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The Balkans, June-July, 2018
When we arrived back in Rome after Malta it was time to plan where to go in our next five weeks. We had vaguely planned to head north to beat the heat either in the Dolomites, Austria, or French Alps or some combination thereof. I kept staring at our planning map of Europe, noting the fact that the Balkans were equally within our range. How hot would it be though? Kathy and Rick (our editors) to the rescue. They traveled through the Balkans in August, 2011. Reading through their write ups it sounded like it wouldn't be too bad—especially if we kept to the mountains. So we headed out, spending the first night in a free aire/sosta near Padua and the second all the way to Split, Croatia. We did take the toll roads all the way $60 in Italy and $65 in Slovenia/Croatia. We had crossed the Apennines Mountains in central Italy before on the old roads—never again thank you. We also wanted to get to the most touristy parts of Croatia before the July's even worse crowds and before our ACSI camping discounts would expire.
We had tried to get reservations at Camping Split but it was too close in. They said if they were full we could stay in the overflow. Arriving at 8pm we stayed at the very edge of the overflow with 7 others. The next morning moving to a site only 50 yards from the beach. We ended up staying 5 nights and had to move once more. With the camping discount it was 19E a night, 33E without. In July the same site is 55E. Getting there before July was certainly worth it. It was a lovely destination campground on the beach with every amenity (though pool/spa is extra) and good nearby bus service into Split. Split is a lovely place even if it is definitely on the cruise ship circuit. The old medieval town was built inside the walls of the 4th century Roman Emperor Diocletian's retirement palace. Fascinating. With the added bonus of several sites of the filming of Game of Thrones. One day we took another bus to Trogir, a small walled town on an island just 50 ft offshore over a bridge. A nice day trip, but we didn't think it lived up to its UNESCO billing. There are lots of excursions from Split to islands, inland to waterfalls, but we just lazed around on our days off, Mark, catching up on the blog, doing the laundry, reading. We also rented a 50cc motorbike for a day ($40) for Mark to practice. We have been thinking about getting one for the US for the back of the camper to have some extra wheels. He did fine. I didn't ride. It will take a lot more thought. If anyone has done this we would love some input. We are thinking that a 50cc might be too small for two and we would have to have a 125. We want the smallest, lightest one we can use just to get to trail heads etc., as we roam around the Western US.
The drive to Dubrovnik was easy and we headed for Pod Maslinom Camping about 15k east. With our discount card only 13E. The campground closest to town (Camping Solitude) is $65 a night and down a steep drive. Pod is much less as it is a long, steep walk down to the beach. But the bathrooms were clean and there was even a communal refrigerator and freezer, so I could defrost ours and still have some ice for these hot days. The bus stops near the entrance but you have a goodly walk down into Dubrovnik. Be sure to find out where to the catch the bus back to the campground. We thought it would be self evident but could never find it. Since the bus only runs every hour and sometimes every two, we had to take a taxi for 11E to the main bus station (way too far to walk) and get an alternative bus from there. Unfortunately that was not our only problem. While trying to park the camper under the olive trees for shade in the campground, we failed to notice a really big, sawed off branch and managed to pull up the trim on our roof above the awning. Thank heavens no puncture, but Mark couldn't fix it, so will have to find someone able to cut out that short section and reattach. In the meantime Mark sealed it all with waterproof tape.
Dubrovnik itself is a lovely walled city, again made from the creamy limestone prevalent throughout the area. Since the day was to be in the upper 80s (though a good breeze) we walked the walls around 10am. Lots of steps, but my knee didn't really complain till near the end. I think the stop for gelato helped. We had bought the all day tourist card for 200 kuna or about $32 pp. Just the he wall and the fort are 150k. We did pop in to the maritime museum and the folk life museum of the 7 museums included. Not much, and we had no use for the local bus transportation so the wall entrance would have been enough. We ate a nice lunch inside the air conditioned Kopun Restaurant—famous for its eunuch rooster dishes. We were the only ones inside and the outside was pretty full. It slays Mark and I that Europeans would rather sit outside with the temp at 85 than inside. Mark is not a Game of Thrones fan, but I enjoyed seeing the many spots where filming was done for the scenes of King's Landing and especially the Walk of Shame. At about 3 we started up the 180 steps to the fort and promptly gave up on about step 25. We knew we still had the climb back to the bus stop (which we never found) and it was hot. We still liked the city though!
Leaving the Dubrovnik area we stopped to get propane (LPG in Europe) at the first station as we had run out and were running on our German exchange bottle back up. Yes, they had it, but no, couldn't fill our refillable bottle—against the law. Further along we stopped at another station where the LPG was self service. Still a big sign that you couldn't fill removable bottles. However, though our bottle is removable we also installed a through- the- door filler as several countries in Europe, including France, have this same no refillable bottles law. Until only a few years ago all campers in Europe used only exchangeable bottles and nearly every country had their own type. They couldn't be refilled because they didn't have the 80% automatic shut off like American bottles do. Of course this was a huge problem for full timers and others traveling over months to different countries. The Germans and English started selling the refillable bottles (very expensive, but worth it.) Then you just needed to buy the various adapters needed in different countries. A German refillable bottle and the solar panel were the first things we bought for our European camper in 2015. The laws haven't changed because most folks still have the old bottles, so you often have to hunt a little to find a station where you are allowed to refill.
Mark and I have always enjoyed seeing folk dance presentations when we travel—even some of the corny ones. A Croatian group performs in Dubrovnik on Tuesday and Saturday nights but that would have been difficult given where we were camping and the bus schedule. I read about a Sunday morning folk dance in Cilipi, right on the way to Montenegro. We arrived about 10:15 and managed to find parking at the furthest end of a side street. The singing and dancing commence right after Mass at 11:15 in the square in front of the church. A $10 admission gets you a folding chair, admission to the town museum, and a minuscule welcome glass of sweet rose. The performance lasted about 30 minutes which was about right as this isn't scintillating but certainly authentic. The town museum emphasizes the place of textiles and especially the embroidery that the women still do today. It was well done. Many people had come on tour bus excursions from Dubrovnik but in total the crowd was about 350 which was a nice size for the space. I would certainly recommend it if you are in the area on a Sunday morning.
The crossing from Croatia to Montenegro required about a 10 minute wait in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. We only needed to show our passports and the camper's green liability insurance card. We were headed for Kotor and its beautiful fiord-like bay that seems to have escaped from Norway. You can take the small ferry across the neck of the bay, but the bay with its walls of limestone rising high above is certainly worth the drive. The road is twisty but good and wide enough to pass the inevitable tour buses. We arrived at the parking lot just outside the walls of Kotor about 2:30. Our Parkings app had indicated a 20E fee to park overnight—the attendant quoted 30. We weren't happy, but we wanted to see Kotor, needed a safe place to park, and had to have a place to spend the night. At the border crossing a huge sign made it quite clear that camping or staying in a motorhome overnight outside of a campground or auto camp was strictly prohibited in the entire country. We had spent an extra day near Dubrovnik in order not to spend Saturday night in the Kotor parking lot as the comments had indicated it could be quite noisy with lots of cars coming and going on weekends. There are no facilities but there is a beach, fishing pier, kayak rental, and large park—the views across the bay were worth it and it is only two blocks to the city gate so no bus to deal with. Though be warned that even on a Sunday night groups with loud music and partying hung around the beach until 11.
We liked Kotor very much. It is another walled town, but absolutely one of, if not, the best ones in Europe. The 3 mile wall circles the town in the the flat area by the fiord and then extends up the mountain—way up the mountain of incredibly steep limestone cliffs. Over 700 ft of vertical and almost 2000 steps of climbing held no interest for us, but just looking at it was awesome. The town itself is a lovely place to wander and just get lost in—it is too small to actually get lost. Lots of the usual stores and tourist shops and restaurants but we spent most of our time craning our necks at the Venetian palace balconies and interesting stonework. It is a cruise ship stop so there will be crowds until late afternoon when they depart and when the excursion buses head back to Dubrovnik.
Rick Steves had recommended stopping in Perast—the pearl of the Adriatic, located along the fiord. So we decided to do that on the way back to Bosnia-Herzegovina--(from now on BiH). You have to park at a lot at the end of town or in paved spots along the road (5E) and walk in about 10 minutes. Not a lot to it but we just liked looking at all the small Venetian style palaces. Further along we stopped in Mlini for lunch at Konoba Catovica, drop-dead gorgeous setting spread out over the site of an ancient mill with ponds, streams, waterfalls. The food was also excellent and extremely low priced—2E for a salad, mussels 10E, but in Montenegro you are expected to leave a 10% tip. We highly recommend it—not crowded at all for lunch but dinner reservations recommended.
Leaving Kotor we could have taken the old road into the mountains—the very definition of serpentine, but instead took the new road after the fiord up to Trebinje and into BiH. 7E toll at the border. This is wild and lonely country with no services except in Trebinje. We stopped there for an hour to get
Bosnian money and walked into the old town which is completely skippable. The mark is pegged 2 to 1E so most folks will take Euros instead. We made it to the Heaven in Nature campground in Stolac. Very friendly host with excellent English. Container style bathrooms for 15E a night with electric. The wifi was also pretty good. Our Italian TIM cell data no longer works as we aren't in the EU anymore. (It did work in Slovenia and Croatia on the included roaming.) The caretaker loaded us up with fruit and amazing tomatoes from the owner's garden and told us we could park at the edge of Mostar at the owner's auto insurance agency where his daughter also works. We arrived mid morning but lots of rain and wind and a terrible 3 day forecast decided us to head back 6k to Buna to the campground River Camp. It had excellent reviews in our Parkings app with a cost of 17E a night. Mark definitely didn't want to drive further in the rain. We have new and nearly new tires but the pavement here is such that skids are common. So common that most curves have had the road surface mechanically "chewed" to help.
After two nights at the campground, we parked at the insurance agency and took a 2E taxi the 2 ½ miles or so into Mostar. Amazingly low price for a taxi. Arriving at 9 am the famous bridge was not yet loaded down with tour bus excursions. Though shelled to oblivion during the war, it was rebuilt using the same methods and materials from almost 500 years earlier. But it will take several hundred more years before its appearance looks anything but new. The cobblestone main street of old town is wall to wall Turkish souvenir stands and Bosnian restaurants. We ate near the end of the cobblestones at Restaurant National—a busy mom and pop place. We split a tomato, cucumber, onion and sour cream salad and Mark had the house (and national) special—cervacio--lots of grilled, small sausages made of minced meat tucked in pita bread. I had a small veal steak with fries, beer and coke—17E with tip. Food, like the taxi, is inexpensive here. I bought our granddaughter a Turkish style dance outfit since she obviously can't wear the one we got in Turkey in 2011. We would love to go back to Turkey but don't think, given the current political situation there, that it is in the cards. We spent less than 4 hours in Mostar including lunch, as we didn't do the walk through the newer section. Certainly worth a stop if you are in the vicinity but maybe not to go out of the way for.
I haven't talked any about the war. There is still a lot of obvious war damage, roadside graves with engraved pictures of young soldiers, and large Christian and Muslim cemeteries with many, many new graves. We have read the background information and of course, we lived through the news coverage in the 90s. Overall we find it incredibly depressing and haven't yet gone to any of the exhibits or museums, though we intend to in Sarajevo. The consensus we have read is that for hundreds of years the Croats, Bosniacs, and Serbs lived side by side fairly amicably despite historical and religious differences. Then after Tito's death various political leaders whipped up the populace bringing to the fore old grievances and playing on people's worst instincts. So much as Hitler did—and so many before him and sadly so many will today and the future, seeking personal power at the expense of so many innocents who just want to live their lives in peace.
We stayed on the outskirts of Sarajevo in the suburb of Ilidza, at the end of the tram line. Camping Oza is part of a hotel and restaurant affair and not too far from the Tunnel Museum if you want to go there. The restaurant was quite large and the food reasonably priced as in all of BiH but we didn't eat there. The camping was $25 per night with tax but no electric. Most of the spots are in a large grassy field. After the first night, watching campers get stuck in the mud, we moved to the end of one of the internal roads which was gravel. It rained the next day and lots more stuck vehicles. Mark felt badly about not volunteering to help push people out—I pointed out that at age 71 if he did, he might end up having to be carried out.
Our second day the weather looked better so we walked the 20 minutes or so to the tram and rode it the 30 minutes to the oldest, Ottoman section of town Square. We spent the next six hours doing most of Steves' three walking tours. We didn't go into any of the museums or exhibitions on the genocide and the siege by the the Yugoslavian army. Just reading the guidebook was enough to turn our stomachs about the whole needless war. We had lunch in a small, recommended place that cooked the traditional spiral pastry, the old fashioned way in the domed ovens covered with red hot coals. We had the mixed—meat, onions, potatoes, and spinach rolled in filo dough and slathered in sour cream, if you wanted it. Two large portions and 2 cokes--$10. I wasn't that crazy about it—next time I'll try Mark's first, since I am the picky eater. I did love the pistachio baklava available all over the old town. Once out of the Ottoman section (souvenirs, underground market, etc., much like Istanbul), you go directly into the Austrian-Hungarian part of time. There is even a line painted on the street so you can stand there and take a photo in each direction for contrast. Austria-Hungary only colonized this area for about 40 years but they built many dozen buildings in their empire style. Finally we finished our walk near the Holiday Inn where journalists stayed during the siege and sat down for a drink in Cafe Tito tucked by the river next to the National Museum. It had a tank, artillery guns, jeep, etc. and lots of photos of Tito—Mark was intent on seeing it since he missed Cafe Mao when we were in Bejing.
We were glad we had taken in most things as the next day dawned with another cycle of rain. We drove out of the valley headed west to Croatia. Needing to spend the rest of our BiH money we spent the night near the border at Hotel Ada, for $21. We were the only ones in the quite large campground and registered at the almost equally empty hotel. Wifi was great though and after dinner we walked next door to the hotel and discovered an incredibly scenic restaurant incorporated into the little island in the wide river. Mark commented to the waitress how lovely it was and her comment was that it was better now since it had been ruined during the war. We didn't get to eat there but Mark watched part of the Croatian world cup game (they beat Denmark) and took lots of pictures for the blog. Certainly worth a detour if you get close by. And in fact if you are going to Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia, this is only about 20k away.
What can I say about Plitvice??????? I don't have the vocabulary to tell you but if you saw nothing else on the Balkan Peninsula you would be happy you came. We had planned to get an early start but due to issues with updating our GPS we got parked and after lining up for tickets got in about noon. We had wanted to go in at entrance #1 to follow the Steves' walking directions but got misdirected to entrance #2. Parking for campers for the day is $11 and entrance is $40 pp (we are now in high season on July 2) You can go in at 4 pm for much less. It is a pretty long walk from entrance #2 parking to the shuttle, which we took to the top of the upper lakes and then walked down. When we first got on the boardwalk it was a shock. It is made from small logs about 4-5 inches in diameter, flattened on two sides. There are for the most part limited hand rails and the walk is suspended over the various lakes, streams, and waterfalls, at various heights a good bit of the time. It was crowded. Two can pass abreast easily but folks are stopping to take pictures continually, so it is a constant stop and go and always watching your step. I was very uneasy at first but you do get used to it. The entire walk is about 6 miles though there is a 20 minute free shuttle boat ride on the largest lake in the middle. The walk is almost continuously lined with waterfalls of various heights and widths. At the beginning, end and middle are snack bars and bathrooms and access to the free shuttle tram. Steves' suggests cutting out the very top part but we did that, and I thought it was nice. The Big Waterfall is at the beginning of the lower lake near entrance #1, so if you can't manage some of the distance you need to be sure to get there. From the start of entrance #1 you walk quite a ways down on a wide, paved switchbacked trail to the base of the falls and the start of the walk headed upstream. In all I clocked 18,000 steps but though I was tired it was so unbelievably gorgeous that I was exhilarated. If you stay in one of the three hotels in the park you only have to pay one entrance fee and could break it into two days. Other wise the two day entrance is somewhat more than 1.5 times the one day. Much of the walk is in the shade but still it is a long one, so hopefully for you no hotter than it was for us, in the mid-seventies. We have seen a lot of waterfalls—Iquazu in Argentina still number one, but this is a close second and like nothing else. As I said it was crowded, but in the six hours we only heard 7 or 8 parties speaking English. When it gets discovered by Americans and Chinese it will be a reservation-only system.
The campground near the south end of the park was described in the Parkings app as having only two level sites, so we drove on to a small, rural campground near Zaluznica, Zelena Dolina. Everything clean and adequate but still $22 with tax and no electric. At sunset, the owner brought shots of his plum liquor—about 1000 proof, Mark said—around to all the campers. The next morning we drove through Otocac which was the front line during the war—still lots of bullet holes and some houses never rebuilt when the Serbs who lived in them were forced out and their homes attacked. The prevalent mosques all through BiH have died out completely, only churches here. Our next goal was Motovan, a hill town in the central Istrian penisula. In setting our TomTom there looked to be only 5k difference in the route with tolls and the one without. We had been finding the rural roads to be good, so I told Tom, no tolls. All was well climbing up from the sea until I notice that the road for the Unimun Tunnel headed off to the left. We continued straight and in a couple of blocks an 18% grade sign appeared. Okay, that was what the tunnel was for. Not wanting to play around with that sort of grade if we didn't have to, we did a quick U turn. The toll ended up only costing $8, so not so bad. The bigger problem was missing the detour for Motovan at the toll exit. We asked the toll man which way at the exit and he said just go right. Tom said go right. We went right, and 7k later we were looking up at Motovan—only the road was closed. Fancy that, a detour, a detour that took us way round the mountain to the tune of about 25 more kilometers with Tom protesting the whole way. Motovan's only "campground" is across from the first parking lot on the way up to the hill town. Nice enough with even a small pool, but room for only about 10 campers. Price--$33. Shuttle bus to hilltop-$3 each way and only for groups until 11 am which is check out and then you have to move to the paid parking lot. We decided to go on up at 5 pm as the last bus down was at 7 and we figured walking down wouldn't be too bad if we had to. The bus, in fact, doesn't take you all the way to the city gate. It is still a walk of 2-3 long blocks, very uphill and on the worse rectangular cobblestones we have ever encountered. No real sidewalk—when a resident drives a car through you just get to flatten yourself against a building or step into a doorway. The street is lined with small souvenir shops and truffle and wine shops. This is the truffle capital of this part of the world—only France and the Piedmont area of Italy are more famous. Here they hunt with specially trained dogs instead of pigs. Still very pricey, at $16 for a tiny jar, but a good opportunity for free tasting. And, of course, all the restaurants have many truffle augmented dishes. Getting to the top double gate you enter the small square and at the tourist office you pay 4.5E each to walk the walls and see the photo exhibit at the art gallery. Not overwhelming when you have seen many walled hilltop towns. You will note how often we are staying in campgrounds in Croatia—wild camping is illegal throughout the country and strictly enforced except in very rural areas.
So next up two coastal towns—similar but in different countries. Rovinj is the larger and many, many of the shops have quality gifts. Lots are unique and that is saying something when you have traveled as much as we have. The town's buildings have no buffer to the Adriatic and for that reason they look like Venice. We stayed at a typical, large Croatian beach side campground--Porton Biondi—almost highest season so 33E for a night. Arriving at noon we were lucky to get a site. It is about a mile walk into town along the coastal path. It was in the upper 80s so we waited until early evening to go into town. Thus we missed going inside the hilltop cathedral—I wanted to see the marble sarcophagus that floated up the Adriatic in 800 AD with St. Euphemia inside. Next trip.
Unfortunately, while checking in we witnessed an embarrassing scene with an American woman. Normally, I would have introduced myself as we waited in line, but she was already talking to the Swedish woman in front of her. First she commented loudly about how pretty her daughter was—following that up when she heard they were from Sweden with a remark about how tall they were. Then she admonished the mother to be sure her daughter used plenty of sunscreen, and on and on. When she got to the reception desk her first remark was a complaint about a bird that kept her up all night. The clerk said it was probably a protected night owl nesting in the pine trees—well, she said, you ought to do something about them! Yikes, I was mortified to have to show my passport when my turn came and tried to be as polite and mannerly as possible. Absolutely an Ugly American.
Leaving Rovinj we left the Istra Peninsula and wound around the huge estuary to Piran, Slovenia. Since Croatia is not part of Schengen visa area we went again through passport control. Slovenia has a very short coastline but makes the most of it with a large port plus resorts. Piran is a mini Rovinj, not so artsy, but many fewer tourists. You actually felt like people lived there. We loved the best house on the square that a Venetian built for his mistress and inscribed with a sculptured plaque—Let Them Talk! The square itself used to be the harbor, but it smelled so bad they filled it in and put a seawall and promenade round the walls next to the Adriatic. It was an easy walk from the campground Fiesa--30E and again full by early afternoon.
Heading north we decided not to purchase the sticker to use the toll roads. Slovenia's regular roads had been good from the border and a week's sticker for a camper was 30E. Only a couple hours from the coast is the Lipica Farm. This is where the famed Lipizzaner stallions are bred. They are a cross between 6 original Spanish stallions and the hearty Karst mares native to this part of Slovenia. We were there on a Saturday when you could both tour the farm and see a performance for 21E. The guided tour was quite informative and the performance lasted about 40 minutes. We haven't see the Viennese performance, which I am sure is much flashier. This one was so-so for non horse enthusiasts. We stayed nearby at Autocamp Wellness Center in Razdrto for 13E. Within 30 minutes of the farm is Skocjanske Cave.
Well, I adored Plitvich Lakes and then I just couldn't believe Skocjanske Cave. Why do well traveled Americans like us not know about these places? I'm sure the fact that it was in communist Yugoslavia and then the war, are huge contributing factors. Away from the cruise ships of the Croatia coast we haven't heard much American English. Which means you should come as soon as you can! These spots are well known to Europeans and when the Americans and Chinese start coming—yikes. Anyway there are two cave systems—Skocjanske and Postajna. Even with Rick Steve's guidebook it was hard to decide. We opted for Skocjanske as it was "more adventurous" and less touristy. We are so glad we did. Yes, you walk about two miles with the guide and there are 507 up and down steps. But they are well spread out and honestly it felt like half that to me even with my bad knee. The guides have excellent English and basically you go fairly slowly—the path is wet but good handrails and distressing in the pavement make it not slippery. (Walking poles would be a hindrance.) The first part of the cave is called the quiet cave—lots of the usual stalactites, stalagmites, big rooms—we have seen all that many times on many continents and so don't usually go on the numerous cave tours in Europe, New Zealand and elsewhere. But then you walk down a bunch of stairs and the underground river with its waterfalls and cataracts makes itself heard. You round the corner and you are in one of the largest caverns in the world (the largest in volume in Europe) but perched high on the side with the river roaring below. In the floodlit distance is the river bridge 450 ft from its surface and you can follow the lights of the wall hugging path as you wind you way to the other side of the cavern. I immediately thought of the Bridge of Khazad Dum from the first movie of The Lord of the Rings. Awe struck, absolutely worth the whole trip to the Balkans, and we will have to come back to do it again.
Just up the road is another famous site: Predjama Castle, the castle in the cave. Well it started out small and was in the cave but as the centuries went by it was rebuilt and expanded and now is mostly in front of the cave. The interior is not supposed to be that interesting so we just ogled the castle and then decided to spend the night in the lower parking lot for free. No signage and not in the Parkings app but a Belgium family stayed too and no one said a word. Slovenia does not have a law about wild camping.
Time to head for the capital—Ljubljana. I still can't pronounce it—I think another reason most Americans don't travel here. We stayed at the terrific Dolgi Most Park and Ride. Get this: 1.2E per night with electric included and one round trip bus ride into the city center. Yes, a little train and expressway noise, but not much different that most spots and even expensive campgrounds. The buses run about every 15 minutes. When you get off at the Post Office stop in town, turn right, not left, and you end up at the river with the main square about 2 long blocks ahead of you. Absolutely lovely city—often called a little Vienna. A terrific mix of architecture—Austrian, home grown by local boy Plechnik and our favorite Art Nouveau. We bought the 2E Art Nouveau guide at the tourist office and managed to see almost all the many buildings. Who knew, as Kathy would say. We eschewed the museums and spent two lovely days wandering the town. The market area was fascinating both architecturally and in its contents. Absolutely perfect produce in booth after booth at rock bottom prices—it is mid July. The underground meat and cheese market has these fascinating cave-like stalls we haven't seen anywhere else.. The weather though was hot—hitting 90 and our third day we stayed in the camper for a day long deluge. By the way, lots of very interesting stores for buying or browsing. A city we highly recommend.
After the rain passed we drove straight away to Lake Bled staying at Camping Bled. (30E) We arrived in early afternoon to be sure of a place but it actually wasn't completely full even at nightfall. It is at the opposite end of the lake from the town but the whole reason to come here is to walk around the 3.5 mile lakeside path. Very pleasant. We didn't take the boat out to the island though. Instead we caught up on the wash! We didn't get electric and noticed again that our 100 amp coach battery was depleted in about 12 hours. (parked in the shade so no solar recharge) We have owned the camper three years and the battery wasn't new then, so looks like we will need to replace it first thing next spring. Bled was somewhat cooler in the low 80s but looking ahead rain and thunderstorms were predicted so we decided to head into the Julian Alps doing the one day tour over the Vargis pass. 24 hair pin turns up, and 26 down. I was concerned about our little 1.9 liter, 17 year old engine making it. But she did with only a reasonable rise in temperature and a lot of first gear. We did the usual tourist stops at the Russian Chapel, look-outs, etc. I was hoping to find a cool place to spend the afternoon parked in the shade and enjoying the 70s temps. But not to be. Even though we left Bled at 8 am, by the time we made it to the pass at 11:30 every parking spot was taken. And most people are hiking from there so there's no much turnover. If you want to hike, plan on a 7 am departure and don't dilly dally. But there is some beautiful countryside before you get to the pass road that you will want to enjoy too. On the down side of the pass there just aren't many places to park at all.
At this point we still had three days left before we needed to start south for Rome. What to do, what to do? The Dolomites were just over the next range and they are lovely to drive through even if you don't have time to stop and hike. We set Tom for the nearest town in Italy in the Dolomites. Oh my, the roads he wanted us to take over that ridge. We finally stopped, got out our Italian Atlas and went somewhat out of the way to get to Udine but by a bigger road. We spend the night at a sosta next to the hospital. Free on Sunday with about 10 other campers in a huge lot. That night the predicted big thunderstorm rolled in. Typical summer mountain weather—clear in the morning and thunderstorms building in the afternoon. The weather in fact didn't look good for the next couple of days. So change of plan—certainly not going to drive through the mountains in rain. Looking south, we spied The Republic of San Marino—that would be our 54th country. But who's counting? It is also up a mountain and temperatures were to be in lower 80s instead of upper. So we took the coast road headed for the free sosta near Padua in Alban Terme that we stayed at on our way to the Balkans. While I cooked spaghetti, Marked watch the World Cup at local sports bar. The Croats lost, but France won.
San Marino has a nice, free sosta half way up the mountain with lots of space and a sometimes open restroom. It is at the base of the funicular. San Marino itself isn't worth a lot of time. Yes, people still seem to live inside the old walls at the top of the mountain but the main floors are all restaurants or shops—specializing in jewelry, purses, replica guns, clocks, and candy. Taxes are lower than in Italy so lots of visitors are there to buy things. Frankly, not really worth going out of your way for.
After San Marino, we drove on to Rome and our camping/storage spot at Prato Smeraldo, near Laurentino, in the south of Rome. The next few days consisted of the usual cleaning and packing, plus making arrangements for repair from the incident at Dubrovnik. We left the camper at Prato Smeraldo and flew Air Norwegian back to the States on July 21st. It was another great European adventure, some old, much new, and always interesting and enjoyable. We are so very glad that we decided to head to the Balkans this trip. We will be back in the US now until early April. Happy Travels everyone!


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Originally published under the title, "How Iraq Became a Proxy of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Iranian-backed Shia militias are eclipsing the Iraqi government.
The United States and its Western allies have recently undertaken airstrikes and other military measures against the Islamic State (I.S., also known as ISIS or ISIL) in Iraq. Contrary to the spirit of most statements coming out of Washington, however, this military action cannot be properly viewed as simply an effort to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Islamic State—mainly because the Western actions are limited only to air strikes, which would be ineffective on their own in achieving that end. Rather, this campaign is quite obviously meant to help the main ground forces currently fighting the I.S.—namely, the Iraqi government and Shia militias in Iraq—in the hopes that the Islamic State may be defeated through their combined efforts.
In other words, the U.S. and its allies have launched an air campaign whose most important effect, if successful, would be to advance Iran's agenda of dominating Iraq and eventually becoming the hegemonic power in the region.
The U.S. and its allies have launched an air campaign whose most important effect, if successful, would be to advance Iran's agenda of dominating Iraq and eventually becoming the hegemonic power in the region.
The fall of Mosul in June to a Sunni insurgent offensive spearheaded by the I.S.—which quickly asserted decisive authority in the city at the expense of its allies—revealed the incompetence of Iraq's conventional armed forces, which are plagued by the same rampant corruption and nepotism that are pervasive in Iraq's post-Saddam political order.
The Shia militias, backed and coordinated by Iran, are now filling the vacuum left behind by the regular army. This phenomenon was rapidly if unintentionally bolstered by a fatwa from Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sistani, on the obligation to defend the country in the face of the I.S. threat. While Sistani had intended to encourage people to enlist in the official security forces, in practice his fatwa midwifed the broad umbrella of Shia militias conventionally dubbed al-hashad al-sha'abi ("the popular mobilization") in the Iraqi press. The militias themselves, however, like to call themselves, somewhat ominously, al-muqawama al-islamiya ("the Islamic resistance").
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iraq's most senior Shia cleric, has effectively blessed the formation of militias.
The growing importance of the Shia militias' resistance to the I.S. in Iraq is not simply the result of their own combat skills. It is very much a product of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Iranian regime's elite paramilitary force, whose role in regional conflicts—and, it should be noted, terrorism—is large and expanding. The Shia's success in Iraq reflects the effectiveness of IRGC doctrine regarding the construction, support, and use of sectarian political and military proxies as a central tool—sometimes the central tool—of Iranian policy in the region.
Iran has displayed a peerless ability to harness and utilize forces of this kind in the Middle East. It is a major factor in Iran's ongoing success in building political influence in surrounding countries.
The prototype for this approach was the establishment and sponsorship of the Shia terrorist group Hezbollah in Lebanon. Following the end of Syria's occupation of Lebanon in 2005, Hezbollah rapidly emerged as the dominant political actor in the country, able to conduct its own military policy of aggression against Israel without any need to consult with other Lebanese factions.
For a considerable period, Iran's success in Lebanon appeared to be unique. Its clients elsewhere were far less powerful and influential. However, the current unrest in the Middle East, characterized by the contraction or collapse of state authority in a variety of countries, has created an environment in which Iran's skills have become extremely effective.
As a result of the weakening of the central government in Yemen, for example, the Iran-supported Houthi militia is now the decisive force in the capital, Sana'a, and looks set to determine the makeup of the next government.
The darkest days of the Assad regime were the closing months of 2012. At that time, with the rebels having succeeded in entering the city of Aleppo and the eastern suburbs of Damascus, it looked as though the regime's days were numbered.
The problem for the Assad regime—similar to the current government of Iraq—was that, while the Syrian dictator possessed a large army on paper, the loyalty or reliability of many units was suspect. Hence, only a certain percentage of the armed forces could be reliably deployed. Assad's power base is Syria's Alawi minority, which is relatively small in numbers. Because of this, many analysts thought that the defeat of the Assad regime in Syria was simply a matter of time, because the narrow sectarian base of the regime meant that Assad would simply run out of men willing to take a bullet on his behalf.
The NDF was a light infantry force of about 40,000 men that was deployed in the spring of 2013 alongside Hezbollah and reliable elements of the Assad-controlled Syrian Army, as well as some Iraqi Shia paramilitary forces. This closed the Syrian regime's gap in manpower, and played a key role in pulling it back from the precipice.
His influence appears to have been decisive in shaping the Iraqi response. Predictably, it involves the use of militias and Shia sectarianism along the lines pioneered in other countries. As an Iraqi official quoted by The Guardian put it, "Who do you think is running the war? Those three senior generals who ran away? Qassem Suleimani is in charge. And reporting directly to him are the militias." Since then, Suleimani has guided much of the fighting against the I.S., and has even been physically present at a number of key engagements.
So, what is happening in Iraq today is directly analogous to what happened in Syria. The Iran-aligned, Shia-dominated government in Baghdad is being protected from Sunni insurgents through the efforts and methods of the IRGC's Quds Force, the most effective instrument of Iran's regional policy. This, of course, has major implications for Western policy, which at the current time is acting as the air wing for this campaign.
There are, at the very least, dozens of Shia militias in Iraq. The oldest date back to the days of the U.S. occupation prior to 2011 and are clearly proxies of Iran. They receive training and weapons from the IRGC, and are dedicated to implementing Iran's ideological system of governance in Iraq.
Iran, however, does not want any of these groups to become powerful enough to break off and follow its own agenda. To prevent this, it maintains multiple proxy militias competing against each other. Among the main proxies in question are Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), which developed particularly close relations with ex-Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki; Kata'ib Hezbollah (with its front group Saraya al-Difa' ash-Sha'abi); and the Badr Organization. All three of these organizations have deployed fighters to Syria to assist the Assad regime, and have also been participating in the Iraqi government's military efforts in Anbar since the beginning of this year, when Fallujah and parts of Ramadi first fell out of government control.
Besides these three important actors, other Iranian proxies exist, including Saraya al-Khorasani, Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and Harakat al-Nujaba', all of which have also deployed in Syria. These groups make no attempt to hide their ideological affinities with Iran, featuring portraits of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on their social media sites and "martyrdom" funeral banners for slain fighters.
Besides the direct Iranian proxies, a number of other Shia militias exist, the vast majority of which can be tied to one Shia political figure or another. The most well-known of these is undoubtedly Saraya al-Salam ["The Peace Brigades"], the reconstituted Mahdi Army of Islamist political leader Muqtada al-Sadr. Another interesting case is a militia known as Liwa al-Shabab al-Risali, which claims legitimacy through the Najaf-based cleric Ayatollah Muhammad al-Yaqoubi and ties itself to the legacy of Muqtada al-Sadr's father, Ayatollah Muhammad Muhammad Sadeq al-Sadr. Also of interest are Sadrist-leaning militia brands that first emerged in Syria but have since withdrawn to Iraq, such as Liwa Dhu al-Fiqar.
Elsewhere on the mainstream Shia political spectrum, there are militias linked to figures from the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), a Shia Islamic political party. These include Saraya Ansar al-Aqeeda, led by Sheikh Jalal ad-Din al-Saghir, and Saraya Ashura', led by Ammar al-Hakim. These militias appear to be an attempt by ISCI figures to create their own military forces to rival the Badr Organization, which originated as a break-off from ISCI.
Other militias exist that can be tied to figures known for strong pro-Iranian tendencies, for example Kata'ib al-Ghadab, which is tied to the pro-Iranian Da'wah Party (Tanẓim al-Dakhil). Still other groups can be readily identified as clear attempts to emulate Iranian proxies or other Shia militias, such as "Kata'ib Hezbollah – the Mujahideen in Iraq" led by Abbas al-Muhammadawi of the Abna' al-Iraq al-Ghayyara political bloc, and the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces, based on the famous Syrian Shia militia, Liwa Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas.
Naturally, the Shia militias are by no means a monolithic ideological bloc. The most obvious tension is between the Iranian proxies and those who follow the movement of Muqtada al-Sadr. This is the case even though their rhetoric often overlaps. They both emphasize the "defense of the homeland and the holy sites," and attempt to claim they are unified behind the common cause of "resistance" and Shia sectarian pride. Nonetheless, the groups that are not explicitly aligned with Iran are by no means outside Iranian influence or control. Their relationship with the Islamic Republic is simply more complex and ambiguous than others.
In an interview with Aws al-Khafaji after the capture of Jurf al-Sakhr, the Shia militias that participated are listed as "The heroic brothers of Badr, Saraya al-Salam, Asa'ib [Ahl al-Haq], [Harakat] al-Nujaba, the Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces … and some of the other Islamic factions." That Badr was mentioned first seems to confirm the group's leading role in the operation.
First, it demonstrates the extent to which Iran considers the government of Iraq a client or proxy regime; one that Tehran will not allow to develop its own powerful, independent institutions and military. The government in Baghdad, like the regime in Damascus, is to be saved from those who would destroy it, but only in such a way that its future is to be an instrument of Iran's will. The Iranians' innovative use of sectarian militia power and the cultivation of a variety of paramilitary clients ensures that, if they get their way, no Iraqi government will be in a position to disobey them.
Moreover, Iran's role in Iraq is clearly part of its desire—tracing back to the regime's founder, Ayatollah Khomeini—to spread its ideology throughout the Shia population of the Middle East. What this means is that, while the new sectarian military formation being developed by the Iranians in Iraq is likely to prove sufficient to stem the advance of the overstretched I.S. forces, they are also part of Tehran's larger regional strategy to produce a contiguous line of pro-Iran states between the Iran-Iraq border and the Mediterranean Sea.
For the U.S. and its allies, this may represent a short-term advantage, but it is a long-term threat. The Iranian proxy militias, quite naturally, also embrace Iran's ideology, which is intensely anti-American, anti-Western, and indeed, anti-Semitic. They parrot, for example, Iran's official propaganda line, according to which the I.S. is supposedly a creation of "the Great Satan" (i.e., the United States) and/or the Jews.
Nor does the eventual creation, or attempt to create, an Iranian sphere of influence across the Middle East bode well for American or Western interests. However effective they may be in fighting the I.S., Iran's proxy militias in Iraq are part of this agenda and are helping Iran pursue it.
Jonathan Spyer is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, and a fellow at the Middle East Forum. Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at the Middle East Forum.


Exclusive to JD. Freshen up their off-duty threads with this children's Orson T-Shirt from McKenzie. In a white colourway with blue sleeves, this tee is made from a poly mesh which gives them an ultra-comfy feelin' and a breathable wear. With a crew neckline and raglan sleeves with dual red stripe detailing, this tee is finished with McKenzie branding to the chest.


I was born on March 16th, 1944 in Zagreb. In 1962 I graduated from a secondary grammar school for classical languages in Zagreb. Under menthorship of the professor Svetozar Kurepa I achieved all three of my academic degrees: BSc on November 16th, 1966 with thesis "Group representations and its applications in the elementary particle symmetry theory"; MSc on November 6th, 1968 with thesis "Induced represenations of locally compact groups and some applications". Finally, on February 28th, 1973 I obtained my Ph.D. degree with thesis "Representations of the group SU(n,1) and its universal covering group".
My main research interest is in the representation theory of Lie groups and Lie algebras, especially represenations of semisimple and reductive Lie groups and algebras. In addition, I have also been involved in functional analysis, more precisely, operator algebra theory.
Since the beginning of 2004 I have been a full professor at the Department of Mathematics for the second time. Furthermore, since 1992 I have been a correspondant of Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.


Here´s another bike from Shipley, a nice 1958 Competition, frame # 3580, restored not by me but bought off Ebay from Crispin Jones of Mr Jones watches. I´m not a member of Ebay myself, but a friend told me about it and helped me secure this marvellous machine.
What I instantly liked about it was the high quality equipment, and that Crispin, a designer, had gone to great lengths to recreate and reprint the original transfers which are now available from Nick Tythecott at Lloyd´s Cycles. I like the result very much. The respray is by Argos and replaces an unoriginal one done by the first owner. This colour scheme is not original either as per Ellis-Briggs´ documents, because the first owner wanted to impress his mates and had it sprayed Bianchi Celeste.
I only needed to change some bits and pieces on the bike, i.e. the saddle which is a narrow B17 restored by Tony Colegrave. Crispin had replaced a rotted out Brooks with a modern B17, which in its turn now serves faithfully on another bike of mine. All the other parts are original, the Chater Lea crankset, the Campag Gran Sport derailleurs, wonderful Conloy rims, handlebars, everything. After I took the photos I changed the tires for slightly fatter and less modern looking ones.
Here we have a look at the Chater pedals, too, and the bottom bracket shell. E-B had a machine which stamped shapes into blank lugs so they could easily make different shapes.
The fifities were the decade when Ellis-Briggs bicycles were ridden in great races, the Tour of Britain amongst others. Ken Russell won the 1952 edition on an E-B. To have owned one of their machines then must have meant something as their fame went beyond the usual local builder´s who catered for his hometown´s club riders.
Looking at these features one gets an idea why this was the case.
Here´s another great part – a GB "map of Britain" handlebar.
And, of course, the sure sign of a quality bike, a Campag Gran Sport rear derailleur.
A nice touch relating to the history of the bike is that Crispin bought it from the first owner who had lived in Altrincham, quite close to a place I lived in the eighties.
So here´s a bike with a less well known name, but still of superbe quality.
I spent all my roughly 50 sportives in 2007 thinking about my dream Randonneur. I had a piece of paper on my desk at home and would note down any changes I would like to make with regards to the 1986 Revell Romany I was riding then. Towards the end of the season I had assembled quite a wish list.
It was clear from the outset that I would not be willing to spend extraordinary amounts of money on this dream bike as I have other hobbies too and as I´m a rider who is – at best – described as weak, so capital outlay on a super rando bike would just not reflect any practical use. Any Singer or Herse or other marque in this league would be out.
Or so I thought. During the winter of 2007/8 when I started planning in earnest I contacted several people I know who are deep in randonneuring and/or framebuilding, and it was Doug Fattic who gave the decisive hint: Ask Ellis-Briggs, the people Doug had learned framebuilding with.
It became clear very quickly that I would be able to afford a custom randonneur frame built by E-B, and as we had planned an English holiday anyway, I made an appointment and went to Shipley. There I was helped by Paul in the shop and with finances, and Andrew, the framebuilder. Wishes included all sorts of useful and weird things, my list had grown to 14 extras, and nothing seemed to be a problem really.
I found that I could have a frame to rival the best French ones, save constructeur parts like Herse cranks and perhaps the top 10 per cent refinement in angles and dimensions, and still not pay more than I could see myself paying with regards to my cycling abilities. Short: Have a frame with PBP qualities and a sportive price tag.
I had already amassed a great deal of parts, some of them custom made to achieve some sort of integrated bike. There were a SON 28 hub, some Mafac Racers, a Brooks, a 9sp. Veloce geartrain and rear hub, the one with annular bearings, and so on. Most of it I got used to keep the price down. Building the bike up could have started right away, but as I was fascinated by the build quality of the frame I hung it on my study wall for a few days to gloat over it. I hope to be able to reproduce some of the gloating in a number of breathless, uncommented photos.
The Mafac studs and brass bushings had been machined by a friend of mine, the Nervex lugs came from my stash. When Andrew showed me his choice of lugs, plain, modern ones, I couldn´t see much difference, and asked him which ones he preferred. His answer was that he´d just love to work with Nervex lugs once again, but that he was out of them. So after a while a parcel with a set of lugs winged its way to Shipley, making both of us happy bunnies; me anyway, as for Andrew I sincerely hope so.
Also in this parcel was the seat tube. Paul was unable to source a quality lightweight seat tube with a length of 72 cm – my 67 cm frame height plus a reserve needed when building. For a while I thought this would be it, but then Tobit Linke, who has worked in many places, told me about a shop in the south of Germany, Walther, who build bike polo bikes and who make everything on their own, including the tubing which they get in a raw state by the lorry length – length, not load, and then process it in house. People there were friendly enough to let me have the length I needed. Phew.
Andrew cut the Mafac studs and brazed them onto standard cantilever braze ons for the rear. What wonders he worked with the bog standard Nervex lugs you can see in the pics. Look into the bottom bracket – can you see where the chainstay begins and the b/b shell ends? Neither can I, and one can´t feel it, either.
First try. It rode well, but there were changes to come.
The first was the saddle. Tony Colegrave made this Swallow on the slightly wider B17 rails. I still had nice chromed ones. The idea was that a Swallow uses the narrow width, but at 6´6″ your bum also is a bit wider than usual, and if you want a wide saddle, but still a Swallow, you´ll have to have one made. It has been great all the time.
Next was this carrier. I rode a sportive with Marten Gerritsen of M-Gineering, and he said he could make one to measure. I revamped a standard bag so that it would have tapes that go over the decaleur of sorts, the inverted U sticking up. It also has worked great.
Then there was this brake cable hanger. The same lathe wizard friend who made the Mafac studs made this hanger. It, too, has worked great.
Now it seems the lathe wizard is also a wizard at the bending machine – he´s made the second carrier from stainless tubing. OK, I´m now stuck with one white and one silver coloured carrier, but I just don´t care. Both are wonderful.
So here we are, end of story for now. I was lucky enough to be able to buy four racing bikes in three years kitted out with good used Veloce 9sp. parts but rotted out frames (light alloy – small wonder) so that I now have a nice comfy stash. One of the parts bikes also rendered the silver mudguards which replaced the red Bluemels set.
The bike as is rides great. Hardly any shimmy, which at this frame height is super. It climbs well, despite its weight, but at 103 kilos for me, the bike, a full bottle or two and the rest, what use is there in saving a kilo or two on Record Carbon bits, or whatever comes to mind. I rather have a p.. before I start the ride.
The brakes were worth all the effort three people put into them. They are two finger operable, even on the steepest decents. The 9sp. chain keeps for nearly one season, gear change is OK. There is not a single adjustable ball bearing on the whole bike as far as I´m aware, so bad weather (which we get a fair share of) is not a mechanical problem.
This is the bike as it presents itself in the summer of 2012 during a tour of the Cotswolds in England.
I think I´ll pass the 15,000 km mark this season, and hope for many more.
What else can I wish for?
So it has taken about three years to finish, but what at bike.
About three years ago I advertised on CR to find out about any stray Ellis Briggs frames I might be able to purchase. There actually was someone from Germany who answered that he had one. He was a bike shop owner, and the bike was described as quite OK, four digit frame # (5105) which made it an original EB, so I had it sent.
I was shocked when 5105 arrived, it was a wreck with possibly lethal details and certainly not worth the money I had paid. The worst was that someone had inserted a Mavic unit bottom bracket bearing which was too small for the b/b shell inner diameter, then the bike had been ridden, and the b/b shell had been ovalised, quite literally, and visibly. Play was galactic, and how anyone could have missed it remains one of the great unsolved riddles of the cycle trade.
On the other hand the frame had once been nice, very nice even, exactly what I had been looking for: Rather tall, braze ons for mudguards, Nervex Pro lugs, chrome. So instead of kicking up a fuss I put Andrew, Ellis-Briggs´ frame builder, to the test. I had been quite smitten with his work since having my Randonneur bike custom made by Ellis-Briggs, and the service was just great. I had gotten 5105 because I wanted a glimpse into E-B history, and now I could combine that with modern E-B work.
So off the frame went, denuded of all the scrap that had been hung on it (although some nicer bits were there too, admittedly), and Andrew took his large (I imagine) angle grinder to it, cut open the bottom bracket shell, pushed it together, welded it shut, re-cut the thread, cleaned everything up, and even re-did the frame number which had also been cut in two.
Then the frame was refinished, chrome saved, NOS original transfers applied, and when it came back it was as good as new. From the outside there was no visible trace of the open heart surgery performed on the b/b shell, and when I fitted the Campag b/b cups they were the best fit I had ever experienced.
All the while Paul had kept contact, answering all my questions, being very patient, and all in all the whole thing was less expensive than I had thought.
It was quite exactly two years ago that the frame arrived back, and I must say I´m quite embarrassed that it took such a long time to finish the bike, but I wanted it to be special, and I just couldn´t find the time to look after it properly. Nearly all the bits came from my boxes; the crankset I had gotten in a French flea market in about 2003, the Huret parts I had had for about twenty years waiting for a bike, the saddle, a 1973 NOS Professional, I had bought years ago for 2.50 Euro in a Dutch shop which was de-stocking before closure, and so on.
The weirdest thing was that Ellis-Briggs had the name of the first owner on file, and he still lived in the same house where he had lived in 1976 when the bike was new, and I actually rang him. He said that he had never aimed to have a groupset on the frame, but used whatever nice parts he came across, often changing them around, so I felt free to go down the same alley.
Now the bike needs some finishing touches, and then I hope to take it for a spin or two this summer.
Disclaimer: Although I´d like them to, Ellis-Briggs are not sponsoring my blog.


text:
Stem Announces Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results
Revenue at high end of guidance
Company reaffirms 2021 financial guidance
SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Stem, Inc. ("Stem" or the "Company") (NYSE:STEM), a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven clean energy storage services, announced today its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021.
Second Quarter 2021 Financial and Operating Highlights
Revenues of $19.3 million, up from $4.4 million (+339%) in the same quarter last year
Gross Margin (GAAP) of (1)% versus (40)% in the same quarter last year
Non-GAAP Gross Margin of 11%, up from 5% in the same quarter last year
Net Loss of $(100.2) million versus $(19.0) million in the same quarter last year
Adjusted EBITDA of $(8.6) million vs. $(7.5) million in the same quarter last year
Ended the second quarter with $474 million in cash and zero debt
Operating Highlights
12-month Pipeline of $1.7 billion, up from $1.4 billion (+21%) at end of the first quarter
Contracted Backlog of $250 million, up from $221 million (+13%) at end of the first quarter
Contracted Assets Under Management (AUM) of 1.2 gigawatt hours (GWh), up from 0.5 GWh in the same quarter last year
John Carrington, Chief Executive Officer of Stem, commented, "We are pleased to announce a solid second quarter of execution, building on our strong first-quarter results. Revenue was at the high end of our guidance range, which, coupled with our gross margin and operating expense performance, keeps us on track to meet our full-year revenue and Adjusted EBITDA targets. Our sales team continued to leverage our partner channel in multiple geographies increasing our contracted backlog to $250 million (13% sequential growth), providing us with increased visibility into 2022 revenue. As the first pure-play publicly traded smart energy storage company, our experience, industry-leading Athena® software platform, robust service offerings, and strong balance sheet will continue to differentiate Stem in this rapidly expanding market."
$ millions unless otherwise noted
Financial metrics
Gross Margin (GAAP)
$(0.1)
Gross Margin (GAAP, %)
Non-GAAP Gross Margin***
Non-GAAP Gross Margin (%)***
Net Loss (GAAP)
$(100.2)
$(19.0)
Adjusted EBITDA***
Key Operating metrics*
12-Month Pipeline ($ billions)
Contracted Backlog
Contracted AUM (GWh)
* at period end
** not available
***Non-GAAP financial measures. See the section below titled "Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" for details and page 9 for reconciliations.
Second-Quarter 2021 Financial and Operating Results
Second quarter revenue increased 339% to $19.3 million, versus $4.4 million in the same quarter last year. Higher hardware revenue from Front of the Meter ("FTM") partnership agreements drove most of the year-over-year increase, in addition to higher services revenue from host customer arrangements.
Gross Margin (GAAP) was $(0.1) million, or (1)%, versus $(1.7) million, or (40)% in the same quarter last year. Non-GAAP Gross Margin was $2.1 million or 11% versus $0.2 million or 5% in the same quarter last year. The year-over-year increases in Gross Margin (GAAP) and Non-GAAP Gross Margin resulted from an increased mix of software service revenues and higher-margin hardware deliveries.
Net Loss increased to $(100.2) million versus $(19.0) million in the same quarter last year. This was primarily due to $76.4 million of non-cash charges recorded in the quarter from the revaluation of warrants tied to an increase in the value of the underlying stock, along with higher operating expenses.
Adjusted EBITDA was $(8.6) million compared to $(7.5) million in the same quarter last year. The lower Adjusted EBITDA results were primarily driven by higher operating expenses, due to increased personnel costs reflecting continued investment in our growth initiatives.
The Company ended the second quarter with $474 million in cash and no debt.
The Company's 12-month forward Pipeline was $1.7 billion as of June 30, 2021, representing significant year-over-year growth. The 21% increase in the 12-month pipeline from $1.4 billion at March 31, 2021 is a result of increased FTM project opportunities and the seasonal nature of the pipeline.
Contracted Backlog increased 13% sequentially, from $221 million as of March 31, 2021 to $250 million as of June 30, 2021. The increase in Contracted Backlog resulted from strong bookings of $45 million tied to increased commercial activity. Bookings grew 18% year-over-year from $38 million in the quarter ended June 30, 2020.
Contracted AUM more than doubled year-over-year to 1.2 GWh, driven by increased commercial activity and the addition of the 345-megawatt hour (MWh) Electrodes Holdings LLC portfolio. Contracted AUM increased sequentially by 9%, driven by new contracts and new systems that came in service.
The following table provides a summary of current backlog compared to prior quarter backlog:
$ millions
Period ending 1Q21
Since mid-June 2021, Stem has consistently dispatched more than 500 MWh daily in multiple markets across the United States and Canada in response to heat waves, increased grid interconnections from renewables and wildfires that have caused widespread stress on power grids. Stem's demand response and grid services programs are designed to use virtual power plants powered by the Athena software platform to flatten electricity usage peaks and deliver power to the most constrained parts of the grid.
Stem has grown rapidly in ISO New England since the system operator expanded market participation activities for Front-of-the-Meter ("FTM") storage in 2020. As of the end of June, Stem-directed systems comprised 52% of Massachusetts and 19% of ISO-NE of the operational continuous storage facilities active in the wholesale energy, ancillary services and forward capacity settlement markets, as reported by the system operator.
On June 25, 2021, Stem entered into an agreement to exchange 7.2 million private warrants for 4.7 million shares of common stock. The transaction closed on June 30, 2021. As of August 11, 2021, 12.8 million public warrants remain outstanding, which are redeemable by the Company beginning August 20, 2021.
On June 2, 2021, Stem announced that it had partnered with Ameresco, a leading cleantech integrator, whereby it will provide 15 MWh of battery storage for Holy Cross Energy, an electric cooperative in western Colorado. Stem and Ameresco plan to further collaborate to provide enhanced returns in electric cooperative markets and beyond. The Company is currently pursuing projects with cooperatives in 26 states and expects this end market to represent a significant component of its FTM business.
The Company reaffirms its guidance of full-year 2021 revenue of $147 million and full-year 2021 Adjusted EBITDA of $(25) million. Consistent with prior guidance, the Company reaffirms that it expects to recognize 20-30% of total 2021 revenue in Q3, and 50-60% of total 2021 revenue in Q4.
The Company believes that it has contracted for sufficient supply chain commitments to meet its 2021 revenue goal and will continue to diversify its supply chain, adopt alternative technologies, and deploy its balance sheet to meet the significant growth in customer demand.
In addition to financial results determined in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), we use the following non-GAAP financial measures: non-GAAP gross margin and Adjusted EBITDA. The presentation of this financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. See "Reconciliations of non-GAAP Financial Measures" on page 9 of this release. We use these non-GAAP financial measures for financial and operational decision making and as a means to evaluate our operating performance and future prospects, develop internal budgets and financial goals, and to facilitate period-to-period comparisons. Our management believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance and liquidity by excluding certain expenses and expenditures that may not be indicative of our operating performance, such as stock-based compensation and other non-cash charges, as well as discrete cash charges that are infrequent in nature. We believe that both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing our performance and when planning, forecasting, and analyzing future periods. These non-GAAP financial measures also facilitate management's internal comparisons to our historical performance and liquidity as well as comparisons to our competitors' operating results. We believe these non-GAAP financial measures are useful to investors both because they (1) allow for greater transparency with respect to key metrics used by management in its financial and operational decision making and (2) are used by our institutional investors and the analyst community to help them analyze the health of our business.
We define Adjusted EBITDA as net loss before depreciation and amortization, including amortization of internally developed software, net interest expense, further adjusted to exclude stock-based compensation and other income and expense items, including the change in fair value of warrants and embedded derivatives.
We define non-GAAP gross margin as gross margin excluding amortization of capitalized software, impairments related to decommissioning of end-of-life systems, and adjustments to reclassify data communication and cloud production expenses to operating expenses.
About Stem, Inc.
Stem Inc. (NYSE: STEM) provides solutions that address the challenges of today's dynamic energy market. By combining advanced energy storage solutions with Athena®, a world-class AI-powered analytics platform, Stem enables customers and partners to optimize energy use by automatically switching between battery power, onsite generation and grid power. Stem's solutions help enterprise customers benefit from a clean, adaptive energy infrastructure and achieve a wide variety of goals, including expense reduction, resilience, sustainability, environmental and corporate responsibility and innovation. Stem also offers full support for solar partners interested in adding storage to standalone, community or commercial solar projects – both behind and in front of the meter.
For more information, visit www.stem.com.
Stem will hold a conference call to discuss this earnings press release and business outlook on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call may be accessed via a live webcast on a listen-only basis on the Events & Presentations page of the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at https://investors.stem.com/events-and-presentations. The call can also be accessed live over the telephone by dialing 877-705-6003, or for international callers, 201-493-6725 and referencing Stem. A replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the call on the Events & Presentations page in the Investor Relations section of the Company's website and will remain available for approximately one month.
This second-quarter 2021 earnings release, as well as other statements we make, contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which include any statements that are not historical facts. Such statements often contain words such as "expect," "may," "can," "believe," "predict," "plan," "potential," "projected," "projections," "forecast," "estimate," "intend," "anticipate," "ambition," "goal," "target," "think," "should," "could," "would," "will," "hope," "see," "likely," and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain, such as the reduction of greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions; the integration and optimization of energy resources; the business strategies of Stem and those of its customers; the global commitment to decarbonization; our ability to retain or upgrade current customers, further penetrate existing markets or expand into new markets; our ability to manage our supply chains and distribution channels and the impact of natural disasters and other events beyond our control, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Delta variant; and future results of operations. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Stem and its management, depend upon inherently uncertain factors and risks that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations, including our inability to help reduce GHG emissions; our inability to seamlessly integrate and optimize energy resources; our inability to achieve our financial and performance targets and other forecasts and expectations; our inability to recognize the anticipated benefits of our recent business combination with Star Peak Energy Transition Corp. ("Star Peak"); our ability to grow and manage growth profitably; risks relating to the development and performance of our energy storage systems and software-enabled services; the risk that the global commitment to decarbonization may not materialize as we predict, or even if it does, that we might not be able to benefit therefrom; our inability to retain or upgrade current customers, further penetrate existing markets or expand into new markets; our inability to secure sufficient inventory from our suppliers to meet customer demand, and provide us with contracted quantities of equipment; supply chain interruptions and manufacturing or delivery delays; disruptions in sales, production, service or other business activities; our inability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the risk that our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected by other political, economic, business and competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the SEC on July 19, 2021, and our most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with or furnished to the SEC. If one or more of these or other risks or uncertainties materialize (or the consequences of any such development changes), or should our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in our forward-looking statements. Statements in this second-quarter 2021 press release are made as of the date of this release, and Stem disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Stem, Inc.
STEM, INC.
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
Other current assets (includes $206 and $123 due from related parties as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively)
Energy storage systems, net
Contract origination costs, net
Other noncurrent assets
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Accrued liabilities
Accrued payroll
Notes payable, current portion
Convertible promissory notes (includes $— and $45,271 due to related parties as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively)
Financing obligation, current
Deferred revenue, current
Other current liabilities (includes $880 and $399 due to related parties as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively)
Deferred revenue, noncurrent
Asset retirement obligation
Notes payable, noncurrent
Financing obligation, noncurrent
Warrant liabilities
Lease liability, noncurrent
Stockholders' equity (deficit):
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively; 0 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020; 130,418,055 and 40,202,785 issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, respectively
Total stockholders' equity (deficit)
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)
Services revenue
Hardware revenue
Cost of service revenue
Cost of hardware revenue
Total cost of revenue
Other income (expense), net:
Loss on extinguishment of debt
Change in fair value of warrants and embedded derivative
Other income (expenses), net
Net loss per share attributable to common shareholders, basic and diluted
Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per share, basic and diluted
Non-cash interest expense, including interest expenses associated with debt issuance costs
Change in fair value of warrant liability and embedded derivative
Noncash lease expense
Accretion expense
Impairment of energy storage systems
Issuance of warrants for services
Contract origination costs
Lease liabilities
Net cash used in operating activities
Purchase of energy storage systems
Capital expenditures on internally-developed software
Purchase of property and equipment
Proceeds from exercise of stock options and warrants
Net contributions from Merger and PIPE financing, net of transaction costs of $58,061
Proceeds from financing obligations
Repayment of financing obligations
Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes, net of issuance costs of $8 and $911 for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively
Proceeds from issuance of notes payable, net of issuance costs of $101 and $1,502 for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively
Repayment of notes payable
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
RECONCILIATIONS OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
The following table provides a reconciliation of net loss to Adjusted EBITDA:
Adjusted to exclude the following:
Vesting of warrants
Adjusted EBITDA as used in connection with the Company's 2021 outlook is a non-GAAP financial measure that excludes or has otherwise been adjusted for items impacting comparability. The Company is unable to reconcile Adjusted EBITDA to net loss, its most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measure, without unreasonable efforts, because the Company is currently unable to predict with a reasonable degree of certainty its change in fair value of warrants expense for 2021. In addition, the Company may incur additional expenses that may affect Adjusted EBITDA, such as stock-based compensation expense and other items. The unavailable information could have a significant effect on the Company's full year 2021 GAAP financial results.
The following table provides a reconciliation of gross margin (GAAP)
Stem Investor Contacts
Ted Durbin, Stem
Marc Silverberg, ICR
IR@stem.com
Stem Media Contacts
Cory Ziskind, ICR
stemPR@icrinc.com
Read full story here

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


We don't know about you, but when we were 15 we could barely save up for a video game, let alone an entire workstation. Maybe we should have taken some lessons from this kid. Found on Flickr, Lewspeight is just a teen, yet he bought everything you see above himself. The kid's got an eye for well thought out office space to boot.
The setup includes a HD 22" BenQ E2200HD flat screen, an unbranded monitor arm bought off eBay, a wireless Apple keyboard, Logitech MX Revolution cordless mouse, Creative Speakers, Griffin Powermate volume knob, Griffin Elevator laptop stand, and an iPod Nano 2 Gig.
An external 500 gig hard drive is under the desk, where his HP printer is stashed as well. A small aluminum shelf behind his desk holds all his wires and external peripherals.
The Desk is the VIKA Amon with the VIKA Curry legs with an IKEA desk mat. The cool clock is a Pixel Wedge Clock from Red5.


text:
Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis
Hannah O'Farrell, Bryant Harbourne, Zimple Kurlawala, Yusuke Inoue, Amy L. Nagelberg, Victor D. Martinez, Daniel Lu, Min Hee Oh, Bradley P. Coe, Kelsie L. Thu, Romel Somwar, Stephen Lam, Wan L. Lam, Arun M. Unni, Levi Beverly, William W. Lockwood
Introduction: Targeted therapies for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) have improved patient outcomes; however, drug resistance remains a major problem. One strategy to achieve durable response is to develop combination-based therapies that target both mutated oncogenes and key modifiers of oncogene-driven tumorigenesis. This is based on the premise that mutated oncogenes, although necessary, are not sufficient for malignant transformation. We aimed to uncover genetic alterations that cooperate with mutant EGFR during LUAD development. Methods: We performed integrative genomic analyses, combining copy number, gene expression and mutational information for over 500 LUAD tumors. Co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis were performed in LUAD cell lines to confirm candidate interactions while RNA interference and gene overexpression were used for in vitro and in vivo functional assessment. Results: We identified frequent amplifications/deletions of chromosomal regions affecting the activity of genes specifically in the context of EGFR mutation, including amplification of the mutant EGFR allele and deletion of dual specificity phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), which have both previously been reported. In addition, we identified the novel amplification of a segment of chromosome arm 16p in mutant-EGFR tumors corresponding to increased expression of Golgi Associated, Gamma Adaptin Ear Containing, ARF Binding Protein 2 (GGA2), which functions in protein trafficking and sorting. We found that GGA2 interacts with EGFR, increases EGFR protein levels and modifies EGFR degradation after ligand stimulation. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of GGA2 enhances EGFR mediated transformation while GGA2 knockdown reduces the colony and tumor forming ability of EGFR mutant LUAD. Conclusions: These data suggest that overexpression of GGA2 in LUAD tumors results in the accumulation of EGFR protein and increased EGFR signaling, which helps drive tumor progression. Thus, GGA2 plays a cooperative role with EGFR during LUAD development and is a potential therapeutic target for combination-based strategies in LUAD.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004
10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004
Dive into the research topics of 'Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.
Adenocarcinoma of Lung Medicine & Life Sciences 100%
Lung Medicine & Life Sciences 50%
Protein Transport Medicine & Life Sciences 25%
Adaptor Protein Complex gamma Subunits Medicine & Life Sciences 21%
Dual-Specificity Phosphatases Medicine & Life Sciences 17%
O'Farrell, H., Harbourne, B., Kurlawala, Z., Inoue, Y., Nagelberg, A. L., Martinez, V. D., Lu, D., Oh, M. H., Coe, B. P., Thu, K. L., Somwar, R., Lam, S., Lam, W. L., Unni, A. M., Beverly, L., & Lockwood, W. W. (2019). Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis. Journal of Thoracic Oncology, 14(4), 656-671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004
O'Farrell, Hannah ; Harbourne, Bryant ; Kurlawala, Zimple et al. / Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis. In: Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2019 ; Vol. 14, No. 4. pp. 656-671.
@article{2559e9d201dd48bab21fe944acffee97,
title = "Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis",
abstract = "Introduction: Targeted therapies for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) have improved patient outcomes; however, drug resistance remains a major problem. One strategy to achieve durable response is to develop combination-based therapies that target both mutated oncogenes and key modifiers of oncogene-driven tumorigenesis. This is based on the premise that mutated oncogenes, although necessary, are not sufficient for malignant transformation. We aimed to uncover genetic alterations that cooperate with mutant EGFR during LUAD development. Methods: We performed integrative genomic analyses, combining copy number, gene expression and mutational information for over 500 LUAD tumors. Co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis were performed in LUAD cell lines to confirm candidate interactions while RNA interference and gene overexpression were used for in vitro and in vivo functional assessment. Results: We identified frequent amplifications/deletions of chromosomal regions affecting the activity of genes specifically in the context of EGFR mutation, including amplification of the mutant EGFR allele and deletion of dual specificity phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), which have both previously been reported. In addition, we identified the novel amplification of a segment of chromosome arm 16p in mutant-EGFR tumors corresponding to increased expression of Golgi Associated, Gamma Adaptin Ear Containing, ARF Binding Protein 2 (GGA2), which functions in protein trafficking and sorting. We found that GGA2 interacts with EGFR, increases EGFR protein levels and modifies EGFR degradation after ligand stimulation. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of GGA2 enhances EGFR mediated transformation while GGA2 knockdown reduces the colony and tumor forming ability of EGFR mutant LUAD. Conclusions: These data suggest that overexpression of GGA2 in LUAD tumors results in the accumulation of EGFR protein and increased EGFR signaling, which helps drive tumor progression. Thus, GGA2 plays a cooperative role with EGFR during LUAD development and is a potential therapeutic target for combination-based strategies in LUAD.",
keywords = "EGFR, Integrative genomics, Oncogenes, Signaling, Targeted therapy",
author = "Hannah O'Farrell and Bryant Harbourne and Zimple Kurlawala and Yusuke Inoue and Nagelberg, {Amy L.} and Martinez, {Victor D.} and Daniel Lu and Oh, {Min Hee} and Coe, {Bradley P.} and Thu, {Kelsie L.} and Romel Somwar and Stephen Lam and Lam, {Wan L.} and Unni, {Arun M.} and Levi Beverly and Lockwood, {William W.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; PJT- 148725 ), Terry Fox Research Institute , and the BC Cancer Foundation . Dr. Beverly is supported by NIH NCI R01CA193220 and Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program . Dr. Lockwood is a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar, CIHR New Investigator and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Young Investigator. The authors thank Raj Chari for providing constructive feedback and technical assistance. Funding Information: Disclosure: Dr. Somwar has received grants from Hesinn Healthcare. Dr. Beverly has received grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, and the Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Dr. Lockwood has received grants from CIHR, TFRI, and the BC Cancer Foundation.This work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; PJT-148725), Terry Fox Research Institute, and the BC Cancer Foundation. Dr. Beverly is supported by NIH NCI R01CA193220 and Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Dr. Lockwood is a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar, CIHR New Investigator and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Young Investigator. The authors thank Raj Chari for providing constructive feedback and technical assistance. Disclosure: Dr. Somwar has received grants from Hesinn Healthcare. Dr. Beverly has received grants from the National Institutes of Health/ National Cancer Institute, and the Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Dr. Lockwood has received grants from CIHR, TFRI, and the BC Cancer Foundation. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.",
doi = "10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004",
journal = "Journal of Thoracic Oncology",
publisher = "Lippincott Williams & Wilkins",
O'Farrell, H, Harbourne, B, Kurlawala, Z, Inoue, Y, Nagelberg, AL, Martinez, VD, Lu, D, Oh, MH, Coe, BP, Thu, KL, Somwar, R, Lam, S, Lam, WL, Unni, AM, Beverly, L & Lockwood, WW 2019, 'Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis', Journal of Thoracic Oncology, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 656-671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004
Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis. / O'Farrell, Hannah; Harbourne, Bryant; Kurlawala, Zimple et al.
In: Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Vol. 14, No. 4, 04.2019, p. 656-671.
T1 - Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis
AU - O'Farrell, Hannah
AU - Harbourne, Bryant
AU - Kurlawala, Zimple
AU - Inoue, Yusuke
AU - Nagelberg, Amy L.
AU - Martinez, Victor D.
AU - Lu, Daniel
AU - Oh, Min Hee
AU - Coe, Bradley P.
AU - Thu, Kelsie L.
AU - Somwar, Romel
AU - Lam, Stephen
AU - Lam, Wan L.
AU - Unni, Arun M.
AU - Beverly, Levi
AU - Lockwood, William W.
N1 - Funding Information: This work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; PJT- 148725 ), Terry Fox Research Institute , and the BC Cancer Foundation . Dr. Beverly is supported by NIH NCI R01CA193220 and Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program . Dr. Lockwood is a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar, CIHR New Investigator and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Young Investigator. The authors thank Raj Chari for providing constructive feedback and technical assistance. Funding Information: Disclosure: Dr. Somwar has received grants from Hesinn Healthcare. Dr. Beverly has received grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, and the Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Dr. Lockwood has received grants from CIHR, TFRI, and the BC Cancer Foundation.This work was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; PJT-148725), Terry Fox Research Institute, and the BC Cancer Foundation. Dr. Beverly is supported by NIH NCI R01CA193220 and Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Dr. Lockwood is a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar, CIHR New Investigator and International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Young Investigator. The authors thank Raj Chari for providing constructive feedback and technical assistance. Disclosure: Dr. Somwar has received grants from Hesinn Healthcare. Dr. Beverly has received grants from the National Institutes of Health/ National Cancer Institute, and the Kosair Pediatric Cancer Research Program. Dr. Lockwood has received grants from CIHR, TFRI, and the BC Cancer Foundation. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer Copyright: Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
N2 - Introduction: Targeted therapies for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) have improved patient outcomes; however, drug resistance remains a major problem. One strategy to achieve durable response is to develop combination-based therapies that target both mutated oncogenes and key modifiers of oncogene-driven tumorigenesis. This is based on the premise that mutated oncogenes, although necessary, are not sufficient for malignant transformation. We aimed to uncover genetic alterations that cooperate with mutant EGFR during LUAD development. Methods: We performed integrative genomic analyses, combining copy number, gene expression and mutational information for over 500 LUAD tumors. Co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis were performed in LUAD cell lines to confirm candidate interactions while RNA interference and gene overexpression were used for in vitro and in vivo functional assessment. Results: We identified frequent amplifications/deletions of chromosomal regions affecting the activity of genes specifically in the context of EGFR mutation, including amplification of the mutant EGFR allele and deletion of dual specificity phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), which have both previously been reported. In addition, we identified the novel amplification of a segment of chromosome arm 16p in mutant-EGFR tumors corresponding to increased expression of Golgi Associated, Gamma Adaptin Ear Containing, ARF Binding Protein 2 (GGA2), which functions in protein trafficking and sorting. We found that GGA2 interacts with EGFR, increases EGFR protein levels and modifies EGFR degradation after ligand stimulation. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of GGA2 enhances EGFR mediated transformation while GGA2 knockdown reduces the colony and tumor forming ability of EGFR mutant LUAD. Conclusions: These data suggest that overexpression of GGA2 in LUAD tumors results in the accumulation of EGFR protein and increased EGFR signaling, which helps drive tumor progression. Thus, GGA2 plays a cooperative role with EGFR during LUAD development and is a potential therapeutic target for combination-based strategies in LUAD.
AB - Introduction: Targeted therapies for lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) have improved patient outcomes; however, drug resistance remains a major problem. One strategy to achieve durable response is to develop combination-based therapies that target both mutated oncogenes and key modifiers of oncogene-driven tumorigenesis. This is based on the premise that mutated oncogenes, although necessary, are not sufficient for malignant transformation. We aimed to uncover genetic alterations that cooperate with mutant EGFR during LUAD development. Methods: We performed integrative genomic analyses, combining copy number, gene expression and mutational information for over 500 LUAD tumors. Co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis were performed in LUAD cell lines to confirm candidate interactions while RNA interference and gene overexpression were used for in vitro and in vivo functional assessment. Results: We identified frequent amplifications/deletions of chromosomal regions affecting the activity of genes specifically in the context of EGFR mutation, including amplification of the mutant EGFR allele and deletion of dual specificity phosphatase 4 (DUSP4), which have both previously been reported. In addition, we identified the novel amplification of a segment of chromosome arm 16p in mutant-EGFR tumors corresponding to increased expression of Golgi Associated, Gamma Adaptin Ear Containing, ARF Binding Protein 2 (GGA2), which functions in protein trafficking and sorting. We found that GGA2 interacts with EGFR, increases EGFR protein levels and modifies EGFR degradation after ligand stimulation. Furthermore, we show that overexpression of GGA2 enhances EGFR mediated transformation while GGA2 knockdown reduces the colony and tumor forming ability of EGFR mutant LUAD. Conclusions: These data suggest that overexpression of GGA2 in LUAD tumors results in the accumulation of EGFR protein and increased EGFR signaling, which helps drive tumor progression. Thus, GGA2 plays a cooperative role with EGFR during LUAD development and is a potential therapeutic target for combination-based strategies in LUAD.
KW - EGFR
KW - Integrative genomics
KW - Oncogenes
KW - Signaling
KW - Targeted therapy
U2 - 10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004
JO - Journal of Thoracic Oncology
JF - Journal of Thoracic Oncology
O'Farrell H, Harbourne B, Kurlawala Z, Inoue Y, Nagelberg AL, Martinez VD et al. Integrative Genomic Analyses Identifies GGA2 as a Cooperative Driver of EGFR-Mediated Lung Tumorigenesis. Journal of Thoracic Oncology. 2019 Apr;14(4):656-671. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2018.12.004


We have had a number of serious collisions involving older drivers with automatics.
1) Does anyone have an ETP project in place to deal with this issue? We already run an educational project for older drivers www.devon.gov.uk/dsfl. I am trying to find out if anyone is already working with garages, GPs etc.
2) Has anyone carried out any research on the connection between an older driver changing from a manual to an automatic and the reduction in risk the longer they drive the automatic?
It could be they use the brake at the same time as the gas this can cause problems, it comes from the fact they have had no training with automatics they assume if you can drive a manual you can drive an auto,also you need to find out the model of cars involved in these accidents, this is beacuse some of the newer autos dont have creep ie if you release the brake the car creeps forward ( this is only on fluid flywheel systems ) on the newer autos you have to reve the engine to get the creep and thus it increases the chances of smashing into things.


In this unique book, the authors, both only amateur Go players themselves, develop the mathematical techniques for solving late-stage endgame problems that can stump top-ranking professionals. As a typical game of Go approaches its conclusion, the active regions of play become independent of one another, and the overall board position may be regarded as a sum of disconnected partial board positions. Combinatorial game theory, a branch of mathematics Berlekamp helped develop, has long been concerned with such sums of games. Here, it is applied to solving Go-related problems with a bewildering choice of similar-looking moves and subtle priority relationships. The theory presented in this book assigns each active area on the board an abstract value and then shows how to compare them to select the optimum move or add them up to determine the ideal outcome. Some of the values are familiar numbers or fractions, but most are more bizarre objects quite unlike anything in the existing Co literature. From these abstractions, the reader learns that positions seeming ro have the same numerical value can be crucially different while positions that appear completely different can be mathematically identical. A go player with an interest in mathematics or a mathematician interested in Go will not want to miss this book because it describes substantial connections between the two subjects which have been, until now, overlooked.