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Primary school football - Glenelg Zone, as voted by the umpires
Year 4-5 Winner Josh Koster. Yes, son of Kym. Brilliant junior footballer (but an absolute hog)
Year 6-7 Winner Kosta __________ (forgotten surname) from Glenelg PS
Kosta hard as nails and tougher then steel, and a ball of muscle.
Two names to bookmark Ecky!

subset: commoncrawl


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Clouds and showers on tap for Saturday
It's one of those days where you just either want to cuddle up in bed, grab a latte and laze away the day in a coffee shop, or maybe go for a cool morning jog. Any way you spin it, it feels like a stereotypical fall day to kick things up in Northwest Arkansas and the River Valley.
Now we'll see even more cloud cover kicked up into the second half of Saturday ahead of an approaching system out of the west. This system also has some shower activity associated with it, but it looks like the bulk of it will be heading just south of the Ouachitas. That's not to say we won't see any showers at all, but I think what we will see will end up being of the pop-up / hit and miss variety. Temperatures for the day won't be all that warm...only in the low to mid 60s, so a light jacket would probably be wise to take with you.
For Sunday, however, the sunshine returns and overall, it looks to be a very pleasant end to the weekend. Highs will be in the mid to upper 60s.
The next batch of weather we're looking at impacting the region looks to arrive Tuesday with showers and thundershowers possible for then and also into Wednesday and Thursday. Heavy rain looks to be the biggest impact from the storm system.
We'll keep you posted on that as we get a little closer. In the meantime, hold tight to that latte or blanket and have a GREAT rest of your Saturday, everyone!


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There are many reasons to love Chicago. They just don't spring to mind when we're trudging up the steps to the train platform or waiting for the bus in the middle of a lousy winter day.
I think of our style at this time of year as the Chicago Hunch-over — bent over and heads turtled into our collars, trying to stay warm on the shores of a fierce Great Lake.
I can't make the temperature rise to springlike levels — not even weather guru Tom Skilling can do that — but I can give you some strategies for making your commute, walk to school or trek to pick up some diapers (and pizza and hot chocolate) less miserable.
It's astounding how many of us just don't dress for the weather. It's as though we think that if we leave the house in flimsy shoes and without a hat and gloves, the sun will miraculously shine, trees will blossom and it will be May, not January. Not gonna happen. And trust me: It's going to get worse before it gets better.
So, as a public service, I put together a seven-point guide — with the finds modeled by co-worker Amy Winter — to making the best of the worst a Chicago winter has to offer. The magic word? Layers.
What to wear
Warm head. This is crucial — don't forget the ears! This hat has a plug and built-in speakers for your music (Old Navy, $24.94, oldnavy.com).
Down parka. The longer the better, with snap closure on top of the zipper for best wind protection (Laundry by Shelli Segal, $340 reduced to $136, Macy's, macys.com). Look for the knit cuffs inside sleeves and a hood.
Scarf and turtleneck. A scarf, tied tight, keeps snow from dribbling down the neck of your coat. (Chart Club cashmere scarf, $88 reduced to $44, Macy's, macys.com.) A turtleneck shirt beneath is added security (Lands' End, $24.50 reduced to $12.25, Sears, sears.com).
Long knit tunic. It covers more turf than a mere sweater ($24.80, Forever21, forever21.com).
Solid coverage on the hands. Amy is wearing arm warmers ($5.50, Forever21, forever21.com) on top of touch-screen-friendly gloves (180s Tec Touch, $25 reduced to $18.75, Macy's, macys.com).
Heavy wool-lined pants. These are the model's own; add thick tights beneath for extra warmth.
Warm feet. Keeping feet warm is a priority (and a challenge). Don't cheap out on boots, and be sure they're waterproof (Sorel, Cate the Great, $200, sorel.com). And even if boots are fleece-lined, you can't go wrong with two (or three) pairs of socks.
There are many reasons to love Chicago. They just don't spring to mind when we're trudging up the steps to the train platform or waiting for the bus in the middle of a lousy winter day.


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Chris Candusso
Mortgage Agent
Markets Served:
300-801 York Mills Rd
North York, ON M3B 1X7
Office: 416-576-8156
Cell: 647-330-7994
Fax: 905-201-2265
We believe that every customer deserves the best care and service when purchasing or refinancing the home of their dreams. We're here to serve your mortgage needs and have what it takes to make a difference in your next mortgage transaction. We can place all types of mortgages including purchases, refinances, equity takeouts, debt consolidations, renewals and mortgages for self employed. Call us today and get a free quote and overview of current market conditions affecting the mortgage market! Since my business is built primarily through referrals from satisfied customers, your positive mortgage experience is essential! Your mortgage is a big decision and a powerful financial tool. I look forward to helping you achieve your financial and homeownership goals!
A Special Place to Work
Our workplace culture makes CLC a special place. In their own words, here's why some of our employees love what they do.
It's hard to condense all the great things I have to say about CLC but at the heart of it all is that the owners truly care about you as a person and want to see you grow and earn a great living.
Jason D. - Toronto
I would just like to personally thank everyone at the CLC team. The managers truly care about our well being and making sure we succeed, a true breath of fresh air
Deborah F. - Mississauga
I've come from other brokerages and this one is like no other. It's an amazing team to work alongside and I enjoy coming to work each and every day.
Maguerite L. - Burlington


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While I love a beautifully tailored piece of upholstery, a slipcover is just so very practical for my own lifestyle. It gives me comfort knowing that the dirt and mud that my dog and son (and me!) can track onto it are easily cleanable. Plus it gives a casual air to a room, and that is definitely something I am all about in my own house!
I love white fabrics but I could never let myself upholster a piece in a white material… I know it would be damaged goods in no time! But with a slip I'm able to use my favorite non-color without any worries (besides an extra load of laundry every once in a while)!
I love how a room can be tied together so well with matching slipcovers. Who knows what fabrics are underneath these slips- they could look horrible with each other, but matching slips you'd never know.
These natural linen slipcovers are really more practical than white ones… they still give the overall effect of a light slipcover but they are much more forgiving with markings.
Always have loved the steely blue gray of this slipcover. The double ruffle is a fun detail that you don't have to permanently live with in case you ever veer towards a more minimal look. And as a design schizophrenic, that flexibility to change styles with slipcovers totally appeals to me!
Look how good the dark accessories look next to these more slouchy slips! Definitely goes to show that white slips aren't just for the summer, but for all seasons.
Casual, comfy and chic all at the same time.
Cote de Texas has one of the most comprehensive blog posts on slipcovers you could ever read. Enjoy!


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Looking for a set of Golus alloys in good condition
2003 Skoda Octavia VRS Estate. APR 98RON remap, APR R1 diverter valve, Jetex exhaust, K&N panel filter, 7.5x18 Alutec Monstr wheels with 225/40 18 Uniroyal Rainsport 3 tyres.
2006 Polo GTI 1.8T, APR 95RON remap
1988 Golf 2 GTI 16 valve, 2.2 with Weber Alpha injection
1983 Golf 1 GTI 8 valve, 2 litre with Eurospec racing 42/36 head
1972 1302LS auto 1641cc conversion
Vile Invention
Dark was that day when Diesel conceived his grim engine that begot you, vile invention, more vicious, more criminal than the camera even, metallic monstrosity, bale and bane of our culture, chief woe of our Commonweal. How dare the Law prohibit hashish and heroin yet license your use, who inflate all weak inferior egos? Their addicts only do harm to their own lives: you poison the lungs of the innocent, your din dithers the peaceful, and on choked roads hundreds must daily die by chance-medley. Nimble technicians, surely you should hang your heads in shame. Your wit works mighty wonders, has landed men on the Moon, replaced brains by computers, and can smithy a "smart" bomb. It is a crying scandal that you cannot take the time or be bothered to build us, what sanity knows we need, an odorless and noiseless staid little electric brougham.
W.H. Auden (1907-1973), A Curse:


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Amoeboid swimming - crawling in a fluid
Researchers from CNRS, Inserm, and Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble have developed a particularly simple model that reproduces the swimming mechanism of amoebas. They show that, by changing shape, these single cell organisms propel themselves forward in a viscous fluid at the same speed as when they crawl on a solid substrate. This work has recently been published in the journal Physical Review Letters.
The way microorganisms swim is fundamentally different to that of fish since, at their scale, viscosity effects dominate and make fins totally inefficient. Various strategies are employed. The majority of such organisms propel themselves forward by beating their flagella or cilia while others, such as amoebas, deform their bodies in the same way as they would for crawling. However the efficiency of this method of propulsion remains poorly understood.
Physicists from the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique (LIPhy, CNRS/Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble), Oslo University and the Institut Albert Bonniot (Inserm/Université Joseph Fourier – Grenoble) have elucidated the key elements of this method of locomotion by analyzing a simplified theoretical model.
They determined the necessary morphological deformations and the speed of propulsion and showed that incompressibility of the cell membrane is essential.
To conduct this study, the researchers modeled the cell using an inextensible fluid membrane (in other words, able to deform while maintaining its membrane area) containing a viscous fluid and located within a viscous fluid. Surface deformations in this model are uniquely due to forces perpendicular to the surface of the membrane. Among all the possible deformations, the physicists favored those that maintain symmetry of revolution around the axis of movement. Cell deformations induce stresses in the external fluid, which, in return, exerts a force on the cell. To simulate a swimming motion, the researchers considered elementary movements during which the forces exerted on the surface remain constant. These forces alter the shape of the cell and calculations show that motion depends solely on these shapes and not on the speed of movement.
Swimming is thus uniquely determined by the succession of shapes adopted by the cell and the distance covered only depends on the geometry of the surfaces. The model described reproduces certain swimming cycles observed in nature. It will certainly improve our knowledge of cell mobility and make it possible to envisage novel types of artificial micro-swimmers.


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Out Shopping in NYC? Where to Eat
We imagine that plenty of people think of Black Friday in terms of sales to hit and gifts to buy. Others consider where to take their families or guests the day after Thanksgiving. We're a little more likely to think, "We're headed to X neighborhood. Where should we stop for lunch?"
If you're out shopping in the city today, or showing out-of-town visitors around Times Square or Fifth Avenue, check out our guides to spots all over the city.
Main Attractions
Where To Eat Near Times Square »
Where to Eat a Pre- or Post-Theater Dinner in NYC »
Where To Eat Near Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center »
What to Eat Near the Metropolitan Museum of Art »
Where to Eat Near Grand Central »
Where to Eat Near Penn Station »
Where To Eat Near the Museum of Natural History »
Where To Eat Near The Bronx Zoo »
Where To Eat Near the High Line in New York »
Where to Eat Near Central Park (With Kids) »
Neighborhood Guides
Ed's Upper West Side »
Adam and Max's Astoria »
Robyn's Greenwood Heights »
Kenji's Morningside Heights »
Carey's Park Slope and Prospect Heights »
Erin's Boerum/Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens »
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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You might want to rename your QuickBooks company file for one of several reasons:
* You are making major changes to your file and want to have a copy of your original file handy for reference purposes.
* You are getting your file supercondensed, and want to keep the original, renamed file for historical reporting.
* Your legal name or DBA has changed and you want your file to reflect that.
So how do you change it's name? It's pretty easy.
First of all, exit QuickBooks, and have all other QuickBooks users exit the program.
In Windows, open My Computer, or your network drive, or wherever you keep your QuickBooks file. (If you don't know where it is kept, run QuickBooks and open your company, then press the F2 key. It will tell you where your file is. Then exit QuickBooks.)
Drill down to the folder where your QuickBooks file is located. It might be somewhere like Public Documents /Intuit / QuickBooks / Company Files
You'll see your company file there. QuickBooks maintains one or two folders that include your file's name (depending on your QuickBooks version) and a handful of auxiliary files with your file name.
For each of those, right-click on the file and select Rename. Give it the new name you want. Avoid the use of special characters except for hyphens or underscore characters. Rename each folder or file with the new name.
You may have a folder like "Your company name – Images" and "Restored_Your company name_Files". Rename the "Your company name" part to your new company name.
That does it as far as renaming the file at the Windows level.
RELATED: Help! My Invoice Logo Disappeared!
When you run QuickBooks, rather than opening the company from the first screen, click the QuickBooks menu for File / Open or Restore Company / Open a Company File. Select the NEW company name.
You probably want to change the file's internal name too, so that no one gets confused about which file is which. So click on at the QuickBooks menu for Company / Company Information…
You can then easily change the internal name of the company to match what its file name is. That way, whenever you open the company and it displays the name at the top of the QuickBooks window, it will show the new name.


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Healthcare reform is President Obama's signature piece of domestic legislation, and also his most controversial, with strong political opposition and continuing legal challenges. But millions have signed up for "Obamacare" in its first year, gaining access to medical care they previously could not afford.Liberty Sizemore leans back in her chair and beams. The 26-year-old filling station cashier has just been told her enrolment in Obamacare is complete.
Now she can have her first routine doctor's appointment for seven years.
"I am so happy," says Sizemore as she waits at the Grace Community Health Centre in Clay County, Kentucky, "I've not had insurance since I turned 19."
But Sizemore is also nervous. She is seriously overweight and was warned in her teens that she was likely to develop diabetes. Without health insurance she has not been able to afford tests or check-ups to see if she has indeed got the disease.
"I'll go to the hospital only in an emergency," says Sizemore, who is still paying off the $10,000 bill for removing her appendix two years ago.
"Start Quote
Steven Beshear Kentucky governorThe president is not all that popular in the state - so we don't talk about Obamacare"
"That's what's on my credit card right now," she sighs, "hospital bills."Sizemore is one of 421,000 people in Kentucky who've signed up since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, came into force last October.
Like many, she now qualifies for Medicaid, the government programme that pays for health care for the poorest Americans. Under the new law, the federal government offers states money to expand Medicaid so that many more people on very low wages, like Liberty Sizemore, are covered.
There are also federal funds for new state insurance exchanges where Americans can shop for private plans. Some plans are heavily subsidised by the government, depending on the applicant's income level.
Kentucky is one of a minority of states - and the only one in the South - to have taken Washington's money and embraced all the reforms.
But it has done it without embracing the man after whom they are named.
"The president is not all that popular in the state," says Democratic Governor Steven Beshear, pointing to Mr Obama's 34% approval rating in Kentucky (eight points below the latest national figure reported by Gallup). "So we don't talk about Obamacare," he explains.
Instead, officials talk enthusiastically about Kentucky's own insurance exchange, Kynect.
The governor believes the strategy has paid off. "They came in droves to sign up on the first day and it's been that way ever since."
And yet, misgivings about the biggest health reform in the US in 50 years persist - even among some of those who have benefitted most.
Hairdresser Sadie Smith has enrolled but, she hopes, only as a temporary measure. Her family's insurance disappeared when her husband lost his job. (Most Americans with health insurance get it through their job, with the employer and the worker sharing the cost.)
As she puts the finishing touches to a customer's hair at her small salon in Manchester, Kentucky, Smith says she is grateful for Obamacare. But she is uneasy. "It scares me. The government wants to control everybody - their finances, their insurance, it all comes back to control."
Similar sentiments about government control are behind objections to another Obamacare rule: everyone must have some form of health insurance or risk being fined.
"Start Quote
Robert Stivers Kentucky state senatorThey've caused more people to lose their insurance than they helped gain"
Others are angry that private insurance plans they were happy with are being withdrawn because they do not meet Obamacare standards. New rules say insurance plans must cover a broader range of care, including many preventative tests."They've caused more people to lose their insurance than they helped gain," says Robert Stivers, the Republican President of Kentucky's state Senate. Senator Stivers believes insurance premiums are going to go up dramatically "because of these mandated coverages".
He also worries about the long-term cost to the state. The federal government is picking up the bill for the subsidised parts of Obamacare at the moment. But Kentucky will have to start contributing up to 10%, starting in 2017.
Unlike many of his Republican colleagues in Kentucky and Washington DC, Senator Stivers is not calling for outright repeal of Obamacare. "What we are looking for is a reasonable alternative," he says. That includes rolling back the expanded Medicaid coverage and subsidies, and eliminating all the mandates.
But governor Steven Beshear thinks that's unlikely. "We now have 421,000 Kentuckians who are also voters signed up for the law and liking what they are getting," he says.
And the Governor suggests opponents of Obamacare face a predicament. "They want to be critical of the president and his administration, but at the same time they want those 421,000 votes," he says, "so they're not going to take away that coverage from those folks."
Benita Adams may be one of the people the Governor has in mind. The 62-year-old grandmother lives on the edge of the rolling Appalachian Mountains in eastern Kentucky. She owns her home but works two jobs as a dental assistant to make ends meet. She did not vote for President Obama.
Adams has had no health insurance since her divorce 30 years ago. A recent heart operation left her with a $67,000 bill. Although the hospital waived around half of that, she still pays $50 a month to clear the rest.
"I used to say, if I get hurt just let me be killed because I can't afford to pay any more hospital bills," she says.
But Adams no longer has to worry. Under Obamacare, she qualifies for a private insurance plan with a hefty government subsidy that covers the monthly payments in full.
"Everyone was mad over Obamacare but it's just wonderful, it's really helping people," Adams says as she lists the medical appointments she has been to since getting insured.
Of course, Mr Obama cannot run for the presidency again. But if he could, would Adams vote for him? "I'd sure think about it" she says, "It's the best thing he's done."
Liberty Sizemore, waiting for her blood test results at the Grace Community Health Centre, feels the same. As the nurse practitioner delivers the good news, she lets out a long sigh.
Sizemore is close to being diabetic but does not yet have the disease. Her voice trembles as she says quietly, "That's a lot of relief." Then as the nurse gives advice on turning her health around, Sizemore starts to cry.
"I was so worried," she says. "But now I can get better because I have a doctor. I have a doctor and that's a relief off my shoulders, more than you can know."


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- -3D Editors. All Versions of the Cell Editor have been converted to 3D, with integrated functionality native to the Creature Editor, such as:
-Spine Manipulation. Resize, lengthen and shorten the Spine to your heart's content, exactly as within the Creature Editor.
-"Unlimited" Complexity. Parts no longer add to the Complexity Score. Note: be extremely careful with this new freedom, too many parts can increase load times for operations such as painting and editing, up until the creation won't save at all.
-Free Parts. For the sake of making complicated, pretty creations, all parts now cost 0 DNA.
-Morph and Rotation handles. Thanks to the 3D environment, parts can now be customised even more, with previously unusable sliders now available for use. As a requirement, all parts can be placed anywhere on the creation, whereas before they were locked to the sides.
-Part and Spine Scale. Parts and the Spine Segments can now be scaled dramatically beyond their original limits, with roughly 10x more for the original max size and about 1/5 of the original minimum size.
-Part Stacking. Cell Parts can now be placed on top of eachother and stacked.
-In-Game Access to Complete Cell Editor. Because all versions of the editor have been replaced with the Complete version, you need only access it by editing a self-made cell.
-New Editor Background. The Latest version features a change in the background, now using the Early Creature Editor background.
-(v004) Cell Parts Page. Cell Parts can now be selected from the Creature Editor parts palette. These are required to actually play the Cell Stage. They also, unlike Dark Injection's Cell Parts, have Morph Handles.
-(v004) Create a Creature-Cell. Choose Your Cell's "Create New" Editor at the beginning of the Stage select is now able to use Creature parts, along with the newly-added tab for Cell Parts.
Previous Versions:


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I was so happy this weekend to see one of the 1996 MLS originals, Ramiro Corrales, score two free kick goals in our dominating 4-0 win over Chivas USA at a sold out Buck Shaw Stadium. The match was a culmination of a great week that started with the groundbreaking announcement and ended with our captain scoring two goals and the passing out of Victor Bernardez win pins.
I ran intro Rams and Rafa Baca tailgating after the match with their friends and I was excited to see the genuine passion on everyone's faces about Ramiro's two stellar free kicks. The second one was especially sweet as a heady decision to take a quick kick caught the Goats sleeping and netted the fourth goal of the match.
It's impossible to overstate the impact Ramiro has had in developing Rafa Baca into a major contributor. The two of them are always hanging out and Ramiro really took him under his wing as Rafa found his place on the team. Having such great veterans like Ramiro is another reason the club has gelled so well this season and is leading the League with 53 points.
Another big announcement last week were the ticket prices for the new stadium. In all the hoopla of the Guinness World Record groundbreaking event (click to RSVP) and the back-to-back high-scoring wins, many fans may have lost sight of the fact that we released the pricing for the new stadium and that it is very reasonable. We spent a great deal of time evaluating the best way to price the stadium to maintain the ability for families and fans to afford season tickets as well as meet the needs of the stadium's private financing.
First and foremost, we decided against requiring any personal seat licenses (PSLs). PSLs have become a popular way to extract dollars out of team fan bases in order to complete new buildings. PSLs combined with an alarming trend across sports of skyrocketing ticket prices have created stadia and arenas that are filled only with corporate season ticket holders. These environments lack the authentic feel of a real fan base and often are characterized by scores of empty seats from no shows. You can watch any New York Yankees game and see all the empty seats behind home plate for a good example of this.
As someone who grew up attending Cleveland Browns games in the blue collar Dawg Pound at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, I felt that it was imperative to retain the vibrant and authentic atmosphere of a Quakes match by not overpricing the tickets. We accomplished this by creating multiple seating options that would appeal to a broad base of existing and new customers. While we have corporate focused seats in the Patio Club and Midfield Club, we also have a $15 Supporters' Section ticket and $45 tickets in the premier midfield. These affordable prices will enable the Quakes to be the most accessible professional sports team in the Bay Area.
The priority for the new stadium season tickets also rewards our most loyal fans by giving first crack at the seats to existing season ticket holders. One thing I want to stress is that demand has been very high so please make sure to contact your fan relations specialist and place your 2013 deposit to maintain your priority for the new stadium. Existing season ticket holders will have their appointments in November. New season ticket holders for 2013 will get their appointments scheduled for January. For those who are just interested in the new stadium, their time slots will start in July 2013. This priority queue is a huge benefit to our existing fans that have been with us through thick and thin. We wanted to reward that loyalty and make sure they got the best locations in the new stadium.
Finally, I wanted to make folks aware of a cool article in Wired Magazine that featured the Quakes and our efforts to leverage the new adidas MiCoach system to help evaluate existing and potential soccer players. The article has some interesting perspective on the new types of data available to teams with the adidas partnership and its possible impact on the Beautiful Game. I would love to hear thoughts on whether this type of big data analysis could work for soccer in the way it does for baseball. As always, you can email me at email@example.com or via twitter @QuakesPrez.
I hope to see everyone out at Buck Shaw Thursday at 7:30 p.m. as we host an international friendly against San Luis FC from Mexico.
Dave Kaval
San Jose Earthquakes


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Create a Ning Network!
Celebrate the culture of agriculture & share skills (Growing! Cooking! Eating!)
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89 - Streets Want Raw [Unsigned Hype]
" BP CITY RECORDS PRESENTS : Artist - 89 Label - Bp City Song - Streets Want Raw ( Prod. By Vinny Idol ) Dir. By: DJ FIYAA"
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American Physical Society Sites|APS|Journals|PhysicsCentral|Physics Magazine
- American Physical Society Sites
- Publications
- Meetings & Events
- Programs
- Membership
- Policy & Advocacy
- Careers In Physics
- Newsroom
- About APS
- Become a Member
Francis Slakey & Linda Cohen
Uranium enrichment is a step in the process to convert uranium ore into fuel for nuclear reactors. Mined uranium ore is made up of roughly 99.2% U238 and 0.72% U235. Only the latter isotope is fissionable under bombardment by slow neutrons as in a reactor, and so in order to make reactor fuel, the U235 concentration must be increased. Enrichment services that increase the concentration are measured in separative work units, or SWUs. The number of SWUs required to produce a kilogram of reactor fuel depends on the percent of U235 in the final fuel, in the natural uranium feedstock, and in the depleted uranium stream or "tail". Numerous techniques of isotope separation have been developed for enriching uranium and their efficiency can be characterized by the number of SWUs produced per megawatt hour (SWU/MWh).
A uranium enrichment technology, SILEX (Separation of Isotopes by Laser Excitation), could significantly increase efficiency beyond existing centrifuge technologies and pose significant proliferation risks [1]. In this article we argue that an examination of the economics indicates that those risks would not be outweighed by a public benefit to the consumer in the form of lower electricity bills, as some have suggested. Consequently, under the Atomic Energy Act, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) should carry out a non-proliferation assessment of the technology to determine whether SILEX "would (not) be inimical to the common defense and security" of the United States.
As opposed to past techniques which exploited the slight difference in mass between the two isotopes, SILEX uses a laser, tuned to a particular excitation of U235, to differentiate it from the U238. More than 20 countries have dabbled in laser enrichment over the past two decades, including South Korea and Iran, without much success. SILEX was developed by the Australian company Silex Systems, and is now being commercialized exclusively by GE Hitachi. GE Hitachi has applied for a license from the NRC to operate a full-scale commercial SILEX plant in North Carolina. Currently, the U.S. is the only country in which GE-Hitachi has applied for a license. While they have not yet made a decision whether to commercialize the technology, the license is a necessary step in their development path.
There is clear private benefit to laser enrichment: If GE-Hitachi successfully commercializes SILEX, it stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars a year. A more challenging question is whether there is a net public benefit. To evaluate the public benefit, we consider three separate issues: technical, economic, and legal.
Technical IssuesThe proliferation risks of an enrichment technology can increase as the technology becomes more efficient. In general, if the technology occupies a very small space, its construction may no longer be observable through satellite surveillance. And, if it operates on very low power, it may no longer require an observable dedicated power source or have a detectable heat signature. In other words, an extremely efficient enrichment facility could be below the detection limit. The answers to just a few technical questions can begin to establish the proliferation risk of an enrichment technology:
SILEX details are proprietary and undisclosed; however, based on publically available information, it is clear that the answers to some – perhaps all - of these questions are "yes" [2]. For example, the company has stated that SILEX occupies a space 75% smaller and has substantially lower energy requirements than a centrifuge facility, which would make it extremely difficult to detect [3]. Centrifuge technology is already challenging to detect, as evidenced by the recently declared facility in Qum, Iran [4] and a facility 75% smaller only increases the detection challenge.
Clearly, then, SILEX raises proliferation concerns. Indeed, it was in part this very issue that compelled the members of the APS POPA Report on Nuclear Weapons Downsizing to recommend that NRC should address non-proliferation threats in the licensing process [5]. Others have raised similar concerns [6].
Economic Issues
Could the public risks be outweighed by public economic benefits? Certainly, there is a potential for consumer savings in making enrichment more efficient. Today, ten percent of the cost of electricity from nuclear power is attributed to the cost of fuel, and of that, roughly 50% is due to enrichment costs. The Energy Information Administration estimates average fuel costs from nuclear power in the United States at 0.45 cents per kilowatt-hour [7]. In 2007, 806 million MWh of electricity was generated in the United States from nuclear power, yielding a value to enrichment services in the U.S. of approximately $1.8 billion dollars.
In 2006, a SILEX executive stated that it anticipated the technology to be anywhere from 1.6 to 16 times more efficient than first-generation gas centrifuges [1]. Since details are undisclosed, the efficiency claims are impossible to verify. But assuming a continuation of historical trends in enrichment efficiency (which follows Moore's law, as many technologies do [8]), a fair assumption is the doubling of today's best efficiency by 2020. In that case, if laser enrichment lowers enrichment costs by half and all the savings are passed on to consumers, then the average household would save approximately 66 cents per month [9].
Over time, the savings could be greater than 66 cents/household/month. For example, household savings from cheaper enrichment would rise if demand for nuclear power increases. Doubling nuclear generation in the United States by 2025 (an ambitious growth scenario for the nuclear industry) could double the value of enrichment savings to $1.32 per household a month. In addition, a change in the relative prices of enrichment services (lower) and natural uranium (higher) will increase the demand for SWUs in the production of fuel. If the price of the former halves and the price of the latter doubles, we calculate, based on a cost-optimization of formula for enrichment processes from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [10], that demand for SWUs will increase by 40% for the same level of electricity production from nuclear power. These factors would therefore increase savings by an additional 53 cents per household a month.
All of these assumptions are far too generous to the technology, the last one particularly so. Indeed, SILEX's own documents indicate that they anticipate, at best, achieving only 25% market penetration in 15 years. In that case, conceding the other four assumptions for the sake of argument, the average household could expect a savings on their electricity bill due to this innovation to be at most 45 cents per month. That maximum savings is too meager to compel a decision to pursue laser enrichment based on public benefit to the consumer.
Legal Issues
We raised the preceding issues in an article in Nature magazine [11]. Representatives of GE-Hitachi did not challenge our conclusions; instead, they informed reporters that proliferation issues are not the business of NRC. As evidence, they point to a 2005 NRC judgment in which the NRC declined to consider proliferation issues for an enrichment facility [12]. Therefore, GE-Hitachi claims, a jurisdictional precedent was established that NRC should not consider proliferation issues in the case of SILEX.
GE-Hitachi has an overly narrow reading of the 2005 decision. Two Acts govern the jurisdiction of the NRC: the Atomic Energy Act (AEA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Under the AEA, the NRC must determine whether a technology "would (not) be inimical to the common defense and security" of the United States. Under NEPA, the NRC must consider the environmental impacts on the United States. The 2005 decision did not refer to any AEA authority relating to non-proliferation issues, but instead relied exclusively on NEPA and therefore cannot serve as a comprehensive precedent. In fact, at this time, there is no precedent that would require or disallow non-proliferation assessments as part of a licensing process.
Nevertheless, the non-proliferation assessment that we propose is within the jurisdiction of the NRC based on the interpretation of the phrase "inimical to the defense and security" of the United States in the AEA. Smaller, less detectable technologies for the production of nuclear materials are potentially proliferation game-changers. Such technologies would be far more difficult to detect within the existing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards inspection regime and therefore would indeed be "inimical" to the security of the United States. The fact that SILEX is a departure from previous technologies and therefore requires close scrutiny by the NRC was acknowledged by NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko in a recent interview:
"It's a very new technology, or a novel technology. It's not similar to the kinds of enrichment facilities we've licensed in the past. So, I certainly think there may be some things we need to take a look at and make sure we've got the right approach to ensuring that kind of protection of the technology and the material. [13]"
Additional Considerations
There have been three common responses to our analysis. First, an argument has been made that by developing laser enrichment technology in the United States, US entities can ensure that the technology is adequately safeguarded against proliferation. History does not instill confidence in this approach. Previous enrichment technologies - the calutron, gas centrifuge and advanced centrifuges - have all created proliferation risks over the past 50 years despite efforts to withhold the information. By having the NRC carry out a non-proliferation assessment to determine, among other things, whether the facility design and core technical discoveries can be secured against theft, there would at least be a possibility of reducing the risk of repeating the type of breech that led to A.Q. Kahn taking centrifuge designs from the Netherlands to Pakistan.
A second response is that "the genie is out of the bottle" and if the United States doesn't develop it, some other country – one potentially hostile to our interest – will develop it. Actually, the genie is not "out of the bottle." Historically, proliferation to rogue states doesn't occur until a technology has progressed along the learning curve to the point it has been industrially proven or has achieved production scale. The technology may be ultimately commercialized, but we believe that in this case any delay would be useful: first, in each year that the technology exists, costs exceed benefits, and second, a thorough review of risks today, together with delayed commercialization, might incentivize the manufacturers to include safeguards in the package.
A final response is that the non-proliferation assessments we propose might stymie the US nuclear industry. In fact, we believe the assessments would have the opposite effect. Careful consideration of proliferation risks is in the best interests of the expansion of nuclear power, a view that was the subject of an APS report [14].
[1] http://www.silex.com.au/public/uploads/announce/House%20of%20Reps%20Presentation%20090206.pdf
[2] http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/docs4/silex.pdf
[3] http://www.forbes.com/global/2009/1116/outfront-nuclear-power-uranium-ge-riches-in-enrichment.html
[4] http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929088,00.html
[5] "Technical Steps to Support Nuclear Arsenal Downsizing," a Report by the APS Panel on Public Affairs, 2010.
[6] Charles D. Ferguson, Laser Enrichment: Separation Anxiety, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, March/April 2005; James M. Acton, "Nuclear Power, Disarmament and Technological Restraint", Survival, August/September, 2009.
[7] Electric Power Annual, EIA, 2007.
[8] Gordon E. Moore, Cramming more components onto integrated circuits, Electronics, Volume 38, Number 8, April 19, 1965.
[9] These numbers are all for 2007. That year, according to the Census Bureau, there were about 113.6 million households in the United States. Note these savings are relative to average enrichment costs in the US today, which includes the very-high cost gaseous diffusion plants. Were these plants – at $160/SWU – simply replaced by modern centrifuge plants – at a cost of $80/SWU – US households would also save. In the subsequent calculations we compare savings between laser enrichment and a modern centrifuge plant.
[10] MIT, The Future of Nuclear Power, (2003), Appendix 5.
[11] "Stop Laser Enrichment", F. Slakey & L. Cohen, Nature, vol 464, no. 7285, pp. 32-33 (4 March 2010).
[12] http://www.docstoc.com/docs/7265175/2005-RAS-COMMISSIONERS
[13] Laser Nuclear Technology Might Pose Security Risk, by Richard Harris, April 12, 2010.
[14] "Nuclear Power and Proliferation Resistance: Securing Benefits, Limiting Risk", a report by the APS Panel on Public Affairs, 2005
Francis Slakey is the Upjohn Lecturer on Physics and Public Policy at Georgetown University and the APS Associate Director of Public Affairs. Linda R. Cohen is a Professor of Economics and Law and Associate Dean of Research at the University of California, Irvine.
These contributions haven not been peer-refereed. They represent solely the view(s) of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of APS.


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2011 NBA Draft TradesPosted: June 24, 2011 Filed under: 2011 NBA Draft | Tags: 2011 NBA Draft, 2012 NBA Draft, 2013 NBA Draft, Andre Miller, Beno Udrih, Bismack Biyombo, Bojan Bogdanovic, Boston Celtics, Brad Miller, Chandler Parsons, Charlotte Bobcats, Chicago Bulls, Chukwudibere Maduabum, Cleveland Cavaliers, Corey Maggette, Dallas Mavericks, David Bertans, Denver Nuggets, Donatas Motiejunas, Erazem Lorbek, George Hill, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Jeremy Tyler, Jimmer Fredette, John Salmons, Johnny Flynn, Jordan Hamilton, Josh Harrellson, JuJuan Johnson, Justin Harper, Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Lakers, Marshon Brooks, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets, New York Knicks, Nikola Mirotic, Norris Cole, Orlando Magic, Petteri Koponen, Portland Blazers, Raymond Felton, Rudy Fernandez, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Shaun Livingston, Stephen Jackson, Tobias Harris Leave a comment
Yesterday's draft was pretty boring and lacked a lot of movement early but boy did the middle of the first round start seeing a run of trades. Follow the jump to see all of the outstanding 2011 NBA Draft Trades.
NBA Draft Thread #2Posted: June 23, 2011 Filed under: 2011 NBA Draft | Tags: Charlotte Bobcats, Chris Singleton, David Kahn, Donatas Motiejunas, Duke, George Hill, Georgia Tech, Houston Rockets, Iman Shumpert, Indiana Pacers, Johnny Flynn, Jordan Hamilton, Lithuania, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Nolan Smith, Portland Blazers, San Antonio Spurs, Tobias Harris, Washington Wizards Leave a comment
This will cover picks 17 through 30. I have to leave after the Blazers pick. I will have a writeup out tomorrow analyzing the Knicks draft and the rest of the NBA draft.
Trade Rumor: The Rockets and Wolves have agreed to trade J Flynn and Montiejunas to Houston for Brad Miller, 23rd pick and future 1sst, source says
Update #5 – The Blazers selects Nolan Smith from Duke. Kind of surprising but he gives the Blazers another scorer off the bench.
Update #4 – The Timberwolves select Donatas Motiejunas from Lithuania – David Kahn is trying to load up on 5 PF's and 5 PG's to make his team up.
Update #3 – The Charlotte Bobcats select Tobias Harris for the Milwaukee Bucks. Pretty good pick though I had him going a little later. I would have taken Jordan Hamilton.
Update #2: The Washington Wizards select Chris Singleton with their second pick. They got much better in this draft.
Trade Rumor #2: The Pacers will also send the 42nd pick in this draft to the Spurs as part of the package to get George Hill, source says.
Update #1: Your New York Knicks select Iman Shumpert, the dual PG/SG from Georgia Tech. I love this pick as it will give us defense and versatility off the bench.
Trade Rumor: The Spurs will send George Hill to the Pacers as part of the package, source says.


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WEDDING- Blank canvas: Sugarleaf's acreage opens wedding options
With Central Virginia getting more and more Napa Valley-esque these days, brides don't have to look far to create their own vineyard-inspired wedding. One of the newest Central Virginia wineries, Sugarleaf Vineyards, has hit Charlottesville's wedding scene with full force, offering couples an opportunity to create their wildest wine-soaked dreams.
"Sugarleaf," says vineyard co-owner Lauren Bias, "offers a gorgeous blank canvas and breathtaking scenery."
She explains that instead of a single location, brides and grooms can choose their wedding spot anywhere on the estate's 126 rolling acres.
Lauren, along with her husband, UVA graduate Jerry Bias, opened the doors to their winery in August 2007. The story of Sugarleaf, however, began much earlier.
The couple bought the property in North Garden off 29 South nearly nine years ago as a retreat from their high-energy existence in New York City. As lovers of fine wine, the location among some of Virginia's most popular wineries was no mistake. But transforming the estate into a vineyard took root only after after the urgings of a friend.
"We're just consumers and lovers of wine," says Bias.
With the couple's background in finance and Bias's previous career in modeling, neither had professional vineyards experience. But they were determined to learn.
"Our palates have developed over the years," Bias says, "and you begin to learn that wine can have undertones and smells."
After ordering the vines for their winery on September 6, 2001, the Biases were struck with tragedy. The September 11 attacks in their hometown took the life of Mike Taylor, their encouraging friend.
"We kept the plans the way he wanted," Bias says.
Five years later, having hired professional California winemaker Daniel Neumeister, Sugarleaf produced its inaugural vintage and has seen its popularity continue to grow among the region's long-standing wine aficionados. Among four awards the vineyard won at the 2008 Virginia State Fair wine competition was a gold medal for its 2006 Petit Verdot.
Despite not having a large indoor facility, à la Veritas or Kluge, Sugarleaf has proven to have growing appeal for couples planning Charlottesville weddings due to its simplistic yet stunning, layout and– perhaps counterintuitively– its lack of structured facilities.
"You can make it your own," Bias says. "You can get married in the vineyard, with the breathtaking ambiance, surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains– most people love that they have their own blank canvas."
Which is how Bias described her own wedding to Jerry years before the idea for Suglarleaf had taken root. Knowing she wanted a beach backdrop, Bias found her own blank slate in Jamaica– which has shaped her attitude towards hosting weddings at Sugarleaf.
"We're not dictating the menu or what the room looks like," she says. "We're not pumping out weddings every day, so there's not the idea that 'everyone has done it there'."


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Raltegravir Cerebrospinal Fluid Pharmacodynamic Study in HIV-Infected Individuals
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01293123
Recruitment Status : Terminated (Did not meet enrollment goals)
First Posted : February 10, 2011
Results First Posted : October 31, 2019
Last Update Posted : October 31, 2019
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Drug: Raltegravir Drug: Efavirenz
|Not Applicable
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|2 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Raltegravir Cerebrospinal Fluid Pharmacodynamic Study in HIV-Infected Individuals
|Study Start Date :
|December 2011
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|June 2013
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|December 2013
|Experimental: Raltegravir
Drug: Raltegravir
raltegravir 400 mg PO twice daily
Other Names:
|Active Comparator: Efavirenz
Drug: Efavirenz
efavirenz 600 mg PO once daily
Other Names:
- Cerebrospinal Fluid HIV RNA Levels [ Time Frame: 180 days ]Slope of decline of HIV RNA levels in CSF over time
- Neuropsychological Performance [ Time Frame: 180 days ]Change in neuropsychological performance over 180 days
- Measure of Mood [ Time Frame: 180 days ]Change in mood over 180 days
- Measure of Sleep [ Time Frame: 180 days ]Change in self-reported sleep performance over 180 days.
- Measure of Quality of Life [ Time Frame: 180 days ]Change in self-report quality of life over 180 days
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 65 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Men and women aged 18-65 years;
- Integrase inhibitor-naive subjects with clinical indication to initiate RAL under the supervision of their HIV care provider;
- Baseline detectable HIV-1 RNA levels ≥ 5000 copies/mL in plasma and ≥ 500 copies/mL in CSF;
- Absolute T-cell CD4+ subset between 200-500/mm3
- Individual willing to undergo serial lumbar punctures as outlined in study evaluations;
- Subject able to give informed consent to all study procedures (if cognitively impaired, the individual must pass an evaluation to ensure adequate comprehension of the consent document and procedures);
- Susceptibility to all study drugs on Monogram Biosciences PhenoSense GT assay.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Contraindication to lumbar puncture, such as current coagulopathy, thrombocytopenia (platelets below 50,000/µL), or use of anticoagulants;
- Cognitive, psychiatric, or substance use disorders or any other medical conditions that would interfere with study participation, in the opinion of the investigator;
- Major opportunistic infections (e.g., pneumonia, tuberculosis) within 30 days;
- Use of prescribed drugs with known substantial interactions with the study drugs;
- Positive HCV serology;
- HIV-associated dementia/Global Deterioration Scale ≥4;
- Pregnancy;
- Serum creatinine higher than 2.0 mg/dL;
- Total bilirubin or alanine or aspartate transaminases more than 3 times the upper limit of normal
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01293123
|United States, California
|UCSD Antiviral Research Center
|San Diego, California, United States, 92103
|Principal Investigator:
|Scott Letendre, MD
|University of California, San Diego
|Responsible Party:
|Scott Letendre, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Diego
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|February 10, 2011 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|October 31, 2019
|Last Update Posted:
|October 31, 2019
|Last Verified:
|October 2019
cerebrospinal fluid
Raltegravir Potassium
Antiviral Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors
Nucleic Acid Synthesis Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Anti-HIV Agents
Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C9 Inhibitors
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors
Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C19 Inhibitors
Cytochrome P-450 CYP2B6 Inducers
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inducers
Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A Inducers
HIV Integrase Inhibitors
Integrase Inhibitors


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My Ethicist the Car
Remember those who-to-throw-off-the-lifeboat exercises from Ethics class? Well, there's an app for that — or there needs to be one soon, says Nick Carr:
So you're happily tweeting away as your Google self-driving car crosses a bridge, its speed precisely synced to the 50 m.p.h. limit. A group of frisky schoolchildren is also heading across the bridge, on the pedestrian walkway. Suddenly, there's a tussle, and three of the kids are pushed into the road, right in your vehicle's path. Your self-driving car has a fraction of a second to make a choice: Either it swerves off the bridge, possibly killing you, or it runs over the children. What does the Google algorithm tell it to do?
Answer: it does what the software engineers tell it to do. But what's that going to be? As Nick concludes, "We don't even really know what a conscience is, but somebody's going to have to program one nonetheless."


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Dave Almond had had enough of his 12-year-old Honda Acura with its squeaks and broken knobs.
After years of waiting, the Harbor City man decided it was finally time for a new car. And so on Saturday, he visited dealers along Pacific Coast Highway in Torrance to find the good deal he knew he could secure.
"The economy seems to be looking up," he said. "People aren't as nervous anymore about taking on a little more debt. At least I'm not."
Consumers throughout the region and across the nation drove up last month's car sales, so much so that some industry observers predict pre-recession sales levels.
Although car companies won't officially release their November sales numbers until Monday, J.D. Power and Associates, which recently published its monthly sales forecast, predicts November could yield the highest retail selling rate since January 2008.
That was the year when the financial crisis led to a steep drop in car sales and nearly plunged the nation's auto industry into bankruptcy. Car sales in 2008 were so bad that foreign auto manufacturers were being forced to store a backlog of several thousand unsold cars and trucks on Port of Long Beach property.
When that space ran out, cars had to be stored in an abandoned military airfield in southern Orange County.
November's sales numbers, however, are expected to tell a more optimistic story. The month's new vehicle retail sales are projected to come in at 931,900 units, 14 percent higher than 818,609 units the same time a year ago, according to J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network and LMC Automotive, which based November's figures on the first 15 selling days of the month.
According to LMC Automotive, the 2012 forecast is 14.4 million units for total light-vehicle sales in the U.S. and 11.7 million units for retail sales.
A spokeswoman for Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. in Torrance said the company is expected to report better numbers than last year.
In Los Angeles County, more than 310,000 cars were sold from January to October, a jump from the 250,000 cars sold around the same time last year, said Todd Leutheuser, executive director of the Cerritos-based Southland Motor Car Dealers Association, which represents the majority of new car and truck dealerships in Southern Los Angeles County.
"Sales have been through the roof throughout the Southland," said Leutheuser, who last year had predicted that national sales would reach 14 million this year.
Several factors such as pent-up demand, low interest rates and a thin used vehicle market are pushing sales upward, he said.
New technological features such as hands-free calling and navigation systems also may be a factor, he said.
"You'll have these creature comforts that are commonplace now that were very unique seven years ago," Leutheuser said.
For Los Angeles resident Dana Withers, spending the day looking for a new car at the many dealerships scattered across the South Bay was a welcome change of pace.
"I've been employed, unemployed and underemployed, said the 42-year-old Withers, who finally found a decent job in the publishing industry and was ready to take the plunge.
"I'm looking to get a good deal on a used car," he said. "Or as they call them, `reconditioned.' I still want to be smart about how I spend my money. I'm looking to buy something reasonable.
Last month's strong sales are significant considering November isn't considered a big month for dealerships – until recently, Leutheuser said.
Galpin Ford in North Hills, the largest Ford dealership in the world, had its best single day sales ever last year on Black Friday when 140 vehicles were driven off the lot, said General Manager Terry Miller.
This year, while sales on Black Friday weren't as impressive – just more than 70 vehicles sold – the week was still a success, he said. A total of 175 vehicles were sold over four days when the dealership launched its Black Friday deals, Miller said.
Miller expects a 25 percent increase in sales at Galpin Ford over last year by the end of 2012.
"Sales have strengthened each week in November, which bodes well for a strong finish to the month and the year," John Humphrey, senior vice president of global automotive operations at J.D. Power and Associates, said in a written statement.
The U.S. sales forecast for 2013 remains stable at 15 million units for total light-vehicles and 12.2 million for retail sales, but represents a slower growth rate of 4 percent from 2012.
LMC senior vice president Jeff Schuster said uncertainty is expected to dip in the first half of the year.
"The irrepressible need and willingness of consumers to replace aging vehicles is stronger than the effects of natural disasters and fiscal turmoil both here and abroad," Schuster said.
"A sustained recovery pace in auto sales is expected over the next six months, barring any fiscal cliff hangover, but the medium-term forecast is still dependent on more pronounced economic activity and growth."
Consumer confidence is up nationally, with the Conference Board's consumer confidence index rising in November to its highest level in nearly five years from 73.1 in October to 73.7 in November.
Although the index is still below the level of 90 that is consistent with a healthy economy, October and November's numbers are the best readings since February 2008.
With consumer spending driving nearly 70 percent of economic activity, higher consumer confidence could mean a busier holiday shopping season and stronger economic growth.
Galpin's Miller believes part of the increase in auto sales is attributed to car companies producing more innovative vehicles that have virtually everything voice activated while being more fuel efficient.
"I've been here 25 years and the showroom looks much different than it did back then," Miller said, overlooking the showcase of compact and hybrid vehicles at the dealership.
The other factor, Miller said, is that the deals have been ramped up over the last few years to encourage consumers to continue purchasing despite the tremulous economy.
Ford, for example, has year-end deals offering a $1,000 rebate or $1,000 Mastercard gift card. In some cases, customers can see $6,500 rebates, Miller said.
Incentives like those, often offered during holiday weekends, are exactly what attracted customers like Peter and Leticia Sandoval of Claremont.
While waiting to get their 2012 Ford Flex serviced, Peter Sandoval explained that their decision to invest in a new car was because "in the back of our minds, we thought we better get it while we can."
"We felt we had more of an advantage to work with pricing because of the uncertain economy," Leticia Sandoval said.
"With the way the economy has looked and the fiscal cliff approaching, we just didn't know how the future was going to look," her husband chimed in.
Despite the rising sales numbers, Leutheuser remained "cautiously optimistic."
"We hope that the trend will continue," he said.
The Associated Press and Staff Writers Andrew Edwards, Mariecar Mendoza and Kelly Puente contributed to this report.


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Surgery for my Sweet Little Freight Train3/13/2010 10:54:00 PM Edit This 7 Comments »
So this is the reason my sweet Lexie Lou will be having her tonsils & adenoids removed and new tubes put in her ears. Sadly that is just during an afternoon nap and not at night when she's really loud!! Her Ears, Nose & Throat surgeon said her tonsils & adenoids are so big that they are blocking her airway and she's simply not going into a deep sleep. She's sleeping 12 hours at night and takes a 2 hour nap and is still tired. It's also causing sleep apnea which is really freaking me out. Before her snoring was keeping me awake, now when I don't hear the snoring I wake up to make sure she's breathing. So on April 5, the Monday after Easter Sunday, Lexie will have the surgery and hopefully she'll get her first good night sleep in months (and so will Mommy!) I've been warned the recovery will take about 10 days and is pretty painful - poor baby. And the 7-10 days are surprisingly painful due to the scabs from the cauterized wounds coming off in the back of her throat (yikes!) Mom is coming up to help with her and she's looking forward to some GaGa bonding time. Once she's healed Lexie should be a healthier, happier girl who will sleep like an angel again. And her tubes should help her hear better and improve her speech. I'm not sure if I'm ready for more talking though!


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CK, CK-MB, cardiac troponin, myoglobin, cardiac enzymes
This test measures the levels of cardiac biomarkers in your blood. These markers include enzymes, hormones, and proteins.
Cardiac biomarkers show up in your blood after your heart has been under severe stress because it isn't getting enough oxygen. This might be because you've had a heart attack. But these levels can be high for other reasons. The levels of biomarkers are often used to quickly find out the size of a heart attack and how seriously your heart was affected.
These cardiac biomarkers can be used to diagnose a heart attack:
Cardiac troponin. This protein is by far the most commonly used biomarker. It has the highest known sensitivity. It enters into your bloodstream soon after a heart attack. It also stays in your bloodstream days after all other biomarkers go back to normal levels. Current guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) say this is the best biomarker for finding a heart attack. The AHA says to limit use of the other biomarkers. These include CK, CK-MB, and myoglobin.
Creatinine kinase (CK). This enzyme can also be measured several times over a 24-hour period. It will usually at least double if you've had a heart attack. But because levels of CK can go up in many other conditions besides a heart attack, it is not very specific.
CK-MB. This is a subtype of CK. It is more sensitive for heart damage from a heart attack. CK-MB rises 4 to 6 hours after a heart attack. But it is generally back to normal within a day or two. Because of this, it's not helpful when a healthcare provider is trying to figure out whether your recent chest pain was a heart attack.
Myoglobin. This is a small protein that stores oxygen. It is measured occasionally. Myoglobin is sometimes measured in addition to troponin to help diagnose a heart attack. It is also not very specific for finding a heart attack.
You may need this test if your healthcare provider thinks you're having or have recently had a heart attack. You may also need this test if you have symptoms of coronary artery blockage.
Symptoms of coronary blockage may include:
Chest pain or pressure that lasts for more than a few minutes
Pain or discomfort in your shoulders, neck, arms, or jaw
Chest pain that gets worse
Chest pain that doesn't get better by rest or by taking nitroglycerin
Other symptoms that may happen along with chest pain:
Sweating, cool, clammy skin, or paleness
Shortness of breath
Nausea or vomiting
Dizziness or fainting
Unexplained weakness or fatigue
Rapid or irregular pulse
Your healthcare provider may order other tests to measure other factors in your blood, or in your heart, or both. These include:
Blood gases or other tests to measure oxygen in the blood
Complete blood count
Electrolytes (sodium, potassium, chloride)
Blood lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides)
Blood sugar (glucose)
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
Echocardiogram or ultrasound of the heart muscle
Cardiac catheterization or coronary angiogram
B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). This is to find stress in the heart or heart failure after a heart attack.
Test results may vary depending on your age, gender, health history, the method used for the test, and other things. Your test results may not mean you have a problem. Ask your healthcare provider what your test results mean for you.
Results are given in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL). People who are young and healthy usually have little or no cardiac troponin in their blood.
Normal-level results vary. But people with levels of cardiac troponin at or above 0.01 ng/mL are twice as likely to have life-threatening cardiac disease.
The test is done with a blood sample. A needle is used to draw blood from a vein in your arm or hand.
Having a blood test with a needle carries some risks. These include bleeding, infection, bruising, and feeling lightheaded. When the needle pricks your arm or hand, you may feel a slight sting or pain. Afterward, the site may be sore.
Other factors aren't likely to affect your results.
You don't need to prepare for this test. Be sure your healthcare provider knows about all medicines, herbs, vitamins, and supplements you are taking. This includes medicines that don't need a prescription and any illicit drugs you may use.


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Birch construction with flannel marquee and front panel. Large flannel panel makes a perfect stage for flannel play and storytelling. Features a sliding curtain and plenty of storage space in the back. Assembly required. 49"H x 49"W x 15"D.
We add a surcharge for expedited delivery of a few items because of their weight, size or dimensions. This charge is in addition to our base shipping charge for Next Day or Second Day Air.
|The Next Day Delivery Surcharge for this item is:
|The Second Day Delivery Surcharge for this item is:


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The Hôtel de Pourtalès in Paris, where Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint on Monday, was not equipped with security cameras, a high-level judicial source close to the investigation told NBC News on Thursday.
The source said investigators have to use footage from surrounding areas to profile the five criminals. In addition to lack of surveillance, the hotel only had one concierge to monitor threats, making it an easy target.
Information also came to light this week that the security company of Kardashian West's bodyguard filed for bankruptcy just 10 weeks before the robbery. Pascal Duvier's German-based firm, ProtectSecurity, was dissolved on July 28, according to court records from the German city of Heidelberg.


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Bake the Book: Browned Butter-Pecan Shortbread
Get the Recipe
As someone who often enjoys dessert too quickly, the sandy-sweet richness of shortbread gives me pause. Like Southern Living: Classic Southern Desserts says, these call for a few minutes to savor every bite. Toasted pecans boost the flavor and provide a pleasant crunch.
Tips: You want to watch the butter for browning, so use a skillet with a lighter bottom. Cast-iron wouldn't be the best choice here. Look for it to turn yellow, to gold, to brown with dark bits in it—it should also smell nutty.
Tweaks: This shortbread recipe gets it right on two accounts: browning the butter and toasting the pecans. Doing both catalyses chemical reactions that create deeper, richer flavors in dairy and nuts. The recipe doesn't specify how to toast the pecans, but you can easily do so by spreading the pecan halves on a lightly greased baking sheet and roasting them at 350°F for 5-7 minutes. Finely chop them after they've cooled to add to the shortbread.
Get the Recipe
Browned Butter-Pecan Shortbread »
As always with our Bake the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of 'Classic Southern Desserts' to give away.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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The ZigBee Alliance and the Wi-Fi Alliance are teaming up to collaborate on wireless home area networks (HAN) for Smart Grid applications. The initial focus of the collaboration will be ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0, an energy management protocol for Smart Grid-enabled homes. The ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 is expected to operate over Wi-Fi technology as a result of the collaboration.
The two organizations will identify opportunities to use ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0, capitalizing on the unique strengths and capabilities of their respective technologies. The agreement between the two organizations will help deliver close integration of the two communication technologies in a smart home environment. This environment will include devices ranging from utility meters, thermostats, and appliances to home entertainment devices, computing systems, and automobiles.
"ZigBee has always interworked with Wi-Fi using ZigBee and Wi-Fi gateways. Now there is an opportunity for the organizations to collaborate more closely for the smart home of the future, leveraging the intelligence of ZigBee Smart Energy," said Bob Heile, ZigBee Alliance chairman. "Wi-Fi is a major global success and an important wireless networking technology for the home environment. Our collaboration will help spur further innovation in solutions for the Smart Grid."
ZigBee Smart Energy was initially developed to operate over a standard ZigBee wireless network to support the needs of Smart Metering and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 has been designed to support other network technologies within the digital home, including HomePlug and now Wi-Fi. The low-power ZigBee standard is optimized to the needs of Wireless Sensor Networks.


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In response to the spread of COVID-19 (or Coronavirus), and in order to protect the health and wellbeing of our visitors, staff and partners, Ikon Gallery is temporarily closed. Our reopening date, in August, will be announced soon.
Our online shop remains open for business. Please support Ikon through these challenging times by making a purchase or donation online. Find out more.
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Greensboro, NCHome Menu
City Calendar
To locate specific events at a specific location,
Autism Afternoon at McNairy
G.L.O.W.: Greensboro Libraries On Weekends
- Date: 02/16/2020 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
- Location: Glenn McNairy Branch Library
4860 Lake Jeanette Rd.
Greensboro, North Carolina 27455
- CostFree
Once a month, the Glenn McNairy Branch offers a designated "Autism Afternoon" to encourage our customers with autism to visit the library. If you are a parent who has been avoiding the library because you are concerned your child will be loud or disruptive, please come during this afternoon.
Library staff members familiar with autism will be on hand, and signage will be posted to inform other library customers that it is "Autism Afternoon."
Join us for Sensory Storytime at 3 pm, Exceptional Construction at 4 pm, or stop by any time between 3 - 5 pm to find out ways to make it easier for your family to access the library's resources and programs. Questions? Contact Kelly Proudfit, McNairy's youth services librarian and a parent of a child with autism.


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This is Jen's SYTYCB week 2 entry.
There is lots of expansion talk right now and with Arthas looming in the not-so-distant future you might be thinking where should I be spending my WoW time?
Do I need to get all my alts to 70 so I have an army to fight the Lich King?
Should I be preparing and gathering to level professions immediately so I can have the first flying carpet on my server?
Are there achievements I would like to have in place before Wrath hits (collecting mini-pets or grinding reputations to exalted)?
While all of these things are fun to do and can help complete some of your WoW-related goals, sometimes we need to be a little silly. Here is my list of random things to do in WoW that will not progress your character or accomplish anything productive goal-wise. These are purely time-wasters.
Play With NPCs
If you see a pair of NPCs having a conversation, join in! They really don't mind and it is entertaining for you and everyone around you. You can also slow walk or "RP walk" if you see a group of them going somewhere. I have found they never go anywhere exciting though, and normally end up vanishing into thin air.
Easter Egg Hunt
Have you visited Ophera Windfury or Haris Pilton lately? Blizzard has a great sense of humor and they have hidden pop culture references throughout Azeroth and Outlands. Just spend one hour in Un'Goro Crater and you will see plenty of references and spoofs of old console games.
One-man Bosses
Tanks get to be in the bosses' face all the time where casters and healers have to take a backseat view to the action. So if you want to see what the boss looks like when angry and what kinds of goofy facial expressions he makes then pose as a tank. I am not saying one-man bosses you KNOW you can kill. This is to one-man bosses for fun and screenshots, not achievement. Be prepared for repairs.
Show Off
Ride around Shattrath on your armored netherdrake or stand in Stormwind with your new shiny epic. If you are the type that thrives on attention and the accolades from others, then this is the time-waster for you. Make sure you answer all whispers with "oh sorry, I was tabbed out" even though you were sitting there just basking in the adoration.
Toon Watch
Do you ever go to the mall and just watch the people shopping? This is similar; watching what goes on in your capital city can be a riot. Seeing how many people try to jump to the very top of the Stormwind fountain can keep you entertained for at least 10 minutes. I don't think they realize how silly they look. Thanks for the laughs, fountain jumpers.
You Shook Me All Night Long
There are plenty of fun things in the game that can shape-shift you. This can be a noggenfogger party, a furbolg party or a ninja party. Be creative. Make sure everyone brings their favorite mini-pet and vanity items. Hellloooo brewfest pony keg!
Become a Regular
Stay at the same inn every night, or even find an empty building in Ironforge and call it your home. I chose to become a regular at a tavern where everyone knows my name. Who knows, they might start giving you a discount.
Suicide Jumps
This could be considered practice for the new achievements, but I've been doing this for a long time just for fun. It certainly helps if you have a way of surviving the fall, for example Priest's levitate.
Give Me My Greypics
I do not consider myself a role-player, but I do enjoy collecting costumes or sets of grey gear. Instead of chasing epics that will be replaced eventually, why not chase grey sets? It can be fun and your guild can get involved in trying to find certain set pieces you are missing. Caylee is modeling the lovely crochet set.
/join trade
This might be torturous for some, but if you want hear more about Chuck Norris, murlocs or anal [insert spell here] this is the best way to get all of that in one sitting.
Enjoy the game you play. If you do not enjoy dailies don't do them or find a way to make them more interesting. If stockpiling mats makes you yawn then stop it. If you are not enjoying the game, why are you here? What time-wasters or fun things do you do in game?
Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted. John Lennon


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Select year: 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003
2012-12-28Ucha Nanuashvili: "I might have to take unpopular steps"
Parliament of Georgia elected new ombudsman Ucha Nanuashvili on December 7th by 82 votes against 18. Ucha Nanuashvili has been heading a local NGO Human Rights Center for years. Recently he has been chosen as a head of board of Human Rights House Tbilisi.
2012-12-27Internal Displacement as a Stigma in Georgia
Journalist Anuna Bukia, an IDP from Sokhumi, Abkhazia, thinks it is difficult to be an IDP in Georgia not only because of social-economic factors but because of negative approach of the Georgian society towards internally displaced people.
2012-12-27Poti Municipal Board Elected Chairman from the National Movement
At the session of Poti Municipal Board on December 18, despite the protest of the Georgian Dream's supporters municipal board members elected Davit Babilua from the National Movement to be a board chairman.
2012-12-27Turmoil about Selection of Lanchkhuti District Governor
Four members quitted competition-testing commission at Lanchkhuti district administration, which is about to select new district governor. It was kind of protest against the commission demonstrated at the very first session.
2012-12-27Senaki State Drama Theatre Needs Restoration
In 2008, Senaki district Akaki Khorava State Drama Theatre received status of monument of cultural heritage though it was not followed by rehabilitation. Although the building façade was painted nothing was repaired inside.
2012-12-26Human Rights Center – Formation of Majoritarian Districts Is Not Constitutional
Constitutional lawsuit of Human Rights Center sues non-constitutionality of the formation of majoritarian election districts. The suitors believe, this particular provision of the Election Code contradicts Article 14 of the Constitution that prohibits discrimination on any grounds.
2012-12-26Property Sold for 1 lari Purchased for 3, 3 million lari
Late in spring of 2012, large-scaled construction was launched at the entrance to Gori. The territory is located alongside the central motorway and belongs to the territorial entity of Sveneti village. Soon it became known that greenhouse thrift was to be constructed there.
2012-12-26Construction of the NamakhvanHESs Cascade Renewed
Construction of the cascade of Namakhvani Hydro Electro Stations was renewed in the bed of the Rioni River in Tskaltubo district. However, locals do not know who implements construction activities.
2012-12-26Journalists to be No Longer Engaged into Monitoring of Penitentiary System
On January 1, 2013 so called monitoring team of penitentiary systems is due to end its operation. Moreover, provided the team continues activities, based on the decision reached by different organizations, journalists and acting lawyers will be no longer engaged.
2012-12-26Problem of Fire-wood in the Villages of Conflict Zone
Population of Georgian villages bordering with Tskhinvali region has been scared by upcoming winters particularly after the armed conflict in 2008. Similar to other occupied territories, forests in the conflict zone are beyond Georgian jurisdiction and big part of Shida Kartli residents remain without fire-wood in winter.
2012-12-25Final Report of OSCE/ODIHR on Parliamentary Elections in Georgia
The 1 October parliamentary elections marked an important step in consolidating the conduct of democratic elections in line with OSCE and Council of Europe commitments, although certain key issues remain to be addressed.
2012-12-25New Government Faces Difficulty to Communicate with Local Self-Governments
After the new government came in office, peaceful life of self-governmental bodies in almost every region of Georgia deteriorated. Local population, led by activists of the coalition Georgian Dream, started demonstrations in front of district administrations. They request personnel changes not only in central authority but in local self-governments too.
2012-12-25"Martvili without National Movement" District Governor and Chairman of Municipal Board Blamed in Corruption
Martvili district administration and municipal board has been paralyzed for more than one month. Participants of the demonstration do not allow employees of the self-governmental bodies into the office.
2012-12-24Amnesty to Apply with Three Thousand Prisoners
80 votes vs one – parliament passed the Law on Amnesty on December 21. Three thousand prisoners will be exempted from punishment. 1 500 of them will have their sentences halved and the rest - reduced at 1/4.
2012-12-24Research of GYLA: "Analysis of Cases of Criminal and Administrative Offenses with Alleged Political Motive"
Georgian Young Lawyers' Association concluded the human rights series with the presentation of the research – "Analysis of Cases of Criminal and Administrative Offenses with Alleged Political Motive".
2012-12-21Court and Prosecutor's Office Disseminate Controversial Information about Permissions Issued on Secret Listening-Audio-Recording
On December 20, Tbilisi City Court spread statement about permission on secret listening-audio-recording of phone-conversations which were published in previous days.
2012-12-21President Sent off Kutaisi with Stones
On December 19, after his visit in Kutaisi, President of Georgia was sent off the city with stones and cursing. Citizens sieged the building of the Kutaisi City Hall, where Mikheil Saakashvili met representatives of local self-government.
2012-12-21Saakashvili Threatens to Veto Judicial Council Reform
President Saakashvili threatened on December 20 to veto government-proposed package of legislative amendments on reforming High Council of Justice if Parliament approved it.
2012-12-20Nika Gvaramia, Aleksandre Khetaguri and Other Detainees Deny Accusation
"Nika Gvaramia is bewildered and does not have idea what he is accused of," said Public Defender Ucha Nanuashvili after having visited director general of the TV-Company Rustavi 2 Nika Gvaramia and other detainees in temporary detention setting of the Tbilisi Main Police Department on December 20.
2012-12-20Presentation – Manual about Political Prisoners in Georgia
On December 20, Human Rights House Tbilisi presented research "Manual about Political Prisoners in Georgia" in the office of the Open Society Georgia Foundation.
Criminal case launched against Mikheil Saakashvili, Ivane Merabishvili, Giorgi Ugulava, Zurab Adeishvili, and Davit Kezerashvili Project coordinator Legal assessment of the criminal cases launched against Irakli Okruashvili Gori District Court annulled 3 000 GEL fines imposed on seven citizens during the state of emergency Legal analysis of the criminal cases commenced in connection with the June 20-21, 2019 events Archive
Do you support the idea to restore Irakli Shotadze to the position of the prosecutor general?
Another proposal on agreement
The society knows that since December 2017 I have a court dispute with the Tbilisi City Hall and the Georgian Water Distribution Company
Women – victims of violence
Life in a World of Doubt and Mistrust
Forgotten by government veterans
Every year, fewer and fewer veterans of the World War II meet the Victory Day. The society receives information about them only on
Villages of the Hopeless
What happened to Dream of Justice Revival?


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"People had more than they needed. We had no idea what was precious and what wasn't. We threw away things people kill each other for now." Denzel Washington as Eli in The Book of Eil
Why are post-apocalyptic films so resonant? Why do they speak to us as though they are relevant? Is it because they talk about something that will happen?
Or is it because they are talking about something that has happened, and in fact is happening now?
Appearances aren't what they seem. What Denzel is describing isn't just something that happens before a apocalypse, something that creates it, it itself is he apocalypse. Instead he is describing an apocalyptic world! The Buddha was right, the action that creates the karma is the karma itself.
Let's face it, whilst there are lots of nasty happenings in the world can we really believe that everything is right in the wealthier countries? We're in the midst of an apocalypse right now, but some countries can hide it better than others. But how long can we hide it?
Ok ok ok, maybe saying "apocalypse" may be a bit of an exaggeration. And by that I mean I don't expect the Four Horsemen to materialize and cause havoc, the anti-Christ to wage war or the Kingdom of God to miraculously descend on Earth after all the bad things have happened. Or that the Earth suddenly stop existing, like it really is the "end of the world".
But there is something not quite right. And apocalypse seems to be a frighteningly relevant word even if not particularily accurate.
I look at our "wealth" and have a feeling that something isn't quite right, that it's all a lot of a show and no substance, that the foundation is all a bit, well, flimsy to say the least. A look at the facts about peak oil shows just how flimsy. We have built a stone castle of cardboard foundations!
What are the essentials for living a fulfilling and healthy life that don't include "lots of stuff"?
How can we dig down through the foundations of our society and find the bedrock that we really need?
Can we do it before this Great Edifice collapses on us?
And what is it that we really need to build and develop?
One thing's for sure, some films get you thinking and questioning… and if more people do that we are en route to a better world.
The quote above hints at something, and that is the values we hold, the values that lead us to use or misuse the world around us… and each other.
We build our world by our values. What values are we building with?


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Talk-show hosts and late-night comics have had plenty fun poking fun at Mitt Romney's less-than-stellar stabs at joke-telling in recent weeks. On Thursday's edition of "The Colbert Report," Stephen Colbert offered the GOP frontrunner a crash-course in stand-up comedy.
After poking fun at the former Massachusetts governor's DOA "shaggy-dog" anecdote about his father's factory-relocation woes ("Good stuff! It's like he's on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, if the comedy was about losing blue collar jobs"), Colbert taught Romney how to do a "tight fifteen [minutes set] at The Laugh Factory," a popular stand-up comedy club.
Check out the clip below for Colbert's imagining of what a Romney stand-up routine might look like — brick wall background and all.
U.S. & World
The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive


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Beat the Streak Report: Tuesday, May 4
With a full month of baseball in the books, two streakers, "dodger_blue" and "olifante," have risen above the rest and are soaring like falcons through the desert with 30-game streaks.
That means that these two BTS Adonises are 52.6 percent on their way to the $3 million grand prize. And you know what that means? … 230,946 of these.
As for everyone else, it was a rough night in streakland.
Just when you thought it might be safe to bring Derek Jeter back into your life after he hit safely in five straight games, he breaks your heart (again) with an 0-for-4 performance, snapping the streaks of 12.6 percent of the BTS nation.
If that wasn't enough, Robinson Cano, who seemingly enters each game with a hit before the opening pitch, followed suit, wiping away 8.3 percent of our streakers with him.
Add on hitless performances by Paul Konerko (4.3 percent) and Johnny Damon (1.3), and well, you get the idea.
What do all of these guys have in common? None of them were advocated in yesterday's Beat the Streak Report. What do Magglio Ordonez, Ian Kinsler, Nick Swisher and Alex Rios have in common? They were, and they each got hits, going a combined 9-for-15.
I'm trying to help you here, folks.
Time for Tuesday's picks.
Oh, hello there …
- Aramis Ramirez: .400 AVG (8-for-20) lifetime vs. Pirates starter Paul Maholm
- Chone Figgins: .353 AVG (6-for-17) lifetime vs. Rays starter James Shields
- Miguel Cabrera: .400 AVG (6-for-15) lifetime vs. Twins starter Nick Blackburn
- Chris Young: .385 AVG (5-for-13) lifetime vs. Astros starter Roy Oswalt
Feeling kinda spicy?
- Marcus Thames: .667 AVG (4-for-6) lifetime vs. Orioles starter Brian Matusz. I'm actually going to advocate for Thames here. He kills lefties, Matusz is a rookie. I just like it. So there.
You'll thank me later …
- Matt Wieters: .000 AVG (0-for-8) lifetime vs. Yankees starter A.J. Burnett
- Alex Rios: .111 AVG (1-for-9) lifetime vs. Royals starter Luke Hochevar
- David Wright: .182 AVG (4-for-22) lifetime vs. Reds starter Bronson Arroyo
Leaderboard time!
Not far behind our two top dogs is "bowl218", who smartly selected Alex Rios to extend his streak to 29 games. You're welcome.
Top MLB streakers
- Ryan Theriot: 12 games
- Mike Fontenot: 10 games
- Orlando Hudson: 10 games
- Jeff Mathis: 10 games (DL)
- Evan Longoria: 9 games
19 Comments
Tuesday May 4
I was o-fer on Sunday and Monday so take this advice with much caution!
BTS: Alfonso Soriano at PNC Park in the second inning – Lefty on the mound for the Bucs today and he is hittable.
HR BTS: Alfonso Soriano – wind blowing from home plate toward Left-Center Field at about 15 will help balls in the air at PNC. Soriano is in a zone for one more day I hope.
Survivor: NYY over O's
Good Luck to all today!
After clawing my way to 6, I was utterly demoralized after Cano's 0-for last night. I'll give Cabrera a shot tonight – can't hurt. 🙂 AJ's on the mound tonight so I'm going with the Yanks in Survivor. Good luck to you, drag, and to everyone else, too! 🙂
SF with Lincecum is my survivor pick.
MCabrera is by hitter.
the leaders went with Austin Jackson and Ryan Theriot.
Jeter get's a hit already in the first inning.
2 game hit streak now.
"That means that these two BTS Adonises are 52.6 percent on their way to the $3 million grand prize. And you know what that means? … 230,946 of these."
lol…I thought he was going to mention the free subscription to MLB.TV when you reach 30 games?
"the leaders went with Austin Jackson and Ryan Theriot."
I feel good that my 1-2 preferences were actually Austin Jackson and Ryan Theriot respectively.
shows my system is working!
back to drawing board today w/ Ethier. Nats over Braves in Survivor.
Evening all, went with theriot and cubs.
Drag, do the cubbies have a light switch or something? Recently they're all hitting and winning.
Cub Report for 00liber and blog buddies:
Cubs had big weekend at Wrigley Feild feasting on AZ pitching staff which is terrible. They could do the same playing the Bucs at PNC.
Ryan Theriot – on a major tear
Alfonso "Freaky-Streaky" Soriano is flying so high he could touch the moon.
Marlon Byrd is doing well as is catcher Geovany Soto
Derrek Lee is hitting th ball hard but usually at someone. "D Lee" could break out at any moment.
Aramis Ramirez – struggling so stay away.
Soriano hits HR in 4th – cha ching and Theriot alreay has a hit. You know I going with Soriano Wed. in HR BTS.
1st AB Miggy for me. Yay.
Hey Bloggers, I'm here and I was demoralized with Cano on Monday. I was hoping he would hit one ball hard but he didn't. Back to one and I picked him again today and he got a hit but that is what happens I guess. I had Swisher as my second pick yesterday and don't know why I didn't pick him. Oh well but I'm hoping to start up there again and I have the Red Sox winning today to get my Survivor streak up to 2. Good luck to the leaders today too. I was at work all day so yeah.
the leaders are still 2-for-2 as both Jackson and Theriot have gotten hits this evening. they are now at 31
The Yankees win and Jeter get's a hit.
2 game hit streak and a 7 game win streak now !
Nice one Joe. I'm about to be at a 2 game win streak and started up my BTS streak again.
I'll probably be picking the Yankees again tomorrow to go for the sweep of the Orioles.
With Pettite pitching that is a foregone conclusion Joe. Pettite is pitching beautifully this year and I have Jeter tomorrow. Yes I did pick Yankees the last 4 days and I only messed up yesterday. If I would of listened to Joe's advice I would have a 10 game streak right now. If only I would of taken Swisher.
Ichirio singles in the bottom of the 1st against "Big Game" James TB.
BE careful on Wed. games lock in at 12:00 noon eastern time.
I'm look at Ryan Theriot of Cubs who is hot.
"Yes I did pick Yankees the last 4 days "
You are lucky they do not still use the rules for the "true" MLB.com Survivor.
They used to limit you to picking each team twice within the confines of 1 game period.
I guess the programming was too complicated to keep that for 1 overall contest period, even though it still could have been done by restricting picks only within an individual streak.
I was talking about in BTS. I have chosen Yankees for 4 straight days in BTS with today being the 4th day.


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