New Delhi, Sep 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) Domestic air traffic in August recorded a strong growth as nearly 1.01 crore passengers travelled during the month in the country as against 67.01 lakh in the same period last year, said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday.
As per the latest data released by the aviation regulator, domestic airlines during the first eight months this year carried 770.70 lakh passengers as against 460.45 lakh during the corresponding period of previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 67.38 per cent and monthly growth of 50.96 per cent.
The passenger load factor or occupancy of the airlines remained on the higher side in the range of 70 to 80 per cent. Newly launched Akasa Air marked the occupancy of 52.9 per cent during August.
SpiceJet recorded the highest occupancy of 84.6 per cent while Indigo witnessed 78.3 per cent of passenger load factor. Air India had 73.6 per cent and GoFirst had 81.6 per cent of occupancy during the month.
Industry sources said that the downward trend in the Covid cases in the last couple of weeks have resulted in the restoration of normalcy in the aviation traffic.
Recently, the aviation regulator announced the removal of lower and upper limits on airfares in the country. It was done after discussions on removing the fare bands for domestic airfares among the stakeholders, including the government authorities and airlines. Carriers were of the view that the removal of the pricing caps was required for the full-fledged recovery of domestic air traffic.
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org


text:
CAIRO — Egyptian authorities arrested three people who administer 23 Facebook pages, accusing them of using the networking website to incite against state institutions.
The Interior Ministry on Saturday accused two men, both age 27, and a 25-year-old women of being members in the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt outlawed the Brotherhood in 2013 after the military overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
Authorities have shown public concern over calls on social media to organize protests on Jan. 25 to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising that removed longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, played a large part in organizing the Jan. 25 uprising, and other protests since then.
Last week, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi warned against any such protests, saying they could result in chaos.
On Monday, prosecutors ordered a 15-day detention for four activists from the April 6 movement, which helped engineer the 2011 uprising and was outlawed last year. The four were put under investigation on suspicion of protesting without a license and belonging to a banned organization.
The arrests are taking place amid a crackdown on art spaces in downtown Cairo, an area popular among activists. Tahrir square, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising, is also located in downtown Cairo.
Also on Monday, authorities raided the Townhouse Gallery, one of Egypt’s most popular art venues, a day before they raided Dar Merit, a publishing house where left-leaning intellectuals sometimes meet.
The officials shut down Townhouse Gallery, while two workers who were present at the time of the raid said they took a computer, a laptop, employees’ notebooks, and CDs and forced the employees to show them movies that were on their computers. The officials prevented people from leaving the venue during the raid.
In Dar Merit, officials detained a volunteer, Mohammed Zain, for about 12 hours, Dar Merit’s manager and owner Mohammed Hashem said. Zain was questioned about the political orientation of books and seminars at Dar Merit and about Hashem’s political views, Hashem said Wednesday.

domain: news


Wow. Our experiment is off to a great start—let's see if we can finish it off sooner than expected.
Whether leading the now defunct roots trio Grant Lee Buffalo or flying solo, Grant-Lee Phillips moves effortlessly from literate pop to sultry glam rock to introspective folk with a soulful voice not unlike Michael Stipe's. Little Moon's low-key tunes are charmingly optimistic. Few artists could exclaim, "What a fine day" ("Good Morning Happiness") or, "Cherish what you've got" ("Older Now") without coming off as a clueless dope, but Phillips has the finesse to make such simple sentiments seem downright profound.


|Overall length6.34m||Overall width2.35m||Overall height3.03m||AxleSingle|
This 2018 Autotrail Imala 620 is based on the Fiat 2.3td which produces 130BHP. The interior layout consists of an end kitchen with a corner bathroom which has a separate shower, double dinette with a bench seat opposite, swivel cab setas and an overcab bed. The spec of the van consists of dual fuel for the water and heating, full cooker, 3 way fridge, double glazing, blinds and fly screens, hab door fly screen, electric step.
|Washroom, heating, plumbing and powerGas-electric heating|
|Kitchen and CookingHob|
Lee Mill, Ivybridge, PL21 9EG
Every used motorhome and caravan will come with an industry leading 3 year guarantee, which promises comprehensive cover and peace of mind.


text:
Geometric Washi Tape Roll 15mm x 10m black & white WT438
Each roll is:
* 15mm x 10 meters = 0.59 inches x approx. 32.8 feet
* Adhesive leaves no residue when removed
♥ Thanks so much for stopping by and have a wonderful day.
♥ Like our Facebook page:

domain: hobby


text:
Every little girl dreams of being a princess – but for Masako Owada, it’s proving an emotional nightmare complete with psychological illness and a set of nagging in-laws.
Educated at Harvard and Oxford, Owada gave up her diplomatic career to marry Japan’s crown prince.
But with her life of glamour, she’s inherited a mother-in-law who says she’s not doing a good enough job as Japan’s crown empress, and she’s been harshly criticized for failing to produce a male heir to the throne.
Finally, Crown Princess Masako couldn’t take it anymore. She went into seclusion – and has remained isolated for nearly a year. She’s said to be “a shell of her former self,” suffering from “stress-related disorder.”
Last week, the crown princess celebrated her 41st birthday by announcing she’s recovering from a psychological disorder that stemmed from the burdens of imperial life. But it will be “some time before I fully resume my official duties,” she said.
And yet the family gripes.
Her husband, Crown Prince Naruhito, has talked openly of his wife’s problems and complained that his family has put too much pressure on her.
That drew a complaint Nov. 30 from Naruhito’s brother, Prince Akishino, who said his older brother “should have only spoken after talking to the emperor about what he planned to say. I think it is regrettable.”
And last summer, the crown princess’s mother-in-law weighed in, saying that when she herself underwent a period of family stress, “the sense of heavy responsibility has stayed with me all the time that I should not disgrace the imperial family, with its long history.”
Masako was a commoner when she first met the crown prince, reportedly at a tea party in 1986. After denying his first marriage proposals, Masako finally agreed to wed the heir to Japan’s Chrysanthemum throne. They married in 1993.
The marriage was widely seen as outrageously unorthodox since she was a career woman who was also (gasp!) taller than him.
Their union was seen as a hopeful sign to many Japanese, who thought the monarchy might be moving beyond its centuries-old traditions.
But despite Masako’s experience in international diplomacy, the old-fashioned requirements of the crown princess’s role have weighed heavily on her – including the expectation she would produce a male heir. Only men can inherit the Japanese throne.
After a 1999 miscarriage, fears spread throughout the monarchy and Japan that the imperial couple may not produce any offspring at all.
Those fears were eased with the birth in December 2001 of a daughter, Aiko, who turned 3 years old last week.
Upon Aiko’s birth, speculation was rampant that the monarchic laws would be updated to allow for a female heir to continue the world’s longest unaltered royal line. But instead of changing the laws, the royal family that told her, in essence, she was useless she could follow up that daughter with a boy.
Though she’s updated some traditions within the royal family, it hasn’t been enough to ease her psychological stress. Clips of her public appearances over the years show her turning from a bright, outspoken young diplomat into a haunted, silent woman at her husband’s side.


text:
A Plan for Mclean Bible Church to Increase Apologetics Knowledge for the Congregants in the Context of Secular Washington, DC
MetadataShow full item record
SubjectApologetics--Study and teaching
This project sought to assess and expose members of the McLean Bible Church (MBC) in Washington, DC, with the knowledge of apologetics so as to adequately defend their faith and bring those who have evidential “stumbling blocks” to the cross. This project covered the scientific knowledge of God’s existence, the historical accuracy of the Bible from archaeology, and the legal arguments for assisting Christians in promoting Christianity in the public square. Chapter 2 provides the exegesis of four passages of Scripture (1 Pet 3:15; 1 Cor 9:19, 22-23; 1 Cor 15:3-38; 2 Cor 10:1,5). Chapter 3 discusses the scientific and cultural biases that seek to eliminate Christianity from the public discourse and examples of arguments Christians can use in engagement. Chapter 4 describes the project itself, which entails developing apologetic lessons for empirical measurement by surveys for efficacy. Chapter 5 discusses the efficacy of these lessons based upon the completion of the goals measured in surveys given before and after these lessons. Also discussed are the lessons-learned of the project. This project exposes the need for evidential and cumulative case apologetics to be taught in formal settings by qualified pastors and professors in coordination with MBC’s mission statement, “to bring the Gospel to secular Washington, DC” in conjunction with Matthew 28, The Great Commission. This project can be assimilated by other churches as a model for providing the basis for stressing the need for apologetics.

domain: library


|November 16, 2010, 10:37||
Regarding the initialization value
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 17Rep Power: 10
I am new to CFD and Fluent,I am now working with a clay extruder problem using dyanamic mesh motion model.
I would like to vary the speed of the screw shaft in the extruder manually after few iterations,and the run the simulation again to monitor the effect of it on the process variables.Inthis case do I need to re-initalize every time when I change anything in the dynamic mesh motion panel and then re-iterate? or can i continue my simulation without re-initalizing?
|Thread||Thread Starter||Forum||Replies||Last Post|
|FMG initialization query||Mohsin||FLUENT||6||November 2, 2016 03:02|
|Turbo Initialization CFD-post||blackbody||CFX||0||April 22, 2010 04:26|
|Initialization||a student||CD-adapco||2||May 19, 2006 12:55|
|compressor initialization||paglia||FLUENT||0||February 1, 2006 16:14|
|Mesh Initialization||shakked||Main CFD Forum||2||August 7, 2004 22:50|


text:
games by girls and games for girls
The best games for girls in bonniegames.com: dress up games, beauty games, decoration games, cooking games, etc.
Shopping Mall Makeover is the latest entry into the world of makeover games. Your best friend, Marie, got hired to completely redesign the old mall in your town. But look at this mess! Marie desperately needs help and you, as her best friend, are there to help her! She needs help with cleaning, repairs and redesign of the shoe and clothing store, and the perfumery and cafeteria also need some rework. Get rid of the rubbish, cobwebs, and use your toolbox to make everything new and pretty again! Then choose the right furniture to make all the shops as inviting as possible. If you don’t like the result - don’t worry, you can always come back to any room and change the decor and get a better score! Play Shopping Mall Makeover now for free and show all your friends your design skills!
Language: deutsch, english, français, italiano, Nederlands, polski, português, Русский язык, español, Türkçe
Rating: 4 out of 5
My Little Farm
Build stables with uncommon animals, create new fields, develop your farmhouse and provide clean energy to rebuild your little farm!
Classic Games, New Games, Puzzle Games, Games for Girls, Skill


text: Handu Hurgus was an engineer who had a masters degree in physics. Handu believed the lives lost in war was senseless, and he knew there was a better way. He believed the world could solve its own problems.. where world courts settled the big issues, not wars. No, the end to these wars was near. Handu read all of the history books in school, and he came to the conclusion that one day he would begin a New World government.When Handus grandfather died, Handus dream of starting a world government became a reality when billions of dollars were left to him. In fact, it was thanks to his grandfather that Handu had in fact become the richest man in the world. If it was not for his family and friends by his side, Handu couldnt have accomplished his dream. With years creating and perfecting his New World government, Handu ended up bluffing the world to surrender to him. To surrender to his world government he built on an uncharted island located somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.

domain: history


text:
Marcella, the first English book ever published that explored sexuality from taboo standpoints, will celebrate its 40th birthday this month with the release of a 40th anniversary limited edition of the classic version.
National Book Award finalist Patricia McCormick discusses her work at the UNO Criss Library during an intimate reading of her latest novel, "Never Fall Down."
The duo is back and better than ever. After a wildly successful start in 1997 and a not-so-splendid sequel in 2002, many were wondering if "Men in Black III" would make the cut.
Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon are two of the most effortlessly funny people working today and in their new film, "The Trip," they prove why.

domain: artistic


Parliament-Funkadelic singer George Clinton has reportedly filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against American band The Black-Eyed Peas.
The lawsuit relates to two remixes of The Black-Eyed Peas popular song Shut Up, which was released in 2003 and sold approximately 8.5 million copies worldwide. Clinton claims that the two remixes – one of which is called Shut the Phunk Up and appears on the band’s latest album, The E.N.D – use a funk sample from Parliament’s 1979 track (Not Just) Knee Deep without his permission.
In the lawsuit, Clinton goes on to allege that The Black-Eyed Peas’ producers asked him to licence the sample in 2009, but he refused. He says that they forged his signature to use the sample anyway, therefore breaching copyright laws. It has been reported that Clinton is seeking millions of pounds in damages.
The band’s producers and record label – both presumably having professional indemnity insurance for copyright issues (due to the volatile nature of the industry they work in) – have faced a number of other infringement lawsuits in the last few months.
Chicago-based singer Phoenix Phenom and Texas songwriter Bryan Pringle both filed copyright infringement suits in October 2010, alleging that Interscope unlawfully used material from their respective demo tapes.


text:
A tsunami of ever-speedier quote traffic is swamping options exchanges, leading the Securities and Exchange Commission to take steps toward reining in increasingly aggressive high-frequency traders.
The federal intervention is aimed at slowing an explosion in data across the Chicago Board Options Exchange and other U.S. options platforms that some traders and vendors say is handicapping conventional market participants. They complain that the crush of orders and cancellations, flowing at a rate as high as 8.5 million a second, is overwhelming computer systems, distorting price information and thrusting them into a high-tech arms race they can't afford.
The SEC, already scrutinizing ultrahigh-speed trading following last year's flash crash, is primed for action if the exchanges don't take its suggestions and act first.
“One of the issues we're reviewing is whether the exchanges should impose a charge for excessive order messages, or for message traffic generally, in order to meet their statutory obligation to equitably allocate fees,” said David Shillman, the SEC's associate director of trading and markets.
MAKE EVERYONE PAY
Traders and vendors contend that the SEC also could reduce the blinding data flow by charging all traders, including market makers, to pay the same rates for quote cancellations as less active traders do now. They also advocate putting time stamps on quotes and requiring that prices be displayed for a longer, set period of time so there's a higher chance of executing against it.
David Fisher, chief executive of The Charles Schwab Corp.'s OptionsXpress retail trading service, said exchanges have had informal discussions about new standards. Mr. Fisher, who was a director at the Chicago exchange's parent, CBOE Holdings Inc., until two weeks ago, declined to provide details, though the CBOE acknowledges discussions.
“It's ridiculous,” said Mr. Fisher, citing one day last month when there were 6 million messages per second, up from 45,000 messages per second on average in 2004.
Without action, the cost of higher-speed technology could sap liquidity in the market by driving out smaller traders. Too much regulation, however, could thwart the beneficial liquidity and tighter spreads provided by the high-frequency traders.
Edward Boyle, managing director of high-speed-trading firm Getco LLC, argued at an industry conference this month that market makers have improved the options market by narrowing the spread between buy and sell quotes.
The increase in electronic messaging has been sudden and extreme. Over the past year, such chatter has increased 21/2 times, while actual trading volume has risen roughly 22%. Option Price Reporting Authority LLC, which distributes data from all the exchanges, estimates that traffic will jump another 58% by 2013, to 10.38 million messages a second.
The SEC also is concerned about rising quote traffic in the stock market, but the increase is much heavier in the options market because of the plethora of pricing variables, including the strike price, expiration date and put/call difference.
To keep up, some traders and retail-trading service providers said that they are being forced to invest in ever-more-powerful telecom lines and computer equipment to absorb unneeded and quickly outdated quote data created by the faster rivals.
“My costs are going up,” said Harold Lanier, an independent trader, whose telecom expense has doubled in the past two years despite a move to the less expensive town of Fairhope, Ala., from Atlanta. “The data quality is going down.”
He and other traders, including mutual fund managers who trade large orders, said quote cancellations and price moves increasingly render their offers obsolete before they can respond.
“The market is extremely difficult in terms of getting orders filled,” said Benjamin Londergan, who leads the options market-making firm Group One Trading LP and also is a CBOE director.
Executives from the CBOE, the biggest options exchange, and the No. 3, the International Securities Exchange, as well as the Options Price Reporting Authority, said the upsurge isn't overloading their capacity or hurting price transparency.
DATA FLOW CLOGS
But Nanex LLC, which compresses data from OPRA and sells it to traders such as Mr. Lanier and brokerages, regularly spots data flow clogs that result in outdated prices, according to founder Eric Hunsader.
For instance, on Aug. 10 at about 9:50 a.m., 8,557 quotes for 522 Baidu Inc. options in one millisecond (the equivalent of 8.5 million quotes in a second) overloaded one of OPRA's 48 communication lines and crashed it for 60 milliseconds, with another 40 milliseconds recovery that included spitting out old quotes, Mr. Hunsader said.
This year, he upgraded to a 10-gigabit circuit, from a one-gigabit, escalating his data line bill to $40,000 a month, an eightfold increase. He is considering ending his options service as a result.
Lynne Marek is a senior reporter at sister publication Crain's Chicago Business.

domain: finance


text:
This is pretty bad. It just plays the same animation over and over when it thinks you are swiping left or right. You can't actually drag the spinner with precision or spin it slower by dragging more slowly on your screen. It just plays a single animation that you cannot interact with.
I wish it would keep my settings when I restart my phone and also more colors of traditional Fidget Spinners and be able to use my own background. Thanks!
it helps reducing stress and its very good and i like all the spinners and background.. keep it up
Brilliant and beautiful...but Please make a custom background for the Fidget..
Need to be add vibration for real feel.
If you like spinners then you'll like this!
This Free cool 3D bat hero fidget spinner style free 3D Android theme
Use Fidget Spindle Keyboard 3D Theme to personalize your phone very cool so much
Fidget Spinner Golden Dreamy Keyboard has Luxury Solid Wallpaper & Classy keys


text:
July 5, 2018. Paris, France. Noted writer and filmmaker Claude Lanzmann has died at the age 92. Lanzmann was the son of Eastern European Jewish emigres and, as a teenager, joined the French Resistance forces during World War II. He became an impassioned journalistic investigator of The Holocaust and his efforts turned into the ground-breaking 10-hour documentary Shoah or Holocaust that for most audiences became the definitive statement on this piece of 20th century history. This 1985 film was largely an oral history of the deliberate extermination of millions of Jews and other minorities housed in Nazi concentration camps. For more than a decade, Claude Lanzmann put faces and voices on this story as he interviewed numerous Holocaust survivors, local bystanders, and even some of the Nazi officers who were involved with the camps, three of which formed the backdrop for much of the filming. Additional films like The Last of the Unjust and The Four Sisters, the latter released the day before his death, continued Lanzmann’s career-long focus on The Holocaust. Although he was married three times, Claude Lanzmann’ s most famous relationship was during the 1950s with legendary French existential philosopher and feminist Simone de Beauvoir. He is survived by his widow, Dr. Dominique Lanzmann-Petithory and a daughter Angelique.
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text:
Raghad S. Mouhamad1*; Ameerah H. Atiyah1; Ghassan AL-Azzawi1, Bassim R. AL-Bandawy2
1, Agricultural Research Directorate, Ministry of Science and Technology, Baghdad, Iraq
2, Department of Soil Sciences and Water Resources, University of Diyala, Iraq
Available Online: 16/03/2020
Carbon mineralization is the phenomenon where organic carbon forms are converted to carbon dioxide (CO2) which is then released to the surrounding environment. Many factors can affect carbon mineralization such as drought conditions and organic material compositing stage. This experiment aims to investigate the effect of different manure application levels in addition to different water availability levels on CO2 mineralization in calcareous soil over time. For this purpose, different mixed manure inputs of (0%, 5%, and 10%) were added to airily dried calcareous soil samples and different water availability levels (40%, 50%, and 60%) were applied. CO2 emissions were then monitored during an incubation period of 65 days 30 ±2 ○C.The results showed that by increasing organic matter input, CO2 fluxes were increased during the incubation period to reach 198.55 mg/100g soil in 10% organic matter treatments after 50 days of incubation. Water availability appeared to have little to no influence over CO2 emissions within the chosen experimental ranges. Furthermore, response surface model contours and fitted means factorial interaction plots of CO2 emissions showed that the added organic matter underwent a severe mineralization activity since the first day of incubation. These results refer to the high carbon mineralization rates in calcareous soils under dry conditions, and the increased CO2 emissions by increasing manure inputs refer to the importance of using more stable composted material rather than higher organic material inputs in this type of soil.
Keywords: Carbon dioxide, Organic fertilization, Drought, Soil
Greenhouse gasses (GHGs) are mainly Methane (CH4), Carbon dioxide (CO2), and nitrous oxide (N2O) gases that escape as a result of different activities and form a trapping layer for the omitted earth infrared radiation resulting in a warmer climate. The energy production sector holds the main share of GHGs emissions with 66.5% of the total generated GHGs, while on the other hand, agricultural production processes contribute with 13.5% of the total emitted GHGs . Although soil with its organisms is considered a fundamental CO2 reservoir; it was reported that 35%, 47%, and 53% of the total agricultural CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions respectively are soil originated . Therefore, with the international relentless pursuit to cut on GHGs emissions including those induced by agricultural practices, more studies are required to monitor GHGs fluxes of different agricultural production phases and under different conditions
The organic matter is one of the main soil components and it contributes to improving the physical, chemical, fertile and biological characteristics of the soil. Organic matter is a mixture of plants, animals and microorganisms residues in different states of decomposition and stability. The organic substance in the soil was classified according to the degree of decomposition into easily decomposing forms such as simple sugars and proteins; slow decomposing compounds such as cellulose And hemicellulose; and difficult to decompose such as lignins, waxes, chitin, and multiple phenols. Soils differ in their organic matter content depending on vegetation, climate, and agricultural exploitation; as this content is less than 0.1% in desert soils and 100% in peat soils .
Carbon mineralization is the process where organic carbon is converted into carbon dioxide (CO2) under the effect of soil microorganisms . This phenomenon not only constantly minimizes the organic matter content in the soil but also imposes great hazards to the environment taking into consideration the huge amounts of CO2 escaping to the atmosphere especially under drought conditions and poor soil structure . One of the most common methods for estimating the organic decomposition in the soil is measuring the amount of carbon dioxide released from organic matter during an incubation period and under standard conditions . All the organic matter that is added to the soil undergoes a breakdown process by soil organisms and then respires as CO2 while the rest of it is synthesized into other more stable forms as it is reported that 60-80% of the remaining stabilized organic matter is humus .
Water stress occurs as a result of soil water availability shortages, resulting in plant growth disruption and an overall production decrease . Various methods have been used to induce efficient tolerance to water stress and to enhance nutrients availability under water stress conditions such as the use of beneficial microorganisms; the addition of organic matter and nutrients; the use of chemicals such as proline, silicon, and Osmoprotectants . Although organic matter plays a vital role in enhancing chemical and physical properties in soils including water stress tolerance, the fast mineralization of organic material under dry conditions is considered a major environmental setback . Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of different amounts of organic manure inputs under different levels of water stresses on CO2 emissions over time.
Materials and Methods
Soil and manure properties
Soil and manure mixture (cows, sheep and poultry manure mixture 1: 1: 1) chemical and physical properties were determined by the methods provided in  and the results of the analysis are shown in (Table 1 and 2) respectively.
Experimental materials and levels
The soil was aerially dried and 100 g samples were weighed. Three levels of manure (0, 5, and 10% of the soil weight) were applied. The added manure was then mixed well with the soil and the formed mixtures were then transferred to plastic bottles with airtight septa. After that, three levels of water stress were applied by adding different amounts of water (40, 50 and 60% plant-available water capacity). The bottles were then incubated under a temperature of 30 ±2 ○C for a period of 65days, and the amount of carbon dioxide released from the soil was estimated after 0, 2, 5, 7, 13, 16, 31, 50, and 65 days of incubation. The lost water was compensated by registering the weights of the bottles and adding water according to the loss in weight. Experiment levels are shown in (Table 3).
Released CO2 measurement
Released CO2 was estimated based on  method. 20 mL of sodium hydroxide (1 N) was added to the air-tight bottles used in the experiment through the bottle’s septum, as CO2 reacts with sodium hydroxide and produces sodium carbonate. Then, by adding drops of barium chloride solution 50% to form barium carbonate as seen in the following equations:
2NaOH + CO2 → NaCO3 + H2O
NaCO3 + BaCl → 2NaCl + BaCO3↓
After that, the formed barium carbonate was titrated against 0.5 N of hydrochloric acid, using phenolphthalein as a reaction endpoint indicator. CO2 was then estimated using the following equation:
Released CO2 mg/100 g soil = (B-V) NE
When B: Volume of the acid consumed (ml) in control titration.
V: Volume of the acid consumed (ml) in treatment titration.
N: Hydrochloric acid normality
E: the equivalent weight of CO2 (22 g)
The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized experimental design with three replicates for each treatment at each evaluation. Means were compared using Tukey’s least significant difference (LSD) test at a confidence level of p=0.05. Mean CO2 fluxes heat map was constructed using GraphPad Prism 7 software. Contour plotting for CO2 emissions and response surface analysis was carried out using Minitab 19 software.
Results and Discussion
Results have shown a significant increase in CO2 emissions after 13 days of incubation and another increase was observed after 31 days even in control treatments without organic material additions (M0) and under all water stress conditions; however, CO2 emissions in both 5% (M1) and 10% (M2) treatment were significantly higher than those of (M0) treatment and under all water availability treatments (S1, S2, and S3) with no significant differences in CO2 levels between (M1) and (M2) (Fig. 1). These observations in M0 treatments are contributed to carbon mineralization in the already existed organic material in soil samples (Table 1) and the almost instantaneous increase in both (M1) and (M2) treatments (2-5 days after incubation) along with the additional increase later are attributed to the added manure. These results are similar to those obtained by  who reported that the addition of composted dairy manure caused a sudden increase in carbon mineralization mainly originated from the already present organic matter. The highest observations were noticed in M2S2 treatment with CO2 emission of 198.55 mg/100 g soil. The increasing trend in CO2 emissions after organic matter application and overtime was previously reported by [18-22].
By fitting the data into a response surface design, original CO2 flux data contour plots (Fig 2. A, B, and C) showed high similarity to those of response surface contour plots (Fig. 2 D, E, and F). Evaluation day and organic matter interaction contour plot (Fig. 2 A) illustrated that regardless of water availability, soil underwent two sharp peaks of CO2 emissions with M1 treatments one of which after 30 days of incubation and the other after 60 days. On the other hand, those two peaks were substituted with a plateau of CO2 emission under M2 treatments while no sharp flux was noticed under M0 treatments (Fig. 2 A). However, response surface analysis showed that CO2 flux plateau extended to include M0 treatment after 50 days of incubation (Fig. 2 D). Fixing the manure input has shown a similar C mineralization behavior between all three water availability treatments (S1, S2, and S3) throughout incubation period with a CO2flux lower than 175 mg/100g soil during the first 30 days of incubation and higher during the following days (Fig. 2 B and E). Interestingly, the relation between different organic material and available water levels was less complicated with only three grades contour plot (Fig. 2 C). CO2 fluxes appeared to decrease either by decreasing organic matter input (M0) or by increasing water availability (S3) while on the other hand, the highest emission levels were observed with high organic matter and low available water treatments (Fig. 2 C and F). The increased CO2 fluxes observed when higher levels of organic matter were applied (Fig. 2 A and D) were also reported by  who observed an increase in CO2 emissions by increasing compost input of different sources; however, our results showed an even more increase throughout time which is contributed to the used manure in the current experiment which had much less composting stable profile.
Fitted means factorial interaction plots of CO2 emissions were obtained (Fig. 3). Organic matter and water availability interaction plot showed that different levels of water availability had an almost identical CO2 flux (Fig. 3 A). Furthermore, water availability and evaluation day interaction plot showed that different water levels had no effect on CO2 emission for the same evaluation period (Fig. 3 C). These observations indicated that there was little to no effect contributed to water availability levels (S1, S2, and S3) on CO2 flux within the different other dimensions of the model (time and added organic material). Water availability treatments used in the current experiment (40%, 50%, and 60%) did not induce significant differences in CO2 fluxes under experiment condition; however, it was previously reported that increasing water levels to reach 100% of field capacity had significantly increased CO2 emissions when compared to CO2 fluxes under 70% of field capacity after 90 days of compost application for both sand and silt-clay soils . Furthermore,  previously reported a dramatic increase in CO2 fluxes after re-wetting dry soils of high organic content. An increasing trend in CO2 emissions by increasing manure input was observed directly after organic material application (day 0) as can be seen in (Fig. 3 B) and the most dramatic increase in CO2 fluxes was observed during the first month of incubation(Fig. 3 B and C) which is similar to . Therefore, to increase the stability of organic matter in dry soils, more stable organic sources rather than higher organic matter inputs should be used [23-25].
It is obvious that CO2 emissions in calcareous soil due to organic matter mineralization under drought conditions are already high and increase throughout time. Additionally, CO2 fluxes increase by increasing manure inputs and this increase is more dramatic during the first 30 days of application regardless of water availability conditions. These results refer to the importance of using more stable composted material rather than higher organic material inputs in this type of soil.
|1||Herzog T. World greenhouse gas emissions in 2005. World Resources Institute. 2009.|
|2||Yousefi M, Damghani AM, Khoramivafa M. Comparison greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming potential (GWP) effect of energy use in different wheat agroecosystems in Iran. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2016;23(8):7390-7. DOI|
|3||Mohammed S, Alsafadi K, Takács I, Harsányi E. Contemporary changes of greenhouse gases emission from the agricultural sector in the EU-27. Geology, Ecology, and Landscapes. 2019:1-6. DOI|
|4||Mouhamad RS, Rasheed AG, AL-Gburi HF, Nazir A, Iqbal M, Razaq I. Predicting Soil Organic Carbon Turnover in Soils at the Middle Region of Iraqi Using Infrared Spectra. Jacobs Journal of Plant Biology. 2019;4(1): 009.|
|5||Wu J, Brookes PC. The proportional mineralisation of microbial biomass and organic matter caused by air-drying and rewetting of a grassland soil. Soil Biol. Biochem. 2005;37(3):507-15. DOI|
|6||Mouhamad RS, Razaq IB, Fadhel AS, Yousir SA, Taha DI, Iqbal M. Urease activity under salinity stress in calcareous soils of semi-arid regions of Iraq. Int. J. Biol. Sci. 2014;6:68-71.|
|7||Mouhamad R, Atiyah A, Mohammad R, Iqbal M. Decomposition of organic matter under different soil textures. Curr. Sci. 2015;1(1):22-5.|
|8||Abdelhafez AA, Abbas MH, Attia TM, El Bably W, Mahrous SE. Mineralization of organic carbon and nitrogen in semi-arid soils under organic and inorganic fertilization. Environ Technol Inno. 2018;9:243-53. DOI|
|9||Awad YM, Blagodatskaya E, Ok YS, Kuzyakov Y. Effects of polyacrylamide, biopolymer and biochar on the decomposition of 14C‐labelled maize residues and on their stabilization in soil aggregates. Eur. J. Soil Sci. 2013;64(4):488-99. DOI|
|10||Awad YM, Blagodatskaya E, Ok YS, Kuzyakov Y. Effects of polyacrylamide, biopolymer, and biochar on decomposition of soil organic matter and plant residues as determined by 14C and enzyme activities. Eur. J. Soil Biol. 2012 Jan 1;48:1-10. DOI|
|11||Boyd CE. Water quality: an introduction. Springer Nature; 2019.|
|12||Barnes RT, Gallagher ME, Masiello CA, Liu Z, Dugan B. Biochar-induced changes in soil hydraulic conductivity and dissolved nutrient fluxes constrained by laboratory experiments. PloS one. 2014;9(9). DOI|
|13||Fang Y, Singh B, Singh BP. Effect of temperature on biochar priming effects and its stability in soils. Soil Biol. Biochem. 2015;80:136-45. DOI|
|14||Mouhamad RS, Mohammed ZJ, Abdulhadi AA, Abbas M, Iqbal M, Nazir A. Production and characterization of organic manure from liquorice residues. Inf. Process. Agric. 2019;18: 45-51. DOI|
|15||Page AL, Miller RH, Keeney DR. Methods of soil analysis. Part 2: Chemical and microbiological properties. Amer. Soc. Agron. Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. In, Madison, Wisconsin, USA. 1982.|
|16||Alavoine G, Nicolardot B. Comparison of potentiometric titration, IR spectrophotometry and segmented micro-flow analysis to determine inorganic C in alkaline solutions. Analytical and bioanalytical chemistry. 2002;374(2):354-8. DOI|
|17||Liang BC, Gregorich EG, Schnitzer M, Voroney RP. Carbon mineralization in soils of different textures as affected by water-soluble organic carbon extracted from composted dairy manure. Biol. Fertil. Soils. 1996;21(1-2):10-6. DOI|
|18||Bernal MP, Sanchez-Monedero MA, Paredes C, Roig A. Carbon mineralization from organic wastes at different composting stages during their incubation with soil. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 1998;69(3):175-89. DOI|
|19||Fenner N, Freeman C. Drought-induced carbon loss in peatlands. Nat. Geosci. 2011;4(12):895-900. DOI|
|20||Wang C, Lu X, Mori T, Mao Q, Zhou K, Zhou G, Nie Y, Mo J. Responses of soil microbial community to continuous experimental nitrogen additions for 13 years in a nitrogen-rich tropical forest. Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 2018;121:103-12. DOI|
|21||Wang R, Hu Y, Wang Y, Ali S, Liu Q, Guo S. Nitrogen application increases soil respiration but decreases temperature sensitivity: Combined effects of crop and soil properties in a semiarid agroecosystem. Geoderma. 2019;353:320-30. DOI|
|22||Taylor LL, Leake JR, Quirk J, Hardy K, Banwart SA, Beerling DJ. Biological weathering and the long‐term carbon cycle: integrating mycorrhizal evolution and function into the current paradigm. Geobiology. 2009;7(2):171-91. DOI|
|23||Zhang X, Zhao Y, Zhu L, Cui H, Jia L, Xie X, Li J, Wei Z. Assessing the use of composts from multiple sources based on the characteristics of carbon mineralization in soil. Waste Manag. 2017;70:30-6. DOI|
|24||Mouhamad R, Atiyah A, Iqbal M. Behavior of Potassium in Soil: A mini review. Chem. Int. 2016;2(1):58-69.|
|25||Chen F, Yan G, Xing Y, Zhang J, Wang Q, Wang H, Huang B, Hong Z, Dai G, Zheng X, Liu T. Effects of N addition and precipitation reduction on soil respiration and its components in a temperate forest. Agricultural and forest meteorology. 2019;271:336-45. DOI|
Cite this article:
Mouhamad, R., Atiyah, A., Al-Azzawi, G., Al-Bandawy, B. CO2 emissions in calcareous soil under various manure additions and water availability levels. DYSONA – Applied Science, 2020;1(1): 36-42. doi: 10.30493/das.2020.220730

domain: agronomy


If you are considering using solar energy, congratulations are in order. Solar energy is smart, simple, affordable and powerful. It’s the best way to light up your home or business while saving the planet. Read on to learn all you need to know about solar energy.
You should understand that there are two different kinds of photo-voltaic panels. Mono-crystalline panels are the more efficient and more expensive choice. Poly-crystalline panels cost less and produce less. It is better to buy the most efficient products you can afford when going with solar energy.
Take care of your energy system, and it will take care of you. You need to perform monthly equipment inspections and clean the panels well. Do not hesitate to hire a professional to help you clean and inspect your system but keep in mind that you can save a lot by inspecting your system yourself.
The efficiency of your panels and the surface they cover will determine how much power you can generate. A consultant can help you figure out just how much power you need as well as what panels are best suited to your needs. Buying larger, more efficient panels may be a wiser choice than buying a lot of smaller panels.
In order to maximize the benefits of solar panels, you should select those that do not completely rely on the sun shining at all times. Many modern solar panels will allow you to store some energy so that you can use it at any time. This is especially useful if you use most of your power at night.
Using a solar water heater is an excellent way to help the environment. You can find solar systems in both tankless and standard water heaters. They’re affordable to install and save you money.
As far as photo-voltaic panels go, two types exist. Mono-crystalline panels are the more efficient and more expensive choice. Poly-crystalline panels cost less and produce less. It makes the most sense to buy the highest-efficiency product possible if you intend to power your house with solar energy.
If you want to lease solar energy rather than purchase it, be certain that your agreement permits transfer of lease rights. You don’t want to have to pay off your solar energy system lease when you are living somewhere else! This can pass the benefits of a solar energy system to the next homeowner and save you money in the process.
There are many rebates and grants that can help offset the initial costs involved with solar power. It can be expensive to install your solar panels; however, help may be available. Look for state or federal grants that will reward your renewable energy usage. You might be surprised at how much you can save. You may even be able to deduct some of your expenses on your taxes.
Sun tracking panels are the most efficient available. These systems will follow the sun as it moves during the day. The initial investment will be much higher than with a basic system, but they can generate many times the amount of energy through increased efficiency.
Avoid technology which relies on the sun’s scheduling. A lot of solar panels will store up extra energy so that you can use it when the sun isn’t out. This is helpful if you use power in your home at nighttime.
A lot of governments throughout the world could offer tax credits for those that use solar energy. In some cases, the government will give you a rebate on the system, which helps to defer some of the initial cost. You should do some research on the Internet or get in touch with your local government to find out more about the incentives and programs you are eligible for.
You want to position your solar panels so they can get maximal sunlight. If you do not understand how to accomplish this, spend some time tracking the sun’s path.
Although it may appear that solar panels are permanently attached to the roof, the best systems for generating the most electricity allow the angle of panels to be repositioned throughout the seasons. Fixed angle panels are just not that efficient.
Try to find more contemporary options when selecting a solar panel system. The most recent technologies are more efficient but some solar panel vendors still sell technology that is a few years old. While the outdated technology is cheaper, the new technology is more efficient.
Just because a solar panel is bigger, that doesn’t mean it is better. The efficiency of a panel depends on its wattage and the materials used rather than its size. Consider all of those before buying a panel.
Regardless of the system you choose, the panels should face the sun. The panels must be oriented so that they collect as many of the sun’s rays as possible for maximum energy production.
Consider a backup power option, just in case you have a problem with your solar panels. Generators are a good idea, though you might also stay connected to a main grid so that you can access power when necessary. If you opt for a generator, ensure that is properly working by doing maintenance at least once a month.
Avoid walking on solar panels unless you have no choice. In addition to them being pricey, you want them to do their job effectively. If you cannot avoid walking on them, avoid the more fragile ends and step in the middle.
Most Americans are frustrated by the cost of their electric bill and how it continues to grow each year. With all the electronics and different people roaming the house, it’s hard to conserve any energy. Once everyone has adopted better habits, you should consider switching to solar energy to reduce your monthly bills.
If you have resources and room for it, sun tracking panel systems are the way to go. These systems follow the movement of the sun across the sky throughout the day and the seasons. These cost more than fixed panel systems, but the extra energy created will make it worthwhile.
Solar energy is not a good option for everyone but you should still consider it. Solar energy is far from failing. It is continuing to grow in popularity, and it can help save you a lot of money and decrease your carbon footprint. Find a local reputable company that will be there when you need help and can answer your questions.
Shaded areas can negatively impact how efficient your solar panel is. You need to ensure that the location of your panels is always unobstructed.
There are some things to consider to keep solar panels clean. The first thing that should be considered is safety. If you don’t feel confident climbing onto the roof, hire someone to do it. Don’t damage the panels with any harsh products. All they require is washing and rinsing with soft brushes. Avoid applying too much pressure, and never clean with harsh chemicals.
In an effort to encourage citizens to use greener forms of energy, many governments agencies are offering rebates and tax credits for choosing solar energy. These rebates can reduce your installation costs by almost thirty percent. Search online to find more information or get in touch with your local government representative to see if these rebate programs are offered in your region.
Go ahead and check into solar energy now that you understand all the benefits it offers. It can help you save money, cut down pollution and decrease dependence on oil from other countries. All of these should encourage you to become more involved with solar power immediately!


Elections & Politics Event
· More event details ...
Wed Oct 3, 2012 10:45pm EDT —
Wed Oct 3, 2012 11:45pm EDT
Following the 2012 Presidential debate, Vice President Biden will speak live to supporters across the country. The Vice President’s remarks will also be streamed online at BarackObama.com/Debate
For all the latest from the 2012 Presidential and Vice Presidential debates. Go to: http://www.barackobama.com/debate


The globalist system is in a tailspin; they need crisis after crisis. COVID has lost its punch, so now it's war. Lyndon LaRouche warned of this crisis over a span of more than four decades. The London centered globalist Central Banking System (read Federal Reserve) is their mechanism of control.
LaRouche's proposal to abolish the Federal Reserve and establish the Third National Bank, will end the rule of London's Central Banking System. Tonight's class will focus on that proposal, drawing exclusively from LaRouche's writings.


It Feels Like Yesterday: It Is All Time’s Fault
In different parts of Eritrea some call it gizie, some call it hmmet, ewan, zemen, and some even call it kunetat. They are all talking about the mighty Time. In Tigrinya lexicon it seems everything is the fault of Time, everyone picks on it. Poor Time!
“Time, you have changed on me, I cannot tread on the ground with confidence, you have rendered me a refugee, devoid of dignity, whose opinion does not matter, unable to accomplish the dreams of my heart, I walk with a stooped head, weak and lamenting, unelectable and with no right to vote, I will question you Time, answer me: why did you strip my pride, love and serenity away?” These are Yemane Baria’s words from the lyrics of his song, Zemen, which was popular during the tumultuous eighties. Yemane blames everything on Time, even the betrayals, and the desertification of the once green pastures of his country.
During the brutal Ethiopian reign, when people talked about the atrocities that the Ethiopians were committing, older people with tears welling up in their eyes and their voices cracking, would cryptically refer to the Ethiopians as ezom seb gizie, the people of the day. They were alluding to the temporal nature of the power that the criminals of the day wielded. In direct contradiction to the fickleness of Time, some named their children Gizie. Several Tigrinya singers have also crooned about Time, mostly decrying it for failing to be on the side of the oppressed, the weak and the sick, begging it to do its magic, reminding it that even the mighty Time has limited time. But the latest song about time by Tesfaalem Arefaine (Korchach), “gizie tezerab”, Time, speak up, takes the blame that has been lodged against Time for ages to a different level; Korchach actually accuses Time for its deafening silence. In it, he implores Time to stand up for itself, lest the blame of Time becomes entrenched, he says.
Korchach criticizes Time for its silence on the face of the onslaught; your name has been tarnished, come out of the closet to defend your name, he challenges. Then he relishes the most obvious of things and tells Time that man is the shrewdest creature, ever. He opined that everyone blames Time for every crime. He dares Time to stand up for itself, to deny the allegations lodged against it and deny people the opportunity to make its name the excuse for their thriftiness, crime and decadence. Time, roll your sleeves to clear your good name. Speak up, Time, come on to the open! He danced to his song, he also danced around the issue, conveniently averting those who ought to be dared, blamed and challenged for their deafening silence when their names are being tarnished, their future squandered, and their pristine history blemished.
When you complain about the situation in Eritrea, PFDJ, the repressive ruling party, and its supporters are fond of replying, “This, Too Shall Pass”, echoing the words of some wise men somewhere in the Orient. Myth has it that an Emperor tasked his advisors to give him a phrase, an aphorism, a proverb that will always hold true. The wise men, pulled all-nighters and huddled to solve the riddle and they came up with, “This, Too Shall Pass”, but many Eritreans believe that it was first said in the Eritrean field! Yemane Ghebreab of PFDJ, in his last appearance in the 10th anniversary of the founding of YPFDJ, reminisced about an old patriotic song that played just before he ascended the podium. With discernable nostalgia he mentioned that they danced to that song when he and his comrade Girma Asmerom worked in the information department. He also teased ambassador Hanna by remembering that she only danced to the song at night. Then quickly added, “it feels like yesterday”. For him time has stopped, he has not felt it, time has not passed. As long he is free, dinning and winening, talking to the fresh faced girls in his YPFDJ outfit, dallying the easy ones, and flying to the finest cities of the globe, it will always feel like yesterday, Time will fly by. But to his former colleagues in the prisons of the PFDJ and in the dungeons of Ella-Ero, it will feel like eternity when they suffer under the heavy shackles that Yemane and his comrades have put on them. PFDJ is forgetting their favorite saying–“This, Too Shall Pass” is universal in its application, both good and bad times, pass.
Along with Time, the month of January is often blamed for all crazy occurrences, “January the crazy” goes the cliché. The Italians say, “Marzo e’ Pazzo”, that March is crazy for its erratic weather, the Sudanese also complain about the heat of the month of May, but the Eritrean blame of January for everything crazy that happens in the month, is misplaced; January is the month of bounty, of beauty, of generosity, of weddings and of celebrations. When the gloomy and dreary rainy season ushers in the harvest, people enjoy their toil, they play, dance, marry and copulate, yet if someone does something wacky, it is the fault of January the “crazy”. I think the old saying of “blemlem daas, bkebero leggas…” should be replaced with “blemlem daas bTirri leggas…” to pay tribute to the generosity and bounty of January.
When the Forto incident of 2013 failed, even my friend Semere Habtemariam, one of the Deans of Tigrinya, penned a poem attributing the demise of a dream to the month of crazy January. I teased him about it, then in October, 2013 after the Lampedusa tragedy, after the PFDJ called the 400 Eritrean youth who perished in the ship wreck “some African migrants”, an Eritrean artist wrote a poem, more of a rhyming lament, and said, “ayye TV-Eri, afriqawiyyan do elikiyom….”, Oh, Eritrean television, how dare you call them illegal African migrants! I am disgusted and ashamed by your patronizing,” he told the department of information. Our artist was disgusted by the words that the bunch of wires, bits and bytes amplified. He danced around it, he did not say PFDJ called the poor souls African migrants, according to him the Eritrean Television did.
Speaking of the YPFDJ, the gathering of mostly Diaspora born and raised young Eritreans, usually the young are the agents of change by virtue of their propensity to embrace radical, daunting ideas. It was the youth movements that inflamed the spark of the Eritrean desire for independence, but YPFDJ in its ten-years life, has acted as a surrogate to the PFDJ and has become the subservient of despotism, corruption, murder and rape that the international community has documented and that Eritreans have witnessed. The YPDJ only has the veneer of the genuine and idealistic Eritrean student and youth moments of the eighties. The speakers of the YPFD donned Jallabiya and Sderiyya, even a young woman went out of her way to swaddle herself in a colorful “lewyet”, a not so sublet attempt to send a message of inclusiveness, opting for the decorative instead of the substantive. The guys and gals, the lads and lassies of the YPFDJ grew their hair to mimic those of the genuine youth and student movements and freedom fighters of generations earlier. The youth of the eighties did not grow their hair to mimic the freedom fighters, or to pretend that they were equal to the freedom fighters in the trenches, they grew it because it was the fashion of the time. The youth of the eighties did not wear the shidda to pretend they were fighters; they wore it because that was what they could afford in the Sudan.
The YPFDJ mimicry did not stop at the head and the feet, they invited the chairman of PFDJ’s almost defunct student and youth union, and in a typical PFDJ style, he had a Muslim name, Saleh Ahmedin and he is neither a student nor a youth, he is a middle-aged man, yet he heads a student and a youth union. So was Yousef Sayiq, so was Amin Hassan, so was Muhyeddin Shengeb, so was Sultan Saeed and so is Saleh Ahmeddin. All Muslims, all middle aged, all non-students, all subservient to PFDJ/EPLF and all not advocates of the youth issue and the future of the country.


text:
FKA Twigs has had a huge year as she breaks into the limelight, and she's been recognised in the Brit Awards nominations tonight for her efforts.
Making a stunning entrance on the red carpet, Robert Pattinson's girlfriend looked out of this world (quite literally) in a statement gold top and leg-bombing coat.
The complete outfit made the star look like a dazzling warrior princess, as she posed with her hair in bunches on top of her head, and golden body art covering her face.
What a way to steal the show.
Mirror Celeb spotted the star backstage watching the show with a cup of something yummy - could she have needed a good tea?
Meanwhile Rochelle Humes arrived alongside her equally hot hubby and flashed the flesh in a cut-out black playsuit and matching heels.
Marvin matched his other half perfectly in all black, as they posed arm in arm for the cameras.
Pity R Patz didn't make an appearance.
They joined the likes of Clean Bandit and host for the evening Reggie Yates outside, and we caught up with the man himself to find out a bit of inside goss on the big event.
Speaking to Mirror Celeb, he said of comedy duo Ant and Dec - who are due to host the main night: "I'd like to see them have fun, silly costumes, performance of Let's Get Ready to Rumble. I think they're great."
So would we.
See all the red carpet glamour in our gallery below and see all the 2015 nominations here.


text:
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Three Tips of the day!
You might think that looking for SpongeBob Squarepants coloring pages is going to be something that will take you all afternoon, or all day depending on your particular point-of-view. However, you are going to find that there are websites out there that cater to this, and many other whims like this, that ca be found pretty easily with a few simple mouse clicks. If you have a few hours to kill to look for this stuff, that is pretty good. However, if you only have about an hour, or maybe less, you are going to be able to find what you are looking for relatively quickly when you are very specific about your search terms. Anyone that has very young children automatically knows that there really are not enough hours in the day to do what you really need to do, much less what you want to do that is recreational.
As she is leaving, her final request is often for me to print a few more pages for her to take home or even a large batch so she can share with her friends when they visit. Of course, as always I am too happy to oblige. Especially as it's so cheap to print them out. Few things are so cheap but can still make a child so happy these days.
Show a genuine interest in their "masterpieces" and set aside some time to discuss their work. Christmas coloring pages can instill a confidence in a child that they'll carry with them as they enter school and begin their journey into adulthood.

domain: entertainment


text:
Most risk factors have increased as heavy snow has continued and snowmelt is now delayed into April.
Red River Category/Stage Outlook
In general, the risk of major to record scale flooding has increased across the headwaters areas, and the central and southern Red River Basin, from Hillsboro and Halstad to points south.
Accordingly, risk has increased along the entire mainstem Red River as well.
Risk has increased throughout the mid to upper Sheyenne sub-basin and the Devils Lake basin, while several of the tributaries in the far northern basin have seen risks decrease slightly.
These changes are mostly due to the significant snow events on March 5-6 and on March 22-23, both of which mainly impacted the southern two-thirds of the basin. Otherwise, the northernmost third of the basin received only minimal new snowfall.
Key points for the Red River Basin, from south to north:
- All points along the Red River now have a better than 98 percent risk of major flooding.
- Wahpeton and Fargo, now have a more than 40-45 percent risk of exceeding 2009 flood levels. [in 2009 Fargo hit a flood of record at 40.84 ft, Wahpeton hit 3rd place at 17.5 ft]
- The flood risk at Halstad is back up to a 25 percent risk of exceeding 2009 levels.
- Grand Forks flood risk levels have increased by a foot or more due to a reduced margin of error for timing on Red River and Red Lake River crests, and increased Red River flows.
- Continuing north, Oslo now has a better than 60 percent risk for record flooding, while both Drayton and Pembina have had their flood risks increased only slightly.
On North Dakota Tributaries:
- The ND Wild Rice at Abercrombie has a 30-35 percent risk of 2009 scale flooding.
- The risk levels along the Sheyenne River from Valley City into Lisbon have increased by as much as a foot or more, to about a 25 percent risk of meeting or exceeding 2009 levels. Past Lisbon into Kindred, West Fargo, and Harwood the flood risks will likely meet or exceed 2009 levels (60-80 percent chance).
- Enderlin and Mapleton on the Maple River now have a 50 percent risk of 2009 levels.
- Risk along the Goose River into Hillboro has jumped roughly a foot, as recent snowfall has more than exceeded recent melt and runoff.
- Otherwise, risk along the Forest, Park, and Pembina Rivers has dropped just slightly.
On Minnesota Tributaries:
- Risk along the Buffalo River has stayed steady, as recent snowfall has nearly equaled previous runoff.
- Risk along the MN Wild Rice at Hendrum is now nearly 50 percent of meeting or exceeding 1997’s record [33.85 ft].
- Risk along the Sand Hill and Marsh Rivers is now around 30-40 percent of 2009 levels.
- Risk along the Red Lake River has remained steady with Crookston having a 35 percent chance of meeting or exceeding 2009 levels.
- Risks along the Snake and Two Rivers sub-basins have dropped by half a foot, while risk along the Roseau River has increased by about half a foot.
Key points for the Devils Lake Basin: This outlook still indicates that Devils Lake and Stump Lake will certainly rise (more than 90 percent probability) to a new record height in excess of a 1454.1 ft elevation, which is two feet above their previous record set last summer. These lakes could rise (30 percent probability) to a height in excess of a 1455.1 feet, or three feet above their previous record. Overall risk factors have been increased slightly for this update, largely due to above normal snowfall through March. [Creel Bay gauge at 1451.79 on 3/24/11]
What has occurred since Mar 3rd:
Total precipitation amounts have varied from one half inch in north central portions of the Red River Basin to about an inch in portions of the Devils Lake Basin and the Minnesota Lakes country. Nearly two inches of moisture have been added across the central and southern Red River basin and portions of the upper Sheyenne.
A mid-March thaw period did initiate snowmelt processes over much of the area and produced localized runoff in select headwaters areas. A recent snowfall and rapid cool down has replenished the snowpack in those areas and slowed large-scale runoff considerably.
In the central and southern portions of the basin, ditches and streams have begun to carry melt-waters to the larger rivers. Most rivers are rising very slowly in response.
What will be occurring over the next few days:
Cold temperatures through the weekend will prevent large scale runoff, and areas of open water over fields and ditches will become ice affected. Slush and frazil ice may constrict flow in culverts and low bridges.
Larger streams and tributaries will continue to show open flows in places, and could rise slightly due to localized runoff from ditches and smaller streams.
The mainstem Red River from Wahpeton into Fargo will likely begin to see edge-water developing as it rises slowly in response to initial runoff.
What is likely to happen through the first week of April:
Through next week, temperatures will rise slowly and begin the thaw-freeze cycle once again. By late week, some local runoff could pick up into local streams.
Temperatures throughout the first week of April look to remain slightly below seasonal normals, but should allow the gentle freeze-thaw cycle to continue.
Precipitation through the first week of April will be minimal, with light rain/snow chances beginning next Thursday, March 31st, and continuing through April 3rd.
A more significant warm-up and heavier precipitation events are both possible early in the second week of April.
The later into April the snowmelt is delayed, the increased risk we have for heavier rains and a more rapid thaw cycle to commence. Historic Red River Crests at Fargo-Moorhead
Normal high temperatures climb rapidly from the mid 40s early in April to the mid 50s by mid month.
The overall CPC climate outlook for April calls for cooler and wetter conditions, while this active storm pattern is expected to persist well into May.
This should be the last probabilistic outlook of this spring preparation period. Rivers will steadily transition to deterministic forecast products as they began to flow more freely.
Seven day deterministic forecasts will be issued at least once per day when river forecast locations are showing open water and are expected to be in flood during that period.

domain: geography


Not all winglets are made same. For sure, even a nice look at the planes at some irregular air terminal will uncover to you that they can give off an impression of being amazingly novel from one another, from the little bolt like wingtips found on some Airbus planes to the epic, improved winglets of the Boeing 767, resembling the dorsal sharp edge of an orca. You’ll find blended winglets on various models of the Boeing 737, the raving success jetliner in the world. Southwest and Ryanair are the best managers, and you’ll much of the time see them in North America at the tip of 737 wings with WestJet, Delta and American.
They are called blended winglets because they feature a much smoother change from the real wing to the winglet, which conveys additional efficiencies appeared differently 1610 – Aircraft Propellers and Components in relation to a slanted winglet or wingtip fence Confusingly for plane spotters, more exceptional Airbus A320-family plane also sport blended winglets that look essentially equivalent to the winglets on the Boeing 737 — beside they’re called sharklets. The name is only a wonderful piece of displaying. The Airbus setup was the subject of a years-long patent discussion between Flying Assistants Boeing and Airbus, with Airbus the waste of time; the European creator paid out an undisclosed aggregate to APB.
The little winglets that you’ll see on various Airbus varieties are called wingtip divider. This sort of winglet was planned to address the wingtip vortices that beginning from the lower part of the wing, and along these lines have a genuine deterrent under or more the wing. Spotting them is a straightforward strategy to isolate between a Boeing 737 and an Airbus A320 family plane.
The divider are found on A320 family flies, similarly as the A380 (not that you’d need to look at the wingtip to see the best explorer plane on earth!) The divider initially appeared on a part of the planemaker’s 1980s-vintage streams: the A300-600 and the A310, which have almost disappeared from voyager organization.
Like wingtip fences in that they have a genuine shape above and under the wing, you’ll discover indicated split scimitar winglets on various Boeing 737 plane. They are either passed on with new planes, or retrofit by Flight Accessories Boeing; the past appears on Boeing 737-900ERs flown by Delta, and the keep going on many Joined Airplanes 737s. They are a cross between a blended winglet and the wingtip fence, fundamentally blended winglets with an extra airfoil under the wing. Their proportional shape seeming as though a scimitar gives them their name.
Because of the 787, those raked wingtips also have a slight vertical curve. With everything taken into account, why not present a blended winglet? All the more then likely, Boeing testing during the progression of the wing exhibited that the extra heap of a customary winglet didn’t surpass the efficiencies procured by the wing plan itself. Accordingly, they didn’t need it.
The freshest Airbus twin-walkway fly, the Airbus A350, sports specific, abnormal winglets, which Airbus moreover calls sharklets in spite of the way that they don’t appear as though shark adjusts as much as the A320’s. The Airbus setup bunch searched for a tantamount benefit — decline of activated drag — by arranging a beautiful, proficiently useful shape toward the start. Unlike with the A320 family, these sharklets outlined piece of the arrangement from the earliest starting point.


The iconic VW Golf is renewed with the seventh generation car coming to the USA beginning in June, 2014. Having been launched in Europe in 2013, the American market has had to wait a year before getting hands on this newest generation of the car. The Golf is very evolutionary in styling both interior and exterior. At-a-glance, it is clearly a Golf but with a bit more attitude. Its 5-door hatchback bodystyle has basically the same proportions as before. Clean styling with Germanic conservatism. The interior of the car is very straightforward with good ergonomics. Visibility is excellent.
Hatchback Hampers Golf Potential The Golf hatchback is positioned higher than the 4-door sedan Jetta that is the best seller in the USA. Americans remain pre-disposed to sedan bodystyles over 5-door hatchbacks. Why? Most American families are managing “fleets” of cars where each vehicle may have a specific purpose and/or a specific driver. A hatchback is a very useful bodystyle and can serve many functions within the family fleet. It is almost a micro-SUV. There are also perceptions at work here. Americans have historically perceived the hatchback bodystyle to be less safe than a sedan because there is no trunk to absorb an impact in a crash. They perceive hatchbacks to be less secure because items in the rear area may be exposed and if a person gets into the car they have easy access to the load area. The hatchback has historically been the lowest priced car in a brand’s line-up. Of course, when you mention these characteristics are the same as in an SUV, the perceptions are totally different.
Golf Launches Over a Year The wide Golf line-up is launching in this sequence: June 2014 – Golf GTI, August 2014 – Golf and Golf TDI, November 2014 – e-Golf (EV), first quarter 2015 – Golf R and Sportwagen. The missing model in the first year’s lineup is the GTD – the high performance diesel version (180HP/280 lb-ft torque) of the GTI. Volkswagen of America had hoped to get the GTD early, but because of product changes required to sell it in the USA its launch will be in 2017.
Driving the Golf The lead car for the seventh generation Golf is the enthusiast-targeted GTI. Powered by a 210HP 2.0L DOHC turbocharged 4-cylinder, the GTI provides spirited performance with either its 6-speed manual transmission or the 6-speed DSG automatic. Where the GTI fails, however, is on rough roads where its suspension set-up really beats you up. A Performance Package for the GTI gives the engine 10 more horsepower but the torque remains at 258 lb-ft. The high volume Golf is the TSI that comes with a 1.8L DOHC turbo 4-cylinder with 170HP and 200 lb-ft of torque. The TSI is a pleasant car to drive and its milder suspension tuning makes the TSI more forgiving over rough roads than the sportier GTI. The TSI comes with a 6-speed Aisin automatic transmission rather than the sport-oriented DSG available in the GTI and the TDI models. Over a day of driving the members of the Golf lineup, the Golf TDI SEL with the DSG automatic transmission was the most satisfying. The diesel (2.0L 4-cylinder turbo diesel with 150HP and 236 lb-ft of torque) has plenty of torque for any driving situation we were in. The engine is quiet inside the vehicle and the transmission shifts smoothly. The chassis set-up is just right even though the TDI does not have an independent rear suspension.
Competitive Fuel Economy The fuel economy for the base TSI is 24mpg City/37mpg Highway/30mpg combined. That level of efficiency is competitive but not best in class by any means. The GTI gets 24/34/27. The fuel economy champ, as expected, is the TDI with 31/42/35.
Prices Range from High Teens to Over $30K The lowest price Golf will come from a limited edition “Launch Model” in August priced at $17,995 for the 3-door hatchback with 6-speed manual transmission. It comes pretty well equipped with the 1.8L turbo 4-cylinder, air conditioning, front and rear disc brakes, rear window washer/wiper, power mirrors, tilt/telescoping steering column, power windows, Bluetooth and a standard 5.8″ screen with radio/CD/SiriusXM. This model has 15-inch steel wheels. For another $1,000 you get the S model with leather wrapped multi-function steering wheel, alloy wheels, leather-ette upholstery, cruise control and Volkswagen connected services. $1,100 more gets you an automatic transmission and another $600 gets the 5-door hatchback. So, the lowest priced 5-door is $20,695. If you are partial to the diesel TDI and want to check all the boxes the SEL version is $29,095. There is a lighting package complete with HID headlamps and LED daytime running lights for $995 and a $695 Driver Assistance Package that includes front and rear park distance control and a forward collision warning system.
What Were They Thinking – 5.8″ Screen The auto industry is in the midst of center stack screen wars. Volkswagen chose to lose this one. While the car has a 5.8″ screen as standard with the radio and Bluetooth, etc., it does not get a bigger screen when a navigation system is installed. It has the same 5.8″ screen. This is especially strange because VW’s Euro-spec Golf has an 8-inch navigation screen. Weird.
e-Golf Coming An electric version of the Golf – the e-Golf – will be launched in November. The first fully-electric Volkswagen, the e-Golf is powered by a 115HP electric motor and has a range between 70 and 90 miles depending on conditions. The e-Golf will be covered in another VehicleVoice post later.
Audi A8 in a Smaller Platform For a car that is slightly smaller than the Honda Civic sedan and the Ford Focus sedan, the designed-for-America (and China) 2015 Audi A3 sedan comes across as a premium piece. The A3 previously was a slow selling hatchback. Now adding the three-box notchback with a trunk bodystyle Audi can substantially broaden its appeal in the USA. For decades, American buyers have perceived hatchbacks to have less safety (less rear crash protection – a perception) and less security (from bad guys seeing into the cargo area and stealing what is there). The sedan clears those negative perceptions and gives Audi a strong platform to build the bottom end of its brand.
GM’s 2015MY Full Size SUVs General Motors has launched its new-for-2015MY full size SUVs. While you might wonder why they care about launching these behemoths when the segment has fallen at the hands of expensive gasoline, these are mighty profit generators for the General even at relatively low volumes. Last year, GM launched the pickups upon which these SUVs are based – the Chevrolet Silverado and the GMC Sierra. When they were launched these pickups were criticized because their styling was so evolutionary from their GMT900 predecessors. But, it turns out that GM planners and engineers really know their stuff and the pickups have won kudos for their capability. The Silverado was named the North American Truck of the Year.
Has the 2014 Auto Show Season been a bust so far? Well, with the exception of the all new Ford F-150, there has not been much to justify all the fabricated hoopla at either the North American International Auto Show in Detroit or the Chicago Auto Show. You can almost count the significant new news on one hand. In order of importance to the United States market and their manufacturers here are the most significant: Ford F-150, Chrysler 200, Honda Fit, Hyundai Genesis, Mercedes C-Class in Detroit and the Subaru Legacy in Chicago. OK, that is six significant entries. Others that might have made the list are the GMC Canyon mid-size pickup and the Lexus RC-F coupe. The Detroit Show ended up focusing on performance models or concepts like the production-ready Subaru WRX STI, Toyota FT-1 super car, Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 variant, BMW M3 sedan and M4 coupe, Cadillac ATS coupe. The only other vehicles of note at the Chicago Show were the 2015 Lincoln Navigator with new front and rear styling and the Mercedes GLA compact crossover SUV.
We at AutoPacific have just completed a week’s worth of driving the Thailand-built Mitsubishi Mirage. Now we know what drivers in a third world country experience when they drive locally assembled cars. And we don’t like it much.
Volvo Growth Strategy: Tony Nicolosi, new President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America says 90% of the senior management of VCNA is new since he took over in October 2013. Volvo’s marketing strategy is also going to change with the arrival in January of Bodil Eriksson as executive vice president of marketing and new advertising agency Grey London starting in March. Nicolosi says Volvo will return to its roots emphasizing safety, the environment and the family. The marketing budget for 2014 is bigger by about 50% but its emphasis will shift away from television to digital messaging.
Prior to becoming head of VCNA, Nicolosi was head of Volvo Finance in the USA, so he is very familiar with the leasing game. About 42% of Volvos are leased, well short of the leasing penetration of Audi, BMW or Mercedes. Going forward, Volvo’s lease penetration should increase with more concentration on more car for the payment and regular replacement. This will give Volvo dealers the first shot at putting off-lease customers into a new Volvo.
Don’t Call it a “Crossover” Like Ford and other makers, Toyota has largely abandoned the distinction between “traditional” and “crossover” sport utility vehicles. “It was confusing our customers,” said Bill Fay, Group Vice President of the Toyota Brand. Now, Toyota refers to both under the “mid-size sport utility vehicle umbrella”. This might seem to be a small thing, but for decades (at least since 1997 when unibody “crossovers” began appearing) automakers have been making this distinction. The customers largely did not know or care about the difference, they just bought the emerging crossovers in droves.
Toyota’s Two-Tier Mid-Size SUV Strategy With the introduction of the 2014 Toyota Highlander, Toyota continues with a two tier mid-size SUV strategy. The unibody 8-pasenger Highlander goes into its third generation with the 2014 model year entry in production since early December, 2013. The body-on-frame 4Runner appeals to the traditional SUV buyer needing more off-road capability and towing ability. Fay says, “these are totally different buyers and the 4Runner and Highlander are seldom cross-shopped with each other.
For 2014, the Highlander gets more aggressive styling, a more upscale interior and a price bump of about $1,500. A lot of that price increase is offset by the Highlander having more standard equipment.
Interior Moves Upscale Toyota’s designers and engineers clearly devoted a lot of attention to the instrument panel. It is a neat piece of automotive sculpture with the most up to date technology. The base vehicle comes with a 6.1-inch touch screen. When you get to the XLE and Limited models an 8-inch touchscreen is fitted.
A “why didn’t I think of that?” design feature is a shelf running beneath the center stack and below the glove box. This padded shelf is the perfect place to set your smartphone while driving. There is a slot in the shelf that allows a cord to be connected to the USB port to power the phone and connect it to the Toyota Entune app system.
The seat trim is typical Toyota. In leather versions
The feature availability on the Highlander is impressive. Features like adaptive cruise control, cross traffic warning, dynamic grid lines in the rear camera are just a few examples of Highlander (and many other middle- and low-market vehicles) offering features once found only on luxury entries.
Comprehensive Model Offerings There are three basic powertrain offerings for the Highlander. The price-leader LE (about $29,200) 185-horsepower 2.7L DOHC 4-cyinder is perfectly adequate for around town driving in the Sun Belt. If you do not need all wheel drive and don’t need to tow, the 4-cylinder would suffice, but you probably won’t find one at your Toyota store. It will be 5% to 10% of the available Highlanders.
The bread-and-butter Highlander is powered by a 3.5L DOHC V6 making 270-horsepower. This is the engine that about 90% of Highlanders will get. It works sell in front wheel drive (with a good amount of torque steer under full throttle) and is required with all wheel drive (about of 60% of Highlanders will be AWD). The 3.5L DOHC V6 is available on the base LE model for an additional $1,305. Add all wheel drive to the V6 version and you increase the price by another $1,460.
The middle of the lineup includes the LE Plus for $32,740 for the front wheel drive version. The front drive XLE model goes for $36,040 and the Limited goes for $39,640.
Hybrid Tops the Lineup At the top of the line is the Highlander Hybrid making 280-horsepower with its Atkinson cycle 3.5L DOHC V6. The Hybrid is available in the Limited trim level and is priced at $47,300. Driving the Hybrid on the hilly roads around Carmel, California we saw about 30mpg – in line with its rated fuel economy. The throttle effort on the Hybrid was high making it difficult to accelerate with traffic without really getting into it. Maybe that is because Toyota wants you to drive the Hybrid like you have an egg between your foot and the accelerator pedal.
Evolutionary Improvements Meet Competition All-in-all, the 3rd gen Highlander is an evolutionary, but substantial, improvement over its predecessor. Toyota describes the Highlander as “Beyond Hero” in the SUV segment meaning it overachieves when compared to competition. They also describe its development as “without compromise”. It does not meet those lofty phrases, and although there are no WOW factors (with the exception of an absolutely gargantuan front seat center console), it will be a steady seller filling an important slot in Toyota’s lineup. Toyota expects to sell about 140,000 units a year in the USA from its Princeton, Indiana assembly plant while sending another 10,000 to 15,000 overseas to another 20 countries.
The new 2014 Honda Accord Hybrid joins the mid-size sedan hybrid wars with a two-motor hybrid that achieves 50mpg in the city (50 city/45 highway/47 combined). As one of the top selling cars in the USA, the Accord Hybrid has the potential to unseat the present leader Toyota Camry Hybrid (followed by the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Hyundai Sonata Hybrid in sales so far in 2013). Accord’s bragging rights are for city fuel economy – highest in the mid-size class at 50mpg. Fusion gets 47mpg in the city (and highway). The best-selling is down on mpg compared with Fusion and Accord – Camry gets 43mpg in the city and 39 on the highway.
2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA: Mercedes-Benz has been in a slow launch mode for the new front wheel drive 2014 CLA sedan since the beginning of 2013. The car has just gone on sale and advertising is blanketing the airwaves. So, what’s the story?
Target – Millennials – Does it Have Enough Rear Seat Room? The CLA is Mercedes’ price leader in the USA. Mercedes proudly touts its $29,990 base price and admits its attempt to intercept drivers under 35 before they buy their first premium brand car from BMW or Audi. Most CLAs will be priced in the $35,000 range when you get the $2,300 premium package (garage door opener, premium sound w/iPod interface, heated front seats, dual zone climate control) and the $2,370 multimedia package (rear view camera and navigation system). For that mid-thirties price you get a fully featured front wheel drive 4-cylinder four door sedan and the Mercedes three-pointed star.
About 20 American journalists and analysts had a chance to drive the Volkswagen XL1 at the Autostadt near Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. Only 20 of the planned 250 vehicles have been completed to date and five were on hand for our drives. A Volkswagen engineer guided each drive through Wolfsburg and even included a short autobahn blast hitting the car’s top speed limited to 160kmh (about 99mph).
261 MPG! The XL1 is very special. First, it looks totally cool and highly aerodynamic. Volkswagen has been developing a car to achieve the European objective of 1 liter of fuel consumed per 100 kilometers driven for over a decade now. This equates to 238mpg using United States gallons. The XL1 actually beats this. It gets 0.9L/100km fuel efficiency (about 261mpg!). With its 10L (2.6-gallons) fuel tank this translates to a cruising range of over 600-miles on a tank of diesel.
How does it do this? A combination of small size, great aerodynamics (Cd=0.189), plug-in-hybrid 2-cylinder turbo-diesel powertrain and a carbon fiber body that weighs only 197lbs. To save weight, VW forgoes an on-board charger – at least for the first 50 in their production run. Adding an on-board charger (which would allow the car to be charged at a public charge station rather than a dedicated charger likely in someone’s garage) would add 8kg (about 18lbs) to the weight of the car. VW is considering adding a charger to the last 200 of the vehicles.
Staggered Seating The seating package uses a trick out of the smart fortwo design. The seat in the two passenger car are staggered with the passenger seated slightly to the rear of the driver so shoulders won’t touch. The XL1 certainly is not spacious, but for a hyper-miler it may be just the ticket. Seeing the XL1 out in traffic reinforces just how small the car has to get to achieve such great fuel consumption. It is tiny. It is about an inch lower than a Lamborghini – and those come up about to your waist. In traffic, it is dwarfed by other cars – even the small VW Polo and Lupo models driving around Wolfsburg. To its credit, and for better aerodynamics, the rear of the body is lengthened and yields a trunk of 4.2 cubic feet – about twice the size of the first generation Mazda Miata.
Advanced Powertrain The XL1 is a rear engine, rear wheel drive car. The diesel is hard-mounted just behind the passenger compartment. Given that location it is very obvious when the diesel kicks in. At least in the early models, NVH (noise, vibration and harshness) is sacrificed to achieve a total weight of 1723 pounds. The diesel is relatively noisy and with only two cylinders it vibrates quite a bit. The 5.5kw battery pack is mounted in front of the driver and on electric-only power the car will go 31 miles. XL1 uses a DSG (automatic) transmission from VW’s new MQB platform. If you really step on it, the XL1 will achieve a 0-60mph time of 12.7 seconds. With no power steering, the rear engined car is a bit heavy feeling but not objectionable.
Rear View Cameras – a Bit Uncomfortable Probably the most uncomfortable part of driving XL1 is rear visibility. VW has received an exemption from the EU to use rear view cameras instead of outside rear view mirrors. The viewing screens are mounted in the door trim panels just forward of the armrests. You have to look down left or right to see the traffic behind you. Takes a bit to get used to the design. You never really know where the traffic is in your blind spot.


Aggies warm up for OU by beating McNeese St.
Updated 9:54 am, Monday, December 16, 2013
COLLEGE STATION — Sophomore guard Alex Caruso described the Aggies as simply “getting back into the swing of things” Saturday night in a 73-60 victory over McNeese State at Reed Arena.
After a nine-day break, Texas A&M needed Saturday's warm-up for what's next: former Big 12 foe Oklahoma this coming Saturday at Houston's Toyota Center.
“The stakes are higher, and the stage is bigger,” Caruso said of the upcoming main event of A&M's nonconference slate. “I think we'll be ready for that.”
The Aggies (8-2) are undefeated at home, and their two missteps occurred in their lone ventures away from their comfortable hardwood stage at Reed — 73-67 to Missouri State and 55-52 to SMU in the Corpus Christi Classic at the end of last month.
They've since returned to home for pain-free victories over former Southwest Conference opponent Houston (74-57) and now McNeese State, but the Sooners (9-1) offer a whole different challenge away from Reed. OU whipped Tulsa 101-91 on Saturday night in Norman, Okla.
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“Oklahoma is a very good team that can really score the basketball,” A&M coach Billy Kennedy said. “It will be the best team we've played so far.”
The Cowboys (2-7) certainly weren't close to that but provided a decent tune-up for the road ahead. The Aggies continued their balancing act among scorers, as three tallied between 13 and 16 points. Junior forward Jamal Jones led the way with 16, shooting 4 of 9 3-pointers. Kourtney Roberson chipped in with 14 and Caruso had 13.
Jones, who played at Lee College last season, has made 16 of 26 threes (62 percent) in the Aggies' last three home games.
“Jamal is getting a lot done for us and playing with a lot of confidence,” Kennedy said.
McNeese State junior Desharick Guidry, in his first action this season, tallied game highs in scoring (17) and rebounding (nine). Guidry, McNeese State's leading scorer and rebounder last season, missed the first eight games because of academics.
“Obviously, we've missed him,” Cowboys coach Dave Simmons said.
bzwerneman@ express-news.net Twitter: @brentzwerneman


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text:
The story made the front page of the New York Post, is rated ‘unsafe’ by Twitter and is blocked from going viral on Facebook.
Right wing commenters and pro-Trump supporters are up in arms against the social media giants.
The Post alleges Joe Biden met with an adviser to the board of Burisma while he was vice president.
Burisma is a Ukranian company said to be linked to Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. The Republicans and the Donald Trump campaign has made the links between Hunter and Burisma their main battle horse in the 2020 elections.
Biden has denied allegations he interfered with the company when he was VP during President Barack Obama’s reign to favour his son.
The emails were acquired by a Delaware computer repairman and exposed Wednesday by The Post.
But it is the blockade imposed by Facebook and the not by Twitter that has enraged the right wing.
The social network took the rare step of acting in advance of a decision by its “third-party fact-checkers,” and reduced the distribution of the article on its platform.
This is effectively a blockade of the NYP by Facebook. A rare incident indeed, but in the run-up to the November vote, we may see more incidents like this on Facebook or Twitter.
Some are saying the move is to arguably protecting the former vice president from a major political scandal at a critical time in the 2020 election.
A Post editor says this is a digital civil war. Read the tweet below:
This is a Big Tech information coup. This is digital civil war.
I, an editor at The New York Post, one of the nation’s largest papers by circulation, can’t post one of our own stories that details corruption by a major-party presidential candidate, Biden. pic.twitter.com/BKNQmAG19H
— Sohrab Ahmari (@SohrabAhmari) October 14, 2020
The tweet was not sent.

domain: politics


text:
Lucinda is a passionate, humorous and eclectic creative person whom you can’t help but be inspired by when you’re in her presence. It’s no wonder she has built a name for herself as one of the nation’s premiere interior decorators based in Houston.
She style goes beyond cutting edge. Lucinda is able to create unique spaces that evoke emotion and play with perspective—and she always adds an elevated touch of humor in the most unexpected places. Her eye for style transcends both fashion and home décor.
We’re thrilled to have Lucinda as part of the BCBGMAXAZRIA family! Lucinda’s first cousin and BCBGMAXAZRIA regional visual manager, Ali, made the connection the minute she learned about plan to come to Houston to host and event.
A truly beautiful person both inside and out, Lucinda opened the doors to her remarkable home in Houston to host an intimate luncheon and fashion presentation for some of Houston most influential women. We are grateful to the Loya family for their hospitality.

domain: design