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You're reading an older article from ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. Some information, such as code-related information, may be outdated. Find the most up-to-date content in our latest issues.
Recessed housings have come a long way since their initial introduction into the marketplace. Today, more electrical contractors are using low voltage housings to provide task lighting and are including further accents with a full range of trims.
When installing fixtures with standard voltage, low voltage halogen, or fluorescent fixtures, the typical sizes of these units are 4 to 6 inches in diameter. The larger size fixtures can be used in heightened entryways or cathedral ceilings, while the smaller units offer a sleeker, more modern design and look.
It is important to ask the client exactly which areas they would like to have highlighted. For example, determine if there is a space that needs bright light for reading or soft dimmed light for watching television.
Fluorescent recessed housings with fluorescent ballasts offer a great design and use for energy savings while offering an extended lamp life, but light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are making in-roads and have changed the game in some cases. If the units are being installed in hard-to-reach places—i.e. large and open entryways where access is limited—most contractors are looking to these efficient and long-lasting housing installations.
These new LED housings may actually be way more than just a housing in a traditional sense. Recessed LEDs include the fixutre, driver, lamp, heat sink in one single item. You can put in the new fixture, connect it to a power source, and go.
Finish trims add the final touch to recessed housings. A variety of adjustable or directional trims are available to enhance and direct light to a specific area. Other housings are designed for a specific type of lamp, as diameters are used specifically for general lighting while others are designed for accent lighting. Some recessed housings are designed specifically for sloped ceilings or high vaulted ceilings.
Recessed housings are designed to create a smooth and trimless look. These installations are looking to these fixtures to maximize the ever-popular minimalist environment while increasing the architectural detail for not only residential, but also commercial projects. The housings apertures are available in sizes designed for general lighting, accent and task lighting and high ceiling lighting.
Since labor is always an important consideration, many lighting manufacturers have introduced products that have helped contractors provide a smoother, easier installation. Some companies offers housings that have preinstalled nails and even include an automatic leveling flange that enables you to align the housing and hold it in place while securing to the joists. Other innovations to solve labor considerations are available.
When installing these units, be sure to keep in mind housing aperture size, which determines the diameter of the opening that will emit not only the light beam, but also the size of the ceiling opening.
In the residential marketplace, recessed downlights are the most popular selections for residential lighting fixtures. While some downlights use standard incandescent lamps, many are designed to use reflector lamps such as P (Parabolic), R (Reflector) and MR lamps. These products are fairly simple to install, offer a classically appealing look and offer ample task light when located over a work area.
The recessed housings are typically available in the following types:
- Standard thermally protected (type T)
- Insulated ceiling (IC)
- Airtight insulated ceiling (AIC or ICAT)
- Remodeler (RT)
- Insulated ceiling remodeler (ICR)
The increasingly popular IC-rated housings are affixed to the ceiling supports before the ceiling surface is installed. Code requirements ensure these units do not overheat when they come in contact with insulation because they could cause a fire hazard. These 75-watt (W) maximum housings must be installed where insulation comes in direct contact with the housing.
Non-IC rated housings, which are typically rated up to a maximum 150W, can still be used in similar installations as the IC-rated new construction housings but require no insulation come in contact with the fixture, and they must be placed at least four inches away from all insulation. Sloped-ceiling housings are available for both insulated and non-insulated, vaulted ceilings.
When installing recessed housings, another point to consider is proximity to power. For example, if there is a ceiling box where the light will be installed, it is easy enough to just disconnect the wires from the box and reattach them to the cut-in can.
Be sure to take careful note of the rating of each housing before installation as the National Electrical Code requires an IC-rated housing be installed if insulation is present. The Code generally requires airtight IC housings be installed to minimize airflow between conditioned living space and non-conditioned attic or plenum.
IC housings are designed to ensure no flammable materials come into contact with the lighting fixture when it reaches an elevated temperature. If they are not installed properly or if a housing is used that is designed to shut off when a temperature reaches a certain point, these poorly installed downlights could potentially put a home or building at risk of a fire hazard.
Today, nearly all of the newer housings contain a thermal reset switch designed to shut off for safety purposes. Smaller installations can be accomplished between ceiling joists of newer constructed buildings. When completing a major renovation, other recessed fixtures, which are placed into an existing ceiling space through holes made to accommodate wiring, are designed specifically for retrofit applications.
Low voltage halogen lamps offer a much longer life and distribute more illumination than incandescent lamps, although they require the use of transformers and special low voltage housings. Dimming controls can easily be installed and are available to accommodate halogen housings.
The low voltage recessed housings allow precise recessed accent lighting from low voltage housings. Remodeling recessed housings can be used with installations where there is no access above the ceiling. These housings are designed specifically for easy installation into a finished ceiling, offering lighting that could not have been possible before the install.
Some housing manufacturers recently brought to the marketplace a range of recessed plaster housings, which are side-mounted and can be installed during the initial stage of construction.
For safety, the unit includes a thermal protector that deactivates the fixture if it overheats. Available with a variety of trim options, you no longer have to guess which housing belongs with which trim. The can and trim come packaged together. This combined packaging greatly simplifies the often confusing process of selecting recessed lighting.
Installing recessed fixtures isn't difficult. If you have dropped ceilings or access from above—e.g., from the attic—that's easiest of all. The job is a bit trickier when you don't have access, but fortunately, most manufacturers offer special remodeling fixtures for this kind of job.
Whatever the challenge in recessed lighting, manufacturers have found many innovative ways to solve almost any application. Work with your local distributor to learn more and find these solutions to provide safe, efficient lighting while saving labor costs in installation time.


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NEW DELHI, December 20, 2010 – Inadequate sanitation causes India considerable economic losses, equivalent to 6.4 per cent of India's GDP in 2006 at US$53.8 billion (Rs.2.4 trillion), according to The Economic Impacts of Inadequate Sanitation in India, a new report from the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP), a global partnership administered by the World Bank.
The study analyzed the evidence on the adverse economic impacts of inadequate sanitation, which include costs associated with death and disease, accessing and treating water, and losses in education, productivity, time, and tourism. The findings are based on 2006 figures, although a similar magnitude of losses is likely in later years.
The report indicates that premature mortality and other health-related impacts of inadequate sanitation, were the most costly at US$38.5 billion (Rs.1.75 trillion, 71.6 percent of total impacts), followed by productive time lost to access sanitation facilities or sites for defecation at US$10.7 billion (Rs. 487 billion, 20 percent), and drinking water-related impacts at US$4.2 billion (Rs. 191 billion, 7.8 percent).
"For decades we have been aware of the significant health impacts of inadequate sanitation in India," said Christopher Juan Costain, WSP Regional Team Leader for South Asia. "This report quantifies the economic losses to India, and shows that children and poor households bear the brunt of poor sanitation"
More than three-fourths of the premature mortality-related economic losses are due to deaths and diseases in children younger than five. Diarrhea among these children accounts for over 47 percent (US$18 billion, Rs.824 billion) of the total health-related economic impacts.
At 75 percent more than the national average and 60 percent more than the urban average, the poorest 20 percent of households living in urban areas bear the highest per capita economic impacts of inadequate sanitation. Rural households in the poorest quintile bear per capita losses 8 percent more than the average loss for households in rural areas.
The study focused on the safe management of human excreta and associated hygiene behavior. The methodology adopted by the study included disaggregating the economic impacts of inadequate sanitation into health-related impacts including premature deaths, costs of treating diseases, and productive time lost due to illnesses; domestic water-related impacts including household treatment of water, and money and time costs to obtain safe water; welfare losses including additional time spent by people for accessing toilets or open defecation sites, and girls having to miss school, and women not going to work; and the loss of potential tourism owing to inadequate sanitation.
Data on incidence (e.g. diarrheal diseases, deaths, etc.) were compiled from national sources (National Family Health Survey, WHO Demographic and Health Surveys, and other Govt. of India sources). Based on scientific literature, attribution factors were used to estimate the populations impacted by inadequate sanitation. Economic valuation was carried out using costs/prices based on secondary studies.
The study underlines that substantial investments are needed in improving sanitation - as the Government of India's national rural sanitation flagship Total Sanitation Campaign has been providing and as the National Urban Sanitation Policy 2008 has espoused.
The report further recommends a new monitoring framework - one that measures not just toilet coverage and use, or coverage of sewerage and number of wastewater treatments, or number of sanitized communities and cities, but also improvements in the overall health, water-related, environmental, and other welfare indicators that result from inadequate sanitation.
"The ESI study in East Asia (2007) showed annual per capita losses in the range of US$9.3 in Vietnam, to US$16.8 in the Philippines, US$28.6 in Indonesia to a high of US$32.4 in Cambodia," added Costain. In contrast, India lost US$48 (Rs.2180) on a per capita basis, showing the urgency with which India needs to improve sanitation."
The report estimates that comprehensive interventions (use of toilets, hygiene promotion, improved access to safe water, and proper waste management) can save India US$32.6 billion (Rs.1.48 trillion) or US$29 (Rs.1321) per capita.
The report also shows that increasing public and household investments in sanitation can generate considerable economy activity – the sanitation 'market' is estimated at about US$152 billion (Rs. 6.87 trillion) for infrastructure creation and operations and maintenance services, over the period 2007-2020.
The full report, due out later this fiscal year, follows a WSP study released in 2007 on the economic impacts of sanitation in Southeast Asia, a part of the Global Economics of Sanitation Initiative.


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Category: Feature


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Telecom Jobs in Boston
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Oxford is a small city. It contains only around 150,000 permanent residents, and you can cycle around its borders in only a few hours. However, having lived here for the past five years, I have come to realize, that despite its small size, Oxford is one of the most culturally rich cities in the world. Here is just a little example.
Earlier this week, my wife and I both had the day off from work, and we decided it would be nice to do something cultural and free. A quick check online revealed that the Bodleian library had a new exhibit showing off many of its treasures, so we decided to go.
The exhibit only consisted of one room, but that room contained enough to make any renaissance troll gape in wonder. Among the items that caught my eye, J.R.R. Tolkien's original watercolour painting A Conversation with Smaug. This sat next to a gorgeous thirteenth-century illuminated bestiary, which lay open to a spread containing a dragon (strangling an elephant – apparently its natural enemy) and a basilisk (being attacked by a weasel, its archenemy). Also behind glass for all to see, a handwritten page from Mary Shelly's draft of Frankenstein, complete with notes and corrections by her husband!
Of course they also had a Guttenberg Bible, a Jane Austin manuscript, an original copy of the Magna Carta, a heavily illustrated fourteenth century copy of the Divine Comedy, and an original leaf from the third century Gospel of St Thomas (bet my brother-in-law would like to get his hands on that!).
I didn't take us more than 45 minutes to see the whole exhibit, but it was time well spent.


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Simple Snacks That Make The Best Dog Treats
When your dog is sitting by the table, staring eagerly up at your dinner, it can be tempting to treat him with some of your scraps.
It seems easy to use the same food that you eat as a dog treat, but you shouldn't give your dog just any human food. Using human foods may be safe occasionally, but can often be toxic to dogs.
When your dog is sitting by the table, staring eagerly up at your dinner, it can be tempting to treat him with some of your scraps. Likewise, when you run out of dog biscuits, it is easy to simply give him one of your snacks.
Feeding human foods to your dogs is usually unhealthy and can sometimes pose health risks or even be toxic to dogs. It's important to know which foods make for decent dog treats and which could lead to a trip to the veterinarian. Here's a short guide on using human foods for dogs.
- Cheese: While cheese and other dairy products are not poisonous to dogs (unless they're moldy, that is), they are difficult for dogs to digest. This is because dogs do not possess large amounts of lactase, which helps break down dairy. For this reason, feeding your dog cheese or other dairy can cause diarrhea and other digestive issues. It should be avoided as a dog snack.
- Peanut Butter: This is a very popular treat for dogs, and in most cases will not be dangerous for your pet. Like humans, though, some dogs are allergic to peanut butter, and you should take your pet to a veterinarian if you see signs of this including irritated skin, hair loss, or ear infections. Also, while peanut butter is a good source of protein, it is high in fat and calories. For this reason, you should only use it as an infrequent snack and when you do, make sure to use the least processed, most natural peanut butters available.
- Eggs: Like humans, dogs should avoid raw eggs, as they can cause hair and skin problems and they can pose a salmonella threat. Hard boiled eggs are fine as an occasional treat, though, as long as your dog doesn't show any adverse reaction to them.
- Vegetables: While many vegetables are perfectly acceptable in a dog's diet, this is not true for all of them. In large amounts, onions, garlic, and chives can cause intestinal and red blood cell problems. Rhubarb leaves and mushrooms should also be avoided. Some acceptable vegetables to use as snacks are green beans, carrots, zucchini, and cucumber.
- Fruits: Many fruits pose health problems for dogs. Grapes (including raisins as well as currants), avocados, persimmons, and many citrus fruits can be toxic to dogs and should be avoided. The symptoms of ingesting these fruits range from an upset stomach to death. Some fruits are safe, though. Sliced apples, as long as there are no seeds, are one fruit that can be used as a snack.
- Other Human Foods to Avoid: Many other household foods can be poisonous to dogs. Chocolate is a well known food for dogs to avoid, as it can cause many health problems, along with coffee and anything else that contains caffeine. Macadamia nuts are also extremely dangerous for dogs. Finally, uncooked bread dough, yeast, and raw meat can cause stomach problems for your dog.
- Acceptable Dog Treats: Some of the snacks mentioned above, as well as some other snacks, such as unsalted pretzels or almonds, bananas and cooked, low-fat meats, can be good dog treats. Remember to use them sparingly, though, as too many human treats can be an unhealthy diet.
What kind of food makes your dog beg for table scraps? How do you keep your pets away from human food?


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Psychological Disorders
Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Discuss supernatural perspectives on the origin of psychological disorders, in their historical context
- Describe modern biological and psychological perspectives on the origin of psychological disorders
- Identify which disorders generally show the highest degree of heritability
- Describe the diathesis-stress model and its importance to the study of psychopathology
Scientists and mental health professionals may adopt different perspectives in attempting to understand or explain the underlying mechanisms that contribute to the development of a psychological disorder. The perspective used in explaining a psychological disorder is extremely important, in that it will consist of explicit assumptions regarding how best to study the disorder, its etiology, and what kinds of therapies or treatments are most beneficial. Different perspectives provide alternate ways for how to think about the nature of psychopathology.
Supernatural Perspectives of Psychological Disorders
For centuries, psychological disorders were viewed from a supernatural perspective: attributed to a force beyond scientific understanding. Those afflicted were thought to be practitioners of black magic or possessed by spirits (Maher & Maher, 1985). For example, convents throughout Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries reported hundreds of nuns falling into a state of frenzy in which the afflicted foamed at the mouth, screamed and convulsed, sexually propositioned priests, and confessed to having carnal relations with devils or Christ. Although, today, these cases would suggest serious mental illness; at the time, these events were routinely explained as possession by devilish forces (Waller, 2009a). Similarly, grievous fits by young girls are believed to have precipitated the witch panic in New England late in the 17th century (Demos, 1983). Such beliefs in supernatural causes of mental illness are still held in some societies today; for example, beliefs that supernatural forces cause mental illness are common in some cultures in modern-day Nigeria (Aghukwa, 2012).
Dancing Mania
Between the 11th and 17th centuries, a curious epidemic swept across Western Europe. Groups of people would suddenly begin to dance with wild abandon. This compulsion to dance—referred to as dancing mania—sometimes gripped thousands of people at a time. Historical accounts indicate that those afflicted would sometimes dance with bruised and bloody feet for days or weeks, screaming of terrible visions and begging priests and monks to save their souls (Waller, 2009b). What caused dancing mania is not known, but several explanations have been proposed, including spider venom and ergot poisoning ("Dancing Mania," 2011).
Historian John Waller (2009a, 2009b) has provided a comprehensive and convincing explanation of dancing mania that suggests the phenomenon was attributable to a combination of three factors: psychological distress, social contagion, and belief in supernatural forces. Waller argued that various disasters of the time (such as famine, plagues, and floods) produced high levels of psychological distress that could increase the likelihood of succumbing to an involuntary trance state. Waller indicated that anthropological studies and accounts of possession rituals show that people are more likely to enter a trance state if they expect it to happen, and that entranced individuals behave in a ritualistic manner, their thoughts and behavior shaped by the spiritual beliefs of their culture. Thus, during periods of extreme physical and mental distress, all it took were a few people—believing themselves to have been afflicted with a dancing curse—to slip into a spontaneous trance and then act out the part of one who is cursed by dancing for days on end.
Biological Perspectives of Psychological Disorders
The biological perspective views psychological disorders as linked to biological phenomena, such as genetic factors, chemical imbalances, and brain abnormalities; it has gained considerable attention and acceptance in recent decades (Wyatt & Midkiff, 2006). Evidence from many sources indicates that most psychological disorders have a genetic component; in fact, there is little dispute that some disorders are largely due to genetic factors.
Findings such as these have led many of today's researchers to search for specific genes and genetic mutations that contribute to mental disorders. Also, sophisticated neural imaging technology in recent decades has revealed how abnormalities in brain structure and function might be directly involved in many disorders, and advances in our understanding of neurotransmitters and hormones have yielded insights into their possible connections. The biological perspective is currently thriving in the study of psychological disorders.
The Diathesis-Stress Model of Psychological Disorders
Despite advances in understanding the biological basis of psychological disorders, the psychosocial perspective is still very important. This perspective emphasizes the importance of learning, stress, faulty and self-defeating thinking patterns, and environmental factors. Perhaps the best way to think about psychological disorders, then, is to view them as originating from a combination of biological and psychological processes. Many develop not from a single cause, but from a delicate fusion between partly biological and partly psychosocial factors.
The diathesis-stress model (Zuckerman, 1999) integrates biological and psychosocial factors to predict the likelihood of a disorder. This diathesis-stress model suggests that people with an underlying predisposition for a disorder (i.e., a diathesis) are more likely than others to develop a disorder when faced with adverse environmental or psychological events (i.e., stress), such as childhood maltreatment, negative life events, trauma, and so on. A diathesis is not always a biological vulnerability to an illness; some diatheses may be psychological (e.g., a tendency to think about life events in a pessimistic, self-defeating way).
The key assumption of the diathesis-stress model is that both factors, diathesis and stress, are necessary in the development of a disorder. Different models explore the relationship between the two factors: the level of stress needed to produce the disorder is inversely proportional to the level of diathesis.
Test Your Understanding
Psychopathology is very complex, involving a plethora of etiological theories and perspectives. For centuries, psychological disorders were viewed primarily from a supernatural perspective and thought to arise from divine forces or possession from spirits. Some cultures continue to hold this supernatural belief. Today, many who study psychopathology view mental illness from a biological perspective, whereby psychological disorders are thought to result largely from faulty biological processes. Indeed, scientific advances over the last several decades have provided a better understanding of the genetic, neurological, hormonal, and biochemical bases of psychopathology. The psychological perspective, in contrast, emphasizes the importance of psychological factors (e.g., stress and thoughts) and environmental factors in the development of psychological disorders. A contemporary, promising approach is to view disorders as originating from an integration of biological and psychosocial factors. The diathesis-stress model suggests that people with an underlying diathesis, or vulnerability, for a psychological disorder are more likely than those without the diathesis to develop the disorder when faced with stressful events.
Review Questions
Critical Thinking Question
Why is the perspective one uses in explaining a psychological disorder important?
The perspective one uses in explaining a psychological disorder consists of assumptions that will guide how to best study and understand the nature of a disorder, including its causes, and how to most effectively treat the disorder.
Personal Application Question
Even today, some believe that certain occurrences have supernatural causes. Think of an event, recent or historical, for which others have provided supernatural explanation.


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Foraged Things
This morning, strolling the market, I noticed the foraged Spring things have finally made their way to town. Tonight we will enjoy fresh morels in cream on our own hand cranked pasta, and tomorrow a rabbit, nettle and potato soup. We had a full day of clear bright sun today for the first time in weeks, and it completely filled the kitchen, putting a definitive end to the chill of this year's winter that wouldn't let go. While we chopped and stirred our way through this morning's class, surrounded by picked edible plants exploding with life, I felt relief and peace spread into my bones, the kind that comes with the promise of a new season. New onions braced in my hands under icy running water, tonic and crisp. I have leftover gibelotte and my weekend has begun.


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I've just read 'Tales of Fiscal Adjustment' by Alesina and Ardagna, which appears to be the founding text for the idea of expansionary austerity. The level of scholarship, at least as it applies to Australia (which is their first illustration) is exceptionally poor, to the extent that it requires a rescuscitation of the ancient Internet tradition of Fisking. I'm going to quote excerpts from their text (about 50 per cent of the total), and intersperse them with my comments.
In 1985, a single-party left-wing government took office and launched a stabilization plan to correct the internal and external imbalances (the current account deficit was 4.13% of GDP and the total deficit/GDP ratio was above 3% in 1984).
The Labor government was elected in 1983, not 1985, in the early stages of recovery from a deep recession. Their stabilization plan, introduced in 1984, and called the Trilogy, pledged to hold tax/GDP and expenditure/GDP ratios at or below their current levels while reducing the budget deficit. The current account deficit, a subject of continuous concern, remained high throughout the period in question
The government wage bill and transfer programmes accounted for the biggest share of the adjustment … The cuts in transfer programmes were mainly concentrated on unemployment insurance.
There were no cuts in unemployment benefits. Expenditure fell because unemployment was falling. Haven't Alesina and Ardagna,heard of automatic stabilizers?
Capital taxation was rationalized.
OK, I guess, except that 'rationalized' in this context, typically means 'reduced'. In fact, the government introduced a capital gains tax which more than offset the end of double taxation of dividends
From 1983 to 1986, wages were bargained at a centralized level. The system was based on full indexation with twice-yearly adjustment, but there was a departure from full indexation in 1984 and 1986. In the negotiation process, government used tax reductions previously described to induce the union movement to accept reductions and delays in wages increments.
Absolutely opposite to the story told here, the trade-off in 1984 was in return for the (re)introduction of a single-payer health insurance scheme, a major expansion in the role of government and one that has endured to this day. In subsequent rounds, tax cuts were sometimes part of the deal, but the big trade-off was the introduction of compulsory employer contributions to retirement income funds. These aren't counted in measures of tax revenue and expenditure, but in functional terms they are the equivalent of a social security scheme (though a regressive and badly designed one, with lots of historical inequities and complexities locked in).
Between 1985 and 1986, the nominal effective exchange rate decreased by about 19%.
This is presented as if it were a goal of government policy. In fact, this depreciation, and the current account deficits that drove it led to Treasurer Paul Keating's famous observation that Australia was in danger of becoming a "banana republic"
Australia is a clear case of an'expansionary fiscal contraction'. GDP grew faster during and in the aftermath of the adjustment, both in absolute terms and relative to the G7 countries. A private investment boom was associated with profits and easier access to credit following the financial deregulation process that took place in 1985–6.
This is like the story of the guy who jumps off a tall building and says, as he passes the 25th floor "All good so far". Writing in 1998, Alesina and Ardagna must surely have been aware that, almost immediately after their story ends, Australia entered the worst recession in its postwar history. The recession was triggered by contractionary monetary policy, but its severity was largely due to the collapse of speculative investment projects undertaken by so-called 'entrepreneurs' who took advantage of easy access to credit to build conglomerate empires that failed in the crisis, almost taking down the banking system with them. Unemployment reached double digits in the early 1990s, and didn't fall below the pre-adjustment level of 8 per cent (itself disastrous) for nearly a decade.
In July 1987, the same government and the same prime minister in office were re-elected by popular vote. In the April 1990 elections, neither the winning government nor the prime minister changed.
This is true, though there was a huge amount of luck and ham-fisted opposition involved. When these factors ran out in 1996, the government suffered a thumping defeat, based primarily on the recession of the early 1990s. Labor was out of office for another decade.
Overall, the description of Australian macroeconomic experience given here is unrecognisable to someone who lived through the period. The government did lots of things that gained the approval of neoliberals (global sense) but these were almost entirely microeconomic in nature.
Although this piece is full of silly errors and spurious claims, the central problem (which starts with the dating error) is that the direction of causality is reversed. The strong expansion that began in 1983 drove much of the fiscal consolidation directly, and created the political-economic environment in which tight fiscal discipline was feasible without economic contraction, and politically salable. The severe recession that began just after the triumphant return to budget surplus (when Paul Keating went from bragging that "this is the one that brings home the bacon" to observing that "this is the recession we had to have") wiped out all of the fiscal consolidation of the previous decade – balance wasn't restored until years into the expansion with a consolidation that produced an increase (admittedly temporary) in unemployment, as Keynesian theory would predict.
As a final observation, Alesina and Ardagna would have had a much better picture of the events they described if they had taken a list of Keating's most famous sayings and checked back to discover the context.


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Noe Torres |
week I chatted with Noe Torres who has published a number of UFO books and by
published I mean published as opposed to having written. Make no mistake, he
has written books as well and he, with his partner,Ruben Uriarte, have collaborated on other books that
can be found at www.RoswellBooks.com. During the radio interview, we talked at
length about a reported UFO crash in Mexico in which a number of Mexican
soldiers died when they attempted to recover the disk-shaped craft. Intervention by
American soldiers sometime later, cleaned up and covered up the mess, and brought the object, whatever it was
into the United States, eventually into the Center for Disease Control in
Atlanta. This all was revealed in a document that was received by various UFO
researchers anonymously in the 1990s called the Deneb Report (Deneb,
coincidently was the star that was featured in my science fiction novel, On the Second Tuesday of Next Week). You
can listen to the interview here:
as I say during the interview, you can often learn more about the topics discussed
by visiting my blog. In this case Noe talked about what Len Stringfield had
reported in one of his status reports. You can read the article about that and
Len's status report here:
Week: A retrospective show about what has been discussed over the last five
months and what has been learned about some of those topics since then.
who might wish to ask questions should put them in the comments section of this
post and I'll try to answer them then.


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Alissa and Kristen, the authors of Block Party did a schoolhouse presentation. These gals were prepared and had a well thought out presentation that not only showcased the fabulous quilts in the book, but talked directly to shop owners on how the book would be good for business. I had the opportunity to see my quilt that's part of Block Party for the first time in over a year. Thanks to Kristen for giving my quilt such a great name...Profit Margins...love the name and coincidentally it speaks to what Quilt Market is all about. The exhibits open the morning after Schoolhouse and book signings happen periodically over the next three days of market. Publishing companies provide a limited number of free books that are given away during the book signing.
You can see from the crowd that Alissa and Kristen and their publisher did a great job marketing their book. The signing was packed...lots of folks wanting Block Party who didn't get in line soon enough to get a copy.
Block Party isn't on shelves yet, but is available for pre-order on Amazon. It's a wonderful book with great quilts and 12 interesting and very different women. I'm proud to be a part of it.


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As we noted last week, the new WhiteHouse.gov site uses embedded YouTube movies, raising concerns of privacy and open government advocates. Embedded video clips can place or add to a cookie on the user's computer – thus enabling tracking of users as they use the web. In response, the Obama Administration acted quickly, implementing a partial fix that ensures cookies will only be used when the user chooses to play the video, and not automatically upon loading a page.
This is an improvement, particularly impressive for the speed of the response, and we commend the Obama Administration for it.
But during this process the White House counsel issued a waiver for video on WhiteHouse.gov, moving away from the longstanding presumption against the use of cookies on government websites first issued in 2000. The federal rule directing the government to avoid the use of cookies is based on the important principle that the government — and third parties — should not be tracking the movements of citizens when they visit government sites. The waiver reads in part:
For videos that are visible on WhiteHouse.gov, a "persistent cookie" is set by third party providers when you click to play a video.
This persistent cookie is used by some third party providers to help maintain the integrity of video statistics. A waiver has been issued by the White House Counsel's office to allow for the use of this persistent cookie.
Given the importance of the "no cookie" presumption to the privacy of visitors to WhiteHouse.gov, we'd like to know why the White House Counsel decided to waive it. To answer this question, we have sent a letter to White House Counsel Gregory Craig, asking him to detail the "information and analysis" on which his waiver is based.
While the White House counsel has no obligation under the law to reply to our query, we hope he will do so in light of the memo issued by the President on his first day in office instructing all agencies to "adopt a presumption in favor of disclosure… to usher in a new era of open Government."
We have also provided Craig, the folks at WhiteHouse.gov and YouTube with a short list of suggestions to better protect the WhiteHouse.gov users regardless of the waiver:
- Work with YouTube to end the retention of cookie data for any video embedded on a government site, including so-called "flash cookies." We see no reason why YouTube needs to retain this information and every reason why it can use this opportunity to make a solid commitment to the public good.
- The White House has already taken the helpful step of providing visitors with a direct-download link to a high definition MP4 of most video. To build on this, the site could embed the low definition videos using its own Flash-player and stream the video directly from the White House's own server, rather than relying on YouTube.
- Add a link to privacy information near each video embed specifically identifying third parties that may have access to the data, so that users will be fully informed of their risks and options.
And we have pointed out that the privacy concerns don't begin and end with the use of cookies. There are other ways that visitors to WhiteHouse.gov are leaking private data to third parties:
- An "invisible pixel" style webbug/tracker on every page on the site, hosted by WebTrends.com.
- The entire WhiteHouse.gov domain appears to utilize edge-caching technology provided by Akamai, Inc.
- Access to direct-download MP4s of video content appears to be hosted by Amazon S3.
In each of these cases, when a person visits the WhiteHouse.gov site, a third-party logs IP addresses and other personally identifiable information. Yet the limitation on cookies was espressly adopted in 2000 out of concern about the risk of the technologies that "can track the activities of users over time and across different websites."
So in addition to asking the White House Counsel for information about this waiver to allow third-party cookies, we've asked a specific question: What is the White House willing to do to continue to protect the privacy of visitors to government websites, even as it utilizes tools other than cookies that can do similar tracking?
President Obama is leading the way in making new and unprecedented use of the new technologies to keep the public informed and engaged. We are hopeful that his Administration will readily recognize that part of open and responsive Government is making sure that neither the government, nor any third parties, are tracking the activities of those who seek to access government information.
We have asked the White House counsel to respond to our two questions by February 6, 2009. We'll let you know what happens.


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Happy New Year, everyone. I would argue that 2007 was the worst year that sports fans have seen in a long time.
In the NFL, there was the Vick story, which was the Story of the Year. Baseball had the Mitchell Report. The NBA had the Donaghy scandal. Yep, pretty close to rock-bottom.
But even the "good" stories were problematic:
The Pats going 16-0 was historic, but by comparison made the rest of the league look totally uncompelling. (And the fantasy season SUUUCKED.)
The Red Sox became the New Yankees, insufferably successful, poised for a decade of dominance -- sweeping away the Cinderella
The Spurs are the NBA dynasty no one seems to care about at all; a Finals vs. the league's marquee player led to the worst ratings ever.
(That's partially why I picked the
In 2007, two fan bases had make-the-rest-of-fandom-want-to-retch years:
Everyone else?
Pretty shitty, actually.
Here's the thing: On the playing field, 2008 sizes up about the same as last year:
*The Pats? Should go 19-0 en route to another Super Bowl title.*The Red Sox? Will be the favorites to win another World Series (Go Tigers!)
*The Spurs? Will be the favorites to win another NBA title, over KG and the rejuvinated Celtics (at least offering temporary relief from Boston sports dominance)
*Florida football? Should enter and exit the 2008 season at No. 1, led by the reigning Heisman winner.
Yeesh. The common factor: Dominance. Dominance is not good for sports, no matter what the Patriots' TV ratings might be. Fans need to believe there's a chance another team (their team, or otherwise) can win. Otherwise, what's the point?
The only thing that will redeem 2008 is that it can't possibly match the all-time OFF-field lows of 2007: Vick, Donaghy, Mitchell. Can it?
What were your favorite sports memories of 2007? And what are your predictions for 2008?


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This course a great follow up to the Introduction workshop or for someone who is familiar with using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. It is approximately four hours long. You will learn and experiment with decorative techniques working on two boards. All materials provided. If you have completed the Introduction to the Annie Sloan Method with Buster's you will receive a $10 discount on this course.
Techniques covered:
* Stencilling
* Decoupage and transfer
* Gold size and metal leaf
* Craqueleur
* Ombre
* Frottage
Advance registration and payment is required. Call the shop or register in person.
Price: $95
Pre-requisites: None
Duration: Approximately 4 hours
Workshop size: 4 people
You receive a 15% discount on any Annie Sloan products purchased on the day of workshop.


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Many seniors have taken advantage of reverse mortgages in recent years. These unique mortgages allow seniors who are existing homeowners to tap into their home equity without taking on a mortgage payment. This can be a true benefit to seniors who are on a tight budget or who want to take advantage of their home equity without giving up ownership of their home.
However, with new rules and requirements in place regarding reverse mortgages, the fact is that some of the benefits associated with reverse mortgages may be limited. In addition, some who may have qualified in the past may no longer qualify for a reverse mortgage.
Merging Two Reverse Mortgage Programs
One of the major changes related to reverse mortgage programs is tied to merging the Saver and Standard programs together. This change is already in effect, and the result essentially means that borrowers may qualify for as much as 15 percent less in loan proceeds than with the Standard program than they previously would have qualified for.
Additionally, this merger has resulted in some borrowers being charged higher fees. One reason for this change related to a drop in housing prices in recent years. Because borrowers are guaranteed to never be upside down in their reverse mortgage, some changes were necessary to compensate for declining home values.
The Amount of Loan Proceeds Available
Another important change in reverse mortgages relates to how much money the borrowers can draw on their loan initially. At one time, borrowers were able to pull up to 100 percent of the loan proceeds out on the loan as soon as the loan closed. However, some borrowers were not using their proceeds wisely and wound up in a more dire financial situation after spending most or all of their loan proceeds very quickly.
To prevent this from happening, a new regulation is now in place that limits the amount of funds that can be drawn from the loan to 60 percent within the first year after the loan closes. This is designed to prevent the borrower from going into default by not keeping up with property taxes and premiums on homeowners insurance.
While there are some changes that have been implemented recently regarding reverse mortgages, it is important to note that many homeowners will still benefit from tapping into their home equity in this way. You can learn more about some of the different requirements in place for home equity loans and begin the loan application process when you contact your trusted mortgage professional.


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May's Schnibbles Quilt 'Doc' - aka 'Candy Shop' |
May's Schnibbles Pattern and Fabrics |
This is one of those quilts where you have to make the blocks one at a time. Otherwise, it's simply too confusing. So I'd lay out one block at a time and sew the individual units together...
All the pieces for a single Card Trick block |
Results as of bedtime last night |
I'm renaming this one 'Candy Shop' because the fabrics remind me of chocolate and other bits of candy. It's going to be another donation quilt. Although it's 42" square, I'm tossing around the idea of adding another border to make it bigger for a child. I'll have to see what I have in my stash.
David was a big 'help' tonight as I was trying to finish this. He alternated between lying on top of the quilt and in front of my sewing machine. And as I'm typing this, he's lying in my lap in front of the keyboard. He's another one of my big helpers.
Until later...


text: A garden lies at the heart of Guerlain's vintage Apres L'Ondee, a secret garden pulled straight out of Frances Hodgson Burnett's famous 1910 children's classic by the same name. It's a magical place awakening after a long sleep, brought back to life in early Spring, reborn with tender efforts that make its once untamed nature a thing of the most civilized Edwardian beauty. It's an exquisite portrait, even a heartbreakingly tender one, where fields of iris and violets sprout to spread their wings in the morning light, their petals glistening with dew and the last traces of Spring showers, their fragile bodies shooting up out of dark, loamy soil to bloom against rambling thickets of rose, sweet jasmine, and green walls covered with climbing vetiver and mossy greenness. The morning light is bright, fresh, and crystal clear, offset by gleaming rays of yellow citrus freshness and clean aldehydes, but a mist of sweet powder swirls through the air like pixie dust and tiny fairies.


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US issues first RFID passports
After an on-again, off-again review process that finally culminated with full State Department approval last year, the US government has finally issued its first passports containing RFID chips. The embedded chips in the new passports -- which are being issued to a group of diplomats as part of a pilot program -- contain the same information that's in the printed document, including a photo of the passport holder. Government officials have said that the use of the RFID chip allows passports to be scanned and cross-referenced with security databases more easily, while privacy advocates have argued they'll make it easier for identity thieves and terrorists to extract information -- especially after a security firm successfully demonstrated that they were able to crack the encryption used on prototype Dutch RFID passports. Despite such concerns, the new passports are scheduled to be rolled out nationally in October.


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Ping Pong The Animation (Dub)
Type: TV Series
Plot Summary:
"The hero comes. The hero comes. The hero comes. Chant these words in your mind, and I'll surely come to you..." This mantra is what Makoto Tsukimoto repeats as a source of motivation when he fights through the stress of not only grueling ping pong matches, but also in situations of his life. Makoto doesn't fight alone; he and his friend, Yukata Hoshino, nicknamed Smile and Peco respectively, are two boys who have grown up playing ping pong together nearly every day. Peco, brimming with confidence, aims to be the best table tennis player in the world; Smile, on the other hand, shows little ambition. Nevertheless, the two have always stuck together, with a bond built upon their mutual love for this sport. Every year, students from all across Japan gather for the inter-high table tennis competition to achieve national and international stardom. Through intense training and competition, only the very best persevere. From the avant-garde director of Tatami Galaxy, Masaaki Yuasa, Ping Pong The Animation serves a tale of ambition with its fair share of bumps along the way. Whatever the odds, Peco and Smile will face them together. [Written by MAL Rewrite]
Genre: Psychological, Seinen, Sports
Released: 2014
Status: Completed
Other name: ピンポン THE ANIMATION


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Fusion ioFX Accelerates Adobe Creative Suite 6 Production Premium
Adobe Optimizes Software for the Fusion ioFX, Delivering High Performance Real-Time Image Manipulation, Image Compositing, Video Editing and More
LAS VEGAS, April 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- [National Association of Broadcasters trade show] – Fusion-io (NYSE: FIO) announced today that the upcoming release of Adobe® Creative Suite® 6 Production Premium, Adobe's powerful new generation of post-production software, is optimized to work with Fusion's new ioFX workstation products. The Adobe enhancements enable tighter integration between the applications and the ioMemory architecture of the ioFX to accelerate Adobe After Effects® CS6, Adobe Premiere® Pro CS6, Adobe Photoshop® CS6, and other components in Adobe Creative Suite 6 software, empowering artists to rapidly perform compositing, video editing, image manipulation, and other data-intensive production work.
"Thanks to Global Performance Cache and the Fusion ioFX, After Effects users can experience a faster, more responsive workflow," said Steve Forde, After Effects product manager, Adobe Systems Incorporated. "The Fusion ioFX memory tier provides the high throughput needed to manipulate all digital content in Adobe Creative Suite 6 for real-time content creation such as image editing and compositing as well as boosts video playback, encoding and transcoding, and other data-intensive activities."
Based on the Fusion ioMemory platform, the Fusion ioFX is a new flash-based workstation memory tier for production professionals that connects via the host's PCI Express bus. Continuing to drive application acceleration for customers, the Adobe team worked closely with Fusion-io to optimize Adobe Creative Suite 6 software to take advantage of tighter integration with Fusion's new ioMemory architecture for workstations. With the resulting ultra-low-latency performance, software developers like Adobe can now integrate features like highly threaded caching for Adobe After Effects CS6, which is specifically tuned to maximize data throughput, allowing for high-resolution production.
"Adobe's team is constantly leading the way in optimizing applications, and that was very clear while working with the After Effects team to accelerate Adobe Creative Suite 6 with the new ioFX memory tier," said Vincent Brisebois, Fusion-io Performance Computing Industry Senior Director. "The Creative Suite applications are used for millions of artists worldwide, which is why we were so excited to work closely with Adobe to help digital artists move beyond the delays that can hinder creativity and storytelling. By eliminating wait times traditionally associated with image manipulation, compositing, video editing and other data-intensive tasks digital artists face, Adobe's optimizations for the ioFX allows professionals to spend more time fully engaged in the creative process."
At NAB 2012, Adobe will reveal more about Creative Suite 6 video tools such as Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 and Adobe After Effects CS6. Redesigned by and for editors, Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 combines faster performance with a sleek, customizable user interface and powerful trimming tools that let editors work the way they want to. After Effects CS6 is faster than ever and extends users' creativity with a new 3D camera tracker, extruded text and shapes, and more. Learn more about the top new features in the upcoming Creative Suite 6, expected to ship in the first half of 2012, here:
The Fusion ioFX will be demonstrated at the NAB 2012 trade show in Adobe booth #SL2624. More information on the Fusion ioFX for workstation production can be found at http://www.fusionio.com/iofx. To learn more about Fusion-io, go to http://www.fusionio.com. Follow Fusion-io on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fusionio and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fusionio.
About Fusion-io
Fusion-io has pioneered a next generation storage memory platform for shared data decentralization that significantly improves the processing capabilities within a datacenter by relocating process-critical, or "active", data from centralized storage to the server where it is being processed, a methodology referred to as data decentralization. Fusion's integrated hardware and software solutions leverage non-volatile memory to significantly increase datacenter efficiency and offers enterprise grade performance, reliability, availability and manageability. Fusion's data decentralization platform can transform legacy architectures into next generation datacenters and allows enterprises to consolidate or significantly reduce complex and expensive high performance storage, high performance networking and memory-rich servers. Fusion's platform enables enterprises to increase the utilization, performance and efficiency of their datacenter resources and extract greater value from their information assets.
Note on Forward-looking Statements
Certain statements in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, including, but are not limited to, statements concerning the our Fusion ioFX product and ioMemory technology, the integration between Adobe applications and our ioMemory architecture, and the anticipated benefits of our products and technology and the integration of our products for Adobe applications. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions regarding future events and business performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained, anticipated, or implied in any forward-looking statement, including, but not limited to, the risks that the users of the company's products may not realize the anticipated benefits of our products or the integration of Adobe's applications and our ioMemory architecture, and such other risks set forth in the registration statements and reports that Fusion-io files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the Investor Relations section of our website at www.fusionio.com. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. Fusion-io undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason after the date of this press release.
Robert Brumfield |
Nancy Fazioli |
Media Relations |
Investor Relations |
917.224.7769 |
650.224.8291 |
SOURCE Fusion-io


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Fortune International
For 20 years, Fortune International Inc. has been the exclusive importer and distributor of Victor Taichung Machinery Works for the North American market. Victor Taichung is a world famous manufacturer with a long history of building heavy-duty, high quality, CNC machine tools, factory automation, and injection molding machines.
At Fortune's 30,000 sq ft. facility in Somerset, New Jersey, we provide a real-life showroom, turn-key runoff environment. We also provide a dedicated sales team, and factory trained service engineers to service North America's dealer network. Since 1977, we have successfully installed and continue to service more than 14,500 machine tools. ( More ... )


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Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach Marc Crawford has been suspended by the organization on Monday, one day after a former player under Crawford accused the coach of kicking him during a game.
According to an interview with the New York Post , Sean Avery claimed that Crawford kicked him during a game when Crawford was the head coach for the Los Angeles Kings during the 2006-07 season.
It was later that season Avery was traded to the New York Rangers.
"He kicked me after a too-many-men-on-the-ice call I took," Avery told the New York Post. "He didn't have me serve it, we got scored on, and he let me have it.
"You know how I stand at the end of the bench? He came down and gave me an ass kick that left a mark."
Last year, Brent Sopel, who played under Crawford in 1999, claimed in a podcast that he was also kicked by Crawford.
Last week, Patrick O'Sullivan, a teammate of Avery's in Los Angeles, tweeted that he received abuse from his first NHL coach. Although O'Sullivan did not name Crawford directly, his first NHL head coach was Crawford.
"Abuse of power has no place in hockey or in anything else," O'Sullivan tweeted. "As someone who went through awful things with my first NHL coach who knew my abuse back ground as a child I hope they all get what's coming to them and I hope it happens fast."
O'Sullivan's comments came as the Calgary Flames fired coach Bill Peters following accusations of being violent and directing racial slurs toward players.
The Blackhawks released a statement on Monday.
"The Chicago Blackhawks will be conducting a thorough review of assistant coach Marc Crawford based on the recent allegations that have been made regarding his conduct with another organization," the statement read. "Marc Crawford will be away from the team during this time and the organization will have no further comment until completion of the review."
The Blackhawks play the St. Louis Blues on Monday evening.
During his 12-year NHL career, Avery was noted for having an acrimonious relationship with opponents, and sometimes his teammates.
While with the Kings, Avery was accused of mocking teammate Dustin Brown for speaking with a lisp.
The next season as a member of the Dallas Stars, Avery made vulgar comments directed toward two other NHL players who were dating ex-girlfriends of his.
Crawford has been apart of a serious allegation in the past when Crawford coached the Canucks.
Crawford was a party to a lawsuit stemming from a 2004 on-ice incident involving Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi and Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore, according to TSN . Bertuzzi was criminally charged for a violent incident which ended Moore's career.
Bertuzzi claimed in court that Crawford said before the incident that Moore needed to "pay the price" for a previous incident involving Moore and the Canucks, according to ESPN . Crawford and the Canucks organization denied the allegations.
Justin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @jjboggs or on Facebook .


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It should be a basic moral axiom of American foreign policy that we don't give away advanced weapons to racist, radical, and unstable foreign governments.
In fact, that's not just morality; it's common sense.
Yet that's exactly what we're doing. The Obama administration is in the process of delivering 20 advanced F-16 fighter jets and 200 M1 Abrams tanks to Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood-led government. Four jets have been delivered, and the rest of the equipment will be delivered within months. To be clear, Egypt did not purchase these weapons. They're a gift from you, the American taxpayer, to the Muslim Brotherhood.
That's right, at exactly the same time that 77 percent of American taxpayers face tax increases as a result of the most recent fiscal cliff deal, a radical jihadist government gets more than $200 million worth of American arms – for free.
Just how radical is the Muslim Brotherhood? The motto of the Muslim Brotherhood is plain enough:
Allah is our objective; the Prophet is our leader; the Quran is our law; Jihad is our way; dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.
And lest anyone think this motto refers to the peaceful "inner struggle" version of Jihad, we can't forget that the current leader of al Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, got his start in the Muslim Brotherhood, and a member of the Muslim Brotherhood founded the terrorist organization Hamas (which rains down rockets on Israeli civilians).
The current leader of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, has called Jews "bloodsuckers" and "descendants of apes and pigs." He even declared that Egyptian children should be "nursed on hatred" against Jews. When called on that comment by a delegation of U.S. Senators, he lamely declared that his words were taken out of context and blamed – you guessed it – the allegedly Jewish-controlled media.
This week, news emerged that a top Egyptian aide called the Holocaust a "hoax" and claimed that the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust actually simply moved to the United States.
And if actions speak louder than even these detestable words, since the Muslim Brotherhood took power in Egypt, jihadists have used its soil to attack Israeli civilians from the Sinai, and jihadists have moved from Egypt to Libya and then Algeria to attack and kill Americans. Last September, Egyptian security forces allowed a jihadist mob to attack and storm the American embassy, where the mob tore down the American flag and replaced it with the black flag of jihad.
Making the situation even worse, since coming to power in Egypt, the Brotherhood has violently persecuted Egypt's Christian minority, enacted a Shariah-based constitution that restricts civil liberties, and now is moving the military – the very same military we're supplying with advanced weapons — into Egyptian cities to suppress revolts from more secular and moderate Egyptians.
The list of wrongs continues: The Muslim Brotherhood last year moved tanks into the Sinai Peninsula in clear violation of the 34 year-old Camp David Accords that ended a decades-long state of war between Egypt and Israel.
At the ACLJ we launched a petition to call on the White House and State Department to halt delivery of advanced weapons until it is clear that Egypt not only behaves like an ally (including abiding by the letter and spirit of its treaty with Israel) but also respects the most basic human rights of its citizens. Until that day comes, we should not send another fighter jet, another tank, another rifle, or indeed another single cent of U.S. taxpayer aid to Egypt's jihadist government.
Within weeks of launching that petition, we'd garnered more than 215,000 signatures, and on January 31, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced an amendment to a short-term budget bill banning the delivery of advanced weapons to Egypt. Unfortunately, however, few senators stood with him, and his amendment failed 79-19.
Millions of Americans are deeply cynical about our government's integrity and even basic competence. In an era of record deficits, when we use taxpayer money to arm our enemies, our cynicism only deepens.
This should not be a partisan issue. As Sen. Paul noted shortly before the vote, this is an issue where 80 percent of Americans are supported by only 20 percent of the Senate.
But all that can change the instant the Senate (and House) understand that Americans do not, in fact, want to spend their hard-earned money (or borrow money from China) to purchase weapons for our enemies. Four fighters have already been delivered, but 16 have not. And 200 tanks still wait delivery.
They should stay on American soil.
source: christianpost


text: Ultramatics delivers complex technology results. And we are determined to bring an unexpected level of success to implementing technical solutions. That drive has made us a "go-to" partner for IBM, in our fifteenth year leading solutions in healthcare, telecom, transportation, and finance. Whether the right engagement model is staffing, project delivery, or transformational leadership, our team members and our clients benefit from Ultramatics' bold new way of bringing together the right people, technology, and processes. It's a patent-pending model you'll want to know more about. Are you curious how?


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Please refer to the agenda for specific committee meetings on how to participate.
Join this meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone:
You can also dial in using your phone.
United States: +1 (301) 715-8592
Meeting ID:849 5736 0216
The Baltimore Regional Transportation Board is the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for the Baltimore region. As an MPO, the BRTB is directly responsible for making sure that any money spent on existing and future transportation projects and programs is based on a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive (3-C) planning process. The BRTB is a 13-member board representing the cities of Annapolis and Baltimore, the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard and Queen Anne's, as well as the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland Department of the Environment, the Maryland Department of Planning, the Maryland Transit Administration, and Harford Transit.


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Smith & The Magpie
ROSE DAWN Hand Dipped Taper Candles Set of 8
Available in sets of 8, shop our dusty pink "rose dawn" taper candles. Sister shade: Bloom
Produced in our Yorkshire studio, our premium taper candles are made using the highest quality traditional hand-dipped methods. Each batch is dipped over 35 times for a superior depth of solid colour. The candles burn evenly for up to 12 hours, so you don't have to worry about replacing them during a day-long event.
The candles are boxed and un-scented. They burn with a beautiful steady flame and will only incur a minimal dripping, provided they aren't exposed to draught.
Large: 16" tall - approx 2cm diameter
Medium: 12" tall - approx 1.8cm diameter
Please note due to the hand-made nature of items, no two candles will be exactly alike and all measurements are approximate. The diameter of each candle will be between the two above dimensions and we cannot guarantee these exactly.
Size shown in photo is 16" in height
Always trim the wicks to 0.5cm before lighting.
Follow the 2 foot rule - don't place a burning candle near clothing, books, curtains or anything flammable. Place candle holders on a stable, heat-resistant surface that is sturdy and large enough to catch any melted wax. Keep lit candles away from drafts, fans and any air currents. Keep candles at least 10cm apart. Never leave a burning candle unattended. Extinguish all candles when you leave a room or before going to sleep or if the flame gets too close to the candle holder or container. A candle should not be burned for more than four hours at a time, or less than one hour. For a margin of safety, discontinue a burning a candle when 1cm of wax remains.
A candle that is well made using any variation of wax type should not create any smoke when burning. However, if the wick does become too long or a draught disturbs the flame, small amounts of unburned carbon particles, or soot, will escape as a visible wisp of smoke. No matter the wax type. This soot is not harmful and any candle will soot if the flame is disturbed. Our candles do not pose any adverse effects to the environment and the burning of our candles does not emit any hazardous substances. The bespoke blend of both mineral and vegetable waxes used to make our candles comes from highly refined materials and does not contain any harmful substances. This purity fulfills the highest quality demands and is tested on a regular basis. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding the use and make-up of our candles.


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Russian Paleontologists Discover New Giant Herbivorous Sauropod: Volgatitan simbirskiensis
Paleontologists from Russia have described a new dinosaur, the Volgatitan. Seven of its fossilized vertebrae, buried in the ground for about 130 million years, were found on the banks of the Volga, not far from the village of Slantsevy Rudnik, five kilometers from Ulyanovsk. The study has been published in the latest issue of Biological Communications.
The Volgatitan belongs to the group of sauropods—giant herbivorous dinosaurs with a long necks and tails, which lived about 200 to 65 million years ago. Weighing around 17 tons, the ancient reptile from the banks of the Volga was not the largest among its relatives. The scientists described it from seven caudal vertebrae. The bones belonged to an adult dinosaur characterized by neural arches (parts of the vertebrae protecting the nerves and blood vessels), which completely merged with the bodies of the vertebrae.
The remains of the dinosaur were discovered near the village of Slantsevy Rudnik. This is where, in 1982, Vladimir Efimov discovered three large vertebrae that had fallen out of a high cliff. Later, in 1984-1987, three nodules of limestone fell off, which contained the remaining vertebrae. In his works, the head of the Undorovsky Paleontology Museum called the unusual finds "giant vertebrae of unknown taxonomic affiliation."
Alexander Averianov said, "In the early 1990s, Vladimir Efimov showed photographs of the bones to Lev Nesov, a well-known Leningrad paleontologist. Lev Nesov thought that the vertebrae belonged to sauropods, giant herbivorous dinosaurs. In 1997, Vladimir Efimov published a preliminary note about this find in the Paleontological Journal. He referred to the vertebrae as a sauropod of the Brachiosauridae family. Last July, I finally managed to visit him in Undory and study the bones, and also managed to determine that they belonged to the new taxon of titanosaurs."
The dinosaur received a scientific name—Volgatitan simbirskiensis. It comes from the Volga River and the city of Simbirsk (currently, Ulyanovsk). Titans are ancient Greek gods known for their large size. Therefore, according to a paleontological tradition, this word is used in many scientific names of sauropods from the group of titanosaurs. It is also part of the name of the group.
Today, along with the Volgatitan from Russia, 12 valid dinosaur taxa have been described. There are only three sauropods among them: Tengrisaurus starkovi, Sibirotitan astrosacralis and Volgatitan simbirskiensis. The first two are the first sauropods in Russia, which were also studied by St. Petersburg University scientists in 2017. According to Aleksandr Averianov, the description of dinosaur taxa in recent years has become possible due to progress in understanding the anatomy and phylogeny of dinosaurs. In addition, the Russian sauropod allowed scientists to learn more about how these species of ancient reptiles had lived and developed.
"Previously, it was believed that the evolution of titanosaurs took place mainly in South America, with some taxa moving into North America, Europe and Asia only in the Late Cretaceous," explained the St. Petersburg University professor. In Asia, representatives of a broader group of titanosauriform, such as the recently described Siberian titanium, dominated in the early Cretaceous. However, the recent description of the Tengrisaurus from the Early Cretaceous of Transbaikal Region and the finding of the Volgatitan indicate that titanosaurs in the Early Cretaceous were distributed much more widely; and, perhaps, important stages of their evolution took place in Eastern Europe and Asia."
More information: et al, The oldest titanosaurian sauropod of the Northern Hemisphere, Biological Communications (2018). DOI: 10.21638/spbu03.2018.301
Provided by: AKSON Russian Science Communication Association
Source: https://phys.org


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Nuku'alofa, Tonga - Parliaments throughout the Pacific including Australia and New Zealand with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have rallied behind the Tonga Legislative Assembly to ensure that the March sitting for Parliament goes ahead as planned.
The 100-year old Tonga Legislative Assembly chamber was destroyed when Tropical Cyclone Gita, struck Tonga in February. With the destruction of the building, conferencing facilities and other technical equipment that would facilitate debate amongst the Honourable Members were also destroyed.
The support provided ensures that the next Parliament sitting which begins on Monday 5 March will go ahead as planned and will be held at the Tonga National Cultural Centre.
The Speaker for the Tonga Legislative Assembly, the Hon. Lord Fatafehi Fakafanua, was relieved and thankful for the overwhelming support from his regional counterparts which has reinforced Pacific comradery.
"At this difficult time, our country's leaders need to meet and discuss the way forward for our country," said Hon. Lord Fakafanua.
"It is crucially important the Legislative Assembly continues to function and play its central role in being the national forum for discussion, debate, accountability and oversight."
"The timely and targeted assistance provided by our fellow parliaments and UNDP throughout the region has been fantastic" and he added, "because of their support, we will have the necessary equipment in place to ensure that the Parliament sitting can be recorded and official transcripts kept."
He added, "I am honoured and overwhelmed at the same time with the responses that we have received to date from parliaments in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji and UNDP for their swift and kind assistance in our time of need."
According to the Tonga Met Office, TC Gita brought winds of more than 200km/h and was the strongest storm to hit the island Kingdom in 60 years.
The UNDP draws on strong experience and expertise in working closely with governments across the region to respond effectively to varied disasters in the region such as the TC Pam in Vanuatu, the April 2016 floods in Solomon Islands, TC Ian in Tonga in Jan 2014 and TC Winston in Feb 2016.
The Country Director, UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji and Head of Pacific Regional Programme and Policy, Bakhodir Burkhanov, highlighted how UNDP has mobilized its existing projects to assist in the recovery process.
"UNDP has a number of existing programmes implemented in partnership with both the Government and Parliament of Tonga."
"Through the New Zealand Government funded, Pacific Parliamentary Effectiveness Initiative (PPEI) project, UNDP put out a call for assistance and offers poured in from Parliaments throughout the Pacific, the New Zealand House of Representatives, the Parliaments of Queensland and Western Australia."
"Since then, UNDP has facilitated the delivery to Tonga of essential ICT equipment from the Parliaments of New Zealand, South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria," said Burkhanov.
"Through UNDP support, two technicians from the Fiji Parliament will be in Tonga to provide assistance in operating the conferencing system loaned by the Fiji Parliament to Tonga for the March Parliament sitting.
"This was a regional and south-south cooperation in its truest form, and I would like to sincerely thank our partners in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji for their support."
He added, "through the project, among other planned activities, we look forward to supporting your office in organizing a youth parliament later this year to challenge negative stereotypes and to break down barriers to political participation of women and young people."
"Incidentally, today is the International Women's Day and we all can do more to promote women in elected office and in senior executive positions," said Burkhanov.
The UNDP's support to the Tonga Legislative Assembly has been coordinated through the PPEI project and this support contributes to the wider UN Pacific Response to TC Gita through the Pacific Humanitarian Team.
For more information:


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These are various journal (LiveJournal, DeadJournal, etc) icons that I created. These may not be placed on any other website or journal for others' taking. If you like the icons and want to let other people know about these icons, please point them to this site or my icon journal, ~eveningsky.
If you wish to use these icons on your journal for your own entries, please credit lj.com/~angelamaria somewhere (icon keywords or comments).


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There might be nothing in the world that packs as many life lessons as the activity of sailing. It teaches teamwork, engineering, history, patience, oceanography, ecology…all in one fell swoop. Because of this, we believe every kid should learn to sail and here's the top five reasons why. Feel free to add your own.
- Balance
This day and age it's extremely important to create balance between the natural world and the computer world. For those over 30 it isn't such a reality (although many would argue that) but "digital natives" truly need to unplug and sailing is perfect for that.
- Work Ethic
Yelling at kids to rake the leaves or clean their rooms is something that needs to happen but it's a bit of a bummer for everyone involved. Sailing is such a great way to teach work/reward lessons in an instantaneous way. It illustrates clear meaning and association for issues like organization and cleanliness. There is hard physical work to be had while sailing but it is a work that is gratifying and immediately shows its purpose, which is what short-attention-span kids can use. It also all happens with a great view.
- Bonding
With electronic communication dominating the worlds of young people, the possibilities of bonding are thinning. It's become a cliché that kids are always "in their screens," but it is true. Every moment they are staring into this odd electric tunnel is a moment they are not connecting with the space that immediately surrounds them. This is another area where sailing can come to the rescue. There is no place where conversation, laughter and shared silence happens so easily as on a lazy daysail. A family working together to make a boat efficiently bound over the waves is nothing short of nourishing. There is time. Time to teach, time to joke, time to know each other better. Just don't yell at them, that ruins everything…
- Systems
This world is full of systems and seeing one as masterfully designed as a sailboat is valuable. Centuries of trial and error have gone into what's aboard most modern sailboats and they are living breathing examples of incredible innovations all working in an intricate system that creates travel from a wind source. Reminding kids that this thing is kind of unbelievable might broaden their curiosity and encourage them to look at other systems and become better critical thinkers.
- Adventure
Instilling a sense of adventure in a young person is an important seed to plant. Sailboats are safe, but they are also a ticket to the wild unknown. Every kid who's ever sailed into an empty horizon has looked out and thought, "What if we kept going? Where would we end up?" Sailing takes us away from the normal and plants us firmly in an environment unfamiliar and foreign. Outside of the boat we can't even stand up in this world – we are essentially helpless. There is nature all around us that lives in a place we can't even breathe. It's mind-blowing when you stop and think of it… and it's a place where a child can stretch his or her imagination. And that is a very good thing.


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(click for fullsize version)
The settings are:
- Baseline: Fennec is not run at all. This is for comparison, to see how much power is drawn by the N900 when idle
- Fennec 200 clumped wakeups: 200 wakeups/second are scheduled, and all of them are scheduled at the same time. In other words, 200 tiny operations are done, then the CPU can sleep for almost 1 second.
- Fennec 200 separate wakeups: As before 200 wakeups/second are scheduled, but at equal intervals over the 1-second period. So the longest the CPU has to sleep is about 1/200th of a second.
- All settings were tested both with the screen off (left chart) or screen on (right chart).
For now, though, the results show that clumping wakeups can be noticeable: 38% savings when the screen is off, and 8% when on. As expected much less is saved when the screen is on, because the screen itself drains a lot of power (so our savings become less significant). Which of the 38% or 8% figures is more relevant is a good question - it depends on how often the user takes a 'break' from browsing (so the screen goes off) but leaves the browser on. But anyhow, again, these figures can't be taken literally.
FWIW, to put this in battery life terms, if you save 38% of your power drain then your battery life would be 60% longer, and if you save 8% of your power drain then your battery life would be 8% longer. Again, this is just a general indication, but I think it does show that implementing timeout clumping (properly) in Fennec can be useful.
Other Recent Work
I've also submitted patches for some other bugs related to saving power:
- 567339 / 359608 - A longstanding issue where image animation timers continue to fire even after browsing to another page. The patch uses the refresh driver to figure out when to suspend timers (but it doesn't use the refresh driver for the actual animations, which might cause more wakeups as it uses a fixed 50Hz timer).
- 568730 - Stop the JavaScript engine's GC (& other stuff) timer when no JS is running, by suspending it if enough time has passed since the last JS call context was exited.
EDIT: Improved charts


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Home Protection While On Vacation: 7 Tips That Make a Difference
July 12, 2023
Before leaving on vacation, ensure your house is safe. These 7 tips can help protect your home from intruders and more.
Vacation should be a time of relaxation, enjoyment, and happiness, but that all gets harder if you're worried about what's happening at home. Many things can go wrong on your property on any given day, and if you're away from home when it happens, the problem could worsen before you return.
Burst pipes, burglaries, leaking water heaters, house fires – all of these problems can happen while you're gone. Taking steps to protect your house while you're away can prevent problems and give you peace of mind while you're having an adventure away from home. Here's what you can do to protect your home.
1. Hold the Mail and Newspapers
Intruders may be more likely to let themselves into your house or on your property if they can tell you're away from home. To help prevent break-ins, make your house look occupied while you're away.
Allowing mail and newspapers to build up on your front porch signals to intruders that you haven't been home in a while. Put a hold on any subscriptions (including newspapers and magazines) at least one week before you leave for vacation, and ask the post office to hold your mail while you're gone. If you cannot put a hold on your subscriptions and mail before you leave, ask a friend or neighbor to collect your subscriptions and mail while you're away.
2. Keep Up with Landscaping
Grass and other landscaping can grow unchecked while you're away, and that, too, can tip off intruders that you haven't been home in a while. Ask a trusted landscaping company to cut your grass and take care of any landscaping while you're out of town.
3. Find Someone to Watch Your Property
Is there anyone who lives near your home who you trust to watch your property while you're away? Ask them to check in on your house every couple of days to ensure it is safe. This way, if someone breaks into your home or a pipe bursts or a hot water heater leaks, they'll catch the problem early on.
4. Put on the Pool Cover
Hopefully, no one will wander onto your property to use your pool while you're gone; however, putting the pool cover on may make it less of a temptation. If you have a child safety pool cover, even better, as this will prevent any children or pets from wandering onto your property and falling in.
5. Use Smart Devices
Use smart devices to protect your home from intruders while you're away. Some examples of smart products include:
- Smart outlets. Use smart outlets to turn on lamps automatically at night, making your house appear occupied.
- Video doorbell. Use the video doorbell to see who comes to your door – and who lets themselves into your house while you're gone.
- Security camera system. Use security cameras to monitor your property inside and out.
6. Avoid Telling People on Social Media
People love to tell their social media friends and followers about their travel, and almost no one thinks about the risk they're taking. Posting your travel plans or photos on social media is like sending out an invitation for someone to rob your home.
Unless you trust every single social media follower and you're confident your account privacy is set up properly, posting your vacation status can put your home at risk.
7. Update Your Homeowners Insurance
Is your homeowner's insurance policy up to date? Call your insurance agent before leaving on vacation to ensure your policy will protect you from covered events while you're gone.


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This apartment has been designed for those persons age 18 and over who have a physical condition that has resulted in a mobility impairment requiring the special design features of a "barrier-free" apartment.
This application inquiry process will be used only to determine your preliminary eligibility for this program which is subsidized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). If eligible, your name will be placed on our Active Wait List. When an apartment becomes available, you will be contacted for an interview to determine if you/your household meets the established criteria of eligibility and suitability.
The undersigned hereby makes application for an apartment in the above referenced housing community as indicated below.
Start your application process by completing the fields below.


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By Muvija M and William Schomberg
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain has delayed imposing its full post-Brexit import controls on goods from the European Union again, pushing it back until the end of next year, saying it did not want to add more fuel to fast-rising inflation.
Britain left the EU's single market in January 2021 and has delayed full implementation of border controls on several occasions due to worries about port disruption and COVID-19, and now the risk of adding to a cost-of-living crisis.
The government said on Thursday that Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the leap in global energy costs were hitting supply chains still recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
"It's vital that we have the right import controls regime in place, so we'll now be working with industry to review these remaining controls so that they best suit the UK's own interests," said Jacob Rees-Mogg, Britain's minister for Brexit opportunities.
British port operators reacted angrily, saying they had already built border control posts.
"This announcement is a major policy change, meaning the facilities will effectively become white elephants, wasting millions of pounds of public and private funding, not to mention the huge effort there has been to get things ready," British Ports Association Chief Executive Richard Ballantyne said.
He said port operators wanted to know if they could start to bulldozer the facilities and use the sites for other purposes.
The UK Major Ports Group said ports had invested more than 100 million pounds ($125 million) to meet the requirements.
"Government needs to engage urgently with ports to agree how the substantial investments made in good faith can be recovered," the group's chief executive Tim Morris said.
British voters decided in 2016 to leave the EU.
The government said it would review how best to implement its remaining checks through risk assessments and using data and technology to smooth the process.
The new plan will be published later this year before coming into force at the end of 2023.
Controls no longer being introduced for EU goods from July included sanitary and phytosanitary checks at the border and requirements for safety and security declarations on imports, as well as restrictions on chilled meats imports.
British importers would be spared at least 1 billion pounds a year in annual costs, the government said.
Controls introduced last year on the highest risk imports of animals, animal products, plants and plant products will continue to apply.
Opposition Labour lawmaker Hilary Benn, co-chair of the UK Trade and Business Commission, said the move was an admission that custom controls would drive up costs while British exporters faced additional costs and delays.
"It is extraordinary that imports into the UK are being favoured over UK exports to the EU and this just highlights the barriers to trade that have been put in place by their threadbare Brexit deal," Benn said.
The EU introduced its rules for imports of British goods immediately at the start of last year.
British inflation hit a 30-year high of 7.0% in March and is set to climb higher in the coming months, leaving households facing the biggest loss of income since at least the 1950s, according to the government's budget forecasters.
Also on Thursday, supermarket group Sainsbury's warned its profits would fall due to higher costs and lower spending by customers, echoing market leader Tesco.
Researchers led by the London School of Economics said on Wednesday that Brexit trade barriers had added 6% to the cost of food in Britain.
Media reports have said the government might lower or scrap import duties on some food as another way to ease inflation.
Separately on Thursday, Britain's Europe minister said the country and the EU were at an impasse over changes to parts of the Brexit deal governing trade with Northern Ireland.
($1 = 0.8037 pounds)
(Editing by Toby Chopra)


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Our gorgeous Carrot print baby leggings are soft, comfortable and durable for your little ones.
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