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The DF210 is unique in that it provides an excellent range of benefits, from it's extremely low stance, to performance and comfort. Overall, the DF210 is extremely well balanced for those looking to lower their car, increase handling potential, and maintain comfort.
For those who want the lowest drop.
Sustec 210 Technology: DF210 Lowdown Spring
All of our coil springs feature SUSTEC 210 Technology. Sustec 210 Technology is a series of manufacturing methods developed to create a stronger, thinner, and lighter spring using only high tensile steel, without adding additional elements that could affect quality, durability, or price.
"210" stands for 2100n/m of tensile strength, which is the highest strength ever achieved in a coil spring. The Tanabe Shiga factory in Japan is home to some of the most advanced, unique coil spring machines and processes in the world!
Quick Points
Lowering: EXCELLENT (Drops of up to 2.5" are available.)
Comfort: VERY GOOD (Spring rate is raised no more than 10-15%)
Performance: GOOD (Lower center of gravity)
Down Data F/R: 2.0 / 1.8


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The most important words for successful horticulturists who want consistently bigger, healthier plants - FRESH AIR! Fresh air without pests. Bug Net keeps bugs from entering your grow room via your intake fan. The days of duct taping screens to a fan are over. Bug Net easily slips on and off fans and ducting. Velcro straps hold Bug Net in place.
— Ships from H: WA, CA, CO, MI, TN, PA, FL USA.

subset: commoncrawl


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ELON � Accidents like the one that occurred Tuesday at Elon University, when a student was hit by a car in a crosswalk, are precisely why drivers passing through Elon have become hyper-aware of pedestrians around campus.
Caroline C. Bauer, of Falmouth, Maine, was struck Tuesday afternoon while crossing Haggard Avenue using the crosswalk closest to the Alamance building on campus. According to a police report, driver Sue Ellen McKinney, of Burlington, said she'd slowed for the crosswalk and didn't notice anyone until she saw Bauer on the hood of her car. Bauer was not seriously injured.
Based on the preliminary investigation, Elon police thought McKinney had the right of way, but determined Wednesday that the driver was at fault.
Elon Police Chief Cliff Parker explained how right of way works Wednesday, and acknowledged that not all students � or drivers � know the rules.
�Pedestrians have right of way in walkways in Elon,� Parker said, adding there�s an expectation that if a person�s already in the walkway, vehicles need to yield.
That�s not always so.
�If a vehicle was on the road, or even in the walkway (first), a pedestrian has to yield to the vehicle,� Parker said. �That�s why you have statutes related to jaywalking.�
Parker said jaywalking doesn�t seem to be a problem at Elon because the majority of students use crosswalks. But while they may use the crosswalks, a lot of Elon students don�t seem to understand the give-and-take required to keep both pedestrian and vehicular traffic flowing smoothly.
�What happens sometimes is, particularly at Elon, you�ve got classes that are changing and students are moving in large numbers,� Parker said. �That just goes with the territory.�
At noon Wednesday after classes let out, students made the regular pilgrimage across campus using the center two of four crosswalks that cross Haggard Avenue.
A few stopped and gave the �thank you� wave to drivers who�d stopped, but most walked through without acknowledging much at all. Most crossed the street quickly, but there were those who took their time.
�You will see students assume they can just walk out. And they can�t,� said Parker, adding that drivers who frequently go through that area have become familiar with that pedestrian pattern.
�IT IS A VERY BUSYthoroughfare,� said Eric Townsend, director of the Elon University News Bureau.
And it�s not the only one.
Williamson and North O�Kelly avenues have seen enough steady foot traffic to merit a 2008 installation of motion-activated lights that blink at drivers when a pedestrian has stepped into the crosswalks.
Elon University has made additional improvements to pedestrian safety around campus as the school and its population has grown, including the $2.2 million railroad underpass connecting Lebanon and East Trollinger avenues at the south end of campus.
�Our student body has grown over the years,� which means, these days, roughly 5,350 undergraduate students are walking around campus, Townsend said.
�Certainly students are busy and they can be distracted,� he said. But, �These incidents are few and far between,� Townsend said, referring to Tuesday�s accident.
In the past five years, the town has averaged one pedestrian hit crossing streets near campus per year, with one incident in 2008, one in 2010, one in 2011, and two this year. Three of the pedestrians involved had been using crosswalks, and all five pedestrians were transported to Alamance Regional Medical Center.
In 2008, Elisabeth Cline, then-18, was crossing Haggard Avenue toward the McMichael Science Center in the evening and �failed to obey the traffic signal located at the crosswalk,� and was hit by a car traveling west on Haggard, according to a police report.
The two accidents this year also took place at Haggard Avenue. Before Bauer�s accident Tuesday, Madison Thrane, 18, was hit by a car in January, when she was getting out of a car that had stopped in the road�s westbound lane.
According the police report, Thrane was one of three passengers who were being dropped off in front of 609 E. Haggard Ave. The first passenger made it across the street safely. The driver of the car behind the stopped vehicle told Elon town police he slowed when he saw the first passenger run in front of his car, and watched her make it safely into the yard. However, he didn�t see Thrane as she followed the other passenger, and struck her with his truck.
Bauer had been using a crosswalk when she was hit Tuesday. Whitney Marie Lynde, 19 in 2010, had also been using a crosswalk when she was hit crossing North Williamson Avenue in the evening.
Out of the five since 2008, the only case where charges were filed against a driver was in 2011, when Mollie O�Brien was hit by a drunken driver late at night.
O�Brien, then-18, was crossing Oak Avenue between East College and East Haggard avenues, when Joseph Richard Kitzinger, then-20, struck her. O�Brien was sent to the hospital with a broken humerus and several broken bones in her back, and Kitzinger was charged with driving while impaired and reckless driving.
O�Brien�s case isn�t the standard. The system seems to work.
�You put crosswalks up to protect your pedestrians, and you try to funnel them,� Parker said.


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I'm referring to the workout program found at http://stronglifts.com
My problem is, it seems too easy. Anyone had success? Any tips to go with? I'm looking for something to get bigger. I'm looking put on 35kg (85 to 120). I'm also about 15-20% body fat, which I'm looking to improve, if any of that makes a difference.


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Digital Futures: Strategies for the Information Age
Library Assoc. Publ., 2002 - Language Arts & Disciplines - 276 pages
The rise of the Internet and the rapid expansion of electronic communication media have presented fresh challenges to those responsible for preserving the cultural memory of society. This book examines the strategic issues involved.
What people are saying - Write a review
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Why digitize?
Developing collections in the digital world
The economic factors
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Common terms and phrases
analogue archives benefits British Library cataloguing CD-ROM Chapter 1 Digital complex costs create cultural current contexts databases defined delivery described digital content digital data Digital futures digital images digital information digital library digital materials Digital Object Identifier digital objects digital preservation digital resources digital world digitization projects discussed documents Dublin Core e-books electronic environment files formats functions futures in current hybrid library implementation information resources infrastructure initial instance institutions interact interoperability issues journals JSTOR librarians lifecycle LOCKSS long-term Markup Language MemEx metadata microfilm migration offer organization original portal programs publishers Questia records Resource discovery retrieval role search engines SGML Shikshapatri skills standard storage strategy structure surrogates technical term tion Unicode users world wide world wide web


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A slew of stars turned out to wish the host well on his first night
A nervous-looking Jimmy Fallon took to the NBC Tonight Show stage Monday night, but quickly warmed up with the help of family and some famous friends.
"I really don't know how I got here," Fallon, 39, said during a sentimental opening monologue for his first night at the helm of the legendary show.
"I remember asking my parents to stay up late to watch Johnny Carson," said Fallon, whose mom and dad waved and blew kisses from the audience. "I can just think there's some kid asking their parents to stay up to watch me."
After introducing himself to the 240-person audience, the former SNL cast member and Late Show host, backed by his house band The Roots, gave a shout-out to wife Nancy Juvonen and infant daughter Winnie, who were backstage, before warning the audience, "I'll make fun of everybody on this show."
Fallon admitted he was feeling the pressure of the new role – "I'll be your host … for now," he joked – but he quickly got some major reassurance.
When the comedian joked that a friend bet him he'd never make it to The Tonight Show, Robert DeNiro came through the curtain and handed him a $100 dollar bill, followed by a line of other A-listers including Tina Fey, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Sarah Jessica Parker, Seth Rogen, Lindsay Lohan, Mariah Carey, Joan Rivers, Tracey Morgan and Mike Tyson. Despite pretending to be naysayers, the queue of celebrity friends made for one impressive welcome wagon.
Another Hollywood heavyweight, Will Smith, christened the couch as Fallon's first guest – and dance partner. The two teamed up for a hilarious synchronized hip hop dance demonstration – including Fallon twerking – before Smith over-shared about his time backstage. "I was trying to get Jada pregnant," he joked.
RELATED: Watch Jimmy Fallon's Dad Steal His First Tonight Show Monologue
"This is the first time The Tonight Show has broadcast from New York in over 40 years," Fallon told the audience. In celebration of the new location, musical guests U2 performed their new song "Invisible" on the roof of a building in Rockefeller Center with the beautiful New York City skyline at dusk as their backdrop.
"I just want to do well," Fallon told the audience earnestly. "If you guys let me stick around long enough, maybe I'll get the hang of it."
On Tuesday, guests Jerry Seinfeld, Kristen Wiig and Lady Gaga stop by.


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For more information, contact ASM International Member Service Center or by phone at 440.338.5151, ext. 0.


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Jasmine Flowers (Jasminum odoratissimum)
Latin Name: Jasminum odoratissimum
Common Names: Jasmine Flowers
Jasmine Flowers, which are also called Jasminum odoratissimum, Sweet Yellow Jasmine and sweet-scented yellow Jasmine, are very popular herbs due to their aromatic and aphrodisiac properties. Jasmine Flowers are commonly used to scent Jasmine tea, and many types of Jasmine Flowers can be used to produce perfumes and incense.
is pleased to offer you superior quality whole Jasmine Flowers as part of our wide selection of bulk wholesale herbs. Like all of the other natural herbs and organic herbs we offer, our Jasminum odoratissiumum has been grown by the most reputable and environmentally friendly growers in the industry. We also process all of our bulk herbs in our own private processing facility so we can control the entire quality assurance process.
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Most of our bulk wholesale herbs will ship within one business day of your order, and each purchase is backed our 100% satisfaction guarantee. If you are unhappy with your herbs order for any reason, we will immediately replace your order or issue you a refund or credit for your purchase price.


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The Milton Christian Church on 35 School Hollow Road wants to "Give Thanks" to the Lord by serving Him in serving others and we would like to give you that opportunity as well. We will be opening the church building Monday through Friday, Nov. 14 through Nov. 18 at the listed hours, for the community to come and get free clothing and any other items that may be on hand.
At the end of the event (Friday at 3p.m.) the items will be boxed up and given to a free store that will give the rest of the items away. Nothing will be sold to make money.
If you currently subscribe or have subscribed in the past to the The Trimble Banner , then simply find your account number on your mailing label and enter it below.
Click the question mark below to see where your account ID appears on your mailing label.
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This is a follow-up to my post, Atama Wo Sageru.
The symbol of that post was the rice plant, which "bows" when the rice grains are mature. I was thinking about it and I remembered seeing old Karate patches that had the design of rice plants for this reason. Recently, I have not seen this. Perhaps the rice plant imagery was more meaningful to our elders.
Also, few of us living in the United States ever get to see rice plants. I don't think I have ever seen any here in Hawaii. But when I was a child growing up in Misawa Air Force Base, Japan, I remember seeing miles and miles of rice paddies (off base, of course). So for people living in that area, the imagery of the rice plant would be very meaningful.
"Atama Wo Sageru" reminds us that with maturity comes humility. My good friend and senior, Sensei Bobby Lowe, when describing an arrogant person sometimes says, "That guy has an I problem." When he says it, it sounds like he is saying "eye problem," but then he clarifies that the person is always talking about himself, "I, I, I".
As instructors, we should strive to set good examples for our students. If we are humble, they will learn that that is the way for seniors to be. But is we are egotistical, they will learn that too. We should always remember that we teach by our actions, not only our words.
Anyway, all this talk about rice has got me hungry for a musubi!
Charles C. Goodin
Rice Plant Design
This is a follow-up to my post, Atama Wo Sageru.
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Wednesday, January 12, 2011


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A new coffee-table book, Ultimate John Deere: A History of the Big Green Machines, is available for John Deere enthusiasts. This 208-page book covers the history of John Deere tractors, John Deere himself, and other key personnel in the company. The author, Ralph Sanders, also writes about the development of the Corn Belt, which played a crucial part in the company's growth, Deere sales methods, and John Deere's methods to top the competition. More than a century of facts and history are covered.
The book also showcases photos of more than 50 different restored John Deere tractors as well as period ads, brochures, schematic diagrams, paintings by Walter Haskell Hinton, and photos from Deere & Company Archives.
This book is available in bookstores, gift shops, online bookstores, or through Voyageur Press. Price: $39.95 plus $3.95 shipping and handling per order. Contact Voyageur Press, P.O. Box 338, Stillwater, MN 55082, 800/888-9653, www.voyageurpress.com.


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Thinking of a career in medicine or veterinary science? A liberal arts degree from the LIU Post – with support from the Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Program – is a great place to start.
Careers in medicine are exciting and rewarding. Whether your goal is to enroll in medical, osteopathy, dental or veterinary school or to specialize in optometry, chiropractic or podiatric care, your options are limitless, but the key to success begins with your undergraduate degree preparation.
Many students who plan to enter the field of medicine earn their Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in such liberal arts subjects as English, history, political science, math, economics or the laboratory sciences (biology, chemistry, physics, or psychology). These programs equip you with the research, writing and critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in the competitive and demanding world of medicine.
At LIU Post, the Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Program will provide you with personal guidance as you make important decisions relating to advanced study and achieving professional goals. The Program is open to any student who is interested in a career in the medical field. Our program has successfully helped hundreds of students achieve their goal of becoming physicians, dentists, veterinarians, optometrists, chiropractors and podiatrists.Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Committee
The Pre- Medical Advisement Committee is designed to assist students in their pursuit of admission to professional schools in medicine. The program is administered by a committee consisting of faculty members from various academic departments of the University. Students should register with the Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Committee as early as possible in their academic careers. The Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Committee Chair will counsel students as to courses they should take to fulfill the requirements of the professional school they wish to attend. When a student has registered with the Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Committee Chair, he/she will be assigned to a member of the committee who will serve as the student's sponsor throughout the college years. The committee chair and the sponsor advise students about such things as their course of study and gaining admission to professional schools.
In addition, the Pre-Medical student will be interviewed by two Committee members. The interviewers' evaluations will be placed in the student's file, which is used to write a letter of recommendation to the professional schools.Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Committee Members
A student who wishes to pursue a career in medicine may choose any major, keeping in mind that professional schools seek applicants with good liberal arts backgrounds. The professional schools require the following minimum science courses:
Pre-medical students should attempt to complete these requirements before the end of their junior year so that they are prepared to take the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test), DAT (Dental Admissions Test), GRE (Graduate Record Examination) or OAT (Optometry Admissions Test) in the spring of their junior year.Pre-Medical Student File
After registering with the Chair of the Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Committee, the student will be asked to complete a file that will be used to formulate an overall evaluation of his/her ability, personality and commitment. The student file will consist of an autobiography, academic appraisals from faculty, interview evaluations, and descriptions of volunteer work and other non-academic recommendations from employers, physicians, dentists, or others. The student's file forms the basis of the composite letter of recommendation to the professional schools.
When the pre-med student has completed the requirements for the professional school, taken the professional school admission test, and completed his/her file, the sponsor, together with the chairman of the Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Committee will write a composite letter based on the contents of the student's file, which will be sent to those professional schools to which the student has applied. Most schools prefer a committee letter to support the student's application.Internships and Career Planning
LIU Post's nationally recognized Career Services office organizes internships that allow you to earn money while exploring the medical fields. The Career Services office holds career fairs and seminars to discuss the range of internships. In the area of medicine, typical opportunities include internships in a hospital, physician's office or clinic, and even the county medical examiner's office. These also result in hands-on experience and recommendations for professional school applications or future employment.Clubs for Pre-Medical Students
LIU Post offers a broad range of organizations that will allow you to build your professional network for the future. Students pursuing careers in medicine will be particularly interested in:
For more information about the Pre-Medical Sciences Advisement Program, please contact the Advisement Committee chair, Dr. Karin Melkonian at 516-299-2481 or email@example.com .


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Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NM-VOCs) are a group of solvent-like organic compounds that easily evaporate at normal temperatures. They are produced mainly in fuel combustion and in processes that use solvents or solvent-based products such as painting, metal degreasing etc. Several of these chemicals are harmful to human health if inhaled, ingested, drunk or get in contact with skin. NM-VOCs are significant precursors to ground level ozone formation. NM-VOCs are the sum of all hydrocarbon air pollutants except methane.
Non-methane volatile organic compounds emissions from anthropogenic activities are primarily comprised of total emissions from the use of fuels for energy purposes, evaporative emissions during industrial processes and non-industrial use of organic solvents.


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Re: Frozen Synapse League
Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2012 4:24 am
I'd love to join, but I cannot view the site.
Krusty wrote:Hi all,
I'll be starting a player league for Frozen Synapse soon and i wanted some feedback on what people would like when it comes to playing matches.
1. Should there be a time limit for how long a player takes to perform a turn, and if so how much time should it be?
2. How many soldiers should there be per side?
3. What weapon load out should be used?
4. Do you prefer random maps or pre-made maps?
5. Do you prefer a league style setup where player challenge each other to matches or a tournament tree where players are matched randomly or both?
6. Do you see room for different kinds of competition such as all RPG's, small maps, variable troop amounts and other parameters that are not regular conditions?
7. Should all players be required to submit the game into youtube?
Of course, if you have anything else to say about how a 'professional' league should be setup that I've missed then feel free to post it up.
EDIT 1: The website is now up. frozensynapseleague.com
EDIT 2: The league polls have been created on the league website. Go there to cast your vote on how the league should be run.


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(in)visíveis . (in)visible I digital prints I. By Ana Ventura. 40cm x 26,5cm and 50cm x 33cm.
This feel like sort of a departure for Ana, but I really love it.
I really like the feeling of layering and texture you get, even though it's digital prints (I would really love to see the process behind the work). I must say it's a very interesting and intriguing development indeed.
(I've written about Ana and her work several times before).


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Item description: This Bags/Bows Bows product is by Bagsandbows - 200 bows per box.,2 3/4' bow size, 14 loops,Easy peel-and-stick bows.,Coordinates with Splendorette satin finish curling ribbon.,Splendorette is a Registered Trademark of Berwick Offray.,Up to 10% post-industrial recycled content.,Made in the USA.... Learn More
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Website design by Business Edge


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We pick up right where left off: at Kyle's failed dinner party, where Faye is tearing into Brandi for spreading some toxic gossip about the Maloofs.
Brandi finally gets fed up and leaves the table.
Of course, Kyle — who instigated this entire situation from beginning to end — is simply distraught that her lovely dinner party was ruined. Faye seems awfully pleased with herself, though. She did do a good job of inserting herself all up in the storyline. Milk that screen time!
Lisa does not approve, and suggests that Kyle pretend to be a good host and try to stop Brandi before she leaves.
Marisa Zanuck, Kyle's well-connected dinner guest that I've already decided is awesome, backs Brandi up. Of course, she understands that Adrienne is upset, but Brandi needs to clear her head before confronting the situation. Faye, obviously, doesn't feel bad about what she said, but snarked that she may send Brandi some flowers. Ugh. Go away.
Lisa brings up the fact that Brandi felt intimidated by Paul. He was definitely throwing around b-words and doing a lot of aggressive posturing. But Faye poo-poos that, believing that Brandi's making up excuses. Lisa responds with a glorious eye roll.
Meanwhile, Kyle is following a sobbing Brandi to her car, pretending to care whether or not she leaves. Kyle is so the Big Bad on this show right now. It's not even funny anymore.
Faye's caught up on Brandi mentioning the Maloofs' deep pockets, and Lisa's not feeling Faye's patronizing tone. Lisa's not "sweet" for defending Brandi. She's loyal. Plus, Adrienne isn't exactly Glenda the Good Witch. She definitely tried to shatter Lisa's reputation not too long ago.
In her confessional, Faye alleges that Lisa is using Brandi as a pawn, so that she can malign Adrienne without getting her hands dirty. Am I the only one who noticed that Faye looked like a velociraptor in that scene? A pretty velociraptor, but a velociraptor nonetheless.
Lisa goes out to lend Brandi a more enthusiastic shoulder to cry on, because Kyle isn't even trying at this point. Finally, Brandi gets into her car and leaves, and the awkward dinner party commences. Faye gives Kyle the world's crappiest apology for showing her behind. Alright. No more Faye. Ok?
The next day, Taylor's clairvoyant, Alisha, makes a house call. Normally, I would snark about that, but New Year, New Me. We are all entitled to our beliefs. She brought over a black rock to help her "discharge negativity". Taylor's been going through it lately, fighting off a huge lawsuit from a public company. She also gives her some prayer beads, and teaches her how to properly meditate.
I may not be snarking about all of this, but Bravo definitely is. That wacky music they played while Alisha taught Taylor about the sacred elixir her spirit releases when she meditates — real shady, Bravo.
Anyway, Alisha gets a vision that Taylor will get some peace, and that a settlement will be reached. Then she begins to cleanse the house with a bell and some rosewater, I believe. I was beginning to take a shine to Alisha, right up until the commercial break, when she told Taylor conspiratorially that Princess Diana told her what really happened to her. *Blank stare* Ok, woman.
Kyle's all set to do some yoga with Marisa. The instructor seems pretty patient. He almost pretends to be interested in what happened at Kyle's dinner party. Marisa was definitely turned off by the whole thing. The instructor advises them to get rid of all of that bad juju through yoga.
But he tires of their chatter, and flat out suggests they stop talking. Of course, they ignore him, because rehashing last night's events is way more important than paying attention to the man you paid to come to your house and walk you through these stretches. Poor guy.
While shopping, Lisa tells Brandi that Scheana — Lisa's employee who slept with Brandi's ex — wants to have a sit-down to end the madness. Brandi isn't the most forgiving woman in the world. Plus, Scheana did sleep with Brandi's ex-husband while she was pregnant. Of course, he's the one who actually broke vows, but Girl Code! Not sleeping with married men is at the top of the list — and it's bolded and underlined.
She eventually agrees to meet with Scheana, for Lisa. Honestly, if Lisa were truly trill, she would've fired the girl. No matter that she's been working for Lisa for three years. That's got to be a valid reason to let someone go, right? Actively sleeping with their employer's best friend's husband?
Anyway, Taylor's lawyer gives her a call. The guy who is suing her has finally realized that Taylor has very little money, and has proposed that he take Taylor's 10-carat wedding ring, instead. Obviously, this sickens Taylor to her stomach.
The lawyer admits that he didn't even want to bring it up, but it's a way out. Apparently, the slimeball also asked for two of Taylor's Hermes handbags. This is the most hood rich settlement proposal I have ever heard. Worst of all, this is a former friend, here.
Finally, we check in with Yolanda, who definitely isn't making it past this season if she keeps up with the boring maturity thing. She's cooking dinner for her kids, who seem well adjusted and respectful. So, that's dull.
Gigi, her 17-year-old that models, wants to start back playing volleyball, but Yolanda isn't for it. She's afraid it will make her put on manly muscle. There's a little tension there, but yeah. Snooze.
Brandi stops by Camille's and I'm already dreading more comments about Kelsey Grammer's penis. He and Camille are being really messy about this divorce. She says her children aren't allowed to say her name in his house. Not sure if it's the new wife, or not.
Lisa brings up the possible meeting with Scheana. Camille says it'll be good if it gives her closure, but she agrees that she wouldn't want specific details. It's nice to see Brandi get along with someone other than Lisa. Camille wants her to make sure she's prepared for all of this, but it may be cathartic for her to confront it. That way, she won't be tense every time she goes to Sur.
Oh yeah, Adrienne. We haven't seen hide or hair of her in a minute. She needed some space from the girls after the Brandi thing, which is understandable.
She and Paul are creating their own skin care line. Why the hell does Paul have on that lab coat? He is the absolute worst.
Taylor and John, her lawyer, meet Kyle, Mauricio and the Vanderpumps for dinner to celebrate the lawsuit settlement. They all seem adequately appalled that she had to give up her ring, but Kyle is right. Those are material things and Lisa is very supportive telling her that they've been worried about her, but now she has turned a corner. Plus, Ken is bopping about like he never got hip surgery. Look at this positivity!
And then John ruins it by telling Kyle that he ran into Kim at some cigar club. Kyle instantly starts to worry about her sister's sobriety. Plus, Kyle's still hung up on the fact that Kim didn't invite her to her nephew's Vegas, birthday shindig.
Now for Brandi and Scheana's meeting, which surely can't end well. Lisa wants her to remember that Scheana was "young and stupid" when she slept with Eddie, but Brandi has on this flattering, body-con mini dress so basically, she's dressed to intimidate.
Brandi accepts Scheana's apology, but she is not about to let the mistress cry — that's the hurt ex-wife's right. Especially since the mistress in question then sold the story of the affair to the press. Because after he told her he loved her and showered her with gifts and trips, he left Scheana for LeAnn Rimes? This is a real American horror story.
Then Brandi goes — and I'm paraphrasing here — "I don't care about your excuses. My life is better than yours, you skanky mistress. You were one of many." Scheana starts to try to explain that she and Eddie's relationship felt real to her, and Brandi shuts that down. Scheana thought it was real. She even introduced the guy to her mother. She is a walking cautionary tale. Pay attention, y'all.
Finally, they reach a sort of corssroads. Brandi gets in a good on-screen jab at her ex, saying he can't act for the life of him, but he could win Academy Awards for his lying. Scheana doesn't want Brandi to think that she was cruelly sleeping with her husband. Brandi then shows some maturity, saying it was Eddie's decision to cheat and Scheana was in the dark.
She wants the best for her kids and will never speak ill of their father to them. In fact, she hopes he stays with LeAnn, so they don't have to go through this again. She even gives Scheana a little shoulder pat when she leaves. Growth! Maturity! Aww.


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You are hereHome | Learn About Wildlife | Defenders Magazine | Winter 2011 | Defenders in Action: Giving Panthers More Room to Roam
Defenders in Action: Giving Panthers More Room to Roam
© George Gentry / USFWS
With all-too-frequent reports of rare panthers killed on roads as their habitat is lost to development, Florida's big cats are in urgent need of help. Enter the idea to expand the boundaries of the 26,000-acre Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge.
Last summer Defenders and other conservation groups urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expand the refuge to assist recovery of the endangered Florida panther and the many other imperiled species that share its southwest Florida home. The groups have been working with private landowners to protect crucial habitat for more than a decade.
Many of these landowners, including Sunniland Family Limited Partnership, Collier Enterprises, Alico and McDaniel Ranch, say they are willing to sell or establish conservation easements on crucial habitat in and around the Big Cypress Area of Critical State Concern in Collier and Hendry counties and connecting to the Panther Glades Florida Forever project in southeastern Hendry County. The land could amount to 50,000 additional protected acres for the panther.
Conservationists say this is a tremendous opportunity to expand the refuge—and something out of reach in the past because landowners had been unwilling to sell.
"The private lands north of the Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress National Preserve are essential components of this rare animal's core range," says Laurie Macdonald, director of Defenders' Florida office. "With just more than 100 known to live in the wild, protection of the Florida panther's occupied habitat needs to be a top priority."
Possible sources for money to buy the land include Florida Forever, the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, as well as funding available under the Endangered Species Act for landowners implementing a Habitat Conservation Plan, which is underway now for the 180,000 acres of eastern Collier County. The Land and Water Conservation Fund is supposed to have approximately $900 million authorized annually from oil-drilling royalties.


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Prepared Statement By Kenneth S. Apfel Commissioner Of Social Security
Before The House Committee On Ways And Means Subcommittee On Social Security
Subject - Information Technology Enhancements
July 29, 1999
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for inviting me to testify about the Social Security Administration's (SSA) progress on implementing information technology initiatives. These initiatives are critically important when we consider that our ability to manage our workloads now--and in the future--rests on our ability to use technology extensively and effectively, and I am proud of SSA's achievements in this area.
It is clear technology has been, and will continue to be indispensable to SSA's success in achieving the goals set forth in the Agency Strategic Plan. The success of goals such as the ability to deliver customer-responsive, world class service, to make SSA program management the best in the business, with zero tolerance for fraud and abuse, and to be an employer that values and invests in each employee, is directly linked to SSA's ability to apply advances in technology. As you yourself have noted, Mr. Chairman, computers will play a critical role in our ability to process benefit applications, pay benefits timely, and guard against fraud.
From 1992 through 1999, SSA has spent $4.3 billion on information technology to support its programs. These costs include funds spent from the Information Technology Systems budget, the automation investment fund, and salaries and expenses of information technology personnel. My testimony today will focus on how we have invested those resources and what benefits have been returned as a result of those investments. The areas I will discuss today are: SSA's preparedness for the Year 2000; automation of our disability processes; a project to provide our employees with workstations with the capability to process claims and respond to customer inquiries (also known as the Intelligent Workstation/Local Area Network or IWS/LAN project);and issuance of Social Security Statements (formerly known as Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statements, or PEBES).
Year 2000
Preparing for the change of century date--from 1999 to 2000--is one of the biggest challenges ever to face the technology industry. At SSA our national computer center maintains and operates hundreds of mission-critical systems supported by over 35 million lines of in- house computer code, as well as hundreds of commercial off-the-shelf vendor products that had to be reviewed and changed where necessary to ensure that January 2000 payments will be made correctly and on time to the nearly 50 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries who could be affected by the Year 2000 (or Y2K) changeover.
I want to thank the Subcommittee for holding this hearing and for your efforts in making the public aware of SSA's progress to make sure that we will pay benefits timely and that SSA's system will function as it should. As I testified before the Ways and Means Committee in February, SSA's benefit payment system is Year 2000 compliant. As we like to say, "We are Y2K OK." We have worked closely with the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, and the Postal Service to ensure that Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) checks and direct deposit payments for January will be paid on time. Since October 1998, payments for both Social Security and SSI programs have been made with Year 2000-compliant systems at both SSA and Treasury.
We worked with the State Disability Determination Services (DDS) to make sure that the 55 State DDSs that have automated systems to support the disability determinationprocess are Year 2000 compliant. I am happy to report that as of January 1999 all of the State DDS systems are Year 2000 compliant, tested, and implemented.
We recognize that it is not enough for SSA to be Year 2000 compliant if our trading partners are not ready. We have worked very closely with all of our trading partners. I am pleased to report that all outgoing data exchanges are Year 2000 compliant and implemented. All but three of our incoming data exchanges are compliant and implemented. The remaining three are in testing and will be implemented in early August 1999.
We have worked hard to make sure that all of our mission critical systems are Year 2000 compliant, and now we are taking steps to make sure that we do not introduce possible date defects into these systems. Whenever a system that has been Year 2000 certified is changed due to legislation or other requirements, we are recertifying the system to make sure it is still Year 2000 compliant. In addition, beginning this month we have instituted a moratorium on installation of commercial off-the-shelf software and mainframe products, and we will impose a similar moratorium in September for discretionary changes to our own software. The moratoriums will be in place through March 2000.
We have developed a detailed strategy that comprises the comprehensive set of actions that will be executed during the last days of 1999 and the first days of 2000. The strategy also includes the activities leading up to the critical century rollover date, such as identification of key personnel involved, preparation of facilities checklists, establishment of the Y2K command center, a schedule for testing all systems over the weekend, and other activities. Implementation of the strategy will ensure, to the extent possible, that SSA's facilities and systems will be fully operational on January 3, 2000--the firstbusiness day of the new century. That is, service to the public and our trading partners will continue without interruption due to the change of century date.
Finally, we recognize that our system depends on infrastructure services, such as the power grid or the telecommunications industry and third parties, which are beyond our control. In March 1998, SSA completed its Y2K Business Continuity and Contingency Plan, which is updated quarterly. The plan identifies potential risks to Agency business processes, ways to mitigate each risk, and strategies to ensure continuity of operations.
As part of the plan, we have in place local plans for each of our field offices, teleservice centers, processing centers, hearings offices, and State DDSs. We have also developed contingency plans for benefit payment and delivery. We continue to work closely with the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve to identify any Year 2000 issues that might affect direct deposit payments. While we have not identified any so far, ira problem should occur in January, the Treasury Department will quickly issue a replacement Social Security check, and SSA offices will provide emergency payment services to beneficiaries with critical needs. I do not consider Social Security's job done until timely and correct benefits are in the hands of all of our beneficiaries.
I know that we are all concerned about ensuring that all beneficiaries are paid on time, but I want to be sure to urge you to resist proposals to make the January 2000 Social Security benefit payment in December 1999. After a thorough review of the pros and cons of making payments early, the Administration determined that such action is not necessary given the readiness of agency payment systems and business continuity and contingency plans.We believe that there are risks associated with making payments early.
Such actions could easily be interpreted by the public as an indicator of the government's inability to make automated payments in January 2000. Such a signal could prove disastrous if citizens decide to withdraw their currency in anticipation of a disruption in benefits or other payments, or try to cancel electronic payments and revert to check payments. At this point, the damage that could result from public overreaction could be far more serious than technology risks resulting from potential Year 2000 problems. Moreover, providing early payments in December could require the government and industry to make additional programming changes to account for the payments with the requisite testing of those systems and would raise a number of difficult tax policy issues if there were a move to extend early payments of other transactions in the public or private sector beyond simply Social Security payments.
IWS/LAN Project
As a part of our strategic goal of delivering customer-responsive, world class service and our strategy for providing employees ready access to the information they need to serve the public as described in SSA's Strategic Plan, SSA initiated the IWS/LAN project. As you know, Mr. Chairman, the Strategic Plan paints a broad picture of SSA's future, as well as our means and strategies to achieve our long-range goals. SSA's business approach to providing world-class service while workloads grow relies on business process and information technology improvements, such as IWS/LAN. This technology is key to our business strategy because it provides employees with state-of-the-art tools to serve the public and it opens up exciting new possibilities for doing business with our customers in the future.This project establishes a national computer network including desktop computer workstations for all SSA and DDS employees supported by appropriate communications and software systems. This technology is critical in taking claims efficiently and providing online service to national 800-number callers. This project also reflects SSA's conviction that employees deserve a professional environment in which they can readily access information enabling them to increase productivity and to provide better service to the public. SSA's strategic goal--to be an employer that values and invests in each employee, relies in part on providing such tools and training needed for high quality performance.
In 1995, at the time Social Security became an independent agency, one of our first undertakings was the implementation and distribution of this new computer equipment. SSA has accomplished what many said could not be done. I am happy to report that we have successfully installed more than 75,000 workstations and 1,742 local area networks in SSA and State DDS offices throughout the country. To achieve this, we installed the new equipment in 75 offices per month, which was a major undertaking, as all installations had to be done on the weekends. I am particularly proud that these installations were accomplished without any disruption to our ability to serve the public.
SSA is currently in the process of acquiring an additional 6,900 workstations and 275 local area networks to complete the installation for all employees. This project is one of the largest information technology initiatives ever undertaken in the Federal government.
The IWS/LAN project provides the enabling infrastructure for many of the technologybased initiatives that SSA is implementing. It provides a standardized platform and architecture that now exists throughout SSA and the DDSs and our hearings and appeals offices, which I described earlier. In addition, the accomplishments of IWS/LAN pave the way for our ability to provide service electronically and exploit emerging technologies to improve service to SSA's customers.
Our redesigned title II system is a major investment that has enabled us to do our job more efficiently. That technology has allowed us to improve the services we provide, as well as the manner in which we provide those services. When the public comes in to file a claim for Social Security or Supplemental Security Income benefits, their claims are now processed faster and with greater accuracy than ever before. We are able to handle more than 70 million telephone calls per year to our 800 number by using automated responses to our customers, as well as by using technology that allows our employees to quickly locate necessary information. Our streamlined process for reporting W-2s allows us to provide more timely and accurate feedback to our nation's employers. Finally, we are now making use of the Internet to provide our customers with a wide range of SSA services. And, we are in the process of converting our processing centers from paperbound processing to paperless, electronic processing, which will make these offices more efficient, less costly to operate and will provide better services.
Automation of Disability Process
In 1992, SSA began an ambitious software development project, the Reengineered Disability System (RDS), to provide an automated disability case processing system. The primary goal of RDS was to improve service to our disability clients, by reducing processing time and providing a framework for more consistent and uniform disability decisions.Our initial plan was to develop a single system that would support all the SSA components involved in the disability process. That includes our nationwide network of field offices, the 55 State DDSs and our hearings and appeals offices. We developed a prototype system and implemented it in the pilot SSA field offices in Virginia and the Federal DDS in our Baltimore headquarters. While we achieved some success in the pilot, we ran into significant performance problems.
Because of these performance problems, we felt it would be prudent to obtain an independent evaluation of our pilot system. We delayed further pilot implementation and contracted with Booz-Allen and Hamilton to evaluate the RDS process and recommend options for proceeding.
Based on the contractor's recommendations, we are changing the way we will deploy automation to the disability process. Rather than replace all of the existing DDS systems with one central system, we will build on the strengths of the existing software systems in the DDSs, and link them electronically to an automated field office disability system, based on the RDS system we piloted in the Virginia offices. We are now calling this approach eDIB.
RDS was a very large initiative that required a substantial early investment to build the hardware and software infrastructure needed to support the prototype system. From 1992 through 1999, SSA invested a total of $4.3 billion in information technology investments; we spent a little over $71 million on this project. Roughly, one half of this $71 million investment continues to be applicable to the new strategy recommended by the independent review. Included in this is the automated system which will be used in SSAfield offices to strengthen the disability application process and enhance its cost effectiveness. The remaining half is the price we have paid to learn a number of valuable lessons in how to manage the risks associated with deploying this type of technology throughout SSA and the 55 DDSs.
Our new strategy will focus on working with the DDSs to build on their systems, providing more flexibility in the process and recognizing differences in case processing among the States. As with our successes with IWS/LAN and Y2K, SSA needs to continue to strive to apply advances in information technology to improve our disability claims process, and to do so in a way that manages the risk inherent in any technology improvements.
Mr. Chairman, let me illustrate the reason why we must automate the current disability claims process. If you were to walk into one of our offices today to file a disability claim, the SSA representative would complete a paper questionnaire to document information about your disability. The form includes doctors' names and addresses, medications you take, tests you have had performed, documentation of your daily activities, and other detailed medical information. Depending on your individual circumstances, the form might need to be supplemented by additional information concerning your vocational history. Once this was completed, we would need to assemble the folder and mail the information to the State DDS.
Compare that with the improvements an automated process would provide us and which will be facilitated by the software I mentioned earlier in my testimony. All of the information needed for the claims application will be entered electronically by the SSA interviewer using the work station and transmitted electronically to the State DDS. Wewill eliminate the mailing time delays. We will reduce the need to recontact the disability applicant because the system would assure that all questions are answered and readable. Information technology will give us a quicker, more efficient process and provide much better customer service.
An important facet of the new disability process revolves around our efforts in working with the medical community to use advanced technology to efficiently obtain an exchange of medical evidence. As you know, difficulties in obtaining medical records have a critical impact on our ability to make timely and accurate decisions on disability claims.
Our efforts in this area are focused on enabling providers to electronically transmit medical evidence quickly and securely. The ability to receive this evidence electronically will facilitate a number of steps during the disability process resulting in significant customer service improvements.
Technology improvements will also be invaluable as we work to improve the hearings process, which is a key performance indicator of our strategic plan goal to provide customer-responsive, world-class service. Our hearings office improvements initiative relies on enhanced automation and management data collection and analysis. This will facilitate the monitoring and tracking of case processing and development steps; facilitate the transfer of case-related information; help ensure the completeness of case development and analysis; and increase the efficiency of highly variable labor- intensive functions such as scheduling.
SSA and its State partners remain committed to the common goal of providing automation to improve the processing of disability claims. We plan to follow a strategy that will manage the risks involved in this initiative. By making incremental changes, bycarefully developing and evaluating our prototypes before they are put into production, and by making modest investments that build on our existing infrastructure, I am confident we will be able to significantly improve the way we manage the disability claims process.
Social Security Statements
One of SSA's basic responsibilities to the public is to help Americans understand Social Security and its importance to them and their families. As part of our public education efforts, SSA has been issuing earnings and benefit estimate statements to the public since 1988. And, as I mentioned at the beginning of my testimony, our Strategic Plan identifies strengthening public understanding of our Social Security programs as one of our five Agency Strategic goals.
So far, more than 37 million people have requested and received earnings and benefit statements--formerly known as Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statements (PEBES). In amendments to the Social Security Act in 1989 and 1990, Congress provided that SSA was to phase-in issuing PEBES by issuing them to all workers aged 60 or over in FY 1995; in FY 1996 through FY 1999 to individuals who reach age 60 in those years; and annually to all covered workers aged 25 and older beginning in FY 2000. In addition to the PEBES mailing required by law, SSA sent PEBES to increasingly younger individuals in advance of the schedule in the law. SSA sent a PEBES to workers aged 40 and older--about 73 million people--between September 1995 and March 1999.The statements we will begin to mail in October--the largest customized mailing ever undertaken by the federal government--will be our newly-designed Social Security Statement which, like its PEBES predecessor, provides estimates of Social Security retirement, disability, and survivors benefits that workers and their families could be eligible to receive now and in the future. The automatic mailings will take place at a rate of about half a million Statements per business day, with about 10 million issued each month. Workers can expect to receive their Statement each year about three months before their birthday.
SSA's computer based recordkeeping and information technology improvements will allow us to produce and mail the statements for about 56 cents each This is a considerable achievement when we consider that, when we began issuing PEBES in 1988, there were private vendors producing their own version of benefit estimate statements for individuals and charging them a fee of $10 or more.
SSA redesigned the PEBES format and language to make it easier to read and understand. We tested four prototypes with focus groups in three different age groups (ages 25-35, 36-50, and over 50). Additional public input was obtained through a mail survey of 16,000 randomly selected individuals from the same age groups. Focus group and mail survey participants alike overwhelmingly found the redesigned statement an improvement over PEBES.
I am pleased to report that the results of a recent Gallup survey, undertaken at SSA's request, revealed that individuals who had received a statement had a significantly increased basic understanding of Social Security. The survey also found that the individuals responding had an increased understanding of some important basic featuresof Social Security. This relationship validates the performance measures we use to track our progress in meeting our "Public Understanding" strategic goal: we track both the increasing number of PEBES we send to the public and the increasing public knowledge about our programs.
The information in the Statement provides workers with an easy way to determine whether their earnings (or self-employment income) are accurately posted on their Social Security record. This is important because the amount of a worker's future benefits will be based on his or her earnings record. The Statement tells how to correct inaccurately posted earnings.
We encourage workers to use the Statement to plan for their financial future. Workers can use the Statement to better plan for their financial needs when they retire, or if they become disabled or die and leave survivors.
As I said at the beginning, Mr. Chairman, SSA's ability to use technology and make systems improvements will be critical to our success as an Agency, given the workloads we will face. I am proud to report that SSA was one of only two Government agencies to receive an A grade in management of information technology from the Government Performance Project from the Alan K. Campbell Public Affairs Institute of Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.Use of technology has already enabled SSA to improve significantly the service it provides to the American people, and I would like to cite a few examples to illustrate this point:
- In 1982, it took 6 weeks for a person to receive a Social Security card from SSA. Now it takes 5 days.
- In 1982, it took 39 months to post annual wage reports to workers' earnings records. Now, this task is completed in 6 months.
- In 1982, it took four years to perform annual recomputations for beneficiaries entitled to higher benefits. Now this is done in 6 months.
- In 1982, SSA needed three weeks of computer processing time to calculate annual cost-of-living increases. Now, this done in 24 hours.
- In 1982, it took 15 days to issue an emergency replacement payment. This is done now in 5 days.
I am pleased with these achievements, but I believe that SSA can do better. In time, we believe the investments in automation technology that SSA has made in recent years will be vitally important in enabling SSA to manage the increasing workloads it will experience in coming years.
As we look to the future, access to data will be vitally important to SSA's future plans to improve program integrity. For this purpose, the Administration supports the House-passed bipartisan "Foster Care Independence Act of 1999" (H.R. 1802), which includes provisions for data matches, and I would like to commend the Committee, Mr. Chairman, for your efforts on this bill. H.R. 1802 expands the pool of data available for making SSI eligibility and payment determinations by requiring frequent SSA matches with the Health Care Financing Administration and by facilitating electronic exchanges of information from financial institutions about financial assets owned by SSI applicants and beneficiaries. It is data matches, such as these, that will help SSA continuously guard the integrity of our programs.
Throughout its almost 65-year history, Social Security has made a difference in the lives of Americans, and we have a responsibility to be careful stewards of our programs both now and as we move into the 21 st century. As demonstrated in our Agency Strategic Plan, we have ambitious goals, and I am proud of those computer systems achievements which will provide the framework for us to achieve them. I look forward to working closely with the members of this Subcommittee in that spirit on these important endeavors, and would be happy to answer any questions you might have.


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Reuters' Alexei Oreskovic just spotted this blacked out mystery sign hanging high at the Moscone Center, where Apple is about to reveal a whole bunch of expensive things to buy. What one will this be? We don't know! Soon. Soon.
We already have a pretty good idea of what Apple's dropping today, so what the hell is this shrouded thing? Could it be the retina display MacBook Pro we're tickling ourselves with delight over? A new AirPort router? An iPhone 6 running Symbian? Maybe it's just a large mirror to force all attendees to contemplate their lives. All will be known very soon—hit our live coverage to know as soon as possible. [Reuters]


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Woman who died during kidnapping ID'd
A woman who was kidnapped Tuesday and later killed has been identified by the Bexar County medical examiner's office as 21-year-old Yvette Ramos.
The identity of the man who kidnapped Ramos has not been determined. He was shot and killed during an altercation with a sheriff's deputy, reports say.
San Antonio police responded to a gun disturbance call about 6 a.m. Tuesday in the 1300 block of Patricia Drive on the North Side.
Officers later were notified that Ramos' mother and another witness called Ramos to ask why she was late to drop off her children. Ramos answered in tears, stating that a man was with her at the residence, he had a gun and that he "was going to kill her," a police report states.
Officers searched for man, who they believed was holding Ramos and her children without consent, the report says. A witness later told police the victim and the man dropped off the children.
As the police searched for the man, they discovered he was in Bexar County, which prompted the department to contact Bexar County Sheriff's Office for assistance.
A motorcycle patrol deputy, nine-year veteran Ramiro Sanchez, found the man about 8 a.m.
The man was driving toward the deputy in a black Toyota Camry in the 21600 block of Spanish Grant, sheriff's spokesman Paul Berry said.
The vehicle slowed down and Sanchez got off his motorcycle and reportedly saw the man shoot Ramos as she attempted to get out of the vehicle.
Ramos later died at San Antonio Military Medical Center, Berry said.
An altercation ensued, and the kidnapping suspect was shot and killed. Officials are investigating whether Sanchez shot the man or if he shot himself, Berry said.
Sanchez is on administrative leave while the investigation continues, which is standard operating procedure, Berry said.
"When he feels ready and the investigation is done, he'll come back to the force," he said.


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The Arizona Cardinals are no longer among the ranks of the undefeated.
Arizona's offense couldn't do much of anything on Thursday night in St. Louis, stalling repeatedly on the ground and through the air as the Rams won 17-3. Their first loss of the season drops the Cardinals to 4-1, while the Rams improve to 3-2, already topping their win total from their 2-14 season in 2011 and having their first winning record at any point during any season since Week Eight of 2006.
The Rams' pass rush was ferocious, pressuring Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb all night, sacking him nine times and keeping him from ever getting comfortable in the pocket. Although Kolb's numbers — 28-of-50 for 289 yards, with no interceptions — don't look terrible, he couldn't do much of anything except dump off short passes.
On offense, the Rams struggled mightily after their best receiver, Danny Amendola, went down with a broken collarbone. But with their defense dominating the Rams didn't need much, and when Rams quarterback Sam Bradford hit Chris Givens for a 51-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, it pretty much sealed the game. Bradford completed just seven of his 21 passes, but three of those completions were a 44-yard bomb to Amendola, a seven-yard touchdown to Lance Kendricks and that 51-yard touchdown to Givens. That turned out to be all the Rams needed from their quarterback.
After surprising everyone by starting 4-0, the Cardinals looked more like the team everyone expected them to be on Thursday night. The Cardinals may still turn out to be a good team, but they're not going to win many games putting three points on the board.


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Sony has finally unveiled a phone to replace the Xperia S as a flagship product. The Xperia T packs quite a punch, although isn't exactly powerful compared to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy S III or HTC One X.
Inside is a 1.5 GHz Qualcomm Krait dual-core chip paired with 1GB of RAM. In the hand, with Ice Cream Sandwich on board, the phone ticks along pretty nicely. In fact, dare we say, this is the snappiest handset Sony has ever released.
The real highlight with the Xperia T though is the screen which, like most of Sony's other smartphones, is very impressive. The 4.6-inch 720p HD Reality Display dominates the phone's design and boasts some good viewing angles. Even under the messy lights of IFA, this phone was turning out bright and saturated images as well as really great-looking video, thanks to the built in Bravia engine. This is definitely a phone you need to see up close to understand what makes it so special.
As for the handset's design itself, it isn't hugely exciting. Taking a leaf out the Xperia S's book, it looks more or less the same, except with a larger screen. Think of phones like the HTC Titan and you aren't far off. The materials are good quality and the handset has a nice solid weight to it, something that you would expect from a flagship handset.
Also thrown in is NFC. Sony is continuing to push its NFC capabilities, showing off how the phone can pair instantly with things such music players. This is all well and good, providing you stay within Sony's product ecosystem. Then the NFC works very well.
The 13-megapixel camera on the back with 16x digital zoom is another highlight. Capable of Full HD 1080p video, this really is as close to a compact as a smartphone has come. Couple this with a responsive enough performance and you have a phone that can take on the likes of the One X and the SGS III. The 1850 mAh battery should also ensure it outdoes them in the power department, which is no bad thing. Oh yeah, and James Bond is going to be using it in the new Skyfall movie, which is damn cool.
Like the sound of the new Xperia T? Let us know in the comments below ...


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An Echo Through the Snow
Author: Andrea Thalasinos
Publisher: Forge Books
Release Date: August 21, 2013
Rosalie MacKenzie is headed nowhere until she sees Smokey, a Siberian husky suffering from neglect. Rosalie finds the courage to rescue the dog, and—united by the bond of love that forms between them—they save each other. Soon Rosalie and Smokey are immersed in the world of competitive dogsled racing. Days are filled with training runs, the stark beauty of rural Wisconsin, and the whoosh of runners on snow. Rosalie discovers that behind the modern sport lies a tragic history: the heartbreaking story of the Chukchi people of Siberia. When Stalin's Red Army displaced the Chukchi in 1929, many were killed and others lost their homes and their beloved Guardians—the huskies that were the soul and livelihood of their people.
Sometimes when I have a few minutes at the library, I love just browsing through the shelves and seeing the random books that look intriguing. The other day, I was doing just that on the new releases shelf when I came across An Echo Through the Snow. The first thing about it that caught my eye was the starkness of the cover, with just the picture of the dog and a woman. Then after reading the description, I decided to take a chance on it because I was sufficiently intrigued.
While this is primarily a story about rescuing of dogs, dog sled racing and the history of how the Siberian husky came to be in the US, it is also a story about finding your place in the world. How for so many people we bounce around from job to job, the day in drudgery making people unmotivated to succeed and just floundering…but when that place in the world is found, the all of the pieces click into place…and that was how Rosalie's story played out. I loved seeing her blossom as a young woman and finding her place in the world. Originally, I thought that she was a bit older than she turned out to be (18, vice in her mid-20's) – but I think that added to her innocence during parts of the book.
The use of the flashbacks to the early 20th century and a period of Russian history, I had heard of vaguely but didn't know a lot about. It is interesting to see how different books are starting to encompass that period of history now that they are free to write about it. But at the same time, they were a bit disjointed – I didn't realize for a while how exactly they were going to be linked – it wasn't like they were person flashbacks in history/familial connections, but rather dream-time kind of stories, which I could see being linked into Rosalie's Native American heritage.
I think that my biggest complaint was how quickly everything seemed to progress – ultimately, the entire story took place in just under a years time – but it felt like it was moving really quickly and that everything fell into place a bit too quickly…I would have loved to have seen it drawn out a little bit more, maybe even only a couple more months to a year. But for the most part, my complaints about the book are few and far between. I enjoyed reading it and learned a lot about the sport of dog sledding (and it kind of makes me want to read some more about it and maybe travel somewhere to see a race – yes, I am that insane…). Overall, I would give this a 3.5, but rounding up to 4 stars. I think that it is a book that would probably be enjoyed by women, but I think also older teenagers, might enjoy it.


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Mineralogy Motivation - A Real-Life Tale of Woe
I teach mineralogy (do you feel my pain?). Mineralogy has a reputation for being a "weed out" course, and not very many students look forward to taking this class. In addition, in our department I've encountered another problem: we have a degree option in paleontology, and students who self-select this option basically want to be Jack Horner and head out to the hills to dig up dinosaur bones. The problem is that they place very little value in the full range of geoscience content knowledge and skills required for a degree in our geology program. By their way of thinking, it seems like these are just hoops to jump through, and most of the curriculum is irrelevant to their interests. Colleagues who teach required courses at other institutions report similar reactions from some of their students. In the first meeting with my mineralogy class, I try to patiently explain the relevance of this course and that even paleo majors will indeed need to know some mineralogy that will be useful in studies of taphonomy, diagenesis, mineralogical replacements of bones and eggshells, etc. But, the response is one of benign disinterest at best (lack of participation in class activities, glazed over looks in lecture, a focus on pulling split ends...) and even open defiance and hostility. I've got a mess on my hands. The discontent of this small group has infected the entire class environment.
Questions and Responses
These questions were posed to participants at the 2007 workshop in the form of a gallery walk ice breaker. The responses were gathered as comments that the participants wrote as they progressed through the walk.
- Question 1
- What could I have done better on the first day of class (and subsequently) to avert this situation? Is there something about student pre- and misconceptions that I should be aware of? Does this specific example point to strategies that instructors can use broadly to ensure that all students become engaged in a class from the first day, and remain engaged throughout the semester?
- Talking heads don't do any good-it doesn't matter what they say
- Make a case study - a mystery to solve (forensics?)
- Essay assignment to relate course content to their own interest (choose a week in a given semester) -> internalize
- Tie curriculum back into the framework of the big picture
- Show tectonic relationship (context)
- Mineral uses in everyday life (example: household products)
- Make it relevant (jewelry)
- Concept mapping
- Demonstrate the diversity and beauty of minerals by facilitating an unguided inquiry
- All kinds of specimens (school museums?)
- Note where students gravitate and what their questions are
- Enthusiasm! Show your love of the subject! Ask students to write what they most want to learn about mineralogy
- Question 2
- What do I do now to salvage what's left of the class? How does motivation play in the design of your courses?
- Engage student by having formative assessment
- What have you learned?
- What questions do you still have?
- Shift from "sage on the stage" to "guide on the side" (sorry for the cliches)
- Ask students about their interests-build on those. What do they want to do with their lives?
- Acknowledge the problem and engage students in their feelings and thoughts
- One minute paper-"what are you hearing me say?"
- Help students understand that what they do in this class has many applications elsewhere
- Do section on biogenic minerals
- Ask-what does mineralogy have to do with paleontology?
- What minerals are involved in the process of fossilization?
- PBL - give them bones - modern and fossil - project: how do these differ?


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Modern gift ideas for the eccentric in your life
Posted by
Nicole |
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Everyone has a friend or relative that's… 'special'.
I know you know what I'm talking about.
They're fun to be around but a pain to shop for.
Here are 5 quirky gifts ideas for the eccentric in your life:
1. Give them a pet that can't die. Thomas Paul Goldfish Linen Pillow, $94.
2. A robot that doesn't require batteries. David Weeks Cubebot, starting at $25.
3. It glows in the dark. Hybrid-Home Limited Edition Print, starting at $40.
4. For the cat lady. Elizabeth Paige Smith Kittypod Mini Standard, $98.
5. For those who like gags. Heather Lins Home 3-D Eye Chart Pillow, $95.


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Blain Crop Halter
De Lacy
De Lacy
- Cotton blend
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- Revolve Style No. DELC-WS17
- Manufacturer Style No. SU15010
- Modeled in size S.
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- Size Guide
True to its home and true to what women want, De Lacy is the LA-based line that effortlessly transforms wardrobe staples into luxurious favorites. With collections that include everything from the wear everywhere tank to maxi skirts made for a day in Venice, this line is California cool, but still chic enough to be worn to that big event.
If an item you would like to purchase is out of stock, you can place a Special Order Inquiry. REVOLVE will then check the availability and obtain an approximate arrival date for the item, if available. Typically, it takes up to 3-4 weeks to verify this information.
Placing a Special Order Inquiry is absolutely free and there is no obligation to follow through with a purchase.
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Just like a quick stroll through the cruise night parking lot will confirm the dominance of GM overdrive automatics on the street, walking down the staging lanes of any dragstrip will reveal an equally overwhelming number of Powerglides and TH400s. Whether the race cars in question are street/strip machines, Chevys, Fords, Mopars, Top Alcohol dragsters, or 3,000hp Outlaw 10.5 beasts, when it comes to drag racing transmissions it's GM or bust. That's because street transmissions make an excellent foundation for drag race transmissions, and since long before the muscle era GM has dominated the market. In applications that require the ultimate in durability, Powerglides and TH400s have always been the gold standard, but which is best for your application? Furthermore, thanks to the demands of Super Stock racers that bite and claw for every fraction of a horsepower, modern TH350s can now survive behind 900-plus horsepower motors, which as unheard of just 10 years ago. Building the perfect drag automatic is a balancing act among durability, efficiency, and low mass, so to learn more about them we consulted with some of the most well-known trans builders around. Our panel includes Stan Poff of TCI Automotive; Zack Farah of Gearstar; and Rob Sappe, J.C. Beattie Jr., Rick Hults, and Jim Beattie Sr. of ATI. Let's get schooled on what goes into a thoroughbred drag transmission, shall we?
Powerglide Versus Th400
Rob Sappe:
The Powerglide and TH400 have established themselves as the benchmarks of durability in competitive drag racing. Some applications are better suited for a Powerglide, and in others a TH400 is a better choice. For cars that weigh less than 3,200 pounds, launch violently, or are traction limited, the Powerglide is the best choice. In theses types of applications, a Powerglide is the ultimate in consistency as well. On the other hand, for cars that will see any street time at all, a TH400 is a better option. In race cars, compared to a Powerglide a Th400 is better suited for cars with large tires and taller rearend gearing. Heavier cars need three speeds to help get them up and running. Another three-speed option is the TH350. IT's not as strong as a TH400 in terms of ultimate strength, but still very popular for most street/strip applications.
TH350 Alternative
Zack Farah:
The TH350 is a great compromise between the TH400 and Powerglide. Like the TH400, it has three forward gears, but not as much rotating mass. The trade-off is that it requires a few high-dollar components to get up to snuff with either the Powerglide or TH400, especially if you expect to get a full season of racing out of it without snapping the input shaft or intermediate sprag. In stock trim both the Powerglide and TH400's drums, planetaries, and shafts will take more abuse than the TH350. However, when a TH350 is upgraded with a sprag-type intermediate overrun clutch, a 300M input shaft, a late 700-R4 low roller clutch center support, premium racing frictions and steels, and a shift kit, it can be brought up to par with entry-level Powerglides and TH400s that have been upgraded with premium frictions and steels. The aftermarket offers much more for Powerglides and TH400s to take these units into the 1,000-plus horsepower arena. A Th350 will rarely survive at those horsepower levels.
Rob Sappe:
Performance differences between GM transmissions are usually the most important factors for drag racers, but size, weight, and efficiency are very important considerations as well. A Powerglide and a TH400 do not vary much in width, but length difference will range from 18 inches on a dragster-style Powerglide to 28 inches in a door car. A TH400 width a standard 4-inch extension housing measures 29.5 inches, although there are rare cases where a TH400 could be 34.5 or 38.5 inches. Weight-wise, ATI's lightest Powerglide in a Supercase is 100 pounds, a standard weight Powerglide in a Supercase is 120 pounds, and an OEM-cased Powerglide is roughly 105 pounds. On the other hand, a TH400 can weigh up to 139 pounds with a deep pan. In terms of efficiency, a Powerglide will take roughly 18 hp to turn its internal mass while the TH400 uses roughly 44 hp.
Reaction Time
J.C. Beattie Jr.:
Unless you cut good, consistent lights, you're not going to win races. That being the case, several modifications can be made to the transbrake to ensure quick response time and consistent performance. At ATI, we offer both fast-releasing 'brakes in addition to slower 'brakes. Some drivers need to slow down, believe it or not. Griner has long been known for procuring fast-releasing and hard-shifting transbrakes. A few things can be done internally to transmissions for quicker response as well. In a Powerglide, the transbrake is engaged by holding Low gear with the band and Reverse with the clutches. You can work with the Reverse clutch area to get the fluid out of the cavity more quickly, making the Reverse clutches disengage sooner.
OE Durability
Rick Hults:
Although they were often installed behind six-cylinder engines from the factory, stock Powerglide parts are remarkably robust. pwowerglides that were installed behind V-8s from the factory came equipped with a heavier-duty 1.76:1 ratio planetary set, while Powerglides installed behind four- and six-cylinder engines had a 1.82:1 planetary set. The stock 1.76:1 planetary can hadnle 700-750 hp, while the 1.82:1 ratio planetary is rated at 500-550 hp. In factory Powerglides, the planetary sets were the only real internal difference. The case and all other internal components are essentially the same in terms of strength and durability characteristics. So, all in all, the strongest OE-style Powerglide is good for 750 hp in a 3,000-pound car without a lot of power adders. Of course, with all the aftermarket cases, internals, and valvebody reworks that are available these days, we are holding more than 3,000 hp in 2,600-pound cars.
Powerglide Perks
Zack Farah:
As a two-speed trans, one of the greatest advantages of running a Powerglide in a drag car is its inherent efficiency. Compared to a TH400, a Powerglide requires a third the amount of horsepower to rotate. Likewise, the Powerglide offers several different First gear ratios to suit a wide range of applications, including 1.76:1, 1.82:1, 1.96:1, 2.0:1, and 2.20:1 ratios. The TH350 and TH400, in comparison, don't have nearly as many gear ratio options. More gear ratios mean more components to spin and counter spin by creating more inertia to overcome. As Newton's Law says, objects at rest stay at rest and objects in motion stay in motion. Along with the inertia and horsepower required to get these clutch drums spinning, there is also parasitic drag exerted by the Second and Third gear clutches, which also increase drag and resistance to acceleration. In a Powerglide, having two gears instead of three greatly reduces these drawbacks. There are also a ton of different aftermarket case options for the Powerglide, as well as just about every type of transbrake setup imaginable.
Rotating Weight Reduction
J.C. Beattie Jr.:
Horsepower that's used to turn a transmission over is horsepower that isn't making it to the rear tires. That said, numerous measures can be taken to remove a significant amount of rotating weight inside a transmission to reduce parasitic power loss by using bearings where needed, you can lower e.t.'s by a tenth of a second. The first areas to focus on for weight reduction are the largest parts with the biggest diameters. This is usually the forward and direct drums. Likewise, you can remove the excess material from the case itself. Hollow and titanium bolts are another option, and other internal parts are often fly cut and milled to reduce mass. As we like to say in the transmission business, to get to a pound in weight reduction you must remove 16 ounces first!
Zack Farah:
The effects of rotating mass is simple physics. Each and every component, such as the clutch drums, shafts, and planetary gearset, contribute to rotating mass. In the TH400, for instance, the heaviest rotating component is the direct clutch drum. At 12 pounds in cast-steel form, it will last forever. On the other hand, aircraft-grade aluminum drums are available that weigh half as much, but they cost $850 and will only last one or two seasons of racing before spline wear or ring grove damage render them useless. Consequently, efforts to reduce rotating mass are always a compromise. Lightweight parts will free up horsepower, but these components have a limited lifespan. A closer look at a TH400 direct clutch drum reinforces why this is the case. It weighs a substantial 12 pounds, and in First gear, it must counter rotate at 85 percent of engine rpm. After shifting into Second gear, the drum's inertia is stopped by the intermediate clutch / direct drum sprag. That means that if your engine is turning 6,500 rpm, the direct drum is spinning at 5,525 rpm. Not only must it absorb its own rotating mass, but also the mass of the planetary set as well as the horsepower and the inertia of the vehicle when the direct clutch drum is brought to a stop. Reducing parasitic drag by 50 percent requires an expensive aluminum clutch drum with a limited service life. The direct clutch drum represents perhaps 20 percent of the total parasitic drag and is the most readily addressable, and offers the most return in terms of reducing parasitic drag.
Jim Beattie Sr.:
Vasco, 9310, 4340, and 300M are materials commonly used in heavy-duty gearsets and shafts. Each of these metals offers a different degree of strength versus cost. A the bottom of the scale is 4340 carbon steel, which has a tensile strength of 238,000 psi and yield strength of 230,000 psi. The next higher grade of metal is 300M, which is basically 4340 with added silicone content. This results in a tensile strength of 286,000 psi and yield strength of 245,000 psi. It's generally a higher quality and stronger forging than 4340, making it ideal for input shafts. The ultimate in strength is Vasco C350 steel, which has 12 percent cobalt content, 18 percent nickel, and 5 percent molybdenum. This results in a tensile strength of 350,000 psi, and yield strength of 340,000 psi. A common metal used to manufacture gears is 9310, and its sterngth is directly dependent on the type of heat-treated process it's subjected to. It has a tensile strength of 130,000 psi, and yield strength of 155,000 psi. ATI also uses Aermet 100 and AF1410 for input shafts.
Obviously, strength isn't the only consideration. Naturally 4340 steel is the most affordable material, while Aermet and AF1410 are the most expensive. Regular 4340 can be purchased for $0.59 per inch, while 300M jumps to $2 an inch. Vasco, on the other hand, is $18 per inch in a 1.125-inch diameter. Aermet at AF1410 are only available in large mill runs and cost roughly $30,000 per load.
Stan Poff:
Vasco and 9310 are both of the "vaccumelt" family of metals. There are different grades of these metals, and some are more suitable for certain applications than others. We used 4340 metal when it was popular 15 years ago. Then we graduated to 9310, which is pretty much what pro ring gears in rearends are made from. The next step in progression was moving on to Vasco, which is available in different grades. Some grades are better for gears and other grades are better for input shafts. Today, some of the Vasco materials used in transmissions have been surpassed by other aerospace materials that double or even triple the strength of Vasco.
Surface Area
Jim Beattie Sr.:
Increasing the number of clutch packs and using oversized sprags and bands are common tricks to increase the surface area of a transmission's power-holding components. The catch is that more surface area equates to greater frictional horsepower loss, so there must be a balance between these two factors. From a durability standpoint, increasing the number of clutches is a good thing, provided you have enough clearance for the additional clutches. More clutches equal more surface area that is capable of more holding power, but with the trade-off of increased drag. If you have disposable horsepower, then there is no point of diminishing returns. Just make your transmission as strong as possible. However, if you are running Stock Eliminator then you really don't want to overdo it, and having the correct number of clutches for your horsepower and weight is very important. Of course, oversized or an increased number of elements in a sprag increases its holding power as well, as do oversized bands.
Stan Poff:
Heat is the big monster lurking in the shadows that will destroy a transmission once the fluid has broken down and lost its viscosity. I recommend always running a temperature gauge to know how hot the transmission is getting. If it is staying between 160 and 180 degrees, change it every 40-50 passes. If at the end of a run you see temperatures ranging in the 200-230 degree mark, measures should be taken to reduce the operating temperature and fluid changes should be performed more frequently. In applications where temperature stays low, thinner fluids can be used. In cars where temperatures run high, thicker fluid needs to be used. Stockers, Super Stockers, and Comp Eliminator racers often use thinner fluids for e.t. purposes. The big horsepower engines equipped with automatics- some of which can reach 3,200-plus horsepower – usually run thicker fluids. TCI Automotive offers its Max Shift transmission fluids in several different weights to better cover all applications
Zack Farah:
For maximum longevity, a drag transmission should be serviced every week. After the race weekend, the pain should be dropped and inspected on Monday so in the even there was any unusual debris there will be time to get it out and serviced before the next race day. In a Powerglide or a TH350, the filter is a screen and should be removed and cleaned. TH400s use either a felt or screen element type of filter. If it is a felt-type filter, it should be replaced weekly, and new ones can be purchased from a GM dealership. The pan gasket should also be replaced if necessary and torqued to 12-15 lb-ft. I recommend topping the trans off with high-quality brand-name Dexron/Mercon fluid whenever it is serviced.
Stan Poff:


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Gas, Food, and Lodging
Abbeville Press, 1982 - Antiques & Collectibles - 132 pages
Postcards and photographs depicting gas stations, motels, and diners are accompanied by a discussion of the changing roadside landscape of the United States
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What's happened in the business of video games this past week ...
QUOTE | "Immaturity and multiplayer gaming go hand in hand."—Ethan Levy, design consultant, talking in depth about the new player experience in League of Legends and why it should be improved.
QUOTE | "It can take video games in general to a new place."—Indie developer Jonathan Blow (The Witness) on the huge potential of Valve's VR headset and his intent to support it and other VR devices.
QUOTE | "The truth is indie developers don't necessarily need publishers."—Majesco VP Casey Lynch, on why a publisher has formed indie label Midnight City to serve indie developers.
STAT | 20 million—Number of copies of Skyrim that Bethesda Softworks has sold so far since its November 2011 release; this puts the game among the top 20 selling titles of all time.
QUOTE | "We actually think the launch of the new console systems will help lift the PC game business because there is large overlap between console and PC gamers."—Analyst David Cole of DFC Intelligence on growth in PC gaming, as they revised their projection for the PC game market in 2014 from $22 billion to $25 billion.
STAT | $1.2 billion—Amount of revenue GungHo Entertainment, publisher of Puzzle & Dragons, expects this fiscal year; over $700 million of that amount is net profit.
QUOTE | "I think Microsoft is committed to the 360 for a number of years and I anticipate both Sony and Microsoft getting behind their platforms at least for the next two years."—EA COO Peter Moore, on why he thinks the Xbox 360 and the PS3 business will remain strong.
STAT | 15 million—Number of 3DS consoles sold so far in Japan, combining sales of all models; still, the 3DS is not meeting Nintendo's earlier sales projections for the 3DS line which it cut by 25%.
STAT | 51 million—Number of iPhones Apple sold in the last three months of 2013, up 7% from 2012; the company also sold 26 million iPads, up 14% from 2012.
STAT | 11—Number of consecutive years of growth for casual games company Big Fish, which had $266 million in revenue for 2013; Big Fish began on PC and now gets more than half its revenue on mobile.
This Week in the Business courtesy of GamesIndustry International
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