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Talenthouse needed a new print or packaging design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 80 designs submitted by 31 freelance designers.
Talenthouse believes that creative talent lives everywhere – from the biggest cities to smallest towns - and have developed Talenthouse as an online platform for artists to find projects, collaborate and gain global exposure.
We provide artists, designers and the creative community with opportunities to participate in unique Creative Invite projects and get their work in front of the world's most iconic artists and brands.
We currently have projects in design, art, fashion, film, music and photography. Projects range from designing a book with world-renowned photographer Philippe McClelland, to remixing a track for Boy George, to submitting work to Dan Cameron (Sr. Curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York).
In addition, we have just launched a project looking for new designs for Talenthouse t-shirts ($1000 prize!)
About the Talenthouse logo
Talenthouse understands and recognizes the challenges that artists face when trying to reach their audiences and achieve recognition for their talents. For this reason, Talenthouse chose a logo taken from the West African "Adinkra" series of symbols, which depicts a snake climbing a raffia tree. The raffia tree has many thorns and is very challenging to climb. Simply translated, this symbol means "to perform the impossible."
For more information visit: http://www.talenthouse.com
Designers, artists and people in the creative community who are interested in working on unique projects with some of the most iconic brands and artists around the world.
Our target market is essentially the global creative community involved in design, art, film, fashion, music and photography.
In addition, our target market includes partners who want to spread the word about Talenthouse in their community or to their network. These could include students/professors at schools (design, art, music, fashion, film, photography), current Talenthouse artists, brands promoting the projects through their own channels, etc.
The flyer should mainly speak to the creative community, but also be something that a partner or supporter of talenthouse could also use.
We are looking for a cool flyer design that will clearly communicate the benefits of Talenthouse in a creative way to the creative community.
(To be used in global marketing materials)
* 4 x 6 (1/4 inch bleed)
* 2-sided
* 4-color
Brand Colors:
- Light Green (Hex #97C93F)
- Dark Green (Hex #7EC243)
- Grey (Hex #7B7B7B)
- Black
- White
Century Gothic
URL: http://www.talenthouse.com
Required Text:
- Talenthouse
- http://www.talenthouse.com
-Talenthouse provides the creative community with opportunities to participate in unique projects and get their work in front of the world's most iconic artists and brands.
- Find projects - collaborate with artists and brands. .
- Gain exposure - showcase your work.
- Get discovered - reach people seeking your talent.
- Art
- Music
- Film
- Fashion
- Design
- Photograhpy
.ai (CMYK) & .jpg (JPEG)
layered .psd (RGB) & .jpg (JPEG)
(Please do not use any stock images or clip art.)
Please explore and sign up on the Talenthouse website to understand what we're about and get ideas. http://www.talenthouse.com


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The tents are a poppin': Big-time Wimbledon fans were already lining up Thursday afternoon for the chance to get Centre Court tickets alloted to the first 500 people in the queue. A Centre Court ticket would assure the sighting of Andy Murray, the nation's great hope for the title.
(getty images via yahoo! sports)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Decision : CONF 008 XIII.A
SOC: Garamba National Park (Zaire)
Garamba National Park, Zaire: The representative of Zaire, the President Delegate General of the Zaire Institute for the Conservation of Nature (IZCN), presented the Committee with an up-to-date report on the progress of work undertaken by IZCN and the consortium formed by Unesco-World Heritage, IUCN/WWF and the Frankfurt Zoological Society. The main objective of the project is to safeguard the population of endangered northern white rhinoceros in the park. The project was progressing well and the equipment provided with support of the World Heritage Fund had helped to strengthen the protection of this park. Indeed, there had been no deaths of rhinoceros reported since 1984 and two baby rhinoceroses had been born in May and June in 1985, bringing the population to 15 specimens. The representative of Zaire stressed his Government's commitment to this project, which, in particular, would enable the rhinoceros population to build up its numbers in its natural habitat. The Committee congratulated the Zairois authorities on their laudable efforts to ensure the success of this project and hoped that sufficient progress could eventually be made to remove Garamba National Park from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
DocumentsDecisions Report
1985 Garamba National Park


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UBS news
Results from the Financial Businesses
Wealth Management & Business Banking
At the highest level ever recorded, Wealth Management pre-tax profit in first quarter 2005 was CHF 915 million, up 12% from CHF 818 million in fourth quarter 2004. The result was helped by the fact that goodwill amortization ceased in first quarter 2005. Excluding goodwill, the increase was 10%. The strong result reflected increased asset-based fees from the record invested asset base as well as higher client activity levels. Rising interest income, a reflection of the expansion of margin lending activities, also reinforced revenues. The higher client activity levels helped the gross margin on invested assets to rise to 104 basis points, up 5 basis points from fourth quarter 2004, when the margin was depressed by a number of timing effects.
Net new money in first quarter 2005 was CHF 15.4 billion, up from CHF 6.5 billion in fourth quarter 2004. This intake was the second-best ever, just behind first quarter 2004. The International Clients area recorded CHF 14.5 billion in net new money, driven by a record high inflow of CHF 5.6 billion into the domestic European business and further strong contributions from Asian clients. The Swiss Clients area showed an inflow of CHF 0.9 billion, a clear improvement from the outflow of CHF 0.7 billion in fourth quarter 2004, which was influenced by seasonal withdrawals.
The Business Banking Switzerland unit reported pre-tax profit of CHF 531 million in first quarter 2005, CHF 28 million or 6% higher than in fourth quarter 2004. The result shows the continued tight management of the cost base, with improved credit results reflecting the structural improvement of the loan portfolio in recent years. Total operating income was practically unchanged from fourth quarter 2004.
The loan portfolio, at CHF 139.4 billion on 31 March 2005, was CHF 2.3 billion above the level on 31 December 2004. A strong increase in private client mortgages and slightly increased demand from corporate clients offset the ongoing workout of the recovery portfolio.
Global Asset Management
The Global Asset Management unit reported pre-tax profit for first quarter 2005 of CHF 224 million, up from CHF 162 million in fourth quarter 2004. The result was helped by the fact that goodwill amortization ceased in first quarter 2005. Pre-goodwill, profit increased by CHF 31 million or 16% compared to last quarter. This increase was due to higher performance-based revenues and improved asset-based fees, reflecting strong net new money inflows and improved market valuations as well as the continuous shift to higher-margin products. Total operating expenses fell on lower general and administrative expenses, the latter partly offset by higher personnel expenses reflecting an increase in incentive-based compensation, which rose in line with revenues.
Net new money in the Institutional business in first quarter 2005 was CHF 5.1 billion, up from CHF 3.0 billion in fourth quarter 2004. Strong inflows were reported in equity mandates, primarily in Europe and the UK, as well as in money market mandates, mainly in the Americas. Net new money in the Wholesale Intermediary business was CHF 4.7 billion in first quarter 2005, up from CHF 0.5 billion in fourth quarter 2004. This was the best result since fourth quarter 2001. The main drivers were strong inflows into asset allocation, equity and fixed income funds in Europe and the Americas, partially offset by outflows of CHF 2.5 billion in money market funds, particularly in Europe.
Invested assets at the end of first quarter 2005 stood at CHF 635 billion, up from CHF 601 billion from 31 December 2004, reflecting strong net new money inflows, positive market performance and currency impacts.
Most funds show a strong relative performance over one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year periods.
Investment Bank
The Investment Bank's pre-tax profit in first quarter 2005 was CHF 1,303 million, down 19% from the record result in the same quarter a year earlier. Before goodwill amortization, pre-tax profit was down 22%.
Total operating income in first quarter 2005 was CHF 4,341 million, down 9% from the same quarter a year earlier. Revenues in the equities and fixed income, rates and currencies businesses remained resilient and both stood at their second-highest level on record, but were not able to match the record levels achieved in the same period a year earlier.
Equities revenues were down 4% from the same period in 2004, reflecting the weakening of the US dollar against the Swiss franc. The derivatives business, especially in Asia, as well as the prime brokerage and equity capital markets businesses, saw strong performances. Results from secondary cash and proprietary trading declined, with inflationary pressures and worries over tighter monetary policies negatively impacting revenues in the convertibles area.
Fixed income, rates and currencies revenues were down 14% from the record achieved a year earlier in 2004, reflecting the weakening of the US dollar against the Swiss franc and a mixed impact of the current market conditions. The increasingly challenging credit market over the quarter negatively impacted the credit fixed income business. Foreign exchange and cash and collateral trading were down in a relatively neutral market environment. This was offset by a solid performance in the principal finance and rates businesses. Credit default swaps hedging loan exposures recorded positive revenues of CHF 91 million, an improvement from positive CHF 53 million a year earlier.
Investment banking revenues were up 1% from first quarter 2004. Excluding the impact of currency and of credit hedging costs for the investment banking loan book, revenues increased 5%, driven by a strong performance in Europe and Asia Pacific and the continued momentum of the global syndicated finance and equity capital market franchises.
Total operating expenses were down 4% from the same period last year. Personnel expenses fell on lower accruals for cash bonuses, in line with the drop in revenues, with general and administrative expenses driven lower by the weakening of the US dollar against the Swiss franc.
Market risk for the Investment Bank, as measured by the average 10-day 99% Value at Risk (VaR was CHF 371 million in first quarter 2005, up slightly from CHF 358 million in the previous quarter. While the Investment Bank took advantage of the positive, active markets at the beginning of the quarter, it reduced risk towards the end of February, in anticipation of more negative sentiment.
Wealth Management USA
Wealth Management USA pre-tax profit stood at a record CHF 144 million in first quarter 2005 compared to a pre-tax profit of CHF 52 million in fourth quarter 2004. The result was helped by the fact that goodwill amortization ceased in first quarter 2005. Before acquisition costs (net goodwill funding, amortization of goodwill and intangibles), pre-tax profit increased 24% to CHF 201 million in first quarter 2005 from CHF 162 million in fourth quarter 2004. The result reflected strong recurring income partially offset by a weaker performance in municipal finance, which felt the negative effect of rising interest rates.
Because Wealth Management USA's business is almost entirely conducted in US dollars, comparisons of results to prior periods are affected by the movements of the US dollar against the Swiss franc. In first quarter 2005, the US dollar appreciated against the Swiss franc slightly. In US dollar terms, performance excluding acquisition costs was 22% higher in first quarter 2005 compared to fourth quarter 2004.
The inflow of net new money in first quarter 2005 was CHF 5.8 billion compared to CHF 6.8 billion in fourth quarter 2004, with the decline primarily related to outflows in liquid investments.
Financial advisor headcount was 7,403 on 31 March 2005, down 116 from 7,519 on 31 December 2004, reflecting attrition among the less productive advisors and a decline in the number of trainees. UBS continues to invest in recruiting and training, with its primary aim remaining the hiring of talented and highly productive financial advisors.
Zurich/Basel, 3 May 2005


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Teacher resources and professional development across the curriculum
Teacher professional development and classroom resources across the curriculum
The Video Unit 11
Pre-Viewing Activity
and Discussion (30 minutes)
Watch the Video
(30 minutes) and Discuss (30 minutes) [Top]
The video includes three segments:
1. A Change of Heart About Federalizing Airport Security
Shortly after the terrible events of September 11, 2001, the nation's
air traffic system came to a halt. But even after the airports reopened,
millions of Americans remained afraid to fly as they believed the
existing methods of screening for weapons and other security risks
were inadequate. Congress immediately introduced legislation to
improve airport security, and soon hearings in both the House and
Senate were underway. Despite President Bush's strong backing, the
legislation stalled. The problem was that although everyone agreed
on the need for more airport screeners and better equipment, there
were deep disagreements over whether the airport screeners should
be federal employees. Democrats wanted security personnel working
directly for the government, where recruiting, pay, benefits, training,
and supervision could be standardized and controlled. Republicans,
on the other hand, felt that the federal government should set broad
standards, but let private contractors actually employ and supervise
the screeners. Clearly, the Republicans gave in to the Democrats'
demands when they realized that their position conflicted with public
sentiment on the issue. On November 16, President Bush signed the
Discussion Questions
Post-Viewing Activity
and Discussion (30 minutes) [Top]
Try the Critical
Thinking activity for Unit 11. This is a good activity to
use with your students, too.
1. What Every Citizen Should Know About Polling But Is Afraid
To Ask (20 minutes)
Scientific methods of public opinion polling were first developed
in the 1930s. Before that, researchers and politicians attempted
to gauge public opinion through things like chance encounters with
citizens, straw polls (simply polling as many people as you can),
and exit polls (questioning people as they leave the polling place).
These methods were unscientific because no attempt was made to gather
a representative sample of the whole polling population.
Today, professional pollsters have high confidence in their polls
because they understand the science of polling and the art of interpreting
poll results. However, not all polls are created equal. As the example
of Ross Perot's poll in TV Guide illustrates, some polls are haphazardly
created and administered and can actually distort public opinion.
The aim of this learning resource is to provide basic information
about polling that can help all citizens become more knowledgeable
consumers of polls. Can you think of other criteria that should
be added to the list?
There are several things to look for in evaluating a given poll
and its results:
2. What Are the Sources of Your Political Values? (10 minutes)
While the processes of political socialization are complex, we know
that an individual's political values and attitudes are shaped by
a variety of factors including their parents, teachers, and peers,
and their response to formative events such as war or political
scandals. Think about your formative periods of political socialization,
including the potential influence of parents, relatives, peers,
teachers, and actual events on your political beliefs. To get things
started, you might recall the context of your first "political
awareness," such as when your parents were discussing (or arguing
about!) who they intended to vote for in a presidential election,
when they first tuned into a military conflict on television, or
their feelings about a major political event (e.g., presidential
speech or action). What had the greatest influence on your current
beliefs and opinions?
Homework [Top]
Read the following Readings from Unit 12 to prepare for next week's
Read next week's Topic Overview.
Classroom Applications
You may want to have your students do the post-viewing activities:
What Every Citizen Should Know About Polling But Is Afraid To Ask
and What Are the Sources of Your Political Values? They are provided
for you as blackline masters in the Appendix of the print guide.
© Annenberg Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. Legal Policy


text:
A combination of leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) is standard therapy following resection of stage III colon cancer. In a multicenter randomized trial that involved 2686 patients with resected stage III colon cancer, Alberts and colleagues assessed the potential benefit of adding cetuximab—an epidermal growth factor receptor antibody with known efficacy against metastatic colon cancer—to a modified FOLFOX regimen (mFOLFOX6). The authors found no benefit on disease-free survival from the addition of cetuximab compared with mFOLFOX6 alone. In an editorial, Segal and Saltz discuss the fallacy of assuming that drugs effective against metastatic disease will be effective in the adjuvant setting.
In a multicenter, 3-year study involving 2662 women with an elevated (intermediate) risk of breast cancer and dense breast tissue on prior mammographic examinations, Berg and colleagues found that the addition of annual screening ultrasound or a single screening MRI to annual mammography resulted not only in increased detection of incident breast cancers but also in increased false-positive findings.
To examine whether recent declines in mortality among patients hospitalized with pneumonia could be related to temporal changes in diagnostic coding, Lindenauer and colleagues analyzed data from the 2003-2009 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (representing 5 million to 8 million discharges annually) for patients with either a principal diagnosis of pneumonia or pneumonia secondary to sepsis or respiratory failure. Among the authors' findings were that hospitalization and mortality rates for patients with a principal diagnosis of pneumonia decreased, whereas hospitalizations for patients with a secondary diagnosis of pneumonia increased from 2003 to 2009. In an 404, Sarrazin and Rosenthal discuss limitations of administrative data to evaluate trends in health care outcomes.
Fluoroquinolones are associated with a number of adverse effects including ocular toxicity and tendon rupture. In an analysis of physician visit and prescription drug data (2000-2007) from a cohort of 989 591 ophthalmology patients in British Columbia, Etminan and colleagues examined the association between oral fluoroquinolone use and the risk of retinal detachment. The authors identified 4384 patients with retinal detachment and 43 840 control patients and found that compared with nonuse, current use of oral fluoroquinolones was associated with an increased risk of retinal detachment, although the absolute risk (4 per 10 000 person-years) was small.
Ms W, a 75-year-old woman, is in complete remission after surgery and postoperative chemotherapy for stage IIIC epithelial ovarian cancer. In this Clinical Crossroads article, Konstantinopoulos and Awtrey discuss the signs, symptoms, and risk factors for ovarian cancer; prognostic factors and surgical and postoperative medical management; and current recommendations for ovarian cancer screening and patient follow-up.
Create a personal account or sign in to:


text:
It's been a while since I've posted here, it's been pretty hectic, the book is well and truly out now. I'd like to say thanks to everyone who's said nice things about it on Twitter. I've had some good reviews, I've done a fair few interviews, signings and had a great trip to SPX in Washington, all of which I've been posting about on Twitter. But there's more to come, so here's where's to find me in the coming months…
Last week the book came out in France, so having already done a lovely little festival in Dieppe, this week I'm heading to the St.Malo festival, where I'll be speaking slowly, and again wishing I'd paid more attention in Miss Payne's French lessons. Posted here are some sample pages from the French version, published by Akileos. Then two weeks later I'll be attending Comiket for the first time and the weekend after that it's Thought Bubble, which I've been looking forward to for two years now, having had to miss it last year due to working on the book. I'm not on any panels at Thought Bubble, so in order not to feel left out, I agreed to this Book Trust event on the Monday. Then the following weekend it's going to be a bit of a trip down memory lane at S.W.A.L.C. with quite a few of the original Deadline suspects available for drinks and sausage rolls etc. Really looking forward to that. So please come and see me at one or all of these events and I'll happily paint a small picture in the front of your copy of 'The Nao of Brown'.
Lastly I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Doug Wallace from Self Made Hero who's been a massive and integral part of this whole experience. Sadly he's leaving SMH. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with him, his expert guidance through this process has taught me plenty and I'm really sad to see him leave.
Cheers Doug.


text:
Best Sellers By Brand
There are no universal size standards in the apparel business. One manufacturer's large is another manufacturer's medium, etc. These measurements, shown in inches, on this size chart, pertain to the Paradise Found Short Tank Dress - Style 160, and have no relationship to any other dress maker, style or brand name. This is a pull-over dress, no zippers.
To avoid returns or exchanges, please call the Toll Free Number, 10 A.M. to 3 P.M., local Maui Time, if you need further assistance with your size: (1-866-628-4626). CLICK to see Local Maui Time: Maui Time.
LENGTH: is determined from the top of the shoulder strap to the bottom of the dress.
BUST: is taken from under the armpits, from seam to seam.
A 36" Bust would be 18" from the front measurement and 18" from the back measurement.
WAIST: is taken in the middle of the dress. The middle is determined from the halfway distance of the length measurement from seam to seam. It is measured in the front and in the back and then doubled.
HIP: measurement is taken from the halfway point from the bottom of the dress to the waist. The measurement is taken from seam to seam.
Language Translator
Got a question? Email Mickey Steinborn, President, MauiShirts.com, Inc.
The images depicted on all pages of any Hawaiian shirt or Hawaiian dress is a random selection of the print. There are no two prints that are identical; every man's shirt print, boy's shirt print, girl's or women's dress print will be slightly or somewhat different.
MauiShirts.com, Inc., Michael (Mickey) B. Steinborn reserves the right to do, or not to do, business with you. If you attempt fraud, are abusive or rude in your communications your email address, name will be removed from our monthly email special sales. MauiShirts.com, Inc. will not tolerate rude and disrespectful people. We do business with a spirit of Aloha. We practice Aloha. We will not accept new orders from any customer if untrue, unfounded, negative remarks, feedback is posted in the Yahoo public forum. The Yahoo public forum is something we enable for you. It is there for us to improve our service to you and others. It is not there for you to make unwarranted remarks or comments.
Copyright © 2019 MauiShirts.com Inc., Michael (Mickey) B. Steinborn - Copyright © 1998 - 2019 MauiShirts.com - Copyright infringement is a civil and criminal offense.
Willful violation can result in penalties up to $ 100,000.00 per infringement. No portion of this web site, MauiShirts.com Inc.; images, photographs, text, may be reproduced by printing, photocopying or by any other means of mechanical or electronic reproduction without the express written permission from MauiShirts.com, Inc.


text:
Tagged: free download
#MP3Tribute: 100 CC-licensed albums
Words and projects remembering Aaron Swartz's legacy are all over the Internet. In his memory, the DJ, hacker and electronic musician Jairus Khan started the #MP3Tribute, where he wants to collect over a 100 CC-licensed music albums to release on Swartz's memory, for his involvement in the first steps of Creative Commons licences.
The idea is simple: Khan is asking artists to contribute with their work, which should be "commercially available at some point" but NOT already released under Creative Commons or any other similar open licence.
By contributing, artists would make those albums, that previously were illegal to copy, available to audiences worldwide under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No-Derivates (BY-NC-ND) licence.
So far, Khan collected over 15 different styles albums: from the dark music from Crack Nation to the hip-hop of Jesse Dangerously or the folk by H.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E., and many other sounds in between.


text:
It's time for CDO's 'Artists Of The Week' (AOTW) where there will be 2 CDO artists in the spotlight to give you guys 20% OFF their tubes & images for a whole week (Monday – Sunday 10pm PST)!
Their packs & singles have already been marked down in the store so no code is needed & the price will drop when you go through to the checkout.
That's $1.48 for an individual tube, $4.00 for a three pack & $5.20 for a four pack – awesome!!
*Combo packs are not included in this deal as they are always 20% off.
This weeks Artists Of The Week are….
To see some of their packages click continue reading


text:
Suitani never wanted a normal life, but that's what he has. And he loathes it. When he runs into Tamaki again, the small boy he bullied in the past and now a gorgeous television hero, he realizes Tamaki is everything he is not. But Tamaki hasn't forgiven Suitani's past cruelties, and suddenly, "normal" is a lifeline.Available for all platforms at eManga.
Unusual reflections on love continue in AWAKENED DREAMER, some filled with beautiful sadness, others with imaginative humor: a fatherless boy clings to something entirely his own for a few short hours; the son of a master mahjong player leads his starry-eyed friend to the mahjong wolves, hoping to crush his obsession with his old man; and a young farmer woefully misjudges his gentle, sensitive and silent older brother.
Translated by Barbara J. Vincent
Edited by Kimberly Lammens
Lettered by Alexandra Gunawan
Also available from Kindle, Nook, and Wowio.
Preview: Click images to make larger.
Kakusei Shigansha © Azusa Kurokawa 2005. All rights reserved. Original Japanese edition published in 2005 by Oakla Publishing Co., Ltd.


text:
optimizer pro v 188.8.131.52
River Past Screen Recorder is River Past's award winning screen video recorder. It is the fastest screen video recorder on the market, with a speed comparable to TechSmith's Camtesia Studio, and way better than any other similar software we have tested. Capture AVI video from the full screen, a wi ...
Size:8.17 MB | License:Commercial | Date:2011-11-08
After a long period of hard work, they can now present the pre-release of the Premiere Pro Video Server Plug-in. This plug-in is already successfully tested by the beta tester team. Therefore this version is now stable and has no known problems. Currently are work on the installer and documentation. ...
Size:576 KB | License:Freeware | Date:2011-11-07
Advanced Win7 Optimizer is a program that analyzes your system to detect and fix performance problems. It attempts to optimize your system by tweaking your system to use fewer resources, managing the programs that launch at startup, cleaning junk files and optimizing the memory usage. It is also ab ...
Size: | License:Shareware | Date:2011-11-07
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XP Services Optimizer is a complete suite of tools for managing and optimizing Windows XP services, built on the trust of the open source software "Vista Services Optimizer". It enables you to tweak your Windows services in an easy, automatic and safe way based on the way you use your computer and w ...
Size: | License:Freeware | Date:2011-11-07
The management of Windows Vista Services is something that some IT technicians or end user doesn ...
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Vista Services Optimizer is an open source optimization utility that enables you to tweak your Windows services in an easy, automatic and safe way based on the way you use your computer and which hardware and software you use. Vista Services Optimizer does not require any technical knowledge, as it ...
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Nokia Video Converter Factory Pro is a powerful video converter and editor that can help you to adapt videos in almost any popular format to your Nokia multimedia phone or any other multimedia player supporting the 3GP or MP4 format. The program has a user-friendly interface that lets you convert an ...
Size: | License:Shareware | Date:2011-11-07
Nokia Video Converter Factory Pro is a professional video program for you to enjoy the multimedia on all of Nokia cell phones. It supports convert all video formats to MP4, 3GP, FLV, WMV, AVI video formats and AAC, MP3, WMA, WAV audio formats. It also allow you merge, cut, crop video/audio files and ...
Size: | License:Shareware | Date:2011-11-07
Tweak-XP Pro was the first tweaking software especially designed for Windows XP. There are lots of third class competitive products, but only with Tweak-XP Pro you can be sure to get the original tuning application designed for Windows XP only. There's no need to find your way through the Windows re ...
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Traffic Maximizer Pro is a unique software that brings MASS traffic from search engines to your website. The software works instantly so results can be visible after 24 hours from start. You can easily multiply your current number of visits, and get UNLIMITED number of new visitors monthly. Traffi ...
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CFONT PRO FEATURES: -Supported Fonts-built in support for TrueType, OpenType, Bitmap, and Postscript Type 1 fonts -Preview Fonts-Preview fonts from any folder, CD, disk, or network drive. See what the fonts are before you install them -Font Engine-Extremely powerfull font engine provides a detailed ...
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Pro MP3 Recorder is the ultimate MP3 recording tool! With this application, recording your audio directly to MP3 format is now a snap. The audio recorder program is designed to work directly with your sound card, so it can record almost all audio from your sound card at near-perfect quality. So, you ...
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MediaLooks Video Mixer is a DirectShow filter for real-time mixing of multiple video streams originating from different video sources – such as digital video cameras, webcams, TV tuner cards or video capture boards. (For audio mixing please see our Audio Mixer DirectShow filter). This filter ...
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Key Features: - Able to count Delphi/Pascal language. - Support subfolders and multi-types count. - Full report on the code: - number of source code lines - number of comment lines - number of TODO lines - number of blank lines - number of mixed lines (code and comments) - percentage of comments, ...
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Code Line Counter Pro - VB Version is a Code Line Counting software created by the Bistone Software Company developer with the purpose of helping project managers, programmers and other costumers who may be in need of an overview of a project source code. The software is easy to use because of the n ...
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Version Control Pro, easily store,retrieve and version control your documents and e-mail. beautiful printable calendar and greate document version control system, directly share documents with others and completely integrate with microsoft office! Using Version Control Pro, you can easily manage yo ...
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text:
Coverking velour seat belt covers help to add padding and comfort to the areas where your seat belts make contact. They can also be placed around the straps on your luggage or other items to protect your hands because they wrap around the straps or belts and close with Velcro.
If your tired of of your seat belt cutting into your neck or shoulder while your driving, then this cover is for you.


text:
Natural Bridge is in the western part of Springbrook National Park, part of the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia World Heritage Area.
The park's Natural Bridge section features a picturesque rock formation, formed by the force of the waterfall over the basalt cave. It is easily accessible from the Nerang-Murwillumbah Road car park.
Start the short one kilometre subtropical circuit clockwise and descend through ancient Gondwana rainforest to the Natural Bridge rock arch.
During the day spot paradise riflebirds, green catbirds, wompoo fruit-doves and also rare and threatened species like the cascade tree frog, tusked frog, sooty owl and koala. At night join a guided nocturnal tour to see the resident colony of protected glow-worms and microbats. On summer nights, also see luminous fungi and fireflies.
Cave Creek in the Natural Bridge section is a restricted access area. Swimming in the creek, including within the cave, and access to the creek bank is prohibited.
Note: Information on listed products and services are provided by the operator and were correct at the time of publishing. Rates are indicative based on the minimum and maximum available prices of products and services. Please visit the operator's website for further information. All prices quoted are in Australian dollars (AUD).


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Celebrate Henry Ford's 150th birthday with a visit to Greenfield Village in Dearborn when it opens its gates for the 2013 season on April 15. Enjoy the many seasonal offerings Greenfield Village has to share, along with special programs throughout the year honoring the life and legacy of its founder, Henry Ford.
See what life was like for a young Henry inside his birth home; explore the workshop where he built his very first motorized vehicle or take a ride around the Village inside his most famous invention - the Model T. New this season is the Miller School. Step inside and experience young Henry's informal education surroundings and tinker with clock parts, machines and principles that challenged him.
Visit Firestone Farm to see the newest additions to the barnyard family. Watch as costumed presenters hand-shear the grown Merino sheep just as they did back in the late 19th century. Lend a hand at the Daggett Farmhouse in sorting, picking, washing, carding and spinning wool after the Merino sheep are shorn.
The season's events include a visit from Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The train departs every 30 minutes, April 27-28, May 4-5, May 11-12, for 'Day Out With Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013.' Additional tickets are required for a train ride.
Admission to Greenfield Village is free with membership or $24 adults, $22 senior (62 and up) and $17.50 youth (5-12). Children 4 and younger are free. For more information, call (313) 982-6001 or visit www.thehenryford.org.
The Henry Ford is located at 20900 Oakwood Blvd., Dearborn.


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Several months ago, I wrote a couple of eBooks about Isaac Turner's and Nathan Blunt Kennedy's Civil War experiences. I created these at Lulu for free. I thought at the time they turned out pretty well.
So this morning when I read about a site for creating and storing ebooks for free, I decided to check it. I wanted to see if my eBooks would look better at the new site, Myebooks.
So I uploaded my Turner book which at 62 pages took about 45 min with my DSL connection. Not bad, I needed to clean up my house anyway. 🙂
I got an email that the upload was ready to view, so I clicked on the link. Wow! Impressive! I think the term is web 2.0. My book looks great! Check it out:
Nothing about the book has changed, but the presentation is too cool! I love the animation as I turn the pages of the book.
I don't plan to revise anything with my first 2 eBooks. But I do plan to write a new one, probably about my McBurnetts. This site has so much to offer! I can hardly wait…!


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A $5 MILLION birthing unit has been announced for Tauranga with construction set to begin as early as next month.
The Bethlehem Birthing Centre was the brainchild of Tauranga businesswoman Chloe Wright, who owns childcare chain Kidicorp with husband Wayne.
Ms Wright also teamed up with Nicky Campbell, the centre's chief executive, and Gabi Beuchel who will be a co-director with Ms Wright.
The 12-room unit will be the first privately operated, publicly funded birthing unit in the Bay of Plenty when it opens in September next year.
It will offer mothers and their newborn babies a non-hospital birth, accommodation and support for up to three days free. It will also have room for fathers on the first night after the birth.
Ms Wright told the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend the centre would provide a comprehensive service offering assistance in baby care skills, such as bathing, wrapping, breastfeeding, "just totally encapsulating all of that to give that mother and baby the best emotional and physical start that they can have".
Ms Wright said she hoped it would fill a gap in local services, referring to the level of care she received as a new mum more than 20 years ago.
"You learned a lot more, not just about birth but the child as well.
"I think you were probably a lot more prepared back then.
"I've been asking a lot of questions over the last few years and a lot of mothers are having their babies and going home after two or three hours."
Ms Wright said she was concerned some parents were not as prepared as they could be and wanted to help with that.
"Those first few days are crucial to your mental health, physical health and bonding," she said.
Pink and blue lights timed to be displayed on the exterior of the building with the arrival of each baby were among the plans of the new development.
"It's really exciting."
The birthing centre would take the upper level and some of the ground floor in the new building while mothers and their babies would have their own rooms with an ensuite. The remaining space in the building would be leased to doctors, midwives, obstetricians, imaging firms and baby goods suppliers. The site spans 25,000sq m.
Rooms will be divided into standard, premier and deluxe with standard rooms available at no cost.
Ms Wright said they would see how things went before potentially expanding the business beyond Bethlehem.
The centre was expected to create new jobs and complement existing services.
Ms Campbell said they were looking forward to working with the District Health Board to help reduce pressure of beds in the hospital's maternity ward.
"We want to create a beautiful birthing environment and provide vital care in the first few days after the birth."
If there were birthing complications, the woman could be transported to Tauranga Hospital within five minutes.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board would provide funding toward the centre but it was unknown yesterday exactly how much.
No one from the board was available for comment.
In 2011 an online campaign to see a birthing centre opened in Tauranga sparked a call from midwives and mothers that one was "desperately needed".
At the time the District Health Board's Karen Smith said it remained open to discussing the development of a private birthing facility with interested providers.
There are two private birthing units in Waikato and one in Waihi.


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KundaLiving Webinars will provide you inspiration and tools based on the 3HO monthly lifestyle themes.
Our first KundaLiving Webinar is on Authentic Relationships
Wednesday, February 13th - 6pm MST (Time Zone Converter) Live Broadcast is Free*
Free Replay (for the first 48 hours)
These webinar classes will include a video and audio broadcast that you can easily tune into from any computer. You will be able to chat and ask questions during the webinar. Once you register you will receive more information on all of the great webinar features.
*Attending the KundaLiving Webinars will be FREE during the live broadcast. For 48 hours after the live webinar classes a link to the webinars will be available for free. After 48 hours the webinar classes will be available for download by donation.
Authentic Relationships Webinar Description:
Our entire life existence unfolds within the matrix of our relationships, and relationships are the key to all our success. When we live in authentic relationships we embrace our true identity and our infinite nature. From this place we can consciously connect to the divine in ourselves and in others, and create relationships that serve and elevate each situation.
We will discuss how to recognize and create authentic relationships in all areas of our lives:
- How authentic relationships relate to our yoga practices and goals
- How to heal partnership problems with forgiveness, a strong arc line and a clear connection to both the masculine and feminine parts of ourselves
- How to use our intuition and meditative mind to sustain authentic relationships and develop true self-love as the key to all authentic relationships
Authentic Relationship Webinar Presenters:
Guruka Singh and Guruka Kaur first met Yogi Bhajan in 1970 and were married in 1971. They were among the very first teachers trained directly by Yogi Bhajan and they now teach and serve all over the world. He is a writer, technophile and inveterate punster and serves as the CEO of SikhNet.com, the world's premiere website for Sikhs. She brings incredible clarity, compassion, righteousness and beauty to people and environments everywhere and serves as the Executive Director of IKYTA (International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association.) She also bakes the best homemade whole-grain bread ever tasted. They live together under the clear blue skies of New Mexico with their younger son, Gurushabd Singh and the amazing Espanola Ashram community.


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Helpful Links
Our auditors use a variety of resources during audit planning to ensure we are researching current information for risk identification, risk mitigation, opportunities for fraudulent activity, authoritative guidance and internal control best practices. This is a list of agency and business resources that we find to be very helpful and, in most situations, they make access to their information available to the public.
The resources listed here are excellent for researching or implementing a new process or system, or to measure an existing process or system for assessing the possibility of internal control issues or ways to increase efficiency.


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|MLBPA/MLB News Release
NEW YORK -- Major League Baseball Players Association executive director Michael Weiner today issued the following statement regarding the suspension of Ryan Braun:
"I am deeply gratified to see Ryan taking this bold step. It vindicates the rights of all players under the Joint Drug Program. It is good for the game that Ryan will return soon to continue his great work both on and off the field."


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In this article, Chistopher Martin Jenkins pays tribute to Gilly and names other cricketers who have changed the way the game of cricket is played.
Bosanquet (googly)
Jardine (rutheless pursuit of victory)
Lloyd (no need for spinners)
Kapil (shifting the power base from London to India)
Jayasuriya (role of openers in one-dayers)
- are his choices, apart from Gilly for changing the role of wk-batsman.
I think the impact he is attributing to Kapil is a by product of the result he achieved rather than a clearly measurable contribution. Also Jardine's captaincy turned out to be a one off thing and, till date, has not become the blue print for English captains.
My choices would also include:
Ranji: leg glance - until then one sixth of the cricket ground was under used by the batting team. it changed field setting theories irrevocably
Sarfraz Nawaz: reverse swing - only after this innovation could fast bowlers play an effective role with the old ball in otherwise spinners only situations


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Meet your fellow owners in our Owners Clubs
Crossover SUV Comparison
Sort of a mouthful, but crossovers have crossed to the mainstream. Let's bat around the Mazda CX-9, Hyundai Veracruz, Honda Pilot, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave, Saturn Outlook and Ford Freestyle (which supposedly will be face lifted for '08).
With such a big grouping, a little off-topic drift will be tolerated, so don't get too upset if someone tosses an SRX or Edge or similar into the mix.
(and thanks for the suggestion Jason)
With such a big grouping, a little off-topic drift will be tolerated, so don't get too upset if someone tosses an SRX or Edge or similar into the mix.
(and thanks for the suggestion Jason)
carcom2 Posts: 212That's good to know that the sun and heat seem to get filtered out. Hope you enjoy your new Acadia.
As far as others replying to my subject Title or to any other subject for that manner - if you're not actually replying to the subject Title, it would be better to use a new subject title to keep things straight.0
music287 Posts: 116I'll get the ball rolling. All these vehicles are 3-row cuvs. (The Edge doesn't qualify!) As we've shopped some of 'em differences became apparent. The storage space behind the third row is a biggie. Also, the comfort of that third row varied widely. The availablity of hid xenon headlights, a power liftgate and an easy entry/exit were also issues. Some of the most expensive possiblities i.e. Audi Q7/Acura MDX/Volvo xc-90 were absolutely unacceptable for various reasons. (Have you seen the inflatable "spare" in the Q7, for example?!?!) One of the least expensive possiblities i.e. the Pacifica is...not bad. As a car nut, I appreciate the 6-speed trannies now available and I think I'll like having bluetooth capablity. Having a rear view camera is also a nice bonus since some friends have told me visiblity is poor in their cuvs.
We're eagerly anticipating the imminent arrival of our Mazda CX-9 GT. Other than the current unavailablity of the PLG, it looks like a real winner on paper. I'll let youse know when we get it next month!
I looked at and test drove most of these in search of a replacement for my 2002 Acura MDX. Key issues for me included, in no particular order: (1) comfort / accessibility of the third row seats, (2) decent power / acceleration, (3) safety features (including side curtain airbags and stability control, along with a reasonable amount of space between the 3rd row headrests and the back glass; I worry about intrusion into the third row in the event of a rear end accident), (4) creature comforts (leather seating, heated front seats, decent sound system, overall quality, etc.), (5) capable four wheel drive or all wheel drive system (primarily for snow; I live in Salt Lake City and drive regularly up the canyons to the ski resorts), (6) overall looks, (7) handling, and (8) last, but not least, price.
In addition to the crossovers you listed, I looked at the 2007 Acura MDX, the Lexus RX350, the Toyota Highlander and the Nissan Morano (some of which, I know, don't have a third row). I also looked at and test-drove the Toyota 4Runner, the Nissan Pathfinder, the Nissan Armada and the 2007 Tahoes/Yukons.
The reactions of my wife and three teenagers were a key part of my analysis. They have liked my MDX very much. Nothing like family harmony.
In the end, I ordered an Acadia (silver SLT-1 with ebony interior, sunroof, trailer package and convenience package). It clearly had the best third row seating, and seemed to represent the best overall value. Not half bad looking, either.
Surprised the heck out of me. :surprise: I have long been a foreign car snob (my last half-dozen vehicles have been Hondas, an Acura and a Lexus). I thought I never again would buy a domestic vehicle.
The only thing I don't like about the Acadia is that it is a beast. The CX-9 is less than 2" shorter but is 400 lbs lighter. I'm beginning to think the Chrysler and GM got together and decided to build their 3-row crossovers from bricks. Overall, enjoy the look of the CX-9 a the best, followed by the Veracruz (The Buick Enclave breaks the bank). I think the Veracruz will remain the value of the group since fully loaded CX-9's, MDX's, and Acadia's break $40k with ease. I just wish Hyundai would have kept more of the features available in the Korean model.0
suvorvan Posts: 2We're expecting our second child in April, and we we're planning on purchasing a crossover in some form or fashion. We were looking at Yukons, and Odysseys or Siennas. However, after we laid eyes on our local dealer's newest arrival, a fully loaded white Acadia, we are definitely in the market for a crossover. It has the features of a full size SUV plus better fuel economy and handling. It has all the features we are needing and wanting in a vehicle; however, I'm not planning to pull the trigger just yet. I feel the prices are inflated, and should come down after the "new" wears off. Plus, I'm sure they'll be throwing out some incentives too. I also want to look at the Mazda CX-9 and Acura RDX before making my decision, though. But, my wife really likes the 2nd row Captains' chairs. Does anyone know what other car companies to offer captains' chairs on the 2nd row??0
As far as crossovers go, I think it's just the GM units (Outlook, Acadia, Enclave) and the Pacifica. Lots of minivans have that option though. Do you mean MDX instead of RDX? The RDX is pretty small. The GM models are absolutely huge, followed by the CX-9 as far as new models go. The MDX and Veracruz are even smaller, but offer very similar passenger space, just less behind the 3rd row. As huge as the GM crossovers are, getting 3 into the 3rd row will require a shoehorn.0
jasonj734 Posts: 35The Freestyle in its current form has captains chairs for the second row. When the '08 is shown in Chicago it will be interesting to see if it kept them as features. That new Sync feature Ford showed in Detroit is really cool, and it will be available on the '08 as well.
The MDX is more expensive than these vehicles and after looking at it at the Detroit show was really disappointed, for $47,500 there is no auto dimming mirror, no power folding outside mirrors, and an exterior and interior that is substandard in that category. The new Enclave in the looks department seems to beat the Acura into the ground. Now how they drive remains to be seen.
The GM vehicles are fat and need to lose some weight, though they do drive very nice and the Acadia overall visually looks great. I was disappointed with the Veracruz as there is no NAV, HID's, Bluetooth, LED tail lights on the N/A version, I will drive one but the absence of all those features pretty much takes it off my list Navigation being the major one, also while most of the parts seemed very nice and high quality some seemed cheap but that is true of any car I guess.
The Mazda dealer says they will have a CX-9 in stock in a few weeks so I will go drive one then, the only thing that concerns me with it is the long slant hood, I wish they had front parking sensors on it could be hard to judge, at least early on.0
saabturboid Posts: 178I own a 2005 Ford Freestyle with second row buckets. We also have the second row center console which is perfect for storing DVDs and such for the DVD entertainment system. We love our Freestyle and I'm a bit surprised that these come to the party late offerings are getting so much attention when the Freestyle was basically ignored. They don't seem to be offering anything really new and don't even improve on the one area I'd like to see do better and that is gas mileage. Our AWD Freestyle averages in the low 20s. It seems these "lighter" crossovers should be able to get closer to 30 on the highway since they don't have a huge heavy SUV frame to haul around.
The Freestyle was a great entry, but it gets overshadowed because it is underpowered and styled very blandly. The 3.0L is a little harsh and dated, not that it's a bad engine. It's tow rating is also the lowest in it's class.
The reason most crossovers don't get as good in the mpg department is because they are geared for peformance. The Veracruz should be able to pull 0-60 in less under 8 seconds, making it over 1/2 second faster than the Freestyle. It gets 17/24 AWD, which puts it close to the AWD Freestyle. People don't want to give up their performance and hp bragging rights for better gas mileage.0
on paper, the Acdia may sound big, but it's got the power. No one (besides Acura) has been able to touch 275 horsepower. So it's hp to wieght ratio is like 17lbs per horsepower- better than Old MDX and pilot. I had no clue Freestyle would get update- but it needed it badly. It lacked in features, power, and looks.0
But it doesn't have alot of torque. The smaller CX-9 only has 2 ft lbs less despite weighing 400 lbs less, and the much smaller Veracruz has atleast 6 ft lbs more. Horsepower is all well and good, torque turns the wheels. What the Freestyle lacks in some areas, it makes up in other... like price and fuel efficiency, especially for the space. Power to weight in the Veracruz is less than 16 lbs per hp, and the CX-9 is just over 16 lbs per hp. The Louisville Auto Show is this weekend. I should be able to check out the Outlook, Acadia, and Freestyle there. Since it's not a huge show, I doubt I'll get to see a CX-9 or Veracruz though.0
C'mon people, the Freestyle looks good. It has rugged good looks that Jeep has used to gain market share. I like the flared wheelwells and all-business demeanor that says "no foo-foo stuff here, just a great Volvo-derived chassis and functional features". The Acada/Outlook has my vote, too. Very well engineered vehicles, if a bit porky.0
bobw3 Posts: 2,992I noticed in your list of 8 requirements, quality/reliability was not one of them. Maybe that's why you choose GM0
I'm not a huge GM fan because of my absolute horrible experience with a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. It was a total :lemon: . Although the 1989 Oldsmobile 88 was a great car, except for the cheap plastic interior bits. That has to be my biggest problem with GM. I'm going to check out the Acadia this weekend. Hopefully, they will have improved in this department. All the Fords we've owned have been wonderful, especially our old 1988 Aerostar. That thing was only in the shop once in over 10 years for something non-maintenance related. I'm also had good luck with my 1999 Toyota Camry LE, although I think it is so unrefined when compared to my 2000 Dodge Intrepid ES (but more mechanically sound).
I'm not going to judge the Acadia or Outlook just because it's a GM. I think they are getting better everyday. I think they are less complacent than they were in the '90s.0
hardhawk Posts: 702I have read repeatedly that the Freestyle is being dropped by Ford due to lack of sales. It's too bad, because if they had put the larger engine that is going in the 2008 500 it would have probably sold much better.0
nxs138 Posts: 481The Freestyle is okay, but I don't like how bland the front end looks. Those headlights make it look "tired". A little more artful design with the headlights/grille would do wonders for this vehicle. As would a more sporty package.0
It is being replaced with a new model very loosely based on the Fairlane concept.0
Oops. Clearly, I didn't spend enough time on that post! :blush: I should have included quality/reliability; it definitely was a factor. And it's very hard to quantify with a first-year release.
tdiidman Posts: 35The SLT2 version of the Acadia and the Grand Touring version of the CX-9 (both with NAV and rear entertainment)are the two vehicles I'm primarily looking at (may also look at the new 2008 Highlander when it arrives). I just saw my first CX-9 yesterday and have looked at the Acadia a couple of times in the past couple of weeks. From my perspective, advantages of the Acadia include the 2nd row Captain' chairs, a better powertrain warranty (100,000 miles versus 60,000 miles), and better fuel ecomony on AWD versions (rated 17/24 versus 16/22). Advantages of the Mazda include the preservation of a 6 disc in dash CD when the rear entertainment center is ordered since the DVD is located in the rear entertainment console (the Acadia has only a single disc in dash CD/DVD that has to be used for either the rear entertainment center viewing or listing to a CD), electroluminescent guages, bluetooth capability, amber rear turn signals (IMHO, but I don't know if this is backed by scientific data, these are easier to see than red ones due to the contrast with the red taillights-? fewer rear end collisions), the availability of rain sensing wipers (I love these on my VW Jetta), and the availability of a backup camera when navigation is ordered. As always, there is no one "perfect car" that meets everyone's needs. If only the Acadia had some of the aforementioned features that the Mazda has, it would be a no brainer decision for me- as it is now, it's a bit more difficult a decision. I'm hoping GM might make some of the modifications later in this model year or 2008 at the latest (I actually suggested this in an e-mail to them earlier today, but who knows if anyone other than customer service personnel will ever see it).0
Saw the new front on Freestyle (googled it). Now it looks worse. Front worked in the 500 but not here-very stationwagon like. The old one lacked refinement. I think the only benefit was the gas mileage- which Acadia compares closely to. The acadia does handle well despite it's weight. very good acceleration. And great cabin space. It's the way to go coming from a minvan. I really want to see how Honda and Highlander will resond to it.0
The Freestyle was supposed to be freshened up and converted to a Mercury, so I've heard. I don't know what the truth really is. I've also heard it will be back for '08 with the bigger 3.5L V6. Only Ford seems to know what's going to happen.0
All you guys looking for alternative crossovers look at the new chrysler crossover. It should compete with the Acaida/ CX-9 and is codenamed "JC49."0
It's definitely smaller by the look of it, but it is supposed to be quite a bit cheaper as well.0
I actually like the '08 Freestyle front better than the old one, but since it's just a freshen up, they can't really change the greenhouse. One review of the Acadia said that it had the engine had to kick into a lower gear quite a bit to move the heft, but that it wasn't terrible about it. I know that's one thing I don't like about my Camry 4-cyl.0
sranger Posts: 106Well,
I will be getting a new company vehicle some time this year or next. It has to be a SUV type to haul equipment and and at least 5 adults. ( Basically a minivan that I would be caught dead driving ) It has to tow at least 3500lb. Handle reasonable, get at least 20mph with a 50/50 HWY/CITY. 6 CD in MP3 player. Aux MP3 input. Has to be comfortable for me 6'-4" 230lb...
So far Here is my List of vehicles that I have ruled out:
Mazda CX-7 - No towing capacity...
Honda Pilot - Can't stand the looks...
Ford Edge - Horrable Brakes.
Ford FreeStyle - Can't stand the looks and hate the small foot well on the driver and passenger side. ( I guess I have big feet )
Acadia + Encalve - I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER GM PRODUCT...
BMW X5 - Not worth the price...
Lexus RX330 - Not worth the price...
Toyota Forunner - Not enough shoulder room. Just felt cramped...
Exployer/Expedition - Poor gas milage... Horrific Re-sale vale.
Toyota Rav4 - Toyota simply will not build a Limited with the 3500lb towing package, leather heated seats and AWD??? Also, I Hate the side opening door.
Still in the running:
CX-9 - Will wait to see if it's brake are good or bad since it is loosly based on the same platform as the edge. I love the interior. High demand will probably make it too expensive for a while. I'll wait until the new wears off to purchase.
Outlook - Looks good so far...
BMW X3 - Really like it, it is fun to drive, but expensive and a little small..
2008 Hylander - Looks like it will be built on the Avalon platform with a 269hp V6 + 6 Speed trans... I Will wait to see it before making a purchase...
So far the CX-9 is at the top of the list, but I suspect that the new Hylander will be the winner....0
So you'll consider the Outlook but not the Acadia? Is it a GMC/Buick service kind of thing? Just curious.
What about a Hyundai Veracruz? It meets all your criteria. The CX-9 will have different brakes. Most of the car aside of the engine block and chassis is not used by Ford. The engine block is the same, but it has Mazda specific goodies and is assembled in Japan. The Outlook was a GM product the last time I looked. :confuse: Expect to be on a waiting list for a Highlander.0
"Acadia + Encalve - I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER GM PRODUCT..."
The Saturn Outlook is 100% GM, too. Remember there are a lot of engineers at the various GM divisions and suppliers, and the Outlook/Acadia look to be great vehicles.0
Freestyle underpowered? People say it so much it might someday make it true..... The reality is that 8.5 seconds 0-60 times of the Freestyle shows plenty of power. There are slower and faster cars/trucks out there. If a vehicle is in the middle of the pack going 0-60, then you can say it has "average" power, not underpowered. Porsche actually designed the sweet, 60-degree V-angle, DOHC, all-aluminum, Freestyle 3.0L engine that Ford then bought the design rights to. Yes, Porsche. I say more MPG, less acceleration. The Freestyle is a good compromise, as I get 27 MPG regularly in mine in mixed driving with average, not underpowered, acceleration. It might be that people look at the 203 hp figure on the 3.0L and think the automatic tranny is as wastefull as trannies of the past, when the CVT actually puts the power to the ground using optimal profiles and doesn't waste power through excessive heat build-up like conventional torque-convertor automatics do.0
The fact remains that the new crossovers are doing sub-8 (or just over) second runs without a marginal loss of fuel economy with added room(Acadia is only 1 mpg behind). It is a shame that the CVT can't handle the 3.5L V6. It might make 0-60 in 7.5 seconds (like the 2007 Pacifica, not that I'm advocating the Pacifica's 16/24 mpg rating). Not all people are as educated about cars as we forum-dwellers are. A 60 hp difference will be a much bigger deal to the less educated consumer. The problem with the Freestyle is that it doesn't have anything that just reaches out and grabs the consumer. It disappears in a croud. That doesn't mean it's any less of a good vehicle.0


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Johnson & Johnson Innovation LLC and Children's National announced a collaboration to launch JLABS @ Washington, DC, a 32,000-square foot facility to be located at the new Children's National Research and Innovation Campus in Washington, D.C.
Children's National marked the official start of construction on its pediatric research and innovation campus with a groundbreaking event.
Children's National signs an agreement with the U.S. Army to accept the transfer of nearly 12 acres of land from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center property in Northwest Washington, D.C.—an acquisition that nearly doubles the health system's footprint in the city. The transfer represents a milestone in the 146-year history of Children's National as it will allow meaningful expansion of its life-saving pediatric research in such areas as neuroscience, genetics, clinical and translational science, and cancer and immunology.
This marks the 15th anniversary of the first Research Day at Children's National, which was launched in 2000 to showcase the hospital's breadth of research and education programs. In 2011, Research Day was expanded to a weeklong format known as Research and Education Week.
Children's National Health System installed Roger J. Packer, MD, and Yuan Zhu, PhD, as the inaugural Gilbert Family Professors in Neurofibromatosis, bringing the total number of Endowed Chairs to 19.
Children's National opens the Sheikh Zayed Institute's Pain Medicine Care Complex, one of only a few programs in the country focused exclusively on managing pain for infants, children, and teens. The institute hosts the first International Symposium on Pediatric Surgical Innovation.
The total annual research funding increases to $73 million, with NIH funding staying constant at $39 million.
Children's Research Institute is awarded accreditation by the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs (AAHRPP) at the March meeting of its Council on Accreditation. Total annual research funding increases to $64 million; $39 million from NIH alone. Children's Research Institute ranks 6th in NIH funding among children's hospitals and 10th among the combined 131 children's hospitals and university departments of pediatrics.
Children's National Medical Center in partnership with the George Washington University Medical Center, receives first NIH Clinical and Translational Science Award given to a children's hospital. The Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children's National receives a $20 million award to foster innovations in solving health problems of children and families.
Children's National receives $150 million gift from the government of Abu Dhabi, the largest gift ever given for pediatric surgery, which launches the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation. The Institute researches treatments and technology designed to make surgery more precise, less invasive, and pain free. The opening of the Institute brings the total amount of CRI lab space to 123,000 sq. ft.Children's, jointly with George Washington University, created the Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Children's National to foster greater collaborations and speed research into treatments for childhood diseases.
Children's National opens an additional floor of laboratory space (20,000 sq. ft.) at an institutional cost of $18 million bringing the total amount of CRI lab space to 100,000 sq. ft.
CRI's diverse grant portfolio boasts an impressive 300 percent increase in annual total grant portfolio from the NIH since 2000, as well as an increasingly strong portfolio of funding from agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Defense, private donors and foundational supporters.
Mark L. Batshaw, MD, became the first Director of CRI and Stephan Ladisch, MD, became the first Scientific Director. Children's had no NIH Career Development Awards, known as K Awards, which develops an infrastructure for junior faculty to begin research. Today, Children's National's junior faculty have 26 NIH K Awards, ensuring future leaders in translational research and medicine.
Children's National constructed a fifth floor of research laboratories adding 40,000 sq. ft. of space.
CRI occupied 40,000 sq. ft. of laboratory space at Children's.
Children's National's leadership conceived and developed a strategic plan that resulted in the formation of a separate entity within Children's National Medical Center, called Children's National Medical Center Research, which was later changed to Children's Research Institute (CRI).
Children's National is awarded their first General Clinical Research Center grant by the National Institutes of Health; one of the first given to a free-standing pediatric hospital.
Judson Randolph, MD, Children's Chief Surgeon at the time, developed the first pediatric surgical residency program in the country. Today Children's National's surgery department trains more than 150 surgical residents.
$500,000 was allocated in Children's budget for research. Today, Children's Research Institute (CRI) continues to grow and is the 9th most funded National Institutes of Health pediatric department and 6th among children's hospitals.
Robert Parrott, MD, named first Director of the Research Foundation.
Children's National began its research program with an initial budget that consisted of a contribution by the Medical Staff of $2,792, a gift of $1,000 from the Child Welfare Society, and a Public Health Service grant of $6,000 for polio studies.


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The bride-elect is a 2006 graduate of Tell City High School and a 2007 graduate of Roger's Hair Academy.
She works as a hair stylist at "All About You" salon.
Mr. Zarfos graduated from Perry Central High School in 2000 and from Ivy Tech State College in 2003.
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Water SA
versión On-line ISSN 1816-7950
versión impresa ISSN 0378-4738
Water SA vol.34 no.5 Pretoria oct. 2008
Exposure of rural households to toxic cyanobacteria in container-stored water
E Fosso-KankeuI; P JagalsI, *; H du PreezII
IWater and Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 17011, Doornfontein 2028, Johannesburg, South Africa
IIAnalytical Services, Hydrobiology Section, Barrage Road, PO Box 3526, Vereeniging, South Africa and Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of Johannesburg, PO Box 524, Auckland Park 2006, Johannesburg, South Africa
Cyanobacteria are potent producers of cyanotoxins that may present a health risk to people. This is especially important in rural areas where people use untreated surface water, containing cyanobacteria, for household purposes including cooking and drinking. Water is collected from these sources mainly in plastic containers, transported home and stored during use. This study investigated the occurrence of cyanobacteria and their associated toxins in these containers as well as in the associated surface water sources. The results suggest that cyanobacteria are transferred from the water sources to the containers and then survive and possibly grow in biofilm forming inside the vessels. Their associated cyanotoxins were not found in any health-significant quantities in containers. However, the occurrence of cyanobacteria in the water used by the households collected in containers clearly indicates that it can be an important route of exposure especially if toxic cyanobacteria are present in the source water. In several cases a risk of cyano-intoxication might exist unless the households undertake preventative measures.
Keywords: cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin, microcystin, surface water sources, drinking water containers, biofilm
Cyanobacteria occur in surface waters, especially in waters where physical conditions and nutrient loads are favourable for their proliferation (Whitton and Potts, 2000). Several of the cyanobacteria genera produce cyanotoxin and subsequently may pose a human health risk, especially after direct contact with, or ingestion of water contaminated with these genera (Chorus and Bartram, 1999; Codd et al., 1997). Seven toxic cyanobacteria genera (targeted in this study) are most likely to be encountered in surface water sources. These are Microcystis spp., Oscillatoria spp., Anabaena spp., Cylindrospermopsis spp., Aphanizomenon spp., Nodularia spp. and Nostoc spp. (Chorus and Bartram, 1999), of which Microcystis spp. are reported to be the most abundant. These cyanobacteria are potential producers of cyanotoxins of which the most common type is the microcystins (Du Preez et al. 2007; Du Preez and Van Baalen 2006; Chorus and Bartram, 1999; Carmichael, 1992).
People in underdeveloped areas are reportedly using untreated surface water directly from the source for washing, preparing food and drinking. These water sources are often contaminated by substantial numbers of pathogenic bacteria (Jagals, 2006; Jagals et al., 2003), including toxic cyanobacteria (WHO, 2004; Chorus and Bartram, 1999). In the Southern African context, water for household uses in rural villages is being collected from the water source mostly in 20 to 25 ℓ plastic containers and stored at home to be used over several days. The quality of the water source as well as the manner in which the water from the storage containers is being used by the household, poses a health risk to the users. The risk of infection is high as pathogenic bacteria may be collected with the source water or may develop in the container. Seeded and/or neophyte bacteria could proliferate in container waters and eventually attach to containers' inner sidewalls, forming biofilm, further sustaining their occurrence and proliferation (Jagals et al., 2003; Momba and Kaleni, 2002). It is postulated that cyanobacteria and / or their cyanotoxins can also be collected with the source water into containers but it is not known what typical cyanobacteria numbers and their associated toxin levels are collected with the containers or whether the cyanobacteria would proliferate and produce toxin in the container water.
The aim of this work was therefore to assess whether cyanobacteria and microcystins occur at levels in the water from the containers that pose a health problem to the household using it.
Water was sampled from containers in households from rural villages in the semi-tropical Vhembe district of the Limpopo Province in South Africa (Fig. 1). These villages are not supplied with potable water via conventional piped drinking water supply systems. The population uses untreated water from surface sources such as nearby rivers and streams. This study was conducted during the 7 months of high summer in the area to assess cyanobacteria occurrences under conditions conducive to optimum growth, i.e. the assessments were done of the worst-case scenario in terms of consumer exposure to cyanobacteria and their cyanotoxins.
All the households in the area typically used 20 to 25 ℓ plastic containers to collect and store water. The container material varied in colour, variations mostly being of light-coloured (light-permissible) and dark-coloured (light-limiting) plastic. Since light plays an important role in the proliferation of cyanobacteria, this offered a robust method to investigate the role that the light-permissibility of the vessels' material could play in the occurrence of toxic cyanobacteria and their associated cyanotoxin in the containers. An important inclusion criterion was therefore that a participating household would use both a light-coloured (L) and a dark-coloured (D) container for the collection and storage of water for household purposes.
Container-water sampling
Twenty households were randomly selected from 203 households that sourced water directly from two shallow nearby rivers. Sampling visits were paid to each household every 6 to 8 weeks during the 7 months of high summer, with the sampling done within 4 h after the households had collected water from the rivers and 4 samples were taken from a household during each visit. In total, 236 samples were taken during 59 visits. Firstly Samples 1 and 3 were collected from the free volume of water in each container type (L and D), referred to as the FV sample type. This was to attribute cyanobacteria contamination of the FV to the source water. Directly after, biofilm on the sidewalls of the same containers was dislodged by brushing the sidewalls with a sterilised long-handle brush (Jagals et al., 2003). The dislodged biofilm particles were suspended in the free volume of container water by swirling the container and follow-up Samples 2 and 4 were taken (the DB sample). This was to associate potential increases in cyanobacteria numbers in the container water to the presence of biofilm that had formed in the containers.
Each sample (100 mℓ) was collected in an amber bottle and preserved by adding 2 mℓ of acidified formaldehyde solution (Swanepoel et al., 2007). In the laboratory the DB samples were subjected to vigorous shaking to further emulsify the biofilm particles and to release whatever organisms there might be in the particles.
For microcystin assessment, 10 samples were collected from the LDB-containers in sterile brown glass bottles and transported to the laboratory at <10ºC. These samples were taken from LDB-containers because waters from these containers were expected to yield the higher numbers of cyanobacteria and therefore were the most likely to contain measurable quantities of microcystin.
Source-water sampling
Eight samples were collected throughout the summer from the two surface water sources at points where the households collected water. These samples were collected to perform cyanobacteria identification and enumeration as well as selected physical and chemical analyses.
Water quality analyses
The cyanobacteria identification and enumeration were done by following the sedimentation technique whereby a sedimentation chamber containing 3 to 5 mℓ of sample was centrifuged to allow the cyanobacteria cells to settle on the bottom and then analysed under an inverted light microscope (Swanepoel et al., 2007). Analyses for microcystin were performed with competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) using Envirologix Quantiplate Microcystin kits from Adcock Ingram SA, as described by Swanepoel et al. (2007).
Factors considered important in the growth and sustenance of cyanobacteria were also measured in the same water samples. Physical light was not measured since it was assumed that the light permissibility of the two container material types would reflect the role that light would play in cyanobacteria occurrence and proliferation in containers. At each site the temperature and pH were measured with a portable Hanna® instrument (HI 991301 pH/EC/TDS/Temp). As an indicator of the amounts of biofilm dislodged from the container inner sidewalls, the turbidity of the samples was measured afterwards in the laboratory with a Nephla turbidity meter (Dr Lange GmbH-Berlin). To reflect the nutrient concentration in the sampled waters, total nitrate and phosphate were measured with a Xion 500 spectrophotometer (Dr Lange GmbH-Berlin).
Health-related parameters
To postulate on the implications for health, the cyanobacteria and microcystin levels were assessed for compliance (at the 95th percentile) according to the WHO-derived values shown in Table 1.
Statistical analysis
All the data were recorded in Microsoft® Excel. ANOVA was used to derive geometric mean values as well as guideline compliance at the 95th percentile. The numbers of cyanobacteria in the free volume of water were compared to the numbers occurring in the water samples containing dislodged biofilm as well as between the two types of containers. Free volume and dislodged biofilm data from the same container type were considered as parametric, and non-parametric if belonging to different container types. The difference between parameters was measured by sign rank, rank sum and Kruskal-Wallis tests, and deemed significant if the level of probability was < 0.05.
Results and discussion
Part 1: Cyanobacteria and microcystin in containers
Cyanobacteria did not occur consistently in container water samples, with overall 40% (94) of the samples testing positive for cyanobacteria (LFV: 43% positive; LDB: 57% positive; DFV: 34% positive; DDB: 26% positive). However, for statistical analyses of the data, a complete sample set (LFV, LDB, DFV and DDB per household per visit) was considered to be positive, even if only 1 of the 4 samples was positive. This constituted 38 of the 59 sample sets.
Three cyanobacteria genera namely Microcytis, Oscillatoria, and Anabaena were detected in the positive samples (Fig. 2).
Microcystis spp. were the dominant genus to the extent that it constituted between 70 and 80% of the total toxic cyanobacteria in the waters sampled from the containers (Table 2 next page).
The numbers of cyanobacteria in LDB samples were significantly higher (P = 0.004) than in the LFV, DFV and DDB groups. The respective numbers for these three sample groups did not differ significantly (P = 0.349). This implied that, while cyanobacteria did occur in the free volumes of water of all 'positive' containers (probably being harvested from the untreated surface water source), the higher numbers of cyanobacteria in the DB samples from the light-permissible containers were probably built up and sustained in the container biofilm, a tendency reported by Jagals et al (2003) for other health-related indicator organisms such as total coliforms.
The increased levels of cyanobacteria sampled from containers in the free volume of water, could also be the consequence of the biofilm releasing bacteria from the sidewalls during the filling and handling of the containers as reported by Jagals et al. (2003) as well as by Momba and Kaleni (2002).
Although relatively low, the concentrations of nitrate and phosphate (major nutrients for cyanobacteria) in containers waters should have been sufficient to sustain the growth of cyanobacteria in terms of minimum values (10 µg/ℓ and 100 µg/ℓ respectively) proposed by the WHO (1999) and Rusin et al. (2000). The physical conditions (pH and temperature) were optimum in containers waters, ranging between 6 and 9 and 20 and 35°C respectively. The turbidity and nutrient levels in the DB samples were significantly higher (P < 0.001) than in FV samples.
This was regardless of the type of container since no significant difference (P > 0.05) could be measured between these variables in light and dark container water sample types. These results show that nutrients could not have accounted for the variation in cyanobacteria numbers in the container types. The conclusion is therefore that light was the limiting factor for cyanobacteria activity in the dark containers.
The results show further that, at the 95th percentile, the numbers of cyanobacteria in LDB and DDB samples exceeded critical levels contained in a number guidelines. Firstly, it exceeded the WHO (1999) Health Primary Alert guideline value of 2 000 cells/mℓ (Table 1). This value is also contained in the proposed Alert 1 contained in the Australian National Alert Levels Framework for Drinking Water (Burch et al., 2003) and the Cyanobacteria Incident Management Framework for Drinking Water Utilities, developed by Du Preez and Van Baalen (2006) and Du Preez et al. (2007).
Microcystin in containers
One of the 10 selected container samples contained microcystin but at a concentration (0.36 µg/ℓ) that did not exceed the guideline value of 1 µg/ℓ proposed in Table 1.
Despite high numbers of toxic cyanobacteria occurring in container water, this was not concurrent with microcystin in the same containers. Microcystin was detected in Sample 5, which contained lower numbers of cyanobacteria (310 cells/mℓ) than for instance Sample 3 with the highest number (692 299 cells/mℓ) of cyanobacteria. It is possible that microcystin did occur in some or all of the other nine samples but in concentrations below the detection limit of the technique (range of detection: 0.18 µg/ℓ to 2.5 µg/ℓ). Other reasons for the low toxin occurrence could be that the physical and chemical conditions (Van der Westhuizen et al., 1986; Van der Westhuizen and Eloff, 1985), such as those encountered in the containers would not have been conducive to the production of microcystin at the time of sampling. It is reported that environmental factors affect the variation of the toxicity of cyanobacteria (Chorus and Bartram, 1999). Work by Sivonen (1990) as well as Rapala and Sivonen (1998), showed the loss of toxigenicity by genera of Microcystis and Anabaena under variable light and nutrient conditions. It is therefore possible that although the conditions in containers were favourable for the growth and proliferation of cyanobacteria, the same conditions were not conducive to the production of microcystin by these cells.
Part 2: Occurrence of cyanobacteria and microcystin in source waters
Four genera belonging to the 7 toxic cyanobacteria genera mentioned earlier constituted the total cyanobacteria detected in samples taken from the water sources. These were again Microcystis, Anabaena, Oscillatoria and Pseudo-anabaena. Microcystis and Anabaena were the dominant genera but their occurrence varied widely, with Microcystis occurring in between 25% and 80% of the samples. No cyanobacteria were detected in two of the samples while the numbers of cyanobacteria in two more samples did not comply, at the 95th percentile, with the guidelines proposed in Table 1. The water sources did contain the major nutrients required for cyanobacteria growth (phosphate and nitrate) in quantities sufficient for growth.
Although not correlated specifically to households, the results in Table 3 show that source-based cyanobacteria can be the origin of those found in containers but do not necessarily contribute to the higher numbers detected in especially light-permitting containers. This strengthens the case for container-biofilm to be a major reservoir of cyanobacteria as it is for other water-related pathogenic bacteria.
Microcystin was detected in 3 of the 8 samples. In two of these, the concentrations were above the guideline value of 1 µg/ℓ for drinking water (Table 1). This implies that microcystin could also be imported into containers.
Subsequent growth of sourced cyanobacteria in containers
This study showed that cyanobacteria also occurred in the drinking water containers. While the higher numbers of container occurrences are attributed to the presence of biofilm in these containers, the numbers in the dislodged-biofilm samples from the dark containers and the samples from the free volumes of water in both the container types were not significantly higher than those of the sources (P > 0.346). It was only the LDB samples that were significantly higher than the numbers of cyanobacteria in the source water, DDB and both FV samples. While this indicated that the source waters were probably the source of the container cyanobacteria, the favourable conditions in the light-permitting containers contribute to the proliferation of seeded cyanobacteria.
General discussion and conclusion
On a larger scale, De Philippis et al. (2005) found that cyanobacteria could form biofilm on solid surfaces that interfaced with environmental water. Exo-polysaccharides, present on the cyanobacteria cell walls, promoted the attachment of the cell to solid surfaces and the formation of biofilm (De Philippis and Vincenzini, 1998; Sutherland, 2001). Moreover, in contrast to heterotrophic bacteria that die off during water-storage mostly because of nutrient depletion (Egwari and Aboaba, 2002; Piriou et al., 1997), cyanobacteria have the ability to synthesise their own organic nutrients using only carbon dioxide, minerals and light (Chorus and Bartram, 1999), and can therefore live under such conditions.
Results from this study showed that cyanobacteria in the household containers could be collected from the source water during water collection. Although the composition of the biofilm was not investigated, the results do suggest that cyanobacteria could increase in numbers in containers, be it through growth or sustained accumulation by growth factors in the container biofilm, especially light-permitting containers.
Microcystis spp. appeared to be the dominant genus of cyanobacteria recorded in this study. While this is in accordance with previous reports on work on environmental waters in South Africa by Du Preez and Van Baalen (2006) as well as Van Ginkel (2004), this study suggested that Microcystis might also have the ability to grow in the container, thus constituting a potentially consistent risk to the health of consumers.
Despite the apparent absence of microcystin in container waters, the health risk should not be considered negligible. The occurrence of cyanobacteria in the container water used by households clearly indicates that it can be an important route of exposure especially if there is a toxic cyanobacteria bloom in the source water. The importance of the contribution of biofilm in the containers is further highlighted. The numbers of cyanobacteria in the biofilm from especially the light-coloured containers were high enough to suggest that their ability to produce cyanotoxins constituted a consistent potential for spontaneous increases in toxin levels should conditions become favourable (Rapala and Sivonen, 1998). Furthermore lipopolysaccharide endotoxins produced by all cyanobacteria could constitute a hazard for immuno-impaired consumers although not an immediate threat for healthy people (Stewart et al., 2006).
From the analysis of the limited sources of water available in the study areas, it appears that they are of unacceptable quality for consumption. The use of dark containers will certainly limit the proliferation of cyanobacteria in stored water; however, in the case of scum occurrence at the source, it is not advisable for the population to make contact with water. Hence the need for major intervention, such as low-cost pretreatment of water (use of activated charcoal), education of the user about the need for regular observation of the physical appearance of the water, as well as action to be taken during scum occurrence, and promotion by health authorities of container hygiene to be achieved through regular brushing and sanitising of containers to keep the vessel free of biofilm.
The National Research Foundation, Analytical Services of Rand Water in particular Annelie Swanepoel and Leonie van Baalen, as well as our colleagues at the Water and Health Research Unit, University of Johannesburg.
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* To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Present address:
Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
+2712 3823543; fax: +2712 3825262;
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