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Les Boudewyns' Methanol-Injected '67 Chevelle - We Love it When Street Rodder Guys Realize that Muscle Cars are Cooler
If you look closely at the market, the street machine is the new street rod. As sheetmetal becomes more expensive and bodies become scarce, the sheetmetal fab and custom parts creation that used to be the realm of '32 Fords are now required to build muscle-era rides. Take Les Boudewyns, for example. He's a street rodder who got into musclecars about 10 years ago when he began to admire the looks and stamina of some local street machines at the drag races. "I think that musclecars are a lot faster and they don't break as much," he says. His string of street rods began with a '40 Ford coupe with a small-block and a Muncie four-speed transmission. It was a cruiser, plain-Jane rebuild that went to rod runs and car-club meets back in the '70s. That car was sold when he found a '32 all-steel five-window Ford with a small-block and a B&M 144 baby blower; it was more of the same.
Everything changed in the mid-'90s, when Les got a ride in a friend's Buick Grand National that ran low 12s without an intercooler. Remember, 12s were fast for that era. Inspired by the easy speed and durability, Les bought a basket-case '85 Buick T-Type so he could go fast too. That Buick introduced Les to the dragstrip with an 11.14 at 121. While he was there he got a good long look at a '66 Chevelle and quickly got used to the body style. "After that, I decided I needed one." He found a rust-free '67 disassembled in Sacramento, brought the shell home, and got to work. The body had been modified in the trans tunnel and there were some dents, but nothing too major.
About two years ago the ProCharger was the big rage, so Les bought one for the Chevelle. Since he's always been a small-block Chevy guy too, he decided to put the two together and go drag racing. He contacted a local engine builder and sent him the parts to get the short-block assembled. During the bench racing, someone suggested that if you want to go real fast on pump gas, you should inject the supercharger with methanol, so that's what Les did. With some ported Dart heads, 17 pounds of boost from the ProCharger, and a light mist of methanol on the inlet side of the supercharger, he went 10.75 at 127 mph the first time out.
Tech NotesWho: Les BoudewynsWhat: "It's a '67 Chevelle Malibu, and I am proud of it. Everyone else has a cloned SS."
Where: Spokane, Washington, about four hours east of Seattle. We're told it is a huge street rod town.
Engine: The engine is a 0.030-over four-bolt 350 with a steel GM crank, Eagle H-beam rods, and Speed-Pro 8.2:1 pistons. The cam is an "old-school, cheapie, Summit flat-tappet cam," says Les. It has 234/244 duration at 0.050 and 0.488/0.510 on a 112 lobe separation. It idles smooth at 850 rpm.
Heads: The 350 uses a set of Dart 200cc aluminum heads that have a short-side port job and a bowl blend. The valves are 2.02/1.60s with 1.6:1 roller rockers.
Intake: The carb is a Quick Fuel 750 on top of an Edelbrock Victor Jr. single-plane with a spacer. The whole deal is fed with an Aeromotive A1000 pump and an Edelbrock pressure regulator.
Cool: Using a one-way brake check-valve, methanol is injected from a stainless steel tank mounted on the passenger-side radiator core support when boost hits 10 psi. The reservoir is pressurized by the intake charge, forcing methanol into the intake side of the supercharger. It's completely mechanical and allows the engine to run more boost and more timing on the street without wasting race gas.
Box: The aluminum box mounted on the firewall feeds cold air directly from the cowl area into the supercharger through a K&N cone-style air filter.
More: It also has an Edelbrock plate nitrous system, but Les is afraid to pull the trigger on the 100-shot. Everyone has told him that he is fast approaching the safety limit of the block, and Les doesn't want to blow it up. "The wheelspin is already uncontrollable on the street," he says. It made 604 hp at the wheels on nitrous and 511 with the methanol on pump gas.
Ignition: The ignition is an MSD Digital 7A box with a billet distributor that controls timing, the nitrous system, and the shift light, and is capable of traction control if the sensors are hooked up.
Supercharger: The ProCharger DS1 is good for 900 hp and produces up to 17 pounds of boost on this combination. The blow-off valve is from Mondavi
Body: The body is BMW silver and was straightened by Les in his own per sonal garage. The schnoz was handmade by Chris Ledgerwood at Extreme Customs in Veradale, Washington, with a steel scoop that was grafted on the steel hood. Ken Van DeVander, a local Spokane artist, did the pinstriping
Interior: The upholstery is replacement factory stuff from OPG, the dash and the console are custom-made, and C&B auto upholstery installed the carpet and the headliner. The car sat in the desert for years, so the rubber on the car was rock-hard and all the glass in the car was crystallized from the heat. Les spent mucho bucks at True Connections to get the stock glass. The 'cage is NHRA-certified for an 8.50 pass and the Russell five-point harness is for safety. The Innovate O2 meter is a temporary thing Les is using to tune the car on the street. The Pro-Comp Ultra-Lite Auto Meter gauges are mounted to a single sheet of aluminum that has ribs added to get the right look. The steering wheel is from LeCarra.
Wheels/Tires: The wheels are traditional 15×8 and 15×6 Weld Drag Lites with 275/60R15 rear and 225/60R15 front because Les wanted a traditional drag racing look.
Rearend: To get the 275 tires to fit, the 12-bolt was narrowed. To get down the freeway, it uses 3.73:1 gears. The lower control arms are boxed, and the uppers are Edelbrock adjustables with Edelbrock IAS shocks and Hotchkis 111/44-inch front and 1-inch rear sway bars, and 2-inch lowering springs in the front with 1-inch in the back.
Transmission: In Les' words, the TH400 is absolutely bulletproof with a transbrake and a Hughes 3,400 stall converter.
Fuel cell: The rear sump was welded in to a new gas tank. It's all handmade.


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A total conversion of Troika's 'The Temple of Elemental Evil' for the classic D&D module 'The Keep on the Borderlands.'
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text: abrahamsson.eu is alive and kicking! Well, now at least we have managed to get a domain and get online. We have other big projects and we might not be able to finish it .. If anyone wants to help, or you have other queries, then please contact us via e-mail below.


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CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago White Sox reached their low point of the season by falling nine games under .500, yet took something positive out of their 4-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday night.
Avisail Garcia hit his first home run since he returned from the disabled list last weekend. His last homer came on April 8, one day before he tore the labrum in his left shoulder.
"Yeah, it's hard because I lost a lot off-time," Garcia said. "To be here, you have got to work hard for that because the pitching is nice. So you have to focus hard."
The White Sox were in position to take the lead in the eighth, when Alexei Ramirez and Alejandro De Aza singled with one out. But right-hander Darren O'Day entered the game and struck out Jose Abreu and Garcia.
"Against a sidewinder like that, yeah, it's a tough at-bat for those guys," manager Robin Ventura said. "We had opportunities even early on."
Nelson Cruz took the major league lead with his 33rd home run and the surging Orioles completed a three-game sweep, their first over the White Sox in Chicago since July 1995.
Adam Jones and Steve Pearce also homered for the Orioles, who extended their AL East lead to nine games over second-place Toronto. Baltimore has hit 161 as a team this year, the most in the majors.
Cruz's homer was a two-run shot in the fourth off Hector Noesi that gave Baltimore a 3-2 lead. Cruz is one ahead of Abreu and Miami's Giancarlo Stanton for the homer lead.
Noesi (7-9) allowed seven hits, including three homers. The right-hander walked none and struck out eight in seven innings.
"When you leave a pitch up, they're going to get you," Noesi said. "When you miss a pitch on your location, they go for it."
Wei-Yin Chen (13-4) went 7 1-3 innings and allowed three runs and six hits.
Zach Britton picked up his 27th save in 30 tries in front of a Chicago crowd that included several hundred enthusiastic, orange-clad Orioles fans.
Orioles: 3B Manny Machado reported his sprained right ankle had been slow to respond to treatment and exercises.
White Sox: General manager Rick Hahn said OF Adam Eaton (strained right oblique) could be off the disabled list next week and will go on a rehab assignment soon.
Orioles: RHP Kevin Gausman (7-4, 3.70) faces Cubs RHP Jake Arrieta (6-4, 2.61) on Friday at Wrigley Field. Arrieta spent parts of four seasons with the Orioles before being traded last July to Chicago.
White Sox: LHP John Danks (9-8, 4.94) faces Yankees RHP Shane Greene (3-1, 2.91) on Friday in New York. Danks is 2-2 with a 6.20 ERA since July 1.
Curt Schilling's revelation of oral cancer hit home to Showalter, who called the ex-pitcher "one of the favorite players I ever had (managed)." Schilling blamed his condition on smokeless tobacco, which Showalter said he used occasionally. "It's a very serious issue," Showalter said.
There has been speculation that Carlos Rodon, the No. 3 overall pick in this year's draft, could be called up by the White Sox before the end of the season. But Hahn said "there is nothing set in stone in terms of him coming here or not coming here."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Balachandran on Sale ?Another Market Gimmick by Channel 4
Posted on February 22nd, 2013
By: W M Rajakaruna
A death of a child, no doubt is a reason to mourn. The disturbing image of a bullet-ridden body of a boy and the pictures of him, said to have been taken a few hours before he had fallen dead; the latest pictures extracted from the controversial Channel 4 video "No Fire Zone" to be released has caused much pain to many.
In this document a picture of a 12-year-old boy with bullet holes in his chest can be seen and the director claims that the boy is Balachandran Prabhakaran, the youngest son of LTTE leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran. The director is Callum Macrae, a former reporter at Channel 4, now turned director. It is to be noted that the some of this pictures were largely circulated in the internet and most of them have appeared in the previous Channel 4 documentaries.
For many, who have viewed Channel 4's previous videos, this is heart-rending as a body of a teenage boy is shown. It is good to highlight the killing of a child in a video, but hasn't 'Channel 4' have a 'reputation' of releasing fictitious videos?. What are the motives ? What are its interests ? who funds them ? Why at this time? are the questions that begets an answer.
Indian Union External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid had said he had seen the pictures and the report on the alleged coldblooded killing of LTTE chief V. Prabakaran's minor son by the Sri Lankan Army but could not vouch for their authenticity. Mr. Khurshid was asked about the government's response to the op-ed in The Hindu's Tuesday edition based on a British documentary featuring the pictures of the killing of Prabakaran's 12-year-old son, Balachandran. Sri Lanka has dismissed the report as "lies, half-truths and numerous forms of speculation" and suggested such reports make a comeback around this time of the year when Sri Lanka's human rights situation comes up for appraisal before a United Nation's committee.
Sri Lankan High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam too responding to the allegations had stated to the media that the photographs had no 'credibility ' and said the photos in the documentary are "morphed" and 'diabolical' and deemed that it seems to be motivated for a particular purpose of influencing the debate in the Human Right's council in the Sri Lanka situation. He added the documentary was the propaganda of LTTE backers and that the Sri Lankan military did not kill Prabhakaran's 12-year-old son. "Prabhakaran's son could have been killed in crossfire while he was in a little bunker.
Has the Channel 4 team well and truly missed incidents where thousands of little children including new-born babies were killed in cold blood? The video clearly shows that the so-called investigators of Channel 4 have not done their homework and pretend they were not aware of the ground realities in the North working to a hidden agenda. The history of the ruthless LTTE is full of such gruesome killings where children, despite their ethnicity were chopped, smashed and bombed.
Whilst this is not an attempt to justify the purported death of the of the boy shown in the video, but to remind Channel 4 that thousands of Sri Lankan children, who perished even before they blossomed into their teens, are waiting for justice from Channel 4 to air similar videos of their stories which also need to be heard.
The LTTE massacre of innocent Sinhala villagers to ethnically cleanse the North commenced way back in 1984, with the attack on the two farming villages of Kent and Dollar Farms in Mullaitivu.
LTTE terrorists made a killing field of these two villages and armed LTTE terrorists chopped, gunned down and decimated the village killing 33 villagers, majority of whom were women and children at these two farms.
It the LTTE's second attack on the Sinhala village – Kent Farm, they killed 29 civilians, including women and children.
On August 3, 1990, the LTTE killed over 147 Muslim men and boys of a crowd of over 300 worshippers who were prostrating for 'Isha' prayers in the Meer Jumma, Husseinia, Majid-Jul-Noor and Fowzie Mosques in Kattankudi, a Muslim town 140 miles east of Colombo, in Batticaloa where they continuously fired at the worshippers for over 15 minutes.
In June 15, 2006 the LTTE killed 64 innocent civilians including 15 children in twin claymore mine bus attack on a fully packed bus consisting of the sick enroute to the Kebithigollewa hospital.
The Aranthalawa Massacre on June 2, 1987, where 33 Buddhist Monks: 30 of them young novice monks below 15 years, were gunned down and is considered one of the most gruesome and barbaric killings committed by the LTTE. The monks were on a pilgrimage to a temple in the South when the terrorists stopped and ordered the driver to divert the bus into the nearby Aranthalawa jungle. Thereafter the LTTE cadres went on a rampage, attacking the monks with machetes and swords in a macabre and gory manner.
The Anuradhapura massacre in 1985 was the largest massacre; first the LTTE cadres opened fire indiscriminately with automatic weapons killing and wounding many civilians who were waiting for public transport. Thereafter LTTE cadres drove to the Sacred Sri Maha Bodhi Shrine venerated by Buddhist and gunned down nuns, monks and civilians as they prayed inside the Buddhist shrine.
Whilst withdrawing, the LTTE strike force entered the national park of Wilpattu killed another 18 Sinhalese in the forest reserve, and at day's end 146 innocent Sinhalese men, women and children in Anuradhapura ended being massacred by the LTTE cadres.
LTTE terrorists stormed into village at around 7.30 pm and killed nine Sinhalese including a one-and-a-half-year-old infant and a 11-year-old boy on April 12 2009 just prior to the Sinhalese new year.
In " Ruthless" – a video released by the Government eye-witness provide accounts of atrocities committed by the ruthless LTTE which indeed are crimes against humanity.
The two badly damaged buses lay between Vellamullivaikkal and Wadduvakkal, in which forcibly conscripted children: wounded and injured were gunned down by the LTTE in May, 2009, to prevent them being witnesses to the plight the LTTE forced them to be as child soldiers, a grim reminder of the of the brutality the LTTE forced on the children in their final battle before their fall.
An eye witness states "The LTTE brought a bus full of wounded boys, girls and elders who had been forcibly thrown into battlefronts. Two days before the LTTE's annihilation in the waters of the Nandikadal Lagoon, the LTTE leader instructed his subordinates to destroy their battle casualties, who had been ill-trained and conscripted to fight the advancing military might. Ruthless LTTE cadres loaded disabled and wounded cadres into a bus from the makeshift hospital and exploded the buses, not leaving a trace!
Three victims of child conscription narrate the incident of forced abduction from a Catholic church where they sought refuge. "fearing my abduction, my father sent me to the church and he said the LTTE would not abduct children from the church. But I was there only a day, the LTTE stormed the place and abducted the children. Girls and boys ran hither and thither inside the church while the LTTE started shooting us. The LTTE left only one door open and they pulled out the children – one by one. A woman was shot at as she was obstructing the LTTE from taking her child away.
Vignesh "I hid myself and later heard that the LTTE had taken all the children away. When I went to the church later, I only saw women crying and cursing the LTTE for abducting their children".
Bala was another child who was snatched away by the LTTE while he was at the church along with many other children. "The LTTE took me to Mullivaikkal to fight".
It is now the responsibility for Channel 4 which brought up the issue of a death of the 12-year-old boy: as a responsible media – to produce a video to show the gruesome killings of thousands of innocent children who too are 'Balachandran's' for whom they seem not cry nor shed tears. Are they children of a lesser God?
How can Channel 4, which boasts of engaging in responsible journalism, miss the heinous crimes committed by the LTTE? What excuse could Channel- 4 give for those innocent Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children who were executed by the LTTE for over three decades?
Are they aware of the anger and hatreds of Northern civilians, who fought against the forced conscription of their innocent children, by the LTTE and its leadership? Did not the LTTE leaders hide their children from the public as civilians protested against them for safeguarding their children while the LTTE leaders ordering to conscripted other innocent children to fight their cause?
Is not one such child protected with care, Balachandran – Prabhakaran's son. This is evident even in the Channel 4 documentary where it is shown that the boy was killed with five of the LTTE bodyguards.
Not only civilians even LTTE cadres vehemently criticised the LTTE leaders as their siblings were conscripted during the final months of the end battle.
"Many families in my village lost their small children", said the ex-LTTE cadre Raju "they assaulted and killed one LTTE policeman who helped civilians, whom they kept as hostages to flee the government controlled areas.civilians whose lives were reduced to zero came to Government controlled areas and cursed Prabhakaran and his family for destroying their lives".
Channel 4 and the pro-LTTE fronts are still trying to give a fresh breathe of life to the defunct LTTE. Did not the Security Forces save the family members of their leaders – Soosai and Thamilselvan and other prominent LTTE.
What could preclude civilians and ordinary LTTE cadres venting their anger against and even killing the family of the LTTE leader, who destroyed their future with bloodletting for over 30 long years?
Though the spotlight is forced on this 12-year-old boy, how many boys and girls of his age were killed on the orders of Prabhakaran. Did he and his LTTE leaders not send a schoolgirl blow herself to prevent civilians fleeing from LTTE control? There may be numerous such incidents where the LTTE used the innocent children to commit murder and killing for them.
How ethical is it for Channel 4 to allege the killing of Balachandran on government forces who indulged in a humanitarian operation in rescuing over 300,000 Tamils from the terror of the LTTE? Is it not because of the LTTE's intransigence that the civilians had to undergo such trauma and hardship till they were rescued by the armed forces, did they listen to the voice and pleas of the international community?
If the soldiers intended to kill family members of the LTTE hierarchy, why did they bring the wife and children of Sea Tiger leader Soosai and leader of its Political Wing S.P. Thamilselvan safely to Colombo and then the Government has even taken steps to secure their future. How has Channel 4 slipped up on this positive story in their videos?
It is strange as to how Channel 4 identified the boy in the picture as Prabhakaran's son and came into a conclusion that he was killed by the Security Forces.
Has Channel 4 marketed 'Balachandran' at the behest of others who wish to achieve their ulterior motives, or aroused by pro-LTTE fronts in order to attack the Government at the UN Human Rights Sessions.
Unfortunately, Channel 4 has missed out on this sadness and the plight and the stories of the sons and daughters of Sirisena or Murugesu or Hakeem, who as ordinary civilians had many dreams for their children. Are they less important? Perhaps thosee innocent children are not marketable like Prabhakaran's son?
An innocent child, whose killers yet unknown, is on 'sale' once again in Channel 4's latest endeavour 'No War Zone – the killing fields of Sri Lanka'. The Channel 4 team waits enthusiastically vulture like each year till the UNHRC sessions to release such controversial video to tarnish the image of Sri Lanka.
Human Rights activists will now clamour for action against their allegation in the video, but their silence and duplicity will also be questioned over the many incidents where innocent Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim children were butchered to death. Ironically the question that begets an answer is where was the conscience of these so called independent media when Sri Lanka was under the throes of a war for 30 years.
Now they have suddenly developed a conscience to a few incidents they say happened during the final stages of the war and developed an amnesia to the suffering the civilians underwent over 2 decades due to the tyranny of a despot. The conscience of the so called free media awakens every year only at a given time, and which only tends to open a healing wound. Do they wish for reconcilation? Or is it that they wish to assist the LTTE sympathisers to achieve their goals in a devious manner which they failed to achieve to militarily? Anyway some organisations will market even a dead horse to survive.


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Dec 26-27 on Maha; 28-30 on La Digue, 2013My logged dives #1264-1269
The Seychelles has long been on my bucket list, since it was one of my backtracker travel options in 1974. From Mombassa I could have hitch-hiked to South Africa or headed east 3rd class or worse on a boat to Bombay that called in to the Indian Ocean isles. I ended up heading west as far as Ghana, but reflecting on this, I'm sitting on the Lanai at Belle Amie guest house in La Digue, a place I highly recommend if you are diving Seychelles (clean and comfortable, nice family running it, can arrange your meals but near a delicious take-away, 10 min walk into town, the cheapest place I managed to find in Seychelles at 40 euros a night, and right across from the dive center). I arrived here yesterday on the boat that costs nearly $100 from Mahe, at dusk, in the rain. I was expecting to find few cars but there were taxis at the jetty and I got one to Belle Amie. They lent me an umbrella at the guest house so I could go out and get something to eat. Traffic in the cobbled streets outside splashed through the puddles, most of it bicycles with riders carrying umbrellas, a happy improvement over Mahe, where you really have to watch out for incessant traffic when walking or running on the poorly lit country roads.
At my guest house, they recommended the Gala take-away with meals for $5 but, when I got there I found there were ten meals ahead of me (someone with a big order) it came in styrofoam and was not what I felt like having at the moment. I hadn't eaten all day because I never bothered to stock my self-catered apt on Mahe, I'd been diving all morning my last day on Mahe, run into town to get a boat ticket, returned to Beau Vallon and retrieved my gear from the dive shop, got a taxi to take me home to Belle Ombre and wait while I packed, got taken to the harbor, and ended up in La Digue with nothing in my stomach all day apart from coffee on the dive boat. So when the rain slackened a bit I walked toward town and ended up in a popular creole restaurant, great octopus salad, and decent fish curry, washed down with overpriced SeyBrew. Later I worked out that beer in supermarkets is half what you pay in restaurants, so a pleasant sundown routine was to get a couple of bottles, take them to a rock on a beach with a sunset view, open them the way the locals do, and, well, sundown, go figgah. And tasty creole-curry takeaway meals were half price as those in restaurants, as good or better, and just as filling, so rather than sit alone and wait for service and pretentious bills at the end, I preferred the option favored by many local people.
Beer at the restaurant was 50 rupees for small 33 cl bottles, a little less than $5. Here on the lanai I am drinking from the corner shop for half that. I'd been planning all day to go to the big hotel across the road and pay what ever it cost me for beer in order to use free wifi, but when I got there I found wifi no working, because of de wind! No telling what beer with wifi costs, but this morning I had a coffee there (next to the dive shop) and shelled out $6 for that. Somewhat outrageous. Where I'm staying after tomorrow, beer is $5 and wifi is $5 for an hour. If beer at the fancy hotel is less than $10 then it's the best bargain because it comes with unlimited wifi, in theory. In practice there is no wifi. This is Seychelles, mon.
La Digue, Ave MariaThe diving on La Digue was pretty good compared to Mahe. Here they have animals. The dive guide Michel led us to a place where there was an octopus only he could see. He started scratching in the sand in front of its lair and some tentacles emerged. Cool, and we saw another octopus later in the dive. But before that a shark meandered across our path, white tip. We saw a number of them. I followed one around with my GoPro for almost a minute. At one point I saw a turtle and went for it. The turtle was in no way fazed by divers poking GoPros at its beak. He was more interested in things that resembled food that came within reach. Divers seemed to be neither here nor there. I got good videos of this one.
I wrote this in an email to my wife: from Mahe
I think Seychelles is a bit over-rated from what I've seen here. It looks like a lot of places we've been and lived (like Hawaii). I did two dives today on Mahe. The first one was to a wreck. They forgot the GPS, but took us in the water anyway, couldn't find the wreck, put us back on the boat, went back to harbor, got the GPS, and then we did 12 min on the wreck before 2nd dive deco started to kick in, two dives to 35 meters just an hour or two apart. It was like a double size Inchcape (a deep wreck in UAE), nothing phenomenal. The afternoon dive on a coral reef was silty, nothing there to write home about.
One thing though, the people here are phenomenally friendly. The place I stay, La Cachette in Belle Ombre, the owners Paul and Agnela are being really good to me, gave me too much scotch last night (Christmas) and cooking birthday dinner for me tonight. The way I ended up here was also through making a booking on booking.com, for a place that was in fact full, but once you get in the network, kekua kicks in and they figure something out for you.
Diving Mahe
The dive the next day off Mahe was better, but not up to expectations, unless one's expectations had taken the weather into consideration. We were told of a destination the day before that sounded super! But when we got in the boat we were told we were going to a wreck. Waves were roller coaster right outside the harbor and the wreck turned out to be one not far from the one we had visited the day before. This one was a little shallower and had a mooring line on it, so they could find it without GPS. It was also near the reef so when the Canadian couple I was buddied with went low on air we headed there and ended up with a 40 min dive, me just south of 100 bar. It was pretty silty. We headed into port to change tanks in calmer waters and have our coffee and then headed out to our second dive called Grand Bazaar, just south of the place where were told we were going originally that day. Here the vis was better, and we had the fortune to see an eagle ray which I got some shots of. First time it went into flight and I followed fast and I think I was being blamed for chasing it, though these things always power on when they become aware of divers. But we saw it again, or at least I did, and this time I was very quiet and got some pictures of it as is rooted under a rock. I tapped my tank twice and when it finally decided to move, I don't think many others saw it, though the dive guide went into spear position when it finally made a run for blue ocean.
Another day dawns in La Digue, the rains from yesterday are supplanted by grey cloud cover, eventually by bright sun. Sleep was interrupted by a car stopping outside with loud bass boom box at 3 a.m but it moved on. I was getting up at 6 to try and be at the park entry at 7:00 where the big turtles were on La Digue, on L'Union Estate, which charged an entry of 100 rupees, or 10 euros (worth 150 rupees; or $15, i.e. three dollars more than 100 rupees). My preferred mode of transport at that hour was jogging. I had made a jog to the park entrance the day before, late afternoon, but was told I would be best off to come next day, because the entry was for a day pass and the turtles were more active in the morning. So I turned up right when they told me the day before they opened at 7:00 but found the gate closed but for a small pedestrian entry, and was told by the gate-man that the park didn't really open till 7:30. But he didn't prevent my entry, he told me I could go "there" and I could pay "there". "There" however, was not straightforward. I jogged into the park and headed for the beaches but there was no one about and no turtles around. I started to take in the interesting rock formations in the park as I jogged and eventually up a sand track found a signpost for Anse Source d'Argent so I took that path, the only one signposted. Down a sandy footpath lined with vendor booths (no vendors at this hour) I finally came out on a postcard sized beach that I recognized from actual postcards as being a popular and ridiculously crowded one during the day. I had my GoPro so I could film the turtles I had come to see and I switched it on and took a panorama of this archetypal Seychelles beach, with no one on it.
Back up the footpath I found a vendor just setting up who told me the turtles were back the way I had come so I tried all the beaches I could find, but still no turtles. Eventually I arrived back at the gate where the man who had known little English had been replaced by a lady who knew more but still could hardly explain where 'there' was. I asked if she had a map. She said I was the first person ever to come here and not see the turtles. As we argued over my stupidity and their lack of signage, I came to realize that the turtles were in a pen near the big rock in the middle of the park. So they were zoo turtles, not at all on the beach, and I decided I didn't need to pay significant money to see them and ran back to get supermarket food before reporting for diving at 8:30.
La Digue, Marianne
That was the first thing to go wrong that morning. The second thing was on our first dive when we were put in a foursome where the guy with the camera and his girlfriend totally ignored the rest of us and refused to keep up or make any attempt to contact Lana, the divemaster, so a lot of our dive was spent twiddling our thumbs waiting for them, and Lana at times having to go back and see where they were. The next thing was, when sharks started to appear, and I thought I would like to video them, it occurred to me to wonder if I had shut the GoPro off after my beach shot. Of course I hadn't so I had no battery to speak of. This wasn't so bad on the first dive. I saw two sharks, one that came in front of me but turned tail quickly, and another in amongst the jacks in the grey blue yonder. Neither was easily video'd so I didn't feel the loss. At some point our dive guide Lana pointed up and my buddy saw the flight of eagle rays but I didn't, nada, niete, and again no lost video. We saw a giant tuna pass overhead, but again, not really ripe for a closeup.
It was on the second dive that I really missed the GoPro. This dive was super. Both dives were in the Marianne part of the park. The first thing we saw was a turtle, but I had turtle video from the day before, so ma'alesh. Then we came across a meter long hulking barracuda, ok, he was photogenic, but I didn't feel that concerned. Next we saw in a school of unicorn fish a humphead parrotfish, still a little murky. Then in the sand there appeared a guitar shark, or in fact, I think it was one of those odd creatures Bobbi and I saw in Mozambique in 2009. This time I settled alongside and pulled out my camera and got a few blinks out of it before it switched off, just as the animal was leaving. You'd think this was enough for one dive but then a shark appeared and I swam up to it just in time to catch it grazing the top of a reef. Andrea, the Azzurra dive center owner or manager, was leading a superb dive but he was about to show us more. He beckoned us upward and around a rock where we found a couple of sharks swimming to and fro. Then there were was a napoleon wrasse there as well. Then a turtle swam into view. Then sharks started swimming about as humphead parrotfish came into the fish soup. Again I managed to get a few beeps out of my GoPro but nothing that would capture that moment. Slap forehead (and enjoy)!


text:
By Barry Janoff
Feb. 10, 2012: World-class swimmer Michael Phelps spends a lot of time in the water, but not all of it. Which is one reason he has signed with Procter & Gamble's Head & Shoulders to star in a global marketing campaign.
Phelps, who is in training for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, joins Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers and and Minnesota Twins All-Star catcher Joe Mauer as brand spokesmen.
Phelps will be featured in a multi-media campaign, "Wash in Confidence," that is scheduled to break later this month on TV, print and via a digital and social media platform. Tagline: "It's not just the flakes we wash out, it's the confidence we wash in."
The campaign is timed to support the launch of four Head & Shoulders' shampoos for men: Active Sport, High Endurance, Refresh and Deep Clean.
"I have found throughout my career that one of the most important factors in performance is confidence," Phelps said in a statement. "By using head & shoulders I have the confidence that I need to be at my best for the moments that matter most – in the pool and in life."
The effort also touts P&G's roll as an Olympic partner. According to the company, "The Head & Shoulders' Olympic Games 'Wash in Confidence' campaign is aimed at encouraging individuals all over the world to take part by washing in confidence and washing out doubt. With the 'Wash in confidence' campaign, Head & Shoulders captures the inclusive, participatory spirit of the Olympic Games, for Olympians and ordinary people."
"If there is any bit of doubt or negativity, than you are not going to be as successful as possible." — Michael Phelps
A dedicated Facebook page encourages visitors to "shower their national athletes with messages of support." As part of the relationship, Head & Shoulders will also support Phelps' charitable efforts through the Michael Phelps Foundation.
According to Phelps, "If there is any bit of doubt or negativity, than you are not going to be as successful as possible. To be your best, you have to trust and believe in yourself completely, you have to be confident, and receiving support messages from fans all over the world certainly goes a long way."
Phelps marketing partners also include Subway, Under Armour and Hilton Hotels.


text:
Lightning Strike Injures 51 People at German Metal Festival
A single lightning bolt left 51 people injured at the With Full Force music festival in Roitzschjora, Germany on July 1.
In the early morning hours of the fest, a bolt of lightning struck the crowd, sending audience members flying and leaving three individuals in a hospital's intensive care unit.
The 2012 With Full Force Festival boasted a powerful lineup, including bands such as Machine Head, Soulfly, Children of Bodom, Cannibal Corpse and many more. However, it was during Heaven Shall Burn's set when the bolt of lightning struck.
German website Spiegel.de described the shocking happening in full detail. "The first showers, heavy as they were, provided just an inkling of what was to come," the site describes. "Just before 2 a.m., the next black cloud parked over the stage. And the lightning it unloaded resulted in 51 injuries, three of them landing in the intensive care unit of a nearby hospital. Witnesses say that the lightning strikes sent some people flying through the air -- and left behind a wasteland of destroyed tents, panicked guests and a venue flooded with mud and deep puddles."
Strangely enough, a lightning strike occurred the day before the June 30 festival date, where three women were killed by a bolt of lightning while playing golf in Hesse, Germany. A fourth member of the group survived, but is recovering in the hospital.


text:
|Ultimately, the underlying lessons of the New Jersey experience are not the particulars of its restructured system nor even the fact of reorganization, but rather, the importance of the questions those involved had the courage to ask and address, namely, mindful of both the American tradition of institutional independence and the current call for public accountability: Are there functions currently undertaken at the state level which could more effectively and efficiently be carried out at the institutional level, and if so, what if any new mechanisms of accountability or changes in organization are needed?
The Advisory Panel recommended a new governance structure for New Jersey higher education with the following framework:
| Governing boards of New Jersey's public colleges and universities
that are greatly strengthened to ensure institutions that
are more responsive to the needs of their students and communities
while being accountable to the public for maintaining quality,
affordability, and effective management;
A Presidents' Council that will draw upon the leadership and expertise of the presidents of New Jersey's colleges and universities to improve coordination and sharing of resources among these institutions and to provide advice on statewide planning and policy to the Commission on Higher Education;
A Higher Education Assistance Authority that will ensure both continuity and strengthened capacity to deliver student financial assistance and services to students more effectively, consistently, and with a minimum of bureaucratic red tape;
A New Jersey Commission on Higher Education, a public body to provide, in cooperation with the Presidents' Council, overall planning and policy coordination for the higher education system as well as advice to the Governor and Legislature on policy and budget priorities. Commission members, who will be appointed by the Governor and selected without regard for political affiliation, will be distinguished citizens of the state from a variety of backgrounds;
An orderly transition and implementation of key elements of the new structure.
Following the report of the Advisory Panel, legislation was crafted which can be summarized as follows.
The Department and Board of Higher Education were eliminated. With their dissolution, a level of bureaucratic review was removed. Under the new, entrepreneurial management paradigm, institutional governing boards have responsibility for planning, student tuition and fees, admission standards, degree requirements, investment of institutional funds, legal affairs, and a budget request for state support. In addition, institutional governing boards have authority for the academic program, personnel decisions, and initiatives for improvements in the physical plant. To document outcomes, the Commission on Higher Education approved a format for institutional accountability reporting.
The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education was created to provide general coordination, planning, and policy development in cooperation with the Presidents' Council. The Commission has responsibility for higher education master planning and advocacy. It recommends higher education initiatives and incentive programs to the Governor and Legislature. The Commission has administrative responsibility for proposed changes in programmatic mission, institutional licensure, university status, and new degree programs referred by the Presidents' Council. The Commission also reviews institutional budget requests and submits an annual coordinated budget policy statement to the Governor and Legislature. In addition, it maintains a liaison with the State Board of Education and Commissioner of Education as well as the federal government, and approves some higher education capital and equipment projects.
A Presidents' Council, composed of the presidents of all New Jersey institutions receiving direct state aid, also was created by the 1994 Act. The Act was revised in 1996 to include representatives of proprietary and religious institutions on the Council. The Council has responsibility for new program review, formation of regional and cooperative programs among institutions, and recommendations to the Governor, Legislature, and Commission on higher education policy issues. The Council has an advisory role regarding programmatic mission changes, new degree proposals which exceed mission or are unduly duplicative or expensive, and, upon referral by the Commission on Higher Education, provide recommendations concerning institutional licensure. The Council also assists and advises the Commission on statewide master planning and other policy initiatives. Much of the work of the Council is performed by its Executive Committee, which the Act also created.
Finally, the Act created the Office of Student Assistance to administer the student assistance programs established under the Student Assistance Board and Higher Education Assistance Authority as well as other student assistance programs, with policy advice from the Commission in several areas.
The Higher Education Restructuring Act became effective July 1, 1994. Both the Commission on Higher Education and the Presidents' Council were organized and held their first meetings in July of that year, and institutional governing boards immediately assumed final decision-making authority in the several areas which previously required Board or Department of Higher Education approval. The Office of Student Assistance (OSA) continued its operations, but now as a separate entity, and several other existing state agencies assumed responsibilities which were transferred as a result of restructuring. Those agencies include: the Departments of Education, Labor, State, Treasury, and Military and Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General's Office.
State agencies, along with the Commission and the Presidents' Council, reported on a questionnaire regarding their progress in fulfilling restructuring responsibilities after 20 months. Of the 32 responsibilities assigned to the Commission, action occurred in 24 areas. Plans are underway in four areas: to work with the Graduate Medical Education Council and Health Commissioner to plan for medical education; to promote high school students' access to college courses with the Presidents' Council and Commissioner of Education; to consult with the Treasurer regarding the Garden State Savings Bond Program; and to complete the interim report on restructuring. Action has not been taken in the areas of visitorial powers (at the request of the Governor, the Commission may be asked to examine the performance of a college or university), distribution of federal funds, or apportionment of community college trustees, because the occasions have not arisen.
The Presidents' Council fulfilled 11 of their 15 responsibilities. Some of these responsibilities will be repeated on an annual basis. Plans are underway but not completed in the other four areas: to have a representative on the Commission on Holocaust Education; to assist participating institutions in making uniform guidelines/procedures for literacy tutoring programs; to assist in evaluation of the MAC program's impact on minority representation on college faculties; and to promote high school students' access to college courses in conjunction with the Commission on Higher Education and Department of Education.
The Office of Student Assistance fulfilled 12 of its 13 areas of responsibility. It has not presented astronaut awards because the program has never been funded.
Responsibilities assigned to other agencies have been undertaken with the following exceptions: 1) The Department of Education plans to work with the Presidents' Council and Commission on high school students' access to college. 2) Treasury has not yet received any reports from colleges regarding foreign gifts of over $100,000, and they have not overseen the Morehouse School of Medicine because it has not been funded since 1991. 3) The Department of State is studying how best to incorporate the New Jersey Institute of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies into the "Many Faces, One Family" initiative. 4) The Department of Labor is developing regulations regarding job training courses for the unemployed.
Discussion of Some Key Implementation Responsibilities
The Commission was charged with making recommendations to the Governor and Legislature in four areas by July 1, 1995: collaboration between K-12 and higher education; the administration of student assistance programs; collective bargaining and civil service at the state colleges; and funding and tuition establishment. Recommendations were provided in all cases prior to July 1, 1995, with the exception of recommendations on funding and tuition establishment, which were provided in October of that year. In each case, recommendations were developed in consultation with members of the Presidents' Council. In some cases the recommendations have been implemented, and in other cases they await consideration for statutory changes.
For example, the study regarding the administration of student assistance programs resulted in a recommendation to consolidate the Student Assistance Board and the Higher Education Assistance Authority, as well as several recommendations to improve the delivery of student assistance. Consolidation of the boards awaits action by the Governor and Legislature, while many of the efficiencies to improve delivery of student assistance have already been implemented or are under development.
The Commission was charged with developing a long-range master plan with the advice and assistance of the Presidents' Council; no statutory timeline for completion was specified. The planning process has been underway for a year, and adoption of the master plan is expected by October 1996.
The Commission was also charged with reviewing, within one year, several sections of administrative regulation for amendments, continuation, or repeal. Responsibility for many regulations has been shifted to institutional governing boards. This action has had a significant impact on trustee and institutional responsibility. All reviews are completed, with the exception of the regulations pertaining to institutional licensure. Those regulations have been readopted with technical amendments only, while substantive changes are being developed in consultation with the Presidents' Council. Institutional licensure responsibilities continue to be carried out under the previously existing regulations.
The Presidents' Council has responsibility for new program review. The Council's New Program Review Committee was established in August 1994, and the Council adopted a new program review process as one of its first actions. Since that time, new proposals and many from a Department of Higher Education backlog of program proposals (some of which had been waiting for consideration for several years) have been reviewed. In some cases, communication, collaboration, and cooperation growing out of the review process resulted in consortial arrangements for new programs. Overall, the review process has resulted in the establishment of 73 new degree programs (23 at the associate level, 18 at the bachelor's level, 31 at the master's level, and 1 at the doctoral level). During the same period, six programs were discontinued. To date, the Presidents' Council has not referred any programs for the Commission's review as a result of their being deemed unduly expensive or duplicative. Further, no mission change proposals and only one programmatic mission change has been referred to the Commission by the Presidents' Council.
The Presidents' Council also formed a committee to make broad policy recommendations in the area of basic skills testing and remediation in light of the elimination of the state's basic skills test and policies. General guidelines were adopted by the Presidents' Council, and a more technical group is currently working to resolve practical questions regarding the feasibility and appropriateness of several assessment instruments.
Annual public institutional accountability reports are required by the Restructuring Act. The Commission adopted the form and general content of the report, and institutions made their first accountability reports available to the public in fall 1995. The Commission developed and disseminated the state's first systemwide accountability report in spring 1996 to inform the public and policymakers and assist in systemwide planning and policy development.
Public institutional boards of trustees have responsibility for recommending individuals to the Governor for appointment to their boards. Since the Restructuring Act, the Governor has appointed or nominated for Senate approval 71 individuals: 48 for state colleges and 23 for community colleges.
Institutional governing boards have set tuition for the past two academic years after conducting public hearings. In comparison to increases in the late 1980s and early 1990s in New Jersey and in other states, overall, tuitions have increased moderately (about 5%) during 1994-95 and 1995-96. Funding for the state's two primary student assistance programs, Tuition Assistance Grants (TAG) and the Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF), has increased since restructuring. In fact, EOF grant awards for students were increased for the first time since 1987. In addition, the Commission and Presidents' Council have been advocates for an affordable higher education system through their annual budget policy statements to the Governor and Legislature.
|The discussion which follows is an analysis of data collected from a survey of higher education stakeholders. The questionnaire with a numerical tally of responses is contained in Appendix A.
The Committee on the Interim Report on Higher Education Restructuring and Assessment worked with the Center for Public Interest Polling of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University to develop a questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on the specific goals outlined in the Restructuring Act, and also included general attitudinal questions about the Act.
A range of different groups was included in the study. The Committee provided Eagleton with a listing of potential study participants. Because there are widely varying numbers of people in these groups, in some cases the total population of group members was included in the study, while in other cases a sample of the group was contacted. Representatives from about 20 different groups participated.
Participants could identify with as many groups as they deemed were relevant to describe their position. Therefore the percentages of the total sample that the various groups comprise add to more than 100 percent. The groups that constitute 10 percent or more of the survey participants are: institutional administrators (46%), members of the Presidents' Council (20%), members of institutional governing boards (14%), and members of the Educational Opportunity Fund Professional Association (11%). In addition, 5-9 percent of the sample are comprised by faculty leaders (9%), financial aid directors (9%), members of the Commission on Higher Education (8%), Student Assistance Board members (6%), union leaders (6%), and student leaders (5%). Other organizations each represent less than 5 percent of the survey participants. Overall, 178 of the 401 selected participants returned completed questionnaires before the deadline, for a 44% return rate. Another 12 questionnaires were returned later (raising the rate to 47%) and are not included in this report.
Survey participants also identified their institutional affiliation. The sector representation is as follows: community colleges, 44%; state colleges/university, 25%; public research universities, 10%; independent colleges and universities with a public mission, 19%; proprietary institutions, 1%; and theological institutions, 1%.
Eagleton prepared questionnaire packets to be sent to participants. The packets included the following: a letter from the Committee explaining the purpose of the survey, a questionnaire, a postage paid return envelope for returning the questionnaire, and a postage paid return postcard that was returned independently from the questionnaire so that Eagleton could track responders/non-responders to the survey and maintain confidentiality. The questionnaire packets were mailed on February 9, 1996, and about a week later a reminder postcard was sent to non-responders.
Across the sample, overall assessments of restructuring have become more positive between the Governor's announcement of the changes and the present time. (See Table A.)
|Time 1*
|Time 2*
|Good idea/Positive change
|Bad idea/Negative change
|Mixed opinions/Mixed change
|No Opinion
Note: Percentages have been adjusted so that they sum to 100.
More precisely, there has been a 10-percentage-point increase in the share holding a favorable view--from 36% to 46%, and a similar decrease in negative views from July 1994 to March 1996.
When the restructuring was announced, (future) members of the President's Council were more favorable than (future) members of the Commission or members of institutional boards, and all three groups were more favorable than people involved in student assistance. (See Table B.)
|Presidents' Council
|Institutional Boards
|Student Assistance
|Good idea/Positive change
|Bad idea/Negative change
|Mixed opinions/Mixed change
|No opinion
Commission members have become much more favorable toward restructuring (and much less likely to hold mixed views), and are now the most favorable of the groups. People in student assistance have also become more favorable. Institutional board members have remained constant, and members of the Presidents' Council have remained almost constant in terms of favorable opinions.
|Good idea/Positive change
|Bad idea/Negative change
|Mixed opinions/Mixed change
|No opinion
Initially institutional administrators were more favorable than students, and both were more favorable than faculty. (See Table C.) Administrators and faculty have become more favorable. In contrast, students have seen a decline in both favorable and unfavorable views, and an increase in "no opinion."
|County Colleges
|State Colleges
|Public Universities
|Independent Institutions
|Good idea/Positive change
|Bad idea/Negative change
|Mixed opinions/Mixed change
|No opinion
Originally, the community and state colleges were the most favorable overall to restructuring. (See Table D.) Initially, the independent institutions expressed mixed opinions. Twenty months later the community colleges and independent institutions have become more favorable to restructuring. The state colleges have remained almost constant, and the public universities exhibited an increase in mixed views.
Another way to look at stability and change is to cross- tabulate current opinion by initial opinion, as is done for the sample as a whole in Table E. Only one-fifth of respondents who began with a positive view abandoned that view, mostly to mixed opinions. By contrast, more than half of the initially negative respondents changed their opinion, again primarily to mixed. Of those who began with mixed opinions, two-fifths changed; about three-fourths of the latter moved to the positive end of the scale.
|Original Assessment
|A Good Idea
|A Bad Idea
|Mixes Opinions
|No Opinions
|Current Assessment
|A positive change
|A negative change
|Mixed change
|No opinion
One section of the survey instrument asks respondents to consider 13 conditions drawn from the restructuring legislation and characteristic of most higher education systems. They were then asked to comment on whether, following restructuring, the conditions were "Better," "Worse," "Same," "To Soon To Tell" or "No Opinion." The statements describing the conditions were:
If respondents to the survey were uniform in their responses and concluded all processes were "better," in the minds of those who completed the survey New Jersey would have an improved statewide higher education system following restructuring. Conversely, if responses were uniformly "worse," New Jersey would not have an improved system, in the minds of all who completed the survey. In the analysis of survey responses which follows, differences in perception by sector and professional position are evident.
As was pointed out previously, the Governor's Advisory Panel recommended that institutional governing boards be strengthened and a Commission on Higher Education and Presidents' Council created to form the nucleus of a new governance structure for New Jersey higher education. Another section of the survey asked about nine functions that are the shared responsibility of the Commission, the Presidents' Council, and institutional boards of trustees. The nine functions included:
Possible responses to these items of the survey were the same as in the case of the 13 conditions. (See Appendix A for distributional responses.) Uniformly "better" responses would indicate that the Commission, institutional governing boards, and the Presidents' Council, together, are perceived as having succeeded in undertaking the responsibilities of the former structure and performed at a higher level. Uniformly "worse" responses would indicate that respondents perceive performance to be at a lower level. In the analysis of responses which follows, respondents, who were members of the Commission, institutional governing boards, or the Presidents' Council, evaluated their own performance.
A substantial majority of Commission and Council respondents believe they know a great deal about how the Restructuring Act changed, and continues to change, New Jersey higher education. Virtually all of the Presidents' Council respondents indicate they know a great deal about the change, and one-half of institutional governing board members state that they possess significant knowledge of the effects of the Act. A large percentage of the student assistance professionals report some knowledge of the change. Respondents from the Presidents' Council are more likely than other groups to believe significant change occurred under restructuring. Almost half of the presidents believe that a great deal of change has occurred; two-fifths believe the change to be moderate. A majority of the Commission and institutional board members believe the change is moderate, and less than a fourth of both groups believe there has been a great deal of change.
In contrast to responses from the Commission and the Presidents' Council, there was only one multiple choice item on the survey where institutional governing boards exemplified a high degree of certainty: 71% saw institutional flexibility in establishing new academic programs as improved. This suggests institutional governing board respondents simply did not agree in sufficient numbers to indicate certainty of the group. It is also true that they did not exemplify a significantly higher degree of doubt on any item. The institutional governing boards are neither certain nor doubtful on the effects of restructuring of New Jersey higher education.
All individuals who completed the survey were asked to evaluate the actions of the trustees, Commission, and the Presidents' Council following restructuring. They were asked whether the Commission, institutional governing boards, and the Presidents' Council, together, succeeded in undertaking the responsibilities of the former structure and performed at a higher level. In sum, they were asked how effective the principal entities of the governing structure were in implementing the Restructuring Act. The information below describes how members of institutional governing boards, the Commission, and the Presidents' Council evaluated themselves:
Among these three groups, institutional administrators were the most likely to say that they knew a great deal about the changes in higher education under the restructuring, while student organization leaders were the least likely. Faculty leaders, students, and administrators had similar opinions about the amount of change in higher education brought about by restructuring. "Moderate change" was the most frequent response in each case.
Regarding the 13 conditions drawn from the Restructuring Act, the views of these groups, following restructuring, are summarized as follows:
Administrators were joined by students--but not by faculty-- in their somewhat positive views of statewide coordination of academic programming and systemwide coordination of higher education. In sum, administrators were more consistently positive than either faculty or students.
Combining responses from different sectors yields results that reflect the fact that restructuring had less impact on the public research universities and the independent institutions (which had the most autonomy under the former governance structure) than on the state colleges and community colleges (which had less). Respondents from the community and state colleges were more positive than those from the public universities and the independent institutions. For example, the community and state colleges were more likely to believe that a great deal of change has occurred in higher education as a result of the restructuring; the public university respondents were unlikely to see great change. More than half of community and state college respondents believe that institutional governing board decision making has improved, and pluralities in those sectors believe that institutional governing board accountability has also improved.
To understand results summarized it is important to keep in mind that substantial majorities of respondents from the community college, state college, and public university sectors reported that they know a great deal about the changes brought about by the Restructuring Act. However, respondents from the independent sector were considerably less likely to claim this level of knowledge.
Regarding the 13 conditions drawn from the Act, the views of the higher education sectors following restructuring are summarized as follows:
The survey instrument invited respondents to comment further by way of elaboration on any survey item where they responded with "better" or "worse." All resulting verbatim written responses are contained in Appendix B.
Among the general responsibilities of higher education, the item which elicited the largest number of written responses was affordability of higher education, which had predominantly negative responses.
Other items eliciting written responses were institutional flexibility in establishing new academic programs, which had mostly positive responses,
statewide coordination of academic programming, which revealed predominantly negative responses,
In the case of survey items referring to shared functions of the Presidents' Council, Commission, and institutional governing boards, there were fewer written responses per item. Written responses to the Commission's timeliness in addressing issues were predominantly positive.
Responses to the Commission's budget development process were predominantly positive.
Commission's coordinated systemwide advocacy received negative comments.
One advantage of conducting a survey and reporting the results in this interim report is that areas of agreement on what remains to be done to continue implementation of the Act are identified. Survey results reveal benchmarks for future success in implementing the 1994 Higher Education Restructuring Act. They also help to prepare the way for the 1999 comprehensive assessment.
Of the 13 conditions of higher education rated as better or worse now than before restructuring, the three conditions that clustered together as having the most frequent "better" responses were institutional flexibility in establishing new academic programs (70%), institutional governing board decision making (47%), and institutional governing board accountability (38%).
The four conditions that clustered with the most frequent responses of "worse" were affordability of higher education (32%), statewide coordination of academic programming (23%), systemwide coordination of higher education (21%), and the trustee appointment process (19%).
As noted above, the survey instrument asked about nine functions that are the shared responsibility of the Commission, the Presidents' Council, and institutional boards of trustees.
Focusing first on the functions as performed by the Commission, the three items that clustered with the most frequent "better" responses were timeliness in decision making (41%), timeliness in addressing issues (41%) and cooperation among the various higher education entities (40%).
The two items that clustered with the most frequent response of "worse" were coordinated systemwide advocacy (20%) and availability of information on higher education (19%).
Focusing next on the functions as performed by the Presidents' Council, the three items that clustered with the most frequent "better" responses were timeliness in addressing issues (43%), timeliness in decision making (40%) and cooperation among entities (39%).
The two items that clustered with the most frequent response of "worse" were coordinated systemwide advocacy (17%) and availability of information on higher education (15%).
Finally, focusing on the functions as performed by institutional boards of trustees, the two items that clustered with the most frequent "better" responses were timeliness in decision making (31%) and timeliness in addressing issues (31%).
The three items that clustered with the most frequent response of "worse" were coordinated systemwide advocacy (12%), the budget development process (9%), and the availability of information (9%).
In all three groups the items receiving the fewest "better" responses were K-12 and master planning.
One question on the survey asked whether the respondent believed "the current higher education structure as defined in the 1994 Restructuring Act [should] be modified." Respondents were asked to describe suggested modifications. Across the sample as a whole, three-fifths of the respondents believe that it is too soon to tell whether the current structure should be modified (see Table F). Of the remaining two-fifths, a majority think modification is in order.
|Too soon to tell
Roughly three-fourths of institutional board members and student assistance professionals believe that judgment regarding modification is premature at this time (see Table G); a majority of Commission members agree, while slightly over one-third of Presidents' Council members concurred. About a third of Commission and Presidents' Council members favor modification; slightly under a fourth of institutional board members and student assistance professionals also agree.
|Presidents' Council
|Institutional Boards
|Student Assistance
|Too soon to tell
|Too soon to tell
Institutional administrators, faculty, and students are about equally inclined to say it is too soon to tell whether the structure should be modified--the percentages range from 53 to 57 (Table H). However, administrators are significantly less likely than the other two groups to favor modification, and about 20% more likely to oppose it.
The county college, state college, and independent sectors are all inclined to say that it is too soon to tell about modification (see Table I); only 31% of public university respondents hold this view.
|County Colleges
|State Colleges
|Public Universities
|Independent Institutions
|Too soon to tell
Believing that the current structure should be changed is not necessarily linked with a negative view of restructuring. Of those opposing modification, 89% hold a positive view of restructuring; one-third of those favoring modification also have a positive view (see Table J). In fact, the most common assessment among those favoring modification is a mixed view of restructuring.
|The Current Structure
|Assessment of Restructuring
|Should Be Modified
|Should not be Modified
|Too Soon To Tell
|Positive change
|Negative change
|Mixed change
|No opinion
Of those who profess to know a great deal about restructuring 56% view it as a positive change; those who have only some knowledge or those with not much knowledge are less likely to view it as a positive change. (See Table K.)
|Amount of Knowldge
|Assessment of Restructuring
|A Great Deal
|Not Much
|Positive change
|Negative change
|Mixed change
|No opinion
Suggestions as to how the governance structure created by the Restructuring Act should be modified, as might be expected, exemplify great variety. Some examples are: "There are still areas to be clarified but these will take time to evolve." and "Abolish and go back to former process."
Another survey question invited respondents to comment or make any suggestions they might choose on any aspect of the Restructuring Act not covered in other survey items. Again there was great variety in responses. Some examples are: "In general more time under the Act is needed to make more informed judgments." and "I feel that the 1994 Restructuring Act has been inadequately publicized."
Responses to individual survey items suggest both direct and indirect effects of the Restructuring Act which are best considered in the context of the overall findings and occurrences over the past 20 months. Such consideration leads to recommendations for continued improvement of New Jersey's restructured higher education system.
The Presidents' Council should examine both the manner in which statewide coordination of academic programming is currently being carried out and the adequacy of program review to ensure statewide needs are met. The area rated by the greatest percentage of respondents as "better" is institutional flexibility in establishing new academic programs, an area which is directly related to deregulation initiated by the restructuring law. At the same time, about one-fourth of the respondents indicated that statewide coordination of academic programming is "worse" than it was prior to restructuring, while one-fourth indicated it was "better," and a fifth said "the same." Opinions regarding adequacy of new academic program review were evenly spread among "better," "worse," "the same," and "too soon to tell. Given the intent of the legislation to foster both institutional autonomy and statewide coordination with an emphasis on quality and cost-effectiveness, this area warrants attention.
The Commission, Presidents' Council, Office of Student Assistance, and boards of trustees should examine possible means of increasing systemwide advocacy and strengthening systemwide coordination. The effect of restructuring on coordinated systemwide advocacy, if any, is indirect, because a new advocacy structure was not specifically established by the Act. However, about one-fifth of the survey respondents felt that advocacy by the state's coordinating agency has deteriorated; a similar share saw improvement. Views regarding advocacy by the Presidents' Council were slightly more favorable. Similarly, about one- fifth of the respondents rated systemwide coordination as "worse," while others considered it better or had mixed views. Perhaps the fairest assessment is that advocacy and coordination may have failed to improve.
The Commission and Presidents' Council should consider publishing joint or separate newsletters providing information regarding activities of the two entities, as well as trends in higher education. Availability of information on higher education from the state coordinating body was viewed by almost one-fifth of the respondents as "worse" and by the same share as "better." Similar responses were generated regarding information from the Presidents' Council. Respondents may have based their opinions on general reporting of information or on responsiveness to ad hoc requests for information. However, since the survey was conducted, the Commission published the first higher education systemwide accountability report, which provides extensive information that was not previously made available. The impact of restructuring on this area is somewhat indirect; no specific change regarding state dissemination of information resulted from the Act itself. However, the systemwide accountability report is complementary to the Act's required institutional accountability reports. At any rate, the Commission's and Presidents' Council's roles in informing the higher education community and the general public merits further attention.
The Commission and Presidents' Council should request the Governor's Office to review the trustee appointment process in an effort to streamline and expedite it. The trustee appointment process was viewed as worse by about one-fifth of the respondents, and only one-eighth saw an improvement. The link between this area and the Restructuring Act is direct, in that an entire bureaucratic layer in the nominating process was eliminated with the expectation of expediting the process and providing a more enhanced role for boards of trustees. In fact, the process has not shown significant improvement or more timely appointments.
An additional area of concern is affordability. The link between restructuring and affordability is unclear, but the issue bears close watch to ensure that statewide goals of affordability and accessibility are met. More respondents felt this area is "the same" (43%) than said it was "worse" (32%). The latter group is sizable enough, however, to warrant concern. Affordability was a significant issue in New Jersey before restructuring, and it is an issue in most states irrespective of governance structure. Higher education costs have not accelerated significantly in the first two years since the Restructuring Act; tuition increases have been moderate, and state financial aid programs have grown.
Two additional areas that were perceived as worse by approximately 11% and 7%, respectively, are lack of progress toward a statewide master plan and the lack of communication between higher education and the K-12 system. These areas are directly related to responsibilities defined in the Restructuring Act. Ironically, these perceptions may be a result of inadequate dissemination of information as discussed above. In fact, the first master plan for higher education in New Jersey since 1981 is scheduled for completion by October 1996. A draft plan was disseminated broadly (after the survey was conducted) for public input before adoption of a plan that will be updated regularly. In regard to communication with the K-12 system, there is clearly need for improvement. However, collaborative efforts are underway as a result of the Commission's recommendations on K-12 and higher education collaboration. A joint agency working group has recently completed recommendations to the Commissioner of Education and the Commission's Committee on K-12 Collaboration regarding an issue of common concern -- a joint policy statement is expected from the two agencies this spring.
The restructuring of higher education reassigned duties previously carried out by the Board of Higher Education and the Department of Higher Education. As a result, some new entities were created, while some existing entities have new and different responsibilities.
Public institutional boards have much broader responsibilities and a requirement for annual accountability reports. There is a greater need for trustees to be well informed and prepared as they carry much of the weight for institutional decision making and significant responsibility for the success of a system of autonomous institutions.
The Presidents' Council has been assigned responsibilities not previously required of presidents. They must commit time and thought to the needs of the system, not solely those of their institution or sector. Their staff members also serve on systemwide committees to develop coordinated budget statements, develop basic skills testing policy, etc. These are time-consuming activities beyond usual institutional assignments.
The 17-member Commission on Higher Education assumed policy, planning, and advocacy responsibilities with a 21-member staff. Commission members do not merely rely on staff for decision recommendations; they are actively involved in planning and policy development, devoting significant time to committee work.
The Office of Student Assistance now functions as a free- standing administrative entity and works in collaboration with the Commission on student assistance policy development, guided by the Student Assistance Board and the Higher Education Assistance Authority. New Jersey's restructuring plan is an impressive effort to deregulate colleges and universities. New responsibilities have been undertaken to develop a system of effective, autonomous institutions operating within a coordinated statewide context. For all concerned there has been a redirection of effort. In the months ahead there is a need for all to renew their commitment to institutionalize the goals of restructuring.
Dr. Robert L. Albright
Member, Commission on Higher Education
Dr. Stanley S. Bergen, Jr.
President, UMDNJ
Mr. Stanley S. Bey
Member, Commission on Higher Education
Dr. Peter F. Burnham
President, Brookdale Community College
Dr. William J. King
Member, Commission on Higher Education
Dr. Martine Hammond-Paludan
Executive Director, Commission on Higher Education
Mr. Francis J. Mertz
President, Fairleigh Dickinson University
Dr. Arnold Speert
President, William Paterson College of NJ
Ms. Gloria E. Soto, Esq.
Member, Commission on Higher Education


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Particles and Air Cleaners
This page last reviewed November 26, 2014
Reducing Exposure to Particulate Pollutants
Particulate pollutants are found both indoors and outdoors. They include very small (often invisible) particles from combustion sources such as motor vehicle exhaust, cigarette smoke, cooking, and woodburning activities; biological components such as pollen and mold spores, and dust mite allergens; and fine fibers such as asbestos. Particulate pollutants can cause a variety of harmful health effects. These effects include cough, nasal irritation, lung infection, allergy symptoms, asthma, chronic lung conditions, cancer, and premature death. There are many actions you can take to reduce your and your family's exposure to particulate pollutants.
"Reducing Your Exposure to Particle Pollution" (Fact Sheet - updated November 2014)
Air Cleaners
The most effective way to reduce exposure to indoor pollutants is to first remove sources of pollution or reduce pollutant emissions. A second important action is to provide adequate ventilation. If these actions do not resolve indoor air quality problems, sensitive individuals may benefit from using a central air filter or a good air cleaner in one or more rooms of the house. Air filters and air cleaners can only be effective if they are properly maintained.
How to Select a Safe and Effective Air Cleaner
- "Air Cleaning Devices for the Home, Frequently Asked Questions" (updated July 2014)
- "Air Purifiers: Filtering the Claims," Consumer Reports, December 2007, Issue 12, pages 48-51. Posted with permission; for educational purposes only.
- AHAM Verification Program for Portable Electric Room Air Cleaners
Air Cleaners to Avoid
Not all air-cleaning devices are appropriate for home use — some can be harmful to human health. The ARB recommends that ozone generators, air cleaners that intentionally produce ozone, not be used in the home. Ozone is a gas that can cause health problems, including respiratory tract irritation and breathing difficulty (Ozone and Health).
- List of Potentially Hazardous Ozone Generators Sold as Air Purifiers (November 6, 2007)
- Fact Sheet: Beware of Ozone-Generating Indoor "Air Purifiers" (March 2006)
For more information on ozone generating air cleaners, please visit our website at Hazardous Ozone-Generating "Air Purifiers"
Combustion Pollutants
The guidance document below provides information on the sources and health effects of indoor combustion pollutants and discusses actions you can take to reduce your exposures to them.
- Combustion Pollutants in Your Home - Guideline No. 2 (html) or (PDF - 8 MB)
- Combustion Pollutants in Your Home - Supplement to Guideline No. 2
Other Sources of Air Cleaner Information
The final research report below discusses the results of a survey of 2019 Californians on their use of air cleaning devices.
"Survey of the Use of Ozone-Generating Air Cleaners by the California Public" (Final Research Report January, 2007)
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has produced a multi-page summary of research results on the effectiveness, cost, and health benefits of filtration, which is linked below.


text: Apartment are a four-piece alternative rock band from London, United Kingdom. They formed in 2005 and are currently signed to Filthy Lucre and Fleet Street Records. The band have toured with The Bravery, Delays, Editors, Jimmy Eat World and British Sea Power amongst others. They have also appeared on a co-headline tour of France with The Kooks. They have shared many stages with fellow East-Londoners Boy Kill Boy (hailing from Leytonstone), and Apartment have a song dedicated to their singer, Chris Peck, called "My Brother Chris", which also happened to be their first single under Filthy Lucre. They released their debut album, The Dreamer Evasive, in 2007. The song from the album "Fall Into Place" was also selected to be in the game FIFA 08, and is also available on the game's OST.


text:
Often times during our exercise routines we'll think to ourselves, "Hey, if I can do this, I can show other people how to do it too."
That thought soon dissipates, however, and before you know it, you're back to your own workout.
Well, that is unless you're Trish Stratus.
You see, the multi-time WWE Women's Champion has ventured into a new stage of her professional life. After being a top-rated fitness model, a Diva of the ring and TV host, the Toronto-born starlet has moved into the workout regime
with the opening of Stratusphere Yoga.
Located at The Village at Vaughan Mills, a mall just north of Toronto, Strausphere is a multifaceted studio which Stratus, along with business partner Janette Lynn, are officially opening this coming weekend. Offering classes ranging from hot yoga to pilates, the centre looks to make a big impact in the Greater Toronto Area.
Stratus herself has been taking yoga programs for quite some time. Just a couple years ago, Stratus (real name Patricia Stratigias) suffered a back injury while competing for WWE (either, according to Trish, from a Big Splash from Viscera or wear-and-tear from years on the road, depending which story you believe), and when the normal rehabilitation methods weren't working, Stratus looked to yoga as an alternate healing method.
"I was doing traditional physiotherapy and nothing was helping, so I ended up walking into a yoga class one day and two months later, I dropped the physiotherapy all the way, and was feeling all the effects from there," she recalled to SLAM! Wrestling. "I just focused on the yoga and two months later I was back in the ring, doing my thing. Not once have I had the back, knock on wood, come back and haunt me."
Stratus's interest in yoga continued from there. While on the road with WWE, Stratus would search out yoga centres to combat jet lag. Once her career was complete, however, the opportunity to open her own studio soon came knocking at Trish's door.
Though she was still active in a number of projects following her WWE career, including as the host of the reality show The Second City's Next Comedy Legend, she was able to be at home and not travel every day. It was during this period that Lynn, who had been a high school friend of Trish's, became a yoga buddy. The rest, as they say, is history.
"We would just get together and talk about yoga. I used to say to her, 'One day, maybe that's something I'd like to do -- open up a studio,'" she explained. "From me and Janette talking about the idea, it turned into, 'You know what, we can do this.' The transition point happened when I said, 'I wish there was a yoga studio that had this,' or, 'I wish there was something up in the suburbs,' then it was, 'How about I wish can be I am going to.'"
Having a husband, Ron, who works in construction certainly helped get Stratusphere up and running in a very short amount of time. What began with a vision just a year ago is now a reality, thanks in large part to Ron, who helped build the studio in just five months. Lynn, who had previously been in a managerial position with a pharmaceutical firm, is going to handle the managerial end of Stratusphere, while Trish will take on the marketing and advertising
duties. Two business advisors have also been brought on board.
"Ron and I have had a great team of people around us," Stratus said. "We really had a great team assembled."
That won't be the only role that Stratus takes on, however. Along with having a staff of instructors, Stratus herself will be leading some classes. The motivation to get her certification, Stratus admits, came partly from her own desire to learn more about yoga.
"Selfishly, I took it mostly to enhance my practice," she said. "I'm a 100 per cent girl -- if I'm doing something, I want to go 100 per cent at it."
Now, Trish is ready to deliver Stratusfaction to all who take her class. "I have the opportunity to teach people and that's great, because if they're coming to the studio, they're going to want to know, and you can advise them
on yoga and the movements."
Stay tuned to SLAM! Wrestling for more coverage of the opening of Stratusphere
and more on Trish Stratus, including her new travel show and her thoughts on
WWE's Women's Division.
Jon Waldman, a Winnipeg-based journalist, has been with SLAM! Wrestling since 2000. Visit Jon online at www.jonwaldman.com.


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- 49 Jardine St, Kingston, ACT 2604
- 2-5 km from Capital Hill
Beauty and Wellness Services - Capital Hill (2600)
Best match results for beauty and wellness services in Capital Hill + 30km.
- 6/88 Bunda St, Lower Ground, City Executive Suites, City, Canberra City, ACT 2600
- 2-5 km from Capital Hill
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Other related businesses in and around Capital Hill (within 50km)
- Emphora Building, 40, 1 Cowlishaw St, Greenway, ACT 2900
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Arokaya Lanna spa (Thai massage and Day Spa in Tuggeranong ACT) is located at Emphora building next to Department of Human Service or in front of Southern Cross Club on Cowlishaw Street. You will experience a true sense of ancient holistic healing in a warm and friendly environment. We have a unique boutique setting to help you enjoy and relax with every treatment (Traditional Thai massage, Foot reflexology, Aromatherapy massage, Swedish massage, Deep tissue massage, Remedial massage, Hot stone massage, ... Read more Indian head massage, Pregnant massage, Body treatment massage and facial treatment by Jurlique product). At Arokaya Lanna spa, our therapists are hand picked and well trained by a fully qualified Thai trainer or in Thailand. This ensures a unique massage experience like those practiced in Thailand. Our therapists know how specialises in a wide range of wellness therapies and healing rituals to complete a unique massage experience.