The Mullahs of Washington

Eric Cantor and John Boehner at the U.S. Capitol on March 21, 2010.

Photo by Yuri Gripas/AFP/Getty Images.

In recent days, some newspapers and pundits have made one last pitch for Mitt Romney?s election. The key question, they argue, is which presidential candidate can work with the Republicans who control Congress. Obama has tried but has been rebuffed. Only Romney can get the job done.

That?s the argument made by the Des Moines Register, the Orlando Sentinel, David Brooks, Ramesh Ponnuru, and other advocates of a Romney presidency. In Ponnuru?s words:

"If Obama wins re-election, the Republican Party will react by moving right, not left. It will become less likely to compromise with Obama ? Republicans, especially at the grassroots level, would react to Obama?s re-election by assuming that Romney failed because he was too moderate. ? [T]hey will be looking forward to the gains that the party out of the White House typically makes in midterm elections. The Republicans aren?t going to change."

If Obama is re-elected, Brooks warns,

"The first order of business would be the budget deal, averting the so-called fiscal cliff. Obama would first go to Republicans in the Senate and say, 'Look, we?re stuck with each other. Let?s cut a deal for the sake of the country.' He would easily find 10 Republican senators willing to go along with a version of a Grand Bargain. Then Obama would go to the House. He?d ask Eric Cantor, the majority leader, if there were votes for such a deal. The answer would probably be no. Republican House members still have more to fear from a primary challenge from the right than from a general election challenge from the left. ? [Romney] has more influence over the most intransigent element in the Washington equation: House Republicans. He?s more likely to get big stuff done."

Several astute skeptics?Kevin Drum, Steve Benen, Ezra Klein, Eliot Spitzer?point out that this argument rewards intransigence. They?re right. But it also defies what Republican congressional leaders believe about conflict management. The most effective way to change the behavior of an intransigent opponent, according to these Republicans, isn?t conciliation. It?s confrontation and intimidation.

Take Eric Cantor, the guy who, in Brooks? scenario, would deep-six Obama?s second-term overture. Two years ago, Cantor ridiculed Obama for sucking up to Russia, Iran, Syria, and the Arab world:

The problem with the Obama defense and foreign policy philosophy is that it seems to abandon the proven strategy of peace through strength. ? In this view, our most vexing issues can be resolved by adjusting our own behavior in order to compromise with our enemies. ? If Iran wants to threaten the world with nuclear weapons, so it goes, it must be because President Bush refused to engage with it. And if Syria endangers our troops in Iraq and funds Mideast terrorism, we should somehow offer it more carrots and less sticks to convince it to change. The problem is that this kind of accommodating attitude toward our enemies never works.

?U.S. calls for dialogue only strengthened Tehran?s hand,? Cantor scoffed, and ?playing nice has failed to peel Syria away from Iran.? Obama?s attempt to ?placate Russia? achieved nothing, as did his trip to Cairo ?to apologize on behalf of America.? Around the world, Cantor concluded, ?a perception of weakness and irresolution has emboldened America's enemies.?

Cantor?s ostensible boss, House Speaker John Boehner, takes a similar view. ?Every time we make a concession to countries acting against our national interests,? Boehner argued two years ago, ?we pay a price.? In defying American entreaties, he reasoned, Iran?s leaders were simply following a ?cost-benefit analysis.? Likewise, Boehner warned last year that Russia was exploiting two years of ?American outreach and American engagement? to expand its ?sphere of influence.?

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=b542595cea87e36e39a29e0aa22149e8

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Learn How To Properly Manage Commercial Real Estate With ...

Commercial real estate purchasing differs from purchasing a house. Keep reading for great advice on how you can achieve your goals in the commercial real estate industry.

It?s a good idea to purchase properties larger than you actually need when buying commercial real estate. You will want to do this because it is not any harder to take care of a bigger building than a smaller one, and it will cost you less in the long run.

Double-check that you are seeking a realistic amount of money for your property. The value of your property is determined by an entire series of different factors.

Before you start looking for a commercial property, decide what your goals are. Decide if you are going to use the property for your business or lease it. It will help you more easily find an appropriate piece of property to purchase if you know exactly what you plan to do with the property after you acquire it.

TIP! Always be on the lookout for sellers who are motivated. You have to find them, especially the ones who are eager enough to sell below market value.

Find your financing before you do anything else. Loans for commercial properties are not the same as home loans. Commercial loan products actually offer some benefits that residential loans don?t. While commercial loans generally require a more significant down payment, lenders are usually more flexible about where or from whom you get that down payment.

Find a variety of financial partners, from friends and family to professional lenders, to ensure you have a cash flow available to purchase commercial real estate. Have written contracts drafted by a lawyer so that you?re protected in any situation. There are two repayment options: paying it off at a certain interest rate, or paying due to profit.

Every prospective real estate purchase should include thorough onsite inspections; it is equally important to verify the inspectors? credentials. This guideline is especially important when working with people who deal in pest management; these specific fields are often populated by practitioners who lack proper credentials. Reviewing credentials will help you prevent major issues after you make the purchase.

There are several differences between commercial and residential loans. For example, commercial loans require a larger percentage in down payment. Searching for a reliable lender and a good investment can lead you to find the commercial loan you need.

TIP! Take the time to gain the available knowledge to better recognize an advantageous deal. The experts in real estate will know a good deal from a bad one instantly.

Ask any potential broker about what experience they have had with commercial property before choosing someone to represent your interests. Make sure that they are experts in the area in which you are selling or buying. Most brokers will require you to have an agreement to work exclusively with them.

Before you negotiate a commercial real estate lease, you should aim to decrease the things that could be considered an event of default as much as you possibly can. If you are thorough, you are less likely to experience a tenant default. This type of situation is considered very undesirable.

Negotiating is essential. Ensure that your opinion is known, and wrangle for the best price you can get on the property.

TIP! Interview your prospective real estate broker to determine what they view as failures and successes, to see if their standards match yours. Ask them how they measure their results.

As with other property purchases, pay attention to the three Ls: location, location, and location. Pay attention to the property?s surrounding neighborhood. Also, consider local growth projections. You want to make sure that in 5 or 10 years down the road, the area is still a descent and growing area.

When advertising your available commercial property, do so locally, but also regionally and even nationally. Many sellers mistakenly assume that their property is only interesting to local buyers. There are many private investors who would purchase property outside of their local area if the price is right.

Any new space you acquire might need some improvements prior to you occupying it. In some cases, all that is required are simple changes like moving the furniture around or giving the walls a new coat of paint. The renovation project can get larger and could consist of knocking down, moving or building walls to make the floor plan usable. Negotiate in advance who pays for these improvements or try to get the landlord to pay for at least a portion of the costs.

You might have to make improvements to your space before you can use it. In some cases, all that is required are simple changes like moving the furniture around or giving the walls a new coat of paint. Normally, however, it may be something a little more involved like walls being moved. If you?re leasing or renting, you can ask the landlord to make these changes at no cost to yourself.

TIP! If you trying to choose between two or more potential properties, it?s good to think bigger in terms of perspective. Getting the financing you need is a difficult thing, regardless of the size of the property.

Now you have learned the basics of commercial real estate investment and a few helpful tips. In order to get the best possible deal, be sure to follow this article?s advice.

Source: http://tictracker.com/learn-how-to-properly-manage-commercial-real-estate-with-these-tips/

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What's New For The Web In 2010 ? hot news

Web innovation is at least as unpredictable as anything else, perhaps more so. Still, some trends are shaping up already, a few of which have been percolating for a year or more. There will be technological advances, attitude shifts and various convergences of devices, Web sites, ?personal tech? and ?smart applications.? The following themes and focuses ? among many others, certainly ? will be in the news in 2010.

The ever-present ?now? ? Facebook and Twitter, and their hordes of imitators, brought a bubble to the real-time trend in the latter part of 2009. The growing demand for instant everything, immediate interactivity and ?nowness? reflects people?s desire to make the most of every moment, and fast. Smartphones, netbooks and WiFi-enabled whatchamacallits will converge more and more until people won?t trust restaurant ratings unless they?re from diners still at the tables. Real-time collaboration will get a boost, too, once Google can explain exactly what Wave is.

Augmented reality (AR) ? Often, the early adopters glom onto things that actually become big hits. Just as often, perhaps, they glom wrong. Concerning ?augmented reality,? we?ll have to wait and see, although advances in GPS and cellphone/mobile PC technology already allow services like Layar to ?overlay? data on your screen. A photo from your phone or netbook?s camera will come to life with Wikipedia, Google and Yelp ?info bubbles.? Very cool, but will people use it enough to make it a winner?

Heads in the clouds ? ?Cloud computing? was one of the major buzzwords of 2009. Some pundits see the trend toward data and applications leaving our desktops for new homes on servers in that great, uncharted ?elsewhere? known as ?the cloud? as being inescapable. They trumpet the fact that the data will be accessible from anywhere open to collaboration with decentralized, distributed participants. The first half of 2010 will see the debut of free, online versions of Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Word, to be released simultaneously with Microsoft Office 2010. Google is jumping in with Chrome, a Web-based OS that the company hopes will make Sun Microsystems founder Scott McNealy?s 1990s mantra ? ?The Web is the computer? ? come true.

iTV and iFlicks? ? Wasn?t this supposed to have happened already? Wasn?t the ?PCTV? or the ?TVPC? supposed to be on sale at Best Buy for $199 by now? There?s a real flurry of activity in the Internet entertainment space, more than at any previous time, and among the early buzz-makers are Apple TV, Boxee, Hulu and Netflix. Hulu has had a particularly good 2009, with remarkable growth and great press, while even the staid, tech-paranoid movie studios are hedging their bets with Epix, a Hulu-style site for flicks.

Social game play ? Social gaming is a great bet for 2010. Even now, Zynga?s FarmVille game on the Facebook site already has more active users than Twitter, at least according to an ?unnamed? Facebook exec. Gargantuan game firm Electronic Arts acquired the Playfish social game site in a multimillion-dollar deal. Of even more interest than the games, perhaps, are the ?virtual currencies? that the games use, one of which is said to be more valuable than Iceland?s official money. This supposedly entertainment-oriented lucre, which appears to be ?monetizable? to some economists observing the developments, could spill over into the non-virtual economy in a big wait.

Mobile pay on the way ? This might just be the breakthrough year for the mobile payment market, which has already established a solid foothold in Asia. Big players like PayPal and Amazon are coming on board (quickly) with the PayPalX model and a new mobile payment platform offered to developers, respectively. Twitter?s creator founded a new firm, Square, which has just started to distribute an application that lets merchants accept payments via iPhones, with other platforms to follow.

The privacy debate ? It?s not a product, it?s not a service, it?s an ongoing discussion and sometimes a heated one. Now that fame is ?abundant,? as described in Andy Warhol?s second-most-quoted statement about celebrity, everyone is a star somewhere, to some people. People polish and present their ?personal brands? quite freely, yet many still complain about the lack of privacy. It?s hard to have it both ways. The advent of location-based services, the presence of video cameras in personal electronics and the apparently insatiable curiosity people have about actors, models, athletes and media talking heads have all contributed to the rancor. The erosion of personal privacy ? or is it the rise of personal autonomy and the leveling of the celebrity playing field? ? will fuel continued debate in 2010.

Source: http://hotnews.blogspages.com/2012/11/02/whats-new-for-the-web-in-2010/

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Martian soil sample 'like Hawaii'

31 October 2012 Last updated at 07:10 ET

Nasa's Curiosity rover has found soil on Mars to be similar to Hawaii's after sifting and scanning its first sample on the Red Planet.

The robot's CheMin instrument shook out fine particles of soil and fired X-rays at them to determine their composition.

These sandy samples should give clues about Mars' recent geological history.

As had been theorised, much of the sample is made of weathered "basaltic" materials of volcanic origin, like that seen on the islands of Hawaii.

The sample seems to contain dust carried from afar by Mars' global-scale storms, as well as coarser sand of more local provenance.

The ?2.6bn mission put Curiosity on the floor of Gale Crater, a huge depression on Mars' equator, on 6 August.

It has since trundled more than 480m (1,590ft) to the east toward a spot called Glenelg, a place that satellite images indicate is an interesting junction between three different geological terrains.

But it has been paused by the Curiosity team at a region dubbed "Rocknest" to get its first taste of Martian soil.

This first analysis served to "cleanse the palate" of the rover's sample collection systems, which may have brought contaminants from Earth that would skew its chemical view of the Red Planet.

But with that out of the way, Curiosity accomplished another first: the first-ever use of X-ray diffraction on another planet.

X-ray diffraction is a well-established approach on Earth, in which a focussed beam of X-rays is either bounced off a sample, giving strong hints both of what kinds of atoms are in a sample and any crystalline structures that they may be locked in.

The CheMin experiment first sieves down a soil sample, separating out the components smaller than 150 micrometres - about the width of two human hairs.

It then gives this sifted soil a shake while firing X-rays at it, examining just how they propagate.

The team says the sample contains "significant amounts" of the minerals feldspar, olivine and pyroxene.

"So far, the materials Curiosity has analysed are consistent with our initial ideas of the deposits in Gale Crater, recording a transition through time from a wet to dry environment," said David Bish, co-investigator on the CheMin experiment.

In the weeks since its arrival on Mars, the rover has already put its ChemCam and APXS instruments to work examining larger rocks, including a never-before-seen specimen reported earlier in October.

"The ancient rocks, such as the conglomerates, suggest flowing water, while the minerals in the younger soil are consistent with limited interaction with water," said Dr Bish.

The next step was to deliver soil samples into another ground-breaking experiment within the rover ? Sam, or the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument.

Sam will look for the presence of organic, or carbon-containing, molecules that should give hints about the prospects for life on the Red Planet both now and in the distant past.

• (A) Curiosity will trundle around its landing site looking for interesting rock features to study. Its top speed is about 4cm/s
• (B) This mission has 17 cameras. They will identify particular targets, and a laser will zap those rocks to probe their chemistry
• (C) If the signal is significant, Curiosity will swing over instruments on its arm for close-up investigation. These include a microscope
• (D) Samples drilled from rock, or scooped from the soil, can be delivered to two hi-tech analysis labs inside the rover body
• (E) The results are sent to Earth through antennas on the rover deck. Return commands tell the rover where it should drive next

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20151789#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

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The search for E.K.S., a Simplex mystery | Hemmings Blog: Classic ...

The only clue I had when starting this researcher?s odyssey were the faded letters, ?E.K.S.? on the car?s back doors, and the fact that the car is part of the famous Richard C. Paine Jr. collection. Richard C. Paine Jr. amassed one of America?s great transportation collections, buying, selling, and trading automobiles and motorcycles with a passion over a span of thirty plus years. Although I never had the pleasure of meeting Richard Paine, by all accounts he could be quite charming, had an encyclopedic knowledge of automobiles, was mythic within the collector-car hobby, and was rather eccentric ? an affliction I am told that affects most of us in the car-collecting hobby. Richard didn?t mind exaggerating or telling a tall tale when talking about his cars. He also never kept notes or records; his car?s histories being perfectly ordered in his mind and, with his passing in 2007, going to the grave with him.

Filling in the blanks, establishing provenance, and learning the histories of Richard?s treasures became a challenging quest for me, at times frustrating, always fascinating. For many of the cars, establishing their provenance was easy. Cars like James Melton?s 1913 Peugeot Type 160 ?Skiff? or Bill Harrah?s favorite car, the 1915 F.R.P., are so well known and have been written about so extensively that their histories were evident. Others, like the ex-Henry Austin Clark Jr. 1904 Knox or the ex-Isabel Weld Perkins 1911 American Victoria Underslung from the Briggs Cunningham collection, proved more challenging. But of all the Museum?s cars that I have had the pleasure of researching to date, the most challenging, and the most elusive, proved to be that rather nondescript-looking Simplex, Crane Model 5.

Richard Paine naturally acquired examples of Simplex and Crane automobiles for his collection, including a 1908 Simplex 90hp, a 1912 Crane, and Simplex, Crane Model 5, Car Number 2308. Looking at the Model 5, you may well wonder why tracing its provenance became a bit of an obsession for me. The car is in unrestored, original, condition; it has a rather military look to it, and certainly compared to the other magnificent cars in the Museum, like the 1912 Crane, is not particularly pretty. Yet the car?s very mass and wonderful patina spoke to me and begged to have its history revealed. The fact that visitors seemed curious only heightened my curiosity, and so the quest began.

By its very nature and cost, a Simplex, Crane Model 5 would have been owned by one of America?s wealthiest of families. Frederick W. Vanderbilt owned one, as did Alfred Atmore Pope. The Rockefellers owned several?. Could the car in the Museum possibly have been one of the Rockefeller?s? John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his descendants are inexorably tied to Mount Desert Island, the carriage roads in Acadia National Park, and by living there today. Penelope S. Wolfe, Richard Paine?s former wife, is related to the Rockefellers through her aunt ?Elsie,? who married William Goodsell Rockefeller. The Model 5 must certainly be one of the Rockefeller cars, or so I thought. A query to the Rockefellers was in order. The Rockefeller connection was quickly dashed, coming from Erwin Levold, Senior Research Archivist, Research & Education, Rockefeller Archive Center.

?Dear Mr. Rodriguez: Thank you for your inquiry of February 11, 2010. Both John D. Rockefeller Senior and Junior owned a number of Crane Simplex motor cars. A vehicle inventory from April 1926 lists a 1917 Touring (Motor Number 2358) and a 1918 Touring (Motor Number 2512) as being at the Pocantico Hills estate in New York. A 1915 Limousine (Motor Number 2070) and a 1917 Touring (Motor Number 2529) were located at the family?s home in Maine. Following the death of JDR Senior in 1937, cars #2358 and #2512 were donated to the Boston Museum of Automotive Conveyance, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. As far as I know, this institution no longer exists. The fate of the other two cars is unknown. In addition, JDR Junior purchased a new Crane Simplex Model 5 Tourer (Motor Number 2489) in 1918. This car came with a Brewster phaeton body, and originally also had an interchangeable custom sedan body that allowed for winter driving. This vehicle was purchased by Nelson A. Rockefeller from the Winthrop Rockefeller estate in 1976. The car is now part of the vehicle collection on display at Kykuit, the Rockefeller family estate and a National Trust property. Best wishes, Erwin Levold.?

Not wanting to give up completely on a possible Rockefeller connection even if obscure, it occurred to me that the ?S? in those ?E.K.S? initials on the car might be for Stillman, Penny Wolfe?s maiden name. Penny?s father, Ernest Goodrich Stillman, was wealthy and certainly of the class that would own a car like a Simplex, Crane Model 5. The ?Stillman? connection could easily be confirmed, thanks to Mrs. Wolfe?s frequent visits to the Museum. ?Penny, does this car have any connection to your family,? I asked. ?Absolutely not, and it?s the ugliest car Richard ever bought,? came the quick reply. Shortly after the Rockefeller and Stillman connections were quashed, I received a note from Tina Weeks, Richard and Penny?s daughter. Typed out on stationery from Richard Paine?s Seal Cove Garage, the car?s ownership was clearly spelled out. The ?Crane-Simplex? had originally been a parade car having been owned by General Cushing. Richard was offering the car for sale through his place of business, the Seal Cove Garage, for the huge asking price of $75,000. At that price, the car needed an important provenance. As noted, Richard was known to exaggerate on occasion, and so it was with this impeccable credential. Brigadier General Caleb Cushing, U.S. Attorney General 1853?1857, died in 1879 a full 37 years before the Model 5 was built.

With the General Caleb connection dashed, I was at a complete dead end. Now it would take luck, serendipity, and the real secret to researching ? networking ? to solve the riddle of the elusive ?E.K.S.? In March of 2010, I attended the National Association of Automobile Museums and Society of Automotive Historians joint Conference in Tupelo, Mississippi. Networking is one of the objectives of such conferences, and so it was that I met Kit Foster, automotive historian, writer, and past president of the Society of Automotive Historians. At the conference dinner, seated beside Kit, our conversation naturally turned to cars, their histories, and inevitably the ?Simplex Crane.? Kit and I kept in touch via email, and it wasn?t long after the conference, and my sending him all the details about the car that I could at the time, that I received in part the following note:

?Roberto, Everything I can find suggests that serial and motor numbers are the same. None of the sources gives a location for the ?motor number? other than on the dashboard plate or right frame member. The 1920 Branham Automobile Reference Book allocates numbers as follows: 1914: 1311-1498, 1915: 1499-2079, 1916: 2080-2253, 1917: 2254-2500. Grace Brigham?s Serial Number Book for US Cars 1900-1975 agrees through 1916, but give 1917 as 2254-2299, and 1918 as 2300 up. She lists Model 5 in 1917-18 only. I forwarded your email to Bill Bell, a Simplex researcher in Upstate New York. He says he has some info on your car. I expect he may be in touch with you. Kit.?

I immediately sent an email to Bill Bell and, in just over a week, his reply arrived.

?Hi Roberto: Sorry about my delay in getting to you, but have been very busy preparing my 1912 Simplex for the upcoming touring season. You may be interested to know that I?ve been collecting Simplex automobile and Simplex owner information for a number of years and have to date found 42% of the total production by car number and 25% of the original owners. Have found over 2,500 Simplex owners so far and add information continually. As far as #2308 is concerned, I don?t have much, no early owners: This car was road tested by the Simplex Test Driver on 2/27/1917 and delivered on 3/1/1917; unfortunately I don?t know to whom. If it was E. K. S., I have no one in the 2,500+owners with those initials. As I find new information, I might just hit upon EKS! It was tested as car #2308, motor #2295, Carb #311, with gunboat 4 pass. body (various test bodies were used). I?d be most interested to know if the motor is still #2295 or if it was changed? It was owned by Pauline B. Snook of Schodack Center, NY, 1947, perhaps earlier, to 1962 when she died. She and her husband, Frank E. ran a garage there starting in 1929. She was very active in antique car circles in the area.? ?Frank may have then owned the car as he survived her, I don?t know. Their son Gordon F. Snook of Castleton, NY, owned it in 1981 (can?t document any other years). I believe he sold it to Paine when he moved West. The earliest date I have documentation for Paine ownership is 1999.?

This was a huge breakthrough! Wonderful details about the car?s development and, best of all, a definite link in the ownership. Now I had the Snooks of Schodack Center, NY, and by gosh? Could the ?S? in ?E.K.S? stand for Snook? If only I could track down Gordon S. Snook, all my questions would be answered. No Snooks listed for Schodack Center, no Gordon Snook popping up in the usual car club memberships or forums? So close but no brass ring, another dead end. Never underestimate the power of the internet and the power of the car-collecting fraternity. On April 23, 2011, I posted the following to the AACA Forum looking for Gordon Snook. Call it luck, serendipity, or divine intervention, but on October 19, 2011, the following email showed up in my inbox?

?Mr. Rodriguez: Looking at Crane Simplex on internet & saw reference to my family and a Crane Simplex we owned. My parents were Frank & Pauline Snook. Item mentions a Kimball chassis ? Car we owned with a C.P. Kimball chassis had a ?baby carriage? top over rear seat + removable cloth top, also recall the rear exhaust manifold was welded. Car did not have a Kellog air compressor. If I am describing the car you have, might be able to fill you in on info. Or another C-S?? Thru years my parents owned 5 Crane- Simplex cars. Gordon F Snook, Scottsdale AZ.?

Amazing! A quick email back to Gordon Snook immediately confirmed that the Simplex, Crane Model 5 at the Seal Cove Auto Museum was indeed one and the same as the car once owned by his mother. Detail after detail about the car, the Snooks, and their Crane-Simplex automobiles started to flow in, including a photograph of the car when under their ownership. From Gordon?s recollections, the story of the car?s acquisition in Massachusetts by his parents and its provenance began to come to light? Gordon remembered his father telling him that on the day he went to get the car in the 1930s, a maintenance man at the estate told him that a maid in the house had seen the original invoice on the day that the car had been delivered new ? $10,660 for the chassis and coachwork. Gordon went on to tell me;

?My Father said that E.K.S. stood for Ethel Katherine Salsbury (or Salisbury?? If car had ever been repainted, those initials would have been lost. Thus I believe E.K.S. was original owner and my parents the 2nd owners. During late 1930s & WWII years, the car sat (next to 2 other Crane Simplexes) in a frame garage behind my father?s repair shop. Not driven. In ?46 or ?47 Glidden Tour Revival started in Albany NY. No Interstate highways then, participating cars coming up from NYC (Rt 9) or from MA (Rt20) would be going past the garage. My parents got a couple of the Simplexes running & parked them out near highway. Recall Opera Singer James Melton was one of several who stopped & chatted with my parents. 1950s, we drove the C-S to local AUHV (Automobilists of Upper Hudson Valley) meets around Albany/Troy & western New England. My Mother passed away in 1962. 63 or ?64 my Father sold the car. I seem to recall the purchaser?s name was Morgan. From NJ, truck they hauled it away on had NJ plates. I often looked, but never knew anything further about it until coming across you message in AACA blog.?

Was Ethel Katherine Salsbury (or Salisbury) the elusive E.K.S.? If so, who was she and how did she come to own such an expensive automobile? The final chapter in my quest was finally about to be written, thanks to Victoria Salvatore at the Lenox Historical Society. Having absolutely no luck in finding anything about Salsbury (or Salisbury), I played a long shot and on October 25th sent a letter to the Lenox Historical Society. Less than a month later, I received the following email?

?Dear Mr. Rodriguez: I am curator of Lenox Historical Society and our Museum of Lenox History and received your recent letter regarding the 1916 Simplex-Crane automobile formerly owned by a Mrs. Ethel Katherine Salsbury. I?m very curious about the Salsbury family and although the name is not familiar to me, I will check all of our records and files in hopes of finding some background information to share with you. I?ll also contact the Lee Historical Society in the event Mrs. Salsbury lived in Lee, rather than Lenox. I?ll keep you posted on my findings. Thank you so much for contacting us. Sincerely, Victoria Salvatore.?

On November 28, 2011, Christmas came early in the form of Ms. Salvatore?s next email?

?Hello, Roberto: The term ?Salisbury Estates? recently came to my mind. I associate it with what I think is the name of a retirement facility in neighboring Pittsfield, MA. I asked my 81-year-old mother-in-law if she was familiar with the facility or the name ?Ethel Katherine Salisbury?. She is not familiar with the name but recalled that Hillcrest Hospital in Pittsfield is on the site of the former Salisbury estate. I goggled Hillcrest Hospital and found an amazing history of the property! I may be way off the track, but I?m wondering if E.K.S. stands for Evelyn Kimball Salisbury who, with her husband Warren M. Salisbury, owned the property. I suggest you check out Hillcrest Hospital Pittsfield, MA, then look for Berkshire Health Systems then BMC/Hillcrest Hospital Merger. From there you?ll find a link for Hillcrest Hospital: A History.? ?Evelyn Kimball may be the daughter of William Wallace Kimball who was born in Rumford, ME in 1828. He was the founder of the Kimball Piano and Organ Co. in Chicago. Warren Salisbury, Evelyn?s husband, eventually became Pres. of the company, according to the history of Hillcrest Hospital. Who knows? Perhaps Evelyn is the woman whose initials are on the car! Wouldn?t that be amazing?? ?I have a busy two weeks ahead of me but will try to research the Salisbury ?mystery?. I?m very curious about the family. In Pittsfield, the Berkshire Athenaeum is a wonderful resource. Their Local History room is a wealth of information and, according to the Hillcrest website, the athenaeum supplied information on the history of the property. If you call the Athenaeum, their staff may be able to answer some of your questions.? ?I hope this information is helpful to you. Please keep me posted on your search. I?m looking forward to hearing from you again. Sincerely, Vickie Salvatore, Lenox Historical Society.?

But of course! Evelyn Kimball Salisbury, it all makes perfect sense; wealth and pedigree through a direct connection to the coach builder, C.P. Kimball & Co., of Chicago. The search for E.K.S., solved at last. I like to think that Richard C. Paine Jr. knew exactly who E.K.S. was, and was simply playing a prank when he identified General Caleb as the car?s original owner.

If you have a story or photos to share with the rest of Hemmings Nation, head on over to My Hemmings to do just that.

Source: http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/10/31/the-search-for-e-k-s-a-simplex-mystery/

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Remains of the Day: Comcast Offers Free Wi-Fi in the Wake of Hurricane Sandy

By Whitson Gordon

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Toronto in Album Art: The 1970s

The 1970s were the decade the Canadian music industry began to come into its own. The first Juno Awards ceremony was held in 1971, Canadian content requirements for broadcasters were established later that year, and homegrown acts like Rush, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Anne Murray and Gordon Lightfoot gained international followings. That said, success in Canada was rarely seen as a selling point in other countries, so Canadian artists and their record companies were often reluctant to promote draw undue attention to their nationality. Once again, those who did were usually smaller local acts, expats and/or members of recent immigrant communities.

The Carlton Showband - "Special"
A few of the original members of this group (most of whom lived in Brampton) got lost in downtown Toronto one night, found themselves in front of Maple Leaf Gardens and decided to change the name of the band to The Carlton Danceband. After altering it again to Showband they landed a gig as the house band on a CTV variety show named The Pig And Whistle. The program went off the air in 1977 but they continued to tour and record in various incarnations until 1999 and regrouped for a reunion tour earlier this year.

This 1971 album, one of the few featuring a location outside the downtown core, shows the group in front of 9 Channel Nine Court in Scarborough, currently home to the main offices for CTV and TSN. More than forty years have passed, but it doesn't look much different.

The Carlton Showband - Sing Irishman Sing
This album was released in 1972, but the photo was probably taken the previous summer when Ontario Place opened; if you look closely you can see a huge line of people waiting to get into the Cinesphere.

The Toronto Symphony - 1922-1972
City Hall has rarely looked classier than it does on this LP commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Toronto Symphony.

Dave & Ansil Collins - In Toronto
Dave Barker and Ansil (sometimes billed as Ansel or Ansell) Collins were a Jamaican duo who worked with Lee Perry and had international hits with "Double Barrel" and "Monkey Spanner." It's unclear whether this 1974 LP was actually recorded in Toronto, but the cover features a gorgeous (and unusual) south-facing shot of the downtown core and the Islands.

The York Lions Steel Band - We Come Out To Play
This children's musical group has been going strong since 1972 and has performed throughout Canada, the U.S. (including a trip to Hawaii) and England. Their 1974 LP shows the band gathered around the Princess Margaret Fountain on the CNE grounds and features a spirited take on the Soul Train theme song.

The Keefe Sisters - Our Heritage And Other Things
These teenaged Cape Breton loom over City Hall (and whatever that spire to the north of the east tower is) on the cover of this 1975 album.

Various Artists - Toronto: what other city calls its main street Yonge?
The Star commissioned this mid-'70s promotional LP to tell the story of Toronto's history and extol its present-day virtues. It alternates between musical storytelling, instrumentals and spoken-word bits in which a straight-man narrator bickers with "The Rural Resident," an out-of-towner who can't stand Toronto.

The cover features a couple frolicking in what appears to be High Park and an insert with a photo of City Hall taken from the pedestrian bridge over Queen Street. "Episode 7-Oh!" is by jazz trumpeter Guido Basso and was written by Rudy Toth, a Czech-born composer and arranger who moved to Windsor shortly after his birth and often worked on CBC television and radio shows throughout the '70s.

The Stan Hiltz Orchestra - Kosher Style
The newly-completed CN Tower makes its first appearance here on this 1977 LP by The Stan Hiltz Orchestra, which started off as a rock act in the mid-'60s and went on to a 38-year run as a popular wedding band. Kosher Style, the group's only album, was given away at weddings and bar mitzvahs as a promotional item, and shows off Toronto's skyline from the vantage point of the islands.

Various Artists - 680 CFTR presents Sounds Familiar
This 1971 album was released to promote CHFI-AM's name change to 680 CFTR. It sports a nice photo of Ontario Place in all of its opening-summer glory, but you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a more stereotypically self-effacing Canadian title than "Sounds Familiar."

John Arpin - I Write The Songs
Pianist John Arpin recorded over 60 albums during a long career which lasted until his death in 2007. He was best known as a ragtime performer, but also released many albums of Broadway tunes, classical music and pop covers. On the cover of this 1977 LP he sits relaxing on a bench in Trinity Bellwoods Park as a friendly model (who's shown rubbing his shoulders on the back cover) jogs over.

Aerial - In The Middle Of The Night
The cover of this 1978 album by soft-rockers Aerial may have served as the inspiration for 1984's C.H.U.D.

Various Artists - CHFI 98.1 Presents The Candlelight & Wine Album
CHFI released a number of compilation albums to promote their popular "Candlelight & Wine" easy-listening program throughout the '70s and '80s. The cover of this 1979 entry in the series is a bit geographically confused. Is that a mountain in the background?

Bobby Brown & The Scottish Accent - The Island Fling
Scottish-born Bobby Brown emigrated to Winnipeg at the age of 16, formed his band The Scottish Accent in 1974, and continued to tour and record until his death in 2011. 1979's The Island Fling features another view of downtown from across the harbour.

See also:

Toronto in Album Art: The 1960s

Writing and album photos by Beau Levitt

Source: http://www.blogto.com/music/2012/10/toronto_in_album_art_the_1970s/

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