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You are correct in thinking that this is the only forum which provides mathematical (and scientific) help alongside a social aspect. Many other forums have a separate section for socializing, but even those are heavily moderated (I do not mean that this forum is not secure, it is. It just does not have ridiculous rules).]]>
Welcome to the forum.
Why do I like maths?
It's part of a larger desire to understand things. When I got my first bike (second hand) the first thing I did with it was to take it apart to find out how all the bits worked. My Dad went mad as he thought I'd wasted his money. But I showed him it was not, by putting it all back together, adjusting everything properly, and riding it away! And I like to understand eclipses, why sunflowers have a spiralling seed-head, how computers work, why Pythagoras' theorem is true, ...............................
Morning isn't my favourite time because I don't properly wake up until after 10am. As it's only 8.30 here in the UK, all I have just written may be a load of rubbish. Hhhhm. Does that include the last sentence?
Welcome to the forum;
I am Agnishom. What is your favorite color?]]>
Welcome to the forum!
Why do you like math?
Because it is the best form of logic!]]>
Welcome to the forum. I like bikes too, a great way to travel.
I am curious to find out the highest math I am capable of doing in my lifetime.
Yes, but how will you know when you attain that precise point, the pinnacle of understanding?
Why do you like math
Math is like loving someone exotic and far away. Someone that does not even know you exist. It does not get any better than that.]]>


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The Fish and Eels
Dobbs Weir Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 0AY
Dobbs Weir Road, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 0AY
If you love the warm welcome and great food and drink served up at The Fish and Eels in Hoddesdon, why not share the experience with your nearest and dearest by treating them to a gift card.
Buying for business? Call 0121 498 7098 to talk to someone in our gift-card team.
When you purchase online, you will receive the Gift Card via email or text message, to print out or show on your smartphone at any Vintage Inns pub.

subset: commoncrawl


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You will now be able to see some of Princess Diana's iconic wardrobe pieces up close—that is, if you're willing to travel across the pond to Kensington Palace. But if you can't make it, the Today show is more than happy to give you a tour.
The palace is opening a new exhibit called "Diana: Her Fashion Story" that will display 26 of the late princess' most famous dresses and ensembles, and the Today show got a first look that was aired Wednesday morning. Anyone who followed Princess Diana's many public appearances will recognize some of the dresses, including the blue velvet gown she famously wore while dancing with John Travolta at the White House in 1985.
Tim Graham/Getty Images
"[The exhibit] is a sort of journey through her evolving style, learning how she learned to dress to adhere to the royal rules," curator Eleri Lynn told Today Style. "There are so many things you have to take into consideration, dressing as a royal princess. So you kind of learn with her as you go through the exhibition."
Historical Royal Palaces is still in the process of collecting items for the exhibit but revealed it secured a green tartan Emanuel coat Princess Diana wore on a trip to Venice in the 1980s. Many of Princess Diana's favorite designers, and the original sketches they created for her, will also be highlighted.
"She worked closely with designers but definitely had an eye for design herself," Lynn said. "She was very good at communicating with people through what she wore. She would always ask designers when she was trying things on, 'What message am I giving out when I wear this?' So you have her wearing colorful, beautiful things to children's hospitals, for example, because she knew that would be attractive to children. She was good at making herself approachable through clothing."
The exhibit comes nearly 20 years after Princess Diana's untimely passing. Prince William and Prince Harry will also pay tribute to their late mother this spring and summer with a garden. She famously adored Kensington Palace's Sunken Garden and frequently stopped by to chat with the gardeners.
"Diana: Her Fashion Story" opens this month.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)


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Natural and Fast Pregnancy
Were you unsuccessful with a lot of pregnancy method that people are suggesting for quite a while now? Many women have found Lisa Olson's Pregnancy Miracle book to be really effective in getting pregnant fast. This book creates a whole new perspective on how you should view pregnancy while understanding that the right amount of optimism and effort are required in the process of getting pregnant fast. This book offers some great discoveries to help women conceive.
Natural Treatment of Infertility is discussed in Lisa Olson's book. One part of this book the author discusses about the main causes of infertility, the basic and natural principles that bounds this condition, and how this condition can effectively be treated naturally. This book also focused on the procedures that should be done by the couple trying to conceive to boost fertility. A helpful diet is also discussed in this book as diet plays a big role in both men and womens fertility issues that people neglect to address. You can also find food choices, herbs, and vitamins that will help boost fertility. This book emphasizes that being natural and healthy is an important requirement to get pregnant fast.
Eastern Techniques can Merge and Benefit the Western World in Fertility Issues
Lisa Olson is a Nutritionist, a Health Counselor, and a well-known Chines Medical Researcher. She has discovered from her meticulous studies that the Eastern Culture has the best method to naturally treat infertility. According to her years of research, she regarded specific Chinese ancient techniques to be very effective in increasing the rate in pregnancy. This book discussed about the five steps to treat infertility. Four steps are easy to adapt and follow, though one of the steps poses a challenge, especially for western women to act upon. The effectiveness of the technique is always worth a try, although it may be a difficult process to adjust with. One of the treatment process suggested is the acupuncture, which has proven to be a good method for a healthier body and conception. These steps will guarantee safe and fast pregnancy no matter how unusual it may sound. You will feel rejuvenated and healthier than before. These Chinese techniques were believed to improve blood circulation which will lead to to thickening of the endometrium to make your womb the best environment for the baby to thrive. With the help of Pregnancy Miracle book, people are getting aware of the physical benefits of the steps discussed in this useful book.
The efficacy of this book was first doubted and many skeptics voiced out their concerns, but positive comments have flooded the internet for this book reviews. Many people are now recommending this book to their family or friends that also have this same issue to overcome. The best way to get pregnant fast is to have the right method with the natural ways of treating infertility as Chinese Medicine has proven for thousands of years. This Pregnancy Miracle book by Lisa Olson revealed so many useful information that can surely help couples to conceive. Try this natural method of getting pregnant and know that all the medical procedure youve done in the past can be surpassed by natural ones.


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in : Grow & eat
At last, the warm weather has kick-started the season, and blossom is finally appearing.
What a difference a year makes. Checking back at my diary, in 2012 the first 'Victoria' plum blossom opened on 28 March. One year on and the same plum tree only started blossoming last week, on 20 April – about three weeks later.
Of course, things will catch-up (they always do) and after a very disappointing year for fruit in 2012, I've high hopes that things will be better this year.
Why am I so optimistic? Well, with blossom opening so much later, hopefully there's less risk of the cold weather returning and ruining the flowers, as fruit trees are most susceptible to damage at blossom time.
Days are longer and brighter, but there's still a risk of frost. I keep a close eye on the weather forecast, and a few very large sheets of white fleece close at hand. When frost is forecast, I go out the evening before to cover all the flowers I can reach. I wrap the fleece around branches, drape it over fan-trained fruits and secure it in place with clothes pegs.
To ensure good fruit-set you need good pollination, and for this you need bees. Having spent many days outside enjoying this warm weather recently, I'm encouraged by just how many bees I've seen, including large bumblebees. With an ample supply of fruit blossom around, there is plenty of nectar and pollen for them to enjoy, and all are welcome.
One good thing about growing a single 'Victoria' plum tree is that it's self-fertile. Unlike many varieties of fruit, like most apples for instance, it doesn't need neighbouring plums for cross-pollination. Provided bees visit my single plum tree, I will hopefully get a good crop of fruit.
Last year, a couple of pears started to form on my small 'Concorde' tree, but nothing reached maturity (I didn't pick a single pear). At the moment I'm admiring it, every stem is completely clad is swelling flower buds. It's never carried so many flowers before, so perhaps it's making up for an 'off' year. I adore pears, so hope for an indulgent autumn, provided I can keep birds and wasps away.
Just one more job for the week ahead: sprinkle sulphate of potash fertiliser over the soil around my fruit trees and bushes. Potash is the nutrient plants need to encourage good flowering and fruiting, so I want to make sure they have plenty.
Enjoy the blossom while it lasts.
03/05/2013 at 19:27
I have a Victoria plum tree that has now set fruit but again the tiny fruit have a black spot at the end. Ive opened the fruit and some have a tiny maggot so any ideas which insect has caused this? I did spray with Winter Tarwash this year and it has worked as about 50% of the fruit are ok which is a big bonus as ive never had a single plum in the 5yrs ive had this tree for the reason stated a tiny magot.
Adam Pasco
03/05/2013 at 20:24
Hi Galest.
Wow your plums are early. Which part of teh country do you live?
This sounds like damage from Plum Moth. I'd recommend haning pheromone moth traps in your trees early next year to catch the male moths. It's too late now .... the damage is done.
03/05/2013 at 21:05
I use plum moth traps as well. A few early plums are usually affected with little pink wrigglers but I prefer to lose these than spray the whole tree.The later ones are usually all right. I cut them in half to check before eating. I couldn't spray the entire tree anyway because it's too big. My plum trees have only just started flowering (Nottingham)
08/05/2013 at 03:57
10/05/2013 at 17:27
Have I got it wrong Adam or were you meant to be on a cruise on the Rhine from 28th April ?
We had to cancel at the last minute due to illness and were very disappointed.
If you did go were the tulips out? and would you recommend the cruise for another time.


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TEL AVIV (Nov. 21)
Israeli casualties in the first air-tank clash with Jordan since the end of the June war today were reported as three soldiers killed and one wounded, the latter an Israeli pilot whose plane was shot down by Jordanian ground tire. Though the pilot was seen ejecting from his crippled plane and parachuting down, the Jordanians claimed he was found dead.
The Israelis sent their jets into action against a concentration of Jordanian tanks which had been shelling Israeli positions across the Jordan River, the cease-fire line since the end of the June conflict. The action took place in the Um Shurt region, south of the Damiyah bridge, an area previously calm where there has been a considerable amount of agricultural produce traffic between the occupied West bank and Jordan.
(At the United Nations, Israel filed a complaint against Jordanian breaches of the cease-fire, warning of the gravity of four days of Jordanian attacks across the cease-fire line. Israeli Ambassador Gideon Rafael asked, in the letter, that it be circulated among Council members but he did not ask for a Council meeting on the complaint.)
(In Washington, the State Department criticized the new Israeli-Jordanian fighting. State Department spokesman Robert McCloskey said that the United States had expressed to both countries its concern and that the four days of incidents appeared to have escalated in size and seriousness.)
The Israeli Army spokesman said that the Jordanians attacked this morning against an Israeli position south of the Um Shurt passage on the Jordan River and that Jordanian fire spread to other positions, with Israelis returning the fire. He said the Jordanians used tanks which had been brought to the site during the night, which he called proof of Jordanian plans for an unprovoked and premeditated attack. Israeli units responded with artillery fire and then planes were called in to silence the tanks whose gunfire was preventing evacuation of the first casualties of the tank fire.
The spokesman said that at least six Jordanian tanks and one armored car were destroyed in the pinpoint Israeli air assault. Fighting subsided after about four hours. According to Jordanian sources, efforts were made by Israelis to save the pilot and for some time Israeli planes flew over the scene in an effort to spot the sight of the pilot's parachute landing. Later Jordanian officials said that the pilot was found dead.
Israeli officials pointed out that the Jordanians had been involved in various mine-laying and other sabotage activities and that they had fired on Israelis who were dismantling an anti-vehicle mine on a patrol track. The tanks were brought into the section for the first time today by the Jordanians.
The step-up of Jordanian action was believed to have been in reprisal for shelling yesterday by Israeli units of Jordanian positions at a refugee camp on the East Bank in which the Jordanians made lurid claims of heavy civilian refugee casualties. Observers stressed that the air attack was directed only against the Jordanian tanks from which Israeli forces had been attacked and that Israel sought to keep the action localized. It was suggested that Jordan was anxious to rebuild the Jordanian armed forces morale, which was shattered in the June war and that this might have led to the orders for four consecutive days of shooting at Israeli targets across the cease-fire line.


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Mendel's Garden #5 is up at evolgen.
I will be hosting the Garden here in the middle of the month, so this is the official call for submissions. If you've written anything about genetics of late (or you plan on doing so), send your link to:
thevoltagegate [at] gmail [dot] com
The deadline for submissions is September 14th.


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VIC-20 Cartridge
The VIC-20 (Germany: VC-20; Japan: VIC-1001) is an 8-bit home computer that was sold by Commodore Business Machines. The VIC-20 was announced in 1980, roughly three years after Commodore's first personal computer, the PET. The VIC-20 was the first computer of any description to sell one million units.
Need more information on condition? Just contact us or use our chat facility below (if we are available).


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Kenai River Sportfishing Association's voodoo economics (Clarion, 4/3/06) credits a higher fish-by-fish value to commercially caught sport-fish than to those fish commercially caught by gill-netters. KRSA's voodoo, dollar-for-dollar, value comparisons were concocted for allocation purposes to hopefully justify taking fish from commercial gill-netters and giving those fish to commercial sport-fisheries. Gease, executive director of KRSA, has come up with select data in order to catch-and-release the public in yet another fishery conflict similar to the current conflict over the numbers of caught-and-released spawning rainbow trout killed by anglers ostensibly fishing for dollies.
Since KRSA claims to be something of an economic fortune-teller regarding fishery resources, perhaps they can come up with another economic comparison between spawning Kenai River rainbow trout and Dolly Varden as they relate to commercial sport-fishing. What's the commercial value of a spawning rainbow trout caught while one is supposedly fishing for dollies?
Due to a drastic increase in mortality of rainbows, caught under the guise of fishing for dollies, and removed from the water so the "sport" can get a picture, ADF and G, Sport Fish Division, recently issued an Emergency Order, which absolutely prohibits removing rainbows from the water before release from May 2 June 10, to protect spawning fish.
While it's too early to predict whether the Emergency Order will have the desired effect of slowing down Ricky's "tremendous economic engine," let's hope so.
Jeff Beaudoin
© 2018. All Rights Reserved. | Contact Us


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Last updated 10/2012
- What are Drop Attacks?
- What Causes Drop Attacks?
- How are Drop Attacks Diagnosed?
- How are Drop Attacks Treated?
- References
What are Drop Attacks?
Drop attacks are sudden spontaneous falls while standing or walking, with complete recovery in seconds or minutes. There is usually no recognized loss of consciousness, and the event is remembered. It is a symptom, not a diagnosis, and it can have diverse causes.
The stroke rate in persons with drop attacks is only 0.5% per year. This rate is not significantly different than the general population.
What Causes Drop Attacks?
In most instances, the cause of the drop attack is never definitively established (Meissner et al, 1986). About 12% are due to the heart (a variant of syncope), 8% are due to poor circulation to the brain, 8% are due to problems with both the heart and brain, 7% are due to seizures, 5% are due to the inner ear (Meniere's disease — called the otolithic crisis of Tumarkin), and 1%, are due to psychological problems. Other causes of drop attacks include medications and gait imbalances (Lee 2005). Patients with Meniere's disease who experience drop attacks have shown more severe autonomic symptoms and may present with poor hearing in the "unaffected" ear (Perez-Fernandez, 2010).
A study of 10 patients with drop attacks found 8 of them to have abnormal blood vessels in the neck or head (Welsh 2004). This suggests that abnormal or diseased arteries may be the cause of drop attacks in some patients, or may predispose patients with other cardiovascular problems to having drop attacks. A case study of six patients who had drop attacks found five of them to have migraines or a family history of migraines (Ishiyama 2003). The significance of this finding is not currently established.
How are Drop Attacks Diagnosed?
Drop attacks due to the heart are similar to brief fainting episodes. They are best diagnosed with event monitoring. Drop attacks due to seizures and related problems are diagnosed with an EEG test and its variants. Drop attacks due to Meniere's disease (also called Otolithic Crises of Tumarkin) are diagnosed with an audiogram and ENG. Patients with Meniere's disease with drop attacks have abnormal vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) exams compared to patients who do not have drop attacks (Timmer 2006).
A variety of other tests may also be performed. Drop attacks due to psychological problems are very difficult to confirm, but sometimes can be established via inpatient EEG monitoring.
How are Drop Attacks Treated?
Treatment is individualized according to the diagnosis. Because, in many instances, no diagnosis is established, no treatment may be advocated.
- Baloh RW, Jacobson K, Winder T. Drop attacks with Meniere's syndrome. Ann Neurol 1990:28:384-87
- Black FL, Effron MZ, Burns DS. Diagnosis and management of drop attacks of vestibular origin: Tumarkin's otolithic crises. J. Otolaryngol HNS 1982:90:256-262
- Brust JCM, Plank CR, Healton EB, Sanchez GF. The pathology of drop attacks: a case report. Neurology 29, 786-790, 1979
- Janzen VD, Russel RD. Conservative management of Tumarkin's otolithic crisis. Canad. J. Otol, 1988
- Ishiyama G, Ishiyama A, Baloh RW. Drop attacks and vertigo secondary to a non-meniere otologic cause. Arch Neuro. 60(1):71-5, 2003.
- Li H, Yi HA et al. Drop attacks in elderly patients secondary to otologic causes with Meniere's syndrome or non-Meniere peripheral vestibulopathy. J Neuro Sci. 232(1-2):71-6, 2005.
- Meissner et al. The natural history of drop attacks. Neurology 1986, 36, 1029-1034
- Odkvist LM, Bergenius J. Drop attacks in Meniere's disease. Acta Otolaryngol Supp 1988:455: 82-85
- Perez-Fernandez N, Montes-Jovellar L, Cervera-Paz J, Domenech-Vadillo E. 2010. Auditory and vestibular assessment of patients with Meniere's disease who suffere Tumarkin attacks. Audiology & nuerolo-otology 15: 399-406
- Timmer FC, Zhou G et al. Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) in patients with Meniere's disease with drop attacks. Laryngoscope. 116(5):776-9, 2006.
- Welsh LW, Welsh JJ et al. Vascular analysis of individuals with drop attacks. Ann Oto. Rhino Laryng. 113(3 pt 1):245-51, 2004


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Robert L. Franklin has been practicing law for over fifty years. He concentrates his practice in corporate representation, real estate and estate planning and administration. He has represented purchasers, sellers, lenders, landlords and tenants in a wide range of real estate transactions including hotel and apartment building sales, financing, and commercial and industrial properties. Additionally, he has represented manufacturing, technology, service, and professional firms in the greater Philadelphia area.
In addition to his legal practice, Mr. Franklin has taught in the Temple Law School Clinical Program, and for many years in the Fox School of Business, teaching business and real estate. He is a member of the Philadelphia Estate Planning Council, and the Temple University Alumni Association.
Mr. Franklin is a graduate of the Temple University School of Law, and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. He served in the Pennsylvania National Guard. He remains active in his community and serves as a former Board of Managers and current Vice President of the Mikveh Israel Synagogue, and is a member of the American Safardi Federation.


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Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, February 8, 2012
This has to be way too early to write the Warriors' post mortem.
They've played one-third of their season, and there are 2 1/2 weeks to the All-Star Game. Their promised playoff berth can't be out of the question already.
But on a night when Monta Ellis gave reason for hope to the semi-delusional, scoring a career-high 48 points (including 30 in the first half), the overall numbers were still too glaring for one of the league's most rosy-eyed optimists to discount questions about the season being lost.
"We have not taken advantage of our schedule. That's the real answer," Warriors head coach Mark Jackson said before his team lost 119-116 to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. "It's going to be challenging going forward."
Sure, the Warriors played the league's best team Tuesday, but, all things considered, they've had the NBA's least demanding schedule.
The Warriors (8-14) have played 14 of their first 22 games in front of some of the league's most loyal fans. On Tuesday, 17,971 came to Oracle Arena. The Warriors have rewarded the faithful by going 6-8 at home.
"Yes, we've missed an opportunity," Jackson said. "When you talk about being a playoff team, you have to take care of business at home and give yourself a chance on the road. We've had an opportunity at home, and we haven't capitalized on it."
The Warriors played Oklahoma City (20-5) one night after it won an overtime game in Portland. The game marked the 10th time the Warriors got to play a team on the tail end of a back-to-back, and they've gone 4-6 against tired teams.
To make matters worse, the Warriors have played a league-low four back-to-backs. They have to do it 15 times the rest of the season, including playing three games in three nights in one April stretch.
If the season ended today, it would take a .560 winning percentage to earn a berth in the Western Conference, something both Jackson and the Warriors' ownership have promised. The Warriors have played 13 of their 22 games against teams with records at or worse than that mark and have gone 6-7.
The Western Conference is clearly deeper than the East, and the Warriors have played a West-low 12 games against the superior conference. They've gone 3-9 in the West and 5-5 in the East.
"It doesn't matter," Jackson said. "We've proven that we can beat the elite. I'm not in some fantasy world. The proof is in the pudding. We can beat teams, and we have. We need to take care of ourselves and begin to put wins in the bank."
The Warriors have beaten the top two teams in the East, Chicago and Miami. They could have staked the claim to beating the league's top three teams if they had knocked off the Thunder.
Instead, they harkened back to the days of old. They shot the lights out (55 percent, 44-for-80), but they forgot to defend in allowing Oklahoma City to shoot 52.4 percent from the floor.
David Lee and Stephen Curry were almost perfect offensively, combining for 41 points, 18 rebounds and 20 assists. But, as Jackson has been preaching, none of that matters if they don't defend.
Lee rarely avoids tough questions, but he hated talking about these specific numbers. He's fed up with the e-mails and texts he has gotten that praise his play and question the team.
Lee chose the Warriors two summers ago because he thought there was a bright future with Golden State. That bright future included winning and going to the playoffs, something that he couldn't accomplish in New York.
"We always play the best when we're in tough situations, so we should look forward to the rest of the season," Lee finally decided would be his comment for the record.
"We've got a lot of time to catch up, but we recognize that we've dug ourselves a big hole," swingman Dorell Wright said. "We've got to figure out how to get off to good starts and then figure out how to finish games."
Or risk being irrelevant for the final two-thirds of a season that didn't live up to the promises.
Game review
Key player: Monta Ellis wowed a national TV audience with a career-high 48 points on 18-for-29 shooting, two days before All-Star reserves are announced.
Key stat: Andris Biedrins was lifeless, picking up five fouls without a basket or rebound in 13:46 minutes.
Key stretch: The Warriors went 2-for-10 with four turnovers in the final seven minutes, blowing a seven-point lead. Oklahoma City went 7-for-13 with one turnover in the same span.
Key quote: "We don't need any help," Ellis said. "We don't need any new players. We've got to find ways to close games. Somehow we always lose it in the fourth."
Of note: David Lee had his second career triple-double, going for 25 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. The first one was a 37-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist night for the Knicks against the Warriors in April 2010.
- Rusty Simmons
Ellis' top 3
Monta Ellis scored a career-high 48 points in the Warriors' 119-116 loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday night. A look at his three highest-scoring games:
|Feb. 2, 2012
|vs. Oklahoma City
|Oct. 27, 2010
|vs. Houston
|Feb. 3, 2010
|at Dallas
Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. email@example.com; Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron.


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Today's tip is pretty simple, but also pretty life changing if you don't know about it. I learned it from Adam, the awesome tech who works on my sewing machines. You can remove and clean out the cutter on the side of your machine. This might not be true for all machines, but if it's true for yours, prepare to basically have a brand new cutter. This picture is of my BERNINA 530 and it works on my 350 as well!
Once you pull out all the thread, the cutter works perfectly!


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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Email | RSS | More
After reading the mail, we discuss RV Weights and measures from the web page of the same name on our Website. http://www.livingthervdream.com/RV-weights-and-measures.html We discuss the role of the Recreational Vehicle Safety and Education (RVSEF) and their role in educating RVers and weighing RV's at rally's and RV shows. http://rvsafety.com/weighing-schedule/ We also talk about the Escapees RV Club Smart Weigh program. http://www.escapees.com/SmartWeigh/Default.aspx We discuss some of the more important weight terms all RVers should know. http://www.livingthervdream.com/RV-weight-terms.html
Then we read some more RVer boo boos that RVers discuss on our Facebook Group. Some of them are just too funny. Then John gives a tip on how to figure out how fast your black tank will fill up when flushing it.


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Police officer saw this dog in the middle of nowhere and followed it. What happened next WILL LEAVE YOU SPEECHLESS!!!
Alaskan State Trooper, Terrence Shanigan, was on the duty when he found himself in the middle of nowhere with his GPS not working, he didn't know where to go. It was then when Shanigan noticed a dog on the road. His gut told him to follow the animal. What happened next blew the trooper away, he couldn't believe it. This story is another example of how brave and intelligent our furry friends are, and how important it is to listen to your gut feeling. This story happened in 2010, even Ellen Degeneres mentioned it in her show and sent well-deserved gifts for the hero from this video. Enjoy this incredible story and don't forget to share it with your friends and family, it is worth watching.
German Shepherds are incredible dogs. After helping the trooper find the location, Buddy returned to that intersection and led the firetruck as well. You might not notice but the dog was running 20-25 mph in front of the police car. German Shepherd consistently rates among the most common household pets in the US and UK, predominantly due to its vast intelligence, loyalty and obedience. These dogs make splendid working dogs, they are used in numerous countries as police and military dogs, they are equally suited to family life and can be wonderful companions. The German Shepherd is one of the easiest to train dog breeds and are very responsive to commands. Unfortunately, these dogs are prone to hip dyspepsia due to their large hips. After World War II, an epidemic of anti-German sentiment led to the UK Kennel Club changing the name of the German Shepherd Dog. Shortly after the war, the breed was registered under the name Alsatian Wolf Hound. However, in 1977 the name German Shepherd was restored.
Source: mostamazingviews.com


text: On 08/19/2009 09:23 PM, Nicholas A. Bellinger wrote:> Anyways, I was wondering if you might be interesting in sharing your> concerns wrt to configfs (conigfs maintainer CC'ed), at some point..?> My concerns aren't specifically with configfs, but with all the text based pseudo filesystems that the kernel exposes.My high level concern is that we're optimizing for the active sysadmin, not for libraries and management programs. configfs and sysfs are easy to use from the shell, discoverable, and easily scripted. But they discourage documentation, the text format is ambiguous, and they require a lot of boilerplate to use in code.You could argue that you can wrap *fs in a library that hides the details of accessing it, but that's the wrong approach IMO. We should make the information easy to use and manipulate for programs; one of these programs can be a fuse filesystem for the active sysadmin if someone thinks it's important.Now for the low level concerns:- efficiencyEach attribute access requires an open/read/close triplet and binary->ascii->binary conversions. In contrast an ordinary syscall/ioctl interface can fetch all attributes of an object, or even all attributes of all objects, in one call.- atomicityOne attribute per file means that, lacking userspace-visible transactions, there is no way to change several attributes at once. When you read attributes, there is no way to read several attributes atomically so you can be sure their values correlate. Another example of a problem is when an object disappears while reading its attributes. Sure, openat() can mitigate this, but it's better to avoid introducing problem than having a fix.- ambiguityWhat format is the attribute? does it accept lowercase or uppercase hex digits? is there a newline at the end? how many digits can it take before the attribute overflows? All of this has to be documented and checked by the OS, otherwise we risk regressions later. In contrast, __u64 says everything in a binary interface.- lifetime and access controlIf a process brings an object into being (using mkdir) and then dies, the object remains behind. The syscall/ioctl approach ties the object into an fd, which will be destroyed when the process dies, and which can be passed around using SCM_RIGHTS, allowing a server process to create and configure an object before passing it to an unprivileged program- notificationsIt's hard to notify users about changes in attributes. Sure, you can use inotify, but that limits you to watching subtrees. Once you do get the notification, you run into the atomicity problem. When do you know all attributes are valid? This can be solved using sequence counters, but that's just gratuitous complexity. Netlink type interfaces are much more robust and flexible.- readdirYou can either list everything, or nothing. Sure, you can have trees to ease searching, even multiple views of the same data, but it's painful.You may argue, correctly, that syscalls and ioctls are not as flexible. But this is because no one has invested the effort in making them so. A struct passed as an argument to a syscall is not extensible. But if you pass the size of the structure, and also a bitmap of which attributes are present, you gain extensibility and retain the atomicity property of a syscall interface. I don't think a lot of effort is needed to make an extensible syscall interface just as usable and a lot more efficient than configfs/sysfs. It should also be simple to bolt a fuse interface on top to expose it to us commandline types.> As you may recall, I have been using configfs extensively for the 3.x> generic target core infrastructure and iSCSI fabric modules living in> lio-core-2.6.git/drivers/target/target_core_configfs.c and> lio-core-2.6.git/drivers/lio-core/iscsi_target_config.c, and have found> it to be extraordinarly useful for the purposes of a implementing a> complex kernel level target mode stack that is expected to manage> massive amounts of metadata, allow for real-time configuration, share> data structures (eg: SCSI Target Ports) between other kernel fabric> modules and manage the entire set of fabrics using only intrepetered> userspace code.>> Using the 10000 1:1 mapped TCM Virtual HBA+FILEIO LUNs<-> iSCSI Target> Endpoints inside of a KVM Guest (from the results in May posted with> IOMMU aware 10 Gb on modern Nahelem hardware, see> http://linux-iscsi.org/index.php/KVM-LIO-Target), we have been able to> dump the entire running target fabric configfs hierarchy to a single> struct file on a KVM Guest root device using python code on the order of> ~30 seconds for those 10000 active iSCSI endpoints. In configfs terms,> this means:>> *) 7 configfs groups (directories), ~50 configfs attributes (files) per> Virtual HBA+FILEIO LUN> *) 15 configfs groups (directories), ~60 configfs attributes (files per> iSCSI fabric Endpoint>> Which comes out to a total of ~220000 groups and ~1100000 attributes> active configfs objects living in the configfs_dir_cache that are being> dumped inside of the single KVM guest instances, including symlinks> between the fabric modules to establish the SCSI ports containing> complete set of SPC-4 and RFC-3720 features, et al.> You achieved 3 million syscalls/sec from Python code? That's very impressive.Note with syscalls you could have done it with 10K syscalls (Python supports packing and unpacking structs quite well, and also directly calling C code IIRC).> Also on the kernel<-> user API interaction compatibility side, I have> found the 3.x configfs enabled code adventagous over the LIO 2.9 code> (that used an ioctl for everything) because it allows us to do backwards> compat for future versions without using any userspace C code, which in> IMHO makes maintaining userspace packages for complex kernel stacks with> massive amounts of metadata + real-time configuration considerations.> No longer having ioctl compatibility issues between LIO versions as the> structures passed via ioctl change, and being able to do backwards> compat with small amounts of interpreted code against configfs layout> changes makes maintaining the kernel<-> user API really have made this> that much easier for me.> configfs is more maintainable that a bunch of hand-maintained ioctls. But if we put some effort into an extendable syscall infrastructure (perhaps to the point of using an IDL) I'm sure we can improve on that without the problems pseudo filesystems introduce.> Anyways, I though these might be useful to the discussion as it releates> to potental uses of configfs on the KVM Host or other projects that> really make sense, and/or to improve the upstream implementation so that> other users (like myself) can benefit from improvements to configfs.> I can't really fault a project for using configfs; it's an accepted and recommented (by the community) interface. I'd much prefer it though if there was an effort to create a usable fd/struct based alternative.-- I have a truly marvellous patch that fixes the bug which thissignature is too narrow to contain.


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Arena Profile: Rep. Frank Pallone
On January 6, Frank Pallone, Jr. was officially sworn in for his 11th full term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Pallone represents New Jersey's Sixth Congressional District, which covers most of Middlesex County, as well as the Bayshore and oceanfront areas of Monmouth County, the township of Plainfield in Union County and Franklin in Somerset County.
In the 111th Congress, Pallone continues to serve as a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over issues pertaining to energy, environment, health care, commerce and telecommunications.
Pallone chairs the Committee's powerful Subcommittee on Health, which has sole jurisdiction over Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and shares jurisdiction of Medicare with the Ways and Means Committee. The Health Subcommittee oversees public health, biomedical programs, food and drug safety, mental health and research, hospital construction and all health care homeland security-related concerns.
Throughout his tenure in Congress, Pallone's legislative accomplishments have been geared to the protection and restoration of environmental resources and the expansion of health care to the uninsured.
Pallone has successfully worked to stop ocean dumping and offshore oil and gas drilling. He has obtained millions of dollars for shore protection and beach replenishment work along a large stretch of the Jersey Coast, for dredging of the area's navigation channels and for the maintenance of his district's National Recreation Area, Sandy Hook. He has also championed issues important to the state's commercial and recreational fishing industries.
Pallone is recognized as a leader on such issues as expanding health care access and affordability, protecting the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, ensuring food safety, strengthening the federal Superfund program to clean up toxic waste sites, and strengthening the nation's clean water laws.
Frank Pallone, Jr., was born on October 30, 1951, in Long Branch, New Jersey, where he grew up and where he still resides. The son of a policeman, Pallone attended the local public schools and earned an academic scholarship to Middlebury College. After graduating cum laude from Middlebury in 1973, Pallone received his master's degree in international relations at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He earned his law degree at Rutgers University in 1978, and has been admitted to the bar in four states: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida.
Pallone began his political career in his home city of Long Branch, getting elected to the City Council in 1982 and winning re-election four years later. In 1983, Pallone was elected to the state Senate, representing the Monmouth County coastline. He was re elected in 1987. During his tenure in the state Legislature, Pallone distinguished himself as an advocate for environmental issues and senior citizen concerns, and made a major priority of providing constituent services.
On November 8, 1988, at the age of 37, Frank Pallone, Jr., was elected to the House of Representatives from New Jersey's former Third District, encompassing parts of Monmouth and Ocean counties. In March 1992, a new Congressional district map for New Jersey was adopted. Portions of the former Third District were merged with parts of two other districts to create the Sixth Congressional District, taking in large portions of Middlesex and Monmouth counties. Pallone was first elected to the Sixth District seat in November 1992.
Pallone married the former Sarah Hospodor in 1992. They have three children, daughters Rose Marie and Celeste Teresa, and a son, Frank Andrew.
Rep. Frank Pallone's Recent Discussions
Drill baby drill?
(Interview with POLITICO's Giovanni Russonello)See more
I clearly feel that the moratorium that the president is trying to put into place is very important. He needs to – as he is – continue to pursue it to the court of appeals and also to try to get a stay, so that it's in place until the court of appeals hears it. My position is that deepwater drilling can't be done safely. In other words, there is no way to prevent a spill from happening and there's no way to stop a spill once it does occur. And that's the lesson we've learned from the BP spill: The further out you go, the riskier it becomes. So I think it's very important to have the moratorium.
We have to move away from fossil fuels because obviously they're not infinite … and so at some point you have to move toward renewables. And it certainly makes sense for us to move toward renewables because we don't have that much oil to begin with. [You have to] prioritize your funding, both private and public, toward renewable [like] solar, wind – where our resources are infinite … There are spills all the time, and I think the danger of deepwater drilling is too great … What you're going to see is that the further out you go the more likely that these spills will become more frequent.
Posted onSep. 12, 2011
Posted onSep. 09, 2011
Posted onSep. 08, 2011
Posted onSep. 07, 2011
Posted onSep. 07, 2011
Will Obama's personal appeal trump voters' distaste for his policies? Also, is Michele Bachmann flaming out?Posted onSep. 06, 2011
Posted onSep. 03, 2011
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He urged Sunset to his fastest with shouts and slaps of a light twig he carried instead of a riding-crop, but his thoughts went from chaos to incoherence.
No wonder nice ladies in Dusseldorf ushered their aryan angel children away from us, and that nice black-leather-clad man in Berlin smiled and waggled his riding-crop so saucily.
"Shut up, you old fool," she whispered irrelevantly, and, leaning over, she patted him lazily with her riding-crop.
Grame chuckled and walked back to his forge, returning with a slender riding-crop.
These, with riding-gloves and a riding-crop, constitute the regular riding-dress for a young man.
The Book of Good Manners; a Guide to Polite Usage for All Social Functions
Then, for the first time, he seemed to become aware of their presence, and making a pitiful attempt to dissemble his condition and assume a smart, erect military carriage he waved his riding-crop at them by way of salutation.
The Luck of the Mounted A Tale of the Royal Northwest Mounted Police
"I fancy not," he said as he gathered hat, gloves and riding-crop.
She came carefully down the stair to find Mr. Max seated on the big black oak settle, his hat and riding-crop beside him and Mr.. Trott arranging her table before the fire.
Touching his riding-crop to his hat in response to Win's thanks, he turned into a side street where a young man mounted on a handsome horse sat holding the bridle of another.
Rising a little in her stirrups, her riding-crop uplifted to emphasize her burning words, her cheeks on fire, her eyes shining, her hair blowing under her three-cornered hat, she had clearly and crisply challenged the patriotism of the speaker, and she had presented to Ralph's appreciative eyes a picture which he was never to forget.


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Focus Genetics is New Zealand's largest red meat genetics company by market share, selectively breeding rams, bulls and stags for meat production. With 10,000 recorded ewes, 2,500 recorded cows and 2,000 hinds, it's also the largest single breeder in NZ - with further sheep breeding operations in Australia, South America and the United Kingdom. The company plays an important role in growing world food production.
Landcorp owns Focus Genetics, operating it as a wholly independent company and continues running breeding programmes for all commercial farmers in New Zealand.
For more information visit www.focusgenetics.com


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Despite your best intentions, despite your quest for excellence, despite being a person of character there are going to be times where things don't go as you planned. Things change unexpectedly, people you are counting on don't do what they said they would do, or it just plain gets messed up. It is going to happen to every one of us. The question is what do we do when it happens? How we respond is more important then what happened. Many times we choose to respond with blame, denial, avoidance ( also called head in sand ). Why do we do that? Our society has created a culture of being scared to make mistakes. In some of us that fear is deep rooted that we won't even take enough action to make a mistake. Its amazing to watch children trying new things. They have no thoughts about making mistakes accept, "Hey mom, did you see that?" But it doesn't take long for them to start picking up the fear of mistakes. Thank goodness people like Thomas Edison didn't feel that way. Many sources quote different numbers, but let's just say it took him 1,000 attempts to create the lightbulb. If he hadn't persisted I would be doing this blog with smoke signals. Failure is always part of the process of success but we should learn from Edison when he said, "I have not failed. I have just found 999 ways that won't work." Luckily, most of us have a mentor, which means we don't have to learn from trial and error, like Edison. We can learn from other peoples experience. With all that said, what I want to focus on is, what we do when we make a mistake that affects others.
The most important thought to begin with is you can actually gain credibility by making and owning up to a mistake. Its amazing how counterintuitive, in todays culture, it seems to own up to a mistake. The book "Credibility" gives a real world example.
Pradeep Vaswani, project manager at Infosys Technologies, recalled a time when his team went off course and as a result would fail to deliver on time to the client. His managers had advised him that he shouldn't disclose this in advance to the client, but should merely work overtime to catch up. However, Pradeep knew that keeping this secret would result in a breach of trust with his client if the matter went out of control. Furthermore, he was unwilling to set such a poor example to his staff. Consequently, Pradeep accepted the responsibility for informing the client about the projects status. The client was upset, but Pradeep also told them how sorry and disappointed he and his team were about missing the deadline. He had explained what had caused the delay and what the team would do. He showed his commitment to the new deadline by indicating what he would do himself to ensure the new deliverables were met. The project was completed by the new deadline, and the amount of trust the client had for Pradeep actually increased tremendously. At the same time, the respect his team members had for him was enhanced because he accepted responsibility and showed accountability for the team without pointing fingers.
I think the reason someone owning up to mistakes is such a big deal is because it so rarely happens. The reason gold is so valuable is because it is so very rare. The same is true with human emotions. When we see someone display a trait that we rarely see, we naturally look at that person with more esteem. Studies have shown that "admitting mistakes" ranks second to "tells the truth" when people were asked what behaviors best define an honest person. So, here are the six A's of accountability:
- Accept = come to recognize
- Admit = confess to be true or be the case
- Apologize = express regret for one has done wrong
- Act = take action
- Amend = make changes to make it correct
- Attend = be present, deal with it
"When" not "if " you make a mistake, apply these six A's and you will not only maintain your credibility but you will increase it.
Bill Lewis


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UPDATE: Our summer hours are Tuesday through Friday 11 to 6 and Saturday 11 to 2. We are closed Sunday and Monday.
104 S. Main | Cibolo, TX 78108 | 210-829-1243
Wise Choice Jewelers was established in 1989 in San Antonio by Kim Wise and her husband Jack Wise. Kim and her business is now at the current location in Cibolo since 2007.
From 1989 to 1996 Kim did antique jewelry repair for a firm in San Antonio by using modern technology to restore antique jewelry to original look (pieces that are 100 years old or older).
Her prior experienced was learning from her husband Jack before he passed away in 1990.
Besides jewelry sales (antique, vintage, and new), which includes everything from gold to diamonds and repairs on jewelry and watches, Wise Choice offers restoration of antique jewelry. If we don't have it in stock, we can custom make it. Part of the Better Business Bureau.


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Who here remembers Snack and a Half bars? They were individually packaged Chocolate Covered Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches that were popular in the '80's and '90's. They were my absolute favorite and I loved them. I have no idea if they were only available in Canada, of if they were sold in the US too. All I know is that the little gas station store in my neighborhood had them and I always picked one when I got the treat of my choice. They seemed to fall off the map after my teens, but I do remember seeing them once in the tiny little corner store near my last house in Edmonton. I just assumed they must be really old and never bought one. A recent Google search told me that they are still available, though quite rare now, and that some other brands like
Chapman's have made their own version of the product.
I can't get Chapman's down here in Wisconsin, so I resorted to making my own. And let me tell you – what a delicious result! All you need is oatmeal cookies, vanilla ice cream and some chocolate for dipping the sandwiches in. The ingredients can be homemade or storebought – totally up to you.
I made my own oatmeal cookies, 'cause that's just what I do. You will need to be kind of picky with the cookies you choose/make to get the right cookie to ice cream ratio. First make sure the cookies aren't too big or too small – about 3″ is about right. You also need to make sure the cookies aren't too thick. I know thick cookies are a good thing, but not for ice cream sandwiches. If they're too thick you either won't get enough ice cream in, or the sandwich will end up too big to fit in your mouth. Mine were even a bit on the thick side. Next time I'd flatten them a little before baking.
As for ice cream, just use whatever vanilla ice cream is your favorite. I used my super easy No Cook Three Ingredient Ice Cream. You will want to let it soften on the counter for a little while before you assemble the sandwiches for easier scooping and squishing.
To assemble the ice cream sandwiches, place a scoop of the softened ice cream on the bottom of one of the cookies. Place another cookie bottom/flat side towards the ice cream and squish down lightly. Clean up around the edges and scrape off any excess ice cream with a cake knife or butter knife. Place on a baking sheet and repeat with remaining cookies/ice cream. When they're all done, put the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze them completely.
When they're totally solid, melt your chocolate with a little oil to thin it out. Dip the sandwiches in the chocolate and place them on a baking sheet that's lined with parchment or a non-stick baking mat. When you're dipping, the chocolate might melt a bit of the ice cream and have trouble sticking. Not to worry, although they might not look as perfect as you'd hoped, they will still taste absolutely amazing. Once they're all dipped, freeze them again until the chocolate is solid, than transfer to a freezer bag to store.
If you loved Snack and a Half bars as much as I did as a kid, now you can have them again anytime you want without having to search every grocery and convenience store that you see to find them. When you're eating these ice cream sandwiches, keep in mind that calorie-wise, they are not really like a "snack and a half", like the name implies. More like a triple snack. Plan accordingly.
- 12 of your favorite oatmeal cookies storebought or homemade; about 3" across
- vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt of your choice slightly softened
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate chips or melting chocolate
- 1 Tbsp canola or coconut oil
Place one scoop of softened ice cream on the bottom of a cookie. Place a second cookie (bottom side in) on top of the ice cream and lightly press together. Smooth edges of ice cream with a cake spatula or butter knife. Repeat with remaining ice cream and cookies.
Place ice cream sandwiches on a baking sheet and freeze until completely solid, 1-2 hours.
Melt chocolate and oil together in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Quickly dip each ice cream sandwich into the melted chocolate to coat. Return chocolate coated ice cream sandwiches to a baking sheet lined with parchment or a non-stick baking mat and freeze until chocolate is solid.
Transfer ice cream sandwiches to an airtight container or zipper bag and store in the freezer until ready to use.
***Note: the nutrition information for these ice cream sandwiches with vary depending on what type of oatmeal cookies and ice cream you use. The above nutrition information is an approximation for one ice cream sandwich using homemade oatmeal cookies and storebought regular (not premium or light) vanilla ice cream.


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CLARKSBURG — Five weeks after devastating floods hit southern West Virginia, economists are certain that monetary damages will take a hefty toll on the state, but say it is too early to quantify the economic impact.
"Impacts from flooding this severe are tremendously costly, but with the damage still being tallied and cleanup efforts ongoing, I'd hate to speculate on a specific figure or percentage," said Kent Sowards, director of research and strategy for the Rahall Transportation Institute, Marshall University Center for Business and Economic Research. "It is quite likely that the costs will be significant for individuals, municipalities and the state."
"The economic impact on the state as a whole — damage to people's homes and businesses — is difficult to measure at this point," said Brian Lego, the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research's economic forecaster.
Lego said, however, that the impact on infrastructure could spread beyond the southern region.
"A knock-off effect of infrastructure damage in the south is that the labor market will tighten, meaning wages will go up and the cost for building materials might increase throughout the state," Lego said. "In early July, the state DOH estimated the cost to fix road damage to be near $47 million, but there might have been subsequent estimates."
"Areas needing improvements or expansions to infrastructure (such as bridges and highways) that aren't in federal recovery aid eligible areas are likely to feel the pinch as budgets are tightened even more," Sowards said. "This is exacerbated by the recent budget gaps and the anticipated future revenue shortfalls in upcoming budget years.
"Current and/or planned infrastructure projects might be impacted if construction resources are pulled in to make emergency repairs or as project timelines are adjusted," Sowards said. "Also, tourism dollars and the respective state revenues that accompany them aren't flowing in the region in the wake of the flooding, which stands to extend the issue further."
Meanwhile, federal and non-federal funding sources have already pitched in.
"As of July 15, the Red Cross estimates that emergency relief efforts could cost more than $5.5 million, and we have raised approximately $2 million in designated donations and pledges for the West Virginia floods," said Krista Farley Raines, regional communications officer, American Red Cross West Virginia region.
Federal assistance has reached $72 million for West Virginia flood survivors, FEMA reported Thursday. That includes nearly $29.8 million in housing assistance, more than $5.4 million in other needs assistance and $1.43 million in public assistance.
In addition, the SBA has approved 426 low-interest disaster loans totaling more than $27.9 million. And 939 National Flood Insurance Program claims have been filed, totaling more than $7.5 million in payouts.
"The most visible economic impact will be job and revenue losses the state will experience from a decline in income taxes," Lego said. "The most visible secondary issue will be the cost of road repair, which will whittle down the state's rainy-day fund as a result."
Staff writer Lisa Troshinsky can be reached at (304) 626-1445 or at email@example.com
HUNTINGTON, WV – Benjamin Frazier, a software engineer at Rahall Transportation Institute (RTI), prior to summer dismissal, visited Pritchard Elementary School in Grayson, KY, to educate students on various web-programming languages and demonstrate how these languages are used to create video games.
Frazier explained to students that coding is much like building something in Minecraft. For example, a fundamental unit to begin building something in Minecraft is called a block. It can be a stone block, lava block, ore block, etc., and with this fundamental unit, the user can construct buildings, roller coasters, etc.
"Programming is a lot like this," Frazier said. "If the kids can get some fundamental things down about programming, they too can build whatever they want. It just takes some time to learn."
As part of the activity, Frazier utilized TeachCraft challenges online at Github.com, an open source project created to get young people excited about programming. By completing these TeachCraft challenges, the students would learn they could manipulate the Minecraft world both programmatically and algorithmically. Frazier said he chose to use the TeachCraft challenges because he knew the challenges would ignite the kids' imagination.
"I think it is important to introduce kids to coding because it can be an outlet for their creativity," Frazier said. "For me, coding is a creative process, just like painting or building something with your hands. It's also a lot of fun to program. I wanted to introduce them to how much fun it can be."
HUNTINGTON, WV – On Saturday, May 21, 2016, the West Virginia Bridge Design and Build Contest finals took place at the Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex at Marshall University. The West Virginia Bridge Design and Build Contest includes both computer-based bridge design and construction of a balsa bridge for load testing. The qualifying round of the contest was open to West Virginia middle school and high school students grades 6-12 and focused only on the bridge design aspect, where students submitted bridge designs with the objective of designing the lowest cost bridge that will hold a required minimum load. At the conclusion of the qualifying round on Friday, April 1, the top-ranked teams were invited to compete in the Statewide Finals on Saturday. Eleven Middle School teams and eleven high school teams participated in Saturday's event, with each team consisting of one or two students.
During the Statewide Finals, teams in the Middle School and High School divisions competed head-to-head in two rounds of bride design, with each round consisting of different design scenarios. Gift cards ranging from $50 to $200 were awarded based on the combined costs of the bridges for the two rounds. The top 3 bridge design teams in each division were:
The finalists were mailed materials to construct a balsa bridge that met certain specifications and those bridges were load tested during Saturday's event. All teams that constructed a balsa bridge doubled the award amount they earned in the bridge design portion of the contest. Most of the bridges were loaded until they failed, which allowed the strength-to-weight ratio to be calculated for each bridge. The most aesthetic bridge was also selected for each division. The winners of the balsa bridge building were:
Sponsors of this year's statewide contest are the WV Department of Transportation - Department of Highways, Rahall Transportation Institute (RTI), Marshall University College of Information Technology and Engineering (CITE), the Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability University Transportation Center (MATS UTC), and BridgeWalk.
All contest finalists are listed below.
High School Finalists:
Middle School Finalists
HUNTINGTON - Approximately 25 teams of high school and middle school students competed in the final round of the West Virginia Bridge Design and Build Contest.
The top ranked teams were invited to participate in the finals Saturday at Marshall University in Huntington.
The statewide contest is intended to conduct outreach to middle school and high school students in the area of engineering, specifically civil engineering. The contest primarily covers bridge design, but teams invited to the final round also had the opportunity to compete in a bridge building contest.
The teams in the finals received a Balsa wood kit to construct a bridge and bring to the competition.
Dr. Wael Zatar, professor and dean of the College of Information Technology and Engineering at Marshall University, has been named recipient of the 2015 West Virginia Outstanding Civil Engineering Educator of the Year award by the West Virginia section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
This award is a prestigious one, given to an individual who is a distinguished Civil Engineering educator, tenured faculty in a West Virginia Engineering School, a resident of the state of West Virginia at the time of nomination and a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Only two awards have been given in West Virginia, and both recipients were faculty members at Marshall University. Zatar was nominated by Shelley W. Porter, P.E., project manager of West Virginia American Water Company and a member of the WVASCE.
Zatar also is a past president of the West Virginia section of the ASCE.
Zatar serves as the director for the Multi-Modal Transportation and Infrastructure Consortium, Marshall University's Transportation Center, Innovations and Asset Management of Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure Systems Program, and associate director of the Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability Center.
He also has taught 12 undergraduate courses, four undergraduate laboratory classes, 11 graduate classes and two graduate laboratory classes, all of which were centered on analysis, behavior and design of concrete materials and structure.
Zatar has been a guest speaker for universities and institutions such as the University of Kentucky; North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina; the University of North Carolina in Charlotte; Cornell University; Santa Clara University; Savannah State University; West Virginia University; the University of Tokyo; Yokohama National University; Koichi University; Japan Concrete Institute; the University of Kyoto; the Japan Prestressed Concrete Engineering Association; and the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
He has received recognition from the American Society of Civil Engineers, PreCast/Prestressed Concrete Institute, American Concrete Institute, Japan Society of Civil Engineers, Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences, the Transportation Research Board, Structural Engineering Institute, International Institute for FRP in Construction, and the National Computational Science Institute.
Previously employed at the University of Kentucky and West Virginia University Tech, Zatar has been at Marshall University for the past 10 years. He served as the interim dean of the College of Information Technology and Engineering (CITE) for nine months. He later became the permanent dean of CITE in May of 2012. He has over 25 years of research and experience in the field of pre-stressed concrete structures, seismic design and retrofit of bridge structures which gained him national and international acclaim as well as awards from the United States, Japan, Canada and Mexico.
Zatar holds memberships in 24 professional organizations, including the American Society of Civil Engineers, and he has guided the research work of 15 postdoctoral researchers, a few hundred graduate students and 275 undergraduate students in projects focusing on advancing the knowledge of precast and pre-stressed concrete, for which he also received the 2009 Precast/Pre-stressed Concrete Institute's Distinguished Young Educator Achievement Award.
His research interests include, but are not limited to, bridge management, construction materials, highway testing, advanced experimental destructive and non-destructive testing, reinforced and prestressed concrete, ultra-high performance concrete, fiber-reinforced polymer composite bridges, green and sustainable highway structures, and many more.
Zatar has more than 100 technical publications in book chapters, international journals, peer-reviewed conferences and technical reports. He currently is serving as a member of 31 national engineering/education committees. Additionally, Zatar has served as a reviewer and has participated in editorial boards of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Concrete Institute, Prestressed Concrete Institute, Japan Concrete Institute and the Japan Society of Civil Engineers.
HUNTINGTON - The Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute (RTI) works with industry, government and universities to advance multimodal transportation, research and technology solutions for economic growth and development.
RTI is recognized as a Center of Excellence in the areas of applied transportation research, economic development, technology development, workforce development and training, according to a news release from the organization.
Recently, RTI partnered with the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) to present the 2016 West Virginia Bridge Design and Build Contest.
The West Virginia Bridge Design and Build Contest is a statewide contest intended to conduct STEM-related outreach activities to middle school and high school students in the areas of engineering, specifically civil engineering. The contest provides opportunities for interaction and collaboration with professionals and others in STEM- related fields.
This contest aims to provide students with an opportunity to learn about the engineering design; process with realistic, hands-on experiences; demonstrate how engineers use computers and software as tools to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the design process; afford the opportunity for students to apply their problem solving and bridge design skills by constructing a bridge from balsa wood material.
Formerly the West Point Bridge Design Contest and the West Virginia Bridge Design Contest, this statewide contest is a localized version of the nationwide contest organized by Engineering Encounters, a nonprofit organization dedicated to high quality engineering outreach programs. Using Engineering Encounters' Bridge Designer software, students will compete in teams of two to create the most cost-effective and fully-functional bridge design.
The WV Statewide Qualifying Round runs from February 1, 2016 until April 1, 2016, at 11:59 p.m. The top ranked teams entered in the WV Statewide Contest will be invited to participate in the Statewide Finals to take place on May 21, 2016 at Marshall University in Huntington.
The contest primarily covers bridge design, but teams invited to the final round will also have the opportunity to develop their bridge building skills. Teams attending the statewide finals will be mailed a balsa wood kit to construct a bridge in advance of the finals.
At the finals, these model bridges will be evaluated by a panel of judges for aesthetics and creativity, then load-tested until failure to determine their strength.
Other supporters and sponsors of the 2016 West Virginia Bridge Design & Build Contest include BridgeWalk, MATS and Marshall University (CITE).
For more information about RTI and the 2016 West Virginia Bridge Design and Build Contest, visit http://www.njrati.org and http://wvbridgedesignandbuild.com.
HUNTINGTON - Cyclists, runners and walkers had a chance to share their ideas on the future of the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health, or PATH, during a public workshop Thursday night at the Marshall University Memorial Student Center.
Many in attendance said the development of PATH thus far has been outstanding, but they would like to see all of PATH's trails connected.
PATH consists of more than 15 miles of trails, bike lanes and bike sharrows. It provides safe alternative transportation routes throughout Huntington and surrounding areas and serves as an avenue for people to get and stay active.
Zeke Smith, president of Huntington Road Runners, said his group consists of avid PATH users who run through the trail at Spring Hill Cemetery, Washington Boulevard and Ritter Park. The trails are fairly close together but not connected. He said once the PATH trail ends they are forced to make their own routes.
"It seems as if the growth of PATH has been kind of stagnant for the past few years so we would love to see more done with it," Smith said.
"The really frustrating part is that while these trails, for instance Guyandotte, are so beautiful there is no real maintenance being done, which stinks because I know a lot of money was invested in them."
These desires and concerns are nothing new to Amanda Payne, trails program area manager for the Rahall Transportation Institute. She said addressing maintenance responsibilities is a top priority that will be laid out in an updated master plan for PATH.
To complete this master plan, RTI has partnered with the city of Huntington to help determine in what direction PATH will go next. Payne expects to have PATH's master plan complete by the end of June.
They have also partnered with the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, West Virginia Division of Highways and other entities the trail would run through to form an advisory board focused on creating a clear and concise vision for the future of the trail system.
During the public workshop, 10 large maps were set up on tables throughout the room displaying the 10 neighborhoods of Huntington. Community members where then asked to mark the routes on which they bike, run or walk on a regular basis.
Payne said the feedback will help them determine which additions to PATH would be most beneficial to its users. Some of the expansion and maintenance costs will be funded by a recently awarded Transportation Alternative Programs grant of $500,000.
PATH was named after Dr. Paul Ambrose, a young physician who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Huntington native worked on family health and preventative medicine to fight obesity, and PATH is a way for his efforts to continue to impact the health of Huntington.
His parents, Ken and Sharon Ambrose, have supported PATH since it inception and were in attendance Thursday night at the workshop.
"We are excited to see where things go from here," Sharon Ambrose said. "It's so nice to have this active memorial for our son that has been so well received and used by the community."
HUNTINGTON - When the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health, or PATH, was first envisioned in 2006, the idea was to connect Huntington's parks and provide a recreational trail for the community to safely enjoy.
Now, 10 years later, much of that vision has been accomplished, and local officials are looking to establish the next direction for PATH.
PATH consists of more than 15 miles of trails, bike lanes and bike sharrows that provide safe alternative transportation routes throughout Huntington and surrounding areas.
It was named after Dr. Paul Ambrose, a young physician who was killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Huntington native worked on family health and preventative medicine to fight obesity.
PATH is a way for his efforts to continue to impact the health of Huntington by providing people with safe avenues to get and stay active. And many have taken advantage of using the trails.
Local people also have got behind the project by participating in a variety of projects that help finance maintenance and improvements to the trail.
Three major events that help raise money for PATH are Fit Fest, PATH to the Cure and Tour de PATH. Each event promotes healthy lifestyles through multiple run/walk races as well as bike rides.
The 7th annual Fit Fest took place Sept. 13 and raised more than $50,000.
The first leg of PATH was built in 2009 at St. Cloud Commons Park, and from there, the project blossomed.
"Since then, (PATH) has exploded, and we wanted to do more than just connect parks," said Amanda Payne, trails program area manager for the Rahall Transportation Institute. "We want to connect the entire community. We want to have an area all throughout Huntington where people can safely get from point A to point B."
With this in mind, developers of PATH - RTI, the Greater Huntington Park and Recreation District and the city of Huntington - are asking the question, "What is next for PATH?" They hope to answer that by gathering public opinion and updating a master plan for the trail system.
Improving safety
In the past year, PATH expanded to add more bike sharrows, or shared lane bicycle markings, including one on 10th Street that connects the Ritter Park trail with the Harris Riverfront Park trail.
Along this section of roadways, multiple signs were placed in order to inform motorists that the state requires them to give bicyclists at least three feet of room.
The new law also eliminates a former provision that required cyclists to use an adjacent path instead of the road if available.
"PATH has really done a great job at making bike lane and trails more visible and giving an opportunity to have people safely bike, run or walk through town," Payne said. "I grew up in Huntington, and I don't think people really had that type of security and safety before now."
As far as other expansions, Payne said a focus has been placed more on fundraising and collecting various ideas on where the people of Huntington would like to see PATH go next.
In order to give community residents a chance to have their voice heard, RTI will host a public workshop from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, March 10, in the Marshall University Memorial Student Center.
"This is Huntington's trail, so the citizens of Huntington should have a say in what we do next," Payne said.
According to Payne, one of the main reasons for the meeting is to help RTI and the city determine how a recently awarded Transportation Alternative Programs grant for $500,000 should be spent.
A new master plan
To develop even more ideas, RTI also has entered into an agreement with the City of Huntington to create a new master plan for PATH.
Payne said the initial master plan and feasibility study was done more than five years ago and has now become extremely outdated.
The new plan will not only help determine what's next for the direction of PATH, but it will also lay out responsibilities and feasibility for future trails.
As it stands now, Breanna Shell, a planner for the city's Department of Development and Planning, said because PATH runs through numerous entities, operations and maintenance for the trail has been taken on by several organizations.
"In the beginning, there really isn't much maintenance to be done, but now that PATH is expanding, we really need to articulate whose responsibility it is to carry out and fund repairs," Shell said.
"We are also trying to determine feasibility as far as how would our next priority or step be feasible financially and construction-wise. We just want to lay all that out so we can make an informed decision moving forward."
In order to create a clear and concise vision for the future of PATH, the developers created an advisory board, which includes representatives from the city of Huntington, GHPRD, RTI, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, West Virginia Division of Highways and other entities the trail would run through.
One question the advisory board is attempting to answer is "What is the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health?"
"That was something that wasn't really discussed in the beginning, but we're actually really trying to dig down and figure out what is PATH," Payne said.
As the advisory board plots the next course for PATH, Payne said it has decided to eliminate the original projected completion date of 2024.
"There has been a lot more momentum than what anybody could have envisioned or realized," Payne said. "When you look at bike path systems across the country, even very sophisticated bike path systems, they are still working on expanding, so I don't think it's something you can ever put an end date on."
Although what's next for PATH has yet to be decided, Payne said the organizers will do what they have always done and follow the will of the people.
"It is not the most innovative process, but doing so has led to the majority of our success," she said.
On the web
To find out more about PATH and ways to get involved, Amanda Payne, trails program area manager for Rahall Transportation Institute, said she encourages people to check out the newly revamped website at paulambrosetrail.org.
The new site offers interactive maps so viewers can easily find sections of PATH that have already been built throughout Huntington.
It allows people to better plan a walk, run or bike ride and connects them with ways to volunteer or donate to PATH.


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Stockton, Calif. – In the second-consecutive day of Pacific Baseball's Orange and Black World Series, the Black Tigers secured the series after topping the Orange Tigers 10-4 on Nov. 20.
The 2008 Orange and Black World Series consists of three games from Nov. 19-21, to mark the end of fall play in 2008.
Junior Jamie Niley (Elk Grove, Calif.) took the mound for the Black team, and helped keep Orange down early on.
Niley's cause was supported by his offense, as senior Mike McKeever (San Diego, Calif.) led the way at the plate, going a perfect 3-for-3 with three doubles, one walk and one RBI for the Black team. Teammate senior Joey Centanni (San Diego, Calif). followed suit and recorded three hits, when he went 3-for-4 and contributed to one of the team's RBI. The San Diegan magic continued as freshman Derek Baum (San Diego, Calif.) had a 2-for-3 offensive outing, providing two of Black's RBI.
Continuing the offensive charge, newcomer junior Ben Gorang (Turlock, Calif.) extended Black's rally when he sparked a single after falling to an early 1-2 pitch count.
The Orange squad had equally impressive individual offensive performances, including junior Scott Isbell's (Carlsbad, Calif.) 2-for-3 showing with a double and one RBI. Senior Kurt Wideman (Fallbrook, Calif.) spent significant time behind the plate on defense and then momentarily silenced the Black squad with a two-run blast over the left-field fence, igniting an Orange comeback campaign.
The Black Tigers held on defensively long enough to keep Orange smelling victory, but never actually tasting it to win 10-4 after seven innings.
The Orange and Black World Series wraps up on Friday, Nov. 21, with the first pitch scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at Klein Family Field.


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NEW YORK (Apr. 17)
The latest American Jewish organization to fall victim to the economic pressures that have forced several national Jewish groups to retrench is B'nai B'rith International.
B'nai B'rith, which bills itself as the largest Jewish organization in the world, is facing a $2 million deficit this fiscal year, which ends June 30, and a $2 million cut from next year's budget.
The organization is laying off 28 staff people, closing three regional offices of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization and cutting 10 percent across the board from the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation budget.
The current $2 million shortfall is being covered by drawing from what one B'nai B'rith leader called the organization's "considerable cash reserves, which are in excess of $8 million."
Drawing from interest-earning cash reserves is generally considered a measure of last resort, explained Seymour Reich, the group's immediate past international president, because "you need to generate the income, and you can't use your principle as an operating account."
Looking to next year, B'nai B'rith officials predict no increase in income from fund raising, which has been flat for the last three years, and an increase in expenses because of inflation.
Based on these forecasts, the amount needed to maintain the size and strength of B'nai B'rith's staff and programs for the 1991-92 fiscal year would have been $16 million.
But since the organization's fiscal management committee foresees another $2 million deficit, it has proposed a budget cutback of that amount, which requires staff layoffs, regional office closings and program cutbacks.
The proposed budget will be considered by B'nai B'rith's 104-member Board of Governors at its next semi-annual meeting in Washington on May 4 to 6.
At least 28 employees, both professional and clerical staff, are being laid off as of July 1. They are being taken from B'nai B'rith and BBYO offices across the country, according to Sidney Clearfield, B'nai B'rith's recently appointed executive vice president.
Three regional BBYO offices, in the Pacific Northwest, Central New York state and Illinois, will close, as well. BBYO runs programs for high school students.
Fully half of B'nai B'rith's yearly budget goes toward funding BBYO and the B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation.
The impact of the youth-program cuts is that "there will be a void in BBYO and Hillel programs," admits Reich, who remains a member of the Board of Governors and is a member of the financial management committee.
BBYO and Hillel each receive about $3.5 million annually from B'nai B'rith, a sum which is expected to be slashed by between $280,000 and $350,000. For Hillel, that means that the part of each chapter's budget that comes from B'nai B'rith will be cut by 10 percent.
Hillel has chapters on 105 campuses that are led by professionals and receive funding from B'nai B'rith. There are also student-led affiliates on 300 campuses, which do not receive funding.
The cutbacks will also impact all of Hillel's eight regional offices.
"Ours are not agencies with a lot of fat to trim from the budgets," said Richard Joel, international director of Hillel.
"We will not do across-the-board cuts again. We are not a salami," he said. "We felt right now the system would bear this cut."
While the $3.5 million annual B'nai B'rith contribution to Hillel's budget is a relatively small part of Hillel's $18.5 million funding, the 10 percent cut means some Hillel chapters will have to offer fewer activities to students, Joel said.
But he indicated that no Hillel offices would be closed.
Local Hillel boards of directors will raise the shortfall in some communities, Joel said. And Hillel "will have to look more aggressively in the future for major gifts and endowments," he said.
Up until the 1970s, Hillel was wholly funded by B'nai B'rith International. But now about $8 million of funding comes from local federations, and another $6 million to $7 million is raised from parents and alumni, Joel said.
While Hillel and BBYO receive half of B'nai B'rith's annual budget, they are being spared, to some extent, the budget paring that the rest of the B'nai B'rith organization is facing.
Saving BBYO and Hillel from the harshest cuts is part of B'nai B'rith's emphasis on its youth programs.
Membership, organized through 1,400 lodges and units around the country, has historically been B'nai B'rith's focus. It is a system that suited a generation of Jews who were excluded from other fraternal organizations and clubs.
But some say the current generation of young Americans is looking for a different type of organization.
"People don't want to go to meetings any more," observed Reich. "They're perfectly happy to contribute their money and will only get involved in dramatic issues, like Israel."
B'nai B'rith's membership levels have been sinking for years.
Just five years ago, said Clearfield, the organization had 140,000 dues-paying members. Today that number is 115,000.
"Most lodges and units aren't functioning," said one former B'nai B'rith staff member, citing attrition as a major factor.
"A big internal study conducted three or four years ago found that the average age of members is 65," the former staffer said. "How many of the members today are under 50?"
"Leadership is going to take a real strong look at the efficacy of lodges and units," said Hillel's Richard Joel.
"There are lodges around the country which serve real strong roles in their communities. But as the basic social structure of the community, it has seen its day," he said.
While B'nai B'rith's executive vice president pledges the organization will not diminish its commitment to public affairs, education and culture, and serving senior citizens, Clearfield says B'nai B'rith's shrinking resources are being directed to programs for high school and college students for a clear reason.
"In the end," he said, "all we have is our young people."


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Jessica Mendoza: Five reasons to play sports
Wednesday is National Girls and Women in Sports Day! It's our day to celebrate the amazing sports opportunities we have, and to make sure we continue to provide these opportunities for others. I honestly feel so blessed to be an athlete and to play pro softball for a living. Whether you're planning to try a new sport for the first time, you're on the JV team at your high school or you're an Olympic gold medalist, there are so many reasons to play sports. Here are my top five:
1. To stand out. We play to be different. We do not want to blend in; we want to be above the average. So we work harder, get stronger and learn how to be better than those around us.
2. To be confident. When we score a goal, finish a run or get a hit, we feel good. Really good — about who we are and why we want even more success. We take that feeling to the classroom, to the boardroom and to the rest of the real world.
3. To look good. Muscles are hot. The harder we work, the stronger we get and the better we feel. We come in all shapes and sizes, and the more active we are, the healthier we become.
4. To be leaders. We know what it takes to be successful, and that the road is anything but easy: The harder the challenge, the bigger the reward. So we lead our teammates and ourselves to make the right decisions for success in our game and in life. Remember that scene from "A League of Their Own"? The hard is what makes it great!
5. Because we love it. I know I love it. The sweat, the camaraderie, the doubleheaders, the laughter, superstitions, winning, failure, handling failure, heart-thumping pressure, ridiculous nicknames … even working out when no one is watching because you want to be the best. All of these add up to a lifetime of memories.
For more on this story, please click here.
Source: espnw.com