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Scientific name
Calliandra calothyrsus Meisn.
Anneslia calothyrsa (Meisn.) Kleinhoonte
Anneslia calothyrus (Meisn.) Donn. Sm.
Feuilleea calothyrsa (Meisn.)Kuntze.
Calliandra confusa Sprague & Riley
Calliandra houstoniana var. calothyrsus (Meisn.) Barneby
Anneslia confusa (Sprague & Riley) Britton & Rose
Calliandra similis Sprague & Riley
Anneslia similis Sprague and Riley
Anneslia acapulcensis Britton and Rose.
Calliandra acapulcensis (Britton and Rose) Standl.
Family: Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae) subfamily: Mimosoideae tribe: Ingeae. Also placed in: Mimosaceae.
Common names
calliandra, red calliandra (English); kalliandra, kalliandra merah (Indonesia); barba de gato, barbillo, barba de chivo, barbe jolote, barbe sol, cabello de angel, carboncillo, clavellino, pelo de angel (Spanish).
Morphological description
Small, perennial, thornless leguminous tree growing 2-12 m high. Trunk diameter up to 30 cm with white-reddish brown bark. Leaves are bipinnate and alternate; the rachis is 10-19 cm long, without glands; pinnae are (3-) 6-20 jugate, rachilla are 2-11 cm long; there are 19-60 pairs of leaflets; leaflets are linear, oblong and acute, 5-8 mm x 1 mm. Inflorescences are particulate with flowers in umbelliform clusters, 10-30 cm long. Flower sepals and petals are green, calyx 2 mm long, corolla 5-6 mm long. The numerous red staminal filaments are 4-6 cm long. Fruits are broadly linear, flattened, 8-11 cm x 1.0 cm with thickened and raised margins, finely pubescent or glabrous, brown dehiscent, 8- (-12) seeded. Seeds are ellipsoid , flattened, 5-7 mm long and mottled dark brown.
Native to:
Humid/sub-humid regions of Central America and Mexico. Found from the western Pacific coast of Mexico, south throughout Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, to the north coast of central Panama covering the latitudes from 9-19ºN.
Introduced into Indonesia in 1936 and from there to other parts of the tropics, notably east Africa, the area where it is now most widely used for fodder.
A multipurpose species grown primarily for forage as a supplement to low quality roughages for ruminant livestock. Also used for the provision of green manure, shade for coffee and tea, land rehabilitation , erosion control. Used as a pollen source for honey production and a host for the lac insect (Laccifer lacca) for shellac production. It is also important in parts of Africa (e.g. Uganda, Rwanda) in providing stakes for climbing beans.
An excellent fuelwood for cooking and small fires; calliandra wood dries very quickly (overnight for small stems) and burns well with a smokeless fire.
Soil requirements
Grows well on a wide range of soil types ranging from deep volcanic loams to more acidic metamorphic sandy clays. Naturally well suited to the light-textured slightly acidic soils of volcanic origin. Well adapted to acid infertile soils but will respond to fertiliser application on such soils.
It does not tolerate waterlogged conditions, and does not grow well on poorly drained calcareous soils.
In its native range, grows in annual rainfall regimes of 700-3,000 mm with 1-7 dry months. Poor tolerance of inundation. Not very drought tolerant, but can withstand dry periods, particularly in riverine environments, or where a perched watertable is present. Evergreen in humid climates but semi-deciduous in areas with a long dry season.
In exotic locations, grows best at 250-1,300 m altitude with annual rainfall of 2,000-4,000 mm and a 3-6 month dry season.
Adapted to altitudes from 0-1,850 m asl . Mean monthly maximum temperatures of 24-28ºC, and mean minimum temperatures of 18-24ºC. C. calothyrsus is frost susceptible but possesses considerable cool tolerance for a tropical species, growing naturally to 1,800 m asl in Guatemala and exotically to 2,000 m asl in Indonesia and Kenya.
Intolerant of heavy shade. In Uganda and Tanzania it is being adopted in home garden systems where it is planted under banana with moderate shade.
Reproductive development
Flowering can occur throughout the year given sufficient soil moisture, but is concentrated between October and January (late wet season). Flowering will cease over the dry season where greater than 4 months dry occurs. Flowers are andromonoecious, bearing both hermaphrodite (bisexual) and staminate (male) flowers. Predominantly outcrossing with a weak, possibly late-acting, self-incompatibility system. The level of selfing is influenced by provenance, age, floral phenology, population size and pollinator behaviour. Pollination is achieved by hawkmoths, bats of the genus Glossophaga and other less specialised fruit bats.
Depends on use. First cut 8-12 months after sowing. For maximum leaf production, cut to a height of 0.5-1.0 m every 2-3 months. Not as deep rooting or drought tolerant as L. leucocephala . To prevent leaf loss in the dry season, cut at the end of the wet season.
Normally cut for feeding as direct grazing by cattle, sheep and goats will normally result in high rates of plant mortality. Slashing calliandra to less than 30 cm above ground level and allowing ruminants to graze the regrowth can reduce plant mortality. This limits the stripping of bark and cambium from the stem . Calliandra is generally recommended for cut-and-carry feeding rather than for use in direct grazing systems.
Unknown. Probably tolerant once established.
Guidelines for the establishment and management of sown pastures.
Seed requires scarification. Good results are achieved by soaking seed in cold water for 48 hours. Hot water treatment can be used but there is a risk of killing seed through excessive exposure to high temperature. Mechanical scarification is also used. Use scarified seed planted at 1-3cm depth or seedlings raised in nurseries when the plants are 20-50cm tall. Seedlings can be planted 0.5-1.0 m apart in hedgerows spaced 3-4 m apart, or in fodder banks spaced 0.5-1.0 m apart in a grid pattern. Attention to early weed control will shorten the establishment period. Promiscuous in its Bradyrhizobium requirements, but benefits from inoculation in new areas. Early growth is slow. Once the species is mycorrhizal, growth is vigorous and the tree reaches a height of 3.5 m in six months. Does not establish well from cuttings.
Use of fertiliser on infertile soils will improve early growth, but it is less responsive to fertiliser than other tree species.
Compatibility (with other species)
Normally cut for feeding rather than direct grazed. High mortality can occur when direct grazed by ruminants. Coppicing stems to 30 cm above ground level, and allowing livestock to graze the regrowth can avoid this. (See section on defoliation ).
Companion species
Grasses: Has been grown as a hedgerow in signal grass (Brachiaria decumbens ), buffalo couch (Stenotaphrum secundatum ) and Imperata cylindrica pastures.
Generally grown as line plantings along fencelines and paddock boundaries, or integrated into garden systems where it is grown with a wide range of crop species. Used as a shade tree over coffee and tea. Suitable host for sandalwood (Santalum album).
Pests and diseases
Significant pests and diseases are starting to appear on calliandra in east Africa, particularly Uganda, including heavy infestation by a scale insect (Pulvinarisca jacksoni), severe and sudden dieback (of uncertain cause) on unpruned trees at about two years old. In Indonesia, a scale insect occasionally infests branches and stems, termites and borers attack the stem , and a looper eats the leaves. Fungal diseases (e.g. Corticium salmonicola and Xylaria spp.) may infect and kill stems made susceptible through harvest wounds.
Ability to spread
Will not spread when utilised in agricultural systems.
Weed potential
Can be an aggressive coloniser of disturbed habitats, depending on seed set, which varies with the availability of suitable pollinators. Has colonised disturbed habitats in Uganda and Hawaii.
Feeding value
Nutritive value
In vitro digestibility of dried leaf from 19 provenances ranged from 24-47%. Wide variation in condensed tannin (CT) concentrations has also been reported (1.5-19.4%). Several studies have reported negative nitrogen balances resulting from high levels of supplementation with calliandra leaf. Despite this, reasonable animal production is achieved where calliandra has been adopted as a supplement to poor quality basal diets or as a partial replacement of concentrate feeds. Good source of the vitamin carotene.
Freshly harvested leaves of calliandra are generally highly palatable to ruminants where animals have prior experience with the forage, although some problems with palatability have been reported from Mexico and Central America. Provenances vary in palatability to some extent. Palatability is significantly reduced when wilted or dried leaves are fed at high levels of supplementation. At normal supplementation rates (20-40%), wilting or drying of leaves will have no effect on intake.
No known toxicities to ruminants.
Production potential
Dry matter
Produces DM yields of 3-14 t/ha/year, depending on climate and soil fertility. The Nicaraguan provenance of 'San Ramon' is superior for leaf production, but should not be promoted for fodder, as its nutritive value is significantly lower than that of other provenances, including 'Patulul' (Guatemala) and the Kenyan land race ('Embu'). Indonesian landraces from Bandung and Maduin performed well as multipurpose accessions, producing high levels of both leaf and wood.
Animal production
Generally used to improve the utilisation of low quality grasses or as a replacement for concentrate feeds. In Zambia, goats fed a basal diet of poor quality hay lost weight at 20 g/day. Weight gains of 24 g/day were achieved when supplemented with 140 g/day DM of calliandra leaf. In Indonesia, sheep liveweight gains increased from 26 up to 52 g/day when supplementation levels of fresh calliandra leaf increased from 0-35% of total ration. Cattle direct grazing calliandra over a 12-month period in Indonesia gained 0.33 kg/head/day compared with 0.16 kg/head/day from those grazing an Imperata cylindrica control. Despite the promising early results, calliandra proved unable to withstand direct grazing and experienced 100% plant mortality over a 2-year period.
Experimentally in Kenya, 3 kg of fresh calliandra leaf plus 2 kg of concentrate feed provided a similar response in milk yield and butterfat to 3 kg of concentrate feed. The response may arise from the provision of tannin -protected protein that can be efficiently absorbed post-ruminally. In Kenya, the recommendation to farmers is that 500 plants, managed in a hedgerow, will provide enough leaf to supplement the diet of one dairy cow. A dairy goat needs 100-150 plants.
Not suitable as a feed for monogastric animals due to its high levels of astringent CTs. Small amounts may be fed to chickens as leaf meal: the carotene content gives a dark yellow yolk which can increase the market value of the eggs.
Agronomic evaluations have identified superior provenances/landraces. Artificial hybridisation has been carried out between 3 species of Calliandra. Hybrids between C. calothyrsus and C. houstoniana may have potential for cultivar development, but such hybrids have not yet been adopted by farmers.
Seed production
High levels of seed production in Central America. Provenances/accessions should be separated by at least 2 km distance to prevent cross-pollination. For maximum seed production, trees should be widely spaced with an area of 9-16 m²/tree. Coppice trees to 1 m prior to the wet season to stimulate flower production. Well-fertilised soil will increase the production of hermaphrodite flowers. Seed crops are commonly poor in the first year of production. A lack of suitable pollinators has limited seed production in some exotic locations.
Pod ripening is basipetal over several months (90-120 days) and seed dispersal is through explosive apical dehiscence of the pods. Seed ripens sequentially along the inflorescence , starting from the base. Single harvest strategies will therefore result in seed losses from early dehiscing of pods, or varying quantities of unripe seed. Tarpaulins can be laid under seed trees to collect seed as it falls.
Herbicide effects
Unknown. Likely to be similar to Leucaena leucocephala .
- Multipurpose tree .
- Fast-drying, high quality fuelwood for small fires/cooking.
- Well-adapted to moderately acid soils and highland tropical environments.
- Highly productive in humid-tropical and highland-tropical locations.
- Low in vivo digestibility/forage quality due to moderately high concentrations of condensed tannins.
- Cannot be direct grazed by ruminant livestock.
Other comments
Selected references
- Chamberlain, J.R. (2001) Calliandra calothyrsus : An agroforestry tree for the humid tropics. Oxford University Press, UK.
- Evans, D.O. 1996. (ed.) Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Genus Calliandra. Forest, Farm and Community Tree Research Reports (Special Issue). Winrock International, Morrilton, Arkansas, USA.
- Palmer, B. and Jones, R.J. (2000) The effect of PEG addition in vitro on dry matter and nitrogen digestibility of Calliandra calothyrsus and Leucaena leucocephala leaf. Animal Feed Science and Technology, 85, 259-268.
- Paterson, R.T. Kiruiro, E. and Arimi, H.K. (1999) Calliandra calothyrsus as a supplement for milk production in the Kenya Highlands. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 31, 115-126.
- Wiersum, K.F and Rika, I.K. (1992) Calliandra calothyrsus Meissn. In: 't Mannetje, L. and Jones, R.M. (eds) Plant Resources of South-East Asia No. 4. Forages. pp. 68-70. (Pudoc Scientific Publishers, Wageningen, the Netherlands).
Internet links
Country/date released
|No cultivars of C. calothyrsus have been formally released.
Promising accessions
Promising accessions
|'Patulul' provenance .
|Guatemala, collected by OFI, UK
|Produced high levels of both leaf and wood in multi-location trials, and also shown to have superior nutritive value.
|'Bandung' and 'Maduin' landraces.
|Indonesia, collected by OFI, UK
|Produced high levels of both leaf and wood in multi-location trials. Widely distributed to exotic locations.
|'Embu' landrace.
|KARI/ICRAF, Kenya
|Closely related to Indonesian landraces.
Copyright © 2017. All rights reserved.


text:
Peter Leland sighed. It had been entertaining for a bit – it wasn't as if mass destruction really had any real effect on Battling Business World – but after watching Zero destroy Manhattan every day for the last three weeks, it was getting pretty old. Even the variations on numerical apocalypse were no longer amusing… His office building hadn't been touched – and Zero never seemed to notice that – but that didn't mean much. Even though most of the staff had made it in on one day or another (and then stayed) there was no way to do any business with the rest of New York destroyed and communications cut off!
He wasn't entirely sure why the Amarant Solutions building had been surviving – it probably had something to do with the Balrog of Moria, or Corrigan, or those six interns that Marty had sent in – but it didn't seem like that big a favor any longer.
Still… Today the destruction was taking a break when it was only about half way done. Had Zero finally tired of it, or was this just a lull?
Of course, there seemed to be a lot more screaming today…
He went to have a look and found that most of his personnel in several different departments seemed to be having personal meltdowns instead, screaming about the horrible numbers and bailing out of the windows so that they could run off and kill themselves.
He'd been hoping that it was finally over. Where was his beloved pet opossum Sadie?.. Ah, she was still curled up with Gelman's skullcap for a blanket.
Whew. He'd been worried for a moment. It sounded like Accounting had recruited some new personnel… Oh well. If they were leaping out of windows and running off to commit suicide after they bounced, it wouldn't be too much of a problem! Most of them would be fine tomorrow morning… He still felt sorry for them though. And there was no ensouled Marty around to take the risk of subduing them…
Still… There were such a LOT of them… HAD Zero had found a way past whatever it was that had been protecting Amarant Solutions? He'd better go and help with the cleanup! He had a role to maintain around here, and besides, they needed to be spared a fate worse than death!
Sadie was just relaxing.
(Leland) "Well, girl, I'll need all your help with this one."
He motioned for her to come.
Sadie grumbled a bit, tied her blanket under her chin, and climbed up on his shoulder… He gave her a treat, and promised her another if they survived… or, for that matter, in the morning if he didn't or if he was compromised and she had to take him out. Numeric manipulation was no laughing matter!
Downstairs, the Balrog was ignoring the screaming, frowning out the window rather disconsolately, and feeding money into Lou the vending machine. He did seem to have acquired a few sparkles of his own though…
(Balrog) "It is enough to make you lose faith in the powers of evil! Destruction in pursuit of power, or darkness, or to accomplish some purpose, or even just to pass a few idle hours, is one thing! But this – THIS is just silly! It all comes back the next day anyway and any proper lord of darkness surely has better things to do with three weeks of time!"
(Leland) "Ah, Mr. Balrog. I hear some new accountants in the building. Would you like to help us stop any takeovers?"
Hmm. The Balrog's work with Corrigan had been going well! You know, sometimes he just had to wonder how much Corrigan really saw and simply didn't admit to. Or did Corrigan just get along on sparkles without actually seeing?
(Balrog) "Why not? That might actually be an effective mode of attack!"
(Leland) "Then we should move quickly before they find our payroll records. And you too, Lou. We might need your soda."
(Lou, Mechanically) "Right!"
With Lou lumbering along to provide fire support with his explosive sodas, they headed on down to the personnel department… It looked like… Almost everyone in the building who used a computer had suddenly caught a case of accounting. That was almost everyone in the building! What was going on? As far as any of them understood, accounting had to be learned through dark rites and college courses!
They picked up Corrigan and – and held a quick conference; bite the bullet and take on IT first, or go to some of the softer areas, like maintenance? Wait! If it came in through the computers, then shutting off the building's power to shut them down might help – but all he laptops had backup batteries.
Still, they could leave extracting those batteries to those interns Marty's friend had sent them!
Leland looked around for one – and, as usual, they popped up right away when he called them. Efficient youngsters… Always ready with coffee and sandwiches too!
That had to be some special intern power. It wasn't like anywhere else in Manhattan had been open for more than a few minutes in weeks.
(Thrall) "Hello Mr Leland Sir! Almost everyone's gone, so the coffee runs won't be as busy today!"
(Leland) "We'll have to wait on the coffee runs. I need all of you to extract the laptops' backup batteries."
(Thrall) "We'll get right on it sir… Including the sapient ones?"
(Leland) "All of them. I don't want the accounting to spread any more."
(Thrall) "It tried to get into our clothes too sir! We had to shut them down!"
(Leland) "That is a bother." (Wait. It could get into SMARTCLOTHES?!? That was quite impressive… and rather frightening, if whatever-it-was could get through Core's computer security.)
(Leland) "Mr. Balrog and I are heading to the building's power supply. When you finish, I want you and the other interns to meet me there."
(Thrall) "We'll get right on it sir!"
(Leland) "Be careful!"
He'd have to give them something if they pulled this off… Certificates of recognition? A free lunch coupon? Never mind, this had to stop!
There were a few, short, skirmishes – but, for the most part, the only staff members left are a few janitors and non-computer users. It looked like almost everything on the systems here had been downloaded elsewhere though. Even the physical files were a mess – and the accounting records, both physical and on paper, had all been wiped blank; the data had, apparently, been transferred.
The personnel records – what little there was on Marty's special project – had gotten the same treatment… Fortunately, only the most basic records on Marty's special projects were kept outside of Kadia – and he was thankful for that. Still, this was a takeover without even an assault.
There was only one person with the skill to do that.
Leland shut off the power supply anyway. Jenkins might be on her way, and if that was the case, he needed all the advantages he could get. He was pretty sure that she couldn't see in the dark – another small item to be grateful for.
He managed to brief his troops – such as they were – before Jenkins did, indeed, show up. Drifting a foot off the ground, holding her naginata, blazing with the unholy green light of a horrific numerical aura, and speaking with an overlay of hundreds of screaming voices.
(Jenkins) "HOW HAVE YOU BEEN EXPANDING OFF THE BOOKS?! IT DOES NOT BALANCE!"
Wh-when did she learn to fly? It had been many years since he had actually been frightened! What was Jenkins becoming?
(Leland) "I… I… well… it was Marty Tabard's idea."
What was going on? He was hearing an overlay of many voices! Had she… no, that was impossible! The Number Lords were supposed to be too powerful for humans to oppose! She said so herself! What to do?
(Leland) "Lou! Explosives, now! Interns! Binding spells! Torkaranzu! (The Balrog) Entangle her!"
Lou's barrage was more distracting than harmful – and Jenkins found it easy enough to overload the Intern's bindings…
(Jenkins) "MORE OF ABIGAIL'S SQUIRREL-CHILDREN? I AM PREPARED FOR THEIR MEDDLING. THEY SHALL BE SACRIFICES TO MY LORD ZERO, AND SHALL WRITHE IN THE REALM OF THE NUMBERS IN ETERNAL INFLICTION!"
Dammit! There had to be some way to solve this! He had not come all the way out to the Seventh Circle to be devoured by insane digits! Yet… he might well be up against a godlike force here, nigh-invulnerable to anything except a specific countermeasure…
Wait a minute. What would dividing by zero do here? It was a major violation of the numerical laws – and they had to be halfway into the domain of the numbers for this to be happening…
Well, he was no numerologist, but he had to do SOMETHING to stop her!
Leland took out his pocket pad – in some ways, the emblem of a manager's authority – wrote down the 1/ part of the equation, and showed it to her.
(Leland) "Jenkins. Don't make me complete it."
(Jenkins) "FOOL! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE POWER TO COMPLETE IT! A SYMBOL ON PAPER IS NOTHING! ONLY THE MOST POWERFUL OF ACCOUNTANTS OR A MASTER OF REALITY COULD SO DISRUPT THE STRUCTURE OF OUR WORLD!"
Meanwhile, the Balrog had entangled her in flaming strands – her naginata passed right through them without cutting – and Corrigan had darted in to dose her with Promo-17.
They were slowing her down at least… and she had him. He was no master of reality! That was why he'd needed an opener to get to Battling Business World!
Wait a minute… Corrigan was so blithe and accepting of his reality that he probably had that power! How else could he be so comfortable and find the universe so obliging? And… didn't the Interns have a bit of that power too? Hadn't Marty said something about him being able to draw on them? Even if they were currently half-flattened with spell-backlash? That was why Jenkins seemed to be ignoring them anyway…
Maybe he really could pull it off!
Leland moved towards Corrigan…
(Leland) "You know where I'm from, Jenkins. I have few strong ties here."
He was trying to keep calm, but the whole situation was giving him second thoughts about this CEO thing!
A couple of the Interns were still barely conscious – and seemed to be quietly working on getting the others awake again.
While Jenkins is toying with the Balrog – who wasn't enjoying the experience – Leland shuddered (the Balrog should NOT be that easy to handle!), quietly shuffled Corrigan towards the Interns, and used his healing hands technique to get a couple more of them fully awake.
(Leland) "Please, can you complete this equation? I tried to finish it, but my hand came off."
(Intern) "Sir? But that… makes no sense. As you wish though!"
Leland was the manager – and tried to focus his Intern's powers, and whatever power Corrigan might possess, on completing his final gambit. He had no desire to be a sacrifice, he had no desire for his people to become sacrifices, and he wanted to calm his head of accounting enough to speak rationally with her.
Neither the Interns nor Corrigan had been drawing on that aspect of their power recently. Jenkins whirled as the equation glowed brilliantly, and began to emit strands of energy
(Jenkins) "NO! THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE! YOU LACK THE POWER FOR… THOSE SQUIRREL-CHILDREN! WHAT ARE THEY!?!"
Leland was concentrating on the effect – and hoping that she didn't throw that naginata of hers his way. He had ideas, but he'dl tell her about them AFTER she had calmed down!
The hallway was abruptly clean, neat, and full of people – his staff – bustling around. Outside the windows, there was a… vaguely-sketched in Manhattan. Everything looked… rough. Unfinished. On a pure white background…
A rough draft, sketched in colored pencils. Cruder and cruder as you looked further out, until the sky and horizon were a mere few lines.
Still, Jenkins aura was VASTLY diminished – and her feet were back on the floor.
(Jenkins) "Confound it! You've generated an unstable pocket dimension! Only half thought out!"
Her voice was back to normal too! No more hellish overtones of thousands screaming in agony!
(Leland) "I did what I had to do. We should be grateful that there's something here."
(Jenkins) "Where the HELL did you get six aides with the power to shape reality that way!"
(Leland) "Tabard assigned them to me – and that Kevin kid sent them".
He was busy regretting listening to Tabard's briefing on the interns while on that missile launcher tag retreat. There might be more about them that would be really useful to know at the moment.
The Balrog was climbing back to it's feet – even if it was swaying a bit groggily.
(A Thrall, mentally) "We might be able to restrain her here Sir! Her powers are much more limited, since you made the place! But it won't be stable for long!"
Ah, telepathy as well?.
(Leland, privately, to the aides) "Do it before she can attack again. Today has been hectic enough."
The Thralls got back to spinning restraining-spells.
(Jenkins) "Confound it! Miserable creatures! Like a swarm of silkworms! Don't you understand? You cannot be allowed to oppose Lord Zero! Or to conspire with his enemies! Or to disobey the laws of the numbers!"
(Leland) "Why? I'm not an accountant." He'll leaned in close enough to whisper. "You know I'm not even from this dimension. Now calm down or I'll go home."
(Jenkins) "You are… Out of place, out of balance, and out of control! The numbers are no longer prepared to tolerate such variations from the natural order! Other powers must be banished from Battling Business World so that full control may be maintained!"
Leland had to revise his assumptions suddenly – and started to feel a little sorry for her. Were the number lords completely mad? What would it be like to serve such a master? Didn't she know about Japan? That was how he and his Opener got in! They took a flight from Tokyo to New York for crying out loud! On Mothra Air!
(Leland) "Jenkins, listen. Can you honestly say the Number Lords have full control over this world?"
(Jenkins) "Such holdouts will be subdued! SANITY WILL BE RETURNED!"
Well, that was just shouting in her natural voice. Obviously more than a bit gone though… Oh well, that was a job for the Personnel department!
(Leland, to Corrigan) "Jim?"
(Corrigan) "Ow!… Here!"
Wow! Even his sparkles were a bit dimmed… Jenkins must have hit him hard!
(Leland) "Please sedate Jenkins. With Yes-Doz, not your wonder drug."
The poor woman… He'd known she was irrational, but he'd never realized that it was to this extent. What had her masters done to her?
That resulted in another brief melee – but, cut off from her supporting accountants, Jenkins was no match for the bunch of them.
(Thralls) "Sir? This place will be coming apart very shortly. I think that SHE'LL be drawn back to her master – but the rest of us are likely to be drawn into Kadia, since the six of us are all linked there. Is that all right, or should we try to steer for someplace else?"
(Leland) "Kadia?…" Ah yes, the vacation world… "Yes. I need a vacation after this."
That was easy enough.
Meanwhile, over in the world of NIMH, the plot of the 2127 sequel was not to be denied. In the original, the Supervolcanic eruption of the Yellowstone Caldera had done immense damage – and had called for an alliance of men and rats to allow civilization to survive.
Thanks to Marty, Kevin, and Xellos, the eruption had mostly been shunted to another world, and had done little damage – but the trio had also revealed the existence of the rats of NIMH to the military at large, and had told the military to just get on their communications network and consult the rats if they wanted more information about "Openers" and "The Manifold".
The center had been monitoring the traffic from the human's satellite network for some time – mostly for the geographical survey information and the news. That had become especially urgent when they'd discovered the news about the impending eruption – but the humans had rapidly escalated the clearance levels on the data until their traffic became unreadable. Fortunately, and quite recently, a passing traveler from the Manifold had given them a set of algorithms that read most of the military encryptions handily.
Those visitors had also – according to the information that the humans were exchanging – done SOMETHING at Yellowstone. Unfortunately, THAT information seemed to be so highly classified that it was only being transmitted via courier.
The humans had always said that curiosity killed cats, but Direll had never realized that it could gnaw on a rat like this!
Then, one day… part of the militaries communications stream seemed to be… Addressed to them?
He called everyone else over. Should they answer it?
(Temin) "Us? It could be a trap."
(Direll, reading the output) "They want to know about… Raven and Coyote? And how they're related to gates and the volcanic eruption? That's just WEIRD."
(Variss, the monitoring team leader, after a few moments of thought) "Yeah… too weird to be a trap. Sure, let's answer it. It's not too hard to slip a coded reply in that would be really difficult to trace anyway."
(Variss) "We know quite a bit about Raven, Coyote, and volcanos, but what do you mean by gates?"
Variss actually knew something about realm gates – but he wanted to make sure that the human military already did too. After all, they didn't want to give away information THAT valuable if it was still a secret… It might make quite a bargaining point later on!
The humans provided an account of the shapeshifting creatures who had – somehow – capped the Yellowstone supervolcano – and of the hawks who were STILL circling the area, apparently regulating whatever-it-was that shunted the force of the eruption away.
Currently, the only coherent "explanation" – or at least a set of names and descriptions which seemed to loosely match – they had was from amerindian mythology.
That provoked a discussion… Shapeshifters? That wasn't any of THEIRS. And how did you stop any volcano – much less a supervolcano – from erupting? That was a tall order for any psychic! The people over in the New Imperium had never said that their force-users could do anything like THAT!
They'd known a bit about that – the vortex could be seen from orbit, but it had been being reported as an effect related to the supervolcano itself.
OK, in hindsight that had been pretty thin – but they didn't exactly have any other examples of supervolcanoes to compare with!
(Direll) "I know that Raven and Coyote are tricksters. Maybe they slipped elsewhere?"
According to the humans… the volcanic eruption was still being funneled through a hole in the universe sixty miles across – laid out by a huge black bird that flew around yellowstone at supersonic speeds and apparently being tended and maintained by a group of hawks.
They were pretty much lost – but the creatures had apparently told them that, if they wanted explanations, they should "talk to the rats".
(Variss) "Visitors from the manifold of course – but power like that is almost unimaginable! Psychic tricks, yes, even opening portals at the weak points between dimensions perhaps, but this…"
(Temin, to the rest of the rats off the net) "Looks like the cat is out of the bag."
(Direll) "Perhaps an "Opener"? The bunch over in the New Imperium said that some of them were really powerful."
(Variss) "That powerful? Still, I've certainly never heard of anything else that might account for it – and a hole in the universe certainly sounds like a portal!"
(Variss, to the humans) "Looks like you've got yourself some powerful Openers. They can jump between dimensions at will as long as their power holds out."
(Humans) "Er… They can just make holes in the universe on a whim? How? And how much power do they have to work with – presuming that there's some way to measure it? And have you dealt with them before?"
(Variss) "Well, a gate is a hole in the wall. It's just that this hole is connecting two universes instead of two rooms. Not all Openers have the same amount of power. Some can barely make a gate without resting, while some… some can apparently stop supervolcanos from erupting. And yes, we have dealt with a few Openers before."
(Humans) "Can they all transform themselves like that? And are they mortals, spirits, or what?"
(Variss) "Some are better at transformations than others. They can apparently slip into local roles-maybe ours, maybe yours. I THINK they're pretty much mortals, though what you've told me is making me wonder."
(Humans) "Are "gates" permanent – or do those six birds circling around have to maintain things?"
(Variss, hesitantly – there just wasn't enough information available on gates!) "I'm not sure. I know you can pass between worlds without gates, but the routes are really hard to find."
(Humans) "Can we set up some sort of conference on this? If we're going to be dealing with shapeshifting things with godline powers that move between universes, I have a feeling that the differences between the various creatures of the earth may not mean much in comparison with the differences between us and whatever's out there."
(Variss) "Well… I don't know… can you give me a minute?"
(Variss, after getting off the network) "Well? If we've got helpful Openers like that running around, there's got to be some nasty ones like that too. I don't think we have a choice!"
(Temin) "Could we do anything but hide if we ran into an unhelpful one with power like that? What if he, she, or it had decided to open a hole into a star instead?"
(Direll) "I don't think so – but the humans wouldn't be able to do anything but hide either."
(Variss) "What would we have to lose?"
(Direll) "True – and it would be awfully nice to actually get some recognition. It's our world too!"
(Variss) "Okay, I'll tell them then!" (Back to the network) "We accept your offer. Where would you like to meet?"
They settled down to calling in the diplomats and sorting out some conference details – with the rats doing their best to make sure that it was not a trap. It was worth the gamble though – and the humans did seem to have bigger things to worry about at the moment.
As it turned out, it wasn't a trap. The power level that their visitors had displayed had the humans throughly frightened as well.
Filed under: Background, Campaign Log, d20 | Tagged: Background, Campaign Log, Classless d20, d20, d20 Point Buy, Role Playing Game, RPG |

subset: commoncrawl


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So! 16th of June came around and thanks to twitter I heard about the Kinect SDK being released! I do not think I had ever geeked so much in my life! Haha! Well I downloaded it and my initial reaction was agh… coding! HOWEVER! Thinking back to some previous coding knowledge I've had from university I was able to use a number of sources to help me produce my first program!
I am currently doing a student project on Xbox 360 and there has been some spreadsheet usage in it and I had a look around the internet at programs made. A lot of people had made programs where the camera would render and shapes would appear on the hands. These were fun to try and got me into the coding side of things. Once I had done this. I started going deeper and found the following sources to show me a little bit of C#.
The first thing you will need to have is Visual Studio Express 2010, Windows 7 and Microsoft.NET Framework 4.0. All the instructions for installing the drivers are on the Microsoft Kinect Research website. Check it out by clicking here.
My first source to get me trying the SDK was Channel 9. This website introduced me to the basics and I was able to create the skeleton moving. Once I continued to browse this website it also showed me how to get the camera working step by step. It was very useful and I would recomment it as a starting point for anyone who is trying it.
Now not all of you will have programming background so here are a few useful sources:
Confused by WPF? Code Project was extremely useful. I could search the website for previous programs and was able to look at what others had done just by signing up and browsing. Part of programming is seeing what others have and developing it.
So you haven't got any experience of c# programming… neither had I. I was very much comfortable with VB.NET and other's but this website helped me figure out the basics of the language and I was able to get my head around a few things.
After going over it again and again and again I was able to eventually get something which looks quite interesting and fun. It is still in it's early stages but if you look at the video above, you will be able to see me moving to Jessie J on the kinect with my program. haha.
Now unfortunately I have been having trouble zipping some of the files and attaching them, however…. if you download the game , you might have some luck, if you already have the SDK. – Please note – the last question is incorrect haha… but it still has some bugs in it.
VIDEO OF KINECT GAME RUNNING – Youtube Link
Click here to access my sky drive and download the zip file.
Will keep you up to date with more programs!


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The graduate with her beautiful mom.
We had so much fun after graduation hanging out with her wonderful family and all their friends.
As you can see Frodo was the real star of the party!
Now for the big reveal. . .
(*drum roll*)
Kisses blog!!
That's right, Kisses has her own blog. You have to check this out! She is going to be such a great teacher!
This blog has links to her Teachers Pay Teachers account where you can purchase some of her lesson plans and cool stuff for your own classroom (if you are a teacher). Plus link up to her on facebook and google+ too!


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|Dr. Carlos M. Gonzalez Call Today! 915-383-2273
Anytime you have pain whether it's in your neck, shoulder, low back, knee or anywhere else try using ice for 15-20 min. If you don't have an gel pack you can use a frozen bag of peas or similar. You can also use a heating pad first for 10 minutes and then use cold. This is called Contrast Therapy.
EVERYBODY living in the modern world, is toxic, and can benefit immensely from a detox. Unless you have been living on an island or a jungle for most of your life, you have certainly been exposed to very high levels of toxins and pathogens: heavy metals such as mercury, lead and arsenic, estrogens from plastics, pesticides, chemicals in the environment, parasites, yeast, viruses, mold, microbes, and deadly bacteria. Our immune system and our bodies can handle and detoxify small amounts of these toxins, but in this day and age the load is too high that the body is no longer able to keep up. Detox is the answer.
Not everyone who has surgeries to hopefully make them look and feel better have positive outcomes. There are many documented cases of botched surgeries, complications such as infections or worse and also many cases of "Supposedly successful surgeries but the patients don't improve psychologically." I tell my patients ALL SURGERIES HAVE RISKS. Evaluate carefully before undergoing any surgery. Obviously some surgeries are necessary for life saving.... but the majority of surgeries being done for the last many decades are elective and not life saving meaning they are not really needed but generate massive profits for hospitals and surgeons and sometimes have not very good endings.
Author- Dr.Gonzalez
I want to be your "Go to Source" for Natural Health & Wellness techniques and tips on Natural Pain Relief so you can live a Happier, Healthier, More Successful, Inspired and Productive Life!
November 2018
Dr. Carlos M. Gonzalez DC
Chiropractor | Health Coach | Speaker | Inventor | Author


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Read more
The folk high school
European Film College is part of the Danish folk high school tradition. This means that the backbone of the European Film College's teaching principles is formed by the Danish folk high school principles.
At the European Film College we follow the basic principles of traditional Danish folk high schools:
- No prior qualifications needed for admission. You just have to be over 18 and able to speak English
- Residential course with resident teachers
- Living with and learning from both teachers and fellow students
- Learning by doing and evaluations
The folk high school idea was the brainchild of the Danish philosopher Grundtvig. The European Film College has adapted Grundtvig's ideas to create a unique film foundation course:
- You can try yourself out in ALL aspects of filmmaking
- You will get time to explore the world of film – and yourself
- You will be thrown into doing new things, but you will get support whenever necessary from the teachers
- You will get to know people from other cultures and start your own international network
History of the folk high school
Danish "folkehøjskoler" (folk high schools) are world famous for their unique approach to education.
The idea originated in the early 1800s when education in Denmark was still confined to the upper classes. But the talk of democracy that was springing up all around Europe inspired a Danish theologian and philosopher, Nikolaj Fredrik Severin Grundtvig, to advocate the education of peasants, craftsmen and other "lower class" people. He even thought women should be given the opportunity to learn!
One of his arguments was that if democracy was to function, ordinary people needed insight into other things besides their own narrow sphere of work: they needed to learn about the world around them. And for that to happen the education had to be accessible – so teaching should be in Danish; a revolutionary idea in a country where all teaching up till then had been in Latin. Moreover, the education should take place at special schools where people would live and learn together over several months.
Not surprisingly, these ideas provoked controversy, but Grundtvig succeeded in getting them through, and the first folk high school was created in Rødding in Denmark in 1844. Today there are close to 69 folk high schools in Denmark. Although many folk high schools today teach subjects that didn't exist in Grundtvig's day (and some, like the European Film College, now teach in English), the basic democratic principles remain the same.
Photo: Neffi Kristensen


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October 8, 1994, Section 1, Page 7Buy Reprints
Here on Monday afternoon, four blacks -- two men and two women -- are scheduled to be auctioned to the highest bidder. They will stand outside a tavern while a dozen people look them over and call out how much they are willing to spend. The event is open to the public.
The "slaves" will be actors and the auction a drama, part of a three-day program called "Publick Times" designed to re-create life in Colonial Williamsburg. Organizers say the auction is intended only to educate visitors about a brutal yet important part of black American history. But critics around the state contend that education could be trivialized into entertainment and that, in any case, slave auctions were too painful to revive in any form.
"Our phones have been ringing off the hook," said Salim Khalfani of the Virginia branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "The consensus is that people are outraged at what they're doing in Williamsburg."
Paradoxically, the re-enactment is part of an effort to balance the portrayal of history in Williamsburg, where 18th-century streets and buildings have been meticulously restored and history is kept alive by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
The auction's organizer is the foundation's African-American interpretation and presentations department, which was formed 15 years ago to develop exhibits that reflect elements of black history that are not always included in school curriculums or municipal museums.
Previous projects have dealt with other aspects of Colonial slavery, including runaways, parenting and interracial relations. Five years ago, replicas of slave quarters -- rudimentary log cabins with slave families' meager belongings -- were built at Carter's Grove, an expansive James River plantation about five miles from Williamsburg. Enslaved Africans were taken to the estate at the end of the 17th century to work in the fields.
Until the foundation's African-American department was created, tourists who ambled along the streets of Williamsburg and strolled through its historic buildings were shown history only through a prism of the white experience. Little reflected black life, even though blacks made up as much as 50 percent of the region's population during Colonial times.
Christy S. Coleman, the department director, defended the simulated slave auction. "This is just the natural progression of what we've been doing," said Ms. Coleman, whose department includes 12 other blacks. "I recognize that this is a very, very sensitive and emotional issue. But it is also very real history, and it distresses me, personally and professionally, that there are those who would have us hide this or keep it under the rug."
In the 45-minute presentation, Ms. Coleman will play a slave offered at auction. The simulation will begin, she said, with a woman in contemporary clothes explaining what is about to take place. Then, as the bidding starts, Ms. Coleman and the three other "slaves" will be brought out in period dress. All those bidding will be white, she said, except for a black man representing a free black trying to buy his wife's freedom.
"That's the way it was back then," Ms. Coleman said. "A wife came with the land, not her husband."
Mr. Khalfani said that many callers to the N.A.A.C.P. office in Richmond say slave auctions represented such a wrenching chapter in black history that "they don't want to see it rehashed again." He also said many people expressed alarm that the re-creation might be inaccurate or sensationalized for entertainment.
A black man laying bricks in a driveway across from the office of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation said he was disturbed to learn of the re-enactment. "Blacks around here don't want to be reminded," said the man, who refused to give his name because he said he feared "retribution" by Williamsburg officials. "It bothers people. People think it's very insensitive to dig it all up again."
But Ms. Coleman contended that only by open display and discussion could people understand the degradation and humiliation that blacks felt as chattel. She compared the pain of the slave auctions for blacks to that of the Holocaust for Jews and said that if museums were built to illustrate the horrors of one, why should not efforts be made to illustrate the other.
"The legacy of slavery in this country is racism," Ms. Coleman said. "Until we begin to understand the horrors that took place, the survival techniques enslaved Africans used, people will never come to understand what's happening in our society today."


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Crab Apple Autumn Fire Colour Wheel Time Lapse, originally uploaded by escher....
I've not shown you the original photos of this sculpture, I've been keeping some back for books and prints. But the day after I made and photographed this (it is bigger than you can see here, this is just the centre) I set it up to do a long time lapse.
The circles in the middle are all from the same Crab Apple tree as are the leaves surrounding. They had already started fading and were brighter yellow than this the day before.
This was going to take a couple of weeks so I couldn't use my SLR to do the time lapse, as I would need it to photograph anything else that I made, so instead I used my compact. It was quite limiting and I couldn't control it like I can my main camera.
It will only take 100 pictures in a batch and zooms and autofocusses for every shot. This meant many of the frames were out of focus, each batch of 100 were cropped differently and with several batches the camera had zoomed out completely. Along with this when I kicked off another set the camera would move a tiny amount making more frames misaligned.
This meant many, many hours of post processing attempting to crop the photos to the same size with the circle centred in the same place. It was incredibly difficult to do as I had to do each frame by eye. As you can see there is quite a lot of jerking about but this is the best I could do with the time I had. At least before my head exploded.
Also, sometimes, a batch would finish in the middle of the night or while I was out and so there would be big gaps between starting shooting again, meaning obvious jumps in the decay. Coupled with the blurry frames I had to take out I am surprised I managed to complete what I did.
And finally there is the funny, grey, blurry edge Flickr has added to the left hand side! Quite apt after all the trials and tribulations I've had with this, but seeing as you can't go back and correct the mistakes and each sculpture I make is a 100% one-off, then this is what it is.
The sculpture itself and all the things I had to do to make this film are what you see, it cannot be faked. What you see is what you get.


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Watch It! Play It! #071
With Al out trying to exorcise the old woman from his new home Dan from the 9th Story Podcast www.9thstory.com sits in on the mayhem. Greg played games he previously purchased and purchased games he hasn't played. Which ones did he like better? Only time will tell. Dan keeps on marching along with the longest story Peter Jackson ever told. The Stepfather watches sex in three different forms which excites Jason. Thanks go out to a listener, Sarah, for recommending an interesting French film currently available on Netflix streaming. Have any films you'd like us to watch and review? Let us know @CavemanMafia
Games Greg bought but didn't play
At Home
In Theaters
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS


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Watch today's Pocketnow Daily as we talk about the new Panasonic CM10, and how it changes when compared to the old CM1. Then we discuss the Galaxy S7 benchmarks that just leaked, and what we learn from its specs. Microsoft follows as we learn of Room2Room, a new project that gives us holographic video calls. The iPhone 7 is next as some strings in iOS 9.3 provide an idea of some of its design changes. We end today's show talking about how Gartner predicts that the smartphone market will change.
All this and more after the break.
– The new Panasonic Lumix CM10 drops the calls
– European Samsung Galaxy S7 reportedly benchmarked with predictable specs
– Microsoft Research demos next-gen video calls: life-size user projection
– Code strings in iOS 9 hint at move away from headphone jacks, future optical networking
– 2016 mobile device forecast expects smartphone spending to dip


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Sun-Thur: 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-11pm
Stoking Social Hour: 3:30pm-6pm, daily
310 W. Las Colinas Blvd., Suite 100, Irving, TX
Phone: 214-496-0337
What makes Grimaldi's the most award-winning pizzeria in the U.S.? Fresh ingredients, handmade mozzarella, and our "secret recipe" dough; flavors only possible with a coal-fired brick oven; and an open-kitchen layout with a premium bar and an extensive wine list. It all adds up to an entertaining experience with each visit.


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Nikon Nikkor AF-P DX 70-300 mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR
1. Introduction
Lately Nikon have been refreshing the whole line of these lenses, equipping them with the AF-P motor. In August 2016 we saw a pair of twin reflex camera Nikkors: the AF-P DX 70-300 mm f/4.5-6.3G ED VR and the AF-P DX 70–300 mm f/4.5–6.3G ED, a stabilizing unit being their only difference. In July 2017 the line-up was enlarged once again by the full frame Nikkor AF-P 70–300 mm f/4.5–5.6E ED VR.
Those two first lenses can be particularly interesting from an amateur's point of view, of course due to their sensible pricing. If you additionally profit from a cash-back offer, both models can be bought for less than $400 – with such a price tag they are a very tempting complement of any kit 18-55 mm models or even a bit more advanced ones like the 18-105 mm or the 18-135 mm.
As we think that a 300 mm lens should be obligatory equipped with an optical stabilization unit we decided to perform a full test of the VR model.
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We were able to publish this text courtesy of Fotojoker, a company which lent us the tested lens. It's worth adding that the specimen of the lens tested by us is going to be available in the Fotojoker rental shop afterwards.
You are also invited to get acquainted with our test procedure, described in the article "How do we test lenses?" If you feel it's still not enough, please go to our FAQ section where you can find some further explanation.


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Hubby suggested trying to let Buddy cry it out awhile tonight because nothing else we have tried is really working. I was not happy about this suggestion. After less than 30 minutes - and a few checks in by us - he is sleeping peacefully. And I still feel guilty.
We have figured out that while we have a decent daily routine (not really schedule because it isn't by the clock), our son does not stick to a routine as well as we had hoped. So we are just trying to go with the flow, but yet keep our sanity (and get some rest) in the process.
This parenting stuff is tough - and he isn't even a year old yet! When I figure things out, I am writing a book. Hopefully it will sell enough to refund me for all the money I spent on books on what to do with Buddy. I am beginning to think I should have been winging it all of this time!


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Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (SFA)
The overall economic impact of the commercial, recreational, for-hire fisheries and aquaculture industries in the United States is more than $276 billion. The commercial fishing industry supports about 1 million full- and part-time jobs and generates $116 billion. The recreational and for-hire fishing industries generate significant tourism revenue with $73 billion in total economic impact for saltwater fishing and an additional $6 billion annually for Great Lakes recreational and for-hire fisheries. The U.S. aquaculture industry generates an economic impact of $1 billion, provides additional opportunities for job creation, and contributes to meeting the nation's demand for finfish and shellfish.
Texas Sea Grant will maintain its leadership role in working with the seafood industry to ensure a safe and sustainable supply of seafood products now and for future generations. Seafood safety will continue to be an ongoing concern for consumers as foreign imports, some of which are associated with seafood contamination, continue to increase. Texas Sea Grant's partnership with NOAA Fisheries, state agencies, seafood processors, fishing associations and consumer groups will ensure safe, secure and sustainable supplies of domestic seafood and decrease our reliance on seafood imports.


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Wine lovers dream! Now you can have wine for breakfast. Our Red Wine Jelly is fantastic on breads, rolls, with or without cream cheese. Adds an extra kick to a plain cheesecake, swirl in the batter or drizzle on top.
Note: All Vela Farms jellies, jams, and marmalades are hand crafted in small batches using all natural ingredients. We do not add preservatives, or artificial colors.


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Microgrids are emerging as a smart option for enhancing energy reliability, independence, quality and security around the world. The Microgrid World Forum, which runs from March 12-14 in Irvine, Calif., will explore the latest strategies surrounding the global evolution of the microgrid.
The microgrid sector is poised for significant growth over the next five years. Forecasters predict a 330 percent capacity expansion, from 1,400 megawatts in 2011 to 4.7 gigawatts by 2017, and a 467 percent growth in revenue (from $3 billion to $17 billion) during the same period. There's a great lineup of speakers on tap to help you — and your clients — stay ahead of the game and learn the keys to effective microgrid deployment.
For military applications specifically, implementing microgrid requirements can be challenging. The Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security — also known as the SPIDERS program — is part of a new U.S. energy initiative that aims to create a resilient, more reliable microgrid that protects against extended power outages caused by natural disasters, accidents and attacks.
Burns & McDonnell's Dave Barr will co-present in a session examining the SPIDERS program, as well as other initiatives and advances in microgrids in the military. He'll join Jason Stemp, Sandia National Laboratories; Tarek Abhallah, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ERDC-CERL; and Dr. William Waugaman, U.S. Northern Command for "Energy Surety Microgrids and the SPIDERS Program" on March 13 at 1:45 p.m. During the presentation, the speakers will review how the SPIDERS program serves as a catalyst for helping modern military bases evolve power infrastructure using the conceptual designs of the Energy Surety Microgrid, developed by Sandia National Laboratories.
Also be sure to check out the session on "Renewable Energy in Microgrids" featuring Burns & McDonnell's Chrissy Carr on March 14, at 2 p.m., for a look at how integrating renewable energy sources like solar and wind affect the microgrid.
If you haven't yet registered, there's still time to join your industry colleagues to learn how to best take advantage of this emerging energy paradigm. And you can even save 15 percent by entering code B&M at checkout. If you're planning to attend, stop by our booth and say hi!
Image via Microgrid World Forum


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How to sell your house and buy your new home at the same time.
The dreaded property 'chain' can cause chaos – putting you in the land of the unknown. In some case you might have to wait for upwards of twelve properties to exchange and complete at the same time!
Our experienced team at Dack have valuable experience of progressing a number of complicated chains and this article looks at some of the steps you, as a buyer or seller, can take to make things run more smoothly, if you have to buy and sell at the same time.
In an ideal world, you would sell your home the minute you put it on the market and then have all the time you need to find your next dream home while your buyers wait patiently until you're ready to move. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world and in most cases you'll find yourself in a chain. While not uncommon, property chains can cause significant headaches, so if you're planning to buy and sell at the same time, here is how to make sure you're prepared.
Stage 1 – Get your property valued
Before you start making plans to buy your new home, you need to get a clear understanding of how much your current home is worth. We would be more than happy to offer a free valuation and provided you with evidence to support our value.
Stage 2 – Work out your finances
What is your budget? It is important to get your head around your finances early on in the process; How much equity do you have in your current home? Do you need a mortgage? If so, what are your repayments going to be and can you afford them.
Our advice would be to have an initial conversation with an independent mortgage broker. These initial chats are normally conducted over the phone with a follow up meeting in person.
That conversation may lead to re-mortgaging or porting your mortgage over to the new property. Either way, if you would like our adviser to give you a call please let us know. Alternatively you can see more details on our Financial Services page.
You should also bear in mind additional costs such as stamp duty and estimate the utilities for the new property, such as the council tax band. You will also need to work out your legal costs.
Stage 3 – Find a good solicitor
A good solicitor is integral to a smooth house sale and/or purchase. This is another cost which will need to be taken into account. We work closely with Independent Solicitors who have serviced a number of our clients and had nothing but positive feedback. If you would like a free, no obligation quote, please contact us. For more information please see our conveyancing page.
Stage 4 – Find a property
Once you've found a property you like and worked out the sums you can book a viewing. For more information see our article "What should I be asking on my viewing?".
Consider what works, if any, you'd need to do on the property and the associated costs, consult your mortgage broker again if need be. Perhaps you have identified an issue or want to rip out that dark orange 1970s bathroom suite as soon as you move in. Once you've done the maths, if you're happy it works out, you can make an offer.
Stage 5 – Maximise your negotiating power
Agents love an informed and prepared buyer or seller. While you're perfectly entitled to put in an offer on a property when your own home is still up for sale or not even on the market, you will be in a stronger position if your property is under offer.
Coming to an agent with a property already under offer with an understanding of exactly what is going on in the chain, solicitor's details and an Agreement In Principle (AIP) in hand will always put you in good stead. With that being said all sellers and buyers have different needs and all offers are handled on a case by case basis.
Stage 6 – Be prepared to wait
Buying and selling a property is, unfortunately, not a quick process. At Dack we focus on managing everyone's expectations once a buyer is found. Granted we want your sale to go through as quickly as possible, but not by cutting corners.
We expect between 8 – 10 weeks for the average completion, however with a number of variables in the equation, such as the number of properties in the chain or number of potential enquiries to be raised during conveyancing, it's not an exact science.
Our job is not over by any means once we have found a buyer; an agent proves their worth when it comes to progressing the sale, overcoming obstacles and getting you through to completion. We have a heavy focus on offer validation at the very beginning, making sure your buyer is committed and can afford your property and ensure clear communication throughout the sales process.
In the UK 1 in 3 sales fall through. This is a scary statistic and we aim to reduce this figure dramatically for our customers.
Stage 7 – Set a date
Once the conveyancing process is nearing conclusion, we can start to work towards exchange and completion dates. Exchange is the date the transaction becomes legally binding with completion being the date upon which the funds will be transferred and the keys released to the new owner. It's important that all parties co-ordinate a completion date both up and down the chain that works for everyone. This will take some negotiation. More often than not you will need to be prepared to compromise.
In summary when buying and selling, you should:
- Get your property valued.
- Work out your finances
- Find a good solicitor
- Find a property
- Maximise your negotiating power
- Be prepared to wait
- Set a date
Don't be put off by how complicated the process sounds, it's not a scary as it seems. It's the role of us, the estate agent, to make your life easier and take charge of the process.
Give us a call or pop into the office for some advice and a chat if you are thinking of buying or selling.


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Is Cyberbullying a Sign Our Military Community is Imploding?
Why are service members making it a point to create hateful, misogynistic jargon online about military spouses? And what makes military spouses turn on each other creating the same?
By now you've probably seen the op-eds in Task & Purpose, and the Washington Post, declaring a ban on 'entitled' veterans, active duty service members, and their families. I'm sure you've read the counterparts to these articles in the Huffington Post, and on Military.com.
Anti-bullying campaigns have been around for quite some time, and an overwhelming number of them just don't work. They aim to 'fix' the bully, and 'teach' the victim with an overarching theme reminding us we're just doing it wrong–we're just existing wrong. (Read: when we don't stand up for ourselves, we become victims. When we stand up for ourselves, bullies emerge to fight back.)
Bullying stops when an environment is positive, supportive, and enriching, and when character and value are promoted.
I think that's where the mess happened; our environment shifted, and we had to fight back.
Since September 11, 2001, 2.5 million military families have seen a loved one deploy, 600,000 service members have been wounded, and nearly 7,000 lives in our all-volunteer force have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
Add in Sequestration, force reduction, and politics, and you've all but knocked out our military and their families cold.
Those who once supported our nation, and this military, have quieted. Flags that used to be as bright as the sun that shone upon them, are now torn, faded, and walked upon in protest.
The bigger picture is this: military families don't feel entitled.
We feel unappreciated, ignored, stuck between a rock and a hard place, not supported, and now, hated. With nowhere to turn, our community has imploded, finding acceptance and support by picking apart each other, and the network that has long supported our service members: military spouses.
The internet is full of viral videos of veterans and active duty service members calling out others who illegally impersonate a military member in uniform, and controversial Facebook groups which exist to target unsuspecting military spouses by making fun of them.
The viral videos and hateful social media groups have given others a pass to rip into anyone who 'impersonates' anything. Ask the Washington Post and Task & Force op-ed authors what they think of military spouses, like me, they'd say we're 'impersonating' service members in our own way: by declaring our own sacrifices, demanding support from our government, and by wearing our husbands' rank for power.
In such a climate of hatred, it's hard to see the ones who are trying to clean up the mess. We ignore the spouses who are receiving death threats for asking people to stop the tormenting. We mock the spouses who are trying to disbar the 'Dependapotamus' stereotype by pursuing higher education, getting their own insurance (gasp!) through full time employment, and who are being recognized by the White House as Champions for Change.
Yet, nothing seems to be good enough to make the cyber-bullying stop.
What we need are positive, supportive, enriching communities who are steadfast with their loyalty, and encouraging even in times of stillness. Our military and their families need to be reassured that we are accepted, wanted, and appreciated.
That's not 'entitled,' or high-maintenance. It's human nature. Calling us entitled is adding fuel to the fire. We ferociously defend ourselves, only to be met by more hate, name-calling, and follow up articles putting us in our place.
Instead of making a military spouse feel ostracized for not knowing the TRICARE handbook, respond positively, and share a resource. Rather than laughing when a young spouse admits they're having trouble making friends, be their mentor. And for those service members who call us 'Dependas,' ask yourself where that hate is coming from and remember that we are here to support you.
It's up to us to clean up the mess, military community. If we don't provide ourselves with the environment we want to live in, how will anyone else?
9 CommentsAdd yours
NEVER bow your head to anyone, you are a military spouse, strong, independent, done and seen more in a short timeframe that the majority have seen in a lifetime. You are the only one that can stand up for yourself and be proud and then pass it on. I was born and raised an AF brat, active duty member and military spouse and proud of all that my family has accomplished serving this great country. Hold your head up, bullies will be bullies and people full of hatred don't deserve to be recognized so don't ever play into their pain. Raise your family proudly and never back down, your husband or wife might be serving overseas but we serve right next to them and all of our families.
I feel like this isn't a cause for the spouse community imploding, it's simply a side effect. The lack of community and lack of maturity is what's encouraging the demise of any decency among us. Every time we have moved, I take it upon myself to venture out of the house and introduce myself and my family to the neighbors, and I do the same when new ones over in. I get looked at like I have three heads. Especially when I do this when we live in base housing. The cliques and highs school level drama are the reasons no one likes anyone else.
Imagine if they put all of that effort into giving back to organizations like Wounded Warrior Foundation instead. Some of these pages have tens of thousands of followers. They can certainly draw people in… too bad it's for something so counterproductive to the good of our community.
[…] I'm not ready for an endless war, where places we thought were safe can become the frontlines of new types of battle. Places like Paris–beautiful, beloved Paris–a place where dozens of my friends have […]
[…] Moms at the playground who don't think your kid should be wearing snow boots in July? Who cares?! Meanies on Facebook calling you a Dependapotamous? Don't even bat an eyelash. Don't think about any of it. None of […]
[…] military spouse bloggers (like me!) to connect with. Don't underestimate social media, but beware of the haters–they will […]
[…] may call us Know-It-Alls. Perhaps, even an "Old G." Dependapotomus? Not a word. Now, that's a funny […]
[…] does this stereotype check off basically every box there is for bullying, but most of the time, this judgement comes from other military spouses. And that's what gets put out to the world outside the gates about who and what military spouses […]


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Hello, my name is Sarah Chan, I am a family law solicitor who specialises in dealing with legal issues arising from the breakdown of a civil partnership.
We aim to provide a sympathetic personal tailored advice to your individual circumstances.
We care and will work hard to protect and look after your best interests.
If you would like a brief, free no obligation chat over the telephone we can arrange for one of our solicitors to be available at a time to suit you. Please contact us on 01536 276314 to arrange this.
An application for a dissolution order can be made by either civil partner on the ground that the civil partnership has broken down irretrievably. A person who applies for a divorce is called 'the Petitioner' and their spouse is called 'the Respondent'.
The one ground for divorce is that the marriage has irretrievably broken down. To prove this, the Petitioner must establish one of the following facts:
1. Behaviour
2. Adultery
3. 2 Years Separation
4. 5 Years Separation
5. Desertion.
That the Respondent has behaved in such a way that the Petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with them. Examples of unreasonable behaviour are drinking to excess on a regular basis, gambling or inflicting violence on one or more occasions. This is by no means an exhaustive list and we would need to advise on each individual case as to whether a certain type of behaviour would succeed in establishing grounds for divorce. However, any allegations may be used and there may be some advantages to relying on less serious allegations. This may serve to ensure that your relationship with your estranged spouse can remain amicable making financial arrangements and arrangements for the children easier to agree.
That the Respondent has committed adultery and the Petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the Respondent. It is not necessary that the adultery is the cause of the breakdown of the marriage so adultery can still be relied upon even if it occurs after the parties have separated. Evidence of adultery must be provided either by an admission by the Respondent or other evidence that they have had sexual intercourse with a person of the opposite sex. The other party involved does not need to be named in order to establish adultery. Adultery can be used as a basis for divorce regardless of whether this occurs before or after you separate from your spouse. Not more than six months must have elapsed since you discovered the adultery, unless the adultery is continuing.
2 Years Separation With Consent
The Petitioner and Respondent must have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of 2 years and in addition, the Respondent must consent to the granting of a decree. If consent is not provided, then the Petition cannot proceed.
The Petitioner and Respondent have lived separate and apart for a continuous period of 5 years. Consent from the Respondent is not required to obtain a divorce on this ground.
This fact is very rarely relied upon. It requires separation to be entirely unilateral and the desertion must be for a minimum of 2 years before a Petition can be presented.
If a Petitioner is relying on the grounds of 2 years or 5 years separation, then they must not have lived with the Respondent for a continuous period of 6 months or separate periods totalling 6 months within that period of separation. Should this be the case, then a Petitioner will not be entitled to a divorce. Periods of cohabitation lasting for less than 6 months would have to be added to the 2 year or 5 year separation so that there has still been the requisite period of separation.
If a Petitioner is relying on the fact of adultery or unreasonable behaviour, then they must not have cohabited with the Respondent for 6 months or following discovery of the adultery or the last incident of unreasonable behaviour. Should this be the case, then they will not be entitled to rely on that ground.
An application for a Dissolution Order can be made by either civil partner on the ground that the civil partnership has broken down irretrievably. To establish this, one of the "facts" ie. Unreasonable behaviour, 2 year or 5 years separation or desertion must be proved. If you need guidance on whether you have grounds to dissolve your partnership, please contact one of our experienced family law solicitors.
If you wish to apply for an order dissolving your civil partnership and you know that your partner will not contest this, we can offer to do this for a fixed fee of £1330. Send an enquiry for a fixed fee Civil partnership dissolution now.
- All the paperwork prepared and filed with the court on your behalf
- Advice and guidance on procedure from an experienced Family Law solicitor
- Direct access to our legal team by e-mail and telephone
- Regular progress reports all key stages of the procedure
By paying a fixed fee you can be satisfied that there are no unexpected costs.
Our fixed fee includes the standard court fee of £550.
Occasionally unexpected complications will arise necessitating additional work. Examples could include having to arrange for service of the papers by court bailiff or applying for an order for deemed service. In these circumstances we will discuss the cost of any additional work and extra Court fees that you will incur before we undertake the work.
If you need advice before submitting an enquiry for a fixed fee civil partnership dissolution book a free telephone consultation with one of our experienced Family Law solicitors.
- Our Fees: £650
- Standard Court Fee: £550
- Total: £1330
Family Law Specialists
Hello, I am Sarah Chan and I am the Head of Seatons Solicitors Family Law Department in Corby, Northamptonshire.
We aim to provide our clients with an outstanding legal service. We will help and support you and most importantly we work hard for you.
Please contact us at either our Corby office on 01536 276300 or our Kettering office on 01536 311690 or contact us online