There are a lot of news stories on it, and even a website devoted to sludge issues. Here is a story from OCA and the link to Sludge News. The People Who Want You to Believe Toxic Sludge Is Good for You Members of the Organic Consumers Association staff went undercover to a meeting of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission employees and the toxic sludge industry last week. What we found surprised us. We figured, in such a green city, that SFPUC employees would keep an arms length distance from for-profit sludge companies like Synagro that make their money dumping city sludge on rural lands. We thought that they would be trying to figure out green alternatives to flushing waste away with clean drinking water. Little did we know. SFPUC, Synagro and CASA, the state lobbying group for all of California's city sewer commissions, are mounting a coordinated effort to salvage the business-as-usual practice of flushing household and industrial waste away with clean water and then contaminating farmland with toxic sludge leftover when the water is removed. They see San Francisco's sludge giveaway program as an essential component of their national campaign to build public acceptance for the disposal of toxic sewage sludge on yards, gardens and farms. They will fight any effort to shut the program down, and specifically named OCA allies the Center for Food Safety and RILES, who filed a legal petition with the San Francisco to stop the sludge giveaway, as enemies of their campaign. The scary thing is, this public-private trifecta is well-resourced and unscrupulous. The Synagro rep boasted of earning the support of a local university for a toxic sludge project by promising a $25,000 yearly donation. The CASA rep talked about using "Congressional funny money" to fund studies that would provide science that backed-up the industry. And, the SFPUC rep, the public employee, stood by them smiling and nodding as they applauded her for not backing down in the face of public opposition to the contamination of San Francisco's green space with toxic sludge. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=EeX%2Fe1RJUWKt8QhKYN%2BukBxKH%2BWklaGt Click the link to read more. Here is a link that might be useful: Sludge News

Its common for the egr passage to plug up inside the intake manifold on those. That's just one possible reason for the code 51. The way the system works is during a deceleration the PCM monitors the map sensor signal, which would be reporting a very high vacuum (low manifold pressure), and while its doing that, the PCM commands the egr valve to open. By opening the egr valve the manifold pressure should increase (lose vacuum). The greater the change in the readings, the more egr flow that is capable of occurring. Little to no change indicates the egr system isn't working and the cause needs to be found. BTW parts stores sell thousands of PCV valves every year simply because people buy them and replace them. I don't think I average finding more than two bad valves a year. Now that could be in part because people like to throw parts at the cars instead of taking it to a pro in attempt to save money. The two or so that I find bad are actually situations where someone has installed the wrong calibration valve, and it ends up causing a problem.

Those of you wanting a laptop, definitely read the post Have you switched from a PC to a laptop? lots of good points in it, not only Windows computers but Mac's as well. My pain management doc has a Sony Vaio that he loves as well as 2 Mac laptops; he's mentioned one other but can't justify buying another. Wish I could remember what brand it was. Before buying be sure to research. As johnmari says about her Dell experience, unfortunately, that's what most people say. They also string you along until your 30 days are up to return it, then end up sending you a similar system, usually minus premium software you've paid for; and it's a refurbished machine. I have Windows and a Mac.. While I've been using the Mac mini, Windows is just so much easier and once I get the Windows machine finished (still not done building/adding parts) I will switch to that full time. Not sure if I posted in the other thread about our Compaq laptop, I bought it for my son when he graduated in 2003, that thing was a floor model and is still running. We blew a drive out in an airport (got hit against something) but installing the new drive was painless. I would buy one again, depending on how much they are compared to a Sony. I love the look of the Sony screens; we own 3 monitors with the XBrite technology..

Unsanitary conditions are as likely in hospitals & veterinary offices as in suites & clinics, maybe even more so due to the huge numbers of patients that go through the doors every day. Antibiotic-resistant staph infections are spread in hospitals all the time. A friend even told me that her husband's doctor walked up to the bed & reached toward the husband's bandaged incision & my friend sort of laughed & said lightly (have to be nice to those doctors!), "Now you ARE going to wash your hands first, aren't you?" & that was in a big, "efficient", "professional" hospital environment, not a surgical suite. I've seen urine stained furniture in the lobby of one very pricey vet, & her steel exam table had a very rusty support which seems like it would be difficult to clean & to keep clean. I've seen a badly cracked cement floor in another vet's office; I wouldn't want my dog walking on that floor. But if surgery areas weren't sterilized, every person, every animal, would likely emerge with an infection. Shelters & spay/neuter clinics have to comply with state law. The attorney general, on recommendation from the state health department, can take action. If city- or county-run surgical shelters are nasty, or if you suspect surgerical areas are not sterile, complain to the state. The health department will inspect the premises, issue a citation warning the offender to clean up, & re-inspect to be sure the clean-up has been done. If it hasn't, they can call in the attorney general. The best cure for sanitary problems is publicity: In addition to the state health department, call the nearest tv station, the SPCA (but don't expect too much from them, they always work through "local" enforcement), the largest newspaper in your area, go to council meetings, write letters, contact HSUS (Humane Society of the US). I've visited a number of spay/neuter clinics as well as a number of shelters, & the *clinics* have all been clean. The shelters vary. The older the shelter, the more likely it's overburdened, overcrowded, understaffed & underfunded. Those are the ones I'd like to see staffed & funded better & eventually replaced by more modern ones.