text:
Las Vegas Restaurant & Dining Guide
Click here to go straight to the directory
Are Restaurants here Cheap?
Here's the most expensive meal I've seen, from the Palm's room service menu: They'll bring up a Carls Jr. hamburger, a 24-year-old bottle of French wine, and charge you six thousand dollars. It's named the Six Thousand Dollar Combo Meal. Conversely, you could head down to Fremont Street and grab a hot dog and beer for two bucks.
Discovering Food in Las Vegas:
Fast Food - There are plenty of options, but don't expect to find a McDonalds in the luxurious, five-star Bellagio. Keep an eye out for food courts; most casinos have one, and the Strip itsself boasts plenty of nooks stuffed with cheap restaurants. Expect to pay a couple of dollars per person more on the Strip than you would off it.
Where's the Best Food in Las Vegas?
Of course, there is no "best." There is only "favorite." So here's a list of the most tasty, friendly, interesting, and popular places to eat, according to the all-local staff of LasVegas.net:Chicago Joes - Downtown. Sure, it looks like a house, but incongruent additions have concoced a local favorite. Joe himself is still around nearly every day.
Kaizen Sushi - North Las Vegas. The atmosphere and service at this Japanese fusion restaurant are exeptional. Expect to spend about fifty dollars.
Flemings - Summerlin. Ask about the steak specials not appearing on the menu, and be amazed.
Top of the World - It's eight hundred feet off the ground and it rotates. Who cares if the food is average?
The Samosa factory - West Sahara. Tiny, never crowded, and will convert anyone to an intense love for Indian food.
The Strip House - Planet Hollywood. The small portions are compensated for by the incredible taste.
Carrabas - Henderson and Summerlin: For spectacular steak on special occasions, that won't implode your wallet.
Pieros - off the Strip: A classic piece of Las Vegas. The movie "Casino" was filmed here.
Crown & Anchor - Near UNLV: Great British food. No, really!
Vic and Anthonys - Golden Nugget: Expensive food, but superbly made. Land your own lobster.
2nd street grill - Fremont Hotel: A small example of deliciously creative appetizer would be the Chinese pork, served in a lettuce bowl.
Kaya - Chinatown: Delicious, all you can eat, and open until three a.m. every night.
Off the Strip - Just real food. That's the name and the slogan, just about summing it up.

subset: commoncrawl


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Saturday, January 31, 2009
b.a.d. days are here again!
yes, once again it's time to celebrate b.a.d., or blogroll amnesty day, for short!
this space, along w/our partners in this endeavor, jon swift and blue gal, are once again rejoicing in the plethora of the cornucopia of the excess of the diversity of diverse voices (and good writing, too!) available in blogtopia, and yes, we coined that phrase!
there is a long and dark history behind the
we shall not delve into that morass of exclusion here (and markos and duncan shall remain nameless). suffice to say, if you really want to know the skinny behind why we believe liberals should be liberal in linking policy, please read the origins issue over @ jon swift.
tho the original blogroll amnesty day was first bludgeoned upon bloggers on feb. 3, we are taking this entire weekend thru next tuesday to celebrate, connect, rejoice, and generally extoll everyone to link to each other.
the basic rule for blogroll amnesty day weekend is simply this: take a moment to write a post linking to (and pointing out to your readers) 5 blogs w/traffic smaller than yours. this inclusive and magnanimous yet easy-to-do gesture will not only expose your readers to new voices and those voices to new readers, it will foster a sense of community, support and all-around kumbaya amongst the progressive infrastructure.
tho we are happy to point out, one need not link exclusively to progressive/liberal blogs. we highly encourage you to find a sensible rightist blog and link thereto. (ha! that'll keep ya busy for the weekend!)
now, a word about the parameter "blogs w/traffic smaller than yours." blue gal puts it best:
also, if you would be so kind, please include a link to this very blog post in your own. last year we actually got a headline @ memeorandum (here), and, truth be told, we're itching for another.
addendum: heavens, as our saintly mother used to say, we'd forget our own head if it wasn't screwed on! we'd be remiss if we failed to invite you to email us for the codes to the above graphic, available in 5 convenient sizes! (well, actually only 4 of them are convenient).
remember, this is a celebration of each other. w/our new president and the new direction in washington (e.g., away from repubbblican corruption and towards democratic corruption), there's a feeling in the air that it's a new day of cooperation and community all across this land. heck, even the gop voted in a black guy to lead the rnc! the times, they are a'changin'!
let's make that change sweep across blogtopia!
and yes, we coined that phrase!
another addendum: we find that blckdgrd celebrates b.a.d. continuously, by having a section of his blogroll titled "new toys." clever! also, mad kane writes one of her famous limericks about b.a.d.! and if you want a less viciously-personal and more dungeons-and-dragons story behind blogroll amnesty day, harken ye to the tale that shamanaqua weaves...
b.a.d. day sunshine
shaun of upper left
cujo @ slobber and spittle, who takes issue w/our insistence that nobody complain, because after all, that's what blogging is for, ne c'est pas?
and sungold of kittywampus goes above and beyond the call of duty and finds 10 blogs to highlight
skippy's saturday nite music club
jefferson airplane - we can be together
b.a.d. vibrations
zencomix draws a cartoon especially for b.a.d., and encourages you to steal it for your own use
nate @ that's right nate looks forward to feb. 3
as does suze @ two ton green blog
as well as our good friend jill @ brilliant @ breakfast
jurassicpork @ welcome back to pottersville distills our mission statement quite succinctly:
wait, that was woodstock. easy mistake.
let the b.a.d. times roll
batacchio posts not only @ vagabond scholar but also @ the blue herald
clark, already posted @ rotus, also spreads the word @ clarkspics.com
and we get an email from nunya @ politickybitch, which brings home the very raison d'etat for b.a.d.:
but when they were b.a.d. they were horrid
chuck @ chuck for...
our good friend kiko @ kiko's house
one fly @ outta the cornfield
mike @ tangled up in blue guy
our buddy dcap @ distributorcapny
and our friend melina @ rip coco discusses b.a.d. even tho she's got the flu (and we hope she gets well soon!)
so b.a.d. it's good
annette @ just my little piece of the world
mike @ mike the mad biologist, who mangles shakespear while he's at it
clark @ rotus, who sucessfully avoids the "no blog is smaller than mine" joke
physioprof @ physioprof
nunya @ politickybitch
and the talking dog discusses b.a.d., but accidentally links to two big box blogs, which shall remain nameless
breaking! jeff goldstein quits blogging!
as we said the last time he quit, who's going to slap our faces with his cock now?
[ed. note: he really should have concentrated on blogroll amnesty day instead]
addendum: writing about the demise of pajama media, joe gandelman @ the moderate voice puts together words we'd never thought we'd see side by side in a quote worth remembering:
on a b.a.d. day you can see for ever
here's the post from our good friend and partner in this endeavor, jon swift
maru @ wtf is it now?!?
ginger @ the hackenblog
annie @ the virtuous skeptic
brandy @ mou magazine
and bora @ blog around the clock links to a bunch of, in his words, "sciency blog"!
it's b.a.d. to be first
rena @ peace arena;
james @ the mahatma x files, who introduces six blogs, plus adds his own version of b.a.d. origins;
Friday, January 30, 2009
skippy's friday nite music club
john mellencamp - little pink houses
from the obama concert two days before the inauguration
u.s. chamber of commerce
a top u.s. business group stepped up efforts on friday to kill a "buy american" provision that has angered u.s. trading partners, and the white house said it was reviewing its position on the measure. - reuters canada
cost of barely surviving guide
college tuition and fees: 248.4%
televisions: -83.0%
elementary & high school tuition and fees: 234.5%
audio equipment: -45.4%
hospital services, nursing homes, adult day care: 222.6%
personal computers & other information processing equipment: -89.4%
(h/t the consumerist)
must be the cold water
the sharp contraction of the us economy accelerated in the last three months of 2008, with official figures showing gdp shrinking at an annualised rate of 3.8%.there are still some who " believe the fundamentals of our economy are strong." but then again, they are the ones who belong (or married into) the royalty of america; the new robber barons.
with forecasters already predicting the worst us recession since world war ii, how big a danger is there that the us economy will slip into a depression similar to the 1930s?
the latest figures paint a gloomy picture of the us economy. - the beebs
the average tax rate paid by the richest 400 americans fell by a third to 17.2 percent through the first six years of the bush administration and their average income doubled to $263.3 million, new irs data show. - bloomberg and nytimesaverage income - $263.3 million. average income - $263.3 million. let that soak in a bit.
Labels: bbc, depression, economy, recession
it's ugly out there
stand back, alaska...she's going to blow!
Redoubt at Sunset
Originally uploaded by jedibob
the alaska volcano observatory said in a statement friday "volcanic tremor" has increased in "amplitude."
..."i would not be surprised to see it erupt at anytime," cervelli said. "we're going to know it when we see it." - cnn
(you can monitor the mountain too, weather permitting. government scientists have set up webcams at two locations, here and here.) - christian science monitortoo bad most americans aren't aware of the pacific ring of fire, as science is such a bad thing to teach these days. they would understand that it's back..and it's baaaaaaaad.
Like, time to get a life insurance quote bad.
Labels: alaska, earth, earthquake, environment, science, volcano
while the rest of us suffer a downturn
exxon mobile corp. on friday reported a profit of $45.2 billion for 2008, breaking its own record for a u.s. company, even as its fourth-quarter earnings fell 33 percent from a year ago.
the previous record for annual profit was $40.6 billion, which the world's largest publicly traded oil company set in 2007. - yahoo news and wapo
the next catastrophe looming...healthcare
the whole world is in recession. but the united states is the only wealthy country in which the economic catastrophe will also be a health care catastrophe — in which millions of people will lose their health insurance along with their jobs, and therefore lose access to essential care. - paul krugman at nytimesthose bankers who gave themselves billions of dollars in bonuses can afford healthcare, but the rest of us can't.
Labels: healthcare, nytimes, public health, recession
Thursday, January 29, 2009
skippy's thursday nite music club - rip billy powell
when police and rescue workers arrived, they found powell in his bedroom with the phone nearby, boivin said. powell did not respond to cpr and was pronounced dead at 1:52 a.m., the chief said.
the cause of death has yet to be determined, but police believe it was heart-related, boivin said.
"he was supposed to have a meeting with his heart specialist" earlier this week but failed to show up, the chief said. "the doctor said he had heart problems."…
powell, who took music lessons as a youth, became a roadie for the band until about 1972, when he helped set up the band's equipment at a school prom. there, he sat down at a piano and began to play a version of "free bird." [ronnie] van zant hired him as keyboardist.
the song featured a keyboard introduction that helped turn the piece into a rock 'n' roll anthem and made powell a star.
lynyrd skynyrd - freebird
(plus the boys really rock out about 8:00 in)
rest in peace, billy powell.
poster chick for family planning being needed
the mother in california who gave birth to eight babies on monday has six children already, cbs news discovered. today on the early show, a segment on the now-doubled family aired. they took cameras to the home and neighborhood where the mom lives in a house with her parents, four older sons and two older daughters. - huffposure she has the "right" to have litters of kids, but in this day of dwindling life sustaining resources, she is completely reckless and irresponsible to do so. her swarm of bundles of poop has one hell of a carbon footprint.
Labels: california, healthcare, no child left behind, public health, womens issues
today's repubbblicans
(thx & a tip o'the kangaroo tail to joe benevides commenting @ 538!)
mad about latin
blue gal pipes up, links down
"oh yeah? well, just for that, we're going to sh*t in our bed again!"
obama's stimulus bill passed the house of reps yesterday, w/not a single repubbblican vote. worse, house reps are extolling their senate counterparts to do the same. worse still, rush limbaugh is being hailed as the emerging leader of that party. to us, that's rather like hearing that jon stewart is the de facto head of the democratic party. balloon juice:
and so is the country. gallup reports just how unpopular the gop is these days:
all told, 29 states and the district of columbia had democratic party affiliation advantages of 10 points or greater last year. this includes all of the states in the northeast, and all but indiana in the great lakes region. there are even several southern states in this grouping, including arkansas, north carolina, and kentucky.
an additional six states had democratic advantages ranging between 5 and 9 points.
in contrast, only five states had solid or leaning republican orientations in 2008, with utah, wyoming, idaho, and alaska in the former group, and nebraska in the latter.
back to the (non) vote: joe gandelman of the moderate voice is not so sure that this move is a wise one for the gopers:
the bottom line is that nancy pelosi is simply not a household name to many (unless she decides to go on dancing with the stars), except to talk show listeners, political junkies of all ages, journalists and blog readers and writers. the images now out there of the gop are of a party that seems to have adopted nancy reagan's anti-drug slogan "just say no." partisans will debate if that's true or not, but that is the danger of this image — if it looks like the program starts working.
(thanks and a tip o' the kangaroo tail to memeorandum for the links!)
b.a.d. days ahead
get ready, blogonauts! (and yes! we coined that phrase, too!)
this upcoming weekend we will be celebrating the second anniversary of blogroll amnesty & blogroll bloodbath anniversary remembrance day!
this year our partner in this endeavor, jon swift, will join us in celebrating this blogtopian-wide holiday all next weekend beginning on saturday.
update: we will officially start on saturday, jan. 31. the original blogroll amnesty day is february 3, but we're calling for a four-day weekend! huzzah!
as you may remember, the modus operandus of blogroll amnesty day is to link to 5 blogs smaller than your own, thus introducing your readers to new voices.
and may we stop all the stupid jokes right here, right now: yes, there are blogs smaller than yours, no matter who you are.
mas update: ok, so we can't even stop the jokes before they start. ergo, we will ammend the parameters: if you really don't believe there are blogs smaller than yours, then in lieu of making the stupid joke that there aren't any, ha ha, please link to five blogs with traffic equivalent to yours (or in the same ball park). as long as they represent new voices (new to your readers, at least), you will have satisfied the requirement. just please don't do the stupid joke!!
uno mas update: we also request that, in your post linking to five other blogs, you also link back to our official saturday b.a.d. opening festivities post, which, in all truth, will probably be posted and available sometime friday nite.
and, if you send us a link to your post, we'll make sure to blog about it here!
from the 'emails we never bothered to finish reading' dept.
i am mr gerald allen, i will like to book reservation for a family of 5 persons that will be coming for vacation in your area on the 16th july to 30th july 2009. if you have vacancy for the specified period, give me the total cost for the whole period of two double rooms and breakfast for 14 nights for 5 guest.
wall street greed
a report by the new york state comptroller revealed that wall street employees reaped an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year, "the sixth-largest haul on record." despite billions lost in revenue this year, "wall street workers still took home about as much as they did in 2004, when the dow jones industrial average was flying above 10,000, on its way to a record high." - think progresssomeone needs to post the cities in which these financial terrorists live and have their "communities" shun them...or put them in the stockades for tomato tossing events. shaming...it's way underutilized these days.
Labels: financial markets, greed, wall street
co-op-erating for the bees
Lift Off- Best Viewed Large
Originally uploaded by aussiegall
the co-op today became the first uk supermarket to ban the use of a group of pesticides implicated in billions of honeybee deaths worldwide.
it is prohibiting suppliers of its own-brand fresh produce from using eight pesticides that have been connected to honeybee colony collapse disorder and are already restricted in some parts of europe. - the guardian
Labels: bees, environment, food, food safety
be prepared...
for nearly a century, the boy scouts have worn a self-adorned badge as campsite conservationists and good stewards of the land.
"the boy scouts were green before it was cool to be green," said the organization's national spokesman, deron smith.
but for decades, local boy scouts of america administrations across the country have clearcut or otherwise conducted high-impact logging on tens of thousands of acres of forestland, often for the love of a different kind of green: cash.
a hearst newspapers investigation has found dozens of cases over the past 20 years of local boy scout councils logging or selling prime woodlands to big timber interests, developers or others, turning quick money and often doing so instead of seeking ways to preserve such lands. - seattle pi
Labels: ecology, environment, liars
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
skippy's wednesday nite music club
animal collective - peacebone
the death penalty would be given
peanut processor knowingly sold tainted products. the georgia peanut plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened 500 more across the country knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday.- wapoi'm not a believer in the death penalty...but i might be convinced for some cases.
Labels: death penalty, food safety, recalls
the question raised would be...
the fbi was aware for years of "pervasive and growing" fraud in the mortgage industry that eventually contributed to america's financial meltdown, but did not take definitive action to stop it.
"it is clear that we had good intelligence on the mortgage-fraud schemes, the corrupt attorneys, the corrupt appraisers, the insider schemes," said a recently retired, high fbi official. another retired top fbi official confirmed that such intelligence went back to 2002. - seattle pi
Labels: corruption, fbi, financial markets, greed, mortgages
january 28, 1986
(front row) michael j. smith, dick scobee, ronald mcnair;
(back row) ellison onizuka, christa mcauliffe, gregory jarvis, judith resnik.
STS-51L / SCOBEE SMITH McNAIR ONIZUKA RESNIK McAULIFFE JARVIS / CHALLENGER
Originally uploaded by famille.sebile
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
skippy's tuesday nite music club
pete seeger - waist deep in the big muddy
the bottom
in case you're thinking you missed the bottom of the real estate market, think again. forecasters from beacon economics told home builders last night that the "bottom" might be toward the end of 2011. - laisti need another bottle o' chuck to wash down this news.
Labels: california, economy, foreclosure
my special comment
!Special Comment!
Originally uploaded by .ƒenster.
mr. olbermann!**
** my future husband....i'm battling stephanie miller for him.
say hello
we're f***d
the nation's current recession is likely to be the longest since world war ii, and by some measures could be the worst since the great depression, a new congressional budget office forecast said tuesday. - mcclatchy
Labels: depression, economy
i'm tired of talking politics today
Momma Bititi Gives Calf Kiss
Originally uploaded by sfzoo
Football Bad For Brain
The CSTE has not done any work to determine how much brain damage is caused by watching football, but it seems a pretty fertile field of endeavor if you ask me.
someone in new york is actually working
cnbc's charlie gasparino just reported that new york attorney general andrew cuomo has subpoenaed former merrill lynch ceo john thain for testimony about merrill's awarding of billions of dollars in bonuses in december. - tpmat least he's not sulking like a spoiled child about not being picked to be senator.
Labels: bailout, banking, financial markets, greed, new yawk
note to caroline, gov. paterson and their minions
gov. paterson's decision to go nuclear on caroline kennedy was a hatchet job run by a pricey out-of-state consultant who specializes in political scandals, disgruntled administration sources said. - daily news
the appointment was destined to be a mess—how could it not be? the cast of characters involved in choosing a new junior senator for new york included a lapsed priest, three of the country's most bare-knuckled political dynasties, and an imperious mayor. add to that a $15 billion budget deficit and a tainted plate of sushi. and start the whole crazy chain of dominoes with a hooker. - new york magazinewould be nice to have politicians who are not emotionally stunted drama queens.
Labels: kennedy, politicians, scandals, senate
the most contaminated wildlife on earth
three pods of killer whales in the pacific northwest have now earned the unfortunate title of being the most contaminated wildlife on earth, according to a new study. these killer whales, known as southern residents, live in the coastal waters near the u.s. canadian border and survive almost exclusively on contaminated chinook salmon. the salmon contain high levels of polychlorinated biphenols (pcbs) and other industrial chemicals, which accumulate in even higher levels in the killer whales. - discover
Labels: animals, environment, ocean, pollution, whales
Monday, January 26, 2009
skippy's monday nite music club
danny kaye, louis armstrong, golden gate quartet, tommy dorsey, benny goodman and lionel hampton - from "a song is born (1948)" directed by howard hawks. written by billy wilder.
Labels: hollywood, jazz, music, skippy's music club, youtube
don't ad agencies have editors?
happy blogiversary
it's their third blogiversary, and may they have many, many more!
keep up the good work, kids!
are we clear? kristol!
the new york times' decision not to renew bill kristol's opinion column was because of the conservative writer's sloppiness and uneven quality, according to a reliable source with first-hand knowledge of the decision. today, the times features a signature kristol piece, discussing the heroic role of conservatism in modern american history and contrasting this with the fecklessness of american liberals. but only the last line is newsworthy: "this is william kristol's last column."…
the source makes clear that the decision not to renew kristol's contract is not related to his neoconservative ideology...
the problems that emerged were more fundamental. kristol's writing wasn't compelling or even very careful. he either lacked a talent for solid opinion journalism or wasn't putting his heart into it. a give-away came in the form of four corrections the newspaper was forced to run over factual mistakes in the columns, creating an impression that they were rushed out without due diligence or attention to factual claims. a senior writer at time magazine recounted to me a similar experience with kristol following his stint in 2006-07. "his conservative ideas were cutting edge and influential," i was told. "but his sloppy writing and failure to fact check what he wrote made us queasy."
kristol also regularly commented on political developments in which he was personally engaged—without disclosing the depth of his engagement. the daily beast previously highlighted his deep involvement in selection of alaska governor sarah palin to be john mccain's running mate. in the campaign season that followed, boosterism about sarah palin became a staple of his writing, even at the expense of his relationship with mccain and leading figures in the mccain campaign. this conduct blurred the distinctions between being an actor on and observer of the political stage, raising some concern among the guardians of the times' credibility.
by way of ben armbruster, we see that the politico's mike allen reports:
in most careers, falling up isn't this easy. if you keep getting fired for poor performance, it's usually difficult to find new companies willing to pay you to do the same job.
kristol has obviously developed quite a racket. nice work if you can get it.
as the sponsor of the event, big hollywood is offering $100,000 to damon (or to the charity or carbon credit of his choice) to publicly debate kristol at a mutually agreed upon time, date and venue.
(thanks and a tip of the kangaroo tail to memeorandum for the links! except possibly the link to big hollywood, because now we feel so dirty...)
early b.a.d. behavior
we couldn't have said it better ourselves...
the senate has passed him through. i'm sure he will do as good a job for obama as he did for bush, bernanke and paulson.
and if finding a job isn't sucky enough
last friday, monster.com announced that their database had been attacked, and that account names, passwords, email addresses, and phone numbers had been stolen. unfortunately, they haven't sent out email alerts to anyone—they just put the announcement up on the security section of their site. - consumerist
Labels: internets, unemployment
treatment for one rattlesnake bite = $150,000
even though she has spent much of her life searching for holistic methods of healing, when charlene penner was bitten by a rattlesnake, she knew she had to get to a hospital fast.
penner was soon immersed in some of the most vexing problems facing the country: the escalating costs of medical care and the millions of people with no insurance to pay for it.
penner's chance encounter with a snake resulted in medical bills totaling more than $150,000, most to cover the equivalent of about one day's treatment at a hospital. - sandy eggo union tribune
Labels: healthcare, hospitals, public health
hoppy australia day!
Truly Australia (II) :: HDR
Originally uploaded by Artie | Photography
a financial terrorist sells his $13 million mansion
yes...$10. to his wife.
housing prices are falling around the country, but this one sounds hard to believe: a seaside mansion on jupiter island in florida, bought for more than $13 million five years ago, was just sold for $10.
the seller, according to county records, was richard s. fuld jr., the former chairman and chief executive of lehman brothers. the buyer was his wife, kathleen.
...it is possible that he is now transferring properties because of his fears of investor lawsuits or a possible bankruptcy, lawyers in florida said. - nytimes
Labels: criminal, financial markets, florida, greed, housing bubble
citigroup can go to hell
beleaguered citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet - only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed. - nypost and think progress.can we get our $45 billion dollars back?
Labels: bailout, banking, bankruptcy, greed
honey laundering....
Honey Bee Macro on Onion Flower C95-4-11-08_8255
Originally uploaded by Cap001. a sticky situation for consumers.
concealing discoveries of contaminated imported honey is immoral, unethical and often illegal -- and it happens far too often, u.s. honey producers say.
"it doesn't take a wizard to determine whether there are bad things in the honey we handle, nor a hero to do what it takes to keep it from our food supply," said mark brady, a texas beekeeper who sits on the national honey board.
"if we buy chinese honey, as we do far too often, we know it may contain chloramphenicol or some other antibiotic that is illegal in any food product," said brady, who produces about a million pounds of honey a year. "to find it and not report it is criminal." - seattlepi
Labels: bees, china, food safety
ceos suck the life blood
just when you thought the greed and outrageous behavior of corporate america could get no worse, the leaders of companies have sunk to a new low: they are using workers' pension money to fund ceo pensions. no this is not a joke.this is "old news" true...but where is the coverage of this instead of the 24/7 coverage of the murderered little girl in florida? which story is more important for americans to know about? how our country and economy is being strangled to death by greedy ceo's and corporations or if a young, attractive mom strangled her daughter in some town in florida?
the evidence is laid out today in the wall street journal by reporters ellen schultz and theo francis. these two reporters have done an excellent job covering pension issues: more than two years ago, they clearly laid out the evidence that it was ceo pensions, not workers' pensions, that were causing headaches for corporate balance sheets. - working life
(h/t to tasini's diary over at the great orange satan.)
Labels: ceo, corporations, economy, wall street
Sunday, January 25, 2009
skippy's sunday nite music club
my chemical romance - helena
environmental news story sunday
fish warnings you probably don't know about. florida's efforts to warn about mercury levels are not reaching far. the florida department of health has literally hundreds of advisories about how much fish is safe to eat, based on what kind and where it's caught. but researchers who tested mercury levels in about 600 women in the panhandle found that more than two-thirds knew nothing about the warnings. - jacksonville.com
natural gas in water wells has n.y. officials on alert. natural gas levels found in four water wells in dimock township, pa., could indicate a broader, potentially dangerous problem related to drilling operations to tap the gas-rich marcellus shale formation. - binghampton pressconnects
recyclers ready for tons of tvs after switch to digital. the switch to digital television signaling could create an environmental nightmare across the nation as consumers get rid of their outmoded analog tv sets - with components, which contain lead and mercury, ending up in landfills here and in third world countries. - kalamazoo gazette
coal trying for slice of stimulus package. coal company officials and their supporters in congress are working to increase the industry's already large chunk of the economic stimulus package. - charleston gazette-mail
honey bees could be in short supply. honey bees used for crop pollination are taking a beating due to a variety of factors, some of which are not fully understood. - chico enterprise record
japan launches satellite to monitor greenhouse gases. japan launched a satellite on friday to monitor greenhouse gases around the world in the hope that the data it gathers will help global efforts to combat climate change. - reuters
deadly storms in western Europe. more than a dozen people, including four children, have been killed since friday in spain and france, where winds of up to 100 miles per hour have torn roofs from buildings, blown down trees and power lines and whipped up huge waves. -international herald tribune
Labels: bees, climate change, ecology, energy, environment, weather
did you know...
it's true. i committed blogicide a couple weeks ago. four and a half years' worth of posts -- gone with one click of the mouse. you try to go to my old site now, this is what you see. and it isn't just that blog. dbk committed blogicide, too, and this is all that remains of his old site.
i think it's kind of cool, actually. it's like having your uniform number retired. my only regret is, when i wiped out the medley, i wiped out not only my own posts but those of my co-bloggers as well. that does stick in my craw a little. however, that's what you get when you burn a bridge in blogtopia.
at any rate, that blog had to go. it had run its course, and was becoming too much of a drain on my personal life to justify continuing it.
as for me... i'm still here.
Labels: random thoughts
happy robert burns day
happy haggis partaking, crrrrrrrrrrrraig ferrrrrrrrrrrguson!
Saturday, January 24, 2009
skippy's saturday nite music club
america - "ventura highway"
(although...a bit of it is knowns at the hollywood freeway...but that doesn't have the poetic ring..)
Labels: california, santa barbara, skippy's music club, youtube
oh, great! now we'll have to change our name!
another crisis for obama to deal with
restaurant owners across the country are facing a major dilemma: demand is up for buffalo wings, but supply is low. the lack of poultry is so bad in new york state, some owners are calling for a wing boycott on monday, january 26th - kwes newswest 9now...to put a positive spin on this...it could have been worse. the buffalo bills could be playing in the big game and believe you me...buffalo n.y. without buffalo wings when the bills are playing could get pretty ugy. perhaps they could get jessica simpson to do a public service spot re: this looming crisis as she would gladly give up her share of buffalo wings...as she "doesn't eat buffalo."
the demand for the spicy little guys is way up but the supply is equally way down, partly because a major source of buffalo wings- a poultry farm in texas- recently filed for bankruptcy, blamed on the economic downturn. so now there may not be enough chicken wings for superbowl sunday. - wpec 12
a poultry producer's reorganization has contributed to a chicken wing crisis ahead of super bowl xliii, suppliers in chicken wing capital buffalo, n.y., say. - marketwatch
i'm sure that the steelers might end up eating cardinal wings, instead.
Labels: economy, food, food shortages, football, new yawk
forget the franken veggies....
fast-growing salmon. pork containing heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. these are two examples of products you might see in your local supermarket soon -- animals developed not through conventional breeding but through genetic engineering.excuse me....will not "necessarily" require labeling? hello? they better dang well label the food they mess around with. stop already with the engineering of fake food...concentrate on engineering some better levees, eh?
on jan. 15, the u.s. food and drug administration decided how it will regulate genetically engineered animals, for the first time paving the way for such animals or their products to be sold as food and medicine. the agency has decided to categorize genetically engineered farm animals, also called transgenic animals, as an "animal drug." they will be held to the same requirements already existing for conventionally bred animals treated with hormones or antibiotics. (in the case of transgenic animals, the "drug" is a snippet of dna.) products derived from them or containing them as an ingredient will not necessarily require labeling. - latimes
Labels: food, food safety, food supply
question of the day...
Labels: questions
Friday, January 23, 2009
skippy's friday nite music club
maceo parker - pass the peas - live!
maceo was james brown's saxophonist in the 60's, and has gone on to funk across the world.
and you lost
i'm not worried anymore.
of course, the hardly-ever-right wing is all full of the vapors @ the idea of the winner being so disrespectful to the losing side.
gee, that's never happened before, has it?
say hello
the economy is drying up
the drought is withering california's $36 billion-a-year agriculture industry, the biggest in the u.s. crop losses from the water shortage total $308.7 million as of dec. 17, the california department of food and agriculture estimates.
shawn coburn, who needs more water for his 1,500 acres of almonds and 300 acres of wine grapes in firebaugh, 150 miles
(240 kilometers) southeast of san francisco, is among those who may have to close down if the weather doesn't improve.
"what are we going to do to keep those trees alive?" said coburn, 40. "i don't know. the drought will put me out of business." - bloomberg
Labels: california, drought, economy, farmers, water
proud as a bitch
say hello
get your war off
talk about mixed emotions! while we are going to miss gywo immeasurably, the reason for the toon is himself gone, and we are ecstatic!
thank goodness andrew cuomo didn't get that senate slot
the hits keep coming for john thain, whose stellar reputation has been badly
tarnished by the collapse of merrill lynch and some questionable decisions. the
latest: new york attorney general andrew cuomo has opened an investigation into
thain's decision to pay billions of dollars in bonuses days before the closing
of its sale to bank of america and the disclosure of $1 billion in operating
losses for 2008, according to the financial times. - fierce finance
mr cuomo will "examine closely disturbing reports of what appeared to be large,thane's nickname was supposedly "mr. fix-it." i think he needs to change that to "mr. spend it."
secret last-minute bonuses", a person familiar with the investigation said. - financial
Labels: bailout, banking, financial markets, greed
Thursday, January 22, 2009
skippy's thursday nite music club
beyonce & a whole bunch of celebs - america the beautiful
from the obama inauguration
their fingers were "lip synched"
whether you loved or hated the classical music played at president barack obama's inauguration, what you heard was a recording made two days earlier unless you were sitting within earshot of the celebrated performers. - ap via yahoo news
[ed. note: we tried to work in a joke about yo-yo-milli-vanilli, but couldn't]
note to obama, gavin, et al.
san francisco must upgrade its emergency water system to avoid a catastrophe like the fire that devastated the city after the 1906 earthquake, according to a report to be released friday.
improvements to the system - a network of pipes and storage facilities - won't be cheap, according to the report, which estimates that $86.7 million is needed to rehabilitate and replace facilities such as pump stations and tanks. an additional $13.3 million is needed for pipeline improvements, and a whopping $332 million more would be needed to expand the system to the west and south areas of town, the report concludes. - sfgate
Labels: disasters, infrastructure, san francisco, water
baghdad by the channel
a dozen state legislators have challenged a proposal to drill for oil off the coast of santa barbara, saying it could set a precedent for more drilling along the 1,100 miles of california coastline. - forbes
Labels: california, offshore drilling, oil, santa barbara
the dean of american politics
tho most of blogtopia and yes, we coined that phrase, credits dr. dean w/the 50-state strategy that allowed obama to win (fair and square) the presidency, dr. dean congratulates all of us in this speech for our work which, indeed, in our opinion, we all share.
but dr. dean goes on to point out that we've still got lots of work to do. it's an exciting and inspiring speech, and we urge everyone to listen to it.
while working folks are suffering....
bank of america this week continues to make job cuts in corporate and investment banking areas, including operations positions, and could start making reductions in the consumer banking unit next week, sources told the observer....the bank said in december it plans to eliminate up to 35,000 jobs as part of its acquisition of investment bank merrill lynch & co. - charlotte observer
others were wallowing in excess.
when john thain became merrill lynch's ceo in early 2008, he hired michael s. smith design to revamp his office suite, spending approximately $1.22 million according to documents. - cnbcand the consumerist.let's start calling john thain what he really is.....a financial terrorist.
Labels: bailout, banking, financial markets
skipping peanut butter
so avoid anything with peanut butter in it at least for now. and if you have products in your cupboard that have been purchased since september, just do the prudent thing and throw them out.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
skippy's wednesday nite music club
usher, shakira & (of course) stevie wonder - higher ground
from yesterday's inaugural concert
say hello
life is like a stupid movie
or, as funny or die says it better:
say hello
irony is alive and well...
there's this google map with a slew of red arrows pointing to the addresses of people who supported proposition 8 in california floating around the internets. and a lot of these people don't like it one bit:
..."some gay activists have organized web sites to actively encourage people to go after supporters of proposition 8," said frank schubert, the campaign manager for protect marriage, the leading group behind the proposition. "and giving these people a map to your home or office leaves supporters of proposition 8 feeling especially vulnerable. really, it is chilling."
so chilling, apparently, that supporters have filed suit in federal district court in sacramento seeking a preliminary injunction of a state law that requires donors of $100 or more to disclose their names, addresses, occupations and other personal information. in particular, the suit seeks to stop the final filing for the 2008 election, which is due jan. 31. that filing includes donations made in the closing days of the campaign, when the proposition surged to victory...
i personally condemn the intimidation of those who supported prop 8 where they live. there's zero justification for any of that. all the same, i don't feel one damn bit sorry for them. they asked for this...
the election law in question, the political reform act of 1974, was approved by california voters as proposition 9, and gay rights advocates say there is rich irony in supporters of proposition 8 opposing the earlier ballot measure.
"they believe in the will of the people if it's in tune with what they believe," said jennifer c. pizer, marriage project director with lambda legal, the gay rights legal organization, in los angeles...
and now they're getting exactly what they asked for.
Labels: gay/lesbian, politics
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
skippy's inaugural nite music club
but in a reminder that the recession is having an impact on just about everything these days, the people's ball at the grand hyatt slashed prices over the weekend, and both the veterans ball at the st. regis and the american music ball at the marriott wardman park hotel were cancelled altogether. no need to worry about the performers scheduled for the latter: george clinton, ben vereen, and peter paul & mary (minus mary) are expected to put in appearances at the heroes ball instead.
ac/dc - big balls
drinking inaugurally
and we must report that there seemed to be four or five times more people there than usual. this month drinking liberally was joined by moveon.org and dfa in advertising this meeting to gather the crowd.
and boy, were those people happy! tvs all over the bar were tuned to various inaugural balls as democrats and liberals partied hearty to enjoy their victory.
and yes, this is a victory. it was a long time comin' (eight years, to be exact) and we deserve to savor it.
as one speaker, tad, said tonite, it was very apropos that the party was held on the corner of lincoln and grant, for it was abraham lincoln and ulysses s. grant that were probably most responsible for the abolition of slavery, which eventually led to today's wonderful event.
but speaking of wonderful events, and we hope we aren't telling tales out of school, our wonderful co-hosts for these gatherings, the beautiful mary and the lovely d-day, announced their engagement @ tonite's party. congrats, kids! marriage is a wonderful institution, if you find the right person to get institutionalized with.
don't let the door hit your ass on the way out
the end of an error
fire it up
barack obama - fire it up
thumbs up mr. president!
Originally uploaded by ☞ John McNab
Monday, January 19, 2009
skippy's monday nite music club
fleet foxes - mykonos
to us, they sound like 'hippie, stills, nash & young.
a day in the life
sgt. barry's hopey hearts club band, from vanity fair
you know if it was shown on showtime, alice pieszecki would be behind the reverend flashing her boobies
lisa derrick of la figa:
well, except it turned out not to be nearly so equal. in yet another deep insult to injury, hbo did not air rev. robinson's invocation. the salve to the gay community meant to calm the outrage over warren's selection was for naught.
Tomorrow, when my wife gets home from work and before we go to one of our weekly poker games, I'll pull the cork on the '85 porto I brought back from Portugal in 2003 and we'll drink a toast to the end of the horrible nightmare of George Bush and his co-conspirators, thieves, liars, and murderers all. I look forward to an Obama administration. It can't be any worse than the hell we all just went through.
Tomorrow George W. Bush will cease to be President of the United States. Wow. I love that sentence.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
skippy's sunday nite music club
buddy guy & carlos santana - drinkin' tnt n' smokin' dynamite
scheudenfrade is sweet
and, god forgive us, we are beside ourselves w/glee in the knowledge that all the hardly-ever-right wingers will be doubly depressed on tuesday.
molly ivors discusses such winger's depression over @ whiskey fire:
i especially like his tacit admission that, had mccain been elected, he would have "obsequiously concur[red]" in everything that came from the white house. instead, he gets to "respectfully disagree," presumably by boogeying down his own bad self to "barack the magic negro" and implying that the new president has, i dunno, shady land deals or dead interns or industry connections or some damn thing.
but at least cupp'll always have the fox news building. "(which, by the way, is the only refuge new york republicans have. walking into fox is like slipping into a warm bath.)" you know, scientologists say the same thing about the celebrity centre in la.
look, kid. american turned away from your way overwhelmingly, and for very good reasons. stupid wars, torture, a destroyed economy, gajillions of dollars just gone missing, outed cia agents, dead americans, dead iraqis... i could go on like this for days, but you get the point. maybe instead of sobbing into your beer you should think a bit about why people are so happy, so optimistic, so ready to roll up their sleeves and bust ass to save our nation and world.
and here's a hint: it doesn't have one goddamn thing to do with you, twatwaffle.
so, basically, we are saying: suck on it, wingers. you lose.


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Payment and ticket delivery
Currently, we accept
- MasterCard
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- PPS (for journey commences from Hong Kong only)
- IDeal (for journey commences from Netherlands only)
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- Union Pay (temporarily not accepted for journey that commences from Bangladesh, Denmark, Hungary, India, New Zealand, Sweden, Africa)
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Please note: The physical credit card used to pay for tickets must be presented by the cardholder for verification at check-in, or when collecting the tickets. Otherwise the cardholder must present the physical card used at the nearest Cathay Pacific Ticketing Office for verification prior to the flight departure.
If the credit card used is renewed with a new card number by the credit card issuer between the time of ticket purchase and time of verification, please retain and present the original credit card for verification.
The cardholder does not need to book and travel. The carrier reserves the right to deny boarding or collect a guarantee payment (in cash or from a new credit card) should you fail to present the card originally used.
In addition: If you choose Visa, MasterCard, American Express or JCB for payment, you may be required to enter your personal password on a secure page for authentication to complete the online purchase; if Verified by Visa, MasterCard® SecureCode™, American Express SafeKey® or J/Secure™ security feature is enabled by your credit card company.
Please sign up for Verified by Visa, MasterCard® SecureCode™, American Express SafeKey® and J/Secure™ with your credit card company if you have not yet registered!
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Our online booking facility utilizes the SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology – an industry-standard method for protecting web communications. Data is encrypted (turned into code) before transmission to prevent it from being intercepted.
Once you have confirmed your booking online, we will immediately issue a debit note to your credit card company. This applies even if you decide to change your travel plans right after. Please contact our Global Contact Centres should you like to rearrange your travel plans or would like to seek a refund. Please note that refund and/or cancellation charges may apply according to applicable fare conditions.
For passengers who would like a receipt for their transaction, please contact our Global Contact Centres, or your local Reservations Office.
"Hold Your Fare" allows you to confirm your seat with a deposit when making a booking on CX.com.
The booking will be put on hold for 72 hours. You can log into Manage Booking to complete the payment. If payment is not made within 72 hours after the booking has been put on hold, the reservation will be released and the deposit will be charged. All of our Marco Polo Club members can enjoy the "Hold Your Fare" service for free, provided that they log in with their membership number when they make bookings on our website.
"Hold Your Fare" can only be offered if the seat is confirmed at least 7 days (168hours) before the departure time and date."
Within the holding period, you can pay online by simply logging in to Manage Booking using your name and Booking Reference Number.
Once our system verifies that your booking is eligible for processing with online payment, a "Complete the payment process now" button appears under your flight booking details. Click on that button to pay for your reservation.
No. "Hold Your Fare" does not apply to certain types of offers and promotions. The option to select "Pay Later" will be available only if "Hold Your Fare" applies to the offer.
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The "Complete the payment process now" button will not appear when our system determines that the ticket is not eligible for online payment. You may contact the local reservations office for assistance.
When you have clicked the "Purchase" button on the Payment page, you will receive a confirmation email shortly.
No, the "Hold Your Fare" deposit is non-refundable and non-transferrable.


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Padres, City of San Diego pay homage to Selig
SAN DIEGO -- By the time Padres president and CEO Mike Dee caught wind of Bud Selig's farewell tour of Major League ballparks, the wheels were already turning as to how the team was going to pay tribute to the outgoing Commissioner.
Many ideas were considered, but one clear and decisive winner eventually emerged from the pack, Dee said Tuesday.View Full Game Coverage
SAN DIEGO -- By the time Padres president and CEO Mike Dee caught wind of Bud Selig's farewell tour of Major League ballparks, the wheels were already turning as to how the team was going to pay tribute to the outgoing Commissioner.
Many ideas were considered, but one clear and decisive winner eventually emerged from the pack, Dee said Tuesday.View Full Game Coverage
"It's tough to find something to give someone who has the experience and background he does," Dee said. "I think at this point in his career, his legacy speaks for itself. But to commemorate it here today was not only fun for us, but important for us to do."
On yet another sun-kissed day in paradise, the Padres honored Selig with a dedication ceremony of the Selig Hall of Fame Plaza at Petco Park, which sits behind the Western Metal Supply Building, next to 13 palm trees, waving gently in the breeze during the 20-minute ceremony before Tuesday's game against the Brewers, which the Padres won, 4-1.
Dee said the area will serve as a home to the Padres Hall of Fame and eventually statues in the plaza to honor Padres greats as well as a plaque to honor Selig, not just for his overall achievements to baseball during his 22-year tenure as Commissioner but the specific accomplishment of helping to keep baseball afloat in San Diego.
The Selig Hall of Fame Plaza will be open year-round to fans.
"We wanted to do something to recognize his contributions here in San Diego because they are unique," Dee said. "Make no mistake, his contributions to the creation of Petco Park are profound. For those of us who were around and know the trips he made and conversations he had with local officials."
San Diego County supervisor Ron Roberts declared Tuesday as "Bud Selig Day" in San Diego County and its 18 cities.
Roberts was one of four speakers at the ceremony, including Selig, who sat next to former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman and made mention of another Padres legend during his speech. Executive chairman Ron Fowler also spoke at the ceremony.
Selig's comments were brief, but he made it clear how much the organization meant to him -- especially one of its greatest players.
"One of the great ambassadors we had was Tony Gwynn," said Selig of the Hall of Famer, who passed away in June. "... He loved the game, he loved the city and he loved the fans. I couldn't help but think of him today."
Several speakers praised Selig for his role in helping to keep baseball prospering in San Diego, first during its difficult financial period of 1993, the infamous "fire sale" that saw the trades of Gary Sheffield and Fred McGriff and then, later, when the team was trying to get its downtown ballpark built.
"Your help in creating this beautiful ballpark ... it has truly reinvigorated downtown San Diego," said San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer. "You shared the vision for the ballpark and you saw what it meant for the fabric of our community. [Selig has] truly been an All-Star when it comes to supporting San Diego."
Later Tuesday, Selig watched as his former team -- he, of course, once owned the Brewers -- took on the Padres. He might have even been swayed to root for the Padres on a day that caused him to feel a little bit nostalgic.
"This is wonderful. It's sort of tough when you look around and see your name up there. It really is nice. I meant what I said here today: I have great admiration for the Padres ownership," Selig said.
"They came into a difficult situation and I can't tell you how well they fit in and how well they're doing. I look at this ballpark and remember Jack Murphy Stadium. So we've come a long way. We had a lot of challenges and this franchise was emblematic of that. But this sport has emerged from a lot of that challenge and this franchise is proof of that."
Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. Keep track of @FollowThePadres on Twitter.


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Seminar Terms of Service
Please read the terms and conditions carefully before registering.
Registration Conditions
- Registration is possible only in couples unless otherwise stated.
- To register with different partners for multiple seminars, please complete a new registration for each set of partners.
- Registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. No advance reservations are accepted.
- If the seminar is full, you may register for the waiting list. We will contact you if a place becomes available.
Payment Process
Payment shall be made upon registration with one credit card per couple via a secure server. Accepted credit cards are VISA, MasterCard and American Express. All credit card transactions are encrypted. All personal data is protected and remains confidential.
Your place in the seminar will be confirmed upon registration and processing of your payment.
Travel expenses and the costs of accommodation are not included in the seminar fee unless otherwise stated.
Cancellation Policy
You may cancel your registration at any time by contacting us via e-mail or through the contact form on our website.
In case of cancellation, you have a few options:
- You find a couple to take your place. All financial arrangements for reimbursement must be managed directly between you and the new couple. You must email us the names and contact information of the new couple.
- If you cannot find a couple to replace you, you may ask us to find a replacement from the waiting list. If there is a couple on the waiting list who can take your place, 20% of the seminar fee will be retained as an administrative fee and you will be reimbursed the remaining 80% of the seminar fee.
- If no replacement couple is found, the cancellation cost is as follows: up to 30 days in advance: 50% of the seminar fee, less than 30 days in advance: 100% of the seminar fee.
Non-attendance to part or all of the seminar is not grounds for claiming reimbursement of fees.
Due to unforeseen circumstances (illness, accident, insufficient number of students, etc.), the seminar may be canceled by Michelle Marsidi and Joachim Dietiker. The seminar fee shall in this case be refunded. You shall have no further claims.
Insurance for health, personal injury, or loss of personal belongings, as well as all travel, accommodation and other incurred costs in the event of cancelation are the responsibility of the student and will not be covered by Michelle Marsidi and Joachim Dietiker. Michelle Marsidi and Joachim Dietiker are not liable or responsible for any delay, disruption or disturbance in the operation of the internet.
Jurisdiction is Basel, Switzerland.
By registering and paying the seminar fee, you thereby agree to the Seminar Terms of Service.


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Executive Care provides in-home Personal Care services to seniors and other individuals who need assistance with their Activities of Daily Living. Activities of Daily Living refers to activities including bathing, dressing, transferring, using the toilet, eating, and walking.
In-home Personal Care services offer assistance to those who have experienced a loss in their ability to perform the Activities of Daily Living.
Our Personal Care services include:
- Companionship and Homemaking
- Assisting with eating, bathing, using bath equipment, dental/denture care, grooming, and hair care
- Assisting with bowel regularity, self-administered medications, basic skin care and nail maintenance
- Emptying or changing external urinary collecting devices, including catheter bags
- Providing colostomy care and emptying ostomy bag
- Assistance with urinals, bedpans and/or commodes
- Providing bowel and bladder incontinence care
- Encouraging to perform normal body movements and to follow prescribed exercise programs
- Assisting with positioning in bed, wheelchair and other chairs
- Assisting with transferring to/from bed, wheelchair, toilet and chair
In-home Personal Care services may not be available in all states. Please talk with us to find out.


text:
Good How to, work fine, but Server of ATrpms not work, alternative?
Bill Giannikos
This guide is designed to help you configure a wireless controller under CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 which does not have any native drivers. For those that don't know, CentOS 5 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 are basically the same thing just with a different name so this guide applies to both. Thanks to the ndiswrapper module, you are able to run drivers written for Microsoft Windows XP/2000 under Linux. This method should only be followed if there are no native drivers available for your wireless controller or the drivers available do not work properly with your card.
For best results you should use drivers written for Microsoft Windows XP. Vista drivers are not recommended.
When installing the Windows drivers with NDISwrapper you will need to install drivers which match the architecture of your Linux distribution. So you will install 32bit Windows drivers when using 32bit Linux and 64bit Windows drivers when using 64bit Linux. Unfortunately many manufactures have not release drivers for the 64bit version of Windows XP so your only recourse would be to reinstall a 32bit version of Linux.
CentOS/RHEL 5 as standard uses a kernel with the 4K Stack option enabled. This can be a problem with NDISwrapper as many Windows driver expect a greater stack size. Unfortunately the only way around this is to compile a custom kernel. This is beyond the scope of this guide.
If you are getting random system lockups while using NDISwrapper then the 4k stack issue may be the issue. Try finding a different set of Windows drivers and see how that work.
We will be using 'nano' as our text editor of choice but you can use whatever you wish.
While this guide is mainly focused to laptop users there isn't any difference for desktop users.
You should run a full update for your installation to ensure you have all the latest packages installed.
The ndiswrapper module is not included with CentOS/RHEL so we will need to use a 3rd party repository. Here we will be using the ATrpms repository.
1. Load up a terminal window if you are in the graphic interface.
2. Switch to the root user by entering the command "su -" (without the quotes) and typing in your root password
3. Edit the file /etc/yum.conf. Using nano we type the command:
nano -w /etc/yum.conf
4. If you have already configured yum to use the ATrpms repository then append "*ndiswrapper*" to the end of the "includepkgs" line and skip the next setup. Otherwise continue on.
5. Add the following to the bottom of this file:
[atrpms] name=EL $releasever - $basearch - ATrpms baseurl=http://dl.atrpms.net/el$releasever-$basearch/atrpms/stable gpgkey=http://ATrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY.atrpms gpgcheck=1 enabled=1 exclude=*kmdl*i586* includepkgs=*ndiswrapper*
6. Save the file. In nano you press Ctrl-X, answer yes to the "Save modified buffer" question and then press enter on the file name to write.
7. If you have not previously setup ATrpms execute the following command:
rpm --import http://ATrpms.net/RPM-GPG-KEY.atrpms
8. Now execute the following command:
yum install ndiswrapper ndiswrapper-kmdl-`uname -r`
The ndiswrapper module is now installed.
First find out which wireless controller you have in your system. This website should provide you with details on which card you have in your laptop. Alternatively you can use our Linux Wireless Chipset Detector utility which will determine which controller you have.
Download the Windows XP driver which is appropriate for your wireless controller. This website should recommend a driver to use based on the laptop you are using. If not then the driver from your manufacturer should work fine. You can also find a list of drivers from the NDISwrapper site.
Extract the contents of your driver. If you have an .exe file you will need to use either
cabextract or
unshield to extract its contents. If you have a zip file just use
Now execute the following two commands as root:
ndiswrapper -i <location_of_your_driver>/<the_driver>.inf ndiswrapper -l
Change the above from <location_of_your_driver> to your driver's directory and change <the_driver> to match the name of the .inf file in the driver's directory. For example a Broadcom controller is sometimes called bcmwl5.inf and is in the bcmwl folder. You would type in:
ndiswrapper -i bcmwl/bcmwl5.inf ndiswrapper -l
The last line should print out a list of the installed drivers. You should also see "hardware present" printed next to your driver. If you do not see "hardware present" it is likely that you installed the wrong Windows XP driver.
Now type in:
modprobe ndiswrapper
And the wireless controller should be active. You can try to see if the controller is working by typing:
iwlist scan
This should print out a list of access points in your area.
Finally we need to tell CentOS/RHEL to load this driver each time we start the computer. Type in the following:
echo "modprobe ndiswrapper" >> /etc/rc.modules chmod 755 /etc/rc.modules
You should now have a working wireless controller.


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Over the years, OPI has shown it knows how to take blockbusters and turn them into covetable tones that get everyone talking.The 50 year anniversary of James Bond 007 and upcoming Skyfall movie have proven the perfect privilege to bring tempting new tones worth indulging in. The mere announcement of the collection and the star tone, a nail polish which features real 18 karat gold for a spectacular texture that can surely put you in the spotlight, has created a real craze. Though the 18 karat gold leaf top coat is undoubtedly the star... Read More


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A couple of months ago we hosted a Bitayavon magazine giveaway and it was a huge success. Bitayavon magazine is a kosher food magazine published 6 times a year. Full of exciting recipes, tips and ideas that any cook, kosher or not, can enjoy! We love it and are excited to share it with you.
Want to win a subscription? Add your recipes to cookkosher. For each recipe added you get one chance. The more recipes you add the more chances you get!
Bitayavon magazine offers subscriptions world wide. Where ever you are on the globe you can enter to win.
Random giveaway drawing ends November 20, 2011.


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The premiere episode of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles opens in the year 1999 with a big action scene which is glaringly obvious is a dream sequence about 2/3 of the way in. Sarah wakes up from the nightmare and my first thought was: Lame cop out.
The FBI is after Sarah Connor for her escape from the looney bin in Terminator 2 and because they believe she is responsible for the death of Miles Dyson, also from that film. Dyson was the guy who was responsible for Skynet, the computer system that brought nuclear armageddon upon humanity. It seems that his death only delayed the inevitable.
Regarding the timeline of this series: It seems to take place between T2 & T3.
Ok, before I rip into this thing, maybe I should list some positives about the episode so you don't think I'm being a jerk just for fun. Was there anything good about the show?
Number one good thing: Summer Glau as the "good" Terminatrix. Summer is best known from her stint on the ill-fated Firefly TV series and the Serenity film based on the TV show. She has an otherworldly quality that is perfectly suited for this role. Also, having seen her kick major butt in Serenity makes it easy to buy her as a Terminator here.
Number two good thing: The visual effects. For a TV series I thought they were pretty impressive, in particular the scene at the end of the episode where the evil Terminator is trying to get into the bank vault where the good guys are hiding.
Number three good thing: By the end of the episode, it finally started to get just a bit more interesting in a twist that I did not see coming.
So after all that glowing praise, what was bad about the episode?
Pretty much everything else.
The dialog is unbelievably cheesy. Both the opening and closing monologues by Sarah are way, WAY over the top melodramatic. And I felt genuinely sorry for the actress playing Sarah who had to deliver lines like the following:
In a scene where she decides they've stayed put too long and have to leave immediately:
"Half an hour. One bag. Plus the guns - I'll make pancakes."
In a later scene where Glau is repairing herself after being shot and is shirtless with John in the same room but around the corner:
You might want to holster those.
Guess what "those" are.
I mean, seriously, if writers want to negotiate for more money they'd better do better than that.
Ok, bad dialog, big deal you say? Well in addition there were more plot holes in this thing than those in a piece of swiss cheese.
If they want to "stay off the grid" why aren't they living in Mexico or some other more low-tech hiding place than in the U.S.?
Why in God's name did they pick "Reese" (the name of the soldier sent back in time in the first Terminator movie and John Connor's father) as their cover name? I mean all the Terminator had to do to pick out John from a class full of high schoolers was run his finger down the attendance sheet for crying out loud.
Why does the Terminator spout off with witty quips? Yes, Ahnuld did that in the first film with his F*** you, a**hole, but it worked in context. Hearing a Terminator as a substitute teacher say "class dismissed" after riddling it with bullets just seemed completely out of place. The former line was dealing with someone and trying to get rid of them where the latter was thrown out like something Spider-man would say after catching the bad guy.
It was completely obvious that a silhouetted person who comes into the room where the bad guy is holding Sarah and mimicking her voice is NOT John even though the person is speaking in HIS voice. Ohhh... the good Terminator is turning the bad Terminator's own trick against him. (Viewer slaps forehead in amazement.)
Also, in this world a La-Z-Boy chair will stop 9MM bullets. Really. I ran it back and replayed it on my Tivo to be sure that the bullets didn't in fact go through and bounce off the wall and Sarah was just ducking down low. Nope. The old stuffed chair stopped those bullets cold. I guess they used to build tougher furniture than they do these days.
Oh and one Terminator can electrocute another with a high voltage cable while touching him but not get electrocuted themselves.
They did throw in the "Come with me if you want to live" line, so I guess that counts for something.
Back to the story: Sarah and John are on the run and have been for about five years since the events of T2. There is an FBI agent pursuing them that while initially doubtful about her whole story, begins to get his first whiff of becoming convinced when a room full of high school students witnesses "a guy with robot leg" shooting up a classroom.
At the very end of the episode (and I'm not really clear on how they managed this) the female terminator had stored in a safety deposit box at a bank not only a weapon that could blow the head off a Terminator, but one of those time travel devices that send people through time naked in a big glowy sphere.
They arrive in present day (2007) in the last two minutes of the episode, where Sarah's brief fiancee from the beginning of the episode and the FBI agent see her on the news after being missing for 8 years.
I may give Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles one more hour of my life tomorrow night to see if it improves at all - but I'm not very hopeful.


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Heroin laced with a contaminate that could make it 100 times stronger could have played a part in recent addicts' deaths, police are fearing.
Two users died at the weekend, one in Normanton and another in Leeds, leading to West Yorkshire Police issuing a warning.
Since then, there have also been similar deaths recorded by Humberside and Cleveland Police.
Police have said enquiries are still ongoing but tests on a limited number of separate batches of drugs recovered within the region have found that a number have been contaminated with fentanyl.
Fentanyl is an anaesthesia used to help prevent pain after surgery or other medical procedures.
It has the same effects as morphine but is significantly more powerful - it has been found to be 100 times more potent than typical street heroin.
Police says it is too early to say whether the drug is a factor in these deaths, but Det Supt Nick Wallen, who leads the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Drugs Threat Reduction Group, said: "We are however urging those people who regularly use class A drugs and particularly those who purchase their drugs via street suppliers to be extremely cautious in relation to what they are taking.
"Typical symptoms of a fentanyl overdose include slow and difficult breathing, nausea and vomiting, dizziness and increased blood pressure. Anyone experiencing any unusual symptoms after taking drugs should seek immediate medical attention.
"All police forces in conjunction with our colleagues from the National Crime Agency are working with partners from public health organisations to offer help and support to those vulnerable to serious harm from drug use.
Anyone who has information about the distribution of illegal Class A drugs in West Yorkshire is asked to contact West Yorkshire Police on 101.


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Hey, this Anthony with Revzilla TV, where
you can watch, decide and ride. Welcome to our 2013 Motorcycle Tire Buying
Guide at Revzilla.com. So in this video, we're going to walk through
six tires. We've broken down the motorcycle road universe into six different
tires. We're going to start with Sport, we're going to go to V-Twin Cruiser,
and we're going to finish out for Dual-Sport and Adventure. Really,
this breakdown should give you a great idea of a tire that should match up
with your bike and your riding style, if you're really not sure in 2013.
And as you're shopping for tires on Revzilla.com, be sure to use the Tire Finder
on the site to ensure proper fitment. Now, as part of our larger guides here at
Revzilla.com/guides, if you want to shop the entire collection right now, click
right here to visit Revzilla.com for our Tire Guide Breakdown
page. And keep in mind, there's a detailed breakdown video on every tire I have
on the table here at Revzilla.com, where, soup to nuts, you can
really understand the detail of the tire fully. So first up in our Sports Stack, is the Michelin
Pilot Road 3. This tire almost needs no explanation. For two years,
it's been a juggernaut. Multi- season, wet and dry riding, long distance,
dual-compound. Think FJR, R1200- R, touring and commuting, VFR, this is a phenomenal,
sport oriented, sport touring, multi-season tire, here from Michelin.
Moving down, we get a little bit more sporty. This is our Hardcore
Sport Pick, I have the PP3 from Michelin. This is a new entrant. It replaces
the Pilot Power Pure, but in all honesty, it uses a new technology called
2CT Plus, better longevity, better handling, Hardcore Sport bike riding.
Think most of the time of the road, 85 percent of your time on the road,
maybe stretch the track, it's going to be a better option than the Pilot
Power Pure. And in our opinion, it offers tremendous bang for the buck and
performance, even over something that's a perennial favorite, like the Michelin
Pilot Power 2CT. So moving on from Sport into Track Day, we
have the Dunlop Q2 Sport Max. This is a 50/50 tire, 50 percent road, 50
percent track, but again, good grip wet handling, bang for the buck factor.
It'll still give you DOT handling. Remember, guys that are buying their
Track Day tires at the track are buying more of a race oriented tire. We
know you're out there. This is really for a guy on a hyper sport bike that
spends half his time at the track, half his time on the street, and you're
not having to invest in something like a Pirelli, which is a little
bit higher on the food chain on the race side of things, or even a Metzeler
Racetec, which is more of a race oriented tire. For those guys that spend a lot of time on
the track, and a lot of time on the street, if you're willing to trade longevity,
you do have the Sport Max Q2 in the mix, which will do a rock solid
job. The staple for the Cruiser Harley Davidson V-Twin crowd for this year
is the MV888, triple eight tire from Metzeler. Tire is going to be the replacement
for the 880, which is ultra high-mileage, no compromise. New for
this year, new rubber compound on the tire, increased performance, increased
longevity, Metzeler's claiming 15 percent, we're going to have to
see them, and improved handling. Remember, heavy, heavy bikes, big carcasses,
great handling and feel on what would be a heavy touring bike in the
Harley V-Star Honda Shadow community. Remember also, if you want a little
bit better wet handling, we'd recommend the Michelin Commander 2 in
this category as well, but the 888 really seems to be the juggernaut for
this year. Moving up, moving into our Dual-Sport Adventure
Riding category, really, two tires here on the table. The first one's
in the middle. This is the Metzeler Tourance Next tire, the first Dual-Sport
tire with a dual- compound. So longer distance, improved tread
pattern. We consider this a 90/10. So that means 90 percent road, multi-season
touring, ten percent Dual-Sporting, light off-roading. I'm not
even going to say light and duro. Really, when you take it onto that fire road,
when you're loaded with luggage and potentially a Two-Up rider, this
is going to be a great tire for that option. You know, moving into our more Hardcore Adventure
Riding scenarios, this is the Heidenau K60 Scout. This is a perennial
favorite. This tire is a juggernaut, well loved by the adventure riding
community. Tested to the ends, endorsed by Rawhyde Adventures out on
the west coast. 50/50 tire, chevron pattern that won't score off like
something like a TKC 80. Think big, Hardcore Touring and Adventure Touring
bikes. Notice that chevron pattern, great at ejecting soil, great at
ejecting rain, and would provide decent handling in the turns. And remember, there is a tire that bridges
both of these as well, and that's the Heidenau K76, which is really an
80/20, little bit less aggressive than the K60 Scout, but falls in
between the Tourance Next, as well as this K60. So remember, full, detailed
tire breakdown on Revzilla.com. You can click right here, and
shop this entire collection as part of our 2013 guide series. At Revzilla,
we do helmets, we do jackets, we do boots, we do gloves. We've tried to
make it easy, if you're just looking to kind of collect your thoughts and
make a great choice moving into this season. And as always, we ship for free, exchange
for free. No restock fees, even if you send it back to us. And you can always
call and give our Gear Geeks a shout at 877-792-9455 or [email protected],
where we can walk you through the ins and outs of any of the products we
have listed today. I'm Anthony, we'll see you next time on Revzilla TV.


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Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi Congratulates Dr. Leroy Morishita on Becoming Fifth President of CSU East Bay
Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) October 12, 2012
Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi (D-Hayward) congratulated Dr. Leroy Morishita on his investiture as the fifth President of California State University, East Bay. The university held the official ceremony today, recognizing Dr. Morishitas leadership and longtime commitment to public education.
Dr. Leroy Morishita has worked diligently to ensure California students have the opportunity to reach for and achieve their dreams, stated Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi. Over his 30-year career, he has been dedicated to advancing higher education and serving the community, never forgetting the lessons he learned early on about the importance of access to education and of supporting the aspirations of young people.
Dr. Leroy Morishita served as interim president of CSU East Bay for six months, and was appointed as President in January 2012.
Dr. Morishitas work has spanned diverse areas from counseling, computer sciences and research, to budget planning and finance. He has been involved with his local communities, serving as a trustee of the Institute of Buddhist Studies in Berkeley, and was a former board member for the Japanese Cultural and Community Center for Northern California and Oaklands Asian Community Mental Health Services.
Dr. Morishita grew up in the Central Valley in a farming family, where his parents encouraged him to be anything he wanted to be. He earned a psychology degree and a masters in counseling, and found his passion in working with underserved middle and high school students to get them into college. This led Dr. Morishita to counseling work at San Francisco State University and then his doctoral work at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
His natural skill with budgets, planning and enrollment projections brought him through the administration ranks at San Francisco State University and at CSU East Bay, where he eventually became chief financial officer and executive vice president for administration and finance, respectively.
Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi serves the 18th Assembly District, which includes San Leandro, Hayward, Dublin, most of Castro Valley and Pleasanton, and a portion of Oakland, as well as the unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, San Lorenzo and Sunol.
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Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes
Click here to download TV listings for the week of July 28 - August 3, 2013 in PDF format
Zero Hour Injured after a car accident, Hank (Anthony Edwards) awakens in the presence of Melanie Lynch, a.k.a. Mother (Amy Irving). With Hank's life hanging in the balance, Hank's father (Dan Ziskie) agrees to help save him in this new episode. (8 p.m. KABC).
American Haunting In the premiere of this new unscripted series a Kentucky family witnesses moving objects, hears strange voices and experiences attacks in their home. 8 p.m. A&E
Cedar Cove When a developer (Brennan Elliott) decides to tear down the town's iconic lighthouse, Judge Lockhart (Andie MacDowell) has no legal way to stop him in this new episode. 8 p.m. Hallmark
Redneck Island Loyalty and alliances are tested as the final five head toward the finale. 9 p.m. CMT
Do No Harm Jason (Steven Pasquale) receives an anonymous text message threatening to reveal his secret and tries to track down the sender. He learns there's a fine line between an enemy and an ally. Olivia's (Ruta Gedmintas) flight from Ian (Jason Cole) brings her and Cole (Brendan McHale) to a place filled with memories in this new episode. 10 p.m. NBC
Hope Springs Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones play a long-wed couple seeking a therapist's (Steve Carell) help in re-energizing their marriage in this 2012 comedy. 3:45 and 10:35 p.m. Starz
Rise of the Planet of the Apes An effective prequel that sets up the series, this 2011 science fiction thriller casts James Franco as a scientist seeking a cure for his Alzheimer's-afflicted father (John Lithgow). He tests a possible solution on chimps, not realizing he's setting the stage for a simian uprising that eventually brings San Francisco to a standstill. With Andy Serkis and Freida Pinto. 7:15 p.m. Cinemax
Hidden Away A woman and her young daughter fake their own deaths and start a new life Palm Springs, in this new TV thriller. Emmanuelle Vaugier, Ivan Sergei and Sean Patrick Flanery star. 8 p.m. Lifetime
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) 9:30 a.m. ABC Family
Splash (1984) 10 a.m. WE
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 1 p.m. USA
An American Girl: Saige Paints the Sky (2013) 3 p.m. NBC
Tootsie (1982) 5 p.m. TCM
My Favorite Year (1982) 7 p.m. TCM
Good Morning America (N) 7 a.m. KABC
McLaughlin Group (N) 6:30 p.m. KCET
Today David Gregory. (N) 6 a.m. KNBC
Good Morning America (N) 6 a.m. KABC
State of the Union The economy; unemployment; Detroit's bankruptcy: Sec. of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew; Immigration reform; politics; 2016 election: Rep. Peter T. King (R-N.Y.). Egypt; NSA surveillance; politics: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Panel: Paul Begala; Cornell Belcher; Ana Navarro; Chris Plante. (N) 6 and 9 a.m. CNN
Sunday Morning Author Nora Roberts; Adam Levine. (N) 7 a.m. KCBS
Fareed Zakaria GPS Israel/Palestine peace negotiations: Michael Oren; Daoud Kuttab. City bankruptcies: Dean Baker; Meredith Whitney. American presidents: Joseph Nye. (N) 7 and 10 a.m. CNN
Meet the Press President Obama's economic plan: Sec. of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew. NSA Surveillance: Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). Panel: David Axelrod; Maria Bartiromo; Mike Murphy; former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-Tenn.). (N) 8 a.m. KNBC
This Week Anthony Weiner scandal: TV producer Judy Smith ("Scandal"). The economy: Sec. of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew. NSA surveillance: Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.); Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.). Author former Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) ("Gridlock"). Panel: George Will; Katrina vanden Heuvel, the Nation; Peggy Noonan, the Wall Street Journal; Steven Rattner; Willett Advisors. (N) 8 a.m. KABC
Fox News Sunday President Obama's economic plan: Sec. of the Treasury Jacob J. Lew. Budget; national debt: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah). Roberta Flack. Panel: Brit Hume; Amy Walter; Nina Easton; Juan Williams. (N) 8 a.m. KTTV
Reliable Sources Anthony Weiner scandal: Errol Louis; Lois Romano. White House press briefings: Reid Cherlin. Coverage of the royal baby: Tim Ewart; Catherine Mayer; Joe Concha. Netflix and TV: Peter Rubin, Wired; Mario Armstrong. Al-Jazeera America: Dave Marash. (N) 8 a.m. CNN
Face the Nation Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.); Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.); Dee Dee Myers; David Gergen, Michael Gerson. Steroids in baseball: Bob Nightengale; Bill Rhoden. North Korea: Seth Doane. (N) 8:30 a.m. KCBS
60 Minutes Disillusionment among American nuns; Bill Gates. (N) 7 p.m. KCBS


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Mustang MonthlyHow To Interior Electrical
How To Diagnose Gauge Problems
Don't always assume your Mustang is really overheating; it could just be the gauge
Mustang Monthly contributor and former staffer Jim smart produced an excellent article on gauges in the May 2010 issue and we felt it was time to pdate Jim's work into the Fox Mustang era with this story. Read Jim's original story, Ford Mustang Instrument Panel Troubleshooting.
Chances are there are more than a few of our readers who are driving around in their vintage or Fox Mustangs with a gauge or two not working. Like most electrical issues, we've found that owners tend to "get by" without because they don't understand how the circuitry works or how to fix it. Be it a lazy oil pressure gauge or an inoperative fuel level gauge, the main theory of operation is the same for most gauges. The gauge circuit is provided a specific voltage and the ground side of the circuit passes through a variable resistor, such as the oil pressure sending unit or the fuel level sender. These variable resistors control the ground-high current flow to ground makes a gauge read high, lower current flow to ground makes the gauge read low.
Don't take the expensive route and simply throw parts at the problem. Instead, take the time to properly diagnose the troubled circuit. With the use of a shop manual, wiring diagrams, and the wealth of information available at your fingertips on the Internet, finding the problem and properly repairing it is certainly within the realm of possibility for even the "greenest" of shade tree types.
More times than we care to remember, we've been asked to look at a gauge issue and found it to be nothing more than a basic wiring problem (lack of ground, loose wire/connector, broken wire, etc.). Having a quality wiring diagram will help for instances such as these as you can trace the wire circuit routing, verify wire color, etc. and visually inspect the wiring from the gauge to the sender. Examples of wiring issues we've seen over the years include frayed wiring touching the engine (causing a short to ground and the effected gauge to peg high), loose bulkhead connectors at the firewall, and broken wiring at the gauge cluster. Don't forget that the voltage provided to the gauges is circuit protected as well. First thing to always check is your fuses!
If your wiring physically checks out fine, then you've just narrowed down your gauge problem to either the sending unit, the gauge itself, or the instrument voltage regulator (if equipped). Sending units can easily be checked for proper operation with an ohm meter, either in place or off the car. For example, the water temperature sending unit can be tested for the proper ohm rating with the engine cold and then running at operating temp (thermostat open), or you can remove the sending unit from the car and test it in a pan of boiling water. The same can be said for a gauge-style oil pressure sending unit, using regulated compressed air to test the sender's resistance. The fuel level sender is actually the easiest; simply remove it from the fuel tank and move the float by hand.
Gauges themselves rarely fail, but if they do, testing is easy using an ohm meter. Gauges like the fuel level, oil pressure, and water temperature will show continuity across their connections if they're in working order. Otherwise, a bad gauge will show no continuity or be "open" when checked with an ohm meter. Lastly, there's the instrument voltage regulator or IVR, which takes battery voltage and reduces it to a 5-volt signal to the gauges. Original IVRs use a bi-metallic strip that opens and closes a set of contact points to regulate the voltage down to what the gauges need by pulsing the voltage. However, you can now use updated solid-state electronic IVRs that are much more accurate.
Checking the IVR is simple with a volt-meter. The input terminal should show battery voltage and the output terminal should show approximately five volts. You can also quickly check the IVR by removing a sending unit wire and testing the sender wire with a simple test light and watch for the test light to pulse.
Check out the captions for more testing tips and what to look for when your gauges don't work as they should.
Sending Solutions
While we briefly touched on how to test gauge sending units in our introduction, there are far too many years and engine options to cover all sending units and their ohm ratings. However, all hope is not lost. We've bookmarked the following digital catalog on our computer- www.wellsve.com/ecatalog.html- and it has helped us diagnose sending units on many vehicles we've worked on. Simply launch the catalog and use the drop-down menus to configure your year, make, and model (and engine if necessary), then click on "sensors" or "switches" depending on what you're looking for. Scroll through to find the part you need info for, such as a coolant temperature sensor, and select the part number. You'll find temperature-to-ohm rating info under the part's detail tabs. This information can then be used to verify the sending unit on your vehicle is working right or even if it's the right one for your car.


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Adriano: Football's forgotten man
Explosive, physical, skillful and destined for greatness. This was how Adriano Leite Ribeiro was lauded before his lack of work ethic, focus and personal problems were exposed, drastically affecting his performance.
The last few years have seen the 31-year-old's career descend in to the abyss of the footballing world after his last employers Flamengo abruptly released him after his capricious nature saw him miss three consecutive training sessions.
This ill-fated turn of events evoked the contemplation of retirement for the once promising striker and its something he didn't want to rule out.
It was a far cry from the start of his career when inspiring performances in the youth academy forced the team to promote Adriano to the first team at Flamengo.
This paid off as Adriano only had to wait until his second game before he scored his first goal for the Mengao in a contest against the storied São Paulo.
Taking place in the first team with a sense of poise, it wouldn't be long before Italian side Inter Milan were infatuated with the limitless potential and brought the player to southern Europe.
At the developmental and youthful age of 19 the Nerazzurri decided to send him to Fiorentina on loan. The loan proved to be fruitful, scoring six goals for the Florence team.
Parma agreed a co-ownership deal with Inter for the Brazilian and over the next two years his development would elevate. The move saw a glowing goal scoring record of 25 goals in 37 games that sent excitement through Milan.
As anticipated, Inter brought the Brazilian back to the San Siro for the 2003-2004 season. It proved fruitful as he scored 17 goals on his return to Milan and thusly proved his worth. However, it would be the 2004-2005 season that Adriano reached the pinnacle of his career and, at the peak of his powers, he scored an impressive 33 goals in 46 games for both club and country.
This prompted the striker to sign a contract extension with the club that would run through to 2010. The 2005-2006 season followed another successful year as he was on target 19 times.
This would begin the downfall of the star's career as his dedication was scrutinised after two occurrences in which he was caught partying at nightclubs. This saw more controversy follow the player as his focus was swayed by the drinking culture and the fame that football had given him. These habitually negative actions where deeply impairing his efficiency for Inter.
This created a toxic relationship with owner Massimo Moratti and manager Roberto Mancini, which resulted in falling out of favour at the club and been sent back to Brazil on loan to São Paulo.
This however, had no effect on the increasingly volatility of his personality. The disharmony Adriano's presence was having on the club compelled them to send the player back to Italy early.
Inter Milan finally decided to release the player in 2009 as his intolerable actions continued. Flamengo signed the striker on a free transfer to a one year contract and after enjoying relative success in Brazil, Serie A side A.S Roma paid to bring him to the Italian capital.
This was a disastrous move in Adriano's career making an embarrassing five appearances after an initial malleolar injury hampered the settling period. The Giallorossi terminated his contact on March 8th 2011. Disappointing stays at Corinthians and a return to Flamengo have seen the powerhouse exiled into free agency.
It is a sad tale about the downfall of a once highly rated Brazilian striker with the world at his feet who was seduced and ruined by the perils and pitfalls of modern football.
The mental health and stability of Adriano has been questioned by worryied onlookers as the consequences of his actions stalk him.
Write for GiveMeSport! Sign-up to the GMS Writing Academy here: http://bit.ly/12nAsNY
DISCLAIMER: This article has been written by a member of the GiveMeFootball Writing Academy and does not represent the views of GiveMeFootball.com or SportsNewMedia. The views and opinions expressed are solely that of the author credited at the top of this article. GiveMeFootball.com and SportsNewMedia do not take any responsibility for the content of its contributors.News Now - Sport News


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Preface: The story that Obama was the top recipient of political contributions from BP is going viral today. I thought I'd put the story in a little context.
As a side note, I voted for Obama and had high hopes for him … until he appointed Summers, Geithner, various Bush re-treads and industry shills, and then showed that he would play footsie with the big boys instead of the American people.
Politico reports:
BP and its employees have given more than $3.5 million to federal candidates over the past 20 years, with the largest chunk of their money going to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Obama apparently also got more contributions from Exxon and Chevron than McCain.
And Obama had the most political contributions from Goldman Sachs in 2008 of all senators. And Goldman gave more to Obama than any other presidential candidate, and was Obama's second-largest contributor.
In addition, Obama was the top congressional recipient of defense industry contributions for the 2008 election cycle. See this, this and this.
Obama was also the top recipient of money from the healthcare giants in the presidential election.