text:
National Tyre Assistance
Collision Repairs
Truck Seats
NEED A TRUCK? GO TO:
#Daimler #Iveco #JustTruckin #Keeponmoving #MercedesBenz #News #NZTA #OtherStories #PeopleAndTransport #RTF #Scania #ScaniaTrucks #Volvo #VolvoTrucks #weather
MAIN TEST - Making sense
Brand loyalty is something all suppliers strive for, the ultimate demonstration of a sound product backed by genuine people. When it comes to New Zealand's unique enclave of the International brand, you won't find loyalty in much bigger doses than from Brian Aitchison, MMM Cartage.
"I've got a hell of a lot of respect for those guys eh, Comer, Hugh and all that. We go back a hell of a long way and I've bought a lot of gear off them over the years you know. They're bloody top people. Top, top people!" That was how our conversation with Brian Aitchison, owner of Rangiriri-based MMM Cartage started. Brian went to great lengths to impress upon us from the start what he thinks of the International product assembled and sold here in New Zealand, and the people who form ranks in 'these parts' behind one of the world's biggest, oldest, and most respected brands.
"I mean look at this truck, what a beautiful machine. It's only done 57,000 kilometres sure, but come on. This'll bloody do me, Dave. She's a bloody beauty." We met Brian and the new International ProStar R6 in the small industrial hamlet of Kopu at the base of the Western Coromandel Peninsula. He was taking a load of aggregate from the Kaipara Ltd-owned Smythes Quarries on the fringes of the Hauraki Plains, to the Firth batching plant in Whitianga in the eastern Coromandel. It's a roughly 225-kilometre round trip that'll take a little over four hours to complete; that's about a 56km/h average. Climbing into the ProStar you're instantly greeted with a sense of lightness and airiness, along with an immediate appreciation of the cab's visibility. For us there are instant flashbacks to the Kenworth T360 launch. But what makes the ProStar so cool is this ain't no concrete mixer. As you settle in and Brian sets sail, that sound coming from the pointy end is so familiar, as is the rate of progress!
Photo: Quarry life, and Lonesome Dove is blazing the trial.
Brian's a one-man one-truck operation subcontracting to Kaipara Ltd delivering all manner of aggregate to all manner of customers in the broader Auckland region and as far afield as required, the Coromandel being a prime example. The ProStar replaced an International WorkStar, also bought new from Intertruck Distributors (NZ) Ltd. "The WorkStar was a good machine but just struggled a bit on these sort of runs," said Brian. "We come out here quite a bit so an upgrade was needed. The WorkStar had the company [N 13] 475 horsepower engine, and like I say was honest, but this is a whole different ballgame, this just eats it, eh mate?" The truck's name, Lonesome Dove, came about for two reasons. Firstly, Brian rates the Brad Pitt film of the same name as one of his favourites, and second, this ProStar is the first one sold into ex quarry to customer aggregate distribution. As Brian pointed out, there's been a number sold on more bulk and linehaul tip work, but the task of delivering direct to customers on a continuous basis from a big hole in the side of a hill is Lonesome Dove's trail to blaze…and blaze it she most certainly has.
Photo: Turnaround times are down to just a few minutes.
So you wanna cart some stuff?
The sleek, elegant and socially unobtrusive snout of the ProStar belies the brute lurking within. Up front is our old friend the Euro 5 Cummins X15 coupled Quarry life, and Lonesome Dove is blazing the trial. to an Eaton two-pedal UltraShift PLUS 18-speed automated manual transmission (AMT), meaning it has ADEPT (Advanced Dynamic Efficient Powertrain Technology). Just to recap, in Cummins/Eaton speak, ADEPT means if this US sourced driveline was a family it would be the Waltons, a harmonious productive union with never a cross word. The ADEPT smarts (SmartTorque and SmartCoast) optimise the engine's performance and fuel burn via a constant electronic conversation between the X15 and transmission on interesting topics like load, speed, and grade. Brian's gone for the engine rerate option and the ProStar's red warrior pumps out 459kW (615hp) at 1800rpm and 2780Nm (2050lb/ft) of torque between 1100 and 1600rpm. Bearing the burden of all this prior to its arrival at the gearbox is an Eaton Fuller ECA (Electronic Clutch Actuation) 15.5" twin-plate 7-spring clutch, the ECA bit meaning 'no pedal Pal'.
Front axle is Meritor MFS 16-143A Wide Track rated at 7.25 tonne with 50° wheel cut on 3-leaf parabolic springs and shocks. Bringing up the rear are Meritor RT46-160GP axles at 4.1:1 with independently operated inter-axle and cross-locks. The driven pair ride on IROS (International Ride Optimised Suspension) 4-bag suspension. Brakes are drum with EBS (and ABS) and auto slackadjusters, and the Jacobs Intebrake takes care of the auxiliary anchors. Obviously disc brakes are an option. So that's 'how' the ProStar carts its stuff, but it's the amount of 'stuff ' that determines whether or not you make more money, and that's an area International have always been strong in. Brian runs the 7-axle unit on standard weights, but with the truck ready to receive its first bucket full at 9500kg tare and the Transport and General Transport Trailers 4-axle trailer at 5400kg, he can still dump over 30,000kg out the back doors without all the HPMV palaver. Handy.
Show me a hill
Okay, let's. How about a state highway that still holds the title of the most recent one to be surveyed and cut as a whole new road through a previously unbreached main divide, the Coromandel's State Highway 25a, known locally among the fraternity as the Kopu-Hikuai or 'Kopu-Hik'. Opened in 1967 and sealed end-to-end by 1973, the road forms the main artery from western Coromandel to the east, and harbours some significant truck traffic on a daily basis. Because the road cut a new path for a considerable portion of its length, there was no need to conform to corner radiuses originally intended for horses and the like.
That being the case, the government of the day decided if they were going to spend the dosh they'd future-proof it by stipulating that no corner was to have a safe cornering speed of less than 30mph. That was fantastic foresight – yes, we know what you're thinking – and means the road is not crippled by switchbacks a la Mt Messenger and co, and still forms a more than effective carriage to this day. The Kopu-Hikuai rises from sea level some 400m to its highest point before descending back to sea level again. It might not break too many records on summit heights, but its design and construction mean it's an epic truck pull! Just like the Kaimais a tad further down the range on the other side of Mt Te Aroha, if you want to know what she'll do, this road is your boy.
Photos: The constant turns and undulations on the Tairua hill. Brian takes a wide swing on the summit corner.
It wasn't long before the horses corralled beneath the ProStar's snout were out for a gallop. It's not always just sheer guts up a climb that saves precious seconds: winding our way steadily up the Kerikeri Valley toward the base of the main divide, the truck's ability to slow for the corners that come one after another and then accelerate back to an acceptable straight line speed before buttoning off again, was clearly evident. In these conditions a capable truck will be less than a speck in the mirrors of an athletic truck before the real climbing even starts, and that pretty much summarised the WorkStar/ProStar difference. With today's big iron, even if they slip off the sweet spot for whatever reason, 90 percent of the time you can just put them back there with the throttle. The challenge as we see all too often nowadays, sadly, is not letting the horses gallop off. There are no worries on that count in this office. It was an effortless progression and the ProStar's capabilities were by far the most significant contributors to the relaxed in-cab environment.
The Kerikeri No 2 bridge marks the start of serious ascension and the ProStar was into it. The steepest part of the west to east transit is on this first stage up to what's known as 'Huck's flat', and the truck momentarily sees 38km/h in 11th and 1600rpm. Once again, Brian drives the truck in manual when things are 'serious', and is adamant about where he wants his charge to spend its day. "I drive it between 1550 and 1850rpm, Dave," he said. "That's where I've been told to drive it for longevity, and the people who gave me that advice know their stuff when it comes to a Cummins. And it's proving itself in terms of economy; the engine must be happy because it's returning a steady 2.2kpl even this early in its life."
Photo: The ProStar crests the Stadia hill on the Kopu-Hikuai Road.
It's a very Craig Kelly [Uhlenberg Haulage] approach to driving. Brian says the torque is one of the truck's most impressive features, which is fair comment because even though he's choosing to operate it in the top half of the performance band, the engine is still almost at the torque peak when Brian's bottom number of 1550rpm comes up. Add the impetus that driving the truck in the power band (rather than the torqueband) provides, and you'll need topography's equivalent of the Hulk on a grumpy day to beat it into submission. Over the summit and it's down a long continuous gradient the thick end of four kilometres long that winds through box cuttings and finishes with a long, steep, straight section through a rock canyon called the Andesite cut, the scene of many a flaming brake drum. Luckily it in turn rolls out on to a long straight known as the 'one tonne straight' (for obvious reasons) that's been a lifesaver for many a truck driver, and a licence loser for many a youth and motorcyclist. Thankfully there were no dramas in store today. Brian is an old-school descender in every sense of the word, a living lesson in how to get 48 tonne to the bottom of a ravine with no fuss and bother.
In fact, his approach is worth further consideration given the X15's Intebrake traits. We've talked before about the performance of the Jacob's Intebrake in mid-range revs, delivering 336kW (450hp) at 1500rpm, and that's exactly where Brian uses it. "Mate, I pay the bills, and engine brakes aren't easy on engines. I hear other drivers with the engines right at the top end with the engine brake screaming. This is plenty good enough around 1500rpm." The ProStar found its way down from the summit with a controlled note to the engine brake and just an occasional brush on the brake pedal. Driving trucks is about managing energy; the minute you understand that your whole life changes. Brian's a master at it, the truck feels like it's in energy balance – a neutral sort of feeling – all the time. Leaving the summit without a backlog of pent-up energy in residence all through the truck meant the trip to the bottom was a doddle for machine and occupants. Bushes, bearings, brakes, and lower backs were all blissfully relaxed.
Back to old school
Off the Kopu-Hikuai Road and it's a return to more typical pioneer road turned highway. State Highway 25 north of Tairua to Whitianga is your typical Kiwiana coastal road. First up is Pumpkin Hill, steep in places and winding with tightly radiused corners, and Brian taps away at the shift button and the Eaton clicks away at the gears. A hill that's stranded the odd lorry on its in-bends passes effortlessly beneath the tyres. It appears man's machines have at last conquered this country. Taking performance numbers is a waste of time as the truck has to slow while climbing for corners. The cool thing is, even uphill at 48 tonne, it romps away from one hairpin up to the next.
That barrier gone, the road curves, dips, and rises as it cuts through the farmland of Whenuakite and Coroglen, formed on the solidified lahar trails that once flowed from New Zealand's oldest volcanic chain. This Coromandel is a great place to test every aspect of a truck you can think of, and this particular area is known for inducing back pain, as the cornering speeds are often just enough to load up the lower back. If you're going to spend any length of time here, then a bonneted truck with a more central driving position that's easy on the 'Gs' is the bully. Alas, VDAM makes that an 'I wish' for most. Being a 6x4 and carrying its load, the ProStar looked after its occupants admirably and any jolts were the fault of shortcomings in the NZTA's 'fit for purpose' department, not the truck. The ride was smooth and firm, typical US and typical of a front rubber, 2-airbag cab set up. Noise-wise the International bobbed around the 70 to 72dB mark, about par for this genre, if not a tad better than average; on the right surface high 60s were duly noted. Rattles and bangs-wise the ProStar was absolutely exemplary and a credit to her Mt Maunganui assemblers. It's not something that can be said for all trucks, even ones you expect to be squeak-free. The ProStar gave a five-star performance in this area at 57,000km
Brian said the steering and directional control was superb, as were the brakes, something we've always found to be the case with Inters, even right back to 3070 days to be fair. The width of the cab, blandness of the bonnet, and lack of any visible emblem means placing the truck is something you learn on the first morning of ownership. It's like driving a bonneted truck in a cabover placement…almost. The wide-cab conventionals are sort of their own thing really. Brian's well versed by now and the ProStar's snout cut a true and faultlessly stable path all the way.
Photo: The ProStar's a nimble, agile, productive performer.
Musings while motoring
The ProStar's one of those trucks you could bring home, park in the street, and it wouldn't really worry the neighbours. It doesn't brazenly announce itself in the same way as a Kenworth T909 and risk the pursed-lip peeking of busybody eyes from behind curtains. The ProStar would simply glide into place just on dusk and a solitary dog about 600 metres away might bark once. Some people prefer the 'here I am' thing, but to guys like Brian Aitchison who have done the endless miles, the over the top bravado and attention seeking are now even beyond memory. They want a capable, productive machine with notes of individuality. For them, success is not the number of empty Autosol tubes in the drum out back, it's a balance sheet that reflects the effort they've put into it, and a smart, reliable, wellsupported rig that's done a decade's worth of graft without ever having felt the wrath of a panel beater's hammer.
By the time this mag is in your hands, the ProStar will have found itself in familiar International shoes when you think back to the halcyon days of S and T Lines. Kenworth's announcement that the new T410 won't come packing red-punch, along with the need to go 'big dog' in the Mack stable to secure 600hp, means the ProStar now offers something the others can't – a truck just like Brian's. Yes, sometime soonish the Cascadia will arrive and offer some level of option. However, for now, it's the ProStar that satisfies a driver's desire for thrust, a fleet owner's desire for practicality, or an SME's desire to break into new gear. And of course, the great news in 2019 is there are now the model options to stay with the brand as your fortune amasses, and mark your place on the nation's roads with bucketloads of 'spectacular' if that's your desire, an option that wasn't really there all those years ago. And for all this we have Comer Board to thank.
Photo: Now that really is a glove box.
Marching on
Winding through the countryside toward Whitianga we discuss the decision to go for the push-button AMT. "I went for the push-button option because I never really took to the Cobra shift in the WorkStar. I find the push button module easy to use. As for AMT versus manual, there are two reasons: space and the city work. You'd be surprised how much room the gear lever and clutch take up," Brian says, as he waves his hand around the void between the seats. "The leg room is great too, just more room. Then there's our work. You don't know what you'll be doing next. If we're carting out of say Brookby Quarry (southeast Auckland) into somewhere like East Tamaki, you won't see top gear at all. All you're doing is changing, changing, changing. The auto comes into its own then."
On runs like this the ability to make the most of the ADEPT's coast and power optimisation functions are limited. The run across the Hauraki Plains from the quarry is cruise territory no question, but there are no undulations that allow the truck to coast. Following that you drive into the hills and then there's no flat! With experience you might be able to extract a couple or three coasting bursts on the run through the Whenuakite and Coroglen farmland, but again, it's going to be limited opportunity and short-lived at that. There are plenty of places in Brian's work area where you could utilise the functionality though; it's something that might be worth a play with. After all, every litre of fuel saved is money in the bank. Into Whitianga and Brian tips the load off into the bin. It's an unhook one at a time site, and the visibility the raked bonnet and expanse of glass afford come into their own.
Likewise, the International's lock makes tiki-touring around the yard a piece of cake. Deliveries like this are no issue at all, but Brian also said the truck's IROS suspension and traction aids, together with the optimal configuration, afford great traction. "Even jack-knifing it never complains, pulling out and straightening the loaded trailer, then back in. Yeah, it's real good." Having the UltraShift PLUS means there are creep mode and hill-starting aids also. Load off and heading out of town the ProStar returns home as quick as any car. Brian flicks the gearbox into auto and lets the International take over while we chat about all manner of things.
Standing back and looking at the truck after unloading there's no question the ProStar ticks many 21st century boxes. It undoubtedly has a high social acceptance factor with its clean lines and unobtrusive presence…low on ostentatiousness you might say. But that's all a clever mask, because underneath is a powerhouse that could well come into its own rapidly. The fact the ProStar offers the red engine option must surely win over some T409 customers if managed well by the Intertruck team, and the sharp end of that strategy must surely hinge on productivity and what their machine can carry. After all, who doesn't like cash in the bank.
We thought the ProStar was extremely well put together and the cab moved in silence as its structure was propelled around the Coromandel. There's no questioning an International's mechanical tenacity when it comes to doing their best for their owner's bottom line. The emblem has a place in history few can live with. Add to that the support from a group whose passion for what they do has earned both themselves and the marque a special place in the annals of New Zealand's road transport story, and it's a clearly a case of long live the icon.
MORE MAIN TEST READS BELOW..
Land of the Long White ProStar
It's a great trivia question. Who are the world's top five truck manufacturers? Sadly, nine times out of 10 you'll take the booty on that one, as few will likely include Navistar, which rolls in at number four. The Illinois-based US company's vast array of highway, vocational, and military vehicles catapults its annual product headcount into the over-300,000 unit category. You certainly won't spend much time in the States on the side of the Interstate before the famous badge rolls on by. But of course our ProStars are special. Special because they're assembled right here at Mt Maunganui at the incredible place that is Intertruck Distributors (NZ) Ltd.
Like the 9870, the ProStar is a parts list assembly so there is no kit as such. The main difference between the two trucks is the ProStar cabs come in trimmed and are customised here. The local assembly counts for a whole lot, especially when things change, things like Vehicle Dimension and Mass (VDAM). Because the Intertruck design and assembly operation can rapidly tweak things like critical axle spacings to maximise opportunity in the local compliance environment, they're able to offer tailored vehicles.
Take the 8x4 ProStar conventional. The company build an R8 and T8 variant with different front axle spacings to optimise the worlds of application and compliance. There's a level of flexibility and agility not available anywhere else. Kiwi-assembled ProStars are fully integrated on the Navistar build portal, meaning customers can see their truck in build and the components that go into it. And then there are the parts. Because there's an assembly operation here, a truck won't be left off the road at a service agent due to a lack of bits. "We don't appreciate the level of expertise and passion there is here for the product," says Brian Aitchison. The Internationals are also available with the in-cab fatigue monitoring Guardian System, as well as the full Bendix Fusion suite of safety features that includes ESP, lane departure, collision warning and mitigation.
Wide-eyed!
When it comes to wide-cabbed conventional trucks pretty much everyone else is playing catch-up when compared with International. Bonnets and breadth have been an International hallmark for decades and seen by many over the years a compelling purchase pro, even if the S-Line's complimentary central heating was somewhat of a con. The ProStar carries the fine tradition of cab width on, but with a 21st century level of refinement. The cab itself was not unfamiliar here when the ProStar arrived in 2017, having been the one used in the relatively short-lived Navistar CAT JV. However, it's here now in its own right, as it should be, with an International badge.
Photo: The binnacle is clear and classic. Photo: The wrap falls within easy reach.
If aerodynamics is your thing, then so will be the ProStar. It's reputedly the slipperiest big conventional in the real world, whether it's headwind, or cross. Getting an actual coefficient figure is not easy, I guess in part due to the options there are for making them more, or less, slippery through the air, and the unknown of what's in tow. Getting a comparative figure is equally hard, so there's not a lot to be gained. Looking at the truck though, the ProStar's arrow-like shape makes its aerodynamic prowess obvious.
The BBC measure on the day cab is 2870mm, which places it in the top two contenders in the setback front axle conventional truck market. Tying in with that comes the startling visibility. The rake on the bonnet is severe; from the seat your eye is just able to follow its line down to the grille, and there's the road, right there! Depending on how tall you are, you're seeing the road surface about four metres from the front bumper. Put it this way, from the ProStar's driver's seat you'll see a dwarf on a Lime scooter at the lights, no problem. Because the mirrors are more orthodox in style and placement it doesn't have the right-left clarity of view that the 2.1 Kenworth cab does, but it's a leap ahead of nearly all cabovers and on a par with its other bonneted brethren. The cab's a US house for sure, with 10 gauges in front of the driver in an elegant round-topped binnacle, with a modular wrap housing switchgear, climate, brake valves, and entertainment. There's no infotainment centre or vehicle/ driver telemetry to speak of at this stage.
A snug residence for the red one. Amazingly unobtrusive in the cab. Daily checks are easy, and of course Brian, like Rex Stephens last month, is a religious daily checker.
The shift module in the ProStar is a push-button job just down to the driver's left. It's easy to see and works fine. It's an interesting digression for a moment, the AMT control options. For well over half a century we never really had a discussion about how you change gear in a truck. MAN had a column shift manual option years ago, as did one or two others, but the people who thought them up were probably made available to industry within weeks of launch – well, we hope they were. But now we're all deciding if we like buttons on boxes, Cobra stalks, or busy little wands with a million things happening on them. Soon, we won't have to worry, they'll all be gone, there'll just be 'F' and 'R' and they'll probably be voice-activated. Anyway, back to the cab…
The steering's adjustable for telescope and rake and there are in-spoke controls for cruise. On the left side of the steering column is the dip, wiper, and indicator wand, and on the right the trailer control. Brian rides on an air seat with all the necessary adjustments. The ProStar's accommodation is mounted on rubber blocks front, and airbags rear. The MMM truck has the top trim package in grey tones with diamond patterned vinyl on the hood lining and rear cab panel, along with flashes of Rosewood, heavy wear plastics, and rubber on the floor. It's an ideal set up to keep looking smart in this line of work. A good hour with the vacuum and rag and she's bonzer.
Photo: Light, airy, and as spacious as you'll get in a day cab bonnet. AMT with no left pedal maximises the room.
Photo: The ProStar's low lines make breasting the driving department an absolute doddle.
Storage-wise these trucks are always a challenge, but the ProStar's enhanced with the optional centre storage cubby between the seats to complement the overhead cubbies and door pockets. Brian puts the cooly bag in front of the cubby and he's away. On the outside, access is really good with plenty of handles and wonderfully cascaded steps. It's a cab you sort of walk into, sort of like an R Model Mack with the old recessed tank step, except the door actually opens and it's completely different…never mind. If you get it, you'll get it. I guess we're saying low, sleek, conventional trucks are a piece of cake to get into. Beneath the bonnet nestled down there is Big Red. It's a snug fit with minimal cab intrusion considering what they've put where. An engineering marvel.
No dress rehearsal!
What New Zealand schools need are careers advisors who aren't the run of the mill, over-planning, over-thinking type, the sort who help make our kids way too complicated way too early. We need more who understand that kids are free spirits about to launch themselves on a planet full of opportunity. We need the Brian Aitchisons of the world to be mentors and career advisors. We think he'd probably dispense advice like 'Life's a gift to be enjoyed, life's an adventure to be had, life's a challenge not to be afraid of, life's a mat to get back up off when you've been knocked down. Life's the people you interact with every day, so make it positive and say sorry when you need to; and most important, life's not a dress rehearsal.' That's our guess anyway, because from what we saw that about summed up Brian.
This 67-year-old 30-year-old starts every day with weights. Not aggregate – free weights. "You have to look after yourself, Dave. Half an hour in the morning just to get things moving and keep you upright and flexible, because you can get stooped easily in this job, eh." Six decades and seven years into the adventure, paying for a new truck, striding around unhooking trailers, darting here and there, hungry for the next load, stopping to buy Pam, the office lady at the quarry, her favourite pie from the bakery in Tairua. Brian's not rehearsing, he never has, he never will. Wairoa-born, Brian was adopted out after the death of his mother. His childhood in Cambridge hadn't been a bucketful of the fondest memories for the irrepressible young man when he cut out and headed for a carpentry apprenticeship through the Department of Maori and Pacific Island Affairs at the age of 16. Three years into that and the urge to drive trucks was too great so he started working for Bruce Clothier at Waharoa Transport. But it wasn't long before an inherent sense of adventure saw him head for Australia, having organised a job with Northern Transport in Alice Springs…a job he hitchhiked to from Melbourne – yes, hitchhiked. He was there in two rides!
Photo: Brian Aitchison. Still in top gear and lovin' it.
Brian worked a couple of jobs in Alice; driving twin-engine motor-scrapers was a favourite. But what happened that was most significant was a chance meeting in a bar with Ian Emery, the coach of Alice Springs United, the local police rugby league team. Ian had goals and aspirations of greater things in terms of coaching. "Oh, it was great, eh. The ground was like concrete. There were lots of older players who'd played in the higher Sydney leagues and they knew what they were doing. When you were tackled you stayed tackled. Loved it, just absolutely loved it." As Ian moved around from job to job, progressing his coaching career in the process, he'd call Brian, who'd follow on also. Ian would jack up work for Brian and Brian would play in Ian's league teams. For almost a decade it was a boys-own work/sport adventure come true.
It all culminated in the semi-professional presidents grade at the St George club in Sydney when Ian got the big time assistant coach's job. Knocks and injuries eventually took their toll and Brian headed for home aged 29, landing a job in Wellington driving a 6V53 Detroit-powered White for Alex Burrell at Burrell Demolition. After Burrell, Brian worked at Dixon and Dunlop carting metal and clearing sections before a spell with Ross Fitchett, someone he credits with teaching him a huge amount about running trucks and businesses. "With Ross I learned everything from mending tyres on split rims, to servicing, to running a manual ledger. He was a great teacher, willing to impart knowledge, and to this day we're still mates."
Following that, for the next three decades Brian's life was itself a living timeline of line haul trucking in New Zealand, plying the Auckland – Wellington and Auckland – Christchurch routes. He drove for Jim Halliday's Halliday Haulage and Kim McCarthy at TNT among others, progressing from fleet driver, to owner-driver, to multi-truck subcontractor working for well-known names like Peter Baker Transport. It was the realisation that as a subcontractor the returns weren't what they should be that led to the formation of his own freight and warehousing company, Goldlink Warehousing and Distribution Ltd. The key service differentiator was an overnight service ex Auckland to Christchurch, and it was a business Brian said went really well for quite a while. It was with this company that the relationship with Comer Board and Intertruck Distributors (NZ) Ltd was forged. "We ran 9800i Eagles and Comer and the team would move heaven and earth to service and COF the trucks, keeping us as close to schedule as possible. However many techs it took to turn them around is what he'd put on them. They were bloody great trucks, 525 Cummins; they were unbreakable.
"In the 20 years I've known Comer we've never had an argument, we've always been able to sort things out. Just a top bloke. I can't say enough about the guy, and his team. Hugh Green, he'll always answer his phone, 24/7. The team at the Mount workshop – Noel, Charlie, Jerome – all top people, we go back a long way. Wes on the front desk is so helpful and Dwayne and 'Fish' in parts. I'll call and next day whatever I need is on the courier. Amazing! I still go over there for servicing just because we've known each other for so long." The restructuring of a key customer's freight, and the GFC, ended the Goldlink years, after which Brian and his partner Kim dabbled in the racehorse feed business. Following that Brian worked for Mainstream helping Greg Halliday set up the core fleet there.
"Greg's a great bloke and a good businessman. I went in to do that job, help set up the fleet and it was a great project." After the Mainstream project was complete Brian moved on to Emmerson Transport Ltd as Northland area manager. Like many in the industry Brian found Ian Emmerson a "Top, top bloke".
Then things went full circle, working in the world of loaders and tip trucks, as a salesman for the late Murray Ward at Ward Quarries in Te Kauwhata. But Brian's a truck man to the core and the sales job introduced him to contacts that led to the purchase of a C12-powered Sterling and 3-axle trailer on contract to Fletchers, servicing one of their road projects in the Waikato. As the Fletcher work wound down a little over three years ago, Brian was keen to keep busy and approached Kaipara Ltd having carted out of their Smythes Quarry south of Auckland. The rest as they say is history, and the story of this amazingly upbeat bloke continues to roll on. Brian's full of praise for working life at Kaipara Ltd. "Great workmates, and an awesome company to work for Dave, I'd like to make a point of that. They really are eh." A cool side note to Brian's work life are the iconic trucks he's driven and/or owned over the years. As a driver he drove one of the Halliday Haulage R Model Macks and he owned the ex Paul ('Butch') Hopcroft R Model Mack 'Overdraft', and the ex Tony De Latour Child Freighters Mack MH.
Today Brian and Kim live on the banks of the Waikato at Rangiriri and both enjoy horses and hunting out of work. There's no desire to expand the fleet and have the hassle of staff any more. Brian's two daughters, Sarah and Jessica, are well set up and enjoying the journey of their lives as it unfolds. But for all this history, the highs and the lows, the one overarching thing you get from an hour or two spent with Brian Aitchison is his praise and acknowledgement for the people he's encountered along his journey. It's not about him: for Brian it's the people he's met and worked with who have provided the richness to his own life's fabric, and he realises and acknowledges that. For many today, both young and old, there's a lesson or two in there somewhere.
International Truck Stop
Top Truck
Aussie Angles
At last, the sun!
Main Test
Women in Transport
Privacy policy & Shipping
Copyright © 2020 NZ Trucking. All rights reserved.


text:
Is 'Adventure Time' One Big Allegory For Discovering Sex?
Is 'Adventure Time' One Big Allegory For Discovering Sex?
Eric Kohn
Nov 20, 2012 12:15 pm
@erickohn
Watching last night's anthology episode of "Adventure Time," entitled "Five More Short Graybles," I was reminded of the crazed photographer in Leos Carax's "Holy Motors" when he first spots the scraggly-haired Merde character, played by Denis Lavant, in the middle of a crowd and can't stop snapping pictures: "So… weird! So weird!"
That's the reaction "Adventure Time," with its loopy blend of bright colors and surreal mini-plots, constantly invites. But lurking beneath the surface of that reaction is an ageless tendency to grapple for meaning when precise definitions elude us. Because the photographer in "Holy Motors" doesn't understand Merde, he can only process the character as "weird." So it goes with much of "Adventure Time," which is centered around a pair of characters vaguely aware of the deeper themes and ideas surrounding them while largely regarding them as inscrutable waystations to new experiences. The genius of "Five More Short Graybles" was that it projected this mentality onto its audience to explore a subtext that has grown increasingly dominant in the show's later episodes — namely, the discovery of sex.
A sequel to last season's "Five Short Graybles," the episode once again featured narrator Cuber, a portly futuristic being who presents a series of interlocking "Adventure Time" short stories on his Holo-Pyramid Viewer. In one sense, Cuber's presentation of these stories take cues from the educational mold of "Sesame Street" by presenting a series of incidents and forcing the viewer to unearth a connecting theme. This deceptively simple structure caters to young sensibilities while baffling everyone else, but that's exactly the point. The theme of "Five Short Graybles" was "the five senses" while last night's theme involved a related physical instinct. Both episodes dealt with the process of coming to terms with bodily urges (human or otherwise).
READ MORE: Why 'Adventure Time,' Now In Its Fifth Season, Is More Groundbreaking Than You May Realize
Like the previous "Graybles" installment, the episode nimbly progressed from one brief incident to another, starting with Jake and Finn reading Mother Goose nursery rhymes and attempting Little Jack Horner's decision to stick his thumb in pie and declare "What a good boy am I!" Assuming the act will result in magic, Jake and Finn decide to jut their thumbs in every crevice they can find, and happily bound about the Land of Ooo for the duration of the episode doing just that: Sticking their erect thumbs in holes and waiting for something magical to happen. Nothing to see here, folks. Move right along.
The first hint of a hidden sexual context to the episode leads directly into the next one, when vampire Marceline convinces a rock giant to let her ride his finger across the land to arrive at the music shop she seeks. It might be pushing it to suggest that Marceline's innovative trip, which finds her shrieking into the wind with joy, represents a certain orgasmic pleasure, but the pieces add up.
The next fleeting installment leaves no ambiguity about its topic: The elephantine Tree Trunk is wandering through the Candy Kingdom carrying a pie — which, naturally, a passing Jake and Finn stick their thumbs in — when she happens upon a statue and believes that it has presented her with "a rude gesture." Instead, she mistakes Shelby the worm, crouched in the middle of the statue's raised fist, for a middle finger. Her shock at this discovery, which essentially finds her reacting to a flashing incident, hints at the distinction between appropriate displays of affection and crude behavior, a frequent topic on the show epitomized by the highly inappropriate antics of the Ice King — the subject of the next Grayble.
The Ice King, as we learned in last season's incredibly powerful "I Remember You," used to be a benevolent researcher during the early days of the apocalypse, when he lost his mind due to the magical crown affixed to his head. Now he's simply a lunatic living with a bunch of penguins in his ice castle. That can do funky things to one's need for companionship, so it's no surprise that the Ice King has found a disturbing outlet, drawing faces on his feet and falling in love with them. That's right: The Ice King has a foot fetish.
The final installment with BMO brought everything home. As in previous episodes, the animated Gameboy character engages with his imaginary friend Football, which talks back to BMO from his reflection. BMO gets incredibly excited about the possibility of teaching Football how to drink tea, to the point where the character ends up spilling liquid all over his face and sizzling with electricity. If this doesn't strike you as the slightest bit erotic by this point, feel free to dismiss "Adventure Time" as just another irreverent kid's show. But then Jake and Finn arrive home and BMO invites them to stick their thumbs on his controllers, which they do to great delight. The gray area just keeps getting smaller.
None of this should come as a great surprise to regular "Adventure Time" viewers. The show has contained glimmers of innuendo ever since its earliest iterations, digging beneath the implications of excited feelings that the characters experience and exploring the urges behind them. The original short that inspired the show contains a fairly blatant reference to masturbation, while "Princess Cookie" dealt fairly openly (and somewhat tragically) with a transgendered character and "What Was Missing" hinted at lesbian urges.
"Five Short Graybles" lacks that degree of complexity, but deals with sexual identity in its basest manifestation — pure sensory experiences (hence the theme, taste, which has all sorts of meanings when you really dig into it). But the episode offers more than a series of wink-and-nod reference points. "Adventure Time" excels at allowing grown viewers to reenter childlike experiences, as last week's excellent installment of PBS' "Idea Channel" made clear with its thesis that nostalgia is key to the show's appeal for older audiences. "Five Short Graybles" accomplished this mission in a subtler fashion than usual. In the final 30 seconds of its 11-minute running time, as Cuber wraps things up, the narrator laughs at anyone who thought the theme of the episode of was… fingers. "Nobody has had fingers for 20 glabillion glaybles!" he says with an eerie amount of matter-of-factness.
With that revelation, we're left wondering not only where and when these events take place, but what has happened to the human body in this future period that has relegated fingers into extinction. In a matter of seconds, "Adventure Time" turns us into the clueless children, barely cognizant of the bigger world around us, but eager to learn more. Once again, "Adventure Time" teases out the fuzzy boundary between childhood innocence and adulthood. As Cuber might say, I need a few more glaybles to think about it.
This Article is related to: Television and tagged Adventure Time, Cartoon Network, Television, TV Reviews

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We warmly invite everyone to gather and worship with us. The primary goal of our weekly services is always to focus squarely on Jesus Christ who is present with us through His Word and Sacraments. The format of our services uses traditional liturgy with options for traditional and contemporary music. Come as you are–jeans with holes don't make you less holy.
* Contemporary services are held on the first Sunday of the month at 8:00 AM and the third Sunday of the month at 11:00 AM.
**Communion services are held on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Saturday & Sunday each month.


More often than not, people say that you need to be friends with as many people as possible to survive the loneliness of your 20s. Building your network is a must and it is one of the ways for you to be successful in the future. Society seems to think that being friends with many people means that you are a successful human being. They say that it's better for you to be friends with anyone and it's not good to be friends with only the same type of people. Moreover, you should be the one who approaches people to build the connections.
I do agree that you need to meet as many people as you can, but I disagree that you need to be friends with all of them.
As you grow up, you will understand that friendship is not all about sharing smiles and greetings. It's not just about discussing your college assignments or talking about the final projects in your class. The friendships and relationships that you build need to be more than those surface level conversations about your major or the environment in your hometown. People need to understand the difference between being friends and faking.
In your 20s, you will realize that true friendship is about giving your trust to the people who you choose to spend your time with. You will understand that true friendship is not about those who you think are cool or those who have million followers and friends in their social media accounts. Friendship in your 20s is the relationship that you build as you notice how deep you let them know about your true self; those fears you never confront, those scars which hard to be healed, and those hidden passion that you never told anyone but them. True friendship in your 20s is about the comfort and the warm feeling that you get when you can share your problems and your biggest mistakes with them without being judged. The connection that you build with those you called friends has to be deeper than fake smiles and cheesy conversations just to break awkwardness.
At the end of the day, you will realize that friends are different from acquaintances and you can't force everyone you meet to be your friend.
It's normal for you to choose your friends and decide who you want to spend your time with.
CHOOSING YOUR FRIENDS DOES NOT MAKE YOU A SELFISH PERSON.
The more you meet people, the more you realize that you don't need thousands of people to feel fulfilled; you just need one or two people close to your heart. In your 20s, please don't waste your time on people who see friendship as something shallow. Find people who have the willingness to dig deeper until they find your darkest side, but they're totally okay with it. Find those people who don't make you hide your tears as those bad days hit you hard. Find those people who won't define you as pretty, but as a lovable person because they value your heart and not your physical appearance; you need to build relationships with sincerity and generosity as the foundation.
When you find those people, hold them tight and keep them safe in the back of your memory and your heart, because we don't know how long the universe will make them stay. Embrace every moment you spend with them and never take them for granted, because in your 20s, it is so hard to meet the people who make you feel at home. At the end of the day, you will realize that it is never about the quantity of people you meet, but the quality of friendship and love that you share for one another.


You could be eating this totally divine Parmesan Crusted Salmon in only 20-minutes! With less then 7 ingredients, it's super easy to make and delicious!
Salmon is my go to fish. It's decadently rich, it flakes beautifully, and you can pair it with just about anything. It's heaven. If you ever see me at sushi without salmon nigiri, slap me. It's that level. Since I love this fish so much, I like to prepare it in simple ways that let the salmon's flavor shine through. This is one of those recipes.
The creamy mayonnaise topping adds a little extra lusciousness to the fish, and the buttery crackers put everything over the top. The best part? It's ready in 20 minutes. Cutting board to mouth. I love love love making this dish when we have company over too. I can pre-portion the salmon, spread the topping, and then add the crackers & pop it in the oven when everyone gets here. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
We love serving this salmon up with some Brown Rice & Apple Salad!
You could be eating this totally divine Parmesan Crusted Salmon in only 20-minutes! With less then 7 ingredients, it's super easy to make and delicious!
Cut the salmon fillet into 4 equal portions. Place the salmon on the prepared baking sheet skin side down.
In a small bowl whisk together the mayo, Parmesan, ground red pepper, and lemon juice until well combined.
Divide the mayo mixture evenly among the salmon pieces and then use the back of a spoon to spread the mixture over the tops of the fish.
Sprinkle the top of the fish with cracker crumbs until they are all well coated.
Bake for 15 mins, or until the fish with medium-well to well done. Remove from the oven.
Slide a spatula in between the meat and the skin of the salmon pieces and carefully detach the meat from the skin. Serve immediately.
How does this recipe utilize Ritz crackers in it but the nutritional information says zero carbs?


Learn how to get the most from your training courses as well as our site.
You can reply to posts, but you cannot create new posts in this category.
Create a new post and share with us who you are and what you're hoping to achieve.


text:
U.K. Government abandons broadband tax proposal
Apr 9, 2010 11:00am
Britain may be dead set on expanding broadband availability, but the country's government decided that it won't levy a tax on landline phone connections to fund new build-outs. The government's decision was revealed as the House of Commons prepares to examine the Digital Economy Bill and the government looks to push the legislation through before the current parliament is dissolved.
Under the proposed plan, the British government wanted to raise about $277.3 million a year from a tax on any home that has a wireline phone connection for high speed broadband service networks. A major obstacle existed for the Labour Party's tax proposal. The Conservative Party said if it won the upcoming election it would get rid of the tax. However, if the Labour Party wins the General Election it will reinstate the tax.
- Telecompaper has this article
Britain puts broadband tax on table
U.K. government allocates $1.6 billion for broadband


text:
CornFarm Business
MSU Researcher Using Grant to Create Mobile App To Prevent Dairy DiseaseMSU Researcher Using Grant to Create Mobile App To Prevent Dairy Disease
A team will create a list of biomarkers for metabolic stress that are most accurate in detecting increased risk of disease during early lactation and incorporate them into an app.
A Michigan State University (MSU) AgBioResearch animal scientist will lead a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional effort to adapt mobile technology to help farmers prevent dairy cattle illness.
Lorraine Sordillo, Meadow Brook Chair of Farm Animal Health and Well-being in the College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM), has received a nearly $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the four-year project. Researchers from MSU and North Dakota State University will study the factors that contribute to cow health risks during the most vulnerable period of their lives – the three weeks before and the first several weeks after giving birth. Data will be collected to develop an app for smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices that can detect early warning signs of disease susceptibility.
"Cows can get sick anytime, but they're especially vulnerable during the transition phase – when they're switching from late pregnancy to producing milk after the calf is born," says the CVM professor of large animal clinical sciences. "The big problem is that if a cow gets sick during the early lactation period, she'll never reach her peak milk-producing capacity."
Dairy cattle are particularly susceptible at this time and can suffer from metabolic stress due to the tremendous energy requirements for birth of the calf and then milk production. This can result in a compromised immune system and the development of various diseases.
The factors that contribute to metabolic stress, called biomarkers, can be monitored and are well-documented as a result of years of research. Sordillo says she and her team plan to take advantage of modern mobile technology in an effort to compile that knowledge into a tool that farmers can use in the field.
Currently, most farms have to address the causes of metabolic stress after the animals are already sick. Sordillo and her team want to be able to provide farmers with proactive tools to prevent disease from occurring.
"We want all cows to be healthy," she says. "We want to utilize the biomarkers that we already know are effective warning signs and put them into a user-friendly tool so farmers will be able to manage their herds for metabolic stress before illnesses become a problem. We're trying to translate what we already know from research into a practical field application."
The team will develop the app to allow farmers to input a series of variables to calculate the risk of metabolic stress and then recommend adjustments to prevent it. With the ability to enter individual data that captures unique features of the farm environment -- such as herd size, sources of feed, cow housing and climate -- the app will be customizable with repeated use.
The researchers will also use the app to help train the next generation of food animal veterinarians and on-farm consultants.
"They're the boots on the ground dealing with animal health issues, and we want to make sure our trainees have the latest and greatest tools to do their jobs well," Sordillo says. "We also need it to be user-friendly for other farm personnel who may not have the advanced medical training of a vet because, if you have to spend weeks or months learning how to use it, you just won't. We're designing it to appeal to people in the industry of all levels of education and experience."
Sordillo says the team will refine the list of biomarkers for metabolic stress that are most accurate in detecting increased risk of disease during early lactation, incorporate them into the app and test for effectiveness on dairy herds in Michigan.
"This is not long-term research -- this will have an immediate impact on the industry," Sordillo said. "At the end of the four years, we'll have a new tool that will be able to integrate with other management tools that are already commercially available and improve the way we manage dairy production and cow health."


text:
Caleb W. Cliff
Expanding Hearts and Minds Through Music
Request a Custom Composition
Harry Partch: Beyond Scales
Author:Caleb W. Cliff
Category:Ancient Music, Blog, Design, Musicology, Neurophysiology, Video
Tags: 43 tone scale, CA, Gate 5, Harry Partch, innocence, just intonation, Oakland, University of Southern California
Soft and Loud →
Born right here in Oakland, CA, Harry Partch was a true original. After beginning his studies at the University of Southern California's School of Music, he felt it to be inadequate, dropped out and began to teach himself music in the libraries of San Francisco. This was the start of him developing a wholly different relationship with music especially in regards to scales. After learning more about just intonation Partch began to explore how the octave could be broken up into a much greater number of pitches than the usual twelve-tone equal tempered scale we are so adjusted to in US and Europe. As he furthered his knowledge in this direction, he was fed up with and fully revoked his prior music education by burning all of his earlier scores.
At this point, Partch enlisted a New Orleans violin maker to customize a viola with a cello fingerboard so that it could account for 29 tones to the octave. This newly conceived viola adaptation brought more attention to his work and enabled him further funding to continue in this direction. He went on to create a keyboard instrument with 43 tones to the octave and this scale became the backbone from which he would generate numerous instruments over the next several years. After spending a year in Europe, Partch returned to the US and found himself living on the streets for the next nine years. During this time he continued to explore timbre and musical inventions that would realize his 43 tone scale as well as his own theories of music. Over his lifetime, he adapted previous instrument designs and devised his own instruments, at least 30 in total.
Performances of Partch's work were rather limited as they were specific to these unique instruments. Even though, he made sure to record a large number of his pieces while in residence at the University of Wisconsin and at the studio he founded in Sausaltio, CA, Gate 5. Due to the incredible range of his instruments, Partch's musical cannon is vast and unlike anything you will hear by any other composer. While some pieces are challenging, others present beautiful harmonic consonances that you will only hear in his work. He is still underappreciated as his style has never gained popularity to any great extent. Regardless, Partch was one of the most imaginative composers out of the US and of all time as no other composer has taken it upon themselves to reinvent how music is interacted with in such extreme form.
Something so profound about the nature of his 43 tone scale is that the emotional content is possibly at its most broad. The nuances of neurophysiology are met with a seemingly endless range of intervals and musical interplay – no feeling is left unfelt. As you take the plunge with Harry Partch's music, it might remind you of when everything was new – when all sounds were fresh and the environment was but a mystery waiting to sonically greet you and widen your eyes to the sounds of the world. Approach it with innocence and it will do the same.
More info about Harry Partch:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Partch
Interactive website where his instruments can be "played":
http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/features/feature_partch.html#
Harry Partch: The Outsider
Caleb W. Cliff · April 5, 2016 at 08:56:07 ·
That memory serves you correctly as Ken and I built that instrument for the class that was largely based on Harry Partch. Kyle Gann, our teacher, used him as a focal point to teach about microtonal scales. A group of us wrote a piece for that class, Excuse Me, I'm Harry Patched. Never can escape the puns :0)
mom · April 5, 2016 at 07:12:54 ·
very interesting. I can only think about your copper pipes instrument that you made and, of course the "Bard Lamppost" concert! 😉
Bestill the Unknown
Poem Without A Category
Poemme – watchful chickadee
Into the Ambient
Every Little Counts: Episode 5 – Signal Or Noise?
View caleb.cliff's profile on Facebook
View oakmedium's profile on Twitter
View oakmedium's profile on Instagram
View UCJ3CmQBvQ7xxUMpeaUKC3fQ's profile on YouTube
View evollove's profile on Vimeo
Copyright © 2022 Caleb W. Cliff
Powered by WordPress and Hatch


Hottest Location in Chicago! Beautiful and spacious 2/2 corner timber loft in prime West Loop location! Unit has extremely wide and open floor plan, lots of storage space throughout, gorgeous 12 foot ceilings with timber beams, massive floor to ceiling windows, and exposed brick. Unit is flooded with natural light and has amazing city views, with an unobstructed view of the Willis tower from your living room and private balcony. Refinished hardwood floors throughout the unit, updated kitchen with a breakfast bar, and stainless steel appliances. Bedrooms are both enclosed and are extremely spacious with walk in closets and tons of storage space! Master bedroom is oversized with en-suite master bathroom with dual vanities! Building has common roof deck with gorgeous city views! Walk to everything West Loop has to offer! Close to restaurants, shopping, CTA, Union Station, grocery stores, and in the coveted Skinner school district!
Gorgeous 3 bed + office, 2-1/2 bath luxury townhouse in Chicago's River West District. Extra wide, end unit with private entrance featuring oak flooring, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, LED fixtures, Hunter Douglas window treatments, and Nest thermostat. High-end master bath remodel in Dec-2016 featuring Grohe hardware. New Pella windows installed in Nov-2015 on second and third levels. Spacious unit with plenty of storage as well as an attached two car garage. Penthouse office could be converted to a 4th bedroom with access to 2 incredible private roof decks, stunning city views, and 7-person Jacuzzi hot tub/spa. Close to Blue Line (Grand), bus (#8 Halsted), restaurants, parks, and highway. Welcome home.


The exhibition he referenced was the result of an imaginary exercise called "The HuB Design Competition." Sponsored by the Charleston chapter of Architecture For Humanity, the competition challenged designers to create a new 50,000-square-foot transit hub, to be built on the surface parking lot at Meeting and John streets next to the Charleston Visitor Center, with offices, retail, meeting, and green spaces and the ability to serve light rail, tourists, bus riders, and cyclists.
"Mind the Garden" by David Hill and Laura Garofalo of Tonic Design + Tonic Construction in Raleigh, NC. The prize: $1250.
"The winning entry, from Tonic Design of Raleigh…would aim to create a vibrant city space not by making a monumental building — like most train stations of the past — but an urban garden that commuters and city dwellers could use," wrote Behre when he announced the winners.
"Mind the Garden" is a vessel and stage that would sustain and enrich local culture. The bar building's bays, at the ground level, would create market (retail) stalls for regional goods, such as Gullah baskets and farmers' produce.
The designers took some of their cues from the historic Charleston Single Houses that offer compelling models for environmental sustainability, but their enclosed gardens privatize green space and do little to encourage public encounters. The "Mind the Garden" scheme would break down the garden-wall barriers to make pleasant, welcoming green space and provide a threshold to introduce local culture to Charleston's visitors. Small pavilions for waiting, cafes, ticketing, and vending would occupy and invigorate the garden platform.
The green space functions simultaneously as a pathway, a place of rest, and a surface for activity, while making connections beyond the site, coupling axially with Wragg Square to the north and east.
The winning entries were displayed in the windows of the former Millennium Music store in downtown Charleston.


Volunteer at the BIG Little Science Centre!
We are now recruiting volunteers for our camps and public drop-in. Don't miss out on science fun for all ages!!!
We are always looking for volunteers at the BIG Little Science Centre. If you have a couple of hours to donate please give us a call 250.554.BLSC (2572) or drop in at the Centre – 655 Holt Street, Kamloops. The Science Centre is in the former Happyvale School (South of Tranquille Road on holt Street).
Please follow the links below to find out more about Joining the BIG Little Science Centre Society.
For further details on the membership options please contact us.


Just over a week after the Boston Marathon bombing, I learned about her. I've been thinking about her ever since: Adrianne Haslet-Davis—the beautiful, young ballroom dancer who lost her foot to one of the blasts. Her foot. A dancer's connection with the earth–the very foundation of her career. Haslet-Davis may not be unique among Boston's recent amputees; many were runners, people for whom athleticism and movement were part of their identity. But she stands out for me. As a former dancer, I know what the loss of a foot would mean. According to the articles I've read, Haslet-Davis has bouts of sadness and rage in the face of her lost limb, but holds onto hope. She is determined to some day get back to the dance studio, to make a comeback with the Viennese Waltz. Haslet-Davis survives, believing in herself and her future, thanks to her faith in advanced medicine, science and technology. I have no doubt that she will dance again. But her reality has changed; she must adjust her physical identity accordingly. She and the other amputees embody the mission faced by Boston itself: a journey back to its post-bombing future.
When disaster strikes—natural or manmade—it shakes up a community. Things you've always trusted—that your neighbors are your neighbors, not hostile strangers; that law enforcement is sufficient to provide safety—gets shaken up. Home is suddenly not home, not quite the place it once felt like. The rules are changed; daily life takes more thought, simple movements are now belabored, shrouded in fear and mistrust. I remember the weeks following nine-eleven, when the world felt different: so unsafe, so newly dark and uncertain. I remember the days after Hurricane Sandy and—more personally for me—the period right after our house fire. Our identity as a family had changed.
I lived in Boston for a year, back in 1989-1990, as a member of Boston Ballet II, and though I was in rehearsal most of the time and made too little money to partake of what the city had to offer, I remember its character. Old American beauty thrown up against a bare toughness that rivaled the bare toughness in sections of Brooklyn—only with pinker cheeks and flatter vowels. There were the Public Gardens, evoking memories of history lessons as well as my favorite children's books, from Make Way for Ducklings to Trumpet of the Swan. A mere stone's throw away was the "red light" district, disconcertingly close to where we performed Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. Like New York, it was a great walking town, with ethnicities and neighborhoods on display as you walked, as varied as those in my home town. Like New York, but unlike it, too. A little shorter, a little slower, a little less of a chameleon. I haven't been back since I left twenty years ago, but still I remember the Boston-ness of the town, how I knew I'd always be an outsider, but appreciated the fact of calling it home for that season.
Things are getting back to normal there, but because of the bombing, they will never quite be the same. Like those who lost limbs—each of whom must now face different lives and find their own, new versions of "normal," each day will be marked by the triumph of overcoming unimaginable loss.


Join the board of the Yamhill County Cultural Coalition as we reveal the results of a county-wide Arts and Economic Prosperity Study.
Randy Cohen, Vice President of Americans for the Arts, will speak to the importance and economic potential of the results. We invite you to participate in inspirational dialogue on how the creative capacity of our communities can lead to greater prosperity for businesses, local governments, and individuals.


text:
Great Lakes People and Places
Stories celebrating the Laurentian Great Lakes and its people.
Great Lakes Great Books
About the Great Lakes
Lake Ontario
Posted by greatlakespeopleandplacesblog on March 2, 2019 April 3, 2019
Her Fight for Emancipation and Dignity
Feature photo: Harriet Tubman. Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection. JK1881 .N357 sec. XVI, no. 3-9 NAWSA Coll series: Miller NAWSA Suffrage Scrapbooks, 1897-1911; Scrapbook 9 (1910-1911); http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbcmil.scrp7004801
Map: Environment and Climate Change Canada
By Karen Rodriguez
"I would make a home for them in the North, and the Lord helping me, I would bring them all here." Harriet Tubman
In 1892 Harriet Tubman was granted an $8.00 per month widow's pension in compensation for her Civil War service as a nurse, cook and a spy for the US Government's Department of the South. At last, with a guaranteed pension and a bank loan secured with the help of the AME Zion Church, she was able to purchase 25 acres next to her Auburn, New York home and open a charity home for needy black Auburn residents.
Harriet Tubman's Home for the Aged, Auburn, New York*
Tubman had settled in Auburn in 1857. By this time her role as a conductor in the Underground Railroad was known. One prominent resident who had married into an Auburn family, Senator William Seward**, recognized Tubman's bravery. He sold Tubman a home she could afford as a reward for her work. This home was often used as her Underground Railroad base of operations over the next couple of years.
Harriet Tubman's residence, Auburn, New York*
Of her early life little is known. Because slaves were considered property and most were illiterate, few records of life events were kept with the exception of the slave auctions. It is known that Tubman was born sometime between 1815 and 1825 (her gravestone says 1820) as Araminta Ross to slaves Harriet Green and Benjamin Ross on the Brodess plantation, somewhere near Bucktown, Maryland. She may have had a dozen siblings but it is unclear how many. Her grandmother, Modesty, had arrived on a slave ship and was bought by an Eastern Shore (Maryland) family named Pattison. Her heritage may have been African Ashanti. But no one, including Tubman, knew for sure.
As a girl as young as perhaps five years old, Araminta was sold to various families as a housekeeper, child care worker and whatever else was demanded of her. Overworked, often starved and beaten, by the time she was 12 years old she began working in the fields. When about the age of 13, she blocked an overseer from pursuing a field hand he intended to whip for some infraction. The overseer picked up a lead weight and threw it at the field hand but missed, instead hitting her in the head. Ill for months, the injury plagued her for the rest of her life. The injury is thought to have manifested itself as narcolepsy and hypnagogic hallucinations.
In 1844 slave Araminta Ross and free black John Tubman entered into an informal arrangement. Their arrangement was controlled by the slave owner; slaves and free blacks were not allowed to marry. Nothing is known about John Tubman's background or his trade as a free man.
In 1849 Araminta's master died and plantation rumor said she would be sold along with a couple of her brothers. She fled, alone, to Philadelphia where she found work and a welcoming group of both former slaves and abolitionists. Soon after, she changed her name from Araminta Ross to Harriet Tubman.
Several events greatly influenced the abolitionist movement mid-century. On Sept. 18, 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was approved by the U.S. Congress. The Law was a part of the Compromise of 1850, drafted to attempt to settle differences regarding slavery between the northern and southern states. Named the "Bloodhound Law", it allowed escaped slaves to be remanded to their "owners" from any state. Slave owners' "property" rights were thereby protected; monetary rewards for capturing slaves encouraged vigilante actions. Activists such as Thomas Garrett, abolition leaders like William Lloyd Garrison and former fugitive Frederick Douglass spoke openly and widely against the law. The law was immediately deemed unconstitutional by cities like Chicago, which nullified the law within the city limits. One result was that within three months 3,000 ex-slaves fled to Canada.
A million copies of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in March of 1852, were sold in its first year of publication. The book helped to open peoples' eyes to the evils of slavery. Although Tubman could not read, she no doubt knew of the book's popularity and the resulting shift in awareness regarding slavery.
"If you are tired, keep going; if you are scared, keep going; if you are hungry, keep going; if you want to taste freedom, keep going." (Harriet Tubman's refrain during her Underground Railroad years. Clinton p.221)
In the winter of 1851-1852 Tubman returned to Maryland to free her niece Kizzy and Kizzy's two children. She returned a second time in the spring to rescue one of her brothers and several other men. Her third trip in late 1851 was to rescue John Tubman. But he had another woman by that time and refused to leave. Instead, she rescued 11 others including another brother. For the first time she took them across the border to St. Catharines, Ontario.
In 1793, under leadership of John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant Governor of the British colony of Upper Canada, the Executive Council of Upper Canada had passed the Act to Prevent the further Introduction of Slaves and to limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude within this Province. The law protected current slaveholders, stated that children born to slaves would be free at age 25, and prevented the importing of new slaves. Numerous settlements in Canada for blacks escaping the U.S. arose as a result. St. Catharines became Tubman's home for her and her freed family for many years.
1793 Act to Prevent the further Introduction of Slaves and to limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude within this Province. Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada. Public domain
Underground Railroad conductors did not keep a record of their raids or the people they brought to freedom partly because many, like Tubman, were illiterate, and partly because secrecy was paramount to protecting both conductors and fugitives. Between 1854 and 1856 alone it is estimated Tubman raided plantations in Maryland and Virginia to free between 70-200 slaves.
Fearless, Tubman traveled at night. She knew the landscape and the safe houses from Maryland and Virginia to Philadelphia, New York and St. Catharines. She had a sixth sense for danger and a religious faith that seemed to protect her and those she freed. She hid fugitives in marshes and woods, forded rivers, and avoided gun toting vigilantes. Not a single person in her care was lost.
"She would return again and again to the South, cheered on by former fugitives, but never joined by them on her expeditions. She alone took these risks, eventually bringing hundreds out along liberty lines to freedom. Even with a concealed identity and clandestine partnerships, her above-ground fame grew. With her spectacular achievements, she was likened to the biblical hero of her code name, Moses." (She was named Moses by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Clinton p. 85)
Routes of the Underground Railroad. National Park Service
Tubman spent the first year of the Civil War as a nurse and cook for African American soldiers and civilians in Beaufort, South Carolina. In 1863 General Saxton, under the direction of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, asked that Tubman work with Major General David Hunter to recruit scouts to map the interior of southern states held by the Confederates.
Espionage by Tubman and her scouts led to the Combahee River raid of June 1863. In the middle of the night Tubman, Colonel James Montgomery***, and 150 black soldiers on board Union gunboats, sailed up the river past torpedoes she had mapped to the South Carolina rice plantations near the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. The estates of elite land and slave owners were raided and set on fire and more than 700 slaves, many with their livestock, escaped to the gunboats and to freedom. All escaped unharmed.
Tubman's health deteriorated after the Civil War. Nevertheless she continued to give speeches and to care for the poor in Auburn well into the early 20th century. Throughout the remainder of her life, the citizens of Auburn embraced Tubman as a former leader in the Underground Railroad, a Civil War heroine, and a civil rights activist who delivered mesmerizing speeches throughout the country. By the time of her death in Auburn on March 10, 1913 (Rosa Parks' birth year), Tubman was an international figure:
"A lifelong humanitarian and civil rights activist, she formed friendships with abolitionists, politicians, writers and intellectuals. She knew Frederick Douglass and was close to John Brown and William Henry Seward. She was particularly close with suffragists Lucretia Coffin Mott, Martha Coffin Wright, and Susan B. Anthony. Intellectuals in New England's progressive circles, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison, Bronson Alcott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Franklin B. Sanborn, and Mrs. Horace Mann, befriended her, and her work was heralded beyond the United States." (National Park Service)
*Harriet Tubman National Historic Park, Auburn, New York; https://www.nps.gov/hart/index.htm
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park https://www.nps.gov/hatu/index.htm.
**William Seward: Governor of NY 1939-1842; US Senator from NY 1849-1861; President Lincoln's Secretary of State during the Civil War 1861-1869
***Colonel James Montgomery: a trusted lieutenant of John Brown during the Kansas border wars. Tubman and Montgomery knew each other
The books:
Bial, Raymond. The Underground Railroad. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 1995.
Bradford, Sarah Hopkins. Harriet, the Moses of Her People. New York: Geo. R. Lockwood & Son. 1886.
Clinton, Catherine. Harriet Tubman, the Road to Freedom. New York: Back Bay Books, Little, Brown and Company. 2004.
Siebert, Wilbur H. The Underground Railroad, from Slavery to Freedom, A Comprehensive History. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Inc. 2006.
Still, William. The Underground Railroad, a Record of Facts, Authentic Narrative, Letters, &C. First published in Philadelphia in 1872.
Stowe, Harriet Beecher. Uncle Tom's Cabin. First published in 1852.
Washington, Margaret, Editor. Narrative of Sojourner Truth. New York: Vintage Classics. 1993 (first published in 1850).
The story and photos except for the maps and 1793 Act copyright 2019 Karen Rodriguez.
Previous Post 1848 Convention on Women's Rights
Next Post The Father of American Conservatism
The Father of American Conservatism April 2, 2019
Harriet Tubman March 2, 2019
1848 Convention on Women's Rights September 20, 2018
For God and Homeland September 4, 2018
Safe Haven July 27, 2018
Participatory Democracy and the New Left May 18, 2018
American Writers Museum April 11, 2018
Manitowoc's Submarines March 22, 2018
First Light, First Lady February 9, 2018
Father Jacques Marquette December 27, 2017
Archives Select Month April 2019 March 2019 September 2018 July 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017
Lake by Lake
Lake by Lake Select Category All Lakes Connecting channel Lake Erie Lake Huron Lake Michigan Lake Ontario Lake Superior Museum Superior, Michigan


text:
Steven R. Cuckler
Steven R. Cuckler is the partner-in-charge of Taft's Delaware office. Steve brings two decades of combined legal, government, military and political experience to the comprehensive array of services he provides to corporate, public and non-public clients at the state and local levels.
Steve worked in the Ohio Senate and served as the deputy chief legal to Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder. He also served as city councilman and vice-mayor of the city of Delaware.
In addition, he chaired the executive committee of the Delaware County Republican Party, providing advice on numerous Republican campaigns and platform issues. He currently serves as the Republican Party's Finance Chair and is also a member of the Delaware County Board of Elections.
Steve also served as the manager of government relations for the second-largest cable company in the United States (Time Warner Cable) and as the director of law and government affairs for the fifth-largest cable company in the United States (f.k.a. Adelphia Communications).
Steve is an Army veteran and currently ranked as a major in the United States Army Reserve, where he serves as the international law officer for the 412th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) in Whitehall, Ohio. In 2010, he returned from a one-year deployment as chief of military justice, Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Steve received his law degree from Capital University Law School and his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University. He is a member of the Columbus Business First "Forty under 40" class of 2013, honored for his outstanding career achievements and community service.
What types of cases Attorney Steven R. Cuckler & Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP can handle?
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP can handle cases related to laws concerning Real Estate, Contracts, Government, Land Use & Zoning. We manually verify each attorney's practice areas before approving their profiles and reviews on our website.
Where is Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP located?
Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP is located at 65 E State St #1000, Columbus, OH 43215, USA. You can reach out to Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP using their phone line (614) 334-6144. You can also check their website taftlaw.com.
How much would it cost to hire Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP?
Steven R. Cuckler lawyer charges are specific to each case. However, they work with contingency fees and its ranges from $$ to $$$. They also provide free consultation [and no obligation quotes] if you are interested to hire.
Are Steven R. Cuckler reviews trust-able?
We have the ratings and reviews moderation team who checks and verifies every review submitted on our website manually. You can trust all the reviews you see on Steven R. Cuckler lawyer profile listing.
East State Street 65
Government Lawyer
Land Use & Zoning Lawyer
Chris L. Connelly
Robert J. Nolan


text:
Auction giant John Pye to launch national debt recovery division
THE UK's Asset Valuer & Auctioneer of the Year for the last four years running, John Pye, is launching a new division within its Business Assets department, offering industry low commission rates to support clients with national debt recovery.
Launching in December 2019, the new debt recovery brand – named JPS Debt Recovery – will offer a variety of services which complement John Pye's existing work in insolvency and for government bodies including HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Trevor Palethorpe, national head of corporate recovery at John Pye, said:
"JPS Debt Recovery was borne out of a conversation with one of our insolvency practitioner clients who was tired of receiving an average service while being charged sky-high commission rates from their regular recovery agents. We already had the resources in place within John Pye - such as debt recovery specialists, enforcement officers and the firm is FCA registered – so we realised that this could be a great bolt on service which would complement our current offering perfectly.
"We're aiming to deliver industry high service standards and industry low commission rates. It's all come full circle and now, that same insolvency practitioner has become the division's first client."
The auction giant has a strong affiliation with the debt recovery industry. The company was co-founded in 1968 by Ann Pye, a pioneering figure within in the bailiff community and the first female bailiff to set-up her own company.
Trevor continued:
"Thanks to Ann's amazing legacy in the industry, John Pye is intertwined with debt recovery and our insolvency team are recognised as experts in this field. The creation of JPS Debt Recovery was a clear and exciting next step for us."
Chris Fish has been appointed to head up JPS Debt Recovery, having worked with Ann at John Pye's sister company for a number of years.
"We feel Chris' experience and passion for the industry will help to shape JPS Debt Recovery's own brand and create its own legacy.
"We're delighted to have Chris on board and lead this significant new opportunity for the business," continued Trevor.
JPS Debt Recovery will be based in Nottingham and will be led by national debt recovery manager Chris Fish, who joins the firm with a wealth of expertise in the sector spanning over 20 years. JPS Debt Recovery will launch in December 2019.
To find out more about JPS Debt Recovery and the services it will offer please contact Chris Fish recovery@jpsdr.co.uk
Picture: L-R Trevor Palethorpe & Chris Fish_RS


Apparently, I'm in a giving mood because there are giveaways happening all around.
First of all, I'm giving away a bookmark to anyone who leaves a review for my books on Amazon! Just email me a link and your addy, and I'll send you a signed beauty!
Second, there's a Goodreads giveaway happening for a signed SCARRED BY VENGEANCE copy!
And last of all, PIECES OF REVENGE is still FREE!!! So go get it while you still can!
I'm off to my writing cave now!
← #Giveaway: Calling All Reviewers!


text:
Millsaps Ranks High; Auto Plant Expands
By Elizabeth Waibel, Lacey McLaughlin Tuesday, August 16, 2011 12:40 p.m. CDT
Jackson Joins Greening America's Capitols
The Environmental Protection Agency has chosen Jackson to be part of the Greening America's Capitols initiative.
The Green Government Center explores retrofitting public spaces within about a half-mile radius of the state capitol building with green technologies. These include solar-powered water fountains, indigenous and drought-tolerant landscaping, rain gardens for stormwater treatment, and permeable paving systems. The area includes the Farish Street Historic District. Several major streets run through the area, including Congress Street, along which sits the state capitol, the city hall and the governor's mansion.
The city requested assistance from the Greening America's Capitals design team to develop concepts for Congress Street and two public parks along the street. The city wants Congress Street to be more bike- and pedestrian-friendly to better connect the civic buildings with adjacent neighborhoods and businesses. Another goal is for Congress Street to have a significant increase in street trees
Brookhaven plant to get new equipment
Delphi Automotive plans to invest about $15 million in its Brookhaven manufacturing facility, keeping 200 jobs in the area.
The money will buy new equipment to manufacture a new version of the printed circuit boards currently made at the plant, a press release said.
"I am delighted Delphi has looked to its Brookhaven facility to supply this new contract," Gov. Haley Barbour said in a statement. "Delphi has been a key corporate citizen in southwest Mississippi for more than 30 years. The company's decision to further invest in its Brookhaven plant is great news for southwest Mississippi."
The Mississippi Development Authority supported the plant's new project, and the Lincoln County Industrial Development Foundation and Entergy Mississippi provided funding.
Delphi expects to begin making the new circuit boards in March 2013.
Millsaps Makes 'Best-of' List
The Princeton Review has ranked Millsaps College among its best 376 colleges in the county.
Millsaps earned the No. 8 spot for "Professors Get High Marks and No. 19 for Town-Gown Relations Are Great. Based on student responses, Millsaps professors received the eighth highest ranking in the country. Town-Gown Relations category refers to positive student interaction with the members of the local community.
"Millsaps is a stellar academic environment provided by a nationally acclaimed and deeply caring faculty," Robert W. Pearigen, president of Millsaps, said in a statement. "Distinctive study abroad opportunities, meaningful community service activities and significant pre-professional programs add further quality to the Millsaps experience, ensuring the very best in liberal arts education as preparation for life."
Always a Bridesmaid ...
Green It, Baby
Boosting Downtown's Curb Appeal
Progress, Progress, Progress
Jackson Area Businesses Open, Close and Give Awards


text:
Bautista, John
John Bautista
Кремниевая долина
Named One of the Top 10 Most Innovative Individuals of the Year by the Financial Times
Financial Times has named Orrick North America's Most Innovative Law Firm in its 2017 report, recognizing the firm for eight different innovations. In addition, FT selected John Bautista as one of the 10 Most Innovative Individuals of the Year.
John Bautista, a member of Orrick's Board of Directors and Technology Companies Group, leads Orrick's international Technology Companies practice connecting Silicon Valley with Europe and Asia.
John focuses his practice on advising emerging companies and investors, and represents both public and private high-tech and life sciences companies in many areas, including corporate and securities law, venture capital financings, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, public company representation and technology licensing.
The Recorder named John the "2019 Innovator of the Year" for his work as the chief lawyer on the Long-Term Stock Exchange, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-approved exchange designed to change the paradigm of traditional stock markets by rewarding entrepreneurs and investors committed to long-term business strategies. Financial Times recognized John as one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Individuals of the Year in 2017, calling him "one of the most influential lawyers in the technology ecosystem of Silicon Valley." He is ranked Band 2 by Chambers USA California, for Venture Capital and Chambers USA Nationwide, ranked him Band 3 for Startups & Emerging Companies.
John is a Board member and co-founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange, which is creating a new stock exchange for public companies supporting long-term investors, as well as an advisor and co-founder of Clerky.com, a company automating legal work for early-stage companies. He is also recognized for his work with Y Combinator companies.
Prior to joining Orrick, John was a founding attorney of Venture Law Group and served on the Executive Committee. John previously practiced at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati. John also served as Mayor of the City of Cupertino, California and a council member from 1993-1997, where he helped build important public partnerships, including with Apple Computer, the Mid-Peninsula Open Space Preserve, and San Jose and California Water Companies.
Representative transactions include the following:
Twist Bioscience in its $70 million initial public offering
IronPlanet dual track IPO and sale process, resulting in its sale to Richie Bros. Auctioneers
Sequans Communications initial public offering
Clever sale to Kahoot!
Second Spectrum sale to Genius Sports
Venafi sale to Thoma Bravo
Guardian Analytics sale to NICE Actimize
Creative Market sale to Dribbble
Realm/TightDB sale to MongoDB
Citus sale to Microsoft
Wrike sale to Vista
Simility sale to PayPal
Zesty, Inc. sale to Snap
Delighted Inc. sale to Qualtrics
Stripe, Inc. acquisition of Index
Datasift, Inc. sale to Meltwater
Zenly sale to Snap
SportsAction, Inc. sale to The Chernin Group
Disqus sale to Zeta Global
Humble Bundle sale to IGN
ClariPhy Communications sale to InPhi
Yes sale to Twitter
Cruise Automation sale to General Motors
Stupeflix sale to GoPro
Thales acquisition of Vormetric
Heyzap sale to RNTS Media
Compose sale to IBM
Image recognition company sale to major computer hardware and software company
Virtual reality company sale to Google
eNovance sale to RedHat
LaFourchette sale to TripAdvisor
Shutl sale to eBay
Cue sale to Major computer hardware and software company
Flutter sale to Google
Neolane sale to Adobe
Posterous sale to Twitter
BackType sale to Twitter
Cardpool sale to Blackhawk
Scoopler sale to Google
CitizenSports sale to Yahoo!
CubeTree sale to SuccessFactors
Xoopit sale to Yahoo!
eTacts sale to Salesforce
Heroku sale to Salesforce
Vhayu Technologies sale to Thomson Reuters
Movity sale to Trulia
Talkbin sale to Google
Zenbe sale to Facebook
Centrality Communications sale to SiRF Technology Holdings
Purisma Incorporated sale to Dun & Bradstreet
LTSE: An Exchange Focused on Long-Term Value
What is the Long-Term Stock Exchange?
49th Annual Securities Regulation Institute
January.24.2022 - January.26.2022
Orrick Advises Blue Cloud Ventures on Investment in Paradox's $200 Million Series C Round
January.04.2022
Orrick Advises Codecademy on $525 Million Acquisition by Skillsoft
December.22.2021
D:+1 650 614 7652
E:[email protected]
The Orrick Building
405 Howard Street
631 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 2-C
1000 Marsh Road
Menlo Park, CA 94025-1015
Направления практики
Технологические компании
Слияние и поглощение
Управление организациями
Финансовые технологии (финтех)
Blockchain and Virtual Currency
Право заниматься юридической практикой
Harvard Law School, J.D., 1991
Institut d'Etudes Politiques - Paris, Visiting Scholar, International and Comparative Law
University of California, Los Angeles, B.A., summa cum laude
Профессиональное признание
Legal 500, Leading Lawyer (2021)
Chambers USA, Nationwide, Startups & Emerging Companies, Band 3 (2019, 2020) "He is a hard-working, practical lawyer, with a lot of deal experience."
Financial Times "Top 10 Most Innovative Individuals of the Year" (2017)
The Recorder's 'Innovator of the Year in California' (2019)
The Recorder's 'Trusted Advisor' (2016)
The Recorder's 'Innovation Award' (2015)
Chambers USA, California, Venture Capital, Band 2 (2020) "He provides excellent advice and has a lot of expertise and deal experience." (2019) "He has a very good knowledge of the market and is good at anticipating company needs and bringing other resources in."
Super Lawyers, Northern California 'Top Rated Securities & Corporate Finance Attorney' (2014-2019)
Chambers USA, 'Leaders in Their Field' (2013)
Silicon Valley Business Journal's 'Top 30 Under 30 Political and Social Leaders in Silicon Valley'
Членство в профессиональных организациях
Council Member, City of Cupertino, California (1993-1997)
Mayor, City of Cupertino, California (1996-1997)


Mahindra's Nashik plant serves as production hub for the Marazzo and the engine development and supply takes place at the carmaker's Igtipuri facility. The home-grown carmaker established both the facilities with a total investment of Rs 1,500 crore. While the entry-level variant of the new Mahindra 7 seater MPV has been positioned against the new-generation Maruti Suzuki Ertiga, and its range-topping trim takes head-to-head against the Toyota Innova Cyrsta. It also competes against the Renault Lodgy (top model) and the Tata Hexa. In order to achieve such a competitive price range, Mahindra is producing the vehicle with high-level localization. Prices of the Mahindra Marazzo 7-seater version start from Rs 9.99 lakh for the entry-level variant and go up to Rs 13.90 lakh for range-topping model. The 8-seater model of the MPV costs Rs 5000 more than the 7-seater version, ranging from Rs 10.04 lakh to Rs 13.95 lakh. One must note that all prices are introductory ex-showroom, India. The carmaker recently announced that it will hike Marazzo prices by Rs 30,000 – Rs 40,000 from January 1, 2019.
At the rear end, the MPV sports a big bumper, mounted spoiler with stop light and LED taillamp enclosures. The Mahindra Marazzo is based on the company's all-new architecture that's claimed to offer the best-in-class ride and agile handling. The carmaker will use the same architecture in its upcoming SUV and crossover. Dimensionally, the Marazzo is the largest vehicle than other Mahindra cars. The Marazzo MPV comes in a choice of seven exterior colour options – Mariner Maroon, Shimmering Silver, Aqua Marine, Oceanic Black, Iceberg White and Poseidon Purple.
For connectivity purpose, there is a large 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with smartphone applications such as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Initially, the infotainment unit was compatible to Android Auto only. The MPV has air-con vents for occupants of all three seats. Mahindra also equips the MPV with industry-first surround cool system that's claimed to cool faster than others.
On the safety front, the new Mahindra 7 seater MPV gets dual front airbags and anti-lock braking system (ABS) with electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), reverse parking camera and sensors, ISOFIX and disc brakes on all wheels. All these fitments are standard across the carline. Mahindra also equips the vehicle with hill launch assist, multiple airbags and electronic stability programme (ESP). The MPV is claimed to meet all the safety norms. With the large dimensions and a long wheelbase, the Mahindra Marazzo offers good cabin space for seven/eight adult passengers.
Mahindra Marazzo is a seven-seater MPV that goes up against the Toyota Innova Cyrsta and the upcoming new Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. It also marks debut of the company's new petrol and diesel engines developed jointly by Mahindra and SsangYong.


Based on the book by acclaimed Australian author Peter Goldsworthy, this World Premiere production is a powerful reminder of what we do for love and loss.
The best-selling book comes to life on stage with songs, laugh and scary fun for the young and young at heart.
The internationally acclaimed new film from multi award-winning writer/director Ziad Doueiri, 2018 Oscar-nominee The Insult is a thrilling new legal drama centring on a minor disagreement that escalates into a nationwide controversy.