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PSC looks into regulating BGE post-derecho fees
This past summer's derecho knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of Baltimore Gas and Electric customers.
Under current Maryland regulations, BGE got to charge consumers for one day of power they didn't receive. On Monday, state regulators said they were looking into whether they should prohibit the practice.
At issue is whether customers should assume part of the cost of a power outage, and the Public Service Commission is basically looking at whether they should reverse its own ruling on it.
The June 29 Derecho knocked out power to as many as 762,000 BGE customers.
Most thought they would get a slight break on their bill. The logic is they can't charge you for something that you don't have.
But Maryland regulators allow power companies to recoup lost billings during the first 24 hours of an outage, but only during a major event, which is defined as having 100,000 customers or more without power.
The derecho cost BGE $629,000 for one day of lost sales. When that cost is spread across the utilities customer base, consumers ended up paying about 49 cents extra for power they never used. The fee is only applied to the first 24 hours.
"It's basically the fact that we have fixed expenses. This is all about, in essence, our ability to continue to re-invest in the infrastructure. Whether there is a derecho or hurricane or anything along those lines, we still have fixed costs," BGE spokesperson Rob Gould said.
Consumers are outraged mostly because of the principal of the fee. Customers complained to the PSC about the cost of replacing food, medical expenses, hotel rooms, and pet care for example.
"I think what we heard from customers, given all these costs they had to pay, is that requiring them to also pay for lost distribution revenue is like pouring salt in their wounds," said Kevin Hughes with the PSC.
The bill stabilization adjustment was intended to encourage energy conservation in winter when unusually high amounts of electricity are being used. The adjustment serves as a credit on consumers' bills.
One jurisdiction opposing the billing adjustment suggested BGE request a waiver instead. Testimony indicated another option; BGE give customers a rebate when their power is out. BGE contends it's providing consumers rock-bottom prices and the billing adjustment fee is a bargain.
"If we were making $32 a month from every residential customer, that would cover the fixed cost that we have over a period of time," said Wayne Harbaugh with BGE.
The PSC is re-examining whether companies should continue to collect the bill stabilization adjustment fee. The issue generated spirited discussion, but the PSC didn't reveal how they would rule.
"It is a risk that the customer bears in the first 24 hours," Harbaugh said.


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Home : Book Lover T-shirts : Reader Quote : Mens Apparel : T-Shirt - Neon Green
Literacy quote for the reader, librarian or book lover says sleep, eat, dream, work, live, be and READ on a T-Shirt gift.
Design First Loaded: 2011-06-06 08:45:16
Everyone loves our Custom T-Shirts! Wardrobe essential for looking good, 24/7. 5.0 oz., pre-shrunk 100% cotton. Seamless 1x1 rib collar. Shoulder-to-shoulder taping. Double-needle stitched sleeves, bottom hem and front neck. Note: greys are a cotton/polyester blend.

subset: commoncrawl


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Friday, 24 January 2014
Dad teaches his daugher to burn the tires
How many of us had driving lessons from our parents in an empty parking space? If you think your dad was cool for this I'm sorry but this father takes everything to another level since the video shows him teaching and encouraging his daughter to do donuts in a rental Corvette!
Posted by Marco at 01:58 3 comments
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Lamborghini Huracan powersliding
Do you believe in love at first sight? Actually, it's possible to fall in love in just 7 seconds and this video prooves that the Lamborghini Huracan is a fantastic piece of automotive engineering that sounds and slides pretty well! This video was taken during the making of an official commercial in the streets of the USA and shows an orange Huracan powersliding through a corner with a camera car just behind.
Posted by Marco at 01:14 13 comments
Labels: commercial, drift, huracan, lamborghini, slide, sound
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Yet another impounded Aventador
Bulls can fly? Technically not.. but if you leave yours where it's forbidden, it's just a matter of time before two guys come and move it on a tow truck. This matte grey Lamborghini Aventador was left alone in a street of London and it's a good thing the owner didn't saw his car being impounded since the guys have moved the expensive supercar in a very unstable way!
Posted by Marco at 03:25 0 comments
Labels: aventador, impound, impounded, lamborghini, london
Tuesday, 21 January 2014
Teaser - Autocar drives the P1
Steve Sutcliffe at Autocar is one lucky guy, he got to drive a McLaren P1! The automotive journalist has reviewed the latest british hypercar around Bahrain circuit and although this short clip is just a teaser of their upcoming full video, here we see enough speed and action to let us wait anxiously for the final video!
Posted by Marco at 00:00 1 comments
Labels: autocar, driven, mclaren, p1, review, steve sutcliffe, test drive
Monday, 20 January 2014
Abandoned Audi RS5 gets vandalized
During a recent flood in Surrey, UK, the driver of this Audi RS5 left the car for several days on a flooded road. We don't know if the car was stolen but there's something sure: it has seen better moments!
Posted by Marco at 02:06 6 comments
Sunday, 19 January 2014
458 with Straight Pipes sounds mean
Supercars are quite common in the exclusive area of Beverly Hills but if you drive a common supercar such as the Ferrari 458 Italia, a straight pipes exhaust is enough to catch people's attention!
Posted by Marco at 00:43 3 comments
Labels: 458, custom, exhaust, ferrari, straight pipes
Saturday, 18 January 2014
730hp Aventador on the drag strip
For the first time the russian guys at DragTimesInfo have organized one of their events outside Russia and obviously have brought a lot of good stuff! On this greek drag strip we get to see an amazing sounding Lamborghini Aventador fitted with Capristo exhaust racing a 680hp BMW M6 and doing a run along with a Porsche GT3 RS tuned up 1000hp.
Posted by Marco at 01:56 0 comments
Labels: drag, drag times info, dragtimesinfo, race, russia
Thursday, 16 January 2014
POV Driving the Ferrari FF
Not everyone are so lucky to be able own or even go for a ride in a Ferrari but today's video is pretty amazing because it takes us behind the wheel of a Ferrari FF driving through the british countryside and to make it better also in a couple of tunnels!
Posted by Marco at 00:00 3 comments
Wednesday, 15 January 2014
Slow Motion Rally Crash
A crash at a rally event? Uh, nothing new then, but this video is very interesting because it shows a rough crash of a Ford Fiesta in slow motion and from a very close position of the accident. Not a great start of 2014 for this team as their car loses the control and rolls over multiple times at high speed!
Posted by Marco at 00:00 1 comments
Tuesday, 14 January 2014
Spied: Lamborghini Huracán in Singapore
The new Lamborghini Huracán is no more a secret among us, recently the company has revealed to the world the long awaited successor of the Gallardo but still, since its public debut takes place in a couple of months (at Geneva Motor Show, to be precise), at the moment just some lucky chaps invited by Lamborghini are allowed to see the car for real.
Posted by Marco at 00:00 1 comments
Monday, 13 January 2014
UK Police gets a McLaren 12C
Watch out Dubai (and obviously the criminals in UK!), the british police department has just unveiled at Autosport International in Birmingham their new and fastest car that will join the fleet, a McLaren 12C Spider!
Posted by Marco at 00:54 6 comments
Saturday, 11 January 2014
Desert fun with the A45 AMG
Is it really necessary to use a big off-road vehicle if you want to have some fun in the desert? Not really, this video clearly shows uf that an AWD system is enough for that! Years ago we would have never said that the A-Class is a tough car, even less that it would have looked like good fun to drive across the dunes of the desert!
Posted by Marco at 01:48 2 comments
Friday, 10 January 2014
Camaro crashes at 220mph
Back in March 2013, a 2800hp Chevrolet Camaro (which was obviously known as the world's fastest one) has been totally wrecked while attempting a +220mph (+350 kph) run during the Texas Mile event; 10 months after the terrible crash we get to see for the first time a video crash which show the Camaro losing the control and rolling over at a ridiculous speed.
Posted by Marco at 00:58 1 comments
Thursday, 9 January 2014
1550hp Lamborghini Superleggera is hella fast
Don't you simply love the insane passion of the americans to twin turbo everything? At the contrary of us europeans, in America the supercars modified with a twin turbo engine aren't a rare sight and if you're an american customer waiting for the newly-revealed Huracan, watch out because there are still plenty twin turbo Gallardos tuned to the extreme such as this Superleggera that produces an incredible 1550hp!
Posted by Marco at 01:57 0 comments
Labels: 1550hp, drag, gallardo, lamborghini, race, superleggera, twin turbo
Wednesday, 8 January 2014
Watching this Viper being smashed will make you sad
Before to click play, you have to know this video might ruin your day. The author of the video doesn't give any explanations, he just says " we had to destroy this dodge viper . 4 more to go ". The unlucky Dodge Viper you see in the video is not a replica and we don't know if the engine is broken or it has something irreparable, but watching it being smashed in a junk yard is just wrong!
Posted by Marco at 00:01 11 comments
Tuesday, 7 January 2014
The Lamborghini epicness of the day is here
A Lamborghini LP670-4 Superveloce and behind the wheel the owner which doesn't care that much about the tires of the clutch, this is really the recipe of a good video! Watching this Grigio Telesto SV leaving a car event in a cloud of smoke will make your day!
Posted by Marco at 00:41 4 comments
Labels: burnout, drift, lamborghini, launch, murcielago, superveloce
Monday, 6 January 2014
Douchebag driver in a BMW M3
A dashcam and someone driving like a crazy? Surprisingly, the video is not set in Russia but in Belgium and through the camera placed on a truck we get to see a douchebag driving reckless a black BMW M3 on the highway. The plate of the car is quite visible and with the power of internet, it won't take so long before to find the owner and hopefully burn his driving license.
Posted by Marco at 00:00 12 comments
Sunday, 5 January 2014
Lamborghini Aventador Causes Fire
Everyone know that the exhaust of the Lamborghini Aventador is a truly hot flamethrower and so you should be careful where you rev the engine! During a Lamborghini event held in Dubai to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the brand, a white Aventador caused a fire while revving very close to the bushes.
Posted by Marco at 00:00 1 comments
Labels: aventador, backfire, exhaust, fire, flames, flamethrower, lamborghini, sound
Saturday, 4 January 2014
The Novitec F12 looks and sounds like a beast
Back in October the german tuner Novitec has placed his hands on the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and for the first time we get to hear and see the F12 N-Largo being unleashed on track, this thing sounds and looks like a beast!
Posted by Marco at 01:19 1 comments
Labels: f12 berlinetta, f12 n-largo, ferrari, n-largo, novitec, rosso
Friday, 3 January 2014
Here's the first LaFerrari sale speculation
The LaFerrari is an exclusive hypercar that many collectors would love to have in their garages, needless to say that all the 499 units have been sold to selected customers that haven't even seen the car before to spend over a million euros.
Posted by Marco at 00:07 2 comments
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Start 2014 in style with a Huayra
Is there a better way to start the new year with a new ride? Not really, especially if we're talking about 730hp belonging to the Pagani Huayra!
Posted by Marco at 03:33 2 comments
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text: The Melbourne based architecture and design practice Edwards Moore created this barstool made from reclaimed timber off-cuts compressed by a tension belt. The perfectly even top, finished with linseed oil putty and wax, builds a contrast to the rough and unregular composition. 'offcut' was designed as part of this year's currently ongoing State of Design Festival in Melbourne.


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Occidental College Stats, Info and Facts
|Institution Type:
|Private not-for-profit
|Campus Setting:
|Far West Large City
|Highest Degree Offered:
|Bachelor's degree
|Level of Institution:
|Four or more years
|School Mascot:
|School Colors:
|Black and orange
Oxy is a close community of students who are academically driven, but enjoy spending time with their friends in the sun. The weather is great, the people are even…
The campus was really beautiful, and all of the students seem like family. The school strives to offer many unique academic opportunities such as internships, research abroad and grants for…
A small liberal arts college in southern California, Oxy is great for anyone looking for a personal college experience. I loved knowing almost everyone on campus, from students to…
Occidental College is a beautiful school. It has great academics and is a place for hardworking students. In Los Angeles, there is always something to do.…
The mission of Occidental College is to provide a gifted and diverse group of students with a total educational experience of the highest quality -- one that prepares them for leadership in an increasingly complex, inter-dependent and pluralistic world. The distinctive interdisciplinary and multicultural focus of the College's academic program seeks to foster both the fulfillment of individual aspirations and a deeply rooted commitment to the public good.
This mission is anchored by four cornerstones: excellence, equity, community and service. These building blocks, in one form or another, have long been the basis for the College's commitment to providing responsible leaders and citizens for our democratic society. Choosing them to support the future helps to ensure that the College remains true to its mission while adapting to a changing world.
Occidental is a wonderful campus because of its diversity and energy that the students, faculty, and staff bring. There are numerous events and clubs on campus so that everyone can find someone who shares an interest with them. Living on campus is fun and a great way to meet new people! Going to school in Los Angeles allows for multiple opportunities and experiences if you like city-life! For example, you can dance in the yearly Dance Production, audition for Glee Club or the Occidental/Cal Tech Orchestra, or volunteer at a local homeless shelter. You can enjoy cultural events, student performances, dances, and weekly events on the Quad to help brighten up your day! The opportunities on and off campus for Oxy students are endless and really up to you!Read More
The small size of the campus leads to a close-knit community of students who really enjoy learning and each other's company. Shyer students may be forced to open up more to new people, but it is all for the best. Clubs are very active on campus, and hall spreads lead to much bonding.Read More
I absolutely loved the school on my visitRead More


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The new research report on Global Combined Heat Power Market Research Report 2018-2025, offered by Fior Markets, has been just made available providing market resources, business method, industry purpose, and perceptions of the industry. The current and historical data was gathered, separated and analyzed to form a detail future prospect from 2018 to 2025 for the Combined Heat Power Market. The report offers a basic format of the market business that contains definitions, applications, groupings, industry chain structure, and industry-verified measurements.
The report expects a solid future growth of the market in the totality of geological regions. It combines estimation capacities and information coordination with the relevant discoveries. Generations in this report are isolated by locales, innovation, and applications.
DOWNLOAD FREE SAMPLE REPORT: https://www.fiormarkets.com/report-detail/314820/request-sample
Global Combined Heat Power Market Snapshot:-
The study report examines the growth rate and the market value based on market dynamics, growth inducing factors. The market players are profiled and their development procedures are breaked down in order to guide new entrants as well as established players.
Key vendors in the market with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer are: Acumentrics Corporation, Ceramic Fuel Cells Limited, ENE Farm, Climate energy LLC, Hexis Ltds, Cogen Microsystems, Honda Motor Co. ltd., Ceres power holding PLC,
The geological regions cited in the report are mainly classified into North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India
Different types of products include Steam Turbine, Gas Turbine, Spark Ignition Reciprocating Engine, Micro CHP, Fuel Cells,
Market segment by Application (Consumption Volume, Market Share 2013-2025 Downstream Customers and Market Analysis): Residential, Industries,
This Market Research Report Performs Following Tasks:
- Assess market potential through analysis of volume, growth rates, and price for products type and applications.
- Understand various factors influencing the market such as key driving factors, challenges, dangers, and hidden opportunities.
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- Studies in-depth insights related to your competitors' performance in the Combined Heat Power Market. Those insights include, market shares, strategies, product benchmarking, and monetary benchmarking.
- Examines the worldwide import-export statistics, supply-demand gaps, cost structures, major R&D activities, and restrictive landscape for prime countries for the market.
- Identifies deals, partnerships, product launches of all key players that all together combines market outlook.
ACCESS FULL REPORT: https://www.fiormarkets.com/report/global-combined-heat-power-market-research-report-2018-2025-314820.html
Moreover, the forenamed report gives forecasts of the industry along with best players that are dominating. You will also find key information about consumption figures based on types and applications of the Combined Heat Power Market. To pursue the regional and international market, all the predictions of the industry report were quantity-wise as well as quality-wise considered.
Reasons To Purchase This Market Report:
- To get pin-point analysis of the Combined Heat Power market to understand the changing competitive dynamics
- The report lets you know the key product segments and their future
- The study offers absolute wisdom of market and in-depth analysis of market segments
Customization of the Report:This report can be customized to meet the client's requirements. Please connect with our sales team (email@example.com), who will ensure that you get a report that suits your needs.


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Not feeling content with the radar-guided cruise control and lane departure warning systems on the market now? Toyota has announced a couple new pieces of tech it hopes to develop into the best way of preventing crashes without completely ruining, you know, driving.
The company says its Automated Highway Driving Assist systems, comprising two advancements on familiar technology, will talk to other cars on the road so that your car won't crash into them. But it doesn't go as far as making a completely autonomous car that does all of the driving for you, meaning a human still has a role in the whole process.
And Toyota really uses the term "fun-to-drive" when they're talking about safety equipment:
Toyota recognizes the importance of the driver being in ultimate control of a vehicle and is therefore aiming to introduce AHDA and other advanced driving support systems where the driver maintains control and the fun-to-drive aspect of controlling a vehicle is not compromised.
Hey, this is big news! It's not every day Toyota issues a news release with those words.
Anyway, AHDA uses cruise control that measures the speed of vehicles in front of you, not just your own. It incorporates that with a system of cameras and radars tracking the lane it thinks you want to be in and nudges the wheel or brakes if it thinks you're having too much fun while driving.
Expect AHDA, which is not a psychiatric disorder, to show up in Toyota products in the second half of this decade. And maybe by then, there will be more fun-to-drive Toyotas to try this stuff out on.
More info in the press release.
Photos: Toyota


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Michael (Konstantinides) of America
His Eminence, the Most Reverend Archbishop Michael (Konstantinides), (Greek: Μιχαήλ Κωνσταντινίδης), was the Primate of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America from December 18, 1949 to July 13, 1958. Abp. Michael succeeded Abp. Athenagoras who had been named Patriarch of Constantinople.
Born Michael Konstantinides, little is known of his early life. Michael was ordained to the priesthood in 1919 and was elected Metropolitan of Corinth in 1939. Metr. Michael was appointed in late 1949 to head the American Archdiocese to succeed Abp. Athenagoras after the first choice, Abp. Timotheos (Evangelinidis), the Metropolitan of Australia and New Zealand, refused the appointment due to poor health. He died later in 1949.
Abp. Michael was particularly active in expansion of the educational activities of St. Basil Academy (Garrison, New York)St Basil Academy in Garrison, New York.
Abp. Michael served as the ruling archbishop of the Archdiocese of America until his repose on July 13, 1958. He was buried on the grounds of St Basil Academy, the academy that he loved.
Michael (Konstantinides) of America
{{succession| before=?| title=Metropolitan of Corinth| years=1939-1949| after=?|
|Preceded by:
|Archbishop of North and South America
|Succeeded by:
Iakovos (Coucouzis)


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Texas guard Julien Lewis transfers
BY foxsports • May 14, 2013
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Texas guard Julien Lewis has been granted his release and will become the third player to leave the Longhorns since they finished a disappointing season 16-18 and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years.
The school announced the departure Tuesday.
Guard Sheldon McClellan, who led Texas in scoring most of the season but clashed with coach Rick Barnes, left the team earlier this year. Myck Kabongo, who was voted the team's most valuable player despite sitting out a 23-game NCAA suspension, left school to enter the NBA draft.
Lewis started 21 games and averaged 11.2 points. Texas is now without its top three scorers from last season.
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GPS Tourmaster makes your vehicle tell the stories of the places you visit. The TomTom PRO will guide you through a scheduled route detailing the most popular landmarks of your city or country.
GPS Tourmaster Professional is a platform for the tourism industry and companies involved in car hire.
The solution lets you create, edit and send routes to vehicles equipped with a TomTom PRO navigation device. You can manage the content and processes of checking, invoicing and booking from one standard control panel.


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Kati and Kali are looking for a new home and a second chance at happiness.Their family is heartbroken to have to give them up. They are losing their home and have to move into government housing, which doesn't allow pets.
Kati and Kali are both very friendly, 7 years old, 50 lbs, housebroken, love kids and other dogs and are not picky eaters.
Kati (the black one) loves to snuggle and spoon. She's queen of the house and very smart. She's a major homebody who prefers to stay inside and watch TV with you, only going outside to do her business. And she loves her sister Kali.
Kali (the brown one) is the protector of the family and the brains of the operation. Unlike her sister and best friend Kati, she prefers to be outside. She walks the kids to the bus stop each morning, and loves to greet them and walk them back home in the afternoon.
Kati and Kali have been together their whole lives and would love to be adopted together, but if being adopted into separate homes is the only way to keep them out of the shelter, that will be alright.
These two sweet doggies deserve a family that will love them and one that they can show their love and appreciation to in return. If there's room in your heart and home for Kati and Kali, please send an email to email@example.com or call The Voice at 502.498.2052.


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Volvo Cars Leasing
Whether you're a business user or a private individual, Volvo Car Leasing can offer you a range of Contract Hire plans. Our tailored packages aim to help you enjoy worry-free motoring with a minimum of fuss. All Volvo Car Leasing Contract Hire plans give the benefit of:
- A low initial outlay
- A flexible hire period
- Road fund licence included for the contract period
- The option to add a service, maintenance and breakdown package
- The flexibility to amend your finance term or agreed mileage if you need to
- No depreciation worries, as you hand the car back at the end of the agreement
Business Contract Hire is an efficient way to fund the use of a vehicle without the costs of ownership. And thanks to the fixed costs of the agreement, forward planning is simplified. You also avoid the difficulty of having to take into account lifetime depreciation, ongoing maintenance and vehicle disposal.
We can tailor your Business Contract Hire package to the needs of your business – so whether you want just one vehicle or a whole fleet, we can help.
Personal Contract Hire is a plan that allows you to fix the cost of your motoring. You can tailor this Contract Hire agreement to your requirements. So, you can choose the length of the hire period, the annual mileage for the vehicle and the service, maintenance and breakdown package that suits you best. At the end of the agreement, you simply hand the car back.
Contract hire provided by Santander Consumer (UK) PLC trading as Volvo Car Financial Services, RH1 1SR. 18's & over, subject to status. Guarantee/Indemnity may be required.


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The resignation of Mark Hurd as chairman, president, and CEO of HP for violating HP's code of conduct following a sexual harassment investigation is arguably the biggest scandal to rock the IT industry, if for no other reason than the fact that HP is IT's biggest player.
But Hurd is by no means alone in terms of high-level IT executives who have either resigned or been fired in the wake of issues ranging from indiscretions to outright fraud, even as they sat at or near the top of their companies.
Remember how IBM's Bob Moffat and AMD's Hector Ruiz were tarred due to their connection to an insider trading probe? Or HP's Patricia Dunn's pretexting of reporters? Or Oracle's Charles Philips and the billboards which announced a long-time affair?
We aren't National Enquirer or Star Magazine by any means. But there's nothing wrong with a good tale or two involving power, sex, and money. . . .


text: Yesterday over on Disclose TV an interview with Alexander Nekrassov took place. The video below is embedded into this post, if you get chance watch it its about Ukraine. US President Barack Obama is in Estonia for meetings with Baltic leaders. Obama holds talks with leaders of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to reassure them that NATO is serious about defending them against what the West calls Russia's aggression. This is Obama's second visit to the Baltic region this year. He would then fly to Wales to take part in the NATO summit.


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Playing the Alphabet Game. Singing songs together. The License Plate Game.Family comraderie and bonding. Gleeful anticipation of destination.
Or something akin to this.
{Filmed by bro Gavin}
(Circa 1991 on the way to my bro John's graduation from Stanford. Me: 22 yrs old)
Anticipating a call from my mom any minute now, wherein I will most likely be grounded for time and all eternity for airing our dirty laundry.
I meant to make a couple of disclaimers prior to posting this:
a) We usually had way more fun on our road trips and didn't fight.
b) Megan, Susan really wasn't breathing on you (at least directly).
c) Susan, your breath really did reek mightily.
d) Mom, way to keep your calm and cool. I aspire to more of that.
e) McMember-of-the-Audiovisual-Club-in-Highschool insisted upon interjecting the slow-mo clip just in case you missed the actual slap in real time.
Welp, we're off to San Diego on a roadtrip of our own this week to reunite with
parents, sibs, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Now, if you would all be so kind as to run immediately and without hesitation to your bedside, closet, or closest place of worship and pray a little prayer for our impending 437 hour, I mean 6 hour drive, that would be g.r.a.n.d.
Love you mom!


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I've posted some new information about upcoming performances in the Elevated Observations column, but otherwise, today's post is all about me.
My wife Pam and I are creating a series of short videos called Manchester Gallery. The title venue is really my slightly-larger-than-a-closet media room, where I keep an extensive, and in some cases, unusual collection of rock and roll memorabilia. Posters, 45's and LPs, autographed tour books, guitar picks, magazines, trading cards, bubblegum wrappers, etc. Nothing that's worth much money, but the idea of Manchester Gallery is to present each item in an interesting, and hopefully, amusing manner. In the videos, I take on the persona of Terrence, the Gallery's snobbish curator, who insists that every one of the artifacts he's presenting is priceless.
Our first Manchester Gallery is about a Graham Nash puppet I had custom made by an artist who does soft sculptures. Terrence offers an entirely fictional account of its origins. The video can be seen on Part Two of the January 10th installment of Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff, an offbeat Internet show Pam and I have been enjoying for some time now.
Host Jeff Kelley assembles an assortment of clips from commercials, TV shows, and hilariously bad B-movies, that along with his own clever observations, explore a particular theme. A regular segment called On The Road With Willy depicts the affable Willy on his way to the latest gig by his favorite local rock band, Goin' South. The January 10th Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff focused on the United States Navy with a zany outtake from the McHale's Navy TV series, Popeye and Donald Duck cartoons, an official U.S. Navy newsreel, and clips from Abbott & Costello In The Navy and Hellcats Of The Navy with Ronald Reagan.
Kelley just kicked off his second season of Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff, and in addition to a snazzy new set designed with help from commercial artist Dave Metzger and moving from a weekly to bi-weekly format, he wants to include more original material. That's where Pam and I came in. Our second Manchester Gallery, which casts a spotlight on my various action figures, is slated for the January 24th edition, and we're planning on doing more. Kelley is open to suggestions. Anyone interested in participating in Sunday Morning Coffee With Jeff can contact Kelley at his website.


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|The new Airbus A350 takes off for its maiden flight at the
Toulouse-Blagnac airport in southwestern France
June 14, 2013
The world's aviation sector moved to the rhythm of Airbus' A350 XWB on Friday 14th June 2013, as this new-generation jetliner performed its first flight – viewed by thousands of company employees, industry executives and aircraft enthusiasts at Toulouse, France, and followed on the Internet by a global audience.
Beginning its takeoff roll exactly on time at 10:00 a.m., the no. 1 A350 XWB smoothly rotated and climbed away from Runway 32L at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, ascending through scattered clouds as it was accompanied by a photo chase aircraft.
Operating on maximum takeoff power of its two Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the A350 XWB demonstrated the aircraft's low external noise levels and excellent handling conditions from its first moments in the air.
"The A350 XWB is fantastic and impressive," said John Leahy moments after the historic takeoff. "Did you hear how quiet it was? We're going to set new standards with the A350 XWB – not just for comfort and performance, but for environmental friendliness as well."
Airbus employees welcomed the newest member of the company's jetliner family by turning out in large numbers at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport – many waving flags with the message: "A350 XWB first flight – We did it!"
Additionally, more than 50,000 visitors watched the A350 XWB's takeoff on the airbus.com website, which delivered on-line streaming that also included real-time air-to-air video. This coverage enabled viewers to share the experience as the aircraft went airborne for the first time, and subsequently provided real-time views during such key moments as the first landing gear retraction and certain handling qualities evaluations.
Video of the first flight was provided on Airbus' You Tube channel, and comments were posted on Twitter using the #A350firstflight hashtag.
While airborne, the A350 XWB was clearly identifiable by the extra widebody fuselage cross-section, its distinctive wrap-around windshield and streamlined nose profile, along with the tapered wings – a result of Airbus' advanced aerodynamic design. To further distinguish the new aircraft, it carries the A350 WXB designation – complete with the stylized logo – in large letters on its fuselage centerline.
In completing its 4-hour, 5-minute maiden mission, the A380 XWB performed a flyby of Toulouse-Blagnac Airport before landing on Runway 32L to applause and cheers.
The A350 XWB that flew on Friday is designated MSN1, and is an A350-900 version. This is the mid-family member of the A350 XWB Family, with the -900 to accommodate 314 passengers in a typical three-class configuration. The longer-fuselage A350-1000 version seats 350, while the shortest – the A350-800 – has a capacity of 270 passengers.
A total of five aircraft will participate in the A350-900's 2,500-flight hour test and certification programme in support of this first A350 XWB version to enter airline service.