World Of Tourism

Regional supply and distribution

ħCentered tightly in

Midwest

ħNot generally available in

more heavily populated

areas on West Coast, East

Coast

E85 Service Station Locations in US

Further compounding these difficulties is the somewhat limited availability of

E85.

High distribution costs, mainly, restricts it’s use to a concentrated region in the

Midwest. (If you’re in Minnesota, you probably don’t have much of a problem

finding an E85 station, but the rest of us have to hunt around a bit to find them).

For future growth, obviously, this regional limitation must be overcome—either

through improved distribution means or, better yet, through utilization of more

While searching through the horror stories in the news this morning, to find some inspiration to write about something topical and interesting, I drew a frustrating blank. All the stories follow the same pattern and when you write a blog ever day it eventually becomes hard to find something to write about. Could just be me though....writers block and all that jazz.

My mind started to wander as I looked at story after story of more and more horrific acts committed by people and I thought about being grateful. Simple concept, I realize but it seems that the simple concepts in this life are easily dismissed, do I even need to bring up "He's Just Not That Into You?" Yesterday while grocery shopping, I was horrified at the price of food and by the time I had packed the packets into the boot of my car, I had my head on my steering wheel ready to let out a self pitying wail of sadness. As I drove home, I started feeling more and more sorry for myself. Questions raced through my mind, "How am I going to make it to the end of the month?", "Why can't I have more money?", "My life is so horrible!! What am I going to do?" by the time I got home, I was completely miserable and found myself like a snapping turtle and anything anyone said made me want to lash out.

It's just my nature to be a worry wart, I seem to make it every month, not well but I do. As I wallowed in my misery, my 14 year old brother looked at me and said in a very even voice "It could be worse, think of my friend." It hit me like a ton of bricks. His friend who is the same age as him lost his mother two years ago and now lives with his 10 year old brother and their father who is dieing of HIV/AIDS. One morning while my mother was lifting this boy to school along with my brother they started talking and she realized that these kids didn't have money for food and that they were hungry every morning when they went to school.

That broke my heart, I have food on my table every night, I have a roof over my head and truth be told a damn good family that would do anything for me and here I was wallowing in self pity when a boy much younger than me has to deal with the harsh realities of life way before he should be. My grandfather, admittedly not a very wise man, once told me something that really stuck with me, he said, " If you sat around a table with a bunch of strangers and all put your problems on it, you would snatch yours back very quickly". Wise words. So the next time you check your bank balance and want to crawl in the depths of depression remember that you are so much luckier than most. I know it's a cliche people but sometimes the cliche's hold some powerful truths we just have to be wise enough to see it. We are all powerful and there is nothing that can get us down, we are adaptable, cunning and intelligent. We have it all on our side, we just need to learn how to use our skills and overcome any obstacle that stands in our way. Have a wonderful week readers!

Mazarrón-born artist Blas Miras is exhibiting some of his paintings and sculptures in the cultural space of the Town Hall building (espacio cultural del inmueble de las Casas Consistoriales) until Friday 25th September; the exhbition is open from Mondays to Saturdays from 10.00-14.00 (10am to 2pm) and on Thursdays and Fridays from 17.00-20.00 (5pm to 8pm).The exhibition of works by Blas Miras is

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) provides authorized for-hire motor carrier, freight forwarder and property broker licensing and insurance data to the industry and public via telephone requests and paper reports. This web site makes it possible to offer this information electronically. All information displayed via a database query is public information which has long been available under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The licensing and insurance information about authorized for-hire motor carriers, freight forwarders and property brokers, provided free-of-charge, is the real-time, up-to-date information contained in the FMCSA Licensing & Insurance database. Licensing application and insurance information will appear on this web site as soon as it is manually entered into the L&I database by FMCSA staff or electronically filed by authorized insurance filers.

A young girl abducted at the age of 11 finally gets free after 18 years and what does she have to show for it? Two kids, used as a sex slave and living in a tent for all that time. Jaycee Lee Dugard was stripped of her innocence and forced to live a life that can only be described as inhumane. The culprits are Mr and Mrs Garrido. I will be honest and say that this story has made me feel sick to my stomach and am I the only one that is recognizing the fact that this is happening more and more often??

What amazes me is the fact that these people can get away with this. I live in an area that admittedly has some really nosy people in it and I cant help but wonder if it's so different any where else, someone, somewhere, must have realized that something was going on. I don't like nosy people and I will be the first to say that people can really get irritating when they are constantly in your business but surely there is a middle ground? A place where things like this can be noticed and action can be taken accordingly.

Besides Jaycee and the two children she will now have to raise, who will likely look like the man that put her through this horrific ordeal, I feel so incredibly sorry for her parents. Can you even begin to imagine not knowing what has happened to your child? Living for 18 years, wondering if she's ok? If she's hurt? If she's dead? Two soulless pigs have ruined so many innocent lives and I truly believe that they should be shown absolutely no mercy. In fact, they are lucky I don't run the country because if it were up to me they would suffer a punishment worse than death.

Selecting which vehicle to purchase is the most important fuel economy decision you'll make.

The difference between a car that gets 20 MPG and one that gets 30 MPG amounts to $610 per year (assuming 15,000 miles of driving annually and a fuel cost of $2.44).

That's $3,050 extra in fuel costs over five years!

Have you ever seen something on the news and wondered "what the hell is the point of that?" I understand that life can be painfully boring but when I see an event that makes no sense to me whatsoever I can't help but wonder why we entertain ourselves with pointless exercises. This is purely my opinion and truth be told I haven't experienced this particular event for myself but I doubt if I would enjoy it.

I'm talking about Tomatina, in Valencia. The event that requires participants to throw tomatoes at each other, a messy affair. It's the world's largest tomato fight, I feel a pang of sadness typing that. 45 000 people from all over the world gather to hurl 120 tonnes of tomatoes around the streets. Again I ask, What is the point?

I suppose I will never truly understand why people find certain things to do fun. maybe I need to experience this for myself to understand the fun behind it? Although the thought of being covered from head toe in tomatoes is not something I'm particularly keen on doing but who knows, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised?

Tests suggest that replacing a clogged air filter on an older car with a carbureted engine may improve fuel economy 2 to 6 percent under normal replacement conditions or up to 14 percent if the filter is so clogged that it significantly affects drivability.

The effect of a clogged air filter on diesel vehicles will be tested in the near future.

Yogyakarta Sultanate or Kesultanan Yogyakarta is a monarchy in the province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Yogyakarta is known as the second most important tourist destination in Indonesia besides Bali. Most tourists come to Yogyakarta for its strong Javanese culture and tradition, makes it prominent among other Javanese cities. Along with Surakarta or Solo, a city lies about 64 km to the east, Yogyakarta becomes the center of Javanese culture.

Yogyakarta Sultanate or Kesultanan Yogyakarta is a monarchy in the province of Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Yogyakarta is known as the second most important tourist destination in Indonesia besides Bali. Most tourists come to Yogyakarta for its strong Javanese culture and tradition, makes it prominent among other Javanese cities. Along with Surakarta or Solo, a city lies about 64 km to the east, Yogyakarta becomes the center of Javanese culture.

You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.24 per gallon for gas.

Observing the speed limit is also safer.

From the title I'm sure you can tell that I've recently watched the movie. Let me start off by saying that when the "He's Not That Into You" book mania happened, I thought I was being clever by not being sucked into the hype of something that is clearly so very obvious, so when I was approached by a very intelligent friend who convinced me to at least give the movie a chance, I was intrigued. Surely someone with a good head on their shoulders wouldn't be fooled by a money making scheme that states what we already know?

Women are smart, we don't need to be told when a man is not interested, the signs are all there! So I sat on my couch, feeling like a very superior woman, popcorn in the one hand and a cooldrink in the other and I delved into the world of "He's Just Not That Into You".

Wake up call is an understatement. Who knew such a simple concept would be so very profound? Apart from the compulsory Hollywood ending, the one where everyone ends up happy and in love, the beginning and middle part struck a chord. It was amazing to see how we rationalize things, how we seek hidden meanings and run straight into a concrete wall willingly. Some of the excuses and rationalizations I had used personally! Things like "Maybe he just doesn't have airtime", "Maybe he's just come out of a serious relationship" or my favorite, "He'll definitely call".

I was proved wrong and admittedly sucked into the hype of "He's Just Not That Into You". Things that never made sense before suddenly became so clear, I am officially a walking cliche but I feel enlightened. I feel like so many situations I have found myself in, could have easily been avoided if I had been equipped with this knowledge. It's the secret all over again. Let me end this by saying that now that I have the answer that so many of us women search for, I'm going to use it and take back my power.

Sustainable energy use is energy use that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their energy needs. Achieving sustainable energy use requires that energy be

• Developed from renewable resources

• Produced by cleaner, more-efficient technologies

• Used more efficiently and with greater conservation

Almost all of the cars and trucks we drive run on fuels derived from oil, which is non-renewable. While there is some debate as to how long this resource will last, we will eventually have to find new ways to power highway vehicles.

Researchers are hard at work exploring new fuels and vehicle technologies:

• 

  Hybrids, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are areas of intense research, along with efficient technologies for gasoline and diesel vehicles.

• Renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel can help offset petroleum use.

• Other fossil fuels such as coal, shale oil, tar sands, and natural gas are another possibility.

In the meantime, it makes sense to use fossil resources such as oil more efficiently to buy time to develop new and better energy sources and to make the transition to these sources smoother and less expensive.

After the first very successful barbecue held by the Neighbourhood Concern Gardening Group at Mazarron Country Club in mid-July, plans are now well underway for a second fundraising barbecue in early September. Obviously the word is being passed around MCC about the next barbecue and posters are being displayed there so people know about it. I'm happy to include below a copy of the poster they

Jasmine Fiore, if you haven't heard about her by now, you've been living under a rock. She's the playboy model that's recently been murdered and her husband is the prime suspect, only problem is, he's disappeared. Reality TV contestant Ryan Alexander Jenkins is wanted in connection with her death after her mutilated body was found stuffed in a suitcase.

It looks to be a clear case of obsessive jealousy because as it turns out Jasmine was texting her ex Robert Hasman, after her death he received a text simply saying "suck it" sent from her phone from the killer, apparently her other half. I've always been fascinated by these barbie women, the women who spend their lives perfecting their looks and living a life of sex and decadence, in a way it sounds like a lot of fun and when we watch shows like Girls of the Playboy Mansion, we almost envy their lives but the reality of what these girls go through is a lot different to what we like to think it is. Surgeries, sex, most likely drugs, being treated as objects instead of people, it can't be all its cracked up to be.

When things like this happen it makes people like us, the regular joes, realize that the world of glitz and glamour has a nasty side that has no mercy. This woman, who was beautiful and probably had very low self esteem, was mutilated and shoved into a suitcase. She had to be identified by the serial number on her breast implant because her teeth and fingers had been removed. Where the hell is the dignity in that?

Women are starting to lose perspective. We need to start realizing that WE have the power. Embrace your crooked nose, love your small breasts, celebrate being a natural woman, we are all beautiful and we need to start recognizing it, low self esteem is making women who are naturally unique and special end up in dumpsters in a suit case. Love yourself!!! I promise its the way forward!

(Please see UPDATE at end)Traffic volumes on the Cartagena-Vera extension of the AP7 motorway have fallen far short of expectations during its first two plus years of operation, largely attributed to the fact that for almost the whole of its length it is a toll road (98 of 114 Km length) and exacerbated by the recession which has accelerated the deterioration in usage levels in the last year.A

The project to construct a covered swimming pool in Mazarrón, plus the maintenance and operation of the facility for a period of 40 years, is now open to tender. The project was published on 20AUG (search under the 'Bookmarks' section) in page 46247 of the Official Journal of the Murcia Region (BORM) under paragraph 13557 and the announcement is included in the Mazarrón municipality website here.

Employment in water transportation occupations is projected to grow faster than average. Good job opportunities are expected.

Employment change. Employment in water transportation occupations is projected to grow 16 percent over the 2006-2016 period, faster than the average for all occupations. Job growth will stem from increasing tourism and growth in offshore oil and gas production. Employment will also increase in and around major port cities due to rapidly increasing international trade.

Employment in deep-sea shipping for American mariners is expected to remain stable. A fleet of deep-sea U.S.-flagged ships is considered vital to the Nation’s defense, so some receive Federal support through a maritime security subsidy and other provisions in laws that limit certain Federal cargoes to ships that fly the U.S. flag.

Employment growth also is expected in passenger cruise ships within U.S. waters. Vessels that operate between U.S. ports are required by law to be U.S.-flagged vessels. The staffing needs for several new U.S. flagged cruise ships that will travel to the Hawaiian Islands will create new opportunities for employment. In addition, increasing use of ferries to handle commuter traffic around major metropolitan areas should increase employment.

Some growth in water transportation occupations is projected in vessels operating in the Great Lakes and inland waterways. Growth will be driven by increasing demand for bulk products, such as coal, iron ore, petroleum, sand and gravel, grain, and chemicals. Since current pipelines cannot transport ethanol, some growth will come from shipping ethanol. Problems with congestion in the rail transportation system will increase demand for inland water transportation.

Job prospects. Good job opportunities will result from growth and the need to replace those leaving the occupation. Most water transportation occupations require workers to be away from home for extended periods of time, causing some to leave these jobs.

Maritime academy graduates who have not found licensed shipboard jobs in the U.S. merchant marine find jobs in related industries. Many academy graduates are ensigns in the Naval or Coast Guard Reserve; some are selected or apply for active duty in those branches of the Service. Some find jobs as seamen on U.S.-flagged or foreign-flagged vessels, tugboats, and other watercraft or enter civilian jobs with the U.S. Navy or Coast Guard. Some take land-based jobs with shipping companies, marine insurance companies, manufacturers of boilers or related machinery, or other related jobs.

Courtesy of www.spain-recipes.com

This is the real Chicken Paella recipe , an alternate way of tasting authentic Spanish recipes.

* Serves: 6
* Difficulty: Intermediate
* Preparation time: 60-90 minutes

Ingredients

* 1/2 pint of oil
* 1 chicken, cut to 8 pieces
* 2 bowls of rice (1lb. 5 oz. approximately)
* 5 bowls of meat broth
* 1 green pepper
* 1 red pepper
* 1 small can of peas
* 1 small onion
* 2 tomatoes
* Saffron
* 1 clove of garlic (optional)
* Parsley
* Salt

Preparation

Start by heating half of the oil and once warm add the cut chicken and let it cook for 15 min. Once it's brown, reserve it in a dish. Add the chopped onion. After 5 minutes, add diced tomatoes, without seeds and peeled.

Let it braise about 5 minutes more, mashing the tomatoes with a skimmer. Strain it and throw it in the paella pan.

Add the rest of the oil to the paella pan. Throw the green pepper, cut to square pieces of half inch. Add the fried chicken. Keep stirring with a wooden tablespoon, without letting it go brown. Throw salt, and the meat broth, hot but not boiling. This is completed with the 5 broth bowls.

Shake the paella pan a little taking it by the handles so that it is broth flows all over. All this should be made to medium fire.

Meanwhile, in a mortar mash a little bit of garlic (optional), the parsley and the saffron, with a little bit of salt so that it doesn't slip, and it wet it with a couple of soup spoonfuls of temperate water. Spill this mixture on the rice and shake again the paella pan.

When the broth has reduced to the half decorate the paella with the red pepper cut to ribbons, and the peas.

Let it cook about 20 minutes.

Once the rice is cooked and the broth has reduced, retire the paella pan from the fire, on a wet cloth, leaving it rest for about 5 minutes.

Serve it with some big clusters of lemon without peeling like decoration.

Market and Economic Criteria

In assessing applications a determination will be made on whether the Government’s support represents value for the use of public money.

Financial reports and internal business plans containing information on demand forecasts; cost forecasts; financial forecasts, documents that are submitted to an investment committee and that elaborate on various investment scenarios and/or documents provided to the financial markets by applicants are all likely to be helpful in assessing both 'additionality' and economic benefits as outlined below.

Additionality

In assessing additionality, the following will be taken into account:

1. Counterfactual analysis: assessment of an application will seek to understand how the firm’s activity would be different with and without this guarantee or loan. The difference between the two scenarios is considered to be the impact of the aid measure and describes the incentive effect of the guarantee or loan.
2. Level of profitability: if a proposal would not, in itself, be profitable to undertake for a private undertaking, but would generate important benefits for society, it is more likely that the guarantee will have an incentive effect. To evaluate the overall profitability, analytical methods used might include evaluating the Net Present Value (NPV), the internal rate of return (IRR) and/or the return of capital employed (ROCE) on the project.
3. Amount of investment and time path of cash flows: high start-up investment costs, limited appropriable cash flows and a significant fraction of cash flows arising in the very far future should be considered positive elements in assessing the additionality of an award under AAP.
4. Level of risk involved in the proposal – support is less likely to be additional where the proposal is low risk

Economic Benefits

All proposals should contribute positive benefits to the economy. This means that the value of the tangible and intangible benefits must exceed the level of subsidy provided by the guarantee or loan. The net economic benefit of the proposal will be calculated drawing on the financial information for the proposal and market analysis.

Where there may be wider benefits not captured within the firm’s own data, these will also be assessed, they are likely to include:

1. Research and Development activity: Often, where research and development is undertaken the benefits of the activity spread beyond the firm that invested. The assessment of economic benefits will take into account information from the applicant about their research and development plans to judge whether there may in fact be wider economic benefits. In this case, such benefits are likely to be priced in line with the EC R&D&I framework.
2. General training: Where a firm invests in training, the benefits of improving the skills level of the workforce can be felt beyond the firm. Where this may be the case, such benefits are likely to be priced in line with the EU General Block Exemption training aid guidelines, so applicants will need to state whether they have training plans as part of their proposals.

In addition, an assessment will be made of whether the support represents value for money in terms of the employment created or safeguarded. The applicant should provide details of the jobs that (a) will be created and/or (b) will be safeguarded as a result of the proposal going forward. This should include details of both the skills and salary levels of the jobs created or safeguarded. In determining value for money, the level of deprivation and local labour market conditions will also be taken into account.

Technology Criteria

Applicants must provide the following information about their proposed projects covering how innovation will deliver reduced carbon emissions:

1. Is the proposal related to vehicle production? If yes, please provide details of how the new production process(es) will reduce carbon emissions, reduce the use of hazardous substances, and/or improve resource efficiency. Where relevant, please explain how the new process(es) will:

• Adopt renewable energy sources;
• Minimise heat loss;
• Provide more efficient water use;
• Introduce water-based/low solvent emission paint technologies;
• Reduce exposure to hazardous substances;
• Increase recycling of waste materials from production.

2. Is the proposal related to vehicle use? If yes, please provide details of how the project will ensure compliance with, or exceed the requirements of, the following European regulations on vehicle carbon emissions and air quality (where applicable):

• EU CO² regulations on cars
• EU CO² regulations on vans
• Euro 6 regulations on cars (air quality)
• Euro V/VI regulations on HGVs (air quality)
• European Directive 2004/26/EC (construction equipment sector)

3. For proposals related to vehicle use, please provide details of the technology that will deliver lower carbon emissions; for example, through innovation in vehicle design or engine technology.

4. For proposals covering both vehicle production and vehicle use, please provide a summary assessment of the contribution which the new technology will make to reducing carbon emissions over the life cycle of the vehicle.

5. For proposals covering both vehicle production and vehicle use, please provide an assessment of the research and development requirements of the project, including the R&D stages for which support is sought [basic, applied and/or demonstration].

6. For proposals covering both vehicle production and vehicle use, please provide details of opportunities for suppliers to contribute to the project, both in terms of intellectual property and manufacturing opportunities.

7. For proposals covering vehicle use, please provide an assessment of the technology’s wider market potential. What contribution will it make to vehicle sales?

Financial Criteria

1. Guarantees may potentially be provided to support the following investment areas directly linked to the project:

• Research & development (basic research, applied research and demonstration)
• Capital expenditure – e.g. investment in new production facilities; new materials; prototyping; tooling; land and building costs – but in all cases linked to the project and the project’s duration
• Staff costs linked to the project
• Training costs linked to the project

Recoverable indirect taxes are excluded.

2. The applicant must provide evidence of having exhausted private sector sources before seeking either a guarantee or loan eg. evidence that a bank/banks have refused to fund. In general, HMG would expect to offer loan guarantees rather than direct loans to minimise the risk to the tax payer. Applicants seeking loans must demonstrate why the project cannot be financed on the basis of a Government guarantee or a third party loan and ensure their project is in line with EU Commission conditions for loans. It must also give details and demonstrate how and when the guarantee/loan will no longer be required/repaid.

3. In accordance with the European Commission’s Temporary State Aid Framework, under which this support scheme is provided, the following conditions as a minimum must be met and we would ask applicants to provide evidence demonstrating²:

• that the company is viable and, in particular, was not a firm in difficulty before 1 July 2008 according to the EU Commission’s view of what constitutes a firm in difficulty . The EU Commission regards a firm as being in difficulty in where it has lost more than half its capital, and more than a quarter of it over the previous 12 months.
• That the maximum guarantee or loan sought does not exceed the total annual wage bill of the applicant (including social charges and the cost of on site subcontractors) for 2008.
• Under the current EU Commission’s Temporary State Aid Framework, guarantees or loans must be granted by no later than 31 December 2010.
• Loans must be specifically linked to projects that involve early adaptation to or go beyond future European Community product standards on environmental protection.

The applicant should provide evidence that their application meets the above conditions, particularly on viability.

4. The Government is likely to require part or all of any guarantee or loan to be secured against the applicant’s assets and/or those of a parent company (where applicable), depending on the risk exposure for the taxpayer. The applicant must provide a summary of assets, including their current value, that are available to provide security.

5. The Government will charge an appropriate fee or interest rate to reflect HMG’s administrative costs and expected risk involved and with the aim of ensuring that the Government achieves good commercial value. The actual fee or rate will be set on a case by case basis and must comply with State Aid law. The Government is prepared to use the flexibilities available under the Temporary Community framework for State aid measures to support access to finance in the current financial and economic crisis in arriving at the appropriate fee or rate for the loan guarantee/loan.

I think many of us consider ourselves open minded but are we really? When I read in the news this morning that a woman in Spain is facing jail time after falsely claiming rape so that she would be permitted an abortion, my immediate thoughts surprised me, I immediately judged her and thought that she was getting what was coming to her, anyone who cries wolf in the case of rape should be punished. I realized that I had thought that without considering her circumstances. I've never walked a mile in her shoes, who am I to judge?

The story is that she had an affair and was carrying her lovers child and she didn't want to get caught by her husband. She seems to be digging herself a grave here, but I started wondering how desperate she must have been not to be found out. Relationships are complicated things, don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise and we all know the saying, you only know what you got till it's gone. So let's have a look at what happened, she was with her husband for many years, the romance had fizzled out and a new man paid a little more attention to her, being a hot blooded woman she succumbed to the advances and found herself in a very scary situation.

I'm not saying that fabricating a crime is in any way alright but I think she is paying a very hefty price for being human. Someone said to me the other day that they would never cheat on their partner, I was shocked to hear that, ever heard of the phrase "never say never". None of us know what the future holds and the only constant in our lives is change.

The next time you feel the need, as I did, to judge someone, stop and think for a second about what that person is going through and why they felt the need to do what they did. We all make mistakes and sometimes we pay a very big price but it's all part and parcel of the process. Live and learn.....Live and learn....