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Every morning, around 5 a.m., before the sunlight splashes on the beige bedroom walls of the weathered farmhouse in Upperco, Charlene Miller stirs, yawns — and prays.
Thank you, Lord, for helping me come through the night.
She doesn't get up. Several hours later, she nudges her husband of 49 years. Fred Miller wakens grumbling, as usual. But the old Baltimore Colt lineman rises, circles the bed and kisses her gently on the cheek.
Charlene stays put. Fred lumbers downstairs, rustles up breakfast and starts his chores around the 46-acre farm. He mows, stacks firewood in the corncrib, weeds the garden filled with tomatoes, eggplants and black-eyed peas, and tries to stay within earshot of the woman he dotes on, day and night.
Charlene Miller, 69, suffers from scoliosis, an abnormal curvature of the spine, and related degenerative back ailments. That, coupled with a stroke in 2009, has left her mostly bedridden for the past two years.
When she became disabled, Fred, an All Pro defensive tackle who played for Baltimore's 1970 Super Bowl champions, became housekeeper. At 70, he cooks, cleans, shops for and fusses over the woman he met while both attended Louisiana State.
"I'm not going to take her to a nursing home, leave her, and walk out the door like some people do," Fred said. "Our marriage vows said, 'in sickness and in health.' This is what it meant."
The back pain began before Charlene had her first child, in 1963 — a dull, throbbing ache that she attributed to her pregnancy. Doctors discovered scoliosis and warned that more pregnancies would aggravate her curved spine.
"Watch me," said Charlene, who bore four sons in six years.
"It wasn't a decision that was flagrantly made," she said. "Fred and I talked and prayed about it. He was the only male Miller in his family. I wanted more boys, if I could, for Fred."
The pain worsened and, in 1972, Charlene had disk surgery, the first of four back operations over the next seven years. She continued to care for family and farm. She was a den mother with the Cub Scouts and the hostess to Colts' families who came to the homestead for hayrides and pig roasts.
"I was hurting, but I didn't let it stop me," she said. "I chose to get up, and to do, and to make our lives as normal as a family could be. I felt like hell, but God got me through it."
At what price? Charlene now uses a walker to hobble around, and an electric stair lift to cheat the steps. Air horns scattered about help to beckon Fred, who has grown hard of hearing. Football took its toll on him: the man has had three back surgeries, and his left knee, he said, is "store-bought." But he muddles on, caring for Charlene with a stoic resolve.
At bedtime, after he has washed the dishes, brought in the dog and dispensed Charlene's meds, Fred tromps upstairs and curls up beside her, a cowboy book by Louis L'Amour in hand. She reads Danielle Steel. Sometimes, they watch TV. Ladies' choice.
"Usually, I'm harangued into watching [reruns of] 'The Waltons,' or Dr. What's-Her-Name, Medicine Woman," Fred said. "Every once in awhile, I'll sneak a cowboy movie in there."
Then it's lights out.
"At night, we hold hands and say the Lord's Prayer, and what's in our hearts," Charlene said. "I thank God for this man, this wonderful gift right out of His hands. He took those vows and has kept every one.
"He loves me, even though I look like a banana when I walk. I can't go out dancing with him, but I love him more than anything — and I believe he loves me that much, too."
Opposites (eventually) attract
Why they hit it off is a mystery, those who know them say. Fred David Miller grew up dirt-poor, the son of a hard-working Louisiana sharecropper. Charlene Coco's daddy was a prominent and affable politician who loved to pamper his little girl.
Fred lived in stark wood cabins with no electricity or plumbing. Charlene's ancestral home had 14 rooms, high ceilings and a wrap-around porch with stately white columns. As a youngster, she frolicked around the state capital building in Baton Rouge amid senators, lawyers and a governor who kept a stash of Hershey bars in his desk, just for her. Fred hobknobbed with pigs, chickens and a crotchety mule named Crow.
Fred worked the nearby cotton fields, shaping the steel will that would steady him in football and beyond. Come harvest, he'd pick cotton at 6 a.m. before going to school. Charlene had a nanny, her own motorboat and a car, which she drove to the country club to play tennis. Her father, an attorney and state senator, owned oil fields, a dairy farm, a lumber yard, and the radio station in town.
"They were polar opposites," David Miller, 47, said of his parents. "Mom came from a very refined and proper southern family with social status. Dad came from proud people who had nothing — and were judged on their character and actions."
Through high school, Fred's attire was right out of a Mark Twain novel: a pair of drawstring pants and cotton feedbag shirts.
"His grandmom would go with him to the store to pick out bags of chicken feed with patterns on them, so she could make his clothes," David Miller said. Come graduation, in 1958, towns folk in Homer (pop. 5,500) chipped in and bought Fred a suit for the ceremony.
Meanwhile, three hours down the road in Marksville, Charlene had blossomed. She was homecoming queen, state farm bureau queen, a cheerleader and the heartthrob of the young men in the parish. By 21, she'd had four marriage proposals, including one from the local district attorney. She turned them all down and headed to Louisiana State to study nursing.
Fred landed at LSU, too. At tiny Homer High, he had led the Pelicans, a hardy squad of 19 players, to the 1957 state championship game where they lost, 19-7. But Fred caught the eye of college scouts and LSU gave the burly lineman (6-3, 210) a football scholarship.
His work ethic was legend. As a kid, after chores — splitting wood or picking corn or plowing the sandy clay soil — Fred would wipe his brow and head for the woods, his training ground for football. He did chin-ups on tree branches, and ran through the grassy firebreaks amid the scrub pines, pushing ahead until he collapsed. Then he'd pick up a rock and mark the spot, intent on running further next time.
In college, Fred flourished. A strapping defensive tackle, he gained 30 pounds, made All-American and led LSU to consecutive victories in the Orange and Cotton Bowls. As a junior, he so impressed the Baltimore Colts that they picked him in the seventh round of the 1962 NFL draft, giving them his rights when he finished school.
That wasn't the only thing about Fred's future that changed that year. On Feb. 17, he and Charlene met, at a weekend party her father gave for the LSU football team at the family's expansive camp house.
Smitten from the start by the auburn-haired coed, Fred's initial overtures were rebuffed.
"He didn't attract me," Charlene said. "I liked his roommate, (halfback) Ray Wilkens. He was cute."
But the big lineman persisted, kept after her to dance and she finally agreed as the band struck up "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes."
It only took one dance.
"He was so much taller than me. My head came up to his armpits," Charlene remembered. "But I danced with him more and more, and when I looked up at him I thought, 'Hmmm, why didn't I see this guy before?'"
On the dance floor, grasping her waist with calloused hands, Fred felt the same. "It just seemed like we fit together, for whatever reason," he said. "God put us together. It was meant to be."
Back on campus, Charlene confided to her roommate, "I think I met the guy I'm going to marry."
"No way, Charlene!" the roommate cried. "You've dated so many."
That week, she kept a long standing blind date. But the next night, Fred asked her out and made his feelings known.
"I really would like it if you don't see any other boys," he said.
One year later, they were wed.
It wasn't your normal courtship. For instance, Charlene was no football fan, and her beau wasn't one to boast.
One night, as they snuggled at the drive-in, Fred whispered, "There's one thing I haven't told you."
Charlene's heart sank.
Oh my God, she thought, he's going to tell me he's been married.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I've been drafted by the Baltimore Colts."
Early on, the match had its skeptics.
"Fred's daddy was worried about me," Charlene said. "He said, 'Fred David, she's too little. She's not going to get you any boys."
Charlene's father wondered about Fred's prospects.
"You're not going to do 'poor' well," Chester Coco warned his daughter.
Charlene's mother worried they might starve, for other reasons.
"I knew how to make two things — fudge and fig preserves," Charlene said. "Momma would say, 'Fred, I hope you like water, because you'll be getting a lot of it.' "
They were eager to marry, but Fred had promised his mother that he would wait until finishing college. On Jan. 29, 1963, he graduated from LSU with a degree in forestry. Four days later, he and Charlene were wed.
Fred's family was Baptist; Charlene was Catholic. Fred's favorite aunt wouldn't set foot in the church in Marksville, or attend the reception, because booze was served.
More than 600 people attended the wedding, including the governor of Louisiana, and then dined on roast pig and all the trimmings. Fred enjoyed none of the repast, a fact that still sticks in his craw.
"Everyone else was drinking and eating and dancing and singing, and there I was, standing in the reception line, giving hugs and kisses to every old lady in town," he said. "I shook hands 'til I was plumb wore out. Then they took pictures, and did the thing with the cake, and we left. Never got one drink of champagne.
"As a matter of fact, they put two bottles of champagne in our car, and when we stopped to get gas, one of them fell out and broke."
The honeymoon, in Biloxi, Miss., was underwhelming.
"I got sick kissing all them old ladies at the wedding, and it gave me the backdoor trots," Fred said. "We came home early."
Football beckoned. That summer, the Millers packed the car — a used 1961 Ford station wagon — and headed for Baltimore, where both would allay their parents' fears. A starter from his second game with the Colts, Fred anchored their front four, rose to defensive captain, played in three Pro Bowls and helped Baltimore win its first Super Bowl in 1970.
"Fred would stop runners in their tracks," said guard Dan Sullivan, who played with Miller for 10 years. "He was quick to learn and strong as a bull, though I don't think he ever lifted a weight in his life."
Teammates called Fred "a pro's pro" and respected his quiet clout.
"Fred never has a bad game, and he'll never tell you he's in pain," Colts' head coach John Sandusky once said.
At home, Charlene prospered. She taught herself to cook, make biscuits and bake bread. She attended her kids' rec league games, planned fundraisers and arranged their road trips. She went to every Colts' home game, staged the wives' annual fashion show and held team parties at the Millers' home in Timonium.
"When we first moved there (1966) we didn't have much furniture, so the Colts players and their wives all sat on the living room floor and played games," Charlene said. "That's the kind of team we were. We'd blindfold the men and then take off our shoes and let each of them try to guess his wife's foot by feeling it.
"Fred never once guessed mine."
Classic love story
In 1973, when she and Fred bought the farm in Upperco, Charlene tackled much of the work. She helped raise the family's beef, pork and poultry, and plucked or skinned whatever else her brood dragged in.
"Mom was a real trooper. She cleaned and cooked all the game that we hunted," David Miller said. "Rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, dove, quail, even groundhog. She has recipes for most all of God's creatures."
Charlene delivered calves, gathered eggs and, at one time, cared for 76 squealing pigs behind their 19th century farmhouse.
"Mom was the spirit of the household," said Jake Miller, 42. "She worked a one-acre garden and canned enough vegetables and fruit each year to feed an army, until she was physically unable to do it."
Routinely, livestock ambled through the house, alongsidedogs named Tackle, Blitz and Mac (for Colts' head coach Don McCafferty). There was a pig, Cinderella, who liked to curl up in the living room, beside the wood stove. And a sheep, named Bert, who sometimes couldn't sleep at night and had to count people.
"Once, I woke up to this 'click-click-click,' " Charlene said. "Bert came up the steps and jumped into bed with us — all 90 pounds of him."
In the Colts' heyday — they played .710 football with Fred there — the Miller home was a magnet for players and their kin. As much as Fred helped the club on the field, Charlene did off of it.
"She was one of the key figures in keeping the team as close as it was," said Charlene Volk, whose husband, Rick, was an All-Pro safety. "If you faced a trauma in your life, Charlene would be there. When people were feeling down and out, they rode out to see her — and then worked through it. She was very intuitive; she came to the rescue of everybody."
Before Charlene was laid up, state troopers responding to accidents on the serpentine roads around Upperco would fetch her for medical support. Fifteen years ago, while dining in a Baltimore restaurant, she saved a woman who was choking to death.
"Though in pain, mom popped out of her chair, rushed over and did the Heimlich Maneuver," Jake Miller recalled. "She didn't have Ray Lewis speed, but she was amazing."
In 1997, when Janice Braase, whose husband, Ordell, played for the Colts, contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease), Charlene helped nurse her to the end.
"Her compassion, and awareness, were wonderful," Braase said. "I couldn't thank Charlene enough for what she did for Janice."
Not that the Millers are saints. Like other married couples, they've bickered at times.
"Sure, they've had arguments," Jake Miller said. "But, before he said something terrible, my dad would always leave and cool down. He would walk out to the woods, or to the barn, until he could think straight. He did it out of respect for my mom. That's probably the most valuable thing I've learned from him."
Jake can still see his father shielding his mother as a brawl erupted after one of his high school football games.
"Things got heated in the parking lot, and the (Boys Latin) coach shoved us onto our bus," Jake said. "From my window, through the (scuffling), I saw mom being engulfed by this man. Dad stood there, with both arms around her, like nothing else mattered. There was stuff going on all around, but he was perfectly calm in that little area that he maintained, like the eye of a hurricane."
But Fred couldn't save Charlene from her genes.
His attitude toward her disability isn't surprising, Miller's old teammates said.
"He approaches this the same way he played football — with patience and dependability," said Bob Vogel, the Colts' Pro Bowl offensive tackle who roomed with Miller for a decade. "You always knew what Fred would do, on the field or off. That level of integrity is precious."
Time hasn't changed Miller, Gino Marchetti said.
"Fred is right there to do the things that a lot of guys wouldn't do," said Marchetti, the Colts' Hall of Fame defensive end. "No matter how much they love their wives, some guys just aren't that type."
He never hesitated, Fred said.
"God put us on earth to accept what he sent," he said. "Me? I'll get over it, I'm a big boy. But I feel bad for Charlene because she hurts so bad and there ain't nothing I can do. Her disks are degenerating. Her lower back is just a mass of whatnot, and the nerves are all confused. She's gradually getting bent over, and it's not gonna stop."
Charlene takes about 15 pain pills a day but denies herself the strongest meds.
"I want to save that stuff for when things get really bad," she said. "As I get weaker, and more crooked, things will get worse. I'm not stupid; I'm a nurse."
The farm is still a refuge for old Colts. Several months ago, quarterback Bert Jones stopped by, as he'd done many times while playing for Baltimore in the 1970s.
"I'd go there to relax and for a home-cooked meal," said Jones, himself an LSU grad. Nowadays, he visits to pay his respects and to cheer up Charlene.
"She is going through some pretty tough times, but they are soul mates who are dealing with life's challenges as best they can," Jones said. "Theirs is a classic love story."
One recent afternoon, as Charlene napped, Fred puttered in the kitchen, preparing a slow-cooked meal of Cornish hen, potatoes, carrots, celery and herbs.
"Me and the crock pot get along pretty good," he said.
Upstairs, Charlene awakened.
"Yes, honey."
"I need you to help me, baby."
"Just a second," he said, wiping the countertop. "I'm a-comin'."

subset: commoncrawl


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The Lexus LS (sold as the Toyota Celsior in Japan) is a V8-powered, rear wheel drive luxury car that serves as the flagship of Toyota's luxury Lexus division. A length of almost five meters (200 in) gives the LS a "large car" classification in Europe as well as in the United States. According to reviews, the LS 400 has one of the most silent cabins among modern cars and is sometimes hailed as one of the most refined, well-engineered and technologically advanced vehicles in the high-end luxury car segment. As the LS's suspension is tuned primarily for ride comfort and isolation, the model is often accused of not being as sporty as German competitors such as the BMW 7 Series. The exterior design has also been referred to as being unexciting and ordinary, yet has superb fit-and-finish and one of the lowest drag coefficients of any sedan on the market.
- 1 First generation (UF10)
- 2 Second generation (UF20)
- 3 Third generation (UF30)
- 4 Fourth generation (UF40)
- 5 Technical Specifications
- 6 Future possibilities
- 7 Awards
- 8 Trivia
- 9 References
First generation (UF10)
The UF10 I LS 400 was produced from 1989 to 1994. The model introduced the Lexus nameplate to the US, and soon after won critical acclaim, becoming Wheels magazine's Car of the Year and earning a place on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1990. The LS 400 was initially intended to be introduced as a standalone model for Lexus, but ultimately was sold alongside the ES 250, an entry-level luxury car that was based on the Toyota Camry.
For the 1993 model year, the LS 400 (now designated as the UF10 II) was introduced with larger brake rotors, standard passenger's side front airbags, larger wheels and tires, and numerous other upgrades.
Second generation (UF20)
Introduced in 1995, the UF20 III LS 400 was an evolutionary redesign of the LS and featured a new body that eliminated 300 lb from the previous car. The wheelbase was increased by 1.4 in, resulting in more interior and trunk space, yet the overall length of the car remained at 196.7 in. The durability of the brake system was improved as well.
The most noticeable cosmetic upgrades included a new front fascia with an increased gap between the headlights and grille, new headlights and taillights,
For the 1998 model year, the UF20 IV LS 400 was introduced. New interior amenities included retractable rear headrests, wood accents on the leather-bound steering wheel and gear selector, and a navigation system with a concealed antenna. A new "jam protection system" for the vehicle's windows was designed to reduce the risk of possible injury by preventing the windows from closing if an object came in between the window and the door frame. Door window controls were also added to the vehicle remote control.
Exterior updates included new five spoke wheels as well as redesigned rear view mirrors that reduced the amount of wind noise. The automatic headlights were now equipped with a delay feature that allowed the headlights to remain on while the occupants exited the vehicle.
The revised LS 400 featured Toyota's new 290 hp VVT-i UZ engine mated to a smooth five-speed automatic transmission. The drivetrain improvements not only enabled the 3,890 lb sedan to accelerate from 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds but also improved the vehicle's fuel economy.
Third generation (UF30)
For 2001, the UF30 I LS 430 was introduced. While previous LS redesigns were evolutionary, the 2001 update was a more thorough update of the model's exterior and interior. The UF30 had a completely redesigned suspension and a brand new 4.3 L engine generating 290 hp (216 kW) and 320 ft•lbf (434 N•m) of torque. A three-inch wheelbase stretch resulted in more interior volume than the competing Mercedes-Benz S-Class and allowed the engine to be positioned farther rearward for better balance. Features such as Dynamic Laser Cruise Control, a DVD-based navigation system and heated & cooled seats became available. These and other features, such as sonar assisted parking, power rear seats with massage and a rear cooler were bundled in the 'Ultra Luxury Package.'
In the interior the most notable design changes included additional woodgrain trim on the dashboard and doors as well as the addition of an LCD screen on the center console. The exterior of the vehicle was completely new with the vehicle's dimensions increasing in terms of length and height.
The UF30 II was introduced in 2004. Lexus freshened the front & rear fascias and added as standard equipment previously optional features, such as a one-touch power moonroof, power rear sunshade, and lighted rear-seat vanity mirrors. Some features previously included in the Custom and Ultra Luxury packages became available separately. The transmission got an added sixth gear, and keyless 'smart access' and Bluetooth technology became optional, while a pre-collision system, similar to Mercedes-Benz's Pre-Safe, which used millimeter-wavelength radar to predict crashes and allow distance-aware cruise control, was added as an option. Other updates included different wheels, projector headlamps, and LED taillights.
The 2001 to 2006 LS 430 was the most reliable luxury sedan in the J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality survey, and the early models of this series were the most reliable cars in the survey. In later studies of defects after 3 years of ownership, the LS 430 is also at the top of the pack.
Fourth generation (UF40)
Introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, a redesigned LS will arrive for the 2007 model year. Based on the LF-Sh concept vehicle, the new LS will use either a 4.6 L V8 producing 380 hp (283 kW) and 370 ft•lbf (502 N•m) or a hybrid V8. An 8-speed automatic transmission will be the world's first. The car's complex electronic and safety systems have been shown in detail at the Geneva Motor Show in February, while the hybrid version had its debut at the New York Auto Show in April 2006.
New high-tech options on the LS 460 will include a 19-speaker "Reference Surround Sound System" with an 8 GB hard drive, front and rear climate-comfort seats, and a 4-zone climate control with an air purifier. A new automatic parking system with a push-button starting feature, as well as the 8-speed automatic transmission will both be standard features.
The 2007 LS will also mark the first time the car is sold under the Lexus marque in Japan — the Lexus brand was launched there in 2005 as part of Toyota's vision to make Lexus a 'global luxury brand.'
For the first time, Lexus will offer two wheelbases. The base LS 460 will use the shorter 116.9 in (2969 mm) wheelbase, while the gasoline engine will also be offered as a long 121.7 in (3091 mm) wheelbase LS 460 L.
The LS 460L will also feature an optional rear seat comfort package. The package includes a reclining right-hand side rear seat with massage features. Both rear seats will feature an automatically operated footrest while an LCD screen will be an available option for the rear seat compartment.
LS 600h L
Lexus introduced the LS 600h L as the world's first V8-powered full hybrid to the audience at the 2006 New York Auto Show. Introduced only in long-wheelbase form (it will be available in other parts of the world in both wheelbases), the LS 600h L uses a 5.0 L V8 engine mated to a high-output electric motor with Nickel-Metal Hydride battery packs to generate a total of 430 hp (321 kW) which is comparable to the BMW 760Li's 438 hp (327 kW) V12. The LS 600h L will be available with an all-wheel drive system and a two-stage continuously variable (CVT) transmission. Lexus is also predicting the LS 600h will be certified as an SULEV vehicle. It claims the LS 600h is the most technologically advanced vehicle in the world.
More details such as curb weight, price (speculated to be in the region of $90,000) are yet to be released.
Advanced Safety Systems
At the same time the hybrid model debuts Lexus will offer its Advanced Pre Collision system, with such features as a driver monitoring camera (to sound an alarm if the system determines the driver's attention is needed), stereo video cameras and millimeter radar for advanced obstacle detection, pre-crash braking, and lane keeping assist, which nudges the car back in line if it strays from its intended lane on the highway. The system will also feature rearward-facing radar to detect impending rear collisions and prime the active headrests to reduce injury to passengers.
Technical Specifications
|Lexus LS 400/430 model years
|173 kW (250 hp)
|186 kW (260 hp)
|214 kW (290 hp)
|214 kW (290 hp)
|353 Nm (260 ft•lbf)@4400rpm
|366 Nm (270 ft•lbf)@4500rpm
|407 Nm (300 ft•lbf)@4000rpm
|434 Nm (320 ft•lbf)@3400rpm
Future possibilities
Critics point out the absence of a range-topping V12 as another significant omission in the Lexus lineup. The closest competitors to the upcoming LS 460 such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class offer range-topping S600 and S65 AMG sedans with powerful V12 engines and prices exceeding US$120,000. For 2007, a gasoline-electric hybrid variant currently dubbed the LS 600h L (see above) will become available in the Lexus lineup and is expected to boost the esteem of the Lexus LS. Critics, however doubt whether Lexus will be able to command more than $12,000 premium over LS 460 L, thereby resulting in a MSRP in $80,000-85,000 range for LS600h L; still $15,000 short of the $100K ultra-luxury segment mark.
Rumors persist that a new and improved version of a Toyota V12 used in the Japanese Toyota Century will be upgraded to more than 500 hp (currently 280 hp) for the European and North American markets to more successfully compete in the ultra-luxury segment with the Mercedes-Benz S600 and BMW 760, but nothing concrete has been confirmed by Toyota.
The LS has received numerous awards since its introduction.
- The first-generation LS earned a place on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list and became Wheels magazine's Car of the Year.
- The LS 430 was judged as the "Finest Luxury Sedan In America" by Automotive Marketing Consultants, Inc. in a 2002 comparison test. Competing against ten other luxury models, including the Mercedes S500 and the BMW 750iL, the LS placed first in three out of seven categories: NVH, ergonomics, and utility. The LS 430 was also the quietest car in the comparison, with an idle reading of just 31.1 decibels in the front seat.
- Antony Leung, the former secretary of finance of Hong Kong, purchased an LS 430 just before implementing a new tax that would have cost him an additional HK$50,000. The scandal, known as "Lexusgate", led to his resignation.
- The third season of the popular BBC television program, Spooks, featured a number of Lexus LS vehicles as part of the brand's introduction in the British market.
- The 2005 J.D. Power initial quality study found just 90 problems per 100 LS vehicles, the first time in the study's 16 year history for a vehicle to have less than one problem per vehicle.
- Bill Gates owned a 1990 LS 400 in burgundy and subsequently donated it to the Pacific Crest Outward Bound School in Portland, Oregon in 1995.
- A Toyota Celsior is one of the cars driven in the racing arcade game and manga Wangan Midnight. The car, driven by Gen Sasaki (Gatchan), is often regarded as a joke due to the ricer features and Gatchan's reluctance to give his car more race features like removing excess weight and using garish bodykits.
- 1. Lexus LS competitors:
- Lexus/model/LS%20430 Lexus LS competitors according to Intellichoice
- Lexus&model=LS%20430&trimid=-1&type=Competitors Lexus LS competitors according MSN
- lexus.com/assets/about/news/pdfs/ls_news_article_2005_05_a.pdf Lexus competitors according to Toyota's Lexus division
- 2. Advanced Safety in LS 460\
- 3. Lexus Ultra-Sedan
- 4. Lexus V12
- 5. [1]
- 6. [http://lexus.com/about/press_releases/popups/2002/pr_02_11_a.html Finest Sedan in the World]
- 7. Lexus_LS_430_Sport.S183.A7351.html Pricing
- 8. lexus_ls_600h_poor_mans_v12.html Lexus 600h: Poor Man's V12
This page uses content from Wikipedia; see Lexus LS, which includes these contributors.


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The faculty and staff of Reformed Theological Seminary are integral to the quality and success of the educational experience and programs we offer. We are indeed blessed by God to have such a diverse and devoted team dedicated to providing students with the best.
Quality is also measured by the devotion to God exhibited by each of our faculty and staff. Theological training is far more than learning facts and techniques, it is also found in being taught and mentored by true disciples of Jesus Christ.
RTS Faculty are recognized as world leaders in Reformed theology. Each campus is blessed with men and women who are leaders in their respective disciplines and who continually seek to grow in their own devotion as well. To learn more about RTS faculty, click the links below:
Resident Faculty
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RTS Staff are committed to providing a rich learning environment where students can excel. Our staff are committed to the vision and values of RTS and are dedicated to the cause of Christ in seminary education. For a complete listing of RTS staff, visit our Online Directory.
Reformed Theological Seminary is an independent institution, free from control by any particular denomination. RTS welcomes students from many denominational affiliations, but historically it has prepared men and women predominantly for ministry within conservative Presbyterian and Reformed churches. The Board, faculty, and senior staff are individually under the jurisdiction of the various church courts of the denominations of which they are members, and those affiliations are also largely conservative Presbyterian and Reformed churches.
While there is some diversity on a number of issues among the Board, faculty, staff, students, and the various constituencies RTS serves, the majority of those individuals associated with RTS believe that the Bible teaches that the ordained pastorate is reserved for men. At the same time RTS fully acknowledges and appreciates the important roles that women serve as co-laborers in the ministry of the church.
RTS in its historical practice has selected professors in the Biblical Studies, Theology, and Practical Theology departments who are ordained pastors (or who are qualified by RTS' predominant denominational constituencies as ordainable), as they minister the Word of God to the student body and model pastoral leadership. Given the theological position of the Board and constituencies, RTS will continue to limit professors who teach Biblical Studies, Theology, and Practical Theology to men. Exceptions to this may and have included courses in language-grammar, speech, culture, missiology, etc. Professors teaching in the Counseling programs and librarians with faculty status are also open to both men and women.
It should be noted that all degree programs are open to all qualified students, both men and women.
Whether you're a prospective student, current student, alumnus, donor, or friend of RTS, we would love to hear from you.


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The rebounding market for Pacific Northwest logs has raised questions about the timber industry's ability to keep up with demand, experts say.
Strong exports to Asia and the recovering housing market have boosted log prices and harvest levels since the depth of the timber downturn in 2009, according to analysts at a recent industry conference.
While current logging levels are still lower than in the mid-2000s, concerns about tight log supplies are emerging, said Rocky Goodnow, an executive at Forest Economic Advisors.
"We think we're rapidly approaching the sustainable (harvest) yield," he said during a recent conference organized by the Western Forestry and Conservation Association in Vancouver, Wash.
The harvest of logs along the West Coast exceeded the rate of timber growth between 2004 and 2006, he said.
During the housing bust, though, logging levels plummeted well below the tree growth rate, boosting the inventory of timber, Goodnow said.
This period of "undercutting" mitigated the possibility of a timber shortage, but the industry nonetheless faces serious constraints, he said.
Deferred maintenance and a lack of investment during the downturn has strained logging and hauling capacity, Goodnow said.
Machinery costs are high and securing financing is a challenge, since loggers generally work on six-month contracts, he said.
The dearth of jobs during the housing bust also prompted many loggers to seek employment in the booming oil and gas sector, Goodnow said.
"We've seen an exodus of labor from the logging and hauling sector," he said.
The timber industry's workforce is aging, but attracting new loggers to the industry will likely raise costs, Goodnow said.
Logging is dangerous and requires expertise, which makes it difficult for companies to quickly "staff up" when market conditions improve, said Richard Zabel, executive director of the WFCA.
There's also a cultural bias against working in the woods, said Gordon Culbertson, Pacific Northwest manager for the Forest2Market consulting firm.
Fewer people are willing to awaken at 3 a.m. to work in the rain, while many parents discourage kids from entering the timber industry, he said.
In terms of timber supply, the vast majority of logging activity will continue to be on private lands, said Goodnow.
Litigation and environmental restrictions are likely to limit the timber from federal property in the West to 15 percent of the total supply, he said.
"We do not see any large increases coming from public timberlands," Goodnow said.
The political battle over federal timber is often cast in a negative light, but it is a "double-edged" sword for private forest owners, said Bruce Glass, economist for the Campbell Group.
Public forests help satisfy the demand for recreational and non-timber uses, which reduces controversy and provides "social license" for commercial operations on private land, he said.
With momentum building in the domestic housing market, private forest owners want to retain their sawmill customers while continuing to profit from exports, Glass said.
Sawmills and exporters are currently competing for logs in the Northwest, which could eventually cost domestic market share for forest owners, he said.
Southern mills face less competition for logs due to rising harvest levels and the lack of a major overseas market, Glass said.
Northwest timberland owners are mindful of these factors, said Pete Stewart, president of Forest2Market.
They don't want to be overly reliant on the Chinese demand at the risk of losing domestic buyers of logs, he said.
"You don't want to kill the goose that laid the golden egg," Stewart said.


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"I have some food in my bag for you
Not that edible food, the food you eat
No, I have some food for thought."
– Erykah Badu
Food For Thought is our new take on afternoon tea, an opportunity to feed our bellies and minds every Thursday here at Impact Hub Birmingham.
Let's gather around the workbench together as we discuss key themes and ideas each week, hosted by the community over tea and cake!
Each week we have a different member hosting the conversation, talking about different topics, they include:
17th June - Tech for Good with Pauline Roche
22nd June - An Artist Friendly City with Amahra Spence
29th June - with Melissa Nicholson
6th July - Decolonise Brum: What Does That Look Like with Aliyah Holder
13th July - TBA
20th July - TBA
27th July - with Shaheen Kasmani
If you are interested in hosting a conversation or activity of your own at a future Food For Thought, please contact email@example.com


text:
From South Africa Rock Climbing Routes Wiki
Thunderbolt - Witteberg **** Grade G1
H Graafland and M Scott 1967
A bold route for summer days, strong arms, and good nerves.
The start of the route is the same as that for Exposure in F Major.
- P1: 30m 13/14. Climb the left hand variation to the first pitch of "Exposure".
- P2: 80m B/C. Scramble along the ledge to the left and climb, via a short chimney/crack to the top of a pillar next to a tree.
- P3: 20m 15 A1. From the pillar move up 5 metres then right (2 pitons) and pull up to a handrail. Continue right to the stance.
- P4: 18m 15. Climb straight up, then move slightly left and climb up to a ledge. Traverse left to a point directly above the start of pitch (1).
- P5: 25m 18/19. Pull up through a small overhang then move left. Climb up the recess (6 metres) then swing right to a small ledge. Climb up a shallow recess, past the overhang, then move right to reach a corner. Layback up to a small stance.
- P6: 35m 14/15. Traverse left around a corner (12 metres), then diagonally up left to a niche. Move up to the right then back left to a small stance. Climb up a jam crack to a better stance (3 metres).
- P7: 15m 13/14. Move up a recess to brown flakes then up a jam-layback on the left. Move up via large flakes to a stance.
- P8: 25m 13/14. Walk left to the end of the ledge, then traverse around a bulge to a ledge at the bottom of a gully.
- P9: 50m 9. Move left into a chimney, ascend this and move out into an open gully.
- P10: 20m 9. From the block indicating the start of a traverse to the right, step down and continue right and climb up to a grassy ledge.
- P11: 24m 12/13. Climb a grassy groove and step right at the top. Climb up to an overhang which is side-stepped to the left.
- P12: 22m 14/15. Climb a V-groove to a creaking block at the back of a crack, swing right on tiny footgrips and pull up onto a small flat ledge. Continue up via a nose to the right to a small stance.
- P13: 16m 14/15. From the stance swing down to footgrips below a slab. Climb the slab into a scoop. Traverse right across the scoop, step down, cross a crack and up on a rib to the right to a small stance.
- P14: 18m "D". Traverse right around a bulging corner.
- P15: 25m 12/13. Step down, traverse right to a spectacular corner, then up via a smooth hand-jam crack to a stance.
- P16: 32m 10. Climb a watershoot-type ramp to a small stance below a bottomless crack breaking through an overhang above.
- P17: 23m 14/15. Climb the crack to below an overhang, step down onto the corner on the right, move around this up past a ledge and up the face above. Traverse left to an exposed corner and up via a crack to a stance.
- P18: 35m 8/9. Traverse somewhat left and climb more or less straight up to the top.


text:
This article provides information on the requirements for implementing DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC) in Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
For general information on DNSSEC, see Introduction to DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
For information on the DNS records used in a DNSSEC-signed zone, see DNS Records Associated with DNSSEC.
In Windows Server 2008 R2, a DNS zone could only be signed using a series of lengthy Dnscmd.exe commands. Active Directory-integrated zones had to first be exported to a file, and dynamic updates to a zone were no longer possible after signing. Any change to the data in the zone meant that the zone had to be manually re-signed.
Windows Server 2012 introduces many DNSSEC-related improvements. Active Directory-integrated zones can now be signed, and dynamic updates are allowed on signed zones. Also, the Zone Signing Wizard, accessible through DNS Manager, provides a graphical interface for the zone-signing process. There are a few requirements and recommendations to be aware of before implementing DNSSEC in your environment. These are listed below:
DNSSEC Requirements in Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
Assuming these requirements are met, you may proceed with signing a zone. This procedure is detailed in How to Sign a DNS Zone in Windows Server 2012.
Identificación del artículo: SLN290529
Última fecha de modificación: 10/06/2014 12:19 PM
Muchas gracias por sus comentarios.


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Self-Adhesive Poly USB Flash Drive Pocket
Smead Self-Adhesive Poly USB Flash Drive Pocket 68150, 2" W x 3-9/16" H, Clear
Item No. 68150
Now you can combine your physical paper documents and digital files in a single file. These handy pockets for USB flash drives are an effective way to store digital files with corresponding hard copy. Self-adhesive on the back side, the polypropylene pocket provides protection for your USB connector and are sized to fit most common USB sizes. They also feature a reclosable flap for added security. Made from crystal-clear, durable PVC-free poly with permanent adhesive for years of service.
Explore Product Options
Products in this SKU family: 1
Self-adhesive products have a limited shelf life. Store in a cool, dry place. Press firmly when applying.
Item No. 68150
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Smead Self-Adhesive Poly Pocket 68155, Business Card Size (4-1/16" W x 3" H), Clear
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Smead Self-Adhesive Poly Pocket 68164, 6" x 4" (6-1/4" W x 4-9/16" H), Clear


text:
provoked wrote: I ride a race bike, and only today I was thinking about a mirror. Can you mount them to a roady?
I have a Cat-Eye bar end mirror (which replaced the plug on the end of the handle bar)
It works, after a fashion. Like Ducati mirrors it gives me a good view of my knees
Seriously, it works well enough, particularily when the backpack is heavy; my neck is sore; someone is wheelsucking etc etc


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University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa astronomer Regina Jorgenson has obtained the first image that shows the structure of a normal galaxy in the early universe. The results were presented at the winter American Astronomical Society meeting in Washington, DC.
The galaxy, called DLA2222-0946, is so faint that it is virtually invisible at all but a few specific wavelengths. It is a member of a class of galaxies thought to be the progenitors of spiral galaxies like our own Milky Way.
These galaxies are known to contain most of the neutral gas that is the fuel for star formation, so they are an important tool for understanding star and galaxy formation and evolution. Discovered and classified over 30 years ago, they have been notoriously difficult to see directly.
Dr. Jorgenson, an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow at the UHM's Institute for Astronomy, worked with Dr. Arthur Wolfe of the University of California, San Diego. They used the advanced technologies of the W. M. Keck Observatory on Mauna Kea to obtain the first-ever spatially resolved images of a galaxy of this type.
DLA2222-0946 was initially detected not by its own light, but by absorbing some of the light of an even more distant quasar. Galaxies detected in this way are called damped Lyman-alpha systems, or DLAs, based on the specific color of light they absorb due to their copious reservoirs of hydrogen gas.
While thousands of DLAs are now known thanks to the large Sloan Digitized Sky Survey (SDSS), their detection in absorption tells us only about the small part of the galaxy pierced by the background quasar's light. This is akin to trying to map a fog bank from a single headlight shining through it.
A full understanding of the distant galaxy requires a direct detection, which had eluded astronomers until now.
"These galaxies are extraordinary for being ordinary—they represent normal types of galaxies, rather than the brightest, extreme, and most rapidly star-forming galaxies that are typically observed at these redshifts," Dr. Jorgenson explained. "But this normalcy makes them nearly impossible to detect directly from the light they give off because first, that emission is relatively weak, and second, the bright background quasar used to find the galaxy hampers the detection of fainter foreground emission from the galaxy itself."
The galaxy is located at a redshift of 2.354, which corresponds to a time when the universe was about 20 percent of its current age, about 10.8 billion years ago. This time in the universe's history was a key period of galaxy formation, and hence observing typical galaxies from this time will potentially provide great insight into the relevant physical processes.
Determining exactly how galaxies such as these, which are essentially massive reservoirs of neutral gas, turn that gas into stars is a key missing piece of the star and galaxy formation puzzle.
A preprint of the paper, which will be published in the Astrophysical Journal, can be found at the arXiv website at http://arxiv.org/abs/1311.0045.
This work was supported by an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship under award AST-1102683.Founded in 1967, the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa conducts research into galaxies, cosmology, stars, planets, and the sun. Its faculty and staff are also involved in astronomy education, deep space missions, and in the development and management of the observatories on Haleakala and Mauna Kea. The Institute operates facilities on the islands of Oʻahu, Maui, and Hawaiʻi.
For more information, visit: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/press-releases/NormalGalaxyEarlyUniverse/


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The company that measures television viewership will soon begin counting people who watch programming through broadband instead of a traditional broadcast or cable hook-up.
The move announced Thursday by Nielsen is a significant step toward recognizing a world where the definition of TV viewing is swiftly changing. For many years, roughly 99 percent of homes in the U.S. had televisions that received service through broadcast, cable or satellite signals.
Now the number of homes without such service is 4.2 percent—and growing each year. Most of those homes have TVs, however, and their owners watch programming through game consoles or services like Netflix and Amazon. Starting September, Nielsen will begin tracking the habits of these homes.
Explore further: Study shows rapid growth of high-definition TV


text:
Ruth Sink Corn, 91, of Piedmont Crossing, died Saturday, May 18, 2013, at Piedmont Crossing following declining health for several months.
Ruth Sink Corn, 91, of Piedmont Crossing, died Saturday, May 18, 2013, at Piedmont Crossing following declining health for several months.
A memorial service will be 2 p.m. Wednesday at First Baptist Church, where she was a member, by the Rev. Dr. Ray N. Howell III and the Rev. Tommy Wilson. Inurnment will follow in the church columbarium.
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service in the church parlor.
Mrs. Corn was born Oct. 30, 1921, in Davidson County to John A. Sink and Pearl Lopp Sink. She was a life member of First Baptist Church, where she was very active in singing with the senior choir, volunteering with Lexington Memorial Hospital and helping to serve Meals on Wheels. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Clarence Charles "Skinny" Corn, who died July 28, 2011.
Surviving are sons, Milton Vaughn "Micky" Corn and wife Mary Sue of Asheville and Charles Norman "Charlie" Corn and wife Sue of Lexington; grandchildren, Tracy Ward and husband Eric, Emily Powell and husband Stephen, Shiloh Moore and Chaz Corn; great-grandchildren, Abby and Elaina Ward, Hunter Moore and Zoe Powell.
A special thank you to the staff of Piedmont Crossing and Hospice for the love and caring support they provided for Ruth.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 436, Lexington, NC 27293 or to Hospice of Davidson County, 200 Hospice Way, Lexington, NC 27292.
Online condolences may be made at www.davidsonfuneralhome.net.


text:
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Loan Calculator
*This calculator is a tool for indicative use only. No result from the use of the calculator should be considered a loan application or an offer of a loan. The calculator does not take into account your personal circumstances. All interest rates displayed are guides only. Repayments as a result of this simulation can vary based on your personal circumstances including your credit worthiness. Different interest rate, loan term, deposit and balloon requirements may apply for particular vehicles and/or finance offers. Other assumptions can apply. You should discuss your circumstances with our finance professionals or through your own independent sources. All finance applications are subject to credit approval. Conditions apply to all applications.
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*2017 Ram 1500 SLT* - Crew cab pickup truck - V6 3.6L engine - remote keyless entry - alloy wheels - tinted windows - bed liner - safety airbags - powered windows, locks, and mirrors - AM/FM - SiriusXM Satellite ready - USB port - Bluetooth - LCD touchscreen - digital compass - outside temperature display - cruise control and more! *Come check out our hassle free test drive!*.*Prices on all vehicles do not include taxes, tag and dealer fees. Prices are subject to change. Prices on new Ford vehicles include all consumer incentives and rebates as of date of listing and are subject to change. Some incentives on new Ford vehicles may also be subject to Ford financing requirements. ... SAVE $$$ Call Randy at 1-866-371-2255 for more info, photos, Youtube videos or to estimate your trade-in value or for LOW MONTHLY PAYMENTS ... Our Used Car Gainesville Fl Super Store is located just off I-75 Exit #399. We are only minutes away from Lake City, Starke and Ocala Fl. Our main website address is: http://www.SantaFeFord.com
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text:
day view
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
- 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
- Physical Therapist Assistant Consideration
- Details: Central Carolina Community College is accepting applications for the Physical Therapist Assistant program scheduled to start summer 2014 at the Harnett Health Sciences Center in Lillington. This application expresses a student's intent to be considered for the official Physical Therapist Assistant program.
Students may pick up a consideration application starting on April 7, 2014 at 8:00am from the Bell Welcome Center on the Sanford campus or from the Student Services Office on the Lillington campus.The deadline for the submission of the consideration application and any applicable documentation is by Thursday, April 17, 2014 by 5:00pm. In order to submit the application, the following general education courses must be in progress for spring 2014 or already complete: BIO 165 Anatomy & Physiology I, ENG 111 Expository Writing, PHY 110/110A Conceptual Physics, and PSY 150 General Psychology. Applications and health forms can be submitted to either Trinnette Nichols-Jones on the Lillington campus or to Jamee Stiffler on the Sanford campus.
A Physical Therapist Assistant information session will be held April 9, 2014 at the Harnett Health Sciences Center. To sign-up for this session, please go to the Physical Therapist Assistant webpage on the CCCC website. Information sessions are also required for the application process.
- Specific Location: Bell Welcome Center (Sanford); Student Services Office (Lillington)
- General Location: Harnett Main Campus, Lee Main Campus
- Audience: Curriculum, Distance Education, Future Students


text:
Hey guys,
Let's get together tomorrow, 7/28 at Real Art Ways for 7 pm. Bring your projects!
Also - Next Wednesday I am hosting a post-film discussion for The Killer Inside Me. Feel free to join me as I discuss exploration vs. exploitation of domestic abuse through the male gaze and the overall history of violence against women in film. If you'd like to see it before the discussion, it's playing at Real Art Ways.
THE KILLER INSIDE ME opens at Real Art Ways on Friday, July 30
Friday & Saturday, 7/30 & 7/31: 7pm, 9:15pm
Sunday - Thursday, 8/1 - 8/5: 7pm
Real Art Ways Members: $5
Seniors & Students Members: $4.50
Non-members: Regular Admission: $9.00
Seniors (62+): $6.25
Full-time Students with ID: $6.25


text:
Pennsylvania Philadelphia Marriage Index (FamilySearch Historical Records)
|This article describes a collection of historical records available at FamilySearch.org.
Access the records: Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Indexes, 1885-1951 .
- 1 Record Description
- 2 Record Content
- 3 How to Use the Record
- 4 Known Issues with This Collection
- 5 Related Web Sites
- 6 Related Wiki Articles
- 7 Contributions To This Article
- 8 Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
Record Description
The city and county of Philadelphia were combined in 1854. In 1860, the city passed a law requiring the Board of Health to register all marriages. In 1885, Pennsylvania authorized the Orphans' Court in each county to register marriages. By 1885, all marriages were supposed to be licensed in Pennsylvania. The index entries are type written and arranged in columns.
For a list of dates and indexes currently published in this collection, select the Browse.
This index covers recorded marriages in Philadelphia from 1885 to 1951.
Marriage records validate a spouse's legal claim to property. Marriage licenses grant permission for a marriage to be performed and replaced the previous requirements to post banns or intentions. The index was created to provide public officials with a quick and easy access to any specific marriage record.
The index is very reliable since it was created from the marriage records. As with any printed index there may be some typographical errors.
Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the data and images published on FamilySearch.org Historical Records. It may include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.
- Clerk of the Orphan's Court. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia marriages. City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.
Record Content
Genealogical facts in the marriage index are:
- Surname
- Given name (first name)
- Surname of the spouse
- Year of marriage
- Sex
- Marriage record or certificate number
How to Use the Record
Begin your search by finding your ancestors in the index. Name indexes to marriages make it possible to access a specific marriage record quickly. Remember that these indexes may contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.
When searching the index it is helpful to know the following:
- The county where the marriage occurred
- The name of the person at the time of marriage
- The approximate marriage date
- The marriage place
- The name of the intended spouse
Use the locator information found in the index (such as page, entry, or certificate number) to locate your ancestors in the marriage records. Some on-line indexes, such as indexes to FamilySearch Historical Records, will take you directly to an image. Compare the information in the marriage record to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct person. You may need to compare the information of more than one person to make this determination.
When you have located your ancestor's marriage record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:
- Use the marriage date and place as the basis for compiling a new family group or for verifying existing information.
- Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth of each partner to find a couple's birth records and parents' names.
- Use the birth date or age along with the place of birth to find the family in census records.
- Use the residence and names of the parents to locate church and land records.
- Occupations listed can lead you to other types of records such as employment records or military records.
- Use the parents' birth places to find former residences and to establish a migration pattern for the family.
- The name of the officiator is a clue to their religion or area of residence in the county. However, ministers may have reported marriages performed in other counties.
- Compile the marriage entries for every person who has the same surname as the bride or groom; this is especially helpful in rural areas or if the surname is unusual.
- Continue to search the marriage records to identify children, siblings, parents, and other relatives of the bride and groom who may have married in the same county or nearby. This can help you identify other generations of your family or even the second marriage of a parent. Repeat this process for each new generation you identify.
- Use the marriage number to identify previous marriages.
- When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
Keep in mind:
- The information in marriage records is usually reliable, but depends upon the reliability of the informant.
- Earlier records may not contain as much information as the records created after the late 1800s.
- There is also some variation in the information given from one marriage record to another record.
If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, try the following:
- Check for variant spellings of the surnames.
- Search for the marriage record of the marriage partner if known.
- Check for a different index. There are often indexes at the beginning of each volume.
- Search the indexes and records of nearby counties.
For a summary of this information see the wiki article: United States, How to Use the Records Summary (FamilySearch Historical Records)
Known Issues with This Collection
|Problems with this collection?
See a list of known issues, workarounds, tips, restrictions, future fixes, news and other helpful information.
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to email@example.com. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.
Related Web Sites
USGenWeb Archives Pennsylvania Marriage Project
Related Wiki Articles
Contributions To This Article
| We welcome user additions to FamilySearch Historical Records wiki articles. We are looking for additional information that will help readers understand the topic and better use the available records. We also need translations for collection titles and images in articles about records written in languages other than English. For specific needs, please visit WikiProject FamilySearch Records.
Please follow these guidelines as you make changes. Thank you for any contributions you may provide.
Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should also list where you found the information. This will help you or others to find the record again. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records.
A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the Wiki Article: Help:How to Create Source Citations For FamilySearch Historical Records Collections.
Citation Example for a Record Found in This Collection
"Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Marriage Indexes, 1885-1951." database and digital images, FamilySearch (https://.familysearch.org: accessed 1 April 2011). Frederik John R Jones and Miss Fenner, 1896; citing Marriage Indexes, digital folder 4,140,444, image 00,113; Philadelphia County Pennsylvania Clerk of the Orphan's Court, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.


text:
ALBANY, N.Y., April 19 (UPI) -- New York state energy regulators have approved a $2.2 billion project to deliver power from Quebec to New York City metropolitan area.
The Champlain Hudson Power Express, planned by Albany, N.Y., Transmission Developers Inc., would carry 1,000 megawatts of power from Canada through cables to be buried under Lake Champlain and the Hudson River.
The project received a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need from the New York State Public Service Commission on Thursday following three years of state and public review as part of the commission's permitting process. It still requires two levels of federal approvals.
TDI expects the Department of Energy to issue a draft environmental impact statement about the project in June, North Country Public Radio reports.
"We look forward to completing the permitting process so we can begin delivering clean, reliable, low cost power to the residents and businesses of New York," TDI President and Chief Executive Officer Donald Jessome said in a statement Thursday.
TDI and supporters for the project say it will deliver clean and cheaper hydropower energy downstate, reducing reliance on coal and other power plants. TDI says the project won't be located in existing energy corridors and would diversify New York City's supply of energy, boosting the security of the state's power grid.
But critics -- including the Independent Power Producers of New York, whose members generate more than 75 percent of the state's electricity -- say it will reduce upstate jobs by importing energy from Canada rather than from current upstate producers.
"I'm disappointed," state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane and chairman of the State Senate Energy Committee, was quoted as saying by The Buffalo (N.Y.) News. "I think it's (a) bad long-term energy policy, particularly for upstate New York, because I think once you start importing energy from out of state, in this situation out of the country, your energy policy is going to be subject to people outside the state."
Jessome maintains that TDI's projects allow leeway for upstate power companies to supply downstate markets.
"There's lots and lots of room for competition," he told the Buffalo News.
The Blackstone Group, one of the world's largest private equity firms, is the lead investor in TDI and the project.
New York's Renewable Portfolio Standard requires that 30 percent of electricity come from renewable energy resources by 2015. In 2011, 24 percent of the state's electricity came from renewable energy resources.


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Shanghai-Hong Kong 'through train' departs
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect was launched on 17 November.
24 Nov 2014
A landmark pilot stock connect scheme that aims to create mutual market access (MMA) between the stock exchanges of both Shanghai and Hong Kong was officially launched on 17 November. This followed the initial announcement about the programme from the regulators in April. The implications of the scheme are far-reaching and positive, although there are still a number of challenges to overcome.
The so-called 'through train' allows two-way trading of shares between Hong Kong and Shanghai ... The implications of the scheme are far-reaching and positive, although there are still a number of challenges to overcome.
The so-called 'through train' allows two-way trading of shares between Hong Kong and Shanghai. Firstly, mainland investors are allowed to buy eligible Hong Kong stocks on the city's Hang Seng Composite LargeCap and MidCap Indices ('southbound trading') with a RMB 10.5 billion daily quota (aggregate quota of RMB 250 billion).
The eligible number of stocks available for southbound trading is 266 –representing 82% of Hong Kong's market capitalisation. Meanwhile, 'northbound trading' – where all Hong Kong-based or international investors can purchase Shanghai-listed stocks –has been allocated a quota of RMB 13.5 billion per day (aggregate quota of RMB 300 billion). The total available number of tradable stocks in Shanghai is over double the opposite direction, at 568 –representing 90% of Shanghai's market capitalisation. The above quotas operate on a system of 'first come first serve' although daily limits for both markets are applied on a net basis.
As a result, regardless of the quota balance investors will always be able to sell. As for the trading currency, the northbound trading from Hong Kong to Shanghai is quoted in RMB but settled in offshore Renminbi (CNH). As for southbound trading in the opposite direction, prices are quoted in HKD but settled in CNY. Meanwhile, local brokers in the respective markets can take on orders and settlement & clearing are also being executed through the respective local exchanges. So, for foreign investors, how will this differ from the current Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) and Renminbi equivalent (RQFII) programmes?
Firstly, the through-train is open to all investors, with no restrictions on northbound trading, whereas the latter are open to mainly institutional investors. Secondly, the MMA is concentrated on select securities, which is in contrast to the wider range of available products in the QFII/RQFII scheme – where products such as bonds and ETFs are available. Lastly, the through-train boasts no lock up or repatriation restrictions, unlike its QFII/RQFII brethren – which require both.
Right before the official launch of the Stock Connect Scheme, the Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China (PRCMOF) clarified the PRC's capital gains tax (CGT) policy, providing improved guidance on a subject that has been a cause of uncertainty since the inception of both the QFII and RQFII programs in 2002. Hong Kong and foreign investors dealing in securities listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), both corporates and individuals, are temporarily exempt from CGT from SSE securities bought and sold via the Stock Connect Scheme from 17 November 2014.
Correspondingly, PRC individual investors who buy and sell shares listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through the Stock Connect Scheme are temporarily exempt from personal income tax for three years, from 17 November 2014 to 16 November 2017. The PRCMOF has also exempted QFIIs and RQFIIs from PRC corporate income tax from 17 November 2014. However, investment gains by QFIIs and RQFIIs before 17 November 2014 will be subject to the CGT. Prior to the announcement, the potential for a CGT on China investments had not been clarified with the government giving no indication on whether one would be levied on a retroactive basis or what this right might be.
Furthermore, there are still a number of challenges to overcome. These issues include:
- Rights issues – another area that needs to be clarified as currently China does not allow overseas investors to exercise rights in A share-listed companies.
- Settlement – differing settlement cycles between Hong Kong and Shanghai mean that anyone selling A shares in Hong Kong will need to make this decision T-1 and transfer stock from custodians to brokers overnight at the end of day T-1 so that it is available for sale T0. This clearly presents considerate counterparty risk issues in particular situations, such as with long only clients with multiple custodians.
- Daily quotas – daily (net) quotas could be an issue in the early days as the traffic will be inevitably skewed to the buy side in both directions (no day trading allowed in A-shares). For example, on the debut day of 17 November, northbound trade far outstripped trade from mainland investors in the opposite direction, with the daily quota for buying Shanghai stocks under the scheme exhausted by mid-afternoon. Southbound investment, on the other hand, is less active, with just 17% of the southbound quota taken up by the market close on the first trading day. However, as two-way flows balance out more evenly the regulators hope that the quotas will be hit less often and be much less of an issue.
As for the implications for the respective markets, these are clearly far-reaching and positive. Immediate beneficiaries include the listed stock exchange in Hong Kong, securities companies and brokers, who are expected to benefit from increased transaction volumes and new business opportunities resulting from this gradual integration. Meanwhile, dual A & H listings have already witnessed a narrowing of valuation discounts as investors take advantage of arbitrage opportunities – over time this should bring into line the two prices and provide further stability for long-term investors in either share class.
Further long-term benefits include bringing a more institutional-focused and balanced investment community into onshore Chinese markets. By allowing this, Chinese markets, which have been known to swing in reaction to the short-termism of retail investors, may finally start to focus on company fundamentals including dividend yields and value.
Stock Connect (Northbound)
Launch date
Aggregate quota: RMB 300 billion
Daily quota: RMB 13 billion
First-come-first-serve basis
Total quota: USD 150 billion
Individual quota: USD 50 million to USD 1 billion
Total quota: RMB 400 billion
Individual quota: No minimum or maximum quota limit
ALL Hong Kong and overseas investors
Qualified foreign institutions only
Qualified institutions in Hong Kong, London and Singapore only
Bilateral (Northbound to China and Southbound to Hong Kong)
Inflows to Mainland China only
Inflows to Mainland China only
Offshore RMB
USD or other major foreign currency
Offshore RMB
Eligible investments
All constituent stocks of the SSE 180 & 380 only – totalling 568 stocks.
All dual-listed shares i.e. SSE-SEHK A + H shares
Exceptions: Shares not traded in RMB, shares under 'risk alert' and IPOs
Stocks, bonds, securities investment funds, warrants, IPOs, bond issuances and index futures
Same as QFII
Asset allocation
100% in Shanghai-listed stocks
Minimum 50% in equity and no more than 20% cash
Repatriation & lock-up periods
No lock-up or repatriation restrictions
Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Northbound - capital gains tax for HK and overseas investors will be waived "temporarily."
Temporary exemption from withholding tax on gains derived from the trading of equity investment assets effective from 17 November 2014. However, QFIIs / RQFIIs shall be subject to withholding tax in respect of capital gains derived prior to 17 November 2014.


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Will Cloud UC Breathe New Life Into Unified Communications?
Posted by
Denise Culver
August 07, 2012
When unified communications (UC) was first bandied about by vendors and service providers, the pitch was that enterprises would flock to it en masse, wooed by the promise of seamless integration of voice, video and data across platforms and devices.
But that isn't exactly what happened--UC didn't live up to the promise, failing to integrate and interconnect on many levels. A bad economy sucked the bravado from traditional first-to-market IT mavericks, who instead retreated to the shadows of their legacy-based PBX systems rather than risk any bottom-line scrutiny that might reveal fiscal irresponsibility.
Meanwhile, vendors and service providers failed to prove a hard case for ROI, instead holding fast to isolated case studies that illustrated improved communications and collaboration without answering the much-needed question: How much will UC save in telecommunications and technology costs if I implement it?
Not surprisingly, enterprise IT responded in underwhelming fashion, and UC has limped along, a communications and collaboration strategy that sounded good in principle but simply didn't justify the cost, time and faith in its required rip-and-replace strategy.
Enter the cloud.
Although few UC vendors or service providers are willing to admit it, the cloud has delivered exactly what UC has been lacking since it first hit the market: cost savings, largely in the form of capex savings. That's especially important for larger enterprises, says Jim Burton, CEO of consulting firm CT Link.
"A good example of this was Interactive Intelligence, which came up with a cloud UC offering that it thought would be a good offering for small-business customers," he says. "It actually was the big customers that gravitated to it early because they saw the cost benefit of having someone host UC, manage it for them and not have to worry about regular updates. It's ended up being such a big thing that this year, more than 40% of Interactive Intelligence's revenue will be based on the cloud for big business."
The value of cloud UC products has not gone unnoticed by other service providers and vendors, as illustrated in the merger and partnership activity that's taken place during the past few months (see Figure 1). But for enterprise IT, the question remains: Is there value in UC--regardless of whether it's in the cloud or on-premise?
|Figure 1
|April 2012: Agreement with Level 3 Communications and Internet2.
April 2012: Acquired Comdasys AG.
|Provides managed voice services to college campuses throughout the country.
Provides fixed mobile convergence product that enable smartphones to become full-featured PBX extensions with UC capabilities.
|Jan. 2012: Added UC services built at least partially on the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution.
|AT&T launched UC Central, a downloadable app that creates a dashboard to manage all communication tools, and UC Voice, to provide IP telephony.
|June 2012: Acquired Radvision for $230 million.
March 2012: Partnered with Level 3 Communications.
|Radvision provides products for unified visual communications over IP and 3G networks.
Strategic relationship in support of AvayaLive Connect.
|June 2012: Released Cisco UC Release 9.0 on the Cisco Unified Communications platform.
|Added support for third-party endpoints, fixed mobile convergence; and improved video quality, security and usability; and enhanced customer collaboration.
|June 2012: Released the A2 Intelligent Messaging Manager.
December 2009: Acquired Nortel's Carrier VoIP and Application Solutions Business, including the A2, for $400 million.
|The A2 originally was designed for SP networks. Genband added Web-based portals, cloud messaging and terminal interoperability to enable self-administration by customer administrators and end users.
|July 2012: Acquired Broadcore Communications.
|Broadcore, which provides cloud UC services, will continue to operate as a fully owned subsidiary.
|RingCentral's service began as a cloud-based UC offering upon its founding in 2003.
|Cloud-enabled services are available in RingCentral Fax, RingCentral Mobile and RingCentral Office.
|February 2012: Acquired M5 Networks for $146 million.
|The acquisition gives ShoreTel a cloud offering, in addition to its premise-based UC product.
|July 2012: Partnered with CSC for an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offering.
March 2012: Partnered with Cisco to create Sprint Complete Collaboration.
|Email, managed hosting and colocation services will be hosted by CSC and accessed via Sprint's communications backbone.
The hosted, fully managed UC bundle enables IT departments to deploy a communications platform across an all-IP network.
|August 2011: Acquired CloudSwitch.
April 2011: Acquired Terremark for $1.4 billion.
|Makes software that enables companies to move workloads and apps between cloud and on-premise infrastructures.
Terremark is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon, providing IT infrastructure services that include managed hosting, data storage and cloud computing.
Next: Searching for the Silver Lining in Cloud UC
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