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Fortunately, there was no line at all at immigration tonight, and I was through in just a few minutes. I had pre-arranged a driver with my hotel (always a great idea in Delhi given the general chaos that is the arrivals area) and soon we were on the way to the car. Hit the 1000 degrees and 1000 percent humidity outside and wilted as usual, as we fought our way through the crowds to the parked car:
Took about 15-20 minutes to get to the hotel, and went with my usual choice the ITC Maurya. I've stayed here probably a dozen times, and it's always a wonderful experience. Unfortunately, upon entering the lobby the entire thing was under construction. This in itself wouldn't be a problem, but the new check-in area was apparently two tables by the elevators where a couple of agents were struggling with a queue of over twenty people.
I asked the bellman nicely if they could do priority checkin for Platinum members, and was met with a negative, as they tended to more than a dozen members of an Air France crew all checking out and having to settle the cash advances the hotel had given them. I get why airline contracts are helpful to hotels, but given their significantly discounted rates, and knowing there was construction, you would think there was something they could have done for a platinum guest so I didn't have to wait over 20 minutes to check in. Very bad first impression.
Once I was checked in, it was a huge rush, here's your key, ok thanks bye, someone will show you to your room. Ugh. Got to the room, and it was super hot and stuffy. Turned on the air conditioning, and even after running for five minutes it sounded like a jet engine. While waiting to see if it would cool/quiet down, I decided to at least get a shower.
Apparently, this shower was made for much smaller people….
The maintenance condition of this room was appalling.
Called to the front desk to ask for a new room, and they told me "wait a bit longer, it takes time." Um, it sounds like a jet engine no matter how cold it gets. I want a new room." "We will see what we can do." Decided not to wait, went to the front "desk," to the front of the line and asked for the manager. Shockingly, there was no manager available, but a lady directing traffic in the lobby (not sure her actual job, seemed like a concierge or something) took note of the problem, asked me to have a seat while she sorted it.
In fairness, 10 minutes later I had a room that was much better, but combined with the long checkin and changing rooms I'd lost an hour of sleep. Not a huge deal, but considering I was already going to get around six hours best case, I was pretty upset to have lost an hour.
I feel bad leaving such a negative review of this property, because on all previous stays it really was rather lovely and I enjoyed the stay overall. However, this time, they really dropped the ball.
Anyways, I slept reasonably well, and the next morning, of course, my pre-arranged transfer to the airport wasn't ready and it took nearly 30 minutes even after I confirmed it the night before AND with a call right when I woke up. Overall, a super disappointing experience.
Got to the airport, nobody in line at the Uzbekistan Airways checkin area, and the agents seemed genuinely annoyed that I cared what seat they put me in. They were even more annoyed when I cared what seat I was on on my connecting flight. Oh well, given both flights were full I was very glad I persisted and got the seats I wanted, since there seemed to be no way to assign them in advance, despite numerous calls and emails to all their global offices.
Since I was cutting it close, I opted to skip the lounge today (nothing to write home about in Delhi) and grab some Starbucks to wake me up. Best part of Delhi Airport is the Starbucks in the gate area…complete with heavily armed guard. Hands off my coffee!
Sitting in the gate area, just 20 minutes prior to departure, there were only like 15 people in the entire gate area. Worried I had missed the flight, I asked the gate agent, and she informed me there were only 22 people from Delhi, but the plane would be full from Amritsar. Wow.
Boarding was 10 minutes prior to scheduled departure, but no problem when there's only 22 people to board!
Uzbekistan Airways flight 422
Delhi, India (DEL) to Amritsar, India (ATQ)
Depart 8:50, Arrive 10:00, Flight Time: 1:10
Boeing 767-300, Registration UK67006, Manufactured 2013, Seat 1C
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 95,942
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,472,919
First row centre bulkhead. Flight attendant saw me take this pic, and very sternly wagged her finger at me. Apparently, Uzbekistan Airways still has an incredibly strict no photos policy. How very….quaint.
Didn't stop me from snapping a few ones on the down low. Plane was in a 2-1-2 config.
As soon as we were 10 minutes in the air, "snack" and water or juice was offered. Normally I would have steered way clear of the cheese sandwich, but couldn't really resist it with ketchup?!
About 30 minutes prior to landing, the pilot asked the flight attendants to be seated, because we were like to encounter some turbulence. What followed was without a doubt the worst turbulence I've ever experienced in flight – especially in a widebody – we were thrown from side to side, several sharp drops in altitude, audible screams from the few people on board, and I was honestly making headlines in my head "22 whole passengers killed on 767 jumbo jet in monsoon."
But, just like that, we were maybe 2-3 minutes from landing, and it was all smooth again. Literally terrifying. As soon as we landed, it was a bit more clear. There was a torrential downpour in Amritsar, and the monsoon was clearly in full effect.
Boarding was via stairs, and I have to admit, it was kind of entertaining watching 200+ completely soaked people stagger aboard. Well over 90% of the passengers were Sikhs, and I've heard Uzbekistan Airways does quite a business connecting this flight to their flight to Manchester. If today's load was any indicator, they do quite well. Seemed to be a lot of families with small children who had gone home to visit relatives, now returning after the end of summer break.
Even with the monsoon and full plane, we were boarded on time, and ready to go. I admit I was terrified how bad the turbulence would be on climb out.
Uzbekistan Airways flight 422
Amritsar, India (ATQ) to Tashkent, Uzbekistan (TAS)
Depart 10:55, Arrive 13:00, Flight Time: 2:35
Boeing 767-300, Registration UK67006, Manufactured 2013, Seat 1C
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 96,669
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,473,646
Fortunately, the turbulence, while still pretty heavy, was nowhere near as bad, and well within "ugh" limits, and we were clear of it less than 10 minutes after takeoff. That means it's time to eat!
Dish of peanuts, "meat", some veg, bread (on a plate), and some sort of potato or cabbage salad in heavy mayo. Wasn't really the best meal, but I wasn't all that hungry anyways, so picked at the parts that were interesting and that was plenty. It was a relatively short flight, so not a huge deal. Kudos to them for at least offering a hot meal on such a short flight.
After deplaning, there was an agent yelling "connections" and then repeating in Russian. She asked me (in Russian) connection? Yes? Where to? I asked her why she asked in Russian and not English, and she said "because you don't look Indian." Hah, I guess that's something?
Apparently, I was the only person connecting in business class today, which seemed kind of odd. I'm not sure where all the Sikhs were going in that case, unless the plane continued straight on to Birmingham and they just went through security and then right back on. Which is entirely possible.
That meant, even with security and the time before boarding the next flight, I would have over five hours to kill in the Uzbekistan Airways lounge. At this point, my cell phone still hadn't gotten data service, and I was worried it was going to be a very, very long five hours. This was confirmed when I found out that the wifi in the lounge was down.
There were a few power outlets around the lounge so that was good at least, and it was rather spacious and a reasonably cool temperature…especially since I found an AC unit near the wall to sit by.
Quite spacious:
Snacks. I wasn't thrilled at first, but the small meat-stuffed pastries were kind of addicting, especially after popping them in the microwave for a bit. Yes, there was a microwave in the lounge.
Chatted with the agents a little bit, who were the same ones who had been handling transit earlier. After chatting a bit, it was clear the other reason they spoke Russian with me – they were far more comfortable in it than they were in English. She tried English once to ask about my tattoos, but got flustered quite quickly and switched back to Russian – after which point we had several nice small chats over the next five hours.
The lounge remained empty the entire time, except this fashionista who came in about an hour before I left, wearing a dress from the 2017 Trump/Putin Prison Collection. She was also fond of the little meat pies.
With about an hour to go, I decided to ask what I might have to drink instead of Fanta. Oh, there's wine…white or red? Both were from the "Georgian Patio" winery, and had the high endorsement of "wine for restaurants." Hmmm, yup, tasted about as good as you'd expect. I had a second glass to make sure, however. Science.
Boarding was pretty much on time, and our plane was at a remote stand. The minute I took my phone out of my pocket to try and get a picture of it, I was met with a chorus of NYET! from the several armed police "guarding" the plane. Ugh, ok. I have to say the 787 looked supremely sexy in the green, yellow, and blue of Uzbekistan Airways at sunset, however. You'll have to take my word for it.
Uzbekistan Airways flight 601
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (TAS) to Moscow, Domodedevo, Russia (DME)
Depart 19:00, Arrive 21:15, Flight Time: 4:15
Boeing 787-8, Registration UK78701, Manufactured 2016, Seat 1C
Miles Flown Year-to-Date: 98,391
Lifetime Miles Flown: 2,475,368
I did, during pre departure beverages, manage to snap a shot of the seats on the 787. Not bad. Not sure I would want these all the way to New York from Tashkent, but they were pretty comfortable, and the nice divider in the middle prevented them from being footsie seats.
Sneak peak across the aisle:
…and the other side.
Laminated menus!
Wow, now that's what I call a meal. Just kidding…this is just the appetizers. Seriously! The red wine on board was marginally better. We had multiple kinds of bread on a plate. Upgrade from peanuts to cashews this flight. A nice little cucumber/tomato/cheese salad. Cheese plate. Meat plate. Fish plate. Whew.
I went with the beet stroganoff for a main, which was pretty tasty….I mean, it wasn't gourmet cuisine, but overall I liked the regional flair to the meal, and nobody is going to go hungry on this flight. I fear how much they must serve all the way to New York!
I was pretty full, but kept the plates that could reasonably be considered desert to munch on with a bit more wine while I watched some movies:
Overall, I have to say Uzbekistan Airways exceeded my expectations. I had set them really low, but they exceeded them by leaps and bounds. I mean, the next cheapest option was $700 more…AND a redeye, but it was nonstop and avoided the six hours in Tashkent.
I chose Uzbekistan to save money, to save sleep, and for the novelty factor, and they definitely hit a home run with these flights. They have a way to go to be a serious international competitor, but for the price they were a fantastic option and I definitely wouldn't hesitate to fly them again.
Now, it's time to take a break for a few days from flying, and take some trains!


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Category: Persian, Islam
Islamic Culture and the Medical Arts Preface On the 30th of November 1094 AD (or to be more precise, the 19th of the month Dhu al-Qa`dah in the year 487 of the Muslim era), a scribe in Baghdad completed a copy of an Arabic treatise by one of the most important medieval physicians and clinicians -- Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya' al-Razi, who worked in Baghdad in the previous century and was later known to Europe as Rhazes. This manuscript is the oldest volume in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the third oldest Arabic manuscript on any medical topic known to be preserved today.
Interest in the Middle East and the Islamic world is at an all time high, generating a corresponding increase in demand for specialized teaching, learning and transmitting critical knowledge and perspectives on this part of the world. Understanding this region involves learning about the social, political, religious and cultural issues – past and present – that shape the Islamic world of today. Studying Middle Eastern cultures and peoples across all time periods provides a crucial framework for understanding the complex relationship between Islam and the West today.

subset: commoncrawl


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At BAC, our trained and skilled engineers can help find you perfect solutions that meet all your cooling needs for your specific market.
Meeting all needs |
For all markets |
Energy savingEffective heat transfer and reduced air through-flow help our evaporative cooling equipment offer unbeatable energy saving, optimizing the process with lower cooling temperatures. What's more, the increased process efficiency this achieves also helps this equipment reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to curb global warming. |
Air conditioningOur cooling towers cool condenser water for packaged chillers. Large-scale air conditioning systems use evaporative condensers and offer performance superior to water- or air-cooled packaged chillers in multiple aspects. BAC ice thermal storage systems are used in air conditioning applications which optimally exploit the electrical demand shifting and low temperature cooling water. |
Water savingAlthough evaporative cooling equipment saves energy, water is still needed for peak performance. BAC, considering the high cost in some countries of this key resource, has pioneered the development of water saving technology for this equipment. BAC offers an extensive product range boasting peak water saving, by recirculating water in the cooling equipment, or using intelligent dry/wet hybrid cooling technology. A unit protected with the Baltibond hybrid coating saves up to 33% water and chemicals. |
Industrial manufacturingCooling may needed either directly in the manufacturing of a product, or indirectly in support of the manufacturing operations. BAC |
Plume controlAt BAC, our plume control expertise has been exploited to create products and accessories that completely eliminate or significantly reduces plume. BAC has also developed special plume visualization software, for an insight into the shape, height and distance of the plume of your cooling equipment. This helps you to choose the best and most effective plume abatement solution for your installation. |
Refrigeration systemsCurrent concerns about phasing out CFC-based refrigerants have boosted the use of ammonia and hybrid refrigerant systems for versatile applications. BAC evaporative condensers are used in refrigeration systems at breweries, food processing plants, cold storage warehouses, and other places where evaporative condensing is required. |
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District coolingDistrict cooling is an environmentally-friendly cooling solution using local and natural resources to cool at a chosen place and time. Chilled water is distributed via piping to customer buildings. BAC provides several district cooling solutions, including ice thermal storage. This produces ice during off peak periods for subsequent cooling. |
Hygiene control and water careBAC evaporative cooling equipment incorporates several features that boost your cooling unit hygiene: e.g. sloping sump, combined inlet shields, Eurovent certified drift eliminators and cleanable fill. Water treatment equipment that fits any BAC products perfectly, matches any supplies for chemical water treatment, and keeps your system safe and functionally perfectly for year-round reliable operation. |
Data center coolingBAC has a full range of reliable, energy efficient and sustainable products, options and accessories available that perfectly meet your data center cooling demand. We have specialized software and engineers in house to offer you the most sustainable and efficient cooling solution with the lowest Power Usage effectiveness (PUE) achievable. |
You want BAC to solve one of your cooling problems? Contact your local BAC representative to discuss our solutions for your specific need.


text: We have a wide variety of carnival fun foods including sweet treats like cotton candy, fried dough, sno cones, and more. In addition to our sweet sensations, we also serve popcorn and fresh squeezed lemonade. All food served by our Serve-Safe trained staff. Please browse through our catalog below for more information.


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As you know, preparation is the key to doing well on a job interview and hirers tend to ask the same kinds of questions. This job interview one-sheeter is like a CliffsNotes for getting your strategic answers together.
Shared by Jenny Blake of LifeAfterCollege, the Google Docs template covers seven key questions or topic areas for you to bullet-point your examples, including how you're suited for the position, what your weaknesses are, what excites you, challenges you've overcome, and goals you have in the future. There's an area for questions you have for the company (such as issues or challenges about the job) and other notes (perhaps personal sound bites would be good here).
Just filling out the sheet can help you prepare, but you can also bring it to your interview and quickly glance at it while waiting (nice to have on you just in case).
Job Interview One-Sheeter | Google Docs via Wise Bread
Prepare to Ace Your Job Interview with Interview One-Sheeter
via google.com


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Navigation |
Ultimate 3DUltimate 3D is a free 3D engine, which can be used through the game creation software Game Maker. The basic idea is to offer a possibility to make advanced 3D graphics without much effort and knowledge. Ultimate 3D offers a wide range of features, which can lead to impressive effects, but are easy to use anyway. It's vastly superior to the built-in 3D functionality of Game Maker. Since July 2008 Ultimate 3D for Game Maker is discontinued. The version available here is still based upon Direct3D 8.1. Anyway here is a list of the key-features of Ultimate 3D:
If you are looking for my more recent work, please take a look at my blog Moments in Graphics. |


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2 Day Training
Backyard & Small Urban Farming- Workshop duration – Saturday and Sunday – 9.30am to 5.00pm Course Workshop Manual and a Certificate of Participation Tea & Coffee refreshments, snacks and light lunch READ MORE . . .
1/2 Day Training
Aquaponics 101- Workshop Duration – 4 hours Course Workshop Outline Light refreshments
1 Day Training
Hybrid Aquaponics Training Made Easy- Workshop duration – 9.30am to 4.30pm Course Workshop Manual and other helpful information sheet Tea and Coffee refreshments, snacks and a light lunch
Monthly Farm Tours
Monthly Farm Tours are held the first Saturday of every month starting at 10:00am and last for about one and half hours.
- There is a nominal fee of $20.00 per person for the farm tour to cover the basic expenses.
- Limited visitors of 12 per tour
Visiting Orlando? Need on Demand Training?
Pardeep Vedi aka Sahib
Aquaponic Consultation Speaker
Sahib offers his knowledge to your group or event for Aquaponics as a keynote speaker. He is also available for Aquaponics consultation services
Learn Aquaponics
Learn how to start growing your own aquaponic system and your own variety of organic produce. Attend informative learning sessions on the basics of aquaponics and how you can grow organic produce.
Buy Produce
Purchase or buy farm fresh produce. Learn what is available. Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines a traditional aquaculture (raising aquatic animals such as fish, koi or tilapia in tanks) with hydroponics (cultivating plants in water) in a symbiotic environment.
Grow With Our Blog
How we make our Soils for use in Aquaponics
How we make our Soils for use in Aquaponics – Sahib Aquaponics Urban Research Farm Following my initial article on Nov 19, 2012 and the follow up on Dec 10, 2012 re using soil in Aquaponics, I have received numerous requests for sharing how we make our own soil. We...
2-Day Backyard & Small Urban Farming Workshop
WHEN: Saturday & Sunday December 12 - 13, from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. WHERE: Sahib Aquaponics in Winter Park Commerce Center, 3586 Aloma Ave Winter Park, FL 32792 (map) Description: 2 Day Training - $395 Workshop - Course Workshop Manual and a Certificate of...
What's eating my plant roots?
Sahib Aquaponics – What's Eating My Plant Roots? As we entered summer here in Central Florida, I started to notice stunned growth in the Deep Water Culture (DWC), rafts of a number of the leafy greens that normally grow well in the heat. The Mint was growing leaps and...
October Farm Tour
It was a pleasant October morning during this farm tour. The hot days of summer are behind us with nicer days a head. Sahib had out of town visitors to the farm this morning. In this gallery you may see all the fall plants that will continue to grow well in fall...
How do you grow your seedlings?
How do you grow your seedlings? Occasionally, here at Sahib Aquaponics, we outsource the growing of our seedlings to our friends at a local hydroponic shop called Urban Sunshine Organic & Hydroponic Gardening. We do this because they have an indoor facility. It is...
Natural Health Professionals Farm Tour Aug 3
Thank you Sahib for your invitation to a private farm tour for the local Natural Health Professionals. [gallery...
Sahib Aquaponics Free Farm Tour Feb 2012
Sahib Aquaponics Farm Tour Feb 2012 The February Free Farm Tour was the first opportunity for Central Florida members of IDEAS For Us to come and discover the wonderful world of Aquaponics. We certainly had a full house. We had over 60 visitors, 50 of them via IDEAS...
Susanne & Tim of Friendly Aquaponics
We were humbled that Susan Friend and Tim Mann of Friendly Aquaponics accepted our humble request to visit our home in Central Florida and Sahib's Aquaponics Research Farm and share some quality time with each other. What a wonderful time we all had with each others...
2011 Florida Aquaponics Spring Tour- Sahib's Aquaponic Garden-Display
Still WIP...Phase II. Will probably be included in next tour Thank you everyone for taking part in the 2011 Florida Aquaponics Spring Tour.
Aquaponics Conference tour @ Sahib's Aquaponics Research Farm
There were 4 tours scheduled for Friday Sept. 16th. 2011, one at 9.00am, one at 10.30am, one at 1.00 and last at 2.30pm. We actually ended up giving 7 tours as a number of Aquapon visitors arrived either much earlier than scheduled or after the tour was almost...
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Small Space Aquaponics Feeds the Community
In a corner of a typical urban shopping centre tucked away in Florida sits what looks like a tiny service lane way. Except behind the timber gates is an entry into another world. Its been transformed into something else. A maze of pvc pipes run by a small pump and...
Recirculating Farms- Helping to Provide Food for the Homeless and Hungry
Recirculating farms are a socially responsible farming method and business: they support the use of renewable energy, recycle water and waste, and provide local food, (and can do it without chemical pesticides). They also can create green jobs. This highlights how...
Recirculating Farms Coalition: Fish Farms Meet Agroecology
Dave Love From: October 3, 2011 Project Director, Public Health & Sustainable Aquaculture Project Center for a Livable Future The United States needs better food systems, and it needs more jobs. Aquaponics, a relatively new type of urban food production model, can...


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(JTA) — Rebecca Scoggin lived in a lot of places growing up: Juneau, Nome, Fairbanks, Homer, Anchorage. But except for the two years she lived in Seattle after high school, she never lived outside Alaska.
At least she hadn't until a few months ago. Inspired by a Birthright trip she took at age 19, Scoggin decided to pick up and move to Tel Aviv.
"It was kind of a random decision. There was no real reason for it," Scoggin, 23, told JTA in a recent phone interview from Anchorage, where she was back visiting family. "I fell in love with Tel Aviv and sun. It's become more home to me than any other place."
Scoggin is not your typical immigrant to Israel, and not just because she hails from the 49th state. Scoggin has no family in the Holy Land, hasn't had much Judaism in her life and has a Christian father. But something drew her to Israel.
"I'm not religious, I grew up celebrating Christmas my whole life, but I do feel that connection to my land," she said. "I don't know if it's my Jewishness or if I just like the heat."
Scoggin is one of several Jews from Alaska immigrating to Israel this year. Among the others making aliyah are a 51-year-old CT scan-MRI technician who wants to get away from the ice; a 51-year-old expert on refugee resettlement who is relocating with her son and Scottish husband; and a 58-year-old former corrections officer and deputy sheriff from Anchorage.
"It's not every day that we are privileged to take care of new olim from Alaska," said Erez Halfon, vice chairman of Nefesh B'Nefesh, the organization used by the Israeli government to handle the logistics of U.S. immigration to Israel. "It's astounding and inspiring to me that Jews living in a kind of paradise, with a comfortable and luxurious life, are deciding to leave home, work, community and friends to move to the other side of the world — especially these days when Israel is under fire."
The technician, Donn Ungar, whose aliyah flight left from New York on Monday, says he's not nervous about going to Israel despite the rocket fire from Gaza.
"It's crazy over there now, but it doesn't change my decision at all," Ungar said. "It's not a reason not to go there. I know they have wars. I'm going to be a part of Israel and a part of the community. You can't pick and choose."
Karen Ferguson, director of the refugee program at Catholic Social Services in Anchorage, where she works with refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Bhutan and Burma, has a similar take. She will be moving to Haifa in August with her 13-year-old son, to be followed in December by her husband, Stewart.
"I don't think you can pick a time and hope that will be a time of peaceful tranquility in Israel and say that's when you're going to move," Ferguson said. "This is the reality of Israel. We're going there to immigrate and be part of the country. You have to take the country for all it is — the good and the bad."
Ferguson's move will be the latest stop in a lifetime marked, she says, by "a desire for change and adventure."
After meeting her Scottish, non-Jewish husband in Ohio and marrying in Nova Scotia, Canada, the couple soon moved to the Pacific island nation of Samoa, where their daughter was born. When they moved to Anchorage 17 years ago, they planned to stay just a year or two.
But with good jobs, young kids and a fondness for catching their own wild salmon, they decided to stay put for a while.
Every year the family catches up to 55 pounds of salmon (their legal limit) using dipnet fishing: Stewart affixes a large, circular net to the end of a long pole, then dips it into the ocean where the salmon swim into an inlet. Karen chops off the heads, guts the fish and takes the meat to a facility that turns it into lox and smoked salmon and filets. The family hasn't had to buy salmon in 15 years, Ferguson says.
But now they're ready to say "So long, and thanks for all the fish." With their daughter off to college and their son about to start high school, they're set for a new phase in their lives.
"We're in this window of opportunity now," Ferguson said. "We could continue doing what we're doing or try and do something different. My husband and I decided we really wanted to take on new horizons."
So why Israel?
"I haven't quite figured out how to articulate it. It's a place I would love to have lived in and been a part of," said Ferguson, who has raised her children as Jews, though her husband has not converted.
"There's just something about Israel that is both dynamic and magnetic. The intellectual and historical experiences when I'm there are very challenging. And for me, I grew up never being around very many Jews. We were a very secular Jewish family. I went to an Episcopalian boarding school. I work for Catholic Social Services. There's something really appealing for once about being among my own and having the holidays be the Jewish holidays."
Unlike many immigrants, Ferguson says she's not necessarily thinking about Israel as a final destination. She will be starting a master's program in peace and conflict management at Haifa University; her husband will telecommute to his job doing telemedicine for small, rural communities around Alaska.
"We're going to Israel looking for a connection and a place to be our next home," she said. "You really can't predict well whether a place you stay for a while will become your home. Things unfold for you."
That was how Ungar ended up spending 17 years in Alaska. He decided to move there after falling in love with it while on vacation from Florida, found work quickly and made good friends. But after a brutally cold winter three years ago that never seemed to end, Ungar, who is single, began thinking about an early retirement destination. He wanted someplace simple and inexpensive.
But Israel, where his family unsuccessfully tried living for a few months in 1971 and where Ungar now has a brother and other relatives, kept popping into his head. Ungar went there on a three-week vacation in February and was smitten.
"The energy just felt amazing," he said. "That's what brought me to Alaska in the first place — the feeling that this is where I should be at that point in my life. Now I was feeling that for Israel. I've learned to listen to that little voice in my head."
So he contacted aliyah authorities, packed up and got rid of his most prized Alaska possession: a fur bomber jacket. It was the warmest thing he ever owned.
"People say to me, 'Why are you going?' " he said. "I say, 'I have no idea. It's just where I'm supposed to be.' "


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2017 Awards
by Matthew Murray - March 2, 2017
CyberPowerPC GAMER MASTER ULTRA
Outstanding performance, particularly on multithreaded workloads. Elegant case design.
BOTTOM LINE: Loaded with AMD's new flagship Ryzen 7 1800X CPU, the CyberPower Gamer Master Ultra is a compelling fusion of gaming and processing performance at a delectable price.
CyberPowerPC GAMER MASTER ULTRA
by Dave Altavilla, Marco Chiappetta - Tuesday, January 10, 2017
CyberPowerPC Goes All Out
Finally, we get to a system for the true hardcore gamer and, dare we say,"baller" - yeah that sounds appropriate. What do you get when you combine a killer gaming rig with fresh copper piping and a roll cage? This burly beast...
by Tom's Guide Staff Jan 7, 2017, 9:00 AM
Tom's Guide CES 2017 Awards: Best New Tech
Best Gaming PC: CyberPower Luxe
CyberPower manages to out-crazy itself every CES, making its new Luxe PC an easy pick for our favorite gaming desktop of the show. The CyberPower Luxe looks like it rolled out of a monster truck show in the best way possible, with a stunning, cage-like chassis that you can easily lift open to access the rainbow of backlit components waiting inside. With support for multiple graphics cards, the highest-end processors and a variety of custom cooling options, the Luxe is just as much a geeky work of art as it is a beastly gaming desktop.
MORE: CyberPower Luxe Hands-On
by The Editors of Tom's Hardware January 7, 2017 at 1:15 PM
Tom's Hardware's CES 2017 Best In Show
Most Improved CyberPowerPC Prostreamer II
Last year, we selected CyberPowerPC's Prostreamer dual-system gaming and streaming desktop as the Most Innovative Gaming System in our top CES picks. This year, we're inclined to endow the Prostreamer II with the title of Most Improved Gaming Desktop of CES 2017 for its impressive evolution.
by Derek Forrest January 4, 2017 at 6:00 AM
CyberPowerPC Syber M Xtreme 400 Review
The CyberPowerPC Syber M Xtreme 400 is a compelling option for anyone looking to tango with an X99 platform. The custom-designed chassis stands out against similarly priced competition, and the factory-overclocked graphics card and speedy memory further justifies its overall value. Although we weren't thrilled with the conservative overclock and uninspiring SSD performance, the Syber M Xtreme 400 contends with Z170 platforms with higher-clocked CPUs while offering more PCIe lanes and processing cores than the i7-6700K-equipped systems. The Syber M Xtreme 400 earns CyberPowerPC a Tom's Approved award for its unique design, competitive performance, and reasonable price.
CyberPowerPC Syber M Xtreme 400
by PCWizKid's Tech Talk
CyberPowerPC Syber M Elite 300 Gaming PC Review
The Syber M Elite 300 proves onces again how experienced CyberPowerPC is when it comes to putting a gaming system together that looks and performs with high standards in mind. The clean interior and choice of components make this gaming rig not just a beautiful sightto see and a pleasure to play your favorite latest gaming titles at highest possible graphics settings. Backed by exceptional performance from the Intel Core i7 6700K running at set at 4.4Ghz out of the box and paired up with the EVGA GTX 1070 there was no doubt at the end of all the bencharks that the Syber M Elite 300 has absolutely delivered everything it set out to achieve for PC Gamers. Interesting to note also, that with the drop in price of DDR4 memory, this exact system comes now with 16GB of DDR4 memory instead of the 8GB that we had. This means even greater performance can be obtained. Defenitely a recommended system to buy for less than $1500 USD and PCWizKid's Tech Talk awarded it with "Editor's Choice" over other system builders out there.


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The U.S. is supplying billions of dollars' worth of weapons to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion. Ukraine still says it's outgunned, and Kyiv continues to plead for more. The U.S. is now planning to send long-range rockets, but it will take weeks before they can be used on the battlefield. We're joined this morning by NPR's Tom Bowman, who covers the Pentagon, and Greg Myre, who's reporting from the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv. Good morning to you both.
TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Good morning.
GREG MYRE, BYLINE: Hello, Rachel.
MARTIN: I'm going to start with you, Greg. Are the Ukrainians still at a military disadvantage here?
MYRE: Yes, they absolutely are. The Russians just have much more firepower in the eastern city of Sievierodonetsk, which has really been the focal point of the battle the past few weeks. The Russians have around 90% of the city, and they've just been taking it using very traditional and brutal tactics - nonstop, long-range artillery fire, just pulverizing the city. The Ukrainians have been putting up a good fight, but they say it's very difficult because they're taking this incoming Russian artillery around the clock and just can't match that firepower. I spoke about this with Ukraine's military spokesman, Oleksandr Motuzianyk.
OLEKSANDR MOTUZIANYK: (Speaking Ukrainian).
MYRE: So he's saying the Russians have many more men and firepower, particularly in the hot spots. First and foremost, we need long-range artillery, he says. Give us weapons. The rest will be done by our soldiers.
MARTIN: I mean, it sounds like at least some of that's coming, right, Tom? I mean, we noted the Pentagon is ready to send these long-range rocket systems?
BOWMAN: Yeah, that's right. Well, these long-range artillery systems - four of them will be coming, but not for probably a month or so. That's because training the Ukrainian soldiers on this more sophisticated system comes first. Now, Rachel, these rocket systems have pods that can shoot the rocket anywhere from 40 to 50 miles. And that allows Ukrainians to fire from a safe distance and go after Russian artillery and also rear areas, maybe hitting command-and-control locations, weapons and fuel depots. These rockets are very precise, satellite-guided and can travel more than twice as far as the hundred or so Howitzers the Ukrainians receive from the U.S. Now, the British are also training Ukrainians on long-range rocket systems. They'll provide three of them. And they're desperately needed, as we've heard, to push back the Russian advance. So you could see these rockets start to make a difference sometime this summer.
MARTIN: So, Greg, I remember talk about how Poland was well-positioned to give fighter jets to Ukraine because they were the Soviet-made jets that Ukrainian pilots already knew how to operate. Can Ukrainians actually use these weapons? I mean, we heard Tom nod to the fact that they do need training. I mean, how much?
MYRE: Yeah, well, the Ukrainians are very tech-savvy, and they've adapted very, very quickly to a number of new weapons systems. Tom just mentioned these Howitzers. They do require a lot of maintenance. With constant use, they can overheat. They need special oil to stay lubricated. And so some of this information and equipment may not be making it to the front lines in every case. Also, we are hearing some reports that some of the instructions for weapons are coming only in English, not in Ukrainian. Soldiers have to use Google Translate or even watch YouTube videos to understand exactly how to use and maintain them. We've heard problems with night-vision goggles. Ukrainians were using ordinary batteries when they need lithium batteries. So they're doing very well, but it's just very challenging to get all this information to all the front-line troops.
MARTIN: I mean, Tom, is the Pentagon taking all that into account when it thinks about training?
BOWMAN: Yeah, they are. You know, and the Pentagon is doing that by also speeding up the training in Germany in some of these systems like the rocket artillery I mentioned. It usually takes a number of months. So they've whittled down that to three or four weeks, selecting Ukrainians already familiar with artillery, for example. Same with the Howitzers - not only training them how to shoot but, again, maintaining them. So far, they've trained hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers on the Howitzers. And more, of course, will be needed. The challenge here, Rachel, unlike in places like Iraq or Afghanistan - you had U.S. - where you had U.S.-trained - they trained local forces, but they had U.S. trainers or contractors on the ground. You don't have that here. But again, there's an urgency to move as quickly as possible because Russian forces are making some headway in the east. Ukraine's losing a lot of soldiers every day.
MARTIN: Tom, the war's just over a hundred days old. I mean, are there conversations within the Pentagon about how this ends?
BOWMAN: You know, there are discussions privately. And the discussion now is mostly in articles and opinion pieces, some saying Ukraine must be willing to give up some of its territory in a settlement. And I asked Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about that recently and how it all ends. This is what he said.
LLOYD AUSTIN: I think this is Ukraine's fight. It's not the United States' fight. We are doing everything that we can to make sure that we are supporting them in their effort to defend their sovereign territory. The rest of the international community is doing the same.
BOWMAN: But listen; as this fight goes on for weeks and likely many more months, I think you may see pressure building for Ukraine to accept something short of what they hope for, which is at least preinvasion borders.
MARTIN: And, Greg, I'll give you the last word. What do Ukrainian officials say about the endgame?
MYRE: Well, Ukrainians really aren't ready to talk compromise right now. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he believes the war will end diplomatically, but he says an agreement will only come after there's been decisive fighting on the battlefield. He also says a deal will have to be approved by a referendum in Ukraine.
MARTIN: NPR's Greg Myre reporting from Kyiv and NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman. Thanks to you both.
BOWMAN: You're welcome.
MYRE: My pleasure. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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Archive for September 14, 2010
New Homes for Old Stuffed Animals
I've written before about how difficult it is to find charities that will accept used stuffed animals. I was delighted two years ago to discover Freedom House (http://www.bflnyc.org/freedom.asp), an emergency children's shelter in lower Manhattan that picked up two bags of my daughter's outgrown stuffies and distributed them to children very much in need of comfort.
I recently learned of another charity, this one outside of New York. Project Smile (www.projectsmile.org) donates stuffed animals, coloring books/crayons, small toys, and children's books to police and fire departments, for police officers, fire fighters and paramedics to give to children involved in traumatic situations.


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With the WPBackItUp Backup Plugin you're protected against hackers, malware, host outages, and even your own mistakes. WPBackItUp creates a backup of every setting, post, comment, revision, plugin, theme, media file and upload with just a single click.
WPBackItUp generates a compressed backup of your entire website no matter how large a site you have. Your backup can be quickly and easily downloaded right from your WordPress dashboard.
The WPBackItUp backup plugin has been available to the WordPress community since 2012 and is used to back up more than 30,000 websites every day. It's one of the most widely tested, reliable, and highly rated backup plugins available! And with our long history, you can feel confident that we are going to be around for many years to come.
The Simplest Way to Safeguard Your WordPress Site!
Simply install WPBackItUp and within minutes you will have a complete backup of your entire site.
- No complex configuration to deal with
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Just a few clicks and you'll have a complete backup that safeguards all of your valuable content.
Here are just a few of our incredible features.
Community Edition Features (free)
- Easy to use, just one click and your backup is complete
- Easy to setup because there is no setup required
- Simple & easy to understand – not just for techies
- Fast backup of your entire site
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- Download your backup – no matter how large your site we have you covered
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- Customize what you want to backup
- Status notifications sent to you by email after every backup
- Works in low memory & shared hosting environments
- Works on all WordPress platforms (Linux, Windows and even Azure)
- Complete backup, includes database, plugins, themes, uploads, media files, everything
- Compressed backup (zip format) to save disk space
- Customized backup retention so you only keep the backups you want
- Tested and supported on WordPress 3.8 and above
- Professional support so if you need us we are available
Premium Features (paid)
- One click restore right from your WordPress dashboard
- Automated backup schedule allows your backup to run whenever you want
- Backup jobs run in background mode so you can keep working while your backup is running
- Import your backup right from your dashboard, no matter how large
- Single file backup makes moving your backups to another host easy
- Restore your backup to a different version of WordPress
- Migrate your site to different host, domain or table prefix
- Clone your site for development, staging or testing
- Priority support gets you right to the front of the line
- Save your backups to DropBox with WPBackItUp Safe
Don't Risk Losing Your Website
Does the thought of losing your website keep you up at night? All that time, effort and money you've invested could be gone in an instant.
WordPress is an incredible product but there are many things that can go wrong. You could get hacked, your hosting company could go out of business, you could install a bad plugin or theme, the list is endless, and without a good backup, you could lose everything.
If this isn't something that keeps you up at night, then it really should be. It was keeping us up at night so we decided to do something about it. In 2012 we created the WPBackItUp backup plugin and made it freely available to the WordPress community.
Since 2012 we have added many incredible features and have even created a premium version of our backup plugin, but our fundamental goal has remained the same. We want to make creating a WordPress backup as simple, effective and complete as possible. We don't want anything to prevent you from regularly creating a backup of your WordPress site.
We offer the Community Edition of our backup plugin for free so that you will BackItUp and sleep better at night.
Community Edition Support
We offer free support via the WordPress support forum but before posting a question please make sure you are running the current version of WPBackItUp. We frequently add features and fix issues so please make sure your version is up to date before posting an issue. We also ask that you review our online documentation and FAQ's which are available on the WPBackItUp Support Portal before posting your questions.
Restoring Your Site
Restoring your site can be very stressful and often times quite complex so we offer a few options to our Community Edition customers.
If you are a do it yourself kind of person then we provide detailed instructions on the WPBackItUp Support Portal. Here we walk you through the process to restore your database manually.
We also provide step by step instructions for manually restoring plugins, themes and media files.
But if you aren't someone that wants to do it yourself, then check out our Premium Backup Plugin. With WPBackItUp premium you will have access to our one-click restore which takes care of all the hard work for you.
Premium Plugin
WPBackItUp Premium provides a number of additional features not included in the Community Edition. You can purchase a No-Risk WPBackItUp Premium License anytime from the WPBackItUp site.
One Click Restore:
WPBackItUp premium allows you to restore your backup from the WordPress dashboard with just a single click.
Automated Backups:
WPBackItUp premium allows you to schedule your backup to run whenever you need them to.
Priority Support:
WPBackItUp is supported by a team of professional. If you are using WPBackItUp to safeguard your business website then priority support is available to our premium customers. Please see www.wpbackitup.com for details.
Automatically Restore/Clone/Duplicate/Migrate your Website:
Need to restore, clone, duplicate or migrate your website? We make that easy too!
The premium version of the WPBackItUp backup plugin allows you to restore your website from backup with a single click. All you do is select the backup you want to restore and click restore, right from your WordPress dashboard. It's that easy, and your site is back up and running in minutes.
More questions?
Please review our FAQ's or ask them in the support forum.
WPBackItUp has been translated into the following languages:
- Deutsch
- Español
- Français
- Italiano
- Tagalog
- Russian
- বাংলা (Bengali)
Want to help us translate into your language?
Installing WPBackItUp is easy and straightforward.
- Search for 'WPBackItUp' in the WordPress.org plugin directory and click install. Or, upload the files to your wp-content/wp-backitup/ folder.
- Activate the plugin.
- A new menu named 'WPBackItUp' will be added to the left side navigation of your WordPress dashboard.
- Click 'WPBackItUp' to access the backup interface.
You can find more detailed instructions in our online documentation
Is WPBackItUp really free?
Yes, we have provided WPBackItUp free to the WordPress community since 2012. We do this because we don't want there to be any reason you aren't backing up your WordPress site, it's that important.
The free version is made possible by our generous premium customers. Please use WPBackItUp free for as long as needed but if you are able, consider supporting our community by becoming a premium customer. See www.wpbackitup.com/premium for details.
Can I manually restore my WPBackItUp archive(zip)?
Sure! The backup archive generated by WPBackItUp contains everything you need to restore your WordPress site. We even created a guide to help you. Please see our online documentation for details.
Is there an easier way to restore my backup zips?
Yes, the premium version of WPBackItUp provides a one-click restore option. If you can click a button then you can restore your site. Please see www.wpbackitup.com for pricing info and our no-risk offer.
How long do backups take?
WPBackItUp is really fast. Unless your site is extremely large(many gigabytes) it should only take a few minutes for your backup to complete.
If your back up has been running for longer than 15 minutes then there may be an issue. Before contacting support please close your browser and try the backup again. If it continues happening, contact support.
Yes, WPBackItUp has been around since 2012 and has over 100,000 installs all over the world. WPBackItUp can be used safely and easily on most hosts.
Will WPBackItUp work on Windows hosting?
Yes. WPBackItUp works on both Windows and Linux hosts. WPBackItUp even works with WordPress sites hosted on Windows Azure.
Does this plugin backup to Amazon S3, Dropbox or google drive?
Not yet but this feature will be available in an upcoming version of WPBackItUp. We listen to requests so if this is an important feature to you then please let us know by submitting a feature request.
Is there a backup scheduling feature?
Yes, but this feature is only available with the premium version of WPBackItUp. Please see www.wpbackitup.com for pricing info and our no-risk offer.
Will WPBackItUp work with WordPress version x.x?
WPBackItUp works on the current release of WordPress and is updated to function with all new releases.
Can my backup be used to restore to a different version of WordPress?
This is a tough one. In many cases, a backup created by WPBackItUp can be used to restore to a different version of WordPress but this is not recommended. It is very important that you keep all your WordPress versions the same but if you find yourself in this situation. Please contact support before attempting this on your own.
Will WPBackItUp work on WordPress Multisite?
Yes, WPBackItUp supports multisite but at this time we can only backup and restore entire networks.
Does WPBackItUp backup the WordPress database?
Yes, it does. Your entire database will be exported into a set of SQL files and saved in the backup archive created by WPBackItUp. This file is used by WPBackItUp premium to restore your site and may be also be used for manual restores.
Please see www.wpbackitup.com for information about WPBackItUp premium or for manual-restore instructions -
Does the plugin backup the database details as well?
Yes, the database export contains everything related to the database.
Can I make a basic WordPress site, with all my desired plugins and settings, make a few pages, setup permalinks, remove all the default junk and then use it as a template for all my new WordPress sites?
Yes. WPBackItUp is used by many professional designers & developers just this way. Once you have your WordPress site setup the way you want, just BackItUp and use that backup archive as a starting point for all your new sites.
Does WPBackItUp need to be installed?
Yes, WPBackItUp is just like any other WordPress plugin. You must install it on any site that you wish to perform a backup or restore.
Does WPBackItUp backup plugin settings or just the plugins themselves?
WPBackItUp creates a backup of everything. This includes plugins, plugin settings, themes, theme settings, pages, posts, users, uploads, everything.
Do you have any idea when a WordPress site becomes too large for WPBackItUp to handle?
WPBackItUp supports very large sites. We have a number of customers with extremely large sites that use WPBackItUp regularly.
Do you do regularly update this product to match with WordPress version updates?
Yes. We continually improve WPBackItUp and test it with every new version of WordPress.
I am not running the most recent version of WPBackItUp. Should I upgrade?
Yes, please make sure you are always running the current version of WPBackItUp.
Further Support & Feedback
General support questions should be posted to the WordPress support forums. If you are WPBackItUp premium customer then support requests may be submitted the portal support.wpbackitup.com
Our online documentation and full list of FAQs can be found at support.wpbackitup.com
Contributors & Developers
"Backup and Restore WordPress – Backup Plugin" is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors"Backup and Restore WordPress – Backup Plugin" has been translated into 7 locales. Thank you to the translators for their contributions.
Translate "Backup and Restore WordPress – Backup Plugin" into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
*Release Date – March 15, 2024
- UPDATE : Updates to add randomized log file suffix
- UPDATE : Updates to log file collection
- UPDATE : Misc minor fixes
*Release Date – December 23, 2023
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 6.4 Enhancements
- UPDATE: Escaped reserved 'offset' keyword to fix the mariadb version > 10.6 conflict
- UPDATE: php deprecated function fix
*Release Date – August 12, 2022
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 6.0 Enhancements
*Release Date – March 24, 2022
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 5.9 Enhancements
*Release Date – September 06, 2021
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 5.8 Enhancements
*Release Date – December 10, 2020
- FIX : Updated tested up to settings
*Release Date – December 10, 2020
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 5.6 Enhancements
- FIX : Review reminder does not close so removed
*Release Date – June 2, 2020
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 5.4
*Release Date – November 19, 2019
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 5.3
*Release Date – May 14, 2019
- FIX : Theme & Plugin Language files were not being included in backup
*Release Date – May 8, 2019
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 5.2
*Release Date – April 16, 2019
- UPDATE : Add license activation to bypass api gateway on failure
*Release Date – March 4, 2019
- UPDATE : Tested up to WP 5.1
- UPDATE : Added secure prefix to backup folder name to increase security
- UPDATE : Minor updates to backup engine
*Release Date – November 6, 2018
- UPDATE : Update tested up to version 5.0
- UPDATE : Add option to install beta releases
- UPDATE : Update fonts to use latest font awesome(5.4.2)
- UPDATE : Update license activation logging to better identify response codes in error
- UPDATE : Update to include debug, info, error logs when sending to support
Release Date – October 18, 2018
- UPDATE : Move scheduler UI components into premium plugin
- UPDATE : Update Notices for Thanksgiving
- UPDATE : Add Sync Flag to get enabled providers
- FIX : Fix API missing day property with premium scheduler
- FIX : Fix SQL close message error on destructor
Release Date – August 29, 2018
- UPDATE : Update Admin Notices and add Labor Day Promo
Release Date – August 13, 2018
- FIX : Correct additional issue with php 7.0 array initialization in API
Release Date – August 10, 2018
- FIX : Correct php 7.0 issue with array initialization in API
Release Date – August 9, 2018
- UPDATE : Update to check scheduler job frequency
- UPDATE : Update UI to show new cancel button
- UPDATE : Add support for advanced scheduler
Release Date – July 19, 2018
- Fix : Fix plugin update to product id
Release Date – July 19, 2018
- UPDATE: Remove Independence Day Promo
- UPDATE: Updates to core to support LITE version of plugin
- Fix : Fix JS error when WPBackItUp-Safe not installed
Release Date – July 2, 2018
- UPDATE: Add Independence Day Promo
- Fix : Miscellaneous fixes
Release Date – June 29, 2018
- NEW: Add WPBackItUp Toolbar
- UPDATE: Fix alignment on header in dashboard
Release Date – June 5, 2018
- UPDATE: Update available backup list to show last 10 backups
- UPDATE: Update backup notification email to use domain instead of blog name
- UPDATE: Add settings class & add site id to ut
- UPDATE: Migrate premium code to separate repo
Release Date – June 1, 2018
- FIX: Fix broken links on support tab for multi-site
- UPDATE: Minor updates to ut actions
Release Date – May 25, 2018
- UPDATE: Minor updates to ut actions
Release Date – May 22, 2018
- UPDATE: Minor updates to UI scripts
Release Date – May 19, 2018
- UPDATE: Fix issue with ut-API
Release Date – May 18, 2018
- UPDATE: Updates for WordPress version 4.9.6
- UPDATE: Updates to usage tracking
Release Date – May 4, 2018
- UPDATE: Updates to get_open_items_by_group_last_day to include items that are queued and open
- UPDATE: Updates to fire WPBackItUp Safe Log Push Event
Release Date – March 1, 2018
- FIX: Fix array initialization issue for php 7.1 in task and job meta setters
- UPDATE: Updates to remove api log messages
Release Date – February, 9, 2018
- UPDATE: Updates to support WPBackItUp Safe Beta Launch
- UPDATE: Updates to WordPress 4.9.4
Release Date – January 3, 2018
- FIX : Fix security issue with delete log
- UPDATE: Admin notice updates
- UPDATE: Enhancements to support WPBackItUp Safe cloud storage
Release Date – November 16, 2017
- FIX: Fix minor issue with admin notice
Release Date – November 15, 2017
- UPDATE: Enhancements to support WordPress Version 4.9
- UPDATE: Enhancements to support WPBackItUp Safe
- UPDATE: Added logging to track infinite loop in plugin validation
Release Date – September 29, 2017
- UPDATE: Enhancements to settings user interface
- UPDATE: Enhancements to backup engine to support Cloud Storage
- UPDATE: Extend maximum zip file size to 2GB
Release Date – July 19, 2017
- FIX: Fix issues with CSS filter on PHP 5.2
Release Date – July 15, 2017
- FIX: Fix issues with cleanup processor causing jobs fail
- FIX: Fix CSS causing UI issues for certain themes
Release Date – June 8, 2017
- UPDATE: Updates to support WordPress 4.8 release
- UPDATE: Enhancements to cleanup processor and job engine
- UPDATE: Enhancements to Review notices
- UPDATE: Add Russian & Arabic translations
- UPDATE: Minor UI improvements to admin menu
- FIX: Fix minor issue with logger
Release Date – April 6,2017
- FIX: Fix for backup upload error
Release Date – March 16,2017
- UPDATE: Added new admin notice class
- UPDATE: Added new logging class
- UPDATE: Add support for extremely large databases(500+ SQL files)
Release Date – March 7, 2017
- FIX: Correct issue with undefined index on admin notices
Release Date – February 16, 2017
- UPDATE: Updated languages Translations
Release Date – February 2, 2017
- UPDATE: Split Premium + Community Edition Code Base
- UPDATE: Issue 173: Added method mysql_escape_mimic to the sql class
- UPDATE: Fix compatibility issue with less php5.5
Release Date – December 22, 2016
- FEATURE : Add Download logs option to support page.
- UPDATE : Display review button after 2 successful backup or restore
- FIX : Database table filter value reset when any other "Save" button hits
- FIX : Fix issue notification message not being removed on license update
- FIX : Add backupset file to import processor
Release Date – November 23, 2016
- FIX : Fix issue with purge when support zips missing
- FIX : Fix data issue with default date 1970-01-01 for mySQl 5.7 strict mode
Release Date – November 17, 2016
- UPDATE : Add plugin updater
- UPDATE : Update translations
- UPDATE : Add success check icon to the downloadable row
- FEATURE : Add setting to cleanup supporting zip files
- UPDATE : Set upload_path & upload_url_path to empty on restore
- UPDATE : Minor updates to background processing engine
- FIX : Fix schema issue with default date 0000 for mySQl 5.7 strict mode
- FIX : Fix data issue with default date 0000 for mySQl 5.7 strict mode
Release Date – October 14, 2016
- FIX : Remove reference to phar file causing issues with some customers
Release Date – October 13, 2016
- UPDATE : Updates to plugin to make responsive
- UPDATE : Add about page
- UPDATE : Updates to support page to used tab interface
- UPDATE : Add task timeout setting
Release Date – September 19, 2016
- NEW FEATURE : Add max zip size option to settings page
- NEW FEATURE : Add multiple email addresses and enhanced interface
- UPDATE : Add filter for files with invalid names
- UPDATE : Add encryption to backup – turned off in general release
- UPDATE : Remove 500 SQL file limitation from backup
- UPDATE : Add support for tables that don't contain table prefix.
- UPDATE : Use Amazon API gateway for license activation. Fallback to direct on error.
- FIX : Fix issue with table prefix in column name
- FIX : Fix manifest generation issue for php 5.2
- FIX : Add function exists check on mb_regex_encoding
- FIX : Fix form body issue with activation
- FIX : Fix issue with missing table prefix on restore
- FIX : Fix issue with user update in snapshot tables
Release Date – August 14, 2016
- UPDATE : WordPress 4.6 support
- UPDATE : Minify style sheets and javascript files
- NEW FEATURE : Restore to different table prefix
- NEW FEATURE : Add backup notes so that users can annotate backups
- NEW FEATURE : Add database(db) file to backup which contains complete database export in single SQL file.
Release Date – June 25, 2016
- FIX : Correct issue with backup tasks not running for customers requiring login on all pages
- FIX : Correct wp_remote_get issue with backup task runner
Release Date – June 14, 2016
- UPDATE : Migrate database export to use wpdb query utility
- UPDATE : add SQLi detection and error logging
- UPDATE : Minor job updates to support wpbackitup-safe
- UPDATE : Enhancements to scheduling engine
- UPDATE : Add new background processing engine to minimize WPCron Dependency
- UPDATE : Move options table restore to last pass to minimize migration issues
- UPDATE : Significant performance improvements to scheduled backups
- FIX : Fix issue with single file backup set settings and manifest
Release Date – April 18, 2016
- FIX : Fix issue with license activation
Release Date – March 10, 2016
- NEW FEATURE : Add Single backup file feature
- NEW FEATURE : Add import uploaded backup files
- UPDATE : Update job duration formatting to include hours for large sites and long jobs
- UPDATE : Add backup type to available backups grid.
- UPDATE : Change database export to only use one method after successful export of first table
- UPDATE : Add WPBackItUp about page
- UPDATE : Add WPBackItUp logo to notification email
- UPDATE : Allow no uploads on restore
- UPDATE : Refresh backup list on successful backup without page
- UPDATE : Add review plugin button and logo to backup view
- UPDATE : Add site migration link to useful links
- UPDATE : Add background color enhancement to new backups
- UPDATE : Add setting for single file backup set
- UPDATE : Update product name to WPBackItUp
- FIX : Invalid error message on delete backup
Release Date – December 17, 2015
- NEW FEATURE : Add scan and import feature to files dropped in wpbackitup root backup folder
- UPDATE : Add error notice on license activation error
- UPDATE : Updated job control table to increase job_name column to accommodate large site names
- UPDATE : Add check on file inventory for valid folder
- FIX : Update job names to sanitize file name, removing special characters and accents
- FIX : Move extension load to initialization so that all dependencies are loaded first
- FIX : Update database upgrade routines and use initialization hook
Release Date – December 10, 2015
- NEW FEATURE : Add Remove Data on Uninstall option to setting
- NEW FEATURE : Add filter your Files option to settings.
- NEW FEATURE : Add batch size to database export and add setting
- NEW FEATURE : Manifest File Enhancements – Add zip size to manifest during backup
- NEW FEATURE : Manifest File Enhancements – Check zip size on restore
- NEW FEATURE : Add database table filters
- UPDATE : Change available backups list to use retention settings
- UPDATE : Change text domain to support WordPress Language Packs
- UPDATE : Change MySql NOW to PHP date to support older versions of MySql
- UPDATE : Change backup name to WordPress site name
- UPDATE : Turn on logging for all restores, bypass user setting
- UPDATE : Add UI notification on save settings
- UPDATE : Add wp-congig.php file to main backup file for reference
- UPDATE : Add download and delete icons to available backups
- UPDATE : Add split database backup into multiple files based on user settings
- UPDATE : Add restore to support multiple database files
- UPDATE : Major updates to backup & restore engine
- UPDATE : Add allow no uploads on validation
- UPDATE : Fix issue with generating warnings on file sort
- FIX : Add backwards compatibility on zip file validation
- Fix : Default table size to 0 on inventory
- FIX : Fix issue with global filters for other backup plugins
- FIX : Add check on exec function disabled
- FIX : Add check on zip file size
- Fix : Remove job table from filter.
- Fix : Update db batch size setting to 10,000
- Fix : Add logging on zip close
Release Date – October 4, 2015
- UPDATE : Change text domain to support WordPress Language Packs
Release Date – September 15, 2015
- FIX : Add default collation value for WordPress version <= 3.4
- FIX : Add try catch & set_time_limit(0) to manual database export
- FEATURE : WPBackItUp now officially supports WordPress multisite – WPBackItUp will now only be available on network admin site.
- UPDATE : Add translation link to useful links widget
- UPDATE : Added php & MySQL version info to log email
- UPDATE : Add new job class – jobs will now be stored in the database instead of file system
- FEATURE : New availability grid – displays backup duration and active jobs
- UPDATE : Updates to support WordPress 4.3.1
- UPDATE : Enhancements to cleanup processes
- FEATURE : New Languages Added: Bengali, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Tagalog, Russian
- FEATURE : Add notification bar to top of WPBackItUp dashboard.
- UPDATE : Use filter iterator for file inventory to improve performance
- UPDATE : Add ajax call to fetch next message in stack on dismiss
- UPDATE : Add additional filters to folder ignore list
- UPDATE : Add wildcard search for to folder ignore list
- UPDATE : Free resources on manual database export to reduce memory footprint
- UPDATE : Add additional error handling and logging to manual database export
- UPDATE : Add connection check on manual export
- Fix : Cleanup was not purging all job control records properly
- Fix : Correct job locking(flock) warning message
- Fix : Fix issue with multi-site form post
- Fix : Update multi-site database export to backup all tables in database
- UPDATE : Add expiration information to email notifications
- Fix : Update uninstall to remove job table
Release Date – August 14, 2015
- NEW : New Feature – Cancel backup
- NEW : New Feature – Batch Size settings for plugins, themes, uploads
- UPDATE: Add additional logging to data access methods.
- UPDATE: Add base localization
- UPDATE: Add new static logging class
- UPDATE: Add logging to verify timeout error
- UPDATE: Change backup file validation to be performed in multiple steps
- UPDATE: Update backup to no longer use using .tmp extensions
- UPDATE: Add new logging to track file sizes and capture zip file status before close
- UPDATE: Add permission checking to files being added to zip
- UPDATE: Check archive state on close and file count check
- UPDATE: Additional logging to detect error on archive creation
- UPDATE: Add filter for plugin wp-backitup on backup
- UPDATE: Separate validation into smaller batches to support large WordPress sites
- UPDATE: Add check for safe mode and ini_set instead of set_time_limit.
- FIX : Fix to hide cancel button on backup error
- FIX : Fix get_portonly() method
- UPDATE: Add database size logging
- UPDATE: Add WordPress and WPBackItUp version info to support email
- UPDATE: Add logging to verify work files exist
- FIX: Add fix to handle special characters in file names
- FIX: Add fix to handle datediff for php versions <=5.3
- FIX: Add fix to version compare utility method
- FIX: Add fix to recursive directory iterator for php versions < 5.3
- FIX: Ignore backwpup folders during backup
- FIX: Fix missing database port issue
- FIX: Add logging and clearstatcache to backup files
- FIX: Remove use of GLOB_BRACE
- UPDATE: Add multi-site support for database backup
- UPDATE: Add WordPress 4.2 support
- UPDATE: Enhance backup file validation
- UPDATE: Add job table to better handle large backup jobs
- UPDATE: Add logging additional logging to database export.
- UPDATE: Add logging for is_file to make sure filtering properly.
- UPDATE: Add logging to backup view to list all files contained in root backup folder.
- UPDATE: Add logging to plugin meta update
- FIX: Modify manual db export to write flush file buffer more frequently.
- FIX: Change backup to use default batch size.
- FIX: Correct job check error when no jobs available to purge.
- FEATURE:Add job data to cleanup routine
- FIX: Add wp-cron task on schedule check to fix issue with scheduled backups not running.
- FIX: Write response file before status update.
- UPDATE: Cancel all scheduled jobs on plugin activation & deactivation.
- UPDATE: Add additional logging to job scheduler.
- UPDATE: Add additional logging to manifest creation.
- UPDATE: Add additional logging to add files to backup.
- UPDATE: Change support request to forward to new support email address.
- UPDATE: Leave copy of log in logs folder so when included when support logs are sent
- UPDATE: Add additional logging on site info backup & DB export
- Updates: Make registration section easier to use and add more status information
- Updates: Add backups section with tips and backup count
- Fix: Restore – fix to static folder property reference
- Update: Add ticket id to support view.
- Fix: Add UTF Encoding on file names being backed up and restored
- Fix: Multiple new backup success messages after backup
- Fix: Add wp_slash function to support WordPress versions 3.6 and lower
- Update: Display backup file set name instead of date
- Fix: Backup plugins error when no files on last folder
- Fix: Extend activation request timeout
- Fix: Correct issue with restore version checking
- Fix: Correct issue with restore current user capabilities
- Fix: Correct sorting and display of available backups
- Fix: Correct issues with files named using German character set
- Fix: Correct issues with file downloads
- Update: Display backup set name in available backup lists.
- Update: Remove backup retention limitations for WPBackItUp lite.
- Fix: Downloads for large files was running into buffer errors when other plugins turn on output buffers incorrectly. Added logic to flush and turn off buffering for all WPBackItUp downloads.
- Fix: Backup lists were not being ordered properly under available backups.
- Fix: Backup cleanup routines were not purging backups in correct order.
- New Feature: Add support request to plugin
- New Feature: Add large backup support
- New Feature: Add drag and drop uploads
- New Feature: Split backup into separate archives(database,plugins,themes,uploads)
- New Feature: Add download popup to allow user to selectively download backup archives
- Updates: Security Enhancements
- Updates: Miscellaneous User Experience Improvements
- Updates: Significant Performance Improvements
- New Features: Added WordPress 4.0.1 support
- New Features: Major Security Enhancements
- New Features: Added log attachment to backup notification email
- Update: Moved zip threshold to constant.
- Update: Added additional logging to archive process
- New Features: Long running backups are now supported.
- Update: Extensive Performance improvements
- Update: User experience improvements to backup.
- Update: Extensive updates to error handling and messaging
- Update: Enhancements to backup email notification.
- Update: Logging enhancements.
- Update: Automated cleanup uses file retention limits for all logs.
- Update: Security enhancements to prevent unwanted access to backup, restore and log folders.
- Fix: IFrame css definition changed to use wp-backitup namespace.
- New Features: Scheduled backups are now available.
- New Feature: Allow only a single backup to be run at a time.
- New feature: Automated cleanup feature will perform work file and log cleanup once per day.
- Update: User experience improvements to backup.
- Update: Logging enhancements.
- Fix: Add support for windows MySql database exports. Windows backups always worked but did not take advantage of MySql export tools like other platforms.
- Updates: WordPress 4.0 support
- Feature: Add support for large database restore.
- Feature: Add database checkpoint recovery for database restore failures
- Feature: Add restore logging on all restores
- Fix: Correct bug on restore when table prefix doesn't match.
- This is a minor release with some small UI fixes.
- Feature: Add lite registration
- Fix: correct license expiration month
- Fix: added namespace prefix to all ajax actions
- Feature: Add exclusion of non-WPBackItUp backups to increase performance
- Fix: correct date issue for php 5.2 users
- Fix: correct issue with backup log listing in backup view
- Fix: correct issue with delete file when no log exists
- Fix to backup folder create & checks
- Security Enhancements
- Add logging to file-system create folder
- Fix 1.7.2 deployment issue
- User Interface improvements
- Add backup and restore folder check
- Add log viewer
- Add utm enhancements
- Fix to log file cleanup error
- Security enhancements
- Major user interface improvements
- Improvements to upload functionality
- Add Feature: Backup Email Notifications
- Add Feature: Backup Retention
- Bug fix: Create Backup & Restore folders on activation
- Updates to license activation
- WordPress 3.9.1 support
- Unicode fix to support utf8 content
- WordPress 3.9 support
- Correct issue with subversion tags
- Correct issue with subversion tags
- Fixed issue with svn
- Fixed issue with version 1.6.1 update.
- This release is mostly cosmetic changes and minor fixes to v1.6.0
- Corrected path issue occurring on unix platform
- Updated backup zip to remove blanks in file name
- Changed backup suffix to backup instead of export
- Corrected backup.sql export file size check
- Fix license check for restore option
- Update usage tracking default to off
- Correct issue with manual data export that contain non-ascii characters
- Add Date Time stamp on SQL restore export
- Significant performance improvements.
- Many improvements to user interface.
- Support for multiple backups.
- Added interface for large file uploads via FTP.
- Added restore point and database recovery when fatal errors are encountered.
- Added configurable debug logging.
- Added logging option to options page.
Enabled plugin to work with version 3.8
Enabled plugin to work with version 3.7.1
Modified admin interface.
Removed redundant code.
Changed DB Export and import method to work on all hosting.
Changed DB backup method to work on shared hosting.
Setup alert if DB is 0 bytes.
Fixed status reporting for backup/restore process and built-in localization.
Recommended upgrade: Amalgamated lite and pro versions of the plugin.
Major updates to improve plugin performance and stability.
Minor updates to plugin functionality.
Brought versioning inline with WPBackItUp Lite. Fixed incorrect message on restore interface. Fixed restoration access.
Backup from mysqldump, restore from mysql command line, restore functionality from uploaded files, file size limit check according to server before uploads, setInterval termination after operation, status update as the task completes using XML.
Introduced mysqldump for backup and shell exec for copy/delete operations.
Added ability to restore from server.
Improved auto-update facility and plugin stability.
Fixed critical issues the auto-upgrade access.
Fixed critical issues the auto-upgrade access.
Fixed issues with the restoration access.
Fixed the auto-update engine and license key activation system.
Minor bugs patched for auto-update engine.
WPBackItUp integrated with licensing and auto-update engine.
Initial version of the plugin released.


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In a surprise move for the entire online business community, social bookmarking site Digg was sold last week for the unimpressive sum of $500,000. (Edited to add: The Wall Street Journal originally reported it as selling for just $500,000, although later reports pegged that number considerably higher when you factor in the patents that Digg owned and the engineering team. One report says it was split three ways for a total of roughly $16 Million. Whichever way you slice it, that number is much less than the $45 Million the site had been valued at years earlier. And the value of the site itself, i.e., the part that went to Betaworks, was pretty low. )
Some insist the sale was a final step in what has been a steady decline for the social media pioneer. Whatever the ultimate cause, there is a belief in the online entrepreneur community that Digg's downward slide may be a cautionary tale about what happens when you don't pay enough attention to your customers and community.
Digging In
A new beginning. Though for many the sale of a social bookmarking site of Digg's calibre to New York-based incubator Betaworks for a fraction of what the site might have once been valued seems like a disaster. But on the company blog late last week, Digg CEO Matt Williams insisted the purchase was "a way to take Digg back to its startup roots." Many businesses from time to time must reevaluate where they stand with their customers, but hopefully this can be done before the company is up for sale. Digg Blog
One of the great Internet brands. Although it may have been acquired for less than the funds it originally raised, Digg's value is considerable according to Betaworks. Loved by millions, Digg's reputation as a great brand known for pioneering the concept of community-driven news that has since become a major part of the Internet's ecosystem, remains an asset. But no matter how valuable the brand, a connection to a site's community is what's really important. Betaworks
Paradise Lost
The slippery slope. Just as there's no such thing as overnight success, the decline of a business is also a gradual process. Businesses do not generally fail because of one poor decision, but as a result of a series of poor decisions made over time. Those observing Digg's decline point to a number of missteps that may have led to the brand's difficulties after it established itself as a leader in community news. It's important to consider how each of your decisions will affect your business long-term. Gigaom
For what it's worth. Determining a realistic value for your business is an important skill. Entrepreneurs must understand how much their business is worth, not just to them, but to others. Effectively valuing your business has to do with understanding what your product, service, or company really provides to others. For example, in the case of social bookmarking sites like Digg, it can be argued that a network or site is worth exactly as much as its community. The Atlantic
Reaping the benefits. Even unsuccessful companies can be a benefit to other entrepreneurs in terms of the legacy and resources they leave behind. Two other companies, LinkedIn and The Washington Post, have benefited tremendously from last week's sale of Digg to Betaworks. While LinkedIn has acquired a number of patents from the social bookmarking site, The Washington Post's Web development arm acquired most the Digg team. TechCrunch
In Conclusion
Their own worst enemy. Business owners look instinctively to competitors when trying to figure out how to make the necessary business model tweaks for long-term survival. But, as Digg's difficulty shows, sometimes companies need to look no further than themselves for the source of their problems. Atrocious redesigns, sponsored links, and a failure to cultivate its community all lead to Digg's decline. Knowing what keeps your customers coming back is important and can keep you from making similar mistakes. Forbes
Filling the void. Digg's departure from the scene or, at the very least, its considerable decline, may create opportunities for other Internet entrepreneurs. Some are already asking who will fill the void left by Digg. Certainly, Digg's greatest competitor, Reddit, has gained much from Digg's fall, but social media networks like Facebook and Twitter are also catching up with Google search as two of the chief ways people find news on the Web. Other tools to fill the space left by Digg remain to be seen. The Wall Street Journal


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Project Highlights
Location: Wyoming
Industry: K-12
When the lack of air conditioning, outdated HVAC systems and the absence of security cameras jeopardized the comfort and safety of students and staff, the school district sought ways to upgrade its facilities.
In line with its commitment to fostering the individual excellence of its students, Wyoming City Schools sought to initiate infrastructure updates to improve the learning environment at its five schools. Outdated HVAC systems at the facilities had reached the end of their useful life and were proving to be unreliable and inefficient. Without air conditioning, the district's three elementary schools were uncomfortable for students and staff during warm weather. Security camera systems were also desired to ensure the safety of its students. While the critical need for facility improvements existed, the financing to complete the upgrades did not. Wyoming City Schools sought ways to obtain funding, while demonstrating prudent use of tax dollars.
After interviewing multiple suppliers, the Wyoming City School District selected Trane for their upgrade project. Trane's ability to provide turnkey project management, equipment and installation provided a level of risk avoidance unmatched by the other suppliers. Trane began by completing an assessment of the district's air conditioning needs, clearly outlining the project scope and identifying energy saving opportunities.
Dual-funding solution initiates upgrade
Trane presented a unique dual-funding solution that used Ohio House Bill 264 and the Ohio State Term Schedule at the same time to fund the upgrades. Using the House Bill 264 process, the district could finance certain improvements and use the energy savings to pay off the financing over fifteen years. The State Term Schedule (STS) was used for items not covered under the House Bill 264 and allowed Trane to contract directly with the district as a general contractor, providing HVAC equipment and installation services. The State of Ohio reviewed and approved the energy savings calculations in the Trane proposal, allowing the school district to move forward with the upgrades.
Reliable cooling units improve student comfort
Trane rooftop and split HVAC systems were installed at the high school gymnasium and high-efficiency rooftop units provide air conditioning for the three elementary schools. The rooftop units are reliable, easy to install and require less maintenance, reducing the operating cost and upfront expense for the district. The units operate quietly, which helps ensure an effective learning environment. Energy efficient Dynamic Air Cleaners were also installed to improve indoor air quality.
Building automation simplifies facilities management
Using Trane Tracer ES™ building automation control software, the school district's controllers were integrated into their existing controls system to provide upgraded energy conservation programming. Tracer ES gives the district an online, enterprise-wide view, and control over all of its buildings and systems from any computer on their network. With Tracer ES, facilities managers can perform daily tasks remotely, including troubleshooting, scheduling, alarm management and data analysis.
Service improves system efficiency
A Trane Service Agreement helps ensure efficient system operation. Factory-authorized technicians perform periodic maintenance to keep systems running at their best. With scheduled maintenance, the systems require fewer urgent ad hoc repairs, lowering the district's operating cost and extending the life of the HVAC equipment.
The State of Ohio reviewed and approved Trane's proposed energy saving calculations for approximately $81,000 in annual savings, allowing Wyoming City Schools to obtain financing for the much-needed improvements through Ohio House Bill 264 and the State Term Schedule. Energy costs were lowered by using better control strategies and more efficient equipment. Replacing its aging equipment helped the district reduce service costs, while increasing system reliability. The school was also able to address its security, lighting and water consumption needs. The upgrades improved the learning environment for students. "The air conditioning at our three elementary schools made a big difference," said Ted Howse, maintenance supervisor, Wyoming City School District. "The principal was amazed at how much happier the students and staff were during the hot days of August compared to years past. We had fewer students out with heat-related illnesses." "Trane was great at getting the equipment installed, tested and running before the first day the kids came in," added Howse. "Overall, a great experience."
About Wyoming City Schools
Centrally located within easy access to downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, the 2.8 square mile community of Wyoming offers the advantages of a small town and the amenities of a big city. Wyoming's 8,300 residents have long valued and supported education at the absolute highest level. Their expectations are reflected in the commitment of the Wyoming City School District to provide an excellent education for each student through rigorous academics, an outstanding faculty, individual attention and enrichment opportunities.