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Crew Life! Aug. 14, 2019 03:27AM EST
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Aviation - General
Aug. 18, 2019 02:22PM EST
American Begrudgingly Refunds Checked Bag Fees for Lost Luggage – But Only for Canada Passengers
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August 18, 2019 - by Gary Leff for boardingarea.com
Most provisions of Canada's new Air Passenger Protection Regulations went into effect July 15.
They lay out new rules that apply to flights to, from, and within Canada – including connecting flights.
One of the rules is that when an airline damages or loses luggage they must refund checked baggage fees they collected.
After all, they didn't provide the service they charged for – prompt transport of luggage from one place to the next, delivering it in the condition it was received (outside of normal wear and tear).
American Airlines sent a memo to their customer care teams at both their mainline and regional operations reminding them of this obligation.
They're supposed to direct customers to request a refund on the American website.
Read more https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2019/08/1...
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Aviation - General
Aug. 18, 2019 02:08PM EST
Starting Your Own Airline? Here Are 9 Former Airliners for Sale
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August 18, 2019 - by Max Prosperi for thepointsguy.com
- Starting Your Own Airline? Here Are 9 Former Airliners for Sale
Looking to start your own airline? Want to own a piece of aviation history? You're in luck. For as little as $325,000 you can buy your own airliner.
Here are nine aircraft — from a DC-3 to a Boeing 777-200ER— available for purchase today.
Read more https://thepointsguy.com/guides/airline-planes-for...
Who is visiting Fliegerfaust now... plus all visitors since December 25, 2018 14:56 - 19:56 UTC
Aug. 18, 2019 01:28PM EST
Here Is The Lowdown On That F-16 Being Sold In Florida - 2 More For Sale!
Combat aircraft that are marketed to contractor air service providers that provide adversary support
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August 18, 2019 - by Tyler Rogoway for thedrive.com
- Combat aircraft that are marketed to contractor air service providers that provide adversary support
Jet Lease, an aircraft brokerage and leasing firm out of Palm Beach, Florida has some exotic aircraft listed for sale on their website, but among the AH-1s, C-130s, UH-60s, and a variety of private jets, the listing for the F-16 is bound to draw the most attention.
We reached out to Jet Lease to get all the details on this intriguing offering. They were really enthusiastic about it and about their growing surplus military aircraft sales portfolio. As a result, we learned a lot, paramount of which is that the firm has three similar F-16s that could be sold together to create a private F-16 mini-squadron.
These aircraft are F-16AM and BM Block 20 Mid-Life-Update (MLU) jets that are imported from Jordan.
That country had bought dozens of second-hand F-16s from America's NATO allies in Europe—Belgium and the Netherlands—between 2008 and 2017 under the Peace Falcon III to Peace Falcon VI initiatives.
They have subsequently been in the process of liquidating some of their older F-16s in recent years, including selling Block 15 F-16s to Pakistan.
Read more https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29462/here-i...
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Faust's Notes
Aug. 13, 2019 09:15AM EST
ONE Engine is Safer than TWO!?? - Says Pratt & Whitney Publicity to Influence the Process in Canada Favoring The F-35 Aircraft
But For Canada and Its Tax Payers The Perfect Choice Is...
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9:15 local (13:15 UTC) - August 13, 2019 - by Sylvain Faust for fliegerfaust.com
On top of what was mentioned in my latest article regarding the ongoing "lobby" activities in Ottawa trying to influence the decision to be made by civil servants here, we now have to cope with one of the major engine manufacturers from the US apparently volunteering his "solution", but de facto, promoting the F-35 machine.
This not so subtle publicity is targeted to Canadians on Twitter, see it below.
Performance, safety and reliability unlike any of its twin-engine competitors for @RCAF_ARC's future fighter. See why the F135 is the world's most advanced fighter engine for @theF35 - and the right choice for Canada.
— Pratt & Whitney (@prattandwhitney) August 10, 2019
This is part of a continuing public relation effort by Pratt & Whitney to convince the population of Canada that selecting the F-35 (obviously equipped with their engine) is the perfect idea. But it is not, if you followed the F-35 problems since day one.
But we're not dealing here with your friendly local subsidiary known as Pratt and Whitney Canada, as they most probably would like us to believe, but with the powerful world-class entity based in East Hartford, Connecticut, who's really pulling the strings here as well.
Technically, the perfect choice for the CF-18 (CF-188) Boeing Hornet replacement would be an upgraded version of the current CF-18 Hornet, the Boeing Super Hornet. Bigger, stronger, more powerful, better payload with high-tech avionics. This would represent a way more logical answer to Canada's real needs, implying lower transition cost, seamless continuation of pilot and maintenance training as well as deployment logistics, etc.
But... when the big guy from the US did sue Bombardier and its CSeries, Boeing Commercial Aircraft in fact sent a boomerang missile that destroyed any chance Boeing Defence had of landing this (and many more) lucrative military contracts with the Canadian government... and rightly so. This is a prime example of what we mean when we say: "Penny wise, dollar fool".
What remains as proven viable options? SAAB Gripen E and the Airbus Eurofighter Tryphoon. Airbus even offered to have it totally assembled in Canada… what an economic impact, with the right to modify the software and systems… something Lockheed Martin is "NOT" offering at all.
It is YOUR MONEY, taxpayers… Be informed!
You want to know what is going on in Ottawa/Gatineau with the on-going selection process, really?
- Read : All You Need To Know About The Replacement Of The Canadian Boeing CF-18 Fighter Jets - Or the chronicle of (another) announced disaster.
- Read: New Fighter Aircraft Selection Process - What Matters For The Canadian Department of National Defence Is The "Perceived" Objectivity...
Sylvain Faust for Fliegerfaust
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Aug. 14, 2019 08:38AM EST
Did you guess it right? Follow each and every step of @AirCanada's first #A220 assembly start in Mirabel, Québec, Canada. pic.twitter.com/UygyyVHo9D— Airbus (@Airbus) August 14, 2019
First Air Canada Airbus A220 On The Assembly Line in Mirabel, Quebec
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August 14, 2019 - by Airbus
Fliegerfaust Note: Today Airbus published a new video of the first Airbus A220 for Air Canada currently being built at Airbus A220 assembly line in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada. The A220 (formerly Bombardier CSeries) is currently being delivered in two models, the base model A220-300 and the smaller version the A220-100.
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Canadian CF-18, Photo: Sylvain Faust
All You Need To Know About The Replacement Of The Canadian Boeing CF-18 Fighter Jets - Or the chronicle of (another) announced disaster.
US government will have to approve the choice of the new fighter jet selected by Canada.
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8:03 local (12:03 UTC) - July 31, 2019 - by TCA for fliegerfaust.com
- Ministry of Defense (and the Canadian Forces) has always had absolute control over this tender. PWGSC is in fact only an approving facade.
Let's be honest and recognize immediately that the process of replacing fighter planes is simply biased. As well as the replacement programs for search and rescue helicopters, helicopters operated from Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) vessels, or the renewal of the Coast Guard and RCN fleets (frigates, multi-role replenishment vessels, arctic patrol ships, icebreakers ...), this one has borne the brunt of many twists and turns, ranging from changes of military requirements to political interests (and interferences), all of which is tainted by numerous lobbyists and other people with direct interests or not.
Also, I do not intend to discuss in this text other equipment replacement programs that have not yet started or have just started. Per example, all CC-150 Polaris wide-body aircraft, CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft, CH-146 Griffon multi-role utility helicopters[1] and CT-155 Hawk advanced training aircraft will also need to be replaced faster than we all realize.
In any case, we are talking about significant expenses. More significant than you will ever think it will be. If you believe that our governments have over-subsidized Bombardier for its CSeries, don't worry: you'll quickly understand the CSeries program's provincial and federal grants were pocket change by comparison.
The genesis
The F-35 comes from the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) development and acquisition program, which began in 1992. This program was designed to replace most combat aircraft in service[2] within the US Navy (USN), US Marines (USMC), US Air Force (USAF). The United Kingdom joined the program in 1995 to replace some fighter jets[3] of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy (RN). Canada, for its part, joined the program in 1997 as an evaluation partner of competing aircraft to eventually replace its CF-188s.
Since the 1960s, the United States Department of Defense (DoD) has repeatedly tried to reduce costs and increase efficiencies between different services. Thus, the F-35 is not the first combat aircraft program required by the US DoD to equip both the USN and the USAF. This honor goes to the F-111 Aardwark, the very first variable geometry aircraft put into production. In the end, the F-111 was only adopted by the USAF and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and put into service from 1967.
Other unified fighter aircraft programs were initiated later but ultimately resulted in separate aircraft. These were the F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18 Hornet.
It is important to note that, in the past, several USN aircraft designed for aircraft carrier operations have also been adopted by the USAF. A-1 Skyraider, A-3 Skywarrior, A-7 Corsair II and F-4 Phantom II are some examples. Several simple factors explain this situation: USN aircraft must be more robust because of the forces exerted by catapulting and landing operations on aircraft carriers. Thus, converting aircraft designed for the USAF for use on aircraft carriers turns out to be almost impossible.
Among the most ambitious requirements of the JSF is also to replace all AV-8B Harrier II in service not only in the United States and the United Kingdom but also in Spain and Italy. These STOVL[4] aircraft are among the most important for the USMC to support its troops. Deployed from amphibious assault ships, they represent the independence of air combat and the Corps ground attack in its operations.
One of the initial objectives of this program was a commonality of components between the different versions of 80%. According to an evaluation conducted in 2017, this rate would now be 20%.
The aircraft: The (C)F-35A
So, 27 years after the official start of the program[5], the second largest country on the planet will therefore purchase 88 (C)F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) at a probable unit cost of US$109 million (2019) to ensure the defense of its territory of 9,984,670 km2. You read it right: eighty-eight combat aircraft to patrol and protect nearly ten million square kilometers at an initial cost of ten billion US dollars.
That being said, we are no longer at the beginning of the Cold War and technologies and infrastructures have since greatly evolved. Remote-controlled satellites and radars now allow the surveillance of large areas of land without local personnel. The protection of the airspace is thus improved and the human and material resources better used. In theory, this should also translate into lower overall costs, but that is another subject altogether.
Government estimates are close to $20 billion for this program as a whole. This being said, there are few realistic indications of the estimated costs of integration (including training of pilots, ground staff and changes to the supply and maintenance chain) or specific modifications (some specific weapons and communications have not been previously integrated by any other allied armed forces on the JSF) for the integration of these aircraft into the Canadian Forces.
Finally, just to be part of JSF's development program, Canada has also paid over US$600 million so far to become and remain a Tier 3 partner. Economic spinoffs vary greatly among different estimates and will not probably entirely known given the "secret defense" nature of these.
After reading these amounts, one wonders why the government does not consider other combat aircraft. In fact, the Trudeau government launched an international tender a few years ago which is, officially, still underway. Officially, this call for tenders comes from Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) but internal sources have revealed that the Ministry of Defense (and the Canadian Forces) has always had absolute control over this tender. PWGSC is in fact only an approving facade for sanctioning decisions made by other departments and, ultimately, the Cabinet.
Among the manufacturers invited to this tender, Boeing presents its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Eurofighter its Typhoon, Lockheed Martin its F-35A and Saab its Gripen E. We could also add the F-15X of Boeing, the Tempest of BAE[6] and the New Generation Fighter of the consortium Dassault/Airbus Defense and Space to this list. Note that the Eurofighter is owned by Airbus (46%), BAE Systems (33%) and Leonardo (21%)
Despite the controversy, the Lockheed F-35A is the combat aircraft that the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) wants. For the military, no one else is better qualified than themselves to evaluate and acquire their equipment and spend your money there. For them, apart from the F-35A, none of the aircraft competing for this contract meet their high operational standards and are able to exploit the latest advanced weapon systems that Canada needs to ensure its safety until 2070.
It should be noted here that the F-35 (and its variants) is the first western stealth fighter plane available to allied countries of the United States.
« Stealth? »
Let's take a moment and define the term "stealth" in terms of aeronautics. In my opinion, the most accurate definition is a set of technologies and techniques aimed at reducing the reflectivity and emissions of a device with respect to heat, visible light, audio, radio frequencies and detection by radar.
That being said, all its technologies and techniques remain compromises.
Various techniques are used to reduce engine heat emissions to make them less susceptible to infrared-guided missiles. Engine design and placement has a very significant impact on the noise emitted (consider the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW1000G engines that are used in particular with the Airbus A220 whose noise reduction is generally recognized at 50%). The problem comes when we look a little closer to the technologies and techniques decreasing the radar detection.
Indeed, all these technologies are effective against radars operating in certain frequency bands. As with any radio transmitter, the antenna will be smaller if it transmits in a higher frequency. Reducing the radar footprint of "stealth" aircraft is therefore optimized for radar in high frequency bands because these are generally used on other aircraft and their weapons systems, anti-aircraft systems ...
Conversely, they are still visible to radars operating in the low frequency bands. These radars have a long range, have very large antennas and are usually fixed. Radars in the low frequency bands were among the first developed and used during the Second World War. Several have been supplied to the USSR and many developments designed and put into service to date. These radars do not have the same resolution as those operating in the high frequency bands but fit perfectly with the philosophy and organization of the Russian Air Force and their allies.
So, is the F-35 (or the F-117, F-22 and B-2 and future B-21) "stealth". It depends on the point of view but especially on the equipment used.
The operator: The Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces relies heavily on the training of its troops, and the ARC prides itself on being among the best trained and most experienced pilots. These would be among the best in the world in terms of superiority, combat, bombardment, suppression of anti-aircraft defenses, reconnaissance and ground attack. Many, if not most, of its pilots have been trained at the US Navy Naval Aviation Warfighting Development Center (TOPGUN). In addition, because of trade, some have also been trained in aircraft carrier operations.
There are still some concerns. First, if Canada wants to retain these combat and air support capabilities, Canada must replace its eighty-four CF-188s. These aircraft will not rejuvenate just because you want. They were used not only in Canada for our national commitments and the NORAD treaty, but also during combat operations in Kuwait, Iraq, and former Yugoslavia during the 1990s, in Libya in 2011, and again in Iraq, and in Syria in 2014-2015. They have also been deployed extensively in Europe under NATO command.
Second, trying to predict what will be the future of aviation in fifty years is more complicated than guessing the next winning combination of your favorite lottery. In fact, we wonder whether Canada has the means to meet its ambitions and even to operate combat planes.
The F-35A is not the aircraft Canada needs. It is far from it.
To enable them to perform the missions assigned to them, they need an aircraft capable of performing them. In theory, the F-35A is able to accomplish all these missions. In reality, we are far from having a multi-role aircraft, multi-mission as we are sold. Because of the initial requirements of this program, including a maximum commonality of the components between the variants of the Air Force, the Navy and the Marines, we are witnessing here a compromise plane. It is a plane that can do anything, pretty much. It is not "excellent"; it is average at best.
Despite their advanced age, the CF-188s were and remain for a while, perfectly suited for these uses. In fact, the general wear of these aircraft is more problematic than their relevance. Both the Canadian Forces and their external suppliers have developed unique maintenance methods for CF-188s. It is not uncommon to see American, Australian or other F/A-18s here in Canada for maintenance and/or major modifications. Not only are our industries competitive in this field: they have developed exclusive and recognized expertise on these aircraft. (Would it make much more sense to select the Boeing Super Hornet instead?)
Special conditions of operation
Because of the extent of its territory, Canada has for some decades relied on dual-engine[7] combat aircraft. This argument is essentially in favor of the safety of pilots and aircraft because of the small number of airports that can accommodate combat aircraft in Canada's North. The choice of the F-35 breaks this trend initiated more than 50 years ago. To my knowledge, there are a few airports that have been built and others modernized in Canada's[8] north since the mid-eighties, but never enough to change that.
Like Canada's geography, the airports scattered throughout its territory are just as diverse as each other. Many of them who are able to accommodate the CF-188s have been equipped with arresting cables in the '80s and' 90s, in all respects similar to those installed on the aircraft carriers. The use of these cables serves only to shorten the stopping distance, which is essential on some tracks whose length is not always adequate. As the proposed F-35As do not have landing hooks, Canada, Norway and the Netherlands have requested the addition of stop parachutes to the F-35A they want to operate. So far, no information seems to be available on the status of certification of this option.
Let us also keep in mind that these fighter planes will continue to be operated from two main bases (CFB Bagotville and CFB Cold Lake) as well as a multitude of secondary bases. Just as on a personal trip, having mechanical trouble away from home is not only unpleasant but can also cause significant problems for the repair. These devices can not always be sent to the nearest garage.
Note: The F-18 (and CF-188) remains in flight when an engine is lost. Stop cables are also used in the event of a potential loss of oil pressure to the brake system during engine problems. In the case of an engine loss with the F-35 you have just lost more than $100 million and the pilot must eject.
We all know how Canada is a country of extreme climates. The extent of the territory and the seasons give us a country where temperatures vary between -40 ° C and 40 ° C annually. And I only mention our territory: our governments like to deploy our troops for all kinds of good and bad reasons at the international level. Preliminary F-35 operational tests by the US Air Force in Alaska have shown battery problems in cold weather, while other tests by the US Marines have shown engine control problems in hot, humid weather. No other country seems to have made public the results of their own climate tests.
In-flight refueling
Since 2008, Canada has regained its air refueling capability with the conversion of two CC-150s in collaboration with the German Luftwaffe. These two CC-150Ts feature two probe and drogue devices per aircraft. These devices are those used by the F-35B and F-35C. It should be noted that a boom device that can be used to refuel the F-35A could be installed but it is almost impossible that this is the case as the CC-150 will have to be replaced soon.
Other recently F-35 "disclosed" issues also mention problems with the logistics system (cloud computing), information sharing (cloud computing), overpressurization of the cabin (software, perhaps equipment), loss of oxygen supply (software, perhaps equipment), structures and coatings during supersonic flights (structure), basic control of the aircraft (software), erratic flight behavior during altitude changes of more than 20 ° (software ), protection of hydraulic systems in the event of an explosion of a landing gear tire (structure), radar (software, perhaps equipment), display at the helmet and avionics (software , maybe equipment).
What worries me the most is that most of these reported problems are software-related. Millions of lines of code control this aircraft, from start-up to landing and even between flights. All these lines of code must be written in a simple and conscious way, documented excessively and tested continuously both by module and interaction with the other components. It is obvious that from the strict point of view of the secrecy surrounding this project that ordinary mortals will not have access to the code to verify it.
But what about F-35 operators? Except for the United States, only Israel would have obtained in their purchase contract access to all development documentation, engineering plans and source code for all components as well as test data from all countries participating in the program, whether they accepted it or not. Since the first aircraft (including one specifically for testing purposes) have been delivered to Israel, these have already been modified to improve their effective range and stealth characteristics.
Politics, Diplomacy and Politics
The most surprising of this entire fighter aircraft acquisition program for Canada is the role of the US government. Indeed, in the name of common defense of North American airspace, the US government will have to approve the choice of the new fighter jet selected by Canada.
You read very well. The US government has an indirect veto right conferred on it by the Norad Treaty. If the Canadian government had made this buying exercise a decade or even twenty years ago, it would not have been the same situation. But today, in 2019, with JSF delays, problems and cost overruns, the United States has no advantage for Canada to choose another aircraft than the F-35. They have (too much) invested in this program to not share the bill with a natural and captive partner such as Canada. At worst, they will accept without too much fuss that Canada is buying Boeing Super Hornet F/A-18E/F.
But what will they do if Canada chooses the Eurofighter Typhoon or Saab Gripen E? The US government will never directly deny the Canadian choice but will do everything in their power to let the approval and, subsequently, the certification of combat aircraft and related systems until the situation is untenable.
If it is not done correctly, it is at this point that politics and diplomacy merge to become questionable policies.
So what is the combat aircraft Canada needs? Are other fighter planes doing the trick? Most likely. Under the NORAD treaty with the United States, the US must "approve" any purchase of fighter aircraft made by Canada for the purpose of implementing the Treaty. In fact, with the current political conditions and using the bureaucracy, Americans will probably block any fighter from a different origin that Canada would like to acquire. Regardless of who competes for this international tender, a US fighter will be retained and it will most likely be the F-35.
In the end, we should rather ask ourselves if Canada has the means of its ambitions. $20 billion is a huge sum for the vast majority of Canadians, especially for less than one hundred (C)F-35A. Now add up to $70 billion for the replacement of RCM destroyers and frigates[9] (by a consortium including, among others, Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-35), at least $4+ billion for offshore patrol vessels in Arctic, at least $3 billion for the replacement of multi-role replenishment vessels[10] and an amount still unknown for the replacement of the majority of the Coast Guard fleet. Let us also keep in mind the replacement of maritime patrol aircraft, strategic transport and air refueling aircraft, advanced training aircraft and multi-role helicopters that will eventually have to be done soon.
Now that you're just dizzy with the more than $100 billion in planned and upcoming aircraft and vessel expenses, I need to remind you that health and education costs can only increase, that our Infrastructure and public buildings are in decay and there is only one viable source of revenue for all these expenses: The Canadian tax payers.
So, dear friends, what are the choices we have to make today so that we can live tomorrow?
[1] Despite the announcement made in January 2019, some analyses are still ongoing for the replacement of the current CH-146 as there might be a better and cheaper option.
[2] A-10 Thunderbolt II, AV-8B Harrier II, F-16 Fighting Falcon and F/A-18A-D Hornet.
[3] Harrier GR7-GR9 and Tornado GR4.
[4] Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing
[5] The Canadian commitment to the F-35 program actually began unofficially in 1997.
[6] The Tempest aims to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen E around 2035.
[7] It should be noted here, among other things, that Canada has operated in the past single engine combat aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin Shooting Star and the Canadair Saber and Starfighter and has learn from it.
[8] https://www.discs.dsca.mil/pubs/vol%2013_1/omb.pdf, page 33.
[9] https://navaltoday.com/2019/06/24/canadas-surface-combatant-project-will-cost-c4-6b-per-ship-new-report-finds/
[10] More than 5.5 times the total budget for 4 similar supply vessels for the Royal Navy ($600 millions).
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Aviation - General
Aug. 17, 2019 10:34AM EST
Transportation Watchdog Investigating WestJet After Customer Complaint - Loopholes!
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August 17, 2019 - by Canadian Press for theglobeandmail.com
Canada's transportation watchdog is launching an inquiry into how WestJet Airlines Ltd. handles its passengers during schedule changes after an incident last month saw travellers bumped without compensation.
The Canadian Transportation Agency says the probe into WestJet's tariff – its contract with customers – follows a complaint after a Canadian couple en route to Italy were bumped from their flight out of Edmonton.
According to media reports, WestJet told the pair they were not entitled to compensation because the incident amounted to a "flight delay" rather than a "denial of boarding."...
Read more https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-transportation-watchdog-investigating-westjet-after-customer-complaint/
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Aug. 16, 2019 10:10AM EST
Today... First EGYPTAIR Airbus A220-300 MSN 55058 at Mirabel Quebec factory testing. First flight in coming days
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August 15, 2019 - by Sylvain Faust for Fliegerfaust
Today... First EGYPTAIR Airbus A220-300 MSN 55058 at Mirabel Quebec factory testing. First flight in coming days
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Aug. 16, 2019 09:59AM EST
Top Aces Hits Record-breaking 80,000 Hours of Air Combat Training
Historic milestone comes as company eyes global expansion
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August 16, 2019 - by Top Aces Inc.
Montreal- August 15, 2019 - Top Aces Inc. announced today that it has broken its own record of 75,000 hours of operational air combat training, reaching an industry leading 80,000 flight hours with the most enviable safety record in the industry. No other adversary air provider in the world has delivered this number of flight hours carrying out live air training missions.
The milestone came on July 30th, 2019, during 2-ship Red Air Support for German Air Force (GAF) Eurofighters from the Tactical Luftwaffen Wing 71 "Richthofen" in Wittmund, Germany. The pilots, Elmar "Elmo" Besold and Raimund "Lendi" Lendermann, are among Top Aces'most experienced.
A proud provider of advanced and innovative adversary air services to the world's leading air forces in Canada, Australia, Germany, and soon the United States, Top Aces has earned a reputation for its commitment to professionalism, safety, and efficiency.
"Our dedication to serving our customers as well as our motivation to always do better have allowed us to reach a record-breaking and unblemished 80,000 flight hours," said Paul Bouchard, President and CEO of Top Aces. "We are very pleased with this milestone and are committed to continue to deliver the next generation of highly-representative adversary air to all our customers worldwide."
With a current fleet mix of Dornier Alpha Jets, Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, Learjet 35As, Westwinds and a future fleet of F-16s, Top Aces has a flexible offering ready to meet growing client needs. The company has plans for expansion as early as this year. At the prominent Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) in the United Kingdom last month, Top Aces had the opportunity to meet with senior leadership from the world's leading air forces to explore growth opportunities."
We are extremely proud to announce this exciting accomplishment for our company," said Top Aces Chief Commercial Officer, Russ Quinn. "Our vision remains to be the most trusted provider of advanced air combat training solutions by delivering industry-leading standards of safety, airworthiness and operational excellence."
About Top Aces
Top Aces provides advanced and innovative airborne training to the world's leading air forces.Founded in 2000 by a group of highly accomplished former fighter pilots, Top Aces has the largest worldwide footprint of privately-held operational fighter aircraft that provide advanced adversary, air-defence and Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training services around the globe. The mission-critical training offered by Top Aces enhances the operational readiness of combat forces by providing realistic real-world experience while prolonging its customers' fleet life.
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My name is Normand Hamel. After a 35 year career in aviation I retired in 2009 to better concentrate on my favourite activities: reading and writing. If you wonder what Run-up Pad means it refers to this special section of a run-up area on an airport that can be heated up in cold temperatures to prevent an aircraft from slipping forward when power is applied to test the engines. It also refers symbolically to the yellow pad I am using to write these articles for which I intend to bring our readers to contribution to test my ideas, like one would test an engine to make sure it works properly.
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Did you guess it right? Follow each and every step of @AirCanada's first #A220 assembly start in Mirabel, Québec, Canada. pic.twitter.com/UygyyVHo9D— Airbus (@Airbus) August 14, 2019
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Did you guess it right? Follow each and every step of @AirCanada's first #A220 assembly start in Mirabel, Québec, Canada. pic.twitter.com/UygyyVHo9D— Airbus (@Airbus) August 14, 2019


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On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration issued an announcement about an ongoing safety review of the combination of HIV drugs Invirase (saquinavir) and Norvir (ritonavir). In a low dose, Norvir is used to boost the level of Invirase in the body. Data suggest that the combination of these two protease inhibitors may affect the electrical activity of the heart, FDA said.
The changes possibly associated with these drugs can show up on an electrocardiogram as prolonged QT or PR intervals. Prolongation of the QT interval can lead to an abnormal heart rhythm known as torsades de pointes. This can progress to atrial fibrillation, a potentially fatal condition in which the heart beats so fast that it can no longer adequately pump blood. A prolonged PR interval can slow or even stop the electrical signal that causes the heart to beat; this is known as heart block and it can also affect how fast the heart is able to beat, the agency said.
Preliminary data show that in healthy patients ages 18-55 given Invirase boosted with Norvir (1,000mg/100mg), "there was a dose-dependent prolongation of the QT and PR intervals," FDA said. "The magnitude of the effect and clinical implications of QT and PR interval prolongation are still being reviewed by FDA."
Health care professionals should be aware of this risk and should not prescribe the Invirase-Norvir combination to patients already taking medications known to cause QT interval prolongation such as Class IA (e.g., quinidine) or Class III (e.g., amiodarone) anti-arrhythmic drugs; or in patients with a history of QT interval prolongation.
Patients should not stop taking their prescribed HIV drugs, FDA said. The agency suggests that patients concerned about possible risks talk with their health care provider.
The safety review is still ongoing, and FDA will update the public as soon as it is completed. For the full safety information release for patients and providers, visit here.

subset: commoncrawl


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, +0.63% saw its shares jump more than 5% on Wednesday afternoon in after-hours trades after the wireless chipmaker posted better-than-expected results for its first fiscal quarter and issued a forecast that was also above analysts' expectations. Revenues jumped 29% to $6.02 billion, while net income grew 32% to $2.2 billion and diluted earnings per share came in at $1.26. Analysts were looking for earnings of $1.13 per share on revenue of $5.9 billion, according to consensus forecasts from FactSet. The company projected a revenue range of $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion, with an EPS range of $1.10-$1.18 for the March quarter. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $1.10 per share on revenue of $5.9 billion for the quarter.
Qualcomm gains as results, forecast beat estimates
Quote References
+0.47 +0.63%


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We nominated, you voted, and the results are in. We're down to the final category for the 2013 Jets Nation Year End Awards where we reveal your reader picks with our writers' perspectives. We might have tricked you into thinking we were done handing out hardware last week (by lying to you – what a cunning ruse), but how silly do you feel now?! Last and definitely least, the Jets' goat of 2013.
(The Many) Nominees: Olli Jokinen, Ondrej Pavelec, Ron Hainsey, Kevin Cheveldayoff, Claude Noel, Pacal Vincent, The Injury Bug, The 4th Line
Brett Martin (@brettmartinlive)
Full disclosure – I have a soft spot in my heart for Olli Jokinen. During the years of Jets exile, I was a full-blown Flames fan. Even though he became reviled for not becoming the #1 Center the Flames hoped he would when they initially acquired him, he rebounded, somehow re-signing with the Flames after being discarded coldly at the trade deadline. You gotta love that! In his 2nd tour of duty in Calgary, he re-invented himself as a reliable, all around Centre, capable of scoring and playing hard minutes against tough competition. You gotta love that! When he signed in Winnipeg, I was delighted to see a familiar face in Jets silks who could do some good.
Travis Hrubeniuk (@thrubeniuk)
Kevin McCartney (@kevinmccart)
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Don't forget to play StreakCred the new playoff pool game from the Nation Network. You can win a trip for 2 to Oktoberfest in Germany among the awesome prizes up for grabs. Only $20 and a portion of the proceeds go to Charity. Sign up here.


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Max Hardberger
Max Hardberger is a trained professional whose job routinely involves going to hellacious third-world countries, breaking into heavily-fortified ports in the middle of the night, stealing full-sized cargo ships from hardened pirates, brutal mob bosses, and other organized criminals/bastards, and then sneaking the cruise ship-sized boats out from under the noses of the local port authorities, the coast guard, and that country's navy. In terms of safe working conditions, this guy's 9-to-5 job ganking $10 million ships from violent gangsters is somewhere between "amateur fire-sword swallower" and "guy who disarms IEDs by tap-dancing on them" on the OSHA Safety List, and this borderline-suicidal occupation is only made that much more risky considering that his work is pretty much completely illegal in every country in which he practices it.
Oh, and his name also contains the words Max, Hard, and Burger, which is fucking tremendous in and of itself.
To the untrained eye, it looks like Hardberger is just standing there looking badass.In reality, he's actually in the process of stealing this ship out from right in front of you.
Maximum Overdrive Hardberger (I assume this is his full given name, though I wasn't able to confirm this at the time this story went to press) didn't exactly start off his career of death-defying awesomeness quite in the manner you might expect. Before the nautical Sam Fisher was Rock Punchgroin-ing criminal douchebags in the cockparts and stealing their ships under cover of darkness, Hardberger was kicking back in a hammock reading Joyce, penning sonnets, and receiving an MFA in Fiction and Poetry from the University of Iowa (?!). A native of New Orleans, Hardberger's early post-graduate years were spent teaching world history and English to high school kids, but when discussing the subtle intricacies of Iambic Pentameter finally became too soul-crushing to bear this guy quit his teaching gig and took a job flying medical research cadavers around the United States in a single-seat prop plane. While I guess there's not much of a difference between a dead body and a high school student sitting in a classroom where he's being taught about the rhythm of the verses in the winter of our discontent, I think most folks would agree that this is a pretty strange job transition nonetheless. At least you don't have to grade research papers, I guess.
Well dressing a dead body up and pretending he's your co-pilot gets boring after a while, so eventually Hardberger decided to quit his part-time cropdusting, part-time cadaver transport work and get involved in the maritime shipping business. Max Hard had worked on oil rig supply ships in the Gulf as a kid, but once he got full-on into freighter shipping, he immediately realized that this was the most badass shit he'd ever done in his life. And it didn't hurt that he was good at it – before long, this guy went from a lowly Greenhorn to the salty, grizzled Captain of multi-million dollar freighters delivering hundreds of tons of cargo to ports across the world.
Like a boss.
But everything changed one fateful day in 1987. It was immediately after Hardberger had dropped off his cargo in an obscure Haitian port when shit suddenly got fucked in a hurry. No sooner had the last crane pulled the shipping container off the deck then out of nowhere a buttload of guys with pistols and submachine guns came up the boarding ramp holding bullshit, court-approved papers claiming the Hardberger's vessel hadn't paid its debts – papers claiming that Max was ordered by the government of Haiti to get his crew off the boat so that these nice dudes with the automatic weapons could assume control of it until the situation could be resolved.
This was fucked.
Apparently, this sort of thing is pretty routine in backwater Mos Eisley seaports across the darkest and most lawless corners of the world – some wealthy scumbag "businessman" sees a totally sweet cargo ship roll into the harbor, so he bribes a judge a couple hundred bucks to write up a Search & Seize order. Once the papers are in hand, this guy sends his henchmen to take possession of the boat on behalf of the court. Once they have the boat, these criminal jerkwads kick off the crew, and then immediately sell the ship at auction, usually for a profit of somewhere between half a million and twenty million dollars. What's worse is that according to maritime law, once a boat is sold at auction, its history is completely erased – so even if the thing was seized via heinous douchebaggery, the only thing you can do about it is whine like a punk bitch and cry into your beer. It's like modern-day piracy, only without all the parrots or the eyepatches or anything else that makes pirates cool and not total dickheads.
Well, fuck this – guys sweet 'staches and names like MAXIMUM HARDBERGER do not back down just because a dozen heavily-armed thugs are waving guns in their faces. Hardberger, knowing that his time was short, immediately proceeded to do something daring.
He gave them booze. Like, a shitload of booze.
When the guards passed out from their epic rum party (pirates will be pirates, you know...), Hardberger had his engineer lock them into their quarters, and then he and his crew immediately hauled ass for international waters. Once they were clear of Haitian jurisdiction (where the illicitly-attained judge's order was nonetheless legally binding), he tossed the pirates out on a lifeboat and made them row back home.
Max became something of a hero among the shipping community almost immediately, and before long he started offering his "get the fuck out of dodge before your ten-million-dollar ship gets sold out from under you" services to anyone with $100,000 and a ship locked down by corrupt officials. Nowadays, all you need to do is call Max, and regardless of what backwater hellhole your ship is stuck at, he'll go into these lawless ports with a team of specialists and steal the boat back.
Hardberger doesn't like to use straight-up violence. It's too messy. In fact, he claims that in a quarter-century of Robin Hooding ships, he's never killed a single person. Instead, he prefers to show up at the port, blend in, recon the area, and put together a clever, precise, airtight plan for getting the boat and himself out in one piece. Usually he likes to play the part of the drunk, grizzled, salty old out-of-work American ship captain (which is a badass archetype in and of itself), and while it looks to outsiders like he's just doing shots of whiskey and talking about "the good old days of the one that got away from the Old Man and the Sea", he's actually doping out the surroundings and preparing a badass Oceans 11 style aquatic ship heist. Then, when the timing is right, he goes in, takes control of the ship, and hauls out of there before the cops and the feds arrive.
In 25 years as the world's only professional cargo ship repo man, Max Hardberger has never failed to recover a boat – something you can easily determine based on the fact that he's not rotting in a South American jail somewhere or feeding fishes at the bottom of a harbor in the Caribbean. As you can imagine, the stories he has to tell will rock your face off. Rather than try to discuss them in a narrative fashion, I'm just going to list them here. Be warned: The next couple of paragraphs might kick you in the solarplexus like a mule, so be prepared to take some breaks so you can catch your breath.
Hardberger once repoed a freighter from the Russian Mafiya in the ice-covered Baltic port of Vladivostok, Russia. One time he captured a ship in Central America by hiring a prostitute to flirt with the guards and give them shots of booze lined with Hardberger's-homemade handy-dandy insta-sedatives. During the Haitian Revolution of 2004, Hardberger sailed into the battle-torn hive of destruction in the middle of a warzone, boarded a ship pretending to be a potential buyer, and got his men to distract the guards while he snuck off, repaired a damaged engine, and cut the anchor chains with a blowtorch. Another time in Haiti, he used a Voodoo witch doctor to freak out a crew of AK-47 slinging pirates and send them running from the ship. In Venezuela he straight-up convinced the guards that the fucking ship was sinking, and he did such a good job of it that the entire crew of bad guys all ran to the life boats and rowed back to shore, leaving Max and his buddies plenty of time to leisurely pull the ship out of dock. He also snuck a boat out of Greece by buying the Coast Guard a case of Ouzo on Greek Easter and sailing out right under their noses. More recently, he's hired a team of ex-Special Forces operatives to help him extract ships from Somali pirates armed with assault rifles and RPGs, but by this point it was about as routine as filing a TPS report.
During his adventures, Hardberger has been chased by pirates, shot at by Mafia bosses, accosted by Coast Guard officials, and pursued by god-knows-who-else. He once eluded fucking INTERPOL agents by grinding the ship's name and serial number of its hull mid-transit and painting a fake new name over top of it. In the Dominican Republic he was being pursued by a goddamned naval cruiser, but even a friggin' warship couldn't slow this moustachioed madman down – during his recon, Hardberger had noticed that the Dominican navy was using outdated radar gear, so he sailed his ship right into the middle of a horrible thunderstorm because he knew it would fuck with their detection equipment.
Oh yeah, and on one mission that was not in any way at all related to any of this, Max Hardberger hired a crew of German pilots and led a sortie of 47 single-seat aircraft that flew out of Berlin and traveled under the radar across Soviet-controlled Europe before landing at Rostock, disassembling the planes, loading them into cargo containers, and shipping them to Venezuela aboard his boat.
At the age of 62, Max Hardberger continues to do more badass shit in one weekend that most of us will do in our entire lives. He received his JD in maritime law, makes a fucking assload of money, and wrote a bunch of action-packed adventures books that are all sort-of related to his actual real life work. I really have nothing more to add to this.
The Guardian
TIME Magazine
LA Times
VessEx Bio
Hardberger, Max. Seized. Random House, 2010.
The Complete List
About the Author
Miscellaneous Articles


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Corruption scandal rocks Quebec
Date created : Latest update :
In Quebec, a public inquiry has revealed huge levels of corruption in the construction industry and across municipal councils. It's led to the resignation of both Montreal and Laval's mayors. Next, as the so-called "fiscal cliff" looms in the US, can Democrats and Republicans work out a deal before it's too late? Finally, we head to a beach in Hawaii that's seen some unusual objects wash up recently: debris left behind by the tsunami in Japan.


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The Aug. 14th blackout, which was the worst in North American history, cost New York City's economy as much as $1 billion, according to a recently released report by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The power outage, which left thousands of New Yorkers stranded in the heat, put a spotlight on serious problems with New York City's emergency preparedness and showed the flaws of the 9-1-1 emergency call system, the report says.
The report faults Verizon Communications, Inc. for its role in problems with the 9-1-1 telephone system that New York City's 8.4 million residents rely on to report fires, crimes, accidents, and other emergencies.
Many private companies and city agencies also lacked back-up generators, which led to problems evacuating workers. Tenants in high-rise apartment buildings had no drinkable water.
The city's hospitals also suffered during the blackout, with a handful losing power in "certain functional areas," the report says. Some hospitals were overwhelmed by people needing non-emergency prescriptions because drugstores were closed.


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We come to Ultraxion, the fifth fight in the Dragon Soul raid instance.
This is a fight that follows a fairly stable formula throughout with only a few small quirks to mar the simplicity.
The fight swaps in and out between the Twilight realm and the regular realm, with the switching being handled by a context sensitive button in the middle of your screen called "Heroic Will" which will boot you out of the Twilight realm for a few seconds.
The main use of this is to deal with an ability called Hour of Twilight where the boss essentially kills everyone that remains in the Twilight Realm.
Due to the nature of the fight, you'll have various buffs on you that will lower the cooldown of your Shield Wall and other class specific defensive abilities and also extend their duration so you generally never have to worry about having a cooldown active for this ability. When it comes, as three people NEED to remain behind to be hit by it or the group will wipe, more than likely, as a tank, you'll be tasked with staying behind and surviving the blast with your cooldown.
Keep in mind that should you need to use that cooldown for any other reason and end up not having something ready when the Hour of Twilight is about to be cast, communicate with your raid so that they can make other arrangements ahead of time.
The other ability to keep an eye out for as a tank is one called Fading Light. Ultraxion will lay this down on a tank and two other raid members. When the duration of the debuff ends, if the character is in the Twilight Realm, they will be killed so when Fading Light Happens, there is usually a need for a tank swap as the affected tank returns to the normal realm for a brief interval and the secondary tank assumes the job of keeping the boss busy until it rotates out again.
For the tanking role, this is actually pretty much it.
Other aspects of the fight that's good to know is his buff called Unstable Monstrosity. This buff causes him to do a pretty significant amount of shadow damage split among everyone that's currently in the Twilight Realm.
He'll cast this every few seconds but as the fight drags on longer and longer, he'll begin to cast this more frequently so keep a closer eye on your health and your cooldowns as the fight drags on and be prepared to use a cooldown if things get hairy a little later on.
Finally, Ultraxion has a hard 6 minute enrage timer that will kill everyone in the raid if he isn't killed so when you start coming up to that 5 minute mark of the fight, pop everything you have and do what you can to survive and help your raid finish him off as best as you can.


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Learn how MacUpdate Desktop can install apps on MacUpdate with the simple click of the icon. Plus, keep all your apps updated.
You enter scores and attendance and Gradekeeper does the rest. Gradekeeper computes grades, prints reports, does seating charts, sends email progress reports, and even posts grades online. With the companion applications for your Palm OS or Pocket PC handheld, you can record grades and attendance during class and synchronize with your desktop computer later.
More than 3500 schools and 100 school districts across the United States and Canada use Gradekeeper.
A single license is $20. A school license is $100. A district license is $500. All licenses allow you to use
What's New in Gradekeeper
- Added submenus for export, email, and sorting
- Better error messages while sending email reports
- Discontinued support for the Palm and Pocket PC apps
- You can select email addresses to send email reports to
- You can now enter percents over 100 for student grades
- Category summary in student scores


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When President Obama talks about the economy, it seems he derives his information not from historical facts, but instead from Keynesian theory. At a campaign fundraiser in Maine, the politician once billed as post-partisan accused his partisan rivals of "madness":
"We won't win the race for new jobs and new businesses and middle-class security if we cling to this same old, worn-out, tired 'You're on your own' economics that the other side is peddling," Obama said.
"It was tried in the decades before the Great Depression. It didn't work then. It was tried in the last decade. It didn't work," he said. "You know, the idea you would keep on doing the same thing over and over again, even though it's been proven not to work. That's a sign of madness."
Well, the economics that the incumbent derides as "You're on your own" created more jobs in September 1983 than were created in the past five months, among the best months for job creation since Mr. Obama took office.
In the decade** before the Great Depression, under the policies of Republicans Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, the United States enjoyed the "Roaring Twenties," an era of "sustained economic prosperity." It was only when Coolidge's successor, Herbert Hoover, increased federal spending and ramped up government regulation, that the economy began to collapse, leading to the Great Depression.
Under Hoover and his successor Franklin Delano Roosevelt, federal officials tried various forms of state meddling over and over again, yet none of those policies proved to work. Throughout the 1930s, unemployment remained high. By this president's logic, wouldn't it be a sign of madness to adopt economic policies similar to Mr. Roosevelt's? Or Mr. Hoover's?
(H/t The Gateway Pundit.)


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Because of the lack of education in the film production community about cue sheets, we get a constant flow of questions about cue sheet filings. This post's question is about sound effects.
Question: We purchased some audio sound effects from Productiontrax.com recently, and are filing cue sheets. Do we need to include every sound file we used on the cue sheet? How do we do this?
You can breathe a sigh of relief, because this one has an easy answer: no. Sound effects are not entered on cue sheets (unless it's a bona fide musical composition).
There's a technical copyright-law-legalese explanation for why that is, but basically, one can't stake a claim to the underlying intellectual property of a fart or a honk or a quack or a bark or a… you get the idea. While the actual sound recording is copyrighted, and yes, you need to license it, there is no public performance right associated to it, and therefore, there is no need to track it.
As briefly mentioned, however, the one exception is when a sound effect contains a musical composition. For example, a sound effect of someone playing or singing Happy Birthday would need to be reported on a cue sheet. Why? Because the song Happy Birthday is under copyright (yes it is) and has public performance rights and royalties attached to it.
Hopefully, this should come as a relief to all of you out there who like to throw a million sound effects into a single production project — like we did in our YouTube video. Leave the sound effects off your cue sheets (in fact, our automated cue sheet tool will not even let them be entered) — and sit back and enjoy the fruits of you labor for once.


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Huntley & Palmers biscuit tins were as highly prized as the products they contained and today they are collectors items. From miniature replicas of vehicles to tins that could be re-used as household objects, there were no limits to their ingenuity. However the tins were originally created for a more practical use - the airtight storage of biscuits so that they could be transported to distant customers and stay oven-fresh and unbroken.
Garden Roller, 1913
The Founding of Huntley, Boorne & Stevens
Joseph Huntley used the position of the bakery on the busy London to Bath road to his advantage and the shop quickly developed a good name with hungry coach travellers. The potential to sell biscuits further afield was soon realised and in 1832 Joseph Huntleys younger son, also Joseph, began making tin boxes in his ironmonger's shop which stood opposite the London Street bakery.
Huntley, Boorne & Stevens, pre 1912
Joseph Huntley, between 1869-1895
Memories of Huntley, Boorne & Stevens, 1996
The First Tins
The first tins to be made were large, square, 10lb tins which Huntley & Palmers then labelled. These were made by hand and cut from standard-sized sheets of tinplate weighing 115lb. A trained box maker could make about a hundred per day and it was not long before demand outstripped supply.
Huntley & Palmers also made square 7lb shop display tins with glass lids. The biscuits were then sold directly from the tins and the grocer would weigh out the required quantity of biscuits into a paper bag.
7lb Iced Wafer, around 1950
Not Quite Square
When Huntley & Palmers began to use the railways to transport their biscuits, they found that the square tins did not fit well into the Great Western Railway's goods carriages. Later versions of these tins were produced with one side slightly longer than the other in order to fit in the carriages.
Garter & Buckle
The garter and buckle trade mark was devised in 1851 by Owen Jones. This design became the distinctive mark of Huntley & Palmers and was recognised throughout the world. The Iced Wafer shop display tin above bears this trade mark.
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Today's Thriller Thurday posting (a prompt suggested by members of Geneabloggers) is the tragic story of William S. Shaner.
William S. Shaner was born November 24, 1840, probably in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest child of Thomas Maberry Shaner and Naomi Strickland. William had a hard childhood in so much as his mother died October 4, 1849 just months before William's 9th birthday. He and his younger siblings were apparently taken in by relatives or apprenticed out as none of them are living with their father in the 1850 census.
While there are a couple of other William Shaners in Chester County of similar age, it is believed that he is the William Shaner, age 9, living with the family of David (aka Daniel) Benner in East Coventry Township, Chester County, PA in 1850. (William's younger brother, Davis E. Shaner, is living with Henry and Elizabeth Shaner and is listed on the same census sheet, just 2 families later.) Mr. Benner was a carpenter, and although William did not become a carpenter himself, it is possible that he was originally placed with the Benners to learn that trade.
At some point in the 1850s, William's father Thomas married a woman named Margaret. Together they had a son Thomas Jr., born in 1859. By the time of the 1860 census, both William and his younger sister Phoebe had moved back home and were living in Uwchlan Township with their father and his new wife and son. Oddly enough both William (then aged 19) and Phoebe (then aged 14) are listed as having attended school that year.
On December 21, 1864, William married Sallie Milligan at the Lutheran parsonage at Lionville, Pennsylvania. Together they had two known children, Jefferson S. in 1865 and William in 1869. In 1870, the couple and their sons were living in Uwchlan. Sadly, Sallie died in 1876. And it was only about a year later, on December 20, 1877 that William S. Shaner met his tragic fate.
William was an employee of the American Wood Paper Company of Spring City, PA. Paper-making was a big business in Chester County, PA. As early as 1800 there were at least 8 paper mills and by 1874 there were reportedly 37 paper mills in the county. The American Wood Paper Company, where William was employed, was noted as being a pioneer in the use of wood as a raw material for making paper rather than the traditional rags, linen and cotton.
Paper-making was a hazardous industry and due to the nature of the machinery and the pulleys, personal injury was a constant threat. Sadly, William's life was claimed in just such an industrial accident.
It was about 5 o'clock on a Thursday morning, and William was in the process of shifting some belts on one of the pulleys in the paper mill. Unfortunately he became entangled in the belt and was pulled between a fly wheel and the stone floor – a space of only about 5 inches in height. Although his co-workers attempted to stop the machine as soon as possible, it was too late. Just about every bone in William's body was crushed. His neck was broken and his spine was fractured. In addition, his left arm was wrenched from the socket and his ribs were crushed. Physicians believed that his death was nearly instantaneous. His death was ruled a tragic accident.
William was 37 years old when he died. He was widowed and the father of two young boys. His sons apparently moved to West Chester, PA and were raised by their grandfather and step-grandmother, Thomas Shaner and his wife Margaret.
My connection to William S. Shaner is that he was my 3rd cousin, 4 times removed. If you also have a connection to this family, I would love to hear from you.


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Hello all! I know this news is probably best suited for the "for sale/wanted" category, but I thought I'd let those who've checked this thread know that the Special Edition DVD of Best Documentary Award-winner "Ghosts of the West" has been released. It's just starting to appear at select retailers and gift shops in Colorado and Montana (like Nevada City, Virginia City, South Park City, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR, etc.), and it's also available online at http://www.ghostsofthewestmovie.com/store_index
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)


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Buenos Aires marching band piece arranged by Will Rapp and Hal Leonard Corp.
All of our marching band music is new, unused and from a music store that went out of business.
Some of the pieces are a year or two old, but many of them are 10+ years old.
The jackets may have some wear from shipping and storage.
The jackets may have some wear from shipping and storage.
Recordings of many of these pieces can be found on J.W.Pepper website or on the publishers site.
We are pricing this music low to move quickly (most of this music lists at $40+), and there are no returns on the music.
If you purchase multiple pieces we will refund the shipping ($6) on the additional pieces.
The price of $16 includes shipping and figured at $10 per piece with $6 shipping.
If you are interested in 10+ pieces, please contact us for a quote.
Feel free to ask questions


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For every good tank, there's a bad one. You'd think by now the concept of tanking would be very familiar to WoW players, but unfortunately there are some people who are only capable of getting aggro from /party. So what're five common mistakes to avoid?
1) Not paying attention.
Seriously, the amount of times a mob will be wailing on a healer for the best part of 20 seconds (more than enough to smear them across the dungeon floor). Why? Because the tank is either waiting to see if their partycasino.com buddies are online, reading WoWHead or focusing on the aggro of a single mob in a pack of five.
2) Don't be rude.
If you die because you're not being defensive enough in your tanking, or because you're pulling too much or without allowing people to restore their mana, that's your fault. Don't attack your group when you're trying to run a dungeon like a Spartan in 300.
3) Spec for tanking.
You can tank early instances in any spec, and by early we mean lower than level 20. Past that, start thinking about actually speccing to tank, as otherwise you're going to be missing several crucial abilities which mean you're basically a DPS masquerading as the first and only line of defence between your group and a mob of hostile kobolds.
4) Gear for tanking.
DPS gear isn't tanking gear, funnily enough. Stamina, stamina stamina, throw in a bit of strength, sprinkle some agility on top. Don't gear yourself up like a berserker and then moan when you lack the health to get through a boss encounter.
5) Know your encounters.
In the early days of Pandaria, everyone's gonna fumble a little bit. But realistically, there's so much boss information in the Blizzard UI itself that you should really know where to stand and what to tank way before you enter any dungeon. Read up, stay knowledgeable, and you'll be the awesome tank people are grateful for.


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August 21, 2007
By Pegah Yazdy, UCLA Bruin
Rosario Bradbury, a CEO of the Swiss Company SGS based in the Philippines, chatted with Marc Haugen, a vice president for a research company based in the Silicon Valley, and Shui Ling Choo, director of operations at a hospital in Singapore, as hors d'oeuvres and cocktails were being served to the 40 guests in attendance.
Though they come from very diverse backgrounds, these are members of the 2007 graduating class of the UCLA Anderson School of Management's UCLA-NUS Global Executive MBA program.
As part of the program they have traveled together to four different countries on two continents to study business, leadership skills and the rapidly growing markets in Asia.
On Saturday, August 18th, they gathered again to attend a dinner and reception hosted by UCLA Anderson Dean, Judy Olian.
UCLA Anderson, in partnership with the National University of Singapore Business School, offers this executive MBA program which gives students an opportunity to further their business studies in a global context.
This program gives students an opportunity to travel and take classes in four cities on two different continents and to earn dual MBA degrees from both UCLA and the National University of Singapore.
Olian said the program expands the international scope of UCLA Anderson.
"When (we're) a school of management, when we prepare global leaders for organizational leadership and business leadership, it has to be in markets that are going to be the dominant markets of tomorrow, not just today," she said. "In addition to the traditional markets of the U.S. and Europe, the dominant markets of tomorrow will be Asian countries."
Christopher Erickson, professor and senior associate dean at UCLA Anderson and the faculty director for the program, said the average age of participants is 38 and most of them are already mid-level to senior executives learning strategic leadership skills.
Bradbury said the program offers classes in strategy, finance and corporate marketing, but she said she thinks the program is also very good in terms of leadership, something business people sometimes overlook.
"They go too much into business strategy and overlook that there's a leadership that is necessary in order to drive that strategy more passionately," she said.
Bradbury said the program has given her a larger perspective on the global economy.
"It's not just about understanding the business of Asia and the U.S., but it's about how you approach it and the culture and the economics of the country," she said.
During the 15-month program, students meet for 2 weeks approximately every three months, while the students work full-time when they are not attending classes.
"Classes meet twice each in Los Angeles and in Singapore, once each in Shanghai and Bangalore," Erickson said.
Erickson said courses are taught by the faculties of UCLA and the National University of Singapore, which he said has one of the most highly regarded business schools in Asia.
Erickson said in addition to learning inside the classroom, the program gives students an opportunity for exposure to the local business community through site visits and guest speakers.
Students also have a chance to interact with client companies to solve real management problems, Erickson said.
"It wouldn't make much sense if we went to India or China and just sat in a classroom," he said. "Here at the management school, everything we do is about practical application."
Ludwig Pelzer, a member of the 2007 graduating class, said he is originally from Germany but now lives and works in Singapore, where he is responsible for the business development for the Asia, Pacific and Middle East regions of German cargo company Lufthansa.
Pelzer said he appreciates that the layout of the program does not impede his day-to-day work.
"It's every 3 months so there is plenty of time to look after my work," he said.
Haugen said 80 percent of his business is in Asia and he found the program to be a very good fit for his business because of its focus on Asia by focusing on Asian business models and giving students hands-on experience on the continent.
He said he travels frequently for business and he enjoyed visiting Bangalore in India.
"I think there was a component of the culture that kind of came in. There were always students that were from the local area so you'd get exposed to the culture," he said.
Krupal Swami, a member of the 2007 graduating class who works for an information technology consulting company, said she does not believe someone can be in the workforce and not be impacted by the Asian economy.
Because of the investments that companies are making in India and China, their middle class is rising and their middle class is comprised of about 250 million to 300 million people, which is roughly the size of the U.S. population, Swami said.
Hans Schollhammer, professor of international management at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, has been teaching in the program since the beginning.
He said the diversity of the backgrounds of the students and the experiences they bring to the program are among the most appealing parts of the program.
Schollhammer said he teaches management of innovation in larger organizations and he hopes what he teaches will give the students further entrepreneurial skills they can apply when running their own companies.
Some students said the networking skills they gained from the program are very valuable.
Bharath Chinamanthur, a graduate of the 2007 MBA class, heard about the program through an advertisement in The Economist and said he thinks a very valuable part of the program is the presence of the faculty outside of the classroom.
"I remember other programs and other places where faculty come and teach and leave, versus here the faculty stay with you for the entire two weeks so you can talk to them during the breaks and you can talk to them during lunch and dinner, and I think that's a very special and uncommon thing," he said.


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Is Gold Headed to $1,000 Per Ounce?
Deflationary action in not just gold, but all commodities, spells danger for other asset classes like stocks, currencies, and real estate.
Precious metals are getting crushed (again). This time it's allegedly because the Federal Reserve hinted that curtailing its monthly purchases of $85 billion in U.S. Treasuries and mortgage securities could happen within months. Reality, however, rooted upon real life price action, says otherwise.
The bear market in both gold and silver actually began two-years ago – long before the QE-taper was even an embryo in the Federal Reserve's mind. Put another way, the correlation between the Fed's QE spending pattern and precious metals prices has been completely disconnected for more than two years. And the theory that relentless QE is bullish for gold simply hasn't been true.
This is a very important point because it means the gold market isn't reacting based upon the Fed's behavior – as gold experts and the media would like you to believe.
After peaking in late summer 2011, gold has since fallen 33% while silver has collapsed 54%. In other words, the genesis of the current bear market in precious metals began during the height of QE – when goldbugs least expected it. This was also a time period that was supposed to be most bullish for gold.
What about gold fundamentals?
Aggregate gold demand is down 37% year-over-year in all categories, according to the World Gold Council's Q3 2013 research. (See table.) Investment demand for gold is down 65% and global central bank purchases are down 33%. And anyone who says that gold demand is going up has fairyland view of the world.
Profiting From a Gold Shock
Contrary to what the very wrong gold experts have said all along, we said that the real money in gold and silver would be on the short side.
In our Weekly ETF Pick from Feb.14 we wrote:
Despite a modestly rising stock market, the Market Vectors Gold Miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) has lagged both the broader U.S. stock market along with the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEARCA:GLD) by a very significant margin. At present, GDX trades around $41.50 and is well below both its 50 and 200 day moving average. Buy the Direxion Daily Gold Miners Bear 3x Shares (NYSEARCA:DUST) at these levels. A double digit slide for gold would likely translate into a 20%+ loss in mining stocks. This scenario offers some big upside potential for bears.
Since then, GDX has slid 55% and DUST has climbed 99%. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
In that same report, we told our subscribers to buy JUN 40 GDX put options at $190. In early June, we sold those same GDX put options for a 525% gain at $1,200 per contract.
Our GDX trade was a grand slam, but forget about what already happened. What's coming next in the gold market will shock the world.
Gold has already had 17 major false breakouts (see chart above) over the past two years and another profit opportunity awaits investors who are correctly positioned.
Furthermore, the deflationary action in not just gold but all commodities spells danger for other asset classes like stocks, currencies, and real estate.Editor's note: This story by Ron DeLegge originally appeared on ETFguide.com.
To read more from ETFguide, see:
Is the US Housing Market Far Worse Than Reported?
The Fed Out-Gobbles Foreigners for US Debt
Hot S&P 500 Defies Lower EPS Forecasts
- 1
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smart market commentary.


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School board hires Robert Indihar as superintendent
The Moose Lake School Board passed a motion unanimously to hire Robert Indihar as the superintendent at the meeting of the board on Monday, January 28. Indihar has been the interim superintendent since July 1, 2012, and will continue in that position until June 30.
Indihar was interviewed by the board members before the board meeting began. He was asked about the near future due to the changing dynamics of public education.
"In the next three to five years, there will be a push for accountability," said Indihar. "Testing is taking over. There is a strong focus on math and English. My concern if it keeps going is what's going to happen to the arts and other subjects. Teachers are focusing on math and English because of the high stakes. There needs to be a balance.
"Another change is technology. Ten years ago we didn't have iPads nor speed in computers. We need to communicate with parents. Will the kids need to be in the building in the future? They could be doing their work at home.
"I don't believe that every student gets an iPad. I don't believe in it because teachers need to be comfortable with it first. We did it right, the teachers are getting comfortable with them. We are providing trainings and inservice to them. Then we will take the next step."
Indihar said that textbooks are one of the most expensive items in the budget.
"We are looking at technology to replace textbooks but it is still as expensive right now," he said. "It may not be in the future once teachers get comfortable with using technology to create their own textbooks. Then that changes the game."
Indihar listed replacing the current computers that are six or seven years old, adding child care and a new school building while continuing to provide an education as his vision for the future.
"Our vision is to be one of the best if not the best school in the area," he said.
Indihar said that he looks at the big picture and leaves the details to professional staff members. He said that he gives them a budget and expects them to stay within that budget. If they are unable to stay within the budget, he says that he wants them to talk to him.
In considering budget cuts, he said that the cuts should be as far away from the students as possible. He asks each department head to suggest ways to cut their budgets. Lists are brought to the Finance Committee and then to the board.
When asked why the position was of interest to him, Indihar replied, "A year ago I was dealing with discipline, current issues and so forth. Now all of a sudden I'm looking at the new development (land sale), selling a building (the Southern Carlton County Family Center), the flood and personnel issues on a higher level. There are a lot of exciting things going on around here that I am a part of. It's changed me, I enjoy it greatly. Everything is new to me."
A positive reception surprised Indihar.
"I was surprised by the positive reception that everyone has given me," he said. "The bottom line is that I've heard so many positive things that it's overwhelming. I think I'm still in the honeymoon period. We have a lot of things going on right now."
When asked about the community using the school building, Indihar said that the community built the building and the community should be able to use the building.
"That goes for the new building too," he added. "A fitness center would draw people to the building. The public wouldn't want to use that weight room that we have here. We could have a cooperative with the city for an arena. Some have gone so far as to say that we should have a swimming pool. It's important to get the community in here, such as parents with child care, and senior citizens. It's important that people come. How can we make this truly a community building? It is Moose Lake Community Schools."
At the conclusion of the interview, Indihar thanked the board.
"It's been a journey for me," he said. "Thank you again. I look forward to working with you in the future."
Indihar had been the only candidate interviewed.


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★ ★ ★
Despite the news generated earlier this week when the Wall Street Journal quoted an unnamed Republican source who said Gov. Rick Perry is definitely running for president, Perry got little play on the influential Sunday news shows today.
There was no mention of Perry on CBS's "Face the Nation," CNN's "State of the Union" and Fox "Fox News Sunday," but the panel of journalists on "Meet the Press" said the Texas governor has some buzz around him.
Most of the talk focused on Republican presidential contenders Jon Huntsman and Michele Bachmann. Huntsman, a former Utah governor who served as President Obama's U.S. ambassador to China, announced his candidacy last week and Rep. Bachmann, R-Minn. will formally announce her candidacy tomorrow.
She made headlines this weekend when the new Des Moines Register poll showed her surging to within one percentage point of longtime frontrunner Mitt Romney.
Though Perry and Bachmann had not announced their candidacies at the time the poll was conducted, the Minnesota congresswoman was included among the candidates included in the survey while the Texas governor was not.
Bachmann has strong ties to the Tea Party, and she may be a formidable rival for Perry for the Tea Party Republican constituency.
★ ★ ★
Want to learn more about Rick Perry and his presidential prospects? Visit TxPotomac's Perry Watch pages for the latest polls, media hype, issues, supporters and critics and details of the Rick Perry explor-a-tour.
★ ★ ★
>>> Get an RSS feed of every Rick Perry story from Texas on the Potomac
>>> Get the latest Perry Watch posts from Texas on the Potomac


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Rebel Wilson is in talks to join 'The Hunger Games'.
The 'Pitch Perfect' actress revealed she has met with producers on the hit film saga - which stars Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence as heroine Katniss Everdeen - about starring in the next instalment of the series as a resident of the fictitious Capitol.
Speaking to BuzzFeed.com, she said: "Um, seriously, I have had a meeting about being in 'The Hunger Games'.
"It was one of the people in the Capitol. That's all I'll say.
"There aren't a lot of roles open, because they've all already been cast, but that would be awesome. I'd love to be in 'The Hunger Games'."
The follow-up to last year's smash hit movie, 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire', has already been filmed and is set for release in November.
The final two instalments in the franchise - which will adapt the third novel in the trilogy, 'Mockingjay' - will begin production later this year for release in November 2014 and November 2015, respectively.
Wilson admits she "loves" the adventurous franchise, which is set in a dystopian future where young recruits are forced to battle to the death, and praised lead star Lawrence.
She said: "I met her at a party and she was super-duper nice. She's really quite tall. Which I found -- I don't know if you get that impression when you see her in movies, but she's quite tall. Yeah, and she's just really nice and I love 'The Hunger Games' and I can't wait for the new one to come out."


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|MLBPA Press Release
Last season, Albert finished second in the NL batting race with a .357 average while hitting 37 home runs and driving in 116 runs. He also became the only Major League player to hit at least 30 home runs and 100 RBIs in each of his first eight seasons. Albert has now won a total of six Players Choice Awards since entering the league in 2001, placing him third all-time.
Alberts teammate, Kyle McClellan, will represent his Major League peers in presenting him with the awards.
In Alberts honor, the Major League Baseball Players Trust will award a $70,000 grant to the charity of his choice. 2008 Players Choice Award winners in all categories will designate charities to receive grants totaling $260,000 from the Players Trust. Since 1992, the Players Trust has recognized the outstanding on-field and off-field performances of Players Choice Awards winners by contributing over $3.5 million to charities around the world.


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Last week, the authorities here at the Prospect were calling me the substitute teacher. I got grumpy about that at first (all kinds of anti-woman and bad childhood associations). But I've decided to embrace it. Rachel Maddow, here's your homework.
When Leon Wieseltier wrote a snarky review trashing the snarky tone of Rachel Maddow's Drift—and more important, suggesting that the nation had yet more wars to fight and that Maddow was foolish not to understand this—I pledged over on Alternet to pay retail, read the whole book, and comment. I'm delighted to say that the book came onto The New York Times bestseller list at No. 1 this past weekend, even though I allowed her publicist to tempt me into a free copy.
So now I've read the book, and I've read half a dozen reviews of the book, from gushing to dismissive. I think I've now been through all the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross stages of reaction when a prominent person writes a book on a subject one knows well: Excitement, Pleasure at content and form of argument, Jealousy, Schadenfreude-y nitpicking, Compulsive Reading of Reviews, Acceptance, and Bandwagoning.
Now I'm wondering whether the book will fail, though, at what Maddow says is her aim: a public debate about how and why the nation goes to war that would lead to "a small 'c' conservative return to our constitutional roots, a course correction."
I wonder that because of three things I have not seen in the reviews, promotion, and discussion of the book: a debate over the role of the media, an interest in the views of military personnel on the subject, and a discussion among policymakers—and failing that among the government reform-types, you might expect to have seized upon Maddow's argument.
I'll take the media piece first, because I'm hoping Maddow will make that the subject of her next book. It's very well to document how various administrations detached the use of military force from established constitutional procedures, and how Congress grew more and more quiescent over time, and to note how "we'd got ourselves in the habit of being at war"—but it isn't, actually, sufficient. Why was the media so quiescent? Why, to take the recent example of Libya, which falls outside the scope of the book, did congressional bickering over whether and what kind of authorization of military force was needed get so little coverage? Why has Mitch McConnell's effort to authorize the use of force against Iran—which the White House says it doesn't want, and which the public is not so keen on either—gotten vanishingly little coverage? Did you, dear reader, know that the GOP leadership of the Senate wants to declare war on Iran in advance, just in case?
When did the media—including MSNBC—decide that the public doesn't care or can't be made to care about arcane matters of war and peace? Why? Are they right? What is the right ratio of killings to Kardashians, drones to Dancing with the Stars, from an institution that is both capitalist and profit-driven and a key piece in the functioning of our democracy, an inheritor of our public trust?
Next, I would have loved to see a major publication invite a defense intellectual to review Drift. As I wrote on Alternet, within military intellectual circles there is a significant minority that would support Maddow's critique, maybe even push it further. (I refer you to Major General Charles Dunlap (now-retired), who back in 1992 wrote an article called "Origins of the Coup of 2012" about the American habit of deferring excessively to those in uniform.) I'd love to see some of those folks on television telling the American public how much people who are paid to think all day about the future of the military are worried about the future of our society writ large—about the future of the social safety net, economic dynamism, social cohesion. But—see above—I have an ugly feeling MSNBC's corporate parents think that wouldn't sell. And I have an even uglier suspicion they're not wrong.
Finally, since I have worked for years now with defense intellectuals and progressive political leaders who echo Maddow's concerns, I had naively hoped that the book's publication would spark a broader discussion along these lines. Lots of people are clearly reading the book, but I don't hear its concerns being discussed in my professional universe. Fast Company reviewed it but seemed to miss the point, by focusing the review around "4 Ways the Military Can Be More Innovative." Sigh. The sole exception being Spencer Ackerman in Wired, who suggested—contra Maddow's modesty—that she has put together "a program for rather radically reshaping the American security apparatus."
What will it take, I wonder, for intellectuals—progressive and conservative—to be willing to tear down their narrow walls of specialization and take a look at what our security apparatus became in the post 9/11 decade and ask the hard, and sometimes morally unpleasant, questions about what we want it to be?


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(Budget Travel Online) -- People who have experience traveling alone share some tips for doing it right.
Packing "If it's your first time traveling alone, remember that you'll be carrying your own bags. Pack stuff that can do double duty: I've used a velour dress as a towel but also dressed it up with a blouse and belt to dine out." --Diane Redfern, founder of Connecting: Solo Travel Network
Approachability "You may not meet people if you're listening to an iPod. So many people have started a conversation while I was reading or sitting alone. But they wouldn't have done that if I were plugged into an iPod." --Doug Lansky, "The Rough Guide: First-Time Around the World"
Lodging "Hotels in remote locations, while romantic for couples, aren't great for people on their own. Instead, stay in areas that get lots of foot traffic, where there's lots to do." --Teresa Rodriguez Williamson, "Fly Solo: The 50 Best Places on Earth for a Girl to Travel Alone"
Staying in touch "Text-messaging is great for avoiding loneliness. I texted my wife from atop Mount Kilimanjaro, and she wrote me back right away." --Donovan Pacholl, adventure-travel specialist, BootsnAll Travel Network
Safety "When making plans with new acquaintances, go for coffee -- and say you're meeting friends afterward, so you have a reason to leave. Before heading out, tell the hotel's front desk where you're going and when to expect you back. Leave a note in your room, so if something happens to you, there's evidence detailing where you went." --Tammy Weiler, founder, Singles Travel International
Dining "Eat at a restaurant bar or a diner counter. Singles usually dine there, and you're likely to chat with the workers. Cafés and B&Bs with meals at shared tables also provide an opportunity to interact." -- Beth Whitman, "Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo"
Cruises "Choose a cruise with assigned dinner seating because you're guaranteed to meet people. Also, take organized excursions. They're safer than going off on your own, and you don't have to worry about missing the ship if something happens. And show pictures of your dog. You think I'm kidding, but it works!" --Rick White, founder, SoloCruiser.com
Instant glamour "Sunglasses are a great prop. When you wear them indoors, people see you in a different light because you look mysterious. Sunglasses are also great for people-watching discreetly and avoiding eye contact with folks you don't want to engage." --Lea Lane, "Solo Traveler: Tales and Tips for Great Trips" E-mail to a friend
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The Weekly Telegraph (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 25, No. 43, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 11, 1860
Description: Weekly newspaper from Houston, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with some advertising.
Date: January 11, 1860
Creator: Cushing, E. H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Newspaper
Partner: The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History


text:
Icon Stripe Two-piece Baby Gift Set
€160.00 €160.00
All orders will be fulfilled by Burberry Limited and shipped from the UK. When you place your order, you accept Burberry's Terms and Conditions and confirm that you have read our Privacy Policy.
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- A jumpsuit and hat in soft stretch cotton revised with striped trims inspired by the colours of our House check.
- Jumpsuit: 98% cotton, 2% elastane
- Hat: 98% cotton, 2% elastane; Trim: 60% cotton, 40% viscose; Lining: 100% cotton
- Press-stud gusset
- Printed Equestrian Knight motif at front
- Presented in an elegant Burberry gift box
- Machine wash
- Imported
Item 80029511


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Niles, remote maker to the stars and NBA basketball players, has finally decided to upgrade its venerable easy-to-use Intellicontrol remote control to the IC2, an even simpler version with larger buttons and up-to-date devices.
Long a mainstay of the high-end home theater installation market, the Intellicontrol has been around for 12 years, and is the device that inspired lots of universal remotes, including our favorite Logitech Harmony line that lets you just push one button to get everything going for about a tenth the price.
No fancy-schmancy touchscreens here; these are all buttons, all the time, and those buttons are much bigger to make it simpler to use. This monster comes in two pieces, the main system unit that receives the remote signals and distributes them accordingly, and then the "big button remote" that can run 16 devices, and can even control systems all over your McMansion.
The downside? This is one of the most expensive remotes you can get, with the system costing $999. It's generally installed by home theater professionals, who probably wouldn't mind charging you $300 for a couple of cables, either. Nevertheless, you get one of those pro installers to set this baby up, and all you need to do is push one of the master keys on the left and it turns on the proper components in the right sequence. Must be nice. The IC2 will be available in September, 2007.
Psst! This Logitech Harmony does just about the same thing! [CEPro]