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The Secret Beyond Matter
Pleasant Words from the Gospel
The Oneness of God According to the Gospel
One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One." "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is One and there is no other but Him." (Mark, 12:28-32)
... But God is One. (Galatians, 3:20)
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (1 Corinthians, 12:6)
For there is one God... (1 Timothy, 2:5)
Jesus said to him, "... Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only." (Matthew, 4:10)
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. (James, 2:19)
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. (1 Timothy, 1:17)
How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God? (John, 5:44)
... You have one Lord... (Matthew, 23:9)
As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered, "No one is good—except God alone." (Mark 10:17-18)
... We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no god but One... for us there is but one God, the God, from Whom all things came and for Whom we live... (1 Corinthians, 8:4-6)
"Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One Who is good. If you want to enter life [paradise], obey the commandments of [God]." (Matthew, 19:17)
For even if there are so-called gods [surely God is beyond that], whether in heaven or on earth yet for us there is one God, the God, for Whom all things came and for whom we live. (1 Corinthians 8:5-6)
... One Lord, one faith... one God of all, Who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians, 4:5-6)
For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. (Hebrews, 3:4)
Now all glory to God... (Jude, 1:24)


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Airpoints™ for Schools terms & conditions
1. Definitions & application process
Each of the dates set out below relate to the 2019/2020 Airpoints for Schools programme:
"Application Period" - 16 September 2019 - 31 October 2019
"Draw Date" - 7 November 2019
"Notification Date" - 8 November 2019
"Final Notification Date" - 12 November 2019
"Supplementary Submission Date" - 22 November 2019
"Donation Start Date" - 1 March 2020
"Donation End Date" - 30 April 2020
"Eligible Travel Dates" - 1 May 2020 - 1 May 2021
Applications must be received by Air New Zealand within the Application Period. Entries received outside the Application Period will not be considered.
Applications are open to any school that meets the eligibility criteria.
An eligible school is any Primary, Intermediate, Secondary or Mixed Level school within New Zealand, of deciles 1-10.
To apply, schools must complete an online application form available via the Air New Zealand website.
The applicant making the submission on behalf of the school must be currently employed by the school.
Schools will be required to provide the following information during the application process:
- Applicant's full name, contact information and position held at the school.
- School name, address, decile, level, type and contact details.
- An explanation of why the funding is being sought, including:
- Details of the proposed travel including:
- Purpose and details of domestic or international travel needs, such as travel to an event and/or educational school trips;
- The travel locations; and
- The travel dates (note: travel dates must occur within the Eligible Travel Dates and cannot be changed once the donation period has opened);
- All students and teachers or chaperones must travel to and from the travel destination together
- The approximate value of funding sought (up to a maximum of 20,000 Airpoints Dollars);
- The number of students travelling;
- The number of teachers and/or chaperones travelling (Note: the following restrictions on student/chaperone ratios apply. For High School & Intermediate - no more than 1 adult per 4 students; for Primary School (age 7 and older) - no more than 1 adult per 3 students; for Primary School (under age 7) - up to 1 adult per student. If necessary, we may consider requests outside these ratios. Teachers and employees of the school are preferred as chaperones; if a parent or other non-school chaperone is required as a chaperone, this must be stated in your application.)
Note: Applicants must ensure that the application accurately states the number of students, teachers and/or chaperones travelling; changes to these numbers may only be made with the written consent of Air New Zealand.
- Details of the proposed travel including:
- Any other supporting documentation, such as images, references, etc.
A board of Air New Zealand representatives, with endorsement from the Ministry of Education, will select a number of schools at its own discretion. The selected schools will be chosen on the Draw Date and will be notified via the contact telephone number and/or email provided in the application form no later than the Notification Date.
The selected schools must provide the following additional information by the Supplementary Submission Date:
- Sign off from the school Principal and any other relevant parties subject to the school's own policy (such as a member of the school's Board of Trustees). The sign off must be provided in the form of a signed letter using the template provided by Air New Zealand and signed by all relevant parties. The name and position of the person that will be making the travel bookings on behalf of the school (if selected) must be outlined within this letter;
- Image(s) which best represent the school, for use across Air New Zealand communications channels, if the school is selected. An image of the school group/individuals seeking travel must be provided. Refer to section 4 for more details; and
- Any other information that Air New Zealand reasonably requires to process, facilitate or otherwise deal with the school's application or participation in the Airpoints for Schools programme.
If Air New Zealand is unable to contact the selected school using reasonable efforts by the Final Notification Date, or if the school does not provide the additional information by the Supplementary Submission Date, Air New Zealand may revoke the selected school's participation in the Airpoints for Schools programme and select an alternative school at its own discretion. The judging panel's decision is final and no further correspondence will be entered into.
If a school is selected, it will be featured on both the Air New Zealand website and on the Airpoints Store, and in any other relevant Air New Zealand channels.
2. Airpoints member donations
Airpoints members will be able to donate their Airpoints Dollars™ to a selected school from the Donation Start Date.
Airpoints members will be able to donate Airpoints Dollars to a selected school via the "Airpoints for Schools" category on the Airpoints Store. The Airpoints Store is only available to Airpoints members that reside within New Zealand.
Airpoints Dollar donations are not equivalent to cash and therefore do not classify as a charitable donation and are not eligible for tax credits.
Each selected school is eligible to receive funding of up to 20,000 Airpoints Dollars. Unless otherwise stated, any Airpoints Dollars donated to a school that are not used or redeemed in accordance with these terms and conditions, or are in excess of the maximum funding amount, may, at Air New Zealand's discretion, be transferred to another school(s) in the current Airpoints for Schools programme (up to the maximum funding amount) or allocated to schools selected in the subsequent Airpoints for Schools programme, such allocation to be determined at Air New Zealand's discretion.
All donations of Airpoints Dollars processed through the Airpoints Store are final and cannot be cancelled or refunded.
Airpoints members may provide a donation until the Donation End Date.
3. Redeeming Airpoints Dollars for flight rewards
Airpoints Dollars donated to a school will be held in a separate account for the school by Air New Zealand. Airpoints Dollar donations will be made available for the school to access from 10:00am on the next working day following the Donation End Date.
Airpoints Dollars are to only be used for the original travel applied for and specified on the school's application form. Travel must be booked and taken within the Eligible Travel Dates. If not used for this purpose during this time period then any remaining Airpoints Dollars will be forfeited, regardless of the Airpoints programme expiry rules. Air New Zealand may allocate, at its discretion any forfeited Airpoints Dollars to schools selected in the subsequent Airpoints for Schools programme.
Airpoints Dollars can be used for Air New Zealand operated and ticketed flight redemptions only, and can only be applied towards current school employees, students and nominated chaperones travelling with the school group as outlined on the application.
Airpoints Dollars can be used for either domestic or international travel in economy class and not for any other purpose. Note: If traveling internationally, valid passports are required, the cost of which is payable by the school/individual.
Airpoints Dollars must be redeemed directly through the Air New Zealand point of contact notified to the selected school. Online redemptions are not available. The Air New Zealand point of contact will arrange the necessary flight bookings for their travel requirements. Only the person nominated in the school's application to arrange travel (where applicable) is authorised to redeem Airpoints Dollars through the Air New Zealand point of contact. If no person is nominated in the school's application, the school must notify Air New Zealand of the person authorised to arrange travel for the school in writing at least ten (10) working days before any booking is made.
Where Airpoints Dollars are redeemed for international airfares, any taxes associated with those airfares will be paid for by Air New Zealand as a donation to the school. The selected schools will be required to issue a receipt for taxes paid by Air New Zealand as a donation, each time a flight booking is made.
4. Publicity requirements
The selected school must agree to be featured on the Air New Zealand website(s) (including the Airpoints Store website) and across other Air New Zealand communication channels as deemed by Air New Zealand. The content of this will be formulated using subsets of the story and imagery which the school has provided within their application, and from the trips taken using the funding received.
Each time the school redeems any value of Airpoints Dollars, the school shall provide the completed Trip Summary Template (which will be provided by Air New Zealand on request) to Air New Zealand within two (2) weeks returning from any travel. The completed Trip Summary Template must be completed by a teacher and must include details of how the Airpoints Dollars have benefited the school, students and community and a minimum of three (3) high quality images taken in connection with the trip. The school will work with the Air New Zealand media team regarding possible media stories which can be used to promote the trip taken by the school to New Zealand communities.
Air New Zealand reserves the right to appoint its own photographer to take photographs throughout a trip.
Air New Zealand will publish the school's feedback stories in Airpoints programme member updates and across other Air New Zealand channels, and will outline how the schools have used their Airpoints Dollars.
The school is required to seek permission of persons appearing in all images provided to or taken by Air New Zealand, including parental permission for those images which feature students aged 18 years and under. The school will take all reasonable steps to obtain such consent. Air New Zealand will provide consent/waiver forms.
5. General
Air New Zealand reserves the right to terminate a school's participation in the Airpoints for Schools programme by notice in writing if we reasonably believe that the school or its representatives have:
- Abused, misused or obtained by any misrepresentation any Airpoints Dollars or other facilities or arrangements provided by or in connection with the Airpoints for Schools programme;
- Behaved in a manner which Air New Zealand reasonably considers to be unacceptable while travelling with Air New Zealand using the Airpoints Dollars donated to the school's Airpoints for Schools account, or while using any other facilities, services, or arrangements provided by or in connection with the Airpoints for Schools programme;
- Acted in any way that is detrimental to the interests of Air New Zealand or the Airpoints for Schools programme;
- Provided incorrect or misleading information to Air New Zealand in connection with the school's participation in the Airpoints for Schools programme; or
- Otherwise breached these terms and conditions and such breach has not been remedied within one (1) week of Air New Zealand notifying the school of the breach.
If the school's participation in the Airpoints for Schools programme is terminated by Air New Zealand pursuant to this clause:
- Any unused or unredeemed Airpoints Dollars will be forfeited and returned to the relevant Airpoints members (where possible);
- If the Airpoints Dollars have been used or redeemed, the school will, on Air New Zealand's request, return to and/or repay Air New Zealand a proportion of the amount used or redeemed. The proportion to be returned and/or repaid will be determined by Air New Zealand at its discretion but will not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the amount used/redeemed by the school
Airpoints terms and conditions apply. In the event of a conflict between these terms and the Airpoints terms and conditions, these terms will apply.
Air New Zealand conditions of carriage and Air New Zealand privacy policy apply.

subset: commoncrawl


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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (Feb. 23, 2009) - Two rounds into the Kiawah Island Classic, the ETSU women's golf team finds itself at the doorstep of the tournament's top spot.
Firing a second round team score of 306 Monday at the Oak Point Golf Club, the Buccaneers are just one stroke back of team leader Miami heading into Tuesday's third and final round. ETSU is currently ahead of ranked teams such as No. 27 Florida, No. 28 Oregon, No. 34 Mississippi, No. 40 UCF and No. 45 Kentucky. Individually, the Bucs were led by junior Sinead O'Sullivan (Galway, Ireland), who posted a team-best 1-over-par 73 to move into a tie for fourth place on the leaderboard.
"I can't say enough about how well our team has played in the first two rounds of this event," said ETSU head coach Stefanie Shelton. "It's important though for us to stay consistent and bring this same level of play tomorrow. It will take four quality scores again to make a run at the top."
O'Sullivan is currently just one stroke back of the top spot on the individual leaderboard, which is held by a trio of players that include UCF's Elisa Aoki, Nebraska's Mary Kate Bird and Florida's Jessica Yadloczky. Along with O'Sullivan, the Bucs placed a second player in the Top 10, as freshman Nina Muehl (Vienna, Austria) finished the day with a 4-over 76 and is tied for ninth.
Other ETSU results included a tie for 21st for junior Laura Jansone (Jurmala, Latvia) and a tie for 77th from senior Lucy Gould (Bargoed, Wales).
Fans can follow the Bucs progress in the third round of the Kiawah Island Classic by clicking on Golfstat.com, or visit ETSUBucs.com for a complete wrap up following the day's action.


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Clearcam for iPhone is an app that compliments the already existing camera app. Instead of tapping camera, you take your pictures through Clearcam. I found myself using this app when I wanted clearer pictures or when I was in an area that pictures came out either blurry or dark. The concept is quite simple, it'll take several shots of the same thing and either overlays the shots or chooses the best one (depending on what setting you choose). The app claims to up quality of the camera from 5MP images to around 11MP images.
When first loading Clearcam, it looks somewhat similar to the iPhone camera app. It adds a few options that are the basic foundation of what the app really does. You'll see the shutter button and then two options. One labeled "quick" and one labeled "enhanced".
The quick setting is just that. It will take 3 shots in rapid succession. It will save the best one to your camera roll. It works like it says it does and typically always gets a good shot.
The enhanced mode will take 6 shots quickly and it will take the best parts of each one, essentially stitching them together to create a better all around image. In my experience, it was somewhat touch and go. I also would take the same picture with my stock camera app. In some scenarios, it seemed like the stock camera app took better pictures than what Clearcam stitched together. It was rare, but it did happen occasionally. I'm not sure if maybe the app has trouble stitching certain pictures together or rendering them, but there's definitely a bug there.
The app performs better in low light settings than the default camera in all instances (at least in my experience). I'd probably attribute this to the fact that it's picking either the best picture or rendering 6 pictures together to create the best possible image. If the exposure was a little dark in some places, it will pull the better pieces from another picture. Having this app in low light settings is enough to justify purchasing it in my opinion.
(*Side note about pictures, most of them are better quality than shown here, we have a limit on image uploads so I had to downsize some of them which will reduce the quality a bit)
[iTunes Link (opens in new tab)](opens in new tab)
- Increases the quality by a landslide, especially in low light situations
- App is responsive and doesn't take forever to save to the camera roll like other photo apps
- Increases quality in darker pictures
- Very simple to use
- Some photos come out blurrier than the default camera app (assuming this is some kind of bug)
- No settings other than Quick and Enhanced and tap to focus, would like to see some native contrast and saturation settings to make up for the lack of settings in the default camera app
[gallery link="file" columns="2"]
iMore senior editor from 2011 to 2015.
How old is your yorkie?
thanks for the review, i read those pictures are not the final quality, is there any other way we can compare the two of pictures taken, original vs clearcam. like uploading them outside or something. also noticed how fast to take a picture is in the iphone 4, i wonder if that app take them as fast in the 3gs or so
@Steve he will be 4 on october 20th :)
@LuisPr how about i upload them to flickr later on tonight and post a link in the article and here so you can compare the actual differences?? sound reasonable? also, it seems to be just as quick as the native camera. I'm assuming it's just calling the same API.
Are you using an iPhone 4? I wonder how it would work on my 3G.
This should be called ClearScam. There is no difference at all between the regular camera and this one, even when you transfer it to your computer. The size still is around 2.5-3 MB per image. So I think it should be renamed to ClearScam.
I can see scene it and guitar hero world tour :)
Looks pretty interesting. I was thinking of trying this app out. I'd be more interested in Apple updating the standard camera App so that the images weren't always so oversaturated. In some cases, the pics look good, in others, the oversaturation makes pictures look extremely unnatural.
@Wayne - I don't know how you're manipulating images or what you're doing, but if you don't see a difference you should get your eyes checked. ;) it works as advertised.
^ The app clearly gets it better!
The link does not work and I cannot find this in either the Canadian or us app stores
My links? when I click them they work fine
Hi - Just a couple of developer comments. Thanks so much for the review. We are happy that you found ClearCam to be a useful app. We've put a lot of energy into it and have big plans for the future to keep improving it so that you always capture great photos without missing the moment.
This works just as quickly on the 3GS as the 4. Actually it is slightly faster because the images it is working with are smaller. 3G phones still have issues with iOS4 and we don't recommend using ClearCam on 3G phones quite yet. This has been resolved in the 4.1 OS release which I've been testing with. Should be out soon.
In either case, it's pretty fast as you could see from the video. I've submitted an update to apple which is going to have much faster saves, separate exposure control as well as some extra ClearCam special sauce that we're pretty excited about. I'm getting great images in testing and have my fingers crossed that it will be approved by early next week.
We appreciate everyone's support and hope that you find you start to trust your iPhone camera in all situations with this app!
Ally, I transferred pics from my iPhone 4 to my computer and they were the exact same size as photos taken with the normal iPhone 4 camera. I'm pretty sure that an 11 MP image is larger than 3 megs.
Wayne -- I took a photo with my iphone 3gs camera - size 975 kb (looking at the stored file in the finder via phonedisk software). Then I took an enhanced photo of the same thing via clearcam. It's size was 1.7 mb -- about double the size. It they were the same size for you, it might be the method that you used to transfer them.
I also looked at them on my monitor -- part of the picture included a text label -- the enhanced photo was unmistakably clearer.
OTOH, I can see using this app is special situations but the enhance feature takes time. It is also not automated -- I'm not sure why I have to press buttons to get it to work. There is an align feature but I'm not sure how I would really use that on an iPhone screen. Maybe the new onscreen help will explain... All in all, this app is clearly worth the buck they are selling it for today.
I'm going to agree with @gstriph - I know the images are larger because our site didn't even want to let me upload the enhanced ones. it was telling me we had a 2MB per upload limit for image files on the ones that were enhanced, while the ones shot with regular mode or the regular iPhone 4 camera app were under that limit. i looked at my file sizes and a standard image was around 900kb, the enhanced version, around 2MB. that's a huge difference. when you're taking the pictures, you're using enhanced mode correct? not quick? quick only chooses the best of 3 images while enhanced stitches together 6 images. you also need to click into the file icon and enhance and align the images, then export the image. i'm assuming the same as @gstriph and whatever method you are using to transfer your images to a computer is compressing them.
Why doesn't a mod approve my post so you guys can clearly see the difference between pictures?
Please include the price of the app when writing a review. This is $0.99.
Tomez email@example.com
I would like a refund. I purchase this app last night. I am not impressed. The onboard camera included with the iPhone 4 works better.
I have contact apple for a store credit./
@Tomez DeSilva
if you don't see a difference you are not using the app correctly. quick mode provides the exact same functionality as the default camera app (so there's no possible way it's worse), and enhanced provides a higher quality version, you will not see a difference on the phone, but when you attempt to ENLARGE.
as a side note, apple does not issue refunds for apps, individual developers do.
Tomez - if you have questions, please feel free to contact me at twoteethtech at gmail. Allyson is right - you should be seeing an obvious difference. I'd love to get feedback on how we can make it easier to use and understand, so I'd love to hear from you. If it really isn't doing anymore for you than the stock camera, then I've wasted a whole lot of time and would be happy to refund your money personally!
SeattleBrad says:
August 20, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Please include the price of the app when writing a review. This is $0.99.
2 days later it's $1.99... are you guys selling stock... i may want in.
there is a reason we don't include the price, that's because app prices fluctuate so much. if someone searches one of our reviews 6 months from now and sees the price as one thing and it's really another, that creates a problem for us. we do not include prices anymore. and fyi, the app was on sale. when i wrote the review it was 1.99 (wrote it about a week before it was posted on the site). then it went on sale. 1.99 is the normal price of this app (as of now)
Just thought I'd let the group know that another ClearCam update was just approved. It offers independent exposure control (a sadly missed feature from the app store since the departure of taptaptap's Camera+), much faster saves, an improved UI, in-app help, and some additional ClearCam special sauce - i.e. even clearer pictures.
I look forward to hearing any feedback at twoteethtech at gmail.com.
@Allyson thanks for the review decided to buy this app last week and it really works :D
@Josh just downloaded the update. this app is now my goto camera app whenever i need to take pics :D keep up the good work :)
Sounds pretty cool. Does it still have the geotagging data in the pictures?
Hi PaulK - Just got a release approved that does support geotagging in the camera roll (requires iOS4.1 when it comes out later this week). With 4.1 it will also support 3G phone.
Hope you enjoy it!
I have another oddity. Love the app, nice and clear but i'm getting shots in my camera roll which are inverted. cant work out how, but it might have something to do with moving the phone whilst they are processing. any ideas?


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NEW YORK, N.Y. - It could all change quickly, but independent booksellers again have good news to report as the publishing industry prepares for its annual national convention, BookExpo America.
Core membership of the American Booksellers Association rose by 55 over the past year, from 1,512 to 1,567. It's the third straight increase for the independents' trade organization after years of double digit and triple digit declines brought on by superstore chains and online sellers such as Amazon.com.
The independents have stabilized even as the economy suffers and the market shifts dramatically from physical stores to digital purchases. The Borders superstore chain shut down a year ago and Barnes & Noble Inc. has been increasingly emphasizing its Nook e-reading device.
Borders' fall, of course, has been part of the independents' good fortune, association CEO Oren Teicher acknowledged in a recent interview. But he also cited a nationwide movement to buy from local stores, falling real estate prices and lower costs to create and maintain websites. Sales figures for 2012 are encouraging as Teicher shared statistics compiled by Nielsen BookScan, which tracks around 75 per cent of print sales. The number of books sold through mid-May by around 500 ABA stores increased by 13.4 per cent compared to last year.
"We are more than holding our own," Teicher says.
Thousands of booksellers, publishers, authors and agents are gathering this week at the Jacob K. Javits Center for BookExpo America, a three-day convention which ends Thursday. Featured speakers include Stephen Colbert, Michael Chabon, Zadie Smith and Jimmy Fallon.
Several events will focus on Russian publishing and literary history will be made when Natalia Solzhenitsyn, widow of Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, unveils her husband's archives. Rock stars also will be on hand: Patti Smith, winner of the National Book Award in 2010 for her memoir "Just Kids," will interview Neil Young, whose memoir "Waging Heavy Peace" comes out in October.
The convention's floor plan reads like a map of changing times. Space dedicated to digital companies will increase from 6,000 square feet last year to 7,000. The number of gift companies, suppliers of non-book items stocked by bookstores, has more than doubled, from 21 to 50. Amazon.com has more than doubled the space for its book publishing program, from 400 square feet to 1,000 square feet.
Independent stores still don't approach the presence they had 30 years ago, when membership in the American Booksellers Association was more than 3,000. Their share of total sales is well under 10 per cent and stores continue to close, if not with the frequency of a decade ago. Just last month, Thee Bookstore in Hillsboro, Kan., shut down after 90 years, citing online competition.
Independents had hoped to break into the e-book market through a partnership with Google's digital store, but the online search engine has announced it will end the arrangement because of disappointing sales. Publishers and authors value local stores for creating word-of-mouth hits, but the fate of independents remains uncertain enough that a promotional campaign being launched at BookExpo is called "Why Indies Matter," as if proof were required.
"It's down compared to five years ago, but it went down when the whole economy fell," says Tom Jackson, co-owner of the Regulator Bookshop in Durham, N.C. "It's since come back up and stayed up. Given what's been happening with digital books, the competition from Amazon and so forth, that seems pretty good."
As the industry becomes more interactive, so does BookExpo. Many speeches and panel discussions (but not the Smith-Young interview) will be streamed live on video and attendees for the first time will include members of the general public. Around 1,000 "Power Readers" are expected, dedicated book lovers recruited through stores and Web sites.
"It's a whole different approach," says BookExpo event director Steve Rosato. "It's all about bringing publishers and readers closer together."
BookExpo can be likened to the annual reunion of a dispersed and quarrelsome family: Attendees do have issues. Many stores refuse to stock books released by Amazon and booksellers and publishers worry greatly about Amazon's power as a retailer to offer deep discounts. Apple, which will be present at BookExpo, and five publishers were sued in April by the federal government for alleged price fixing. When Apple introduced the iPad two years ago, it negotiated agreements that allowed publishers to set their own prices for e-books, a response to Amazon.com's policy of charging just $9.99 for bestsellers
One convention panel is titled "What Librarians Wish Publishers Knew: Libraries Build Book Buzz," addressing a perennial conflict between libraries and publishers: Whether free books, especially free e-books, mean lost sales or potential new ones. BookExpo also will feature a roundtable of publishers discussing e-books and a book blogging conference where bestselling novelist Jennifer Weiner, whose "The Next Best Thing" comes out in July, will give the keynote address.
"For those of us who don't write the kind of fiction that gets celebrated in The New York Times or excerpted in The New Yorker, it's an invaluable opportunity to keep in touch," Weiner wrote in a recent email, "to remind readers that we're out here, to be funny or pithy or entertaining or provocative, to hone our voices by publishing regularly, and, if we're lucky, to get readers excited about our next book."


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3PC Daith Ear Piercing Heart Shape 16G (1.2mm) Silvertone Tragus Helix Earring Cartilage Hoop Set
Daith piercings are the perfect addition for those who love subtle body mods. Daith piercings refer to the innermost cartilage fold of the ear.
You will receive three heart shape earrings in the color of your choice. We offer various color options providing you with a one shop stop for all your piercing needs.
We strive to bring you the highest quality jewelry at unbeatable prices.
This is why we are sure you will be more than satisfied with our services.
Here at BodyJ4you, we offer a specialized customer service team that is available seven days a week to answer any product questions before, during, or after the purchase.
If you're not satisfied for any reason, you may return your unused item within 30 days of purchase.


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10 Money Saving Tips for College Students
10 Money Saving Tips for College Students written by Guest Author for BillCutterz Money Saving Blog.
Student finance is presently in a quagmire and many students literally struggle to get by. The costs of tuition are high in the face of reduced college grants, scholarships and student loans. Despite this, students don't have to despair because there are many ways students can use to save money and, even have fun doing so.
1. Selecting a good and cheap bank for students is one the best ways to save money. These banks will not waste your money in account fees and other unnecessary avoidable expenses. Having a bank that offers free online banking for students are also critical at ensuring you keep check fees in check.
2. In your choice of credit cards, get those which have do not attracts annual fees and interest rates. Getting such cards is not precisely simple-you have to deliberately shop around for them. Saving on the credit cards also requires you pay debts on them fast, to avoid high interest rates.
3. Reducing spending on food and beverages is also in good light. Rather than eat out at expensive restaurants, consider catching some fast foods and when it comes to drinks, local, affordable beer is better than foreign beer. A six pack at home is way better than a set of bottles at the bar.
4. Consider saving on textbooks by buying used textbooks instead of new ones. Use the different textbook price comparison sites online to buy books as this will save you money.
5. Buying a good coffee maker is a good idea as you don't have to spend on useless coffees at coffee shops. If you can tuck a nice coffee thermos in your backpack is critical to maximize the savings.
6. Stock up on snack foods as this is eventually cheaper than buying from coffee shops and fast food spots. It's always cheaper. Moreover, doing this makes them more portable than you imagine.
7. Don't buy bottled water. Instead, buy yourself affordable and easy to carry water bottle for refilling. If the water in your area is crappy, buying a water filter is an asset you can carry along with than buying bottled water.
8. Taking advantage of students discounts sounds like a good idea when you're in college. There are several retailers who offer discounts to student customers. If you have a student shopping discounts card, use it or limit your shopping to offer days and during festive seasons. This can save you a lot of money in discounts and offers.
9. If possible, buy used products whenever it's possible and on good products. Get your products on eBay or craigslist to ensure that the prices are significantly lower than if you bought new. Sometimes, buying used is better than buying new and you should take advantage of the savings.
10. Consider getting free entertainment than paying for it. Go watch TV, screen movies free with friends on campus, go for touch football or rugby with friend, tennis or go swimming.
The post 10 Money Saving Tips for College Students appeared first on BillCutterz Money Saving Blog.


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This report studies the 5G Base Station Filter market, covering market size for segment by type (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz, etc.), by application (Macro Base Station, Small Base Station, etc.), by sales channel (Direct Channel, Distribution Channel), by player (Murata, CaiQin Technology, Ube Electronics, DSBJ, Partron, etc.) and by region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America and Middle East & Africa).
This report provides detailed historical analysis of global market for 5G Base Station Filter from 2015-2020, and provides extensive market forecasts from 2021-2030 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the sales/revenue/value, gross margin, historical growth and future perspectives in the 5G Base Station Filter market.
Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 is also concerned. Since outbreak in December 2019, the COVID-19 virus has spread to all around the world and caused huge losses of lives and economy, and the global manufacturing, tourism and financial markets have been hit hard, while the online market/industry increase. Fortunately, with the development of vaccine and other effort by global governments and organizations, the negative impact of COVID-19 is expected to subside and the global economy is expected to recover.
This research covers COVID-19 impacts on the upstream, midstream and downstream industries. Moreover, this research provides an in-depth market evaluation by highlighting information on various aspects covering market dynamics like drivers, barriers, opportunities, threats, and industry news & trends. In the end, this report also provides in-depth analysis and professional advices on how to face the post COIVD-19 period.
The research methodology used to estimate and forecast this market begins by capturing the revenues of the key players and their shares in the market. Various secondary sources such as press releases, annual reports, non-profit organizations, industry associations, governmental agencies and customs data, have been used to identify and collect information useful for this extensive commercial study of the market. Calculations based on this led to the overall market size. After arriving at the overall market size, the total market has been split into several segments and subsegments, which have then been verified through primary research by conducting extensive interviews with industry experts such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and executives. The data triangulation and market breakdown procedures have been employed to complete the overall market engineering process and arrive at the exact statistics for all segments and subsegments.
Leading players of 5G Base Station Filter including: Murata CaiQin Technology Ube Electronics DSBJ Partron Tongyu Communication Fenghua Advanced Technology Taoglas Wuhan Fingu Electronic Tatfook BDStar MCV Technologies
Market split by Type, can be divided into: 2.6GHz 3.5GHz Other
Market split by Application, can be divided into: Macro Base Station Small Base Station
Market split by Sales Channel, can be divided into: Direct Channel Distribution Channel
Market segment by Region/Country including: North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.) South America (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia etc.) Middle East & Africa (South Africa, UAE and Saudi Arabia etc.)
If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we can provide you the customized report as you want.
Table of content
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 5G Base Station Filter Market Overview
1.1 5G Base Station Filter Definition
1.2 Global 5G Base Station Filter Market Size Status and Outlook (2015-2030)
1.3 Global 5G Base Station Filter Market Size Comparison by Region (2015-2030)
1.4 Global 5G Base Station Filter Market Size Comparison by Type (2015-2030)
1.5 Global 5G Base Station Filter Market Size Comparison by Application (2015-2030)
1.6 Global 5G Base Station Filter Market Size Comparison by Sales Channel (2015-2030)
1.7 5G Base Station Filter Market Dynamics (COVID-19 Impacts)
1.7.1 Market Drivers/Opportunities
1.7.2 Market Challenges/Risks
1.7.3 Market News (Mergers/Acquisitions/Expansion)
1.7.4 COVID-19 Impacts on Current Market
1.7.5 Post-Strategies of COVID-19 Outbreak
Chapter 2 5G Base Station Filter Market Segment Analysis by Player
2.1 Global 5G Base Station Filter Sales and Market Share by Player (2018-2020)
2.2 Global 5G Base Station Filter Revenue and Market Share by Player (2018-2020)
2.3 Global 5G Base Station Filter Average Price by Player (2018-2020)
2.4 Players Competition Situation & Trends
2.5 Conclusion of Segment by Player
Chapter 3 5G Base Station Filter Market Segment Analysis by Type
3.1 Global 5G Base Station Filter Market by Type
3.1.1 2.6GHz
3.1.2 3.5GHz
3.1.3 Other
3.2 Global 5G Base Station Filter Sales and Market Shar
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La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 11, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 18, 1915
Description: Weekly newspaper from La Grange, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with extensive advertising.
Date: March 18, 1915
Item Type: Refine your search to only Newspaper
Partner: Fayette Public Library, Museum and Archives


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Accounting-standards setters are under fire, again. The new leasing standard, proposed jointly by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board, has been characterized as naïve, lacking value, and in need of serious reevaluation. The outcry comes not from a handful of opponents but from companies on both sides of common lease contracts — those that rent office space, copiers, or airplanes and those that own the assets.
At the center of the maelstrom is the "right-to-use" asset concept, the accounting mechanism that places leased assets and liabilities on the balance sheets of lessees, as if they owned the assets. That would essentially eliminate operating leases. Credit Suisse estimates that, within the S&P 500 alone, the volume of assets returning to balance sheets could surpass $550 billion.
At those levels, asset ratios could be thrown out of whack, potentially sending debt covenants — if not adjusted — into default, says Ross Prindle, a managing director with Duff & Phelps, while also requiring banks to increase their regulatory capital and wreaking havoc on compensation plans tied to the asset measures.
In addition, the proposed standard (called Topic 840 by FASB) requires lessors to recognize assets and liabilities in a new way. A lessor must recognize an asset as representing its right to receive lease payments and, when appropriate, record a liability as representing the contractual right of others to use their equipment or real estate.
Then, based on how much residual value the lessor estimates it will retain at the end of the lease, it must also use one of two accounting approaches laid out in the draft: either the performance obligation or the derecognition model.
If the rules seem complicated, that's because they are, says D.J. Gannon, a deputy managing partner with Deloitte. However, he says the proposed changes are well intentioned: rulemakers want to curb abusive leasing practices by companies that structure around the 90% ownership test that currently determines whether a contract is an operating lease and can therefore be removed from their balance sheets.
Be that as it may, in the year-plus since FASB issued its first discussion paper on the topic, more than 300 comment letters have been submitted, most indicating that stakeholders are not convinced that the intended benefits will be worth the additional cost and effort.
The comment period is open until December 15, and two days later FASB and the IASB will hold the first of four new "outreach" meetings to get a better handle on what worries constituents. The boards plan to release a final rule during the first half of 2011.
Lessor Has More
What's interesting is that most critics are less concerned about the concept of capitalizing all leases than with how FASB and the IASB propose to treat the leases after bringing them back on balance sheets.
"The board is naïve if they don't think the same kind of structuring will occur under these rules as exists with the bright-line test," asserts Shawn Halladay, a principal at The Alta Group, a leasing-industry consultancy. Halladay says that lessees have only to structure leases for shorter terms to push more of the asset value from their balance sheets. That's because shorter-term leases require the lessor to retain a larger portion of the asset's residual value.
Lessor accounting gets more complicated if the company retains a "significant" amount of the asset's risk or benefit. At that point, a lessor is required to use the performance obligation approach, which forces the company to carry both the asset and the total lease payment receivable (at the receivable's present value) on its balance sheet, as well as a performance obligation liability. In contrast, current capital lease rules require the lessor to carry a lease payment receivable on its balance sheet, but not the underlying asset.
The other accounting model available to lessors is the derecognition approach, which is used when the lessor retains a low residual value on the asset. The impact of the two-method treatment is sure to create "a greater divergence in practice among lessors," says Michael Fleming, also a principal at The Alta Group.
Lessors that hold real estate for investment — most notably in real estate investment trusts — may get a chance to avoid leasing rules completely, says Mindy Berman, managing director at Jones Lang Lasalle, a real estate services firm. Soon FASB will issue a proposal that requires real estate investment holdings to be measured at fair value, testing periodically for impairment, instead of following lessor accounting rules.
No Term Limits
Renewal options get sticky under the proposal. Each lease with an option must be evaluated by both lessees and lessors to determine the most likely renewal scenario, and those extra years must be added on to the lease term. That means that a 10-year lease with an option to renew for 6 years becomes a 16-year lease if it is likely the renewal option will be exercised. Lessors and lessees on either side of the same contract are "almost guaranteed" to come up with different lease terms based on renewal options, says Halladay.
More troubling, the extra years that do not reflect the legal lease obligation could prove costly, asserts Bill Bosco, who consults for the Equipment Leasing and Financing Association and sits on the International Working Group on Lease Accounting for FASB and the IASB. In the hypothetical example, the entire 16 years worth of assets or liabilities is dropped onto lessee balance sheets, even though the lease agreement stipulates 10 years.
The 16-year term could look even worse to lessees because the draft rule, if adopted, appears to front-load rent expense by switching the accounting from booking a rent expense to splitting the payments into two streams, amortization expense and interest expense, says Morris Oldham, a partner with McGladrey. This change affects the timing of the lessee's recognition of expenses, because it could work like a typical mortgage with imputed interest. That means the interest expense is higher, and represents the bulk of the lease payment, in the early years of the lease term. In addition, if a renewal option turns a 10-year lease into a 16-year obligation, the lessee has 6 more years during which the lease will have an accounting impact on operations.
Contingent rents, which are lessee payments frequently tied to some variable, such as a percentage of sales or the consumer price index, would impose another burden. Contingent-rent estimates have to be updated at each quarterly measurement date, or sooner if a material change is booked. "There is a lot of look-back about what to put on the balance sheet after the initial measurement," says Prindle, who expects real estate leases to be particularly troubling.
Judging from the draft, "FASB really does not understand what commercial tenants do," insists Marisa Manley, president of consultancy and broker Commercial Tenant Real Estate Representation. She says the proposed rules may "fundamentally change the way tenants look at leasing…and change the relationship between tenants and landlords," especially regarding the buy-versus-lease decision.
If the draft rules remain unchanged, she says, several things will result. First, the typical lease contract will drop from its current 10-year term, as the opportunity to amortize payments in a straight-line manner is abolished and expenses are front-loaded. And tenants will be far more careful about renewal plans, since any indication of reupping a contract would trigger a lease-term extension for accounting purposes and a longer payment obligation carried on the balance sheet. Shorter-term leases may also prompt landlords to charge higher rents, Manley says, since the stability of a long-term commitment is gone.
But the rules will have lessees scrutinizing real estate costs, and that could be beneficial because some landlords use gross payments — bundled real estate and service fees — as a profit center. (Landlords have been known to charge a 300% premium for late-night air conditioning and heating.) Still, the concern for most tenants will be trying to determine if they are in a position to abandon leasing in favor of buying.
Cash Flow Redefined
Lessee cash-flow statements will also be affected. The draft rules require lessees to classify cash payments as financing activities, rather than payables that run through operations. So, while the net effect is that actual cash flows remain the same, the accounting entry "cash flows from operations" could be affected, says Gannon, again disrupting ratios that are used to measure performance or access capital.
In addition, Oldham thinks that shifts in income could ultimately affect debt service coverage ratios, depending on the multiple of operating income and the definition of operating income written into a lending agreement. If a decline in income during the early part of a lease causes a debt ratio to sink too low, albeit temporarily, the company will have to make up the income somehow if it wants to maintain proper ratio levels.
The front-end loading of the lease expense could also result in lopsided reporting for some lessees. Bill Bosco calculates that by eliminating the straight-line method and replacing it with amortization and imputed interest, a hypothetical lessee would see expenses climb by 21% in the first year of a 10-year office lease (see related examples above). In the first 5 years of that same lease, the expense would be 63% higher than current generally accepted accounting principles.
Marie Leone is senior editor for accounting at CFO.
Why Lease?
What motivates companies to lease? "Cash flow, taxes, convenience, and off-balance-sheet accounting treatment," says Michael Fleming, a principal at lease-financing consultancy The Alta Group. Traditionally, protecting cash flow has been the primary reason for leasing, since a company can use a leased asset to generate revenue with no money down, and pay for it over time. The lessee may also be able to take advantage of tax breaks in the form of lower lease payments, if the lessor has enough net income to capture tax breaks from expensing or depreciation, adds Fleming. The convenience of leasing equipment quickly, and not having to worry about certain maintenance issues, has always attracted smaller, less-capitalized businesses to leasing, and off-balance-sheet treatment of assets has been viewed as a benefit to some companies, although it has never been a prime motivation, contends Fleming.
Many times, companies that claim they are looking for off-balance-sheet treatment are really just looking for lower lease payments, "so it is truly a cash-flow issue," insists Shawn Halladay, also a principal at The Alta Group. The confusion exists because lower lease payments are often the result of a lessor creating a higher residual value, which may take the asset value off of the lessee's balance sheet. — M.L.


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The concept of paying with credit cards and other electronic means rather than with paper money isn't novel. However, paying with our phones may be a stretch for most of us. Given the fact that there's an app for everything these days, perhaps we shouldn't be surprised to hear that there are now digital wallets.
Paying with your phone solves some obvious problems: keeping track of myriad credit cards and dealing with a wallet that's bulging with reward and gift cards we never seem to redeem.
Enter Google, PayPal and a few startups, all hoping to provide us with the best digital payment system for our phones so we can rid our pockets of the outdated wallet.
Perhaps the most comprehensive approach comes from a company called iCache, with a product called Geode ($199) that's set to launch soon. Geode is an iPhone case with an integrated credit card scanner you can use to scan your credit and reward cards into an associated free app. When you approach a check-out counter, simply choose your method of payment on your phone and the universal card in the Geode case will serve as your credit card. Reward cards pop up on a small e-ink screen on the outside of the case for easy scanning by the store clerk. Worried about security? Geode's fingerprint scanner prevents unauthorized access.
More From Good Housekeeping
A free solution is the Google Wallet app. As with the Geode, enter credit card information into your "Wallet" and NFC-enabled phones transmit information to the points of sale (i.e. "paypass") found at most check- out counters. Other reward cards, travel tickets, etc. will pop up on-screen to be easily scanned. For protection, Google Wallet requires that you use a pin code. The downside: It's not supported by all network providers and check-outs.
Digital payments are a trend we're seeing across many merchants and mainstream vendors. Particularly interesting is Starbucks' investment in Square Inc. and its "Pay with Square" App. Like other apps, Pay with Square allows you to pay through your account just by saying your name at the checkout. What could be easier?
Considering that paying with our phones not only minimizes what we need to carry with us, but improves security it's a natural progression that isn't so hard to swallow after all. While it never hurts to have cash for that neighborhood restaurant or street fair, for everything else, there's your phone.


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Dystopia for Adults – A Reading List (Updated)
May 8, 2013 61 Comments
Three years ago, I took part in a Dystopia reading challenge and posted a list of Dystopian books for adults. There are many, many dystopia books for YA readers, but dystopian novels that are primarily for adults, are often harder to find: dystopian books with an adult protagonist. This list has been one of the most popular posts on my blog, and it's time for an update.
What is Dystopia?
A dystopia is a society after some great disaster or change has taken place (post-apocalyptic), life is not as easy as it was. The main character in a dystopian story generally does not accept society as easily as most other people do and joins up with like-minded people to try and change their situation.
Creating a Reading List
For my 3-year blogoversary I asked my readers to suggest new dystopian books that weren't on the original list and they were very helpful! Here is the updated list – a list that will keep growing, I hope.
So here it is: a list with Dystopian books that have adult protagonists. Do you know any others? Let me know and I'll add them to the list. I'll include post-apocalyptic novels that aren't necessarily classified as dystopian but will be of interest to dystopia readers.
- White Horse by Alex Adams
- Feed by M. T. Anderson
- The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
- The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
- The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
- The Drowned World by J.G. Ballard
- Nod by Adrian Barnes
- City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
- Jennifer Government by Max Barry
- Mountain Man by Keith Blackmore
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Postman by David Brin
- The Sheep Look Up by David Brin
- Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks
- The End of This Day's Business by Katharine Burdekin
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess
- Veracity by Laura Bynum
- The Death of Grass by John Christopher
- Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee
- The Passage by Justin Cronin
- The Twelve by Justin Cronin
- Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick
- Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
- Alas Babylon by Pat Frank
- Neuromancer by William Gibson
- The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall
- The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway
- Into the Forest by June Hegland
- The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
- The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
- The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq
- Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban
- Wool by Hugh Howey
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
- This Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs
- The Children of Men by P. D. James
- When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
- In a Perfect World, by Laura Kasischke
- The Stand by Stephen King
- Always Coming Home by Ursula LeGuin
- Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin
- This Perfect Day by Ira Levin
- The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf
- I am Legend by Richard Matheson
- Swan Song by Robert McCammon
- The Road by Cormac McCarthy
- A Creed for the Third Millennium by Colleen McCollough
- I Have Waited and You Have Come by Martine McDonagh
- Malevile by Robert Merle
- A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
- V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
- 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
- Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov
- Sulphuric Acid by Amelie Nothomb
The Suicide Collectors by David Oppegaard
- 1984 by George Orwell
- A Dream of Wessex by Christopher Priest
- Anthem by Ayn Rand
- Atlas shrugged of Ayn Rand
- The Beyond series by Kit Rocha
- Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
- Blindness by Jose Saramago
- Seeing by Jose Saramago
- On the Beach by Nevil Shute
- The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson
- Earth Abides by George R Stewart
- Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling
- The Domination by S. M. Stirling
- Warday by Whitley Strieber and James Kunetka
- A Voyage to Kazohinia by Sandor Szathmari
- Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
- Far North by Marcel Theroux
- The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks
- The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells
- The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
- Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
- The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe
- A Gift Upon the Shore by MK Wren
- The Crysalids by John Wyndham
- Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham
- We by Yvengy Zamyatin
- Corpus delicti by Juli Zeh
Do you know any Dystopian books where the main character is an adult? Let me know!


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FPL construction project could hinder seasonal business in Boynton Beach
Scully's Restaurant normally braces for busy season this time of year
Kevin Scully's business has survived a fire, a recession and all the things that come with trying to stay afloat.
Now, the owner of Scully's Restaurant in Boynton Beach says a Florida Power & Light pole construction project is his latest obstacle.
More From WPBF: Email alerts | Mobile | Social
"I've lived in town for 25 years, so I know what it's like being out of power," he told WPBF 25 News' Ted White on Friday.
Next week, crews will get right to work along a stretch of Federal Highway near his restaurant. The wooden utility poles will soon disappear.
"We're replacing 20 poles and putting in new, more wind-resistant poles," FPL spokesman Greg Brostowicz said. "(This will) help ensure that the lights stay on and the power stays on when heavy winds blow through."
Scully said he was all for it when the project was supposed to start in October. But it took a back seat.
"Unfortunately, Hurricane Sandy threatened our coastline," Brostowicz said. "And then after that we sent nearly 1,000 workers to the Northeast to assist around New Jersey."
Now, the work is scheduled to start in January, which Scully said is the worst time of year for his business, when all the snowbirds are in town and his restaurant is at its busiest.
"We make money in January, February and March, and basically tread water the rest of the year," he said. "It's not just me. Half of my staff here works for tips. And they make most of their money in January, February and March."
FPL said it's best to do it ahead of the next hurricane season.


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Live! From D.C.! It's Steve's blog!
I'm here in the nation's capital for the big Obama inauguration, making the rounds of parties, balls and fêtes, and man, is it exhausting! One thing after another, with not enough sleep. Just yesterday I was asking Michelle how she stands up to the constant commotion and shmoozing. And she always looks so good! We were in the Bedroom Suite of Blair House — you know, the one where everything's in pink pastels — having a glass of Chard (K-J V.R.) while the tailor was putting the finishing touches on the I.G. (Inaugural Gown). No, I can't and won't say anything about it, you'll just have to wait to see it like everybody else! Except I can tell you it's STUNNING and nobody but nobody could look better in it than M.O. At one point The Man Himself popped in to say hi. He was with Rahm (who looks even more feral in real life than he does on the telly). They were going out for a jog and Barack had on these grey cotton sweatpants with wide blue sidestripes and a light blue T-shirt with PEBO in red letters. That's short for "President-elect Barack Obama." After he and Rahm left, Michelle joked that the girls are already calling him PEBO or "PEBO Daddy"! So that's a little inside gossip. Now stay tuned for some big news: I have learned the contents of the Obamas' wine cellar! And it's not all K-J. They have a lot of Alsatian Riesling (Michelle's fave) and some Barolo (which she says she's learning to like under the tutelage of her personal wine guru, Karen MacNeil) and also some Zinfandel and Pinot Noir, not to mention Champagne. I asked Michelle what Big O. likes and she said he's down with Napa Cabernet, but that he also has a thing for a good microbrew (which we already knew). She confided, "He's never acquired a taste for liquor, but he'll have a cognac after a nice dinner." Back home in Chicago, they have some Illinois wine, but Michelle said they don't really like it, and probably won't be having it in the White House.
Another thing Michelle was working on was the menu for the Inauguration Day luncheon. For all you little people not important enough to be invited, here it is:
Seafood Stew
Duckhorn 2007 Sauvignon Blanc
(My Wine Enthusiast score: 90)
Pheasant and Duck served with Sour Cherry Chutney and Molasses Sweet Potatoes
Goldeneye 2005 Pinot Noir
(My Wine Enthusiast score: 92)
Apple Cinnamon Sponge Cake with Sweet Cream
Korbel Special Inaugural Cuvée
I asked Michelle what she thought of Tom Wark's remark last week that "I don't expect…any public display of wine loving on the part of Barack Obama." (She was fully aware of it, because she reads the major wine blogs every day.) She disagreed. "Wark's a smart guy, but he's wrong on this one. Barack will be the wine President," she said confidently. She wouldn't provide details, but it's clear that we have friends in the White House, after eight low, mean, dry years of chili and milk.
Hi Steve,
I'm glad to hear that the Obamas are interested in (and learning about) a variety of wines. Just wanted to call your attention to an Obama-centric wine you may or may not have heard about. It's called Yes We Cab. Check out my (new) blog about it here http://bytheglass.wordpress.com/2009/01/20/yes-we-cab-barack-obama-wine/
And, if you want to pass this info onto the Obamas, you're welcome to do so with my compliments! 🙂


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- Share
Gigayear data disc could outlast humans
Million-year archive European scientists have designed and built a disk they say could store data for a million years, potentially keeping a record of humanity long after we're gone.
For centuries humans have recorded their achievements in various forms; from cave paintings and rock etching through to print and electronic media. But in the long term, all our existing methods of storage have a limited shelf life.
Digital storage systems can only retain their data for a matter of decades, archival paper can only be expected to last up to 500 years, while text engraved in a marble slab will eventually erode away, write nanotechnologist Jeroen de Vries from the University of Twente, The Netherlands, and colleagues.
"If we want to preserve anything about the human race which can outlast the human race itself, we require a data storage medium designed to last for one million to one billion years," they write in paper posted on the arXiv.org research article server.
To meet this need, the researchers built a disk made of chemically inert silicon nitride, a compound used to make parts of car engines, as an insulator in manufacturing integrated circuits and more.
Into this disk, they embedded tungsten, a hard, dense metal widely used in incandescent light bulb filaments and X-ray tubes and other applications.
The researchers stored their data by laying down the tungsten in the form of a QR code, a two-dimensional bar code often used to deliver information to smart phones, which was then covered in a thin layer of silicon nitride.
Simulating a million years
Instead of waiting a million years to see if the data really did survive, for experimental purposes the researchers simulated the passing of time by heating up the disk.
The basis for this short cut is a formula called the Arrhenius law, which shows the relationship between temperature and the rates of chemical reactions.
Using the Arrhenius law, the researchers calculated that subjecting their chip to a temperature of 188°C for an hour would be equivalent to a million years at 27°C.
In fact, after a series of experiments the researchers found that the disks survived significantly higher temperatures of up to 440°C for two hours.
These temperatures resulted in cracking of the silicon-nitride coating. At higher temperatures this cracking hindered the reading back of the data through an optical microscope they said, although the QR codes themselves "are not visibly damaged and the tungsten is still present," they write.
Although more work is needed to solve the cracking problem, and to test the disk against things such as acid, wind and sand, de Vries and colleagues say they are encouraged.
"The initial attempt to create a medium containing embedded data which is able to survive for one million years is promising," they write. "At … temperatures which correspond to a storage time of 1 million years or more, the data carrier survives."


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Events archive
Lord Falconer (former Labour Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice and former member of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet), Paul Craig (Professor of Public Law at Oxford University) and Martin Howe QC (Chairman of Lawyers for Britain)
30 November 2016 - 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Nissan Lecture Theatre
This is a new seminar series held at St Antony's College, and will comprise a number of special seminars on topics raising legal and political issues. All welcome
Turkey's 1974 Cyprus military intervention: Can it be evaluated in the context of responsibility to protect?
Altug Gunal (Ege University in İzmir/St Antony's College, Oxford)
30 November 2016 - 5:00pm
Seminar Room, European Studies Centre, 70 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HR
Abstract Turkey's military operation on Cyprus in 1974 has been highly controversial in both political and legal perspectives. Even the terming of the military action is a matter of serious dispute.... Read more


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OANDA Senior Market Analyst Craig Erlam reviews the day's business and market news with Jonny Hart.
This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.


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Superannuation changes to hit 16,000 top earners
The Federal Government has announced much-anticipated changes to the superannuation system that it says will affect about 16,000 of Australia's highest earners in the first year.
From July next year, earnings of more than $100,000 on superannuation pensions and annuities will be taxed at 15 per cent instead of being tax-free.
The change will not apply at the accumulation stage.
Treasurer Wayne Swan says the move will improve the fairness and sustainability of the system, given Australia's ageing population.
At a rate of return of 5 per cent, the Government expects the change will only affect people with more than $2 million in superannuation assets.
Mr Swan says tax concessions for high-income earners are too generous.
"Why should someone who has millions of dollars in a superannuation account pay no tax on their earnings while someone on $80,000 pays a marginal tax rate of 37 cents in the dollar on every additional dollar they earn?" he said.
"So today's reforms address this imbalance."
Treasury estimates that about 16,000 people will be affected by the measures next financial year.
"There is something wrong in a system where working Australians on average wages are providing excessive support to people with millions in their superannuation account," Mr Swan said.
Superannuation Minister Bill Shorten says the Government will appoint a council of custodians to oversee the changes.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is not impressed with the plan.
"On balance, this is a $1 billion hit on people's retirement savings," he told the media in Melbourne.
"It is a $1 billion hit on savings that belong to the people, not the Government, and it shows that this is a government which is prepared to tax the people to fund its own spending."
Asked if he would reverse the changes if he won government in September, Mr Abbott replied: "On the indications from the Government this morning, they're not even going to take it to the Parliament, so what hasn't gone to the Parliament doesn't have to be reversed."
Financial Services Council chief John Brogden said he was pleased the Government had made the announcement as it would end uncertainty about the tax treatment of retirement savings.
"The lesson the Government should learn from this is that if you play politics with superannuation the public become very nervous and it damages confidence and certainty in superannuation," Mr Brogden said.
Earlier this week, he had warned that the superannuation industry would not rule out a mining tax-style campaign against any changes to super taxes if the Government did not provide certainty about its intentions.
David Whiteley, from Industry Super Network, which represents superannuation funds linked to the trade union movement, says the changes will make the system more fair.
The Government says the reforms will save around $900 million over the four-year forward estimates period.


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Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: Charles was saying it even before Brooklyn beat the Knicks.
Charles Barkley joined 98.7 ESPN New York with The Mike Lupica Show to discuss the New York Jets keeping Rex Ryan as their head coach, the Brooklyn Nets being the best team in New York, his reason behind loving the Nets, his favorites in the Western and Eastern Conference and the Los Angeles Lakers hiring Mike D'Antoni.
What's your opinion on the Knicks and Carmelo Anthony?
"Let me tell you this and I said the same thing last week: The best team in New York is the Brooklyn Nets. … Listen, I love Carmelo Anthony - great, great offensive player. I thought a couple of weeks ago when he had a bad game, he got 12 rebounds and I said, I like that because he became one of the players [that] if he doesn't score, he wasn't helping you in the game. Their defense is starting to lack now. But the one thing I told people, and they weren't paying attention to it, even when they were winning, they would still get out-rebounded every game, and I told you the only two concerns I've got with the Knicks are defense and rebounding. If you see, even when they were winning, they weren't rebounding. … Every game they won during that stretch, they got out rebounded. I said, 'I don't think they are going to keep their same defensive intensity for the simple fact that those guys have never played defense other than Tyson Chandler.' I think at some point, when things start going bad like it did down in Houston, they are going to revert back to their non-defense … and that's why the Nets are the best team in New York."
What do you like about the Nets?
"The Nets are better at every position and they've got a much better bench. I mean, take away Carmelo Anthony. Deron Williams is a better point guard. Joe Johnson is a better No. 2. Gerald Wallace is a better No. 3. Kris Humphries is a better No. 4. I like Brook Lopez's game. He's got to do a better job on the boards. He's much better offensively than Tyson Chandler; Tyson is a better defender and a better rebounder. Then when you go to the bench, I like Andray Blatche. I like Reggie Evans. I like Marshon Brooks. I do. I just like everything better about the Nets, just as a team, and it's going to take them a little while to put it all together, but at the end of the day the Nets are going to have a much better team than the Knicks. That's strictly on basketball. It has nothing to do with my hatred for people from New York like Kenny Smith or guys like that. … Avery Johnson is going to have to push some buttons, but they've got a better team in the long run."
I saw the Knicks getting pushed around by the Memphis Grizzlies. How many teams can play like the Grizzlies in the NBA?
"The good teams. Let's take this for instance: If the Knicks want to play small, you are not going to beat the Miami Heat playing small. The only way to beat the Miami Heat is beat them up physically. That's what happened when they lost to Dallas. Oklahoma City can't beat them out. I always worry about Oklahoma City because I don't like their big guys inside dominating Miami. Memphis can beat them. And if the Lakers ever get healthy, they've got a better chance. This Brooklyn team is interesting. They are better than the Knicks, but I don't know if they can beat Miami. I'm not sure if anyone in the East can beat Miami. Philadelphia is done without Andrew Bynum. They are done without Bynum. Right now I am looking at the Celtics. I want to keep watching them play. I am going to keep looking at Brooklyn, but that's pretty much it. Indiana doesn't look the same. Roy Hibbert is not looking the same since he got that big money. But pretty much the East is done. I am just looking at the West right now, between Oklahoma City, who I think is the best, Memphis, San Antonio and I wanna see, when Steve Nash gets healthy, about these Lakers. But the East is pretty much a wrap right now unless Boston or Brooklyn can beat Miami."
Are you good with the Lakers hiring Mike D'Antoni?
"Well, I just thought they disrespected Phil Jackson. Mike D'Antoni is a very good coach. But you could just tell they are not going to hire Phil Jackson. I just thought they disrespected him, to be honest with you. Listen, they were never going to give him the job. If you look at all the background, they told him to think about the job, but they were interviewing Mike D'Antoni on the side. They clearly weren't going to give him a choice to make a decision, so they should have treated him better. He deserved that, but Mike D'Antoni is going to have change, though. That team is old. Kobe is old. Steve Nash is old. Ron Artest is old. They are not going to be able to play his style. He's going to have change his style as a coach. Like I said, Steve Nash got hurt running up and down the court. He can't play like he did eight to nine years ago and he ran that system. Now listen, Kobe Bryant is old. Ron Artest is old. Only thing that is going to be hurting Los Angeles is going to be a bunch of pulled hamstrings and groins if they try to play that fast."
This post, written by Steven Cuce, appears courtesy of Sports Radio Interviews. For the complete highlights of the interview, as well as audio, click here.
More from Sports Radio Interviews
• Antawn Jamison sounds happy with his new coach.
• Jay Cutler says he can be even better.
• Pete Carroll is still counting on the playoffs.


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I have taught third grade and preschool, but my true passion is for first. I have been in first-grade for nine years now and have no plans to ever leave it! First grade is my home.
I love making my lessons as fun and interactive as possible. I make as many games as possible to reinforce skills. I would take games over worksheets any day!
I have been honored to have taught HUNDREDS of children! Every smile, every "a-ha" moment is an award. I wouldn't trade it for the world!
Graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2005 with degree in Elementary Ed.
I have three daughters on my own. They have helped me to be a better teacher. I understand children more because of them. They have been some of my best teachers!
PreK, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Not Grade Specific
English Language Arts, Balanced Literacy, Creative Writing, Reading, Grammar, Spelling, Vocabulary, Specialty, Math, Applied Math, Arithmetic, Basic Operations, Fractions, Geometry, Graphing, Measurement, Numbers, Order of Operations, Other (Math), Social Studies - History, U.S. History, Arts & Music, Other (Arts), Music, Computer Science - Technology, Health, ELA Test Prep, Other (ELA), For All Subject Areas, Classroom Management, Character Education, Problem Solving, Writing, Reading Strategies, Holidays/Seasonal, Back to School, Thanksgiving, Christmas/ Chanukah/ Kwanzaa, Poetry, Autumn, Mental Math, Halloween, Winter, The New Year, Dance, Valentine's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents' Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Spring, Place Value, Earth Day, For All Subjects, Summer, Handwriting, Test Preparation, End of Year, Phonics


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Mandy Moore considering shaving her head
Mandy Moore says she is considering a major change.
The actress recently told People she's been thinking about getting a drastic hairstyle makeover. "I've always wanted to really cut my hair, like, super, super short. I did once," Moore said. "I've always thought about shaving my head too. That's always intrigued me."
Photos: Check out stars who've shaved their heads
If Moore ever got the nerve to follow through, she thinks her husband Ryan Adams would be nothing but supportive. "I don't think my husband would object to it!" she said. "He would totally be down for that. I think he'd think it'd probably be pretty punk!"
Before Moore makes any big change, she said she has a way to go. "I kind of feel that way a lot, but I don't necessarily act upon it all the time. Baby steps I guess," Moore said.


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This weekend, the Moon will pass between Earth and the Sun, giving rise to what sky-watchers call an annular eclipse. Also known as a "ring of fire" eclipse (for reasons that the top image should make clear), it's the first annular eclipse to be visible from the continental U.S. in close to 20 years. Here's what you need to know to catch a glimpse.
Top photo by Abel Pardo López
What is an "annular" eclipse?
Remember the supermoon from a couple weeks back? If you do, you might recall reading that one of the things that made the Moon "super" that night was its proximity to Earth. Because the Moon's orbit is elliptical, there are times throughout the month when it is closer to our planet than others. Two weeks ago, the Moon was at perigee, putting it closer to us than any other point in the month. In contrast, Sunday's Moon will be close to apogee, the point in its orbit at which it is furthest from our planet.
The Moon's distance from us means that its apparent diameter in the sky will be at its smallest for the entire month, so when it passes between the Sun and the Earth on Sunday night, it won't be able to cover the whole sun. As a result, some parts of the country will be able to witness a ring of sunlight like the one pictured up top, a defining characteristic of annular eclipses.
When & Where
The eclipse will last from 20:56 UTC on May 20th til 02:49 UTC on May 21st (that's 16:56 to 22:49 EDT, or 13:56 to 19:49 PDT on May 20th), and will be visible from China to the easternmost regions of North America. This map, created by Eclipse Maps' Michael Zeiler, illustrates when and where you can expect to catch the eclipse. As a general rule: If you're in North America, the further west you are the better.
There's a band running across Zeiler's map labeled "Path of the annular solar eclipse." These are the regions of the Earth from which the Sun's "ring of fire" will actually be visible (to everyone else, Sunday's will look much like any other partial solar eclipse).
This close-up of North America (via Sky & Telescope) shows the small band of the American southwest from which the annular eclipse will be clearly visible. Here, via AccuWeather.com, are a few locations that fall within this strip of geography, and the times at which the Moon will be most centered over the Sun's face:
- Albuquerque, NM: 7:36 p.m. MDT
- Eureka, CA: 6:28 p.m. PDT
- Lubbock, TX: 8:36 p.m. CDT
- Medford, OR: 6:26 p.m. PDT
- Reno, NV: 6:31 p.m. PDT
Watch the Ring of Fire Online
Of course, most people don't live along this narrow band of the United States (or anywhere else along the path of the annular eclipse, for that matter). But that's okay; you can always watch it online.
Your best bet is probably to check out the SLOOH Space Camera, which will be streaming feeds form telescopes along the annular path in Japan, California, Arizona and New Mexico beginning Sunday at 5:30 p.m. EST. SLOOH even has it set up so you can take pictures of the eclipse as it unfolds.
Watching Safely
One of the benefits to watching the eclipse online, rather than in-person, is not having to worry about taking precautions when actually viewing the eclipse. Looking directly at the Sun — even during an eclipse, and, yes, even with sunglasses — is an awful, awful idea, and can permanently damage your vision.
To safely view the eclipse, you'll want to go buy a solar filter. These come in a variety of forms, from wearable solar shades, to attachments that you can affix to telescopes and binoculars. They'll cut the brightness by enough that you'll be able to catch glimpses of the Sun without frying your retinas.
If it's last minute or buying a solar filter isn't an option, Sky and Telescope has detailed instructions for viewing the eclipse with a variety of pinhole projection techniques. (The photograph featured here shows how skygazers in Madrid used projection techniques to view an annular eclipse back in 2005.) Here's the simplest one:
Poke a small hole in an index card with a pencil point, face it toward the Sun, and hold a second card three or four feet behind it in its shadow. The hole will project a small image of the Sun's disk onto the lower card. This image will go through all the phases of the eclipse, just as the real Sun does. Experiment with different size holes. A large hole makes the image bright but fuzzy; a small hole makes it dim but sharp. the ever-popular pinhole projector technique.
More advanced projection methods involve the use of a cardboard box, or the room of a house with a sun-facing window. You can click through for more details.


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© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.
Keep stress at bay in veterinary practice
Next time you find yourself pulling your hair out, try a shift in perspective.
No doubt that when things don't go according to plan in your life, you get stressed out. Stress is inevitable, but what if you could deal with it in a better way? Rory Vaden, author of Take the Stairs and a blogger at huffingtonpost.com, says you can and wants you to think of it like this: Whenever you are overwhelmed, upset, perturbed, or pissed, ask yourself this question: "Is this challenge of eternal significance?" Just asking the question can automatically enable you to relax. Problems start to disappear the moment you expand your perspective. If you have the discipline to ask yourself that question in those moments of frustration, you will always find that greater peace lies in longer-term perspective.
Vaden uses the example of getting a flat tire on your way to work. Not a great way to start your day, right? If someone asked you later that night how your day was, you'd probably tell that person about the flat tire and how you were stranded on the side of the road and late to work. It was a major event in your day. However, pretend you are on your deathbed 60 years from now and someone asked you how you felt about your life? Do you think you'd say, "Well, I had a pretty good life except for that day I had that flat tire?" No way. You probably wouldn't even remember the flat tire, Vaden says, because a flat tire is such a small event in relation to your overall life.
The big realization here, according to Vaden, is:
- A challenge in respect to today is a big problem.
- But a challenge in respect to our life is a small problem.
- And a challenge in respect to eternity is no problem.
So, why get stressed over little issues? Expand your perspective and you can quickly see how silly it is to let insignificant things create substantial stress in your life.


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MLB Season in Review: Houston Astros Pitchers
By Eno Sarris //
Biggest Surprise: Wilton Lopez
How does a pitcher who doesn't strike out batters at an average rate for relievers (6.72 K/9, reliever average well above 7 K/9) become the best reliever in his pen? Lopez did it by not walking anyone (five all year, or 0.67 BB/9) and keeping the ball on the ground (55.7%). Those aren't always the traits of a great closer – managers love the strikeout – and so Lopez may not be fantasy-relevant in most leagues. But if your league counts holds, or you are looking for a reliever to keep your ratios down, remember this name.
Biggest Bust: Bud Norris
If you're looking for strikeouts, Norris could be your man; if he could pick up some of that control from Lopez through osmosis, he'd be a veritable ace. He struck out more than a man per inning (9.25 K/9), and that's valuable. But he struggled to locate his secondary stuff, and his walks spiked as a result (4.51 BB/9). Given that he's also a flyball pitcher (41.4% groundballs for his career), he'll really need to cut down on the walks to fulfill his promise in the starting rotation.
2011 Keeper Alert: Wandy Rodriguez
Rodriguez struggled out of the gate (4.97 ERA, 1.52 WHIP before the All-Star game), but a fine second half brought him back to upper-echelon levels (3.60 ERA, 1.29 WHIP). Though his strikeout (8.22 K/9) and walk (3.14 BB/9) rates were the worst he's shown in three years, they were still strong. He's a little older than you might think (32 next season), but in the short-term he's still a good keeper on a staff mostly devoid of young keeper pitching. J.A. Happ, for instance, strikes out more than a full batter fewer than Rodriguez, and usually walks at least a half-batter or more than him too.
2011 Regression Alert: Felipe Paulino
Paulino is a little like Bud Norris in that he can strike a batter out (8.15 K/9 last year), struggles with control (4.52 BB/9 last year), and put up a stinker of an ERA in 2010 (5.11). But Paulino may have an easier time harnessing his stuff. In his first 100 major league innings, he walked fewer than 3.5 batters per nine innings, and even after a poor second 100 innings, he's got a manageable 3.89 BB/9 for his career. As a flyballer, he'll always be a little vulnerable to the gopherball. But look for that unsightly ERA to improve next year if his control settled toward career norms.


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Do you ever feel like the Universe is trying to *tell you something*? Well, so do celebs like Nina Dobrev and Christina Perri—and they have proof...in their inbox!
Don't believe us? Just check out the email from the Universe Nina recently shared on Instagram. Okay, so it's not really from the Universe, but if you're into inspirational quotes, you'll totally love the personalized motivational messages from the universe that the genius website TUT sends subscribers every. single. morning. via email. Although TUT began the inspirational movement a few years ago, its new celeb fans like Nina are helping to spread the message.
The best part? It doesn't cost a thing. All you have to do is sign up with your email address to start receiving the daily notes. We're convinced it's literally the best way to start your day each morning.
More From Seventeen
And just in case you need a little extra motivation today, we'll leave you with one of our fave notes we received from the Universe recently:
Do you realize, you're right in the middle of living your greatest story yet...just before the really "big thing" happens..."those people" show up in droves...strangers know your name...friends place you on a pedestal...wild animals befriend you...and Oprah calls? Do you?!
The legend has begun,
The Universe
Are you going to sign up for Notes from the Universe? Do you have another favorite site for inspiring quotes? Tell us in the comments!


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DUSSELDORF, Germany — Mercedes-Benz is usually quick to exploit new segments, and in some cases even to create them. That's what they did when the CLS 500 was launched two years ago—a design we declared as the best of that year. Now everyone is working on some type of four-door coupe. But you can't be first every time. And Mercedes-Benz is a bit late to the party for premium compact crossovers—a segment pioneered by the BMW X3 and now occupied by the Acura RDX and upcoming Audi Q5.
But years spent stewing over that missing link means that Benz had time to plan. The GLK, a distant cousin (at least visually) to the rugged G-Wagen, is a crossover that will haul five people plus luggage, clamber up a muddy hillside with aplomb, and fit neatly in the Mercedes SUV range. It goes on sale in the States next January. But does it have the right stuff to take on the established players, as well as Audi's slick new entry? We went to Germany to find out. —Ken Gross
The Specs
Well, let's give you the not-so-good news right up front. For such a small crossover, the fuel economy on the GLK isn't exactly best in class. Despite help from a seven-speed automatic, the 4036 pound GLK350's 3.5-liter 268 hp 24-valve aluminum V6's EPA fuel mileage is estimated at just 16 mpg city and 22 mpg highway. BMW's 3.0-liter X3 isn't much better at 17 city and 24 highway, and the Q5 puts up nearly identical numbers. A Bluetec diesel GLK is rumored for late '09 introduction. In this fuel price environment, it can't come soon enough.
More From Popular Mechanics
Meanwhile, there's a lot to like about this new Benz. First, there's that responsive V6 engine. Mercedes says it will thrust the GLK to 60 mph in a mere 6.5 seconds and on to a top speed of 143 mph. Grip is assured thanks to all-wheel-drive with a full-time 45/55 torque split. As one might imagine, the GLK comes with the alphabet soup of driver's aids—ESP, ASR, 4ETS traction control with brake and throttle intervention. And it's all put to the tarmac with sticky 235/60R17 front and 255/55R17 all-weather tires. Massive 13.0-in. ventilated discs up front and 11.8-inchers in the rear are backed with ABS and brake assist.
The GLK350 boasts nearly every Mercedes-Benz safety feature, like a steel-reinforced cabin, a pair of two-stage front airbags, side airbags (mounted in the front-seat backrests), head-protection curtains, head restraints, which move forward in milliseconds to reduce whiplash, and seatbelt tensioners with force limiters.
The Drive
We hustled the GLK through picturesque villages East of Düsseldorf. We liked the GLK's styling, with its distinctly angular grille, steeply raked windscreen and tall spoke wheels. Even better, its four-wheel independent suspension and meaty sway bars with electronically actuated, adaptable dampers, serves up decidedly nimble road manners. There's virtually no body roll. And on those gentle sweepers as well as the more challenging curves, we enjoyed the nicely weighted steering with just 2.8 turns lock-to-lock.
The driver's seat is well-bolstered and offers a commanding view of the road ahead. Thankfully, there's minimal A-pillar visual interference, a problem that's becoming more and more prevalent as manufacturers beef up structures to meet new safety regulations.
Touch-shift manual shift control lets you pick the exact ratio you want from a choice of seven gears. And those 258 lb.-ft. of torque peak on a plateau from 2400 to 5000 rpm. So low-end grunt is always on tap, and there's plenty to lug around a 3500-pound trailer, too.
As we found on a challenging off-road course near Engelskirchen, Germany, the GLK will wade fearlessly through a foot of water and rock and roll over tough terrain. With an impressive 23-degree approach angle, a 25-degree departure angle and a 19-degree break-over angle, the GLK is hard to high-center.
Overseas, M-B offers an off-road package that includes 17-in. wheels and trail-rated rubber, underbody protection panels, softer throttle response, modified shift points, recalibrated traction control and a display that shows front-wheel angles. It's a nice bit of kit. We drove an off-road package GLK, and it's very capable. However, the standard setup should suffice for most buyers. If you absolutely need to go anywhere, go ahead and buy that legendary Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen. Or you could save $70,000 and just get a Jeep Wrangler.
The Bottom Line
Mercedes hasn't announced pricing yet, but we'd guess about $38,000 for a base vehicle. There's a long list of options, including an Appearance Package with 20-in., seven-spoke wheels and aluminum roof rails. Want more? How about a multimedia package with Comand (Mercedes' somewhat easier-to-use answer to BMW's iDrive), a hard-drive-based NAV system, rear-view camera, a 600-watt sound system and a 6 GB hard drive. Stand-alone options include Parktronic, TeleAid, a trailer hitch, heated front seats, a rear-seat entertainment system and more. All up, you could probably spec a fully loaded GLK into the low $50,000 range. Certainly not the least expensive crossover on the block, but then again, this is a Mercedes-Benz, after all.
The new GLK350 is a likeable package with a very high level of standard and optional equipment—pity about the average fuel economy, though. Still, we think this car's impressive dynamics and capability make a strong case for those who want a quick and sporty wagon.


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Web Conversion CGI
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Web Conversion CGI:
The software reads the Home Pages and converts the text strings in the original pages into other strings according to the string pairs (source/target) contained in the specified dictionary using sentence to sentence pattern matching/replacing. The program also converts the strings in the linked pages.
This is a filter to convert HTML WebPages in English into other languages or dialects. It performs simple pattern matching & replace of HTML pages retaining original layout. The program ignores strings in JAVA scripts, graphics, etc.
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Contains plain texts with source strings and target strings separated by delimiter (t).
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- Configuration file
1. Settings for some functions
Platform: Windows
Client Browser: IE5.5 and up
Programming Language: VC, C/C++, or Delphi
CGI Installation Required


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A Look at Ron Swanson's Alter Ego: Duke Silver
Ron Swanson, Director of Parks and Recreation is a Pawnee enigma. He adores breakfast meats and Steffie Graf, hates government, has two ex-wives named Tammy, and can carve a harp with his bare hands after 6 shots of whiskey.
He's also leading a double life by appearing as the legendary Duke Silver once a month at Cozy's Bar in Eagleton, Indiana. He plays for the mature crowd and evidently has a problem with "walker stalkers", a new term for senior citizen groupies.
We got confirmation that Ron is indeed Duke Silver when April called him on it last week. Evidently, her mom has all his albums, although her mom seems a little younger than his typical audience member, one of which said "He makes me feel 60 again."
Ron/Duke is playing a dangerous game and is ripe for exposure. He's got a website and someone in the office is bound to discover it. So far, only April and Tom know. Ron was able to buy Tom's silence by keeping his green card marriage secret. April will keep his secret as long as she can sleep at her desk, but what will happen when Leslie finds out she works with a celebrity?
One other question: Did Duke Silver/Ron Swanson design the print on Duke's sax? It is a thing of beauty.
Christa T Palmer was raised in Huntington, WV but migrated west to Denver, CO. Her website bbqcornnuts.typepad.com contains her irreverent thoughts on life and parenting. She divides her time between reading about strange things and watching strange things on television.