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Fuzzy Multi Criteria Evaluation for Performance of Bus Companies
A multi criteria decision making in ranking the bus companies using fuzzy rule is proposed. The proposed method uses the application of fuzzy sets and approximate reasoning in deciding the ranking of the performance of several bus companies. The proposed method introduces data normalization using similarity function which dampens extreme values that exist in the data. The use of the model is suitable in evaluating situation that involves subjectivity, vagueness and imprecise information. Experimental results are comparable to several previous methods.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/cis.v3n2p252
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— NACL Theatre invites residents of the Upper Delaware communities in Sullivan, Delaware, Pike, and Wayne counties to participate in a variety of workshops and events that will help shape "The Weather Project."
The project is a community arts and science initiative designed to bring citizens, artists and scientists together around the subject of the weather and climate science. The project culminates in an outdoor exhibition and community pageant play on Aug. 9 in Yulan, N.Y.
There are many opportunities to lend a voice to the conversation.
For example, become a citizen scientist with the Weather Data Collection Project, attend workshops and seminars on energy conservation and innovation, or collect stories from elders about weather and local history.
"You can also help to create and perform in the original theatre piece by joining in the research, writing and building of performance material; learning to stilt walk and sound paint; or join the chorus and help to create and operate puppets," according to a news release.
Free workshops will begin May 5 at NACL Theatre in Highland Lake, N.Y., and run weekly up to the outdoor pageant play on Saturday, Aug. 9 at 5 p.m. at the Yulan ball field.
The weekly workshop schedule is:
• Mondays at 6:30 p.m., join Isabel Braverman and Corinna Grunn in developing the contemporary dance performance component of the pageant
•Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m., join director Tannis Kowalchuk in playmaking— acting, writing and singing (a chorus will be formed)
• Tuesdays at 6:30, learn to stilt walk with Brett Keyser
• Saturdays, NACL artists will work with the Young Company (13+) on acting techniques, physical and vocal exercises, stilt walking, playwriting, design, stagecraft and music from 2 to 5 p.m.
All workshops will be held at NACL Theatre, 110 Highland Lake Road, Highland Lake, N.Y.
In addition, master puppeteer Ramona Jan will help children and their parents build and operate marionette doves during a Family Puppetry Workshop on Sunday, July 13, from 1 to 4 p.m. The doves will be used in The Weather Project pageant, operated by the children who create them.
Any person or organization looking to participate may email NACL artistic director Tannis Kowalchuk at firstname.lastname@example.com or call 845-557-0694.

subset: commoncrawl


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Specifics about violent crimes committed in your area
Graphic descriptions of critters your pet has killed and brought in as a gift to you.
I have an uncle who likes to monopolize the dinner table with strange things that only he's interested in. One Christmas I had to listen to him talk about the history of eating utensils, starting all the way back at the caveman days and going to present day. It was a very looong Christmas dinner.
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Hello, Ive been a forum lurker for almost a year. I found this forum when researching lightweight backpacking techniques. After several trips this past summer Ive noticed that I am just not sleeping that well anymore and am constantly tossing and turning. I also witnessed a storm in Canada (BSA Summer Camp) a few weeks ago that was like nothing Ive seen in over 30 years of camping. Even though tents were set up in decent locations, there was so much water that it had nowhere to go but up.
These few experiences have me thinking of leaving the ground. That being said, does anyone know of any hammock camping groups in South Western PA (I live in Pittsburgh but willing to travel a little)? I would like to see some setups before buying anything.


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Despite calls from some of his colleagues to resign, a Braintree town councilor who has missed half of the panel's meetings since November says he will not step down.
Councilor Ron DeNapoli has attended only 17 of 35 posted meetings, skipping five months of Town Council meetings, according to council records.
But in an interview Wednesday morning, the 53-year-old maintained he remains involved in the town and wants to stay.
"Hopefully I'm feeling better right now, so the issue is a moot point," he said. "God willing . . . it's up to the man upstairs, and that's not the mayor."
DeNapoli has said that he has been absent mainly while dealing with health problems.
But several councilors say DeNapoli should step down from the elected position, which pays $5,000 per year.
"I think it's a disgrace," said Councilor Paul "Dan" Clifford about his colleague's attendance record. "I wish he gets well, but he should do the honorable thing: step down and let the seat be filled by those who want to work for the town."
Clifford said that he believes DeNapoli has been spending time out of state, and that he is concerned for DeNapoli's District 5 constituents.
"As a councilman, you know you get calls regularly. I can't tell you the number of calls we've all received, especially over the winter," Clifford said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that people want to get in touch with him and have not been able to."
Others on the nine-member council, who were all reelected in 2011 and will be up for reelection in November, agree DeNapoli has been unable to do his job.
"If Ron was truly sick, I feel bad for him, but I think the council is going to have to take a look at what their rules are and are going to have to do investigations in the future," said Councilor John Mullaney.
Mullaney has been critical of DeNapoli's absences since earlier in the term, when the councilor had been present only 77 percent of the time (14 out of 18 meetings). First elected in 2008, DeNapoli had the council's worst attendance record for some time.
"I would only say that in the last election, the residents and voters were well aware that he was more absent than any other councilor, and they still elected him," Mullaney said. "The voters knew what they were going to get and got it. Except he is worse this time than he was the last."
Sean Powers and Leland Dingee, both councilors at large, said the larger issue is whether DeNapoli is living up to voters' expectations.
"If I was in his shoes, a lot of people put their trust in me by voting for me and if I couldn't, 50 percent of the time, couldn't work for them, I'd have to give up the seat," Dingee said.
DeNapoli declined to go into detail about his illness, only saying that it is serious and involves a heart problem.
The father of seven, who lives with his parents on Andrea Drive, admitted he had spent time out of town in the five months he had been absent from meetings, but said it was only for two weeks and under doctor's orders "to try to de-stress."
He said the councilors at large have been handling his constituents while he's been away, and he's relayed any resident concerns to the council via e-mail.
"Of course my attendance is a concern. I try my best to get to every meeting, but I have seven children, elderly parents, and especially, let's say, teenage children," he said. "I like being at their events, and trying to be a good dad."
He said he plans at this point on finishing out the term, but doesn't plan on running for another.
Should DeNapoli resign within the first 18 months of his term, or before July 1, the candidate with the next-most votes in the last election — William Sweeney — would take over.
Sweeney, who is Braintree's former town manager, said he is prepared to run when the seat opens, and said he could do the job better.
"We need to be represented up there," Sweeney said. "If he's capable, he ought to do it. If not, he ought to step aside."
Should DeNapoli resign after July 1, the seat would remain vacant for the term.
While half the councilors criticized DeNapoli for his repeated poor attendance, others gave him more leeway.
"It's unfortunate. We'd like to have every member here at every meeting, but once again if someone has a medical issue, I think their privacy is above all the most important," said council president Chuck Kokoros.
Both Councilor Henry Joyce and Councilor Tom Bowes said they sympathized with DeNapoli. Bowes had the second-worst attendance — making 28 of 35 meetings — and said a new job required him to travel.
Councilor Charles Ryan said that, if anything, DeNapoli will have to answer to his constituents.
"I think the ultimate oversight is whether people get elected or reelected to the council, and we're ultimately accountable to the residents of Braintree," Ryan said.
The mayor's office declined to comment.Jessica Bartlett can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Stock Chart Wizard 2.52
Stock Chart Wizard is a recently updated program that helps investors create, tweak, analyze and export several different types of charts. You can also create several watchlists to track stocks or indexes of your choice. Two years of historical data is available with the download. The charts that are created are pulled from Yahoo! Finance and are delayed by 20 minutes.
An interesting capability of Stock Chart Wizard is that you can overlay a comparison chart of another stock or index for comparative analysis. This feature can be activated under Charts and Preferences. Once you've entered a ticker symbol into your watchlist, double-click the ticker symbol and the chart will appear on the right-hand side. Two charts are automatically displayed on the right side of the program: a bar chart and a volume chart. The default time range is one year, but that can be easily customized. Charts can also be exported to folders in CSV format.
Stock Chart Wizard provides several different technical indicators including MACD (Moving Average Convergence/Divergence), MACD Histogram, Momentum, On Balance Volume and more. Users can display up to two simple moving averages, two exponential moving averages, Bollinger bands and a comparison line.
There are many different charting options available through Stock Chart Wizard. The Help Center, which opens up in its own tab, explains each tool in the program thoroughly. Stock Chart Wizard has a 14-day free trial and is $19.00 for purchase. The program has recently been updated to include new features and has fixed previous bugs.
Stock Chart Software
System Requirements: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/Server 2008/7
Size: 4.51MB
Price: Free 14-day trial, $19.00 to purchase


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Can somebody please post. I haven't seen it anywhere else on this site.
Printable View
Can somebody please post. I haven't seen it anywhere else on this site.
Dude I am a draft fanatic but this is still way too early for a mock.
it's out there...what's wrong with somebody posting. while it may be super early some find it fun to look into - especially considering our playoff shots are long.
Bjorn Werner is going to be the next JJ Watt.
If you are looking for "draft needs", you can just look into last years draft threads since none were addressed.
why don't you pay for it you dishonest creep
First of all, guys like Watt come around once in a lifetime.
Secondly, he's very much a different position.
And this draft sucks at the QB position. I hate Sanchez as much as anyone, but there is pretty much nothing at that spot. Glennon is the only guy I look at and think if a few things go right in his development, he could be very good. No chance at great however. The rest of them have big problems. Maybe EJ Manuel could turn into something as well.
He has Jets picking 15
Jake Matthews*, OT, Texas A&M
Yes, the Jets have a quarterback need, but replacing Mark Sanchez with Barkley would be like trying to kick a Diet Coke habit by substituting Diet Pepsi. New York will almost certainly look to bring in a veteran if it chooses to upgrade at quarterback. The Jets' pass defense is surprisingly good despite the team having only 22 total sacks, but they still need a legitimate edge rusher. However, they're on the wrong end of a run on ends in this scenario. They could reach for a player such as Auburn's Corey Lemonier, but they also need a right tackle and Matthews is on the rise with his toughness in the run game and good hands in pass protection.
1.) Chiefs - Star Lotulelei, DT Utah
2.) Jaguars - Damontre Moore, DE Texas A&M
3.) Raiders - Bjoern Werner, DE Florida State
4.) Eagles - Luke Joeckel, OT Texas A&M
5.) Panthers - Johanathan Hawkins, DT Ohio State
8.) Cardinals - Geno Smith, QB WVU
11.) Bills - Manti Te'o, ILB ND
12.) Dolphins - Dion Jordan, DE Oregon
30.) Patriots - Tavon Austin, WR WVU
I'm not sure if we, as fans, had a proper appreciation of how good Damien Woody was in both aspects of the game - at least when he was healthy. Austin Howard is a modest improvement from Wayne Hunter, but that's about it.
I wouldn't mind seeing the draft play out, roughly as follows:
If we could pick up an additional top 100 pick in a trade down in the first, even better.
McShay has the Jets picking an OT at 15, and Jarvis Jones going at #13 to New Orleans.
Jarvis Jones will not be there at 13, but if he is and we don't trade up to get him I'd be amazed.
We are absolutely not getting a RT in the first...
Austin Howard has been fine and you have to be able to cheap out at some positions. PFF has us as a top 5 OL. They could care less about our team versus others so there's definitely no bias. It's pretty clear that the offensive line has been fairly solid.
Needs are:
2. Pass Rusher
3. Skill positions including TE
The rest aren't really needs. We can live with what we have at every other position. ILB is OK, DL is fine, CB is fine, OL is fine. The only thing that sucks is that we need a QB and the QB's suck in this draft.
Where does he have barkley going?
Is the consensus then that Coples will not turn into a top or even an adequate pass rusher?
How we go through another draft and not address our LB needs is beyond me. I am almost at the point of saying best available Linebacker and be damned.
Then we trade back and draft him in the late 1st. We need to take a qb and continue to take qbs until we find one that can play.
Well, at least it's offense. I'd rather draft Warmack, LG, from Alabama.
Just no defense, please. There is not an elite pass rusher in this class. Jarvis Jones is the closest thing and he'll be long gone by the 16-18 area we'll likely be picking in.


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Very interesting. Love that big firim arse.
Touch, Arouse Me, Kiss & More!My signature picture was designed for me by Reone.
I want your balls in my mouth now!!!!! Any heels????
Sir Ron is generally not a fan of feminine undies, but I must admit that you look hot.....
The Three Musketeers... Bashful, Chrisglass, and Ronboy!
went to buy some the other day but very ugly selection they had and ones i liked were like freakingly expensive, will buy something soon
you are really cute, i'd love to see more
HOT looking ass!!
more is on the way , tomorrow
thanks you guys, i am flattered
I can't wait to see them hun


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BARTOW | A judge was critical of how deputies handled the largest animal seizure case in Polk County Sheriff's Office history, but decided Wednesday there was enough evidence for a Polk City couple's animal cruelty trial to go forward.
BARTOW | A judge was critical of how deputies handled the largest animal seizure case in Polk County Sheriff's Office history, but decided Wednesday there was enough evidence for a Polk City couple's animal cruelty trial to go forward.
Deputies seized 261 dogs from the home of Charles and Diane O'Malley in May 2010, saying the animals were living in deplorable conditions.
The O'Malleys' lawyer, Mitchell Ladner, told jurors in opening statements earlier this week that his clients' home was dirty, but insisted the dogs were receiving care, including plenty of water, food, shade and exercise.
After prosecutors rested their case against the O'Malleys, Ladner asked Polk County Judge Barry Bennett to dismiss all charges against his clients.
Ladner argued there wasn't sufficient proof to convict the O'Malleys. He told Bennett the Sheriff's Office didn't conduct a thorough investigation and made a rash decision to seize all the dogs.
The judge agreed that the Sheriff's Office investigation was virtually nonexistent, but he thought there was enough evidence for the jury to consider, in particular a veterinarian who described 10 dogs as being emaciated and having other ailments.
The O'Malleys each face 10 counts of cruelty to a dog stemming from the condition of these 10 dogs.
The charges accuse the O'Malleys of unnecessarily overloading, overdriving, tormenting or depriving the dogs of sustenance or shelter. The maximum punishment for each misdemeanor is a year in jail.
Originally, the couple was arrested on 261 misdemeanor charges related to confining animals without sufficient food, water or exercise.
Prosecutors reviewed the case, and they reduced the number and changed the type of charges against the O'Malleys.
The defense began calling witnesses Wednesday. Testimony is expected to continue today.
Bennett isn't the first county judge to criticize the Sheriff's Office handling of the investigation into the O'Malleys.
In October 2010, the couple went to civil court in an effort to have their dogs returned to them.
Polk County Judge Anne Kaylor wrote in an order that the conditions at the O'Malleys' rescue were "less than optimal conditions," but the judge ruled deputies "jumped the gun and took them all."
Kaylor said the couple could have up to 50 dogs at their home.
However, under the terms of their pretrial release in their criminal case, they could not regain custody of the dogs.


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Hurricane Sandy ripped through the Northeast on Monday, October 29, but four days later relief is in short supply for many residents of Staten Island. Neighborhoods there are still reeling from the devastation, including but not limited to the Midland Beach and New Dorp areas. Surveying the damage on those streets is like standing at the edge of the world, and fully cataloging the apocalyptic scenes is impossible. There was the hot tub on the wrong side of someone's fence. There was the four-door sedan, windows smashed and trunk popped open, its back half several feet off the street, resting on a wheelbarrow. There was a 10-foot trailer similarly situated, back half propped up almost gently by a garbage can.
Talking to people standing outside their houses left us with the clear impression that they felt abandoned, both by official relief efforts and the media. Every person we spoke with was desperate to tell their story, and many walked us through what remained of their house. "We've been left out" said Paul Parazzo, 46 years old. He's been in his house 18 years, and is now sleeping at his parents' house, also on Staten Island.
His sister and father were outside, amazingly cheerful and gracious given the circumstances. "Wipe your feet!" Paul's sister, a middle-aged Special Education worker, told us when we asked if we could take a look inside her brother's house. She smiled. "Just joking. Go right in." Paul's father told us we could smoke cigarettes inside, but asked us not to ash on the ground, then burst out laughing.
The New Dorp Beach house was askew in its lot, completely removed from its foundation during Hurricane Sandy. The front steps were several feet from where the door now was. Written in marker on the aluminum siding was a message: "Dear Sandy, You Will Not Break Us!" The neighboring house had careened into this one during the storm – it was at a severe diagonal in the mud. "This house came off its foundation, it's sitting against mine," Parazzo said.
We stepped inside, the soaked carpet of the house sloshing beneath our feet. A brightly colored little girl's room, recently renovated, now contained just a destroyed bed frame and snagged curtains. A glass hutch – the kind people use to display collectibles or mementos – was emptied out and covered in mud. The walls were muddy too, almost up to the ceiling. A straight line around the walls of the house showed how high the water had gone, well over six feet high.
Emerging from the back door, we walked into an alley, where we saw rows of houses as destroyed as the one we had just walked through. The ruined contents of each house were stacked in tall piles the entire length of the street. Little kids, including the one whose room we had just seen, rode their razor scooters between the trash bags. Her friend asked her nonchalantly, "How much did you cry?"
A few blocks down, Laurie Tedesco, 50, stood outside the house she had lived in for 12 years, surrounded by neighbors. She left as the water was rising, but returned the next day. "Top floor, the windows were blown out, the door was blown off, the side door was blown off," she said, recounting the damage. "Everything was sideways, upside down, broken windows, basement was totally flooded. The deck, separated from the back [of the house]. We lost our garage, it's in our next door neighbor's yard, and the other part of the garage is down the block." Across the street volunteers prepared food in a parking lot crowded with debris, one of many instances of neighbors providing assistance and relief where the city, state, and federal governments had fallen short.
Teresa Marie, who's helping organize relief efforts on the ground, spoke with us over the phone on Saturday morning. "My father is pulling dead bodies out of the water, and I have friends [who have walked] out of their houses and there's dead bodies floating up next to their feet." She told us that the situation on Staten Island is severely under-reported, a sentiment shared by every person we spoke with. Her voice was desperate and she apologized several times for getting emotional. "We definitely need help down here," she said. "Anything people can do to get it to us is appreciated beyond belief."
Gas lines stretch around the block, as they do now in so many parts of the Northeast. Cell phone reception is spotty at best, and many homes don't even have windows, much less power. The island feels remote, and it's easy for residents to feel isolated. "I have family in Long Island and they were nervous because nothing was on the news," Parazzo told us, in the alley behind what used to be his house. "They didn't even know if we were alive or not."
The death toll continues to rise, and although community groups, churches, and neighbors are doing heroic work to provide relief to residents who have lost almost everything, considerably more aid is needed. Parazzo shook his head as we walked back to the front of his house. "What's actually helping is friends and family."


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PETERSBURG, Ky. (AP) - Northern Kentucky's Creation Museum is evolving into a larger facility.
The museum will add 663 parking spaces, outdoor canopies and a maintenance building and will move its main entrance as part of a $500,000 upgrade.
But the work won't begin until Answers in Genesis, the ministry that runs the museum, raises the funds, said Mike Zovath, vice president of museum operations.
The museum, which uses literal interpretations of the Bible to tell the earth's history, welcomed its 250,000th visitor five months after its opening on Memorial Day. The ministry had expected to get 250,000 visitors its entire first year.
The larger-than-expected crowds left the facility with an overflowing parking lot, forcing staff to park miles away.
The Boone County Planning Commission approved Answers in Genesis' plans last week by an 11-1 vote. Commissioner Patrick Reynolds, the lone dissenter, said he was concerned that the new entrance would not meet the county's sight-distance requirements.
Zovath said he was satisfied with the commission's decision and hopeful that the Boone County Fiscal Court will follow the recommendation.
The museum's plans also include a retention lake and gated entrance for emergency and maintenance vehicles.
Bill Moore, who lives near the museum's proposed gated entrance, is concerned about delivery trucks driving down his street as well as noise coming from outdoor activities at the museum.
"I just don't want to see tractor-trailers coming in ..." Moore said.
The county also voted to limit the sound coming from the museum. The commission said sound for activities under the canopies cannot exceed 70 decibels, banned amplified sound under the canopies and said the canopy areas can be used for lectures but cannot be used as a stage or amphitheater.
Moore hopes the traffic changes will mean less disruption at his home next to the museum.
Now, 40 to 50 cars a day turn around in his driveway looking for the museum.
"It's a traffic nightmare trying to get out of your driveway," he said.
Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


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Reckon this is from The Voice UK, but this performance by Bo Bruce is what got me hooked on her. She reminds me a lot of Florence + The Machine. You can feel her emotion in the song despite it not being her own and she can sing too...
Reckon this is from The Voice UK, but this performance by Bo Bruce is what got me hooked on her. She reminds me a lot of Florence + The Machine. You can feel her emotion in the song despite it not being her own and she can sing too...
All I see is a blank white square,
Yeah, my syntax get's shot to shit late at night...
^much better!
This is good too...
Melanie is basically a wannabe Bo Bruce but lacks any sexual appeal.
De'Borah is not a guy...they showed clips of her when she was younger
The two pretty boys went home [Dez and Colby]! The competition has a purpose!!! I thought that the producers would save Dez so Christina has something to do but kudos to let America vote. Kind of sad that after having her album tank and now this, Christina is hitting new lows all over.
my 2 baby peens gone in one night
I just cant handle this
I still cant believe the producet let him go, because he doesnt want pay Xtina for nothing in 2-3 more weeks until final right?
she can take her early leave now
no coaching, snacking burger and doing promo for Lotus
Christina's team was stacked to the brim with wannabe pop stars and those are a dime a dozen so it's no surprise her team fell. She picked her team horribly and her piss-poor attitude on the show doesn't help either. They are not judges but are coaches/mentors and Christina seems far more interested in herself than her team. Her backhands, in particular to other females on the show is appalling. Also kind of sad when Adam out divas Christina. A lot of people can't wait till she's off the show.
As for Cody, Queen is always a death nail for performers. They are one of those artists you should never touch in a singing competition.
I'm, expecting Trevan and Melanie to go home next week but we shall see.
Kind of sad to see Dez go. You'd think that since he gets the biggest applause he'd still be in.
Christina has looked at bit "off" this season...she has had a few Paula Abdul moments and that is uncomfortable to watch because I like her. I am sorry to see Cody leave...Dez was just OK for me.
So...does Christina still sit on the panel now that she has no team?
i think she will still stay on the panel just to offer her critique and fill a chair, it would look weird with an empty seat between ceelo and blake.
also i think their might be a winner's bonus, to the winning coach, like last season blake had to get maybe an extra half a mil or something cause his person won the show.
christina probly feels like crap she has the worst running of any of the coachs (Joint 3rd in season 1 and 4th in season 2, eliminated in season 3) atl east adam won a season, blake won a season and had a runner up and ceelo had a runner up (my bitch Juliet)
I missed the show last night
not interested in live streaming too
just checking how Xtina looks and then shut it down hahaa
I dunno it felt so weird without Team Xtina on it
IMO, the competition is over and Cassidee will win it all.
it's between Cee lo and Blake all over again just like season 2
I'm so happy that Team Madam went home...I can't stand him. Last night when I saw them go home I was like:
In your face Madam!!
I was happy to see Melanie go, but I was sad that Amanda went along with her.
I'm growing tired of Casssadee. She always sounds so perfect when she executes her notes. I like the renditions of the songs she sings, but I keep wanting something more. But out of everyone left, I want her to win.
These final four are not really very interesting to me. I liked Amanda the best of the final six.
both Team Blake is topping the iTunes
Nicholas too
I can see Trevin goes home
since they will send 1 contestant by this week
Oh look, Trevan was eliminated what a shocker
Anyone else think Cass sounds like a dying llama? Fuck, I can't stand her voice. Maybe it's the pitch. Ugh...I tuned in tonight to see how the finals were going to be, but I'm thankful for tuning out way back when.
Thanks guys, I don't even have to tune even the last 5 minutes in
That they didn't castrate and eliminate the one tone asshole of a
Wannabe Trappist Monk/Tibetan llama Lama.
DAMN! I wish we had Ruth Brown...from the UK's Voice...
Calling it tonight...
1. Cassadee Pope
2. Terry McDermott
3. Nicholas David
i agree, i dont see cassadee not winning, shes consitently in the top of itunes, while terry and nicolas havent been, also the judges seem to love her as well.
I was right. A tad anti-climatic but I hope the other 2 get record deals also.
congrats Team Blake
so sad Xtina n Cee Lo go for the next season
The Voice never be the same without them and the original chemistry


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Tofu Soup (The Best Tofu Soup)
onions, mushroom, plum tomato, +tofu, +vegetable oil, +garlic, +jalapeno, +vegetable broth, +water, +soy sauce, +lime juice, +hoisin sauce, +sauce, +lemon pepper, +anise seed, +ginger
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Chicken Popeye Soup ( Chicken and Spinach Pot Pie Soup)
Well This is my creation in my first RSC contest. After thinking about it, I went into the kitchen and made it. When it came time for my DH to give it...
onions, mushroom, +basil, +celery, +cheddar cheese, +chicken, +chicken broth, +cornstarch, +chicken bouillon, +olive oil, +powdered milk, +spinach
Beer Cheese Soup (Aka Leinie's Beer Cheese Soup)
This Wisconsin Beer Cheese Soup is my absolute favorite! My friends and I can?t get enough; it?s excellent for parties, tale gaiting, in front of the fireplace...
mushroom, onions, +bacon, +black pepper, +butter, +celery seed, +chicken broth, +cheddar cheese, +flour, +garlic powder, +mustard powder, +beer, +sour cream, +hot sauce, +rice, +worcestershire sauce
Mushroom and Barley Soup
mushroom, onions, plum tomato, +chuck roast, +beef, +olive oil, +celery, +turnip, +carrot, +garlic, +balsamic vinegar, +water, +dill weed, +bay leaf, +barley, +salt
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Best Tofu Soup Recipe
onions, mushroom, plum tomato, +tofu, +vegetable oil, +garlic, +jalapeno, +vegetable broth, +water, +soy sauce, +lime juice, +hoisin sauce, +sauce, +lemon pepper, +anise seed, +ginger
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onions, mushroom, +salt, +cayenne, +poblano chiles, +garlic, +white pepper, +black pepper, +butter, +lemon grass, +serrano pepper, +lemon juice, +lime juice, +fish sauce, +chicken broth, +shrimp, +parsley
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Polish Beetroot Soup - Barszcz Recipe
Beetroot soup is normally served during the Christmas Eve meatless dinner. This is a simpler version of beetroot soup. Prep:30m
mushroom, onions, +vegetable broth, +croutons, +sugar
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Sauerkraut Soup I
"Goes great with fish sandwiches, or nice chewy breadsticks. Make sure you serve the soup piping hot. I don't rinse off my sauerkraut because we like...
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Curried Pumpkin Soup
This is an excellent winter soup. Serve with a hearty bread. The first time we made this my father misread the original recipe and we added 2 cans of...
mushroom, onions, +chicken broth, +curry powder, +evaporated milk, +flour, +honey, +nutmeg, +olive oil, +black pepper, +pumpkin puree
Creamy Mushroom & Thyme Soup
I used one of Jamie Olivers recipes and adapted it to what I picked up from the markets. The original recipe is from Gourmet Traveller June 2008. This...
mushroom, onions, +cream, +sherry, +thyme, +garlic, +vegetable broth, +olive oil
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text:
Silvio Cascione, Luciana Otoni – Reuters, 12/20/2012
Brazil's central bank acknowledged on Thursday that the economy will grow very little in 2012 and reinforced the case for a long period of low interest rates by forecasting that inflation should ease next year.
The bank lowered its 2012 economic growth forecast to 1.0 percent from 1.6 percent previously, matching market estimates, according to its latest quarterly inflation report.
The bank also lowered its 2013 inflation forecast to 4.8 percent from 4.9 percent previously, contrasting with market forecasts projecting inflation at 5.42 percent.


text:
...but since there's no actual paper available...
Link to the actually available paper: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/es903729a [acs.org]
Um... huh?
Thanks, well they assume a battery technology that's not commercially available
Oh really? Then what are they putting in the Volt? Or the Leaf? LiMn2O4 is one of the most popular chemistries for EVs. Here, want to buy some? [ebay.com.sg]
To be fair, their wording could have been clearer. Nickel and cobalt-based li-ions currently dominate the market. But LiMn2O4 absolutely are already out on the market, and have been for years. Their main competitor is LiFePO4. Both chemistries offer much better cycle life, stability, and power than traditional cathodes, at the cost of lower energy density. They used to be a lot more expensive, but their prices have been falling, and they'll probably be cheaper within the next few years.
a maximum vehicle lifetime of 92k miles
No, they assume a vehicle lifespan of 240,000 km (pgs 2 and 4). They assume two batteries used per vehicle over it's lifespan (one replacement) -- even though most upcoming mass-market EVs are being *warrantied* for 8-10 years.
a lithium extraction technology that's low energy but unlikely to scale to widespread usage of the lithium for transportation
Huh? What they describe is the standard way of producing lithium carbonate. And energy to produce a product generally declines as you scale up, rather than increasing. And the lithium extraction is only 1.9% of the battery's energy consumption anyway. The biggest chunk is aluminum, at 15.1%. So even if you have to jump to spodumene, like they mention (you wouldn't jump straight there, by the way -- you'd first use lithium hydroxide, like is found in Nevada), it would hardly change the picture.
Lithium is just such a small part of the overall picture; the only reason people focus on it is it's in the name. As they make clear, it's the bulk metals (aluminum, copper, etc) and the roasting of the cathode that takes most of the energy of production.
and finally they don't take recycling into account but rather attribute all inputs to virgin materials.
They specifically note that recycling would *improve* the picture for BEVs (bottom of page 5 / top of page 6)
Still if you tweak the numbers towards a more realistic mix you still come out with battery powered vehicles being no worse than ICE unless the battery vehicle is primarily powered by coal.
Tweak nothing. That would take a complete rewrite with absurd bogus numbers to get a breakeven value. The comparison numbers aren't even close, and coal only increases the total energy 13.4% (page 4). BEVs blow ICEs away.
I dont think that this is actually effectively true (running out).
Today's waste product is tomorrows fuel. It has happened repeatedly since we have been using fossil fuels. If you consider that the coal the drove the industrial revolution is effectively gone, yet we somehow come up with new coal you will realize that we are now using fuel that was once thought to be useless, and was considered a waste product. Oil will/is the same. New reserves are lower quality ( in a $ vs output sense ) that the middl
Today's waste product is tomorrows fuel.
Amen to that. Gasoline was once [wotwaste.com] considered a waste product [wikipedia.org], and I hope that today's once-through nuclear 'waste' will be tomorrow's IFR [wikipedia.org] fuel [nationalcenter.org].
we're probably going to exhaust our entire supply of fossil fuels anyway
Do you put any thought at all into the statements you make?
Perhaps you should learn about reality. Your first stop should be an economics class.
Thanks for your feedback but I have no idea what exactly you decided doesn't conform to reality. It would help if you provided a little more context for your side of the
Are you saying it is unlikely we run out because we have so much? Or are you saying it is not necessarily true that we'll run out and that we could easily be shifted away from such a path? Or are you saying that we won't run out because much of it isn't profitable enough to warrant extraction. Or are you going d
When we hit the lithium peak, how will we make more Li-ion batteries?
When we hit the lithium peak, how will we make more Li-ion batteries?
I guess we won't make more Li-ion batteries. But luckily there are plenty of other ways to store electricity -- many in development. We'll manage. Is that suppose to be some type of argument about why it is pointless to switch to renewable energy sources? If so, it doesn't really have much punch to it.
Not going to happen. [gas2.org]
I do worry about this. While lithium isn't consumed by the batteries, electrifying a substantial portion of the world's road transport would require a huge increase in world wide lithium production.
[... goes away and searches
http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/lithium/mcs-2010-lithi.pdf [usgs.gov]
World production was about 25,400 tons in 2008, and reserves about 10,000,000 tons, so we have about 400 years of production at current rates.
If an electric car typically contains a 200kg battery which is 5%
Please read the GP. Thanks.
Also, your numbers on how much lithium is used per EV is wrong. The leaf's battery pack is about 600lbs and contains 9 pounds of lithium (1.5%).
I dunno if it's actually cost effective (it might be cheaper to mine/extract 'new' lithium), but if need be, shouldn't the lithium in the battery be recylable? Batteries go bad, but it's not like the elemental lithium in the battery is destroyed through use (well, I'm not sure what the half-life of Lithium is, but since it doesn't seem to be a radiation hazard, I'm going to guess it has a nice long, stable half-life, so that means that it's not decaying into some other element in any time period we care abo
Stable means that no decay rate can be measured, which mean more than about 10^20 years (probably vastly more).
we're probably going to exhaust our entire supply of fossil fuels anyway
Not before acidifying the ocean to the point that everything dies. The increased CO2 in the atmosphere would also destroy countless ecosystems and result in mass extinctions.
Long story short, there is way too much carbon available to burn. We will kill ourselves long before we run out. Those who think governments should piss off and just let the market determine the price of oil really don't see the problem. As long as the environmental costs of oil are ignored, the market does not work to our benefi
That's an incredibly stupid thing to say.
I mean, life survived asteroid impacts but I think it's in mankind's best interest to do anything possible to avoid such things.
But that might just be me.
Li-Ion batteries are in fact very bad for the environment: by reducing reliance upon fossil fuels, demand for fossil fuels drops, which reduces prices, which encourages future use, which reduces pressure to research green alternative energy sources, which ultimately means more pollution.
Your manifesto was excellent, by the way!
Your manifesto was excellent, by the way!
It left out the part about 'disgusting human babies' though, and didn't factor in the immigration pollution that Li-ion batteries promote.
One thing that bothers me about seeing Li-Ion battery-powered devices everywhere these days is the way so many people view them as disposable, when in reality the battery is good for hundreds of charge/discharge cycles, and the device for many times that number.
Take for example the laptop I just bought secondhand today. It's a 2001 Gateway with a pentium 3 and the original li-ion battery. The battery is still capable of FOUR HOURS of constant web browsing and disk thrashing on a single charge. I paid $40 for this thing, and it performs just as well as any "netbook" for about 13% the price. My purchase was environment-agnostic, but if you don't want li-ion batteries going into landfills, finding ways to re-use them like I did is a good way to start.
Or 3 years in the case of a Toshiba laptop.
One particular drawback to Li-ion batteries (of the type used in laptops) is that the battery degrades even when not being used. They degrade slower when lightly charged and stored at low temperature, but degrade much faster when near fully charged and/or warm.
The common use pattern where a laptop is plugged in for significant periods of time will degrade Li-ion batteries faster than anything else. The battery will be lucky to last more than 12 months under such conditions. I'm on my third battery in thre
but are not long-lived.
I have a 3 year old laptop with no discernible difference in battery duration between now and when I bought it. Not saying there is none, from what I know there's no real way there couldn't be degradation, but it isn't yet enough to be noticeable on the odd occasion I do allow it to run until empty on battery.
I have a netbook that's a couple of years old, same thing. No discernible change in battery longevity.
I have an MP3/video player, bought in November 2007, no noticeable degradati
You and I have very difference opinions on notable degradation. 80% of original capacity
Under optimal conditions, Li batteries degrade just a few % per year. Under average conditions, 8-10% is fairly normal. Under poor conditions, 25-35% loss in a year is reasonable. And you could kill one entirely in less than a year under worst case conditions.
Bear in mind that the post I replied to talked about needing three new batteries in as many years, with the batteries being down to lasting 5 minutes (this happened to the first and only iPod I ever bought, incidentally). Compared to that, retaining 80% after three years is freakin' stellar.
The original endurance of that PMP, when playing video, was 6 hours. At 80% capacity that's more in the area of 5 hours.
Whether that's noticeable or not is down to usage pattern. If I routinely used it for a 5.5 hour fli
Damn, my new laptop spends 99% of its time plugged in and charged up...I'd take the battery out, but the power's pretty unreliable in most places where I use it.
My N900's battery on the other hand gets run down to 30% or lower charge every day. It'll be interesting to see which one goes first.
That's nice for you, but what my lady has is a Dell with a battery which conforms to SBS, and it refuses to charge even though it was still holding one when it stopped being willing to charge. It's a perfectly working battery absent the chip that tells it not to charge any more, but we're forced to get rid of it. (it had a power jack problem so it thought it was charged more times than it was.)
The assumption is made that I would really care if I am driving a so called "green car" when in reality I don't.
The assumption is made that I would really care if I am driving a so called "green car" when in reality I don't.
I don't think they performed this study just for you, personally. So, I doubt that they are making such an assumption. Speaking of assumptions, do you usually presume that everything that anybody in the world does is for your benefit?
I am happy, now I just have to wait for the prices to go down and the charging stations to be built before getting one.
I agree that electric-based transportation is a great deal more "green" than traditional ICE vehicles. However, I don't expect as great a movement toward the former whilst fuel prices remain so low. This is one of the key elements holding back the proliferation of electric vehicles: they cost more. Not only do they cost more upfront, but replacing a vehicle-sized battery pack is also quite expensive.
Another factor I would like to argue for is this: it saves more money, and is better to the environment, to u
Matter cannot be created or destroyed, nor can it be returned without a receipt.


text:
Man Arrested in Billings Home-Invasion Rapes
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Authorities are charging a Billings man with two home-invasion rapes.
Billings Police Chief Rich St. John and Yellowstone County Attorney Scott Twito said Monday 41-year-old Toby Eugene Griego was arrested last week.
He was to be charged in Justice Court Monday with at least 28 criminal counts involving the sexual assault of two Billings women on May 27 and July 2.
Authorities say he is a suspect in four other attacks dating back to January.
Twito says a tip led authorities to Griego.
Charging documents say Griego has prior convictions in New Mexico, including a 1997 abduction and rape of a 16-year-old girl in Sante Fe.
Griego has lived in Billings since 2008.
It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.


text:
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech football team is set to
begin its spring practice schedule, which includes 14 practices and
the annual spring game. Practices will begin Monday, March 30, and
end with the spring game on April 25.
77 players are on campus for the spring sessions, which are open to the public. The team will practice every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with the exception of Saturday, April 11.
In addition to the spring game on April 25, the Golden Eagles will hold two scimmages. The first will be on Thursday, April 9 at 3 pm, and the second will be on Saturday, April 18 at 10:30 am.
For a complete list of practice times, and all other spring football information, including a Q&A with head coach Watson Brown, please see the 2009 Spring Football Notebook below, or follow the link on the Football homepage.


text:
Teenage Jesus freaks (and Jesus freak wannabes): join/start a discussion here; give/seek advice and encouragement.
Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted.
Order threads in...
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text:
I don't see how either of those outcomes could possibly happen.
The ravens are going to get trolopped and NE's going to pull another vintage Tom Brady sh*tshow 4th quarter to beat SF.
I get it, they're in our a division and arch rivals - but some of you need to wake up.


text:
|2010-05-26, 22:15
|Link #1921
Moderate Haruhiist
You're probably right about the so-called Hard Core people (like, oh EVAGeeks), who will probably never be pleased unless Anno suffers another breakdown and takes the Rebuild Movies back with him into the depths of despair... Yeah, I guess the No Mutants Allowed comparison is apt.
Last edited by Myssa Rei; 2010-05-26 at 22:37.
|2010-05-27, 01:08
|Link #1923
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Around
Personally, i think the fact that Eva has such a wide and diverse fanbase pretty much doomed Rebuild to be something of a base breaker. When a fandom encompasses such a wide spectrum of people, then it's impossible to please everybody. And that's perfectly normal.
Spoiler for 2.0:
|2010-05-27, 01:22
|Link #1924
Join Date: May 2008
Location: California
Age: 28
I really didn't like how they introduced Asuka.
Also, she didn't get enough screen time.
The new character felt completely pointless. Why is she in this movie again?
The animation was very pretty and BGM was great as expected, but scenario wise, I didn't enjoy this nearly as much as the first movie.
It was a fun watch just as an action flick.
Honestly, I have no idea what direction they plan on taking this series.
|2010-05-27, 01:35
|Link #1925
Moderate Haruhiist
|2010-05-27, 03:35
|Link #1927
Beautiful fighter.
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: England, UK
Age: 31
|2010-05-27, 03:48
|Link #1928
My Lovely Bunny Chie
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Philippines
Age: 30
I guess people especially EVA TV fans were expecting a replay of the more psychological TV series. Missing the point that this is another universe with different things with the same plot.
To me, this is like Kare Kano sounds + TTGL + Evangelion TV = Rebuild of Eva.
I think people are in denial of how Shinji is not as wimp in TV series and End of Eva.
I think this just shows how things are different if your personality is different. Distorting the way universe's future.
|2010-05-27, 04:10
|Link #1929
Moderate Haruhiist
People are in denial because after more than a decade of wishing for Shinji to man up, when Anno actually does it, they complain that it's no longer the same Shinji.
Similarly more than a decade ago many of us wished that Asuka was less of a stuck-up b*tch... And lo and behold, when she's NOT a stuck-up b*tch, many people still don't like it.
Unpleasable Fanbase in action! Or rather, the Grognard's Logic in action!
|2010-05-27, 04:15
|Link #1930
Koh nara dekiru!!!
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: August 17th - 31st
|2010-05-27, 06:40
|Link #1931
Witch of Betrayal
Join Date: Jan 2006
Damn, I just saw how well 2.22 sold and had to get a little sneak peek on it...I mean watching the whole thing in glorious 1080p. Besides Shinji's GAR moment being a little cheesy and making me cringe, it was good stuff, epic from beginning to end, and plenty of fan service. I think this deserves its popularity.
The biggest change was probably making the characters more humane and easy to understand, and I suppose that's what most of the displeased fans are complaining about. I think it's for the better. They're all so cute and lovable now...in the original series I found the characters broken, insane and awkward. As much as I like those kinds of characters, the story just seems to work out better this way.
|2010-05-27, 09:07
|Link #1933
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2006
Yes, because I complain too when reverse one-sided pedophillia is taken away!
Really, it was a minor blip compared to her bipolar superior/inferiority complex. It added to her eventual breakdown, but hardly gamebreaking enough.
And Ritsuko's "relationship" was more keyed into the eventual reveal of Rei clones, but since Not Advance, a new scenario could be perfectly made up.
|2010-05-27, 12:48
|Link #1934
Bittersweet Distractor
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 26
|2010-05-27, 14:19
|Link #1935
Absolute Haruhist!
Join Date: Mar 2006
Age: 31
But so far, we SRW fans, which is made up of the most 'hard core' mecha fans, have always loved Shinji 'manning up' in various versions of SRW.
Your 'majority' and 'hard core', don't seem to match mine, so I don't agree with you that changing Shinji is 'utterly ridiculous'.
Purism isn't always the best.
|2010-05-27, 15:44
|Link #1936
Bittersweet Distractor
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 26
But regardless. Shinji manning up is ridiculous, in my opinion. That goes against everything the series stood for.
|2010-05-27, 17:45
|Link #1937
~ You're dead ^__^* ~
Graphic Designer
I for one welcome him manning up a bit and it does not affect how I like the series as I simply don't think that him being a baby was the reason why the original series turned out to be so great. And it isn't like he is far from the spineless wimp as originally depicted but giving him a bit of spine does help empathize with him rather than wanting to punch him every time he appears on screen. I rather liked how he went berserk and had the guts to take it to his father...something I can't remember him doing before since it has all just been the "I will run away" mentality.
|2010-05-27, 18:11
|Link #1938
Moderate Haruhiist
In as much as grognards hate it, Anno IS making Shinji 'man up', or at the least more emotionally stable. :P I do think the movie is better for it, since as Deathskillz so succinctly put it, the lack of whine factor makes it easier for a viewer to actually empathize now with, say, Shinji, than just wish that they'd die horribly in a fire.
|2010-05-27, 18:15
|Link #1939
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2007
the rebuild's story seems much easier to follow. Plus I love the changes to the characters.
Spoiler for Eva 2.0:
All in all the characters are more likable in me eyes and by the end of the movie I was actually cheering for Shinji. Me cheering for mr. cry baby. Madness.
What was the originally show about except showing how epically you fail if you don't man up. In the rebuild it shows how gaining confidence is a boon. They go hand in hand. I believe rebuild has the better approach since the original cry baby shinji distracted from the intent of the show and simply made viewers wish for the worthless loser's death.
Like I said, the biggest change for me was that I actually empathize with and even cheered on shinji by the end of the movie. Thats a big success for Eva 2.0 in my eyes since I thought that was impossible to do and its simply my favorite part of the flim.
I'll also say that that the rebuild is for those that have first seen the show. The contrast between the movie's and the show's events is a big part of the attraction. Having watched the show first you'll be able to gain the missing character development that the movie just doesn't have the time for.
As far as I know, "hardcore" eva fans have always dreamed of what it would be like if Shinji for once in his pathetic life maned up. Eva 2.0 answers that ago old question and boy does it deliver.
Last edited by bigdeath; 2010-05-27 at 18:37.
|2010-05-27, 18:49
|Link #1940
Bittersweet Distractor
Join Date: Nov 2007
Age: 26
The difference between many animes and Evangelion is that though characters in other animes may sometimes have personal problems that they do eventually solve, in Evangelion the characters seem to ultimately fail. Their weaknesses don't disappear, as often is realistic of human beings in general.
Again, not everyone finds Shinji whiny. Personally, I was able to empathize with his character perfectly and found him to be one of the most interesting anime characters of all time. If he is able to overcome his problems, that disappears. Many people who complained about Shinji in the original TV series missed the point.
Much of the series dealt with the idea of running away from problems, the hedgehog's dilemma, and issues with the very idea of reason of being. Shinji was at the focal point of this, and probably reflected Anno's struggles in his own life. Sure, Anno may be a much happier person now... But why does that matter? Again, if he wanted to introduce a totally new mindset, DO NOT call this series Evangelion, and make something completely new.
If you want to cheer for someone like Simon from TTGL, you already have your own series. Leave this one alone.
|movie, remake
|Thread Tools


text:
SCHONACH, Germany (Jan. 5) - Memories of Olympic silver in Vancouver were rekindled Saturday as the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team charged back onto the podium finishing third. It was an historic first World Cup team event podium for the U.S. Ski Team. The USA started sixth in cross country, 57 seconds behind Norway, which ultimately went on to win. The USA slowly moved up through the pack with Bryan Fletcher, Taylor Fletcher, Todd Lodwick (all Steamboat Springs) and Billy Demong (Vermontville, NY) pacing to pass Austria to take third. Action resumes Sunday in Schonach with an individual event.
QUOTESTaylor FletcherIt feels very good to get this result. Our team had the proper expectations going into the event and were ready to compete. We all had good jumps on the hill and Billy showed he can jump amazing whenever he wants. Everyone has very strong leg in the cross country with Bryan holding the time to the skiers in front, Todd moving up and giving Billy a good shot at the podium. For myself I have been in good shape all year with it getting better after each race. I had to thank my skis as the techs killed the wax and I was able to glide very well and push the pace to catch Japan and France.
This is a major building step for me and I am looking forward to the next races.
Billy DemongToday was a one of those days where you don't have too many expectations but as a team we knew we could break up the podium if we focused on the process and all did what we could. It was super exciting and tactical as we moved through the field. It was never clear that we would podium until it was over but each guy picked up time and places and did the job necessary. It is an historic first relay podium for the U.S. in a World Cup and a great way to get a first podium for the year!
Dave Jarrett, Head Nordic Combined CoachGreat work from everyone on the Team. Everyone has been working hard, keeping the faith and knowing this was just around the corner. Now we have the ball rolling and we intend to keep it rolling! The service guys did an awesome job, our skis were very fast.
RESULTSOfficial Results
LINKSFacebookTwitterUSSA Network
HELP THE TEAMAthletes on the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team rely on the support of the American public. Click here to support the team.


text:
I am trying to use gen_validatorv4.js script to compare two dates in a form. I am new to javascript and I am having difficulty making this work properly.
It works when the End Date is greater than the Start date in the same month, however, as soon as I try and compare dates in different months i.e. Start Date 30/11/2013 and End Date of 05/12/2013 I get the error saying the "Leave End Date must be equal to or greater than the Leave Start Date". For some reason the script seems to be comparing the day portion of the date and nothing else.
Here is the script that I am using -
function DoCustomValidation() {
var frm = document.forms["otherleave"];
var StartDate = new Date(frm.LeaveStartDate.value);
var EndDate = new Date(frm.LeaveEndDate.value);
if (StartDate > EndDate){
sfm_show_error_msg('Leave End Date must be equal to or greater than Leave Start Date.',frm.LeaveEndDate);
return false;
return true;
This is only the custom portion of the script. The rest is working like a gem.
Any help from javascript jedi's out there would be appreciated!


text:
Trucking On With Summer
Summer is well underway. It's at the point now where I have stuff to do (and that I have to do), but not too much, so I feel completely unmotivated. I could be working on any of the 3 websites I need to make/finish/update, I could be learning Java (which I need to before the school year starts), or I could be exercising, which I have not hardly done since I have been home.
Last weekend was the Strolling of the Heifers, which I briefly wrote about in my last entry. My family and I sold maple cotton candy on Friday night, which was a lot of fun. In just those few hours we made just as much money as we do over entire weekends usually, which made it very fast-paced and exciting. The only upsetting part about the night was when I put my left index finger on the center of the machine. You know, the part that spins around really really quickly so the cotton candy shoots out. When I pulled the finger back I saw the glove fill with red (but it didn't break so it was completely sanitary). Luckily, there was a bicycle-riding medic right there so I got it patched up pretty well. I can still feel it more than a week later.
My girlfriend was just here for two weeks. She came for the Strolling of the Heifers and to make both of our summers slightly less boring. It was a lot of fun having her here. It's so weird being at school and seeing her for like 5 hours a day, every day, for months, and then to go for weeks with only phone calls. That is the absolute worst part about college - the summers. I can't wait until my summer job starts so I can have stuff to do (and then I can't wait until school starts!).
The iPhone and iPod Touch 3.0 firmware came out today, and I spent a bit of the day playing with that. This Friday I'm going to go to the AT&T store and play with the new iPhone 3G S. I'm hoping to get one by the end of the summer, so cross your fingers for me. Until then...


text:
He hacked the logins which is pretty much equivalent to hacking an email account. The eve online thefts were all perpetuated via in-game mechanisms and since the game's terms state that all in-game items are property of the maker of the game, there was no actual IRL theft to prosecute.
It's not exactly the same as hacking someone's email account though, because if you do that you can potentially get hold of peoples bank/ebay etc accounts. I don't give a rat's arse about this or that game, and I'm a little annoyed about the idea of tax payer's money being wasted on non-crimes such as this.
It's not exactly the same as hacking someone's email account though, because if you do that you can potentially get hold of peoples bank/ebay etc accounts. I don't give a rat's arse about this or that game, and I'm a little annoyed about the idea of tax payer's money being wasted on non-crimes such as this.
Well, I assume Runescape is paid for on a monthly payment and you're actually 'renting' something that the makers of Runescape technically own (if they have a ToS similar to WoW). We discussed this in August [slashdot.org] about whether or not virtual property should be under the same law as regular property.
And really, you should be happy that your tax dollars are paying for this. The closest analogy I can think of is if you rented a moving truck and someone stole it from in front of your house and then anonymously returned it to the store at the end of your rental period. Now, you didn't get to move any of your stuff yet you were still charged for the truck. Basically you've entered into an agreement to use someone business's property in exchange for money and now a third party has not only obstructed that but prevented you from receiving use/enjoyment from your purchase. On a case by case basis, maybe not a big enough deal for $13 (or whatever Runescapes monthly payment is). On a mass scale (like this), call the authorities. The sad thing is that the emotional attachment and feelings of ownership that humans attach to accounts, items and characters are more than likely overlooked. And there's not a lot you can do about that, the law sticks to protecting things that are real and definite and measurable like your monthly payment.
Now, if Runescape was a free game and there was no credit card information at risk then I would agree that the authorities should let the players appeal to the Runescape company to increase protection of their accounts.
Runescape, as far as MMO's go, is as secure as it can possibly be.
AP - Quebec - Another teen corpse missing fingers and eyes was found Saturday in the vicinity of Quebec's biggest internet cafe.
"We are starting to see a lot of this," said Officer Bergeron, "now that Runescape has increased security. People watch who logs into Runescape with their retna scans and fingerprint devices
Jagex, makers of Runescape, did not return calls to their offices.
This marks the twentieth vicious slaying for Runescape items and virtual currency. An anonymous patron of the cafe said, "We've all been there. I mean, my good friend has twice the cash I do in game and I'm not denying it--I've had thoughts about how simple and quick it would be to asphyxiate him and then remove his eyeball with a pen or melon baller
The recent victim's mother said she knew that her son was involved with Runescape but that she wasn't aware of the risks associated with such a game. After identifying the eyeless corpse of her son, she spoke out against online gaming and implored regulators to think of the children and put a stop to all online gaming. She ended her statement with "Before parents make that first $6 payment for their kids
Even if that were a good idea (which it isn't), the retail lobby would never let it fly.
More generally, politics means things are never simple.
Runescape, as far as MMO's go, is as secure as it can possibly be.
AP - Quebec - Another teen corpse missing fingers and eyes was found Saturday in the vicinity of Quebec's biggest internet cafe.
Hmm didn't knew Quebec was having internet...
The funny thing is that Jagex has experimented with fingerprint scanners and has suggested ideas for players to get some sort of physical device (a "dongle" or other such item) that would make a more "secure" connection... and to benefit players with some in-game features like increased bank space and other such stuff if those players buy those security features.
I don't know about the homicides that may or may not happen if players get incredibly jealous about another player, but that is something completel
There are dozens of ways to transfer money between accounts if that is your goal. The Bounty Hunter game was one of the most effective, and there have been problems with the Party Room and other places where even with the "balanced trade" you can still transfer huge amounts of money.
There have also been malicious folks who log into an account and then clean out the bank (dumping it into the party room or elsewhere, or simply leaving it "on the floor" in the bank) and then log out. That would be akin to th
I don't give a rat's arse about this or that game, and I'm a little annoyed about the idea of tax payer's money being wasted on non-crimes such as this.
Better to prosecute them for a crime that doesn't concern you before they move onto crimes that do target you. Stop them while they're still phishing Runescape accounts, instead of e-mails, bank accounts, or credit cards.
I'm sure you will appreciate that taxpayer money is used to pursue criminal charges when someone steals your [insert thing that nobody else but you cases about here].
It is pretty close to the same thing. What happened was that this guy who was arrested made a Phishing website that looked and behaved just like the real thing, and required the "user" to enter the username and password in order to enter. Enough individuals entered to "correct" information that they were able to use those username/password combinations to "hack" into the real user accounts on the official Jagex servers.
This is no different than somebody setting up a website that looks very similar to the y
http://www.gamersdailynews.com/story-14860-Man-Arrested-for-Runescape-Account-Theft.html [gamersdailynews.com]
Censoring your slashdot password is built into the IP protocol itself, so wherever you post it, it will be asterisked out.
See: *******
Censoring your slashdot password is built into the IP protocol itself, so wherever you post it, it will be asterisked out.
See: *******
blah! [bash.org]
...a credit card company got suspicious when they received applications from Glorion OrcBane, Aelrick WindRider, and Bokk theNaueseating, all with the same address of a basement flat in Liverpool.
Uhm, it was not the CEO for CCP (makers of Eve Online) who stole isk (not "kredits") to buy a house. It was a CEO of a player-run banking corporation. Ingame Eve corporations are like clans, so there's a BIG difference.
this needs to be moded up. EVE's 'dollar' is the isk and the guilds are 'corporations' in EVE. CCP is the maker of the game EVE... so it's entirely likely the poster might have mistaken the EVE online situation.
More over, CCP hired a nobel prise winner for economics to manage the market in the EVE online game so I find the idea that the CEO of CCP somehow stealing from his company and buying a house a little suspect, especially given the lack of links to prove that.
I would include links myself to further th
The reference to buying a house comes from the fact that Ricdic, the CEO of said (in game) bank that was stolen from, converted the isk he stole to real money via Real Money Trading. This part, whilst not hacking, was against the EULA of the game, and got his account banned.
His stated reason for going the RMT route was a sick child, and a mortgage debt...
From other posters it sounds like the ban was for trading the money out for real money which most developers frown upon.
I think it's also worth emphasising that it was only the sale of in-game currency for cash which got Ricdic's account banned, not the actual theft. If he had kept the cash in-game, he wouldn't have been subject to sanctions from CCP at all.
Referencing the original BBC News article [bbc.co.uk]:
Ricdic has now been thrown out of the game as trading in-game cash for real money is against Eve Online's terms and conditions.
The rules governing play within Eve would not have sanctioned Ricdic if he had simply stolen the cash and used it in the game, nor if he had bought kredits with real dollars.
Of course the nature of this particular theft doesn't really relate to the RuneScape account theft since it occurred within the rules of the game in question; describing it as "similar illegal activity" is misleading at best.
CCP hired a nobel prise winner for economics to manage the market in the EVE online game
Since I'm about to complete my Ph.D. I sure hope people will refer to me as a Nobel prize winner in Physics when I'm done
isk (not "kredits")
Within EVE Online, ISK stands for "interstellar kredits" [wikipedia.org].
stole isk (not "kredits")
I believe that kredits would be fine in this case; the currency of the EVE universe is ISK, not isk. It is capitalized because it is an abbreviation for interstellar kredits.
I smell a defamation/libel lawsuit
[I]n October last year a Japanese woman was arrested by police after allegedly hacking her virtual husband "to death".
It sounds like she performed some kind of violent action, but in truth she just logged into his account (using info from when they were in a relationship) and destroyed his character. This got billed as "virtual murder" a lot back when the story broke to make it more salacious, but it's just the equivalent of logging into someone's webmail who made the mistake of telling you their password and deleting the entire history and address book.
Not much in the way of "hacking to death" in either sense, really.
Wrong name for the MMO.
What is being stolen during a hack is the victim's access to the game that they DID pay for with real life money.
So really, you are just nitpicking.
To be fair, it is not the GP's fault but the submitter and article authors fault.
Both use the word 'theft' and did so in the context of crimes. That fully brings the word into legal use, and legally theft is very specifically (nitpicky) defined. You can't avoid nitpicking when it comes to legal terms, since that is what they are by definition.
So no, taking someones credentials is not theft as defined by the law.
Using them without permission is, and the law is different b
The CEO of Eve Bank stole the online cash. The CEO of CCP (maker of eve) had nothing to do with this. Eve Bank is a player run financial institution inside the game. FACT CHECK!
There is no "CEO" of Eve Online. Eve Online is a game produced by CCP of Iceland.
There ARE Virtual CEO's of Virtual corporations within the Space-based MMO EVE Online.
I am also not aware of any corp CEO that has used EVE-O ISK to buy a real world house. Somehow I doubt any bank would accept a virtual money as collateral on a real house. Of course, If a private party was that foolish, then hey, more power to the corp CEO. Nevertheless that sounds like a fake story.
Actually, that story happened, at least it was wildly [no, not misspelled, though other words are] reported at the time. It was a huge scam with a PLAYER run bank doing something nasty. I would give more details, but that would mean having to give a rats arse about Eve.
But yeah, the summary makes it out like it was a CEO of the company behind Eve that did this. I was with that company I would sue Slashdot for slander in England (sure a brit read it).
Oh, I knew about the EVE Bank scandal, You couldn't play EVE and NOT know about it. I was just questioning the veracity of the report that the CEO in question actually used the virtual funds to buy a real house.
Although I suppose (as another has postulated) that he could have sold the funds for real money, but that seems unlikely as well, given the high-profile nature of the scam, I suspect that CCP was watching his account closely for large ISK transfers. Although back then I know that they weren't as vi
He *did* use the funds to get real world money, and was banned from the game for it.
The source article is written by a Brit and published on a British company's website so sueing in England won't be hard (just not slahsdot).
Of course the original author wasn't retarded enough to actually name the company, though it's in the article he linked to as a reference (then again so is the in-game nature of the company).
I was with that company I would sue Slashdot for slander in England
Well then you're part of the problem. If I was the CEO of CCP I would write to Slashdot and politely request a correction.
It is possible they sold the ISK online, converting it into hard cash.
why, any bank that runs KDE on their desktops, of course!
Eve Online stole 200 billion "kredits", which he then used as a deposit on a real-world house
What kind of a bank would take 'kredits' as deposit for a house and where can I sign up for an account? I have 500 billion ZWD [wikipedia.org] to use as collateral for a loan.
In-game currencies are commonly traded for real-world cash. Right now it looks like 200 billion ISK is worth about US$8000.
Security experts report that this is one of the first occasions when a Brit has been apprehended for "virtual robbery", although incidents have happened in the past. For instance, the CEO of the sci-fi trading game Eve Online stole 200 billion "kredits"
That's completely different. The "theft" of the Eve credits was entirely in-game - arresting someone for that would be like bringing a case for murder against someone for in-game killing. The case in this article is about the theft (or more likely I should think either "obtaining services by deception" or "obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception" - both crimes under the Theft Act but not actually theft themselves) of actual game accounts.
thx for the sig link, Absolute Shisen-Sho is addictive
Yes, this is ordinary robbery, but carried out on a computer. Virtual robbery is when you steal items off a player character through an approved game mechanism, which is not an illegal act. And in other non-news, slashdot editors don't edit.
Seems to me the theft was real, not virtual. Ah, marketing terms
This 'story' should be held up as an example of all that is wrong with the slashdot story submission process.
I really wouldn't steak 'isk' if I were you. The Icelandic Kronor isn't worth nearly as much as it use to be.
Isk is also the in-game currency of EVE Online. CCP, the makers of EVE Online, are Icelandic. It would seem they didn't have much imagination when it came to naming their in-game currency.
No not too creative, but Inter-Stellar Kredit seems seems to be a good name for money in a space themed game, with a nod to their country.
Isk is also the in-game currency of EVE Online.
Look there! Up, in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane!
W h o o s h !
No, it's the joke going over your head.
"in October last year a Japanese woman was arrested by police after allegedly hacking her virtual husband "to death""
Ok, let's get this corrected. There was no arrest for virtual murder. Repeat: There was no arrest for virtual murder. The woman was arrested for hacking into someone else's account. What she did in game is irrelevant and has just been repeated and twisted over and over for the sake of a sensationalistic "news" story.
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2008/10/woman-arrested/ [wired.com]
1:1) A person is guilty of an offence if: a) he causes a computer to perform any function with intent to secure access to any program or data held in a computer; b) the access he intends to secure is unauthorized; and c) he knows at the time when he causes the computer to perform the function that this is the case.
Not sure why people would somehow consider t
While I'm sure this guy was a real douche nozzle, I'd like to see people who steal real assets go to jail before the people who steal fake assets. International bankers rather than basement dwellers, ok?
username = account
I unwittingly let my son play runescape, and even dumber paid for extra "gold".
here is how that process works.
1. pay someone for gold.
2. meet that person in the game, get the gold
3. get robbed of the gold within minutes by another player
4. repeat (if dumb enough to buy more gold)
I feel these online games exist for one reason, to create an environment where users can be scammed.
well, I admit I did not read that in the TOS
had I been smart enough to read that I would certainly have never made such transactions
my opinion stands that these games exist solely to create an environment for enabling theft.
That doesn't make any sense. People play the games to have fun and they pay the software engineers to produce the virtual environments. It's a perfectly legitimate transaction. The producers of the software don't make any money when their users get scammed so it is in their interest to explicitly create an environment that DOESN'T enable theft.
You're having a knee-jerk reaction. How did you lose the gold after buying it, anyway? You would have had to give out your username and password. You shouldn't have t
Is she going to be given the choice of:
1. Virtual lethal injection. (virus)
2. Virtual firing squad. (One of those FPS games seems relevent).
3. Virtual hanging. (Obama's good at this. Just ask any banker)
4. Electricution. (Throw her computer into the bathtub)
5. Virtual stoning. (tetris)
6. Bore them to death . (Make them read the entire health care bills, from both houses)
When I saw that this idiot called EVE Online a "trading" game, I realized I don't need to read any of the crap linked in the summary.
If someone can't get such a simple fact right, I am afraid what else he didn't get right...
Wasn't it the CEO of a virtual company in Eve Online, not the CEO of the company itself? Or am I getting my incidents mixed up?
That's what I thought. It wasn't actually a crime because that kind of thing is what Eve Online is all about.
Stealing virtual items in a MMORPG is not a crime, and at most a violation of the terms of service.
Stealing identities by way of online passwords is not a virtual crime, it's a very normal, plain computer crime.
Stealing virtual items in a MMORPG is not a crime, and at most a violation of the terms of service.
Stealing identities by way of online passwords is not a virtual crime, it's a very normal, plain computer crime.
That is, of course, why real-world police are making the real-world arrest of a real-world person that is going to a real-world prison.
This is a crime that is being prosecuted for tampering with somebody else's computer systems without authorization, and having committed fraud (another real-world crime) to obtain the usernames and passwords to gain access to these accounts.
"It takes all sorts of in & out-door schooling to get adapted to my kind of fooling" - R. Frost


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Item 11 of 11
Satellite System Earth Station, Andover, 1962Item 25450 info
Maine Historical Society
Ownership of the earth station in Andover changed hands over the years, and the technology driving satellite transmissions of telephone and television changed as well.
The radome and the horn antenna were dismantled in 1985. The original earth station employed about 100 people.
By the turn of the 21st century, only a dozen or so employees worked at the station, which continued to relay satellite transmissions with updated equipment.


text:
High Security Animal Disease Lab Faces Uncertain Future 105
Dupple writes in with a story about the uncertain future of a proposed bio lab in the heart of cattle country. "Plans to build one of the world's most secure laboratories in the heart of rural America have run into difficulties. The National Bio and Agro defense facility (NBAF) would be the first US lab able to research diseases like foot and mouth in large animals. But reviews have raised worries about virus escapes in the middle of cattle country. For over fifty years the United States has carried out research on dangerous animal diseases at Plum Island, just off the coast of New York. However after 9/11 the Department of Homeland Security raised concerns about the suitability of the location and its vulnerability to terrorist attack."


text:
TAMPA, Fla. >> Derek Jeter's retirement announcement will soon seem a lot more real for New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
The Yankees captain said last week in a statement that this will be his final season, and he planned to discuss his decision during a news conference at Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday, when New York's position players report for spring training.
"It's probably going to set in a little more, because I'm actually going to hear it instead of reading it, and see it come out of his mouth," Girardi said Tuesday.
Girardi joined the Yankees as a catcher in 1996, when Jeter won the AL Rookie of the Year award, and was his teammate for four seasons. He's entering his seventh year as Jeter's manager.
"I think about when he came up, when he was there every day in '96, how youthful he was — and God, he looked so young — but how mature he was as a player and what he blossomed into," Girardi said. "You think about all the things that he's done, it's kind of what rolls through your mind. And then you kind of look at yourself and say, 'Where did all the time go?"'
Most Yankees players are expected to attend the news conference, to be held in the pavilion behind the third-base stands. It will be similar to Mariano Rivera's news conference last March 9 to announce his retirement decision.
"I'm excited to play with Derek. He's always been great to me whenever I've gotten on base," new Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury said. "Just me coming up as a young kid. I always had great respect. It will be exciting to play with him his last year, but it would have been nice if I had a few more years."
Jeter, who turns 40 in June, played just 17 games last year after breaking an ankle in the 2012 AL championship series opener. He has been working out for about a month at the Yankees' minor league complex and says he feels completely recovered.
Brendan Ryan, signed as a free agent during the offseason, figures to back up Jeter at shortstop and expects many fans won't be pleased on days he is in the starting lineup instead of the Yankees captain.
"Embrace the boos," Ryan said of his mindset.
NOTES: Kelly Johnson, another free-agent addition, brought three gloves to spring training: for first base, infield and outfield. Girardi said he expects Johnson to share time at third base in addition to being Mark Teixeira's backup at first. "I think we kind of envision it as a platoon, but if he's hitting lefties, then all of a sudden it doesn't become a platoon," the manager said. "We don't have a set infield necessarily like we've had in the past at a couple of positions, so I think at times you'll see us move people around and kind of see how it's going." ... RHP Masahiro Tanaka threw 35 pitches to catcher John Ryan Murphy in his third bullpen session. Asked what his favorite activity was at spring training since arriving last week, he said "bullpen" in English. Tanaka threw all six pitches. "You need a lot of fingers," Girardi said, thinking about signals from the catcher. Tanaka said he's still jet-lagged and has only been to the hotel and training complexes. ... Murphy, who caught Rivera's final pitch in September, is going by "John Ryan" instead of "J.R." He had been known by his full name until he enter pro ball. ... Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon responded to criticism of Robinson Cano by Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long, telling ESPN.com "I'm a little surprised that Kevin Long is the spokesman for the New York Yankees. I wonder if he had any problems with Robbie when he wrote that book ("Cage Rat") proclaiming himself as the guru of hitting." Long was quoted in Monday's editions of the New York Daily News as saying "If somebody told me I was a dog, I'd have to fix that. When you choose not to, you leave yourself open to taking heat, and that's your fault. For whatever reason, Robbie chose not to." Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he was surprised by Long's comment. "I know our fans have had issues," Cashman said. "Robbie was an incredible Yankee. I never had an issue with Robby. He played every day. He played practically every inning and he performed."


text:
Ask Slashdot: Recovering Data From 20-Year-Old Diskettes? 375
First time accepted submitter Zilog writes "The end of the 3.5-inch floppy and the disappearance of associated drives showed to me the need to backup the tens of diskettes that accompanied my youth. Carefully preserved, these diskettes have proved readable for the most part — while some are approaching 20 years old. However, some diskettes have shown surface defects in areas with compressed archives (zip). Any ideas on how to recover (as much as possible) these bad sectors?"


text:
Option List
A closer look at Honda's 210kph lawnmower
110bhp, 0-100kph in four seconds and blades that spin at 4,000rpm…Consider TG very interested
Current weather aside, summer should be just around the corner. Which means ice-cream, inappropriate shorts, pasty white legs and the smell of freshly-cut grass. Equipped with all of those things bar one, it turns out that what TopGear really needs is a new... lawnmower. And possibly a lawn, but we'll gloss over that.
Trouble is, most mowers don't really - ahem - cut it in the TG office. Too much focus on neat lines and collecting grass, not enough concentration on the traditional TopGear preferred attributes of speed, power and lunacy. So we put in a call to Honda to see what it could come up with. After all, the Japanese firm has done some famously eccentric things in the past, nobody in the world builds more internal combustion engines, and it makes everything from leaf-blowers to robots.
Crucially, it also builds more motorbikes than anyone else, and a bike engine is what we need. Small enough to fit inside a standard mower body, powerful enough to make things interesting. More Top Gear.
Honda, excellent sorts that they are, got immediately excited by the project. So armed with a VTR 1000cc engine and a Honda HF2620 mower, we headed up to Team Dynamics (the guys who run Honda's touring cars) to see what might be possible. And that's where things got a little terrifying.
It turns out that with Team Dynamics' assistance, a Honda mower with 110bhp might well turn out to be absolutely ballistic. A fair bit more than just interesting. At least that's the theory - standing in the workshop and looking at the bare bones of the chassis, it's clear that there's still a long way to go before this mower is driveable. But the on-paper numbers are already enough to mollify the most lunatic racing driver. 210kph top speed, 0-96kph in about 4 seconds, and a power to weight ratio of 520bhp per tonne. That's a lot more than a Ferrari F12. All this in a machine with no seatbelts and a steering rack taken out of a Morris Minor.
Yep, you read that right. A Morris Minor. Because while it still looks like a mower, and will still cut grass, underneath it's anything but. The only things that remain from the original donor are the plastic body panels and the pedals.
The wheels and tyres are from a racing quad, and the back axle is out of a 250cc go-kart. It's got a space-frame chassis, the fibreglass cutting deck is 90 per cent lighter than the metal one usually used, the seat has been lowered by 14cm and the blades?
Hmmm, the blades are interesting. And quite possibly lethal. Honda has ditched the standard metal ones because the transmission needed to run them was too complicated to connect to the bike engine. Instead, there are two electric motors, each with two lengths of brake cable attached to them. These will spin at four THOUSAND rpm, like some sort of apocalyptic strimmer. Never mind grass, this thing will cut through a nuclear bunker.
The engineering effort that Honda and Team Dynamics have gone to is mighty impressive: Matt Neal and Gordon Sheddon, Honda's touring car drivers, have given feedback on the design; there's an electronic power shifter for the gear change. There's even a chain-tensioning system rigged up between the engine and rear axle, and it's been lined with plastic to make it run quieter.
And all we wanted was a mower. TopGear doesn't do Gardener's Question Time, but if it did, this would be the answer to many, many things.
Tags: honda, lawnmower, team dynamics


text:
The Wallabies will attempt to erase a decade of gross disappointment against the All Blacks when the inaugural Rugby Championship begins in Sydney tomorrow.
The new southern hemisphere showpiece adds Argentina to the former Tri Nations roster of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, with the Argentines locking horns with the Springboks at Cape Town on the same day.
The Wallabies will be facing the All Blacks for the first time since their 20-6 defeat in the semi-finals of the World Cup and Australia coach Robbie Deans said the Bledisloe Cup Tests were about prestige and national interest.
"The best way to describe the contest is that it's the equivalent of the Ashes," Deans said, referring to the historic cricket clashes between Australia and England. "It's got a lot of history. It's something a lot of good players never get to experience or touch. There's an awful lot of meaning to the playing group."
The trans-Tasman rivals will play three Tests to decide the Bledisloe trophy.
Winger Adam Ashley-Cooper said the Wallabies were intent on exacting revenge for the World Cup loss and an extended run of failed Bledisloe campaigns since 2002.
"It stings," Ashley-Cooper said of the World Cup defeat. "But we have a new focus now and that's the Bledisloe. There's been a big build-up, a lot of buzz."
"Not only in camp, but around friends and family and the whole country. I guess that's off the back of the World Cup last year being such a big tournament, a worldwide tournament, and the opportunity to get a little bit of revenge," Ashley-Cooper said. "Australia hasn't held the Bledisloe Cup for more than a decade. Now so that in itself is enough motivation to play the No. 1 team in the world."
World Cup fly-half Quade Cooper has been omitted from the Wallabies squad in favor of Berrick Barnes. The No. 10 produced consecutive man-of-the-match performances against Wales in June to cement his position.
The formidable All Blacks have added fly-half Dan Carter and centre Ma'a Nonu to the side that thrashed Ireland 60-0 in June.
Veteran forward Nathan Sharpe shelved retirement plans until October to play in the championship and is the only current Australian to have been involved in a successful Bledisloe Cup campaign.
"Sharpey is the only one to have done it so 99 percent of this team really want that same opportunity," Ashley-Cooper said. "Sharing experiences with guys that have held the Cup, there's no bigger achievement or triumph, outside of the World Cup, than the Bledisloe Cup."
Deans paid tribute to Sharpe's input.
"He's been a great source of confidence for the group, he's playing great rugby, but he's also become a real educator around not only the game, but also the peripheral aspects of the game," he said.
The All Blacks are chasing the same old result against Australia with a new coach after Steve Hansen replaced the World Cup-winning Graham Henry.
"Saturday's Bledisloe Cup contest brings two challenges," Hansen said.
"The first is our opponents, who we clearly respect. But just as important is the second challenge, which is about us being better than we were before," Hansen said.
Deans applauded the decision to decide the Bledisloe over three Tests in an end to years of the series involving two or four matches.
Australia and New Zealand clash in Auckland on Aug. 25 in the return leg of the Rugby Championship before the final Bledisloe encounter in Brisbane on Oct. 20.
"The good thing now is we have an uneven number of contests," Deans said. "So we'll get clear resolution year to year."
The Rugby Championship is to be staged over the next six weekends. The leading side on the ladder after 12 home-and-away matches will claim the title.