text:
You are here
Masters in Marketing Analytics Curriculum
Foundation Work
To prepare for the Core, students may be required to take up to three foundation courses which include: Economics, Statistics and Marketing. Students who have taken these classes at the undergraduate level, may be eligible to waive each course, subject to a transcript review.
GR521 Managerial Statistics
This course covers basic statistical techniques in a managerial setting featuring case studies and conceptual exercises. Statistical topics include effective use of numerical and graphical summaries, estimation and confidence intervals, hypothesis testing and regression. A few more advanced topics such as data mining, the Bayesian paradigm and principles of model building may be encountered during projects.
GR522 Economic Environment of the Firm
This course examines managerial decision making from an economic standpoint. The first half (microeconomics) explores how prices, wages, and profits are determined in market economies; the advantages and disadvantages of unfettered competition; and the impact of government intervention on market outcomes. The second half (macroeconomics) investigates the factors influencing Gross Domestic Product, interest rates, unemployment, inflation, and growth; the causes of the business cycle; the role of the federal government and the Federal Reserve in stabilizing the economy; the impact of technology on productivity and growth; and the influence of international trade and finance on economic activity.
GR523 Marketing Management
This course covers the processes involved in the creation, distribution and sale of products and services, and explores the tasks and decisions facing marketing managers. It focuses on market and competitive analysis, customer behavior, and the design and implementation of marketing strategies in domestic and international markets, including product, price, promotion, distribution and customer service decisions.
Masters of Marketing Analytics Curriculum
Required Marketing Courses
MK612 Strategic Marketing
Advanced applications course dealing with formulation of marketing strategies, evaluation of alternatives and implementation of marketing programs. Examines segmentation, positioning and marketing mix issues as a part of strategic marketing planning. Also includes discussion of specific marketing management problems in a variety of situations involving consumer and industrial products and services in profit and nonprofit institutions.
MK711 Marketing Research and Analysis
Focuses on the development of questionnaires and other vehicles for collecting marketing data, the methodology for analyzing these data (with the use of sophisticated statistical software), and reaching conclusions based on the analyses. Real-world questionnaires and real-world data are utilized.
MK726 Customer Data Analysis and Relationship Marketing
Focuses on the analysis of customer data as the primary input to developing strategies for relationship marketing. Examines customer acquisition and retention, segmentation, customer loyalty, lifetime-value analysis of the customer, and direct-response modeling - all as part of customer relationship marketing strategy. Hands-on experience in data analysis receives heavy emphasis.
Required Quantitative Courses
ST625 Quantitative Analysis for Business
Provides students with an in depth coverage of simple and multiple linear regression methods and, as time permits, an introduction to the analysis of time series data. Simple and multiple linear regression techniques are covered including the use of transformations such as squares and logarithms, the modeling of interactions, and how to handle problems resulting from heteroscedasticy and multicollinearity . Issues surrounding outlying and influential observations are also covered. The art and science of model building are demonstrated with the help of cases. Autocorrelation is then considered, and an introduction to the ARIMA modeling of times series is provided. Makes use of statistical packages such as SAS, JMP, R or SPSS.
ST635 Intermediate Statistical Modeling for Business
Focuses on statistical modeling situations dependent on multiple variables, as commonly found in many business applications. Typical topics covered are logistic regression, cluster analysis, factor analysis, decision trees, and other multivariate topics as time permits. Applications of these methodologies range from market analytics (e.g. direct mail response and customer segmentation) to finance and health informatics. A central objective of the course is for participants to be able to determine the appropriate multivariate methodology based on the research objectives and available data, carry out the analysis and interpret the results. Makes use of statistical packages such as SAS, JMP, R or SPSS, along with more specialized software.
Elective Courses (15 credits required)
Select three courses from the following list:
MK701 Internship in Marketing Practice
Affords students the opportunity to enhance self-realization and direction by integrating classroom study with experience in vocational learning situations. Requires development of a study plan to identify the student's professional goals and to demonstrate how these goals can be enhanced through an internship experience. Includes regular meetings in which students discuss issues and business problems related to their work experience, and defend proposed solutions before fellow students and the internship coordinator.
MK712 Consumer and Buyer Behavior
Studies the purchase decision for individual consumers and industrial users. Examines various models of buyer behavior. Explores motivations, influences and roles played in purchasing products and services.
MK713 Marketing Promotion and Communication
Examines marketing promotions from a communication standpoint. Discusses advertising, sales promotion, personal selling and publicity as components of the promotional program of an enterprise, including profit and nonprofit institutions marketing products and/or services. Emphasizes the planning, design and implementation of advertising campaigns.
MK715 New Products: Planning, Developing and Marketing
Considers the role of new products in the survival and growth strategies of organizations. Focuses on the major problems firms encounter in directing and managing their product development and marketing activities. Examines the development process from conception of ideas to commercial introduction, and the marketing life cycle from introduction to deletion of products.
MK716 International Marketing
Focuses on the decision-making process in marketing products and services across national boundaries. Examines the design and modification of marketing strategies; identifies potential markets; and considers product, promotion, price and distribution decisions within the constraints of a particular cultural, economic and political setting. Studies challenges facing multinational enterprises as well as smaller firms marketing internationally.
MK718 Marketing of Services
Emphasis is placed on developing an understanding of marketing principles that are generic to the entire service sector rather than just to selected service industries. New marketing approaches uniquely applicable to services are considered as well as the reformulation of traditional marketing principles from consumer and industrial goods marketing. Marketing strategies of a variety of service firms from many service industries are evaluated.
MK725 E-Marketing
Builds critical skills for individuals who will practice the art and science of Internet marketing in the future. Covers the important frameworks, principles and contexts in this domain that are likely to endure, for example, auctions, customer relationship management, privacy, the communication e-mix, and channel adaptation and coordination.
MK735 Start Up Marketing in a New Economy
Startup Marketing in the New Economy is a Corporate Immersion course focusing on solving business problems with the launch of a new product or service. Emphasizes the use of multidisciplinary skills to identify, define, and solve complex issues within the firm. Covers multiple topics including finance, accounting, management, marketing, technology, and the law. Helpful to understand technology and cultural idioms. Involves significant group work and the ability to meet tight deadlines. Deliverables may be sequential, but often unrelated and with frequent changes throughout the semester. Need immense curiosity, ability to research, search capability, and experience investigating multiple industries. Emphasizes the ability to use both written and oral skills in formal business presentations to top management. Requires the ability to defend analyses and recommendations under pressure and strict time constraints.
MK755 Special Topics in Marketing
Offers in-depth examination of selected issues and problems in marketing. Speciifc topics alternate depending on student and faculty interests.
MK758 Enhancing Creativity
This class will focus on the nature of creativity and the creative process. We will discuss several definitions and theories of creativity, and apply these theories to enhance your own creativity. Several techniques will help you to recognize and remove barriers to creative thinking. We will apply these techniques to develop creative approaches to business and marketing cases and your own business and academic problems. While the focus of the class is on individual creativity, we will also discuss the pros and cons of team creativity and apply techniques to improve team efforts. Organizational creativity and implementing creative solutions will also be covered.
Select two courses in Marketing or any other discipline at the 600-, 700- or 800-level provided prerequisites are satisfied.


text:
An all white Albatros D.Va
Very Nice!
Who is it based on ?
Nice one.
A nice clean looking machine, that will blend into the clouds waiting to pounce on the allied pilots!!!
Very nice.
Well, isn't that special. Nice, too!
Pity they don't produce one of those Herr Oberst. It would make an easy repaint job.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Nice one Herr Oberst!
And I see it didn't take long for someone to snap it up
Must be getting ready for winter flying over the Great Whiter North
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
Danke schön Herr Oberst!
That's the avatar, I wanted.
Hautzmayers Albatros D.III (my favourite WOW I model)
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
Oh no, why do you this to me Herr Oberst? Such dilemmas: I like all white Albatros, but I have the Weber's one in my collection, but I have another (with white stripes) in my signature... OK, Albatros from signature won! Thank you very much
Does anyone knows something about this concerete plane?
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Looks Great!..I would like to see Bishop's SE5A with the Z on it though (hint, hint)
Great work Chaps!
Now how about some British ones? Say McCuddens with the No. 6 & Red spinner & Mannock's Nieuport 23 with the Yellow Spinner?
"Its a fine line indeed between going out in a Blaze of Glory or having Crashed & Burnt!"
Member Australian Society of WW1 Aero Historians
Yes, you are completely right. This plane was flown by two pilots:
- Oblt. Richard Flashar - Commanding officer of Jasta 5 (10 June 1917 - 31 December 1917 and 14 January 1918 - 12 May 1918), 1 confirmed victory (sometimes written with wrong name Flascher);
- Lt. Hans Joachim von Hippel - inherited the plane after Flashar, 2 confirmed victories.
More informations in online book Albatros Aces of World War I (page 22) and on Eresmas website.
Oh, swell avatars! I like having options and it's great to use the official mini's as avatars. Good job!
Very nice set of goodies, Herr Oberst. Thank you both. Am I right that A-H (K.u.K.) avatars are quite rare...
You have changed your avatar as well, I see. Is it a historical scheme (whose)?
More goodness. thanks to Kieth and Max.
BTW: are the two Neuport 1os carrying rockets (or are they just glad to see us?)
It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus
Great work.
So everyone can go for his own beloved avatar.
Even more great planes to choose from. At this rate every member on the site will be able to have an individual Avatar.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Great stuff, Herr Oberst! They look swell!
Those are cool! How do you make the shadows?
see this thread for a little background info on it. I've not had the time to repaint a D.VII for the campaign though
BB sets.
Thanks for that! That's way easier than free handing the shadow!
Woop! And done! Thanks for the tips guys, and the cool Dilthey card artwork, Max!
Last edited by greenalfonzo; 10-01-2011 at 15:30.
You two have been busy! Thanks to you both for all the options.
I find myself wishing that I could have more than one avatar...
The new avs look awesome! Thank you very much for submitting them :-)
Thanks for all your continued hard work!!
Whoo Hoo...I finally get my "Z"! Thanks Colonel!
I changed my Avatar from Kirschstein's Fokker Dr.I to Udet's Fokker D.VII until i get a Kirschstein Fokker D.VII
Job well done Herr Oberst and Max.
"Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."
Oh no...
You added a Focke Wulf 190.
Can't have two avatars.
It's hard but I keep Hautzmayers Albatros D.III!
Those are some beautiful Avatars - now where do I go to add them... ??
Why thank you.
That had to be the easiest avatar in the world. Normally end up pulling my hair out trying to find a picture to add to a forum. Gotta love a decent Admin Team

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The ominous picture is much larger than private firearms ownership in our nation. The biggest and most dangerous threat is the significant move towards socialism that has taken place over the last nearly four years and that will no doubt continue under this man's second term. Couple this with the deliberate creation of a permanent entitlement class, begun in the 1930's and accelerated in the 1960's, and one will quickly see that future national elections are going to be very difficult for any conservative or constitutionalist candidates. We have moved so far away from the Original Intent that there are now significant numbers of "Americans" who view anyone who holds the Founders and the Original Intent in reverence to be somewhat weird and politically out of touch. This just opens the door wider for all manner of evil to be done in our land.
It is quite possible that in the rather near future, say within ten years, that the only remedy left will be secession. As wild as that may seem, keep in mind that the percentage of people who are the takers of wealth is getting pretty close to that of the creators of wealth. Staying on this path leads only to the destruction of our once great nation. Wealth creators will seek avenues to protect their wealth or will simply drop out and let the country boil in its own morass. In any case, it is not a pretty picture of a glowing future for the United States. Incidentally by wealth creators, I do not mean only the rich or wealthy. This class includes entrepreneurs, business owners, upper professionals (think doctors, etc.), investors... you get the picture. Those who create wealth for not only themselves but others as well. Remove the incentive for them to succeed and you remove the fruits of their labors.
So this election is far more than what it might seem on the surface. Yes, firearms ownership is in danger. But that is largely a state issue in many areas so the feds' hands are tied to a degree. For example, the federal government could not ban concealed carry because it is not them who issues permits to do this. And even if they did, most states recognize open carry so just do that. You're not going to see moves against carrying arms at the federal level. More insidious would be bans on certain semi-automatic rifles (what they like to call "assault weapons"), magazines with more than 10-round capacity, and certain types of handguns. This is what was done in 1994 and I suspect we'll see serious moves in this direction again. As for UN gun bans, I don't see that taking place here.... yet. Perhaps some years down the road, but not yet.
The economy is not going to do well mostly because business' confidence in the market and their willingness to make long-term and extensive capital investments is not there. So look forward to continued problems in the economy and the market for the next four years. Couple this with Obamacare kicking in in 2014 and then making moves towards single payer status and you can bet the pool of doctors will recede as the number of patients increases. Not good at all. The end result of this will be massive intrusion into every aspect of out lives under the guise of the common good, along with entitlements approaching 90% of the federal budget and where is the money going to come from for military expenses... among other non-entitlement budget items? It's going to be a mess.
One of our Founders said that when the people find out that they can vote themselves largess from the treasury, then that will be the end of the nation. What we may very well be witnessing here is this very thing.


text:
Your Cat, Your Life
The Scoop
Cat News, Politics
Meow-Out-Loud Humor
Cat Chic
Gear and Glam
Your cat loves a clean toilet -- don't we all? Catster's singing Cat Lady, Sarah Donner, explains why.
Cat Breeds
Foods & Treats
Health & Care
Behavior & Training
Cats & Cleaning
Cat of the Day
Other pets in your family: Squeaker/ My Angel | Socks Rainbow Bridge 6/8/10 | Gypsy | Tigger/ IN LOVING MEMORY | Patches Rainbow Bridge 10/23/ | Kringle | Panda | Panda's Babies | Spot-Dreamboat In Training #28 | Forrest G | Sweetie | The Old Man | Kitty | Garfield
Copyright © I-5 Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved.
Visit Dogster


text:
Gray and Muddy Thinking about Global Warming
The heart of the problem with Gray's new version of the THC story is that he labors under the misconception that the THC primarily upwells in the tropics, so that any reduction in the THC cools the North Atlantic but warms the tropics. This conception is at least 50 years out of date. The tropical upwelling is a shallow wind-driven cell that does not connect to the THC. It is almost impossible for cold deep water to upwell in the tropics, because it takes too much energy to bring it up; the main THC connection is with the Southern Ocean, as described by Marotzke and references therein (for more general background, see also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermohaline_circulation). There are only a few very limited regions where moderately deep water can upwell in the Tropics. Simulations by Vellinga and Wood (Climatic Change, 2002) in fact show that a THC shutdown causes a cooling right into the Northern Subtropical Atlantic (the birthplace of hurricanes), and in fact only very weak warming in a few spots elsewhere in the tropics. On a longer time scale, the classic study of Manabe and Stouffer (Paleoceanography 1997) shows virtually no impact of THC shutdown in the tropics, but a considerable remote impact in the Southern Ocean. No doubt, Gray would object that these are only models, but why should we believe that Gray's drawing of circles and arrows on a map yields a better prediction than a simulation embodying the best of what we know about the underlying physics?
Note that Gray does not merely claim that THC changes are responsible for the observed hurricane cycles. He in fact claims that the entire 20th century warming signal is due to a slowdown of the THC, and that CO2 has nothing to do with it. He claims flatly and without supporting evidence that models cannot simulate the THC properly, neglecting the fact that the models employed in the IPCC reports yield a rather wide variety of different possible THC behaviors, and none of them, including ones known to have a sensitive THC, spontaneously generate a warming of the sort Gray claims. Insofar as we can follow Gray's reasoning, he appears to think of the THC as burying heat in the deep ocean, as if the heat were some kind of solid nuclear waste. Thus, weak THC = less heat removal = warming, in Gray's world view. In reality, everything known about the physics of the THC's effect on climate suggests the opposite. For example, Vellinga and Wood find that, owing to certain nonlinearities like sea ice formation, a shutdown of the THC leads to a reduction in the Northern Hemisphere mean temperature, and very little multidecadal scale effect on the Southern Hemisphere mean temperature.
The other reasons Gray thinks that the THC could cause global warming are tied up with a number of additional misconceptions he has about the physics of climate.
Claim: Evaporation changes cause global warming, hurricane cycles, etc.
Gray's grand answer to the riddle of global warming is evaporation, presumably modulated by changes in the THC. Again, Gray simply doesn't seem to understand energy conservation. Evaporation does not create heat; it does not add any heat to the climate system or take it away. It is an energy transfer that moves heat from a moist surface (like the ocean's) into the atmosphere. That severely constrains what evaporation changes can do to climate. In contrast, changes in CO2 concentration affect the top of atmosphere radiation budget directly, and change the rate at which the whole climate system loses energy.
Let's start with an atmosphere that is in equilibrium, both at the surface and top-of-atmosphere. Now reduce the evaporation (you could do it by reducing the surface wind). The surface is now receiving more energy than it loses, so it will begin to warm. However, the atmosphere is no longer receiving all the energy it used to obtain from the surface as evaporative heat transfer; hence the atmosphere will begin to cool. This adjustment will continue until balance is restored. The precise way the adjustment is divvied up between atmospheric cooling and surface warming depends on details like the net atmospheric infrared opacity, boundary layer relative humidity,and so forth. However that all shakes out, the net result is nothing at all like the observed pattern of warming, in which both troposphere and surface warm up. This reasoning can be confirmed in the simplest radiative-convective model, of the sort introduced by Manabe and Strickler in the 1960's.
Page 2 of 4 | Previous page | Next page


text:
2002 Ford Explorer XLT
Fits 7 passengers
Body and interior in good shape aside from minor flaws expected with a used car. Overall I'd say 8/10
4.0 Cylinder
Loaded options
Just replaced many parts and is now ready to drive. Not my car so I dont kknow everything but can get the list for anyone interested.
Located outside Allentown in Eastern PA


text:
Enter Our Photo Contest »
It's time to show off your garden filled with American Meadows products!
Recently added item(s) ×
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Enter your zip code to see plants that will work in YOUR garden. No more guesswork!
Enter your zip code to see plants that will work in YOUR garden. No more guesswork!
Filtering By:
Filter is:
To help gardeners understand which plants will grow well for them, the entire USA has been segmented into 'Plant Hardiness Zones'. Knowing your zone number is helpful when shopping for plants because:
We get a lot of questions about flower bulbs, but most involve when to plant them. Quite simply, "fall" flower bulbs are planted in the fall, grow roots into winter, then sprout and bloom in the spring. These include favorites such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinth and others. "Spring" flower bulbs are also known as tender bulbs (they don't survive cold ground temperatures); they're planted in the spring and flower throughout the summer. They include dahlias, glads, cannas, calla lilies and others. You can view these products by their planting seasons — Fall Planted Bulbs or Spring Planted Bulbs — or simply use the filters on the left to help you choose.
Sale: $8.99
Per Bag of 3
Sale: $14.99
Per Bag of 1
Sale: $8.99
Per Bag of 3
Sale: $11.99
Per Bag of 5
The following items are either out of season or we've sold out of our inventory. Please feel free to browse our selection and sign up for our newsletter to be notified when these products are available for next season! We often have similar items available, so please utilize our search or filters (on the left) to explore other options. Or, call us at (877) 309-7333 for help.
You will still be able to shop AmericanMeadows.com, but some functionality may not work unless you update to a modern browser. Update My Browser
Please wait...


text:
This is a link to see the parts that will be available, pm me if interested. http://www.thedentedhelmet.com/f28/d...cs-fixed-4835/
Color will be different as these are pics from JD's old thread.
As stated in the "Judz Dwedd" thread, These ARE Judz Dwedd's molds and I DO have permission from him to use them.
If interested, PM me for a price list. Thanks for looking:)


text:
Everyone asks ...
How do flight crews beat jet lag?
I put this question to a pilot once and he said: "We don't. We suffer, same as you do."
If you cross more than four time zones you can expect to feel some effects of jet lag, but if you're smart, you can lessen its effects and duration. Some say adapt to the time difference by eating and sleeping according to the time at your destination as soon as you board your aircraft. Really?
If I get on a London-bound plane at 10am in Sydney, it's midnight according to Big Ben but no way am I going to fall asleep. Much more reasonable is to try to adapt as soon as you reach your target.
Take a walk in the sunshine to help reset your body clock and resist the urge to tumble into bed for an afternoon nap, which will probably turn into a three-hour snorathon. Make it a vigorous walk, too — lack of exercise on your flight is one of the reasons many travellers are wide awake and exhausted at 3 o'clock the morning after they arrive. Dehydration is another contributing factor.
Drink plenty of water during your flight and if you go cold turkey when the drinks trolley tinkles past, your body will say "hallelujah".
Sleeping pills can help re-establish your circadian rhythm and some swear by melatonin, but seek professional medical advice. A morning dose of Berocca can help flush the fuzz from your brain, and that's a tip straight from the pilot's seat.
Planning is vital for a fun family tour of Japan
We are travelling to Japan in September as a family with two girls, aged 7 and 10. We have 10 nights and are flying in and out of Tokyo. Any suggestions? What other cities are worth visiting? We would prefer to travel by train.
- J. Raftesath, Roseville.
With children, Tokyo Disneyland (tokyodisneyresort.co.jp) might be unavoidable, and at least a full day is required to take in even a small part of what this huge and entertaining fun-park has to offer.
An absolute must-see is the city of Kyoto, a trip that can easily fill up to three days. En route, consider stopping at Hakone, the gateway to Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, which has a number of tour options with Mount Fuji as a backdrop.
Nara is another rich cultural feast. It is Japan's first permanent regional capital and has several World Heritage sites within a spacious park.
The Japanese favourites of raw fish and tofu may not be to your children's liking. If you're not sure, you can opt to dine in Western-style hotels, where tourists can dip into Japanese food without committing to a full cultural immersion.
While these hotels provide food and accommodation within the comfort zones of some travellers, they can be more expensive and less culturally satisfying than staying in a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn).
Train is definitely the way to go in Japan. Consider getting a Rail Pass (japanrailpass.net), which was created especially for overseas visitors and is valid on most forms of public transport across the country.
Avoid the terrible tummy bug
Together with my husband I am cruising the Mediterranean. We are concerned about falling ill to the "cruise tummy bug". Can you suggest precautions and any medication we might take with us?
- S. Vecchio, Glenwood.
The norovirus is a common and highly contagious virus that causes gastroenteritis. Since it thrives in confined spaces with high human populations, it's been appearing in some cruise vessels lately.
In this situation, the virus is often spread through physical contact with people already affected - even something as simple as passing a salt shaker around a table.
The most important precaution is to keep your hands scrupulously clean. Wash them often with soap and water and always carry hand gel around with you.
If you do fall victim, see the ship's doctor and drink plenty of water, since dehydration is a side effect. There is no cure or vaccine.
Symptoms will typically last one to two days but victims may be contagious for as long as two weeks.
Trains terrific for Sicilian sightseeing bonanza
My husband and I will be travelling to Sicily following a tour of Italy. We have booked four nights each in Palermo and Catania — can you advise us on things to do? We don't particularly want to hire a car and hope we can get around on buses or trains.
- E. Gear, Terrey Hills.
From Catania, make a day trip south to visit the city of Syracuse, a pocket-sized, historic and immensely likeable city that you can easily explore in a couple of hours.
On the same day continue south to Noto, a small treasure crammed with baroque palaces and churches in honey-coloured stone, and don't miss Caffe Sicilia in the Corso, which dispenses pastries from heaven.
Plan another day north to take in gorgeous Taormina and if you're feeling adventurous, you might take the hike up Mount Etna, although it's quite tough.
Palermo has a couple of fascinating markets, La Vucciria and Ballaro, several astonishing churches such as the Oratorio di San Lorenzo and the Chiesa di Santa Cita, a wonderful art gallery and archaeological museum, and, also found in the vicinity, the stupendous 12th-century Norman Cathedral of Monreale.
Trains will suit your needs perfectly.
Drawn to super Nova
My husband and I are travelling to the east coast of Canada in May. We have about 12 days and are not sure whether to drive or take a train. Our itinerary is very flexible so any advice would be greatly appreciated on must-see places and accommodation. What do you know about Le Train du Massif de Charlevoix?
- C. Bramley, Croydon Park.
The Charlevoix train (lemassif.com) runs between Quebec City and La Malbaie, following the northern bank of the St Lawrence River.
It's short and sweet, with a few variations. It's a relaxing way to take in some beautiful countryside and many rate this as a highlight of their visit to Quebec. Plan two to three days in Quebec City. It's an absolute delight and a great place to sample French-Canadian gastronomy against atmospheric backdrops.
Hiring a car magnifies your touring options many times over in eastern Canada.
The big attraction here is Nova Scotia, which feels like a slice of Scotland hived off and heaved across an ocean. The island is home to the Cabot Trail, one of Canada's most scenic drives, a 300-kilometre loop around Cape Breton Island.
You can find plenty more information to help plan your journey on Frommer's Canada websites (frommers.com). Also see our review of the Charlevoix train.
If you have travel questions, we'd love to hear from you. Include the name of your suburb or town and send it to email@example.com. Personal correspondence cannot be entered into. Only questions appearing in print will be answered. One published letter each week will win a Lonely Planet guidebook.


text:
Some developers worry about competitors stealing their ideas. Not AvroKO. In fact, the New York City design firm wants its peers to embrace the environmental and space-saving concepts it explored in smart.space, its first foray into residential development. "We wanted to promote the idea that in New York, a developer could take up a project that would make you feel good, that would be healthy, that would be space-efficient," says principal Kristina O'Neal.
AvroKO conceived smart.space as an experiment in architectural freedom. It found a partner who owned a pair of small, unoccupied Manhattan apartments and convinced him to let the firm remake the units in return for a share of the eventual profits from their sale. Then O'Neal and AvroKO's other principals—Adam Farmerie, William Harris, and Greg Bradshaw—unleashed their memories of every tiny New York City apartment they'd ever lived in or seen. "We discussed all the things we would want and other people typically want in urban apartments," O'Neal says.
Innovative features include a hideaway guest room, a home office mezzanine, and nontoxic finishes and materials. Custom-designed items such as Murphy beds, lighting fixtures, and freestanding furniture give the 500-square-foot and 575-square-foot units additional character. The architects even chose bottles for the wine refrigerators and books for the shelves, providing a carefully curated living environment for time-starved New York home buyers. The strategy caught on; the units sold in six weeks at higher prices than AvroKO anticipated.
project: smart.space, New York City
architect/developer: AvroKO, New York City
general contractor: Synchro PM, New York City
project size: 500 square feet, 575 square feet
construction cost: $150 per square foot
sales price: $650,000, $700,000
units in project: 2
photography: Michael Weber
the art of the deal what was the hardest sacrifice you had to make to do this project?
"That would probably be giving up the movable loft idea. Because we had the luxury of high-enough ceilings, we thought it would be great to have an adjustable loft or mezzanine if you needed the extra space. The loft would be 'stored' against the ceiling when not in use, and with the touch of a button, the whole platform would lower and you instantly had a second floor. Unfortunately, what with budget restrictions and overall feasibility issues, we weren't able to make it happen. But there's always next time!"
what moment in the project most scared you?
"At one point we were concerned about whether the movable kitchen wall was going to work out, because if it didn't, we would have lost one of the strongest parts of the whole smart.space concept. Essentially it is the feature that allows for a guest bedroom that disappears when not in use, and this was a key element in our original space-efficiency plan. It worked out perfectly in theory, but until we actually built it and tested it out for ourselves, we were definitely a little bit nervous."
what delights you most about the project?
"I think one of the most satisfying aspects of this project was that we were able to design something for the individual, something that could help improve his or her lifestyle in a meaningful way. Designing restaurants or hotels is certainly exciting as well, but smart.space really allowed us to design on a more personal level. Also, a large part of our role as designers is to be problem solvers, and smart.space was an exercise in creating innovative solutions for everything from space efficiency to wellness in a really confined area. We challenged ourselves to solve or improve as many aspects of the hectic New York lifestyle as we could in just 500 square feet, and I think it worked."
what do you wish you'd known about the development process beforehand?
"We learned a lot about the sales market, including a whole variety of details concerning why people buy. We weren't experienced in sales, so we had to bring in The Corcoran Group to broker the deal. With such small units, and with our education now, we would most likely not use a broker again, even though Corcoran was great to work with. It comes down to profit margins in the end."


text:
Home » M20224 » Information Request
Send an Enquiry to Supplier M20224
Complete the form below to ask a question, order a free brochure, or inquire about availability. You are under no obligation to make a purchase. Your enquiry is sent directly to supplier M20224. A sales representative or the reservation desk will reply to your request shortly.
Privacy Statement
We do not share or sell your personal information to outside parties.
* :indicate a required field. Please read the instructions on the right side of the form.


text: This fundraising event is taking place at Wollman Rink in NYC's Central Park today (April 5, 2010). Johnny, Tanith, and Jeremy have tweeted that they will be attending. I was really impressed with the Olympic-themed synchro number performed by the FSiH skaters at a recent benefit show and hope a lot of $$$ will be raised to continue supporting this very worthy program! Figure Skating in Harlem's Event page: http://www.figureskatinginharlem.org/events/skating-with-the-stars.php LifeSkate.com will be covering this event again: http://www.lifeskate.com/


text:
Yesterday, Nov. 15, was the opening day of Michigan's firearm deer season, so I had to put the shotgun away for a couple of days and take out the .270. Ended up taking a nice big doe @ 73 yards this morning that was being chased by a little buck. I had my crosshairs on the buck and was about to pull the trigger about 3 times, before I decided not too. We've been asked not to shoot anything smaller than an 8-point where we hunt and I couldn't quite figure out how big he was. I really wanted him, but in hindsight if I couldn't see that he was an 8 at 75 yards, he definately wasn't a shooter. Hopefully, I'll get a chance at him when he's bigger next year!
Usually, I see a ton of deer where I hunt, but it was slow this year. There was a horrible fog yesterday morning and the field that my blind overlooks is usually winter or wheat or rye at this time of year. It was dirt and they ended up plowing it today. Glad I got my deer early. There was a lot of corn still up in the area too, so I'm sure a lot of deer where chilling out in the corn the last two days.
So any of you ladies deer hunt too? I pretty much just go out for a couple days during rifle season, knock down a deer or two and fill the freezer. Mmm, backstraps! lol.


text:
1. I bough a junk flash drive from eBay which can't boot + i screwed it up by trying to be recognized as local disk! so its useless, i will be buying a new flash drive.
If you are using BackTrack3 + changes from USB without any problem, can you tell me which USB, you are using? I will be buy the same one.
I'm after 16 GB stick.
2. If my PC can not boot from USB, is there a way i can make it boot from USB?


text:
Discussion in 'Fantasy Sports Central' started by roscoe36, Feb 11, 2009.
Input above.
I'm happy, since you didn't say no i take it as a yes that i get the first ten picks in the draft... with that my goal is to finish 8th or better out of 10.... if you take back my request then i hope to finish no worse then 10 out of 10. i'll be able to work around any schedule as long as i have a couple weeks notice.....
Yeah we will change the date. I had to pick some date, so I just picked a weekend close to the actual start of season. I didn't expect I would select a good one. I'll get more into this once I send out invites. Right now, I really want to get forum maintenance out of the way, then things will loosen up a bit.
I would like to join.....if that's alright with you guys. You guys will have a fun time competing for second place.
That's very nice of you to say Rodney, but we should at least wait until the season starts before you crown me champion.
I'm pretty sure Rodney was being respectful and implying that his dad will probably dominate the league...
Looks like the default is daily. I'm ok with daily or weekly. You guys decide. But if it is daily, I will lock rosters when the playoffs start, to prevent people from "tatering", which ironically was best put to use by his friend Jammer. Jammer-Tatering. lol
Too funny. I had sent you a pm before you posted this. WEEKLY...please.
I'd vote for weekly also....
We would love to have you...
I think jammerpants would prefer the term 'Tater-Jammering'...
My vote is for daily. Keep everyone involved, no sleeping in fantasy baseball.
I vote for weekly. What? I don't remember doing that? I'm not a big fan of that strategy.
Oh, I thought you beat Tater once using his own strategy in Hockey or something. Oh well, it's not like this is the last time I will confuse you with Tater. :P
It's possible. I have the memory of swiss cheese. Ouch. That hurt. Luckily, my swiss cheese memory will forget that insult by tomorrow.
I don't EVER remember the Hoser Tatering...against me or anyone else.
Separate names with a comma.


text:
i have the main body of my jet pack almost ready to mold. i want to use fiberglass to make the mold. because i do not want every detail picked up like RTV does. i am thinking of doing a 2 part mold. needs to be a little flexible so it will be easier to pull a casting of it.
one mold for the top and front, and one with the bottom and back. kinda like 2 L shaped molds. does this sound right. this will be my first complex mold and i do not want to screw up the pack or the mold.
if any of you that have done this before, any advice would be nice.
here's the pack.
thanks ,mr. bungle


text:
|Topic Review (Newest First)
I started to put my Thermarest on top of my foam cushions. As I get older I am less tolerant of thin foam cushions. I found the combination of the two pads is great. I like that I can stow the Thermarest when not in use since I sleep in the salon and I can use it for other activities. Last I checked they are reasonably priced.
Web shows
|Another way to increase comfort without increasing depth of the foam is to put in a Froli system. For about $250, I added these little springs under the V-berth and it's like sleeping on an innerspring mattress. They're like tinkertoys gone wild and only took me about an hour and a half to install; and that included doing it wrong the first time.
paul, someone in the wetsuit industry clued me in some years ago. All "foams" are made one of two ways. Either they inject compressed gas (nitrogen) under pressure, and then release the pressure to allow the foam to fizz up in a mold, or they use "pancake batter" which fizzes up as it is heated in a mold.
The batter solidifies and cures to become the "foamed" rubber, either way. But using compressed nitrogen, which is chemically inert, is way way more expensive than using "pancake batter" which will bubble up from internal chemical reactions, literally just like baking a soda bread. Odds are the odors are from the various chemicals given off during the curing, and they are simply trapped by the plastic wrapper.
Some of the companies make a point about the non-toxicity of their foams, because you never really know what it is you are inhaling, up close, for eight hours every night, while a new mattress is outgassing. Another good reason to let it air out until you really can't smell anything from it.
The 3M #77 won't melt upholstery foams, it is designed for them. That's one of the materials normally used to assemble layers of foam mattresses. I'm sure there are others that are water-based and don't use petroleum solvents these days. Latex-based "cove base molding adhesive" from the hardware store also can work very well, it is a white paste designed to bond rubber/vinyl moldings to wall bases, but then you'll have to "butter" both pieces of foam in order to apply it. Water based, no solvent worries, but I'll keep using the 3M myself.
Originally Posted by hellosailor View Post
"I was thinking the spray headliner glue for cars...?"
I'd suggest 3M's #77 Sprayment, which is a permanent adhesive, or their headliner spray, yes. All of those sprays are "rubber cement" but some of the cheap stuff is not permanent, or releases after time and heat. Buy a brand name. Then let it air out, once the solvent kicks off there should be no toxicity problem.
The foam itself may need to air out for a week or longer anyway, to get rid of chemicals from the manufacturing.
I would check a good craft store (or even better would be an upholstery shop) and see what they recommend, you don't want to wind up melting the foam!
"I was thinking the spray headliner glue for cars...?"
I'd suggest 3M's #77 Sprayment, which is a permanent adhesive, or their headliner spray, yes. All of those sprays are "rubber cement" but some of the cheap stuff is not permanent, or releases after time and heat. Buy a brand name. Then let it air out, once the solvent kicks off there should be no toxicity problem.
The foam itself may need to air out for a week or longer anyway, to get rid of chemicals from the manufacturing.
I've decide that I can easily be comfy on the 6 in. The first 3 in is firm foam and then the second 3 in is the 5.3 lb memory foam...sleep on it last night in my living room...perfect...now I can double up the other 2 in and use it for my settee berth.
Now, my question is, I need to adhere one foam to the other...and i want to do that before I cut...what type of glue or adhesive would be best and the least toxic? I was thinking the spray headliner glue for cars...?
|sounds cool!
Originally Posted by miatapaul View Post
6 inch thick
Home RV 6-inch Reversible RV Short Queen-size Foam Mattress | Overstock.com
8 inch thick
8-inch Queen-size Accu-Gold Memory Foam RV Component Sleep System | Overstock.com
Thing is you don't want just memory foam, as it does not give much cushion. You want some regular foam, then memory foam. both of the above is for queen, has foundation foam and GOOD memory foam. The Wall-mart memory foam will not be very satisfactory, I know I wasted my money on it already!
I like that is comes in 3' 3' and 2'...I might use 5" or 6" for the bed...and use the other elsewhere...A buddy hooked me up with a roll of beautiful white leather which will be the cover...I'll post some pictures when done.
|Home Depot and Lowes sells a product called mold control. It is used to mitigate small mold and mildew problems around the house. Once sprayed it also protects and coats against further contmaination. I have never used it on fabric or foam, but I have used it on wood. It gives a musty smell once sprayed, but when it dries, there is no more smell. Seems to work well enough.
If you can still smell mildew, you still have LIVE mildew. Bleach is one of the few things that really kills it. Of course then you'll smell the bleach, and it is easy to use too much bleach. Make sure you rinse it well, if you can still smell bleach when you are done, it will still be in there attacking the foam.
Do not use ammonia--that attacks latex and breaks it down.
If there's someplace near you that does carpet cleaning in a store? They have machines that run the carpet (or the foam) through rollers with a steam bath, that's really effective at cleaning. And drying--which will prevent the mildew from restarting.
|This thread has more than 10 replies. Click here to review the whole thread.
|Posting Rules
You may post new threads
You may post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On


text:
Gael Clichy scored his first goal for Arsenal on Saturday but his personal milestone was completely overshadowed as Arsène Wenger's side lost 2-1 at Stoke. After the game Gael spoke exclusively to Arsenal TV Online. He discussed:
- what went wrong
- Rory Delap's throw-ins
- the need to look forward
- repaying Wenger's faith in the team
- staying in the title hunt
Subscribers can watch this interview now.Copyright 2017 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source


text:
Tithe Apportionments & Maps have been added to the Ancestry.co.uk Dorset Collection. Genealogy and maps go together wonderfully and tithe maps are excellent as the papers work that goes with them name the owners and the occupiers of the plots of land. There is a reference number so you can then refer to the maps and see where your ancestors lived or where they owned property.
Traditionally the local church and clergy were supported by a Tithe which means a tenth of anything produced when to the Church. For example if your crop of wheat yielded 20 bushels then you gave 2 bushels to the Church which could be used or sold to maintain the church property and give a wage to the local cleric. How they worked out if your pig had 8 piglets goodness only knows !
Even to this day there exists huge Tithe Barns where the produce was stored, the bigger the barn the wealthier the parish. Some of these barns are now in the care of the National Trust and can be visited. A good example is at Great Coxwell, which some of my ancestors helped to fill with wheat, corn and other crops. Below is a link to a webpage about the Great Coxwell barn including a slideshow so that you can get a feel for how big these barns were.
In 1836 it was decided that it would be much more efficient to replace payment in goods to payment in money and a commission was set up to work out how much each landowner should pay. Tithe maps were drawn up and the accompanying paperwork known as apportionments was written and these are the treasures that genealogist enjoy today.
The Apportionments generally give the land owners and land occupiers names, a description of the land, the name of the land if it has one, size of the holding and the monies due.
If you wish to know more about Tithe Maps & Apportionment Papers then The National Archives have a good webpage explaining all. There is a link below to the webpage.
Great Coxwell Barn (Andrew Mathewson) / CC BY-SA 2.0′ target=_blank>Image courtesy of Andrew Mathewson – Creative Commons


text:
How Much Does Citi Love General Electric? Let It Count the Ways
If General Electric (GE) were peeling petals from a flower while pining for Citigroup's affection, it would be murmuring "She loves me, she loves me more." That's because Citi group place buy-rated General Electric's shares on its Focus List.
Citigroup analyst Deane Dray and team explain why:
With a confluence of positives in GE's 3Q13 earnings report and a clear line-of-sight to several near-term positive catalysts, we are adding Buy-rated GE to Citi's US Focus List...Even with GE shares hitting a five-year high, we see the third-quarter's 19% surge in orders with record $229 bil backlog, 63% incrementals, and upside operating margins setting the stock up well heading into two potentially pivotal events: the Nov 15 GE Capital and Dec 18 GE Outlook analyst meetings. GE stands out among a select group of "Control Your Own Destiny" stories with its record buyback program, cost-takeouts and self-imposed limits on M&A. We can make a compelling case for multiple expansion with the strategy to shrink GE Capital to reach the longer term target mix of 70% industrial and 30% finance.
Positives include General Electric's ability to meets its margin target, its stability in Europe, and its valuation--its trading at a 15% discount to larger-cap peers, Dray says.
As a result of Citigroup's decision to add General Electric to its focus lift, Honeywell International (HON) was removed, but remains buy rated.
Shares of General Electric have gained 2.1% to $26.08 at $9:36 a.m. this morning, while Honeywell has dropped 0.2% to $84.39. United Technologies (UTX) has fallen 0.4% to $107.32, and Siemens (SI) has declined 0.5% to $123.98. Koninklijke Philips (PHG), however, has gained 5.5% to $35.41 after reporting better than forecast earnings.


text:
© 2012 American City Business Journals. All rights resereved. Use of this Site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 3/14/12) and Privacy Policy (updated 3/14/12).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.
Forums: Admins | Moderators
Lacrosse news straight to your inbox.
Tuesday August 6th, 2013 12:45am
Box score
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Chase Bailey (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Prep) registered two goals and two assists and Kyle Feeney (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) made four of his 11 saves in the final six minutes of the game to lead the 15th-ranked Bucknell men's lacrosse team past No. 13 Army 8-7 on Saturday in a clash of Patriot League title contenders. With the win, the Bison improved to 10-2 overall and 4-0 in the Patriot League, and they maintain at least a share of the league lead depending on how 3-0 Colgate fares at Lehigh on Saturday night.
It was no surprise that this one came down to the wire, as 10 of the previous 16 Bucknell-Army games had been decided by one goal, and none of the 16 by more than three goals. That trend continued Saturday
before 2,759 fans at Michie Stadium, as the Bison rallied from three different one-goal deficits early on, then held on themselves as the Black Knights (7-4, 2-2 PL) tried to come back from a three-goal deficit. It was Bucknell's fourth win over a ranked team this season.
The game was tied at 4-4 in the second quarter when sophomore middie Kyle O'Keefe (Madison, N.J./Hotchkiss) scored his first goal of the season off an assist from Ryan Klipstein (Califon, N.J./Rutgers Prep) to give the Bison a 5-4 halftime lead.
Goals from Peter Burke (Walpole, Mass./St. Sebastian's) and Mike Danylyshyn (Fairport, N.Y./Fairport) early in the third quarter put the Bison ahead 7-4, marking the first time all day one side held a multi-goal lead.
Garrett Thul, who led Army with four goals, scored twice in a span of 3:12 late in the third quarter to make it a 7-6 game, but at the 8:29 mark of the fourth period Bailey netted a critical insurance goal with the Bison up a man. It was another strong day for the EMO unit, which went 3-for-7 and is now 13-for-25 (.520) in the last five games.
Feeney made two good saves on Tim Henderson in transition to keep it a two-goal game, but Army made things interesting when Conor Hayes scored with 56 seconds left to make it 8-7. The Black Knights won the
ensuing faceoff and called timeout to set up a play with 16 seconds left. But just after the restart Army turned the ball over and Feeney nabbed his sixth ground ball of the game. As Bucknell tried to clear Army was called for an offside penalty with seven seconds left, and the Bison were able to run out the clock.
Army, the defending Patriot League champion, had been ranked as high as No. 8 in the nation this season after a good early win over No. 5 Cornell and a close loss to No. 1 Syracuse. The Black Knights also had their nine-game home winning streak snapped, and they fell to 2-2 in the Patriot League after also dropping a close game at Colgate last weekend.
Bucknell has two games remaining, at Lehigh next Friday and at Colgate on Apr. 23 on CBS Sports Network.
The Bison also received two goals from freshman Todd Heritage (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire), two assists from Klipstein and a goal and an assist from Charlie Streep (New Canaan, Conn./Loomis-Chaffee).
Bucknell went 9-for-19 on faceoffs, but Ryan Gutowski (Owings Mills, Md./Calvert Hall) had an excellent day, winning 5 of 6.
Army outshot the Bison 33-25, ending Bucknell's streak of eight straight games not just outshooting its opponent, but taking at least 10 more shots than its opponent. Both teams nabbed 28 ground balls, while Bucknell had 21 turnovers to Army's 18. Nine of the Bison's miscues came on clearing attempts.
While Feeney made 11 saves for Bucknell, Army's all-star goalie Tom Palesky finished with six.
Bucknell is now 4-1 in its last five games at Michie Stadium, with the lone loss coming last year in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The Bison have reached the 10-win plateau for the sixth time in program history.


text: Not our best game but it was encouraging. Here's what I got out of it: (1) I specially liked the fact that J. Smoove is now making it a priority to score in the paint, where he's very effective, rather than settling for outside shots. (2) Billups at PG was awesome to see. He gave us a calming effect and he ran the team much better than Jennings did tonight. (3) Drummond knocked down his free throws! He shot 6 straight free throws and I believe he ended up with 6/8 for the night. (4) Monroe absolutely has KG's number this season. This is the second game where he outplayed him.


text:
I am concidering enrolling in the TEFL Worldwide Prague program. My ultimate goal is to teach English in Italy after getting certified. Has anyone heard anything about this program, good or bad, or has anyone had experience with it?
Also, any suggestions as to the best certification to teach in Italy? I am also looking at a Cert TESOL program in Ireland but they don't help with job placement as much, so I am leaning towads the Prague program. I am American and I have a BA, if that info helps.
Any help I could get would be great!


text:
Hello my friends, and below I have typed no fewer than 4500 words about a historical TF2 event, one that I felt was so significant and I hope opens the eyes of many of the younger readers about how far we have come in this community, or so I intended it to be when I originally planned to write a lot of stuff this summer, until that serpent of Team Fortress 2, that apple tree of temptation otherwise known as real life took over. However I had managed to more or less finish this little story below sometime in July, but before finding suitable moments in time to publish it (having intended it to be the first part of a three parter) I merely never got around to it. However with the passing of VanillaTF2, the retirement of Arie, the retirement of Byte I thought I might share this, if not for your own viewing pleasure, then at the very least I know it will be something Arie will enjoy reading (and hopefully Byte will forgive me for publishing!). So here it is, for you The Arrogant Atheist. Merry Christmas.
This story is one of a classic group of heroes, led by a Dutchman named Exfane as he took down the tyrannical juggernaut, Byte in a classic matchup in an era of competitive TF2 that was defined by ugliness and death. I give you the story of how Fakkelbrigade saved European TF2 (with help from Byte and TCM) by playing actual solid TF2 and to further this, how the legacy of this one moment helped shape a more positive outlook for the future of our scene.
The date is July 3rd, 2011. The time is 9 o'clock in the evening around central Europe and for two great callers of their age, Exfane and Byte, it was their date with destiny. Neither leader had won an ETF2L championship (excluding AFS, most of us would prefer that season was never spoken of again) though Byte had come close on two occasions, losing the Season 3 final to Ubersexuals (what a name) whilst part of TeamCoolerMaster and more vividly in my memory, coming 2nd place by a point to Epsilon eSports, known only as I don't know? back then, sweeping their first ETF2L title in the process. Ironically the Season 7 finale – of which was part of my first competitive TF2 memories – went down to the the last game of the season, in which TCM managed to beat The Last Resort comfortably over two maps, but Epsilon (aka idk?) managing to hold on against Fakkelbrigade on cp_gorge of all maps. I still distinctively remember Extremer piping down Mirelin with about 50hp left in a 1v1 fight to decide the championship…and the screams of anguish from Byte live on ETF2L Radio.
So Fakkelbrigade had already rained on Byte and TCM's parade not two seasons prior, but in all that time a lot had happened as we were faced with a Fakkelbrigade vs TCM final at the end of Season 9. The scene was on the verge of collapse as giants of European TF2 such as the illustrious Team Dignitas, Power Gaming, ButtonBashers and Epsilon eSports had snubbed the league in favour of trying to push the community to play in ESL over ETF2L. Heated discussions had emerged on forums, news websites, comment sections and mumble channels alike over the controversial topic of "Unlocks". Up until this point, European TF2 had been dealing with new unlocks added into the game with every major update, causing numerous debates on their place in the competitive format.
Traditionally the high level teams had gone for the "Vanilla" ruleset, zero unlocks except for a couple of weapons for the Medic (Kritzkreig, Ubersaw, Blatsauger from the original Medic update) had become accepted norms of competitive TF2 adding some more spark to an otherwise frustrating class for some to play. However with each new update came a brand new discussion – Should we allow this weapon? What about the Force-a-Nature? Gunboats? Mini Sentries and Pyro unlocks to make Engineer and Pyro more viable in 6v6? Charge 'n' Targe for the Demoman would change the pace of the class? The "purist" wished to see all but 3 original Medic unlocks banned whilst those in favour of new unlocks wanted to see more and more added to the game. By today's standard, this seems like a non-issue – We have Highlander, we have determined which unlocks are glitched, overpowered, unbalanced or generally spoil the 6v6 gameplay and we have a scene that mostly compromises with unlocks since there have been so few new unlocks released by Valve in recent season. But back before Season 9, it was a hot topic that threatened the very core of our community and the community was divided between those calling for new weapons to be integrated to allow the meta of TF2 to advance and grow and those who wanted to keep it as traditional as possible.
In an attempt reach an agreement all could be happy with, ETF2L admin team released what they called the "Cinnamon" unlock ruleset. They allowed particular weapons:
Main combat classes (scout, soldier, demoman, heavy): Bonk, Equalizer, Sandvich and Pain train allowed.
Support classes: All allowed, except Wrangler, Vita-Saw and Amputator which are banned.
Set hats banned (where possible)
Weapon (re)skins, hats and other visuals are enabled by default, but can be disabled if teams wish so.
Now this doesn't seem like too much allowed, in particular for the main combat classes like Scout, Demo and Soldier (only 3 unlocks for those 3 core classes allowed) but the support classes allowed almost everything, including the dreaded Mini-sentries and all Pyro unlocks. All in all, it was a move that did not go down well with the pro-vanilla purists, nor particularly well with some of the pro-unlock members of the community, disappointed to see things like Gunboats and Force-a-Nature banned. The result would lead to the fallout from some of the best European teams snubbing the league completely in favour of ESL and leading a campaign to try and move the community to ESL. To quote a few of the bigger names in the scene at the time:
Moose (former Power Gaming leader/Soldier):
These unlock rules are even worse than most of us expected. Oh well, see you in ESL guys. I just hope they'll introduce vanilla rules for all divisions so that the lower tier teams won't have to be dissapointed either and we'll get a proper standard league for competitive TF2.
Darn (former Team Dignitas leader/soldier)
As these arguments are done for in the prem level, I dont understand why do you still keep this useless debate alive. This will not go anywhere since ESL has given an option to play there for the good people who prefer the lovely vanilla.
Droso (Current Premiership Scout turned defender of teammates)
Once again, good job detering prem teams from your league though.
I'm pretty sure you'll regret it in one or two seasons.
To this day I cannot say whether or not ESL would have been better for our scene, certainly in terms of giving the High levels teams more serious competition, there is no doubt ESL would be better but with a less user friendly website, ESL wire and the Vanilla unlock rule-set – it's hard to say whether or not it would have benefited the community as a whole, it will have to be left to a discussion for another day. The fact of the matter was though, Europe's largest community league was in peril at the top of the scene. Those who were drafted in from Division 1 to replace the top teams that had snubbed the league felt the blow and heat of the competition dying in ETF2L, 7 out of 10 teams folded within a matter of months leaving only three teams willing to see the season out to the end. These teams were Team Thermaltake (only recently sponsored, we will always see them as Fakkelbrigade), TCM Gaming and K1ck eSports. These three survivors of a turbulent season kept going and fought it out in a 3 team playoff to crown the ETF2L season 9 champion.
Fakkelbrigade had actually drawn with K1ck eSports in the regular season, so come playoffs there was some doubt if they could do it but despite the talent of these 5 Israeli's (plus a young MGE Mike) FB took them down over two maps setting up a final against TCM Gaming, who had beaten both these teams already in the regular season.
So now onto the main event – Team Thermaltake versus TCM Gaming for the ETF2L Season 9 championship. It may not have been the expected giants of TF2; no Power Gaming, no Dignitas, no Epsilon, no Buttonbashers but these two teams were both Premiership sides within their own right and were fighting for the hardware prizes and the pride of being ETF2L Champions! VanillaTV was one month old and going strong, Comedian led the production with the likes of Torden and Admirable for company to cast that night and with voice-comms of each team available for the casters to link in, so the stage was set it was down to the teams themselves:
Team Thermaltake (Fakkelbrigade):
Scouts – Bash and Fisshu (aka JoeyC)
Soldiers – Exfane and Dr Leon
Demoman – Kaidus
Medic – Mirelin
TCM Gaming
Scouts – Skinnie and Coinz
Soldiers – Flisko and Pena
Demoman – Byte
Medic – Antty
Map 1 – Badlands
Right off the bat TCM dominated middles, despite Kaidus' speed on the rollout, the two soldier's aggressive strategy from TCM was too much for the English Demoman as Tt/FB (I will call them Fakkelbrigade to avoid confusion) were crushed and it took little over a minute for TCM to establish the lead. Second middle was more of the same, though FB favoured a more passive rollout with Kaidus going through choke, but it still had the same result and FB were back on last with uber disadvantage. Luck favoured the Dutchies though as Antty began to warp around, disconnected during a pause after a failed push and giving FB the chance to push out and eventually securing the round. Third middle, third mid loss for FB as they adoped the same strategy with a passive Demoman unable to support the aggression of Exfane and Dr Leon, they fell apart and TCM took the round shortly after. It was only until the fourth middle when Kaidus showed his prowess on rollouts and dominated the mid point for FB as TCM failed to establish position on point and were forced out back to last and FB smelt blood, pushed non-ubered, got 2 entry frags including the Demoman Byte (nice trade by JoeyC) and then had Bash sneak around and backup to bring it to 2-2.
A blistering first 15 minutes or so showed no signs of slowing as TCM took a decisive fifth middle, keeping Anty alive with both soldiers doing massive work taking down Mirelin. They capped spire and pushed into last but failed to deal with the heavy of Bash, but managed to regroup for the FB push out and rendered it useless before Anty and Byte came in again with uber advantage and capped it solo.
3-2 to TCM and kaidus once again beat Byte to middle giving his scouts position whilst Exfane counter jumped the aggressive Pena and kept his Medic safe. JoeyC was able to cleanup shop and a full wipe plus uber belonged to FB, who capped easily as TCM found the frags and equalised the score again. Another mid wipe followed as Torden called out TCM's bad position on mid moments before the aggression from Exfane, DrLeon and the FB scouts destroyed everyone from TCM and once more we saw FB push TCM's last, though this fight became more scrappy as FB only managed to trade leaving a 3v3 fight between Flisko, Byte and Antty versus Mirelin, Kaidus and Bash. Bash came in from bottom right and found the frag on Mirelin then charged Byte, but Flisko defended his captain but not before he cratered after a pipe fight with Kaidus leaving only flisko to defend the point versus a Medic and Demoman, he managed to find the kill on Mirelin but an 11hp Kaidus bottled him off the point before he could connect his shotgun and gave FB the lead for the first time in the match. TCM were having none of it, capitalising on an early kill on Kaidus they took middle, JoeyC attempted a backcap but it didn't pay off as Exfane overextended after uber allowing a momentum switch from Spire to capping last and tying the game once more.
The ninth and most decisive mid fight commenced and TCM seemed to be taking the initiative as once more the FB combo was forced out, but JoeyC somehow found the frag on Antty as the mid fight ended and gave FB a chance to push mid back. They failed to find the frags but stabilised on their 2nd point after an overeager push by TCM, making the game tense and slow for the first time, a methodical Byte probed FB for weaknesses and pushed in, winning the uber fight they took position and forced the surviving Demo + Medic out, but lost their Medic Antty and set up a last push for the game with only a few minutes left. FB went for broke and pushed out of last off their small advantage and the TCM team were not in a position to backcap allowing a free cap for FB. After re-capping middle, they took their time on spire but found a frag on Byte and a bad uber from TCM gave FB the spire and a chance to push last as the retreating TCM held on for dear life…alas it was not enough as kaidus zoned out the remaining TCM players allowing Bash to cap and give FB a dramatic 5-4 first map victory with less than 25 seconds left.
Map 2 – Gullywash
Perhaps the best remembered part of the game, this map does go down in TF2 history as being one of the most dramatic, I can only point those of you who have not seen it in the direction of the VOD to know why, or alternatively read on.
The confidence of winning the first map gave Tt a massive boost coming into middles, right off the bat Kaidus killed Skinnie and gave his team position on the point with Tt running Dr Leon on Heavy, making life difficult for the two roaming soldier style TCM enjoyed playing on middles. TCM were forced back to their last point with uber disadvantage, but a poor Tt push was defended successful by TCM, Torden putting the blame on Kaidus for not supporting his team on the point. Despite this the English Demoman got out with Mirelin and helped lock down 2nd point and they maintained their uber advantage, repushing straight back into last seeing Kaidus piling out the damage as Tt took a 1-0 lead. For mid fight number two, Byte tried a fast right side rollout to try and catch Kaidus napping, but Kaidus reacted well falling into a defensive position and baiting the aggression of Pena and Skinnie onto the awaiting Tt scouts and yet again, TCM found their way back onto last, though this time Antty had survived and had his uber to defend. A key point in the game also saw Flisko switch up to heavy who sat on that Gullywash ring on last point as they awaited the Tt push. One look at Flisko on the high ground opted for Tt to throw in some suicides, eventually getting the uber force with Exfane though the re-push came fairly rushed and sporadic, not enough damage was done and the TCM scouts showed their power as Coinz and Skinnie cleaned up the heavies damage and TCM recapped 2nd, going all the way to the Tt last, before failing to a Pyro airblasting them. At this point in the match the game really started to get frantic and exciting as TCM attemped to backcap as Tt came into middle, though Anty survived with uber, Bash managed to get the backcap onto middle and the game got a bit messy, with a couple of trades of middle before TCM pushed in dry and a jump by Pena managed to eliminate Antty from the contest – the TCM rocket surged forward into last and took the round.
At this point I would like to credit the linking of the comms by accident on the 10 minute mark – unbeknown to myself, my VanillaTV admin rights occidentally saw me link Tt comms and interrupt Admirable when I merely intended at the time to switch to their channel listen. A great broadcasting mishap, one I confess to now only years later after I am beyond the justice of Comedian and Byte. Tt struck back with a mid win, a medic pick and a straight forward push into last, taking the round and regaining their lead. Mid fight number four saw a change in tactics from TCM, running Skinnie on sniper and Flisko on Heavy and thanks to some meatshots from Coinz they took middle and only saw Mirelin and Kaidus survive. Pushing last with equal ubers, a misstep from the Latvian medic saw their Heavy Dr Leon dropped and a scrappy fight ensue, Skinnie sniping a few people before an overzealous Antty ran for the point with blood in his eyes, only to run into the respawning Dr Leon and die, denying TCM a chance to repush with uber advantage, much to the frustration of Byte in the team comms.
The game had to this point, been really open and teams did not wait long for advantages or stalemates, opting instead to push and gamble. A refreshing posture on a map like Gullywash, Bash went big as TCM tried to repush second and turned a double kill on Antty and Byte, switching momentum again…until they botched a push onto 2nd with uber advantage before TCM botched another push into last trying to take a Heavy into water. Lots of back and forth and failed pushes and interesting strategies and rolls of the dices, with the next few minutes devolving into failed pushes onto eachothers 2nd points until a decisive Byte kill onto Mirelin gave TCM their chance to push Tt's last once again with uber advantage…a chance they once again failed as a resounded Byte declared their pushes to last as "absolutely dire". 2 minutes on the clock and Torden said TCM would need to do something "spectacular" to make the Golden Cap and the next 90 seconds would become a rollercoaster that we all could not take our eyes off.
So one last gasp attempted, TCM pushed out of their last with uber into an ubered Tt combo….meanwhile a flank from TCM managed to overrun lobby and the Tt combo got baited by damage they did on Byte, suddenly tides had changed and a couple of missed shots by Bash onto Antty saw TCM suddenly have the means and momentum to push out with all but 45 seconds to convert the cap from their last to the opponents. Byte was rallying his troops forward, micromanaging each player with the craft of a dictator as Tt gladly conceded two points to gain uber for last. With 15 seconds left, TCM ubered and Tt replied their their counter pop as Byte made one of those split second decisions to go behind in water in an attempt to draw fire and bring people to the point. The gamble paid off, Tt's main combo fell to the floor and the other players got picked off by the Scouts, whilst the Heavy of Flisko started mowing people down as Byte came back onto the point, completely ignored and TCM secured a dramatic cap with 1 second left on the clock and gave themselves a lifeline with a Golden Cap round – A round they managed to take after rattling Tt more with a mid win, though they completely botched their uber advantage up a ballsy backcap play was rewarded as Tt failed to deal with the heavy of Flisko and TCM pulled off one of the most unlikely wins coming from being literally milliseconds from defeat to on the verge of winning ETF2L.
TCM's famous last push within a minute has since become TF2 folklore. It is rumoured that Byte still brings up his 40 second last to last push at Dinner parties around the world in his retirement.
Map 3 – Granary
So here we are, the final and decisive map of the series with the winner getting all of the glory and the prize of….6 x SteelSeries Siberia v2 headsets! Shameless marketing here as the map started with a bang, only 2 up for Tt as they took middle. But Byte, the ever old wiley veteran seems to see things before they happen and predicted where the flank of JoeyC and Dr Leon would go and took them both down with one of his famous sticky traps. Those two kills completely opened the oppurtunity up as they tactically outplayed a committed Tt combo trying to backcap from the TCM garage and turned this into a round win. JoeyC from Tt was not the type of player to go down lightly, he rallied his teams with cries of "focus Byte" on middle and it worked, Leon jumped straight into his face and they gained position and took the middle, followed by the round a minute later and the game was tied up at 1-1. TCM's mids picked up and Byte showed the young Kaidus how its done on Granary middle, being decisively quicker and with help from Pena, they locked Tt into the corner and we saw Exfane and Mirelin try an ambitious multi-uber strategy on the second point to make up for lost numbers. The plan failed as TCM surrounded them and picked them off ruthlessly, converting the round and sharpened their claws aiming for the Tt jugular and ETF2L glory.
And who could stop them, though TCM failed a Kritz push into last, some clever juggling of Mirelin in granary yard (by that man Byte again) opened the door for TCM to push onto 4th with uber advantage, if it wasn't for a classic JoeyC backcap on middle through the dropdown area, splitting TCM up and allowing Tt to to gain momentum in the round, where they pushed an uber advantage into yard and got kills, forcing TCM backwards and backwards before they finished them off in last and squared the game up at 2-2 with 15 minutes left on the clock. Wham! Big mid win for Tt as Exfane took down Antty and Kaidus hit an airpipe on Pena to deny all aggression…the nerves were getting to both sides and Exfane showed his anguish with a cry of despair, declaring Tt's last push failure as a "sissy push". Tt's chances of gaining a 3-2 lead returned after a crazy fight in the left yard (from attackers perspective) saw many bodies drop until Exfane cleaned up with a 2k, rocket + shotgun combination on Byte and Skinnie, gifting Tt a mid cap and as they pushed into second, an ambitious Byte put on his gambling hat and called for his team to backcap…a move that failed and cost TCM the round and gave Tt that 3-2 lead they craved.
Game on and TCM flew into middle, and took down 4, only Mirelin and JoeyC managed to escape to last as for the first time in 2 maps worth of gameplay, we saw the game slow down to a stalemate and a classic TF2 Granary last-wait-for-a-pick battle of wits ensued. But after it failed, TCM just pushed straight in and forced an uber as Pena worked his way in ready to drop on Mirelin as it faded and a well worked play saw JoeyC capitalize on the damage and get the medic pick, giving TCM an uber advantage to go into last with. A push…they failed once again but only just enough to bait Tt to come back into second where Skinnie crept up on Kaidus and JoeyC to take them down, joining up with Coinz and Antty to have a go at pushing last…until JoeyC sniped them down causing Tt to push back into TCM's fourth point. Now at this point in the cast, the action was so frantic Admirable called it an "emotional rollercoaster" and for those who wonder how Mirelin became the Medic he is today, look no further than the brutal verbal abuse he got from Exfane for running into Byte's pipes on 2nd gifting TCM another uber advantage onto last point. As it were, there seemed to be no reason to panic as the story of the game would go – TCM gain advantage and waste it, once again as with 5 minutes to go Tt tried to retake their yard.
Into the last few minutes and the tension was getting to Tt, with a 1 round lead and one mistake away from defeat, they got forced on their last point after a key kill by Byte onto Kaidus and a jump in by Pena….third time lucky for TCM as they smashed through the gate and found the frags they needed to tie the game up with little over 3 minutes left to play. One mid fight is all it took…one decisive wipe and the championship would be won, but for whom? The fight went in favour of TCM, Byte managed to find Antty on the crates but JoeyC was running on a pure adrenaline as he took down three, eventually only Pena survived the bloodbath with 12hp, though TCM got the mid cap it really meant nothing in the overall balance of who could sneak the win. So TCM pushed, Tt defended with a well co-ordinated uber fight but overstayed their welcome on middle and suddenly TCM saw their opportunity with Mirelin down and a failed suicide attempt on Antty, they pushed 6v4 (as the clock did not allow time for the uber) onto Tt's last but the power of the Heavy and poor focus fire by TCM saw them lose their chance of winning the crown and once again we saw another Golden Cap to decide the fate of the ETF2L Season 9 champions.
So here we are, the final middle of the season and it was a huge one for Mirelin, his magical footsteps and needles fended off Flisko as Anty went down in the fray and Tt got that uber advantage they so desired. But there is one constant you can guarantee in this contest – Byte's experience and desire to have this crown for himself was so big, first his stickies put enough fear into Tt to slow them down into yard before a nervous Mirelin dropped two to one of Byte's deluxe traps (there is a reason why his sticky plushy remains my most prized gift) and allowed TCM a chance to get back into it. The German Bash was a cool head of experience for Tt; his excellent thinking to run behind and draw TCM back allowed Tt to gain 2nd decisively as the German scout showed why he would emerge as the world's best in two years time for Epsilon. But back in the present fight, Tt had a great chance to push last with TCM a medic down and bleeding players but they were indecisive in the face of opportunity and in the end opted to regroup and push their uber….into a heavy with a sandvich as a mobile healthpack and failed decisively. Byte pounced like a shark smelling blood in the water and saw his chance to push back and re-cap middle, Tt were looking in bad shape until Dr Leon managed to sneak his way in through Z and flank the TCM combo and switch momentum once again. At this point the comms were frantic, little doors opened up for both teams shots were hit/missed as the watching audience and casters held their breathe at the excitement of this season's climax. It was anybodies game and the tension was getting to its highest point.
So once again Tt pushed yard and used their uber to get second, but TCM had built in time for last and got two picks and attempted a re-cap of their second point. Exfane was not going to give it up that easily, they immediately responded by killing two TCM played and frags went down all over the second point until it was a Soldier/Medic vs Soldier/Medic on both teams. Flisko took out Exfane but Mirelin showed flashes of the legend he was to become…instead of backing off he rolled the dice, knowing Flisko was not loaded enough to kill him, he jumped into his face and baited the young English soldier into trying to kill him…enough of a bait to allow the respawning Dr Leon to take him down and suddenly it was Tt pushing against only Anty, with 85% uber and 2 respawners running into the fight. The TCM spawns came in time but Mirelin popped off his uber at the wrong time for Byte and his men…clear focus of targets and the call to kill before capping saw TCM players drop in desperation, a last ditch backcap effort was blocked and Tt capped last to scenes of sheer jubilation in their mumble. Fakkelbrigade had beaten Team Cooler Master and Exfane had defeated Byte and won the ETF2L crown.
The game was a spectacular showpiece of competitive TF2 at its finest. Although both teams made streams of errors and the fights were scrappy – Neither side waited around or settled for slowing the pace down, both teams went at eachother like animals in a cage, tearing eachothers limbs out until one of them crawled out the victor. It was TF2 at it's finest with a great combination of casting – Experienced analysts like Torden and Admirable picking apart the bad plays and praising the good with what I can only describe as "childlike" enthusiasm of Comedian, who was known for bringing hype and excitement to each push. Mix this in with the constant use of team comms, we were given a treat of what it means to play this game competitively. The passion shown by both teams in the game, with their appraisal of their decisive round and map wins, their sheer frustration and cursing at their mistakes and losses and the celebration after FB/Tt overcame TCM in that Granary golden cap was enough to make the spine tingle for any TF2 lover. Anyone who witnessed that game could not have logged off their PC that evening without the thought of putting 200% extra into their next pcw so they could reach the top one day and emulate the story of Fakkelbrigade.
On the face of it, one really good TF2 game doesn't make the scene suddenly resurge like magic and the reality of it was, it didn't in itself "save" European TF2, merely become one of many mitigating factors that helped shape some resurgence. However I cannot play down the importance of such an event amongst the many factors and why it will remain a significant moment in time for our scene. When you visit the forum or news content websites on a daily or weekly basis, like many of us do as part of this community and you see only doom and gloom, disagreements about unlocks, higher level players talking down admin decisions, boycotting leagues, folding and in general only negativity – It brings the whole community down. Atmosphere is one of the most important parts of the community and I distinctively remember my favourite game and past time, Team Fortress 2 being troubled. There had been little if anything in the way of positivity for months on end, the unlock debate being the huge underlying issue (behind many others like maps, prizes and TF2 as an 'esport') that had divided the community massively and brought forward many debates, arguments and even hatred. When you are surrounded by negativity on each occasion you log into Steam account and browse the community forums, it is only a matter time you will stop coming back. It's the same with teams who play in a negative driven environment most of the time, they become a ticking time bomb destined to die out quicker than you want it to.
So to have this one amazing, positive TF2 match that showed us that despite all the war of words and teams deciding where and who to play based on weapons, maps and prizes. Despite all the clashes, all the cries of "TF2 is dead", all the negativity displayed throughout the past half a year or so within that community at the time – One great TF2 game, where all the talking is done in-game, where the drama, passion and skill comes out above all else and reminds us how great Team Fortress 2 is to play and to watch and despite all the problems in the community, such a spectacle like this was so good that people wanted it more and more and so it was now worthwhile again to log into Steam and open Team Fortress 2 and play in ETF2L. It was one of the catalyst of some of European TF2's brightest moments – Highlighted here in my 2011's year in review article and will always remain one of the most memorable TF2 matches to date.
So thank you Exfane, Fakkelbrigade, Byte and TCM Gaming. Thank you VanillaTV for bringing the coverage and a big thank you to Arie for continuing to do good in community even today many years after you've stopped playing. You're the real hero of Fakkelbrigade!
Does this version of history agree with your own recollections? Would you like to dispute these accounts? Was ESL actually the best way forward? Did Fakkelbrigade infact kill TF2 by winning ETF2L? (as predicted by JimmyBreeze). My final thought will be to quote a friend and teammate of mine, logs.tf creator zoob looking ahead to 2015:
TF2 in 2015:
[*] Legitimate chance of getting official competitive matchmaking
[*] Saloon.tf will be released
[*] Huge TF2Center update will be released
[*] Huge Logs.tf update will be released
[*] ETF2L Season 20 about to be most exciting one in years (lots of improvements)
[*] ESEA Season 18 confirmed
[*] i55 confirmed
[*] A tournament with 2200+ completely NEW players just finished (Highlander Open)
[*] Competitive player numbers still growing (Source: logs.tf monthly stats)
[*] Concurrent players peaking in Steam lately
[*] We have a proper professional streamer :p
[*] EU pugging at all time high currently (TF2Pickup.net)
[*] Stream viewer counts still growing
Rest in Peace Vanilla.


text:
Nail prices jumped about 30% within days of the Jan. 16 preliminary ruling by the Commerce Department on nail dumping in U.S. markets. (First reported in Tools of the Trade, Sept./Oct. 2007.) Responding to a complaint filed by five U.S. nail manufacturers and one labor union, the Commerce Department issued its ruling against the People's Republic of China and United Arab Emirates for selling nails here "at less than fair value"–as much as 118% less in China's case.
Although preliminary, the ruling had two immediate effects: it imposed duties and requires the identified countries to pay cash deposits or bonds on the affected goods exported to here; and it will empower the International Trade Commission to investigate "whether the industry is being damaged" by the unfair practice, according to an agency spokesperson. The Commerce Department is expected to issue a final ruling in June, but that would only adjust individual tariffs for specific companies.
"This is a big issue for our industry," says Chris Dutra, vice president of product and channel management for Stanley Bostitch. "We've already started writing checks at the ports."
The ruling covers nails of a wide variety of types, sizes, and finishes but excludes collated finish nails and staples, and roofing nails. The original complaint was filed in May 2007 by an industry group that included Mid Continent Nail Corp., Davis Wire Corp., Gerdau Ameristeel Corp. (Atlas Steel Wire Division), Maze Nails (W.H. Maze Co.), and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (PA).
A number of U.S. tool and fastener manufacturers, some that import nails made overseas, opposed the dumping petition because they feared it would just limit supply and further increase the steadily rising prices of steel nails and other fasteners.
It looks like they were right on target. Rising steel rod prices have affected domestic manufacturing to the point that the prices of imported nails are now pulling even with prices for domestic-made nails; just four or five months ago, there was a 10% to 15% difference in these prices, according to Mike Malher of Orco Construction Supply. Rod prices alone might add another 10% to prices already climbing because of the new duties.
And the bad news doesn't stop there. "Anti-dumping duties, rod prices, and freight shipping costs are like a perfect storm," says Senco's William Roberts, director of international sales and marketing. "I've never seen it as dramatic as it has been the last 12 months."
What does this all mean for contractors? Well, say goodbye to a $20 box of nails for one thing. Those prices have already jumped $8 to $9 per box, says Malher, who says steel prices are also affecting rebar costs.
"Contractors should build escalation clauses into their contracts, because they're going to see $30 boxes of sinkers," Malher says. Orco worked since September to alert its customers about the impending increases but, according to Malher, many didn't listen and are now "panic buying."
"No manufacturer wants to raise prices, and we try to absorb as much as we can," Senco's Roberts adds. "The good news for us is we never quit making products in the United States."


text:
By Giuseppe Muro
Arsène Wenger believes it is premature to talk about Arsenal as potential winners of the Champions League but feels his side will be contenders for European glory this season.
The manager kicks off his latest quest for the Continent's biggest club competition against Borussia Dortmund in Germany on Tuesday night.
"I wouldn't rule it out yet," he said. "But it's too early to speak about winning it.
"Saying that would raise a lot of scepticism about the team at the moment and I don't think any one would believe it.
"But we have to do as well as we can and we have to form a team in the next two months. It's too early to have that kind of ambition."Copyright 2017 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source


text:
Celeb Couples That Started Out As Friends
Remember back in season two when Caleb was the new guy in school and he asked Hannah out on a date? She knew nothing about him and could have said no, but she didn't! Sometimes the best guys are the most unexpected ones. Take a cue from Hannah and when a guy you don't know very well asks you out, say yes!
You know how in preschool, you'd get made fun of by someone only to find out you were that person's secret crush? Well, that still happens in high school! In season one, Paige was giving Emily a tough time during swim practice. But even though she was making fun of Emily's sexuality, she was secretly totally into her! If someone is playfully teasing you, don't be surprised if they ask you out later!
Ariana Grande Is Doing Things Her "Way"


text:
- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
Pop singer Prince had a hit song more than 20 years ago that said we should all "party like it's 1999." Unfortunately, the managed care organizations running the Kentucky Medicaid
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the The News Enterprise, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
If you are new to the award winning The News Enterprise and wish to get a subscription or simply gain access to our online content then please enter your ZIP code below and continue to setup your account.
|ZIP Code:


text:
Posted by Dave Bartoletti on December 4, 2012
So what does VMware and EMC's announcement of the new Pivotal Initiative mean for I&O leaders? Put simply, it means the leading virtualization vendor is staying focused on the data center — and that's good news. As many wise men have said, the best strategy comes from knowing what NOT to do. In this case, that means NOT shifting focus too fast and too far afield to the cloud.
I think this is a great move, and makes all kinds of sense to protect VMware's relationship with its core buyer, maintain focus on the datacenter, and lay the foundation for the vendor's software-defined data center strategy. This move helps to end the cloud-washing that's confused customers for years: There's a lot of work left to do to virtualize the entire data center stack, from compute to storage and network and apps, and the easy apps, by now, have mostly been virtualized. The remaining workloads enterprises seek to virtualize are much harder: They don't naturally benefit from consolidation savings, they are highly performance sensitive, and they are much more complex.


text:
In Derry, they're spinning their wheels for food pantries
By HUNTER McGEE
Union Leader Correspondent | November 24. 2013 10:07PM
The East Derry resident was moved to action after learning that food pantries are facing depleted stocks and bare shelves as the holiday season approaches.
"We are riding to alleviate hunger," Bourdon said.
In the spin-athon, people will pedal stationary bicycles for two hours to raise money to help food pantries in town. The event is set to run from 10 a.m. to noon on Dec. 14 at The Workout Club, 35 Manchester Road. Registration, coffee and a light breakfast will be available starting at 8:45 a.m.
"I just wanted to find a way to bring as much awareness and raise as much money for these organizations," he said.
Bourdon also spoke during a public forum at Tuesday night's Town Council meeting, asking councilors for their support.
After hearing the request, Councilor Mark Osborne stepped forward and agreed to ride in the event. First Baptist Church Pastor Malcolm Widness also plans to ride, Bourdon said.
Even though he isn't an avid cyclist, Bourdon said he will be riding as well. He added that he will not only be riding, but leading the spin-athon with Shawn Mullen, a spin instructor.
Organizers will be holding a silent auction on the day of the event and local businesses are encouraged to donate items.
All of the money and proceeds will go to benefit the Sonshine Soup Kitchen and the First Baptist Church Community Food Pantry, Bourdon said.
For more information, contact Bourdon at (603) 998-2433 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
* e-Edition subscription required