text:
Suffolk, ss. Division of Administrative Law Appeals
Louis Bona and Electrical Contractors, Inc.,
v. Docket No. LB-08-278
Office of the Attorney General,
Fair Labor and Business
Practices Division,
Appearance for Petitioner:
Paul S. Tagatac, Esq.
Michelson, Kane, Royster & Barger, P.C.
10 Columbus Blvd.
Hartford, CT 06106
Appearance for Respondent:
Bruce Trager, Esq.
Assistant Attorney General
Fair Labor and Business Practices Division
One Ashburton Place, Room 1813
Boston, MA 02108
Administrative Magistrate:
Kenneth J. Forton, Esq.
A Connecticut electrical company was cited for failing to pay its employees the prevailing wage and taking impermissible deductions for vacation. Decision upholds the prevailing wage portion of the citation but vacates the vacation portion because the program is voluntary and the employees get all of their money back each year. The civil penalty is reduced from $10,000 to $2,000.
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) issued a civil citation against Electrical Contractors, Inc. and Louis Bona for two violations of the prevailing wage law on a public works project, viz., improperly paying an apprentice's wage, instead of a journeyman's wage, to three employees and withholding pay from two other employees by means of a vacation deduction. Electrical Contractors, Inc. (ECI) and Mr. Bona appealed, pursuant to G.L. c. 149, § 27C(b)(4).
A hearing was held on September 24, 2008 at the office of the Division of Administrative Law Appeals, 98 North Washington Street, Boston. I admitted sixteen documents into evidence. (Exs. 1-16.) William Flynn, Vice President of ECI, testified on behalf of Petitioners. David Wallace, Director of the Division of Apprentice Training, and Scott Simpson, an OAG Fair Labor Inspector, testified on behalf of the Respondent. There is one cassette tape of the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, I agreed to keep the record open until November 12, 2008 to accept post-hearing briefs from the parties. Upon receipt of the parties' briefs, the record closed on November 12, 2008.
On January 20, 2009, the Petitioner filed a Motion to reopen the record to introduce a January 12, 2009, letter from David Wallace to ECI regarding its apprentice sponsor application, which was filed in May of 2008. The OAG filed its opposition to the Petitioners' motion on January 22, 2009.
Based upon the testimony and documents presented, I make the following findings of fact:
1. Electrical Contractors, Inc. is a Connecticut corporation with a principal office in Hartford, Connecticut. Louis Bona is the President and Treasurer of ECI, while William J. Flynn, Jr. is ECI's Vice President. (Exs. 2, 3, 4.)
2. From July 14, 2007 to November 10, 2007 five workers from ECI performed electrical work on a public works project at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. (Testimony; Ex. 13)
3. Because the project was a public works project, the Division of Occupational Safety set prevailing wage rates for work under the contract, including a rate of $43.87 for the Electrician classification for the period July 1, 2007 to December 31, 2007. (Ex. 5.)
4. In late 2007, the OAG received a complaint that ECI was illegally paying some of its non-apprentice electricians at an apprentice's wage, which is only a percentage of the regular journeyman electrician's wage. (Testimony, Simpson.)
5. Scott Simpson, an OAG investigator, requested ECI's certified payroll records from the project's awarding authority. (Testimony, Simpson; Ex. 7.)
6. Mr. Simpson's examination of the certified payroll records revealed that three ECI employees, Craig Busca, Jeffrey Gustafson, and David Smith, were paid at rates less than the full journeyman's rate. Mr. Busca was paid $28.52 per hour; Mr. Gustafson was paid $30.71 per hour; and Mr. Smith was paid $26.32 per hour. (Testimony, Simpson; Exs. 6, 7.)
7. Based on the hours worked by these three men, Mr. Simpson calculated that Mr. Busca was underpaid $614.00, Mr. Gustafson was underpaid $2,526.72, and Mr. Smith was underpaid $517.73. (Testimony, Simpson; Exs. 6, 7.)
8. During the period relevant to this appeal, Messrs. Busca, Gustafson and Smith were registered as apprentices with the Connecticut State Apprenticeship Council of the Connecticut Department of Labor. (Testimony, Flynn; Exs. 8, 9, 10.)
9. During the period relevant to this appeal, Messrs. Busca, Gustafson and Smith were not registered as Massachusetts apprentices with the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development, Division of Apprentice Training. (Testimony, Flynn, Wallace.)
10. In September 2006, the State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts entered into an Apprentice Reciprocity Agreement. The Agreement required a copy of each non-resident apprentice's apprentice agreement to be filed with the appropriate state apprentice registration agency for verification before the apprentice begins work as a non-resident apprentice in that state. Under the Agreement, apprentices and employers who use apprentices must comply with the law and regulations in effect for the state in which the work site is located. (Ex. 1)
11. The Division of Apprentice Training has implemented a reciprocal apprentice registration procedure based on G.L. c. 23, §§ 11G, 11W. A company seeking to use out-of-state apprentices in Massachusetts must enroll with the Division of Apprentice Training and pay a $300.00 annual fee. Each apprentice who wishes to participate in the reciprocity agreement must obtain an apprentice identification card, which is good for the term of the apprenticeship, and pay a fee of $35.00. (Testimony, Wallace.)
12. The registration procedure and all of the necessary forms were posted on the website of the Division of Apprentice Training from October 2006 to April 2008. (Testimony, Wallace.)
13. Prior to or during the work that is the subject of this appeal, ECI did not enroll with the Division of Apprentice Training, nor did it pay the annual $300.00 fee. (Testimony, Flynn, Wallace.)
14. Prior to or during the work that is the subject of this appeal, none of the ECI employees who were registered as apprentices in Connecticut obtained Massachusetts apprentice identification cards, nor did any of them pay the $35.00 fee for an identification card. (Testimony, Flynn, Wallace.)
15. The fees collected by the Division of Apprentice Training are used to fund the apprenticeship program. (Testimony, Wallace.)
16. While he was reviewing the certified payroll records, Mr. Simpson also discovered that ECI was deducting small amounts of pay from two different employees, James Denis and Timothy Kularski. ECI deducted $2.02 per hour from Mr. Denis's pay and $1.11 per hour from Mr. Kularski's pay. (Testimony, Simpson; Exs. 6, 7.)
17. Based on the hours worked by Mr. Denis and Mr. Kularski, Mr. Simpson calculated that Mr. Denis was underpaid $693.49, and Mr. Kularski was underpaid $86.58. (Testimony, Simpson; Exs. 6, 7.)
18. The money that ECI deducted from Mr. Denis and Mr. Kularski was placed into a vacation fund at their request. (Testimony, Flynn.)
19. Employees of ECI do not receive paid vacation time. Instead, they may elect to contribute money to a vacation fund throughout the year. Employees who participate in the vacation fund are paid back all of their contributions on the anniversary of their hiring date. Employees do not receive interest on their vacation fund contributions. (Testimony, Flynn.)
ECI makes two challenges to the OAG's citation. First, ECI argues that it properly paid Messrs. Busca, Gustafson and Smith as apprentices, and not journeymen, and that the Division of Apprentice Training denied ECI due process. Second, ECI argues that it paid the full prevailing wage to Mr. Denis and Mr. Kularski and did not improperly deduct for vacation because the vacation fund program is voluntary and the pay deducted for vacation is paid back to participants each year.
Prevailing Wage and Apprentice Registration Law
The OAG's citation is rooted in Massachusetts prevailing wage law, which requires contractors and sub-contractors engaged in public works construction projects to pay certain workers-"mechanics and apprentices, teamsters, chauffeurs and laborers"-prevailing wages. G.L. c. 149, § 26; Teamsters Joint Council No. 10 v. Dir. of the Dep't of Labor & Workforce Dev., 447 Mass. 100, 102 (2006). It is the Commissioner's job to prepare a list of the jobs usually performed on public works projects. G.L. c. 149, § 27; Teamsters, 447 Mass. at 102. The Commissioner may revise the job classifications from time to time as he may deem advisable. G.L. c. 149, § 27. Prior to awarding a contract on a public works project, the awarding authority submits a list of jobs for which the prevailing wage must be paid; the Commissioner then determines the wage rate for each of the job classifications and issues a wage rate sheet for the project. Id. The job classifications and the wage rates for each classification are derived from local collective bargaining agreements in private industry. G.L. c. 149, § 26.
G.L. c. 149, § 27A provides an administrative mechanism for review of the Commissioner's wage determinations and job classifications. Teamsters, 447 Mass. at 102-03. At the conclusion of this administrative process, the decision of the Commissioner is final. Id. at 103. Because the prevailing wage law contains no provision for judicial review of the Commissioner's decisions, aggrieved parties may file an action in the nature of certiorari, pursuant to G.L. c. 249, § 4, if they wish to challenge any of the Commissioner's final decisions. Teamsters, 447 Mass. at 106; Felix A. Marino Co. v. Comm'r of Labor and Industries, 426 Mass. 458, 464 (1998).
While the Commissioner determines the job classifications and the corresponding prevailing wages, the Commissioner does not enforce the law; that task falls to the Attorney General. G.L. c. 149, §§ 26, 27. The OAG may initiate criminal proceedings against any contractor who does not comply with the prevailing wage law. G.L. c. 149, § 27C(a). In the alternative, the OAG may issue a written warning or a civil citation. G.L. c. 149, § 27C(b)(1).
Any person aggrieved by the OAG's enforcement of the prevailing wage law may file a notice of appeal with the OAG and DALA within ten days of receiving any citation or order. G.L. c. 149, § 27C(b)(4). DALA "may affirm or if the aggrieved person demonstrates by a preponderance of evidence that the citation or order was erroneously issued, vacate, or modify the citation or order." Id.
Normally, all workers on a public works construction project must be paid the full prevailing wage rate. G.L. c. 149, § 27. The law makes an exception for registered apprentices. Id. Registered apprentices are paid less because they are still learning a trade and benefit from on-the-job instruction from their employers. Apprentices are paid a percentage of the prevailing wage rate for journeymen based upon the length of the apprentice program and the number of years the apprentice has participated in the program. Contractors are limited in the number of apprentices they can use, based on the number of journeymen employed by the contractor.
The Massachusetts Apprenticeship Program is administered by the Division of Apprentice Training of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. G.L. c. 23, § 11G. To use apprentices in Massachusetts a contractor must register as an apprentice program sponsor with the Division of Apprentice Training by filling out the application specified by the Division and paying a $300.00 annual fee. G.L. c. 23, § 11L; 2003 Mass. Acts c. 26, § 637. "The application shall describe the proposed program, giving the terms and conditions of the apprentices' employment, supervision of apprentices and provision of related instruction." G.L. c. 23, § 11L. The Division is also required to charge a fee of $50.00 for apprentice training program sponsor verification on public works projects. 2003 Mass. Acts c. 26, § 636. To participate in an apprentice training program, a potential apprentice must submit an application for an apprentice identification card and pay a one-time $35.00 fee. G.L. c. 23, § 11W. The funds collected by the Division are used to support the apprentice training program directly. Id. The funds are separately received by the state treasurer on behalf of the Commonwealth and deposited in a special trust account for the Division and can be expended, without further appropriation, under the direction of the Division. Id.
In September 2006, the State of Connecticut and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts entered into an agreement they called an Apprentice Reciprocity Agreement. The Agreement, however, does not exempt out-of-state employers and their employee apprentices from registering with the state in which they are planning to work. The Agreement requires apprentices and employers to comply with the law and regulations in effect for the state in which the job is located. In Massachusetts, that means that out-of-state employers and apprentices must still register themselves with the Division of Apprentice Training and pay the required fees, pursuant to G.L. c. 23, § 11W.
ECI Apprentice Registration
ECI admits that it did not register itself as an apprentice program sponsor with the Division. It also admits that its apprentices did not register with the Division or have Massachusetts apprentice identification cards. ECI's argument that it was improperly cited rests on other grounds. ECI argues that it was denied due process because the Division did not directly notify ECI of the terms of the Apprentice Reciprocity Agreement and that ECI effectively "recorded" the apprentices by notifying the contract's awarding authority that it would be using apprentices to complete the work.
In support of its argument, Bill Flynn, Vice President of ECI, testified that the company has completed several Massachusetts public works projects in the recent past, and the contracts for those projects contained no provisions requiring ECI to register its apprentices in Massachusetts; rather, registering the apprentices in their home state, Connecticut, was sufficient to meet the terms of the contracts. Even if this were true, ECI is still required to comply with Massachusetts law and regulations, which it failed to do in this case. ECI cannot rely on the fact that it was not cited for its practices in the past or that it complied with the terms of prior contracts to prove that it "recorded" its apprentices with Massachusetts and was, therefore, in compliance with Massachusetts law.
As for ECI's notice argument, the Division was not required to notify ECI directly of any changes in the relationship between Massachusetts and Connecticut apprenticeship authorities. ECI was put on notice of the Reciprocity Agreement and registration requirements and fees, as they were posted on the Division website from October 2006 to April 2008. The applicable law, G.L. c. 149, §§ 11E through 11W, has been in effect since 2002, giving ample notice to ECI of its requirements. Moreover, the Reciprocity Agreement did not alter the requirement that all employers wishing to sponsor apprentices and pay them as such must register with the Division as apprentice program sponsors and pay the required fees.
ECI further argues that the OAG's and the Division's enforcement of the apprentice registration law denies them due process because it does not bear a real and substantial relation to public health, safety or general welfare. See Blue Hills Cemetery, Inc. v. Bd. of Registration in Embalming and Funeral Directing, 379 Mass. 368, 373 (1979). To support this argument ECI maintains that it "recorded" its apprentices with the Division by notifying the contract's awarding authority that it had apprentices working on the project. The only requirement that ECI failed to complete, in its eyes, was the payment of the annual fee to the Division. ECI further insists that, once it became aware of the Massachusetts registration requirement in May 2008, it attempted to register with the Division and the Division refused to process ECI's application.
The Division is charged by the Legislature with the task of administering apprentice programs in the Commonwealth. G.L. c. 23, § 11G. In that work, it is granted great latitude. It sets the conditions for participation in the apprentice program. Id. One of those conditions is the completion of the application materials and payment of the $300.00 fee. ECI's attempt to register itself as a Massachusetts apprentice sponsor six months after the work in this case was completed does not remedy the fact that ECI, at the time the work was completed, was not properly registered. Proper registration allows the Division to keep tabs on program participants, and the fees help to fund the apprentice training program, which aids people interested in learning one of the building trades and assures that well-trained building tradesmen will be available to complete public works projects. See G.L. c. 23, § 11W. The instant law bears a reasonable relation to a permissible legislative objective. See Pinnick v. Cleary, 360 Mass. 1, 14 (1971). The law likewise "bears a real and substantial relation to the public health, safety, morals or some other phase of the general welfare." See Blue Hills Cemetery, Inc., 379 Mass. at 373.
ECI has not met its burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that the citation for failure to pay the prevailing wage to Messrs. Busca, Gustafson and Smith was erroneously issued. That portion of the citation is, therefore, affirmed.
ECI Vacation Fund
ECI also challenges that portion of the citation that cites ECI for setting aside employee pay in a vacation fund and not paying it directly to the workers. ECI argues that it paid the full prevailing wage to Mr. Denis and Mr. Kularski and did not make an improper deduction for vacation pay. Bill Flynn, Vice President of ECI, gave uncontradicted testimony that the disputed amounts deducted from these journeymen's paychecks were set aside for them in a vacation fund. Employees at ECI receive no paid vacation; they are paid only for the hours they work. To encourage employees to take vacation, ECI established a vacation fund. The fund is a voluntary program that allows journeymen to set aside some of their pay to fund their vacations, or anything else that they want to spend the money on. Participating employees first choose whether or not they want to participate in the vacation pay fund; if so, then they choose the amounts that they want directed to the fund. On the anniversary of their hiring dates, participating employees get back all of the money that they have contributed to the fund. The company pays no interest on the money set aside.
The OAG asserts that G.L. c. 149, § 27 prohibits deductions for vacation benefits. As noted above, journeymen are generally entitled to the prevailing wage, as determined by the Commissioner. Section 27 provides, in relevant part: "The [prevailing wage] . . . shall include payments by employers to health and welfare plans, pension plans and supplementary unemployment benefit plans . . ., and such payments shall be considered as payments to persons . . . performing work . . . ." The OAG argues that the vacation deduction is not a health and welfare plan, pension plan or supplementary unemployment benefit plan and is, therefore, an impermissible deduction. To support its argument the OAG relies on two letters dated October 5, 1989 authored by James F. Snow, who was the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Industries. Neither of the letters is in evidence, as they were merely attached to the OAG's post-hearing brief. In the letters, in response to two different contractor inquiries, Mr. Snow opines that employers may not deduct for vacations and a variety of other purposes, including travel, tools, uniforms, holiday pay, workers compensation insurance and unemployment insurance. The OAG argues that Mr. Snow's letters are entitled to deference because the successor department, the Department of Labor, is charged with administering the prevailing wage rate. See Teamsters Joint Council No. 10, 447 Mass. at 109-10.
The OAG's arguments would have some force if ECI's vacation fund wasn't voluntary and the contributions weren't paid to the participants on an annual basis. Each of the deduction examples cited in the 1989 letters are compulsory; whereas, in the case at bar, the workers chose to participate in the program. This means that Mr. Denis and Mr. Kularski could have chosen to be paid the funds that were set aside in the vacation pay fund right away, but they chose instead to set aside the money through the company-sponsored program. This is distinctive, as it shows that the vacation fund in this case differs from deductions for travel, tools and uniforms because those deductions return nothing to the employee. The funds set aside in the vacation fund, on the other hand, are paid to the employees. Similarly, ECI is already obligated to purchase workers compensation insurance and unemployment insurance, so ECI may not saddle employees with those costs. ECI is not similarly obligated to provide paid vacations or the vacation fund. The ECI vacation program is, therefore, not the kind of impermissible deduction addressed by Mr. Snow's letter or forbidden by the provisions of G.L. c. 149, § 27.
Granting the Department of Labor the deference it is due, ECI has met its burden of demonstrating by a preponderance of the evidence that the citation for withholding vacation pay from Mr. Denis and Mr. Kularski was erroneously issued. That portion of the citation is, therefore, vacated.
Civil Penalty
Finally, ECI challenges the $10,000.00 civil penalty that the OAG has levied against it. G.L. c. 149, § 27C(b)(2) provides that the maximum civil penalty that may be imposed upon an employer for its first offense, when the conduct was intentional, is $15,000.00 for each offense. In determining the amount of any civil penalty to be assessed, the OAG must take into consideration previous violations of chapter 149 or chapter 151 by the employer, the intent by such employer to violate the provisions of chapters 149 or 151, the number of employees affected by the present violation(s), the monetary extent of the violation(s), and the total amount of the public contract or payroll involved. G.L. c. 149, § 27C(b)(2).
There is no evidence in the record that the OAG took these factors into consideration when calculating the penalties for ECI's alleged violations. When considered in light of this decision, a $10,000.00 civil penalty is excessive. There is no evidence that ECI has been cited by the OAG prior to this citation. ECI did not demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that its conduct was not intentional; therefore, it shall be considered intentional for purposes of reviewing the civil penalty. Three employees were affected by ECI's failure to pay the full journeyman's prevailing wage, but the employees affected are still learning their trades and would be considered apprentices in their home state of Connecticut. The restitution that is due them under Massachusetts law, $3,658.45, is a windfall to them. It makes little sense to compound this anomaly by increasing the civil penalty based on the number of employees affected. Finally, no evidence of the total amount of the public contract or payroll involved was introduced at the hearing.
While a $10,000.00 penalty is permissible under G.L. c. 149, § 27C(b)(2), when the appropriate factors are considered, a $10,000.00 penalty in this case is excessive. It does not appear that the OAG considered the required factors in assessing the penalty. Considering that only three employees were affected, that this was ECI's first citation, and that the total restitution due is far less than the assessed penalty, a civil penalty of $2,000.00 is appropriate.
The Petitioners' Motion to Reopen the Record is denied, as the letter being offered is not newly discovered evidence. The letter from Mr. Wallace was sent more than two months after the record in this case closed. Moreover, the letter is not relevant for the reasons stated in this forum's discussion of the prevailing wage, supra.
Civil Citation # PR080023 is hereby modified as follows. Restitution to Mr. Denis and Mr. Kularski is vacated, leaving restitution of $614.00 to be paid to Craig Busca, $2,526.72 to be paid to Jeffrey Gustafson, and $517.73 to be paid to David Smith. The civil penalty is reduced to $2,000.00.
Kenneth J. Forton
Administrative Magistrate


text:
Karli Spera
Hometown: Waterford, Conn.
Major: Communication
WCSU Degree: Bachelor of Arts, Communication
Internships: Summer co-op internship with NSI. They are an IT company but the internship was with their communications and marketing department.
Activities: Member of WCSU Women's Basketball team
Honors and Awards: Dean's List all semesters, Sodexo scolarship, Scholar athlete
Karli Spera says she chose to attend WCSU for two primary reasons: its atmosphere and athletics. "I think that both campuses have a very welcoming feeling to them," she says. "They make you feel like you are in a college setting, which I loved. I was also a member of the women's basketball team and when I came to the school, I fell in love with the team, the coaches, and the arena itself."
Spera says she chose to study communication "because it is an open field. There are many options that I can pursue with a communication degree. I also loved the professors that are in the department and they made me want to study this field further."
Spera says she found two mentors while at Western: Associate Registrar Jennifer Zdziarski and Women's Basketball Coach Kim Rybczyk. "Ever since I was a freshman, I would go to Jen with any questions that I had about classes or school in general," Spera says. "She helped me pick the right classes every year, as well as help me pick the major that was right for me. I knew I could go to her for any questions that I had and it was great to have someone that I knew would be always be willing to help me." Spera continued, "From the moment I stepped on campus, Coach Rybczyk was not only a coach to me but a mentor as well. I knew that coach was always going to be there for me no matter what and help me whenever I needed her. She helped mold me into the person I am today. She made sure I had success not only on the court, but also off the court and I can't thank her enough for that."
Asked what she will remember most about her WCSU experience, Spera says, "Winning the LEC championship my junior year. We also won my senior year; however, my junior year was the first time and I will never forget that feeling. I will never forget the crowd and the support that we got or the team that I was surrounded by. It was an amazing atmosphere to play in and I will never forget it."
After graduation, Spera hopes to find a job and "come back to grad school in the near future."
Spera's advice to new students entering WCSU is: "Get involved in something. Whether it is a sport, a club, or Greek life — just get involved. It makes the college experience a lot easier and more fun to have a group of people who you know are on your side and you know will be with you through everything."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
VIEW 25 of 87 COMMENTS
haha thanks sweetie, have a great week!!! Im excited about the show cant wait!! Haha kissessss and hugss
it's now New Years Day , the shift at the bar was pretty good , only 1 real incident and it was between 2 girls, luckily no real damage neither was really hurt . I have no idea what it was over , but they both calmed down before the police arrived so we were able 2 handle it with no 1 gettin arrested , which is good .So...
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VIEW 5 of 5 COMMENTS
Wow, sounds like you had an eventful new year! I guess I was up until about 6 in the morning too though o.O
Thank you SO much for the lovely testimonial, and all the wonderful compliments on my sets. I'm so flattered.


text:
DM3035, Reviewed October 1993
Rural communities developed primarily as trade centers for the surrounding farm area. As farming became more mechanized and the demand for farm labor diminished, many retail trade firms ceased to operate in rural communities.
During the last two decades, however, many manufacturing firms located in rural areas; recreation and retirement became important rural industries; and many people migrated to small towns and rural areas. These developments can increase the demand for retail products supplied in rural towns.
Local decision makers in rural trade centers are faced with a number of questions concerning future growth of retail trades.
To help answer these questions, the numbers of firms and employees in non-metropolitan towns for 33 retail trades were obtained from Dun and Bradstreet data files for Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
At first glance, everyone notices that some towns have only a few types of retail trades, while other towns have many types of trades. For example, most of the very small communities may have only grocery stores and possibly general merchandise stores. But large communities have several of these types of businesses and also other types like large department stores, carpet stores and music stores. Central place theory attempts to explain the location of and numbers of different types of trades and services according to a hierarchy of towns and their market areas.
The threshold and the range of a product are two major concepts important in central place theory. Before a business can locate and operate profitably in an area, there must be a demand for the products it sells. The threshold is the minimum level of demand needed before a type of business can operate profitably in an area. Potential sales revenue is often measured in terms of population. This population threshold is drawn from both the town center where the business is located and also from the surrounding rural market area. Because costs of doing business vary by type of business, different products or services will have different thresholds.
The range (or radius) of the market area for a product is the maximum distance most consumers will travel to purchase the product at its usual prices. The consumer's price includes not only the price of the product but also the consumer's costs in traveling to the business. As the distance the consumer must travel to a market increases, the total price to the consumer for each product purchased at that market increases. For example, most people shop for groceries within a few miles of their homes but will travel farther to shop for televisions. Different products have different market ranges.
Different thresholds and different market ranges lead to a central place hierarchy of towns based upon the number of different types of products sold in each town. Trade-center specialization alludes to the fact that it is more efficient to supply some products from small centers while it is more efficient to supply other products from larger centers.
The general classification scheme used is that consisting of lower-order centers and higher-order centers. Numerous studies have shown a relationship between the population of a central place and the numbers and types of businesses located in that central place. A lower-order center is usually smaller both in terms of population and market area and supplies, products and services that are demanded on a day-to-day basis, for example, gasoline and groceries. The higher-order center is larger in population and market area and also supplies more specialized products, for example, bicycle stores and hobby shops. It should be noted that:
As the thresholds and market ranges of products progress from lower- to higher-order, we find a network of overlapping market areas, increasing in size. One such mapping of central places and their trade areas is presented in Decongesting Metropolitan America, from which the figure below is drawn. The higher-order center will have not one but two market areas — that for the higher-order products and that for the lower-order products.
In addition to the above concepts of central place theory, economies of size may also affect the number of firms of a specific business type found in a town. Economies of size refer to the fact that, as a firm increases its sales, its cost per unit of product sold may decrease. Given the possible cost advantages of large scale operation and the effects of distance that isolate the firm from competitors, a firm may enjoy a monopoly over its spatial market area. Potential competitors may be wary of entering the market area and splitting the demand for a product. For some types of businesses, the population needed to support two firms profitably without ruinous competition may be more than twice the population needed to support one store.
In Decongesting Metropolitan America, the maximum market area radii have been determined for trade centers based upon the population sizes of the various towns and their location relative to larger towns. Probable market ranges for different types of businesses can be determined using Table 1. For example, only 24 percent of the towns with market ranges of 8 miles or less had lumber dealers; however, 87 percent of the towns with market ranges of 16 miles had lumber dealers. Therefore, we infer that the probable market range for lumber dealers is 16 miles. Customers will be willing to travel 16 miles to purchase lumber. Note that 99 percent of the towns with a maximum radius of 32 miles had lumber dealers. But remember that higher-order trade centers also include lower-order functions also. That is, the 32-mile trade area also includes a 16-mile trade area.
Table 1Percentage of non-metropolitan towns by market area sizes having one or more firms in selected retail trades in 1975
Table 2 lists the median combined populations of towns and their rural market areas for towns having one, two or three firms. As noted earlier, retail firms draw upon both a town and its surrounding rural area for their customers. For example, towns that had one, and only one, lumber dealer had a median total population of 2,595 people living in either the town itself or in its rural market area.
A median is a type of average that equals the mid-point of a set of numbers. This means that half of the trade centers having one lumber dealer had total trade area populations less than 2,595 people and half had total trade area populations greater than 2,595 people. The probable entry threshold for a lumber dealer was 2,595 people in 1975.
Trade centers having two lumber dealers had a median total population of 8,748 people living in the town and rural market area. For this type of business, it appears that two firms require more than twice as many people as one firm requires for profitable operation.
As noted in Table 1, the probable market range for lumber dealers is 16 miles. In calculating the population of rural market areas associated with individual towns, the market area was restricted to 16 miles or less even if the town was a higher-order center having a market range of 32 or 64 miles for some of its businesses. Naturally, if the town was a very low-order center having a market range of 8 miles or less, the market area used was 8 miles, not 16 miles.
Table 2Median population of non-metropolitan towns and market areas and median employment by number of firms in selected retail trades, 1975 (table is split into two parts)
Your town's potential for retail trades can be compared with the averages presented in Table 2 by obtaining the following data.
Population data are available in the U.S. Census Bureau's publications Decongesting Metropolitan America. Next, calculate the rural market area population associated with this maximum range and for each lower range listed in Table 1 using the formula: 3.14 x Range x Range x Rural population density.
For example. suppose a town of 3,700 people has a maximum market range of 32 miles and the county has a rural population density of 15 people per square mile. The total combined populations of the town and its market areas are 6,714 people for products with an 8-mile market range; 15,758 people for products with a 16-mile market range; and 51,930 people for products with a 32-mile market range. This town has no 64-mile market area because of the proximity of higher-order trade centers.
Using the information presented in Tables 1 and 2, we compare this town's market population at various ranges with the median levels for all towns. Note that the population used should be based on a radius not exceeding the probable market ranges listed in Table 1 and not exceeding the town's maximum market radius.
For example, the probable market range for lumber yards is 16 miles. Comparing this town's total trade area population of 15,758 people within 16 miles with median levels listed in Table 2 for lumber dealers, we would expect this town to have three lumber dealers employing 15 workers.
As another example, the probable market range for motorcycle dealers is 64 miles. However, this town's maximum market area is 32 miles. Comparing this town's total trade area population of 51,930 people within 32 miles with median levels listed in Table 2, we would expect this town to have two motorcycle dealers employing seven people.
Remember that comparisons of your town's potential for retail trades with information presented in Table 2 are based upon median population levels. This median is only a mid-point average for a three-state area. Half of the towns and market areas with a certain number of firms in a business type have less population and half have more population.
What these comparisons allow are questions. If your town has fewer firms than expected, is there potential for new firms to enter the market or are there unique local conditions that adversely affect demand for the products studied? Towns experiencing rapid population growth may have fewer firms than expected as retailers evaluate and adjust to growing markets. If your town has more firms than expected, is there over capacity, are the firms profitable, or are there unique demands in your area? Rising energy prices may decrease the market ranges of products and lead to more dispersal of retail trades.
As an area's population increases. significant changes may occur in the economies of size available with different types of operation in the same business. For example, a grocery chain may build a large supermarket that forces the closure of several small independent grocery stores. On the other hand, some types of businesses may profit from the entry of a new firm. For example, a new discount department store may attract new customers who previously shopped in other towns. These new customers may also shop in the previously established stores located nearby. Customers may also combine their shopping trips to conserve travel costs. A shopping center provides a variety of products in one location.
Order publications online at http://extension.missouri.edu/explore/shop/ or call toll-free 800-292-0969.


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Are monastics allowed to use footwear and headcover?
Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 2:49 am
I wonder if monastics are allowed to wear shoes, scarf or hat in winter, and sunshade in the summer, in and outside their monasteries. It's not good for health not to wear shoes, scarf or hat when it's cold, windy or snowing. Also it's not good to get sunburn without a hat in the summer ... I know some monastics do wear shoes and hats (not really due to illness) . Is that acceptable according to the Pāṭimokkha?
Thanks and metta!
Thanks and metta!


text:
This server, called the "SimpleWeb", provides links and information on network management, including software, RFCs and tutorials. The focus is on SNMP and Internet management, but people interested in other management technologies will also find interesting information. Information is made available as a free service to the Internet and research community.
The server is hosted at the University of Twente, maintained by members of the DACS group and sponsored by the European FLAMINGO Network of Excellence for Management of the Future Internet.
Note that the official URL of the "SimpleWeb" is: https://www.simpleweb.org/
News: Network traces are available at the Simpleweb repository. Check it


text:
Project Description
The goal of this project is to develop and validate for multiphase gas-solids flow simulations, a non-intrusive uncertainty quantification (UQ) procedure based on polynomial chaos methodology together with a quadrature-based reconstruction of the multivariate probability density function required by the approach, and to implement the procedure as a new algorithm in the NETL Multiphase Flow with Interphase eXchanges (MFIX) multi-phase flow simulation package. The new UQ procedure will first be tested and validated on gas-particle flow problems for which analytical or simple algebraic solutions exist. The procedure will then be installed in MFIX and tested on two (2) complex gas-solid flow scenarios that represent different gas-solids flow regimes.
Project Benefits
This project will develop polynomial chaos (PC) methods to evaluate the PC modes from the outputs of an existing numerical implementation of the model (the non-intrusive approach). The project will develop and implement an efficient non-intrusive UQ method for gas-solids flow simulations, that will reduce the amount of uncertainty that must currently be factored into the design of multiphase coal fired power generation equipment and systems and thus, result in lower equipment and operating costs of these systems.
Presentations, Papers, and Publications
Contact Information
About This Site
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text:
Concussions: What to Do
Please Note: By clicking a link to any resource listed on this page, you will be leaving the TeensHealth site.
National Athletic Trainers' Association
This site contains information on certified athletic trainers and tips on preventing and healing sports injuries.
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)
The website of NCIPC contains a variety of injury prevention information.
Brain Injury Association
The mission of this group is to create a better future through brain injury prevention, research, education, and advocacy. Call: (800) 444-6443


text:
Beauty How To: Create Fabulous Cheek Contours
If only we could all be born with naturally high and defined cheek bones. Most of us, however, need a little help to get the perfect contour and shape. Here's how to create this Hollywood-worthy look in three easy steps.
- First, apply a foundation that's one or two shades darker than your skin tone to the area of your cheeks that hollows out when you pucker up. Blend well, so that there's no line. I recommend MAC Cosmetics Hooked Bronzing Powder, $19.50.
- Next, use a peachy apricot or a brown-based blush on the apples of your cheeks and be sure to blend well. I really like Nars Blush, $25, in Gina for medium skin tones or Orgasm for fairer skin.
- Lastly, shine and define. Use a light golden or shimmery yellowish powder on the area right above your cheekbones. One swipe with the brush should be enough for a glowing accent. I recommend Diane Von Furstenberg Eclipse Highlighting Powder in Sunshine, $30.
To get all these contouring tools in one package,
If you don't want to buy all the blush and powder separately, Scott Barnes Cheek Palette in Sundance, $45, has all of the essential ingredients for creating the perfect contoured cheeks. Each palette has three different pressed powder blushes in matte, demi-pearl, and pearl colors, which you can either blend your blush over together or use individually.


text:
Build coreboot using LBdistro
What is LBdistro?
LBdistro is an improvement on buildrom to let user customize what binaries will be at final ROM. The original name was biosdistro but Uwe suggest me change it to LBdistro. In the LBdistro the user can just select through menus what applications, kernel features and coreboot will be added to ROM. So the system will compile everything and the user needs just write this firmware into BIOS flash memory.
How to getting started?
First you need download the toolchain used to compile some LBdistro packages:
wget http://lbdistro.sourceforge.net/tools/toolchain.tar.bz2
Extract it to /usr/local:
sudo tar jxvf toolchain.tar.bz2 -C /usr/local
Get last LBdistro from SVN repository:
svn co https://lbdistro.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/lbdistro/trunk LBdistro
After that issue:
cd LBdistro make menuconfig make
Move the create file (deploy/emulation-qemu-i386.rom) to your HOME renaming its name to bios.bin
Compile QEMU and apply patches to support 2MB BIOS
Execute QEMU using the argument -L pointing to directory where bios.bin is located (we use ~ to refer to HOME)
qemu -L ~ -hda /dev/null
For now only QEMU compilation is generating ROM, but other boards will be added after Kdrive and application works.
Known problems
The final coreboot ROM created is not starting correctly in Qemu.
Remove the needs of external toolchain, the build system needs create the toolchains too.
Add Gigabyte M57SLI-S4 to real tests.


text:
Manchester chief wants state probe of alderman's claim of intimidationBy TED SIEFER
New Hampshire Union Leader
August 28. 2013 11:02PM
MANCHESTER — The city's police chief has requested that the state attorney general investigate Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur's allegations that he was subject to intimidation by a member of the force.
The allegations concern an incident outside City Hall in January when Officer Steven Maloney, the president of the patrolmen's union, allegedly thrust a finger in Levasseur's chest and verbally abused him, as well as recent comments Maloney made about the alderman on a local blog.
In a letter sent to Attorney General Joseph Foster earlier this week, Police Chief David Mara wrote that the allegations "necessitate a criminal investigation," and that he couldn't take on such a review since Levasseur alleged that he had "covered up past incidents of intimidation."
Levasseur did not request the investigation, but last month he again complained to Mara about Maloney after he posted negative comments about him on the blog of radio host Rich Girard. Levasseur said he wasn't confident that the attorney general would find fault with the police.
"Steve Maloney should just sit back and enjoy a cocktail at the beach because ... we all know the Attorney General's Office doesn't have a good record representing ordinary Americans in complaints against the police," he said.
Levasseur had sent an email to Mara July 31, alleging that Maloney "continues to intimidate me as an elected official," pointing to the comment the officer made on the blog,Maloney was responding to a post Girard wrote about a case involving Levasseur's client, a woman who was allegedly abused by a Manchester police officer. The officer, William Soucy, is awaiting trial on a charge of misdemeanor assault against the woman.
Maloney wrote in part: "If Levasseur wants to chase ambulances, that's fine. If he wants to use his elected office to drive after the flashing lights, I have a serious problem with that. When is the city going to demand that he step down? When is the NH Bar going to stop this blatant misconduct?"
Levasseur has represented several citizens with grievances against the police and has had an acrimonious relationship with the department.
Maloney confirmed that he made the post on the blog and welcomes an investigation by the attorney general. "It's not the first time he's made wild accusations," Maloney said of Levasseur. "And now he may be called out on it, and when the facts come out I'm going to request that he be charged with making a false report."
Levasseur said he wasn't being paid to represent the alleged abuse victim or other clients that had disputes with the police. "They get paid $45 an hour to stand around a hole, so they can't imagine anyone working for free," he said, referring to the police.
The same day he sent Mara the email complaining about the blog post, Levasseur also requested information about the alleged visit 10 days earlier of a police officer to the home of the mother of his client, the alleged abuse victim. She had told Levasseur that the officer was there to inquire about a car parked on the lawn.
Levasseur said it was unusual for police to respond to such matters. Mara responded in an email that "we have no record of any police officer responding to that address."
Levasseur has alleged that police dragged their feet in arresting Soucy, a veteran officer whose uncle is a former city police chief. Levasseur has said that high-ranking officers intimidated the alleged victim by showing up at her door before she felt comfortable making the charges. Police have said they reached out to assist her and offer services, and that any delays in arresting Soucy were related to jurisdictional issues with Hooksett, where the incident took place.
The main incident involving alleged intimidation of Levasseur took place outside City Hall Jan. 15, after an aldermen's meeting in which Maloney and other members of the force called on Levasseur to step down for comments he made that they said disparaged the police.
Following the meeting, Levasseur alleged he was confronted by Maloney.
"He was within three inches of my face and screaming at me in a hostile and menacing manner. He also placed his hands on me and poked me in the chest while you watched him do so," Levasseur wrote in his July 31 email to Mara, which was attached to the letter to the attorney general.
Maloney said it was Levasseur who approached him and another officer after the meeting. He insisted he did not touch Levasseur, and that this account would be confirmed by other witnesses.
"Joe Kelly Levasseur isn't getting threatened by anyone," he said. "Joe Kelly Levasseur is the one who does the threatening."
Crime, law and justice Public Safety Politics Manchester Top Section Stories


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John Deere's Construction & Forestry Division, previously called the Industrial Equipment Division, was established in the mid-1950s. In late 1957 and early 1958, John Deere appointed its first dealers who were responsible for selling construction equipment exclusively. Today, John Deere construction and forestry products are distributed through a network of more than 600 dealer locations worldwide. We aspire to distinctively serve customers — those linked to the land — through a great business, a business as great as our products. To achieve this aspiration, our strategy is:
John Deere construction and forestry equipment is manufactured at a number of factories around the world. The John Deere Dubuque Works factory was opened in 1947. It stretches over one mile long on 1,465 acres three miles north of Dubuque, Iowa. The Dubuque Works manufactures crawler dozers, crawler loaders, skid steers, backhoe loaders, forestry track feller bunchers and harvesters, knuckleboom loaders, winches and components for various heavy equipment products. The factory also houses the Dealer Technical Assistance Center (DTAC) and Dealer Marketing Assistance Center (DMAC). DTAC is a hot line that provides technical assistance to John Deere Dealers. DMAC helps dealers answer customer questions about proper machine configuration, special applications, and other operating issues. The John Deere Davenport Works began production in 1974. Today, the Davenport Works facility manufactures articulated dump trucks, four-wheel drive loaders, motor graders, log skidders and cabs. Both the Dubuque Works and Davenport Works factories have been registered to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard ISO 9001 by the Quality Management institute in Canada and the Japanese Machinery & Metal Inspection Institute (JMI). This is the highest standard achievable for recognizing a company's quality systems. With the acquisition of Timberjack in December 1999, the division's product line consists of more than 100 models. Products for worldwide forestry markets are manufactured not only at John Deere Davenport Works. John Deere Forestry Oy in Joensuu, Finland manufactures log forwarders, wheeled harvesters and harvesting heads. John Deere construction equipment is used in numerous types of earthmoving, including road building, underground utilities, site development and residential construction; and in material handling, road repair and maintenance. John Deere forestry equipment is used in full-tree and cut-to-length harvesting operations and in mill yards. John Deere has realized the importance of developing strategic alliances by partnering with Hitachi and Bell Equipment to strengthen its product offerings. In 1988, Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation was formed. John Deere hydraulic excavators are produced by Deere-Hitachi Construction Machinery Corporation in Kernersville, North Carolina, USA for distribution in the Americas.In 1998, Deere-Hitachi formed Deere-Hitachi Specialty Products (DHSP). In 1999, DHSP began shipping crawler-based forestry machines from its facility in Vancouver, British Columbia.In March 1999, the Construction & Forestry Division formed a strategic alliance with Bell Equipment Limited in Richards Bay, South Africa.In March of 2005 John Deere and Bell expanded their strategic alliance and in July 2005 the first articulated dump truck rolled off the line at the Davenport Works Factory.


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Grants and Pro Bono
Grants and Pro Bono Partnerships
The Negotiation and Resolution Program has garnered two grants to fund community and international dispute resolution curriculum development and outreach programs. The ADR Program was awarded a three-year $244,302 grant from the U.S. State Department to foster a faculty exchange and resource development program with the Katmandu School of Law and non-governmental organizations in Nepal.
The Program also was awarded a two-year $90,000 shared grant from the ASC Foundation for a collaborative project with the International Institute of Metropolitan St. Louis, "Finding Peace and Security in a New Land: Community Mediation Training for Ethnic Leaders." Through this project, the ADR Program faculty and the Community Justice Clinic students provide mediation training and resource materials to immigrant and refugee leaders in the St. Louis community.
Through a partnership with U.S. Arbitration & Mediation Midwest, Inc., the Program provides pro bono, half day CLE programs at the School of Law for lawyers, students, and the community. The next seminar will be "Winning in Litigation and Dispute Resolution: Critical Decision Making for Litigators" on April 20, 2007. For more information on upcoming seminars, please call Amy Staten at (314) 231-4642, or e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com.
Mortgage Loan Mediation Project
Professor Tokarz and students in the Civil Rights, Community Justice and Mediation Clinic have collaborated with Beyond Housing in St. Louis and US Arbitration & Mediation Services-Midwest to provide research, negotiation and mediation assistance, and legislative advocacy on the development of mortgage loan foreclosure mediation in the St. Louis metro region.
U.S. Residential Mortgage Loan Foreclosure Mediation Programs
Proposed Model Ordinance
"Foreclosure Mediation Programs: A Crucial and Effective Response by States, Cities, and Courts to the Foreclosure Crisis"


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Paradise Country is a great destination for families to experience an authentic Aussie Farm that reflects the traditional Australian Bush Culture. There is so much to do, you can feed the friendly kangaroos, visit Koala Village where you can have your photo taken with a cuddly Koala, see the skills of the master shearers in the Sheep Shearing Show.
Have you ever wondered what it's like working in a real opal mine? Well now you can experience it first hand with 'Clancy's Opal Mine' where you can experience the thrill of uncovering your very own opal in the dusty mine. You can also experience the excitement of fossicking for gold, silver and precious gem stones with the authentic Paradise Country Gold Fossicking.
The kids will love the Animal Nursery with gorgeous baby lambs, piglets and calves. Experience the feeling of being on a real Australian farm as you watch stockmen and their dogs round up a flock of sheep, crack a stockman's whip and meet Paradise Country's newest residents, a pair of friendly dingoes. Sample a feast of country tucker in the farmhouse restaurant. A delicious buffet barbecue lunch is served as you enjoy some great Aussie music.
|Cost AUD
|Valid From
|$15 - $15
|Child (3 to 13 years) One Day General Admission Price.
|Indicative Prices
|$25 - $25
|Adult (over 14 years) One Day General Admission Price.
|Opening Hours
|All year
|9:30am - 4:30pm
|25 December 2018
Note: Information on listed products and services are provided by the operator and were correct at the time of publishing. Rates are indicative based on the minimum and maximum available prices of products and services. Please visit the operator's website for further information. All prices quoted are in Australian dollars (AUD).


text:
Former Eagles defensive back Tom Brookshier died Friday night at the age of 78, the team announced today.
Brookshier spent seven seasons with the Eagles, starting in 1953 after the Birds drafted him in the 10th round out of Colorado. He earned All-Pro honors twice and was part of the last Eagles team to win a championship, in 1960.
He is one of seven Eagles players to have his number (40) retired.
Andy Reid released the following statement earlier today:
"Tom Brookshier is one of all-time greats, both for what he did on the field and for the kind of man he was off the field. I will always remember him for his booming and bright personality. He had an uncanny love for life, a love for his family and a love for the game of football, especially for the Philadelphia Eagles. He bled green and I will always cherish our conversations and the relationship that we fostered throughout my tenure in Philadelphia. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, Barbara, and the rest of the Brookshier family."
After his playing days, Brookshier teamed with Pat Summerall on CBS' top broadcast team.
He later hosted WIP's morning show.
Feel free to share your thoughts and favorite memories of Brookshier below.
Here is what some current and former members of the Eagles organization said today about Brookshier:
Eagles Chairman
Jeffrey Lurie:
"One of the reasons we have always been so proud to be a part of the Eagles family is because great men of character like Tom Brookshier were the bricks in the foundation of the franchise. This man could literally light up a room, and he brought the same passion and intensity to his playing and broadcasting careers. Tom Brookshier will forever remain an integral part of the Philadelphia Eagles. He was and will always be a champion. Christina and I send our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Barbara, his family, and anyone who had the pleasure of calling Tom Brookshier a friend."
Eagles President Joe Banner:
"As few may know, back in the mid 1970s, I worked in broadcasting in Philadelphia at the same station [WCAU] as Tom Brookshier. Although I was only 21 years old at the time and very inexperienced, the first person to greet, embrace and take me under his wing was Tom. I will never forget that such a highly accomplished, highly respected person that Tom was and will forever be in this city, took the time to welcome and care for me. I will never forget his warmth and friendly personality."
Hall of Famer Chuck Bednarik and former teammate of Brookshier:
"Tom Brookshier represented everything you could want in a teammate and friend. Brookie was one of the best people that I've ever known and I am proud to have remained his friend for so many years. He was always a leader on the field and in the locker room and might have been the toughest defensive back of our era; he was a hitter. We've lost one of the great Eagles of all time."
Hall of Famer Tommy McDonald and former teammate of Brookshier:
"Put a Tom Brookshier on your team and you're going to have a winner. Nobody said we were going to beat Green Bay [in the 1960 NFL Championship game]. Well, look at what we did! The 1960 team lost a brother. That 1960 team was family. He had an outstanding personality. He was a happy person to be around. That's why he was so successful in color commentary … He was the type of person you wanted to have as your brother. He had strong leadership ability on defense with Chuck Bednarik and everybody. You could always depend on him. He was a leader. I will miss knowing that I won't be able to see him anymore, but he's on God's team now."
Former Eagles quarterback and Monday Night Football analyst Ron Jaworski:
"Tom Brookshier was an icon in Philadelphia sports. When I was traded to the Eagles in 1977, Tom took me under his wing and taught me the passion of Philadelphia Eagles fans. For that, I am forever grateful. Brookie also led by example; he was always willing to give back to the community. His commitment to the Maxwell Football Club helped it become recognized as the number one club in America to promote the game of football at all levels. We lost a great leader in Tom Brookshier."
Longtime Eagles public relations director Jim Gallagher:
"Brookie was a special person and a heckuva football player. After his career was stopped short by a broken leg, he got into radio and TV and did a super job with that. He was one of the best in the business working alongside Pat Summerall. Tom was really one of the best tacklers I have ever seen - he tackled like Pop Warner would want him to. But the thing I remembered most about him as a player was that he was a team leader. All the guys loved him and thought the world of him. He was a dear friend. When Brookie came into a room, it lit up like sunshine."


text:
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272300 charmander: "He said penis hehe"
272282 ignatz: @Air Biscuit Apparently they usually film in SteadyCam and add the shake in post..
272298 Father Goose: Old cats are best cats. Give her lots of love OP!
272297 Weedheart: Happy Birthday!
272155 Mr Bleak: I've looked closely over many years, and I'm still yet to find the coin slot.
272157 Mr Bleak: Harry Potter reboot looking ... interesting.
272159 Mr Bleak: Mistakes were made, judge. Lessons will be learned.
272161 Mr Bleak: @savvoy Bare Thundersword is my porn star name.
272162 Mr Bleak: Normally, I'm against dressing cats up. But ... I can see Fur face in one of those ... it would pay him back for the half a dead bird in my shoe.
272169 Mr Bleak: @Air Biscuit That's less than a good cup of coffee at Starfucks.
272296 camellia: "The Drop Dog is a dangerous predator."
272296 boomboomboom: I have no idea what I'm doing.
272174 tib gubb: self loathing aside - it's worth as much as respect between friends
272180 tib gubb: what do you mean, move? i'm pretty sure that i'm allowed to be here.
272295 kswat: Gooby pls
272245 tib gubb: the dark side beckons
272268 tib gubb: ooh, ooh... i'll make popcorn
272201 georgerino: Indeed @Teechur...
272159 tib gubb: @SuedeOxford I work with lawyers- most of them are middle class and overworked
272201 Teechur: @Mr Bleak I like #buttduohorn
These users have commented the most in the past 24 hours:
1. tib gubb
2. Mr Bleak
3. Teechur
4. Not A Bot
5. dangerkeith3000
6. Air Biscuit
7. Amy Housewine
8. addend
9. Mad Collager
10. a robot
The top ten most commented-on images today:
272155 Mr Bleak: I've looked closely over many years, and I'm still yet to find the coin slot.
272205 Terrh: Classy...
272159 Mr Bleak: Mistakes were made, judge. Lessons will be learned.
272089 Mad Collager: @fanny I can give you my mother's Neverfail Pie Crust recipe if you like. It's super easy, rolls out beautifully and very light and flaky when baked. For the filling, I use the sourest apples I can find for maximum flavor and about a cup of cinnamon sugar and half a stick of butter broken into little pieces and put among the apple slices. Let me know!
271834 Mr Bleak: @Uncle Phil For good reason: people will drink them. Sad but true.
271861 Scoo: SHUT THAT BLOODY BOUZOUKI UP!
271958 revtom: As if we wouldn't use those Atlas droids to fight. See that 'atlas parkour' video on youtube? We'll be remotely piloting those things in the next war.
272086 tib gubb: yikes
272195 Air Biscuit: @Knice also happy birthday.
272189 Warrax: This goddamned shit is motherfucking KEEN I tell you.
The highest-scored images of the past 48 hours:
grizzly uploaded 272039 (1050 points)
ChubbyBuddy uploaded 272044 (1023 points)
Soy Peso uploaded 271993 (1007 points)
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ChubbyBuddy uploaded 272026 (892 points)
Back Door Dan uploaded 271791 (824 points)
dorian uploaded 272152 (813 points)
Amy Housewine uploaded 272056 (811 points)
Jalamunch Totorito uploaded 272166 (802 points)
White Rice uploaded 272099 (796 points)
confession uploaded 272135 (789 points)
midgetcastle uploaded 271845 (782 points)
windows96 uploaded 272144 (778 points)
maura uploaded 271820 (776 points)
westerner uploaded 272162 (758 points)
1. Mexico: 7439 points
2. Side Boob: 4527 points
3. Annoying Vegan : 3791 points
4. ChubbyBuddy: 3251 points
5. E. HONDA: 2928 points
6. celtic: 2389 points
7. youshall: 2214 points
8. grizzly: 1992 points
9. JollyWell: 1942 points
10. Albo Grungus: 1886 points
11. Cyka: 1715 points
12. Surprising: 1659 points
13. brutal: 1574 points
14. Jennysaurus: 1461 points
15. dad: 1445 points
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Nov 6, 2008 at 8:24 am
like your 68 vette and that old Honda chopper is way cool.
Feb 18, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Calling that'Vette 'The Pig' is like calling the Mona Lisa a slut. It took longer to restore her than it took me to rid myself of my wife. One is still alive, beautiful & good for a ride!
Feb 11, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Sweet Vette, 5*


text:
The Big WeddingRSS
To the amusement of their adult children and friends, long divorced couple Don and Ellie Griffin (Robert De Niro & Diane Keaton) are once again forced to play the happy couple for the sake of their adopted son's wedding after his ultra conservative biological mother unexpectedly decides to fly halfway across the world to attend. With all of the wedding guests looking on, the Griffins are hilariously forced to confront their past, present and future - and hopefully avoid killing each other in the process. Also starring as part of the ensemble cast are Katherine Heigl, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Ben Barnes, Susan Sarandon & Robin Williams.
The Big Wedding Reviews
MRR Review: "The Big Wedding"
-- Rating: R (sexual content, brief nudity, language)
No fan sites added yet


text:
PRETORIA, South Africa, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic sprinter, Monday reported to South African corrections authorities as per his bail conditions, his uncle said.
A judge permitted Pistorius to live with family under strict conditions while awaiting trial on charges he shot and killed his girlfriend, model Reeva Steenkamp, Feb. 14, the British newspaper The Guardian said Monday. Pistorius has said he thought Steenkamp was an intruder.
Pistorius is living with his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, in the wealthy Pretoria suburb of Waterkloof.
While there he must report to a corrections office twice per week. He cannot return to his own home because it is a crime scene, chief magistrate Desmond Nair said. He cannot consume alcohol, leave the country or contact anyone associated with the victim or the investigation.


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I have a old supco micron guage, looking to upgrade been looking at a jb and infinicon . Any problems with these. The yellow jacket in the hard case looks nice but pricey.
BluVac beats all of those, and is on sale at Truetechtools.
RSES Certificate Member
RSES-SWRA Past President
The planet is fine, the people are ! -George Carlin
The JB is terrible, I went with the Yellow Jacket, it is the most reliable on the market. Most of the techs at the company I work for use them on anything from small RTU's up to big Centrifugals. Just keep the oil out of the sensor.
Originally Posted by mark beiser
BluVac beats all of those, and is on sale at Truetechtools.
yellow jacket is my choice.....
it was working.... played with it.... now its broke.... whats the going hourly rate for HVAC repair
Blue vac is very nice, I hear lots of good things about them. Yellow jacket with the blue hard case is what I have and it's excellent.
Shop around and chat to supply houses, you can get them for $285 ish.
Once you get to see a 500 micron vacuum you're wondering why isn't everyone doing it?
Yellow jacket for me also
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Tapatalk 2
In the past I just felt like these things were disposable. Just had the worse of luck with digital micron gauges. Owned probably seven from numerous different YJ models (not bad), the gray Supco (longest lasting of the bunch), JB (crap), Robinaire (crap), etc. They would do great for a season, then just get unreliable, erratic, or just die. I would do the whole alcohol cleansing ritual and wish for the resurrection to take place, but just ended up throwing them in a box. Went back to my old true Thermal Engineering, which never let me down until last season when I dropped it off a roof.
I read all about the BlueVac and all the hoopla and ado here in the tool section and decided to give that a try. I liked the fact the owner is a member here on the site that he cares about his product and stands by it. Kind of like FieldPiece or DigiCool, I may not be the biggest fan of their product, but since the main guys are here in the forums and support us all on a personal level, I will purchase their product over another. So purchased it and found that I was taken to a whole new dimension of the world of vacuum. I think it is a marvelous and ingenious device, and thoroughly love actually seeing what is going on as for the entire scope of the vacuum process. Now how long it lasts, time will only tell, going on 8 months and use it heavily year round in refrigeration.....so knock on wood.
Is the Field Piece vacuum meter a good tool and accurate? I need a new tool.
I used Fredricks meters & probes in the past for high vac work on cryogenic equipment. Little overkill for use here. I regularly pulled vacuums to 10 microns with my Edwards pump, dow corning vacuum grease & large diameter hoses wrapped around pipe nipples screwed into large valves on the tanks. But I need something for refrigeration repairs work.
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Animation pioneer Jerry Rees will lead the creative team developing the Marvel Experience, a theme-park attraction expected to tour the U.S. and Canada later this year.
A film director and producer known for his animation work in "Tron" and his 1987 milestone short film "The Brave Little Toaster," Rees has directed 16 Disney theme park attractions around the world in California, Hong Kong, Florida and Paris.
Rick Licht, the CEO of Hero Ventures, the live entertainment company that partnered with Marvel to create the touring attraction, said in a news release issued Tuesday that "Jerry Rees brought a lifetime of creativity to the table and took the Marvel Experience to places well beyond our imagination."
The touring dome complex, which will span two acres and reach more than six stories high, will offer superhero fans a 4D motion-based ride featuring an original adventure, exclusive 3D animated features, digitally projected animation, motion-comic book origin stories, holographic simulations and an array of interactive games.
The concept art (above) reveals a maze of connected dome structures, designed to resemble a mobile command center for S.H.I.E.L.D., the Marvel Universe espionage and law enforcement agency, recently popular thanks to "The Avengers" and the TV series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."
The Marvel Experience was designed with the aid of concept artist Aaron Sims, who worked on "The Incredible Hulk," "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "X-Men First Class." The attraction will spend several weeks in each city it visits.
— Margaret Wappler and Noelene Clark | @LATHeroComplex
'Marvel Universe Live' arena show: Behind the scenes
Iron Fist: Kaare Kyle Andrews plans martial arts epic
'Star Wars' leaving Dark Horse, returning to Marvel
'Captain America,' 'Spider-Man 2′: Must-see movies of 2014
'Guardians of the Galaxy': Marvel debuts first photo
'Doctor Who,' 'Hunger Games,' Batfleck: 2013 in review
'X-Men Apocalypse': Bryan Singer announces sequel
'Ant-Man' casting: Paul Rudd to star in Edgar Wright film


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Installatron Server and Installatron Plugin benefit from a robust modification and customization system that enables changes to be applied to any custom or Installatron-maintained application package. This system can be used to add additional languages, add plugins or templates, or make just about any convincible change. Best of all, the system is designed to be simple and only requires very minimal programming knowledge to use.
The idea behind this system is to "register" one or more sets of commands to be executed at specified locations within each install and/or upgrade process. These sets of commands should be formatted according to this guide and written to the /usr/local/installatron/etc/installercustomcode.php file or entered to the Customize installers code field in Administration >> Applications >> Customization.
For example, take this sample installercustomcode.php file:
In this example we extract an archive containing the WordPress SuperCache plugin after each WordPress install. Let's look at each line of code in this example:
class i_installer_customcode
function init()
$this->registerArchive("wp_supercache","http://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/wp-super-cache.1.0.zip", "zip");
$this->registerCustomCode("wordpress", "all", "install", "last", "process", "wordpressinstall");
function wordpressinstall($o)
$o->extract("wp_supercache", "wp-content/plugins");
The init function is called prior to the execution of every install and upgrade and registers commands for later execution.
A registerArchive call registers an archive that may or may not be extracted later.
$this->registerArchive("id", "url", "archive_type", "md5_checksum");
id is a unique id, typically within the A-Za-z0-9_ character set, for the archive being registered.
url is the URL to the archive.
archive_type is the type of archive and can be "tar", "tar.gz" or "zip". No other types are currently supported.
md5_checksum is the md5 checksum of the archive. This field is optional.
A registerCustomCode call registers code to be executed at a specified hook during the install and/or upgrade processes.
$this->registerCustomCode("app", "limit_version", "subsystem", "hook", "hook2", "function");
app is the ID of the application package the code pertains to.
limit_version defines a specific version the code should be limited to, or if the code applies to all versions, the keyword "all" can be specified.
subsystem specifies whether the code should be executed for the install, uninstall, or upgrade processes.
hook specifies the location within the install/upgrade process this code should be executed. A value of "last" executes the code at the end (recommended). A value of "1" executes the code before the install/upgrade process has started, when input fields are presented to the client. A value of "2" executes at the beginning.
hook2 provides further accuracy in regards to where the specified code should be executed. Typically, a value of "process" is used. However, a value of "init" should be used when defining input fields.
function specifies the function that contains the code to be executed.
The wordpressinstall($o) function is an example of code that will be executed (if it's registered in the init function). The $o object referenced is an instance of the application package as defined in the package's install.php or upgrade.php file.
All the tools and functions available in the install.php and upgrade.php files are available for use. For a full list of available functions, please reference the Installatron Application Packaging SDK:
Installatron Application Packaging SDK: A function reference
Don't hesitate to contact Installatron Support with any questions regarding this system.


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Fond memories of a Canadian/African safari
When my son was about five years old, we watched the nature channels on television. We were always fascinated by the documentaries about African photo safaris on the Serengeti plains.
Guides transported their guests in open Range Rovers and tracked animals for miles before they could get close enough to take a picture. Many of the animals were easily spooked. They didn't trust intruders in their habitat.
Although a visit to the Serengeti was not within our means, I thought a visit to a place called "African Lion Safari" might be a great alternative.
We lived in Canada at the time, and this theme park was about an hour from home. It was a drivethrough zoo, with hundreds of animals from around the world living in their natural habitats.
The situation seemed perfect. The animals were kept captive in an enclosed park so we wouldn't have to track them for days just to see them run off in the blink of an eye.
When we arrived, many surprises awaited us. Pedestrians, motorcycles, bicycles and convertibles were strictly forbidden. Only fully enclosed vehicles were permitted entry.
The first sign said: "Remove or lower antennas. Close windows and lock all doors. After entering, do not stop. Keep moving."
I was glad they were cautious, but they seemed overprotective. I wanted to stop and watch the animals.
A gate opened, I pulled my car in, and it closed behind me. Then another gate opened after the first gate closed, so that nothing could get out. I felt as if we were entering a maximum-security prison.
However, as soon as we passed through the inner gate, the scene changed dramatically. Before our eyes were the animals: zebras, giraffes, antelope, impalas, rhinoceros, all herded or gathered in groups to greet us.
They were not spooked or intimidated. My initial instinct said that they looked at us as if they were thinking: "Hmmm...a box lunch on wheels. How convenient."
We moved slowly until a rhinoceros about the size of Toronto stopped directly in front of us. I'm exaggerating, of course. It was much bigger than Toronto. As soon as we stopped, the other animals came close to the car and peered in the windows. I swear they were licking their chops.
My son and his three friends thought it was the coolest thing in the world.
Then, these large monkeys called mandrills jumped on the car. They have pink butts and long teeth. A couple of them decided to wash my windshield by relieving themselves on it.
I, of course, made the mistake of turning on the windshield wipers and squirting windshield washer fluid on them, which made them testy. They tore the windshield wipers off and used them as drumsticks on my hood.
Once they established a rhythm, several decided to hold fertility rites or make a monkey porn movie in plain view of my son and his friends. They thought the monkeys were hilarious.
Then, one of the mandrills left a large present on my trunk lid, if you catch my drift. Meanwhile, the rhinoceros was not going anywhere, so all the other animals gathered around to watch the monkey show.
If I didn't know better, I would think that the entire ordeal was a daily ritual – and they just happened to pick my car to be the stage that day.
It was not like life on the Serengeti, where the animals avoided visitors.
These animals loved the gates and fences. We were trapped and couldn't get away. They could look at us up close and personal as we stared back — horrified. Except, of course, for my son and his friends — they were delighted.
The rhinoceros eventually wandered off. But the mandrills stayed on the car and managed to remove half the chrome trim from the roof and fenders.
When we got to the end of that section of the park, the mandrills jumped off, taking the windshield wipers and chrome, and leaving the presents.
We finally went home with what was left of my car. I was grateful that we weren't eaten.
My son is now married and has a five-year-old boy. I asked if he remembered that trip to African Lion Safari. All he remembers is that he had a fabulous time.
"I should take my boy," he said.
I enthusiastically agreed.
Why should he get off easy? It's his turn to raise his kids in a system we can't understand.


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ST. LOUIS (AP) — Adam Wainwright started the rally with a full-count walk. By the time it was over, the St. Louis Cardinals' ace had quite a cushion.
Carlos Beltran's three-run homer sparked an NL division series-record seven-run third inning and Wainwright kept the Pittsburgh Pirates down with seven stingy innings in a 9-1 rout to open their NL division series Thursday night.
During the postgame, the 19-game winner complimented Beltran for his latest big October contribution.
"Way to go, dude," Wainwright said. "Crushed that ball."
The Pirates were the last National League team to reach the division series, and had momentum after beating the Reds in the wild-card game. They were essentially out of it after A.J. Burnett failed to retire any of the eight hitters he faced in the third inning, leaving after the second-shortest outing of his career.
Burnett walked three in the rally, including Jon Jay with the bases loaded, and hit Matt Adams. The major league record for runs in an inning in the division series is eight runs by the Angels in 2002.
"Walking anybody never works out, never works out," Burnett said. "It was a grind, I thought, from the first pitch."
The NL Central-champion Cardinals have won seven in a row counting their season-ending surge. Another sellout crowd is anticipated for Game 2 Friday, with Lance Lynn (10-5) opposing Pirates rookie Gerrit Cole (10-7).
Lynn got the nod for his 2.12 ERA in September, while Cole finished even stronger, going 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA the final month.
"You get fired up for this stuff," said third baseman David Freese, the Cardinals' homegrown 2011 postseason hero. "You work so hard for six months and then to be part of an October run, that's a special thing."
The Pirates, in the postseason for the first time since 1992, never threatened against Wainwright and the St. Louis bullpen, mustering just four hits. They were sloppy, too, committing three errors.
Wainwright is 3-0 with a 1.09 ERA in three postseason starts at home. He allowed a run on three hits in seven innings, striking out nine without a walk, with the lone damage a homer by Pedro Alvarez to start the fifth.
The right-hander built off a strong finish, going 4-0 in his last five starts.
The 36-year-old Beltran has never made it to the World Series, but he has 15 homers, 10 doubles and 28 RBIs in 35 postseason games. His 443-foot drive to the distant second deck in right field made it 3-0.
Beltran's 13 career RBIs against Burnett are the most of any player.
Freese added a two-run single in the third that cleared the bases when right fielder Marlon Byrd's throw to the plate deflected off Freese's leg for an error.
Burnett was 3-1 against the Cardinals this season but has gotten rocked in his last two visits to St. Louis, also giving up five runs in three innings in early September. In five outings at Busch Stadium the last two seasons he has a 15.50 ERA.
Hurdle was noncommittal on whether Burnett would get the ball if the Pirates make it to Game 5, again in St. Louis.
"Obviously, you want to come out and put your foot down," Burnett said. "That wasn't the case today.
"But you know what? The sun comes up tomorrow and I'll do my work and do what I can."
NOTES: Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon threw the first pitch in the dirt, with reserve Shane Robinson making a nice scoop. ... St. Louis OF Matt Holliday walked and doubled his first two trips and had reached base safely in nine straight plate appearances before grounding out to start the fourth. ... The Cardinals claimed OF Joey Butler on waivers, three days after he was designated for assignment by the Rangers. Butler spent most of the year at Triple-A Round Rock, batting .291 with 12 homers and 51 RBIs.


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Panasonic Expands Toughpad(TM) Enterprise-Grade Tablet Line
Ten-inch Windows 8 Pro-based and Seven-inch Android(TM)-powered Tablets Offer Choice to Meet Expanding Business Tablet Expectations
By: Marketwired .
Jan. 11, 2013 12:52 PM
MISSISSAUGA, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 01/11/13 --
Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.
Panasonic, an industry leader in rugged, reliable mobile computers since 1996, announced today at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (Las Vegas) that it has expanded its Toughpad(TM) line of enterprise-grade tablets with the introduction of the Toughpad(TM) FZ-G1, a 10" tablet featuring Windows 8 Pro, and the availability of the Toughpad JT-B1, a 7" Android(TM) powered unit. Both devices follow the original 10" Android-powered Toughpad FZ-A1 which became available late last year. With the Toughpad family of ruggedized tablets, businesses and government institutions have a single partner delivering a selection of highly reliable and purpose-built devices ideal for numerous operational needs.
"Panasonic has been the industry leader in engineering the most reliable and rugged mobile computing devices such as the Toughbook," said Susan Black, Director, Sales and Strategic Marketing, Computer and AV Solutions, Panasonic Canada Inc. "We believe our engineering and reputation for reliability, backed by our world-class service will result in the Toughpad family being the leading B2B tablet solution in Canada."
Hide Harada, Director, IT Products Business Unit added, "The goal for Panasonic is to achieve 50% market share in the ruggedized tablet space by 2015."
Toughpad tablets are designed for mission-critical and highly mobile workers in fields such as the military, oil and gas, construction, healthcare, public safety, utilities, retail, maintenance, supply chain logistics and insurance. The devices are ideal for a host of usage scenarios, including inventory control, eForms, field sales, field service, route delivery, eCitations, electronic medical records, inspections, mobile point-of-sales and GIS.
Panasonic Toughpad FZ-G1: Key Features
-- Operating System: Windows 8 Pro -- Processor: 3rd Generation Intel® Core(TM) i5-3437U vPro(TM) 1.9GHz up to 2.9GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology -- Memory: 128-256GB SSD, 4-8GB RAM, optional micro SDXC -- Rugged: MIL-STD-810G, 4' drop, IP65, 14 degrees to 122 degrees F (operational temp range) -- Display: 10.1", sunlight viewable, touch screen and active digitizer, 800nit, WUXGA (1920x1200) -- Battery: 8.0 hours (user replaceable) -- Dimensions: 10.6" x 7.4" x 0.75" -- Weight: 2.43lbs -- Wireless: Bluetooth V4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional embedded 4G LTE or 3G -- I/O: Full size USB 3.0, HDMI, optional micro SDXC, Full size USB 2.0, wired LAN, true serial port or dedicated GPS.
Panasonic Toughpad JT-B1: Key Features
-- Operating System: Android 4.0 -- Processor: TI OMAP4460 1.5GHz Dual core -- Memory: 16GB ROM, 1GB RAM, micro SDHC -- Rugged: MIL-STD-810G, 5' drop, IP65, 14 degrees to 122 degrees F (operational temp range) -- Display: 7", daylight viewable, 500nit, WSVGA (1024 x 600) -- Camera: Front: 1.3Mp fixed focus, Rear: 13.0Mp auto focus w/ LED light -- Battery: 8.0 hours - Large 5,720mAh battery (user replaceable) -- Dimensions: 8.7"x 5.1" x 0.7" -- Weight: 1.2lbs -- Wireless: Bluetooth V4.0, 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi, optional embedded 4G LTE + 3G -- I/O: Micro USB
Toughpad tablets are MIL-STD-810G tested for drops, fluid ingress and temperature to assure they deliver reliable performance under circumstances that render typical tablets non-operational. Devices feature daylight viewable screens, user-replaceable or serviceable batteries, a stylus for signature capture and handwriting (on the FZ-G1 and FZ-A1 with 3rd party apps), and multiple options for peripheral connectivity.
"Years of customer input have greatly influenced the design of our Toughpad," continued Black. "The feedback is a critical part of the development. The fact that we have a wide variety of devices in the Toughbook and Toughpad families proves that we build products to meet our customers' needs."
Enterprise-class mobile computing requires an enhanced level of device security and the Toughpad family is designed with this in mind. Security features like encryption, IPsec VPN, trusted boot, root protection and FIPS compliance are available in various configurations of the Toughpad FZ-A1 and Toughpad JT-B1. Compatibility with world-class Mobile device management (MDM) tools are also available to allow IT managers to manage applications, secure devices from unauthorized use and perform many other tasks.
Toughpad tablets are supported by a full ecosystem. Panasonic will also offer a set of professional-grade accessories to support the Toughpad line, including apps, cases, mounts, printers, keyboards, magnetic stripe readers, smart card readers and multi-unit storage and charging solutions.
The 10" Windows 8 Pro-based Toughpad FZ-G1 will be available in late Spring. The 7" Android-powered Toughpad JT-B1 will ship in March. The 10" Android-powered Toughpad(TM) FZ-A1 is now shipping. All Toughpad tablets can be purchased through authorized Panasonic resellers.
All products in the Toughpad family come standard with the industry's most comprehensive 3-year warranty.
Requests for more information or sales inquiries for Panasonic's Toughpad family of tablets should be directed to firstname.lastname@example.com or 1-866-413-3099.
All brand and company/product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies. All specifications are subject to change without notice.
About Panasonic Canada Inc.
Panasonic Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of Panasonic North America, one of the world's largest producers of electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. Information on Panasonic's Toughbook Notebook solutions can be obtained by visiting www.panasonic.ca.
To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20130111-Toughpad800.jpg.
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The latest NY Times/CBS poll has President Bush up by 48-45. The "internals" of the poll provide even worse news for John Kerry. For example,
John Kerry has a 41% favorable, 47% unfavorable rating. This is his worst rating ever.
President Bush has a 48% favorable, 41% unfavorable rating. That is his best rating since last December.
Undecided voters lean to President Bush 50%-47%, validating the Pew finding and calling the Gallup number into question.
66% of Bush voters strongly favor their candidate.
50% of Kerry voters strongly favor their candidate.
By a 49%-34% margin, voters expect President Bush to win.
53% of voters do not think that Kerry agrees with their priorities, his worst number ever. 42% believe he has the same.
48% of voters do not think that Bush agrees with their priorities. 49% believe he does share their priorities.
52% of voters think Kerry has leadership qualities, his lowest number ever.
62% of voters think President Bush has leadership qualities.
57% of voters are uneasy with Kerry