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Speed time to market for small cell deployment
You want a network that can be deployed outdoors on lightposts, bus stops, billboards, and other locations on a large scale. You also need to bring coverage and capacity indoors to small, medium, and large enterprises. But it can be a challenge to find sites, negotiate leases, and gain access to the buildings, installations crews, and backhaul you need.
The award-wining Alcatel-Lucent Site Certification Program is known for speeding your outdoor deployments. Now we are bringing in new indoor partners to solve your enterprise deployment challenges.
With this program, we bring together a group of suppliers who specialize in site acquisition, installation, and backhaul. Backed by our expertise, our program members stand ready to help our customers bring small cells on air quickly and seamlessly with certified sites – speeding your time to market.
Removing barriers to small cell deployment, both indoor and out
The market is driving the need for rapid expansion of outdoor mobile capacity and coverage. Small cells are the answer. According to ABI Research, outdoor small cell use will grow 7x – and the in-building wireless market 5x – by 2018.
But rapid small cell deployment can be a challenge for mobile operators.
- In an Informa Telecoms & Media small cells market status report, nearly 60% of respondents rated deployment issues and backhaul as the top 2 deployment challenges.
- Lack of access to backhaul and power, environmental issues, and cell placement – including the need to deal with multiple landlords, new types of site owners, and zoning issues – can delay deployment.
- Enterprises require that indoor small cells are simple to install, plug-and-play.
The Alcatel-Lucent Site Certification Program removes these barriers. We bring together value-added suppliers with our own expertise in small cells to make sure small cell deployment happens right the first time, with speed, and on a large scale.
Our program trains and certifies new types of suppliers who can effectively address operator needs to rapidly deploy small cells. Through the program, our members can quickly leverage Alcatel-Lucent's knowledge and expertise in small cells and employ their own workforces to acquire sites for, install, and provide backhaul for small cells on a large scale.
And the program has untold benefits for our customers.
Faster time to market
Speed time to market as much as 40% by partnering with our certified site owners, installers, and backhaul facility providers.
- Save time negotiating with site owners. Our program members bring a database of available sites across a large geography.
- Gain access to on-net buildings from indoor partners.
- Access the backhaul and power many of these site owners already have at their locations, and save time on backhaul installation.
Improved quality
Deploy to the right site at the right time and build a better quality small cell network.
- Put capacity where the users are by accessing new site types such as billboards, bike stands and bus shelters.
- Optimize outdoor and indoor cell placement and utilization through Alcatel-Lucent site selection services and Bell Labs innovation and tools.
- Take advantage of a certified pool of installers trained to deploy small cells right the first time.
Lower costs
Lower deployment costs at least 20% by partnering with site owners.
Leverage our indoor partners' expertise to secure building leases at low or no cost to you.
- Reduce CAPEX on site acquisition and backhaul.
- Reduce OPEX on backhaul and maintenance.
Program members
Alcatel-Lucent and our program members bring the right expertise to address small cell deployment challenges for operators. Program members include cable operators, systems integrators, managed services providers, site acquisition specialty firms, lease negotiation specialists, and construction specialists.
Realize the benefits of site certification
Alcatel-Lucent is the leader in small cells. And with the Alcatel-Lucent Site Certification Program, we address your most important small cell deployment challenges by sharing our expertise with our program members.
These suppliers unleash access to tens of thousands of approved installation technicians and over 1 million qualified small cell sites. With our knowledge and experience behind them, our program members have the know-how to speed your time to market and lower your costs.
Contact us for more information on the program and on how you can get your small cell network up and running fast.
Small Cell Innovation Leadership: Alcatel-Lucent
"Selecting from a number of strong entries in this category of Small Cell innovation leadership, the Judges felt that this entry dealt with a significant and specific issue that would otherwise hold back rapid take-up. Although not a product specific issue, the processes used today to identify, survey and approve potential small cell sites can be time consuming and could significantly slow the pace of rollout. Alcatel-Lucent's novel approach directly addresses the issue and we expect has defined a business model that will be adopted elsewhere," said David Chambers, 2014 Small Cells Forum Awards Lead Judge for the Category.


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Furlough Days
These are the furlough days scheduled: April 22, May 13, 20, 26, and 27. There is no school on these days.
Five furlough days were approved when the Board adopted the 2010-11 budget document at the June 2010 Board meeting in order to balance the budget. Cutting five days from each employee's salary (or wages) and benefits saved the district over $320,000 for this current school year.

subset: commoncrawl


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In this new eShop title for the Wii U, Retroid Interactive brings all the fun of Pictionary to the Wii U without all the clutter and mess.
I want to thank Retroid Interactive for supplying us with a review code for this game. I wish them all the best in the success of this game.
I also wish to thank NintenDaan for providing the footage for this review. You can find him in many areas across the internet but most prominently are his Twitter, YouTube and now Patreon so go and check him out.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NintenDaan
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/NintenDaan1
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NintenDaan
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Remember to like, comment and subscribe in order to help us continue to make great quality content for your viewing pleasure.
Written Review
Nintendo systems are known for their party games from high-ranking series like Mario Party and Super Smash Bros to mountains of shovel-ware. This was very apparent with the Wii, and one would assume that Wii U would follow this trend — but it hasn't. The gamepad really lends itself to these type of games but for whatever reason only a handful ever really came out. On the plus side this meant there was an open market for the types of party games you might want to play and one that seems perfect for the gamepad is Pictionary. The classic game of drawing random images and having other people guess these images for points was a fun but often wasteful game with the amount of paper required.
This is where PictoParty comes in. Developed by indie studio, Retroid Interactive, PictoParty brings Pictionary to the Wii U in a neat little package.
The game is Pictionary and can be performed in one of two ways: individual play or team play. Both are played the same way but rather with the difference being played individually or with a group For the few of you who don't know what Pictionary is, it is a game where you draw an object randomly assigned to you and the others have to guess what it is. Whoever guesses it right gets a point, as does the artist, so the winner is decided both by how many correct guesses you make and how good of a drawer you are.
The game asks every player to make an account, distinguished by a name and funny picture you can take with the Wii U's gamepad. You then put to play by picking what rules you want, for example; whether you allow erasers or not and how long each round takes. Finally you pick what dictionaries you actually want to include. You can jump straight into having all of them or just pick the topics you and your friends are most familiar with. The game comes with nine different dictionaries with standard themes like food and animals but if these do not interest you then do not worry for in PictoParty you can make your own dictionaries as well.
This game requires trust as the artist is the one who has the gamepad and is in charge of deciding who guessed correctly and distributing the points. This means that just like in real Pictionary you can end up in situations where people argue who was quickest to say a particular point. This could have been rectified with the use of additional controllers like Wii remotes and nun-chucks as buzzers. However this would only allow up to 9-player games where as PictoParty allows for at least 12.
The gameplay is very basic but that's not necessarily bad. You can chose to use various different colour pencils and the game keeps a track of your time and any penalties so you don't have to. It makes use of the fact that it is a video game however it does not go beyond the most basic of gameplay choices.
Picto Party is presented in a very clean and simple style. Everything is in light pastel colours and it is very clear what is intractable and what is not. The music is very minimalistic which suits the sort of game it is. It does not distract from the focus of the game but it stops any possible awkward silences that might come from everyone trying to think. The presentations suits the game well even if there is not much there.
If you want a virtual version of Pictionary then grab PictoParty. It makes use of the gamepad in obvious way in order to provide the Pictionary experience on a console gaming platform. However, there is not really anything here that makes it stand out from just playing regular old Pictionary. The only difference between the two is that you get to save on paper this way, which is a good thing and may save you money in the long run.
…Assuming you play Pictionary on a regular basis.
Latest posts by Joshua 'NantenJex' Goldie (see all)
- Source Game of the Year 2018 – The Staff Picks - December 31, 2018
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Eric's Hi-Fi Blog
Hi-fi adventures in Sunny Singapore
News and Offers
Low Cost / Free Tweaks
To all the equipment that I have loved before
Hi-Fi Shopping in Asia
Me and My System
Monday, June 21, 2010
An update much overdue
Rather unfortunately, it has been ages since I have last updated this blog. There have been lots of changes to my system and lots of new accessories to be covered. Stay tuned for updates on acoustic treatment, the Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II interconnect, Telos RCA caps and speaker post plugs, and much more !
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With 3 of them to build, this plan was expanded to include other options which I would have gone down at some point. . .
First up is the one I wanted to build in the first place, the Panzer III M. A medium tank with medium AT, only slightly less powerful than the Panzer IV H it is replacing in my normal list.
Next up is a type of tank I have been using a lot with my Soviet army and one I wanted to have the option to use with my Germans, a howitzer. The Panzer III N with medium howitzer fits this role perfectly and I am looking forward to using it.
Next up, is a type of tank other people have used on me with great results so I wanted to have the option of in my box to spring on those players I know play dirty. The Flammpanzer III N is fitted with a flame thrower in the turret, I don't plan on getting much use out of this tank but the threat of having one tends to keep opponents in check.
My new Panzer III M doing what it does best, advancing into my opponent's face and making him really think about his moves.
Thanks for reading


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Row 1: irenesuchocki, flowersandbutterflies
Row 2: sfgirlbybay, carambatack
See the entire gallery HERE>>
I'm officially jealous. You're hitting all the spots I'd love to visit in Italy. I hope you have a lovely time and that you get to share tons of photos with us.
if you can do lake como, i would highly recommend it. bellagio is gorgeous and a visit to the Hotel D'Este is beyond beautiful. also i loved barcelona so much. we stayed at the roommate emma and it was fantastic. of course there's all of gaudi's places, especially La Sagrada Família.
You didn't say when you were travelling, and this makes a huge difference. Maybe fly into Milan and take trains to Venice & Florence then down to Rome and go further South. I've been everywhere in Italy, it's my favorite country hand's down. Wonderful scenery, wonderful food, wonderful people. I've done many blog posts on the Amalfi Coast and some of my blog buddies have taken a hint or two on hotels, etc. Let me know what you're interested in. Marsha
I'm so jealous! I want to go to Italy so much its ridiculous!!!
Awesome photos, I can't wait to travel to Italy next month!
The few cities sound like a lovely start to your travel plan. I was also planning for a trip to Italy but various things got in the way...love that flickr gallery you curated. Su
I know an art oriented b&b just opposite Rome train station.The owner is very friendly.All rooms are decorated based on the four elements : earth , wind ,fire and water.I can also recommend a 2 stars hotel , just 100 meters from Firenze train station.You will love this small hotel!The decoration are from Firenze flea market!The hotel where I stayed in Venice is also very nice!It decorated with murano chandelier and lots of murano art glass.The room is big but no tv. , no fridge no microwave.
I love small hotels which run by the owner!
Oh these photos are beautiful, I miss Italy so much. And the sunshine :)
The blog was absolutely fantastic! Lots of great information and
inspiration, both of which we all need!b Keep 'em coming... you all do
such a great job at such Concepts... can't tell you how much I, for
one appreciate all you do!
What gorgeous pix! Makes me wanna escape...
Thank you for writing and taking us along on a trip, great photos, beutiful blog
How exciting! What a wonderful treat to look forward to!:)
Ooh, my boyfriend and I have long been hoping to plan a trip to Italy. It's great to read the suggestions and I look forward to reading more!
Beautiful pictures! I especially love the top right image with the old doors, and the casual planter wall made of stones. Thanks for an inspiring post!
HI. I'm an italian reader and I want to suggest you to visit also Bologna. It is a very beautiful city and if you go from Venice to Florence you need to stop there and change train. If you don't have time you can plan a small visit 4 hours. Please also eat the famous "tortellini" there.
if you want more suggestion write me without problem. Sara
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RWC, tradition continues with whistle and coin
A 24-year tradition will continue when a historic whistle and coin is used for the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2011 between New Zealand and Tonga at Eden Park on 9 September.
The whistle and coin have been used in every World Cup since the inaugural event in 1987, when Australia and New Zealand were joint hosts. The items are on display at Rugby Museum of New Zealand in Palmerston North and will be delivered to tournament officials this week.
"I think it is superb that the tradition continues," museum director Stephen Berg said. "The referees will love it. For them, this is a special time."
The whistle was originally used in games involving New Zealand (1905), South Africa (1906) and Australia (1908) when those teams made their first tours of Britain. The whistle was also used in the rugby final at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris.
"They are both in great shape," said Berg. "We have a metal conservator who will brush them up. You just can't give them to anyone to buff up.
Treasured items
"We took the whistle out of the display cabinet and blew it a couple of times to make sure it was working. The last thing you would want is it not to work in the opening game of the World Cup.
"There is a lot of interest in these items," said Berg. "Rugby is steeped in tradition and this is a great tradition we are continuing."
Rugby sevens will return for the 2016 Olympic Games, but Berg said it had not been decided whether the whistle would be offered to tournament officials in Rio de Janeiro.
"Do we or don't we? It might be stretching things. This is a treasured item and we want to be careful."
But Berg said a commitment had been made for the whistle and coin to be used in the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2015. "It's tradition," he said.


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Over the last few weeks, the papers have been full of stories about school closures across the UK – naturally so, as half of all schools were shut down for at least a day by snow and ice. And it's given impetus to the important issue of how a school that has to close can keep its children working, in contact with each other and with their teachers? Can they keep the learning going?
The answer, surely, lies in the use of a good learning platform (and some were quick to point out that it was the ideal time to switch to virtual learning using the learning platforms that the majority of schools have in place). Not all schools, though, are equally up to speed with their anytime/anywhere learning strategies. So I think what's important is that there's a pooling of experience by schools that have at least made steps towards keeping their students on task. It's in that spirit that our friends at the 1,600 student Twynham School in Christchurch, Dorset, are sharing their experience of a one-day snow closure earlier this term.
Twynham has long used SharePoint as a support for learning, and since 2006 has been using, and constantly developing, its own learning platform – the Twynham Learning Gateway – using to the full the features of SharePoint 2007.
Assistant Head Mike Herrity and his team spoke about their SharePoint Learning Platform on our stand at BETT. He described particularly the snow day experience, and he's written his own document for use within the school, and been kind enough to share it with me. These are his key points.
Mike starts by setting the scene:
|On Tuesday 5th January a notice was sent to all students during tutor time and the last lesson of the day when it became clear poor weather was likely…our commitment was to make a decision and post a notice by 7 am on the website
The website, says Mike, was to be the definitive place for information. Radio, he points out, isn't always reliable and prompt because of the sheer number of schools involved. Text messaging is fine -- but only if the list of numbers is complete and up to date. Twynham's research, though, shows that broadband availability in the school's community is nearly at 100percent
Mike's figures show that as the weather deteriorated, hits on the website climbed from its normal 3,000 daily hits eventually up to 21,000 on the day of closure itself, which was Thursday 7th January.
The website notice reminded students and parents that the Twynham Learning Gateway would remain available for study support during closure, and the real story, for my money, is how remarkably well that worked. On average says Mike, the Gateway sees about 900 logins per day, in school time, on school computers. On the snow day, with school closed, and therefore no school computers in use, there were no fewer than 774 logins. As Mike says:
|This is an astonishing 86% of the average logins on a normal school day. What is clear is that students see the Learning Gateway as an integral part of their learning
That last sentence says it all. Once a school's Learning Gateway is "an integral part of their learning", they can surely claim to be using technology to transform the way that their students engage with their work.
You can see more about Twynham's strategy in our 'Engaging with Parents' case studies, which includes the stories of 5 schools, and looks beyond what they are doing to also at look at how they have done it.
Here's the introduction video for Twynham:
Click here to follow the link if you can't see the video above
One of the great things about Twynham School is that Mike Herrity doesn't ever seem to stop sharing his experiences, and the what/how/why of their work, on his SharePoint in Education blog. I'm sure more details of the Snow Closure experience is just around the corner!


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Areas of Practice
By Kevin Houchin on Monday, February 20th, 2006 | 1 Comment
One Response to "Areas of Practice"
Kevin I am excited about what you are doing. I am a chaplain, and musician. I just finished Seminary with my M.Div in 2009, but I feel drawn to the creative community that need help turning their ideals, books and songs into income producing items. I am 38 and live in Texas. I already have my Power-Score books and would attend part-time to balance family and work. "Is is worth it?" I think so, but wanted to hear from you. Thanks for plugging "The Universal Traveler". Drop me a line when you get a chance.


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ANAHEIM, Calif. — The bishops of the Episcopal Church agreed Wednesday to a compromise measure that stops short of developing an official rite for same-sex unions, but gives latitude to bishops who wish to go ahead and bless such unions, particularly in states that have legalized such marriages.
Over two days of debate, some bishops said they felt compelled to act because of their pastoral responsibility to gay couples who were increasingly coming forward to ask the church to bless their unions. Many also said they saw it as a simple matter of granting equal rights to gay men and lesbians.
The measure was written to defer to bishops who oppose adopting a liturgy for same-sex blessings and to those who say their constituents are not ready for such a step. But it opens the door to doing so in the future, saying they will "collect and develop theological and liturgical resources" for same-sex blessings, and report to the next convention three years from now, which could then design an official rite.
Even with the nuance, the vote was a momentous step for a church that has been mired in intrafactional warfare over homosexuality for more than a decade. Advocates for gay rights in the church celebrated it as a victory, noting that the vote count was a resounding 104 in favor and 30 opposed, with 2 abstentions.
"It's a big step forward," said Bishop Thomas C. Ely of Vermont. "The House of Bishops worked hard to get to the place where we could have such a large majority voting to move forward on the development" of a rite for same-sex blessings.Continue reading the main story
The Episcopal Church is not the only religious denomination to take such a step. The Unitarian Universalist Association, the United Church of Christ, and the Reform and Reconstructionist movements in Judaism allow ceremonies to sanctify such unions.
The vote came one day after the church voted to open the door to ordaining more openly gay bishops. Both measures are likely to bring even more pressure from conservatives in the global Anglican Communion to cut ties with the Episcopal Church, its American branch.
The measure will now go to the church's House of Deputies, which represents the clergy and lay people, who are consistently more liberal on legislation than the bishops and are therefore expected to approve it at the convention this week.
Some bishops had already been permitting their priests to perform same-sex blessings in recent years, without the larger church's formal approval, using homemade liturgies and rituals.
The measure says that bishops in states "where same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church," meaning that they now have official permission to perform same-sex blessings. The word "may" was included to make it clear that no bishop is required to permit same-sex blessings.
The Rev. Raisin Horn, the priest of Trinity Episcopal Church in Iowa City, said that since Iowa legalized same-sex marriage, she has not had any requests for ceremonies, but that she expected that some couples would come forward now that the church had sanctioned it.
"If a same-sex couple comes to me and they want a marriage rite, they would go through the same premarital counseling, and have to show the same quality of relationship that I would want to see in any couple," Ms. Horn said. "I will not have to say to them, all the right things are in place except for your sexuality."
Episcopal conservatives, who met for a worship service and strategy session at a nearby hotel conference room at lunchtime, said they felt increasingly demoralized.
The Rev. Steve Wood, pastor of St. Andrews Church in Mount Pleasant, S.C., said: "The conservatives are treated more as zoological oddities. We're patted on the head, nice-nice, and then we get steamrolled."
Many conservatives predicted Wednesday that the decisions in Anaheim would surely lead to permanent schism in the Anglican Communion. They made reference to an opinion article written in The Times of London by Bishop Nicholas T. Wright of Durham, England, a highly influential Anglican scholar, who wrote that the Episcopal Church was conscious that what it had just done amounted to "formalizing the schism they initiated six years ago" when they consecrated a gay bishop in a same-sex relationship.
But many Episcopalians at the convention here believe they will have support and will not be ostracized. They are drawing on the testimony of Anglican guests from Africa, Asia and Latin America, who they have brought to the convention here as proof that they have international allies.Continue reading the main story


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The upcoming International Superyacht Coatings Conference (ISCC) 2014, to be held on 11th to 12th December at the Amsterdam RAI, is set to welcome a range of superyacht industry professionals to exchange information and discuss the latest developments in the field of coatings.
The two-day programme will explore and highlight a range of subjects including: coatings contracting and delivery; inspection and assessments; the demands of legislation; surface preparations and their effects on coating quality , as well as the measurement and maintenance of coatings.
Among the guest speakers will be Olaf Steckstor of OS Maritime, who will be passing on his experience as an owner's rep and captain, on protective coatings such as ceramic layers on old paint and freshly painted superyachts.
A full timetable of the proceedings can be viewed here, including information on Olaf's presentation entitled "Technology and appliance of Nano-Technology method".
The Superyacht Coatings Conference is a prominent business-to-business event organised by Amsterdam RAI in association with ICOMIA and the Superyacht Builders Association (SYBAss). Specialising in superyacht coating processes and related rules and legislation, ISCC is more than a conference and networking event - delegates will be encouraged to participate and contribute, not merely spectate. This highly interactive event will provide genuine opportunities to influence future decisions surrounding current issues facing the coatings industry.
For more information, visit Superyacht Coatings Conference.


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Sabina Kane is on the hunt. Her prey: Cain, the father of the vampire race and the one who murdered her family and her friends. Unfortunately, Cain is hunting Sabina, too.
The one man who holds the key to defeating Cain is, of course, Abel. A mage with secrets to spare and, hopefully, the power to match it. Unfortunately, for Sabina, he's in Rome and may not want to be found.
Sabina sets out for Italy with her friends, Giguhl and Adam Lazarus, to track down the only man who can get her the revenge she hungers for. But will he help her or oppose her? And just who is Abel, really? Worst of all, when Sabina figures out the goddess Lilith has a plan for her-she realizes this trip is getting deadlier by the minute. As they say: when in Rome-SURVIVE.
It's hard to end a series.
And even harder to end a series well.
Jaye Wells does the nigh impossible in ending the Sabrina Kane series in a fashion that should have readers dab their eyes and shaking their fists in excitement.
Well's series spans five books and to be honest I didn't know how the series could continue after the events in book three. That said, Well's does a fantastic job keeping the story going, creating characters that are fasinating, and keeping readers at the edge of their seats.
In this final installment readers will be shocked from the first chapters to the last pages. Blue Blooded Vampire is full of action, funny and endearing characters, and a captivating story that will keep even the most reserved reader hooked. Further, readers of the series will be excited to see familiar faces from all over the series pop up in unsual and interesting ways.
All in all Well's creates a conclusion that is better than expected. Blue Blooded Vampire is chop full of action, magic, and fun characters. Many secrets are brought to light and readers will be happy to know much of the lose strings are tied. All in all a conclusion for a great series.
Publisher: Orbit
Published: June 1, 2012
Price: $7.99


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February 2016
Congratulations to Josh Cunliffe and the rest of the WOLF HALL team for winning the Golden Globe for Best TV Drama!
Congratulations to Álvaro Gutiérrez for winning the ASECAN Award for Best Cinematography for his work on "Asesinos Inocentes" (Innocent Killers)
In Cinemas this month
STRANGERLAND - A couple discover that their teenage children have disappeared just before a massive dust storm sweeps through their remote desert town. Featuring Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving and Nicole Kidman.
Director: Kim Farrant.
Producers: Macdara Kelleher, Naomi Wenck
Production Sound Mixer - Robert Flanagan
On TV this month
Multi award-winning police drama HAPPY VALLEY is back on our screens for a second season this month. Set in Yorkshire with a cast lead by Sarah Lancashire, this show will take us once again on a journey to track down a violent serial killer… Featuring Sarah Lancashire, George Costigan, James Norton.
Directors: Sally Wainwright, Neasa Hardiman.
Producer: Juliet Charlesworth
Production Designer - John Collins
JP, Kingsley, Josie and the gang are back for the last time in the final series of FRESH MEAT. The last time we saw the students Josie had just ended things with Kingsley – but not before almost having (yet another) impulsive sexual encounter with JP. No wonder things are still a little awkward… Featuring Jack Whitehall, Joe Thomas, Kimberley Nixon, Greg McHugh.
Director: Jamie Johnson.
Producer: Rhonda Smith
Production Designer – Tom Sayer
THE ROYALS is back! With even more mischief from the world's most dysfunctional royal family. Elizabeth Hurley and Dame Joan Collins return as we follow the secrets, lies and all round drama of these excellent and hugely entertaining characters. Featuring William Moseley, Elizabeth Hurley, Merrit Patterson.
Directors: Mark Schwahn, Tom Vaughan, Tara Wyer, Mike Lange, James Lafferty, Les Butler
Producer - Nick O'Hagan
Director of Photography - John Rhodes
Make-Up & Hair Designer – Kate Benton
A BBC iPlayer Exclusive
This comedy drama transports you back to the glory days of snooker and charts the rivalry of its two giants, which spanned a decade, dividing the critics and delighting the fans. THE RACK PACK centres on Alex 'Hurricane' Higgins - mercurial, explosive, a natural showman and Steve 'The Nugget' Davis - clinical, ruthles and 'boring'. Higgins, the bad boy of the sport, lives on the edge and plays to the crowd – desperate for approval and love. Davis has an aura of invincibility, methodically and clinically playing his way to the top, helped by legendary manager Barry Hearn. Higgins' chaotic life away from the table saw him battling not just his sporting rivals, but his inner demons and loving wife.
Director: Brian Welsh
Producer: Barney Reisz
Make-Up & Hair Designer - Catherine Scoble
Script Supervisor - Jane Jackson
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Monday, July 20, 2009
irish brown soda bread
Other parts of my nice Sunday included a great church service, veggie laden food, baking a loaf of Irish Brown Soda Bread (below), and doing a little clearing of clutter. How was your Sunday?
3 comments:
- Jayme said...
We had a lovely Sunday as well. I went to church, followed by brunch with Mom. When I got home Donald and I took the baby and the dog for a nice walk and then we all came home and had a nap! Just about a perfect day as far as I'm concerned!
- July 20, 2009 at 9:29 AM
- Leslie said...
Ours was great, too! We had a long, lazy, generous chat with our daughter. /Dad
- July 21, 2009 at 7:57 AM
Love Leslie post!
Hope things are well with you. Thanks for your comments on the blog. Did you know that you can pre-post on blogs, I have posts set to go off until Aug1, isnt that amazing. Everything else that comes up now I just put in the cue :) When are you and Ant back in Hali? Do you ever fly through TO?
A rest sounds great... unlikey but great. :)
- July 24, 2009 at 7:16 AM
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Thanks for visiting and reading. I look forward to your comment and please feel free to ask questions.


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TRC advised a global private equity Buyer in the acquisition ($900 M) of a platform company engaged in the manufacture and service of complex, heavy-duty conveyor equipment. TRC continued its support for Buyer's expansion of the platform by providing diligence to the Buyer in its pursuit of four additional acquisitions of similar and adjacent specialty industries. The resultant global manufacturing and service company is now dominant in its sector.
The final portfolio was geographically and operationally diverse so TRC's efforts required more than traditional site-specific environmental due diligence. TRC developed a due diligence strategy to advise Buyer in the identification, quantification and prioritization of material environmental risks. In order to allow Buyer to make informed decisions concerning the requirements for the overall environmental liabilities of the portfolio, TRC performed a Monte Carlo probability analysis which allowed for normalization of the uncertainty inherent with the liabilities estimates.
TRC's diligence efforts were accretive, evolving with Buyer's platform development. The deals closed and the Buy deal team had the data/information to make informed decisions.
Six years later, TRC assisted in preparing the asset for sale at significant Exit value. TRC built a data room for 50+ global operating plants, presenting the data and information so as to satisfy bidders' concerns for environmental liabilities. The client was able to realize a significant sale price (>$2 Billion) and deal premium. (Note: The new Buyer/Owner is also a private equity firm and requested that TRC maintain our role as strategic advisor).
Contact TRC today for more information about our services or this project.


text: Here are the facts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Danger This is going to be the biggest story of 2006 as it comes into view for the general public. It is going to be stunning and far-reaching, I think. If you can stick to official sources instead of opinion as this story grows you'll see how important it will be as far as policy against future acts of terrorism. If you believe this is right wing fringe stuff, forget it. It's not. It truly is the chickens of fear-laden politics come home to roost. Just keep in mind who was in the White House during the given dates as you read. Also, keep in mind how much the CIA disliked the curent president from the get-go. ML


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MTV Splitsvilla 9 Sunny Leone Princess Hot Dance 26 June 2016 Episode 4 Video Updates: As the ninth season of the MTV's popular reality show 'Splitsvilla' began with a bang, it is time for the girls to rule the boys. It seems like as there will be six princesses on the show Splitsvilla 9 and 15 celebrity boys and they will be battle through love, friendship and betrayal to win the throne anyway.
Queen Martina has acquired her throne in MTV Splitsvilla 9 after which she dumped Karan Chhabra and Shubashish in the first dumping ground using her powers on which both Varun & Niharika cried a lot but as we all know to win this game of love you need to do whats beneficial for your partner and youself.
MTV Splitsvilla 9 Sunny Leone Princess Hot Dance 26 June 2016 Episode 4 Video Updates
In Last Episode of MTV Splitsvilla 9 we have seen three contestants boys Abhishek, Ishaan and Sushant were unsafe and Finally Ishaan and Sushant Eliminated after the task and now Again Abhishek is into Dumping Zone as all the Girls thinks that he is not Deserving Contestant of Splitsvilla.
Now Before He Gets Dumped, it's Time to Select the First Queen of Splitsvilla 9. Girls Princesses has the Power to Eliminate the Boys and All the 6 Princesses will have the Power Packed Task to get the 1st Queen Throne.
After the 1st Queen Task it's Going to be Elimination based on the Game Rules. Moreover it's going to be interesting Task as Girls Created history by Performing Super Strong like never before in Splitsvilla History.
Contestants received a scroll that a task will happen to find the first queen as every girl has to select 2 guys who will help her
MTV Splitsvilla 9 Sunny Leone Princess Hot Dance 26 June 2016 Episode 4 Video Updates
Boys received a scroll to get ready come by the pool side as Sunny Leone and Rannvijay Sigha are waiting for them there
When they reached the pool side Rannvijay attend them as Sunny was not there and then she came dancing Kar Gayi Chull song and she was l;ooking extremely hot
After her performance Rannvijay, Archie & Karan Khanna als joined Sunny in hot dance
Then the time came for Princesses Dance Performances
Re Pritam Pyare come rajnandini s Hot Dance Song
Mayuri Hot Performance Gzb Gayo Rama
Choose Mayuri Dance with the reason I like it is in thee, thou
Mayuri was about to kiss Karan Khanna but when she realised that everyone was around she stopped and it shows that there connection was the strongest in the villa
Isha came performing on Halkat Jawani she was looking damn hot
Niharika came dancing on Bebo Mein Bebo
Niharika tries to impress Varun to take revenge from Martina
Kavya dance on Dance Basanti Dance Song
Kavyua dance was the hottest one among all the princesses
Gurmeet and Varun dance with Kavya later and it was somewhat looking funny
All the princesses came out
Queen Martina choose Varun for dance
Vaun Martina dance on Ishq Waala Love and Niharika gets jealous seeing them dancing together
Boys have to choose the princess with the hottest performance :
Reason – Mayuri
Abhishek – rajnandini
Archie – Mayuri
Gurmeet – Poetry
joyful – Isha
Milind – Isha
propitiation – Isha
Nikhil – Poetry
Aditya – rajnandini
Varun – Poetry
All – Poetry
Hope you enjoyed this article and gained information about MTV Splitsvilla 9 Sunny Leone Princess Hot Dance 26 June 2016 Episode 4 Video Updates. For more details stay connected with us. Also, you can put your queries in Comment Box, we will respond quickly.Don't forget to share this article with your near dears on social media sites such as Facebook, twitter, tumblr, pinterest, digg, google plus, linkedin, stumbleupon, etc. Be Happy


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The Southington Town-wide Effort to Promote Success (STEPS), the Southington Police Department and the Southington High School administration are sponsoring an information night to help families understand current drug trends, prevention efforts, and agencies that help with substance abuse.
Anyone from the community is invited to attend. The program will begin at 6:30 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9 in the SHS auditorium.
With the current rise in drug use and reported overdoses, local organizations are taking action to prevent these trends and inform the community as much as they can. The program was originally scheduled for March, but frequent snow days caused officials to move the date.
Guest speakers will include SHS Principal Brian Stranieri; Chris Bartolotta from the State Police; Pat Rehmer, Sr. Vice President of Hartford Healthcare; Kevin Naranjo, SHS resource officer, and Kelly Leppard, Prevention Specialist with STEPS.
The presentation is aimed to educate parents and guardians about the connections between alcohol consumption and future substance abuse, how substance abuse begins, social host liability, and myths on specific drugs.
In addition, parent resource tables will be available in the cafeteria immediately after the presentation. Representatives are from MATCH, Rushford, Southington and State Police, Health Department, STEPS, Wheeler Clinic, Connecticut Association of Prevention Professionals, and Southington Youth Services.
For more information contact SHS at (86) 628-3229 ext. 229 or the STEPS office at (860) 276-6285.


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My Heaviest Weight of approximately 98kgs.
I will post a new pic or 2 after every 5kgs.
It is currently Fri Feb 22, 2019 3:25 am
Moderator: Moderators
EvilWombatQueen wrote:You honestly don't look like you're 98kg in those photos! You carry your weight well, which is great because you're going to look lovely and thin even before you get to your goal weight.
I think you look terrific. Your tummy and bum look proportionally small in that side shot, which I'm very jealous of! You won't need to lose much weight at all to look incredible, Yoyogirl.
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text:
Here are some jokes and wordplay that will tickle the funny bones of people who love grammar and punctuation.
Grammar: The difference between know your shit and knowing you're shit.
The past, the present, and the future walked into a bar. It was tense.
Punctuation saves lives: Let's eat Grandpa! Let's eat, Grandpa!
When I was a kid, my teacher looked at me and said, "Name two pronouns." I shrank, "Who, me?"
I would rather cuddle then have sex. If you're good with grammar, you'll get it.
Dear Girls, We hate periods too. Sincerely, Commas.
i before e… except when you run a feisty heist on a weird beige foreign neighbor.
What do you say to comfort a grammar Nazi? There, they're, their.
What's another name for Santa's elves? Subordinate Clauses.
Ambiguity: What happens in Vagueness stays in Vagueness.
A woman without her man is nothing. A woman: Without her, man is nothing.
The #1 rule in arguments: If you're losing, start correcting their grammar.
About John Kremer
John Kremer is author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, the Relationships Matter Marketing program, and many other books and reports on book marketing, Internet marketing, social media, and book publicity. -- John Kremer on Book Marketing.


text:
In the series 'Pulikali Tigers' both photographer and subject perform with and for the camera. The photographer, with her large format camera and temporary outdoor studio appears like an amateur anthropologist and the tiger-performers, already dressed up, act out a pose from their dance for the camera. These men have spent the whole day being decorated by expert painters with thick oil paints to resemble a cast of wildcat characters. After each layer of paint they stand outside the painting shed, drying in between rain showers drinking secret toddies to keep their spirits up. They have been drinking beer for weeks to grow their bellies to massive sizes so that when they dance the cat faces on them wobble as if alive.
As soon as the painting is finished and they are almost ready for the dance, Fox photographs them, (working together with a technical team who manage lights and large format camera). She is interested in the point at which the transformation between personality and performer is almost complete; the moment when they are just about to be removed from the everyday and placed instead into a performative carnival space, where anything can happen. The Pulikali dance is fairly unique in India as it is an event that is not tied to religion or to caste – all men take part (it is tied to gender; no women take part!).
Before the photograph the performers are asked to remove their tiger masks (some do not) and invited to take a pose from the Pulikali dance (which they will later enact). The human head appearing out of the tiger body marks the point of distinction between fact and fiction; real life and fantasy; the everyday and the escape. This point is what Fox is seeking in the series – the moment between when codes and conventions cannot be trusted anymore and no-one is sure who we are or why we are there.
Born in 1961 and completing her degree in Audio Visual studies at The Surrey Institute, Farnham in 1986, Anna Fox has been working in photography and video for over twenty years. Influenced by the British documentary tradition and US 'New Colourists' her first work Workstations (published by and exhibited first at Camerawork, London 1988) observed, with a critical eye, London office culture in the mid Thatcher years. Later work documenting weekend wargames, Friendly Fire, was exhibited in the exhibition Warworks at the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Netherlands Foto Institute and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Her solo shows have been seen at The Photographer's Gallery, London, The Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago and her work has been included in numerous international group shows – Through the Looking Glass, Centre of the Creative Universe: Liverpool and the Avant-garde and How We Are: Photographing Britain amongst others. She has had several monographs of her work published, a new book of her work, Anna Fox Photographs 1983 -2007, edited by Val Williams was published by Photoworks in 2007 and a new exhibition of her work Cockroach Diary and Other Stories, curated by Anne McNeill is currently toured by Impressions Gallery.
Anna Fox is currently Professor of Photography at University for the Creative Arts at Farnham.


text:
This is also a security update, bringing Pale Moon once again up to level with Firefox in terms of known vulnerabilities in Mozilla code.
- Fixed certain network errors not displaying.
- Fixed network error page styling.
- Fixed the writing of DOM storage data to tabs (should solve the "tabs not loading their contents" issue when migrating a profile and some other situations).
- Disabled downloadable font unicode-ranges on non-Windows platforms.
- Added a Google Fonts user-agent override for non-Windows platforms so they don't send unicode-ranged composite fonts (Feature detection? Google apparently still doesn't know what that is).
- Re-enabled the reporting of CSS errors to the console by default to prevent issues with some extensions who rely on this (e.g. Stylish).
- Fixed and updated preferences for location bar suggestions.
- Fixed several x64-specific issues in memory allocation code (regression fix).
- Fixed timer issues when resuming a computer from stand-by (regression fix).
- Fixed a number of branding and textual issues in the browser.
- Fixed prompting for the saving of off-line data (previously always allowed without prompting).
- Fixed a layout regression that would cause block elements following left floats to not wrap to the next line if there wasn't enough clearance.
- Fixed a mismatch in Firefox extension compatibility-mode installation where Firefox extensions served by addons.mozilla.org would be marked incompatible when trying to install.
Security-related and crash fixes:
- Fixed use-after-free while manipulating DOM events and removing audio elements (CVE-2016-9899).
- Fixed CSP bypass using the marquee tag (CVE-2016-9895).
- Fixed a vulnerability in the internal Jetpack modules (CVE-2016-9903). DiD
- Fixed use-after-free in Editor while manipulating DOM subtrees (CVE-2016-9898).
- Fixed an error in the buffer logic in http-chunked decoder.
- Fixed a crash in generational GC code (not in use by default) DiD
- Fixed a compartment mismatch bug in plug-in code
- Fixed a crash trying to get a nonexistent property.
- Improved MediaRecorder's observer safety.
- Fixed a crash related to document history.
DiD This means that the fix is "Defense-in-Depth": It is a fix that does not apply to an actively exploitable vulnerability in Pale Moon, but prevents future vulnerabilities caused by the same code when surrounding code changes or an extension exposes vulnerable code.


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Valid to 31 March 2020
All rates in New Zealand dollars (NZ$) and include GST (sales tax).
Motorhome pick ups and drop offs are available from any of the Pacific Horizon Client Service Centres, located in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.
A $300 location fee may apply for Auckland or Christchurch, for any hires of 20 days or less.
Daily (including weekends) 8.00am - 5.00pm.
Client Service Centres are closed on Christmas Day (25 December)
Note: Clients must be at the Client Service Centre for pick ups & drop offs before 4.30pm.
Where applicable, agents need to allow appropriate time for clients to get from airports, ferry terminals and hotels to meet this requirement.
All Pacific Horizon motorhomes come with comprehensive Insurance cover which insures against recoverable 3rd party accident damage, theft and break-ins (excluding personal belongings). An excess of NZ$4,500 (per incident) applies in the event of any damage to either our vehicle or to 3rd party property. Multiple windscreen and tyre damage is also covered in all policies, as is overhead and under-body damage on the rented motorhome.
A credit card imprint only (no money held or transferred) will be taken on motorhome pick up. The security can be covered by cash, travellers' cheques in NZD or a credit card (Visa or MasterCard). If the insurance excess and the Vehicle Security Guarantee are covered by credit card, the amount will NOT be debited to your account and will only be done so in case of an accident. We retain the right to hold these details for 28 days after the hire.
Pacific Horizon offers the following options to reduce the excess of NZ$4,500:
Any damage due to misuse or negligence to the motorhome interior and its fittings such as but not limited to roof vents, satellite dishes, locks and catches, outside step, grey waste cap and power cord is excluded from any insurance option.
A credit card imprint is required on all rental agreements (Visa or MasterCard only). The credit card must be valid for 28 days after the end of the hire. In the absence of a credit card, Pacific Horizon requires a cash vehicle security bond of NZ$4,500 (NZ$2,500 if Street Smart Excess Reduction is taken, or NZ$250 if Freedom Plus Excess Reduction is taken). This credit card imprint or cash will be held for 28 days after the return of the motorhome.
NOTE: The hirer is fully liable for any damage to the Pacific Horizon motorhome or third party property if:
The minimum rental period and cost is a 7 day hire. This is extended to a 14 day hire for the travel period of 16 December to 10 January.
Shorter rentals may be accepted entirely at the discretion of Pacific Horizon, but the minimum rental cost applies.
Motorhome rentals are calculated on a per calendar day basis, i.e. day of pick up and drop off is always counted as a full day irrespective of what time the motorhome is collected or dropped off.
Long hire discounts are available for motorhome rentals of greater than 20 days.
A valid full national driver's licence is required. Non-English language national drivers' licences must be presented in conjunction with an official translation, or a valid international driver's licence must be shown.
The minimum age to drive a Pacific Horizon motorhome is 21 years.
Minor repairs (when the hirer is not at fault) up to NZ$100 may be made without authorisation and will be reimbursed upon production of an itemised receipt. Amounts above NZ$100 require approval from Pacific Horizon On-Road Care and clients must retain an itemised receipt.
All Pacific Horizon motorhomes must be returned with:
Charges will apply if the motorhome is dropped off at a location other than that which was agreed upon.
A non-refundable deposit equal to 10% of the total cost of hire (with a minimum deposit of NZ$250.00 and a maximum deposit of NZ$1,000.00) is required to confirm a booking. The balance of hire is due 28 days before motorhome pick-up, unless otherwise arranged.
Cancellation fees, charged as of the date of cancellation, are as follows:
If a motorhome is returned early for any reason whatsoever, no refund is available.
Once a booking is confirmed, and paid in full, any changes made that may shorten the hire will not be entitled to a refund.
Changes to dates and/or locations may attract a relocation fee.
If, for reasons beyond our control, the reserved motorhome is not available, Pacific Horizon reserve the right to substitute a comparable or superior motorhome at no extra cost to the client. This shall not constitute a breach of contract and does not entitle the renter to any form of refund.
All charges include 15% GST. All rates and conditions are subject to change in accordance with changes in government taxes.
Rates and conditions may be subject to change. Whilst including the same facilities, some motorhomes may have different layouts to those shown. All measurements and volumes shown are approximate. The information provided on the website is subject to change without notice.
Your privacy is very important to us. Accordingly, we have developed the following Privacy principles in order for you to understand how we collect, use, communicate and store personal information.


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New York City's tidal wetlands will soon be getting some much-needed attention thanks to a Wetlands Program Development Grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The funds will allow researchers to study the effects of climate change and rising sea levels on area wetlands in the city's parks. Led by NYC Parks' Natural Resources Group (NRG), the study will help address issues related to climate change and help restore and protect acres of salt marshes across the five boroughs.
Over 90 acres of salt marsh have been restored thus far, but there are still 4,000 acres around the city that need examination. Plus, with the increased threat of extreme weather and sea level rise, some historic tidal marshes are now in danger of being drowned. Preserving these salt marshes will not only save wildlife and shore ecosystems, but will also help to naturally protect the city from future super storms like Hurricane Sandy.
The EPA's grant of $222,000 will be matched by New York City, and will allow the NRG to study and assess the marshlands for the next two years. With the grant, they will also be able to study which salt marshes are at the most risk of being affected by rising sea levels, so they can become a priority to take preventative measures first.


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Panthers captain Ulrich Ostergaard wants to make the East Of England Showground the most exciting place in British speedway.
The Danish ace – the odd one out in a city team featuring six British riders – is upbeat about the prospects of success in 2015.
And Ostergaard, one of the most thrilling riders to be found in the second tier of the sport, is desperate for the club's supporters to enjoy every minute of their quest for honours at Premier League level.
The popular skipper, stressed: "We need to work hard to win meetings, but it is also important that we have fun and enjoy our jobs.
"We also have to put a smile on the faces of the supporters and we all want Peterborough to be known as the most exciting place in the country.
"It is not just about winning races and heats – it is the whole package that matters. As riders we need to celebrate with the fans and make them really feel a part of what we are trying to achieve."
Ostergaard was a star performer in a Panthers team that was pipped to a play-off spot and beaten in the final of the League Cup last season.
It represented a welcome return to form for a rider who had endured mechanical and injury problems in recent years.
And, despite his 34th birthday looming large, Ostergaard is confident he can find further improvement in the new campaign.
He is also very aware of the responsibilities he and new number one (and fellow thirty-something) Olly Allen have in helping the remaining members of the Panthers side to shine.
Ostergaard, part of the last title-winning Peterborough side back in 2006, added: "The team struggled on occasions last season, but I was very happy with my own performances.
"Everyone knows how much I love riding at the Showground and it was fantastic for me to be back here.
"It is an honour to be asked to captain the team again this year and I need to make sure I pick up from where I left off.
"I hope I can increase my average again and hopefully I can challenge Olly for the number one spot.
"The most important thing is helping the team to win meetings though and myself and Olly both need to pass on our experience to the younger riders.
"I'm sure it can be a good season for everyone."


text: Scream Creek is Middle Tennessee's best haunted attraction. Scream Creek includes a haunted hayride, haunted corn field, and a haunted woods all in one. If you're not screaming, you must be dead! For the past 30 years accounts of missing persons, vehicles, pets, and supplies have poured into the Battle Creek Sheriff's Department. There has never been enough evidence to warrant an investigation. But recently the sheriff's department got a lead from a local regarding the mysterious reports. The old timer told officials to check out a dense, secluded, rural area of Battle Creek that he referred to as "Hillbilly Hollar." A team was sent to investigate but the deputies were never seen again. All that was found was a video camera that held a gruesome tale. Now the sheriff's department is asking for your help. You and others will be asked to go into Hillbilly Hollar to search for the missing persons. This isn't for the weak or faint of heart. Some of you may not make it out alive. If you choose to accept this offer, then be prepared for Scream Creek Haunted Woods, Hillbilly Hollar!


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Part 2: This post summarises the sessions presented by various Microsoft MVPs at the Integrate 2016 conference in London two weeks ago.
In my previous blog post, I summarised the messages that the Microsoft product team conveyed at the Integrate 2016 conference held in London two weeks ago. With a full day and a half of sessions, Microsoft clarified its vision and roadmap for integration and helped to generate a positive impression across the community about the future. Not the least of these key points is that BizTalk Server is here to stay, finding a solid home at the centre of Microsoft's integration capability along with Logic Apps.
In this post I will briefly summarise the remaining half of the event's sessions, delivered by the most widely respected MVPs in the worldwide integration community.
Day 2
Since the first day was entirely Microsoft's presentations, we start here with the second day.
BizTalk360 & Beyond – What's Coming in 2016?
Since BizTalk360 was the major sponsor and organiser of the Integrate 2016 event, it is not surprising that CEO & founder Saravana Kumar would deliver one of the first non-Microsoft sessions. It is even less surprising when you consider how this comprehensive solution dominates the BizTalk Server monitoring space in the industry, especially with the latest 8.1 release which sports new features such as a fully customisable dashboard, a rules composer, Service Bus integration, and more. With an image in Azure Gallery, it is now even easier to bring this ever expanding functionality to the cloud.
But what was surprising was the revelation that BizTalk360 is now branching out by offering two new products in the near future:
- BizTalk360 Lite: This SaaS edition will be hosted in the cloud and offer a cut-down version of the full product. A small agent will need to be installed on-prem. The pricing model has yet to finalised, but Saravana promised that it would include a free version. We can look forward to a beta version to be released next month.
- ServiceBus360: All the great monitoring and alert features that we've come to know and love in the BizTalk360 product will soon be available for supporting Azure Service Bus queues & topics (a major component for hybrid integration solutions). While most of us rely on Service Bus Explorer to manage these resources, ServiceBus360 will take that a step further by providing alert notifications based on queue status, size, message count, deadletter count, and other key aspects. The beta version anticipated at the end of the month will initially support queues only, but this will be expanded to topics shortly after.
One of the great aspects of BizTalk360 has been their aggressive release cadence as the product continually expands and improves. It is great to see it moving into the cloud space now; I expect before long we will even have support for Logic Apps!
Open Source Messaging Options
Richard Seroter took us on a journey beyond the Microsoft integration space by introducing some alternative open source options, such as Kafka, RabbitMQ and NATS. By highlighting some of the key criteria of modern integration, Richard gave us some perspective on how to evaluate integration platforms:
- Support for messaging patterns
- High availability and resilience
- Significant throughput
- Programmable and automated
- Lightweight
- Transient endpoints
- Low barrier to entry
He then went into an in-depth look and demonstration of each of the three options mentioned above, showing how they compare to the equivalent Microsoft platform.
Azure Service Fabric: Notes from the Field
This was the only place in the entire conference where Service Fabric was even mentioned. This piqued my interest, since the hyper-scale and auto-healing capabilities of this platform make it somewhat appealing for use in integration scenarios. Codit's CTO Sam Vanhoutte discussed the architecture of Service Fabric and how it currently supports numerous Azure services such as SQL Database, Event Hubs. Cortana, etc. Essentially a hosting platform for microservices (remember that buzzword from Integrate 2014?), a Service Fabric instance consists of multiple VMs that are self-monitoring – bringing the best bits of both IaaS and PaaS together. The microservices can be either stateful or stateless, and are modelled as either a "Service" or an "Actor". Sam gave us some insight on when to use what:
Sam then talked through four different scenarios where Codit has been using Service Fabric to solve real-world problems, including a "Connected Building", a social network for sports fans, a city camp reservation system, and a high density integration cloud.
Service Fabric looks interesting for high volume scenarios, and also presents a solution to problem we have with the current PaaS offerings – setting an outbound static IP address. However, there is some question about whether the VMs are managed by Microsoft or by the customer (e.g. O/S patching, etc). If it's the latter (as the documentation suggests), that would tend to make it more of an IaaS model in my opinion.
Integration in a World of Digital Transformation
Michael Stephenson is known for always giving thought-provoking presentations around integration architecture, and as usual this session did not disappoint. Instead of talking specifically about architecture or featuring cool Minecraft demos, this time Michael discussed tips on how to make integration succeed in a culture with high expectations of digital transformation. This Gartner Hype Cycle Model graph emphasizes the importance of integration in achieving digital transformation, and how both Azure and BizTalk Server remain at the top end of productivity:
Moving on to discuss the steps to success, Michael provided numerous recommendations around:
- managing expectations in a culture that expect a lots from integration
- promoting collaboration across teams instead of creating bottlenecks by centralising integration
- leveraging the best bits of technology across a vast array of choices in order to suit the requirements and the available skillset
- learning how to govern architecture when solutions expand beyond the original scope
- effectively performing build & deployment
- using insights to promote awareness and responsiveness
BizTalk Server: Behind Enemy Lines
Johan Hedberg gave an interesting presentation about implementing BizTalk projects in the real world, which often may be in an unfamiliar environment (e.g. Java Land). In these situations it is important to "blend in" by using the agile processes and technologies that fit within the environment and culture you are working in. Johan took us through a number of different tools including Jira (for work items), BitBucket (for source control), Bamboo and Jenkins (for build & deploy), and The Elastic Stack (for tracking, search & visualisations). A key takeaway was promoting "Integration, not Isolation" by ensuring visibility, transparency, openness, and adoption of common practices and vocabulary.
A New Set of BizTalk Server Tips & Tricks
Devscope's Sandro Pereira is possibly best known for his massive blog which has earned him the nickname "Biztalkpedia". He is also the author of the book "BizTalk Mapping Patterns and Best Practices", originally offered as a free eBook but now also available in print form from BizTalk360. This session revealed some of his exhaustive knowledge by discussing a number of tips and pointers including:
- Overcoming common pitfalls when migrating a BizTalk solution to newer version, for example resolving ID conflicts with custom adapters and functoids
- Dealing with map transformation incompatibilities between the old "XslTransform" and the new "XslCompiledTransform" engine
- Estimating the cost of a migration by calculating the number of projects, features, maps, and adapters involved
- Extending the BizTalk Server engine using the open-source Grabcaster Adapter
- How to install custom adapters on a 64-bit machine
- Avoiding disk full errors by cleaning up archived messages using PowerShell or other tools
- Monitoring an environment through auto-healing PowerShell scripts
Sandro finished up by giving away a few free copies of his book and some BizTalk T-Rex stickers.
How to Perform Perfect BizTalk Server Solution Review
Finishing up Day 2 was the vibrant Nino Crudele from Italy who discussed some of the key aspects involved in performing a BizTalk environment review. Referencing his white paper which can be downloaded from the BizTalk360 site, Nino first talked about his engagement tactics, working to "identify the enemy" and associated big problems whilst retaining sensitivity to the politics and stress typically associated with organisation currently undergoing integration problems. His diagrams showing the CTO/CEO Mental Test were particularly poignant:
Nino also discussed some the tools which assist in performing an assessment (including a cost calculation spreadsheet and the BizTalk Maturity Questionnaire), as well as some tools for aiding development best practices like Nos, the Grabcaster Adapter, and Sandro's blog. In addition, he mentioned the importance of minimum documentation requirements, such as naming conventions and Handshake Flow and Interface Matrices. Finally, he compared various options for monitoring, logging, deployments, management and governance. Nino's passionate and humorous presentation style provided just the energy level needed at the end of a very long day!
Day 3
Although this was the shortest day (ending at 1pm), it was nonetheless packed with no less than eight presentations, some which I felt could have done with more than the 30-45 minute time limit that the speaker was confined to.
Azure IaaS Essentials for the BizTalk Developer
Opening the day was a session by Stephen W. Thomas who started by recapping some of the great benefits of Azure IaaS like cost savings, flexibility of scale and making it easy for developers to provision temporary environments. On the flip side of the coin are the challenges such as the breaking changes that can occur from frequent updates and the speed of progression (especially with preview features). Stephen provided a very helpful guide for navigating through the plethora of different options we are confronted with, starting with a selection of 58 different VM sizes, basic vs. premium storage, and choosing classic vs. new Resource Manager VMs. His recommendation for BizTalk was to use a DS2v-2 VM with Premium Storage (about $110/month with an MSDN account). After reminding us to turn off VMs went not using it and to clean up our subscriptions, Stephen demoed the creation of a VM in the Azure portal, choosing a Windows Server 2012 Datacenter image with the Chef extension. He also noted that location matters, as an image created in East US costs more than the same image in Central US! Stephen finished up by discussing Azure Resource Manager (ARM) templates and the use of PowerShell, providing a link to his blog article and script that can create a full BizTalk domain using classic VMs in less than an hour!
Unified Tracking Across On Premise and the Cloud
In his presentation, M.R. Ashwin Prabhu stressed the importance of instrumentation and how it is too often overlooked or under-valued. The concept of an "informed application" becomes even more critical when we move into the hybrid solution space where applications span both on-premises and cloud. Ashwin demonstrated this clearly with progressive scenarios of exposing BizTalk Server BAM data in Power BI via Event Hubs and Stream Analytics, then doing the same for a Logic Apps solution, and finally combining the output of both to provide comprehensive telemetry across the hybrid solution. It was an impressive display of how the combination of these Azure services can elevate the visibility of what it typically a "black box" into reports that will enthuse business stakeholders and executives.
End-to-End IoT Solutions Leveraging Microsoft Azure Platform
Well-known TechNet Wiki Ninja and Seattle Seahawks fan Steef-Jan Wiggers talked about the ubiquitous Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm and how we see it today not only in cities and buildings but also in industries such as healthcare, energy and mobility. He described the "IoT Value Chain" consisting of event producers, data collection, data ingestors, transformation, storage and presentation – linking these items to the Azure services that support each of those capabilities. A key component for "learning about the past to predict the future" is Azure Machine Learning, a powerful platform for building and training models for predictive analytics.
Steef-Jan used his experience with both a wind energy and a greenhouse IoT solution in order to illustrate a scenario that leveraged Azure Event Hubs, Stream Analytics, Storage and Power BI to surface monitoring data. He also mentioned how IoT Suite can get you up & running in minutes via the pre-configured templates, and finally stressed that IoT is really more about data than technology.
Real World Industrial IoT
Kent Weare's talk centred on Industrial IoT (IIoT) and that although it has its roots in Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), they are not one in the same. SCADA is heavily reliant in infrastructure, multi-level networks and firewalls, and proprietary protocols which make it an expensive proposition. It was this cost that prompted a client's requirement for changing to a more modern methodology, leading to the solution that formed the basis of Kent's example scenario. Kent's team used a reference architecture of Event Hubs, Service Bus, Stream Analytics, App Service, Power BI, and BizTalk Server to deliver a hybrid solution for monitoring the state of devices and the Power Generation Output (MW). The solution went from Proof of Concept to Production deployment in less than six months! Kent provided three demos showing the telemetry architecture, real-time visualisations, and detection of the absence of events. He also discussed how BizTalk360 was used to monitor the solution, setting alarms based on a failure to receive an expected number of "heartbeat" messages.
Azure IoT Hub beyond Hello World
Capping off the IoT side of the conference was Mikael Hakansson's talk which focussed on the mechanics of getting devices to talk to cloud services. After providing a brief walkthrough of the reference architecture, Mikael stepped bravely into an area few other presenters in the conference dared to: live coding. After successfully writing a Node.js program to process real-time data off of a Raspberry Pi 3, he explained the process for onboarding a new device:
Finally, he gave an interesting plug for his own company microServiceBus.com by demonstrating a facial recognition solution – one that even successfully identified a bubble-head statue of himself!
Implementing a real life scenario for the API Economy
Tomasso Groenendijk gave us a practical demonstration of how to implement your website as a Web App, and then use API Management to delegate security. For the first part, he took us through the process of creating the Web App using an MVC template in Visual Studio, storing the user data in an Azure SQL Database, configuring a custom domain and finally enabling SSL by creating DNS records and importing a certificate. One key step that often puzzles developers is how to generate the require .PFX certificate file; Tomasso showed how easy this is using OpenSSL.
In the second part, Tomasso then took us through the process of wiring up API Management to control delegation – which required setting up security in the Azure Management Portal first.
API Apps 101 for BizTalk Developers
Quicklearn's Nick Hauenstein proved his exceptional skills as a trainer by delivering one of the most captivating and entertaining sessions of the conference. Using food as a metaphor, Nick first emphasized the priorities of designing an integration solution:
Then he walked through the process of designing a relatively simple integration solution for a business process which requires some familiar patterns: adapters, pipes & filters, pub/sub, process manager and content-based correlation. All of things we are used to doing with the rich toolset in BizTalk Server. However, Nick showed us a compelling solution using Logic Apps, Service Bus, and a custom API App – and his live demo proved that the concept of promoted properties and correlation works just as well in the cloud as it does in BizTalk!
This was a real eye opener, as many of us tend to think that the Azure integration tooling still falls behind the gargantuan capabilities of BizTalk. And in many respects, it does; but by widening our view to encompass the full range of Azure services and leveraging some clever programming, many of these capabilities can be replicated in the cloud without the huge upfront investment of the server product. Nick has published his entire presentation in blog format here for you to read.
How to Take a Customer from a Cloud Assessment to an Implementation
Wrapping up the conference was a session by one of the newest integration MVPs, Tom Canter. Tom exhibited his excellent story-telling talents by relating one of his experiences when he worked aboard a US nuclear submarine. I highly recommend watching the video (soon to be posted) to hear Tom's version firsthand, but the punchline was that the CO was able to wake up from a dead sleep at 2am and within four minutes avert a near disaster by recalling a technical detail that escaped the five levels of highly trained officers below him. This underpins the Tom's quote by Clemens Vasters: ""Software developers ought to have a solid understanding of at least one level of system abstraction below the one they build on."
Tom went on to highlight the five management pillars of an enterprise organisation, stressing that every successful business must do at least one well:
- Enterprise Resource Management
- Customer Relationship Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Financial Management
- Human Resource Management
Using the real-life examples of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS), Tom showed how understanding what brings in revenue (for businesses) and what the most important function is (for non-profit organisations) drives the solution design.
Whilst Microsoft conveyed new and highly anticipated clarity about the integration roadmap in their sessions, the MVPs showcased their experience and knowledge with practical advice and examples of how to apply this broad range of technology in the real world. In this way, the product team and the MVPs complemented each other perfectly, contributing to an awesome event! Videos and presentation slides are slowly being made available for download here - I'd highly recommend checking them out!


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To see more of this seller's radios, visit Ben Martin's Radio Library.
|Six volumes, TGL-1 thru TVL-6. Listing all TVs from 1950 to 1956, Admiral to Zenith showing chassis drawings and tube locations. All in good condition. Complete set. $17.00. (3020028)
Radio Attic Home | Radios for Sale | Go to Ben Martin's Radio Library
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Sellers are identified at the top of each page. You must directly contact the seller to purchase a radio.
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This article is reprinted with the permission of Nixon Peabody LLP
Over the past year the White House has sought to align federal rental policy. Sometimes called "Harmonization," these efforts have focused on several areas where federal programs work in tandem among the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Treasury (essentially the Internal Revenue Service's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (mainly Rural Housing Services' multifamily programs operated through Rural Development). The White House has convened several working group meetings culminating in a roll out meeting this past July 27. The Administration published its report called Federal Rental Alignment Opportunities—Conceptual Proposals, and sought comments over the summer. The report is broken out by its 11 subject areas: physical inspections, income reporting and definitions, subsidy layering reviews, reduction in state-to-state variability for income definition, financial reporting, common energy efficiency requirements, appraisal primer, market study standards, capital needs assessment, improve sharing of data on owner defaults, and compliance (fair housing MOUs).
The Administration is now starting implementation through pilot programs for physical inspections and subsidy layering reviews. The physical inspection pilot will involve limited numbers of properties in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Washington State, and Wisconsin. The subsidy layering pilot will be implemented in certain transactions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan, and Nevada.
The physical inspection pilots have started their roll outs in the past two weeks in different states. Each pilot is focused on executing Memoranda of Understanding ("MOU") in each pilot state between HUD, USDA, and the state Housing Finance Agency. Indications are that the Uniform Physical Condition Standard or UPCS would become the common inspection standard.
Similarly, the subsidy layering pilot will be implemented by state-specific MOUs between HUD, RD, and the state Housing Finance Agency.
The foregoing has been prepared for the general information of clients and friends of the firm. It is not meant to provide legal advice with respect to any specific matter and should not be acted upon without professional counsel. If you have any questions or require any further information regarding these or other related matters, please contact your regular Nixon Peabody LLP representative. This material may be considered advertising under certain rules of professional conduct.


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... To the lonely sea and sky.
I left my socks upon the rocks -
I do hope they are dry!
Ah, summer! Boating weather.
When your boat works, that is.
Yesterday I saw a boat called Money Pit II being towed along the road, and thought that with a name like that the owner should have learned a lesson from owning, presumably, Money Pit I.
Maybe we should rename our boat Money Pit. It's called Bootle-Bumtrinket after Gerald Durrell's childhood boat, because - well, frankly it looks like a Bootle-Bumtrinket. It's clumsy and orange and a bit of a conservative old man's boat. I call it Bootle for short. G hates the whole name and only calls it Trinket. It looks nothing like a Trinket. Trust me. Or judge for yourself:
Anyway Bootle has been out of action for a year. She was a cheap buy and twice we've had to screw the front passenger seat back down. However, the wood under the deck had rotted, so this year, with the advice of a friend, G bought some marine ply and fibreglassed it to the top of the deck. He is no handyman. Our friend, DIY-boy for want of a better name, shook his head and said we'd have to sand it back and do it again. In short, DIY-boy did it for us with G watching on to learn. After that, G and DIY-boy screwed new seats (because the old ones were buggered anyway) onto the new raised deck area.
I will mention at this point that one of the new seats is height adjustable, so I, the vertically-challenged, can lower it to drive the boat in comfort. I have a skipper's licence as does G. But, woe is me, G screwed the adjustable seat onto the passenger side. For fuck's sake! I was bitterly disappointed but as he'd worked so hard and sworn so much over it, I had to say how fantastic the whole job was and that an adjustable passenger seat was probably a good idea anyway.
So today is 'take the boat out' day. Or it's supposed to be.
The battery was flattish yesterday, so we bought a new battery charger as the old one was broken, and charged it overnight. It hasn't retained its charge so G has headed out now to buy a new one. The battery is officially buggered.
I reminded him we'll have to top up the tank with fresh fuel as the old fuel will be too old to ignite easily. Fuel over six weeks old doesn't work as well as new fuel. I sincerely hope the tank isn't full to the brim with old fuel.
So by the time we get this show on the road today, the tide will be racing out and it'll be awful old low tide at the boat ramp, never much fun. High tide peaked an hour ago. There's a southerly wind due and the harbour will be choppy, and the sun isn't even shining, but G is determined to get Bootle/Trinket/Money Pit out on the water. We're going to take the orange monster into the fish markets.
Chips ahoy!
Three hours later:
Well. We were puttering around for a maximum of 20 minutes including time when the motor conked out thrice and refused to restart for a while. Boats!!!
I know the poor little thing had a very cold engine so I didn't take it about 1500 rpm, but even after letting it warm up for ten minutes, it kept conking out at anything above 1500. The worst time was when I was frantically trying to restart it and G was using the paddle to move it to the side of the channel, and a speeding Rivercat was bearing down on us!
Still, she hobbled back to the boat ramp for me, and now we have to find out her problem. My bet is that it's dirt somewhere in the fuel system. Watch this space.


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We get to announce the line up for the next term.
And I'm proud to declare that I have made it into the
and I am no-longer a Pin-Up but I have joined the ranks as an official Bombshell Girl
along with my teamie Jodi.
The new line up of Pin-Up's are:
Ms. October: Alex Lundgren
Ms. November: Cassie Schissel Barber
Ms. December: Monika Franziska
Ms. January: Jenn Borjeson
Ms. February: Christine Garner
Ms. March: Marie Carlsson
Congratulation's Ladies!
We will be continuing with our weekly challenges, tutorial and fab features as usual so pop along and play along for the chance to win so fabulous prizes at The Bombshell Blog or Forum.


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Beautiful smiles deserve a beautiful website but Marianna Beetham Dental's site wasn't doing them justice. Dental practices face stiff competition so their website needed to showcase the uniqueness of the practice and compel visitors to become patients.
Their offices in Kirkland look fantastic. They design is clean and modern and they have the latest equipment and technology. We built a website that matches the professional elegance of their dental practice and included all the features that make us specialists in medical website design.
Take a look at the pictures of happy smiles and perfect teeth, the simple and inviting layout and the logical navigation. We know that the key to designing effective medical websites is to present complex information in a simple and unintimidating way. We made this site friendly and comforting to visitors while still driving traffic from search engines and arranging site elements to compel action.
Like we do for many of our clients in the healthcare industry, we included an easy-to-fill-out Make an Appointment form complete with PDF downloads of required paperwork. By streamlining the appointment process, we save our client time and money and boost visitor-to-patient conversion like never before.
View project: www.beethamdds.com
More examples of web design for healthcare industry


text: Campaign theme: Sometimes men can be animals. Heck, even your kids can be animals at times. The list goes on and on: Sloppy like a pig, lumbering like a bear, rude like an ass. But you gotta love them anyway. So, no matter what animal they may be, PERT PLUS will always give them great hair. Unless, of course, they're bald as an eagle. Don't be an animal. Start with the little things, like clean, great smelling hair. Pert Plus. 2-1 Shampoo plus conditioner. Great hair. In. Out. Done. The new campaign targets men ages 25-54 who want clean, great looking hair that will get them "in, out and done" when it comes to daily grooming. These are men who define themselves by family, work and friends. PERT Plus understands that their consumer is a simple creature with basic needs which includes time-efficient, no-fuss grooming solutions. - Ad campaign created by New York-based agency, Sigma - PERT Plus is owned by Idelle Labs in Danbury, Conn., a division of Helen of Troy Ltd. - New PERT Plus ads will run in print publications in the men's, women's and fitness spaces, including ESPN, the Magazine, Family Circle and Men's Fitness magazines. The Discovery Channel, MLB Network and History Channel will feature on-air ads, while inclusion of digital content is also coming soon. - In addition to the new advertising platform, the brand is currently supported by national PR efforts. PERT Plus has also teamed up with Minor League Baseball™ in order to better connect with today's young, active family guy. Capitalizing on fan engagement, the partnership adds a fun twist to ballpark activities with "Hair Raising Moments" and "Hat Head Interventions" taking place in minor league stadiums across the country, with activation in approximately 20 stadiums. - New PERT Plus packaging hits stores nationwide in October.


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You are here
Affirms Commitment to Clean Coal Technology Investments; Requests $648 Million for Coal Research, Development and Deployment for FY09 Budget - Largest Coal Budget Request in more than 25 years
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today announced a restructured approach to its FutureGen project that aims to demonstrate cutting-edge carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology at multiple commercial-scale Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) clean coal power plants. Under this strategy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will join industry in its efforts to build IGCC plants by providing funding for the addition of CCS technology to multiple plants that will be operational by 2015. This approach builds on technological research and development advancements in IGCC and CCS technology achieved over the past five years and is expected to at least double the amount of carbon dioxide sequestered compared to the concept announced in 2003. Clean coal technology is a vital component of the Bush Administration's vision for a cleaner, more secure energy future and this more cost-effective approach will demonstrate IGCC-CCS clean coal technology to enable wider use and commercialization more rapidly.
Secretary Bodman also today announced President Bush's budget request of $648 million for the DOE Office of Fossil Energy's advanced coal technology research, development and demonstration program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. The FY09 budget requests $407 million for coal research - including development of more efficient gasification and turbine technologies, innovations for existing coal power plants, and large-scale CCS injection tests - and $241 million to demonstrate technologies for cost-effective carbon capture and storage for coal-fired power plants - including $156 million for the restructured FutureGen approach and $85 million for DOE's Clean Coal Power Initiative. This $648 million request represents a $129 million increase from the President's FY2008 request and is the largest amount requested for DOE's coal program in more than 25 years.
"This restructured FutureGen approach is an all-around better investment for Americans. As technological advancements have been realized in the last five years, we are eager to demonstrate CCS technology on commercial plants that when operational, will be the cleanest coal-fired plants in the world. Each of these plants will sequester at least one million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually and help meet our nation's rapidly growing energy demand," Secretary Bodman said. "Coal is our nation's most abundant energy resource powering over half of the homes in America. To ensure a clean, reliable and affordable energy future, the Department of Energy is planning the largest budget request in over 25 years focusing on demonstrating advanced technology like carbon capture and storage so that the technology can be perfected and rapidly deployed across the country."
The Department today issued a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks industry's input by March 3, 2008, on the costs and feasibility associated with building clean coal facilities that achieve the intended goals of FutureGen. Following this period and consideration of industry comment, DOE intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement - or competitive solicitation - to provide federal funding under cooperative agreements to equip IGCC (or other clean coal technology) commercial power plants that generate at least 300 megawatts, with CCS technology aimed at accelerating near-term technology deployment. Initial input from industry will assist in determining how many demonstrations can be commissioned.
This restructured approach allows DOE to maximize the role of private sector innovation, provide a ceiling on federal contributions, and accelerate the Administration's goal of increasing the use of clean energy technologies to help meet the steadily growing demand for energy while also mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Under this plan, DOE's investment would provide funding for no more than the CCS component of the power plant - not the entire plant construction, compared with the FutureGen concept announced in 2003 where the federal government would incur 74% of rising costs. This would allow for commercial operation of IGCC power plants equipped with CCS technology to begin as soon as the plants are commissioned, between 2015 and 2016.
The FutureGen concept announced in 2003 planned the creation of a near-zero emissions, 275 MW power plant that produced hydrogen and electricity from coal on a smaller-than-commercial-scale, serving as a laboratory for technology development. Today's announcement builds on advancements in technology made since 2003 and allows for electricity to be produced and greenhouse gas emissions sequestered at a rate and scale that offers tremendous potential for commercial viability. The restructured approach will focus on separating carbon dioxide (CO2) for CCS, and does not include hydrogen production, which the concept announced in 2003 included; however, hydrogen production for commercial use will remain an important component of DOE's other energy initiatives. Also, engagement with the international community will remain an integral part of DOE's efforts to advance CCS technology on a global scale.
The four sites - two in Illinois and two in Texas - evaluated in the Department's Environmental Impact Statement issued in November 2007, including the site announced by the FutureGen Alliance in December 2007, Mattoon, IL, may be eligible to host a commercial-scale IGCC plant with CCS technology. The site analysis and characterization data at these sites may be applicable to future environmental analyses under this restructured approach. More than one site may be selected as a host for the commercial demonstration of CCS technology and DOE encourages applicants to include these four sites in their consideration for this restructured approach. Also, the FutureGen Alliance's 13 member companies may compete with all the other applicants.
This restructured approach builds on the Administration's investment of more than $2.5 billion in clean coal technology since 2001, which includes small-scale carbon sequestration projects and IGCC research that have advanced our understanding of the potential for clean coal technology. It is also consistent with a key recommendation of last year's Massachusetts Institute of Technology Study, "The Future of Coal," which indicated that "the main purpose of the [FutureGen] project should be to demonstrate commercial viability of coal-based power generation with CCS." The Administration's Clean Coal Power Initiative, as well as awards of $1.65 billion in clean coal tax incentives, and the use of loan guarantees, are other key components of DOE's efforts to demonstrate the potential of advanced clean coal technologies to meet growing energy demand.
Learn more information on the FutureGen initiative projects and other Department of Energy clean coal projects at the Office of Fossil Energy. The RFI is available at FedBizOpps.gov.
Media contact(s):
Julie Ruggiero, (202) 586-4940


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After problem with MSI X430 described in earlier post, I kept shopping. There were few interesting contenders. By chance I saw in the shop a ViewSonic ViewBook Pro VNB131. I didn't even consider a ViewSonic to be a company to consider notebooks from, but they keep providing surprises. The screen immediately catches attention - it's truly bright and vivid, unlikely washed-out generation of current inexpensive notebook screens. And in around 1.6kg they managed to cramp even easily-replaceable DVD. Which is a brilliant ... drawback, in the same way as big battery in notebook is ;-). DVD in my nx9420 is amost dead now, hardly reading every 5th disk I put into it (which is rare nowadays).
Well, anyway, VNB131 is outstanding device (they even promise all-aluminum frame), exactly of that type that you notice, keep in mind, and when finally you want to get one few months later - oops, it's no longer around. The reason I skipped it was that I got idea of L335 performance, and looked up Core2 ULV (used in VNB131) performance - it turned out it's not much better than 5-year old Toshiba M200 which I have. As I got idea taht i won't get anything decent for $500, I decided to shell out more, but get something noticeably powerful than even nx9420.
And the winnder was Asus X34F, which just recently got into stock around. X34F is a strange device, there was no info about it on Asus site. No reviews on the net. Googling just gave lot of pricelist hits clustered for some locality, giving good, though sometimes controversial specs. After extensive research, it turned out it's a U35F spinoff for these localities. Afre finally spotting an instance in a physical shop, I've ordered it and it seems everything is right with it. Funny thing, scrolling with touchpad again doesn't work with Ubuntu 10.10 (device otherwise sells with just FreeDOS). But I have high hopes and trust Asus not to stick films advertising 2-finger scroll on an unsupporting touchpad. Just Linux driver needs upgrade or maybe hacking. After all, I already fixed (thanks to forums) hang-on-suspend issue which at first occured.
Friday, January 21, 2011
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Lagos State Government has urged traders at Mile 12 market, to desist from street trading and illegal parking that may cause traffic gridlock during Easter.
General Manager of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Babatunde Edu, and Chairman of the Task Force on Environment and Special Offences (Enforcement Unit), Bayo Sulaiman, met with stakeholders and the market leaders. They asked them to comply with the directive in their interest.
Failure to comply, they said, would compel the government to take drastic actions.
Edu said the government was worried over illegal parking, charging the traders to devise ways through which they can operate without obstructing traffic and inflicting pain on road.
"You must also provide a place where your customers will park; you can't expect them to park outside or on the road. The excuse that truck drivers are waiting to collect money from their customers before leaving the market is not tenable. They must leave on time to allow other trucks to come in. The payment can be done in banks; we have developed beyond that.
"There are blockades on the service lanes because of the activities of traders and commercial drivers. Things will not change until we change our attitude and ways of doing things"
He also warned LAGBUS and BRT buses against illegal parking, saying LASTMA officials had been empowered to take photographs of the erring drivers and their buses.
Sulaiman warned the National Union of Road Transport Workers and traders to desist from operating on the service lanes, insisting that government would not condone illegality on the axis.
Sulaiman told the market leaders: "Find a way to regulate the way you are doing your business; you can't continue to operate while you make people to suffer. Our job is to ensure that things are in order in the market so that you will not disturb others while doing your business.
"We are worried by the complaints of other citizens who can no longer reach their homes on time following your business activities", he said.
The chairman of Perishable Goods Association, Alhaji Haruna Muhammed, blamed the traffic gridlock on some shop owners whom he accused of also selling on the roads despite having their shops inside the market.
He also identified the nuisance constituted by commercial drivers (Danfo Drivers) whom he said, often park on the Expressway to pick passengers.