Shuttle Mission STS-129 came to a completion with Space Shuttle Atlantis landing in Florida on Friday. Atlantis launched on November, 16 and flew nearly 4,500,000 miles.

As the remaining missions for the shuttle fleet wind down, NASA used STS-129 to deliver a slew of replacement parts, and backup devices to the International Space Station, and completed 3 spacewalks.

Space shuttle Atlantis lands on runway 33 at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Shuttle Landing Facility concluding the STS-129 mission.
Photo credit: NASA Jack Pfaller

The landing also saw the return of astronaut Nicole Stott. After 91 days in space after serving as Expedition 20/21 flight engineer, her return marks the last time an I.S.S. crew member will be transferred to or from the space station.

The STS-129 crew in front of Atlantis, dressed in their launch-and-entry suits prior to launch. From left are Mission Specialists Leland Melvin and Randy Bresnik; Pilot Barry E. Wilmore; Commander Charles O. Hobaugh; and Mission Specialists Mike Foreman and Robert L. Satcher Jr.
Image credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

This is the final shuttle flight of 2009 with the next launch to be STS-130 as Space Shuttle Endeavour heads to I.S.S. in February.

Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew of seven astronauts ended an 11-day journey of nearly 4.5 million miles with a 9:44 a.m. EST landing Friday at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata, received an award from Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Wednesday.


Astronaut Koichi Wakata (left) receives an award from Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (right) on Wednesday. Wakata is the first Japanese astronaut to serve on an I.S.S. crew and the first Japanese astronaut to stay in space for a prolonged period of time.
Credit: JAXA

Wakata received the award for being the first Japanese astronaut to stay in space for a prolonged period of time. He was on the International Space Station for 4 ½ months before returning to Earth on July, 31.

Wakata’s first journey to space was during the STS-72 mission of Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched on January 11, 1996. His work on I.S.S. began in October of 2000 as a Mission Specialist on the STS-92 mission of Space Shuttle Discovery to I.S.S. This assembly work prepared I.S.S. for its first resident crew.


File photo of Wakata from March, 2007.
Credit: NASA

His most recent trip to I.S.S. began as a Flight Engineer on the STS-119 mission of Space Shuttle Discovery in March of 2009. While on I.S.S, Wakata served as Flight Engineer 2 on crews Expedition 18, Expedition 19, and Expedition 20. He became the first Japanese astronaut of an I.S.S. crew. He returned home in July aboard the STS-127 mission of Space Shuttle Endeavor.

Wakata demonstrating a “flying carpet” during his stay on I.S.S.

Before going back to regularly scheduled fitness-inspired blog posts, on the eve of Thanksgiving, I had to dedicate my final “thankful” post to love. And by love, I don’t just mean romantic love but I also mean the love of my friends, family, siblings and even my cats (who I adore!).

As I’ve said before, this year has been filled with ups and downs. But as we near the end of 2009, I look back and realize just how much of the ups AND the downs were filled with loving moments.

One thing that sticks out to me about this year is just how much stronger my marriage has become, and for that I am very thankful. I think when the reality of divorce settles in, as it has around me not just for my sister but two of my close friends, it really makes you take stock of what you value in your own marriage. I know this definitely rings true for me. I admit that before all of this went down, I had moments where I took Scott for granted which is awful and I’m so glad I’ve gotten the perspective of my friends and sister to really see just how incredible our marriage is. Not trying to toot my own horn here but we have really figured out how to make our marriage work and are having so much fun in the process. 5+ years in, we know how to laugh at eachother when we start to bicker over stupid things (that inevitably turn into bigger things for no other good reason than I’m stubborn as hell!); we have a good balance of goofball moments and serious, romantic moments (that typically turn back into goofball moments in short order!); and still know how to keep that spark alive and flickering away. Most of all, we respect eachother as individuals which I think is the real key to what makes our marriage tick. We LOVE spending time together but we also value our “alone” moments and he understands my need for girls nights (GNO and the occasional GNI!) and I understand his need for guys nights (bowling, football Sunday, etc.).  Of course, Scott also fully supports my workout obsession (and has even joined me in the STS journey which I love) and is SUPER supportive of the soon-to-come Group Kick experience which I love him all the more for (boy, he doesn’t know what he’s in for with this one!).

Going back to the ups and downs for a moment, I have to say that the downs have been invaluable in other ways, too. I think I probably have the best relationship I’ve ever had with my two sisters (have I mentioned that I’m a triplet yet?? I can’t remember!). We’re our own mini-support system for eachother and I realize how special that is, not everyone has not one but TWO pretty awesome sisters to turn to at a moment’s notice.The same holds true for the group of friends I’ve grown to love and adore over the years (my sister blogged about a similar topic this week), you ladies know who you are, and I love ya’ll very much! Girls nights are the best.

So along with being thankful for workouts that leave me spent and for the opportunities I’ve been granted over and over again this past year, I’m thankful for love.

On that note, I hope you all  have a wonderful, love-filled, food-filled and maybe even sweat-filled Thanksgiving tomorrow! I’ll check in at some point to let you know how the Wild Turkey Run goes, it’ll be worth the effort when I’m staring down the dessert table tomorrow afternoon, that’s for sure.

Opportunity, for me, takes on multiple meanings in this post. Today, I’m thankful for the opportunity…

• To truly challenge myself with the Group Kick certification coming up in just two weeks (eek!);
• To be able to afford to experience of all sorts of awesome workout routines – The annual Cathe Road Trip (2 years running!); STS and very soon-to-come STS Shock Cardio; Core Fusion; Group Ride and Group Power; running and everything in between. I’m so grateful for these opportunities and the paycheck that helps foot the bill for it all
• To bond with friends and family through fitness; even if it’s just through this blog, fitness has a uniting power to it that brings together all sorts of different groups of people. I can’t think of another outlet that has quite the same bonding aspect to it that a good sweat-fest does, can you?
• To gain confidence and strength as a result of all of this crazy workout fun I’ve been having this past year. I am once again humbled looking back at it all, it’s been a pretty incredible ride – and well beyond fitness, too! I’ve had some great vacations in Maine at our lakeside family camp this summer; an incredible Sonoma trip with Scott, one of my sisters and a few friends; the aforementioned Cathe Road trip with my sister and two fellow Cathletes; and an awesome 5 year anniversary trip to Punta Cana with Scott that was truly unforgettable!

So, adding it all up, life is pretty darn good right now, I have to admit. I will definitely be referring back to this blog post next time I have a woe-is-me moment, that’s for sure. Talk about putting it all into perspective, huh?

As we near the Thanksgiving holiday this week, I thought I’d dedicate the next few blog entries to things I’m thankful for.  Today’s thankful thought? Workouts that leave me so drained, so spent, that I can hardly lift my arms above my head.

Yup, I started STS again, this time doing an “undulating” rotation. Basically, every workout (3x/week) takes from a different mesocycle to shock the body in an entirely new way every single day.  So today focused on endurance (meso 1), tomorrow’s will be about hypertrophy (meso 2) and Friday’s will be about strength (meso 3). As I mentioned before, I took a few weeks off from STS to “shock” my body with other workouts – one week was cardio intensive, the next was focused on another weight-training regime from Cathe and then I did a two weeks of cardio mixed with Group Power at my gym. What surprised me after taking time away from STS was that no other weight lifting workout pushes me as hard as STS. I literally could not do one more pushup, one more overhead press or one more bicep curl at the end of today’s workout. It felt great, amazing, intense and awesome!

So today, I am very thankful for getting to that “spent” feeling in a workout. I definitely missed it!

Other things I’m thankful for today, non-fitness related? The amazing weekend I spent almost entirely with Scott. As I think I’ve mentioned before, he works in retail, so most holidays are spent working (while we’re all relaxing!) and most weekends are spent working, too. Well this was one of the rare few weekends he had entirely off (since he worked the whole weekend prior) and we took full advantage. It’s weekends like this past one, when I can really spend time with Scott, versus running in twenty-five different directions that I fall even more in love with him. I know, you’d think after 5+ years of marriage that the “in love” factor would fade a little bit but it hasn’t for us. This past year, in particular, we’ve really taken the extra time to connect and appreciate the amazing, fun and exciting connection we have. I do not take it for granted and never will, I know I’m a very lucky lady.

So today – thankful for workouts that kick my butt and for an awesome husband who makes every moment so special, so fun, so filled with love.

Happy Monday everyone, a short week sure does make Mondays easier to swallow, huh?

Today while working with latest STS on Ubuntu 9.10 I observed that it simply doesn’t work properly. While importing projects, nothing happened. Later I found out that it has to do with a bug on Eclipse 3.5 for which a workaround is available on Ubuntu and it works fine.

Set the following environment variable before you run STS.

export GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=1

Details of the bug are available here.

Special bonus: the first known footage of Jimi Hendrix

As we tap our toes, we might recall that today is the birthday of the intellectual Father of Rock and Roll– the Father of the Age of Reason and author (in Candide) of the immortal– and sardonic– advice that each of us should “tend his own garden,” Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire; he was born in Paris on this date in 1694.

Voltaire

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about an essay from Isabelle Stengers’ Power and Invention: Situating Science called “Black Boxes; or, Is Psychoanalysis a Science?”, especially in relationship to the development of Feldenkrais. Her major argument, as I see it, is that psychoanalysis is indeed a science precisely in the way that all sciences are constructed around the coalescing of knowledge in such a way that black boxes are constructed around them, making them unquestioned and unassailable.

So for instance, the idea that the self is constructed around the ego, id, and superego has come to organize Western individual formation in much the same way as the physical discovery that the earth revolves around the sun has come to construct our perception of physical sciences especially as “objective.” Somehow, people have come to take for granted that there’s a particular ideology involved in privileging physical facts over other forms of knowledge such as storytelling or myth or experience. So in order for theories such as Freud’s ego or Darwin’s evolution to become valid, they have to undergo the same kinds of processes that sciences based on physical facts have to undergo.

Of course, that main process would be collecting a group of people who would be able to agree that something is important and worth investigating. Then that group of people constructs particular ways to organize their knowledge such that it’s perceived to be objective, and that only a select group who have come to acquire this knowledge in a specific way would be able to disseminate the knowledge. This is what Stengers refers to when she talks about the black box.

I think that this has a lot of implications for how Feldenkrais as a field is developing. While people talk up and down about how certification is the only route through which one would be able to know how to become a Feldenkrais practicioner, this completely ignores the fact that the construction of that system is completely artificial, and that there’s no guarantee that someone who goes through it would come out knowing any more or less than someone who manages to acquire this knowledge through other means. Of course, it’s a circular argument, since the Guild closely guards the most ready ways in which Feldenkrais knowledge can be acquired, so that their actions produce the very conditions they claim to be afraid of.

Ultimately, the argument that the cordoning off of knowledge in this way allows for quality control is hollow and hypocritical. Not only does it impede knowledge by constructing black boxes that try to make objective what is clearly socially constructed, but it also hides the obvious and clear economic arguments for the gates and walls around Feldenkrais as it is developing. Practicioners can claim to know more and can therefore charge money, and prevent others from doing so. Gaining the prestige of science allows Feldenkrais to acquire legitimacy and therefore allows a select group of people to earn more money. Never mind that this process impedes the development of knowledge, something that Moshe Feldenkrais himself, as much as I’ve read of him, clearly to me would not have wanted.

Scandalul şantajării şefului ANI, Cătălin Macovei desparte presa de campanie în două. Tabăra anti Băsescu tinde să vadă doar înscenarea înregistrării ca material de campanie, pe când tabăra pro Băsescu, mai puţin numeroasă, centrează totul pe ticăloşia deontologilor. Ideea este că toţi au dreptate.

E limpede ca lumina zilei că şeful ANI nu este o victimă nevinovată. Din tot ce apare în stenograme el nu numai că nu reacţionează tranşant faţă de şantajişti, ba chiar lasă tot timpul impresia că vrea să prelungească şi să stimuleze presiunile lui Sorin Roşca Stănescu, părând că joacă rolul de momeală. Iniţiatorul demersului şantajist, Sorin Roşca Stănescu, fost turnător de securitate înainte de 1989, este ajutat de un alt mare afacerist de presă, Bogdan Chirieac. Fostul ghid BTT de dinainte de revoluţie, slujbă predestinată parcă pentru lucrătorii în securitate, a fost de-a lungul timpului mereu aproape de ceea ce americanii numesc, easy money, adică bani făcuţi uşor. Acum doi ani de zile ieşea la suprafaţă afacerea lui Bogdan Chirieac care printr-o firmă de apartament obţinea milioane de euro de la buget în urma unor contracte cu Serviciul de Telecomunicaţii Speciale (STS) acordate fără licitaţie. Prin urmare trei figuri necurate adică oamenii perfecţi pentru un scandal de campanie.

Într-un anumit sens o lovitură dată deontologilor era de aşteptat. În România ultimelor luni aceştia au devenit adversari mult mai de temut pentru unii politicieni, decât rivalii acestora din clasa politică. Acum cearta dintre politicieni este eclipsată de către atacul în haită al şacalilor media care se declanşează furibund la intervale regulate asupra unui politician sau a unui grup politic. Cei care fac asta nu sunt ziarişti de fapt. Poate au fost la un moment dat, dar şi-au depăşit demult condiţia de jurnalişti. Au ajuns să facă bani, afaceri, trafic de influenţă s-au pricopsit parazitând imaginea de justiţiari de presă, de lupi moralişti. Ar fi o jignire pentru jurnaliştii adevăraţi ca aceşti oameni să mai fie consideraţi ziarişti. Sunt nişte gangsteri de presă care şi-au dat mâna cu marii gangsteri din zona economiei gri, iar din această încrucişare s-au născut trusturile de presă dotate cu aceste tunuri de mare calibru ale manipulatorilor de opinie. Un fel de suprapresă şi de suprajurnalism s-a putut naşte în felul acesta.

Evoluţia presei româneşti ţine de o ironie a sorţii. Dacă acum 10-12 ani era în mare vogă jurnalismul care denunţa odată cu apariţia mai multor canale de televiziune şarlatania politicienilor punându-le oglinda în faţă, acum sensul se inversează şi ajung politicienii să demaşte gangsterismul aşa zişilor formatori de opinie. Din păcate acesta este progresul mediului public în toţi aceşti ani. Cei care porneau lupta mediatică cu balaurul corupţiei clasei politice au devenit ei acum subiecţii scenelor de corupţie. Dacă nu se pot generaliza cazurile lui Sorin Roşca Stănescu şi Bogdan Chirieac cu siguranţă că ele se pot multiplica la o bună parte dintre cei ce stau cu un picior în barca ce pluteşte pe apele “tulburi” ale lacului Snagov, unde se toarnă filmul Naşul, şi cu unul în studiourile de televiziune unde se joacă teatrul demagogiei civice.

Să nu uităm însă că suntem în campanie şi tot ce se întâmplă în această perioadă nu are ca scop direct interesul public, ci interesul politic de-a aplica o bâtă-n cap adversarului, chiar dacă astfel parvine indirect şi publicului ticăloşia din media şi din politică. Deşi materiale de acest gen răzbună setea de revanşă morală a publicului, satisfacţia este una efemeră. Nu există nicio finalitate etică în România totul e tras parcă pe şablonul procesului spectacol. Cei care duc această luptă sunt singurii câştigători şi nu fac altceva decât să folosească atunci când au nevoie această frustrare morală a publicului pentru a-şi creşte procentele.

http://crisana.ro/stiri/controverse-23/gangsterismul-suprajurnalistilor-86715.html

Om du skal reise som Au Pair fra Norge eller Sverige, er det tre store byråer å velge blant. Her skal jeg prøve å gi dere en oversikt over de tre, kostnadene ved hvert byrå, og likheter/forskjeller på byråene. Om du har erfaringer med et av byråene er det bare å legge igjen en kommentar, jeg vil gjerne vite hva du synes!:)

STS/Au Pair Care (N)
STS/Au Pair Care (S)
STS er det norske og svenske navnet på byrået, mens Au Pair Care er det amerikanske navnet. Jeg har lest mye rundt om på nettet for å finne informasjon om de ulike byråene, og Au Pair Care kommer best ut av alle tester/kåringer jeg har funnet, blant annet denne hos aupairclearinghouse.com. De er et av de største byråene, med mest erfaring, og de beste tilbakemeldingene fra både vertsfamilier og au pairer. Jeg er selv registrert med STS, og er utrolig fornøyd med oppfølgingen jeg har fått helt fra begynnelsen av. De har en god nettside med informasjon på norsk, og den amerikanske nettsiden til Au Pair Care er enda mer detaljert.

Priser:
Programavgift = 2200,-
Internasjonalt førerkort = ca 90,-
Politiattest = ca 180,- (Jeg fikk min gratis, hva er normalt?)
Helsesjekk = ca 120,-
Visum = 930,-
Plussforsikring = 3200,- (valgfritt)
Forsikring for den 13. måneden = 400,- (valgfritt)
Avbestillingsforsikring = 300,- (valgfritt)
Sum obligatoriske kostnader = 3520,-

Cultural Care (N)
Cultural Care (S)
Dette byrået er nest størst her hjemme, men har fått utrolig mye kritikk i USA de siste årene. Mye av dette går på at både familier og au pairer ikke føler at de blir tatt seriøst om de trenger hjelp til ting som å bytte familie/au pair, og generelt opplever at byrået har dårlig kundeservice. Selvfølgelig er det mange som er fornøyd også, jeg har lest mange svenske blogger der au pairene er kjempefornøyd med byrået.

Priser:
Programavgift = 1800,-
Depositum = 2500,-
Visum = 930,-
Internasjonalt førerkort = ca 90,-
Legesjekk = ca 120,-
Utvidet reiseforsikring = 3200,- (valgfritt)
Avbestillingsforsikring = 325,- (valgfritt)
Forsikring 13. måned =695,- (valgfritt)
Sum obligatoriske kostnader = 5440,-
MEN – du får tilbake 2500,- av dette om du fullfører hele året i USA.

Atlantis (N)
Skandinaviska Institutet (S)
Dette er samme byrå, Au Pair In America, men svensker må søke gjennom SI, og nordmenn gjennom Atlantis. Jeg vet ikke av noen fra Norge som har reist gjennom Atlantis, men SI er i alle fall et veldig vanlig valg i Sverige. Byrået har et godt rykte i USA, selv om det er et av de dyreste byråene for vertsfamiliene.

Priser:
Programavgift = 2000,-
Plasseringsavgift = ca 2800,-
Legeattest = ca 120,-
Internasjonalt førerkort = ca 90,-
Politiattest = ca 180,-
Visum = 930,-
Valgfrie forsikringer osv = ingen pris oppgitt på nettsiden
Sum obligatoriske kostnader = 6120,-
MEN – du får tilbake ca 1100,- av dette om du fullfører hele året i USA.

Likheter:

• 3-4 dager forberedelseskurs utenfor New York
• Grunnlønn (lommepenger) på $195 i uken
• 2 uker betalt ferie i løpet av året
• En 13. måned for å reise rundt etter avsluttet år som Au Pair
• Arbeidstiden er max 45 timer i uka, og max 10 timer om dagen
• En hel helg fri hver måned (fredag ettermiddag – mandag morgen)
• $500 for å studere ved et lokalt college
• Kost, losji og eget rom
• Egen kontaktperson for byrået, som bor max 1 time unna deg og vertsfamilien

Forskjeller:

• Atlantis krever at du har 200 timer erfaring med barnepass. STS krever 200 timer erfaring om du skal passe barn under 2 år. Cultural Care har ingen krav til antall timer, bare at du må ha erfaring.
• STS har avreise fra Oslo minimum to ganger i måneden. Atlantis har avreise fra Oslo og Stavanger hver måned. Cultural Care har avreise fra Oslo, Bergen og Stavanger minimum tre ganger i måneden.
• STS og Cultural Care tilbyr kun et “vanlig” Au Pair-program, med en ukelønn på $195. Atlantis tilbyr også “Au Pair Ekstra”, hvor du får en ukelønn på $250. For å benytte deg av dette programmet, må du ha gått barne- og ungdomsarbeider, førskolelærer, eller ha arbeidet fulltid i barnehage/SFO i 2 år.

(OBS! På alle prisberegningene må dere huske å regne med ekstra kostnader som reise til og fra Oslo for visumintervju, og reise til og fra nærmeste by som tilbyr intervju.)

(PS. På Priser og Likheter/Forskjeller har jeg for enkelthets skyld tatt utgangspunkt i de norske byråene. Om dere ønsker det, kan jeg sette opp en lignende oversikt over de svenske også.)

Paper & Co. in a playful mood on Saturday afternoon

FOXHUNTING is on hiatus for now while the deer hunters are abroad in the countryside, and that gave us a chance to check in at the Iroquois kennels to see how the puppies are doing.

Paper, of course, has been out hunting now and is gradually maturing into an adult pack member. He’s had important lessons all summer and fall, and now the real education starts on the hunt field. There, he has to confront new situations and work professionally with the hunting pack. I guess to put it in human terms, he’s getting his university degree, and by next year he should be a full-time contributing member of the working world.

But what about our youngest puppies, Baffle’s litter and Dragonfly’s huge son Driver? They’re still in elementary school, but the lessons they’re learning now are critical to their future development.

These puppies were born in the spring, and for the last couple of months they’ve been getting their first exposure to working in a group, to pack manners, and to coming when called, Iroquois kennel manager Michael Edwards explained to us on Saturday.

Room to roam: all the hounds--puppies, current working pack members, and retirees--get plenty of free exercise in the two-acre field adjacent to the kennel

After breakfast each day, the 10 young puppies spend about three hours out in the kennel’s two-acre exercise field, one of the best tools the Iroquois staff has for the young hounds’ education.

“They stay out here while we’re getting stuff done in the kennel, and they play and play,” Michael said. “I try to get them out twice a day, once at the end of the day, too, so that they get four to five hours outside.

“Right now, the girls in this litter seem a little more rebellious than the boys,” Michael said of Baffle’s puppies. “The two bigger girls, Bangle and Bandstand, they’ll be the ones that won’t want to go in their kennel. But they’re all very lovable and want attention all the time.”

Assistant kennel manager Alan Foy (seen in the photo above with Baffle’s puppies) has also been working with the youngsters to start developing their sense of pack identity and cooperation.

“Alan’s been taking them out back here, just trying to teach them to stick together and respond when he calls them, and they’ve done really well at that,” Michael said, adding that it’s too early for most of the puppies to have learned their individual names yet. The kennel staff is trying to learn the puppies’ names, too! Many of them look so similar it can be hard to distinguish them, with a few exceptions. Bagshot is the woolly male of the litter; Bashful and Banknote are easy to pick out because they are the two smallest; and Driver, well, he’ll always stand out in a crowd due to his size and dark coloring.

Driver back in July.

Driver today with kennel manager Michael Edwards. A VERY big difference!

“Driver is the biggest baby out here,” Michael said, meaning both the biggest baby and the biggest baby. Recently, Michael set a five-gallon bucket out in the kennel yard, spooking Driver.

“He would not come out here on this concrete while that bucket was sitting there,” Michael said. “I had to get it and move it all the way out by the far gate before he would even come in here, and even then he came in looking at it real carefully. So we’re going to do something we did that worked well with the ST litter (Stam, Stax, Star, Stanza, etc., born in 2007). We’re going to put a windsock in their kennel, something that’s moving all the time so they get used to it. It made a big difference with them.”

In addition to their mini-houndwalks around the property, the puppies also have ventured farther afield with Iroquois joint-Master Jerry Miller and huntsman Lilla Mason. On those, they rode in the hound truck to the old point-to-point course, the same place the older hounds have their early summer walks and pond exercise. Like the older hounds, the puppies got to practice sticking together in a wide open space–their first formal exposure to that critical lesson in the company of the people who will actually hunt them someday.

“All that is important,” Michael said, “because they’re learning how to be a pack.”

The hunt and kennel staff have found it’s useful to start building the pack sense early with puppies.

“With the PA litter (including Panda, Parish, Parody, etc., born in 2005), Lilla and I would take them all through the area together,” Michael said. “By the time we incorporated them into the pack, they already had an idea what was going on, so they just blended right in.”

The puppies don’t yet have the attention span of the older hounds, but already they are focusing on people when they are out on walk, said Alan.

Baffle's litter, shown here with Michael, seem all grown up at seven months of age, but their lessons are just beginning. "I'd say they're like teenagers now," kennel manager Michael Edwards says. "They're just kind of lanky, but they're getting well-balanced."

In the case of Baffle’s puppies, it helps that they are part of a nine-hound litter–a ready-made pack, in a way. For Driver, a singleton, it was especially important that he learn group dynamics as early as possible.

“He lets the little girls chew on his ears,” Alan said. “He’s just a big, goofy puppy. But he’s fit in really well. I agree with Michael that he’s a little passive in the group, but I think it’s because when we first mixed him in with the other puppies he was so much bigger than they were. Now, he’s not quite as much bigger. Barwick and Backfire are getting pretty close to him in size. I think he knew he was bigger and couldn’t play as rough.”

“That all started when they were all at the lower kennel,” Michael said. “He was so much bigger at first that I monitored him closely. If he would be rough, I’d kind of get on him about it and growl at him.”

That lesson seems to have stuck. As Driver romped around with Baffle’s puppies, he was a perfect gentleman with his smaller playmates.

“One of the reasons we wanted to get him in with a group early was because an only child can sometimes have some trouble integrating,” Michael said. “When they’re on their own too long, I think they don’t get socialized with the pack. They don’t learn pack manners and how to respect other hounds. That’s why it was important to get Driver in with the other puppies as soon as we could, especially as big as he is. The longer we waited, the harder it would have been for him to understand that he is part of a pack.”

Baffle's litter in April.

“They learn how to be hounds from each other,” Alan said.

The next step, Michael said, is to start occasionally introducing older hounds to the puppies. Paper was one candidate, but evidently he felt pretty strongly that, having moved up with the big dogs in the pack, he was now too important to deal with the little kids anymore.

“He didn’t want any part of those puppies,” Michael said. “He jumped up on top of a bench and growled about it. I thought, being as young as he was, he’d adjust to it pretty quickly, but no, thank you. On the other hand, Panda went out there with them and loved it.”

“She educated them,” Alan said. “She didn’t get aggressive with them, but she let them know when they went too far and she let them know she didn’t want all of them piling on her at once. If they did that, she’d run away and hop up on the bench, and they couldn’t get up there with her. Then she’d wait until they scattered. Then she’d jump down again and play with one or two of them until all of them would pile on her again. She trained them in her way, which was very gentle.”

“Introducing older hounds to them out in that paddock is where I think they really start to learn about having manners toward other hounds,” said Michael. ”I think they learn a lot out here in this field with each other, just about how to be a pack. Look at these guys out here right now. They’ve been running and playing for almost an hour. They’ll play to the point that somebody gets a little grumpy and growls, and then they’ll stop. These guys will say, ‘That’s enough,’ and it doesn’t escalate. Then they’ll play again.”

“Nobody knows more about being a hound dog than a hound dog,” Alan said. “We can let them know what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable. But those hounds know even better how to tell each other what’s acceptable and what isn’t, and they know how to tell each other how far it can go before something becomes unacceptable. You’ll see them do it on houndwalk. A puppy will go off from the group and do something goofy, and when they come back, and older hound will growl at them to chastise them. Glog is really good at chastising the younger hounds on houndwalk when they do something wrong. He gives them a little scolding, like he’s saying, ‘That’s not how we act around here.’”

Paper (right) at play. Playing is an important part of learning.

While we were at the kennel, we checked in on the new English hounds, too. Cottesmore’s Samson, Strawberry, Structure, and Hawkeye arrived about three weeks ago and are adjusting well, Michael and Alan report. Like the puppies, they are having to learn their place in a new pack, and Michael and Alan are working to figure out which clique within the pack works best for them.

“I think a lot of their ability to adjust easily has to do with Neil,” Michael said, referring to the Cottesmore huntsman, Neil Coleman, who raised and hunted the four in England.

“Look at Samson over here,” Michael said, pointing to the group just turned out in the two-acre field. “He’s in there with all those males. They’re all at the age where they’re trying to show who’s top dog: Paper, Gaelic, Hailstone. But Samson’s the type you could probably stick him in any group and he’d adjust. Because he’s not aggressive. That has a lot to do with the way Neil has raised them. And the others are the same way.”

Cottesmore Samson, the red-and-white hound closest to Michael here, has settled in well. Michael and Alan report that he is easygoing and adaptable.

Structure, Hawkeye, and Strawberry are kenneled in a run with the SA litter that includes Sassoon, Savvy, and Saracen. “They’re pretty easygoing, too,” Michael said.

One of the most important jobs Michael and Alan do is figure out which group of hounds should be kenneled together. Getting the mix right requires some experimentation, but it’s key to the hounds’ physical and mental wellbeing; getting it wrong could result in dangerous friction in the kennel.

“When I brought the English hounds up from the lower kennel (near Michael’s house, where they were quarantined before joining the rest of the pack at the upper kennel), I just started sticking them out in the field with different groups to see how they responded to each other. When they’re outside together with a lot of room, they’re more interested in what’s going on around them than they are in each other, and you can keep an eye on them. I stuck them in with the SAs and never had any issues with them, so that looks like a good fit.”

The process–the two-acre turnout paddock and essentially letting the hounds choose the clique they’re most comfortable with–is unusual, as the English imports let Michael and Alan know.

“When we first turned them out, they all just stood at the gate looking at us like, ‘What’s going on?’” Michael recalled. “But after a few minutes, they sort of went, ‘Hey, look at all this room! Let’s run!’”

Once the hounds have chosen their own group of friends, how do you get each set to merge comfortably with the pack? “We turn different groups out together,” Michael explained. “There are only a few groups that have a little trouble mixing closely, and you have to know all that, especially when you are loading them up in the trailer to take them to a meet. For instance, we can keep some hounds in the back of the hound truck instead of in the trailer if we need to.”

It’s also critical to know who the dominant dog is at any given time, Michael said. At the moment, it’s Alvin.

“Stalker was the big dog before we retired him,” Michael said. Stalker, one of our most beloved hounds, is now retired under the care of the Hound Welfare Fund. You can read his story here. But now that he’s retired, he spends more time in the kennel office, where he can relax and keep warm, and suddenly he’s a mellow retiree.

“Showing his dominance doesn’t seem to concern him so much now,” Michael said. “I guess he’s old enough to realize he’s got it made in there!”

On the way to the gym this morning, I noticed a sign posted out front that said “Be strong, Live strong” and it totally stuck with me during spin class. I paid more attention to how strong I felt during the class. I started thinking back to when I first started taking spin class and how hard each stroke of the pedal was, so much so that I thought I’d never make it the full hour. Now? I spin like a fiend and really took notice of how hard I pushed myself today, glancing around the room, I (well and my sister of course!) was probably working the hardest of nearly everyone else in the class this morning.

I don’t say this to brag (seriously!) but to make a point. I feel strong. And I’m so proud of that feeling. The “be strong, live strong” mantra is a good one for me because it describes where I am in life currently. And I’m not only talking about physical strength but emotional strength as well. This past year has been an emotional one for me as I rode quite a rollercoaster with my sister as she went through what was probably the most difficult period of her life to date – she went through a divorce. Now obviously it was her that experienced the divorce, not me. But, it was very painful for me too for a few reasons. For one – my sister and her husband were like me and Scott’s “other half” – we spent all sorts of time together and really created a mini-family within our family, as a result. So when the slap of reality hit that all of this was crumbling apart, I felt her pain so deeply. My heart literally ached for her everytime I saw her because her pain was so strong in her eyes (especially from my perspective since we are so close, it was written all over her face, though she put up such a strong front for others, it was incredible to watch).

Looking back on the past year, from that perspective, it’s been an amazing journey and I’m so proud of my sister for how far she’s come – she’s like a new, incredible, powerful, and strong woman. To me, she defines strength. I wrote about it more on her blog recently when she asked me to guest blog recently.

From the physical strength perspective, it’s been a year of total and complete commitment – for both of us really. She threw herself into her workouts as the one constant in her life and I was happy to join her on that mission. I am not afraid to admit that I’m proud of where we are today vs. a year ago. It’s been so much fun – from spinning, to our fabulous group of running gals, to STS and now, in just a few weeks, the Group Kick certification.

Now, going back to this morning and seeing that sign at the gym. On the way back from the gym, amidst a very rainy and windy cold day in New England, I heard a song that always inspires me on the radio. It’s Nickelback’s “If today was your last day” which I love – it’s a good slap of reality when you’re feeling down and woe-is-me about the mundane aspects of life that we all complain about (job woes seem to be a biggie for many in my circle lately). On that note, take a listen – the lyrics are awesome – and have a great, inspired Saturday!

Wow, I’m having an uninspired moment today. This week has been up and down for me for a few reasons.

Work has been stressful – between a three-day work trip that totally screwed up my workout schedule and a couple of big projects at work – I’m pretty stressed and it’s wearing me out.

My workouts have felt uninspired lately and I’m not sure why. Could be because I’m overtired and thus my workouts have been less energizing and motivating than normal. Or, maybe I need to change it up again. Maybe both?

My workouts this week  have been focused on one of Cathe’s other weight/cardio combination routines called 4 Day Split (4DS) which I’ve enjoyed but I’m so partial to STS workouts for my weight training that this has sort of felt like STS-lite in a way. The cardio portion is 30 mins followed by 30 mins of heavy weight training. I like it but I don’t LOVE it which I think may be a contributing factor to this uninspired vibe I’m getting.

Hmph. I’m not liking it either way.

On that note, I’m going to try to jump-start my system back into inspiration mode at spinning tonight, wish me luck

*******UPDATE

Ok, so apparently I was just having spinning withdrawals or something. I just totally spun the life out of my spin bike and feel like a million bucks! I was all ready to come home and crash but now I’m on such a high (see? addict much??) that I’m ready to conquer cleaning my house tonight so I can reserve the weekend for fun and as little chores/errands as possible.

-2797 Cadillac Seville STS Hudson c 1209×673 photo image of -2797 Cadillac Seville STS Hudson c 1209×673
to view full size click -2797 Cadillac Seville Sts Hudson C 1209X673 photo ( -2797 Cadillac Seville Sts Hudson C 1209X673 photo )

О КОМПАНИИ:

AUTOEXPRESS

Нет мнения

AUTOCAR

Нет мнения

CAR:

Если бы фирма была музыкантом: Garth Brooks (его любят в Америке и игнорируют во всем остальном мире).
Продажи в 2008 году: 171 (снизились на 50%)
Рейтинг надежности: Не участвует
Гарантия: 3 года или 60 тысяч миль.

TOPGEAR

Общее описание: Ну вот, наконец-то до нас и добрались машины этой марки (которая, кстати, принадлежит General Motors). Фирма решила продавать машины, сделанные для Европы, чтобы отбить покупателей у Mercedes и BMW.
Рейтинг надежности: Не участвует.
Награды: STS получил награду за лучший салон на выставке автомобильных интерьеров.

WHATCAR

Нет мнения

BLS седан

AUTOCAR

Наше мнение: Cadillac, созданный специально для европейского рынка “не блещет”.
Результаты тестов: Удовлетворительно

AUTOEXPRESS

Наш выбор: Нет мнения
Позиция в рейтинге : Не участвует

CAR

О модели: Это Saab 9-3 в другой упаковке. Дизайн от Кадиллака выглядит исключительно уродски на Saab, а то, что эта машина переднеприводная, еще раз подчеркивает, что перед вами – ненастоящий Caddy. По слухам, название машины произошло от инициалов Боба Лутца (вице-президента GM, отвечаеющего за разработку новых “глобальных” автомобилей).
Наш выбор: Saab 9-3
Секрет фирмы: версия 1.9 TiD теряет 50% от покупной цены в первые 2 года.
Вердикт: Буква ‘S’, опять же, по слухам, появилась в названии от отношения Боба Лутца к глобальному потеплению. Он назвал его “a crock of shit” (куском дерьма).
Конкуренты: BMW 3
Результаты тестов : Плохо
Одним словом: Плохо

TOPGEAR

О модели: Поспешишь – людей насмешишь. В смысле, пожалеешь о скоропалительном решении о покупке. Эта колымага может выглядеть сильно отличающейся от того,

что принято в Старом свете, но на самом деле, BLS это дряхлый старый Saab. Привет от глобальной компании GM!
Позиция в рейтинге : нет в списке
Наш выбор: 1.9D
Не обманывайся насчет: успеха Cadillac в Штатах. У них просто не хватает мозгов понять, каким должен быть действительно хороший автомобиль.
Конкуренты: VW Passat, Alfa Romeo 159, Saab 9-3, BMW 3

WHATCAR

За: Фактически, BLS – просто Saab в другом кузове, но он хорошо оборудован и стоит относительно недорого. Угловатый дизайн смотрится неплохо, а механически он довольно надежен, да и дизель неплох.
Против : Плохо настроенная подвеска и “неживой” руль приводят к тому, что насладиться ездой на BLS не удастся. К тому же, сзади места маловато.
Вердикт: Конечно хорошо, что Cadillac решил дать бой “европейцам” на их собственной территории, но машина для этого им нужна получше. BLS уступает немецким конкурентам.
Рейтинг для лучшей модификации: Средне
Рейтинг модели по версии читателей журнала: Хорошо
Наш выбор: 1.9D 150 Elegance

BLS универсал

AUTOCAR

Наше мнение: См BLS седан
Результаты тестов: См BLS седан

AUTOEXPRESS

Наш выбор: Нет мнения
Позиция в рейтинге : Не участвует

CAR

О модели: см BLS седан

TOPGEAR

О модели: см BLS седан

WHATCAR

За: BLS-универсал хорошо оборудован, достаточно практичен, да и цена невысока, по сравнению с конкурентами. Дизельные двигатели мощные и довольно экономичные.
Против : Плохо настроенная подвеска и “неживой” руль приводят к тому, что насладиться ездой на BLS не удастся. Цену на “вторичке” машина не держит, а в кабине, в качестве отделки, используется дешевый и твердый пластик.
Вердикт: Неплохой дизайн и практичность не могут изменить того факта, что машина эта просто середнячок на рынке.
Рейтинг для лучшей модификации: Средне
Рейтинг модели по версии читателей журнала: Нет мнения
Наш выбор: 1.9D 150 Elegance

CTS

AUTOCAR

Наше мнение: Конкурент BMW 5, но отсутствие дизелей убивает продажи
Результаты тестов: Ниже среднего

AUTOEXPRESS

Наш выбор: Нет мнения
Позиция в рейтинге : Не участвует

CAR

О модели: Достаточно интересный европеинизированный американец. Машина выглядит совсем неплохо и (какой сюрприз!)в нее даже хочется сесть и проехать на ней несколько миль. Подвеска у машины отличная. Это редкий и достаточно хороший конкурент вездесущим BMW 5. Самый лучший Кадиллак на сегодняшний момент.
Наш выбор: 3.6 V6
Секрет фирмы: Передняя панель обтянута кожей ручной выделки.
Вердикт: Что-то в лесу сдохло.
Конкуренты: BMW 5
Результаты тестов : Средне
Одним словом: Хорошо

TOPGEAR

О модели: Этот конкурент BMW 5 может войти в историю, как первый “американец” умеющий заходить в повороты (особенно в варианте V). Однако, отсутствие дизельных двигателей приводит к тому, что у потенциальных покупателей возникает вопрос об экономии топлива… и, выслушав ответ дилера, они отправляются прямиком к конкурентам.
Позиция в рейтинге : нет в списке
Наш выбор: Берем дизель. Что? Нет такого? Вот черт..ю
Не обманывайся насчет: рекорда скорости. Ты же на ней так гонять не будешь?
Конкуренты: Chrysler 300C, BMW 5, Mercedes Benz E-Class, Volvo S80, Audi A6

WHATCAR

За: CTS выглядит очень хорошо, по сравнению с конкурентами. Машина буквально нафарширована наворотами, а отделка кабины намного лучше, чем у любого другого Кадиллака.
Против : Ездит и управляется машина не настолько же хорошо, как конкуренты, да и двигатели не чувствуются соответствующими своим размерам. Поскольку дизельная версия в гамме отсутствует, стоимость содержания машины слишком высока.
Вердикт: Интересное предложение в классе. Выглядит вполне на уровне, но ездит хуже конкурентов, а качеством до них не дотягивает.
Рейтинг для лучшей модификации: Плохо
Рейтинг модели по версии читателей журнала: Хорошо
Наш выбор: 2.8 V6 Sports Luxury

CTS-V

AUTOCAR

Наше мнение: Нет мнения
Результаты тестов: Не тестировали

AUTOEXPRESS

Наш выбор: Нет мнения
Позиция в рейтинге : Не участвует

CAR

О модели: Эта машина настолько мощная, что это уже не смешно. Cadillac утверждает, что именно этой модели принадлежит рекорд скорости в своем классе на трассе Nurburgring. Так сказать, соловьиная песня “старой” GM – у “новой” GM все просто: либо гибриды, либо биржа труда.
Наш выбор: CTS-V
Секрет фирмы: В список стандартного оборудования входят кресла от Recaro и все, что возможно от Brembo. Да, кстати, эта тачка делается только с левым рулем.
Вердикт: “V” означает скорость (velocity).
Конкуренты: BMW M5, Jaguar XFR
Результаты тестов : Хорошо
Одним словом: Хорошо

TOPGEAR

О модели: См CTS

WHATCAR

За: Нет мнения

STS

AUTOCAR

Наше мнение: Нет мнения
Результаты тестов: Не тестировали

AUTOEXPRESS

Наш выбор: Нет мнения
Позиция в рейтинге : Не участвует

CAR

О модели: Цены на эту машину установлены как на BMW 5, а по размеру она – как BMW 7. Прекрасный пример того, как Cadillac пытается пробиться на европейский

рынок, с помощью одной только ценовой политики. Автомобиль не настолько плох, как может показаться, но любой “европеец” в этом классе намного лучше.
Наш выбор: 3.6 V6
Секрет фирмы: “полный фарш”
Вердикт: Дешевый и нафиг никому не нужный автомобиль.
Конкуренты: Hyundai Grandeur
Результаты тестов : Плохо
Одним словом: Плохо

TOPGEAR

О модели: Выглядит более интересно, чем тевтонские конкуренты, но шасси напоминает диван, что типично для “американцев”. С другой стороны, ты получаешь мощную симпатичную машину и, в качестве бонуса, вторую такую машину ты на дороге не встретишь.
Позиция в рейтинге : нет в списке
Наш выбор: 3.6 V6 Sport Luxury
Не обманывайся насчет: занудного голоса в твоей голове “купи Кадиллак, ну купи Кадиллак!”
Конкуренты: Audi A4, BMW 3, Jaguar X-Type, Mercedes C-Class

WHATCAR

За: Большой, внушительный седан, который представляет собой что-то совершенно другое, чем его немецкие и японские конкуренты. Мощные двигатели V6 и V8 и уровень оборудования довольно впечатляющий.
Против : Цена на автомобиль довольно высока, и мы думаем, что цену на “вторичке” он будет держать плохо. Поскольку дизельных двигателей в гамме нет, то стоимость содержания будет очень высока. Проигрывает остальным машинам в этом классе. Вердикт: Тебе может понравится внешний вид этой машины, ее мощные двигатели и куча наворотов, но после того, как ты прочувствуешь на себе, во сколько она обходится в повседневной жизни, ты вряд ли будешь гордиться ею.
Рейтинг для лучшей модификации: Не тестировали
Рейтинг модели по версии читателей журнала: Нет мнения
Наш выбор: Нет мнения

Escalade

AUTOCAR

Наше мнение: Нет мнения
Результаты тестов: Не тестировали

AUTOEXPRESS

Наш выбор: Нет мнения
Позиция в рейтинге : Не участвует

CAR

О модели: Огромная американская туша, предназначенная для рэперов и дешевых распальцовщиков. Выглядит вполне нормально в перестрелке между бандами в Лос Анджелесе, а в наших краях смотрится как что-то идиотское.
Наш выбор: SL
Секрет фирмы: Только в Штатах машину можно заказать с задним приводом. Британцам приходится заказывать ее в полноприводном варианте.
Вердикт: Погнали на стрелку, братан!
Конкуренты: BMW X5, Audi Q7, дизель-электровоз.
Результаты тестов : Ужасно
Одним словом: Урод

TOPGEAR

О модели: Мечта разгильдяев из рабочих районов и “социальщиков”, которые спят и видят о том, что они стали крутыми рэперами и могут обвешаться золотыми цепочками в руку толщиной. Для всех остальных, эта машина не представляет собой ничего больше, чем еще один американский бегемот на дороге.
Позиция в рейтинге : нет в списке
Наш выбор: Если нам приставить пистолет к виску, то мы выберем V8
Не обманывайся насчет: Богатых людей. Если таковые и покупают эту машину в Штатах, это совсем не говорит о том, что Escalade в чем-то хорош.
Конкуренты: Range Rover Sport, BMW X5, Mercedes M-Class

WHATCAR

За: Большой. Очень БОЛЬШОЙ автомобиль, в котором могут поместиться восемь человек. На дороге он хорошо заметен, а уровень оснащения просто великолепен.
Против : Машин с правым рулем нет, да и вообще на нем тяжело ездить по британским дорогам, из-за огромных размеров. Коробка “автомат” и качество сборки ниже всякой критики. Вердикт: Escalade проигрывает конкурентам во всем, но некоторым может понравится его распальцовочный вид и уникальность. Это не машина для тех, кого волнует все возрастающая стоимость бензина.
Рейтинг для лучшей модификации: Плохо
Рейтинг модели по версии читателей журнала: Нет мнения
Наш выбор: 6.2 V8 Elegance

По материалам AutoCar, AutoExpress, Car, TopGear и WhatCar. Фотографии утянуты с Car и WhatCar

Il PTR, ossia il piano territoriale regionale,  in quanto piano territoriale, non è mai una tappa finale del processo di pianificazione, ma contiene le decisioni che si dovranno prendere , sviluppare e concretizzare in altre attività ed in altri livelli di pianificazione. Il PTR è un piano d’inquadramento, d’indirizzo e di promozione di azioni integrate, che non impone scelte dall’alto. Individua il patrimonio di risorse ambientali e storico culturali del territorio, definisce le strategie di sviluppo locale e detta le linee guida e gli indirizzi per la pianificazione territoriale e paesaggistica in Campania. le regioni devono anche indicare i confini del piano, che possono coincidere con quelli dell’intero territorio regionale oppure con una parte più o meno estesa di esso.

I piani territoriali regionali sono dunque in gran parte piani di indirizzo, sono strettamente raccordati alla programmazione economica regionale. Non contengono soltanto direttive, ma anche prescrizioni conformative della proprietà immediatamente operative nei contronti dei privati. Inoltre sono obbligatori.

La legge regionale 16/2004 della Campania, all’articolo 13 recita:

[…] la regione approva il piano territoriale regionale -Ptr-, […] in armonia con gli obiettivi fissati dalla programmazione statale e in coerenza con i contenuti della programmazione socio-economica regionale.

2. Attraverso il Ptr la regione, […] individua:

a) gli obiettivi di assetto e le linee principali di organizzazione del territorio regionale, nonché le strategie e le azioni volte alla loro realizzazione;

b) i sistemi infrastrutturali e le attrezzature di rilevanza sovraregionale e regionale, nonché gli impianti e gli interventi pubblici dichiarati di rilevanza regionale;

c) gli indirizzi e i criteri per la elaborazione degli strumenti di pianificazione territoriale provinciale e per la cooperazione istituzionale.

3) Il Ptr definisce :

a)il quadro generale di riferimento territoriale per la tutela dell’integrità fisica e dell’identità culturale del territorio, […] fornendo criteri e indirizzi anche di tutela paesaggistico-ambientale per la pianificazione provinciale;

b) gli indirizzi per lo sviluppo sostenibile e i criteri generali da  rispettare nella valutazione dei carichi insediativi ammissibili sul territorio, nel rispetto della vocazione agro-silvo-pastorale dello stesso;

c) gli elementi costitutivi dell’armatura territoriale a scala regionale, con riferimento alle grandi linee di comunicazione viaria, ferroviaria e marittima, nonché ai nodi di interscambio modale per persone e merci, alle strutture aeroportuali e portuali, agli impianti e alle reti principali per l’energia e le telecomunicazioni;

d) i criteri per l’individuazione, in sede di pianificazione provinciale, degli ambiti territoriali entro i quali i comuni di minori dimensioni possono espletare l’attività di pianificazione urbanistica in forma associata;

e) gli indirizzi per la distribuzione territoriale degli insediamenti produttivi e commerciali;

f) gli indirizzi e i criteri strategici per la pianificazione di aree interessate da intensa trasformazione o da elevato livello di rischio;

g) la localizzazione dei siti inquinati di interesse regionale ed i criteri per la bonifica degli stessi;

h) gli indirizzi e le strategie per la salvaguardia e la valorizzazione delle risorse culturali e paesaggistiche connesse allo sviluppo turistico ed all’insediamento ricettivo.

Nel PTR si individuano 45 STS, ossia 45 Sistemi territoriali di sviluppo , individuati dal PTR e nei quali la Campania è divisa.

I Sistemi territoriali di sviluppo sono aree basate sulle diverse aggregazioni sovracomunali esistenti in Campania, omogenee per caratteri sociali, geografici e strategie di sviluppo locale da perseguire. Tali Sistemi sono stati individuati, in una prima fase, per inquadrare la spesa e gli investimenti del Por Campania e in sintonia con la programmazione economica ordinaria. La loro individuazione, si legge nel PTR, non ha valore di vincolo bensì di orientamento per la formulazione di strategie coerenti con il Piano territoriale regionale.

Il PTR è composto da una parte cartografica ed una relazione. Come tutti piani, è gratuitamente scaricabile dal sito della Regione.