text:
Just an observation... Double Trouble has jumped up at least 10 places since 2012/2011's polls
Looks like she's finally cracking the Top 20 this year!
P.S.- Do you think ToyGuru pays any attention to these polls each year?
Just an observation... Double Trouble has jumped up at least 10 places since 2012/2011's polls
Looks like she's finally cracking the Top 20 this year!
P.S.- Do you think ToyGuru pays any attention to these polls each year?
Go Entrapta!
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Ever mixing beasts, vehicles, and playsets into the popularity polls? I think that would be a good indication to how much something like the Battle Ram or Snake Mountain is wanted amongst some of the figures.
My seller/trader/buyer feedback:
MOTUC Most Wanted: 1) Stridor 2) Road Ripper 3) Dragon Walker 4) Land Shark
I'd guess Saurod would utilize Trap Jaw parts.
I'm a bit surprised Sweet Bee is higher than Peekablue but good for her! I'm reallt hoping for her to be as close to Filmation as possible. That red hair is rad.
Inspector Darkney Master Sebrian Gleep Spyster Admiral Scurvey Squall Starburst She-Ra ScratchinSound Catra Grot Caz Drissi Crystal Moonbeam/Sun Dancer Meliac NA Adam Chef Allen Songster Scrollos Kowla Red Eye Brightmoon Palace Guards
If done properly, then no, he wouldn't !I'd guess Saurod would utilize Trap Jaw parts.
When this figure is released, I expect him to be just like his 80's counterpart (armor, legs, tail, head etc.), but with the MOTUC articulations. I personally won't settle for anything less ! And I'd really like to buy Saurod. But if they cheapen out on Saurod, I'll pass !
Where is NA He-Man???
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Saurod: was a favorite as a kid & I still find him to be one of the coolest action figures. It is surprising that Matty has been holding out on the movie characters. I think it would be a great idea to have a motu movie 3-pack. why? because not many people want Gwildor so a 3-pack with Gwildor, Blade & Saurod would be a good way to get to all three characters all at once.
Sweet bee: not real thrilled about this character. I would get her to complete pop but I don't think I would really miss her if she didn't come out in motuc.
Granamyr: already have him coming in the mail. glad he made it into motuc.
Strong Arm: I don't feel as strongly as I once did with this guy now that we have Cy-Chop as a figure & those many figures with action featured hands like Jitsu & Fisto. I do however like him & would welcome him into the line. I find his colors & odd cyborg head very appealing. I fine with another cyborg headed character like Cy-Chop. I like to have both.
I see Strong Arm would be very easy: standard male buck, standard left arm, left glove hand, furry loin cloth, standard legs, Bow boots. all is needed is the head & large arm & hand & maybe a cool weapon.
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Soarods arm could work on others in N/A as well as Multi-Bot & Blast Attack. other parts are needed besides Trap-Jaw parts.
Sweet Bee would be great with curl in her hair. I think that would look lovely. have stand out more too. see deserves to stand out more. gold would be a good complement to her clothing as well.
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Skeleton-Warriors, Ra-Jar, Spinwit, Rock Golem, General Tartaran, Hawke, Slob-Boar, King Agho, Hunga the Harpy, Sh'gora, Masks of Power Demons, Nocturna, Lizzor, Sagitar, Crimson Fury, Lodar, Vizar, Angast, Negator, King Miro, Melaktha, Crystal-Man, ABC Giants, Stridor, Road Ripper, Land Shark
#20= - Multi-Bot (65/100 votes)
Last time: #22 (66/100 votes)
MOTUC has become the perfect line for someone like Multi-Bot. Although he likely won't share any parts with another character, the line is set up for removable heads, legs and arms so that shouldn't provide too much of a challenge for his sculpting and tooling. I heavily doubt he'll come out before Modulok though, who's by far a more requested character. Multi-Bot's gone from #24 to 22 to 20 with between 63 and 66 votes, so the reception to this character has been pretty constant. A surefire indication that he'd sell, but perhaps not as well as some of the other remaining vintage MOTU/POP figures or Filmation characters. I hope they find a way to include his Filmation heads too - I'm including an image for you to peruse and also one of an early prototype sketch for the toy. Notice the similarities?
#20= - Double Trouble (65/100 votes)
Last time: #31 (56/100 votes)
A big climb for 'Dubs' in this year's countdown. Fans have noted how she could be translated into MOTUC as a female knight of sorts - I love this idea as it makes her stand out. I've always found her a little bit too gimmicky in the sense that the other POP girls' names could pass for 'real names' (albeit fantasy ones based on their abilities). She was always one of my favourite figures as a kid, but I was always a bit sad she wasn't in the cartoon. I always felt that the character of Lohni may have been inspired by Double Trouble and, if the Horde hadn't realised that she had defected (as they did with General Sunder and Chakra), the two characters could be easily merged to bring the toy concept and Lohni's story together in a plausible way.
#20= - Skeletors Hover Robots (65/100 votes)
Last time: #30 (58/100 votes)
Another climber - these guys were new to the countdown last year and would make excellent army builders in the line. The fact that they'd be original sculpts wouldn't matter as fans would pick these up as they would Horde Troopers - by the bucket-load. The Filmation stalwarts are particularly prominent in the early He-Man episodes and, who knows, if the Horde Troopers count as the army-builder two-pack this year, the Hover Robots could be released next year. And Skeletor needs some generic supporters to take on the Palace Guards, Snake Men Warriors and eventual Horde Troopers... I promise I'd buy at least five.
#20= - Lord Masque (65/100 votes)
Last time: #26 (62/100 votes)
Only referred to as 'Lord' once in his solo appearance, Masque was a servant of Shokoti's and, although they were never seen together, they will forever be connected. Some fans are requesting a Shokoti and Masque two-pack, which would look something special for MOC collectors. I'm sure both will be released in time - Shokoti's far too popular to ignore and Masque requires little new work. (the boots, arms, biceps etc are already there for the taking) As we move towards vintage MOTU requiring new tooling like Extendar, Mantenna and Sssqueeze, the likes of Masque give Mattel the chance to release a fan-demanded character and re-coup some of the others' costs.
#20= - Madame Razz & Broom (65/100 votes)
Last time: #23 (65/100 votes)
Madame Razz and Broom's popularity seems pretty constant (look at the amount of votes she received this and last year) and with the likes of Gwildor likely to get a release while being less-demanded, there's no way they could ignore Madame Razz. Absolutely vital to the line, due to her knowing Adora and Adam's secrets, her magical flying friend Broom is also a must. I really, really hope they get to the pair of them sooner rather than later - as I said before, it's been a long time since Orko was released and it's about time we get his equivalent in the She-Ra mythos to bolster the Rebel ranks.
Most-wanted MOTUC: Granita - Hunga the Harpy - The Melog - Dylamug - Sprag, Sprocker and Spritina - the Twiggets - King Ahgo - Filmation Grizzlor, Mantenna, Leech, Modulok and Multi-Bot
If done properly, I'd buy all of these figures sitting at #20 : Lord Masque is one of my Filmation favourites, Multi-Bot is MOTU vintage and is unavoidable to me, Madam Razz and Broom are long overdue, and the hover robots could be cool BUT they need to be released AFTER the Horde Troopers.
We need Hover Robots!!!!!!
My seller/trader/buyer feedback:
MOTUC Most Wanted: 1) Stridor 2) Road Ripper 3) Dragon Walker 4) Land Shark
I would only buy Saurod, if he gets new legs, same for Multi-Bot... I'm tired of seeing the Trap Jaw legs on every figure with cyborg parts. It's really time for new sculpts. Characters like those mentioned or Blast Attack or the NA mutants need new legs!
The 20 spot is a hit. Want them pretty much all. I can do without Multibot but the rest would be great.
Quote the Raven, Nevermore.
It can't rain all the time.
"Live the journey, for every destination is but a doorway to another."
I'd like Double Trouble & Sweet Bee to be released and it looks like they have some shared parts between the two of them. I like Sweet Bee for her insect theme and DT just seems kind of cool. Depending on the green they use on her she may get displayed with the Eternian Guard.
Multibot I am fine without.
I like the Hover Robots, but I find myself liking them less and less as I think about what I could live without when the line ends.
Lord Masque is just cool, he has a savageness to his appearance which easily lends itself to a broke down dystopian vibe that would have easily fit into the mini comics.
Mme. Razz & Broom...I have mixed feelings about them. Orko at least had the potential for great magic, but because of circumstance was inhibited. Razz was just silly and always annoyed me. However, her difference in shape & stature would lend itself to adding more variety to my MOTUC collection and compliment the display nicely. I can hear her saying something like "We nizzle She-Razzle to defizzle those Horde Trizzles!" & "Oh, dizzle mizzle." which I greatly prefer in comparison to how she actually spoke.
Last edited by slackrguy; December 30, 2012 at 02:23pm.
Ask not for whom MOTUC is made, it's made for thee.
If you have to disclaimer your like, then you don't really like it.
Really looking forward to Madame Razz and Double Trouble. I can't get over the fact that Mattel never included Razz in the vintage line. I think it's crazy that she wasn't included considering how many appearances she had in the show. Double Trouble is just so visually striking I can only imagine how awesome the 4H would make her. She was also one of the least girly designed females in Pop she looks more warrior like.
I'd prefer Multi-Bot looking more Filmation. Hopefully they'll at least give us Filmation heads.
"Yep! And now I'm gonna blast ya!" - Orko to Skeletor in "Lessons"
WANT: Twiggets, Hunga, Josh, Joya/Bubblerina, King Ahgo, Wise Old Wizardess,
Crimson Fury, Melog, Kowla, Red Eye, Staghorn, ALL New Adventures, Sharella,
Gray, Kittrina, Melaktha, Miranda, Lt. Andra, Illumina, Lady Slither, MYP Evil-Lyn,
MYP Sorceress, King Miro, Songster, Scrollos, Kayla, Skeleteen
The #20 spot is a mixed bag for me.
Multi-Bot , while being a vintage character, just does nothing for me. IMO he's too similar to Modulok. Quite honestly, the only appeal I ever had for him was that you could mix and match parts with Modulok and make him into some sort of cyborg.
Double Trouble, like Multi-Bot, is someone I can live without. I've always considered her a rather dull POP character. POP is full of great characters, Double Trouble though just isn't one of them IMO.
Lord Masque is a character I'd love. He's a really great designed, yet simple character. He'd be a very cheap figure for Mattel. Most of the tooling for him is already done.
Hover Robots I'd love but I personally would rather have the MVC skeleton warriors that we saw in the comic instead for Skeletor's army builder. IMO they're a better design. I wouldn't be upset with Hover Robots though if they were released.
That leads us to Madame Razz & Broom. 20 really?! That's it?! I'm surprised they're so low. Without a doubt, these two are essential to any POP/Great Rebellion display.
Multi-Bot I could live without, so long as we get Modulok. If Modulok comes along sooner than later, and there's still life in the line- I will definitely take Multi-Bot, but could wait a year longer for him. In a perfect world, they would release them both in one deluxe package- which would be pretty amazing (put me down for two of those, please!). In terms of how he looks in Classics, I would want the entire classic toy body updated, but with the two Filmation heads as bonus parts. That seems to be the best way to handle this guy. There's so much cool detail in the old toy, that to do a straight-up Filmation version would result in a rather "blah"-looking figure. And if I were Mattel, with something like Multi-Bot, you definitely want the Four Horsemen to NOT underwhelm the fanbase. Deliver something with lots of swappable parts- and GOOD ENGINEERING!- a great color-scheme, and the promise that "the more you buy, the bigger and badder your Mega Multi-Bot will look!"... then you have a hit on your hands
Sweet sweet Double Trouble! You've reached Top 20 status after all this time! I and quite a few others have been saying it for years- Double Trouble has what it takes to be the surprise hit female figure of whatever year they release her (2013? Pretty please?). You've got a Great Rebellion member with very little background or old-school media presence- she's a blank slate bio-wise and can be written into the storyline or your own cannon any way you choose. With her Man-E-Faces feature, you get two figures in one... a double agent (which we don't really have any of in this line, unless you count Kobra Khan doubling as a Snake Man) who sneaks around the Evil Horde gathering intel for the rebels. OR is it the other way around? So much potential there! She never came with a weapon of any sort- not even a shield!- so the Horsemen have free reign to give her all sorts of bad-assery to arm herself with. In the '80s, I gave her the Castle Grayskull halberd. She'd look great with one of those. Or a green Horde crossbow. Or a sword and shield combo. Or a lasergun. Since we're entering this territory with the Fighting Foe Men, we now know they are capable of giving Double Trouble swappable chest-pieces for when she's part of the Horde. And surely it's time to introduce the female arm-sized armband for Horde ladies. As for her "feature", I think it would be fine for her to have two different heads- that way we get the full range of motion for posing her... rather than have her limited by a Man-E-Faces style knob-turning gimmick for the good/evil faces. One thing's for certain... she'll look like her classic toy simply because there is no Filmation version for them to mimic! There's no excuse for her not to have those unique boots (which she'll share one day with Sweet Bee), gauntlets, cape, etc. The only way they could screw her up is to make her ponytail so thin that it snaps off the top of her helmet (something I'm experiencing with Laser-Lot, but his is because I tried to turn it). So hopefully the Horsemen will take care with that and just deliver me... I mean the fanbase... a perfect kick-ass figure.
Now that I'm done raving, I'm less excited about these next guys. Hover Robots. Yes, I want them eventually. No, not at the expense of Horde Troopers. Give us the Troopers in 2013, and save the Robots for another year, I say. And let's do something a bit different with the pack-out for these particular guys... I say either a three-pack (hey, they're gonna be smallish... and you're going to want more than just two, right?), or a three-pack where it's two Hover Robots and Twistoid in the middle of the pack-out. How cool would that be? One thing is for certain. They must come with stands! Clear plastic, like Orko and the Doomseeker. Don't make us buy separate flight stands to make 'em hover!
The idea of a MOTUC Lord Masque gets me just as excited as the prospect of a MOTUC Double Trouble does. He and Shokoti MUST see the light of day, or the Filmation license will have been wasted, IMO. Either a two-pack or solo is fine. Maybe Lord Masque could be the 2014 Sub Exclusive figure (and Shokoti a regular monthly release in the same quarter of that year?). For accessories, he could come with a split version of his mask (his undoing at the end of House Of Shokoti Part 1!), which would be fun. Maybe also throw in one of Shokoti's Darklings as one of the accessories? And an evil-looking staff of some sort too...
Madame Razz and Broom. Used to hate them both as a kid, have done a complete 180 on 'em as a Filmation-appreciating adult. I can't see them NOT being in the MOTUC line at some point now that Mattel has the Filmation license. It would be a totally criminal exclusion. Scale-wise, I hope they manage to get her right. Not too small the way MOTUC Cringer came out, but not too big the way the classic Loo-Kee and Orko toys came out back in the '80s. Articulation is going to be tricky with her, too. Surely, she'll be able to stand and hold Broom at her side. BUT- will she be able to sit upon Broom and "fly" with the aid of a clear stand of some sort? Will she be too top-heavy? Or bottom-heavy? Will Broom at the very least be able to turn his head a bit and move arms up and down, or just be a solid one-piece accessory? Like everybody else in the Top 20 slot, how they execute these folks is either going to make fans go completely gaga, or really let a lot of people down. Tricky stuff! I've also been of the mind that Madame Razz and Broom would make for PERFECT SDCC '15 exclusives- the 30th Anniversary of the She-Ra cartoon! That way, the folks (and obviously there are a lot of them) who hate Razz and Broom just as much as the school kid version of me did, can skip on 'em and not feel forced into having them in the line. Plus- finally- a She-Ra Con exclusive worth the while!
"Make mine a bodice with a shiny silver Horde bat, thank you very much..."
Last edited by zodak74; December 30, 2012 at 03:58pm.
I agree Bonehead, I was hoping to see more of a jump for Razz & Broom.
As for her being nothing but silly let's remember that she did defeat Shadow Weaver
Inspector Darkney Master Sebrian Gleep Spyster Admiral Scurvey Squall Starburst She-Ra ScratchinSound Catra Grot Caz Drissi Crystal Moonbeam/Sun Dancer Meliac NA Adam Chef Allen Songster Scrollos Kowla Red Eye Brightmoon Palace Guards
I want all the #20 entrants.
Double Trouble, with my least favorite Netossa coming out, she now takes last place. I want her, she just never appealed to me like the others.
MultiBot, eh I'll take him, but not in a rush.
Masque, one of the reasons tooling costs don't frighten me. Plenty of simple characters that will sell & make back the cost.
Hover Robots, I want 5 but since they'll be in a 2 pack, I guess I'll get 6.
Madame Razz...
Razzle Dazzle I want her plenty... makes me sad she came in at twenty.
The Space Mutants are missing something CRITAcal!
#19= - Netossa (66/100 votes)
Last time: #28 (60/100 votes)
I was surprised - shocked, even - to see Netossa as the January figure in 2013. I'm thrilled, but I wasn't expecting it at all. She's been on my radar for ages - I LOVE her and her sculpt is beautiful. I'm pleased they went with the Filmation design - the face is properly stunning; one of the best in the line, even - but I hope they find a way to release her sword and mask. On that note, the mask would slot in nicely under those 'head fins'. Where there's a will there's a way and hopefully the Powers That Be at Mattel are aware of its significance to fans of the original Netossa figure. In the meantime, I hope they also get to release Spinnerella, so I can pose the two lovely ladies together on my shelf, ala When Whispering Woods Last Bloomed.
19= - Imp (66/100 votes)
Last time: #25 (63/100 votes)
A much-needed addition to the line for several reasons. Firstly, it's been a while since we had Orko, but secondly Imp would be the first evil 'under-sized' character in the line (I don't count Screech). The Horde need the little pipsqueak to sit alongside them, hopefully with a manner of transformation-accessories. I for one would *love* it if they released Imp as a loudspeaker, as in Loo-Kee Lends a Hand. How cool would it be to pose Hordak with that?! If that's out of the question and he comes in a pack of little guys, that'd be A-OK too. Either way, I hope they release him soon - with or without Filmation Hordak (but preferably with!).
19= - Huntara (66/100 votes)
Last time: #21 (67/100 votes)
The closer I look at Huntara, the more I know what an amazing figure she'd made. Just take a look at the image below - she is pure awesomeness waiting to happen! She also adds a planet to the mix in the form of Silax, which I'd love Toyguru to bring to the MOTUC bios in some fashion. Huntara isn't the most obvious member of the Great Rebellion, seeing as she went home at the end of her starring episode, but she adds a splash of tomboyishness to its ranks, plus an array of butt-kicking weapons which would look amazing posed with a figure of her (particularly her Stun Swords). I also predict good head movement, due to the pony tail being behind her head, a pleasure we haven't had since Battleground Evil-Lyn. I need Huntara in my life!
Most-wanted MOTUC: Granita - Hunga the Harpy - The Melog - Dylamug - Sprag, Sprocker and Spritina - the Twiggets - King Ahgo - Filmation Grizzlor, Mantenna, Leech, Modulok and Multi-Bot


text:
WICHITA—Former Augusta Oriole and current Friends University right fielder Kelsee Farmer was named the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference's offensive player of the week for her performances for the Falcons last week.
Farmer was 7-for-12 (.583) at the plate with 11 RBIs during a four-game stretch, which included a two-game series against 2012 conference champion Bethany College. During those games, Farmer was 4-for-5 with eight RBIs and two home runs, one of which was a grand slam. She finished the week with a 1.333 slugging percentage.
Farmer is a Class of 2008 graduate of AHS who earned All-League honors during her time with the Orioles' softball team.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
URBANA, Ill. – Senior Henrique Cunha and freshman Michael Redlicki of the Duke men's tennis team advanced to the singles round of 32, as the NCAA Individual Championships kicked-off Wednesday at the Kahn Outdoor Tennis Center.
Cunha advanced to the second round for the fourth consecutive season with a 7-6 (2), 6-2 win over No. 59 Enej Bonin of Denver. Bonin opened the match with two straight breaks at 4-0, before Cunha responded with two breaks of his own to get the match back on serve at 4-3. The set ultimately was decided by Cunha in a tiebreak, 7-6 (2). In the second set, Cunha won an early break at 3-1 and cruised to a 7-6 (2), 6-2 victory to earn his 32nd win of the season, including his 15th over a ranked opponent.
Cunha's first-round victory sets up a second-round meeting with Jared Hiltzik of Illinois Thursday at 11 a.m. ET.
In a thrilling three-set match, Redlicki advanced to the second-round after upsetting Kentucky's 23rd-ranked Tom Jomby, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-1. Redlicki was able to break Jomby's serve in the first game of the match, but the lead was short-lived, as Jomby was able to get the match back on serve at 3-3. The first set was ultimately decided in a tiebreak, where Redlicki was able to edge Jomby, 7-6 (4). The second set remained on serve throughout and went to a tiebreak, before Jomby forced a decisive third set, 6-7 (6). Redlicki, a 2013 All-ACC selection, went up a break at 2-1 and cruised to his 31st win of the season, taking the third set, 6-1.
Redlicki will face No. 25 Marcos Giron of UCLA in Thursday's second-round at 10 a.m. ET.
Junior Fred Saba was also in action in Wednesday's first round. A product of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Saba, listed 46th in the latest ITA rankings, fell in straight sets to seventh-seeded Peter Kobelt of Ohio State, 6-3, 6-2. Saba concludes his season with a 26-11 singles ledger for the season
The 2012 NCAA Doubles Championships get underway Thursday, with 2nd-seeded Cunha and sophomore Raphael Hemmeler taking the courts against No. 12 Kobelt and Connor Smith of Ohio State. Sophomore Jason Tahir and Redlicki will face top-seed Mikelis Libietis and Hunter Reese of Tennessee.
Live scoring and live video streaming will be available for all of Thursday's singles and doubles contests.
2013 NCAA Div. I Men's Tennis Singles and Doubles Championships
May 22-27, 2013 at Urbana, Ill. (Kahn Outdoor Tennis Center)
Singles – First Round
No. 9 Henrique Cunha (Duke) def. No. 59 Enej Bonin (Denver), 7-6 (2), 6-2
No. 46 Michael Redlicki (Duke) vs. No. 23 Tom Jomby (Kentucky), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-1
No. 8 Peter Kobelt (Ohio State) def. No. 43 Fred Saba (Duke), 6-3, 6-2


text:
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Darrell Waltrip Takes-Over ESPN's "NASCAR Now"
You really have to tip your hat to the newly re-vamped NASCAR Now program on ESPN2. The wholesale changes this season in on-air personalities and content have paid-off in an interesting TV series that covers all parts of the sport.
On Wednesday, it was Ryan Burr hosting the show. Little did he know what he was in for on this day. Two of the biggest talkers in NASCAR were the guests and they both did their best to keep their reputations intact.
Darrell Waltrip from Fox Sports and Ed Hinton from ESPN.com were along for a "mini-roundtable" discussion about a wide variety of NASCAR topics. All Burr had to do was mention a topic and then stand back. It might have helped if he had ducked.
Waltrip wants to start the NASCAR season in California on New Year's Eve with a night race followed by fireworks. His point was the season should run from January through September to avoid the tough conflict with the NFL and college football.
Hinton was all about throwing darts at Brian France and started by saying Waltrip should be Commissioner of NASCAR. Hinton followed that by suggesting the best way not to compete with the NFL was to cut The Chase to five or six races with drivers being eliminated every week. Waltrip said The Chase was "too long and there was not enough drama."
"If I can interject here let's move to the next topic," said Burr trying his best to direct traffic. Burr tossed-out the economy as the next issue and then ran for his life.
Waltrip called for owners to be more efficient and for NASCAR to open the tracks on Friday for testing. He has long proposed that testing be limited to the tracks where the Sprint Cup Series was racing that same weekend. His point is that it would create a real off-season for the racing families and keep testing expenses down.
Hinton's contention is that reality is reality. NASCAR will not fade away if everyone does not have a private jet or multiple team engineers. He believes that NASCAR has weathered earlier storms and this financial problem might wind-up re-inventing the sport simply from necessity.
Burr's final question was who should be "driver of the year?" Waltrip picked Jimmie Johnson should he win a third championship. Hinton picked Carl Edwards because he created the most excitement this season for the fans and the sport.
The final challenge for Burr was to wrestle these two on the topic of what would be better for the sport. Edwards coming from behind to win or Johnson getting the third championship?
Waltrip went for the dominance of Johnson. Hinton said the core fans wanted Johnson to win but the casual fans liked Edwards and wanted him to snatch the title away in the final race. Edwards would get "the swing voters."
"When we were putting this show together, I thought we might need an hour," said Burr. "But after listening to you guys talk we needed more like five hours." Burr barely had time to say a quick goodbye before another edition of NASCAR Now was done.
Credit goes to the production team for pairing-up these two and getting the little-used Hinton back on TV. This type of discussion in NASCAR-land now only takes place on Sirius Satellite radio's 24-hour NASCAR channel.
Hopefully, either ESPN or SPEED will see the value of having regular discussions on NASCAR topics with racing veterans and journalists and create a TV series for 2009. Even in this fifteen minutes of conversation, more ideas and topics flowed than NASCAR Now had seen in a very long time. This program re-airs at Midnight Eastern time for those who missed the original airing.
For those of you who have been asking, you can click directly on the picture to see it full-size. I think you can guess the track if you look closely. I will be kind to DW and not relate the year. Great shoes.
The Daly Planet welcomes comments from readers. Just click on the COMMENTS button below and follow the easy instructions. The rule for posting are located on the right side of the main page. Thank you for taking the time to stop by.
36 comments:
- Karen said...
Hilarious column. Missed the show. Will watch the reair.
- November 5, 2008 at 6:15 PM
- Sophia said...
Ditto to Karen!! I am boycotting ESPN NN UNLESS I hear Hinton is on! :)
Or your column makes it sound like must see JD.
Thanks for the heads up...off to set the digital reminder and hope NN is on time and not some late running scrabble tournament.
meow mix
- November 5, 2008 at 6:32 PM
- cvt said...
Ryan Burr was on tonight? Where?
- November 5, 2008 at 6:36 PM
- glenc1 said...
Oddly enough, I happen to come home early today and saw most of the show for the first time in a while.
They could have gone on for 2 hours, Ryan was right. The only bad thing was, they *need* to be in the same room. The feed delay was a little distracting to both of them (and to us.) I don't know if I agree or disagree with the suggestions they made, but it sure could start a lot of interesting conversations...
- November 5, 2008 at 7:06 PM
- Anonymous said...
@sophia--it is! it is! It was GREAT! When I saw that Mr. Hinton was on I was hoping that JD would do a column so you'd know to watch the replay.
@cvt--*giggle* I know I think I saw a glimpse but it could have been my imagination. They were going with each other it was like Ryan wasn't there.
@glenc1--Oh I know...I was like shoot! 30 minutes isn't enough! It felt like they had just started and it was already over :(
@JD--I'd *love* to see this as a regular feature! It would be so awesome!
- November 5, 2008 at 7:21 PM
- Newracefan said...
Hysterical should be a monthly thing for NN (weekly might be too much) and they need to be in the same room. I may not agree with all their ideas/opinions but it was sure fun to hear them.
- November 5, 2008 at 7:25 PM
- Nan S said...
Thanks for the heads up , I will record the repeat of the show. I find Hinton very intesting when he is on WindTunnel, same goes for Darrell W.
- November 5, 2008 at 7:30 PM
- Vicky D said...
I only saw the last few minutes but what great two guests and Ryan could hardly get a word in edgewise. What a great idea to change the season from January to September - Nascar has changed so much what's a few months at the start or at the end!
- November 5, 2008 at 7:50 PM
- AMS fan said...
That was the best show ESPN has broadcast since they took over the NASCAR contract.
- November 5, 2008 at 8:52 PM
- majorshouse said...
That was by far the best NN this season. It is a shame that it could not have gone on longer and that they could not have been in the same room together. I really liked Darrell's suggestion for the season and he has a really good point.
This show was definitely a breath of fresh air and not the politically correct crap that we have come to expect. I definitely would love to see more of this.
- November 5, 2008 at 10:35 PM
- CDH said...
Best episode of Nascar Now to date for me. If you missed it then that's a shame. Usually the show is pretty weak if there is no big story going on. So this was a great surprise. And I agree that the chase needs a change, like less races and knocking out drivers. You have to believe it'd be more exciting. Although I'll admit that changing it will just piss off the die-hard longtime fans even more than they already are.
- November 5, 2008 at 10:38 PM
- Tracy said...
What is the track? I thought I read "Nashville Market" on the fence.
I just happened to catch the last 15 minutes live, and wow, couldn't shut it off. Great idea for a show!
- November 5, 2008 at 11:33 PM
- Anonymous said...
Let me first say during his time way back when I did not like DW. I respected his accomplishments but not him, and his big mouth(JAWS).
He would be a lot better in the type settings tonight, and on a Speed show like this next year, and not in the booth. The first couple of years in the booth was O.K., but last year it was not. It was all about Toyoto,DWstore.com,Digger,Mikey,K.B., what they did years ago,which has nothing to do with whats happening now.He gets wound up in the booth, like his brother, and distracts from the race.
At the end of the season heard a rumor he would not be back next year, but the last race Fox did, he said see you Daytona next year.
J.D., Do you know the Fox crew for next year?
- November 5, 2008 at 11:58 PM
- Lou said...
Enjoyed the show. DW and ED were a pleasure to listen to even with their high level of excitement. I understand that there may have been a Ryan Burr sighting.
- November 6, 2008 at 12:59 AM
- Karen said...
The best NN I've seen. Ryan was hanging onto his show by his fingernails. What a great idea for these two to be on together.
- November 6, 2008 at 1:13 AM
- Culo said...
The track in the DW pic is most definitely Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville TN... note you can see the concrete back straight wall of the quartermile track back behind DW.. then look even further back where the big high fence is... that's the back straight of the 1/2 mile track...
around 73-74 I'd guess... I spent a LOT of time there as a kid in the late 60's
- November 6, 2008 at 1:39 AM
- Richard said...
- This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
- November 6, 2008 at 2:02 AM
- Sophia said...
great show!!! Thanks for the heads up and glad it was repeated!!
LOVE it...needed to be an hour for sure.
- November 6, 2008 at 2:43 AM
- Speedcouch said...
What is DW running for political office or something? He was on at the beginning of Claire B. Lang's show yesterday as well. Can't we get a respite from this guy even in the months Fox is not showing the races? Is he afraid someone might forget about him or something?
- November 6, 2008 at 7:21 AM
- Anonymous said...
GREAT SHOW - good spirited debate.
NASCAR NOW needs to utilize Ed Hinton more. He is not afraid to tackle the tough subjects and tell it like it is.
DW ? same old DW, Seems like he is politicing for a job with NASCAR.
- November 6, 2008 at 7:29 AM
- Anonymous said...
It's gotta be Nashville Fairgrounds. Enlarge the pic, and check out the sign for WNGE channel 2. That's a Nashville TV station.
- November 6, 2008 at 8:04 AM
- Daly Planet Editor said...
Anon 11:58PM,
DW will be back with the NASCAR on FOX gang in 2009.
- November 6, 2008 at 8:56 AM
- majorshouse said...
DW makes a whole lot more sense than most of those clowns in Daytona Beach including Bryan France and think that he could do a much better job running NASCAR than the current administration.
- November 6, 2008 at 9:01 AM
- Sophia said...
I agree about DW..."Jaws" or not, he has better ideas than "I don't care about racing, I just love the money B. France".
I agree start season sooner, get over sooner.
ED HINTON is terribly under utilized here!!
Love both guys..would love to see them IN STUDIO SOON.
- November 6, 2008 at 12:33 PM
- Tom said...
I must admit, anytime Ed Hinton is ANYWHERE, I watch. JD, your point about actual issues being discussed is right on target. This has been one of my biggest beefs all year, as it seems the only "free" opinions are now on David Poole's morning show (although even that is in danger with the MRN connection). Get Hinton on more often! Too bad he went to ESPN, because the Hinton/Miller show on WT was one of the best!
I am not sure I agree with everything those guys said, but thats the idea- get some REAL opinions out there and let us decide without the NASCAR Koolaid! I do think DW is on to something about the seasonal alignment, which was nice to hear, because he has been decidedly Koolaid-ish as of late.
Inverness, FL
- November 6, 2008 at 1:02 PM
- Garry said...
Does anyone see the similarities between this episode and "Tradin' Paint" on SPEED?
Obviously the powers that be seen the electricity in the air on the SPEED show, and thought it would work on ESPN. Perfect combination.
Race drivers and journalists.
- November 6, 2008 at 1:20 PM
- Anonymous said...
Awesome, awesome, awesome show! Just goes to show what ESPN can do when they put real personalities on real issues involving NASCAR. DW should be on every show, maybe even get his own little segment for a few minutes, like the opening of Rome is Burning. That'd be cool.
- November 6, 2008 at 1:32 PM
- Richard in N.C. said...
I'm sorry I missed the show as I do enjoy Ed Hinton , even though he is convinced that the media has never made an error on anything.
I am sure that no mention was made that the perceived problem of NASCAR's competing with the NFL might have something to do with the mediocre quality of TNT's & ESPN's broadcasts of the races.
- November 6, 2008 at 2:23 PM
- HarpAmy/Amy in FL said...
Also, the comment about the competition with the NFL could be that Nascar leaves the "free" networks after the Fox portion and those that do not have cable that may be die hard Nascar fans that cannot afford cable or sattelite lose interest until it comes back on ABC. I have a friend like that and they just lose interest in Nascar after the FOX portion because in these economic times they can't afford cable/satellite. They just use rabbit ears.
I wish that I could have watched that show. It would have probably lifted my spirits after the election results. (my guy did not win. :() I love the Waltrips and try to watch every show that I know that they are going to be on.
Thanks, JD, for the columns about the coverage this weekend. I was at the track and therefore didn't get to watch the coverage. I did listen to the SPEED tv coverage on my scanner.
- November 6, 2008 at 3:48 PM
- Anonymous said...
Three media guys with "no holds barred" attitudes"
1. David Poole
2. Ed Hinton
3. Robin Miller
ESPN surprises me when they go against the flow of the NASCAR hierarchy and tackle tough subjects.
That was a great show - ESPN use Ed Hinton MORE!
- November 6, 2008 at 3:58 PM
- Prospector said...
This was a prime example of why I avoid any show with either Waltrip.
It automatically becomes ALL-Waltrip-ALL-THE-TIME.
- November 6, 2008 at 5:14 PM
- Billy the Kid said...
Ions ago I worked for DiGard when they made the switch and hired Waltrip (I really liked Donnie Allison, and didn't appreciate waltrip' arrival). He was always a talker (it was no accident his nickname was "Jaws") and was not an easy guy to like--and I think he'd be the first one to say that. Now anyway.
DW is still a talker and people still love him or hate him (it's that sizable ego), but one thing you can't take from DW is his love of racing or his knowledge about the sport.
NASCAR needs people like DW on TV, he cares what happens to and in the sport. And it shows.
- November 6, 2008 at 6:00 PM
- Richard in N.C. said...
The most amazing thing I've found since DW has been on FOX is how much he does let others talk.
- November 6, 2008 at 6:10 PM
- Marlo said...
This was a great show. I agree they should have been in the studio. The show should have been an hour in length. It's nice to listen to people who know racing and not read from a script
- November 6, 2008 at 6:41 PM
- PammH said...
harpamy/amy...your friend is gonna have a tough go of it after Feb 09 if they only have rabbit ears! Please let them know..
- November 6, 2008 at 9:31 PM
- Vicky D said...
Pammh and others. After Hurricane Ike and loss of power in most of the Houston area, the television guys realized that we'll be up a creek because those boxes don't have backup power i.e. batteries.
- November 7, 2008 at 6:32 PM


text:
HIV Rates Rise in Youth
The number of new HIV infections in the United States remains relatively stable, standing at about 50,000 people annually.
But HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is on the rise among younger Americans under the age of 25.
In fact, too many youth in the United States continue to become infected with HIV, federal officials said. And few are tested.
Those are two key take away points from a new report out by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which was released to coincide with World AIDS Day.
Specifically, young people between the ages of 13 and 24 in the U.S. account for more than a quarter of new HIV infections each year (26 percent) while 60 percent of these youth living with HIV are unaware they are infected, according to the CDC's Vital Signs report, released November 27.
The most-affected youth are gay and bisexual men and African Americans.
The analysis looked at the latest data on HIV infections, testing, and risk behaviors among young people.
The report offers insights into what kinds of behavior are driving the high rates of infection.
For example, young men who have sex with men - or MSM - were more likely to report having had sex with four or more partners or injecting illegal drugs.
In addition, among students who were currently sexually active, young MSM were also more likely to have used alcohol or drugs before their last sexual experience and were less likely to have used a condom.
And young MSM were also less likely to report having been taught about HIV or AIDS in school.
A silent epidemic
Medical professionals expressed concern over the report.
"The AIDS epidemic is silent," said Dr. Kenneth H. Mayer, medical research director of the Fenway Institute in Boston, in a phone interview. "It may have been horrible for older people, but youth don't know people who are very sick. They think of AIDS as a disease of old people, and it's a manageable disease. At least that is the youthful perspective."
Mayer is also the director of HIV prevention at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital.
For African Americans, he said, discrimination, stigma, and homophobia are contributing factors to increased rates of HIV infection.
"These youth are very disenfranchised from society," Mayer explained. "If you are a young black man, you may have been ostracized by your family of birth, experienced racism - so there is a lot going on in your life."
Other independent factors, he said, that account for HIV infection among young black MSM are poverty, unemployment, being a bottom (receptive in anal intercourse), and having other sexually transmitted diseases.
"The economic factors that make more people susceptible to HIV speak to the fact that there is a whole set of structural issues that place young, urban, disenfranchised youth at risk for HIV," he said.
Indeed, the increased infection rates are worrisome for AIDS activists and service providers. Rebecca Haag, president and CEO of Boston-based AIDS Action Committee, offered an assessment concerning the report's findings.
"The CDC report is quite disturbing, but it doesn't really tell us anything that we did not already know. Young people, particularly young black and African American gay and bisexual men, are incredibly vulnerable to HIV infection and more than half of those who are infected with HIV are unaware of it. This is the perfect storm for spreading HIV," she said.
Haag was referring to the results of an earlier study, released this summer during the International AIDS Conference, which showed gay, bisexual, and black men between the ages of 18 to 30 are infected at a rate nearly three times more than whites.
The study enrolled more than 1,500 black, gay, and bisexual MSM, between 2009 and 2011, from six cities, including Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington.
Mayer was a leader of the study.
Haag continued, "The CDC report calls for more community- and school-based interventions to help stop the spread of HIV among young people. We already know that this is what needs to happen. We've been doing this work for years and we continue to do it. But it is unconscionable that we do not have comprehensive sexuality education in every school.
"Our young people should know everything they need to know about how they can keep themselves safer from HIV infection. In order to end the AIDS epidemic, we need to employ every public health tool available to us to reduce new infections, and that includes educating those vulnerable to infection on ways to keep themselves safer," Haag added.
Overall, an estimated 12,200 new HIV infections in the U.S. occurred in 2010 among young people aged 13-24, with young gay and bisexual men and African-Americans hit harder by HIV than their peers. In 2010, for example, 72 percent of estimated new HIV infections in young people occurred in young men who have sex with men.
By race and ethnicity, 57 percent of estimated new infections in this age group were in African Americans.
Two data sources were used for HIV testing and risk behavior analysis, including surveys from public school students in grades 9-12 in 11 states (Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington) and nine large urban school districts (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, District of Columbia, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York City, San Diego, and Seattle).
"That so many young people become infected with HIV each year is a preventable tragedy," CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden told reporters during a conference call last week to discuss the findings.
"All young people can protect their health, avoid contracting and transmitting the virus, and learn their HIV status," he said. "This is our future generation and the bottom line is that every month 1,000 youth are becoming infected with HIV."
He added, "HIV, despite the great treatments that we have, remains an incurable infection. And the cost of care of a single patient is approximately $400,000 over their lifetime. That means we are incurring about $400 million in health care costs, and every year $5 billion from preventable infections in youth."
Despite recommendations from CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics that call for routine HIV testing of youth in medical settings, the Vital Signs analysis showed that 35 percent of 18-24 year olds have been tested for HIV, while only 13 percent of high school students - and 22 percent of sexually experienced students - have ever been tested.
"The key here for clinicians is to make it routine," said Frieden. "It is routine screening just as we screen adults for high cholesterol, we screen people for HIV infection."
Test then treat
Of course, testing is only the first step to treatment, which can lead to improved patients' health if they are found to be HIV-positive, as well as prevent them from spreading infection.
The phenomenon is known as "treatment cascade," which Frieden addressed during the conference call. By "improving what we call the treatment cascade, increasing the number and proportion of people whose infection is controlled whose viral load is suppressed, we will reduce the risk for everyone in society," he said. "That's a critical goal for us to work with communities, health care providers, and most importantly with people infected with HIV so they can get the care and services they need to live long and productive lives, be healthy, stay out of the hospital, and not to infect other people."
Furthermore, studies have shown that people who know they are HIV-positive are less likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as unprotected sex and sharing needles.
"We can and must achieve a generation that is free from HIV and AIDS," said Dr. Kevin Fenton, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at the CDC.
"It will take a concerted effort at all levels across our nation to empower all young people, especially young gay and bisexual youth, with the tools and resources they need to protect themselves from HIV infection," he said.
An openly gay man, Fenton, who participated in the conference call, is stepping down from his position at the end of the year to return to his native England. He has served as head of the CDC's HIV/AIDS division for seven years.
Currently, an estimated 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV.


text:
Quote:No, because evolution has no "highest forms". There is no "next" being that's "higher" than it's predecessor; that's not the way evolution works. Either a particular organism can survive and reproduce in its environment, or it can't. In any case, I don't see see much evolution coming from humans any time soon, as humans are pretty good at changing their environments before being changed by them.
Quote:Id love to know exactly how life was formed, the big bang is pretty convincing but no hard evidence.
Quote:So, that being said...Let's all hold hands and pray that some day the world will become "one".


text:
photo 1 of 31
알레시오 사카라
TRAINING: In Rome we do a lot of strength and conditioning in the morning and boxing and BJJ in the evening. Now I'm in Florida at ATT and we do a lot of great sparring with elite fighters.
When and why did you start training for fighting? I was 11 years old when I started to train boxing. At 18 I started to train BJJ and MMA.
Specific accomplishments in amateur competition? 29-3 in amateur boxing.
Specific accomplishments in pro competition? 8-1 pro boxing record, fought for IBF youth cruiserweight boxing title. Black belt in BJJ under Marcus "Conan" Silveira
Do you have any heroes? Minotauro and Minotoro Nogueira.
What is your favorite technique? Leg Kicks
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? A dream come true! I get to test my power at a higher level.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? Just basic studies.
What was your job before you started fighting? I had all kinds of jobs but I was born a fighter and that is what I've always done.
Getty Images reserves the right to pursue unauthorized users of this image or clip. If you violate our intellectual property you may be liable for: actual damages, loss of income, and profits you derive from the use of this image or clip, and, where appropriate, the costs of collection and/or statutory damages up to $150,000 (USD).


text:
I was digging through my old email account and found these pics that AGD had me host and post on AO.
I was digging through my old email account and found these pics that AGD had me host and post on AO.
I remember drooling on these pictures for months...
Those are the ones I'm missing. Not sure where they went.
Wow, amazing the diversity of colors that were made. Were these the special order batch or was it common for them to be so differently anodized? Looking at the brown with red sponge and black splatter.... pretty unique.
I just touched myself...
I remember when I saw some of those pics on AO in 2003? and they still effect me in the same way than nearly 10 years ago.
Finest Porn!
Sexiest gun ever made.
^^^QFT^^^Originally Posted by BigEvil
holy hell..
anyone who wants to sell me any of those markers please hit me up.
holy fricking hell no matter how many times i see them, its just awsome.
I'm adding a few more from Bunny's site - may as well make this a complete set.
Simply amazing. Works of art and craftsmanship.
I was at the factory for part of that. I'll find the pictures if I can
To leave feedback: Click seller/buyers name, Click feedback score, Click leave feedback
I think #12 purple to black fade is my fave. With #3 green to clear close behind... but only because I could make it jets themed
This is AMAZING!!!!! Thanks so much for posting it!
I never saw some of those. The green ones must be really rare and I'm not even talking about that camo one. Fantastic!!
... thats all...
Ok im sold... ill take em all, just let me know where to ship my soul & left testie.
How about we trade for a 98 with me adding $20.
In all seriousness though those are sexy guns and I want one so bad. Gotta love AGD
No "lowballs".Originally Posted by sQuidvision
please anyone else with pictures of xmags personal or otherwise please post them up.
amazing pictures, i am really loving that brown one.
Here are some pictures from RobAGD when the xmags first came out :-)
Probably the only marker I ever wanted and never owned.
Max Lundqvist's 1 of 2 Angel Joy A1
DEMONIC Freeflow Cocker No. 4 of 13 My Feedback
I've snagged all these and added them to my Facebook album for posterity. Nothing like using them for free cloud storage.
The 2 tone fade xmags look standard cause I seen alot of them . My question is where the acid wash and 3 color fade xmags special order/limited edition?
I hate to quote pictures, but I was wondering if someone could answer this question...
Can anyone identify this barrel? (Top picture of the thread)
Thanks Justus!
Is it a JnJ barrel?
I know there was a handful of stock barrels, but I've never seen this one up close...
Xmag Gen1 One Piece
Xmag Gen 2 One Piece
Euro Xmag One Piece (Perfect Bore)
Unknown ???
Last edited by Bunny; 10-24-2012 at 04:14 PM.
It looks exactly like a stock Tac One barrel, which is a J&J.
Thanks Justus! It will make it easier for future Xmag restorations to get a stock barrel
By the way, anyone else notice the dual detent Xmags, they always seemed to puzzle me.
this so awsome,
i love the look of these guns, who cares about weight, these are awsome.


text:
Welcome disc golfer! You can login or create an account.
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The Discraft Pro-D Magnet is stable putter with a stability rating of 0.0. Not too hard, not too soft... it is used by thousands of seasoned disc golf players, goes in and stays in. It is excellent in the wind and makes a superb short range driver and approach disc.
Pro-D plastic is the least expensive. It's great for beginners as entry level discs and pros love them too when they get 'beat up' and 'broken in'. It offers superior grip and comes in a rainbow of colors.
About Color and Availability - Pictured above are some available Pro-D colors. This model may not be available in all of these colors. Likewise, each weight range may not be available in all colors. Therefore we ask you to list and prioritize your color preferences and to give us guidance if the color or weight range you want happens to not be available. Feel free to contact us if you need more specific info.
Available in Pro D plastic, Stability 0.0, Weights 150 Class and 164-176 grams.
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The Discraft Soft Magnet was specially engineered for players who love the Magnet but prefer a softer putter that grabs the chains. It's more tacky and floppy, with good grip for consistent release every time. A superb short range driver and approach disc too.


text:
The local economy showed signs of life this past year with several groundbreaking events for big development projects around Hudson County, and discussions among residents and officials about future projects in Hoboken, Jersey City, Secaucus, and North Bergen.
Jersey City
This month was a December to remember for residents of the Journal Square section of Jersey City. Only a week apart, the City Council and Planning Board approved plans for two separate residential high-rise apartment complexes, including the long-discussed Journal Squared (J2). With 112 floors between them, the projects are expected to break ground in 2013.
The projects will be a symbol of redevelopment of the long-beleaguered neighborhood, once the city's economic epicenter.
A divided council approved a controversial measure to allow the construction of a 42-story residential development near Summit Avenue, an amended version of the Journal Square 2060 Redevelopment Plan. It will allow the developer to add 17 more stories than zoning laws allow. In return for granting the variance, the city will receive slightly under an acre of land for a municipal park.
"[Journal Square] is an area in need of redevelopment and this is a viable project that will help accomplish that." – Nidia Lopez
Elsewhere in town, it was announced in May that the Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company, which owns and operates 84 hotels around the country, had won the rights to transform the condemned One Exchange Place property into a 13-story, 247-room hotel. The company said it planned to do a full renovation of the site and that, if plans remain on schedule, the hotel could open for business as early as fall 2014.
In September, Goya Foods Inc. broke ground on what will be its new 615,000 square foot headquarters on County Road. Merging some operations from the company's two existing headquarters in Secaucus and West Bethpage, N.Y., the site will also create about 80 new jobs and 150 temporary construction jobs open to Jersey City residents.
Goya's decision to stay in New Jersey (the company considered sites in Pennsylvania and New York) was an economic victory for Gov. Christopher Christie, who offered Goya tax incentives to remain based in the state.
The biggest development story in Hoboken this year was the back-and-forth over 52 acres of land owned by NJ Transit along the city's southern border. The transit agency and the city have different visions for the scale of the commercial and residential development that should go there.
Back in 2008, negotiations stalled after NJ Transit submitted a proposal for a 70-story office tower among the residential units. City officials believed the scale of the project was too large.
This past September, officials from the company submitted an abridged version of their proposal, lowering the height of the tower to 27 stories and adding a 26-story residential building. Meanwhile, the city has a plan with towers that are 19 and 12 stories, respectively, and also includes a performing arts center, an accelerator space for businesses, and bike and pedestrian paths. The city's plan would create 475 residential units, while NJ Transit's would create 1,155.
A week after both visions were presented, activists voiced concerns over both proposals at a public meeting, criticizing the city's plan for its lack of parks and NJ Transit's plan for being too dense and crowded.
Meanwhile, city officials were able to get behind an announcement that a new 14-story waterfront building will be built just south of the W Hotel, the final piece of the puzzle in the city's master plan for its 26-acre waterfront. Textbook giant Pearson Education signed a 15-year lease as the building's first tenant, bringing 900 jobs. The building, developed by SJP Properties, will create approximately 600 construction jobs and will be LEED Silver Certified, highlighting its distinction as environmentally friendly.
At the end of the year, it was revealed that a developer would like to build a 20-story hotel on property owned by the U.S. Post Office near Hoboken's south waterfront. The post office and developer were considering the plans, but Hoboken officials said the project and its scope have not been approved by any city agency. So far, the city has one hotel, the W on the waterfront.
The Xchange at Secaucus Junction, a residential and commercial site that opened as a counterpart to the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station, expanded in Secaucus in 2012. In March, the site's developers, Atlantic Realty Development Corporation, announced Phase III and IV of their plan, which will include a marina on the Hackensack River waterfront with restaurants, stores, and a recreation center.
Phase III of Xchange, which holds 317 residential units, opened on April 1, and construction began on Phase IV over the summer.
Over the summer, Roseland Properties and Hartz Mountain Industries, the two companies that developed properties along the Hudson River waterfront in Weehawken, made big splashes in Secaucus. In June, Roseland opened Osprey Cover, a 116-unit residential complex on Meadowlands Parkway.
In July, Hartz Mountain announced plans for a massive 500-unit rental development on a 13-acre tract owned by ORICA Rug, a commercial business.
North Bergen
Drama continued to surround the proposed 59-unit Appleview condominium development on the North Bergen/Guttenberg border throughout 2012. Much of the controversy was focused on a natural gas pipeline on the site of the proposed development.
The North Bergen Planning Board had approved the project despite residents' protests on March 30, with numerous conditions. A superior court judge ruled that the project had to go back to the Planning Board so that more evidence could be presented. The next hearing will take place in January.
Meanwhile, a residential development called AvalonBay opened its doors in June, with 164 residential units and 17,000 square feet of retail space, creating additional jobs for North Bergen.
Although U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez was unable to attend the grand opening, he sent a staff member to relay this message: "Smart growth projects like this give residents what they are looking for: easy access to work and to world class restaurants, entertainment and shopping on both sides of the river. It's exciting to see projects like this coming to our communities."
A controversial plan for a seven-store strip mall at 88th Street and Tonnelle Avenue made headlines in April after several Zoning Board of Adjustment and Alcoholic Beverage Control meetings spun out of control. Some residents said the project would add to an already congested traffic situation.
But a lawyer for a proposed liquor store in the mall saw a conspiracy. He accused protestors from the Concerned Citizens of North Bergen of only rallying against the new store because the group's leader, Larry Wainstein, owns a separate liquor store very close by.
The matter has still not been resolved.
West New York
Residents clashed with out-of-town developer Capodagli Properties throughout 2012 over a proposed residential high-rise on the Boulevard East site of a long-vacant Exxon gas station. As early as March, the town's zoning board meetings became dramatic as residents gathered in protest against the Meridia Le Boulevard, a 13-story building.
The proposed building would hold 123 rental units (the area is zoned for 69) and would sit on 13,194 square feet of land (the law requires such a building be built on at least 40,000 square feet).
The board hopes to vote on the proposal at a Jan. 24 meeting.
In August town officials and representatives from the developer Lennar Urban broke ground on the first of five luxury residential buildings dubbed "The Avenue Collection." Four years in the planning, the $50 million, seven-story building will house 74 one, two and three-bedroom units costing an average of $1.4 million each.
Once all five buildings are finished, the Avenue Collection, located just south of the Port Imperial Ferry Terminal, the area will be home to 669 glass-built condos. The revolutionary design is a noted departure from the area's traditional wooden and brick look.
"We are in the middle of somewhat of a building boom," said Mayor Richard Turner at the ceremony. "The future looks very bright for Weehawken."
Dean DeChiaro may be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com
The year in transportation
The Hudson Bergen Light Rail train runs routinely from Bayonne all the way through North Bergen. In October, U.S. senators Robert Menendez and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) held a press conference at the Second Street station in Hoboken to announce federal funding of a study into how to most effectively expand the system.
Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy were on hand with the senators to accept $400,000 from the Federal Transportation Authority, which will be used study three potential improvements to the system: a new station in Jersey City, new rails for sections of track around Hoboken Terminal to allow for more trains, and an evaluation of the effect of the trains on traffic congestion around Paterson Plank Road.
This was a good year for Hudson County's cyclists. Bike lanes were established along River Road in July, allowing enthusiasts to ride from Bulls Ferry Road in Weehawken to Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, nearly a mile away.
The most unfortunate transportation news of 2012 was the devastation and subsequent closing of Hoboken Terminal after Hurricane Sandy. Located on the Hudson River, the terminal suffered serious damage as a result of the storm, and PATH service to and from the station was suspended for weeks. Toward the end of the year, N.J. Transit resumed temporary service from Hoboken to 33rd Street in New York. Service between Hoboken and the World Trade Center remained closed.
Zimmer said in early December that full service will be restored to Hoboken early in 2013.


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Blizzard's decision to require a constant connection to play Diablo III understandably upset some pockets of the Internet. However, the company is sticking to its decision, saying that it will prevent the extensive hacking of Diablo 2.
Wilson cites two problems with an offline mode, one of which is the ease of cheating and hacks. "Essentially we would have to put our server architecture onto the client so that it can run its own personal server," director Jay Wilson told PC Gamer at Gamescom. "Doing that essentially is one of the reasons why Diablo 2 was a much easier game to hack than obviously any other game you'd mention and so it's what led to extensive cheating and item dupes and things like that." He says the community was vocal about fixing those cheats, and the team is "not really going to be able to do better than Diablo 2" without an online requirement.
The item duplication in Diablo 2 seems to be of particular concern to Blizzard, most likely because of its new real money auction house. Selling in-game items for actual money is only viable if those items are rare through the game systems themselves, so any duplication glitch would completely break the auction house economy.
The other problem is, basically, that Blizzard wants to encourage online play, which they see as the "right" way to play the game. "So for us we've always viewed it as an online game - the game's not really being played right if it's not online, so when we have that specific question of why are we allowing it? Because that's the best experience, why would you want it any other way?"
Wilson also responded fairly bluntly to users who may have an unstable internet connection. "I mean, in this day and age the notion that there's this a whole vast majority of players out there that don't have online connectivity - this doesn't really fly any more." He points out that his hotel alone has nine public wi-fi networks. "So the notion that there's just tons and tons of people out there that aren't connected - I don't think is really accurate."
Finally, Wilson tops off his response with some light snark. "An online experience is what we want to provide for this game," he said. "Every choice you make is going to omit some part of the audience. Some people don't like fantasy games, so should we have not made Diablo a fantasy game, because some people don't like that? Some people don't like barbarians. Should we not have put a barbarian in the game because some people don't like it?"
Blunt responses aside, his concerns over the item duplication echo what we had previously heard when online technologies VP Robert Bridenbecker expressed surprise at the reaction to the online requirement. Item duplication seems to be one of Blizzard's major concerns, and that's amplified by the new auction house, so it's unlikely this decision will be overturned anytime soon.


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Hi All,
So I'm trying to build my second EP mag using a Pm5 UL frame and I'm having trouble fitting the RAM in between the frame and rail. There's a 1/4 inch of the ram sticking out so it prevents the rail from sitting there. Has anyone built one of these frames, and how did you make it fit using the stock pm5 board. I could go utb, but I prefer to keep the stock board. As always, any help will be appreciated. The picture below is built by kenjay on mcb.


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2K Games announces the promised "fresh look at the long-awaited squad-based tactical shooter in development at 2K Marin" with the announcement that the first-person shooter formerly known as XCOM is being rebranded as a third-person shooter called The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, saying the game will be released on August 20th in North America and August 23rd in other territories, with preorders are already underway. This rebranding was tipped by some new domains spotted a couple of months ago, and suspicions such a move was coming were reinforced when the game's website recently went missing, but as recently indicated, they are not severing ties with the XCOM universe. The switch to a third-person perspective was also tipped last year, and is touched upon in an interview on games.on.net, where 2K Marin creative director Morgan Gray talks about the project and these changes. The game's new website is online, here is some concept art and a live-action trailer, and here's word:
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Thailand supplies a large portion of America's seafood. But Thailand's giant fishing fleet is chronically short of up to 60,000 fishermen per year, leaving captains scrambling to find crew. Human traffickers have stepped in, selling captives from Cambodia and Myanmar to the captains for a few hundred dollars each. Once at sea, the men often go months, or even years, without setting foot on land.
First of two parts
Cambodian Vannak Prum's destiny changed in a dirt-road town called Malai. It's a Cambodian outpost on the border with Thailand that is known for its involvement in the trafficking of human beings.
Prum arrived in Malai seven years ago searching for work. His wife was pregnant, and he needed money for the hospital bill. He intended to work for two months, but ended up meeting a human trafficker.
A few days later, Prum was sold onto a Thai fishing boat the length of a basketball court, where he worked in tight conditions with 10 men. He says he didn't reach land again for three years.
"I didn't get paid," he says. "I remained in the middle of the sea and worked day and night."
As Thailand grows more prosperous, its citizens are shunning fishing work in which, even in the best cases, men are away for months chasing dwindling fish stocks.
Injuries and fatalities are common, and seasickness — at least in the beginning — is constant. Wicharn Sirichai-Ekawat owns a small fleet of fishing boats and consults with the National Fisheries Association of Thailand.
"There are about 150,000 men working on the boats, and about 40 percent of them are using foreign labor," he says. "We depend on them."
Some of these men are recruited legally, but others, like Prum, are sold into bondage. They report 20-hour days under mind-numbing conditions: minimal fresh food or water, no medicine apart from aspirin, cramped bunks, unsafe conditions and the relentless smell of fish.
"Sometimes the winch cable would accidentally cut off," Prum says. "If any of us stayed in front of it, the cable would injure or even kill us."
Ship bosses pose their own hazards. "One man's head was cut off and thrown in the water," Prum says. "I saw it."
Reports Of Abuse, Killings
The United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking interviewed fishermen on Thai boats who are from Myanmar, also known as Burma; 59 percent said they witnessed a murder by their captain.
The fishermen also said that captains often give workers drugs — mainly amphetamines — so they will keep working through the night.
The fishing boats are able to stay at sea for extended periods thanks to a network of shuttle boats, or motherships, that come and pick up the fish that's been caught and deliver fuel, food, ice and other supplies that fishing boats need to keep going.
Ultimately, Thai fish products show up on American shelves in a variety of ways, from fish sticks to pet food.
The Thai boats catch an estimated 1 in 5 pounds of American mackerel and sardines, and a good portion of anchovies on American pizzas. Thailand's two biggest seafood exports — farmed shrimp and tuna — are not implicated in these particular abuses, but have labor and environmental concerns of their own.
Now 33, Prum looks out the window in Malai, perplexed by the changes that have transformed the place over the past seven years.
"When I was here last, there was a roundabout," he says. "Now I'm lost, because they removed the traffic circle."
It's midnight, and Prum cruises slowly through the dark. He is looking for his trafficker.
A Network Of Traffickers
The man who sold Vannak Prum into these conditions is part of a loose network of human traffickers that stretches from the bustling ports of Thailand, deep into remote villages in neighboring Cambodia and Myanmar.
Malai's district chief, Tep Khunnal, says traffickers move people through the area's illegal border crossings with the help of the Cambodian military and police.
"I don't know if the Thai side takes money," he says, "but I know they take it on the Cambodian side." Khunnal says he wants to address the problem, but too many people profit from human smuggling.
In Prum's case, he met a taxi driver who convinced him to search for better paying work in Thailand. When the driver brought him to Malai, Prum was introduced to a man who was a trafficker, but Prum got cold feet and tried to back out.
The driver, however, presented Prum with a $12 tab for the trip, which Prum couldn't pay. The trafficker then stepped in and paid the fare, and that effectively sealed Prum's fate.
The trafficker then sold Prum to another set of smugglers in Thailand. The driver turned a profit, the trafficker turned a profit, the local money changer turned a profit — and Prum was locked up in a Thai port.
Prum pressed his face against a crack in the building.
"I saw the sea and boats," he says. "That's when I realized I was trafficked."
Officials Get A Cut
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch says Thai police also profit off of men like Prum.
"Most of the time when migrants are arrested, the police aren't planning to make a case or hand them over to immigration, as they're required to do," he says. "What they're doing is holding them and then trying to extort money out of them."
Thai police aren't alone.
"Every part of the Thai officers will benefit from this — the province, police, labor officers," says former Marine Police Commander Surapol Thuanthong. "They all get bribes from illegal migrants and related businesses."
Thuanthong says Thailand's Marine Police have tried to convince the Thai government to make the workers legal so they can be tracked and protected — but the sheer number of undocumented workers makes it impossible.
"[The government] says it's too many and will affect the stability of the country," he says. "So they don't do anything."
Building A System To Track Workers
Sirichai-Ekawat says the National Fisheries Association of Thailand is trying to establish recruitment centers to register and track workers willing to work Thai boats.
If it works, legalizing workers could undercut the black market in men. But it's too soon to tell if that plan will work. In the meantime, men like Prum continue to be sold onto the seas against their will.
This river of men weighs heavily on Prum's mind as he winds through Malai.
"I wanted to come help so Cambodians wouldn't go work in a foreign country," he says. "And now you see everything has changed completely — the road, the house — everything."
Prum didn't find his trafficker. He slumps against the car door.
If he had found him, what would he have done?
"I was angry before," says Prum, "because he did a bad thing. But now I don't feel any anger or revenge at all. I wanted to find him and tell him not to do this job anymore because it does harm. "
With that, the car turns around and drives past the empty money-changing stalls and the restaurants with cots for border-crossers set up in back. Prum keeps his gaze straight ahead as he leaves Malai. He doesn't say a word.
Several groups are helping ex-fishermen get back to their home countries and are supporting them once they get there. They include Tenaganita, Healthcare Center for Children, LSCW, the Labor Protection Network and LICADHO. The Made in a Free World app lets you ask brands about labor practices in their supply chain as you shop.
Research support for this series was provided by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute.
A story now about the dark side of Thailand's fishing trade. Thailand is the world's third largest exporter of fish, and a major supplier to the United States. Its fleet of boats and trawlers is massive, but it's also chronically short of workers, and human traffickers are sending unwilling migrants to work on Thai boats. Reporter Becky Palstrom has this story of how one Cambodian man was lured onto a fishing boat and forced to stay for three years.
BECKY PALSTROM, BYLINE: In a remote Cambodian village, Vannak Prum is harvesting his mother's rice.
VANNAK PRUM: (Speaking foreign language)
PALSTROM: Prum is 33 years old. He's been a monk, a soldier, a rice farmer, a husband, and for three years a slave on a Thai fishing boat.
PRUM: (Through translator) I didn't get paid. I remained in the middle of the sea. I worked day and night.
PALSTROM: Prum and nine other men lived and worked on a Thai fishing boat the length of an 18-wheeler. Prum's captain and the crewmaster were Thai and armed. The rest spoke three other languages and were working as slaves.
PRUM: (Through translator) While we were working on the boat, there were verbal disputes between us. Some people worked harder, some people worked less. Danger always happens at night.
PALSTROM: Thailand's long-haul fishing fleet has tens of thousands of men on the high seas. Around 60,000 of these men, or 40 percent, are not Thai - they're immigrants, many from Burma and Cambodia. Not all the Cambodians and Burmese men are forced onto the boats, but those that are might stay at sea for months or years because their boats are re-supplied out at sea. Prum didn't see land for three years.
MANFRED HORNUNG: So just to mention the psychological pressure, always being crammed together over years, you know, not being able to leave this confined space - that creates also a lot of aggression.
PALSTROM: Manfred Hornung spent years rescuing Cambodian slaves with a group called LICADHO.
HORNUNG: If you want to keep this kind of slave colony under control, you have to use means, either being drugs or violence, in order to keep people down.
PALSTROM: Guns deter mutiny and drugs, mainly amphetamines, keep the men working through the night. When Prum left his village in Cambodia, he never thought he'd end up in these conditions.
PRUM: (Through translator) At that time my wife was pregnant and was expecting to deliver a baby within two months. We didn't have the money for the medical bill.
PALSTROM: He planned to be gone two months, back in time for the birth. But he was intercepted by a taxi driver who doubled as a broker. Brokers often recruit for the human traffickers who then smuggle men into Thailand. The driver offered Prum a job.
PRUM: (Through translator) I asked what kind of job, and he said drying fish.
PALSTROM: Thai boats have such a bad reputation that most brokers promise jobs in other sectors like fish processing, construction or factory work.
PRUM: (Through translator) I said I wouldn't go. I was afraid that I would be cheated and that I wouldn't come back home.
PALSTROM: But after some time, when he didn't find work, he changed his mind. He agreed to go with the driver to a town called Malai.
Malai is a Cambodian border town. Here in the market, Thai noodles, soy sauce and clothes lie side by side with deep fried water snake. Tep Khannal is the district chief of Malai. He says human traffickers line the pockets of the money-lenders, the taxi drivers, even the Cambodian military. He says he can't stop it because too many people are on the traffickers' payroll.
TEP KHANNAL: (Through translator) I want to put an end to this but I cannot handle this problem alone.
PALSTROM: Once Prum and the others crossed the river into Thailand, the trafficker made them get into the back of a truck. Like logs of wood, they had to lie side-by-side and even on top of each other to fit. Prum still believed he was heading for a good paying job on land, drying fish. But his truck pulled into a Thai port and the men were offloaded into a room.
PRUM: (Through translator) On the interior wall of that building, where I was confined, there were boat paintings and descriptions like: In the middle of the sea, I miss my wife, children and parents.
PALSTROM: The house was locked from the outside.
PRUM: (Through translator) I watched through a hole in the wall, I saw the sea and boats. I realized I was trafficked and sold to work on a fishing boat.
PALSTROM: Once on the boat, men are supposed to be protected by the Marine Police. Surapol Thuantong is a former Marine Police commander. He says police and Marine police are part of the problem.
SURAPOL THUANTONG: Every part of the Thai officers benefits from this. From the province, police, labor officers - they all get bribes from illegal migrants and the related businesses.
PALSTROM: In fact, despite the scale of the problem, Thai police only investigated 11 cases of labor trafficking in 2010. Thuantong says there are rules to protect the men, but the Thai government is reluctant to enforce them.
THUANTONG: (Through translator) Well, we stand in a position that we can't follow the rules. Everyone around us is against the rules. We know it's against the law, but we can't fix it, because if we fix it, then this business would be crippled.
PALSTROM: Somchai Wongthong is the under-secretary for Thailand's Department of Labor, the division charged with enforcing Thai labor laws. He says they can't enforce labor laws at sea, so they ask the Navy to do the checks.
SOMCHAI WONGTHONG: (Through translator) The Thai Navy's job is to protect Thai waters. So we should trust that they will do their job and fulfill their duty.
PALSTROM: Trust but no oversight.
WONGTHONG: (Through translator) Hopefully one day in the future, if there are more budget allocations, we can work on that, but now there are certain constraints.
LUIS DEBACA: We've seen a few cases investigated.
PALSTROM: Ambassador Luis deBaca directs the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
DEBACA: To date we're not seeing an awful lot of results yet from the new focus on the abuse that's happening out on the boats.
PALSTROM: Ambassador deBaca says that the State Department's concern goes beyond humanitarian issues. He says slavery on Thai boats is closely tied to overfishing throughout Southeast Asia.
DEBACA: At the end of the day, though, without a coordinated effort by governments in the region, the enslavement of the foreign migrants in the east Asian waters is going to continue to contribute to an impending food security crisis. And that's something that we're very concerned about.
PALSTROM: This impunity concerns the State Department for more than just humanitarian reasons. Captains that violate labor laws are also likely to violate the laws that limit over-fishing. With fisheries already on the decline, this poses real problems. The issue of slavery on Thai boats very quickly becomes a food security problem for the U.S. and the world. For NPR News, this is Becky Palstrom in Songkhla, Thailand.
MONTAGNE: That story was co-reported by Shannon Service. Tomorrow, the extent of corruption in Thailand's fishing industry and what that means for U.S. companies buying fish from abusive boats.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: So if I wanted to smuggle anything, if I wanted to smuggle weapons, if I wanted to smuggle drugs, if I wanted to do all these various different things, put it on a fishing boat, because nobody checks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Puzzle Levels
Download a FREE Solution for your puzzles!
Click Image to Enlarge
Tiled Tetraminx with White Body with glue
Product Information
|Mix up than put back to start
|Level 5 - Easy
|Meffert's Rotational Puzzles
|7 cm x 7 cm x 7 cm / 3.75 in x 3.75 in x 3.75 in
Product Description
This is a rotational puzzle that comes from Meffert's Puzzles. If you like the Rubik's cube then you will love this 4 color rotational puzzle! The "Tetraminx II" is based on the original design with hollowed out parts to save some material and shipping cost. By removing the cap tiles it exposes the screw in case you like to adjust the "Tetraminx II".
Comes with glue incase the tile pieces fall off.
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New Construction in Arizona Proves to be a Sound Investment
Many homeowners still question whether energy investments are worth their time and money. While we can't deny the fact that there are upfront costs, energy efficiency has proved time and time again to benefit homeowners in the short- and long-term. Case in point: Sterling at Silverleaf, a single-family new construction project in Scottsdale, Arizona, that received gold-level certification by the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).
Nathan Day, developer and president of Sterling Collection Development Group, decided to put his new green homes to the test to determine if his investment in building to NAHB standards, which can be 10 to 12% more than building a traditional home, was worth it.
Day hired a certified home energy rating team to compare Sterling's energy performance against a traditional home, comparable in size and layout. The test found that Day's green home saved 74% in energy costs per month when compared to the traditional home. That translated to a $184 average energy and gas bill per month compared to $440. Heating, cooling, hot water, lighting, appliances, and photovoltaics were all factors in the test. (See graphs below for a side-by-side comparison of a traditional home, Lot 3, and a Sterling home, Lot 1.)
The graph shows the gas usage in Lot 1 at Sterling (built to gold-level NAHB standards) versus Lot 3 (a traditional home of the exact layout and floor plan).
Day's green home saved 74% in energy costs per month when compared to the traditional home. That translated to a $184 average energy and gas bill per month compared to $440. Heating, cooling, hot water, lighting, appliances and PV were all factors in the test.
The top money-saving features in these homes are:
- Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation. Sterling used Gaco Wallfoam, which reduces the monthly energy bill by up to 40%, improves indoor air quality, creates a comfortable, draft-free home, controls exterior and interior noise levels and increases the home's value.
- Energy Efficient HVAC System. Sterling chose Trane 20Xi HVAC systems because of their high SEER rating and their patented CleanEffects and FreshEffects filtration systems.
- LED Lighting & Eco-Mode App. In addition to having LED bulbs throughout the home, Sterling created a proprietary iPad app, developed by Crestron, that dims the lighting in the home to 85% power. When set to Eco-Mode, the dimmers restrict the flow of electricity to 85% of full power levels, automatically saving 15% on an energy bill.
- Hybrid Water Heater. Sterling uses the Eternal hybrid water heater, which is 98% efficient, durable, and leaves almost no carbon footprint.
- Dual Pane Low-E Windows. In the average single-family home, 20% of all heat loss occurs through the windows. Sterling installed dual pane low-e windows because of their tested and proven cost savings.
"From a practical standpoint, it makes good financial sense to spend the extra money initially required to build a more efficient home in light of the decreased costs of operating and the rising costs of energy," said Day. "When people think of 'green' homes, they think they have to sacrifice comfort. We've proven that you can actually improve a home by going green—you decrease energy costs, increase its value, and improve health benefits."
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The money couldn't have come at a better time.
A gala was held on May 21 for Palisades Emergency Residence Corporation – which runs a homeless shelter in Union City and sliding-scale health services throughout Hudson County – raising $50,000, according to Executive Director Emory Edwards. "After Hurricane Sandy, we've seen a 25 percent increase in people looking for services," Edwards said. This includes serving 1,000 more meals each month than usual, and 2,000 more in January.
Mayor Gerald Drasheff of Guttenberg, Mayor Nicholas Sacco of North Bergen, and Mayor Richard Turner of Weehawken attended and lent their support, according to Edwards.
The $50,000 figure was $10,000 more than the gala usually raises, according to Edwards.
In 2012, PERC provided nearly 20,000 nights of shelter to men, women and families; more than 80,000 meals through their soup kitchen; and groceries for 12,000 people through its weekly food pantry.
"For more than 30 years, PERC has been providing hope and help to our neighbors in need." – Executive Director Emory Edwards
Shelter, soup kitchen, food pantry
PERC is a Hudson County nonprofit organization based in Union City that offers emergency shelter to individuals and families, a soup kitchen, a food pantry, permanent housing for chronically homeless individuals, and other community services.
Drasheff contacted PERC for help when his town had a building collapse a few years ago, and 30 families were displaced. The organization responded with food for the victims.
"We were able to bring a bunch of things down to our residents staying in a hotel," Drasheff said. "I think they provide great services. "They're great people."
Palisades President Bruce J. Markowitz honored
At the event, Bruce J. Markowitz, president and CEO of Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, was honored with the organization's prestigious You Change Lives -- Community Leadership Award. PERC Board members and representatives presented the award to Markowitz.
"The achievement award recognizes Markowitz for his leadership and commitment to sustainable healthcare systems for our community's most fragile residents," Edwards said.
"I am honored to accept PERC's You Change Lives - Community Leadership Award on behalf of the Palisades Medical Center employees, medical staff, volunteers and community supporters who dedicate their lives to caring for the health and well being of those in need of care and support," said Markowitz. "At Palisades Medical Center, we are proud to be longtime partners with PERC – an amazing organization that does so much to change lives and strengthen our local communities."
Palisades Medical Center is located in North Bergen and serves a population of 400,000 in Hudson and southern Bergen counties. The non-profit medical center is affiliated with the Hackensack University Health Network.
Finding a place to live
One of the figures PERC officials are most proud of is their 45 percent success rate in moving people from their 40-bed shelter in Union City to a place they can call their own.
"We work really hard to get people into permanent housing," Edwards said. "That's our goal. Our best days are when people are moving out."
Local business leaders and officials
The event united more than 250 business leaders, public officials and local residents. All proceeds from the Annual Gala support PERC's mission to provide food, shelter and services for low-income families.
"For more than 30 years, PERC has been providing hope and help to our neighbors in need," Edwards said.
How you can help
Those interested in assisting the organization's mission can do so any time by making a contribution. They can go to the group's website, www.percshelter.org. All money raised will go directly toward PERC's mission to provide food, shelter and services for low-income families.
They can also volunteer, by calling the office at 201-348-8150. Even with 7,000 volunteer hours last year, PERC could use more.
"We could use more volunteers each month to serve dinner or work the food pantry," Edwards said. "Being a small organization, we have are limited in terms of resources. Volunteers are our lifeline."
Other ways to reach PERC are by email, firstname.lastname@example.com or in person, 108 36th St., Union City, NJ 07087.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at email@example.com.


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Motor: Permanently lubricated unit bearing motor with 20cc of oil. Enclosed rotor provides long lasting trouble free operation. Thermally protected, 1300 RPM.
Fan: High efficiency dynamically balanced, 5-bladed aluminum impeller fan provides 185 CFM.
Elements: Elements assemblies shall be non-glowing design. Element assemblies shall consisting of three steel sheathed heating tubes in a furnace brazed, plate finned, block design. Each sheathed tube shall contain coiled Ni-Chrome wire, embedded in an insulator of magnesium oxide. The element assembly shall provide a minimum of seven (7) possible wattage configurations available for selection during field installation. The use of external resistors, diodes, or other weak links to obtain multiple wattages will not be acceptable.
Safety Limit: The thermal cutout turns power off to the element in the event of overheating, and automatically resets when the temperature returns to normal.
Safety Light: Illuminates when the thermal cutout trips and turns off when the limit resets.
3-Position Switch: Heat/Fan/Off Switch allows for heat or summer fan only operation. The DPST switchprovides a "positive off" that disconnects all ungrounded conductors. Not available on ceiling models.
Fan Delay Switch: The fan continues to operate after the thermostat shuts off in order to remove the residual heat left in the elements.
Wall Box: 20 gauge electro-galvanized steel. Factory installed ground wire. Zero Clearance to insulation.
Grill: 20 gauge steel finished in a gloss white powder coated paint.
Options: Surface box - retrofit grill - almond colored grill - tamperproof controls - ceiling models and units without thermostat installed for remote thermostat placement.