"My profession is going out of business in Japan," said 59-year-old Masayuki Aida, who made molds for a Tokyo-based firm for 30 years but has spent most of his 50s in Dongguan, a gritty manufacturing hub in southern China's Pearl River Delta.
With the incessant noise of car horns and a pervasive smell of chemicals, the dusty streets of industrial Dongguan are a far cry from Tokyo or Osaka. Construction sites dot the city while beggars clutching tin cans approach cars at every intersection.
For Aida and many like him nearing the national retirement age of 60 the choice was simple - face a few years without an income as Japan raises the age at which employees get their pension or work for mainland Chinese and Hong Kong companies.
"People aren't making products in Japan anymore," said Aida, who makes molds for goods ranging from toys and earphones to coffee machines. "I wanted to pass on to younger generations all the knowledge and technology about molds I had obtained."
For Japan, marred by two decades of economic stagnation, the little reported exodus of engineers means rival Chinese firms are getting an injection of the technology and skills behind "Made in Japan" products.
Japanese government data shows 2,800 Japanese expats living in Dongguan alone, a city of more than 8 million people.
"From Japan's perspective, emerging countries are getting a free ride of the benefits we nurtured. So yes, it is a problem," said Yasushi Ishizuka, director of the intellectual property policy office at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Japan suffered its first tech brain drain about 20 years ago when South Korean firms such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics Inc poached scores of front-line semiconductor and white goods engineers from big Japanese electronics firms.
Since then South Korean electronics manufacturers have bounded into the global top ranks, helped along by this human technology transfer.
Japan's tech giants, meanwhile, have floundered. Sony Corp, Panasonic Corp and Sharp Corp, Japan's three main TV makers, are expected to have lost $21 billion between them in the fiscal year that ended March 31, partly because of Korean competition.
Many of the Japanese engineers finding a second life in China do not have the cutting-edge technology that would deal another crushing blow to Japan Inc yet, analysts say, but the long-term impact could be severe because they will give Chinese manufacturers the skills to make high-quality goods efficiently.
China has pushed its own companies to innovate, but many experts cite an educational system that prizes rote learning as an obstacle. For many firms, buying talent is the quickest fix.
"Skills related to production, like making moulds, are something that companies obtained after years of trial and error," said Morinosuke Kawaguchi, associate director at management consultancy Arthur D Little in Tokyo.
For example, the slightest tweak to a mould could lead to mass production of faulty items, said Kawaguchi, himself a former Hitachi Ltd engineer who used to make household appliances.
"This exodus of Japanese engineers will raise the quality of products made by Chinese companies and allow them to produce efficiently," he added.
Aida said the skills of Chinese engineers have improved over the past 10 years.
"When I first came to China, a product was considered good as long as it didn't fall apart," said Aida, one of seven Japanese engineers in Dongguan interviewed by Reuters. "They've caught up rapidly since then."
That shows in recent trade numbers. China's exports of higher valued machinery and electronic products rose 9.1 percent in the first quarter from a year ago, when they gained 7.6 percent, to $253 billion, according to trade data.
Stemming the outflow of engineers to Chinese manufacturers appears to be impossible.
Sany Heavy Co Ltd, Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd and BYD Co Ltd all told Reuters they had employed Japanese engineers to boost their technological know-how. They declined to comment further.
In addition to the large companies, there are thousands of smaller manufacturers across China. While not all have the deep pockets to hire expat engineers, some might find the cost of importing technology may not be as high as it used to be.
For one, there is no shortage of supply. Millions of Japan's "baby boom" generation which makes up nearly a 10th of the country's population are starting to retire, with many engineers among them.
It is not just financial considerations, but a desire to keep working beyond the rigid retirement age in Japan that prompts many to take up the offer of a move to China.
"I'm working longer hours but actually making less now than I was making back in Japan," said Aida, puffing on a cigarette in a simple conference room at his Chinese company's office.
Tomio Oka, an engineer who specializes in making molds for components used on items such as mobile phones that require precision to one one-thousandth of a millimeter, quit his job at a unit of what is now Panasonic Corp in 1998, to work for a Taiwanese company in Dongguan.
"Everyone in my family opposed this. I was working at a reputable company, making a stable income. My wife even threatened to divorce me at one stage," Oka said, grimacing as he recalled what happened.
"But I wanted to open the doors to my future myself. I didn't want to lead a life on some rail track set by others."
2012年4月17日星期二
2012年4月16日星期一
If high gas prices keep you home this summer, re-floor with Tuftwick
High gas prices this summer will cause many families to travel less in order to save money. If you’re staying close to home, summertime is a great time to re-floor with Tuftwick Carpet!
Check out all of the deals they have going on right now in their showroom at 4602 34th St. There you’ll find their usual wide selection of flooring, plus new wood, ceramic and carpet samples that have just arrived!
If what you’re looking for is not in stock, Tuftwick will gladly order it for you.
Looking for something small? Tuftwick’s entire inventory of remnants is on sale! Add warmth and color to a dorm room or apartment with a stylish remnant or use a remnant as an area rug on hardwood floors. Remnants start at just $5 per yard!
If you have rental property, you can freshen up the interior with affordable flooring before new tenants move in. Consider new carpet for the living area and vinyl for the kitchen or bathroom. Also available for the kitchen or bathroom is a new line of backsplash tile.
With more than a half a century of experience, Tuftwick Carpet can help you make the right choice for your flooring needs. Recently, they’ve added a new salesperson to their staff. Jeff Cumby has more than 15 years of industry experience, and would love to talk to you about any of today’s popular flooring options.
Tuftwick also carries the latest flooring trend – Arko ceramic tile that mimics the look and feel of hardwood.
Also available is vinyl wood plank flooring. There are numerous advantages to installing vinyl wood plank floors. The cost savings makes it an affordable choice, and manufacturers are capable of producing realistic looking wood floors out of vinyl material, so you get a lot of style for a lower price. Another important aspect of vinyl wood flooring that makes it attractive is the ease of maintenance. A damp mop with an all-purpose cleaner is all it takes to clean these floors.
For maintaining carpet’s original beauty, there’s nothing better than the Capture Carpet Cleaning System. Tuftwick is one of the few places in town where the Capture system is still available. It deep cleans and deodorizes dirty carpets with powder instead of shampooing or steaming – in just 30 minutes!
Come by and ask the staff at Tuftwick Carpet about 12 months, no interest, no payment financing on all Shaw products!
From sales to installation and even after the work is finished, the crew at Tuftwick Carpet will make sure you are happy. Remember, everything is backed by a warranty, including installation. Tuftwick’s installers have been with the store for 20 years, and their work speaks volumes about the store’s high standards.
Check out all of the deals they have going on right now in their showroom at 4602 34th St. There you’ll find their usual wide selection of flooring, plus new wood, ceramic and carpet samples that have just arrived!
If what you’re looking for is not in stock, Tuftwick will gladly order it for you.
Looking for something small? Tuftwick’s entire inventory of remnants is on sale! Add warmth and color to a dorm room or apartment with a stylish remnant or use a remnant as an area rug on hardwood floors. Remnants start at just $5 per yard!
If you have rental property, you can freshen up the interior with affordable flooring before new tenants move in. Consider new carpet for the living area and vinyl for the kitchen or bathroom. Also available for the kitchen or bathroom is a new line of backsplash tile.
With more than a half a century of experience, Tuftwick Carpet can help you make the right choice for your flooring needs. Recently, they’ve added a new salesperson to their staff. Jeff Cumby has more than 15 years of industry experience, and would love to talk to you about any of today’s popular flooring options.
Tuftwick also carries the latest flooring trend – Arko ceramic tile that mimics the look and feel of hardwood.
Also available is vinyl wood plank flooring. There are numerous advantages to installing vinyl wood plank floors. The cost savings makes it an affordable choice, and manufacturers are capable of producing realistic looking wood floors out of vinyl material, so you get a lot of style for a lower price. Another important aspect of vinyl wood flooring that makes it attractive is the ease of maintenance. A damp mop with an all-purpose cleaner is all it takes to clean these floors.
For maintaining carpet’s original beauty, there’s nothing better than the Capture Carpet Cleaning System. Tuftwick is one of the few places in town where the Capture system is still available. It deep cleans and deodorizes dirty carpets with powder instead of shampooing or steaming – in just 30 minutes!
Come by and ask the staff at Tuftwick Carpet about 12 months, no interest, no payment financing on all Shaw products!
From sales to installation and even after the work is finished, the crew at Tuftwick Carpet will make sure you are happy. Remember, everything is backed by a warranty, including installation. Tuftwick’s installers have been with the store for 20 years, and their work speaks volumes about the store’s high standards.
2012年4月15日星期日
Shoulder procedure puts Hammond cop back on the streets
The interrupted sleep was annoying. And having to reposition his holster was frustrating. But, Hammond Police Cpl. Todd Larson finally turned to medical intervention for his shoulder pain when he struggled to play catch with his children.
He had coached his 9-year-old son in baseball and 12-year-old daughter in softball. "I'd have to throw it back underhand," he says.
The now 42-year-old had been weight lifting since he was 14, growing up in Highland. Behind-the-head lifting wore on his shoulders. While playing on a football scholarship at Butler University, he was injected with cortisone shots to ease the pain. But by senior year, his shoulder was being wrapped.
When he became a police officer after working five years as a pharmacist, the physical demands only compounded his pain. "My shoulders got worse, my mobility got worse," he says.
During training exercises, he couldn't put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed.
One doctor told him he had a frozen shoulder, but physical therapy gave little relief. He was referred to Dr. Anthony Romeo, orthopedic surgeon and head of the Shoulder Service at Rush Medical College, who also serves as team physician for the Chicago White Sox and the doctor who performed landmark surgery on pitcher Jake Peavy.
After Romeo and a medical resident reviewed X-rays of his shoulders, Larson sat in an exam room, overhearing their conversation on the other side of the door. His shoulder movements had created ridges in the joints, which was coupled with arthritis. "The resident said, 'He'll never be able to be a cop again,'" Larson says.
When the doctors came in the room, they clarified that an end to his professional career would be likely with one type of surgery. But, the surgery they wanted for Larson was different. It was expected to bring back a full range of motion.
The procedure creates a new shoulder with no plastic socket. Instead, the surgeon reams a new, deeper biological socket. That socket forms a layer of fibrocartilage. Over time, it molds itself around the metal ball of the upper arm.
With his level of activity, Larson was a good candidate for the "ream and run"—as it is known—surgery, Romeo said.
"We've learned that total shoulder replacement takes away people's desired lifestyle," Romeo says. "We needed another solution."
A traditional ball-and-socket replacement would not hold up well to powerful activities. Larson would have been restricted to lifting no more than 25 pounds per arm.
Larson had surgery on his right shoulder April 18, 2011. He was back at work four months later. Surgery on his left shoulder was October 17, and he returned to work the first week of February.
Larson, who is in his fourteenth year with the Hammond Police Department, continues to strengthen his left shoulder through rehabilitation. Increased upper body activity, coupled with medical advances, has changed the story on shoulder surgery.
He had coached his 9-year-old son in baseball and 12-year-old daughter in softball. "I'd have to throw it back underhand," he says.
The now 42-year-old had been weight lifting since he was 14, growing up in Highland. Behind-the-head lifting wore on his shoulders. While playing on a football scholarship at Butler University, he was injected with cortisone shots to ease the pain. But by senior year, his shoulder was being wrapped.
When he became a police officer after working five years as a pharmacist, the physical demands only compounded his pain. "My shoulders got worse, my mobility got worse," he says.
During training exercises, he couldn't put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed.
One doctor told him he had a frozen shoulder, but physical therapy gave little relief. He was referred to Dr. Anthony Romeo, orthopedic surgeon and head of the Shoulder Service at Rush Medical College, who also serves as team physician for the Chicago White Sox and the doctor who performed landmark surgery on pitcher Jake Peavy.
After Romeo and a medical resident reviewed X-rays of his shoulders, Larson sat in an exam room, overhearing their conversation on the other side of the door. His shoulder movements had created ridges in the joints, which was coupled with arthritis. "The resident said, 'He'll never be able to be a cop again,'" Larson says.
When the doctors came in the room, they clarified that an end to his professional career would be likely with one type of surgery. But, the surgery they wanted for Larson was different. It was expected to bring back a full range of motion.
The procedure creates a new shoulder with no plastic socket. Instead, the surgeon reams a new, deeper biological socket. That socket forms a layer of fibrocartilage. Over time, it molds itself around the metal ball of the upper arm.
With his level of activity, Larson was a good candidate for the "ream and run"—as it is known—surgery, Romeo said.
"We've learned that total shoulder replacement takes away people's desired lifestyle," Romeo says. "We needed another solution."
A traditional ball-and-socket replacement would not hold up well to powerful activities. Larson would have been restricted to lifting no more than 25 pounds per arm.
Larson had surgery on his right shoulder April 18, 2011. He was back at work four months later. Surgery on his left shoulder was October 17, and he returned to work the first week of February.
Larson, who is in his fourteenth year with the Hammond Police Department, continues to strengthen his left shoulder through rehabilitation. Increased upper body activity, coupled with medical advances, has changed the story on shoulder surgery.
2012年4月12日星期四
Remembering local victims of the Titanic
One hundred years ago, Boston Globe readers opened their newspapers and were shocked to learn that the unthinkable had happened: The mighty Titanic, the supposedly unsinkable, state-of-the-art luxury liner, had hit an iceberg and sunk to the bottom of the ocean, taking about 1,500 lives.
Several passengers from Southeastern Massachusetts were aboard the Titanic on its first voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. Many of them never made it home.
On April 16, 1912, readers who turned to page 5 of the Globe would have seen the pudgy face of Jacques Futrelle, a novelist from Scituate. Wearing round eyeglasses and his hair swept neatly to the side, Futrelle looked scholarly. He was on the Titanic with his wife, Lily May, and had just celebrated his 37th birthday.
They would have read about Frank D. Millet, a Mattapoisett native who was an internationally known artist. He traveled all over, and lived in New York and Worcestershire, England. He was on his way to New York to visit his brother.
There was a black-and-white photograph of John Maguire, a salesman with the Dunbar Pattern Co. in Brockton. He was dressed smartly in a jacket and tie, with a stiff white collar. He was returning from his first trip abroad - which turned out to be his last.
Above Maguire on page 5, there was a photo of George Quincy Clifford. The 40-year-old Stoughton resident was president of the George E. Belcher Last Co., a factory that produced shoe molds. He had been traveling on business with Maguire and another local shoe industry executive.
A century has passed since the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, yet the stories of these passengers and others on the ill-fated voyage still resonate.
That is why Stoughton historian David Allen Lambert decided to lead an effort to dedicate a plaque in his town in memory of Clifford. Many people in Stoughton don’t know that the town lost one of its own in the disaster, he said.
Lambert first heard of Clifford when he was 12. He said Clifford was originally from Brockton and moved to Stoughton in 1909.
In February 1912, he left for Europe accompanied by Maguire and Walter Chamberlain Porter, the president of a shoe last company in Worcester.
Clifford “was out looking for contracts,’’ said Lambert, vice president of the Stoughton Historical Society, who works as an online genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. “Sadly, when he was en route his mother died, and he was notified by telegram when he reached Europe.’’
Clifford’s shoe mold company was located in a brick building at 4 Capen St., off Route 139. The business is long gone, but the building is still there, now called the Rose Forte Apartment building. The plaque will be unveiled there on Sunday at 2 p.m. and the public is invited to attend.
A brief memorial service will be held in honor of the Titanic victims, and some of Clifford’s descendants are expected to be there to unveil the memorial.
The dedication ceremony will conclude around 2:20 p.m. - about 100 years and 12 hours to the moment the ship disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic. “The bow of the ship slipped through the waves at 2:20 a.m.,’’ said Lambert.
The sinking of the ship was vividly described by Lily May Futrelle, one of the estimated 705 survivors of the Titanic. A native of Georgia, she and her husband, Jacques, resided in Scituate in a home they called “Stepping Stones.’’
Futrelle wrote a detailed account of the sinking a few weeks after the disaster. Her two-part series “remains one of earliest and most authoritative eyewitness accounts of the catastrophe,’’ according to Donald E. Wilkes Jr., a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law who has done research and written about the Futrelles.
“I think she was a fascinating person,’’ said Wilkes, in a recent telephone interview. She was married to an accomplished author and was a writer herself. She once hosted a radio program for aspiring writers, and her 1911 novel “Secretary of Frivolous Affairs” was later made into a movie, he said.
Several passengers from Southeastern Massachusetts were aboard the Titanic on its first voyage from Southampton, England, to New York. Many of them never made it home.
On April 16, 1912, readers who turned to page 5 of the Globe would have seen the pudgy face of Jacques Futrelle, a novelist from Scituate. Wearing round eyeglasses and his hair swept neatly to the side, Futrelle looked scholarly. He was on the Titanic with his wife, Lily May, and had just celebrated his 37th birthday.
They would have read about Frank D. Millet, a Mattapoisett native who was an internationally known artist. He traveled all over, and lived in New York and Worcestershire, England. He was on his way to New York to visit his brother.
There was a black-and-white photograph of John Maguire, a salesman with the Dunbar Pattern Co. in Brockton. He was dressed smartly in a jacket and tie, with a stiff white collar. He was returning from his first trip abroad - which turned out to be his last.
Above Maguire on page 5, there was a photo of George Quincy Clifford. The 40-year-old Stoughton resident was president of the George E. Belcher Last Co., a factory that produced shoe molds. He had been traveling on business with Maguire and another local shoe industry executive.
A century has passed since the Titanic sank on April 15, 1912, yet the stories of these passengers and others on the ill-fated voyage still resonate.
That is why Stoughton historian David Allen Lambert decided to lead an effort to dedicate a plaque in his town in memory of Clifford. Many people in Stoughton don’t know that the town lost one of its own in the disaster, he said.
Lambert first heard of Clifford when he was 12. He said Clifford was originally from Brockton and moved to Stoughton in 1909.
In February 1912, he left for Europe accompanied by Maguire and Walter Chamberlain Porter, the president of a shoe last company in Worcester.
Clifford “was out looking for contracts,’’ said Lambert, vice president of the Stoughton Historical Society, who works as an online genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. “Sadly, when he was en route his mother died, and he was notified by telegram when he reached Europe.’’
Clifford’s shoe mold company was located in a brick building at 4 Capen St., off Route 139. The business is long gone, but the building is still there, now called the Rose Forte Apartment building. The plaque will be unveiled there on Sunday at 2 p.m. and the public is invited to attend.
A brief memorial service will be held in honor of the Titanic victims, and some of Clifford’s descendants are expected to be there to unveil the memorial.
The dedication ceremony will conclude around 2:20 p.m. - about 100 years and 12 hours to the moment the ship disappeared into the depths of the Atlantic. “The bow of the ship slipped through the waves at 2:20 a.m.,’’ said Lambert.
The sinking of the ship was vividly described by Lily May Futrelle, one of the estimated 705 survivors of the Titanic. A native of Georgia, she and her husband, Jacques, resided in Scituate in a home they called “Stepping Stones.’’
Futrelle wrote a detailed account of the sinking a few weeks after the disaster. Her two-part series “remains one of earliest and most authoritative eyewitness accounts of the catastrophe,’’ according to Donald E. Wilkes Jr., a professor at the University of Georgia School of Law who has done research and written about the Futrelles.
“I think she was a fascinating person,’’ said Wilkes, in a recent telephone interview. She was married to an accomplished author and was a writer herself. She once hosted a radio program for aspiring writers, and her 1911 novel “Secretary of Frivolous Affairs” was later made into a movie, he said.
2012年4月11日星期三
VPG MV-1 First Drive
Nissan made a lot of noise in New York showing off its NV200-van based "Taxi of Tomorrow," so called because it won the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission's contest of the same name. But lost in the party atmosphere was the fact that no contract has been officially signed. Why not? In part because of a court case--Christopher Noel, et al, versus New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, et al,--alleging that the TLC violated Title II, section A of the Americans with disabilities act by selecting a taxi design that is not 100-percent wheelchair accessible, as some of the contending designs were. Last December, Manhattan federal court judge George Daniels ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, but the city won a stay of that decision pending appeal. Oral arguments in the appeals case are scheduled for April 19. What might happen if the NV200 contract unravels?
There is a dedicated taxi/mobility vehicle option tooled, in production, and ready to step into the void, produced by a start-up American car company you may never have heard of. The company is Vehicle Production Group, of Miami, Florida -- a lean start-up funded with $350 million in private equity that began production of its Buy America-certified vehicle in a UAW-staffed plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, last September. This taxicab/limo/wheelchair mobility vehicle, called the MV-1, was on display at the New York International Auto Show. The model name reflects the company's claim that this is the first factory-built mobility vehicle. The design utilizes myriad components from Tier-1 suppliers and was tailored to fit the idled tooling that used to build the Hummer H2. AM General handles assembly, parts, and warranty logistics.
The styling looks like an SUV-ish riff on the traditional London cab, with a low-step-in (or roll aboard) flat floor and oodles of headroom. Dimensionally, it measures 8.0 inches shorter in length, 2.1 inches wider, and 18.2 inches taller than the Crown Vic. The rear doors swing open (90 degrees on the passenger side) to reveal a bench seat wide enough for three amply proportioned passengers. An optional ($349) rear-facing jump seat behind the driver accommodates a fourth, and standard anchoring plates are fitted to secure two wheelchairs, though locking down the second one precludes use of the right half of the bench seat. There is currently no provision for fitting a front passenger seat, though one is being considered, along with a passenger airbag.
Taxi fleet operators will be plenty familiar with the 4.6-liter Ford V-8 engine and four-speed automatic transmission powering the initial run of MV-1s, fueled either by gasoline or compressed natural gas. The CNG option adds $9000 and includes three 3600-psi tanks that raise the luggage-area floor by about 9 inches and provide 320 miles of range. CNG refueling stations are reportedly plentiful in NYC and the fuel is priced some $2/gallon equivalent cheaper than gasoline. Phasing in Ford's 3.7-liter V-6 will eventually stretch that range to 400 miles. The body-on-frame design was designed and developed with assistance from Roush Engineering. The ladder frame incorporates a control-arm/coil spring front suspension and a unique rear setup that combines a Chevy Camaro's differential with a leaf-sprung aluminum tube deDion axle assisted by load-leveling air springs to keep things even when approaching the 6600-pound gross-vehicle-weight rating.
There is a dedicated taxi/mobility vehicle option tooled, in production, and ready to step into the void, produced by a start-up American car company you may never have heard of. The company is Vehicle Production Group, of Miami, Florida -- a lean start-up funded with $350 million in private equity that began production of its Buy America-certified vehicle in a UAW-staffed plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, last September. This taxicab/limo/wheelchair mobility vehicle, called the MV-1, was on display at the New York International Auto Show. The model name reflects the company's claim that this is the first factory-built mobility vehicle. The design utilizes myriad components from Tier-1 suppliers and was tailored to fit the idled tooling that used to build the Hummer H2. AM General handles assembly, parts, and warranty logistics.
The styling looks like an SUV-ish riff on the traditional London cab, with a low-step-in (or roll aboard) flat floor and oodles of headroom. Dimensionally, it measures 8.0 inches shorter in length, 2.1 inches wider, and 18.2 inches taller than the Crown Vic. The rear doors swing open (90 degrees on the passenger side) to reveal a bench seat wide enough for three amply proportioned passengers. An optional ($349) rear-facing jump seat behind the driver accommodates a fourth, and standard anchoring plates are fitted to secure two wheelchairs, though locking down the second one precludes use of the right half of the bench seat. There is currently no provision for fitting a front passenger seat, though one is being considered, along with a passenger airbag.
Taxi fleet operators will be plenty familiar with the 4.6-liter Ford V-8 engine and four-speed automatic transmission powering the initial run of MV-1s, fueled either by gasoline or compressed natural gas. The CNG option adds $9000 and includes three 3600-psi tanks that raise the luggage-area floor by about 9 inches and provide 320 miles of range. CNG refueling stations are reportedly plentiful in NYC and the fuel is priced some $2/gallon equivalent cheaper than gasoline. Phasing in Ford's 3.7-liter V-6 will eventually stretch that range to 400 miles. The body-on-frame design was designed and developed with assistance from Roush Engineering. The ladder frame incorporates a control-arm/coil spring front suspension and a unique rear setup that combines a Chevy Camaro's differential with a leaf-sprung aluminum tube deDion axle assisted by load-leveling air springs to keep things even when approaching the 6600-pound gross-vehicle-weight rating.
2012年4月10日星期二
Burke eyes trade market to improve Maple Leafs
The Leafs' general manager said Tuesday during a season wrap-up press conference in Toronto that he doesn't see a lot of answers to his team's problems via free agency, so he will undertake the roster re-tooling through trades during the summer. He believes that the team has the assets to acquire the needed resources.
Burke, who has had his position with the Leafs for four seasons, expressed particular displeasure over the Leafs' 8-0 loss on March 19 in which his team was pushed around by the bigger, stronger Boston Bruins.
"My view on how hockey teams are built and how hockey games are won has not changed," Burke said. "I still believe that big, physical teams win hockey games, and if you have two evenly-matched teams from a skill perspective, the bigger team's going to win. We need to get bigger. That's my top priority as far as an overall priority."
With the Florida Panthers reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, the Leafs now have the longest postseason drought of any team in the League at seven seasons. Burke said he hasn't slept in two months because of that, but as he has said in the past, the last thing he wants to do is construct a roster that's only good enough to claim the No. 8 seed and lose in the first round.
"I'm trying to build a championship team here," Burke said. "And that's very hard to see here today, but the building blocks, the keys that you need, the Phil Kessels, the Joffrey Lupuls, the Jake Gardiners, the Dion Phaneufs, the second line -- all those things have been put in place. And that's what can't be overlooked as you analyze and dissect a season. Even a season that's marked by failure. I think we're going in the right direction."
The Leafs were in contention for a playoff spot through the beginning February, but the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. They finished 7-18-4 and coach Ron Wilson was replaced with Randy Carlyle for the team's final 15 games.
While Burke addressed roster issues -- he said he believes goaltender James Reimer is the "real deal" and wasn't the same after taking a shot to the head from Brian Gionta in October -- Carlyle talked about the improvement that he feels is needed to the mental side of the Leafs' game.
"Confidence was the No. 1 thing that I would say this team did not have," Carlyle said. "We were not a confident group. It's our job as a coaching staff to force, coddle, kick -- whatever word you want to use -- to get them to believe that they can do it."
The Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery will be held Tuesday night in Toronto, and the Leafs have an 8.1 percent chance of attaining the first pick in the upcoming draft. It will be the first process in Burke's latest attempt to get the Leafs back to the postseason for the first time since 2004, although he doesn't believe anyone in the top five can provide an immediate impact.
Burke, who has had his position with the Leafs for four seasons, expressed particular displeasure over the Leafs' 8-0 loss on March 19 in which his team was pushed around by the bigger, stronger Boston Bruins.
"My view on how hockey teams are built and how hockey games are won has not changed," Burke said. "I still believe that big, physical teams win hockey games, and if you have two evenly-matched teams from a skill perspective, the bigger team's going to win. We need to get bigger. That's my top priority as far as an overall priority."
With the Florida Panthers reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, the Leafs now have the longest postseason drought of any team in the League at seven seasons. Burke said he hasn't slept in two months because of that, but as he has said in the past, the last thing he wants to do is construct a roster that's only good enough to claim the No. 8 seed and lose in the first round.
"I'm trying to build a championship team here," Burke said. "And that's very hard to see here today, but the building blocks, the keys that you need, the Phil Kessels, the Joffrey Lupuls, the Jake Gardiners, the Dion Phaneufs, the second line -- all those things have been put in place. And that's what can't be overlooked as you analyze and dissect a season. Even a season that's marked by failure. I think we're going in the right direction."
The Leafs were in contention for a playoff spot through the beginning February, but the wheels came off in spectacular fashion. They finished 7-18-4 and coach Ron Wilson was replaced with Randy Carlyle for the team's final 15 games.
While Burke addressed roster issues -- he said he believes goaltender James Reimer is the "real deal" and wasn't the same after taking a shot to the head from Brian Gionta in October -- Carlyle talked about the improvement that he feels is needed to the mental side of the Leafs' game.
"Confidence was the No. 1 thing that I would say this team did not have," Carlyle said. "We were not a confident group. It's our job as a coaching staff to force, coddle, kick -- whatever word you want to use -- to get them to believe that they can do it."
The Scotiabank NHL Draft Lottery will be held Tuesday night in Toronto, and the Leafs have an 8.1 percent chance of attaining the first pick in the upcoming draft. It will be the first process in Burke's latest attempt to get the Leafs back to the postseason for the first time since 2004, although he doesn't believe anyone in the top five can provide an immediate impact.
2012年4月4日星期三
West Side Wonder
Some college courses result in a term paper. Some finish with an exam. The more involved classes require a completed project. Students in Syracuse University associate professor Marion Wilson’s social sculpture class, however, have spent 2 years transforming a two-story drug hub on Syracuse’s Near West Side into a multifunctional community center for art and education. It sure beats the hell out of multiple choice.
Wilson’s project took shape in the abandoned drug house at 601 Tully St. starting in late 2009. As a tribute to its surrounding neighborhood, the gallery was named “601 Tully” after its street address. Wilson and her students spent months developing a vision for the community center and, along with members of the neighborhood’s GreenTrain group, brought that vision to life. The completely renovated building is now home to a community garden, artist gallery and workspace, and an after-school program for students in the surrounding neighborhood.
Each semester over the past 2 years Wilson’s class has undertaken a different facet of the overwhelming project. Early classes obtained proper zoning from the city and developed a business plan. In subsequent semesters, they held focus groups with neighbors, gathered wood and materials, created the garden outside and undertook renovations including un-barricading the boarded-up doors and windows and laying new floorboards.
Wherever possible, the students used recycled materials to complete the project. “All the seating was made by the students,” Wilson says. “The benches upstairs are old beams from the Lincoln Supply building.”
Currently, students in Wilson’s class are curating the gallery—which opened June 2011—and working on arranging new artists-in-residence to continue crafting the building. As a work of art itself, the building will never truly be finished, Wilson says.
John Cardone is a senior creative writing student at SU working on a minor in sculpture. He has been taking Wilson’s class since it began in 2010; it’s one of those unusual classes that is assigned a different course number each semester, and focuses on different projects.
“This isn’t just an academic exercise for us,” Cardone says of the project. “It’s real work with a real outcome so students get very invested. It’s more time-consuming than most classes but it’s worth it.”
The current artist-in-residence is Zeke Leonard, who reveals his ongoing project to the public at a ceremony on Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m. Leonard, an artist and full-time professor of interior design at SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, is in the process of transforming 601 Tully’s narrow stairwell into a functioning musical instrument using a series of pegs, knobs and strings.
“We wanted to create an instrument that could be played sometimes,” he says. “Not an annoying chime on a doorknob that rings every time someone walks through the door.”
Leonard’s background designing furniture and theater sets inspired his affinity for using found objects to create functional art. Seeking to minimize waste wherever possible, Leonard proves one man’s trash is, in this case, another’s pleasure. He spends 10 to 12 hours a week at 601 Tully, laboring away most afternoons and weekends to complete the project.
Other projects in the works for Leonard include developing workshops that teach community members to build guitars out of cigar boxes and broom handles—something he’s been doing as a hobby for a while. “I want to make good-sounding instruments for no money using found objects,” he says. “People shouldn’t have to spend a thousand dollars to be able to make great music.”
Wilson’s project took shape in the abandoned drug house at 601 Tully St. starting in late 2009. As a tribute to its surrounding neighborhood, the gallery was named “601 Tully” after its street address. Wilson and her students spent months developing a vision for the community center and, along with members of the neighborhood’s GreenTrain group, brought that vision to life. The completely renovated building is now home to a community garden, artist gallery and workspace, and an after-school program for students in the surrounding neighborhood.
Each semester over the past 2 years Wilson’s class has undertaken a different facet of the overwhelming project. Early classes obtained proper zoning from the city and developed a business plan. In subsequent semesters, they held focus groups with neighbors, gathered wood and materials, created the garden outside and undertook renovations including un-barricading the boarded-up doors and windows and laying new floorboards.
Wherever possible, the students used recycled materials to complete the project. “All the seating was made by the students,” Wilson says. “The benches upstairs are old beams from the Lincoln Supply building.”
Currently, students in Wilson’s class are curating the gallery—which opened June 2011—and working on arranging new artists-in-residence to continue crafting the building. As a work of art itself, the building will never truly be finished, Wilson says.
John Cardone is a senior creative writing student at SU working on a minor in sculpture. He has been taking Wilson’s class since it began in 2010; it’s one of those unusual classes that is assigned a different course number each semester, and focuses on different projects.
“This isn’t just an academic exercise for us,” Cardone says of the project. “It’s real work with a real outcome so students get very invested. It’s more time-consuming than most classes but it’s worth it.”
The current artist-in-residence is Zeke Leonard, who reveals his ongoing project to the public at a ceremony on Thursday, April 5, at 7 p.m. Leonard, an artist and full-time professor of interior design at SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, is in the process of transforming 601 Tully’s narrow stairwell into a functioning musical instrument using a series of pegs, knobs and strings.
“We wanted to create an instrument that could be played sometimes,” he says. “Not an annoying chime on a doorknob that rings every time someone walks through the door.”
Leonard’s background designing furniture and theater sets inspired his affinity for using found objects to create functional art. Seeking to minimize waste wherever possible, Leonard proves one man’s trash is, in this case, another’s pleasure. He spends 10 to 12 hours a week at 601 Tully, laboring away most afternoons and weekends to complete the project.
Other projects in the works for Leonard include developing workshops that teach community members to build guitars out of cigar boxes and broom handles—something he’s been doing as a hobby for a while. “I want to make good-sounding instruments for no money using found objects,” he says. “People shouldn’t have to spend a thousand dollars to be able to make great music.”
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