It’s been a while since we’ve asked you a Question of the Day so we thought what better day to do it than on hump-day. Today, we’re asking you which Japanese brand you think has the best model lineup.
For this segment we’re staying away from luxury vehicles so you can pick from Nissan, Honda, Toyota and Mazda.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below and let us know which Japanese vehicle is your favorite.
– By: Kap Shah
A quick recap for anyone who hasn’t heard of the sensation that is Ken Block: The rally driver achieved internet stardom after posting a gymkhana practice video on YouTube in which he deftly drifted a Subaru Impreza WRX STI around an abandoned air force base. This summer, Block plans to film a third gymkhana video and because he now drives for Ford, Block will drift in a modified 2011 Ford Fiesta.
The Fiesta was built by Olsbergs Motorsport Evolution, which also builds the cars Block uses in the Rally America series. At the core is a purpose-built engine capable of 850 hp but restricted to just 650 hp and 660 lb-ft of torque for better control. With a six-speed sequential transmission and overall weight held to just 2425 lbs, the Fiesta can reportedly hit 60 mph in only two seconds.
Other changes from stock include a new front bumper with carbon-fiber splitter, squared-off fender flares, and a hydraulic hand brake to help initiate slides. As with all Block’s rides, the Fiesta wears Monster energy drink “drip pattern” decals. We can’t wait to see how the Fiesta tackles Block’s next gymkhana challenge.
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Last seen in Hammersmith, London, England: a teenage boy’s pride. For now the whole world knows he’s no match for his kid sister. [GoogleSightSeeing via Twitter] More »
Among the many defining – and practical – tenets of the Primal Blueprint is the good old 80/20 Principle, the guideline that suggests we needn’t be 100% perfect 100% of the time to achieve great Primal health. It’s the sensible caveat, a functional motivator, the saving grace for many of us. It means we don’t guilt ourselves (or hand down punishing cardio sentences) when we indulge on a special occasion or get caught in circumstances that don’t allow for fully Primal conditions. It means shedding the traditional view of a “diet” and exercise program as a select list of actions we either ace or bomb. As I’ve said many a time, the PB doesn’t make the perfect the enemy of the good. Finally, the 80/20 Principle encourages us to wholly own every choice and respect the impact of our total lifestyle within our personal Primal commitments. An immensely empowering – but sometimes challenging – feature of the Primal Blueprint is its subjectivity. Although it offers plenty of solid guidelines, tips, lists and recipes (not to mention an incredible community of fellow adherents!), the day-in-day-out isn’t regimented into a set of check-off boxes. Bringing your honest intentions and Primal lens to each choice is usually enough to stay on track. While your Primal perspective each day is an earnest 100%, the practical execution trends toward 80% for most people, especially those new to the PB. But what happens when focus temporarily wanes or life circumstances become – well – more imperfectly “real”? How do you push back on the tendency of 80/20 to creep toward lesser ratios?
Life has a funny way of shifting the routine just when we get secure and comfortable. A new baby, a new job, a move, an illness, an injury, maybe just a month when the schedule picks up can throw a serious wrench in your finely tuned Primal practice. These transitions, whether they overhaul life or just make for some bumps in the road, shift everyday routines enough that suddenly the old schedule and habits don’t apply.
What used to be a “fallback” 20% gradually, insidiously gravitates toward 30%, even 40%. Instead of a margin of error, the concept of 20% takes on a new life of its own. Practical contingency gives way to self-justification. And so the cycle continues…. Primal focus and/or motivation wane, practical planning apparatus isn’t maintained, and daily habits begin to shift.
Maybe you used to make more elaborate Primal meals for lunch or dinner, but now can’t find the time. Perhaps you gave up your gym membership to save some hard earned money each month and now you struggle to get motivated enough for full workouts at home. You might have done a CSA last season, but chose not to participate this year and now feel wholly uninspired by the produce at the grocery store. A new job might include enough travel that you’re facing new challenges to keep up on your Primal eating, workouts and sleep. Maybe you moved to be closer to family, but now host so much that your meals mirror their tastes more than your Primal interests. Maybe you just feel like you’re in an overall slump and have been reverting lately to old pre-Primal habits.
You might not realize you’re backsliding until you’ve been going that direction for a while. For some folks, the scale (or your trouser button) is the first to offer the suggestion. For others, it’s a delayed return to the gym only to find a downgrade on the lifting ability or new found post-workout soreness. There’s a million ways to take your Primal temperature, and I’d venture to say that most of us do it in some form consciously or unconsciously. Maybe just forgetting to do exactly that– or avoiding it – is indicator #1 that you’re indeed backsliding.
Do you find yourself more tired in the afternoon? Are you craving carbs suddenly? What’s your workout schedule these days? If you made a food journal, would you be afraid to read it? Do you ultimately feel like you’ve been investing in yourself lately? Where have things fallen short? Where have they stayed strong? Finally, what’s behind the change? Sometimes all it takes is some honest questioning. You just have to be willing to face the music.
So, how can 30 or 40 become 20 again? If you’ve been there before, trust that it will be easier to make it back than you think. The hard part will be shifting course. Once you start steering in the right direction and rebuild momentum, you’re good to go. Your Primal template might not look the same when you’re done (a good thing), but you’ll re-experience the advantages and wonder why you ever backslid in the first place.
The crux of the solution here is realizing what exactly needs to change. Life circumstances shift, and our routines need to transform with them. The Blueprint can be easily refitted to do exactly that. Whether the 30-40 lapse is related to a temporary disruption or a longer-term shift, it’s time for a healthy – and, I’d argue, periodically necessary – Primal renovation, so to speak. Choose your own metaphor: makeover, revolution, reconstruction, molting, what have you.
Examine your routine and see what still works – what fits your lifestyle and maintains your motivation. Then look at what needs a substitution, and lay out a plan for yourself. If it’s your schedule that’s got you struggling, consider the Primal for Busy People approach – food, weight loss, workout, sleep and stress management, and socialization.
Check out our past tips, and our good readers’ comments. If travel has you grappling for Primal ideas, brainstorm your plan of attack next time you have to head out into the wild blue yonder – with some help for how to forage in less desirable territory, and get a Primal worthy workout in the modest space of that beloved Microtel.
If the 20% drifted into higher territory because of motivation issues, it’s time to shake up your Primal life and get out of the box it’s narrowed to. Skip the gym and head out into the world. Go for broke with new recipes. Get out and play! Make your goal this: have some fun. Design a weekend’s Primal adventure – whether it’s in the kitchen, the mountains or your backyard. Go whole hog, and see how it makes you feel.
Finally, sometimes a brief lapse or longer slump suggests the need for reflection. Have patience and invest in that process.
Recommit to the Primal basics and do some thinking about what you want your lifestyle and overall health to look like. Examine what’s missing. Imagine what you want to take on. Re-envision. Recreate. Recommit – and Grok on.
Share your thoughts on facing – and turning around – a Primal backslide. Have you found yourself delving into fuzzy Primal math? How did you get back to the golden 80/20, and what does it mean for your Primal practice?
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WASHINGTON–Chicago Olympian speed skating star Shani Davis and other Olympians visit the White House and Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Davis–a Chicagoan who trained in Evanston will be meeting with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and wil be at events with First Lady Michelle Obama.
Click below for details.
With First Lady Michelle Obama…..
(from the White House)
Prior to the afternoon event with Vancouver Olympians that the First Lady will co-host at the White House with President Obama, Mrs. Obama will highlight physical activity as a critical element of the Let’s Move! initiative with several Olympians and Paralympians Wednesday morning at the DC River Terrace School. She will be joined by 2010 Olympians Shani Davis and Hannah Kearney and 2010 Paralympians Alana Nichols and Heath Calhoun. In addition to promoting the need for kids to get 60 minutes of active play a day, the US Olympians will promote the Olympic philosophy of excellence, friendship and respect.
Background on Durbin meeting…..
The Shani Davis meeting is mostly a courtesy visit while he is in town. Durbin was often in communication with the USOC and the City of Chicago during the City’s bid for the 2016 Games (meeting with the Mayor, the Chicago 2016 organization and introducing a resolution in support of the bid). He also recently joined the Congressional Olympic and Paralympic Caucus, chaired by Senators Hatch, Bennet, Klobuchar and Isakson.
Desiree Filippone with the U.S.O.C will also be in the meeting. The USOC’s Independent Advisory Committee, led by former NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, recently completed its report making recommendations on the Olympic Committee’s leadership structure. USOC Chairman Larry Probst appointed Tagliabue to lead the committee in the wake of Chicago’s failed bid for the 2016 Games.
[JURIST] The US Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled in Perdue v. Kentucky that calculation of an attorney’s fee based on the lodestar may be increased due to superior performance, but only in extraordinary circumstances. The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the lower court’s enhancement of attorney’s fees in a class action suit, finding that even though factors such as quality of performance and results obtained are already included in the lodestar calculation, they may appropriately be considered to enhance the fees. In reversing the lower court decision, Justice Samuel Alito wrote:
We have stated in previous cases that such an increase is permitted in extraordinary circumstances, and we reaffirm that rule. But as we have also said in prior cases, there is a strong presumption that the lodestar is sufficient; factors subsumed in the lodestar calculation cannot be used as a ground for increasing an award above the lodestar; and a party seeking fees has the burden of identifying a factor that the lodestar does not adequately take into account and proving with specificity that an enhanced fee is justified. Because the District Court did not apply these standards, we reverse the decision below and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.Justice Stephen Breyer filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, in which Justice John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor joined. Breyer would not have reached the question of whether the fees were appropriately calculated in this case. Had he reached that question, he would have upheld the lower court’s decision.The lodestar calculation is used by courts in awarding attorney’s fees and is the product of reasonable hours worked and a reasonable hourly rate. The class action suit was filed on behalf of 3,000 children in the Georgia foster care system. After reaching a settlement, plaintiffs requested more than $14 million in attorney’s fees. Half that amount was based on the lodestar, and the other half was an enhancement for superior work and results.
Poco antes de que el Grupo Fiat de a conocer su estrategia para los próximos 4 años, su actual presidente, Luca di Montezemolo, ha presentado su dimisión de dicho cargo mediante una rueda de prensa.
El heredero de dicho puesto, será John Elkan, hasta la fecha vicepresidente del Grupo Fiat y nieto de Gianni Agnelli. Para los aficionados a la Fórmula 1, cabe destacar que Montezemolo seguirá al cargo de la escudería italiana Ferrari.
Por otra parte, también debemos mencionar que seguirá formando parte del Consejo de Administración del Grupo Fiat.
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By Harriet Blake
Green Right Now
If you’re looking for home projects, and eco-activities for kids this Earth Day season — or really anytime — the EPA has put together an online Earth Day Take Home Kit that features eight links to environmentally friendly interactive pages. Some aim to make eco-learning fun; others help explain environmental risks.
including water, air, trash and recycling as well as plants and animals. Each section poses a number of questions that are answering by clicking on each hot link. For example, under water, there’s a drawing that features people engaged in pollution-causing activities. The site asks players to identify these activities.
There’s also a website called Sunwise for Kids. It tells of the dangers of too much sun and includes a fun trivia game that teaches kids the benefits of wearing hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. The EPA also sponsors a Sunwise with Shade poster contest and recommends kids to ask their teachers about participating.Besides the Take Home Kit, the EPA website has an activity called Pick Five for the Environment in which participants select five actions they pledge to fulfill. The list of actions include using less water, less electricity, reduce/reuse/recycle, and commute without polluting. The idea is to then share that commitment with friends on Facebook, Twitter or with photos on Flickr.
You can also sign up for EPA’s daily green tip, by providing your email address.
Copyright © 2010 Green Right Now | Distributed by GRN Network
-Devo performed their 1980 hit single “Whip It” on Tuesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live….
–Esquire Magazine has dubbed Kelly Clarkson the “Greatest Pop Voice Ever…..”
-Brad Pitt’s brother Doug has been named a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Republic of Tanzania…..
-Shakira has been added to this year’s Glastonbury Festival lineup….
-A North Carolina college student has constructed a wedding gown from sandwich wrappers!
-Speaking of wedding dresses, Vera Wang is designing a collection of gowns bridezillas can pick up on the cheap down at their local David’s Bridal….
-Chef Boyar-GROSS! An Ohio mom finds a dead rat in her can of Spaghetti and Meatballs!
-For those who care: Sam Ronson alleged spit on LiLo at last weekend’s Coachella Festival….
-Here’s another reason to love Miami: The city’s new ice bar, So Cool, is the hottest (or should we say coldest?) ticket in town….
MTV has nothing to do with the glut of Jersey Shore spinoffs — ie: Wicked Summah and Brighton Beach — that have been springing up in recent weeks…
-Two more women have stepped forward claiming Steven Seagal is a pedobear — and one of them happens to be the granddaughter of late music legend Ray Charles….
-Jennifer Lopez is still trying to drum up press for her umpteenth rom-com, The Backup Plan…..
-FOX has renewed Cops for a 23rd season! As long as the world is crawling with dumb criminals, Cops cameras will be around to memoralize the foolery….
-Vivica Fox has designed a line of wigs that resemble something my crazy Aunt Kitty would wear to Friday night bingo….
-Ben & Jerry’s has introduced a new flavor in honor of the 2010 Bonnaroo Music Festival….
-Esmee Denters and Justin Timberlake on the set of The Love Dealer…
–Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello gives details on the most talked-about season finales on TV this season….
-Yeah, maybe Green Day on Broadway wasn’t such a great idea after all….
El día de hoy, toda la cúpula del grupo Fiat llevó a cabo la tan anunciada conferencia de prensa a los medios, anunciando los resultados financieros del grupo, el programa de lanzamientos y probables nuevos modelos de todas las marcas que componen el holding Fiat. La conferencia comenzó puntual, tomando la palabra Sergio Marchionne, con un resumen de los resultados económicos de Fiat y algunas cifras sobre Chrysler.
Las cosas en Chrysler no van del todo bien como se esperaban, pero Marchionne dijo que todavía creía que los objetivos fijados para este año se pueden alcanzar. La mayoría de los analistas no están tan seguros, ya que creen que Chrysler no podrá sobrevivir mucho tiempo más. Chrysler reportó pérdidas netas por casi 4.000 millones de dólares desde que salió de la quiebra el año pasado, pero tuvo una utilidad operativa durante el primer trimestre y afirmó que estaba en camino a un equilibrio en el 2010.
Luego llegó el turno de hablar de Fiat, Maserati y Ferrari, en donde las cosas se pusieron mucho más interesantes, ya que cada encargado de cada marca anunció importantes novedades.
Ferrari va a presentar en el 2012 una serie especial del Ferrari Enzo, que seguirá al 458 Italia Spyder que sería presentado el año que viene. Posteriormente en el 2013, Ferrari presentará la nueva generación del Ferrari California (California M). Además el año próximo, el 612 Scaglietti verá una nueva versión del motor V12 y algunos cambios de restyling. Se dijo también que no hay ninguna posibilidad de modelos intermedios, ni crossover, ni SUV; toda la producción de Ferrari se centrará en los cuatro modelos básicos que se están ofreciendo hasta ahora, más el agregado del Enzo en 2012.
Del lado de Maserati, la marca del tridente trabaja en una versión más pequeña del sedan Quattroporte, que será puesto frente a frente contra los Mercedes Clase E o la Serie 5 de BMW. Además el Quattroporte actual tendrá una nueva variante futura de segunda generación, que actualizará un poco más el modelo.
FPT (Fiat Powertrain Technologies) estuvo representado por Alfredo Altavilla, encargado de la sección de motores de la marca. Entre lo más importante, FPT estará presentando una versión diésel del motor MultiAir y la segunda generación de estos motores, que posiblemente sea acompañada de una versión híbrida en el 2014.
Vía | Autoblog Italia
Today, Wells Fargo reported a $2.4 billion profit in the first-quarter. That sounds pretty good — the bank’s earnings also beat analyst estimates by 3 cents-per-share, or 7%. Yet, in the context of other banks far exceeding what the market anticipated, 7% isn’t much. Why didn’t Wells surprise analysts?
Part of Wells’ merely adequate performance was its high consumer credit-related charge-offs. The bank set aside $5.3 billion to deal with those losses. But Citigroup’s first quarter losses from bad loans were a whopping $8.4 billion — and the bank still out earned Wells by nearly $2 billion. So credit losses are likely only a small part of the story.
A bigger reason is likely that Wells isn’t much of an investment bank. Other big banks like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanely, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America all have strong investment banking divisions. Much of their success was due to trading profits. All of those listed had at least $4 billion of revenue from this source, but Wells had a paltry $537 million.
The follow chart demonstrates this point:
As you can see, all of these big banks except for Wells had very strong trading profits and soundly beat expectations — by at least 17%. Analysts likely underestimated how much revenue would be generated by trading in the first quarter. For Wells, that wasn’t a very significant factor, so the market’s expectation was pretty close.
By Heather D
From the Iowa Conference home page:
Celebrate the principles that made this nation great with Ron Paul and several special guests in Des Moines, Iowa on May 14-16, 2010 as we continue working to reclaim the Republic and restore the Constitution.
C4L’s Iowa Regional Conference will be highlighted by our “Forum on the Future of Conservatism in America,” where our speakers will clearly articulate the need to reduce the size of government, maximize freedom, and return to the Constitution. This Forum is open to the public.
We will examine conservatism from historical, constitutional, and moral perspectives and explain why the limited government ideas that created our country and turned this experiment in liberty into the greatest nation the world has ever seen can restore and revitalize our optimism for the future.
Illinois members have the awesome opportunity to attend 2 different training events in the next few weeks. Our Chicago One Day Activist School will take place on April 25, followed by the Iowa Regional Conference in Des Moines, Iowa on May 14 – 16.
Directly following the Conference Training on May 16, Illinois members will meet for our first statewide meeting of the year. This will give us an opportunity to meet face to face and discuss our plans for the coming months. You must make your reservation at the Embassy Suites Hotel by April 23 to receive the Campaign for Liberty special room rate. Please click here for more information on this.
The Illinois Campaign for Liberty would like to assist members who would like to attend the Iowa Conference, but might not have the means to do so. For information on the Illinois Regional Conference Scholarship Program, please click here. To donate to this effort, please click here.
You can find the conference agenda here, and registration information here.
I look forward to meeting you in Chicago on April 25, and again in Des Moines on May 14!
For Liberty,
Heather Danielowski
General Motors’s CEO Ed Whitacre announced today that the Detroit automaker has made its final paying of $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and Export Development Canada, paying back its government loans in full.
The announcement went hand-in-hand with the company’s announcement of an investment of $257 million at its Fairfax Kansas and Detroit Hamtramck assembly plants. The investment will prepare the Fairfax plant to build the next-generation of the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and will make Detroit Hamtramck a second source for Malibu production.
“GM is able to repay the taxpayers in full, with interest, ahead of schedule, because more customers are buying vehicles like the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse we build here in Fairfax,” said Whitacre. “We are now building some of the best cars, trucks, and crossovers we have ever built, and customers are taking note. Our dealers are increasing their sales, we are investing in our plants, and we are restoring and creating jobs.”
The U.S., Canadian and Ontario government originally provided $8.4 billion of loan as a part of the new GM launch. Today’s payment of $5.8 billion completes the payback of these loans.
“GM’s ability to pay back the loans ahead of schedule is a sign that our plan is working, and that we are on the right track. It is also an important first step toward allowing our stockholders to reduce their equity investments in GM,” said Whitacre. “We still have much hard work ahead of us, but we are making progress toward our vision of designing, building, and selling the world’s best vehicles.
“We appreciate the support the taxpayers have given GM, and our great new products are tangible results of that support,” he said.
GM said that sales of its four core brands (Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac) are up 36 percent through March versus the same period in 2009. It said that the Chevy Equinox, Camaro and Traverse; GMC Terrain and Acadia; Buick LaCrosse; and Cadillac SRX – remain in short supply at GM dealers due to high demand.
– By: Omar Rana
LinkedIn unveiled enhancements to its sharing features this morning that make it easier for users to post links and images to their LinkedIn groups and others that are connected to them on the service. Now when users post a link, an excerpt and any image attached to the item are automatically added, and other users can see who shared the content when it shows up in their streams. Links and content that others have shared can also be “re-shared,” and the service has launched its own URL shortener.
If these enhancements sounds familiar, it’s probably because they’re virtually identical to the way sharing and re-sharing works on Facebook and other social networks such as Google’s Buzz. They may be nice additions, but at this point, how much is copying Facebook really going to help LinkedIn?
The business-oriented network has been trying to get more social over the past year or so, by adding Twitter integration, as well as opening up its application programming interface (API) so that outside developers can integrate LinkedIn content. But for the most part, it still feels like a place where people primarily go to check the work history of a contact or possible hire, or if they’re looking for a new gig, to post their own. Despite LinkedIn’s best efforts, it doesn’t seem like a place where users are going to be sharing a lot of links.
Will these new features and enhancements change that? Perhaps. But it feels more like a copycat move than anything really revolutionary. Why not provide more ways for people to enhance their profile, by doing things like hosting discussions around an issue, or providing content in some way that helps illustrate their expertise in a subject? That seems more like something in which LinkedIn’s core user would be interested. It’s not that sharing links isn’t a good feature to have, I’d just like to see the service focus on the things that make it different, rather than duplicating those of Facebook.
Related content from GigaOM Pro (sub req’d): Can Enterprise Privacy Survive Social Networking?
Post and thumbnail photos courtesy of Flickr user ryancr
After seeing tremendous interest in their mobile site from Android users, Progressive has released an full-on application to the market. Aimed to simplify the online experience, the free app provides many of the same features as the their full website including getting quotes, making payments, and tracking claims. It’s also possible to calculate and budget for monthly car loan payments, research crash test results and recall notices, and watch the latest commercials from Progressive.
Asi es, el nuevo Aston Martin Rapide ha sido cazado en su versión de competición. Esta fotos espía han sido tomadas mientras que Aston Martin testeaba su nuevo modelo en el circuito de Nürburgring.
Además, se ha confirmado que veremos al nuevo Rapide compitiendo en las próximas 24 horas de Nürburgrin, sin duda, una prueba de fuego para comprobar los límites de este vehículo destinado al confort de la conducción.
Cuando tengamos más información sobre los resultados de dicho evento, los publicaremos.
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Megabus is a bus service that goes from city to city, and is meant to compete with Amtrak and Greyhound. They offer decent prices, occasional great specials, and free wi-fi. On a trip during Easter weekend, Mark learned that the service offers another perk he didn’t exactly want: a 4-hour complimentary Megasauna. The air conditioning on his bus failed, and the passengers roasted down the East Coast.
He blogged about the experience, and also sent this e-mail (still unanswered) to Megabus.
April 4, 2010
Megabus Corporation
4400 S. Racine Ave.
Chicago, IL 60609Dear Customer Service,
I must regretfully report an extremely uncomfortable experience aboard line M21, from New York to Washington, DC on April 4. My reservation number was [redacted], for two passengers. I am requesting a full refund of our fare.
As soon as we stepped on board, we noticed that the A/C wasn’t working. Shortly after leaving, the driver informed us that it indeed had failed and was blowing heat only. On Sunday, in New York city, the temperature reached a high of 75 degrees, and being seated on top of the bus made for a very uncomfortable experience.
During the trip to Washington, the temperature and conditions became so uncomfortable for us that a woman seated behind us proceeded to sleep with her shirt up, revealing her bra and plenty of skin. On Easter Sunday, this was unacceptable, but given the circumstances, and ignoring the offensive behavior temporarily, somewhat understandable.
At the half way point, with the conditions only moderately improved after the driver opened the top vents, he was authorized a stop, due to the “emergency” we were experiencing, so we could get some refreshments. We were thankful that basically we were “allowed” to drink water while sweltering. This treatment is nothing short of inhumane.
Although advertised, your wi-fi service didn’t work on much of the ride, either, presumably the server was being fried due to the extreme heat.
I was really looking forward to riding Megabus, as it was my first time for my fiancé and me, and what we thought was a viable alternative to the train. However, we will be reconsidering other options in the future.
Sincerely,
Mark
I’ve found that the Megabus Twitter account was quite responsive to problems in the past, and they’re worth contacting in this case. The service makes it clear to passengers that lack of wi-fi does not justify a refund, but does over 4 hours of severe discomfort?
Trip report: Megabus from New York City to Washington, DC [The Consumer’s Edge]
SolarReserve, the Santa Monica, Calif., utility-scale solar thermal power developer, says it expects its $550 million, 100-megawatts Tonopah Solar Energy project to be fully permitted by the end of the year. The project is being developed on federal land in Nevada.
CEO Kevin Smith says it’s talking to project finance banks, which he declined to name. As G.E.R. reported SolarReserve is considering a combination of long-term bank debt and third-party equity. SolarReserve is also considering tapping the Department of Energy 1603 direct cash grants.
The grant program is set to expire at the end of the year — unless Congress extends them. The Tonopah project is one of 13 renewable energy projects on a DOE fast-track approval process, Smith says.
Is SolarReserve planning to raise more cash? Smith says that it’s well funded and has no plans to do so. The company raised $140 million in September 2008 as a part of a Series B round of funding led by Citi and U.S. Renewables Group, a greentech funder also based in Santa Monica.
Late last year Nevada power utility NV Energy signed a 25-year, power purchase agreement for the Tonopah output.
SolarReserve is also developing a 150-megawatt facility in California. Smith says the regulatory process with the California Energy Commission for that project will likely take longer because transmission lines connecting the power plant to the grid also have to be permitted.