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> Recommended Daily Water Intake
Recommended Daily Water Intake
I know that drinking water is important. How much should I be drinking each day?
Water is essential indeed! If we don't ingest enough fluid, dehydration can set in quickly. To gauge the importance of water relative to food, consider that severe dehydration can lead to death within a matter of days, whereas we can go for weeks without food.
Approximately 55-60% of our body weight is water. That's why our body weight can fluctuate so dramatically and quickly… especially after exercise in the heat when we can lose large amounts of body water to sweat. Our bodies depend on water to keep our cells and body systems running smoothly. Most importantly, it is used to maintain blood volume, which is imperative for regulating body temperature and delivering oxygen and nutrients to the rest of the body. Water also provides a medium for the biochemical reactions that occur at the cellular level. In addition, water is crucial for the removal of waste products through the formation of urine by the kidneys.
It's important to realize that we can get our fluid requirements from the food we eat, as well as the fluids we drink. For instance, an orange is 87% water! Good sources of water are:
Fruits & Vegetables
Drinks, especially non-caffeinated ones like fruit juice
And the best source of all… good ol water!
There are many different methods for calculating daily fluid requirements. However, a simple equation to help adults figure their fluid needs is that for every pound of body weight, you need about half an ounce of fluid intake per day. For instance, if you weigh 140 lbs., simply multiply 140 by .5 to estimate your daily fluid needs in ounces, then divide by eight to estimate your fluid needs in cups per day, rounding up to the nearest full cup. [example: 140 x .5 = 70 ounces; 70 ounces divided by 8 = 9 cups of fluid per day]
0.5 ounces x Body Weight in Pounds = Daily Fluid Requirement in ounces
The other common way to calculate daily fluid needs is to base the fluid need on caloric intake. 1 milliliter of fluid for every calorie ingested. Converted to the household measurement of ounces, your body needs .034 ounces for every calorie that you ingest.
0.034 ounces x Daily Caloric Intake = Daily Fluid Requirement in ounces
As you calculate out what your daily fluid requirements are, you'll probably realize that it is close to that common recommendation of 8 - 12 cups per day. However, the above equations will give you a more accurate guideline because fluid needs vary depending on body size. It's also important to realize that fluid requirements can vary dramatically under extreme conditions such as exercise, especially in hot and humid environments, and during illness associated with fever. These situations require increased fluid needs. Drink up!
Our expert, Dr. Sharon E. Griffin, holds a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in the areas of exercise science/physiology. She also holds a second M.S. degree in Nutrition and is a licensed nutritionist and an ACSM certified health and fitness instructor.
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At the Washington Post website, self-styled Mormon Girl Joanna Brooks has a piece on what progressive Mormon women want in context of the upcoming presidential contest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney. (link) She pulls into it a First Presidency Message by Spencer Kimball, "The False Gods We Worship," which appeared in the Ensign 36 years ago:
Progressive Mormon women remember that in 1976, LDS Church President Spencer W. Kimball warned members of the church that Americans had become a "warlike people" who "idolized" military and industrial power at the expense of human welfare.
President Kimball did address idolatrous militarism in three striking paragraphs which have been much repeated in the decades since. I wasn't quite sure, though, what Sister Brooks was referring to regarding "the expense of human welfare." President Kimball wanted idolatry to be replaced by the preaching of the gospel, service, repentance, baptism, and eternal life—probably not the sort of human welfare that Brooks' readers would have understand her to be alluding to.
Militarism wasn't the only of the "dark and miserable practices of men" that President Kimball preached against in that June 1976 Ensign:
The Brethren constantly cry out against that which is intolerable in the sight of the Lord: against pollution of mind, body, and our surroundings; against vulgarity, stealing, lying, pride, and blasphemy; against fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and all other abuses of the sacred power to create; against murder and all that is like unto it; against all manner of desecration.
That such a cry should be necessary among a people so blessed is amazing to me. And that such things should be found even among the Saints to some degree is scarcely believable, for these are a people who are in possession of many gifts of the Spirit, who have knowledge that puts the eternities into perspective, who have been shown the way to eternal life.
[Also posted at Junior Ganymede.]

subset: commoncrawl


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Sandinista! How Will Bush Make Nicaragua Pay for its Disobedience?
From the Guardian: The Sandinista leader and former Marxist revolutionary Daniel Ortega appeared to have mounted a spectacular political comeback last night after preliminary results showed he had won Nicaragua's presidential election in the first round. Mr Ortega led by a margin which seemed wide enough to avoid a run-off and to deliver a stinging rebuke to Washington, which had openly campaigned against him...Roberto Rivas, the head of Nicaragua's top electoral body, said the vote was clean and transparent. An army of 17,000 observers, including the former US president Jimmy Carter and EU officials, was expected largely to endorse that view.
Ortega ran and won with the backing of several prominent ex-Contras, including Jamie Morales, his own running mate. Morales had been the Contras' spokesman in Washington during the Reagan years when, with the direct involvement of VP George Bush, the Administration joined hands with the mullahs of Iran and the druglords of Central and South America to fund, arm and train a terrorist army to overthrow the Sandinista government. Although this exercise in mass state terrorism failed on the battlefield, the Reagan-Bush policy of economic terror managed to reduce Nicaragua to dire poverty, with the open threat that the stranglehold would go on until the Sandinistas were gone.
Of course, the stated reason for the Reagan-Bush hatred of Ortega was that he was an evil Commie tyrant and dictator who opposed democracy. However, oddly enough, when a majority of Nicaraguans bowed to the American blackmail in 1990 and voted against Sandinistas, these evil, anti-democratic Commie tyrant dictators....left office. They obeyed the obviously coerced but democratically expressed will of the people. And now, Ortega -- no shining knight but, in the end, a rather typical politician eager for power but with at least an inclination toward mitigating some of the most pernicious effects of predatory crony capitalism -- has been returned, democratically, to power...without "robocalls," without "push-polls," without strangely malfunctioning voting machines that only make "mistakes" in favor of one party, with "voter roll purges," etc. etc.
What will happen now? It's obvious: the Bush II administration -- which is clotted with many of the same Constitution-hating state terrorists who threw in with druglords and Islamic extremists during the Contra War -- has already announced its intention to resume the old economic terrorism against the wretchedly poor people of Nicaragua. American officials stated plainly that trade restrictions and cutbacks, if not cut-offs, in U.S. aid were in the cards if the Nicaraguans exercised their democratic rights in favor of the Sandinistas. They even sent Oliver North down to tour the country before the election -- the clearest possible signal for the rabble to get in line, rather like having Frank Nitti drive through the neighborhood to remind the shopkeepers to pay up their protection money to Al Capone.
The only question remaining is whether the Iran-Contra criminal gang now restored to the White House will be content with economic sabatoge of the Nicaraguan government. After all, this time Ortega will have the backing of Venezeula's Hugo Chavez, who has promised cheap oil and other economic benefits to the Sandinistas. The Washington squeeze play won't be quite as effective this time around. So will they move on to more physical methods of destabilization? Will they sponsor another mass-murdering civil war? Or will it be confined to covert ops? After all, the great googily-moogily of American intelligence, John Negroponte, made his bones in the region during the Reagan-Bush reign of terror, operating out of Honduras as the United States spread war and repression across Central America.*
Today's election in the United States won't make any difference to whatever Nitti-like plans the Bush Administration has in store for the disobedient Nicaraguans. Even if the Democrats take Congress, Negroponte, Bush, Cheney, Elliot Abrams (the convicted Iran-Contra liar) and the others will still be in power. The only thing a Democratic win might affect is how overtly or covertly the gang decides to take its revenge. But there's no doubt that one way or another, the Nicaraguan people are about to learn that in the Bush Imperium, democracy is never free; if you vote the "wrong" way, you've got to pay the price.
*For more background on the Reagan-Bush gang's bloodsoaked history in Central America, see the links after the jump.*
"Death, Lies, and Bodywashing,"
Consortiumnews.com, May 27, 1996
"Funeral Games,"
Chris Floyd, Counterpunch, June 11, 2004
"US Role in Salvador's Brutal War,"
BBC, March 24, 2002
"Guatemala: Memory of Silence,"
Report of the Commission for Historical Clarification,"
"Reagan's Dark Global Legacy,"
Counterpunch, June 7, 2004
"Reagan and Guatemala's Death Files,"
Consortiumnews.com, May 26, 1999
"The Ghost of Terror Past,"
Salon.com, Jan. 11, 2002
"Media Lies About Reagan and North,"
Altercation, June 8, 2004
Time for a U.S. Truth Commission (CIA terror manual, etc.)
Consortiumnews.com, Feb. 17, 1997 (via Third World Traveler)


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NFL coaches, players mingling more in locker rooms
Sean Payton walks through the locker room to leave motivational props for players. Ron Rivera practically lives there. Jim Harbaugh barges into the bathroom to rush players to meetings.
Gone are the days when NFL locker rooms were a players-only domain. More coaches are making their presence felt in a place they weren't always welcomed.
"That locker room is our locker room," Rivera said. "I have a vested interest in the locker room."
Some coaches pass through the locker room only occasionally — Giants coach Tom Coughlin and Tampa Bay's Lovie Smith — while some are regular visitors, stopping to chat with players and socialize with them on their turf.
Payton occasionally pops into the Saints' locker room to leave props such as a porcelain doll at a locker of a player he wants to exhibit more toughness. Sometimes Payton leaves a laminated card with an inspirational passage from a speech or text. Sometimes he drops off baseball bats with the inscription "bring the wood" before games against physical teams.
Rivera used to follow the old-school philosophy because he played for Mike Ditka in Chicago. Iron Mike stayed out of the Bears' locker room, leaving his players to rule there.
But Rivera crossed that imaginary "Do Not Enter" line last year and became a fixture in the room. His approach worked. The Panthers won the NFC South and Rivera was the NFL Coach of the Year.
"The biggest mistake I made my first two years was not being around," Rivera said. "I still have guys that when they see me, they say: 'Whoop. The man is in here.' And, they shut up. I don't care. It's our locker room."
When a bullying scandal erupted with the Miami Dolphins last year, coach Joe Philbin said he didn't know about it. In part, that was because Philbin didn't visit the locker room. He let the players police themselves.
Lesson learned.
"I think I have a better rapport, chemistry, with the players," Philbin said recently. "I've spent more time communicating with them in a one-on-one manner and in team meetings. I've been doing the bed check every single night at the hotel and just knocking on their doors and making sure that they're OK, busting their chops a little bit if they're awake."
The events in Miami were the focal point of a meeting between the NFL Players Association and league officials in the offseason. The NFL wants more supervision in the locker room to ensure players respect each other.
"The locker room is part of the workplace," Robert Gulliver, the league's executive vice president for human resources, said during a panel discussion at the NFL's career development symposium this summer. "Football is special and iconic, but we have to treat it as a place of work."
That means coaches have to make sure they're aware of the culture in their locker rooms. If the see any problems, they have to address them immediately.
"There should be no closed doors in terms of how you do it," Eagles coach Chip Kelly said. "We're just continuing to emphasize what we emphasized a year ago. We don't have any rookie shows, never have done that stuff. We're trying to get a bunch of guys who are good people."
Kelly encourages his assistants to visit with players in the locker room. He stresses togetherness and has no tolerance for players who don't put the team first.
"The more people get along and share the same vision and aspirations, the more you're going to get to where you want to get to," Kelly said.
Many coaches say they build camaraderie in the locker room. After ripping into players at practice, they find this can be a good place to soothe bruised egos.
"You go in (and say), 'It's just football. It's nothing personal — we're just talking about your football stinks; you're a pretty good guy,'" Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. "You want to make sure that they know that. You ask them to do a lot of things and you get a lot of feedback when you go through there and talk to them."
Chiefs coach Andy Reid learned the open-door policy from Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh. Reid also connects with his players through a leadership council that includes a representative from each position group.
"They can come to our office, we can go in the locker room," Reid said. "There are no walls, everything is free, coaches go in and mingle. Players, I think, appreciate that. I go in there and don't feel any walls there, no sneaking around, and they feel free coming up and talking to us."
Some coaches are more comfortable in the locker room than others.
"I'll go in every day just to see the guys," Jets coach Rex Ryan said. "I mean, they get intimidated because I'll be in shorts and that's about it because we have our sauna and whirlpool and I'll get in there. These are my guys. I'm comfortable wherever I am in that building. They're used to seeing me in there and in the hot tubs and the cold tubs and whatever."
Former players like Rivera and San Francisco's Harbaugh blend in nicely.
"You have to get to know their environment, get to know what's going on in their world with Twitter, with music, socially," Rivera said. "There's so many things that go on with these players that we didn't have."


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Progression 0.3: Bar Charts and Normalisation
The CHP posts are currently on a bit of a hiatus while I write up a couple of papers on CHP, and prepare for going to the SIGCSE conference as part of my day job. In the mean time, it seems that a few people have picked up and begun using my Progression Haskell benchmarking library. The problem with users is that they want new features. So, spurred on by a couple of emails, I've created a new release of the library: version 0.3.
The changes in version 0.3 are all centred around the graphing (which in turn caused changes to the config and command-line options). John Millikin asked if I could support having versions as the groups on the X axis, and benchmarks as the lines — the opposite to the current arrangement. He made the point that with few benchmarks and many versions this would provide a better visualisation. I've exposed the function that maps raw data into graphable data in the configuration, and have also added default (exposed) implementations for Progression's original transformation and the one that John wanted. Furthermore, I added a function that supports normalisation of the data (scaling by the corresponding benchmark times for the latest recorded version — perhaps I should make this configurable, too?). Normalisation should help if the benchmarks take noticeably different amounts of time — it is used by default, but configurable on the command-line.
Sebastian Fischer also emailed me to offer his opinion that my line graphs were inferior to bar charts, both in theory and in terms of visibility. He's right, and I have now corrected this by offering a choice between line graphs and bar graphs — I've actually made bar graphs the new default. I also made Progression print out its gnuplot script when it draws a graph — that way, if you know gnuplot and want to tweak something further manually, you can start with that script and work from there.
All of the above is configurable through Progression's Config data type, and via command-line options. Here is a demonstration of a normalised bar graph, with benchmarks as the major groups and versions as sub-groupings (i.e. a graph that uses the new defaults) — click it for a larger version:
As ever, the new version of Progression is available on Hackage — you can also get the source from its public darcs repository: darcs get http://patch-tag.com/r/twistedsquare/progression
March 2, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Wouldn't it be better if the benchmarks were normalized separately? Usually we don't care a lot about the running between different benchmarks when the "1.0" standard isn't specified :).
March 3, 2010 at 12:44 am
Thanks! This is exciting — now it's easy to chart the performance of a library over time, and bar-based reporting makes additional uses like comparing unrelated libraries reasonable.
Here's a simple example of drawing benchmarks as lines, showing performance improvement over time: http://i.imgur.com/cPjwH.png
July 16, 2010 at 5:47 am
When I try to run progression, it generates the bench-name.csvs fine, but when generating plot.csv and plot.png, I get a:
normalise: base not found
error instead, ideas?


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Jerry Lynn Shoot Interview DVD
Former ECW World Champion.
Former TNA X-Division Champion.
Former WWE Light Heavyweight Champion.
Journeyman Wrestler and Crusierweight Legend.
The New FN Show comes DVD for the FIRST TIME EVER in a shocking new shoot interviewand he's PISSED!
Jerry Lynn, a name synonymous with quality wrestling, has been everywhere in the wonderful world of pro wrestling. He's wrestled under a hood as Mr. JL on Nitro. Had career defining matches against RVD in ECW. Was one of the forefathers of TNA's much heralded X-Division in the company's early existence. Had well respected WWE Light Heavyweight Championship run that was sparked with controversy. Lynn has traveled up and down the long road of wrestling and has seen it all. Now he's come to RF Video for an exclusive shoot interview that allows him to speak his mind openly on his travels and career.
Without any restrictions, Jerry was finally free to air his feelings on many subjects in his career that he has had to keep a lid on until now. You'll get his first hand thoughts on every subject imaginable including, ECW, WWE, Japan, TNA, Global, CZW, 3PW, WCW and every other Podunk wrestling company he worked in between. You want to see bridges get burned? Well hold on tight as Jerry's holding the match and is ready to light a humongous fire!
Long time ECW fans are going to finally here what Lynn thought about all the big names in the company. Paul Heyman. Steve Corino. RVD. Tajiri. Rhino. Justin Credible. Stuff that has never been talked about before finally comes to the front of the table. Bounced checks. Finally being given the strap. Sandman naked in the ring down in Florida. Refusing to work the last PPV against Van Dam. It's all here and so much more!
But it's not just ECW as Lynn spends a lot of time in the other three circuses he was at, WWE, WCW, and TNA. You'll hear about his infamous matches with X-Pac. You'll get Lynn's true feelings on Dixie Carter. You'll discover who the three WCW workers were that sabotaged his career. This is one of the most incendiary shoots that has ever beenand we couldn't be prouder of it. Three solid hours of one of wrestling's best hands being able to speak without limits for the first time.
How did you break into the business
What were your life plans before wrestling
Who did you enjoy watching growing up
Memories of Brad Rheingans
Memories of your first match
Memories of Horace the Psychopath
Memories of Lenny Lane
Memories of wrestling in the CWA
Thoughts on Jerry Jarrett
What do you remember about your first matches with Sean Waltman
Did you think you had something special
Did you guys get any heat early on or in Global from the vets for having such a high flying match
How did you get into Global
Memories of Joe Pedicino
Memories of Scott Levy
Memories of Mick Foley
Did you think Global would succeed
Why did you leave Global
Memories of Crossing the Bridge and how that came about
Memories of the UWF and teaming with Sean
How did you wind up in Michinoku Pro
Memories of your tours
Memories and thoughts on Taka Michinoku
Memories and thoughts on Great Sasuke
Is Sasuke�s ego was big as some people say
Was the style hard on your body
Who gave you the Sultan gimmick
Did you like wrestling with a mask
How come you didn�t stay long in Smokey Mountain
Thoughts on Jim Cornette
You had some WWF tryout matches, how did they come about
How did they go
How did the locker room treat you
How did you wind up in WCW
Initial impressions of Eric Bischoff
Who�s idea was it to put the mask on you
Memories of your matches with Sabu
Were you frustrated working there
Memories of matches with Dean Malenko
Memories of matches with Chris Jericho
How bad were the politics over there
How bad
Average Customer Review: 1 Reviews
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His arms thrust high … and just like that, the weight seemed to lift off the shoulders of a jubilant Anze Kopitar after his second goal of the season.
Nothing quite like an overtime goal against the league's best team to do the trick. The Kings center had broken a season-long scoring drought last week, but his game-winner on the power play at 2 minutes 32 seconds was in a different category, leading the Kings to a 4-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks in overtime on Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Kopitar, who has scored three game-winners in overtime in his career, also set up the tying goal, by Justin Williams, in the third period, also on the power play at 12:21. Williams had a goal and an assist, Mike Richards added two assists and the other two Kings goals came from defenseman Drew Doughty and center Jarret Stoll, who also scored in Tuesday's loss against the Coyotes.
Beyond the basics is another stunning statistic: The Kings have not lost when the game has extended beyond regulation. They've won four times in shootouts and twice in overtime.
This was a true measuring stick-type game. Fourteen games into a lengthy NHL season is as good a time for a legitimate test for the Kings as any occasion.
Presenting the Sharks: not quite this season's Chicago Blackhawks, but close enough with just one loss in regulation in 12 games before Wednesday night.
The Kings were attempting to make it two losses in regulation in 13 games but stumbled early, regained their footing and finally equalized in the third period when Williams scored on the power play to make it 3-3.
"I think it's no surprise it's going to be a great game like that," Stoll said in a TV interview after the game. "You could tell we were pushing and pushing.... Great shot. It was good to see. Kopi can find those holes. We found a way to get a win."
Stoll also has started to find his scoring touch.
"It feels good to contribute and chip in.… We're not going to win with one or two lines," he said.
San Jose center Logan Couture set up the first goal and scored the Sharks' third goal on the power play late in the second period. The other Sharks goals came from Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Joe Pavelski.
This was the first meeting between the teams since their electric playoff series in the Western Conference semifinals in late May. The Kings won that battle in seven games, clinching the series at Staples Center.
The Sharks went off to the lake, retooled and refreshed and have pretty much run the table in October, losing only once in regulation, at Boston on Oct. 24.
Somehow, it was fitting that Williams was the one to extend the game. After all, he was the playoff hero of Game 7, scoring twice in that one to send the Kings to the conference final.
That was only one of the few similarities to Game 7.
The Sharks and Kings had their share of October-type miscues. San Jose took two bench minors, including the one leading to the Williams goal.
And the Kings committed three offensive-zone penalties, and the last could have been costly. They had just tied the game when left wing Daniel Carcillo went off for boarding Couture at 14:30, one of his typical ill-advised adventures. But the Kings dug deep and killed off the penalty and managed to push the game into overtime.
These were the moments designed to create sleepless nights for coaches. Or, at the very least, sure to create many future video sessions for attentive players.
Twitter: @reallisa


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Diversifying to build on a healthy seasonal business
Seven months a year, Lisa Costa's small business suffers from its own version of the "baby blues."
That's when revenues at Costa's Riverhead firm, Hamptons Baby Gear Ltd., take a nosedive. The 4-year-old rental company, which provides everything from cribs to baby swings, generates about 90 percent of its sales between May and September, courtesy of the Hamptons crowd. The rest of the year, Hamptons Baby struggles to pay its bills, including its monthly rent of $1,500.
"I can't survive without increasing business in the off-season months," said Costa, 46, the firm's owner, as well as a 14-year-veteran of the Town of Southampton Police Department.
The firm's seasonal peaks and valleys are typical of many businesses targeting vacationers summering in East End and North Fork communities. But experts said Hamptons Baby has several options for overcoming off-season lulls, including bringing in additional products that would appeal to the region's year-round residents.
"It's about thinking outside the box," said Joel Evans, distinguished professor of business at Hofstra University's Frank G. Zarb School of Business.
A vacation five years ago with her husband and two kids, now ages 5 and 8, led Costa to go the entrepreneurial route. Hamptons Baby is modeled after an Arizona rental firm that provided her family with a crib and car seats.
Early on, Costa took on a business partner and invested $10,000 to purchase a smattering of items, including five cribs and a couple of booster seats and high chairs. By the end of the first summer, the firm had spent as much as it had generated in revenue -- $30,000 -- to meet the strong demand for its leased wares.
Costa's Southampton home and her partner's East Quogue residence doubled as their warehouse. But by the end of the second year, faced with her partner's exit from the business and a growing inventory, including beach umbrellas and wagons, Costa moved to a 1,400-square-foot office and warehouse space in a corporate park.
"It's extremely hard to flourish for only five months of the year and not have a huge nest egg," said Costa. "I start at a negative before the summer hits."
Since the company's birth in 2009 and thanks to its website and customers' cooing, gross revenues have quadrupled -- from $29,000 to $120,000 last year. Yet the firm has just broken even, Costa said. Hamptons Baby employs four full-time and six part-time workers during the summer, two part-timers in the off-season and an office manager year-round. In addition, the company owns two delivery vans.
Product diversification is one way for Hamptons Baby to lift its winter revenues, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group, a Port Washington market research firm. Cohen suggested Costa expand to include consumer electronics, which would broaden the customer base to year-round residents.
"This is about going beyond summer customers and stretching the calendar to keep the business going," Cohen said.
With that goal in mind, Costa last year promoted her baby gear in mailings to Long Island real estate agencies and hotels, but found that her printed materials got lost on recipients' desks. She now plans to visit potential accounts. Cohen said Hamptons Baby could also profit from alliances with bed-and-breakfasts.
And Evans suggested reaching out to children's clothing stores and other baby- and kid-friendly businesses to enlist their help in promoting Hamptons Baby's wares, offering them a share of the proceeds they generate for her firm.
Nursery schools and day care centers could also be potential sources of revenue in the off-season, said Evans. With their registration numbers typically varying from one year to the next, they may find it more cost efficient to lease their baby furnishings -- rather than spend a lot of money to buy items that may get little use.
Evans also recommended offering rental agreements with an option to buy, a strategy that would enable the firm "to turn over inventory faster and acquire new items."
For her part, Costa regards western Long Island as her next frontier, based on Hamptons Baby's recent rentals in Great Neck and Roslyn. She now plans to develop that market further with ads in community newspapers.
Company: Hamptons Baby Gear, Ltd., in Riverhead
Owner: Lisa Costa
Founded: 2009
Employees: 4 full time and 6 part time during the summer; 2 part-timers in the off-season
Revenues: $120,000


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The economic consequences of a fuel levy reform in South Africa
Ramos MabuguI; Margaret ChitigaII; Hammed AmusaI
IFinancial and Fiscal Commission, Midrand
IIDepartment of Economics, University of Pretoria
This paper assesses the economic effects of a hypothetical fuel levy imposed by South African provinces. The welfare effects of increasing the fuel levy by 10 per cent are negative but very small. Similarly, the marginal excess burdens for efficiency and equity (poverty) are quite low, suggesting much smaller impacts of the intervention on both economic activity and equity. Furthermore, a fiscal policy reform that raises fuel levy by 10 per cent is progressive as it has stronger negative effects on higher income households than on lower income households. A potential source of instability for the macroeconomy and total government revenue is the negative effect on economic activity induced by the fuel levy increase. The remedies suggested are that policymakers should make tax room elsewhere in the intergovernmental fiscal system to accommodate the fuel levy increase.
Keywords: Fuel levy; Intergovernmental Fiscal Relations; Social Accounting Matrix
"Full text available only in PDF format"
DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY (DME) 2005. Digest of South African energy statistics 2005, available at Department of Minerals and Energy website: www.dme.gov.za. [ Links ]
DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY (DME) 2009. Archive of fuel prices, available at Department of Minerals and Energy website: www.dme.gov.za. [ Links ]
FINANCIAL AND FISCAL COMMISSION 2006. Fiscal social accounting matrix for South Africa. Financial and Fiscal Commission, Midrand, South Africa. [ Links ]
KANTOR, B.S. & BARR, G.D.I., 1986. The impact of a change in the price of petrol on the South African rate of inflation. Journal for Studies in Economics and Econometrics, 26: 35-57. [ Links ]
MCDONALD, S., REYNOLDS, S. & VAN SCHOOR, M., 2006. Economic impact of a provincial fuel levy: A CGE analysis, South African Journal of Economics, 74(3): 422-451. [ Links ]]]>
SANEA, 2003. South African energy profile 2003. Johannesburg, South Africa. [ Links ]
SMIT, B., VAN DER BERG, S., KRUGER, D., ADAMS, I., ELLIS, L., GUTUZA, T., LOOTZ, L., MBANGELELI, K., MURRAY, C., PIENAAR, W., RAMUHULU, L., SALLER, K., SCHOLTZ, A. & SHERATON, M. 2003. The feasibility of a fuel tax levy in the Western Cape. Bureau for Economic Research, November 2003. [ Links ]
SOUTH AFRICAN PETROLEUM INDUSTRY ASSOSIATION. 2006. SAPIA Annual Report 2006. _http://www.sapia.co.za. [ Links ]
WAKEFORD, J. 2006. The impact of oil price shocks on the South African macroeconomy: History and prospects. Paper presented at the DPRU/TIPS conference 2006 Johannesburg. [ Links ]
VAN HEERDEN, J., GERLAGH, R., BLIGNAUT, J., HESS, S., MABUGU, R. & MABUGU, M., 2006. Searching for triple dividends in South Africa: Fighting CO2 pollution and poverty while promoting growth, Energy Journal, 27(2): 113-142. [ Links ]]]>


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Some would've thought it was impossible for Mexico's troubled year to take a turn for the worse, but on Sunday at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., the impossible came to life.
In their opening match of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, El Tri fell to Panama, 2-1, thanks to a brace from Gabriel Torres. Marco Fabián notched the lone Mexican goal.
Torres, who plays for Venezuelan club Zamora FC, opened the scoring with a penalty in the 7th minute, after Mexico's Raúl Jiménez brought down Alberto Quintero in the box.
Fabián then equalized in first-half stoppage time, collecting a chipped pass from Israel Hernández and beating Panamanian goalkeeper Jaime Penedo with his shot.
But Torres had the last word, in the 48th minute, beating Jonathan Orozco at the near post with a right-footed shot.
The Mexicans pressed for much of the rest of the match, but were unable to break through.
The loss is another blow to Mexico, who have struggled to impose themselves in the CONCACAF Hexagonal of World Cup qualifying. After the match, a phalanx of media awaited Mexico coach José Manuel "Chepo" de la Torre, who is now under even more pressure amid calls from some quarters for his firing.
''We have to analyze the situation and come back in better form and look to get to the next round,'' de la Torre said. ''The main objective is to qualify for the World Cup. Of course, we also have this objective to try and get this Gold Cup title.''
Mexico are now in third place in Group A, while Panama are at the top.
El Tri next take on Canada, who were stunned by Martinique in their opening match, in Seattle on Thursday. Panama face the island nation the same day.


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I'll begin this publicly but may not publish my responses to all the prompts, or even complete all the responses. Here goes!
Prompt #1: Who Am I?
Ask yourself 20 times, "Who are you?" Record 20 or more different responses.
I am
- a beloved daughter of God and a daughter of earthly parents.
- a sister, sister-in-law, cousin, wife.
- a mother.
- a descendant -- a member of a very large family.
- a lover of life (despite it's challenges!).
- an Airedale lover. (If I can't have an Airedale I don't want a dog.)
- a quilter.
- an introvert and a very private person (which makes it surprising that I'm publishing this meme; it may be too public for me). Read Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain to learn more about that aspect of who I am.
- a wonderer. If my mind isn't actively engaged in what I'm doing, I'm wondering about one thing or another, more often than not something about my ancestors, their lives, how to find them, their living situations, etc.
- a shameless chocoholic. My current favorite is Nestle Crunch bars but when it gets cooler I'll go back to Reese's minis. And then there's Heggy's peanut patties and chocolate covered marshmallows, for all seasons.
- a family historian.
- a covenant keeper.
- a collector: of seed pods, bird nests, feathers, beautiful natural objects; fabric; paper and office supplies;
- a reader.
- a writer.
- a friend.
- a researcher. Anything that interests me, for however brief or long the research may be to find answers to my questions. I'm grateful for the internet which has brought the world to my home. Books did that before but in a slightly more detached way, perhaps.
- a learner. I learn best by reading first, then sometimes by seeing illustrations or photos, and finally by doing and referencing back to what I've read.
- a blogger, which is a lot like being a writer, but different.
- an attentive listener. A perfect fit is an introvert who likes to listen and someone who loves to talk.
- a thrift store shopper. They are the department stores where I can find one-of-a-kind items.


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During the consultation you will discuss reasons for joining the gym and any goals you have.
After the consultation you will be inducted in either the weights room or fitness suite (your choice) which involves the instructor showing you how to safely use all of the equipment and enough exercises for you to get started in the gym. You will then have a go to demonstrate you can safely perform the exercises and machines shown.
The entire induction and consultation process can take from 30-60mins depending on prior gym experience and if you choose to discuss your diet and have any optional measurements taken. We can induct two people at a time so if your partner, friend or family member is also joining the gym they can be inducted at the same time (providing they wish to use the same room as you). Inductions with two people typically last 50-90 minutes based on prior gym experience and measurements as discussed above.
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The Centre is open to the public during the times stated above. The fitness suite and weights room are open throughout our opening hours. Between 09.00-15.30 during term time weekdays, other facilities are subject to availability.


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Yesterday I tweeted something that people seemed to find very interesting:
23:36: Orgs I have seen all over Haiti: Partners in Health, Doctors Without Borders, Unicef, USAID. Orgs I have seen none of: Red Cross, Yele Haiti
23:37: And I have been looking. And I have been *around* — walking, driving, in tap taps, on motorbikes, etc..
With the capacious amount of donations directed towards Haiti relief and rebuilding efforts in the immediate aftermath of the quake, lots of which was made possible by technologies that enabled individuals to donate via text message, everyone seems to be wondering: Is my money going where it was intended? Is it making tangible differences in the quality of life of Haitians who were injured or displaced by the earthquake?
So I've been keeping my eyes open for organizational efforts over the past 10 days that I've been in Haiti.
Of the donated tarps I've seen that people are using as walls and roofs on the make-shift shelters they've built on the sidewalk and streets outside their crumbled homes, many bear the USAID logo. All over Haiti, every day, you see teams of people wearing bright yellow shirts, rolling wheelbarrows full of rubble away from buildings, picking up trash, and laying the foundations for new buildings. These people are part of the "Cash for Work" program, which is a part of OTI (Organization of Transitional Incentives) and DAI (Development Alternatives Inc.), orgs that were hired by USAID to clean up government properties like schools and community centers. These people make between $8 and $9 a day, depending on the exchange rate.
I've seen lots of tents and outposts that are clearly marked as UNICEF areas, especially in the downtown areas where the population is the most dense. I passed one location where two huge UNICEF tents were pitched outside a partially-collapsed building, and Alain and I stopped to ask one of the UNICEF personal (clearly designated by the t-shirt he was wearing), what they were doing there. He said the building was a primary school, and the tents were serving as temporary classrooms:
Walking through the middle of the tent city that formed on the grass of the central park in PetionVille where the sidewalks are lined with vendors selling Haitian paintings, the flaps on the latrines — which somebody had to dig out— bear the red Medicales Sans Frontiers (Doctors Without Borders) logo. I have also seen several MSF stations, as well as stations for Partners in Health, set back from the roads and the chaos, where people can go to receive medical treatment.
Last Wednesday, Alain and I decided to hike up a steep hill in Port-au-Prince, through a residential area where people were living in floor-less huts with walls of sheet metal, to the ruins of Hotel Castel. On the way back down, we ran into people from Doctors Without Borders delivering three 1,000 gallon containers: Two full of water and one empty one to be used as a waste receptacle.
They literally are doctors without borders. Nothing gets in their way. We spoke with those two employees for a while about what they were doing and they said they faced a number of technological obstacles, but they found creative solutions around them because they can only work with what they have.
On the converse side, organizations that I have not detected anywhere throughout my journies are the Red Cross and Yele Haiti, Wyclef Jean's organization. These were perhaps the organizations that I heard the most about in the U.S. before I came here, and they have collected quite a substantial amount of donations. I didn't really think about it until I read the blog post, "Where's the American Red Cross in Haiti?" shared with me by Emma Jacobs, my counterpart at Haiti Rewired. (Note: I would be especially critical of/disregard complete the anti-vax scare stuff at the bottom…)
This is not to say that those organizations are not present here and are not contributing. Perhaps they don't focus as much on branding on the resources that they are providing or the uniforms their employees wear, or perhaps I have simply been in different areas than where their efforts are focused. But I know who I have seen here contributing to the relief and rebuilding efforts, and who I will be donating to in the future.


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Millions of ducks and geese come down the flyways each fall, just as they have done for eons. Likewise, thousands of waterfowl hunters lie in wait, hoping to coax a few of the magnificent birds within shotgun range. A growing number of hunters are utilizing small watercraft to assist their efforts in outsmarting migratory waterfowl. I joined that crowd years ago, and the rewards far exceed the efforts.
|Canoes make great small-water duck boats. Square sterns allow for the addition of a trolling motor.
Why Watercrafts for Waterfowl?
Many state and federal waterfowl areas consist of massive acreages dedicated to intensive management practices that entice migrating waterfowl to stop in each season to feed and rest. These areas contain shallow waters complete with abundant food supplies. Managers often gradually increase water levels as the season progresses to keep a constant supply of food available to puddle ducks and geese.
Designated wade-and-shoot areas within waterfowl management areas have become extremely popular. The downside, however, is the limitations placed on hunters. While wade-and-shoot hunts can be very rewarding, a wading waterfowler simply cannot carry many decoys or other necessities.
Areas that contain only a few inches of water and are not designated as wade-and-shoot only lend themselves to the use of small duck boats or hunting boats to transport man, dog, decoys and supplies. A small boat goes a long way toward improving both the ease and success of a waterfowl hunting adventure.
Small Watercraft Options
|A good duck boat should be complete with storage space and holders for shells and other necessities.
I was first introduced to the idea of lightweight waterfowl watercrafts when hunting at Missouri's Ted Shanks Conservation Area near the Mississippi River.
A few days later, I took my shallow draft 18-foot camo johnboat a few days later. I powered it with a 5-horsepower Mercury motor and a pushpole. Hunting alone, I could carry all the decoys I wanted, cooking equipment and supplies and still have room left over to utilize the remaining space as a layout boat. The 60-gauge aluminum makes the boat light enough that I can pick it up and carry it with one hand.
Kayaks are another possibility for shallow-water duck hunters, but most are very limited on space. If a hunter wants to travel light, these easy to paddle and maneuverable crafts are the ticket. I once owned a sit-inside kayak made by Old Town. The short kayak proved very stable, and I could easily get in and out of it, even while wearing waders. I strapped a dozen decoys on the front of the boat and stashed it in cover after tossing out my decoys.
Layout boats are the absolute ultimate for shallow-water duck hunters. They have a very low profile, draw little water, and with the appropriate camo, blend completely into the surroundings. Layouts are manufactured by many companies with a host of adaptations.
Stealth makes several models of duck boats in rugged 1-piece polythene construction. These are said to be some of the toughest duck boats on the market. The twin-hull design produces amazing stability, yet the boat floats in 5-inches of water. Features include two watertight compartments, twin gun racks with shell holders, wide cockpit, contoured seats, non-skid floor, and locations for oar-locks, dog platform, decoy slot and side storage. Molded-in handles make for easy lifting.
|The author uses his TRACKER GRIZZLY jon boat with Mercury outboard for deep channels and bigger pockets of water while waterfowl hunting.
Sneak boats are very similar to layout boats with few differences. Pirogues are common in the south and tend to be very small one-man boats. Both are highly effective in the right situations.
Johnboats come in a vast assortment of lengths and widths. Small boats, 18-feet or less, can often be used on waterfowl areas with deeper water or canals that lead to blinds, shallow water areas or fields. Many companies produce special edition johnboats as waterfowl hunting boats. One's imagination and budget are the limiting factors when it comes to choosing one of these boats.
I have owned several duck hunting boats over the years, but my current boat has proved to be my favorite. It is a 17-foot Grizzly johnboat equipped with a 50-horsepower Mercury outboard. The boat sports lots of storage room, a gunbox, non-slip finish and comfortable seats. I bought the boat with an OD green finish, purchased a stencil kit and camoed the boat myself in three hours. Dozens told me that it wouldn't work, but I've sat in my comfortable boat seat, without a blind over the boat, and harvested ducks on a regular basis. I simply toss a few pieces of camo material around to cover the console and other shiny areas.
Choosing a duck hunting boat can be a daunting task. If you begin your search by identifying your specific needs, the type of boat necessary will materialize in your mind as you do your homework. However, if you're like me, you probably have several different waterfowl hunting styles. I own a specific boat to match each style — canoe, kayak, sneak boat and a big jon boat. I need a pirogue to round out my fleet, but my wife says otherwise.


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Kurt Nimmo
June 19, 2012
Media outlets in Iran are reporting that Iran plans to participate in a war game with Russia, China and Syria in the near future and preparations will be carried out in the next few days.
Syria's Arabic language ShamLife website added that the preparations are progressing at an "accelerated pace" and will likely occur within a month. ShamLife reported that 90,000 troops from the four countries will participate in the exercise along with 400 aircraft, 1,000 tanks and a large number of rockets. Syria will test its air and coastal defenses during the exercise.
Iran's Fars New Agency also quoted "informed sources" as stating the exercise will include ground troops and joint air and naval forces. It said Russian nuclear submarines are prepared to sail to Syria and participate.
ShamLife said that China had gained permission to move twelve ships loaded with military equipment through the Suez Canal. The ships will reach the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia within two weeks, the website said.
Fars said no official word has come from the governments allegedly involved in the war game.
Over the weekend, Infowars.com reported that the Russian General Staff had announced it will send warships from the Black Sea Fleet to the Syrian coast to protect the Russian logistics base in Tartus.
On Tuesday, the Russian news source RIA Novosti said a Russian amphibious landing ship, the Caesar Kunikov, departed the Black Sea port of Sevastopol on Tuesday for what a Black Sea Fleet officer explained was a routine exercise.
On Monday, the Black Fleet command dismissed reports that the Russians would send arms to Syria aboard a large amphibious ship.
The Reopen America Back to School Special is now live! Earn double Patriot Points on our hottest items!


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|Southeast Spotlight
Black History Month Celebrated with Spirit at the JACC
Published: 02/16/2012 14:20:00
February is Black History Month, and in honor of that the Juneau Arts and Culture Center is hosting a very unique event. It's a series of workshops teaching local vocalists the basics of Gospel Music and they lead up to a concert on Sunday with the students themselves performing as the Choir.
VIDEO: February is Black History Month, and in honor of that the Juneau Arts and Culture Center is hosting a very unique event. (Image: Rik Pruett)
We spoke with the Reverend Bobby Lewis, who was directing the workshop, to learn more.
"They ARE the Choir, so they've been learning music and they're going to be reading, and reading dialogue and the whole night comes together like we've been together for a month, but we've only been together for five days."
Sherry Patterson, President of the Juneau Black Awareness Association and the Visionary whose idea's led to the event, gave us her insight as to its meaning for her.
"I think it's a time of unity and just coming together as a community to celebrate not only Black America, but just celebrate America and who we are with an emphasis of the Black accomplishments and achievements."
The Reverend Lewis supplied us with some of the particulars about the workshops.
"They're about 60 of them came in to learn music and what I do is teach them by rote, teach them spirituals, and we're going through a narration of the journey of Africans from the Gold Coast, the west coast of Ghana, to Virginia. And were doing narrations of what happened, how that happened, in between we're singing spirituals that leads up to gospel."
(Gospel Music Selection)
In ending, Mrs. Patterson spoke of the bond between the performers. "Harmony, Unity, we're all of one heart. Those who are here want to be here and we just are so excited to be taught and just to come together as one voice and one spirit."
By: Rik Pruett - email@example.com


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Trout earns second AL Player of the Month Award
Center fielder batted .361 with 21 RBIs and 18 extra-base hits in June
Mike Trout is on top of the pile. Trout, the Angels' sensational young center fielder, was named the American League Player of the Month on Wednesday for the second time in his career.
Trout batted .361 (30-for-83) with 18 extra-base hits last month. He also scored 20 times and drove in 21 runs for the Halos. The 22-year-old had seven homers in June, and he led all qualifying AL players in on-base percentage (.471), slugging percentage (.759) and extra-base hits.
Trout also ranked second in walks (18) and third in homers and total bases (63) last month, and both his batting average and RBIs were among the top four players in the league. Trout had a grand slam last month, and he also went through a span in which he had three three-hit games in a four-game span.
Trout has been the runner-up in the race for the AL Most Valuable Player Award in each of the last two seasons, and he currently stands with the second-highest vote total among all AL players in All Star balloting. Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista leads Trout on the All-Star ballot.
The Angels' No. 2 hitter has been an All-Star twice in his first three seasons, and he won his only other AL Player of the Month Award in July 2012. Trout was a rookie that season, also winning the AL Rookie of the Month Award four times in 2012.
Other players receiving consideration for the AL Player of the Month Award include Houston second baseman Jose Altuve, who batted .411 last month, and Baltimore center fielder Adam Jones, who hit .348 with nine home runs. Chicago rookie Jose Abreu -- who batted .313 with 10 home runs -- also received votes, as did Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, as well as Salvador Perez and Alcides Escobar of the Royals.


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Busy Busy0 comments Posted by Matt Grover at 1:50 pm
It's been little over a month since I last posted on here, not that I'm that regular with posting anyway, but still..
Been a busy month so far, and subsequently I'm fucking knackered! (there's no pleasing me!) Been good fun though and tomorrow, all being well, I'm off to Brussels for the final few days of this part of the BT job I've been on. (which reminds me I must check the train time for getting to St Pancras!).
As I've been busy, the comic script I've been working on has had to go on back burner for a few weeks, not a bad thing really, need to come up with some new stuff for it as it was too short, and as I had a pretty tight story worked out originally, it's hard to come up with something to extend it without just adding "stuff", I'll get there tho.
Couple of other projects bubbling under as usual, waiting for something to kick off. BTW anyone been watching "The Wrong Door"... Brilliant!
On the iPhone front, things are going pretty well and I'll chuck up another "Up and Running" post soon, maybe in a bit if you're lucky ;)
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Salaam and Greetings of Peace:
Because I could not stop for Death he kindly stopped for me. The carriage held but just Ourselves and Immortality. – Emily Dickinson
In December of 1986, I was operated on to remove my pituitary gland and the small benign tumor within it that had resulted in Cushing's Disease, and had caused a lengthy hospital stay in the beginning of that year. It was during that earlier hospital stay that I had the out-of-body experience I have written about in a previous post (which you can read here).
I remember the anesthesia being administered and being told to count backwards from one hundred. At about 96, I blinked my eyes, and when I opened them again an instant later, I was being wheeled back to my room. I asked the nurse, "When does it start?" She answered, "It's all over."
Eight hours had passed in the blink of an eye. It could have been eight years, or eight million. The anesthesia blanked me out of existence so completely, that I wondered if death was like that:
An instant that lasts for eternity!
In the years since those two events, and as I approach my sixty-fifth birthday, death itself holds no fear for me, because just as in the Angel of Death excerpt from Master of the Jinn, I really do consider it a mercy from God. But I cannot but wonder if one of those experiences holds the answer to the great mystery of what comes afterward. Both possessed the immediacy of experiential truth, but can both be real? Is the instant of nothingness a precursor to awaking on a different plane of existence? Can it be that our spirit, or soul, or ka, or whatever your faith calls it, leaves the physical body at death and after an instant of blankness, joins, or rejoins, the Eternal Godhead?
Socrates asked the same question, concluding: "Death is one of two things…Either it is annihilation, and the dead have no consciousness of anything; or, as we are told, it is really a change: a migration of the soul from one place to another."
My late father-in-law believed the former. Once I asked him if he thought that we live on after death. He said, "Yes, in blood and memory." In other words, we live on in the bloodline passed to our children and grandchildren and down the generations. And in the memory they carry of us, until that is lost in time, when those that still remember us have also died. He considered himself a realist.
And yet, the first law of thermodynamics, an expression of the principle of the conservation of energy, states that energy can be transformed (changed from one form to another), but cannot be created or destroyed.
Is that also true of the energy of consciousness, which is, after all, the only part of us that really would go on after the body dies? Or is it just our greater Self that goes on, our soul, which is that ineffable part of us that is always in touch with, and originally a part of, the Oneness of Divine Love? Inshallah, it is so. I do not mind at all leaving the lesser self behind; the individual ego with its fears and jealousy and enmity and regrets. Let it die as the electro-chemical brain and body functions come to a stop.
I know that love goes on. And after years on the Sufi path, I have seen what can only be described as a glimpse of… something other.
There is some comfort in the belief that the body is nothing but a shell for the evolution of consciousness, "to evolve toward the Godhead," as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the French philosopher and Jesuit priest wrote in The Phenomenon of Man.
And, so as not to waste what God has given, I am also an organ donor; I prefer to leave all organs that are still of any use to help others, and the rest to be cremated. I like the efficiency of the fire, taking up as little room at the end as I did at the beginning. And I like the idea of my ashes scattered to the winds of the world.
But does individual consciousness completely die? Or does the soul or greater Self have its own higher level of consciousness? My late Master, Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh, was asked this very question, and he said, "In the end, the drop becomes one with the Ocean, but it does not lose its wetness."
There is hope in that statement. I have studied many religions and their beliefs of the afterlife, and in all honesty they sound mainly the same, a heavenly paradise where the individual self consciousness, and often the resurrected body, is kept intact and rewarded or punished for its life on earth in just measure to its deeds. But if the individual self stops at the end of life, the afterlife must be something else entirely. What that something else, that wetness is, is one of the eternal questions of living beings. The ultimate mystery!
And that's what I'm counting on :) All questions are inevitably useless. The answer will come soon enough!
No mythology and metaphor for me. I want the great mystery, all of it, no matter what it is—a billion years in the blink of an eye, or an infinite panorama as vast as the universe; and an endless sea of stars on which to sail.
Death is an angel with two faces; to us he turns a face of terror, blighting all things fair; the other burns with glory of the stars, and love is there.
– T. C. Williams
Ya Haqq!


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Paging cultural and gender stereotypes: An Italian study has found that a healthy sex life improves men's life expectancy. Italians, why so randy? But wait! You have to be faithful. Sorry, Silvio.
According to the European Society of Sexual Medicine's Dr. Emmanuele Jannini: "What was evident from the research was that men who had active sex lives and were faithful to their partners had fewer cardiovascular complaints and lived longer. Increased sexual activity produces more testosterone, which leads to less depression and a better cardiovascular performance which means an improved metabolism." The research was carried out on 4,000 men apparently.
The strangest part about this whole thing is that nowhere does anyone explain why fidelity makes the difference, and primary sources on this have been frustratingly elusive. (Perhaps the study has not yet been published — ESSM's site turns up nothing, and Jannini is best known for allegedly locating the g-spot). Could it be lessened exposure to STIs? Better-quality sex over time with one partner? Or something else?
Image via vgstudio/Shutterstock.


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Gov. Tom Corbett's administration remained noncommittal after it received a one-month extension to tell the federal government whether Pennsylvania will be setting up a health insurance market under President Barack Obama's health care law.
HARRISBURG (AP) — Gov. Tom Corbett's administration remained noncommittal after it received a one-month extension to tell the federal government whether Pennsylvania will be setting up a health insurance market under President Barack Obama's health care law.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told Republican governors Thursday evening that the administration was responding to their request for more time by delaying a Friday deadline to declare their intentions until Dec. 14. States can still opt to have theirs run by the federal government or join in a partnership with Washington.
Corbett administration officials would not say Friday which direction they plan to take. But they say they have put off development of the online exchange by 2014 because too many questions about its cost and other operational details remain unanswered.
"We are still looking at it and you've heard me say this before, I'm looking at the cost," Corbett said earlier this month. "I'm looking at the cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers and whether we can afford it. I have some ideas of where we're going, but I'm not ready to announce it right now."
There is no penalty for launching a state-run exchange after 2014, Pennsylvania officials also say.
Some states, including New York and California, will run their own exchange. Texas and Virginia are among those that rejected it, meaning the federal government will run the exchange.
Many states put off a decision until after the Nov. 6 election, because the Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, had said he would move to repeal the 2010 law known as the Affordable Care Act. With Obama's victory, Republicans acknowledged that the law would go forward.
In her Thursday letter to the Republican Governors Association, of which Corbett is a member, Sebelius said her agency has given information and guidance to states regarding the law, and that more will be forthcoming.
Some Democratic lawmakers, insurers and hospitals want Corbett to set up a state-run system. The state's two largest health insurers, Pittsburgh-based Highmark and Philadelphia-based Independence Blue Cross, both prefer a state-run market, or at least as much state involvement as possible.
But given the tightening time frame to get one running by 2014, Highmark spokesman Michael Weinstein said it is more important that the market provide a broad choice of plans with all insurers regulated equally by the state.
"Those are critical for whatever structure emerges here in Pennsylvania," Weinstein said.
Geisinger Health System, which operates across central and northeastern Pennsylvania, prefers a state-run exchange because it would be better-tailored to the state and less bureaucratic.
"However, at this late date we have concerns as to whether there is enough time for such an exchange to happen," Frank Trembulak, Geisinger's chief operating officer, said in a statement. "At this point, we are awaiting the commonwealth's decision."
Sam Marshall, president of the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, which represents for-profit insurers, said he doesn't believe it is practical to expect the state to pass enabling legislation and begin accepting applications Oct. 1, 2013.
Regardless, "it is important to get it right from the outset, more than to get it done fast," Marshall said. "Because if it is to work, it will need consumer confidence from the outset."
The Washington, D.C.-based group Americans for Prosperity, which was founded by billionaire energy executives Charles and David Koch and spent tens of millions of dollars trying to defeat Obama in the election, is among those urging Corbett and other governors to reject it.
The new insurance exchanges will allow households and small businesses to buy a private health plan, and many will get help from the government to pay their premiums. Under the law, states that can't or won't set up exchanges will have theirs run by the federal government.
States considering a partnership have until mid-February to make a decision. The partnership option allows states to handle consumer relations and oversight of health plans, while the federal government does the bulk of the work, including handling enrollment and figuring out how much taxpayer-funded help consumers may be entitled to.


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Crazy Rich Asians PG-13
Play Trailer
"Crazy Rich Asians" follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu (Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Golding), to his best friend's wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick's family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. It turns out that he is not only the scion of one of the country's wealthiest families but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick's arm puts a target on Rachel's back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick's own disapproving mother (Yeoh) taking aim. And it soon becomes clear that while money can't buy love, it can definitely complicate things.
2h. 01min.
Opened August 15th, 2018
Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content and language CastConstance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Jeong, Harry Shum Jr., Awkwafina DirectorJon M. Chu WriterPeter Chiarelli, Adele Lim


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Yanks' decision to designate Nunez a tough one
HOUSTON -- The Yankees once viewed Eduardo Nunez as an everyday big league player, and even as a possible successor to shortstop Derek Jeter. No more, as Tuesday's moves strongly suggest that the next chapter of Nunez's career will come in a new uniform.
The Yankees designated Nunez for assignment, clearing a space on their 40-man roster for infielder Yangervis Solarte. Nunez lost his spot on the big league roster this spring when he was outplayed by both Solarte and another rookie, Dean Anna.
New York will have 10 days to trade, release or attempt to outright Nunez to the Minor Leagues through waivers. Nunez had previously been optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and general manager Brian Cashman suggested that a change of scenery may benefit Nunez.
"Tough call, but he's the way I went; it's just a tough call," Cashman said. "We thought through a lot of other different permutations, but I think it's best for right now to give him a new, fresh start, and we'll see where that takes him. We're allotted 10 days to make an assignment of his contract, so stay tuned."
Nunez, who turns 27 in June, owns a career .267 average in 270 big league games with the Yankees. The organization once thought of Nunez so highly, Cashman refused to include him in a July 2010 trade package with the Mariners that would have brought left-hander Cliff Lee to the Bronx.
Jesus Montero and the Yanks' choice of Nunez or Ivan Nova would have gone to Seattle in that proposed deal; instead, Lee was traded to the Rangers as a half-season rental and helped them advance to the World Series before returning to the Phillies.
"[Nunez] possesses a great deal of talent, and you can dream on him -- and we have -- as a potential everyday shortstop in the big leagues," Cashman said. "All that talent is still there, and I think his versatility does provide for a great deal of choices as a player on a Major League roster. We'll see what develops in the next 10 days."
Cashman said that the Yankees entered Spring Training envisioning Nunez on their Opening Day roster, but Anna and Solarte both opened eyes during camp. Solarte has more experience at second and third base than Nunez, and manager Joe Girardi expects to use Anna as Jeter's backup until Brendan Ryan returns from the disabled list.
"At times, clubs get into roster crunches and sometimes you have to put a good player on waivers," Girardi said. "I've said all along, it's someone that we've been very fond of, a great guy in the clubhouse. It's tough, but we'll see what happens."


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Legg Mason Inc. reported Friday a $453.9 million loss for the third quarter, following a previously announced $734 million writedown of certain assets.
On a per-share basis, the Baltimore-based money manager lost $3.45. For the corresponding quarter a year ago, the company earned $28.1 million or 20 cents per share.
Legg, which has been operating without a permanent CEO for four months, continued to see investor dollars flow out of its funds in the quarter ended Dec. 31.
The stock fell more than 3 percent Friday, closing at $26.79 per share, down 86 cents.
Greggory Warren, senior stock analyst with Morningstar Inc., said investors were disappointed by mutual fund flows, among other things. The latest quarter illustrates how far Legg must go to return to its heyday in 2007, when it managed more than $1 trillion in assets, he said. Assets under management in December totaled $648.9 billion.
"You don't get into the situation they got into and get out of it in a hurry," Warren said. "It's a long road."
Interim CEO Joseph A. Sullivan told analysts in a conference call Friday that "challenges remain," but he said he is optimistic about the company's prospects. He said the search for a permanent CEO, which involved a large number of candidates, is nearly over and an announcement would be made in the "not-too-distant future."
Chairman and CEO Mark R. Fetting stepped down in October after having been unable to revive Legg's stock price or stop the outflow of money from funds.
Legg's quarterly loss is the second in the past nine months. Last summer, Legg lost $9.5 million related to the costs of refinancing debt and launching two funds.
The loss for the October-December quarter followed a noncash impairment charge of $734 million, or $508 million after taxes, after revising the value of contracts acquired in Legg's Permal and Citigroup deals in 2005. Legg, announcing the charge in December, said it reduced the value given recent outflows, a reduction in projected growth rates, stock price uncertainty and the ongoing search for a permanent CEO.
Earnings were further dampened by $9.2 million in tax expenses in the quarter.
Revenue totaled $673.9 million, up 7 percent over the same quarter a year ago.
Assets under management at the end of December were down $1.8 billion from $650.7 billion three months earlier. Investors pulled $7.5 billion out of the funds during the third quarter, which was offset by market gains of $5.7 billion.
Sullivan told analysts that January's flow results are mixed. Legg had its best month in years in terms of investment dollars coming in from U.S. individuals but lost about $1 billion of institutional money, he said.
Sullivan said the investment performance of Legg's affiliates has improved and that the company received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch an actively managed exchange-traded fund.
Sullivan said Legg expects to complete the acquisition of European money manager Fauchier Partners, announced in December, in the current quarter. Fauchier will be merged into Legg's New York affiliate, Permal.
Macrae Sykes, an analyst with Gabelli & Co. in Rye, N.Y., said Legg's earnings results were in line with what he expected. Sykes has a "buy" recommendation on Legg stock, saying the company is selling at a good price and "generates significant cash flow, which they are using to buy back shares."
Investment performance has gotten better at its fixed-income affiliates, he noted, though that hasn't translated yet into better inflow of investor dollars. "It's an ongoing turnaround," he said.
Sykes said it will be good once Legg announces a permanent CEO and eliminates uncertainty over who will lead the company.
The search for a CEO has generated widespread speculation. Given all the moves Sullivan has made lately, he appears to be the favored candidate, Morningstar's Warren said.
"He's got a good relationship with the affiliates. He seems to be getting things done," Warren said. "This has been his interview over the last few months."
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(Pocket-lint) - When Apple announced the new iPad, CEO Tim Cook was quoted as saying the iPad's GPU was four times faster than Nvidia's Tegra 3. This is Apple taking on the competition head on. Nvidia has a serious graphics heritage and its Tegra 3 SoC is hugely powerful.
While the iPad's 5X chip has only a dual-core processor to the Tegra 3's quad, the 5X has a quad-core GPU. Nvidia's offering uses a GeForce GPU. In theory, Apple's multi-core graphics processor should work wonders - but just how wonderful can these wonders be? Three times more wonderful than Tegra 3? This is an important question, as both represent the flagship powerhouses' of currently available tablets.
Before we start, a brief word on how and why we conducted these tests. We were interested in seeing if the GPU was three times faster in real operation, not in benchmarking. After all, people buy tablets to play with them, not watch speed tests and benchmark apps. We figured the five main ways of pushing a GPU would be in rendering a web page, streaming 1080p video, playing a game and running an augmented reality app. Whichever does it smoother and quicker takes the win.
Video playback
There is a rather irritating issue we encountered with this test, involving screen resolution. Our new iPad has a display with 2048 x 1536 resolution, whereas the Transformer Prime we used is 1280 x 800. This makes testing how each would playback 1080p video impossible without using an external display.
We really wanted to test out high resolution video playback as it was something you would likely do often with a tablet. So we took a 1080p video and dropped its resolution down to 720p to compensate for the Prime's lower screen res.
Once loaded on to both tablets, we pitted them against each other in a similar speed test. It was 2.9 seconds for the new iPad to start playing back the video and, again, scrolling was instantaneous. For the Prime, it took 0.8 seconds.
One way of circumnavigating the 1080p issue is to make both tablets output the video at that resolution to an external display. Connecting both the Prime and the iPad up to our television set, we pushed out locally stored content from tablet to TV. The result was again absolutely instant and slick playback. What might cause issues isn't Tegra 3 itself, more the way Android handles external displays, which just isn't as straightforward. Still though, actual video itself caused no issues whatsoever.
Video Streaming
Another way to test how the GPUs cope with normal tablet situations is to look at how they stream video, both HD and SD. Using a combination of Netflix, iPlayer, Sky Go and HD videos on YouTube, we were able to get a decent idea of how the tablets dealt with content.
Netflix currently streams on tablets in standard definition, particularly irritating given its images and thumbnails just got bumped to Retina display res. We have tried to eliminate any lag created by downloading the content by using a 50mbps fibre optic Virgin Media web connection. This means, other than the tablets themselves, the only thing to get in the way of video playback is Wi-Fi connection. As neither has an ethernet port, the best we could do there was to stand in the same place near the router and make sure nothing else was connected to the network.
So here is what we got. It took the iPad 6 seconds to open up the Netflix application and 6.8 seconds to start playing back video. Scrolling through our test film to various points was so quick it was impossible to time. The Transformer Prime behaved very much the same: set to performance mode, the Netflix application opened up in 5.9 seconds and video began playing back in 7.6 seconds. Scrolling again caused no issues whatsoever.
Sky Go is a slightly more clunky app on Android than iOS but none the less, when it actually came to playing back video, had no issues on either tablet whatsoever, with near instant playback that was impossible to time on both. iPlayer behaved very much in the same way but again wasn't helped by the lack of a decent app on Android.
HD content on YouTube was the part of this test we were most excited about, as it should in theory be putting the GPU under a decent enough load. Sure enough, both managed to load a video in under a second and scrolled instantaneously. In fact no matter what video content we seemed to throw at both tablets, neither struggled in any way.
Loading a web page
One way to push a GPU is to boot up a graphically intensive web page, say something like vimeo.com. We would have liked to go for wechoosethemoon.org, but the fact it is Flash only creates problems for the iPad.
This got us thinking, in reality the differences between what Android and iOS do would make achieving a 4x better performance figure very difficult to test, unless everything was weighted heavily in Apple's favour - which it presumably was.
Problems aside, Vimeo is a HTML5 powered website with lots of high-quality video. Using Chrome for Android and Safari on iOS, we buffered up the rather beautiful Yosemite HD video. This caused absolutely no problems on either tablet, leaving us suitably impressed with both's performance and HTML 5 itself.
We wanted to take it further, however, so we loaded up nakshart.com. Powered by HTML 5, the site is like an 3D location-based star map. It is very demanding and definitely lagged up both our iPad and the Transformer.
So who booted it quickest? The iPad managed 7.6 seconds and the Prime 8 seconds. Once loaded, it was a different story, the Asus was very laggy indeed. The iPad, to be fair, was still stuttery enough for it not to be the smooth HTML 5 experience you would expect, but still better than the Prime.
Playing a game
Here is where we can really pit the two GPUs against each other. Using that graphical favourite, Shadowgun, we should be able to get a decent idea how both perform when it comes to gaming.
The quad-core GPU in the new iPad will be under particular stress here but should, theoretically, outdo the GeForce GPU in the Tegra 3. Playing Shadowgun on the Prime is very smooth and the dynamic water effects as well as hi-res textures ensure this is one of the top-looking tablet titles you can download.
On iOS, things are very much the same except for that it appears to load a lot quicker and has a very smooth frame rate. What is different is the anti-aliasing and texture resolution, which govern how smooth edges are and what surfaces in the game look like. Here is where Android takes a clear win.
This said, we don't think this is as far as gaming can go on tablets. In fact, the likes of Sky Gamblers on the iPad is, to us, as good as it gets. But it doesn't exist on Android. What does is optimised Tegra applications, which to us suit the more hardcore gamer, say like Backbreaker. This means the iPad might not necessarily be 4x faster for gaming but it will likely suit those who like pick up and play apps a lot better.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality apps ask SoCs and GPUs to do all sorts of complex tasks. As well as running the camera application, you need to apply graphics over the top of whatever the sensor is seeing, as well as look at location-based data. It is a demanding process that takes advantage of all the technical wizardry that a tablet provides.
Enter Layar, just about the most established augmented reality app there is in both the App Store and Google Play. From boot, we were looking at 6 seconds to launch the London Tube Layar on the Prime and 3 seconds on the iPad.
Next up we wanted to really overload the tablets, we did this by running Yelp, which brings up all sorts of local businesses and icons on the screen. It was buttery smooth on both tablets.
By this point in our testing we were beginning to realise that Apple's claim just doesn't apply in the real world. We were noticing tiny differences in speed between the two but nothing that would constitute a 4x increase. We could see a situation where, if we were to run benchmarking apps, then it could be a four times faster GPU. Then again, who sits with a brand new shiny tablet and just runs benchmarking figures through it?
So when it comes to actually using the Prime or iPad on a daily basis, the difference in speed between the two is negligible. It is the apps and the operating system that are really going to make things smoother for users. To quantify just how smooth this must be is nigh on impossible. What can be said from this test however is that both Tegra 3 and the new iPad are incredibly quick, so much so that it feels like they have hit a slight performance ceiling, with general tablet operation; streaming video or viewing websites, being instantaneous.
What do you think to Apple's claims? Let us know in the comments below ...