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The perilous journey of Wyoming's migrating pronghorn
On a blustery spring day, I crouched behind sagebrush at the edge of the Green River in western Wyoming, waiting for pronghorn to pass by on their northern migration. Occasional snowflakes fluttered into the steel-colored water. I pulled my arms inside my down jacket, zipped to the chin. Hours went by.
Then, across the river, I glimpsed tawny shapes: A dozen pronghorn bunched up on the riverbank, pacing and looking at the current. A doe led the others into the water. At its deepest point, the river carried the swimming pronghorn downstream. The doe scrambled for footing and picked her way through jumbled driftwood at the river's edge. She leaped up the bank, water streaming from her round belly and thin-boned legs. Once clear of the river, she shook a spray of water from her coat. Then she continued north at a run, the rest of the group trailing after her.
As part of her 120-mile-long migration, this doe had already navigated parts of the Pinedale Anticline gas patch -- an intensively drilled piece of public land in western Wyoming -- a tricky highway crossing and a couple of subdivisions. Here, along the Green River, she was still 60 miles, a 9,100-foot mountain pass and as much as a month away from her destination, the bench lands along the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park. It is a challenging journey, and not all of the 300 to 400 pronghorn that attempt it survive.
This pronghorn migration is one of the longest and most dramatic land-animal movements in the United States. That it still happens is remarkable. Around the world, long-distance animal migrations are disappearing as human development blocks and fragments the migration corridors. In the Yellowstone ecosystem of northwest Wyoming and parts of Idaho and Montana, residential and other development has stopped pronghorn from migrating through six of eight historic corridors. Of the two remaining, this route, dubbed the "Path of the Pronghorn" by the biologists who identified it, is the most vulnerable. If it gets cut off, pronghorn will be extirpated in Grand Teton National Park, where snow piles up too deeply for them to survive the winter. In 2008, the U.S. Forest Service granted official protection to the northernmost 45 miles of the corridor where it crosses the Bridger-Teton National Forest, making it the first federally recognized national migration corridor. But the Green River crossing lies outside that protected stretch.
As it becomes clearer that protecting migration is crucial to maintaining robust wildlife populations, researchers are trying to understand where, how and why wild animals migrate. Advances in tracking technology are providing some answers, but in many ways migration remains a mystery. I thought I might gain some insight if I tried to watch this migration in action -- especially in the remote northern part of the corridor, an area only accessible by foot.
Satellite-collar studies have given us a 30,000-foot-high view of the western Wyoming pronghorn migration, and hunters, cowhands and biologists have long wandered stretches of the corridor. But to my knowledge, no one had followed the entire route on the ground. And so, over the course of four seasons, I walked the Path of the Pronghorn. The first autumn, I missed a key drainage and followed the wrong creek to the wrong pass, fighting my way through thick brush and forests without finding so much as a hoofprint. The next spring, I found the right course, but I was a week too late.
The third time, the geography made more sense to me. I remembered how a certain v-shaped valley led to a small notch in a patch of trees at the divide. I could imagine how a fawn that followed its mother along the route a couple of times might memorize the best spots to ford the rivers and scoot through strips of forest, later teaching the course to its own offspring. The animals, however, are elusive, and they travel much faster than a person on foot, especially in the fall. I relied on hoofprints dried into muddy trails, tufts of hair snagged on branches and the occasional distant glimpse of a pronghorn disappearing over a hill. This helped me understand the journey, but I still yearned to see actual animals face its challenges.
The following spring, I drove about 15 miles north of the Green River crossing and parked just inside the forest boundary. The snow was still too deep for ATVs or pickups, and too melted for snowmobilers. The only way in was on foot. This time, however, like the pronghorn, I'd have company. My younger brother, Jake, would join me for a couple of days.
"Check that out," he said, squatting to lay his palm in the mud next to a huge dog-like track at the edge of the road. In this wild country famous for grizzlies and wolves, I was grateful for a companion, especially one who packs a gun and is comfortable in the backcountry.
We walked for several miles up a gravel road along the west side of the Green River. Across the valley floor, scattered groups of 15 or 20 pronghorn worked their way north, the same way we were travelling, occasionally pausing to graze. In the afternoon, we climbed northwest, away from the river. The higher we got, the more snow we encountered -- drifts that got deeper and deeper, until we were wading through thigh-high snow softened to slush by the afternoon sun. Finally, we found a patch of dry ground under ponderosa pines, where we stopped to dry our shoes and set up camp. A few pronghorn probed the edge of the snowfields across the drainage from us. We'd already seen more pronghorn in one day than I had in all my other trips along the corridor.
In this wintry mountain landscape, pronghorn seem alien, but the taxonomic family from which they evolved has existed in North America for over 18 million years. Over the eons, the family Antilocapridae included more than 20 different species of antelope-like creatures, ranging in size from less than two feet tall at the shoulder up to the size of modern pronghorn, about four feet high at the shoulder. Some had spiraling, branching or even palmated horns, like little moose antlers. Paleontologists have categorized them into more than a dozen genera, giving them dinosaur-ish names like Texoceros, Ottoceros and Tetrameryx.
Today, Antilocapra americana is the sole surviving representative of these sheath-horned, four-stomached, even-toed ungulates, which are more closely related to giraffes than to any other modern species. A pronghorn has a heart twice the size as the heart of a similarly sized goat, with one and a half times as much blood. Its windpipe -- as big as a vacuum-cleaner hose -- has half the air resistance. After spending much of its evolutionary history pursued by swift-moving, now-extinct prehistoric predators like American cheetahs and long-legged bears, the pronghorn can outrun any other land animal on the continent by a good 15 miles per hour.
How do the animals do it? Seeking to solve the riddle of pronghorn speed, biologist Stan Lindstedt bottle-raised pronghorn fawns and taught them to run on a treadmill. He put masks on the fawns as they ran to measure their rate of oxygen consumption and found it much higher than expected for their body size. The only vertebrates whose peak oxygen uptake surpasses pronghorn are hummingbirds and bats.
Pronghorn have a nearly 360-degree range of vision, and their eyes are as powerful as binoculars. They are surprisingly strong swimmers, buoyed by hollow hairs in their coats. When the does make their springtime journey, they are pregnant to bursting with twin fawns that make up 15 percent of their body weight -- the equivalent of a 130-pound woman carrying two 10-pound babies. Within a few days of birth, the fawns can outrun the coyotes that hunt them.
Pronghorn are survivors, and as long as they can move from place to place, they aren't endangered. In fact, they are one of the more resilient species on the Western landscape, where they've survived lengthy ice ages and droughts. They had a close call with extinction at the turn of the last century, when hunting reduced their herds from millions to fewer than 20,000. But sportsmen's groups advocated for hunting regulations, and the population has recovered to about a million today.
My brother and I watched the pronghorn across the valley until it was too dark to see them. For now, the population is doing well, but their long-distance migration along this corridor is in serious danger.
There was an overnight freeze in the Gros Ventre Mountains, and the following day Jake and I traveled easily on the hardened snow. We hiked across treeless rumples of land between small lakes and drainages, ascending a wide, slanted park toward the hydrographic divide that separates the watershed of the Green River, a tributary of the Colorado, from the Gros Ventre, a tributary of the Snake and eventually the Columbia. As I'd learned in my earlier expeditions, this is the only way the pronghorn can reach their summer range in Teton Park.
By mid-morning, the snow was so soft that we plunged through it up to our thighs. Clambering out of the holes we made was slow and exhausting work. Then, in a swale, we broke through the snow into knee-deep ice water. Gaiters were useless; the water filled our boots. We retreated to a small patch of open sagebrush to dry out. If we couldn't make any progress under these conditions, we didn't expect the pronghorn to do much better. We decided to make some coffee, enjoy the morning and wait for them to catch up.
The mystery of migration has enticed researchers and conservationists for decades. In the late '60s and early '70s, entomologists scoured the Southern U.S. in search of the wintering grounds of the monarch butterfly, eventually finding them in the pine forests of Michoacán, Mexico. When whooping cranes were nearly wiped out and just a few captive breeding pairs survived, pilots used ultralight aircraft to guide the fledglings along their migration route from Wisconsin to Florida. In the late 1980s, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department used colored neckbands to mark over 800 pronghorn in winter range near Rock Springs. When four of them showed up the following spring more than 150 miles away in Teton Park, biologists were amazed. The pronghorn migration was longer than anyone had imagined.
Recent advances in tracking technology reveal where animals migrate, if not how or why. Minuscule radio transmitters super-glued to the bellies of dragonflies show that the insects can travel as far as 85 miles in one day. Satellite transmitters mapped the impressive 7,250-mile non-stop flight of the bar-tailed godwit from the Arctic coast of Alaska across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand. In December of 2003, biologists put radio collars on pronghorn in southern Alberta. The following spring, the study animals had vanished. Eventually, a farmer called to report pronghorn wearing collars 300 miles away, in Saskatchewan. Other pronghorn collared on the Great Plains travelled 500 miles through the course of a year.
In 2007, an especially energetic and ferocious wolverine known as M3 was fitted with a GPS collar in Glacier National Park in Montana. Data from it showed the animal climbing a rocky cirque to summit 10,466-foot Mount Cleveland and rambling through a 700-square-mile home range. Another wolverine collared in Grand Teton National Park in 2009 traveled more than 500 miles to central Colorado over a couple of months, crossing the significant barriers of Interstates 80 and 70 along its way to Leadville. It was the first wolverine known to visit Colorado in 90 years. These aren't typical seasonal migrations, but they demonstrate an important point: that wild animals need room to roam between national forests, parks and other protected areas.
Pronghorn migrate for ecological reasons, seeking to avoid deep snow, find nutritious forage or return to places where they have already successfully given birth. But mysteries remain. Why does one pronghorn migrate a long distance while another makes a short journey or lingers year-round near its winter range? Why, in some populations, do more females than males migrate? And why would a pronghorn migrate one year and not the next? Andrew Jakes, a Ph.D. candidate from the University of Calgary who is studying the animals, says, "Migration is a complex behavior. We have the ability as scientists to tease apart that complexity." Many of the mechanisms remain unknown, but one thing is clear: "Migration is an adaptation. It's an important strategy to survive and reproduce, and it needs to be maintained."
Orange dots on a poster of mapped waypoints tell the story of one doe collared in Teton Park in October 2003. She migrated south to the Green River Basin with the rest of the herd for the winter. The following spring, rather than just following the corridor back to the summer range, she took off into the Gros Ventre high country, testing drainage after drainage. "From an anthropomorphic impression, it looked like she was trying to find a different route," says Steve Cain, lead biologist at Grand Teton National Park. When the alpine peaks at the top of the range stopped her, she quit exploring, returned to the regular migration corridor, and made her way up to the park for the rest of the summer.
Studies of the Teton population show "how tremendously fragile the corridor is," says Cain. "It's clear the existence of the population in Jackson Hole is completely dependent on maintenance of the corridor."
Today's research is painting a picture of a vibrant landscape, where wildlife flows like water across the boundaries between private and public, protected and working, Canadian and American landscapes. As one researcher puts it, "Us humans do not have a grasp on it yet."
As Jake and I drank our coffee, sandhill cranes hollered back and forth across snowmelt ponds. They strutted across the snow and grass searching for insects and then raised their long beaks to cry out, heads bobbing. The cranes seemed out of place here, like ballerinas on a mountaineering expedition. A yellowish coyote trotted into view, its pointy nose lowered, bushy tail swept behind. Every few steps, its paws broke through the snow, and it sank to its belly.
After the coffee and a short, sun-warmed nap, we left our packs and wandered along a dry ridge. On a small pond, two trumpeter swans glided away from us, climbing out of the water with their huge black feet splayed on the snow. Noisy ground squirrels scrambled to the tops of sagebrush to flick their tails and chatter their warnings. The clear zippering songs of sparrows rose from the sagebrush.
Because pronghorn are one of the bigger "sagebrush obligates"-- species adapted to thrive in a sagebrush ecosystem -- protecting their habitat benefits a lot of other animals, including some of the species Jake and I encountered that day in the mountains. One pronghorn wearing a satellite collar wandered across parts of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Montana during a single fall hunting season. The map that it generated helped launch an international agreement called the Northern Sagebrush Steppe Initiative, which coordinates conservation of sage grouse, mule deer and pronghorn. In western Wyoming, private-land conservation easements targeting pronghorn corridors also protect habitat for other native species, including sage grouse and mule deer. When wildlife photographer Joe Riis set remote cameras along the Path of the Pronghorn, he captured images of not just pronghorn, but also deer, elk, wolves, mountain lions and bears all using the same trails.
In late afternoon, Jake spotted a group of nearly 60 pronghorn carving a path through the snow up the valley toward us, making their way in single file. Whenever the leader -- usually a doe -- got tired of breaking trail, another would pass her and take the front of the line. In one place, they followed the track we had left through a pocket of snow.
Out of the way of the slow-moving pronghorn, we made camp at the edge of a small hill and sat on our sleeping pads to watch them. When dusk fell, much to our surprise, they retreated back down the trails they had made, splashing through Wagon Creek and cantering along the bare sage slopes below. They were returning to the safety of the valley floor for the night. Like road crews clearing a highway, the pronghorn punched trails through snowdrifts all day and then returned at sundown to the lower elevations.
Hall Sawyer, a biologist for the consulting group Western Ecosystems Technology Inc., has been following the Teton pronghorn and the mule deer that share their winter range for over a decade. He's made a startling discovery. "In the last few years, we're recognizing the internal anatomy of migration routes," he says. Migration corridors are less like a conveyor belt where animals get on at one end and off at the other than they are like a chain of hotels linked by strips of highway. The migrating mule deer that Sawyer studied spent 95 percent of their time at the "stopover points" (the hotels) where they rested and foraged, and just 5 percent of it zipping through the "movement corridors" (the highways).
The maps he's generated resemble a rosary: strings of beads with spaces in between, the bulbous stopover locations linked by narrow movement corridors. They offer conservationists a new lens for looking at ungulate migration, important for figuring out how to protect it. Sawyer says conservationists could work on protecting ungulate stopovers the way they've protected refuges for migrating waterfowl through the Midwest.
"The best-case scenario would be no development in migration corridors," Sawyer says. Today, however, no migration corridor in the U.S. is protected from end to end, and development is already slated for some lands where ungulates migrate. Distinguishing stopover points from movement corridors could help managers minimize migration hindrances when they decide where to locate pipelines or wind turbines. "There will be some development. Given that choice, it's better to put it in the movement corridors than the stopover points with the qualification that it doesn't impede migration," Sawyer says. "We need to maintain connectivity."
His finding matched what Jake and I were seeing: The pronghorn spent only a little time navigating the trickiest parts of the corridor, such as these snow-choked slopes. Whenever possible, they camped out in the drier lowlands along the Green River.
The following afternoon, Jake and I worked our way another couple of miles north through deep snow to the pass. We settled down on a dry patch of sagebrush to wait for the pronghorn. Jake napped, but I buzzed with excitement. For the first time during my four seasons following the migration, I was ahead of the animals as they neared the highest point in the corridor, the gateway to the summer range on the far side. A mile to the south of our sunny resting place, 80 pronghorn dozed on a rise. I watched them through binoculars, wondering whether they would try to push higher this afternoon or retreat to the Green River, just as they'd done each of the past several nights.
Finally, around 4 p.m., as if a drill sergeant had shouted a command, the pronghorn jumped to their feet and began testing the snow at the edge of the sagebrush. There is nothing casual about migration. The animals were organized, methodical and efficient. They moved in silence, but with perfect coordination. A doe kicked a trail across a drift to reach a long strip of dry land that paralleled the edge of the forest, leading toward us. The rest of the herd lined up to follow her.
Within moments, the first pronghorn were hurrying by just 30 yards from where we crouched in the shadow of a ponderosa. The mass of tan-and-white bodies whispered between the tree trunks. Their hooves crunched through the snow, and they panted open-mouthed. The leaders broke trail up a drift through an open gate and into the beetle-killed pines at the crest of the divide. The rest of the herd streamed behind them, more than 80, perhaps as many as 150, half of the Teton population.
For half an hour we sat frozen in place, watching the quiet flow of animals as they scurried along the edge of the forest. After the last white butt disappeared into the trees, Jake and I looked at each other in amazement.
"I can't believe we just saw that," I whispered.
"It's like the Serengeti, seeing so many animals move past at once," Jake replied.
Nothing remained of that surge of life except for the narrow paths where pronghorn hooves had punctured the snow, like rows of stitches linking the desert in the south to the summer range in Teton Park.
Emilene Ostlind was a High Country News editorial fellow in the winter of 2011 and now works as a freelance journalist in Lander, Wyo. This story was supported by contributions to the High Country News Enterprise Journalism Fund.


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Book lovers have found a welcome companion with iOS devices, particularly with the iPad and its reading-friendly screen. Our favorite reading apps from the past year include a tool that ushers comic books into the digital age, and two children's books that make the most of the iPad's interface.
Comics by Comixology is the definitive app for reading comic books on iOS, and has been since the day the original iPad shipped. With version 3.0, Comics got even better. It's got a new, smooth interface and does a much better job of handling the huge volume of digital comics now being released. With DC Comics releasing all of its books simultaneously in paper and digital form (Marvel will follow in 2012), the days of the paper comic-book issue may be numbered. But reading on the iPad has a bright future ahead of it thanks to Comics.—Jason Snell
The Going to Bed Book
As for books themselves, The Going To Bed Book is a great children's book; author Sandra Boynton could probably have released a glorified PDF of the book and still had a pretty decent iOS app. Instead, the now-universal The Going to Bed Book for all iOS devices offers a pseudo-3D view of the original board book—and everything is interactive. Your kids will delight in making the adorably-drawn animals jump, the steamy sink fog up the screen, and the stars sparkle in the nighttime sky—and you will, too. And since Loud Crow Interactive's app can read to you or let you read yourself, it works for a wide age range.—Lex Friedman
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
Likewise, Moonbot Studios, the makers of The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore could have simply done an ebook version of the animated short—the visuals, music, and storyline are certainly evocative enough to produce a perfectly fine children's story. But the iPad app does so much more: Each scene features some sort of reader-driven activity to draw you into the story. Tap the screen in one scene, and the seasons change. In another, you can piece together pieces of a torn up page. None of this interactivity feels tacked on—it's perfectly incorporated into a story that's a love letter to the power of books. And the app itself is a powerful example of what books can be in the age of the iPad.—Philip Michaels

subset: commoncrawl


text: Over the years I have witnessed our culture going from one that was more invested in worrying about the outcomes of their behavior than of gratifying their every desire. We do seem to have moved into a time where "wanting" has overshadowed "judging" as to whether what we "want" makes sense. The ability to be wise about the decisions we make in our own behalf or those near and dear to us seems to be a lost art. Being able to develop wisdom is not something our educational system teaches, and we definitely don't get it from the media. The great philosophers often made commentaries on wisdom and saw it as one of life's greatest assets. It has become more and more difficult to access wisdom, due to the fact that we have become more interested in immediate gratification. Ads pummel us daily insisting that whatever their selling is something we "must" have. Their relentless marketing hypes have seeped into our unconscious and made us feel that even when we get the desired object, we are not happy with it for long for there will soon be something better on the horizon. These ads are developed with the help of scientists who now know that baiting people with the need for stuff releases dopamine, a substance in the brain that gives us pleasure. Unfortunately, when we access dopamine too frequently we need more and more to get the same response, and so we become addicted to "wanting and having", "getting and then wanting more". This is similar to being hooked on alcohol or drugs. Learning to be wise increases our capabilities to have self-control, which is a necessary factor in becoming a mature, evolved human being. My mother often reminded me that I had to learn to "think about what I was thinking about". I used to rail against this statement, but now I realize that we would all be better off if we embraced her metaphor for wise living. Wisdom is important for peace, economic prudence, political leadership, and health. Without it we will continue to be at the mercy of the rewards of bad habits, self-indulgence, and immediate gratification. We are witnessing these very things everyday and it is leading us into a dark abyss. I think it's time we all "wised up"!


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Story highlights
Columnist: Steve Jobs "one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism"
Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak in 1976, building their first computer in a garage
"He did what a CEO should: Hired and inspired great people," columnist says
Company has sold more than 275 million iPods, 100 million iPhones and 25 million iPads
Steve Jobs, the visionary who led a mobile computer revolution with the creation of wildly popular devices such as the iPhone, was mourned Thursday by admirers and competitors as much of the world awoke to news of his death.
Jobs' death was announced Wednesday by Apple, the Silicon Valley company he co-founded with Steve Wozniak. He was 56.
"Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being," Apple said in a statement on its website.
"Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor."
iReport: Share your memories of Jobs
The hard-driving executive pioneered the concept of the personal computer and of navigating them by clicking onscreen images with a mouse.
In more recent years, he introduced the iPod portable music player, the iPhone and the iPad tablet – all of which changed how digital content was consumed.
Live blog: Reaction around the world
More than one pundit, praising Jobs' ability to transform industries with his inventions, called him a modern-day Leonardo da Vinci.
"Steve Jobs is one of the great innovators in the history of modern capitalism," New York Times columnist Joe Nocera said in August. "His intuition has been phenomenal over the years."
Fortune: 10 ways Jobs changed the world
Others championed his leadership skills..
"He was a historical figure on the scale of a Thomas Edison or a Henry Ford, and set the mold for many other corporate leaders in many other industries," wrote Walter Mossberg, a tech columnist for The Wall Street Journal.
"He did what a CEO should: Hired and inspired great people; managed for the long term, not the quarter of the short-term stock price; made big bets and took big risks."
Jobs' death, while dreaded by Apple's legions of fans, was not unexpected. He had battled cancer for years, took a medical leave from Apple in January and stepped down as chief executive in August because he could "no longer meet (his) duties and expectations."
Born on February 24, 1955, and then adopted, Jobs grew up in Cupertino, California – which would become home to Apple's headquarters – and showed an early interest in electronics. As a teenager, he phoned William Hewlett, president of Hewlett-Packard, to request parts for a school project. He got them, along with an offer of a summer job at HP.
Jobs dropped out of Oregon's Reed College after one semester, although he returned to audit a class in calligraphy, which he says influenced Apple's graceful, minimalist aesthetic. He quit one of his first jobs, designing video games for Atari, to backpack across India and take psychedelic drugs. Those experiences, Jobs said later, shaped his creative vision.
While at HP, Jobs befriended Steve Wozniak, who impressed him with his skill at assembling electronic components. The two later joined a Silicon Valley computer hobbyists club, and when he was 21, Jobs teamed with Wozniak and two other men to launch Apple Computer Inc.
"It's like there is a big hole left in you," Wozniak said on CNN's AC360 after learning of Jobs death. "And it's very hard to go back and … reflect on the feelings … and what it means."
It's long been Silicon Valley legend: Jobs and Wozniak built their first commercial product, the Apple 1, in Jobs' parents' garage in 1976. Jobs sold his Volkswagen van to help finance the venture. The primitive computer, priced at $666.66, had no keyboard or display, and customers had to assemble it themselves.
The following year, Apple unveiled the Apple II computer at the inaugural West Coast Computer Faire.
"Steven Jobs was, and still is, an inspiration to many individuals and companies all over the world. His passing is a loss to innovators and visionaries everywhere," said Jong-seok Park, president of LG Electronics.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer described him as "one of the founders of our industry and a true visionary."
Opinion: One thing we owe to Steve Jobs
Jobs was among the first computer engineers to recognize the appeal of the mouse and the graphical interface, which let users operate computers by clicking on images instead of writing text.
Apple's pioneering Macintosh computer launched in early 1984 with a now-iconic, Orwellian-themed Super Bowl ad. The boxy beige Macintosh sold well, but the demanding Jobs clashed frequently with colleagues, and in 1986, he was ousted from Apple after a power struggle.
Then came a 10-year hiatus during which he founded NeXT Computer, whose pricey, cube-shaped computer workstations never caught on with consumers.
Jobs had more success when he bought Pixar Animation Studios from George Lucas before the company made it big with "Toy Story."
In 1996, Apple bought NeXT, returning Jobs to the then-struggling company he had co-founded. Within a year, he was running Apple again – older and perhaps wiser but no less of a perfectionist. And in 2001, he took the stage to introduce the original iPod, the little white device that transformed portable music and kick-started Apple's furious comeback.
Thus began one of the most remarkable second acts in the history of business. Over the next decade, Jobs wowed launch-event audiences, and consumers, with one game-changing hit after another: iTunes (2003), the iPhone (2007), the App Store (2008), and the iPad (2010).
Observers marveled at Jobs' skills as a pitchman, his ability to inspire godlike devotion among Apple "fanboys" (and scorn from PC fans) and his "one more thing" surprise announcements.
Time after time, he sold people on a product they didn't know they needed until he invented it. And all this on an official annual salary of $1.
He also built a reputation as a hard-driving, mercurial and sometimes difficult boss who oversaw almost every detail of Apple's products and rejected prototypes that didn't meet his exacting standards.
By the late 2000s, his once-renegade tech company, the David to Microsoft's Goliath, was entrenched at the uppermost tier of American business.
Opinion: How Jobs saw the future
Apple now operates more than 300 retail stores in 11 countries. The company has sold more than 275 million iPods, 100 million iPhones and 25 million iPads worldwide.
Jobs' climb to the top was complete in summer 2011, when Apple listed more cash reserves than the U.S. Treasury and even briefly surpassed Exxon Mobil as the world's most valuable company.
But Jobs' health problems sometimes cast a shadow over his company's success.
In 2004, he announced to his employees that he was being treated for pancreatic cancer. He lost weight and appeared unusually gaunt at keynote speeches to Apple developers, spurring concerns about his health and fluctuations in the company's stock price. One wire service accidentally published Jobs' obituary.
Jobs had a secret liver transplant in 2009 in Tennessee during a six-month medical leave of absence from Apple. He took another medical leave in January this year.
Perhaps mindful of his legacy, he cooperated on his first authorized biography, scheduled to be published by Simon & Schuster in November.
Jobs is survived by his wife of 20 years, Laurene, and four children, including one from a prior relationship.
He always spoke with immense pride about what he and his engineers accomplished at Apple.
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do," he said while delivering a 2005 commencement address at Stanford University.
"If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on."
CNN's Augie Martin contributed to this report.


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Nature's Path Organic added three new flavors to its Love Crunch Granolas line: Apple Crumble, Carrot Cake and Aloha Blend. The company will donate the equivalent of cereal or cash to food banks for every bag of Love Crunch Granolas sold (up to $1 million).
9100 Van Horne Way, Richmond, BC V6X 1W3, Canada, www.naturespath.com
Published in WholeFoods Magazine, April 2012


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Will Gaius be forced to give up Merlin's secret?
4.07 "The Secret Sharer"
Writer: Julian Jones
Director: Justin Molotnikov
THE ONE WHERE Morgana and Agravaine mount an assault on Gaius - Agravane sullies his name around Camelot while Morgana hires wizard Alator to kidnap and torture him, in the hopes of discovering who Emrys is. But Morgana is wrongfooted by Alator's true loyalties...
VERDICT This has the makings of a political thriller as Gaius becomes the focus for Morgana's scheming, a plot direction signposted in previous episodes; but this episode struggles to maintain the pace of last week's duplicity and epic battles - and it also hits the reset button again at the end, leaving everybody's secrets safe. Boo.
It does pleasantly expand on the universe of the series, though, introducing us to the Arab-style Helva island with its bustling market place, chanting monks, tiger skins and gold Byzantine decorations. How far exactly has Morgana travelled?! Certainly less than a day's ride it seems and yet this is a very different environment from Camelot! It's here we meet the "Cathar" sect, who - like Merlin 's druids - are practitioners of the magical "old ways".
Back at Camelot, Agravaine is superb as the slightly ineffectual but still sinister bully. It feels like more could be done with Agravaine's questioning of Gaius about his knowledge of sorcery - the McCarthy-style witchhunt tactics are chilling and hark back to the era of persecution we know Uther instituted - and it would be nice to see more of Gaius being quizzed (even if Richard Wilson seems capable of just one expression). The direction here is wonderful; as Agravaine walks out Arthur is alone at the head of the table, emphasising how he's being isolated from his friends.
Where are all the other knights? Only Gwaine offers to ride out with Merlin. And is it just me, but I thought the "iron ore" clue on Agravaine's boots was horse poo from the stables where he set the white stallion free?
Gaius shows us that he can still summon up a spell, when he defends himself during torture. And it's unexpected that when he finally gives in and reveals Merlin's secret, Alator immediately switches sides. It's a well-played reversal, even if it does mean (gah!) that the series' status quo is restored immediately! In the final scene, Gaius's carefully worded reply to Arthur (" Morgana got nothing from me.") is important. He articulately explains his defence of Emrys too. His final line, "One day you will learn, Arthur! One day you will understand just how much they've done for you!" is meant to sound inspiring but to me it sounds creepy - he might as well just go and tell Arthur that he doesn't know anything and that his friends are busy behind his back.
KILGHARRAH LITE No mention or sight of the Great Dragon, alas.
NITPICK Why does Merlin blithely carry out Agravaine's instructions and deliver the dagger to Arthur's room? We know Merlin suspects Agravaine; weird that he just grins and says, "It will be my pleasure!"? Did he not think there might be something fishy going on?
ARTHUR SHIRTLESS He spends an entire early scene topless, first in bed and then talking with Agravaine in his bed chamber.
EVIL IS SEXY The talk in the SFX office isn't just about Arthur's physique, you know. All series Katie McGrath has smouldered in that low-cut Gothic outfit.
SLASH BAIT Merlin playfully forces a muffin into Arthur's mouth while he lies in bed. That might be a metaphor for something. No need to call Dr Freud for an interpretation though, because then he openly grabs Arthur's covers and wrestles him onto the floor.
IT'S WOSSISNAME Alator is of course played by famous Scottish actor Gary Lewis, acclaimed for his performances in Billy Elliot and Gangs Of New York . In our genre, you've seen him in the film Eragon and most recently in an episode of Outcasts .
TRIVIA Morgana calls Alator a Cathar - the Cathars were a heretical French Christian sect from the 11th to 13th centuries.
THE MERLIN UNIVERSE Agravaine mentions the "swordsmiths of Gedref" as the source of the dagger Merlin takes to Arthur's chamber. Gedref is mentioned in "The Labyrinth Of Gedref" in the first series, where Merlin and Arthur are sent after Arthur slays a unicorn.
THE TITLE Is somebody a Joseph Conrad fan? The Secret Sharer is a novella written by Conrad in 1909. In it, the captain of a ship hides a fugitive on his ship without the crew's knowledge then allows him to escape.
Arthur: "I never have any time to myself!"
Merlin: "I know, it's almost like having to work..."
Gaius: "The druids' legends are true: Merlin is Emrys, a man destined to greatness, a man who will one day unite the powers of the old world and the new, and bring about the time the poets speak of - the time of Albion."
Dave Bradley
Merlin airs on Saturday nights on BBC One in the UK.
Previous Merlin series four reviews:
Merlin "The Darkest Hour" TV Review
Merlin "The Darkest Hour (Part 2)" TV Review
Merlin "The Wicked Day" TV Review
Merlin "Aithusa" TV Review
Merlin "His Father's Son" TV Review
Merlin "A Servant Of Two Masters" TV Review


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Chest freezer operating instructions
Temperature control
- On start up the freezer will be set to its factory setting of -18°C. At this temperature the food will keep for the length specified in the freezer storage guide. Refer to 'Storing food in your chest freezer' section for specific guidelines.
- The compartment temperature is accurately and independently controlled and does not change with the surrounding temperature or humidity.
- If you wish to alter the temperature of your freezer this can be easily done by using the control panel located externally on the front-right of the appliance.
External control panel to adjust temperature
+ and -
Temperature adjustment
Temperature will change on screen when + or -
buttons are pressed.
Fast freeze
icon will illuminate on screen when 'Fast
Freeze' is activated.
Key lock
|icon will illuminate on screen when key lock
is activated.
Temperature adjustment
- To adjust the temperature warmer by 1°C press the button + once.
- To adjust the temperature colder by 1°C press the button - once.
- The temperature range is -12°C to -26°C.
Normal operating sounds
Chest freezers can produce sounds somewhat different to other refrigerator and freezer appliances.
Normal operating sounds include:
- Boiling water, gurgling sounds or slight vibrations. These are the result of the refrigerant circulating through the cooling coils.
- A clicking sound from the thermostat cycling on and off.
- Other sounds may be heard for the following reasons:
- Cabinet not level.
- Bottles or jars rattling on shelves.


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An out-of-work money manager in California loses a fortune and wipes out his family in a murder-suicide. A 90-year-old Ohio widow shoots herself in the chest as authorities arrive to evict her from the modest house she called home for 38 years.
An out-of-work money manager in California loses a fortune and wipes out his family in a murder-suicide. A 90-year-old Ohio widow shoots herself in the chest as authorities arrive to evict her from the modest house she called home for 38 years.
In Massachusetts, a housewife who had hidden her family's mounting financial crisis from her husband sends a note to the mortgage company warning: "By the time you foreclose on my house, I'll be dead."
Then Carlene Balderrama shot herself to death, leaving an insurance policy and a suicide note on a table.
Across the country, authorities are becoming concerned that the nation's financial woes could turn increasingly violent, and they are urging people to get help. In some places, mental-health hot lines are jammed, counseling services are in high demand and domestic-violence shelters are full.
"I've had a number of people say that this is the thing most reminiscent of 9/11 that's happened here since then," said the Rev. Canon Ann Malonee, vicar at Trinity Church in the heart of New York's financial district. "It's that sense of having the rug pulled out from under them."
With nowhere else to turn, many people are calling suicide-prevention hot lines. The Samaritans of New York have seen calls rise more than 16 percent in the past year, many of them money related. The Switchboard of Miami has recorded more than 500 foreclosure-related calls this year.
"A lot of people are telling us they are losing everything. They're losing their homes, they're going into foreclosure, they've lost their jobs," said Virginia Cervasio, executive director of a suicide resource enter in southwest Florida's Lee County.
But tragedies keep mounting:
- In Los Angeles last week, a former money manager fatally shot his wife, three sons and his mother-in-law before killing himself.
Karthik Rajaram, 45, left a suicide note saying he was in financial trouble and contemplated killing just himself. But he said he decided to kill his entire family because that was more honorable, police said.
Rajaram once worked for a major accounting firm and for Sony Pictures, and he had been part-owner of a financial holding company. But he had been out of work for several months, police said.
After the murder-suicide, police and mental health officials in Los Angeles took the unusual step of urging people to seek help for themselves or loved ones if they feel overwhelmed by grim financial news. They said they were specifically afraid of the "copycat phenomenon."
"This is a perfect American family behind me that has absolutely been destroyed, apparently because of a man who just got stuck in a rabbit hole, if you will, of absolute despair," Deputy Police Chief Michel Moore said. "It is critical to step up and recognize we are in some pretty troubled times."
- In Tennessee, a woman fatally shot herself last week as sheriff's deputies went to evict her from her foreclosed home.
Pamela Ross, 57, and her husband were fighting foreclosure on their home when sheriff's deputies in Sevierville came to serve an eviction notice. They were across the street when they heard a gunshot and found Ross dead from a wound to the chest. The case was even more tragic because the couple had recently been granted an extra 10 days to appeal.
- In Akron, Ohio, the 90-year-old widow who shot herself on Oct. 1 is recovering. A congressman told Addie Polk's story on the House floor before lawmakers voted to approve a $700 billion financial rescue package. Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae dropped the foreclosure, forgave her mortgage and said she could remain in the home.
- In Ocala, Fla., Roland Gore shot his wife and dog in March and then set fire to the couple's home, which had been in foreclosure, before killing himself. His case was one of several in which people killed spouses or pets, destroyed property or attacked police before taking their own lives.
"The financial stress builds up to the point the person feels they can't go on, and the person believes their family is better off dead than left without a financial support," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Washington D.C.-based Violence Policy Center.
Dr. Edward Charlesworth, a clinical psychologist in Houston, said the current crisis is breeding a sense of chronic anxiety among people who feel helpless and panic-stricken, as well as angry that their government has let them down.
"They feel like in this great society that we live in, we should have more protection for the individuals rather than just the corporation," he said.
It's not yet clear there is a statistical link between suicides and the financial downturn since there is generally a two-year lag in national suicide figures. But historically, suicides increase in times of economic hardship. And the current financial crisis is already being called the worst since the Great Depression.
Rising mortgage defaults and falling home values are at the heart of it. More than 4 million Americans were at least one month behind on their mortgages at the end of June, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
A record 500,000 had entered the foreclosure process. And that trend is expected to continue through next year, despite the current programs from the government and the lending industry to refinance delinquent homeowners into more affordable loans.
Counselors at Catholic Charities USA report seeing a "significant increase" in the need for housing counseling.
One counselor said half of her clients were on some form of antidepressant or anti-anxiety medication. The agency has seen a decrease in overall funding, but it has expanded foreclosure counseling and received nearly $2 million for such services in late 2007.
Adding to financially tense households is an air of secrecy. Experts said it's common for one spouse to blame the other for their financial mess or to hide it entirely, as Balderrama did.
After falling 3 years behind in payments, the Taunton, Mass., housewife had been intercepting letters from the mortgage company and shredding them before her husband saw them. She tried to refinance but was declined.
In July, on the day the house was to be auctioned, she faxed the note to the mortgage company. Then the 52-year-old walked outside, shot her three beloved cats and then herself with her husband's rifle.
Notes left on the table revealed months of planning. She'd picked out her funeral home, laid out the insurance policy and left a note saying, "pay off the house with the insurance money."
"She put in her suicide note that it got overwhelming for her," said her husband, John Balderrama. "Apparently she didn't have anyone to talk to. She didn't come to me. I don't know why. There's gotta be some help out there for people that are hurting, (something better) than to see somebody lose a life over a stupid house." AP
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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Well, it's been a big, big week for Windows fans, no doubt about it. And I can say that for me, personally, I haven't felt this excited about Windows since, oh, I don't know, maybe 2003. And that's because while Windows Vista and 7 were solid, capable, and workmanlike, Windows 8 is something else entirely. It's exciting.
And you can see the excitement very clearly on this site, since I've published nearly 30 full-length articles, blog posts, and screenshot galleries for the Consumer Preview since its launch last Wednesday morning. And while I'm sure every Tom, Dick, and Harry blogger on the interwebs is struggling to keep up, long-time SuperSite for Windows readers know that it is in these moments that I truly shine: You won't find coverage like that I've already provided anywhere else, not even with Microsoft. And I'm just getting started.
So rather than beat to death what you already know, I'll instead use this weekly recap to organize what I've already written into something cohesive so that in the off chance you haven't checked it all out yet, or are simply overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of this coverage, you can use this as a guide to find your way around.
Need to Know: Core Windows 8 articles
I wrote a number of high-level overviews of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, and these are a great place to start.
Welcome to the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. For weeks now I've been biting my tongue, watching what I say and write about the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. But with the release today of this most eagerly-awaited Windows 8 milestone, the shackles are off.
What's New in the Consumer Preview. According to Microsoft, there are literally thousands of improvements in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. But if you're familiar with the previous milestone, the Developer Preview, and only want a high-level view of the major changes, go no further. Here's a comprehensive list of the most important changes Microsoft made to the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
The Top 8 Features. While Windows 8 includes a lot of interesting new features, it's not difficult to look at the Consumer Preview and pick just a handful of top changes. Here are some of my favorites.
What's new in Windows 8 Consumer Preview
If you're familiar with the Windows 8 Developer Preview and want to know what's changed since then, these articles will get you up and running in no time.
User Experience and Fit and Finish Improvements. While the Windows 8 Developer Preview only hinted at Microsoft's plans for the Windows 8 user experience, the Consumer Preview completes the picture, with a nearly feature-complete look at how this new OS will look and work.
Improvements to Mouse and Keyboard Navigation. While the Windows 8 Developer Preview provided a fairly complete touch interface, the big news in the Consumer Preview is that keyboard and mouse navigation has been fully fleshed out. Here's a handy guide to how keyboard and mouse interactions work in Windows 8. more
The Windows 8 App Previews. The Windows 8 Consumer Preview includes several useful App Previews, rough, pre-release versions of Metro-style apps that will later ship alongside, but not be included with, Windows 8. Here's a quick rundown of the App Previews.
Task Management Improvements. While some are concerned about limitations in Windows 8's new Metro environment, Microsoft has actually added numerous task management improvements in the Consumer Preview. So it's likely that almost anyone can be efficient with the new OS, once they've learned the ropes.
Windows Store Preview. While Microsoft has been talking up its Windows Store for Windows 8 since last fall, with the Consumer Preview we've gotten our first hands-on glimpse of this experience. In this article, I'll take a look at the beta version of the Windows Store, which provides users with a handy, centralized way in which to discover, download, and manage Metro-style apps.
The Developer Tools. Microsoft included a pre-release version of Visual Studio 11 in the Windows 8 Developer Preview, of course, giving developers the tools they needed to get started on Metro-style app development. But with the Consumer Preview, these tools are available as a separate Beta download.
Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts. With the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft has completely overhauled the system of keyboard shortcuts that utilize the ubiquitous Windows Key, and as you'll soon discover, virtually ever letter in the alphabet is now assigned to some function.
All Apps Comes Of Age. In the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft has fixed All Apps, making it much easier to access and, as important, making it even more useful than the similar feature in Windows Phone.
Want to go from Windows 8 neophyte to master as quickly as possible? I'll show you how.
Personalizing Windows 8. In the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, there are suddenly a number of fun and useful ways in which you can customize the OS and make it more your own. Here's a short guide to some of the key ways in which you can do this.
Internet Explorer 10 Secrets. Windows 8 includes two versions of the Internet Explorer 10 browser, one for Metro and one for the desktop. Both share the same engine and some core features, but the ways in which these apps interoperate, with each other and with third party browsers, can be a bit surprising.
Behind the scenes
You heard it here first. Actually, you only heard it here.
The True Story Behind the Missing Start Button. Yes, Virginia, Microsoft has removed the Start button from Windows 8. But get over it, because it's been replaced by something better: A new Start experience that works consistently between the Start screen, full-screen Metro-style apps, and the desktop.
Why Metro and the Desktop Don't Mix. Last month, I wondered why Microsoft couldn't simply mix Metro-style apps with the desktop environment in Windows 8. As it turns out, there are plenty of reasons.
Installing Windows 8
One of the more interesting things happening with Windows 8 is that Microsoft has thoroughly overhauled the way in which most people will install the OS for the first time in, well, almost ever. That is, yes, you can still install Windows 8 the old-fashioned way using Setup media, like a DVD or USB memory device. But you can now use a more efficient web-based installer too, and this special version of Setup even incorporates other useful but previously separate technologies such as the Upgrade Advisor and Windows Easy Transfer. Short of getting Windows 8 preinstalled on a new PC, this is the way to go when it comes to installing Windows 8.
Here are the articles I've published related to Windows 8 installation.
Download and Install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Here are some download links for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Set Up Windows 8 with the Web Installer. A guide to the new, preferred method of clean installing, migrating to, or upgrading to Windows 8.
Create Bootable Install Media. Download the Windows 8 ISO and create DVD- or USB-based install media that you can use to clean install or upgrade to Windows 8.
Clean Install Windows 8. The traditional method for clean-installing Windows 8 on a new (or existing) PC.
In-Place Upgrade: From Windows 7 to Windows 8. A guide to the traditional process for upgrading a Windows 7 PC to Windows 8 while retaining applications, settings, and user data.
Push Button Reset. A set of new Windows 8 features that let you quickly wipe out a Windows 8 PC and return it to factory fresh condition or, optionally, do so while retaining all Metro-style apps, settings, and user data.
What's missing: Windows To Go is a new Windows 8 feature that allows you to install Windows 8 to a bootable USB device and then run the OS from any PC. Microsoft says it will implement this feature officially post-Consumer Preview. There are hacks to get this working now, so I may write an article soon if I can safely and predictably document the process.
If you're the visual type, I published four Windows 8 Consumer Preview screenshot galleries:
Start Screen Screenshots. The Start screen and PC Settings interfaces.
Metro Productivity Apps Screenshots. The Metro-style productivity apps that are included in this release, such as Calendar, Finance, Internet Explorer 10, Mail, Maps, Messaging, People, SkyDrive, Windows Store, and Weather.
Metro Entertainment Apps Screenshots. The Metro-style entertainment apps that are available in this milestone, including Camera, Xbox Companion, Pinball FX2, Solitaire, Music, Video, and Xbox LIVE.
Desktop Screenshots. A few shots of the Windows 8 Explorer desktop.
Blog posts
Shorter looks at some interesting Windows 8 Consumer Preview topics.
Mine Goes to 11. Well, 9.9. Microsoft first created the Windows Experience Index (WEI) for Windows Vista, designing it as a system in which the performance of several key hardware components are rated and an overall score is provided. Updated first in Windows 7, WEI has now been updated for a second time in Windows 8.
A Tale of Two Start Screens. So this is interesting. I've been using the Windows 8 Consumer Preview since Monday on a Samsung Series 7 tablet, as you may know, but since yesterday have been loading it on the various PCs I use regularly. And one difference has stood out.
What's next?
I'm working on my first Consumer Preview-era article in the "8 Is Enough" series, and that should be up in the next day or two. After that, I'm going to start a Windows 8 Feature Focus series that will thoroughly examine individual Windows 8 features and apps, and will update these articles as needed through the final release so that they will work for the RTM version of the OS as well. Of course, I'm also working on Windows 8 Secrets and will be making my first chapter submissions this week.
And don't worry, I won't ignore the Windows Server 8 Beta. I've been a bit preoccupied with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which I assume is understandable, but there's some interesting stuff happening in its Server cousin, too. I've installed Server 8 Beta and will be writing about that soon.
These are exciting times, folks, and there's much to do. I'm excited to be a small part of it.


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LOS ANGELES – Pitcher Pope Benedict XVI has signed with the Los Angeles Angels for the remainder of the 2010 Major League Baseball season.
The 83-year-old pitcher looked ecstatic after signing his one-year contract. The Angels have now loaded up their pitching rotation by adding the Holy Father, a highly praised righthander, to their staff.
The move isn't the first time that the Vatican has broken with tradition, but Pope Benedict wants to reach out to Catholics in America and there's no better way than pitching for his favorite team. The St. Louis Cardinals were disappointed, they thought their team was Pope Benedict's favorite, but as the Pope said, "Angels are holier than Cardinals."
Vatican sources were concerned that the Pope would not be able to wear his traditional gold cross while pitching, but Bud Selig, the Commissioner of MLB, said he will allow the Holy Father to keep it on. "Bless Bud, " said the Pope.
The Angels were going to acquire Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Joe Saunders, but at the last minute they decided instead to trade Joe Saunders to the Vatican for the Pope and two bishops to be named later.
The Angels will not only have one of the best starting rotations in the American League, but they will have God on their side. "We really feel good about adding the Pope to our starting rotation," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "This is a huge opportunity for us to upgrade not only now, but for eternity. To have real Angels rooting for us… that's worth gold. Hallelujah."
Some baseball insiders are skeptical. "An 83-year-old on the mound, are you kidding me? He's gonna have to rely on a screwball, a change-up and a lot of prayers," a laughing Bob Geren, the Manager of the Oakland Athletics said. Angels pitching coach, Mike Butcher said in response, "Geren can laugh all he wants, but PB has some pitches no major league player has ever seen. He's got a lot of movement on the ball. We call one of his pitches "The Pope Popper." It just pops into the catcher's mitt without PB ever moving a muscle. Hallelujah."
Non-Catholics, atheists and sinners in MLB are concerned that the Pope may favor Catholic batters, especially those named Jesus. However, Scioscia said the Pope will be "charitable" to all.
Batters are forewarned. It's not a good idea to hit a homerun off the Pope. There can be serious soul consequences.
Pope Benedict will be starting at The Big A on Friday against the Mariners. Bat Boy will be… the batboy.
LOS ANGELES – Pitcher Pope Benedict XVI has signed with the Los Angeles Angels for the remainder of the 2010 Major League Baseball season.


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Because all the Americans I know tend to think that we're in a progressive, modern country, it sometimes surprises us to learn that other nations consider us big ol' prudes. And it's not just France! Our delicate sensibilities have been catered to by the English in a maneuver that gave us one of the better dirty words out there.
Anyone who has read more than oh, say, five of my pieces knows that I like me some Douglas Adams. I read the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series when I was a kid and every few years I go back and read as much Adams as I can get my hands on. The amount varies depending on what library system I'm using and which books I've brought with me in my latest move. My hands-down favorite book of his is Life, the Universe, and Everything, which is not only pants-wettingly funny, but a philosophically coherent look at the problems associated with living in a universe where time travel exists. From the basic problem of running into people again and again throughout time to a look at artistic integrity and how it can suffer if the artist gets retroactively rich and famous, it's both hilarious and smart.
So, understandably, that's one of the books that I've carried around with me all the time. I never got to see a version that was different from the one I got in America as a kid. Recently, though, I got the audio book, and listened to it as I fell asleep at night. That worked, until I was rudely awakened by the use of the word "fuck."
In the version I'd been reading for years, there's a scene at a party. At this party, Arthur - the main character of the series - talks to a guy carrying a weird black bag, and the guy snubs him. When he asks a woman about the snubbing, she tells him that the guy was carrying an award, and wanted Arthur to ask him about it. He asks what the award was, and she replies that it's "The Most Gratuitous Use of the Word 'Belgium' in a Serious Screenplay." This confuses Arthur, and he tries to make polite conversation by asking if she's ever been to Belgium. This causes a little uproar and she says that they need to confine that kind of language to "something artistic." Arthur remains confused, but the book explains the exchange to the reader:
In today's modern Galaxy there is of course very little still held to be unspeakable. Many words and expressions which only a matter of decades ago were considered so distastefully explicit that, were they merely to be breathed in public, the perpetrator would be shunned, barred from polite society, and in extreme cases shot through the lungs, are now thought to be very healthy and proper, and their use in everyday speech and writing is seen as evidence of a well-adjusted, relaxed and totally un****ed-up personality. . . . But even though words like "joojooflop," "swut," and "turlingdrome" are now perfectly acceptable in common usage there is one word that is still beyond the pale. The concept it embodies is so revolting that the publication or broadcast of the word is utterly forbidden in all parts of the Galaxy except for use in Serious screenplays.
There is also, or was, one planet where they didn't know what it meant, the stupid turlingdromes.
In the British version, the girl just said that award was for the most gratuitous use of the word "fuck" in a serious screenplay, and the conversation went on from there. That's what I heard as I was peacefully drifting off, trying to dream about baseball and apple pie and how good red, white, and blue look together. After I had leaped out of bed and found some pearls to clutch, I checked online to see what the story behind this ear-defiling difference was. Adams' American publishers thought that the language was too rough, and insisted on the passage taken out. They also asked Adams to take out two uses of the word "asshole," and one use of the word "shit." Adams replaced "asshole" with "kneebiter," and "shit," with "swut," but he outdid himself when replacing the word "fuck." The passage was so popular that it caused "Belgium" to be a frak-like fake dirty word in some circles.
The entire incident leaves me with mixed feelings. I don't like censorship, but there's no denying that the Belgium passage is funnier, especially with the embroidery that Adams added to make it fit. If we got that level of improvement every time we denied people the ability to swear in art, imagine the stuff we'd have gotten out of Scorsese. Still, I suppose we can't expect Belgium-level improvisation every time.
Top Image: Dan Gerhard


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Wholesale Fresh Cut Orchids Department
Code: Cut_Flower
Product Details
RETAIL FLOWER SHOPS! For the finest in Cattleya cut flowers and other Novelty orchids, call us at (630)543-6833 and ask for Melinda who will put you in contact with a wholesaler in your area. WHOLESALE HOUSES! Call Melinda at (630)543-6833 on how to become a supplier of our fine products.


text:
I was a fully mobile wispy set of banners with wings.
After a few minutes, I transformed again (this continued for several minutes):
I invite all to post their end result (and please use the spoiler tag for your image(s)). As I mentioned, you may have to cancel out of some buffs to keep tacking on more effects. The more randomly you apply the different toy effects, the more variety. Good luck, and may the best conglomeration win.


text:
|Customized Requirements
Adding to cart succeed
0 item(s) in cart, Subtotal: US$ 0
|Product Name
|EDITH Waterproof Rustproof Fading Resistant Roman Shade
|Item NO.
|Color Theme
|Beige, White, Chocolate
|EDITH Outdoor
|Room Type
|Media Rooms, Living Rooms, Bedrooms, Dining Rooms, Kids Rooms, Bathrooms, Kitchen, Nursery, Office, Home Theater, Reading Rooms, Public Space
|1.0000 kg = 2.2046 lb = 35.2740 oz
|Shades > Roman Shade
|Waterproof , Roman Shade , EDITH , Rustproof , Fading Resistant
|Creation Time
Add beauty and functionality with fabric roman shades. Roman shades will effortlessly transform the look and feel of any room. These washable roman shades come in a large color choices to complement the interior of any room.
ChadMade Roman Shade Mounting Instructions
Lining Types
Inside or Outside Mount:
Measuring guide:
We offer Roman Shades in a wide variety of style and fine fabric.
Custom Roman Shades give you precise fit, which not only looks great but insulates better.
Custom Roman Shades let you choose at reasonable cost,like left or right side cord placement.
All our custom Roman shades settle smoothly,evenly and gracefully into soft folds when raised.
Mount Type & Measurement
Inside Mounted roman shades will have a deduction taken of approximately 3/8" to ensure a proper fit inside window frame.
Inside mount is suggested if you plan to layer drapery, a valance or cornice over your treatment.
Great way to leave attractive woodwork exposed.
lf your window frame depth is less than 1-1/4", please select Outside Mount. Minimum depth of 1-1/4" required for a secure installation.
Step 1.
Measure the inside width at 3 locations(the top, middle and bottom), then record the smallest of the 3 measurements.
Step 2.
Measure the height at 3 locations (the left side, middle and right side), then record the largest of the 3 measurements.
Outside Mounted roman shades should be ordered at the exact width of the area you wish to cover.
Outside mount is often used when there is not sufficient frame depth for inside mounting. No minimum depth requirement.
When mounting outside window frame we recommend adding 6 inches to the total width ( 3 inches each side) and 6 inches to the length
(3-1/2" at the top and 2~3" below the window sill). The overlap is recommended to allow appropriate coverage and avoid any light gaps.
Lift System
Loop cord control lets you easily and evenly raise , lower and precisely position your shades, while giving your window a sleek,uncluttered look.
Some shades come standard with polyester privacy lining, which offers both insulation and blackout.
We recommend Lining for linen materials in order to prolong the life of fabric and protect your treatment from sunlight.
Lining also helps preventing UV ray damage of flooring and interior furnishings. Fabric that are silk require lining.
Cord Position
Lift cords raise, lower and position your entire shade. Select either left or right side location for your cords,taking into consideration your room configuration,
ease of reaching lift cords behind furniture.
Critical Dimensions
Headrail Dimensions: 1.38"hx1.18"d
Headrail Deductions-Inside Mount: 3/8"
Headrail Deductions-Outside Mount: 0"
Standard Cord Length: Equal to the shade length
Single Shade:Minimum Width: 15"
Care Instruction
If shade become stained, you may wipe clean the spot with a sponge dampened with lukewarm water.
Avoid contact window cleaning products as these may discolor your shade. Ultrasonic cleaning is not recommended or covered by our warranty.
Color Variation
Color lot variations may occur due to the process of color application.For the best color match, order all shades for room at the same time.
Patter availability and color lot match between orders cannot be assured.Any variation in color is in accordance with industry standards.
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Thought Starters provides me with a chance to review and highlight some of the more interesting (and hopefully well informed) opinions that I've read over the last few weeks. This edition looks at the decline in the American retail sector, concerns about an algorithm led world, the development of augmented reality and the changing political landscape in a number of countries among other things:
The bricks and mortar retail sector is not doing well in the US and it looks like a trend that's likely to continue with growing ecommerce (with Amazon taking a disproportionate share) and a glut of retail space:
Will Knight points to the risks of handing over tasks to algorithms when you don't understand what's going on under the hood:
The mysterious mind of this vehicle points to a looming issue with artificial intelligence. The car's underlying AI technology, known as deep learning, has proved very powerful at solving problems in recent years, and it has been widely deployed for tasks like image captioning, voice recognition, and language translation. There is now hope that the same techniques will be able to diagnose deadly diseases, make million-dollar trading decisions, and do countless other things to transform whole industries.
But this won't happen—or shouldn't happen—unless we find ways of making techniques like deep learning more understandable to their creators and accountable to their users. Otherwise it will be hard to predict when failures might occur—and it's inevitable they will. That's one reason Nvidia's car is still experimental.
Benedict Evans looks at the way augmented reality is likely to develop as it moves out of the development lab and into the mainstream:
This touches on a related question – do AR and VR merge? It's certainly possible, and they are doing related things with related engineering challenges. One challenge of doing both in one device is that VR, to place you into another world, needs to black out everything else, so the glasses need to be sealed around the edges, where AR does not need this. In parallel, the whole challenge of AR is to let the world through while occluding what you don't want (and it's probably not great in bright sunlight for a while), where VR wants to start with a black screen.
A lot has been made of the potential for disruption in the automotive industry with the move to electric drivetrains, ridesharing services and self driving technology providing substantial opportunity for new competitors to enter the market. Navigant Research's analysis on the other hand suggests that the market incumbents may well have a head start in the race towards self driving cars:
One of the car manufacturers' frenemies is Uber which has been having a rough time lately for its attitudes to diversity and allegations that it has been engaging in intellectual property theft. This is all helping fuel concerns that Uber is overvalued, helped by the fact that it doesn't face the financial scrutiny of being a publicly traded company.
While the Brexit referendum pointed to a slim majority for a split with the European Union, there is considerable ambiguity as to what this actually means although polls point to few Britons wanting a hard Brexit:
The election of Donald Trump has renewed attention focused on America's white working class. Among the symptom of societal distress is the growing opioid epidemic which has particularly impacted white urban and suburban populations in the US:
The French presidential elections are fast approaching, and whilst the sidelining of Geert Wilders in the Dutch elections has given more liberal voices some hope, Marine Le Pen should not be taken lightly as Roger Cohen suggests:
Her path to victory runs roughly like this. She qualifies for the second round with about 24 percent of the vote. Macron is her opponent, with about the same score. The more right-wing Fillon supporters migrate to Le Pen. Supporters of the far-left candidate, Mélenchon, refuse to vote for Macron; they've had it with so-called "useful votes" and they believe Macron, for all his talk of being a progressive, will pursue "neoliberal" global capitalism. Some Hamon supporters also refuse to back Macron. The abstention rate soars. Le Pen squeezes past 50 percent and becomes president.
Patrick Collison interviews one of my favourite commentators, Tyler Cowen covering a wide range of issues including the health of economics, pitfalls of globalisation ("monoculture of extreme diversity"), Donald Trump and the importance of Twitter:
If you find yourself in London in the coming weeks, I would definitely recommend a visit to the Photographer's Gallery. The Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize has some great work from Sophie Calle, Dana Lixenberg and Taiyo Onorato and Nico Krebs, but the real treat is Roger Mayne's photos from Britain in the 1960s and 70s:
The featured image at the top of the page is Strook's contribution to The Crystal Ship Festival in Ostend, Belgium.


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- Emotional Issues Could Be Early Sign of MS
- In Mice, Gene Therapy Helps Restore Movement After Spinal Cord Injury
- Timing of Hot Flashes Could Give Clues to Alzheimer's Risk
- What Is 'Sexsomnia'? And 'Sleep Eating'? Can They Be Treated?
- Just 23% of U.S. Adults 'Definitely' Plan to Get New COVID Shot
- More Women Using Cannabis to Help Ease Menopause Symptoms
- Black Patients More Likely to Be Physically Restrained During ER Visits
- PTSD Can Harm a Woman's Sex Life
- Blood Tests for Long COVID Could Lead to Better Treatments
- Teen Boys With High Blood Pressure Face Danger Decades Later
Exercise Linked to Improved Bladder Cancer Survival
Regular exercise may increase the odds of bladder cancer survival. But smoking and a delay in diagnosis are two factors that might increase the risk of dying from the disease, the findings from two new studies suggest.
The first study found that regular physical activity can reduce the risk of dying from bladder cancer. Meanwhile, the second study found that women are more likely to ignore blood in their urine — a key warning sign for this type of cancer. By not visiting their doctor, women are more likely to be diagnosed after the disease has progressed, making it more difficult to treat, the researchers said.
"Bladder cancer is among the top 10 most common cancers in the United States, with an estimated 72,000 new cases occurring each year," Dr. Mirza Moben, an assistant professor of urology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, said in a news release from the American Urological Association.
"Understanding the myriad factors impacting effective diagnosis and treatment will ultimately lead to better outcomes — underscoring the importance of this type of research," added Moben.
Both studies were presented at the American Urological Association annual meeting, which concluded Wednesday in Orlando, Fla.
The first study, from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, involved national survey data on more than 200,000 people. Of these, 48 percent were men, and 73 percent were white. The participants provided information on their level of physical activity and their body mass index — a measurement that can help determine if someone is a normal weight for their height.
Although the investigators found no link between ethnicity or gender and survival rates for bladder cancer, they did find that exercise may prevent bladder cancer deaths. The participants who exercised were more likely to survive their disease than those who didn't exercise. Even light or moderate exercise might help, the study authors suggested.
A past history of smoking was also linked to a tripled likelihood of dying from bladder cancer compared to those who never smoked, the researchers added.
However, while the study found an association between exercise, smoking and survival rates, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.
A separate study, conducted by researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, involved more than 9,000 Medicare patients who were diagnosed with blood in their urine, or hematuria, during an office visit with their doctor between January 2009 and June 2010.
Although blood in the urine is the most prevalent indicator of bladder cancer, the researchers found that an evaluation for this problem was complete in just 14 percent of the patients analyzed. In addition, 21 percent had an incomplete evaluation and 65 percent had no evaluation for this symptom, according to the study.
The researchers found that racial differences in bladder cancer outcomes are not due to the quality of evaluations for blood in the urine. They did find, however, that women were less likely than men to visit their doctor for an evaluation after developing blood in their urine. This delay in seeking medical attention may prevent the detection of the disease at an early stage, leading to worse outcomes, the study authors cautioned.
Smokers in this study were also more than four times more likely to die of bladder cancer than non-smokers, the findings showed.
Research presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
More information
The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about bladder cancer.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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Rosé on the Terrace
16 September 2022
|Recurring Event (See all)
So Friday, Saturday and Sunday every weekend. all day events
Sip your way through a flight of four different rosé wines, all displayed on a beautiful wooden board, including cult favourites like Whispering Angel and Domaine de l'Ile Rosé and all from the terrace at Café Du Parc.


text: Engineered Garments took its brand name from a pattern maker hired to draft the first round of patterns. She claimed that the clothes were not designed but engineered due to the vast amount of detailing involved in each garment. The designer of the collection, Daiki Suzuki, agreed. Details from American sportswear, outdoor clothing, and military uniforms are all included in the collection and give Engineered Garments unique and practical detailing missing in much of American sportswear today. Daiki coveted American sportswear when growing up in Japan. It is these clothes which I want to make, clothes that you love wearing and become yours through the experience you have with them.


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2019 Grants & Awards Ceremony and Reception 2019 Conquer Cancer Foundation Grant and Award Recipients
Chicago, IL - McCormick Place - 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting - Friday May 31, 2019 - 2019 Grants & Awards Ceremony and Reception - WWCC Tribute Award for Dr. Arti Hrria - Dr. Thomas Lee giving remarks - Approximately 40,000 physicians, researchers, and health care professionals from over 100 countries are attending the 55th ASCO Annual Meeting. The ASCO Annual Meeting highlights the latest findings in all major areas of oncology. Photo by © ASCO/Zach Boyden-Holmes 2019. Technical Questions: email@example.com; ASCO contact: firstname.lastname@example.com. AM19_GrantsAwards AM19_ConquerCancer


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Is Now the Time to Buy Eurasian Natural Resources?
LONDON -- I'm always searching for shares that can help ordinary investors like you make money from the stock market. So right now I am trawling through the FTSE 100 and giving my verdict on every member of the blue-chip index. Simply put, I'm hoping to pinpoint the very best buying opportunities in today's uncertain market.
Today I am looking at Eurasian Natural Resources (ISE: ENRC.L) to determine whether you should consider buying the shares at 270 pence.
I assess each company on several ratios:
Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio: Does the share look like a good value when compared to its competitors?
P/E-to-growth (PEG) ratio: Does the share look like a good value when factoring in predicted growth?
Yield: Does the share provide a solid income for investors?
Dividend cover: Is the dividend sustainable?
So let's look at the numbers:
3-Year EPS Growth
Projected P/E
3-Year Dividend Growth
Dividend Cover
Eurasian Natural Resources
270 pence
The consensus analyst estimate for this year is EPS of 34.6 pence (down 66%) and a dividend of 11 pence per share (down 39%).
Trading on a projected P/E of 7.8, Eurasian appears to be more expensive than its peers in the mining sector, which are currently trading on an average P/E of 5.4. However, Eurasian's P/E ratio and negative growth rate gives a PEG ratio of less than 0. With a negative result, the PEG ratio cannot help with my analysis.
Supporting a 4% yield, the dividend is above average for the mining sector, which currently offers a 3% average yield. Eurasian also has a three-year compounded dividend growth rate of 125%. However, the growth rate is coming under pressure this year due to falling revenue. Indeed, the first-half payout has already been lowered by 59%!
Nonetheless, the dividend is nearly three times covered.
Historical growth has been strong. What now?
Over the past few years, Eurasian has seen explosive growth. After reaching a high of 1,250 pence in 2010, the company's share price is now trading near a five-year low.
In my view, the depressed share price is a result of rapidly falling revenue. Eurasian generates 72% of its revenue from ferroalloys and iron ore, and these commodities have seen sharp price falls due to the deteriorating worldwide economic outlook.
In an attempt to offset these declining commodity prices, Eurasian has increased capital spending to improve output. However, this spending is putting significant pressure on the company's balance sheet: Finance costs were up 200% in the first half of this year.
It is not all bad news, though. The company has been investing heavily within its power-generation and freight divisions. While these divisions only account for 12% of revenue, I think they are significantly more profitable than the mining divisions and providing Eurasian with a more stable revenue stream.
In my view, Eurasian has more risk than most in the sector due to its high dependence on weak iron ore prices. With finance costs rising sharply, profits currently falling, and a trailing dividend nearly 40% lower than last year, I believe now does not look to be a good time to buy Eurasian at 270 pence.
More FTSE opportunities
Although I feel now may not be the time to buy Eurasian, I am more positive on the blue chips highlighted in "The Market's Top Sectors." In this special report, three Motley Fool Share Advisor analysts each study a favorable industry and spotlight a particular share to consider for this year and beyond. You can read "The Market's Top Sectors" today by requesting the report for free. But hurry -- the report is available for a limited time only.
In the meantime, please stay tuned for my next verdict on an FTSE 100 share.
The article Is Now the Time to Buy Eurasian Natural Resources? originally appeared on Fool.com.
Rupert does not own any share mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe thatconsidering a diverse range of insightsmakes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days.
Copyright © 1995 - 2012 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Apple iPad mini Software Update
Verizon wireless is pleased to announce a software update for your Apple® iPad mini™. This software update has been tested to optimize device performance, resolve known issues and apply the latest security patches.
You can update through iTunes®, Wi-Fi or over the Verizon Wireless network*.
Before starting your software update:
- Connect your device to Wi-Fi (if you aren't using iTunes), or make sure it has a strong Verizon Wireless network connection.
- Ensure your battery is fully charged before starting the software update.
iOS Version 12.5.7
Release date: 01/24/2023
What's changing:
iOS 12.5.7 is now available from Apple. iOS 12.5.7 provides important security updates, recommended for all users.
Learn about all the benefits of iOS 12.5.7 on Apple's website.
iOS Version 12.5.6
Release date: 09/01/2022
What's changing:
iOS 12.5.6 is now available from Apple. iOS 12.5.6 provides important security updates, recommended for all users.
Learn about all the benefits of iOS 12.5.6 on Apple's website.
Next steps and additional links
Please allow additional time for the apps on your device to continue to download after the software update.
- Learn how to use your device
- Operating System FAQs
- Not all features of this update are available on all Verizon wireless devices. Check out the latest Verizon offers and upgrade to a newer iPad. Not sure if you're eligible to upgrade yet? Find out fast in My Verizon.
*Data usage applies. Apple, iPad and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. iOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the US and other countries and is used under license.


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Investing: You're Doing It Wrong
The Internet meme "you're doing it wrong" pokes fun at doing things backwards, like herd dogs getting chased, a Citigroup ad asking customers to budget better while it simultaneously laid off thousands of workers, or trying to launch a boat by driving a truck straight into a lake.
Let me add another photo to the collection:
Source: Robert Shiller, author's calculations.
With stocks approaching a new all-time high, an entirely predictable theme is playing out: Analysts who thought the S&P 500 was full of risks when it traded at 800 are now convinced it's a great buy at 1,500. Investors who thought the market was too dangerous to buy at nine times earnings are now sure it's full of opportunities at 15 times earnings.
Guys, you're doing it wrong.
This happens every market cycle and, no matter how often people vow to avoid looking like lemmings, they fall for the same trap again and again, loathing stocks when they offer big opportunity, and loving them when they offer significantly less opportunity.
"Is a New Bull Market Here?" Barron's asked last week, ironically, a day after stocks hit five-year highs, and almost four years after the start of one of the biggest bull markets in history.
This is precisely why so many investors fail. They wait until after stocks have doubled before wondering whether they're about to rise, and wait until they've crashed before asking whether they're set to fall."Small investors are jumping back into the stock market after abandoning it during the financial crisis," wrote the Wall Street Journal on Monday. "Investors pour record $55 billion into US stock funds in January," writes Reuters. With stocks at five-year highs, this is possibly the worst timing you can think of.
Granted, there's little evidence that investors are overweight stocks, or have irrational expectations about their future. Investors added a net nothing to equities over the last five years, so even record January inflows aren't a sign of wild exuberance. And I don't think it's wrong to be buying stocks at today's prices. They likely offer the best future returns. If you're investing for the long haul, they're where you want to be.
But the amount of missed opportunity left on the table over the last five years has been extraordinary. During bull markets, most investors like to think they're contrarians, touting Warren Buffett's famous mantra of "be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy." But then a market crash hits, and most people realize that they are the "others" Warren is talking about.
What can we learn from all of this? If you pulled money out of stocks in recent years because you thought they were too risky, and now want to jump back in, calculate how much money you left on the table in lost opportunity. Is that amount worth whatever sense of safety you gained from sitting on the sidelines? Maybe it was. If so, great!
If not, know that we will have more bear markets in the future. More crashes, panics, and recessions. They happen more frequently than we pretend. When the next one hits, will you sell after a crash and buy back after shares recover, doing it all wrong? Or will you take a longer view, stay the course, equate cheap stocks with future gains, and have the last laugh when a recovery takes hold?
It's up to you. Don't let the lessons from a crisis go to waste.
The Motley Fool's chief investment officer has selected his number one stock for the next year. Just click here to access the report and find out the name of this under-the-radar company.
The article Investing: You're Doing It Wrong originally appeared on Fool.com.
Morgan Housel has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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Author: Палыч
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You're reading an outdated article. Please go to the recent issues to find up-to-date content.
Dominion Virginia Power, a subsidiary of Dominion, has received approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission to offer its customers two new options to purchase renewable energy.
"We are very pleased with the commission's decision to allow us to provide our customers with a convenient, low-cost way to voluntarily support renewable energy," said David A. Heacock, president of Dominion Virginia Power. "The renewable energy supported through this program will be above and beyond what Dominion produces, so this will encourage development of additional generation of renewable power."
The program provides two ways for residential and business customers to purchase renewable energy through their monthly bills. Under both options, Dominion will purchase renewable energy certificates from producers of renewable energy in an amount equivalent to the customer participation level.
The first option enables customers to specify that renewable energy certificates will be purchased in an amount equal to 100 percent of the electricity they use. Payment is calculated based on the customer's monthly electrical usage and current market prices for renewable energy and is included in the monthly bill.
With the second option, customers can specify that a certain amount of renewable energy certificates (in $2 increments) be purchased, with the cost added to their monthly bills. The amount of energy purchased depends on the dollar amount specified by the customer and on current market prices for renewable energy.
Dominion will announce the price of the renewable energy before the program's launch and will hold the price constant for at least the first year. Dominion stated it will make periodic reports to customers on the type and total amount of renewable energy purchased through the program.
Customers may enroll in the program using secure online means through www.dom.com or by calling the Dominion Customer Service Center.


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Tuesday, February 10, 2009
WW#67 – Goggles and helmets
25 comments:
Looks like loads of fun! We've never taken our kids skiing - I think because it's so stinking expensive. Hope they had a blast!ReplyDelete
- A Gilmore Girls FanFeb 10, 2009, 5:14:00 PM
That looks like fun. I love the pictues of each of the kids. Happy WW!ReplyDelete
Que bien quedaron las fotos. Esas son las que sacaron los chicos?Besos!ReplyDelete
Everyone looks nice and warmvisit mine at < HREF="http://www.momstart.com/2009/02/wordless-wednesday.html" REL="nofollow">WW<>ReplyDelete
That's where you were! It looks like a great time, even if there is a lot of snow :)ReplyDelete
cool closeupsReplyDelete
The look like they're about to do some serious skiing! Look out black diamond slopes!ReplyDelete
- Robyn JonesFeb 10, 2009, 9:14:00 PM
Looks like fun...you would think I would have done this considering where I live...but no.....ReplyDelete
would like to try that:) I really like the first pic for its very white background against the color of the black helmet.ReplyDelete
Looks like everyone had fun skiing (or at least looked good for the photos). The black helmets really work for the pictures.ReplyDelete
I want to put on those helmets and goggles too and ski in this fabulous snow!!ReplyDelete
THey are cefinitely well kittted up for skiiing. I bet they had a great time.ReplyDelete
Nice shots!ReplyDelete
Great photos!!For the cat people: < HREF="http://daisysdeadair.blogspot.com/2009/02/wordless-wednesday-feline-urgent-rescue.html" REL="nofollow">Feline Urgent Rescue<>ReplyDelete
That looks cool w/ the snow falling down in your background.ReplyDelete
everyone looks fearless!ReplyDelete
Great images - and no, they don't look shy at all. But a little dangerous - in a good way - as in "we're cool AND dangerous":o)ReplyDelete
what an interesting series. Great idea.ReplyDelete
happy ww. nice winter recreation shots.ReplyDelete
Me gustan las fotos!! dan ganas de estar en las mismas.... aunque soy un poco gallina para eso, pero con hijos creo que tocara intentar.Un saludo!ReplyDelete
How FUN... a day skiing!ENJOY!FifiReplyDelete
Actitud de guerreros!!!ReplyDelete
Que lindos cascos... Lindos para andar en moto con ellos...Aca usan cada cosa (o no los usan, directamente).ReplyDelete