text:
- Cover Story
Goodbye, Family Fortune
- Order Reprints
- Print Article
The Top Wealth Management Firms
After his mother died, John Mecom Jr. was supposed to make sure her money was preserved for his four children.
Instead, the son of a Texas oil tycoon looted a multi-million dollar trust he was supposed to oversee, a lawsuit alleges. It claims he failed to account for $536,691 he owed the fund, racked up "general office and administrative expenses" of more than $80,000 in one year and sold off nearly a million dollars' worth of his mother's art, antiques and jewelry.
Mecom Jr., who declined through his attorneys to comment for this story, said he was entitled under terms of his mother's will to do anything he wanted with her personal possessions, according to court documents.
But a lawyer who is suing him on behalf of his daughter sees the situation differently. "We think it was theft and that he was just a spoiled brat that was raised by a rich family that probably spent more time making money than they spent taking care of the kids," said James R. Lovell of Lovell & Lyle in Dumas, Texas.
These are the times that try rich men's souls. Even under normal circumstances, the average patriarch lives in fear that "a spoiled brat" who gets his hands on a family fortune will squander the inheritance. But these aren't normal circumstances. First there was the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent recession. Now there's the European debt debacle, which threatens to cascade through global banks and the world economy. The U.S. already is facing the real possibility of a new recession; economists put the odds at about 1 in 3. In other words, preserving a fortune is getting harder than ever.
The hysteria among the super-rich is palpable. They're worried their kids and grandchildren will fritter away the money it took forebears lifetimes to earn. They're asking: How do you prevent a child from growing up to be ne'er-do-well? Should you leave a spendthrift heir nothing? Or money with lots of strings attached? And what if a family squabble escalates into an expensive lawsuit?
"Families are saying, 'Oh my God, that last collapse was awful, and now we know there will be another big one, and when it comes it will be as scary as hell,' " says Maria Elena Lagomasino, chief executive of GenSpring Family Offices, which manages the money of some of America's wealthiest families. "And, 'What if I'm not around to manage the next one? How do I make sure the next generation really has the preparation to get through the crisis?' "
With at least $41 trillion in private wealth expected to be transferred from one generation to the next in the first half of this century, the stakes are high. As a result, rich families are sending kids to financial boot camps or giving them crash courses in money management at home. They're also crafting sophisticated "beneficiary rescues" to wrest trust funds away from wastrel heirs and hiring psychologists to help them broach the topic of money with kids. ("It's harder than talking to them about sex," one father confides.)
"Kids need education," said Sara Hamilton, chief executive of the Family Office Exchange, which advises ultra-wealthy families. Hamilton also teaches financial skills to 35 or 40 heirs at a time who enroll in a four-day private wealth management course that the University of Chicago offers twice a year (tuition: $8,950). The course covers the basics -- of investing, tax law, estate planning and philanthropy -- at the behest of parents who, Hamilton says, are "concerned about whether the wealth will disincentivize their kids from leading productive lives. That's the No. 1 concern that drives the education piece."
The good news is that despite all the hand-wringing, there's little evidence yet that family fortunes are taking big hits. Last year, the richest people in the world -- the segment of the population with $30 million or more -- saw their wealth increase by 11.5%, according to the latest annual World Wealth Report from Capgemini and Merrill Lynch.
Nevertheless, recent history is rife with, well, heir-raising horror stories. In Canada, there's the seemingly endless saga of the drug-abusing daughter of deceased media mogul Pierre Peladeau. Anne-Marie Peladeau sued her brothers -- after they cut off her $10,800 monthly allowance -- before heading off to a stint in a rehab center named for her family. In California, Korbel Champagne baron Gary Heck and his daughter, Richie Ann Samii -- whom he sued for defaming him on the Internet -- fought in court for three years over more than $9 million in trust-fund income following her arrest for sexually assaulting two employees. (The father and daughter eventually settled, for an undisclosed sum estimated to be in the millions of dollars.)
AND BACK IN TEXAS, John Mecom Jr.'s daughter Katsy Cluck filed suit against him in 2008, in a messy and expensive case that names her three siblings as involuntary plaintiffs and involves five separate teams of lawyers, each trying to determine how much money matriarch Mary Elizabeth Mecom had at the time of her death in 1996.
In 1983, when Mrs. Mecom set up the trust, the multi-million dollar fund's assets included cash and bonds, more than 140,000 shares of stock in 16 different companies and the household possessions of her French château-style home.
As trustee, her son John Jr. was instructed under terms of the trust to distribute what was left of the assets to his four grown children upon her death.
But John Mecom Jr., a former owner of the New Orleans Saints football team, never gave the children a penny from the trust, according to the lawsuit. It pits against each other two generations of a family whose wealth was once estimated at more than $200 million.
"Dear Daddy," reads a plaintive letter Mecom Jr.'s four children sent him, asking what happened to the money. "We are all adults now with our own financial responsibilities and it is very difficult to plan for the future when we have these unresolved issues hanging over our heads."
The Mecom case, which has wended a slow, Dickensian route through the court system, is headed to trial after a state Court of Appeals ruling earlier this year determined that John Mecom Jr. demonstrated an "inability thus far to fully explain his activities as trustee, including his personal transactions."
As a longtime family friend observed, "It really is tragic, when all of them have money, that they end up not speaking to each other and spend a lot of money and cause themselves grief over an amount that's not that significant to them."
No titan of industry wants to work hard all his life only to raise a child who turns out like Huntington Hartford, the boy who inherited the vast A&P grocery fortune and whose teachers called him the "million-dollar milk-fed baby." By the time he died at age 97 in 2008, Hartford had lost well over $100 million to gold-digging wives, ill-advised financial investments and the occasional megalomaniacal urge, including one that prompted him in the 1960s to build an ugly, eponymously named art museum at the southern edge of Manhattan's Columbus Circle. At the top of the building was a restaurant called the Gauguin Room. Its menu was Polynesian. It didn't last long.
Most real-life horror stories, however, have nothing to do with family intrigue, drug-addicted heiresses or Internet feuds but instead are the result of children who simply don't understand the basics of money. JPMorgan Private Bank, in a poll of heirs at a recent education session, found that 75% of them felt either completely unprepared or only somewhat prepared to take on the management of their wealth.
Very often, the culprits are the parents.
"I know this one father who is frustrated because he has two daughters who don't work, yet he has never worked in front of them or told them to get jobs, and every year he buys them Fendi purses for Christmas," says a wealth manager at one firm. "You look at him and think, 'Well, you spend $1.2 million a year and you're not sure on what, except for about $150,000 of it going to a mortgage in Italy, so you aren't exactly the best role model.' "
Family dynamics can create problems. "Some families are really wacky," said a wealth consultant. "I know a client who gave his daughter a budget for her wedding, and after she went over by $387.25, he sent her a bill for that amount. But she has brothers who are $100,000 in credit-card debt, and the father doesn't do a thing. It makes you scratch your head."
INCREASINGLY, BANKERS and other advisors are offering to talk to the kids on behalf of their parents.
"Starting when our kids were teenagers, at least 10 years ago, we asked our family wealth advisors to talk to them, because there are things that you are better off hearing from a neutral third party, like why you are going to have to agree to a prenup when you marry," said one GenSpring client whose daughter is now married (with a prenup in place).
Psychologist Amy Zehnder, who was hired by U.S. Bank this year as part of a new Ascent Private Capital Management team aimed at clients with more than $25 million to invest, said families need to sit down together and talk -- about their values, where the money came from originally and how they believe it should be used in the future.
"If the money is just to feed them, to allow them to spend, that's completely different from if there's a greater purpose," Dr. Zehnder said. "Once the generations decide that together, they can make a family plan."
Without a plan, the money can vanish. "Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations," is the old saying that describes the typical trajectory of a family fortune. Every culture has a variant: "Clogs to clogs in three generations," the Dutch say. "Rice paddies to rice paddies" is the Chinese version.
The meaning is the same, though: An entrepreneurial first generation makes a fortune before selling a business and leaving a big pot of money to a second generation to try to preserve or invest before passing what's left to a third generation of far-flung cousins. By then, there's less for each because the family tree has a lot of new leaves hanging off its branches.
"This is the human condition. The money is spent, and it's back to the rice paddies," said James E. Hughes Jr., author of the book Family Wealth -- Keeping It In the Family. "The forces of the universe suggest that when something goes into stasis, it will disappear."
The math is daunting: If a family spends 4% of its assets each year, which is about the norm, it has to earn a 12% percent return on investments to stay above water after taxes, inflation and money-management fees.
Some families manage to beat the odds, though. The fortune of the Laird Norton family, one of America's wealthiest, is seven generations old, and dates from 1855 when two brothers (Matthew and James Norton) and a cousin (William Laird) invested their collective savings of $1,042.80 to start a Minnesota lumber company. Ever since, descendants of the two lines have considered themselves heirs to one fortune.
A privately published, 318-page hardcover family history titled Branching Out begins by quoting Verse 6 from the King James version of Psalm 16: "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage." Enjoying the goodly heritage are about 420 living members. In 2006, the Laird Nortons sold the family's Lanoga Corp. lumber-supplies company, with an annual revenue of $3 billion.
At first, though, the sale wasn't universally supported. "Family harmony was fractured. There was some concern that we may be creating estate plan issues for some people," said Laird Koldyke, chairman of the family's board of directors. "We kind of blew the communication on that, and issues started to percolate, and there were questions of does the board know what they're doing."
As a result, the family made a conscious effort to step up internal communications and educational programs and give members more of a say and an emotional stake in the family as an entity.
The 420 Laird Nortons are invited to convene annually at a family meeting at a midsize resort somewhere in the U.S. (the location changes) to discuss two kinds of business: financial and family. At the gatherings, children younger than 13 attend the family's privately run Camp Three Tree -- named after the three 19th-century branches that founded the family.
"We start brainwashing them early," Koldyke jibes. "We want them to have fun, have camaraderie with their cousins, play games together and, as they get older, to get some sense of exactly where the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are coming from."
When they turn 14, children graduate to a Next Generation financial academy that teaches basic business skills. They are formally introduced to the family and expected to start attending its business meetings. At age 21, they can join the Next Generation Leadership Council and attend three-day sessions to learn the ins and outs of the family's business and philanthropic pursuits.
"What this means is that in the next 10 to 20 years, the family is going to have even more interested, qualified, capable leaders," Koldyke said. "We're pretty excited about the caliber of the next generation."
BUT IN SOME FAMILIES, education may not be enough to prevent profligate heirs from spending every penny.
"People take drugs. They do foolish things. You can dissipate a fortune by being a crappy investor pretty quickly," said Robert Casey, a spokesman for the Family Wealth Alliance consulting firm.
There are special ways many wealthy families use to transfer assets from one generation to the next if they think heirs may turn out reckless or imprudent. Typically, when children are young, parents set up for them uniform gift to minor accounts (UGMAs), to minimize taxes and bank fees. Before children reach age 21 -- when they legally get control of UGMA funds -- the accounts get rolled into trusts with trigger dates designed to delay payouts. But most trusts are irrevocable, and have mandatory payout provisions. On trigger dates -- such as when a beneficiary reaches a specified age of 25, say, or 30 or 35 -- predetermined portions of the assets get distributed.
"If a child is entitled to the money at age 21 and he demands it at that point, it's too late to keep it away," said Thomas Handler, a partner at Chicago-based Handler Thayer, which specializes in financial planning for affluent families.
To prevent that, families who anticipate a problem can put a "beneficiary rescue" plan in place before a trigger date occurs by setting up family limited partnerships (FLPs) or family limited liability companies (FLLCs), which essentially are like big buckets into which assets can be poured. Trust assets can be transferred to those entities, which are then held in trust.
"From a control standpoint, you can have assets in these entities that are totally owned by children, grandchildren, even great grandchildren -- and yet Generation One could still be the ones making the investment and distribution decisions," Handler said.
The goal? "Minimizing the chance that something will go awry with the money and maximizing the chance the grandchildren won't destroy themselves," Handler said.
The safeguards can protect against meltdowns in dysfunctional families. "Once I had a client, a sister, suing the brother and the mother's estate, who came into my office dressed in a St. John knit suit and an Hermès scarf, and came across as very polished," Handler said. "It was a very affluent family, she grew up with lots of servants and all the trappings of wealth, but it turned out she had a lot of emotional baggage."
The woman was suing over ownership of a condo in Florida and some art and antiques, "maybe one and a half or two million dollars in assets, which to this family would be like you and me fighting over quarters," Handler said. "But the case dragged on. It was clear she didn't want to settle, because it wasn't about the money. It was about 'Mom did this for you and not for me, and now I'm going to fight for my rights.' "
After two years, when a settlement agreement was finally reached -- "$600,000 or $700,000, which frankly she wasn't entitled to," Handler said -- the client simply failed to show up in court.
"The judge is waiting, so I call her aunt and learn my client was staying at the Palmer House," he said.
Handler went to the hotel to fetch her. In the lobby, he used a house phone to call her, but she wouldn't tell him her room number. "She keeps hanging up on me. I call her aunt again, get the number, go up to the penthouse in the tower, and it takes me about half an hour to get her to leave," he said.
In the elevator on the way down, after Handler reminded her that the judge was waiting, "she stares at me and hits every button to make it go slower," he said.
At the courthouse, she ran ahead into the courtroom to tell the judge she was not "psychologically able to do this settlement," Handler said. "So we have to get her therapist on the line to say there's no reason she can't, and finally she signs the settlement."
That night, after dinner, Handler got a call from the client's aunt. "She says, 'You have to go get her, she's in the courthouse refusing to leave.' They were at the point in the evening where the janitor had had enough."
E-mail: email@example.com


text:
Seasons brings all the information you need to make the right decisions when choosing your food during shopping or at the restaurant. Live greener with buying local and seasonal products.
- Seasons data for fruits, vegetables, lettuces, herbs, fungi and nuts
- 214 entries, each with photo, short description and seasonal data
- Includes local seasons as well as import seasons
- Support for US, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Western and Central Europe
- Detail view for each entry with all the information and season sequence
- Overview of fruits with current season
- Monthly overview
- Category overview
- Search
- Auto detect region setting using GPS/WLAN
- English, French, German and Spanish localisation
Worldchanging: I was pleased to discover that the app Seasons ($1.99) now has data for the United States.
Vegging Out: They started their iPhone app just for fun, but it soon blossomed into an indispensable guide to seasonal fruit and veg – a harvest calendar for the whole year that you can put in your pocket.
Geeks: Really nice idea for your wellbeing and your waistline.
Ecoki (Comment): Awesome! Thanks for the idea.
GOOD: Superb Idea: An App That Tells You What's in Season
Foodielady: If you want to contribute in helping the environment by buying local and eating products that are in season like nature intended, check out the iphone app seasons.
Envirogadget: There's no doubt that the iPhone platform has led to a huge torrent of great applications, and the Seasons iPhone application is a perfect example of that.
Allansiew: Knowing what fruits are coming in season that is what I call cool.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Phillies finally acquired Matt Stairs from the Blue Jays for player to be named later.
"Or a Stanley Cup," the Canadian-born hockey fan said Saturday from Wrigley Field, where he joined his new Phillies teammates. "It depends on what uniform is on. When you get near the end of your [baseball] playing career, the sacrifices you make, you just want to get a ring and go from there."
With his hockey career having ended in high school, Stairs embarked on a professional baseball vocation when he signed with the Expos on Jan. 17, 1989. Still playing at age 40, now for his 11th team, the Phillies give him a much better chance of reaching that goal than his former team, the Blue Jays.
"It's tough leaving Toronto, being Canadian, but when they told me I was going to Philly, I was like, 'Nice,'" said Stairs, who served as an assistant hockey coach for John Bapst High School in Bangor, Maine, during the offseason. "[The Phillies] are a team in the hunt, in a park I enjoy playing in. There's an opportunity to win, and whatever my role is, is fine."
That role will mostly be pinch-hitting, though manager Charlie Manuel said he'll work Stairs in at the corner outfield spots, especially against tough righties. The Phillies will assume the balance of Stairs' $2.25 million salary for this season and $1 million for 2009. The Jays will receive a player to be named after the conclusion of the World Series, according to Phillies general manager Pat Gillick.
The Phillies had been looking for a left-handed bat since losing Geoff Jenkins on Aug. 23 to a strained right hip flexor, and there's little chance he'll return when eligible on Sept. 7. Philadelphia claimed Stairs off waivers, limiting the Blue Jays to one trading partner.
"We lost Jenkins and were short left-handed," Gillick said. "Consequently, to get an experienced guy who can play some and hit off the bench can't hurt. We had claimed him, so they either had to make a deal with us or keep him on the roster."
Motivated by wanting to find a spot for top hitting prospect Travis Snider, Toronto quickly agreed with Philadelphia, but haggled over money and the quality of the player to be named.
None of this matters to Stairs, who has been part of two playoff teams, with Boston in 1995 and Oakland in 2000. He understands that staying loose is important during the final weeks.
"My approach is it doesn't matter if you're 100 games out or 100 games up," Stairs said. "Every day and every at-bat, you have the same approach. At this point, you have to stay loose and have fun. I've been on teams before where you get in a race and everyone gets tight."
Stairs said Thursday that he would've liked to finish his career with the Jays and "party down Yonge Street" if they won a World Series. He'll just have to adjust.
"When you get to be my age, you don't want to move around as much as I have," said Stairs, who learned about Philadelphia from former Flyer Mark Recchi. "I'll have to find a new street in Philadelphia and party down there, maybe look for Rocky Balboa and hang out there."
Perhaps on Broad Street. (H/T Phillies.com)
So, the hold up was over money? Why am I not surprised. I'm just surprised the Phillies have decided to eat up the balance of Stairs' contract. Either the idiots are desperate, or they'd finally decided to stop buying on the cheap and to start buying to win. Either way, this vet better help tp get this team moving forward to the playoff.


text:
Back in 2007, conflicts within the Wu-Tang Clan were rife, as the group released their fifth album, 8 Diagrams, to the dissatisfaction of some of its key members. Among those unhappy were Ghostface Killah and Raekwon, claiming that RZA's increasingly experimental production style had strayed from the classic Wu-Tang sound. Here lies the origin of Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang, a concept album of sorts that is completely free from RZA's contributions. Initially mooted as a group project away from the RZA, it later became Raekwon's solo project, albeit with a little help from his friends.
Following the triumphant sequel to Wu spin off classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx in 2009, Raekwon has certainly given himself a lot to live up to here. But while some may have expected the chef to fall on his Shaolin sword, he has delivered another consistent and occasionally inspired body of work. Although perhaps lacking the sprawling ambition of the Cuban Linx albums, and at times feeling a little rough around the edges, the back to basics feel of Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang is a sensible step back from one of the more grounded members of the clan.
In the absence of the RZA, production duties are competently handled by a mixture of newcomers and established producers. While the bigger names (Oh No, The Alchemist, DJ Khalil) turn in predictably strong beats, there are also notable contributions from new faces Selasi ('Snake Pond') and Tommy Nova ('Masters of our Fate'). Despite the pick 'n' mix selection of producers, though, the record feels tight and cohesive, succeeding in recapturing some of the rawness of early Wu-Tang. As stated in recent interviews, Raekwon has little interest in making party hip hop, and he mostly stays true to a gritty street sound. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but even a surprising collaboration with Brit R&B star Estelle on 'Chop Chop Ninja' manages to sound convincingly authentic.
While Raekwon's flow and delivery has never been as caricatured as his fellow clan members, he is known for making focussed records using guests to add colour and variation. The approach is no different here, as he brings together an all-star cast of regulars including Method Man, Busta Rhymes, Black Thought and, of course, Ghostface. There is even the long awaited revival of his collaboration with Nas on 'Rich and Black', and a feature from Rick Ross on smooth, horn laden album highlight 'Molasses'. Despite this being undoubtedly a lower key affair than Cuban Linx…Pt II, there's something cinematic about its vague conceptual nature, unsurprisingly tied together by obscure martial arts clips. Particularly 'Masters Of Our Fate', with its dramatic string arrangement, behind which Raekwon and Black Thought trade verses tackling grand themes.
Shaolin Vs. Wu-Tang is by no means perfect: the Khalil-produced lead single 'Rock 'n' Roll' leaves me a little cold despite strong production, but the hits easily outweigh the misses. It's unlikely this record will be met with anywhere near the fanfare of his last, but Raekwon has proved himself capable of shining both in the limelight and the backseat. As the album rings out with a Wu-Tang chant over an epic Ennio Morricone-esque arrangement, the clan appears to be as strong as ever. It's been nearly two decades at the top for this seminal hip hop group, and on this evidence they show no signs of losing their edge.
7Kyle Ellison's Score


text:
Fri, Oct 01
I'm home, finally, from the road. 11 days wherein I filmed a 1 hour special for Comedy Central, made my first appearance on Howard Stern, and did 7 shows to near sold-out music clubs, all of which was being filmed for a documentary/performance film.
Now I'm unpacking, washing clothes, editing my special, and finishing up an intro to a trade paperback zombie comic. But ah, the memories keep intruding:
After leaving Eugene Saturday morning, we headed up to Lake Shasta for a much-needed night off. We stopped in this little mountain town on the way that boasted it had the "Best Burger on the I-5". When we walked in we were greeted by a fetid smell that reminded me of diapers on a dashboard, plus an ominous, angry Dry-Erase board bible quote. We ate down the street, and the burgers there were fine. I'm not a fan of smells.
Lake Shasta was so beautiful and peaceful. Zach expounded on comedy for a segment of the documentary, and Brian and I ran naked through the woods for another segment of the documentary. The UPN has bought that footage for a pilot presentation, they just need to add "retards with paint guns" (that's what the e-mail said today) and we've got a show.
We made dogs and burgers that night. It was a great chance to hang with the crew, none of whom I made any close friendships with because of my narcissism, self-loathing, and iPod addiction. Let's meet all the cool people who made this tour and documentary possible:
DJ was the other producer, and pretty much put the whole film together while I nodded stupidly and tried not to drool. He's a fantastic cook, a tough, motorcycle-riding Jew, and all-around mensch. I was even more excited when I got him to eat a BACON cheeseburger on Yom Kippur. Triple blasphemy score!
Henry Owings edits Chunklet Magazine, and co-produced my first CD, and is our resident Lester Bangs/fixit guy/tour manager. All the advance work, fire quelling action we left up to him. Sure, he makes me feel like I have the musical taste of an 81 year-old man, but that's because the only thing on my iPod is Dick Haymes.
Michael Blieden directed the whole documentary. He also wrote MELVIN GOES TO DINNER, and is a calming presence. He's like a human cloud of pot smoke, which was good to have around whenever anyone mentioned George Lucas around Brian.
Neil Mahoney is a bud from the MBar, and laughs at almost anything I say, especially when it involves pussy, so he's A+. Erik Magnus is a big teddy bear, and despite wiring me every five goddamn minutes (I kept "forgetting" my mike and battery pack) never lost his patience with my diva-like bleatings. Inman! Inman was DJ's right-hand man, and was really good at tricking everyone into doing exactly what he wanted us to do without seeming to ask us anything. Wow. I think he had a power crystal. I don't ever remember speaking to Mike Black directly, but that's probably 'cuz he avoided me, which shows you he's smart. Brandon Hickman kinda looked like a junkie and a ranch hand, but he was an ace DP. Dave Romano looked like Tom Savini, so he could have shot me in the leg and I still woulda liked him. And Elizabeth McDonald was another ace DP who would NOT STOP FILMING ME!!! But she appreciated old scotch, so again, A+.
The cookout went like that—shots of scotch, laughs, fireflies, and a distant train every five minutes. Zach crowned himself the King of Snacks, and we all went to bed.
The next day found the whole crew at The Black Bear Inn, further down the 5. Which town? The fuck should I know? I'm an artist!
Everything in the Black Bear Inn was bear-related, right down to the "Talk to the Paw" sign and "Almost Bear-a-dise" T-shirts. Brian thought they should have a T-shirt with a bear in a wheelchair that said, "I've Been Bear-alized" and I imagined a "Bear-ly Legal" glossy stroke rag. Zach told us, "Don't go bear". Brian ordered The Volcano, which he only finished half of, and still produced a turd which got up, went outside, and beat up three truckers. Then Brian sat next to a carved bear on a bench! 'Cause the place was called The Black Bear Inn and there were bears everywhere! You might think I'm milking this whole "bear" thing too much, but you'll just have to grin and "tolerate" it!
Then we got a flat tire, which was kind of dramatic, but then the drama ended when we still got to S.F. on time. Oh well. Maria was weirdly calm backstage before a show where she fucking CRUSHED. Zach hired some homeless street singers to sing the punch lines to his jokes.
Okay, I know, I should have taken more pics in S.F., but I was seriously burned out at this point. We all went to dinner at Andalu on the 27th, had another fun show, and then I flew back to L.A. Tuesday morning.
The last show—Wednesday at the El Rey—was a library of all the comedians I a) love and b) were in town. The day started off calmly enough, with new comics, strong tea, and a breakfast burrito. But then ominous signs were everywhere. A dead bird on my doorstep. A fucked-up movie billboard on Fairfax where it looks like Jude Law is dreaming about fucking Gary Sinese, a staunch Republican. And, worst of all, one of those inflatable "crazy arm" dudes on La Cienega—WITH HIS ARMS TORN OFF. Shuddering and trembling in the noonday sun like a sudden amputee who can't stop smiling, because the agony has pushed him past the glimmery brink of sanity.
But the show went great. I mean, fucking terrific. A lot of fun, for me to watch and perform on. What happened? Why all the bad omens but then the amazing payoff? How had I reversed the ju-ju?
On the way home, I ran over a black cat in front of a church near my house. Kla-DUMP! Dead. Darted right out, and I didn't even have time to brake. It tried to cross my path, but didn't make it. I'd crushed all my bad luck with my new radials. Thanks, Firestone!
And thank everyone for supporting the tour! See you in the spring, East Coast!


text:
For us, it's not just a slogan, it's a way of life and our goal with each and every flexible packaging innovation we pioneer. We want to help our customers create safe, natural, economic, and sustainable products with better bag-in-box and spouted pouch technology for dispensed, institutional products and consumer-friendly, packaged goods.
CleanPouch is the hygienic pre-made spouted pouch solutions for food and beverage products.Read more
Scholle IPN, the pioneers of bag-in-box packaging, offers their customers superior flexible packaging solutions as well as world-class customer service.Read more
Scholle IPN's history is one of breakthrough packaging successes that have helped brands add consumer convenience, new methods of serving and dispensing products, product safety enhancements, and time and money savings.Read more


text:
Market Scene: Cherries, Berries, Peaches (and Some Vegetables) at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket
Market Scene: NY
Snapshots from the farmers market.
In season now: Strawberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Peaches, Peas, Cucumbers, Summer Squash, Beets
In season soon: Eggplants, Tomatoes, Peppers
The past few weeks have witnessed a riot of summer vegetables arriving at the Greenmarkets, but this week some sweeter produce was the hot ticket item: summer fruit is nearly in full swing. Blueberries and strawberries are still going strong, and two hotly anticipated stone fruits showed up: dark, luscious cherries and fragrant, fuzzy-skinned peaches. Click through the slideshow above for a closer look at these June beauties, and be sure to make some time for the market tomorrow!


text:
Silver Rainbow Lunch
Two-course lunch for LGBT people over 50. £7. Meals provided by UNACC (Upper Norwood Association for Community Care). Booking required: note....PHONE UNACC on 020 8771 6886 by 12 noon of the day before, saying whether you'd like the vegetarian option. Don't forget to mention you're with Silver Rainbow.


text:
| April 2, 2014, 11:06 am
Metro State guard Brandon Jefferson keeps accumulating accolades.
Jefferson was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II Player of the Year Wednesday after leading the Roadrunners to the D-II Final Four.
The 5-foot-9 senior averaged 21.6 points — a school single-season record — 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.4 steals this season, leading Metro State to a 32-2 record.
He was also named the Division II Bulletin National Player of the Year on Monday, and the Daktronics Ron Lenz National Player of the Year, according to Metro State.


text:
HARRISONBURG, Va. – After losing an emotional game on Friday night against JMU, the VCU baseball team needed the type of game they got on Saturday night to get back on track.
Behind a complete game pitching performance from senior pitcher Seth Cutler-Voltz and a couple of solid offensive performances, the Rams captured a 9-3 victory over the Dukes on Saturday night at Eagle Field to even the series at one game apiece.
VCU improves to 29-22 on the year, but more important is the team's CAA record, which now stands at 14-15. JMU falls to 16-30-2 overall and 10-16 in league play.
"It was a fabulous performance," said VCU associate head coach Shawn Stiffler. "The guys really responded after getting punched in the gut in last night's game. They did exactly what the coaching staff asked of them, putting that game behind them and coming out ready to perform tonight. It was a great performance from the Rams tonight."
The Rams pulled ahead early, pushing across a lone run in the top of the first inning. Sophomore infielder Joey Cujas slapped a two-out single through the left side, before advancing to second on a single up the middle by redshirt junior outfielder Taylor Buran. Cujas would come around to score on a single up the middle by sophomore designated hitter Chris Ayers.
VCU added two more runs in the top of the second inning, with redshirt junior Brent Mikionis leading off the inning with a hit-by-pitch. Senior catcher Taylor Perkins followed with a double over the center fielder's head, which allowed Mikionis to score from first. Perkins advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by senior outfielder Paul Nice, before scoring on an infield groundout by sophomore outfielder Bill Cullen.
Cujas led off the top of the third inning with a solo home run to left field to extend VCU's lead to 4-0. With two outs in the same inning, freshman infielder Vimael Machin belted a triple to center field. Machin would come around to score on a throwing error on Mikionis' grounder to the JMU first baseman.
Machin gave the Rams a 7-0 lead with a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning, which was just his second home run of the season.
The Rams would add single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to close out their scoring, before the Dukes manufactured three runs in the bottom of the ninth to bring the score to its final at 9-3.
Cutler-Voltz pitched the eighth complete game of his four year career and first of the 2012 season, with nine strong innings on Saturday. The Richmond, Va., native allowed three runs, 10 hits and fanned six JMU batters. Cutler-Voltz now has 222 strikeouts for his career, which is 10th best in VCU program history.
"Seth came to me in about the third or fourth inning and told me that his pitch count didn't matter tonight," added Stiffler. "Every big game he always seems to step up and really be the guy for us. Seth and (catcher) Taylor Perkins together stayed confident all night in what they were doing in terms of their approach, and it really paid off for us."
Cujas and Machin paced the Rams offensively, each falling one extra-base hit shy of hitting for the cycle. Cujas finished with a single, double and home run, while Machin roped a single, triple and home run. The two each drove in two RBI.
The two teams will meet on Sunday at 2 p.m., to decide the season series between the two schools. A victory for the Rams would give the team 30-wins on the year and a 15-15 record in CAA play.


text:
VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks added some much-needed depth at forward by acquiring centre Derek Roy, who was sent packing for the second time in 12 months.
"Everything happens for a reason and I'm excited to be a Canuck," Roy said on a conference call from Dallas after the Stars shipped him to Vancouver on Tuesday. He planned to fly to Vancouver Tuesday night and report for practice Wednesday.
In exchange, the Stars got defenceman Kevin Connauton and a second-round pick.
"I like the fact he's been a winner, and an MVP at the Memorial Cup," said Canucks general manager Mike Gillis. "I like his points per game average, I like his play-making aspect and the opportunity to add another layer of offence was important."
The Stars picked up Roy last July, in a deal with the Buffalo Sabres for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy. Prior to that he had been in the Sabres organization since being drafted by Buffalo in 2001.
His best season came in 2007-08, when he had 32 goals and 49 assists in 78 games. The Ottawa native will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and couldn't agree on terms with Dallas.
"It's obviously tough to be traded," he said of two moves in less than a year. Roy said he wasn't he wasn't consulted about this one.
"I had no say. We were trying to renegotiate a contract and things weren't going really well. I got a call from (general manager) Joe Nieuwendyk this morning saying I had been traded to Vancouver."
Vancouver is in need of secondary scoring as its second line has been hit hard by injuries. Mason Raymond recently joined Ryan Kesler and David Booth on the injured list with a sore shoulder. Centre Manny Malhotra was also removed from the Canucks lineup with continuing eye problems.
"The injury to Manny (Malhotra) we've had to look at different opportunities and possibilities," said Gillis. "This is a year not like other years, so we had a chance to do that deal this morning, so we acted on it so we could fill that hole we had."
Roy had four goals and 18 assists in 30 games with Dallas this year but said he too had injury problems that hampered his game until recently.
"I'm healthy now. At the start of the year I had couple of little minor injuries and that set me back a bit but I've been skating really well," he said.
"I'm excited to join the team and excited to make a good playoff push."


text:
I'm trying to figure out how to simulate eye diagrams for communications systems using Python. I'm not sure I have the theory down completely, though. From what I could figure out using some old LabWindows C code, the process is something like this:
- Take an input pattern and convert it into a discrete signal with the same time step between points as the system's step data
- Perform an FFT on the input pattern and convert the system's step data to an S-parameter
- Multiply the transformed pattern and the S-parameter pointwise (equivalent to convolution in the time domain)
- Take the inverse FFT of product.
This is essentially all the old code seems to be doing, but unfortunately at the key steps there are calls to LabWindows functions that have poor online documentation, and I don't have access to the development libraries myself.
Any help or knowledge of eye diagram theory would be a tremendous help.


text:
EnglishCentral is the most effective and fun way to learn and improve your English. Learning on EnglishCentral combines fun authentic videos with a sophisticated personalized coaching system that will guide you in improving your vocabulary and pronunciation. Users who follow our program gain 100 TOEIC points of fluency in 10 weeks
The experience is based on authentic videos. You will watch the video highlighting words you don't know, practice those words in context, repeat what you hear, and finally reinforce your knowledge by taking quizzes on the words.


text:
Welcome to Watch List, where we identify five things on TV to watch while you stay at home this weekend and paint that bird house. It's so small. It can't be that much of an effort to paint it. (cut to five hours later) GAHHHH WHY CAN'T YOU REACH THE CREVICES?! This stuff will NEVER wash off! LET'S GO!
SECRETS OF THE MOUNTAIN – 7:00PM Friday (NBC)
I know the mountain's secret. When it was a little hill, it was a member of the Hitler Molehill Youth! It's true! Don't try and deny it, mountain! I know a geological feature with a Nazi past when I see one. Anyway, this TV movie stars Barry Bostwick and Page Turco and it's about a family looking for treasure in a mountain. NAZI TREASURE?! No, no. Just regular treasure.
I wish I could go on a treasure hunt sometime. Those guys at the beach with the metal detectors? Laugh at them all you like, but you know darn well it would be fun to root around with one of those things and stumble upon a chest full of gold bullion. I've always hoped I had a crazy uncle who showed up to my door one day with one eye missing and a faded map in his hand. Alas, it was not to be. When I die, I'm burying my money somewhere in Idaho. To find it, my family must decipher a series of riddles, each more puzzling than the next. Then, and only then, will they get my priceless trove of Old Navy t-shirts. ANTICIPATION: M MARKS THE MOUNTAIN!
PRIVATE CHEFS OF BEVERLY HILLS – 9PM Friday (Food Network)
The chefs become unwitting participants in a murder mystery party. Really? They throw these kinds of parties in Beverly Hills? Are we sure these aren't the private chefs of Kansas City? I guess 90210 isn't as raging as I once assumed. ANTICPATION: MURDER! AND SALMON PUFFS!
EASTERN PROMISES – 8PM Friday (FX)
Will they show the entire bath house scene? Because then you know cable REALLY has no restrictions on itself. ANTICIPATION: AHHHHH KNIFE TO THE EYE!
SNL – 11:30PM Saturday (NBC)
Your host is Ryan Phillippe, and your musical guest is Ke$ha. My 4-year-old likes dancing to "TiK ToK". That can't be a good sign. ANTICIPATION: PLEASE GET THAT SONG OUT OF MY SKULL
ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS – 8:00PM Sunday (CBS)
You keep that camera on Faith Hill, CBS. You never know when she's liable to blow up. ANTICIPATION: FEUDIN'!


text:
I am not sure what made me do it. I can usually count on my too kind and loving wife to have some common sense when it comes to my youthful uncontrolled exuberance to do something stupid.
But, she was nowhere to be found or at least her motherly instincts for preserving life were not being exercised with her usual dampening wisdom. So, as oblivious as a 4-H animal, I went to Colorado and went snow skiing.
There are a couple of things wrong with this idea; first is that I am older than I used to be when I swooshed my way down the sloped hills of Alta and Snowbird.
The second is that based on the number of face-plants, I cannot move. I am as limber as a piece of hickory. I am composing this article in my head because I can't move.
"Help; someone come and get me out of bed." I finally discovered that I can move both index fingers. Other than that, there is nothing that is not sore, bruised, bent, inflamed, swollen, aching, twisted, contorted, sunburned or otherwise demonstrating that my brain may still think I am 16; but my body is old enough to be covered by the Antiquities Act.
At first, I thought I was paralyzed from the neck down. It's alleged that I have always been paralyzed from the neck up.
What the heck happened? It took me about 30 minutes to figure out that I could move my two index fingers and blink.
My too kind and loving wife is up and moving about with her usual chipper demeanor and she keeps looking at me.
"Blink if you can hear me." I blink quickly as I don't want her to pull the plug. We have talked about this several times and I have given her explicit instructions that if I am somehow not able to physically function any longer she is to the pull the plug.
Yes sir, if I should find myself in that unfortunate situation, I have told her to pull the plug as quickly as a Kardashian divorce.
And just to ensure that she would do it, I told her to bring her sisters along; they wouldn't hesitate any longer than it would take Mitt to change his position.
Hell, they might even use a pillow to move things along. "Come on let's pull the plug here and go shopping. He didn't want to suffer. You know what a sissy he is when it comes to pain."
Now, I think she knows that I can recover. After all, it was only skiing, and so I am hoping that she doesn't pull the plug on my electric blanket as I am awfully comfortable if I don't move.
But she wants to make the bed and clearly I would make a lump in her otherwise perfect arrangement of pillows and shams. I start to panic. I wonder if she might smother me with all those pillows.
Although, she is the love of my life, I have done many things that probably deserve some level of getting even. Perhaps she will just unplug me and then cover my face with a pillow for a few seconds and then gleefully explain, "Just messing with you. Ha Ha. Don't worry. Blink if you understand me. Are you still in there?"
I could even see her slapping me a few times. "Stay with me Gary. Don't you die on me yet; you haven't done your chores. If you are going to die you will just have to wait until this afternoon." Slap. Slap. I think the last two slaps were just out of spite.
My mind is racing and I wonder, "How can a body hurt so much?"
I am sore in places that I didn't even know that I had. I am sore in places that I thought the doctors removed.
I want to tell her, "Please don't pull the plug or leave me …or if you are going to leave would you mind turning on the TV and giving me the remote so I can watch a game. Just put it right there where I can use my working index finger to change channels."
She rolls her eyes, "Come on it was only skiing. Look I am walking around."


text:
Hawaii Real Estate Photography
Hawaii Real Estate Photography. From luxury homes to world class resorts and vacation rentals... we can handle your Hawaii real estate photography needs with the very finest in digital imaging technology. We were one of the first, in Hawaii, to acquire the new FAA "Part 107" for commercial drone operations. We can cover your property, from the ground or the air, with spectacular video and stills. Our photography services are fully insured, both on the ground and in the air. We have over 15 years of professional photography experience, in Hawaii, and a strong dedication to quality personal service. Give us your vision and allow us to produce the dramatic images you are looking for to showcase your residential or commercial property. Call or write for a quote today.Read More
60 / 75
Hawaii Real Estate Photography Hawaii Real Estate Photography
hawaii real estate photographymaui real estate photographyhawaii drone photographymaui vacation rental photography


text:
Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology
Office Phone: (205) 934.6086
Office Fax: (205) 934.7029
Dr. J. Michael Wyss (b. 1948), Professor (Cell Biology, Medicine, Neurobiology and Psychology), completed his undergraduate studies in neurobiology at Concordia College, Indiana (B.S., 1970), and received a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Washington University (St. Louis) in 1976. During his postdoctoral studies at Washington University School of Medicine he applied cell biological methods to elucidate the role of the limbic cortex in behavior and autonomic control, and has continued to expand this research at Birmingham (1979-present). His work on the central control of the autonomic nervous system has propelled him into the studies of the neurocellular mechanisms controlling arterial pressure. Outside of the laboratory he enjoys swimming, soccer and photography.
The current studies in our laboratory include two major research areas. The first research focus is on neuronal plasticity and grows out of our studies demonstrating that a specific group of pyramidal neurons in the rat retrosplenial cortex display a dramatic alteration in their structure as the animal ages. These neurons show considerable plasticity in these rats, in that their apical denrites diminish to about 1/3 of its normal length, while basal dendrites extend to about 4-5 times their adult length. Concurrent with these changes in structure, we have demonstrated that cellular, molecular and behavioral changes occur, including a significant decrease in spatially learning. We have recently expanded these studies to investigate the role that a newly discovered growth and differentiation factor (neuregulin) and its receptors (erbB 2-4) play in neuronal plasticity in the normal and Alzheimer-diseased brain. These studies have demonstrated that neuregulin and its receptors are present throughout the mature brain, that the addition of neuregulin increases the rate of neuronal differentiation in vitro and that neuregulin redistributes in the cerebral cortex following neuronal injury. These studies employ cellular and molecular techniques, transgenic manipulations in mouse, neural recordings, nerve pathway tracing and plasticity measures, biochemical analyses, etc.
The second focus of our research involves the role of the central nervous system in the pathogenesis of hypertension. In these studies we are testing the mechanisms by which a decrease in norepinephrine release in the anterior hypothalamic nucleus leads to salt-sensitive hypertension. We have recently demonstrated that in addition to the selective changes in the hypothalamus, high salt diets also alter the ability of arteries to vasodialate, and that this is due, at least in part, to an alteration in the NO signaling cascade. These studies have also demonstrated that estrogen protects females from the hypertension and underlying neurological dysfunction associated with a high salt diet. These studies employ whole animal integrated physiology, monitoring in awake, freely moving rats and mice, transgenic mouse models, microdyalisis in awake rats and mice, neuronal recordings, molecular detection of neuronal activity, NMR, etc.


text:
The easy way to hire artists similar to MYM
01782 740839
Open 9am-5.30pm, Mon-Fri
Grupo Latino provide beautiful music for events across the UK, bringing a sophisticated and cool Latin twist to your event.
As MYM's agents, we are happy to recommend a similar suitable artist should they be unavilable for your event. We help thousands of customers to book Latin, Salsa & Cuban Bands for wedding receptions, corporate events and private parties throughout the UK and internationally. Every booking is secured with a legally binding contract and 24/7 support. We give you the peace of mind to simply enjoy your event!
Over 138026 Events Since 1999
5000+ Hand Picked Artists
24-Hour Emergency Cover
Silk Mill Studios, Princess Street
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1DD
Registered offices: Ground Floor Suite, Silk Mill Studios, Princess Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1DD, United Kingdom
All content © Copyright Alive Network 1999-2019. All rights reserved. Registered Company Number: 04084200
Some artists may appear with the kind co-operation and consent of their respective management companies.
This service is intended for personal use only and no part of the service may be displayed in public, broadcast or used for any business purpose without the consent of Alive Network. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of our services and web content, we accept no responsibility for any use made of the information provided and we shall not be liable for any loss suffered thereby.
© Copyright Alive Network 1999-2019


text:
Free UK Shipping over £10
Altura nevis women's waterproof jacket.
Hassle Free Returns
Return your order within the UK using the Royal Mail tracked service for free.
(Excludes bikes and bulkier items and parcels over 2KG for UK use only)
You can return your Cycles UK order FREE via any Post Office.
Print off the Royal Mail label, and attach it onto your parcel.
Click here to print off a label http://www.royalmail.com/track-my-return/create/718
Complete the returns note that came with your parcel and pop it into the parcel with your return.
Take your parcel into any Post Office. Most Post Office locations are open 7 days a week, with extended opening hours.
Remember to ask for a proof of return receipt.
The return can be tracked using the tracking reference from your receipt at www.royalmail.com/track-trace.
We aim to complete returns within 7 working days (excluding weekends and bank holidays).
We'll send you an email as soon as we've completed your return, letting you know whether a refund or exchange has been processed. This is usually done within 3 working day of receiving your return back into our warehouse.
Any refund will automatically be issued to the payment method you used to place your original order. This typically takes 5 working days in the UK, depending on your payment method issuer.
We try hard to accept all returns and they don't need to be in the original box or bag, as long as they're securely packed. In the unlikely event that an item is returned to us in an unsuitable condition, we may have to send it back to you.
If you wish to return an item that is unsuitable or not required you will be liable for the return delivery. If you wish to then try a different size or style, delivery will be charged again to post the item back to you.
If you feel the product(s) you have purchased are faulty please contact our Customer Service team on 44(0)1268 775265.
Disclaimer: Our website contains links to websites owned and operated by third parties; these are provided solely for your convenience. Cycles UK have no control over these sites and are not responsible for their content or availability.
Season :
Brand : Altura
Code : AL22WNEV19HI-VIZYEL
Weight : 0KG
a true commuters jacket keeping you warm, dry and highly visible even in the harshest conditions.
The altura nevis waterproof jacket has been re-engineered for female cyclists. Designed to provide all weather protection with the commuter in mind. The nevis jacket is fully waterproof whilst offering high levels of breathability through strategically placed vents and an inner mesh lining. The relaxed fit and subtle reflectivity ensures this jacket can double up as a cycling jacket, or a go to waterproof jacket for everyday use.
Fully waterproof
reflective detailing
highly visible colours
relaxed fit
durable outer fabric
4 pocket design
large zippered chest pocket
10/10 waterproof and breathability
Why buy Altura?
Altura clothing and equipment is all designed in the UK specifically for the UK cycling market. They make some of the best value, and bestselling, performance cycle clothing on the market.
Altura has been one of our favourite clothing brands for years. Their gear isn't always the flashiest but it works well and it's great value for money. Altura's commuting jackets and jerseys are especially popular and are really well thought out for UK cyclists.
Unlike a lot of the Italian clothing brands the Altura stuff is sized for UK riders, so you don't have to buy 3 sizes up to get a jersey you can fit in.
In the last couple of years Altura have started to add some more premium jerseys, shorts and jackets to their line-up and have become a little more daring with colours. At the core though the Altura range is where we look for great value, long lasting cycling gear.
Bust (CM)
Waist (CM)
Shoulder & Sleeve (CM)
Inner Leg (CM)
Total Height (CM)
With Pre-Order, you can purchase the latest items added to our store in advance of them arriving with us.
You Pre-Order is prioritised (at no additional charge); meaning that, as soon as the product arrives with us, we can wrap it straight back up and get it sent out to you - it often never even hits the stock room shelves!
With Pre-Launch, the date when we expect to receive the product ourselves is still a little too hazy to be confident in accepting Pre-Orders.
So, instead, you can submit your email address against the item you are interested in and we will email you as soon as stock arrives on the system.
Estimated Delivery Dates are given on Pre-Order and Pre-Launch products. They are for indication purposes only and can change at any time without notice.
The dates we provide are based on indications given by our suppliers. Whenever we get updated information from our suppliers we will endeavour to update the Estimated Delivery Dates provided on product pages.
Subscribe to news
My message Close


text:
Acceleron Initiates Phase 2 Study of Dalantercept (ACE-041) to Treat Patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
One of Seven Phase 2 Studies Across Three Different Acceleron Programs Initiated in the Last Three Months
Cambridge, Mass. – February 5, 2013 - Acceleron Pharma, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing protein therapeutics for cancer and orphan diseases, announced the initiation of a phase 2 study of dalantercept, a novel angiogenesis inhibitor that targets the activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) pathway. The phase 2 study is a two-part, randomized study of dalantercept in combination with axitinib (Inlyta®, Pfizer), a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, to treat patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Acceleron, its partners, and collaborators have now initiated seven phase 2 studies across three of Acceleron's programs – dalantercept (ACE-041), sotatercept (ACE-011), and ACE-536 – since November of 2012.
"Many patients with renal cell carcinoma respond to treatment with a VEGF inhibitor yet their disease subsequently progresses," said Michael B. Atkins, M.D., Deputy Director, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center. "We are optimistic that combining two therapies with distinct anti-angiogenesis mechanisms, a VEGF inhibitor and dalantercept, an ALK1 signaling inhibitor, can provide a more effective and durable antitumor response in these patients."
"Angiogenesis is known to be a key factor in the development and progression of renal cell carcinoma" said Matthew Sherman, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Acceleron. "Dalantercept, in combination with a VEGF inhibitor, may inhibit angiogenesis more completely which could lead to improved outcomes in RCC patients. Acceleron is excited by the potential of dalantercept and is committed to a broad development program for this promising molecule."
The clinical trial is designed as two-part study in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Part 1 is a dose-escalation study of dalantercept in combination with axitinib to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the combination as second line treatment. Part 2 is an open-label, randomized study to determine whether treatment with dalantercept in combination with axitinib prolongs progression free survival (PFS) compared to treatment with axitinib alone. For additional information on this clinical trial, please visit clinicaltrials.gov, identifier NCT01727336.
About Dalantercept
Dalantercept (ACE-041) is an investigational protein therapeutic that inhibits angiogenesis by preventing BMP9 and BMP10, proteins in the TGF-β superfamily, from interacting with activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1), a cell-surface receptor found on proliferating vascular endothelial cells. Dalantercept inhibits ALK1 signaling, which is required for the development of mature, functional vasculature. In a Phase 1 clinical study in patients with advanced-stage tumors, dalantercept was generally well-tolerated and also exhibited signs of clinical activity, including patients with objective response and prolonged stable disease. In addition to the phase 2 study in patients with metastatic RCC, dalantercept is also in phase 2 clinical trials for monotherapy treatment of patients with advanced head and neck cancer (NCT01458392), endometrial cancer (NCT01642082), and ovarian cancer (NCT01720173).
About Renal Cell Carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, accounting for approximately 85% of cases. RCC is the sixth most common cancer diagnosis in men and an increase in incidence has been reported worldwide. Over 200,000 new patients are diagnosed with RCC worldwide each year. Treatment for advanced stages of RCC, which represents about 20% of patients, consists of immunomodulators, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor inhibitors, and/or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase inhibitors. Despite multiple products approved to treat RCC, resistance to treatment remains a serious clinical challenge.
About Acceleron
Acceleron is a privately-held biopharmaceutical company committed to discover, develop, manufacture and commercialize novel protein therapeutics for orphan diseases and cancer. Acceleron's scientific approach takes advantage of its unique insight to discover first-in-class therapies based on the TGF-β protein superfamily. Acceleron utilizes proven biotherapeutic technologies and capitalizes on the company's internal GMP manufacturing capability to advance its therapeutic programs rapidly and efficiently. The investors in Acceleron include Advanced Technology Ventures, Alkermes, Avalon Ventures, Bessemer Ventures, Celgene, Flagship Ventures, MPM BioEquities, OrbiMed Advisors, Polaris Ventures, QVT Financial, Sutter Hill Ventures and Venrock. For further information on Acceleron, please visit www.acceleronpharma.com.


text:
San Leandro, Alameda, Oakland......
Players that get too worked up or serious during playing, need not respond.
It's just a game, and we ain't gettin' paid for playing, right?
Views: 708
Replies to This Discussion
Hi Mike,
Thanks fopr getting back to me. Sorry I haven't replied -- for some reason, I can't get Tennisopolis to notify me when a new message gets posted! I think Monday would work. I'll follow up with an email too.
Mike, that was a lot of fun last night. I'm glad we decided to stick around until a court opened up! Looking forward to next time we can get together.
Hey Bobby,
Can you hit on Tuesday or Thursday night this week?
© 2019 Created by Mark / The Mayor. Powered by


text:
To be considered for graduation from any academic program, you must submit an application for graduation. If you do not apply for graduation by the deadline posted below, you may not be considered to be included in the degree conferment list. In order to be considered for degree conferment, all of your requirements for graduation must have been completed by the last day of the academic session indicated in the academic calendar.
Expected Graduation
Application Deadline
Fall Semester
Last day of the second week of November
Spring Semester
Last day of the second week of March
Summer Session
Last day of the second week of July


text:
You have no items in your shopping cart.
Our Gift Cards can be emailed to yourself, or directly to the recipient as the perfect last minute gift. Or an actual gift certificate can be mailed to you or directly to your recipient.
Be the first to review this product
Amount: $100.00


text:
Tobold brought this up the other day.
I guess I'm an "uphill, in the snow, both ways" kind of guy.
I actually slaughtered boars outside Karanos, Raptors outside of Theramore, Ravagers outside of Honor Hold, etc., to level up my cooking so I was prepared to cook the hardest holiday recipe this Pilgrims holiday was going to offer. I read it was 330, and by gum, I leveled up to 330 Cooking the usual way. And, by gum, I liked it.
However, as Tobold pointed out, Blizzard is making a gift to you all. For 15 gold, the price of the various materials you can buy right there, you can level from 1 to 350 cooking simply by visiting the 3 capital cities and making a sidetrip to Northrend to get Cooking Master.
My level 58 Death Knight, on my "alts when I'm bored" server, with 22 gold to his name, is now at 349 cooking. (I mean I can wait on that final point.)
Bear in mind: 350 cooking lets you do the Dalaran cooking dailies. (There may be, however, a level restriction to that as well. I'm not sure.)
So, if you're so inclined, and have an alt somewhere that you think could be a cook, then this is the chance. 15 gold, some legwork, and a couple hours, and you're set. (And it'll get you the Pilgrim outfit, attire, hat, and boots, as well.)
Blizzard is showing you some love this holiday season. Or they're just dumbing it down, relentlessly. Perhaps that's the plan. Give everyone everything, and when "The Next Big Thing," "aka WoW 2" comes out, and offers an experience for the "seasoned" and "experienced" Warcraft player, perhaps we'll once again have our hill to climb. In the snow. Uphill both ways. And we'll be queued up outside the door, in the cold, at midnight, waiting to get our hands on our copies.


text:
The journey towards sustainability is a never-ending one—'Better' is always on the horizon. On our own journey towards being better stewards of the environment, we believe that we have an obligation and a responsibility to drive better practices in sourcing and manufacturing products globally. That belief has led to our role working with the Outdoor Industry Association, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry to establish commonly held metrics for measuring progress of both brands and suppliers. Progress comes when everyone is guided by a shared vision.
- Fair treatment, fair pay and respect for the local environment in the communities that build our products.
- Designing for the smallest footprint in the highest performance products.
- Identifying opportunities to minimize waste by maximizing material efficiencies and finding the best outcome for the materials we can't use.
- Responsible and efficient water use.
- Sourcing the best materials for each application and banning the use of materials known to be harmful.
- Striving to find the highest use for materials at the end of life.
- Ongoing collaboration with other brands and suppliers towards more sustainable practices for people and products.
Initiating change across suppliers, materials, and design takes time & teamwork and we at Specialized are fiercely committed to constantly improving while also sharing our learnings with other brands. When we're all working towards a better world, be it manufacturers, parts suppliers or riders, we all win. Through the creation of the Higg Index, the Outdoor Industry Association and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition are working to create standards for sustainable practices across the entire product lifecycle from raw material to end of life.We are equally as dedicated to applying the principles of collaboration both at home and to the communities where are products are produced. As founding members of the World Federation of the Sporting Goods Industry Bicycle Labor Pilot, we are collaborating with a coalition of leading brands and suppliers to create shared standards, tools and a shared supplier database via the Fair Factories Clearing House. We are also working with the Bicycle Products Supplier Association to help make recommendations to the industry on best practices in sustainability and fair labor practices.


text:
February 11, 2013 (JUBA) – South Sudan's vice-president, Riek Machar, has called on the religious institutions in the 19-month-old country to promote education in their respective organisations.
He also reiterated his government's policy on freedom of religion which is enshrined in the nation's transitional constitution, adding that there is no state religion in the new state.
Machar made the remarks on Monday while witnessing the graduation ceremony of teachers who graduated from the schools under the administration of the South Sudan Islamic Council in Juba, where he was invited as their guest of honour.
He also called for harmonisation of the education curriculum in which subjects on both Christian and Islamic religions should feature in the official general education system, adding that citizens should be able to access different religious educational institutions irrespective of their religious background.
He said the Muslim community in South Sudan should also play a role in cementing relations between South Sudan and countries in the Arab world and informed the gathering that the new country had already initiated diplomatic relations with many of them.
The training of teachers of the Islamic council in Juba was sponsored by the International African Foundation for Education (IAFE), an Islamic-founded organisation which is based in the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
The organisation began providing services in 1983 in Khartoum and has about 84 educational institutions in Sudan and other parts of the world.
The graduation ceremony was also attended by the former caretaker president of Sudan, Suwar El-Dahab, who chairs the IAFE organisation in Sudan and also led a delegation of Muslim leaders to Juba to witness the event.


text:
At the Law Office of Shorstein & Lee, our 2 attorneys, Alyssa Shorstein and Sung Lee have over 25 years of combined experience representing people in Criminal Law, Family Law, Bankruptcy Law, & Estate, Trust and Probate Law matters. Most importantly, we (Mrs. Shorstein and/or Mr. Lee) will handle your case. At our office, every case is handled by Mrs. Shorstein or Mr. Lee, as opposed to many other firms who hand your case to an associate. You are paying for our experience and our relationships and that is what you will get.
We understand that every case is different. When you first contact us, we will take the time to ask you the important questions so that we come up with the right approach to handling your case. Our St. Augustine criminal attorneys know that you are calling us because you or a loved one is in need of assistance, and there are many questions that you need answered.
We will listen to you explain the facts about your case and then determine the type of approach your case requires. You see all over television, radio, and the internet, attorneys advertising aggressive representation. It is a great sales pitch. However, there are times when being aggressive will ending up hurting you. What you are looking for is competent representation, whether it is an aggressive approach or a more friendly approach. We assure you that our St. Augustine criminal lawyers will carefully analyze your case and only then determine what the best approach.
Both of us have many years of courtroom experience and we are confident that we will be able to competently determine how to handle your case.Ask Us About Our Experience and How It Relates to Your Case
At Shorstein and Lee, both of our attorneys have spent our entire careers practicing in Northeast Florida. Our law firm is physically located in St. Augustine (St. Johns County). We have many years of experience practicing in all of the surrounding counties including Duval County (Jacksonville), Clay County (Orange Park/Green Cove Springs/Middleburg), Putnam County (Palatka), and Flagler County (Bunnell/Palm Coast). These counties are all very different and you want to know if the attorney you hire has the experience dealing with the court system in the specific county your case is in.
Ask us:
The biggest fear most clients have is a fear of the unknown. By being familiar with the specific jurisdiction and the people in the court system, we are able to answer nearly all of our clients questions, so they/you don't have to fear the unknown. When hiring an attorney, always ask about the experience he or she has in dealing with the all players (Judge, prosecutor, other attorneys who may be involved in the specific case). We assure you that we will not handle a case that we don't feel confident handling.
If you or your loved one has been accused of a crime, one of our St. Augustine criminal attorneys is available to speak with you immediately. We offer everyone free criminal case phone consultations where we can answer all your questions and help you decide what needs to be done in your case.
It is vital that you contact an attorney as early in the process as possible. If you get an attorney involved early in the process, the attorney may be able to influence the decision a prosecutor makes in your case. Understand, it is much easier to talk to a prosecutor about a case when the prosecutor is looking at it for the first time vs. when he/she has already had to time to review it and work on the case.
If it is a Family Law case, often times people make decisions and then call an attorney later in the process. We can best help you if you call us early and we can go over all your options before you make a decision that you may regret later.
We are both skilled at negotiating cases at all stages, but it is always easier if we can get the case at its earliest stage.


text:
We also purchased the butcherblock countertop. We still need to stain and seal it.
On Sunday we started cleaning out our cabinets and moving things to the other side of the room. We will reorganize everything once the construction is completed.
We sure did fill up all of those cabinets fast.
Then by Sunday afternoon we were ready to take down the upper cabinets.
It already feels so open. I can't wait to get rid of that soffitt. The opening is going to really change the way everything looks too.
We hope to have everything demoed (is that a word) by the time he starts work, so he can come in and get to work. He will make the opening between the two rooms, remove the soffit and drywall the ceiling. He is also going to build all the lower cabinets and possibly an island. We have some electrical work that we might get him to do too. Hopefully he will be able to get all of this done in a week. Then we can order countertops. We still need to settle on tile for the backsplash. We are planning on tiling all the way to the ceiling on the wall with the hood. We will have to tile before we can install the hood.
It still seems a bit surreal. It will be so nice to have a big hunk of the work done, even if we will still have lots of stuff to do after he is finished.


text:
ComiXology Launches Simpsons Comics App
The hugely popular The Simpsons Bongo Comics have made their way to the iPhone and iPad, with an official app just released.
Simpsons Comics comes from the masters of all things iOS comic book related, ComiXology.
Much like ComiXology's other apps, the initial download is free with new issues of The Simpsons based comics available, priced between $1.99 and $3.99. Recent and classic Bongo titles are included such as Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson and Radioactive Man.
New Bongo comics will be available for purchase through the app within a month of their physical publication, with readers able to buy and download at least two digital releases a week, if they so wish.
Recommendations will also be available after finishing each comic book, so it's an ideal way to steer new readers in the right direction for plenty of fun with Homer and the family.
Simpsons Comics is available now and it's an Universal app.


text:
The SSF Foundation
Giving back to the place we are lucky to call HOME
An integral part of calling the Vail Valley home is supporting our community. Over the past decade, we have given over $1.5 million in donations. We gladly support these organizations that make our area the very best place to live.
Please consider making a donation to your favorite local charity through the SSF Foundation:
For more information on Slifer Smith & Frampton Real Estate's donation process to Eagle County non-profits, please:
Contact us
SSF's 2017 Contributors
Jack Affleck
Jane Hand
Brent Rimel


text:
Facilitating the spread of knowledge and innovation in professional software development
Back to login
Steve Klabnik goes over the deep details of how async/await works in Rust, covering concepts like coroutines, generators, stack-less vs stack-ful, "pinning", and more.
Josh Wills, a software engineer working on data engineering problems at Slack, discusses the Slack data architecture and how they build and observe their pipelines.
Chris Riccomini talks about the current state-of-the-art in data pipelines and data warehousing, and shares some of the solutions to current problems dealing with data streaming and warehousing.
Mike McGarr explores the essence of organizational culture and how it impacts our work. He talks about the microcultures that can exist within an organization that provide layers of influence into our lives and job satisfaction.
Jose Esquivel presents a roadmap for Chaos Experimentation that can be applicable to any organization.
Software Dev Conference
Profile page created
Jun 12, 2014
Is your profile up-to-date? Please take a moment to review and update.
Note: If updating/changing your email, a validation request will be sent


text:
The Shipping News
A version of this article appears in the January/February 2008 issue of Home Energy Magazine.
January 27, 2008
The West Coast Green conference was held September 19–22 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. Home Energy is a media sponsor for the event, and our staff handed out well over 1,000 magazines; pressed a lot of flesh; and were involved in well over 100 hours of passionate, stimulating, exciting conversation with builders, contractors, architects, homeowners, and others about green home building and renovation. Exhibitors there handed out free organic beer and wine, and really great swag like a cool LED flashlight from Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). You could sit on a coach made of grass and calculate your total carbon footprint at the PG&E booth. I found out that Moraga, California, where I lived before moving to Walnut Creek, is something of a center of residential green building in the Bay Area. The Moraga Barn is being renovated into offices and a learning center for a green construction company, Canyon Construction. Story goes the barn was once a house of ill repute. Soon it will be showcasing green building technology, which offers its own sensual pleasures. A result of the years-long trade deficit with China is a plethora of shipping containers piling ...
To read complete online articles, you need to sign up for an Online Subscription.
Once an order has been placed there is an automatic $10 processing fee that will be deducted with any cancellation.
The Home Energy Online articles are for personal use only and may not be printed for distribution. For permission to reprint, please send an e-mail to email@example.com.


text:
Fast stock trades probed in New York
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York's attorney general has begun investigating split-second stock trading by some high-frequency traders and called on the exchanges Tuesday to end the practice he said gives them an unfair advantage.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said federal and other state regulators should join in structural reforms.
"Rather than curbing the worst threats posed by high-frequency traders, our markets are becoming too focused on catering to them," Schneiderman said. He discussed his concerns at a symposium at New York Law School.
According to the attorney general's office, advantages include extra computer network bandwidth, ultra-fast connection cables and special high-speed switches to computer servers. Some traders are allowed to place their computer servers within trading venues. The millisecond timing advantages let those traders make "rapid and often risk-free trades before the rest of the market can catch up."
New York's attorney general has authority to investigate and prosecute securities fraud under the Martin Act, which the office has used to crack down on widespread institutional issues like research analyst bias. That was a signature case involving other regulators and led by then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
The marketplace has changed radically with technology. State officials say that In the 1960s, people held their stocks for an average of five years, and that has dropped sharply to less than five days, according to one estimate. They also note studies indicating high-frequency traders accounting for about 50 percent of U.S. equity trading volume in 2012.
Schneiderman didn't name specific traders or exchanges Tuesday.
The New York Stock Exchange declined to comment publicly. NASDAQ officials also declined to comment.
The attorney general last fall reached an agreement for Thomson Reuters to stop selling to high-frequency traders a two-second peek at some market-influencing consumer survey results, followed by agreements last month for several financial firms to stop cooperating with analyst surveys that favored some elite clients. An earlier settlement with BlackRock ended its systematic surveying of Wall Street analysts.
The office has also established a hotline at (800) 771-7755 intended for anyone "who knows of front-running schemes, efforts to trade in illicitly gained confidential information, or firms selling early access to market-moving data."
Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.


text:
Introducing Autodesk Graphic
We're very excited to announce that Indeeo has been acquired by Autodesk, and that iDraw is now Autodesk Graphic. From the launch of the very first version of iDraw with the original iPad, our mission has been to create a powerful yet easy to use vector illustration application for everyone.
iDraw for iPad was designed from the start to bring the full toolset found in desktop illustration applications to the iPad, and the Mac version soon followed creating seamless workflows between Mac and iPad. Following on this same goal, today we're proud to introduce a brand new iPhone version of Graphic - a full-featured illustration application right in your pocket.
We're also launching free updates for Mac and iPad with many great new features, including support for El Capitan and iOS 9, along with pressure-sensitive drawing and haptic feedback on Mac. As part of Autodesk, we can continue on our mission of creating the best illustration and design apps, now with the ability to do even more than before.
Thank you for using iDraw and helping us grow it into the capable set of design apps you enjoy using today. We're thrilled to join Autodesk, and excited to bring even more great new things in upcoming versions of Graphic!


text:
Welcome to our event page, here you will find information on select highlighted events, the parish calendar, and event request information.
SMOY Fest 2019
Parish Calendar
Incense Calendar
SMOY Fest
Fish Fry
Married Couples Night
Welcome CRHP 2.0
If you need to schedule any SMOY activity or event, please fill out an Event Request form. This form is also available in the Parish Office. Please see the Parish Calendar to check for likely availability.
Event Request Form


text:
Inbox: Who will manage the Nationals next?
Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions
Do you think Dusty Baker has a shot at becoming the manager of the Nationals?
-- Ben S., California
Of all the candidates mentioned for the job, Baker has the most experience, but I don't see him getting the job. I think the Nationals are looking for a much younger manager than Davey Johnson was. Baker and the Nationals haven't talked yet, and I'm expecting the Nationals to name a skipper by the first week of November. General manager Mike Rizzo said he wants to have the manager in place so that person can help put the roster together. I think it's going to come down to Matt Williams and Brad Ausmus. I had two talent evaluators tell me that Williams is the favorite. We'll see what happens in November.
What are the chances of Cal Ripken Jr. managing the Nats?
-- Billy P., Vienna, Va.
I don't think it's going to happen. As of Monday, Ripken has not interviewed for the job. The team has two weeks to go before an announcement is made.
When do you think Rizzo will finally give Ian Desmond a long-term contract which he deserves?
-- Barry. S., Rockville, Md.
I think it will happen before or during Spring Training. One of the top priorities this offseason is to give Desmond a long-term extension. How much Desmond wants one is unknown, but there is no question he deserves a big contract. Besides being one of the best players on the team, Desmond is a consistent run producer and has cut down on his errors at shortstop.
I know the Nats insist the offense is set for next year, but do you see any possibility of the team pursuing a big name like Robinson Cano to help improve the offense?
-- Ryan K., Mechanicsburg, Pa.
I'm not counting anything out. Going into last offseason, I didn't think there was a need in the bullpen and the team signed Rafael Soriano to a two-year deal. Of all the positions on the roster, second base is the one position they could improve upon. Do I see the Nationals giving Cano a 10-year, $300 million contract? No. Maybe a deal spanning five or six years. Don't forget that Brandon Phillips is available, according to a published report. Anything is possible.
I look around with envy at the Braves and Cardinals with their young fireballers. After Henry Rodriguez left, it seems as if the Nationals do not have any relievers who fit that role. Are they in the Minors, and if so, how long until they can contribute? -- Danny, Rockville, Md.
Yes, Rodriguez had a blazing fastball, but he couldn't throw strikes on a consistent basis and had a problem staying on a Major League team this past season. As far as the Nationals having pitchers that throw close to 100 miles per hour, right-handers A.J. Cole, Blake Treinen, Jake Johansen and Jefry Rodriguez are all starters but could end up in the bullpen if the rotation is crowded. Cole and Treinen could be in the big leagues in a year or two.
With Michael Morse available as a free agent next year, would the Nats consider bringing him back?
-- Bob R., Washington
I don't see it happening. There isn't any room for him to become an everyday player. I don't think he would want to become a bench player again.


text:
Ten years ago this week, the first Android phone was announced - the T-Mobile G1. No one could have predicted the massive success that Android would eventually become; the OS now has over two billion active users worldwide.
In honor of Android's 10th birthday, we're taking a look at the most important and influential Google-powered phones of the past decade. Every one of these devices redefined Android in some way, by pushing the OS further into the mainstream, introducing design trends, or signaling the start/end of an era.Read More


text:
Has Your Senator Stepped Up to Fight Age Discrimination?
By Deb Silverberg , July 13, 2012 09:59 AM
Know anyone who has faced age bias at work when it comes to hiring or layoff decisions-or is it a worry for you? If so, you should care about a certain senate bill. And the good news is that bipartisanship hasn't completely gone the way of the Dodo bird.
The issue uniting some big names from both sides of the aisle involves protecting older workers against age discrimination. AARP is hoping that more senators will sign on.
The "Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act" (POWADA) was introduced in March by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT). Others who have signed on include Sen. Scott Brown (MA), Sen. Patty Murray (WA), Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Sen. Al Franken (MN), Sen. Herb Kohl (WI), Sen. Robert Casey, Jr. (PA), Sen. Barbara Mikulski (MD), Sen. Jon Tester (MT), and Sen. Jeff Merkley (OR).
The support for this bill should be welcome news to millions of seasoned workers who are worried-and rightly so-about being a pink slip away from having their financial and emotional lives upended. But to ensure it moves forward, more people need to take action.
Passing the legislation would help ensure that employees have a more level playing field when fighting age discrimination in court. Senate Bill 2189 would overturn the Supreme Court's 5 to 4 decision in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, which became a major obstacle for older workers needing to prove bias based on their age.
A recent AARP survey shows that older Americans from both parties overwhelmingly support legislation to combat age discrimination in the workplace, with 78 percent of those polled favoring passage of S.2189.
Older workers have valid reasons to be worried about finding a new job in this tough economy given the latest unemployment figures. "Age discrimination continues to be a barrier," explains AARP's Debbie Chalfie, a senior legislative representative and age discrimination expert. "It is critical that those who need or want to work longer are able to do so."
Want to see the age discrimination protection bill move forward in the Senate? See the bill tracker and find out where your senator stands, then contact your senators online or call 1-800-221-2764, and ask them to support S. 2189.
And if they've already signed on to support it, be sure to thank them. You never know-it could make a difference for you.
Workers: Learn more about age discrimination, from legal definitions to what to do if you think you've been a victim. Find job-hunting advice and tools at www.aarp.org/work/job-hunting/ and explore your real possibilities with Life Reimagined for Work .
Employers: See AARP's Employer Resource Center for information and tools to help you make the most of your multigenerational workforce. To optimize your talent management planning and help ensure that your workplace is free from age bias, check out the Workforce Assessment Tool from AARP and SHRM.
Graphic: The famous (and unfortunately extinct) "Edwards Dodo' painted by Roleant Savery in 1626, via Wikipedia.


text:
Cadillac CT6 To Cease Production In January At Plant
U.S. automakers are shifting emphasis from sedans to SUVs and crossover models as more customers prefer larger vehicles.
For 2020, BMW introduces the revised version of the 7 Series luxury sedan with extensive updates in design, technology, and powertrain for the sixth generation.
Related Topics: BMW, BMW 7 series, new vehicles, premium luxury sedans, sedans
U.S. automakers are shifting emphasis from sedans to SUVs and crossover models as more customers prefer larger vehicles.
Vehicle Pick of the Week: This van has any amenity you could possibly want for a variety of occasions.
The automaker's newest SUV has been named a 2019 Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The vehicle makes the brand a player at a time when crossovers remain hot.
Vehicle Review: The mid-size luxury sedan is an antidote for buyers wary of German same-ness.
Vehicle Review: The sedan offers a serene and impeccable, highly comfortable ride for all occupants.
The bus manufacturer is ready to grow with a new leadership team and a refreshed motorcoach.
Vehicle Pick of the Week: This SUV is perfect for making multiple trips to the airport during this busy holiday season.
The G90's rear-seat offers stretch-out comfort with plenty of legroom and a comfy seating position.
The automaker has announced the 500,000th S-Class W222 sedan has rolled off the production line.
The shuttles will whisk passengers from arrival baggage claim areas to the LAX-it TNCs and taxicab lot.
Charging times require precise planning of route lengths, fleet usage, and daily turnover to max ROI on fixed routes and one-off trips.
The automaker's flagship luxury sedan is due for a refresh.
Vehicle Review: The sedan gets significant design updates such as a bold new front end, revised rear styling, and an updated interior.
Vehicle Review: Techies will appreciate a slew of advanced available technology on the vehicle.
The world's No. 1 online marketplace and trader for professional chauffeured and chartered vehicles, including all types of motorcoaches, buses, vans, stretch limousines, sedans, SUVs, exotics, and classics. New and used vehicles are available from sellers across the nation.
The best online networker to find quality affiliates worldwide and market your company.
Click on any state to see the latest industry news and events in that region.
Get the latest news and most popular articles from LCT delivered straight to your inbox.
Current newsletters:


text:
This site is named for Firmament and Chaos, my first two books that reveal the true, exciting past of the Earth and the Planets - explaining how a period of over three millennia of cosmic catastrophism resulted in the Earth and the solar system we experience today.. This has been possible because the body of ancient myth, from which it is derived, contains graphic descriptions of the events which unfolded in the heavens close to the Earth. These cosmic encounters were observed, feared and worshiped by one hundred generations of our progenitors. Indeed, the fear of these massive glowing spheres approaching the Earth was the origin of all pagan religions. This is why the same common themes run through the myths of all cultures.
Venus, Mars and Mercury approached the Earth over one hundred times and were the single most important drivers of ancient history, the facts of which have never before been revealed. The entire scenario, originally derived in Firmament and Chaos, refined in Peleh: Hidden Knowledge and has been updated continuously by over one hundred posts in cycliccatastrophism.org over the last fifteen years.
These works reveal more about the astrophysics of the solar system than all the space probes, manned or unmanned, that have been or ever will be sent to the planets. These cosmic encounters explain how the physical laws were used to implement the Biblical miracles such as the destruction of Sennacherib's army and the 'parting' of the Red Sea at the date of the Exodus. They also explain the reality and true location of Atlantis, the impetus behind the Hindu's placement of the tilaka on their foreheads and such mundane customs as Halloween. Please click on the play button to hear a summary of the content of this website by the author, John Ackerman.
To listen to more detailed discussions concerning cyclic catastrophism, click the following link and select one of the 4 talks you would like to hear. I recommend doing them in order. These are quite detailed, almost 50 minutes each, but they illuminate hundreds of astronomical events which completely revolutionize 'evolutionist' astronomy, archaeology, anthropology and religion. As Walt Whitman wrote:
"Long have you timidly waded holding a plank by the shore, Now I will you to be a bold swimmer, To jump off in the midst of the sea, rise again, nod to me, shout, and laughingly dash with your hair."http://cycliccatastrophism.org/2012/11/30/alembic_files_images/
Most Recent Update
My new book Egyptian Astrophysics: The 30-Year Cycles, see cycliccatastrophism.org, to be published in September 2013, reveals the depth and scope of the ancient Egyptian astrophysical knowledge, particularly the profound influence of the 30-year cyclic astronomical encounters of Venus, Mars and Mercury on the reigns, even the lives of the pharaohs. One hundred generations of Egyptian people all observed the same sequence of events depicted in the ancient texts - not by reading about them, but by actually observing them - experiencing the resulting flooding and feeling their tidal effects on the rotation of the Earth. Every person implicitly knew more about the planets than any modern-day PhDs, who's current understanding of the solar system would be a joke to one of the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptian texts contain more exquisite astrophysical detail than that of any other culture, many sounding similar to a description of a NASA launch or even a landing on the Moon. Understanding the 30-year cosmic encounters, allows the new interpretations of dozens of hieroglyphs, ideograms, drawings and pictographs, revealing the exciting world in which the ancients lived - and the true meaning of the myths of Isis, Ra, Set, Hathor and Osiris, which were the Moon, the planets, or amazing features on their surfaces.
My newsletters on this site are now superceded by my blog posts, at cycliccatastrophism.com or acksblog.firmament-chaos.com. Moreover, you can have them 'delivered' by subscribing to one of the names above on an 'RSS feed' such as Feedly.
Pass the Word
If you find the ideas in this website or my blog site fascinating, or even mildly interesting, I ask you to send a link to one friend or associate who is 'intellectually adventurous.' By this simple act our readership could be doubled in a single week.
Publish your own books!Self Publishing Company
Contact: Send an email to the author, John Ackerman
© John Ackerman