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Asheville, N.C., knows its hops and grains. The city has been voted Beer City USA four years running in an unofficial national poll, this year tying with Grand Rapids, Mich., for first place. An annual beer festival in the city quickly sells out. The area is home to more than a dozen craft breweries and brew pubs. And beer aficionados held the city's first-ever Asheville Beer Week across 11 days in late May and early June this year because seven days apparently aren't enough to celebrate the city's culture of cold ones.
The region's beer-centricity is advancing to a whole new level this year as two of the top three heavyweights in craft brewing are opening East Coast breweries in or near Asheville. Sierra Nevada, based in Chico, Calif., announced plans in January to build a $108-million brewery in Mills River, south of Asheville. Sierra Nevada is the No. 2 U.S. craft brewer in terms of sales behind Sam Adams. It plans to have an initial capacity of 300,000 barrels and will employ 90.
In April, Fort Collins, Colo.-based New Belgium Brewing, the third leading craft brewery in the U.S., announced it would build a $115-million brewery in downtown Asheville and employ 130.
As the two fierce competitors forged their searches, they both found themselves in Western North Carolina. Some of their location criteria were similar. But in other ways they differed starkly.
Organic Organization
Sierra Nevada, known for its Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, is already constructing its brewery and hopes to produce beer by fall of 2013, with a grand opening during the first quarter of 2014. The facility, being built on about 20 acres of a nearly 200-acre (81-hectare) site, will include a restaurant, a beer garden and an amphitheater for concerts.
Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada's founder and owner, cited the region's beer culture, water quality and quality of life when he announced Mills River as his choice. His son, Brian, will carry on the family brewing tradition as co-manager of the N.C. site.
Don Schjeldahl, a long-time site consultant with Austin Consulting, guided Sierra Nevada's location search. Several weeks after the process ended in January, Schjeldahl joined the company as site coordinator, the first Sierra Nevada employee in North Carolina. His responsibilities include working with contractors, overseeing the permitting process and working with local government officials. He is also helping transplant Sierra Nevada's corporate culture, which he describes as being based on sustainability, renewable energy, community engagement and health and wellness.
"It's been a lot of fun," Schjeldahl says. "I've had an opportunity to really get close with the community."
For three decades, Sierra Nevada grew in Chico, Calif., about 90 miles (145 km.) north of Sacramento. The company focused on refining its products and serving its markets, which were mostly west of the Rockies. Around 2000, demand for Sierra Nevada beer began a steady rise across the eastern half of the U.S.
"For a decade, Sierra Nevada served eastern markets very efficiently, using a lot of piggyback rail with refrigerated containers," Schjeldahl says. "Bottle-aged beer has to be refrigerated, and it's expensive to run across the country, but the company did it very successfully. As the market grew in the East and capacity constraints started to be reached in Chico, it became obvious that what is needed is a new brewery and it should be built in the East to address cost and service issues."
Schjeldahl describes Sierra Nevada as a "very organic" organization with every interest represented in its strategy meetings. Good ideas are rewarded and no idea is discounted when the company is preparing to make a big decision, he says. The company debated its eastward move for several years before hiring Austin Consulting and Schjeldahl in the summer of 2010.
"I have worked on around 300 projects in 30 years and we have a very well-developed methodology," Schjeldahl says. "That was what was helpful in pushing the organic structure onto a path they could follow. Ken Grossman is an entrepreneur extraordinaire. He got into craft brewing in the 1970s and started the company in 1980. He has never strayed from this idea that quality drives everything we do. We never approach anything with the idea, 'let's do it cheap.' It's always 'let's do it right.'"
The first six months were spent looking at market growth, forecasting how things could change over time in Eastern U.S. markets and what kind of products worked. Careful consideration was given to how to establish the supply chain in the most efficient and sustainable way with the smallest carbon footprint.
"Every strategy had to run through the carbon footprint filter," Schjeldahl says.
Refined Process
After initially looking at an area broadly defined as everything east of the Rockies, Sierra Nevada narrowed the search to the Northeast, the Southeast and a hybrid of the two in the Mid-Atlantic region. That brought the hunt down to seven states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio. A total of 170 communities were considered.
"We found the best location in each place," Schjeldahl says. "We pursued so many angles to this project. This was the most refined process I ever went through. We developed screening criteria at four different levels."
Criteria considered included access to major highways, proximity to a college or youth-oriented community, a community with a recreational culture, a strong sanitary sewer system and water sources. Sierra Nevada also wanted a site that wouldn't "butt up against" other craft brewers. In some respects, the company was looking for a town similar to Chico, which is home to California State University-Chico.
"Initially, we thought we wanted to be in a college town because Chico is a college town," Schjeldahl says. "Initially we wanted to avoid being near other craft breweries, but as the process evolved, we changed the criteria in the middle of the process."
Sierra Nevada and Schjeldahl whittled the list from 170 to 60, then 38, still in the same seven states. The screening criteria became much more detailed, including the hard-to-quantify sustainability factor.
"We started to dive more heavily into measuring sustainability as a cultural attribute," Schjeldahl says. "There really aren't any great metrics for it. There's no common way of measuring it. Sustainability is now at a point in site selection in general where companies of all types are starting to think about how they can measure how a community is sustainability-oriented and how it can partner with business."
Sustainability came into play as the list narrowed to 38. Community attitudes were assessed. Public transportation, industrial and residential recycling programs and availability of renewable energy were considered pluses.
"If someone had methane recovery from a landfill, they got some points," Schjeldahl says. "If there were solar panels on a courthouse roof, that got some points. We looked at stream restoration and bike trails. It was also about the ability of communities to tell the story. If a community doesn't have a good, professional economic development group and is clumsy at it, that tells you something. A healthy downtown was also important. If a community didn't have a healthy downtown, that would pretty much write the town off. If there is a healthy downtown, it's a good indicator that there is a good level of cooperation in the community."
Change of Plans
The list was narrowed to 18 and then to nine. A Sierra Nevada team looked at one site in Ohio, one in Pennsylvania, one in Georgia, two in Tennessee, three in Virginia and one in North Carolina. Asheville was not on that list due to the desire to not infringe on the region's thriving beer culture. The exhaustive search was going to end with Maryville, Tenn., a Knoxville suburb, as the winner. Or so it seemed.
"I thought at that point that the next word out of Ken Grossman's mouth would be we would go to Tennessee, to the Knoxville area, which is a wonderful place," Schjeldahl recalls. "Maryville's people were so accommodating. The governor was very engaged and there was great cooperation. It was a small college town and had everything we wanted."
Grossman hesitated on Maryville because he felt like there were some unresolved engineering issues and there was some uncertainty about future development around the site.
"He came to the conclusion that we didn't really need to be in a college town and that we would never recreate what we have in Chico," Schjeldahl says. "He said 'Let's open this up and drop the college connection and see if we can find a balance with local breweries.' So we looked at six more communities in North Carolina, including in the Piedmont and lower Foothills, and then in Asheville."
Sierra Nevada also considered the site that New Belgium eventually selected in downtown Asheville.
"It's got some contamination and flood plain issues, but you can overcome those with money usually," Schjeldahl says. "It's also right in the face of some of Asheville's brewers. This seemed a little insensitive, so we narrowed it to three sites: one in Marion, one in Black Mountain and this one."
Schjeldahl describes the Mills River site, near the Asheville Regional Airport and about 10 miles (16 km.) from Asheville, as the perfect compromise. The location is not urban, but it has a regional presence, he says. It has great access to I-26 and frontage on the French Broad River. Although Asheville water is available at the site, which is part of a 262-acre (106-hectare) industrial park, the company elected to drill its own well.
"The geology here is complicated. We did a lot of research on geology. These are ancient mountains which contain old mountain water that has been filtered for hundreds of years. We drilled a couple of wells and got lucky. Sierra Nevada has a very sophisticated lab with several Ph.D. chemists. We sent lots of water back and they analyzed it. We lined the well with stainless steel, which is quite expensive, but it guarantees higher quality over time."
'Magical Meeting' and Good Barley
The industrial park, created on acreage owned by the Fitzgerald family, long-time landowners in the region, is a North Carolina certified site, a fact that helped seal the deal for Sierra Nevada.
"If they had not gone through the site certification process, we probably would not be here," Schjeldahl say. "The water wasn't here, and the sewer, road and power were not here.
The site does not have rail access, so Sierra Nevada is developing a transloading site about five miles (8 km.) away. Barley and grains will be brought in by rail, transloaded onto truck and brought to the brewery to be put into storage silos.
Schjeldahl describes Grossman as highly intuitive, recalling a meeting Grossman held with the Asheville Brewers Alliance, a group representing the interests of more than a dozen craft breweries in the region.
"He was monitoring what was being said in the brewing community," says Schjeldahl. "There was this really magical meeting with local brewers and he put himself on the spot. He explained to them what he is about and his philosophy, and he even offered to supply this good barley we are bringing in. That has been wildly beneficial and won him a lot of good points. He doesn't do it to gain favor. He does it because he empathizes with these people."
Schjeldahl says New Belgium's site search, conducted nearly simultaneously, had no effect on Sierra Nevada's efforts.
"Craft brewing is a tight industry. They [management of both companies] have been to each other's breweries many times. People go back and forth between the breweries. When it comes to selling beer though, it is pretty competitive. We are here and we came here because this is the right place to be. It doesn't matter if New Belgium is here. We've chosen to be out of town and taken on stewardship of the environment. They have chosen to be in an urban setting."
In The City
New Belgium, whose signature brew is Fat Tire Amber Ale, began considering expansion on the West Coast in 2009, says Jenn Vervier, the company's director of strategic development and sustainability. The company was running out of capacity in Fort Collins, and a new brewery made sense.
"We thought we found a great location in West Oakland, but we couldn't get the real estate done," Vervier says. "We also determined the economics of making beer and shipping out of California was not good. So our engineers found a way to get a couple hundred thousand more barrels out of our Colorado brewery."
The fix provided by New Belgium's engineers allowed the company's expansion plans to be put on hold for a year. In the fall of 2010, New Belgium hired Jones Lang LaSalle's Chicago-based site selection team to conduct a national search for a new brewery site.
"We quickly realized the brewery should be on the East Coast," Vervier says.
Working with JLL, New Belgium built a matrix of more than 30 critical factors it would consider in its quest. These included work force, operational costs, a culture of progressiveness, brownfield redevelopment opportunities and proximity to a population center. Using this matrix, JLL helped the company narrow the search to a dozen cities it would visit starting in the summer of 2011.
"It was a whirlwind search," Vervier recalls. "We looked at two to five pieces of real estate in each city. Many cities had zoned all light manufacturing for industrial parks outside of town with the only access a multi-lane highway. We took those places off the list because we believe it's important to have a site where our co-workers can bike or walk to work. That was an easy way to winnow down the choices."
Asheville was one of the few finalists that met this key attribute. Vervier says the city also had the "perfect" piece of property.
"The community met our criteria around being progressive," she says. "It's collaborative with a vibrant downtown, and the city is involved with the public."
Another pivotal piece of criteria was plentiful good water. Asheville was found to have both the culture and the H2O. Vervier likened the water's makeup to the water in Fort Collins. New Belgium was also sensitive to the region's beer culture and, like Sierra Nevada, met with the Asheville Brewers Alliance to forge a spirit of cooperation.
"We suspected smaller brewers might be intimidated by us showing up, so before finalizing the deal we hosted a meeting with the Alliance." Vervier says. "We didn't want to move to a town where people representing the industry didn't want us to be there."
'Our Own Ball Game'
Throughout the process, New Belgium was aware that Sierra Nevada was also looking for a site on the East Coast.
"We heard their top choice was Knoxville, and Chattanooga was one of our top cities," Vervier says. "By the time we heard that they were even looking at North Carolina, we were kind of past the point of no return. We each had to play our own ball game. If it turned out we were near each other, then that is the way it was going to be. The sites are about 15 miles (24 km.) apart, but also very different. Ours is in a city and theirs is not. We didn't want it to happen and it wasn't our preference, but when it became inevitable, we decided to make the best of it. We have found throughout our history that competition makes you stronger, so we are okay with that."
Vervier says JLL and the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville and Buncombe County were tasked with finding real estate opportunities prior to New Belgium's first visit in June 2011.
"When I got there, three or four properties met our criteria. The one we ended up with is far and away the biggest challenge to develop, but it was such an amazing opportunity to find 20 acres close to town that is also zoned appropriately."
The site New Belgium selected is composed of three parcels. One is home to a mini-storage facility, one is an old auto repair shop and the third is a stockyard, which is still in operation. Vervier expects site clearing to begin this summer and then a permitting process for the site plan will begin. She expects construction to begin during the first half of 2013, with the first production of saleable beer to come during the first quarter of 2015.
"We will ramp up to open the facility at a certain volume in 2015," Vervier says. "It's a six-year ramp-up, so we will likely open with more than 50 people and eventually grow to 150 at full capacity."
While New Belgium's CEO Kim Jordan had previously visited Asheville, Vervier was a first-time visitor in the summer of 2011. She soon became enamored with the city. She was so enamored that during a dinner with the EDC and Asheville business people, she went to the restroom and texted "I (heart) Asheville" back to Fort Collins.
"I was really taken by the downtown," Vervier says. "There are so many streets of locally owned businesses, so many independent restaurants. The natural beauty is just stunning. I just got the sense of like-minded people who believe in sustainable development and investing in the community."
New Belgium's Fat Tire ale has a cruiser bike on its label. Bicycling is part of the company's culture. All employees receive a bicycle after one year of service, just one of many perks, which include a trip to Belgium after five years. So Asheville's burgeoning bike culture caught New Belgium's eye.
"Fort Collins is great, and we have a bike-to-work day there," Vervier says. "But Asheville has a bike-to-work week. They are certainly more topographically challenged than we are in Fort Collins. Asheville is doing great with its bike community and probably will only improve. One of our initiatives is to help collaborate on extension of bike lanes and greenways."
Richmond, Va., and Philadelphia, Pa., were the other finalists for the New Belgium brewery. Vervier says the property location and overall economic analysis favored Asheville.
Both New Belgium and Sierra Nevada plan restaurants and tasting rooms attached to their breweries. The tasting rooms required an adjustment in North Carolina law, which was passed last December in hopes of securing the two breweries.
Crafting An Industry
Craft breweries are a relatively small but fast-growing lot. Craft brews accounted for about 5.7 percent of overall beer sales in the U.S. in 2011, according to The Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colo., group that promotes small and independent brewers in the U.S. That share is predicted to grow to 10 percent by 2017.
"There are three million barrels of new capacity coming on line in the next year or two and there is a ton of reinvestment going on now in craft breweries," says Paul Gatza, director of The Brewers Association. "Most people in the industry are pretty bullish about how things are going to grow."
Gatza emphasizes that this growth would not be happening without the beer drinker. Consumers are enjoying more craft beer on more occasions, he says.
"There are a lot of new flavors out there, and beer drinkers are willing to try brands they haven't tried before because they trust the category, Gatza says.
Western North Carolina got a third significant player in craft brewing when Oskar Blues announced in May that it would open up an East Coast brewery in Brevard, about 35 miles (56 km.) south of Asheville in an existing 30,000-sq.-ft. (2,787-sq.-m.) facility. Oskar Blues, which is based in Longmont, Colo., and plans to open in December, is ranked 29th among craft brewers by The Brewers Association.
"Just six or seven years ago Oskar Blues was just a small brewpub in Colorado that had a canning line," Gatza says. "They've gotten good response for putting very bold beers in cans, and are leading that trend."
The Site Selection Online Insider keeps a strong and steady finger on the fast-changing pulse of corporate real estate and economic development. This web exclusive content gets to the heart of the new projects and developments that everyone wants to know about, now. And telling those stories well is part of the Insider's commitment.


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Welcome to the FIDES web site, an IMDR project
Accounts are validated manually by administrator, it can take several days.
Feel free to contact us if you think your registration process is stuck or failed
FIDES guide 2022 Edition A is now available in English
A methodology for components reliability
In terms of reliability for electronic systems, two strong needs must be managed:
to have realistic reliability prediction during the development of an electronic product
to be able to build-in the reliability of the electronic products ("design for reliability"), and not getting it only as a result.
FIDES Methodology is based on the physics of failures and supported by the analysis of test data, field returns and existing modelling.
This present WEB site aims to be the platform for information and experience sharing within FIDES international users, whatever their application domains.
Welcome in the FIDES world….

subset: commoncrawl


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Equal Access to Justice
Pattern number within this pattern set:
Donald J Horowitz
Wash State Access to Justice Tech Principles Comm
The fundamental principle of full and equal access to the justice system, particularly for those who suffer disparate barriers or are otherwise vulnerable, faces new opportunities and challenges from the advances in information and communication technologies, which can provide increased pathways for quality access but can also perpetuate or exacerbate existing barriers or even create new ones.
This pattern is based upon a trailblazing effort by the Washington State Access to Justice Board, an agency of the Supreme Court, to define principles and develop implementation strategies, means and methods, for ensuring that technological capabilities and advances are effectively incorporated throughout the state justice system in ways consistent with the fundamental principle that all persons should have equal access to justice. A recent legal needs survey had revealed that 87% of all low income people in the state who had civil legal problems were unable to secure legal help, and that residents of rural counties had substantially less access to technology-based resources than their urban counterparts. Therefore the overriding intent of the effort was to develop, implement and institutionalize principles within all justice system agencies to increase access to justice system information, resources and services for all, and especially those who most need it.
Currently, technology is creating opportunities for people to use their home or nearby library branch or community center to find out about, initiate or respond to court or other law related needs, obligations or requirements, communicate and exchange documents with their legal service provider or others in or associated with the legal system less expensively, using less time and effort, without having to travel to a central city, and with less time away from work or other necessary resources. This can be especially important for the elderly, persons with disabilities, persons with limited financial means, and those who cant afford to miss time from work for reasons of financial need or jeopardizing their employment. Similarly, a person with limited mobility or hearing may be able to get information electronically about his or her rights as a tenant; a victim of domestic violence can learn on the Internet what she can do and in fact be able to start the legal process of protecting herself. The courts and other parts of the justice system can operate more productively and less expensively, making court and legal records and information more readily available, and receive filings, fees, documents and information, all electronically.
However, the means of using these very possibilities also create the risk of worsening old barriers or erecting new barriers to access, causing greater disparities. While the opportunities described above seem positive, these innovations assume access to a computer, reasonable proficiency at using them and their necessary software programs, reading capability, fluency in English and sufficient phone or cable and electricity availability and capacity at affordable cost to support sufficient connections and streams of information and interactivity. Without all of that, those who have the tools and means, the proficiency and the necessary infrastructure available get further ahead, and those without fall further behind in having the justice system work for them. The lack of equality gets greater, not less.
On December 4, 2004, the Washington State Supreme Court became the first court in the United States, perhaps the world, to formally adopt by Court Order, a set of authoritative principles to guide the use of technology in its justice system. The stated purpose was to ensure that the planning, design, development, implementation and use of new technologies and the management of existing technologies by the justice system and associated organizations protects and advances the fundamental right of equal access to justice. Over a three-and-a-half year period, the Washington State Access to Justice Board drew on the input and involvement of a diverse group of approximately 200 people and organizations from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds to develop formal Access to Justice Technology Principles to serve as the practical operating norm for justice system organizations and entities throughout the state.
The Access to Justice Technology Principles broadly define access to justice as the meaningful opportunity to: (1) assert a claim or defense and to create, enforce, modify, or discharge a legal obligation in any forum; (2) acquire the procedural or other information necessary to improve the likelihood of a just result; (3) participate in the conduct of proceedings as a witness or juror; and (4) acquire information about the activities of courts or other dispute resolution bodies. Access to justice, moreover, must include timeliness, affordability and transparency.
Briefly paraphrased, the six Access to Justice Technology Principles are:
1. Requirement of access to justice: Introduction of technology or changes in the use of technology must not reduce access or participation and, whenever possible, shall advance such access and participation;
2. Technology and just results: The justice system shall use and advance technology to achieve the objective of a just process by impartial and well-informed decision makers and reject, minimize, or modify any use that reduces the likelihood of achieving that objective;
3. Openness and privacy: Technology should be designed to meet the dual responsibilities of the justice system of being open to the public and protecting personal privacy;
4. Assuring a neutral forum: All appropriate means shall be used to ensure the existence of neutral, accessible, and transparent forums which are compatible with new technologies
5. Maximizing public awareness and use: The justice system should promote ongoing public knowledge and understanding of the tools afforded by technology to access justice
6. Best practices: Those governed by these principles shall utilize best practices procedures or standards to guide the use of technology so as to protect and enhance access to justice and promote equality of access and fairness.
A broad-based interdisciplinary implementation strategy group then developed a set of practical strategies and initiatives to transform the principles from the words of a court-ordered statement of vision into a pervasive operational reality through the state justice system. Once the principles are truly institutionalized in justice organizations, then, as a matter of ordinary routine, the design for every new technology project would incorporate accessibility and usability and increase transparency of and information about the justice system for all users, especially those who are or may be excluded or underserved as well as those experiencing any barrier to accessing justice system services. Essential actions include: (1) Development and maintenance of a Web-based Resource Bank; (2) Initial and ongoing communication to and training for justice system and associated agencies about the ATJ Technology Principles and available resources for implementation; (3) Demonstration projects; (4) Public awareness and usable information. Additional requirements address policy-level governance and guidance as well as ensuring the continuing relevance, effectiveness and use of the Principles over time.
A great deal has been said and written about what has come to be called The Digital Divide, both domestically and internationally. Respect for and use of the rule of law is an essential way to move to a less divided, more equitable society and world. Accessible quality justice for all individuals and groups is a recognized worldwide value that crosses cultural as well as geographic lines. Meaningful access to justice can and does empower people to be part of creating their own just societies. This effort is the first such undertaking, and can provide a useful example that can be adapted and used not only in other places, but in other sectors of basic public need, such as access to health care, access to food, access to safety, and other essentials.
Verbiage for pattern card:
The principle of full and equal access to the justice system faces opportunities and challenges from new technologies. While technology can provide new pathways it can also exacerbate existing barriers or create new ones. Technology can allow people to use their home, library, or community center to find out about, initiate or respond to law related requirements, and communicate and exchange documents less expensively, using less time and effort.
Pattern status:
Released MOVE YOUR WORK FORWARD
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Contents Cleaning & Restoration Services in North Kansas City, MO
Contents Cleaning
When you're faced with the results of a disaster in your home or business, it may seem like it will be impossible to clean everything and get it back in order. It can become overwhelming very quickly, leaving you feeling defeated and stressed out. Luckily, there is help. Best Option Restoration of North Oklahoma City, is the local disaster recovery team in Oklahoma City, here to help you clean up from your disaster, no matter how monumental it may seem.
Aside from the large, obvious areas that must be recovered, there are all the things within the damaged area that also need repaired. These are the important things the contents of your home that really matter. Your furniture, family heirlooms, your children's toys all of the collective items that are the story of your life, that you'd do almost anything to save, now damaged from water, smoke or mold.
Our Goals With Content Cleaning
You may not realize it, but sorting through your belongings after a flood, fire, storm or other type of disaster, can actually be dangerous for anyone who is not properly trained and without the proper equipment. It's highly recommended to call in professionals, such as the professionals at Best Option Restoration of North Oklahoma City when faced with cleaning up after a disaster. Best Option Restoration of North Oklahoma City technicians are trained and certified to safely clean up after emergencies such as broken/frozen pipes, water damage, mold, sewage, fires and storms.
Best Option Restoration of North Oklahoma City specializes in restoring the contents of your home that were damaged from the emergency. We expertly determine everything that can be salvaged and restored, and which items are unrecoverable. We thoroughly clean, dry and sanitize the salvageable items and responsibly dispose of the items beyond repair. Our team is trained to recognize when cleaning methods, even deep cleaning, will not undo the damage. This is important, since belongings that are not properly cleaned and sanitized could pose a threat to you in the future.
Our Cleaning Methods
Once we've identified which furnishings and other personal belongings that are salvageable, we can begin the recovery process. We use the latest techniques and most advanced equipment, including an ultrasonic cleaning system, to clean and sanitize the damaged items.
We clean as much as we are able to on site at your property by bringing in the required equipment to properly restore the items. Some items, however, will need to be removed and cleaned off-site because of its size, the required cleaning method or the level of damage sustained. The items that must be taken off site for cleaning are safely transported and handled with care to ensure no further damage is acquired. Once the removed items are clean and safe to use again and the property has been fully restored, we will return your belongings to your property.
Disposal of Anything That Can't Be Salvaged and Cleaned
Part of our contents restoration services involves the removal of anything that is beyond the possibility of cleaning. In spite of our state of the art equipment, it's possible that the degree of fire damage may render some belongings unsafe and useless. The same may be true with some water damaged items.
Anything that cannot be restored will be transported from the premises. The disposal methods that our team employs varies. Some items can be broken down, sterilized, and prepared for use as recycled materials. Others may be treated with chemicals as a way to neutralize any threats to the environment or any living thing. You can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing our disposal methods ensure that those damaged items will post no threat in the future.
At Best Option Restoration of North Oklahoma City, we're proud of the content cleaning process that we have in place. If you've suffered a loss from a disaster at your home or business, we're here to help 24/7/365. Our damage restoration services will help you get back on your feet. We promise a fast response and will complete the job as quickly as we can to help you return to normal. Best Option Restoration of North Oklahoma City is the only call you need to make because we handle the job from start to finish. If you're dealing with damage caused by water, fire, smoke, mold or mother nature, contact us today at (405) 967-3885. You'll be glad you did!
What We Do
- Soot cleaning
- Smoke damage deodorization and odor removal
- Drying
- Sanitizing
- Dry/wet cleaning
- Refinishing


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"Chronic pilot shortage" behind Rex's recent regional cuts
Rex has revealed a lack of pilot staff as well as other key supply chain issues as two of the may factors behind its recent cuts to regional services.
Starting 1 May, nine routes through regional NSW, Queensland and South Australia will see reductions as well as the suspension of the Mildura-Adelaide service and further alterations nationwide which have not yet been made public.
According the general manager of network strategy, REX, Warwick Lodge, the airline will reinstate the services when the current situation has been stabilised.
"These adjustments are necessitated by the chronic shortage of airline professionals, particularly pilots and engineers, as well as the severe disruption in the supply chain of aircraft and parts," Lodge said.
"We do understand the impact these adjustments will have on the regional communities affected as Rex is the lifeline for these communities."
In September 2022, the airline revealed services had returned to monthly profitability, however at this stage also noted issues regarding the operational practices – which have clearly not been resolved.
Email the Travel Weekly team at firstname.lastname@example.com
adelaide mildura regional express Rex airlines Warwick LodgeLatest News
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Renowned Lotus Dining Group will offer a new dining experience at Southern Highlands property, Park Proxi Gibraltar Bowral, Seibu Prince Hotels & Resorts has announced. Scheduled to open on 1 September, Lotus will bring its acclaimed Asian cuisine to the Southern Highlands with a hyper-local twist. Diners can expect a blend of favourite Lotus dishes […]
Nozo Hotel Furano announce winter season exclusive package
Nozo Hotel Furano in Hokkaido has announced a special invitation to Aussie and Kiwi travellers with an exclusive winter package, in anticipation of its first anniversary. The hotel are offering a 30 per cent discount on all rooms and breakfasts for seven-night stays or more. The offer marks the hotel's milestone celebration and ushers in […]
Chaos at REX as Singaporean shareholder pushes to turf airline's entire board
If you thought your Friday was a little chaotic, think again. Instability in the airline industry continues.
Hawks Nest holiday park undergoes stage two of its refurbishment
And the golf course is not too bad either, but don't tell too many people.
Disney Cruise Line to expand into Japan
It seems like Disney has been doing some serious wishing upon a star.
Traveltek announces new partnership with Viva Cruises
Despite it being called Viva, there is no Las Vegas Elvis impersonator on board these luxe ships.
In a world of screens, guests are craving a digital detox
If anyone else cringes each time they see the amount of screen time they've had, then this is the trip you need.
Spilled eels on a plane gets Vancouver ground staff squirming
There was no Samuel L. Jackson present to help clean up this eels on a plane mess.
French hotel Coquillade Provence unveils five new luxury suites
Forget travelling to France for the Olympics - we wouldn't be leaving the hotel if we were staying here.
Irish flight attendant freed from Dubai after being held for 'attempting suicide' following alleged domestic violence
A very upsetting story. We are glad that Tori Towey is now safely back in Ireland following international intervention.
Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef offers three-night stay for the price of two
As well as luxury this trip also offers chef-prepared meals made with produce from the local area. What is not to love!
Hahnair announces partnership with F1 driver Nico Hülkenberg
Travelling by plane must feel very slow when you are an F1 driver. Still, Nico Hülkenberg seems happy here!
London claims Europe's best food market city title, says new research
A quick poll in our office reveals, that we are both surprised by this claim. And Istanbul doesn't even get a look in.
How Hilton used tech to heal its customer relationships
Data analysis found that guests who had a good experience were more likely to return. We could have also told you this.
Aman at Sea keel laying ceremony heralds new era in luxury motor yachts
The interior design here is seriously making us consider our own feng shui. Time for a new rug we think.
Singapore Airlines partners with Art Gallery of NSW on international flights for key personnel
There is nothing as gauche as a big cheque in this picture but we are assured it is a big deal for the art world.
50,000 purple flowers bloom in Flanders for remembrance and peace
Admire the thousands of blooms whilst also remembering the tens of thousands who died here.
Melbourne and Geelong convention centres pave the way for accessibility and inclusion
The operators of Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and the future Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre have taken a significant step towards inclusivity with the launch of their latest Accessibility Action Plan. Welcoming visitors from diverse backgrounds, Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust (MCET) is committed to providing safe spaces to connect and engage. […]
TravelManagers' Mid-Year social catch ups
Organising the organisers takes a lot of, urm, organising. Congrats to TravelManagers organisers.
The Curated Plate celebrates Sunshine Coast's Indigenous heritage
It's duelling food festivals in Queensland with the Sunshine Coast and Port Douglas likely to have a plate-off.
AmaWaterways celebrates 22nd anniversary with offers on 2025 trips
As AmaWaterways embarks on its 22nd year, the luxury river cruise line has announced a range of savings offers to make river cruising even more accessible to both new and experienced cruisers. Travellers planning ahead can enjoy savings of up to 20 per cent on a range of European itineraries in 2025. Solo travellers also […]
Collette's 2025 Season Showcase coming to a location near you
The main reason to attend a roadshow is always education, but we highlight food and beverages are also available.
Australian woman severely-injured in Bali lands back home after $216,000 fundraiser
Shout out to all the big-hearted Aussies who stepped in to help Rebecca get home to her family.
Highlights of Travel + Leisure World's Best winners
If you are looking for some pics to put on your vision board then this is the article for you.
Taste Port Douglas returns to the tropics this August
As much as Massimo Mele loves Tassie, we are sure he will thaw out enough to headline at this FNQ feast.
Palace Hotel Tokyo wins three keys in Michelin Guide's inaugural world's most outstanding hotels
The Michelin man is BACK and this time he is looking for a place to stay. Palace Hotel Tokyo is first on his list.
The ultimate poolside indulgence? A 'push for champagne' button at Raes on Wategos
This might be the most excited we've been about anything ever. Champagne on call? Yes please!
Avalon Waterways announces new storyteller cruise
This lead image is so fabulous you'll start humming 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong.
Newly refurbished Pan Pacific Perth offers new era of refinement
Nothing better than a sneak peak of a hotel room that you want to stay in but are unlikely to afford.
ICC Sydney wins KARI Foundation's inaugural corporate cultural games day as it celebrates NAIDOC week
Great initiative! We also like that everybody is able to fit into the team photo without doing the dreaded half-crouch.
Norwegian Cruise Line supports Cruiseabout for annual Brisbane conference
The question everyone really wants to know the answer to is 'where can you get one of them colourful sailor hats?'
Travelex expands pre-paid card currency offering
This is a good idea but is it really a holiday if you're not desperately trying to figure out what coins to pay with?
Travelport launches revolutionary Content Curation Layer for Travel Agents
They said tech would help us do our job. But we just have to learn more tech.
SIGGRAPH Asia returns to Hong Kong in 2025
We think SIGGRAPH might win the award for the longest acronym. Contact us if you've seen longer acronyms.
Flight Centre Travel Group announces new Global Corporate CMO
King of the world! Well at least global CMO. Nice work Scott.
Hilton Sydney launches bespoke culinary concept at annual events showcase
Why does the chef holding up the tuna remind us of the opening scene of The Lion King?


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A black Mercedes which is believed to have been stolen reversed into the glass doors of the London store in Sloane Street, Kensington, shortly before 10pm on Wednesday night.
A number of suspects - possibly three - stole handbags during the smash and grab before fleeing in a blue Audi A4.
Investigating officers from Kensington and Chelsea CID said there have been no arrests.
Gucci describe the store on their website as a "flagship boutique" that covers 20,000 square feet on two floors.
It adds: "An impressive 60-metre facade looking on to London's famed Sloane Street captures attention through the use of tone-on-tone bronze metal enhanced with a special LED lighting affect."


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• Wallpaper collection and themes – choose one that suits for your mood
• Fast search – look up contacts and apps on your phone and online
• 1-Tap Boost – automatically close unnecessary processes on your Android device
• Clock & Weather widget – see the weather forecast for today and the week ahead
• Recommended apps – get recommendations for apps from Yandex Launcher
• Personal recommendations – view interesting content personally selected for you by Yandex Zen
Wallpapers: Enjoy built-in collections of wallpapers, such as landscapes, cities, animals, space, sports and more – these collections are regularly updated. Live Wallpapers are also supported.
Themes: In addition to classic light and dark themes, you can set the colors of menus and other interface elements in Yandex Launcher.
Apps menu: Navigate your apps with ease – Yandex Launcher arranges your apps by category or color.
Stylized icons: Use one of many built-in stylized icon packs for Yandex Launcher, or download third-party icon packs.
"All apps" button: Choose the size, color and shape of the button that opens the app menu – for example make a star with a zebra skin, or a round circle with a dog's face.
Home screen manager: Change the order of screens, select which one to see first, remove the ones you don't need, add new ones and switch on infinite scroll – all in one menu option.
Screen grid: Change the number of icons displayed on screen and their size.
Quick search: Swipe down on the main screen to open quick search to find your contacts, applications and information on the internet.
Speed: Yandex Launcher works quickly on all devices regardless of their generation. It won't slow down your system, and animations run smoothly even if you're using an older device.
1-Tap Boost: Track non-essential processes that are taking up your phone's memory and close them in just one tap with this widget.
Clock + Weather: See not just the current time but the forecast with this weather widget.
Smart folders: Give every folder its own screen with widgets and a background.
Icon color search: Find an app by its color even if you forget its name, or what category it belongs to.
Notifications: See when something new has happened with your apps so you never miss an important message or update. Notifications on icons can be disabled in the settings.
Yandex Zen: Swipe right from the main screen to see an unlimited feed of articles, videos and other content selected according to your interests. The more you use Yandex Zen, the better your personal selections will become.
Recommended apps: See new apps recommended to you based on the apps you already use – just add the Recommendations widget to any screen or folder with Yandex Launcher for Android.
All Yandex Launcher updates go through beta testers first.
Share your feedback by emailing [email protected] or leave comments on the official Facebook page:
The Yandex Launcher team greatly appreciates all your comments and will carefully consider the most popular ideas sent in.
What's New
Good news! Yandex Launcher now supports Android 8.0 Oreo.
Enjoy App Shortcuts – a feature for Android 7.1 devices and higher – in the new Yandex Launcher.
Let us know what you think of the Yandex Launcher updates by sending Feedback through the home screen menu, leaving comments in Google Play or writing to [email protected].
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Larry Ellison made $96 million last year as CEO of Oracle. So a $250,000 fine levied this week against his Oracle Team USA yacht racing team won't make a dent. But the penalty that went with it could hurt his chances of keeping the America's Cup trophy.
Ellison's Oracle Team USA, which will be racing to defend its America's Cup trophy starting Saturday, was dinged by an international jury for making modifications to its 2012 yacht that violated America's Cup rules.
Subsequently, three team members have been excluded from this year's race, and the team has been fined $250,000.
In August, Oracle Team USA also voluntarily (and retroactively) withdrew from the 2012 regattas in question.
The team was also hit with a two-point deduction in the upcoming finals, which start on Saturday. That means the team will need to win 11 races to keep the trophy. Challenger Emirates Team New Zealand has to win only 9 races.
On the plus side for Ellison's team: None of its senior members were involved in the misconduct.
"The rules infractions involved only a few of our 130 team members, and were done without the knowledge of either our team's management or the skippers who were driving the boats," Russell Coutts, Oracle Team USA CEO, said in a statement. "While we disagree with the unprecedented penalties imposed by the Jury, we have no choice but to make the necessary changes" and do our best to get ready for the race.
The infraction could cast a pall over Ellison's reputation in the sailing community. Competition, and challenges, tend to run high as rivals try to gain any edge they can through design changes within the America's Cup rules.
Founded in 1851, the America's Cup is the oldest and most prestigious yachting race in the world. Ellison's Oracle Team USA scored a big victory in 2010, when they brought the trophy back to America.
Only four nations have won the Cup: The United States, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.
Oracle (ORCL) was unavailable for immediate comment.


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Updated September 5, 2021 at 7:57 PM ET
A man wearing full-body armor fatally shot four people, including a mother and the 3-month-old baby she was cradling, a Florida sheriff said Sunday. The shooter, a former Marine, then engaged in a gunfight with police and deputies before he was wounded and surrendered. An 11-year-old girl who was shot seven times survived.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a press conference that even after 33-year-old Bryan Riley was arrested Sunday morning, he was so aggressive that he tried to wrestle a gun from police as he lay on his hospital gurney.
Judd said Riley, who served as a sharpshooter in both Iraq and Afghanistan, seemed to have targeted his victims at random and appeared to be suffering from mental health issues. Judd said Riley's girlfriend told authorities Riley had been slowly unraveling for weeks and repeatedly told her that he could communicate directly with God.
"They begged for their lives and I killed them anyway," Judd said Riley told them during an interrogation.
Investigators said preliminary evidence shows 40-year-old Justice Gleason just happened to be an unlucky stranger out mowing his lawn Saturday night when Riley drove by his home in Lakeland, about 30 miles east of Tampa, saying God told him to stop because Gleason's daughter was going to commit suicide.
A second, unidentified person also confronted Riley, telling him that story wasn't true and warned they'd call police if he didn't leave, Judd said. He referred to the person as a victim but declined to clarify which one.
Authorities responded to the scene but never found Riley.
About nine hours later, around 4:30 a.m., Riley returned to the home, laying out glowsticks to create a path leading to the house to draw officers "into an ambush," Judd said.
Randomly, a lieutenant far in the distance heard popping noises and immediately put the agency on active-shooter mode, bringing all state and local law enforcement in the area to the scene.
Following the sounds of gunfire, authorities arrived at the home and found Riley's white truck ablaze and an unarmed Riley outside, dressed in camouflage.
Riley immediately ran inside, where authorities heard another round of gunfire, "a woman scream and a baby whimper," Judd said.
Officers tried to enter the front of the house, but it was barricaded. When they circled to the back, they encountered Riley, who appeared to have put on full body armor including head and knee coverings and a bulletproof vest.
Authorities exchanged heavy gunfire, with dozens "if not hundreds of rounds" fired, before Riley retreated back into the home, according to the sheriff.
Everything fell silent, Judd said, until a helicopter unit alerted authorities on the ground that Riley was coming out. He had been shot once and was ready to surrender.
Meanwhile, officers heard cries for help inside the home, but were unsure whether there were additional shooters and feared the home was booby-trapped. A brave sergeant rushed in and grabbed the 11-year-old girl who had been shot at least seven times.
She told deputies there were three dead people inside, Judd said, adding that she was rushed into surgery and was expected to survive.
Deputies sent robots into the home to check for explosives and other traps. When it was clear, they found the bodies of Gleason; the 33-year-old mother; the baby; and the baby's 62-year-old grandmother, who was in a separate home nearby. Authorities released only Gleason's name, and did not say if or how he was related to the other victims.
Authorities declined to say how many times the victims had been shot or where they were in the home, but said they were all hiding and huddling in fear. The family dog also was shot to death.
Authorities said Riley's girlfriend of four years, whom he lived with, had been cooperative and was shocked, saying he was never violent but suffered from PTSD and had become increasingly erratic.
She said he'd spent the previous week on what he called a mission from God, stockpiling supplies that he said were for Hurricane Ida victims, including $1,000 worth of cigars.
"Prior to this morning, this guy was a war hero. He fought for his country in Afghanistan and Iraq," said Judd. "And this morning he's a cold-blooded killer."
Riley, who had no criminal history, also told authorities he was on methamphetamines. His vehicle had also been stocked with supplies for a gunfight, authorities said, including bleeding control kits.
While being treated at the hospital, Riley jumped up and tried to grab an officer's gun.
"They had to fight with him again in the emergency room," Judd said, adding that Riley was ultimately tied down and medicated.
He is expected to recover and will be transferred to jail to face charges.
"The big question that all of us has is, 'Why?'" State Attorney Brian Haas said. "We will not know today or maybe ever."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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News Bytes
By Deividson Luiz Okopnik and Howard Dyckoff
Contents: |
Please submit your News Bytes items in plain text; other formats may be rejected without reading. [You have been warned!] A one- or two-paragraph summary plus a URL has a much higher chance of being published than an entire press release. Submit items to email@example.com. Deividson can also be reached via twitter.
News in General
71% of iPhone and Android Apps Violate Open Source Licenses
At the March AnDevCon Conference, OpenLogic, Inc., a provider of open source governance solutions. announced the results of a scan and license compliance assessment of 635 leading mobile applications. Among other findings, the results show that 71% of Android, iPhone and iPad apps containing open source failed to comply with basic open source license requirements.
OpenLogic found several apps with extensive EULAs that claimed all of the software included was under their copyright and owned by them - when in fact some of the code in the app was open source.
Using its scanner, OSS Deep Discovery, OpenLogic scanned compiled binaries and source code where available for 635 mobile applications to identify open source under GPL, LGPL and Apache licenses. For the 66 applications scanned that contained Apache or GPL/LPGL licenses, 71% failed to comply with four key obligations that OpenLogic analyzed. These included:
GPL/LGPL license requirements to:
- provide source code or an offer to get the source code
- provide a copy of the license
Apache license requires to:
- provide a copy of the licenses
- provide notices/attributions
"Many mobile and tablet developers may not have a complete picture of the open source they are using and the requirements of the open source licenses. This has real-world implications. For example, the Free Software Foundation has stated that the GPL and iTunes license are not compatible, and Apple has already pulled several apps from the store that were determined to be under the GPL," said Kim Weins, senior vice president of products and marketing at OpenLogic. "Google has also received takedown requests for Android market apps that violated the GPL. App developers need to pay attention to open source license compliance to ensure their apps are not impacted by legal actions."
Out of the 635 apps scanned, OpenLogic identified 52 applications that use the Apache license and 16 that use the GPL/LGPL license.
OpenLogic found that among the applications that use the Apache or GPL/LGPL licenses, the compliance rate was only 29%. Android compliance was 27% and iPhone/iOS compliance was 32%. Overall compliance of Android applications using the GPL/LGPL was 0%.
Although the research did not specifically analyze conflicts between different licenses, OpenLogic noted that 13 of the applications came from the Apple App Store, used GPL/LGPL. The App Store has already removed other applications that included GPL/LGPL licenses. In addition, two of the applications on Android contained LGPLv2.1. This license could have potential conflicts with Apache 2.0 - which is the major license of the Android operating system. OpenLogic provides enterprises with a certified library of open source software that encompasses hundreds of the most popular open source packages via OpenLogic Exchange (OLEX), a free web site where companies can find, research, and download certified, enterprise-ready open source packages on demand. For more information, visit: https://http://olex.openlogic.com/.
IronKey finds UK Organisations Fear Organised Cyber-crime
IronKey, a leader in securing data and online access, released a survey of IT security professionals working at UK-based organisations including, Lloyds Banking Group, HP, Fujitsu, Siemens, Worcester County Council and Cleveland Police. The study showed that 31 per cent suffered one or more organised attacks in the last 12 months resulting in theft of data or money.
Besides suffering at least one cyber attack in the last 12 months, 45 per cent believed their organisation is a target of organised cyber-crime which could result in the theft or sabotage.
"Unfortunately the results of our research don't really come as a shock, as the past 12 months have seen some of the biggest and most successful cyber-attacks our industry has ever witnessed," said Dave Jevans, founder of IronKey and the Anti-Phishing Working Group.
When asked about the significant information security threat facing their organisation today, 54 per cent of respondents highlighted accidental data leakage by staff, contractors or vendors as the biggest threat. The past five years of highly publicised data breaches and the power of the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to levy £500,000 have gained the attention of organisations. In contrast, only 10 per cent fear external attack on networks and systems and only 13 per cent see Trojans that steal data, money, or sabotage systems as a significant threat to their organisation.
While 44 per cent of respondents believed an untrusted desktop or laptop is the most vulnerable location for an advance persistent threat (APT) attack, it appears respondents prefer traditional methods, such as end user education (44 per cent) or anti-virus (29 per cent), as opposed to technology that isolates user and data from threats (19 per cent), as the most effective tool to prevent APT attacks.
"Unfortunately, end user education and anti-virus were all in place at organisations that suffered painful losses as a result of APT attacks. Doing the same thing over and over won't make the problem go away - criminals are only more encouraged," commented Jevans. "As an industry, we need to shift away from trying to be all knowing and detecting threats we can't know about until they happen. Instead, we need to isolate users of sensitive data and transactions away from the problem."
As a result of cyber-crime, British business is estimated to be losing £20bn a year. Targeted attacks on the global energy industry as part of the Night Dragon attacks, the breach of infrastructure at RSA, compromise of digital certificate issuance at Comodo, and theft of millions of customer records from Epsilon all show that any organisation is a potential target.
IronKey also announced the availability of IronKey Trusted Access for Banking 2.7 which addresses the continuing needs of banks to isolate customers from the growing threat of crimeware and online account takeovers. The new update includes IronKey's keylogging protection that blocks the capture of user credentials, one-time passcodes (OTP), challenge questions, and other sensitive data criminals can otherwise easily steal.
Conferences and Events
- ESC Silicon Valley 2011 - Enbedded Systems
May 2-5, McEnery Center, San Jose.
- Lean Software and Systems Conference 2011
May 3-6, 2011, Long Beach California.
- Red Hat Summit and JBoss World
May 3-6, 2011, Boston, MA.
- USENIX/IEEE HotOS XIII - Hot Topics in Operating Systems
May 8-10, Napa, CA.
- OSBC 2011 - Open Source Business Conference
May 16-17, Hilton Union Square, San Francisco, CA.
- Scrum Gathering Seattle 2011
May 16-18, Grand Hyatt, Seattle, WA.
- RailsConf 2011
May 16-19, Baltimore, MD.
May 19-21, Washington, DC.
- MeeGo 2011
May 23-25, Hyatt Regency, San Francisco.
- Citrix Synergy 2011
May 25-27, Convention Center, San Francisco, CA.
- USENIX HotPar '11- Hot Topics in Parallelism
May 26-27, Berkeley, CA.
- LinuxCon Japan 2011
June 1-3, Pacifico Yokohama, Japan.
- Semantic Technology Conference
June 5-9, 2011, San Francisco, CA.
- Ottawa Linux Symposium (OLS)
June 13 - 15 2011, Ottawa, Canada.
- USENIX Annual Technical Conference '11
Don't miss the 3-day conference program filled with cutting-edge systems research, including invited talks by Stefan Savage on "An Agenda for Empirical Cyber Crime Research," Finn Brunton on "Dead Media: What the Obsolete, Unsuccessful, Experimental, and Avant-Garde Can Teach Us About the Future of Media," and Mark Woodward on "Linux PC Robot." Gain insight into a variety of must-know topics in the paper presentations and poster session. Since USENIX ATC '11 is part of USENIX Federated Conferences Week, you'll also have increased opportunities to mingle with colleagues and leading experts across multiple disciplines.
Register by May 23, and save! Additional discounts are available.
June 15-17, Portland, OR.
- USENIX Conference on Web Application Development
Back for 2011, WebApps '11 features cutting-edge research that advances the state of the art, not only on novel Web applications but also on infrastructure, tools, and techniques that support the development, analysis/testing, operation, or deployment of those applications. The diverse 2-day conference program will include invited talks by industry leaders including Finn Brunton, NYU, on "A Tour of the Ruins: 40 Years of Spam Online," a panel on "The Future of Client-side Web Apps," a variety of topics and new techniques in the paper presentations, and a poster session. Since WebApps '11 is part of USENIX Federated Conferences Week, you'll also have increased opportunities for interaction and synergy across multiple disciplines.
Register by May 23, and save! Additional discounts are available.
June 15-17, Portland, OR.
- Creative Storage Conference
June 28, 2011, Culver City, CA.
- Mobile Computing Summit 2011
June 28-30, Burlingame, California.
- Cisco Live, U.S.
July 10 - 14, 2011.
- Cloud Identity Summit
July 18-21, Keystone, Colo.
- ApacheCon NA 2011
7-11 November 2011, Vancouver, Canada
ApacheCon 2011: Open Source Enterprise Solutions, Cloud Computing, Community Leadership
Apache technologies power more than 190 million Websites and countless mission-critical applications worldwide; over a dozen Apache projects form the foundation of today's Cloud computing. There's a reason that five of the top 10 Open Source software downloads are Apache, and understanding their breadth and capabilities has never been more important. ApacheCon is the official conference, trainings, and expo of The Apache Software Foundation, created to promote innovation and explore core issues in using and developing Open Source solutions "The Apache Way". Highly-relevant sessions demonstrate specific professional problems and real-world solutions focusing on "Apache and": Enterprise Solutions, Cloud Computing, Emerging Technologies + Innovation, Community Leadership, Data Handling, Search + Analytics, Pervasive Computing, and Servers, Infrastructure + Tools. Join the global Apache community of users, developers, educators, administrators, evangelists, students, and enthusiasts 7-11 November 2011 in Vancouver, Canada. Register today http://apachecon.com/
ApacheCon NA 2011 Vancouver
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Distro News
Ubuntu 11.04 Goes Gold
The newest release of Ubuntu Linux was released at the end of April and features the new Unity user interface - a source of some controversy among beta testers - and added support for Cloud deployments and DevOps automation.
Ubuntu 11.04 Server, while not a release with Long Term Support (LTS) , will include will upgrades for the core cloud solution, Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud. The release includes the latest stable version of technology from Eucalyptus for those looking to build private clouds. Also included is OpenStack's latest release, 'Cactus.
For those working on public clouds, Ubuntu Server 11.04 will be available from Amazon Web Services (AWS). In addition, Canonical is announcing Ubuntu CloudGuest later in May, allowing individuals and businesses to test and develop on the cloud with support and systems management from Canonical. For the first time, potential users can test-drive Ubuntu online using only a web browser. Visitors to Ubuntu.com will be able to access a complete version of the latest product without having to download anything.
In part, the CloudGuest program replaces the free CD program that Canonical has discontinued.
With the Unity UI, Ubuntu has better support for touch screens and multi-touch gesture controls. There also better support for Sandy Bridge and Radeon graphics chip sets and drivers. Also Ubuntu Software Center, used to download free applications, has been integrated with the Unity program launcher and shows users reviews of potentially useful software.
Ubuntu 11.04 includes Cobbler and MCollective to help automate system administration tasks and orchestrate operations, with policy-based configurations and RPC calls.
Check here the Ubuntu Downloads Page.
Slackware 13.37 released
Here comes Slackware Linux 13.37, a new version of the world's oldest surviving Linux-based operating system.
Slackware 13.37 has been released with enhanced performance and stability from a year of rigorous testing. Slackware 13.37 uses the 184.108.40.206 Linux kernel and also ships with 184.108.40.206 kernels for those want to be at the bleeding edge. Firefox 4.0 is the default web browser, the X Window System has been upgraded (and includes the open source nouveau driver for NVIDIA cards) and the desktop is and KDE 4.5.5.. Even the Slackware installer has been improvedl with support for installing to btrfs, a one-package-per-line display mode option, and is an easy to set-up PXE install server that runs off the Slackware DVD.
The Speakup driver, used to support speech synthesizers providing access to Linux for the visually impaired community, has now been merged into all of the provided kernels.
See the complete list of core packages in Slackware 13.37.
See the list of official mirror sites.
Yocto 1.0 and Carrier Grade Linux 5.0 Released
Two Linux Foundation Working Groups released major updates of their collaborative work in April.
vThe Yocto 1.0 Project Release became availabile and includes major improvements to its developer interface and build system, providing developers with even greater consistency in the software and tools they're using across multiple architectures for embedded Linux development. For more information, Click here.Carrier Grade Linux 5.0 covers several specification categories that include Availability, Clustering, Serviceability, Performance, Standards, Hardware, and Security. Also, a number of requirements have been dropped from the specification due to the mass adoption and ubiquity of CGL and its inclusion in the mainline Linux kernel, which allows these specifications to become more consistent fixtures across different distributions. For more information and to review the CGL 5.0 specification, please visit Carrier Grade Linux' Page.
Software and Product News
VMware Delivers Cloud Foundry as an Open PaaS
This next generation open application platform provides a broad choice of developer frameworks and cloud deployment options.
VMware delivered Cloud Foundry in April, an open Platform as a Service (PaaS) architected specifically for cloud computing environments and delivered as a service from both enterprise datacenters and public cloud service providers. Cloud Foundry enhances the ability of developers to deploy, run and scale their applications in cloud environments while allowing wide choice of public and private clouds, developer frameworks and application infrastructure services.
VMware is introducing a new VMware-operated developer cloud service, a new open source PaaS project and the first ever "Micro Cloud" PaaS solution. VMware introduced Cloud Foundry at an event where developer community leaders highlighted the value of an open PaaS in advancing highly productive development frameworks for the cloud. Speakers include: Dion Almaer and Ben Galbraith, co-founders of FunctionSource, Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.JS from Joyent, Ian McFarland, VP, Technology, Pivotal Labs, Roger Bodamer, 10Gen, steward of MongoDB, and Michael Crandell, CEO and co-founder of RightScale. Further industry support and blogs are available from 10Gen and RightScale.
Modern application development faces a growing set of challenges such as diverse application development frameworks, choices in new data, messaging, and web service application building blocks, heterogeneous cloud deployment options, and the customer imperative to deploy and migrate applications flexibly across enterprise private clouds and multiple cloud service providers.
PaaS offerings have emerged as the modern solution to the changing nature of applications, increasing developer efficiency, while promising to let developers focus exclusively on writing applications, rather than configuring and patching systems, maintaining middleware and physical machines and worrying about network topologies.
Early PaaS offerings, however, restricted developers to a specific or non-standard development frameworks, a limited set of application services or a single, vendor-operated cloud service. "For all of the developer interest in the potential benefits to PaaS solutions, actual adoption has been slowed by their employment of non-standard components and frameworks which raise the threat of lock-in," said Stephen O'Grady, Principal Analyst at RedMonk." With Cloud Foundry, VMware is providing developers a PaaS platform with the liberal licensing and versatility to accommodate the demand for choice in developer programming languages."
Cloud Foundry is a modern application platform built specifically to simplify the end-to-end development, deployment and operation of cloud era applications. Cloud Foundry orchestrates heterogeneous application services and applications built in multiple frameworks and automates deployment of applications and their underlying infrastructure across diverse cloud infrastructures.
Cloud Foundry supports popular, high productivity programming frameworks, including Spring for Java, Ruby on Rails, Sinatra for Ruby and Node.js, as well as support for other JVM-based frameworks including Grails. The open architecture will enable additional programming frameworks to be rapidly supported in the future. For application services, Cloud Foundry will initially support the MongoDB, MySQL and Redis databases with planned support for VMware vFabric services.
Cloud Foundry is not tied to any single cloud environment, nor does it require a VMware infrastructure to operate. Rather, Cloud Foundry supports deployment to any public and private cloud environment, including those built on VMware vSphere those offered by VMware vCloud partners, non-VMware public clouds and demonstrated support for Amazon Web Services by cloud management provider RightScale.
Cloud Foundry will be offered in multiple delivery models:
- New VMware-Operated Developer Service - Available now in beta release, http://www.cloudfoundry.com is a full function public cloud PaaS service, operated by VMware, enabling developers to access Cloud Foundry and providing a test bed for new services and operational optimization. Via this multi-tenant PaaS environment, developers can deploy and cloud-scale their applications in seconds. Developers can sign up for invitations today to use this service.
- Open Source, Community PaaS Project - Available now at http://www.cloudfoundry.org, this open source project and community under Apache 2 license enables developers to inspect, evaluate and modify Cloud Foundry software based on their own needs, while also minimizing the risk of lock-in. This model provides the highest degree of extensibility, allowing the community to extend and integrate Cloud Foundry with any framework, application service or infrastructure cloud.
- New Cloud Foundry Micro Cloud - Available later in Q2 2011, Cloud Foundry Micro Cloud will be a complete, downloadable instance of Cloud Foundry contained within a Linux virtual machine that can run on a developer's desktop, enabling simplified development and testing. Then developers can build and test applications on their own machines and ensure that applications running locally will also run in production, without modification, on any Cloud Foundry-based private or public cloud.
- Cloud Foundry for the Enterprise and Service Providers - In the future, VMware will also offer a commercial version of Cloud Foundry for enterprises who want to offer PaaS capabilities within their own private clouds and for service providers who want to offer Cloud Foundry via their public cloud services. This commercial solution will enable enterprises to integrate the PaaS environment with their application infrastructure services portfolio. Service provider solutions will further deliver on the promise of portability across a hybrid cloud environment, enabling freedom to deploy internally or migrate to one of VMware's nearly 3,500 vCloud partners.
New Version of Intel Atom CPU aimed at NetBooks and Tablets
In April, Intel released the Intel Atom chip formerly codenamed "Oak Trail," which will be available in devices starting in May. In addition, at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing, the company gave a sneak peak of its next-generation, 32nm Intel Atom platform, currently codenamed "Cedar Trail." This solution will help to enable a new wave of fanless, cool and quiet netbooks, entry-level desktops and all-in-one designs.
The new Intel Atom processor Z670, part of the "Oak Trail" platform, delivers improved video playback, fast Internet browsing and longer battery life. The rich media experience available with "Oak Trail" includes support for 1080p video decode, as well as HDMI. The platform also supports Adobe Flash, enabling rich content and Flash-based gaming.
The platform also helps deliver smaller, thinner and more efficient devices by packing integrated graphics and the memory controller directly onto the processor die. The processor is 60 percent smaller than previous generations with a lower-power design for fanless devices as well as up to all-day battery life. Additional features include Intel Enhanced Deeper Sleep that saves more power during periods of inactivity. An integrated HD decode engine enables smooth 1080p HD video playback with less power used.
The Intel Atom processor Z670 allows applications to run on various operating systems, including Google Android, MeeGo and Windows. This flexibility aides hybrid designs that combine the best features of the netbook and tablet together.
SPLUNK 4.2 Features real-time alerting
Splunk has released version 4.2 of its software that collects, indexes and harnesses any machine data logs generated by an organization's IT systems and infrastructure - physical, virtual and in the cloud.
Splunk 4.2 builds on the innovation of previous releases, adding real-time alerting, a new Universal Forwarder, improved usability and performance, and centralized management capabilities for distributed Splunk deployments.
Machine data holds a wealth of information that can be used to obtain operational intelligence and provide valuable insights for IT and the business. Splunk is the engine for machine data that helps enterprises improve service levels, reduce operations costs, mitigate security risks, enable compliance and create new product and service offerings.
Splunk 4.2 new features include:
Real-time alerting. Provides immediate notification and response for events, patterns, incidents and attacks as they occur. Universal Forwarder. New dedicated lightweight forwarder delivers secure, distributed, real-time data collection from thousands of endpoints with a significantly reduced footprint. Easier and faster. New ways to visualize data, quick start guides for new users, integrated workflows for common tasks and up to 10 times faster search experience in large-scale distributed deployments. Better management of Splunk. New centralized monitoring and license management facilitate the management of multiple Splunk instances from one location.
For more on the Splunk 4.2 release, download a free copy here..
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Talkback: Discuss this article with The Answer Gang
Deividson Luiz Okopnik
Deividson was born in União da Vitória, PR, Brazil, on 14/04/1984. He became interested in computing when he was still a kid, and started to code when he was 12 years old. He is a graduate in Information Systems and is finishing his specialization in Networks and Web Development. He codes in several languages, including C/C++/C#, PHP, Visual Basic, Object Pascal and others.
Deividson works in Porto União's Town Hall as a Computer Technician, and specializes in Web and Desktop system development, and Database/Network Maintenance.
Howard Dyckoff
Howard Dyckoff is a long term IT professional with primary experience at
Fortune 100 and 200 firms. Before his IT career, he worked for Aviation
Week and Space Technology magazine and before that used to edit SkyCom, a
newsletter for astronomers and rocketeers. He hails from the Republic of
Brooklyn [and Polytechnic Institute] and now, after several trips to
Himalayan mountain tops, resides in the SF Bay Area with a large book
collection and several pet rocks.
Howard maintains the Technology-Events blog at
blogspot.com from which he contributes the Events listing for Linux
Gazette. Visit the blog to preview some of the next month's NewsBytes


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As our VP, Asset Allocation Strategist, Barry Gilbert combines a background in thought leadership with a pragmatic and disciplined approach to portfolio management. Before joining Carson, he was VP and Asset Allocation Strategist at LPL Financial. At LPL, Barry led the Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee that determined the firm's short- and long-term views and was responsible for creating the firm's long-term capital market assumptions and strategic asset allocation. He also chaired the investment committees that had oversight of many assets managed by LPL Research, including LPL's two flagship model portfolios. These investment committees also had oversight of LPL's alternative investment, tax aware, strategic, and income focused models.
Prior to joining LPL in 2013, he worked at Axiom Valuation Solutions valuing private firms and a long/short hedge fund supporting implementation of a quantitative portfolio management strategy.
Barry holds a PhD in philosophy from Boston University, an MA from the Pennsylvania State University, and a BA from Haverford College. A former educator, he taught finance and economics in the MSF and MBA programs at Northeastern University's D'Amore-McKim School of Business. Prior to his career in asset management, Barry taught philosophy, the history of ideas, and writing and rhetoric at Harvard University, Trinity College and Boston University, and has served as a visiting research fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna, an international think tank in politics and economics.
A frequent contributor to publications covering asset allocation, policy, fixed income and economics, Barry has been quoted in Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, Barron's, the New York Times, and Politico, among others.
Barry lives in the greater Boston area with his wife, Jenny, their daughter, and their dog and two cats. When not working he likes to watch his daughter play volleyball, take his dog for a long walk along the Charles River with Jenny, or spend some time learning something new.


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Objectives: To strictly regulate the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes to and within Africa. Summary of provisions: The scope of the Convention is confined to hazardous wastes, though not wastes from ship discharges covered by another Convention. Hazardous substances banned, cancelled or refused registration by government regulatory action for health or environmental reasons, are defined as hazardous wastes under the Convention. Radioactive wastes are covered also by the Convention (art. 2). Parties agree to enact legislation identifying and categorising hazardous wastes not already listed in the Convention (art. 3).
Entrada en vigor:
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Debate: Urban Outfitters And A Shift Towards Mass Market Quality
A selection of brands currently offered at Urban Outfitters:
-Gant Rugger
-Mark McNairy New Amsterdam
-Rogues Gallery/Never Sleep
-Billykirk/The Brothers Bray
-Steven Alan/Lark & Wolff
[Editor's Note: I think a big part of this discussion is UO's partnership with brands to create less expensive diffusion lines (i.e. Never Sleep, The Brothers Bray and Lark & Wolff).]
26 comments:
- AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 10:47 AM
Jesus their shoe selection makes me want to throw up.
Quoddy, BK, etc are great, but these people need to stop looking like punchlines to a StyleForum joke about SWD heads. - AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 10:58 AM
I think what matters here is not my opinion, L.A.S.'s, or anyone else's. It's all about the Blog coverage that they wouldn't otherwise get. It's all marketing. Odds are very good that none of these products are widely stocked at their many stores. They're just looking for website hits. The average UO customer, their bread and butter, doesn't give a shit about the supposed quality or the stories behind any of this expensive stuff. I would know, I used to work at the store in Wicker Park. They tried to bring in several more expensive brands while I worked there, a few years ago now, and everything ended up getting sent back. This is in an affluent neighborhood mind you. I think the average Context,Blackbird,OC consumer is significantly older, and has more money, than the average UO one. UO's biggest competition is Am Apparel, AKA a whole nother realm, at least in Chicago.
ReplyDelete I've seen some of these products in stores and I'm happy for any niche brand that gets a significant order from UO, but it's no secret that the diffusion brands don't hold a candle to the real McCoy (Bros Bray bags are not great, etc.), and for the pricier stuff UO tends to stock a cheap equivalent that undercuts the "real thing."
Come shop for a McNairy saddle, buy an Urban-brand buck for $60.- Vik RadicsOctober 12, 2010 at 11:22 AM
I bought three Steven Alan (L&W) shirts for $15 a pop a while back. Not a bad deal if you ask me. However, UO is not somewhere I frequent on the reg.
ReplyDelete - AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 11:22 AM
Honestly, I'm for, and against it. Like every other style blogosphere inhabitant, I reek of entitlement. We always want to be ahead of the curve. That's why we're here. That's why UO, despite keeping up, will always be fighting an uphill battle.
We're early adopters. Like a band? Before everyone else does? That makes you either a card-carrying advocate, or the whiny bitch "FIRST!" types.
It's inevitable. It takes a bigger man to appreciate and recognize the success of growing brands. Argue this, then argue what you would do if you were UO? Stick with the cliché, or try to adapt? Don't kid yourself. At the end of the day, it's a business. - AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 11:34 AM
As a person with someone who works at UO, I am all for it. 40-50% makes a brand new Gant Rugger blazer a no brainer...
ReplyDelete - AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 11:49 AM
"Not to long ago..."
should be
"Not too long ago..." I think their greatest successes will lie with diffusion lines that may not be of the best quality but will be affordable to the UO demographic. I just can't see high school kids who shop at UO buying a $500 Gant Rugger blazer.
It's not like this is unusual. Big name designers have had lower cost, lower quality lines in department stores since forever. The only difference here is that the brands getting into UO are way smaller.- Patrick KicklighterOctober 12, 2010 at 12:28 PM
Considering that most of you were wearing graphic t-shirts and Nikes or full frat boy regalia (ala the Schlossmeister) two years ago does it really matter that Urban Outfitters is selling the current hot trend? UO's job is stay relevant and make money - this news is not groundbreaking nor really even worth a discussion.
ReplyDelete - AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 1:13 PM
Kinda reminds me of when Saturn brought in their competitors' cars so you could compare them all right then and there, as opposed to having to shop around. And we all know what happened to Saturn.
Anonymous in Chi is right, the avg UO shopper ("Why buy Gant when I can get BDg for a third of the price?!") just can't afford this stuff. Which means that most of this stuff will go on massive sale (a la standard operating procedure over at UO) and we will all be able to go in there and pick them off.
At least they're trying. They prob just need to create a separate line of stores altogether and target them at major markets (but given the outcome of Martin + Osa, Ruehl, etc.), history suggests otherwise. UO used to only be in big cities. But look at their list of stores now. They oughtta call it Suburban Outfitters. - AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 4:41 PM
From Quoddy itself, Urban doesn't sell the shoes at all. Partly because they don't have that customer, but partly because they don't tell the story correctly/at all. That's the biggest benefit of the web - and they don't take advantage of it. Honestly, I'm not sure J.Crew sells most of their curated items well either.
That said, Glen Senk is a retail genius. Urban turns inventory at rates most of the other retailers can only dream of. This is because of smart merchandising. Turns x Gross Margin = Measure of health for any retailer. Urban is near the top of the chart. Opening Ceremony is a FANTASTIC brand, doing something really truly innovative. However, URBN is a better BUSINESS. All depends on what you're looking for. - AnonymousOctober 12, 2010 at 8:14 PM
the difference is that urban can do funny shit like this that an aspirational brand won't touch. i think the real humor in all of this is how serious people are about their style that they actually take ownership to something so superficial as a "look".
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=18805929&navAction=jump&isProduct=true&parentid=MORE%20IDEAS&isProduct=true&cross-sell=true&guide-bn=true - AnonymousOctober 13, 2010 at 1:03 PM
As a retailer that actually sells these brands..it drives me crazy but ultimitally it's just done so these designers can actually make a bit of money...how can you deny them that !? If I had my way I would prefer these brands stay within the smaller shops that spend hours displaynig knowledge on the construction and the background/history of the brands.
UO employees aren't even allowed to talk to customers (true story) ... sorry, it's not encouradged...because they're too busy folding those lame Tee Shirts all day. What kind of service industry business doesn't place customer service at the forefront ?!
I'm also happy to read comment from guys that say JCrew is not really moving it's blog product like Barbour and Mac coats...I mean c'mon JCrew is garbage made in CHina and they're pretending to be all about Americana...pure business peoples...ruthless. The craft is out the window. I could go on for hours about this.


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Measuring instruments resp. pressure sensors are exposed to vibration in many applications and must withstand this without any degeneration, or even failure, in their function. Professional of pressure sensors (also called pressure transmitters) therefore put a great deal of effort into ensuring their instruments are prepared for such applications.
In order that they can make firm commitments about this, the manufacturers test their instruments very thoroughly. Vibrations are usually specified in frequency and max. acceleration. However, the lower the frequency, the greater the deflection needed to achieve the required acceleration. Therefore, below the "crossover frequency", as it is known, only a specified deflection is tested and defined, rather than an acceleration. On heavy, slowly rotating machinery, primarily frequencies from 10 to 55 Hz are found.
For operation in a rocket, the instrument will be subject to vibration in the frequency range from 10 to 2000 Hz. Therefore, Official are usually conducted in these ranges successively for each of the three spatial axes. The accelerations are specified as a multiple of the acceleration due to gravity [g = 9.81 m/s²] and lie between 2 g for operation on the rotating machinery and up to 20 g with a rocket launch.
One can now define vibration resistance as follows: "Vibration resistance specifies up to which acceleration or amplitude in a defined frequency range no malfunction or damage will occur." A pressure transmitter is thus vibration resistant if it withstands, undamaged, the vibration that it is exposed to in its "working life".
Please find further Information in the blog article "Vibration and shock loading on pressure transmitters".


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Heidelberg Researchers Create Three-dimensional Model of Bacterium
15 August 2013
Certain bacteria can build such complex membrane structures that, in terms of complexity and dynamics, look like eukaryotes, i.e., organisms with a distinct membrane-bound nucleus. Scientists from Heidelberg University and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) made this discovery employing new methods in electron microscopy. The research team succeeded in building a three-dimensional model of the Gemmata obscuriglobus bacterium, including the structure of its membrane system. Their studies proved, however, that the G. obscuriglobus does not have a "true" nucleus. Despite this outlier characteristic, it remains classified as a bacterium and thus a so-called prokaryote. The results of their research were published in "PloS Biology".
"Since the beginning of microscopy, cells of living organisms have been classified into one of two categories," explains Dr. Damien Devos, a researcher at the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) at Heidelberg University. Eukaryotes "pack" their genetic material, their DNA, in an area enclosed in a membrane, the nucleus. Prokaryotes, however, which also include bacteria, do not have that type of cell nucleus. Several years ago, analyses using new techniques of two-dimensional imaging had suggested that the genetic material of G. obscuriglobus was surrounded by a double membrane – this and other unique characteristics of membrane structure called into question the differentiation between prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
"The possibility that a bacterium could have a structure similar to a cell nucleus threatened to unhinge one of the central assumptions of biology on which countless other analyses and interpretations were based," explains Damien Devos. To study the unique features of the membrane structure in the G. obscuriglobus more closely, the Heidelberg researchers divided the bacterium into thin slices and examined them using an electron microscope. The slices were used to detect the membranes, track their course throughout the entire bacterium and reconstruct their organisation on the computer. This created a virtual model of G. obscuriglobus, which enabled the researchers to visualise the membrane organisation in three-dimensional space and analyse how the membranes were structured within the cell.
The studies demonstrated that the membranes within the G. obscuriglobus are only one part of the interior membrane that is present in all bacteria and that surrounds the cytoplasm. "G. obscuriglobus also evidenced additional characteristics that are found in other bacteria," explains Damien Devos. According to the researcher, these results disprove the assumption of the existence of a bacterial cell nucleus. "The cell structure and the membranes of the Gemmata obscuriglobus are simply more complex than in 'classic' bacteria. Therefore, G. obscuriglobus does not constitute a new, separate group of organisms, and it cannot be classified a eukaryote," says Dr. Devos, who collaborated with Rachel Santarella-Mellwig of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.
Original publication
Santarella-Mellwig R, Pruggnaller S, Roos N, Mattaj IW, Devos DP (2013) Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Bacteria with a Complex Endomembrane System. PLoS Biol 11(5): e1001565. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001565


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Rajendra Pachauri, who heads the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), on Friday said the chances of the U.N. panel having made more errors in its benchmark 2007 report were "minimal if not non-existent", while again admitting the "regrettable error" that has raised questions about its credibility. . .
The IPCC chief asserted that the possibility of there being more errors in its 2007 report "is minimal if not non-existent." The IPCC has laid out well documented procedures on the use of literature both peer-reviewed and grey by way of which the scientists develop the reports, he said."The responsibility of assessing the quality of this literature and ensuring its availability for future use lies with the authors within the larger process. After the finalisation of the chapters by authors, there is a well-defined review process that is undertaken," he said.


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South African students demand zero percent fee increase #Feesmustfall 2016
On 14 October 2015, student protests began at the University of Witwatersrand in response to an announcement by the university board that there would be a 10.5% increase in tuition fees. On 15 October, students barricaded the gates of the university. Over the next two days, both student and staff members held a sit in, causing the eventual lock down of the university as the blockades obstructed lectures and activities. On 17 October, the University of Witwatersrand agreed to suspend and renegotiate the fee increases.