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Design Specification for a Video Store
Background: DownTown DVD & Video Rental System
A system is being developed to support core business operations of the DownTown chain of Video stores. The analysis phase has ended and the design phase is about to begin. You are required to complete the design specification and implementation plan.
Design the following in order, for each of the 9 use cases identified during analysis.
1. A first cut sequence diagram, which only includes the relevant actor and problem domain classes,
2. Add the view layer classes and the data access classes to your sequence diagram
3. Develop a design class diagram based on your sequence diagram and the domain class diagram
4. Develop a package diagram showing a three-layer solution with view layer, domain layer and data access layer packages.
When you have completed the tasks for each of the use cases, integrate your domain class diagram for each use case into a single design class diagram.
The complete design specification will include the application design (sequence and class diagrams are the major components), database design, interface design, architecture design and network design.
Please see attachment for further details.
Hello Friend, I have read your project description about object oriented analysis and I would appreciate if you can open discussion with me and we see how we can work together. Am a graduate in Computer Science and h 更多
4 威客就此工作平均出价 $141
Hi Dear I have a lot of experience in DataBases ,Data Warehous,DB2 , Teradata etc . I am DataBases + Warehouse certified from Oracle,postgresSQL,SQL SERVER , Access. I have done many work in Requirements analysis , 更多
I have completed multiple similar projects with all these type of UML, class diagrams etc. I hope I am the perfect candidate for this project. Please discuss.


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*Image is representative of product, but may vary from actual item
3% accuracy from 20% of full scale to full scale in both the clockwise and counter-clockwise directions Effective Length at 20% of Full Scale: 12.25 Effective Length at Full Scale: 11.50" Maximum Overall Length: 15.00" Minimum Overall Length: 14.00" Weight: 2.35 lbs. (w/plastic case): 2.97 lbs. Finish: Nickel / Chrome Ratchet kit: R22AR-RK Meets or Exceeds the following Specifications: GGG-W-686C, ANSI B107.14M

subset: commoncrawl


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Charbay wins!
If you've turned on the teevee at all this month, you know that Cali got hit hard by a deep freeze that wiped out its citrus crops. To the tune of $800-million bucks, it seems.
Bad news for those of us who like some fresh juices in our cocktails. But not everyone's so unlucky.
Just days before the cold snap, Charbay's master distiller, Marko Karakasevic, picked up four tons of Meyer lemons from the grower. Charbay distills its fruited vodkas using real fruits instead of chemical compounds that mimic fruit flavor, so it's important to get good produce. Without this shipment, Charbay wouldn't have been able to produce its Meyer Lemon vodka this year.


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Home > Travel Tools > Places to Stay > Okinawa>Okinawa > DoubleTree by Hilton Naha
DoubleTree by Hilton Naha
The DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Naha is centrally located in Naha along Route 58, 10 minutes from Naha Airport by car or monorail. Nearby are many corporate offices such as the Okinawa Convention Bureau, Ryukyu Bank and Okinawa TV Broadcasting. Our full-service hotel in Naha is also convenient to historic attractions such as Shuri Castle, the Okinawa Peace Memorial and Okinawa Prefectural Museum. Walk 10 minutes to Kokusai-dori, the city center with numerous shops and restaurants.
- NameDoubleTree by Hilton Naha
- LocationOkinawa
- Type of AccommodationHotel
- Room TypeWestern Only
- General Room InformationGuest rooms, suites and accessible rooms available
- English Speaking Staff? Yes.
- Other Languages SpokenJapanese Chinese
Location Information
- RegionOkinawa
- PrefectureOkinawa
- City / AreaNaha City
- Nearest Train StationAdjacent to the Asahibashi monorail station
- Minutes from Station1 minute walk
- Pick up service available? Not Applicable
- Nearest Expressway / Interchange Not Applicable / Naha IC
- Nearest National RouteR58
- Getting ThereLocated 10 minutes from Naha Airport (OKA) by car or monorail.
- Map
- Google Map Link Click here for Google Map
Contact Information
- Address3-15 Higashi-machi, Naha-shi, Okinawa 900-0034
- Telephone098-862-0123
- Fax098-862-2804
- EmailNot Applicable
- Web sitehttp://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/okinawa/doubletree-by-hilton-hotel-naha-OKANADI/index.html
- Contact NameNot Applicable


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Nagpur University Exam Time Table 2019 – RTMNU Exam Date Sheet BA, BCOM, MCOM, MBA 2019
Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) is the well known or recognized university in India. They are starting announcing exam date sheet very soon on the official website. Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University provides this course like BA, BCA B.SC, B.COM, MA, M.SC, M.COM Thousand of students gets appeared in the exam in every year. University provides excellent Atmosphere and Proper lab facilities. Nagpur University was affiliated in UGC (Union Grand Commission). After releasing the time table of Nagpur University will start the exam in the March/April. So students will study hard and preparation to their exams. Nagpur University now will be announcing time table of exam 2017-2019 you can download their Exam schedule on the official website. Every year the huge number of students gets appeared in their exams. So, students, you will get updates from this page or websites about exam dates Schedule.
Nagpur University UG/PG Time Table
Nagpur University was going to releasing their Exam Schedule on the official website. You can download exam schedule of Nagpur University 2017-2019, BA, B.Com, B. Sc, M.A, M.Sc, M.B.A, L.L.B Exam on the official website. In this session of 2017-2019 exam date sheet will come the month of February/March and get exams after 1 month of release of exam date sheet. Nagpur University now will be announcing time table of exam 2017-2019 you can download their Exam schedule on the official website. Every year the huge number of students gets appeared in their exams. So, students, you will get updates from this page or websites about exam dates. Before the examination of Nagpur University Ba,B.com,M.com, Ma, M.Sc, M.B.A Students have to Read also old paper, model paper, and more much. So, students, you are able to check all study material and Nagpur University Time Table Schedule 2019 on this page.
Nalanda Open University BA, BSC, BCOM MA Schedule 2019,
All students are going to participate exam for in this session 2017-2019. All regular students, ex-students, non-collegiate, private students submit their forms to their examination and they waiting for their admit card. So don't worry about this information we have to provide all information in this post or website you have to only visit our page or website for the new updates. Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University is also known as (RTMNU) by the short name. It was established in the year of 1923 RTMNU is one of the oldest and largest universities in India. They were approved by Union Grand Commission (UGC). It offers various Under Graduate (UG) and Post-Graduate Courses like BA, BSC, BCOM, MA, MSC, MCOM, BBA, MBA, LLB, B.ed and more other Courses. If students want any information they need to stay connected this page.
How to check MA, MSC, MCOM Time Table
- First of all log on the Official Website of Nagpur University
- Find a section of Examination and Click on Nagpur University link
- Select your course name and year
- Now you can see UG/PG time table 2019 in PDF
- You can download it now in your System
- Take a print out of Nagpur University Time Table 2019 for future uses
Nagpur University BA BSC BCOM Time Table, Nagpur University Date Sheet, Nagpur University, Nalanda Open University MA Result, RTMNU Exam Date Sheet Download 2019,
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All gear includes original materials, manuals, and is in excellent shape unless otherwise noted. Prices are for PP cash, add 3% if using PP credit. Shipping is included - my choice of USPS priority, USPS first class or FedEx (based on weight).
Ikelite 4066.1 100/240V smart charger with international plugs - paid $100, ask $85
Ikelite 4066.5 NiMh spare battery for DS-160, DS-125 - MSRP $175, ask $110
I got it used, but never had a problem. I have just the one battery left, not everything pictured.
Ikelite 9571.3 - 1" ball for Ikelite release handle extender - paid $25, ask $20
Thanks for looking!
Edited by Iristyle, 27 November 2012 - 06:08 AM.


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Jobs and Careers
Company Drivers & Owner Operators:High Miles, Weekend Home Time!
Flatbed drivers at Hines Trucking average 2,000-3,000+ miles per week while earning competitive pay and enjoying every weekend at home with their family. Our family atmosphere and driver-friendly regional routes make Hines Trucking an excellent career choice for company flatbed truck drivers, as well as owner operators.
Company Drivers
HTI is excited to announce an INCREASE IN PAY FOR THE FLATBED DIVISION:
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*Pay rates include total pay for all miles, and includes fuel, safety, and tarp pay, etc. When you perform, you EARN!
What matters to you, matters to us!
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- Direct Deposit
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- Must be at least 23 years of age
- Valid CDL-A
- 1 year of verifiable tractor-trailer experience
- 6 months verifiable flatbed OTR experience
Owner Operators
HTI is excited to offer new opportunities for Owner/Operators in our Flatbed Division:
What matters to you, matters to us!
- 72%-80% of freight rate (*call or apply for more information)
- 100% of fuel surcharge
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- Much, Much More!
- Must be at least 23 years of age
- Valid CDL-A
- 1 year of verifiable tractor-trailer experience
- 6 months verifiable flatbed OTR experience
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If you are in one of our hiring areas and would like to build a successful, long-term career with a company that supports you, APPLY NOW!
Fill out our application today and let us tell you how to become part of the best trucking company in the industry.
Fill out our application today and let us tell you how to become part of the best trucking company in the industry.
Flatbed CDL Truck Driver
Driver Qualifications
- Must be at least 23 years of age.
- Valid CDL-A.
- Must be able to pass a D.O.T. Medical Exam performed by a company approved physician.
- Must be able to pass a pre-employment drug screen.
- One year tractor-trailer experience within the last three years.
BenefitsYou can enjoy these benefits at Hines Trucking:
- Insurance
- Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance (company participates)
- Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance (company paid)
- Health Insurance with PCS Drug Card (company participates)
- Dental, Vision and Cancer Insurance available
- Profit-Sharing Plan (100% company-paid)
- 401K Retirement Savings Plan
- Paid vacations
- Paid holidays
- Stop Smoking program
- Shirt, Jacket, Cap program
- In 2019, we held our 27th Annual Safety and Awards Banquet.
- Years of service awards
- HTI employees receive an attractive gold ring after 15 years of service and a diamond for each year thereafter.
- Driver Bonuses
- Up to $2500 sign-on bonus for new drivers (Conditions apply, call for details.)
- Incentive pay for Hazmat and TWIC
- Performance Incentive Bonus
- Safety Bonus
- Fuel Bonus
- Retention pay for Years of Service
- Recruiting Referral Bonus
- Driver-of-the-Month Bonus
- Driver-of-the-Year Bonus
North Carolina
South Carolina
West Virginia
Please call 877.656.2695 if you have any questions about postions available.
J.D. and Billy Hines Trucking, Inc. (HTI) is an Equal Opportunity Employer.


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2013 British & Irish Lions
Wallabies claim first victory over Lions
Graham Jenkins
December 2, 2012
Wales and Lions boss Warren Gatland has plenty of food for thought following his side's latest reverse at the hands of the Wallabies © Getty Images
Australia can lay claim to a priceless psychological victory ahead of their eagerly-anticipated clash with the British & Irish Lions next summer - and it is one that may spell trouble for the elite tourists.
A bruised and battered Wallabies side embarked on their end of year tour buoyed by a second place finish in the Rugby Championship and a hard-earned draw with all-conquering All Blacks but stripped of the services of several key players such as scrum-half Will Genia, flanker David Pocock, lock James Horwill, utility back James O'Connor and fly-half Quade Cooper they appeared to be there for the taking - a belief hammered home by a rampant France in Paris.
England and Wales will have sensed blood in the water and an opportunity not only claim a rare win over their southern hemisphere rivals but also boost their world ranking ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup pool draw. Unfortunately it did not got to plan for the Home Nations with the Wallabies battling past England before stunning Wales with a late smash-and-grab in their tour finale. Straight-talking Lions boss Warren Gatland admitted that a victory would provide a timely boost ahead of Wales' final outing of the year rather than play down the significance of the clash and his side's subsequent failure is magnified as a result.
Instead of sowing a seed of doubt in the supposedly 'wobbly' Wallabies' minds with commanding victories, both sides came up some way short in terms of performance despite the odds being seemingly stacked in their favour. Individuals largely failed to lay down impressive markers at the feet of their Australian rivals to further fuel the Wallabies' growing belief and confidence.
The home sides' shortcomings hogged the headlines on both occasions but credit must go to the visitors for not only surviving but thriving in adversity. And it is they who will have caused concern with their tireless work rate, resilience and never-say-die attitude serving as a reminder, as if Gatland didn't know already, that his side face an uphill struggle Down Under.
Much praise must go to Wallabies coach Robbie Deans. Written off by many during a trying year that also included a shock defeat to Scotland back in June, he was labelled the 'worst thing to have ever happened to Australian rugby' by former Wallabies winger David Campese. That assessment, like many from the lips or Twitter account of Campo, appeared a little wide of the mark at the time and even more so now.
Deans has galvanised a squad that looked close to imploding, having been labelled as "toxic" by frustrated playmaker Cooper, and while they may not have produced the champagne rugby often associated with the Wallabies and concerns about a lack of tries may persist, you cannot question their commitment to the jersey or the coach. A side struggling for inspiration from team management would not dig as deep as they did in their victories at Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium.
The Wallabies boss also appears to have the number of his coaching rival and fellow Kiwi. No coaches will have squared off in a Lions series so well accustomed to each other. Gatland has claimed just one victory in the nine matches between their two sides - with a puzzling six of those games having come in the last year. With such a fruitless record, Gatland will have been painfully aware of the need to snap that losing run - for his own sanity and the morale of his side.
Ireland may have produced an eye-catching display to despatch Argentina and England may have burst the All Blacks' bubble to devastating effect during which individual players will have furthered their tour chances, but a lack of consistency across the board leaves a lot to be desired ahead of the Six Nations - a competition that most people accept does not reach the intensity offered by the Rugby Championship. Perhaps most alarming was Wales' apparent inability to learn from their failure to close the deal against the Wallabies in their summer series and claim a victory that their performance deserved. That fact highlights a possible mental fragility that the Wallabies are sure to play on.
Two wins from ten games against supposedly bar-setting Rugby Championship opposition is a far from desirable return for a Home Nations contingent looking to send out a warning. There are so many questions for Gatland following an autumn series that was supposed to provide many answers. Flat performances and injuries will have decimated the provisional squad he drew up ahead of the international window and the Wallabies are sure to glean infinitely more from their gutsy end of year showing than Gatland will be able to from a worryingly few notable performances.
Gatland will not only have to breathe belief into his players but also his coaching team that he is set to confirm later this month. Gatland is widely expected to plunder his Wales support staff for defence coach Shaun Edwards with assistant coach Rob Howley another in line for a return to the Lions. And if so, both will need to be re-energised ahead of their next meeting with the Wallabies after a mental and physical battering in recent weeks. England emerged with most credit from the autumn and that is sure to be reflected in another Lions tour for assistant coach Graham Rowntree while fellow assistant Andy Farrell now also looks a prime contender having already been linked with a role.
The Lions were already guaranteed to be up against it with an intense domestic season and brutal Six Nations sure to take its toll in terms of injuries in the coming months and an insane schedule - that will see the Premiership and PRO12 finals take place just a week before the first tour game - limiting the preparation time available to Gatland to blend his squad and conjure the all-important team spirit. That task would so much easier with at least on victory fresh in the mind.
Australia would have ventured on their end of year tour with some trepidation but will return rightfully bullish. Having survived a stern test of their credentials they have little to fear ahead of next year against a Lions side that is yet to show its teeth.
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Graham Jenkins is the Senior Editor of ESPNscrum and you can also follow him on Twitter.
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Chris Brown Sends Out An Apology To Everyone: "I Am Very Sad & Very Ashamed. I Am Truly Sorry Rihanna"
Chris Brown speaks out on camera
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Are you having a hard time getting the right people to your site? Does your brand need more visibility and exposure? Would you like to sell more of your products and services?
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But the problem is that many people are using Pinterest incorrectly for their brands and it is actually hurting their businesses. They don't know what they are doing so they are spending a lot of time doing things that will not get them results.
This ScreenFlow video requires a more recent version of the Adobe Flash Player to display. Please update your version of the Adobe Flash Player.
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Age: 67
Number of Cruises: 21
Cruise Line: Voyages Of Discovery
Ship: MV Discovery
Sailing Date: July 23rd, 2004
Itinerary: Northern Atlantic
Getting there…we parked our car at Manchester airport (ready for return flight) & had a long coach journey to Harwich made longer by a diversion for an accident blocking the road. Coach pulled up at 3.15pm right along side the cruise terminal. We handed in our passports & were given our ships cards with minimal formality, through security check & we were onboard, baggage was never seen after putting on the coach until it arrived in our cabin. Welcomed aboard & escorted to our cabin.
The Ship… Formally the Island Princess (one of the two sisters of "love boat" TV show fame). Now 32 years old but well maintained, we would give it a 3*+ overall as while some public areas are superb, some are not up to the latest standards. We liked the quiet Palm court lounge area but part of this was partitioned off at night for the Bridge players as card room on Promenade deck was considered too noisy. Discovery lounge was used for everything from golf putting through bingo to cabaret & tea dances, the explorers bar off this area seemed to attract the smoking passengers. Thought the library was good for size of ship. Small casino & a night club were not used by us or by many other passengers! Carousel lounge was the show lounge, also used for the very popular lectures. For lectures there was not enough seating & if you were late arriving you could not get a seat with a view of the screen, though all lectures were repeated on cabin TV. Sight lines were fairly good with only 4 pillars to contend with & leg room between rows of seats was very good. Reception area on Bali deck was quite nice with the shop above on Pacific deck. . There was a small internet centre on Promenade deck that we did not use, nor did we use the health centre or beauty salon. The seven continents restaurant has a slightly lower central section that enables there to be 4 rows of bench seating, tables along these did not have much space between (only about 15") seemed to us the round tables were to be preferred. Having a fairly low ceiling also seemed to make it fairly noisy. Outdoor decks had several sheltered spots, very useful on this cruise! Pool on Riviera deck was small but deck loungers mostly had pads on them & some teak steamer chairs faced the stern. Promenade deck was not walk round but had some good viewing areas. Two viewing areas are right behind the Bridge wings & very useful to overhear the bridge deliberations when they were on the wings. Spa's & a good stern viewing position were at rear of sun deck, while the top sky deck gave a good all round viewing position with some shelter from the wind available. There is a forward observation deck in front of the yacht club but access is by going down to bridge deck then up. However this does slope up & consequently obscures the view a little if you are using the yacht club as an observation lounge. Lido has a small pool & is the ships buffet area, there is a sliding cover but we thought it noisy & only used it a few times.
Cabin…We had an inside 4404, with L bed configuration & quite small but adequate circulation space. Probably because the beds are only 30" wide, this does not make for comfort & we would have liked normal 36" single beds with a bit less floor space. Bathroom was small overall but shower was good size. Cabin had a good closet with wood hangers & 4 drawers in a dressing table. Hair dryer in slim drawer was quite good. Suitcases would fit under the beds. Decoration was plain & could have done with a brighter lick of paint. TV was mounted high from the ceiling, so required an effort to watch, would not have liked to watch a film on it as bed did not convert to couch so no back rest except 2 small loose cushions. Most of time we were out of satellite TV coverage on this cruise anyway. Our steward was Romy who was always friendly & kept the cabin spotless. We usually ordered a pot of coffee for delivery first thing, sometimes good & sometimes not so good, delivery also varied from requested time slot by + - 15 mins. There was no noise from the engines although from deck plan we seemed to be right above them,
Food & Service…Overall we thought very good, although we mainly ate in the dining room. Only ate in Lido buffet a few times, once for breakfast, twice for lunch when we were pressed for time. Breakfast was not hot enough, lunch menu's not very special & on those occasions we carried our trays into the yacht club to eat in peace. We never used the yacht club at night when it was an alternative restaurant (no charge) as it was an Oriental menu. Breakfasts in dining room had a similar format to Fred Olsen lines with standard items available from a menu served by waiter & a buffet of hot & cold items at end of room. Good supply of fresh & preserved fruits with cold meats, cheese, breads & cakes etc on the front table with hot items behind. Now I have to say these provided us with the best "British" cooked breakfasts we have had on a cruise ship! Properly cooked English back bacon i.e. not burnt to a cinder, best sausages we have had on a cruise ship + the usual scrambled egg, tomatoes, Baked beans, potatoes & very good "black pudding". The scrambled egg with herbs & smoked salmon from the menu were superb. Lunch in dining room was a full five course waiter service affair & usually very good. Dinner in dining room was again very good overall. Starters were probably only average but well presented, cream soups were good but consommé soups tended to be over spiced, salads were very good. Main courses were excellent, I mainly had the fish & the swordfish was the best I have had, Venison, Beef Wellington were also very good, my wife did say one lot of beef she had was a little on the tough side but we were well satisfied overall. However the weak point of the menu was the desserts, some were quite good but anything described as a "crumble" was best left alone—not a crumble as we know it! The "cherry pie" one day was awful & was exchanged for ice cream. The ice cream was very good, as good as we have had on any ship. Our waiter was Vik from the Philippines who gave very good service & his recommendations could be relied o
n. As we said before we did not like the Lido buffet, could do with updating & better tables & chairs than the current plastic ones. Beverage station was in a corner here & was quite crowded at times. Variable coffee strengths from very weak to stand your spoon in it! Only alternative was various tea's but no iced water, juice drinks or even hot chocolate at night (had to ask room service for that). However the scones & jam at teatime were very good & very welcome if you had been ashore thus missing lunch. Overall we thought the service levels & friendliness of all the staff from Officers to deck staff to be excellent.
Who goes…On this cruise, people who wanted to go to Greenland, a surprising number of who were first time cruisers & quite a lot of single travellers. Ask them why choose this cruise & answer always the same "we wanted to see Greenland" some had left wives & families behind, some had been trying to get to Greenland for 15 years. Most were from UK with a few from USA & Australia. There are no children's facilities on the ship but there were a few teenagers + a few "pre-teens" all extremely well behaved, well they would be with parents who wanted to go to Greenland! To sum up, very friendly people who it was a pleasure to cruise with. Only 2 formal nights & standard of dress was high, around 75% in DJ etc, 3 informal nights with jacket & tie rest casual.
Entertainment… You do not expect full production shows on a small ship. The carousel lounge has limitations, just a level dance floor to put the shows on with no attempt at background scenery. However the company of 4 Russian dancers + 3 UK singers/dancers did a very good job, putting on some excellent shows in sometimes rough seas while keeping in step. They work very hard as they have to do duties around the ship such as library, sports & games, bingo etc as well as rehearse for the shows, the singers also did their own cabaret show. There are no entertainers brought on just for a couple of shows. Altogether they put on 6 different shows, 3 being very good, one average & 2 we did not see as the theme was to "old for us". There was a pianist in the explorer bar, a trio from Minsk in the discovery lounge, who also did a Russian folk music concert & a piano recital. A five piece band from Budapest played for dancing & for the shows & were very good. On a small ship I think the entertainment was up to the standard expected. However the lecture series was superb, some outstanding lecturers. Dr Alan Batstone covered the ports, we think he does a great job, we have met him on other ships & can highly recommend him. Professor Derek Blundell did geology, Greenland ice & global warming etc in a well illustrated & informative way. Brian Ford did science & amusing stories from his work. David Saunders was the wildlife & birds expert, again enjoyed very much & always willing to talk when on deck. We heard good reports of two other lecturers that we did not see, Carol Bunyan on Theatre & Georgette Conway-Toms on art.
Ports of call… We arrived at Thorhavn Faeroe Islands under low threatening cloud at lunch time on a Sunday. Except for a couple of tourist shops it was closed down. The bird watching tour to the Vestmanna cliffs was cancelled due to weather. However the afternoon stayed dry with brighter periods & we did a long walk around Thorshavn & up to the park. Though the Islands are considered treeless there are quite a lot of trees in and around Thorshavn. Climate is cold & wet in winter & cool & wet in summer, but they must have very little frost as we found fuchsia magellanica in full bloom 9feet tall. We enjoyed our pleasant stroll around this town. The ship docked in a commercial area & a shuttle bus had to be used to get to the dock gates.
After a day at sea we passed Surtsey the new volcanic island off Iceland that only erupted in 1962, late that evening. Docking in Reykjavik next morning there was a shuttle bus to city centre (5 kilometres away) for 2 pounds each way (sterling accepted) but no one from tourist board to give info. After the ride into town, we found the botanic garden was only about a kilometre from the ship & could have walked there easily. Instead we walked around the old part of Reykjavik, some of the local parks & a visit to the church tower (7Ikr for two in lift cc taken) great views all round but the huge bells of the clock struck 12 while we were up there! Walked back to the shuttle bus along the sea front after deciding not to walk all way to ship, those younger & fitter than us could have done it easily. Those who had booked the whale watching trip had another disappointment when that was cancelled due to weather or perhaps lack of whales in the area. At the dock there were many Taxi's & minibus available for tours, a 7 hour tour to all the sights was around 200 pounds for 4 people, good value we thought but we found no one to share with so did not do it…next time we will!
As we neared Greenland we were informed that ice conditions were very bad this year & we would not be allowed into Prins Christiansund, from the photos we saw this should have been spectacular & we did wonder if bad weather was going to follow us all the way. Next morning we saw a distant view of Greenland with two beautiful icebergs close to us & a bank of fog hiding the line of ice off the coast. Turning south to go round Cape Farewell it was cloudy & foggy with rain. Rounding the cape it blew up to force 6 then rose to gale force 8, quite hairy at times. Noon air temperature was 43F but the wind made it feel 10 degrees colder than that, sea temp was only 35F. Captain announced we would be going into fjord for Narsarsuaq at 9pm instead of 4am. As we neared the fjord the sea calmed, sky cleared, sun came out & we were surrounded by icebergs of all shapes & sizes, a magnificent sight that made up for the earlier disappointments. Then had a good sunset with lots of ice floes in the fjord. After spending the night in the calm waters of the fjord we were able to get alongside the pier (schedule had us tendering) but first a tender had to be lowered to push away a bergy bit from the pier, this is the sort of thing that happens on a trip like this. We took a gentle stroll past the airfield with a lot of wild flowers to be seen. Narsarsuaq only has a hotel, some accommodation blocks & one café that is also the shop & museum. A shuttle minibus to here was available for 2.50 pounds return but it was not far to walk. Leaving in bright weather after lunch we again saw a magnificent display of icebergs, later that evening we past a large one that provided a display, as part of it fell off. Next day arrival at Nuuk was 1pm when a berth was available in the port instead of tendering to the old town area. A free shuttle bus was provided from ship to town centre & the old town area. Nuuk claims to be smallest capitol in the world & has a lot of rather depressing looking flats, however the old town area is quite attractive to walk around. The museum is superb & free. There are no gardens as such but we did see one patch with a few potatoes growing in a cold frame, shows how bad the climate is! Cloudy & dull for us but those who did the helicopter trip up to the ice cap said it was lovely sun up there. However the last helicopter got stuck up there with engine problems! 23 people + crew, they had to be ferried in a small helicopter to a settlement 40 miles from Nuuk then a boat trip back to ship arriving at 2am.
Consequently we did not leave Nuuk until 4am 9 hours late. This did not give us time to do the glacier cruising that was on the schedule for that day. Instead we cruised north with cloud overhead & more fog around us. Crossing the Arctic circle around 1.30pm the fog lifted giving us a view of the mountains with glimpses of the edge of the ice cap. Air temperature was up to 49F with only light winds. After the evening show (1st seating) we started to enter the Disko bay area, I changed into my layered cold weather gear consisting of 2 warm but thinish sweaters & my golf wet & wind proof suit, this worked very well but you do also need a woolly hat & good gloves. The shapes & colours of the icebergs were fascinating & together with a good sunset (timed at 23.22!) I stayed on deck until 1.00am. Up again at 4.30am to be told I had missed some whales at 2.30am! Icebergs all around us, a magnificent sight in the early morning sunlight. We were around 6 miles off Illulissat & there was some discussion on the bridge that we might not get closer as the anchorage area looked full of ice, we could see the huge icebergs at the mouth of the fjord. We took early breakfast in dining room while the ship circled round. Back on deck in time to see a small freighter leaving Illulissat & it was announced we were going in to a small patch relatively clear of ice around 3 miles out. Passed very close to the big bergs, an amazing sight! The ship did not anchor but maintained position avoiding the bergs by use of engines & thrusters. We tendered ashore through the ice floes to the little harbour. A free minibus shuttle was operating up the hill to the town, from here we walked through the town past all the lines of husky's aiming to walk the first part of the path to Sermermiut to get a close view of the icebergs from the land side. There is no path!! It is just a scramble over rocks in the general direction of the icebergs whose tops you can see, so be warned you must be fit & active to do this trek even if it is only 1.5 kilometres!
By now it was quite warm &
sunny, I had to strip down to one sweater! Now I rather wished I had taken
the boat excursion for a close look at the bergs! However again be warned,
excursions in Greenland were not given a starting time only a letter A, B,
C etc as infrastructure does not run by the clock up there. Therefore some
of those who had a letter low down for the iceberg excursion did not know
exact time they would leave ship & consequently could not take the tender
ashore to see the town area. This lettering system applied to excursions
in all ports in Greenland. We walked down the hill to the tender & having
willingly missed our lunch, devoured the scones with jam & cream at
afternoon tea. We had perfect weather all day in Disko bay & sailing away
I stopped on deck until the last possible moment before changing for
dinner. We even missed the Captains farewell drink for a last look at
magical Disko bay, just writing this brings tears to my eyes at the memory
of it! Disko bay I mean not the missed drink! Next morning was our last
day, we entered the fjord to Kangerlussaq (80 miles long) at breakfast
time. Superb scenery with small hanging glaciers & banded rocks as old as
any on earth. Dropping anchor near the Kangerlussaq pier at lunch time it
was quite warm & sunny, I even saw someone with shirt off! Now this is not
your usual cruise terminal, baggage was taken off/brought on in cages
craned on/off the ship to an old landing craft. Those of us flying to
Manchester were given dinner at 5pm but it was announced this flight had a
4 hour delay. After first announcing due to infrastructure problems we had
to leave ship at scheduled time of 7 pm we were later allowed to stay on
ship until 10pm. Roughly 20 mins ride to the airport after tendering to
pier. Noted pier had some Army type tents erected for shelter should no
tender be waiting! Airport was small but modern with a couple of shops & a
small café. Departure gate could not handle more than one flight at a
time. We had a good flight home with Excel airways, landing at Manchester
at 8.30am instead of 4.30am.
Conclusion… We had a great time & would go on this ship & this itinerary (at the right price) again. We went with an open mind & while we regretted missing some of the things on the schedule we knew in this area anything was possible. We are so glad we did the trip, we did have perfect weather in Disko bay & that made up for everything.
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Fit Guide
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20665 Surnames | 135604 Records | 2768 Reunions
Dead Fred asks:Are you a Desperate Genealogist?
Click the e-book above for details!
Dead Fred's Genealogy Photo Archive, a free, fun photo genealogy research web site devoted to helping you visualize your heritage!
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Order The Desperate Genealogist's Idea Book: Creative Ways to Outsmart Your Elusive Ancestors (eBook).You can also order The Desperate Genealogist's Idea Book in hardcopy format by clicking here.
Photo #64913
Last Name: Knott
First Name : Joseph
Middle Name: Cooling
Subject's City: Parkersburg
Subject's State: Iowa
Subject's County: Butler
Subject's Country: USA
Date: 1851-1900
Photographer: Byerly
Photographer's City: Parkersburg
Photographer's State: Iowa
Type** : PRT
Comments: Joseph Cooling Knott (Nee: ) | Parkersburg Iowa USA | 1851-1900 | Comments: This is Joseph Cooling Knott and his wife, Betsey Howden and three of their children: Ada, Philip and Albert. It is the orginal picture taken about 1890. All were born in England and immigrated in 1887 settling in Parkersburg Iowa. Joseph was born in 1849 in Branston Fen, Lincolnshire, England. Betsey Howden was born in 1851 in Bracebridge, Lincolnshire England. Ada was born about 1877 in Cherry Wilington, Lincolnshire, England; Phillip was also born in Cherry Willington. Albert was born in in 1886 in South Bank. Joseph and Betsey are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Parkersburg Iowa. It is unknown where Ada and Albert died. Phillip died and is buried in Omaha, NEJoseph was the son of Sarah Elizabeth Cooling who later married James Knott. Joseph took the Knott name and lived with his mother and stepfather until his adulthood
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Leeds Olympic volunteers are pure gold
Local people who gave up their own time to help make Olympic events taking place in Leeds a big success were thanked at a civic reception this week.
Around 100 local 'sportmakers' attended the reception, which was hosted by Lord Mayor of Leeds Councillor Ann Castle, and also featured a guest appearance from Team GB diver Rebecca Gallantree, who trains at the Aquatics Centre at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Leeds, and took part in London 2012.
Leeds City Council, the University of Leeds and Leeds Metropolitan University recruited a 400 strong volunteer workforce to support teams of athletes from China, Netherlands and Canada throughout their stays in Leeds. They also played a key role in the success of the Olympic Torch relay as it passed through Leeds and helped run a series of Olympic-themed cultural events that were held in the city.
The volunteers took on a wide variety of roles between April and September 2012 and played a really important part in bringing the spirit of the Games to Leeds. The torch ambassadors generated excitement and enthusiasm for the torchbearers and the general public, whilst also advising pedestrians and car drivers about the relay. Volunteers at the training camp venues at the University of Leeds, John Charles Centre for Sport, Leeds Metropolitan University, Bradford College and Wakefield Sport Club supported the teams and helped to deliver the best possible training experience for each of them.
Lord Mayor of Leeds Councillor Ann Castle said:
"2012 has been an amazing year for sport, and a fantastic showcase for community spirit in Leeds.
"It gives me enormous pleasure to thank our 400 plus volunteers for their amazing enthusiasm and the outstanding contribution they made to making the torch relay, the training camps and all the cultural events that were held in the city run so smoothly.
"I know that all of our local 'gamemakers' got a great deal of pleasure and personal satisfaction from being part of this exciting occasion, and I hope that that will encourage them to continue to volunteer in the future."
Rebecca Gallantree, Team GB diver, who trains at John Charles Centre for Sport said:
"One of my top memories from this amazing year is being at the Olympic Torch Relay event at John Charles Centre for Sport in June. I train there every day of the year and feeling the excitement and enthusiasm from the crowds there made it really sink in that I was going to be competing in front of a home crowd at the Olympics.
"The local torch ambassadors were a key part of getting people fired up that day, and all of the volunteers that I met in Leeds and at the Games were absolutely thrilled to be part of the occasion. It really isn't an underestimation to say that the Games wouldn't have been the huge success that they were without their fantastic contribution."
Leeds City Council is keen to highlight the valuable contribution that volunteering made to the success of the summer of sport in Leeds, and to encourage people to consider volunteering in the future. There are hundreds of organisations in the city that need help and support, and in return can offer exciting opportunities in all walks of life. To find out more please contact Volunteer Centre Leeds, City Centre One Stop, 2 Great George Street, Leeds, LS2 8BA or phone 0113 297 7920, email email@example.com or visit the Leeds page on www.do-it.org.uk
For media enquiries, please contact;
Claire Macklam, Leeds City Council press office (0113) 395 1578
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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text:
Libretto by John Neumeier after the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy.
Co-production with The Humburg Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.
PrologueĀVronsky is at a railway station where there has been an accident. Looking at AnnaÆs dead body, he now understands that his life has lost all meaning.Act IĀAnna Karenina arrives in Moscow to visit her brother SteveÆs family. On the train she meets the Countess Vronskaya, AlexeiÆs mother.ĀAnna and Vronsky are introduced. By chance they are witnesses to an accident: the train crushes someone to death.ĀAt Prince ShcherbatskyÆs house Levin proposes to Kitty, but she rejects him because she is in love with Vronsky.ĀAt the ball, Anna dances with Vronsky the entire evening, and he is unable to hide his admiration for the young woman. Kitty is in despair: she was expecting Vronsky to propose marriage and give her his heart.ĀAnna returns to St Petersburg. She is troubled by thoughts about Vronsky and she wishes to depart as soon as possible inĀorder never to see him again.ĀBut Vronsky climbs aboard the same train. At Bologoe station, Alexei declares his love to Anna.ĀAt the station in St Petersburg Anna is met by her husband ¢ Alexei Karenin. Seeing her dearly beloved son returns Anna to her normal routine.ĀAt Princess Betsy TverskayaÆs salon, Anna meets Vronsky once again. His advances become increasingly insistent. Anna accepts them.ĀKarenin is puzzled at AnnaÆs behaviour and asks her not to take any unconsidered steps and not to break the well-known laws of morality which cannot go unpunished, but Anna makes as if she does not understand her husbandÆs warnings.ĀLeft alone, Vronsky thinks of Anna incessantly. In a dream he sees the man crushed at the railway station, and this is followed by a succession of visions in which Anna appears.ĀAnna comes to see VronskyģĀAct IIĀAll of St Petersburg society has assembled at the racecourse in Krasnoe Selo. At the races AnnaÆs eyes remain glued on Vronsky. All of a sudden VronskyÆs horse falls.ĀAnna cannot control her emotions. She admits that she loves Vronsky to Karenin. Karenin demands that Anna leave the races with him.ĀKarenin doesnÆt like society gossiping and chattering and insists that outer appearances are kept up.ĀAnna is seriously ill. On the verge of death she asks her husbandÆs forgiveness and he promises to forget her betrayal. However, on recovering from her illness Anna learns from Betsy Tverskaya that Vronsky tried to commit suicide. She leaves her husband and son and departs for Italy with Vronsky.ĀAnna misses her son and returns to Russia. She secretly gains admission to KareninÆs house to see Seryozha, but her husband drives her out.ĀAnnaÆs despair at being separated from her son and the humiliation she feels when she goes to the opera have broken her heart. The social circle in which Vronsky stands is closed to her. Tormented by loneliness and jealousy Anna sees no other solution than killing herself. She throws herself under a train.


text: On June 6, 1944, 150,000 American, Canadian and British troops landed in rough seas along a sixty-mile series of flat sandy beaches on the French coast at Normandy. The liberation of France and Western Europe was underway. They fought their way up sloping white sand dunes, towering cliffs, and through small seaside villages until, after two month's bitter fighting, they broke out of Normandy. ... Read Full Article


text:
Tesla Motors Inc. , reported its first-quarter results after the bell. Here\'s what happened, with details of the report and conference call below.
More on MarketWatch:
Only four Teslas have ever been stolen in U.S.
How BMW cars stack up against Tesla\'s
Elon Musk dangles Tesla \'Gigafactory\' in front of California
- Sort by:
- Oldest
- Newest
- 4:08 pm
- Earnings out
- Add a Comment
And the stock is down 4%. Our headlines are rolling:
Tesla Q1 loss 40c a share vs break even
- 4:12 pm
- Adjusted beat
- Add a Comment
EPS of 12 cents, adjusted, beats estimates of 8 cents.
Here's the release, which comes as a shareholder letter on Tesla's website.
- 4:15 pm
- Q2 delivery forecast: 7,500
- Add a Comment
Stock is down 5% now.
Sales rose to $620.5 million vs. year-ago $561.8 million
Tesla also said it expects to deliver 7,500 vehicles in the second quarter.
- 4:20 pm
- Tesla plans for gigafactory include two locations
- by Tom Bemis
- Add a Comment
Tesla says it's going ahead with plans for its huge battery factory. From the shareholder letter: The Gigafactory project is on course to begin battery cell and pack production in 2017. We have not yet finalized the ultimate location for the Gigafactory and we are going to start work on at least two locations in parallel in order to minimize risk of delays arising after groundbreaking.
- 4:23 pm
- Tesla expects Model S production to hit 1,000 a week by end of year
- by Tom Bemis
- Add a Comment
From the shareholder letter:
Production is now at almost 700 vehicles per week, up 15% from our weekly production rate at the end of Q4. By the end of 2014, we expect the production rate to rise to 1,000 vehicles per week.
- 4:28 pm
- Tesla plans rapid expansion in China
- by Tom Bemis
- Add a Comment
From Tesla's shareholder letter:
"We plan to expand in China as fast as possible because we believe the country could be one of our largest markets within a few years."
The company's had big support from the Shanghai government. Tesla drivers get free license plates in Shanghai, which normally go for $10,000 to $15,000, according to the letter.
- 4:33 pm
- Battery constraints
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
Problems on the horizon for supplies, apparently.
From the shareholder letter:
"Battery cell supply will still constrain our production in Q2 but should improve in Q3"
- 4:41 pm
- Some expected higher deliveries
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
Tesla said said it delivered 6,457 cars in Q1
Company guidance: 6,400
Barclays: 6,600
- 4:45 pm
- Twitter react: what the..?
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
Lots of confusion on why the stock is dropping after earnings, sales beats and deliveries topping company forecasts.
A taste:
Ok…I'm on the record as a $TSLA bear, but today's after-hour collapse is shocking even to me.
— Charles Sizemore (@CharlesSizemore) May 7, 2014
- 4:45 pm
- Tesla stock performance on earnings days
- by Tom Bemis
- Add a Comment
Here's what Tesla stock did on the day of and the day after its last 15 earnings reports:
Report Date % chg on report date % chg report date +1 2/19/2014 -4.94 8.43 11/5/2013 0.92 -14.51 8/7/2013 -5.57 14.34 5/8/2013 0.50 24.40 2/20/2013 -1.88 -8.77 11/5/2012 8.93 -1.11 7/25/2012 -2.98 -2.83 5/9/2012 -0.43 9.65 2/15/2012 1.30 1.73 11/2/2011 -0.59 13.06 8/3/2011 -0.51 -9.01 5/4/2011 -0.67 -0.94 2/15/2011 -1.04 8.27 11/9/2010 -1.40 19.20 8/4/2010 -3.14 -3.81
- 4:45 pm
- Battery supply, leasing warning
- by Jim Jelter
- Add a Comment
So, with top line first-quarter revenue up over 10% from a year ago, an adjusted profit of 12 cents a share (beating the 8 cents a share analysts expected) and vehicle production apparently on track to hit 35,000 in 2014, why is the stock down 5%?
A couple of items stand out. Tesla said the battery supply bottleneck will continue to constrain production in the second quarter. This could jeopardize production targets down the road. This is worrisome given that the 6,457 vehicles it delivered in the first quarter was a bit shy of the 6,600 some analysts expected.
Leasing is another concern. According to the company, lead times between vehicle orders and deliveries will limit leases to a paltry 200 cars in the second quarter. That means a lot of cars ordered in the second quarter won't be delivered until the third quarter.
- 4:46 pm
- MarketWatch's Hall calls it
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
Looks to me like $TSLA has bottomed and bargain hunters are moving in.
— GlennHall (@GlennHall) May 7, 2014
- 4:47 pm
- Full text of shareholder letter
- by Tom Bemis
- Add a Comment
Here's the full Tesla Shareholder letter:
- 4:56 pm
- Another shadow: Gross margins
- by Jim Jelter
- Add a Comment
Another thing investors might be fretting over: Tesla confidently stated three months ago that it's aiming for a 28% automotive gross margin by the end of the year. Here's the updated version from today's report: "We expect non-GAAP automotive gross margin to increase slightly from Q1 to Q2. As manufacturing efficiency and part costs continue to improve, we believe a 28% non-GAAP automotive gross margin by Q4 of this year is still an achievable target."
So, is the company hedging a bit? Tough to say. They narrowly exceeded the 25% target they set for themselves in 2013, so they've got a proven track record. But lacking further explanation ahead of the conference call, some of the usual swagger seems to be missing.
- 4:58 pm
- Simple old profit-taking
- by Claudia Assis
- Add a Comment
Some of the selloff may be down to simple old-profit taking. The report, after all, wasn't that bad.
Tesla shares have gained 262% in the past 12 months, and 34% so far this year. Shares took off in March on the expectations surrounding the 'gigafactory,' but have since cooled off, down 3.4% this quarter. Its P/E ratio? 118 times.
- 5:05 pm
- Negative free cash flow - uh oh
- by Jim Jelter
- Add a Comment
And then there's the steep, though not unexpected, rise in costs associated with Tesla's ambitious growth plans this year. The company takes direct aim at this in the first line of its quarterly report: "This year we are engaged in the most rapid expansion in Tesla's history." Great. Capital expenditures hit $141 million in the first quarter and the company said it still plans to spend $650 million to $850 million for the full year. At the same time, it admits it's facing a "slightly" negative free cash flow for 2014. How much is "slightly"'?
- 5:11 pm
- More on that cash flow worry
- Add a Comment
remembered $amzn, the spending is another word called bleeding in $tsla. $tsla is bleeding cash this year. you think big funds will stick
— WBW (@Mindwbw) May 7, 2014
- 5:26 pm
- Tesla's low bar
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
As we get ready for the conference call, a few more factoids to throw at you.
Tesla beat the Street's EPS estimate of 8 cents, adjusted. But that outlook had been whittled down from 13 cents over the past month. Here's a look, courtesy of FactSet.
- 5:28 pm
- Only 4 Teslas have ever been stolen in U.S.
- by Tom Bemis
- Add a Comment
An added perk for Tesla owners:
As MarketWatch's Catey Hill found,
"Once you own a Tesla, you're not likely to part with it — unless you sell it, that is. Last year, only three Teslas (one in San Francisco, one in Los Angeles and one in San Diego) were reported stolen in the U.S., according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau . In 2012, none were reported stolen, and in 2011 just one was stolen (in New York)."
Here's a link to the full story
- 5:32 pm
- Tesla down 7.6%
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
The stock has fallen more as the after-hours session has waxed on. It's now down 7.6%, or $15.01, to $186.34 a share.
Other movers in the after-hours session: Keurig Green Mountain /quotes/zigman/30382045/delayed /quotes/nls/gmcr GMCR is up 6.4%.
SolarCity /quotes/zigman/13139813/delayed /quotes/nls/scty SCTY rallied 7%.
21st Century Fox /quotes/zigman/18008450/delayed /quotes/nls/foxa FOXA is up 3%.
- 5:33 pm
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Tuned in and waiting for the conference call to begin to the strains of classical music.
And here we go – on the call: Founder, Chairman and CEO Elon Musk and CFO Deepak Ahuja.
- 5:38 pm
- Blown away by China
- by Jim Jelter
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First question from Barclays: What's the China order book look like? To which Musk replies he's "blown away" by goodwill China." He adds that Tesla is trying to expand its service centers "as fast as possible in China … we really are doing very few stores … the focus is 90% on service centers and superchargers." Admits the only source of unhappiness in China is that customers in mid-size cities are having to wait for delivery longer than they'd like. They are not getting their cars soon enough." Wait time there can be as long as four months.
- 5:42 pm
- Add a Comment
Musk says ensuring a great "customer experience" is dictaing the pace of rollout in China, and that means service centers must be in place before ramping up deliveries, in China or any other market.
- 5:47 pm
- Add a Comment
Asked about the lithuim-ion battery "Gigafactory" , Musk says they've got a letter of intent signed by Panasonic. Also created a joint development team. Aiming for a final agreement later this year. Again touts the cost-reduction posed by making its own batteries. Biggest cost is nickel – and are the company is in talks with several nickel producers, including miners in Canada.
- 5:47 pm
- Add a Comment
"The mining guys are super happy to hear from us."
- 5:52 pm
- Add a Comment
Morgan Stanley: Followup to Gigafactory…Musk says moving forward to break ground on several sites. "We expect to break ground on the first probably next month, and probably a month or two on the second one …. and California is potentially back in the running." That said, timing is crucial, and California has a lengthy approval process for greenfield projects. So maybe, California. But only if you can streamline your permitting process. Over to you, Gov. Jerry Brown.
(photo credit: AFP/Getty)
- 5:52 pm
- Tesla shares coming off lows after hours
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
Was down more than 8%, now down a bit over 7%.
- 5:55 pm
- Add a Comment
Musk: "Panasonic would be the only one producing battery cells in the Gigafactory." But if Panasonic can't meet demand, Tesla would tap other producers.
- 5:57 pm
- Add a Comment
CFO Ahuja, asked about R&D spending level: "I expect it to be in the high double-digits" while developing new models/battery production.
- 6:04 pm
- Add a Comment
Back to the Model X — Musk says focus is moving to the X now that the Model S sedan is well in hand. Aims to roll it out in Q2 2015, but says the production ramp will be much steeper than with the Model S. "That means it's really important that we've validated all issues … before ramping up production." Says they really want to avoid recalls.
- 6:10 pm
- Add a Comment
Asked about whether basic weaknesses with the electrical grid in China is prompting some customers to cancel orders, Musk said "No." However, he said they are in some cases planning to place several recharging stations within Chinese cities rather than between cities, which is the more typical North American and European model.
- 6:14 pm
- Add a Comment
Musk is explaining chemistry and physics to Wall St. analysts. Good luck, buddy,
— Chris Ciaccia (@Chris_Ciaccia) May 7, 2014
- 6:15 pm
- Add a Comment
On capital spending in 2015, CFO Ahuja said it's still too early to offer guidance, but clearly it will include a shift in spending to the Gigafactory. He said they will perhaps be able to provide a better idea a couple of quarters from now. As spelled out in the first-quarter report, spending in 2014 is expected to be between $650 million and $850 million.
- 6:18 pm
- Tesla stock looking at 3-month lows
- by Laura Mandaro
- Add a Comment
Shares are down 7% to $187.58. If it opens at these levels Wednesday, it will trade at its lowest in three months.
- 6:23 pm
- Add a Comment
Asked to quantify the sales potential in China's vast luxury car market, Musk replied that industry analysts probably know more about it than he does. "I haven't got some magic crystal ball." That said, he says Tesla is not struggling with a demand issue in China. His advice to the Tesla China team is to "spend money as fast as they can spend it without wasting it."
- 6:26 pm
- Add a Comment
And that wraps it up. "We may all disconnect."


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Reviewed by Sam T. (age 9)
I liked the book because it tells about our solar system, space, planets, and science. I liked it because the book has a lot of very interesting pictures. There is also a great picture of our galaxy. It is pretty easy to read. I like books about space and science.
I recommend this book for fifth grade and up because there are some hard words. I'm in third grade but still enjoyed reading it anyway.


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The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) streamline refinance may be the easiest way for some homeowners to get today's best mortgage rates and quickly reduce their monthly payments.
Continue Reading Below
Designed for existing FHA customers, the "streamline refinance" allows homeowners to refinance with less documentation and underwriting. The calling card of the FHA streamline refinance is that no appraisal is required, a huge draw for underwater homeowners, says Jay Dacey, a senior loan officer with Metropolitan Financial Mortgage Company in Edina, Minn.
In addition, the lack of typical refinance requirements, such as income and credit verifications, allows the process to move more quickly than traditional refinances, says Joe Parsons, a managing partner of PFS Funding in Dublin, Calif.
But while the FHA has designed the streamline refinance to be quick and simple, there are still a set of specific requirements that must be met, and some lenders even institute their own rules, so it pays to shop around.
"A lot of lenders will do streamline refinances, but everyone has their own slightly different rules," says Jason Auerbach, divisional manager with First Choice Loan Services in Morganville, N.J.
Several advantages
Probably the most important advantage to an FHA streamline refinance is that there is no required appraisal, says Dacey.
"Most lenders will use the value of the last FHA appraisal that was completed," he says. Or, lenders will use your home's original price.
An FHA streamline refinance also doesn't require as much documentation as other refinances. Borrowers aren't required to provide income, employment or credit verification. This makes the entire process faster and less cumbersome, Dacey explains.
FHA mortgage rates have also been substantially lower than conventional mortgage rates in recent years, adding to the list of the program's benefits, says Keith Gumbinger, vice president of HSH.com. For the week ending Feb. 8, 2013, a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.68%, while an FHA-backed 30-year fixed was 3.41%, he says.
Rules do apply
While the streamline refinance doesn't have the typical strict set of refinance requirements, it does have several specific standards that borrowers much meet.
- The refinance must reduce payments: In order to be approved, the refinance terms must reduce your monthly payment by at least 5%.
- You must be current: Refinance applicants must be current on their mortgage. Borrowers are only allowed one late payment in the previous year. Furthermore, you must have made your last three mortgage payments in full and on time.
- There's a refinance waiting period: You must make payments for at least six months on your existing FHA mortgage before you can apply for a streamline refinance.
- Your loan balance cannot increase: The FHA doesn't allow you to take any cash out with a streamline refinance. All of the closing costs and fees associated with your loan must be paid out of pocket -- they cannot be financed into the loan amount. "In most cases, the borrower will have to bring some cash to the table to close," says Parsons. If you don't have cash available to pay for the closing costs, your lender can offer you a higher-than-market interest rate in exchange for paying the closing costs.
Mortgage insurance premiums
An FHA streamline refinance, like all other FHA mortgages, requires upfront and annual mortgage insurance premiums.
If your current mortgage was endorsed by the FHA before June 1, 2009, the upfront premium is 0.01% of the loan amount, says Parsons. "It is a cost, but not usually an out-of-pocket cost, since it is almost always added to the loan balance," he says.
In addition to the upfront premium, these loans also require an annual premium -- paid monthly -- of 0.55% of the base loan amount.
FHA mortgages endorsed after June 1, 2009 have a much higher upfront premium of 1.75%. The annual premium varies by loan term and loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. It ranges from 1.25% (30-year term, LTV over 95%) to as low as 0.35% (15-year term, LTV under 90%).
Currently, the annual premium must be in place for at least five years, and after that time, it can be cancelled whenever the loan balance has been paid down to 78%, Parsons says.
Changes are coming
For FHA loans registered after April 1, 2013, the annual premium will increase by 0.10%, he says. In addition, the annual premium will have to be paid for the entire life of the loan if the initial LTV is more than 90%.
If you're considering a streamline refinance, act now before the April changes go into effect, says Parsons. Increased premiums mean fewer borrowers will be able to lower their monthly payment by the 5% requirement, he says.
Talk to your lender
Even though the streamline refinance program has more lenient requirements, some lenders will apply additional restrictions known as "overlays." For example, even though the FHA doesn't require income or credit verification, certain lenders lender might, says Auerbach. "Ask the lender upfront if they have overlays," he says.
The FHA frequently changes their programs, so it's important to talk to FHA-approved mortgage lenders to get the latest details and learn about potential overlays, says Auerbach.
If you want to refinance to capture some of the best mortgage rates in decades, an FHA streamline refinance is definitely worth a look. It very well could be the simplest way to save thousands of dollars over the life of your mortgage.
The original article can be found at HSH.com:FHA streamline refinance: The easiest way to refi?


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OKLAHOMA CITY — Long before Tony Allen became a fixture on NBA All-Defensive Teams and back when the Oklahoma City Thunder still belonged to Seattle, some Oklahoma basketball fans cheered a hard-scrabble Chicago kid who serendipitously landed in rural Stillwater and has never stopped surviving.
Those Oklahoma faithful might now wish the most influential father figure in Allen's life, a career college basketball assistant coach named Glynn Cyprien, had never left Oklahoma State to later wind up at the University of Memphis. Because the man who delivered the little-known junior-college guard with a knack for finding trouble to Eddie Sutton's Oklahoma State Cowboys in 2003 also greased Allen's free-agent signing seven years later, leaving the championship-caliber Boston Celtics for the then-middling Memphis Grizzlies.
"We never would have gotten him without Glynn," said Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace, who also has longtime ties to Cyprien. "Tony helped put us over the top."
Named to a third consecutive All-Defensive Team on Monday and a second consecutive First Team selection, Allen is tormenting overtaxed Oklahoma City superstar Kevin Durant and breaking the hearts of Thunder fans in this semifinal series the Grizzlies lead, 3-1.
Allen and the Grizzlies return tonight to Oklahoma City (9:30 ET, TNT), about an hour drive southwest of Stillwater, to try and close out the reigning-but-wounded Western Conference champs in Game 5.
Memphis had never won a playoff series before Allen signed in 2010. It hadn't made the postseason since 2006. But this blue-collar bunch, epitomized by Allen's tireless and genuine grit, is one win away from the team's first conference final in its 18-year existence.
Allen's story is all about timing, trust, belief and resiliency. Start with beating back life's hard knocks — a father in prison, an adolescence set up to be knocked down like bowling pins — with an unbreakable spirit. He's scraped away at a nine-year NBA career that's finally in full bloom, having persevered through season after season of seemingly two steps forward, one step back. His is an evolutionary journey of constant self-improvement and forever proving his worth — through six seasons in Boston and, even initially in Memphis under coach Lionel Hollins — just to play.
In his second season at Oklahoma State, Allen carried the Cowboys to the 2004 Final Four as the Big 12 Player of the Year just two years after getting kicked out of his first of two junior-college stops. But that misfortune landed him at Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Ill. That's where Cyprien was dispatched by Sutton, not to recruit Allen, but to bring back a stud named Antwain Barbour, who would eventually sign with Kentucky and never play a minute in the NBA. It was Allen who kept catching Cyprien's eye.
"Tony's statistics weren't great, but he had an overall good game, he played defense, he ran well and bottom line he was just real tough," said Cyprien, now an assistant coach at Texas A&M. "When the game got late, he made tough plays."
It's his NBA calling card. And Durant and the Thunder are witnesses. Allen tilted the razor-thin margin in this series when Hollins finally called upon the 6-foot-4, self-proclaimed "junkyard dog" to sic the three-time scoring champ in the final three minutes of a nip-and-tuck Game 2. The call could have come in Game 1, when Durant scored 12 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter including the game-winner with 11 seconds to play. But Hollins was sticking to his original declaration that Allen would be no match for the impossibly long Durant.
Allen shrugged and suggested Hollins got desperate as the Grizz were in jeopardy of falling into a 2-0 hole against a team playing without its All-Star point guard, Russell Westbrook.
Yet maybe that's just the way it's supposed to be for Allen, nothing ever coming without outside doubt, nothing ever certain, always having to prove himself over again. Even to his coach of three seasons, unless, as Allen was asked after the Game 2 win when he held Durant scoreless in those decisive final minutes, maybe Hollins was trying to inspire him.
"I don't play mind games. I just go out there and do my job," Allen said. "My confidence is always sky-high. If you try to limit me, then you limit me. But I will continue to show you that I work and I continue to get better each and every day. Whatever your limitations are on me, I am always ready to prove you wrong."
The walk to Memphis
Wallace, the Grizzlies' GM, worked in the Celtics' front office when Boston drafted Allen 25th overall in 2004. In 2007, Wallace took over in Memphis. In the summer of 2010, after Allen had made his biggest impact of his six up-and-down seasons in Boston during the team's run to The Finals, Wallace called the Memphis Tigers assistant coach he had known for years through basketball circles.
"Wallace calls me," Cyprien said, "and Chris and I did the deal."
That Allen left Boston for a quickly arranged three-year contract with Memphis took the Celtics by surprise. For Allen, it came down to a fresh start within a circle of trust — with the man who played a pivotal role in drafting him and the man who recruited him to OSU and stuck by his side during a sometimes bumpy road.
"It all came together simply on the strength of those guys having a good relationship," Allen said. "Chris Wallace had the blueprint, believing that I could help change the organization around. He told me if I come here and play hard and things of that nature, we're going to be fine. We was missing a toughness-type of attitude. He sat me down and told me all these things, and from Day 1, ever since I came here, I tried to fill that void."
And there was this, too, a player sensing his time and place.
"I just felt a new situation would be better for me," Allen said. "I don't know, I was under that Paul Pierce shadow for a long time, so it was just about time for me to step out and make a name for myself."
'A loyal guy'
Cyprien is the thread that runs throughout Allen's basketball life.
It took Cyprien's campaigning to convince Sutton to offer Allen a scholarship. It took an even better one from Cyprien just a week into Allen's time on campus to convince the old coach that he hadn't made a major error in judgment.
Allen got involved in a fight at a Whataburger restaurant, although it was his new teammates who were actually involved in the brawl. It wasn't until after things calmed down and the police had an instigator handcuffed in the parking lot that Allen strangely put himself in the middle of the action. Allen confronted the guy in cuffs and punched him in the face.
"I was young," Allen said. "I didn't even notice that was a police officer."
Cyprien asked Allen what in the world possessed him to punch a guy the cops already had in cuffs.
"Those are my teammates," Allen told him.
"Tony's a loyal guy," Grizzlies teammate Zach Randolph said. "Tony's going to stick through thick and thin with you. When you go to battle, he's going to be there. He's a great person and a great teammate."
That night at the Whataburger, however odd and nearly disastrous, Cyprien said it served as the ultimate game-changer. Allen got it knocked into his head: Screw up again and your NBA dreams will land back on those cold Chicago streets.
"From that point on I was able to break him down," Cyprien said. "When someone talks about where they've come from, Tony graduated in two years, was the newcomer of the year, Big 12 Player of the Year, went to the Final Four."
Early Memphis blues brighten
Allen's signing might have been a coup, but it didn't mean much when it came to Hollins' rotation. Allen was coming off an injury and he started his first season in Memphis toiling on the bench. Hollins moved O.J. Mayo to a backup role and started rookie Xavier Henry. It was a humbling way for Allen to get started in Memphis, considering he had finally carved out a role with Boston as a defensive agitator off the bench.
Injuries finally provided opportunity for a rotation spot and then, to start, surpassing Mayo. Allen has never relinquished the job.
"I had to fight my way. Wasn't nothing given to me," Allen said. "That's why you never really see me upset for too long. I can always smile after something goes wrong because I know can't nothing break me."
Allen is now widely admired as the best on-ball defender in the league. Along with his second consecutive All-Defensive First Team selection, which is voted on by the league's coaches, he finished fifth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting, which is cast by the media. He was the only player under 6-foot-6 to finish in the top 10.
"He has a strong, aggressive personality," Hollins said. "I've said it many times, he's one of the most consistent people in preparation that I've been around."
Allen's late-game defense has been rugged and visibly frustrating to Durant, who seems bothered by Allen's low and sturdy posture as opposed to the length and less physical nature of small forward Tayshaun Prince. Since Allen has tailed Durant in the fourth quarters starting in those series-altering three minutes of Game 2, Durant is an eye-wiping 3-for-20 from the floor for seven points, with two assists and two turnovers spanning 32 minutes of the last three fourth quarters plus overtime in Game 4.
After Game 1, Durant's remarkable accuracy in the clutch was the talk of the playoffs.
"KD is Kevin Durant; I can't just sit here and say I can stop the best scorer in the league," Allen said. "But what I can say is I can compete with him. I'm going to compete with him and play as hard as I can and do as much as I can for my team."
Making Grindhouse a (permanent) home?
Allen, 31, is again set to a be a free agent. He's never hit a big payday, in NBA terms, earning $3.3 million this season, a bargain for the Grizzlies. Memphis, even with Rudy Gay's contract extracted, has nearly $58 million locked into Randolph ($17.8 million), Marc Gasol ($14.8 million), Mike Conley ($8.2 million), Prince ($7.2 million) and a few other role players for next season.
Wallace's position as GM is uncertain under the new ownership group that assumed control at the start of the season. Hollins is a free agent and Randolph's name was a constant during the trade-deadline rumor mill.
"All I can do is be a piece to a puzzle right now," Allen said. "The organization already got their mind made up of what they want to do right now. I believe so. I don't have a clue, but like I always say, my heart bleeds blue and I put it all in God's hands."
There is a notion that part of the strategy in dealing Gay was to create room to re-sign Allen, whose number of potential suitors is likely to grow.
The market for Allen's services will be set once free agency opens on July 1. His preference, he said, is to remain in Memphis, where he's made a comfortable home. A few years ago, he won custody of his daughter, Antekia, a 13-year-old seventh grader. In July, Allen is getting married.
"I love it here, the quietness, the slowed-down pace of the city, the Southern hospitality, I just like the city," Allen said. "I got everything I worked so hard for. I feel like I finally got my career off the ground playing here. As far as there being other offers, that's all part of the negotiations and having people put their trust in you.
"Everything that I went through to be the man that I am now, it was a roller coaster, but now I'm at the age where everything is done for my family. That's why I go so hard."


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The sock in the dryer
Have you ever pulled everything out of your clothes dryer, folded it all, then found a leftover sock? It happens to me all the time and invariably leads to a big hunt. I thought that obsessive hunt for the sock was a pretty good analogy for all the peculiar little things that embroil me from time to time. Anyway, I thought the blog medium would be a good way to keep track of all these "missing socks!"
Saturday, May 29, 2010
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Taiwan is at the crossroads on the nuclear power issue: Should it go full speed ahead, finish the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City's (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) and continue to rely on nuclear power, as President Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) government and Taiwan Power Co are advocating?
Or should the nation gradually phase out nuclear power and rely increasingly on renewable energy sources, including wind and solar power, as many in the democratic opposition and academic community are arguing?
The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in Japan two years ago has raised awareness of the dangers associated with nuclear power, as the reactors in Japan were similar to those used in Taiwan. This has led to a mushrooming of civic groups in Taiwan that are concerned about the safety of nuclear energy. These groups have become more vocal, calling on the Ma government to stop construction of the power plant in Gongliao.
These anti-nuclear civic groups were able to mobilize more than 100,000 people to participate in an anti-nuclear protest in downtown Taipei on March 9. The total number of protesters was more than 200,000 nationwide, if the protests held in Greater Kaohsiung, Greater Taichung, Greater Tainan and Taitung on the same day are included.
On that day, this writer stood on a street corner near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial MRT station for nearly two hours and witnessed the colorful procession of protesters streaming by — the overwhelming majority of whom were young people and families with small children. The protesters wore ingenious costumes, and danced to music and drums in a festive atmosphere.
The tide against the continued construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is also reflected in recent opinion polls showing that more than 73 percent and 70 percent of residents in New Taipei City and Taipei respectively are against continued construction. There is also dissent in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) camp: Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) and many KMT legislators support halting the construction of the plant.
In its efforts to stem the tide against nuclear power, the Ma administration has pulled out all the stops in its public relations campaign to win support for completing construction of the plant and making it operational.
However, the most tricky move was the recent decision by the Ma government to hold a referendum by the end of this year on the nuclear power issue. Coming from a government that has always fought any referendum tooth and nail, this sudden turnabout is highly surprising.
The move is less surprising if one looks at the way the question is phrased: The voters will be asked to vote as follows: "Are you in favor of discontinuing the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant?"
Even if 70 percent or 80 percent of the respondents vote that they are in favor of discontinuing construction, the referendum is likely to fail, because under the nation's highly restrictive referendum law, passage requires that more than 50 percent of the registered voters express themselves in favor of the issue.
This is unlikely to happen, and the Ma government can then say that the referendum failed and proceed with completing the plant's construction. A fairer way to go about it would be to drop the 50 percent of the registered voters requirement, or phrase the question as such: "Are you in favor of continuing the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant?"