text:
An old index card reads: Original. Real. Poignant. Those were the first words Greg Daniels jotted down a decade ago as his guide in adapting the daft British TV series "The Office" for an American audience.
The ideas on the flimsy card stock proved enduring. They helped the unconventional workplace comedy about a humdrum band of paper company employees stand up to the radically shifting fortunes of a major network and a punch-to-the-gut exit of a big-name star.
But it's now time to put the paper away as "The Office" prepares to shut its doors for good on May 16. The shuttering wraps up a nine-year run where much of the time the show functioned like its elite predecessors "Cheers," "Friends" and "Seinfeld," as a pillar of NBC's vaunted Thursday night prime-time lineup.
Nearly canceled after a lackluster premiere in 2005, "The Office" rebounded and later grew into the network's highest-rated scripted series, frequently pulling in more than 9 million viewers for its season premieres. An early adopter of the mockumentary style, the show became famous for its fishbowl glimpse at the everyday-looking folks of Scranton, Pa. The show has been widely praised for its clever, understated and often heartwarming humor and has garnered more than 40 Emmy nominations — winning once for comedy series.
Its end signals a major turning point for the struggling network, which recently lost another tent pole comedy, "30 Rock." "The Office" is averaging a modest 3.6 million viewers this season, down 28% from last year, according to Nielsen. Nevertheless, it remains among NBC's highest-rated scripted series, and it's still a big moneymaker on the advertising front.
"It's very emotional — not to sound too Michael Scott-y," said Daniels, the series' showrunner once again after a stint at "Parks and Recreation," in a reference to the Steve Carell character. "But we're a family here."
It's late January and Daniels is seated in his index card-covered office — in the building that serves as the exterior for Dunder Mifflin, the show's fictional paper supply company. He's noticeably preoccupied, making last-minute changes to a script before a table read for the season's 20th episode ("Paper Airplanes").
So when he is asked about the final episode, his face meets his right palm.
"I'm worried," says the 49-year-old writer-producer, whose credits include "King of the Hill." "I'm worried I'm overthinking it. I'm worried I'm not overthinking it — I'm working on two TV pilots simultaneously. Obviously, the goal is to have it feel meaningful and have a sense of closure for the whole series. That's what this whole season has been about."
Birth of 'The Office'
As with most good deals, the one for "The Office" began over coffee.
Rewind to summer 2001: That's when Ben Silverman, then an agent with the William Morris talent agency who was poised to start his own TV production company, met with Ricky Gervais at a London Starbucks to talk TV — specifically, his British comedy "The Office."
Silverman had come across the curious television show, about a group of pathetic employees at the fictional Wernham Hogg Paper Co., while vacationing across the pond.
"I was like, 'What the hell is this?'" he recalled. "Is it a comedy? Is it a reality show? It was genius." And he wanted in. After learning the international rights belonged to Gervais, the show's star and co-creator, and his partner Stephen Merchant, the hounding began — leading to the coffee talk.
"Ricky and I talked for 21/2 hours — about the show, about what we could do in America, and he educated me on what had informed his love of the show," said Silverman.
The show was born when Merchant enlisted Gervais to expand on a bit he had developed about office managers for a short film assignment. It would be titled "Seedy Boss" — and it would lay the foundation for the BBC Two series. Though it initially suffered low ratings, it would become one of the most successful British exports — with versions as far away as Chile and Israel.
But British adaptations and American broadcast networks didn't have the best score card at the time (e.g. "Coupling," "Men Behaving Badly"). When Gervais presented Silverman's proposal to Merchant, it was greeted with caution.
"I was like, 'Yeah, we should give it a shot,'" said Merchant. "But the chances of it actually happening, and the chances of it succeeding if it does happen, are very, very, very, very slim."
And initially, it seemed he was right. An early plan for it to land on a cable network was a bust — at the time, BBC America was already running the original series.
But Kevin Reilly, then at NBC, would be its rescuer.
"I felt right from the start that even though the show was different — the pacing of it, the idea of a mockumentary, the narrative structure — that it was still rooted in an age-old half-hour convention, which is an office place," said Reilly, now entertainment head at Fox. "I knew it could succeed in broadcast ... eventually."
Of course, his instinct would have to contend with Jeff Zucker, then NBCUniversal's chief. Zucker hadn't been too keen on the show in its pilot stage or after its low-rated six-episode first season. The screening process for shows began for the next season's lineup — and spirited debate followed.
"Let's just say there were very senior members of the NBC brass at the time who were quite clear that this was not going to be picked up again," Reilly said.
There was a frenzy of behind-the-scenes meetings with many senior executives, said Reilly. "It was an extraordinary time, because NBC was very structured at that point. Because I was a new guy and because NBC was in the process of its wheels coming off, it just became very political and very supercharged."
Daniels, the American adaptation's captain, wasn't exempt from the mess. He had to pitch Reilly on ways to boost ratings in the second season — part of the plan included making Michael Scott, played by Carell, a central character with a little more heart.
"I had a list of all these moments that I wanted to do," Daniels said. "Like, he should give someone really good advice, he should make a great sale — they all became episodes in Season 2. We wanted to show that the employees actually did like him. And the Jim and Pam drama really heated up."
The series made it onto the fall schedule in 2006 — just as Carell's movie career was picking up — and avoided hitting the shredder from then on.
"The Office" was one of the first shows available on iTunes and consistently one of the top performers on the site. Its early recognition of tapping into Web-savvy young consumers was one of its hallmarks.
Before its second season, stand-alone webisodes were made available on NBC's website. The ratings would pick up, and the series would go on to score an Emmy in its second season for outstanding comedy series.
Zucker, now onboard with the show, would even commission supersized episodes. At its height (its fourth season), the show touted a respectable 7 million viewers.
"I felt very strongly that as the network was going down, it needed to stand for something," Reilly said of his reason for lobbying for it. "To me, 'The Office' represented a new version of what NBC could stand for, which was quality and smart comedy."
Silverman, who would eventually go on to replace Reilly at NBC, had wanted to stretch it further — suggesting spinoffs from as early as Season 3, when another office branch was introduced. One proposed spinoff, which would have centered on Andy Bernard (Ed Helms), morphed into "Parks and Recreation." Another centered on Dwight (Rainn Wilson) would get dropped.
"It felt like there were so many things that were going to trip it up along the way," Merchant said. "So when it was finally on its third season, it was like, 'How did we get here?' And as it's about to wrap up in its ninth season — its ninth season! — it's like, 'No, really, how did we get here?'"
Walls come down
Part of the final season's conceit has been tearing down the fourth wall. At last, TV viewers get to see the documentary crew that has been skulking around Dunder Mifflin all these years. Their documentary is set to air.
Inside the cluttered Dunder Mifflin set — tucked away in Van Nuys, a mere 2,700 miles from Scranton — the office workers are reading the first reviews of the documentary of their workplace. Not surprisingly, in the scene, Phyllis Smith, who plays congenial Phyllis Lapin-Vance, is having computer problems and is unable to scroll through the website.
"How do I get this up?" she asks. She catches herself: "That's what she said!" — a nod to the fan-favorite one-liner popularized by Michael Scott.
If the fictional office appears mundanely offbeat on TV, the real set dynamics are not much different. On a recent day on set, Helms' Andy was reading Deadline.com, while Creed Bratton, who plays creepy Creed, was killing time at his desk by playing his guitar. And Leslie David Baker, who plays crossword puzzle-loving Stanley Hudson, was talking about his next vacation and maybe how he'd like to eat a pretzel.
On this day, a group of hard-core Canadian fans is visiting — trying not to squeal as the scene finally gets underway.
"Red alert! Red alert! The reviews are in! I repeat: The reviews are in!" shouts Helms as Andy, drolly charging through from the office kitchen into the main space. The characters latch onto every biting word.
The real-world reviews for "The Office" of late have been just as captious. Although some of the criticism had been brewing before the Season 7 exit of Carell, it only intensified with his departure.
The cast doesn't pretend it was a smooth transition.
"It was a tremendous blow to the show," says Wilson, who plays power-obsessed Dwight Schrute. "It took us awhile to find our footing. There's been a number of bad episodes but also really good ones."
Daniels admits that ending the show with Carell's exit might have been the way to go. (Carell declined an interview for the story.)
But other cast members were under contract, and "The Office" remained one of the network's top-rated Thursday shows — so it carried on.
There would be more changes: Mindy Kaling, a writer-producer-star of the show, left at the end of the eighth season to headline her own comedy on Fox; Wilson was set to split off for his said spin-off; meanwhile, John Krasinski, who plays sardonic nice guy Jim, and Helms were juggling burgeoning movie schedules.
"It's like any other thing in life, any experience — from listening to a song to watching 'Les Misérables' to the best job of your life: It has to end sometime," Krasinski said.
The key cast members agreed to return for a ninth and final season — allowing Daniels to dump an idea of a rebooted season that would have introduced a heap of new characters. It's an ending that's bittersweet for longtime viewers.
"One could really feel the executive suits just sort of dragging the lifeless body of the show across the finish line," says Andy Greenwald, who writes about the show for Grantland.com, an online sports and pop culture magazine. "But I do think the show, as a whole, has made a mark on the American TV comedy by paving the way for a lot of the intelligent, witty and urbane humor we see in some half-hours today."
A real strength of the show has been its use of writer-performers — something Daniels has fully exploited. Three members of the cast have pulled double duty: Kaling, who portrayed bubbly pop culture nut Kelly Kapoor, Paul Lieberstein (who would also serve as showrunner for seasons 5-8) playing the mumbling human-resources manager, Toby; and B.J. Novak as temp-turned-sleazeball Ryan Howard.
"It's not an easy job," Novak said off-campus while directing an episode of "The Mindy Project" (Kaling's series). "You can't do 99% of the things you think would be funny because they wouldn't happen, and you can't do 99% of the things that would happen because they aren't funny. You have to find the delicate balance of where truthful and funny intersect."
What's next at NBC?
The big-money question is how flailing NBC will rebuild its Thursday comedy lineup in the coming year: Will it stay in the quirky, faster-paced comedy arena or steer a new path?
"There's a lot of talk of us wanting to move in the more 'broad comedy' territory," said Jennifer Salke, the network's president of entertainment. "We're in the ratings business. Our job is to deliver higher ratings. Our hope is that with our new comedies, we can slowly rebuild the Thursday night lineup that is not only critically acclaimed but can deliver on a higher rating point."
The network gave a trial run this season to Matthew Perry's comedy "Go On." The network also put "Community" back in its old Thursday digs after much delay. But their fates remain uncertain — and should they stay, there's no telling whether they'll remain on Thursday.
The network also has a cavalcade of comedies under review for the 2013-14 season — with as many multicamera formats as single-camera. "Office" alum are scattered throughout the roster — from writers to its stars.
The comedy drawing the most buzz — and already earning a spot next season — is NBC's Michael J. Fox project, which is loosely based on the former "Family Ties" star's own life and experience dealing with Parkinson's disease.
Daniels has two pilots in the works at NBC for the fall, serving as a producer — a responsibility he acknowledged was getting shortsighted by his focus on "The Office's" swan song. He had originally wanted to pass off the final season's showrunner duties to Merchant, but Daniels ultimately took the reins.
"I couldn't not come back," Daniels said a few months later, once filming had wrapped. "This was my life. And it's weird, because I feel like I'm back in Season 2, where every episode matters. Where you're looking for reaction."
Daniels "carded out" the final episode while on a family trip to Hawaii. He took all his "final episode" notes with him, a huge pile he had contributed to over the years.
He was now editing down the last episode. And the anxiety had set in.
"I want to make an event out of this goodbye," he said. "I want it to feel satisfying. I want it to be memorable, you know?'"
That's what she said.


text:
Biodiversity is on the agenda for the 70 heads of State and 3,000 delegates attending the XIII Francophonie Summit that starts today in Montreux, Switzerland.
To address the extinction crisis the world is currently facing, the Francophone countries and the International Organisation of Francophonie (OIF) have teamed up with IUCN - the world oldest and largest environmental network. The summit coincides with the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, from 18 to 29 October, to develop a plan for the next 10 years to address the current pressure on biodiversity.
"Our civilization is built on Earth's diversity," says Bertrand de Montmollin, President of the IUCN Swiss National Committee. "The Francophonie Summit has a unique chance to urge decision-makers at the biodiversity talks currently underway in Japan to adapt a future plan that will ensure that cultural and natural variety will continue being a huge part of our lives."
The Francophonie directly concerns more than 870 million people worldwide, living in 70 countries with an exceptional diversity of economic, social, cultural and biological backgrounds. Francophone countries include a wide range of environments and natural habitats: coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Ocean, towering equatorial rainforests in Asia and Africa, tropical arid deserts and polar ice caps.
"The Francophone countries have direct responsibility for Earth's renewable natural resources. These are an important natural capital that needs to be wisely managed and invested in, as the welfare of millions of Francophone people depend on it," notes Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Director General of IUCN.
Key issues:
- The Atlas of Biodiversity in the Francophonie : IUCN and IOF is launching the first-ever comprehensive analysis of the state of biodiversity in 67 countries. Present on the five continents and across all oceans, the Francophonie network encompasses 29 million km2 of land and 25 million km2 of ocean. It hosts many emblematic species, such as polar bears, gorillas, okapis, lemurs, giant turtles and tortoises, European bisons and American wapitis. The Francophonie has a direct responsibility for almost one third of the world's wetlands, coral reefs and lagoons, and for most tropical forests in Africa and large areas in Asia and South America.
- La Francophonie and sustainable development: This year's summit will focus on the challenges that the loss of biodiversity, climate change and achieving food security pose on sustainable development. Delegates will discuss how the solidarity between the Francophone countries can help in mobilizing societies to overcome economic and political obstacles.
- The International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF) and IUCN signed an agreement in 2008 to work more closely together to increase awareness of the importance of the cultural and natural capital of La Francophonie and the urgent need to preserve these.
23 October: IUCN and the International Francophonie Organization (OIF) will host a round table debate on biodiversity, cultural diversity and La Francophonie". Two publications entitled "Atlas, Biodiversité de la Francophonie, Richesses et Vulnérabilités" and "Terre Sauvage, Francophonie, les hommes au cœur de la nature" jointly developed by OIF and IUCN, will be presented at the roundtable.
IUCN will have a stand in the Village de la Francophonie featuring its work on conservation in the coastal and marine areas of West and Central Africa.
• Bertrand de Montmollin, Head of the IUCN Delegation, President of the IUCN Swiss National Committee, t +41 32 725 50 24, m +41 79 220 58 93, e [email protected]
• Arnaud Collin, Special Advisor to the Director General, t +41 22 999 03 06, e [email protected]
• Jean-Claude Jacques, Head of the IUCN Representation to the EU, t + 32 473 74 44 10, e [email protected]
Media team:
• Borjana Pervan, Media Relations Officer, t +41 22 999 0115, m +41 79 857 4072, e. [email protected]
• Véronique Zurcher, Membership Officer, t +41 22 999 02 50, m +41 79 952 44 46, e [email protected]

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Available in automatic-ON (occupancy) or manual-ON (vacancy) switching, these motion sensors are designed to control current LED, CFL, fluorescent, incandescent, halogen, or motor loads. The dimming sensor offers users the ability to adjust lighting levels of compatible dimmable LED, CFL, and incandescent lamps, while built-in starting technology facilitates smooth start-up for CFLs. Using passive infrared (PIR) detection technology to monitor a room for occupancy through a segmented lens, the sensors fit in a standard wallbox and provide 180° field of view and 900-sq-ft coverage. All models feature screw terminals, and most do not require a neutral wire for connection. The products also include a time-delay setting that postpones the lights/motor load from automatically switching OFF for 30 sec, 5 min, 15 min, or 30 min.
For more information, visit www.leviton.com/sensors.


text:
When it's raining cats and dogs, the Greeks say, "It's raining chair legs!" Omniglot has many more terms for downpours around the world. This is part of a complete episode.
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text:
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Boolean Expressions
Oscartime's Instructions Sprite
Oscartime's Trash Sprite
Oscartime's Oscar Sprite
IntroductionMost programming languages, on first glance, "look like Greek" to the untrained eye, an amalgam of English and unusual syntax. Consider, for instance, the program below, written in a language called Java.
class Hello { public static void main(String [] args) { System.out.println("hello, world!"); } }
All the program above does, when executed, is display "hello, world!" on the user's screen. You might have guessed as much just by looking over the code—and ignoring anything that didn't make sense! But what's with all the curly braces ({ and })? What's System.out? What does class Hello mean? And public static void main(String [] args)? Let's not even go there.
Suffice it to say that, when it comes to learning to program, there's quite a learning curve with languages like Java. Before you can begin to solve problems, you must first learn to read and write a new language, even if the task at hand is relatively simple (e.g., "hello, world!"). And whereas you might still understand a foreigner who mispronounces some English word, computers aren't so forgiving when it comes to mistakes. Leave out a semicolon, and the program above won't even work!
Learning to program is ultimately about learning to think logically and to approach problems methodically. The building blocks out of which a programmer constructs solutions, meanwhile, are relatively simple. Common in programming, for instance, are "loops" (whereby a program does something multiple times) and "conditions" (whereby a program only does something under certain circumstances. Also common are "variables" (so that a program, like a mathematician, can remember certain values).
For many students, the seemingly cryptic syntax of languages like Java tends to get in the way of mastery of such relatively simple constructs as these. Before we tackle a language like Java, then, with its curly braces and semicolons, we turn our attention to Scratch, a "new programming language that lets you create your own animations, games, and interactive art." Although originally developed for kids by the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab, Scratch is just as useful (and fun) for budding computer scientists. By representing programs' building blocks with color-coded blocks (i.e., puzzle pieces), Scratch "lowers the bar" to programming, allowing budding computer scientists to focus on problems rather than syntax, to master programmatic constructs rather than syntax. Syntax, of course, will come later. But, for now, we focus on programming itself. It just so happens that programming, for now, will be more like putting together a puzzle than writing Greek.
This tutorial introduces budding computer scientists to the building blocks of programming by way of Scratch. It assumes that you are already familiar with Scratch's usage and, accordingly, have a general sense of how to program with Scratch. This tutorial aspires to formalize your understanding of programming, framing some basic programming constructs in the language of Scratch.
We turn our attention first to statements.
StatementsIn programming, a statement is simply a directive that tells the computer to do something. Think of it as a command or an instruction. In Scratch, any block whose label reads like a command is a statement.
One such block instructs a sprite to say something:
Another such block instructs a sprite to go to some location:
Sometimes, you only want a statement to be executed under certain conditions. Such conditions are defined in terms of Boolean expressions, to which we turn our attention next.
Boolean ExpressionsIn programming, a Boolean expression is an expression that is either true or false. In Scratch, any block shaped like an elongated diamond is a Boolean expression.
One such block is:
After all, it is either true that the mouse button is down or it is false.
Another such block is:
After all, it is either true that some number is less than another number or it is false.
With Boolean expressions can we construct conditions, to which we turn our attention next.
ConditionsIn programming, a condition is something that must be true in order for something to happen. A condition is thus said to "evaluate to true" or "evaluate to false." In Scratch, any block whose label says "if," "when," or "until" is a sort of conditional construct.
One such block is:
The construct above is generally known as an "if construct." With it can we instruct a sprite to say hello only if, say, the user has depressed the mouse button:
A related construct is the "if-else construct":
With the above construct can we instruct a sprite to say hello or goodbye, depending on whether the user has depressed the mouse button:
Realize that these constructs can be nested to allow, for example, for three different conditions:
The above construct could be called an "if-else if-else construct".
Another conditional block is:
Yet another such block is:
Sometimes, you want one or more statements to be executed multiple times in a row. To implement this behavior, we turn our attention to loops.
LoopsIn programming, a loop can induce multiple executions of statements. In Scratch, any block whose label begins with "forever" or "repeat" is a looping construct.
One such block is:
This construct allows us, for instance, to instruct a sprite to meow every other second:
Another block allows you to loop a specific number of times:
And another block allows you to loop until some condition is true:
Sometimes, you want execute some statement multiple times, each time varying your behavior ever so slightly. We thus turn our attention to variables.
VariablesIn programming, a variable is a placeholder for some value, much like x and y are popular variables in algebra. In Scratch, variables are represented with blocks shaped like elongated circles, uniquely labeled by you. Variables, generally speaking, can be local or global. In Scratch, a local variable can be used by just one sprite; a global variable can be used by all of your sprites.
Variables allow us, for instance, to instruct a sprite to count up from 1:
A variable that only takes on a value of true (i.e., 1) or false (i.e., 0), incidentally, is called a Boolean variable.
With statements, Boolean expressions, conditions, loops, and variables now under your belt as building blocks, we can now explore two higher-level programming constructs, starting with threads.
ThreadsIn programming, a thread is like a mini-program within a program that can execute at the same time as other threads. A program with multiple threads, then, can do multiple things at once. In Scratch, any block whose label begins with "when" essentially demarks the start of a thread; think of what Scratch calls a "script" as a thread. (Technically, scripts run in threads, but never mind that.)
One such block is:
As the above block's label suggests, this thread begins to execute when the user click's Scratch's green flag. A program with two such blocks thus has two "threads of execution," both of which start simultaneously when the user clicks Scratch's green flag.
It's often helpful to use separate threads for conceptually distinct tasks. For instance, you might want to keep track of whether the user ever presses some key during a program's execution in order to, say, toggle sound on and off:
Notice how, in the above, the left-hand thread handles meowing, if appropriate, whereas the right-hand thread constantly checks and remembers whether the user has muted or unmuted sound by pressing the space bar.
Related to threads are events, to which we turn our attention next.
EventsIn programming, multiple threads can communicate with each other by signaling events and handling events. An event, then, is like a message from one thread to another. In Scratch, blocks whose labels begin with "broadcast" signal events whereas blocks whose labels begin with "when" handle events, the latter of which, recall, effectively represent threads themselves.
A block that signals an event is:
A block that handles an event is:
Not only can events be signaled by blocks, they can also be signaled by a user's actions. Clicking Scratch's green flag, for instance, effectively signals an event that is handled by:
In Scratch, not only do events enable threads to communicate, they also allow sprites to communicate with each other. For instance, two sprites might want to play Marco Polo with each other, with one sprite's behavior defined by the leftmost thread below and the other sprite's behavior defined by the rightmost thread below:
Out of statements, Boolean expressions, conditions, loops, variables, threads, and events can you construct interesting (and fun) programs. In fact, let's explore the inner workings of what, on first glance, appears to be a very complex program but, ultimately, is just an application of these building blocks.
Let's turn our attention to Oscartime!
OscartimeOkay, it's Oscartime! Oscartime is a game, written in Scratch, that challenges a player to drag as much falling trash to Oscar's trash can as possible before Oscar finishes singing a classic song. Here's a screenshot:
Go ahead, if you haven't already, and download Oscartime.sb to, say, your desktop. Then, go ahead and open it within Scratch. Click Scratch's green flag, read the game's instructions, and have yourself just over two minutes of fun! (True fans can even bookmark the Web-based version.)
Oscartime is implemented with nine sprites, each of which uses between one and three threads. Let's explore this tutorial's programmatic constructs in the context of Oscartime so that you understand not only how to play the game but how to implement such a game yourself!
Let's first examine Oscartime's Instructions sprite.
Oscartime's Instructions SpriteOscartime's Instructions sprite is responsible for the brief display of the game's instructions at startup:
This sprite uses just one thread to display the game's instructions, which are implemented as a costume, centered on the screen for four seconds:
Pretty simple stuff. Let's now examine the first of the falling sprites, Oscartime's Trash sprite.
Oscartime's Trash SpriteOscartime's Trash sprite is designed to fall from a random location in the sky to the ground:
Once picked up by the player and dragged to Oscar's trash can, the sprite falls from a new location, taunting the player. The process repeats forever. Of course, each disposal of the sprite is worth a point!
Let's examine the first of this sprite's threads:
This thread is pretty complicated, so let's consider it parts. Needless to say, this thread begins executing when the user clicks Scratch's green flag. The thread's first statements essentially aim the sprite downward, place it (invisibly) at some random location atop the screen, and, after four seconds, reveal the sprite:
Let's now consider the first conditional construct in the thread's loop:
Essentially, the construct above asks:
- Is the player depressing the mouse button? (If so, the player is presumably clicking on something.)
- Is the mouse touching this sprite? (If so, it is presumably on this sprite that the player is clicking.)
- Has the player just clicked on this sprite? (If so, we need to enter drag mode. If not, the player's already in drag mode!)
- Is the player definitely not clicking on some other sprite already? (We want to make sure the player can only pick up one sprite at once, even if they're overlapping on the screen.)
If not all four conditions are met and the sprite is not already being dragged, the loop's second conditional construct induces the sprite to "fall" downward by one step unless it already appears to be lying on the ground:
The loop's final conditional construct determines whether the sprite has been dropped close enough to Oscar's trash can to be considered deposited (and thus worthy of a point):
Essentially, the construct above asks:
- Is the game still in progress? (Once Oscar finishes his song, after all, we don't want to accept any more trash.)
- Is the sprite within 20 pixels of Oscar's trash can? (If so, that's close enough to be considered deposited.)
- Is the player not depressing the mouse button? (Trash ain't deposited until you let go!)
Because all three of these conditional constructs are nested within a block labeled "forever," the sprite behaves as it should until game's end.
The aesthetics of dragging, meanwhile, are handled by a second thread:
Essentially, so long as, upon clicking the sprite, the player keeps the mouse button depressed, the sprite will follow the mouse's movements, thus creating the appearance of being dragged. As soon as the player releases the mouse button, the thread notes that neither this sprite nor any other is, for the moment, being clicked on anymore. The thread then "dies," to be re-"spawned" only when the trash is picked up again.
Oscartime's Sneaker, Newspaper, Clock, Telephone, Umbrella, and Trombone sprites essentially behave just like this Trash sprite, the only differences being the times at which they first appear. (Their appearance is synchronized with Oscar's first mention of them in his song.)
So let's conclude by looking at the last of Oscartime's sprites, Oscartime's Oscar sprite.
Oscartime's Oscar SpriteOscartime's Oscar sprite uses three threads to keeps track of a player's score and the announcement thereof. The first of these threads provides the game's overall framework:
Essentially, this thread dresses the sprite in its default costume (that of a closed trash can); moves the sprite to its permanent location; sets the global, Boolean variable (named playing) to true, so that the other sprites know a game's in progress; and then plays Oscar's song whilst the player plays the game. Once that song ends (after 134 seconds), the sprite sets the global, Boolean variable (named playing) to false, so that the other sprites know the game's over; announces the player's score, then kills all threads.
The sprite's second thread keeps track, moment by moment, of a player's score:
Essentially, every time some other sprite signals an event (named scored), the above thread handles that event by setting a local, Boolean variable (named scoring) to true, so that the sprite's other thread knows not to change Oscar's costume while this thread is doing so, thereafter popping Oscar out of his trash can to announce the player's current score.
The sprite's third thread induces the lid of Oscar's trash can to rise anytime trash is dragged near it:
Essentially, the lid rises so long as a game is in progress, the sprite isn't already changing Oscar's costume in order to announce the player's score, and some sprite is within 40 pixels of Oscar's trash can.
That's pretty much how Oscartime works. The game's implementation involves lots of blocks, to be sure. But, ultimately, the game is just the result of piecing together building blocks of programming.
Now, though Scratch does support programmatic constructs common to many programming languages, it doesn't do everything. In this tutorial's conclusion, let's survey some programmatic constructs that Scratch doesn't have.
ConclusionThough Scratch does support many programmatic constructs, it doesn't support 'em all. Common to many programming languages but missing from Scratch are:
- methods, which allow you pass control of execution from one sequence of blocks to another;
- parameters, which allow you to influence the behavior of methods;
- return values, which allow one sequence of blocks to "return" information to another;
- inheritance and polymorphism, which allow relationships to exist among data structures.
May that Scratch ultimately help you, the budding computer scientist, focus less on semicolons and more on the solving of problems.


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China Men
The author chronicles the lives of three generations of Chinese men in America, woven from memory, myth and fact. Here's a storyteller's tale of what they endured in a strange new land.
Product Details
|Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
|Publication date:
|Vintage International Series
|Edition description:
|Sales rank:
|Product dimensions:
|5.20(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.70(d)
About the Author
Maxine Hong Kingston is the daughter of Chinese immigrants who operated a gambling house in the 1940s, when Maxine was born, and then a laundry where Kingston and her brothers and sisters toiled long hours. Kingston graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1962 from the University of California at Berkeley, and, in the same year, married actor Earll Kingston, whom she had met in an English course. The couple has one son, Joseph, who was born in 1963. They were active in antiwar activities in Berkeley, but in 1967 the Kingstons headed for Japan to escape the increasing violence and drugs of the antiwar movement. They settled instead in Hawai'i, where Kingston took various teaching posts. They returned to California seventeen years later, and Kingston resumed teaching writing at the University of California, Berkeley.
While in Hawai'i, Kingston wrote her first two books. The Woman Warrior, her first book, was published in 1976 and won the National Book Critics Circle Award, making her a literary celebrity at age thirty-six. Her second book, China Men, earned the National Book Award. Still today, both books are widely taught in literature and other classes. Kingston has earned additional awards, including the PEN West Award for Fiction for Tripmaster Monkey, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature, and the National Humanities Medal, which was conferred by President Clinton, as well as the title "Living Treasure of Hawai'i" bestowed by a Honolulu Buddhist church. Her most recent books include a collection of essays, Hawai'i One Summer, and latest novel, The Fifth Book of Peace. Kingston is currently Senior Lecturer Emerita at the University of California, Berkeley.
Customer Reviews
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I had to read this one for school and although I though it started off strong...it got unbearable in the middle. Its fragemented-because the Chinese American experience was fragmented-But really it just makes it hard to follow and tedious.


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Boston Housing Monitoring Committee to Meet
Foley Apartments Elect Task Force Members
Faneuil Gardens Development Receives $226,250 Harvard Flex Fund Grant
Boston Housing Authority (BHA) provides affordable housing to more than 58,000 residents in and around the City of Boston. Residents are assisted through a combination of public housing and federal and state voucher subsidy programs that provide a wide variety of housing opportunities. As the largest public housing authority in New England, the BHA houses close to 9 percent of the city's residents.
Our mission is to provide stable, quality affordable housing for low and moderate income persons; to deliver these services with integrity and mutual accountability; and to create healthy living environments which serve as catalysts for the transformation from dependency to economic self-sufficiency.
Learn more about BHA's mission and history.
Use the Housing Community Search Tool to get a sense of the BHA properties for which your household may be eligible.
Follow these steps to apply for public housing and rent assistance.
Learn more about the wide variety of services BHA offers our Public Housing residents.
BHA maintains and repairs Public Housing apartments and properties.
BHA inspects private apartments prior to executing a lease.
Find out how to rent your apartment to Section 8 voucher holders.
Visit ReThink Housing to learn more, and join the campaign on Facebook and Twitter.
Copyright Boston Housing Authority 2018. All Rights Reserved. Site Designed by Planeteria Web Design


text:
Beijing - Users of Microsoft's new China-based internet portal were blocked on Monday from using the words "democracy", "freedom" and "human rights" in an apparent move by the US software giant to appease Beijing.
Other words that could not be used on Microsoft's free online blog service MSN Spaces include "Taiwan independence" and "demonstration".
Bloggers who enter such words or other politically charged or pornographic content are prompted with a message that reads: "This item should not contain forbidden speech such as profanity. Please enter a different word for this item".
Officials at Microsoft's Beijing offices refused to comment.
Internet sites in China are strongly urged to abide by a code of conduct and self-censor any information that could be viewed by the government as politically sensitive, pornographic or illegal.
For many Chinese websites, such content also includes news stories that the government considers unfavourable or does not want published.
New regulations issued in March now require that all China-based websites be formally registered with the government by the end of June or be shut down by internet police.
Microsoft formed its portal joint venture with China's state-funded Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd (Sail) last month to launch the MSN China web portal.
Stringent internet rules
Microsoft is not the only international tech company to comply with China's stringent internet rules.
Yahoo! and Google - the two most popular internet search engines - have already been criticised for co-operating with the Chinese government to censor the internet.
The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) earlier said it "deplores the irresponsible policies of United States internet firms Yahoo! and Google in bowing directly and indirectly to Chinese government demands for censorship".
It has called on the United States to apply the principles of its Global Internet Freedom Act on its private sector's activities in "some of the world's most repressive regimes".
The Global Internet Freedom Act, passed by the US House of Representatives in July 2003, aims to combat online censorship imposed by governments around the world.
In their efforts to conquer the Chinese market, Yahoo! and Google are "making compromises that directly threaten freedom of expression," RSF has said.
Return to internet news headlines
View Internet News Archive


text:
A Collage of Family Faces from Some of My Family Lines
On the day that we give thanks, I find special joys in my family near and far, distant and close.
I am also thankful to the ancestors upon whose shoulders we stand, and am grateful for the next generation that takes the family forward to the future.
Happy Thanksgiving!


text:
Let me start with this years Christmas stitching:
When seeing today a picture of a beautiful sunset, a memory came alive that I would love to share with you. Every time when the sky was showing those beautiful orange colors, my mother would tell me: Look Gabi - the angels are baking cookies for Christmas. And I truly believed that and I LOVED those skys. I told my kids the same story. And they too stared in admiration to the sky. Cookies!!!!


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Today the tech and business media are all a-twitter about Facebook, after news that company will start constructing its first datacentre outside the United States, close to the Arctic Circle, in Luleå, Sweden.
By locating the datacentre in Luleå, it can use free cooling from the frigid local climate and be close to renewable hydropower in the region.
If you 'like' Facebook's news, let them know at our Facebook: Unfriend Coal page. And invite your friends to join the campaign - it isn't over yet!
This is big news for our Unfriend Coal Campaign: over the past 20 months 700,000 of us have campaigned online and around the world for a greener Facebook. One of the big reasons for putting pressure on Facebook was that the company chose to power its first two self-owned data center primarily with coal. So it was a big sign of progress when news reached us that Facebook's spokesperson Michael Kirkland was quoted saying that the Luleå datacentre:
"will be the first Facebook datacentre powered primarily by renewable power… it's a really important consideration for us".
Facebook hasn't yet released the full details about the data center, or how it will be powered but we like what we've heard so far. There are lots of possibilities for Facebook to ensure it is increasing demand for renewable power with this new data center.
We often get asked, especially by people new to the Unfriend Coal campaign, about why getting Facebook to go renewable is such an important issue. We've found that most people don't realise how much electricity is needed to power our internet-connected lives. A lot of digital life now exists online on "the cloud", whether its email, streaming video, or our Facebook status updates. The cloud is run, in part, by these massive data centers and these huge facilities are amongst the fastest growing sources of electricity demand. In fact, if the cloud was a country, it would be the fifth largest in the world in terms of electricity use.
In the US, which hosts approximately 40% of the world's data-center servers, data-center electricity consumption increased by nearly 40% during the economic downturn of 2007-2010. That's why when we released our "How Dirty is Your Data?" report earlier this year, people were shocked to see companies like Facebook and Apple powering the majority of their online services through coal. And with each of Facebook's US data centers estimated to use the same amount of electricity as roughly 30,000 US homes, this is a lot of new coal pollution - and it comes right at time when we need to be reducing, not increasing, our fossil fuel use.
This data center is being built for Facebook's millions of European users and there may be more data centers on the way to provide for Facebook's global users.
This rapid growth is why we need green cloud and not a dirty one, and why today's news is a great step forward for Facebook. We want to congratulate them on their progress -- and congratulate all of you who have been part of this campaign. But it's not over -- Facebook can and should make the preference for building datacentres with renewable energy a permanent company policy, and the company should disclose its overall carbon footprint and use its purchasing power to demand more renewable energy from the utilities that currently supply Facebook's electricity, for the data centers in North Carolina and Oregon.
But let's take a moment to enjoy this important move forward by Facebook, and recognize that we all – including users who are demanding change from the company, and Facebook itself, are contributing towards a greener Facebook for all of the 800 million users on its social network.
(Unregistered) Iksvaku
I am creating an adventure park in cancun and i would like to use solar and wind energy but in mexico we have not enough information, Could some one h...
I am creating an adventure park in cancun and i would like to use solar and wind energy but in mexico we have not enough information, Could some one help in order to crate a project and evaluate the benefits?'
Thank you
29 October, 2011 at 2:10
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Great news from facebook
3 November, 2011 at 13:00
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(Unregistered) alancrago
I've been trying to get green energy to my land for a data center to locate. A wind farm 15 miles north was almost begun but the local electric c...
I've been trying to get green energy to my land for a data center to locate. A wind farm 15 miles north was almost begun but the local electric company whose transmission line ran nearby it backed out. That line runs through and over my property but still I can't access green energy for developing greener industry. Coal is huge in nearby Wyoming's Powder River Basin and SD doesn't require green energy in the mix. I tried to contact Facebook and others to build data center here in Spearfish, SD and help planned wind farm start up but that's like trying to talk to Stalin.
Good for Greenpeace and all of us as data centers are a big hog of power and like barn yard pigs, the dirtier they are the more they like it, until now, that is.
Thank you Facebook for finally getting grip on your energy policy.
16 December, 2011 at 1:15
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text:
Rocking Out!
- $4.99
- $4.99
Publisher Description
When Frannie's local community center, The Ark, announces it is going out of business, Frannie and the community join together to create a fundraising concert. Frannie and her friends write letters to rock star Aimee Chapman asking her to perform at the concert and she says yes! Frannie and her friends learn all about the perks of being a rock star and, of course, Frannie decides rock star is perfect for a career. After all, a green room is actually an office for rock stars!


text:
Jonathan Haughton, PhD
Professor, EconomicsSend a Message
Senior Economist, Beacon Hill Institute
- PhD, Harvard University
- BA(Mod), Trinity College, Dublin
- Chartered Financial Analyst
Employment History
Held faculty positions at Wellesley College (1996-97), Northeastern University (1989-1996), and University of Maryland Baltimore County (1983-1987). Research Associate, Harvard Institute for International Development (1987-89), and Instructor, Harvard University (1982-83).
Affiliations include Research Fellow, International Tax Program, Harvard Law School (1989-96); Visiting Professor, National Economics University, Hanoi (Jan-May 1994); Visiting Professor, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics (occasional, 2012, 2013, 2014); and Université Cheikh Anta Diop (2012), Kaplan/Schweser (since 2001), and Temple University, Japan (summer 1987). Has undertaken assignments for the World Bank, USAID, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Department for International Development (UK), Ford Foundation, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, UNDP, and Soros Foundation.
- [1] Living Standards Analytics: Development Through the Lends of Household Survey Data, Springer, New York, 2012. [With Dominique Haughton].
- [2] Handbook on Poverty and Inequality, World Bank, Washington DC. 2009. [With Shahid Khandker].
Edited Books
- [3] Living Standards during an Economic Boom: Vietnam 1993-1998, December 2001. United Nations Development Program and Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi. [With Dominique Haughton and Nguyen Phong].
- [4] Health and Wealth in Vietnam: An Analysis of Household Living Standards 1999. Institute for Southeast Studies Press, Singapore. [With Sarah Bales, Truong Thi Kim Chuyen, Dominique Haughton and Nguyen Nguyet Nga].
- [5] Viet Nam cai cach king te cheo huong rong bay (In Search of the Dragons' Trail: Economic Reform in Vietnam), Nha Xuat Ban Chinh Tru Quoc Gia (Political Publishing House), Hanoi, 1004. [With David Dapice and Dwight Perkins].
- [6] The Politics of Local Government Stabilization Funds. Forthcoming in Public Administration Review. [With Douglas Snow and Jerry Gianakis].
- [7] Microcredit on a Large Scale: Appraising the Thailand Village Fund. Forthcoming in Asian Economic Journal. [With Shahid Khandker and Pungpond Rukumnuaykit].
- [8] Student Performance in an Introductory Business Statistics Course: Does Delivery Mode Matter? Forthcoming in Journal of Education for Business. [With Alison Kelly].
- [9] The Surprising Effects of the Great Recession: Losers and Winners in Thailand in 2008-09, World Development, 2014, 56: 77-92. [With Shahid Khandker].
- [10] Bubble Rap: Visualizing Poverty Dynamics, Case Studies in Business, Industrial, and Government Statistics, 2012, 5(1): 67-74.
- [11] Why is Agricultural Trade within ECOWAS So High? Journal of African Economies, 2013, 22(1):22-51. [With Abdoulaye Seck, Lassana Cissokho, and Kossi Makpayo].
- [12] Evaluating the Impact of Egyptian Social Fund for Development Programs, Journal of Development Effectiveness, 2010, 2(4): 521-555. [With Hala Abou-Ali, Hesham El-Azony, Heba El-Laithy, and Shahidur Khandker].
- [13] Ethnic Minority Development in Vietnam. Journal of Development Studies, 2007, 43(7): 1151-1176. [With Bob Baulch, Truong Thi Kim Chuyen, and Dominique Haughton].
- [14] Tax Incidence in Vietnam, Asian Economic Journal 20(2): 217-239, 2006. [With Nguyen The Quan and Nguyen Hoang Bao].
- [15] The Incidence of State-Level Taxes on Oil and Gas, Public Finance Review, 2006, 34(5): 527-550. [With David G. Tuerck].
- [16] Explaining the Pattern of Regional Unemployment: The Case of the Midi-Pyrenees Region, Papers in Regional Science, 82: 155-174, 2003. [With Yves Aragon et al.]
- [17] Ten Puzzles and Surprises: Economic and Social Change in Vietnam, 1993-1998, Comparative Economic Studies, fall 2000, 17(4): 67-92.
- [18] Explaining Child Nutrition in Vietnam, Economic Development and Cultural Change, 1997, 45(3), 541-556. [With Dominique Haughton].
- [19] Gasoline Tax as a Corrective Tax: Estimates for the United States, 1970-1991, Energy Journal, April 1996, 17(2), 103-126. [With Soumodip Sarkar].
- [20] Son Preference in Vietnam, Studies in Family Planning, November/December 1995, pp. 325-337. [With Dominique Haughton].
- [21] Adding Mystery to the Case of the Missing Currency, Quarterly Review of Economics and Business, 1995, 595-602.
- [22] Designing VAT Systems: How Many Rates and At What Levels? Review of Economics and Statistics, 1996, 78(2): 303-308. [With Ali Agha].
- [23] Chapter 1: Historical Background, and Chapter 7: Growth in Output and Living Standards. In John O'Hagan and Carol Newman (eds.), Economy of Ireland (12th edition), Gill and Macmillan, Dublin. 2014.
- [24] "Reconstruction of War-Torn Economies: Lessons for East Timor," in Hal Hill and Joao Saldanha (eds.), Economic Development of East Timor, Institute for Southeast Asian Studies Press, 2001.
- [25] Urban Poverty Assessment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City: Executive Summary. For UNDP, Hanoi People's Committee, and Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. November 2010. [With Le Thi Thanh Loan et al.].
- [26] The Informal Sector, Business Climate and Firm Growth: WAEMU Countries in Comparative Perspective; for World Bank, October 31, 2010. [With Dominique Haughton and Aly Mbaye].
- [27] Vietnam: Country Report. Principal author, 1996-2008. For Economist Intelligence Unit, London.
- [28] The Economic Effects of the FairTax: Results from the Beacon Hill Institute CGE Model. September 2006. [41 pp.] [With David Tuerck, Keshab Bhattarai, Phuong Viet Ngo and Alfonso Sanchez-Penalver].
- [29] An Economic Analysis of a Wind Farm in Nantucket Sound. Beacon Hill Institute, Boston. Submitted to Army Corps of Engineers, May 2004. [With Douglas Giuffre, John Barrett and David Tuerck].
- [30] Metro Area and State Competitiveness Report 2003. Beacon Hill Institute, Boston, December 2003. [With Cagdas Sirin]. Also helped update reports in most years since then.
Awards & Honors
- Excellent Teacher of the Year award, Northeastern University, 1994.
- Instructor of the Year award, Political Economy Club, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1985.
- Allyn Young Prize for excellence in teaching, Harvard University (each year 1978/9 through 1982/3).
- Google Scholar: 1,473 citations; ResearchGate (RG) score: 17.0. [Updated September 2014.]


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National Endowment for the Humanities and Institute of Museum and Library Services Partner to Spur Digital Innovation
Dr. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, announced today that they will dedicate $1.5 million to Advancing Knowledge: The IMLS/NEH Digital Partnership. Through this new partnership, NEH and IMLS are joining together to help teachers, scholars, museums and libraries take advantage of developing technology. These new digital tools will aid in the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge about our past and our culture. The announcement was made at the ninth meeting of the National Museum and Library Services Board.
The IMLS and NEH partnership creates a new funding opportunity-Advancing Knowledge: The IMLS/NEH Digital Partnership. These grants will bring together museum, library, archives, and IT professionals with humanities scholars to spur innovative projects. In addition, NEH and IMLS will work together to encourage libraries, museums and cultural institutions to take part in NEH Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants.
Dr. Cole said, "Our partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services will combine our agencies' talents to find new ways for digital technology to advance humanities scholarship and education. The ultimate goal is to make more resources more broadly available to more people."
Dr. Radice noted that, "We are eager to get this partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities underway. Libraries and museums connect people to information and ideas. These grants will be a catalyst for innovation and new collaborations."
They noted that digital technology developments to support science research are outpacing the development of such advances for the humanities. Collaborative work of the two federal agencies can help turn that around. Advancing Knowledge: The IMLS/NEH Digital Partnership will encourage digital scholarship, develop and maintain open standards and robust tools, and create extensive and reusable digital collections.
NEH and IMLS staff will jointly develop and distribute the grant guidelines for the new Advancing Knowledge: The IMLS/NEH Digital Partnership. The release of the guidelines is scheduled for early 2007. Applicants will use www.Grants.gov to apply electronically to the grant program.
NEH's Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants are intended to encourage scholars with new ideas that incorporate new ways of using technology in the humanities. The Start-Up Grants with applications deadlines in 2006 and 2007 will support the planning or initial stages of digital humanities in research, publication, preservation, access, teacher training, and dissemination in informal or formal educational settings.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute helps create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. It works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organization to enhance learning and innovation; sustain heritage, culture and knowledge; and support professional development.


text:
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While other states as small or smaller than Kentucky have played a large role in the presidential candidate winnowing process, it does not look like local voters will have much to pick from in the state's May 20 primary.
"It's watered down because our primary is so late," said Shelby County Republican party chair Charles Bates. "Still, what the voters do here in Kentucky they will want to see nationally. But I don't know how much that will stimulate the vote."
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text:
Air quality affects your health. Ozone and particulate matter, also known as PM, are two pollutants of significant concern in the Bay Area. Ozone is primarily a health problem in the summertime, and PM in the winter.
Poor air quality affects your health.
When pollution is bad, it can irritate your eyes, nose, and throat, cause shortness of breath, aggravate asthma and other respiratory conditions, and even affect your heart and cardiovascular system. Breathing polluted air for long periods of time can cause more serious health problems.
Two primary causes of poor air quality in the Bay Area are ozone and particulate matter, also called PM or soot. Cars and trucks and other mobile sources are the major sources of ozone in the summertime. In the winter, wood smoke from woodstoves and fireplaces is the major source of PM pollution.
Particulate Matter
Wood Smoke
Air Quality Index
Five Day Forecast
Spare the Air Every Day


text: Who is NEW URBAN RESEARCH? What is GIS? How do I register for a WORKSHOP? My boss says I can't travel, do you offer VIRTUAL TRAINING? Better yet, can you come to our office and provide CUSTOM TRAINING? Oh yeah, we also need to buy the SOFTWARE. I heard you have a new GIS book out. Where can I buy the GIS20: Essential Skills?


text:
Taxi from Antibes:
How it works in a nutshell
We organize customized transfer from Antibes to Juan Les Pins France Residence Hoteliere from and to any place you need, including hotels, offices, homes or any other landmark. Transfer from Antibes is operated only for you and your travel companions, without middle stops, as our shuttle from Antibes is private and not shared with unknown passengers. Taxi price from Antibes is flat and includes all, so there is no risk to pay additional fees if the trip will need additonal time than usual. So, save time, avoid problems and book your taxi from Antibes in advance.


text:
Hedge fund manager David Tepper is on CNBC, and he just made an interesting point...
The ECB has just given investors another free "put" in Europe, and nobody is talking about it.
Specifically, the majority of the ECB has voted to lower interest rates, although it hasn't been done.
What it means is that Draghi can now lower rates anytime he wants.
This is the second free "put" given to investors, the first being the ECB's promise of buying bonds earlier this summer (although the program hasn't been activated.
Note that Tepper is famous for his take on central bank puts. Back on September 24, 2010, he famously went on CNBC and said the Fed was offering a free put, a call that turned out great, as stocks rallied into the end of the year.


text:
If you've been redirected here because you posted on a forum, or asked a question in an e-mail, the person wanted you to know how to get help quickly from a group of folks who are willing to do so - but whose time is valuable. You need to put a little effort into the question first to get others to assist. This is how to do that. It will only take you a moment to read...
1. State the problem succinctly in the title
When an e-mail thread starts, or a forum post is the "head" of the conversation, you'll attract more helpers by using a descriptive headline than a vague one.
This: "Driver for Epson Line Printer Not Installing on Operating System XYZ"
Not this: "Can't print - PLEASE HELP"
2. Explain the Error Completely
Make sure you include all pertinent information in the request. More information is better, there's almost no way to add too much data to the discussion. What you were doing, what happened, what you saw, the error message, visuals, screen shots, whatever you can include.
This: "I'm getting error '5203 - Driver not compatible with Operating System since about 25 years ago' in a message box on the screen when I tried to run the SETUP.COM file from my older computer. It was a 1995 Compaq Proliant and worked correctly there.."
Not this: "I get an error message in a box. It won't install."
3. Explain what you have done to research the problem
If the first thing you do is ask a question without doing any research, you're lazy, and no one wants to help you. Using one of the many fine search engines you can most always find the answer to your problem. Sometimes you can't. Do yourself a favor - open a notepad app, and paste the URL's as you look them up. If you get your answer, don't save the note. If you don't get an answer, send the list along with the problem. It will show that you've tried, and also keep people from sending you links that you've already checked.
This: "I read the fine manual, and it doesn't mention Operating System XYZ for some reason. Also, I checked the following links, but the instructions there didn't fix the problem: "
Not this: <NULL>
4. Say "Please" and "Thank You"
Remember, you're asking for help. No one owes you their valuable time. Ask politely, don't pester, endure the people who are rude to you, and when your question is answered, respond back to the thread or e-mail with a thank you to close it out. It helps others that have your same problem know that this is the correct answer.
This: "I could really use some help here - if you have any pointers or things to try, I'd appreciate it."
Not this: "I really need this done right now - why are there no responses?"
This: "Thanks for those responses - that last one did the trick. Turns out I needed a new printer anyway, didn't realize they were so inexpensive now."
Not this: <NULL>
There are a lot of motivated people that will help you. Help them do that.


text:
Spring has new importance for Stroman
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- All eyes will be on top prospect Marcus Stroman for the next few weeks as the Blue Jays face a series of tough decisions regarding their starting rotation.
Stroman was originally considered somewhat of a long shot to crack Toronto's roster at the end of camp, but all of that changed when general manager Alex Anthopoulos said earlier this week there could be two starting jobs up for grabs instead of one.
DUNEDIN, Fla. -- All eyes will be on top prospect Marcus Stroman for the next few weeks as the Blue Jays face a series of tough decisions regarding their starting rotation.
Stroman was originally considered somewhat of a long shot to crack Toronto's roster at the end of camp, but all of that changed when general manager Alex Anthopoulos said earlier this week there could be two starting jobs up for grabs instead of one.
The 22-year-old Stroman now finds himself under a microscope, and every spring outing he makes has serious consequences for his immediate future. There's very little doubt that Stroman's time will eventually come, but his arm will dictate how quickly it happens.
"It's awesome that he has that faith in me, and I just need to be better each time out there to prove that he is right," Stroman said when asked about the praise he had received from Anthopoulos. "Going forward, just putting my head down, working on the things that I need to, making some adjustments, and I have no doubt in my mind that I'll be where I need to be."
Stroman's opportunity could come at the expense of veteran left-hander J.A. Happ, who is dealing with a sore back and has battled control problems this spring. Anthopoulos insinuated on Thursday that the combined issues could be enough to put Happ's job security into question.
Anthopoulos then went on to heap praise upon Stroman and his potential future in the Blue Jays' rotation. Stroman says he blocks out all of that outside chatter, but it is hard to take him at face value considering how amped up he appeared to be Friday afternoon at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium.
Stroman has always been a fiery and animated pitcher, but Friday's did not seem like just another normal spring outing. There appeared to be more at stake, and there was visible disappointment when he allowed three runs on four hits while striking out one over his three innings of work.
"I'm very critical of myself; that's the way I've been my whole life," Stroman said. "I expect nothing but the best out of me. I'm my harshest critic; that's how I've always been, and that's how I always will be. I definitely have some work to do, but I know that I'll get there."
Stroman was not happy with his fastball command or the spin on his breaking pitches against Tampa Bay. The most frustrating part, he said, was that twice he recorded two quick outs in an inning only to see the Rays still find a way to score.
The first two-out rally started in the fourth with a walk to Jayson Nix. The next batter, Rays outfielder Kevin Kiermaier, promptly followed with a two-run homer to right-center field on a first-pitch fastball that was located up in the zone. The second rally came in the fifth, when Matt Joyce doubled and Wil Myers drove him home.
Within each of those innings were opportunities for Stroman to learn and grow. The walk to Nix came after Blue Jays veteran catcher Dioner Navarro called for a fastball but was shook off in favor of a slider. Navarro did not seem to take offense to the decision, but he did hint that it could be a teachable moment for the inexperienced starter.
"I let him be, sometimes they have to go figure it out by themselves," Navarro said. "I'm not saying he doesn't have it, but he went out there and competed. He has that swag, which I like. It's just a matter of him figuring it out. ... Execution is the most important thing.
"He has great stuff; he threw a couple of great cutters. I think the only time he really got in trouble throwing his slider was to Nix, 3-2, when I would have preferred just go after the guy, and if he hits it, he hits it."
Stroman will get a mulligan for Friday's outing, and he no doubt remains among the front-runners for a spot in the rotation. Right-hander Drew Hutchison is the runaway favorite for the No. 4 job, while Happ, Stroman, Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond and perhaps even Ricky Romero are contenders for the final spot.
It is certainly not a stretch to consider Stroman a perfectionist on the mound, but he is also not someone who is going to sit there and lament for days about where things went wrong. That is a good quality to have as a starting pitcher with another outing looming in the not-so-distant future.
"You have to have a short memory in this game," Stroman said. "I'm not going to dwell on this start either. I'm going to come to the park tomorrow, put a smile on my face, I work hard and get after it again and get ready for my next start."
Gregor Chisholm is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, North of the Border, and follow him on Twitter @gregorMLB.


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Championship: Birmingham draw 2-2 at Bolton to stave off relegation
Paul Caddis' 90th-minute equaliser earned Birmingham a 2-2 draw at Bolton to stave off relegation from the Championship.
Last Updated: 03/05/14 3:59pm
With 14 minutes remaining, second-half strikes from Bolton's Lee Chung-yong and Lukas Jutkiewicz had left Lee Clark's men staring down the abyss.
Yet late goals from Nikola Zigic and Caddis earned them a 2-2 draw, and Leicester's win over Doncaster therefore meant Blues, who only dropped into the bottom three for the first time this season a week ago, stayed up at the expense of Doncaster.
It meant Clark's men, who were playing in the top flight just three seasons ago, can now look to rebuild.
The club is reportedly up for sale after former owner Carson Yeung was sentenced to six years in prison for money laundering, while Clark and the future of many of his players, a handful of whom are on loan deals, remains murky.
Captain Paul Robinson was back in the Blues starting line-up following suspension and Clark recalled big-earning Zigic, probably for the final time before he is released this summer.
He was involved in a bright opening patch for the visitors too with both him and Emyr Huws, the only loanee selected in Clark's XI, seeing shots blocked while Lee Novak was inches away from turning Caddis' driven cross home.
However, Birmingham failed to build on that spell and Wanderers came close with both Lee and Rob Hall narrowly missed the target with decent efforts.
Clark's men would find a second wind before the break, though, and they kept Bolton's back-up goalkeeper Andy Lonergan busy.
Twice he denied Novak with fingertip saves, the first in particular was a fine stop down to his left, and although the ex-Huddersfield forward eventually found a way past Lonergan, the whistle had already blown for Zigic's foul on David Wheater.
While Birmingham's need for victory was evident in their hurried play, the hosts were, perhaps understandably, far more ponderous with visiting goalkeeper Darren Randolph having little to do.
As the two sides headed into the tunnel at half-time, Blues knew they were going down with Doncaster drawing and Millwall winning. Yet they were surprisingly slow out of the blocks and were punished for it 12 minutes after the restart.
David Wheater was given plenty of time to pick his pass into the box and Lee span before rifling a finish into the far corner from the right-hand side of the area.
Clark responded by introducing Jordan Ibe and Federico Macheda, both part of the second batch of Birmingham loanees who had come under fire from captain Robinson for a perceived lack of effort.
Ibe at least gave them more directness out wide and Lonergan flipped the Liverpool winger's cross into Novak's path, but he could not bring the ball under his spell quickly and eventually smashed a low shot past the post.
Birmingham's attacking play got increasingly desperate and scrappy but their fans were heartened by news of a Leicester goal against Doncaster. They relayed the message that they now only needed one goal to their players but, as those chants sounded out, substitute Jutkiewicz doubled the hosts' advantage.
The Middlesbrough loanee picked up the ball on the left channel and somehow skewed a shot under Randolph's near post 14 minutes from time.
However, two minutes later, Zigic gave the travelling support hope once more when he bundled the ball over the line after a cross from the left ended up in his path.
Neil Danns should have restored Bolton's two-goal lead but blazed over the bar and with six additional minutes signalled, Birmingham had a chance.
And it was another mad sequence of events which led to their all-important equaliser in the third of those half-a-dozen minutes added on.
Zigic's header was cleared off the line by Tim Ream and the ball fell kindly for Caddis to nod in from barely a yard out and spark jubilant scenes in the stands and along on the touchline.


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Hey Fed, you make a strong statement in the fact that your 911 ans 318i are sound cars, I think that the car industry push's cars that people MUST have.. I agree, if I was in the market for a Porsche, I would be looking at a used one, much better deal and I would be able to buy one very close to what I want for a much more reasonable price. Last week Rick and I went to North Scottsdale Porsche (the only Porsche dealer in phoenix) and was looking a Diesel Cayenne. Base $56K, however, the 3 on their lot were in the low $80K. VERY hard to justify those kind off payments, now they had 2, 2009 Cayenne GTS's average price mid $40K, I can deal with those prices... and last 100K miles if taken care of right... Just like most German cars...0
The math is what the numbers are- nothing more or less its numbers - my math is not my math but actual figures using real world examples- not generalities or random thoughts this is fact. I am not, for or against leasing but as a younger person with little credit or coin I did infact lease and it was a painless - since 25 I've owned all new cars mainly because I was liquid enuf to deal with the higher payment of a new car. I can see both sides of the coin have value.
The "leader ad" - look if you do a search you will plainly see you are the person who first came up with this term - I understand you might be against leasing but the numbers (math) is more people lease these cars. This article is a little dates but makes my point. http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f37/most-luxury-cars-leased-bmw-mercedes-infi- niti-lead-pack-104834/
Do us all a favor- reevaluate the attacks - who and what you are against and have some data, an article , a picture or something other then your thoughts to back what you are saying.0
fedlawman Posts: 3,118Not just Porsche Flightnurse.
New cars whether leased or owned are just a waste of money. And in the case of the 3-Series, a new one is actually a step down from used. Why anyone would pay $50k for a numb bloated F30 when they could have an E90 for $30k is baffling.0
tlong CaliforniaPosts: 5,192Your math is not correct as Dino and pointed out, the 2009 you own, the 2013 you do not, so in the end, the 2009 is the better deal, once it is paid off, the kid has something that is worth $$.
You keep keep accusing me of these "leader ad" crap. however, you have no proof of it, so please show this forum any proof of this, since you are accusing me of something that is not true.
I once read an article (did not do the math myself). It went something like this:
At 20 years old, person A buys or leases a new car every three years, then trades/turns in, and repeats every 3 years. After 45 years working life, he wants to retire.
20 yo person B buys a 3 yo car, drives it 10 years. Buys another 3 yo car. Repeat until retirement. Person B invests the amount that Person A was spending buying/leasing the new cars. Investment returns are averages for past 45 years.
Even allowing for the greater maintenance costs on the older cars, person B has over a *million dollars* from that invested money!
Now I'm not saying any of us shouldn't buy/lease that new car - I've done it myself! Just know that it is FAR more expensive to have new all the time, whether leasing or buying.0
snow__driver Posts: 2Anyone driven the G35/37x and can compare it to other AWD sedans in snow performance? Like Audi Quattro, Acura SH-AWD, Subaru symmetrical AWD.
The G37x is rear-wheel biased and AWD only kicks in when wheels slip. Even with snow mode on, I've read plenty about folks fishtailing in snow and being disappointed with its snow performance vis-a-vis other AWD cars they've owned.0
It doesn't take a sophisticated AWD system to be good in snow...
"AWD only kicks in when wheels slip" doesn't necessarily describe the G37X AWD system, but even a simple system like that can usually get the job done (see Honda CR-V).
What makes the G37X a little harder to control in the snow are "performance" all-season tires and gobs of power... The tires are crappy in snow and the throttle takes a light touch..
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator0
I second that. I'm not objecting to people buying/leasing cars often, I actually have done that, too. I'm definintely not a 10-year holder of a purchased 3-year old car, the longest stint I have done so far was 6 years, I also owned another car until it was 8 years old (I had it for a bit more than 4 years).
It is wonderful that system made it possible and convenient for somebody to drive a virtually new car all the time (and a nice one) and move from one to another in a seamless fashion, without big hassles. It is also true that some manufacturers subsidize those lease deals, which is effectively lowering their sticker prices without actually doing so. Even with all of that, constantly paying a portion of three years of depreciation (even if it is lowered by a subsidy) is more expensive than buying a car (cash or loan) and say staying just couple of years beyond the warranty expiration. The sweet spot would be eight to ten years, but even six would do for most of the situations, except extreme ones. Many say "you can't own a car beyond warranty, it will fall apart and cost you a fortune" I say there is no evidence of such and let an extended warranty pricing be a guide. Since that is a very profitable product (number of people get fed by just selling them), and 100K mile extension with small deductible on ELLPS will not exceed $4K (most likely it will be about three grand) adding that plus extra planned maintenance of about another 2-3 grand (also most likely less), gives us AT MOST 7 grand average price of extended ownership. In fact, majority of people will pay much less, some unlucky ones will pay more. Nobody will convince me that two times (even) subsidized three year depreciation plus interest (money factor) and fees (two acquisition fees - $1500, two disposal fees - $500-$1000) is less that one time 6-year unsubsidized depreciation plus interest, but no fees plus extra maintenance and repairs/ext. warranty. And 6-years old well maintained car is still nice enough, IMHO.
The only time the lease thing MAY be a trully cheaper alternative, is when the car is simply not driven by the leasee/owner, or to be more precise, when it is one of those (sorry Nurse and Doggy) "leader ad" deal, when the mileage limit is something like 8-10K per year. That will change the math in lease's favor, even with fees. However, for a normal commuter living in places like mine (no real public transit, 15-20 mile one-way just to get to work), the three year lease, even heavily subsidized, is a much more expensive proposition vs. extended ownership. It offers a convenience to those who will not be able to stay with their three-year old car, but even then it can be a tossup. Hwere is an example: in late 2008 I bought the STI, which I sold in early 2012 (3 years and change). In November of 2008, Lehman Brothers just went bankrupt, nobody was buying anything, Subaru offered $2500 off price that was already 2% under invoice PLUS 0% APR financing for 63 months. Basically $36.5K (plus fees, TTR, roughly $40K total) sticker became $29K ($33 with all taxes and fees). Three years later I sold it for $22.8K, 69% of total transaction price. It just so happened that the Japanese earthquake choked the new car supply to the point that used ones had prices beyond ridiculous. The lease offered at the time of purchase was at somewhere around 50% residual, i.e. $18 grand (not subsidized, and MF and all fees were definitely NOT zero). It was just a fluke, but even if I sold/traded the STI at originally projected value of $18K, the lease MF and fees would still be far more than the financing of the loan. At that time I investigated the lease becuase I did not consider STI to be my long-term choice anyway, but even with that the purchase showed to be much better course of action.
2018 430i Gran Coupe0
ky.....how'd you do this a.m. driving around?
Noticed you're looking at a "Saaburu". Are you buying it?
Got an invite for a "private event" to see the Acura RLX roll out. Also got an invite to look at the '13 Accord on the form of a $25 Mastercard. That was on top of the $50 Mastercard I got from Ford at the Chicago Auto Show.
Car companies sure like to hand out money to people who aren't in the market.
Dino...while I rarely keep a car past its warranty period, I agree...today there's little reason not to. All cars are more reliable today than at any time in history.2018 Acura TLX 3.5 SH AWD A-SPEC0
Roads were just wet on the "good" side of the river, so no issues... Still have my snows on the BMW... It's my wife that drives the G37X and she works from home....
I made my offer on the Saabaru at 8:30 pm on Saturday night... guessing he wasn't too happy to get an offer of $500 less than asking... because, I haven't heard back from him... yet... (but, not everyone works 24/7.. lol)
Did you get a good deal? Be sure to come back and share!
Edmunds Moderator0
Good to hear everything is safe in the "holler". No issues up here, either.
Given the dwindling market for Saabs (regardless of their origins), I'm suprised the dealer didn't offer to split the difference with you. If you get it, can't wait to hear the road story bringing it back.2018 Acura TLX 3.5 SH AWD A-SPEC0
Fed, its simple, because they want the latest and greatest, the ones who much have that are the ones who keep company's like BMW and Audi's alive. Now granted, I will be in the market for a new car soon, I'm running low on my free days from national.
I plan on buying, and keeping my next car, just like I did with my 330, so I have the new 3 series wagon, with the diesel engine or the 3 series GT with the diesel engine on my radar. I don't plan on modify the car, like I did with the 330, just plan on driving it.0
I don't think those are coming with diesels any time soon. Wagon will probably be only 328i/xi and GT will be 328i/xi or 335i/xi. Diesel is not even in new sedan yet, I'm not aware of plans to introduce it there, so it will take years, if at all, to make it to the wagon or GT. You can hope I'm wrong, of course.
2018 430i Gran Coupe0
New wagon just showed up on BMW website. Only 328 xdrive, but all four trims (modern, sport, luxury and M). Pretty high starting price ($42.4K including destination. BTW, what's up with their stupid "starting at" with a price without destination? How can I get one without destination? Don't you hate it when they start off with a blatant lie?).
However, I'm sure when you price sedan to match wagons standard features (all wheel drive, fold down rear seat, sunroof), the differential is about 2 grand. I understand one may or may not want those, especially x-drive, but it's only fair to add to make apples to apples comparison. In "Dino's minimum config", i.e. red metallic, premium and lighting packages, anti-theft system, sport trim, including upgraded seats, sport transmission package (apples to apples), the price differential is about 2 grand ($49.6K wagon, $47.7K sedan). Steep, if you ask me for a (nice, admittedly) turbocharged four cylinder engine. Nice car, but no thanks for now - I stay with my E91, which cost me a few good thousands less, has extra navigation, a few more conveniences, including keyless entry, shades, homelink, parking sensors, basically another several grand of options on top of what's already high price. I can only imagine the price for 335i GT, when it comes in . I probably will have to wait even longer, if I wanted one.
I also noticed they finally made split rear folddown seat standard on 328/335. Interestingly enough, 320i does not have it standard. Talking about leader ad there... They really make it so they can advertise "starting at" with $299/month, or maybe even $259/m lease if you don't want leather. After loading with leather and stuff, it tops 40 thousand bucks, 45 if you really put "everything" on it, but not by whole lot, so there is real price separation with loaded 328i. To me, it is pointless, but I guess for those looking at white an blue propeller in front and nice handling, but not much more, they get something there. It may be even selling OK.
2018 430i Gran Coupe0
Leasing is more expensive. I most definitely agree. In 18 months (yes math majors, for those who care I've had my 328xi for a year already), when the lease is up on my car I'm going to buy (finance). So in my case, the lease will have worked out less expensive than if I would have bought the car. There are 2011 328xis out there NOW selling for close to what my lease buyout is (in 18 months).
You are right about out of warranty repairs being cheaper than buying a new car. What's the WORST case scenario with a BMW? iDrive crashes at 75K miles and needs to be replaced? What's that going to cost? $4000? So even if you have to outlay $4000, then pay for the 75K oil change, it is still cheaper than spending $50,000 on a new one. People like things shiny and new. They like to not pay for out of pocket repair costs. Most times because they live outside their means in the 1st place.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2015 Infiniti Q40 AWD, 2017 Honda Pilot Touring AWD0
Half of the fun is getting there. Literally. I actually went & drove the car for our esteemed host. My NAV routed me through beautiful, downtown Lodi, NJ. I think Lodi is Spanish for "roll 'em up."
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2015 Infiniti Q40 AWD, 2017 Honda Pilot Touring AWD0
Leasing is more expensive. I most definitely agree. In 18 months (yes math majors, for those who care I've had my 328xi for a year already), when the lease is up on my car I'm going to buy (finance).
Wow, I'm impressed. I know I already did say "I told you so", so this time I'm just "I'm glad you saw the light". No, seriously - from what you wrote last year about your finances and preferences, I thought right away then that if you trully liked the car and it proves to be good to you, buyout will be best option. You got a great lease deal, the buyout will only take away a little bit, as you'd pay back some of that subsidy from the inflated residual. But you still keep the other discount and you still keep low finance charge. The only reason to back off is, if over those next 18 months the car developes some serious issues, and I mean serious ones, not just window motors, or hose faults. Hopefully in 18 months you won't see any issues to spook you out of it.
BTW, hopefully not jinxing it, my only visit to a dealer in 19k miles/17 months was to do a basic maintenance. Not a single reliability-related issue - and why should it, really. This is advantage of buying a seasoned model, one that they worked out all the bugs before. The car has couple of annoyances, but they are due to design, not reliability. I can't stand the Point of Interest search on my Navigation. I think it's trully pathetic (categories, A-Z search, time it takes to display results, etc.) and several hundreds for an update of such a subpar system is simply ridiculous. It is 10% value and 90% brand, I'm not as inclined to pay for such mix.
My ipod nano sometimes does funny things - when I turn the car off and back on, the podcasts turn into fast forward (high pitch fast speach). All I need is to reset it by switching back to music and back to the podcast again. It is annoying, but I doubts dealer would even be able to replicate the issue and if he did, he'd say it's my ipod's fault, their car is perfect - so I don't bother.
What could go wrong? A lot of things, engine, transmission, electrical gremlins. All of it could be really costly, over ten grand even in really bad scenario. However, the real question is what is a chance? Small, very small in fact. Extended warranties are sold as insurances against catastrophic issues, but most of the time they serve as prepaid service for small nuisance stuff, costing less than the warranty itself. It is a peace of mind, indeed, but somewhat expensive. I'd rather buy such peace by having money in the bank and using it only when actually needed.
2018 430i Gran Coupe0
nyc....what a very nice thing to do.
I had heard about the Saab/WRX, and the quest to ascertain its condition.
I do remember those cars. They were Subaru WRXs with a slightly modified SAAB grill and trim (when GM had a stake in both).
At one time, those cars could be had on the cheap brand new. Now, SAAB is gone and Subaru is no longer affiliated with GM.
I actually thought about getting one when they were blowing them out. But, at the time, I had no need.
Again, kudos to you.2018 Acura TLX 3.5 SH AWD A-SPEC0
When I decided to get rid of my Acura, it was for absolutely no good reason other than "I didn't LOVE it." The crummy brakes & lifeless electric power steering had a lot to do with that, but it would have been much more financially responsible of me to have kept it. Right now I'd have less than 2 years worth of car payments left & a car with 70,000 miles that would easily surpass double that. I treated myself by leasing my BMW.
Once this lease is up, I'm going to stay off the hamster wheel. I'm going to buy whatever car I decide. I've got a sort of crazy short list in my head that includes but is not limited to:
Buying the lease out on my 328xi
Buying a used or CPO 2011 328xi with less miles (and less equipment).
Buying a CPO 335xi
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (4 door, 4WD Convertible = very cool). The prices on these used are utterly ridiculous though.
I'm going to set my MAX budget @ $30K. Once the lease is up on my BMW, I'll have less than 2 years left to pay off my wife's Pilot. So once the pilot is paid off, I'll be able to double up on whatever I get next & pay it off early.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2015 Infiniti Q40 AWD, 2017 Honda Pilot Touring AWD0
'Official' intro tonight:
Some 'pre-release' pictures here [ and elsewhere ]
- Ray
Potentially interested in this new Caddy...
[ 420 HP & 430 TQ .. Yum ]2016 BMW 340i0
stickguy Posts: 33,344funny that KY is looking in Jersey. You mid-west guys seem to be always posting links to good buys on cars that I really want!
2019 Acura TLX A-spec 4 cyl. (mine), and 2013 Acura RDX AWD (wife's)0
You mid-west guys seem to be always posting links to good buys on cars that I really want!
stick....so what's stopping you from undermining kyfdx and taking that car right out from under his nose? :P
Ray....I saw that new CTS pics and announcements. That looks pretty tasty. It certainly sounds like it will have the performance chops, too.
I'm wondering what pricing would be on that dual turbo 3.6L? I'll assume the regular breather 3.6 will be priced similarly to the current one.2018 Acura TLX 3.5 SH AWD A-SPEC0
'Ray....I saw that new CTS pics and announcements. That looks pretty tasty. It certainly sounds like it will have the performance chops, too. '
I doubt pricing will be released until late Summer
at the soonest.
My GUESS is that a 2014 CTS Vsport will be in the $55k zip code...
- Ray
Interested2016 BMW 340i0
My ipod nano sometimes does funny things - when I turn the car off and back on, the podcasts turn into fast forward (high pitch fast speach). All I need is to reset it by switching back to music and back to the podcast again. It is annoying, but I doubts dealer would even be able to replicate the issue and if he did, he'd say it's my ipod's fault, their car is perfect - so I don't bother.
I do not think this is the car, I listen to a lot of podcast, and when I'm on the road I tend not to get lucky and get a rental with XM still activated, so I listen to my podcast, about half the cars I have the same issue as you. BTW, I use my iPhone. I'm wondering if it is a software issue with apple.. Some time the problem doesn't go away unless I use bluetooth audio to play the podcast... Other times I connect using my USB cable and have the problem..0
Dino, BMW stated that the sedan and wagon will come with a 2L 180hp Turbo diesel. I'm not expecting them until the 2014 MY. You can build a wagon on BMW website currently delivery wont happen until June. in regards to the GT, I don't see why BMW wont add the diesel to it either again, I'm not expecting it until MY 2014...0
Look at the screen when playing the podcast. There is a button that normally shows 1X. If you tap the button, it changes the speed to 1.5X and the .5X. I have no idea why the iPhone has this feature.0
Fair enough. I think that's generally a good news to finally have lower power 4-cyl. diesels available, even if I don't care for them as much as the other guy. I read of 320d coming in, which finally makes much more sense than the older 335d. 335d was a rocket, but the case for diesel is in its fuel economy and car range, not in racing abilities. 180 hp diesel is definitely a better choice for the market and may even find some good following, as long as they price it correctly. It will give you a "feel" of 220-240 hp gasoline acceleration feel, just shorter in duration, because of rev limits. If the transmission is good, this may be a really good car. I wouldn't buy one (as long as gas stays around where it is now), but I see why somebody else would.
2018 430i Gran Coupe0
Dino was shocked at the short length of this responce- I actually got thru it thank you. Sorry about the nano, Maybe Steve jobs not happy you bought a BMW. Joking, but have you seen the length of some of your posts? Flight is a good recourse for apple products, leader ads, cvt transmissions and anything that has to do with bmws- so good hands, btw did not get to 5 guys burgers tonight will tomorrow.
Car show highlights, yes I was there for the press preview.-
love the new cts and the new 6 that puts 400 hp plus go caddy. Good to see Americana running strong. New buicks (not acura TL) look pretty and new tweaks on camaro very nicely done, go Obama.
I don't know I'd that's the official mdx but not a fan, car looks dull vs old one.
Infinti asking for people to preorder the new g at a special price, scratching my head, but car looked pretty good.
Audi has the best looking fleet by far- range rover sport also pretty sweet.0
I do not believe the iPhone does, in fact, I have a 2013 Ford taurus limited with 203 miles on it. Every time I start the podcast it run in 1.5x speed and this is being plugged into the USB port and playing through the radio. I do not have a problem with it is playing through blue tooth audio.
On a side note, Fords audio system My Ford Touch, sucks.. I thought the first Gen of iDrive was bad, this Ford system is horrible....0
Dino, when it comes to gas prices, talk about difference in prices. In Calif Diesel is less then Premium unleaded, and with the 30% increase in MPG of diesel over gas, people who understand this will buy them. In Phoenix, currently Diesel is less then regular unleaded, so this means the price difference between Diesel and Premium unleaded is roughly .35/gal. Now will this stay this way, who knows, but as long as Diesel's price does not exceed premium unleaded by 30% there is a savings. What is the average price of Premium unleaded (PU) and diesel in the tampa area? How much does it cost to fill the tank with PU and how much would it cost to fill with with the same amount of gallons with Diesel? I'm sure the difference isn't that much but the savings on the diesel would out weight the cost.0
I do not believe the iPhone does...
My 3GS does have the 1/2X, 1X and 1.5X when playing an podcast.
On a side note, Fords audio system My Ford Touch, sucks...
I have it on my Explorer and IMHO it works pretty wrll. I have to say the biggest issue is typically the user - you have to know how to work it. It can be frustrating if you aren't used to it.0