishing in this mysterious disease. One should expect that alcohol, as a toxic agent, rather should contribute to the development of ALS than to prevent it. The lower risk among drinkers compared with non-drinkers is remarkable"
Forum reviewers cautioned that the results of this paper should not be used to prompt people to consume alcohol just to prevent ALS, as it is such a rare disease. However, this paper presents important data that could help scientists understand the etiology of ALS and perhaps other more common diseases.
Explore further


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Introducing a new way to fend off pesky and annoying mosquitoes, ticks,
and fleas! The Insect Shield Protective Vest is designed to provide long-
protection against the aforementioned foes. The cotton canvas fibers of
this vest are bound with an effective permethrin formula that
is long-lasting, odorless, and invisible. Two reflective safety strips help
with visibility in low light. This product is completely safe for
both pets and humans. Camping and playtime have never been so easy and
Materials: Shell: 100% Cotton Canvas; Lining: 65% Polyester, 35%
Recommended sizing by breed:
XX-Small: Teacup and dogs under 5 lbs
X-Small: Australian Terrier, Chihuahua, Pomeranian, Toy Poodle, Yorkshire
Small: Boston Terrier, Jack Russell Terrier, Maltese, Pug, Silky
Medium: Bichon Frise, Beagle, Cocker Spaniel, Corgi, Scottish Terrier
Large: Brittany Spaniel, Bulldog, Collie, Schnauzer, Springer Spaniel
X-Large: Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Golden Retriever, Labrador
Retriever, Rottweiler


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Grizzly Bear
Shields - WARP
FILTER Grade: 88%
By Zachary Sniderman; photo by Tom Hines on September 18, 2012
Somewhere in Brooklyn, there is a warm, hazy world populated with moons and open spaces and lovesick gents who can jangle their guitars and slam their pianos and harmonize as a perfect, sad choir. Shields, Grizzly Bear's fourth, is a marvelous, odd album that occupies those spaces—and more. It's also the band's chance to reclaim the sonically rich genre they more or less defined upon their last, 2009's Veckatimest.
Shields sounds like it might start on the defensive, but the album is an even poppier twist on Grizzly Bear's echoey soundscapes, layered harmonies and jittery-stop folk beats. The album frequently dips into noise-flecked psychedelia. The purposeful drive and scratch of "Speak in Rounds" sweeps into the deep-sea flutter of "Adelma." The lovelorn staccato of "Yet Again" crashes into distorted chaos, as if the band were trying to claw out of their own song. Where the breakthrough Veckatimest was more herky-jerky, Shields is less afraid to get foots tapping. This isn't a bad thing. Stompers like "A Simple Answer" may be structurally straightforward, but time and again it—and every other song—is lifted by masterful orchestration and spot-on production. The keyboards, vocals, basses, pianos, and all manner of other eclectic instruments never crowd the ear but instead syncopate into one another, creating a sense of crescendo rather than cacophony.
In order to write the album, Grizzly Bear's first in nearly three years, the band needed some time apart. They had plenty of it—with members of the quartet individually contributing to or outright producing albums for Twin Shadow, Fleet Foxes, Dirty Projectors, TV on the Radio and more—though Grizzly Bear aren't the same without band cohesion. On Shields, they certainly make aims to escape the ghost of Veckatimest's success, however as much as they try to run, vestiges pop up here and there: Daniel Rossen hasn't stopped punching his electric piano, lead signer Ed Droste owns the saddest upper range in the game, and there's still that same sense that the instruments—sometimes brass and woodwind played by Chris Taylor, always Christopher Bear's signature, universe-occupying percussion—are being carried over open plains. But while the band remembers their roots, Shields is different; an album more overtly accessible, with songs that cover loss, love, romance and fate and that include lyrics like, "In the cradle of my unruly chest you belong / Take it as it is / Make another fist / Understand love just once how to be alone."
Early on, Grizzly Bear unassumingly declared themselves as the reigning kings of a certain sound, a forlorn folk touched with electronic flourishes and a vintage sense of melody and lyricism. It's an organic sound and one that has been aped (sometimes successfully) by a pack of peers avidly reaching for the crown during Grizzly Bear's three-year hibernation. But here, the band has returned from the cold with a tight, extraordinary album that is lush and satisfying—yet still in the corners just a little bit sad.


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How to Cut, Copy, and Paste in Pages for Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Pages is the desktop publishing application included with Mac OS X Snow Leopard. As with most word-processing applications, Pages lets you cut, copy, and paste any part of your document to improve the layout or just get your thoughts in order.
Cutting text or images
Cutting selected text or graphics removes it from your Pages document and places that material within your Clipboard. (Think of the Clipboard as a holding area for snippets of text and graphics that you want to manipulate.) To cut text or graphics, select some material and do one of the following:
Choose Edit→Cut.
Press Command+X.
If you simply want to remove the selected material from your Pages document (and you don't plan to paste it somewhere else), just select the text and press the Delete key.
Copying text and images
When you copy text or graphics, the original selection remains untouched, but a copy of the selection is placed in the Clipboard. Select some text or graphics and do one of the following:
Choose Edit→Copy.
Press Command+C.
If you cut or copy a new selection into the Clipboard, it erases what was there. In other words, the Clipboard holds only the latest material you cut or copied.
Pasting from the Clipboard
Are you wondering what you can do with all that stuff that's accumulating in your Clipboard? Pasting the contents of the Clipboard places the material at the current location of the insertion cursor. You can repeat a paste operation as often as you like because the contents of the Clipboard aren't cleared. However, remember that the Clipboard holds only the contents of your last copy or cut operation, so you must paste the contents before you cut or copy again to avoid losing what's in the Clipboard.
To paste the Clipboard contents, place the cursor where you want to insert the goods and do one of the following:
Choose Edit→Paste.
Press Command+V.


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Shift Happens! Live An Inspired Life with Dr. Robert Holden
Shift Happens! Live An Inspired Life with Dr. Robert Holden Previous Broadcasts
KQED 9: Sun, Apr 21, 2013 -- 9:30 AM
Robert Holden, Ph.D., is a renowned British psychologist, executive coach, author and speaker. This program is based upon his book of the same title, but also draws substantially from his other works: Authentic Success, Be Happy, and his newest book, Loveability. In this special, Dr. Holden organizes the content into 6 Principles and Practices, so viewers will enjoy both descriptive and prescriptive dimensions of the ideas presented.
Repeat Broadcasts:
- KQED Life: Sun, Apr 21, 2013 -- 9:30 AM


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Fucked for talking too much
When you live with your girlfriend and parents, life is full of surprises. Watch the guy's old man and mother realize his girlfriend makes too many international calls. Them paying all the bills, they went apeshit! What can you do but use the stupid bitch for your pleasure? They ask the guy to leave and have their way with her. What a crazy scene, an old couple taking full sexual control over a younger sexy chick! She won't be making this many calls in the future. Or will she?
ENTER MeetMySweet AND SEE ALL MOVIES
WHAT IS MeetMySweet.com?
You know this anxiety when you decide to introduce your girlfriend to your mom and dad? You want everything to go perfect and your palms may be even sweating. Imagine the meeting turns into a disaster, a sexy, sweaty, dirty disaster! At Meet My Sweet, girls meet their guys families - and get threesome! That's right, these old geezers and horny old bags still have it in them. The girl can't say no, she gotta show respect! Check out our crazy HD videos with girlfriend and family get-togethers going out of hand!
First impression is important, so she just starts following their nasty lead! Are you in love with your girlfriend? Well, how about her getting nailed by your own mom and dad? Gross? Or super-sexy? Find out now!
Latest MeetMySweet.com Updates:
Too much hot stuff to handle 29:36min
A party comes so unexpected 32:34min
Bringing the family together... 28:25min
Sex addiction running in the... 37:08min
Crazy parents caught... 34:15min
Fucked for talking too much 32:39min
A set of lingerie and sinful... 26:05min
Easy with those moans, bitch! 22:06min
A family get-together sans... 23:22min
Party gone wrong, very wrong 28:21min
A great gift and some fun 33:57min
Son steps out, parents fuck... 23:39min
One thing she can do really... 31:07min
A shower at the p's and more 28:55min
How you can get help from... 33:23min
Where comparison can take you 33:19min


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Pete Seeger: Forever Young
You're never too old to change the world.
See the Forever Young video
He may be 93, but Pete Seeger is still going strong, attending protests and fighting for human rights.
This mini documentary shows the making of the track Forever Young with Pete Seeger and the Rivertown Kids for Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International.
As Willie Nelson taught us, you just can't play a sad song on a banjo. Folk legend Pete Seeger unveils his newest protest song.
Sarah van Gelder interviews Pete Seeger on a life of music and the power of millions of small changes.
Jim Brown's new documentary Pete Seeger: The Power of Song, summarizes the career of America's preeminent folk-singer.


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I absolutely agree with your first paragraph...up to your referring to inter-dimensional beings...but I'll get back to that in a bit. Yes, I believe that there is still much that future generations could learn from studying the death camps, the battlefields and places of great human tragedies - almost like juries that personally visit crime scenes. You can learn a lot from illustrations and photographs, but until you're actually able to stand in a specific spot and see for yourself, the illustrations and drawings can only give you so much. With that in mind, I would have no problem whatsoever with visiting places like the Nazi death camps. And, if paranormal phenomena occurred during any of these visits, I would hope that it would be thoroughly investigated and rigorously documented - but to deliberately go, with the intention of stirring up the dust and disturbing any spirits who may be there, I would strongly say "no. let them rest in peace".
Your statement about the influx of reported paranormal activity corresponding with the advent of popular media and television seems accurate enough. Then again - how likely would it have been if people felt comfortable reporting seeing a ghost to the local newspapers before television came around? Television offers people their 15 minutes in the spotlight ("hey ma! I'm on the teley-vision!") with a wider audience. And who could tell if half of those stories, these days, are even close to being true? Sensationalism. That's what the people want, even if it's made up. Take, for example, the recent program on Animal Planet about mermaids - it was all made up. All of it. And people believe it was true because it was "sensational". The same could probably be said about most of the people who say the seem ghostly regiments marching up hills at Gettysburg - it's probably not true, but it's "sensational".
I'm a bit lost, CaveRat, by your use of the word "they". When I used it, I was referring to any souls or spirits of people who died because of the concentration camps. I was not even thinking about inter-dimensional beings (you brought that up, not me!). But let's bang that one on the head:
Whether they exist or not is not what I think was the gist of the original post (I'd have to go back and read it), but if (as you write) they are the puppet-masters behind everything the human race goes thru...if they are Dr Pavlov and we are just their dogs....what would happen if we (as a species) decide to do nothing when they (those darned inter-dimensional buggers) ring the bell? If we begin to suspect that they're playing with us, should we continue playing their games?
No - what happened at the concentration camps was very real. Millions of innocent people died. To understand the historic value that we, as a species, can learn (even all these years afterward) is one thing - but to go around there, trying to contact anybody who'd died in these places would be greatly (IMO) disrespectful. And these people deserve respect, because they didn't get it when they were dying. Inter-dimensional beings or not, that's a stain we humans did ourselves. To say "maybe it was someone or something from some other universe (or whatever) is still dodging the plain, basic truth. Humans did it. And I'm not going to do anything when "they" (your use of the word, not mine) ring the bell - I'll wait to see the tasty treat before I start drooling.
First of all, my comments mentioning "They" was in reference to the interdemensional beings that might be observing us, not to any who may have died in the camps. The Pavlov's dogs experiment is a good analogy to what might be one explanation and is the area I was going with my example. If that is the case then we could really screw with their heads by doing just the opposite of what "they" might want. If we just knew what that was. (I would emphasize this is just another hypothesis with no proof to back it up, just every other ghost theory out there!)
I completely agree regarding trying to contact any who perished in the camps; doing so would need to done with discretion. The reason I brought up Interdemensional entities is as an alternative explanation aside from the traditional ghost / spirit theory. In fact we don't even know any souls remain at the death camps; they may have llong since went on to their reward. For that matter there really is no proof anyone lingers behind, thus the reason to consider other alternative explanations for what we consider paranormal. We investigate to find answers and the truth. We need to remain open to all possibilities including the possibility we may be wrong in thinking spirits even remain behind. At this point all options are open; no proof of anything has been found yet.


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Former German tennis star Boris Becker can look back on a hugely successful career. In 1985 he announced his arrival in the sport with an unforgettable victory at his inaugural Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon as a 17-year-old. To this day he remains the youngest ever winner of the most prestigious competition in tennis.
Over the course of his playing days, the now 45-year-old won a further five Grand Slam titles, took Olympic gold in Barcelona 1992 with his doubles partner Michael Stich, and was victorious at three ATP Tour World Championships before calling time on his career in 1999.
FIFA.comspoke exclusively to Becker about his love of football, the three FIFA Ballon d'Or candidates, poster boys of the German national team and the FIFA Coach of the Year 2012.
FIFA.com: You are known to be a huge football fan. As a former tennis star, what does the game mean to you? Boris Becker:I think football is the most popular sport in the world and I'm saying that as a former professional tennis player. Even as a little kid I was a football fan. My love for Bayern Munich began in the early 1970s and still lives on today. On top of that I've been at numerous World Cups, European Cups and Champions League finals and have experienced the game close up.
You just mentioned your love of Bayern Munich. What makes the club so special?Back then players like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Sepp Maier and Paul Breitner didn't just dominate in the Bundesliga, they were also pillars of the German national team. Furthermore, I was on the advisory board at Bayern Munich up until two years ago, so I have a long-standing connection with the club. But I've also become very fond of Chelsea. I count Frank Lampard, John Terry and especially Didier Drogba as good friends. That made it all the harder for me to watch the Champions League final.
In the last few years the German national team has improved greatly. What's your view of coach Joachim Low's time in charge?Joachim Low and his assistants have been doing a fantastic job for years. But several other people also deserve credit for the national team's recent success. Jurgen Klinsmann, Matthias Sammer and Low started the project together and created the necessary structures. I have to congratulate the German Football Association because they gave relatively young men the freedom to make decisions which are now paying off. Alongside Spain, Germany have the best national team in the world and that's down to those men.
I have to congratulate the German Football Association because they gave relatively young men the freedom to make decisions which are now paying off.
Of course it hasn't led to a title as yet, but what do you think Germany's chances are at the 2014 FIFA World Cup™?That's a bit of a sore spot, but as a former professional sportsman I know all too well that your form on the day is decisive. On top of that you need a little bit of luck to go all the way. Unfortunately that hasn't been the case so far, but that doesn't mean the work of the people in charge was bad. The team really needs a title in order to fulfil the good image they already have. I'm absolutely convinced that the 2014 World Cup will come at exactly the right time because our key players will go into the tournament with even greater experience and concentration.
Spain have dominated both European and world football for several years now. What can be learned from them?I don't think there's much left to learn anymore. Spain had to wait a long time for their first title but now the dam has been broken. That's because the people responsible for the team were given the necessary time. We've achieved a lot in the last few years. The German national team has become a wonderfully multi-cultural group, with players like Sami Khedira, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose. That says a lot for our open-mindedness. You can see that sport has the power to change the world and that happens by introducing children to football or tennis at the right time in the right way. Your religion or skin colour play no part in that.
Two German players, Manuel Neuer and Mesut Ozil, made it into the 23-man shortlist for theFIFA Ballon d'Or 2012. How do you view their performances, both for club and country?I know Manuel Neuer better than I do Mesut Ozil, but I'm a fan of them both. In my opinion Neuer is the best goalkeeper in the world and I think he'll keep getting better over the coming years. Keepers don't hit their prime until their 30s anyway. In the long-run he can win World Cups, European Championships and the Champions League. It's a little bit harder with Mesut Ozil because there are so many good players in his position. However, on a good day he can win a game on his own because he's got the ability to play the killer pass. He's shown that in the national team as well as for Real Madrid. That says a lot about his strengths and his superb footballing ability.
With Spain, Iniesta has shown that he is among the best players of all time and that's why I rate him higher than Messi or Ronaldo.
Out of Andres Iniesta, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who is your favourite to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or and why?
Definitely Andres Iniesta. He's my number one. It's not that difficult to play well and win titles in a team like Barcelona, but it's in the national side where you see a player's true class. That was the case with figures like Pele, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane. With Spain, Iniesta has shown that he is among the best players of all time and that's why I rate him higher than Messi or Ronaldo. Even though the latter two have incredible scoring records for their clubs, they still haven't won anything with Argentina or Portugal respectively.
And who should win the FIFA Coach of the Year award? It's a three-horse race between Vicente del Bosque (Spain), Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid) and Pep Guardiola (formerly of Barcelona).Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are both incredible coaches, but they didn't win the Champions League this year. That's why my vote would go to Vicente del Bosque as he won the European Championship with Spain and the World Cup before that.
With Jurgen Klopp, Joachim Low and Jupp Heynckes, three German coaches were among the top ten shortlisted for the honour. Who do you think is the best German coach?They're from three different coaching generations. Jupp Heynckes is in the autumn of his career, but still knows how to get through to his young players. That's remarkable. Apart from that he knows how to put a team together and one which should have won the Champions League last season. Bayern are peerless in the Bundesliga this term and are still in the Champions League. I think Jurgen Klopp has been the coaching discovery of the last three years. It's fascinating to see the way he gets his team playing and his natural charisma is terrific. But my favourite is Joachim Low, who along with his staff has put together a great team over the last six years which has become the pride of the whole nation. He's got the most difficult job because he has 82 million additional national team coaches breathing down his neck every game. Nevertheless, he comes across as very likeable and privately he's a person of great integrity.


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Manage Sqlite schema via interactive diagrams. Create new tables, columns and indexes directly in the diagram. The diagrams can be exported as HTML vector images.
Relational Data Browse is a visual data explorer from multiple tables simultaneously. View one table data and then open further tables having foreign keys or virtual foreign keys and view related records.
Data can be edited, filters can be set.
The editor will be saved to file and reopen next time you access the application. In this way you can build different perspectives over the data and reuse them whenever you need.Video Introduction Read more »
DbSchema use its own project with schema structure and diagrams, which will be saved to project file. This makes possible to design schema independent from the database and deploy it on multiple databases.
The project file is in XML format. The project file can be stored in GIT and shared in a team.
Restarting DbSchema will open the last saved project file. To ensure the project schema is the same as in the database press 'Refresh schema from database' from the menu. Next you can refresh complete schema or take an action for each difference : merge in DbSchema or in the database.Video Introduction Read more »
DbSchema Sqlite forms and reports can be used to build applications or reports and run them as JavaFx or Web applications. Based on the forms designer we started building Sqlite applications for space, permission and activity management.Read more »
For a better database design you may need good database documentation, diagrams and virtual foreign keys. Administrators and developers may enjoy the Relational Data Browse for the easiness to explore data. Using the Visual Query Builder you will save time and enjoy SQL. Schema synchronization will help you to deploy the schema on multiple databases.
Download DbSchema and try it 15 days for free.
Registered and unregistered users may benefit from technical support.
Purchase DbSchema and you will get 1 year free updates to new developed features and fixes.
Not happy with DbSchema ? 30 days after purchase you can claim your money back.
DbSchema can be evaluated 15 days for free.
DbSchema can run on all operating systems: Windows, Linux, MAC.


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Journal Review: Previews Big Bashby Wade Coggeshall • June 2, 2006 Share:
The 2005-06 school year may be over, but the Wabash College campus is hardly dormant. Starting today the liberal arts institution hosts its Big Bash, where alumni from 10 Wabash classes ending in 6 and 1 will come together for a three-day reunion.
This is the third year for the Big Bash, and Tom Runge, the college's director of alumni and parent relations and himself a Class of 1971 member, expects attendance at this one to be about 50 percent more than the previous two. In fact this year's reunion will be the biggest at Wabash since 1992.
"I think there's a number of factors (on Big Bash's growing popularity)," Runge said. "When the word gets out that it's a fun weekend, that word spreads. Having a dedicated weekend for nothing but reunions, we give our alums and their families a little bit of time to enjoy themselves and catch up with their classmates."
In the past Wabash College conducted reunions for younger classes the same weekend as homecoming in the fall. Older classes would get together in the spring during commencement weekend. Wabash decided to move reunions to their own weekend, at a time when nothing else was going on in the area that would make lodging a problem, because homecoming and commencement aren't exactly conducive to reunions. Plus scheduling multiple activities in the same weekend made coordination difficult for college officials.
"Our surveys show us the Big Bash has really caught on," Runge said.
Many aspects of the Big Bash remain the same year to year. There's always a golf outing that Friday at the Crawfordsville Country Club and an awards brunch at 11 a.m. Sunday to close the festivities. Perhaps the highlight of the weekend is the Alumni Chapel Sing, in which classes compete on the Chapel steps to hear who can sing "Old Wabash" the best. At the end every alumnus joins together for one massive sing-along of the college's fight song. Runge calls it "one of the biggest rites of passage that any Wabash man goes through."
Sprinkled throughout the Big Bash are colloquiums featuring alumni talking about life-changing events or sharing expertise from their careers. Among this year's highlights are 1956 graduate Tom Kometani relating his experience in three U.S. Japanese internment camps during World War II and 1966 graduate David Kendall, who is former President Bill Clinton's personal attorney, discussing his years inside the Beltway. Though the weekend is geared toward Wabash alumni and their families, the colloquiums are open to the public.
Technically the Big Bash is still in its test phase. After five years Wabash will have rotated through every reunion class in the past 50 years. So far results are positive.
"My take on it now is, this is something (our alumni) like," Runge said. "They're our customers. If they like it and come back, we'll keep going with it. We think it's a concept that's been a hit."
Coggeshall is a reporter for the Crawfordsville Journal Review.


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Oven-Fried Chicken-Eating Well
By á-4131
4 servings
5 points plus each
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes (including marinating time)
Per serving: 224 calories; 7 g fat ( 2 g sat , 2 g mono ); 130 mg cholesterol; 5 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 34 g protein; 1 g fiber; 237 mg sodium; 400 mg potassium.
- 1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk, (see Tip)
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 2 1/2-3 pounds whole chicken legs, skin removed, trimmed and cut into thighs and drumsticks
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- Olive oil cooking spray
Step 1
Whisk buttermilk, mustard, garlic and hot sauce in a shallow glass dish until well blended. Add chicken and turn to coat.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or for up to 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Set a wire rack on the baking sheet and coat it with cooking spray.
Whisk flour, sesame seeds, paprika, thyme, baking powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the flour mixture in a paper bag or large sealable plastic bag.
Shaking off excess marinade, place one or two pieces of chicken at a time in the bag and shake to coat.
Shake off excess flour and place the chicken on the prepared rack. (Discard any leftover flour mixture and marinade.)
Spray the chicken pieces with cooking spray.
Bake the chicken until golden brown and no longer pink in the center, 40 to 50 minutes.
Make Ahead Tip: Marinate the chicken for up to 8 hours.
Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make "sour milk": mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.


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After massive consumer pressure, McDonald's will no longer sell chicken fed on soya grown in deforested areas of the Amazon rainforest.
Thanks to enormous pressure from the thousands of emails and letters sent to their European headquarters by you, our supporters, McDonald's has agreed to stop selling chicken fed on soya grown in newly deforested areas of the Amazon rainforest.
Soya key driver of Amazon destruction
In recent years, the seemingly unstoppable expansion of soya farming in the Amazon had become one of the main threats to the world's largest rainforest. The soya wasn't being used to feed the world; instead it was used to feed farm animals destined for fast food and supermarket chains across Europe.
In April we launched our campaign exposing the food retailer's role in rainforest destruction. Our report, Eating Up the Amazon, detailed how McDonald's and other companies were implicated in deforestation, land-grabbing, slavery and violence. Since then there has been a sea change in attitude among the food industry towards the problem.
The result is that McDonald's and other big food retailers have worked with us to develop a zero deforestation plan. The plan will also help bring an end to the land-grabbing and social injustice that is rife in the Amazon.
Pressure for change
By committing to the plan, the companies' massive buying power has created a huge demand for soya that hasn't been grown in the ashes of the rainforest. This put pressure on the 'big five' soya traders - Cargill, ADM, Bunge, Dreyfus and Amaggi to come to the negotiating table with the future of large areas of the Amazon rainforest at stake.
In response to the pressure, the soya traders committed to a limited two year moratorium of buying soya from deforested areas. The two-year time frame of the soya traders moratorium risks being no more than a token gesture, unless the traders deliver real change to protect the Amazon.
Greenpeace is demanding that the moratorium stays until proper procedures for legality and governance are in place and until there is an agreement with the Brazilian Government and key stakeholders on long term protection for the Amazon rainforest. A working group will be established, made up of soya traders, producers, NGOs, and government to put in place an action plan.
Karen Van Bergen, Vice President of McDonald's Europe said, "When we were first alerted to this issue by Greenpeace, we immediately reached out to our suppliers, other NGOs and other companies to resolve this issue and take action. We are determined to do the right thing together with our suppliers and the Brazilian government, to protect the Amazon from further destruction."
"The two-year time frame set for the initiative is, we hope, indicative of the sense of urgency with which the soya traders wish to implement the governance programme and all of its conditions. We expect that should some of the measures take longer than the stated two years to implement, the moratorium would remain in existence until all commitments have been fulfilled."
There are some companies, however, who refuse to play ball. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), have point-blank refused to discuss their role in Amazon destruction.


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Tired Lille look to end slump
Wednesday 16 March 2005
Article summary
LOSC Lille Métropole are struggling in Ligue 1 and will be out of Europe if they fail to claim victory at AJ Auxerre.
Article body
Having lost the first leg of the all-French UEFA Cup Round of 16 encounter 1-0 last week, only victory at AJ Auxerre on Thursday will prevent LOSC Lille Métropole's elimination.
Steady decline
Since defeating Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais 2-1 in January, Lille have failed to win their last seven league matches and bowed out of the French Cup at the hands of second division Grenoble Foot 38.
Pegged back
Lille looked to be heading for a rare victory against sixth-placed Toulouse FC on Sunday when Peter Odemwingie turned in Christophe Landrin's cross on 61 minutes. However, midfield player Mathieu Chalmé was sent off eleven minutes later, and the dismissal proved pivotal as Toulouse striker Daniel Moreira volleyed in the equaliser almost immediately.
Puel hopeful
Nevertheless, the game has restored hope for coach Claude Puel who believes his tired side can put in one last effort before Sunday's league game, their last before a two-week break. "We were far better at the weekend," he said. "In the last few games we slowed down; the huge number of matches we've played this season have begun to take their toll [The match against Auxerre will be Lille's 50th this season]. But now it's the final straight before we have a mini-break."
Tafforeau doubt
But Puel knows that Auxerre will be tough opponents at Stade Abbé Deschamps, adding: "Auxerre are fallible but not very often. They have a strong front-line and our only chance is to deny them space." The side will have to do so without midfield player Jean Makoun who is still sidelined, while Grégory Tafforeau is doubtful with a thigh injury.
Auxerre absentees
Auxerre striker Benjani Mwaruwari is also struggling with a thigh problem and sat out Sunday's 2-2 draw against AS Monaco FC. His replacement, Luigi Pieroni, was on target along with Jean-Sébastien Jaurès, whose penalty 14 minutes from time salvaged a point. Mwaruwari is expected to return for Thursday's game but playmaker Yann Lachuer and defensive duo Johan Radet and Younes Kaboul are all out injured, while Teemu Tainio is a major doubt.
'A different game'
The match has an added spice for Benoît Cheyrou, who spent five seasons with Lille before joining Auxerre last summer and the midfield player believes the tie is far from over. "Many commentators have already sealed our progression but we must not take it easy," he said. "Lille will come here and give all they've got."


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Greenpeace activists held a legal protest outside Port Taranaki against a ship that is due to depart imminently to start exploring for deep sea oil -- the new frontier of oil development off New Zealand's shores.
1 - 12 of 900 results.
Say no to new oil or coal mining in Pure NZ


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Most people in the fashion community were thrilled when Delta Air Lines announced back in 2004 that designer Richard Tyler would be creating a new uniform collection for the airline that included a new dress in an eye-catching shade of red (the uniforms were formerly gray). Tyler promised the dress would make the flight attendants "look sexy and great," but as it happens, many of the ladies in Delta's fleet are less than enthused about the new dresses. Why? Because the dresses are too small.
The Northwest chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (essentially made up of members from Northwest Airlines before it was bought by Delta) filed an official complaint with Delta Air Lines and requested that it make the signature red dress available in sizes going up to 28 (right now the red dress only goes up to a size 18). As Patricia Reller (who manages the union's grievances) told The Associated Press, the fact that the dress isn't available in larger sizes says: "We don't want you wearing that if you are over size 18."
To make matters worse, in typical design fashion, the size 18 is apparently "a very small size 18" in much the same way that, say, a Zac Posen size 6 is smaller than a size 6 at the Gap.
The current Richard Tyler uniform collection has been out since 2006 and includes navy dresses and white blouses in addition to the famous red dress.
Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin was quick to comment that the whole incident could just be "AFA hype."


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New Arrivals: Rather be playing Zelda edition.
by Chris Troy
THE BEAST IS DEAD! CHRISTMAS IS OVER, AND NOW YOU HAVE CASH AND/OR GIFT CARDS TO USE ON CRAP THAT YOU REALLY DON'T NEED, BUT YOU WILL ANYWAY, DESPITE YOUR WIFE YELLING AT YOU FOR THE AMOUNT OF TOYS & STATUES CURRENTLY IN THE LIVING ROOM…whoops, projecting in my articles again. Anywho, hope you had a happy whatever holiday you celebrate(d), as mine was pretty rad and full of new video games.
First and foremost: SH Figuarts update. If you recall last week's article, I mentioned that Figuarts MechaGodzilla was a thing that we would soon have in. Change "soon" to "Currently in stock." Much like his organic counterpart, Mecha-G is made up of 2 different materials; die-cast and zinc alloy. I really like that Bandai is going this route for these "MonsterArt" figures. He also comes with some variant pieces, nuclear breathe, and a stand for said breathe. In non-Kauji Figuarts news, we also have the Super Sayian Vegeta (Dragonball Z) Figuarts in stock. I have a nature bias towards Dragonball figures, as I was working at a Toys R Us at the height of DBZ's popularity, so occasionally I have flashbacks to being swarmed by small children and neckbeards rushing me to get to the shelves, only to find out that the only figures we had in stock were some canon fodder villains.
That being said, the Figuarts are arguable the best DBZ figured made to date (which says a lot, as there's been a ton of them over the years, crapped out by a varieties of companies in both the East and the West). The Prince of all Sayians is well-sculpted like most Figuarts, and comes with a variety of variants hands and faces. We have limited quantities of all these figures in stock, so get 'em while we still have em. Ebay prices are scary yo.
I'd also like to point out that we have a ton of newish Heroclix figures instock as well! For Marvel and DC-related things, we have both the Incredible Hulk and the Superman series in stock, as well as some non-comic book based properties in, like Gears of War and the Lord of the Rings. If you play, you're gonna to want to pick up those LOTR Clix up ASAP, as the Hobbit trailer dropped last week, so there's been a huge surge in anything Tolkien related as of late. Continue reading


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Talk of a brand new rapid rail network in SE QLD continues to make headlines after gaining national coverage last week, as part of a council-led infrastructure project pitch.Read more here
As SE Queensland's population continues to grow, calls have been made for infrastructure to connect key islands in the Moreton Bay to the mainland, boosting island population capacities, along with tourism and business in the area.Read more here
A $1 billion Gladstone Energy and Ammonia Project has taken a major step forward with Queensland's independent Coordinator-General giving the 1,000 job his stamp of approval. The Coordinator-General has flagged this project as a coordinated project, which will help streamline approvals and fast track this major projects delivery. The next step for this project will be to prepare an environmental impact statement.Read more here
iSeekPlant is committed to supporting efforts to promote and identify indigenous owned businesses supplying to mining, resources and infrastructure projects. this supplier has identified itself as being Indigenous Owned or Affiliated under the following conditions:


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Developed internally by the team at Midway, L.A. Rush is the next installment of a long line of popular arcade racing titles made popular in previous generations. Set in such well known Los Angeles locales as Beverly Hills, Compton, Hollywood, LAX, and Santa Monica, L.A. Rush enables players to participate in a variety of different modes that are highlighted by a free-roaming mission-based gameplay system. Additional features include: highly destructible objects and environments, more than 50 licensed street and concept cars, and creative input from Ride Magazine and West Coast Customs.
A great-looking, reasonably controllable Midnight Club 3 wannabe destroyed by derivative, pointless, and tedious gameplay. Read More »
Midway reinvents a briefly forgotten but highly enjoyable racing series, and manages to keep hold of its soul. Read More »
Midway reimagines its popular Rush series as an underground tuner game, and that's looking like a pretty good idea. Read More »
Midway's street-racing series is the antithesis of rush hour in Los Angeles, but that's exactly where the next installment is going. Read More »
If I had all the quarters I pumped into San Francisco Rush arcade cabinets then I could probably put a downpayment on a condo instead of renting like a sucker. The Rush series has kept gamers captivated for more than a decade with its unique and exciting arcade action. It has been awhile since the last Rush game and racers have evolved a great deal since then. The venerable series is set to make a return on the Xbox and PlayStation 2 with L.A. Rush. Though it has many of the arcade elements that are a staple of the series, this game is much more complex and definitely not what it seems. Read More »
Also known as: LA Rush
Release Region: United States
Release Date: October 10, 2005
Publisher: Midway Games
For more info on these technical requirements and features, please view GameSpy's Specs FAQ.
L.A. Rush at IGN
L.A. Rush Cheats at IGN
L.A. Rush at GameSpy
L.A. Rush at GameStats


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If you're an innovative advertiser who would like to explore ways in which you can reach our wonderful online community of around 120,000 visitors a month (google analytics) then we'd love to hear from you. It's an exciting time to be online so please contact us if we can be of any help.


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WINGATE, N.C. – Three Cobras combined for 44 points off the bench in Coker's 75-68 win over the Wingate Bulldogs on Thursday (Jan. 30) night in South Atlantic Conference men's basketball action. Coker is now 10-7 overall and 7-6 in league play.
Trey Marshall, Errick Bethel and Larry Felder scored 17, 15 and 12 points respectively for the Cobras. Felder fell just short of a double-double with nine rebounds, while Bethel pulled down six rebounds and Marshall dished out three assists. Also scoring in double figures was Eren Moses 13 points and five rebounds.
At halftime the Cobras held a narrow 33-29 lead thanks to hitting 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 7-of-10 from the charity stripe.
In the second half Wingate built as much as a seven-point advantage with 12:30 left in the game. However, a 15-7 run by Coker, put the Cobras back on top. The Bulldogs stayed within striking distance for the remainder of the game. They cut the Cobra lead to two-points, 66-64, with just over a minute left, but Marshall nailed a 3-pointer with 50 seconds left, to secure the Coker victory.
The Cobras will continue their two-game road trip on Saturday (Feb. 1) at Lincoln Memorial. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. following the women's game at 6 p.m.


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B.J. Ryan Out for the Year
His back is fine, but his elbow is far from it. Toronto's All-Star closer underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in Cincinnati on Thursday morning. Dr. Timothy Kremcheck, who performed the operation, told the Blue Jays that Ryan should be available by next spring.
Originally, the Jays said Ryan would miss 4-6 weeks after meeting with Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala. Andrews recommended four weeks of rest, and after three weeks, Ryan was put through a physical test in Texas. When the pain in his elbow, which has been there since the spring it turns out, wasn't gone, Toronto discussed things over with the doctors and decided surgery was the best option. It's the first such operation of Ryan's career.
So, how who's Toronto's closer? Jason Frasor has been inconsistent and Jeremy Accardo could see some more time in the role. With Ryan out for the year, will Toronto look elsewhere for a temporary closer? They have Ryan under contract for three more years, so it's have to be a one-year solution. I'm sure we'll have a few more answers later today. Stay tuned…
11 Comments
Well J.P., maybe you should have told the fans from the beginning that it was his elbow. Now it's just another kick to us when we are down to find he's gone for the year (and who knows after that).
I could not be more depressed about this team than I am now. I thought we had passed the lowest point since October 1993, but I have now discovered we may not be quite there yet.
Can someone remind me which year of the J.P. rebuilding plan are we on now? I can't wait for the one with the postseason!
But realistically, did we think this year would be better than last? At the start of 06 we seemed to have five major league starters(Halladay, Burnett, Chacin, Lilly and Towers), a bullpen coming off a great year (Frasor, Chulk, Schoeneweis, etc) and a super closer. We had four great outfielders (Catalanotto, Johnson, Wells, Rios), two good catchers (Molina and Zaun), strong on the corners (Glaus and Overbay) with emerging players up the middle (Hill and Adams), and a stong mix at DH (Hillenbrand or one of the OF)
Somehow we were going to be better with three legit starters (Halladay, Burnett and Chacin) and a mixed bag of castaways and prospects, at best the same talent in the bullpen, three outfielders, one legit catcher (who we treated poorly in the off season), an aging DH with bad ankles on turf (how long before he's injured??), and a veteran short stop with a career .258 average.
Our management has been pathetic. The pinnacle of this was last years situation with Hillenbrand. How could we lose on that trade at the deadline. Well, first you have your manager and team let a clubhouse situation spill out. Then you trade a guy who is hitting over .300 (.290 lifetime) and a decent reliever for a decent reliever. Normally, in the course of business, the decent relievers would cancel each other out. Therefore, we received nothing in return for a utility/DH/+.300 hitter at the trade deadline when a dozen teams are looking to improve.
This was followed up by the Ted Lilly debacle on field and in the dugout, which lead to him leaving. (I'm not saying he's worth 10 million a year but I know why he didn't sign with Toronto)
So, I guess what I am saying is, perhaps we could clear out the on and off field management (this experiment with JP has clearly failed) and start afresh. I just don't think I can handle things getting any worse.
You need to calm down. Thank goodness you're not in charge of the Jays.
I agree this is very bad news but not news the team can't overcome. There are some very good relievers in the bullpen. They, as a group, need to pull up there socks and give performances beyond what was expected of them. This is the only way the pitching woes will right themselves. No one can replace Ryan, so I suggest they don't try. Ride the hot arms Gibbons. And hopefully there will be lots to choose from.
The other thing is that the starters need to do similar. The bats will come around, but the pitchers in general have to show the fans and management what they're made of.
Aside from not being able to fill the starting pitching void, the team has simply had a large string of bad luck resulting in a horrible losing streak. But I'd say firing a GM or coach just gives the team one more question mark. They already have enough of those with all the injuries.
Adding an interim closer need not be a one-year thing. Considering the usual rehab time for Tommy John surgery, Ryan might not be ready at the start of next season, and whoever gets added to be a closer now could be a set-up man once Ryan is available again. I think the catch is the money; on the other hand, aren't there usually insurance policies to cover injuries like this? Since it happened to Ryan's throwing arm, I would imagine any such policy would have to pay out, especially since Ryan had not been injury-prone in the past.
JP, I didn't realize you also went by Doc Sanchez.
The season is not lost. Although I will admit, I've lost alot of hope on post season chances. Right from the start most people knew that this team was going to have to stay healthy and have a great year to even come close. But lets look on the good side of this. We are giving some young players more of an opportunity to get some great experience. This team can still be competitive Dont think that this 8 game losing streak is going to continue the rest of the season. This team will right its ship and play lots of competitve ball down the road. Our offence is still one of the best in baseball. Hopefully we can find a replacement that will do an adequate job. Id like to see what Jeremy Accardo can do in the late innings. He has some good stuff, and if he throws strikes he could be pretty effective. Just look at Casey Janssen, because of injuries last year he got a chance to be exposed to the big leauges. There isnt alot of top end talent down on the farm but maybe we could find some guys who come up and just get the job done. As the old saying goes, whatever doesnt kill you only makes you stronger.
OK guys, your optimism has convinced me! What was I thinking! The glass is really half-full, not half-empty!
And the only way I would really think this way was if I had drained the glass about twelve times before I wrote this.
I agree with Scrasem, in that the season is lost now.
Ryan's news only puts the nail in the coffin as far as i'm concerned. Tommy John usually takes 2 yrs. to fully gain back what a pitcher previously had (velocity,arm strengh etc.) so this could be an issue for next year as well.
The Jays' biggest need in the off-season was pitching and at this point in the season it is clear that they did not address that. They lost Lilly and Spier and replaced them with Zambrano, Ohka and Thompson. I would trade all 3 of those guys for 1 of them back, let alone both.
Frank Thomas is looking like a guy who should retire soon, and Vernon Wells' contract is not justifiable on a team that isn't winning.
J.p. Should be fired, it doesn't have to be now, but it should be done before '08.
you guys arnt fans, your just complainers.
Obviously JP should be fired because he couldnt look into his crystal ball and see half of his team would be injured but the 30th game of the season…good call!
I would like to see how many of you "FANS" could do a better job than JP or Gibby. I agree with tothdenny, lets fire people because they cant predict the future.
Actually, serial, predicting the future is part of the job. Anyone who couldn't foresee the mess at the starter position was wearing rose coloured glasses. Further, our "potent offence" is only really missing Reed Johnson. (Zaun's lifetime .252 is no different from anyone else we have at that position) So is one player in the offence the difference? I think Shea Hillenbrand may have been right – the ship was sinking and we are heading for the bottom of the ocean.
PS. tothdenny – lurn to spel if you want to rite.
If I wasn't a fan, I wouldn't complain!