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Stephen Williamson weighed in recently on Keynesian Economics versus Regular Economics in his New Monetarist Economics blog. Responding to Paul Krugman's post citing my criticism of Robert Barro's column in the Wall Street Journal contrasting Keynesian economics and regular economics, Williamson took Krugman to task for not acknowledging that old-style Keynesian economics has actually been replaced by a newer version (New Keynesian economics) that actually tries to deduce standard Keynesian results from regular economics.
Although Williamson aimed his criticism at Krugman, not me, he did criticize this passage of Krugman's blog in which I was mentioned
As Glasner says, there's something deeply weird about asking "where's the market failure?" in the face of massive unemployment, huge unused capacity, an economy producing less than it did and a half years ago despite population growth and advancing technology. Of course there's some kind of market failure, which means that there's nothing at all odd about asserting that better policy can yield free lunches.
Williamson comments:
We cannot observe a market failure. To deduce that a market failure exists, one needs a model. Given that we cannot observe market failure by looking at the state of the economy, we also can't say what a "better policy" is. Again, for that we need a model.
Fair enough; we do need a model. But it is not clear what kind of model Williamson thinks is needed to infer the existence of a market failure. The standard model used in regular economics posits a process of price adjustment in which unsatisfied demanders bid up the price or frustrated suppliers drive it down until a price is established that clears the market, i.e., transactors can execute their offers to buy or sell as planned. In recessions and depressions, as opposed to "normal" periods, the standard model of price adjustment doesn't seem to work. So there seems to be a prima facie case for saying that recessions and depressions involve some sort of market failure. The case may be rebuttable, but Williamson seems to acknowledge in responding to a comment 0n a subsequent post that at least one rationalization for cyclical unemployment is unacceptably implausible.
In the later post Williamson sends us to an essay published by the Richmond Fed in which Kartik B. Athreya and Renee Courtois argue that the first theorem of welfare economics teaches us that to justify intervention into the private market economy, it is necessary to establish that the array of existing markets is incomplete or not fully competitive. This is a remarkable assertion inasmuch as I am unaware that anyone ever asserted that the set of markets in existence is anywhere near the set required to satisfy the completeness conditions of the first theorem of welfare economics. (But maybe I am ill-informed). So what exactly must be shown to establish what is self-evidently true: that the necessary conditions specified by the first theorem of welfare economics do not obtain in the real world?
Here is how Athreya and Courtois characterize the practical implication of the first theorem of welfare economics for macroeconomic policy.
The preceding result implies that in a well-functioning market system [i.e., a perfectly competitive economy with a complete set of markets, a theoretical requirement with no real-world analogue], the adjustments made by individual and firms in response to a shock in fundamentals, even when they are contractionary, will be efficient. If something bad has happened to the ability of firms to produce output (say, a shock to the financial sector that hinders the allocation of labor and capital to their best uses), then each hour of labor becomes less productive. In this case, it make little sense for firms to continue producing, or for workers to work, at previous levels. After a storm, for example, a fisherman may find that each hour spent in the boat produces less fish; an efficient response is for him to spend less time fishing (hire less labor) and more hours consuming leisure (or, perhaps working on boat maintenance and repair), given that the cost of leisure or other activities, measure in terms of fish foregone, has fallen.
This example is meant to show that even if there is a shock causing a decline in output and employment, it does not follow that the adjustment – reduced output and employment — to the shock was inefficient. This is a basic proposition of real-business-cycle theory, regarded by some as quintessential regular economics. Negative productivity shocks imply reduced output and employment, so who is to say that observed output and employment reductions in business-cycle downturns are not characteristic of an optimal adjustment path?
Athreya and Courtois acknowledge that "frictions" can cause responses to a negative productivity shock to be inefficient, e.g., frictions in capital and labor markets, and in insurance markets. But in discussing inefficiencies in capital markets, they merely refer to banks' difficulties in discovering good investment projects. Their discussion of labor-market inefficiencies is no more helpful, referring to problems of matching workers and employers, which can cause the search process to be long and drawn out. But just because matching workers and employers is costly and time-consuming doesn't tell us how much search is optimal or whether the actual amount of search in response to a recessionary shock is optimal.
They do provide a somewhat more helpful discussion about the process of reducing labor input, suggesting that there is an inefficiency in laying off workers rather than evenly reducing hours across the entire work force. But this too is problematic, because, as they acknowledge, there are various reasons why letting some workers go and keeping the rest fully employed rather than cutting hours is less costly for employers than trying to reduce hours worked equally across their employees. The hardship is concentrated on a subset of workers rather than shared by all workers. But is there an inefficiency? We aren't given a model from which to draw an inference.
Finally, there is the absence of a private market for unemployment insurance. In the absence of such a market, and because most of the reduction in labor hours is concentrated on a subset of workers, workers respond to the increased probability of losing their jobs by increasing precautionary saving. Athreya and Courtois admit that they cannot demonstrate any inefficiency in the increase in precautionary saving except insofar as it is related to frictions in labor and insurance markets, but they provide no proof of such inefficiencies, leaving the impression that the inefficiencies are not that significant. That impression is reinforced by the following remark.
The preceding suggests there may be a role for policy. However, it also suggests that productive policies will likely be those which directly address the specific frictions in capital, labor, and insurance markets that make the observed decline in aggregate consumption inefficiently large.
We are not told exactly what the specific inefficiencies are, but, presumably, if we can find them, then it's fine to do something about them. But there is little if any justification for trying to increase aggregate demand through fiscal (or monetary?) policy.
[C]urrent spending-based stimulus, while it may marginally increase the probability of a laid-off worker regaining employment, will also likely draw employed workers away from other productive uses – further hindering efficient resource allocation.
Their most explicit recommendation is actually somewhat surprising (what would Robert Barro say?):
We think a more fruitful approach would be to leverage the existing unemployment insurance and social safety net infrastructure to better insure the unemployed while more strictly monitoring their job search efforts.
What amazes me about the real-business-cycle approach exemplified by this paper, apparently much to Williamson's liking, is that it ignores any transmission mechanism amplifying a shock as its effects spread through the economy. Such transmission effects are completely suppressed in the representative-agent model, a characteristic real-business model seeking to deduce all the relevant properties of a business cycle from the analysis of a single agent supposedly representing everything that one needs to know about how an economy behaves. This is not just a retrogression from Keynesian economics, it is a retrogression from pre-Keynesian classical and neo-classical economics.
Despite Keynes's misguided attack on Say's Law, the notion that supply creates its own demand, an idea Keynes misconstrued to mean that classical economics held that there could be no lapses from full employment, or if there were, that they would be temporary and quickly rectified, Say's Law actually explains precisely how shocks are transmitted and amplified as they spread through an economy. If supply creates its own demand, then a failure to supply entails a failure of demand. So a technology shock that causes some workers to lose their jobs, by preventing them and complementary factors of production from supplying their productive services, necessarily forces those workers, as well as owners of complementary factors unable to supply their services, to reduce their demands for products. That is precisely the idea of the Keynesian multiplier, except that Say's Law views it from the supply side and the multiplier views it from the demand side. At bottom, these two supposedly contradictory ideas correspond to the same phenomenon, viewed from opposite angles. But the phenomenon is completely suppressed in the representative-agent model.
But where is there any inefficiency? Well, as we have just seen, it is really — I mean really – hard to find an inefficiency if you try to understand what happens in a recession in terms of a representative-agent model. In a representative-agent model, the entire analysis collapses to finding the equilibrium of the single representative agent. You have necessarily assumed that social and private costs are equal, because you have collapsed all of society into the representative agent. Private and social costs are not only equal they are identical, because that is how you set up your model. You have taken regular economics to its outer limit, and you have annihilated the multiplier. Good job!
But if you think of economics as the study of interactions between independent decision-makers rather than the study of a single decision-maker in isolation, and if you recognize that production and exchange between individuals may not just transmit, but amplify, disturbances across individuals, you may prefer to think of an economy as a network of mutually interdependent transactors whose decisions about how much to supply and demand reverberate back and forth across the network. Because it is so highly interconnected, private and social costs in the network need not be equal; indeed externalities are a characteristic feature of networks. The pervasiveness of externalities is well understood in payments networks in which the insolvency of a systemically important transactor can cause the entire network to collapse. The looser interconnections of the real economic network of production and exchange is less brittle than a specialized payments network, but that doesn't mean that the former network is not also pervaded with externalities, a point beautifully articulated by the eminent Cambridge economist Frederick Lavington when, when referring to an economy at the bottom of a recession, he wrote in his book The Trade Cycle, "the inactivity of all is the cause of the inactivity of each."
So is there any inefficiency in a recession? Of course. And is there an economic model that identifies the inefficiency? Absolutely.


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Major in LLCL: Spanish
The Spanish Studies program offers several concentrations in the Spanish Major for students interested in different aspects of the language, culture, and literature. The foundation of success in Spanish Studies is proficiency in the language. Each major concentration, therefore, begins after students have demonstrated high intermediate to advanced competency in Spanish by either completing language courses for second language learners (SPN 1120-SPN 2221) or by completing language courses designed for Heritage Speakers (SPN 1340 and SPN 2342) or by proving native-speaker competency (High School or College diploma from a Spanish speaking country). AP exam credits can also certify more advanced language proficiency and can count toward degrees.
Students interested in advanced study of the language, culture, and literature, should acquire the Spanish major, which is a universally recognized credential that certifies professional-level proficiency in the language and advanced cultural competency in relations with Spanish speaking peoples and countries. The major is a 36-37 credit program, depending on individual circumstances. The major can be easily combined with other majors in the university as a "second major."
Professional Concentrations within the Spanish major can be designed to suit student interests and professional ambitions. Students may choose from one of the following tracks:

subset: commoncrawl


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This season is bittersweet as far as fresh produce goes. On one hand my backyard urban farm is just a ghost of its lush summer self and I miss it. But, there are the apples, pears, persimmons, quince and the versatile sugar pumpkin, which are at the height of their season. I also associate the smell of sweet spices like cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and cardamom with cool weather. The mixture of the fruits and spices is baked up in quintessential American classics like apple and pumpkin pies, poached pears and some across-the-pond desserts like persimmon pudding and quince tarts. All of these combinations are pure comfort warm, sweet and hearty. Another classic pairing that fits this description are prunes & Armagnac. So when thinking about the ultimate fall pudding I layered together pumpkin, spices, the prune combo, caramelized the crust and topped the whole thing with maple spiced walnuts. It is outrageous and something you can eat for dessert, brunch or an after school snack. It was equally tasty hot and served cold.
I used cubes of slightly stale bread, something I always have around, but I have also done this pudding with vanilla pound cake or gingerbread.
*Some big news below!
Caramelized Pumpkin & Armagnac Prune Pudding:
8 cups of 1/2 cubed bread (such as brioche, challah or other soft enriched bread) or pound cake or gingerbread.
1 1/2 cups chopped prunes
1/4 cup Armagnac, cognac or brandy (pronounced Arm-an-yak)
Pumpkin custard:
5 cups half & half
5 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon clove
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
confectioner's sugar for sprinkling on top
Candied Walnuts:
1 1/2 cup walnut halves or pieces
1/4 cup maple syrup
pinch salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1 cup heavy whipping cream for garnish, whipped to stiff peak
In a bowl add the Armagnac to the prune and allow them to macerate for at least 30 minutes, but as long as overnight.
To prepare the pudding, mix together the half & half, eggs, yolks, pumpkin, salt, sugars, spices and vanilla,
using an immersion blender or carefully with a whisk. Set aside.
Layer half the bread cubes in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish and then the prunes ( do not add the liquid with them, save it and add it to the custard).
Top with the remaining bread cubes and then pour the pumpkin custard over them. You may not fit all of the custard in at once, but when the bread absorbs some of it, you can add the rest.
Gently press the bread down into the custard to make sure they are all soaking it up. Let it sit for about 30 minutes to really absorb the custard thoroughly.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 325. Place the baking dish in a larger pan, lined with a kitchen towel. Add HOT water to the larger dish to create a water bath. The towel and the water act as insulation and create a more even baking temperature. Bake for about 45 minutes or until just set in the center of the pudding.
Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with confectioner's sugar.
Turn the oven to broil and return the pan to the oven, just until the sugar is melted and caramelized. If you have a Chef's Torch you can achieve the same effect with your torch.
To make the candied walnuts:
Turn the oven to 350. In a bowl combine the nuts, maple, salt and spices. Spread the coated nuts onto a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat. Bake for about 10-15 minutes or until nicely toasted and golden brown. Be careful not to over bake or they will turn bitter.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and the nuts!
*Some announcements:
Some of you may have noticed a new book at the top of my site. Jeff and I are thrilled to announce our newest book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients, which comes out Tuesday Oct. 27th! That morning I will be on the Martha Stewart Radio Show, Jeff will be on TV and we'll both be at the Edina Barnes & Noble to sign books. You can find all the details for our book tour and events here. I really hope to meet you if we are coming to a town near you.
You can also learn about the baking group Michelle at BigBlackDogs is going to be hosting a baking group for HBin5! If you want to join her and a group of other bread enthusiasts read more here! Jeff and I will be doing some guest posts for her as well.
Last week I got an email from the folks at Saveur Magazine telling me that they had chosen ZoeBakes as one of the "Sites We Love!" Oh my, it is quite a list of fantastic blogs and I am honored to be among them. If you click on the badge, also added to the top of the blog you can see the whole list! I suppose it is one time I wished my parents hadn't named me Zoë, because I always end up last on alphabetical lists! 😉


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Similar to collectible Olympic pins, this year's Homer Winter Carnival fundraiser is based on "Collectible HWC Buttons." Beginning this month, we hope to see "Button Baskets" by every cash register in town. Here's how you can be part of it.
Anyone can "be a button" — it's free.
Order 100 and we'll print you up. You'll get your money back (double) when you sell them. The HWC committee is ready to get all "Homer" about these buttons/pins. Don't feel obligated to put a logo on your button. Have some fun. Your pin can be a joke or cartoon, a kind thought, advice, a picture of your mom, your cat, a missing friend, some Homer "wisdom" or whatever you need to put on a button this year.
If you're a business …
You may purchase any number of buttons from the HWC for half-price ($2 each) by calling or emailing us, then simply sell them from a basket by your cash register for $4, giving the profits to your favorite nonprofit.
Then, buy more when you run out.
If you're a non profit …
You (or your patrons) may purchase any number of buttons from the HWC for half-price ($2 each) by calling or emailing us. Then simply talk to area businesses (especially those owned by your members and supporters) and ask them to sell your HWC buttons from a "Button Basket" by their cash register and donate the profits to your cause. If you have two or three Button Baskets collecting money for you, you win. More buttons sold = more money raised. It's that simple.
Of course, the Homer Winter Carnival is about more than just buttons, which, remember, will raise funds for your favorite nonprofit. From the Mr. Homer Competition Thursday, Feb. 6, the awesome opening ceremonies Friday, Feb. 7, the crazy Outhouse Race Saturday, Feb. 8, to the Awards Ceremony on Sunday night, Feb. 9, plus a ton of stuff in between, the 2014 HWC is going to be a very big deal. But to get started, here's where we are right now.
Elks Club challenges Legion
"Let it be known that the Homer Elks Club hereby challenges the Homer Legion Post to an all-out, no holds barred, double competition. Our first challenge shall be an Outhouse Race Saturday, Feb 7, which the Elks will win. Our second challenge shall be to sell more HWC collectible buttons than the (far superior) Elks. The loser of this challenge shall publicly wash the trucks of the winners in a final fund-raiser for both clubs after the HWC. In the event of a tie, both clubs will wash each others' trucks. What say you, Legionaries?"
Kharacters challenges Alibi
The owners, staff, management, and regular customers who frequent Kharacteurs Bar officially challenge our counterparts at The Alibi to face public laughter and ridicule by facing off against us in the Homer Winter Carnival Outhouse Race. What say you, Nelton and Gang?
Alibi accepts
The Alibi not only laughs at Kharacters Bar's feeble floundering while fumbling at finding fleeting fame. Alibi hereby re-challenges Kharacters by proposing the following bet. The entire loser group shall assemble at the winning club and sing a 2-minute tribute song to the winners, then follow this song by buying the first round for the winning group. What say you, Kharacters? … And by the way, it's spelled with a "C!"
Dax Radtke is a member of the Homer Winter Carnival Committee. To get involved, for more information, to place orders, or to be a button, call him at 907-299-0319 or email to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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City 1990-91 'Better Days' Football Hoodie
Fantastic quality product. Delivered quickly and very well packaged. Highly recommended. - Mark Kelly via Feefo£49.95
There are football kit designs that will be forever associated with a club and bring back those memories of 'Better Days' - the legendary players that wore the shirt and the games they won in them from seasons past. This hoodie features the classic City strip worn by the likes of Redmond, Lake and Quinn during the 1990-91 season.
This classic pattern has been digitally illustrated and faithfully reproduced by Good Team On Paper. It features as a circular motif with season date detail on the left chest of the garment and is an essential addition to any fans match-day wardrobe.
All our apparel is printed, packaged and sent by ourselves at Good Team On Paper. No drop shipping, no third parties.
Available Colours:
Grey (Athletic Heather)
Size Guide:
Small - Chest (To Fit): 34/36" / Length: 71cm
Medium - Chest (To Fit): 38/40" / Length: 74cm
Large - Chest (To Fit): 42/44" / Length: 77cm
Extra Large - Chest (To Fit): 46/48" / Length: 79.5cm
Premium heavyweight, 350 GSM / 10.3oz garment.
Ethically sourced 80% cotton 20% recycled polyester anti-pill fleece.
Regular fit.
Pullover hood.
Kangaroo pocket.
Inset sleeves.
Lined hood.
Tonal shoestring drawcord.
Sleeve cuff ribbing.
Preshrunk to minimise shrinkage
Motif - Left chest / Circular (80mm Diameter).
Washing Instructions:
Wash inside out at 30 degrees.
Do not tumble dry.
Iron on reverse (Never over the designed area).
Do not bleach.
Do not Dry Clean.
Images presented are for mockup purposes only - size and colours may differ slightly on finished product from those shown on screen.
DeliveryToday we are offering FREE DELIVERY on all UK MAINLAND orders over £50, please use code FREEDELIVERY50 at checkout.For UK orders please allow 3-5 working days for your product to arrive. Need it quicker? Express shipping is also available.Not in the UK? Good news! We ship worldwide, our delivery prices and times are shown at checkout. Please note, the buyer is responsible for any import taxes and/or customs charges imposed by their country, if applicable.
Further information can be viewed via our Delivery Page.
For all other questions please check out our FAQs page.
Disclaimer: The artwork we produce is UNOFFICIAL & NOT AFFILIATED with any team or sporting organisation. We create for the love of the game & for people who share our passion. If any of our listings are mistakenly found to be in breach of any trademarks or copyright we will make immediate amendments where needed to the exact specifications of the request.
We're rated 4.9/5 by our customers on Feefo.
"The order came very quickly and was well wrapped so arrived in mint quality. I will happily order again." - Joanne Williams
"My son was delighted with his picture which was created specially to order and exactly as requested. Brilliant!!" - Lynda Carter
"I made two orders, one for a custom team. The communication was excellent and the products, which were gifts, were very much appreciated and enjoyed" - Lynne Hornby
"Really, really happy with the item (Derby County strip from inception to present day) which my son-in-law will absolutely love" - Carol Kennedy
"Print is beautiful. Can't wait to frame it with ticket and program. Cheers guys!" - Scott Goodhill
"Absolutely perfect. Helped me with questions before I ordered my personalised print and then sent a perfect sample before sending. Great product, great service." - Dillon O'Farrell
Quality runs through everything we do.
We take pride in the products that we produce and we do everything we can to ensure the quality at all times.
Each team's print is individually researched, with the kit designs recreated by ourselves down to the very last detail and to ensure they are accurate and a true representation.
Each is printed to order, on premium quality 290gsm pearl paper stock and then wrapped in our custom-printed acid-free tissue paper.
We individually mount and frame prints by hand ourselves using wood frames, with ivory, ph-neutral mounts.Once complete, each is layered in bubble wrap and placed in sturdy boxes.


text: This photograph shows the Kusserow family home in Bad Lippspringe and the tram tracks in front of it. The Kusserow family members were active Jehovah's Witnesses in their region. They distributed religious literature and taught Bible study classes in their home. Their house was conveniently situated for fellow Witnesses along the tram route connecting the cities of Paderborn and Detmold. For the first three years after the Nazis came to power, the Kusserows endured moderate persecution by local Gestapo agents, who often came to search their home for religious materials. In 1936, Nazi police pressure increased dramatically, eventually resulting in the arrest of the family and its members' internment in various concentration camps. Most of the family remained incarcerated until the end of the war. Bad Lippspringe, Germany, 1933-1937.


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Kualanamu International Airport: My Testimony
Kualanamu International Airport (KNO) is Indonesia's brand new airport located in Kabupaten Deli Serdang, North Sumatera, Indonesia. Built to catch up the aircraft movement growing demand that Polonia International Airport (MES) can't afford any longer. It's a quite stunning airport Indonesia ever has. This airport soft launching was held on July 25, 2013. The grand opening will be soon held on February 2014 by the President (tentative).
According to my record, it has many eminence compared to the predecessor (Polonia International Airport/MES) and other airports in the country, as well. Planned to be expanded due to capacity demand raise, built with modern technology in avionic and baggage handling system, has open-check-in-airport concept (1st in the country), has huge land bank to support the future development, has a dedicated train to conceive comfort and ease mobility lust, are several major strengths this airport could proud of.
The lack is about the aestethic standard of details such as design of signages, ornament spaces, flowery parks, and Air Traffic Controller (ATC) Tower. I think the design of the ministage (located in the center of boarding area) not harmonized to the overall design of the airport. Furthermore, the terminal of official buses not too comfy, prayer room is worse than found in suburb shopping center, marble floor and the glass walls got to get extra attention to maintain the cleanliness.
However, this airport has been spoken out as a national treasure that potential to boost Indonesia economic and aviation competitiveness. Hopefully next phase of development rolled out soon as the movement of pax has reached its current limit.
For you haven't seen, here's official video of the launching. Enjoy!


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Fla. asks US Supreme Court to stop Ga. water use
TALLAHASSEE — Florida charged ahead Tuesday with a lawsuit against the state of Georgia that accuses its northern neighbor of consuming too much fresh water from a river system that serves three Southeastern states.
The legal action filed directly with the U.S. Supreme Court is an escalation in a legal dispute lasting more than two decades. The lawsuit is not a surprise since Gov. Rick Scott announced in August that the state was preparing one. But the legal measure asks the high court to take some dramatic steps, including capping Georgia's overall water use at levels existing in 1992. Florida also wants a special master to enter a decree that would "equitably" divide the waters in the basin of the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint rivers.
"The situation is dire and the need for relief immediate," states Florida's lawsuit, which maintains Georgia is on pace to double its current consumption levels by 2040.
Scott decided to push ahead with the lawsuit following the near-collapse of the oyster industry in Apalachicola Bay and after federal officials declared a fishery disaster for oystermen on the Gulf Coast. Oysters need a mix of fresh and salt water in order to thrive.
"Georgia has refused to fairly share the waters that flow between our two states, so to stop Georgia's unmitigated consumption of water we have brought the matter before the U.S. Supreme Court," Scott said in a statement. "Generations of Florida families have relied upon these waters for their livelihood, but now risk losing their way of life if Georgia's actions are not stopped," Scott added.
Brian Robinson, a spokesman for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, blasted the lawsuit as "political theatre and nothing more."
"The only 'unmitigated consumption' going on around here is Florida's waste of our tax dollars on a frivolous lawsuit," Robinson said. "Florida is receiving historically high water flows at the state line this year, but it needs a bogeyman to blame for its poor management of Apalachicola Bay."
Robinson said Georgia would defend its water rights "vigorously" before the court.
Robinson also repeated Deal's assertion that Georgia offered a framework to end the dispute more than a year ago. Citing a previous court order, Florida officials have refused to release any details from negotiations between the states. The long-running dispute hinges over withdrawals from Lake Lanier, a federal reservoir on the Chattahoochee River that provides water to metro Atlanta.
The Chattahoochee and Flint rivers merge to form the Apalachicola River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico. In 2009, a federal judge ruled that metro Atlanta had little right to take water from Lake Lanier. He then ordered that metro Atlanta's water withdrawals would be drastically restricted unless the three states reached a settlement.
A three-judge panel from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in 2011, finding that metro Atlanta could use the reservoir for water with restrictions. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently studying how much water the north Georgia region can take from the system. But corps officials have already acknowledged that it will be years before that study is complete.
Water officials in Atlanta have disputed that the metro area's consumption is harming the oyster fishery and say recent problems have more to do with drought.
But in its court filing, Florida contends that long-term climate data have not shown significant decreases in precipitation and that a lack of rain cannot be blamed for the decreases of fresh water in the river system.
Florida points out in its court filing that the U.S. Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on previous interstate disputes, including battles over water use between states.
"This court's precedent makes clear Georgia may not store and consume the waters of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers in unlimited quantity heedless of the impact on the Apalachicola region," the lawsuit says.


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Want to take a few minutes out of your day on to learn a bit more about indexes? On Thursday, I'll be presenting at Quest's Pain of the Week webcast. The session will be Understanding Your Indexes: Operational Stats.
There's a lot that goes on under the covers of SQL Server with your indexes. But it's not as secretive as you may think. Most of this information is made available to you through DMVs.
While this information is useful, you need a clear understanding of what's in the DMVs in order to know what's going on. In this session we'll dive into sys.dm_index_operational_stats to find out what it does and how you can use this information to significantly improve database performance.
As mentioned, the webcast is this Thursday:
Date: Thursday, June 30
Time: 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. UK / 5 p.m. CE
Duration: 45-60 minutes
Registration: Thursday, June 30, 2011 8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET
Hope to see you online, the webcast will be covering a lot of the materials from my Index Black Ops blog series.


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There is a detailed academic debate surrounding health care funding and provision in Australia (as there is globally).
But the debate is clouded by observer bias – by the relatively wealthy senior academics, government officials, and consultants, who provide the analysis in the policy-making environment. If everyone involved feels burdened by their own choice to send their children to private school, or irrationally choose private health insurance, because of a culture of social class bias, what type of policy recommendations can you expect?
Consider the King-Gans argument, based on a theoretical micro-economic model of health insurance developed in this paper. The model assumes individuals with perfect knowledge of future health care needs, which leads to a massive adverse selection problem for the private health insurance market. After a few pages of intellectual mathematical masturbation, the conclusion follows that –
…those in society who are most likely to be ill will 'opt out' of public insurance and purchase private insurance. The public health insurance will only be used by those in society who are healthiest (i.e. least likely to become ill). The high-risk individuals are made worse off by the public insurance because they are required to cross-subsidise the public insurance of the low-risk individuals through the tax system (my emphasis).
This conclusion completely contradicts the current reality in Australian health care, whereby the public system typically deals with the most serious cases of trauma and chronic illness. While the model conclusions are laughable, the policy implications that follow from this model outcome are being taken seriously. It's a worry.
As far as the details of the model are concerned, we all know the best measure of a model's usefulness is how well it predicts outcomes. The King-Gans model requires the following assumptions to come to the conclusion that a mix of private and public insurance will result in higher cost to the most ill people, because only the most ill will choose private health insurance –
1. Adverse selection of private health insurance by a set of people who happen to know in advance their future health care needs and probability of illness
2. People value actuarial fair insurance. That is to say that they value insurance only as a tool for spreading health costs over their lifetime.
3. They assume a perfectly competitive private insurance market. While the market is good, I would be hesitant to got that far, but it is probably okay.
4. They assume there are not 'too few' people with a high risk of being ill who know their risk in advance.
5. They assume identical income for all individuals at a level that justifies PHI for those individuals who know their risk of illness, and subsequently their expected future health costs, in advance.
6. The ignore all externalities associated with health care.
For me, apart from the above-list of possibly unrealistic assumptions, the analysis ignores the critical fact that risk averse wealthy people will both choose private health insurance (PHI) AND preventative health care through healthy living choices. PHI is a complement to better voluntary health choices, so we should expect that private patients are typically the healthier members of society, and the publicly funded public hospitals will be treating the most ill patients.
This paper, by Buchmueller et al., finds empirical evidence that contradicts the result of the King-Gans theoretical model. They find that there is beneficial selection of PHI in Australia, meaning that the healthiest people tend to be privately insured. May I suggest this conflict between empirical 'reality' and theoretical abstraction is the result of the above ignore concept of complementarity of PHI and healthy lifestyle choices.
This paper, by Buchmueller et al., finds empirical evidence that contradicts the result of the King-Gans theoretical model. They find that there is beneficial selection of PHI in Australia, meaning that the healthiest people tend to be privately insured. May I suggest this conflict between empirical 'reality' and theoretical abstraction is the result of the above ignore concept of complementarity of PHI and healthy lifestyle choices.
The conflicting result is also a product of ignoring the relationship between income, health, and PHI. Higher income people both typically value health more highly (since the can, even though it may not be as high as a proportion of their income of many not-so-wealthy individuals), and are incentivised to be covered by PHI through tax rebates.
The second major shortcoming of the King-Gans model, and the analysis of health care funding and insurance more generally, is that it ignores the fact that end of life health costs are unavoidable. Death is usually a costly process. Thus, there is no way to adversely select health insurance for these 'death costs' in advance.
Third, many PHI covers are incomplete covers. That is, that when a health service is claimed against the insurance cover, the reimbursement is a fraction of the total cost, and there are still out-of-pocket costs for the patient. Thus, for anyone expecting to require a lot of non-elected medical care, public health provision may be the rational choice, given the risk-adjusted premiums for the most comprehensive PHI cover.
Fourth, PHI is incomplete in terms of scope of medical coverage. Emergency departments, for example, are typically the domain of public hospitals, treating public and privately insured patients at public cost.
In all, these overlooked considerations render the theoretical outcomes of the King-Gans model inaccurate, and the policy implications that follow from it to be counterproductive. The reality of beneficial selection of PHI means that wealthy sick individuals are provided a premium health insurance service, because their insurance funds are pooled with a selection of healthy people, to offer an attractive way of making elective health services more affordable.
While King and Gans acknowledge some of these shortcomings, they stand by the conclusions of their model, which feed into their policy recommendations. Given their academic reputations in the policy-making community, this is dangerous territory.
Finally, my personal gripe with the paper, and the policy agenda being pushed of a result of this (and similar) analysis, is that it ignores the social agreement that has evolved to the current provision of a pooled national health insurance program. When PHI coverage was over 70% in the 1970s, reforms were aimed at generating a more equitable and broader system of public health coverage. The very nature of a mostly private health care system is that the unhealthy poor have both the highest need, and the least ability to pay for health services.
That basic philosophy of public health care is that national insurance, funded in a progressive manner through the tax system rather than through actuarial risk-reflective premiums, is provided by publicly run enterprises to fulfill equity considerations (for example, geographically equitable access to health care) and provide broad external community benefits by having a healthier population.
It is also easier to evolve a publicly run system of hospitals and health services to become a platform for implementing auxiliary health policy goals, such as vaccination programs, education programs, doctor training programs, and research. The current system provides, on the whole, quite a reasonable combination of the benefits of both a private and public system, even if it does perpetuate notions of social class in Australia.
All things considered, the legislation currently being proposed to remove the income tax rebate for individuals covered by PHI may actually promote a more effective market for PHI to offer simple top-up coverage at reduced cost, and generate a welfare shift from the wealthy insured to the poor uninsured. Back in 2004, Dawkins et al. noted that the implementation of the 30% rebate for PHI in 1999 (following more subtle incentives in 1997 and the implementation of 'lifetime' health cover) made those on high incomes better off –
There is strong evidence that not only a larger number of households of higher income and socio-economic standings responded to the policy changes, but also they were more likely to have PHI even without the policy changes. These latter households enjoyed "deadweight benefits," in the sense they needed no such benefits to purchase PHI to begin with. Given that households who took up PHI ought, by their revealed preference, to be better off, we can reasonably conclude that households with high income and socio-economic standings are the main beneficiaries of the policy changes.
As we have seen above, the idea that the ill rich are paying twice for health care is surely not at all representative of the present situation in the Australian health care system, and furthermore, policy advice derived from a bizarre theoretical model whose results oppose the empirical evidence should be carefully scrutinized with a dose of old-fashioned commonsense.


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K.R.Mangalam World School at a glance.
The concept of 'Our World', forms the basis of K. R. Mangalam. Learning, irrespective of the source, is learning K. R. Mangalam would derive from the world over, to educate and inspire children towards achievement. Every country, every place, every religion and every action, and every reaction teaches us something. K. R. Mangalam would be a continuous process of amalgamation. Amalgamation of strengths of the newer things that happen in our own world. Of things that have happened in the past.And of things that can happen in the future. Civilizations, religions, cultures, habits, people, places, and events that have changed the course of mankind are the core subjects of knowledge.
In a systematic endeavour, the course curriculum at K. R. Mangalam would be designed to ignite global thinking right from early stages. Eminent people with wide international exposure would be inducted to guide and train the students. Books, CDs and other resources would bear a broad universal perspective and would encompass a wide spectrum of activities. Special knowledge centers would be created on various themes for the benefit of students interested in different areas.


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Witch at Large: Ruminations from a Grey Perspective
Seeing Paganism in terms of being a movement, explorations of our history, societal context, comparisons to other religious movements, and general Pagan culture.
Claremont Pagan Studies Conference - I
I join the chorus of voices reporting on the general wonderfulness of the 9th Annual Claremont Pagan Studies Conference.1 I found the overall quality of presentations exceptionally high, as they were the last time I attended two years ago.
I arrived Friday night after a long solo drive from the SF Bay Area to Los Angeles, through rain and the hairy Grapevine Canyon through the Tehachapi Mountains, stressed and with intense pain between my shoulders. Cranky, in other words. Soon Lauren cheered me up.
Saturday morning's first session consisted of four speakers. Joseph Nichter, an Iraq war veteran, spoke of using Tarot in healing PTSD. I loved his ideas about what he calls "peripheral exploration," wherein the querent draws a single card, places it on a larger sheet of paper, and draws a scene that embeds the image in the card in a larger picture.
Others have written about Sabina Magliocco's keynote speech on Saturday on "The Rise of Pagan Fundamentalism." I will only add a few notions I jotted down. She spoke of the fact that foundational narratives foster group cohesion, and the core experiences are those common to all people of all religions. She pointed out that the reconstructed traditions are growing faster than witchen traditions, and that their practitioners tends to disdain syncretism. The fact is that those very ancient traditions "recons" seek to reconstruct were themselves syncretic.
During Q&A, I told a story about an encounter I had at Reclaiming's Dandelion Gathering this past August.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
On the first morning at Dandelion there was nothing on my agenda, so I asked if I could sit in and listen to the discussions of the WitchCamp teachers. Conversation turned to the subject of new ideas for teaching, at which point I asked if I could offer a suggestion.
I told of my experiences in different places around the country where there was a Reclaiming community of some kind that I'd been told did not socialize or collaborate or in any other way interact with other local Pagans. How most (some would insist all) Reclaiming communities are very insular. This comports with my experience locally as well, although here there are some exceptions for such things as the Berkeley Pagan Festival. I recommended they consider reaching out to other Pagans in their areas, that this very likely would result in some cross-fertilization that could bring some fresh perspectives to their teachings.
Now if you know me at all, you know that networking seems to be hardwired in my makeup. I cannot help myself when I see connections I see as having potential for enrichment, even collaboration. So I have spent more than thirty years helping to foster Pagan solidarity.2 Suggesting this to Reclaiming WitchCamp teachers arose from my nature.
Later in the lunch line, one of these teachers told me that what I had described as exclusivity or maintaining an exclusionary attitude (often experienced, even within Reclaiming groups themselves, as cliquishness) was not really exclusivity. She said they were "fundamentalists." Huh? This really took me aback.
In reply, I asked "Don't you have to have a doctrine or credo or some kind of orthodoxy to which to adhere before you can call yourself a fundamentalist?" By this time we had reached the food and the conversation was dropped. Still, I was nonplussed. This conversation also plays in to my August disaffiliation from the trad.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When I related this at Claremont, the room erupted in laughter. Sabina and I concluded this little interchange by clarifying that in this case, "fundamentalism" really meant "we're so cool and special."
Among the speakers after lunch, Alfred Surenyan discussed "New Directions in Pagan Music." He spoke about different musical forms in which Pagans were writing and performing Pagan-themed music, beginning with rap. He differentiated rap from hip hop, explaining that rap came from Africa and it had to do with rapping rhythmically with a stick. Examples given were Belgian Mani De Bard and Canadian Dano Hammer.
He listed several compositions in classical modes by Seamus Gagné, including "Cantata for Beltain." This cantata, with strings and chorus, was performed once, in 1990, on Vashon Island, Washington, for CoG's MerryMeet. It was recorded at the time, but somehow in the intervening years the recording has been lost or destroyed. I was present at that performance. As I recall, the lyrics of the cantata seemed to be based on Lady Sheba. Although I enjoyed the cantata and thought it well-performed, and I am disappointed the recording is no more, I think of Beltain as a time of wild abandon, a state this musical form does not allow expression. I love the idea of Pagan-inspired cantatas; I would like to hear others for other soberer sabbats.
Alfred also Spoke of the "Missa Druidica," by Joseph C. Nemeth (Theman the Bard) performed by the Orpheus Pagan Chamber Choir in Denver.
The Missa Druidica is inspired by "the great sung Catholic masses of the 18th and 19th centuries, combined with the beautiful modern Druidic liturgies of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (OBOD) of England."
To Alfred's investigation of Pagan composers and performers I suggested the "A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual," by Julie Middleton and S. Morgan-Appel, which has been performed in Philadelphia and other venues; and Pagan hip hop artist Slippery Elm from Vancouver.
I have the greatest appreciation for these many new artists who are helping to make and shape Pagan culture.
Jeffrey Albaugh's presentation, entitled "As Above, So Below: Pagan Theology, Polytheistic Psychology, and Pagan Praxis," concluded with the creation of this pentacle.
Session Four, the final session on Saturday, was a panel discussion on Community Engagement through the Lens of a Pagan-Buddhist Perspective. First to speak was Francesca Howell. I was delighted to finally meet Francesca in person, since we have been online friends for some years, in the context of Pagan Studies. During much of that time she lived in Italy; now she's back in the U.S. Her talk was "Sense of Place and Community: An International Pagan Perspective."
Lauren Raine spoke on "Numina: Sacred Places and Pagan Pilgrimage." You can get a sense of her presentation here.
The day concluded with Marie Cartier's "Stories from the Yoga Mat," followed by a brief, much-needed yoga stretching.
A too-big gang of us moved to a too-busy and very noisy restaurant nearby to talk further. I wanted to take this opportunity, while I was in Southern California and we were both in the same venue, to chat with Tagh about the Pagan History Project he's proposed. We both think I have a lot to bring to the project. More as things unfold.
That's it for day one, folks.
1. I have used the term Claremont Pagan Studies Conference because that's the name by which I first knew it. Over the past few years the name has morphed -- Claremont Conference on Contemporary American Studies, Claremont Conference on Current Pagan Studies, and similar. Since the only kind of Pagan studies there is is current, or contemporary, I've omitted the reference to time.
2. My friend Oak has labeled my role as "ambassador," and I think she has a point.
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Here's How You Can Profit From the United States' Oil Boom
Saudi Arabia can keep its oil, we have enough of our own. Photo Credit: Flickr/azrainman
It's an exciting time to be an energy investor. Oil production in the U.S. is booming and as oil prices stay high, it's easy to see a future in which U.S. oil production takes a giant leap forward. That future could yield real wealth-building profits for investors, which is why I'm going to show you where to look and how to invest in America's exciting oil future.
The Bakken is booming, but it's only the beginning
This past May, the Bakken set a new record for daily oil production at an average of 810,129 barrels of oil per day. That puts the play on pace to produce an average of 850,000 barrels of oil per day by year's end. That's a pretty big number, especially when considering the total output for the U.S. is around 7.3 million barrels of oil per day. It's even more impressive when considering that the Bakken has only been producing large quantities of oil for the past few years.
Looking into the future, there are projections that suggest the Bakken's production could double by 2017:
Source: Continental Resources Investor Presentation
Leading the charge is Continental Resources , which expects to triple its own oil production over that time frame. The company is already the region's largest producer, driller, and leaseholder. It has ambitious goals to triple production to over 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2017. If Continental succeeds, it would produce an additional $20 million per day in revenue as long as oil stays over $100 a barrel. Investing in that growth today has the potential to really fuel the returns of a retirement portfolio.
Everything is bigger in Texas
While the Bakken was setting new highs, the Eagle Ford was quietly catching up to it as its average daily production sailed past 600,000 barrels of oil per day for the first time. At its current pace, the shale play has the potential to match or pass the Bakken within the next two years and it's expected to produce about 1.4 million barrels of oil per day by 2016.
That has the potential to really drive the results of producers focused on the Eagle Ford, such as Chesapeake Energy . The company produced an average of 75,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day last quarter, of which 65% was oil production. That production came from the company's 650 producing wells; however, looking ahead, Chesapeake sees the potential for 3,500 additional wells on its acreage. That means that it's still in the early innings in the Eagle Ford, giving investors plenty future upside by investing in its stock.
Despite the Eagle Ford's production and prospects, the big oil play in Texas could end up being in the Permian Basin. The legacy West Texas oil basin could hold enough oil to make it the second-largest oil field in the world. There are estimates that the Sparberry/Wolfcamp portion alone could produce upwards of a million barrels of oil equivalent per day by the end of the decade:
Source: Pioneer Natural Resources Investor Presentation
That potential has a company like Pioneer Natural Resources seeing a future that includes drilling more than 40,000 wells to capture over 9 billion barrels of potential oil equivalent production. That's $900 billion of potential oil in the ground for this $22 billion company. While it will cost a lot of money to get the oil out of the ground, it still makes for a very compelling investment opportunity.
Don't forget about the Gulf of Mexico
Last, but certainly not least is the Gulf of Mexico. It was once thought that the BP disaster in 2010 would turn off oil production in the Gulf for good. However, after three years of production declines, the Gulf is poised to not only rebound, but could double its production over the next few years:
Source: Enterprise Products Partners Investor Presentation
That's good news for producers like BP, as well as a variety of service companies like Enterprise Products Partners . The company is one of the many that are providing the region with infrastructure critical to get the oil from production platforms to the Gulf Coast refining complexes. One of its projects, the Lucius Crude Oil Export Pipeline, will move 115,000 barrels of oil per day from the deepwater Gulf of Mexico to refiners. This is just one of the many solutions that Enterprise is providing producers in the Gulf, which will help to give a really solid return to investors as the oil boom continues.
Final Foolish thoughts
I've really only scratched the surface of our oil potential. There are new shale plays emerging, and potential shale plays yet to be discovered, that have the potential to produce game-changing amounts of oil during the coming decade. This coming oil boom has the potential to build wealth for those who are invested before it really shifts into high gear.
As you can see, record oil and natural gas production is revolutionizing the United States' energy position. Finding the right plays while historic amounts of capital expenditures are flooding the industry will pad your investment nest egg. For this reason, the Motley Fool is offering a comprehensive look at three energy companies set to soar during this transformation in the energy industry. To find out which three companies are spreading their wings, check out the special free report, "3 Stocks for the American Energy Bonanza". Don't miss out on this timely opportunity; click here to access your report -- it's absolutely free.
The article Here's How You Can Profit From the United States' Oil Boom originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Matt DiLallo owns shares of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners L.P. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2014 $20 calls on Chesapeake Energy, long January 2014 $30 calls on Chesapeake Energy, and short January 2014 $15 puts on Chesapeake Energy. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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'Jersey Shore' Star Pauly D -- I Support NJ Saggy Pants Ban!!!
Pauly D I Support NJ Saggy Pants Ban!!! Who Wants to See Guys' Asses?
Well this is surprising ... "Jersey Shore" star Pauly D actually supports a New Jersey town's war on saggy pants -- telling TMZ, "I'm not trying to look at guys' asses going down the street."
As we reported, several big rappers -- including The Game -- have spoken out against the City of Wildwood's recent ban on saggy pants along its boardwalks, claiming it's a racist law that targets black people.
But Pauly D doesn't think so ... saying, "Put a belt on!"
Oh yeah, we also talk about air sex. It's a thing.


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Posted by Editoress on 03/19/11
The Escape Velocity Spring Series continues this weekend with racing on both days. On tap for Saturday is the second edition of the long Aldergrove course with two sharp climbs and a long stretch along Zero Ave that promises crosswinds from out neighbours to the south. Sunday's course is arguably the best road course of Spring Series: North Bradner, with rolling hills, and narrow, winding roads.
Parking for Saturday's race will be exclusively in the east parking lot of Aldergrove Lake Park. The entrance is on Lefeuvre, approximately 500m south of 8th Ave. Registration will be at the back of the parking lot.
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The Unofficial Grand Prix Social Calendar since 2012! | Click on an event to buy tickets | Circuit of the Americas™ Public Events, on and off the track | All times subject to change without notice.
Sign up or log in to bookmark your favorites and sync them to your phone or calendar.


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Bachelor of Science in Architecture
College of Technology, Architecture, and Applied Engineering
103 Park Avenue, 419-372-2724
The architecture and environmental design major is a pre-professional degree program that prepares students for continued education in a professional degree program in architecture or a related field, or for employment opportunities in architecturally related occupations. The focus of the major is to enhance the student's problem-solving ability and produce critical thinkers.
Most states require that an individual intending to become an architect hold an accredited degree. There are two types of degrees that are accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB): the bachelor of architecture (B.Arch.), which requires a minimum of five years of study, and master of architecture (M.Arch.), which requires a minimum of three years of study following an unrelated bachelor's degree or two years following a related preprofessional degree. These professional degrees are structured to educate those who aspire to registration/licensure as architects.
An important component of this major is two cooperative education experiences in an architecture or design-related position that is supervised by the faculty.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the baccalaureate degree, students in the architecture and environmental design major are expected to:
- Analyze architectural and urban design problems and synthesize solutions at different levels of complexity, scope, and building types;
- Employ the oral, written, and graphic modes of communication for expressing research work and design efforts at different stages of the design process;
- Apply the concepts of architectural history and theory in shaping buildings, cities, and other spatial environments—encompassing international traditions as related to aesthetics, environment, society, and human behavior;
- Understand the basic principles that inform the design of the structural, material, and mechanical/electrical systems and to assess, select, and integrate such systems into a comprehensive building design.
Updated: 10/21/2020 12:05PM


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Treat Detector Dog T-Shirt
Regular price Rs. 599.00
Rs. 0.00
This T-Shirt is designed for your sassy pooches who love to be in style!
Product Details:
- Black comfort fit Sando T-Shirt with print
- Material: 100% Cotton, Biowash, Pre-shrunk
- Easy to wear
- Velcro at back back for snug fit
Wash & Care:
- Do not iron directly on print
- Machine wash
- Product color may vary little due to photography
- Wash with similar clothes
Please refer the doggo size chart in images


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How do you set up a 120-meter-tall, 2.3 MW floating wind turbine 12 miles offshore? And once there how do you stand it up? One Norwegian company has devised a simple and elegant solution.
It's called the WindFlip: a specialized barge designed to transport the next generation of floating wind turbines. These turbines are huge, generating anywhere from 2.5-6MW of power apiece. They're so large, they usually require partial assembly on site—not an easy task in the rough seas 12 miles offshore. But the WindFlip's ingenious design will allow turbines to be built wholly on land and then transported as a single unit.
The turbine is loaded as a single unit onto a special 100-meter long, 30-meter wide barge. It's then towed out to the site while lying nearly horizontal—minimizing its draft and allowing the barge to be towed at a brisk 8 knots. Once at the site, a series of 29 ballast tanks inside the barge begin sequentially filling with seawater—17,000 cubic meters of seawater. This slowly and steadily tilts both the barge and the turbine until they're pointing straight up. The barge then releases the turbine, steps away, and lies back down by injecting compressed air into its ballast tanks.
The WindFlip is still a concept, but its parent company is working with Norway's Statoil, makers of the Hywind floating turbine, to specialize it for use with the Hywind system. If the Hywind ever does reach market expect to see it dragged offshore on a WindFlip. [Windflip - Cleantechnica - Wikipedia]
Apple MacBook Air Laptop
Powerful performance
The M1 chip delivers 3.5x faster performance than the previous generation all while using way less power. Get up to 18 hours of battery life.
Monster Machines is all about the most exceptional machines in the world, from massive gadgets of destruction to tiny machines of precision, and everything in between.


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Free local delivery is available for orders over $250 within 5 miles radius of Marina del Rey (90292). For orders under $250, we charge $20 for local delivery. We will contact you via text message with the phone number you provided at checkout to notify you on the day of our arrival.
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You can skip the shipping fees with free local pickup at 38 Washington Blvd. Marina del Rey, CA 90292. After placing your order and selecting local pickup at checkout, your order will be prepared and ready for pick up within 1 to 3 business days. We will send you an email when your order is ready along with instructions.
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To be eligible for a return, your item must be in the same condition that you received it, unworn or unused, with tags, and in its original packaging. You'll also need the receipt or proof of purchase.
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Mary-Elizabeth Lindsay Was Active in Civic Work
Mary-Elizabeth Hart Lindsay died Tuesday, June 19, at Great Barrington Health Care Center, Great Barrington, following a brief illness.
She was born in Westwood, N.J., Oct. 27, 1906, the daughter of Wilkinson and Katherine Van Leuven Hart. She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Stuart Lindsay; her sisters, Amy H. Willenbucher, Harriet H. Sutton, Eileen H. Shafer, Dorothy Bispham and Alice G.B. Thurnall, and her granddaughter, Lynne G. Shakshober.
Prior to moving to this area, she had lived for many years in Westwood and Woodcliff Lake, N.J., making her permanent home in Edgartown in 1970.
She was educated in schools in Martinique, French West Indies, where her father, an importer, was also with the American Consulate during World War I, and in Barbados, British West Indies, her father's boyhood home at Ashford, St. John's Parish. After graduating from Westwood High School, she attended business school in New York and was employed at Chase National Bank there before becoming a homemaker.
She was president of the Woman's Club of Westwood and was active in church work there and in Edgartown. She also volunteered for the American Cancer Society and at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital. She was a member of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Edgartown.
Surviving are two daughters, Patricia and her husband, John Shakshober of Boston Corner, N.Y., and Sandra and her husband, C. Warren Ormerod of Malvern, Pa.; eight grandchildren, Caryl Shakshober of Delmar, N.Y., Susan Shakshober and her husband, David Reeder, of Arlington, Tex., Stuart and his wife, Marta Shakshober, of Churchtown, N.Y., Patricia and her husband, John Mac Arthur, of Boston Corner, N.Y., D. John Shakshober and his wife, Colleen, of Townsend, Alayne J. Ormerod of Champaign, Ill., Catherine Ormerod and her husband, Ross Cherry of Gynedd Valley, Pa., and Lisa Ormerod of Philadelphia, Pa.; 10 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
A private family funeral will be held Saturday, June 29, at the Church of St. John in the Wilderness, Copake Falls, N.Y. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.


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Here's a book "of interest" (translation: one I haven't seen yet). Yesterday Colin Bradbury wrote:
Just been reading the reviews of a book called The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax. Fascinating look at the revival of interest in 'real' stuff like actual books, vinyl records and, of course, film photography.
Funnily enough my wife bought me a turntable for Christmas to play my old records and next to it on my desk is my Nikon FM2 (could never quite stretch to a Leica) on which I shot a roll of film yesterday for the first time in about 13 years. My 16-year-old daughter decreed that it was OK for me to play records and shoot film because I used them the first time round. That exempts me from the dreaded 'hipster' designation, apparently.
And on another topic, I had a Mazda MX-5 in the mid 1990s which I used to drive rather too quickly around the mountain roads in Hong Kong when I lived there. Magic. And yes, I am a middle-aged dude with a beard....
This idea fascinates me. My "unpedigreed hypothesis" on that score is this:
Analog anything always has the potential to be good enough, no matter how bad it is, whereas nothing digital is reliably ever quite good enough, no matter how good it is.
Let me 'splain. The reason for the hypothesis is that I've witnessed the same thing in digital photography that I witnessed in digital music. Somehow, electro-mechanical means of storing and playing back music always had their charms, even if they weren't "accurate." But as soon as Compact Discs came along, the hobby lurched into an orgy of ever-more expensive tail-chasing...suddenly no amp was quite good enough, no CD player was good enough...not only were no speakers good enough, no speaker wires were good enough. Digital music quickly surpassed analog by technical measures, yet somehow nothing, no matter how extreme, ever quite seemed to entirely satisfy. The hobby ate itself; it went straight down the rabbit hole, and is now in precipitous decline. Similarly, old analog snapshots can have great charm even if they were taken with poor cameras and were badly made; but once digital came along, it touched off a furious scramble for ever-better "image quality" that just doesn't seem to want to settle down. It's become the project of the entire photography world on the Internet. Not only are we not satisfied, but it's like we never can be. Why? A few people here and there did enjoy chasing endless IQ in the film era, but it's a hundred if not a thousand times more pronounced now, even though the increments of improvement are so slight in some cases that it sometimes takes a lot of work to even detect the gains. The culture of looking a pictures lags further and further behind the multifarious dweeby technical segments of the hobby.
Anyway, it's just an observation—a provisional one, at that—not an ideological position*. Please don't kill me, please. I'm just throwing the idea out there.
Anyway I wonder what David Sax has to say about these matters in his book.
...Which leads me to my problem. I read most books these days in the form of Kindle files on my iPad and iPhone 6+. But how could you in good conscience not buy an analog (paper) copy of a book called The Revenge of Analog? :-)
I'd like to read the book, but I'm in a quandary!
(Thanks to Colin)
*I've long freely admitted that I never would have become a writer if it hadn't been for the Macintosh. Steve Jobs said part of his mission was to free people to be creative, and I might as well have been Exhibit #1. Before the personal computer came along in my life, I literally used to cut and paste stories together by cutting paper with scissors. So please don't accuse me of a prejudice against digital!
P.S. I ordered the paper version.
UPDATE Friday: Colin Bradbury adds: "Had to laugh when you mentioned the dilemma of buying the Kindle version of a book about the joys of analog. Exactly the conversation I had with my wife (and yes, I'm getting the print version as well). Until very recently I wasn't convinced about the point of dusting off my film cameras but I'm actually going to do it. It's partly a response to something you wrote that perfectly summed up my uneasy feeling about photography today (or at least, photography as it is represented on the Internet today): 'The culture of looking at pictures lags further and further behind the multifarious dweeby technical segments of the hobby.' There are many ways to counter that but shooting some film seems like a good start. So I'm off to order some 120 B&W film for the Hasselblad and the chemicals to start developing at home again. And I shall be listening to some classic vinyl on the turntable while I do so."
UPDATE Saturday: Mike adds: One of the epigraphs to Sax's book is a quote from Marshall McLuhan from 1964: "A new medium is never an addition to an old one, nor does it leave the old one in peace. It never ceases to oppress the older media until it finds new shapes and positions for them." Truer words; that has emphatically been my experience moderating discussions about new and old media. What I would want to discuss is the nature of the two without prejudice or assumptions or status-judgments or value-judgments or nostalgia or personal preferences obtruding into the discussion. Can't be done it seems. I suppose we will have to remain largely blind to the subtle differences in the nature of our media until they can be viewed in retrospect.
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Geoff Wittig: "Re: 'Analog anything always has the potential to be good enough, no matter how bad it is, whereas nothing digital is reliably ever quite good enough, no matter how good it is.'
"That's a fascinating proposition, but I'm compelled to politely disagree, at least with respect to photography. I think the relevant measure of good enough depends critically upon the final presentation form for the images and the effect you're after. Back in the film era, (say) circa 1960s, if your final artwork was a large print, and you were aiming for subtle beauty, you really needed large format film, or exceedingly good technical skill with medium format, to get that result. Thirty-five millimeter film was just too grainy, the tonality too crude, to pull off the illusion. If your goal was W. Eugene Smith style grit and drama, then 35mm would suffice. To paraphrase John Szarkowski in Ansel Adams at 100, Adams's laborious technique was just sufficient for what he was trying to say with his prints. Photo books really came of age in the 1960s, and were I think the perfect venue for 35mm photography, because the limitations of photo reproduction for typical book sizes nicely matched the shortcomings of 35 mm film.
"The digital Tsunami from capture to Photoshop to printing has altered the imaging landscape, but I think the same principle applies; the format in which you view images determines what's good enough. That's precisely why cell phones are nuking the marked for point 'n' shoot cameras; if you're viewing images as JPEGs on a cell phone or tablet screen, then cell phone cameras are more than good enough. If your final photographic art is a large print, however, 'good enough' is higher up the ladder. For me it's a level of resolution and tonal smoothness that permits me to make a print that conveys the desired illusion that you could walk right into the image. I've found that (for me at least) 40–50 megapixels optimally captured with excellent glass (and very careful post-capture processing) are just sufficient to make a 24x36-inch print that carries off the illusion. I can't visibly improve upon it by stitching frames. So I seem to have hit the limit of image quality asymptotism.
"As digital capture gets ever better, it is gradually pushing 'good enough,' even for excellent large prints, further down the ladder. Micro 4/3 and APS-C mirrorless cameras provide much better files than the (heavy, uber-expensive) 8-megapixel Canon Eos-1Ds I used in 2002.
"I do confess to feeling a bit of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) when I read about the lovely new medium format mirrorless cameras like Fuji's lust-worthy GFX-50S. But I wonder if they will really show a visible difference even with fairly large prints, given how good we already have it. For me, at least, digital capture and printing are now 'good enough.'"
Mike replies: Great comment. Politely disagreeing in return, however, I suspect the very fact that you've pushed out to where you are now in terms of print quality augers against the idea that you will settle for what you have now and stop pushing forward in the future. But you might prove me wrong.
Jim: "I've been using film (along with digital) for the last couple of years. As someone in the Comments section posted (sort of), if your goal is technically perfect images, you will be disappointed with film. Digital, in skilled hands, even in most introductory cameras has surpassed medium format film. That does not mean however, that one can't produce beautiful and/or meaningful images with film. Being technical perfect is neither necessary nor sufficient to great photography. More importantly, however, the only way (I think) to really enjoy film photography is to enjoy the process itself. If you don't the frustration is endless. The good news is that the price of entry is relatively cheap and there is a huge resale market for film cameras and film (even out of date film). If I'm going to shoot a ton of images, I'll take my digital camera. But for an afternoon stroll, I prefer one of my film cameras. On driving trips I'll take both. No reason to limit yourself to one or the other."
JF: "I tell my kids that your life will be much happier if you are satisfied with what you have. I don't own the best or the worst of anything. Most days good enough is indeed good enough. I try to follow my own advice from time to time."
Paul Amyes: "Digital has enabled me to have so much fun. I've published 'zines, books, made audio-visual presentations, make films, put on exhibitions, and I sell my work and reach audiences that number in the tens of thousands. I'd have never been able to achieve all that with analog. I sometimes think about dusting off the old film cameras, but I quickly dismiss the idea as being too impractical, limiting and expensive."
Dogman (partial comment): "I was adamant that I would never give up my Leicas and medium format equipment, that I would continue to shoot HP5 and Tri-X, that the small room adjacent to the bathroom would continue to smell like fixer and that the spare bedroom would always be the room where prints would dry on the bed under the ceiling fan. I clung to this tradition despite not quite liking the available printing materials I was being forced to use and my printing ability was declining while there was increasing evidence that digital was improving in quality by leaps and bounds. Even when I purchased my first digital camera, I resisted and continued to shoot film for more serious photography. But eventually it became obvious to me that resistance was futile...."
Geoffrey Heard (partial comment): "That was then, this is now...."
[See the rest of Dogman's and Geoffrey's comments in the full Comments section. —Ed.]
Lee Rust: "Your hypothesis seems very insightful to me! As physical beings we are naturally accepting of material limitations. As intellectual beings we always want to know more. An analog model of anything is naturally restricted by the inherent qualities and limitations of substance and process. We are content with a pencil sketch or fuzzy snapshot because we expect no perfection from these media. With a digital model there is always another decimal place of descriptive information that can be quantified. The only thing holding us back is the sophistication and resolution of the measuring apparatus, so we keep pushing the technological envelope of detail because we know it's possible. Here is the tension between heart and head, emotion and intellect, experience and knowledge, art and science. Always interesting and never ending."


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text:
Cuccinelli exploring 30-minute ads
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's gubernatorial campaign is looking into the possibility of running highly unusual 30-minute television advertisements in the coming weeks, according to multiple media-tracking sources.
Cuccinelli's team inquired about the cost of half-hour ad blocks for the month of September, Republican and Democratic sources said. The inquiries have been made in all of Virginia's major television markets.
Senior Cuccinelli strategist Chris LaCivita declined to comment on any possible advertising plans: "We don't discuss ad buying — or non-ad buying."
Running an ad of that length would be an expensive undertaking that's been attempted by only a few other candidates: Newt Gingrich produced a half-hour ad about energy during his 2012 campaign, and Barack Obama's campaign aired a 30-minute film about the candidate in the waning days of the 2008 race.
But Cuccinelli already has taken steps in the past few days to shake up the dynamics of his campaign against former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe, who has been ahead in the most recent public polls.
Republicans believe the race remains competitive, though most acknowledge that Cuccinelli has lost some ground over the summer. His goal now: to move the focus of the race away from his own political baggage and put McAuliffe back on the defensive.
Cuccinelli announced Tuesday that he was donating $18,000 to charity — a sum representing the value of gifts he accepted from embattled Republican donor Jonnie Williams, the Star Scientific CEO embroiled in a political gift-giving investigation.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Cuccinelli camp blasted out a memo from LaCivita challenging the press to cover McAuliffe's alleged ethical transgressions as aggressively as they have covered Cuccinelli's connection to the Star affair.
"For all of Ken's efforts to focus on the core issues of this race — jobs, education, energy and workforce development — he continues to experience a significantly disproportionate amount of negative media scrutiny about various matters," LaCivita wrote. "Ken Cuccinelli is being punished for his willingness to engage in an open and honest dialogue while Terry McAuliffe is being rewarded for deceit and obfuscation."


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Hamlin takes New Hampshire for 5th win
LOUDON, N.H. - Denny Hamlin stepped out of his car, pointed into the air and took a mighty swing of an invisible baseball bat. Like Babe Ruth did before him (or so the legend goes), Hamlin had called his shot.
The top winner in NASCAR's regular season earned his series-leading fifth victory of the year Sunday, backing up a tweet of "We will win" with a mistake-free and dominating run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the second event of the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
"You don't want to sound too cocky, but I knew what we were capable of," said Hamlin, who was 32nd in qualifying after his crew put the wrong pressure in his tires. "I know we made a couple of big mistakes, but I said we were fast enough to make it up and we did."
It was the 100th career victory for team owner Joe Gibbs, who also won three Super Bowls as the coach of the Washington Redskins. And it came with a little teamwork, too, when Kyle Busch slowed down to help suck some debris off the front of Hamlin's car and propel him to victory.
"As fast as he was, he could have gone to the back of any car and pulled that off," said Jimmie Johnson, who finished second and took over the Chase lead. "I kind of thought he would be the guy to beat and he certainly was. We are second-best."
Johnson will head into Dover, Del., one of his top tracks, one point ahead of Chicago winner Brad Keselowski, who was sixth Sunday. Jeff Gordon, who was the last man to qualify for the Chase, was third.
"We had a great race car," said Johnson, a five-time NASCAR season champion, "just not an amazing car like the No. 11 did here today."
Hamlin improved to third in the Chase, seven points behind Johnson, despite a tumultuous week that began with him running out of gas in Chicago and continued when his crew used race pressure instead of qualifying pressure in his tires on Friday. Hamlin also had problems with his crew here in July, when confusion during a tire change dropped him into traffic and left him scurrying to get back to the front of the field.
But he was confident enough on this track, where now he has five top five finishes in his last seven races, that he told a group of U.S. National Guardsmen during a publicity trip to New Hampshire earlier this month that would be back to share a few beers in victory lane. And despite finishing 16th in Chicago, Hamlin tweeted: "This is week 1 of 10. We will win next week."
Hamlin had the fastest car in both practices, but the mistake in qualifying had him starting near the back of the field. Hamlin said he came to the track on Sunday with the goal of getting into the top 10 by the 100th lap.
He did better than that, taking the lead on the 94th lap and holding it for 193 laps in all.
"He was the class of the field from the time we unloaded," said Clint Bowyer, who finished fourth and is tied for fifth in the Chase. "I don't know what they figured out, but they figured it out in a big way."
Hamlin, who won in New Hampshire in 2007, led for 150 laps here in July before a miscommunication with crew chief Darian Grubb over whether to change two tires or four cost him a chance at another win. Then, in the Chase opener in Chicago last week, he finished 16th after his crew failed to fill up his tank on the final pit stop.
But Hamlin remained confident, in person and on Twitter, and Gibbs said that spilled over to a crew that was frustrated over its own mistakes.
"That meant a lot to his team. And I think the way you handle things like that, being the guy that's wheeling the car, I think is a big deal," Gibbs said, commending Grubb as well. "Those guys are going to remember the way they were treated and I think they would die for them both."
The biggest threat for Hamlin on Sunday was a plastic bag that was sucked onto the front of his car, blocking part of the air intake, with about one-third of the race to go. Busch, who had blown a cylinder and is not a part of the Chase, slowed down to allow his teammate to come up behind him.
The turbulence between the cars blew the debris off, and Hamlin was back on his way.
"No matter how fast your car is in practice, it's no guarantee for the race. And so I was a little nervous about that and how the conditions were going to change," Hamlin said. "But Darian obviously gave me a lightning fast car today. For me, my job was relatively easy: Just make sure that I didn't make any enemies on the way to the front."


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Puerto Rico's hurricane death toll rises to 45
Nearly three weeks after Hurricane Maria pummeled Puerto Rico, the vast majority of the island remains without power and the death toll from the storm has risen to 45, authorities said.
At least 113 people remain unaccounted for, according to Karixia Ortiz, a spokeswoman for Puerto Rico's Department of Public Safety.
The recovery has moved slowly since Maria struck the US territory on September 20, leaving most of the island without basic services such as power and running water, according to residents, relief workers and local elected officials.
Acting US Department of Homeland Security Elaine Duke will make her second trip to the island on Thursday, DHS spokesman David Lapan said Wednesday.
The visit comes as hospitals throughout the cash-strapped island of 3.4 million people have been running low on medicine and fuel. Some residents and local elected officials have said they expect the death toll to rise.
In the town of Caguas, in the central mountain range, some patients -- including one breathing with the aid of a ventilator -- had to be evacuated to the Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort near San Juan after a generator failed, Dr. Christian Rodriguez said this week.
At least two people have died from leptospirosis, which spreads when the urine of infected animals gets into drinking water, San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz told CNN Wednesday. People have been drinking water from creeks contaminated by dead animals, she said.
"We're not out of the woods yet," she said. "We are now starting to see a lot of health issues. ... So we are in a great effort, a great humanitarian effort."
As of Wednesday 89% of the island was without electricity and almost 47% had no phone service, according to a website set up by the Puerto Rican government. Some 43% of the island's 313 bank branches remained closed, it said.
"We are making progress," Chris Krebs, Homeland Security's assistant secretary for infrastructure protection, said Wednesday. "There's progress on the power side. But we can do more. We can push more resources down into the island."
The recovery will take time given the storm's magnitude, he said
"We are pushing everything we can down into Puerto Rico," Krebs said.
"There are over 17,000 responders, whether it's military or civilian assets. Over 100 helicopters doing air drops in remote communities, providing water. Each of the 78 municipalities has a dedicated water truck. Another 72 trucks are dedicated to hospitals and other critical services. ... Over 50 generators have been installed in critical facilities not just heath care but also now moving into other facilities like schools."
In the mountainous town of Añasco on the western coast, Lucelenia Rivera said she has been running a generator to keep her medications refrigerated but diesel fuel is in short supply. She suffers from asthma and arthritis, takes medication for her blood pressure and worries that recurring mudslides will further isolate her community.
"I'm going crazy trying to get out of here because of my physical condition," she said.
"But this is all I have. I don't have money or another home. This is it."
At least five of those who are missing lived in the northern coastal town of Arecibo, where residents have been lining up for hours to buy ice and fuel.
Some arrive as early as 1 a.m. at ice plants that won't open for another six hours for a chance to buy a single bag of ice at a 20% markup, according to residents.
Kelly Lopez cried while saying she was denied an extra bag of ice for her sister, who is epileptic and bedridden.
"This is so hard on all Puerto Ricans," she said.
For weeks, island residents have been queuing up in seemingly interminable lines for their basic needs -- from food to cash.
Abisain Medina said he drove 30 minutes to Arecibo to stand in line at a bank for five hours before the bank's computer's crashed.
Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló, citing an "unprecedented catastrophe," has lobbied Capitol Hill for a significant new influx of money soon as the island perches on the brink of "a massive liquidity crisis," according to a letter obtained by CNN.
In a three-page letter sent to congressional leaders, Rosselló is requesting more than $4 billion from various agencies and loan programs to "meet the immediate emergency needs of Puerto Rico."
The Trump administration submitted a $29 billion disaster-relief request to Congress last week to fund recovery efforts in the wake of hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma and to pay federal flood insurance claims. The House is expected to vote on that measure as soon as this week.
Rosselló also pointed to a potential exodus of the island's inhabitants should aid not be available in a timely manner -- something he has also emphasized in conversations with lawmakers.
Over 400,000 Puerto Ricans have moved to the mainland United States since 2004, according to the Pew Research Center. Puerto Rico now has 3.4 million residents.
Many left because Puerto Rico suffers from high unemployment, rising taxes and few job opportunities outside of tourism.


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Naladhu – a luxury island for yourself
Maldives.net.mv – Imagine your own private island nestled on the edge of a stunning lagoon, in one of the world's most celebrated tropical havens, ringed by coral gardens and vibrant marine life, where the stunning turquoise hues of the Indian Ocean are complemented by the exotic scent of palm trees. Welcome to Naladhu, Maldives.
Celebrities, sports stars and Fortune 500 Listers have called it their home away from home and both corporate and celebratory groups are buying the island resort out for exclusive use in an increasing trend for those opting for private island breakaways.
According to Naladhu Director of Sales & Marketing, Narelle McDougall, the resort is a popular incentive reward destination and corporate retreat, but she is quick to add that more and more common interest groups are following suit. "We are seeing an increase in common interest group travel, such as family celebrations, to the Maldives and buyout enquiries for special occasions."
The resort is a luxurious boutique hideaway in the South Male Atoll, a mere 35 minute speedboat journey from the island nation's international airport, or a scenic 5 minutes by private chartered seaplane.
Naladhu means 'pretty island', and each of the nineteen secluded houses incorporates timeless design, idyllic views and an unmatched feeling of home.
With a choice of two house types, each 300 square meters in size, the Beach House or Ocean House provides its own distinct vantage point on the island, while offering identical amenities and luxurious comforts. Generous living, dining and bedroom spaces, a private swimming pool, landscaped garden and vast sundeck make for an exotic experience within the privacy of each enclosure.
To further enhance the experience, all houses are indulged by discreet yet attentive personal House Masters, 24 hours a day to ensure that guests' every desire is not only met, but also anticipated.
Accommodating up to 38 guests, the resort is the perfect destination for small groups in need of privacy and seclusion in luxurious surroundings. McDougall says that, as a predominantly leisure destination, corporate retreats tend to opt for outdoors settings such as a barefoot meeting in the sand. "Many retreats take the form of team-building exercises with activities under, on and alongside the turquoise Indian Ocean, including kayak races across the lagoon, cooking challenges or even surfing contests. All retreats are tailor made to suit a group's specific needs, such as spa journeys for a 'Girls Weekend' group, or CEO adrenaline junkies diving some of the world's most treasured reefs."
A dedicated event coordinator service encompasses all of the client's accommodation, activity programme and food and beverage requirements. Guests are met by resort representatives at Male International Airport and escorted to the island by luxury speedboat.
Event setups and programmes are tailor made to suit ideals and specific needs, and Naladhu's personalised 'Intimate Dining Affairs' experiences ensure unique occasions in dreamy locations, from an isolated sandbank in the Indian Ocean to a coconut grove – anywhere of the group's choosing.
McDougall concludes that Naladhu's tropical setting, exclusive nature and intimate atmosphere coupled with personalised service make it the ideal choice for high-end corporate retreats and special family occasions alike. "Sometimes reserving your private place in luxury isn't enough; sometimes you just need a luxury island all for yourself."
For more information, visit www.naladhu.com


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Six people, including a pedestrian, were transported to the hospital with injuries this afternoon after a driver ran a red light in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, a police sergeant said.
The crash was reported at the intersection of Seventh and Harrison streets at about 4:20 p.m., San Francisco police Sgt. Danielle Newman said.
Based on the preliminary investigation, a vehicle was traveling west on Seventh Street and ran a red light at Harrison Street. The vehicle collided with a second vehicle before driving up onto a sidewalk, according to Newman.
Once on the sidewalk, the vehicle struck two trees, a building and a pedestrian, Newman said.
Fire officials initially reported that seven people were transported to the hospital, but Newman confirmed that a total of six people were transported to the hospital.
The police sergeant said those who were transported to San Francisco General Hospital suffered injuries not considered life-threatening.
The collision remains under investigation.
Hannah Albarazi, Bay City News