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Macatawa Area Express' operations facility in Holland Township stores the public transit agency's bus fleet. Courtesy MAX
The bus agency for greater Holland and Zeeland is opening up a $4.7-million operations facility to accommodate its growing ridership.
Macatawa Area Express will debut its 33,500-square-foot facility and bus garage at a public open house on Friday, from 1-3 p.m.
The facility is in Holland Township, at 11660 Greenway Dr.
MAX's ridership has swelled to nearly a half-million riders in the past several years, and the agency has outgrown its previous Holland space on E. 24th Street.
The operations facility has been in the planning stages since 2004, when the first federal earmark grants were awarded for the project.
Federal funding covered 80 percent of the final project cost, with state funding making up the other 20 percent.
The MAX operations facility was designed by DLZ of Lansing and built by Lakewood Construction of Holland.
All but one of the contractors and suppliers for the project are from Michigan.
All of the furniture and furnishings were purchased from Haworth through the MiDeal state contract.
Bus fleet
The bus garage can hold up to 28 30-foot buses, and the exterior bus port allows for the storage of eight more buses. That port will eventually be enclosed to allow for full inside storage of an entire fleet.
Energy-efficient design
The facility features several design features to improve functionality and building efficiency: angled roof lines to maximize snow and moisture runoff; tinted blue windows to reduce glare and heat; extensive daylight lighting; LED exterior lighting for energy efficiency and security; motion-activated sensors that turn off lights when rooms are unoccupied and a break room with an Energy Star refrigerator and tinted windows with solar shades.
The building design also provides employees with opportunities for greater efficiency. Several workstations are available in the facility, including four stations dedicated to field workers, four touchdown workstations for bus operators to complete paperwork and computer stations for bus operators and staff.
The facility includes a multi-purpose room for meetings and trainings that can accommodate up to 50 employees.


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Mary Bisbee-Beek
Does your writing need a boost? Registration is still open
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Boost your writing with a one-day conference designed to take your writing to the next step, especially if your manuscripts are languishing or you're stuck on some step in your revisions.
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synonyms: uplift, lift, spur, encouragement, help, inspiration, stimulus, pick-me-up;informalshot in the arm"a boost to one's morale"
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Please check out the schedule (9-5) because I know you'll love the line-up for 2016.
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You're going to find advice and inspiration for persisting, strategizing, shaping a first draft, fixing a second draft, editing, and thinking like a marketer. All in one day. What an opportunity.
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See you soon!

subset: commoncrawl


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With some of the changes around here I've decided to bring back my little guessing game for Wednesdays. Here's how it goes…..I post a picture and you need to guess regarding who or what it is and perhaps explain how the picture fits into history. Later, I'll post the answer and identify the person who guesses correctly.
Who is this man? Can you tell me something he did?
Interesting face and mustache, huh? His daughter has been in the news lately.
Other bloggers post wordless images on Wednesday , too. Visit the main page HERE to find them.
....and you can now follow History Is Elementary on Facebook. Click on the badge to the right to add me. :)


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Modulate This reader Roland Kuit is a composer, artist, sound designer, and teacher who lives in The Hague in the Netherlands. He just wrote me to let me know he's released a new e-book on modular synthesis called SouldLab. He'll also be in New York for Ectro-Music 2010 on September 12-15 to perform and to lecture on topics covered in the book.
I don't have a copy, but I did take a few minutes to mindmap the table of contents. The map gives you a feel for the depth of information in the book. Click the image below to see a larger view or click here to load a printable PDF version.
The book is about modular synthesis in general and Roland uses he Clavia G2 hardware editor/Demo version to illustrate concepts. The screenshot below is from the end of chapter one where he illustrates patching old subtractive modular systems like the ARP 2600.
Visit his blog to learn more and buy the book.
Mark Mosher
Electronic Musician, Boulder CO
Checkout my updated and fresh artist site: www.markmoshermusic.com
Join my list and get fan exclusives: www.reverbnation.com/markmosher?add_email=true
Get your synth geek on: www.ModulateThis.com


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Statement by the Indonesian Delegation at the 21st Session of the Human Rights Council Agenda Item 3 (Environment)
Check against Delivery
Statement by the Indonesian Delegation
at the 21st Session of the Human Rights Council
Agenda Item 3
Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the Implications for Human Rights of the Environmentally Sound Management and Disposal of Hazardous Substances and Waste and the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery
Geneva, 13 September 2012
Madame President,
Indonesia welcomes the two reports presented here today by the Special Rapporteur on the Implications for Human Rights of the Environmentally Sound Management and Disposal of Hazardous Waste, Mr. Calin Georgescu, and the Special Rapporteur on the Contemporary Forms of Slavery, Ms. Gunara Shahinian, and thank them for their in-depth report.
On the issue of the hazardous impact of mercury, Indonesia has been active in the development of a legally-binding instrument on mercury and we hope that it shall be finalized in 2013, in line with the planned timeline.
Indonesia is of the view that the issue of extractive industries, particularly related to small-scale economies, is a multi-dimensional matter, which requires a holistic and integrated approach.
In Indonesia, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) are very important to the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people in rural areas. Mindful of the hazard posed by mercury often used by such mining, the Government works through various channels to raise the awareness on the need to reduce the use of hazardous chemicals in the ASGM and, when possible, introduce an alternative livelihood.
The Government is also working on the development of a national strategy to govern methods or phases towards the control, storage and eventual abolition of mercury in Indonesia. In cooperation with the Government of the United States, NGOs and private sectors, the Government has undertaken the Development of National and Regional Approaches to Environmentally Sound Management of Mercury in Southeast Asia.
Madam President,
It is of common knowledge that the mercury used in small-scale extractive industries is at times contained in the hazardous waste illegally obtained from abroad.
In this regard, Indonesia notes that the report of the Special Rapporteur has not sufficiently touched upon the impact of illegal movements of hazardous wastes from developed countries to the health of people in the developing countries. The waste trade ban regime under the Basel Convention has received a landmark push forward with the historic decision of COP10 of the Basel Convention in 2011, promoted resolutely by Indonesia and Switzerland. We strongly believe that the entrance into force of the amendment of the Basel Convention, which fully bans the export of hazardous wastes from OECD countries to non-OECD countries, made possible by further ratifications to this amendment, would significantly reduce health threats in developing countries.
Madame President,
On the issue of contemporary forms of slavery, Indonesia shares the determination of the Special rapporteur as well as other delegations, in putting an end to the practice of modern day slavery. Servile marriage, the thematic issue taken up by the Special Rapporteur, reduces the spouse, mostly wives and children, to a commodity whose certain rights are stripped in entering such practice. Indonesia concurs with the Special Rapporteur that servile marriage should be approached comprehensively so to ensure the prevention of servile marriage and support the victims.
In Indonesia, article 28B of the 1945 Constitution guarantees the right of any person to form a family and to continue their family line through a legitimate marriage. Furthermore, the Government guarantees the right of all, particularly women, to wed and form a family according to his/her will and without any force.
Under article 2 (2) Law No. 1 of 1974 states that any marriage shall be registered according to current applicable law. This practice is aimed to provide legal certainty and guarantee of the implementation of rights and responsibilities of husband and wife in a family, including the guarantee of the rights of women and children in the family.
In addition, to provide protection of women's rights in a marriage, Indonesia has enacted Presidential Instruction No. 1 of 1991 which outlines that (1): marriage is based on the agreement between bride and groom. Article 17 (2) further states that if the marriage does not obtain agreement from both sides, the marriage shall not proceed.
In order to ensure the protection of children's rights pertaining to under-age marriage, the Indonesian child protection law states that children are those under the age of 18.
Madame President,
While our delegation shares the sentiment of all delegations with regard to the specific theme chosen by the SR today, we hope that in the next report, the Special Rapporteur could further deliberate on the issue of protection of migrant workers. We strongly believe that the migrant workers are particularly vulnerable to various forms of contemporary forms of slavery and therefore deserve full attention from the international community. We look forward to a comprehensive report on the developing issues pertaining to migrant workers and contemporary forms of slavery.
Thank you.


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A successful poet/rapper/artist named Common (formerly Common Sense, sic) was invited to perform at the White House May 11, 2011. This blog is about the general problem of hip hop culture, its practitioners, and its noxious appeal.
"Liberals" and "conservatives" were divided yesterday regarding the propriety of the invitation. Fox News Channel was in a snit all day, while Jon Stewart's show took umbrage at this misplaced Foxian zeal, citing their prior adoration of Ted Nugent, and their ignoring the agressive and homicidal lyrics of Johnny Cash. Stewart did his own comical rap, directed against the "twits" at Fox. I personally objected to the invite on many grounds, including Jay Carney's ludicrous attempt to explain Common's legitimacy as a poet because he was making "socially conscious art." One Facebook thread on the subject elicited a flood of comments, many of them in defense of Common and the need for catharsis. No one attacked hip hop culture as such.
I am not any kind of specialist in the study of hip hop culture (though I am not unfamiliar with it either), partly because I find it at best primitivist* and suspect that it is a travesty insofar as middle-class kids who make its music, tee-shirts, and glitzy jewelry, and purchase its other products are not concerned with the problems of ghetto youth, except as an outlet for their own frustrations with parents, schoolteachers, and other authority figures, or as an easy way to tap a market of angry young black males and their white allies in rage. It is a cheap pseudo-romantic form of adolescent revolt. Does Common care about those black adolescents stuck in ineffective schools, propagandized into antagonism to education as "a white thing", and often beguiled by the drug culture and its profits?
There is no such thing as art as an expression outside of, and independent of society. If "Common" aspires to social criticism, he should provide a better analysis of the sorry condition of American black ghettoes–for instance, the policies of the Democratic machines that have long controlled the big cities. He might want to look also at the separatism and thuggery of such figures as Rev. Jeremiah Wright and Louis Farrakhan, with whom he has been associated. He might want to look at the poetry and prose of all the memorable writers and poets who came before, and whose language did not descend to the gutter. Oh, but he can't do that, for the white oppressor is the target of his spleen, and so even those significant black writers who preceded him must have been Uncle Toms. Look at his images on the internet. Is he a clean cut entrepreneur or a man of the streets, attuned to the miseries of his brothers and sisters?
[Added 3-18-14: A vigorous dispute broke out today on my FB page over Bill O'Reilly's takedown of Jay Z, and here is how I answered many comments: "My problem with Jay Z and other hip hop moguls is not their success in a capitalist society. It is this: they had no choice, for powerful culture critics on the social democratic Left joined the New Left in rejecting anything and everything produced by Eurocentrism/white supremacy. There have been wonderful black entertainers and composers from an earlier period, before black nationalists resegregated a culture that was syncretic and hence original: to name a few: Scott Joplin, Bojangles, Bert Williams, all the black jazzmen, bluesmen, etc. Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin would have never become great composers without their predecessors with darker skin. Fred Astaire would have not existed, nor would Gene Kelly. I could go on and on. How many young people today even know what "syncretism" means?]
Cultural anthropologists are familiar with the form of social control known as "ritual rebellion." In an autocratic society, run by unaccountable and arbitrary kings, periodic "carnivals" or similar releases allow the lower orders to let off steam. They are kings for day in this world turned upside down. But the rebellion, that is never allowed to name its true target (incompetent authority), is ineffectual in transforming the conditions it abhors. The new day dawns, and the ties that bind the lower classes to illegitimate authority are stronger than ever. So it is with hip hop. Our black population deserves better guidance.
*Primitivism is regressive and often racist: it imagines savages as free from "civilized" rules, a Golden Age of liberated instincts where anything goes. Much of modernism is primitivist and expressed a disgust with "civilization" after the Great War. But there were numerous precedents, for instance Diderot in his Voyage of Bougainville. Or see Marcuse's critique of "repressive desublimation," a vigorous refusal of 1960s counter-cultural tendencies in his Eros and Civilization.


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Even with all of the water in Earth's oceans, we satisfy less than half a percent of human water needs with desalinated water.* We currently use on the order of 960 cubic miles (4,000 cubic kilometers) of freshwater a year, and overall there's enough water to go around. There is increasing regional scarcity, though.
So why don't we desalinate more to alleviate shortages and growing water conflicts?
The problem is that the desalination of water requires a lot of energy. Salt dissolves very easily in water, forming strong chemical bonds, and those bonds are difficult to break. Energy and the technology to desalinate water are both expensive, and this means that desalinating water can be pretty costly.
It's hard to put an exact dollar figure on desalination—this number varies wildly from place to place, based on labor and energy costs, land prices, financial agreements, and even the salt content of the water. It can cost from just under $1 to well over $2 to produce one cubic meter (264 gallons) of desalted water from the ocean. That's about as much as two people in the U.S. typically go through in a day at home.
But switch the source to a river or an aquifer, and the cost of a cubic meter of water can plummet to 10 to 20 cents, and farmers often pay far less.
That means it's still almost always cheaper to use local freshwater than to desalinate seawater. This price gap, however, is closing. For example, meeting growing demand by finding a new source of water or by building a new dam in a place like California could cost up to 60 cents per cubic meter of water.
And sometimes these traditional means of "harvesting" water are no longer available. As such, this cost figure is expected to continue to rise, which is why California is now seriously considering desalination and why the city of Tampa, Fla., decided to build the biggest desalination plant in the U.S.
The International Desalination Association says that as of 2007 there were about 13,000 desalination plants operating around the world. They pumped out approximately 14.7 billion gallons (55.6 billion liters) of drinkable freshwater a day. A lot of these plants are in countries like Saudi Arabia, where energy from oil is cheap but water is scarce.
So how is energy used to separate salt from water?
There are two basic methods for breaking the bonds in saltwater: thermal distillation and membrane separation. Thermal distillation involves heat: Boiling water turns it into vapor—leaving the salt behind—that is collected and condensed back into water by cooling it down.
The most common type of membrane separation is called reverse osmosis. Seawater is forced through a semipermeable membrane that separates salt from water. Because the technology typically requires less energy than thermal distillation, most new plants, like Tampa's, now use reverse osmosis.
There are environmental costs of desalination, as well. Sea life can get sucked into desalination plants, killing small ocean creatures like baby fish and plankton, upsetting the food chain. Also, there's the problem of what to do with the separated salt, which is left over as a very concentrated brine. Pumping this supersalty water back into the ocean can harm local aquatic life. Reducing these impacts is possible, but it adds to the costs.
Despite the economic and environmental hurdles, desalination is becoming increasingly attractive as we run out of water from other sources. We are overpumping groundwater, we have already built more dams than we can afford economically and environmentally, and we have tapped nearly all of the accessible rivers.
Far more must be done to use our existing water more efficiently, but with the world's population escalating and the water supply dwindling, the economic tide may soon turn in favor of desalination.
The Pacific Institute is an Oakland, Calif.–based, nonprofit think tank devoted to solving the world's water needs. The organization reviewed these issues in depth in a 2006 report entitled "Desalination, with a Grain of Salt." Peter Gleick also authored a book in 2000 called The World's Water, in which he and his colleagues explore desalination and other topics.


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Drawn together: Cambridge cartoonists create superheroes out of sushi
There are some interesting characters living in Laura and Leo Espinosa's basement.
There's Tako the artsy octopus, Makuro the hyper-spiritual tuna, and Wasabi, who is, well, an anthropomorphic dollop of wasabi mustard.
They're three-fifths of the "Sushi Pack," a team of bite-sized superheroes charged with keeping the world safe from the evil Legion of Low Tide.
They're also the brainchildren of Wright Street residents Leo and Laura Espinosa, a husband-and-wife team of graphic designers who run their office — Studio Espinosa — out of their basement. Ten years ago, both Laura and Leo were toiling away in the corporate sector. Now, they're the creators of a popular CBS Saturday morning cartoon, ready to take on the children's literary sphere. And it all started with a doodle on a napkin.
"[Leo] was sitting in a restaurant, waiting for his food to come, and doodling on a napkin," said Laura, recalling the day Leo first dreamt up the characters that would eventually become "Sushi Pack."
"They wanted to take the menu away from me, and I kept trying to tell them I was using it," Leo said. "I was using it to get ideas for the characters, like a fat tuna. It makes for a more interesting character."
With the cartoon picking up steam on CBS, the Espinosas have turned their attention to a new pair of snuggly critters named Otis and Rae, set to hit bookstores in April. In their first adventure, the duo — based loosely on their real-life son Ben and a friend of his — encounter the Grumbling Splunk, which was named for the skunk that used to frequent the couple's garbage cans.
"I was reminding Leo one night of the skunk that used to get into our garbage, and I tried to say 'grumpy old skunk,'" Laura said. "It came out as 'grumbling splunk.' We fell on the floor laughing, and Leo said, 'That's it, we're writing this story, and we're using the grumbling splunk."
Laura and Leo met, as so many artists do, in New York in 1992. Leo, born and educated in Columbia, was working in advertising as an art director for BBDO and Leo Burnett. Laura — a Newton native and Tufts grad — had also studied graphic design and wound up in advertising as a creative director at Saatchi and Saatchi. Over the years, Leo honed his character development skills, moonlighting as a comic book artist, while Laura mastered the concepts of licensing and branding. By the time they partnered together to form Studio Espinosa in 2004, they were ready to unchain their small flock of animated characters, from the cuddly and cute to the edgy and abstract.
"I realized that there were a ton of ideas in my head and in the computer, and all of these illustrations that could be applied to products and character designs," Leo said.
The Espinosas' characters didn't sit on the shelf long. At a licensing convention in 2004, two major corporations told the couple they were interested in optioning their ideas.
"We really didn't know what to expect," Laura said. "We had never been there. We developed a number of characters, put them up on a wall, and that first year, we met with American Greetings and Coca-Cola."
Coca-Cola was interested in a character called "Harmony," described as an "Eastern-style goddess," which would eventually become the central figure in the soda giant's Espinosa line of merchandise.
"They wanted an artist to design a character for teenage girls," Leo said.
"We wanted something more than just a Coca-Cola product, we wanted something that could be inspiring," Laura added.
American Greetings had its eye on a different set of characters: the "Sushi Pack." At the time, Laura explained, American Greetings was getting ready to make a push into children's programming, and eventually optioned the couple's culinary crime-fighters to be a cornerstone of its Saturday morning lineup.
"Initially, we thought we were developing characters for a comic book," Laura said. "It's an interesting process to see an idea of yours go through, where it's just the beginning of the ball rolling."
For more information about the Espinosas and Studio Espinosa, visit their Web site at www.studioespinosa.com.


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Steel Waters Run Deep
Steel Waters Run Deep
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For those who want to know every detail of my running: I did 5 miles inside on the treadmill in a hot room last evening. Felt fine and even ran a fast last half mile or so (7:30ish). The difference yesterday was that I actually wanted to go running (even if it was inside). The last week or so I've wanted to do anything but (and have).
I'll try again today and tomorrow. Will probably do a longish run on Sunday (12?) if weather permits.
I'm awaiting a new maintenance/base-rebuilding plan that should start on Monday. I'll probably still go get blood tested, but I'm yet again unconvinced that therein lies the problem.
I've also dropped 2.5 of the 5 lbs gained already. So most of it was water weight.
Kevin was scheduled to chat with Lorraine Moller yesterday. So I've been awaiting his web updates with (as our more illiterate web posters like to say) "baited breath." In the meantime, I've posted a review of her book on Amazon.
Now. Would you like to know what I had for breakfast?
Filed under: basebuilding, coaching, eating, elites, everyday life, olympics, reading, recovery | Tagged: kevin beck, lorraine moller |


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EXECUTIVE EDITOR ROGER HART: Wow, this 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive 28i is really yellow and expensive. And a whole lot of fun. I really like this 2.0-liter engine with its decent torque relatively low in the rev range for such a small engine, and the turbo picks up midrange and really packs a punch. The gearbox action and clutch engagement are spot-on, just what we've come to expect from BMW. The steering is direct, and the suspension settings can be set for sport or comfort. While there's not really enough horsepower to kick the rear end out in twisty corners, there's certainly more than enough oomph to keep the driver engaged.
The folding top is an easy one-button, 20-second (or so) operation, giving the car a dual look. The cockpit is tight, but the various seat adjustments along with the tilt/telescoping wheel made it easy to find a comfortable driving position. The radio and climate controls are the old-school BMW version, meaning no info screen but rather just a strip. That makes it difficult to see the radio stations, but again, it is something you get used to rather quickly.
Even at $50 large, this would be an expensive two-seater, especially considering it has such a small engine under the hood. But at $61,000, it is in the stratosphere, and frankly, I might be looking at a V8-powered Chevrolet Corvette instead.
EDITOR WES RAYNAL: Yes, indeed it is quite yellow, but still I like the way the car looks: wide, low, sculpted. That's top-up. Top-down it looks a little bloated to my eye, and the cutlines for the top are just weird.
This is not a sports car, it's a boulevard cruiser. The 2.0-liter turbo works a heck of a lot better in this car than it does in the 5-series. In sport mode, the car is fun to rip through the gears and the thing really can hustle a bit. In comfort mode, the whole thing is just meh, a bit lumbering in fact, unless you're just cruising, in which case the ride/handling mix is terrific. Stop/start works well, though people standing on the curb think you've stalled it.
The interior quality is good, if a bit tight, and I like the yellow stitching, but the off yellow leather looks awful. It's sort of a nasty mustard color that doesn't match the rest of the car at all.
And then there's the price, at which I laughed. No way would I take this over the much sharper driving Porsche Boxster and maybe not even the Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG.
SENIOR ONLINE EDITOR RORY CARROLL: I had the BMW Z4 for a long weekend, and honestly, I have mixed feelings about it. There is a lot to love here; it's basically a good car with a few notable flaws.
Let's start with most obvious shortcoming of the car: its paint. The paint color is called Atacama yellow after South America's Atacama Desert. It is wildly, insanely yellow. The Z4 is so yellow that I was tempted to use electrical tape to write "School Bus" down the side of it.
In another color, the car would be very pretty. It is well proportioned and the look is a good deal more compelling in person than it is in photos.
The interior is well crafted, but the yellow found its way in there, too. With its yellow Alcantara and gray Alcantara with yellow stitching, the interior looks a bit like something you'd see at Hot Import Nights. Plus, it smells bad. After some fiddling with the seat adjustments, I was able to find a very comfortable driving position. The M steering wheel and shifter are wonderful.
The convertible top is a wonder. With the top closed, it looks like a coupe, and the car is coupe-quiet inside. When the top is stowed, there is no sign of it. If you must have a convertible, this setup is near-perfect. That said, I could not stop thinking about how much it must weigh.
The absurd complexity of this car was a source of considerable annoyance for me. It seems everything on the car that could be operated with an electric servo, was. The trunk unlocks with the sound of a small electric motor. The parking brake is controlled by a small switch on the center console. When you touch the switch, another motor binds the rear brakes. It all adds weight and complexity with no appreciable benefit whatsoever. Put simply, it is bad engineering. Loading a car with heavy, unnecessary electric doodads, and then slapping on a sticker that reads "Efficient Dynamics" is dishonest.
I saw an indicated 33-mpg average over the course of a couple of hundred-mile trips. That figure would be improved by a weight reduction.
The 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder provides enough power to make the Z4 fun to drive. It's a little buzzy--especially when it's cold--and for $61,000, you might expect it to be less coarse. The turbo noise is vulgar and surprisingly fun. That noise is a good representation of the motor's overall character. It's an eager, prurient little mill, and it gets the Z4 down the road just fine. You won't have trouble passing, but the car is not quite fast. If it were to shed a little weight, it would be a hoot.
It handles very well, considering how softly sprung it is. I would not go so far as to call it "fun to drive," but I'd imagine that has a lot to do with the fact that the M Wheel package provides this car with way too much tire. The small motor doesn't have the power to overcome the grip of the wide tires.
I'd imagine that in Z4s equipped with more motor, I wouldn't spend every drive thinking about removing all the little electric servos and letting Z4 out from under all that extra weight. I'm not asking BMW to build a Lotus Elise, but shedding the unnecessary stuff from the Z4 sDrive28i would really let it shine.
Not only would the car be better to drive if it was lighter, but BMW might be able to chip away at its incredible $61,145 as-tested price. So make the Z4 sDrive 28i a stripper model, call it the Z4 Leicht and remind us all why we used to love BMW so dearly.
ASSOCIATE EDITOR DAVID ARNOUTS: After a night with the Bimmer, I understand the whole "midlife crisis, wind in what's left of my hair" thing all the better.
The school-bus yellow BMW was borderline offensive at first sight, but it did grow on me. Not that I would pick this yellow out of the spec sheet, but the overall look grew on me.
Never having been behind the wheel of a Z-series BMW, I was half expecting a poor experience. Not that the Deutsch automaker creates inferior products, but because as a larger guy, the whole "drop-top two-seater" usually ends in backaches and tears.
Much to my surprise, the interior accommodated me and a passenger quite nicely. It was snug, but I have options to move the seat around and make space if needed.
In the art of making space, the trunk is small, but fit a load of groceries with the hardtop in the up position.
As Roger said, the 240 hp won't kick the rear out in the twisties, but overall it's a quick roadster--not fast, but quick.
I imagine those who would buy this bright yellow roadster would rather be seen than hit the mountain roads anyways.
The turbocharged I4 sounds great. It brought a smile to my face every time I'd heel-toe down a couple gears.
The power top works well; you have to hold the button down until it stops, a small price to pay for the breeze in my receding hairline.
As others have said, it's pricey. I just can't imagine this selling that well because you can get so many more cars for the money. For around $60,000, I'd jump at a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 convertible.
EXECUTIVE EDITOR BOB GRITZINGER: There are a lot of roadsters one might consider in the $60,000 range, but if this 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive28i wasn't painted this awful yellow and sported a 3 moniker on the trunk lid, in coupe or sedan form, we'd be gushing about what a spectacular driver's car it was compared with the competition. But as a roadster, we forget the basic underlying 3-series that we love above all else and instead focus on cost and color and lack of equipment.
Fact is, like a 3-series, the car is a blast to drive and drive hard, but unlike a 3-series, it isn't as satisfying because we expect even more from a roadster. After all, as noted, the competition includes the likes of Porsche Boxsters, Ford Mustang Shelbys, Chevrolet Corvettes and such. In this latest form, the direct competition is the Mercedes-Benz SLK, and both offer similar features and driving character. The Benz seems better thanks to a more recent refresh, but the Z4 remains a more intuitive driver's car.
Base Price: $49,545
As-Tested Price: $61,145
Drivetrain: 2.0-liter turbocharged I4; RWD, six-speed manual
Output: 240 hp @ 5,000 rpm, 260 lb-ft @ 1,250-4,800 rpm
Curb Weight: 3,263 lb
Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 27/26.7 mpg
Options: M Sport/Citrus Yellow package including adaptive M suspension, individual black trim, black Alcantara/leather combination, 18-inch light alloy start-spoke wheels, performance run-flat tires, aerodynamic kit, increased top-speed limiter, anthracite headliner, sport seats ($6,300); Premium package with universal garage-door opener, auto-dimming mirrors, auto-dimming rearview mirror, power front seats, lumbar support, automatic climate control, ambiance lighting ($3,300); BMW assist with Bluetooth ($650); comfort access keyless entry ($500); heated front seats ($500); satellite radio with one year subscription ($350)
For more information: Check out the 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive 28i at shopautoweek.com.


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Social partners
29 március 2023
'Social partners' is a term generally used in Europe to refer to representatives of management and labour (employer organisations and trade unions), and in some contexts public authorities, that engage in social dialoRead more
'Social partners' is a term generally used in Europe to refer to representatives of management and labour (employer organisations and trade unions), and in some contexts public authorities, that engage in social dialogue. The term 'European social partners' specifically refers to those organisations at EU level which are engaged in European social dialogue, provided for under Articles 154 and 155 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The social partners play a key role in the governance of the employment relationship, and are key actors in industrial relation systems. In most EU Member States, they shape working conditions and influence social policy, either through collective bargaining or tripartite social dialogue. They are interlocking parts in a multilevel system of governance that includes the European, national, sectoral, regional (provincial or local), company and establishment levels.Read less
A legújabb változások
Involvement of social partners in the implementation of national recovery and resilience plans
Patterns and trends in social partner involvement in times of crises
Meeting of the Employment Committee (EMCO)
EU contextTop
The TFEU recognises and promotes the role of the social partners at EU level and documents the EU's commitment to facilitate dialogue between the social partners, respecting their autonomy.Read more
The TFEU recognises and promotes the role of the social partners at EU level and documents the EU's commitment to facilitate dialogue between the social partners, respecting their autonomy. This recognition is illustrated by the adoption of the multiannual work programmes of the social partners. In these programmes, the social partners themselves set their priorities and negotiation agenda and decide on the appropriate instruments for social dialogue.
Over the years, there has been increased recognition of the role of the EU-level social partners by the European institutions. This is reflected, for example, in the establishment of an annual tripartite social summit between the European Council, the European Commission and the social partners, enabling the latter to contribute, in the context of their social dialogue, to the various components of the economic and social governance of the EU. The main cross-industry organisations representing the social partners at EU level are:
- the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC)
- the Confederation of European Business (BusinessEurope)
- the Association of Crafts and SMEs in Europe (SMEunited, formerly UEAPME)
- the European Centre of Employers and Enterprises providing Public Services and Services of General Interest (CEEP)
The social partners play a prominent role in shaping EU social legislation. The Commission must consult the social partners before submitting proposals in the social policy field through a compulsory two-stage consultation procedure (Artilce 154 TFEU). Moreover, social partners can negotiate agreements that can be implemented either autonomously according to national practices, or be implemented at their request at EU level through a Council decision (Article 155 TFEU). To this extent, social partner agreements implemented at EU level have played a significant role in developing the EU social acquis.
In addition, the European institutional bodies view the two sides of industry as being key to the development of the European Semester, the cycle of economic and fiscal policy coordination within the EU. While the role of the social partners in the Semester is not clearly set out in the legislative framework, their participation has been recognised and strengthened in Regulation 1175/2011 on the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies. The revamped European Semester, initiated in 2015, allows more time for dialogue and greater involvement of the social partners at all levels.
- EUR-Lex: Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union
- EUR-Lex: Communication from the Commission on more efficient decision-making in social policy: Identification of areas for an enhance move to qualified majority voting
- European Commission: The European Semester
- EUR-Lex: Regulation (EU) No 1175/2011 on the strengthening of the surveillance of budgetary positions and the surveillance and coordination of economic policies
- European Commission: Consultations of the social partners
- ETUC: European social dialogue – Work programme 2019–2021
National context
Social partners are core stakeholders who can assess policy needs and contribute to policy formation and to designing and implementing national reforms in the social and employment fields. This role and the need to involve the social partners in policymaking have been acknowledged in Guideline 7 of Council Decision 2018/1215 for the employment policies of the Member States, as well as in Principle 8 of the European Pillar of Social Rights.
- EUR-Lex: Council Decision (EU) 2018/1215 on guidelines for the employment policies of the Member States
- European Commission: The European Pillar of Social Rights in 20 principles
Eurofound investigates and reports on developments concerning the social partners, and research examines how they have responded in the EU Member States, the UK and Norway to the many new political, legal and social challenges that have arisen in recent years.Read more
Eurofound investigates and reports on developments concerning the social partners, and research examines how they have responded in the EU Member States, the UK and Norway to the many new political, legal and social challenges that have arisen in recent years.
Trade unions
Eurofound provides comparative research and articles on the main European trade unions, their memberships, organisational densities, mandates, strategies, what they offer to their members, and many more aspects of their operation.
Employer organisations
Comparative research and articles are available on the main European employer organisations, their memberships, organisational densities, mandates, strategies and other aspects of their operation.
Involvement in policymaking
Eurofound also looks at the involvement of the national social partners in the design and implementation of reforms and policies, both in national policymaking and in the context of the European Semester and the elaboration of the National Reform Programmes.
COVID-19 and policy responses
Eurofound's recently launched COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch collates information on the responses of government and social partners to the pandemic, including the role of the social partners in the design and implementation of the various measures in the Member States.
- Publication: COVID-19: Policy responses across Europe
- Database: COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch
- Topic: COVID-19
EU-level sectoral social partners and representativeness
European sectoral social dialogue has been slowly developing since the establishment of sectoral social dialogue committees in 1998. As of 2018, there are 43 such committees. Since 2006, Eurofound has had a mandate to carry out representativeness studies of the EU-level sectoral social partner organisations to identify the representative actors to be consulted. These studies are the most extensive mapping of sector-related employer organisations and trade unions across Europe. Research also compares the different ways in which the representativeness of social partners is defined at national, European and international levels.
- EurWORK: Representativeness studies (published since 2007)
- European Commission: Sectoral social dialogue
Key outputs over the years
Publications & dataTop
The sections below provide access to a range of publications, data and ongoing work on this topic.
- Publications (892)
- Adat
- Ongoing work (7)
Eurofound publications come in a variety of formats, including reports, policy briefs, blogs, articles and presentations.
Bulgaria: latest working life developments Q2 2018Cikk 11 szeptember 2018
France: latest working life developments Q2 2018Cikk 10 szeptember 2018
Belgium: latest working life developments Q2 2018Cikk 6 szeptember 2018
Exploring the connections between EU- and national-level social dialoguePublication 13 július 2018
Involvement of the national social partners in the European Semester 2017: Social dialogue practicesPublication 6 március 2018
Germany: Trade unions' approach to climate change policiesCikk 30 január 2018
Lithuania: Trilateral agreement promoting social dialogue signedCikk 1 december 2017
Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Central government administrationPublication 17 november 2017
Representativeness of the European social partner organisations: Tanning and leather industryPublication 7 november 2017
Malta: Latest working life developments – Q3 2017Cikk 27 október 2017
Data related to this topic are linked below.
- Database: COVID-19 EU PolicyWatch
Ongoing work
Research continues in this topic on a variety of themes, which are outlined below with links to forthcoming titles.
Other ongoing work
- Exploration of the role of national social partners in the European semester and analysis of quality and effectiveness of their involvement
- Other representativeness studies on a variety of sectors to provide the European Commission with the required information to assess the representativeness of European sectoral social partner organisations.
- EurWORK: Representativeness studies (view upcoming studies)
- EurWORK: Representativeness studies (view upcoming studies)


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This follows a longer write-up on the Ramnathi Devasthān.
The Mangeshi Devasthān in Goa is a crown jewel of Konkani Temples. The an-iconic form of Shiva, the linga representing Mangesh, was originally in the ancient temple of Kushastali (Cortalim, Salcete Taluka). When the Portuguese destroyed the original temple in 1561, the linga was relocated across the Zuari River near other konkani temples. The current temple was constructed on land donated by a devotee in the mid- 1800's and has been renovated several times.
Architecturally, the Mangeshi Devasthān is considered highly distinctive of Goan Konkani Style – a mix of several local influences; the Dravidian Vimān, as well as Islamic lattices are incorporated. The classically Goan Konkani deep stambha, a seven-storeyed octagonal lamp tower, is very distinctive and observed on many paintings, brochures and travel guides on Goa. Also made famous because this is Lata Mangeshkar's kula-devasthān.
We visit the Mangeshi temple on every visit to Goa. Its only a few kms from the Ramnathi Devasthān and most of the Konkani temples are clustered together. Just a quick darshan and we will not stay long. But the memories stay with us.
Contact details for Mangeshi Devasthān:
Office: 0832.234.3904 (per Pankaj in comments)
For room reservations, please email: email@example.com (per Tushar Mane in comments
Posts Related to Konkani Temples in Goa:
- VN Kudva, History of the Dakshinatya Saraswats, Madras, (1972, 1991).
© 2005 Arun Shanbhag


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Top 10 running tips
Running is the most basic and natural physical activity that nearly anyone can enjoy.
Yet thousands of pages have been written about running and its intricacies.
From the legendary Jim Fixx book from the 1980s, "The Complete Book of Running" (followed soon after by "The Complete Book of Running 2") to "Born to Run," which re-ignited the barefoot running craze, this simple activity has given birth to hundreds of books filled with suggestions about how to make your running even better.
Walk by the magazine rack and you'll find Runner's World, Running Times, Marathon and Beyond, Ultramarathon Magazine, Running Times, Women's Running, Trail Runner Magazine, and, of course, our local favorite, New England Runner.
Who would have guessed there was so much to discuss? Interestingly, a close inspection of what has been written can typically be divided into several categories: the latest shoes/gear you need to have; how to run faster; how to run longer; how to deal with injuries and run happy.
Not one to miss the boat, I'd like to give my top 10 thoughts on these important running categories:
1 The latest shoes/gear: Go to a running specialty store to find the best variety of running shoes and get the advice of the sales person who looks like a runner. Buy the latest technical gear. It's really comfortable. Being comfortable will help with Nos. 2 and 3.
2 How to run faster: Start by running slower and then increase your speed as you get stronger. This technique will not last forever.
3 How to run longer: Start by running shorter and then increase your distance as you get stronger. This technique will not last forever.
Tips 4-10 cover how to deal with injuries and run happy: It is estimated that upwards of 60 percent of all runners will suffer a running-related injury each year sufficiently serious enough to change planned runs. If this is the most natural ("Born to Run") activity for humans, why do so many get hurt?
I'll start with this:
4 Rest: The physiology of exercise tells us that we build strength not during the exercise period, but while in rest mode. Logic would suggest, then, that periods of hard training must be followed by periods of rest.
5 Be social: Never miss an opportunity to run with a friend that trains at your level or perhaps just a bit above your running pace. Dump the headphones, and enjoy the company of a friend who just might get you to run a little longer and a little faster. The bonus is the amazing group of friends you will make.
My closest friends are the ones with whom I've spent countless hours on the roads. Run with a friend for a long time, and you'll know more about that person than their own family.
6 Mix it up: Non-runners tell me that they find running boring. Well, if you go to the local high school track and run around in circles every day, it certainly is. Explore new routes as often as possible, even if you have to drive to a starting spot away from your neighborhood. Have you run trails lately? There's a place where you'll forget time and pace and enjoy the beauty that surrounds you. When you're on vacation, go run. It will be new and exciting, and help keep off the requisite five pound weight gain on vacation.
7 Make an annual goal to do something you've never done before: I'm probably one of the worst examples of a runner with running streaks, but try something new as often as possible. That may mean jumping up from a 5K to a 10K or further, or it might be something as radical as using your running as a springboard to a brand new challenge. Own a bike? Try a sprint distance triathlon. Don't like the water? Try an obstacle course race like "Warrior Dash" or a "Spartan Sprint." They're all the rage, and if you try one, you'll know why.
8 Get strong: Running can become an obsession, and it's easy to believe that the effort put into running is all you need to be fit. There's no doubt that running is the fastest way to lose weight, gain aerobic fitness, and get strong legs. But there's more to you than legs, and strength training becomes more critical the older we get. Join a strength training program that will guide you through the process of developing well-balanced strength. I love CrossFit, but there are numerous coached programs available. Besides, it's summer and you're probably going to have to wear a bathing suit soon if you haven't already.
9 Give back: If you are a member of the happy tribe of runners, pay it forward. You understand the benefits running has given you, so be a good example to others. Encourage while being patient. Married? If so, a happily married runner is one who got the spouse into running, as well. Have kids? Bring them to a road race that has a kids' event. If they grow up loving the joy of running, you will have given them a precious gift. Volunteer at a race, and you'll become a lot more tolerant of race directors when you do.
10Take good care of yourself: Years ago, there was a perception that if you were a runner, you were guaranteed that you'd never have a heart attack. As a matter of fact, you could eat anything you wanted, because if you burn the furnace hot enough, you can burn anything. Not true.
About three years ago, I was on a long training run with my pal and Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray. We were both complaining about the state of our running, and I commented on the recent spate of notable runners who had heart attacks. I told Dave that it motivated me to get a full cardiac work-up; Dave said, "I just did the same."
Both of our doctors gave us clean bills of health.
In November, Dave was diagnosed with several severe blockages that, thankfully, he's been able to handle with a very modified diet. Anyone who knows Dave will confirm that he is an incredible athlete, but also a terrible eater. That hot furnace couldn't do what his complete change of dietary habits has done.
So my No. 10 should be my No. 1. Eat well, moderate coffee and alcohol, learn to handle stress and get a cardiac checkup, not just a routine stethoscope on the chest, but a full-fledged exercise stress test.
You owe that to yourself, and the ones who love you.
Tom Licciardello is a founding member of the Merrimack Valley Striders in Massachusetts. Licciardello has participated in 35 Boston's and 88 marathons. He may be reached at email@example.com.


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(Australian Associated Press)
The instant tax write-off for small businesses buying assets for under $20,000 will be extended to June 2019.
The measure allows businesses with annual turnover of less than $10 million to immediately deduct purchases of most assets under $20,000.
The 12-month extension cleared parliament on Wednesday, continuing the scheme which was first introduced in the 2015/16 budget.
Photo by Craig Garner on Unsplash


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The Prince Who Had a Plan
Once upon a time, King Brahmadatta was ruling in Benares, in northern India. The Enlightenment Being was born as his son the prince. Being quite intelligent, he completed his entire education by the age of 16. So, at this early age, his father made him second in command.
In those days, most people in Benares worshipped gods. They were very superstitious. They thought gods caused things to happen to them, rather than being results of their own actions. So they would pray to these gods and ask special favours. They would ask for a lucky marriage, or the birth of a child or riches or fame.
They would promise the gods that, if their prayers were answered, they would pay them by making offerings to them. In addition to flowers and perfumes, they imagined the gods desired the sacrifice of animals. So, when they thought the gods had helped them, they killed many animals - goats, lambs, chickens, pigs and others.
The prince saw all this and thought, "These helpless animals are also subjects of the king, so I must protect them. The people commit these unwholesome acts due to ignorance and superstition. This cannot be true religion. For true religion offers life as it really is, not killing. True religion offers peace of mind, not cruelty.
"I fear these people believe in their superstitions too strongly to give them up. This is very sad. But perhaps their beliefs can at least be put to good use. Some day I will become king. So I must begin to make a plan to let their superstitions help them. If they must offer sacrifices, let them kill their own greed and hatred, instead of these helpless animals! Then the whole kingdom will benefit."
So the prince devised a clever long term plan. Every so often, he rode in his grand chariot to a popular banyan tree just outside the city. This was a huge tree, where the people prayed and made offerings to a god they thought lived there. The prince came down from his chariot and made the same offerings as the others - incense, flowers, perfumes and water - but not animal sacrifices.
In this way he made a great show, and the news spread about his offerings. Pretty soon, all the people thought he was a true believer in the great god of the banyan tree.
In due time,
King Brahmadatta died and his son became king. He ruled as a righteous king, and
the people benefited. So all his subjects came to trust and respect him as a just
and honourable king.
He said, "Do you remember that I often gave wonderful sweet offerings to the great god of the banyan tree?" "Yes, our lord," they said.
The king continued, "At each of those times, I made a promise to the powerful god of the tree. I prayed, 'Oh mighty one, if you make me King of Benares, I will offer a special sacrifice to you, far greater than flowers and perfumes.'
"Since I am now the king, you all can see for yourselves that the god has answered my prayers. So now I must keep my promise and offer the special sacrifice."
All those in the assembly hall agreed. They said, "We must prepare this sacrifice at once. What animals do you wish to kill?"
The king said, "My dear subjects, I am glad you are so willing to cooperate. I promised the great god of the banyan tree that I would sacrifice anyone who fails to practice the Five Training Steps. That is, anyone who destroys life, takes what is not given, does wrong in sexual ways, speaks falsely, or loses his mind from alcohol. I promised that, if any do these things, I will offer their guts, and their flesh and blood on the great god's altar!"
Being so superstitious, all those in the hall agreed that this must be done, or the god would surely punish the king and the kingdom.
The king thought, "Ah, such is the power of superstition that these people have lost all common sense! They cannot see that, since the first training step is to give up killing, if I sacrificed one of my subjects, I would be next on the altar! And such is the power of superstition that I could make such a promise, and never have to carry it out!"
So, with full confidence in the power of superstition, the king said to the leading citizens, "Go into all the kingdom and announce the promise I made to the god. Then proclaim that the first one-thousand who break any of the training steps will have the honour of being sacrificed, to keep the king's promise."
Lo and behold, the people of Benares became famous for carefully practising the Five Training Steps. And the good king, who knew his subjects so well, sacrificed no one.
The moral is: Sacrifice your own wrong doing, not some helpless animal.


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Author, conservationist, 'turtle lady' coming to Books Alive
PANAMA CITY— Mary Alice Monroe describes herself as a "turtle lady" with definite opinions on the subject of protecting sea turtles.
"It's a very delicate balance to bring awareness of an issue in a novel without proselytizing," she said, adding that her first job is to entertain. However, "increased population and increased lighting problems" are costing innumerable sea turtle hatchlings their lives — and endangering the species, she said.
The New York Times best-selling author of "The Butterfly's Daughter" and "Beach House Memories" has been a member of the Isle of Palms Turtle Team in South Carolina since 1999. She serves on the board of the South Carolina Aquarium, the Leatherback Trust and Charleston Volunteers for Literacy.
Monroecomes from a family of conservationists, she said. Her experiences watching over sea turtle nests inspired her 2002 novel, "The Beach House."
"People who read the story are learning through the eyes of the characters, characters who had passion and emotion," she said. "A lot of turtle teams called 'The Beach House' the training manual. They saw a wave of new volunteers" motivated to get involved after reading the novel.
Monroewill be one of the featured authors at the 14th annual Books Alive festival of reading and writing sponsored by the Bay County Public Library. The event will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 2 in the Holley Academic Center at Florida State University Panama City. All panels and talks are free and open to the public.
Turtle-friendly lighting ordinances, like the one scheduled to take effect in Panama City Beach on May 1, are important to the continued health of the species, Monroe said.
"Condominiums are a true problem because of the height," she said. "We're also finding the ambient light of a city, the distant glow, is almost impossible to fight."
A quick primer: Sea turtles crawl onto dunes and dig holes to lay dozens of eggs, then cover the hole and try to camouflage it from predators before returning to the sea. The female never returns to check on the eggs (an act Monroe has used in her novels to parallel a human parent's abandonment of a child).
When the eggs hatch, often in what is called "a boil" of emerging hatchlings, the tiny turtles head toward the brightest light source. In nature, that would be ambient light from the ocean. But not any more.
In 2012, the local Turtle Watch recorded 39 loggerhead nests and one leatherback nest successfully hatched. In a typical year, more than half of the hatchlings that emerge on Panama City Beach are affected by artificial light, Turtle Watch Director Kennard Watson told The News Herald recently.
"I expect we'll see improvements on the beach this summer as the ordinance goes into effect," he said, referring to a new regulation, part of a federal mandate, which requires all beachfront property owners to use turtle-friendly lighting to ensure hatchlings travel toward the gulf, rather than away from it.
"The bright, artificial lights from houses, streetlights and flashlights confuse them and lead them in the wrong direction away from the sea," Monroe wrote in an article for "Azalea" magazine last summer. "When this occurs, the hatchlings will surely die from being run over by cars, eaten by predators, or dehydration."
Nesting and hatching season runs from May to October in Florida, which attracts the greatest number of sea turtles, estimated at 50,000 a season, Monroe said. These are primarily loggerheads and leatherbacks, though Panama City Beach had its first-ever recorded leatherback hatching only last year.
Monroe's group has taken to keeping nightly watches on turtle nests and guiding hatchlings to the water by placing their own bright light sources by the surf.
"It works," she said. "It would be hard to do if we have a thousand nests. We had about 60 last year."
One of Monroe's recent novels focused on Monarch butterflies, and her next novel kicks off a trilogy about dolphins — both of which are familiar visitors to Panama City and the beaches. She spends years with hands-on and academic research before writing, and her research leads her to believe that humans are turning dolphins into a "bunch of beggars" by feeding and swimming with them in the wild.
"I don't pretend to answer the debate" about the proper interaction between humans and dolphins, she said, "but I aim to increase awareness."
Want To Go?
-What: 14th annual festival of reading and writing, featuring more than 18 nationally-known authors and 25 local and regional authors. Keynote speaker is Judith Bense, president of the University of West Florida.
-When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 2
-Where: Holley Academic Center, Florida State University Panama City, 4750 Collegiate Drive, Panama City
-Cost: All sessions are free and open to the public; keynote luncheon is $20 per person; gala is $75 per person
-Web: BooksAlive.net


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Overwatch → Source-Powered Asymmetric Multiplayer RTSS
Overwatch is a cooperative asymmetric multiplayer Real-Time Strategy Shooter (FPS/RTS hybrid). Overwatch is powered by the Source engine and is set in the Half-Life² universe.
[ News | Downloads | Media | Forums | Development Blog | Original Soundtrack ]
Web Page Coming Soon...
In the meantime, please visit our ModDB profile and the Overwatch Community.


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FORT LEE, N.J. — When Mayor Mark Sokolich's annual Christmas card showed up in mailboxes a few weeks ago, some residents took careful note of the photo selected for the front: the steely silhouette of this borough's treasured, and sometimes detested, George Washington Bridge — and a Revolutionary War cannon firing off a shot, as if to warn off unseen enemies who might try to threaten it.
"My opinion, just as a recipient of the card, I think the photo speaks for itself," said Tom Meyers, a fourth-generation resident, town cultural officer and student of Fort Lee's history, chuckling at the thought.
Until a political scandal centering on New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie enveloped this town of 37,000, many people knew little more about Fort Lee than do the thousands of drivers whose cars speed — or, too often, crawl — across its landmark bridge each day. The town was just the blur of glass high-rises and brick Cape Cods on the other side of the guardrail.
But to people who live in this New York City bedroom community defined by both a feisty pride and frustration over the mixed blessings of its chokepoint locale, the scandal is the reminder they did not need of how the bridge dictates the rhythm of everyday life — and the lack of recognition the town gets for the challenges that poses.
"We endure combat here every single day dealing with that bridge traffic," Sokolich said Thursday, when he stepped before television cameras to respond to allegations that Christie's top aides orchestrated a plan to clog the borough streets with traffic as a form of political payback. "So … to deal with it from a man-made standpoint, yes, it's very frustrating. It is."
To those who know Fort Lee, rather than merely pass through it, the borough boasts a distinct identity, shaped by location and history. The borough distinguished itself first as the site of a Revolutionary War encampment used to stage a crucial, but unsuccessful attempt by George Washington's forces to turn back the British. A century ago, Fort Lee briefly reclaimed fame as the nation's pre-Hollywood capital of movie-making, where celluloid dramas shot atop the rocks of the Palisades gave birth to the term "cliffhangers." And it has long defied stereotypes of suburban sameness as a settling place for immigrant up-and-comers, with aging Italian and Jewish populations now giving way to Koreans and other Asians.
But the bridge to Manhattan is what puts the "gateway to New Jersey" on the map every waking day, and defines its modern-day consciousness.
The bridge's outline stretches across the insignia of both Fort Lee's fire department and its sister ambulance corps, as well as the police department's Web page. Each of the 20 cabs at Babe's Taxi, which has operated from the foot of the bridge since 1947, crosses the bridge at least 10 times a day, ferrying residents to and from New York's hospitals, nightclubs and museums.
People know here to set the clocks early to leave time to get their kids to school in the morning because of rush-hour New York-bound traffic. On their way to stop for coffee at Washington Bridge Plaza, they pass the Bridge Hand Car Wash and the just-opened G.W. Grill, where a DJ sets up on Fridays and Saturdays in front of a 10-foot airbrushed mural of the bridge twinkling at night.
In the shadow of the world's busiest river crossing, owner Don Sposa stood at the window of the bridge-themed restaurant Thursday, marveling at the majesty and frustrations of the span and now, the unseemly notoriety it has delivered to this often overlooked town.
"We need it. I guess we have to love it," he said of the bridge. "We have no choice."
When the marvel of engineering over the Hudson River opened in 1931, it was touted for its promise, soon colored by political reality.
Franco Pietropaoloa, a barber in downtown Fort Lee for 55 years, says a fellow hair clipper, now dead, often recalled that, at its opening, bridge operators promised that once its construction was paid off, crossing the George Washington would be a free trip.
"Now the bridge is $13. It's a disgrace," Pietropaoloa said.
When the bridge was under construction, local officials and developers foresaw a land boom for what was then still a town with farms and some unpaved roads. The borough took on heavy debts to pay for new streets and pipes. But the Great Depression erased those hopes and Fort Lee spent the 1950s in receivership. Development kicked in only in the 1960s, when builders began putting up apartment towers for New York commuters.
But once Fort Lee got its bridge and figured out how to leverage its location, life became governed by the incessant thrum of its traffic. That explains much about the reaction here to the allegations of political mischief.
"The tie-up was horrific," said Suzanne Miller, a retired accountant sipping her coffee in a bakery blocks from the bridge Thursday. She recalled the days in September when Christie allies ordered entry lanes to the span closed suddenly. A drive from home to the shop three blocks away that would normally take a minute took 20.
Miller noted that she voted for Christie in November because he seemed like somebody who got things done. "That's what I liked about him. He didn't take too much B.S. He told it like it was. I thought he was different."
Now, though, reading news accounts of how the traffic slowed an ambulance crew from reaching a 91-year-old woman who later died, she is doubtful, thinking about her own 96-year-old mother in town. "I'm not amused."
"It's wacko. I've never seen anything like it," said Melissa Kelly, a singer who lives in Fort Lee, recalling how a house guest was forced to walk across the nearly mile-long bridge to Manhattan because of the frozen traffic. "Who are these people? Who are they? Why do they do these crazy things?"
But others took Christie at his word Thursday when he apologized and said he had no knowledge of his aide's misdoings. They chalked it up to politics, and some pointed out that life here has long meant complaining about traffic, no matter whose fault it is. Most recently, some residents have complained mightily about a pair of 47-story glass towers going up just south of the bridge, and the traffic the new residents will add to the borough's roads.
"This is what Fort Lee is going to become more and more, and you have to get used to that," said Susan Boni, the owner of the Frames of Mine shop, within sight of the bridge, who lived in the town for 25 years.
Boni applauded Christie's apology Thursday, accepting it as a sign of leadership and responsibility, and felt ready to move on. Then she heard that he was planning to come to the borough to deliver his apology personally and started imagining the traffic that, hours later, true to her prediction, locked up borough streets.
"I heard this morning that he's coming to Fort Lee and I thought, ugh, there goes my day."


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New networking website aims to help guide military careers
Establishing a professional network and having control over a career path can be challenging for military members. A new networking website aims to change that.
RallyPoint.com is an online professional network similar to LinkedIn that is free to people in the military. Launched in November, the site already has more than 11,000 users and is growing every day, said Yinon Weiss, co-founder of the company.
Users set up a profile that maps their careers paths from the start to the present, including dates when their assignments end. They can connect with people they have worked with previously or contacts they have made during their career.
"In the military, people's careers tend to be centrally managed, but having personal relationships helps them discover new opportunities," Weiss said. "They can use their relationships and connections to be competitive if they find something they want to pursue."
Weiss said that within the military it is often not discussed how people navigate and move through the ranks to get to higher positions. The information users post about their careers can help with that.
There also is no central location to find out about assignments that might be available. Information users post about when their assignments are set to end can help others.
People in the military often move from base to base, and it can be difficult to keep up with where they are stationed at any one time. Connections at a base where a service member might like to be located could help them land a position there, Weiss said.
Benjamin Marshall, a 24-year-old second lieutenant stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, was one of the first users to sign up for the site. He said he hopes it will help him expand his contacts and plan the next moves for his career.
"There are 300,000 people in the military, so it's difficult to keep a pulse; this is what worked for this guy and this is what worked for that guy," Marshall said. "This gives a quantifiable method to see that. When people fill it out, you can see what ranks they've been promoted, where they went, their whole bio."
Marshall said he doesn't have a lot of contact with people outside his unit. One drawback of his job in acquisitions procurement is that he works mostly with officers and doesn't have contact with enlisted ranks. RallyPoint is changing that.
"I've been connecting with people left and right," he said.
Weiss and co-founder Aaron Kletzing are Iraq veterans who saw a need for a better way to navigate the military's job openings.
"The U.S. military is the best training ground in the world for building the skills, discipline and values required to solve complex and difficult challenges," Kletzing said in a statement. "But the internal job market is extremely difficult."
It's a problem that the military recognizes, Weiss said.
The most recent chiefs of staff of the Air Force and Army, retired Gen. Norton Schwartz and retired Gen. George Casey, both serve on the company's board of directors and are helping shape the website, he said.
Weiss is happy with the progress they've made so far, and he's seen proof that users are engaging with it.
He said 90 percent of the users visited the site at least once in the past 5 days and more than 70 percent returned in the last 24 hours. Many users also are inviting friends to join.
Marshall is doing his part. He said he spreads the word to his co-workers and invites new contacts to join. He said there aren't too many profiles yet, but it's growing.
"What I've noticed is the people who have been on there awhile, they are starting to get to that point where they fill out all their information," he said. "It's not a small task, but that's what will make this work."
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Sage Reinlie at 850-315-4443 or email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenRnwfdn.


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(Photo Courtesy of Artist)
Recently, violinist Karen Gomyo returned to perform Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in e minor with The Phoenix Symphony. The Avery Fisher Grant recipient had a brief interview with K-Bach's Sterling Beeaff, and shared why she cherishes Mendelssohn's masterpiece.
Karen Gomyo performs with The Phoenix Symphony, Friday, January 31, 11AM & 7:30PM and Saturday, February 1, 7:30PM at Symphony Hall. For ticket details, visit www.phoenixsymphony.org.
Click here to listen to Karen's recordings.


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You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'Chopin' tag.
As I say every year (every day, more like), I would be lost without music: it's my oxygen, my water, my heart-beat. There is no point comparing it to reading or writing – literature is a whole other world – but music certainly forms an aesthetic space that I adore. As I'll touch on below, my taste is evolving, as it should; I seem to be searching for beauty more than ever. But, in the main, it's not a pretty kind of beauty. There has to be light and shadow, darkness even, and edginess, even ugliness. In short the music needs to express the full range of human experience. Sheesh, as if that's even possible. Thankfully, composers, songwriters and musicians are up for the challenge.
Anyway, enough rambling. Here we go.
Mitski is a conservatorium-trained alternative rock musician from New York and, quite frankly, Puberty 2 is one of the most enjoyable records I've bought in a long while, though it's oddly difficult to describe. Here are a few words that may help: low-fi, angular, gutsy, poetic, PJ Harvey-esque, a touch of Weezer, and melancholic (of course). This is certainly a record to turn up loud so you can air-guitar to the knowledge that love is sublime, fraught, messy, and infuriating. 'Your Best American Girl' is an almost orgasmic rush of alt-rock goodness. Also have a listen to 'My Body's Made of Crushed Little Stars'. Tough, but highly memorable.
Centres by Ian William Craig got me on first listen and it has not let me go. It's such an elegant mix of keyboard washes and drones, topped with loads of treated voice (Craig is a trained singer). All up, it's a little like M83, but without the cheesy 1980s pastiche. Album opener 'Contain' is the perfect place to start. Great that the album finishes with an acoustic version of the opening track, proving that despite all the studio-trickery there are real songs at the heart of this work.
Kiasmos by Kiasmos: even though this album dates from 2014 and I've long been a fan of Ólafur Arnalds, I only discovered this in the last few months; I knew immediately that it would be one of my favourites of the year. Kiasmos is intricate, smart, thumping, and – that word again – beautiful. If excellent dance music moves the head, the heart, the crotch, and the legs, this album is beyond excellent. A stunning collaboration between Arnolds as composer and Janus Rasmussen as DJ. Here's hoping they are working on another record, because I must admit: I can't play Kiasmos without turning out the lights and dancing like no one's watching.
In my list for last year I briefly mentioned that I had discovered Floating Points and liked what I'd heard. Well, didn't things go gangbusters from there. Floating Points is essentially one person, Sam Shepherd (another conservatorium-trained composer), and his Elaenia album is as near-perfect as you're going to get. A little glitchy, oddly funky, more than a bit jazz-inflected, on paper this album is a contradiction, but once you connect with it you'll find yourself drifting into a galaxy where heartbeats pulse and surprise and, yes, float.
It's hardly startling, but as I get a bit long in the tooth I'm interested less in alternative rock (Mitski being an exception) and more interested in 'new music', especially the sort at the minimal – and, dare I say it, left-field – end of the spectrum. Dmitry Evgrafov's Collage album is gorgeous, even pretty (that terrible word), but always keen on strange twists and turns. 'Cries and Whispers' is reminiscent of the The Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble , while other pieces are washed in Sigur Ros-like aesthetics. Evgrafov is certainly a new composer to watch.
Speaking of composers to watch, Ólafur Arnalds is everywhere at the moment, including further up in this list as one half of Kiasmos. On The Chopin Project, he collaborates with Alice Sara Ott on the recomposition of the famous composer's work. As Arnalds says in the lines notes, 'By looking at his music in a different way, through the prism of recording technique in its different facets and through my own compositions, I didn't intent to question the integrity of Chopin's music. I wanted to find my very personal interpretation, like so many other great musicians have done before me.' A subtle, wonderful success.
Dag Rosenquist's Elephant is at times an unsettling listen: there's a fair amount of static, a lot of repetitive piano tinkling, and, every so often, blasts of sheer noise. But there's also plenty of beauty to be found, as well as some artful orchestration. 'Come Silence' is the most accessible piece here – it's a gorgeous combination of slow-building keyboards and horns and then strings, before a Jan Garbarek-like saxophone brings us home. Stunning.


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Many vets with brain injury admit high emotions
A survey of several hundred veterans with mild brain injury, most coming in combat and from exposure to blasts, shows that 60 percent reported suffering a neurological condition that involves exaggerated emotional responses such as crying or laughing.
"We were a little surprised by the findings for this population," said Regina McGlinchey, director of the Translational Research Center for TBI and Stress Disorders at a VA hospital in Boston. "We didn't expect to see that high of a prevalence."
It is possible that many combat veterans suffer from the affliction but do not talk about it, she said.
The research was a collaboration between the Department of Veterans Affairs and a pharmaceutical company that manufactures a drug to treat the conditions. Findings will be presented Friday in San Francisco.
Researchers conducted an email survey of 4,283 veterans in the New England area last year who had tested positive for mild traumatic brain injury after being previously screened by the VA. A total of 758 answered the survey, a 19 percent response rate that researchers say is positive in this type of study.
Six out of 10 of those with mild TBI cases reported suffering from pseudobulbar affect or PBA, a neurological condition that often afflicts those with brain ailments such as TBI, ALS, Alzheimer's or dementia, said Joao Siffert, head of research for the drug company, Avanir Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Avanir produces the drug Nuedexta, which is designed to reduce the frequency of PBA and has been on the market since 2011, Siffert said.
Those with PBA can display involuntary and uncontrolled episodes of crying or laughing, he said.
"This is not a psychiatric issue. It's a neurological issue," McGlinchey said. "The debilitating part is that those outbursts can really occur in socially inappropriate times. It's very difficult on families and obviously on the patients themselves."


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How to Play the Torre Attack
Book Description
This new edition is greatly expanded by over 100 games with commentary.
Carlos Torre Repetto was the First Mexican Chess Grandmaster. His opening became known as the Torre Attack because he used to to defeat World Chess Champion Emanuel Lasker with a spectacular Queen Sacrifice at the International Tournament in Moscow 1925. This became one of the most famous chess games ever played.
Most of the World Champions have included the Torre Attack in their arsenals, especially Alekhine, Spassky and Petrosian. Capablanca, Botvinnik, Smyslov and Kasparov have also used it.
It has been more than a decade since the 2nd edition of this book was published. This new edition concentrates on two structures that lie at the heart of the Torre Attack. They have been named the Terrapin Formation and the Tortoise formation. They are not variations as such but rather common structures that meet the opening goal of controlling the center by placing both the d-pawn and e-pawn on the 4th rank. They are like the head poking out of a solid turtle shell that keeps the king well defended. The formation is used against both the Fianchetto and …e6 variations and a few others.
|Eric Schiller
|304 Pages
|Publication Date
|June 28, 2012
|Notation Type
|AN - Algebraic
|Book Binding Type
|Book Edition
|This is a Modern Reprint of a Classic Book