multimaster

Home show proving a good draw


During the first weekend of the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show, there was little evidence of a recession.

Vendors staffing booths at the David Lawrence Convention Center wondered if people would show up, and if they did, would they open up their wallets? But arrive and spend they did, with an amazing amount of gusto, said executive director John DeSantis.

Opening weekend didn't break attendance records, but thousands of consumers braved the cold and ponied up $10 at the door for the opportunity to check out all the latest home and garden products and services.

"It was our biggest weekend in two years," said Mr. DeSantis, "and the second weekend is always better than the first."

The show ends Sunday.

Some vendors, including Fein Power Tools, couldn't keep up with demand. Not only did the Green Tree maker of high-end profile sanders, saws and other power tools run out of literature and promotional DVDs, but attendees also snapped up an entire week's supply of $400 Multimaster Top sets.

"We didn't expect to be that busy," said trade show coordinator Tracy Nedzesky. "We ended up having four or five employees at a time instead of two."

Ms. Nedzesky said she has seen more interest in home improvement and remodeling, and once people make the decision to embark on a project, "they want to get it done faster."

Steve Erenrich of Luxury Bath of Pittsburgh in Carnegie is another who had a "phenomenal" first weekend at the home show. His booth featuring acrylic tub liners and walls enjoyed the two biggest days of foot traffic in some 20 years at the show.

Mr. Erenrich guessed that some people finally stopped listening to all the bad news about the recession.

"They've come to the conclusion that if they're going to stay away from the stock market, why not put that money in their home and enjoy it?" he said.

For others, the show was an inexpensive way to have fun with the family and feed a case of spring fever with a pretty plant, goofy cleaning product or tasty treat.

This is Jack Hugh of Tropical Forest's first year at the show selling pussy willow cuttings, but sales were so much better than expected over the weekend that he's already planning to return next year.

"Even though the economy's bad, people can still afford a $10 item that makes you feel good," said Mr. Hugh, whose cuttings sell for $10 for one bunch, $18 for two or $25 for three.

Rob Solomon, director of business development for Fudgie Wudgie in the Strip, said his company was similarly busy. Sales of its gourmet fudge, chocolate-covered pretzels and chocolate treats were up several thousand dollars this weekend, echoing the 10 percent higher sales it enjoyed at last month's custom car show at the convention center.

The annual Pittsburgh International Auto Show, which ran Feb. 12-15, also did well, with a 14 percent increase in attendance over last year, according to Denise Brennan, executive vice president/CEO of Greater Pittsburgh Automobile Dealers Association.

arnold classic 2009

The WCS has made the long journey out of the homeland and is currently en route to Columbus, OH to attend the Arnold's Sports Festival. We will, of course, be bringing you the best in coverage of the Arnold's Grappling Championship and related combat sports news, but we will also be cruising the expo floor exploring the best and newest in fitness, sports and more.



The weekend is chock full of not only grappling, but also arm wrestling, powerlifting, dance, archery, wrestling, and the world-famous Arnold's Classic bodybuilding competition. We will be on site experiencing it all, and let us know if there's anything you want to see or hear.



Expect daily updates on the festival, as well as random encounters with assorted famous-types. If you're competing at the Arnold's (grappling or otherwise), let us know!



So far we've made a pit stop in Indianapolis, IN to spend a day at Marcello Monteiro's BJJ Academy (www.bjjcoach.com), training, eating Subway and getting scared by plastic spiders. If you're ever in the area, I'm sorry. But check out Marcello's new gym and the Dollar General - good stuff. See you later Indiana, I think I hate you.

time change 2009

President Obama kicked off his ambitious goal of reforming health care and providing insurance to all Americans, the first major government effort at reform in 15 years. At the White House's health summit, Obama pledged to pass comprehensive legislation this year, despite economic crises and U.S. engagement in two overseas wars. "When times were good, we didn't get it done. When we had mild recessions, we didn't get it done," Obama said. "There's always a reason not to do it. Now is exactly the time for us to deal with this problem." Indeed, with increasing job losses, approximately 14,000 Americans are losing their health coverage every day. Forty-six million Americans are without health insurance (86.7 million over the last two years), while others are paying more than they can afford. The health care cost share of GDP "is anticipated to rise rapidly from 16.2 percent in 2007 to 17.6 percent in 2009, largely as a result of the recession, and then climb to 20.3 percent by 2018." Referring to a statement made by Health Care for America Now's Richard Kirsch, Obama addressed the cost issue, arguing that "by covering more people, we can also lower costs at the same time, presumably because those who are not insured at the moment are ending up using extraordinarily expensive emergency room care." In his new budget, Obama plans to set aside $634 billion over 10 years as a down payment to reform the health system. While the fund represents a strong start toward reform, it will not be enough to provide affordable coverage for all and a stronger commitment will need to be made. But Obama also "indicated for the first time that he was open to compromise on details of the proposal he put forth in the 2008 campaign." Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) -- who has spent decades as a champion of expanding access to quality health care -- said at yesterday's summit that previous efforts to reform health care "haven't been the kind of serious effort that I think we're seeing right now." "This time, we will not fail," he urged.

statue of limitation

The New York State Catholic Conference is opposing legislation that would provide a one-year window for any alleged victim of clerical sexual abuse to file suit-- no matter how long ago the alleged abuse occurs. Current law allows alleged victims to file suit at any time before they reach the age of 23; the state’s Catholic conference backs an alternative bill that would raise that age to 28.

kepler

NASA has launched a spacecraft with a mission to help determine something that has been the theme for many Hollywood movies over the years: whether Earth-like planets might exist elsewhere in space.

The 15-foot tall, 2,320-pound Kepler satellite lifted off yesterday at 10:50 p.m. Eastern time atop a Delta II rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida for a three-and- a-half-year mission to find other planets that may support life, according to a NASA statement distributed by PR Newswire.

Kepler carries a photometer, a device made up of 42 highly sensitive digital light sensors that will monitor a patch of 100,000 stars to detect planets that may orbit them. Its findings will be essential in determining the course of future missions looking for extraterrestrial life, said David Koch, Kepler’s deputy principal investigator.

“In terms of finding Earth-like planets, this is the only mission that can do it,” he said.

The launch came 10 days after another NASA satellite failed to reach orbit and crashed into the ocean near Antarctica. NASA officials said the fairing, which covers the satellite during the launch, didn’t come off as expected. The weight of the fairing prevented the satellite from reaching its orbit. Without enough power to carry it into orbit, the satellite plunged back to Earth.

Tests After Mishap

In the mishap’s aftermath, Kepler’s fairing was tested and approved for the new mission, which will cost $591 million. The Kepler satellite was built by Boulder, Colorado-based Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., constructed the rocket.

Koch said scientists expect to find about 50 planets roughly the size of Earth and as many as 500 that are slightly larger. Once a planet is found, scientists can calculate whether its size and distance is conducive to the presence of water, an essential component for supporting life.

Kepler is the first U.S. mission to seek planets in the galaxy that may support life. Scientists will conduct two months of tests on Kepler’s systems before the planet search begins.

The satellite will be able to examine a broad swath of the Milky Way for a longer period of time than Corot, a spacecraft sent up by the European Space Agency two years ago, Koch said.

Star Brightness Tested

By focusing on the same group of stars, Kepler will allow scientists to measure changes in brightness, which can occur when planets orbit around them, he said.

Astronomers need to measure three brightness changes, known as transits, to confirm that a planet is causing the light fluctuation.

To have water, a planet has to be at a distance “just right” from the star, an area known as the “Goldilocks Zone,” Koch said. Too close, the planet will be a “roaster” and too hot; too far, a planet would be too cold, he said.

The right distance varies depending on a star’s temperature.

A planet’s mass also is an important factor in whether it’s a place hospitable to life. If the planet is less than half Earth’s mass, it won’t have the gravitational pull to maintain an atmosphere. If it is more than 10 times the mass of Earth, it will become a “cosmic vacuum cleaner,” sucking in elements like hydrogen and helium, creating a planetary surface with the firmness of a soap bubble, Koch said.

obama budget

It is very hot news to day that how Mr. Obama manage budget. It is his first proposed budget of his government. Mr. Obama attempting to solve the some difficult public-policy problems.
He promissed to change, he is trying his best to deliver.

The Obama budget assumes that the US government will reap hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue from a so-called “cap and trade” system, beginning in 2012.
Under a cap and trade system, the government would cap greenhouse-gas emissions that big industries are allowed to emit. They could then trade or sell their rights to release the pollutants, with the government getting a slice of the overall revenue.

The revenue from this system would be used to help pay for development of renewable-energy technology – as well as subsidize the inevitable cost hikes consumers would face if Congress passes cap and trade legislation.

“Because our future depends on our ability to break free from oil that’s controlled by foreign dictators, we need to make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy,” said Obama in Feb. 26 remarks on the budget’s release.

Increased taxes on the wealthy

On taxes, the Obama administration in its budget proposes boosting federal revenue collections from about 16 percent of the GDP this year to 19 percent in 2013.

The White House would allow some of the tax cuts passed under the previous administration to expire for those making more than $250,000 a year. Officials would also allow the tax on the highest US income tax bracket to rise from 35 to more than 39 percent.
The bottom line here is that beginning in 2011, taxes would begin to rise on the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers.

Big policy shifts

The administration’s healthcare reserve fund, by itself, would represent a huge change in national direction, as it implies that the US will move towards some sort of universal healthcare system.

A cap and trade system similarly would be a matter of enormous import, by itself committing the US to an entirely new way of handling the economics of pollution.

Add in higher taxes – always an item of contention in Congress – and Obama’s budget can be seen as just the beginning of a lengthy and contentious Washington debate.

“This is not a responsible budget. This is a classic tax-and-spend budget,” says Brian Riedl, chief budget analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

The historical level of government spending is about 20 percent of GDP, says Mr. Riedl, yet Obama’s budget projects that that figure will stay at about 22 percent of GDP after the recession has ended.

“A lot of people will give the president a pass for increasing spending during a recession. But he’s assuming that a large expansion of government will occur after the recession,” says Riedl.

But people voted for change, points out Mr. Collender of Qorvis Communications. And, he argues, it is easy to exaggerate the degree to which Obama’s budget represents a permanent expansion of the federal government.

The budget contains a penciled-in increase of $250 billion to help fix troubled banks, for instance. It also contains continued spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, though the need for that spending is predicted to eventually diminish.

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