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Bionic profiling is setting new records
Ziehl-Abegg delivers peak efficiency in excess of 70 percent in its radial fans. Every approach must therefore be used to optimise this. The angle at which the airflow meets the fan blade depends on the flow volume. The whale has to overcome similar challenges when swimming in the sea: the movement of the fins causes the angle to constantly change. If its pectoral fins were to be at too steep an angle to the counter-flow this would produce a lot of turbulence as the water passes over them. "The characteristic features of excessive turbulence are high flow losses and noise" says Dr. Walter Angelis, Technical Manager for Ventilation Systems at Ziehl-Abegg. Over millennia the humpback whale has optimised the design of its fins. For example, the leading edge of the whale's fins contains golf ball sized bumps (technical term: tubercles). With its long pectoral fins, a whale weighing 25 to 30 tons can therefore swim very quickly and with great agility. "We have recreated this on the leading edge of the fan blade and implemented it as an undulating profile" explains Angelis.
The flow engineers have also taken a close look at the whale's rear fin, the "fluke". The v-shaped contour of the rear section of the wing delays potential flow breaks – enabling the fan to be used for numerous different pressure ranges. Overall, evolution has optimised the flow efficiency of the humpback whale in such a way that makes it a very good and agile swimmer despite its body size. Without this evolution its long journeys through the world's oceans without taking in food would not be possible. The latest generation of radial fans at Ziehl-Abegg in sizes starting from 710 mm, is now benefitting from this knowledge gained in the field of bionics. The product name ZAbluefin is borrowed from the English.
"We have also fitted a torsion to the fan blade", adds Angelis. This creates an optimum angle of flow over the entire span. It's not just the jagged trailing edges that make the impeller run quieter. The undulating design of the blade surfaces reduces the noise level.
The experts at Ziehl-Abegg have spent about two years on the new centrifugal impeller for central air conditioning control units and industrial ventilation. A bionic profile has proven very effective in terms of efficiency and low-noise. With the bionic profile blades, unlike currently commercially available hollow blades, there are no gaps into which dirt or condensation can penetrate, leading not only to corrosion but also creating an imbalance. The steel is therefore pressed into a corrugated shape using a 600-ton press, creating the bionic profile – "this gives us additional strength and enables us to optimise the weight", emphasizes Angelis. Less weight protects the bearings in the motor.
The new radial impeller therefore possesses characteristics from two completely different approaches to the field of bionics: both in terms of aerodynamics (ornithology) as well as hydrodynamics (marine biology). For example, the trailing edges of the ventilator blades recreate the flight of an owl. "As the quietest bird of prey, the owl has already been used by us as a model for a number of designs", says Fenkl. The serrated trailing edges on fans have since become one of Ziehl-Abegg's trademarks. On the new fan however the edges have been slightly modified and softened.
It's not only in the design but also the manufacturing process that new approaches have been taken. "Where necessary we drew on the expertise of metals-processing experts at leading German universities", said the Technical Director. Tools have been developed in conjunction with external experts; this will enable the new impellers to be manufactured entirely at Ziehl-Abegg from autumn 2016.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Source: The Enterprise, September 8, 1965.
Just one of the odd little stories that catch my eye during a marathon research session, which in this case was conducted in the comfy confines of the top floor of North York Central Library. In terms of newspaper research, I prefer working at NYCL because it tends to be a little quieter than Toronto Reference (the exceptions being teenagers who decide it's the perfect spot to release their raging hormones and one frequent researcher unfortunately endowed with distracting verbal/physical tics) and certain older papers are not kept under lock and key. It also has a large selection of community papers from the north half of the city stretching from Don Mills to Weston, which have been valuable when researching suburban stories
I didn't look far enough in the future to see what the feedback on this sign was. I can't imagine a slogan like "progess with economy" excited too many residents. The "city with heart" branding used during the 1980s was far better, as it sounds less technocratic and more in line with what any good community aspires to.


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I have no idea why this review of Mel Gibson's Apocalypto just appeared on one of Roger Ebert's "far-flung correspondents" blogs, since the movie came out a few years ago. Anyway, it's well worth a read, because it touches on an important issue regarding historical films.
Every historical movie will have some inaccuracies, either intentional liberties or simple mistakes. But regardless of how many historical flaws Apocalypto contains, it's also saturated with details that "allow us to feel when the credits roll, that we actually attended the events depicted here, what some call 'the fly on the wall' theory." In other words, a movie like this creates a credible past.
Moviemakers create worlds, and it's healthy for us to remember that when we're talking about the past, a different world is exactly what we're dealing with. Historical filmmakers should build their worlds from the ground up in the same way that good science fiction filmmakers do. Otherwise, the world they create won't be credible. It will be nothing but the past lightly grafted onto the present, like a poorly-done reenactment.
For a great example of a credibly, thoroughly authentic past, take HBO's John Adams. There is nothing modern about the world the characters inhabit. Indeed, there's nothing modern about the characters themselves. They lack make-up. They have bad teeth. Even their speech is distinctive, since the filmmakers tried to reconstruct colonial dialects. (The result is sort of halfway between a British accent and modern American English; it's like an entire nation inhabited by William F. Buckleys.)
The world of John Adams wouldn't be a vacation for anybody but a hardcore reenactor. It would have all the hallmarks you'd associate with visiting a Third World village: unfamiliar speech, uncomfortable living conditions, strange food. Watch this excerpt from the first episode, and then ask yourself how long it would take you to get accustomed to living in this world:
This is a world where it's hard to keep out the cold, where children curtsey when their father arrives home, where simmering imperial tensions can explode in the blink of an eye. This isn't modern America in knee breeches. These people live differently, speak differently, behave differently. They are different, and they inhabit a different America. It's a remarkable artistic achievement.
There aren't many ways that entertainment media can advance historical understanding. Drawing attention to neglected people or incidents is one of them. Creating worlds with this level of authenticity is another. It reminds us of a fact we too often forget, one summed up memorably in Leslie Hartley's dictum: "The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there." Movies like this are a valuable corrective for those occasions when we feel too comfortable with the past, when we forget the span of years that separates us from the people who lived there.


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Gone Fishing
One of the great things about teaching in Greenwood, Wisconsin, has to be our outdoor classroom. I grew up surrounded by forests as a kid—named trees, watched birds, and fished in rivers. When Greenwood Elementary was built, an administrator with some forethought fenced off a small pond, planted some fruit trees and allowed the area to go wild. Protected by the fences from deer, a nearly perfect example of Wisconsin wilderness exists right behind our playground.
Went fishing with my students the other day in our little pond. Now that springtime has sprung, our little patch of wilderness is home to a brood of ducklings, a great blue and small green heron, a clutch of rabbits, a red fox, a few kingfishers, and more noisy warblers and testy red-winged blackbirds than can be counted. We made fishing rods out of sticks, used bent pins as hooks and hot dogs as bait. Before long we pulled in dozens of bullhead cats and one very upset turtle. I know that I am a technology teacher, but there are days when I am glad to be unplugged.
Please note: You can now find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/LeeBriggsTech


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How does one avoid bland, generic fantasy while they write?
I have been mulling over the plot and characters for an elaborate fantasy work for a number of years now. The longer I mull things over, the more possessed I am that this story is worth telling. The problem arises when I actually sit down to write it: as a lifelong fan of fantasy, when I write my story on paper, it seems generic. Contrived, almost. The plot and characters I am totally in love with, but when I write it, I think, "Oh, this is worse than Paolini." It just feels... fake. What can I do to avoid generic writing? I would appreciate concrete methods that work, not just opinions or abstract advice.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/5089. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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5 answers
Further to Steven Drennons answer, make sure you get people to read it who know and understand the same sorts of influences that you have. This means that a) they are more likely to be your target audience and so will give you a critique based on those you are writing for and b) if you are writing badly, or generically, they will probably pick this up and tell you.
To an extent, fantasy works best when it draws on the many other fantasy influences - it fits into the world better. At the same time, you have to draw something new from this as well, but wearly on, you should be setting the scene, defining what part of the fantasy genre you are using, so it will be moderately generic - that is a good thing at that stage.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/5305. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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If everything you write is sounding like overused tropes and clichés, it may be that you're simply showing your influences. And when you see your writing, all you're seeing are those influences. Hence, it feels less substantial to you.
What, exactly is "bland, generic fantasy" to you? I suggest you define what it is you're trying to avoid. Make a list if you're so inclined, or just get it straight in your mind what you want to sound different from. You could then go ahead and write, specifically avoiding these areas. While this could push you into writing about new and interesting things, it could also be difficult restriction to deal with. What if there's very little left after this process?
All writers have influences. With some, it's more obvious than with others. However, the only cure to this is, unfortunately, to keep writing. Don't stop just because something seems familiar or fake, just note it for future revision. With a little talent and time, your influences will blend into a style that is yours. It won't happen quickly, or without some hard work, but have some faith that it will happen.
You ask for specific methods: Since becoming aware of your influences and stylistic leanings will only help matters, getting some critiques of your work with that in mind may help. However, volume is your friend: Get those pages written. Don't stop if they suck, just keep going. You won't learn from the experience if you don't. Some specific working regimens, if you don't have them, may also be of help here.
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What has worked for me in the past is to simply concentrate on telling the story. I'm assuming you are on your first draft and have yet to complete even that. In that case, you need to spend less time analyzing and more time telling your story. If you spend too much time reviewing as you write, you'll end up with a case of paralysis by analysis.
Sometimes what causes a writer to start reviewing their work prematurely is a lack of focus or direction. If you don't already have an outline or at least a timeline of events, then maybe you should concentrate on that. The main idea is to just let the words flow, no matter how contrived they may seem. You will have plenty of time to go back and edit for style later.
Another consideration is to stop comparing your own words to what you have read in other fantasy novels. More importantly, I would recommend refraining from reading any fantasy at all while you are writing. I have found that reading a fantasy novel by another author proves to be very distracting when trying to write my own. There isn't necessarily anything wrong with copying another writers style, so don't assume that your readers will be critical of it.
Lastly, make sure you have at least a couple of good beta readers who will give you honest feedback. Let them help you to decide if your content is too contrived or too generic. It is very easy for us as writers to be overly critical of our own work. We end up spending so much time trying to refine the story that we never end up completing it.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/5091. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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On the first draft: you won't. First drafts are almost invariably clunkers.
But your first draft is not meant to shine. Your first draft is meant to get the story onto paper and out of your head where it's been languishing for years.
Once it's on paper, then you can edit, revise, polish, and get an editor/editors to scrub out the bland and generic.
But you can't do that until it's written. So give yourself permission to be bland. Give yourself permission to be generic. I promise it's okay. You will be able to fix it later.
0 comments
One kind of off the wall solution I've used in the past to make fantasy/sci-fi feel less generic is choosing another style of writing (genre fiction or otherwise) and trying very consciously to emulate it while I write. If you're writing fantasy, maybe read nothing but noir fiction while you're writing and try to absorb the syntax/diction of that genre into your own work (assuming, of course, that that tone is still appropriate to the story you're trying to tell). For example, I'm giving a kind of 19th century 'literature' novel feel to a sci-fi piece I'm working on. Analyze the unique qualities of writing in other genres, and experiment with applying them to your work. There are plenty of books and essays out there that discuss the building blocks of genre fiction if you're interested.
While you're at it, think about qualities of the writing that separate really good fantasy from cookie-cutter fantasy for you, maybe make a list of the things that set it apart to help you isolate what you do want to emulate.
Laster makes a good point too, about remembering to get down and dirty no matter how fantastic your world is--people will still have aching feet, streets will still be dirty, people will still annoy each other even if there are archmages running around. Try to include the mundane day-to-day things and follow through with the non-obvious consequences of your fantasy-novums. The unexpected inconveniences that come with being a mage or a snake man go a long way towards drawing the reader into their lives.
Don't be afraid to be weird, make strange similes and word choices, and even be cliche as long as it's still absorbing for you. As other people have pointed out, this is a first draft. Try and be daring now and critical later. Write what you want to read without thinking about other people's work except as inspiration.
Hope it was helpful, good luck!
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/5302. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.


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I don't consider myself a hoarder. I was able to bring myself to throw away plenty of toys, stuffed animals, cards, pictures and mementos from elementary, high school and college. Even the box full of secret "boy crush" stuff, and if you had one of those boxes, then you know how hard it was (at the time) to part with, since it was an official acknowledgement that there is a romance that will never happen anywhere other than in the imagination.
Most of those things I never regretted letting go, except for some of the photos, and maybe my hair crimper, when I needed one for a 90's-themed New Year's Eve party. And some things I should let go, like the VHS tape of my senior play, which I'll never watch again. Even if I cared to, we don't have a VHS player.
It was much harder to get rid of books and movies I loved, but that I no longer had room to store, and it's next to impossible to let go of clothes. Even if it's something I've never worn, in the vain hope that I will wear it someday. Hopefully before it's completely dated.
In the kitchen, though, my hoarding tendencies are stronger, and my freezer is a veritable warehouse of frozen bits and scraps, leftover cake crumbs, cookie crusts and candied nuts, dabs of buttercream, ziplock bags of homemade stock, pieces of dessert we couldn't finish... I just know that if I keep them, I'll find the perfect use for them before too long, without having to spend money on more ingredients.
I think this tendency to not throw away food comes from the fact that I grew up in a household that didn't see meat on the table too often because it was too expensive. I remember watching my mom trying to figure out how to buy a week's worth of groceries for our family of five with just five dollars. There was a time that a few bags of groceries were mysteriously left on our front porch; someone was watching out for us. We certainly never went to bed hungry - rice and beans are cheap and filling - but there were very few extras.
Some things I'll never throw away, though... The scrapbook I made of Jamie's and my first year together - yep, that's a keeper.
When I baked the Lemon Coconut Cream Cupcakes, I only frosted a few for us to eat since I didn't have anywhere to take the rest, so with the 18 or so unfrosted cupcakes, I pulled off the papers, spun them into crumbs in the food processor and zip-locked them up in the freezer for something else.
That "something else" presented itself when a friend turned 30, and invited a bunch of people over to celebrate. Out came the cake crumbs. Add to that a little cream cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice, and you have the makings of a cake truffle. Rolled into balls, dipped in white chocolate and showered with sprinkles. Birthday cake truffles!
When I asked if I could make her a birthday cake, she requested carrot cake, so I also made a Browned Butter Carrot Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting... but you'll have to wait for that one for another day...
Birthday Cake Truffles
printable recipe
- 4 cups white cake crumbs
- 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese, cut into chunks
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 24 candles
- 6-8 ounces white chocolate or vanilla candy coating
- sprinkles
In a food processor, combine the cake, cream cheese, lemon zest and juice. Pulse until it starts to hold together. Using your hands, shape into 24 balls; insert a candle into each, about 2/3 of the way down. Set aside.
Melt the white chocolate according to the instructions on the package. Holding the cake balls by the candle, dip in the white chocolate until coated completely then shake off the excess. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining cake and chocolate; after every four, stop and sprinkle with the colored sprinkles before the coating hardens.
Refrigerate until ready to serve. These can also be made in advance and frozen for up to a month in an airtight container.
Yields 24 truffles.
Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen


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Pto merge
pto_merge can merge several project files to one project file, so that the final project contains every image only once. The same function can be accessed in Hugin by File>Merge project (see Main menu)
Invoke it by
pto_merge -o merged.pto project1.pto project2.pto project3.pto
This will merge the project files project1.pto, project2.pto and project3.pto into a new project file named merged.pto.
If the switch -o or --output is not given, it will add the suffix _merge to the filename of the first project file. So
pto_merge project1.pto project2.pto
will create a merged project file project1_merge.pto.
- pto_merge does not check for duplicate control points. It adds all control points found in the given input files.


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Retrofit Florida: Create Jobs and Save Money on Electricity from Florida Solar Energy Center on Vimeo.
Director's Message: Energy Too Costly for Florida
While gasoline prices have recently dropped, electric costs are skyrocketing! Gasoline for all of the 90s was about $1 a gallon, oil $18 a barrel, natural gas was $2 for a thousand cubic feet and residential electricity in Florida was 8 cents a kWh. Gasoline at its peak last year was over $4, oil over $140 a barrel, and natural gas over $11 for a thousand cubic feet and residential electricity in Florida was 12 cents a kWh. In the last several months, the price of electricity to some consumers in Florida has reached 15 cents per kWh. The average Florida customer who used 1,250 kWh of electricity per month paid $120 in 2005 and $152 per month in 2008. In 2009, the average customer will be paying more than $160. So by doing nothing, the price has gone up more than $40 per month (33%) since 2005. Some customers will be paying $188 per month, a $68 per month increase (50%) since 2005!
Alternative energy is called alternative, until it is cheaper, but cheaper than what? – electricity out of the wall at 12 cents yesterday, 15 cents today, 18 cents tomorrow? Are you aware that people in the U.S. pay different amounts for electricity? The average residential retail price of electricity in the U.S. was 10.6 cents per kWh in 2007. Florida was 11.2 cents, most southern states were about 9 cents, WV 7 cents, UT 8 cents, NY and CT about 18 cents, and CA and NJ 15 cents. So, states that burn coal have the cheapest electricity rates. Places like Utah and West Virginia burn their own coal, so even though they get all the pollution and the greenhouse gasses, at least they get to keep all their money, unlike Florida which ships more than $25 billion out of state to purchase fuel. Florida has already been paying more for cleaner burning fossil fuels than the Southern states to our north. We are now paying more for natural gas than we are for coal, and that price increase is more than what is being suggested to add to our electric bills for solar energy.
New Jersey has more solar than Florida because homeowners in NJ have a Renewable Portfolio Standard, and fees (collected into a Public Benefit Fund) are used to incentivize the homeowner for solar on their roof. If such a fund collected $1.50 on your electric bill in Florida, we could have the equivalent of California's Million Solar Roofs Program. Clearly $1.50 is less than the $40 a month cost of doing nothing. While solar water heating is cost effective today, solar electricity (photovoltaics) without a subsidy is not cost effective today, but the subsidy is still less than the cost of "accelerated cost recovery" for nuclear power. What about the jobs? These jobs will not be in China and India, they will be done by your neighbor. Vote Solar estimates that more than 3,800 megawatts (MW) of solar could be added by 2020 and with it approximately 85,500 new jobs in Florida. What a great way to love your neighbor.
Jim Fenton, Director
Florida Solar Energy Center


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Prices and items available in your country can be seen only after you have logged in.
Prices do not contain handling costs and postage, the amount of which you will find in the proforma invoice confirming a specific order. Prices are valid until withdrawal. We keep the right to change any data on our website, including prices and also the right of prior sales.


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Via Greg Hengler of Townhall – this is guaranteed to be the most disturbing thing you see all day:
The horror.
Brought to you by….(I'll let Hengler tell you.)
Deb, was that really necessary. This is gonna take some time to get over.
Come on – you laughed, admit it.
Oh Gawd, not really. All I need now is Boehner standing next to her crying his eyes out. Now that I can relate too, with recent events.
Poor Boehner. He does have a tough job.
Kinda reminds me of these people laughing.
I HOWLED more at the first, than the second!
As was noted on "The Factor" last night, the real news is that Pelousy actually BLINKED! Try to find another clip where she does – it's almost as if she's an alien and one of her alien superiors finally noticed that she never blinks.
Of course, the explanation may be that Botox is what aliens use for nutrition. But if that was the case, she should be fat as a balloon…


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Jessica Simpson has had a rough year.
She was criticized for wearing what some called "mom jeans" on stage, dealt with rumors about her weight and she split with her NFL star boyfriend Tony Romo. But through it all, she had her beloved Daisy the dog to turn to — until now.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: A Look Back: Nick Lachey & Jessica Simpson
Jessica announced on Monday evening that her dog was taken by a coyote.
"My heart is broken because a coyote took my precious Daisy right in front of our eyes," Jessica Tweeted on Monday evening. "HORROR! We are searching. Hoping. Please help!"
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Stars In High-Waisted Jeans
The Simpson family made a poster in an attempt to get their dog back with a picture of the star's beloved malti-poo and a request to email in any information on the dog's whereabouts.
A rep for Jessica was not immediately available for comment on the story.
Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Jessica Simpson
PLAY IT NOW: Access Extended: Nick Lachey Talks Jessica's Weight-Gate
PLAY IT NOW: Access Archives: Jessica Simpson
MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Jessica Simpson - Reality TV - Celebrities - Music - TV


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Breath-taking Brazil is the perfect group getaway, the sight of the awesome Iguaco Falls will stay with you forever. Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain is the must-see sights, although great group experiences within the wetland area of The Pantanal are truly unforgettable. The world's biggest ecological sanctuary will delight, a true escape with an abundance of wildlife. Soak up South American culture, Samba and so much more.
196 of us went to perform as part of the Disney Performing Arts programme and they made it a fantastic experience. We had all sorts of obstacles thrown at us with snow and Eurostar strikes but nothing was too much trouble. 'No train to Disneyland???', 'no problem', coaches were organised to take us the rest of the way. Becky kept in touch the whole time checking we were taken care of. I highly recommend South Quay Travel, we have memories to last a lifetime.
I recently took my group on a wonderful tour of India's 'Golden Triangle' and then on up to Shimla in the Himalayas, arranged for us by South Quay Leisure and Travel. Everything had been taken care of from the moment we arrived. The transport, the transfers, the hotels, the guides, the porters, the admissions to all the wonderful places we visited, plus much much more besides. We had the experience of a lifetime and the company had left no stone unturned in ensuring the content and comfort of our tour.
Thank you so much for a fantastic Numeracy trip to Disneyland Paris. The experience was excellent for all our pupils. They all enjoyed themselves enormously. We will certainly be booking again with South Quay Travel.
We are just back from Lyon, and I wanted to say the organisation from your end was excellent, we both had a wonderful weekend.
South Quay Travel have organised a number of trips away for us. Disneyland Paris being a highlight for us this year, they looked at many options to get this within a price range I knew our group would pay, fantastic value for money. Well done guys.
A superb trip. The hotel was great both in location, quality of facilities and the meals provided. The pacific anchorages cruise was the best for many on a luxury catamaran yacht that went the 12 miles or so out in to the Pacific Ocean to make sure we got to see every ship! Well done with all the plans and arrangements for this trip which meant for all of us it was a trip of a lifetime in every sense.


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iPhone 5 a Hit Based on Key "Line Length" Metric
The lines to purchase one of Apple's new iPhone 5s in certain major U.S. cities are longer than they have been for any other iPhone launch.
That's the word from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, whose team surveyed lines outside Apple Stores in New York, Boston and Minneapolis, and found them to be, on average, 83 percent longer than those for the iPhone 4S last year. Based on the size of those launch day crowds, and Apple's announcement Monday that it racked up 2 million preorders for the iPhone 5 in 24 hours, Munster predicts the company will sell 49 million iPhones in the December quarter, barring any supply constraints.
"We have counted iPhone launch day lines at every launch since the iPhone 3G in 2008," Munster said in a note to clients. "We believe that based on our count of 775 customers in line for the iPhone 5 at the flagship 5th Avenue store, demand for the iPhone 5 is higher than any previous launch. We believe the line for the iPhone 5 was 70 percent greater than the line for the iPhone 4S despite Apple taking 2x as many online preorders. … Given the strength of the line for the iPhone 5, we are incrementally more confident in Apple's ability to sell 8 million phones in the launch weekend."
So who's buying them? Previous iPhone owners, mostly. Wells Fargo analyst Maynard Um says that among the customers his team surveyed at Apple Stores in New York City, 32 percent were upgrading from iPhone 4S, 31 percent from iPhone 4 and 8 percent from the iPhone 3GS. Of the remainder, 8 percent were switching from BlackBerry, 7 percent from a Samsung device, 7 percent from an HTC device and 5 percent from "other."


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Forum Menu
Welcome to 75160
Cookies with Saint Nicholas
Sunday, November 27 2011 @ 09:10 pm EST
Contributed by: Admin
Prop1 - Rental Ordinance
Thursday, May 05 2011 @ 11:29 am EDT
Contributed by: Admin
Comments to Rental Ordinance 2457 Articles I and III
Voters of Terrell are divided between being for or against Rental Ordinance 2457, and this is well and good provided these voters are fully informed about what is contained in the ordinance. For this reason, the full ordinance is available on (this) website www.75160.com. Scroll down to see the ordinance.
Understandably, it is a big effort to read, much less study the full ordinance. With this in mind, this commentary has been prepared to explain and focus on many of the controversial areas of the document. Care has been taken to accurately describe various parts of the ordinance, with particular attention given to possible unconsidered and unintended consequences. The article numbers and paragraph numbers below correspond to the actual ordinance articles and paragraphs, and the reader is urged to check any questionable statements for accuracy against the full ordinance.
In understanding the full ordinance, it helps to know that it is divided into four principal sections identified as:
Article I revises a similar section of existing Ordinance #2385 for multi-family structures to be applicable to singly-family rental property. It lists an additional national fire protection and life safety code, and an international crime free rental program in addition to the 13 other codes of the previous ordinance.
Article II replaces most parts of existing Ordinance #2385 for multi-family structures with exact or similar wording, and does not apply at all to single-family rental property.
Article III is the most contentious part of the new rental ordinance. It is modeled after the multi-family Article II section with wording and requirements changed to fit single-family rental property.
Article IV sets forth the Crime Free Program requirements, and is entirely optional for the owner/landlord. Only Articles I and III are requirements for single-family rental housing and are the primary articles in contention. With these brief facts in mind, the following commentary is provided:
Article I - General Provisions
Paragraph A.1. The objectionable part of this requirement is that the 15 local, state, national, and international codes are called for (including all future revisions), and it is unclear whether they apply in their entirety, or only to the extent specified in the following articles. Further, there is no "grandfather" provision. Bringing a house up to even a few of these requirements could be cost prohibitive.
Paragraph A.1.3 This paragraph states that, " this code is to be liberally construed to effectuate its purpose". Such language gives the inspector virtually unlimited authority in interpreting the "purpose" of the ordinance, and is subject to wide variations in interpretation.
Paragraph A.1.4 This paragraph sets forth the various fees for obtaining a "Certificate of Inspection". Subsequent paragraphs state that the Certificate of Inspection is issued to the landlord/owner - strongly implying that the landlord/owner pays these fees. But many of the ordinance requirements are the responsibility of the tenant. If the tenant causes failure of the inspection (and re-inspections), the landlord/owner should not be responsible for these fees.
Article II - Multi-Family …. Rental Properties
No comments on this article because it is basically a replacement of previous ordinance #2385.
Article III - Single-Family Rental Properties
Paragraph A. Applicability
Paragraph A.1 For some unexplainable reason, an exemption to all code requirements is given to tenants who are relatives of the property owner.
Paragraph A.2 There are two kinds of inspection required by this paragraph. One applies only to property registered in the optional "Crime Free Rental Program", and is based on "NFPA 101 Life Safety Standards". The other is conducted in accordance with HUD form HUD-52580-A and applies only to property not registered in the "Crime Free Rental Program". No specific chapter or paragraph of the NFPA code is specified, creating the potential of applying and misapplying this massive code.
Paragraph A.3 Awkward wording of this paragraph makes it a little difficult to interpret. It appears that the first part of this paragraph applies only to property participating in the Crime Free rental Program. It requires an initial inspection during vacancy, and provides that subsequent inspections be conducted at four year intervals" whether vacant or not". It adds a requirement for property not in the Crime Free Rental Program to receive a "basic" Life/Safety inspection upon vacancy or prior to occupancy. This added requirement could cause a property to be inspected and re-inspected several times within a single year.
Paragraph B. Minimum Standards - Responsibilities of landlord.
Paragraph B.1.d This paragraph requires the landlord to keep "doors and windows capable of being securely closed". There is no requirement for the tenant to notify landlords of a problem with doors or window locks, so it is impossible for landlords to know about and comply with this requirement.
Note: A number of subsequent paragraphs require the landlord to "maintain" certain items (some of which are the responsibility of the tenant). Unless the owner/landlord discovers such problem/s prior to the actual inspection, this can only be done if the tenant notifies the landlords of the problem.
Paragraph B.1.e This requirement is for landlords to insure that the tenant keep the dwelling in a clean and sanitary condition. Short of inspecting the dwelling daily, there is no way the landlord can comply with this requirement.
Paragraph B.1.g This paragraph limits the number of occupants based on the number of bedrooms in the dwelling. It makes no allowance for family emergencies, temporary guests, or new additions to the family. Further, if sanitation, health, and welfare are the true objectives of the ordinance, it might make more sense to limit occupation based on the number of bathrooms.
Paragraph B.3.e This paragraph requires that the landlord "connect all plumbing systems and mechanical systems in accordance with the adopted codes". There is no provision in the ordinance to grandfather existing construction, which was originally built to code, but now (because of code changes) the dwelling would not pass inspection. Consider for example the cost of rewiring a house to replace two-wire circuits and outlets with three-wire circuits and outlets. This seems like an unreasonable requirement.
Paragraph B.4.a The exact requirement of this paragraph is "to maintain in proper working order all exterior lighting, such as: for parking lots, exterior security lighting, breezeways, porch lights, or other common areas". This paragraph is an inappropriate carryover from an attempt to cobble together the single-family requirements from the multi-family requirements. Single-family dwellings do not have "common areas", and it should not be the landlord's responsibility to "maintain in proper working order all exterior lighting".
Paragraph C. Minimum Standards - Responsibilities of tenants
The subparagraphs of this section seem reasonable with a few exceptions. However, there is no provision for enforcement on the tenant, and the enforcement provision that does exists is to inspect and re-inspect the dwelling with corresponding escalating fees levied on the landlord for the tenant's noncompliance. A little more foresight and fairness is needed here.
A note at the bottom of this section states the following: "The above list of responsibilities of a tenant is not to be construed to be comprehensive or exhaustive, wherein, the tenant's responsibilities as well as the duties and remedies of the landlord are covered by contractual lease agreements, other city codes and by the Texas Property Code - Title 8 - Chapters 91 and 92". The combined page count of these two chapters is eighty-plus pages of law concerning detail tenant/landlord relationships. How or why the city intends to insert itself into this legal and previously defined relationship is unknown. unnecessary, and undesirable.
Paragraph C.1.f This paragraph requires the tenant to place waste materials in covered receptacles, which cannot be turned over by dogs or other animals. Comments to this paragraph are as follows:
Note: This is another carryover from the multi-family ordinance, which has been erroneously executed in this ordinance.
Paragraph C.1.j This paragraph requires that the tenant not conduct any business in violation of city home occupation codes. A reference to the appropriate city code paragraph/s (or least the code number) is needed here.
Paragraph D Annual Inspections (only applies to rental property not participating in the Crime-Free Rental Program)
Paragraph D,2 Inspections. This paragraph defines which city officials are empowered to perform ordinance compliance inspections on "multi-family" premises, and requires that the owner/landlord grant" irrevocable consent" to allow inspections "at least" once a year. Comments are as follows:
Paragraph D.2.e This paragraph provides for inspections based on receipt of a formal complaint. This is an example of an inspection performed in addition to the yearly inspection. The fee for this inspection is no doubt charged to the owner/landlord. Responsibility for payment of the fee/s needs to be defined, and if the complaint turns out to be false, the complainant should pay the fee.
Paragraph D.3 Inspection scheduling.
Paragraph D.3.a The first sentence of this paragraph states that the scheduling of inspections is between the owner/landlord and the city inspector (not the tenant), and provides for delays and rescheduling by the city (not the owner/landlord). The objections to this paragraph are as follows:
Paragraph D.3.b This paragraph allows the owner/landlord a onetime denial of admittance for a scheduled inspection, and requires rescheduling by the owner/landlord within 10 days. The last sentence provides for additional fees, or "obtaining an administrative search warrant" to secure entry. Comments:
Paragraph D.3.c This item requires that all inspections occur between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.. Since many owner/landlords and tenants have work commitments, an after-hours or Saturday option should be available.
Paragraph D.3.e This paragraph gives the tenant the right to be present during the inspection, and specifies that the tenant be given no less than seven days notice of the inspection. The objection here is that the tenant has no right in the selection of the date, and may not be able to be present at the scheduled time.
E. Enforcement
E.1 Re-Inspections. The lead-in to this paragraph allows the owner/landlord" thirty(30) days to remedy all conditions identified as a violation of this ordinance" by a previous inspection, and requires a re-inspection (with fees) within thirty days. It should be clearly stated that a re-inspection is limited to only those items identified in the previous inspection. Otherwise, there could be no limit to the number of re-inspections and escalated fees.
Paragraph E.1.c This requirement would allow the city to contact the various utility companies or city departments to have the utilities disconnected to an individual dwelling unit to ensure the safety of the tenants or the public. In order to assure that this requirement is not misused or used to intimidate renters or owner/landlords, it should be required that such a safety deficiency be clearly identified as a "safety" requirement in the previous inspection.
Paragraphs E.1.d.,e.,&f These paragraphs appear to apply to structural deficiencies which can be identified from external inspections. If so, they are covered by existing city codes and are not necessary in this ordinance.
Paragraph E,2 Certificate of Inspection/Occupancy
Note: There are two different inspections identified here. A Certificate of Occupancy is a onetime document issued as a part of the building permit inspection procedure for a new dwelling. This ordinance now requires it for an existing single-family dwelling, which is converted to a rental property.
Paragraph E.2.a Initial Certificate of Inspection. The requirement to be inspected prior to December 31, 2010 is obviously now impossible to meet. The requirement should be for the initial inspection to occur within some reasonable time after the ordinance becomes effective and all legal challenges have been exhausted.
Paragraph E.2.f Revocation of a Certificate of Inspection. Among other requirements, this paragraph states that ten days notice must be given to the tenant and owner/landlord prior to having utilities disconnected. In order to prevent misinterpretation of this paragraph, it should be clearly stated that utilities can only be disconnected for safety reasons as previously specified in paragraph E.1.c. Furthermore, disconnecting utilities could be more detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the tenant than the alleged safety violation, and the owner/landlord should in no way be held liable for the city disconnecting the utilities.
The above comments are provided by Art Crothers, and do not necessarily represent the views of citizens for or against Ordinance 2457, or website www.75160.com.
Proposition 1, also know as ordinance 2457, rental ordinance, crime prevention/safer Terrell ordinance is widely misunderstood by those who support it. Many things have been said about it in favor of it based on things that are not true.
To understand the fact and fiction please read the actual ordinance. Click HERE to read it.
Read the 2457 Ordinance here
Saturday, April 23 2011 @ 05:07 pm EDT
Contributed by: Admin
The ordinance 2457 can be downloaded HERE
Click on the link to download the pdf version.
Wednesday, January 13 2010 @ 07:22 pm EST
Contributed by: Admin
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An early Christmas present for Psych fans: more Psych! USA has renewed 'Psych' for an 8th season per USA SVP of Research Ted Linhart (via Twitter). The seventh season begins this coming February.
No details on the episode order yet, but look for the official press release, hopefully on Thursday Eight episodes have been ordered. Official press release below!
via press release:
Are you ready for more delicious flavor?
USA's Longest Running Series On-Air Will Return With Eight New Episodes
Season Seven Premieres February 27 and
This Season will Mark the Series 100th Episode Milestone
NEW YORK – December 20, 2012 – On the heels of a seventh consecutive win as the most-watched cable network, USA Network today ordered an eighth season of its longest running series on-air, and comedy favorite, PSYCH. Santa Barbara's favorite faux psychic and his sidekick, played by James Roday and Dulé Hill, will return with eight new episodes featuring the zany crimes, hilarious antics and a bevy of guest stars that the series has been known for since its premiere on USA in 2006. The announcement was made today by USA Co-Presidents Chris McCumber and Jeff Wachtel.
"PSYCH is one of those rarities – a show that continues to grow its fan base season after season, with exceptional storytelling, a consistently inspired cast and talented guest stars," said McCumber and Wachtel. "We thought Shawn Spencer would have seen this coming…."
PSYCH returns for its seventh season on Wednesday, February 27 at 10/9c and this season will also celebrate its 100th episode milestone. The series has also continued to grow with season six performing as the show's strongest ever among P18-34 and among total viewers, the show's average last season was 4.5 million – retaining almost all of the Season five audience.
With 2.5 million Facebook fans, affectionately known as PSYCH-Os, this cult favorite stars Roday as a police consultant who solves crimes with powers of observation so acute the precinct detectives think he's psychic. With help from his best friend and reluctant sidekick (Hill), he continues to solve the mysterious and often bizarre crimes of the Santa Barbara Police Department. PSYCH also stars Corbin Bernsen, Timothy Omundson, Maggie Lawson and Kirsten Nelson.
PSYCH is executive produced by Steve Franks, Kelly Kulchak and Chris Henze, from Universal Cable Productions in association with Tagline Pictures. Mel Damski serves as executive producer/director.


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Trombone Plus GoPro Camera Equals Extreme Laughs
Whatever you were planning on using your GoPro camera for, just know that it probably won't be as funny as this. We don't know if a specific event led this man to stick a GoPro on his trombone's slide, so we'll just say he was inspired by brilliance.
In case you think we're hyping this up, out of the 800,000+ views this has on YouTube, only 134 people have been heartless enough to give it a thumbs down. That's pretty amazing. Good job, Trombone Guy. You might be the least-disliked person on the internet.


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Starbucks Reserve Panama Paso Ancho
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This unique micro-region produces a rare, sought after coffee. Just 450 bags of blended varietals from the Paso Ancho region are produced each year, milled at the award-winning Carmen Estate. With elegant flavors of lemon and pepper, and a delicate, floral-toned acidity, it's a graceful coffee that we're honored to share.
Currently Available
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- Processing Method: Washed (wet)
- Flavor: Lemony and floral
- Acidity: Medium
- Body: Medium
- Complementary Flavors: Citrus, chocolate, fruits, nuts


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Do you need to hire a professional Interior Designer or Decorator to help design and select the perfect set of custom drapes for my home? Maybe, maybe not. At DrapeStyle we help thousands of Clients, the most of whom are Homeowners, create amazing custom drapes that fit perfectly into their homes. We do this by employing the most talented Team of Sales Designers in the Drapery and Window Covering Industry. When you call DrapeStyle and you are considering spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on custom drapes you deserve to speak with a Professional Designer who is able to "consult" with you and assist you. Our Sales Designers are not paid on commission. Their simple motivation, as is ours as a Team is to provide the very best Customer Service and support as we possibly can.
Our typical Client has questions. A lot of questions. They will often describe what they are looking for, what their vision is. Once we get the measurements, which are most often provided by our Clients, our Designers go to work doing what they do best. I will often walk through our Design Center and I will see one of our Designers working on a sketch for a Client. So many times I am really amazed at the talent that we have. Here are some of the sketches I picked up this week. Of course, we don't "charge" for this type of service, it is all part of working with DrapeStyle!


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Lackey perfect in debut
Looking like the ace he is, John Lackey's spring debut in Tucson was flawless: six up, six down, including a strikeout of Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. Lackey's command was sharp, and he appeared to have lively stuff for the first time out.
Lackey's batterymate, Jeff Mathis, was having a pretty fair day too: homers in his first two at-bats against southpaw Franklin Morales before a walk third time up.
1 Comment
First of all, I just want to say thanks to Lyle for doing this blog. It's nice to have something convenient to check for all things Angels, including his opinions, which unfortunately rarely make it into the majority of articles.
Secondly, it's nice to see our starters doing well. Reagins just needs to make sure we sign Lackey. As for Mathis, it's great to see him smackin' the leather!


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Water SA
versión On-line ISSN 1816-7950
versión impresa ISSN 0378-4738
Water SA vol.34 no.2 Pretoria feb. 2008
Physical and chemical characteristics of thermal springs in the Waterberg area in Limpopo Province, South Africa
J OlivierI; HJ van NiekerkI; IJ van der WaltII
IDepartment of Environmental Sciences, PO Box 392, Unisa 0003, South Africa
IIDepartment of Geography and Environmental Studies, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2531, South Africa
The Limpopo Province in South Africa is richly endowed with thermal springs. Some have been developed for recreational, tourism or other purposes, while a number remain completely undeveloped. If the full economic potential of springs can be realised in a sustainable manner, they could make a substantial contribution to the local or even regional economy. The optimal use of a thermal spring is largely dependent upon its physical and chemical characteristics. This article focuses on the temperature and chemical features of 8 selected thermal springs located in the southern (Waterberg) region of the Limpopo Province, namely Warmbaths, Loubad, Vischgat, Die Oog, Rhemardo, Lekkerrus, Libertas and Buffelshoek. All of these springs are of meteoric origin, with water temperatures ranging from 30°C to 52°C. The mineral composition of the thermal waters reflects the geological formations found at the depth of origin. Changes in land use that occurred over the past few decades have apparently had no impact on the physical and chemical properties of the thermal spring waters. This effect may, however, become evident at a later stage due to a time lag in the migration of contaminants. The fluoride concentration of water from seven of the eight springs (all except Loubad) does not conform to domestic water quality guidelines and makes the water unfit for human consumption. Unacceptably high values of mercury were detected at Libertas. It is recommended that strict monitoring of the concentration of fluoride and other potentially harmful elements should be mandatory whenever the thermal spring water is used for bottling, domestic or full-contact recreational purposes.
Keywords: thermal springs, Limpopo Province, water temperature, chemical composition, trace elements
"Full text available in PDF"
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ROMERO L, ALOMSO H, CAMPANO P, FANFANI L, CIDU R, DADEA C, KEEGAN T, THORNTON I and FARAGO M (2003) Arsenic enrichment in waters and sediments of the Rio Loa (Second Region, Chile). Appl. Geochem. 18(9) 1399-1416. [ Links ]
ROSE JG (1910) A new Cape thermal Chalybeate spring. S. Afr. J. Sci. 7 202-203. [ Links ]
SABA D S, NAJAF M E, MUSAZAI A M and TARAKI S A (2004) Geothermal energy in Afghanistan: Prospects and potential. http//www.mindfully.org/Energy/2004/Afghanistan-Geothermal_Energy1feb04 (Accessed 10 May 2006). [ Links ]
SANNER B (2000) Baden-Baden, a famous thermal spa with a long history. GHC Bulletin, September, 16-22. [ Links ]
SHEVENELL L, GARSIDE L, AREHART G, VAN SOEST M and KENNEDY BM (2002) Geothermal sampling of thermal and non-thermal waters in Nevada to evaluate the potential for resource utilization. GRC Trans. 2002. [ Links ]
SÓHNGE PG (1945) The geology of the Messina copper mines and surrounding country. Mem. Geol. Surv. S. Afr. 40 106-107; 122-127. [ Links ]
SOUTH AFRICAN BUREAU OF STANDARDS (SABS) (1999) Class 1 Potable Water Standards. SABS 241:1999, Pretoria, South Africa. [ Links ]
SAMSUDIN AR, HAMZAH U, RAHMAN RA, SIWAR C, JANI MF and OTHMAN R (1997) Thermal springs of Malaysia and their potential development. J. Asian Earth Sci. 15 275-289. [ Links ]
SUGITA Y, FUJII T, HAYASHI I, AOKI T, YOKOYAMA T, MORIMATSU M, FUKUMA T and TAKAMIYA Y (1999) Primary amebic meningoencephalis due to Naegleria fowleri: An autopsy case in Japan. Pathol. Int. 49 (5) 468-470. [ Links ]
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+27 12 352 4284
Fax: +27 12 352 4270
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Received 22 June 2007
Accepted in revised form 4 February 2008


text:
A fulminating group A streptococcal infection beginning with severe or extensive cellulitis that spreads to involve the superficial and deep fascia, producing thrombosis of the subcutaneous vessels and gangrene of the underlying tissues. A cutaneous lesion usually serves as a portal of entry for the infection, but sometimes no such lesion is found. (Dorland, 28th ed)
Necrotizing Fasciitis
Fasciitides, Necrotizing, Fasciitis, Necrotizing, Fascitides, Necrotizing, Fascitis, Necrotizing, GANGRENE, HEMOLYTIC STREPTOCOCCUS, Necrotising cellulitis, Necrotising fasciitis, Necrotizing cellulitis, Necrotizing Fasciitides, Necrotizing Fasciitis, Necrotizing Fascitides, Necrotizing Fascitis, Necrotizing myositis, Streptococcal gangrene


text:
Friday, September 11, 2009
Your Turn: Nationwide Series From Richmond On ESPN2
The cars were under the lights at the Richmond International Raceway on Friday night.
Allen Bestwick started the night with Brad Daugherty and Rusty Wallace from the Infield Pit Studio. They handled the pre-race show and provided comments coming out of the commercial breaks in the live race coverage.
Marty Reid returned to the broadcast booth and was joined by Andy Petree and Dale Jarrett. It was Petree who responded to Reid and was very active in the telecast. Jarrett was reserved and provided comments, but not in the same role he has on the Sprint Cup Series telecasts.
Shannon Spake, Jamie Little, Dave Burns and Vince Welch were on pit road. They provided some race recaps, but the limited cautions provided few stories for them to report. There were no interviews with crew chiefs in the race.
Kevin Harvick was the in-race reporter and he had a rough night. Harvick did the normal pre-race interview, but his role was limited due to the high number of green flag laps. Tim Brewer was in the Tech Garage and reviewed again some NASCAR basics.
This is your opportunity to offer your opinion on the ESPN telecast of this race. To add your comment, just click on the comments button below. This is a family-friendly website, please keep that in mind when posting. Thanks for taking the time to stop by, this feature has proven to be very popular.
22 comments:
- The Loose Wheel said...
Marty Reid carried this ship tonight!
The camera work was better than usual, pretty happy all around but they had a heck of a race tonight and a heck of a racetrack to broadcast from.
DJ seemed off some, but the adjustment for him must be jarring compared to JP. Andy was solid, we'll see how he does tomorrow. Liked the limited peek ins from Rusty and Brad, they really don't have much purpose once the race starts. Rusty not being in the booth is good because Steven and Brendan don't get over talked about which is a major plus.
However, I had one major issue tonight. They NEVER focused on a single driver outside the top 18 except for Carl at all during the race which was a crying shame.
Loved the decision at the end to stay with battles the last 20 laps and catch Carl at the very end of the race to finish. That is something I hope continues from here on out.
- September 11, 2009 at 9:55 PM
- Buschseries61 said...
The Good:
- Marty Reid: Excitement, S&P updates, wave-around updates, calling out NASCAR about paper debris.
- Showing every car finish
- Some wideshots
The Bad:
- Tailpipes, in-car cameras looking at the stands and not the track, bumper cams. Camera work was mixed.
- No chemistry. As I mentioned in the race thread, Marty Reid tended to dominate the broadcast. At Iowa, Rusty and Randy could reach Marty's level of excitement and their system worked very well. Dale Jarrett is used to doing play-by-play for Jerry Punch & seemed lost now that he only had to be an analyst. Maybe the long day was a reason for their struggle. A sepeate, full time Nationwide broadcast team is needed in 2010. Marty Reid, Randy LaJoie, & Rusty Wallace. No further experiments needed.
- Tech Center. Used once, (maybe twice?) all night. NASCAR 101 how to fix a tire rub was unnecessary. Any fan watching for the first time understands you must move the fender off the tire for it to stop rubbing. Waste of time and money.
Overall Broadcast:
Overall Race:
- September 11, 2009 at 10:05 PM
- Anonymous said...
ESPN stands for (E)specially (S)loppy (P)roduction of (N)ascar
- September 11, 2009 at 10:24 PM
- Anonymous said...
Perfect race!! ESPN just gets better and better. They've shown they're far superiour to all of NASCAR TV partners. Great camera work. Great booth. Great pit reporters. Excellent!
- September 11, 2009 at 10:30 PM
- Unknown said...
more, more more wide shots and aerial shots of actual racing ...Marty, Rusty & Randy are ESPN's best team in the booth ...to the production team: don't feed questions to pit reporters; you don't know enough about racing to o ask pertinent questions ...use pit reporters capable of asking their own questions
ps - JD, I believe aerial shots and tread cams were routine production tools, back-in-the-day
- September 11, 2009 at 10:36 PM
- Anonymous said...
I didn't catch much of the race today but from what I was able catch the camera angles were better. They provided wideshots and also focused on the racing at the back when the cars upfront got into a single file which was a good move by ESPN. Marty Reid was on top of his game giving updates, calling the race and not just reading stats like Jerry Punch does so this slowed DJ down a bit because this is what he does to help Jerry Punch. This coverage is not going to be the same for tommorow as it is going to be about the chase guys. So expect the cameras to focus only on the chase guys.
- September 11, 2009 at 10:37 PM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
Sometimes it is more like a video game played by adults than a live telecast with some racing perspective.
- September 11, 2009 at 10:47 PM
- Sicklajoie said...
Marty and Randy in the booth? Yes!
Rusty? Big fat NO!
No no no
I'm not related to Randy, despite my name.
- September 11, 2009 at 11:11 PM
- 50 yr. fan said...
JD, you are right about the video
game aspect. Why were looking out
the side window with a view of
nothing with ten laps to go? Still
too many low level shots when you have the perfect track to cover from a high & wide prospect.
Na$car 101 is a waste and insult
to real race fans.
- September 12, 2009 at 8:22 AM
- Anonymous said...
I guess Marty is going to get called to the ESPN hauler and told to calm down just like the Doctor. I mean wow, Marty actually got excited at one point. Can't have that.
- September 12, 2009 at 8:26 AM
- Anonymous said...
I felt the coverage of the actual race was much better than usual. The announcers stayed "on task", reporting action on the racetrack. The camera coverage actually showed a lot of the racing going on around the track, exactly what I am looking for since I can't be there in person. Yes, there is room for improvement but I enjoyed watching this race and didn't feel the usual need to shake the TV so that I could watch racing, not nonsense.
- September 12, 2009 at 8:37 AM
- Donna DeBoer said...
ESPN, I like Marty's excitement!! don't blanket him. The best race booth team the NNS could have is Marty, Randy and Rusty. Please consider them full time for 2010!
- September 12, 2009 at 9:24 AM
- red said...
welcome back to marty reid: you were missed, sir!
and here's why: reid gets it. he gets excited by the same events that excite fans, he understands the sport and knows when to throw it to the analysts for comment, he keeps us informed as the race unfolds and he sets up the final laps very well.
postives last night:
* overhead shots -- altho' more would have been even better!
* showing the racing mid-pack in the last 20-some laps while the leader was running away with it -- and reid telling us that we weren't missing anything at the front while that happened.
* showing all finishers!
"developmental areas" last night:
* lose the nascar 101 mentality for the tech center. unless it's going to explain something unusual, we don't need our sport explained to us each week
* in-car cams need to go away, especially at a track like this where an overhead shot goves the fan much more information
* reduce the repeats of information thru out the race. telling us twice that edwards was fighting back from the back and why is useful: telling us that repeatedly thru out the race is not.
* i'm underwhelmed by the post-race reporter questions.
* as much as i complain about "specialty cameras," i freely admit i miss those brake cams at some tracks -- like richmond.
overall, i found myself paying attention to the race and the coverage and didn't bounce around various sites on the laptop to get information.
my choice for booth: reid, lajoie, and dj. actually, reid and just about almost anyone else espn wants to throw in there with him b/c he's such a strong PxP guy!
- September 12, 2009 at 9:33 AM
- Rockin Rich said...
I thought it was interesting that Marty, (I think it was Marty's voice), talking about the fact that the Gibbs and Roush teams have won the lions share of races, and by far led the most laps. He made the specific comment that, for the people that ask, that is why they concentrate so much camera coverage on them.
Someone actually acknowledged that they are hearing complaints!
I agree with Anon 9/12 @ 8:26AM. I expect that Marty has been summoned to the BSPN hauler. However, I suspect it is because of his honesty. In addition to his comments about the coverage, I heard numerous references to the Start & Park teams, to the point of opining which teams were, and weren't Start & Park.
I think it would be really refreshing to have Marty calling the Cup races.
- September 12, 2009 at 9:46 AM
- Anonymous said...
I was watching the soccer game on ESPN2. During halftime, they gave the TV schedule for all other Premier League matches that were on other networks! They even included the channel logo for Fox Soccer Channel an Sentana Sports.
Amazing, it can be done! Just spend 15 seconds telling viewers when / where they can watch the truck races.
- September 12, 2009 at 10:55 AM
- Anonymous said...
No bottom ticker either during ESPN2's Premiere league games.
- September 12, 2009 at 11:06 AM
- Anonymous said...
I think I'm suffering from Nascar Fatigue. I avoid much of the pre race baloney. If I see one more shot of Carl Edwards on crutches, just he crutches or questions about his feet,his gas pedal or anything realated to crutches, I'm going to throw up. Enough of Rusty. DJ was excellent last nite. Marty Reid couldn't keep track of who was leading the race at one point.
- September 12, 2009 at 11:33 AM
- West Coast Diane said...
Marty...YES! He had a few slips, but with infrequent opportunities hard to be 100% on your game. Give him the gig full time. Add Randy L and whomever...even Rusty, dare I say.
Fix the camera work...what else can we say? Apparently not much because we have the same comments over and over.
PS...not sure who mentioned Carl's weak burnout, but he said it was weak because he didn't want to damage the engine :-)
- September 12, 2009 at 12:42 PM
- Dot said...
@ red, ditto.
BTW, I heard them say that so and so didn't have a CC on the box last night too.
The NW booth should consist of Reid, Randy & Rusty. Good chemistry. I prefer DJ & AP for CUP.
- September 12, 2009 at 12:59 PM
- RLDreams said...
Typical BS Espn coverage, as far as ESPN is concerned this is the Kyle Busch show. If your not one of the "big name" drivers your not getting covered it doesn't matter if you're running 3rd or 33rd .
OK Paul Menard driving for RPM in 2010 was news (OH wait did ESPN even cover that story?), but how does that warrant covering his imaginary battle for 11th in the closing laps?
Come on people Greg Biffle was a lap down, and got more TV time than drivers running in the top 10 .
It was 9/11 , but the only time we even saw Ben Gordon's 9/11 memorial car during the race was when Greg Biffle (laps down) pulled into the stall in front of Ben on pit road.
You want to know how to bring new/more sponsors into NASCAR, show them that they can get a return on their money (TV time) without having to sponsor one of the big $$$ drivers/teams.
- September 12, 2009 at 1:00 PM
- Anonymous said...
I like rusty brad and allen in the pre race shows they are good. I agree with most about marty rusty and randy in the booth for nationwide but i think brad would be good also if they dont go with randy nexy year.
- September 12, 2009 at 3:00 PM
- Anonymous said...
ESPN continues to improve. They took notice of the TBS broadcasts, which were head and shoulders above all. Genuine interest and enthusiasm instead of self serving FOX/Speed group hype.
- September 12, 2009 at 6:06 PM


text:
UNPLUGGING'S MIDDLE PLACE: What does "unplugging" mean to you, in terms of a vacation? Does it mean a posh, well-appointed room with a television and hair dryer and various amenities or does it mean setting up a tent somewhere in a wide open space far away from everything? Opinions are as different as people, but there isn't a lot of middle ground with this particular question. Either you're in a room with telephone or at the very least lights or you're camping. The Drakesbad Guest Ranch, however, is that rather marvelous and rare middle place. The Lassen Volcanic National Park destination -- it is inside the borders of the gorgeous and wild Northern California park -- features cabins with no electricity. We were tempted to type "that lack electricity" there, but it is not a lack. Rather it gives guests a true sense of away-ness, something we all need in our hectic, ping-heavy world (the pings being from our various devices as they constantly alert us to new messages). Kerosene lamps are provided, which charms.
DARK NIGHT SHINE: The ranch recommends packing a flashlight, of course, but this is good to know: If you do need an outlet for some reason, they're available in the lobby. In short? You're unplugged, but not that unplugged. Again, the perfect middle ground.
WHAT TO DO: Stargazing is at the top of the list, as would be expected at a national park ranch that is mostly light-free come nighttime. Horseback rides and visits to hot springs are more fresh-air, let-go go-outs.
U.S. & World
News from around the country and around the globe
WHAT TO EAT: Meals are included with your room rate. You can request a sack lunch if you're heading out on a ramble, too, so not every meal needs to be taken at the ranch.
OPENING DATE: June 7, 2013. Closing date is Oct. 14. Summer gets a bit busy, so we'd aim for early fall, when the season is at its cooling-down turning point.
Ready to unplug? Who'd say no?


text:
Mossberg's Mailbox
Windows Software for Business, Pleasure
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about Microsoft's Media Center software, Apple laptops for college freshmen and computer monitors.
If you have a question, send it to me at email@example.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
I am considering purchasing a Dell Windows Media Center PC. Its primary use would be for entertainment, but I would also likely use it for some business use. Will a PC with Media Center run Office [and other] software like a regular XP machine?
Yes. Microsoft's Media Center software is a special version of Windows XP. It has a remote-controllable interface that can be used for playing media from across a room. But this interface need not be used all the time. When it isn't in use, Media Center reverts to Windows XP, Professional edition. So, Media Center computers can be used like any other XP Pro machines. They can run all Windows programs, including Microsoft Office.
By the way, this is the last year Microsoft will be selling the Media Center Edition of Windows, but the functions of Media Center aren't being discontinued. They are being folded into some of the versions of the new Windows Vista operating system, which will be available in January.
My grandson wants an Apple laptop for college. Does it make sense to go all the way with the new MacBook Pro, or would the 12-inch PowerBook G4 likely be good enough?
The MacBook Pro is a high-end laptop that costs $2,000 and up. It's probably overkill for a college freshman, unless he or she will be taking a heavy dose of engineering or graphics classes. For most freshmen, the 12-inch PowerBook ($1,499), or even the iBook G4 ($999) would be a fine choice. Be prepared to spend a little extra for either model, as you'll need to buy a copy of the Mac version of Microsoft Office, which costs $150 for students.
Unfortunately, I am among the small percentage of the population that can actually perceive light fluctuations at 60 hertz — or cycles per second — the rate at which many monitors redraw their screens. This means a standard computer monitor looks like a strobe light to me, and gives me a whopping headache, if I spend a couple of hours in front of one. Is there a solution?
Yes. Most monitors offer settings that allow them to operate at higher rates — say 75 Hz — which cycle faster and thus offer less visible flickering. This setting is called the "refresh rate." It is adjustable from both Windows and Macintosh computers. You may be able to end your problem just by changing this setting to a higher refresh rate. It's a good idea to use the highest refresh rate that your monitor can handle.
In Windows, you can find this setting in the Display control panel, which is in the Appearance and Themes group. In the Display control panel, click on the Settings tab. Then click on Advanced, and then Monitor, to find the available refresh rates.
On a Mac, just launch System Preferences, select Displays, and Click on the Display button to see the Refresh Rate choices.


text:
A Long Island home is in ruins after a driver took a speed bump so fast his Jeep jumped high in the air and smashed through a wall on the second floor.
The spectacular wreck happened just after midnight Saturday in East Moriches.
Homeowner John Sarli was asleep on a sofa when the crash awakened him. The vehicle ripped a giant hole in the side of the house and fell into a foyer on the first floor, landing with its
headlights pointing skyward.
Sarli was alone in the home and wasn't hurt. The 20-year-old driver suffered minor injuries, while a passenger walked away unscathed.
Suffolk County police arrested the driver on charges including driving while intoxicated and reckless endangerment.
Copyright AP - Associated Press


text:
In this session you will be exposed to one freelancer's adventures of getting all projects arranged into a manageable version control system.
Specific topics will include:
Emma Jane Hogbin has been working as a web developer since 1996. Her infectious enthusiasm and ability to explain concepts without using technical jargon puts even the greatest technophobes at ease. Passionate about helping people to acquire knowledge, Emma Jane volunteers with the Drupal and Ubuntu documentation teams. She is well-known in the Drupal community for not only her technical knowledge but also her engaging and humorous means of bringing Drupal to a wider audience…such as the Drupal socks and their GPLed pattern. Through her consulting company HICK Tech, and at conferences around the world, Emma Jane has inspired people to overcome fear, uncertainty, and doubt and to tackle problems head-on. She chronicles her adventures at www.emmajane.net.
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text:
Welcome to a new world of Danganronpa, and prepare yourself for the biggest, most exhilarating episode yet. Set in a "psycho-cool" environment, a new cast of 16 characters find themselves kidnapped and imprisoned in a school. Inside, some will kill, some will die, and some will be punished. Reimagine what you thought high-stakes, fast-paced investigation was as you investigate twisted murder cases and condemn your new friends to death.
Are you ready?
A New Danganronpa Begins - Forget what you thought you knew about Danganronpa and join a completely new cast of Ultimates for a brand-new beginning.
Murder Mysteries - In a world where everyone is trying to survive, nobody's motivations are quite what they seem. Use your skills to solve each new murder or meet a gruesome end.
Lie, Panic, Debate! - The world is shaped by our perception of it. Fast-paced trial scenes will require lies, quick wits, and logic to guide your classmates to the right conclusions.
New Minigames - Between the madness of murdered peers and deadly trials, enjoy an abundance of brand-new minigames!
© Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Licensed to and published by NIS America Inc. "DANGANRONPA" is a registered trademark of Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
|Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.
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|ESRB Rating
|RP - Rating Pending
|Mystery Adventure
|PlayStation®Vita system


text:
AFGE says Defense let contractors off the hook.
Defense Department guidance on preparations for the possibility of sequestration unfairly targets civilian employees, according to a major federal employees union.
The American Federation of Government Employees sent a letter to a top Pentagon official Wednesday sharply criticizing the department for proposing to slash civilian jobs over contracted jobs, bypassing labor negotiation requirements and ignoring recommendations made by the union in the event of automatic budget cuts set to go into effect March 1 if lawmakers can't agree on an alternative.
While AFGE commended Defense's Acting Assistant Secretary for Readiness and Force Management Frederick Vollrath for his openness and communication, it said his directives would harm not only the workforce but also the American people. While civilians face hiring freezes, firing of temporary and term employees, incentives to retire and furloughs, the contract workers "emerge relatively unscathed," said AFGE National President J. David Cox, Sr. Such a contrast, Cox wrote, would come at the added expense of the taxpayer.
Cox also condemned the possibility of turning civilian workers into contractors. He called the shift illegal and unnecessary. He added that executives at Defense have not been properly notified of their obligation to bargain with unions like AFGE.
Finally, AFGE criticized Defense for ignoring recommendations made by the New Beginning Design Team, a joint review board made up of union and Defense representatives.
Cox said sequestration, coupled with civilian workforce cuts built into the National Defense Authorization Act, create an unfair scenario for Defense employees.