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Casas Do Porto - Ribeira Apartment 1.1
Detailed descriptionThe 1st floor apartment is a homely and welcoming apartment in the heart of the historic and romantic city of Porto. The apartment has a large and comfortable double bed (European Queen) with luxury soft furnishings. There is a good sized clothes storage unit and bedside tables with reading lamps. In the living area there is a comfortable sofa-bed and TV with Cable channels. There is Wi-Fi internet and air-conditioning. To one side between the living area and the kitchen there is a comfortable dining table and chairs for 4.
There is a modern bathroom that has been equipped with Yves Rocher amenities including shampoo, shower gel, body lotions and soaps. There is also a hairdryer in the bathroom. There is a modern kitchenette fully equipped with all cooking facilities. Complimentary fruit, coffee and teas.
A Continental breakfast can be provided (bread, croissants, milk, cheese, hams, butter etc) and there is 24 hours underground parking available. The owners strive to achieve perfection for each individual guest. We have tried to make each apartment feel like home with all the necessities for a comfortable and relaxing stay. The staff are ready to assist at all times and with all special requests
This apartment is located in a newly renovated building with 4 other properties. These apartments can all be rented together for large groups or families. The 4 apartments together can provide accommodation for up to 26 guests and are as follows:
- Apartamento 1.1 (first-floor air-conditioned 1 bedroom apartment, for 4 guests)
- Apartment 1.2 (first floor air-conditioned 2 bedroom apartment, for 6 guests)
- Apartment 2.1 (second-floor air-conditioned 1 bedroom apartment, for 4 guests)
- Apartment 2.2 (second-floor Air-conditioned 2 bedroom apartment, for 6 guests)
- Apartment Superior 2.3(second-floor Air-conditioned 2 bedroom apartment, for 6 guests)
Facility descriptionElevator/Lift, Balcony, Cable TV, Wi-Fi Internet, Air-conditioning, Coffee maker, Hair dryer, Iron & ironing board, Toaster, Microwave, Oven, Fridge, Kettle
Location and SurroundingsThe apartment is located on the Rua Ferreira Borges one of the principle touristic hubs of the city. The street acts as a through road to the UNESCO heritage Palácio da Bolsa a stunning neoclassical building internally decorated by several important 19th century artists. Also on route is the Mercado Ferreira Borges a once bustling commercial market now home to cultural exhibitions, events and fairs.
around 100 metres down the street and you will find yourself at the banks of the River Douro, on your journey passing many artisan shops, restaurants and cafe´s. The riverfront is full of lively esplanades great for relaxing in the sun and taking in the medieval surroundings. Follow the river in the direction of Foz for an enchanting riverfront stroll.
Around 10 minutes by foot you will find one of the main tourist attractions the Torre dos Clérigos and the downtown area by the Avenida dos Aliados. Here in the animated downtown you will find a wide variety of fashionable shops and trendy restaurants.
Just around the corner from the apartment you will find a tram stop. 5 minutes in the other direction is the São Bento train and Metro station, from here you can reach any point in the city and beyond.
Additional information- 200 euros security/damage deposit required to be paid and will be returned at the end of your stay upon check out provided no damages are incurred.
- standard check-in is after 3pm, check-out before 11am. Other times may be possible on request after booking is made
- Sheets and towels included
-Guests must inform the owner of any specific requirements for the receipt at check-in, no later.
- please note that from the 1st of March 2018 a Porto city tax of EUR 2 per person per night is due. This is not included in the total price and should be paid on site. The tax is charged to guests aged 13 and older and is subject to a maximum amount of EUR 14 per guest.


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Fathers of the Church
Letter CCXX: to the Beraeans
by Basil the Great in 357-370 | translated by Blomfield Jackson, M.A
THE Lord has given great consolation to all who are deprived of personal intercourse in allowing them to communicate by letter. By this means, it is true, we cannot learn the express image of the body, but we can learn the disposition of the very soul. Thus on the present occasion, when I had received the letter of your reverences, I at the same moment recognised you, and took your love towards me into my heart, and needed no long time to create intimacy with you. The disposition shewn in your letter was quite enough to enkindle in me affection for the beauty of your soul. And, besides your letter, excellent as it was, I had a yet plainer proof of how things are with you from the amiability of the brethren who have been the means of communication between us. The well-beloved and reverend presbyter Acacius, has told me much in addition to what you have written, and has brought before my eyes the conflict you have to keep up day by day, and the stoutness of the stand you are making for the true religion. He has thus so moved my admiration, and roused in me so earnest a desire of enjoying the good qualities in you, that I do pray the Lord that a time may come when I may know you and yours by personal experience. He has told me of the exactitude of those of you who are entrusted with the ministry of the altar, and moreover of the harmonious agreement of all the people, and the generous character and genuine love towards God of the magistrates and chief men of your city. I consequently congratulate the Church on consisting of such members, and pray that spiritual peace may be given to you in yet greater abundance, to the end (hat in quieter times you may derive enjoyment from your labours in the day of affliction. For sufferings that are painful while they are being experienced are naturally often remembered with pleasure. For the present I beseech you not to faint. Do not despair because your troubles follow so closely one upon another. Your crowns are near: the help of the Lord is near. Do not let all you have hitherto undergone go l for nothing; do not nullify a struggle which has been famous over all the world. Human life is but of brief duration. " All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. ... The grass withereth, tile flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever." Let us hold fast to the commandment that abideth, and despise the unreality that passeth away. Many Churches have been cheered by your example. In calling new champions into the field you have won for yourselves a great reward, though you knew it not. The Giver of the prize is rich. and is able to reward you not unworthily for your brave deeds.
Taken from "The Early Church Fathers and Other Works" originally published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. in English in Edinburgh, Scotland, beginning in 1867. (PNPF II/VIII, Schaff and Wace). The digital version is by The Electronic Bible Society, P.O. Box 701356, Dallas, TX 75370, 214-407-WORD.

subset: commoncrawl


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At end-2011, Japan had 2.5GW of installed wind power, an increase of 197MW from the previous year. With no additions to the 25.2MW offshore, the growth rate was the lowest since the fiscal year ending 31 March 2008.
Tetsuo Saitou, bureau director of strategy planning at wind-energy association JWPA, views the introduction of a system of feed-in tariffs as the epoch-making event of 2011. It should open the way to some business feasibility, infrastructure development, more rapid construction and technological development, he says.
Pricing delay
Saitou and the JWPA are hoping the government will set the price at which power firms are obliged to buy wind power in the YEN 20-24/kWh ($0.26-0.31/kWh). But, government approval is expected to be delayed as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda grapples with politically sensitive increases in general goods and services taxes that threaten to split his Democratic Party of Japan.
To make things worse, from October the environment ministry will introduce environmental testing requirements that are likely to double the time before construction can start from 18 months to three years. As a result, new fresh wind-power initiatives are expected.
"There are unlikely to be any new wind-power plants for the next three to four years, meaning Japan is likely to slip rapidly from its 2010 ranking of 13th globally," Saitou says. Japan failed to achieve government targets for 3GW of installed wind power by the year ending 31 March 2011. But if the government gets its act together, Saito adds, Japan could still achieve the JWPA target of 50GW installed wind power by 2050 and, as an interim, 12GW by 2020.


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ADAPT 135 is a single-sided headset with a 3.5 mm jack optimized for UC professionals, who value device flexibility, great sound, discreet modern style and comfort.
Colour Black with white
Wearing style Headband
Frequency response (microphone) 100 – 10,000 Hz
Frequency response (headphones) 20 – 20,000 Hz
Microphone Noise-cancelling microphone for optimal speech transmission
Max. sound pressure level 103 dB limited by ActiveGard®
Weight foam ear pads 95 g / 3.34 oz - leatherette ear pads 97 g / 3.44 oz
Speaker type Dynamic, neodymium magnet
Sound enhancement profiles Automatically adapt and optimize sound for both communication
and multimedia/music
Included in the box:
- Headset with 3.5 mm jack
- Acoustic foam ear pads mounted on headset
- Carry pouch
- Safety guide
- Quick guide


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HBASE_CACHE_BLOCKS Query Option
Setting this option is equivalent to calling the setCacheBlocks method of the class org.apache.hadoop.hbase.client.Scan, in an HBase Java application. Helps to control the memory pressure on the HBase RegionServer, in conjunction with the HBASE_CACHING query option.
Type: Boolean; recognized values are 1 and 0, or true and false; any other value interpreted as false
Default: false (shown as 0 in output of SET statement)
Related information:
Using Impala to Query HBase Tables, HBASE_CACHING Query Option


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At East Lake Golf Club
Purse: $8 million
Yardage: 7,307; Par 70 (35-35)
Second Round
Henrik Stenson 64-66—130 -10
Adam Scott 65-69—134 -6
Jordan Spieth 68-67—135 -5
Justin Rose 68-68—136 -4
Dustin Johnson 68-68—136 -4
Billy Horschel 66-70—136 -4
Keegan Bradley 72-65—137 -3
Nick Watney 72-65—137 -3
Gary Woodland 70-67—137 -3
Zach Johnson 69-68—137 -3
Steve Stricker 66-71—137 -3
Phil Mickelson 71-67—138 -2
Jim Furyk 70-68—138 -2
Roberto Castro 67-71—138 -2
D.A. Points 72-67—139 -1
Hunter Mahan 70-69—139 -1
Bill Haas 70-69—139 -1
Graham DeLaet 68-71—139 -1
Webb Simpson 68-71—139 -1
Sergio Garcia 68-71—139 -1
Luke Donald 70-70—140 E
Kevin Streelman 69-72—141 +1
Brendon de Jonge 70-72—142 +2
Jason Day 68-74—142 +2
Matt Kuchar 69-74—143 +3
Tiger Woods 73-71—144 +4
Jason Dufner 74-70—144 +4
Brandt Snedeker 69-75—144 +4
Boo Weekley 70-75—145 +5
Charl Schwartzel 68-79—147 +7
ATLANTA — Henrik Stenson broke another club Friday — this time by accident.
And it didn't matter.
Playing with only 13 clubs in the bag after his 4-wood broke on the practice range, Stenson made three birdies on the opening four holes at East Lake to quickly seize control and shot 4-under 66 to build a four-shot lead over Adam Scott in the Tour Championship.
For all his birdies, the best move he made all week was deciding to put the 4-wood in his locker instead of carrying it with him.
Stenson heard a funny sound after hitting five shots on the range, showed it to Steve Stricker and realized the face caved in. A television viewer who heard about the incident called the PGA Tour to see if the Swede had kept it in his bag, and officials checked with Stenson after his round.
If he had left it in the bag without using it, Stenson would have been assessed a four-shot penalty — the margin of his lead. If he had used the club, he would have been disqualified. Stenson had no intention of using it, though sending it to his locker saved him.
He wasn't sure it was a violation to carry a non-conforming club, nor did he know the penalties.
"You asked me how well I knew the rules the other day. I gave myself 7 out of 10, didn't I?" he said. "I guess this was in the other 30 percent then. ... Good thing that we put it in the locker before we teed off."
The way he's going, a bizarre incident like that might be the only thing that can stop him.
Stenson was at 10-under 130 going into the third round and might be playing a course far less firm. The forecast is for rain most of day, and the starting times have been moved up to Saturday morning with hopes of getting it in.
Tiger Woods is not in position to halt the hottest player in golf. Woods was headed toward the best round of the day, 5-under through 13 holes, when he made double bogey on the 14th, had a triple bogey on the 17th and wound up with a 71. He was 14 shots behind. It was the first time since the 2011 PGA Championship that Woods began a tournament with back-to-back rounds over par.
"I put everything I had into that start and didn't have much at the end," Woods said. "Just ran out of gas."
Scott sputtered at the start. He was one shot behind Stenson and quickly fell five shots behind with a couple of poor tee shots. Scott played the last 14 holes without a bogey and wound up with a 69 that put him at 6-under 134.
The Masters champion chose to look at a different number — not four shots back, but only a guy ahead of him.
"Look, Henrik is playing fantastic, so he's got this thing under control at the moment. But not for 36 holes," Scott said. "I think there's too many good players here. It's not just myself or someone at 5 under. If it is softer tomorrow because of rain, there could be a lot better scores because it's playing probably as tricky as it can at the moment."
Jordan Spieth, the 20-year-old rookie, had a 67 and was five shots behind. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson and Billy Horschel were another shot back.
There's never a dull moment with Stenson, who only last week made news for all the wrong reasons when he smashed his driver on the final hole of the BMW Championship and tore up his locker at Conway Farms.
"They're not going to believe me anyway after last week that the 4-wood broke during natural causes," he said.
His hope was to find a new head in a nearby pro shop, though it was unlikely he could test it in time with the early start Saturday. Told that Stenson only had 13 clubs in the bag, Scott said, "It didn't seem to bother him."
Stenson could not recall another time that he started a round with fewer than the maximum 14 clubs allowed. Finishing a round with fewer than 14? That's different.
"In general, I try to keep it at 14," he said. "Most rounds I manage to finish with 14 as well."
Stenson (No. 2) and Scott (No. 3) are among the top five seeds in the FedEx Cup who could take home the $10 million bonus simply by winning the Tour Championship. Woods could still win the FedEx Cup if both of them falter, which is looking unlikely halfway through the tournament.
Scott has even more at stake — a win might be enough for him to win PGA Tour player of the year.
Stenson really only needed the 4-wood one time in the second round — his second shot into the par-5 ninth. He had to hammer a 3-iron instead, coming up well short of the green. He still got up-and-down for birdie, so it didn't matter. He also used the 4-wood a couple of times on the back nine Thursday, missing one of those fairways.
Ultimately, what mattered was his position.
"They got more work to do than I have," he said of his four-shot lead. "It might seem like a large lead, but four shots during two rounds is not that much. We know sometimes four shots isn't enough on nine holes. So I'm pretty cool about that. I'm just going to go out and try to do the best I can for the next two days. And hopefully, that's good enough."


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The Karelian Bear Dog (KBD) is a Finnish or Karelian breed of dog. In its home country, it is regarded as a national treasure. KBD will hunt a variety of animals. Its quick reflexes and fearless nature have made it very popular for hunting aggressive game, including bears, moose, and wild boar. It was the breed's ability to hunt and offer protection against a bear that earned the breed its name.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Karelian Bear Dog", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.


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Cyclocross Magazine Correspondent Christine Vardaros ventured out to the course at St. Wendel today to bring us an update of the course conditions. Read on, and stay tuned as we keep you updated on all things Worlds related.
by Christine Vardaros
Yesterday we saw a wave of riders, a rather festive bunch I might add! But today most of the faces were different, literally and figuratively as they mainly had that stoic look on their faces…doomsday looming closer I suppose.
Thanks to the sub-freezing temps overnight, the course did a complete turnaround. While yesterday was a real mudfest, today the course was fast and icy. The mud may have added a technical dimension to the track, but it paled in comparison to the frozen ruts they had to navigate today. A few turns were especially exciting to watch, as one out of every handful of riders who passed would inevitably take a spill.
Only a few of the top Belgian elites came out to play, namely Niels Albert, Bart Wellens, Bart Aernouts and Kevin Pauwels (whose idea of a solid race is a fifth place finish – so humble.) A few other notables were Katie Compton, Jonathan Page, German Champions Hanka Kupfernagel and Philipp Walsleben, who took a nice spill on an icy rutted turn, Swiss Champ Jasmin Achermann, British Champ Helen Wyman, national teammate Gabby Day (who is hoping for a strong race after suffering from dead legs last week in Hoogerheide), Pavla Havlikova, Dutch rider Eddy van Ijzendoorn who excels on the icy stuff, his AA-Drink and National teammate Thijs van Amermongen and Gerben de Knegt. The full Polish team, led by season standout and National Champion Mariusz Gil showed up as well. Amongst the returnees that I saw today were Franzoi, Summerhill and Kaiser.
I caught up with Compton after her training and she was feeling good about her fitness and preparation as well as solid about the course. Her only real concern, as with many of the other riders, is the icy ruts where it is hard to keep the bike upright. All the grooves formed in the mud from the riders yesterday froze overnight. There was one section dangerous enough that they had to take a bulldozer to it to dig the dirt up, eliminating most of the grooves.
Watching the racers pass felt like an actual spectating of the World Championships since most were wearing their national colors. The Belgian elites I think had no choice since the theme of this race has been a "United Belgium – one versus all…namely Styby." The only way I was able to tell it was just a pre-ride was obviously the absence of numbers on their clothes, but more importantly the absence of the 30,000 Belgians expected to show plus the 5,000 Germans and the 2000 that fall in the "other" category.
The Belgian contingent is expected to be so high that the organizers constructed a special "Villa Belgica" tent. This very oversized beer tent plays Belgian oldies but goodies – their folk songs mainly, and has Flemish-speaking bartenders. In true Belgian cross-fan form, the tent was already partly filled today. Some of its partygoers were seen dancing on tabletops and completely wasted…and it's not even race day yet. Funny.
Tomorrow is the big moment for the Juniors, followed by the U-23s. Stay tuned for full reports, rider quotes and photos. Let us know who you're cheering for in the comments and we'll be sure to get some good stuff from him / her.
Photo Gallery – Rider Inspections:
Photo Gallery – Course Preview:


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- Science
- Not Exactly Rocket Science
Sniff-detector allows paralysed people to write messages, surf the net and drive a wheelchair
In Israel's Loewenstein Rehabilitation Hospital, the patient known as LI1 is a prisoner of her own body. She is a 51-year-old woman who was paralysed by a stroke several months ago. Suffering from "locked-in syndrome", she is completely aware but unable to move or speak. She cannot even control the blinks of her eyes. And yet LI1 has recently been able answer questions from her doctors and communicate with her family through written messages. All she has to do is sniff.
LI1 uses a 'sniff controller', an incredible new technology that allows paralysed patients to control machines with their noses. It's the brainchild of Anton Plotkin and Lee Sela at the Weizmann Institute of Science. Whenever a patient sniffs, the device measures the change in pressure inside their noses. It converts these into electrical signals that are passed to a computer via a simple USB connection. With just a sniff, people can move a cursor on a screen, allowing locked-in patients to write messages. Quadriplegics can even use the device to surf the web, or drive a wheelchair.
This technology was developed almost by accident in the lab of Noam Sobel, who studies the way of brains process our sense of smell. The group use a device called an olfactometer, which produces waves of smell to see how sensitive a person's senses are. For one of their experiments, the team rigged the olfactometer so that volunteers triggered the odour pulse themselves when they sniffed. "We noticed that sniffs are a very good and fast trigger," says Sobel. "It then simply dawned on us that instead of triggering odor, we could trigger anything: letters in a text writer or turns of a wheelchair. The rest just flowed (or rather, rushed) from there." It's a fantastic example of the useful and unpredictable roads that basic scientific research can lead to.


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Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera review: Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera
Kodak Zi8 Pocket Video Camera
Over the last few years, as the pocket camcorder market has taken off, pioneer Flip Video has narrowly hung onto the lead it built by offering models with arguably superior designs and slightly better video quality. A few companies, including Creative, Sony, and RCA, have been nipping at its heels for a while, but none has been able to overtake Flip's offerings. Until now. While Kodak's Zi8 may not be perfect, it has a lot of the little extras we've been asking for--including electronic image stabilization and external mic support--and delivers very respectable video for a mini camcorder well under $200.
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
For starters, Kodak improved upon the design of last year's Zi6 and this year's ruggedized Zx1, both of which we thought decent, but not great. The Zi8 looks slicker than the Zi6, and while it's far from the smallest or lightest pocket camcorder we've tested, it is fairly compact, measuring 2.4 inches by 4.5 inches by 0.9 inch and weighing 4.8 ounces.
This model comes in three colors Kodak dubs black, aqua, and raspberry, and it has a sharp and generously sized 2.5-inch LCD on the back. The only noteworthy drawback is that all three models are fingerprint magnets and you'll find yourself constantly wiping down the camcorder. The plastic finish is also susceptible to scratches, so you'll probably want to keep the unit in a protective cover, particularly if you've got keys in your pocket. Unfortunately, Kodak doesn't ship the Zi8 with any sort of case, though it does sell one, as well as a remote control.
To trim down the chassis, Kodak has gone with a slimmer lithium ion rechargeable battery instead of the AA NiMH rechargeables that ship with the Zi6. That's a good move, but you don't have the luxury of swapping in a standard pair of alkaline batteries should you run out of juice on the road. Like most competitors, you can charge the Zi8 directly from your computer via the flip-out cable, but the camcorder also ships with an AC adapter to connect it to a wall outlet.
As we say about all these pocket camcorders: while they may be billed as HD models, they really can't be compared with true HD camcorders that cost hundreds of dollars more and have superior lenses and sensors. However, the image quality is getting better and the Zi8 is the first pocket camcorder on the market to boast 1080p 30fps video capture and 5-megapixel still-image capture, thanks to its integration of a 1/2.5-inch 5-megapixel CMOS sensor. Like the Zi6, this model also records video in 720p resolution at up to 60fps, which Kodak says is "best for sports and action," as well as 720p/30fps ("best for sharing on YouTube or Facebook") and WVGA ("best for conserving memory card space").
Like the Zi6 and Zx1, this model comes with a trivial amount of internal memory and Kodak doesn't include an SD card in the box. We still wish Kodak would throw in a 1GB SD card, but the margins on these products are tight, so we can understand that Kodak needs to cut some corners to hit an attractive price point. Anyway, the long and short of it is, you have to supply your own SD card (the Zi8 accepts SDHC cards up to 32GB, so it can store a ton of video and still images). We calculated that when you record video at the highest level (1080p), you eat up anywhere from around 110 to 150MB per minute, depending upon video content, or about 14 to 18 minutes of video on a typical 2GB card. (Kodak quotes 20 minutes per gigabyte, but that's for 720p.) Similar to most competitors, videos are encoded as generally compatible QuickTime MPEG-4 MOV files, using H.264 compression.
As with all these mini camcorders, the Zi8 is designed to be easy to use. Kodak has made some improvements to the interface, and the inclusion of a four-way rocker control makes navigating the device's menus that much simpler. That said, it's a good idea to consult the manual to figure out exactly what the icons stand for in the settings menu and to make sure you have everything set correctly.
We like its four speeds of fast-forwarding and rewinding, and you can advance or rewind your footage frame by frame, if you want. The 2.5-inch LCD looks sharp and the sound plays back loud enough through the Zi8's little speaker as long as you crank up the volume. The mic seems sensitive enough as long as the subject is only a few feet away. But if you want to improve your recordings, you should opt for an external stereo mic, which will do a better job at picking up sound. (External mics range in price from about $16 to well over $100). For the moment, anyway, the external mic option is one of the Zi8's key differentiating features and will appeal to everyone from journalists to amateur documentarians.
We're pretty impressed with the Zi8's video quality. As with all these pocket camcorders, it significantly boosts the quality if the unit stays as still as possible while shooting (sticking it on a tripod will offer the best results), but this model is the first we've seen to include electronic image stabilization. We can't say it makes a huge difference, but for reducing small hand jitters when shooting, it does help. The downside to engaging it is that it drains the battery faster, so if you do mount the Zi8 on a tripod, turn it off.
We shot mainly in 1080p mode; the clips were sharp (for an HD pocket camcorder) and the colors vibrant and relatively accurate. Though it's not superfast, the Zi8 does adjust exposure fairly quickly when panning from brightly lit to darker scenes, and it compensates appropriately for backlit subjects. Using the face-detection feature (you can choose to turn it on or off), you can lock in on a subject and the camcorder will adjust its exposure if, say, the face you locked on is too shadowed. However, it's worth mentioning that in making the adjustment, the Zi8 does tend to soften that portion of the image as it boosts the gain.
The still photos aren't great, but they're a step up from what a typical camera phone produces and overall pretty usable. Lowlight performance was also good and Kodak appears to have made some nice improvements in this department. The Zi6 did well enough in low light, but the Zi8's image quality is better, with less visible noise. Unfortunately, when you press the joystick, which doubles as the shutter button, it jerks the camcorder, making it hard to get good shots.
It's also worth pointing out that the Zi8 has a macro mode that allows you to focus on subjects at close range. One of the issues with pocket camcorders, including those made by Flip Video, has been their inability to focus on subjects that are a foot or two away from the camcorder. But toggle the little switch on top of the Zi8 to the macro mode and you'll be able to come in tight and focus in on objects or people.
The Zi8 defaults to 720p recording, predominantly because most computers probably won't be able to smoothly play the 1080p video, which is encoded at a relatively high bit rate of around 20Mbps. We played our videos on a Samsung 50-inch LCD HDTV via HDMI, and the video looks quite decent blown up. Kodak and ArcSoft optimized the included MediaImpression software--it's in the camcorder's memory and automatically installs on Windows machines when you plug the Zi8's USB connector into your desktop or laptop PC--for high-bit-rate playback. With it, we had no problems. This limitation may pose issues for some users, though, especially software-unsupported OS X users. You can still edit the 1080p video in third-party software, however.
The ArcSoft MediaImpression software includes the usual shortcut upload to YouTube, as well as some editing features that allow you to trim your clips, adjust contrast, color, and brightness, and splice you clips into a cohesive "movie," complete with customized background music and titles. As we said, this software is Windows only. If you own a Mac, you can copy your video and still images to your computer by dragging and dropping the files from the camcorder as you would with any USB storage device (and upload them to YouTube easily enough) and then edit your videos using iMovie.
In the final analysis, while we have a few nitpicks for the Zi8, we have to say it's the best pocket camcorder we've reviewed to date, with superior image quality and the best features. Today, we'd have to recommend it over the Flip Video models, though we can't say what the future holds--for instance, we've yet to see Samsung's contender--as Flip and other manufacturers will undoubtedly offer their own new pocket camcorders with these types of appealing new features and 1080p video capture.


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DETROIT — Big discounts helped U.S. auto sales sizzle in July.
Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Chrysler all saw double-digit sales gains and General Motors' sales were up 9 percent over last July. Honda and Volkswagen saw declines.
Analysts predicted the best July for the industry since 2006. Industry sales were expected to rise 11 percent to nearly 1.5 million, according to car buying site Edmunds.com.
Generous summer discounts helped boost sales. Automakers typically offer deals in the summer to clear out inventory before cars from the new model year arrive in the fall. But July's discounts were unusually high.
Incentives rose 8 percent — or $216 per vehicle — over last July, according to Jesse Toprak, chief analyst for the car shopping site Cars.com. Incentives averaged $2,774 per vehicle, their highest level since August 2010.
Toyota was offering zero-percent financing on a five-year loan and $1,000 cash back on the Camry sedan. Ford offered $6,000 cash back on a new Expedition SUV. And Chrysler was peddling a $99 per month, two-year lease on a Dodge Dart.
Edmunds.com said 13.5 percent of new car loans in July had zero-percent financing, the highest level since December 2010.
While incentives are a boon for consumers, they're costly for automakers and can hurt resale values down the line. But Ford's U.S. sales chief, John Felice, said the trend isn't too worrisome.
As the post-recession sales rate slows, he said, automakers are getting more aggressive, because in order to grow they need to steal sales from a competitor. That's already happening in the car segment. Buyers are paying an average of $1,000 less for a Ford Fusion sedan than they did a year ago, he said.
But SUV and truck demand remains strong, and so do prices. Overall, he said, buyers are still paying $800 more per vehicle than they did last year. That's because even with discounting, more people are choosing pricier SUVs and loading them up with features.
Michelle Krebs, a senior analyst at AutoTrader.com, said unlike a decade ago, when automakers had to use across-the-board discounts because they were producing too many vehicles, they're now being more strategic with discounts.
"There's intense competition for a pie that's not growing," she said. But automakers are more profitable, so they can afford to give a little, she said.
Chrysler's U.S. sales jumped 20 percent to 140,102 for the month on strong demand for the Ram pickup, which was up 14 percent, and the new Jeep Cherokee small SUV. Chrysler sold nearly 15,000 Cherokees, almost matching sales of the larger Grand Cherokee. Jeep sales were up 41 percent overall.
Toyota said its U.S. sales were up 12 percent to 215,802 on double-digit gains for the Camry and Corolla sedans.
Toyota edged out Ford, whose sales were up 10 percent to 204,373. Ford saw big gains for the Escape and Explorer SUVs. The country's best-selling vehicle, the Ford F-Series pickup, was up 5 percent to 63,240, while Ford's new Transit Connect van was up 41 percent.
GM's sales rose 9 percent to 256,160 on strong demand for its new large SUVs. Chevrolet Tahoe sales were up 51.5 percent. Cadillac sales dropped 3 percent but Buick sales were up 8 percent on the strength of the new Encore small SUV.
Nissan's sales rose 11 percent. Sales of the electric Leaf increased 62 percent to 3,019, a record July for the car, which went on sale in 2010.
Honda's sales fell 4 percent to 135,908. Accord sedan sales rose 11 percent, but Honda lost ground in its Acura luxury division, where sales dropped 18 percent. The company said it sold out of TL and TSX sedans as it launches their replacement, the new TLX.
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I would love to hear about your own self-care habits and rituals—even if they aren't always daily!
Friday, November 30
Friday Farm Photo & The Wise Woman Council (I'm In!)
I would love to hear about your own self-care habits and rituals—even if they aren't always daily!
17 comments:
Good morning, Susan! I just hopped over to The Wise Woman Council and read your post. How beautiful! Laughter really is the best medicine! I hope your days are always filled with intoxicating laughter! -Marci @ Stone Cottage AdventuresReplyDeleteReplies
Hi Marci,Delete
It's so true - and thankfully ours usually are. Having seven donkeys around always helps. ;)
Well, you know me, Susan - my dailies are running in the mountains, fetch with the dog and visiting the garden to see what's growing.ReplyDelete
When I start to feel like I'm in a funk, I check my mental mind list for these things to see if they've happened yet that day and, if not, I go do them until the funk passes.
I'm certainly not wise or perfect, but these things at least keep me from losing my mind.
Hey Finny,Delete
Sounds perfect to me - well, except for the running part. ;)
Loving your embrace of Progress, not Perfectionism!! I am going to add that right to my own list. LOL. Thanks for bringing lived life and not pie in the sky to my inbox. A breath of fresh air indeed...ReplyDelete
xoxox, TobeyReplies
Did somebody mention pie? ;)Delete
My daily self care habits are daily meditation and daily 20 minute detox/cleanse soak in the tub about an hour before I go to sleep. Those two are the biggest and the ones that there are no room for brokering.ReplyDelete
I try to eat food that is good for me and that tastes good and do the best for myself I can, when I can.
Love the Wise Women Council!Replies
Hi Kim,Delete
That all sounds great. I love the 'no room for brokering.' I would also love to hear more about your detox/cleanse soak in the tub if you care to share. If you don't feel like telling everybody about it :) you can email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com
Oh, Susan, I loved your contribution to the November Wise Woman Council! Maybe it's a farmgirl thing, but I can so relate to your essay where some of the others, not so much. It may sound silly but milking the goat is actually my daily self-care/meditation practice. It's just her and I and I am totally in the moment. :)ReplyDelete
P.S. I also signed up to follow Lisa's blog.Replies
Thanks so much, Candy. I don't think that sounds silly at all - in fact I think it sounds perfect, partly because milking is something you HAVE to do every day, so there's no excuse not to skip your meditation. There's nothing like farmgirl multi-tasking!Delete
Hello to my favorite farmgirl and Wise Woman..so appreciative for your generous mention and links...As you know, I love getting women thinking about and talking about how they care for themselves.. it doesn't have to be some big deal formal thing..We all know intuitively what feels right for us.. and it can change with the day, the season.. and even the year.. Trusting ourselves to know is a good thing. Thank you for sharing the Wise Woman Council and my website IntuitiveBody with your amazing followers.. have already met some of them..ReplyDelete
With much love to you,
I know I'm not the only one looking forward to a whole new year of The Wise Woman Council! Thanks so much for creating such a wonderful thing, dear friend.Delete
Congrats, Susan! What a great project of which to be a part! I love the intention. Sadly, it has come to my attention that I am far busier than most people I know... which also means that I do not take nearly the amount of self-nurturing time that I should. I take yoga when I can, nuzzle the furballs, walk the dog a mile every evening, and since obtaining my MA I have always made sure to make the time to read for pleasure. Sadly, my quilting and herbals are the first to be set aside to make other deadlines. Unless it's winter or summer break! Many well wishes!ReplyDeleteReplies
How nice to be designated a Wise Woman.ReplyDelete
At the moment, what with those two little animals masquerading as small humans in my household, I'm just trying to keep my head above water. The closest I get to a daily moment of anything resembling peace is when, after nursing my younger son before he goes to sleep at night, I sit in the chair in his warm, relatively quiet room for a few minutes, with him asleep in my lap. Mostly to gather my strength before re-entering the fray with my older son, who I can always hear racing around downstairs, thumping and yelling.
It's a long way from a cleansing soak, but it's all I got at the moment.
While not a daily routine, spinning fiber into yarn has a meditative quality. The rhythmic pressing of the treadles, the feel of the fiber through my fingers, the motion of the flyer spinning the fiber onto the bobbin combine to prooduce a connection to past spinners and future projects that relaxes me.ReplyDelete
December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.
Hi! Thanks for visiting Farmgirl Fare and taking the time to write. While I'm not always able to reply to every comment, I receive and enjoy reading them all.
Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and I especially love hearing about your experiences with my recipes. Comments on older posts are always welcome!
Please note that I moderate comments, so if I'm away from the computer it may be a while before yours appears.
I try my best to answer all questions, though sometimes it takes me a few days. And sometimes, I'm sorry to say, they fall through the cracks, and for that I sincerely apologize.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy your e-visits to our farm!


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Luxury Yacht - Riva 68' Ego Super
The Luxury Yacht Riva 68' Ego Super
On the luxury yacht 68' Ego Super harmonious shapes and skillfully balanced volumes combine with an in-depth, accurate analysis of every single detail and solution. The outcome follows in the wake of Riva's tradition: absolute elegance and remarkable innovations. Among the main new onboard features is the large hull glazing in the aft full-beam master cabin that lets in plenty of natural light and offers a magnificent view while cruising.


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Summary of Statement No. 52
Statement No. 52
Land and Other Real Estate Held as Investments by Endowments
(Issued 11/07)
Accounting standards previously required permanent and term endowments, including permanent funds, to report land and other real estate held as investments at their historical cost. Endowments exist to invest resources for the purpose of generating income. Other entities that exist for similar purposes—pension and other postemployment benefit plans, external investment pools, and Internal Revenue Code Section 457 deferred compensation plans—however, report land and other real estate held as investments at their fair value.
This Statement establishes consistent standards for the reporting of land and other real estate held as investments by essentially similar entities. It requires endowments to report their land and other real estate investments at fair value. Governments also are required to report the changes in fair value as investment income and to disclose the methods and significant assumptions employed to determine fair value, and other information that they currently present for other investments reported at fair value.
How This Statement Will Improve Financial Reporting
This Statement more appropriately reports the resources available in endowments and more closely aligns financial reporting with the objectives of endowments. It results in property held for similar purposes by comparable entities being reported in the same manner. Reporting land and other real estate held as investments at fair value enhances users' ability to meaningfully evaluate an entity's investment decisions and performance.
Unless otherwise specified, pronouncements of the GASB apply to financial reports of all state and local governmental entities, including general purpose governments; public benefit corporations and authorities; public employee retirement systems; and public utilities, hospitals and other healthcare providers, and colleges and universities. Paragraph 2 discusses the applicability of this Statement.


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Melissa Rycroft
A former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, Rycroft's first industry appearance was on the 2006 CMT reality series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team, which chronicled her quest to become a member of the elite cheer squad. She remained a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader until 2007.
Two years later, Rycroft was one of the 25 women vying for the affection of Jason Mesnick on the 13th season of ABC's The Bachelor. Rycroft made it to the final rose ceremony and received a wedding proposal from Mesnick.
However, during the show's After the Rose special, Mesnick famously dumped Rycroft, admitting he was still in love with runner-up Molly Malaney.
In 2009, Rycroft replaced Access Hollywood's Nancy O'Dell on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars with just three days of rehearsal time, competing with professional dance partner Tony Dovolani. The pair took third place behind Gilles Marini and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson.
The reality TV star — who is a special correspondent for Good Morning America — wed insurance agent Tye Strickland in Mexico in December 2009. They are parents to daughter Ava Grace.


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MANHATTAN, Kan. – Iowa State (19-6, 10-5 Big 12) had four players in double figures and used its height advantage to defeat Kansas State (13-14, 4-11 Big 12) and remain in second place in the Big 12 Conference. The Cyclones have won three in a row in Manhattan for the first time in school history.
The Cyclones got 44 points from their starting post players, including 18 points from Anna Prins, to control the game from the beginning.
Chelsea Poppens posted her sixth double-double this season with 14 points and 11 rebounds and joined elite company when she grabbed her 1,000th career rebound in the first half. The senior from Aplington, Iowa joins Cyclone great Angie Welle as the only players in school history with 1,000 rebounds and is just the 14th player in Big 12 history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 boards.
Hallie Christofferson had her seventh double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Kidd Blaskowsky was in double-digits for the fourth time in the last six games with 11 points. Blaskowsky drilled a pair of second-half threes after the Wildcats had trimmed the lead to 15 points.
Nikki Moody dished out nine assists for the Cyclones, who had 18 assists on 26 field goals.
Iowa State had a 39-17 lead at the break after holding the Wildcats to just 18.5 percent shooting in the opening half. The Cyclones dominated in the paint in the opening stanza, outscoring Wildcats 18-4 inside and holding a 24-14 edge on the glass. Poppens and Prins had 10 points each in the first half.
Brittany Chambers finished with 18 points and Mariah White added 17 to pace the Wildcats.
The Cyclones return to action Wednesday when they host Kansas at 7 p.m.


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Delaware Chickens
Breed Rating (3 Reviews)
Delaware History
Originally called Indian Rivers, this rare breed was developed in 1940 by George Ellis in Delaware, USA from a cross between Barred Plymouth Rock males and New Hampshire females. Mating a Delaware female with a New Hampshire or Rhode Island Red male will result in a sex linked chick. They were, at one time, the most popular broiler chicken in America and remain a popular dual-purpose bird as they are productive egg producers. They are predominantly white birds with some black barring on the tail and neck hackle. They possess a single comb and are virtually unknown outside the USA and are considered rare within North America
Delaware Behaviour
The Delaware is a calm, friendly, fast maturing chicken which is robust and both heat and cold hardy. They lay well, producing a good number of brown eggs and will continue to lay throughout the winter too but they can become broody. They are adaptable birds, happy to be confined within a run or free ranging. Cocks can weigh around 8lbs while hens average 6lbs.
Delaware Status
Related Products
Delaware Pictures
Delaware For Sale
Please note: All chickens listed here are for collection only. They cannot be delivered by the seller or by Omlet. The seller will send you their contact details to arrange payment and collection.
It's free
Sorry, there are currently no Delaware listed for Sale
Latest Reviews For Delaware (3 of 3)
Super Friendly - Moi,
This breed is absolutely adorable and super friendly. I have found my Delawares to be by far the most playful and interesting among a group of Delawares and New Hampshire Reds.
Excellent Bird - Kathie,
I have kept Delaware hens for 2 years now and cannot find any negative about them. They lay very well and consistently, they enjoy human interaction, are friendly and not aggressive. They are large heavy birds, heat or cold do not seem to bother them and are beautiful to look at. You can't go wrong with these great birds.
Most Excellent Chicken - Joe,
We have have owned pure Delawares for several years. I am constantly amazed at the egg productivity of this breed. I have not found them to be prone to broodiness and with reasonable care find the hens lay rate excellent, near 90% or better. They tend to decline slightly after about 2.5 years and as older hens. The eggs are extra large and they are a mild mannered chicken, very hardy from hatching right on through maturity. With the strain I have I occasionally get an off colored (red) chick. They are excellent foragers.


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Coretta Scott King's EulogyPresented by Maya Angelou
In the midst of national tumult, in the medium of international violent uproar, Coretta Scott King's face remained a study in serenity. In times of interior violent storms she sat, her hands resting in her lap calmly, like good children sleeping.
Her passion was never spent in public display. She offered her industry and her energies to action, toward righting ancient and current wrongs in this world.
She believed religiously in non-violent protest.
She believed it could heal a nation mired in a history of slavery and all its excesses.
She believed non-violent protest religiously could lift up a nation rife with racial prejudices and racial bias.
She was a quintessential African-American woman, born in the small town repressive South, born of flesh and destined to become iron, born — born a cornflower and destined to become a steel magnolia.
She loved her church fervently. She loved and adored her husband and her children. She cherished her race. She cherished women. She cared for the conditions of human beings, of native Americans and Latin — Latinos and Asian Americans. She cared for gay and straight people. She was concerned for the struggles in Ireland, and she prayed for nightly for Palestine and equally for Israel.
I speak as a — a sister of a sister. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on my birthday. And for over 30 years, Coretta Scott King and I have telephoned, or sent cards to each other, or flowers to each other, or met each other somewhere in the world.
We called ourselves "chosen sisters" and when we traveled to South Africa or to the Caribbean or when she came to visit me in North Carolina or in New York, we sat into the late evening hours, calling each other "girl." It's a black woman thing, you know. And even as we reached well into our 70th decade, we still said "girl."
I stand here today for her family — which is my family — and for my family and all the other families in the world who would want to be here, but could not be here. I have beside me up here millions of people who are living and standing straight and erect, and knowing something about dignity without being cold and aloof, knowing something about being contained without being unapproachable — people who have learned something from Coretta Scott King.
I stand here for Eleanor Traylor and for Harry Belafonte, and I stand here for Winnie Mandela. I stand here for women and men who loved her — [Constancia] "Dinky" Romilly. On those late nights when Coretta and I would talk, I would make her laugh. And she said that Martin King used to tell her, "You don't laugh enough." And there's a recent book out about sisters in which she spoke about her blood sister. But at the end of her essay, she said, I did have — "I do have a chosen sister, Maya Angelou, who makes me laugh even when I don't want to." And it's true. I told her some jokes only for no-mixed company.
Many times on those late after — evenings she would say to me, "Sister, it shouldn't be an 'either-or', should it? Peace and justice should belong to all people, everywhere, all the time. Isn't that right?" And I said then and I say now, "Coretta Scott King, you're absolutely right. I do believe that peace and justice should belong to every person, everywhere, all the time."
And those of us who gather here, principalities, presidents, senators, those of us who run great companies, who know something about being parents, who know something about being preachers and teachers — those of us, we owe something from this minute on; so that this gathering is not just another footnote on the pages of history. We owe something.
I pledge to you, my sister, I will never cease.
I mean to say I want to see a better world.
I mean to say I want to see some peace somewhere.
I mean to say I want to see some honesty, some fair play.
I want to see kindness and justice. This is what I want to see and I want to see it through my eyes and through your eyes, Coretta Scott King.[Sings: "I open my mouth to the Lord and I won't turn back, no. I will go, I shall go. I'll see what the end is gonna be."]
Thank you.


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I hope you enjoy reading about me and the History of my wooden jigsaw puzzle company.
This story tells you a little about me and the story of how I got involved in creating and succeeding with my custom wooden jigsaw puzzle company. Happy reading.
Hello, My name is Mark Gaetano Cappitella. I am a resident of a small South Central Connecticut town, named East Haddam. My family (wife and two children) and I moved here from Elmer, New Jersey (near Philadelphia) in January 1999 where we had lived since 1995. The town of East Haddam is located on the Connecticut River, just 15 miles north of Old Lyme and Essex, CT, and Interstate Highway I-95.
I grew up in Upper Saddle River, NJ (Bergen County) about 20 miles North West of New York City. I am a frequent visitor of the Catskill Mountains in South Eastern New York state, with Lake Minnewaska and Windham being two of my favorite places to visit. I am a graduate of Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey, class of '84, as well as Mesa College of San Diego, class of '93. I proudly served 4 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, from 1985 to 1989 at the rank of Corporal in the 9th Communications Battalion, Camp Pendleton, California. I served two, six month tours overseas, visiting a total of 12 pacific rim countries, several of them, as many as 8 different times.
It has always been a dream of mine to work for myself, doing something that I really enjoy. At the age of 29, I had finally done it. Now at just 33 years of age, I have become established with my very own quite unique puzzle business, catering to "Wooden" jigsaw puzzle enthusiasts in the USA and around the world! I am very pleased with the success of my puzzle venture as it steadily grows. I have made many wonderful friends, both among my fellow puzzle cutters as well as the hundreds of customers who have ordered from me. As of February 11, 2019 I have hand crafted 6075 custom wooden jigsaw puzzles
My first experience with puzzles was as a young child, where I can remember my mother giving my sisters (Tina & Nicole) and me cardboard puzzles to assemble on cold gray rainy days. Generally these were 100, 250 and 500 piece puzzles which we bought at either Woolworth's or Grand Way in Closter New Jersey, or at the Ben Franklin 5 & 10 in Tappan, New York. (The Grand way is now a Kmart) My sisters and I had a lot of fun putting these puzzles together and enjoyed the satisfaction of fitting in that LAST piece! As I got older, I unfortunately did jigsaw puzzles less frequently, and do not remember solving or even looking at a single jigsaw puzzle from 1984 to 1995.
My passion for puzzles rekindled in June of 1995 when I was laid off (Downsized is actually the proper term) from my job in Northern New Jersey where I worked as a Purchasing Agent for a regional industrial motion and filtration distributor. While I was looking for new employment, I began to spend some of my free time doing woodworking, a hobby of mine for many years, that started at the young age of six. I can remember being jealous of my childhood friend Richard Link, who's Father had a wonderful woodworking shop in the garage of their home located in Norwood, NJ. Mr. Link was a professional furniture craftsman, and Richard and I used to bang small nails into the wood scraps that he left on the shop floor. Ever since then, I guess you can say that I have had an appreciation for fine woodworking.
It was on a weekday afternoon in June of 1995, when I finished building a gazebo style bird house for the backyard of my house, that I began to toy with a few scrap pieces of ply-wood that I had left over from the project. I simply decided to very whimsically feed a plywood scrap through my scroll saw's blade, spinning and turning it as I went along, with no objective of cutting anything specific. At the end of the cut, I looked at my creation and realized that I had just cut something that resembled a jigsaw puzzle, as the 2 pieces of wood I now had in my hands locked together. I then took the 2 pieces of wood and made some more very similar cuts. I thought WOW! I can make wooden jigsaw puzzles with this cutting technique. It was just minutes before I had cut the scrap piece of wood into about a 25 piece jigsaw puzzle. I was so proud, as I thought I had invented the concept of making wooden jigsaw puzzles! At this time I had never seen or heard of a jigsaw puzzle that was not made from cardboard. (how naive I was back then. )
I quickly realized that I could easily make a nice basic 25 to 40 piece jigsaw puzzle. I started taking some 8" x 10" color photo copy pictures and using carpenters glue I mounted them to pieces of construction grade ply-wood. (Quite a primitive technique compared to how I make them now, regarding both the glue and the wood.) I made several of these first puzzles as gifts for a few military buddies of mine, as I had a few fun photos of us from our days together in the Marine Corps.
In the basement of the home pictured to the right is where MGC puzzles was born in late June of 1995.
As time continued, I really became even more fascinated with making larger puzzles with higher piece counts. I also found that I was able to make more intricate cuts with each progressing puzzle, as I slowly developed a love for cutting them.
Christmas of 1995 approached and I still did not have a job, as the two job offers that were presented to me in the past 5 months were simply put, an embarrassment. I declined both without much thought. Since as I had no personal income at all, and less than $200 to my name in the bank, I made the only choice I could... I would have to MAKE my Christmas gifts that year. In November I began to select some photos, and make puzzles from them as holiday gifts to my family and friends. Each was carefully selected and cut into 70 to 150 piece puzzles.
I was pleasantly surprised, as I received very appreciative compliments, and support from everyone I gave my puzzles to. This further motivated me into expanding my puzzles in size, quality and difficulty. It was not too long before I made my first 250 piece puzzle, as a birthday gift for my mother (2 days after Christmas, 1995).
It was in January of 1996 when my girlfriends mother (now my Mother-in-law) showed me a story in People Magazine about a small puzzle company. (I think the magazine was dated a few months earlier). As I began to read the article, I can remember being in a semi state of shock to see that there was actually a market for "my" wooden jigsaw puzzles (which if you remember, I thought I had invented, only to learn that a man named John Spilsbury invented them 231 years earlier, in 1764). I was completely flabbergasted to also learn that there were people willing to pay many hundreds and even thousands of dollars for a single well cut large "wooden" jigsaw puzzle. It was precisely at this moment when I realized that I was really going to pursue a future in trying to market my puzzles to this very small nitch in the puzzle world.
Since I literally had NO MONEY, I could not afford to market my puzzles in the traditional way. Since I could not afford to take out ads in the Smithsonian and Town and Country magazines for over $2,000 per ad per month, I decided I had to develop a different marketing approach.
I owned a very basic 60 MHZ Macintosh Power PC computer, (6116CD) and had online service with America On Line back then (which I actually still maintain. What I would give to have had the foresight to have purchased some of their stock back then!). It was in July of 1996 that I decided that I would teach myself how to create a web site, and try to use this new medium called the Internet, to market myself and my puzzles to people all over the world.
My motivation and desire to succeed at this goal was quickly stifled when my attempts to understand web designing had completely evaded me. I got as far as creating a VERY RAW looking single web page, but for the life of me, I could not figure out how to get the web page up onto the Internet so that people could look at it. Completely frustrated and defeated, I threw in the towel on this Internet marketing idea.
I do not remember exactly what happened to give new life to my Internet motivations, but in early September of 1996 I had rekindled my interest in tackling the idea of creating an Internet web site for my puzzles. This time when I attempted to upload my page to the Internet...it worked! I began to learn how to create new web pages, and how to link them to one another. I was incredibly excited when I invested in a new color scanner which I bought with some money from family and friends, so that I could upload some of my puzzle images to my web site.
My first web page was born on September 9th of 1996. Just 7 weeks later, on November 1st, I received my very first puzzle order. It was from a corporation in Salt Lake City, Utah. The order was for a very simple and small 25 piece puzzle made from an 8"x10" logo image. Between that first order, and the end of the year, I made a total of 8 puzzles. I was somewhat pleased with this, and optimistic that with the growth of the Internet, more and more people would gain access to my site's pages, and thus knowledge of my unique puzzles.
Nine Months later in May of 1997, I had reached the point where my puzzles began to almost be equal in quality of some of the best puzzle cutting companies in the business. When I first started selling my puzzles, I was charging $0.45 per puzzle piece. By May of 1997 I increased my prices to $0.60 per piece. I was on the roll, as more orders began to steadily trickle in.
One month later, in June of 1997, I found a very nice wood to use in the making of my puzzles. I was finding my earlier choice of wood to be VERY hard to cut, and I became disappointed with the numerous voids (holes) that I was experiencing in the internal layers of the plywood. The new wood has a beautiful 5 ply cross section appearance. It is very durable, and is not quite as hard and I did not break as many scroll saw blades.
In addition to my quality new wood, my jigsaw puzzles acquire their comfortable snug fit and shinny edges, due to the two different blades that I use to cut them. The tiny blades are only as thick as horse hair, measuring just 8, and 9 thousandths of an inch, with kerfs of just 15 and 22 thousandths of an inch, respectively. These fine blades allow me to make very sharp turns as I hand craft all my wooden puzzles.
In May of 1998 I finally reached the point where my puzzle cutting talent was nearing peek performance. As far as I was concerned, my talent for making puzzles was equal to, and possibly better, than that of most of my competitors. A long 2 years and 4 months after I seriously began to pursue making puzzles for a living. I was now cutting very consistent styles, sizes and knew many different ways to trick my customers with detailed movements of my saw's fine blade. Repeat orders and referrals were on the increase. My puzzle making business was succeeding!
The Holiday Season of 1998 was an eye opening experience! For the first time ever I had more orders for my puzzles than I knew what to do with. I can't tell you how this felt, as it was truly a two sided feeling. The one side was exhilaration. For the first time in over 3 years, I made slightly more money in a month (Gross sales) as I did when I had my last job in 1995. The bad side of this success was STRESS, as I was doing everything myself. 1) I designed, created and maintained my Internet web site entirely by myself, which is a mammoth job in itself 2) I answered all Phone call questions, and took all of the orders 3) I personally responded to all my daily e-mail messages 4) I marketed my puzzles aggressively 5) I purchased the supplies and artwork 6) I mounted the images onto the wood 7) I stocked and tissue paper lined the puzzle boxes as well as designed and custom printed each label for the puzzle boxes 8) I hand made the wooden puzzles individually 9) I sanded the finished puzzle backs 10) I counted each puzzle piece before boxing them 11) I hand wrote every box label, which was then adhered to the box with permanent glue 12) I entered the Invoices and customer information into the computer 13) I filled out the shipping labels and then 14) I boxed the finished puzzle to finally be sent safely on it's way to it's happy new owner! This is A LOT OF WORK, not to mention the fact that I was a full time Mr. Mom with two small children. I loved making the puzzles, but the stress I had, to complete all of my puzzle orders in time for Christmas was actually horrible. When I went to bed at night, I actually was dreaming puzzle pieces! I can't tell you how wonderful it felt to finally send out that last holiday puzzle in the afternoon of December 23rd, and to be able to sit back for a couple of hours of relaxation and then jump into my car, to go to the local shopping mall to begin my Christmas gift Shopping for my family!
JANUARY 1999 - "The start of a new beginning" Allison (my wife) and I had decided back in the summer of 1998 that we wanted to relocate our family to New England. I knew that all I primarily needed were two telephone lines and a UPS truck (I now only use FedEx) in order to run my business from home. Because of this advantage, we needed to relocate to a place where Allison could find work. Allison is a graduate of Yale university where she received her Masters Degree in Nursing. She had been working for "South Jersey Hospital System" as a PNP (Pediatric Nurse Practitioner) since 1994. It was time for us to move on.
To make a long story short, in September 1998, Allison interviewed for a PNP position at a private pediatric medical practice in Essex, Connecticut, and in short accord (October) she was offered the PNP position, which she accepted. January 13th 1999... Moving Day! After our first truly hectic holiday season for my puzzle business, we had just 2 weeks to pack our things and move some 260 miles north east into Southern New England. We decided to first rent a house in Chester Connecticut. Chester is an absolutely charming small New England Town, located just off of the Connecticut River about 10 miles up river from the Long Island Sound.
In Mid February, I walked into downtown Chester, and introduced myself to several of the local merchants. When asked what I did for a living, I simply replied I was a wooden puzzle maker. I think that most people were just a little confused until I explained in more detail, just what it is that I do. It was upon my meeting two people in specific that I became directly involved with the town itself. They are Leslie Strauss (Owner of the local Century 21 Real Estate office) and Leif Nilsson (An amazing artist of Impressionistic paintings). They both invited me to take part in the Chester Merchants group, and to participate in their periodic open house events and local attractions. I have ever since, been an active participant with the town and it's many annual festivities. In excess of a thousand people have now personally watched me cut my puzzles during my public presentations and demonstrations at these highlight events in the town's center.
In May of 1999, I was invited as a guest speaker to talk to the Rotary Club of Essex Connecticut. This was a big honor for me as I have great respect for this fine community serving organization, not to mention that my father (Mauro J. Cappitella) has been a Rotarian in New jersey since 1990. The Essex Rotary Club has about 70 members of which about 55 were present the evening that I spoke. Upon the completion of my presentation, I was asked to join to join the club. I accepted, and was installed as an active member of the club about three months later in August. It is a privilege to be a part of such a fine group of community serving people.
Allison steps up to the plate! - My wife Allison was seeing how overwhelmed I was with ALL of the different aspects of running my business, and after a little pressure from me, she began to one by one take over the responsibilities of certain aspects of my business. First it was just lining my puzzle boxes with attractive tissue paper. Next it was helping me package the puzzles for shipping. Before she knew it, she was also breaking down the finished puzzles and carefully counting the pieces and boxing them, writing the box labels, doing the customer invoicing and paperwork filing as well as maintaining other business responsibilities. Her contribution has been very significant, and has allowed me to nearly double my time and productivity in both puzzle making and web site design, management and growth. During the past Christmas season of 1999, she was working 40 and 50 hour weeks just helping me out, not to mention handling her regular full time PNP profession.
I now have a very well established puzzle business. My company is well known in the local community and among a number of more serious wooden puzzle collectors nationally and around the world. I have made more than 720 hand carved wooden jigsaw puzzles since June of 1995 with customers in every state of the USA, and in 18 countries. (IN Early 2009, that number is now over 4,200 puzzles, and 36 countries)
Current demand for my puzzles has the price range set from $1.75 to $2.75+ per puzzle piece depending on puzzle size and cutting style. These prices are still a bargain compared to some other names in the wooden jigsaw puzzle business, who's prices start between $2.50 and $4.00 per puzzle piece, and can go even higher from there.
I suspect that with time, my prices will still increase, as does the demand for them, as more and more collectors are buying my puzzles. Some purchase two, three or more puzzles at one time. Even though some people think that spending $200 to $500 or even $1,000+ on a single wooden jigsaw puzzle is crazy. What they really are missing out on is something quite special. My explanation to them is that they just need to try one "Wooden Puzzle" someday. Even a small yet challenging puzzle like Clowning Around, which is just 55 to 60 pieces, and costs about $115, or the Maple Leaf Puzzle which has 25-45 pieces and sells for $65 to $85. They make a great addition to anyone's home puzzle collection, and it won't break the piggy bank.
In making my puzzles, I find that my customers sometimes send me personal (enlarged) photos or personally purchased fine art prints. (easily obtained at your local shopping mall, at stores like "Deck the Walls", or online at web sited like art.com In some cases I have even cut old maps and corporate logos as well as colorful picture postcards, smaller wall posters and even wall calendar pictures. This versatility to be able to use just about any printed image in virtually any size or shape, makes my puzzles very special to my customers and to the person to whom they are giving them, since they are often bought as gifts for others.
I put MANY hours of work into creating a single puzzle, which I find quite relaxing to cut. Small puzzles may only take a couple of hours to cut, but the larger 2,000+ piece puzzles can take fifteen hours or more to cut, as each and every interlocking piece is carefully hand crafted.
Learning on my own (from scratch) about how to write this puzzle web site has also been an interesting (sometimes frustrating) experience. I am happy to present his site to you as you are currently seeing it. Over 5 years in the making so far. I believe in constant improvement, so I am always making changes ( big or small ) on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis, including the occasional addition of new pages and sections.
It has been very rewarding to get to know all the wonderful people that have ordered from me, or sent me e-mail with fun short stories about themselves and their passion for puzzles. As time progresses I hope to continue to reach new people in new places, and to make them aware of the fine art of the "Hand Crafted Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle."
Please visit this web site from time to time, to say hello, and to see my latest additions. If you have friends and family members who also share our passion for puzzles, please tell them about me and my puzzle web site. To find out about the latest scoop here at MGC puzzles, visit my newsletter page.
Thank you for taking this time to read about me and my special personalized jigsaw puzzles. I invite you to call me if you have any additional questions or comments. 1-888-604-7654
If you happen to be a writer or anchor for a magazine or television show, (or happen to know someone who is) who may be interested in doing a news article or human interest story on me and the story of my very unique business, I am more than happy to talk with you. I have already been written up Nationally in: Investors Business Daily, Gateway Magazine, Hispanic Business News (even though am not Hispanic), as well as several regional newspapers in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. I feel that my home made success story is a very motivating human interest story that would capture the attention of many people.
There are a lot of people out there in the world with their own unique hidden talents, that like me, either were downsized from their corporate jobs, or maybe they have a current job that they hate. If they have the American dream of going into business for them self someday, my success story could be a catalyst to a few of these people, and hopefully motivate them just enough to pursue their dream now, instead of taking it to their grave. A morbid statement? Yes, but too often, true!
Life is short... Play Hard, Play Fair, and most of all... HAVE FUN!!!
|Jo-Jo and Oreo, (respectively) are my two cats that keep me company in my puzzle workshop. Jo-Jo is fourteen, and Oreo is thirteen years old (Spring 2005) . Both are San Diego California Natives from the time that I lived near Mission Bay and Sea World after my tour of duty in the US Marine Corps. During the time that I acquired my cats, I was working at Cousin's Electronic Photo and Appliance Warehouse, on Hancock Street near Downtown San Diego. Working at Cousins Warehouse was a great retail sales, management, marketing & retail finance experience for me. Much of my knowledge comes from my 5 years with this great establishment. Unfortunately 2 years after I moved back to the East Coast, the company folded, and went out of business. Imagine a 10,000 square foot sales floor doing over 40 million dollars per year in sales. What great memories!
Located near the bottom of every page in this site
1) Home
10A) Pre-Cut
Jigsaw Puzzles - Already cut, boxed and ready to ship. Buy
it today, and have it in 1-3 days.
14) Artist
Gallery - Main Directory
21) Wedding
Guest Books / Signature Boards
25) Photograph
Restoration - Airbrushing, Touch up
29) Birth
Announcement puzzles
32) Lead Times and Rush Orders
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39) Custom
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New Taiwan dollar
The new dollar is the legal currency of Taiwan. It is currently also circulating in the territories under Taiwanese sovereignty like the Pescadores, Kinmen, Matsu and Pratas Islands since 1949. It was originally issued by the Bank of Taiwan, and is currently issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of China.
The first new dollar was issued on June 15, 1949 to replace the old Taiwanese dollar with an exchange rate of $ 40,000 for 1 new dollar. The main goal of this new dollar was to end the hyperinflation suffered by Taiwan and China during the Chinese Civil War. A few months later, the government of the Republic of China under the Kuomintang was defeated by the Chinese communists and retreated to Taiwan.
Although the Taiwan dollar was a de facto currency, for years the old Chinese yuan remained the official currency of the Republic of China. This yuan was a fiduciary currency, although it was detached from the value of silver during World War II, in fact, many of the old statutes of the Republic of China have in their content denominations with yuan.
According to the regulation on the exchange rate between new Taiwanese dollars and the fiduciary currency in the Republic of China, the exchange rate was set at 3 TWD per 1 yuan of silver and was never changed. Although the silver yuan was the main currency of legal tender, it was impossible to buy, sell or use it, so it did not exist in front of the public.
Currently coins of ½, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 dollars and 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000 dollars are circulating.
Date of issue:
Central Bank of the Republic of China
Other currencies of the world
Order online and collect your currency at the branch of your choice.
|Global Exchange
|Your high-street bank
|Variety of currencies
|We have 24 currencies. We are specialists.
|Only major currencies. Travel money is just a secondary business for banks.
|Availability of currencies
|Immediate availability of currencies in our branches. Click and collect or walk in to our stores.
|If they can actually get your exotic currency, prepare for a couple of visits to your bank before you can have the money on your hands.
|Only the exchange rate, without commissions, and if you book online you guarantee the best price.
|The bank sets its own margin plus a commission.
|Different denominations available
|At Global Exchange, you'll get a variety of banknotes with different values, adapted to all your payment needs.
|No. Prepare for refusals and complaints in foreign languages when paying with «big» banknotes.
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|Order online to benefit from a price reduction and collect at the branch of your choice.
|You'll have to go first to your bank to order the currency you need, then wait for it to come and go back again to collect it.


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Bright gorgeous colors have a way of adding cheer and spirit into our everyday life. Neon colors have been so much in fashion lately. This color trend is quite in sync with summer and spring! Home accent and upholstery in neon is a good experiment and the pop of color is absolutely fun. Love it! hope you are as inspired :o)
An easy makeover for old furniture with surface damages. Paint them a bright color and it will get the deserved attention. Mid century design was never looked funkier!
Modern color palette of Gray with pops of neon. Using bright colors for accent on a neutral base makes for interesting points of attention. Buy Ikea furniture and consider customizing them. Good value :)
The cuteness of these stools aside love the delicate setup! Neon is so eye catching that even hints of it can transform any corner. You don't have to go big to bring some neon into your lives.
So colorful! Bright and comfortable, this is the perfect relaxing nook. It looks fabulous against the stark white backdrop and instantly warms up the place. Must for those white winters for me :)
Neon colors don't always have to be in the face. Sometimes a piped down version is really attractive. Coral and soothing brown bedding is super stylish. It adds an edgy flair to the bedroom decor.
Hopelessly smitten by mid-century modern. Intense use of turquoise, and yet its coral red that makes all the difference. Gorgeous Pyrex and Catherine Holm enamelware must be feeling right at home!
Accent wall with eye popping colors! Wonderful combination of blue and apple green, so unusual and very striking. If you have it in you, go for a transformation, reupholster and rejuvenate.
Modern contemporary kitchen design with hints of neon yellow. An alternative for those looking for a urban chic inspiration. Gray and yellow combination has featured here before.
Splash of so many colors! This living room is so gorgeous, it radiates cheer. Perfect for those who don't shy away from colors and love to experiment. This surely is fabulous!
As always, try experimenting with small decorative stuff before committing money and time on a larger project. Neon is a still quite in trend. Do consider!
Source: Etsy
Even a touch of neon can transform ordinary colors. The piping is minimal and yet adds to the cool factor! A good craft idea, perfect for teen room.


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Why Tree Trimming is Necessary
Tree contact with transmission lines is a leading cause of electric power outages and a common cause of past regional blackouts, including the August 2003 blackout that affected 50 million people in the Northeast United States and Canada. Following the 2003 blackout and subsequent federal legislation, the Commission designated the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO), with the responsibility to develop and enforce standards to ensure the reliability of the Bulk Power System, including the Reliability Standard that addresses vegetation management covering tree trimming on rights-of-way, FAC-003-4.
Clearances Between Power Lines and Trees
Electric service reliability and public safety require clearance between trees and transmission lines in the right-of-way, be maintained at all times.
- Electric Reliability Standard FAC-003-4 requires that trees and other vegetation growing in or adjacent to the power line right-of-way be trimmed to prevent power outages caused by tree contact with a transmission line. Any power line contact with a tree can cause a short circuit which may lead to a blackout or threaten public safety.
- Trees and other vegetation are regularly pruned beyond the minimum clearance distance to account for the fact that they continuously grow and sway with the wind. Power lines can also sag due to high usage, heat, or snow/ice build-up. Thus prudent right-of-way maintenance necessitates a greater clearance distance between power lines and trees than may occasionally appear to be necessary.
- Each utility develops and implements its own tree trimming or vegetation management plan. Each plan must conform to requirements of state or local authorities and any applicable right-of-way or easement agreement with the property owner.
Not All Power Lines Are Subject to NERC National Reliability Standards
The nation's electric system is divided into two different domains for regulatory purposes, largely based on the voltage of the facilities: high voltage transmission lines and lower voltage distribution lines.
- High voltage transmission lines operated above 200,000 volts (200 kV) and some transmission lines between 100 kV-200 kV are subject to Reliability Standard FAC-003-4. These transmission lines are typically those on high steel towers or very large wooden structures with multiple lines.
- Lower voltage distribution lines, (generally those lines below 100 kV) are controlled by the utility regulatory commissions within each state. These are typically the lines running in residential neighborhoods on wooden or metal poles, and usually operated at voltages between 4 kV and 36 kV.
- Most but not all tree trimming or vegetation management activities that directly affects homeowners involves local distribution, not transmission, and is, therefore, exclusively subject to state and local requirements and oversight (not Reliability Standard FAC-003-4).
Landowner Rights – Rights-of-Way Agreements
The rights of landowners with respect to trees and power lines are not established by the Commission or the Reliability Standards.
- Landowner rights are usually formalized in a utility right-of-way to the property, which may be attached to your property deed, describing the rights of the parties for building and maintaining electric lines.
- Right-of-way agreements are subject to the review of local regulatory authorities, and/or the local courts.
- You may contact the utility company that owns the transmission line to determine if it has the specific available records.
Contact Us If You Are Unsure!
FERC receives many calls and emails from landowners related to tree trimming or utility vegetation management practices. While FERC has no direct responsibility over tree trimming or utility vegetation management practices, we encourage landowners to bring to our attention any scenario that they are unsure of so we can see if we can help (Tree Trimming & Vegetation Management Issues Form).
- This may include questions about how a transmission company actually conducts transmission vegetation management, including its vegetation management plan and whether its practices are required by the Commission (see FAQs: Tree Trimming and Vegetation Management Landowners).
- Questions about vegetation management for distribution lines are better answered by the local state regulatory commission or other local governmental authority (See State Commissions).
- If your local electric company cannot answer your question, another good source of information is the state regulatory commission, which usually has a customer complaint service.
Quick Links
- FAQs: Tree Trimming and Vegetation Management Landowners
- State Commissions
- Utility Vegetation Management Final Report
- Order No. 785
- 2003 Blackout Information
- NERC Information
- Regional Entity Information
- International Society of Arboriculture – Standards & Practices
- Trees are Good – Tree Care Information
- Utility Arborist Association
- Order No. 777
- Northeast Transmission Outage Stresses Vegetation Management Presentation
- Northeast Transmission Outage Stresses Vegetation Management Report
- Chairman's Statement
Contact Information
Mark HegerleTelephone: 202-502-8287
Dennis Fuentes PedrosaTelephone: 202-502-6627
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Paschal Epistle of His Grace, Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand
Pascha 2000
Beloved in the Lord, Clergy and Flock of the Australia & New Zealand Diocese
Christ is Risen!
The all-joyous and most desired day of Holy Pascha has come and the entire Church solemnly and radiantly celebrates the rising of Christ from the grave. The human race and all creation are renewed by the Resurrection of Christ. The Redeeming Sacrifice has been offered, death is defeated and the people of God are delivered from the captivity of hell. The doors of Paradise are open once again for all who have come to believe in the Lamb, sacrificed for our sake, and who are washed in His most pure Blood.
This imminent sacrificial Triumph was prefiguratively revealed by the Lord in distant antiquity, some 1500 years before the nativity of the Saviour. When the Egyptian Pharaoh refused to grant freedom to the enslaved Hebrew nation, despite all the efforts of the great leader and God-seer Moses, the Lord sent Egypt various tribulations. The heart of Pharaoh, nevertheless, was hardened even more. It was then that the Lord sent the most severe punishment - the death of all the first-born Egyptian males.
To save the first-born of Israel from the sword of the angel of death, God gave Moses precise instructions for performing a special rite: the slaying and preparation of the passover lamb. "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it up until the fourteenth day of the same month, and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses wherein they shall eat it.... For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all gods of Egypt will execute judgement: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memoria! l, and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever" (Exodus 12: 5-7, 12-14).
It was in this manner that the first Old Testament Passover was celebrated, serving as a prefiguration of the great and eternal Pascha (Passover), Christ Himself, Who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the world by crucifixion on the Cross. By His redeeming Blood we are delivered from servitude to sin and death. "Christ is our Pascha," as we sing in the service during the Paschal night. "Christ is the New Passover, the living Sacrifice, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world" (Song 9 of the Paschal Canon).
The great teacher of the Church, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, explains the spiritual significance and meaning of the ancient Passover in relation to the New: "Israel ate the meat of a dumb lamb to complete the Passover, and having done so, they smeared their doorposts with blood and laughed at the destroyer. But we eat the Word of the Father, the Son our Saviour. We have the lintels of our hearts sealed with the blood of the New Covenant. Therefore we acknowledge the grace given to us by our Saviour... Now that death and the kingdom of the devil is abolished, we are filled with joy and gladness. God is no longer known only in Judea, but in all the earth. Their voice has gone forth, and the knowledge of Him has filled the whole earth (Ps. 18:4, Rom. 10:18)" (4th festal epistle)
The period of the Law has long passed; it is Grace that now reigns. The sacrifices of the Old Testament have ceased and the Jerusalem Temple has been destroyed to its foundations. In all the churches of Orthodoxy we now celebrate the Bloodless Sacrifice in the Divine Liturgy, glorifying and offering thanksgiving to our Saviour Christ, Who suffered for us and is risen in glory.
During these days of Pascha let us glorify God with thanksgiving and with great joy great each other with the holy kiss, repeating the sacred words, "Christ is Risen! - Truly He is Risen!"
May the Resurrected Christ God abundantly fill the hearts of all of you with joy and spiritual gladness this Pascha and all the days of your life.
With love in our Risen Saviour,
+ Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney Australia & New Zealand


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Thank you for shopping with Napleton Alfa Romeo of Indianapolis, and welcome to Napleton Customer Care!
Our team of Napleton Customer Care representatives are dedicated to customer service and are here to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have. At the Ed Napleton Automotive Group, we want to ensure all of our customers have a positive shopping experience.
If there is something that went wrong along the way, we want to resolve that problem. Contact us below and we will work to identify and resolve any outstanding service issues you may be experiencing. Please let us know in the subject of your email which dealership you are reaching out about and the department you are referring to. We appreciate your business and welcome your service inquiry.
It is our Napleton Customer Care team's mission to: listen, clarify, resolve, and follow-up.
- Listen to the concerns and questions our guests may have
- Clarify concerns and clearly answer any questions
- Resolve any issues that may contribute to a poor shopping experience
- Follow-up to ensure all of our guests have a positive shopping experience
Contact a Napleton Customer Care Representative
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by David Crane [email protected] March 13, 2006 On June 20, 2005, DefenseReview broke the story on the U.S.-made Milkor USA MGL-140 multi-shot grenade launcher (6-shot MGL), after we handled it at International SOF Week /APBI (Advanced Planning Briefing to Industry) 2005 in Tampa, FL (To our knowledge, we were the first to report on it and show pictures of it.). …Read More »
Tag Archives: huntir round
Milkor MGL-140 Six-Shot Multiple Grenade Launcher Demo at Blackwater
by David Crane [email protected] Armed Forces Journal has a video clip of the Milkor USA, Inc. MGL-140 6-shot 40mm low-velocity (a.k.a. low-impulse) multiple grenade launcher being demo'd at the annual Armed Forces Journal (AFJ) Shoot-out at Blackwater 2005. In the video, you can see Richard Solberg, Jr., President/CEO of Milkor USA, explaining the weapon's attributes and features, as well as …Read More »


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Surviving Apartheid — and New South Africa
My first visit to South Africa, and the impressions were jarring.
I grew up in liberal America, where apartheid was a curse and a cause rather than a way of life. I knew very few South Africans, Jewish or otherwise. And then I moved to Israel, and then Nelson Mandela whooshed to president from prisoner, and then life just went on for so many years. And now it's 2012, and I land in Johannesburg for the Limmud conference, which took me to Durban and Cape Town, as well — legendary places along the seam between Atlantic and Indian oceans, between vicious past and misty present.
In Jo'burg it hits you right away, on the drive from the airport. Reddish earth, rusty buildings, poverty that makes Palestinian villages look wealthy. All the pedestrians, every last one of them, are black. The whites people today live in gated communities, where they sarcastically call themselves the "last outpost of the British Empire" and exchange stories about getting mugged as they look out past the barbed wire that keeps out the crime.
"That's not barbed wire," someone said, laughing . "It's electric."
Nearly two decades after its first democratic elections, South Africa is still a work in progress. Afrikaans, the language of the oppressor, has been suppressed, and English has taken over as the public lingua franca.
Corruption is rampant, and this prevents the effective fighting of crime. More murders, rapes and carjackings here than anywhere else. The rand, once even with the dollar, is now worth about 12 cents.
At the same time, the country's successful postapartheid constitution and mostly independent judiciary make for greater hope of genuine democracy than perhaps anywhere else in Africa.
And the Jews?
Jews here, like everywhere else, are torn between their ideals and the demands of communal survival. Not unlike the Jews of the United Kingdom and elsewhere, they are (a) generally liberal in both politics and religion, (b) struggling with an increasingly intemperate ultra-Orthodox minority and (c) embarrassed by Israel. (When asked why, one local Limmudnik answered, "Settlements, Lieberman and Lieberman.")
But on that first day, I notice that embarrassment can run both ways, and my Boston-bred liberal instincts suddenly had me feeling very uncomfortable. The role of local Jews in both supporting and fighting apartheid is a very sensitive subject. People on both sides of the divide found themselves praying in the same synagogue.
The official Jewish leadership kept a low profile, while many Jews actively helped Mandela's African National Congress party. Every Jew, of course, was against apartheid — but some were against it only in retrospect. Being almost entirely of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, they are just pale and blond enough to look like the Northern European colonialist oppressors, and they talk like them, too, hiding behind their gates with their heads down, protecting their skins.
This first impression was, of course, horribly unfair — and within a few days I realized that I was falling into the same trap as many of them have toward me, the Israeli.
What is that trap? It's the trap of rendering snap moral judgments against a Jewish community struggling to survive under twisted conditions. I do not mean to excuse anyone who supported apartheid at the time. Rather, what I mean is to put my loyalty to this community above the purported obligation to judge a reality that is much more complex than apartheid itself: the reality of survival as a self-respecting, internally conflicted Jewish community in South Africa over the last generation — a community more than capable of judging their own.
South Africa and Israel are worlds apart. The only thing they have in common, really, is that both of them are, for too many Jews around the world, unreal places that resonate deeply with people who have never been there and have little real familiarity. For many of us, South Africa and Israel are scenes from our own inner movies: We project an abstracted, caricatured, ignorant version of them onto the screens of our minds, to affirm our sense of ourselves.
But as soon as you actually go to these places, and meet the people, and ask the hard questions, you may discover something completely different: Jews, playing out the very same endless struggle between their will to live — which makes them play power politics and sometimes look more like the non-Jewish power classes than they want to admit —and their will to be different and better than the rest of humanity. Normalcy and uniqueness: Every Jewish community must find its own equilibrium in its own specific situation.
Jewish communities should always be admired for their survival, for the simple reason that Jewish survival is an inherently unlikely thing. Unlike most human communities that survive, we do not idolize power, we do not take pride in the enemies we have butchered, we have little use for the idolatry of the state or the dear leader or the motifs of muscle and steel. We have carried through for millennia, on the strength of an unparalleled affirmation of life, of an aesthetic and a spiritual and intellectual excellence. We are, above all, survivors, not just in body, but in Jewish spirit, as well.
To be a Jew means to live your whole life protecting a soft thing, an eternal thing, a holy thing. And we are doing it in the midst of a swirling, violent, rapidly changing world. It is no different in the United States, in South Africa or in Israel. Nor is there any real difference between the Orthodox who protect it through Halacha, the liberals who protect it through activism or the Zionists who protect it through force of arms. The equation is the same; just the variables change.
"Who is a Jew?" Eliezer Berkovits once quipped. "Someone whose grandchildren are Jewish." This is perhaps the most important criterion for judging each other. In South Africa, it is a uniquely painful struggle, and all the more valiant for it.
David Hazony is the author of "The Ten Commandments: How Our Most Ancient Moral Text Can Renew Modern Life" (Scribner, 2010).