Finally the sequel of one of the most unforgetable adventure game : Dragon Lore, is arrived. The graphics are great, and with a great sound too. But one thing that still quite annoying is the way to fight the monster. That's horrible, you can only slash them as quick as possible, 'cause parrying is very difficult. You must eat to restore your stamina each day. The story begin after Werner von Wallenrod became the dragon knight. One of the rule in the kingdom, Duke Eragg, isn't agree with his award and challenge him to find Maraach the Dragon Fire, the symbol of the knight. Werner once again travel through this notorious land to find the dragon. Here is the walkthrough.
First talk to the wizard. He'll tell you about the main quest. Gain as much info as possible ( try it by choosing the options starting from the second choice ). Open the gate and enter the underground city. On the left of the pond is a locked gate to armoury. Near it, is the entrance to the saddlery. Enter it and browse around. Get the bag on the table then pick up chart of forest, valley and a gourd from inside the cupboard. Talk to Ghewissel. Ask him about the key to the armoury.
In the armoury, get all the equipment inside four cupboards. This include : sword of Erena, Long blade, battle axe, saber, wooden shield, knight shield, and pikes. Then visit the Dragonet, it's on the right side of the pond. Inside take rope, purse of Tarks ( money ), and tinderbox from the cupboard; and also pick up the food ration on the table. Talk to Sarel about the jousting tournament. Ask him to prepare the Dragonet. Outside the city you'll meet the wizard who gives you the Ring of Life. Take it and fly away to find Maraach, the Dragon.
On the way there, you'll be fired down to the Forest of Warkalt by some dragons. After the crash, pick up the food ration near the foot of the Dragonet and your gourd next to its head. Heading west than north. You'll arrive in front of the river, turn right and pick up the cutting stone. Don't forget to fill up your gourd with the water from the river. Turn around and go straight. On the next screen, turn left and you'll see a strange rock. Go to it. Use the cutting stone on the rock. A writings will appear on it. Use the reading spell to read it. Yup, this is the place where you can restore your stamina point after you sleep. Remember this place. Now go back, then turn right. Go straight twice until you can't go further, turn left. Go straight. Then turn left. You'll arrive in the goblin's encampment. Fight them if you want by insult them or you can just cheat them by saying that you have the sword of Erena and the dragon is flying up there. Get the meat from the firepit. Then go straight. This is the crossroad to the gnome.
Turn right, go straight then go to the right. You'll meet the gnome. Talk to him and accept his help. Follow him to his house. Ask him about the strange rock. Then ask him for food. Get the fruits. Now go back to the forest. Go to the right, straight twice then go to the right. You should see The Guardian ( it's the old tree ). Talk to him. Accept his bargain on planting the seed. Back to the crossroad near the gnome. Instead of going right, you should go straight then go to the left. You'll arrive in the swamp. Go further. Plant the seed on the sandy ground. Prepare to battle the demon. I prefer using the battle axe to hack this demon. Use weakness spell on him and protection spell on yourself. You can take the demon amulet on the lump ( it's for boosting up your magic points ) later on, don't do it now 'cause after you did that, you can't plant the seed here. After beating the demon, go back to the gnome. This time ask him to heal you. When you say goodbye this time, he should offers you the magic accorn. Take it. Go back to The Guardian. Tell him that you've planted the seed. Then tell him that you want to get out from the forest.
Before you ride the animal, turn around and follow the path. You'll see a fighting between a man with an animal. After you kill the animal, talk to the man. Promise him to help. Find out about the temple of Draconia. Take his purse and the serpent dagger. Now ride the animal.
In the next two days from now, the tournament will begin. In this town you can meet a lot of interesting characters, including Nenisma, Prince Arthus and the beautiful Princess Carmine. There's no special order to go in this town, but I think mine is the good one. So follow this order if you want.
At the main gate to the city, talk to the guard and bribe him 20 Taraks to keep the serpent's dagger. Enter the city and talk to the stall man. Ask him about the Temple of Draconic. Turn around and climb the stairs. Go to the left and watch Karr Straupsihk threaten Quentin, a kid. Choose this speak option to help him.
"Straupsihk, this outburst is unworthy of you. Save your strength for the arena"
"Far be it from me, .... "
"I'm sure he already regrets his lack of respect for you"
"Believe me, I don't think he'll ......"
"You were lucky ..... "
"Forget that and ..... "
"Who is Princess Carmine ?"
"Did Straupsihk threat the princess ?"
"What are you to the Princess ?"
"How do you know my name ?"
"And what else you know ?"
"Believe me that feeling is Mutual"
"Why do you hate the Duke ?"
"Oh, you seem to be privy ...."
"Keep me inform with your progress"
Turn left and talk to Hellaynea of Artica, the pretty woman sitting behind the table.
"You frail ? There isn't a man ... "
"We may have the occasion .... "
Then keep on talking to her until the choice of flattering her shows up, but nothing can flatter her now. So turn around and talk to the other woman, Tanathya. Ask about her motive to enter the tournament. Then talk to the innkeeper and book some room for the night. In the corner near Hellaynea of Artica, there's gamblers sitting on the table. They're the source of your money in the town. Everytime you're sort of money, play some games with them to get more money. Now exit the tavern and follow the left path. Continue the path to the temple.
Then talk to Tochmar ( the man who is training his skill ). Lie to him and don't tell him your real name. He, then advises you to find the blacksmith for a good weapon. Move left, then enter the path behind the trainer. Near the end of the road, turn left. This is Dihcar, the alchemist. Inside you can buy all potions that you'll need during the game. This include magic powder, life potion, cure potion, strength orb, and chest that can contains 25 things. Now just buy the chest and the cure potion. Talk to Dihcar. Ask for his reading on the Magic Accorn. Now head to the temple. Talk to the priest about the dying man outside the forest of Warkalt you've met earlier. He'll tell you about Nenisma the holder of the Talon. In the temple you can heal and boost up your stamina points with a price of 5 Taraks each. Now go outside and follow the path beside the temple. On the left side is the entrance to Prince Arthus chamber. Follow the path until you reach the Heraldry, the big white building on the left. Go through an archway, The Dragon Way, to the fountain. In the fountain you can fill up your gourd. Near the fountain you'll see a young woman. Talk with her. She's Cinders, the daughter of the herald.
Now enter the only shop in the fountain area. It's the general store. Talk to her. Show the serpent's dagger to Nenisma. Ask for the purple talon. Then buy the poison. Here, you can also buy food rations, tinder box, mirror, rope, maps, and gourd. It's up to you if you want to buy some but you have to buy the mirror and the lantern. Ask her about Dihcar and Draconia. Go out. Now, the day should turn out to night. Walk back to the temple through the narrow pathway beside it.
"Out of my sight, toad"
"Yes, does it bother you ?"
"You mean the one next to the arena ?"
"You've just told me, cretin"
Then kill him as fast as you can ( I prefer using the rusty axe for this one, and try to use the hack strategy : point the axe on the left and right side of the goblin alternatively ). Remember this, you must keep your health point above 40 before you take a rest at the inn. That should keep you alive. Use the life potion if you want it, or eat a little bit. After that, take his purse, talisman, and the dagger ( you can use it again with Nenisma to get the talon and gain more money from the priest. You can ask for the talon as many as you can, even without the dagger, each time you're out of money. I guess this is the error they make for this game, sorry Cryo !!!! ). Go back to the beggar. Report the fight. He'll tell you about a parchment contain a clue for the secret passage. Then go back to the inn and take a nap.
First, take the crystal ball on the table ( it's the connector to archwizard, your guiding man ). Just go outside to use the crystal ball and put it on the screen. The wizard will give you a one hint per day. Then go out of the tavern. Move left and follow the path. At the corner, turn around. Now you'll facing the blacksmith. Here you can buy weapons or sell weapons that you won't need anymore and his advice for the tournament, especially on Hellaynea. Buy the sacred pike, you need it later on. Go back to the tavern and speak with Helaynea. Praise her with the word from the blacksmith ( she's the number one seeded in the tournament ). She'll tell you to talk to the herald for an advice. Now go to the Heraldry. Talk to the herald inside and book your place in the tournament.Tell him that Helaynea have sent you to meet him. Ask for his advice on the mount. Go out and go to the warehouse. Talk to the propietor about the tournament and Dihcar. Go to the training center. Talk to the man near cart. He'll tell you about some clues for the tournament. Now go to Dihcar, ask him about the parchment. Hmm.. nothing yet. Now just walk around until the night comes, or you can play some dice game to gain more money in the tavern.
Nothing much to do now. Go to the temple. Talk about Harssk, the Lost Labyrinth and the Dreamer. Ask the priest for a meeting with the Clairvoyant. Ask about your future this time. Then return to your inn and take a nap. Prepare for the big day tomorrow : The Tourney of Seven Lances.
You'll be facing 6 warriors in the tourney. You can beat them all ( Tanathea is the hardest ), but don't waste your time on that unless you're desperate on money. Anyway, Tanathea will be the winner in the tourney wether you defeat her or not. Before entering the arena you can talk to your opponent in the hallway. Ask the herald for the rule of the tourney. First, pick up your opponent by taking his/her flag. Then choose your weapon and mount. If you get hurt, heal yourself with the healing balm. Repeat this step before each match. After the tourney, Prince Arthus will talk to you. He'll introduce you to Countess of Cyrene ( it seems that the countess is having a problem ). Then accept Hellaynea's offer to train together. Remember, you have 10 days before the Tourney of Cennmar begins. Go out from the arena and head down to the fountain. Talk to the Cinders. Promise her to talk to her father.
Seek Nenisma in her shop. Ask her about the goblins and the Lost Labyrinth. She told you that the entrance to the labyrinth can only be accessed at night. Now go back to Heraldry and talk to the herald. Go back to Cinders at the fountain. Tell her that you've done your promise. Now you have a new ally. Go to the alchemist. Ask for the parchment. Now, he'll tell you about it. Take the parchment on the wall beside the back shelves. Read it with reading spell. Talk again to Dihcar. Learn about the strange cloaked man. Now talk to guard at the stall near the front gate. Learn more about the Lost Labyrinth. Now, just wait until the night comes. Go talk to everybody about the tourney.
When the night comes, go to the fountain and talk with the ghost ( if you've talked to ruby priest about the Dreamer, you should see a ghost in the fountain ). Ask who he is. First, reject his demand to find the remains of his body. After he promises to give you a magic stone in return, accept his task. Head back to the Dragon passage. Face the statue of Harssk. Use the mirror on its hand. Open Sesame !!!! A secret passage will reveal. Use the tinderbox to lit the lantern. Hold your lantern and enter the labyrinth. First, go to the goblin's chamber. On the way there, you'll see a lever with writings above it. Use the reading spell. Don't turn down the lever yet, save it for later use. In the goblin's chamber, you'll fight 2 goblins. Use protection sell and hack them. Get the level I and II map from them. Collect the money and sword also. Then find the pit on the North East section on the level I of the Lost Labyrinth ( on the level I map, it is marked with the blue cloud ). Use the rope on the beam of stone above the pit. Swing accross and continue your journey. At the end, get the skull from the alcove. Go back to the fountain. Talk to the ghost about the skull, then go to the temple.
Tell the priest about the ghost and ask for the summoning. Give him the skull. Go back to the fountain and tell the ghost about it. After he is vanished, get the magic stone ( it protects you against magic ). The next morning, talk to Duke Eragg in the tavern. Then talk to Quentin on the next table. Talk about Cinders with Big Pete. Accept his gratitude. Tell about Pete to Cinders. Now you have one more thing to do with the lovebirds.
Sometime between the fifth or the sixth night at Draconia, the tavern man will bring you a parchment from Countess of Cyrene. Read the parchment. Go to the Prince Arthus chambers ( the one with guard in front of it ). Tell the guard that you have the parchment from Countess. Enter the room. Talk to Countess and show her the Ring of Fire. Suddenly Prince Arthus ( his imitation ) comes in and attack you. Throw the magic accorn to deflect Arthus' paralyze spell. Then wear the magic stone to deflect the spell and slash him with your weapon ( use protection and weakness spell to help you ). After that, talk again to Countess, or should I say .... your long lost MOTHER. Retreive the healing potion and the bottom part of the rune from the table. Drink the potion to heal you.
Unite the rune, then use the Ring of Fire with it. You'll be sent out to Maraach. Talk with him and be PROUD !!!! That's the way of Wallenrod. Listen to the twin stone story. Get the Crystallian and go back to Draconia. Watch the cool movie.
Go back to tavern and talk with Duke Eragg and Tanathea ( she is nicer now ). Go to the blacksmith and learn that Duke of Eragg has bought the sacred pike too, and you can't buy it now ( luckily you have bought it earlier ). Talk with all the people in town, then go to the temple. Tell the ruby priest about Maraach. Show him the Crystallian. You'll be guided to the Clairvoyant. Ask him about the Adamoster. Hmmm...... another puzzle, this guy is full of riddle. Go see your mother now. Talk about Maraach and Adamoster. Get the money from the table. Talk to Arthus. Pick the second choice first to gain more info on the tournament. Then receive the Sword of Fire from him ( choose the first answer ).
"I come to see you on behalf of your daughter and Pete ...."
"I abhor such arule, but ...."
"I am sorry to hear about your wife ....."
"Will you agree to their engagement ?"
"I think you make a good decision"
Tell Cinders about the news. Then spend the day off by talking to the rest of the habitant of Draconia. Don't forget to buy some life potions and the Orb of Strength at the alchemist ( you'll need it for the fight down in the Labyrinth ). Fill your gourd with the water from the fountain if it is empty. Now you're ready. At night, go down again to the Lost Labyrinth. Turn down the lever at the entrance ( it will open the false wall on the path in level 2 ). Go straight to room B on level 2 . If you enter the room from the south door, you'll read an inscription above the door on how to open the sun door in room B. Use the Crystallin on the myst to go past it ( the green cloud in front of the entrance 3 on level II map ). Enter room C and push the gems in this order : white, yellow, red, and green. Exit south ( the path with Yellow statue on left and Red statue on the right ). You'll come to room B. Turn left and follow the path to the next intersection ( the false wall in room B is open now ). Turn right and past the dragon heads. Keep going straight ( ignore the right intersection ). Go straight on past more dragon heads to the next room. Read the inscription above the door. Press the orbs in this order : Yellow, Red, White, and Green. Exit through the door with Green statue on your left and Red statue on your right. Go through the path ( if you didn't pull down the lever earlier, you should see a dead-end here. But don't worry just pass through the false wall ) and down the stairs and find an empty fountain.
Note : Use the Orbs when the hit points of the monster near end ( under 60 points approx. ) 'cause you can't use another things from your inventory after you used the Orbs. Use life potion to restore your hit points during the fight.
Anyway, after you buried this monster, take the Adamoster. Find your way back to the city. Now get rest and wait until the 20th day to enter the Tourney of Cennmar. While waiting for that day, try to hangin' around with the locals and find some info about the tourney. And the most important thing is prepare yourself for the final battle with Cariachan. I use 10-12 life potion to defeat that guy. So just drop down all your inventory except : Ring and Sword of Fire, Ring of Life, the Two stones, Sacred pike, and the crystal ball. The others have no use at all starting from this point.
Here it is, the tourney begins. Talk to Tanathea, Eragg, and Cariachan. For a nice kiss scene, talk to Hellaynea ( she promises to give you a small reward if you defeat her, hmmm.... ). Then talk to Arthus about Princess Carmine. Wow, you've been chosen as her champion. Talk to the herald about that. Then enter the arena. Choose the easy one, like Arthus, Rolon or Thormac. After you defeat 3 warrior, watch the cool video clip that showing the jousting betweem Hellaynea and Cariachan. What a dreadful scene to watch Hellaynea badly wounded. Use Crystallian stone to help her. She loves you very much so promise to avenge her. Talk about Cariachan to Arthus. After that, Princess Carmine walk out from the corner of the room. She was masquarade as Quentin, the kid, since you arrived in Draconia !!!! Promise her to defeat Cariachan. Take the amulet from her hand and another kiss from a woman.
This is the final part of the game. Summon Maraach with your Ring of Fire. Then ride him to the Cradle of the Sun, where the Coronation Joust take place. Talk to Arthus. Then wear your Ring of Fire and The Sword of Fire/Sacred Pike ( it's your choice on weapon ). Turn around and talk to Tanathea. Then face Duke Eragg. Cariachan will shows up riding Dagon, his evil dragon ally. Watch the joust. After you win it, Cariachan will protest the result. Fight him to the death. If you use the Sword of Fire, don't forget to cast the Burning Spell on it. Then watch the ending movie. Once again you're the hero of the valley. Too bad the wall of Obsidian has been destroyed by the orcs. So prepare for the next adventure of Werner von Wallenrod in Dragon Lore III.
Always use protection and weakness spell if you're facing the tough enemy, such as goblins, demon, magician, etc.
Eat to restore your stamina.
Talk to everyone about something new, sometime you'll get further in the game by talking with people.
All of the pictures are the property of Andreas Nillson. Thanks pal. And many thanks for Zizuph, Conal and Cool C. for giving me all the clues I needed.


Public schools and libraries in the U.S. can save a lot of money on Internet service by applying for the Schools and Libraries Program, a federal subsidy better known as E-Rate.
E-Rate funding, capped yearly at $3.9 billion, helps eligible institutions cover costs of Internet service. Participants can save anywhere from twenty to ninety percent of their Internet expenses—the precise amount being dictated by the economic standing of both the participating institution and the school district where it is located.
E-Rate and three other programs are part of the Universal Service Fund (USF), a system of subsidies born out of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as a way to ensure affordable telecom rates across the country. Although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) oversees the USF, the fund is managed by a nonprofit corporation called the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC).
Detailed information on how to apply for E-Rate can be found in the Schools and Libraries Program overview. Basically it works as a bidding process. An applicant fills out FCC Form 470, requesting specific services, and submits it to the USAC. The USAC then issues an RFP for telecom providers who want to bid for the requested services. After 28 days, the applicant can study the bids. When it selects one, it requests E-Rate funding by filing FCC Form 471 within a deadline set by the FCC (for FY2016 it is May 26).
The discount rate is generally determined by the size of the population, in the applicant's school district, that qualifies for the National School Lunch Program. The applicant must also file Form 486, listing services for which funds are requested and ensuring compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act.
There are limits to what E-Rate can cover. The applicant is solely responsible for end-user equipment, like hardware and software, and also for any non-discounted portions of Internet services.
Compliance with state and local law. It's not enough to follow the FCC standards only.
Applicants cannot seek discounts for services not requested. In other words, services listed on Form 471 must match (or not exceed) services requested on Form 470.
Fair, competitive bidding. Applicants are responsible for ensuring an open, fair, and competitive bidding process to select the most cost-effective provider.
Document retention. Applicants must save all competing bids for services to demonstrate they selected the most cost-effective bid, with price being the primary consideration. Records should be kept for at least ten years after the last date of service delivered.
CIPA compliance. Applicants must confirm compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act, which requires schools and libraries that receive federal funding to employ Internet filters that protect children from harmful content.
In spite of these rules, the wealth of funds in the E-Rate program can attract abuse. In response, the FCC created the USF Strike Force in 2014 and tasked it with combatting waste, fraud, and abuse of the USF programs. Federal agents have shown that they are serious about investigating alleged abuses. One widely publicized case in Ramapo, NY, recently led to several raids. We will look at that case and others like it in upcoming posts.


Sit down with a glass of wine and get salting! P.L's only take 20 minutes to prep, but the taste is unbeatable. I'm all for shortcuts but won't touch the bottled ones you get in supermarkets. They're an unappealing khaki colour with a nasty chemical taste that permeates food and ruins it. For best results leave the lemons to mature for at least 3 weeks before using.
I'm including a quick version if you need them RIGHT NOW, but they're not as good. So pleeease put some time aside and get preserving. A jar of lemons will keep for a year and makes a great addition to casseroles, such as Lamb Tagine or Chicken With Lemon & Rosemary, plus stuffings and spreads.
Thinly slice 1 lemon and place in a small pan. Cover with the juice of 2 lemons,4 tsp sea salt and bring up to the boil then reduce to a medium heat and leave to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Continue as per recipe.
Wash 6 of the lemons then make four lengthway cuts through each as though you were cutting them into quarters but leaving a 1cm at the top and bottom of each to keep it intact.
Squeeze open each slit and fill it with salt then reshape the lemon and place in the jar.
Repeat this process for each lemon, packing all four into the jar.
Now squeeze the juice of the 2 remaining lemons and pour into the jar, top up with olive oil until the lemons are completely covered and place in the fridge.
They will be ready to use after 3 weeks and will keep refrigerated for up to 12 months.


text:
alan carruthers
acarruthers@sluh.org
Alan Carruthers is an established leader in Jesuit secondary education. He brings to SLUH 25 years of Jesuit secondary education experience, first as a social studies teacher, head lacrosse coach and assistant football coach at Rockhurst High School in Kansas City, Mo. (1995-2000), then as Vice Principal and teacher at St. Paul's Jesuit High School in Winnipeg, Manitoba (2000-12), and most recently as Principal at Regis Jesuit High School – Boys Division in Aurora, Co.
After graduating from St. Paul's Jesuit High School in Winnipeg, Carruthers earned a B.A. from the University of Manitoba/St. Paul's Jesuit College and a B.Ed. from the University of Manitoba. In addition, he has completed the Jesuit Schools Network's Seminars in Ignatian Leadership, and earned a Masters of Science in Educational Administration from St. Joseph's University, the Jesuit university in Philadelphia, as part of a collaborative cohort between the JSN and SJU.
Kim Walsh
Secretary to the President
kwalsh@sluh.org
Tweets by sluhpresident

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Want to score yourself a RM10 smartphone?
When was the last time you bought a decent smartphone with just RM10? If you've never done it before, this may be your chance.
In conjunction with the 'honoraya' price reduction promotion, honor is also running a flash sale event on their vmall platform from the 30th May to 1st June 2018. Here are some of the models that are listed by honor for the RM10 flash sale event.
The Flash Sale will begin at 3PM sharp every day during the event period. Colour choices are limited to availability.
For those who are participating in the rush buy event, we wish you all the best.
This year's Christmas is an Honor Christmas!


FAIRFAX, VA - April 25, 2012- Omega World Travel, a fast-growing, award-winning leader in the travel management industry, as well as one of the largest woman-owned businesses in the United States, announces being selected as a 2012 "Top Business" Recipient in five categories by DiversityBusiness.com. DiversityBusiness.com collects and compiles the 'Top Business List' on a state and national basis from a business survey, which is used to determine the top businesses and the most successful entrepreneurs based on the companies' profiles and annual gross revenues.
"We are honored that DiversityBusiness.com has ranked Omega World Travel at the top of five Top Business Lists this year. 2012 is proving to be one of our most successful years and it also marks our 40th year in business" says Omega World Travel CEO Gloria Bohan. "DiversityBusiness.com's recognition continues to inspire me and my employees to be dedicated and committed to our work and strive to empower the community for economic growth."
• Ranked #2 -Top 500 Women Owned Businesses in the U.S.
• Ranked #4 -Top 500 Diversity Owned Businesses in the U.S.
Omega World Travel will be listed in DiversityBusiness.com's "Top Business List," which will be published during The 12th Annual National Business Awards Ceremony and Conference and has over 20 million viewers annually.
The 12th Annual National Business Awards Ceremony and Conference is set to be held April 25- April 27, 2012 at Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Mashantucket, CT. The award ceremony and conference promotes diversity business opportunities by bringing together America's "Top Business Owners," and America's "Top Fortune 500."


Scientists Rise Up Against Statistical Significance (Nature) -- want to replace p-values with confidence intervals, which are easier to interpret without special training. Sample intro to p-values and confidence intervals.
Cutter -- A Qt and C++ GUI for radare2 reverse engineering framework. Its goal is making an advanced, customizable, and FOSS reverse-engineering platform while keeping the user experience in mind. Cutter is created by reverse engineers for reverse engineers.
Computer Latency at a Human Scale -- if a CPU cycle is 1 second, then SSD I/O takes 1.5-4 days, and rotational disk I/O takes 1-9 months. Also in the Hacker News thread, human-scale storage: if a byte is a letter, then a 4kb page of memory is 1 sheet of paper, a 256kb L2 cache is a 64-page binder on the desk, and a 1TB SSD is a warehouse of books.


text:
Fuel Economy: California's Empty Suit
Marlo Lewis, Jr. • 05/06/2018
California, joined by 16 states and the District of Columbia, have petitioned the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to "review," i.e. overturn, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's decision to revise the Obama EPA's greenhouse gas emission standards for model years 2022 to 2025 motor vehicles. This meritless lawsuit is designed to rally progressives to defend California's purloined power to regulate fuel economy.
Why is the suit meritless? Under Section 704 of the Administrative Procedure Act, courts may review an agency action only when it is "final." Accordingly, California and its allies describe Pruitt's decision as a "final action." That does not pass the laugh test.
As the Supreme Court held in Bennett v. Spear, to be final, an agency action must both mark the "consummation" of the agency's decision-making process and determine "rights or obligations." Far from consummating agency policy, Pruitt has simply decided to "further consider appropriate standards for model years 2022 to 2025 light-duty vehicles" through a future notice and comment rulemaking (83 FR 16077). His decision does not affect the legal rights or obligations of any stakeholders because the Obama standards "remain in effect" until the future "rulemaking has been completed."
That Pruitt's action is not final is also evident from the 2012 joint EPA/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) greenhouse gas/fuel economy regulation petitioners claim to be defending.
Pruitt's summary of the issue could not be clearer: "This Determination is not a final agency action. As EPA explained in the 2012 final rule establishing the Midterm Evaluation process, a determination to maintain the current standards would be a final agency action, but a determination that the standards are not appropriate would lead to the initiation of a rulemaking to adopt new standards, and it is the conclusion of that rulemaking that would constitute a final agency action and be judicially reviewable as such."
The California-led coalition's press release claims their "lawsuit is based on the fact that the EPA acted arbitrarily and capriciously." How so? The release asserts that Pruitt "offered no evidence" to support his decision to revise the Obama standards.
Pruitt cites considerable new information about fuel prices, projected vehicle costs, consumer preferences, and other relevant factors. His very credible and legitimate concern is that the Obama standards could price many households out of the market for new motor vehicles.
Ironically, it was the Obama EPA, in cahoots with California, that acted arbitrarily and capriciously when it finalized its Midterm Evaluation of the 2022-2025 motor vehicle greenhouse gas standards 14 months ahead of schedule, and defied its legal obligation to finalize those standards "concurrently with" NHTSA's Midterm Evaluation of fuel economy standards for those years.
The Obama EPA told automakers in July 2016 that it would propose its Midterm Evaluation in mid-summer 2017 and finalize it by April 1, 2018. Ditching those plans without warning, EPA instead published its proposed evaluation on November 30, gave the public only 30 days during the holiday season to comment on the 268-page proposal and 719-page technical support document (TSD), and the finalized the evaluation only two weeks later despite receiving more than 100,000 comments.
Abandoning regular order in this manner was an abuse of discretion. Stakeholders did not have adequate time to prepare detailed technical comments on the proposal and TSD, and the agency did not have adequate time to review all significant comments. Changing plans at the last minute constituted a lack of transparency at best and misrepresentation at worst. It was a political maneuver to confront the incoming Trump administration with a regulatory fait accompli.
Worse, the Obama EPA, abetted by California, made a mockery of the so-called harmonized national vehicle program petitioners claim to support. As the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers explained to former EPA chief Gina McCarthy, EPA's "early action" compelled NHTSA to choose between two unacceptable options: produce an independent evaluation that "may be substantially different and not at all harmonized with EPA's determination," or "align itself with EPA's determination regardless of the existence of facts and analyses that would suggest the need for a different outcome."
There would be no need to harmonize federal and California greenhouse gas standards if the Obama administration had not authorized Sacramento to regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions in the first place. The national fuel economy statute, the 1975 Energy Policy and Conservation Act, specifically preempts states from adopting or enforcing laws or regulations "related to fuel economy standards." Motor vehicle greenhouse gas standards are strongly related to fuel economy standards.
As the Obama EPA and NHTSA explained in their first joint rulemaking in May 2010, carbon dioxide constitutes 94.9 percent of vehicular greenhouse gas emissions, and "there is a single pool of technologies . . . that reduce fuel consumption and thereby carbon dioxide emissions as well."
Moreover, the alleged "harmony" of the so-called National Vehicle Program — a Rube Goldberg scheme in which three agencies, EPA, NHTSA, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), effectively regulate fuel economy through three sets of rules under three statutes — was never more than an uneasy truce primed to fall apart whenever California does not get its way.
It is now painfully obvious that "harmony" exists only as long as EPA and NHTSA dance to CARB's tune. If any subsequent administration dares to relax the Obama standards to safeguard affordability and consumer choice, California will threaten to de-couple from the "harmonized" program and balkanize the U.S. auto market.
Although the forthcoming rulemaking will at most propose to freeze greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards at the 2020 levels, it reportedly will also invite public comment on the legal basis of California's pivotal role in fuel economy regulation. Public debate on that issue is long overdue.
This piece was originally published in The Hill


Vikings is being shot in Wicklow.
Last week I spoke to Annie Atkins, a very talented film industry graphic designer who lives in Dublin. Two films that she worked on have received Oscar nominations. 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' has nine nominations. 'Boxtrolls' got a nomination in the animation category.
The latter could lose to 'Song of the Sea', a beautiful animated film made by the Cartoon Saloon company in Kilkenny. These guys are taking on the Goliaths and winning, with their second nomination in four years.
Right now, the latest series of the massive internatonal TV hit 'Vikings' is being shot in Ashford Studios in Wicklow. Just up the road at Ardmore Studios, the next series of TV phenomenon 'Penny Dreadful' is being worked on.
The film industry in Ireland is on a roll. Some of it comes from the growing number of major international TV series being made here. Some of it is down to local talent such as in animation, from the likes of Brown Bag Films or Cartoon Saloon.
Annie Atkins says the big budget TV series that are being made here enable her to live in Ireland. Surely the more people with those creative skills we have living here the better.
Investment in the indigenous Irish film sector is providing a pool of local talent and experience which makes it more attractive for international projects.
Decades ago, the high-end actors and crew flew in to make a film in Ireland. The locals were often just the technicians. Now Irish directors are directing some of the episodes of projects like 'Vikings'.
Last October Finance Minister Michael Noonan gave a boost to the industry by committing to the tax relief scheme until 2020. He also switched it to a tax credit system aimed at costing less to the exchequer while ensuring more money goes to film-making.
It was the first time in living memory that a Budget speech used the word "culture" in the context of the film industry. Noonan didn't slash funding to the Irish Film Board, for the first time since 2008. Its funding has fallen by over 40pc in the recession.
Big budget television producers are now focusing heavily on Ireland. The new tax incentive will see a tax credit for investment on 32pc of all qualifying expenditure, up from 28pc.
Many of these shows from 'The Tudors' and 'Camelot' to 'Vikings' and 'Penny Dreadful' are based on foreign direct investment. They might showcase Ireland in some scenes but a lot happens in studios.
Nevertheless, the spend in Ireland is significant. The first series of 'Vikings' saw around €20m invested here and it employed over 500 Irish cast members. Projects shot by Michael Hirst, the man behind 'Vikings', have seen €140m in direct inward investment to Ireland. But all is not rosy or simple in the film business. It may employ around 6,000 people now with a spend of €550m, but why can't we do even more?
There are a couple of obstacles. Firstly, on the foreign direct investment side, we are running out of studio space. Before Christmas the head of Ardmore Studios said a lack of studio space was hindering possible future job creation.
We have 110,000 sq ft of industry standard space. Another 100,000 sq ft is needed. It might cost anything between €20m and €30m, but could deliver an additional €100m worth in spending here per year. It looks like a no-brainer for the State to even co-fund it.
The wider film industry gets a Section 481 tax break which cost around €46m in 2011. Under the new tax credit system it will probably cost a bit less and more of the benefit will go to the programme makers rather than wealthy investors.
Some within the industry are concerned that the new system will favour big international players over smaller productions.
There might not be much cultural value in filming 'The Tudors' in a studio in Wicklow, but it brings in money. Small-budget Irish films are of huge cultural value but often don't bring in much money. But one is feeding off the other. They both need each other.
Some surveys have suggested that as many as 20pc of foreign tourists say they came here partially because they saw the place in a film or television show.
Ardmore Studios is owned by former U2 manager Paul McGuinness and accountant Ozzie Kilkenny. You could argue that these guys don't need a State infrastructure fund to co-fund the construction of new studios.
Despite the studio being busy, it is not a goldmine for its shareholders. Neither gentleman will get rich on Ardmore or similar operations. Investment in the sector is costly and often with a slow return.
The State can take a long term view. It can weigh up the merits of investing in this creative industry on the basis of the wider gains to the economy and the exchequer. If the rate of activity growth in the sector is sustained, according to James Hickey of the Irish Film Board, over 5,000 new job equivalents could be created in the next five years.
It isn't just about flashy TV series. Investment in smaller, often loss-making, indigenous films simply has to be done. It doesn't just fill a cultural role, it develops Irish talent.
There is a real opportunity to strike while the iron is hot and really grow employment. The danger is that after investing Ireland could go off the boil in a couple of years and productions might stop arriving.
Even if that happened, we would have a solid infrastructure and something to show for our money. If the State put up half the money at a cost of €15m, it would be just 2pc of taxpayer losses on just one of the big developers, for which we have nothing to show.


text:
Ahead Of Memorial Day, Veterans Remember
Published May 27, 2012 at 3:00 PM EDT
It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.
In a few minutes, the latest on the reports of a massacre in Syria that may have left at least 30 children dead. But first to our cover story today.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: OK, veterans. Veterans, look here for just a few minutes.
RAZ: This week, a group of veterans dressed in bright orange shirts gathered in front of the World War II Memorial on the National Mall right here in Washington, D.C. Some of them were in wheelchairs, others with walkers, but all of them determined to make the journey here to pay tribute to their comrades who never made it home from Europe or the Pacific. This weekend has become known as the official kickoff of the summer, but it's also about something much, much greater.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: We give thanks for those who sacrificed everything so that we could be free. And we commit ourselves to upholding the ideals for which so many patriots have fought and died.
RAZ: That's President Obama from his weekly video address. We begin our program today with the voices of those who served and the memories they keep of those left behind.
At the World War II monument, we came across 93-year-old Jill Knappenberger from Champaign, Illinois. She was a Red Cross volunteer who spent part of the war in a field hospital in Bastogne in southeastern Belgium.
JILL KNAPPENBERGER: I volunteered in '43 to serve with the American Red Cross. We served coffee and doughnuts and cigarettes and candy and chewing gum to the combat troops. But what we did was requested by Eisenhower. He said there's nothing worse than a homesick G.I., which is true. And we were primarily morale builders, and we loved doing what we did, and they loved having us. So it was very satisfying.
I was 26. And in December, I learned my twin brother, Jack, had arrived from England and moved up into Germany. And I was at Bastogne 50 miles away and had two days leave and got up to see him. He was with the 106th Infantry Division and was assigned to that division on Saturday, December 16th. And when we got there, we knew we were in trouble because the Germans were all around us.
So did what we could, helped in the hospital there - American evac hospital. And I learned that my beloved twin brother was killed first day in the Battle of the Bulge. And he's now buried in Luxembourg, a beautiful American cemetery. Devastating, of course. But when you're living in a warzone, in combat, then you expect - I mean, you don't expect it, but you adjust to it. And, of course, we were young and had more resistance and vitality than we do now. But it was devastating.
RAZ: That's Jill Knappenberger remembering her twin brother, Jack, who was killed at the Siege of Bastogne in December 1944. He was 26 years old.
War often illuminates remarkable, even unlikely, stories. Among the most remarkable of the Vietnam War was a stroke of luck or perhaps a bureaucratic mix-up that put two brothers in the same combat unit.
They were from Nebraska. One was 19 years old. His name is Tom Hagel. He's now a law professor at the University of Dayton. His big brother was 21. He's Chuck Hagel, and he'd go on to serve as a U.S. senator from Nebraska.
CHUCK HAGEL: We both put in transfers to be with each other, knowing full well that would never happen. Well, it did happen. It was amazing. So for 10 and half months, Tom and I served literally side by side in Vietnam. And I think my mother was somewhat assured recognizing the risk. But if you're going to be over there, if you're going to go do this, I'd just assumed have you both together and take care of each other.
RAZ: Between them, Tom and Chuck Hagel left Vietnam with five Purple Hearts. In two separate incidents, both men were badly wounded. Tom saved Chuck's life the first time, and Chuck returned the favor a month later.
Tomorrow at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, both brothers who, despite deep political differences, are still very close, both will attend a ceremony marking 50 years since the start of that war. Chuck Hagel will introduce President Obama. Here now is who former Senator Hagel is thinking about this weekend.
HAGEL: On Memorial Day, I think of all the individuals that my brother and I served with in 1968 in Vietnam. That was the Tet Offensive. That was the year we sent back more than 16,000 young Americans dead. I think of Tony Palumbo who was killed from New York. He had, I think, a month to go before he rotated out. He was killed in May of 1968.
And I think of John Summers, a young 18-year-old kid from New Jersey who was killed during the first experience that my brother Tom and I had being wounded together. But I think of those special quiet heroes who served, who came back and never expected anything in return for their service, except maybe a little respect, which unfortunately an angry, divided America didn't give them.
But, you know, that was unfortunate - another unfortunate aspect of the Vietnam War. We all went over as individuals. We didn't go over in units. We were there, if we could last, exist, survive, for 12 months and then your tour of duty was up, except for the regular army people who then could be called back. But because it was a draftee war, essentially, you could get through it. Twelve months and you were out.
And when you came back, they separated you. You flew into Oakland, Travis Air Force Base. They gave you a new uniform, and they gave you travel money home. They gave you about a one-hour briefing on what your benefits are, thank you for your service, and go home, have a good life. That was partly why we had so many readjustment problems with Vietnam veterans returning. That was it.
And Tom and I still stay in touch with some of our buddies from those days. But quite frankly, we've had one individual who Tom and I served with and got to know again here in the United States, a wonderful man, wonderful wife, three children, committed suicide about four years ago. He just never could deal with it.
Two other friends of ours have had major in and out psychiatric ward issues at the VA. Never been able to deal with it. We've got other friends who were able to deal with it, have done very well in their lives. Tom and I have been lucky that we've been able to adjust and move on.
RAZ: That's former Nebraska senator and Vietnam War vet Chuck Hagel.
More than three million men and women have cycled in and out of Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, and almost 6,500 troops have been killed in those wars. Even as U.S. forces begin to prepare for an eventual drawdown in 2014, Afghanistan continues to claim hundreds of casualties a month.
Butch Bracknell is a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps. He's done tours in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. And when we asked him who he'll be remembering this Memorial Day, he began by describing his late friend Maj. Mike Weston.
LT. COL. BUTCH BRACKNELL: He's the closest thing that you could find in a modern superman. Mike and I were both assigned as military prosecutors at Camp Pendleton, California. Mike and I spent several weeks, maybe a better portion of a few months working where we were with each other 60 or more hours a week. He was a, you know, almost a 4.0 grade point average guy from Stanford with degrees in computer science and economics.
Mike went from there to Harvard Law School. And while he - it's an interesting story. While he was on a break at Harvard Law School, he had gone out to California on a job interview. He was flying back with a bunch of Marine reserve guys, and he started talking to these guys and they started yukking it up and sharing stories. And then next thing you knew, Mike had decided, you know what, that sounds like a good idea. I'm going to do that.
So while all of his Harvard Law School peers were at the New York law firms and the Washington, D.C., law firms, you know, making big dollars for the summer, Mike went off to boot camp at Parris Island, South Carolina, and became an enlisted Marine reservist. That was Mike's way.
He would not be told by the folks at Harvard that this is the expectation. Mike would define his own ideas of success. And he went and joined the Drug Enforcement Administration after his initial stint as an officer in the Marine Corps. And that's when he went to Richmond, Virginia, and sort of the mean streets of Richmond.
He was still in the Marine Reserves, and he was assigned to combat operations, and that's where Mike and I saw each other physically. The last time was around February of 2005. I was leading a deployment in Iraq and his unit was rotating in. And so we overlapped for about a week while we were there in Afghanistan.
And we hadn't seen each other in a couple of years, and it was just like the old days. We had such a great time together. We'd go and eat at the dining facility together. And I think we watched "Old School" a couple of times together, which was right up Mike's alley in terms of sense of humor.
And so we had to part company after that as I was rotating home back to my family and he was coming in for his initial tour of duty. So I think their deployment was probably seven or eight months. He came back from them, and he went back to work for the DEA.
You know, most of us would want to come back from a deployment like that where you're kind of getting shot at at a regular basis and you're always exposed to mortar fire or IEDs and things like that and you'd want to take a break and go back to something sort of regular.
Mike took his break and went back to the streets of Richmond trying to interdict drugs in Richmond and with some of society's - probably the worst actors. He did that until an opportunity arose within DEA for him to join a - basically a deployed special operations team and go do counter-narcotic work in Afghanistan.
Mike was, of course, one of the first guys to get his hand in the air to get in on that big adventure. So off he goes to Afghanistan and had been there just a few weeks when they were out on a night mission and they had done a raid and they were leaving the compound that they had just secured. And as he was leaving, something happened with the helicopter, and the helicopter didn't gain altitude and it wound up crashing back into the wall of the compound and everyone onboard the helicopter perished, not just Mike but other DEA agents and some military folks that were supporting that mission.
I felt sad for society because I knew that we had lost something great. He was the best among us. He really - everyone who knew him knew that whatever it was you were doing, Mike could do it better. And that it wasn't - there wasn't a hint of arrogance at it. It was just pure unbridled enthusiasm and curiosity and passion for life. That's what the world lost. That's what America lost with the loss of Mike Weston.
RAZ: That's Lt. Col. Butch Bracknell remembering his late friend Maj. Mike Weston who died on October 26, 2009 in western Afghanistan.
RAZ: And you're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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text:
Home Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad Answers Are the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah more important than the...
Hazrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad
Are the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah more important than the last ten days of Ramadan?
Last Updated on 21st October 2022
A murabbi from Denmark wrote to Hazrat Amirul Momineen, Khalifatul Masih Vaa and asked whether the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah carried more merit than the last ten days of Ramadan. Huzoor-e-Anwaraa, in his letter dated 22 August 2021, gave the following answer to his question:
"Neither the Holy Quran nor the ahadith of the Holy Prophetsa provide a comparative assessment of the excellence of these two months. However, the abundance of virtues and blessings of the two months and of the worship performed in them have indeed been described. These virtues have been described in general terms and sometimes the Holy Prophetsa has also described them based on the circumstances of the questioner or the situation.
"Based on those virtues described in the Holy Quran and the Hadith, in some ways, the last ten days of Ramadan, the acts of worship performed during them and the commands revealed during them appear to be more excellent, but in some respects, the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah and the acts of worship performed during them seem to be superior. Hence, the Holy Prophetsa said on one occasion:
سَيِّدُ الشُّهُورِ شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ وَأَعْظَمُهَا حُرْمَةً ذُو الْحِجَّةِ
"'The chief of all months is the month of Ramadan, and the most inviolable and sacrosanct of them is the month of Dhu al-Hijjah.' (Shu'ab al-Iman by Imam al-Bayhaqi, Fasl takhsisi 'ayyami l-'ashri min dhil hijjah, Hadith 3597)"
SOURCEAnswers to Everyday Issues – Part 42: Divorce, body piercing, Dhul Hijjah, ghusl of the deceased, hardships of a believer, sadaqah
Answers: Tarbiyyat


To drive awareness of Oxfam America Unwrapped and to reach consumers at moments during the holiday shopping season when they are in the gift-giving mindset and are more likely to purchase gifts that give back.
Proximity Targeting at shopping centres, malls and grocery shops to reach people preparing for the holidays who are in the gift-giving mindset, as well as targeting Oxfam America's out-of-home media placements and street canvassers to amplify their messaging.
Audience Targeting to charitable individuals who have a higher propensity to donate to meaningful causes.
We helped Oxfam America drive holiday donations by leveraging our location technology.


The Zodiac 340 cipher is one of the most famous unsolved ciphers of all time. It was allegedly written by "the Zodiac", whose identity remains unknown to date. The Zodiac was a serial killer who killed a number of people in and around the San Francisco Bay area during the 1960s. He is confirmed to have seven victims, two of whom survived , although in taunting letters to the news media he claims to have killed 37 people. During this time, an encrypted message known as the Zodiac 408 cipher was mailed to 3 different newspapers in the San Francisco bay area. This was a homophonic cipher and was successfully decoded. Within a few days he sent out another cipher that was 340 characters long . This cipher, which is known as the Zodiac 340 cipher, is unsolved to date. Many cryptologists have tried to crack this cipher but with no success. In this project, we implemented a novel genetic algorithm in an attempt to crack the Zodiac 340 cipher. We have attacked the cipher as a homophonic cipher where each cipher symbol is mapped to only a single English letter, but each English letter can be mapped to multiple cipher symbols. In the genetic algorithm, we implemented two variants of crossover: simple and intelligent. The simple crossover looks for commonly occurring substrings, without looking for actual English words in a putative decrypt. The intelligent crossover counts the number of actual English words that can be found in a putative decrypt when evaluating each solution. We implemented a dictionary lookup for quickly identifying English words for the intelligent crossover. The genetic algorithm using a combination of simple and intelligent crossovers was able to identify many English words in various putative decrypts but no solution was found.
Basavaraju, Pallavi Kanagalakatte, "Heuristic Search Cryptanalysis of the Zodiac 340 Cipher" (2009). Master's Projects. 56.


Ed Glaeser is a fantastic economist. He has done magnificent work analyzing the economics of urban growth and written indispensable papers on the connection between housing regulations and migration.
But when the man picks up his pen to write a piece for public consumption, he tends to take complete leave of his senses. I realize that this is a common affliction among economists, but Glaeser suffers from a severe case of the syndrome.
In a Friday piece in the Boston Globe, Glaeser takes on the administration's push to fund construction of high-speed rail corridors around the country. In doing so, he combines the cognitive failures of every amateur train hater with a serious lapse in critical thinking.
He begins by making two very valid points: transit agencies are currently suffering serious and unfortunate shortfalls, and transportation funding generally is allocated where it's least needed — to states with low levels of population, population density, and congestion.
Now the administration wants Americans to envision high-speed rail lines in the wide-open spaces of Texas.
Of course, Texas has four of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas, all within a few hundred miles of each other — an ideal distance for high-speed rail. Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are currently home to some 16 million people, and those metropolitan areas have added 3 million people since 2000 alone. Congestion is an issue within those metropolitan areas and will continue to worsen as they grow.
Not only is it entirely appropriate to build transportation infrastructure with future growth in mind, it's imperative. America's current sprawling growth pattern resulted in no small part from the mass construction of interstates and highways, which drew suburbanites to previously unsettled areas.
Moreover, Texan metropolitan areas are working to accommodate future growth in a denser fashion by building miles of metropolitan transit systems. Transit and rail are complementary technologies, each of which will increase the return on investment of the other.
two routes: the Northeast Corridor and the Los Angeles-San Diego line.
trains for modest distances and planes win over long hauls.
But of course, so many people use these lines because they are effective, which is not only a function of congestion. Rail carries passengers between New York and Washington in fewer than three hours, while drivers couldn't manage the trip in fewer than four even without congestion of any sort.
In other words, causation between mode choice, density, and service quality moves in several directions. Better service would lead to higher rates of travel and increased density. In the pitifully funded corridors where intercity services average 45 miles per hour or less, it's no wonder that ridership lags.
another, not by creating nationwide benefits.
This is a strikingly economically ignorant paragraph. Because Glaeser doesn't mention specific claims about the ways in which rail construction might affect growth, we can't argue against his first statement.
But as Glaeser almost certainly knows, transportation investment has multiple effects. Some of these shift the relative attractiveness of one area relative to another. Other effects improve absolute economic performance, by facilitating agglomeration, increasing potential scale, and allowing for greater specialization and intercity trade (of goods and services).
Glaeser's assertion doesn't pass a basic sense check. Has America enjoyed net economic benefits from construction of its roads, rails, canals, ports, and airports? Unquestionably.
than the case for subsidizing rail links between non-coastal cities.
works out to slightly more than $2 a trip.
million passengers each year, the per-trip subsidy tops $30.
Glaeser makes several key mistakes. First, the case for subsidizing transit is really pretty clear — it is economically efficient to do so.
Second, it's absurd to leave out a discussion of highway spending. All modes are heavily subsidised by the government, and roads come nowhere close to paying for themselves. Reducing those subsidies would increase demand for transit and rail.
Further, congestion on highways indicates that roads are seriously underpriced — another subsidy which cost Americans $78 billion in 2007.
And finally, Glaeser's Amtrak statistic is extraordinarily misleading, and bordering on dishonest. Amtrak routes include fast, competitive, and successful lines — like the Northeastern corridor — as well as congressionally mandated, slow, and poorly traveled ones. Amtrak makes an operational profit on its top corridors, but loses a lot of money on slow routes.
Glaeser would have you believe that all routes are money losers, when in fact it seems clear that high-speed, reliable service is extremely cost-effective.
Glaeser makes the same mistake in complaining that Amtrak is only 17 percent more fuel efficient than airlines. But efficiency varies with ridership; a full train on a medium distance run is much more efficient than a plane ride over a similar distance. In energy terms, it makes little sense to run a mostly empty train across the country at slow speeds, but that has nothing to do with the potential advantages of a quality high-speed rail network.
the help of congestion pricing, rather than building more roads.
envisioning the shining splendor of fast trains.
Glaeser is correct that a good place to begin addressing our transportation failures is by pricing congested highway and air routes more effectively.
But we have every indication that doing so would significantly increase demand for rail services, while also raising tens of billions of dollars every year that could be used to construct a rail system that would be cleaner and faster than driving or flying. Contra Glaeser, pricing our existing infrastructure would make it painfully clear just how badly we need an effective intercity rail system.
In environmental and economic terms, the case for major investment in high-speed rail is quite strong. Unfortunately, wisdom seems to take wing whenever economists start writing about public spending.
You can find in Glaeser's piece an underlying case for expanding rail in both modes at once. I used to rely on Atlanta's public transit and it was very useful if you were going to the airport from somewhere near a MARTA station or to travel between two places both near MARTA stations. I think there is a case to be made that while train service and pedestrianism within Texas cities are inconvenient or a vale of sorrows, high-speed rail between them will be less attractive so less economically beneficial than they might be.
One interesting datum to find: San Diego has a fairly small and dense commercial area while LA deserves it's notoriety as an automotive city. I wonder how many of the LA-SD train trips originate in Los Angeles and how many San Diego. I imagine it is much more attractive to train south than north.
Good post. However, we really shouldn't be debating HSR until the nation is plastered with Commuter Rail and Light Rail. Attacking car ridership at its most dense levels of penetration is where electrified transport can be most effective first, in capturing efficiencies. And, in positive externalities.
The larger point is that the Obama Administration has exactly the wrong approach. They have invested massively in cars, car companies, biofuels, and roads. Then when they address Rail, they go to the last place first: HSR. From a political standpoint, this is also a mistake. For it opens them to exactly the kind of criticism coming from Glaeser–even if it too is infused with wrong-headed analysis.
The FAA has been trying to include authority to price access to airspace, including congested airspace, more rationally, and Congress has decided not to go along. The Obama folks have indicated that they intend to include a shift from aviation ticket taxes and fees to an operations based user fee system in future proposals.
With the long distance trains sleeping car operations do operate at a small profit, they also serve areas that lack travel options. Though there are even long distance trains on the NEC too, they're symbiotic.
Why should we be subsidizing rail? I understand that autos are subsidized via the highways, but isn't the answer there just to raise the gas tax and other user fees so that this is no longer the case? I am not sure how one dumb policy — subsidizing highways — justifies a second.
Very well said. I critiques this article myself on our website.
I was astonished to find such a one-sided viewpoint. The role of mass transit should be to alleviate the problems of sustainability and inequity across the U.S., not just in a particular region.
i'd have to say this is one of the worst posts i've ever read on streetsblog. depending on how generous one is feeling, it falls somewhere in between incompetent, and dishonest.
Of course, Texas has four of the nation's fastest growing metropolitan areas, all within a few hundred miles of each other — an ideal distance for high-speed rail.
what does this have to do with Glaeser's argument? nothing. it's totally irrelevant. we might as well talk about the weather.
Moreover, Texan metropolitan areas are working to accommodate future growth in a denser fashion by building miles of metropolitan transit systems.
Glaeser just spent an entire article telling us to 'put transit where the people are,' and presumably you have a problem with this, but then back up Glaeser's point by telling us that Texan metro areas are, indeed, 'putting transit where people are.' just bizarre.
it's not like Glaeser is the first to call high-speed rail a joke–pretty much anyone with any common sense has been saying it, including Kunstler and Chomsky.
Sure, efficiency is different with load. That's why inner city buses at peak times are more energy efficient than trains, but off peak buses are some of the least efficient transportation there is.
However, there are several points you're ignoring.
Yes, hypothetically if trains could achieve the load factor that sophisticated advances in route scheduling have allowed airlines to reach recently, they would look better. But it's not possible. Feel free to search for information on other successful high speed rail systems, like the shinkansen, or Taiwan's high speed rail. Load factor for an entire system does not exceed 50-65% anywhere, though again obviously on peak routes it's better.
2) While train stations can be located in central cities, there is environmental and energy costs in laying and maintaining track. Rail has to be maintained in order to stay at the level necessary to maintain high speed service. That cost is not counted in these numbers presented, and I would strongly suspect that the energy cost of rail maintenance and construction exceeds that of airport maintenance and construction. The energy numbers presented are thus biased in favor of rail.
Ed Glaeser is a fantastic economist.
Maybe, but Paul Krugman is a fantastic economist who gets urbanism. And he rides the train.
But a train with 400 seats could conceivably service 1200 people over a route. Is that a load factor of 300%? I'm sure airlines would love to cram that many in.
John, there's a few key things that you're ignoring. There already are cases where Amtrak adjusts capacity en route; for example on Amtrak's Chicago-Seattle Empire Builder, a car is cut off at Minneapolis from the westbound train to be attached to the next day's eastbound train. Amtrak could stand to do this more frequently, of course, but one can't write off the whole mode of transport just because it's not being done as often as it should. If Amtrak weren't so cash-starved, they would have extra equipment and could add a car between your hypothetical example cities of Richmond and DC. It's actually a lot easier to attach a car on a train than it is to change the model of aircraft used, remap the seat assignments, find a new crew qualified for that model, etc.
Secondly, it's not easy to assess the load factor of a train. Do you do it with a snapshot at some moment in time, or do you measure it over the whole run? In the latter case, numerous routes are running over 100% capacity because seats turn over more than once. Again, citing the Empire Builder as an example, only 5% of the train's passengers are going between the endpoints of Chicago and Portland/Seattle (the train splits in Spokane). That's some major turnover. Even something simple like initial load is actually rather difficult to assess. Just about every Amtrak long-distance train makes a suburban stop right after it originates and right before it terminates. This is a great convenience to certain passengers who don't want to travel all the way downtown only to have to come back out to the suburbs, but it means that the train is going to have more empty seats for part of its journey than it otherwise would.
It's also Amtrak's policy to not overbook reserved trains. I'm sure if they wanted to deal with the fallout of having overbooking policy, they could sell more tickets than seats and push up those numbers somewhat. As a frequent rail passenger, I'm glad they don't. Sold out trains are not uncommon during the summer months, believe it or not.
Finally, I disagree with the assessment that the energy costs associated with maintaining the infrastructure are higher for railroads than they are for aircraft. A single airport will have thousands of lights, hundreds of acres of paved surfaces that need to be patched or plowed, and several high-frequency navigation radios that operate all hours of the day and night. It requires a lot of electricity and diesel to tend to that.
Contrast this with a rail line which has signals that are illuminated only when a train is near, radios that activate only when they're being used, and a narrow strip of land that rarely even needs to be plowed for a train to make it through. Recent advances in regenerative breaking will only help to lessen the energy usage of trains, but there's never going to be a way around the fact that you need to convert gobs of petro energy to kinetic energy to potential energy just to get a plane off the ground. And that energy doesn't really convert back.
I took Glaeser's main point to be that local mass transit in congested commuter corridors provides more bang for the buck than any inter-urban HSR project, in terms of reducing travel time, improving fuel economy, etc. This is largely because inter-urban air (and existing rail or even vehicle) travel is relatively cheap and convenient (for now) in comparison to local auto-centric commutes for most people. While inter-urban rail (including HSR) may be viable in some places, limited funding should be spent on moving commuters around and alleviating congestion at the local level.
Glaeser picked a lousy example to trash HSR–the Texas cities are among the best potential nodes for regional HSR if and when it's ever economically competitive with airlines or highway travel (294 daily one-way non-stops between these 4 cities on just 3 airlines)–but if you're comparing apples to oranges the apples win out.
I'd agree with his premise that priority funding for local mass transit to relieve congestion (and coincidentally increase development and population dnsity along the routes) is the way to go for now–whether you're in Boston or Austin.
#1 — Passenger miles. "Passengers" or "trips" is not as useful a metric as "Passenger miles." Passenger miles is the "work" done by a transportation system. If you want to normalize transportation subsidies, it is useful to look at passenger miles in addition to trips. Taxpayers may spend $2.00 to move someone from home to the gocery store on a city bus, and they may spend $15 to move someone 100 miles on Amtrak. These two "trips" are not comparable, so comparing the subsidy in this way is useless.
#2 — Long Distance train economics are often not as bad as short-distance economics. Even when passenger rail systems were private in the USA, commuter trains lost money faster and sooner than the long-distance trains (you can refer to historical material and economics articles from the 1950s for a discussion of that). Government stepped in far sooner to subsidize commuter rail than it did to rescue the intercity passenger train. The key factors in passenger train economics are costs (e.g. variable costs like labor, as well as fixed costs) and revenue.
On the revenue side, you earn more money with higher fares per mile and a higher load factor (percentage of seats occupied for each mile of service). Long Distance trains offer amenities and serve a market that can command a reasonable fare. Long Distance trains often have a higher load factor than short distance trains for reasons of geography — it isn't serving a "tide" of commuters who only fill certain segments or certain times of day. Also, the long distance train runs at night, so equipment is "earning" revenue more hours of the day. Short distance trains get parked every night.
On the "costs" side of the ledger sheet, the long distance trains share most of the capital costs (the infrastructure) with freight railroads. Since Amtrak pays an access charge as opposed to having to deploy capital to actually build and maintain the rail infrastructure, they are, in fact, converting capital costs to marginal operating cost, which can be advantageous to Amtrak. In contrast, when you actually own the railroad, and when your railroad is a very old but very fast line (and thus has high maintenance costs) in an urban area, the costs of ownership can be very significant. The Northeast Corridor only works because it reaches New York City, and the level of infrastructure necessary to reach Manhattan is staggering. Even now, as digging under the rivers and the island continues for improved rail access, massive sums are being deployed to improve train travel into New York. If those capital sums were charged against passenger service, the subsidy would be plain.
To conclude: intercity passenger rail makes sense on the merits of the intercity travel market. Too often we compare apples to organges– comparing commuter trains with intercity trains — when each has a role to play in effective transportation.


On Thursday, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones announced the deal between the team and the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
"It is a privilege to stand shoulder to shoulder as partners with such a prominent entertainment brand like WinStar World Casino," stated Jones.
The WinStar is located 85 miles north of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and is owned by the Chickasaw Nation. The venue is a Class III tribal gaming facility, meaning it offers all types of traditional casino games.
Under the partnership, WinStar will now be able to use Dallas Cowboys logos and trademarks in their marketing materials.
The deal comes a few months after the Supreme Court ruling in Murphy vs. NCAA overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). The removal of the federal law granted each state the power to determine if and how to regulate sports gambling.
The sponsorship deal represents just a small piece of the projected revenue that the legalization of sports betting is expected to bring in. The American Gaming Association (AGA) estimates that the NFL could bring in more than $2.3 billion in additional revenue from sports betting and deals like the one between the Cowboys and WinStar.
Oklahoma has not yet started to regulate sports betting, though HB 3375 does approve amendments to be made to tribal compacts in order to permit sports pools. This means that sports wagering could come to Oklahoma by 2019.
USA online sportsbooks knows though the Dallas Cowboys are the first NFL franchise to have a casino sponsor, it technically is not the first time that the league has crossed into gambling territory.
In 2009, the NFL started to allow teams to make agreements with state lotteries. The Detroit Lions also partnered with MGM Grand Detroit in 2015 to launch the Tunnel Club at Ford Field.
Still, the Cowboys-WinStar deal represents the first partnership between a casino operator and a team in a league that has been notoriously opposed to gambling.
The Cowboys are ahead of the curve with the partnership, with the team valued at over $4 billion last season – higher than any other franchise in 2017. With sports gambling now legal, it is inevitable for more leagues and franchises to begin entering into similar deals for the new revenue opportunities.


That doesn't mean you're agreeing that the here and now will be your everything forever, just that you are making the effort to be your own best friend – for better or for worse, in sickness and in health.
In honor of February 14, here are 14 ways from MindBodyGreen to practice self-love.
You are perfectly imperfect. Learning to accept yourself is the most important step to self-love. Stop comparing yourself to others and embrace who you are.
Living or working in chaos can deeply affect your mood and create a feeling of chaos within. Getting rid of that pile of clothes you've been meaning to donate, or that stack of papers you've been meaning to organize is refreshing.
Taking care of your body shows you have respect for the amazing temple your soul inhabits. Take a hot bath, slather on your favorite moisturizer and get some extra sleep!
Replenishing your body with water and fresh foods is a loving gesture. You are what you eat, so avoid the garbage and fuel up on the nutrients you need.
Try writing a positive note or listing your goals as a reminder on your mirror so you can't avoid it. It's a great way to wake up each day.
As we grow older, we start to value our time and friendships differently. The energy of your inner circle is contagious, so it's important to surround yourself with uplifting and positive people.
Does your inner dialogue tend to focus on the negative? Finding things to be grateful for on a daily basis can go a long way towards changing that.
Recognize that you are not the world's savior. You can show kindness and compassion to others, but not to the point at which it detracts from your other responsibilities. Sometimes, you just have to let things go.
Even taking just an hour every now and then can help to recharge, reset, and re-energize you. This is not only important for your own well-being, but for those around you as well.
Between our phones, computers and TVs, our minds are constantly being stimulated. All this screen time can distract us from reality and from ourselves. Take time at the end of the day without gadgets to get back in touch with yourself.
Begin each day by acknowledging something positive about yourself. All the little things we overlook truly make a difference. Focusing on the positive moments in your day can transform your mindset.
Instead of harping on that mistake you made, learn to forgive yourself. If you've never failed, then you've never tried. Think of all the things you learned from each mistake you've made in life. Embrace your imperfections and learn to forgive yourself.
When's the last time you danced? Or sang at the top of your lungs? Allowing yourself to be creative and let loose will boost your spirits and remind you that life isn't just about work. There can still be some playtime in there, too!
You can't be everything to everyone and that's okay. People will respect you when you stand up for yourself, and your relationships will flourish because of it.
So whether you plan to celebrate with a fancy dinner or bingeing your favorite TV show on Netflix, remember that a little love goes a long way – and doesn't have to be limited to Valentine's Day.


"The Budget 2018 has touched upon almost every sector, while not disrupting the overall economic environment. It aims to provide the necessary push in field of infrastructure, farming, rural household provisions, education, and biggest of all, healthcare, for the common man. The Government continues with gusto towards developing India's road and real infrastructure. From an industry perspective, we have seen focused efforts to support lending through loans schemes, promotion of NBFC's and other incentives.
LTCG Tax on Securities: The Finance Budget 2018 re-introduced long term capital gain tax on sale of shares of listed entity and units of mutual funds at the rate of 10% on prospective basis (i.e. all gains upto January 31, 2018 will not attract long term capital tax). While this move will enable the government to collect tax on sale of securities of listed entity, which was otherwise exempted for almost 14 years, there are two important aspects on sale of securities which the Government must assess and provide for (a) non-levy of the securities transaction tax (which was introduced in the Finance Budget of 2004 in lieu of the tax on long term capital gain), and (b) making available the indexation benefit on securities held for more than one year.
Infrastructure: Through initiatives such as Bharatmala Pariyojana, AMRUT and Rashtriya RailSanraksha Kosh, the Government has reaffirmed its commitment towards the infrastructure sector, which will boost investor interest. The Indian railways will definitely benefit significantly from the announcements made today. Telecom infrastructure, too, should see momentum. With initiatives to revive interest towards InvITs and ReITs, we expect investor interest around these financial instruments.


The following day my skin was hydrated, but no more so then with a good moisturiser. the ingredients are interesting, the silicone on the product gives it lots of slip, the Sodium Hyaluronate and Vitamin E are welcome additions. This would be a good option for flights and long road trips if layered over your moisturiser as it is clear on the skin and it does not roll when used over other products.


Academic advising and planning are provided to each program participant on an individual basis. Areas covered during these meetings include: semester course planning, monitoring of academic progress, and help with personal counseling as well. Information regarding financial aid, career planning, study abroad programs, scholarships, fellowships, internships, and graduate school information is provided as needed. The overall goal is to develop a successful and achievable academic plan for each SSSP participant.
English RS is a 50-min., 1-unit course that meets once a week. The course is designed to provide students with reading and writing skills essential to college. Emphasis is placed on reading comprehension, writing, and vocabulary development.
UNIV 8-01 is a 50-min., 1-unit course that meets once a week. The course is designed to give meaningful and useful information to students about their non-cognitive learning and study strategies to help promote student responsibility for individual performance.
Our peer mentor offers seven academic workshops throughout each semester. Topics differ each semester, varying from graduate information to financing and how to create a budget. If you are unable to come to a regularly scheduled workshop, our peer mentor will also set up individual workshops with you so you do not have to miss out on any of the information. In order to be eligible for the SSSP Grant Aid, students are required to attend at least four workshops each semester.
The SSSP has peer tutoring which is offered through the Learning Center. Each semester, SSSP provides for a tutor to work at the Learning Center specifically for students in the SSSP. The Learning Center also offers workshops of their own. SSSP students are encouraged to attend these workshops as the Learning Center workshops count towards the SSSP Grant Aid. Go to the LC website.
The SSSP has a computer lab with online services available for active SSSP participants. We are one of only two places on campus that offers free printing services to our students. Academic Support is provided in the computer lab, which consists of 7 new workstations and a LaserJet printer. The computer lab is located in our SSSP office, Lab School Room 185F.


Superdrol is an anabolic and androgenic steroid which comprises basically a steroid hormone – Methyldrostanolone. This means that it is a modified form of Drostanolone, which turned into Dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
This means that Superdrol is the same Drostanolone, only with some changes. This preparation has introduced a carbon in methyl group at 17th position. This allows the drug to treat alkylated group and pass freely through the liver. Also, the methyl group has been added to the second carbon position, which greatly increased the anabolic nature of the drug. These small changes have greatly reduced androgenic index of steroid in comparison with anabolic Masteron.
Superdrol has an anabolic index equal to 400. This index is 4 times higher than the anabolic profile of Masteron. But the androgenic component of the drug is 20, which makes it a very mild steroid in terms of androgenic symptoms. This drug is not aromatized in the body and has no estrogenic activity.
If we look at the main features of Superdrol, it is impossible to single out unique features that would distinguish it from other anabolics. The only distinguishing fact is that for a long time this steroid was in a certain legitimacy and relatively freely distributed in the consumer market. It should be noted that Superdrol is capable of retaining nitrogen in the body and activate protein synthesis in muscle tissue. Protein – is the main building material for our muscles, and the presence of large amounts of nitrogen allows the muscle to grow much more active. A considerable intensification of these processes allows a person to gain a high quality and the dried muscle relief and most importantly keep it during a strict diet. Also this hormone significantly increases the number of red blood cells that the body produces, which ensures good health and quick recovery after physical exertion. Because red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen through the blood.


text:
Workshop – Politics, economy and class in Nazi Germany
By Christian Leave a Comment
St Antony's College ▪ University of Oxford
10 – 11 December 2010
70 WOODSTOCK ROAD, OXFORD
Politics, Economy and Classin Nazi Germany.
A Reassessment
This international workshop has its starting-point in the historical legacy of Timothy Mason (1940-90), pioneering historian of Nazi Germany, research fellow at St Antony's College in the late 1960s and a founding editor of History Workshop Journal. Twenty years after Mason's untimely death, the workshop will consider and relocate his contributions to the history of National Socialism and fascism at a point when some of the premises with which he worked seem to be re-emerging in new historical directions.
It will include panels on Labour and Social Policy; Hitler and Regime Dynamics; Race and Class; Women and Gender; War, Economy and Plunder; and a roundtable on Comparative Fascisms.
Speakers include: Claudia Baldoli, Richard Bessel, Jane Caplan, Gustavi Corni,
Geoff Eley, Neil Gregor, Rüdiger Hachtmann, Susanne Heim, Nicole Kramer,
Christiane Kuller, Alf Lüdtke, Hans Mommsen, Jeremy Noakes, Eve Rosenhaft,
Carola Sachse, Jonathan Steinberg, Adam Tooze, Mary Vincent, Perry Willson
Registration £30 (reductions for graduate students). Space is limited; pre-registration is essential. For enquiries and further details, please email the ESC Administrator
anne-laure.guillermain@sant.ox.ac.uk
The workshop is supported by the John Fell OUP Research Fund, History Workshop Journal, St Antony's College and the Modern European History Research Centre
Raphael Samuel Memorial Lecture
The Raphael Samuel Memorial Lecture
'Searching for the Gleam': the quest for a new order in 1930s Britain
Juliet Gardiner
6.30pm, Friday 3rd December 2010, followed by a wine reception
Room B33, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX
No booking necessary, all welcome
A farewell to Jim Fyrth – report from David Morgan
Friends, family and former colleagues gathered together on the afternoon of 6 November 2010 to pay their tributes to the late Jim Fyrth and to remember a remarkable life.
Held at Birkbeck College, University of London, where for many years Jim taught at its Department for Extra Mural Studies, the occasion was an opportunity for people to reminisce and share memories of a man whose full life and diverse career encompassed his time in the army during which he was stationed in India and met Gandhi, his activism in the Communist Party in West London, his work in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and his role as a teacher and historian.
Historians Sally Alexander, Anna Davin and Sheila Rowbotham all emphasised Jim's pioneering role in encouraging women's studies at Birkbeck in the 1970s, long before it became fashionable, which is an aspect of his career perhaps not widely enough appreciated.
His commitment to education was reflected in his unswerving determination to bring educational opportunities to the disadvantaged including the provision of courses for trade unionists in which he took a particularly keen interest.
His wartime autobiography, An Indian Landscape, which was published by the Socialist History Society, contains his account of the meeting with Gandhi, which made a great impression on him. The publication was repeatedly referred to by the speakers.
The brief written message from Gandhi that is mentioned in that book was on display at the memorial along with photographs of Jim and his family as well as examples of his many published works.
Many humorous anecdotes were recounted at the memorial as were serious incidents like the occasion during the war when he was jailed for six months after being caught reading "banned literature", namely Communist Party pamphlets and The Daily Worker.
Jim's longstanding commitment to the study of history was underlined by David Morgan, the Secretary of the Socialist History society, who was asked to say a few words about Jim's contribution to the work of the society and its predecessor the Communist Party Historians' Group. A few other members of the Socialist History Society were also present.
Jim was fondly remembered for his erudition and sharp wit and what each of the speakers brought out were the values that inspired him to the end: his love of life and nature, his personal vision of socialism and strong sense of comradeship.
His personal papers are soon to be deposited at the Bishopsgate Institute which intends to create a Jim Fyrth Archive.


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One of the things that Natasha Tuftin appreciates about small town living is that everyone knows everyone else. "It's nice to have that personal connection with each customer, knowing most people in town and their families," she says. Those that she doesn't know become acquaintances and friends quickly after spending time chatting in a salon chair while they get their hair done. Because it's a small town, chances are pretty good that she will run into clients around town. All of these familiar relationships make Mackenzie a warm, friendly and safe place to live and do business.
Another great aspect of Mackenzie living is its natural setting right within the heart of the great outdoors. The lake, of course, is one of its greatest natural gems, and its forests and mountains are also incredible assets. "We are very fortunate to live nearby them without having to drive out of town," says Natasha.
Natasha was born and raised in Mackenzie. She has deep community roots and is proud to be a local business owner and active community member. She has found the people of Mackenzie to be amazing when it comes to supporting their local small businesses. Because of this, Natasha sees a bright future for small business in Mackenzie and many opportunities for new businesses and economic growth to occur in the coming years.


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For the past few weeks, we've been working on re-launching the Tailored Web Services site. For a long time its been a painful mix of Blogger and static pages. The design was also a bit outdated. There's a ton of content on this site, but poor navigation and structuring makes the good stuff very hard to find.
Today I give you: Tailored Web Services Reborn.
And of course, we've had some birth-pains. Shortly after launching, we discovered a bug in Internet Explorer. (Isn't that always the way?) Fortunately, I've run into that bug before, so it didn't take long to fix.
Importing all the old posts from Blogger is a hassle, of course. With almost 2,000 old posts going back to 2003, there's a lot of horrible blogger-brewed code soup. It's going to take us a while to go through all that, and clean things up.
There's also a lot of redirects that don't work. I've caught most of the big ones, I think, but I'll be monitoring the server logs for a few days looking for 404 errors I've missed.
Next post: Where do you store your bike?