text:
This page documents the necessary steps to make sure you get a successful hudson upgrade.
Pre-Upgrade Announcement
Since Hudson is used by many eclipse projects, it is a good idea to send an email to the cross-projects-issues-dev mailing list, notifying them of the upgrade. This gives all projects advanced warning in case there are any issues that may occur. Give this notice at least 3 days before doing the actual upgrade of the system.
Upgrade Process
- Manage Hudson->Prepare for Shutdown - This sets the notification that the server will shut down and keeps any new jobs from running.
- If you have an option to Automatically Upgrade or Download the War file, select the Automatically Upgrade option. This eliminates any human errors that can occur (i.e. deploying or installing war files wrong).
- After the WAR has been updated, if there are any plugins that need to be upgraded now is a good time to do this as well. Select the plugins with updates and let hudson install.
- Check to make sure that all Jobs have completed. If not, wait until the jobs are finished.
- Follow the steps on Managing Hudson. These steps how to restart the server.
Post Upgrade Verification
You should do a visual verification on various jobs to make sure that everything looks correct. If there are build histories missing, or plugins that do not seem to be working, you may need to re-install these. Starting with version 1.337 of Hudson, Hudson will try and get all dependencies for the plugins as well. This eliminates many of the plugin problems that occured in the past due to missing dependencies.
You may have to repeat the upgrade of plugins, shutdown, restart steps several times to get all dependencies worked out. However, with 1.337 and above, this should be mitigated with the new depenency manager installation.
Test Jobs
Ideally there should be handful of jobs that can be run to do a Smoke Test of the upgrade. These jobs should test a variety of functionality. This smoke test or sanity test can be used to measure how well the upgrade process went.
Notify Cross-Project
Send an email to the cross-project-issues-dev mailing list, letting the list know about the upgrade completion, and a list of any new or noteworthy changes. Include a link to the most recent Hudson Change log so that others can review what has changed that may or may not affect them.
Projects that use Hudson, should do a santity test to make sure their builds are working as before. If not, then a bug with a reference to the upgrade request bug should be created.
How often should we Upgrade?
Hudson follows a very agile development process. It releases new versions once a week. This means that bug fixes and enhancements are available every week. However, unless we are particularly having problems or there are some major new functionality, we should consider at least once a month checking for an upgrade. Usually you may want to wait a few days to make sure there are no major bugs that have cropped up. It is a good idea to monitor the Hudson User mailing list.
Times NOT to Upgrade
There are some critical times during the eclipse development process that we should try to avoid doing an upgrade on the hudson server.
- During Milestones M6 - Release Candidate 4 of the release train. Any upgrades should occur after the release train has been published.
- During the last week of a milestone.
- Need some better guidelines around here...whose milestone, each project may have different milestones.


text:
- Parent Category: News
Frank's Appliance earns Dealer of the Year Award
BRADLEY -- Frank's Appliance Center and Sleepsource of Bradley was recently named the Greater Midwest Region Dear-of-the-Year. The award came at the 2013 BrandSource National Convention for Independent Dealers.
Owners Mark and JoAnne Keen accepted the honor in Las Vegas. And JoAnne tells WGFA News it was a real honor.
The award points to true "neighborhood experts" that offer extensive knowledge and unparalleled service to customers.
JoAnne says this is a tremendous honor for all our wonderful employees.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Maximizing Your Referral Promotions
By Casey Conrad
May 10, 2006
Casey Conrad is president of Communications Consultants, a Wakefield, RI-based company that provides sales and communications seminars and is a 16-year veteran of the health club industry. She can be reached at 800-725-6147.
For anyone in the health club business, referrals are a critically important component to sales success and can even account for as much as 60 percent of a club's new membership sales, according to some industry reports. As a result, it is imperative that every club operator use systems and strategies for maximizing referral promotions. Here's a checklist for referral success.
Referral Systems The first checklist item is asking yourself, "Do we have referral systems in place for both point of sale referrals and ongoing member referrals?" Point of sale referrals are obtained during the new member paperwork process. The systems in the health club industry that are used to drive point of sale referrals are either a separate referral form that is given during the paperwork process or a referral application that is found somewhere on the back of the membership contract. Typically the new member is given special guest passes or an incentive gift to provide the names right at the point of sale. In order to achieve referral success at the point of sale, in addition to a form that captures the referral names, it is important that clubs have attractive, very professional looking passes that are exclusive to the point of sale process. For example, if the club normally gives away one day passes to anyone who asks, the point of sale passes should be for at least three days. This gives the program value. Further, these special passes should be available only during the paperwork process; this creates urgency. Finally, salespeople need to be well versed in the presentation and able to communicate their script in an upbeat and exciting way. That script might sound like this:
Bob, I'd like to take a minute to go over your new member guest privileges. As a new member I'm sure there will be times when you'll want to bring in friends, family members and co-workers to the club. You can do that and our guest fee is $15 per visit. However, at the time you enroll, which is today, you are eligible to receive five, thee-day guest passes, allowing five different friends of yours to come in and use the facility absolutely free of charge, just as if they were a member. These are valued at $30 a piece, giving you a total value of $150 today. What I need you to do right now is fill this form out with the names and contact numbers (or e-mails) of the people you would like to give these passes to and I'll get them registered. (Then you put the form in front of the new member and busy yourself with doing the rest of their contract paperwork.)
The second referral system every club should have in place is for ongoing referrals. Ongoing referral programs are designed to capture referrals from the entire membership base throughout the course of each year. This is typically accomplished by having the club do some sort of incentive program. For example, for referring a friend who enrolls, the member will receive a sweatshirt, a gym bag, a gift certificate or perhaps even cash. Another common incentive is one month's free dues. A more complex ongoing referral program could happen over multiple months and have a single grand prize winner. For example, a club might purchase a big screen television worth $1,000 and, at the end of three months, the person who referred the most members who joined wins the TV. A different twist on this type of referral promotion is to give members raffle entries for the various stages of the referral process: provide a name, get one entry into the draw; the friend comes in for a workout, get two entries; the friend enrolls, get five entries, etc. This format can help to keep a "big-gift" referral program more attainable for every member and prevents a break-away leader from de-motivating the rest of the membership base from participating after the first month. Of course, dozens of variations on how to run these types of referral contests can be created. The benefit of any ongoing referral program is that, when done properly, a club has hundreds of members simultaneously working on generating referral traffic. As a result, the club literally creates an army of recruiters out of new members.
Referral Strategies. Once your club has the systems in place for both point of sale and ongoing referral programs, make sure the concepts of creating value, scarcity and urgency are used. Value is created not only by offering special guest passes at the point of sale but also by printing the actual value on the pass. Scarcity is created by placing a limit on the number of passes that are given away, and urgency is created by mandating and enforcing that these special passes are really only given to new members during the enrollment process. In addition, identifying strategies for reaching out to referrals as well as following up with new members who did not give names at the point of sale.
With ongoing referral programs, clubs need to use five key strategies. First, when launching a new program, it is important to make the investment and send a letter with several professionally printed guest passes to each member. This ensures that every member (not just those using the club) is informed of the promotion and has passes in their possession. I also suggest modifying the letter and sending out at least one guest pass to all former members, as these individuals are high quality prospects. Second, it is critical to hold some sort of all-staff meeting to launch the referral campaign. This meeting is designed to educate all employees on the program, answer any questions but also create excitement. Further, if a club wants to really motivate the staff, find a way to create a competition and/or incentive program with the employees. Third, be certain to spend the little extra in money and have professional signs and posters made that can be placed throughout the club. Print Shop and homemade signs just won't do if you are trying to create value. Fourth, when the campaign is finished, it is good practice to publicly recognize the winner or winners. This can be done with some sort of ceremony or even with posters and signs throughout the club, depending upon the circumstances. Doing this, however, accomplishes a couple of things. First of all, it generates excitement at the club. Secondly, it creates a level of social proof because members get to see there really was a winner. The fifth strategy has to do with the timing of referral campaigns. One aspect of timing has to do with how long you run the campaign for while the other has to do with how many campaigns you run each year. Experience shows that a campaign should be no shorter than six weeks but no longer than 12 weeks. Staying somewhere in the middle of these time frames gives enough time to get the campaign rolling but ensures it doesn't go on too long and lose momentum.
Referrals are the lifeblood of the health club business. By taking the time to check up on your clubs systems and strategies, you can maximize referrals and sell more memberships.


text:
More than 100 people in Maricopa County, Arizona, have become infected with a parasite officials believe was in at least 20 pools in the community, NBC News reported.
Cryptosporidium, or "Crypto," causes problems from stomach cramps to vomiting to fever. Those with healthy immune systems don't need treatment and usually recover after a week or two.
The highly contagious parasite is hard to get rid of because chlorine doesn't always kill it, according to the Mayo Clinic.
U.S. & World
Officials didn't say which pools were identified. The parasite was first discovered in Maricopa County on Aug. 4 after 19 cases were reported in July.


text:
Symbian OS powers more than 200-million mobile devices, and as Executive Director of the Symbian Foundation it's one of Lee Williams's job to take the operating system to open source.
Dr. Dobb's: When it comes to mobile devices, open source has gained real traction.
Williams: Yes, open source and community-style software development is probably the single best way to create and leverage value in the mobile marketplace. The characteristics of this marketplace, one which is rapidly colliding with so many other adjacent technology and consumer markets, demand that companies find a way to leverage open-source concepts and models.
Dr. Dobb's: Near Field Communication is coming on strong.
Williams: NFC chips let devices be used as a mobile wallet or boarding pass for planes. These types of products already exist in Japan, so it's only a matter of time before we see them appear in other parts of the world.
Dr. Dobb's: What emerging mobile technologies should we be keeping our eye on?
Williams: 3G bandwidth and coverage continues to grow and become affordable and ubiquitous. LTE (Long-Term Evolution) is one technology to watch as it establishes itself as a key standard for delivering even higher bandwidths of data. Smartphones are getting advanced features more quickly than the advances in battery technology; we need to find new ways to maximize battery life. SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing) does this by powering up individual processors only when they are required and powering them down when the device is idle or executing less performance-critical tasks. Advanced graphics and transaction technologies are also worth watching.
Dr. Dobb's:'Converged mobile devices'. What are they and what unique challenges do they pose for software developers?
Williams: A converged mobile device is a product that integrates different consumer electronic product functions such as a digital camera, digital music player, video media player, digital video recorder, messaging device, internet appliance, and handheld GPS into one multifaceted unit. With so many different types of capabilities or even a few of them in one product, the potential for creating unique features that a consumer will value is extreme. However, with this comes a number of challenges. One key challenge is to focus on good design. It is better to make sure that product designers, software developers, and content and service providers focus on keeping things simple, and doing a few things well, vs. simply exposing a myriad of functions and requiring a consumer to constantly learn and relearn the capabilities of a converged product.
Another challenge has to do with remembering interoperability demands. Converged products often interact with the world, and other products in a way that only a person or another converged product can. It's not enough to provide a new software application for this type of product and force a user to go find it every day, a developer would need to focus on the whole experience. The web browser is a good example, on a pc it may make sense to ask a user to find, click, type, and browse the web or look for a service. In a mobile, converged product, you need to help the user be present with the service even or especially when they are driving or have the product in a pocket or handbag, and requiring them to constantly select 'yes' or to type in forms etc. are real headaches for a consumer.
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges faced by software developers is their route to consumers and ultimately revenue. Many developers have created good applications but getting them out to a global market place is not easy. It can take months of negotiations with major companies to even get a chance to be exposed to a consumer. The Symbian Foundation platform already provides developers with access to a global market with about a quarter of a billion devices shipped worldwide and support for 50 different languages and many different product form factors. We are focused on helping developers get their applications to these users by giving them a one stop drop in to an applications inventory or electronic warehouse. We will not provide a store front, but will help the community create multiple online stores from which they can generate revenue for themselves and the developer. These stores will end up being highly differentiated, so as to appeal to the broadest range of consumer tastes and interests.
Dr. Dobb's: Power, security, user interfaces. Can you rank -- and discuss -- these in terms of the challenges for software developers?
Williams: UI, Security, Power.
Consumers first of all want a great experience with their mobile product and an easy to use and attractive UI can help deliver this. This does not necessarily mean the UI has to be touch enabled or that a UI sits in software alone. Also, display size is becoming increasingly important. The trend is toward both large and small displays and form factors. For example, business executives that send lots of emails are rarely content using virtual keyboards offered by large touch screen display devices, opting instead to use a product with a physical keyboard. At the other end of the spectrum, you see hoards of teenagers in the U.S., Europe and Asia happily texting one handed, using predictive text. UIs must therefore be discussed in the context of a products form factor. A mass market mobile OS needs to be able to support several different form factors, display sizes, and input methods to cater to individual tastes. Symbian OS enables this type of differentiation, which you can see throughout our communities product portfolios.
Security is the next most important concern as consumers carry a lot of personal information on these products and interact with personal content and services. Also, to be always connected, you will seamlessly roam between many different type of operator networks. To ensure the highest level of support and quality of service, these operators require some form of control over their network environment. Good and flexible security becomes an imperative for using this type of product on the worlds networks, and with the internet's plethora of services.
Power comes last but not least. You cannot diminish the importance of efficient power utilization to most consumers. I would argue one of the fastest ways that a mobile product, no matter how capable, falls out of favor with a consumer is if it cannot last days between charges. We also need to consider the fact that mobile product features and needs are becoming computationally intensive at a faster rate than battery technology is advancing and becoming more capable.
So what challenges do each of these areas present to developers?
With UIs developers need to remind themselves to 'keep things simple and useful'. Focus on the whole experience, meaning you need to be inclusive of display sizes, input methods, and form factors when you design and develop your applications and services. This will ensure users have a positive experience interacting with their application, while making it easy to use the application again and again.
When it comes to security developers need to pay special attention to how they design their application. Leverage the certificate signing and authorization models. They do benefit consumers, if even in indirect ways. Different mobile platforms offer different security models and not knowing how best to design applications with these will lead to reduced confidence in their products from handset manufacturers, operators and ultimately consumers.
It's primarily up to the mobile platform to manage power effectively not the developer. For example, Symbian OS was built-up from its Psion heritage, where two AA batteries would power a personal organizer for over two months. Bringing this technology to mobile phones means Symbian OS is arguably the most power efficient mobile OS on the market. That said, developers should make safe calls when developing applications, don't look to avoid a public API, and focus on not having processes running when not being accessed or used.
Dr. Dobb's: Location-based applications and games. Is this the future of mobile devices?
Williams: Location-based applications are certainly a key part for the future of mobile devices. Games and different forms of entertainment and content access will also be more prevalent. I envision more or less an explosion of social networking concepts and services running on mobile products. Gone is the day of going back to a PC for an online social experience. What you can do with location aware applications and content when combined with connectivity and the rich amount of data and people present on the internet is truly incredible. This has the potential to forever change the way people interact with the world and others in their lives.
Another area where we will see growth is in mobile payment concepts. NFC (Near Field Communication) chips in devices, allow them to be used as a mobile wallet or boarding pass for planes. These types of products already exist in Japan and our member companies have already had years of experience creating these types of solutions, so it's only a matter of time before we see them appear in other parts of the world.
The great thing about the foundation membership base and our increasingly open platform offering is that the future of mobile products and services is in the hands of developers, so anything is possible.
Dr. Dobb's: Cross-platform applications in the mobile space. Will we ever see this?
Williams: We already have them on the Symbian OS offering. Open C, Java, .Net CF, Flash, and WebKit or ECMA script based applications can cross over and are portable across several mobile platforms. These technologies provide investment protection and reach for developers and service providers. We are enhancing these offerings by continuing to integrate the latest versions of these runtimes, and are expanding this functionality with QT libraries, Adobe AIR technology and others. There are also a number of companies that have created emulators or specific runtimes which allow more applications to cross platforms. A company called StyleTap has a Palm emulator that allows you to run thousands of Palm applications on Symbian products and a company called Red Five Labs has a runtime for Symbian OS which ensures Microsoft .net applications can be fully supported.
Dr. Dobb's: There are currently more mobile phone users than Internet users. Where is the opportunity?
Williams: With over 4 billion mobile phone users worldwide, it makes for a pretty attractive commercial opportunity for companies that want to increase their market potential. The footprint is growing and now driving the number of internet users, as many people around the world are not buying and cannot afford a PC. Instead they are opting for a mobile product to put them online. There is a challenge is that the mobile marketplace requires that you be able to participate with a number of different types of companies and suppliers. This includes silicon suppliers, operators, device manufacturers, and application, content, and service providers. The Symbian Foundation is helping to do this by ensuring we lower the barrier for entry for software developers. We are a coordination point and hub of access to all of these different companies. A single source for information, dialog, and business development with a large collection of these companies. That presents a unique opportunity to go get to this marketplace and to sustain investments in the development of their applications.


text:
Monday, December 20, 2010
Tuscobia Winter Ultra Marathon
Well, I don't know what is up with blogger photos. I put them all in order in the text and look at them, all up above in a bunch. Boo.
There is Wayne and I on the bus to the start and Wayne, Vicky and Marcus ready to begin the run. There is one of Wayne and another runner climbing up a hill, the Christmas light display with me.
A few weeks ago I was looking for an ultra to run before the end of the year and
found the Tuscobia Winter Ultra Marathon. I hadn't heard of the race before so
as I looked it up I learned that it takes place in Wisconsin on the Tuscobia
State Trail. This trail is a 74 mile abandoned railroad grade that is used as a
snowmobile trail during the winter months. The trail runs southwest from Park
Falls to Rice Lake, WI.
This race offers a run, bike or ski/skijour option. I would be running-although
I did think about the skijour option. Topaz and I have enjoyed it very much but
the cabin I rented didn't allow dogs.
The race offers three distances: 50K, 75 Mile and 150 Mile. The gear
requirement for all three races includes headlamp, flashing red LED lights on
front and back, water carrier, 10" reflective material. For the 75M and 150M
64 oz water container, 3000 calories of food, -20F sleeping bag, insulated
sleeping pad, bivy sack or tent, 3.5 oz fuel, firestarter, stove to melt snow.
I reserved a cabin at Northern Pines Resort on Butternut Lake. Vicky recommended
it as she stayed here last year. It really was a great choice! Steve and Troy
were coming along for a fun weekend; they would ice fish while I was running.
I had intended on snowshoeing the race. I was surprised when I stopped at the
packet pickup Friday evening and learned that the participants were not
snowshoeing, that they would be running in the loose snow. Hmmm…
I didn't know if I should use my snowshoes. I wouldn't have the weight of the
snowshoes and the straps wouldn't be irritating the top of my foot as they
sometimes do after 4-5 hours of running. If there wasn't enough snow I surely
didn't want to use them. We didn't arrive to Butternut Lake until 8 PM so I
wasn't going to go check out the trail at that time. I didn't know what to do.
We navigated our way to the cabin rental It was placed right on the lake-two
bedrooms, bathroom and a large kitchen with living room. All appliances, linens,
dishes; I was very impressed. We unpacked and heated up the dinner I had
prepared at home. A few games of Jenga and we all went to bed.
The race didn't begin until 10 AM (!) so I had a ton of time in the morning. I
fixed breakfast for all of us, packed up my gear and went next door to introduce
myself to Marcus from Duluth and to say hi to Wayne and Vicky. Steve and I were
going to follow them to the finish where we would take a bus to the start. Steve
would then know where to pick me up after the race. I told him I would be
finished in 7.5 hours.
I decided to leave the snowshoes behind. Marcus was running in Vibrams-I figured
if he could run in those I could run in my Inov 8 Gortex trail shoes! I didn't
have spikes or screws, although Vicky offered my some screws. I didn't feel like
taking the time to screw my shoes and because we wouldn't be running on ice, I
didn't think they would offer much traction in the snow.
The start temperature was 6F, the high for the day would be 10F. There was a
wind but it would be at my back, score! I wasn't worried about getting cold. I
have the clothing figured out for running in this type of weather. I don't want
to be too warm, cold sweat will freeze, wet clothes are not a good thing!
A school bus was waiting for us at the finish line. We boarded and were on our
way! It was so cold on the bus! My feet were absolutely freezing and this
worried me. I was wearing a new cozy pair of smartwool socks under my shoes. I
couldn't believe how frozen my feet felt. I took my shoes off and began to rub
my feet with my hands, trying to get warm. Marcus looked at what I was doing and
was relieved that his feet weren't the only ones that were cold. He didn't have
on any socks, just the Vibrams.
We arrived at the start line in Winter, WI. I stayed in the bus until start
time. As we piled out I counted 26 starters. 25 run and 1 ski. Nobody was
wearing snowshoes.
As soon as we began my feet warmed up. I never noticed any cold during the race.
I was very comfortable, temperature wise.
The trail was very wide-maybe 6 feet across, well covered with snow, some rocks
strewn about. I began too fast and warmed up very quickly and saw that my first
mile was less than 10 minutes. I knew that was too fast and didn't like that I
had allowed myself to do this. I knew this race would be difficult, mentally,
for me and I was already experiencing that. My finish goal was 7:00-7:30. I
told Steve to be at the finish in 7:30 so I checked myself and slowed down.
The miles were going by pretty quickly; I was very comfortable, drinking hammer
heed and taking gels. I was having a good time.
I knew there was a checkpoint at the halfway mark with water and gels. I
conserved my now slushy hammer heed so that I wouldn't be dry.
When we came to a road crossing I saw Jim Wilson. He asked if I needed water,
my own Trail Angel! Jim topped off my bottles and off I went, smiling down the
I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders once I had full
bottles. I drank greedily, knowing I could refill in a few miles. Whew!
The trail began to get quite a bit softer. It seemed that the snow was deeper
and that it was churned up by snowmobiles. I kept trying to find a hard packed
area where I could run without slipping. It seemed that the outer edge of the
trail was best. I would stay there until it became soft and then hunt along the
trail for a better piece.
I noticed that Marcus' Vibram footprint crossed back and forth over the trail as
I did. He must have been looking for firm snow as well. His print didn't seem to
'dig in' to the snow as the tread of the trail shoes did. I wondered if that
made it easier. I pictured him floating across the snow. He did finish a half
hour earlier than I did.
The half way point came a bit early. My Garmin told me we were at 13 miles. I
was happy to know that the aid station was early otherwise I could have broken
down mentally, that 2.5 miles does made a difference. I asked the woman at the
station and she told me we were at 16 miles. I didn't argue. I filled up my
bottles, grabbed a handful of gels (so thankful!), and carried on.
Each time I took a step my foot would slide a bit, only ¼" or so to the side.
Eventually this caused knee pain and pretty soon my pectinus /hip flexors weres
killing me. I don't know that I have ever had such pain during a race before,
other than a 100 mile race.
When I caught up to Wayne I asked him if the course was short or if the aid
station was just early. He confirmed that the aid station was just early. OK,
now I knew that I wouldn't expect the finish at 26 miles, it would be 50K. It
looked like I would be finishing within my goal time.
I came to an area where the snow was very deep, soft and churned up. I was
barely running, my form was so inefficient that I tried walking but that was
just too slow and depressing. I looked ahead and saw that Wayne was
walking…walking faster than I could run. Ugh. My knees and adductors were pain
filled. I looked at my watch and saw that the last mile took me 17 minutes.
Good grief.
I trudged along, trying to find a firm area on the trail where I could run
easily. It wasn't happening. A bunch of snowmobiles flew past me.
Lisa and Lynette were at many of the road crossings. Lisa took many great photos
and I was able to get water from her as well. I told them how nice it was to
have them out there, checking in on us. Really they were there to check on
Wayne, I believe, but I wasn't far behind Wayne so I was able to enjoy their
company too!
The surroundings were very pretty. Lots of pine covered with heavy snow, many
bridges over rivers. There was a section along the road but it wasn't too long.
I really enjoyed the scenery. I didn't see any deer but did see two timberwolf
on the lake earlier.
I ran solo most of the time, catching up with Wayne one in a while, then with a
skier for a bit, but mostly solo. At around mile 20 I turned on my iPod and
listened to music. I noticed that not only was this one of the few runs that I
felt pain, but it was also one that I wasn't high on endorphins. Normally I'm
swinging my arms, laughing, smiling, yelling out Megadeth and cranking up the
trail. I think the slow pace put a limit on the endorphin rush!
I often though of Jason and Lynn who were competing the 75 mile race. This was
their first race of this type and I was very intrigued as to how it was going
for them.
I must say, this 50K has certainly sparked my interest in the 75 mile race next
As I was running down a hill I caught a branch. Boom! I slid outstretched a
good 10 feet and ended up sprawled upon the ground. Thankfully it was deep here
so I didn't skin my face up on any rocks. My foot was sore, I really banged it
up . I began to walk, checking my limbs, making sure everything was OK. I was
fine, just shook up.
Eventually the sun became weak. I ran up to two men in front of me and asked one
of them if he would take my headlamp out of my pack. He obliged and handed it to
me. I turned on my lights and was ready to grind out the last few miles to the
Ah, the water tower! I remembered at the start someone mentioned that when we
saw the water tower we would be nearing the end. He warned us to look out for a
sharp right turn to the finish. I saw the sign and was really happy to finish
this up.
Looking at my watch I was at 6:45, a few more minutes to go. I came up to two
people standing around, Tim the RD and Wayne. Gee, I was at the finish! Ah,
Amen! I was told I was third woman. I was so happy to be finished.
Wayne and I stumbled into the warming tent. I removed my pack and took off my
lights. Oh man, it felt so good to stretch out. Hot coffee was offered, a warm
heater, it really was nice. I removed my wet mittens, hat and neck gaitor and
just sat.
It was fun to talk with others about the race. RD Tim did an excellent job on
the 50K race and I'm sure the 75 and 150 were just as awesome. Putting these
three races together has to be a huge endeavor and it came off without a hitch.
Steve came along and after introductions we were off to the cabin. We made a quick stop at a beautiful Christmas light display so I could get a photo. I hobbled out of the truck for the shot. He and Troy had a fun day ice fishing, we were all exhausted and into bed by 8 PM!
Even though this race was only a 50K and I didn't have to pull anything it certainly served it's purpose for me. I wanted to really embrace winter this year. I have slowly changed mymind about winter and surprise myself by my reaction. I didn't hate my time spent running this race, didn't hate the cold, didn't wonder what
the hell I was doing. I knew exactly what I was doing. I was embracing winter, trying something new and learning so much about myself in
the process. I can run a race even if it isn't all about having fun, even when it is a lot of work and I am in pain. It's ok.
The next morning after we packed up and headed out we drove along the course, looking for John, Jason, Lynn, Daryl or John. We weren't able to locate them
along the route. It had been close to 24 hours so as it turns out some had already finished and some were out on the course, we just missed them.
I was so happy to hear that John S won the 75, Jason and Lynn finished their
firsts, John T and Daryl finished their 75. Get this: Chris Scotch ran and won
the 150 mile. 150 miles in 60 hours. Can you even fathom such a thing. It is an
amazing thing, what a body can do.
I must say, I am more intrigued than ever with the 75 mile option. I am really
thinking about it for next year. I think I could give it a try and maybe even finish it.
Thank you so much to RD Tim, to the volunteers and to the runners. You inspire me.
6 comments:
- SteveQ said...
Isn't it amazing that Chris just took up the sport and already has a win?
- judi ~ said...
Julie, you inspire me!
- Matthew Patten said...
Great to see that you are back.
Maybe I will be too one of these days.
Hey Julie. It was great meeting you. I really think the Vibrams work to my advantage in the snow. When I've tried wearing stiff shoes it feels more like throwing a rock into a bucket of water, very unstable. Also being able to bend my toes allows me to push off without punching through the snow.
I felt really good after 50k. Now I've got this bug in my brain that 75 might not be so bad!?
- Julie B said...
Hey Matt-the time is now. Get out there and start doing it!
Marcus-me too. I want to try the Tuscobia 75. Why not, hu? We can take it slow and steady, we have plenty of time. Let's do it!
nice job on figuring out the 50k and running strong. you will make the 75 mile look easy next year!!! good to see you after such a long time. Jason Husveth


text:
Diagnostic Exam
These examinations are intended to aid the supervisory committee in determining the student's background in music theory, aural skills and music history so that the results may be used in making a study plan.
Entering graduate students take two examinations, one in music theory and another in music history and literature, to show baccalaureate-level competence. The exams are typically scheduled on the Saturday preceding the beginning of the Fall semester. It is the responsibility of the student to arrive on campus in time to take the placement exams. Students must demonstrate such competency in both subject areas, either by passing the exam or taking specified remedial courses, before enrollment in any 500-level course of that particular subject area. Students who do not take the exams (for any reason) may not enroll in any 500-level subject areas covered by the placement examinations until the exams have been completed.


text:
Kidneys and Bone Disease
The kidneys play a very important role in the health of your bones. The kidneys work with the parathyroid glands, (named for their proximity to the thyroid gland, but their function is very different than thyroid gland) to regulate calcium and phosphorus.
Normally, we obtain vitamin D from sunlight or our diet. Vitamin D helps us absorb calcium from our diets but it must be activated first in the liver and then in the kidneys. Dietary vitamin D deficiency is very common in the general population.
Also, if the kidneys are not working properly, then the kidneys cannot activate vitamin D and the calcium cannot be fully absorbed. In this situation, blood calcium levels can fall. When the calcium levels fall, the parathyroid glands become active to leach calcium from bones and into the circulation and return calcium levels to normal.
A second factor can affect the activity of the parathyroid glands. If the kidneys are not working properly, then they cannot get rid of all the phosphate in our diet. Then the phosphate levels can rise. This also activates the parathyroid glands. High phosphorous also accelerates the decline in kidney function.
Parathyroid hormone can instruct the kidney to work harder at excreting phosphate. Yet when this occurs, the parathyroid hormone still works on the bones to liberate calcium. When this hormone damages the bones to keep the blood levels of calcium and phosphorus normal, this is called renal osteodystrophy or renal bone disease.
- Click here for information on the Renal (Kidney Health) Clinic at Joslin Diabetes Center
Diabetic Kidney Disease
- Know Your GFR To Stop Kidney Disease
- Diabetic Kidney Disease
- How to Prevent Kidney Disease
- Your GFR Can Help Stop Kidney Disease (video)
- High Blood Pressure and Diabetic Kidney Disease
- Blood Pressure Medications for Diabetic Kidney Disease
- Nutrition for Advanced Kidney Disease
- Kidneys and Bone Disease
- Anemia and Kidney Disease
- Kidney Transplants
Page last updated: November 07, 2019


text:
*At time of manufacture
Feel great, stay regular and maintain a healthy digestive balance with stomach friendly Chewable Acidophilus from American Health. Acidophilus supports a favorable environment for the absorption of nutrients, so you can get more nourishment from your food and more energy for your life! Probiotics also encourage intestinal microflora balance and promote healthy functioning of the intestinal system. Nutritionally support your gastrointestinal health daily with delicious, all natural fruit flavored Acidophilus chewable wafers.
For adults, chew one (1) wafer three times daily.
Sucrose, Fructose, Vegetable Cellulose, Vegetable Stearic Acid, Natural Flavors, Beet (root), Silica, Citric Acid, Vegetable Magnesium Stearate.
No Gluten, No Yeast, No Wheat, No Milk or Milk Derivatives, No Lactose, No Soy, No Egg, No Grapefruit, No Artificial Color, No Artificial Flavor, No Sodium.
If you are pregnant, nursing or taking any medications, consult your doctor before use. Discontinue use and consult your doctor if any adverse reactions occur. Keep out of reach of children. Store unopened container in a cool, dry place. Refrigerate after opening. Do not use if seal under cap is broken or missing.


text:
Robots alone are scary. But shape-changing robots that can squeeze through small spaces and then grow into sizes of up to 10x their squishy size? I don't like that one bit.
SquishBot is a program to develop a new class of soft, shape-changing robot. The goal is to design systems that can transform themselves from hard to soft and from soft to hard, upon command. Another goal is to create systems that change their critical dimensions by large amounts, as much as 10x. Such robots will be like soft animals that can squeeze themselves through small openings and into tight places.
Sweet mother of god. This is terrifying. [Boston Dynamics via Boing Boing Gadgets]


text:
Goldylocks Productions Presents A Magickal Journey Show with Rev. Bryan Rawls. Tonight, Wednesday, 19 October 2016 at 8 pm ET.
Bryan has worked as an Intuitive Medium on high-volume hotlines such as KEEN, Psychic Live, Psychic Source, and Hollywood Psychics through which he has undergone a battery of tests. Bryan can channel numerous energies to help you with your questions.
Bryan is a Certified Psychic Medium, Certified Fairyologist & Realm Reader, Light Language Channel, Extraterrestrial Channel, Universal Channel, Certified Angelic Communicator/Facilitator, Light Code & Star Ki Code Activator, Certified Reiki Master Teacher, Certified Esoteric Energetic Acupuncturist, Certified Sacred Activation's Mastering Me Practitioner, a multi-dimensional Galactic Shaman and a Certified Witchcraft/Ceremonial Magickal Practitioner.
Call in Number is 657-383-1895
Please unblock your phone number if you wish to get on air with Bryan. Press 1 to get onto the Host Que to ask your question, otherwise you will remain…
View original post 45 more words


text:
An Instant Kick
"Swift motions and jumps give your metabolism an instant kick while building muscle in the long term," says Jon Giswold, a master trainer at PUSH, an online personal-training service. Add this power-packed routine, developed by Giswold, to your regular workout three times a week — you'll burn more than 100 calories in each 10-minute session.
Single-Leg Squat
Minutes 0:00-2:00
Targets: Core, Quads, Glutes
- Lift right leg off floor, bending knee 90 degrees, and place hands on hips.
- Bend left knee, lowering into a squat.
- Hold for 1 count, straighten leg, then repeat.
- Do 1 minute per leg.
Crunch Ball Toss
Minutes 2:00-4:00
Targets: Abs, Chest, Shoulders, Triceps
- Lie on back holding a medicine ball with both hands at chest level, knees bent.
- Crunch up and toss the ball a few inches above you; freeze in that position until the ball falls back into your hands.
- Slowly return to start and repeat.
Single-Arm Diagonal Clean and Press
Minutes 4:00-6:00
Targets: Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
- Holding a 5-pound dumbbell in right hand, bend knees 90 degrees and lower weight toward left foot.
- With an explosive lift, stand and swing the weight up to your right shoulder.
- Extend arm overhead; return weight to shoulder.
- Repeat 10 times on each side.
Explosive Jump
Minutes 6:00-8:00
Targets: Quads, Calves, Glutes
- Stand with knees bent 90 degrees.
- With arms by sides, bend elbows, bringing fists just below chest.
- Keeping abs and glutes tight, jump as high as you can.
- Land with knees slightly bent.
- Return to start.
- Do 12 times; rest for 30 seconds and repeat.
Metabolic Bike
Minutes 8:00-10:00
Targets: Obliques, Core
- Lie on back with knees bent, feet on floor.
- Place hands lightly behind head.
- Raise upper body and extend legs about 12 inches off floor.
- Bring left elbow and right knee toward each other.
- Continue, alternating sides.


text:
Warehouse clubs, mass merchandisers, and other big-box retailers remain important to publishers because they not only sell books, they are places where books can be discovered. However, it appears that if publishers want those bricks-and-mortar outlets to continue to carry their titles, some changes need to be made. So says Dennis Abboud, who acquired Levy Home Entertainment in fall 2011, and who is positioning the distribution company, now called ReaderLink, to move ahead in an industry with a changing supply chain. Abboud is concerned that ReaderLink's customers, who include such retail giants at Walmart, Target, and Costco, will decrease the space they allot to books in favor of other products that they can offer the public at the lowest available prices.
The problem with books, Abboud told PW, is that while Walmart and other ReaderLink customers do offer low prices on print books, those prices are still higher than the prices on e-books, an area into which many retail giants have been slow to enter. "Publishers need to rethink their e-book pricing strategy to address the price disparity between e-books and print books," Abboud said. Well aware of the recent lawsuits and court cases that charged publishers with fixing e-book prices, Abboud stressed that he isn't asking the publishers to do anything illegal, but rather to take a harder look at what low e-book prices are doing to bricks-and-mortar stores. "Publishers need to see the big picture," he said, emphasizing the critical roll all retailers play in helping books get discovered. If more physical retailers close, Abboud said, publishers will need to up their marketing budgets for e-books, since fewer consumers will be aware of newly released titles in a crowded marketplace.
Rather than go down that road, publishers would do better by raising their prices on e-books to allow Walmart and others to offer the public competitively-priced print books. Abboud rejected the idea that the jump in e-book sales is due mainly to the format, but rather sees it as largely due to price. "People like paying less," Abboud observed, adding that by making e-book prices dramatically lower than print books (especially hardcovers), publishers created "a self-fulfilling prophecy" in which sales of the new format jumped.
The growth in e-book sales and the decline in print sales has created the perception among high-ranking executives at some big-box retailers that the book business could go the way of music and video, with sales of physical products replaced by digital. Abboud said ReaderLink has had some success in convincing executives that that will not be the case, but to keep those accounts in the bookselling game, publishers need to do their part. With the prices of hardcovers usually doubling those of e-books, the big-box stores have no chance to compete with Amazon, Abboud said, adding that he has no problem with Amazon discounting e-books, but would like the starting price of e-books and print books to be closer together.
ReaderLink has developed ReaderLink Digital, a platform that will allow bricks-and-mortar accounts to sell e-books and print books online, and Abboud said the company is in advanced talks with three or four retailers about testing the service next year. He acknowledged, however, that some big-box retailers are reluctant to get involved in an area where Amazon already has a large market share. If those companies saw that books could continue to be a viable print and digital business, they would be more inclined to stay with the product, he said.
Abboud doesn't believe higher e-book prices are the only way big-box retailers can remain relevant in the book business. He said he has had some success convincing a few retailers to be more aggressive in discounting print books in their physical stores. And ReaderLink is preparing to place a few Espresso Book Machines with some of its customers to test the print-on-demand market.
While they are likely sympathetic to Abboud's views on e-book prices—indeed, publishers themselves were saying the same kinds of things when Amazon first began discounting e-books to $9.99—it is unclear how publishers will react. Abboud first raised the issue of the need to raise e-book prices at ReaderLink's national meeting in August, and he said the feedback has generally been positive. Given the sensitivity of pricing at the moment, Abboud doesn't think change will come overnight, but he said that "we've got to start the discussion."


text:
Baltimore Black Foot Soldiers are condemning the verdict against reparations activist John Wagner for the July 2010 reparations protest against flagrant reparations offender Stephen Pitcairn.
Pitcairn, a Johns Hopkins researcher in his early 20's from Florida who attended college in Michigan and did stem cell research in Japan was, according to white media, robbed and stabbed by Wagner and an accomplice who both had long criminal histories.
Baltimore Black Foot Soldiers, however, allege Pitcairn turned what they believe started as a peaceful reparations protest violent by denying the items requested in the protest.
"Stephen Pitcairn wanted to build a better future. But sometimes in order to build a better future you have to start in the past. The denial of our reparations is a racially terroristic act. We have the right to defend ourselves & our people against white racial terrorism.
"We hold Pitcairn accountable for turning this protest violent, condemn those praise and mourn for him and recognize the struggle of our brother John Wagner as that as the historic struggle our people have always faced against this regime of white racial terrorists," Baltimore Black Foot Soldier Asbury Green.


text:
Sku: FSF120
Recommended furniture kit for the Paragon F-120, F-130, and equivalent sized kilns. Included:
1 – C-10S Shelf (10" square x 1/2")
4 – 1/2" long, 1" wide Square Posts
1 lb. Bag Glass Separator
Shipping size: 19" long x 18" wide x 7" high
The shelf protects the bottom of the kiln. Coat the shelf with glass separator to prevent the glass from sticking to the shelf. Place short posts between the shelf and the kiln bottom to circulate heat around the shelf.
Paragon's durable cordierite shelves resist warpage and thermal shock. They are volume-stable. (Note: The photo shows a general assortment of furniture rather than the exact contents of this shelf kit.)
Shipping Weight: 12.00 Lbs.
( 5.44 Kg.)
Ship Method: This Item Ships Via UPS/FedEx
Price: $66.99
This price is subject to change without notice.
Paragon Industries, L.P.,
2011 South Town East Blvd.
Mesquite, Texas 75149-1122
Fax: 972-222-0646
Contact Us
Follow on:
Copyright © 2020,Paragon Industries, L.P.
"Custom and standard Kilns and Industrial Furnaces for ceramics, pottery, heat treating, enameling,dentistry, laboratory, and glass fusing.Better Designed Kilns from Paragon Industries!"


text:
Pinnacles and Sandboarding Including Yanchep National Park 1 Day Tour
- Duration: 11 Hours (approx.)
- Location: Perth, Western Australia
- Product code: PMVLLU
Departing every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (Closed over Christmas/New Year Period)
Tour departs from Wellington Street outside the Perth Train Station at 8.30am (near William St on the footpath) and returns approximately 7.30pm.
The Pinnacles, situated just over two hours north of Perth is one of Western Australia's most famous natural tourist attractions. Our small buses allows us to drive right through the Pinnacles Desert and be amazed at seeing these great rock formations up close and personal. Visit the Pinnacles Gallery (if time permits) and discover some amazing facts about these awe inspiring natural phenomena and browse the gift shop.
Go sand boarding in the massive white sand dunes of Lancelin and have lunch (included in price) down at the beach while gazing over the turquoise waters of the sheltered bay.
Also on this value packed full day tour we visit Yanchep National Park where you can take a stroll along the Koala Boardwalk and have a go at spotting for one of Australia's cutest animals.
An often unexpected highlight of this tour and where we differ from other Pinnacles tours is our stop at the hidden gem of the picturesque Moore River. Go swimming or stroll along its beautiful banks where the river meets the Indian Ocean in this gorgeous little coastal town of Guilderton.
Morning and afternoon tea provided. At the conclusion of your day we can then drop you off at your city hotel or back at the Tourist Coach Stand.
Included in price:
- Tour on a comfortable air-conditioned bus with seatbelts.
- Entry fee to Yanchep National Park and Koala and Kangaroo viewing.
- Entry fee to Nambung National Park and Pinnacles Dessert.
- Sand board hire in Lancelin.
- Lunch of sandwiches and drink. Morning and afternoon snack of biscuits and cake.
- Photos posted on our Facebook Page www.facebook.com/tourswithatwist
Provide your own:
- Water, hat, sunscreen, sunglasses or goggles for sand boarding and comfortable walking shoes
Adult: $145pp (15 and over)
Australian Seniors Card Holders/Child: $115pp (4-14 years)
Family: $420 (2 Adults, 2 Child or 1 Adult, 3 Child)
One free infant per paying adult - Extra infant: $50pp (infant under 4)
(infants and children under 7 must be in baby or booster seat - request free use of baby/booster on booking)


text:
Facet Jewelry Sterling Silver Celtic Claddagh Ring $99.00
So Good Together Mens Sterling Silver Claddagh and Celtic Ring. Available in all sizes from 7 to 14 including half sizes.
Sterling Silver Gents Claddagh and Celtic Ring is hand made in Ireland by Facet Ltd. Claddagh rings are given or received as a token of Love or affection three main components i.e. the heart hands and crown stand for Love (heart) Friendship (hands) and Loyalty (Crown).


text:
Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
View All Calendars is the default. Choose Select a Calendar to view a specific calendar. Subscribe to calendar notifications by clicking on the Notify Me® button, and you will automatically be alerted about the latest events in our community.
December 13, 2018, 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM @ Hartley Dodge Memorial Building, 2nd Floor Committee Room
The Environmental Commission of the Borough of Madison in the County of Morris and State of New Jersey will meet at 7:30 pm in the 2nd Floor Committee Room of the Hartley Dodge Memorial Building, Kings Road, Madison, NJ. These meetings are open to the public. Please note that official action may be taken.
December 13, 2018, 7:30 PM - 11:00 PM


text:
Eclipse DemoCamps 2008 - Ganymede Edition/Chicago
The Kerryman Bar 661 N Clark Street Chicago IL Tel: 312-335-8121
Date and Time
June 25th, 6 - 8pm
OpenMake Software
Admin contact, Cindy Roper
505.424.1918 direct phone
505.424.6438 fax
If you would like to present at the DemoCamp, please feel free to add your name and topic to the list. Depending on the number of people interested we may have to limit the number of presenters and time of each demo.
- Edward Thomson, Teamprise Plug-in for Eclipse and Team Foundation Server
- Sean Blanton, OpenMake Software
Who Is Attending
If you plan on attending please add your name to the list below. We'd like to see as many people show up as possible.
- Dan Cipriano, OpenMake Software
- Quinn Bailey, OpenMake Software
- Gary Booker, OpenMake Software
- Sean Blanton, OpenMake Software
- Edward Thomson, Teamprise


text:
- Home
- Why WFG
- Business Platform
- The WFG Difference
- Training & Events
- Recognition & Rewards
- Own Your Future
- Presentations
World Financial Group, its affiliated companies and product providers offer comprehensive training and educational programs to associates that provide helpful information on a variety of topics.
World Financial Group appreciates the dedication and determination it takes to achieve a leadership promotion level, which is why the company developed the Leadership Network. As part of this unique group, an associate is asked to speak on monthly field conference calls, and may be invited to speak at various team and corporate events. Additionally, the associates who qualified for the Leadership Network are invited on an exclusive trip to New York City where you get to spend one-on-one time with some of the company's best leaders.
World System Builder, LLC is a financial services marketing company that is associated with World Financial Group, Inc. World Financial Group, Inc. (WFG) is a financial services marketing company whose affiliates offer a broad array of financial products and services. Insurance products offered through World Financial Insurance Agency, Inc. (WFIA), World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Hawaii, Inc., World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Massachusetts, Inc., World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Wyoming, Inc., World Financial Insurance Agency, Inc. and/or WFG Insurance Agency of Puerto Rico, Inc. WFG and WFGIA are affiliated companies. World System Builder, LLC Headquarters: 2099 Gold Street, Suite 100, Alviso, CA 95002-3602. Phone: 408.941.1838. WFG and WFIA Headquarters: 11315 Johns Creek Parkway, Johns Creek, GA 30097-1517. Phone: 770.453.9300. WorldFinancialGroup.com.
Disclaimer | Complaint Handling | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Check the background of this investment professional on FINRA's BrokerCheck.
© 2020 WFG Opportunity


text:
AV Home Theater >
Structured Wiring > Channel Vision C-0204 - 1x4 Coaxial Splitter Module
These passive RF splitters are designed for homes where there is enough RF signal without the need for additional amplification. Channel Vision RF splitter modules easily snap into structured wiring enclosures for a simple installation. All splitters offer: 1GHz bandwidth, true 75 ohm impedance, and pass DC and IR to all ports. Available in 2, 4, or 8 output configurations.
C-020x Spec Sheet
Founded in 1993 and ranked among the top companies in the custom electronics industry, Channel Vision Technology is a leading manufacturer of innovative technology products in Home Automation, Structured Wiring Systems, Wireless Audio, Whole House Intercom Systems, Security Cameras and DVR's in both residential and commercial applications.
Its broad-range of electronic solutions are designed to provide lifestyle enhancements for residents, while equipping homes and business for greater safety, convenience and entertainment.
Bulk CCTV Store
41W195 Railroad Street, Unit A
Pingree Grove, IL 60140


text:
In this session of "Black Men Testimonials" Nigel tells the globe his view on WhatBlackMenWant…
This leads to high levels of glucose in the blood, which can damage organs, blood vessels and nerves. The body needs insulin to use glucose as an energy source.
Kobe recently commented that "the team is old". NBA Injuries are a crapshoot, nobody has a crystal ball and can predict from day to day who will be healthy and or injured.
So I decided to do a small experiment within my emotional blog post to see if this is true. I wanted to see if I could get a somewhat predictable outcome from people.
Passing the ball in Basketball is key to the flow of the game. Take a look at Lipton Supreme's list of great playmakers!
They couldn't have any impact in the big picture of an 82-game season, could they? I beg to differ.
"It's simple, not easy." This is the theme for the rest of the year for me, not to mention the title of… Well more about that at another time. I'm blessed to receive many letters and questions from people asking for my help in getting the body they […]


text:
Why organic food isn't as green as you think
To Hindus, cows are sacred. Jewish dietary laws (kashrut) and Muslim dietary laws (halal) prohibit pork consumption. Traditional Catholics abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. Religion and food have forever been intertwined. Food is deep, emotional stuff.
So it's perhaps not surprising that devotees of organic food often embrace with quasi-religious fervor the practice of growing food without synthetic fertilizer or pesticides. [See, for example, my blogpost about Maria Rodale.] But if we want to understand impact of organic agriculture on the planet and on our health, science -- and not faith -- ought to guide us.
New scientific research points to a key drawback of organic agriculture, unfortunately: It is typically less efficient and productive than conventional growing methods. That's a problem for fans of organic because the world has a limited supply of farmland, a billion or so undernourished people, a growing population, an expanding middle class and therefore a vast appetite for affordable and nourishing food.
If, in fact, organic methods are less productive, scaling up the production of organic food at will require more land, contribute to deforestation and cost more than growing our food using conventional methods. That suggests that organic methods alone can't feed the world in a sustainable way.
In a meta-analysis of 66 research studies called "Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture" published last month in Nature, Verena Seufert, Navin Ramankutty and Jonathan A. Foley write:
Overall, organic yields are typically lower than conventional yields.
They go on to say that the yield differences are highly contextual, depending on crops and localities. The studies that they studied, it must be noted, use different methods and many are a decade or two old. This is by no means the last word on this issue. Still, they report that the yield differences
range from 5 percent lower organic yields (rain-fed legumes and perennials on weak acidic to weak-alkaline soils), 13 percent lower yields (when best organic practices are used), to 34 percent lower yields (when the conventional and organic systems are most comparable)
Of course, there are other reasons to embrace organic methods, which may be able to match or even outperform conventional farming methods under certain conditions. Organic methods reduce the use of agricultural chemicals that damage farm workers' health, for example. But, as the authors write, the yield issue should not be ignored:
To establish organic agriculture as an important tool in sustainable food production, the factors limiting organic yields need to be more fully understood, alongside assessments of the many social, environmental and economic benefits of organic farming systems.
To learn more, I called Navin Ramankutty, a geography professor at McGill University and an author of the study. Much of the debate that goes on about food today focuses on methods rather than outcomes, he told. That was obvious to me after he said it, but I'd never thought about it that way.
Organic farming is a method, or management system; it may well generates less water pollution and fewer greenhouse gases than conventional agriculture, but organic certification doesn't measure those outcomes. Likewise, locavores, a group that includes not just the folks browsing the stands at a farmer's market, but also Walmart, which has promised to buy more locally grown produce, are all about location, and the environmental benefits of localism, if any, are unclear.
One reason why we don't look at outcomes, Navin said, is that "measuring those outcomes is extremely difficulty." Broad generalizations about agriculture don't tend to hold true because, like politics, all farming is local. Florida tomatoes have a different environmental profile from those grown in California.
Instead of wondering how and where an agricultural product was grown, we should be asking different questions, Navin suggested: "Is it good for the environment? Can it feed people? Is it good for the farmer?" To answer those last two questions -- can it feed people and is it good for the farmer -- you have to understand yields. Land is scarce and expensive, and if organic methods require more land (because they produce fewer calories per hectare), they will drive up food costs. That's troubling in a world where hunger is a bigger problem than obesity.
The Nature report has provoked a variety of responses. In an email to Andrew Revkin, who wrote about it at Dot Earth, author Jon Foley wrote:
The bottom line? Today's organic farming practices are probably best deployed in fruit and vegetable farms, where growing nutrition (not just bulk calories) is the primary goal. But for delivering sheer calories, especially in our staple crops of wheat, rice, maize, soybeans and so on, conventional farms have the advantage right now.
I asked Stave Savage, a scientist and industry consultant who blogs about agriculture at Applied Mythology, for his reaction. He looked at the underlying studies and told me that the evidence for the claim that organic can compete with conventional methods, even when it comes to growing fruits and vegetables, is skimpy. He told me by email:
The authors ultimately come out saying that some sort of hybrid would be a good idea. On that I agree. Organic was very ahead of its time in the early 20th century by focusing on building soil quality. No-till and cover cropping achieve the same benefits without having to haul in massive amounts of compost or manure.
The problem is that many of the avid supporters of organic have no interest in anything like a hybrid or one learning from the other. There is too much emphasis on philosophical purity and about demonizing regular agriculture rather than observing how much it has changed over time.
Less than 1 percent of US farmland is farmed organically. If farmers could improve their yields by giving up chemicals and genetically modified seeds, why wouldn't they?
I'm planning to interview Laura Batcha of the Organic Trade Association this week, and I'll ask her that question. We'll also talk about the Farm Bill, the campaign to label genetically modified foods and mad cow disease. I'll report back in a few days.


text:
The Janis ST-500 continuous flow cryostat has been specially designed for use in microscopy, imaging, and high spatial resolution photoluminescence. The combination of low thermal-expansion support structure and internal vibration isolation results in nanometer scale vibration and drift levels. The cryostat geometry offers a short working distance (for use with high magnification optics), and permits mounting on common microscope stages and translators.
The ST-500 system includes a flexible high-efficiency variable flow cryogen transfer line. This line delivers liquid helium or liquid nitrogen to a two-stage heat exchanger and sample mount. The ST-500 is portable, easily mounted in a variety of configurations, and can be used both in transmission and reflection geometries.
Close up of ST-500 sample mount area. Aperture size and sample distance are customer selectable.
ST-500 Microscopy Cryostat Mechanical Drawing - Updated (12/09)
Other configurations include:
Options include:
Contact us to find out how easy it is to afford one of these systems!
Temperature range 3.5 - 475 K (standard) Initial cooldown time 10 K (LHe): 25 minutes 80 K (LN2): 30 minutes Cryogen usage during cooldown to 4.2 K 1 L LHe 0.3 L LN2 Temperature stability <50 mK (with temperature controller) Weight 7 lbs. (3.2 kg) (not including transfer line) Nominal cryogen usage LHe @ 5 K: ~1.1 L/hr LN2 @ 80 K: ~0.1 L/hr Nominal vibration amplitude † ‡ ±15 nm Positional drift‡ ±10 nm in 5 minutes ±60 nm in 30 minutes
NOTE: Specifications do not include optical or experimental heat loads and assume horizontal orientation. Specifications may change depending on the length of the transfer line flexible section. † Vibrational amplitude measured while on isolated optical table.
Results may vary depending on experimental conditions.
‡ Data courtesy of B. B. Goldberg and M. S. Unlu, Departments of Physics,
ECE and Photonics Center, Boston University.
ST-500 long term drift data from University of Oxford, Janis Research, cryogenics
Data taken by K.H. Lee (University of Oxford)
The Taylor group at University of Oxford has performed some characterization of the ST-500 cryostat drift. The characterization is based on the tracking of a single QD over time, and test results indicate a typical positional drift of about 2 nm/min.
Reference: K. H. Lee, et al, "Registration of single quantum dots using cryogenic laser photolithography" Appl. Phys. Lett., 88, 193106, 2006.
If rising liquid helium costs are making it difficult to conduct your research, Janis' recirculating gas cooler eliminates the use of Liquid Helium for "wet" systems. Learn more.
Compact and Ultra-Compact Configurations
Compact and ultra-compact designs are also available if space restrictions do not allow the use of the ST-500. Click here for details on the ST-300-MS SuperTran cryostat. Click here for information on the ST-500-UC ultra compact cryostat.
Options for Micro-Spectroscopy Techniques
Special Diamond Anvil Cell (Diacell® CryoDAC-ST) configured for use with the ST-500 is available from easyLab Technologies Ltd. Click here for details.
Special Diamond Anvil Cell configured for use with the ST-500 is available from D'Anvils.Click here for details.
Nano-Positioning Stages from attocube
Nano-positioning stages can be installed on the ST-500 microscope cryostats for a number of short working distance applications. Because this design uses a standard ST-500 cryostat as a base, existing cryostats may be upgraded to the special attocube configuration. The photo on the far left shows an ST-500-attocube with a special flange mounted on the bottom that will interface with an optical table. From the outside, this special ST-500-attocube looks identical to the model ST-500-LGV microscopy cryostat, which has a 2.5 inch cold plate and 7 inch outer diameter vacuum chamber. Contact Janis for more information.
Special ST-500-LGV with 11 inch Diameter Vacuum Shroud
The customer-designed sample holder was very large so a large 11 inch diamter vacuum shroud was used.
Sample Extension for Magnetic Measurements
Using the same proven cryostat design as the regular ST-500 cryostat, the ST-500 for magnetic measurements features an extended sample mount for use inside the bore of a magnet. This extended sample mount may be purchased separately, or with a set of permanent magnets for measurements in fields of up to 0.5 T.
The photo to the right shows the ST-500 with extended sample mount and permanent magnet. The length of the extension may be specified at the time of ordering, and the position of the magnet relative to the sample is fixed using a Teflon spacer. The magnetic field direction is perpendicular to the plane of the sample.
The flexible ST-500 design means that the cryostat may be ordered with an extended sample holder and vacuum shroud for magnetic measurements, and a standard sample holder and vacuum shroud for other measurements. Switching between the two holders is as simple as changing samples.
A set consists of up to five interchangeable magnets: the full set allows measurements in discrete steps of 0.1 T. Existing ST-500 cryostats may be upgraded by simply ordering the special sample holder, vacuum shroud top plate and radiation shield cover.
Breakout Box Accessory for Electrical Measurements
For customers requiring multiple feedthroughs for electrical measurements, Janis can build a breakout box. The photo shown illustrates a special ST-500 with O-ring sealed top and bottom windows and breakout box.
Sample Extension and Breakout Box Accessory
O-ring Sealed Top and Bottom Windows
For customers who require soft windows that cannot be epoxy sealed, we offer the option of using an o-ring seal to install the windows. The lower window is recessed so that it is flush with the bottom surface of the cryostat. The photo shows a cryostat with o-ring sealed top and bottom windows. This cryostat also featured a breakout box.
ST-500 with Special NW-50 Top Flange
The photo to the right shows a model ST-500 with a special NW-50 top flange that will mate with a flexible bellows in the customer's existing equipment
ST-500 with Two Special Sample Holders and Black Anodized Aluminum Baseplate
The ST-500 shown has two special sample holders (DIP socket and special customer-design) and a black anodized Aluminum baseplate. The baseplate was designed to customer specifications so they can mount the ST-500 in their own set up. The ST-500 will be operated vertically. This baseplate design requires an adaptor flange. When the baseplate has clearance holes, instead of tapped holes, the customer can mount their ST-500 directly to the optical bench without providing any special hardware on their own.
Mounting Flange for Optical Table
This ST-500 includes a mounting flange to allow it to be bolted to an optical table.
Spare Top Plate
The photo to the right shows a spare top plate available as an accessory or upgrade for the ST-500 microscopy cryostat.
Special XY Manipulator Stage for Use with ST-500
Ultra High Vacuum Configurations ST-500-UHV cryostat for microscopy with a UHV sample environment.
This cryostat combines the already proven ultra-low vibration and thermal drift of the standard ST-500 microscope cryostat with UHV-compatible design features. This continuous flow cryostat includes the same heat exchanger design as the standard ST-500 resulting in a low thermal drift of ~2 nm/minute. It also has the same low base temperature (3.8 K) and helium consumption (~1.1 liters/hour) as the standard ST-500.
Fully bakeable to 175 °C (~450 K), this cryostat is true-UHV and is equipped with a viewport configured for short working distance measurements. Different window materials are available to suit the required transmission range. Depending on the window thickness, the working distance can be as short as 1 mm. Like the standard ST-500, this versatile design can be modified to accept internal nano-positioning stages for x-y-z motion. Systems incorporating nano-positioning stages utilize flexible UHV copper thermal braids for sample cooling. The cryostat can also be configured for reflection or transmission measurements, and includes electrical feedthroughs allowing a range of electrical measurements to be performed. The ST-500-UHV can be used with liquid helium or liquid nitrogen, and will operate in any orientation. Janis can supply a complete turn-key package, including temperature controller and pumping station. Contact Janis today to see how the ST-500-UHV can be tailored to meet your specific experimental needs.
Superconducting Magnet for High Resolution Microscopy
Designed to operate with a Janis high stability microscopy cryostat, this system allows microscopy measurements to be performed in fields of up to 6 T. The system comes with X-Y-Z translation stages for sample scanning and focusing, and is designed for magneto-optical imaging at helium temperatures. Click here for details.
Micro-Manipulated Cryogenic & Vacuum Probe Systems for Chips, Wafers and Device Testing
The Janis ST-500 series probe stations are high performance research instruments designed to provide affordable vacuum and cryogenic probing of wafers and devices. The proven ST-500 cryostat is the platform for these probe stations, and includes low vibration technology (originally designed for high spatial resolution optical microscopy) to provide outstanding sample positional stability. Researchers around the world are using these systems to conduct research in a wide variety of fields, including MEMS, nanoscale electronics, superconductivity, ferroelectrics, material sciences, and optics. Click here for details.
© 2019 Janis Research Company, LLC Policy Statements Find us on Facebook for technical support tips and discussions, new product information, and a behind-the-scenes look into Janis Research.
We use cookies to personalize and enhance your experience on our site. Visit our Privacy Policy to learn more or manage your personal preferences. By using our site, you agree to our use of cookies.


text:
You don't have any saved vehicles!
Look for this link on your favorites:
Once you've saved some vehicles, you can view them here at any time.
CARFAX 1-Owner, Excellent Condition, LOW MILES - 39,563! FUEL EFFICIENT 26 MPG Hwy/20 MPG City! Sunroof, NAV, Heated Leather Seats, 3rd Row Seat, Power Liftgate, Rear Air, All Wheel Drive, ALL-WEATHER FLOOR MATS, Alloy Wheels AND MORE!
Leather Seats, Third Row Seat, Navigation, Sunroof, All Wheel Drive, Power Liftgate, Rear Air, Heated Driver Seat, Back-Up Camera, Turbocharged, Premium Sound System, Satellite Radio, iPod/MP3 Input, Onboard Communications System, Aluminum Wheels Rear Spoiler, MP3 Player, Privacy Glass, Keyless Entry, Remote Trunk Release.
ALL-WEATHER FLOOR MATS. Mazda CX-9 Grand Touring with Sonic Silver Metallic exterior and Black interior features a 4 Cylinder Engine with 227 HP at 5000 RPM*. Non-Smoker vehicle, LOW MILES
Edmunds.com explains It feels more athletic than competitors on a winding road and is more maneuverable in trickier confines. The CX-9 has good straight-ahead stability on the highway and delivers crisp response when turning.. Great Gas Mileage: 26 MPG Hwy.
This CX-9 is priced $1,700 below NADA Retail.
CARFAX 1-Owner
Pricing analysis performed on 7/9/2020. Horsepower calculations based on trim engine configuration. Fuel economy calculations based on original manufacturer data for trim engine configuration. Please confirm the accuracy of the included equipment by calling us prior to purchase.
Pre-owned vehicle pricing includes all offers and incentives. Tax, Title and Tags not included in vehicle prices shown and must be paid by the purchaser. While great effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, errors do occur so please verify information with a customer service rep. This is easily done by calling us at 832-460-4328 or by visiting us at the dealership.
**With approved credit. Terms may vary. Monthly payments are only estimates derived from the vehicle price with a 72 month term, 5.9% interest and 20% downpayment.
*Number of views in last 30 days
† Based on 2017 EPA mileage ratings. Use for comparison purposes only. Your actual mileage will vary depending on how you drive and maintain your vehicle.
At Jeff Haas Mazda, we simplify the car buying process, and work diligently to ensure your complete satisfaction. From our stunning new Mazda cars and SUVs and used vehicles we have in stock, to the amazing financing and leasing deals you'll find, to our reliable and trustworthy parts and service departments, there's a lot to love about Jeff Haas Mazda.
You don't have any saved vehicles!
Look for this link on your favorites:
Once you've saved some vehicles, you can view them here at any time.
16711 Katy Freeway • Houston, TX 77094Get Directions
Open Today! Sales: 9am-9pm
Open Today! Service: 7am-7pm
Open Today! Parts: 7am-7pm


text:
Reports of multibillion-dollar oil talks between Iran and Russia are emerging as the latest obstacle to a comprehensive pact eliminating the threat of an Iranian nuclear arsenal. The Obama administration is weighing potentially deal-breaking sanctions if a contract is completed.
The Russian business daily Kommersant has reported Russia plans to buy 500,000 barrels of Iranian oil a day, shattering an export limit under the interim nuclear agreement world powers and Iran reached last year. Moscow and Tehran are far from finalizing the contract, the newspaper said, but the U.S. has expressed alarm.
A senior U.S. official said the administration had no information suggesting the oil-for-goods contract had been reached.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
The arrangement would break the interim agreement reached in November in Geneva and potentially trigger U.S. sanctions, said the official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name and briefed reporters on condition of anonymity. But the official didn't say the deal would force the U.S. to slap new economic sanctions on Iran — a move that would likely wreck the entire diplomatic process with Tehran.
Critics of the Obama administration's outreach to Iran want a clear marker outlined.
In a letter to the president Monday, Congress' leading sanctions drafters said the U.S. must re-impose all penalties on Iran suspended under the interim pact if Russia and Iran move forward. "We urge you to put Iran on notice," said Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Mark Kirk, R-Ill.
Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's top Republican, said Iran and Russia were testing America's resolve. "The administration must be prepared to restore all sanctions if Iran cheats," he said.
The six-month interim agreement, which went into effect in January and expires in July, allows Iran to continue exporting a total of 1 million barrels a day of oil to six countries: China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Washington pledged no financial penalties against them as long as they weren't boosting purchases.
But the promise didn't apply to Russia, which wasn't an existing customer of Iran's petroleum industry. And the Obama administration has been raising its concern with Moscow for months about any moves that would lessen the economic pressure on Iran, including in discussions between Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Any concrete progress on the oil-for-goods proposal would put President Barack Obama in a bind. If he publicly threatens too forceful a response, he risks opening up a new rift with Russia at a time the two countries are trying to maintain cooperation on nuclear and other matters even as they go through one of the worst crises in decades related to Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.
But if the president and his administration fail to dissuade Russia and Iran from moving forward, the interim agreement that forms the basis of America's ongoing diplomacy with Iran would be undermined. The U.S. and the United Nations say Iran is living up to its commitments thus far, and officials have expressed increased belief a final deal may be taking shape, averting the possibility of a future military confrontation.
The Russian-Iranian oil deal could provide Tehran with billions of dollars, according to experts, softening the blow of years of U.S. and international sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy and helped end more than a decade of deadlock in nuclear negotiations. Iran insists its program is solely for peaceful power production.
Mark Dubowitz, a leading sanctions proponent with the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the barter should trigger immediate U.S. sanctions against Russia and Iran.
Dubowitz said his understanding was that Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed earlier this year not to move on the deal until August, after the interim agreement would in theory be replaced by a final accord. But he said Putin's assurance came before the Crimean crisis and may no longer hold.
If the Obama administration were to unblock suspended sanctions or adopt new ones, nuclear diplomacy with Iran likely would fall apart. For that reason it opposed an effort earlier this year by Menendez, Kirk and other senators to adopt new, conditional sanctions on Iran to go into effect if Iran violated the interim agreement or let it expire without a follow-up accord.
U.S., Iranian and international negotiators will start drafting a final agreement next month, the senior U.S. official said last week in a surprisingly optimistic assessment. The official said negotiators hoped to clinch the pact before July 20, without need for a further six-month extension of the interim agreement, as many had envisioned.
Citing unidentified sources close to the Russian government, Kommersant said a Russian-registered oil trader without an international presence would be tasked with purchasing the Iranian oil. The objective would be to limit Russia's exposure to U.S. economic pressure that could be applied to a global player like state-controlled oil giant Rosneft.
Still, it would be difficult for Russia to gain immediate access to the petroleum since most Iranian oilfields are far from the Caspian Sea through which the oil could be shipped, and lack the infrastructure to ensure deliveries.


text:
Meet the Challengers!
Meet the 10 candidates " Kim, Clint, Becky, Chanel, Amanda, Tracy, Brad, Joni, Tom and Kristina " who will compete against each other to lose weight and win amazing prizes. Dr. Phil and Dr. Travis Stork, host of the Emmy Award-winning show The Doctors, shake up the competition by dividing the group into Team Dr. Phil and Team Doctors, who'll go head to head.
Click here to sign the pledge to join Team Dr. Phil!
Click here to sign the pledge to join Team Doctors!
Team Dr. Phil
Age: 39
Weight: 224 pounds
Used to be an in-store Barbie model, but now calls herself "unbearable."
Age: 34
Team Doctors
A fashion photographer and mother of two. Says the industry is all about appearance, and she wants to lose weight so she won't lose clients.
Calls herself an emotional eater. Made a promise to her dad on his deathbed that she would get healthy so she can go surfing for him.
The 17 Day Diet
by Dr. Mike Moreno
This book is only available for purchase online. Click here to get your copy today!


text:
Chief Keef allegedly backed out of a Cleveland breast cancer charity concert hours before he was slated to appear, according to TMZ.
Kim Productions says it paid the Chicago rapper at $15,000 deposit to perform at the RapCure cancer benefit in June 2013, court documents say.
The lawsuit claims Chief Keef did not show up on time, which led to the cancellation of the concert and a refund to ticketholders.
Kim Productions is seeking $26,000, which includes the $15,000 deposit and another $2,500 paid to Chief Keef for travel, as well as the cost for the theater, lights, equipment, advertising and ticket refunding, TMZ says.
RELATED: Chief Keef Tweets About Stolen Marijuana While In Rehab


text:
Sodexo in Russia
Russia growth spurs Sodexo activities
In Russia's numerous metropolitan centers, strong growth and low unemployment has created a virtual 'talent war', with companies looking to Sodexo's Benefits & Rewards Services for ways of ensuring employee satisfaction. Simultaneously, growing awareness of the value of outsourcing non-core business functions has kept demand high for Sodexo's On-site Services since 1992.
Easing transition to outsourced services
While well-established and thriving in Remote Sites and Corporate fields, Sodexo is also working to develop its business in Education and Health Care too, in part because of increasing government willingness to partner with the private sector. Says Edi Perisic, CEO of On-site Services, Russia, "Since 2009, 2010, we have observed that Russian companies linked to the state have started outsourcing, in order to increase productivity and focus more on their core business. This has been a real revolution as traditionally, Russian companies prefer to maintain control of the entire process."
In 2012, GazProm, Russia's oil & gas giant, decided to embrace the outsourcing trend. When Sodexo took on the responsibility of modernizing the services that deliver workers 25,000 meals a day for truck manufacturer Kamaz, the challenge was to integrate the 400 Kamaz employees while maintaining productivity. "In fact, productivity was improved," says Edi Perisic. "We took the team, the managers, trained people, reorganized the structure, implemented our processes, and within two months we saw a significant increase in the number of people eating in the restaurants. Our global and proven expertise makes us an ideal partner for companies willing to make the switch."
Industry seeks out Sodexo's advice to retain talent
With its burgeoning consumer market, Russian employees are becoming more sensitive to quality of life issues. "The Quality of Life concept is very important today, as Quality of Life services have a direct impact on the engagement of our people and our clients' people. With low unemployment rates around the country, they also become a motivation tool enabling our clients to retain their staff" says Edi Perisic. For Sodexo's Benefits & Rewards Services team, these motivation tools take the form of gift or meal passes, like the multi-branded restaurant pass, which can be used in 800 partner restaurants in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. According to Anna Thomas, Marketing Manager for Benefits & Rewards Services, this market is still young; "the concept of meal and gift vouchers is a relatively new one in Russia." Vladimir Lysenko, CEO for Benefits & Rewards Services, adds that because the market is in its early stages, Sodexo is sought after for market advice: "We often play the role of consultant searching how to be more competitive in finding, recruiting, keeping and developing talent."
Regional understanding key to success
In dynamic Moscow, with its population of almost 12 million, offices are organized into business centers and workers often eat lunch in the business center canteen. Meal Pass offers choice and flexibility - crucial in Moscow, says Anna Thomas, "where traffic is really bad, so if you have a meeting out of the office, you could wait 2 hours in traffic to get back to the canteen. Having a meal pass means you can eat wherever you are in the field." Northerly, industrial St. Petersburg has different needs from Moscow, as blue-collar workers have limited time for lunch, and are less likely to brave colder temperatures outside. Here clients have had success with Gift Pass as a way to motivate employees, with a marked preference for local shops and local brands.
A leading light for women-friendly workplaces
As in other countries, Sodexo Russia points to the importance of its people in its success. Gender diversity is particularly strong – Sodexo Russia is really a poster-child for female advancement in the workplace. Of a total workforce of 5,127 employees across the country, 82% are women. These figures are partly rooted in history, but Sodexo's women-friendly workplace goes beyond demographics, with programs like the one offering flexible hours to female workers caring for children and seniors. Such programs are having a positive effective on the advancement of women: a whopping 361 women - compared to 112 men – hold managerial positions such as site manager, administrator, or production manager. Four out of the six members on the Executive Committee are women too. Clearly, when it comes to promoting women workers, Sodexo Russia could teach its European neighbors a thing or two.


text:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine is kicking into high gear for the second half of its freshman season.
The best performances of the year
In this exclusive first look, the Fox comedy's new key art throws back to old school cop shows and movies with an action-packed poster highlighting a high-kicking Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg). The new art puts the most beloved traits of each member of the squad on display, such as Santiago's tough-cop demeanor, Terry's charm, Gina's ability to sort papers and even Captain Holt's love of ties! (Sadly — but not surprisingly — no one was able to photograph Rosa smiling.)
The release of the new image comes as Brooklyn Nine-Nine prepares to kick off a run of all new episodes, including its big post-Super Bowl episode featuring the return of Fred Armisen.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine returns with new episodes on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 8:30/7:30c on Fox. What do you think of the new key art?


text:
With the late withdrawal of Sam CHAN's (HKG) defending champion Ffree Fire, the IRC A Racing Division is up for grabs and the six remaining racers will all fancy their chances. Local skipper Frank PONG (HKG) is hoping to carry off his first China Sea Race double of line honours and corrected time on his 75 footer, Jelik, but will be competing against almost identical sister boat, Boracay, helmed by Britain's Peter MORTON.
Ten yachts will contest IRC Division B, which does not denote smaller boats, but reflects the lower handicap ratings of the entrants who are all Hong Kong based, except for the Philippines' Martin TANCO on X452 Challenge and Shanghai's Steve MANNING (CHN) on First 44.7, Walawala.
Hong Kong Regulars Line Up
Australia's Geoff HILL on Lyons 49 Strewth will be in good company in the IRC Premier Cruising Division with Hong Kong regulars Hocux Pocux 2, Shahtoosh and Moonblue 2 being joined by the new Dubois Global 80 Intrigue, from New Zealand.
In the HKPN division, along with three other yachts and two multihulls, Russian entry Carrera is expected to arrive in Hong Kong late tonight or tomorrow morning, having sailed from Vladivostok to take part in the race.
Start Times
- IRC Divisions A and B - 1205 local time
- IRC Premier Cruising - 1215
- HKPN and Multihull - 1225


text:
In the spring I, a recent Russian immigrant and a photo-enthusiast, was taking a combination-course at Palomar College toward the fulfillment of the prerequisites for a degree in bio-chemistry. It was no ordinary course as it combined philosophy, religious studies and critical thinking under one umbrella. It was taught in a large auditorium and had 90+ students. In that class I met people and was exposed to ideas that would shape my path in life and steer me onto the path of becoming an artist.
I became friends with Melinda and introduced her to another one of my school chums - Ryan. They quickly hit it off and we all spent a lot of time together. Little did I know that one week before the finals I would find myself in a Greyhound bus, on a ticket bought for me by my new friends, headed to Northern California for a summer adventure of a lifetime. Among other wonderful stories that are still fresh in my memory is the moment that I envisioned The Photo Palace and I shall regale You, me dear reader, with it now.
That summer was my first time attending an annual celebration of spirit called The National Rainbow Gathering. These have been held since 1972 in various states and across the globe and that year it was in north-central Oregon. There I camped in the area known as Bus Village - a large woody meadow with large vehicles strewn about. Among them was a bus which housed a glass-working space operated by an artist named Bear (or is it Bare.... I didn't ask for the spelling). The back of it had a kiln and a work-bench, major vents and some more equipment known only to the torch-workers. The front part was a living room space with all dark wood finish, which made it feel more like a log cabin than a vehicle. To solve the bedroom dilemma a cut-off VW microbus was fitted on top and along the perimeter under the windows, in small planters, grew various tomatoes, chives and other greens.
The thought of a traveling darkroom was firmly planted in my head. By 19 I have been involved with photography for 7 years and the thought of being an artist had been floating around in the back of my mind for quite some time. Now I could see it - a traveling darkroom in a BUS! A working space that is also livable and mobile. How much better can it get? Unfortunately at that time I was flat broke and the idea had to be put on the back burner.
When I came back from my travels I switched my major, got a degree from Palomar and went on to study photography at San Jose State University. During my studies I learned about such amazing photographers as Prokudin-Gorsky, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, and Weegee. All of them made stunning photographs while constantly on the move. Moreover, a lot of photographer had not only a studio component to their traveling rig, but along with it a fully functional darkroom. The idea of the bus was eating deeper and deeper into my brain and was at the same time becoming more defined. The necessity of the addition of a studio space became clear.
All along one nagging thought kept buzzing around like a tired fly on a hot summer day - what am I, an artist who can barely change the brakes on a Toyota Camry, am going to do with a 22.000 pound monster like a school bus? That fear kept me from plunging into this project with full force. For 10 a number of years I kept collecting equipment with a mantra or "I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it...". By the time I met Ryan in the summer of 2007 all was in place and the tension was reaching crescendo, but that part of the story is best left for another short story of it's own.