didn't I tell you

There is a new thing to do in Sin City: Follow the trail of ‘The Amazing Race’ finalists who sprinted over Las Vegas, Nevada, in a quest to win a 1 million grand prize.

After zipping over 8 countries in 21 days, the competitors landed at McCarran International Airport and raced to the Graceland Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas Strip to get their next clue.

The chapel offers ‘Elvis wedding packages,’ full with Elvis Presley impersonators who walk the bride down the aisle and provide musical entertainment for the couple and guests, including performing ‘Viva Las Vegas’ at the final of the ceremony.

Next stop: Mandalay Bay, the all known resort and casino, where a competitors from each team had to rappel face first down the side of the gleaming 43-story building.

‘Thats the craziest thing Ive ever done,’ said Cheyne Whitney, who ended up winning the race with girlfriend Meghan Rickey at the end of the finale, which aired Sunday on CBS.

The hotel offers a such sight on a much smaller scale at its restaurant Aureole, where wine directors attached to mechanical hoists fetch bottles from a four-story wine tower.

Teams then raced to the theater at the Mirage, where they got a taste of Cirque du Soleils ‘The Beatles Love,’ and the Monte Carlo, where they had to count 1 million worth of poker chips.

Clues also led them to a high rollers suite at the MGM Grand and ‘Mr. Las Vegas’ Wayne Newton, who promulgated the finish line for this seasons race was his house: Casa de Shenandoah.

For those unfamiliar with ‘The Amazing Race,’ the hit reality television series takes a dozen two-member teams and sends them on a crazy, breakneck-pace journey around the world in search of clues that will lead them to the next station in the contest. The team who finish first gets 1 million.

cnn

Dubais stock market has fallen for the 2nd contiguous day on continuing fears about the main companies ability to repay debts.

The main Dubai Financial Market index fell 6.1%, after last down almost 6% on Monday.

Before two weeks, the World of Dubai asked for a six-month delay on debt payments. Credit agencies have since downgraded many leading Dubai companies.

The index of Dubai has now fallen with more than 20% since the extension supplication.

Tuesdays plunge was led by real estate developer Emaar Projects, which fell by 9.8%.

One of Dubai Worlds first main payments to bondholders in its possessions firm Nakheel is due next week.

‘Until there is some lucidity in debt restructure, there wont be some serious buyers (of shares),’ said Julian Bruce at EFG Hermes Holding in Dubai.

‘The closer we get to the Nakheel deadline without news, the worse it will be.’

The World of Dubai has some expensive priority, vastly its ports business, which includes Londons Tilbury Docks and Frances Le Havre.

Different items in its wide-ranging investment portfolio include the luxury retailer Barneys of New York, a list of high-end US hotels, and the Canadian acrobatic circus franchise, Cirque du Soleil.

bbc

It happened 68 years ago today, but Clarence J.M. Davis can yet quite clearly remember the din, confusion, frenzied activity and deadliness of the assault that propelled the United States into World War II.

The St. Marys County resident, now 86years old, is one of a few dozen known survivors of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor who are still alive and living in Maryland. He plans to mark the day, and remember the dead, at a ceremony scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at Marylands World War II Memorial, close to Route 450 close to Annapolis.

Much more than 2,400 Americans were killed in the unthought attack.

In the big village, the nonprofit Historic Ships in Baltimore is holding a detached recollection event onboard the USCGC Taney, a Coast Guard cutter that saw action that day.

Chris Rowsom, executive director of Historic Ships in Baltimore, said the Taney had been bedroom not at the Pearl Harbor naval base but in Honolulu. It fired on adversary planes as they flew by, Rowsom said, and it is the only ship militant that day that is still afloat.

The ship carried nine 16-inch guns with armor-piercing shells as well as multiple 5-inch anti-aircraft guns mounted on each side. ‘The shells of the 16-inch guns had a trajectory of 23 miles. They were huge.’ (WOW, I still cant understand why this ship is been attacked! .. )

They set sail into the Panama Canal where they ultimately had independence for a some days and then onto the San Francisco Navy Yard for their final preparation for war in the Pacific.

Exactly two people on the ship were hurt in the fighting, and both survived, he said. But the Oglala sank. It still strikes him as a miracle that he wasnt on that ship.

His son Mike called Pearl Harbor ‘a monumental event in American history’ and noted that his fathers organization works not only to memorialize the dead but to keep Pearl harbor in younger generations minds.

Tri training during the Off Season

I found this article

Triathlon Off Season Training

Dont you think good points are made there

I totally agree what what is said. Lots of triathlets take themselves too seriously and count
every mile or calorie.

Good training really does mean fun. I cant let myself going to the gym every day and worrying about precisely what I need to do.

Training for a triathlon is not easy at the best of times, so off season really is the moment to enjoy yourself.

Isnt triathlon a lonely sport

May be its a good idea to find a training partner for those long runs.

There was this in the news:

Consider his workouts at the College Park public pool, where hell start by plopping down poolside, taking off his prosthetic legs and jumping into the deep end.

The whole package will run roughly 50,000. Once he has the right limbs, Durbal plans to do the Hawaiian Ironman another first for a triple amputee.

His parents decided to have the malformed legs amputated before his first birthday so that their son could be fitted with prostheses.

We heard a hearsay that the Volkswagen Scirocco might be brought to India as Volkswagen Shirako/Shiroko, but that’s yet uncofirmed news, so it is better to take it with a pinch of salt. Volkswagen are known for their care to detail and commitment to quality when it comes to designing cars.

The vehicle is at the same time astonishingly nature-friendly, emitting carbon at 194 g/km, which is quite low compared to recent models by other companies. A lot of VW’s diffes, like the Jetta and Passat have enjoyed notable success both in their home country such as overseas.

The word Shiraco owes its origin to an Italian word called Sirocco that means stormy wind. Volkswagen also has some other felicitous models like Passatand Jetta, that are sold in huge numbers in domestic and international market. Shiraco differs from the other autos as it sports two petrol and one diesel engine. The interior of the Shiraco is pretty stately with high quality materials and backlit controls that give it an aura of elegance.

The main thing that sets the Shirako apart from all other autos is that it offers three engines two petrol-based ones and a diesel engine.

This VW Model has a feature named adaptive Chassis Control. It makes use of a computer guided suspension to provide a smooth driving experience to the riders. The control in the Shiraco is detailed and works very well. It is actually not a auto for the budget deliberate buyers.

Anyway, the Volkswagen brand name is associated with class and elegance.

thaindian

Even with bad publicity, Tiger Woods seems to soar past the rest. In probably the most publicized bit of bad driving the world has ever seen, in a story that might have gotten a one-inch mention in the national newspaper if it had been you or me or the placekicker for the Cleveland Browns, Tiger Woods early-morning wreck has gone on to enlist alleged scandal, possibly driving under the influence, domestic abuse.

The media has created a superficial monster of hyperbolic proportions, superfluous of substance and newsworthiness. Is this where MTV and the never-ending onslaught of reality shows have taken us?

The Tiger Woods story has just taken over the media. It was the lead story Friday evening on the ‘CBS Evening News.’ It has taken over TMZ, with two out of every three stories having something to do with some aspect of the Tiger Woods affairs or car crash. It has taken over the internet, with one or more trending topics having been in the Top 5 since Friday, when the car crash first came to light.

bleacherreport

Last night, President Barack Obama traveled to the oldest military academy in the United States to reveal his highly-touted strategy to fetch assurance to Afghanistan and eliminate terrorist safe havens that threaten the region and the world.

‘West Point, N.Y. became the epicenter of a graves issue: the way onward in Afghanistan,’ stated Donna Miles of the Pentagons press office.

Emphasizing the need to provide the strategy and resources Obama said had been lacking since the United States went into Afghanistan, Obama claimed his war plan is going to provide whats needed to succeed and bring the U.S. mission there to an end.

Obama conceded that his strategy i going to have a deep impact on its most direct audience: thousands of Army officers in training at the U.S. Military Academy who will be called on to carry it out.

According to President Obamas plan, the distribution of additional groups would factor in the current U.S. footprint in Afghanistan, which contains about 68,000 troops — a mixture of contest forces and trainers — spread throughout, but with the east and south serving as focal points. Troops under NATO’s command add a complement of 42,000 troops.

The Obamas plan also demands much from Afghanistan, calling on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to help grow Afghan security forces rapidly, provide better governance at the local and popular levels. Deployment lengths for U.S. service members is going to remain about the same — seven months for Marines, and 12 months for soldiers. With the planned decrease in U.S. forces in Iraq to 50,000 by August 2010

However, Obama stated that only 30,000 more troops would be deployed, far fewer than the 60,000 originally requested by General Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commanding officer in Afghanistan, or the 40,000 many anticipated as a agreement.

examiner nydailynews

Deep-fried turkey has its benefits: It cooks very quickly. Its non-greasy. And its deliciously moist.

But getting that deep-fried turkey on the Thanksgiving table today can be a dangerous task if the cook is negligent.

County firemen and safety experts are urging residents to oven-roast turkeys the traditional way and leave the deep-frying to Food Network pros..

Though the taste of a deep-fried turkey is sure to please the palate, officials at Underwriters Laboratories worry backyard chefs are sacrificing safety for a tasty dish. They say the growing up number of fires related to turkey fryers is a risk that outweighs the benefits of the appliance.

In fact, the produce safety testing service has rated deep-frying a turkey as so dangerous, it will not certify any turkey fryers with the UL mark, said Division Chief Michael Cox, a county Fire Department spokesman..

For those who went with frozen poultry, thawing the turkey may be top of mind. Check out foodsafety.gov for cooking and safety tips. But if the turkey is frozen, you can still pop it in the oven and cook. Just plan on 50% more cook time than you would for the unfrozen kind. For ‘turkey cooking time per pound,’ you can also check out the guide from Whole Foods Market. If you need extra hand-holding on the big day with the big turkey , Butterball is standing by for your cooking questions. . .

Save on Car Insurance

But there are some steps you can take to help bring down the cost.

If you are buying a car, keep in mind that your choice of vehicle will help determine how much you pay for insurance.
Cheap Auto Insurance California
But the premium for the same policy would jump to 803 if he was driving a 2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.Insurance rates are based on the price of the car, how often that model is stolen and its safety record, says Jeanne Salvatore, senior vice president at the Insurance Information Institute.

State program offers low-cost car insurance

High unemployment in the central San Joaquin Valley is driving fear that more motorists are going without auto insurance because they cant afford it.

The most recent estimates from 2007 suggest that 18% of Californians did not have automobile insurance, said Darrell Ng, associate deputy commissioner for the state Department of Insurance. That was more than in any year since 1997, according to department estimates.
Detroit Car Insurance Quotes
For a family of four, its 55,125 per year.

Such coverage carried an annual premium ranging between 632 and 2,200 for a married couple in 2007, according to a Department of Insurance survey of insurance companies.

But for qualifying low-income families, the low-cost insurance program — offered at 258 per year in Fresno County — satisfies the states financial-responsibility law by providing 10,000 of coverage per person or 20,000 per accident for bodily injury and 3,000 for property damage liability.
Seattle Car Insurance Quotes
The basic insurance is catching on with motorists. In the first 10 months of 2009, the number of drivers enrolled in Fresno County has more than doubled, from 311 to 707. Similar growth is reported in other Valley counties. But officials say they believe there are thousands of drivers in the Valley who qualify but likely dont know about it.

I miss Ronnie Brown

The Dolphins season nearly came to an end earlier today.

It won’t be long the way things looked during a 25-23 win against the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Rookie Kory Sperry, who was promoted Saturday from the practice squad, was one of the surprises of the day (three catches, 31 yards, 1 TD).

The Dolphins didn’t seem to miss LB Joey Porter much, either.

Quarterback Chad Henne showed some grit during his last-minute field-goal drive, making throws of 35 and 16 yards to Davone Bess.

Tampa Bay’s TD makes 96 points scored against Miami in the fourth quarter, second-worst in the NFL to Buffalo (101, including 24 Sunday).

Running back Ricky Williams had a big day, finishing with 102 rushing yards, capped by a 27-yard scamper to set up the game-winning FG.

1. Running back Lex Hilliard is likely to get his chance this week. But with no carries this season, will Hilliard be ready?

It was performances like that that earned him a spot on the Miami roster, though to be fair he’s retained it until now with strong special teams play.

Miami will need a strong running game against Carolina, whose own running game entered this week’s games leading the NFC in rushing. Just as Brown and Ricky Williams were a great 1-2 punch, Hilliard and Williams make for a tandem that could pound away at a Carolina run defense, which was ranked 23rd entering the weekend.

2. Linebacker Charlie Anderson made a bigger impact than Joey Porter has all season. But Anderson’s inconsistency, not his talent, has held him back.

{Anderson stepped in for Porter and had one of his best games in two seasons as a Dolphin, with five solo tackles, including a sack, and two forced fumbles.

Anderson, a sixth-year pro, showed big-time flashes a few times a season ago, highlighted by his performance in Toronto against Buffalo (four solos, a sack, two FFs). He followed it with nice outing against San Francisco, including a key sack late in the game.

But Porter has been banged-up and played at a sub-par level, so Anderson needs to build on Sunday’s performance.

3. Kicker Dan Carpenter answered the challenge of training camp nemesis Connor Barth.

Barth did his job, and the team released him.

But the move made sense, given Carpenter had proven himself to be a consistent and clutch kicker for Miami as a rookie in 2008.