text:
LOST (spoilers warning)
If you are running behind on your LOST viewing and don't want to read about what has my brain in a twist, go to: Dark UFO.
Still here?
Let's talk about Claire. I fall into the she's gotta be dead camp. Eventually, someone is going to go back to Ben's cabin and we are going to see that Claire's body is still in one of the bedrooms. Apparently, when you are dead, you are soooo calm and accepting of everything that you don't care if your baby is in a war zone. The thing I don't like is Claire sitting around smiling with the father that she barely knew instead of with Charlie. He died for her and he has to spend all his time at the crazy hospital while she gets to be in the Tardis? That's just not right.
How about Locke? He spent his entire life fighting his destiny. He deliberately chose the wrong object. He said no to science camp. He only moved toward his destiny AFTER destiny threw him out of a window. From the moment he started moving toward his destiny, Ben started being pulled away from his. Are Ben and Locke the island's Cain and Abel? Did Emily say no to one son while the other son said no to his Emily?
Was giant ego Jack supposed to avoid Keamy or go running to him? I'm thinking avoid. Is Smokey really all of the island's dead spirits acting together as a unified force? Why didn't they kill more of Keamy's bad guys? Is the island in a different dimension that allows it to move through time and space? Are the four toes on the giant statue a reference to the fourth dimension?
I really like Barry's Clash of the Pirate Titans theory. Take it a step further to the fact that there is no reproduction on the island. The Titans travel time and space to give birth elsewhere. Their children are the "gods" who are the earth-bound royalty. Locke is the most obvious example. What about Claire? Do we know for certain who the father of her baby is in the grand scheme of LOST mythology? Remember the artwork in Australia matching the artwork in the first hatch?
I still think the series will end where it began. The plane will crash on the island, but this time, things will have been corrected so that the events after the crash are completely different.
Didn't last night's episode feel like they waved the answers right in front of us, but just beyond our reach?
Tagged as: LOST tv television
Categorized in: television
May 9, 2008 May 9, 2008 cathy9 Comments
it's cute, at first
9 thoughts on "LOST (spoilers warning)"
Barry says:
I actually figured out all the answers last night in a blinding flash of insight, but something rippled in the space/time continuum and I forgot them…
Joe P. says:
I think your last sentence there is dead on. Also, Barry has some interesting ideas in his Lost post today, too, about the descendants of that first ship wrecked on the island.
I'm really hoping they come back to the statue, because it has always bugged me that it was seen, then nothing. And I wonder if moving the island relates in any way to the second island that Ben showed Sawyer way back when. I also wonder how many other "survivors" are dead, like Claire, but moving around like Horace?
While I have no doubt something spoke to Locke in his dream, whether it was actually Horace, or his ghost, or not is up in the air. So I wouldn't put a ton of stock in him being a ghost. I thought from the previews we'd see him turn up haunting Jacob's cabin, or at least be one of the "hallucinations" people tend to see on the island, but like Locke seeing Boone in his Indian-whatever fever-dream a couple seasons back, I think this was similar. It was the island appearing to him in a dream and taking a particular form.
Also, the second island that's just off the coast of the main one is where the Hydra Station is located. So it's a real island, in close proximity to where the main one has been all these years. If they succeed in actually moving the main island in space to another part of the ocean, whether Hydra Island tags along for the ride remains to be seen.
If you believe Hurley, they are all dead.
If you believe Hurley, there's no hope for any of them. Including Walt, Aaron and the Tail Section kids. And I don't like thinking about that.
Doug McCaughan says:
The final episode with be and hour and a half of the cast sitting on a beach in Hawaii, drinking beer (with all their keys locked up), and laughing as they explain to the camera, "See! It's just a TV show and you made us a bunch of money! Thanks! Dude. This Cloverfield thing sucks."
I don't believe Hurley. Dead people don't give birth or die.


Hello! I am currently a data scientist on the Facebook Core Data Science team. I recently completed a PhD in computer science at Stanford University. I was part of the SNAP group, headed by my wonderful former advisor Jure Leskovec.
My primary research interest lies in data mining. In particular, I enjoy exploring what the way that people interact with digital content can reveal about human behavior. Here is my research page.


text:
Q: ClassCastException with NMS and reflection I've been trying to use reflection with Net Minecraft Server classes since they are version dependent. I've made a class that emulates the PacketPlayOutWorldParticles, but I wanted to do more. Since I needed to make a Chest look open and so, first I made sure that the packet would work. Then I made this:
public class ChestReflection {
    // Reference
    // PacketPlayOutBlockAction packet = new PacketPlayOutBlockAction(new
    // BlockPosition(x, y, z), BlockChest, 1, 1);

    private Class<?> getNMSClass(String nmsClassString) throws ClassNotFoundException {
        String version = Bukkit.getServer().getClass().getPackage().getName().replace(".", ",").split(",")[3] + ".";
        String name = "net.minecraft.server." + version + nmsClassString;
        Class<?> nmsClass = Class.forName(name);
        return nmsClass;
    }

    private Object getConnection(Player player) throws SecurityException, NoSuchMethodException, NoSuchFieldException,
            IllegalArgumentException, IllegalAccessException, InvocationTargetException {
        Method getHandle = player.getClass().getMethod("getHandle");
        Object nmsPlayer = getHandle.invoke(player);
        Field conField = nmsPlayer.getClass().getField("playerConnection");
        Object con = conField.get(nmsPlayer);
        return con;
    }

    private Object getBlockPosition(Location loc)
            throws ClassNotFoundException, InstantiationException, IllegalAccessException, IllegalArgumentException,
            InvocationTargetException, NoSuchMethodException, SecurityException {
        Class<?> nmsBlockPosition = getNMSClass("BlockPosition");
        Object nmsBlockPositionInstance = nmsBlockPosition
                .getConstructor(new Class[] { Double.TYPE, Double.TYPE, Double.TYPE })
                .newInstance(new Object[] { loc.getX(), loc.getY(), loc.getZ() });

        return nmsBlockPositionInstance;
    }

    public void setChest(Player player, int open, Location loc) {
        try {
            Class<?> nmsBlockPositionClass = getNMSClass("BlockPosition");
            Object nmsBlockPos = getBlockPosition(loc);
            Class<?> nmsPacketBlockAction = getNMSClass("PacketPlayOutBlockAction");
            Class<?> nmsBlock = getNMSClass("Block");
            Object nmsChest = getNMSClass("Blocks").getField("Chest");
            Class<?> nmsPacket = getNMSClass("Packet");

            Object nmsPackInstance = nmsPacketBlockAction
                    .getConstructor(new Class[] { nmsBlockPositionClass, nmsBlock, Integer.TYPE, Integer.TYPE })
                    .newInstance(new Object[] { nmsBlockPos, nmsChest, Integer.valueOf(1), Integer.valueOf(open) });
            Method sendPacket = getConnection(player).getClass().getMethod("sendPacket", nmsPacket);
            sendPacket.invoke(new Object[] { nmsPackInstance });

        } catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | IllegalArgumentException
                | InvocationTargetException | NoSuchMethodException | SecurityException | NoSuchFieldException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        // -this is the reference-
        new PacketPlayOutBlockAction(new BlockPosition(loc.getX(), loc.getY(), loc.getZ()), Blocks.CHEST, 1, 0);
    }

    public void setChestOpenForEveryone(int open, Location loc) {
        for (Player player : Bukkit.getOnlinePlayers()) {
            setChest(player, open, loc);
        }
    }
}

And at line 54, which is
newInstance(new Object[] { nmsBlockPos, nmsChest, Integer.valueOf(1), Integer.valueOf(open) });

it gives me an error:
Error: java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: java.lang.ClassCastException@61f9358b

And I don't actually know what is causing it. Also I have included the packet without reflection for reference.

A: nmsChest is of type java.lang.reflect.Field, not whatever.Block. To get the value of that field, you'll have to do something like this:

*

*if Blocks.CHEST is a enum value (or is it Blocks.Chest? you seem to have mixed them up):
nmsChest = Enum.valueOf((Class<Enum>) getNMSClass("Blocks"), "CHEST");

*else if Blocks.CHEST is a static field (this also works for a enum value, but doesn't look as good):
nmsChest = getNMSClass("Blocks").getField("CHEST").get(null);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Доміно — газове родовище у румунському секторі Чорного моря. Станом на початок 2020-х найбільше серед офшорних родовищ в історії румунської нафтогазорозвідки.

Опис
У 2010-х роках розпочалось розвідувальне буріння у глибоководному секторі Чорного моря, одним з учасників якого став створений на паритетних засадах консорціум ExxonMobil та австрійської OMV. На його замовлення взимку 2011/2012 років бурове судно Deepwater Champion спорудило свердловину Domino-1, закладену в районі з глибиною моря 930 метрів. Вона досягла довжини біля 3000 метрів та виявила газонасичений інтервал чистою товщиною 71 метр. У 2014—2015 роках бурове судно Ocean Endeavor спорудило на структурі дві оціночні свердловини — Domino-2 (закладена в районі з глибиною моря 800 метрів) та Domino-4.

Поклади газу виявлені у турбідітових пісковиках міоцен-пліоценового віку (понтійська та дакійська формації), при цьому газоматеринськими породами виступають олігоцен-міоценові відкладення майкопської формації. Первісна оцінка запасів родовища становить  від 42 до 84 млрд м3 (існує припущення й щодо більших обсягів на рівні 113 млрд м3).

Родовище збирались ввести у експлуатацію до кінця 2010-х, проте у другій половині десятиліття поступ проекту загальмував через зміну румунським урядом правил оподаткування, а також висунення додаткових умов щодо обов'язкового продажу частини продукції на внутрішньому ринку. Через це у ExxonMobil оголосила про наміри полишити проект. Влітку 2021-го вона вела переговори про продаж своєї частки з компанією Romgaz.

На випадок початку розробки Доміно планують спорудити східну частину газопроводу BRUA, що забезпечить можливість транспортування видобутого тут ресурсу до Угорщини та далі у Австрію.

Примітки
Газові родовища Румунії
Офшорні газові родовища Чорного моря

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


The first Citation X was delivered in July 1996 to golfer Arnold Palmer. Once in use, the Citation X set speed records with Mr. Palmer setting one of them in September 1997. The aircraft is still in production with over 333 built and is still know as one of the fastest business jets.


Air deccan has started the flights to Shimla, Kullu and Dharamsala. With the advent of low cost airlines, the travel is becoming more and more cheaper and affordable. Some parts of himachal still remain unaccessible for air travel. Particularly the areas in the districts of Mandi, Bilaspur, and Hamirpur. A summary of distances from these places to the nearest airport is given below.
6. Bilaspur – Bhuntar ~ 130 km.
Considering the facts that the distances of the nearest airports are more than 100 Kms from these main cities. Which easily translates into a journey of 5 – 6 hours, thus discouraging various business and other industrial activities. We should try to make a proposal of a new airport which is somewhere in the center of these three districts. So that the people from these districts could get much better connectivity with the rest of the India.
To my mind a place by name "Jahoo" or some other place central to these three districts could be a better choice. Because the distance of this place is as follows.
Incidently, I happened to meet Dr. Kota (Ex head of LCA), who was quite instrumental in the activities related to air connectivity of various far flung places. He also praised the recent developments related to flower production in Himachal pradesh. He also stressed on the need of better connectivity to these places to ensure that the agricultural/fruit produce from HP gets a good market in Delhi as well abroad.
Comments on this issue are welcome.
Born in Bilaspur, Dr. Vatsayayan is at present working as a Assistant Professor at Aerospace Engineering Department of IIT, Mumbai, India.
Please tell more about Jahoo and what all are the facilities and capabilities of the place to hold an airport. Also tell more about Dr. Kota and how he can help in this effort.
Can you arrange to present this place in better way, the person interested should be able to see the area.
Dr. Kota Harinarayana was born in Berhampur, Orissa, in 1943 and graduated from BHU in Mechanical Engineering, post-graduate in Aero Engineering at IISc, Bangalore. He did his Ph.D. at IIT Bombay and also he is holding a Bachelor's degree in Law.
He started his career in 1967 at HAL. He moved to DRDO HQ in 1970 till 1982 and held various positions. He rejoined HAL in 1982 as Chief Designer in Nasik Division. He was deputed to DRDO in 1985 and assumed charge as Director, ADE, Bangalore. He was appointed as LCA Programme Director in December 1985 and he was concurrently holding the post of Director, ADE till June 1986. During 1995 he was elevated as Distinguished Scientist by DRDO. As Programme Director and Chief Designer of Light Combat Aircraft, he successfully directed the project leading to flight testing and clearance for limited series production. Thanks to his efforts, India succeeded in developing a state-of-art, high technology fighter aircraft of world class.
He is the Fellow of Aeronautical Society of India (former President of the Society) and Indian National Academy of Engineering. He received distinguished alumnus award from Aerospace Department, IISc in 1993 and from IIT Bombay in 1995. He was awarded National Aeronautics Prize and FIE Foundation Award in 1996. He received SBI-Pragna Puraskar in 2001. He received the Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award for 2001. He received the DRDO Technology Leadership Award for 2001. He was honoured with Padma Shri by Government of India in 2002. He received Gujar Mal Modi Science foundation award for the year 2006.
At present he is the Raja Ramanna Fellow at National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore. He was formerly Vice-Chancellor of University of Hyderabad till 15 July, 2005. He is also Chairman, Research Council, Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh; Chairman, Governing Council, Society for Indo-German Institute of Advanced Technology, Visakhapatnam, Distinguished Guest Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT-Bombay.
The place "Jahoo' is centrally located to these three districts and could serve as a central hub for a larger area and population. It is well connected with good roads too all the places. Another interesting point, which is probably advantageous is that in this area, the overall height of the hills is comparatively less.
Which would probably mean that the "unit investment required" (investment required divided by the total population) will be much less compared to other places.
About the role of Dr. Kota, he could be made the chairman/member of the expert board to choose a suitable location for the airport.
Thats one step which should be done after there is interest from government. We all know HP has a debt which is rising like anything and this is the main reason HP government is unable to do many things but at the same time they also need to explore other avenues for development, like privatization of airports etc. But problem is how many people from HP govt. listen to people, how many government officials participate in discussions like these. Till the time they come on platforms like these I don't see much change. But then our job is to keep pushing and presenting the best picture so that they one day become aware. So lets keep this discussion rolling and keep bringing awareness by bringing thoughts and guidance of experts and hopefully govt. would be awake one day!
That's sounds really great. That will give an easy access to Himachal's districts like Mandi Bilaspur Hamirpur and even Una. But as our HO govt not able to complete a railway track to Bilaspur which is already in progress for ages I really doubt project like this can take off.
Still If this happens this will be really great.
I can discuss the issue with Dr. Kota and ensure that he agrees to explore the possibilities related to this project. But govt has to show some interest in the project. If one refers to the 2001 census (available on HP Govt site), then approximately 18 lakhs of people are expected to benefit from this project. Which accounts for approximately 30% of the total himachal's population (Considering Mandi, Bilaspur, Hamirpur and parts of Una) is expected to benefit from this project.
Then there are many coaching schools also where you can send him during 11th grade in holidays for 1-2 months training. Please let us know if you need more information.
Its going to a milestone for the development of three districs in one shot. We can look forward for many industries in the area owing to the reasons that there a abundance of Manpoer / Itellectual strength … Once the Airport is in Place all segments will grow .
Kindly boos the idea at levels .
To : The People Of Himachal Pradesh .
My dear Fellows , Airport at " Jahoo" it sounds like an eye-opener to Planners and leaders in Himachal since it benefits a larger share of state's population . I belong to a native village of Jahoo and my appeal to all intellectuals of the society that lets come out the regional bias and propose to build an airport at the centrally located place . The place is located at administrative border of Three districts Namely Hamirpur , Mandi and Bilaspur . None of the leader has been so effective in past thus this area is highly neglected Area. Even during BJP rule the Highway between Jalandhar Mandi was re-routed through Bamsan , Dharampur however the shortest proposed distance was to connect "Nerchowk to Jalandhar Through UNA and Bhota". The credit for this unwise decision goes to Be then Chief Minister and PWD Minister .
c) This area has lesser FOG .
D) This area is a suitable point to be developed as SEZ owing to CG ( Centre of Gravity ) point on Population Scale to curb unemployment problem . Thus an Airport closely located will Globalize the SEZ.
E) Three streams are flowing through the town which can be developed into Tourist Places . These can even serve the purpose to provide drinking water / industrial water needs to SEZ.
I request to every intellectual of the state to strongly propose the establishment of this airport in a record time . All readers are expected to write about this project to CM of H.P through Govt. Website.
Most of government actions are contrary to best planning proposals.
Airports in himalaya, both himachal and uttranchal are live example of this wrong decisions.
Old established models of government (state or central) failed to deliver.
New models have delivered. e.g. Konkan Railways, Delhi Metro, NHAI, NTPC etc.
It is high time himcahal govt starts own railway, own helicopter service, own airports (w/o central govt or Airport Authority).
The state taking lead in innovation and implementation are all set to grow. Others will lack.
Jahu is the suitable place for jahu Dr sudarshan G u are well written fact and finding about this place.
Jahu is the suitable & center place for air port Dr sudarshan was well written fact and finding about this place.
Lady Gaga destined to be lonely!


text:
Self-Defense Immunity Win! Use-of-Force Expert Roy Bedard for the Defense
By Attorney Andrew Branca / January 17, 2023 January 17, 2023
In the early morning hours of May 29, 2021, Luis Casado shot and killed a man on a sidewalk outside a bar in St. Augustine FL, after being subject by that man to a barehanded attack. Indicted on a charge of manslaughter with a weapon, Casado demanded a self-defense immunity hearing, as permitted under Florida …
Self-Defense Immunity Win! Use-of-Force Expert Roy Bedard for the Defense Read More »
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
West Kelowna vet, Okanagan Humane Society join forces to save cat
Jen Zielinski
Sep. 7, 2022 8:00 a.m.
Syre before the incident. (Nina Sandovall)
Syre being cute. (Nina Sandovall)
Syre after the surgery. (Nina Sandovall)
Syre and his brother cuddling. (Nina Sandovall)
When recent college graduate Nina Sandovall's cat fell and broke its leg, she did what any pet guardian would do and rushed her fur ball to the vet. There she found out her cat had a broken right femur and she was faced with a bill of more than $3,000 for surgery.
"It turns out he has a genetic weakness that was passed down through his parents, who may have neglected him at birth. But I didn't know anything as I rescued him and his brother," said Sandovall.
This genetic weakness meant Sandovall's cat Syre could have broken his femur by jumping off the bed or even running too fast.
"It happened at night he jumped on my bed and was meowing in a way I had never heard him meow before. He couldn't stand on his leg or put weight on it, he was clearly uncomfortable. So that is when I took him to the vet," she said.
At Kelowna's emergency vet she paid more than $300 for X-rays before being handed a quote of $3,000 for surgery.
This was a bill recent human services graduate Sandovall couldn't afford, having lived on a fixed income for the last two years while she was putting herself through school and working unpaid on a practicum at 30 hours a week.
"I didn't know what to do, these cats are my world," she explained. "I always say this is their apartment, I just live here."
That is when West Kelowna vet Dr. Oz and the Okanagan Humane Society joined forces.
Dr. Oz of Rose Valley Veterinary Hospital heard Sandovall's story and understood her current financial situation and offered to donate his time and do the surgery at a reduced cost. From there Okanagan Humane Society (OHS) jumped in to support Sandovall and her cat Syre.
Romany Runnells, board president for OHS, said Sandovall applied for a program that is available to anyone who is low-income or has barriers to accessing veterinary care due to financial reasons, with a focus mostly on spay and neutering.
"In this economic climate, we are seeing an enormous uptick in people asking for help with this program, with an almost 25 per cent increase this year over previous years. This is due to fixed-income people, typically on disability or welfare and their income hasn't been increasing with inflation. Now they have to choose between feeding themselves, paying rent and caring for themselves, much less taking care of their pet when something happens," said Runnells.
OHS is often available to help with spaying and neutering costs, which can be upwards of $400 or can assist when a pet falls ill. However, the assistance OHS can provide is dependent on its donors and the charitable funds it receives from those in the community.
"We are able to negotiate with our veterinary partners and we have approximately 20 clinics that we work with to try and come to a little bit better pricing to help these pets but not always. Often vets will subside procedures when the those who are applying qualify for it," explained Runnells.
Runnells said the goal of OHS is to keep people and their pets together, and it doesn't matter why they have pets it's the fact these people are providing a loving home for these animals that is important.
"Most of our clients are one-time clients, they are in a situation that is very dire and we help them and less than one per cent come back to us asking for assistance," she said. "You can't choose when your pets get sick and so it's very situational for these people."
Often the clients will go on to be advocates for OHS, just as Sandovall said she will.
"I really owe Dr. Oz and the humane society, they both treated me with such respect. They wanted photos and checked in on me every day after the surgery. They really cared and so I owe them everything," said Sandovall.
Syre is now recovering and Sandovall said he is healing and she is helping him do stretches for the best possible outcome for his femur.
Okanagan Humane Society is a registered charity that relies on support from the community and receives no government or municipal funding.
The society's mandate started with spay and neuter services with a plan to help control the pet population in the Okanagan. So far, this local charity has spayed or neutered more than 24,000 animals and counting. The volunteer run team rescued, rehabilitated and fostered more than 1,300 animals in the last year.
To donate to OHS you can go to www.okanaganhumanesociety.com/donate.
READ MORE: Okanagan Humane Society inundated with animals in need
READ MORE: Okanagan Humane Society: Life on the streets
@Jen_zee
jen.zielinski@bpdigital.ca
CatscharityKelownaOkanaganVeterinarians
Help bring neighbours together with Block Connector program


text:
Q: .write() not working in file handling c++ I am trying to write a text file from an object array. But its not successful.
I am using .write() method to write the object details into a text file
main.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <fstream>
#include <list>
#include <iterator>
#include <sstream>
#include "UserBO.cpp"

using namespace std;

int main() {
  int n, i;
  ofstream f;
  f.open("example.txt");
  string name, contactnumber, username, password;
  cout << "Enter the number of users:" << endl;
  cin >> n;
  User u[n];
  for (i = 0; i < n; i++) {
    cout << "Enter the name of user:" << endl;
    cin >> name;
    cout << "Enter the contact number:" << endl;
    cin >> contactnumber;
    cout << "Enter the username:" << endl;
    cin >> username;
    cout << "Enter the password:" << endl;
    cin >> password;
    u[i] = User(name, username, password, contactnumber);
  }
  UserBO p;
  p.writeUserdetails(f, u, n);

  return 0;
}

User.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <fstream>
#include <list>
#include <iterator>
#include <sstream>

using namespace std;

class User {
  string name;
  string username;
  string password;
  string contactnumber;

public:
  User() {}
  User(string name, string username, string password, string contactnumber) {
    this->name = name;
    this->username = username;
    this->password = password;
    this->contactnumber = contactnumber;
  }
  string getName() { return name; }
  string getUsername() { return username; }
  string getPassword() { return password; }
  string getContactnumber() { return contactnumber; }
};

UserBO.cpp
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <fstream>
#include <list>
#include <iterator>
#include <sstream>
#include "User.cpp"

using namespace std;

class UserBO {
public:
  void writeUserdetails(ofstream &file, User obj[], int m) {

    file.write((char *)&obj, sizeof(obj));
  }
};

Output of the file example.txt
 ûq

Kindly try to find the error in my code. I have used .write() method to write a object array into exmaple.txt


text:
Avions de Transport Regional ATR72
The ATR72, a stretched development of the ATR42 (the fuselage had grown by 4.5 metres to provide space for up to 74 seats), was launched in January 1986 and first flew on 27 October 1988. Significant changes from the ATR-42 (apart from the fuselage stretch) include Pratt and Whitney Canada PW 124-B turbo props with roughly 20 percent more power than the PW 120 of the ATR-42, wingspan extended by 2.48 metres (although the whole of the wing outboard of the nacelles has been simplified and improved), and greater use of composites.
French certification was achieved in September 1989, by which time five aircraft were flying. The first customer delivery, to KarAir in Finland, was made exactly a year after the first flight.
By May 1995,152 ATR-72's had been firmly ordered or delivered. Construction of the ATR-42 and ATR-72 is on a common assembly line at Toulouse. The ATR72 fuselage and tail is manufactured in Italy, the wings, undercarriage and engine cowlings in France, the engines in Canada, and propellors in the USA.
The ATR72-212A designation being a marketing ploy and rating commonality of Mount Cook Airline for the ATR72-500. The 212A model being certified on 14 January 1997.
Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW 124/2 turboprops , 2,400 shp (1 790 kW).
Wing span: 88 ft 9 in (27,05m).
Engine: 2 x PWC PW123/PW126
Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127, 2475 shp.
Seats: 66.
Engines: 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PW127F, 2750 shp.
Props: 6 blade Hamilton Standard/Ratier-Figeac 568F composite.
Length: 27.166 m.
Height: 7.65 m.
MTOW: 22,500 kg (49,603 lbs).
MLW: 22,350 kg (49,273 lbs).
Max zero fuel wt: 20,300 kg (44,753 lbs).
Max payload: 7450 kg (16,424 lbs).
Seats: 66. Range: 942 nm.
TO field length: 1290m (4232 ft).
Ldg field length: 1067 m (3500 ft).
Max cruise: 278 kts.
Operating ceiling: 25,000 ft.


Federal sign-off on Idaho solution? Wait and see.
Two health care plans — one an executive order on health insurance, and one a legislative proposal on Medicaid waivers — are touted as Idaho solutions to rising health care costs.
But sometimes, even state solutions need permission from the federal government. Right now, there's no guarantee that permission will come.
The executive order directs Cameron to create guidelines for insurance plans to be sold in Idaho that wouldn't necessarily meet the mandates outlined in the Affordable Care Act. That wouldn't need permission from the feds so much as the federal government's inaction — in other words, declining to come after Idaho for non-compliant plans.
But that belief hasn't yet been tested, Cameron said.
The federal government has a few chances to comment on Idaho's plans: When Idaho issues its guidelines, and when insurance companies create insurance plans to fit those guidelines. Right now, Cameron is working on putting together guidelines for insurance providers on what must be covered.
Jon Hanian, spokesman for Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter, pointed to President Donald Trump's inclination toward deregulation as a sign of hope for the Idaho efforts.
"As of right now, they're taking a wait-and-see approach," Hanian said.
The dual waiver proposal also needs sign-off — and unlike the executive order, it requires the federal government to take action.
Here's how it works: One waiver would allow individuals with incomes under 100 percent of the federal poverty line to receive cost-share reductions and tax credits meant for buying insurance on the private market. The other waiver allows Idahoans with "medically complex diagnoses" — essentially, long-term conditions that are expensive to treat — to move to Medicaid.
The federal government hasn't OKed the first part of the proposal regarding the tax credits. Without that first waiver, the second part of the proposal doesn't work.
Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who also signed the executive order, emphasized the difference between the insurance executive order and the Medicaid dual waiver legislative proposal.
Cameron and Hanian said despite the uncertainty on both proposals, the Department of Insurance is in constant contact with DC.
"We're… trying to walk a fine line between what would be acceptable and what would be unacceptable to the federal government," Cameron said.
"We're in touch with them every step of the way so that it doesn't run into any problems and it would avoid any potential" issues, Hanian said.
The Jan. 19th episode of Idaho Reports also featured Rep. Fred Wood, chairman of the House Health and Welfare committee, and Sen. Maryanne Jordan, member of the Senate Health and Welfare committee, discussing the merits of the proposals.
We'll have much more on health care throughout the season. You can watch the full episode of Idaho Reports here, or watch the extended interview here.


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Ain't Givin' Up No Ground
Produced by Ohio Players
Album Honey
Ain't Givin' Up No Ground Lyrics
Marry, marry, marry
Marry, marry
I ain't givin' up, marry me
Ain't givin' up no ground
I ain't givin' up no ground
I ain't givin' up no ground, no
Baby, marry, marry, marry me
Oh no, 'coz I ain't givin' up, no
Say what you wanna say, no
You know what, I ain't
I ain't givin' up, no, no, no
Givin' up no ground
"Ain't Givin' Up No Ground" Track Info
Written By Marvin Pierce, Clarence "Satch" Satchell, Ralph Middlebrooks & 4 more
Release Date August 16, 1975
Honey Ohio Players
2. Fopp
3. Let's Do It
4. Ain't Givin' Up No Ground
5. Sweet Sticky Thing
6. Love Rollercoaster
7. Alone


Aloha and Mahalo to the Schoeppner family for sharing their sons Temana and Keali'i with us for this month's cover.
Their Dad is Darrett Schoeppner, who works in Guest Services at Four Seasons Resort Maui, and mom Lara is an aesthetician at the same resort.
The family lives in Wailuku, and both boys are active in sports including baseball, soccer, and basketball. Keali'i is also studying and enjoys learning to play the 'ukulele. Temana is four years old, and attends Wailuku Hongwanji; Keali'i is six years old, and attends Pu'u Kukui Elementary School.
No trip to Maui is complete without visiting Upcountry, where the air is cooler, the views more expansive, and acres of lush farmland abound. It's the perfect setting for the proverbial "afternoon drive." In particular, the stretch of highway past Kula and Keokea, leading to 'Ulupalakua, is undeniably one of the most scenic on the entire island.
So they installed planter boxes in the courtyard that burst with colorful flowers, placed speakers that emit the music of the Islands, and are in the process of refacing the square columns with tiki-style wood sheathing featuring carvings of Hawaiian flowers, fish, and birds.
But the biggest change so far is the new dining establishment at the center's flagship location overlooking the harbor: Oceanside Restaurant, co-owned by the Chengs and Executive Chef Gary King, and its offshoot, Oceanside Cafe, located upstairs in the middle of the complex.
As part of the Kaanapali Beach Resort Association's culinary promotion, its executive director Shelley Kekuna is proud to host Canadian restaurateur and author Chef Vikram Vij in Kaanapali Beach Resort April 11-15, 2016. The association along with its partners Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa and The Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas will host three culinary functions over three days this month. Maui will have the opportunity to meet Chef Vikram Vij upclose and personal at three functions planned in his honor April 12, 13 and 14.


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AccorHotels open second ibis in Chennai in city centre January 28, 2016
AccorHotels has opened its second ibis in Chennai. Located on Mount Road in the centre of the city, ibis Chennai City Centre offers 155 rooms, a restaurant, a lounge and bar area, two meeting rooms and free WiFi.
"The brand combines the ultimate comfort of modern and well-equipped rooms with the highest level of service for business and leisure travellers. The opening of ibis Chennai City strengthens our brand presence in Chennai and adds to the growing ibis network of 12 hotels in the region," said Jean-Michel Cassé, Senior Vice President of operations for AccorHotels India.
The new hotel becomes AccorHotels' third property in Chennai, following the ibis Chennai SIPCOT and Novotel Chennai SIPCOT in 2014, which launched as dual-branded property in 2014.
India News & Updates
Nepal Travel News Updates
Bhutan Travel News & Updates
FAQs for Indian Guests (26)
General Questions (1)
Sikkim & Darjeeling (42)
About Windhorse


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You are here: Home / Rider News EU 2011 / MCN Utterly Stupid
MCN Utterly Stupid
Motorcycle News (MCN) has branded the high-tech on-board warning system developed through the EU SAFERIDER project by MIRA, as "utterly useless", "deeply flawed", "distracting" and "potentially dangerous".
At Right To Ride we ran our "No To Throttle Control" campaign which focused on the SAFERIDER project and specifically regarding a force feedback throttle which would be able to tune the return force of the throttle through a servo controlled electric motor in order to communicate a speed reduction warning. The result of our campaign was that the Consortium admitted they had got it wrong and withdrew the "force feedback throttle from their project.
Throttle Control was only part of a raft of technologies that were investigated and developed through SAFERIDER. The other was a "curve warning" system which is intended to alert riders if they are approaching a bend to fast using satellite positioning technology and sensors on the motorcycle.
The "curve warning" system can transmit to the rider in various ways, including a pulsating throttle (handle bar), vibrating cheek pads in the helmet, vibrating gloves, vibrating seat, audible warning in the helmet and visual warning on a display unit.
Kevin Ash MCN columnist says the "safety bike" (Triumph Sprint ST) developed by MIRA is an ill-judged waste of time and cash" and asks the question, "How the hell did this get the go-ahead?" His main issue with the system is, "…how on earth a pre-programmed assessment of a bend, taken from a map, can come up with a speed which is in any way representative of how fast a bike really can get around that corner safely" and what about liability if a rider crashes in a bend when the system is in use and alludes to the different skills or riders.
Right To Ride's, Trevor Baird said, "Having ridden previously a MIRA developed motorcycle fitted with audible, visual, vibrating warnings and throttle control, these systems take away the normal sensory control that a rider should have and is taught, without interference and reliance on extra invasive sensory warnings such as these developed in the SAFERIDER project."
However MCN tester Derek Crutchlow aged 65 years said, "If you've been brought up in a motorcycle environment you wouldn't like it. You'll want to think for yourself. But maybe if I was a new rider I would adapt to it. And anything that could make biking seem safer, improve its image and appeal to new riders, I'm all for." But would it appeal to young or novice riders? Or is it more likely that they are looking for wheels to get around and take them away from the humdrum of everyday life – such as the pleasure and fun of riding a bike?
Perhaps in Derek Crutchlow's statement we see the death knell for the future of motorcycling as we know it now. Is unwelcome technology creeping in? Will new and young riders accept this technology creep as part of motorcycling? Do we as motorcyclists, with certain opinions about this technology need to defend more rigorously its adaption for motorcycling? In fact do we have a problem?
Whether these systems become attractive or not is not the point. Kevin Ash is right – they are dangerous, simply because they anticipate conditions and events that even in perfect circumstances such as the MIRA test track, are uncertain.
This has not stopped the Federation Of European Motorcyclists Association (FEMA) headed by its General Secretary treading a dangerous path in hand with the EU Commission, by praising the outcome of the project and calling for SAFERIDER II to continue developing these safety systems.
Filed Under: Rider News EU 2011, Throttle Control Tagged With: Projects, Throttle Control
diesel says
I am a 27 year old rider. I passed my test in January 2011 and I believe that the new tech that people are talking about is going to detract from the riding experience.
I know that if the new tech is introduced I will be sticking to older bikes that do not have it so as to have the freedom to make mistakes and learn from them.
While I agree that biking has inherent dangers I feel that every one who goes for the licence to ride is aware of them and decides to take the tests and the risks on.
Digesting – Throttle Control
Shooting The Messanger


Andrew Gwynne MP has called on the Government to take action to make home ownership a realistic aspiration for working people and rents more affordable by building much needed homes.
According to independent experts, under the current Government we are building less than half the homes a year we need to meet demand. The gap between the number of homes we build each year and what we need is unprecedented at over 100,000 each year.
A housing shortage, combined with the cost of living crisis – with falling wages and rising bills – is making rents increasingly expensive and putting home ownership out of reach for millions of working people.
Back in 1997 it took an average family just three years to save for a proper deposit on a home but today it takes 22 years. Private sector rents are now at the highest level ever recorded.
"David Cameron failed to tackle the housing shortage which is central to his cost of living crisis.
"The housing market isn't working because there simply aren't enough homes around for young people and families that want to buy but are forced to rent. The Tory-led Government has done next to nothing to increase housing supply and is presiding over the lowest levels of house building in peacetime since the 1920s.


Afternoon Tea commences at 2:30pm, for a 3:30pm concert.
The Song Company performs Madrigalesque: Le Parole - the first in a series of singer-selected repertoire, this time focusing on the Italian Madrigal (old and new) featuring the music of De Wert, Schütz, Monteverdi, Luciano Berio - with some extra surprises along the way.
And so, after that brief trip down memory lane I return to my original question: How do you measure a year in the life of the Song Company? Beyond the cups of coffee, the miles we travel, and the laughs we share, 'Seasons of Love' suggests that we should measure year in love. Happily, at the Song Company, each of us love to bring music from all times and places to our audiences: whether it's a classroom of children, one of our many regional venues, or our home audience in some of Sydney's most recognisable cultural landmarks.
Canberra - that beautiful, crisp, and lake-side city - continues to be a place of 'firsts' for my career. The Canberra International Music Festival (CIMF) marked my first apprearance with the Song Company, as a Sprogis-Woods-Smith Young Artist in May 2014. It was largely in part of this festival that I was engaged as Caronte in ANU's production of L'Orfeo in 2014, and subsequently (after international audition) the new bass of the Song Company in 2015.
It is therefore, especially fitting that I announce that I will be performing Igor Stravinsky's Pribaoutki in a Russian Masters concert at this year's CIMF. In the same program, I will also perform works by Sergei Rachmaninoff with my Song Company colleagues.
This marks my solo debut for the CIMF and I am especially grateful to Roland Peelman for the opportunity to perform these rare Stravinsky miniatures with orchestra.
For more information about CIMF please visit their website.
The Haydn Ensemble in collaboration with The Song Company present an unmissable Easter project presenting one of Haydn's most profound works, The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross.
Haydn was originally commissioned to write the work by the Spanish church of Santa Cueva in Cádiz for Lent, to be enhanced by a local custom which enchanted the composer: "The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp hanging from the centre of the roof broke the solemn darkness".
Our performances will recreate this sublime atmosphere combining Haydn's own string quartet and oratorio arrangements of this extraordinary work. Join us for this deeply moving experience.
Program: Haydn's Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross adapted for string quartet and solo voices, performed by candle light.
My debut with the Song Company is now just over one week away, when we present a Czech-inspired program with ARIA award-winning pianist, arranger, and improvisation artist, Andrea Keller. A 'wizard' at the keyboard, it will be an exciting collaboration in a style of music that I haven't oft had the chance to perform. In a significant anniversary for Australian composer Martin Wesley-Smith we also perform a selection of his contemporary vocal works.
Fittingly, Canberra is to be the location of my official Song Company debut. My first encounter with the Song Company professionally was at the Canberra International Music Festival, after having been invited to be a Sprigis-Woods-Smith Young Artisit at the 2014 Festival. Similarly, the day I learned of my successful audition to join the ensemble, I was due to fly to Canberra for ANU's L'Orfeo season. I cannot wait to travel south next weekend. Canberra has many special musical memories for me, and I look forward to creating many more over the course of 2015.
And in what I suspect will continue to be a year of firsts, I also make my debut at the Sydney Opera House (!) in the beatiful acoustic (and harbour views) of the Utzon Room. Who could have imagined when I began my singing journey almost a decade ago that I would be performing in one of the world's most recognisable cultural landmarks at the age of 25?
Andrea Keller, raised in Sydney and now based in Melbourne, is one of the most original personalities to emerge on the Australian jazz scene over the last decade.
A poet at the keyboard and a magician with her regular band, Andrea Keller's work often takes its starting point from a classical source, more often than not triggered by a family story. Andrea has now set her sights on The Song Company family for a program that combines Janáček, the touchstone of all Czech music, with Martin Wesley-Smith.
The concert is rounded off with songs by the inimitable Iva Bittová, and a number songs by Andrea Keller written in Prague during the beautiful spring of 2002.
Ever since its first performance in Leipzig on Good Friday 1724, J.S. Bach's setting of the St John Passion has been a mainstay of the Lenten musical calendar in both concert hall and church. His sublime interpretation recounts the harrowing last days of Christ through dramatic narrative and human reflection.
After my long and involved history with St George's Cathedral Choir - and my love of the ritual surrounding liturgical music - it is probably hardly surprising that I have wasted no time in suring up work of this kind in Sydney.
Warren Trevelyan-Jones and I first met (via email introduction) in 2014 when he visited Perth to conduct The Giovanni Consort, the group I managed at the time. His credentials are extensive, and I have wasted no time in working with him at St James, having now already performed in two of their Orchestral Masses, which provide a unique foray into the breadth and depth of liturgical music in an orchestral context. These are held every January, and present a wide range of music(s).
The 2015 season at St James, King Street is nothing short of extraordinary, and will feature such artists as Yvonne Kenny, The Idea of North, Australian Haydn Ensemble, Sydney Symphony Chamber Players, Richard Butler, Australian Baroque Brass, and the St James Choir - including a St John Passion (JS Bach) and selections of the works of Michael Praetorius and other German-Baroque-Renaissance masters.
You can find more information at http://sjks.org.au/category/music including bookings and other choir engagements. Please consider becoming a 'Friends of Music' subscriber if you are in Sydney, or making a donation to the continued ministry of the St James Choir.
I am extremely excited, and deeply humbled to have been offered a full-time position with The Song Company, commencing in early 2015. The Song Company, now in its 30th year, is one of Australia's most highly regarded ensembles, having performed across the length and breadth of Australia, performing music of almost all styles, eras, and traditions. I look forward to embracing the challenges of the ensemble, and working with my new colleagues in Sydney.
There are many people who I would like to thank, for shaping the musical journey that has led me to this point. But in particular, I would like to thank the many teachers and mentors who have guided and inspired me: Chris McMillan, Rebecca Watson, Paul O'Neill, James Clayton, Margaret Pride, Fiona Campbell, Carl Crossin, Jane Davidson, Nicholas Bannan, Ian Westrip, Andrew Foote, Francis Greep, Joseph Nolan, Joseph Colaneri, Roland Peelman and above all others, Megan Sutton - to whom so many great Australian singers owe their careers.
Today The Song Company says farewell to its long-standing bass, Clive Birch who leaves the ensemble after 25 years with the company. Clive has been an extraordinary and visible part of The Song Company's style – serious when needed but always ready to surprise with a droll sense of humour.
After an extensive audition process, The Song Company is delighted to announce the appointment of Perth bass-baritone, Andrew O'Connor who will take over from Clive at the start of the 2015 season.
A graduate of the University of Western Australia, Andrew is versed in a wide variety of styles and genres. He has sung with the West Australian Opera since 2009, and has performed the roles of Aeneas (Dido & Aeneas), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), and Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) for Perth Lyric Opera. On the concert platform he has performed with Collegium Symphonic Chorus and Perth Symphony Orchestra in works by J.S. Bach, Handel, Mozart, Fauré, and Beethoven. As a consort singer, he has sung across Australia, UK, USA, New Zealand and China with the St George's Cathedral Choir and Consort, The Giovanni Consort, and The Australian Voices Six. He has recorded three discs with the St George's Cathedral Consort, and appeared as soloist on a number of their ABC Classic FM broadcasts.
Andrew has also been a music tutor and choral conductor at a number of Perth schools and encountered The Song Company with his students early this year during a series of workshops and concerts presented by the ensemble in Western Australia. He was subsequently offered a place in the Sprogis Woods Smith Young Artists' program at the Canberra International Music Festival, leading to a successful audition to fill The Song Company's bass vacancy.
Says Andrew: "I was immediately struck by the clarity, style, and diversity of the ensemble, its configuration as six vocal soloists allowing for music-making of the highest order, not unlike a world-class string quartet. The diverse world of music that The Song Company explores is an artistic experience that few ensembles in Australia can offer. I look forward to the musical challenges that await me".
Artistic Director, Roland Peelman welcomes the latest addition to the ensemble. "Together with Hannah Fraser who joined us at the beginning of this year, Andrew represents a new generation within the ensemble. Their youth and talent will stand us in good stead for the next decade".


This tutorial video will teach you to make a simple stink bomb. This stink bomb will cause trouble wherever you want to make it. Use this as inspiration for one of your April Fools Day pranks!
This tutorial video will teach you how to make your own stink bomb in half the time with twice the smell. This stink bomb is a great tool for distracting people or just screwing with them. Use this as inspiration for one of your April Fools Day pranks!
Prank a bathroom by rigging the toilet with a powerful stink bomb that'll go off when someone closes the lid. Use this as inspiration for one of your April Fools Day pranks!
How To : Get a Co-Worker to Set Off a Stink Bomb!
If taking a soothing bath is high on your list of favorite activities, then making one of these fizzy bath bombs will be worth your while. See how to mix and assemble bath soap bombs.
Pour water into a cast iron bomb. Then bathe the bomb in a dry ice acetone slush. This will cause the reaction. This is to illustrate that the volume of ice is greater than of an equal mass of liquid water.
This origami video shows how to make a butterfly by starting with the water bomb base. Origami is fun and easy. This butterfly makes a cute gift. Follow along with this origami tutorial to learn how to make your own.
Need internet access and you don't have a login? Hack into a private or controlled network with this tutorial. Thefixed.org also shows you how to build a smoke bomb!
News : The bombing science website.
The bombing science website is a real cool place to browse through more that a thousand flicks of street art, and has an awesome blog for keeping up to date in the urban art community. Check it out!
American Bartenders School shows how to make a Jager Bomb mixed drink cocktail recipe. You will need Red Bull and Jagermeister. Learn how to mix a Jager Bomb cocktail by watching this video beverage-making tutorial.
No one ever gets tired of making little explosions by adding vinegar and baking soda. In this video, you'll make a sandwich bomb in a sandwich bag and watch as the contents bubble, brew and explode. Mmmm lunch is ready!


Scoring: ACR – Grace Sloan (Clara Kintner), 1:00; C. Kitner (Sarah Groce), 4:00; Pali Smith (S. Groce), 8:00; Annabelle Sparks (Grace Sloan), Claire Kerr (A. Sparks), 22:00; Ashley Trent (P. Smith), 33:00; P. Smith, 36:00; P. Smith (Chloe Proffitt), 37:00; P. Smith (Madison Wommack), 58:00.
Saves: W. Henderson – Ashley Drake 17; Reynolds – Emma Reimels 2, Bella Ramirez 3.
Records: W. Henderson 4-3-4, 3-1-3; Reynolds – 10-1-0, 6-1-0.
Scoring: : ACA – Reese Waites (Kayla Graham), 10:00; FHS – Jordann Guilmette 14:00; ACA – Brantley Compton, 20:00; Carolina Condra (K. Graham), 32:00; Reese Waites (Katherine Verm), 64:00.
Shots: Franklin 4, Asheville 12.
Saves: Franklin – Sidonia Morales 6; Asheville – Emma Newton 2.
Records: Franklin 4-3-1, 1-1; Asheville 3-0-2, 0-0.
Scoring: AT – Carly Koppe (Danielle Bava), 15:17; Abby Mcconnell (Annabel Leatherwood), 28:40; Sacred Stone, 46:06; Hannah Thomas (C. Koppe), 50:08; H. Thomas, 51:39; C. Koppe (Sacred Stone), 67:58.
Shots: Asheville Trailblazers 52; Nebo Crossing 1.
Saves: Asheville Trailblazers – Cassandra Pearce 1; Nebo Crossing – Morgan Ritter 21.
Records: Asheville Trailblazers 4-1-1; Nebo Crossing 1-0-1.
Scoring: ACR – Devin Simmons (Sarah Lewis), 39:28; S. Lewis, 61:53; Julia Bankard (Mazie Hughes), 78:06.
Shots: Roberson 18; Tuscola 9.
Saves: Roberson – Amber gay 5; Tuscola –Sarah Swaim 13.
Records: Roberson 8-2-0, 6-0-0; Tuscola 5-4-0, 5-3-0.


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LONG ISLAND NOIR, latest in Akashic Books' bestselling short thriller fiction anthologies
LONG ISLAND NOIR
KAYLIE JONES (ed.)
The Publisher Says: Stories covering Long Island's extremes, from the comfortable rich to the horribly poor, and all the darkness between.
Launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the geographical area of the book. KAYLIE JONES, JULES FEIFFER, REED FARREL COLEMAN, SHEILA KOHLER, and others reveal how Long Island has always been a playground for the rich and famous—and while it used to be that only a select few could afford it, now everyone wants a piece of the pie.
The McMansions pop up like mushrooms, limiting resources and destroying an already taxed environment. It feels a little like Rome in its last days—a kind of collective amnesia and blindness to the outside world has taken over. Everyone knows this, but no one wants to do anything about it, because big money is being spent—and made. And as the rich grow richer, the poor grow poorer and more disenfranchised; and greed only breeds more greed and violence.
These stories cover the range of Long Island's extremes, from the comfortably rich, to the horribly poor—people pushed to desperate acts in order to protect what they already have, or to try to take what they don't from those who do.
My Review: This series of anthologies is always welcome. It's a darn good series, well edited and clever in its conception and execution. Original stories by an array of people from, or who live(d) on, Long Island, all very talented writers though not always of thriller fiction; that did not work perfectly in this anthology's case but hey, it got a lot of great stuff in front of us.
I'm using the Bryce Method of giving a short assessment of the individual stories so you'll be able to assess the whole as well as the parts.
Home Invasion starts us off with a bitter, angry generational bang. The silences within families are probably scarier than anything that a stranger could dream up. 4 stars
The Shiny Car in the Night is probably the best piece in the collection. It's a slightly less domestic, yest still family centered, tale of men whose losses are no less horribly disfiguring for being self-inflicted; a son whose father can't find a way to escape the funhouse-mirror lined labyrinth of rage and regret against his brother, ends up...ending up. 5 stars
Anjali's America is an immigrant woman doctor's story of how narrowly she escaped the horror of being a woman locked in a joyless prison of motherhood and victimhood and subservience to the men who couldn't understand anything she's ever thought. Nor would they try...she exists to serve. Nightmarish, intense, and vivid. 4 stars
A Starr Burns Bright is a grifter's wet dream of The Big Strike, if he can just pull it off. He needs the strike for sure, but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed...the secrets he now knows aren't the best way to stay healthy and alive for a long time. Hijinks, as hey must, ensue...4 stars
Mastermind really made me sit up and take notice, it's by Reed Farrel Coleman and it's got the biggest heart and the scariest fall. When someone knows he's not top-drawer material for his particular corner of the world, and he keeps working his ass off to Make It anyway, it's poignant and it's admirable in a weird way even when he's not a nice guy. But the world knocks the best over, imagine how bad it is when they're not close to the best...5 stars
Contents of House was a bitter pill indeed, bad sex and smashed-up love and revenge all stewed in a heart that simply isn't up to the task of coldness and instead succumbs to shame. 4 stars
Snow Job is hilariously wicked. It's short, but twisty, and it's got the sheer narrative drive of an entire novel...the pace does not let up, the stuff that happens is terrible but you just can't help laughing...schadenfreude, thy name is me, when people who deserve it get come-uppances...and, by the time it's done, I wanted to start over again. 5 stars
The other pieces, eg "Semiconscious," "Blood Drive," "Jabo's," and "Terror," were three or more star decent efforts but didn't rise to the heights the others did. A few, eg "Seven Eleven" and "Boob Noir" by Jules Feiffer, just weren't up to the standard set by the superior works. Still, there are seventeen stories in here, so a few not-to-my-liking ones are more than likely going to sneak in. It's definitely a very good way to spend your Sunday afternoon at the beach! Labor Day has lots of hours in it. Spend some here.
Posted by Richard at 8:44 AM No comments:
Labels: Akashic Books, Akashic Noir series, anthology, Kaylie Jones, Long Island setting, noir thriller, short stories, South Asian immigrant theme
TWO MARI SANGIOVANNI LESBIAN ROM-COMS!
GREETINGS FROM JAMAICA, WISH YOU WERE QUEER
MARI SANGIOVANNI
Bywater Books
$9.99 ebook editions, available now
The Publisher Says: Marie Santora comes from a volatile Italian family. But when she inherits her grandmother's estate and everyone turns nice and caring, Marie knows it's time to hit the road to Los Angeles, but not before one final family vacation.
In Jamaica, Marie meets the woman who could change her life. But will she even talk to Marie after her family tells one too many of Marie's secrets? Don't miss this hilarious tale of lesbian love and family togetherness run amok.
Greetings from Jamaica is a runner-up for the first annual Bywater Prize for Fiction.
My Review: What happens when a rudderless, relationshipless, newly rich dyke decides to change her life, leave her hometown, and pursue the unattainable Object of Her Desire, a famous actress?
To put it mildly, hijinks ensue.
Marie hated her rich grandmother, as did anyone and everyone else who ever met the old bat. Unlike all the others in her family, though, Marie was honest in her dislike, and when the old lady kicks, Marie...the one honest person in the old lady's life...inherits.
This is an old-fashioned screwball comedy, a lot like Bringing Up Baby or The Awful Truth. It's a fast-paced, rollicking joy of a book to read.
Oh hell. Here I've got an interesting life and an adorable boyfriend (since become an ex, more's the pity), and I've gone and fallen in love with a lesbian.
Well, can you blame me? This particular lesbian, author of the tome named above, has a wicked sense of humor and a snarky eye for characters and a good sense of timing. She's written, in this her first novel, a laugh-out-loud funny slamming-doors sex farce set in an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica. I mean, really, go fight those odds! I'd fall in love with *Rush Limbaugh* under those circumstances!
(No I wouldn't, not a chance, but it's a good line so I used it anyway.)
Marie, our heroine, is in a miserable dead-end relationship with the once-gorgeous-to-her Jessica, a cold, cheating slime. Then one fine morning, Marie wakes up rich, with a legacy of $21 million - the ENTIRE ESTATE! - from her mean, evil grandmother, whose respect for Marie's honest dislike of her has paid off.
Marie's extended Italian-American family, predictably, goes into hyperdrive debating the use that they will make of (Marie's, and Marie's alone) money. This gets old, so she buggers off to Los Angeles to throw herself at actress Lorn Elaine, hoping to convince the said actress to be in the movie she's written. This fails spectacularly, and Marie slinks off to Jamaica with her entire clan, both to salve her screenwriterly wounds and to announce her decision about the division of the money. That was left to HER, mind.
So who shows up at the selfsame all-inclusive resort? C'mon, guess! Oh, all right...Lorn Elaine! With her mother in tow! It's now that the doors begin slamming, the sex (some pretty sticky stuff there!) begins not happening, and the entire cast runs around at warp speed trying to keep secrets and ending up telling lies.
If you're unsatisfied by the ending of this book, you're a prune-faced old moralizing killjoy. As for the humor quotient...well, the author's email is MariLaughs@cox.net. Go on, say it out loud. I'll wait.
Now, if that didn't make you laugh, don't read this book. Read one on how to get a sense of humor.
CAMPTOWN LADIES
Rating: 4* of five
The Publisher Says: Just when you thought it was safe to pitch your tent, the Santora family shows up. Lisa's taken over a rundown campground, baby sister Marie's been dumped (again!) by the actress, and the Santoras don't know the meaning of minding their own business. When the whole clan decides to fix things for their girls, it's a hilarious recipe for havoc. Camptown Ladies is the sequel to Greetings From Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer.
Mari SanGiovani lives the crazy Italian family lifestyle and writes about it like no one else.
My Review: Okay, see, it started like this. A few years ago, I was having a discussion with an old, old, old dyke of my acquaintance (I mean, born in the first Truman administration! And not dead yet!) about how gay men don't support lesbian writers and publishers of lesbian-themed books, and fewer straight men do this than straight women support gay smexy-time publishers. (I suspect ZERO straight men read gay smexy-time books, they're too skittish about the whole thing, poor lambs.) (BTW, when exactly did you dirty, dirty ladies start using men together as bubble-machine starter? I am shocked, shocked!)
Back to my story. So after a somewhat spirited exchange, containing the words "do not!" and "you big stupid!" rather more often than is seemly for two people whose combined age reaches well, well into triple digits, a challenge was issued: Each of us would buy from InsightOut (GLBTQ book club) a novel wholly and entirely about the other's preferred romantic partnerings. I bought Greetings from Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer.
Oh blessèd day. I snorted, howled, giggled, and generally made unseemly noises the entire time I was reading...make that devouring...the book. My then-love interest, the lamented Mr. Man, got so curious he read it too. He laughed, or the relationship would've ended sooner.
I sent the book to another friend, and she howled her way through it. She sherpa'd the sequel, recommending it to me, and keeping me abreast (!) of developments in Mari SanGiovanni's personal life. The fact that I'm finally reviewing the book is due to the fact that I need to get it in the mail to yet another friend who read the first one after several of us pummeled him into reading the first one (he's a straight boy, poor thing, so it took a wee tiny bit of coaxing). Having done so, he's fallen for Marie, Lisa, and Lorn just like the rest of us, and is looking forward to reading more about them.
Little does he know. (Close your eyes, Mark! Spoilers from here on out!)
Mari has made Marie's life easier in this book: She's broken up with Lorn, whose career as a movie star means more to her than her love for Marie, she's got money, and her lunatic out-there Italian family (a lot like several Italian families I know, all up in each other's business and as full of questions and demands as any police interrogator) go to work together. Marie gets to leave Lorn's orbit and lick her wounds, Lisa the older sister who's also a dyke gets to hit on the girls around and about, and so does Vince the youngest child, a straight boy (such a pity, that).
Vince does bring Erica, his girlfriend, into the picture.
Oh well, so much for family harmony. Erica falls in love with Marie, Marie goes back to Lorn, Erica leaves for Italy, and there's a romantic ending that made me mist over. Not before, however, I'd snorted and guffawed a lot. There's the clamdigging scene, with Lisa at her inappropriate best/worst. Think I hurt myself laughing, retching, laughing, and shuddering.
So anyway, off this book goes to its new daddy. I hope he hides it from his wife, there is a goodly amount of lesbian sex of the detailed sort in it. I skimmed. Fast. Now if I can just read this address...I find it improbable that he lives in "Olympus Mons, JI" since we haven't colonized Mars yet. I must've written the address down while still laughing about the clamdigging scene.
Posted by Richard at 8:15 PM No comments:
Labels: #LoveIsLove, comedy of manners, Italian American author, Italian American family, lesbian PoV, lesbian rom-com, Mari SanGiovanni, QUILTBAG, screwball comedy
Ninth Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Read-a-thon Review Up
After causing myself needless terror and pain by losing the post, and some of the review, I've got the last novel that's likely to be published by Jay Lake before his demise reviewed and appreciated at Shelf Inflicted, a group blog.
His own blog, Jay Lake, Writer, has a post today about "Special Dying Person Wisdom." He says something the Buddha said, in a different way. That so many teachers say, and so many students nod at, but still it remains something we all need to hear again, and again, and again: "But in any case, be kind. It costs you nothing and makes the world around you a better place."
Well, that's it, really. That's the whole deal in a nutshell. Even if my take-away from the entire experience of encountering Lake and his fiction was that, it was a transformative one. Reading these nine novels, reviewing them, and making the reviews as much about the experience as the book and saying thank you to the creator of the books pre-mortem, remind me to be kinder so I can make my corner of the world a bit better than it is now.
KALIMPURA brings Green's saga to its stopping place. In the end is the beginning; in the beginning is the end. It's a hard thing to do, to read a novel of maturing that comes from a person whose perspective is The End. But then again, if he's got time to tell the story, who am I to ignore it because I feel sad about how it's coming about?
Posted by Richard at 10:10 PM No comments:
Labels: 4-plus star review, fantasy, Green Universe #3, Jay Lake, Jay Lake's Jay Wake, Tor Books
New Suspense Novel Review 21 August 2013
I give CLOSE MY EYES from St. Martin's Press a going over at my thrillers page & like what I see 4 stars worth! An excellent rating for a debut suspense novel.
I get St. Martin's Press's Criminal Element newsletter...lots of good stuff comes my way from that...and won this ARC from the entry made there. Good book, promising start, and I hope a good long career for the author.
Labels: 4 star review, first novel, St. Martin' s Press, suspense
Three new reviews for the August 2013 Blue Moon
I reviewed a collection of essays for The Small Press Book Review, called MEATY. It's by a blogger called Samantha Irby, a Person of Size whose blog is called Bitches Gotta Eat. That made me snicker, so I asked the publisher for a copy to review.
I wasn't sure about these essays until I hit the one on diets and dieting, when I started laughing so hard I scared the dog. Read the review, see why. I quoted the (to me) funniest one of them.
Then I re-read Mary Renault's THE PRAISE SINGER on the Literary Fiction page, and gave the old girl four stars out of sheer luxurious pleasure in her use of language.
Lastly, my friend and co-blogger Dan Schwent writes an appreciation of the Grand Master Mysterian at our group blog, Shelf Inflicted. From Get Shorty to Maximum Bob and all points in between, I enjoyed Elmore Leonard's work. I will miss anticipating his latest foray into inspired silliness.
Labels: 3-plus star review, Curbside Splendor Press, Elmore Leonard, Mary Renault. 4-plus star review, RIP Elmore Leonard, Shelf Inflicted
Eduardo del Valle Seduces Me
I read a poetry book. I liked the poetry book I read. No, really, go see: http://tinyurl.com/clnffl4
It's about a man, an architect, who works at Ground Zero while it's being rebuilt. That should tell you how much I liked this book: It's a dead art-form that I don't much like, about a subject still raw enough to me that I don't like people yim-yammering about it.
He's made quite an achievement.
Two New Mystery Reviews! 13 August 2013
My Mystery Series section.
I finally got around to writing a review of THE LAST KASHMIRI ROSE but wasn't all that interested. Too bad, too. I wanted to be blown away!
Less good than that was the first "Trash'n'Treasures" Mystery, ANTIQUES ROADKILL. Just...~meh~ Halfway between good and bad. Nothing to remember, no desire to pick up another one, just...~meh~
The books themselves have gone off to my friend Kath's library, there to be shelved.
Labels: 2-plus star review, 3 star review, Joe Sandilands Mysteries #1, mystery, Trash'n'Treasures Mysteries #1
THE RAVEN'S GIFT, fast-paced Alaska-set thriller
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
DON REARDEN
Rating: 3.8* of five ***LibraryThing Early Reviewers ARC***
The Publisher Says: John Morgan and his wife can barely contain their excitement upon arriving as the new teachers in a Yup'ik Eskimo village on the windswept Alaskan tundra. But their move proves disastrous when a deadly epidemic strikes and the isolated community descends into total chaos. When outside aid fails to arrive, John's only hope lies in escaping the snow-covered tundra and the hunger of the other survivors—he must make the thousand-mile trek across the Alaskan wilderness for help. He encounters a blind Eskimo girl and an elderly woman who need his protection, and he needs their knowledge of the terrain to survive. The harsh journey pushes him beyond his limits as he discovers a new sense of hope and the possibility of loving again.
My Review: That summary's pretty generic. Here's what I think you should know: Expect to flip pages fast enough to fan yourself cool on a hot day. Expect to invest real interest in the characters. Expect to spend at least one too-late night as the ending draws nigh.
Don't expect to learn the culture of the Yup'ik, or get inside the heads of any Yup'ik people. Don't expect the plot to do more than propel the real story forward. Don't expect to slip mentally naked into a pool of sweet-scented prose-water. Don't expect to think about these characters for days, weeks, after the deeply satisfying ride is over.
This is chapter 42:
He swore he would keep track. He would record each day forward from the day she died. Never forgetting. Never losing count. That day was the day he awoke with {her} cold in his arms. The day he could not stop trying to imagine being a father. Of {her} finally a mother. He just couldn't do it. He had no images in his mind of what that son or daughter might have looked like. Would he or she have his grandmother's eyes? The eyes he never looked into?
But worse, it would be the day he would have to start trying to keep his word to {her}.
And on that day, he knew in his heart, he couldn't keep it. She had whispered into his ear and asked him to do the unthinkable. And he said he would. He would have told her anything she needed to hear. And he did.
{She} whispered her dying wish into his ear, "Promise me you will love again...Promise me."
"Promise," he replied.
Asking him to promise he would keep on living would have been too much in and of itself, but to love again?
That's it. The entire chapter. So now you know what you're looking at: Short chapters made of short sentences piled atop each other, building thorny defensive walls against loss and loneliness and the icy freezing cold of being irretrievaby, irrevocably left behind. Sometimes you're inside, sometimes you're outside.
If that style fails to appeal, pass on. But Pintail, a Canadian division of Penguin, should find plenty of people happy to visit the amazing, beautiful Alaskan tundra with John and his dependents. I'm very glad I spent the time I did with this promising, exciting debut thriller.
Labels: 3-plus star review, Alaska setting, Alaska thriller, Don Reardon, Pintail, thriller
Gay Male SF AT LAST
New Review! One big issue I have with science fiction is its relative absence of gayness. Today I read an excellent short science fiction story WHEN YOU WERE PIXELS by Julio-Alexi Genao. It's a kind of gay male Fifty First Dates set in a Bladerunner-y dystopic future. This is what I've been looking for! Try it out.
I so often find that the SFnal setting in more-or-less romantic fiction is pretty lame. Not this time. It's got depth and it's got breadth. I am so so pleased! It helps that I'm Goodreads friends with the author, since I got to hear about the book that way. It's free to all comers, though, so I'm not unique!
Labels: 4-plus star review, dystopia, free download, romantic gay fiction, SF, short fiction
My Public Thanks to Jay Lake
I have a Guest Post at SFSignal, a science fiction/fantasy/horror blog,about my Shelf Inflicted project the Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Read-a-thon. Please go give it a look. Lake's work is a pleasure, and I think we should say so before he says his final goodbyes.
Posted by Richard at 2:00 PM 4 comments:
Labels: Guest Post, Jay Lake, Jay Lake's Jay Wake, saying thank you, SFSignal
Another Review of a Gaiman Book, Oh BOY!
I posted my take on THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE.
You know, the words "master" and "groundbreaking" are fast becoming vigorously waved red flags for me...so seldom is the subject an actual master and even more seldom is the work in question "groundbreaking." Virginia Woolf broke ground. So did Faulkner, Beckett, even *shudder* Djuna Barnes...Robert Pinget...but Neil Gaiman? C'mon.
Latest review at The Small Press Book Review!
Another four-star review, this time of a short novel set in New Orleans: THE WISDOM OF ASHES from small press Lavender Ink, based in New Orleans. The book is a short 100pp. By page 10, I wasn't tasting anything but Mississippi water as I submerged in the reality of New Orleans and its many many broken pieces that still knit together.
Jonathan Kline, the author, is a poet. Don't let that scare you off. He's a very talented prose stylist, too. Now $9.99 on Kindle: https://smile.amazon.com/Wisdom-Ashes-Standing-Gate-ebook/dp/B0B6RZWBJB/
Labels: Lavender Ink, New Orleans, New Orleans noir, Small Press Book Review
THE WASP FACTORY: An Appreciative Review
The late, great Iain (M.) Banks's passing inspired a number of group reads of his books in different Internetty places. I joined one for THE WASP FACTORY over on LibraryThing. A lot of people had ewww-ick responses; my response is here.
This is one great, as in LOLITA-type great, book. It will long, long outlive most (maybe even all) other books published in 1984.
REPOSTING REVIEW 6 FEBRUARY 2017
THE WASP FACTORY
IAIN BANKS
The Publisher Says: Frank--no ordinary sixteen-year-old--lives with his father outside a remote Scottish village. Their life is, to say the least, unconventional. Frank's mother abandoned them years ago: his elder brother Eric is confined to a psychiatric hospital; & his father measures out his eccentricities on an imperial scale. Frank has turned to strange acts of violence to vent his frustrations. In the bizarre daily rituals there is some solace. But when news comes of Eric's escape from the hospital Frank has to prepare the ground for his brother's inevitable return--an event that explodes the mysteries of the past & changes Frank utterly.
My Review: Much has been said in disgust and even anger about this polarizing book. Some have called for it to be banned. Others have written the equivalent of a silent finger-down-the-throat mime.
You are all entitled to your opinion. Here is mine: This book is brilliant. It will be remembered long long after the pleasant entertainments of the day are more forgotten than Restoration drama. (Hands up anyone who knows who Colley Cibber is. And don't front. Or use Wikipedia.)
I'm also an ardent partisan of Lolita, that deeply disturbing and very beautiful book by a pedophile about his pursuit of the perfect lover. I loved Mrs. Dalloway, the chilling, near-perfect narrative of a wealthy woman's desperation and crushing ennui.
So here's the deal: Frank, and his brother Eric, aren't role models, aren't people you'd want to be around, aren't amusing compadres for a jaunt along the path to the Banal Canal. They are, like Hum and Lo and Clarissa and Septimus, avatars (in the pre-Internet sense) of the raw, bleeding, agonic (unangled, in this use) purposelessness of life. They are the proof that salvation is a cruel ruse. These characters rip your fears from the base of your brain and move them, puppetlike, eerily masterful withal, into your worst nightmares.
And all without resorting to the supernatural.
Humanity comes off badly in this book. The truth of what made Frank the person he is will leave you more chilled than any silly evocation of a devil in a religious text. Frank's very being is an ambulatory evil act. But the reason for it, the motivating factor, is the absolute worst horror this book contains. All the animal-torture stuff is unpleasant, I agree. It's not as though it's lovingly and lingeringly described. And it pales in comparison to Frank's raison d'etre.
So yes, this book is strong meat. It's got deeply twisted characters enacting their damage before us, the safely removed audience. It's making a serious point about human nature. And it's doing all of that in quite beautifully wrought prose, without so much as one wasted word.
But it's essentially a warning to the reader: Don't go there. Don't do the pale, weak-kneed versions of the rage-and-hate fueled horrors inflicted on Frank, and even on Eric. Pay attention, be mindful of the many ways we as lazy moral actors condone the creation of Erics and Franks in our world.
Pay attention.
Labels: #ReadingIsResistance, 5 star review, Iain Banks, literary fiction, literary grotesques, modern classic
The Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Read-a-thon Continues! Sixth review
It's Thursday...so that means it's time for another JAY LAKE PRE-MORTEM READ-A-THON REVIEW! You lucky people you. Anyone who has paid attention to me these past 40 or so years knows that I'm no fantasy fan...Tolkien and Lord Dunsany break me out in hives...but the current book, MADNESS OF FLOWERS, is fantasy done right. Four-plus star review over at Shelf Inflicted, a group blog.
Have a wonderful time in New Zealand, Jay Lake! *vibrates with envy*
Labels: fantasy, Jay Lake, Jay Lake's Jay Wake, Night Shade Books, The City Imperishable #2, urban fantasy
LONG ISLAND NOIR, latest in Akashic Books' bestsel...
The Jay Lake Pre-Mortem Read-a-thon Continues! Six...


text:
2017 Gala Dinner: Remarks from NCUSCR President Stephen Orlins
Submitted by Nicholas Young on November 20, 2017 2:52 PM EST
Secretary Kissinger, Secretary Lew, Ambassador Cui, Ambassador Randt, members, and friends:
President Xi Jinping frequently says, "不 忘 初 心,方 得 始 终," or "Never forget why you started and what was in your heart, and your mission can be accomplished."
As you saw in the Committee's history over last few minutes and as we complete the celebration of our 50th anniversary in Beijing next week, we have never forgotten why we were founded and what we have accomplished. We celebrate how far we have come and ask how far we need to go. While our president and President Xi have established a real rapport, there are ill winds blowing that should trouble all who support constructive U.S.-China relations. But tonight rather than focusing on the ill winds, I started to imagine my vision for U.S.-China relations when the National Committee celebrates its 60th anniversary.
I hope our annual investment report, which will be in its 13th year then, includes an investment of Chinese capital and technology in the Boston-Washington rail corridor. My daughter recently moved from here in New York to Baltimore. If we had high speed rail like China, the trip would be less than 40 minutes. I could continue our tradition of Sunday night family dinners, which the Orlins family has done for three generations. Today's rail system makes this virtually impossible. This investment would be a bright shining example of Chinese investment materially improving the quality of life for millions of Americans, including me.
I see our PACOM briefings analyzing a thousand-ship navy exercise led by American, Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and British naval officers. The joint exercise simulates the evacuation of thousands from a South Pacific island after an historic typhoon.
This multinational fleet leaves from newly internationalized Chinese built islands in the South China Sea as we have suggested in our Track II Dialogue on Maritime Issues & International Law.
My hope for 2027 is that, as proposed in our Track II Economic Dialogue, the leading underwriters of Chinese debt and equity are U.S. investment banks and the leading issuers of insurance are U.S. insurance companies. I was thrilled to see the Chinese government move in that direction immediately after President Trump left Beijing ten days ago.
I picture the National Committee hosting the Chinese President in the United States in our 60th year as we have every Chinese leader since Deng Xiaoping. And after that event, partly as a result of the numerous congressional member and staff delegations we have run, the Chinese President goes to Capitol Hill and addresses a joint session of Congress to celebrate China's global partnership with the United States, and describe why the Chinese and American dreams can live together side by side in peace.
I could go on and enumerate more of the positive contributions the Committee has made and will continue to make, but tonight is about the contributions of every single person in this room.
When, at the beginning of last year, I announced that we were embarking on a $15 million campaign, many said it was impossible. Many said the Committee had never undertaken anything so ambitious. So, I am thrilled to announce that our 50th Anniversary Campaign exceeded its goal and to date—there are 6 weeks still left—has raised $15.2 million. Let me repeat that in Chinese: 一千五百二十万多. I want to recognize those that made it possible. First and foremost is our Vice Chairman Hank Greenberg who continued his decades long generosity to NCUSCR, and his $4 million is not included in this total. I also want to thank our lead donors who committed $1 million or more:
Steve Schwarzman
Chubb and Evan Greenberg
Xcoal Energy & Resources and Ernie Thrasher
Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang
Finally, I want to thank someone who flew all the way from Beijing to be with us tonight. He painted the beautiful paintings that you see on the screens and will be presented to each of the honorees in the second half of the program. Please join me in thanking Xiong Honggang.
I began my remarks by quoting President Xi. Let me close by borrowing his concept articulated at the 19th Party Congress of a 新时代, a new era. Because of the support of all of you in this room, the National Committee's 新时代 will have new programs that ensure that the U.S.-China relationship is strong and prosperous. And when we implement these new programs, I am convinced that 明天会更好. Tomorrow will be a better day.
Now for some musical entertainment. Jan's history briefly mentioned our Young Leaders Forum—and the two marriages that it has produced. We invite an eclectic group of leaders under 40 from America and China to join an annual four-day retreat. The retreat seeks to build bonds between the best and the brightest of both countries. In 2006, we invited Huang Ruo to join the forum. In many ways this composer embodies the program. His scores are original combinations of Chinese and Western music lauded by music critics throughout the world. Tonight's pieces will be performed by his Ensemble Fire. Please join me in welcoming Huang Ruo.


I started out looking for a 72 Gran Torino 3 or 4 years ago since that was the first car I ever owned. Never could find one in my price range and the the movie came out with Clint Eastwood in and everything I was looking at went up even more. So I decided to restore something else first. Had an old Farmall and started on it. Tractor restoration is about the same as Mustang Steves law. What started out as a paint job, ended up with a full overhaul, new pistons, sleeves, valve job, ground the crank and etc.
After getting done painting the tractor, I started looking for a car again. Saw this Mustang on Ebay one day and watched it go out and then it was reposted later. Watched it again and finally put a bid in on the last day of the auction. Long story short, I won and the day after Thanksgiving in 2011 I drove 5 hours with my brother in laws truck and trailer and picked it up. Been working on it off and on ever since. The motor is a 302 with 5 speed, and 9" limited slip 4.33 gears in it. That was all in the car when I got it. Since then I have put in a cable clutch, did the Granada swap on the front discs, put in all the brake lines, fuel lines, new rack and pinion and new radiator. Body is a 40 footer and will stay that way for awhile. Did start working on the hood, because it had some rust bubbles coming through.
I have found a lot of good info on this site, and thank everybody who has helped on any questoins I have had.
That is a very sharp looking car. Are you going to keep the rear gears?
I don't know for sure yet. Haven't driven it too much or very far yet. It is a lot of fun but it revs really quick. Might have to change them to keep from scattering the engine.
love this car and flat blk hood is functional to reduce glare. The look with those wheels and discs peeking through is vintage restomod. I dig this ride!


text:
Family always on Cody Rhodes' mind
Posted by Pat Laprade | Jan 10, 2014
You can't talk about Cody Rhodes with talking about family, which extends well beyond just Goldust (comeback of the year!) and their father Dusty Rhodes.
Before Cody Rhodes even hit high school, his half-brother Dustin, who is 16 years his senior, was already a well-known professional wrestler. He already was a two-time WCW tag team champion, U.S. Champion and WWE Intercontinental champion. His character of Goldust was one of the most bizarre, yet entertaining and fun to watch, in WWE's history.
Goldust and Cody Rhodes were one of the best tag team of 2013. Photo by Mike Mastrandrea
Their father, the legendary "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes was a three-time NWA World heavyweight champion and like it or not, one of the best minds in the history of the sport.
And let's not forget his uncles: Jerry Sags of The Nasty Boys and a former WWE tag team champion and Fred Ottman, better known as Tugboat or Typhoon and another ex-WWE tag team champion. As well, Magnum T.A. (Terry Allen) is his godfather.
That being said, young Cody didn't have any pressure from his family before taking the decision to start a wrestling career.
"Wrestling was something I always wanted to do, maybe not all I ever wanted to do, but something I definitely wanted to do. I really had no pressure from my family," Rhodes told SLAM! Wrestling.
But following a family's legacy is never an easy task. For every second-generation wrestler who succeeds, there are tons who fail.
And when you're the son of Dusty Rhodes, you have to think your dad will have big expectations.
"When I told my dad I wanted to give wrestling a shot, he told me, after a good 10 minutes of silence, 'If you're gonna do it, you gotta do it to be the best.' But wrestling is such a great thing. There's no way to hide from getting the fans reaction. It's really special," said the two-time Intercontinental champion.
As any father, Dusty is proud of his son, but for Cody, even with his father's knowledge, The American Dream is not the one he seeks feedback from.
"Sometimes, my dad's advice is biased because he's too close to the project," explained Cody. "I usually stay away from getting advice from my family. My dad thinks I'm the best and this is not what's gonna help me get better. Guys like Fit Finlay, JBL, Arn Anderson are the ones I ask for advice."
After being on the main roster since 2007 and having hits and misses, such as "Dashing" Cody, teaming with Ted DiBiase Jr., tagging and feuding with Damien Sandow, and wearing a Movember kind-of-mustache for several months, things haven't look brighter for Cody since that angle with his dad and half-brother started.
It was one of the best storylines for 2013, with Dusty, Dustin and Cody all fighting for their job when Stephanie McMahon and her husband Triple H decided to play God with their lives.
The hot angle lead to what can be argued as the comeback of 2013, with Goldust teaming with his younger brother — The Brotherhood — for the very first time.
"Nothing was supposed to lead this way. It's just one of those things that caught fire," admitted Cody. "The thing you need to know about Dustin is that before his return, he had a behind-the-scene success. He's a healthier person now. As Goldust, he has the best matches of his life. It's like a Benjamin Button kind of story."
For Cody, it's something that he never thought would happen.
"It's a real trip. We both have a different style, but I really love it. It's a very positive thing. I never thought it would happen. He started his career when I was a kid. We are closer together now and try to make it up for the lost time," said Cody.
"It's an opportunity for us. We actually don't talk that much of the ring when we are not in the ring," he added.
Together, they became one of WWE's best tag teams even if they only worked as a unit for only a few months. They won the tag team titles on the October 14 episode of Raw, defeating another hot tag team, The Shield. These two teams, alongside The Real Americans and The Usos, are the backbone of the tag team division right now.
Even though they haven't been a team for a long time, they were named best tag team for 2013 at the Slammy Awards ceremony, Cody's second, as he won for Outstanding Achievement of Baby Oil Application in 2010.
"My first Slammy was more of a tech award as it was not broadcast. This one is head and shoulders above. It's a legit award this time," said Cody, who also got married in 2013.
The WWE babyface roster celebrates the victory of the Rhodes family at the WWE Battleground pay-per-view in October. Photo by Mike Mastrandrea
On Sunday, January 12, Cody will be in Montreal as part of an afternoon house show at the Bell Centre. The last time Cody was in town, it was for the Monday Night Raw taping in September of 2012 when Jerry "The King" Lawler suffered a heart attack.
That night, Cody went last against Rey Mysterio.
"I didn't know how severe Jerry's condition was when I hit the ring. I still can't watch that match because of what happened and because it has no commentary on. It shows how powerful the commentator job is. It was really a tough night for all of us."
This time around, Cody has a chance to enjoy his match a little better. His half-brother is already set against Antonio Cesaro; does that mean Cody will be pitted against Jack Swagger or a member of The Shield?
"As we speak, I'm supposed to accompany my brother, but this is way too vanilla for WWE, especially with Montreal being such an historic place for the WWE and where there's always great action. Montreal is known to have great fans, great matches, so you're going to see me in action for sure," promised Cody.
Besides the match between Cesaro and Goldust, and the presence of Cody Rhodes, announced for the Bell Center show are the Unified champion Randy Orton, John Cena, Big Show, Kane, Sin Cara, Dolph Ziggler, Curtis Axel and Ryback. The show is at 5:00 p.m. and tickets are available through evenko.ca.
Dusty Rhodes, Goldust Dustin Rhodes & Cody Rhodes story archive
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Pat Laprade
From Montreal, pro wrestling historian and journalist, author of 4 books on pro wrestling, play-by-play announcer for WWE Raw in French on TVA Sports, field producer on HBO's Andre the Giant, consultant on Vice's Dark Side of the Ring: The Assassination of Dino Bravo, SLAM Wrestling and Wrestling Observer Newsletter's contributor, Femmes Fatales promoter, founder of the Quebec wrestling HOF.


Every year more than one and a half crore fish seed is stocked in district Kurukshetra and more than 2700 tones fish is being produced in the district. To private fish seed hatcheries at village Mandheri and Adone are producing more than 10 crore seed each which is distributed in all the districts of Haryana. More than 5 lakh rupees are distributed as subsidies under various schemes in the district.
To manage and conserve the natural fisheries in rivers, canals, drains and other water bodies.
To utilize available village ponds and tanks for fish farming.
To provide technical and financial assistance to fish farmers through Fish Farmers Development Agencies.
To create a class of trained fish farmers in the state.
To increase the production of quality fish seeds of all species.
To utilize unused waste agricultural land for fish farming.
To create additional employment opportunity in rural area.


Welcome to yet another installment of the TNW Microsoft Roundup, the post that comes every Friday, like clockwork. If the day of nuclear armageddon does come, the only things left will be cockroaches, and this post. That and taxes, perhaps.
It's been a varied week in the world of Microsoft, making this post nearly themeless. To get caught up on all the news, hit up the archives. Now, ensure that you are following TNW Microsoft on both Twitter, and Facebook, and let's dig into the news.
The good news: Windows 8 is going to be a low-priced upgrade from anyone on XP on up. That means that if you have picked a computer anytime in the last, well, half decade or more, you are going to be able to scoot up to Windows 8 for a mere $39.99.
If you want to know why Microsoft is making this choice, head here for a bit of learned speculation.
One important wrinkle: This upgrade is not to the consumer, or low-consumer edition of the operating system, but instead is to its 'Pro' version. That for forty bucks is quite the deal, when compared to what upgrades to Windows 7 currently retail for. And of course, if you buy a computer now, you get to upgrade for only $19.99.
Microsoft appears determined that Windows 8 have a big launch.
Right, remember aQuantive? Microsoft investors do. The sucker cost the firm a full $6.3 billion in cash. This week, Microsoft wrote down some $6.2 billion on its balance sheet, pointing an underperforming aQuantive purchase as the main cause. That's all but $100 million of what Microsoft paid for the company.
It's hard to imagine that investors in Microsoft are going to swallow the next big purchase that it tries to execute without some protest. After all, if it can lose this much money in a single deal, who knows what it may do next?
Can you type on a Surface?
At the meeting with MSFT Windows execs, we were able to try the Surface touch keyboard (we weren't at LA launch) and also use it conjunction with new Office (RT- version). All works well. The keyboard is responsive and natural (same size as laptop keyboard), with only downside being there is only slight raised delineation between keys, meaning you have to look at your fingers while you type. With short words, we were able to type accurately, although longer words were more error-prone.
That's all well and good, but you have to ask yourself how long it took you to learn how to type on your iPad. I know that I'm still figuring it out, years later. I wonder what reviews will state, once testers have had a few weeks to fully play with the units.
And that is it from TNW Microsoft this week. Now, go pour a black and tan and start the weekend.