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"Masi Bicycles is a manufacturer of road, track, cyclocross and commuter bicycles based in Vista, California, United States. History Faliero Masi commenced making bicycle frames at the Velodromo Vigorelli in Milan in the 1950s, after a career as a professional racer and team mechanic. In 1973 his son Alberto took over the Vigorelli shop. Faliero and two assistants went to the US and began production at a new facility in Carlsbad, California after selling the "Cicli Masi" name and trademark to an American businessman, Roland Sahm. Later, Faliero returned to Italy. Disputes over volume production caused a break in relations between Masi and the US Masi investors. The ownership of the US trademark remained with the US operation, so the Masi family were unable to sell bikes in the US under their own name. This was despite Faliero Masi having brought over master builder Mario Confente from Italy to help establish the company's U.S. operations, which came to be regarded as producing even finer bicycles than its Italian counterpart. Alberto Masi would later release bikes into the US under the "Milano 3V" name. The U.S. rights to the Masi name and logo are now owned by Haro Bikes. Many well-known and successful professional cyclists rode Masi bikes, such as Antonio Maspes, Fausto Coppi,http://www.theracingbicycle.com/Faliero_Masi.html Felice Gimondi, Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx. In popular culture Dave Stoller, the lead character in the Oscar-winning movie Breaking Away (1979), rides a Masi bicycle. He is played by Dennis Christopher. References External links * Masi Bikes Category:Cycle manufacturers of the United States Category:Cycle manufacturers of Italy "
"Galerina sulciceps is a dangerously toxic species of fungus in the family Strophariaceae, of the order Agaricales. It is distributed in tropical Indonesia and India, but has reportedly been found fruiting in European greenhouses on occasion. More toxic than the deathcap (Amanita phalloides), G. sulciceps has been shown to contain the toxins alpha- (α-), beta- (β-) and gamma- (γ-) amanitin; a series of poisonings in Indonesia in the 1930s resulted in 14 deaths from the consumption of this species. It has a typical "little brown mushroom" appearance, with few obvious external characteristics to help distinguish it from many other similar nondescript brown species. The fruit bodies of the fungus are tawny to ochre, deepening to reddish-brown at the base of the stem. The gills are well-separated, and there is no ring present on the stem. History and taxonomy This species was first described in the literature as Marasmius sulciceps by English Naturalist Miles Joseph Berkeley in 1848, based on a specimen found four years earlier growing on old wood in Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka). In 1898, Otto Kuntze transferred the species to Chamaeceras, a genus that has since been subsumed back into Marasmius. Because of its brown-colored spore print, Dutch mycologist Karel Bernard Boedijn transferred the species to the genus Phaeomarasmius 1938. In 1951, he redescribed the species and transferred it to its current position in Galerina. Rolf Singer's comprehensive taxonomical treatment of the Agaricales placed Galerina sulciceps in section Naucoriopsis of the genus Galerina, a subdivision first defined by French mycologist Robert Kühner in 1935. This section includes small brown-spored fungi what when young have a cap margin that is curved inward, and thin-walled, obtuse, or acute-ended pleurocystidia that are not broadly rounded at the top. All of the poisonous amatoxin- containing Galerina belong to section Naucoriopsis. Description The cap is initially egg-shaped in young specimens, but changes shape as it matures, becoming convex and later more or less flat with a central depression. At the center of the cap is a roughly spherical umbo – a nipple-like protrusion. The cap is hygrophanous, meaning it changes color depending on its state of hydration: the color is tawny in moist specimens, changing to ochre with dark brown edges when dried. The cap diameter is typically , with a surface that is smooth, and almost gelatinous in consistency. The edge of the cap is thin and wavy, and is often split open. The gills are broadly adnate (broadly attached to the stalk slightly above the bottom of the gill, with most of the gill fused to the stem) to slightly decurrent (running down the length of the stem). Interspersed between the gills are shorter gills, called lamellulae, that start from the cap but do not reach the stem. The gills are broad (up to 4 mm) and thick at the base (1 mm), and when mature can develop veins that run between the gills on the undersurface of the cap. The stem is long, thick, and usually attached centrally to the underside of the cap, although it may sometimes be slightly off-center. Stems are solid, cylindrical, and may be pruinose (dusted with a very fine layer of powder). Berkeley's original description noted a resemblance to a small Marasmius peronatus, a mushroom today known as Gymnopus peronatus. Microscopic characteristics The spores are ellipsoid to almond-shaped, with dimensions of 7.2–9.7 by 4.5–5.8 µm. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are cylindrical to slightly club-shaped, four-spored, and measure 30–45 by 5.5–6 µm. The sterigmata (projections of the basidia that attach the spores) are 5–6 µm long. The pleurocystidia (cystidia located in the gill face) are thin-walled, with long, somewhat cylindrical necks, and may range in color from translucent (hyaline) to pale brownish- yellow. They are typically 40 by 10.5 µm, although they may occasionally be larger—up to 142 by 18 by 8 µm. Cystidia in the gill edge—the cheilocystidia—are similar in appearance to the pleurocystidia. The hyphae of G. sulciceps have clamp connections—short branches connecting one cell to the previous cell to allow passage of the products of nuclear division. Biochemistry Alpha-amanitin is the chief toxin in this species Galerina sulciceps is deadly poisonous; one author opines it to be "perhaps the most toxic mushroom known to man", while later studies of toxin concentrations in amanitin-containing mushrooms corroborate this view. The symptoms of poisoning attributed to the mushroom have been noted to be relatively unusual: a local anesthesic effect, "pins and needles" sensation, and nausea without vomiting. Although these clinical symptoms are inconsistent with those of amatoxin poisoning, the presence of α-, β- and γ- amanitins in this species has been verified with chromatographic analysis. Amatoxins damage the liver and kidney by binding irreversibly to RNA polymerase II. Three separate instances of poisoning in Indonesia involved 18 people, 14 of which died. Based on this set of occurrences, death occurs in 7–51 hours "unless the patient survives, which seems to depend on the quantity eaten and the vigor of the individual." Another death attributed to this mushroom was reported in Germany in the early 1980s. Severe poisonings have been treated with complete blood dialysis or liver transplants. Habitat and distribution This species grows on dead wood in tropical locales like Indonesia (Java and Sumatra), and near India (Sri Lanka), where it is prolific in some areas. It is not found in North America. In Germany, it has been found growing in greenhouses, and is known in the vernacular as the Gewächshaus-Häubling, meaning "greenhouse Galerina". In one instance, the mushroom was discovered fruiting in dense groups in pots of orchids standing on moist conifer sawdust. See also List of deadly fungi References Category:Fungi described in 1847 Category:Fungi of Sri Lanka Category:Poisonous fungi Category:Deadly fungi Category:Cortinariaceae Category:Fungi of Malaysia Category:Taxa named by Miles Joseph Berkeley "
"The Boggit: Bored Too is a text adventure game by Delta 4 released in 1986 for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and ZX Spectrum home computers. The game is a parody of the J. R. R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit and of the earlier game based upon it also called The Hobbit. It is the prequel to Bored of the Rings. Plot Bimbo Faggins and Grandalf must find treasure, solve puzzles, and appear on a gameshow. Gameplay The game is a standard text adventure with basic graphics to set the scene. Reviews *The Sinclair User magazine wrote that The Boggit was "just as funny and sick as its predecessor but is better presented and a whole lot snappier. It's miles better than the game it lampoons too." References External links Category:1980s interactive fiction Category:1986 video games Category:Amstrad CPC games Category:Commodore 64 games Category:Middle-earth parodies Category:Video games based on Middle- earth Category:Video games developed in the United Kingdom Category:ZX Spectrum games "