1. Accepting a Friendly Stranger
2. Sitting Politely for Petting
3. Appearance and Grooming
4. Out For a Walk
5. Walking Through a Crowd
6. Sit and Down on Command/ Staying in Place
7. Coming When Called
8. Reaction to Another Dog 
9. Reaction to Distractions 
10. Supervised Separation

The TDI requires that the dog be acclimated to medical equipment (i.e. wheelchairs, canes), infirmaries, (such as uneven gait, coughing and the like) and nail the "leave it!" command. Also, the dog must not demonstrate any negative reaction to children. The purpose of the TDI is for the dog to provide comfort to those in hospitals or other care settings, or for children to practice their skills by reading to dogs in libraries and schools. These dogs help to heal, improve emotional well-being and provide companionship. 

Millie has been training for this for quite sometime. During her Advanced class, Millie did extremely well in all of these areas. She took a mock test the last night of class and struggled a bit in two areas: meeting another dog (she wanted to play so bad with the other dog. The mock test did take place after "The Incident," but Millie, to this day, has no issue with dogs that she knows, like in class.) and leave it (she didn't eat dinner, it was almost 9 p.m. and she was hungry and very tempted by the bowl of treats on the floor.). Her trainer was very optimistic about Millie passing the real test. 

The test was scheduled for this past July. We were all set to take the test, but realized that Millie had to be one year old in order to take the TDI. She was a month shy of her first birthday. We could have taken the CGC aspects of the test, but would have to retake the CGC parts of the test again when Millie was eligible for the TDI. We opted to wait and do it all at once. Strike one. 

Tonight was the next time our trainer offered the tests. I worked Millie to the bone last week. We practiced loose leash walking, leave it, and sitting politely for a stranger (she just gets too excited and craves attention). I was feeling pretty darn good about this test date until I remembered the other dog that will be in the test. Dammit. I talked to Millie's trainer about this and her fear aggression and the odds of her passing the test with a dog in the room. Millie's come a long way with her fear aggression, but still has a long way to go. We decided to wait until the next test date. Strike two. 

You do not know the extent of my frustration. It brings me to tears. I desperately wanted Millie to pass these tests because she's a pit bull and I hoped for her to be an ambassador for her breed. Like Leo, a former Vick dog.

I've not given up hope. Millie is a good ambassador for her breed already. We're not going to strike out next time. Third time's a charm.

Apparently it will be named the Estoque. Not much technical info has been found, but you can put your money on an LP560-4 motor.

I'm still not completely cleared up on whether it will be AWD of FR layout. I would predict AWD, though.

The front end is very typical Lamborghini, aside from the horizontally mounted headlight cluster. A few interesting details are the Italian flag over the side vent(may not make it to production) side-view mirrors and the coloured text on the tires. Wheels on the Lamborghini are as typically aggressive as their other designs, not many other companies besides Lamborghini would be able to pull off running wheels like that on their production cars.

Back end of the car feels almost like a exaggerated Camaro, but the lights and lower bumper area + diffuser make up for it.Pretty Reventon-esque.Some of the styling could be better, but it will look better than the Panamera, at least.This Lamborghini is one good(and fast) way to get to school.

Can't wait for an Estoque vs. Quattroporte vs. Panamera vs. Rapide battle.

Here's more photos along with the press release.

http://www.netcarshow.com/lamborghini/2008-estoque_concept/

Go to the Texas Department of Insurance  website for answers to questions you may have. I will be happy to help you learn more about Title companies, what they do, what they should do and how best to protect yourself through the real estate transaction.

Aquesta setmana a Bloc.tdi repassem l’agenda cultural de les comarques TDI: curtmetratges, teatre, clàssics del cinema, festivals de música i exposicions seran els punts forts dels propers set dies.

I recordeu que encara ens queda pendent celebrar el final de l’Any Europeu del Diàleg Intercultural; un esdeveniment que organitza, arreu del continent, activitats per conèixer les diferents cultures que l’integren.

• Informa't i participa en les activitats i esdeveniments que s'estan fent al voltant de l'Any Europeu del Diàleg Intercultural
• A  www.festivalaltaveu.cat  podràs consultat tota la programació del vintè Festival de Música de Sant Boi de Llobregat, l'Altaveu 2008. Hi tocaran The Pinker Tones, Roger Mas, Sílvia Pérez, Joan Díez, Manos de Topo, La casa azul, Teresa Salgueiro, Mishima, Miqui Puig, Marc Parrot, Kodjo Senyo o Tired Hippo entre molts altres artistes.
• Consulta on i quan pots anar a veure Fama, el musical!
• No et perdis el XVIII Festival Terra de Trobadors de Castelló d'Empúries!
• Temps moderns es projectarà a Verges el proper dia 11, amb música en directe de Joan Díaz.
• Els curtmetratges Fet i Amagar estan seleccionats del millor que es va presentar a l'Animac Lleida en la seva edició del 2006,
• Coneix l'obra gràfica del Grup Ravar

John y Helen Taylor se profesan un amor mutuo y también aman la conducción eficiente. Son una pareja conocida dehypermilers, con más de 80 premios a lo largo del Mundo por el rendimiento que le sacan a los depósitos, tienen 26 años de experiencia en el tema.

A su lado me considero un puñetero aficionado, en serio. Ahora su reto es atravesar Estados Unidos mejoran el consumo del Guiness: 4,56 l/100 Km. Su montura es un Volkswagen Jetta TDI de serie, con un 2.0 common-rail de 140 CV de potencia.

Volkswagen apuesta fuerte por su coche de gasóleo en un mercado en que la gasolina es una religión, pero como los tiempos están cambiando… De momento han atravesado la mitad de los 48 estados con una media de4,0016 l/100 Km.

Están contando con el apoyo de Volkswagen y de la petrolera Shell, utilizando su mejor gasóleo.

Now, I will step down off of my soapbox and tell you how I came to find out that I have trouble processing the idea of working for a monthly paycheck.  The moment I start getting a regular paycheck, I seem to stop doing the work that caused me to get the regular paycheck.  Some people would call me lazy.  Others would see the truth - that my motivation does not stem from a monthly paycheck.  In fact, regular income in the form of a monthly paycheck signals that the challenge is gone.  I'm totally driven by challenges.  Most of my jobs have involved me going into an organization and tackling a major challenge they are facing.  Once that problem is solved - hasta la vista.  Either I look for another challenge within that organization or find another organization with a similar challenge.  Receiving a salary means that my project is over and I'm expected to solve the same challenge on a regular basis.  To me, solving the same challenge on a regular basis isn't a challenge at all.  As the saying goes "same scene, different day."  Think about it, when an organization has faith in you and your ability as an employee, you receive a salary.  Most people would dream of job opportunities that I've been offered, some of which I've kicked myself for not taking.  But I know the truth; I'm a great worker - but a horrible employee.  I guess that's why I'm self-employed. 

One major challenge of the self-employed is money.  Generally, people who work for themselves fall in one of three categories.  They are:

• Making a lot of money but don't have time for the 3 Fs - family, friends and fun
• Making a little bit of money doing something they love and believe is truly important
• Making a moderate amount of money, wishing they were making more

Those who make a lot of money but have no time are making the greatest sacrifices.  They are sacrificing the well-being of themselves and everyone closest to them.  They are trading time with their loved ones for money that they may never get to spend.  Others who are making a little bit of money are usually dedicated to a cause that is bigger than they are.  These people have set out to achieve a social good.  Then we have those people who are making the average amount of money in a competitive market.  They are making good money, but want to move forward a little bit faster. 

continue reading...The self-employed people who make a lot of money but still have time for the 3 Fs have learned a lessons that few others have grasped.  They have learned how to quantify the value of their time.  Who says that monthly income is the standard?  Sure most bill collectors bill you on a monthly basis.  If you work a full-time job, you get paid on a bi-weekly or monthly basis.  But it's a whole different world for business owners and self-employed people.  You can set your hourly fee, but what's to say that the clients that pay your hourly fee will show up on your doorstep.  Working for yourself requires a shift in thinking.  The shift is from the monthly paycheck to daily income.

The thought of a regular monthly paycheck takes the fun out of my life.  Yesssss.  I know that it takes money to pay expenses.  Yesssss.  I know that money is the lifeblood of an organization.  And yesssss.  I do understand that it takes money to get through retirement.  But I'm also left seeking an alternative way to thinking about monthly income.  Or at least I was seeking that until June of last year when I read The Four Hour Workweek and caught the concept of Target Daily Income or TDI.  This simplifies life for the professional consultant who works for himself or the 30-something mom who works from home building an internet business.   Here's how it works.

You start with a goal.  Something you want to achieve in the next 3-6 months.  It could be to take a vacation to a remote location like Fiji or to purchase a new car.  It could even be something like starting an investment or savings account.  Then you figure out how much money it takes to achieve your goal and give yourself a realistic timeframe for achieving it - let's say 4 months.  That gives you how much money you need to make each month.  If your vacation to Fiji costs $2500, then you would need to kick in $625 per month to reach your goal.  Then you would count the days between now and the end of your goal.  On average, there are 30 days in a month.  So $2500/120 days = $20.83 a day.  It's a lot more realistic to say, "I need to make an extra $20.83 a day to reach my goal" than "I need to rake in $650 a month to reach my goal."  Especially if you have a part-time business and you're looking to replace your full-time job with income from your part-time business. 

It's much more realistic for self-employed people to think of their income in terms of a target amount to bring in per day than per month or per year.  Working for yourself is a day to day affair and many self-employed people operate on a shoestring budget.  Things change daily and learning to include money in those changes will save you a lot of pain and heartache.  The truth is that you may not know how the end of the month will turn out.  Setting monthly goals has its place (as does paying monthly bills), but you can also think about money in terms of your reality.  If you are enjoying life and taking things day by day, consider thinking about money in terms of daily income - daily bread.  It may feel strange at first until you get the hang of it.  Once it clicks, you can begin to reel your goals in one by one. 

To calculate your Target Daily Income or to find out more info click here.

All posts on "My Future In Focus" Weblog are the intellectual property of T.A. and are licensed under a

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No derivative Works 3.0 United States License

Giving Credit:

"Opportunity Cost" defined by Investopedia.com

"Shoestring Budget" courtesy of Maven's Word of the Day

Woehoe!

Stoere Ridder van de Carrousel heeft voor een veel minder walgelijk bedrag een nieuwe Polo 1.9 TDI gestrikt. 45000 km's en slechts 2 jaar oud, dat allemaal voor 11000 euro. Met veel toeters en bellen, zuinig, vlot, genoeg ruimte, spiksplinternieuw. En hij wordt gekeurd voor verkoop. Perfect! Binnenkort zal je ons dus zien rondtoeren in een donkergrijs schattig Polo'tje. Ik kijk er al naar uit! Voorproefje:

Is ie niet schattig?

Kus,
Lauren Leigh

Recientemente han ido apareciendo poco a poco una nueva generación de Subcompactos que cada día van creciendo en dimensiones y mejorando en consumos, prestaciones, seguridad y diseño.

Ahora con la presentación del nuevo Ibiza nos podemos dar cuanta a la competencia que ahora enfrenta. para comenzar el también nuevo Mazda 2 compartiendo plataforma con el nuevo Ford Fiesta que a simple vista luce juvenil y bien diferenciado del fiesta tiene una buena gama de motores y según AP podría llegar a nuestro país.

Pasando al también presentado en Ginebra el Ford Fiesta para opinión con un muy buen diseño parecido al conceptual Verve y siguiendo la tendencia genética de Ford Europa según lo que lei en Internet parece una buena opción gracias a una buena apuesta de nuevos motores y una buena calidad que ya pudimos comprobar de los productos que han llegado de el otro lado del charco como el Focus en fin esperamos que nos llegue este y no el brasileño.

Otro que se suma a la oferta es el Fiat Grande Punto el cual ya tuve la oportunidad de probar a fondo cuando trabaje por ahí para mi humilde opinión me parece que es de los mas espaciosos y mejor diseñados del grupo tiene buenos acabados interiores mas no excelentes el 1.4 starjet tiene buenos consumos y es medio torpe abajo de las 3500 rpm y con pasajeros y carga sufre. el turbo es otra cosa buen empuje excelentes frenos y buen consumo.

Otro que aún conceptual pero que seguramente veremos es el Audi Metroproject Quattro o A1 que lo ignoro pero presiento que compartirá plataforma con el nuevo ibiza y yo les veo un cierto parecido claro respuesta de Audi al Mini Cooper en fin ya me imagino las versiones S y RS 

Otro que se suma es el Peugeot 207 que por curioso ya fui a manejar a la agencia ahora si que solo para ver en cuanto a mi opinión también es de los mas grandes maneje el turbo se ve coquetón me gusto sobre todo para manejar en curvas en fin échenle un ojo al RS tiene unos asientos.  Cabe hacer un reconocimiento a Peugeot de México por incorporar los últimos sistemas de seguridad disponibles por la casa francesa como ABS+ESP+TCS etc el modelo que se comercializa en México es prácticamente igual al Europeo solo que sin GPS un aplauso al fin una marca que nos empieza a tomar en cuenta como mercado. 

Otro también que ya conocemos es el Euro Clio para mi gusto de los mas cómodos y también de los mas grandes lo único que no me gusto fue que llevara el motor del pasado Clio que recientemente vi. como se lo hecho en un arrancón en fin el "viejito le gano al nuevo" quizás cuestión de peso o pericia la versión RS o Renault Sport me gusta mucho sobre todo ese 2.0 con 200 hp 100 hp/l sin turbo habla de una muy buena ingeniería también se espera la introducción del Cup Chassis para las versiones comerciales directamente del Clio R27.

Otro que ojalá veamos porque a mi me gusto mucho es el nuevo Opel Corsa sin palabras por lo que he podido ver en el Internet monta cosas que no son del segmento como xenón quemacocos estilo coche de safari llantas run flat  con llantas de 17" desde la versión base  bluetooth y muchos otros gadgets que repito no son propios de un subcompacto.

Y por último los rezagados el ya conocido Toyota Yaris y el VW Polo del cual esperamos que nos traigan el rediseño aunque sea de Brasil del cual también me imagino que con la llegada del Ibiza también supongo que su relevo ya estará próximo en fin yo creo que ahora el Ibiza si la tiene difícil y esperemos que siga siendo de los mejores del segmento. En fin yo me quedaba con el Corsa o el 207 que se me hizo muy completo en cuanto a seguridad se refiere y Uds?

Bella won't be going for her CGC. She can be a decent Canine Good Citizen except for this rule: "Any dog that growls, snaps, bites, attacks, or attempts to attack a person or another dog is not a good citizen and must be dismissed from the test." She's good with people but has a short list of dogs she will tolerate (the list seems to get shorter each week - now it's Jo, her foster brothers and Pacey - a huge goofy black shepherd at daycare that she has always loved).  I have to say Bella will always have hang-ups about other dogs but she has come a long way with handling it and people, too. Last night we sat out on the porch and even survived a dog across the street.  We did have to go in when our neighbors started to pass by with their nutbag shepherd Jack.

I think Jo will excel at her CGC with the exception of 2 things. First she hates being messed with. If she sees me with the brush you'd think I was coming after her with a machete. When she went through my front window the tech at the vet had to lay on top of her so they could even examine the wound so the grooming piece is going to be an issue. And I wonder how Jo will fare if she does her usual what I like to call "Pokey Jo" crotch greeting. She likes to poke her head into a person's midsection when she is particularly excited or happy to see them and based on her height it usually lands on the crotch - it's not a sniffing thing - its a very defiinte "I'm here acknowledge me" kind of poke.  This behavior is most certainly not helped by the fact that Brigitte, Ariane and I laugh and giggle when she does it.

VW Tuning

The MK IV cars (1999.5-2004) come into the world with 90hp/155lb ft torque.  They also make a routine of going 700+ miles on their 14.5 gallon tanks (45-48mpg).   They also come very well equipped 4 wheel disc brakes, side curtain air bags, and lots of luxury items in the GLS models.  The mileage is great, but I need a bit more power to tow my barrels.  Luckily the tuner community has lots of answers.

• Fuel Nozzles.  Upgrading these to "Euro" spec injectors nets 10-15hp and 20#'s of torque.  No loss of mileage if you keep out of the turbo
• "Chip" tuning will clean up the fuel map and bump the boost up a bit to 18.5psi max.  This get you another 10hp and real close to 200#/ft of torque.
• 2.5" Down Pipe and performance cat and remove the muffle (diesels are quiet) gets you a broader power band (turbo spools 300rpm's sooner), a handful of ponies/torque, but more importantly let the turbo breather better and lowers your Exhaust Gas Temps (EGT's) by several hundred degrees (reduces stress on engine components/oil).  This one is optional and will only get done if I see my EGTs going up on towing runs.
• There are many drivers with these mods in the "800 Club": 800 miles on one tank  That's 55mpg in  vehicle that can tow 2000#'s while seating 4 adults in 5star safety.  Nice.

Bio Diesel

I'm not going to go into all the ins and outs of making it here.  A staggering amount of info can be found on Journey to Forever's bio fuels pages which is where I have spent several hours this weekend as I huddled indoors to avoid the ragweed pollen until my allergy medicine could catch up.  I am convinced that we will be going Bio Diesel and not WVO at this point - our Subaru may very well get traded in for a '09 Sport Wagon Jetta, and one BD processor can handle multiple vehicles if it is sized right.  Progress so far:

• First contact at our local China Buffet -permission granted to salvage their grease!
• Spoke to my farmer friend and he is willing to donate space for a Processor-I am not willing to have 99.5% pure Lye and Sulfuric Acid within reach of the kiddos.   Our discussion grew into making an "Energy Shed" to house a gasifier, Bio Diesel Processor, and an Ethanol Still.  Huh.
• Emailed out to several Craigs listers with various Processor Bits for sale -mostly large drums, pumps, etc.  Looks like a 50 gallon sized still can be made for under $1000.  That is big enough for 2500 gallons a year or so.  That would be 112,000 TDI miles so there is room for 3-4 more in the project, or more likely I only run it once a month.

Time will tell where this goes.  I would be happy making 5-10 gallons weekly, but it seems that the effort is about the roughly same if you make 1 gallon or 40.  If I proceed, it will likely be with a 5 gallon mini processor to get the feel of it, and then maybe ramp up to a 50 gallon processor if it seems doable.  Price for BD home brew seems to be in the $1 range these days -driven mostly by the price of methanol which I still need to find a local supplier for.
Much of this was mulled over while harvesting (and selling!) my 900th pound of potatoes.  Still 3-500 pounds left!

-Rob

É verdade que equipamentos como pára-sóis com espelho, banco do motorista com ajuste de altura, controle interno manual dos retrovisores laterais, relógio digital e ajuste de altura dos cintos de segurança dianteiros, que antes eram impensáveis em modelos populares, estão lá de série.

Maika Makovski, Pink Martini i Hombres G ens posen la banda sonora d'aquests dies.
En Josomid, des de les Illes, ens parla sobre les possibilitats de Metaversos.
Escoltarem versos, però d'un altre tipus, a Olot, dins del cicle Els Dijous de Juliol a pas de poetes
Tarragona i Palma ens ofereixen dues exposicions d'artistes contemporanis poc visibles en els circuits convencionals.
I us convidarem a veure Harry Potter a l'aire lliure i la preestrena de Kabluey.

Pots veure la primera part:

La segona part:

I el final!

Fins la setmana vinent!

Whenever we go to Sadar (or any other place, by the way), we almost certainly take our cameras with us..
But the problem with taking photographs there is that all of them look almost alike..

But I'm publishing some pics from our latest trip anyways.. Check em' out..

These were snapped yesterday, when Verma took us all on a little shopping trip..

Here's one taken for no particular reason..

Here's the video:

It's really a reprogramming of your car's fuel management EPROMs. But look at what it did for my car:

+25 HP (U.S.)

+45 lb/ft. (+61 Nm)

which for my VW Jetta TDI means roughly

125 @ 4000 RPM

222 lbs/ft (~300 Nm) at 1800 RPM

and -- ZOOOOOOOOOM!

It's become a brand-new car, far more powerful than the old one. I think it handles better and shifts better, too, although the reprogramming didn't do anything to the handling, nor certainly did it do anything to the transmission. But my god does it like to be shifted!

Best part is, it still handles gentle as a babe if that's how I drive it. Or if I floor it while in first gear, I'm gone like a flash! It's now easy to reach 80 MPH in fifth gear -- imagine that! Fifth gear in a diesel car is fantastic for low fuel use, but not for acceleration. Not until now anyway!

A pesar de su calandra tipo Outlander, el Montero Sport es un derivado del pickup Mitsubishi L200/Triton (con el comparte su construcción de travesaños), y solo será comercializado en Rusia, Latinoamérica, Oriente Medio, Oceanía y los países del Sureste asiático. Por tanto, Europa, Norteamérica (seguramente a excepción de México) y Japón deberán conformarse con verlo en internet.

Como de costumbre, en los países de habla no hispana la denominación comercial del vehículo será Pajero. En Rusia sólo será ofrecido en configuración de cinco plazas y con un motor 3,2 L a gasoil, si bien en otros mercados podrá adquirirse un modelo de tres filas con capacidad para siete personas. Además del propulsor diésel mencionado, habrá una mecánica de 2,5 L (también common rail) y un 3,5 L V6 a gasolina para los que quieran unas prestaciones más elevadas. Al igual que el Montero a secas, el Sport utilizará el sistema de tracción total Super Select 4WD.

Su puesta de largo tendrá lugar el 26 de agosto en el salón del automóvil de la capital rusa. Es de suponer que entonces tendremos más detalles y fotografías.

Es el punto “plug-in” de este nuevo concept como enganche del acercamiento a las nuevas tendencias por parte del grupo VAG. Simplemente se conecta el compacto a un enchufe eléctrico convencional y se recargan las baterías de ion litio con las que cuenta, que poseen la característica de ofrecer un tiempo de carga bastante reducido. El pequeño propulsor eléctrico bebe de estas baterías para ofrecer 82 Cv de potencia y una velocidad máxima de 120 km/h, suficiente si contamos con una utilización masivamente urbana, para la que este motor ofrece una autonomía de 50 km.

Para ofrecer estos resultados, sólo con el motor eléctrico, además de la capacidad de las baterías, es necesario la combinación con la función start&stop y el sistema de regeneración de energía eléctrica en las frenadas, clásicos elementos en los modelos híbridos. Una vez se termina la capacidad de estas baterías, se pasa a utilizar un motor TDI de 2.0 litros y 122 Cv, como el que ya utiliza el Audi A4.

Con cierta lógica, se equipa un cambio automático para favorecer una buena elección de marchas y aumentar la autonomía genérica.

Las modificaciones en el interior incluyen una opción para el navegador, con la que se puede monitorizar gran cantidad de datos del sistema híbrido, y un tacómetro que marca los kW que está desarrollando el motor eléctrico en lugar de las RPM del motor de gasoil, que no está claro si puede marcar además la potencia del segundo aunque sea en kW.