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The Verilux Natural Spectrum Floor Lamp delivers sleek, sophisticated style while sharpening your vision. Its unique 27W fluorescent bulb simulates actual sunlight to relieve eyestrain and fatigue. There's no buzz, no flicker or glare, so it's easy and comfortable to read or enjoy hobbies for hours. The metal head rotates 180°, swivels 360° and remains cool to the touch for easy positioning. Height adjustable from 39" to 53", with antique brushed nickel finish.
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Item # 200103
Read in comfort with the Verilux Natural Spectrum Floor Lamp. Its ergonomic design and patented bulb make it easy and comfortable to read for hours.
• Stylish and versatile floor lamp
• Timeless design looks great in any room
• Brushed nickel finish
• Flicker elimination technology provides steady illumination to prevent eye strain
• Virtually eliminates both reflective and peripheral glare that can cause eyestrain and headaches
• Ergonomic design — swivels 360 degrees
• Lamp head rotates 180 degrees
• 27W fluorescent Natural Spectrum® bulb lasts 10,000 hours
• Energy efficient bulb uses 80% less energy than standard bulbs
• Height adjustable from 39" to 53"
• Cord length: 8'
• Plugs into an AC outlet
Length: 10.5
Width: 5.4
Height: 53
Weight: 15.2 Lbs
Please click here for the product manual.
Our Price: $229.99
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This article appears in the Fall 2011 CLINIC NEWS.
The Federal Tax Clinic (FTC) represents many victims of domestic violence by claiming the "innocent spouse" defense in federal income tax cases. This work has revealed significant inefficiency and discrimination in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) policy and practice. To remedy these problems, FTC faculty and students are drafting a recommendation for systemic advocacy change for submission to the Office of the National Taxpayer Advocate. Specifically, the FTC will recommend creation of an "innocent spouse" unit within the IRS and a change in the procedures the IRS uses to notify abusive spouses (or ex-spouses) of the opportunity to participate in "innocent spouse" proceedings initiated by the abused spouse.
An "innocent spouse" can seek release from liability on a jointly filed federal income tax return when the other spouse omits income or takes erroneous deductions. Prior to 1998, if one spouse (usually the ex-wife) filed an innocent spouse claim, the non-petitioning spouse had no notice of the proceeding. This resulted in the granting of innocent spouse status without providing the nonpetitioning spouse an opportunity to challenge the claim's veracity. To remedy this, Tax Court rules were amended to require notice of the right to intervene. In an attempt to protect domestic violence victims, the IRS instituted "protections" that purport to provide privacy protection for petitioning spouses through issuance of protective orders. However, while a protective order may require redaction of identifying information, it does not protect the petitioner once a Tax Court petition is filed. The non-petitioning spouse still receives notice of his opportunity to intervene in the proceedings, and, although the IRS claims that it does not reveal the petitioner's address, the address appears on the Certificate of Service ultimately filed with the court.
This practice is problematic for victims of domestic violence, many of whom are low-income immigrants and fear their former spouses. Because the nonpetitioning spouse receives notice of both the filing of the Tax Court petition and of the time and place of the Tax Court hearing, a number of fearful FTC clients have decided not to initiate claims or to withdraw claims already filed. Recently, one deserving client withdrew her claim because she feared her ex-husband would kill her outside the courthouse.
A domestic violence victim may have "constructive" or even "actual" knowledge of her husband's actions, but if fear of retribution prevents her from confronting the spouse, she may have a defense to the "knowledge" factor required in innocent spouse cases. A victim of physical, emotional, or economic abuse, therefore, has a strong case for consideration as an innocent spouse. Ironically, this is the very type of client who may choose to withdraw her claim.
Through the creation of an administrative process within the current innocent spouse unit, it may be possible to resolve cases involving domestic violence victims at an earlier stage so that they do not have to go to Tax Court and face the disclosure problems that follow. The FTC's proposal will include mechanisms to protect those claimants who end up in Tax Court so that the IRS can protect the filing spouse without discriminating against the petitioning spouse. Clinic Director Sandy Freund aims to finalize and submit the proposal in the Fall 2011 semester.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tech Help Drop-In
Location:Bluffton Branch
Date & Time:Thursday, January 9, 2014 - 10:00am – 12:00pm
Date & Time:Thursday, January 23, 2014 - 10:00am – 12:00pm
Bring your most burning technology questions to this drop-in session in our computer lab! Bring your own tablet, smartphone, iPhone, laptop, or device, or use one of our computers.
Questions? Contact the Reference Desk at 255-6503.


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Emile Henry Flame Pizza Stone for $19.99 + $5.00 shipping
Truly savvy Deals lovers know there are always secret, short-term bargains hidden in the wootbot postings. And here's one now! Leap upon it, lest ye forget you saw it and go about your day until you wake up at three in the morning yelling "I MEANT TO GO BACK!! I! MEANT! TO! GO! BAAAAACK!"


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Explore AreaJETZT BUCHEN ▼▲
Vorhandene Reservierung prüfen oder ändern:
Melden Sie sich an, um alle Reservierungen auf Ihrem Konto anzuzeigen
Visit top Santiago attractions near our hotel
Offering an unbeatable Santiago location near top attractions like the Teatro Municipal de las Condes and the Galería Animal, the Radisson Petra la Dehesa is an ideal accommodation choice for your upcoming vacation. Our hotel is also within walking distance of excellent shopping, dining and more at Portal la Dehesa, a popular shopping center that has something for everyone.
Before you leave, don't forget to take some time to explore Chile's premium wineries, ski resorts and gorgeous nature preserves like Santuario de la Naturaleza and Yerba Loca.
Nearby attractions include:
Before you leave, don't forget to take some time to explore Chile's premium wineries, ski resorts and gorgeous nature preserves like Santuario de la Naturaleza and Yerba Loca.
Nearby attractions include:
- Galería Animal
This gallery in Santiago boasts a beautiful assortment of art, including some of the best contemporary art in Chile.
Phone: +1 (56) (2) 2371-9090
- La Paloma Glacier (21 miles)
This magnificent glacier is one of the largest in Chile and is located just 19 miles northeast of Santiago.
- Mountaineering Trips (25 miles)
This hotel is close to the summits of Chile's Central Andes, providing you with opportunities to hike the mountainous trails. A wide range of trails with varying rates of difficulty allow enjoyable trips for novice, intermediate and advanced hikers.
- Parque de Montaña Farellones
Farellones Park is open all year, and it's only one hour from the hotel. Here you can enjoy many outdoor activities, such as tubing, canopy tours, mountain biking and a climbing wall.
Reservations: firstname.lastname@example.com
- Portal La Dehesa (1 mile)
Look for deals at this shopping mall, conveniently located in front of the hotel.
Phone: +1 (56) (2) 954-8233
- Santuario de la Naturaleza (5 miles)
Visit Santiago's natural reserve, where you can enjoy the typical flora and fauna of the region. Large picnic and barbecue areas are also available.
- Skiing in Santiago (20 miles)
Three popular ski resorts are located within 25 miles of our hotel, including popular Valle Nevado, the largest ski domain in the Southern Hemisphere. Chile's ski season runs from June to October.
Phone: +1 (56) (2) 477-7000
- Teatro Municipal de las Condes
Catch a performance at this theater, featuring an impressive, modern platform created in honor of Chile's Bicentennial.
- Vineyard Tours (30 miles)
Plan a visit to spectacular vineyards like Cousiño Macul, Concha y Toro and Tarapaca. Private or group visits can be arranged and include a tour of the facilities, a wine tasting and lunch.
Phone: +1 (56) (2) 218-0600
- Yerba Loca (12.5 miles)
Admire the breathtaking views at this nature preserve, the ideal place to hike, horseback ride or ice climb.
Nearby transportation:
- Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL) (18.8 miles)
Additional Nearby Attractions
- Gobierno de Chile
- Lans Airlines
- Museo de Arte Precolombino
- Radisson Petra la Dehesa Tours


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A fire that started at about 10 a.m. Tuesday severely damaged a house in the 2800 block of Bent Oak Highway, at the corner of Oakview Drive, in Adrian Townhship.According to a report from a fire official at the scene, one man was asleep upstairs in the home when the fire started and he escaped.The fire started in the basement of the home and went up the walls into the attic, according to the report at the scene. The house had been under renovation.No cause of the fire or damage estimate was available Tuesday afternoon.Bent Oak Highway was closed at Carson Highway and also north of the fire scene while firefighters fought the blaze.Adrian Township firefighters were aided by crews from the city of Adrian, Madison and Raisin townships, and Sand Lake.
Location, ST | website.com


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Does anyone know if it's possible to create a 3D dxf with OGR. I would like to assign our contour lines a z value and export them to dxf for some cad work.
PS I know FME can do this, however I would like to try and find a free solution and if possible do it in QGIS.


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In Michigan, there is no doubt that immigrant entrepreneurs and innovators play an important role. Immigrant entrepreneurs bring in additional revenue, create jobs, and contribute significantly to the state's economy. Highly skilled immigrants are vital to the state's innovation economy, and to the metropolitan areas within the state, helping to boost local economies. Furthermore, local government, business, and non-profit leaders recognize the importance of immigrants in their communities and support immigration through local "welcoming" and integration initiatives.
Immigrant entrepreneurs contribute significantly to Michigan's economy.
- From 2006 to 2010, immigrants founded 30,223 businesses in Michigan, and in 2010, 10.4 percent of all business owners [1] in Michigan were foreign-born.
- In 2010, new immigrant business owners had a total net business income of $1.8 billion, which is 9.2 percent of all net business income [1] in the state.
- Michigan's foreign-born were more than three times [2] as likely as the native-born population to start a new business between 1996 and 2007.
- In particular, 32.8 percent of high-tech startups in Michigan between 1990 and 2005 had an immigrant founder, which places Michigan third out of all fifty states and means that Michigan's immigrants are six times more likely to start a high-tech firm than U.S.-born residents.
Highly skilled immigrants are vital to Michigan's innovation economy.
- High-skilled immigrant workers contribute to the success of many Michigan-based companies and institutions with a significant presence in the state, including [3] Henry Ford Health System, Wipro Limited, General Motors Company, Miracle Software Systems, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and Wayne State University.
- In 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor certified [4] 7,411 H-1B labor certification applications in Michigan, with an average annual wage of $68,113, which is higher than Michigan's median household income [5] of $48,669 or per capita income of $25,482.
- The Detroit-Warren-Livonia metropolitan area had 4,653 H-1B high-skilled visa requests [3] in 2010-2011, with 65.9 percent of H-1B visa-holders working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations.
- An expansion [6] of the high-skilled visa program would create an estimated 14,100 new jobs in Michigan by 2020. By 2045, this expansion would add [6] around $3.9 billion to Gross State Product and increase personal income by more than $3.8 billion.
While the numbers are compelling, they don't tell the whole story.
- In southwest Detroit, Jordi Carbonell, originally from Spain, opened [7] a coffee shop founded on the basis that in order to create a strong community, the community needed a central gathering place.
- Today, the bustling café is integral [7] to the life of the neighborhood. As the president of the agency responsible for managing the commercial district notes, "It's the kind of place where you know immediately you're part of a community – of residents, high schoolers, travelers in cyberspace, and young and old hatching plots to save the world!"
- In southeastern Michigan, Basil Bacall, a Chaldean immigrant, along with his brother, started and grew a business of successful hotels [8]. Today, they own and operate several hotels, real estate, and shopping mall properties which all create jobs for Michigan residents.
- Bacall also founded [8] a non-profit in 2007, the Adopt-a-Refugee program, that matches donors with persecuted families in the Middle East and has helped about 80,000 people and distributed $1.5 million.
- In Keego Harbor, northwest of Detroit, Vladimir Gendelman, originally from [9] the former Soviet Union, owns and operates Company Folders, Inc. [10] Gendelman started Company Folders, a graphic design and printing company, in 2004.
- Today, the company has clients throughout the United States and employs twelve people with plans to create several new positions as the company continues to grow. Speaking of starting and growing his company, Gendelman stated [9], "I knew if I worked my butt off, I could build something to be proud of."
Some localities have begun recognizing and supporting immigration through local "welcoming" and integration initiatives.
- Welcoming Michigan is a statewide initiative [11] that seeks to build mutual respect among foreign-born and native-born people residing in Michigan. The organization works to support Michigan's "receiving community" members, the U.S.-born who live in communities with growing immigrant populations, in creating welcoming communities where immigrants can integrate into their adopted hometowns.
- Steve Tobocman, Director of Global Detroit, describes Welcoming Michigan as an organization that "not only represent the values (hospitality, kindness, and friendliness) of the Midwestern state in which I was raised, but it actually creates the kind of welcoming environment essential for economic growth in a global economy. If Michigan is to compete, we have to welcome the investment, the jobs, the workers, and the ingenuity of immigrants and refugees. Welcoming Michigan is the foundation of a global economic growth strategy to return prosperity to our state."
- Global Michigan is a collaborative effort [12] started in 2011 by the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The initiative recognizes immigrant contributions to the state and encourages immigrants to study, settle, and innovate in Michigan.
- Among its various activities, Global Michigan works on strategies to attract talent to Michigan companies, retain university graduates, improve pathways for small business investment, connect immigrant business investors with local economic development, optimize the EB-5 investor program, and advocate for a more efficient H-1B visa program for high-skilled foreign-born workers.
- Global Detroit. Detroit, Michigan is an example of a Rustbelt city that has experienced severe post-industrial population decline. Yet, due in part to a growing immigrant population, areas of the city are experiencing growth and revitalization. Local leaders, through the Global Detroit initiative, recognize that immigrants play an important role.
- Global Detroit's strategy [2] includes acknowledging that immigrants are essential to urban population growth and stability, and immigrants provide neighborhood revitalization benefits and can play a crucial role in rejuvenating neighborhood commercial retail districts that might otherwise succumb to blight or abandon.
- Specifically, the initiative recognizes [2] that "welcoming cities" understand that immigrant populations help to stabilize residential neighborhoods, revitalize commercial retail corridors, bringing a diversity of culture, food, language, goods, and services, all of which help decrease blight, decay, and abandonment, increase job creation, employment, and property values, improve neighborhood quality of life, and foster a greater vibrancy and richness for the urban experience throughout a city.
- Local leaders involved with Global Detroit realize [2] that "nothing is more powerful to remaking Detroit as a center of innovation, entrepreneurship and population growth, than embracing and increasing immigrant populations and the entrepreneurial culture and global connections that they bring and deliver."
- Welcome Mat Detroit is committed [13] to "strengthening communities and service capacity by broadening access to and knowledge of services and resources, fostering a welcoming atmosphere for all, and building capacity of immigrant service providers."
- Welcome Mat Detroit is an initiative that stemmed [14] from the 2010 Global Detroit study that identified the need for Detroit to capitalize on international talent to revitalize the metro area. The organization partners [15] with ACCESS, Global Detroit, and the International Institute of Metropolitan Detroit.
- The organization [13] catalogs a network of immigrant service providers in Southeast Michigan and fosters collaboration between these providers. Such a network simplifies the process for immigrants to choose a provider best suited for them, and helps organizations share services and ideas with one another and identify gaps in essential services and opportunities for particular organizations to fill those gaps.
Published On: Fri, Jul 19, 2013 | Download File [17]


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I know it's valid to have a DNS A record that's a wildcard (e.g. *.mysite.com). Is it possible/valid/advised to have a wildcard CNAME record?
It is possible to do this. At one point it was up in the air a bit until 4592 clarified that it should be supported.
Just because it is possible doesn't mean it is supported by all DNS providers. For example, GoDaddy won't let you set up a wildcard in a CNAME record.
In terms of whether it is advisable or not to do this, it depends on your usage. Usually CNAMES are used for convenience when you are pointing to an "outside" domain name that you don't control the DNS on.
For example, let's say you set up a CMS system that allows you to have *.mycms.com as the site name (it uses host headers). You want customers to be able to easily set up *.cms.customer.com, without worrying that you might change your IP address at some point. In that case, you could advise them to set up a wildcard CNAME called *.cms.customer.com to www.mycms.com.
Because wildcard CNAMES aren't supported by all providers (such as GoDaddy), I wouldn't advise using it in a case where you suggested it for various customers (where you don't know their provider's capabilities).
I added the line
to my zone file in my bind config and that worked perfectly (ie.
It was also possible to to add exceptions to this by adding the line
so that
Just to add that Amazon Route 53 supports wildcards in any record type.
So you can safely use Route 53 as your DNS provider.
We use wildcard dns all the time, and we haven't had any issues. If you point it to an ipaddres, use:
If you want to use an alias, do:
when you create a CNAME record end the pointed server with a dot, ex: *.mydomain.com. Notice the last dot
As far as I remember you can(ish) sort of do this, but then that CNAME can't be used by any other record type such as NS or MX.
Not quite sure what you're trying to achieve with the "wildcard" thing, so I'll have to give a generic answer :)
To clarify, CNAME aserver.domain means you can't have anothername.aserver.domain
There are exceptions, but I don't know what they are off the top of my head thou and not really sure what you want to do, so I shan't waste time.
Here are the results of my test. I deleted the A records for mysite.com and www.mysite.com and added a CNAME record for *.mysite.com. The test didn't work. mysite.com wouldn't resolve. Just to be clear, I use OpenDNS for my DNS servers. Maybe it works fine with other DNS servers, but I obviously want it to work universally. Based on those results, I'm going to stick with the standard A records.
It does work now.
Just use a "*" in the cname section of the zone file editor or DNS manager from Godaddy an point to an IP or DNS name.
In my case I used it with an DNS name pointing to an Microsoft Azure cloudservice and it worked great. This works for bla.domain.ext but also for bla.bla.domain.ext. Might work different for another provider.
protected by MadHatter Sep 6 '13 at 13:35
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Where do your pets sleep?
As I lay here with a cat rumbling in my ear and a dog snoring on my feet, I was wondering if you other wooters end up displaced by critters. My wife and I often end up on the edge of the bed (not a small one, either), with cats and dog curled up between us. So, does your pet end up sleeping more comfortably than you do?
45 Answers answer
The dog is not allowed on the bed (or any other furniture)...unless we're traveling. She knows when she goes to a hotel she's allowed on the bed and that's the first place she lands when we check in.
The cat sleeps on my husband's side of the bed because he knows he gets the boot if he tries to encroach on my space :-)
I've heard that pets are one of the leading causes of insomnia so you have to decide on your priorities, your comfort or the fur-kid's comfort.
I'm single but have a king-size bed. My smallish dog (25lbs) sleeps on one half of the bed and me on the other. The recently inherited cat has just started sleeping on the bed too and is usually attached to my back or legs on the far side from the dog. Cat & Dog don't particularly like each other yet.
All my dogs were outside dogs, so they slept wherever they wanted. I haven't had one in years, though.
@ohcheri: So, you have furniture that you get to use? That's madness!
I fully admit to spoiling the crap out of our critters, but am not averse to making them relocate. As for insomnia, that comes on its own...can't blame the critters for that. Once they settle, they are fluffy space-heaters.
@thunderthighs: Our dog was raised by the cats since we brought him home from the shelter at 3 weeks old, so he basically thinks he's a cat. Sharing our bed space isn't a problem for them, except for the 80+ pounds of critter added in with us. Next bed will be a California king.
my cats change their minds now and then but lately the pattern is the chunky cat sleeps in his circular cat condo nook, snug as a bug. the other one always ends up laying ON my feet on the bed. he loves feet and i think the heated blanket doesn't hurt either
@okham: When I was married, we had 2 dogs (one was 55 lbs, other 25lbs) and 2 cats sleeping with us. Cats knew to sleep with him and I couldn't take their bathing nudges while trying to sleep.
This cat is son's from his dad's house. His dad passed away this summer so now he's my inherited cat. Sigh. Since the cat has lost one person, the other cat, and been displaced, I'm cutting him some slack.
@thunderthighs: You get extra feline karma points. They last 9 times as long.
I've got a cute little rescue cat. Well, notso little anymore.
She doesn't like being touched- unless it's 3am and her ears need a rub- 10 seconds max.
She likes sleeping on my stomach. As long as I don't try to pet her, or for long, she curls up; otherwise she'll leave and hide. I wake up (on my back) in the position I fell to sleep in, so it's not a problem for me to have her.
I prefer my pets to sleep in my bed. I think I actually sleep more comfortably when my little kitty is curled up next to me.
I am priveleged to sleep on the community queen sized dog bed occupied by several pugs.
My cat sleeps on top of my keyboard.
Never understood why....
I like when pets are allowed on the furniture- they keep my spot warm or cuddle when watching TV. We try to call our dog on the bed at night, but it lasts all of five seconds. If it is one or the other of us, she'll sleep in the missing one's spot. She has space issues.
Usually, I find her sprawled out on the guest bed at night.
I'm currently sharing a twin-bed with a friend and 2 cats. My cat sleeps in the little nook behind my legs, hers sleeps just in front of her belly.
We're a cuddly bunch.
I sleep happily and cozily with my kitty Mowgli. There's something amazing about finding that a cat who could be anywhere wants to be curled up with me.
2 cats, both rescues. The older one sometime sleeps in a cat-bed in another room, sometimes under my bed, and sometimes on my bed (usually directly on top of my torso). The younger cat nearly always sleeps on the bed with me, usually curled up around my feet/legs. He will also occasionally get under the covers (very weird for a cat!). I can tell how cold it is by how many cats are in the bed and what position.
My mom has 2 cats, and they are definitely the insomnia-causing type. One always sleeps with her, but wakes her up all the time by moving and being heavy. The other cat sometimes tries to come on the bed, but the dominant cat usually fights to push her off - hence leading to more insomnia!
Our Weimeranar sleeps in his kennel in our bedroom, we leave the door open. Though if he cold noses me one more time in the morning, I may have to kill him.
Our pet rats stay in the office.
My two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels were going to sleep in their crates, not on my bed, no way...OK...but it does get crowded on my single bed with the two of them and me and my pillows and books. I'm sure they'd be glad to have it all to themselves. They definitely do not like it when I bring the computer to bed. One tries to bury it with the covers every time.
Rottie and Lab mix on bed with me. Used to let the cats but their claws making a bed on my stomach in the middle of the night ended that. They take over the bed when I wake up. Of course, now that I think about it, the cats' claws may be less of a nuisance than the dogs' gases. Oh, well.
My cats basically sleep where they want.
They were trained from early on that they don't wake me up for food, though they know the sound of my alarm clock and will wait by my bed to see if I hit the snooze or actually get out of bed. If I get up, the don't like it when I stop in the bathroom on the way to the kitchen.
Sammy (~13 lb male) will sleep on my bed with me if I am reading. He jumps off when I turn out the light. I usually find him on the couch or the cat tree.
Diva (~7 lb female) prefers the radiators, either on top or just in front, at least in the winter. She also likes the back of the couch when the radiators are not warm.
In the summer, they both prefer the basement.
FWIW to those with small dogs: I also have a ramp for my dachshund/corgi mix to use getting on and off the bed. It looks kinda like this one. but with a solid rail on the outside. Mine was made by a guy I found on the Internet but I think he's out of business now.
I have it running along the end of my bed so it doesn't take up much room.
I highly recommend ramps for the small doggies.
I am single and Black Lab sleeps on my feet, the other two take the rest of the bed. At least I have something to cuddle.
Girl cat sleeps in the exact center of the bed and sort of molds me around herself. Boy cat prefers to sleep alone in random places, but will crawl in with me for brief periods if he wants to snuggle or make a blanket fort. Sometimes he decides that 3 AM is the perfect time to launch a sneak attack on his sister, which means I wake up to find that my tummy or butt is now a kitty combat zone, and it's necessary to lock them both in the bathroom until they can settle their differences like rational beasts.
My dobie choses to sleep in a crate, fortunately for me!
Our dog sleeps a couple feet underground. We had to have her put down last summer and decided we aren't ready for another one yet.
Before I met my wife, the dog was hers and slept in the bed with her. Dog plus the two of us didn't work well, so the dog subsequently slept next to the bed after that. She would sometimes sneak up onto the bed when I wasn't around, until she got old enough that she couldn't make the jump. Then she slept on the couch for some time, until she got really old and started sleeping on the floor.
She was 15+ years old when we had her put down. We like to think she had a good run of it.
@thunderthighs: Wow, canine karma as well. You're quite the good critter parent :)
We don't need them for the dog, but have ramps and stepsools set up for our agin ( and lazy) cats.
I can also add that where we live we can get away with burying our deceased dog in the back yard without having to worry about getting in trouble over it. After burying her we decided we wanted to memorialize her by planting a tree over where we buried her. We chose ... a dogwood (of course).
I have a black lab mix shelter dog, looks like a mini lab, she cuddles for a little while, likes to get her belly rubbed then heads to the foot of the bed. However, when I am taking care of my mom's dogs, her mini poodle has to sleep curled up on your shoulder and her standard poodle thinks she is tiny too and loves to sleep as close to me as she can get, even if it's on top of me. I am constantly trying to push them over so I don't fall off my queen bed, which I have done.
I have two blue tick hounds and they both sleep in the bed with me. At the start of the night they are both at the foot of the bed. By morning they are up next to me on the passenger side or lying across the bed and I'm in a fetal position.
@lparsons42: We do plants for our deceased critters as well, but dogwood is good.
I'm not sure what the rules are here (probably ok, as we're out a bit), but we have them cremated.
We have two toy poodles, both of which sleep on my parents bed (thankfully!)
I used to love the thought of them sleeping in mine, but they have a couple times when my parents are out of town, and they wake me up quite a bit, so nevermind XD
We have a couple of designated spots for both our dogs, which are either dog-beds (pads) or folded comforters. Each dog moves around and crashes on them pretty interchangeably, except their 'personal' spots in the living room.
We don't allow the dog to sleep in our bedroom or in our bed. I don't mind it (when we're camping or whatnot) but we didn't want to encourage them bedding down on every 'human' bed in the house when we're not home.
They don't seem to mind in the least.
Two elderly mini-poodles who sleep more or less where they want during the day: three sets of dog beds around the house, a people bed, the couch, the floor, wherever. We have a double bed, which is great for cozy sleeping for two people but not so good at all with dogs whose weight seems to increase from 15 lbs to 50 lbs when they sleep, and the female snores so loudly we can hear her throughout the house. At night, therefore, they sleep in their own beds in the kitchen, secured behind a child's safety gate, unless we're having thunderstorms, in which case they're in bed with us.
My two dogs (and foster puppy) sleep in crates in our bedroom. They love bedtime and wait anxiously to be put in their crates at night because they get a special cookie that they only get at bedtime.
Our cat used to sleep with me, either curled up next to me or laying on my chest. We kept each other warm. It took several nearly sleepless weeks before I learned how to sleep without her when she passed away in November.
@tippypaws: Sorry to hear. It's always hard when we lose them, no matter how long they were with us.
We've got a Smooth Collie that has his doggie cave under our bed and an Australian Kelpie who sleeps on either the floor or one of the couches.
My two cats get too playful for me to handle them being in bed with us, pawing and scratching at legs under the covers. So when it's bedtime, they get kicked out of the bedroom. They're allowed on any furniture and on the bed during the day.
The Intern sleeps wherever she likes+, and after a few months (she is a suspicious and wary cat) finally started curling up with me at night.
+ For example, my lap during the day when I am not working at the office.
@inkycatz: Your cat's name is Intern? Does she get you coffee? All mine do is try to knock it out of my hand while I'm drinking.
@okham: No, that's just what I call her to other people. Regarding her thoughts on coffee, she will sit just outside the kitchen (she's not allowed in there) and wait while the coffeemaker runs. The price of this cooperation about staying out of the kitchen is that I will hold the prepared mug up to her so she can sniff.
She was born locally, so her habit for doing this is not entirely unreasonable.
My cat sleeps on the corner of the bed but sometimes she likes to sleep on the part of pillow above my head.
Edit: I forgot to add she also likes the boxes from woot. I dont know what you guys do differently but its kitty approved in my house.
I have a twin day bed and a 135lb Great Dane, so he sleeps on a ginormous Cesar Milan bolster bed with the thin bottom padded by a thick Costco bed. My cat sleeps between my feet at the foot of my bed. I'm allergic and she is perfect, During waking hours the cat lays on the arm of the sofa and the dog occupies the other half of it. So if I am sitting up watching tv there's room for us all, but I can't stretch out on the sofa without displacing everyone.
@thunderthighs: And for those of you with larger dogs that like to sleep on the bed, there's a cheap option. Back when I had a king bed and shared with the Great Danes, as they got older I would go to garage sales or second hand stores and buy sturdy low coffee tables. I'd screw & glue a doormat to the top for traction and it made an excellent step-up for arthritic giant breed dogs. If I couldn't find a table the right height I'd get a taller one and just chop down the legs.
I bought a king size bed hoping to get a little more space for myself. But the rules that govern beds & pets proved true once again:
1) The smaller the dog or cat, the more space they take up.
2) The larger the bed, the more space they will take for themselves (even the really small ones.)
Good thing I love them :)
The cats sleep where they want. The dogs each have beds on the bedroom floor, and access to the hallway so they can wander out if out room gets too warm. The dogs may get moved to hallway outside our bedroom if we reproduce (a human child) and need to keep a crib in our room for a few of months. The pets share the mudroom, and are crated when we are away from the house. The caged critters sleep in their cages, chickens in their chicken houses. Or on top of their houses, depending on weather.


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I am not quite sure about the terminology, but let's call a $n$-dimensional manifold of finite type if it has a finite open cover $U_1,\ldots,U_k$ such that all intersections are either empty or diffeomorphic to ${\mathbb R}^n$. Every compact manifold is of finite type (endow it with a Riemannian metric and use geodesically convex neighbourhoods), while $\mathbb{R}^2\setminus \mathbb Z$ isn't.
A straightforward argument using the Mayer-Vietoris sequence shows that the cohomology of a manifold of finite type is finite dimensional. My question is about the converse statement:
If the cohomology algebra of a smooth manifold $M$ is finite dimensional, does this imply that $M$ is of finite type?
Edit: From Tom and Charles' examples, it is clear that the answer is "no" if one uses de Rham or even singular cohomology. As Tom suggests, there is some hope for a positive answer under an appropriate assumption on cohomology with twisted coefficients, but not being an expert on these matters I will not take the risk of further conjectures.


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- Binding: Hardcover
- Era: 20th Century
- Number of Pages: 224
- Subject: World War II
- Date Available: October 2007
Your tax-deductible gift to the Naval Institute Press underwrites worthy books that might not otherwise be published.
A warship designer and well-known author of a quartet of books on British warships, David K. Brown takes a detailed look at the Allied ships, weapons, and tactics that won the submarine war in the Atlantic in this handsomely illustrated book. Beginning with the lessons learned from World War I, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training and describes preparations for World War II. He then examines the balance of advantage as it see-sawed between U-boats and escorts when new weapons and sensors were introduced at a rapid rate. For defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and Brown explains that the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author's analyses of the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes, and destroyer escorts, and his determination of their relative effectiveness, offer insights new even to those well versed on the subject of anti-submarine warfare during the Atlantic War, a campaign that Winston Churchill famously claimed was the only one that really frightened him.


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Virginia Tech drops Rutgers in OT
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Charlotte R. Hyland, 74, of Portland, passed away on Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. She was born on June 8, 1938 in Ionia, the daughter of Ray and Daisy Belle (Thayer) Adams.
Charlotte enjoyed spending time with her family, as well as attending Crossroads Church.
Preceding her in death were her parents; daughter, Bonnie Bryner; brother, Ray Adams.
Surviving are her husband of 58 years, Richard Hyland; children, Theresa "Terri" Castle, and Brian (fiancée, Annette) Hyland; seven grandchildren; nine great grandchildren; sister-in-law, Linda Adams; several nieces and nephews.
The Memorial Service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013 at Crossroads Church, 13940 S. Grange Road, Eagle. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. until the time of the service on Saturday at the church.
Arrangements are entrusted to Lehman Funeral Homes, Portland. On line condolences may be made at www.lehmanfuneralhomes.com.
Location, ST | website.com


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Here & Elsewhere—Libertarian Edition
Libertarians and libertarianism have been receiving a lot of attention lately. In the current issue of Commonweal, Eduardo Peñalver asks whether Catholics can be libertarians. His answer: It depends—not on what kind of Catholic they are but on what kind of libertarian:
For Ayn Rand and others in the natural-rights tradition, property rights are conceived as virtually absolute in scope, limited only as necessary for the protection of other property rights. For these libertarians, the protection of property rights—the freedom from interference by government—is a moral imperative, irrespective of the outcomes it produces. In contrast, for libertarians whose outlook is based in economics (think Milton Friedman), the commitment to state noninterference in private-property rights rests on empirical—and, at least in theory, testable—claims about how the world works. Maintaining robust private property rights is good, the argument goes, because it leads to the more efficient operation of the economy, which in turn generates greater overall social wealth from which everyone benefits.
In my view, the Ayn Rand, natural-rights libertarianism that Paul Ryan has flirted with is fundamentally incompatible with Catholic teachings on the nature and limits of private ownership.
Meanwhile, in a much-discussed essay in the New Republic ("The Truth About Our Libertarian Age"), Mark Lilla argues that, strictly speaking, libertarianism isn't so much an ideology as a dogma:
The distinction between ideology and dogma is worth bearing in mind. Ideology tries to master the historical forces shaping society by first understanding them. The grand ideologies of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries did just that, and much too well; since they were intellectually "totalizing," they countenanced political totalitarianism. Our libertarianism operates differently: it is supremely dogmatic, and like every dogma it sanctions ignorance about the world, and therefore blinds adherents to its effects in that world. It begins with basic liberal principles—the sanctity of the individual, the priority of freedom, distrust of public authority, tolerance—and advances no further. It has no taste for reality, no curiosity about how we got here or where we are going. There is no libertarian sociology (an oxymoron) or psychology or philosophy of history. Nor, strictly speaking, is there a libertarian political theory, since it has no interest in institutions and has nothing to say about the necessary, and productive, tension between individual and collective purposes. It is not liberal in a sense that Montesquieu, the American Framers, Tocqueville, or Mill would have recognized. They would have seen it as a creed little different from Luther's sola fide: give individuals maximum freedom in every aspect of their lives and all will be well. And if not, then pereat mundus.
As regular readers of the blog may remember, the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies recently held a conference on the "Catholic Case against Libertarianism" in Washington D.C. Videos from the conference are now available here. Among the highlights: IPR director Stephen Schneck on libertarianism and Catholic political theory, Maria Elena Durazo on the church's relationship to the labor movement, and Lew Daly on the practical effects of libertarianism on public policy. (The text of my own remarks is still available here; the video is here.)
If you watch just one of the videos, watch this one:
About the Author
Matthew Boudway is an associate editor of Commonweal.
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I'd nominate the Maria Elena Durazo talk as not-to-be-missed.
There is a seriously misleading conflation in this essay. Ayn Rand is cited as being a 'type' of libertarian. There follows a serious slam against "libertarianism." No attempt to make a distinction between Rand's thought and those who self-identify as 'libertarian', and I would suggest no shame in omitting one.
Ayn Rand is not libertarian. She is "none of the above" in both the initial characterization, nor in the lower-down denunciation. She wrote extensively against libertarianism.
Objectivism is a philosophy. It is not dogma nor ideology. I suggest you post a retraction, and then if so inclined make whatever attack on Objectivism you desire.
I understand the basic political manifestation would most likely be anarchy. But anarchy is of course in the eye of the beholder. It would be more akin to conglomeration of various social entities forming for particular interests.
Many of the founding fathers of the US had a kind of anarchistic bent in that sense.
I asked this question before and never received a reply. Was the revolutionary war justified from a Catholic point of view. Were the political ideals advanced in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution fully consistent with Catholic political thought.
This is an important question as the US approaches the Fourth of July. Many of the ideas celebrated on that national holiday are libertarian and were never fully vindicated by the Catholic Church until almost 200 years later at the Second Vatican Council.
When I hear catholic American conservatives talking, I hear them appealing to the Constitution or at least their interpretation which seems largely correct. Ron Paul although not Catholic springs to mind. I do not agree with this but they do make a compelling argument which begs the question can the Declaration of Independence and the constitution be considered Catholic documents, imbibed with a Catholic spirit?
Well, no. Neither the U.S. Constitution nor the Declaration of Independence were written with the goal of defining or implementing the teachings of Christ. There was that messy ole separation of Church and State thing. To suggest it was or was not would be a fine jumping off point for a debate but in order to arrive at an indisputable conclusion would require more fanaticism than reason.
As for Catholic "conservatives" apealing to the Constitution I suggest their appeals, particularly those of the remarkably self-absorbed Rand family, are as self-serving as those of Jefferson in his reading of the Judeo-Christian bible without the truly remarkable brilliance and compassion, of course. BTW, the Smithsonian recently came out with a reproduction of Jefferson's "bible" for a mere 40 bucks or so. Not bad.
@George D (7/3, 12:39 am) Interesting comment. Which of the founders of the US had, in your view, "a kind of anarchistic bent"?
Might Be
But they were informed by ideas springing from the Enlightenment. The Catholic Church was not on board with many of the ideas from the enlightenment. The enlightenment also corresponded to the rise of the nation state and the Protestant reformation.
Leo XIII condemned what he called Americanism.
All of this begs the question of what exactly is Catholic social thought? And how does one apply those principles (many of which rooted in natural law theory) to the American social democratic experiment which has been pretty successful by most measures.
if we take as a definition that anarchy would be the position that government is a necessary evil that must be tolerated but circumscribed very strictly within tight parameters to ensure maximum liberty than I would think Madison and Jefferson would be two candidates. I am not an expert on US history by any stretch but my sense is that these row embody the whole maxim that "that government which governs least, governs best" I know that phrase is attributed to Jefferson but he did not use it but my understanding is that it accurately conveys his political philosophy.
That messy old church and state thing is not that messy where the Catholic Church is concerned or even the Anglican one for that matter. The coronation ceremony is presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Queen is actually, technically head of state and defender of the faith. Queen of Canada too. The American model is very persuasive and popular but is by no means the only configuration of church/state relations. But it is the most unique and fascinating in history.
Yet somehow the Catholic Church has found a home in all these systems but claims to have teachings universally applicable.
So is there any such thing as a "Catholic" system of governance?
the Catholic Church holds that government is a natural good and bases this on natural reason. The framers did not see it that way. How do you square that circle as a devout Catholic?
George - the very act of constituting a government would seem to require that government be viewed at least as being necessary, if not positively a good (whether natural or otherwise). Catholic social teaching and the Founding Fathers seem on occasion to have arrived at points of agreement, even if they were working from different starting assumptions.
It's worth noting, too, that the basic federal government structure in the US, as enshrined in the Constitution, was arrived at only after an earlier experiment, the Articles of Confederation, came to be viewed as unworkable because it was too weak to be effective. I don't think it would be correct to think of Madison, Jefferson et al as governmental minimalists. In a sense, they were good subsidiarists.
The Founders certainly had concerns about tyranny--checks and balances on the government. But they also wanted checks on the populace: no direct election of either the president or senators. And of course there were severe limits on who could vote since neither slaves nor free women had the franchise. Perhaps their ideal was closer to a representative government (not a pure democracy) with significant deference to the wealthy, propertied, and educated class (of white men). Not intending to bash them--within the limits of their time and worldview, it is still a remarkbable document.
A couple of stray thoughts. How interesting would it be to ask whether the Norwegian Constitution or the French Constitution or the German Basic Law is more or less compatible with Catholic Social Thought than is the American Constitution? (Yes, I have read those constitutions, plus a few others) My answer is that it would not be very illuminating at all, because the discourse level at which Catholic Social Thought is articulated is not the same discourse level as Constitutional documents. It would be like comparing one or more books of the Bible with the record of the acts of political ruling bodies.
A second straythought. Would anyone claim that the Papal States were organized and administered in a way that was "compatible" with Catholic Social Thought? People who called themselves Catholic ruled them, but so what?
Finally, on a differrent note, The July-August 2014 issue of "Foreign Affairs" has an interresting and informative article entitled "The State of the State: The Global Contest for the Future of Government." It is bytwo senior editorrs of "The Economist." What they say is not the last word about anything, but it is a good word about a very important topic, a topic that is of much importance to everyone, Catholic or otherwise.
But the constitution clearly restricts the scope of government explicitly (e.g the state shall make no law....).
And the separation of powers was developed to put a check on the power of each branch. Their experience from Europe was that government simply cannot be trusted. The American transcendentalists like Thoreau and Emerson were the products of the American political cultures each of these found that instututions, political and religious, corrupted the individual.
My point is not that they were wrong but that this is anything but a Catholic view of things (arguably).
And that brings me to libertarianism and Catholicism. Ironically, it was the very libertarian nature of American society with regards to health and education that permitted Catholic institutions to grow in the US.
Just saying the libertarians have a point and are appealing to American history. It is not some whacky Ayn Rand philosophy. It predates it by far.
If you had to pick any country in the world where libertarianism is more of a natural fit to the people's history, I would wager that USA tops the list.
I think the Founding Fathers were more Dieists than religious in the sense the US Bishops and their fortnight of freedom thing keep trying to portray them. Jefferson created his own version of the bible, deleting all the supernatural stuff ;) There was a past Washinton Post article that touched on this ... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/08/AR200606... ...
We learn that Benjamin Franklin, for example, believed primarily in a God of reason but had serious doubts about the divinity of Jesus -- though he strongly subscribed to the moral ideas Jesus preached. Jefferson similarly saw Jesus as a "reformer and moral exemplar" and took a pair of scissors to his Bible to cut away all the parts -- miracles and supernatural interventions -- that offended his intellectual sensibilities. ..... Washington's religious affiliation, on the other hand, is notoriously ambiguous. Raised as an Anglican, Washington attended church, sometimes regularly. He served as churchwarden, observed fast days and vigorously promoted religion among the soldiers of the Continental Army. Yet he was never confirmed, avoided communion and during his lingering death never prayed nor asked for a clergyman. When he spoke or wrote of God, he favored words with decidedly deist and Masonic connotations: "Providence," "the Deity" and "the Grand Architect." Holmes concludes that Washington was a deist primarily concerned with morality and order, one who favored religion because of the useful role it played in society ...
Hi, George, I agree with you re: check and balances. Kevin Mulcahy's comment is excellent in this regard. The Founders certainly championed liberty, but I don't know that they would have agreed with libertarianism.
By the time of the Revolution, the "pilgrims seeking religious freedom in a New Jerusalem" had given way to waves and waves of entrepreneurs of various stripes, and the impetus for the Revolution was largely economic (and libertarian): The Founders were the "haves," and they wanted to keep a bigger percentage of their money and to open direct trade with other nations without having to pay taxes to, buy goods through, or obey trade laws imposed by England. They certainly did not want to establish a state religion that would further siphon funds from their profits. And, as someone above has noted, the Founders rigged the system, if you will, to keep the franchise out of the hands of any number of have-nots, either by direct laws or by poll taxes, voting tests, and the like.
My guess is that the Founders saw churches as benign because they kept people in line and dealt with the poor so the state would have less to do in these areas.
Christian libertarians often appeal to "strong common American moral values," which I don't think have ever truly existed. The Constitution, laudable as it is, is not a moral code; it merely guarantees certain freedoms--freedoms that are always subject to interpretation and amendment. Sometimes they invent for one or more Founders some undemonstrative but deeply held religious views to square this all up. But I'm hard-pressed to see anything more than Free Masonry at work there.


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May 17, 2012
Run Robot Run
Mark McSharry, Electronic Engineering Technology '12
Co-op Employer: Boston Dynamics
Co-op Position: Electrical Engineering Intern
Hometown: Rockland, MA
Change of Plans
After working in construction with his dad for a couple of years, Mark McSharry, BEET '12, decided it was time for a career change. "Through positive word-of-mouth, I started taking classes in Wentworth's College of Professional and Continuing Education program," he says. "Because of the great experience, I decided to enroll fulltime and pursue a bachelor's degree in electronic engineering technology from Wentworth."
From Research to Red Carpet
McSharry has spent the last eight months on co-op at Boston Dynamics—a Waltham engineering company that specializes in building mobile robots and software for human simulation. He spent the majority of his time providing the electrical support on the Cheetah project, a robot that can gallop at fast as 20 mph—a land speed record for legged robots. It's an accomplishment that has led to Cheetah and Boston Dynamics taking a star turn: In April, company president Marc Raibert walked the fleet-footed robot down the red carpet at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival as part of the event's Disruptive Innovation Awards.
Big Kahuna
With graduation behind him, McSharry plans to pursue his master's degree in electrical and computer engineering at the University of California, San Diego, ranked among the nation's top engineering schools. "I learned a ton from my time at Wentworth and on each co-op. The hands-on experience in and out of the classroom was a major reason why I chose to continue my education. I want to make a great contribution to the electrical design process in the future."
For the summer, though, his sights are set on a more immediate goal. "I plan to learn how to surf before I head out west this fall," he says with a laugh.
Read more student co-op profiles.
Media Contact
- Dennis Nealon


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Mike Murray - What the guy who wrote shrimp and weenies memo is doing now
- Posted: Oct 11, 2005 at 1:06AM
- 62,626 views
- 21 comments
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True, but give a man a match and he'll be warm for a minute - light a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I definitely think this video was a good investment of my time, and its inspiring to see people like this helping the world.
I must say though that to all the young people I highly recommend that at your younger ages focus on learning and growing yourself. If you invest too much of your time and effort when you are younger into saving the world you wont have time to grow yourself, and will never be in a truly powerful position to help others like this man can because he earned a lot of money and got plenty of contacts working at Microsoft.
As for giving to the world vs. your local community I think most people should have a 80/20 mentality. Give 80% of your time to the people closest to you and give 20% to those who are far away. Again I believe in this since if you let your community evolve and help those close to you, those people and you over time will constantly have to give less internally and will have more power to output externally. If you focus too much externally when things are broken at home you risk having issues arise around you that will prevent you from giving externally completely in the future.
I for one try to practice what I preach by giving time and money to my community through my volunteer work with the police department and various giving's. Occasionally I will donate to larger world wide organizations to help fund relief work and that is in my opinion a great way to work.
To close this out I do want to add one thing, the man is right, geeks are really natural problem solvers.
|Programming Language
|(Visual) Basic
dantheman82 wrote:C++ is unimportant? Apparently, not according to the most recent TIOBE ratings:
billh wrote:Interesting video...I've heard about the micropayment systems a few times before...however, what jumped out at me was the interest rate.
20 to 30%?!
How is that compounded? What are the terms of the loan? Even simple interest would rack up quite a bit of money. I think the whole "responsibility and accountability" argument (as opposed the "free handouts" if you really want to give them that label) is intriguing and would have some benefits. But I can't imagine the overhead on such loans costs 20 to 30%. If the operation is as efficient as you say it is, and some of the implementation is passed of to other non-profit organizations, why such a high rate? What, just because it is below 300% that the local loan sharks offer, it is a better deal?
Are you actually teaching these people how to stay out of debt on top of this? Is there any financial educational process that goes with this? Or are you just handing out loans and in a sense "conditioning" them to become dependent on credit/loans in the future? You can talk about empowerment all you want, and building businesses, but if you do not teach them anything about money in the process, the cause is potentially lost. Many first time businesses fail for lack of financial education. Or are you saying they are already educated in terms of the marketplace and this offers them just enough of a lift to get out of poverty?
A few of you have asked questions about the interest rates on microcredit loans -- why 25-35%? Sounds like a rip off!!
Here's the skinny: Microfinance institutions (MFIs) are the on-the-ground organizations that make the loans to very poor men and women. 6-8 women (or men) agree in advance to form a lending group. They agree to help each out in the event that one is
unable to repay her loan. The MFI then enters the picture and provides serveral training sessions. Then the loans (averaging $100) are given to the women. The women agree to meet at a set time, on a weekly basis, to make loan payments. The loan officer
from the MFI arrives on his/her scooter and collects the loan payments, answers questions and does the paperwork. The loan officer zips around to a number of villages having similar meetings. If an MFI has 40,000 clients -- with all clients making weekly
repayments -- you can imagine the number of loan officers, scooters, laptops, etc. required.
The average cost of funds for MFIs in India (for example) is 8-11%. This is how much the MFI pays to borrow money from local big banks -- in order to have money to lend to their borrowers. By the time all the costs of running the MFI are loaded into the budgeting spreadsheet, the MFI is required to charge a 25-35% interest rate in order to cover all costs. These interest rates are often equivalent to the prevailing credit card interest rates in the respective countries in which we work. Without such microcredit loans, the poor are forced to borrow from money lenders and loan sharks at interest rates of 300% - 3,000%.
MFIs are NOT in the business to make a ton of profit. On the other hand, if they are running at a huge loss, then they won't be able to repay THEIR loans that they've received via large lines of credit from commercial banks in their home countries.
Unitus strives to lower the cost of running an MFI by streamlining internal operations, improving I.T. infrastructure, and lowering the cost of capital. This will have a two pronged benefit: (1) The interest rate the poor woman pays will be lowered and (2) the MFI will be able to scale its operations more rapidly.
Microfinance is not the panacea to all the world's ills - but it is, in fact, a very powerful and reliable tool for empowering the poorest people in the world.
Please let me know if you'd like to learn more.
Mike Murray -- firstname.lastname@example.com
halh wrote:It seems pointless to view the terms of these loans relative to the US credit markets and lending environment. Since none of us are living in a third world country subsisting on $2 per day, it makes no sense to wonder what seems like fair terms.
halh wrote:We just can't think about terms for these type of loans from our world. For example, how many traditional US banks would lend $100 to someone with no assets, no education and no income? I would suggest zero.
halh wrote:Rather than compare 20%-30% to our mortage rates, we should be comparing them as Mike does to their market of 300%+. Even so, a a rate of 20%-30% is not far off from credit card rates.
Comments have been closed since this content was published more than 30 days ago, but if you'd like to continue the conversation, please create a new thread in our Forums, or Contact Us and let us know.


text: As a GIS Professional, one is often expected to have experience with CAD (i.e. AutoCAD, Microstation) to the extent that they can integrate CAD data into GIS workflows and datasets. However, I often see job postings in which employers are looking for candidates that have experience actually using CAD software such as AutoCAD. I would expect that drafting would be left to people with architectural and engineering backgrounds. So my question is, in people's experience, what are employers actually expecting from GIS professionals with regard to CAD experience using CAD-specific software? Secondly, I would appreciate any insight into how I could go about trying to develop those skills in my spare time.


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Have atheists ever been persecuted in India? Wikipedia article on persecution of atheist has nothing about India, and google did not throw up anything useful.
How does Carvaka count as Hinduistic? There are atheist-but-not-rationalist nastik schools of Hinduism which deny gods but accept the Vedas as uncreated, which can be called Hinduistic atheism, but I don't see how Carvaka can be pushed into the Hindu fold.
As for what Indian religions consider valid -- "religions" cannot consider, only people can consider, what people consider has varied widely over time. In contemporary times, both Vaisnavism and Saivism are generally considered part of the Hindu fold, but Vaisnavites and Saivites persecuted each other for centuries (Ramanujan being an infamous example). There are saffronist attempts to include Jainism and Buddhism within the Hindu fold, but both those communities were persecuted by kings in hock to Brahminical religion (as Gnanasambandar gurgled with joy over).
In any case, to answer the original poster, I don't think the historical record as we have it now shows persecution of individual atheists (in the contemporary sense of atheist) but the historical record barely shows any atheists at all. In contemporary times, there has been persecution of atheists, see the stories about Sanal Edamaruku being run out of town.


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I'm looking for a log sheet to use to start tracking all the beer and wine I brew to (hopefully) improve the results over time. What's your favorite and what could be improved in it?
THe best log sheet is which ever one you WILL use regularly. I have brewed some great beer in the past and I never took andy good notes on certain batches unfortunately.
I think however, the best log sheet is one you make yourself; customized to the way you brew and what you think is important.
I have been brewing for 10 years and I don't think I have ever really seen a good one I liked for my process on-line somewhere.
I'd recommend looking at a few online and then picking features you like the best from each one. I used to print my recipes on my brew sheets, then after using brewing software I started to just print the recipe and remedial brewing session info (e.g. calculated strike water temps) and using a homemade check list for capturing notes and changes in the planned process.
Here is a link to my log sheet at my blogsite if you want to look at one to get started.
I created a Google calendar for my brew log. It makes searching easy (this is important when you start brewing a lot) and the best part is you can access it anywhere there is internet. There have been a few times when I pulled up an old log on an iPhone while talking to someone in a bar.
You really want to be using Beersmith.
I started off using ProMash until switching to a Mac. Then I kept handwritten records. Now I use the brewer's logbook.
Hopville is okay for recipes, but not adapted for brewing sessions.
I use TiddlyWiki to create tables of my recipes, format my brewing notes, and just keep track of everything. It's a portable wiki that's pretty easy to use. Using a free online hosted wiki might be a better idea though. There are several free online wiki sites to choose from. The only reason I didn't choose to use those is because I figured that I will do a better job of preserving and backing up my brewing data, and I didn't want to risk one of those sites just "going away" as too many sites often do.
If I need to take the brewing wiki with me, it's stored as a single file that you can throw on a flash drive, or even e-mail to yourself, since it's really small (Less than 1Mb I believe).
I've just written up my first brew log & asked myself the same question. I agree with brewchez - it depends what you want.
I started with brewchez's log, but as I'm going to be using simple extract-based recipes while I figure this out, it was too complex. I started with Palmer's example in 1.2.3 Record Keeping and as I started filling it out, found I wanted to record a lot more information.
Since I'm new at this, my goal is to record as much data as possible, so I can best learn what factors influence the result & how. Here's what I have.
My personal favourite thing here is the picture. I look forward to having a photo of every beer I've ever brewed. Make sure you use a white background (I use a dinner plate) so the colour is accurate.
I also use Evernote to store my notes. It's searchable, like Google Calendar and stores pictures too. You could just as easily use OneNote, Google Calendar, GMail, DropBox etc.
Good luck!
I am writing a web app along with a colleague that is dedicated to just this topic. It is meant to be a cross between Hopeville, BeerSmith and a Log sheet.
We have recipe sharing/creation, a recipe builder, batches with a notebook. And we are completely open to ideas. Its also totally free. We really want to turn this into a community site dedicated to homebrewers. Please check it out and don't hesitate to give feedback. We recently launched and are looking for users to really give us some good feeback.
Also, we are in the processes of making some upgrades to our recipe builder right now that should be coming in a matter of weeks, mostly dedicated to partial mash and all grain brewing that should be really exciting.
I carry my ipod touch with me all the time, and am quite pleased with the newer updates to Brew Pal, an app that keeps recipes and now has decent customization. Since I don't have a smart phone, this is the easiest way to always have my recipes on hand. C-4 is right though, you really should use Google calendar, especially if you have brewing co-conspirators.


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Junior outfielder Justin Seager (Kannapolis, N.C. / Northwest Cabarrus HS) had career highs with four hits and three RBI as Charlotte's bats continued to be hot in Friday's series-opening home win over Youngstown State 9-3 at Robert and Mariam Hayes Stadium in a non-conference baseball contest. Seager had two doubles and a triple, part of four extra-base hits for the game for Charlotte and 11 now for 49ers this week in two games. Charlotte improves to 4-0 at home and 5-2 overall on the season. The Penguins slip to 2-7 this year.
Seager is batting .519 for the season, with half of his 14 hits for extra bases (including six doubles). He is slugging at .815, with a .606 on-base percentage through the first seven games of the season. He hit two doubles in both games for Charlotte this week, including Wednesday at Wake Forest, where the 49ers had seven doubles of the squad's 11 hits.
The 49ers came out of the gates with four quick runs in the first inning, sending all nine to the plate. With two on and one out, hit his first triple of the season and plated the first two runs of the game. He scored on an RBI single from Brad Elwood (Indian Trail, N.C. / Piedmont HS), who later stole third and came home on a throwing error on the catcher to put Charlotte up 4-0. The 49ers are 3-0 this season when scoring in the first inning.
Youngstown State scored its first run of the day on two hits and a passed ball for an unearned run.
The Niners answered with a run in the bottom half. Seager led off with a double and eventually scored on a ground ball double play in the frame to give Charlotte the 5-1 lead.
The Penguins drew a hit batter in the fifth and junior third baseman Drew Dosch hit the first pitch he saw in the inning off the base of the light standard in the right field for a two-out home run, pulling the game to within two at 5-3. It was his second homer of the season and he had all three YSU RBI in the contest, tying Seager for the game-high total.
After that point, Charlotte starting pitcher Tyler Barnette (Hickory, N.C.) settled in, retiring the next eight in a row before being lifted after the seventh on 113 pitches. Barnette improved to 2-0 with seven solid innings, allowing just four hits and two walks in the outing. He struck out five and allowed three runs, two of them earned in the contest.
Charlotte added more offense in the bottom of the seventh. Seager singled to drive in third baseman Shane Basen (Waxhaw, N.C. / Marvin Ridge HS) for the second time in the game. Redshirt freshman Brett Lang (Charlotte, N.C. / Ardrey Kell HS) hit an infield single to score Seager and freshman catcher Nick Daddio (Huntersville, N.C. / Hough HS) recorded his first career RBI with a bases-loaded single for an 8-3 score.
First baseman Grant Dunnegan (Clearwater, Kan. / Hutchinson CC) doubled to drive in the final run of the game for Charlotte in the eighth. His double was the 11th extra-base hit for Charlotte in its last two games of 26 total hits.
The loss went to YSU's Patrick O'Brien (1-2). He pitched five innings, allowing nine hits and two walks. Four of the five runs charged to him were earned. He struck out three 49ers.
Charlotte reliever Jordan Hudson (Lexington, N.C. / North Davidson HS) tied his career high with three strikeouts in the final two innings. He allowed a walk but no hits in that span on 26 pitches.
The series continues with a noon doubleheader on Saturday.
NOTES: Seager's four doubles and a triple this week came out out of six total hits in 10 at bats in two contests (slugging 1.200 and scoring a team-best six runs)... He has recorded four two-double games in his career, three this season, though this was the first one at home... Since joining the A-10 in 2006, Charlotte has outscored opponents 369-266 in the first innings of games, posting a 131-35-1 mark when scoring in the opening frame of games in that span... All five Charlotte wins this season have come when scoring at least seven runs and putting up at least three runs in a single inning... Daddio's bases-loaded hit was the fifth for Charlotte with the sacks full this season... The 49ers had 11 bases-loaded hits in 2012.


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Packers take Khyri Thornton in third round
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The ESPN boys sure are singing his praises!Hide replies
I liked the video they showed of him, but they did say, and the video showed, he's a one gap guy. Seems like we need a two gap, so hopefully he can adjust.
Then again, Mike Daniels is working out pretty good, and I see some of him in this guy.
Forget the hug gap...He's there for pass rush. More 4-3 looks this year from Dom.....Who the hell plays the run on third and 14, 3rd and 21, 4th and 14 and gives up the first Down. No more of this lame rush. McCarthy wants pressure...
Hybrid D this year, so they'll probably have him rotating with Daniels.
FootballFacts.com is reporting that Thornton is Justin Harrell's cousin.Hide replies
Oh no....
It is decidedly so.
that means so much chitown
Bye bye Pickett, Jolly.
17th rated DT overall - interesting. The Tony Moll head scratcher. Mcshay has him listed at 159. He's definitely not in anybody's top 100.Hide replies
Won't see the field
Agreed, terrible pick
Couple of reaches with the third round picks, but TT got good value in the first two rounds.
Ted trying to prove how smart he is. This guy is terrible. I don't even know why I get excited for the draft.Hide replies
Gruberstein - not even sure why you participate in any of this.
South, he is expressing disappointment in the Mississippi pick. I agree with him.
DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 5-6
Sure seems like a reach.
Only a reach if you believe the numbskull analysts at nfl.com know anything ... which they really don't.
couldn't agree more. As usual, the TT apologists attack someone for speaking the truth.
The truth is we have spoiled fans that don't appreciate a guy that's gotten us a ton of talent and kept our cap healthy.
Let me clear a point up here, I like TT as our GM and appreciate what he has done for us. I'm just saying he has trouble picking defensive linemen. Name one that he has drafted that is A difference maker? If anyone says Raji, I'm gonna laugh hard.
don't like how the 2nd and 3rd round fell, all the top tight ends went rt before GB ricked, the WR Adams seems like a solid pick, but Thornton with 1st 3rd round pick? looks like another Josh Boyd or Worthy....we got enough on those players, GB needs to nab a dynamic kick returner some point
I think Jace Amaro would have been a great tight end for GB, sometimes TT is just too cautious, trade up and get some playmakers instead stock piling bench warmers in these mid roundsHide replies
Actually, check out this article.
Thornton is another TT ego pick, most had him as a 5th or 6th round pick..
No ILB's drafted is really disappointing, this GB draft is turning into a real yawner....Hide replies
Every pick by every GM in the history of the draft is an "ego pick."
Get over it.
All are ego picks...that's the job.
TT...looking like Stephen Hawking behind that computer!
TT should abstain from picking DE it's his Eleanor
Senior, ahtlete, sub 5/40...plays hard and fast.
Sounds like the type of player they are looking at...they don't want the big boys anymore, they want athletic, fast big men in a rotation.Hide replies
Many of the big men left on the board are not pass rushers...maybe this kid has the tools to rush the passer?
I predict Abbrederis here.Hide replies
Rodgers' younger brother TE out of Cali.
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2010 The Year of Entitlements
By Sean ONeill on Jan 14, 2010
2010 opens with the Identity Management field steaming forward and starting to wrestle with entitlements management. This and the next few blogs will look at definitions, problem areas, and solutions emerging on the fine grain entitlements front.[Read More]


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The phrase pasarlo bien means something like "to have a good time" in sentences like, "Lo pasamos muy bien anoche." What does the "lo" in this phrase refer to? Does it replace an actual noun, or is it just an indefinite "it" like in the English sentence, "It's raining outside"?
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I would say it replaces el tiempo (time) or equivalent, as
pasarlo bien == pasar bien el tiempo
For example, if I ask you to give me a hand moving my TV from one side of my room to another; I would tell you:


text:
SmartShoot connects you with the best photographers and filmmakers
for projects of any size
Capturing thousands of original photos and videos in thousand of cities is HARD. We power a solution that allows Yelp, Zillow, Groupon & others to shoot Business Profiles all over the country, within minimal overhead on their end and a turn around time of as little as 7 days!
Finding, booking & collaborating with pro photographers and filmmakers is HARD. We power solutions that enable curated communities of shooters who can match any style, price and creative request


text:
Now that the athletics and acrobatics skills have disappeared, is there a way to run faster or to jump higher in Skyrim?
There aren't very many (if any) ways to increase your speed permanently or in a traditional manner: looks like Bethesda scrapped that entirely. However, there are a few non-convential and temporary means to increase it:
The basic way to increase your speed is to sprint. Since sprinting uses stamina, increasing your stamina, as Arkive mentions, or your stamina regeneration rate will allow you to move faster for longer periods of time:
You can also sprint with your horse, although it doesn't appear to be any faster than regular sprinting.
If you want to run even faster, contract lycanthropy. In beast form, you sprint much, much faster than normal.
While not strictly allowing you to run faster or leap higher, there are a few shouts that accomplish nearly the same thing:
If you happen to be investing in the Archery skill, you can pick up the Ranger perk, which will increase your movement speed while drawing your bow.
Minimizing slowness
If you exceed your carrying capacity, you'll no longer move at normal speed. So—while not technically a speed increase—if you want to ensure you stay at your speed, you'll want to carry less stuff or increase your carrying capacity:
Additionally, you can negate the weight effects of your armor, thus maximizing your carrying capacity:
If all else fails and you're still overencumbered, riding a horse will negate the effects of overencumberence while mounted.
Finally, wearing heavy armor comes with a hit to speed. You can mitigate this by wearing light armor, taking the Conditioning perk, or, as Hafax mentions, activating the Steed Stone.
Stone of the Steed removes speed penalties from equipment.
Speed is determined by your fatigue. and of course weight.
You can use the Elemental Fury shout, while sprinting with a dagger, and doing run attacks. The faster attacking makes your running faster. It is quite effective, I tested it myself.


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Archives 320
"WSU Presents" Recordings
Acquisition And Processing Information
The WSU Presents Recordings collection combines materials transferred to MASC by Robert Curry of what was WSU Radio-TV Services and in 2011 is the College of Communication's Northwest Public Television. Mr. Curry transferred materials in January 2002 (UA 2002-05) and again in June 2004 (UA 2004-12). The collection was initially processed by Scott Stratton and completed in 2012 by Susan Vetter.
Extent/Quantity Information
Number of containers: 3 boxes
Linear feet of shelf space: 3
Organizational History
KWSU-TV premiered the program WSU Presents in October 1992. Sixteen months later KTNW-TV in Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick also began to air it. WSU Presents broadcast addresses by WSU and visiting scholars, as well as events on the Washington State University campuses, especially Pullman.
At the time of the collection's transfer to WSU Libraries, KWSU was a unit in Educational Technology & Telecommunications, formerly WSU Radio-TV Services. In 2011 Northwest Public Television in the College of Communication comprises KWSU-TV and KTNW-TV.
The program WSU Presents continued into 2005 and at some time thereafter was replaced by On Campus @ WSU, which continues the WSU Presents precedent of featuring lectures and performances given at Washington State University.
Collection Description
While many campus presentations were recorded and are available elsewhere, the WSU Presents collection groups those recordings made between 1992 and 2004 that were selected by KWSU-TV staff to broadcast on WSU Presents and then preserved here. Selection criteria according to Mr. Curry included: significant WSU events such as convocations and commencements; talks by WSU personnel; addresses delivered by nationally recognized figures including Murrow Symposium addresses; and topics of special interest to WSU or to the region such as Native American issues.
The collection consists of the edit masters by program number in analog and digital video format. Because only selected programs were preserved, those numbers are discontinuous. Each item notes when it was recorded and then its air date on KWSU-TV Pullman.
A 4-page manuscript A Short History of the Television Program 'WSU Presents' written by Robert Curry in 2002 accompanies the collection. A producer/director with what was then Educational Technology & Telecommunications and had been Radio-TV Services, Mr. Curry recorded and edited the majority of the programs preserved here. He explains some of the technology changes in the recording and editing of the programs and includes a tabulation of the number of shows broadcast each year from 1992 to 2001, which ranged from 31 in 1992/1993 to 44 in both 1994/1995 and 2000/2001. Handwritten documentation of the taping schedule from 1992 to 2001 is included as are typescript copies of press releases about a recorded event, WSU memoranda announcing the air dates, broadcast release forms signed by the speaker, and any accompanying documentation such as materials handed out to the audience and event programs.
The collection is arranged in chronological order and by media type. The bulk (51 analog versus 34 digital video) of the recordings are 1/2 metal analog videotapes, specifically Panasonic MII, which were the industry standard for most TV stations. Although these tapes are 1/2 and approximately standard VHS cassette size, they are metal not plastic and will not play in VHS decks. As of 2013, the only known Panasonic MII player on campus is in the KWSU-TV studios.
The collection reflects the shift in professional production from analog to digital recording. From 1998 to 2004, all but two of the recordings are digital video using magnetic tape, specifically Panasonics DVCPro, on L-Size or M-size cassettes. Large cassettes, measuring 4 7/8" x 3" x 9/16, were used in editing decks and could record up to 126 minutes. Most standalone DV tape recorders play these tapes. Medium cassettes, measuring 3 13/16" x 2 1/2" x 9/16", were used in the cameras to record up to 66 minutes in length.
KWSU-TV (Television station: Pullman, Wash.)
Northwest Public Television
This collection is open and available for research use. Copyright may apply.
Preferred Citation
The suggested citation for the collection is:
[Item Description]
"WSU Presents" Recordings, 1992-2004 (Archives 320)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Washington State University Libraries
Pullman, WA
Related Materials
Archives 56: KWSU Radio Station Records, 1916-1977
Archives 119: Radio and Television Services Records, 1922-1984
Archives 237: KWSU Radio Station Records, 1916-1977


text:
$10 OFF ANY Chairmat - Staples for $0 + free shipping
Coupon gets you $10 off on ANY chairmat, in store or online.
If purchase is online and over $75, you will get FREE SHIPPING.
Enjoy folks :)
2 Comments add a comment
Where is the actual coupon in the ad? I can't seem to find it.
You need to flip thru the flyer, was page 11 for me. Says "Valid in store only" though, code is 23063. Apparently there's a different coupon w/different code, located somewhere in the Twilight Zone?


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357sig/glock 32 complications
Does anyone have some actual hands on experience with the .357sig caliber? Or with the Glock 32? I am really thinking about getting the pistol because of the ballistics and penetration as I'm a 357mag fan. But if anyone has any insights, tips, or advise on this caliber or pistol would be much appreciated.
I'm particularly looking for handling experience as in recoil, etc.. and ergonomics like carrying comfort, ammo prices, etc.. And I'm kinda looking for advice on the Glock choice and any tips or insight on the particular pistol. I'm also fully aware of the ballistics and penetration I'm basically looking for info on experience on the caliber and the pistol, thanks
Bruce, Life Member: NRA, NCRPA, GRNC, GOA
Naval Air Museum Barbers Point
"I personally think we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain."--Jane Wagner
"The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom."
-Isaac Asimov


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COPPERAS COVE (November 6, 2012)—John Russell Lightner, 34, of Killeen, has been arrested in the September robbery of the Fort Hood National Bank branch in Copperas Cove, police said Tuesday.
Killeen police arrested Lightner after a traffic stop on Oct. 22, Cove police said, and later turned him over to the U.S. Marshal's Office in Waco, where he's held without bond, police said Tuesday.
The robbery was reported just before 10:15 a.m. on Sept. 27 at the Fort bank at 210 Constitution Drive Suite B.
The robber, who was armed with a handgun, handed a note to the teller, a 29-year-old Copperas Cove woman who was not harmed in the holdup, and demanded money.
He escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash in a white passenger car.
A short time after the robbery, officers stopped an SUV on West U.S. Highway 190, but after further investigation the driver was determined not to have been involved in the robbery and was released.


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May 12, 2013
Uthando South Africa wins at Indaba 2013
Skye Grove
Skye is a spontaneous traveller, a citizen of the world and is passionate about unlocking the stories of inspiring destinations like Cape Town. She believes in the power of content, loves street photography, anthropology, urban neighbourhoods and counts London's Shoreditch and Cape Town's city bowl as the two favourite places she has lived and worked in.
At the heart of responsible tourism is a new generation of responsible travellers who are seeking real, meaningful and authentic experiences and are in tune with responsible lifestyle practices such as buying fair-trade products and experiences, and supporting community tourism.
Cape Town has been working towards being a responsible and sustainable city and destination for many years and we have again seen an increase in responsible tourism awareness, products and practices at Indaba 2013.
Not only are the demand for ethical and sustainable travel products increasing, but visitors to the Cape Town stand at Indaba had the opportunity to vote for a responsible tourism project they deemed most deserving to win a R20 000 cash prize from the City of Cape Town and R15 000 in marketing support from Cape Town Tourism.
The four short-listed responsible tourism projects were:
Votes were calculated following an activation where voting was done through a project-specific voting leaf – as denoted by its colour. As votes increased the colourful Responsible Tourism Tree blossomed and the winner began to emerge.
It was a close call but the winning project was Uthando (Love) South Africa, a non-profit, non-governmental organisation with a certificate from Fair Trade in Tourism. The aim of Uthando is to raise funds and other forms of assistance for community development projects in South Africa and one of the ways that they do this is by offering community tours in townships. Uthando offers tailor-made, interactive cultural tours visiting projects that receive funding and other forms of assistance from Uthando and its benefactors.
For example, Uthando plans to kit out the Better Choice Gumboots Dance Project with new uniforms so that they can attract more business. They will also offer a scholarship for a student at Dance for All, a company which provides children in historically disadvantaged communities with the opportunity for enjoyment, empowerment and self-improvement through dance.
James Fernie from Uthando was delighted with the win: "I wholeheartedly thank the many tourism partners who have so vigorously embraced the philosophy of responsible tourism, and who have made this wonderful award to Uthando possible. If every business and person could implement genuine fair trade and responsible business practices we would revolutionise our world and rise to the plethora of significant challenges facing humanity. The prize money will be hugely appreciated and very well spent by the selected projects. I look forward to sharing the developments of the projects over the next year."


text:
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text:
AAR reports post-Thanksgiving week volumes are up year-over-year
December 10, 2010 - LM Editorial
The Association of American Railroads (AAR) reported that railroad volumes for the week ending December 4 were up on an annual basis.
Carload volume at 303,570 was up 6.8 percent compared to the same period in 2009 and were up significantly compared to the 254,121 recorded during Thanksgiving week. The week ending December 4 was also up compared to pre-Thanksgiving weeks, including the weeks of November 20 and November 13, which hit 297,990 and 297,269, respectively.
The AAR said that carload volume in the East was up 4.7 percent year-over-year. Out West, carloads were up 8.2 percent year-over-year.
But despite these annual improvements, which have been occurring throughout 2010 in comparison to a 2009 which experts say was the worst year for rail volume since deregulation, these current volumes remain below peak levels.
A research note by Stifel Nicolaus analyst John Larkin noted that rail traffic improvement appears less robust in the fourth quarter than the third quarter on an annual basis although total fourth quarter traffic on a year-to-date basis is 0.2 percent higher than the third quarter on a sequential basis.
"This compares favorably relative to the 1.5% average sequential decline from the 3Q to the 4Q (average of previous seven years)," wrote Larkin. "We attribute this to favorable volumes of heavier carload freight and a more moderate decline in intermodal volume in 4Q10 than what is typical seasonally."
Intermodal volumes at 235,835 trailers and containers were up 13.8 percent year-over-year for the week ending December 4, which was ahead of the 183,790 recorded during Thanksgiving week and in line with the weeks ending November 20 and November 13 at 235,999 and 232,888, respectively.
The high intermodal mark for 2010 to date is the week ending September 25 at 241,167. Container volume for the week ending December 4 at 197,526 was up 15.3 percent, and trailer volume at 38,309 was up 6.5 percent, according to AAR data.
As LM has reported, domestic intermodal volumes on the container side are continuing to outpace the overall economic recovery in conjunction with intermodal shipments gaining share over other modes of freight transportation, according to a recent report by the Intermodal Association of North America.
Of the 19 carload commodities tracked by the AAR, 13 were up year-over-year and seven posted double-digit gains. Metallic ores were up 64 percent, metals and metal products were up 25.3 percent, and crushed stone, sand, and gravel was up 24.4 percent.
Year-to-date, total U.S. carload volumes at 13,765,857 carloads are up 7.1 percent year-over-year. Trailers or containers at 10,484,071 are up 14.3 percent year-over-year.
Estimated ton-miles for the week ending November 27 came in at 34.5 billion for an 8.2 percent annual gain. Total volume year-to-date at 1,524.7 billion ton-miles was up 8.3 percent year-over-year.
About the Author


text:
Hi there everybody,
we are cleaning our warehouse (we are actually cleaning it after the mudslide which hit our area early in October) and before going back to normal activities we found something you could find interesting.
We sell:
1ea. Nodal Ninja 5, complete package, ex demo, in mint like new conditions
All with full one year warranty and 20% discount over the listing price.


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CHESTER - The hunt for the alleged perpetrator of a domestic assault in Chester came to an abrupt end when the suspect jumped from the Jennings Randolph Bridge into the Ohio River late Tuesday afternoon.
The suspect's name is not being released pending notification of family members.
Hancock County Sheriff Mike White said the suspect, described as being in his early 50s, had attacked his wife with a pipe shortly after 4 p.m. She was able to escape to a neighbor's house after their adult son intervened. Neighbors tended to the injuries of the mother and son, and called 911 as the suspect fled the scene.
According to White, Chester Police officers saw the suspect's truck headed west on U.S. Route 30 toward the bridge, but had to turn around in order to pursue him. Once on the bridge, they found his truck abandoned on the right-side shoulder.
"The truck was parked and he was nowhere in sight," White said.
A passing motorist witnessed the suspect stop his truck, exit the vehicle and jump off the bridge. The Chester Volunteer Fire Department was called immediately, with assistance from the Newell Volunteer Fire Department.
White stated eyewitness testimony and evidence found at the scene led police to the conclusion he did not survive.
"They (Chester and Newell VFDs) deployed some boats in the water in an attempt to do a rescue, but that became a recovery at this time," he said.
Efforts to drag the river were started, but had to be called off as darkness fell. White says efforts to locate the body resumed this morning.
The suspect's wife and son were taken to East Liverpool City Hospital for treatment of what White described as significant but non-life-threatening injuries. Both were released Tuesday night.