text:
Diversify and keep your costs down Buffett advises investors
Warren Buffett calls on non-professional investors to ignore the advice of pundits
Warren Buffett, chief executive officer of Berkshire Hathaway, drinks a Cherry Coca-Cola as he tours the exhibition floor prior to the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska in 2010. In this year's annual letter to shareholders, the billionaire investor has urged investors to treat their equity holdings like real estate purchases, focusing on the potential for profits over time rather than short-term price fluctuations. Photograph: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, cited a farm he's owned since 1986 to caution individuals against frequent buying and selling of stocks. Investors should treat their equity holdings like real estate purchases, focusing on the potential for profits over time rather than short-term price fluctuations, Buffett, 83, wrote in an excerpt from his annual letter published on the website of Fortune magazine today.
"Those people who can sit quietly for decades when they own a farm or apartment house too often become frenetic when they are exposed to a stream of stock quotations," Buffett said. "For these investors, liquidity is transformed from the unqualified benefit it should be to a curse."
Buffett has pursued a buy-and-hold investment approach as he built Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire into a $280 billion company accumulating the largest holdings of Coca-Cola, American Express and Wells Fargo. He's said individual investors may be better off avoiding his approach to picking stocks, instead purchasing a fund that holds every company in the Standard and Poor's 500 Index.
"The goal of the nonprofessional should not be to pick winners," Buffett wrote. "The 'know-nothing' investor who both diversifies and keeps his costs minimal is virtually certain to get satisfactory results." The S&P 500 has returned about 7 per cent annually over the past decade, beating by almost a percentage point the average yearly advance of Buffett's company.
Buffett has said he aims to increase Berkshire's book value, a measure of assets minus liabilities, more rapidly than the S&P 500.
Buffett's track record of profitable stock picks and takeovers has helped make his letters a must-read on Wall Street. The billionaire has said he writes them to be understood by his sisters, who don't work in finance. The full document will probably be released by March 1st, along with financial results for 2013.
In today's excerpt, Buffett cited the agricultural holding and a 1993 investment in New York City real estate. Annual distributions on the retail property, near New York University, now exceed 35 per cent of the initial investment. He purchased the 400-acre (1.6 square kilometer) farm, located 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Omaha, for $280,000 in 1986. He says he calculated the farm's return to be about 10 per cent, based on production estimates for soy and corn. The farm is worth about five times what Buffett paid, and earnings have tripled, he wrote. The billionaire compared the daily fluctuations in stock values to an erratic neighbor standing near his property, yelling out offers for the land.
"If a moody fellow with a farm bordering my property yelled out a price every day to me at which he would either buy my farm or sell me his -- and those prices varied widely over short periods of time depending on his mental state -- how in the world could I be other than benefited," Buffett wrote. "If his daily shout-out was ridiculously low, and I had some spare cash, I would buy his farm. If the number he yelled was absurdly high, I could either sell to him or just go on farming." That's not how equity holders often react, Buffett said. "Owners of stocks, however, too often let the capricious and irrational behavior of their fellow owners cause them to behave irrationally," he wrote. "Because there is so much chatter about markets, the economy, interest rates, price behavior of stocks, etc., some investors believe it is important to listen to pundits -- and, worse yet, important to consider acting upon their comments."


text:
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first MLive.com user to add photos or videos of Clinton House
Clinton House is located at 99 Kenilworth St, Detroit, MI. This location is in the Central neighborhood. This business specializes in Property Management.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Archives.gov Redesign Participation
The National Archives redesign is never done -- see Next Steps
Thanks to your input, the National Archives redesigned website is:
- Listed in the Top 5 Government Agency Websites - GovLoop - Social Network for Government
The National Archives lands itself on our top 5 for its sheer simplicity in design, and usability.
- Number 7 in the Plain Writing Index (tied with NASA) - VisibleThread Ranks Federal Websites for Plain Language and Transparency - view the Full Report
- Selected as a winner in the Website: Government category at the Communicator Awards
- Selected as a winner in the Website / Dynamic Media: Public Sector category at the ClearMark Awards - Center for Plain Language
Good job identifying key audiences and knowing what they want.
Top tasks are easy to find.
Home page and most topic portal pages fit on one screen.
Very clean look and feel.
The site carries top-level navigation to secondary sections.
A very simple-to-use site!
Read about the Archives.gov Redesign and why your input matters


text:
As a reminder, the Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund Phase I Cost Share Program is now taking applications, and will do so until June 10 for any 2011 Funds.
Applications are available at the Henry County Extension Office at 2151 Campbellsburg Rd., about two miles north of New Castle and across from the entrance to the Henry County Country Club. In addition to answering nine questions about your farm and farming operation, you will need to submit your Tax ID number and your farm's FSA number on the application.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the Henry County Local, then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
|ZIP Code:


text:
Some high-level diplomats representing Islamic and African nations walked out of Wednesday's historic United Nations Human Rights Council meeting on LGBT rights.
This happened after United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Human Rights High Commissioner Navi Pillay told the Geneva-based council that gays and lesbians should be protected by all governments, reports Radio Free Europe.
In a video message to council members on March 7, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said persecution of gays was "an attack on the universal values that the United Nations and I have sworn to defend and uphold."
[Ban] called the imprisonment, torture, and killing of persons based on their sexual orientation "a monumental tragedy for those affected and a stain on our collective conscience. It is also a violation of international law. You, as members of the Human Rights Council, must respond.".
The session was held to consider a first-of-its-kind report released late last year by the UN's high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, which identified "a clear pattern of targeted violence and discrimination directed at people because they are, or are perceived to be" lesbian, gay, bisexual. or transgender." The report cited reports of killings, rape, physical attacks, torture, arbitrary detention, the denial of right of assembly, and discrimination in employment, health, and education.
Among the disturbing examples cited was an account of lesbians being gang-raped in Kyrgyzstan, and an Uzbek human rights defender who was charged with homosexuality, beaten by police, and threatened with sexual assault. The report also documented the Russian authorities' refusal to allow gay-rights activists to hold parades.
Wednesday's meeting was the council's first-ever session on sexual-orientation-based discrimination and violence. In June 2011, the UNHRC approved an historic resolution that condemned discrimination and violence against the LGBT community. The measure was sponsored by the United States, Colombia and South Africa. It was opposed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Russia, among others.
Islamic and African diplomats continue to deny any of their citizens are at risk, reported Reuters.
Speaking before the walkout for the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Pakistan described homosexuality as "licentious behavior" while African group leader Senegal said it was not covered by global human rights accords.
Nigeria—where gay rights groups say there have been many attacks on male and female homosexuals—declared none of its citizens was at risk of violence because of sexual orientation or gender identity before it too left the chamber.
And Mauritania, for the Arab group, all of whose members are also in the OIC, said attempts to impose "the controversial topic of sexual orientation" would undermine discussion in the council of all genuine human rights problems.
United Nations Secretary General Ban also addressed LGBT issues at January's meeting of the African Union, claiming that some African nations have treated gays like "second-class citizens or even criminals."
Seventy-six of the UN's 192 member countries have laws criminalizing same-sex behavior. At least five countries, including Iran, impose the death penalty as punishment for same-sex relations.
The situation is most acute in Africa. Same-sex acts are currently illegal in at least 38 of 54 African countries. Four nations—Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan—boast the death penalty for gays or same-sex activity. South Africa and Seychelles are the only African nations that protect LGBT rights.
Some Background:
UN Chief Urges African Leaders to Respect Gay Rights
Obama to UN: All Countries Must Respect LGBT Rights
Statement by the President on Historic UN Vote
UN Passes Historic Anti-LGBT Discrimination Resolution


text:
One troubling aspect of the political debate over the debt ceiling is the constant repetition of the statement that "the US has never defaulted on its debt". On the grounds that those who fail to learn from history are due to repeat it, I would like to set the record straight. I welcome readers to share this with colleagues with or without attribution. Fellow risk professionals and the general public deserve to know the facts. During its 235 years as a sovereign entity the United States has defaulted on three separate occasions - two of which are reported by Rinehart & Rogoff (2009) - and has also intentionally liquidated debt via inflation.
In 1782, the Treasury failed to pay interest on Revolutionary War debt. Following ratification of the Constitution, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton resumed regular debt service in 1790, but deferred some interest payments for ten years (Riley, 1978).
For several decades prior to 1933, holders of Treasury securities were contractually entitled to receive interest and principal payments in either dollars or gold. At the time, many contracts contained a "gold clause", which enabled payees to receive proceeds in the form of gold. During the 1933 banking holiday declared by President Franklin Roosevelt immediately after his March 4 inauguration, the federal government refused requests for interest payments in gold, remitting only currency instead. Congress later ratified this action by formally invalidating gold clauses in a "Joint Resolution to Assure Uniform Value to the Coins and Currencies of the United States," passed on June 5, 1933. In 1934, President Roosevelt officially devalued the dollar by increasing the price of gold from $20.67 to $35.00. Although contemporary press accounts characterized the government's actions as an abrogation (Wall Street Journal, 1933, May 4), Treasury securities issued in June and August of 1933 were oversubscribed and a February 1935 Supreme Court decision upheld the government's actions. While these actions were generally portrayed today as an attempt to halt gold hoarding or end price deflation, they also appear to have had a fiscal motivation. In FY 1933, the ratio of interest expense to federal revenues reached 33.15%, the only time this ratio has exceeded 30% since the post-Civil War era. The Roosevelt administration needed more funds to implement New Deal programs and wanted the flexibility to issue new Treasury securities unimpeded by gold convertibility (Wall Street Journal, 1933, May 27). On a cautionary note, Moody's Municipal and Government Bond Manuals from 1933 and 1934, show that all US Treasury bonds carried Aaa ratings both before and after this default (Mergent, 1933-1934).
The United States Debt-to-GDP ratio reached its modern peak of 112.7% in 1945, primarily due to war-time borrowing. Interest rates at the time were relatively low, while tax rates were relatively high. Thus interest expense accounted for only 7.79% FY 1945 federal revenues – compared to a proportion of 9.88% in FY 2010 – suggesting that this high level of debt could be serviced without great difficulty. The Debt-to-GDP ratio fell rapidly after the end of World War II, largely as a result of high inflation that followed the relaxation of wartime price controls and Federal Reserve purchases of Liberty Bonds. Thornton (1984) reports that the Federal Reserve tripled its holdings of government debt between 1943 and 1946 by agreement with the Treasury. Consumer prices rose 18.1% in calendar year 1946 and 8.8% in 1947 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). By FY 1948, the Debt-to-GDP ratio had dropped to 79.9%. The ratio continued to fall through the early 1970s as economic growth outpaced the accumulation of debt. The ratio stabilized in the mid-1970s and then – after being temporarily suppressed by another round of inflation – climbed through the 1980s and early 1990s. This period was also characterized by high interest rates, increasing the Treasury's debt service costs.
Meanwhile, as reported in The Economist (2011, June 23), the US Treasury failed to redeem $122 million of Treasury bills on time after another debt ceiling debate in 1979. This episode was purely a technical default, arising from systems issues.
The ratio of interest expense to revenues achieved a recent peak of 18.43% in FY 1991. Tax increases and spending cuts in the early 1990s, followed by rapid economic growth in the late 1990s substantially improved US debt ratios. By FY 2002, interest expense had dropped below 10% of federal revenues, while publicly held debt fell to less than 35% of GDP. Persistent large deficits over the last nine years have substantially increased the nations' Debt-to-GDP ratio, while interest payments as a proportion of revenues have remained relatively stable due to low interest rates.
In 1933, an interest to revenue ratio exceeding 30% preceded a change in the terms of Treasury securities widely regarded as a default. After World War II, the record high Debt-to-GDP ratio of 112.7% was reduced in large measure through price inflation. Budget projections from various sources suggest that these two ratios will return to their historic highs during the late 2020s and 2030s in the absence of major policy changes. If these projections are realized, history suggests that holders of Treasury instruments will be subject to substantial risk.
While inflation would undoubtedly be the politically preferred method of restoring debt ratios to sustainable levels, outright default is also possible. Since the Federal Reserve chair's term is not aligned with that of the President or Congress, it is possible that a chair politically disconnected from elected leadership may not succumb to pressure to monetize the debt. Further, regardless of political alignment, a Federal Reserve chair may decide that the price inflationary consequences of monetizing debt are worse than the consequences of a forced restructuring of Treasury debt. Jeff Hummel (2009), the first economist to predict a Treasury default, makes some more elaborate arguments as to why the federal government might choose default over inflation.
Conclusion: The US Treasury has defaulted in the past and it has a material risk of doing so again. Absent substantive budget reforms in the current debate, it is hard to see any justification for leaving the US at AAA.
* Marc Joffe (firstname.lastname@example.com) is a consultant in the credit assessment field. He previously worked as a Senior Director at Moody's Analytics. This article reflects his personal opinion of sovereign rating practice. Although previously employed by Moody's Analytics, the author no longer works at Moody's and, when he did work there, his area of professional responsibility was software development and data collection. He had no professional experience as a ratings analyst, and no knowledge of Moody's ratings practices beyond what is in the public record.
Economist (2011, June 23). The mother of all tail risks. http://www.economist.com/node/18866851.
Hummel, J. R. (2009). Why default on U.S. Treasuries is likely. Library of Economics and Liberty. Retrieved from http://www.econlib.org/library/Columns/y2009/Hummeltbills.html.
Mergent Corporation (1933, 1934). Moody's Manual of Municipal and Government Bonds. Available online by subscription from Mergent Corporation, Fort Mill, SC.
Riley, J. C. (1978). Foreign Credit and Fiscal Stability: Dutch Investment in the United States, 1781-1794. The Journal of American History (65), 654-678.
Reinhart, C. M. & Rogoff, K. S. (2009). This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Pages 112-113.
Thornton, D. L. (1984). Monetizing the Debt. The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 66(12), 30-43. Retrieved from http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/84/12/Monetizing_Dec1984.pdf.
Wall Street Journal (1933, May 4). Editorial: No Payment in Gold. Page 6.
Wall Street Journal (1933, May 27). Acts to Cancel Gold Clause: Administration Bill in Both Houses Seen as Move Toward Long Term Bond Issue. Page 1.


text:
Yoga instructor Maria 'Puma' Perme instructs the basics on how to come into Downward Facing Dog and then transition to Childs Pose.
Rise N Shine Yoga with Maria. Saluting the sun on the shores of Lake Erie. The result? Calm. Focused. Happy. Peace y'all!
TEACH what you LOVE! The Puma Yoga Aligned Flow Teacher Training program is a 200 HR foundational training and is ideal for aspiring teachers and yoga students wishing to delve deeper into their practice, whether or not they're seeking to teach.


text:
Loading some great jobs for you...
Founded in 1937 as a family-owned and operated transportation provider, Paschall Truck Lines has since grown from its Kentucky roots, expanding terminal locations to six major cities throughout the US. At Paschall, we credit our remarkable success to the many hardworking drivers who have proudly fostered an employee-inspired culture of owning it that's why in 2012, we became a 100% employee-owned carrier, so that motivated Paschall professionals could have a clear path towards ownership and retirement solutions. Are you ready to drive the fine line? Apply for CDL-A Student Truck Driver Jobs today!
With the highest paid training in the industry, Paschall continues to remain a top-choice carrier for CDL-A Student Truck Drivers kickstart your career with outstanding student opportunities!
Looking for a fresh start? Tell us your story move on from your past, Paschall is here for your future! Ask about our new pay increase!
CDL-A Student Truck Driver Jobs Offer:
CDL-A Student Truck Driver Job Requirements:
Launch your career - Upload your resume now!Upload your resume
Loading some great jobs for you...


text:
I'm trying to fix some problems with a Magento site, but I'm running into lots of problems . . .
I've located a folder in Magento with the path:
In the default install of Magento it has a file structure like so:
- category
- collection
- eav
- helper
- layer
- product
- more php files
However the dump of the current site I've received didn't have any of those folders or files except the "Eav" folder, the site was throwing errors so I added the other folders in (which seemed to fix it) unfortunately I think this may have caused other problems.
My question is, are all of those folders absolutely necessary for Magento to work? Or are there situations in which you might remove all of those folder/files except the "Eav" folder?


text:
It's Official - My son is going to be a football player
Saturday, April 4, 2009
For four years now, my son (depicted below), has been BEGGING me to sign him up for football.
Literally begging me!
I finally broke down today. I figure since he's going to be 13 in July and he really needs some structure and some discipline (outside of what I provide him here at home), I would cave in and afford him this responsiblity. Because, little does he know, that's what it's going to be. I took him to the newest high school in our area, where the team he wants to play for was holding sign ups.
In the back of my mind, I was hoping they had no spots since we got there around noon, they started at 10 am, and were supposed to be over at 1 pm. Not so lucky.
Now I'll be the chauffeur (which I've never REALLY been before - I work FT and I only chauffeur on weekends), driving my son back and forth to practices and games. And I work. And blog. And play MAFIA WARS. I wonder how I'll squeeze it all in?!
I'll manage, like I always do. I may have to change my work schedule, which I've been thinking about doing since summer is coming. I don't want to go in at 630 and stay till 5 anymore.
I might have to call his "father", AKA sperm donor, and see if he can help out.
But I'm NOT going to hold my breath.


text:
How Your Leg Muscles Work
If you're lounging as you read this, the next sentence may scare you sit-less.
"Sitting is the new smoking; it's just as insidious," says Marc Hamilton, PhD, a physiology professor at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Hamilton is making a point about how so many Americans are letting their leg muscles — and therefore their bodies — turn to mush. "You've seen the flat line on an EKG, when all the doctors rush in? That's what's happening to your leg muscles when you're sitting."
As he speaks, I flash back to a job I had at a digital agency. I showed up on my first day of work in the New York City office to find half the staff standing at their computers. Because they didn't have chairs. The office consisted mostly of jerry-rigged desks about waist-high that we would belly up to like a bar.
Turns out my hipster coworkers were onto something. "Standing while talking on the phone or filing isn't exercise by anybody's standard," Hamilton says, "yet, compared with sitting, it increases your metabolic rate a bit." According to a widely accepted compendium of physical activity, doing "light office work" while sitting burns 96 calories an hour for an average 140-pound woman as opposed to 147 calories while standing. Besides, Hamilton adds, "when we're sitting for extended periods, hundreds of 'bad' genes are turned on, including ones that stimulate muscle atrophy."
Intrigued, I head to the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center to see firsthand the toll that opting for a chair and a laptop all day is taking on my legs. Once there, Barry R. Chi, MD, chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation, wires my leg muscles with surface electrodes that are tethered by several long cables to an electromyography (EMG) machine. I reenact a day in the life of my legs by sitting, standing, walking (in both heels and flats), rising up on tiptoe, and jogging. We cap this off with squats and lunges as a yardstick to measure everyday muscle activity against. True to the EKG analogy, the leg muscle readings on the EMG monitor are indeed flat lines when I sit in a chair. It's as if I'm not even there.
But something happens when I stand up in front of the monitor. It fills with electrical activity. "You may not feel anything, but your leg muscles are now supporting your whole body weight, and all of your big muscles are now engaged in isometric contractions," says Dr. Chi, pointing to the elevated lines. (Interestingly, when I stand or walk in heels my quads and hamstrings show greater surges than when I'm in flats, but Dr. Chi quickly warns against long-term high heel side effects like back pain.) "Standing for two hours can be the equivalent of going for a two-mile run," Dr. Chi explains.
The Long and Short of Legs
By now you know that the length of your legs is basically a matter of genetics — and we may be talking way, way back in the family tree. In general, women are slightly leggier than men: The latest body-measurement statistics from the SizeUSA study, conducted by TC², a not-for-profit apparel industry resource, show that the average 18- to 45-year-old woman's legs (determined by crotch height) make up about 45 percent of her total height versus 44 percent for the average man in the same age group. So a woman who's five foot five, as I am, would probably have about a 29-1/4-inch inseam. I head to the tailor to discover that mine is 29 1/2 inches, or a smidge taller than average for someone my height. (Who knew? To think that I've been buying the short cut of jeans all these years!)
Leg muscles are another story. Just how strong or string beany they make our gams appear depends on our genes and what we do with them. We'll get to the latter half of that equation — diet, exercise, couch-sitting habits — later, but for now, a quick anatomy lesson.
We all have the same main leg muscles: the quadriceps, the hamstrings, and the adductors make up the thighs, the below-the-knee tibialis anteriors make up the shin muscles, and gastrocnemius and soleus muscles make up the calves. (See the third page for your leg anatomy.)
But there's a wide range of sizes and muscle makeup among people that even experts debate. According to Daniel Lieberman, PhD, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, muscle fibers in humans evolved so that most of us have legs with a majority of slow-twitch fibers, which give us our staying power during long runs. "We're built more for endurance, whereas chimps have more fast-twitch fibers," he explains. With fewer powerhouse fast-twitch fibers, humans are at a disadvantage when it comes to speed. "As a species we're terrible sprinters," Lieberman says. "Cheetahs can run 25 meters per second. The fastest human, [Jamaican world champion sprinter] Usain Bolt, runs only 10.4 meters per second."
The quadriceps, or quads, it turns out, are the real wild cards, as they can range from predominantly fast-twitch to the complete opposite: The quads of someone like Bolt can contain up to 90 percent fast-twitch fibers, says John P. McCarthy, PhD, professor of physical therapy at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, while elite marathoners' muscles can contain up to 90 percent slow-twitch fibers. The quads of average people, or even those of swimsuit models or hulking bodybuilders, are more a fifty-fifty mix of the two.
The problem is that many women are often so afraid of getting bulky thighs and calves that they neglect to strength-train their legs. Actually, bulky legs are mainly due to fat. "Our legs can go from shank steak to marbled rump roast without our even knowing it," says Vonda Wright, MD, a FITNESS advisory board member and an orthopedic surgeon and professor at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Sports Medicine. "It's a snowball effect when we start accumulating fat, and it affects the function and strength of muscle."
Fat Chances
Since puberty, your hormones have been signaling fat cells to be stored around your butt and thighs, ultimately to help serve as reserve energy for pregnancy and breastfeeding. "Women tend to gain fat in very specific body parts, mostly those from the waist to the knee," explains Andrew Da Lio, MD, professor and chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at University of California, Los Angeles. The most common of those parts is the outer thigh, he says, even if your body type isn't specifically a pear shape.
There are two levels of fat in the legs, Dr. Da Lio explains: a superficial layer and a deeper one. The superficial layer is where we find the puckered tufted-mattress look we call cellulite when extra fat bulges out between the tissues that connect skin to underlying muscle.
Gain too much of the deeper leg fat and it can actually begin to infiltrate your leg muscles, says Dr. Wright, who has witnessed the rump roast effect firsthand in the operating room. The good news? This deeper layer is also typically the first layer of fat to shrink when we exercise.
Thinner Thighs in 30 Days
Last fall, with the help of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition's Risk Factor Obesity Program lab, I tried an experiment. I did every exercise I routinely avoid on the chance it would make my legs look like Schwarzenegger's: dozens and dozens of squats and lunges each week combined with the stairclimber and Spinning classes. And a funny thing happened. I lost 10 percent of the fat from each thigh in four weeks, according to the lab's DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) body scanner. By eight weeks, during which I also stuck to around a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet, I'd lost more than an inch from each thigh. Try that with Spanx.
"You can change the composition of your legs — the ratio of fat to lean mass," Dr. Wright says."Increasing your strength and endurance will lead to a change in how your legs look. Strong legs are shapely legs." And there was my proof in the form of the X-ray-like DEXA readouts, which showed that the grayish halo representing the fat on my thighs was shrinking.
But here's the kicker: The darker center consisting of my quads and hamstrings wasn't busting at the seams after those gazillion squats. In fact, it had pretty much stayed put, which is the moral of this story. If I hadn't done those thigh-frying reps while I was dieting, my muscles probably would have shrunk a little, too, and along with them, my metabolism. (You can find the 1,500-calorie diet I followed as well as the Love Your Legs workout at fitnessmagazine.com/sexylegs.)
Stronger legs may indeed be a secret to staying slim. "When you increase the strength and endurance of your legs, it generally makes it easier to exercise and move around, leading to greater physical activity throughout the day. You burn more calories overall," McCarthy says. In fact, a University of Alabama at Birmingham study found that women who maintained weight loss one year after dieting had much greater leg strength than those who didn't.
Certain data from the SizeUSA study seem to back up this research. It found that the circumference of an average woman's thigh ranged from 24 inches for active women under age 45 to 26 1/2 inches for less active women of the same ages. That's a two-and-a-half-inch difference. (Of course, there are cases in which bigger can mean better — see the superfit thighs of Serena Williams.)
As for me, my legs are now about as lean as they were when I was a competitive distance runner. For the first time in 10 years I fit into my favorite pair of Levi's, the ones I bought right after college, and I finally zipped my athletic calves into a pair of tall boots. But the best part of all? Becoming a shank steak.
Anatomy of Your Leg Muscles
No, your glute muscles are not officially part of your legs (get the full 411 on your rear view at fitnessmagazine.com/behind), but here we take a below-the-cheeks look at the major players that are.
These muscles, which form the back of the thigh, flex your knee and extend your hip.
Also known as inner thigh muscles; squeeze a pencil between your knees to feel these fire.
This muscle at the front of your thigh is made up of four sections and is the main mover when you extend knees.
The uppermost of your two calf muscles, it gives your feet push-off power with each step.
This calf muscle works with and lies underneath the gastrocnemius.
Tibialis anterior
The strip of muscle that makes up your shin and helps you flex your ankle to move your foot toward your knee.
Can Cankles Be Cured?
The region between our calves and ankles is not defined by muscle but rather by the Achilles tendon, which connects the two. For some women, this area cinches in dramatically from a well-toned calf muscle, while for others it slopes down gradually. And then there are those whose lower legs appear to drop in a straight line, with no indentation at all, inspiring the unflattering label cankles.
"Cankles are essentially a visual effect," orthopedic surgeon Vonda Wright, MD, says. "Models often look as if they have cankles because their legs are tubes from the knee to the ankle. It's all relative."
For the calf to taper, there has to be a shapely muscle to begin with. Yet, again, many women are reluctant to strengthen their calf muscles for fear that they will thicken and produce a cankle effect. "That's a myth," Dr. Wright says. "Cankles don't come from muscle, because by the time you get to the ankle, it's all tendons. Cankles come from fat accumulation."
It's partly a matter of genetic roulette. Obese women can have skinny ankles, for example, while for other women the lower leg may be the last place where they lose fat.
Your strategy to rid yourself of cankles should be to slim down all over through diet and exercise like cardio and to firm up your calf muscles with the proven toners in the Love Your Legs workout.


text:
Trans MassageFavorites [+]
Pay-Per-Minute Viewing
You can now enjoy this movie on your iPhone®, iPad®, or compatible Smart TV & Android devices.
Purchase Options
Pay-Per-MinutePurchase Minutes
Streaming Rentals
Available MP4 sizes:SD 480p (2.97 GB)
DRM-free downloads offer content that is not limited by standard Digital Rights Management (DRM) access technologies. These technologies allow hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals to limit the usage of digital content.
When you purchase DRM-free downloadable content, that content is available for you to download on any computer and save to a disk whenever you like. You can also download to multiple computers. There is no timeframe associated with your purchase and the content will not expire.
Running Time: 190 minutes
Studio Name: Gender X Zero Tolerance
Director: Jim Powers
Categories: Shemale Transsexual
Description: These transgender hotties and are giving and receiving the most erotic massages ever in this steamy movie about the joy of happy endings! Deep sensual body massage turns to smokin' hot hardcore with this unforgettable cast of talented lovers who make sure everyone gets a full body release!
4 Scenes from Trans Massage
Trans Massage: Scene 1
Stars: Gabriel D'Alessandro, Domino Presley
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Handjob, Breast Play, Wet / Messy, Anal Sex, Rim Job
Positions: Kneeling, Laying, Reverse Cowgirl, Standing Missionary, Standing Doggy Style
Settings: Living Room
Trans Massage: Scene 2
Starring: Nadia Love Will Havoc ... More Details
Stars: Nadia Love, Will Havoc
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Tittie Fucking, Deep Throating, Handjob, Masturbation, Breast Play, Wet / Messy, Anal Sex, Ass To Mouth
Positions: Kneeling, Laying, Spoons position, Standing, Standing Missionary, Standing Doggy Style
Settings: Living Room
Trans Massage: Scene 3
Starring: Johanna B. Pierce Paris ... More Details
Stars: Johanna B., Pierce Paris
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Deep Throating, Docking, Showering/Bathing, Handjob, Masturbation, Breast Play, Wet / Messy, Anal Sex, Rim Job
Positions: Laying, Missionary, Reverse Cowgirl, Side Saddle, Standing, Standing Missionary, Crouching/Squatting, Standing Side Saddle
Settings: Massage Parlor
Trans Massage: Scene 4
Starring: Gabriel D'Alessandro Casey Kisses ... More Details
Stars: Gabriel D'Alessandro, Casey Kisses
Sex Acts: Oral Sex, Deep Throating, Handjob, Masturbation, Breast Play, Wet / Messy, Anal Sex
Positions: Doggy Style, Kneeling, Laying, Reverse Cowgirl, Standing, Standing Missionary, Standing Doggy Style
Recommended Movies


text:
Alibaba IPO Pressures Yahoo's Marissa Mayer
Yahoo Chief Will Have to Show Results Ahead of Expected Alibaba IPO
The clock is now ticking for Marissa Mayer.
Since she joined the Internet company nearly two years ago, the Yahoo Inc. chief executive has had more time than her predecessors to attempt one of the most unlikely turnarounds in the history of Silicon Valley. But revenue at the company is still flat, its share of the digital advertising market is dwindling and Ms. Mayer has struggled to define a clear corporate vision.


text:
The Onion Video Satire That Fooled Conspiracy Theorists
This is a video made by The Onion in 2007, showing a congressman—played by an actor—read out a largely classified bill about a zombie invasion. Recently, it's been making the rounds on Facebook—but not as a satire.
It's hard to tell where the video first emerged as a documentation of 33rd-degree Mason-President Obama's plans to block off our third eyes and instate martial law, but the title links it to this Twitter account, which is composed mostly of links to conspiracy-fermenting videos and pithy quotes (many of them self-attributed).
The account hosting the video, Truthzonetvcom, ("Interests: Trying to save the world. lol") is evasive about whether it's presenting the video as fact or fiction: "If you are already conditioned to view this as entertainment or enter-tam-Mind [ed. WTF] then you will miss the message... So be my guess and ridicule me and the rest of us trying to show you the truth. Just remember...It's your negative response they want." You know what, Truthzonetvcom? We will be your guess.
In any event, it doesn't matter if Truthzonetvcom thinks of the video as reality or as "enter-tam-MIND" [ed. No, really, WTF], since the video was taken seriously by enough people that its circulation was picked up and written about on Urlesque and Reddit, which has a nice roundup of public Facebook postings.
To be sure, it's unclear the extent to which the video was ever regarded as a real thing since our only gauge is Facebook statuses, many of which are private. (Arguably, even a few dozen people being fooled by this video is depressing.) And, who knows, maybe us fancy internet people are being snowed by a bunch of super-trolls (reptoids?) pretending to take it seriously.
But as a record of the way the internet streamlines and speeds up distribution for totally out-there ideas—not to mention the ease with which it allows for the de- and re-contextualization of documents like YouTube videos—it's pretty fascinating. And besides, who can say no to an opportunity to feel smugly superior to people who aren't in on your cool joke?


text:
OAK CREEK, Wis., Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Family and friends of Wade Michael Page, the slain Oak Creek, Wis., Sikh temple shooter, described him as "gentle and kind and loving."
"He was gentle and kind and loving and he was a happy person and a happy child. And what happened, God only knows, because I don't," Page's stepmother, Laura, told CBS. "When he lived in Texas with us, he had Hispanic friends and he had black friends. You know, there was none of that."
Laura is not alone in her puzzlement at the portrait painted of her 40-year-old stepson, just days after Page opened fire at an Oak Creek Sikh temple, killing six and injuring three, including a responding officer. Page was killed by a responding officer.
Elaine Lenz, Page's grandmother, said, "he was just a nice person."
"I can't understand him taking six other people's lives," she added.
However others were less surprised by revelations Page was a white supremacist.
Christopher Robillard described Page as his "closest friend" in the Army. Page served from 1992 until his discharge in 1998 following a "pattern of misconduct," that included habitual drunkenness while on duty, The Washington Post reported.
Robillard said while Page was "one of those guys with a soft spot," he acknowledged his friend "was involved in white supremacy."
"He would talk about the racial holy war, like he wanted it to come," Robillard told CNN. "But to me, he didn't seem like the type of person to go out and hurt people."
In 1999, Page pleaded guilty to driving while impaired in Denver. The Denver Post reported he served 60 days in jail.
Page sold his possessions in 2000 and hit the road on his motorcycle, leaving his native Colorado to trek across the country, eventually settling in North Carolina. In a 2010 interview, he said he attended "Hammerfest" along the way, a white-power music festival the Anti-Defamation League calls "a virtual Woodstock of hate rock."
He became active in the white-power music scene as a guitarist and vocalist. He led bands with names like "Define Hate" and "End Apathy," and told an interviewer in 2010 he started "End Apathy" because, "the value of human life has been degraded by being submissive to tyranny and hypocrisy that we are subjugated to."
However, Page's drinking problems followed him from the service to his job as a trucker for Iowa-based Barr-Nunn Transportation from 2006 to 2010. He was fired for a drunken driving citation in North Carolina. Barr-Nunn confirmed Tuesday Page was driving his own vehicle at the time.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported Page's band performed a 2007 show in South Carolina under a giant swastika flag bearing the likeness of World War II-era Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler.
CBS reported Page turned up in federal investigations a number of times, although never as a target. However, the center said it had been monitoring Page since 2000.
"This guy was in the thick of the white-supremacist music scene," said Mark Potok, senior fellow at the center. "He was not a fringe player. He was well known in the scene and played in some of the best-known bands."
SITE, an organization that monitors radical groups online, reported much of Page's online posts, meant to promote his bands, made references to "the 14 words," two 14-word-long supremacist mantras.
The first: "We must secure the existence of our people and the future for White Children." The second: "Because the beauty of the White Aryan women must not perish from the earth."
He also often referred to the number 88 -- a code for "Heil Hitler" because H is the eighth letter in the alphabet.
SITE reported a flurry of activity on white supremacist Web sites following Sunday's massacre, with many posts urging people to "stop talking and start doing."
Page's record label, Label 56, released a statement expressing sympathy for the victims' families, concluding:
"With that being said, all images and products related to End Apathy have been removed from our site. We do not wish to profit from this tragedy financially or with publicity."


text:
FITCHBURG — Rolande Gamache, 66, said she doesn't feel safe at night outside her Theresa Street home because her streetlights remain dark.
She said she's called every city councilor about the issue, but only Councilors-at-Large Marcus DiNatale and Dean Tran have responded. As far as Gamache is concerned, those who did not call her back won't receive her vote in this fall's City Council race.
Joseph Byrne, 71, a resident of Ward 4, said the biggest problem in the city right now is its crumbling streets.
"I had friends come up from New Jersey, and their statement to me was, 'My God, there's no streets without bumps,' " he said. "I know the mayor is trying to do the best she can, because for so many years streets were repaired politically and not on a regular scheduled basis, and she's brought that back in, so hopefully we'll be moving down that road to better streets."
Unlit streetlights and crumbling streets are just two of the many issues on residents' minds heading into the homestretch of this year's City Council campaign. With the primary election for Wards 1 and 4 out of the way and the ballot officially set for the November general election, candidates now have less than two months to convince residents why they should earn their vote.
While Mayor Lisa Wong is running unopposed for the first time since she took office six years ago, the race for City Council is shaping up to be an interesting one, with four of six wards guaranteed to see new faces representing them and some current ward councilors aiming for at-large seats.
So far, four key issues are emerging: roads, streetlights, public safety and bringing more business to the city.
In Wards 1 and 4, in particular, public safety has come to the forefront of issues, with both wards being rocked by homicides and other violence over the spring and summer, especially Ward 4.
Candidates in those wards have pledged to do whatever they can to hire more police to make the city safer, as well as promote ways in which all residents can be more involved in keeping one another safe.
Wong has said more police does not necessarily guarantee less crime, but many current councilors have expressed a desire to hire more officers.
"We have had more police and more crime and less police and less crime," said Wong. "My public-safety strategy will be to continue to invest resources in crime-prevention strategies, which includes the schools, summer programs, parks, code enforcement and housing."
June Sears, 74, a Ward 4 resident, said people need to be more involved and contribute to public safety, as well as put more effort into understanding what police do. She wants to see city government choose a police chief who is like the soon-to-retire current chief, Robert DeMoura, because she believes he has done a good job.
Josephine Cormier, 91, a Ward 1 resident, wants to see the Senior Center and Director Joan Goodwin receive more support from the council, as well as residents and local businesses. As a member of the original team that started Our Father's Table, which has restaurants that regularly donate food for the less fortunate, she believes local establishments should do the same for seniors.
Phyllis Winter, 74, a resident of Ward 3, said she is happy Wong will be staying in office, because "she's not afraid to attack particular areas," but she's not very happy with the prospect of a slots parlor coming to Leominster.
"There's enough poverty in Fitchburg and Leominster already," she said. "A casino just makes more."
After New England Wire Products announced it would be moving its operations from Fitchburg to Leominster earlier this year, some in the city said Fitchburg must do more to keep and attract business. That debate will likely focus on taxes: Fitchburg's commercial tax rate is $25.26 for every $1,000 of assessed property value, while Leominster's is $17.96.
In July, the City Council unanimously approved creating and funding a new position that will manage economic development. Wong said having a person dedicated to economic development will help retain current businesses and attract new ones to the city.
Byrne was happy to see three new people who had never run for office take a shot at the Ward 4 council seat. He said they have "brought new life to the political scene" of the ward.
"I just hope they're quick learners, so that they can get their feet wet on the budget issues, and I hope they work closely with the mayor so that we're all on the same page together," he said.
To some, there are still not enough candidates coming forward to seek office. Scott Hay, 65, a Ward 6 resident and brother of Councilor-at-Large Stephan Hay, believes this speaks to a lack of involvement on the parts of the residents of Fitchburg.
In addition to Wong, Hay's council representative, Council President Jody Joseph, is running unopposed this year, as is Ward 5 candidate Angelo Bisol.
"I think Jody does a decent job, but I think there are probably other candidates who could come in with new ideas and fresher views," Scott Hay said. "And I think even if someone else isn't elected, I think it pushes — as is the case in any situation — competition pushes people to do a better job."
Councilors have to be willing to speak out and present ideas, monitor the budget and "not just sit there and acquiesce and accept whatever someone else is saying, whether it's the mayor or other city councilors," Hay said.
He said the city has terrible roads and many departments have not gotten the funding they need, which he believes is the result of deferred maintenance and a small commercial tax base.
"We're not attracting business," Hay said. "It's tough, I think, for the politicians to try and do that because of the fact that we don't have any highways and easy access to Fitchburg, but you've got to increase your business base and tax base in order to really fund public safety, or fund road improvements, or schools — any of the things we want to have in services."
Given the results of a recent state Department of Revenue review of the financial status of the city, Wong said she will be putting as much time as possible into addressing ballooning pension and other retirement costs.
Just like police have been using and analyzing data to determine where to target resources, Wong said, the schools are now doing the same, for the first time. She said better targeting of resources within the schools will lead to better student outcomes, and better schools will lead to higher property values.
The city has lost $15 million in state aid since Wong took office. The city needs to look at where it can find new revenue, Wong said, though it will likely not keep pace with how much has been lost.
Things like grants and finding savings through renegotiating health care for city employees have assisted in back-filling state-aid cuts, Wong said, but they're not enough.
The city is in the position it is today because it chose not to save for many years, she said. While $4.5 million has been saved to the stabilization account over the past five years, the city actually needs to save that amount every year to fund its liabilities, Wong said, meaning it is saving at about 20 percent of the pace it needs to catch up.
She intends to put before the council the creation of an irrevocable trust to help pay down the city's retirement liability. Due to increased recurring tax revenue that is anticipated to come from Great Wolf Lodge — an expansion and renovation of the Holiday Inn, Coco Key Water Resort and Central Massachusetts Exposition Center — Wong anticipates being able to save $500,000 each year.
"The bad news is we've been disciplined, but we actually need to ramp it up," she said. "But it doesn't all have to be pain to save money. Because we have money in the bank, we can actually make investments that yield returns."
Savings have already been realized by purchasing the streetlights, Wong said, and the majority have been turned back on. In the next year she hopes to convert all streetlights to energy-efficient LED lights, which she said will allow the city to turn on its remaining streetlights and continue to produce savings.
"It's a win-win," Wong said. "But a lot of win-wins require work and upfront capital. Those are two things (in which) the city did not do well for many years. I think any private business knows you need to innovate and invest to grow. We're positioning ourselves to be able to do that."
Follow Alana Melanson on Twitter @alanamelanson.


text: Graphics, Site Design, Content & Writings © 2003-2018 by Denyse "Domynoe" Loeb unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Graphics, design, content, or files offered for download may not be duplicated, copied, uploaded to another server, or used for any other purpose other than viewing while visiting alden.nu unless otherwise noted. ALL DOWNLOADS ARE OFFERED FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. While linking to individual pages are permitted, links must NOT hide the original URL or domain, may not be framed off the network, or interfere with navigation of the original domain. Graphics and other files may not be linked to outside the pages on which they appear within the network and associated domains. For more information, please visit one or more of the following: what is copyright | 10 myths about copyrights | u.s. copyright faq | r.i.g.h.t.s. | no electronic theft.


text:
I'm without pictures this time. Just don't feel like digging through them to post them, I'll do it later.
Anyways, Paige got off her No No bands on Thursday. They said she looks great and her GUMS are healing. We are pleased about that. There is still no guarantee that they will fused together properly and that a tooth will develop in that area. It's a wait and see kind of thing. But, we are hopeful as always.
We also begged to be seen by the ENT while we were there. Her ear has been running since October without stopping. Thank heavens we did ask because here to find out, they were treating her for a bacterial infection when it's been a fungal infection. She has new drops and the drainage has since stopped! That goodness for Mother's instinct. I wasn't going to keep putting those stupid drops in her ears if it wasn't doing anything, I figured something els was up. Why they didn't call to tell us her culture came back fungal from surgery is beyond me. ARG!
Anyways, she's back to her good ol' self today. The last few days have been fustrating because she keeps stopping eating and refuses. I can say today has been a good day! Her scar looks fantastic. Her nose has dropped some since surgery but that was to be expected. She will probably still have a touch up surgery at about age 5 for anything with the nose or scar. We will be scheduling her palate surgery any day now. It should be around June.
So all in all, she is doing great! She has been a pleasant baby through all this (with a few tough nights as expected) Thanks to all who have been praying for us! It's greatly appreciated!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Just an update
I'm without pictures this time. Just don't feel like digging through them to post them, I'll do it later.
Posted by Embarking on a New Journey at 4:05 PM 0 comments


text:
Proof that time flies: Cosmology Bus is one year old today! It's been a real treat posting here and -- count on it -- I'm already looking forward to the year ahead.
Thanks to all of you who visit regularly, as well as to those who stop less often but still linger long enough to read awhile. Your interest and support are greatly appreciated!
A couple of posts back (A Billion Bytes) I mentioned several Carl Sagan connections and recommended the very solid Sagan biography by Keay Davidson. Since then I finished his well-researched book and am keeping my eyes open for a copy to add to my bookshelf. It's that good.
Another recommendation: if you aren't one of the estimated 600 million people on the planet who've already had the pleasure, then do yourself a favor and sample any of the original 13 episodes of Cosmos, A Personal Voyage, Sagan's unmatched presentation of the universe (co-written with Ann Druyan among others) which aired on PBS in 1980. It was a milestone in his life, in his career, but more significantly, in the history of making science accessible to a general audience. One measure of its phenomenal success is the large number of (then) young people who were inspired by the series to pursue careers in science. But, for me, its real strength will always be found in the ideas it contains and their unique expression through a very gifted individual.
Some readers may also know that Sagan wrote the novel Contact, which later became a successful motion picture starring Jodi Foster, Matthew McConnaughey, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, and James Woods. Keay Davidson devotes a whole chapter to the film, which he introduces this way:
Contact is not a great film, but it is a good and noble one. It is far superior to the usual special-effects-jammed blockbusters with microsecond editing, assembly-line dialogue, Dolby racket, and casual brutality that we now glumly know as "the movies" . . . It is a miracle that any good film is ever completed -- especially a film as intellectually ambitious, and with so unlikely a herioine, as Contact. She was a scientist, an atheist, and a woman. "Strike three!" one imagines the studio head snapping during the pitch meeting.
Davidson reminds his readers that when Contact was published, some thought its depiction of the main character, Ellie Arroway, was sexist, primarily based on interpretations of the novel's ending. Davidson concludes otherwise, and recouts how Sagan, Druyan, and producer Lynda Obst made careful efforts to make Arroway believable as a woman scientist and radioastronomer who struggled for acceptance in a male-dominated profession and in late 20th century American culture. His insights into the story of how the film was made will appeal to anyone who enjoys science fiction and behind-the-scenes Hollywood.
Of course, there was much more to Carl Sagan than Cosmos and Contact. He left a very impressive body of scientific and popular work, including more than a dozen bestselling books, some co-authored, all of which concerned in one way or another either the prospect of life beyond Earth or the curious nature of life on Earth. He also had children through two marriages, a transforming third marriage to Ann Druyan, and long-term professional collaborations and personal friendships that for the most part weathered his own shortcomings as an individual. When he died at the relatively young age of 62, in December 1996, he left far more admirers than detractors.
My immersion in Sagan's life story in recent weeks occasionally raised a question: is there anyone in the scientific community today who is in the public eye in a similarly effective way? The answer is clearly no, and not even close.
The few scientists who today reach potentially millions through television and the web don't have the same presence or, for that matter, the same audience. The world has changed since Sagan captured the public's imagination. Today there are too many competing channels of information, too many divided interests, and probably too many personal agendas to make this even a remote possibility. (Though British particle physicist Brian Cox, former D:Ream keyboard artist, is certainly one worth watching. His documentaries on subjects such as time, gravity, and CERN's massive Large Hadron Collider are visually interesting and well-produced.)
Carl Sagan and the Dalai Lama at Cornell University in the early 1990s. Credit: Jon Reis Photography.
Meanwhile, in my own researches, I've also found much to appreciate about Sagan's views on science and religion. His contributions in these areas made, and still make, my world a richer place. "His argument was not with God," Ann Druyan wrote in her introduction to The Varieties of Scientific Experience, Sagan's posthumously published 1985 Gifford lectures, "but with those who believed that our understanding of the sacred had been completed."
Thank you, CES. And happy birthday, CB.
Next stop: tbd
Banner bus photo credit: Dorothy Delina Porter


text:
Green Guidance
Green Guidance
Shed That Excess Carbon!In October, a groundbreaking report from Britain warned that it's almost too late to avoid climate catastrophe, but that countries can help if they're willing to spend just 1 percent of world GDP to do so. While most individuals can't build more public transport or wind-power plants, they can invest in greater energy efficiency and spend less time on the road.
Although the United States leads the world in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, Australia's per capita emissions (at over 26 metric tons) are even higher than Americans' 24 tons. Canada produces 23.7 tons per person, Russia 14 tons, and the United Kingdom 11 tons, while most Africans generate less than a ton annually. For those of us producing the most GHGs, the first steps to lowering our emissions can be easy and cheap:
- Take public transport to work. The average U.S. car emits 7.3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually, or about half an American's yearly GHG output. Offset unavoidable driving emissions by supporting alternative energy projects (terrapass.com).
- Line-dry clothes instead of using a dryer. CO2savings: 656 kilograms (kg) a year. Where outdoor drying is a challenge, try indoor racks (gaiam.com, abundantearth.com).
- Turn down your gas heater. CO2savings: approximately 286 kg a year for each degree dropped between 21° and 16° C (315 pounds for each degree between 70° and 60° F).
- Replace or adjust your refrigerator. Fridges from 2000 and earlier can produce 427-756 kg of CO2annually. In 2001, average CO2production from U.S. fridges dropped to 344 kg per unit, and in 2006, it fell to 301 kg. Save up to 189 kg a year by checking door seals, switching to power-save mode, using a cooler location, defrosting, and raising the thermostat from 2.7° to 4.4° C (37° to 40° F).
- Set your water heater at 49° C (120° F). CO2savings: up to 113 kg a year.
- Wash clothes in cool water. CO2savings: 73 kg a year.
These savings are averages and may be even greater in locations that draw most of their energy from coal power. The average U.S. conversion factor is .61 kg/kilowatthour, according to the Energy Information Administration, though coal-reliant North Dakota's factor is 1.02 kg/kwh.
Other switches to consider:
- Lighting: Swapping a 75-watt bulb for a 20-watt compact fluorescent will save about 334 kg of CO2over the bulb's lifetime (energyfederation.com).
- Appliances: When replacing older units, particularly fridges and air conditioners, choose Energy Star-certified and equivalent models, which can use 10 percent less energy than standard models (energystar.gov).
- Getting Around: Bikes and electric scooters can be good alternatives to driving, with many options available (trekbikes.com, specialized.com, dahon.com, egovehicles.com, evtamerica.com, e-maxscooter.com). And while we can't drive our way to zero emissions, some cars, particularly hybrids and electrics, produce less than others. To compare the emissions of different models and for other energy-saving tips, see fueleconomy.gov.
- Green Energy: In some markets consumers can sign up with a utility that relies on hydropower, windpower, or other sources that don't contribute to global warming. If not, you may be able to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset your electricity consumption. For U.S. green power utilities and REC retailers, see eere.energy.gov/greenpower. For guarantees that the energy you buy is truly green, look for Green-e certified utilities (green-e.org). In Australia, you can sign up though the Green Power national accreditation website at greenpower.gov.au. In Canada, green energy providers can be found at environmentaldefence.ca/aveda/action.htm.
- Travel: Take trains where possible-a single roundtrip flight can produce as much CO2as a year's worth of driving. Flying roundtrip from London to New York, for example, can produce 3.8 tons of CO2per passenger. When jet travel is unavoidable, balance the GHGs produced by supporting alternative energy projects (atmosfair.de, betterworldclub.com/links/offsets.htm, nativeenergy.com).
- Rebates: Many energy utilities offer rebates for buying green. In the United States, check at energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=rebate.rebate_locator.
Visit www.thegreenguide.com for more information on green power and energy efficiency.
Paul W. McRandle is senior research editor of The Green Guide, published by The Green Guide Institute, which provides the research for this department.


text:
Skip navigation
Saturday, August 29th 2015, 7:40pm
Saturday, August 29th 2015, 7:42pm
Saturday, August 29th 2015, 7:44pm
Saturday, August 29th 2015, 8:01pm
Saturday, August 29th 2015, 8:45pm
Ok thanks, also what is TDS?Very good for your first time. Just a few things:
1) The battleship needs half of the Main Battery superfiring, much of the Light AA Battery also need to be raised.
2) Seakeeping on the battleship is poor, might want to try and fix that.
3) Personally I would give the battleship some miscellaneous weight
You managed to get a TDS on the light cruiser but kept full belt protection, that isn't easy!
Mad Scientist at Work
Saturday, August 29th 2015, 10:10pm
Mr. Valentines Day
Sunday, August 30th 2015, 1:53am
Sunday, August 30th 2015, 3:50am
I agree with the points brought up by the others. I would add a few more secondary turrets on the Battlecruiser. Two twins on each side isn't much. I would probably increase speed and armor a bit with the hullstrength left after raising two main gun turrets and trying to keep seakeeping above 1.
QuotedI think I might have mentioned it quite a while ago here, but IIRC in my book on the Scharnhorst class it was mentioned that the TBH had to be angled in order to be effective due to the narrow beam. Regardless of what SS says, I don't think that in reality the TBH would work on the 21m beam of that cruiser so it would be better to discard it. Looking around a bit, I mentioned it here and quoted the bit from the book...
QuotedIt is interesting that you used SS2 for the first two and then switched to SS3 with the carrier.
QuotedLooking at the placement of the miscellaneous weights that tells me you probably did that because of stability issues in SS2 with all that weight. One problem with it is that none of the guns have a shell weight.
QuotedAnother thing I am seeing is that the Cross-sectional hull strength is higher than the Longitudinal. With almost all of my sims, it is the other way around or they are roughly equal to each other. You could raise the freeboard somewhat to gain some more hull strength which you could use on armor or speed or fuel or miscellaneous weights...
Forum Software: Burning Board® Lite 2.1.2 pl 1, developed by WoltLab® GmbH


text:
SUNNYVALE, CA, January 26, 2006 - SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK), the world's largest supplier of flash storage card products, today announced results for the fourth quarter ended January 1, 2006. Fourth quarter revenues increased 37% on a year-over-year basis to a record $751 million and increased 27% compared to the third quarter of 2005. Fourth quarter net income was $134 million compared to $78 million in the fourth quarter of 2004 and $107 million in the third quarter of 2005. Fully diluted earnings per share was $0.68, up 62% on a year-over-year basis and up 24% compared to the third quarter of 2005.
Total revenue for fiscal 2005 was $2.3 billion, up 30% from $1.8 billion in 2004. Product revenues were $2.1 billion, up 29% from $1.6 billion in 2004. License and royalty revenues were $239 million, up 37% from $174 million in 2004. Net income was $386 million, up 45% from net income of $267 million in 2004. Fully diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2005 was $2.00, compared to $1.44 in 2004.
"The fourth quarter was a strong finish to a great year for SanDisk. We sold approximately 11 million mobile cards primarily into OEM bundles in camera-phones and music-centric phones, and we are seeing exceptionally broad acceptance of our microSD™ format in new handsets from the top tier OEMs. We sold more than a million Flash MP3 players in the fourth quarter, gaining a clear number two share in the highly competitive U.S. retail market, indicative of the growing recognition among consumers of the SanDisk brand, and driven by our strong retail sales organization, which surpassed the 150,000 storefront milestone during the quarter," said Eli Harari, SanDisk CEO.
"We are optimistic about our business outlook and our competitiveness in 2006 and expect this to be a year of continuing strong growth in demand in our target markets as well as a competitive landscape that is characteristic of rapidly growing consumer mass-markets. We expect a seasonally soft first quarter in retail partially offset by continuing strength in our OEM handset business. To stimulate demand and accelerate consumers' move to gigabyte capacities in 2006, we are taking significant pricing actions in the first quarter that are made possible for us through the significantly lower costs achieved as we ramp production at the Flash Partners' Fab 3 and as we continue to increase output of our 8 gigabit chip."
Financial Results
Other Recent Highlights
Scheduled Interviews
SanDisk Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer, Eli Harari, is scheduled to appear on CNBC's "Squawk Box", January 27, 2006 at approximately 4:50 a.m. PST. Judy Bruner, SanDisk's Executive Vice President, Administration and CFO is scheduled to appear on Bloomberg TV's "Market Line", January 27, 2006 at approximately 9:39 a.m. PST.
Conference Call
SanDisk's fourth quarter 2005 conference call is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. PST, Thursday, January 26, 2006. The conference call will be web cast by CCBN and can be accessed live, and throughout the quarter, at SanDisk's website at www.sandisk.com/IR and at www.streetevents.com for registered streetevents.com users. To participate in the call via telephone, the dial in number is (913) 981-4911. The call will also be available by telephone replay through Monday, January 30, 2006, by dialing (719) 457-0820 and entering the pass code 3142125. A copy of this press release will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a current report on Form 8-K and will be posted to our website prior to the conference call.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including statements about our business outlook for the first quarter and fiscal year 2006, market supply and demand, expected continued strength in the handset market and continued intense competition in our markets, and scheduled appearances by our CEO and CFO that are based on our current expectations and involve numerous risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate and may significantly and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Risks that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate include among others: slower than expected growth in market demand for our products or a slower adoption rate for these products in current and new markets that we are targeting, any interruption of or delay in supply from any of the semiconductor manufacturing or subcontracting facilities, including test and assembly facilities that supply products to us, decreased availability of test and assembly capacity and increased prices for such services, slower than expected expansion of our global sales channels, fluctuations in operating results, unexpected yield variances and longer than expected low yields and other possible delays related to our conversion to 70-nanometer NAND flash technology or the ramp-up of the 300-millimeter flash fabrication facility, unexpected delays in the ramp-up of volume production of our new 70-nanometer 8 gigabit NAND/MLC chip, our inability to make additional planned smaller geometry conversions in a timely manner, future average selling price erosion that may be more severe than our expectations due to decreased demand or possible excess industry capacity of flash memory from ourselves as well as from existing suppliers or from new competitors that are planning to aggressively increase supply in 2006, price increases from non-captive flash memory sources and third-party subcontractors, higher than expected operating expenses, higher than anticipated capital equipment expenditures, adverse global economic and geo-political conditions, including adverse currency exchange rates and acts of terror, the timely development, internal qualification and customer acceptance of new products that are based on 70-nanometer NAND technology, fluctuations in license and royalty revenues, business interruption due to earthquakes, hurricanes, pandemics or other natural disasters, particularly in areas in the Pacific Rim and Japan where we manufacture and assemble products, potential impact of high energy prices and other global events outside of our control which could adversely impact consumer confidence and hence reduce demand for our products, scheduled appearances by our executives could be cancelled or delayed by us or the network, and the other risks detailed from time-to-time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and reports, including, but not limited to, the Form 10-K for the year ended January 2, 2005 and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Future results may differ materially from those previously reported. We do not intend to update the information contained in this release.
About SanDisk
SanDisk is the original inventor of flash storage cards and is the world's largest supplier of flash data storage card products using its patented, high-density flash memory and controller technology. SanDisk is headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA and has operations worldwide, with more than half its sales outside the U.S.
SanDisk, Cruzer and Matrix are trademarks of SanDisk Corporation, registered in the United States and other countries. SanDisk Corporation is an authorized licensee of the SD trademark. U3 is a trademark of U3, LLC.
SanDisk's web site/home page address: http://www.sandisk.com
Investor Contact:
Lori Barker Padon
(408) 542-0585
Media Contact:
Mike Wong
(408) 548-0223


text:
Change my default view setting
From the Site Settings area in Photo Album, you can customize your view to default to galleries or tags, and you can select to default to the Thumbnail, Filmstrip, Slideshow, or List tab. You can also specify the number of photos that display in the Thumbnail tab. You can view 6, 12, 24, or 48 at a time.
To Change the Number of Photos to Display on the Thumbnails Tab
- Log in to your GoDaddy account.
- Click GoDaddy Photo Album.
- Next to the account you want to use, click Manage.
- Click Settings.
- From the Default Group View list, specify whether you want your view to default to your galleries or tags.
- From the Default Photo View list, specify whether you want your view to default to the Thumbnail, Filmstrip, or Slideshow tab.
- From the View list, select the number of thumbnails you want to display.
- Click Save.


text:
In America, SCC is actually surprisingly well known....probably partially thanks to Metallica's cover later on. But that track *is* much better known than SYW for example.
As for TYMD. I'm actually surprised whenever they *DON'T* play it. Bri said long ago that no matter what else happened on the day, that that track always worked. *shrug* It *IS* a good live track.


text:
Police Blotter for Oct. 25
New York State Police
Tuesday, Oct. 23
o Brian A Ostrander, 26, of Vernon Center, was charged with second-degree aggravated harassment.
Monday, Oct. 22
o Gregory E. Prawl, 49, of Kirkville, was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana.
Thursday, Oct. 18
o Donald K. Wright, 77, of New Woodstock, was charged with second-degree harassment.
o Nicole B. Woodcock, 24, of Morrisville, was charged with fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana.