text:
The results to last week's Fun Online Poll were as follows:
Which taxpayer-funded services or subsidies should be means tested?
State school places - 2%
Police and fire brigade - 2%
Child Benefit - 30%
Public libraries - 4%
None of the above - 54%
Other, please - 2%
With the benefit of hindsight, I should have set up the poll to allow multiple answers.
I am relieved that 54% agree "none" (in which case the argument is - how should the government spend or redistribute taxpayer's money) but why means-testing of Child Benefit is so popular is a mystery to me.
For lefties, fair enough, they like means-testing because it is taxation by stealth and means a larger state apparatus to administer. Fine, but why piddle about with shaving £1 bn off welfare spending when you could go for broke and means-test much more expensive things like 'free' state education?
Why so many Conservative or right/libertarian leaning people support it is a mystery to me. I am genuinely baffled.
This week's Fun Online Poll is just out of personal interest.
"What do you usually listen to when you're driving your car?"
Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.
Thursday, 16 February 2017
Fun Online Polls: Means-testing & in-car entertainment
The results to last week's Fun Online Poll were as follows:
My latest blogpost: Fun Online Polls: Means-testing & in-car entertainmentTweet this! Posted by Mark Wadsworth at 14:43
Labels: Cars, Child Benefit, FOP, Means testing, Music, Taxation
28 comments:
- KJP said...
When the welfare state was set up most people paid into it at some point: some got more back than others. but people accepted that. If you start to say to the people who are basically paying for the system you still have to pay but you can't have any benefits then there will be great resentment – enough to bring it all down.
No box for moaning wife/husband or whining kids.
- 16 February 2017 at 16:32
- L fairfax said...
@"Why so many Conservative or right/libertarian leaning people support it is a mystery to me"
I guess they assume the cost of administrating it, dead weight costs etc are close to 0. I once turned down a job because the pay rise would after means testing make me worse off than before - the dead weight cost is not 0.
- 16 February 2017 at 16:40
- Mark Wadsworth said...
Kjp, yes. Re moaning family,you don't "listen" to them, you just "hear" them.
LF, agreed that must be that answer.
- 16 February 2017 at 16:50
- mombers said...
Interesting re Child Benefit. As a quid pro quo, should the childless have their state pension means tested? Can't really expect as big of an equity stake in the next generation's private property if you don't contribute as much to their upbringing. Also a handy way to pay back the Child Benefit or its predecessors that they got when they were younger.
- 17 February 2017 at 08:27
- L fairfax said...
No they shouldn't it would be cruel and save little money (also women if who didn't have children probably paid a lot more in taxes).
- 17 February 2017 at 09:30
- Dinero said...
"From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" ,communist doctrine, particularly ironic then that it is popular with Conservative or right/libertarian leaning people.
- 17 February 2017 at 10:18
- mombers said...
@LF, just a thought experiment. Citizen's Income would sort the problem of externalised costs of an ageing population - children get a CI of 50% of and adult's until they are 18. At the moment, the cost of raising a child is approx £250k - much more than Child Benefit, which is now only paid to c. 80% of children anyway and shrinking. Those who don't have this expense should be expected to put some of it away rather than tucking into on the private property of the next generation. I really don't want my children's life chances to be curtailed by funding decade long holidays for people who really should be contributing a little more now.
- 17 February 2017 at 11:43
- L fairfax said...
I am not sure that an ageing population is such a problem. With automisation the population could probably decline without problems. Sadly single mother worship and immigrationin the UK will probably mean that the Japanese will have to invent the robots to do lots of work before we do and they will get the money.
- 17 February 2017 at 11:51
- mombers said...
@L just look at the disgusting and declining state of care homes and hospitals to witness the ageing population problem. Can't automate elderly care and health care costs balloon the older you get so it's a black hole. The revenue requirements are going to be impossible to meet without worsening the deadweight losses of our current taxation system. Ant morality of whacking one generation for so much more than another is dubious.
An ageing population is much less of a problem with CI as the economy is MUCH bigger absent all the deadweight costs and the amount spent on the elderly is funded, i.e. they just get double what working age people do. And the single mum problem that you describe gets sorted too as the disincentives to keep a low income household intact disappear. Immigration is sorted too as the low skilled aren't attracted as much as they have to compete with folk who have enough income to accept lower wages
- 17 February 2017 at 12:11
- L fairfax said...
I am not sure if "Can't automate elderly care" will always be true. Cleaning and housekeeping robots could bring down costs and we could save in other areas.
Also peace in Colombia might help cure Alzheimer's which would save a fortune.
- 17 February 2017 at 12:22
- mombers said...
@L I'll believe it when I see it. Elderly people needing care are going to double in number in the next 20 years. Say we automate it to an incredible degree and double the productivity of care workers. It'll still be a huge wage bill. Then there's the extra cost for the robots and the people employed to design, manufacture operate and maintain them - people taken out of the private sector labour pool.
Note that this is economic activity that is funded by the state so comes at the expense of private consumption. Compared to other state expenditure like schools, the army, infrastructure, police, etc., you don't get a return on it from subsequent private economic activity. It's an incredibly valuable thing to do, keeping the elderly in some sort of dignity, and it would be a terrible state of affairs if we had the elderly living in squalor. But it is somewhat like putting alloy wheels on a jalopy just to tow it to the scrapyard
- 17 February 2017 at 14:16
- L fairfax said...
Diseases have been cured before, why not Alzheimer's? The main problem with this "As a quid pro quo, should the childless have their state pension means tested?"
Is that you could have someone who worked all their life get a smaller state pension than Karen Mathews - I find it hard to believe that would be fair. (Particularly since the cost of her imprisonment and benefits is going to eat up a lot of the benefits of her having children).
- 17 February 2017 at 14:20
- mombers said...
@L that's a bit of a Daily Mail case to me I'm afraid. In the grand scheme of things the amount spent on people like her is a pittance compared to old age welfare, BTL subsidies, etc. Lots of this is to do with the incentives to split up families by discriminatory means testing, etc. I'm merely positing a thought experiment, would prefer means testing of everything to be abolished. Means testing CB will only decrease the birth rate and make a bad demographic situation worse. And not to be too un-PC about it, aren't wealthier people in a better position to raise children anyway? And the childless have received Child Benefit or its predecessors when they were young so it is only fair for this gift to be repaid somehow. Best way is to keep it universal.
The reason we're in such trouble is the intergenerational bargain is broken due to welfare being on a pay-as-you-go basis with the 'pay' bit coming from labour and capital instead of land. This is completely broken now with an ageing population and a poorly designed taxation and housing welfare system, and will only get worse.
- 17 February 2017 at 15:38
- L fairfax said...
That "that's a bit of a Daily Mail case to me I'm afraid." is a bit of virtue signalling to me.
@"In the grand scheme of things the amount spent on people like her is a pittance compared to old age welfare, BTL subsidies" I am not sure if that is true and even if it is. For someone without children them getting less than her would seem very unfair.
"would prefer means testing of everything to be abolished."
Don't suggest more then - someone might think it is a good idea. There is no idea so stupid that someone might think it is a good idea.
- 17 February 2017 at 15:56
- mombers said...
@LF MW has the figures - working age benefits have remained largely flat as a percentage of GDP around 5%, £10bn and rising of which is benefits paid to private landlords, not working people. Pensions and old age NHS spending is rocketing though.
The goods news is that people like Karen Matthews tend to claim less old age benefits as they peg off quite young...
I'm pretty sure my viewpoint is culturally different. My grandmother just died at 89 but funded her own care. The state safety net is very thin where she lives and she was lucky enough to save up enough money for herself. There are lots of very poor people there who are not in such a position to save but they largely depend on their own children for care rather than other peoples'
- 17 February 2017 at 16:14
- paulc156 said...
LF. A cure for Alzheimers is a bit like nuclear fusion. Always a couple of decades away. I heard a really wonderful lecture from the LSE last year. It's well worth a listen and about 26 minutes 40 seconds in he gets onto Alzheiners. Starts off with embryonic disorders, then cancer before Alzheimers at 26 min 40 secs in. He makes a case that they're not even on the right path with this disease.
- 17 February 2017 at 17:03
- Bayard said...
"As a quid pro quo, should the childless have their state pension means tested? Can't really expect as big of an equity stake in the next generation's private property if you don't contribute as much to their upbringing."
Hang on, what about all the tax that the childless pay to educate other people's children? (and don't say it goes to pay back what was spent on their own education as in what way are the ones with children paying this back, then?)
- 17 February 2017 at 21:57
- mombers said...
@B, what do you get for your contribution to the education system? If you were state educated, you are given a free springboard for life. Even if you were privately educated (I was) you get to leverage the skills of state educated people in your own business, as well as consume the goods and services the millions of state educated people who run the economy. It's not a tax saving not to have people go to school - it pays for itself many times over. If you don't want to contribute to the current education budget or make good for what was spent on you, how do you intend to avoid free-loading off the wealth that state education has created?
In Japan they are 'saving' billions by closing down a school every week but they are utterly stuffed and are desperately trying to figure out how to prevent a collapse of their population from 127m to below 100m. Young people in Japan are in a terrible state - that's what a society that is running itself down does.
- 18 February 2017 at 21:51
- Mark Wadsworth said...
M, you're on top form again. Pity you don't have time to lead a party like YPP and say this in public!
- 19 February 2017 at 11:03
- Frank said...
This week's poll: Other. I don't drive. ;-)
- 19 February 2017 at 11:23
- L fairfax said...
"MW has the figures - working age benefits have remained largely flat as a percentage of GDP around 5%, "
That doesn't include the £3.2 million cost of the kidnapping in her case. Nor the police time. If you think people on benefits only cost the benefits please read wasting police time it is good.
"benefits paid to private landlords, not working people. "
That is like saying my salary doesn't benefit me just the bank,Sainsburys, inland revenue etc.
- 19 February 2017 at 13:16
- Mark Wadsworth said...
F, ah, good answer.
LF, it's not just people on benefits who commit crimes. I fail to see the relevance. That has nothing to do with means testing v flat rate benefits.
Housing Benefit clearly benefits primarily private landlords. Conversely, social housing benefits everybody - low income people, private tenants, the taxpayer, local councils etc. The big losers from spending money on social housing instead of Housing Benefit are of course the banks.
- 19 February 2017 at 15:59
- L fairfax said...
@Mark Wadsworth
True good point about crime. However the idea of means testing pensions if you have hadn't had children is silly. Suppose X's children don't work or go to prison does X's then get mean tested because X have been less beneficial to the UK than Y who has paid exactly the same amount of tax, but has had no children - but X's children cost a fortune.
Of course best not to have means testing maybe X was a wonderful parent but the children were mentally ill - not their fault, or y wanted to have children and couldn't. It is a lot of cruel work for little money.
(FWIW neither is applicable to me although I do know real life Y and possibly X).
@"Housing Benefit clearly benefits primarily private landlords"
It obviously benefits them and their tenants. If I pay £x for a service then I get a service worth £x to me and the supplier gets £x.
True in many cases without housing benefit the landlord would only £0.3x (or another fraction, please don't quibble about the exact fraction) - so in that case the landlord* does get more than they should do. However in many cases the tenant would get a different house or no house at all.
For example, I know someone who came to the UK from another country to live on benefits because she can't form stable relationships and is lazy. Without benefits she would have had to work in her own country - she benefits a lot from the system.
*If as doesn't happen very often the landlord build the home then that is benefit to everyone.
"Conversely, social housing benefits everybody - low income people, private tenants, the taxpayer, local councils etc. "
Has anyone ever tried to see if the private sector could do this cheaper? I reckon it would be possible to build homes in Wales for people who live in Westminster but don't work there and move them and sell their houses in Westminster. Could save a fortune and would certainly benefit those who can now move to Westminster.
- 19 February 2017 at 17:26
- Mark Wadsworth said...
LF, I personally am not in favour of "means testing" at all. Either everybody gets it or nobody does, and taxation is means testing enough.
Mombers was merely taking the warped "means test" logic to various obvious and unpalatable conclusions to show how stupid the idea is.
As to private sector provision of housing, the whole thing is clearly a complete disaster, because it's 90% rent seeking by land owners, the bricks and mortar is more or less a side issue.
Clearly, it makes no sense for welfare claimants with no intention of working to occupy council housing or receive Housing Benefit in high wage, high rent areas.
I'm a land valuer taxer and I am consistent on this - if some Poor Widows in Mansions get prised out by LVT then I shed no more tear for them than for Council House Slappers with seven illegitimate kids. It's the Homeys who make an arbitrary distinction between the two.
- 19 February 2017 at 20:22
- L fairfax said...
@Mark Wadsworth
Sorry I didn't realize that Mombers was just playing idiots advocate, I thought that he was serious.
"As to private sector provision of housing, the whole thing is clearly a complete disaster, because it's 90% rent seeking by land owners, the bricks and mortar is more or less a side issue."
The rules are set by Government, so surely this is their fault rather than the private sector?
(To be honest, I think there is some rent seeking in local government housing offices).
"I'm a land valuer taxer and I am consistent on this - if some Poor Widows in Mansions get prised out by LVT then I shed no more tear for them than for Council House Slappers with seven illegitimate kids"
I am quite happy for them both to forced out as well.
- 19 February 2017 at 20:36
- mombers said...
@LF sorry too - accidental troll! Means testing in all forms is a disaster. I'm pretty much caught in a means testing and high marginal tax rate trap. To get a new job, it would have to pay thousands of pounds more as I'd lose childcare vouchers, probably hit the 62% tax rate and would have to buy a new suit! Good thing I enjoy my job so my tiny violin isn't playing too loudly. The low paid have it much, much worse, facing net losses if they take a job with an expensive commute. Also cliff edge loss of school lunches, prescriptions, etc.
- 20 February 2017 at 08:19
- Bayard said...
M, I think you misunderstand me. I wasn't advocating the state not spending on education, I was saying that the childless pay a portion of their tax towards educating other people's children. The personal benefit to them from state education, "If you were state educated, you are given a free springboard for life. Even if you were privately educated (I was) you get to leverage the skills of state educated people in your own business, as well as consume the goods and services the millions of state educated people who run the economy." they share alike with those who have children, but only those who have children have the additional benefit of having those children educated by the state at no extra cost to them.
LF, Mark, there clearly has been successful private sector provision of social housing in the past, but these initiative have either been taken into the public sector or the original sense of philanthropy has been overtaken by modern greed.
AFAIK, there have been a series of experiments over the last century or so in moving the unemployed out of big cities where rents are high into the countryside where rents are lower, however, I am not sure how successful they were. I note that in Scotland, a version of this is being tried to repopulate the Islands.
- 20 February 2017 at 08:29
- mombers said...
@B On the flip side, the childless get a free state pension, NHS care and subsidised care homes if they end their lives in ill health. These are much bigger budget items than education. Sure they pay for other people when they work, but proportionately a much smaller portion of their income as the population is ageing at a rapid rate and old age medical care is getting more expensive. And society gets very little for the money spent - it is an incredibly valuable and civilised thing to do for society to take care of the elderly. It is not an investment however. The only return you get that I can think of is an automatic stabiliser when private demand is weak - people with pensions will still go to the shops, etc.
Citizen's income is a much better way to do it in my opinion. Everyone gets the same throughout their lifetime - junior CI when they are young, full working age CI then jumbo CI when they retire. If the economy doesn't grow as quickly as expected, which tends to happen when you have an ageing and shrinking population, the burden is shared by all via lower CI.
- 20 February 2017 at 12:51


text:
Dr. Ross Terrill, expert on East Asia, will discuss the future of China at Lindenwood University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as part of the school's 2008-09 Speaker Series.
The event, which will be in Spellmann Center's Anheuser-Busch Leadership Room on the main campus (209 S. Kingshighway, St. Charles, MO 63301), is free and open to the public. Terrill's talk is titled "China: On the Edge of Greatness or Peril."
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While teaching at Harvard in the areas of political thought, Chinese politics, and international affairs, he wrote 800,000,000: The Real China, The Future of China: After Mao, Flowers on an Iron Tree: Five Cities of China, and the original edition of Mao.
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The 2008-09 Lindenwood University Speaker Series, which is new this year, started in September and includes 11 speaker events in all and extends through mid-April. For more information, visit www.lindenwood.edu/academics/speakersieries.asp.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
One player off, one upgraded, two more added in final release before Saturday's match
The New England Revolution athletic training staff released the Friday injury report this morning. After three full days of training, one player has been moved off the list, one has been upgraded and two have been added.
NE Injury Report – May 28, 2010
QUESTIONABLE: Mike Videira (L ankle Os Trigonum)
DOUBTFUL: Cory Gibbs (R hamstring strain), Emmanuel Osei (R leg infection)
OUT: Darrius Barnes (R ankle sprain), Nico Colaluca (L knee sprain), Matt Reis (L shoulder/knee surgery), Taylor Twellman (concussion)
After rejoining the injury list following a 45-minute performance against Chivas USA on May 5, Edgaras Jankauskas moved off the injury list following his successful rehab of his right hamstring strain. Also upgraded was Mike Videira, who has been moved up to QUESTIONABLE after returning to full training on Friday morning.
While Emmanual Osei remains DOUBTFUL while the infection in his leg continues to heal, Cory Gibbs came off from training on Thursday with a right hamstring strain and is also listed as DOUBTFUL for Saturday's match. He did not train on Friday, but was at the stadium to receive treatment.
Darrius Barnes, Matt Reis and Taylor Twellman all remain OUT with their on-going injuries, but joining them on this list is Nico Colaluca who came off from training on Wednesday with a left knee sprain. This is the second time this season he's suffered a sprain in that knee, as he was on the wrong end of a tackle earlier this year that kept him out the first few weeks of the season.


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Alex Weinhardt was a gangly 15-year-old Foo Fighters fan when his parents dropped him off at his first DIY punk show at the Pickerington Armory.
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To whit, they made a thrashing, grinding debut album at Old Son Studios, and they�re throwing a release party Saturday at Kobo with Nemesis and Neon Warship. Expect broad smiles and brutal volume.
Photo by Adam Lowe


text:
Difference between revisions of "IBM ThinkPad X41"
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Installing Arch Linux isn't exactly trivial if you happen to be a lucky owner of an ThinkPad X41 laptop. As a rather new machine with a Serial-ATA (SATA) harddrive, no internal CD or DVD drive, and a slightly unusual networking chipset, you'll have to have some patience and time in order to get it "Arched".
Installing Arch Linux isn't exactly trivial if you happen to be a lucky owner of an ThinkPad X41 laptop. As a rather new machine with a Serial-ATA (SATA) harddrive, no internal CD or DVD drive, and a slightly unusual networking chipset, you'll have to have some patience and time in order to get it "Arched".
Revision as of 13:02, 23 April 2012
Installing Arch Linux isn't exactly trivial if you happen to be a lucky owner of an ThinkPad X41 laptop. As a rather new machine with a Serial-ATA (SATA) harddrive, no internal CD or DVD drive, and a slightly unusual networking chipset, you'll have to have some patience and time in order to get it "Arched".
With this guide, we hope to make it easier for you to run your new favorite Linux distribution on your laptop. Please help us improve and keep it updated.
Update: As of June 17th, 2008 remastering the installation CD is no longer needed. The same IBM Thinkpad X41 boots and installs without a hitch with the official, standard ISO discs.
The problem
So what's the big deal here? You've installed a bunch of different distributions already, and never had any problems. So why should an Arch Linux install be any different? Well, for some reason the Arch Linux bootable ISO image doesn't contain the drivers necessary to boot from an USB-connected CDROM.
Since the X-series laptops from IBM/Lenovo doesn't have any internal optical drives, you won't be able to access the stuff on the CD after a boot. Part of this "stuff" is the tg3 kernel module, used by your primary NIC which is of Broadcom make. Hence, you can only boot from the CD, but not load modules, keymaps or get your network connection up and running.
The solution
Luckily, we are seemingly not alone with this problem, since there is an excellent guide on remastering the install ISO for Arch Linux. This is exactly what we'll try to do. We will build a custom kernel witch includes support for the X41's hardware, and replace or add it to the ISO. You'll need a working Unix system in order to build the kernel and remaster the ISO.
As described in the aforementioned guide, you'll need an up-to-date Arch Linux install ISO to base your work on. I simply downloaded "arch-0.7.2-base.iso" from http://www.archlinux.org/download.
Next we'll need a kernel. I simply downloaded the latest stable release from http://www.kernel.org, which was 184.108.40.206 at the time of this writing.
Configuring the kernel comes next. I chose to compile all the drivers required by the X41 straight into the kernel, so I wouldn't need to mess with any modules at all. That's how I did it in my old Slackware days, you see. ;-)
Here is a kernel configuration file describing the kernel I built. You should be able to use it with newer kernels by dropping the file into the unpacked kernel source tree and issuing the `make oldconfig' command. Rename it from 'config' to '.config'.
Here is a short summary of some of the options (to the best of my knowledge).
- BLK_DEV_SD - SCSI disk support, needed for harddrive access.
- BLK_DEV_SR - SCSI cdrom support, needed for USB CDROM access.
- SCSI_SATA - Generic SATA support.
- SCSI_ATA_PIIX - Chipset support for Intel ICH5/6 SATA chipset.
- BLK_DEV_RAM - Ramdisk support, needed during startup.
- BLK_DEV_INITRD - Initrd support, needed for boot process.
- TIGON3 - The wired gigabit ethernet card driver, tg3 for the Broadcom chipset.
- MPENTIUMM - Select Pentium M processor type.
When happy with your configuration, build your kernel. Set the root device for the kernel using the rdev command:
rdev <kernel-directory>/arch/i386/boot/bzImage /dev/ram0
Follow the instructions for remastering the install ISO. Basically, you only need to copy the ISO contents to another directory, replace the 'isolinux/vmlinuz' kernel image with your own, and then make a new iso file from the modified directory tree. Burn the resulting ISO image to a CD.
Now you are ready to begin the installation! Hooray!
Performing the installation
So you've got your very own, customized Arch Linux bootable CD, and now you want to get it installed. Well, be warned. Since we kind of hacked that CD together, we'll need some magic fingers to get it to install properly.
First off, plug in your USB-based CD-drive into your laptop and put the CD in. Power up the laptop, and make sure you have your BIOS set to attempt to boot from the CD-drive. You'll be greeted with the standard Arch Linux boot prompt if you succeed.
Just press enter and your homemade kernel will begin booting shortly. If you get an error message about '/dev/ram0' not existing, you probably forgot to compile initrd support into your kernel (the ramdisc will hence not be created). If so, rebuild with support enabled and make a new CD (bummer, eh?).
After the boot messages have washed by, you will be left in the initial environment, from where you can load modules, change keymaps etc. Since I have a Swedish keyboard layout, I first wanted to change that. You will need to load the keyboard mapping files from the CD.
Examining the 'dmesg' output, you'll probably notice that no USB CD-drive is mentioned. You can either unplug the CD-drive and plug it back in, at which time it will be identified and assigned to '/dev/scd0', or simply "know" that the CD is actually already identified and assigned to '/dev/sr0'. Either way, you'll load the CD data by issuing the 'loaddisk <device>' command, where '<device>' is either '/dev/scd0' or '/dev/sr0', depending on your preference.
Then type 'km' and choose keyboard mapping in the list. Us swedes use 'i386/qwerty/sv-latin1.map.gz', choose whatever is appropriate for you.
Now you are ready to launch the Arch Linux setup program, located in the 'arch' directory. Type '/arch/setup' at the prompt.
From here on, the installation is pretty much smooth sailing. Just follow the on-screen instructions, and you should be home free.
Myself I chose not to install a kernel at this point (since I wasn't sure it wouldn't install the shoddy, home-made one used for booting the system), and instead booted up the system from the CD-drive once again, but using the freshly installed root filesystem on the harddrive. Then I used pacman to install a kernel directly from the Arch Linux repositories.
If you want to do the same, just reboot with the CD-drive plugged in, and when the boot prompt shows up, issue 'arch root=/dev/sda2 noinitrd ro' (if you root Linux partition happens to be '/dev/sda2', as in my case).
Login as root, make sure your network interface is running properly (I use DHCP), and then issue the following pacman commands:
pacman –sync –refresh pacman -S linux
Then add your new kernel to '/boot/grub/menu.lst', or to whatever file your bootloader uses.
Other information
Some interesting packages for your IBM/Lenovo ThinkPad X41:
- acpi
- acpid
- laptop-mode-tools
- xf86-video-i810
- thinkpad
- tpb
- tbctl
The IBM X41 comes with ipw2915 wireless Centrino (A, B and G) module. You use the ipw2200 modules (installable via pacman, several versions available depending on your kernel version). There seems to be some problem with the drivers for both wireless and cabled ethernet, since I've experienced weird behavior from those devices a number of times, both under Debian, Ubuntu and now also Arch Linux. The devices just doesn't respond to certain commands, or simply doesn't work. For example, the wireless device can sometimes not switch mode via the iwconfig command, "operation not supported". A reboot usually fixes these issues. They can be related to having performed a sleep earlier.
External Links
- This report has been listed in the Linux Laptop and Notebook Installation Survey: IBM.


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A former Texas Tech student is discovered dead in the ventilation system leading into a restaurant in Austin. How and why she wound up there is a mystery. 26-year-old Jamie Minor had been missing since May 23rd. Her body was found Monday in a duct leading into Perry's Steakhouse. Police Cmdr. Julie O'Brien called it an incredibly tragic accidental death. Toxicology tests were ordered to help determine the exact cause of death but police do not think foul play was involved. Minor had showed up for work May 23 as a hostess at the Trace restaurant at the W Austin Hotel. But her co-workers and supervisors became concerned because she was acting "erratically" and arranged for someone to pick her up at 10 p.m. The Austin American Statesman reports that no one saw the woman after that but surveillance camera footage showed her trying to get into Perry's steakhouse where she was once employed.
Archive for the 'Local News' Category
Former Tech Student Dies Mysterious Death In Ventilation System Of Austin RestaurantJune 29, 2011
Landtroop Says Vote Against Education Bill Protects Small-Town TeachersJune 29, 2011
The Texas House has voted against a budget bill that slashes $4 billion from public education and is considered necessary to balance the budget. The Senate passed the bill several hours earlier yesterday before calling it quits. Plainview's Republican Rep. Jim Landtroop said he voted against SB8 in order to protect small town teachers. Landtroop said in a statement, quote: "Education has to bear some of the spending cuts, but when we have a 1 to 1 ratio of teachers to non-educators employed in our Texas schools, the obvious place to begin cutting is outside the classroom." Landtroop said that when a teacher is let go in a rural district, as opposed to an urban area, there are not many nearby districts where they can find employment.
Denver Quarterback Tim Tebow Set To Speak At Trinity Christian EventJune 28, 2011
Trinity Christian School has lined up Denver Broncos quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow to speak at its annual fundraiser next spring. The event scheduled for next April 23rd will include a reception and autograph session at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. School superintendent Rob Winkler said the former University of Florida star athlete will be speaking about his faith and fame. Table prices for Tebow's appearance will range from $2,500 to $25,000. For $50,000 people can sit at Tebow's table. Some individual tickets will be sold for the dinner and the speech but those prices have not yet been set. Trinity, a nonprofit group, has a fundraiser every year. The school receives no state funding.
Hance Reported Interested In Bringing A South Texas Institution In The Tech SystemJune 27, 2011
Texas Tech reportedly is interested in bringing a branch of the University of Houston in south Texas under the Tech university system. The Victoria Advocate reports that Tech is hiring former University of Houston-Victoria chancellor Tim Hudson is to become vice chancellor at Tech. The Advocate says a formal announcement of his hiring is expected today and could pave the way for the University of Houston-Victoria to become a part of the Tech system. Last August Hudson was reassigned a special assistant to the chancellor for international programs and initiatives at the University of Houston. His supporters say he was reassigned as punishment in the wake of efforts to realign UHV with another system, which turned out to be Texas A&M University. The Aggies were not everyone's first choice. Victoria businessman Claud Jacobs says quote: "My first choice was Texas Tech, and they really wanted to be here." Jacobs and others say Tech Chancellor Kent Hance displayed strong interest in having UHV join the Tech system. But legislation was filed earlier this year aimed at putting UHV under the A&M university system. Talks about that realignment have been delayed because of the legislature's special session and the stepping down of A&M's own chancellor. Some Victorians now see Tech as getting back into the picture. The University of Houston-Victoria has been an upper-division and graduate school only, but is being expanded to admit freshmen and sophomores for the first time this year.
Lubbock Logs Record High Temperature For A June 26th–112 DegreesJune 27, 2011
Lubbock suffered record heat yesterday. The temperature in the city hit 112 degrees, topping the previous record high for a June 26th of 111 set in 2004. The temperature yesterday at 4:24 p.m. was only two degrees short of Lubbock's all-time record high for a day, 114 set on June 27th 1994. Little relief from the heat is expected today. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high near 107. A heat advisory cautions people against extended outdoor exposure and physical activity which could led to heat cramps, heat exhaustion or sunstroke.
Lubbock Logs A Record High Temperature For June 26th–112 DegreesJune 27, 2011
Lubbock suffered record heat yesterday. The temperature in the city hit 112 degrees, topping the previous record high for a June 26
of 111 set in 2004. The temperature yesterday at 4:24 p.m. was only two degrees short of Lubbock's all-time record high for a day, 114 set on June 27
1994. Little relief from the heat is expected today. The National Weather Service is forecasting a high near 107. A heat advisory cautions people against extended outdoor exposure and physical activity which could led to heat cramps, heat exhaustion or sunstroke.
Controversial Kennel Owner Sells Property, Gives Away Most DogsJune 24, 2011
A Lubbock kennel owner who stirred considerable controversy after being videotaped spraying Raid insect killer on his dogs has sold the property and given up most of the animals he was keeping. Nicole Chagolla says she bought the property from the kennel owner, a neighbor who goes by the name of Mr. Li. The property located on County Road 7250 had cinder block kennels with about 70 dogs. A local rescue group took over many of the dogs and others were placed in homes. The Lubbock County District Attorney's office has been investigating the case.
Charity Wilcots Gets A 50-Year Sentence In Marqus Lewis MurderJune 24, 2011
A 22-year-old Lubbock woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison after pleading guilty yesterday to her involvement in a fatal shooting during what police have said was a robbery gone wrong. Charity Wilcots had been charged with capital murder in the death of 28-year-old Marqus Lewis, but she pleaded guilty to murder and three unrelated aggravated robberies. Wilcots will not be eligible for parole for 25 years. Lewis was found shot to death last year inside a home in the 5600 block of Grinnell Street. Charges are pending against two teenagers also accused in the case.
Former Slaton Officer Pleads Not Guilty To Porn ChargesJune 23, 2011
A former Slaton police officer will go to trial in August on child pornography charges. 50-year-old Richard Lee "Rick" Lewis was indicted in early June on six counts of possessing, receiving, and transporting sexually explicit images of children. Yesterday he appeared in federal court in Lubbock and entered a not guilty plea. On May 11th Lewis' home was searched by investigators who reportedly seized 10 VHS tapes, 80 CDs and three computers. He resigned from the Slaton Police the next day, admitting to downloading and viewing the illicit images. His trial is scheduled to begin August 15th.
36th Infantry Band Set For Two Local Performances This WeekendJune 23, 2011
The 36th Infantry Division Band will be performing a series of concerts in West Texas, including appearances this weekend at the Silent Wings Museum in Lubbock and at Buffalo Springs Lakes. The band's classical woodwinds and jazz ensemble will perform Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Silent Wings Museum. On Sunday at 6 a.m. the band will provide the Triathlon Kick-Off Music at Buffalo Springs. Other West Texas performances begin today, starting at San Angelo tonight and moving to Odessa tomorrow evening. Other performances are set for Sunday evening in Amarillo and Tuesday night at Wichita Falls. The 36th Infantry Division band is composed of members of the Texas Army National Guard, along with law enforcement people and other civilians. The West Texas appearances are part of a 15-date summer concert series scheduled across the state.
Seventeen-Year-Old To Be Tried For Murder In December SlayingJune 22, 2011
A Lubbock teenager must stand trial for murder in connection the death of a man found fatally shot in his car last December. Two other young men also are accused in the case. Seventeen-year-old Zeven Sanders was indicted by a grand jury yesterday. He had originally been held on an attempted murder charge. Sanders was16 at the time of the shooting of Brian Brinson. He has now been certified to stand trial as an adult. The victim was found dead in his car on December 19th near 24th Place and Avenue L. Also charged in the killing are 18-year-old Devante Jones and 22-year-old Arenn Davis. All three are being held in the Lubbock County Detention Center.
Motorcyclist Is Injured In Collision With A Car At SlatonJune 22, 2011
A motorcycle collision with a car east of Slaton injures a 28-year-old biker. Slaton police said 28-year-old Donald Buxkemper collided with a car as it turned yesterday morning near the intersection of County Roads 7700 and 3600. Buxkemper was flown by Aerocare to University Medical Center where he was later listed in satisfactory condition.
Early Morning Crash On A Lubbock Street Critically Injures One DriverJune 22, 2011
An early morning collision in Lubbock has left one person critically injured. The accident happened around 2 a.m. today at the intersection of 46th Street and Joliet Avenue. Police said the wreck occurred when the driver of a red Dodge truck failed to yield to a yellow Mustang. The car hit the truck and sent it truck rolling. The truck's driver was taken to a hospital. The female driver of the Mustang and her male passenger suffered minor injuries. Police said alcohol may have been a factor in the accident.
Marine From Midland Dies In Attack By Insurgents In AfghanistanJune 21, 2011
A U.S. Marine from Midland has been killed in the fighting in Afghanistan. Josue Ibarra died Sunday during combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Ibarra was assigned to a battalion based in Hawaii.
He's No Longer Coach Mike Leach–Now Its Author Mike LeachJune 21, 2011
Mike Leach is returning to Lubbock, not as football coach and not as a court plaintiff but as the author of a book about his life and often stormy times. Texas Tech's former head football coach is scheduled to appear at Barnes & Noble on July 19th to sign copies of the upcoming book, "Swing Your Sword: Leading the Charge in Football and Life" — that title being a takeoff on Leach's well-known fascination with pirates. The publisher, Diversion Books, says the book will delve into Leach's bitter parting from Tech, where he was fired in 2009 after being accused of mistreating a player. Leach has been in courts challenging his firing – so far unsuccessfully. But his lawyers say they haven't given up the legal battle. A foreword in the book, written by author Michael Lewis, says, quote: "It borders on a sin that Mike Leach is writing books instead of coaching football right now." Leach currently is living jobless in Key West Florida.
Firemen Battle East Lubbock House Blaze For HoursJune 21, 2011
Lubbock firemen fought a blaze at a house in East Lubbock for several hours yesterday and prevented its spreading to other residences. The fire broke out around 6:20 p.m. at East 3rd Street and Guava Avenue. The home that was destroyed was vacant. Officials said the fire was started by a discarded cigarette.
Lubbock Man Drowns Trying To Save His Nephew During A Lake OutingJune 21, 2011
A 32 year old Lubbock man drowned in Lake Texoma while trying to save a 3-year-old nephew who had fallen into the water. The child was rescued by family members but Carlton Peters was overwhelmed by high waves in strong winds at the lake. The accident happened during a family outing on Father's Day at the lake along the Texas-Oklahoma border. Peters, a father of two, jumped into the lake when the 3-year-old slipped off a sandbar where they had been fishing. A fund has been set up for the Peters family at Citibank.
Childhood Shots Will Be Given Tomorrow At Patterson Library On Parkway DriveJune 20, 2011
The City of Lubbock Health Department will be giving state supplied childhood immunizations tomorrow afternoon at the Patterson Library. Shots will be given to children from 2 months to 18 years old between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the Library's community room. The Patterson Library is located at 1836 Parkway Drive. Medicaid and CHIP are accepted. No shots will be given unless a child's complete shot record is presented
Tractor-trailer Crash Along South Loop 289 Seriously Injures DriverJune 20, 2011
The driver of a tractor-trailer is seriously injured after losing control of his rig and crashing near South Loop 289 and Quaker Avenue. Officers say the tractor-trailer appeared to be headed west on the South Loop access road Saturday morning when it hit a guard rail and overturned, stopping just east of Quaker Avenue. The unidentified driver was taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening.
Cochran County Fire Threatens 1400 HomesJune 20, 2011
The National Weather Service says fire dangers remain high across West Texas because of dry weather and high winds. A Red Flag warning is in effect for the area. A fire on Father's Day threatened some 1400 homes in Cochran County. The blaze began Saturday afternoon, reportedly eventually covering about 1500 acres near Whiteface. Firemen from Cochran County, Whiteface Levelland and the Texas Forest Service were on the scene Sunday. Rehab units were being dispatched from Lubbock County yesterday afternoon. Other fires over the weekend charred houses in Lubbock, Levelland, and Floydada, where two homes were destroyed in a Saturday night fire.


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On April 5, the Dry Ridge Fire Fighters and Dry Ridge Elementary Reading program held the 2nd Annual Build A Bear drive for Shriners Hospital in Lexington and Cincinnati, Ohio. Over 70 elementary students and parents enjoyed hot dogs and ice cream while building 100 bears to be distributed to the hospitals.
Ninety percent of Down's Syndrome babies are killed. Whoops, pregnancies terminated. Chalk up a victory for the Democratic Party. Democrats-have you no conscience?
Von Hilliard
Dry Ridge
I would like to know if there are other people who wish for the days again when basketball was a non-contact sport? I played grade school and then weekend pickup games when I lived in Harrison County in the late 50's and early 60's. We all knew what a foulwas...even the referees.
The way college and NBA players are allowed to push, hit, hold, trip and further abuse each other is detrimental to the game in my opinion.
Jimmy Moore
Many people know of foster care, but few really understand how the system works, the role of the foster parents and most importantly, the experience of the children and youth in care.
More than 6,800 Kentucky children and youth are in out-of-home care. Most are placed in temporary foster care due to parental neglect or abuse. The average age of a child in care is 10.7 years.
This is a gripe letter. To all of us who look at someone without teeth and judge them for not getting them, shame on you and me.
I'm guilty too. Just go to your phone and call every dentist in there and you will soon know why.
Jensen supports
I was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident in September 2011. I hydroplaned, hit a guardrail and flipped my truck. I had serious injuries, multiple fractures and both of my legs were mangled. Doctors told me I was millimeters from death.
The entire first week after the accident, the doctors contemplated amputating my right leg. That morning my EMT was Wanda Hammons. Not only did she save my life, but she figured out my right leg was actually rotated 180 degrees and bent back under me depriving it of blood.
Cigarettes were everything to me. I got up in the morning and had a cigarette with my coffee. At night, cigarettes helped me relax before bed. If I was happy, I smoked. If I was upset, I smoked. Cigarettes were always there. They were my best friend.
We've had such a mild winter that several days in January and February I bought lemonade at little kids' lemonade stands. Already theses little 6 to 10-year-olds have more business experience than the spoiled brat child in the White House.
Von Hilliard
Dry Ridge
Crittenden resident asks where tax money goes
My husband and I have lived in Crittenden for over 34 years. We live in a 1 1/2 story house that was built in the late 1800's. I love my house, but, it is by no means a mansion.
We try to keep our home and yard clean and in good repair. We pay a municipal tax on our insurance bills for our vehicles and our home, I am told, because we live within the city limits.
Copyright © 2019
The Grant County News is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in Dry Ridge, KY and the surrounding area.


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Earth : North America : Central America : Honduras : Caribbean Honduras : Bay Islands : Utila
Utila [5] [6] [7] is the smallest of the three major islands in the Bay Islands group in the west Caribbean Sea off the northern coast of Honduras.
Get to Utila
Getting to Utila is a relatively simple process from many gateway cities. Direct flights to both San Pedro Sula and Roatan are now available from Houston, Atlanta, Miami and Toronto.
From either Roatan or San Pedro Sula a simple Honduran airline flight (with SOSA or Charter) gets you to Utila. Or you can fly with Island Air which services all Bay Islands (Roatan, Utila, Guanaja) and connects all international departing and arriving flights from San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba and Roatan.
By land, take a bus to La Ceiba where you can catch a ferry over. Its about an hour ride. The Ferry runs twice daily, once in the morning and once in the evening. The ferry fare as of November 2011 is 475 lps one-way, or $27 USD one-way. (see The Utila Princess [8] or [9] for current fares and schedules).
TACA, Delta, American and Continental all service Honduras. air viva offers domestic flights from La Ceiba, Roatan, San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa.
Geting around Utila
Things to see
In the Water
Utila is consistently ranked among the best diving destinations in the Caribbean. Utila certifies more new divers than any other location in the Caribbean and arguably around the world. Historically, diving on Utila has been startlingly inexpensive, hence its reputation as a backpacker resort. Nevertheless, the diving remains spectacular and the holy grail of diving: the Whale Shark, is reliably found in Utila.
Moreover, Utila is legendary for its macro creatures. Utila rewards the diver that perfects their buoyancy and is willing to slow down and spend time to find the hidden little creatures of the reef.
While Utila is not known for its beaches, there is some excellent snorkeling available right offshore- especially towards the Blue Bayou area. It is possible to snorkel either right off the few small beaches, or with most of the dive boats. Snorkel equipment rental ranges from $5-$15 USD
Utila also has fantastic waters for kayaking and stand up paddleboarding. The island is split east/west by a canal that you can kayak through; kayaks can be rented from Coral View Hotel near the southern canal entrance or from several dive shops. Guided kayaking trips (see Kayak Utila [10]) to the North Shore through the Mangrove Channel and down to the Cays are a great option to safely explore these waters as well.
On the Land
There are a variety of things to see that you can make a day of hiking to (ask around for directions). A crashed drug runner airplane in the jungle north of the airport is an interesting sight. Freshwater caves on the eastern shore can make for good swimming or exploring, but be very careful if you plan to go deep into them as people have gotten lost and died inside (take 2 waterproof flashlights). The view from the top of pumpkin hill is not to be missed. Similarly panoramic is the view from the top of the water tower.
Things to do
Utila SCUBA diving facilities
Bay Islands College of Diving
Founded in 1995, The College is one of the few Career Development Centers on Utila and provides classes from PADI Open Water Diver all the way up to professional instructor training. Courses are available in English, French, Spanish, Dutch and German. The Bay Islands College of Diving also takes pride in its impressive safety record.
Courses come with free accommodation and if you're quick to book, even small apartments with kitchen, and free kayak rental . The big dock provides lots of space for studying, snorkeling in the dock aquarium or just relaxing in the sun with fellow travelers. On the premises you will also find the Whale Shark & Oceanic Research Center and the Utila Hyperbaric Chamber which are open for visitors.
Green travelers should know that Bay Islands College of Diving is also the first 100% AWARE shop on Utila, which means that for every course you take, $10 will go to the Project Aware foundation, protecting the world's wonderful oceans!
www.dive-utila.com[12] [email protected] tel +504-2425-3291
Ecomarine [13] has been training SCUBA divers on Utila for almost 30 years. Today we are famous for the friendly, professional and personalized service we provide to all our customers.
Fundivers can expect resort quality service from our staff and our dive students will enjoy are small class sizes and the benefit of our quality instruction and equipment. When the whalesharks are around we find them. Our Captain Jose is top rated. Not only will you enjoy his personality on the boat, you will be amazed what he can find. Many of our guests have had the opportunity to swim with whaleshark, dolphin and pilot whales. With Ecomarine your chances couldn't be better.
Ecomarine not only offers quality SCUBA services, we go further. Ecomarine is the only Dive Center in Central America offering Freediving Certifications and Training. Courses are available from Apnea Total and IADA International. Just imagine, within two days you could be Freediving as deep as 20 meters and in one week of you could be diving as deep as 40 meters (131') on a single breath.
website www.ecomarineutila.com email [email protected] Tel 011 504 2425 3350
Alton's Dive Shop
Alton's Dive Center is a family run operation which started from small roots which still run deeply through the dive center today. We aim to provide quality customer service by meeting and routinely exceeding our customers' expectations. Alton's prides itself on offering resort level diving and customer service with qualified and experienced instructors and divemasters to every one of our customers. The dive center is owned by a German & Canadian couple who together with the rest of the management team have approximately 50 years dive industry experience between them. Our motto is simply "Great service, professionalism & fun, all rolled into one!". We understand that customers want excellent service, a safety-oriented operation, high quality training, quality dives and a social atmosphere. We strive to provide all of this by being flexible, professional, customer-focused and detail-oriented. We believe in responsible, no-contact diving activities. This is maintained by a good dive education provided by us, and by teaching responsible and sustainable dive practices
Utila Dive Centre
The Utila Dive Centre is one of the words leading PADI Career Development Centers and in both 2011 and 2010 was awarded #1 rating by PADI Americas and Sport Diver magazine for Instructor development. You'll find all levels of instruction available, as the school was founded by backpackers for backpackers, and their commitment to professionalism but in a safe and fun manner makes them a well rounded choice for either learning to dive, or becoming a dive professional. They are associated with the luxury Mango Inn hotel, complete with onsite pool, and include accommodation there with the PADI courses. They probably have the longest serving team of Instructors on the island, which is always a good sign. They have 4 comfortable boats and run daily northside dive trips, and have a great record for finding whalesharks and dolphins, so good that GoPro cameras have even made several of their videos their choice of the day, and sponsored them as well, just ask about bow mounting your cameras on their boats as you ride out! Make sure you check them out when you visit Utila, their website [14], +50424253326 or [email protected]
One needs to understand that islands are isolated. Goods do not arrive every day, so not everything will be available all the time. The ATMs sometimes run out of money, produce not grown locally is often only available for a couple days after it has arrived, etc.
Credit cards are accepted at most places but discouraged, as there is a very high transaction fee (8-10%). Traveler's cheques can be cashed at Henderson's just west of the ferry dock, and are taken by most dive shops. The easiest way to get money is from an ATM (there are 2, on both plus and cirrus networks) or by going into the bank itself. Lines can be long at the bank but the ATMs run out of money fairly regularly. Also the maximum withdrawal is $4000lps (a little over $200USD) but if you go into the bank there is no limit to how much you can take out at once. Make sure not to run completely out of money before making another trip to the bank or you might find yourself looking for someone to lend you some money for a day.
Scuba diving and snorkeling equipment is available for sale from the Diveshack Utila, located on the corner of the crossroads in the main town, and where the ferry leaves/departs. There is a good range of scuba diving and snorkeling equipment at reasonable prices.
Backpacker Bucks cards: The travelers discount cards are available for sale from both the Utila Dive Centre, and the DiveShack Utila, see http://www.backpackerbucks.com/ to learn how you can save money on your travels through Central America and the world, and contribute to kids charities at the same time.
Funkytown Library (located at the main road at the Reef Cinema) offers a wide range of great books for sale, exchange and rent. Feed your head. Another book exchange can be found at Bundu cafe.
GROCERIES: There are many small grocery stores and corner stores to buy food for cooking. Almost all the hotels have shared public kitchens. Bush's is the largest grocery store, similar to a north american supermarket, but is considerably more expensive than everywhere else. At time of writing, the cheapest grocery stores were Mermaids and Tiende del Pueblo.
The island has a wide variety of fruit, seafood meals, pasta, vegetarian and breakfast fitting for a king with fresh and full-bodied coffee. Many establishments offer a discount for larger groups, so be sure to round up a posse at your hostel before you go out to eat.
Finally, no trip to Honduras is complete without eating a few baleadas. They're cheap and everywhere; street vendors dot the island. Ask other travellers as not all baleadas are created equal. The super baleada from Thompson's Bakery is a great choice.
Places to stay are plenty, and range from about $2+ for a dorm bed to $30+ for modern rooms with hot water in low season (as of February 2011). Accommodation is usually provided free with dive courses
Stay safe
Utila is much safer than the mainland, with very little violence and virtually no murders. Theft most commonly occurs as late-night snatch and runs from intoxicated people being careless, or occasional break-ins if you forget to lock your door. Most hostels employ night watchmen.
The biggest concern in Utila is the sand flies, which are worst at dawn and dusk or when there is no breeze. They are best coped with by either wearing full length pants or applying a layer of oil to your body. Coconut oil, baby oil, suntan oil... anything works. Oils work only if applied heavy enough to drown the insects before they can bite. Deet based repellent work well. Mosquitoes are around but not nearly as bad as the sand flies. Several shops on the island sell a local (made on Roatan), organic and environmentally friendly (so as to not damage the coral) oil repellent; a small bottle is around L15.
Traffic is also something to be aware of. The roads are narrow and some people drive too fast. Just because you're a pedestrian doesn't necessarily mean they will give you the right of way.
Use caution buying a bicycle from strangers on the street. It is a small island and if the one you bought was stolen, the owner WILL see you riding it and confront you.
You will probably be diving on Utila. The Utila Hyperbaric Chamber is located right next to the Bay Islands College of Diving. On the main street turn left from the Ferry dock. When in doubt, pay them a visit to have your ears checked or ask their opinion. They are there for the safety of all divers on Utila.
Be cautious when signing contracts with diving companies. No refund is given if you are unhappy or change your mind about the proposed contract after a few days. Passports are held as leverage if given to the dive shop for "safe keeping". Feel the place out first, there are plenty of places to stay for a few nights while you shop around.
Internet costs 30-50 lps ($1.50-$2.50 USD) per hour. There are several internet cafes, such as Annie's (right when you get off the ferry) and Mermaids (east of the ferry dock and just before the cinema). Lots of dive shops and restaurants have free wi-fi, and some dive shops have a computer that guests can use.
Cellphones are cheap (starting at about $6 USD) and calls to North America cost very little. On the Digicel network you can call North America for 18 minutes for about 7 lps (roughly $0.35 USD). Annie's internet cafe has skype phones.
The postal service is reliable (among the best in Central America) but slow (upwards of a three weeks to arrive from North America). Mail is usually sent general delivery but can also be addressed c/o any of the dive shops. To pick up a parcel or letter the recipient must present their passport at the post office, located at the ferry dock. Address mail to: Utila, Bay Islands, 34201, Honduras, Central America.
Get out


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Hulbert: Why Bad News Keeps on Coming for Apple
Analysts are failing to accept changing sentiment and reality and so are late to break bad news on Apple. MarketWatch's Mark Hulbert discusses on Markets Hub. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... almost he ... knew it the worst or cross incredibly incredibly successful in December I ... see that the bad news is never gonna stop for Apple even though ... I can sell the good returned thirteen billion dollars turnover thirty billion dollar profit last quarter what's gone of Discovery wasn't bad news keep on coming ... Mark Albers ... this hot off the presses mark over this column just ... went live on MarketWatch today ... yet the shares in the week and a journal low over the weekend as well yet ... look ... tell me that why does Apple had won one of the bad news keep following this company ... but to France and the story I was able to ... check in with an academic expert led to the Decatur Wall Street analysts and ... for a variety of senators that we can talk about that they operate in urban ... from Alice track of what those incentives are the behavior that results ... from these perverse incentives under which analysts offer ... is that it turned out pretty negative revision in its earnings forecast is more likely to be followed by ... yet another negative won the tender come in waves or momentum ... rather than randomly interspersed with goodness so it turns out that this is actually not ... I'm not a big surprise ... is that the earnings revision seemed really are all data were for Apple ever since last September ... and into two ERA to calm the issues are what you really describing his is even among analysts ... that there's no there's a herd mentality right they'll fall one another ... that makes them all will love him ... even if I've made the telling the one thing to make them reluctant to go file that were never ones over here ... whatever your answer that's what are the incentives under which they operate ... their safety in numbers I mean if somebody is really truly outside the consensus ... it I can make or break their career no one's going to accuse ... us last September but say in the twenty first when Apple did its all-time high everyone was revising their forecast upward at that time ... you didn't provide to our forecast upward immensely Apple continued going to the moment that would've looked really bad two-year institutional clients ... so that's one of the factors and so I think in the here and that they they iam apartment but analysts that great because ... it really has ... it's it's can be covered bonds ... and for investors to the ... storm to a point where sometimes ... I have the numbers you know what the numbers are even higher on analyzes the numbers ... maybe sometimes you gotta put the numbers aside ... and kind of ... goal with ... your intuition go with your head when Apple Hits seven hundred dollars ... he really seemed like ... it would be ... sooner rather than later before that got up and beat ... but nobody wanted to admit that no one to talk about that even though in retrospect it was obvious ... when EITC I get I of course I agree with it on the other hand ... the intuition was taking and at four hundred five hundred six hundred dollars a share so why play ... of course in retrospect every one of those up for you know that the actual top will look like it's an obvious why were we so stupid not to the ... seated at the time that they're quite content to attract several hundred advisors in the number of ... we're jumping off of off that ship as it is the market were not because ... they were saying exactly that their intuition says the stock he keep on going so ... we have to be careful opted not to be a Monday morning quarterback Matt ... it's also difficult ... to sit at the top ... this ... app on the thirteen billion dollars last quarter they make money they pay a dividend and this is not ... bad ... company ... it's just what were really talking about ... his timing and trying to guess what the other guy is going to pay for something ... contrived or a John wasn't a game of expectations and so it's not a has nothing to do with whether Apple is a good company were profitable that's beyond all shadow of a doubt the question is ... how profitable and how far you upward if the stock price can ago it gives ... you have too many expectations embedded into the price the numbers ... even a company as Astana is Apple's have a


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What about the men?
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New To You - The Chic Boutique is a luxury designer consignment boutique located in Northern Virginia. Established in 1992, buy and sell genuine designer purses, clothing, jewelry, shoes, scarves and accessories. We believe that Fashion is Fun and just love quality and style. Shop online or in our brick and mortar store.
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monkfish needed a new print or packaging design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 41 designs submitted by 12 freelance designers.
I need a book cover designed for my upcoming self-published book entitled: Blend this Book!
The book is about businesses and brands who use attention getting techniques (social media, web 2.0) to drive revenue.
Example: A company called Blendtec created a web video show where they blend everything and anything (like an iphone), created attention for their brand which translated into more sales for their product. http://www.willitblend.com
Title: Blend this Book!
Subtitle: How businesses and brands turn attention into dollars on the web
Remember Jim Carey as the Riddler in the Batman movie where he built those funky blender brain devices? That image is kinda what's in my head. Here for example.
Obviously we can't use the blendtec logo, but blender images might world. I want the cover to be bold and fast and exciting.
Feel free to suggest another subtitle if you wish.
- 6x9
- Item 1...At the end of the day, this book needs to "get attention" on a bookshelf.
- High-res Photoshop layered file (300dpi)
- Royalty free image, or one I can buy, including link
- Fonts included
- Cover must look to the future and create positive associations to a bright future.
- More modern/clean designs I like better
- Definitely do not want an "ebook" feel.
- I do not like cartoony stuff


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My Library Day in the Life is a bit different today. After three hours at work, my son's school nurse called me to tell me he was sick and I needed to pick him up. I suppose he has the cold my daughter had earlier in the week. Instead of writing about the work I didn't really finish today, the meetings I didn't have, or the fun things I missed this afternoon (a Patricia Polacco visit and making Valentine's Day cards with our amazing lower school librarian and Stampin' Up demonstrator ), I want to quickly reflect on this daily blogging activity (so I can go to sleep and blog again tomorrow!).
I look at the past few posts and I think how lucky I am to have such a great job. I have written about good meetings with great colleagues, satisfying library and non-library tasks, and a supportive administration.
I realize that this week, since I didn't teach much, I had less interactions with the kids, but more interactions with the faculty. Both are very valuable and I enjoy being able to have the best of both worlds.
I never wrote of being bored - which makes sense as I am never bored at work (well, there was one boring moment, but it had purpose!). There is always something interesting to do or learn at my library.
Frankly, I just enjoy being a school librarian. I love the community of the school, working with passionate, smart, and silly teens, and being surrounded by books, technology, and nice people. Add summers off, and I feel very lucky. It is nice to be reminded of that by this experience of blogging about my daily work! Thanks Bobbi Newman and Library Day in the Life!


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August 1, 2013 to August 31, 2013 – Greenwood, Indiana Come join us in a log raising August 1st in Greenwood, Indiana. Call us for time and directions. Organized by Tim and Anita Dyer | Type: indiana, log, raising
August 24, 2013 at 10am to September 17, 2013 at 1pm – Asheville, NC Learn reasons why you should choose an 1867 Confederation Log and Timber Frame home while dispelling the myths about living in and maintaining a log and timber frame home. Check out our offer of a t… Organized by Bill & Donna Sites | Type: seminar, tour
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Fukushima diary translation:
Japan Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant blog Tracking Fukushima news from day 1 : | Now one of the world's largest Public Available Repositories of the Chronology of the Daiichi Nuclear ongoing Disaster. This entire site and content is 100% copyright (for commercial replication), please use the form to submit application for re-use. This site is 100% Educational and all licences in relation to reporting are attended to.


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Company Leadership - LifeWave, Inc.
David Schmidt
Founder & CEO
David Schmidt
Founder & CEO
David is the inventor of the LifeWave Technology and founder of LifeWave.
David's experience in business and product development spans over 25 years and includes a formal education in Management Information Systems and Biology at Pace University in Pleasantville, NY. David then went on to pursue several entrepreneurial endeavors and as a result owned successful companies involved in manufacturing and product development. One of these companies, Advanced Applications Group, is a Research and Development center that specializes in energy production technologies for both military and commercial applications. During his time with AAG David developed new methods for producing Hydrogen and Oxygen, designed and prototyped multi-fueled bladeless turbine power generation systems, and constructed metal-combustion rocket engines.
As a result of his innovations David was presented with an honorary doctorate by Dr. Alexander Marinaccio of the International Hall of Fame. In addition, as a result of work performed in the design of emergency Oxygen systems for General Dynamics and the U.S. Navy, David was invited to participate in the Navy's next generation mini-sub program.
The LifeWave Technology was born out of 3 years of intense research by David into the concept of being able to naturally increase energy and stamina through elevation of fat burning utilizing wireless communication to the human body. The LifeWave Technology is now available to the public and David has committed the past 12 years into making this opportunity a reality.
Dr. Steven Haltiwanger
Dir. Health & Science
Steven Haltiwanger MD, CCN
Health & Science Director
Dr. Steven Haltiwanger is a licensed medical doctor and certified clinical nutritionist with over 25 years of practice. Prior to joining LifeWave as the Health and Science Director in 2004, Dr. Haltiwanger served as the Medical Director for the International Nutrition Corporation where some of his responsibilities included product development, overseeing quality control and the development of medical seminars. Over the course of his career Dr. Haltiwanger has also served in other medical and science leadership capacities including directing several health programs.
In January 2005 Dr. Haltiwanger was appointed as a part-time lecturer for the Occupational Therapy Program at the University of Texas, El Paso and has spent time over the past several years educating physicians all over the world. Dr. Halitwanger is routinely invited to participate in speaking and lecture engagements at conferences and forums across the globe. When presented with the opportunity to investigate LifeWave technology, Dr. Haltiwanger concluded after careful and thorough research that LifeWave was "the most exciting technology that he had seen."
Joseph A. DePanfilis
Chief Financial Officer
Joseph A. DePanfilis
Chief Financial Officer
A leader in Finance and Operations management for more than 25 years, Joseph DePanfilis comes to LifeWave after serving as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operation Officer and Director of Finance for privately held, publicly traded, and private equity-held companies.
He has experience in diverse areas of industry finance, including high-tech auto manufacturing, aerospace, medical device, telecommunications and consumer products. Joseph has also directed financial management of foreign operations, served in accounting capacities, as well as played a key role in business start-ups and turnarounds. In his career he has garnered a strong reputation for improving operations and impacting business growth through such measures as strong and resourceful finance management, and productivity/efficiency improvements.
Joseph holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Accounting from Johnson and Wales University, in Providence, Rhode Island.
Jules Rudick
Executive Vice President
Jules Rudick
Executive Vice President
Jules Rudick has an extensive, 30-year international business career having lived and worked in Hong Kong and Taiwan for more than 25 years. From 1982 – 2005 he owned and operated Rudick International Ltd. in Hong Kong. Additionally, Jules has set up and operated numerous joint ventures in Hong Kong, China and the United Kingdom, acting as director for many of these private companies.
Over the course of his career, Jules has developed extensive business relationships and contacts throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. From 2005 until joining LifeWave as the Vice President of Planning & Strategy in January of 2009, Jules worked as a business consultant for small and medium-sized businesses in need of business expertise and private equity funding.
Jules holds a master's degree in International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona. He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese and is an Associate of the Institute for Independent Business.


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Name: Anne
Gender: female
Age: 28
My question is kind of embarrassing, but here goes. I gave birth to a nine pound beautiful baby four weeks ago. I am happy to report that both mother and baby are doing fine. That is except for the fact that my vagina is still stretched out of shape. My question is can I hope to have it return to its previous shape? Also, I've heard that new mothers should wait for six weeks after a birth before having sex again. The problem is that my husband is really horny and he doesn't want to wait. So I'm wondering will it hurt if I start sooner? Another thing, does breast-feeding interfere with my sex drive? I don't feel really sexy these days. Sorry for so many questions in a row.
In the immoral words of Prissy in Gone With the Wind, "I know nutthin' about birthin' babies, Miss Scarlett."
Congratulations on the birth of your child, Anne. Wow, nine pounds, huh? Pretty hefty. I'll bet he's adorable. Everyone here at drdicksexadcice.com is betting that your child is a boy? Us boys tend to give our mommas a hard time right from the get go. At least that's what my own dear sainted mither used to say.
I'm also gonna make another assumption, this is your first child, right? Well, the size of the baby as well as the number of children the woman has carried certainly does effect the elasticity of her vagina. No rocket science there, I suppose. Birthin' babies is pretty traumatic to your pelvic musculature. These muscles lose tone with each successive delivery. But never fear darlin', there are muscle-toning exercises known as kegels that will help you tighten things up in jiffy.
Excuse me for a moment, Anne, I think I'm losing the males in my audience. Here's a tip for all you guys out there who are reading this and rolling your eyes and getting ready to turn the page because you think this is some kinda Oprah — vagina moment. Listen up you monkeys; kegel exercises aren't just for the ladies. Us men folk have pelvic muscles too. So pay attention, you're gonna want to know about kegels too.
Sorry about that Anne. See what I mean about boys and givin' folks, not only their mommas, problems? Anyhow, if you're not already doing kegels, I strongly recommend that you start right away.
What are kegels, you ask? They're muscle contraction and relaxation exercises designed help restore tone to the muscles that surround the opening of the urethra (see guys, we have one of those), vagina (ok, we don't have one of those), and anus (we sure as hell have one of those). Since this includes the muscle that you use to stop and start the flow of urine, you can check if you've identified the right muscle by testing your kegel technique while peeing — if you can stop the flow of urine when tightening, then you know that you're contracting the correct muscle group. BTW, the main muscle is call the pubococcygeus muscle, or PC muscle for short.
Let's try this for starters. Imagine that you're trying to stop yourself from farting or trying to hold your pee. Notice the feeling of squeezing and lifting — it's a sensation of your pelvic muscles tightening and drawing up. Try it now, while you're reading this. That's the beauty part of kegels; you can do them anywhere, anytime. If you're finding it difficult to isolate the muscle group, insert a couple fingers into your vagina before doing a kegel. If you feel pressure around your finger while you are tensing your PC muscle, then you're on the right track.
However, if you're tightening your abs, squeezing your legs together, clenching your butt, or holding your breath then you're not exercising the right muscle group. The object here is to isolate your pelvic floor muscles. Those are the ones you wanna be working.
I want everyone, not just you Anne, to work on both muscle strength and tone. Start with five strong prolonged squeezes (5 seconds apiece). Hold then Relax. Then do a series of 10 rapid contractions in a row. Doing three sets of these two types of kegels twice a day for a week is your goal.
Let's go over that one more time. Start with five strong prolonged squeezes (5 seconds apiece). Hold then Relax. Then do a series of 10 rapid contractions in a row. Doing three sets of these two types of kegels twice a day for a week is your goal.
When you've accomplished this you're ready to increase the set to eight or ten prolonged squeezes and 20 rapid contractions in a set twice a day for a week. The advanced kegeler is able to vary the type and duration of his/her PC squeezing; slow prolonged clenches to quick flutters.
On to the other issues you raise. Your uterus and cervix underwent significant changes as you were delivering your baby, and they need time to heal. So if your husband is being a bigger baby than the new-born…see what I mean about boys drivin their mommas and everyone crazy…by pressuring you for nookie, make a deal with him. Hand jobs and blow jobs only for the first six weeks after delivery. I'm sure you can sympathize with the big galoot. He's probably freakin' nutty from lack of nookie. How long has it been since he had some of your fine pussy?
Finally, breastfeeding may indeed interfere with your libido, but more likely it's just the sheer exhaustion of this postpartum period. Nursing your baby every couple of hours, especially during the middle of the night…I mean, how long can that go on before you start looking for the Uzi.
And probably the idea of your husband grabbing at your boobs while they're still real sore from junior chompin' away at them probably doesn't incite great waves of horniness either. Rest assured, this lack of interest in sex won't last forever. Before you know it, you'll be feeling all pretty and randy once again. And soon you will once again be inviting and welcoming your hubby's advances.
Good Luck!
Name: Gordon
Gender: male
Age: 67
Location: Florida
I guess I have more of a comment than a question. I'm 67, a widower and have been recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. I never was very adventuresome when it came to sex. In fact before my wife died two years ago I never had sex with any other woman. I never gave prostate cancer a thought, never gave my own prostate a thought either. Now I'm mad as hell that I didn't. You see when I started to go to a prostate cancer support group I discovered I could have monitored myself better with a simple self-examination. Why don't doctors tell us about this? Women are supposed to examine their breasts why don't men examine their prostate? It's so easy actually and yet it's this big secret. Why don't people talk about this? It makes me so mad because it could have made a big difference in my own life. Do you know about this self-examination Dr Dick? If you do why don't you tell other people about this? I think it would help a lot if you could help get the word out on this. Now that's all I have to say. Thank you.
No, thank you Gordon. Thank you for sharing your concern with me…with us.
I've been an active proponent of prostate self-exam for many years. Let me explain. My career as a therapist began in San Francisco in 1981. As you may recall, that was precisely the same year a mysterious new disease began showing up among gay men. Back then it was being called gay cancer, but soon it would have another name — HIV/AIDS.
Not surprisingly, my private practice focused down almost exclusively to working with sick and dying people. Luckily, I discovered that I was well suited for the job and I liked it very much. So much so that in the mid-90's I founded a nonprofit organization called, PARADIGM; Enhancing Life Near Death. It was an outreach and resource for terminally ill, chronically ill, elder and dying people. This was brilliant cutting-edge work and I learned so much from the people I was working with. One of the things that struck me most was that regardless of the disease — cancer, HIV, MS, you name it, or even the aging process for that matter — there was always a woeful lack of information about regaining a sense of sexual-self post diagnosis, or sexual wellbeing for seniors in general.
I recall one participant in particular, a man much like you, Gordon. He too had prostate cancer and, like you, he was mad as hell with the indifference of the medical industry toward prostate self-exam. One day during a group session, John was railing against his doctors and cancer associations for their lack of interest in promoting prostate self-awareness. He pointed to the success of the cultural campaign to get women to do breast self-exams. Like you, Gordon, he couldn't understand why there wasn't a similar campaign for men.
Another group member, Clare, a senior woman in her 70's and a breast cancer survivor, helped put things in perspective. She reminded us that breast self-awareness in our culture is a relatively new phenomenon. Her mother, aunt, sister and a niece all died of breast cancer before the self-exam campaign began in earnest. Clare went on to say that it was only through the hard work of individuals and grassroots organizations that actively campaigned for breast self-exams that things began to change. Eventually, this movement changed the cultural mindset. Clare said that it was these individuals and grassroots organizations that helped all of us — medical industry, the cancer lobby and women in general — overcome the denial, shame and embarrassment that was associated with women touching themselves, even to save their lives.
This is an indication of just how ingrained the sex-negativity and body-negativity runs in this culture.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find the funding I needed to continue Paradigm, so after only a couple of years of these groundbreaking programs I had to close up shop. This precipitated a rather sudden move to Seattle in 1999. I guess I was having a major mid-life crisis myself.
I continued to work with sick and dying people here in Seattle. I had a brief gig at a local cancer center where I developed an NIH (National Institute of Health) funded program for women newly diagnosed with ovarian cancer. I was also working with a group of women with breast cancer and another group of men with prostate cancer. Again I realized that just about every therapeutic intervention I encountered — government funded or foundation funded — was woefully lacking in any clear and unambiguous information about sexual health and wellbeing and intimacy issues.
To remedy this, I began planning a video series for people experiencing life threatening and/or disfiguring illnesses. Videos that would help them address reintegrating sex and intimacy post diagnosis. One of the first videos was going to be Public Service Announcement showing men how to do a prostate self-exam. By the way, this particular film was to be dedicated to my friend John, the guy I mentioned earlier. He died shortly after the Paradigm group he was in ended. But he was militant to the end about the pressing need for prostate awareness among men.
Once again the stumbling block I encountered was funding. My grantwriting efforts turned up nothing. I did get a whole lot of, "what a fine idea, Richard. Good luck with that…" brush-off letters though. No foundation would be caught dead funding sexually overt pattern films, even ones with the laudable intent of assisting people with the very information they needed most.
I'm sorry to have been so long-winded in my reply, Gordon. I just wanted you to know that many have preceded you with outrage at the conspiracy of silence regarding prostate self-exam. Let's face it; our society is so ass-phobic that we'd rather see men die than offer them simple instructions how to finger their butt, find their prostate and keep tabs on their prostate health.
If we want this to change we all need to speak out…as well as stick a finger in our ass.
Keep up the fight, Gordon! And please, stay in touch.
Good luck