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Rosie Pizza Bar is a cozy neighborhood pizza spot where you can find our signature pan pizzas alongside beers from amazing local breweries
Gluten-Free Dishes - Don't eat gluten? No problem! Try our awesome gluten-free dishes!View our menu
Handmade Pasta - There's nothing quite like fresh handmade pasta!View our menu
Sustainable / Eco-Friendly - We try to do our part by being sustainable and eco-friendly!Call to Inquire
Family Owned - Family owned, friendly service and great food!View our menu
Catering - Cater your birthday party, holiday party, corporate events, wedding festivities and more!Catering Packages
Romantic Atmosphere - We're the perfect spot for a romantic date night!Call to Inquire
Great Sandwiches - We're known for our amazing sandwiches. Which is your favorite?View our menu
Great Pastries - Start your morning off right with one of our delicious pastries!View our menu
Chef-Driven - Our amazing chef-driven menu has something for everyone. Come try something new!View our menu
Local Ingredients - Support local! We source fresh local ingredients to make your food healthier and tastier!View our menu
Merch - We have awesome merch! Come check it out!Call to Inquire
Craft Cocktails - We have a killer craft cocktail menu. Come by and try something new!View our menu
Karaoke - Bring your friends and join us for Karaoke!Call to Inquire
Bridal Showers - Whether it's a bridal shower or rehearsal dinner, we can host your wedding festivities and make sure they are special!Call to Inquire
Freshly Baked Daily - We get here nice and early every day to ensure everything is baked fresh!View our menu
Pet Friendly - We're pet friendly! Come on down and bring your pup!Call to Inquire
Brew Our Own Beer - Our brewmasters make incredible and unique beers every day. Come see what's on tap!View our drinks
Craft Beer - We have an awesome craft beer selection! Come by and see what's on tap today!View our menu
Homemade Sauces - Make sure you try all of our awesome homemade sauces! Rich, zesty, spicy & more!View our menu
Family Reunions - We're the perfect spot to host your next family reunion or get-together!Call to Inquire
Great Wine Selection - We have an amazing and extensive wine selection. We'll help you choose the perfect pairing!View our menu
Award-Winning Food - Our award-winning food has something amazing for everyone!View our menu
Rosie Pizza Bar is a cozy neighborhood pizza spot where you can find our signature pan pizzas alongside beers from amazing local breweries
Don't feel like cooking today? We got you covered - order now!OrderSliceorder
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Great energy and happy hour. New to the neighborhood so this was a good place to stumble upon. Server Tim was very attentive and the pizza was *chefs kiss* delicious.
The best customizable pizza. I love it so much! Every weekend this is my go to place for delivery because it's so good!!!!!!
Best pizza in the neighborhood! The bartender Tim is an awesome guy and will take good care of you and your group.
Crust has been greatly improved since the last time I came. Airy, crispy, and delicious. Good to have a go to pizza spot in the neighborhood again.
Nice service and yummy pizza!!! Light and fluffy crust that finished with a ~crisp crunch~. Pretty good happy hour drink specials and nice casual place for weekday date or to hang with friends!!


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This animal, common on Texas highways, has a name meaning "little armored one." What is it?
The armadillo gets its name from its hide, made of interlocking scales. The Spanish word for "armed" is "armado," and the "-illo" ending is a diminutive. Around Texas, the armadillo is probably better known for its behavior of rolling into a ball when attacked, deploying its "armor" to good use.

subset: commoncrawl


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Christopher Hampton to Adapt Walter Isaacson's Acclaimed Biography of Leonardo Da Vinci for Universal (EXCLUSIVE)
Christopher Hampton, the Oscar-winning screenwriter of "The Father" and "Dangerous Liaisons," is set to adapt Walter Isaacson's acclaimed biography "Leonardo Da Vinci" for Universal Pictures.
Universal Pictures had fiercely chased rights to the hot literary property six years ago, and was outbid by Paramount, which developed the project with Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way. Now that Universal has finally secured those rights, it has tapped Hampton to pen the adaptation, which seems to be the perfect material for the Oscar winning writer whose movies typically lure A-list talent.
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Hampton's screenplays include "Atonement," "Dangerous Liaisons," "A Dangerous Method" and more recently Florian Zeller's "The Father," which won two Oscars, for best adapted screenplay and actor (for Anthony Hopkins). Hampton has also been celebrated for his plays and musicals that have garnered two Tony Awards, an Olivier Award, and the New York Theatre Critics Circle Award.
Hampton completed a first draft of the project prior to the WGA strike. It's unknown at this stage whether DiCaprio, who was previously attached to produce and star as Da Vinci, is still involved in the project.
Universal's senior VP of production development, Ryan Jones, will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.
Isaacson's book weaves a narrative that connects Leonardo Da Vinci's art to his science, and is based on thousands of pages from the painter and inventor's notebooks and discoveries about his life and work. The book also sheds light on lesser-known chapters of Da Vinci's life and personality. A pioneer who was then considered an outlier, Da Vinci received no formal education and was born an illegitimate child. He was also gay which was considered a crime in 15th century Italy.
Isaacson is a best-selling author and historian who is known for writing definitive biographies of powerful figures. Besides da Vinci, Isaacson has written biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and most recently Elon Musk. His book on Steve Jobs was turned into Danny Boyle's film which was nominated for a pair of Oscars for Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet.
Hampton is represented by CAA and Casarotto Ramsay & Associates. Isaacson is represented by CAA. CAA brokered the rights deal for Universal's adaptation of Leonardo Da Vinci.
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There is worldwide interest in the use of hydrogen as the basis for a future sustainable energy system with low carbon emissions. Cars powered by hydrogen-based fuel cells are widely regarded as the first major inroad into the hydrogen economy. However, a suitable material for on-board storage should be able to store a high weight-percent and high volume density of hydrogen and, equally importantly, rapidly discharge and charge this same amount of hydrogen at acceptable temperatures (typically around 50-100°C). This represents a particular challenging set of credentials for an ideal storage material and at present no known material meets these critical requirements. The GEM diffractometer at ISIS has been used in conjunction with the high resolution powder diffractometer, ID31, at the ESRF to determine the crystal structure of a new candidate material for hydrogen storage, Li4BN3H10. Importantly, the high count-rate of GEM enabled the material to be studied without any isotopic enrichment thus accelerating the ability to determine new hydride storage materials.
These ultra-lightweight materials, Li4BN3H10 (left) and LiNH2 (right), under development within the UK Sustainable Hydrogen Energy Consortium (UK-SHEC), offer significant hydrogen storage potential. Amazingly, they contain a higher density of hydrogen (illustrated as white spheres) than liquid hydrogen itself.
Further Information
Further information: Prof WIF David, [email@example.com] PA Chater et al., Chem. Comm. 23 (2006) 2439.


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So the much anticipated day has finally arrived. We met up at the airport for our journey out west.
We checked our bags made our way through security, and after a pretty much uneventful ride, next thing we knew we were standing in Bozeman Montana.
The air was cool, there was a nice breeze, and the scenery just seemed to welcome us. We jumped in our rental and headed towards Yellowstone with a brief stop over at the Garage.
A local restaurant with excellent sandwiches served outside so we could enjoy the lovely weather.
After refueling on pulled pork sandwiches we wasted no more time, and headed to our destination. After only a short time in the car we were greeted by an old friend, the mighty Yellowstone River.
This year she is a little bit more mighty than in years past due to the 200-300% snow pack from this past winter. We were accompanied by the beautiful scenery of Paradise Valley until we reached our good friends at Park's Fly Shop http://www.parksflyshop.com/ .
We talked shop with Richard the owner for a few, checked into our hotel, grabbed a little dinner and started talking about the plans for tomorrow.
Cache Creek is on the agenda, and we have a pocket full of sore lips to hand out.


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There are three designated "Behavior Leaders" in the VC SELPA. They are SELPA delegates to the Positive Environments Network of Trainers (PENT). The Positive Environments Network of Trainers is a California Positive Behavior Initiative designed to provide information and resources for educators striving to achieve high educational outcomes through the use of proactive positive strategies. The SELPA Behavior Leaders can be consulted for ideas and support by e-mail or visit the PENT website at www.pent.ca.gov for information and support from throughout the state.
Christa Johnson,M.A., LMFT, Social/Emotional Services Specialist, Ventura County SELPA, firstname.lastname@example.com
Sandy Smith, M.A., L.E.P., BCBA, School Psychologist, Ventura County Office of Education, firstname.lastname@example.com
Julia McCarter, BCBA, Behavior Specialist, Simi Valley Unified School District, firstname.lastname@example.com
SELPA collaborates with VCOE on supports and strategies to assist staff in their Response to Intervention models. CLICK HERE to access the VCOE handbook, Response to Instruction and Intervention RtI2 A Handbook for the Ventura County Model.


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About Us
The Mirarr are Traditional Owners of parts of Kakadu National Park, the Ranger and Jabiluka uranium deposits and parts of Western Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory.
The Mirarr are the Traditional Aboriginal Owners of lands in the north of Australia's Northern Territory
The Mirarr established Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation (GAC) in 1995 to assist them in managing a balance between sustainable development, traditional practice and living culture on their land.
All decisions about the strategic direction of the Gundjeihmi Aboriginal Corporation are made by the Mirarr board.
Uranium Mining
Uranium has had an impact on the lives of the Mirarr and their community for over four decades


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Harrow research update: 'It's a total team approach'
Year-round production is just one of the many initiatives now underway at North America's largest greenhouse vegetable research centre.
May 30, 2017 By Dave Harrison
June 2017 – Ontario's greenhouse vegetable sector is maintaining its commitment to leading edge innovation and automation.
On the world stage, it's definitely a star performer.
It's always an eye-opener to visit the Leamington/Kingsville region and view the pace of new construction. I've been making the trek from our Simcoe, Ontario, offices for more than two decades, and there have always been construction crews shuttling around the region during each visit.
You'd be hard-pressed today to find a concession in the region that doesn't have dust swirls from the movement of construction equipment and crews.
But equally impressive is what's going on within the structures – the endless trials of new varieties and new crops, the highly automated packing lines, the advancements in lighting strategies for year-round production, and the advances in pest management.
It's no coincidence that this level of growth and innovation is going on within a 30-minute or so drive of North America's largest greenhouse vegetable research facility – the Harrow Research and Development Centre.
It's interesting to note the sprawling Harrow complex is itself welcoming investment this year with construction of a new greenhouse. Completion is expected this fall, and it will be immediately put to good use – there's never any shortage of research ideas for the scientists there to tackle.
Harrow researchers work closely with the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers association in identifying major challenges and opportunities. Projects are not confined to the high-tech facilities at Harrow but also to commercial greenhouses in the area.
The Harrow team is a mix of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientists and technicians, along with research/extension specialists with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
Greenhouse vegetables are increasingly becoming a year-round brand in Canada, and much of the science behind this trend is being carried out at Harrow.
- The winter crop study is a comprehensive five-year project sponsored by the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the AgriInnovation program of Growing Forward 2. The project will conclude in 2018.
- A new project, specifically focusing on LED lighting, was also funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Dr. Xiuming Hao is leading the projects that involve AAFC colleagues at Harrow, Guelph and London research centres; the University of Guelph; and OMAFRA specialists.
Lighting is making it all possible, and the research has to account for all the variables associated with lit crops. They're looking at the complete package, including nutrition, pest and disease management, and energy efficiency issues, among others.
Year-round market demand for locally grown vegetables: The market is asking for locally grown, consistent quality, premium brand produce year-round. Winter prices tend to be a little higher, and retailers prefer to work with a single supplier, rather than having to look to other suppliers in the winter – and that's all good news for growers.
The current projects are building on work from earlier studies on crop lighting, including:
- From 2004 to 2008, the focus was on year-round production of cucumbers – long English and mini. Using HPS lighting, annual cucumber yields were increased by 100 to 150 per cent in comparison to unlit crops.
- And then from 2009 to 2013, researchers turned their attention to hybrid lighting systems – overhead HPS and intra-canopy LEDs – in a vertical lighting strategy with tomatoes. Roughly 60 per cent of the lighting was on top, with LEDs supplying the remainder within the canopy.
Supplemental lighting of tomatoes by itself can be too much of a good thing – the plants are sensitive to extended photoperiods, often leading to leaf chlorosis problems if the plant is pushed beyond its limit.
Dynamic Temperature Integration: Hao's group came up with Dynamic Temperature Integration (TI) strategies. This involves a pre-night temperature drop of a half hour to two hours or so. The larger surface area of the leaves means they will cool faster than the fruit. This redirects the plant growth balance more towards the fruit for higher yields. It also means less chance of leaf chlorosis.
It's important that the 24-hour temperature setting is maintained by incorporating slightly higher daytime temperatures.
The other benefit is that the lower evening temperatures also mean energy savings, especially within greenhouses that don't have energy curtains. "With
energy curtains," Hao explains, "the savings aren't as great."
Next up were mini-cucumbers. Thanks to improved micro-climate management and optimization of lighting, they have been able to extend the lifespan of the crop from three to six months. Just as impressive, there has been no need for pest sprays during trials the past two years.
With a conventional system, four crops are grown each year, with yields of about 15 kgs/sq/m per crop.
However with lighting, they grew a single winter crop from October to March achieving yields of about 60 kgs/sq/m. Adding a summer crop, then, would mean a doubling of the normal year-round yields with conventional crops. There would also be considerable savings on transplants and labour.
The team then looked at peppers last year, and again achieved impressive results. The key was cultivar selection – some respond well to lighting, while others do not.
The crop was planted in October and was finished in mid-April. Yields of 20 to 21 kgs/sq/m were recorded in the best treatment, and the trial was only terminated because the plants had outgrown the height of the greenhouse. Given a taller structure, the crop could have kept producing through to the end of August.
Normally, in a regular commercial greenhouse, full-year production yields of 25 to 28 kgs/sq/m are achieved.
Hao is looking forward to the fall and the completion of Harrow's newest greenhouse that will be seven metres to the gutter, and able to accommodate the growth of the lit pepper crop. "This new greenhouse will allow us to finish the pepper trial and have a full year with the crop. But the early results are very promising."
The new greenhouse will also feature anti-reflection coating on both sides of its diffused glass.
The Dynamic Temperature Integration (TI) strategies were also applied to the pepper trial, and with excellent results. Despite the longer photoperiod, there was very little leaf chlorosis. It also improved yields in March and April.
TI is now being applied to cucumber crops – long English and minis.
Far-red LED Light: Work is also continuing on work with Far-red LED Light. Under HPS lighting, leaves tend to be small and compact. A lot of the light ends up on the floor and is not intercepted by the leaves. The more light that is intercepted by the canopy, the better the rate of whole plant photosynthesis.
There is a solution. A small dose of Far-red light on the top of the crop will make the leaves and canopy bigger because the plants think they are being shaded. They will stretch and the leaves will grow larger to intercept more light, resulting in faster early growth and a high early yield.
"And you only need a small dose," Hao explains.
The treatment has worked well on tomatoes. Trials last year with cucumbers were not as impressive, but that's because the plants grow so fast.
This year the team is turning its attention to sweet peppers. Being a slower growing crop, much like tomatoes, the plants were quite compact under HPS, so the expectation is that the sweet pepper trials will achieve similar results as seen with tomatoes.
Vertical distribution light recipes: In the LED lighting study funded by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Hao is working with colleagues at several centres and looking at vertical distribution light recipes for all three major crops.
"With LEDs you have a very narrow light spectrum," says Hao. "You can change the light composition recipe."
Considerable LED work has been done with leaf vegetable crops, such as lettuce and basil, but not as much with the larger fruiting vegetable crops, such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
LED lighting will improve leaf growth, and with crops such as lettuce and basil, that's what you want. However, with tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, researchers want to see the benefits also in the fruit. "We want to have good leaf growth and photosynthesis," says Hao, "but we also want good fruit quality and improved yields."
The vertical light distribution profile can be optimized by LEDs. Earlier studies looked at the intensity of light distribution, but now they'll now also be looking at the light spectrum distribution. "Within the crop," notes Hao, "the requirements for leaf growth and canopy growth will be different than the requirements for fruit growth." Each will require a different light spectrum.
For example, you can increase the anti-oxidant content of cucumbers by applying blue LED light to the fruit.
"You want to have the optimal vertical light distribution with the proper light recipe. You want light that is good for leaf growth to produce high yields, and light that is good for fruit growth with high nutritional value and better fruit quality.
- Dr. Rong Cao of the Guelph Research and Development Centre of AAFC is a food anti-oxidant specialist. He will be looking at light recipes to improve the anti-oxidant content of tomatoes, cucumbers and sweet peppers.
- Prof. Bernie Grodzinski of the University of Guelph and graduate student Jason Lanoue are studying how LEDs can improve the translocation of photo-assimilates from the leaves to the fruit to increase yields.
- Dr. Aiming Wang of the London Research Centre of AAFC is looking at how light recipes can improve virus resistance.
- Harrow colleagues Dr. Rose Labbé (pest management) and Dr. Geneviève Marchand (plant diseases) of AAFC, and OMAFRA extension specialists Shalin Khosla (crop specialist) and Cara McCreary (pest management) are other key researchers on the projects.
"It's a total team approach," says Hao.
More and more greenhouse vegetable growers are moving into year-round production, and some of the big questions hover around pest management.
The industry has a pretty good handle on how bugs and predators interact during regular growing seasons and natural light conditions. But how does winter supplemental lighting affect their behaviour? What do growers need to know to keep things in check? Do the usual IPM strategies work under the lights? Entomologist Dr. Rose Labbé is answering those questions.
She and her pest management team are part of the five-year AgriInnovation project spearheaded by Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, with funding support from Growing Forward 2.
"Greenhouses are starting to take up this technology pretty readily," says Labbé, "so we have to know how our bugs are going to respond to lighting."
The project is entering its fifth and final year, with much accomplished and much yet to learn.
Insect response to supplemental lighting: Since pests like whiteflies are often more tropical in origin, will they respond with a population explosion, she wonders. In contrast, spider mites can undergo diapause in winter conditions, so the addition of lighting changes things.
Her team is studying generalist predators, including Orius and Dicyphus. The lights, they're finding, are no problem for them. They're establishing quite nicely under lit winter conditions.
In an Orius trial last year, the results were quite positive under blue LED conditions. This year their response to red LEDs is being tested.
Orius is used on pepper crops and is a good thrips predator.
Tests were also done last year with Dicyphus. It's more of a whitefly predator in tomato crops.
Dicyphus really responded well to the lights compared to a control group in unlit conditions. Researchers also counted the number of nymphs produced under all lighting treatments – LEDs and HPS – and found fecundity rates were at a pretty high level. This would translate to better suppression of pests like whitefly in the wintertime, sensitive to daylength, so it can keep replicating at a relatively high rate in wintertime. It's a mismatch with predators in the winter, Labbé stresses. So improving predator establishment in winter is important.
In addition to the effectiveness of predators, Labbé stresses the importance of growers starting with a clean crop, to minimize the amount of pest pressure at the start of any season.
Supplemental food sources: In a second trial, she is continuing work started by predecessor Dr. Les Shipp in studying supplemental food sources to establish and maintain predator populations. The use of supplemental food sources is quite common in Europe, but the practice is not yet as common in Canada.
"Here we have our own generalist predators, such as Orius insidiosus and Dicyphus, whereas Europe has its unique species, including Macrolophus and Orius laevigatus. So it was important for us to see how our predators would respond to these new diets."
There are two food sources being trialled – Ephestia (flour moth eggs) and Artemia (brine shrimp cysts).
Orius insidiosus didn't develop very well on the Artemia, but it did respond well to a combination of Ephestia and pollen. Dicyphus however, responded better to the Artemia.
Maintaining predator populations can be a lot cheaper than re-establishing them within the crop on a regular basis.
Some European firms have combined Ephestia and Artemia as a more economical option. Ephestia may be better nutritionally for the predators, but it's also a little pricier.
Labbé is also continuing work on Typhlodrompis montdorensis, a promising new predatory mite not yet registered in Canada. It's being used extensively in Europe with good success.
Working with thrips in Harrow pepper crops, Typhlodrompis topped all predators even though it had been shipped from Europe. "It is a potential new tool and effective under winter conditions."
In Europe, in a cool climate, its reproduction rate is quite high. It is not yet approved for commercial import.
Labbé has been working with OMAFRA colleague Cara McCready on some insect screening trials. While it can be quite effective, it is expensive. As well, Ontario summers can get quite humid and ventilation is a key consideration for growers. "We wanted to determine the maximum mesh size you could go and still control the targeted pests while maintaining good airflow."
Dr. Geneviève Marchand is the newest member of the team.
The plant pathologist completed her PhD studies at Laval University working with Dr. Richard Bélanger on a number of projects, including powdery mildew control. Her thesis focus was on a new biocontrol agent being developed to control powdery mildew in greenhouse vegetables and some ornamentals.
That research was her introduction to greenhouse vegetable pathology.
Of particular interest to her are biopesticides and integrated pest management (IPM).
At the time of my visit, she was just setting up her research program and looking forward to assisting growers across Canada. There are already a number of biocontrol products registered, and more are needed. "There is considerable research underway on developing more biopesticides and this is very good news because we need more of them."
She recently worked with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Pest Management Centre. "I'm well aware of the challenges in getting biopesticides registered."
She will also be researching ways of using existing disease biocontrol products as part of IPM programs.
The interest in biopesticides has been growing in recent years, she explains. They can be very effective, and a useful tool in managing the development of pathogen resistance to pesticides. Depending on their mode of action, the development of resistance is possible with biopesticides, "but generally speaking the risk is much lower than with most conventional pesticides. That's a big part of their attractiveness."
The Ontario greenhouse vegetable industry is showing no signs of a slowdown. Some 165 acres were added in 2016, said OMAFRA greenhouse vegetable specialist Shalin Khosla, and about 200 acres of new construction is underway this year. A number of 2018 projects are already on the drawing board.
The growth trend we've seen over the past two decades or so is continuing with enthusiasm; almost every concession in the Leamington and Kingsville areas has a construction crew or two hard at work.
Almost of all of the new construction is with glass, whereas for a number of years double-poly was the dominant covering with new projects. All three major crops – tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers – work well under glass. "The industry has learned to grow all three crops very well under glass," says
Khosla. "They're getting very good results with glass."
Double-poly used to have the energy-savings advantage, but energy curtains in the glass houses have evened the playing field. Some growers are even looking at double curtains to further improve energy savings within their glass greenhouses.
A number of growers with double-poly are also looking at curtains.
Major crops: Tomatoes are still the top crop in Ontario, followed by peppers and cucumbers. But there have been increases in some of the other crops, such as eggplants, strawberries and lettuce.
A growing trend is with the use of supplemental lighting, with several farms now harvesting winter crops. There are about 100 acres of lit greenhouses in the province, and that number is steadily on the rise.
Most of this is HPS lighting, noted Khosla, but there are numerous commercial trials underway incorporating LEDs, along with a few acres with LED-only lighting.
Leading edge lighting research has been carried out at the Harrow Research Station over the past four years as a project of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, OMAFRA and AgCanada, with funding provided by Growing Forward 2.
"There have been some very interesting results," said Khosla. The research has prompted growers to install lights because they're now more comfortable using them. "The growers who have installed them have seen good potential."
Consumers are asking for locally grown vegetables year-round, and the greenhouse sector is working to meet that demand. Lights are essential for winter production.
"Growers can provide high quality, locally grown vegetables produced at the highest food safety standards throughout the year."
Crop diversification: There is also a continued diversification of crops, including many new categories within each of the commodities. "There is so much variety for consumers, so many different shapes, sizes and flavours."
Most growers recycle their water, with very little – if any – discharge. There are several ways they're accomplishing this, said Khosla, including using high quality fertilizers and by being more precise in their watering and fertilizing program.
And when they do have to discharge water, it's safely done through the Nutrient Management Act with a Nutrient Management Plan, or with land application through the Ontario Water Resources Act of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Control. The third possibility is through the municipal sewer system, if that option is available to them.
More work is being done to further improve efficiency in the greenhouse, "so that there are fewer litres of water and fewer kilograms of fertilizer used to produce the same number of kilograms of product."
Industry innovation: A number of tomato and cucumber growers are growing winter crops under lights. Mucci Farms is one of them, now growing 15 acres of tomatoes under lights during the winter.
"The crop is doing very well," said Fabio Ingratta during my tour of the greenhouse in March.
"They always say that light is the most important factor in growing, and we've seen how well the artificial lights really work."
Growing methods and nutrition and watering programs have to be adjusted, he said, but the results are impressive. So much so that the farm is extending its lighting program into its other greenhouses and with other crops.
"The important thing is that we can now produce Canadian product 12 months of the year." The usual spring crop will follow the winter crop.
Ground cover replacement: Nick and Gene Ingratta of Allegro Farms make use of an innovative cart – it's like a modified appliance dolly – when it comes time to replace their ground cover.
In the past, their crews used to lift up the heating pipes and place them on hooks when replacing the ground cover, and would then have to return to lower the pipes once the ground cover was in place. It was exhausting work, with a lot of lifting. As well, resting the pipes on the hooks placed some stress on the roof.
The Ingrattas put new plastic down every year, so the process was a major undertaking.
However, the new cart has made things so much easier. It's now a two-person operation. The employee with the cart can easily raise the pipes several inches by lowering the cart handle, thereby raising the built-in pipe rests at the end of the cart. A colleague can then roll out the ground cover. After that, the cart is moved further down the row and the process repeated until the whole row has a new ground cover.
Automated packing line: Mucci Farms recently installed a state-of-the-art cucumber packing facility. They grow long English, mini and cocktail cucumbers.
Virtually every part of the process has been automated, from the transport of the harvesting bins from the greenhouse to the pack area, to the unloading of the cucumbers, and to the packaging and palletizing.
There are a handful of workers helping ensure the cucumbers move through the system with no bottlenecks, but it's largely hands-free.
The carts are also automatically cleaned in a high-pressure hot water sanitizing unit before being pulled back to the greenhouse.
"There is very little handling by our employees at all," said cucumber grower Guy Totaro. "Virtually all the tasks have been automated."
There is even a robotic arm unit used to pack cocktail cucumbers.
Greenhouse lettuce:Mucci Farms, one of the oldest greenhouse vegetable operations in the province, grows tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and eggplant. Reflecting the industry trend towards diversification, they've recently added lettuce (two acres) and strawberries (15 acres).
The newer crops are not for the faint of heart. "Both crops are very challenging, very easy to screw up," said Bert Mucci. "There's definitely a learning curve."
The lettuce crop is a highly automated floating production system, including the seeding, pot filling, fertilizing and transplanting processes. As well, the plants are automatically brought to a central packing area for greater harvesting efficiency.
The system is the first of its kind in North America.
They grow 6500 heads of Naked Leaf Living Lettuce a day. "You won't find anything fresher or cleaner than the way we're growing it," says Mucci.
The company has plans to add another four acres of lettuce.
Robotics research: Dr. Medhat Moussa of the University of Guelph has done considerable work with greenhouse robotics, and continues to work with growers on new initiatives. He's now developing robotic carts to assist with pest scouting programs.
Ontario greenhouse vegetable growers do indeed have a big appetite for leading edge automation and innovation.
CARA McCREARY
The past two Ontario winters have been relatively mild, so greenhouse vegetable growers have had to deal with slightly higher than normal pest pressures.
And one of the new tools they're using is sticky tape, which can be especially effective against whitefly.
Cara McCreary, the greenhouse vegetable IPM specialist with OMAFRA, says use of sticky tape for mass trapping has been growing.
She noticed a fair amount used in 2015. There was even more used last year.
"Many greenhouses that hadn't used it in 2015 started using it last year, and those who had used it were using it even more," says McCreary.
Some who had strung it every other row the year before were now using it over ever row. "They saw the difference in the rows that had the sticky tape."
It's not easy to put up, but it stays up throughout the season. And there are new clips being used that make it much easier to move up and down over the crop, and easier to install, too.
The tape, combined with an increase in biologicals, made a big difference to tomato and cucumber growers who faced significant whitefly pressures in 2015.
The mild winter may have contributed to slightly higher thrips pressures early in the season this year. One of its biggest predator threats – Orius – diapauses through the winter, giving the pest a head start in the crop.
McCreary has been involved with insect studies under winter lighting conditions, working closely with AAFC colleague Dr. Rose Labbé. The work is part of a five-year winter crop study sponsored by the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers and AAFC, with funding support from the AgriInnovation programs of Growing Forward 2.
There are still some questions of how the pests and predators will respond to the lights, she says. Some of them don't do well under regular winter short day conditions, so the lights may improve their activity. Good news if they're predators; not so good news if they're pests.
Among other projects, work with exclusion screening looks very promising. It's still a fairly new concept and some growers are worried about the reduced airflow during hot and humid summer conditions.
But depending on what you want to exclude, the screens can be quite effective with no major impact on the greenhouse environment.
In Mexico, they use screening down to about the whitefly level, a very small mesh size. While they may not have the same humidity levels as those of southwestern Ontario, they definitely have the heat.
Commercial trials are underway in Ontario. The mesh is large enough to let thrips through. However, the screen fabric is still keeping them out – the insects are possibly confused by the material. Populations were monitored outside the greenhouse and inside the greenhouse, "and there was a dramatic reduction in the number of thrips inside."
Greenhouse strawberries: McCreary is also looking at pest management in strawberries. This is a relatively new greenhouse crop in the region, but new acreage is being added each year.
She wants to know what pests and diseases are occurring, and what are the best controls.
"We can take some of the information from field production but we don't always get the same pests and diseases in the greenhouse that they do."
She's looking into existing biological control agents that might work with greenhouse strawberries, and will then do the trials to find the optimal rates.
They also need to know what other products may be required to support growers. There are some products available, mostly biopesticides and some conventional pesticides, but not many.
"We're looking for other products that could fit with strawberry production," says McCreary. "This will be a long-term, ongoing project of monitoring."
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Harley Davidson Passing Lamps
Apr 24 2012
The passing lamp bulbs for the 2006 and newer Harley Davidson motorcycles have changed from the traditional H3 bulb. The new bikes all come with the new PGj 13 base bulb, known as the Laser Lite. Brite Lites has four replacement bulbs for these to upgrade the light output and allow you to customize the passing lamps for your needs.
Xenon gas Blue, Yellow, Green, and Super clear halogen bulbs are all available. These are all a plug-n-play replacement and draw 50 watts of power. Packaged as a pair and available from all dealers and warehouse distributors. Part numbers are:
Xenon Gas Blue- 50w pair: BL-13B502
Xenon Gas Yellow-50w pair: BL-13Y502
Xenon Gas Green- 50w pair: BL-13G502
Super Clear Halogen- 50w pair: BL-13C502
Be sure not to confuse these bulbs with the modern H8/H11 trype bulbs. these look similar, but are a larger base and will not fit or plug into the passing lamp housing (H8/H11 bulbs are headlight bulbs)


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We all have it; that itch for exploring, to discover what's behind the closed doors of our cities, under our feet and overhead. Urban environments hide buried secrets of the past all around us and if curious enough, we can find them.
For a while now, I've been following the online imprint of a small rogue community that refers to what they do as 'urban exploration'.
"After dark, the city is ours," says Dsankt (alias name), photographer and founder of Sleepcity.net who 'plays' in the metro tunnels, abandoned buildings, bridges and rooftops of various cities he passes through.
Living a pseudo-hobo lifestyle, Dsankt has spent about two years in Paris, from what I can tell, dodging French security as he and his friends extensively explored the metro's tunnel systems along with its abandoned ghost stations. They also managed to climb their way to the top of some of Paris' most famous monuments by night, treating themselves to views of the city very few people if any at all, have ever been privy too.
Dsankt says he fell in love with Paris and its underground mazes as soon as he arrived. "The kind of love which inspires one to risk life, limb and deportation to get up close and personal."
He first went in search of Paris' much whispered about ghost stations. Difficult and extremely risky to access, some of these stations were abandoned during the war when metro employees were recruited to the military and never reopened.
Today, they're used by RATP (the French subway system) to store disused carriages or diesel powered work trains. "Anywhere the RATP stores trains is guaranteed to bring adventure," says Dsankt. But more rare are the ghost stations that never opened; never connected to the world above. For one reason or another, they were never finished.
Here are some carriages they found from the 1960s being stored in a ghost station.
The red carriages were for first class ticket holders and green, second class. Yup, there was a first and second class on the old metro system. Pretty amazing!
These are photos of hand painted ceramic tile adverts from the 1940s in the largest abandoned ghost station, St Martin. They have never been seen by the public.
Fellow explorer and photographer Sargent Marshall (another alias) who also documents his nocturnal adventures on Pridian.net admits, "If you met me you would never suspect that I could be behind all this." On the legality of what he does Marshall says, "We're not hurting anyone… so why would anyone care?".
The midnight wanderers go for a climb up the Grand Palais … (as you do). I've heard a beekeeper keeps several bee houses on the roof of the Grand Palais to make honey. Let's hope they didn't run into them!
The Pantheon …
See the guy up on the roof there?
Ofcourse, there are big risks to their midnight wandering. Dsankt recounts a few of his hairiest on his site:
"Being 10 seconds from running headlong into a ghost train [robot train] … They're unconcerned by our weak, fleshy bodies and totally indifferent to whether said body remains in one piece, or many smeared down 100m of track. It's inevitable that over the course of our adventures we'd encounter these beasts up close and personal."
"Hiding on the floor of a layed up train near molitor waiting for the cleaners walking by to leave."
"The looks on their faces [security guards] when, expecting bags of spraypaint, we opened our backpack and out came the pile of 1 series bodies and lenses."
"The police stopping beside us one night while we were trying to open a locked metro manhole with a street sweeper bristle. Then them deciding it was a catacomb manhole and asking us about the catacombs."
"Being chased away from a tunnel into a yard by a single security guard yelling "bougez pas bougez pas!". Yeah right!….We'd heard lots of stories about RATP security forgoing the usual legal punishments and simply beating up those found in the tunnels and kicking them out onto the street."
Dankst and his crew have gone further than just dodging the trains, they've even managed to start an abandoned metro car and take it for a spin …
"The manual was nowhere to be seen, the controls are labeled in cryptic french but we could get [the] puppy rollin."
So how's your thirst for exploration?
Or would you report these urban explorers if you caught them breaking the rules?
We're closer than you think, you and I. We've passed within grasp upon the streets, late at night when the misty clouds of warm breath momentarily hang in the air.
Dsankt, www.sleepycity.net
I'll leave you with one last quote from Dsankt's fascinating and poetic website.
– "What do you know about hopping trains?" I asked.
– "Git on 'em and go" he said.
– "Which ones?" I asked.
– "The ones that move."
The words thundered like the voice of God. [Evasion]
Learn more about the abandoned ghost stations of Paris with Sleep City's extensive documentation here and explore more stunning photography around the world from an urban explorer's life here.
Thanks to SleepCity.net and Pridian.net for taking the risks to bring us such an amazing perspective on Paris!


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Shale gas BASICS
Geologists define clay as any mineral in a rock with a grain
size less than 4 microns, even though the mineral may not be a clay
mineral. Silt is defined as a rock with particle size between 4 and
62 microns. Silt sized particles are usually non-clay minerals and
clay sized particles are usually clay minerals, although non-clay
minerals may also fall into this category.
From a petrophysical analysis point of view, clay-rich shales have traditionally been called "shales" and non-clay shales have been called "silts". Petrophysical analysis deals with minerals, not particle size, so it is confusing to us when a zone is called a shale when the logs show little clay is present.
An example is the Montney shale in northeast British Columbia. It is roughly 45% quartz, 45% dolomite, 10% other minerals (few of them are clay). The zone is radioactive due to uranium (not due to clay), so it looks a lot like shale on quick look log analysis; density neutron separation and PE values are also close to shale values. This kind of reservoir needs to be treated as a tight gas sand, as there is very little adsorbed gas.
Grain size definitions. "Clay Size" < 4 microns.
Resistivity scanner image of a gas shale with open (dark colour) and healed fractures (white).
Grain size chart
Others are radioactive silts with clay and kerogen, such as the Haynesville Shale, which is 50% clay and 50% quartz and calcite. This shale has low effective porosity and very poor permeability. Total organic content is moderately high and there is adsorbed gas, so it gets treated as a true gas shale.
Montney Formation in Alberta is totally different. It is roughly
a 50:50 quartz dolomite mixture with 5 to 30% clay..Migrated
secondary organic matter (bitumen and oil) matured into a range
of environments, from the late oil window theough to
the dry gas window. The present-day organic matter consists
almost entirely of pore-filling pyrobitumen, liquid oil,
condensate, and natural gas derived from the original
liquids migration jnto the otherwise kerogen-lean reservoir.
From a petrophysical point of view, the properties of
pyrobitumen and kerogen are similar enough that we can still
correct for either or both as long as we have some laboratory
TOC data to calibrate our work.
Below is a table showing the physical properties of some genuine gas shale plays. Note the low values for free porosity, typical water saturations in the porosity, and the relatively low values of adsorbed gas in some plays. Production rates and costs are for vertical wells in 2008, after stimulation. Horizontal wells and massive hydraulic fracturing jobs make these zones more attractive.
Below is a series of core photos of a gas shale showing the laminated nature of shale. Gas is adsorbed in the microporosity on the kerogen surfaces. The natural fractures along the shale partings help move gas to the well bore when well bore pressure is below formation pressure.
Visual analysis of
GAS Shale on well logs
The "forgotten" log, the temperature survey, might be useful if some gas has evolved into the wellbore prior to logging. There is a temperature sensor on most modern logging tool strings - just ask for it to be displayed.
Temperature log from a gas shale in New York state shows a significant anomaly (red) compared to geothermal gradient (black). Perfs shown in depth track have IP of 200 mcf/d. Other log curves are (left to right: PE (0 -- 10), neutron, density (2 -- 3 g/cc), density porosity). Porosity scale is 0.30 to --0.10. Temperature scale is 80 -- 85 degrees F.
The logging program should include the normal full suite of resistivity, density, neutron, PE, sonic, and gamma ray, plus spectral gamma ray, borehole temperature, elemental capture spectroscopy (ECS), and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Take care with interpretation of NMR results because the usual 3 ms cutoff used to find effective porosity (containing the free gas) may need to be shifted to 0 ms. The ECS is only needed if you want to run a multi-mineral analysis to find TOC and clay types along with the silt mineralogy.
Total Organic CARBON (TOC)
Gas shale contain predominantly Type II kerogen, as opposed to coal and coal bed methane reservoirs, which contain mostly Type III.
Various methods for quantifying organic content from well logs have been published. The most useful approaches are based on density vs resistivity and sonic vs resistivity crossplots. Other approaches using core measured TOC versus log data, for example density or sonic readings are also common. See TOC Calculation for details.
Sorption isotherms for a gas shale, as measured
When the sample no longer evolves gas, it is crushed and the residual gas is measured. A detailed description of the lab measurement of adsorbed gas is provided in the CBM Chapter.
Gas content (Gc) results are usually given as scf/ton or cc/gram, as shown in the example lab report below. Multiply Gc in cc/gram by 32.18 to get Gc in scf/ton.
GAS CONTENT Versus TOC
Gas content from correlation of core analysis data:
Adsorbed gas in place is calculated from the actual gas content found in the lab or from a correlation between TOC and gas content (generated from lab measured data). Examples of both data sources are shown below..
Gas in place is derived from:
log analysis model for shale gas is more complicated than for
conventional reservoirs. The total organic content (kerogen) is the
source of the gas and also takes up space. This space has to be
segregated from the clay bound water and conventional porosity. The
diagram at right illustrates these basic components. The
conventional porosity can hold free gas and irreducible water. The
clays hold the clay bound water, and the kerogen holds the adsorbed
SHale volume
volume calculation (be sure to adjust parameters by
calibrating to XRD or thin section clay volume).
shale gas intervals are radioactive due to uranium associated
with the organic content. When the thorium curve is missing, the
total gamma ray curve can still be used by moving the clean and
shale lines further to the right compared to conventional shaly
DENSker is in the range of 0.95 to 1.45 g/cc (975 to 1450
kg/m3), similar to good quality coal.
porosity - Shale and Kerogen Corrected
If the density log is affected by rough borehole, the shale
corrected sonic log porosity (PHIsc) can be used instead:
Effective porosity from a nuclear magnetic log does not include kerogen, so this curve, where available, is a good test of the the modified density neutron crossplot method shown above.
This step requires careful calibration to core porosity, shale volume, and TOC.
Some people use a multi-mineral or probabilistic software package to solve for all minerals, plus porosity and kerogen, treating the last two as "minerals". In the case of rough borehole conditions, this method gives silly results. Others use either density or sonic log analysis, using a fixed matrix value that includes the kerogen term. This is dangerous because variations in mineralogy and kerogen volume are not accounted for. Although the method can be calibrated to core inside the cored interval, a "one-log" approach is inadequate for such a complex environment.
Some so-called shale gas zones are really tight gas with little
kerogen or adsorbed gas, so the above equations work well
because they revert to our standard methods automatically when
Vker = 0.
Since the kerogen is not included in PHIe due to the
correction applied to the crossplot porosity, standard water
saturation methods are appropriate.
Although the math is simple, the parameters needed are not well known. The two critical elements are the volume of pyrite and the effective resistivity of pyrite. Pyrite volume can be found from a two or three mineral model, calibrated by thin section point counts or X-ray diffraction data.
The resistivity of pyrite varies with the frequency of the logging tool measurement system. Laterologs measure resistivity at less than 100 Hz, induction logs at 20 KHz, and LWD tools at 2 MHz. Higher frequency tools record lower resistivity than low frequency tools for the same concentration of pyrite. The variation in resistivity is caused by the fact that pyrite is a semiconductor, not a metallic conductor. It is nature's original transistor, and formed the main sensing component in early radios.
Typical resistivity of pyrite is in the range of 0.1 to 1.0 ohm-m; 0.5 ohm-m seems to work reasonably well. The effect of pyrite is most noticeable when RW is moderately high and less noticeable when RW is very low.
math is easiest when conductivity is used instead of resistivity:
The corrected resistivity can be plotted versus depth, along
with the original log.
Corrected water saturation will always be lower or equal to the
original Sw.
If CONDcorr goes negative, lower Vpyr or raise RESpyr
Capillary pressure data is needed to calibrate water saturation in the free porosity. Again, due to the low porosity, special lab procedures are needed. Some shale gas reservoirs have moderate to high water saturations, others can have very low values.
Micro- and nano-CT scanning with post processing can generate all these values from core or sample chips.
SHALE Gas In Place - FREE
SPREADSHEET -- ADSORBED and
FREE GAS FROM LOG or CORE
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A team led by computer scientists from examined ten of the most-cited datasets used to test systems. They found that around 3.4 percent of the data was inaccurate or mislabeled, which could cause problems in AI systems that use these datasets.
The datasets, which have each been cited more than 100,000 times, include text-based ones from newsgroups, and . Errors emerged from issues like Amazon product reviews being mislabeled as positive when they were actually negative and vice versa.
Some of the image-based errors result from mixing up animal species. Others arose from mislabeling photos with less-prominent objects ("water bottle" instead of the mountain bike it's attached to, for instance). One particularly galling example that emerged was a baby being confused for a nipple.
centers around audio from YouTube videos. of a YouTuber talking to the camera for three and a half minutes was labeled as "church bell," even though one could only be heard in the last 30 seconds or so. Another error emerged from a misclassification of as an orchestra.
To find possible errors, the researchers used a framework called , which examines datasets for label noise (or irrelevant data). They validated the possible mistakes using , and found around 54 percent of the data that the algorithm flagged had incorrect labels. The researchers found the had the most errors with around 5 million (about 10 percent of the dataset). The team so that anyone can browse the label errors.
Some of the errors are relatively minor and others seem to be a case of splitting hairs (a closeup of a Mac command key labeled as a "computer keyboard" is still correct). Sometimes, the confident learning approach got it wrong too, like confusing a correctly labeled image of tuning forks for a menorah.
If labels are even a little off, that could lead to huge ramifications for machine learning systems. If an AI system can't tell the difference between a grocery and a bunch of crabs, it'd be hard to trust it with pouring you a drink.


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Success Story - USA
When a leading innovator of integrated circuits, hybrids and modules used in industrial and aerospace applications that require high-power precision analog products, such as PWM and power amplifiers needed to apply semiconductor device characterization to their devices, they turned to the Probe System for Life (PS4L).
These precision amplifiers are used for driving motors, piezo electrics, programmable power supplies and other semiconductor devices requiring high power and precision control.
Manual PS4L Probe System with Compound Optics and Thermal Control System for Semiconductor Device Characterization
This semiconductor device characterization application required the ability to quickly change configurations from ambient to high temperature and the ability to probe semiconductor devices mounted on printed circuit boards (PCB).
For the semiconductor Failure Analysis (FA) application, one form of device characterization, high power magnification was needed to land probes on small structures. For this reason, a compound microscope was chosen. Probing on these small structures for semiconductor device characterization also required vibration isolation because the base of the PS4L system is integral to the vibration isolation system, the machine base became the table top for the isolation system. The devices to characterize were small and required a minimum of stage travel.
For this reason, the PS4L offered an advantage of a small but precise stage with micrometer drives for positioning. Within minutes, this small stage could be removed and replaced with the thermal unit custom configured to hold the device board at elevated temperature. The semiconductor device was then characterized using the same components used on the standard stage. The unique small thermal unit for packaged parts, small semiconductor wafers and fragments provided the customer with a significant cost advantage over using the thermal chuck solutions offered by competitors.
Versatile PS4L Manual Probing Platform used to Characterize Semiconductor Wafers, Devices and Packaged Parts
The PS4L probing semiconductor device characterization platform was designed to provide the customer many options on how to configure their system. All key building blocks are interchangeable. There are numerous accessories and modules that can be purchased initially or at a later date.
To learn more about our complete Wafer Probe Testing Solutions go here.


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Angry members write to party's NEC
Thousands of Labour members outraged at the behaviour of Labour deputy leader Tom Watson have signed an open letter to the party's National Executive Committee to express their complete lack of confidence in him.
The letter pulls no punches, describing Watson as 'shockingly unfit' for his position as well as criticising him for 'actively working against the current Leadership, the membership and the Party', for briefing against the party and its staff to the media and for his 'distracting and counter-productive little vanity projects'.
The letter goes on to attack Watson's failure " to have done a single tangible thing that has benefited Labour members or voters in his nearly 4 year tenure", before closing by asking the NEC to demand Watson's resignation:
Open Letter To The Labour NEC, We Have No Confidence In Tom Watson As Deputy Leader Of The Labour Party
We are Labour Party members who support the direction of travel for the Party.
We are greatly disappointed with the continuing conduct of Deputy Leader, Tom Watson who has repeatedly shown himself to be actively working against the current Leadership, the membership and the Party during his tenure.
From his derisory comments to the press regarding the party membership, to him mass blocking large segments on social media when he was elected to represent us.
From him briefing in the media against Party staff and Party policy, to showing an egregious misreading of the mood of Labour members and voters.
From his distracting and counter-productive little vanity projects that do not go anywhere, to his unmitigated inability to have done a single tangible thing that has benefited Labour members or voters in his nearly 4 year tenure.
We believe Tom Watson to be shockingly unfit to be Deputy Leader of the Labour Party.
We therefore demand that the NEC make representation to Tom Watson to resign as Deputy Leader. If he feels he still has the support of the membership (which he doesn't) then he should at the very least refresh his mandate.
The number of signatories is approaching 2,500, even before the letter has been much publicised.
Labour members who wish to add their signatures to the letter can do so here.
Neither Tom Watson's parliamentary nor his constituency offices were taking calls when contacted for comment.
The SKWAWKBOX needs your support. This blog is provided free of charge but depends on the generosity of its readers to be viable. If you can afford to, please click here to arrange a one-off or modest monthly donation via PayPal or here for a monthly donation via GoCardless. Thanks for your solidarity so this blog can keep bringing you information the Establishment would prefer you not to know about.
If you wish to reblog this post for non-commercial use, you are welcome to do so – see here for more.
(Full disclosure: the SKWAWKBOX's Steve Walker has signed as a Labour member)


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We have a wide range of excellent mentors at CultureLink. Paul Thorne is a great example (the tall man at the back). Paul became involved in the Syrian Men's Mentorship Program because he heard what was happening in Syria and could not imagine being forced to leave his own home due to war, especially with children. He and fellow mentor, Paul Oxley, conduct weekly classes to help the group practice English, learn about Canadian culture and other practical considerations about life in Canada. He explained that the most enjoyable part of this experience was seeing the mentees grow more confident in general and speak English more fluently as meetings progressed.
Paul says he has gained a great deal from the experience. "I have had the opportunity to develop my leadership style and skills. I have made connections with other mentors and mentees. I have watched some of the Syrian men grow more confident over the last six months – that is a real gift and privilege." He said that he would definitely recommend this volunteer experience to others, as he felt it was a rewarding experience and he could see the impact of his effort.
Thank you Paul, for your hard work, dedication and amazing impact here at CultureLink! The commitment and motivation of our volunteers is what enables us to create such inclusive and innovative programs here at CultureLink and we appreciate everything you have done for us and the community.
Would you like to get involved as a mentor with CCMP? Contact Terry Baker (email@example.com) for information on our wide array of programs and volunteer opportunities.


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When you think of gifted children, you might automatically picture kids who can read at an early age or solve math problems with ease. While intellectual capabilities are certainly part of giftedness, emotional intensity is also a component. Unfortunately, educators, parents and others often overlook this side of giftedness, missing an opportunity to help kids develop. Here's more on emotional intensity and how it manifests in gifted kids:
Defining emotional intensity
Gifted kids have a great capacity for intellectual thought, and the same is true for feelings. Simply put, they react more strongly to most stimuli. They may express extreme joy in a happy scenario or dramatic sadness in an upsetting one. Some psychologists note that gifted kids experience physical symptoms of their feelings, such as an upset stomach when nervous.
Often, emotional intensity goes hand in hand with other giftedness traits. Kids who experience high levels of emotions may be self-critical to the point of expressing perfectionism (another trait of some gifted children). Intensity is also linked to asynchronous development, in which gifted children are intelligent beyond their years but have the emotional sensitivity of kids who are younger.
Of course, not all gifted kids are perfectionists or experience emotional intensity, but extreme feelings can be a part of high intelligence.
What does that mean for your child?
If your kids are gifted and experience intense emotions, you should learn more about the trait and be ready to support your little ones. Let's look at some of the intensity traits we've already discussed.
Gifted kids who also experience intense feelings may be self-critical. They might take failure hard and blame themselves for shortcomings. Be supportive of your kids, and encourage them to stay positive even when bad things happen. Model a positive self-image by not criticizing yourself. For instance, if you drop a dish and it breaks, call it out as a harmless mistake rather than a terrible error.
Physical manifestations of emotion
Help your children discern the physical impact of their feelings. They might get nervous before a dance recital and say their stomachs are in knots. Talk about why their stomachs ache and how that relates to the recital. When the feeling goes away, discuss why that is. Eventually, your kids will be able to identify how they're feeling based on how their bodies act. Other symptoms linked to emotion are headaches, blushing and a sinking chest.
Advocating for gifted kids
Having gifted children is a challenge in and of itself, from making sure they get a tough curriculum to keeping them interested in school work. If your kids experience highs and lows, you'll also have to meet their emotional needs.
Many kids who are gifted are often criticized for being different, both intellectually and emotionally. They may cry over a seemingly innocuous situation, and subsequently be teased for it. Perhaps the most important thing you can do for your kids is reassure them that their feelings are valid and normal. Tell them it's OK to be angry, sad, happy or scared. Then, help them learn to cope with those intense feelings, whether that means taking plenty of downtime or avoiding certain stimulation.
Additionally, according to an article published in Gifted and Talented International, it is not uncommon for gifted children to be misdiagnosed. Professionals who are not familiar with giftedness could see emotional intensity as signs of personality or mood disorders, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder. Speak with your kids' psychologist about giftedness if you believe your children have this trait.
You may also choose to speak with your kids' teachers about emotional intensity to prevent educators from interpreting their sensitivity as a disruption.


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'Tis the season for gift giving! During the holidays, finding the right gift is only half the battle. Whether it's a DIY, up cycled or store-bought gift, you've still got to find a way to wrap it up. For decades, we've relied on massive rolls of printed paper wrapping to hide our presents from prying eyes. Yet every year, it only takes a few seconds to unwrap a gift, and all that shredded paper heads off to the landfill. In the interest of reducing waste (over the holidays and every day), we decided to collect a variety of creative, more sustainable ways to wrap a holiday gift. Some are recycled, some are reusable, but all will allow you to enjoy a holiday that's filled with fun, not waste.
Fabric ~ is the perfect reusable material for wrapping presents because it comes in lots of colors and patterns just like wrapping paper. In Japan, fabric wrapping is so prevalent; it's become an art form. Called "furoshiki" this practice uses time-honored techniques to create a package that is both lovely and completely covered. Look around your house for festive pillow cases, sheets, tablecloths, old drapes, or even socks that are the right size for your gift.
Clay pots ~ come in all shapes and sizes and are relatively easy to find at gardening outlets. Think about decorating the outside of the pot with paint or markers before nestling your present inside. If the pot comes with a dish for catching water, simply invert the dish and use it as a lid to cover your gift. If no drip tray is available, set the pot in the center of a large square of fabric. Bring the edges up in a bundle over the top of the pot and secure with ribbon or elastic. Voila! A personalized gift package that can be reused in the summer time!
Newspaper ~Wrapping paper is just that: paper that's been decorated to make a festive wrapping. When you think about it, there are lots of large sheets of paper available in our everyday lives. If you get the newspaper delivered to your house, think about saving up a week's worth for your holiday wrapping needs (the Sunday morning comics make for the most colorful wrapping, but even classifieds will suffice!). You can also opt for paper bags at the grocery store, making sure not to crumple them too much on the way into the house. When it comes time to wrap, use scissors to cut up one seam of the bag. This will enable you to lay it flat like a single sheet of wrapping paper. Same thing for the newspaper, which already comes in conveniently trimmed rectangles. Stickers, crayon, paint, and glitter can be employed to jazz up the final product.
Maps and old calendars ~don't have time to decorate your packages after the fact? No worries. Old maps and calendars are another source of relatively large sheets of paper that are already colorful in their own right. Since almost everyone in the world depends on Google to provide directions from point A to point B, there's little chance that you'll be searching for a paper map anytime soon. Calendars are only relevant for 365 days before becoming outdated forever but many have funny or beautiful images within. Instead of tossing these paper goods, keep them around as convenient wrapping for holiday and birthday gifts.
This creative information was supplied by inhabitat.com, a weblog devoted towards a smarter and more sustainable future. Image courtesy of roostinmadison.com


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BATON ROUGE, LA — April 9, 2019 — Today, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome announced the appointment of Dr. Pamela Ravare-Jones as ACAO overseeing the City-Parish Division of Human Development & Services, Human Resources, Employ BR, and Juvenile Services. Dr. Ravare-Jones will replace Dr. Tamiara Wade, who will transition to a new role as City-Parish Director of Juvenile Services. Dr. Wade will continue to facilitate the administration's education initiatives as well as the Women's Advancement Commission.
Dr. Pamela Ravare-Jones obtained her BS degree in Marketing from the Southern University College of Business and achieved her MBA focused on Business Marketing and International Business from Louisiana State University. She obtained her Executive Non-Profit Leadership certificate from Southern Methodist University and recently achieved a terminal degree, Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) specializing in Global Business and Leadership with a research focus on Leadership Competencies from California Intercontinental University. Dr. Ravare-Jones has also been accepted into Yale University's School of Management Women's Leadership Program.
"Dr. Ravare-Jones brings a fresh perspective and a wealth of business acumen and administrative expertise to my administration," said Mayor Broome. "Dr. Wade, a highly qualified administrator and educator, has been instrumental in developing and executing education initiatives for the City-Parish. She will bring her passion for impacting the youth of our community to her new role as head of Juvenile Services."
Dr. Ravare-Jones is an executive with over 20 years of extensive worldwide business expertise in corporate America, non-profit organizations, higher education, and international affairs. In her most recent executive position, at the Association of Latino Professionals for America (formerly known as the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting - ALPFA), Dr. Ravare-Jones served as the National Chief Operating Officer supervising the Los Angeles and New York City offices executing vital cross-business programs, directing process management improvements including the management of ALPFA's three-year strategic initiatives portfolio.
"I feel incredibly honored to accept this appointment within city government, returning to East Baton Rouge Parish to contribute my skills and talents ensuring efficiency and effectiveness across departments," said Dr. Ravare-Jones. "I look forward to playing a vital role in continuing the progression of strategic results as a member of Mayor Broome's senior staff."
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text:
Clark gift supports new biomed
A new biomedical engineering center, to be built with a $10
million gift from trustee A. James Clark, will allow The Johns
Hopkins University's nationally prominent biomedical engineering
program to expand its focus, strike out in new research
directions and enhance its undergraduate teaching program.
Construction of the building, which Clark's
gift will help underwrite, is the first step in the planned
creation of the Johns Hopkins Biomedical Engineering Institute.
The institute will foster collaboration among Hopkins faculty,
both in the Department of
Biomedical Engineering and in related departments, and
between Hopkins and outside researchers.
Full story...
Now hear this
If Hopkins undergraduate Serena J. Gondek had a mild case of
nerves before a speaking engagement last week in Minneapolis, it
was certainly understandable.
The 21-year-old
biomedical engineering
major had to describe her groundbreaking brain research to a
highly educated audience of physicians and other experts in
disorders of the nervous system.
Using electrodes implanted on the human cortex,
Gondek had located the part of the brain that appears to process
sounds while people sleep. This site, in the frontal lobe, may be
part of a vigilance system that rouses a mother when her baby
cries but lets the woman sleep when a truck rumbles by.
Full story...


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Royal Canin Size Health Nutrition XS Adult 8+ 1.5KG(Dry Food)
Suitable for very small dogs over 8 years old that weigh up to 4kg, ROYAL CANIN® X-Small Adult 8+ is specially formulated with all the nutritional needs of your small adult dog in mind. The content of nutrients in ROYAL CANIN® X-Small Adult 8+ are highly beneficial in supporting adult dogs like yours that are facing the first signs of ageing. Thanks to a balanced intake of fibres – including psyllium – ROYAL CANIN® X-Small Adult 8+ helps to support your dog's digestive health. Protein selected specifically for its high digestibility is included to help facilitate your dog's healthy intestinal transit. ROYAL CANIN® X-Small Adult 8+ also helps to support the health of your dog's urinary system. What's more, the kibble is both very small and very palatable. Meaning it's easy for your dog to pick up and chew with its small jaws, as well as appealing to the appetite of even the fussiest dog.


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Hi Gang – hoping you are all beginning to feel the Christmas spirit and looking forward to a wonderful new year in 2018!
Here at Lindy's we are beginning to feel a bit Christmassy and thought we would share some of the fun with you all – so we are going to have a Christmas Tag-a-long!!!!
From the 14th to the 25th of December, the Lindy's Design Team will be sharing one tag a day in the lead up to Christmas! We thought we'd share a little of the seasonal spirit and giveaway four $25 gift vouchers to the Lindy's store to people who play along as well!
You can enter the prize draw in any of the following ways (if you do all 4 of the following then you will have 4 chances to win):
- Sharing your own tag (using at least one Lindy's product of course!) on the FaceBook Creative Gang group please link to your blog post if you have one
- Sharing your own tag (using at least one Lindy's product of course!) on Instagram and tag your post with both #LindysGang and #LindysChristmasTagalong (so we can see it)
- Leave a comment on each of the 12 Tag-a-long blog posts here on the Lindy's blog or
- Comment on the tags shared in the FB Creative group.
Yes it's that simple – just join in the fun and then on Dec 26th (or the 27th!) we will announce the winners – so you might get a nice little Christmas present – plus loads on inspiration!
So it's my pleasure to kick off the Lindy's Christmas Tag-a-long and share the very first tag-a-long project oxoxo
Start by spraying a watercolor tag using Lindy's sprays in French Lilac Violet, TiffanyLou Blue and Silent Night Silver. Leave it somewhere flat to dry and then flick with white acrylic ink.
While the tag base is drying, coat different sized snowflakes in Lindy's Embossing powders – try and make each one unique! On this snowflake, I used Queen Sheba's Silver, Pop Rock Purple and Madonna Robe Blue Gold – heavy on the blue and silver!
For this snowflake, I used the same colors but added an extra layer of Pop Rock Purple – it matches so beautifully with the Queen Sheba's Silver!
Color a large paper flower with the same color sprays (French Lilac Violet and TiffanyLou Blue), but add LOADS of water to wash the colors out and make the flower pale and pastel. While it's drying spray with a few coats of Lindy's in Pearlescents, to add a delicate sheen to the flower. You can mop up any leftover spray and use it to color a piece of lace to use on your tag as well!
Once everything is dry, build your tag and embellish with color coordinating leaves, stamens, beads and a hint of glitter!
For a fabulously wintery sparkly Christmas tag.
I'm a little in love with my Lindy's color combination oxoxoxo
Lindy's Products
- Lindy's Sprays: Pearlescents, French Lilac Violet, TiffanyLou Blue and Silent Night Silver
- Lindy's Embossing Powder: Queen Sheba's Silver, Pop Rock Purple and Madonna Robe Blue Gold
Other Products
- Prima Silver Leaves, Prima 'Sweet Peppermint' Silver Druzy, Crystal Shred, Stickles: Stardust and Frosted Lace, Making Memories Metal Letters (vintage supply)
- Magnolia flower, Pearl Spray, Silver and White Stamensm, Paper Doily, Amsterdam White Acrylic Ink
- Which Craft Do You Do – Snowflakes and Oil Slick Beads
I can't wait to see what YOU all create!
TAG – you're it! Your turn …….


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Tonight CBC's Being Erica makes its big move to Wednesday night. It's a big move because, when it comes to ratings, Being Erica is turning into being a problem for the CBC.
A few weeks ago the show dipped to a dangerously not good 362,000 viewers. In comparison, Glee was airing at the same time as Being Erica and was easily pulling in more than two million gleeks. While the two shows can't really be compared, it certainly doesn't help make a case for keeping Erica Strange around for too much longer.
For me the show has never been better. While TV critic Bill Brioux disagrees, I think the show has finally found its footing and like LOST doesn't need to explain everything, just as long as you happy to enjoy the ride. The problem is that the show has become so involved and a little complicated, that it is extremely difficult to pick up new viewers. Last week's "Previously on Being Erica" seemed to go on for about five minutes.
Everyone knows that there is no bigger fan of Being Erica than me. In its three short seasons I think it has showed that Canadian writers can make different kinds of shows that include a mixture of women-friendly program with a dash of sci-fi.
Being Erica has never been the rating success that it should have been. But either was Friday Night Lights and even that got five seasons. Let's all do our part to make sure Being Erica stays exactly where it is!
Being Erica airs tonight on CBC.


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NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that U.S. District Judge David S. Doty has ruled in favor of Peterson, granting an NFL Players Association motion to vacate a previous ruling by Harold Henderson.
"Petition to vacate the arbitration award was granted," Judge Doty remarked, according to Rapoport. "Case was remanded for further proceedings ... as the (collective bargaining agreement) may permit."
The NFL, however, announced Thursday afternoon that Peterson will return to the Commissioner's Exempt List, and the league will appeal the ruling made by Judge Doty to the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"Judge Doty's order did not contain any determinations concerning the fairness of the appeals process under the CBA, including the commissioner's longstanding authority to appoint a designee to act as hearing officer," the league said in a statement.
"Even so, we believe strongly that Judge Doty's order is incorrect and fundamentally at odds with well-established legal precedent governing the district court's role in reviewing arbitration decisions. As a result, we have filed a notice of appeal to have the ruling reviewed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals."
The NFLPA earlier issued the following statement in regard to Doty's decision:
"This is a victory for the rule of law, due process and fairness," the statement read. "Our collective bargaining agreement has rules for implementation of the personal conduct policy and when those rules are violated, our union always stands up to protect our players' rights. This is yet another example why neutral arbitration is good for our players, good for the owners and good for our game."
The NFL suspended Peterson on Nov. 18 stemming from a no contest plea on what the league called "an incident of abusive discipline" toward his 4-year-old son. Because the appeal was denied, Peterson was not eligible for reinstatement prior to April 15. The NFLPA felt that the NFL's arbitrator exceeded his authority by suspending Peterson.
Peterson's Vikings future remains murky. The former league MVP said in a recent interview he is "still uneasy" about rejoining the Vikings after the team helped expedite his placement on the Commissioner's Exempt List in September. The two sides could also reach a financial impasse -- Peterson is scheduled to earn a base salary of $12.75 million and count $15.4 million against the salary cap in 2015. Peterson has said he doesn't believe he should have to take a pay cut.
The Vikings said in a statement that their focus is on "welcoming (Peterson) back when he is able to rejoin our organization," and his status is under the control of the league, union and legal system.


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Dr. Anythony Youn from The Holistic Plastic Surgery Show Discusses Fluoride and Acne
Updated: Oct 28, 2018
Is the fluoride in our water ruining our skin?
In this interview by Dr. Anthony Youn, "America's Holistic Plastic Surgeon" and host of the Holistic Plastic Surgery Show, author Melissa Gallico discusses the connection between fluoride and acne as described in her book, The Hidden Cause of Acne.
Or listen on iTunes | Stitcher
For more information, visit http://www.dryoun.com/podcast/is-the-fluoride-in-our-water-ruining-our-skin-with-melissa-gallico/.


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2004 Scion xB review
By Ian Johnston
Posted December 28, 2003
Over the holiday season, I was in California visiting relatives. My dad mentioned one day that he had seen a "really funky" car at the Toyota dealership, which he thought I would like. He couldn't quite figure out the right words to describe it to me, and couldn't remember the name until we got there (so I couldn't poke around the net looking for info). We went around the next day to take a look at this funky car.
We arrived at the Scion dealership (conveniently located a hundred feet from the Toyota dealership), to behold exactly two models in the lot: one which looked for all practical purposes like a Toyota Matrix (which I'm sure is a fine car, but doesn't do anything for me), and the second, which looked like a Dick Tracy fantasy car mated to an oversized cardboard box. I was immediately fascinated. Thus began the trip which culiminates in this review.
You should know that the Scion brand is an offshoot of Toyota, just like Lexus -- everything is branded Toyota, from the window glass to the engine block. They're calling them Scions so that the youths won't scoff at the stodgy Toyota image. They're only available in California as of this writing. Other dealerships should be popping up around the US through mid-2004, according to press material, starting with the East Coast and South in February. Presumably, because they're really Toyotas underneath, the same excellent reliability and build quality will be in effect.
This review is based on two short testdrives, with about 25 cumulative minutes at the wheel, and about 40 minutes of static perusal. The information I will convey is necessarily limited by the short period of time I was around the car. Pictures were taken the day I left California, in driving rain; they're not as good as they could be. Click on any of the pictures for a larger copy.
First Impressions
The Scion xB (the other model is called an xA -- easily distinguished, no?) is literally a box-shaped car. You could model one quite accurately using cardboard, a ruler and sharp knife. There are nearly no curved lines on most of the car (the front is slightly bowed, but you have to look for it), and the back of the car actually has honest-to-goodness right angles on it. I can't think of a single other car where I've actually seen a right angle anywhere on it. I'd have to go back with a tool to measure the angle, but if it isn't 90 degrees, it's damned close.
The car looks huge in all the pictures I've ever seen of it, but it's actually quite compact (except in height) when you get up next to it. I'm considering replacing an 11 year old Honda Civic hatchback, and despite my impression that the xB is a bigger car, the Honda is actually around 5 inches longer than the xB, and about half an inch wider. The xB is much taller, but that's kind of the point.
Sitting down inside the xB, we were amazed at the sheer volume enclosed within the cabin. My father and grandfather were with me on this trip, and none of us are short people, with me at 6' 1", my dad at around 6', and my grandfather 6' or slightly shorter. I set myself up comfortably in the driver's seat, and my long-legged grandfather still had 2-3 inches in front of his knees in the back seat. The front passenger seat is similarly spacious. The driver's seat still had a few stops before the "full aft" position, suggesting that even taller drivers than me would be comfortable. We all noticed that we had about 5 inches of clear air above our heads. Particularly in the back seat of any small car, this is almost unheard of. The bottom line is that you could fit 4 people, even four large people, in this car with a good deal of space. It would be tight to fit three people in the back seat, but only because the shoulder room would fill up quickly.
The good first impression is continued when you start to look around at the features built into this car. As the sales person explained, the xB comes with exactly one factory option available: an $800 automatic transmission. All the other options you read about are installed by the dealers, and they're universally of the type that are "add-ons:" graphic kits, fog lights, etc. The car comes with ABS standard. As well as traction control and stability control. As well as power windows, mirrors, door locks and remote "keyless" entry. As well as, heaven forfend, tinted windows. As well as a high-quality AM/FM/CD which is ready to control a satellite receiver (like an XM or Sirius radio), and plays MP3 CDs. The only added feature you might desire that isn't available is cruise control. A bizarre omission, but as I will discuss further on, this is a city car.
Marketing Follies
As soon as I entered the showroom of the Scion dealership, I knew exactly to whom this car was being marketed. There was exciting footage of a rave on a bigscreen TV. There were big posters showing Scions modded beyond reason, with spoilers, body kits, hip flashy paint, lights, etc. Doubtless these modded cars also contained a metric assload of large speakers and amps, as well as strap-on turbochargers and loud exhausts. I was clearly too old to be looking at this car, but I persevered. (I'm somewhat dissappointed, I thought I had captured the TV showing rave footage -- the "Self Expre Scion" thing in the picture is a big-screen TV.)
Apparently (and understandably) Toyota is going out of their way to market these cars at the 16-24 year old market segment. These youths presumably have more money than sense, and are perfectly happy to blow it all on cars that look and sound phat-with-a-P-H. The salesman said the Scions are designed in such a way that hopups and modifications are relatively easy, suggesting that there were modifications available for intake (such as super- and turbo-chargers) and exhaust, suspension, etc. This will supposedly endear Scion to the youth market.
I can't say anything on this topic, since even when I was 16-24, I wasn't the part of that age demographic they would have been targeting. I do know that the xB is a funky looking car that immediately appeals to me by dint of being exactly unlike anything else on the road. It looks so little like the streamlined, wind-tunnel-tested look-alike boxes out there that it immediately catches my eye.
The xB is also an emminently practical car, packing nearly the cargo space of a minivan into a footprint smaller than a Civic. It gets a claimed 31 MPG city and 35 MPG highway (which is with the manual transmission; subtract one from each for the automatic). It appears to be "no-frills," despite an extensive feature list. In addition to all this, the base price of the manual model is $13,860 or something (I don't have a price in front of me, so don't quote me on that number). That's a shockingly large value for such a small price. I don't think our nation's youth will be the only ones who key into this value.
All That Space!
As I mentioned in the first impressions section, this car is huge for such a small car. Other reviews available on the web will give you exact figures, but you can pack four large people and a small bag for each into the car with the seats folded open. With the rear seats folded down, the cargo space becomes enormous, to the point where my father theorizes he could fit a couple of his tympani in there -- tympani, or kettle drums, are those enormous drums orchestras use, and they take up a ridiculous amount of space. In addition to all this, there's a little bit of "under floor" cargo space, where you could stash your stash, or keep a fairly comprehensive tool kit, or keep a few very valuable paperback books.
Unfortunately (and I still disagree with this choice by car manufacturers) the spare tire well is just barely big enough to fit their little tiny limited service spare tire. I hate those little tires, they seem like such a waste, when for just a few inches more space, you could fit a real spare. This is one of my only reservations on this car.
Driving The Cube
After our static inspection, we took the salesman up on his offer to drive the thing around a little bit. My dad drove out, and I drove back.
On the drive out (I was in the front passenger seat), I noticed that the ride was a little bit stiff, but not unlike the Civic's ride, which I quite like. The car seemed to have good pick-up in the low gears, belying its small 1.5l engine (they claim 108 HP and 105 ft/lb of torque, for you gear-heads out there). It seemed to be fairly nimble, which was almost a given considering the small tires and short wheelbase. The ride was a bit choppy on the freeway, and getting on to the faster road, the engine felt like it was straining. Visibility was excellent, despite some wideish door and window posts.
On the drive back, I found the clutch to be a trifle stiff to engage, although the particular car I drove only had 35 miles on the odometer when we started out. The shifter was fairly easy to engage, but had a certain cheap quality about it, in the way it didn't slide smoothly into each gear, but seemed to get lightly hung up on the way. The brakes required more pressure than I'm used to, although again, a few miles might improve them. There was no problem with stopping, once I got used to the additional pressure requirement.
The center-mounted speedometer and dash was a little bit weird, but it's one of those things that you get used to after a few minutes. I drove a friend's Echo (with a similarly centralized dash) and it stopped being an issue after about 20 minutes. However, because of the center dash, the visibility to the front of the car was excellent. Since the instruments weren't right in front of me, I could see much further down than in any other car I'd driven.
I found the engine to be surprisingly weak. That's not to say the engine is weak, it's more that my expectations were perhaps too high. I was expecting performance about like the Civic, but I found that the engine lacked any pep beyond the 3/4 throttle position. Getting on the freeway, I was able to floor the pedal all the way up the onramp without any danger of running into the cars in front of us. Once on the freeway, the xB was quite capable of keeping up with traffic, but it defintely wouldn't be winning any drag races, even with similarly sized economy cars.
Once I stopped focusing on how well the xB does at full throttle, the engine ceased being an issue. It was well up to the task of exceeding traffic when required, and keeping up on the freeway. It did seem that if we wanted to proceed up a hill and maintain a high freeway speed, a downshift might be indicated. Driving this car in the mountains would require a well-practiced and deft shifting arm.
The suspension was, indeed, kind of choppy. It should be noted that I was traversing some fairly typical California freeway, which is to say it was kind of mangled, and would produce a choppy ride in all but the most fluffily-suspended cars. At the same time that I call it choppy, the suspension comported itself quite well around corners and at stops, not exhibiting any of the brake dive or body roll typical with larger cars or more softly sprung rides. The suspension provided very good road feel, and I never had any trouble telling what road conditions were like.
The interior noise wasn't bad for so small a car. Certainly it was quieter than the Civic, but not as quiet as the Acura which had transported us to the dealership. I had feared that the high-revving engine (6400 RPM redline) would be uncomfortably loud on the freeway, but it wasn't even noticable, when combined with road noise and wind noise. Wind noise was also particularly subdued, considering that we were, as one other review put it, "punching a square-shaped hole through the air."
The engine, as I recall, was turning 3000 to 3500 RPM when driving at an indicated 60-70 MPH in 5th gear. I think it hit 4000 RPM at around 80 indicated, although I wasn't paying attention to RPM at that point. It's very likely that the Scion, along with most other production cars, indicates speed around 10% optimistically (ie, when you see 80 on the speedometer, you're actually going 70-73 MPH).
Both Scion models are based on the Toyota Echo frame and engine. Apparently Toyota introduced the Echo with an eye toward capturing the youth market, but it was a fairly dismal failure, mostly catching the attention of frugal 40-somethings, and not selling very well even with them.
Final Impressions
The process of "analyzing" this car in comparison to other potential Civic-replacements is an interesting one. The Scion xB is an excellent car for the money, but it's also 2-3x as much as I had wanted to pay to replace the Civic. I drive motorcycles 90% of the time, and really only need a car for a few specific and relatively rare occasions:
The Scion xB excells at three of these four things. The only thing it doesn't seem like it'd do well is going long distances: the steering is fairly sensitive, and the suspension is busy. This car was clearly designed with city driving in mind: It's the perfect size to fit into small parking spaces. Its engine responds well at city speeds. It gets surprisingly good city mileage. It would be tiring to drive long distances, even though the seating position is comfortable and many of the amenities are available.
The percentage of the time that I'm firing up my car to drive inter-city is fairly small, though. Particularly with my parents on their boat, the longest trip I ever take is up to Bellingham or over to Bellevue; that point is one of the least important on the list, in real practical terms.
The situatation that's not addressed in the above list, of course, is cost. With motorcycles providing most of my transportation, it's very hard to justify getting into a $250/month car payment (or whatever the actual payment would be) for a vehicle that will be used for only 10% or so of transportation tasks. Yes, I would have a shiny new Toyota-alike that would provide years of reliable transportation, but I could spend a lot less on a used Civic and get the same thing.
However, gentle reader, this discussion is not necessarily germane to your reasons for scanning this review. Take it as you like, but obviously your situation will be different from mine.
The Scion xB seems like a well-put-together, excellent value in a new car. It handles itself well in all the situations I was able to experience in a pair of 30 minute test-drives, and seems to be a good all-around car. Obviously, it's going to appeal to a reader or not based on styling, since it is a polarizing design: any given person is likely to love it or hate it, but middling reactions aren't likely.
If the car appeals to you, you're half way there. If it doesn't appeal to you, scratch my name off the list of people with good taste. But if your mission is to find a small car with lots of attitude (I dislike that term as applied to inanimate objects, but it fits here), cargo/people space, and features for the price, it's very hard to beat the Scion xB.
For more information on the Scion:
All pictures I took for this review
consumerreports.org - Subscription required; they haven't fully reviewed the car yet.
Text and images Copyright © 2003 by Ian Johnston. Non-commercial use with attribution is explicitly allowed. Commercial use is allowed only with express written consent by Ian Johnston. "Toyota", "Scion" and "xB" are the property of individual copyright holders.
Created by Ian Johnston. Questions? Please mail me.